Unformatted text is Norse, or narration.
Italicized text is Irish.
Underlined text is Dragonese.
Bold text is used for emphasis (and author's notes).
Sometime during the month leading up to Hiccup and Aran's wedding, Aran made a point to announce to the village that they could, in fact, become pregnant. It was a nerve wracking experience, and they were incredibly nervous for the entirety of the announcement, but despite the initial fear that the entire village would suddenly reject them, everything turned out alright in the end. Many Hooligans were impressed that they'd managed to cut such a masculine figure despite not having been blessed with such a thing. Most of the people who had been against their marriage found themselves unable to find fault with it considering the revelation that their chief would still be able to produce an heir, and the scathing looks the couple had previously received seemed like a thing of the distant past.
A week and a half before the wedding, Hiccup, Aran, Stoick, and Valka flew to Ireland, temporarily leaving Astrid and Iris (or was it Ilanah? The village was divided on what to call her, as her mother called her Iris but Johann called her Ilanah) in charge. Iris was a woman skilled with social situations due to a life lived in a trading port with her bartender of a mother, trader of a biological father, and self-proclaimed adventurer of an adoptive father. Astrid, on the other hand, was extremely decisive, had the background knowledge and understanding of viking culture, and some situations were better left with her due to the people's trust in her. The two of them made a good team in terms of chiefing, making up for what the other lacked.
"Mum!" Aran called out as they dismounted Méaróg. "Dad!"
"Aran!" Came the voices of both of their parents. "There's our little angel!" The family shared a group hug.
"I was starting to worry you forgot about us." Canice joked before catching sight of Hiccup approaching behind Aran. Hiccup put an arm around their waist and gave his second set of parents a wordless greeting.
"And who are they?" Orlaith asked, seeing Valka help Stoick down into his wheelchair after removing it from Skullcrusher's side.
"Ah! Mum, dad, this is Stoick and Valka." Aran provided, gesturing to the couple approaching. "Remember I told you about them? Hiccup's parents?"
"Oh, of course! It's nice to meet you, Stoick, Valka." Orlaith inclined her head to them as her husband gave them a little smile and nod.
"I remember you…" Valka had a vague look of remembrance on her face as she approached Orlaith, movements oddly animalistic. She got a little too close, invading what one would assume was the shorter woman's personal bubble.
"Mom! Personal space!" Hiccup exclaimed. "Ahh, I'm sorry, Orlaith." He apologized for his mother, but Orlaith didn't seem to care very much, waving him off.
"Orlaith!" Valka grinned, an almost child-like excitement on her face. "And- and Canice!" She sighed. "It was so long ago that I came here- nearly ten years now." Valka removed herself from Orlaith's personal space.
"Maybe you should have taught us a little more Norse, Aran." Canice laughed at the exchange. "Or them some Irish?"
"Dad, actually, knows Irish now, I don't know why he's pretending he doesn't." Stoick chuckled.
"I'm an old man, can't I stay quiet for a moment?" He asked, gesturing his hands in amusement as Valka began wheeling him towards the house. Aran had begun walking inside, so the group decided it was time to head in. Orlaith had cooked, apparently.
"I am not good at the Irish, but I can try." Valka stated, blushing slightly. "It is a little bit hard to learn a new tongue. Well, for the most part, at least." She chuckled.
"Wa- Mom, you know how to- what?" Valka laughed at the looks she received.
"I didn't spend twenty years of my life with dragons for nothing! I'd have gone insane without being able to speak with them!"
"It really is such a wonderful thing, that you've found your mother." Orlaith said, completely off topic as she served six dishes of food. "Shame about Stoick here's lack of mobility, but much worse things could have happened, I'm sure. Oh, and you two finally being able to marry!" She sighed. "Everything is looking up, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it really is." Aran sighed, a blissful look on their face.
The two families joined together in a meal, Valka and Orlaith getting along splendidly. Stoick and Canice didn't achieve the same sort of bond their wives did, and they didn't talk much. Aran suspected this was because their father wasn't the most comfortable person in social situations when he wasn't accustomed to the person already. It had already been late by the time they'd arrived in Ireland, so they all went to sleep after dinner, Stoick and Valka claiming the guest room. Canice and Orlaith stayed in their own room, and Hiccup joined Aran in theirs. Everyone was exhausted from the long day, and the two youngest members of the house settled into bed, cuddled against one another. Hiccup left a brief kiss on their cheek, and they sent him a curious look when he removed his ring.
"I'm not really supposed to wear this until the actual ceremony." He explained, and Aran's mouth formed a little 'o' as they took the ring back.
"Do you have a ring for me?" They asked curiously as they slipped the ring onto the first finger it fit on- their index finger. It seemed Hiccup's hands were just a bit larger than theirs, as the ring refused to stay in place on their ring finger.
"Yes, but… you don't get to see it until I put it on you." He smiled, and they pouted.
"That's not fair."
Hiccup laughed at that, pulling them to his chest and telling them to go to sleep. They did so, and the two of them were soon fast asleep. The next morning, the families went outside, Aran explaining to their parents that they could choose who to ride with. Orlaith easily chose to ride with Valka, who was more than happy with the arrangement as it meant spending time with her new friend. Canice took a moment before shrugging and saying he may as well ride with his offspring. Soon, all of them had mounted and begun the journey back to Berk. The little trip had the purpose of introducing their parents, as well as getting Aran's parents a ride to their child's (first) wedding. Orlaith hadn't been particularly happy at how distinctly un-Christian it would be, but she was sated when informed that after the week of feasting that would follow the wedding, the newlyweds would go back to Ireland to have a 'proper' wedding (in her eyes, at least).
The Christian wedding would be a beautiful thing, and Hiccup would be very much impressed by Aran wearing fancy clothing, but that won't be written of until Iris is the main character. It was already being planned and arranged, but that wasn't what was on anybody's mind at the moment. The week leading up to the viking wedding left Hiccup and Aran spending less and less time together, but Aran suspected that was customary for viking culture. Orlaith was well liked by the community, despite her Norse being ridiculously basic. Her cheerful, friendly nature was endearing, and she seemed determined to learn Norse in a week. She failed, of course, but at least she tried, and one would be lying if they said she hadn't learned anything. Canice spent quite some time with the men around his age, especially Badr and Gobber. Badr had become the unofficial translator despite only having known Norse for a year.
Aran was woken up on the day of the wedding before the sun had even risen by a very excited Méaróg. The pink dragon judged their face, and they laughed, sitting up. It was then that Valka's voice spoke, stating the obvious fact that Aran was awake. Though they were a little confused at first, they did remember learning from Hiccup that this was, in fact, part of the preparations. They allowed Valka and their mother drag them from their home and towards the bath-house they had never actually seen before. By the time they reached the stone structure, the sun had nearly finished rising. Méaróg followed them to the bath-house, eagerly following Valka's instructions that Aran couldn't understand due to them being in Dragonese.
The next course of action was to strip Aran of all their usual garments and sit in the steam room Valka had prepared with the help of Méaróg. Aran relaxed in the humid, toasty atmosphere as the two mothers joined them. They thought they caught sight of a new outfit set out for them outside the steam room, but that was pushed from their mind as Valka and Orlaith began a conversation about the difference between the weddings they were accustomed to. Orlaith seemed miffed that the vikings didn't dress particularly nicely for weddings, but Valka explained that it wouldn't be very nice to get blood on white silk garments. It was after this conversation that Valka seemed to remember why it was that she was there in the first place, and she nearly smacked herself for forgetting. In her defense, this was the first time she'd done anything like this in over twenty years.
"The steam bath is to wash away your 'maiden' status." Valka began explaining, using air quotes around the word. "It purifies you in preparation for the ritual later today." Aran nodded.
"Mum?" Aran looked at Orlaith, who smiled and nodded, signifying that she'd understood.
"Now, the duties of the 'wife' are…" Valka went on a long ramble about the role of a wife, the religious activities one should take part in, and the 'best' way to live with a man. She tried (and failed) to hold back her laughter at the mortified look on Aran's face.
"I'm not doing that." Aran stated, and Valka waved a hand at them.
"Of course not! That was what they told me to do, and I never listened." The three of them chuckled. "You're hardly a bride, anyways." Aran shrugged.
"I'm not." They agreed. Valka laughed again.
"What I really recommend for married life, is to make sure you always try to listen to each other. Your relationship should be formed on a base of trust, honesty, and equality." She smiled at them.
"Any relationship that works, is." Orlaith added. "Your father and I's included."
After what seemed like (and probably was) hours, the three of them left the steam room. Aran made to get dressed, but Valka held them back as she started an actual bath. Orlaith got dressed before gathering what seemed like a mixture of herbs, flowers, and oils. The two mothers got the bath ready, and Aran found themself shivering because Valka had made sure the water was freezing. At least it smelled nice, they supposed. Valka explained the significance behind the items that had been added to the water as she got dressed, but Aran just found themself wishing they could go back to the steam room. After they'd spent sufficient time in the cold bath, letting their pores close or some nonsense like that, they were allowed to dry themself and get dressed in their new clothes.
Aran understood the symbolism of discarding their old, 'maiden' clothes, but they were pretty sure they were still going to keep those. The outfit they would be wearing for the ceremony, however, was not made up of the rough brown material they'd grown accustomed to. It was much softer, and instead of their usual shoulder-exposing shirt, they wore a tunic that was a bit on the short side and deep red in colour. It was trimmed with simple Celtic knotwork, and Aran wondered how much time their mother had dedicated to adding that to their outfit. The tunic's neck scooped down enough to show some of the burn scar on their chest, and Aran wondered if their mother had noticed they liked to keep that just slightly visible. A thick belt wrapped around their waist, for decoration more than anything else. The long sleeves satisfied their need for warmth after being dunked in the cold bath, and they rubbed their arms. They'd also been given a dark brown kilt, complete with an ornate sporran to put around their hips. New boots were slipped onto their feet, and they had to admit, they probably wouldn't be wearing their old ones ever again. These were more simple, yes, but they were also much more comfortable. Aran smiled at the two women after they finished admiring themself in the mirror.
"Oh, you look lovely." Valka commented.
"Could look lovelier." Orlaith was still a bit put off by the lack of fancy garb, but she had to admit that the new outfit did look nice.
Aran laughed, admiring themself in the mirror one last time before following Valka out of the bath-house. The three of them made their way to the Haddock household, where Valka brought them to her and Stoick's room. Aran was sat down on the edge of the bed, and Valka announced that they had time to kill, so they may as well have fun with their hair. She did half of their hair, while Orlaith did the other half. The end result looked more than a bit ridiculous, with various different kinds of braids and the like. Aran laughed when Valka brought them a hand mirror, and they began to undo the mess their mothers had created. Orlaith sat behind them on the bed and began brushing their hair properly as Valka searched for something, explaining that normally, one's wedding day would be the last time a woman wore her hair loose. She gestured to the three long braids she had going down her back. Aran, of course, didn't have to follow this expectation, but it would be nice to leave their hair loose for the wedding regardless. Valka stopped in front of them with a circlet, flowers entwined with the metal wires. She put it on their head after Orlaith finished brushing their hair. For once, none of the red strands fell in their line of vision.
"I wonder how Hiccup's morning has been?" Aran wondered aloud.
Hiccup's morning had been fine. Like usual, he'd gotten up early to fly Toothless. Early enough for the sun to be rising, but late enough for him to actually be able to see. Upon returning to his house, he was met with the sight of his father and uncle conversing. He was only mildly surprised that Spitelout was there. Upon giving them a questioning look, Stoick gestured for his younger brother to hand him a sword. Hiccup accepted the ancient looking weapon, admiring it as Stoick and Spitelout began telling him about the family history. Hiccup only sort of payed attention to them, more focused on inspecting the intricate sword hilt.
The next step in his preparation for his wedding was to visit the bath-house in the same manner Aran had. Hiccup very firmly refused this. He did not want to take a steam bath with his father and uncle. Stoick seemed offended by this rejection, but Spitelout didn't seem to care.
"I was there to give your Uncle Spitelout marriage advice when he married!"
"That was the worst time of my life and I never listened to you." Spitelout shot back. He looked to be in a sour mood, and Hiccup suspected he didn't want to take part in this at all.
"Maybe that's why your wife is always fainting!"
"Uh, Dad, I'm pretty sure Aunt Freda has always been like that." Hiccup pointed out, only to be ignored as his father and uncle got into a heated brotherly argument. "... I'm going to the bath-house now. By myself." Stoick frowned.
"At least let me give you advice on the way there." He requested, and Hiccup sighed.
That was how Hiccup found himself receiving romantic advice from his father and uncle as he walked to the bath-house. It was incredibly awkward and uncomfortable. Every comment Spitelout made caused him to cringe. Every moment his dad spoke he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. On his way to the bath, he thought he saw his mother heading towards the Haddock household, but he caught sight of the bath-house and quickened his pace. Hiccup practically ran inside, ditching his father after promising he wouldn't forget all the steps. If he was being honest, he was incredibly nervous- much more than Aran. He was thankful for the steam bath, because it relaxed his tense muscles and cleared his mind. As he fell into a sort of daze, he thought he heard the sounds of a bath being prepared, and assumed his father had convinced Spitelout to prepare the bath for him. Hiccup got up as the sounds subsided, deciding his suspicions were probably correct. A bath was ready for him, as well as a new set of clothes, but his relatives were nowhere in sight. He awkwardly hopped to the bath on one foot, as he'd taken his prosthetic off before entering the steam room, and gracelessly entered the water, not particularly bothered by the change in temperature.
Upon deciding he was sufficiently clean, he stood from the bath, using the wall as support as he dried himself. His next course of action was to get dressed in the new garments he was sure his mother had provided him with. The tunic was the same sort of muted green he always wore, though he noted that it was a bit longer than he was used to wearing now. It wasn't quite as long on him as the clothes he'd worn when he'd first met Aran, but it was still longer than what he wore now. An interesting thing to note was the square neck hole that dipped down further than he was used to, trimmed with Celtic knotwork he associated with the hem of Aran's old jacket they didn't seem to wear as often anymore. There was also a thick belt that only fit around his waist. It was trimmed with the same knotwork, and he wondered how much influence Orlaith had on his outfit. The pants were a usual dark brown, and his boot had been properly refurbished. He picked up his family sword from where it was propped on the wall, sheathing it at his hip and feeling rather satisfied with it. He put his foot on and walked out of the bath-house.
His father was waiting for him outside, and Hiccup self-consciously crossed his arms as the man appraised his outfit. Stoick nodded in approval, making a short comment about him looking handsome before checking the sun's height in the sky. It was time for the actual ceremony and Hiccup felt his nerves come back in full force as he called out for Toothless. Skullcrusher came as well, and Stoick proved once more that he needed no assistance in mounting his dragon. Soon, the two of them had flown off to the cove where several villagers were already waiting, as well as Canice. Hiccup sent him a nervous smile and received a reassuring one in return. He dismounted Toothless and stood by the temporary stone altar at the edge of the water. An empty bowl sat atop the stones.
Most of the village had arrived by the time Aran showed up on Méaróg's back. Hiccup noted that their shirt matched his in everything but colour and length, theirs being a bit shorter than his. Aran dismounted Méaróg quickly, nearly tripping and having to go back to their sibling to retrieve the sword they'd accidentally left in the dragon's mouth. By the time they took their place by Hiccup's side, there was an embarrassed blush on their face, and they were adjusting the circlet that was keeping the hair out of their face. They quickly apologized to Hiccup for being late, and he could only nod, feeling his throat go dry because they looked quite nice and it had been a while since he'd seen them up close. Aran was quietly rambling on about how their mothers must have coordinated their outfits, and Orlaith surely spent much too long making the knotwork, and many other related topics he couldn't bring himself to focus on. Hiccup silenced them by slipping his hand into theirs when Gobber brought three live animals out- a goat, a sow, and a boar. Aran must have noticed his hand shaking, because they gave it a reassuring squeeze. He forced a smile.
Gothi gestured for Hiccup to hand her the bowl that sat on the stone altar, and he did so without letting go of Aran's hand. She held the bowl with both hands, staff nowhere in sight as she motioned for Gobber the bring Freyr's boar forward. He did so, and Aran winced when he slit the throat of the poor creature, letting the blood pool into the bowl in Gothi's hands. Bucket and Mulch took the dead animal away as Stoick made the vocal prayer to Freyr. Gobber took the bowl of blood as Gothi brought out a bundle of fir twigs, dipping it in the thick red liquid. Hiccup had noticed Aran's grip on his hand tighten at the death of the boar, but they seemed fine now that it was just a bowl of blood. Gothi raised the twigs before moving it in the hammer-sign- a short movement down, and a swift one from left to right. Warm drops of blood landed on Hiccup and Aran's face and clothes, and Aran blinked a few times, disconcerted. The old woman proceeded to spray the rest of the assembled villagers with the blood before making a full circle and returning to the 'bride' and groom. She placed the fir-twigs in the blood before taking the bowl and reaching to put it on top of the stone altar. Gothi then backed away slightly, waving for them to proceed with the next step.
Hiccup slipped his hand out of theirs to pull his family sword from its sheath at his side. He presented the sword to them as they held out the sword they'd nearly forgotten in Méaróg's mouth. It was at that point that they exchanged swords, Hiccup sheathing the new one in place of the old one as Aran secured the ancestral sword in the ground. The swords represented many old beliefs that neither of them put any stock into, but it was a nice sort of symbolism that likely put the minds of the more traditional villagers at ease. Toothless approached the two of them, two boxes balanced carefully on his head. He looked as if he were concentrating very hard not to drop them, and Hiccup couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Everything had gone right so far. It would have been hilarious if Toothless managed to lose the rings. He took the box closer to him, opening it and pulling out a gold claddagh ring near identical to the one he knew Aran had made for him. Aran blinked in surprise as he took their hand, about to slip the ring on.
"Wait, that's backwards!" They whispered at him. Hiccup blinked, and Aran laughed nervously. "The crown faces the wrist if you're engaged. The heart faces the wrist if you're married."
Their explanation came quickly, and Hiccup corrected himself, muttering a quick apology as he nearly dropped the ring, feeling his face go red. Aran admired the ring momentarily, somewhat confused by how identical it was to their own, save for a very familiar gemstone of forest green. Hiccup glanced towards the other box, and Aran realized they were taking too long before fumbling to get out the ring they'd proposed with. They slipped it on Hiccup's finger with a nervous sort of laugh, and Toothless decided his job was finished as he turned around and went off to Valka, who rewarded him with a rather large icelandic cod. There were chuckles from the town at the excitable dragon, and Hiccup and Aran stepped closer, putting their hands together on the hilt of the Haddock Family Sword. Aran took a moment before Hiccup spoke his vows to feel very small as their almost-husband's hands rested on top of theirs.
"Five years ago I could never have imagined I would be in this place- a place where I can look into the eyes of my first friend and pledge to spend my life with them in front of the whole village." Aran bit their lip, blushing as they met his eyes. "You are the sweetest, most loving, caring, and kind person I have ever known, and I have no doubt that you make me a better person and chief. You've always believed in me, and every day you wind up reminding me that there's no one else I could love more. I'm not sure that- that even ten lifetimes would be long enough for me to return all that you've given me but I promise to spend my days by your side. To inspire you, laugh with you, cherish you, confirm you, share your dreams and grow with you. I believe in what we are and I will always love you with every beat of my heart."
"Oh no, that was so sweet." They would have put a hand over their face in some vague attempt to cover their smile and blush, but said hands were firmly stuck on the sword hilt under Hiccup's. "Fuck." A sound of indignation came from Aran's mother. "Sorry, mum!" There was laughter from the crowd. "Ah, I vow to never give you up, let you down, or run around and desert you." Aran had a very blank look on their face and Hiccup couldn't tell whether to take them serious or not. "Sorry. Saving the mushy stuff for our Christian wedding." Apparently they were serious. Hiccup frowned.
Aran didn't get a moment to comment on the sour expression on their husband's face before the village decided to chant for them to kiss. They did so without a second thought, but something about it felt a bit off that they couldn't place their finger on. It was pushed from their mind as everyone began to make their way towards the great hall. Hiccup lead them through the door and across the floor for some superstitious reasons Aran didn't quite understand. They took great joy in theatrically serving him the first drink of mead that night, reciting a traditional verse that wished good health and strength on the drinker. Hiccup dedicated the drink to Thor before immediately toasting to Odin and taking a sip. Aran wondered what that was about, but nobody thought it was strange, so they just went with it. It was their turn to drink the mead next, and they were reminded to make a toast to Freyja before taking a sip of their own. They nearly spit it out when Hiccup mentioned that he'd added two drops of blood from the morning's sacrifice, but swallowed it down and glared at him when he stated he was joking.
They gave Hiccup an odd look when Gothi came over, hammer in hand. She placed it on their lap and began making some sort of movements with her hand and staff before taking it away and hobbling off, and Hiccup explained to them (with no shortage of amusement) that the old woman had been blessing their fertility. Aran huffed, crossing their arms and claiming that nobody should really need their fertility to be blessed so many times in one ceremony. One blessing from God would suffice, thank you very much! Hiccup held back a laugh, putting a hand on their knee as a way to get them to stop speaking when his father cleared his throat. Stoick gave a grand speech that Aran was too busy to distract Hiccup during to pay any attention to. The chief announced that the feast would begin then, and Aran was amazed at the amount of energy that managed to explode into the room. They very much wanted to let loose and get ridiculously drunk, but Hiccup kept them in check- something greatly amusing to all of their friends. Aran claimed that nothing would stop them from getting raging drunk the next day, however. The only thing stopping them that night was that they knew the wedding procedures technically weren't finished. As the night wound down, Aran had managed to maintain a pleasant buzz.
"What now?" They asked as they tried to melt into Hiccup's side.
"Well normally, you would wait in our room so I could take your virginity, but-" Aran snorted as they began laughing, and Hiccup rolled his eyes in amusement.
"God, I really ruined your traditions, huh?" They commented, and Hiccup could only shrug.
"Well, I kind of ruined my own traditions, first." He replied.
And the two of them would probably keep doing just that for a quite a long while.
Word Count: 4,855
Writing this chapter was so difficult. I want it to be known that I absolutely hate writing weddings, and I hate myself for vowing to write at least two more. Sure as hell not in this fanfic, though. This one is ending on the next chapter.
I tried to stick to the one website I found about viking weddings, but I do want it to know I brought some traditions from a later, more recorded time period of viking times (like the bridal crownnn) and dropped some of the old ones because they didn't fit. I'd also like it to be known that I'm... I've lived in the USA for most of my life, and while I am half Irish, I'm not the best at culture... so I apologize if I got any of the things wrong.
Yes, I literally made Aran's terrible vow Never Gonna Give You Up. Hiccup doesn't know the song but he's not happy about it. If you wanna read the drama right now, too bad because that's going to be written in a different series of mine (:
Also I would like to say that Heather and Dagur were in this chapter. I just... didn't... mention them... because I didn't mention any of the guests... I didn't even say Astrid's name one time during the wedding times...
I would like to remind you once more, to stick around at the end of chapter 40 when I post it! I'm going to have a probably EXTREMELY long author's note after the epilogue that's all about the next three fics I have planned! None of them are named yet, but I can give you brief descriptions of what they are!
Modern AU - Hiccup has a very hard life and it is in the modern setting. Note: my modern AU oneshot (Genderfluid Fun Times With Hooky) I posted a bit ago is set in this AU! If you read that you can get a taste of the side plot that isn't relevant to the main story at all because I for some reason really wanted to write about Hooky (in case you couldn't tell by the title and summary of the fic, Hooky is the name Hookfang uses when feeling feminine).
Ilanah/Iris PoV - This is basically just HTDWV but from Ilanah's point of view!
Future Fic (How to Write the Future? idk, pls help me with titles) - It's kinda just. "Post-HTDWV" so like. Yeah. It's a next-gen fic (tho I mean idk if that term actually applies to any fandoms besides HP oops? idk you know what I mean tho right?)
BONUS: if I seriously can't get it out of my mind I might do a fic called "How to Deal With Smut" and it's just every time Aran and Hiccup did the diddly.
Anyways, that was a long A/N, but I really hope you stick around for the one at the end of the last chapter! I'll be talking more about my planned fics then, giving some better details, and I'll be willing to answer any questions you have that wouldn't be giving away spoilers~!
I love you guys a bunch, I hope you enjoyed this long chapter to make up for chapter 38, and I hope next time won't be the last time I see you!