(A/N) Here's your newest fan-shot for Snoggletog!
Story Idea-In a desperate attempt to keep Tuffnut's dream alive after hearing the Thorsten twin still believed in the whole 'Oden bringing gifts' gig, Hiccup and Astrid are determined to be little gift givers of their own. The only problem? Today is Snoggletog on Dragon's Edge and the two have very little time to make their gifts for everyone.
Story Idea timeline-Race to The Edge.
Warnings/Details-Rated a fluffy K. I know, odd for me. Some Hiccstrid though they are not a couple yet as this takes place before blindsided.
The dragon riders had never celebrated Snoggletog on Dragon's Edge before, so tonight was going to be an odd one for sure.
Hiccup just didn't know exactly what odd meant before now.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut, wearing elk antlers tied to either side of their helmets and wearing green and red sweaters, were sitting on top of the table with a mug of mead for each twin. Tuffnut was tying red bows into his sister's braids, drunkenly singing some holiday song in a different language none of the others knew.
Snotlout, to absolutely no one's surprise, was sleeping with his helmet over his eyes and back against Hookfang's neck. He had three empty mugs of mead to his left on the floor and his shoes were somehow missing, nowhere in sight. Fishlegs was sipping on a mug of mint tea while reading a book about flowers, his helmet consisting of a brown bow Tuffnut had forced him to wear.
Then there was Astrid and Stormfly. Astrid wanted the holiday traditions from Berk to continue. She was currently working on a dish her mother had taught her which consisted of potatoes, eggs, beans, mint, a tad bit of alcohol, tomatoes, and yak milk. Supposedly it was a special dish that actually tasted superb. While the water was warming for that, said water being dashed with a variety of spices, she and her dragon were building a Snoggletog Tree out of wooden planks which they would hang decorative shields on in the far corner of the clubhouse.
Shaking his head in an attempt to cleanse his brain from one of the rather vulgar swears Ruffnut made when her twin accidentally pulled too harshly on her hair, Hiccup walked over to Astrid in an attempt to offer his assistance.
"Bringing old tradition back from home eh?" Hiccup asked nonchalantly, handing Astrid another green-painted plank so she could nail it to the others. She could have gotten it herself, but then she'd have to climb back down the ladder she was standing on.
"Thank you Hiccup. Yeah, just trying to bring up some cheer. Everyone deserves a break from the stress war causes during the holidays. Even us." That last part was obviously sarcastic, but Hiccup decided to play along anyways.
"I know right? We don't ever deserve a break. We're far too...uh...charismatic." He stated, handing Astrid another plank of wood from the pile on the floor. Toothless saw the ladder starting to wobble and he and Stormfly both held it steady with their noses to keep Astrid safe.
The Hofferson girl chuckled at the comment. Fishlegs raised an eyebrow from the corner he was sat in, decided to merge himself into the playful conversation.
"Do you even know the meaning of the word 'Charismatic' Hiccup?" He stated, setting down his book and moving to help Hiccup hand a particularly large piece of wood to Astrid.
"Of course I do 'Legs. It was just the first word I thought of."
Suddenly, Tuffnut was at his side, Ruffnut following suit with her arms crossed.
"Thor would never bless us with a break. We cause too much mischief!" Ruffnut began, chuckling mischievously.
"I know right sis?! I'm surprised Oden is bringing us anything for Snoggletog! He always does no matter how naughty we act!"
Hiccup frowned and looked sternly at the male twin. "Uh Tuff...I didn't know 'Oden' brought you gifts anymore. You know, 'cause you're older...practically an adult."
Tuffnut did not seem to catch onto the sarcasm in Hiccup's voice. Instead he threw his fist in the air triumphantly as if he was proud of himself.
"It's so great! Maybe we're just so immature he never noticed." With that Tuffnut ran back to his spot on the table where he continued to decorate Chicken's feathers with glitter.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow at Ruffnut who seemed to immediately know what he was silently asking her.
"Yeah, he still believes in the whole 'Oden leaving gifts' gig. Mom never wanted to tell him and when Snotlout tried to break that childhood dream of his Tuff punched him in the face and said he was lying. He'll only ever believe mom or I and I personally don't want to be the one to tell him." Ruffnut gestured to Tuffnut by jabbing her thumb over her shoulder to make a point. Said twin was now hugging Chicken and telling her stories about Macy and his' 'relationship' while sucking his thumb.
Hiccup nodded his head in understanding and climbed the ladder so he could whisper to Astrid without Tuff hearing, bringing another plank of wood with him along the way.
"I guess we'll have to fill his helmet since his mother isn't here on The Edge. I'll make another spear for him tonight and wrap it to put under your tree."
Astrid chuckled and nodded her head, before her eyebrows raised as she thought of a flaw to Hiccup's plan.
"He'll know what's up if we only leave him something and no one else. I say we fetch everyone's spare helmets and fill them with something small like treats and tiny weapons. We can leave a single gift under the tree for everyone as well."
Hiccup thought about it, then nodded his head in agreement. He knew Astrid wouldn't leave anything for herself, so decided he'd have to make her something tonight as well.
"I'll take care of the gifts. You fill the helmets." Astrid agreed and smiled, taking the last plank for the tree Fishlegs handed up to her and nailing it in place. She then proceeded to climb down the ladder to finish her stew, deciding it would be best to wait for the decorations until tonight.
That Night
Hiccup and Astrid decided they'd place the presents under the tree while everyone was out in the forest on a training run, then when they came back the two teens would feign oblivious, saying Oden must've came late and that's why he delivered the gifts at night instead of during the day.
It wasn't long before everyone came into the clubhouse to find gifts and helmets under the tree. As expected, Tuffnut ran for anything that had his name on it immediately. He tore into his gift with a broad smile on his face, opening the paper to find a new mace with his name engraved in it.
"Oh...my…Thor! This is beautiful! Thank you Oden for this gift which may help me in my quest for utter destruction!" He waved the shiny weapon over his head, his eyes holding a devious gleam to them.
"I shall name him...Spiky. Yes, Macey, meet your brother-or boyfriend-no, no, no, I'm the only one for you. Nonetheless, let us welcome this newest member of our family."
Ruffnut rolled her eyes, her posture almost angry as if she was jealous of the mace. Tuffnut was still gushing over the new gift, hugging it close with Macey discarded somewhere to the side. Astrid looked at Hiccup who was smiling brightly, obviously proud his work had made such an impact.
"You didn't let anyone else get their gifts Oden brought them before you opened yours Tuff." Astrid stressed the words, trying to let the others know what was gone. Everyone of them-even Snotlout-luckily caught onto what they were doing and went to open their own gifts.
Fishlegs literally squealed when he saw the assortment of wooden dragon figurines that had been made for him, all quite detailed all the way down to the scales. Astrid looked at Hiccup, seemingly surprised by all he had done in such a short period of time. Hiccup simply shrugged his shoulders in reply, and the Hofferson girl was just now noticing the red marks littering his hands.
He'd worked so hard to get this all done in just a few short hours. All for Tuff to keep his dream going. The thought made her heart warm.
"Whoa. How did you nail this?!" Snotlout shouted in surprise and glee, lifting a sword which retracted in on itself just like Hiccup's Inferno sword was starting to do (though he still had a lot of work to do). Little did he know that was just a prototype Hiccup had for his own sword for a long time now, discarded a long time ago and re-sharpened and shined just for Snotlout within a few hours so he could get something cool for Snoggletog.
"What do you mean?!" Ruffnut quickly countered, shoving her entire body into Snotlout's side to effectively shut him up, leaving the Jorgenson boy gasping for air.
"What do you mean 'What do you mean'?" Snotlout asked in frustration, mocking Ruffnut's voice as he spoke. This earned him another punch to the gut.
"We didn't nail anything. Oden made that for you!" Ruffnut looked at Tuff to see if she'd saved the dream, only to realize her twin hadn't been listening to Snotlout in the first place.
Everyone else sighed in relief.
"Me next! Ooh, what do we have here?" Ruffnut tore off the lid of the small box holding her gift, finding a whole set of body lotions and a top-notch hairbrush. Astrid had been the one to add that second part.
"Well thank you Oden." Ruffnut said excitedly, opening the lid to one of the lotions and covering her entire arms, sniffing her own skin to revel in the sent.
Hiccup and Astrid both cringed at the sight.
"Well then, I guess that leaves one person left." Hiccup picked up a slightly more hidden box, handing it to Astrid who raised an eyebrow suspiciously. She was surprised when she slid the lid off of the small brown wooden box and saw what was inside.
A headband with pieces of Stormfly's scales decorating little sections of it, a fake bird skull for the clasp and little metal spikes perfectly lined up together to make it sparkle.
Astrid looked at Hiccup with gratefulness in her eyes, whispering "thanks Oden." jokingly and winking at him. Then, she surprised Hiccup with a gift of her own, handing him something wrapped in worn brown paper.
Hiccup hadn't been expecting a gift, so was slightly awed to see Astrid had thought of him. When he tore into the paper, what was inside shocked him.
"This..this is…" Astrid quickly cut him off with a finger to his mouth, gesturing to Tuffnut with her head to get her point across. Hiccup nodded his head, knowing he couldn't say what everyone except for the male Thorsten twin knew.
What Hiccup held in his hands was Astrid's old ax, the one she used to sleep with and use in dragon training. The one Gobber had let him sharpen for her every time she came by because the blacksmith knew about his hidden-but-not-so-hidden crush. She'd changed axes after she'd gotten bigger and needed something that balanced easier in her grip, though kept this particular smaller one hung up on her wall.
The blade was rusty but still sharp. She'd obviously touched it up just for him in the few hours she'd had spare. The leather around the handle was also torn in some places, but that didn't matter. The pure sentiment and meaning in this gift was the real Snoggletog present.
Hiccup walked closer to Astrid so he could whisper to her without anyone else hearing.
"You don't have to give me this."
Astrid smiled warmly, closing his fingers around the hilt of the ax, telling him otherwise.
"It's the least I could do after you did so much just to please one person." She rubbed her finger over his swollen wrist making him flinch at the sting it caused.
"Well...I guess thank you then Astrid. I mean it."
Astrid smiled and playfully punched his shoulder, letting some of her bangs fall over her eyes to hide her bout of bashfulness that washed over her for reasons unknown.
"I know you do."
After that the helmets were emptied. They were filled with charcoal pencils and some treats Hiccup had gotten from a trader a few weeks back knowing Snoggletog was near. Originally he was just going to put them in a bowl in the center of the table at Snoggletog dinner, but this worked too. Astrid was the one who filled them with little wooden trinkets, including a new dagger for each dragon rider.
At the end of the night, despite sore hands and headaches on both teen's parts, Hiccup and Astrid were happy. Not just because they'd managed to save Tuffnut's dream, but because of the pure joy they'd seen on their friend's faces at the new gifts they'd been given.
This was officially the best 'Dragon's Edge Snoggletog' they'd ever have.