Invitation?

...

It was that time of year again - the time of Berk's annual ball. The only difference was that, as adults that were eighteen and nineteen years of age, Hiccup and his dragon riding friends were expected to show up with dates. Technically speaking, they should've found dates for the first time when they were fifteen or sixteen, but Stoick had bent the rules. After all, he hadn't been ready to let his son grow up that quickly. But now, the rules couldn't be bent any longer. The six friends had to bring dates.

"Hiccup," Fishlegs said as he ran over to his friend. "Do you think Ruffnut will go to the ball with me? I really wanna ask her, but I'm scared of coming off too strong. If I do that, she's not gonna -"

"Fishlegs," the auburn-haired Viking cut in. "She was married to you for an entire day. Why would she say no?"

"I know, but that was a month ago! Things could've changed since then."

Before Hiccup could respond, Tuffnut appeared beside him. "If you're talking about my sister, Fishlegs, she hasn't shut up about you since you divorced her. I mean, since she divorced you. However you wanna word it. You know what I mean."

"Oooh, this is so exciting!" squealed Fishlegs. "I'm gonna take my snookiepie to the ball!"

"Snookiepie?" Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"Her choice, not mine," the plump blonde retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So Hiccup, who are you asking to the ball?" asked Tuffnut.

Hiccup blushed and bit his lip. "Uhhh, I um...I haven't given it much thought, to be honest," he replied with a shrug.

"Well, just know that I call dibs on Chicken. And I heard Snotlout is trying to convince Heather to go with him. I wonder how well that'll work."

"Oh, gods," Hiccup muttered under his breath.

"She said yes!" A loud voice, accompanied by a flaming dragon and his rider, boomed throughout Dragon's Edge. "I have a date! Snotlout, Snoutlout, oi, oi, oi!"

"I'll believe that when I see it," laughed Tuffnut.

"Well, you'd better get ready to taste a punch in the face, because I'm not making this up," Snotlout said as he landed. "Heather agreed to come to the ball with me. I may or may not have bribed her with runes, but she's coming, and in my eyes, that's all that matters."

"That's great, Snotlout," Hiccup smiled.

"Did you ask Astrid to go with you yet?" asked the loud-mouthed dragon rider.

Hiccup blushed again. "Who said...who said I was asking Astrid?"

"Asking me what?" As if on cue, Astrid approached the group, Ruffnut following slightly behind.

"If you were uh...if you were still doing dawn patrol tomorrow morning," Hiccup answered. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, that...erm...of course I am. When have I ever backed out of a patrol?"

"Yeah, that's me and Tuffnut's thing," Ruffnut interjected. "Get your facts straight, Hiccup. And by the way, I was talking to Astrid, and she said that no one's asked her to that stupid ball yet. I mean, no one's asked me, either, but that's a problem for Fishlegs - I mean, honey."

Fishlegs smiled. "Well, sounds like it's your lucky day, snookiepie. Come flying with Meatlug and I tonight and we'll work out the details."

...

Sighing, Astrid peeked into the mirror as she slipped into her bathrobe. Her eyes were red and noticeably swollen. She'd have to get rid of that look before she went outside. She was a Hofferson, and Hoffersons didn't cry - especially not over boys neglecting to ask them to a silly ball. There was still a week left before the event, but everyone else had settled on dates by this point. And then there was Hiccup, who she thought liked her, but the fact that he hadn't yet asked her to the ball proved otherwise.

She grabbed a washcloth - still damp from her bath - and rubbed her eyes, attempting to soothe the redness of her eyes. She couldn't leave her hut looking like a wreck. The others would question her. Not that she even wanted to leave in the first place. She didn't feel like seeing him - at least, not when he was playing games with her feelings. Despite these emotions, however, she still took extra time on her braid, clipped her uneven nails, and put on a little extra eyeliner.

Knock, knock.

Astrid quickly pulled on her boots, then cracked open the front door. Her blue eyes met a handsome pair of green ones.

"Hey, what's taking so long? You're usually up and ready by now," grinned Hiccup.

"I...I slept late," the blonde lied. "But I'm ready now." She stepped outside.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

"No...I mean, yes...I uh...never mind. I just...I'm just not feeling well. Will you be okay without me if I make some tea and sit inside for a little longer?" She wasn't lying. She did have cramps that were a result of it being her time of the month; she just usually tried to ignore them. But now, she wasn't in the mood.

"Yeah, of...of course." He shrugged. "Take your time. Feel better."

After forcing a grateful smile onto her lips, Astrid shut the door and sank into the nearby chair. He hadn't even asked if she needed anything, or even just questioned as to how bad she felt. Not that she expected him to - she'd already decided that he didn't have feelings for her. If he did, he would've asked her to the ball.

...

"Welcome back, son," Stoick said as Hiccup stepped inside the Haddock house, Toothless trailing behind. "Are you ready to help me set up for the ball?"

"Yeah, of...of course," Hiccup answered.

"By the way, you and Astrid are going to have the opening dance, since Valka - I mean, your mother - isn't here to dance with me." A flash of sadness appeared in his eyes - the sadness that showed every time he mentioned his wife.

The auburn-haired Viking froze. "Uh...what did you just say, Dad?"

"I said that you and Astrid are going to have the opening dance. You know, the one reserved for the chief and his wife? You and Astrid will be in that position soon enough, so I decided that you two might as well represent the Haddock family."

"Oh...erm...uh...that's great. Just great." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck. "I'll just have to um...talk to her about it...yeah, uh...right after I...right after I ask her to be my date." He chuckled nervously.

"You haven't asked her? What are you waiting for, son? She's your girlfriend."

"G-Girlfriend?" Hiccup's eyes grew to twice their normal size.

"Yes, girlfriend. I see how you two are together."

"No...Dad, we're...we're just friends."

"Mmm-hmm." Stoick sighed before looking his son in the eye. "What are you afraid of, Hiccup? What do you think will happen if you ask her to be your girlfriend?"

The auburn-haired Viking scratched Toothless behind the ears. "I uh...well...I erm...I'm not good enough for her. She's beautiful and smart and tough and blonde, and I'm just an awkward dragon rider with a missing leg."

Stoick laughed. "You mustn't be paying attention, son, because I see the way she looks at you. It's the same way your mother used to look at me."

Hiccup was silent.

"And you know, you do need to start thinking about finding a wife. You're of marrying age now, and you're next in line to be chief, which means that you'll need an heir who will be next in line after you."

"Woah, Dad. I'm not ready to be a father."

"Maybe not, but I think you're ready to ask a girl to the ball. The poor lass is probably waiting for you to invite her."

...

"Hey Astrid, did Hiccup ever ask you to the ball?" asked Ruffnut. The dragon riders - minus Hiccup - were sitting by a stream, watching as their dragons played in the water. It was an unusually warm day, and the poor reptiles needed some relief from the heat after an afternoon of flying.

Astrid sighed. "I don't wanna talk about that."

"He hasn't asked you? What a jerk," Snotlout remarked. "He spends years acting like he's in love with you, and then he doesn't even ask you to the ball? If I would've known this, I would've asked you to go with me. This is an example of why Snotlout shouldn't try to respect other people. It just ends in losing out on a girl."

Frowning, Astrid pushed Snotlout off the log on which he was sitting.

"So, who are you going with?" asked Fishlegs.

"No one." Astrid shrugged. "I'll just stay here and hang out. You know, go flying with Stormfly and stuff. And besides, someone should probably stay to look after the Edge."

"Wait a second. Who's Hiccup going with if he's not going with Astrid?" Tuffnut wondered. "It better not be Chicken, because if he tries to steal my date, I'll -"

"Shut up, Tuffnut," Snotlout interrupted.

Before anyone could say anything else, Toothless appeared with a sheet of paper in his mouth.

"Why is he here? Where's Hiccup?" asked Tuffnut.

"Yeah, what did he do? Swim here? Because we all know he can't fly on his own." Snotlout laughed.

Toothless shot a growl in Snotlout's direction before dropping the paper into Astrid's lap.

Astrid's looked down at the page and silently read:

Hey Astrid,

I need to talk to you. Meet me at the beach by the cliffs.

Hiccup

Sighing, the blonde shook her head. "I gotta go," she muttered. "Come on, Stormfly."

...

"Good evening, milady," Hiccup greeted as he caught sight of Astrid landing on Toothless, Stormfly following close behind.

"So, you wanna talk to me?" Astrid raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I...I do. Come sit." He motioned to the space beside him. Once the blonde settled in, he took a deep breath and said, "I know it's kinda late, but uh...you know, I still don't have a date to the ball...and erm...I don't think you do, either...and um...well...I uh...I was wondering if...if you'd go with me." He felt his face grow warm.

Narrowing her eyes, Astrid gave Hiccup a punch in the arm.

"Ow! What...why would you do that?"

"For waiting until now to ask me to go to the ball with you."

He rubbed his sore arm, on which he could feel a bruise beginning to form. "Is...is that a 'yes,' then?"

"Why did you take so long to ask me?" she asked, ignoring his question.

"I erm...uh..."

"Talk to me, Haddock."

"Well, I uh...you're...you're so pretty and smart and I uh...I did think I was good enough for you." He shied away from her soft blue gaze.

"Hiccup," sighed Astrid. "You...you underestimate yourself. You made peace with the dragons when you were only fifteen, you ran the Academy for a few years, and now you're leading us here on the Edge. You're good at drawing, and you can sew and cook way better than I can. And aside from that, you um...you're kinda cute, and I...I like you. A lot."

"I like you, too." He grinned. "A lot."

Smiling, she placed her hand under his chin and quickly pecked his lips. "Just a thank you. For...for inviting me. I know neither of us like dressing up...and we're not the best at dancing, but at least we'll be able to suffer together."

Hiccup's grin grew wider at the feeling of Astrid's lips pressing against his. "So, that means you'll go with me?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"Thanks." At the feeling of her nudging his arm, he cautiously reached down to link his fingers with hers.

The blonde let out a contented sigh and leaned against Hiccup's shoulder.

The pair fell silent, simply watching as the sun set before them.

"It's uh...it's late," the auburn-haired Viking eventually said. "We should go. I gotta fly back to Berk to help my dad finish setting up for the ball, and you need to go to your hut and get a good night's sleep. You had a long day of keeping all the dragon riders in line while I was gone, and you're gonna have a long day tomorrow flying in for the ball."

"Mmm." Astrid, who had begun drifting off, lifted her head. "Can't we just...can't we just spend the night here?"

"I wish." Hiccup sighed. "But don't worry. If things go my way, we're gonna have a lot more evenings like this."