Happy Thursday! A personal shoutout to greenshade15 and Zippy for making me smile this week, and to all those following this adventure.

Chapter Ten: The Day

Hiccup scratched at his neck under the collar that was laced up to his chin. His loose shirt, formed to be tight around the forearms and waist, had not a single wrinkle. His leather pants hugged every part of his body. His hair had been brushed, oiled, rinsed, and brushed again. His crown was back on his head.

He pressed his fingers to his lips and swallowed. Snotlout snorted. "Feeling sick again, Hiccup?"

"Gods, I can't calm myself. I haven't been able to keep anything down."

"I was the same way with Wormha. Couldn't keep a trout down worth yak spit. Have you tried the bread?"

"I gave up food this morning. I was forced to eat a huge breakfast and I almost ruined dad's vest."

Hiccup shuddered and swallowed again. His heart was pounding as more and more villagers funnelled into the meadow that had thawed out that morning. Hours before, Hiccup had run over this meadow to get into the village, where he was snatched and scolded and lightly beaten for escaping. But he said he did not see Astrid or do anything questionable, so they focused on getting him ready for the wedding. They had tried to get him to keep eating, but Hiccup would vomit it up horrendously, living up to one of his middle names.

Stoick was giddier than a lamb, jumping to the other clan leaders and laughing with them. Hiccup was at the top of the platform, watching over everyone as Snotlout chuckled.

"You know, I was the one on her contract," he said. It was so quiet that Hiccup almost didn't hear it, but he turned and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows.

"What?"

"When Astrid was fifteen, that contract that made her go into the woods to… you know…? That was me."

Hiccup's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

Snotlout smiled. "Yeah."

Hiccup felt terribly awkward. He rubbed the back of his head and looked around uncomfortably. "You were… fond of her back then."

"Didn't stop my parents from finding someone else for me. I think it worked out for the best."

Hiccup nodded. "Do you think Wormha is better for you?"

"I'm not allowed to live otherwise," was the reply. Hiccup wasn't sure if it was a happy tone. But Snotlout smiled just the same and punched his arm. "Think you're ready?"

"I hope so."

Snotlout stepped back. "I hope so, too. Here she comes."

Hiccup tensed up everywhere and jumped so hard, he felt nauseous all over again. He saw Stoick stomp up the platform. He slapped his son on the back and rubbed his shoulders in excitement as the women began to enter the meadow. The sun shone through the clouds, parting them as Snowdrop led Astrid through the arch at the mouth of the meadow. The flower gate, or on Berk, a stone arch covered in vines and snowberries, welcomed her into the field.

The crowd parted and he finally saw her. Her hair, always in a braid but never cut, hung over her shoulders and ended somewhere around her hips. Her dress, dyed a pinky-red colour, bustled in the wind under a chest plate formed over her left breast to protect her heart. A heavy belt slung over her hips, the links in the shapes of dragon skulls. Her silver circlet was around her head and caught the sun, reflecting what felt like an angelic raindrop of blinding light straight into Hiccup's eyes. From her circlet were protrusions, spikes, that extended far into the air to look like a mighty crown, adorned with vines and leaves. She looked like a Nadder faerie queen. She looked at Hiccup and smiled as Snowdrop pulled her along, her tiny hand leading her down the pathway instead of her father.

Stormfly and Toothless reared onto their claws and roared into the cool air, piercing the sky and making the ground shake as Astrid made her way through the crowd in her magnificent crown, the vines hanging around her face with her hair. Snowdrop stopped and Gothi stepped into the path. She handed a bowl to Astrid, gently and gracefully. She ran a hand over it and the bowl lit into flame. Astrid bowed her head tearfully and Gothi shook her staff over her head.

Her path clear, Astrid strongly paced down the path with the bowl of fire in her hands, a symbol of the lives lost to her – her beloved mother and father – and the strength of the dragons who protected her, the fire within her soul and the fire behind her eyes. The symbol of the fighter.

A tear ran down her cheek as she clutched the bowl of fire and with a nail-biting ascent, she stepped up the platform. She did not step on her skirt, nor did she break her eyes from Hiccup's. She landed in front of him and she held out the fire to him. He cupped the bowl over her own hands and rested his forehead against hers.

"For my mother, for my father," Astrid whispered formally.

"For my mother," Hiccup reiterated.

They handed the bowl to Stoick, who bowed his own head, the horns on it fearsomely beautiful in the sunlight. Hiccup reminded himself to breath as he entangled his fingers with Astrid's.

"For my wife," Stoick murmured. Astrid and Hiccup squeezed each other's hands and smiled at each other. The ceremony began with a few words about Berk and its traditions, but Hiccup would never remember it. He spent that time memorizing Astrid's face, her eyes, the blue turning from azure flame into crystal ice in places. A stormy sea riddled with icebergs. Her thin lips over her filled cheeks, the single tear mark that stained her cheek.

"And for your vows," Stoick grunted. "A message to your loved one. Hiccup, you may begin."

"I, Hiccup Haddock Horrendous III, promise you everything I can give you," Hiccup began shakily, clutching onto Astrid for dear life. "My blades will protect you. My love will feed you. My heart will beat with yours. My soul will walk with yours. Astrid Sigourney Hofferson, I will be everything you had hoped for and more. If you are lost in the dark, I will be your star lighting your way back to me. If you are taken ill, I will be by your side until you wake. I vow my loyalty, my strength, my bravery, and my life to you."

Astrid stared, tears in her eyes once more.

"You are the beauty of my morning, Astrid," Hiccup said personally, deviating from the customary vows. "You are my only and my chosen. I will love you long after I am gone, after our dragons have taken flight to Valhalla and our bones are distant memories. I offer you all that I am and I will accept you for your entirety forevermore. Always and eternal."

The crowd murmured joyfully as Astrid parted her own lips, letting her tears rain down and not letting go of Hiccup's hands to clean them.

"I, Astrid Sigourney Hofferson, promise everything I can give you. My axe will protect you. My love will free you. My heart will dance with yours. My soul will love with yours. Hiccup Haddock Horrendous III, I will be your shield in battle. Your arrow in the field. Your passionate warcry in the face of our enemies. If you are stranded, I will draw you a map to find your way. I vow my determination, my courage, my rage, my love, and my life to you. You are the wonder of my world, Hiccup. You have been for so long. And now we can be together until we no longer wake. Always and eternal."

Stoick placed his hands over theirs emotionally and nodded at them. He reached into his vest.

"I have dreamt of this day for years. And to think, two moons ago, you were nearly killed by a Skrill. You saved Snowdrop, Hiccup, the sister to your beloved. I cannot think of a better arrangement than to see you continue to protect the Hoffersons. Normally, we would bestow the bride and groom with rings to unite them, to show the world of their union. But… after an unfortunate event with a ring and a dragon training mishap –"

Snotlout snorted and flaunted his left hand, which was missing the ring finger.

"– we have decided against that. Six years ago, my boy destroyed the void between Vikings and dragons, killing the Red Death queen and freeing thousands of dragons from the bonds of their tyrant. Astrid and Hiccup both are the most amazing dragon riders Berk could ask for, devoted to each other and their dragons."

Stormfly and Toothless shrieked again, elated and excited. Stoick pulled two chains from his vest.

"For Hiccup, I give you a scale of Stormfly's."

Hiccup bowed his head as the chain with the bright blue scale was set around his neck. Astrid smiled gleefully and she touched it gently. Stormfly chortled and seemed to giggle.

"And for Astrid, Toothless has offered one of his scales as well."

Stoick clipped it around her neck to avoid the spikes of her mighty crown. The black stood out over her breast, beautiful and shimmery. Hiccup touched a finger to it as Toothless barked again, tongue lolling.

A hiss entered the back of Hiccup's head. He tensed his neck and gasped jarringly. "Looove." The word made his spine crawl and his head began to ache. It echoed through his mind behind his eyes and he swayed for a moment as the word hummed and convulsed, twisted and layered and haunting beautiful.

He blinked and it was gone. Astrid was beaming up at him and he smiled back, not a single second passing. He shook it off with a roll of the shoulders and Astrid squeezed his hands again.

"And with that, I proclaim the pair of you wed, husband and wife, to ride your dragons over Berk and to sing your love high over the seas. As chief of Berk, in front of off all the witnesses gathered here today, I pronounce you married."

The meadow shook with cheering and laughter. Whoops and cries of jubilation stirred Hiccup to ecstatic tears. Overwhelmed and overjoyed, Astrid reached up and cupped Hiccup's wet face with her small hands. She laughed as she felt his cheeks flush through his smile.

"You're very warm."

Hiccup laughed and kissed her, picking her up and spinning her around. Stoick laughed and raised his hands to quiet the celebration.

"I'd also like to add something special before the gift-giving begins," Stoick grunted. The meadow hushed again as Stoick cleared his throat. "Astrid, your parents left you a few years ago. I only wish they were here to see how much you've grown into your spirit. In their honour, in the past moon that you two were separated and preoccupied, a house was erected in honour of your parents and my wife. You shall live there and raise a family there. But that leaves the question of Snowdrop."

Astrid's smile fell and she paled. Hiccup's stomach felt cold. If Hiccup and Astrid were married and in their own house, where would Snowdrop go?

"Hiccup is my only child… my wife was torn from me before I could have another and how I wished I had the chance to," Stoick explained sadly. "But now that you are leaving our home to be in your own, I have decided, with Astrid's grace, take Snowdrop in as my ward, to care for her and keep her safe until she grows old enough to be on her own. I promise to give her access to all she needs to become a dragon trainer. Nothing will change, but it will give her a home and food and hopefully… a person to look up to her next to the father she no longer has."

Astrid's face crumbled in front of Hiccup's eyes. She let go of him to embrace Stoick, leaping into his arms and taking him completely off-guard. Hiccup chuckled through his own emotions as Snowdrop peeked out from the crowd.

"On one condition," Astrid forced. "She marries who she wants, when she wants."

"You have my word."

"Thank you," she sobbed. All Astrid had been worried about was her sister's life. Living alone without their parents had made Astrid hunt for days on end for food, to stay up countless nights to keep her sister warm, defending her from nightmares all while trying to prevent starvation. "Thank you so much."

The gift-giving provided the newlyweds with a spectrum of items for their new home. Furniture, new weapons, material to build new inventions, a drawing table from Gobber accompanied with a mini-forge, countless blankets, food, and clothing. They were thankful for the turnout and the villagers graciously transported them to the Great Hall.

After the feast and dance – Hiccup had managed to down some food, but only a little as the excitement was not over – the couple was escorted to their new home on a high hill overlooking the sea stacks. Hiccup lifted Astrid into his arms and carried her inside albeit protests from her to put her down. Inside, they were shocked to find a home built to the perfect detail. Besides the space outside for two dragons, the room inside could fit both riders and their dragons and even more. The mini-forge was set up by the hearth where the cooking pots were, and the drawing table was nestled in a quiet nook by the back of the house. The rest of the walls were taken up by shelves holding their new weapons and old.

Upstairs was their bed. It was huge and covered in every single fur. Another hearth burned calmly and cupboards held their clothing. A huge dragon door sliced into the roof, engulfing a huge portion of the night sky. The covering for the door was tucked away in the rafters for when it snowed. Stoick and Gobber, as well as Gothi and Juniper, were waiting behind them, smiles wide. The couple turned to smile at them, but then they panicked.

There was only one reason why two men and two women, both sets representative of Berk, were waiting for them in their bedroom. Astrid and Hiccup looked at each other, alarmed and upright.

"Oh…"

Hiccup looked at his dad.

"So, uh…"

Stoick laughed and Gobber held his gut as laughter tore through him. Gothi smiled and Juniper giggled with them.

"Look at you," Stoick gasped. "Terrified!"

Hiccup frowned and Astrid couldn't help but snort.

"Hey, it's not like I know what I'm doing, but to have you watch?"

The laughter grew louder. "My boy, we don't have to watch you. You two chose each other, I don't think it's necessary, but your face!"

Hiccup glared. "Yes, okay, thank you for that."

Everyone laughed as they left, the joke still at its peak until they were long gone.

It was just Hiccup and Astrid. They slowly turned to each other and held their breath.

"So… how are you?" he asked awkwardly. Astrid groaned and let her shoulders slump.

"This crown has been giving me a headache all day!" she began. She sat on the bed and kicked off her boots. She wriggled her toes as she tugged at her hair tangled around the crown. Hiccup sat next to her and tried to help her, but after a small argument and a lot of hair-pulling, Astrid got ensnared in the mess that was her crown and hair. Hiccup laughed and grabbed her hair, gently untangling it until he could pry the crown from her head.

She sighed as the weight was lifted and Hiccup lifted it in his hands. It was heavy. He stood up and crossed the room to set it on a cupboard. When he turned around, he found Astrid reach up behind her, clawing at something. She harrumphed and fell face down on the bed, defeated by what looked like laces that tied her in.

"This dress, Juniper bought it from trader Johann, is so tight and I hate it."

Hiccup snorted. "So?"

"I can't get out," Astrid whined hilariously. "I ate so much and danced so much and mixing that with this stupid contraption – ugh! Get me out."

Hiccup lifted his hands. He shook his head and climbed onto the bed, taking off his boots and untying the strings. He pulled them loose over and over until it became upon enough for Astrid to try to wriggle out of. She stood up. She bent over to try to get the dress over her head but it was hopeless when it got caught around her shoulders. She hissed and ran about the room trying to get it off, revealed her knickers in the firelight. Hiccup howled in laughter, rolling over the bed as Astrid growled.

"I'm going to kill you," Astrid threatened as she fell over to get out. Hiccup lifted her back onto her feet, stifling his laughter and grabbing the skirt.

"Okay, I'm going to pull. Ready?"

"Just go for it."

Hiccup heaved back on the fabric and the two wrenched against each other. Suddenly, Astrid flew free from the confines of her wedding gown and staggered back into the wall. Her hair was wild around her face in all directions, hanging loose over her body. She was wearing simple trousers and a revealing shirt. Hiccup stared at the dress in his hands and looked back up at Astrid. He bit his lip. Astrid glared.

"Don't you dare," she hissed. Hiccup tried to stop, but the laughter flew from his lips. He kept laughing. Astrid cried out in anger and leapt at him. He gasped and threw the dress at her, scrambling over the bed. "Get back here, you troll!"

"Nope! I am a smart man!"

Astrid jumped onto the bed and hurled herself onto Hiccup. She rolled him over and pinned him down. A bunch of her hair fell into his face. He spat it away from his mouth.

"Since when did you have so much hair?" he asked her as she pinned him to the floor.

"I don't cut it."

"I noticed."

Astrid dug a fist into his ribs.

"Ow, ow! Okay, okay, I get it."

Astrid smiled wryly at him and cocked her head to the side.

"Well. We're alone. We're together. What shall we do?"

Hiccup sighed and ran his hand up her side. He buried his fingers in her hair and pulled her down, kissing her passionately, with more angst than he had felt in his life. Astrid's muffled gasp vibrated on his lips as he kissed her again. He rolled over, putting himself on top of her. She held onto him, kissing him deeply and yearningly. She parted his mouth open so she could taste his tongue, feel the tickle of it on her own, but suddenly, he was gone.

He leapt to his feet and called out of the dragon door. It was a Nadder call, and he heard Stormfly call from afar, signalling that she was en route. He spun to Astrid and scooped her up again. He kissed her even harder, but pulled away for another moment.

"We don't have to do anything tonight if you're not ready," he said quickly. "Okay?"

"…Okay," Astrid replied breathlessly, wanting to kiss Hiccup again. But she pulled back and looked at him with concern cloaking her brow. He put a hand on his cheek. "Hiccup, how long have you been warm like this? Are you sure you don't have a fever or something?"

Hiccup shrugged and smiled. "I feel wonderful. Astrid, we're married. How could I not feel perfect?"

He drowned her in another kiss and her eyes fluttered shut. She wrapped her arms around him and they rocked back and forth as they kissed as deeply as they wanted to.

Stormfly landed on the roof and cooed. Hiccup pried himself free from Astrid and climbed up the ladder to the dragon door.

"I want to take you somewhere," he said. Astrid grinned and grabbed her cloak and her boots. She seized Hiccup's wrist and let him haul her up. She sat in front of him, where he wrapped his arms around her. She found herself wishing her skin was bare and quickly shoved that thought to the back of her mind as they flew into the darkness.

Hiccup whispered in her ear where to fly, his warm hands slipping under her shirt and rubbing his fiery hot hands over her stomach. She squirmed as he buried his face in her shoulder, kissing her neck and running his lips over her shoulder. She cleared her throat and tried to fly straight.

He guided her up to a cliff face, telling her to land at an abandoned dragon nest. They were scattered about Berk like stars in the sky, and Stormfly landed on the ledge to let Hiccup off. Astrid jumped off, too, and motioned for Stormfly to fly around but to stay close. Alone in the cave, Hiccup grabbed her hands and looked over the sea.

"I found this place years ago. It's quiet and safe here."

"For what?" Astrid asked, raising an eyebrow. Hiccup glared at her and shook his head.

"Not that. But this."

He pulled her to the edge of the cavern. The sheer drop made Astrid nervous, but over the sky, the lights danced beyond the clouds. Greens and purples and blues, ribbons of divine light, cascaded over the spill of sky and Astrid gasped at the sheer beauty of it. This side of the island was much clearer, and the stars gleamed and the wind blew on their faces gently. Hiccup held her hand and turned her. He gripped the back of her neck and tilted her head up, kissing her lightly, teasingly.

Astrid could see the colours dancing over her eyelids as Hiccup's kisses, light as butterfly wings, trailed her lips, down her chin, the side of her neck. She hummed in her throat as his warm kisses sent her in to a quiet frenzy. He picked her up and gently rested her on her cloak, the heat from his body alone warming her. The quiet sound of the sea crashing into the cliff made them fall into a trance. He tangled her fingers in her hair as he kissed her hands, down her arm, spending time on her delicate wrists, her scarred knuckles. He kissed her collarbones and kissed her mouth again.

She purred and held onto him as he rested his body on hers. Gods, he was so warm, the heat radiating from his wedding shirt into her skin like sunlight. She kissed him harder and they rolled over. She was on top of him, unbuttoning his shirt to get at his chest. She felt his body, the bandages still covering the Skrill wound, and shoved it open so she could kiss down his body. Her cool lips made Hiccup make a sound he had never made before, and it made Astrid's stomach tighten.

She sat up, her breath laboured, and pulled off her undershirt. Her breasts were bound and covered, but that didn't stop Hiccup from having a reaction. He stared at her and ran his hands over her sides. He pulled her close again, running his hot hands over her back and digging his nails softly into her skin. Then, with a lot of thought and nervousness, Astrid pressed her hips down, pressing herself into Hiccup. He choked on a breath but kissed her deeper still.

She did it again and found her own joy out of it. Hiccup clutched at her, staggered breaths against her mouth making her moan against him. He ran his hands over her back and in a fit of heated frustration, he untied her bindings. Astrid clawed at them with him, heart racing and stomach cold, but when she was free, she immediately pressed her bare chest on Hiccup's. The heat against the cold, the cool against the warm, made the two of them shudder. Their kisses were harder, more determined, a competition between mouths hungry for something they had not yet tasted.

Astrid sat up and pull Hiccup up with her. Holding her against him, Hiccup moaned again, sweat beading on his forehead. But Astrid pulled away. It was not the kind of weather that allowed for sweat.

"Hiccup?" she asked hurriedly. She gave him a little shake and he pressed his fingers to his eyes. Astrid pulled her undershirt on hastily as Hiccup groaned again.

"Gods, you're burning up," Astrid whispered. His skin was too warm to ignore, almost too hot to touch, like a hot rock near a fire. Hiccup blinked again and scratched at his neck. In the light of the sky, Astrid could make out a very angry, red mark. It was blistering over his neck. She scrambled up and called for Stormfly. She raced back to Hiccup and ripped the rest of his shirt off.

"Hiccup, we need to cool you down! Is that a bug bite or something?"

Hiccup couldn't form a word, but he lurched and heaved to the side. Red splattered the wall of the cavern. Hiccup sagged to the ground, gasping for breath, clawing at his throat. Astrid cried out and hauled him up. He looked at her with sluggish alarm.

"Something's… wrong…" he wheezed.

Astrid gritted her teeth as she forced him to his feet. Stormfly flew to the opening of the cavern and chortled when she saw Hiccup sag against Astrid. His fever was getting worse, so much so that the heat began to burn Astrid. She forced him onto her dragon and sat behind him, diving from the cliff face and back to Berk, Astrid praying to the gods that her bad luck had not returned.