To Name McNameface: Thanks! And no, I don't. Should I? I've only published here so far.

To ladyamethyst21: ... I can't fool you now, can I? :D

. o O o .

Astrid's gaze flickered toward the stairs at the back of the room. The sooner she could make an escape the better. And now while her father was busy greeting his guests was the perfect moment. Silently, she began to crawl backward, away from her busy mother and toward the stairs. She threw one last glance at her father – and stopped dead in her tracks.

Behind Gobber, Stoick entered her parents' house, followed by a widely grinning Hiccup. His eyes immediately locked on hers and her heart made a painful leap at his sight. He was here. With Stoick. And he was not dispirited or anything.

"Are you still tired?" her mother asked with barely concealed humor in her low voice. Astrid gasped out a shaky laughter and shook her head. No, she was definitely not tired. "Then go!" Brenna nudged her playfully just as Hiccup stepped toward them and reached his hands out for hers. Astrid let him help her up, her mind dazed and confused. He pulled her into his arms, right there in front of everyone and Astrid first instinct was to shy away. Worried, her eyes wandered to her parents. Stoick might have given his consent but they still needed to tell her parents, wait for their answer, negotiate… But there was non of that, the four older Vikings already sat around the table and chatted, laughed and celebrated. Just as if-

Finally, her father had said…

Astrid's head whiped around, back toward Hiccup, her eyes searching his for confirmation.

"So, it's settled already?" She finally asked, just to be sure and Hiccup chuckled shakily. He held her tight and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Yes, it is," he whispered, so low none of the others wouldn't hear him. He swallowed and slightly shook his head before he continued. "Guess what, they already knew. About us, I mean. My dad must have noticed something during one of his visits to the Edge and, well, they talked already, agreed on a bride price and…" Hiccup shrugged and Astrid retreated to stare at him.

"So, we're already betrothed?" She asked disbelievingly. "For how long? I mean…" She turned to stare at her parents and her father had the audacity to wink at her. They'd known all the time and hadn't said a word? Beneath her hands, she felt Hiccup shrug again.

"I don't know, for quite some time as it seems." He snorted and added even lower. "But does it matter?"

Chuckling, Astrid shook her head. Then she reached up to bury her hands in his hair and pulled him into a kiss that was very far from innocent and that earned them enthusiastic cheering from Gobber.

"Mmhh, what was that for?" Hiccup asked a little breathless after they'd parted and Astrid snuggled closer to his chest.

"That was just because I can!"

. o O o .

"So, practically, your's is an arranged marriage, negotiated and sealed by your parents without you knowing?" Snotlout barked out a laugh and slapped his leg. "That's brilliant. Just brilliant!"

Astrid chuckled lightly to herself while she felt Hiccup shrug. "If that's how you want to see it…" He mumbled, vaguely annoyed but not really caring either way.

On their way back to Dragon's Edge, they all had decided to take it slower for once and take a rest at Heather's former hideout. Now, the teens lounged against some treetrunks around a bristling campfire beneath the starlit sky and, of course, their friends were annoyingly curious about Hiccup and Astrid's betrothal.

"And Astrid's bride price was a barrel of mead?" Tuff ask a little bewildered. "I would have thought you'd be worth mor- ouch!" Tuffnut rubbed his head where the pebble stone had hit him while Astrid snuggled back into Hiccup's arm with a smug smile.

"Of course, it wasn't!" Astrid could almost hear how Hiccup rolled his eyes as he said these words. "The mead was just to celebrate. Honestly…"

"Okay, but what was it then?" Snotlout interjected. "What's the price of one Astrid Hofferson these days? I bet I could have afforded you out of my petty cash!"

"Oh, cut it out, will you?" came Hiccup's irritated answer while Astrid just lazily "In your dreams, Jorgenson…" mumbled. It was weird, but Snotlout's remarks seemed not to reach her anymore. They just didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore when she could lie like this, cuddled against Hiccup's side with his arm around her shoulders and without the need to hide anything.

"Besides, what does it matter?" Fishlegs came to their aid but Ruffnut just huffed.

"I would want to know what I'm worth to my future husband," She stated bluntly. "I hope mom and dad make a fortune when I get married!"

"That… was metaphorically spoken, right?" Her twin asked and they all could hear her exasperated groan. They all fell silent for a while and Astrid began to draw random patterns on Hiccup's tunic-covered chest.

This was another point on her weird-list. How casually they could be close to each other all of a sudden. They were officially betrothed now which meant they were allowed to do pretty much everything. There was no need to hide anything anymore, no need to hold back. It was weird but so liberating!

"But why was Gobber there?" Fishlegs suddenly asked, picking up the conversation again. "Traditionally, it should have been your parents only, right?" At this, Hiccup chuckled and Astrid couldn't help but smile as well.

"Apparently, Gobber insisted," Hiccup explained. "Said he raised me just as much as my dad did if not even more and it's true. So he said as kind of my step-father, he had the right to be there for my betrothal as well. And also… ah, nevermind." Hiccup trailed off and Astrid hid her grin against his chest.

"And also?" Tuff probed but Hiccup didn't continue.

"And also," Astrid answered in his stead, a fond smile on her lips. "Gobber claims to have been the first to have noticed that there was anything between us."

"Honestly?" came Snotout's disbelieving grunt. "How could he have noticed before us? I mean, he wasn't even that often at Dragon's Edge. When does he say did he notice?"

Hiccup dug his head to place a soft kiss on Astrid's hair before he said: "When we were ten…"

The silence that surrounded them after this statement was more profound than the one before, everyone too stunned to reply. But it was true. Even at that young age, there had been something between them already. Tender and for a long time buried beneath prejudices and pretenses but it had been there, had endured and grown until it had become this intense bond that now connected them.

After several minutes of comfortable silence, Astrid shifted and stretched in Hiccup's arms as he did the same until their lips met. It was a slow kiss, unhurried and lazy just lips gliding, open-mouthed but without much heat. Just the reassurance that the other one was there, that they were together and always would be.

"Oh, please…" Snoutlout groaned. "I changed my mind. If that's how you're going to behave from now on, I want to go back to pretending you're just friends."

But neither of them listened.

. o O o .

To everyone: Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyd this little story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

If you did I recommand reading "An Arrow To The Knee" by ladyamethyst21, another wonderfully funny and fluffy version of how their betrothal might have come to pass.

If you didn't, read her version anyway! ;x

And even though the story isn't new, I still read and appreciate every comment! ;)