Okay, I'm terrible; I got all involved in Volleyball Wars and used my writer's block as an excuse to not update this. Thank you for being patient! It's the much-awaited ceremony!

Stoick patted his son's shoulder, making him stumble. "Ach, sorry. I forget."

Hiccup just nodded, forgoing his usual witty comeback; he looked like he'd just stepped back on land for the first time after a long sea voyage.

"Hiccup, I've got somethin' for ye." Stoick carefully unhooked his hammer form his belt. "Carry it to the altar with you. It's a gift of Thor, the hammer—and good luck. It also is a symbol of your dominance in the union."

"That's so sexist!" Hiccup said, horrified.

"What on earth is—? You and your vocabulary, son! Just carry the hammer. Same one I carried on my wedding day, in fact." Hiccup hooked the hammer to his other side, dismayed at the thought that he would probably trip on his way to the altar with so much extra weight. He swallowed. "Dad, when do we start? The waiting really only adds fun to this situation."

"Was that sarcasm?" Stoick asked. Hiccup nodded tightly. "Not much longer now, my boy. Five minutes." Toothless came up and rubbed his head against his rider's neck. Hiccup closed his eyes. "Dad, I'm kind of…" He sighed. 'Terrified?" Stoick supplied. Hiccup bit his lip. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Don' worry. It'll pass. The ceremony's a bit nerve-wrackin', but ye know your vows, and that's the hard part."

"Oh, the sword handling isn't harder?"

"No, that was the easiest pa—oh. Right."

"Your confidence is overwhelming, Dad," Hiccup groaned. "I'll probably stab Astrid trying to give her her ring." Toothless made a coughing-hiss noise Hiccup knew was him laughing. "Oh, be quiet," he said. Toothless nudged his arm. It'll be fine. You'll do fine, the dragon said with his eyes. Hiccup smiled wanly at him, "Thanks, bud."

"We should go, son," Stoick said gently.

Hiccup paled, suddenly leaning more heavily on Toothless. "A-already?" A very small part of him screamed to climb on the Night Fury and fly. He swallowed. "Okay. Let's go."

Stoick raised his eyebrows. That was easier than he thought…

The thud behind him told him Hiccup had just fainted.

He was turning out to take to marriage almost exactly like his dad. But no one needed reminding of that incident.

The attendants filed in front of him in a somber line to the altar in the center of the clearing. Toothless's clearing. Toothless purred in recognition; Hiccup laid a hand on his back, smiling without strain fro the first time all morning. Stoick patted his son's shoulder as he, the final attendant, began his trek to the altar.

Toothless gave Hiccup a We can do this, no problem, look and Hiccup nodded. "Let's go, useless reptile." The dragon smiled a goofy, gummy smile; Hiccup mirrored it. They walked down the aisle side by side. Hiccup channeled the pride of the Night Fury; he kept his walk dignified and his head tilted to the sky.

The Elders assembled at the altar nodded to him as they took their place. "Bridegroom," They announced solemnly to the crowd of Vikings who had gathered for the ceremony. "May Thor grant you luck!" The audience and the elders chanted together. .Hiccup bowed. "Pokk," He thanked them.

"Cometh the bride," The gray-haired elder responded.

Hiccup tore his gaze form his boots and then, he saw her.

She had been beautiful when they were toddlers.

She had been beautiful they were eight and he fell for her.

She had been beautiful when she didn't know he existed.

She had been beautiful when she rushed into him outside his house after the Green Death.

She had always been beautiful.

Now, she was ethereal. Hiccup was astonished; this woman, this vision, had be some goddess come to bless him, he couldn't be marrying her, he didn't have that kind of luck….

But he couldn't deny as she glided to him that this was Astrid. This was his Astrid. His Astrid with her glorious wheat hair unbound and brushing her shoulder blades like eh ahd never seen it, his Astrid shimmering in a draped, shimmering green gown, his Astrid's cheeks glowing as their eyes locked. His Astrid's arms linked with her young nephew Rolf, escorting her down the aisle.

Why had he wanted to put this off?

"Beautiful," he breathed. No; she was radiant.

The bridal crown glistened, garlanding her hair. It was silver, the points ending in elaborate carved crossed and clover leaves, garnished with red and green silk tassels. Crystals gleamed in the light. She held a sword gracefully, the point directed the sky.

She reached the altar. Hiccup couldn't bring himself to look from her. She was his sun.

"Bride," said the Elder. "May Frigga and Freyja bless you with love, a fruitful union, and heirs of your husband."

"May you be blessed!" The Viking echoed.

May you, Hiccup thought fervently.

Oh course, when Hiccup was desperate to kiss her and be done with all this ceremonial nonsense, they started to dictate the terms of dowry and the mundr and Odin knew what else. He took her hand, rubbing his thumbs in circles over her skin. He counted her eyelashes and the freckles on her hands. He studied her eyes. He grinned at the guys and Ruffnut, who grinned back. Well, Snoutlout vaguely smiled, but he was half-asleep, and Hiccup didn't blame him. If he was just in the audience and not hyped up on I'm going to get married today! He'd probably be asleep by now.

Every second was another second closer.

Finally the Elder ordered, "Bring the goat."

One of the younger boys form dragon training hurried up with a leashed goat. He delegated the animal to the Elder, who turned back to the couple and the audience. "Today we gather to bless this man and this woman in matrimony. As a gift to the gods, we dedicate this goat in honor. We the Elders give this sacred animal to the couple to care for as dearly as they will each other, and may the gods see you in their favor and bless you for it."

"Thank you, Elder," They replied, almost in exact unison.

"The potion," the Elder requested. Phlegma delivered a bowl, and Hoark handed her a bundle of fir needles. The Elder gestured for the people around her to back away as she placed the potion on the damp earth and dipped the fir needles into the light-colored, thin liquid. She transferred the dripping bundle to another Elder, a fierce looking man. The Elder cleared his throat and with deliberate, skilled movements, swished the bundle downwards and left to right. The potion splattered on Hiccup, Astrid—the entire congregation. "Great Ones, bless them with this brew," The Elder prayed.

"Bless them," The others repeated reverently.

The Elder nodded to Hiccup, and he connected his jade eyes with Astrid's color-of-sky-over-mountains ones. He unsheathed his ancestral sword and held it aloft. "As wielded by my forefathers now in Valhalla, I wield now, and give to thee to pass on to our children." He didn't stammer, barely blushed on the word children. This is a victory! Still, a victory whoop would make Astrid kill him for interrupting her.

She took his sword, her face glowing, and recited, "Take this sword I offer to you as a token of my love and solidifying of our union." Hiccup took the sword; Toothless nosed him back up so he wouldn't stagger, fall, and humiliate himself from the weight. He made a mental note to thank him later. Profusely.

"Hringrs," The Elder muttered to them. Rings. They reached for the bands of silver Hiccup had forged; she held his, and he hers. They carefully hung the rings on the hilts of the swords and crossed them over each other. They plucked their ring of the opposite sword and held their hands up for each Viking to see.

She nodded, and they slipped the rings on together.

"Place your hands on the hilt of the swords," The Elder instructed. Hiccup curled his fingers over hers; she clutched back. "Hiccup, Son of Stoick, Dragon-Tamer, Peace-Bringer, speak your vows."

Hiccup swallowed.

His dad was right. This was the hardest. How can he tell her how much…?

Toothless's green eyes narrowed at him. Hiccup knew what he was saying.

Be honest.

"Astrid," He said, his voice soft. "My beautiful, wonderful Astrid. You honor me with joining our lives together. I can't promise you only good times; no doubt, we'll fight. The kids will drive us crazy. For some reason, I get the feeling Toothless and you might clash. But I CAN promise I'll always love you. I can promise I'll always take care of you. I can promise to give you a lifetime of happiness. And these promises aren't glass that can easily break; they're like your ring. Silver for brightness, steel for strength? They're bright, and they'll never bend. I forged those rings like I forge these promises. Astrid Hofferson, I love you, and I always will."

He realized he had just given a good speech. Eloquent, even.

Tears poured from Astrid's eyes; she hastily wiped them away. Vikings don't cry.

"Astrid, Daughter of Urgh, proceed in your vows," The Elder intoned.

"Hiccup, I can't believe we're getting married. You say I honor you—you honor me. I know our life won't be perfect; but you're perfect for me. We'll never run short on laughter, or love, and that's all I need. You're all I need. I love you, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock."

"The third," Stoick muttered loudly.

"The third," she agreed.

"You may to kiss your bride," The Elders chanted.

"KISS HER!" Tuffnut roared.

"You're yelling in my ear!" Ruffnut snapped, punching his ear.

"Guys!" Fishlegs admonished.

Hiccup ignored them all. He cautiously pressed his lips to Astrid's before she pushed against him and deepened it.

The catcalls increased in volume. "Okay, we have to go to the feast eventually," Snoutlout called. They separated, both scowling at the interruption. Toothless roared happily. "He approves," Hiccup translated for Astrid.

"Good, 'cause I'm not going anywhere." Astrid declared.

He wouldn't have that any other way.

Whew, procrasination means there's a lot of these. But I'll answer them all!

disneyisbeautiful: They DO! All that stuff in the last chapter? I made none of it up,at all. I hope you find this crop of weird traditions entertaining too!

Beastial Moon: Yep, my family's that way too.

Voldyne: Thank you! And nope, she doesn't...she's got Hiccup :)

JustBlossom: Thanks! I hope you like this chapter too.

xv323: Thank you! Update soon is actuactlly great incentive for me, it makes me buckle down to write, lol.

HunterNite: my faithful reviewer! Thanks for reveiwing again :)

Romance and Musicals: One, love your username. Two, thank you! I want to you love it, and I hope you keep loving it!

Mimisbrunnr: Whoa. I really hope I didn't offend you too much with the grave thing. It isn't grave-robbing; the idea was that the Vikings wanted the ancestral sword from the grave, and the digging into the grave and emerging out of it was symbolic of being a boy and becoming a man through marriage. In some cases, it could be collected from a living relative (complete with the lecture), But I thought the grave digging would be more interesting to readers. I thought my source was reliable, but if this tradition did not occur, please send me a true, correct source and I will make a note. That being said, thank you for your constructive criticism, and "the richness of your fantasy and dialogues" really made me happy.

Jello and the dragon: Amazing? GASP! I'm going to like you, aren't I?

Crazy For Mac-A-Damian Nutz: I hope you enjoy this and future chapters!

Fate Bends. enjoy life: honestyl, i don't know why I'm so obsessed either. Thsi movie is just incredible.

Midnight4568: Thank you! You're one of my favorites right now becasue you've been in my email so much lately!

Thanks to everyone who added me to story alerts: HeatherLPotter7, a bit of gravity, scyther27, ultraanimefan94, Midnight4568; Midnight4568, who added me to their author alerts; Midnight4568, shunxalice, Mac-A-Damian Nutz, Starstreaker, Infinite Freedom, and AlexaJohn18 for adding this to their favorite stories; and most especially those who put me on their favorite author: I'm So Lost in Stereo and shunxalice. You guys are all great!

Reviews are love ;) And remember, you'll get the wedding feast faster if you review...