This chapter is one I've looked forward to writing and sharing for a long time! Just so you know, there's a bit of time jumping between sections but it hopefully won't be too confusing.

Chapter Five: Under the Mistletoe

Gobber truly was a man of his word. When he'd told Hiccup that he could handle the setup of the Great Hall for the Snoggletog party, he wasn't kidding. In previous years Hiccup had organized the preparations as his father always had before him, but with this year's extra distractions and fatigue wearing the chief down, Gobber had insisted on taking over. Well, he had really outdone himself for a man with one arm, one leg and nursing a pint of mead while he worked and ordered people around.

Hiccup stood impressed in the center of the Great Hall as Gobber helped Phlegma the Fierce hang a few more wreaths. Elder Goethi moseyed past him, nudging his shoulder with her staff and giving him a crooked smile. Hiccup nodded to her in greeting before a group of young women and their mothers nearly plowed him over. The bustling group of females tittered their apologies and followed after their mothers with haste. Hiccup chuckled at the learning girls, all so eager to learn their mothers' tricks in cooking and housekeeping. This type of urgency in a woman to perfect everything in her home was something strange to him—he'd only had a mother for six years growing up since his father never remarried and for as long as he'd known Astrid, she was never one for perfect living quarters. Not that she completely loved chaos within their home, but she'd surely go stir crazy if she mended, sewed and did laundry all day, every day. Those things were surely a good work, yes; but everyone was different.

The smell of freshly cooked sweet rolls and buns combined with the pleasant aroma of mutton and boar and fish stews and fries nearly overcame him and it was all he could do not to snatch a plate and start piling it high now. When the elderly women began to trickle in, each carefully holding their pots and pans full of homemade baked pies and desserts, he began to nervously fidget. He remembered one time as a little boy when his parents found him under a table with an entire pan of stolen blueberry pie… nope, he'd never fully recovered from the experience. He wished Astrid was here, or at least Adrianna, to help him keep his head on straight. One of these days, pie would be the death of him.

Gobber thumped over to him and sat down with a heavy sigh. Wiping his face down with a handkerchief, he grinned up at Hiccup. "So, waddya think?"

Hiccup faked concern. "I don't know… don't you think it's a little… weak?"

"Weak?"

"I mean, it's still kinda dark in here Gobber. I don't know if anyone can see the floor-"

"Now see here, I got every single light up on those rafters without the help of a single drag-"

"Gobber." Hiccup interrupted with a grin and patted his shoulder. "I'm kidding. It looks great. Thanks."

Gobber deflated and cuffed him on the head like he used to when Hiccup was a boy. "Yeh, you're welcome. And eh… yes, I did use a dragon or two. I couldn't help it."

Hiccup snickered, "It's fine, Gobber. I would've done the same. Gods, it's getting hot in here already."

"And only about a third of the village is here," Gobber smiled wide. "Ohh-hooo look at the pie-"

"Don't even get me started on pie, Gobber. Don't tempt me further-"

"Hiccup, you had your fill on pie yet?" Snotlout's voice erupted from the doorway as their friends and families walked through the doors.

The chief rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to retort, but Tuffnut beat him to it. "Yeah, it looks like he's gained weight already! Look!" Tuffnut promptly jabbed his finger into Hiccup's gut and he slapped him away.

"Ow! Seriously."

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Please, that could've been so much worse."

"Yeah? Like how?" Tuffnut taunted.

"Like this!" Ruffnut jammed her pointer finger right into his eye and he jumped back with a screech of indignation.

Svala sighed in annoyance. "Please don't blind my husband before our baby is born."

"Yes! Please don't blind my husband before it's born- wait…" Tuffnut paused to think.

Svala rolled her eyes, "Oh come on, I'm starving! Let's find a table!"

Tuffnut was promptly dragged off by his wife, leaving the rest of the group to laugh at their expense. They really had no room to laugh however, as they could each remember their first experiences at having their first pregnancy (or having a wife with her first pregnancy). It was a strange, educational, exciting time for each of them… and, by all accounts, very different for all.

Helga suddenly huffed in a look of boredom. To the chief, she asked, "Where's Finn?"

"He's over…" Hiccup turned to look around the crowd in search of his unruly mop of red hair. "Ah, he's over there with the other boys."

"Cool, thanks chief." Helga shoved past Inga with a sneer and marched toward the table.

Inga effortlessly called to her back, "Have fun! You're really perfect for each other!" Hiccup eyed her quizzically at her choice of words and she made an exasperated face at him. "Really chief, you haven't noticed their goo-goo eyes yet?"

"Of course, I have," Hiccup replied without missing a beat. "What's it to you though? Jealous?"

Inga chortled in laughter. "Oh heck no. No offense, chief, but Finn's a moron." Hiccup blinked once in surprise and Inga saluted him and her parents in apparent dismissal. "See ya 'round, I'm crashing this joint."

Hiccup chortled in laughter as she sashayed away and Snotlout puffed up in pride. "She is so your daughter."

"Really? You hadn't noticed before?" Heather asked with a mild chuckle.

"Nah, not at all. Come on, let's go get a seat. It's starting to get crowded in here."

"Sounds good, chief-o." Snotlout wrapped an arm around both his wife and Hiccup.

"Don't call me that," Hiccup smirked mischievously. "Clumsy."

"Oh shut up, not that again!" Snotlout whined indignantly. Heather laughed openly beside him, fully ignoring his scowl.

The friends found a table with empty seats where Fishlegs and Ruffnut had sat down. Once they got comfortable in their seats, Svala and Tuffnut (both with equally mountainous sized plates) joined them. Hiccup remained standing so if any villager needed to find him, they could see him easily. The group traded jokes and stories while Snotlout and Fishlegs got mugs of mead for everyone.

After the sound of the Great Hall was loud enough to make your ears buzz and bodies were crammed at nearly every table, the group took their time in scanning the faces of nearby tables. Most of them scanned the area for their entourages of children—all were accounted for.

That's when Tuffnut spoke up just as Hiccup was raising his mug to his lips: "Whoa chief, you might want to turn around."

Hiccup gasped involuntarily, then hacked painfully as he inhaled his mead. The sweet beverage burned the back of his nose and throat as he coughed and made his lungs constrict painfully, but he couldn't help but stare with wide green eyes at his gorgeous wife sauntering toward him from the door of the Great Hall.

When she had told him the night previously that he would love the surprise she had planned, he had no idea what to expect. But he never would've expected this. Astrid had a firm smirk on her face as she walked toward him with all the grace of a queen. She was making him weak at the knees, and she knew it too. He didn't stop his eyes from trailing down her body to look at the dress she'd made for herself— it was a bright blue tone that made her eyes pop with a sweetheart neckline, cinched at the waist to accentuate her curves and flowed down in pleats just to the edge of her knees. Her hair was curled and stuck into a bun with a few curled, wispy tresses falling past her ears. The ensemble was perfected with a silver chain necklace he'd made for her as one of the gifts for their engagement—the end of the necklace held two dragon scales. Blue for a Deadly Nadder and black for a Night Fury.

All in all, she was evil in torturing him in such a way in front of the entire the village. In the back of his mind he could hear the snickers and whistles from their childhood friends behind him, but he kept his eyes where they were. Part of him wished she hadn't gone to such great extremes but then again, she was Astrid Haddock, wife of the chief of Berk. She had to make a good impression after all (or so she'd said). Usually he'd scoff that vanity would someday be her downfall, but right now, he wasn't complaining. Not at all.

Astrid finally stood before him with a raised eyebrow. Hiccup scanned her dress once again before he inhaled through closed teeth and shook his head. "You surely are the fairest of them all, Mrs. Haddock."

Astrid grinned fiendishly. "Oh yes, I know. Mr. Haddock." The way she said his title made his heart pound rapidly in his chest and he seriously had to fight for control of the situation… wouldn't do to grab his wife and drag her out of the hall in front of everyone (their own children included). Couldn't be too obvious now…

Exhaling heavily and trying to look away from that long pale neckline, Hiccup gestured to the hall. "Full house already."

"Mhm…" Astrid stepped closer and heavily distracted him with the overwhelming scent of honey and mint perfume wafting to his face. She took his hand and firmly stood at his side, pressing her shoulder into the back of his arm.

Hiccup scoffed and kept his eyes focused on the room and not on the beautiful Valkyrie beside him. "We're already married; no need to make such a statement in claiming me." he murmured.

Astrid stroked her thumb in a slow circle through his palm, "Well I think you already accomplished that with the red mark below my collarbone from last night…" Hiccup squeaked in surprise and not-so-subtly looked at her neckline to make sure the dress covered the mark. "Besides, what would be the point-"

Hiccup's breath hitched and he whispered furiously, "Astrid stop, not now. You're not as sneaky as you used to be and are every bit as sultry. A dangerous combination if you ask me."

"You're the chief…" Astrid whispered in his ear. "Who'd say anything?" Hiccup felt a blush rise up the back of his neck as he looked at the floor, quickly avoiding eye contact with anyone and clearing his throat deeply. "Besides, I'm just preparing you for the real surprise when we get back home…"

Hiccup's eyes snapped to hers in surprise. The meaning of her words hit him full force and he swallowed thickly, wiping his free hand on the side of his pants. Her expression was very calm and seemingly blank, but the one clenched muscle in her jaw spoke volumes: she was trying so hard not to laugh.

Astrid presently sighed and released his hand. "Well," she smiled at him loftily and promptly walked away. "I'm thirsty."

"What- wait! You can't just-" Hiccup stopped talking when he noticed the extra swing in her hips and pouted at her back. She was being so evil right now that it wasn't even funny…

A distinctly male voice interrupted his inner tangent. "Well, me and the guys were going to invite you to a little after party after the party, but it's pretty clear that you'll be a trifle held up." A chorus of laughter erupted behind him and he turned on his heel to Snotlout and the other guys. Tuffnut was nodding at him in mock approval and Fishlegs was trying with much difficulty to hide his snicker in his mug.

"Oh shut up." Hiccup snatched his cup of leftover mead off the table and scowled at the contents. "Besides, you didn't even hear what she s-"

"Yes, we did!" Tuffnut slammed his cup down in excitement and Hiccup blanched. The guys burst into laughter at his look of abject horror and he felt his face grow hot. "Hiccup, my man, sometimes you are so gullible."

Hiccup huffed frustratedly. "You're just gloating because Svala's newly pregnant."

Tuffnut puffed up his chest. "Why yes, yes I am. And yes, yes she is."

Fishlegs snorted indignantly. "I still hold the breaking record with seven, gents. Bow down at my feet and weep!"

Hiccup snorted as the men broke into hysterics again. "Please, you guys can't possibly know my record. Just because there aren't any more kids doesn't mean there isn't any more action."

Snotlout rolled in eyes. "Yeah yeah, go ahead and gloat. You have it easy. No worrying."

"No worrying? Have you met my kids?" Hiccup asked incredulously.

"Actually I was referring to you and Astrid not having to worry about her getting pregnant. Since she can't…" Snotlout bit his tongue, kicking himself for bringing it up when Hiccup's face fell. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Hiccup perked back up. "Slip of the tongue. It happens."

Fishlegs jumped into the conversation to clear the awkward silence. "Well, you and Astrid have two great kids. What more could you ask for?"

Hiccup smiled wide and searched for both his kids across the busy hall. "Yeah. What more…"

He tapered off, eyes lingering on Astrid for a few moments. The guys didn't fail to notice the smile slip off his face and eyes cloud with deep sadness for a couple moments before he checked himself and the moment passed. He turned back to them a happy man again and it was only due to their long friendships and work together that they knew he was covering up something. But none of them dared broach the topic further—whatever he was hiding, clearly it wasn't important enough for them to know. A man's secrets were his own, after all.

Tuffnut snorted loudly a beat after Hiccup turned back to them. "Your daughter's dancing with her boyfriend."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "My daughter doesn't have a boy-" He choked on the word and whipped around to follow his friend's gaze. Sure enough, his baby girl, dressed in an equally gorgeous purple dress like her mother's, was dancing with Erick, her hands gently clasped behind his neck. The boy had his hands resting on her hips carefully and it was all Hiccup could do to not tear across the Great Hall then and there.

"Ooooh jealous daddy's jealous." Snotlout monologued helpfully.

Hiccup grit his teeth in annoyance. "Your intellect astounds me, Snotlout."

Snotlout slapped Hiccup's shoulder. "Always. But hey, you might want to have your kids spend the night at some friends' houses tonight-"

"Shut up."

Tuffnut chortled loudly, "Yeah, because anyone could tell that tonight you are going to get l-"

"Tuffnut, seriously!" Hiccup interrupted with a wild shake of his head. He seriously did not want anyone to talk about this. Curse his wife and her gorgeous curvy body and her evil, dastardly plans to make him suffer.

"One more thing and then I'll shut up…" Hiccup spared Snotlout a warning glance before he turned away. "Make her pay for it!"

Hiccup sputtered with wide eyes and quickly walked away. How much more awkward could things seriously get? He wondered if sitting and listening in on women talk would be less awkward? But then a chatter of laughter erupted from Astrid's table with Heather, Ruffnut and Svala (all of whom were watching him with mysterious eagle eyes), and he quickly pushed that idea aside.

That's when he spotted Olaf and his wife, Lara sitting with Benen at a table toward the dance floor. With a great sigh of relief, he hurried over to them for some sense of normalcy.

Erick Larson was feeling very, very impatient. Two weeks ago, he'd given his best friend in the world, Adrianna Haddock, a big hug and promised her that he would be back. Now he was back but he hadn't seen her all day. And not only was it Snoggletog, which was an exciting event on its own, it was also his birthday. So his impatience was forgivable in light of these circumstances. Although his early arrival to the Snoggletog party was a bit more logical as he and Gustav had had to secure their father to his Gronckle and walk behind him as he hovered up the stairs just in case something went wrong. And then they had to open the doors wide and allow the wheelchair bound man in and untie his chair from the dragon before it was distracted by the food on the table. So, all things considered, Erick had waited a very long time in the chilly Great Hall before most of his fellow Hooligans arrived.

"Girlfriend not showed up yet, aye?" Gustav teased, nudging his little brother on the arm.

"Shut up." Erick said with a blush.

His heart leaped when he saw a small blonde head but fell a split second later when he realized it was Helga Ingerman walking in with her parents and six siblings. There was still no sign of any of the Haddocks.

"Oh calm down." Olaf chortled at his son's obvious impatience. "She's coming."

"I'm calm!" Erick exclaimed unconvincingly, his voice cracking and ruining the effect. He cleared his throat, ignoring his brother's cackles. "I'm calm. I'm okay. It's... it's not that important."

"Sure it is." Gustav patted Erick's back. "And I'm sure she isn't at all eager to see you again. Nope."

Erick didn't hear that last part because he had finally spotted Hiccup, Benen, and Finn walking into the Hall. He stood on tiptoe to see if he could see his friend but she didn't follow them. He made a sort of whining noise in his throat and began to bounce on his toes in frustration.

"Huh, I guess we can cross punctual off the list of positive attributes. Careful, Erick, don't want her to show up late for your wedding." Gustav snorted in amusement at the sight of his brother acting like he was trying to stand on a floor made out of Fireworms.

Rather than respond, Erick punched Gustav in the stomach. This only caused Gustav to laugh harder. Just as the oldest Larson boy was retaliating with his own blow, Finn walked by and stopped to watch the spectacle.

"So this is what I missed out on, being the only boy." he commented with a smirk. "Makes me wish I had a brother. Violence starts so early."

"That it does." Olaf agreed, shaking his head. "Three boys and it's all the same. Roughhousing from the time they're toddlers."

"Where's Annie?" Erick blurted out, his patience finally dissipating.

"Thor knows." Finn replied with an amused expression at the sight of Erick speaking to him while attempting to keep Gustav in a choke-hold. "They said they'd be late."

"Oh." Erick sighed in disappointment and let up slightly, allowing Gustav to escape and try to tackle him.

"She'll get here, CK, stop panicking." Finn rolled his eyes.

"CK?" Olaf raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Well if he's going to have both a C and a K at the end of his name when only one is required, someone might as well find a use for them." Finn replied with a shrug.

The tussle lasted only a few minutes more because Gustav spotted his son wandering in and decided that he should probably set a good example for the boy. Erick was quite grateful... for a few seconds. And then a splash of purple graced the entrance.

Erick's breath caught in his throat. Standing at the door and looking very awkward was his best friend in the world, only she didn't look like the little girl who had run barefoot through the woods with him years ago. In fact, she seemed much less a girl and more... a lady. Perhaps it was the dress, which was purple and accented with a sort of soft brown, two colors Erick wouldn't have thought to mix. For the first time, he noticed that she was shaped like a woman (much to his embarrassment as he immediately forced his eyes upward to look at her face again). The moment she caught sight of him, she ran across the room in a rather undignified way (not that Erick minded) and threw her arms around him.

"I missed you so much!" she squealed excitedly. "Happy birthday and happy Snoggletog and happy homecoming and... just be happy!"

Erick laughed and hugged her back as tightly as he dared. She smelled so good, as if she'd only just dried off from a bath. Her friend resisted the urge to breathe in her fragrance as he held her.

"I missed you too." he whispered. "I hope you weren't too bored while I was out."

"Oh, I was." Adrianna finally let him go and smoothed out her dress. "There is nothing to do here except read and fly. I missed my boys every second."

Erick, glad for an excuse to look at her for a specific reason rather than ogle from across the room, grinned widely. "Well it wasn't so exciting there either. But hey, I got up to The Lodger in your book. It was great. Really funny. I see why your dad likes it."

"Yeah he likes the ones with the Doctor inventing stuff out of all the odds and ends lying around." Adrianna tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked rather bashful.

Erick, sensing her slight discomfort, helped her tuck the stubborn piece of hair behind her ear. "You look really nice."

"Do I?" Adrianna looked down at her dress with a sigh. "I feel ridiculous."

"Take it from me: you don't look it." Erick sighed awkwardly before looking around the room. "Want to go get food? I'm really hungry. I've been here for over an hour."

"Yeah, that sounds nice." Adrianna bashfully remained where she was standing for a few seconds before reaching out and taking his hand in hers. "Let's go."

Erick only had a moment to be surprised that she had taken his hand before he was following his best friend through the thickening crowd toward the food. As they loaded their plates and sat down to catch up, Finn scanned the crowd for his peers and soon found them congregating toward the back of the room. As soon as his plate held enough food to feed a decent size dragon (he had gotten a lot hungrier the more he grew), he bolted over.

"Miss me?" he asked, sliding in next to Thorein and facing his other friends.

"Nah. We were just starting to forget you exist." said Gunnar Ingerman with a grin.

"Yeah, why'd you have to ruin it now?" Thorein punched Finn's shoulder rather hard.

"Very funny." Finn deadpanned. "If you want me gone all that much, I'll just go." he made a move to stand up.

"Don't listen to those idiots." Helga Ingerman said as she sat down at the table before reaching out and grabbing the front of his shirt, yanking him down rather violently. "Of course we missed you."

"I didn't." Inga Jorgenson commented as she passed the table with a few of her friends, who giggled. "In fact, I'm looking forward to your next trip off of Berk."

"Well I'm looking forward to you leaving." Finn knew his comeback was terrible but he didn't have time to come up with a good one.

"Oh look, we agree on something." the girl turned her head, her long black hair whipping Finn in the face, and strutted away, her giggly friends following closely.

"Gods, she's obnoxious." Finn mumbled through a large bite of chicken.

"You mean she doesn't worship you like all the other kids." Gunnar rolled his eyes.

"That's not why!" Finn protested through his friends' laughter.

"True enough. She also doesn't listen to you when you tell her to do something." Helga added. "You're a bit of a control freak."

"I am not!" Finn retorted, his face reddening.

"You really are." said a dark haired boy, who slid his plate next to Finn's. "And Inga's an idiot anyway."

"You shouldn't talk like that about your niece, Cale." Helga frowned at the boy, who rolled his strikingly blue eyes.

"Hey, what are uncles for?" Cale shrugged and took a big bite of chicken. "Besides," he added with a mouth full of boar, "I ought to know since I've lived with her for the last four months."

"Still..." Helga trailed off.

"If you tell me Gunnar is never an idiot, you're lying." Cale fixed a scowl on Helga from across the table.

"Oh he is. All the time." Helga laughed when Gunnar made a sound of indignation. "But I don't go around telling people that."

"Whatever." Cale immediately turned to Finn. "How were the Bog Burglars? I hear they're insane."

"Completely. They're almost all women too. It was weird." Finn's cheeks reddened slightly at the thought of Camicazi but he quickly tossed it from his mind.

A strong hand wrenched his head to the side and a firm body pushed him away from Cale. "Ow! What gives- gah…" Finn quickly evaded his eyes with a mad blush when Morgan, garbed in a busty pink dress with a swooping neckline plopped herself between him and Cale.

"Save it, Haddock. The life of the party is with the women, which means they get to call all the shots." Morgan snipped pointedly, then swiped a finger across Cale's cheek sweetly. "Hey babe."

Cale grinned almost maliciously. "Hi…"

Finn made a point to stare at his plate and ignore the way Cale's eyes swept over Morgan like she was a piece of meat. He gulped nervously and turned to Gunnar, who seemed to be oblivious to the awkward situation going on at the other end of the table. Helga, however, also seemed to be avoiding anything and everything there and was staring at him pensively. In that instant, Finn thanked the gods that Helga had the decency to wear modest clothing.

Cale finally snapped out of his trance and snorted at the younger kids, Finn especially. "Come on, Haddock, relax. I could teach you a few things if you loosened up a bit."

Finn coughed and scratched the back of his neck. "I'm sure you could."

"You're hesitant, I get it. One day you'll loosen up and when that day comes…" Cale shot a scandalous wink at Helga that made Finn's blood curdle. "Call me."

"Come on, Helga," Finn sighed heavily. "Let's go get some punch."

"Gladly!" Helga jumped up, nearly shoving Thorein's head into his bowl of stew when she used his head as a crutch. So like her mother…

Cale laughed heartily when they walked away, his nose buried in Morgan's long blonde tresses. "Fine, but you're missing out on some fine education!"

Once they were out of earshot, Helga shivered. "Ugh, that guy gives me the willies."

"He's not bad… not until Morgan comes around anyway. Then he's kinda…"

"Vocal? Obvious? Needing to make an appointment with the tailor?"

"Helga!" Finn squeaked, his voice cracking painfully. Sometimes he could curse the fact that her mother was Ruffnut because occasionally she had absolutely no filter… "Is this what it was like for my parents to grow up with your mother?"

"And my uncle… oh, and Snotlout and my dad-"

"Well yeah, but your dad would sooner chop off his own hand if someone had him say something… weird."

Helga scoffed, "Trust me, my dad says plenty of weird things."

Finn shook his head, "And I'm confident that there is more than one definition for 'weird.'"

"And that, my good friend, is where my father's genetics come into play."

Finn laughed heartily. "Yeah yeah, okay, you win."

Helga gasped. "What? The infamous Fearless Finn Haddock is… deferring? Oh, someday write down the date!"

"Why…" Finn stopped in his tracks with a look of confusion. "Why would we write down the date? It's Snoggletog, we could just remember it."

Helga twirled a long blonde curl around her finger. "Ohhh and now he's giving me extra tips to help me remember it. Who needs Cale to teach you anything when you've got the talent already?" Finn stared at her in stricken confusion and she giggled goofily, "Me lovin' some Haddock." Finn squeaked in shock and she punched his shoulder. "Oh come on, lighten up. Gee, Cale does have something right in his too gorgeous noggin'."

Helga sauntered toward the drink stand, leaving Finn to stand gobsmacked and confused. Yeah, he was convinced—women were strange, strange creatures that he'd never understand.

Music seemed to start out of nowhere. It was funny how something as simple as a few musicians plucking or blowing into oddly shaped instruments could change the tone of the party so abruptly. One moment, couples were snuggling or talking to each other from all over the Hall. The next, most of them pulled tables and chairs out of the way to make room for the dancing. And, as usual, the dancing grew more lively as the music got louder. Soon the Hall was filled with laughter and men twirling their wives, fiancees, or girlfriends around in circles. It was as if a spell had been cast over the entire population of Berk.

Finn watched the dancers with an amused expression before he felt someone poking his arm. "What?"

"Want to dance?" asked Helga, nodding to the middle of the floor and putting the drink she'd just gotten down on the closest table.

"Wh-what?" Finn sputtered in surprise.

"Do. You. Want. To. Dance?" Helga slowly repeated as if she was talking to a toddler.

"Oh... umm... I mean... uhh..." Finn scratched the back of his head, his face turning bright red.

"Well?"

"Sure!" Finn squeaked, his voice cracking horribly. "Uhh... I mean sure... whatever."

Helga grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet before pulling him onto the dance floor. Finn stumbled a few times before straightening up and praying that no one had witnessed this horribly awkward moment. He'd never hear the end of it.

Meanwhile, Adrianna and Erick were sitting back and simply watching the crowd of people moving to the music, some more coordinated than others.

"It's so sweet." Adrianna sighed.

"What is?" Erick asked, turning to her and raising an eyebrow.

"The way your parents still dance with each other." Adrianna rested her cheek on her hand and watched the Larsons dance with a big grin on her face. "It doesn't matter that your dad can't walk; they still find a way."

"Yeah..." Erick smiled fondly. "Yeah, they do."

"True love always finds a way around everything." Adrianna watched her best friend's parents for a few seconds before nudging her friend on the shoulder. "Do you want to dance?"

"Me? Now?" Erick's cheeks reddened considerably.

Adrianna's face fell. "Well... if you don't want to..."

"No! I mean yes! Yes, I do!" Erick's blush deepened at the near accidental rejection of his best friend.

The two teenagers got on their feet and sauntered onto the edge of the dance floor. As many times as Erick had hugged Adrianna, he still felt awkward placing one of his hands on her hip. He had only danced once before when his sister Aud randomly decided he needed to learn so he was feeling quite nervous. Adrianna had danced with Hiccup a few times but this felt completely different. Where she and her father had made a show of hopping all over the room and twirling as much as possible, this wasn't the same thing. This... was new. Both Erick and Adrianna had a pretty good sense of rhythm so as they began to sway to the music, they felt several eyes on them, some from adults who gave the young couple a very knowing smile.

"Is this okay?" Erick asked in a low voice. "I mean... are you... umm..."

"Comfortable?" Adrianna suggested. "Absolutely. You're not bad."

"I'm not?" Erick laughed shakily. "I'm out of practice. Well, I was never really in practice, truth be told."

"It's okay; I'm not much of a dancer either. You're doing splendidly." Adrianna playfully squeezed his hand, causing his smile to widen.

"I know I kind of said this already," Erick leaned in and whispered in her ear, "but you look beautiful."

"And you look quite handsome." Adrianna whispered back with a wink. "Or maybe that's just because I missed you so much."

"That would make more sense." Erick quipped. "I don't look any different."

"I never said you weren't handsome all the time." Adrianna muttered so softly he almost didn't hear her.

At this, Erick's blush became far more prominent and he didn't seem to know what to say next so he remained silent. The two of them listened to the music and continued to dance, both of them just beginning to feel very comfortable in the movements and with each other. In fact, something seemed to be happening as Adrianna and Erick crossed the dance floor, their eyes fixed on each other. Butterflies fluttered through the Haddock girl's stomach as she moved to the music. Erick's touch was gentle, but it didn't seem to come from the impression that she was fragile. Rather, it was loving, tender... as if she was something valuable to be handled with care. As if he wanted to make sure she remained safe, her beauty untainted. To him, she was worth more than the rarest of jewels or the finest embroidery in the archipelago. Soon, both his hands made their way down to her waist and he brought her closer to him. She hooked her hands around his neck and leaned in, allowing their foreheads to touch as the music steadily continued. She could feel his warm breath on her face, his lips coming tantalizingly close, his hair tickling her forehead ever so slightly...

The song that had been casting the spell over the young couple ended far too soon, leaving an eerie silence in its wake. Erick and Adrianna didn't move; they merely stood and waited for the next song. A familiar Snoggletog carol soon filled the Hall and the couples around them continued to dance. So distracted were they with each other, it took Erick and Adrianna a few seconds to realize that they could continue dancing. As they moved, Adrianna heard something by her ear, a soft voice singing along with the carol. Her smile widened. It was a very pleasant tenor voice, so soft it was almost inaudible and yet perfectly on key.

"I didn't know you sang." she finally muttered to him.

Erick stopped mid syllable and the pink tinge returned to his cheeks. He coughed once and went completely silent.

"Oh no, don't stop." Adrianna shook her head the tiniest bit. "I liked it."

"I just... I don't usually sing in front of people." Erick breathed a laugh. "I didn't even notice I was doing it."

"You have a really nice voice." Adrianna whispered in his ear. "It's a shame you don't share it."

Erick shrugged and became silent. A few seconds later, a gentle, soprano voice began to fill his ears. He stared at Adrianna with wide eyes. She winked at him and continued to sing perfectly on key. After he recovered from the shock of having such an angelic sound emanating from so close to him, he began to sing along with her in a simple harmony. Their voices mingled together and seemed to create a beautiful sound all its own. The young couple smiled as they sang, their voices slowly growing louder so that those around them could enjoy the soft music they created together. When the Snoggletog carol ended, they both sighed contentedly.

"Do you want to keep dancing or... I guess, watch for a bit?" Erick asked his best friend.

"Let's sit the next song out." Adrianna's heart fluttered when Erick took her hand and led her to the edge of the room.

The next song was lively, causing everyone in the room to hop around and twirl and, all in all, look awfully silly. Erick and Adrianna laughed at the antics of some of their friends, of Snotlout and Heather dancing so wildly others would step out of their way, of Tuffnut and Svala going out of their way to bump into them and laughing when they stumbled, of Finn nearly tripping over his own feet as he danced with Helga... and of Ruffnut holding a sprig of mistletoe over Hiccup and Astrid's heads. Adrianna's parents glanced mischievously at each other for a second before they kissed so passionately, there were several cheers. Hiccup, enjoying the attention he was receiving, dipped his wife, causing her to make a tiny squeak of surprise, and finally broke apart, their eyes fixed on each other. Astrid laughed as he helped her stand again before running to the tables to subject another couple to the powers of the mistletoe.

"Why do people kiss under the mistletoe?" Erick mumbled to himself.

Adrianna, who hadn't realized his question was rhetorical, decided to speak up. "I think it's romantic no matter how it started."

Erick looked over at her and smiled. "I didn't say it wasn't. But what about mistletoe is so special? Or kissing, for that matter?"

Adrianna's eyebrows raised. "You've never kissed anyone?" her cheeks reddened when she realized how that had sounded. "I mean I haven't either but... I just sort of thought since you're fifteen now..."

"No, I haven't." Erick shook his head. "I mean... who... you know, who would..."

Adrianna breathed a laugh and averted her eyes. "It's okay, I didn't mean to... sorry."

"No, it's all right." Erick said calmly. "I know what you meant."

For a moment, there was absolute silence between them as they watched the dancing continue. And then, almost as one, they both looked at each other... and looked up. High in the rafters of the Hall was a single sprig of mistletoe directly above their heads. Slowly, very slowly, their heads lowered and bright green eyes met smooth teal. Adrianna's hands began to fidget nervously. Larger, callused hands soon closed over them. Erick leaned in a bit so that their foreheads were touching. His heart was drumming against his ribcage and he could hear Adrianna's doing the same. He tried to stare into her eyes but his eyes flicked once, twice to her pink lips. Adrianna stared back at him almost patiently and he could feel the warmth rise to his cheeks for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Before he made a conscious decision, he felt his his lips ghost over hers... then he froze. Adrianna's eyes were also half-lidded and he expected her to back away, but she surprised him with a smile. Gently resting her fingers against his jaw, she pulled his mouth the rest of the way to meet her own.

Erick's breath hitched in his throat as his eyes finally closed. He dared not to move for fear of destroying this moment forever. He couldn't help but think that her lips fit so perfectly against his. Every detail suddenly logged into his memory of their own accord-her head tilted just to the right, her eyelashes gently tickling his cheeks, the softness of her hand against his jaw...

Instinct seemed to take over and he leaned closer to her, deepening the kiss ever so slightly. Adrianna inhaled sharply in surprise and suddenly felt Erick's fingertips brushing through her bangs toward her ear. Her heart continued to pound in her chest at this new experience, something she'd never thought in all of her life that she'd do... kiss her best friend.

Erick reluctantly pulled away, instantly wishing he could wrap his mouth around hers deeper, more passionately... but he couldn't do that. He reveled in her breath still ghosting over his lips and he took his time in opening his eyes. A part of him was amused to see her just opening her eyes as well. He suddenly realized his fingers were still lightly threaded into her hair and her hand had slid to his shoulder...

And the sound of someone's laughter broke through the sweet barrier they'd created. Erick glanced over to see Gustav snickering with a few adults, his older brother giving him a wise look of approval. Erick blushed madly and snapped his head back to Adrianna, though he quietly cleared his throat and couldn't meet her eyes. Finally he felt the need to say something.

"Well... that was..." Wow. Amazing. The best thing he'd ever done. So many thoughts flew through his mind and he couldn't decide which was the best and wisest to say.

But Adrianna shrugged gently, nervously answering for him, "Nice..."

"Yeah, it was-" Erick froze and finally looked into her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah..." Adrianna looked toward her boots and bit her lip subconsciously.

Erick flushed again at taking notice of that and sorely wished she hadn't done it. Because now he just wanted to kiss her again... no. It was just for the mistletoe. He couldn't kiss her again, especially since Gustav and so many other people had noticed... Oh gods, what if Hiccup had seen that? And now Adrianna was looking back up at him with innocent green eyes that brought warmth to her pale skin and light pink lips...

Oh gods, what had he done? He'd never think about her the same again after tonight. Never. But... that wasn't a bad thing... was it? He snapped out of his reverie when he realized Adrianna looked kind of awkward through his long pause, probably waiting for some response.

Erick still couldn't think of anything to say so he merely smiled wide. "Yeah."

Dimples. Adrianna loved his dimples... she always had. And whenever she saw them on his face, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was happy. Seeing them now... seeing him so happy after... that? She wanted to kiss him again, it made her so happy to see him happy. But no, she couldn't do that. That was just for the mistletoe. If her daddy didn't come over and skin Erick alive the first time, he'd surely do it the second time.

Sprig of mistletoe in hand, Hiccup ran through the sea of tables with his wife just behind him. Their eyes fell on Heather and Snotlout at the same time and, with identical mischievous grins, they immediately bounded over. Hiccup weaseled his way through a several burly men to stand behind the Jorgenson couple with a triumphant smirk. They looked at him in confusion but saw the mistletoe before either could get a good look at him.

Snotlout gave a mock sigh. "Dang it. I just hate this part of the party."

Heather growled roguishly. "Oh shut up and kiss me, idiot."

The twin Jorgenson boys shrieked in disgust and promptly ran away when their parents began to almost ferociously kiss. Hiccup and Astrid laughed at the boys' terror. Hiccup cleared his throat after a few moments, starting to feel a little awkward himself with Snotlout and Heather's making out directly in front of him. Snotlout merely held out a hand for him to hand over the mistletoe.

Hiccup dropped the plant in his hand and grabbed Astrid's. "That's our cue."

Snotlout and Heather broke apart with equally giddy laughter. "Oh, sit down and stay a while!" Heather chirped cheerfully. "We could use the company." her Gronckle growled indignantly. "Oh hush, you know what I meant." Heather patted the dragon on the head with an amused smile.

Toothless, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere from behind the table, rumbled at Hookfang. The Monstrous Nightmare promptly growled back and the dragons proceeded to have a conversation only they understood. Their humans watched them for a while before Hiccup and Astrid finally decided to take Heather's advice and sit down. Olaf and Benen, who had been talking to each other one table over, decided to join them as well.

"Well I think we can consider this one of the best Snoggletog parties we've ever had." Olaf said with a smile as he leaned against the back of his chair. "

"Yeah, it's been great." Hiccup's eyes scanned the crowd and he beamed as he watched all of his people enjoying themselves. "Perfect day to come home, I'd say."

"Agreed." said Astrid, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "We all missed our boys."

"Some more than others." Benen stated, nodding to Erick and Adrianna, who were in an opposite corner.

Hiccup stiffened. "What are they doing?"

"Talking, looks like." Astrid shrugged and patted her husband's shoulder. "Stop panicking."

"Yes but they're standing really close together!" Hiccup leaned forward as if this would help him get a better view of the couple.

A few dancers immediately blocked Adrianna and Erick from their sight for a few seconds. The Hooligan chief straightened up, trying to see over their heads to no avail. When the group finally danced away from their vision, Hiccup got the perfect view of his daughter and her best friend connected at the lips, her hand caressing the Larson boy's jaw and his gently threading his fingers through her hair. The girl's father choked on thin air and stood up so quickly, he nearly made himself dizzy.

"I'm going to kill him!" he bellowed in a voice that was, thankfully, drowned out by the music.

Benen timidly grasped his arm and tried to keep him from bolting over and putting a stop to his daughter and Erick's moment. Astrid immediately grabbed his collar and the two of them successfully yanked him back down. Hiccup finally went limp in their arms, his eyes fixed on his daughter and glaring daggers at the boy who was still standing far too close to her.

"How dare he... with my daughter!" Hiccup sputtered indignantly.

"Oh hush." Astrid let go of his collar and began to rub his back. "Remember what you're always telling the twins: share."

"I never told her to share spit!" Hiccup growled, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Ew, Hiccup, they're not even- look, they've already pulled apart." Astrid pointed to the couple with an exasperated sigh.

"Lucky for him, or else I'd tear him to shreds." Hiccup grumbled. He suddenly stiffened again. "Oh gods... his fingers are still in her hair!"

"Oh, relax." Astrid punched him on the shoulder with her other hand. "We did worse things at that age."

"We weren't even talking at that age!" Hiccup shouted, causing her to wince at the sudden noise.

"True. But we were doing worse when we were talking." Astrid winked at him.

Hiccup sighed and rolled his eyes. "You make us sound so chaste."

Everyone around them laughed out loud, causing Hiccup to scowl and tighten his crossed arms.

"Well you can relax." Olaf said serenely. "As you can now see, my son's fingers are out of your daughter's hair."

Hiccup deflated with a snort. "For now." he scraped his fingernails down the table pensively. "I always knew he was trouble. He always had this traitorous look in his eye..."

Olaf gasped. "Chief-"

"He has this evil look in his eye and I don't like it!" Hiccup insisted as if he hadn't heard the boy's father's protest.

"You know, it could be worse." Olaf reminded him. "My Aud had her first kiss at seven."

"Well... she didn't marry him, did she?" Hiccup gazed at Olaf with wide eyes.

"Of course not." Olaf shook his head and Hiccup sighed in relief. "At least not until this summer."

"WHAT?" Hiccup's hand slammed into the table in his horror.

Olaf burst out laughing. "Apparently you don't pay much attention at weddings." he guffawed. "You married her and her husband last summer."

"Oh... right." Hiccup put a hand to his face to hopefully mask its bright red hue. "Well... shut up."

Olaf sighed with a mild chuckle. "Sir, with all due respect, you're being ridiculous." Hiccup opened his mouth to argue and Olaf held up a hand. "Erick would never touch her-"

"Really?" Hiccup immediately pointed to Erick, who was now carefully and slowly brushing Adrianna's bangs out of her eyes.

"You know what I mean, Hiccup." Olaf shook his head. "My boy would never do anything harmful to her. Over his dead body."

"Yeah, he raised Erick better than you raised Finn." Snotlout added with a derisive laugh.

"Ah, speaking which," Benen spoke up at last. "I believe Erick and Adrianna are a wonderful match indeed... but as far as Finn is concerned, there's no better match for him than with your daughter, Snotlout."

"Finn and Inga?" Snotlout let out a laugh of disbelief. "Yeah, maybe if they didn't hate each other. I think you mean Helga."

"Oh no, I mean Inga." Benen smiled at the Jorgenson girl, who was watching the dancing with a group of friends. "She's stubborn, responsible, mature for her age... she would balance out Finn's flaws perfectly."

"Over my dead body." Snotlout snarled. "If he as much as looks at her the wrong way, I will skin him alive."

"No need for drastic measures." Heather squeezed his arm. "If it's meant to be, it'll be."

"It most certainly is not meant to be!" Snotlout insisted in a loud voice.

"Relax, Lout, you're ruining the peace." Hiccup said with a grin.

"You're ruining the peace by allowing your spawn to take my daughter-"

"What... spawn?" Astrid gasped indignantly. "He's not even trying anything!"

"And he'd better keep it that way." Snotlout crossed his arms and glared at Finn from across the room.

"Oh, you don't have anything to worry about right now." Benen said serenely. "He seems rather taken with the Ingerman girl. I'm just saying that it won't last. They're far too similar for their own good."

"Yeah, I can see how that might be a bit of a problem, come to think of it." Hiccup chortled. "What do you know... well, Snotlout, I think your family tree could benefit from a bit of Haddock blood."

"Shut up, you." Snotlout snarled.

"I suppose that would make our girls sisters... and us... I guess we'd be kind of like reverse cousins!" Hiccup put an arm around his disgruntled friend.

"Being related to you in any way would be a fate worse than death." Snotlout struggled out from under Hiccup's arm.

"Aww, don't be like that Snotlout." Astrid giggled. "Is that any way to treat family?"

"I said shut up!" Snotlout bellowed.

"Don't let them get to you, sweetheart." Heather put her head on her husband's shoulder. "Finn isn't even looking at Inga."

"You should be worried about this too!" Snotlout hissed through his teeth. "That boy is a menace, always has been."

"He's a perfect gentleman!" Astrid retorted. "You're the menace!"

As the argument between Astrid and Snotlout continued, Benen leaned over Hiccup so only he could hear him. "Hiccup, I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time?"

"Of course." Hiccup nodded. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." he added to Snotlout with a grin.

The Hooligan chief followed Benen across the Hall to the large double doors. As soon as he and Benen were outside and the music was quiet enough to speak without shouting, the elderly man sighed.

"Is everything okay?" Hiccup asked in a low voice.

"Hm? Oh yes." Benen nodded. "I didn't mean to alarm you. I'm just wondering how to put this into words..." he thought about it a few more seconds as Hiccup patiently waited. "I went to the healer's the other day. Apparently..." Benen let out a chuckle and shook his head. "Sorry, it's just a strange thing to be saying out loud. Apparently I'm dying."

"What?" Hiccup gasped, suddenly finding himself unable to breathe properly. "Dying?"

"Oh no, it's not quite as bad as all that."Benen put up a hand. "I'm not going to drop dead sometime next week or anything. Mara tells me that my heart is getting weaker. I have to be careful what I do from now on. I could have months or years."

"But... dying? How..." Hiccup slowly put his fingers through his hair. "What about Finn?"

Benen sighed deeply. "Sometimes I think Finn forgets our difference in age. It's almost like he thinks I'll live forever."

"I see what you mean." Hiccup shook his head, his heart suddenly heavy. "We're going to have to tell him." his throat constricted painfully. "And... and Addie too."

Benen placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "It's a part of life. I'm an old man, Hiccup. I don't fear death. Nor do I dread it. Truth be told, I believe I would have died a long time ago if you and your people hadn't taken such excellent care of me. I was frail when you found me all those years ago. I didn't have much time left. But the time I've spent here has been the best years of my life. And I will be forever grateful."

"We're the ones who should be thanking you, Benen." Hiccup smiled at his friend. "You've brought so much joy into our lives. And we've needed that." he quickly hugged the older man and patted him on the back. "Tonight isn't the time to tell the kids. Or Astrid, for that matter. But it's cold so let's enjoy the rest of the party."

"Yes, let's." Benen shivered and led Hiccup into the Hall.

"Thanks for telling me." Hiccup whispered to him before spotting their friends still arguing several tables away.

It was the perfect night. Absolutely perfect. Erick felt his heart pounding against his ribs when he finally took Adrianna back onto the dance floor and the two teenagers had danced until there were fewer Hooligans packed into the Great Hall. He had hardly noticed the time passing at all until he became aware of several council members beginning to take down a few of the lights.

"Hey... Annie?" Erick's heart nearly melted when he bright green eyes fixed on his. "Can you hold on for just a second?"

The Haddock girl nodded, looking quite amused for some reason. Erick immediately bolted over to where Hiccup was standing and talking to Fishlegs. He bounced on his toes for a few seconds before timidly reaching forward and tapping his chief on the shoulder. Hiccup turned around and Erick saw a flash of something quite frightening for just a second. It disappeared a split second later, leaving the Larson boy to hope that it had just been a trick of the light.

"Umm chief... would it be all right if I..." Erick cleared his throat rather loudly, his cheeks turning pink. "If I walked Adrianna home?"

Hiccup seemed to deflate. "If you must." he nodded with a sigh.

The boy distinctly heard laughter from the chief's friends as he walked back to the radiant girl with whom he had spent the whole evening. He nervously held out his hand and was relieved when she immediately took it without the slightest hesitation.

"Your dad says it's okay for me to walk you home." he said cheerfully. "And walk you home I shall."

"Lead on, kind sir." Adrianna said cheerfully.

There was something special about walking through the Great Hall with a beautiful girl at his side. Even the girls who usually made fun of Adrianna didn't have a single thing to say as the young couple walked past their group. As they made their way through the snow, they were silent for a few minutes, their hands tightly clasped and their eyes taking in the beautiful village square around them. They both loved how quiet it was whenever it snowed. It almost seemed a shame to break the potent silence around them. And so they walked without a word, allowing the tiny crunching sounds of their boots against the snow to permeate the still atmosphere.

They seemed to arrive at the Haddock house far too soon. Erick turned to face his best friend, his heart skipping a beat at how red her cheeks and nose had become thanks to the cold. She was a beautiful sight indeed.

"I had a really great time tonight." he said softly, reaching up and brushing her stray bangs from in front of her sparkly green eyes.

"Me too." Adrianna averted his gaze and stared at their clasped hands for a few seconds. "It was... different. Good different."

"Yes." Erick breathed a laugh. "I think we have a lot to talk about."

Adrianna nodded. "We do."

"Annie," Erick gently grasped her chin with his hand and raised it so that she was looking at him. "I was wondering... do you want to go on a flight tomorrow afternoon? Charger or Lily, your pick."

"I'd like that." Adrianna smiled up at him.

For a moment, Erick hesitated. At the party, he knew he couldn't give into temptation because there were people around. But Adrianna was so beautiful in the glow of the multicolored Snoggletog lights. No one was around. It was just them, alone in the beautiful world they had created together... and Erick was feeling a little bit reckless.

He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, reveling in their softness once more. She gasped in surprise but quickly relished the warmth of his lips so much that she didn't stop to wonder how they had remained warm in this frigid weather. Her fingers slipped from his and reached up to stroke his cheek. For a few seconds, everything was perfect. Adrianna's body was on fire, her head full of thoughts and feelings she'd never had before all racing through it faster than she could process them.

The moment ended far too soon. Erick and Adrianna stared at each other, their reflections in each other's eyes silently begging for more... but now wasn't the time. The Haddock girl was tired and she knew he probably was too. So she allowed him to slowly move away from her, her fingers dropping from his cheek to her side.

"Good night, Annie." Erick tenderly whispered before turning and walking in the direction of his house.

Adrianna watched him walk away for nearly a minute before she became suddenly aware of the fact that she was holding her breath. She exhaled so rapidly, she began to feel a bit lightheaded. But as she finally walked up to her house and slid in through the front door, she began to question everything rushing through her mind, especially the conclusion it all seemed to reach.

Was she... could she be... no... well, maybe? The girl smiled at nothing in particular as she hung up her coat, her hands shaking the tiniest bit. She could feel heat rising to her face at the very thought... but it needed thinking all the same.

A question soon began to burn in her mind, enveloping everything else in its wake: was this what it was like to fall in love?

Wow, what a long chapter! It currently holds the record for longest chapter of this entire series and the final one I wrote at age 23.

All I want for my birthday are nice, detailed reviews because this chapter was SO long and difficult to write! Special thanks to my AMAZING co-author, EmmerzK for being awesome and writing quite a bit of this.

All righty, guys, you know what to do! Don't forget to review!

~KateMarie999