"Happy Snoggletog, everyone! I welcome you to The Haddock House to celebrate this beautiful festival. We get together at the end of every year to remind ourselves of the importance of family and traditions. Here's to this one and many more to come!" The Mayor raised his glass with his arm around his wife.
The healer concluded their speech, "Enjoy, and we hope you have an amazing time!"
The Haddock house exploded into cheers and applause. Everyone was having the time of their life and enjoying the festival to the fullest. Stoick and Valka were having a deep heart-to-heart or work talk with Finn, Gobber and the other adults of Berk.
On the other side, the youthful adults or 'immature idiots' as some might call them, were conversing, and for some obscure justification, Tuffnut kept glimpsing at the clock.
"So, how about we kiss at midnight?" Tuffnut stroked his braids converted into fake beard.
Most included in the conversation delivered him an obnoxious look, and Astrid was the foremost to exclaim, "No!"
He was ready to throw a tantrum. "Oh, come on, it's Snoggletog; loosen up, you cruel woman!"
Snotlout gulped his drunk. "I am with Tuff. It's Snoggletog, and we always kiss at midnight; it's a tradition."
Heather appeared accepting of the theory, "I'll kiss Fishlegs." And her boyfriend was more than delighted to oblige.
Ruffnut was next to approve. "I'll kiss Eret." And shortly, pretty much everyone was in on the idea.
"I'll kiss Mindy." Snotlout looked away in her direction with red cheeks. Someone finally was confessing to their crush.
Astrid checked her nails and casually sounded, "I'll kiss Hiccup." Hiccup silently nodded as if anticipating it, but some of him was flabbergasted too.
Putting his arm around Elsa, Tuffnut winked. "Now it's only you and me."
Elsa peeled off his arm from her shoulder and joked. "I'd rather die."
Astrid grinned and dramatically sighed. "If only we had another guy that Elsa could kiss." She prodded Hiccup in Jack's path, and figuring out what she implied; he pulled Jack into the circle.
"Hey, Berkians! What's going on?" Jack had that damn smile on his face, that Elsa unknowingly loved, and he waved.
Tuff crossed his arms and indicated at Elsa, offended. "Well, this little miss won't kiss me at midnight."
Elsa chuckled at his pout; this happened every year; it was sort of a tradition for them friends. "Tuff find somebody else!"
"Yeah, she's married!" Shrugging, Jack simply declared.
The circle was pin-drop silent, and Snotlout finally gulped his drink that remained in his mouth for too long. "Say what now?"
Jack casually wrapped an arm around Elsa's waist. "Didn't you hear? I'm her husband for the next few weeks. So fake or not, she's taken, and I'm kissing her tonight."
Everyone understood him, but it nonetheless didn't make sense to them. Why Jack? Out of every guy in Berk, why him?
Embarrassed by Jack, Elsa yanked him to the side, away from all eyes. "Listen here for once and for all. I'm not your wife, and no way in hell you're kissing me."
"You'll have to." He sounded like leather.
She huffed and lifted her eyebrows. "And just why would I have to?"
There was a sly thought cooking in his head. "It's bad luck. You must kiss someone at midnight, or your next year will be cursed."
Elsa knew that this was such a load of garbage, but she wanted to have fun with him. "Ok, sure, I'll kiss" The corners of his mouth gradually lifted, so she shook her head. "But not you!"
"But I'm your husband!"
"Fake husband."
He tossed his arms in the air. "Oh, come on, woman!" She wandered away, leaving him with just an eye roll.
After an hour, midnight reached, and as planned, everyone kissed their one while Elsa and Jack stood looking at them from afar.
"Here's to the new year!" She smiled sincerely at him, and his heart skipped a beat.
She was in thought when his chilly lips lightly skimmed her warm cheek. "You got your kiss."
There was something so attractive about this. He kissed her on the cheek and not the lips.
He was a gentleman.
Was she thankful for this or disheartened with him?
Before Elsa could speak, he walked away and left her with the lingering sensation of his lips on her face. She felt her cheek and smiled discreetly. "What's happening to me?"
"You're falling in love Elsa Overland." That was the voice she could detect from miles away and in a million.
Elsa snorted and swatted Astrid's shoulder. "How was your kiss with Hiccup? It looked a little too intimate."
Her eyes stared at the ground. "I asked him out."
"You did n-" Elsa laughed. "-You know what? I believe you."
Astrid tossed her hair back in frustration. "Well, I couldn't wait forever for Hiccup to ask me out. So I did it myself."
Her best friend high-fived her, "Well done, Hofferson!"
"So Jack's headed to Iceland with you tomorrow?" Astrid asked, concerned.
A sad sigh was let out "It's either him or I tell everyone I lied. So I'll be Elsa Overland for a few weeks."
Something kept bugging her, and Astrid ought a clear answer. "What do you even have against him? He's a nice guy and exceptionally handsome, I'll admit. So what's the matter? You both got along terrific, and then bam, you can't stand him."
Elsa clenched her jaw and couldn't find the right words to explain. "Honestly, I'm not even sure myself. I like him; he's friendly, and we get along great, but I don't know, whenever he talks to me...I simply get...irritated and shove him away."
"Elsa-"
"I know, I know it's foolish and-"
Astrid gripped her shoulder. "I get you. I recall it took you months to accept my friendship. Whenever you receive any kind of affection, you push people away, but-" She pushed Elsa's head towards Jack. "-But that guy is worth it. He's what you need; somebody who can understand you and love you for who you are, but also makes you see the fun in life and make you laugh. Give him a chance, and I can foresee you'll thank me. This time fight with yourself and don't push him away."
All Elsa could do was pass a smile. "Thanks, Astrid, you truly get me. I know what you said is correct, and...I'll try not to push him away. I need to get used to this kind of affection."
Astrid tugged her in a hug. "I'm always here for you, and remember that I'm very proud of you." And departed soon.
Jack was by Elsa's side momentarily, and his expression was crammed with concern. "Everything ok? Why are you crying, Elsa?" He brushed her tears away, and his touch was gentle.
She vowed to follow Astrid's advice and be fair to him. "Jack... I'm sorry, I mean...I haven't treated you nicely. All you've been doing is joking with me, and I've been irritated for no reason at all. I'm just...I get...uncomfortable when anyone shows affection."
With a bold move, he cupped her face. "I get it, don't worry, but hey, we are still taking off to Iceland tomorrow, right?"
This time it didn't take her a second to answer back, "Yes, we are, but we have to hang out at Tuff's apartment later. It'll be you and me and Tuff."
"Why Tuff?" He groaned Tuffnut was an incredible person but hard to deal with alone, primarily because of his annoying chicken and, well, because he's...Tuffnut.
She shrugged. "He invited us, and I have no idea why."
Jack grunted. "Elsa, I'll pay you a million dollars to get me out of this hangout."
Elsa laughed, but one look at his face and she knew, "Oh, you're serious?"
"I'll transfer you the money, please, please!" he took a breath. "He has a poultry farm at his place. Isn't that illegal or something?"
She had trouble breathing right now from laughing continuously. "I'll have to ask Uncle Stoick, but no, we're still going." Her phone vibrated, and she looked at the screen. "Did you just transfer me a million dollars? You can't transfer such a big amount!"
Well, that's not the question he expected to be asked. "Yes, you can if you're rich."
She gasped out loud, and a few heads turned in her direction. "I thought you were joking! You are freaking rich?"
"Umm yeah, you didn't know?"
"Well...No!" She furrowed her eyebrows as if expecting an explanation.
Sighing, he explained, "I make more than enough as an engineer, but I started my business when I was in University to support my mom and me, so it's sort of a side hustle."
"Anyways...I'm not accepting that money, and we're going to Tuff's; now, move your lazy bum."
He ran his hand down the face. "I tried."
Bidding farewells, they headed to the vast parking lot, and Jack pulled Elsa with him to his car. "Let's take my car. I'll drop you back home, too, I insist."
"Sure" She forwarded her head towards the door handle, but Jack slid before her. "I need to open the door to sit in your car, you know."
He rolled his eyes as if she had missed the point. "Now, what kind of a man would I be if I didn't open the door for you?"
Staring at him for a second, she nodded. "Then can you please it's cold out here."
With a warming grin, he opened it for her. "There you go, Your Majesty."
She rolled her eyes at the nickname and smoothly sat in the car. "Thanks, Mr. Overland."
"You're welcome, Mrs. Overland." And she was speechless. Elsa wanted to yell at him like ever, but she wanted to give him a chance.
She had promised Astrid and herself.
Also, he deserved it.
Jack went around the car and sat in the driving seat. "I'll turn on the heating and seat warmer for you. Oh shoot, I forgot something."
Once again, she remained perplexed. "What are you doing?" He opened her door and crouched in front of her.
"It's a long drive. I want you to feel at ease." He held her feet one by one with such care and took off her heels.
If she wasn't impressed before by his thoughtfulness, she definitely was now. Astrid was right.
Jackson Overland is one of a kind.
Turning around in his seat, when he sat back in the spot, Jack asked, "You don't get motion sickness, do you? I'll drive slowly and take stops in between to give you a rest. Also, I have some pills in the dashboard if you feel sick."
Why was he so damn understanding? "Thanks, but I should be fine. If not, I have you to take care of me." Elsa startled herself by saying this. Since when did she depend on a man?
Had she known him for decades?
"Ok, then let's drive, shall we? Why is Tuff's place an hour away from here anyway?" Berk was a big town; why did he live so far.
She shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, it's Tuff when is anything normal with him."
Jack played with his plugged phone, trying to find a good song, "Any special request for Your Majesty?"
"I don't listen to music much. You play something."
He blushed and shook his head. "I have this song that I...I listen to a lot, but...I sing along. And I sound horrible."
She was amused. "I'm intrigued; play it, and I'll be the judge of your singing."
He scrolled down his playlist and clicked on the song. Because he couldn't face Elsa, he kept his eye on the road as he drove, ignoring her face.
Hey Frances, I don't know about you but
I kinda need a break
Maybe a trip or something
There was silence so far, and Elsa wondered if he'll start singing any time soon.
Then he did.
.
Fly me to the moon
.
Elsa was absolutely entirely dumbfounded. She yearned to say a lot, but she couldn't.
.
Let me play up there with those stars
Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars
In other words, hold my hand
.
Jack felt the lyrics while singing and sneakily grabbed Elsa's hand in her lap. She didn't mind.
.
In other words, baby, kiss me
.
He brought her hand to his lips. Is this what love felt like?
.
Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
In other words (in other words)
Please be true
In other words
.
Elsa shyly peaked at him and noticed he was staring at her.
.
I'm in love with you
.
The very first time this lyric left his lips in such a smooth rhythm. He truly was in love with her. But no, that couldn't be! He had only known her for two days. Love doesn't happen that fast, or does it? It's not like he had fallen in love before.
How could he know?
How could she know?
.
In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me
Fill my heart with song
Let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
In other words
Please be true
In other words
In other words
In other words (in other words)
I, I
I love (I love)
I love you
.
He gulped and nervously chuckled. "Yeah, I...I'm sorry, I just...I sing along, and this one is my favourite song. I'm sorry if it bothered you, but hey, you said I could. And I know my singing isn't Taylor Swift material, but it's not that bad. It's-" Jack had no idea why he got the need to be defensive.
"Beautiful."
Not understanding, he blinked twice. "I'm sorry?"
She bit her lip, attempting to stop herself, but it failed. "I said your singing is beautiful. Your voice...It might sound odd to you, but...I like your voice. You sang each word with such emotion and love as you were in the song. So your voice is just beautiful, not too raspy but not too soft. Just perfect." It was better to shut up now before she kept rambling. Where was she even going with this talk?
He coughed uncomfortably and scrunched his eyebrows. "Umm...Thanks."
"No problem."
Jack drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as the song kept playing on repeat. "So why don't you enjoy music?"
She shrugged as she didn't know the answer herself. "I have never listened to music; it wasn't my cup of tea."
He felt pity. "That's sad; you know what? I promise you, when you come back from Iceland, you'll be loving music."
"We'll see about that."
He maintained gazing at the road in front. "So, how is Iceland? Anything as they portray in the movies? Are the people hot there?"
For an unknown reason, she felt jealous of his question. "It's just a typical county nothing special about it. As for the movies, they always exaggerate in them. Umm, there aren't any hot people; you'll find creepy jerks everywhere." Wasn't this such a lie now?
"That's sad. I wanted to find myself a hot girl there." Smirking, he wiggled his eyebrows.
She swatted his harm, insulted. "Show some respect. You're my husband."
It was as if his heart exploded, but he hid it well. "I thought I was your fake husband."
She blinked and pursed her lips. "Fake or not, Jack Overland, for a few weeks, you're loyal to me."
"Aye, Aye, Cap'n", He saluted her with his best pirate expression, which made her chuckle.
Soon they reached Tuffnut's house. "Here we are." Jack parked his car and got out of the car first to open the car door for Elsa. "What a gentleman you are, Jack."
He winked at her. "Only for you, Mrs. Overland."
Once again, the butterflies reappeared in her guts, but miraculously she walked herself to the entrance. "Tuff, get your lazy bum out." She yelled at the top of her lungs and knocked on the door.
Tuffnut appeared with a chicken on his shoulder. "Welcome, my dear, dear awesome friends."
Jack whispered in Elsa's ear, already getting a bad feeling about this, "Yeah, this isn't gonna go well."
She rolled her eyes and pulled him into the house. "Now I love you, Tuff, but why did you invite us?"
"You're leaving tomorrow, and I wanted to hang out with you."
Elsa granted him a stare. "I'm not buying it; tell the truth."
Tuff wailed and held up his hands in defeat. "Alright, woman! I wanted to play a game with you both."
Jack snorted, half in amusement and half in curiosity. "And that would be?"
Tuffnut plunged himself on the round rug in the centre of the room. "It's a Nut's traditional game. It goes back centuries. Take a seat so I can explain."
The duo raised an eyebrow at each other but gradually gave in and sat down to face him. "Explain now, Tuff." Jack rubbed his hands together.
Pulling a pen behind his ear, Tuffnut started to write or draw on his white rug and ruin it by explaining, "So you drink a nasty yaknog that gets you drunk and answer the other person's questions." He extended his arm and grabbed the bottle from the couch. "It's Astrid's yaknog. I added alcohol to it."
Nothing could be nastier than Astrid's yaknog. They had luckily dodged her drink at the party, and now they're stuck here in a worse situation.
Jack seized his outburst of laughter. "So truth and dare but with shots?" He could name at least ten more games with the same rules.
Tuffnut waved his finger, disagreeing with him. "Don't insult our tradition, my friend. This game is called 'Sofalia Ziwa,' not your stupid game."
Elsa squinted her eyes. "That sounds such a made-up name, Tuff." But she wanted to end this soon. "Now, let's play the game. Jack and I have to get up early for our flight."
Tuffnut nodded and filled two mugs with Astrid's Yaknog that he had added alcohol to. "Elsa, drink this and answer Jack's question."
Being put on the spot abruptly, Jack commenced panicking and came up with an idiotic question "Have you ever played this Nut game before."
Elsa chugged the drink and gagged in disgust. "No! This is the first time I'm even hearing about it."
Tuffnut inclined down and wrote one on the carpet under Elsa's name. "Now, Elsa, you ask Jackson."
So she did. "Who's your crush?" Why did she ask that question? Since when was she so prying into someone's love life?
Jack's eyes twinkled with fun. "Elsa." And chugged his drink.
Wow, the Yaknog was good because just one mug in, and they were drunk as a skunk.
The idiot who completely overlooked the romantic tension before him notified the pair, "I've got my officiant license."
Elsa lifted her eyebrow at such a spontaneous message. "Huh?"
The Nut once again began doodling on the white rug "All the men in our family have to get an officiant license."
Jack, who was about to pass out in his condition, raised his hand, "The question is, why?"
"I don't know, man, it's a tradition."
A bizarre idea popped into Elsa's mind "Why don't you get Jack and me married?" Yup, she was tipsy, and to make it worse, she went ahead and poured herself another yaknog.
Jack was, for some justification, wildly in on this idea. "Yeah! Let's do it!" He shot his arms in the air and nearly threw up as the nausea hit him.
Even though Tuffnut was the only individual with a conscience mind right now but he was a Nut, so he exclaimed excitedly, "Hell yeah! Let's do it."
Jack saw two Tuffnuts, and he pointed at the wrong one. "Get us married, Nutt!"
Ignoring her surroundings, and for the first time ever, Elsa slanted and kissed Jack's warm and inviting lips. "Fly me to the moon, husband."
So he did as he kissed her back.