As Christmas gets closer, people often plan to acquire their gifts. This was not any different for the family. To do this, they went to their nearby mall. It was large and had some fire pits outside, ready to be used for that evening. Christmas music was playing through the speakers and there were snowflake decorations dangling from the ceiling.
"We should probably split up," Hiccup suggested. "That way, no one will see what they're getting."
Tuffnut let out a scoff, causing the others to look at him.
"What was that for?" Fishlegs asked.
"How would someone know what they're getting? It's not like we're buying gifts today."
"Tuff, that's literally why we're here," Astrid stated.
The twins' jaws dropped.
"Wait, really?" Ruffnut asked.
"What did you think we were doing?"
"Just looking at all the decorations!" Tuffnut exclaimed.
Immediately, the twins started laughing.
"We never get gifts this early."
"Christmas is a week away," Mala said, brow raised.
"Yeah, and we never get them this early."
"Three words," Ruffnut declared. "Christmas. Eve. Shopping."
Tuffnut smiled brightly. "Have you ever heard anything more beautiful?"
"Yes," Fishlegs said. "Not having to stress out about being unable to find what you're looking for at the last second is much more beautiful."
The twins booed him and when Snotlout joined in, he frowned.
"You're here to shop too! Why are you booing me?"
"I can't let a good booing Fishlegs session be wasted."
Fishlegs turned up his nose. "Well, I've actually finished my shopping already. I did it before Thanksgiving, so I can walk around with the twins…or maybe meet you at the food court."
With that decided, the friends went off in their own directions. Hiccup was looking through some necklaces for Astrid when Snotlout popped up. He was holding an oven mitt.
"Do you think Heather would like this?"
"She's already got a lot of oven mitts."
"They're gonna get messed up eventually. When they do, she'll have this."
"I guess."
Snotlout's face turned to a pout. "When you say it like that, it sounds like a bad gift."
"I didn't say much of anything."
"You said enough. I'll get her something else."
Hiccup chuckled as his friend hurried off to find a new item. When he went to his next stop, he jolted when Astrid appeared.
"Does Fishlegs seem like he'd want more books or would that just be too predictable?"
"I mean, he's always going to love more books."
"But I don't know which ones he has. If I get him one he's already read, it'll be a pointless gift."
"I think he'll still appreciate it."
"No, I'll do something else."
She left and later, Hiccup saw Mala approaching him.
"Does everyone think I'm the Christmas gift guru?" he asked.
The blonde's head tilted curiously. "Not that I know of. I was going to ask if you had seen Dagur. I saw him running by and laughing. Normally, I would find that endearing, but it seemed a little concerning this time."
"Oh. I saw a flash of red go left of here. I'm sure he's fine, though. He probably can't get into too much trouble."
As soon as Hiccup said it, he doubted his own words.
"They have mall security if something goes too wrong," he said. "Actually, while you're here, do you think Astrid would like this?"
Hopefully, he held up the necklace. It was silver. Mala looked at it, seeming uncertain.
"Is it too much?" the brunet asked.
"I just wonder if it is too…standard. She might enjoy something more unique, especially with how you both enjoy exploring."
"Good point. I'll keep looking. Thanks, Mala."
"Thank you as well."
The friends continued their shopping before meeting at the food court for lunch. Tuffnut and Ruffnut had been spending their time alternating between being around Fishlegs and messing with the people at kiosks. They would pretend to grab something and run off, nearly giving fright attacks to the sellers. It was just around the time that their friends had stopped shopping that they stopped as well. The buyers went to their cars first, preventing each other from getting a good look at the bags. Then they all gathered at a large table. Fishlegs was ready for them and already ordered the pizzas he knew everyone liked. Dagur opened up a bag and poured out some lollipops.
"I found these too. They're peppermint."
"Found?" Heather asked. "You bought them, right?"
"Yes, Heather," he said, sighing.
Relieved, Heather took one.
"Most of them anyway."
The brunette looked at the candy in worry, then her brother laughed. She hit his shoulder in retaliation.
"So, did the shopping go well for everybody?" Snotlout asked.
His eyes were searching for who might have had the most success. No one was making it clear who was the happiest with what they had done.
"You should all go into playing poker," he grumbled.
"It was sort of tricky," Heather admitted. "I think I got stuff that you'd all like. I got something for Stoick and Gobber too. I think Stoick's probably the hardest to shop for."
"Especially because he'll just get it himself," Hiccup stated.
"Or guess what you got him," Astrid added.
"How'd you ever get him to not suspect it?" Heather asked.
"I'm not convinced we ever did," Hiccup admitted. "Even Gobber can't surprise him. Actually, I think Gobber might be the reason why he always finds out. He can never keep anything a secret."
Snotlout nodded. "That's why I was specifically not inviting him today. He'd find out what we were buying, then the whole world would hear about it."
"At least we should be able to avoid that now," Fishlegs said.
He turned when he heard some children squealing in delight. They were running in the same direction.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"If I had to guess, I think Santa just arrived," Heather commented.
To test her assumption, they went that way. As it turned out, the brunette was right. In a large chair surrounded by elves, there was an older man in a red suit. Hiccup chuckled and gestured to him.
"See? No red beard. I never would've believed he was the real one when I was a kid."
"I never liked the mall Santas," Snotlout admitted.
"How come?" Dagur asked.
"Because everyone knows that he isn't supposed to be seen. Sort of goes against that if he's just hanging out at the mall. Mom wanted a picture of me with him, but I was frowning the whole time."
Astrid smiled at the thought. "Little Snotlout frowning up at Santa? I'm going to have to ask her for that picture."
Snotlout frowned at her as well and finished eating the rest of his pizza slice. After a few more minutes, Fishlegs started gathering the boxes.
"If you all drop off the gifts," he said, "the twins and I can meet you at the village."
The friends agreed to this plan and headed home before promptly hopping back into their vehicles. Before long, they all were headed to the village. It was somewhere that none of them had gone, but they were excited to see it for themselves. When they arrived, they were not disappointed. It was more than just a village. It was like a Christmas town. Live music was playing Christmas carols, leading the group to a large stage. Several performers were there and even more were waiting for their turn. At the base of the stage was a table with people sitting and taking notes.
"Ooh, a competition," Dagur commented, intrigued. "I wonder who'll win."
Just as he said that, someone sang off key. He cringed at the sound.
"I'm willing to bet that he won't."
Astrid side-eyed the twins. "Let's move on before they get any ideas," she suggested.
It was not difficult to keep the twins from noticing the singing competition. The area was bustling. Something seemed to be going on everywhere. There were shops on every corner offering something new. Tuffnut started following the smell of roasted cinnamon pecans and dragged Ruffnut over there with him. Gobber did not need much convincing to join them in this snack. When they went to a pretzel and hot chocolate stand, Stoick, Hiccup, and Fishlegs ordered some. The others were too fascinated by the sights to be hungry. Heather smiled when she heard a sheep let out a small bleat.
"They have a live manger scene," she stated, calling over her shoulder.
She kept going, seeing three lambs. They stood by a cow and a calf that looked up at the people with big, happy eyes. It functioned like a petting zoo of sorts. When Snotlout got closer, the lamb licked his hand. He was not sure if he found that more cute or gross.
"They probably would have had a camel too," Fishlegs commented, "but with the winter weather, it makes sense why they wouldn't include one here."
He reached down, patting a little donkey.
"If they had a camel, it would just spit on somebody," Snotlout said, shuddering.
"It's actually bile too instead of just spit."
"Oh, much better," he snarked.
Stoick approached the scene, seeing an ox in the back. "At least they have a strong worker here too. Just a shame that they put him so far back."
The animal got closer and the redhead could not help petting his head. He stopped as soon as he noticed the other animals looking at him.
"Now, don't expect me to pet all of you," he said, starting to move away.
His family followed him and Mala's attention got caught by some wood carvings. She began heading that way, pulling Dagur with her.
"Throk would like these," she stated. "I did not see anything like them at the mall."
Curious, the others joined to look at the items. The carvings were elaborate. All out of wood, there were stars, miniature Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer, and countless versions of Santa. Mala got a few of the reindeer for her friend, then they kept walking. It was not long before the twins started running, pointing up ahead of them.
"They have sleighs too!" Tuffnut cried excitedly.
"And the horses have Christmas bows!" Ruffnut added, grinning. She turned to her brother. "The horse that pulls me is going to be faster than yours."
"No, it's not!"
They took off, hopping in sleighs and encouraging the cabbies to go as fast as possible. Naturally, they were disappointed by the fact that they did not go at break-neck speeds, but it was still nice enough. Hiccup and Astrid hopped into another sleigh, leaning against one another. Gobber and Stoick got drawn to a storyteller who was theatrically recanting old tales of Christmas. The remaining five friends saw something else that drew them over. There was an ice skating rink.
"Have any of you skated?" Mala inquired.
"I'm not very good at it," Fishlegs admitted. "I still think it's fun, though."
"I'm great at it," Snotlout boasted.
"Since when?"
"Since…after the last time you saw me."
"I'm not bad," Heather said. "It's just been a while."
"I like skating fast," Dagur revealed, laughing. "It's fun making the other skaters think you're about to run right into them, then maneuvering at the last second. What about you?"
"I occasionally did figure skating in my youth," Mala divulged.
"Really?" Heather asked. "That would have been fun to see. We should give this a try. Maybe it's like riding your bike and muscle memory kicks in."
The others liked the sound of this idea as well and went to get some skates. It was as tricky as Fishlegs remembered. He held onto the edges, legs desperately trying to go everywhere except under him. Snotlout was not much better, but he was able to keep his hands free. He just went very slowly. He nearly fell over when he felt someone go by him.
"Dagur!" he shouted.
"Sorry, that was me," Heather said, trying to regain her balance. "I just have to remember how to get the hang of this. It's definitely not like riding your bike."
Gradually, she was able to start becoming more steady. It was beginning to feel natural again. On her next lap, Heather caught Snotlout's hand before he fell.
"Okay, you're forgiven now," he said, smiling in appreciation.
Heather grinned and skated over to Fishlegs. She held out her hand and he accepted it, finally letting go of the rail. The two of them started realizing that a crowd was forming.
"I wonder what everyone's so excited about," the blond wondered aloud.
"Me too. Let's check."
They started heading over, then it made sense. Dagur and Mala were performing something of a routine. The redhead lightly tossed her into the air and she did a twirl before landing on one skate. They grinned at each other as they sped around the rink. Snotlout rolled his eyes even though he did not really mind.
"Everywhere they go, they have to be lovey dovey," he commented, pretending to gag.
When the couple was done, they bowed to the audience. It wound up happening around the time that the horse-drawn carriage rides ended. Hiccup, Astrid, and the twins went over, standing by where Gobber and Stoick had gone to watch.
"They're pretty good," Gobber commented. "They haven't fallen once."
"Why don't you two ever ice skate?" Stoick asked.
"Yeah, why don't we?" Astrid inquired.
Hiccup frowned at his father, then sighed. "I don't know. I guess we just are never somewhere with enough ice."
"We are now."
"That's…technically true." Hiccup glanced down. "I'll need to make a different leg for that, so we should probably wait."
"Are you just saying that to stall?"
"How could you think that?" he asked, smiling innocently.
"Get that leg ready soon because the next time we're around a rink, you and I will be on it," Astrid promised.
Hiccup chuckled nervously and was relieved to see the others start to approach, swapping the skates for their boots.
"This has been a pretty fun village," Heather admitted. "I'd come back here."
"I would too," Astrid stated. "It's better than I thought it would be."
She glanced up as a new light appeared. The sun was starting to set, so the lamp posts were being lit and lights from around the village were starting to glow. One building in particular had a lot of extra glowing. Dagur's eyes lit up.
"Candles!" he exclaimed, turning to Mala. "That's what I almost forgot. We need more of those."
"Dagur, I don't think we—"
Mala could not get out more than that before he ran off to the store.
"You don't like candles?" Heather asked.
"No, I do, but we have them everywhere in the house. It is becoming a fire hazard."
"Have you told him that?"
Hiccup chuckled. "Heather, have you met him? He won't think it's dangerous until after the house is burned down."
"He even lit himself on fire last night," Mala admitted.
Heather was going to say that he might not be that bad, but the sight of the redhead returning with two arms full of bags with candles ruined whatever argument she might have used. Hiccup and Mala just looked at her and she glanced away. The group remained there for a short while longer, then began heading home.
"Hey, Brother, when you get a chance, could you come over to our place?" Dagur requested. "I could use your help finding new spots for candles."
"So, you do know that there aren't any places left," Mala stated, crossing her arms.
"I wouldn't go that far. I just know we're…running out of places."
"Dagur, we don't need more candles."
"But they're Christmassy, Malapoo!" He held up one. "Look. It's candy cane scented."
"Dagur…"
"And this one says 'Santa's Workshop.'"
"You said you do not even trust Santa."
"But who can complain about his workshop?"
Mala frowned and in response, Dagur gave her puppy eyes. The blonde let out a heavy sigh.
"Fine," she relented.
Dagur excitedly grinned and kissed her cheek. "You're the best!"
He ran off to load the car up with the candles as Mala sighed.
"He's never going to learn if you don't start telling him 'no,'" Astrid said, chuckling.
"It does seem that way."
The younger blonde gave her a parting hug. "If we see fire trucks, we'll know why."
Mala could offer no disagreement and said her goodbyes to the others, hoping they would not be final ones. The rest of the family got some hot apple cider for the road and began heading home. Christmas was getting so close that it felt like they could see the day on the horizon. Still, they were ready to take as much time as they could and enjoy every moment.