Hiccup looked at his image in the cracked mirror, adjusting the heavy fur coat that rested on his shoulders. His skin was still pink and a bit raw from the ridiculous ceremonial bathing and its painfully vigorous scrubbing he'd taken part in earlier that day. He looked, well, really weird. Sighing, he put on the infamous breast-hat and tried as hard as he could to suppress his disturbing thoughts concerning its size in comparison to the other half and…who was he kidding? He did have the attention span of a sparrow!

In any case, he stared at himself in the mirror. He looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown at any moment. Plus, he could detect the faint presence of dark circles from his restlessness the other night. Toothless trotted in and stared intently at the human.

"Hey, bud! Like the get-up?"

Toothless snorted with amusement. Scowling, Hiccup adjusted his helmet and fussed with the coat.

"Yeah, I thought so. I look like I'm shrinking," he pointed out, furrowing his brow in belittlement.

"Hey, man!" called a voice, immediately followed with a thump on the back.

Oh, great.

It was Snotlout.

"Heeeeey, um…You wouldn't happen to be here to give me advice or anything, right?"

"Actually, that's exactly why I'm here. Listen, in less than three hours you're gonna see your lady in nothing but panties," Snotlout raised a blatantly obscene eyebrow while Hiccup couldn't help but gawk helplessly while his cousin monologued about the joys of the female kind.

"P-panties?" Hiccup stuttered.

"Mm-hm. The after that, absolutely nothing," Hiccup choked on the air he happened to be breathing at that very moment.

"Face it, Useless, she's at your mercy," he declared, shrugging slightly.

"Yeah, okay, that's nice. Why are you still here, exactly?" Hiccup blushed.

Snotlout grinned teasingly.

"Grow some backbone! By the way, the ladies love it when you—"

"GET OUT, SNOTLOUT!" Hiccup snapped at him, his cheeks still flushed. Burying his face in his hands, he groaned with exasperation (not entirely Snotlout's doing, but mostly from anxiety). He barely realized his dad standing in the corner until he heard an attention-grabbing cough and the sweeping sound of Toothless slinking back to the other corner of the room.

"Hey, Dad," Hiccup greeted him awkwardly.

If anything, this was the worst possible time for Stoick to show up in Hiccup's eyes.

"Hi, son," he greeted, still a bit awkward since things had changed, "Nervous?"

"What gave it away?" answered Hiccup, dishing out another hot plate of his ever-present biting sarcasm (this time, it was service with a smile!).

"Relax, I was just like this with your mother. It'll be fine," Stoick put his hands around Hiccup in a fatherly gesture, coaxing a relieved grin out of the latter. Even though Hiccup had matured quite well, Stoick's hands were still huge in comparison to Hiccup's shoulders.

"Sure, you might slip up a bit, but you're only human. I remember I accidentally set your grandmother's headcloth on fire!" Stoick chuckled a bit, and then realized the look on his son's face.

"Thanks for the encouragement," he replied weakly, looking absolutely mortified.

This was quite possibly the worst May Day ever.

Hiccup walked up to the middle of the village, where Astrid stood. Naturally, the village elder, Gothi, would marry them, as per tradition. His breath got caught in his throat as he stared at her, clothed in translucent layers of skirts and colorful scarves adorning her waist, her rich blonde hair spilling down her back.

Wow, he thought.

She looked amazing.

Unfortunately, she saw him staring.

"…I probably look like an old lady with this stupid dress," she whispered to herself as Gothi prepared to wed them.

"No, no! You look fine! Gods, I'm such a wreck today," he grinned pitifully.

"Ha! You're the wreck? I couldn't sleep last night cause I was thinking about you," she elbowed him in the ribs playfully.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, and Astrid laughed a little less quiet than she hoped.

Gothi cleared her throat, making a noise comparable to a mouse. Both of the pair realized this, much to their chagrin.

The family swords were exchanged, symbolizing the promise of a son (though Astrid glared at Hiccup with an expression that said 'I'm not promising anything!'). After Hiccup had handed Astrid his family's sword, she had given him her ring. He held on to her hand and given her his own he'd forged specially for her after that. She took in the glinting image of it, brushing the curtain of bangs out of her face, revealing both her eyes (a rare sight, indeed). A soft smile graced her lips and she wrapped her arms about him and took his lips, leaving Hiccup to almost literally melt in her grasp and lift her up into his arms.

Only one thing nagged at the back of their mind.

What came next.

Hiccup hoped his knees weren't shaking as much as he thought.

"Y'know, you've gotten pretty strong for a toothpick," Astrid quipped, tracing a finger down his cheek.

"Oh, sure!" he joked, his knees dangerously close to buckling.

As soon as he crossed the threshold and set her down, he rushed to close the door, but was quickly greeted with the collective force of the entire population of Berk kicking and screaming to get a glimpse of the "fun".

"I told you guys I wouldn't be doing this!" Hiccup yelled, embarrassed that this had to happen right here, right now.

"C'mon, Crazy! Let us in!" shouted Ruffnut over the din.

"It's tradition, dude!" interjected Tuffnut.

"I don't care if it's stupid tradition or not, there is absolutely no way you guys are gonna see us doing…that!" Hiccup struggled against the door, Astrid quickly joining in the madness. A little more force from Astrid must have done the trick, and the door was shut and locked.

A while passed, and the whispers of disappointment from outside had dissipated. Astrid spoke first.

"...Are they gone?"

"Yeah, should be."

"Well…" she sighed, leaning against the door, "that was quite the crazy ordeal."

"Yeah," Hiccup sighed, putting his hands around her waist.

Hiccup had some of his dignity saved successfully when Astrid removed the breast-hat, then removed her crown as well. Holding on to him, she dragged her fingers through his auburn hair, damp with perspiration, and rested her forehead against his own.

"I love you," he whispered breathlessly.

"Don't you think that's a bit cliche?" she grinned, "but I do love you, too."

She pressed his lips to his and kissed him, slow and deep and sweetened with the mead they'd shared between them earlier that night. Trailing his hands down her back, he leaned down on his—now hers as well—own bed. His mind was going hazy at that point.

This time it was he who had initiated round two of the exchange of lips. Somehow, his shirt and metal leg had mysteriously vanished and Astrid had pulled him much closer to the warmth of her body.

Oh yes, this was going to be quite a memorable May Day.