Astrid had little time to change after a day of flying, distributing food, flying again, assigning tasks, and helping Sigrid and Gothi. Her home was silent when she ran through the door and leapt up the stairs to her room. She unbraided her hair and combed it quickly, leaving it loose while she dressed. Her clothing still carried the scent of the cavern, she noticed, as she set it aside, rushing around her room, sprinting through her preparations.

But it was when the sunlight through her window lit her skin that she stopped moving and breathed deeply.

She looked down at her body, reliving moments of sensation and thrill, as if her skin were a map of hidden pleasure and invisible memories hidden in softened marks and secret tenderness.

She'd seen Ruff from the air, and signaled to meet her behind the stables, hoping Ruff would be able to ditch her brother long enough to talk. They'd had a few scant minutes, but it was enough to align their stories should they be asked about their night, though Ruff was very sure they wouldn't be.

Before she'd run off to avoid her brother, whom they could hear thundering toward them through the village, Ruff had said, "Now, remember what I asked you. Oh, and do you want those pages back?" Her voice was teasing but kind.

"Pages? Oh, no. No, thanks."

She recalled them perfectly. And she wanted to go back to the cavern to experience what she recalled.

But there was a celebration to attend. One more before life went back to how it had been, but a little better now. Or a lot better.

With a sigh and a slight smile, she lifted her dress from where it hung on the wall, inspecting it for any tears or damage. When she pulled the gown over her head and settled the fabric in place, the texture of the patterns on her skin made her recall the feeling of Hiccup drawing dragons down her shoulder and arm with his fingertip.

She looked at her sleeve. She could add more dragons from the neckline to the cuff. And she could collect new memories while wearing the gown she'd worked for hours on, removing the sadness of the last time she'd worn it and replacing it with overwhelming joy.

After fixing her hair and replacing her kransen, hiding her knives, and sliding on her bracelets, she went down the stairs. Her home was still silent. Sigrid was already in the Great Hall, and her mother was nowhere to be found.

To her surprise, Gothi was waiting for her by the fireplace.

"Gothi, you have got to teach me how to move so silently. I didn't hear you come in."

Gothi just smiled. She wouldn't reveal her secrets. Then Gothi's eyes narrowed, and her expression turned shrewd. She began tapping her staff in the ashes by the hearth, writing a tiny message in front of her on the ground. Astrid had to lift her skirts out of the way and lean close to read it.

Then she looked at her great aunt, surprise on her face, and nodded.

Gothi's smile, radiant and proud, warmed her inside. Then Gothi swept away her writing with her staff, then quickly scrawled another series of symbols and runes.

"Yes, I agree. He is pretty good with your staff as a weapon."

Gothi nodded, and again brushed away any sign of their conversation. She took Astrid's arm and together they made their way up to the Great Hall.

"If you wanted, though, you could train him."

Gothi scowled at her as she laughed.

…

When they entered the Great Hall, the noise was like waves on the ocean, sweeping from one side of the stone room to the other. Nearly everyone had gathered, and while the mead and food were everywhere, the musicians hadn't started drinking heavily yet. She could tell because they were still in tune and playing at the same rhythm.

Hiccup found her immediately. He bowed to Gothi and thanked her again for beating Ivar for him, and though she shook her staff at him for his impertinence, they could both see her fighting a smile. Gothi patted Astrid's hand, but didn't release it, then reached for Hiccup's, holding on to each of them for a moment as she looked from one to the other. After a moment, she seemed satisfied, and wandered off toward the food and the mead.

"What was that?"

"I have no idea," Astrid replied. She looked him up and down. "You look handsome."

He shook his head, looking down at himself then looking away. "Thanks."

"Are those the shields Finn made?"

He removed one from his shoulder to show her the detail. She took it from him, turning it slowly, studying and admiring the design. The Berk crest formed the center, but the edges were marked by the runes representing each family. She ran her thumb over the axe that stood for the Hoffersons and followed the vine that wound through the families around the border. Finn had been so talented.

Snotlout's voice, slurred and mellow, came from behind her. "What is that? New weapon?"

"Old metal," Astrid replied.

"Boring." He wandered off.

Once he was gone, Astrid turned to affix the shield where it had been, lifting it toward him, but then she stopped. "May I…may I put this back on you?"

His smile was intimate and gentle. "Sure, yes. Thank you."

Her back was to the room, so she didn't see the glances, smiles, nods, and elbowing of neighbors that surrounded her as she affixed the chieftain's seal to Hiccup's clothing.

"Everyone's watching me do this, huh?" Her voice was low.

So she had noticed.

"Pretty much, yeah."

She shrugged, then stepped back to make sure the two pins were even. "Shall we find some food?"

But he stopped her before she moved. "Your dress. May I…will you show me? I didn't see much of it before."

With a quiet but proud smile, she showed him the embroidered Gronkles and the Nightmares on the cuffs, and the Terrors that were pulling the tails of some of the dragons, surrounded by a tiny vine that mimicked Finn's metal engraving. At the seam of each sleeve, there were runes and symbols for each dragon class, with many of the same elements as in the shields Hiccup wore.

She swept the portion of her hair that spilled down her back over to one side and turned so he could follow the dragons around the neckline. Stormfly was over her heart, and she held a tiny axe in her mouth, the blade shimmering with bits of metal. Toothless's tail was draped over her shoulder, and when he followed the pattern across the back of the dress, Toothless was stretching forward to reach a fish, the last in a line of them that swam away across her shoulders.

"Incredible. It looks exactly like them."

"Thank you."

Together they found food, and places to sit with the others. Snotlout was drinking more, which meant he'd either be sick or asleep soon, while Tuffnut tried to convince Fishlegs to write him a new book of Not Dragons. Astrid laughed at Ruffnut's exaggerated eye roll, and helped her distract Tuffnut into taking Snotlout elsewhere in the hall so that Ruff could talk to Fishlegs alone.

When the dancing began, Ruff dragged Fishlegs with her, but not before shooting Astrid a long and meaningful look, complete with eyebrows and nodding and some strange hand gestures.

But Astrid knew what she meant, what she was referring to.

She felt Hiccup's hand rest on her arm. "Astrid, do you-"

"No."

He jerked backwards, his expression surprised and wary.

She took his hand, and laced his fingers through hers. "Not yet." She smiled and squeezed his hand. "I'll tell you when."

He blinked at her.

"Trust me."

He nodded, and stood up, offering her his arm, and together they made their way around the room, talking to everyone, eating and laughing.

It was so different from the last time, from the wedding itself. Then, they might as well have been in separate buildings, except for when Ivar attacked. Now, it felt for some moments, when their eyes met or his fingers brushed her wrist, like they were the only people in the Great Hall.

The music came to a halt as Ruffnut caught Astrid's attention and signaled her. Astrid signaled back, knowing Hiccup was watching, and could read what they said.

"What in the name of Thor are you doing? What's third?"

"You'll see."

"Is there-"

She looked up at him. "Hiccup, if something were wrong, you'd already know. I'd have told you."

He shrugged, but nodded.

"Don't worry."

…

Hoark climbed up the stairs at the back of the hall to stand next to Stoick, who immediately looked for Hiccup and beckoned him forward. Without thinking about it, he took Astrid's hand and guided her to the front of the room to stand next to him, behind Stoick and to his right.

It wasn't until Hoark began speaking that he realized what he'd done.

Normally, she stood with her family.

They weren't married, or even formally betrothed in the eyes of the village. And they'd been talking when Stoick had gestured for him to take his place, so he'd just dragged her up here…in front of everyone.

Worry and shame coursed through him until Astrid squeezed his hand.

"It's much more interesting from this point of view," she murmured.

"I'm sorry," he whispered back quickly.

"For what?"

"I…you should…."

He felt terrible, and angry at himself.

Then he noticed that really, no one noticed, or seemed to care much at all. Astrid didn't seem to mind. She didn't look guarded or annoyed. If anyone paid attention to her position next to him, they nodded at them both, then moved on. He spotted Sigrid in the crowd, and she caught his eye and smiled. Astrid's mother didn't look like she was plotting his immediate demise, and Stoick glanced at him once and didn't react at all.

He relaxed. Maybe to everyone in the room, it seemed logical. Of course she would stand beside him. Of course they would be together during a tribe celebration and gathering.

And of course she'd whisper things to try to make him laugh, too.

"Odin's ghost, Hiccup. How long does Hoark plan to talk?"

"Not sure." It was traditional to thank the gods, to ask them to bless his marriage. But they'd already done that. Now, Hoark, a little emotional and more than a little tipsy, began by praising Turid, thanking the gods for her, and for Fishlegs, and Meatlug.

"See, this is where he'll go wrong." Having someone to whisper to during long, droning tribe ceremonies was a wonderful novelty and a bonus he hadn't considered.

"How do you mean?"

"My dad doesn't name names at these things."

"Yeah, I noticed that. How come?"

"Because someone will be angry if they aren't mentioned, and if he named everyone in the tribe we'd be here all night. He says most of the time, Vikings want to drink more than they want to hear their own names."

Astrid snorted, and covered it with a cough. "He's right about that."

Then Hoark began talking about her family. He felt her stiffen, and loosely took her hand in his.

Hoark began by thanking Gothi, then thanking Magnhildr and Astrid for protecting his family and their tribe, which caused everyone to cheer, and made Astrid stand even more rigidly.

He squeezed her fingers. "Just relax, they'll stop in a moment."

Then Hoark thanked Sigrid, and Astrid again, for feeding the village and keeping everyone fed and safe during the storms.

The cheering continued. "Okay, maybe not. Sorry."

Hoark mentioned her when he thanked the dragon riders for taking guests on tours, and when he talked about the tournament. It didn't escape his notice, and he suspected that others noticed, too, that Astrid had been part of everything that week. She had protected everyone, and fed everyone. She'd brought Finn back, and directed the distribution of resources before the storm, and, if Hoark was to be believed, had fought the best battle during the tournament, too. That made her snort, and he could hear Snotlout grousing from across the room. She'd done the tasks she feared she couldn't accomplish, on a large scale and in a way that everyone in the tribe, judging by the loudness of their cheers, appreciated.

"Can your dad make him stop?"

"Nope."

Soon enough, though, Hoark finished talking, and stepped back to let Stoick speak.

He felt Astrid relax beside him.

"That was excruciating."

He grinned down at her, enjoying her scowl a little too much.

Stoick's traditional speech was simple, to the point, and didn't change much between events. He was right that Vikings wanted to drink and eat more than they wanted to hear anyone talking at them.

But when Stoick paused and deviated from the toast he gave so often Hiccup could recite it word for word, the silence in the room changed.

Astrid squeezed his hand twice, a signal that she was scanning the room, looking for trouble.

There was none, just Stoick, paused in mid-sentence, taking a slow breath.

"I give thanks to the gods for our tribe, our families, our friends who traveled the seas to be with us as we celebrate and begin a new future together."

That part was normal. Hiccup began to relax.

Then Stoick turned slightly, to where they stood.

"And for my family, as well."

Stoick raised the tankard of mead in his hand toward them both.

Beside him, Astrid gasped quietly, her hand in his. He held on tight, the only change he allowed in his posture, or his expression. His father had just proclaimed them both his family in front of everyone. Sure, he could easily say he'd meant Hiccup, but he'd never singled out Hiccup like that before.

And he knew that his father had meant both of them.

The crowd cheered as he finished, and as expected, everyone headed for the tables, grabbing plates and passing trenchers around the room. Neither of them moved.

"Did he just…?"

"I…I don't know what he did."

Then the music began again. Astrid stepped in front of him, scanning the room.

"What, you think the music is going to attack us?"

"Very funny," she replied, moving and shifting her position until she spotted who she was looking for.

Then she nodded, and turned to him with a smile. "More food?"

"What's going on?"

"I promise I'll tell you, but I can't right now."

She led him toward the fire, where the mead was being served, taking some for herself and finding some water for Hiccup. One song bled into another, and the crowd moved like the sea between the dancing, the feasting, and the drinking in a never-ending cycle.

It grew warm in the Great Hall, but no one left, not even to sneak off. Everyone was waiting for Hoark and Turid to make their way to their home, where they'd stay for an entire cycle of the moon, alone together.

HIccup's mind spun ahead into the future, planning, designing, coming up with strategy, and wondering when their wedding could happen, where they'd live, where they could go for a month where they could be alone, but still find time to fly together. The noise of the room dropped away as he imagined what it would be like.

"Wait."

He blinked. Wait for what? What had he said?

"Wait…ok. Now."

He looked down, confused. Astrid had taken his hand in hers, and was squeezing it. "Sorry?"

She signaled him with her other hand, tucked between them, a gesture they used in drills and in battle. Fire. Now.

But they weren't flying. "I don't…?"

"Ask me now."

His eyes widened. "I already-"

She looked up at him, smiling, but a little nervous, eyes wide and bright. "No, not that. The thing you asked me earlier."

"The thing I asked…" He'd been so far into the future, it took him a second to think backwards and remember what they'd talked about.

She glanced quickly at the couples dancing, then back at him, and nodded.

He smiled at her.

"Astrid."

"Yes?"

"Will you dance with me?"

She gave him a slight bow, and smiled. "I'd be delighted."

He led her away from the tables, and the Vikings made room for them, the steps of the dance following a pattern that could easily add more people.

He raised his hand in front of him, elbow bent, and watched as she placed her hand against his, their arms aligned in the space between them. His heartbeat sped up as she pressed her arm against his.

Behind him, he heard an outraged howl.

"You intemperate she-beast. You cheated!"

When they spun around one another, Hiccup saw that Tuffnut had jumped onto a table and was trying to get to Ruffnut, who was surrounded by people handing her money, sweets, breads, jars of food, and furs. Possibly also a yak.

Ruff scoffed at him. "Yeah, right. How would I have done that?"

"I don't know, but I know you cheated!"

Ruff waved him off. "You think anyone can tell Astrid what to do? Or Hiccup? Go ahead, give it a try."

Tuffnut had no reply for that. He stomped away, taking a large tankard of mead with him, muttering.

The dancers filled in around them, and as they moved through the steps and spun toward and away from one another, Hiccup could only see glimpses of the people who stood watching.

In one turn, he spotted Stoick and Sigrid standing together. Sigrid was holding a blue crockery in her hands, one he'd washed earlier, and they were talking with contented smiles on their faces.

A moment later he saw Gothi and Magnhildr, standing together, drinking, and to his shock it looked like Astrid's mother was smiling. She caught his attention and nodded. It was still terrifying, even if she looked happy.

At the next turn, he saw Stoick and Sigrid again, this time watching them dance, with Gobber beside them, beaming.

Ruffnut appeared next to them, dancing with Fishlegs, the two of them laughing. For a moment Hiccup was afraid to move, afraid he'd hurt someone, but the pattern shifted, and everyone made room for the people around them.

When they passed Ruffnut and Fishlegs again as the lines of the dance changed, Ruffnut reached out and slapped Astrid's palm, then clasped her forearm quickly.

"What was that about?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you been scheming? Aiding Ruffnut in any wagers that might have been placed?"

"Me?" Astrid's face was the picture of blank innocence as they pressed their other hands together and turned in the opposite direction. "I would never."

The music grew and surrounded them, and what seemed like the entire village danced around and with them both.

As they spun, always facing, their hands held up between them, the music rose and everything beyond them disappeared.

The crowd, the noise, the heat, the laughter all faded and it was just the two of them, hands clasped, circling around one another, always touching.

For a brief, exquisite moment, Astrid was his entire world.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

Tomorrow, and everything after.

A note from Ecoutez:

Thank you so much for reading, for commenting, for asking after me when I took breaks to figure this out, and for being patient and welcoming when I came back. I started this fic because I wasn't sure I could write intimacy, and was terrified to try doing so, but your enthusiasm and support and kindness and kudos made it a wonderful experience. Thank you. I wish you all the happily ever afters.