"Yaknog! Get your Yaknog! Come get yourself a frothy cup a'cheer!" Astrid's voice rang through the streets as the slight blonde balanced a tray of cups.

"Ooh! Smells GREAT! Can I have one?" Fishlegs seemed to pop out of nowhere.

Astrid beamed and held out the tray. "Happy Snoggletog, Fishlegs! Have a cup of my delicious—"

"STOP! FISHLEGS, NO! DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DRINK THAT!"

All heads turned to find Hiccup scrambling down the snowy streets, skidding to a stop inches from the precariously balanced tray.

"Stop—don't—drink—that," he panted, bracing his hands on his knees.

"Why?" Fishlegs retracted his hand.

"Yeah, why?" Astrid looked slightly betrayed. Then, she leaned down to his level, and whispered fiercely, "I thought you said the finalised formula was NICE!"

"Yeah, but—" Hiccup struggled for breath. Finally able to speak, he straightened up. "I forgot the leaves on this tray."

He opened his fist, and carefully balanced one mint leaf on top of the creamy white froth in each cup. "The mint leaves were my idea," he added.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, drink up, Fishlegs."

Suddenly, a dual blur of blonde came barreling out of a nearby house.

"Ooh, I smell food!" Ruffnut grinned hungrily.

"I love food!" Tuffnut added.

Both twins grabbed a cup in each hand and downed each cup like a shot of mead.

Hiccup didn't miss the widening smile on Astrid's face as more and more children and adults alike set empty cups on her tray, giving friendly death threats if she didn't bring out more.

"Well, don't mind if I do," came Snotlout's voice from behind them.

"Sure! Have a cup!" Astrid handed him a cup of the creamy stuff.

"Mmm, what is this stuff?" Snotlout asked, punctuated by greedy mouthfuls.

"Yaknog!" Astrid replied sweetly.

Snotlout promptly emptied his mouthful back into the cup.

"Yaknog? No way."

"Of course it's Yaknog!" Astrid insisted. Snotlout stared down at his cup of creamy, pale yellow goop that actually tasted pretty good. Yaknog? No way. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he'd finally lost it.

"This isn't Yaknog!" He spluttered.

"Um, yes, it IS." The gleam in Astrid's eyes now resembled that of a freshly sharpened axe.

"Then why is it so...weird and...wonderful?"

"Hiccup helped me make a few tweaks to the recipe!" She put an arm around Hiccup's shoulder, who promptly turned an impressive shade of crimson.

"It's actually pretty great," Snotlout nodded approvingly as his second cup went down on the tray.

"Happy Snoggletog, Meatlug!" Stormfly called out as she passed by the Gronckle's stable.

"Oh, hey! Stormfly! Did you hear about the fireworks show?"

Stormfly laughed. "Yeah. Hookfang thinks it's a crazy idea—humans creating their own fire-blasts? Who ever heard of that?"

"Well, I hear it'll be fantastic. Barf and Belch happened to see the test runs, and they said it's like a dragon's fire," Meatlug whispered secretively.

"Alright then, catch you later at dinner! I'm going to drop by Toothless' place," Stormfly saluted her as she flew away.

From first light, it was plain to see that the entire island of Berk was abuzz with activity. Children barrelled down the streets, flinging snowballs while screeching like wild Terrors. Men and women alike went door to door, bringing meat pies and smoked fish, exchanging holiday greetings. Overhead, dragons soared with their beloved Riders. Some dragons even sported festive wreaths or little jewel-hued bells that jingled cheerily against the bright winter sky. Terrible Terrors chased and tapped underfoot, like rainbow-coloured terriers.

Even the air was wild with life as the smell of special Snoggletog delicacies drifted and circled through the wind-whipped snowflakes. Food vendors advertised their special Snoggletog fare, the fervent shouting mingled into a joyous cacophony.

Amongst the dragons, too, it was evident that they were having a special celebration of their own. Since mating season only came in alternate years, this year being the off-season, huge troops of gurgling, yapping baby dragons trotted around, some occasionally trying to lift off into the cool, sharp air.

Hiccup and Toothless, as usual, were out flying again. This time round, though, they flew higher and faster than before. Hiccup had perfected numerous tricks, and from afar could be seen twirling and soaring alongside his dragon. It was as if dragon and boy had become one, zipping through blue skies and white-whipped clouds.

And as the sea, once again, rushed upwards then completely flipped upside down, Hiccup's only thought was: "I wouldn't miss Snoggletog for the world."

Later, as dinner rolled around, the Great Hall was flooded with the gold light of towering torches. Gobber led the village in a rousing medley of traditional Snoggletog songs, from "Frosti, the Snow God" to "We Wish You a Happy Snoggletog".

"And now, it is me pleasure to invite the Chief of Berk, Stoick the Vast, for his ANNUAL SNOGGLETOG ADDRESS!" Gobber gestured to Stoick, as thundering applause filled the hall.

"Whenever Snoggletog comes around every year, my favourite thing to do is this—" he paused dramatically, "To look back, and think of how ABSOLUTELY CRAZY it is, to be celebrating with DRAGONS! Am I right? No?" The whole hall was in an uproar of laughter.

Stoick grinned and continued. "Ah, but seriously now. There are a number of people I'd like to thank for making this year's Snoggletog celebration possible. Of course, there is my good man, Gobber, who lead the Snoggletog Sing-a-long AND tasted all the food, Thor bless his soul; then there's Mulch and Bucket, designers of the wonderful decorations you see around you; the Jorgensens and the Hoffersons, for supervising the building of the Snoggletog tree. We have the lovely Astrid Hofferson and her delicious Yaknog, which I took ten cups of—beat that!—and the chefs, for a spread worthy of Valhalla. Last but not least, I would like to thank my boy, Hiccup—" a wave of 'aww's went round the hall, "—not just for creating the spectacular fireworks show we'll all get to see later, but because if it wasn't for him," Stoick paused, as father and son found each others' eyes and smiled affectionately, "we wouldn't have these marvellous beasties to spend the holiday with. Thank you everyone!" Again, a mighty applause rang out.

"And now, as we sit down for the Snoggletog feast, I'd like us to take time, to reflect. Think about the great year Odin himself has blessed us with, think about the people you love. Think, and I mean really THINK—as most of us are inclined not to do—think about the Snoggletog spirit of giving. And above all, HAPPY SNOGGLETOG!" The crowd cheered as Stoick stepped off the dais.

As Hiccup applauded, he felt someone nudge his shoulder.

"Astrid! Hey!"

"Hi," Astrid beamed. "Just wanted to say that...what you did, helping me with my Yaknog, was really nice. And I wanted to say...thanks. I mean, a lot. I really appreciate it." She pushed a small, wooden box into Hiccup's hands.

"Woah, for me? Thanks!"

"That's for helping me with my recipe," she grinned.

"Oh boy, here it comes—"

"And this, is for everything else." Suddenly, Hiccup's brain was completely fried as he found his lips locked with that of Astrid's. The Great Hall spun violently and all sounds were wiped out entirely, as her milky arms circled his shoulders. Distantly, Hiccup found himself thinking that no matter how many times this happened, he'd still feel like he'd died and gone to Valhalla.

Some distance away, he thought he heard Toothless snicker.

"...and now, let's all head outside for the grand Fireworks Spectacular!"

A bone-crushing mass migration of Vikings and dragons ensued. The crowd flooded out like a wave, as the fireworks team lined up at the rockets.

Stormfly found herself next to Toothless.

"Oh, hi! Didn't see you this morning."

"Yeah, I was out flying," Toothless shrugged.

"Listen...uh...there's something I should...clear up."

Toothless cocked his head. "Yeah?"

"It's about...us. And yesterday." She managed to stutter out.

"And...what about us?" Toothless felt his heart already start to drop.

"Yesterday, I lied. My dare was to act all sappy with you, and I couldn't tell you I was doing a dare. But hey, wait—there's more." Stormfly's heart was beating so fast, she thought it might stop right there.

"More?"

"Yeah. This sounds cheesy, but...it made me realise how much you actually mean to me...I hope that's okay?" Stormfly dropped her gaze.

"Well, I also wanted to say something," Toothless didn't know if he was relieved or not. "I was also thinking, and...I realised I may have been rushing it. I mean, you mean the world to me, but here's the thing. A long time ago, I felt the same thing for another girl. A great, hot wave in my chest, couldn't speak, couldn't sleep. And we worked. At first. Once the feeling died down, I realised—it was just a crush. Stupid teenage thing." Toothless paused to see if he'd lost Stormfly yet. Seeing that he hadn't, he hurried on. "So what I'm saying is, what you and I have is special. We are already best friends, whereas Skins and I weren't. Not really. So I think that...for the time being..."

"Yes?" Stormfly said softly.

"I think we shouldn't rush it. I don't want this to burn out fast like a fire-blast, so here it is—" Toothless took a deep breath, then another, to still his hummingbird heart. Finally, he spoke. "I think we should be friends, BEST friends, first. You're already the best dragon friend I have, Stormfly! And when the time comes, and if you agree, we'll be more than that. Is...that okay?"

As the fire-works team lit their torches, Stormfly finally spoke. "Yes, that is TOTALLY okay! I am totally cool with that. Although this is still worth a try," she grinned.

"What is?"

"This."

And as a million bright spheres of coloured light flew and burst in the sky, Stormfly rushed forward, dragon snout crashing with Toothless's. And then, Toothless kissed back. The pair stayed, framed white by the flaming coloured blasts that lit the sky up impressively, stayed even as the crowd cheered, as if cheering them on; then finally pulled away, grinning giddily.

Toothless blinked, feeling like he was flying. "I could get used to this."

Happy Belated Snoggletog, guys!

Do remember to send in your dares for the next chapter! It's Stormfly's turn to dare now!