Little Miracles

Snogging on Snoggletog

Chapter Five: Snogging on Snoggletog

The gifts were finally ready. The children left out their helmets in eager anticipation for Odin's arrival on Snoggletog night. But now it was the evening before Snoggletog Eve and Hiccup tiptoed down the stairs, a grin on his face and a hand on his mouth to keep himself from laughing too hard. Astrid was relaxing on the couch and staring into the fire. She turned to look at her husband and immediately knew there was a story.

"Okay who said what?" she asked as her husband sat down next to her.

"It was Addie this time." Hiccup replied, resting his head on her shoulder. "I was tucking her into bed and she looked me in the eye and said 'tomorrow is the day we say tomorrow is Snoggletog!' It was so adorable. How do we have such cute kids?"

"I guess we got lucky." Astrid sighed deeply, feeling warm and cozy next to her husband. "It'll be nice to have the day off tomorrow. The kids are going to love the Snoggletog Eve party."

"Think Gobber will have the bells attached to his arm this year?" Hiccup asked with a chuckle.

"Oh gods, the bells. I always forget that he does that. Do you remember how Finn managed to pop them off last year? Took forever to pry them out of his hands."

Hiccup laughed as silently as he could. "I remember that. Addie had her hands over her ears because of all the racket. But she brightened up as soon as we all started singing."

"Yes she did. She loves the singing. She'll probably be quite the singer later on." Astrid entwined her fingers with his.

"Probably." Hiccup replied, his mind beginning to travel far away from their conversation.

Right now, everything was perfect. The fire crackled and cast a warm orange glow around the room. Hiccup glanced up to see its effect on Astrid's eyes and felt like something was melting within him. The way her beautiful blue eyes reflected the fire was strangely intoxicating. She was a heavenly being, his Astrid, a gift he did not deserve. And it was Snoggletog that reminded him of all he had to be thankful for over the years. A beautiful wife who still surprised him after over four years of marriage. A little boy who was a handful but always made him laugh. And a little girl whose smile made him forget all of his troubles. He didn't deserve any of them. And yet he was given them anyway.

Yes, he was certainly a lucky man indeed.

Xxx

The village wide Snoggletog Eve party was a memorable occasion. The colored lights shone around the Great Hall, the roaring fires and body heat kept everything warm, and the Vikings were unusually cheerful. The children ran amok, drawing pictures and singing songs with their friends. The Haddocks arrived a little bit late and were immediately greeted with food and activities that they knew would last them most of the night. Sure enough, Gobber did attach bells to his left arm and was entertaining himself by running around and trying to catch the children in a strange game of what appeared to be jingle bell tag. The children shrieked with laughter and Finn immediately joined them. Adrianna gripped her daddy's hand and remained in the group of older Vikings.

Pretty soon it was like old times again with everyone from their old group sitting at a table with the next generation in their arms. Inga Jorgenson was asleep in the crook of Snotlout's elbow; he sent them all death glares as they sat down. No one wanted to make a lot of noise lest they disturb the month old baby and incite the wrath of her father. Fishlegs bounced Gunnar on his knee; the boy grinned as they sat down. Ruffnut was, as usual, picking on her brother and he was reciprocating her punches. It was quite a bit more subdued than when they were teenagers, more in good fun than anything, but it gave the rest of the group a feeling of nostalgia nonetheless.