A Forever Holiday

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You are both 11

****************

"Hi, (N/ N)," a newly acquainted friend greeted, sitting down beside you. You continued your gaze forward, off the edge of the cliff your legs dangled over and out to the setting sun.

You whimpered and scoot a few inches away.

"Hey, I won't hurt you," his voice cooed.

You started blankly at him, not knowing how to express your content. Others spoke to you slowly or not at all, since they thought you didn't understand them. You never answered, acted accordingly, or acknowledged their words, after all.

"How are you?" he asked. He waited a minute, then two. You didn't respond. You didn't speak. You didn't even open your mouth. "I know you understand me."

He spoke so calmly; softly. Your eyes widened, and you whipped your head to look at the side of his face. Upon your sudden movement, he looked at you from the corner of his eyes and smirked.

He only said one thing: "I know you." He stood and walked away, not bothering himself to ask anymore questions.

And you knew the truth; Hiccup Haddock did know you. Maybe even just as well as you knew yourself.

*****************

You are both 13

*****************

"Hi, (N/ N)," your friend greeted. He sat down beside you, over the same cliff your friendship began two years prior.
Now that your understanding of the strange Viking language was known, people still rarely spoke to you. It was assumed you were dumb. Why? Because you never spoke. Your alliance with the village runt didn't seem to wise of a choice for you, either, but by his side you stayed, happily.

You let out a short whine as a return greeting. You made incoherent babbling as he offered you a small slice of bread, and you took it.

"You're welcome," came his reply. Silence rested over you two like a blanket. It was early morning, and snow had freshly fallen. No dragon attacks today. Birds chirped, but you didn't turn around to find them like you sometimes did.

You watched the horizon for many minutes, kicking your legs back and forth off the edge of the cliff, before Hiccup bombarded you with concerning questions.

"Your home is in the forest, isn't it?" You nodded. "You live alone, right?" You nodded. "Is it warm?" You froze, stopping your foot mid swing. You turned to look at him and shook your head once. The pattern of your swinging legs started up again. "No one should be alone. Especially not for Snoggletog. I already asked my dad. He said it was okay for you to spend the holiday with us. Please, (Y/ N), please?"

You slowed your legs to a rest and stared at Hiccup. He continued his begging until you abruptly nodded once. He cheered, lifting you to your feet and dancing you away from the edge. "Oh yay! Oh yes! This will be the best Snoggletog ever! I get to spend it with my dad and my best friend!" he cheered. You couldn't help it, his happiness was contagious, and smiled. Your third smile only made his cheers louder and happier.

"Just you wait, (Y/ N), you'll love it," he promised. "We'll stay up late tomorrow night, and then wake dad up early on Snoggletog! Be careful, though, don't wake him before you move his axe. Trust me, it's not a pretty story. I had nightmares for a month!"

That night, Hiccup had you sleep at his house. You looked around in wonder, having never been inside his house before. Your own home was a small cave, and you had never shown anybody it. Most the village assumed you lived in a cottage or something deep in the forest.

You spent the next day, Snoggletog Eve, at Hiccup's house, too. He was his usual hyper self mixed with the sugar filled sweets his dad left out for y'all. You were both hyper and smiling for most of the day. Of course, you also ended up crashing early, falling asleep on the couch in front of the fire.

You woke up next to Hiccup on his bed. Stoick must've moved you both when he returned home. You waited patiently for Hiccup to wake up, enjoying the warmth staying under the blanket brought. You only had a thin, small blanket at the cave. You were always cold during the winter months. It was a miracle you stayed warm enough to survive.

When Hiccup woke up, he was surprised to find you awake. He eagerly jumped out of bed, knocking the blanket to the floor, and dragged you to his father's room. He strategically moved the axe across the room as quietly as possible before jumping on Stoick. "WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IT'S SNOGGLETOG! DAD, WAKE UP!"

When all Stoick did was smirk, Hiccup pulled you up to help him. You both jumped while Hiccup screamed. Suddenly an arm wrapped around both of you and pulled you to the bed, you in the middle. You giggled alongside Hiccup.

"Dad, wake up," Hiccup demanded. "It's Snoggletog."

Stoick chuckled, deeply. "Yes, I heard the first time. Now go back to sleep."

"Snoggletog. Wakey wakey time," you giggled.

Hiccup froze while Stoick's eyes flew open. "(Y- Y/ N)?" Hiccup asked.

You turned to face him.

"Y- You spoke. You spoke!" Hiccup broke free of his dad's grasp and continued jumping on the bed. "Oh this is the greatest Snoggletog ever!" You started jumping beside him as Stoick slowly made his way out of bed. Still in pajamas, Hiccup pulled you both to the living room, where you dug through your helmets to see what goodies Odin left for you. You hadn't celebrated Snoggletog in years, but you were quite pleased with the fuzzy blanket you got.

"I'm sure a blanket it not what you had in mind for your Snoggletog present, (Y/ N), but Hiccup insisted on this gift."

You smiled brightly and shook your head, holding the soft, warm blanket close to you.

"See, dad? I told you she'd like it."

"Aye, that you did, son."

You didn't really know what to give the chief and his son, so you handed them a drawing of a sunset with you and Hiccup sitting on the cliff, side by side.

"Wow, (N/ N), this is amazing!" Hiccup admired.

"You've got quite the talent, (Y/ N)," agreed Stoick.

Every Snoggletog was spent together, laughing and smiling. You always spent the night, and always shared with them your voice on the forever holiday, as you called it.

***************

You are both 18

On the Edge

****************

"What are you doing for Snoggletog, Hiccup?" Fishlegs asked.

"Same thing I do every year," Hiccup answered vaguely.

"I hate it when he speaks in riddles!" cursed Tuffnut.

"You'll have to tell us a bit more than that, Hiccup," Astrid laughed.

"I'm going to spend it with my dad and (N/ N)." Hiccup smiled at you as he answered, but you didn't glance his way. Still, he knew you saw him with your excellent peripheral vision and continued. "(N/N) always spends Snoggletog eve and Snoggletog with us."

"Snoggletog isn't supposed to be quiet. It's supposed to be loud!" Tuffnut declared, yelling the second half.

"Oh, it's anything but quiet with us," hinted Hiccup.

"Your dad and you barely talk," Astrid pointed out. "Unless you need or want something from the other."

"True, but it's a completely different story on Snoggletog."

"Your dad and you suddenly find stuff to talk about?" she joked.

"Yes, and it's not just us," he hinted again. You wondered why he didn't come out and say you talked all Snoggletog long. You never told him or Stoick to keep it a secret, yet they both did.

"What do you mean?" Snotlout questioned. "Does Gobber come over or something?"

"Or something," answered Hiccup, smirking. He was having fun dodging the question. "It's a family secret, guys."

The subject dropped, and everyone finished dinner before going back to their huts to finish packing for the trip back to Berk.

Knock! Knock! someone announced themselves outside your hut.

Your hut was small, just a single room, but it was littered with your drawings, so you carefully and skillfully made your way through the mess to answer the door.

Hiccup walked right on the moment you opened the door. "Hey, (N/N)." You smiled at him and closed the door behind him and Toothless, silently cursing the wave of cold air. "Wow, you really need to tidy this place up. Anyways, I finished packing and was wondering if you needed any help."

You shook your head.

"No? Are you done?"

No.

"Almost?"

You nodded and gestured for him to sit on your bed as he waited. He waited patiently, watching your every move. He always watched you with such fascination, so it didn't bother you too much.

"Why don't you talk the rest of the year? You know, besides Snoggletog?" he asked the question, after all these years. You wondered when he would finally ask it, and you always wondered if you would ever answer or if you even had an answer.

Unsure of how to answer, you set your packed bag beside Hiccup on the bed. You started at it, pondering the real answer to that.

He assumed you wouldn't answer and dropped it. He didn't say anything more, but you could tell he moved on.

"Because that's the only time I have anything to say," you answered, surprising both of you.

"Why? Why don't you have anything to say any other day of the year?"

"I just don't, Hiccup," you answered, looking directly at him. "I don't know why, but I don't."

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. It was quiet for another minute as you went through your bag, double checking everything.

"If you have anything to say any other time of year, you'll say something, right?"

You shrugged for 'maybe'.

He put his hand on yours. "You can talk to the others, you know. Even if it's just once in a while. And I would always love to hear your voice. I l-" he cut himself off, as if it was the wrong thing to say at the time.

You nodded once, then closed your pack.

"Okay. Let's head to the clubhouse. I'm sure the others are waiting."

You gathered your stuff, whistled for (D/N) to get up, and guided everyone out the door.

Astrid landed just as you climbed on your dragons.

"Thank goodness I caught y'all," she shouted over the wind. "The storm's too strong for our dragons to fly through! And too dangerous in these temperatures!"

"But Snoggletog-" started Hiccup.

"Will have to be spent here! Come on, the others are already at the clubhouse!"

Saddened at the news, you followed her to the clubhouse, where the other teens sulked at the thought of being away from their families for the holiday (which was specifically postponed for when the dragons returned with their babies).

So that night was spent with a mixture of cheer and sadness as well of the dash of longing to be with family, but everyone managed not to mention the sad part.

Snoggletog eve was spent locked in the clubhouse with both viking teens and rowdy dragons (what fun).

Come Snoggletog morning, you wished everyone a happy Snoggletog with your own voice, surprising all but Hiccup.

"You talk!" gasped Astrid.

"Am I still dreaming?" asked Tuffnut. "Quick hit me!"

Ruffnut punched him, knocking him to the ground, and said, "Nope not dreaming. This is real. Wow."

"Maybe I woke up in an alternate archipelago," murmured Tuffnut, deep in thought (which was quite dangerous).

"You're not dreaming, and you're not in an alternate archipelago, Tuffnut" you giggled. "I always speak on Snoggletog."

"But-"

"I just do. Now, are we going to waste the day on my ability to talk, or are we going to celebrate open presents?"

Snoggletog morning passed quickly, and soon lunch was devoured.

Early afternoon, Fishlegs noticed a break in the storm.

"If we hurry, we might be able to make it home to finish Snoggletog!" Astrid exclaimed, excitedly.

At her words, everyone shoved their packs onto their dragons and raced out of the clubhouse, yourself included.

Hours later and early evening, you split up to go finish Snoggletog with your families.

You and Hiccup ran into his house to greet Stoick, who was poking at the fire.

"Dad!" Hiccup shouted, making Stoick jump.

"Son! (N/N)!" he cheered. "You made it!" He scooped y'all in a bear hug, cracking your ribs in the process. When he finally set you both down, you gasped for air. "We thought the storm would keep you on the Edge."

"The storm took just a long enough break to get us here," you answered before Hiccup, smiling.

Stoick chuckled, "Well, I'm just happy to have someone to spend Snoggletog with."

"Me, too," you whispered to yourself as Hiccup and Stoick made their way to the chairs, laughing. "Me, too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my fellow Wattpad users! I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season and spend it with those you love and whom love you back!

I meant to post this on Christmas day... but I kinda got distracted... hehe.