77. Pre-Ceremony Silliness

It was a gorgeous morning.

Because Pepa refused to allow anything else.

Even when Mirabel made it abundantly clear that it wasn’t necessary, the woman had insisted there would be nothing but clear skies for the time being.

While a bit extra, the young couple appreciated the gesture.

After all, their wedding was in just a few days.

After a couple weeks of rebuilding, following the Screaming Death’s attack, the village was in a far better state.

Thanks to the combination of magic and dragons, it didn’t take long at all for the town to be considered fit for human habitation again.

Which was good, because for a while people had to sleep in tents in the fields. Or up in the packed stables, with the dragons.

The normally happy-go-lucky townsfolk were very irritable, during this time.

But through it all, newly minted Candle Holder Mirabel kept things running smoothly. With her overseeing the reconstruction effort, the town was looking like an actual town again.

People were now able to move back into their rebuilt homes, with whatever personal belongings they could salvage. And shops had begun operating again.

The biggest remnant of the destruction was the giant hole, left by the Great White Beast. They were still in the process of filling it.

It wasn’t perfect, there was still some work to be done.

But their beautiful Encanto was coming back together. Meaning their lives could go on as usual.

But for the Madrigals, it also meant something else…

“WEDDING TIME!”

Pepa’s joyous squeal, punctuated by a shimmering ray of sunlight, reverberated all throughout the dining room.

The weather woman was always gushy when it came to weddings.

Mirabel squinted her eyes and held up her scarred arm, to protect herself from the rays. She could barely see the others doing the same.

“I’m happy you’re happy, Tia!” She chuckled. “But could you maybe…?”

With a sheepish smile, Pepa dimmed her light just a bit. Allowing the rest of the family to see again.

“Sorry…” She muttered.

But Mirabel waved away her apology. She never wanted her aunt to feel bad about experiencing her emotions.

“It’s fine!” Spoke the girl, with a gentle smile. “I know we’re all excited!”

She could see the enthusiasm on every face, from her position at the head of the table.

Though…she still felt rather odd, sitting where her grandmother sat for over fifty years. It would take some getting used to.

There was an undercurrent of jubilation all throughout Casita, as the promised day approached. Talks of the upcoming ceremony were pretty much the only conversation topic.

And Casita itself seemed quite eager as well.

It’d already started magically restructuring Mirabel’s room, to accommodate both her and her incoming-husband. The house did this whenever one of its inhabitants found themselves a partner, but it usually didn’t start so early.

Everyone was elated at the knowledge that their Mirabel would be getting married, and that their Hiccup was coming home.

“I can’t believe it…” Isabela sighed.

Luisa wore a warm smile. “I know…our baby sister’s getting married!”

But Isabela shook her head.

“Not that.” She said, growing a mocking grin. “I can’t believe we’re gonna have to listen to that honking goose voice every day!”

Camilo laughed at this, and started speaking through his full mouth.

“It could be worse!” He swallowed his food, and continued speaking. “Pretty soon, we’ll have to put up with even more honking geese!”

Bruno’s eyes began twinkling at the thought.

“Aww, little Hiccabel babies!” He cooed.

“Hiccabel?” Julieta asked.

This got her a shrug from her brother.

“It’s their couple name.” He replied, casually.

This embarrassing banter continued on for a bit. And while Mirabel’s cheeks were terribly red, she didn’t try and stop it.

Because these concepts enthralled her.

The thought of waking up to that nasally voice every morning.

The thought of little, chubby children. With pine green eyes and curly black hair.

The thought of him being her husband. The thought of herself being his wife…

Why couldn’t it be Friday already?

But for as excited as she was, she still had her duties to attend.

Clearing her throat, she finally put an end to the teasing.

“As much as we’d like to talk about nothing but the wedding, there are other things we have to do!” Mirabel playfully said.

She then began assigning the Madrigals their various tasks for the day. Which included asking Pepa and Isabela to head to the farmland, and encourage plant growth in the areas the Screaming Death had desecrated.

She’d also asked Camilo to keep watch of the kids who seemed intent on wandering into construction sites, Luisa was the obvious choice to assist in filling that giant hole, and Antonio was tasked with helping Hiccup relocate the straggler Whispering Deaths.

At the mention of the young man’s name, a few family members perked up. Augustin, Felix, Mariano, and Valentina, specifically.

“Oh, and just a reminder!” Mirabel spoke, as breakfast approached its conclusion. “We’re having Hiccup’s parents over for dinner!”

The chief and chieftess of Berk, along with Gobber and the Dragon Riders, were attending the ceremony. They’d be dropping in a few days early, to relax and unwind before the wedding proper

With their morning meal over, the Madrigals all exited their home.

Except Alma. These days, she spent an extended amount of time looking after Casita.

She was really just curling up with a drink and a good book. But no one minded.

As the family dispersed in differing directions, Antonio was oblivious to the fact that he was being followed.

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

Up in the stables, Hiccup was hard at work.

In just a few days, he’d be moving into his new, permanent, magical home.

Meaning he had to pack all his belongings, to prepare for the occasion.

Luckily for him, he hadn’t amassed too many personals in his time in the Encanto.

Some knick-knacks, like a portrait given as a birthday gift. Or a ratty, stuffed dragon that he didn’t have the heart to get rid of. Or the helmet of a rather impractical suit of armor, meant for fending of bees.

His various tools for inventing, as well as his artistic endeavors, of course. He had to roll his eyes when he caught an old sketchbook page, filled with an incredibly detailed sketch of Mirabel.

He was such a lovesick fool, back then…

He still was. But he was back then, too.

But there was nothing here that required much effort. The bed and dressers were old and used, and he’d already brought new ones that were waiting in Casita right now. So he didn’t have to worry about getting them out right now.

With his sole box in his arms, Hiccup took a moment to just…think.

Think about the fact that in a scant few sunrises, that magical house would be his home.

He’d be officially part of La Familia Madrigal.

He'd be marrying the love of his life.

It sent a giddy chill down his spine.

But the sounds of footsteps from downstairs told him that he had visitors.

Placing his box onto the ground, and tiptoeing past a napping Toothless, Hiccup made his way down the stairs.

There was Antonio, as expected.

But he was flanked by Augustin, Felix, Mariano, and Valentina. Which was quite unexpected.

“I have no idea what they’re doing here…” Shrugged the junior Dragon Master.

With a laugh, Felix began shuffling his son out of the dragon hangar.

“You can come back in a minute, Tonito! We just gotta talk to Hiccup about some grown-up stuff!”

With a confounded expression, Antonio looked back to his father.

“I know where babies come from.” He said, with a raised eyebrow.

This only made Felix snicker even harder, as the boy was finally placed outside.

With that done, the four Madrigals all shifted their gazes to Hiccup.

Augustin clapped his hands together.

“So! Son, uh…” He began to look a bit awkward. “We need to talk.”

“I know where babies come from…” Hiccup droned, with half-lidded eyes.

Hints of a blush came to Augustin’s face, while Felix and Valentina tittered to each other.

“Uh…no, not about that.” He then gestured to the man beside him. “Mariano? Could you get the…”

At his request, Mariano retrieved an easel. Stacked with pages, that seemed to be for a presentation of some kind.

The words Hiccup read on the first page were as followed.

SO, YOU’RE MARRYING A MADRIGAL.

His confounded face prompted Augustin to elaborate.

“This is something me and Felix put together, after we both joined the family!” He said, with an eager grin. “To help any incoming members navigate the ups and downs that come with the experience!”

“They gave us both the spiel, a couple years ago.” Valentina said, gesturing to both her and Mariano. “And now we’re giving it to you!”

While Hiccup was terribly confused for a moment…he soon shrugged.

Who knows? They’re might be some good information here.

“Alright, hit me.” He said, grabbing a chair and taking a seat.

Felix stepped forwards, and lifted the first page.

“We’ve got all the good stuff! Like, coming to terms with the fact that your spouse has near-godlike power!” His smile faded, when he remembered just who Hiccup was marrying. “Though…I guess we won’t be needing that one, heh…”

Mariano lifted a page next.

“There’s also, coming to terms with the fact that your children will have near-godlike power.”

“I’m still waiting on that one!” Valentina excitedly said, pounding a fist to her palm. “I wanna see my little Manny kick some butt!”

“His gift might not exactly be combat oriented…” Hiccup pointed out.

The gruff woman crossed her arms. “He’s my kid. He’ll find a way.”

Augustin moved onto the next sheet.

“Then of course, there’s handling the pressure that comes with being part of the Encanto’s central and most influential family- “

He had to stop, when he realized that his words weren’t matching with the ones that were written.

Hastily scrawled onto a partly ripped piece of paper, was:

GIFTS IN THE BEDROOM.

An insurmountably uncomfortable silence ensued.

“…That wasn’t there before…” Mariano stated.

“Yeah, I added it!” Proudly grinned Valentina. “It’s important stuff!”

Felix burst with laughter, while it was Augustin’s turn to look confused.

“How does future vision even…?”

Valentina now looked very defensive.

“Well how does magic cooking effect your sex life, huh?” She sharply asked.

“It doesn’t!” Augustin shot back.

Felix was on the floor now.

“That doesn’t apply here, anyway.” Mariano said. “Mirabel doesn’t have a gift to use in the bedroom.”

The gruff woman grew a sly smirk.

“I dunno, man…” She chuckled. “I hear some people do pretty freaky stuff with candles!”

Felix was wheezing, and he was finding it hard to breathe.

As the lecture continued to get more and more sidetracked, Hiccup, who was burning red, had to admit.

Getting this painfully awkward presentation made it feel all the more real.

The thought of waking up to that mess of curls every morning.

The thought of little, chubby children. With deep brown eyes and auburn hair.

The thought of her being his wife. The thought of himself being her husband…

Why couldn’t it be Friday already?

From outside the stable, Antonio peeked his little head into view.

“YOU GUYS ARE WEIRD!” He shouted.

And as Felix nearly entered cardiac arrest from laughing so much, Hiccup had to agree with the boy.

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

After spending the day in town, attending this and resolving that, Mirabel was taking her free moment to observe a certain location.

The place where they’d be wed.

As soon as she and Hiccup began discussing plans for their wedding, they both knew there could only be one place for the ceremony.

Even as they tried to figure out venues for the reception, or cake flavors, or flower arrangements, or music, or anything else…

The ceremony’s setting was locked in.

But as she gazed upon the serene scenery, dreaming of the moment their love would be professed for all to see, she suddenly heard footsteps.

Turning around, Mirabel saw both her older sisters walking towards her.

Isabela looking very determined, and Luisa looking very concerned.

“Seriously, wait up!” Luisa said, as she tried to keep up. “When did you get so fast?”

As soon Isabela spotted her youngest sibling, she walked right up to her. Her face set in a hard frown.

“What’s up?” The bespectacled girl asked.

Steeling her nerves, Isabela spoke.

“I can’t be your Maid of Honor.”

This sent a massive of shock to both her sisters.

“Why not!?” Mirabel questioned, already looking frazzled.

The botanical woman’s resolve immediately crumpled into jittery nervousness.

“F-For reasons…” Isabela vaguely answered.

This did nothing to satisfy the other two.

“What’s wrong, sis?” Luisa asked. “Did something happen?”

The flowery woman waved off their worries. “I-It’s nothing…”

Both her sisters could tell this was a blatant lie.

“It clearly isn’t nothing!” Mirabel said, hands on her hips.

But now their eldest sister had clammed up, and wasn’t saying anything else. Just nervously fiddling with her fingers.

But they had ways of making her talk.

“Luisa?” Mirabel called.

At her word, the hulking woman grabbed her older sister from behind. Lifting her in the air.

“W-What the- “

These were the only words Isabela could manage, before Mirabel assaulted her with tickles.

“St-Stop it! P-Put me d-down!” She pleaded, through her frantic laughter.

“Only once you tell us what’s bothering you!” Grinned Mirabel.

Her belly and her armpits were subject to intense tickling, she wasn’t given a single second of reprieve.

Finally having had enough of the tickle torture, Isabela blurted out her answer.

“I DON’T DESERVE IT!”

And then the good vibes died.

Luisa softly placed her older sister back on the ground, as both she and Mirabel looked to her with sad eyes.

“…After how awful I was to you, for years…I don’t deserve to be one of your Maids of Honor.”

Mirabel furrowed a brow in confusion.

“Then…why were you competing for the position so hard?”

“Because it was funny!” Isabela said, before she gave a sigh. “And…because I didn’t really think you’d pick me.”

Her younger sisters shared a disheartened glance.

“Isa, you know I forgave you right?” Mirabel softly asked, as she closed the distance between them.

But Isabela refused to look her younger sister in the eyes.

“…Doesn’t mean I forgive myself…”

Mirabel felt awful, seeing her sister feeling so awful.

Their relationship was the polar opposite of what it once was, and she thought they were over that rough time.

But clearly it was still having an impact.

“My special day won’t be special, unless everyone I love is there…” Mirabel said.

Isabela looked aghast. “I-I’m still gonna be there! Just not- “

“AND…” spoke the young Candle Holder, cutting off her sister. “My special day won’t be as special unless both my sisters are standing right behind me!”

She took a hand from each woman in one of hers, smiling brightly.

“I love the both of you with everything I am! It wouldn’t be right if you weren’t backing me up, it wouldn’t be my wedding! It wouldn’t be us!”

“And Isa?” She said, getting the woman to look at her.

“It was a tough time, for all of us. We all made mistakes.”

“Some worse than others…” Isabela grumbled, with just a twinge of self-loathing.

“But what matters is recognizing what we did wrong, and trying to make it right!” The girl’s smile returned. “And if you ask me, you’ve been doing a darn good job!”

“You can say that again!” Luisa grinned.

Mirabel pulled them both in for a hug.

“So no more being down on yourself! This is my wedding, and there’s gonna be nothing but love! For each other, and ourselves!”

“And I’m always up to talk, if either of you need it!” She said, as the embrace broke apart.

And to their eternal joy, Isabela was smiling again.

“Okay, sis...” She said, blinking away a few tears.

Trying to regain her composure, the woman got down to business.

“So what color do you want the flowers to be?” She asked, as they began walking back into town. “And what kind?”

“Hmm…” Mirabel placed a hand to her chin in thought. “Surprise me!”

“That’s how you end up with flytraps and cactuses in your bouquet!” Luisa snarked.

But while this earned her a glower from Isabela, the idea just made Mirabel smile even wider.

“Sounds like a Madrigal wedding to me!”

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

Once again, Hiccup was playing delivery boy. For his birth father, this time.

He was on Berk, with a duo of missions.

To transfer some of the more unpleasant Whispering Deaths to new territories. The friendlier ones were allowed to stay.

And to fetch his parents, as well as his friends. And bring them back to the Encanto for the wedding.

But the very moment he returned to the village, after dropping off the serpents on a small island they seemed to like, a large box was shoved in his hands.

It was filled to the brim with tropical fruits, specifically the ones Isabela had managed to get growing on the island.

“Ah, there you are Hiccup!” Stoick spoke, even though Hiccup couldn’t see him over the crate.

“I need you to take this down to the docks, I’ve got some traders who’ve agreed to sell them.” Said the chief. “These fruits have quite become the hot item around the archipelago, and we’re being paid handsomely to distribute them!”

Stoick was never a greedy man, but there was still an enthusiastic glint in his eye at the thought of all the money they were making.

Hiccup shrugged his agreement, which got a nod from his father.

“Good. We’ll meet you down there shortly.”

And so Hiccup began the tumultuous balancing act of making sure none of the fruits fell out of his box. Toothless watched his rider’s struggles with great interest.

Along the way, they encountered Fishlegs. Who was excitedly showing his dragon cards to a woman unfamiliar to Hiccup.

With pale skin, raven black hair, and piercing green eyes, she turned to regard the new arrival.

Fishlegs noticed her movement, and his eyes lit up when he saw his friend.

“Oh, hey Hiccup!”

“Hey, ‘Legs!” Hiccup greeted. “And this is…?”

Bursting with glee, the rotund man proudly introduced his companion.

“This…is Heather!” He said, placing an arm around her shoulders. “We’re kinda…sort of…y’know- “

“We’re dating!” The woman known as Heather finished.

“And you must be the Hiccup Haddock I’ve heard so much about.”

The man in question grew a small grin, as he knew he wouldn’t be Hiccup Haddock for much longer.

“I have a habit of leaving an impression on people…” He sardonically said, before cheeriness returned to his tone. “It’s nice to meet you!”

“I’d shake your hand, but uh…” He held up his crate, the fruits within jostling around a bit.

Heather giggled. “It’s the thought that counts!”

“Hey, Hiccup…” Fishlegs started, looking trepidatious. “W-Would you mind if Heather came along? If it wouldn’t be too much trouble- “

“Yeah, sure! No problem!” Hiccup smiled as best he could, over the box of produce.

At this, the Ingerman released a relieved sigh.

“Hey listen, I gotta go get this stuff to some traders. I’ll see you guys in a bit!”

With peppy waves, Hiccup bid a brief farewell to his friend. As well as his friend’s new girlfriend.

Toothless gave a goodbye croon a Meatlug, and an almost metallic looking dragon Hiccup had never seen before. He’d have to ask them about it later.

Soon they arrived at the docks, and there was a large boat stationed on the waters.

As they approached, a voice spoke out. One who’s owner Hiccup couldn’t quite see.

But he knew who it was.

“Ah, the delivery's here!”

The box was then taken from him, allowing Hiccup a view of a very muscular man. With a tattooed chin.

“Eret!?” Hiccup asked, as Toothless released low growls.

With a cocky grin, Eret son of Eret regarded the young Haddock.

“Surprised to see me?” He then noticed the agitated Night Fury.

“Easy boy…I’m not here to fight…”

The man presented his ship, which had a suspicious lack of weaponry on it.

“We don’t trap anymore!” He said. “We’re traders now!”

Toothless dropped the aggression, though he still seemed quite confused. Just as his rider was.

“Turns out, Berk has a whole lot of weird foods…” Eret said, as he plucked a banana from the pile. “Deliciously weird foods! Foods people would pay a lot of money to get!”

“So we struck an exclusive deal with Stoick the Vast! We pay Berk to get the fruit, and people pay us to sell the fruit! These yellow ones are especially popular.”

Hiccup honestly was glad to hear this. Especially seeing as how it meant less dragons were being harmed.

“That’s great!” He cheered. “And I imagine your village is doing pretty good too, huh?”

Eret’s smug grin melted into a sincere smile.

“With all the cash these ba-nay-nay’s have been making us…I think we’re gonna be just fine!”

Hiccup didn’t bother to correct his pronunciation. He had a question in mind.

“Hey so…where’s the other one?” He asked, referring to a certain huntress.

The trapper-turned-trader gestured downwards, as he placed the crate of fruits snugly on the ship.

“She’s below deck, honing her craft.” An idea suddenly struck the man. “In fact, why don’t you go check it out? She’s working on a little business venture of her own!”

Hiccup’s curiosity got the better of him, and so he boarded the ship and went down the stairs. With Toothless nearby, for protection.

Just in case.

There he found Arnapkapfaaluk, sitting on the floor. Her back was turned to him, so he couldn’t quite see what she was doing.

But whatever it was, it involved a knife.

A scraping noise resounded from the depths of the ship. Though it stopped, when the creaking of stairs alerted the huntress to her visitors.

Slowly, she turned her head to regard Hiccup and Toothless. A cold, almost predatory look in her eye.

An uncomfortable sweat was already working its way onto Hiccup’s palms.

But it was what she said that surprised him the most.

“CUSTOMER!”

The delighted shout was so outside of what he’d expected from this woman, that he tripped the rest of the way down the steps.

Arny moved to help him up, which shocked him even more.

“Esteemed Customer!” She spoke, with a wide smile. “I regretfully must inform you that I am not yet open for business!”

She kept speaking before he could say anything else.

“But if you’d like to peruse my wares before you are able to purchase them, then by all means!”

She then abruptly shoved Hiccup forward, giving Hiccup a full view of what she was doing.

There was a small desk, covered in wood shavings.

And little wooden figurines, of various dragon species.

“I may not capture dragons anymore…” Arny began. “But I can still capture…”

“Their majesty…”

She spoke these last words in a very odd tone, with a very odd look on her face.

When she saw the befuddled look Hiccup was wearing, she gained a bashful expression.

“I-I was trying to be fun…” She admitted.

“So uh…whittling? That’s what you’ve been up to?” Hiccup asked.

Her eagerness returned.

“Oh yes!” She nodded. “I find it very relaxing!”

“And Eret said they’re so good, I could sell them!”

Despite the strangeness of the situation, Hiccup couldn’t deny that the little wooden dragons were kind of cute.

“Yeah, you could probably sell these to kids. Or twenty-year-old dragon nerds.”

His words only increased her joy.

“But hey, I gotta get going.” Hiccup said, pointing above deck. “I’m actually getting married in a few days! There’s a lot to do, so..”

A loud gasp reverberated from the deck.

“You and Glasses are getting married!?” Arny asked.

He raised an eyebrow. “Well her name’s not Glasses, but…yeah.”

A swift blur whizzed by him a second after, and his hands were suddenly filled with an assortment of figurines.

“Here, take them!” Arny said. “It is on the house!”

“Consider it a wedding gift!”

Hiccup looked down, to the carvings.

There was a Night Fury, and a Stormcutter.

And a Snaptrapper.

“That one’s an…I am sorry for beating your face in gift…” The huntress pointed out.

Hiccup could guess who it was for.

“Uh…thanks?” He said, still a bit off-put by the current conversation.

As he ascended the stairs, the woman continued to call after him.

“Be sure to tell a friend!” She shouted. “And tell those friends to tell their friends!”

“ADVERTISEMENT IS IMPORTANT FOR A GROWING BUSINESS!”

Now back on the surface, Hiccup spared Eret a perplexed glance.

The man just shrugged.

“She’s finding herself!” He grinned, perfectly content with the state of things.

While the woman’s behavior was definitely erratic…

She seemed happy.

So Hiccup grew a smile, gave a shrug of his own, and made to leave the boat.

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

A few hours later, and Hiccup was back in the Encanto.

The Dragon Riders and Gobber were off exploring the town, but Stoick was exploring something else.

Casita.

He figured he’d inspect the home his son would be living in, to see if it was truly fit for his boy.

Valka’s description didn’t entirely inspire confidence.

Standing on the hill outside, Stoick glared up at the building.

“…You say it’s magic, yes?”

“Yep!” Hiccup responded. “The most magical house in the Encanto!”

The man raised a hand to his bearded chin.

“…And you’re sure it won’t eat us?”

Hiccup raised a palm to meet his face.

“That’s what he says, but I’m not sure if I believe it…” Valka muttered.

“JUST GET IN THE HOUSE ALREADY!” Hiccup shouted, already sick of this conversation.

Once inside, Stoick found plenty of things to complain about.

“An open courtyard? Oh it’s open, alright…open to attack!”

“He literally only took one step…” Groused his son, as Valka suppressed giggles.

Once upstairs, on the second layer, the chief of Berk examined all the glowing bedroom doors.

“Hmm…not a fan of the art style…” He mumbled. Before turning to his boy.

“And when do you get your door?” He asked.

“Uh…well I’m marrying into the family. So I don’t get one.” Hiccup replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

Stoick bristled with agitation.

“Nonsense!” He shouted. “You deserve a door! My son deserves a door!”

“In fact, I’ll make you a door! A real Viking’s door!” He declared, raising a fist to the skies. “Swing by Berk in a couple weeks and pick it up.”

He then stomped off, mumbling plans for the door's design.

“Don’t worry…” Valka whispered. “He’ll lose interest a few hours in!”

As the tour of the house continued, with Stoick seeming to find more and more issues with what would become his son’s home, it was soon time for dinner.

It was a rather amusing image.

This absolute giant of a man, who towered over even the mighty Luisa, sitting at a dainty dinner table. Draped in spikes and horns and skulls.

The large man examined all the personalized dinnerware. He, Hiccup and Valka just had generic dishes.

“And what about a plate?” He asked. “Do you get a plate?”

“Yes, actually!” Hiccup said. “We’re having it made right now! I’ll start using it as soon as the wedding’s over!”

“Good.” Stoick huffed, happy that his son was being treated fairly.

“And speaking of the wedding…”

From the other end of the table, Mirabel drew everyone’s attention.

“I just want to say how happy we are to have you here, for the ceremony!” She sunnily said.

“I don’t really care either way…” Camilo shrugged.

Valka donned a warm smile. “We wouldn’t dream of missing it!”

Stoick grew a manic grin. “Just like we wouldn’t dream of missing the traditional feast, after the wedding!”

The Berkian wedding feast was one of the traditions from Hiccup’s culture they added to their wedding. at Stoick’s suggestion.

It was either that or the boar sacrifice.

From Alma’s position in the middle of the table, which still felt rather strange to her, her lips pulled back into a tight smile.

“I’m sure the reception will be nice…but it’s the ceremony that’s important!”

Stoick faced her with a glare.

“Does anyone really care about the ceremony?” He grouchily asked. “The reception is where the party is!”

“The ceremony is where two people join together in holy matrimony!” The old woman argued.

“The reception is where everyone gets out of those stuffy seats, and actually gets to enjoy themselves!” Stoick countered.

Hiccup and Mirabel shared an exasperated glance, from opposing ends of the table.

This conflict went on for a time, to the annoyance of all those present.

The reason why they were arguing was simple.

Hiccup and Mirabel had decided that the ceremony would be in the Encanto, and the reception would be on Berk.

The young couple thought this would not only honor both their origins, but it would finally allow Alma and Stoick to chill out.

They were wrong.

And as they continued to listen to this nonsensical quarreling, everyone else in the dining room shared one thought.

Why couldn’t it be Friday already?