To The End - A Tuffnut Love Story (HTTYD)

27. Ghost of the Past

When Iris and Tuff ended the kiss, the viking guests cheered and whistled while the dragon warriors and sand wraiths expressed their joy through a chorus of clicks. The rest of the event was filled with song and dance. Iris got to meet many of the other Thorstons, but this only raised a question for Tuff. He took her hand and led her out of the crowds for a moment. They stood alone by the shore, water lapping at their boots.

When Iris saw his frown, she began to worry, "i-is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, Iris; everything's perfect," he assured her with a warm smile, "I was just wondering, do you have any family here?"

Iris averted her gaze from his for a moment. "No," she responded shortly before explaining, "my mother died in child labour, and my father fell in a battle against pirates when I was young."

"..I'm sorry," Tuff empathized, "how come you never told me?"

"It's not something I enjoy talking about," Iris answered with a weak smile.

So Tuff wrapped her in his arms and decided to change the subject. "You look amazing tonight," he muttered in her ear. His heart fluttered when he heard her giggle into his chest.

"You do, too, Tuffnut," she pulled away just enough to see his face, "you look nice in scales."

Tuffnut chuckled and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. They then heard distant gasps of admitmration from the guests. Iris looked to see them staring at the sky and pointing. Following their gaze, she saw the full moon. "Woah!" Tuff exclaimed, eyes widening at the sight. The moon looked twice as big as usual and shone gold instead of silver.

With an amused grin, Iris explained, "never has their been a union of my people, without the sand moon."

"You mean, this happens every time one of you gets married?" Tuff asked in awe.

"That's right," Iris leaned into him and stared at the sky, "I've dreamed so long to see it shine for me. Tonight, it honors us both."

"The moon honors us?" Tuffnut smiled, watching the moon glitter, "..cool."

After a nice moment of quiet together, the newly we'd couple joined back into the celebration to mingle. "What a lovely wedding," a familiar voice came from being them.

Iris turned to see Victor standing with a proud grin. "Victor, you made it," she hugged him briefly.

Victor laughed lightly and reminded, "I told you I would." He then turned to Tuffnut and smiled warmly, "congratulations, once again. You've earned the heart of a magnificent woman."

Now it was Tuffnut's turn to be proud. He placed an arm around Iris and replied confidently, "that she is, my friend."

"And I must say, quite the celebration; combining both viking and sand tribe traditions couldn't have been easy," Victor remarked.

"Tell me about it," Tuff responded dramatically, "but so worth it." Iris couldn't agree more. All around her, people and dragons roamed through the sand. Her wedding had officially bond the two formerly seperate groups of people. Everyone was happy and satisfied with how it had played out.

When everyone left that night, Iris went back to her home with Tuffnut; from now on, they would share the cabin. "I can't believe we're really married," Tuff spoke in shock as the door closed behind them.

"I know, it feels like a dream," Iris added in a loving tone. She yawned and made her way over to their bed, followed closely by her husband. Smiling tiredly up at him, she undid the leather that held his dragon skin sleeve on.

Tuffnut let her slid it off of his arm and place it on the desk by the bedside. "You look exhausted," he observed in amusement.

"Maybe just a bit," Iris responded with a laugh as she removed her accessories, all but the necklace that Tuff had given to her. She then shimmied out of her dress and boots, leaving her in a bust wrap and shorts. Tuffnut immediately blushed, making her laugh. Placing a hand on his cheek, she teased, "don't look so frightened."

"Wha-I'm not--I mean--" his stuttering was cut short when Iris pulled his face down to meet him with a kiss. And when she pulled away, he felt his worries vanish.

Iris climbed into the bed and wiggled under the yak fur covers, "come here; I'll never sleep again if it's not with you." Tuff smiled warmly and removed his own tunic and boots, crawling under the blankets with her. Feeling her skin against his own was like magic. And within minutes, the two were fast asleep in each other's arms.

***

Hiccup was in the Great Hall late after the wedding, giving the list of expenses one last look before going to sleep. A few things had been paid for as gifts and initialed by the payers, so he needed to see what was left for Berk to handle. But one of the initials caught his eye, making his stomach twist.

V.G.

Hiccup hesitated before rumaging around for the guest list. When he found it, his blood ran cold. At the very bottom of the list was a name he thought he'd seen the end of. Grimborn.

Victor Grimborn.