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Adrenaline coursed through Jack’s veins as he ran full tilt towards the nearest shelter, his breath billowing in the air in front of him as he panted in exhilaration. He could feel frosty objects whizzing around his body as he sprinted, a mischievous smirk spreading across his face as he dodged and weaved out of their way. 

“Get him!”

He chuckled darkly, his muscles straining as he picked up his speed. When he was finally close enough to the crudely-constructed snow-bunker ahead of him, he launched himself through the air to quickly close the gap. Landing harshly on his stomach, his arms instinctively came up to protect his head as his body skidded to a halt. A cold splatter of ice crystals trickled onto the back of his neck as a snowball exploded above his head, narrowly missing him by only a few inches. 

"Well, that was very dramatic."

Jack whipped his head up, startled by the voice - but he relaxed when he saw that it was only Pippa sitting there smirking down at him, her back against the bunker that he had just thrust himself behind. The teasing smile on her face quickly turned into a wince when another snowball flew over their shelter and erupted on the ground in front of her, causing her to hug her knees closer to her body to stay out of the line of fire. 

“Hey, you know me…” He scrambled to pull himself off the ground and sit beside her, placing his staff on the ground in front of them. He smirked down at her and gave her a cheeky wink. “I do have a certain flair for dramatics.” 

Pippa huffed a small laugh, but before she could reply, another snowball sailed over their heads and landed even closer to their feet than the last one had. They both frowned towards the spot the new projectile had just landed in. 

“Uh… our team isn’t doing very well, is it?” Jack asked uneasily, his eyebrow quirking in concern.   

As if on cue, another snowball soared overhead - this time going way too far and smashing violently against the back of Jamie’s family’s fence. The duo’s eyes widened comically and their mouths gaped when the force of the eruption caused the fence to vigorously rock in place.

“Oops!” a voice called out from the other side of the yard. “Sorry… Don’t know my own strength sometimes,” Cupcake giggled somewhat self-consciously.

Pippa rolled her eyes and turned back towards Jack.

“We’re already outnumbered, and now they’ve got us cornered. I think we need a new strategy.” She gestured to their left with an exasperated look on her face. “You know… besides cowering in fear.”

Jack’s eyes followed the direction she was gesturing to, where he saw Monty crouching behind another make-shift snow bunker further down the yard. The poor boy was shaking in terror and shielding his head, his eyes squeezed shut as he muttered things to himself under his breath. Another one of Cupcake’s snowballs suddenly whipped past his face, causing him to squeak in alarm and curl even further into himself as his trembles intensified. 

“Special delivery for Jaaaaack! ” Jamie called out in a sing-song voice, lofting another snowball with near-perfect accuracy towards Jack and Pippa’s shelter. This one almost hit Jack's feet.

“Well you miiiiiissed! ” Jack sang back, a teasing grin spreading across his face.

But another snowball soon followed - and this time it managed to catch Jack on the toe. 

“ Ah!” Jack winced, jumping at the contact. In spite of himself, he couldn’t help the small burst of pride in his chest as he was forced to pull his legs in even closer. Jamie’s aim really was improving.

“Feel free to surrender at any time!” Jamie answered, the smirk evident in his voice. 

Jack scoffed, then narrowed his eyes back down at Pippa.

“Oh, it is so on,” he said under his breath, his grin turning cocky. 

Pippa returned the smile with an impish grin of her own, nodding firmly in solidarity. 

“Let’s crush them,” she said, holding up her hand.

“You got it,” Jack laughed, returning the high five. “Quick, make as many snowballs as you can!” 

Feeling newly determined, they both snapped into action, forming as many balls as they could while still trying to take cover from the ongoing attack around them.

“How’s it going over there, Monty?” Jack called blindly over his shoulder as he worked, his eyes trained on the snowballs he was moulding in his hands.

“Uh…”

A particularly large snowball chose that exact moment to careen into the corner of Monty’s bunker, lobbing off the whole upper-right corner. The young boy’s eyes flew open in shock and he yelped as snow collapsed down onto his back, causing both Jack and Pippa to halt their actions and whip their heads towards him. They watched as the snow-covered Monty looked back at them, panic written across his face, before he reluctantly plastered on an insincere smile and gave them a shaky thumbs-up in reply to Jack’s question.

Jack and Pippa both sputtered in indignation at the sight of their poor, helpless teammate quivering under the pile of snow. Snowballs continued to rain down around the boy, even though he clearly had neither the intention nor the means to throw any back. 

“Ugh! Those…” Jack turned his head up towards the kids on the other side of the yard and raised his voice to make sure they could hear. “Savages!”

The other children cackled in response, but didn’t let up their assault. 

“Hey - in a snowball fight, anything goes!” Jamie yelled back. “You taught us that, Jack!

Pippa grimaced as she looked at Jack. 

“You do say that…” she sheepishly half-whispered. 

Jack tilted his head to the side and pursed his lips in thought. 

“Alright, true,” he concurred after a couple of seconds, nodding in concession. 

Another shriek came from Monty as a snowball burst directly across his glasses, reclaiming their focus. 

“Those little …” Jack huffed, feeling a new surge of vindication on the smaller boy’s behalf. “Come on, Pippa! More Snowballs!” 

The two got back to work, increasing their efforts until they had a few dozen snowballs, and Jack declared that he had enough to work with. 

He moved towards the edge of the bunker, carefully peering around the side of it to get a good idea of where exactly the other team was. His eyes scanned the yard, searching for his target - but just as he caught a flash of brown hair behind one of the bunkers, his eyes suddenly widened and he had to pull himself back behind his own shelter. He made it just in time to feel the snowball that had been rocketing towards his face graze past his snowy-white hair, his hand clutching his chest in panic as his heart thumped erratically.

“I have gotta stop teaching that kid all my tricks,” he said to himself, a small fond smirk pulling at his lips. 

“So what’s the plan?” Pippa whispered, looking up at Jack expectantly and recapturing his attention. 

“Well…” Jack said slyly, an idea coming to mind. “There is one trick of mine that he can’t pull off…” Pippa simply tilted her head and looked at him with a curious smile, but Jack decided to demonstrate rather than explain.

He grabbed his staff off the ground and looked up towards the sky, silently calling for the wind’s help. A gust of air started to swirl around them and ruffle their hair, and Pippa grinned when she realized what he was doing. 

“Now watch this ,” Jack said, his mischievous expression becoming nearly diabolical. 

He picked up a single snowball from their pile, gently tossed it into the air straight above them, and watched in delight as the wind abruptly swept it up and over their bunker as quick as lightning.

“Ow!  What-” they heard Jamie exclaim in confusion. “Hey!  Which one of you guys just threw that at me?” He was directing the question at his teammates. Pippa’s eyes shot towards Jack in amusement, and she covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud. 

“Not me! ” Caleb snapped, sounding offended that he’d even be asked such a thing. 

“Hey - me neither!” Claud quickly added. “Must have been Cupcake.”

“It was not! ” Cupcake responded in outrage. The snowball throwing had now come to a halt. “Why would I throw a snowball at my own team member?”

Unable to help themselves now, Jack and his companion snickered quietly behind their bunker as they listened to the other team bicker. He grabbed a new snowball from the pile, straining his ears to listen for a perfect opportunity to throw it into the wind again. 

“Well somebody just threw a snowball at the back of my head, and you three are the only ones behind me,” Jamie continued the argument. 

“How did you hit the back of his head?” Pippa whispered to Jack, her face full of bewilderment. 

Jack cocked an eyebrow and smirked at her before pushing himself upwards on his knees. He gestured with his head for her to follow him, and they slowly rose up and poked their heads just high enough past the top of the barrier to see the other team still arguing on their side of the yard. He gave Pippa a wink, then tossed the next snowball above their heads to be carried off by the wind. 

The younger girl gasped lightly as she watched the snowball zoom around the yard as if it were a leaf caught in a wind tunnel. Jack couldn’t help but smile smugly upon seeing her expression of wonder, never one to shy away from showing off when he could. He quickly returned his attention back to the wind and encouraged it to sharply carry the snowball behind the opposing team’s bunker, where it finally splattered into the back of Cupcake’s head. 

“Hey!” Cupcake roared. The other team ceased their arguing instantly, and they all turned to look behind them. When they were greeted by nothing except empty space, they all started speaking at once. 

“What the-”

“Did you guys see something?”

“Whoever’s over there…”

Jamie was the first to turn back towards Jack and Pippa, and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion as soon as he saw two pairs of amused eyes peeking over the top of their bunker. They startled and instantly squatted back down behind the bunker, but Jack knew right away that they were too late. 

“Jack… ” Jamie called out in warning. 

Unable to help themselves, Jack and Pippa snickered at Jamie’s tone as Jack quickly reached for more snowballs. He started to throw them into the air one after the other, he and Pippa both laughing gleefully as they watched each one get carried away by the wind towards their enemy.

Although they couldn’t witness the scene from behind their bunker, they listened in merriment as the opposing team started screeching when snowball after snowball pelted them from every direction. None of the victims seemed to realize where the attack was coming from besides Jamie, whose repeated yelling of Jack’s name kept being cut off with an “Oof!” every time he was struck by a new snowball. 

“Hey - you know what I always say, Jamie!” Jack finally yelled out over the chaos. He gave Pippa a secretive wink as he finally reached for the last snowball. “Anything goes!”  

After finally throwing the last snowball into the air, he decided to risk poking his head up again in order to better see the carnage he felt he so rightly deserved to watch unfold. But as soon as he popped up, his sparkling blue eyes were instantly met by a set of familiar brown ones - and his stomach dropped. 

Because the eyes belonged to a familiar skinny boy, whose arm was already perfectly positioned to launch the snowball he was holding directly into Jack’s face. 

“Hi, Jack.” 

Having no time to react, Jack gasped in shock when the snowball slammed into his face. He could hear Pippa squeal with surprised laughter as he instantly retreated back behind the wall, spitting snow out of his mouth and brushing it out of his eyes. When Jamie suddenly jumped around the corner of their bunker and smashed another snowball directly into the back of his neck, Jack was unable to stop himself from laughing along. 

“Run, Pippa! Save yourself!” he yelled with a grin, trying to simultaneously cover his head and shake the snow out of his already white hair. 

Pippa got up and ran with a cackle towards the oblivious Monty, who was still hiding his face in the ground. The other children were still shrieking as the snowballs continued to whip through the air above their heads. 

“No fair using the wind! ” Jamie yelled with a giggle, ducking to avoid one of Jack’s wind-surfing snowballs. 

The younger boy quickly scooped up more snow and formed another ball before Jack could get off the ground and retaliate. He managed to beat the spirit out just in time, nailing the side of Jack’s face again and earning himself another yelp when more cold snow rolled down the back of Jack’s blue hoodie. 

“Hey, I think it’s only fair after what you guys did to poor Monty!” Jack retorted, swiftly recovering and turning towards Jamie. His grin became menacing and he narrowed his eyes at the boy, squatting down as if preparing to pounce. “Now how about a little ‘One v. One’...” 

He started to charge towards Jamie, who squealed with laughter and dropped his snowball while dodging the attack. Jack skidded in the snow as he tried to change direction to catch Jamie, but he missed him again. 

“Stay still,”  Jack laughed, chasing Jamie in circles around the bunker. “Take your punishment like a man- Ow! ”

A wayward snowball clumsily fluttering in the wind had appeared out of nowhere and managed to smack into the side of Jack’s head, startling him off course. Jamie cheered loudly at the unexpected assault and seized his opportunity to make a break for it, running back towards his own team’s side of the yard. 

Once he had recovered again, Jack made a move to try to follow, cursing the wind under his breath for being so treacherous. But as if the wind had heard him, he had to quickly stop and duck to avoid another double-crossing snowball that had started hurtling towards him. When it started to come back around for another attack, he snatched his staff off the ground and used it to swing in defense. The resulting explosion of snow when the staff struck its mark caused him to splutter and cover his face again, grunting in annoyance as he did so.

A fresh squeal of laughter pulled his attention towards Monty’s half-broken bunker. Pippa and Monty were now both watching him from the sidelines, safely tucked away in their corner away from the out-of-control bombardment that Jack had brought over the yard. He gave his giggling teammates an unimpressed glare, shaking snow off the top of his head before turning back forward to try and locate where Jamie had gone.  

“Gotcha”, he muttered to himself, finally spotting his prey amidst the pandemonium of screaming children running from seemingly possessed snowballs.

“Jamie! ” a cheery voice suddenly yelled from inside the house. 

Everything came to an immediate halt. Jack and the kids all froze in their tracks and turned towards the back door. The snowballs immediately stopped their racing and dropped to the ground around them with a splatter. 

Jamie’s mom appeared a second later, opening the screen door and smiling out at them apologetically. 

“It’s almost time for dinner, honey. I think it’s time to wrap it up.” 

“Awww!” the children all whined at once, their shoulders slumping in defeat. 

“Sorry, guys,” Jamie’s mom giggled, rolling her eyes good-naturedly at the kids before turning back into the house with a smile. 

Jack sighed as he tried to push down his own disappointment - he should be used to this after all. 

“Alright, alright - you heard the lady,” he said, trying to hide his own regret and sound cheerful for the kids. 

As the other kids started making their way to the backyard’s gate, Jack wandered over to Monty and pulled him up to stand, brushing the snow off the small boy’s back. Monty smiled up at him gratefully, and Jack patted him on the shoulder and gave him a wink before leading him towards where the other kids had gathered near the gate. 

“Well. Looks like we’ll have to call it a tie for now,” Jack said with a smirk. 

“Oh, how convenient,”  Jamie teased back. 

“Yeah - for you,” Jack laughed, reaching over to ruffle Jamie’s hair. The boy laughed and playfully batted his hands away.

“So…” Jamie started, eagerness twinkling in his eyes despite Jack’s ribbing, “Does that mean we can continue tomorrow?” 

Jack smiled warmly at him, knowing he could never deny his favourite kid’s request to spend more time together. He turned towards the rest of the group, who were now exiting the yard and spilling out onto the sidewalk. 

“Hmm… I don’t know. What do you guys think?” he asked, leaning his shoulder against the gate and crossing his arms across his chest. He gave the group a cocky, lopsided grin and narrowed his eyes. “Think you guys can handle another piece of Pippa, Monty and I?” 

“Uh… Maybe we should draw names for new teams tomorrow,” Caleb replied over his shoulder as he and Claude started to cross the street. He turned and gave Jack a pointed look. “Now that we’re apparently using superpowers, and all…” 

“What! No way!" Pippa laughed back, already walking down the sidewalk alongside Cupcake and Monty. 

“Alright, alright,” Jack laughed, knowing he’d have to play fair tomorrow. “Fine - I promise no wind tomorrow.” He lightly bit his bottom lip in thought and tilted his head to the side. “Well… unless you guys don’t stop picking on poor Monty,” he added with a playful waggle of his finger. 

“Yeah! ” Monty agreed loudly, walking backwards so he could stick his tongue out at Caleb and Claude. The children all dissolved into giggles, and Pippa rolled her eyes and turned him back around before he tripped over himself.

Jack stayed quiet as he watched the kids leave, shaking his head lightly with a sentimental smile on his face as he listened to them continue to yell quips at each other. It was obvious why he and his own competitive nature meshed so well with the Burgess kids. He listened to them trash-talk each other until they were out of sight, so distracted that he had already forgotten that he was supposed to be leaving.

“So…” Jamie said quietly, breaking the silence that had started to form in the yard. Jack startled and turned back to him. The boy now looked uneasy as he voiced his next question. “What are you gonna’ do until tomorrow?” 

Jack blinked, a little thrown off by the abrupt change of mood and conversation. 

“Oh, you know… Same thing I always do, I guess,” he answered with a meek shrug of his shoulders. “‘Guardian of Fun’ duties, and such…” When Jamie didn’t look content with that answer, he tried for what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Unfortunately, it did not seem to help, and he could already tell where this line of questioning was going.

He had noticed very quickly that Jamie always felt bad when he had to kick Jack out - even though Jack was never offended by it - and he hated that Jamie felt that way. The kids had their own lives to live, after all, and Jack was supposed to be the one looking out for them. His job was to bring them joy and keep them safe, not make them worry about him. 

“Oh…” Jamie responded. “Right.” He bit his bottom lip and looked awkwardly at the ground - and Jack thought for a moment that he might get away with it - but then Jamie seemed to steel himself as he looked back up. “But… Don’t you have somewhere you go when you’re not with us or the other Guardians?” he asked, concern now seeping into his words as he wrung his hands together. “You know… Like… a home?”

“W-well…” Jack started, looking away awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck. This was a slight divergence from Jamie’s regular inquiries that he had certainly not anticipated. “I, uh… don’t necessarily need a-”

“Do you just… fly around by yourself all night?” Jamie interrupted loudly, gesturing with his hands to the sky in exasperation. He was obviously distressed by this thought, and his face crumpled even further. “I mean, don’t you ever get… lonely? ”

Jack was a little taken aback by the startling intensity of Jamie’s questions. It seemed like his little friend had been holding back more than Jack thought. He felt his chest squeeze when a strange combination of emotions flooded through him - guilt at having caused Jamie so much worry, mixed with deep affection towards the boy for caring so much about him. 

He knew he was lucky to have a kind-hearted friend like Jamie looking out for him now, but Jack decided that it simply would not do to see the boy fret about things that neither he nor Jack had any control over. As much as he appreciated the concern, he felt that Jamie was still a kid who should be worried about things of a much smaller-scale than Jack’s three-hundred-year-old problems. 

He sighed and squatted down so he could meet Jamie’s eye level. 

“Jamie,” he said softly, putting a hand out on the boy’s shoulder and giving him an affectionate smile. “I’ve got you guys now, don’t I?”

“Well, yeah - I guess that’s true,” Jamie answered unconvincingly, shrugging his shoulder and looking away from Jack as he did so. 

“And you seem to be forgetting that I do have an actual job to do,” Jack continued, ducking his head a little to recapture Jamie’s downward gaze. “It’s not all snowballs and fun times,” he added with a small laugh. “So you really don’t need to worry about me.” He squeezed Jamie’s shoulder once more before standing back up. “Promise.” 

Jamie still didn’t look completely satisfied, but he sighed lightly and gave Jack a shy smile anyways. 

“Guess I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“You bet,” Jack said with a wink. He smirked arrogantly. “I’m looking forward to kicking your butt.” 

Jamie laughed quietly, most of his tension seeming to drain out of him with Jack’s banter. 

“Yeah, right. We’ll see about that,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

Pleased to see that he had temporarily distracted Jamie from his concerns, Jack called for the wind and hovered in place a couple of feet off the ground. 

“Yes, we will,” he answered mirthfully. His face shifted as he put on his best menacing look. “Prepare yourself for domination, tiny human,” he added in a deep, mocking voice as he poked Jamie in the chest lightly with his staff. 

“You’re such a dork,” Jamie giggled, rolling his eyes as he lightly rubbed the spot where Jack’s staff had poked him. 

Unable to hold the facade for long, Jack broke character and chuckled quietly. 

“Alright - see ya’ tomorrow, kid.” He gave Jamie a final salute, then shot upwards into the sky as Jamie waved him off. 

Despite his joking, Jack couldn’t help it when the smile practically melted off his face the second he knew he was out of sight. Jamie’s concerns hit closer to home than he cared to admit, and leaving the kids behind really was always the worst part of his day. He forced himself to not look back at the boy as he let the wind carry him away, trying to seem like he had a plan for where he was going. He closed his eyes as he listened to the familiar sound of forceful air rushing through his ears, his hair whipping about his face as he flew higher and higher above the town. 

The truth was that Jack usually didn’t have any specific destination in mind when he left. He felt his job as a Guardian was important, but it definitely wasn’t as time-consuming as he led Jamie to believe. He usually met up with the other Guardians once every couple of weeks, unless something pressing that required their attention arose in the meantime. Beyond that, he just kept up his regular duties as Jack Frost as he always had - trying to insert some wintery fun into children’s lives when he could. 

He hated having to cut his time short with the kids in Burgess specifically, because they were still some of the only people who could even see him. It had been over nine months since the events that led to him becoming a Guardian had taken place, and yet he still didn’t have any new believers. Not that he was unhappy with the ones that he had - he had become quite attached to them, in fact. But the Burgess kids had school, bedtimes, and other obligations beyond playing in the snow - which meant that Jack ultimately still spent most of his time alone. 

After flying around aimlessly for a few minutes, he finally looked down and realized he was hovering high above the park on the other side of town. He had visited it many times over the past few centuries, and the trees were tall enough to give him a great view of the main stretch of Burgess. Deciding this was as good a place as any, he headed down towards the snow-covered expanse and landed on a thick branch of a tree on the edge of the park. 

He sat down on the branch and rested his back against the tree trunk, his feet dangling on either side of the branch as he stared up towards the clouds. As was typical in January, the sun was already starting to set early in the evening, and the sky was awash with hues of orange and red. Jack exhaled lightly as he took in the scenery, feeling the usual oppressive solitude that came at this time of day - although it hit a little bit harder after his brief conversation with Jamie.  

Another hour before the sky would turn dark, and the moon would take its place above the rest of the world. The man who lived there may never respond, but at least it was someone else to talk to until tomorrow. 

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Hiccup’s fingers brushed the fringe of his thick auburn hair out of his eyes as he bent over his notebook at the kitchen table, his tongue absentmindedly sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he focused. He had long lost interest in the third chapter of his “Engineering: Mechanical Physics and Fundamentals” textbook, which was still spread open on the table alongside a half dozen sheets of lecture notes and several other closed textbooks. The only thing holding his attention now was the scratches of his pencil against paper as he idly doodled on the inside cover of his notebook. 

“Studying on a Friday night?” a voice suddenly asked from over his shoulder. 

“Gah-!”

Not realizing that anyone else had entered the room, Hiccup jumped in his seat, his pencil flinging out of his hand and landing on the floor with a small clack. His hand clutched his chest and he whipped his head around with widened eyes, only to find his younger cousin staring back at him with a wince on her face.

“Pippa!” He closed his eyes and exhaled in relief. “It’s just you,” he breathed.

He should have known it was Pippa, of course. Nobody else was home, since her parents had just left for an out-of-state trip two hours ago. His Aunt Lisa was running a work conference in New York on Sunday, so her and his Uncle Dave had decided to go in early and make a weekend expedition of it. It was a no-brainer for them, now that they had a built-in babysitter living with them in the form of Hiccup Haddock III.

“Oops - Sorry, Hiccup!” Pippa responded apologetically, squatting down to pick up the pencil for him. 

“No, don’t worry about it,” he said, giving her a reassuring smile. “I just didn’t hear you come in. I was kind of distracted.”

“I see that,” she teased, pulling out the chair beside him to take a seat. She looked at the image he had been drawing with a quirked eyebrow. “What kind of class is that for, exactly?”

Hiccup felt a slight flush spread across his cheeks as his eyes wandered back to the drawing he had been working on, feeling a little embarrassed that Pippa had seen it. 

“Uh… not schoolwork,” he admitted bashfully, running his hand through his hair and rubbing the back of his head. “Just something I was scribbling out of boredom, I guess.” 

“Looks like more than just a ‘scribble’,” she replied, smirking slightly at his attempt at downplaying. She leaned in closer to examine the drawing further, and her grin turned from playful to enthusiastic. “Really cool dragon, though!” she exclaimed animatedly. “Kind of looks like Toothless. Well… if he was a dragon instead of a cat, that is.” 

Hiccup was normally a little self-conscious about both his artwork and his interest in mythical creatures - having heard it referred to as “weird” or “geeky” many times in the past by his peers - so embarrassment had become a knee-jerk reaction over time. But his unease was tampered down when he realized that Pippa was being genuine. 

“Uh… Thanks,” he said with a small huff of laughter as he carefully watched her analyze his drawing. “I guess it does kind of look like him, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” she giggled, then beamed up at him. “I didn’t realize you were such a great artist!” 

Hiccup felt his cheeks flush even darker at her praise. This was not a reaction that he was used to - although that could be because hardly anyone actually got to see his art. 

“Well, I don’t know if I’d say ‘great’,” he muttered awkwardly, the corner of his mouth ticking upward as he looked away and rubbed the back of his head. “But… Thanks, Pippa,” he added, returning his gaze to her and giving her a sincere smile.

She returned his smile with a genuine one of her own, but then her eyes wandered to the tabletop. 

“Uh… I’m not interrupting you, though… am I?” she asked, her expression turning unsure as she took in the small disaster-zone that Hiccup had made with all of his scattered study materials. 

“Nah,” Hiccup said honestly as he closed his notebook. “I wasn’t getting much studying done, anyways.” 

This was true, but he also just genuinely enjoyed his younger cousin’s presence. Her sunny attitude always had a way of cheering him up, and he often felt more at ease with her than anyone his own age. He was more than happy for her company after a long week at school.

“Okay, good,” Pippa answered, looking relieved. “The house is kind of quiet without Mom and Dad here,” she admitted sheepishly. Her expression then changed to a slightly nauseated one. “Although… at least we don’t have to suffer through another one of their mushy, romantic ‘Friday Date Night’ movies in the living room this week.”   

“Yean, no kidding…” Hiccup cringed, trying to banish the image of his overly affectionate aunt and uncle from his mind. He had learned to steer clear of the living room on Friday evenings within his very first week of living with them. “Last week I heard them watching ‘The Notebook’ for the billionth time.”

“Ugh,” Pippa said, looking even more repulsed. “I’d rather watch another one of Cupcake’s boring ballet recitals than have to watch that movie again,” she said with a shudder.

Hiccup laughed lightly at her facial expression. 

“Well, you’re more than welcome to hang out here with me tonight,” he said, gesturing around the kitchen. His face deadpanned and his voice became steeped in sarcasm. “And I can tell you with absolute certainty that there is nothing romantic ever happening around me.”

“True - this is you we’re talking about,” Pippa quipped. “And that would require you to actually talk to people.”  

Hiccup scoffed and narrowed his eyes at her, but was unable to hide his amused smirk. One of the other things he liked about Pippa was that despite her sweet nature and younger age, she understood his dry, sarcastic sense of humour and played into it quite well. 

“I’ll have you know that I had to talk to three separate people at school today,” he said, holding up three fingers for emphasis. “Three of them!”

Pippa simply rolled her eyes good-naturedly and shook her head, then looked towards the small stack of textbooks on the table. 

“Speaking of school… is this what I have to look forward to in college?” she asked as she started to go through the heavy books, her nose scrunching up in distaste. 

“Uh… not unless you plan on doing a degree in Mechanical Engineering,” Hiccup answered with a laugh. He pointed to the last book in the stack that was now in Pippa’s hands. “Although, that particular class is pretty cool.” 

Pippa looked at the cover with interest and hummed. 

“‘Ancient Mythologies: Greek, Norse, Egyptian and More’,” she read aloud. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What does this have to do with Mechanical Engineering?”

“Nothing,” Hiccup answered, shrugging his shoulder. “It’s not part of my degree program. It’s one of my elective courses.”

“‘Elective’?” Pippa repeated, one of her eyebrows raising in question. Hiccup was suddenly reminded that his cousin was still only ten years old. 

“Oh. Yeah,” he explained patiently. “We get to take an extra course each semester that doesn’t have anything to do with our degree program. They’re called ‘elective courses’, and they’re usually on pretty out-there topics. Mythologies, movies, conspiracy theories…” He paused and leaned in closer to her, giving her a knowing smile. “There’s even one about video games.”  

Pippa grinned at him, her eyes widening in disbelief. 

“No way!” she said, her voice full of awe. “That sounds awesome!"

Hiccup chuckled, pleased to get the reaction out of her that he had been looking for. 

“Yeah, it probably is,” he agreed. He took the Mythologies textbook out of her hands and opened it, bringing it closer for her to see. “But this one’s pretty awesome, too.” He started flipping through the pages so that Pippa could see some of the illustrations. “It’s all about different gods, heroes, and mythical beings from all different sorts of old mythologies.” 

“Huh - I actually know who some of these guys are,” she said, watching each page go by. All of a sudden, she held out a hand to pause Hiccup’s page-flipping. “Wait - who’s that?” she interjected, peering at the page curiously. “He looks kinda' familiar.”

Hiccup looked down at the long-haired, muscly man wielding a hammer that she was pointing to, then felt himself smile. The depiction in this book looked different to the version that she would be used to, but they looked similar enough that she obviously recognized him. 

“Ah,” he said, nodding his head. “Yeah - he would look familiar. That’s Thor. He’s the Norse god of thunder.” 

Pippa cocked her head to the side and gave him a slightly dubious look. 

“Thor… as in the Avenger? ” When Hiccup nodded in confirmation, her expression became excited. “He’s actually real? I thought he was just in comic books!”

Hiccup’s amusement suddenly transformed into bewilderment. He narrowed his eyes a little, trying to figure out what exactly Pippa had meant by that. 

“Uh, well,” he started slowly. “The comic book character is based off this version of Thor, if that’s what you’re alluding to…” 

Pippa’s eyebrows scrunched together lightly in thought, but then the smile she had been wearing dimmed. 

“Oh… Right. You don’t actually believe in any of these guys, do you?” 

For some reason, Hiccup thought he could hear disappointment behind her question. He thought it would go without saying that he didn’t believe any of these myths were real. He briefly wondered if she was having him on - but her face showed nothing but honest inquisitiveness as she waited for his answer.

“Well… I don’t think anyone really does, nowadays,” he finally said. “They’re more or less only stories, now.” He shrugged his shoulder lightly. “Stories that I just happen to find interesting.”

Pippa hummed in thought, her eyes narrowing briefly. 

“Well…” she finally replied, shrugging and focusing back down on the book. “I believe in them.” Her tone made it seem like a perfectly uninteresting opinion to have, and she started to flip through the pages herself, not waiting for Hiccup to restart again. 

Hiccup blinked down at her. His eyebrow peaked at the top of his forehead as he stared at the girl, who seemed completely oblivious to his stupefaction as she continued to browse the book with a happy smile on her face.

“You… believe in ancient mythical beings,” he stated doubtfully, shaking his head lightly in confusion. “Like… all of them? Even the ones you’ve never heard of?” 

“Of course,” Pippa answered obviously, still not looking up from the book. “The stories have to come from somewhere. And I mean… once you know that some of them are real, you have to assume they all are. It’s only fair.” 

Hiccup’s eyebrows pinched together even further. He knew that some kids still believed in make-believe creatures for longer than they should, but wasn’t Pippa a little bit… old for that? Not to mention they weren’t really talking about your regular, run-of-the-mill fairytales here… 

“Hey -  you got anything in here about the Easter Bunny, by the way?” Pippa asked, now furiously searching through the pages at a faster pace. She continued to remain oblivious to the fact that her cousin was staring at her as if she was a crazy person. “I bet Jack would love some juicy tidbits.” 

Jack?  

Hiccup hadn’t heard her mention that kid before. He was about to ask who she was talking about and why they wanted gossip on the Easter Bunny, but then he closed his eyes and shook his head instead. 

Nope. One thing at a time, Hiccup.  

“Uh, sorry - no Easter Bunnies in there,” he finally answered, causing Pippa to finally pause her search and look up at him. “That’s less Ancient Mythologies, and more Modern Folklore.” 

“Oh,” Pippa said, nodding in understanding. “Right. I guess he’s not old enough to be in a book like this.” She tilted her head to the side. “Well… What about Santa Claus?”

“Afraid not,” Hiccup answered. He had no idea what to do with the information that his ten-year-old cousin believed in ancient gods and beings - but the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus? Well, at least those were normal, holiday-themed stories for kids to believe in - even if Pippa was on the older side. He gave her an apologetic smile. “Nothing on him either. Sorry.” 

“Shoot,” Pippa answered, frowning in disappointment. “I thought he might be in here. He seems pretty ancient to me.” She shrugged her shoulders again and focused back on her page-flipping. “Well, this book has to have Jack in here,” she said with a tone of finality. “He’s three hundred years old. That must be considered ancient!”

Hiccup gaped at her for a couple of seconds, but he recovered as quickly as he could. There was that name again.  

“Jack?” 

“Uh-huh,” Pippa mumbled distractedly, eyes still trained on her task. “Yeah. Jack Frost.” 

This time his brain seemed to short-circuit entirely, and he was so taken aback that he was left speechless. His cousin seemed to believe that she had had a conversation with Jack Frost. Surely this was something he needed to be concerned about? 

When Hiccup didn’t respond to her after several long, silent moments, Pippa finally looked up at him and took in his completely dumbfounded expression. 

“You know… Jack Frost? Spirit of Winter?” she clarified - as if not knowing who Jack Frost was was the sole reason for Hiccup’s confusion. 

Hiccup’s brain seemed to finally reboot itself and reminded his mouth how to function. 

“Some kid told you… that he was Jack Frost,”  he said, slowly and deliberately. “And that he was three hundred years old?” 

“He’s not just ‘some kid’,” Pippa answered, eyebrows furrowing at Hiccup’s question. “He’s not a kid at all. He’s the Jack Frost. We hang out with him all of the time.”

“Pippa…” Hiccup said slowly, his eyes widening in concern. “Are you saying this is a grown-up?” 

“Of course,” Pippa answered. Now she was the one looking at Hiccup like he was the crazy person. “He is three-hundred years old, after all.” 

“And you… you hang out all the time? ” he asked in alarm, a sinking feeling starting in the pit of his stomach. He did not like the sounds of this one bit. “Do your parents know about this?”

“I’ve mentioned him before, but they seem to think he’s some sort of imaginary friend we’ve invented just to mess with them,” she said matter-of-factly with a roll of her eyes. “Parents…”

The fact that her parents didn’t seem concerned about this baffled Hiccup. Could the man be imaginary? It certainly didn’t sound like it to him from the way Pippa spoke. He didn’t think she was that good of an actress. 

“And  you’re saying he’s definitely not imaginary?” he asked firmly, looking intently at Pippa’s expression for any indication that this was some sort of prank. 

“Nope,” Pippa said in affirmation. “Not imaginary.” 

Oh no.

Hiccup was pretty sure that Pippa wasn’t just messing with him, and that she honestly believed what she was telling him. He blinked again, running all the worst-case scenarios through his mind. Was this person just playing a prank on some gullible kids? Was he completely delusional? Or worse - was he some sort of… pervert?

“And this guy never comes around any of your parents?” Hiccup asked slowly. 

“Oh, he’s around them all the time.” Pippa answered, shrugging her shoulders. “But you can only see him if you believe in him.” 

Another brain short-circuit. Hiccup could only gawk at her in incredulity. It seemed his maximum capacity for shock that night had finally been reached. 

“He’s invisible,” he finally said, deadpan and blank-eyed. 

“Unless you believe in him,” Pippa corrected him, casual as ever.

Hiccup ran his hand down his face with a long sigh. 

“Of course he told you he’s invisible.” The man was obviously smart enough to come up with some sort of excuse for evading all of the adults. “Pippa…”

“Let me guess,” she interrupted with a knowing smile. “You don’t believe in Jack Frost, either.” 

“What - no, that’s not what I was going to say,” Hiccup said, shaking his head. “I mean… No, I don’t believe in Jack Frost,” he added, hesitating only slightly. He didn’t want to be the one to rain on her parade, but the reality was that if what she was saying was true, then she and her friends may actually be in danger. “But I believe you when you say that you’re spending time with a man who claims to be Jack Frost.”  

“Ah-ha!” Pippa exclaimed triumphantly. “So you do believe he exists, then.”

Hiccup puffed his cheeks up with air and blew it out in frustration. 

“I said I believe the man exists, Pippa. I do not believe he is Jack Frost.” 

"Well he definitely is Jack Frost-"

"Let's just agree to disagree on that for now," Hiccup interrupted, trying to rein in his frustration and focus on the important part of this problem: the fact that a strange man was spending time with a group of unsupervised children. "How often do you guys... see this person?”

Pippa shrugged, seemingly unperturbed by the apprehension in Hiccup’s voice. 

“A few times a week… usually on weekends.” Her neutral expression became excited again. “We had an awesome snowball fight after school today! You should have seen it!”

“You saw him today? ” Hiccup shook his head and ran his hand through his hair again in exasperation. What if something had happened to his cousin when he was in charge of her well-being? “Pippa, you guys can’t just hang out with strange men!” he blurted, unable to hold back his outburst. “Don’t they teach you guys about... about ‘stranger danger’ and all that? This could be really dangerous! ”

Unbelievably to Hiccup, Pippa simply laughed at the suggestion. 

“Jack isn’t a ‘strange man’, Hiccup. And he’s not dangerous! He’s a Guardian. His job is literally to protect kids.”

Hiccup pulled even harder on his hair, as the situation was starting to sound even worse and worse. It was obvious to him that this man had come up with some insane backstory to get the kids to believe him, and they were totally eating it up. 

“But you don’t know that, Pippa!” he groaned towards the ceiling. He wondered to himself how kids could be this naive - even one as smart as Pippa.

“I do too! ” she insisted. Her vexed look then shifted into something more devious. “But if you won’t take my word for it... he’ll be back tomorrow to finish our snowball fight, and we could use an extra player to even out our teams. If you wanted to come interrogate him yourself…” she trailed off with a hopeful look, obviously hoping he would catch the hint. 

Hiccup was completely beside himself with how nonchalant his cousin was being about this whole ordeal. Pippa had been trying to get him to participate in their snowball fights for a few weeks now - although Hiccup had always politely turned her down - and now it was as if she wasn’t listening to anything he had said about being careful around strangers and was instead using this as an opportunity to get him to come out. 

“You know what?” he said finally, deciding then and there that the best way to handle this was to talk to this guy himself. Pippa’s opinion clearly wasn’t going to be swayed otherwise. “Fine. I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”  He had absolutely no desire to participate in a snowball fight, but the protective streak he had for his younger cousin did make him want to go and give this guy a piece of his mind. He also knew it would be very irresponsible of him to let Pippa go without him now, knowing that she was going to see this guy again.

Pippa’s eyes expanded with joy. 

“Really?” she yelled, gripping his arm tightly and bouncing in her seat in excitement. 

“Oh, you are definitely not going tomorrow without me,” he said determinedly. Hiccup would just have to go and figure out what was wrong with the guy himself - and warn the creep off, if he had to.

Pippa was either oblivious to Hiccup’s irritation, or she was purposely ignoring it. 

“Yes! Now we’ll have even teams!” she exclaimed happily, squeaking her chair back and skipping to the doorway. “I’m gonna go call Jamie!” She paused and turned back to Hiccup once more, grinning excitedly. “Jack’s gonna be so happy to have someone new to meet and talk to!”

“I doubt that,” Hiccup muttered under his breath, quiet enough that Pippa couldn’t hear. If anything, he assumed the guy would probably run as soon as he saw Pippa show up with Hiccup. He may not be the most intimidating person in the world, but Hiccup was technically an adult - and an angry one, at that.

“Jack and Hiccup!” Pippa cheered, slipping out of the room and heading for the stairs. “This is gonna’ be the best fight ever!” Hiccup listened to her feet thump as she ran up the stairs, followed by her bedroom door closing. It was already pretty late, so he knew he likely wouldn’t see her again until the next morning. 

Left on his own again, Hiccup took a moment to himself to process the situation. Pippa seemed so sure of herself, and he had always thought she was smart enough to be careful about these things. But the reality was that she was still only ten years old, and may still be naive. He honestly hoped that this guy didn’t end up being some sort of weirdo, but he didn’t think the odds were good. He certainly wasn’t going to let it slide and risk the kids’ safety just because Pippa believed the man’s absurd lies. 

He sighed to himself heavily as he started to collect his papers off the table, then headed upstairs. He spent the rest of the evening in his room, wondering to himself whether or not he was going to have to punch someone tomorrow. In his twenty years of life he had never hit anyone before - but if he found anything unsavoury about this man, he’d certainly be willing to give it a shot. 

Chapter Text

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jack was floating outside of Jamie’s bedroom window, cupping his hands against the glass and peering into it. When his gaze swept to the left side of the room, he spotted Jamie sitting at his desk, completely enthralled in a heavy book about alien encounters and rendering him totally oblivious to Jack’s arrival. Jack smiled fondly and rolled his eyes, then tapped gently on the window with one finger to get his friend’s attention. 

The tapping did the trick, as Jamie’s face shot up from the desk and met Jack’s with a massive grin. Jack watched as the boy dropped his book down on the desk with a substantial thump, then bolted for the window to let him inside. 

“Finally, you’re here!”

Jack chuckled lightly and raised his eyebrows at how ecstatic his friend looked to see him. 

“Hey, Jamie!” he greeted happily, floating inside the window as soon as Jamie unlocked it. He hovered above the bed in a horizontal position with his hands propped underneath his head, then let himself drop down onto it with a slight bounce of the mattress under his weight. “What’s happening?” 

“Oh, nothing much,” Jamie answered brightly, running over towards his dresser. He started to riffle through the drawers, flinging clothing all over the floor around him. “Just been waiting for you and the other guys to come over.” He grunted in frustration and closed the drawer he was in, opening another one instead. His body had already half disappeared into the new drawer. “Just let me find my thicker sweater and then we can go outside...”

Jack watched on in amusement as the clothes continued to fly through the air. Evidently, Jamie was very anxious to get outside. Jack was looking forward to finishing up yesterday’s snowball fight too, but Jamie’s excitement seemed to be on another level today. 

“You seem very... chipper, this morning.” 

“Hmm… do I?” Jamie responded, finally finding what he was looking for and yanking it out of the drawer. Jack could tell that he was trying to feign innocence, but unfortunately for Jamie, the boy was not especially good at keeping the smirk off his face. 

Jack wasn’t fooled for a second, and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion at his friend. The kid was obviously up to something - but it did seem to be in good fun. He wondered if he might need to keep an eye out for some payback after the stunt he pulled the day before. 

When Jamie started to pull the sweater over himself, he didn’t seem to realize that he was trying to put his head through the sleeve instead of the neck-hole. Jack rolled his eyes and laughed lightly, dropping the suspicious look from his face. He got off the bed and padded over to help out his friend, who was now flailing about, struggling to get out of the garment’s tight grip. Jack grabbed the sleeve that the boy’s head was now stuck in and pulled upwards, releasing it from the sweater’s grasp.

“So… that eager to see me win again, huh?” he asked with a waggle of his eyebrows as Jamie’s face came back into view from underneath the sweater. 

Jamie narrowed his eyes, but the smile stayed fixed on his face. 

“I think my chances are pretty good. As long as you don’t cheat again like you did yesterday…”

“Hey!” Jack gasped, lifting his hand to his chest in feigned shock. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing! Jack Frost is no cheater!”

“Uh-huh... sure you aren’t,” Jamie droned, smirking as he tried to turn the sweater around to find the proper opening for his head. His voice became muffled behind the fabric when he found it and started pulling his head through. “Because we all have the ability to throw snowballs at people using the wind.”

Jack rolled his eyes good-naturedly and crossed his arms across his chest as he watched Jamie try and navigate the sweater again. 

“You’re never gonna’ get over that, are you?”

“Nope,” Jamie said with a smug smirk, his voice clear again as his head finally poked through the correct hole. “At least we’ll have even teams today, though.”

“Oh.” Jack frowned. “One of the guys can’t make it?” He felt a tinge of worry at that, and hoped that his other friends were all okay. 

“Actually…” Jamie said, feigning nonchalance as he started to walk towards the bedroom door, “We’re gonna’ have an extra player, today.” 

Jack blinked in shock, his body becoming rooted to the ground. He was almost unwilling to let himself believe what he had just heard. 

“An… extra player?” he repeated, anticipation starting to build within him as he stared at Jamie with bated breath. 

“Uh huh,” Jamie mumbled, a self-satisfied smile growing across his face as soon as he turned back and saw the astonishment on Jack’s face. “Pippa called me this morning to ask if it was okay if she brought her cousin. She’s been asking him for weeks, now. I guess he finally gave in.”

Jack’s eyes widened, and he smiled so big that his face nearly split in two. 

“R-Really?” He was no longer frozen in place - quite the opposite, actually - as his whole body was now practically vibrating with excited energy. 

Jamie simply nodded in reply, now biting his bottom lip to keep his laughter in as he crossed his arms across his chest.

“I can’t believe it. An extra player…” Jack felt a disbelieving laugh force its way out of his mouth against his will. He reached up to run both of his hands through his hair, looking around the room in amazement and trying to process what this meant for him. Perhaps one new kid wouldn’t mean much to the likes of the other Guardians, but to Jack and his tiny following this was a huge deal.

Unable to contain the elation thrumming through him now, he jumped up onto the bed and bounced a couple of times, laughing again as he stared down at his friend. Jamie seemed to get sucked into the contagiousness of Jack’s excitement, finally letting his own laughter escape. 

“This does mean I’m gonna’ have a new believer, right?”

“Seems like it,” Jamie nodded his head vigorously, still giggling.

Jack jumped one more time with a loud whoop, launching himself off the bed. He landed directly in front of Jamie at the doorway, causing his friend to laugh again and step back in surprise to avoid being run over. Jack grinned down at the smaller boy, still shaking with excitement. 

“Well, what are we waiting for, then?” He practically pushed Jamie out the bedroom door, inciting more laughter from the smaller boy.

“Alright, alright - we’re going! Calm down,” Jamie whispered with a laugh. “Just be quiet - Sophie’s still napping in her room down the hall.”

Jack looked a bit sheepish at that and covered his mouth apologetically, but it didn’t dampen his energy level at all. He mouthed a silent “sorry” and gestured for Jamie to hurry up towards the staircase. The boy led the way downstairs at a quick pace, but Jack still had to push down the urge to pick him up and fly them to the back door himself.

When they finally made it to the back door, Jamie headed for the coat closet to grab his outerwear. Jack groaned internally as he impatiently watched the boy put on his coat, gloves, scarf, and hat one at a time. It was like a cruel form of torture. Why did humans need so much stupid protection from the cold?

When Jamie sat down on the bench by the closet to start putting his boots on, this time Jack’s groan was audible. 

“Ugh - here,” he said exasperatedly, kneeling down to grab Jamie’s other boot and shoving it on the end of the boy’s foot.

“Ah- careful,” Jamie laughed with a wince as Jack started turning the boot every which way until the foot went in. Jack then grabbed the laces, starting to tie them up as fast as he could while Jamie worked on the other boot.

By the time Jamie had the lace on his boot done up, Jack already had his hand on the door knob. 

“Alright, let’s go!” he said with a grin, jumping up and down on the spot and throwing the door open. Jamie rolled his eyes, but Jack could tell he was excited as well. 

“Mom, I’m gonna’ be outside in the backyard, okay?” he called into the house, still hesitating at the doorway.

Jack had already stepped over the threshold when Jamie’s mom came into view from the living room. 

“Sure, sweetie. Is the gang all coming over again?” She came closer and looked out the back doorway as if expecting to see someone else in the yard, unknowingly staring right through Jack as she did so.

 “And some fresh meat,” Jack replied with a wicked smile, rubbing his hands together in a nefarious manner and winking at Jamie. Of course his comment went unheard by Jamie’s mom, but Jamie couldn’t help but bite his lip to keep from smiling. 

“Yeah, the regular group. Pippa’s bringing her cousin over, too.” He stepped past his mom and joined Jack in the backyard. 

“Huh. So you guys have finally roped Hiccup into joining you, have you?” she asked in amusement from the doorway, crossing her arms across her chest.

Jack’s eyebrows rose at the name and he shook his head in confusion. 

“Hiccup?” he repeated, looking down at Jamie with a crooked smirk. What kind of parent named their child “Hiccup”? At least he knew in advance now and was no longer running the risk of laughing in the poor kid’s face when he heard his name for the first time.

Jamie held back his laughter at Jack’s reaction and readdressed his mom. 

“Yeah - I guess Pippa was finally able to convince him,” he said with a shrug.

Jamie’s mom rolled her eyes as she chuckled, then gave him a pointed look. 

“Well, just make sure you go easy on him.”

“We will,” Jamie promised, before turning to make his way towards the gate. She laughed lightly again and made a move to shut the door behind them. Jack could swear he heard her mutter “Poor, Hiccup” before closing the door all the way.

Feeling the thrill of anticipation pick up again inside of him, Jack floated towards the gate to beat Jamie there. He immediately poked his head around the fence and looked up and down the road, searching for his other friends. He was disappointed to find nobody there yet, but his smile only faltered slightly.

“You think they’re on their way?” he turned and asked Jamie eagerly when the boy had finally caught up to the gate.

“Probably,” Jamie smirked in amusement. “We’ve just got to be patient…”

Jack frowned and stuck his staff into the snow, leaning on the staff and sighing heavily. He actually was a surprisingly patient person - you kind of had to be after spending three hundred years as an invisible man - but his patience was definitely being tested at the moment. It had been months and months since he last got to meet someone new who could actually see him, so he hoped it wouldn’t be too long of a wait. 

He wondered what this “Hiccup” kid would be like, and if he’d jive as well with the newcomer as he did with the other Burgess kids. He figured Hiccup must be cool if Pippa wanted to bring him along. A thought then occurred to him, and he turned back down to Jamie. 

“Hey, how come Hiccup hasn’t come to hang out with us before now?” 

“Oh, he just moved in with Pippa about a month or so ago,” Jamie answered, shrugging his shoulders and sticking his hands in his pockets. “But we’ve all met him a couple of times when we’ve been over at Pippa’s house.” 

Jack’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“He lives with Pippa?” He had assumed the kid just lived nearby, or something. It seemed even odder now that he had never hung out with the other kids before when Pippa asked him to. 

“Yeah. I think he started to go to a school in Burgess, and Pippa’s parents invited him to stay with them to save money or something.” He scrunched up his nose and bit his bottom lip in thought. “I can’t remember all the details.” He shrugged his shoulders, then his face relaxed back into a smile. “He’s pretty cool though. And kind of funny. I think you’ll like him.”

Jack narrowed his eyes in thought and one eyebrow rose to the top of his head. He was still dwelling on the bit about Hiccup “needing to save money” and was starting to get a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“Uh, Jamie… Exactly how old is Hiccup?” 

Jamie blinked, then frowned as he looked like he was trying to think it over. 

“Uh, I’m not sure. Maybe, like… nineteen? Or twenty? Something like that.” 

Oh no.

Jack closed his eyes and covered them with one hand, shaking his head lightly as the excitement he had been feeling for the past ten minutes instantly turned to dread. 

“Jamie…” He sighed as he looked back at the boy, who was now looking very perplexed at Jack’s reaction. “You never told me he was an adult.” This was not going to go over well at all. 

“I didn’t?” He looked even more confused and bit his bottom lip again, looking as if he was trying to think back on their conversation. “Oh. I guess I didn’t…” he finally agreed, wincing slightly. “But it doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Jack wished that were true, but of course it mattered. 

“Jamie, it’s the same thing as all your parents not believing I’m real,” he said, sighing again. “Eventually people just… stop believing. They get to a certain age and they decide we’re just stories.” He shook his head regretfully. “Hiccup isn’t going to be able to see me.”

“You’re assuming that just because he’s an adult?” Jamie pouted. “But… you don’t know that for sure!”  

“Jamie… that’s exactly what you said when you wanted to tell your mom about me,” Jack replied, giving him a tired look.

In a moment of empathy for Jack’s plight as an invisible man, Jamie had once decided to tell his mom about Jack Frost on a whim, against Jack’s insistence that he not. She had laughed at first - assuming it was some sort of prank - but Jamie had been so avid that she had actually started to become concerned about him. Jamie eventually realized that he had been wrong in assuming she would believe him, and decided to let her think that he and his friends had been joking instead. He had not attempted it again since then.

“Hey - she may still come around!” Jamie responded, looking a little indignant at the reminder. 

“And you may still end up in a locked, padded cell.” Jack quipped. 

Jamie sighed. 

“Well, you know… we all didn’t believe in you before last year,” he reminded Jack, looking slightly apologetic as he said it. “So people must be able to change their minds… right?” He lowered his eyes for a second and his expression suddenly became worried before he returned his gaze to Jack. “I mean, you don’t think I’m going to forget about you when I get older… do you?”

Jack’s grumpiness ebbed at Jamie’s concerned look.

“Of course not…” he answered honestly, ruffling Jamie’s hair a bit and giving him a fond smile. “But that’s different.”

Jack had long decided that Jamie would be an exception to the norm - and not just because the very idea of Jamie forgetting about him was too painful to imagine. Jamie was what he and the other Guardians affectionately referred to as “The Last Light” for a reason. 

Seemingly reassured by that answer, Jamie gave him a smile back. 

“Yeah, you’re right…” he agreed, shaking his head as if his previous thought had been a ridiculous one. “But then… you can’t say for sure that Hiccup won’t be able to see you just because he’s older,” he added, back to arguing. “Besides - Pippa said he believed you existed when she told him about you!”

This, admittedly, caught Jack off guard. 

“Wait - Pippa already told him about me?” he asked, looking back at Jamie with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah!” Jamie nodded eagerly in reply, his smile growing. “And he believed you existed!”

“Huh…” Jack said, looking off into the distance and pondering for a moment. That was certainly a surprising twist. It was hard to say if Hiccup was telling the truth or just humoring his younger cousin - in fact, Jack was willing to bet it was the latter. 

A small part of him wondered, though…Could it really be possible for someone to believe as an adult? Jamie was technically correct in that he and his friends had learned to believe in Jack later on. Did that mean that adults could be reconditioned, as well? Probably not… but he supposed he couldn’t really say it was impossible. 

Perhaps they were about to find out.

Sure enough, when Jack looked down the road he could now just make out Pippa, Monty and Cupcake heading towards Jamie’s house - and they were all animatedly talking to a tall, brown-haired man that Jack had to assume was Hiccup. He couldn’t help the sense of intrigue he felt as he watched them approach. Would Hiccup see him, or would he think the kids’ were making him up like all the other adults did? 

“Well,” he said, crossing his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes, “at least this’ll be interesting.” 

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“Do you really have videogame classes in college?” Monty asked, gaping at Hiccup as if this was the single most important question he would ever ask.

“Yep,” Hiccup responded distractedly, giving the boy a tight smile. “Sure do.” 

He was trying his best to pay attention to the kids, but he was also on a mission. He looked around the street again, his eyes scanning for any sort of suspicious characters that may be lurking on the sidelines. He wanted to make sure the supposed “Jack Frost” wouldn’t be able to run if he saw Hiccup coming first.

“Told ya,” Pippa said smugly, sticking her tongue out jokingly at Monty. She started skipping around the others in delight, as she had done repeatedly within the past five minutes since they had left the house. She had been practically bouncing off the walls that morning, so Hiccup was not surprised by her level of energy. “I can’t wait to go to college!”

“Me neither,” Cupcake agreed, jumping up and down to match Pippa’s enthusiasm. “I think I’m going to study unicorns.” 

“”What!” Pippa stopped her skipping mid-step and turned to face Cupcake. She giggled lightly, cocking an eyebrow at her friend. “Cupcake… you can’t study unicorns.” 

“No way would they teach that!” Monty shook his head in skepticism, agreeing with Pippa. 

“Why not?” Cupcake answered, crossing her arms across her chest and giving them an insulted look. “You can study video games, so I can study whatever I want to study.” 

“Hiccup!” Pippa ran around the front of the group to walk backwards in front of them so she could face her cousin. “You can’t actually study unicorns in college - can you?” 

“Hm?” Hiccup mumbled distractedly, his attention still on searching around them. He had only been half-heartedly listening to the kids’ argument. “Oh, yeah sure.” His eyes narrowed into the distance when he thought he might have spotted someone lurking in a shadow. “Unicorns, definitely.” He felt himself relax a bit when he realized it was just a tall, lean bush.

Pippa’s mouth dropped open in disbelief and she stopped walking - nearly causing Hiccup to trip over her. But he barely reacted, stepping around his cousin carefully and quickly becoming distracted again by his hunt.

“See!” Cupcake exclaimed, sending the other two children a triumphant look. 

Pippa blinked and quickly snapped back into reality, catching up to walk alongside Cupcake again. She still looked flabbergasted and shook her head. 

“Unicorns…” 

“Wow,” Monty whispered breathily, looking equally as amazed as Pippa as he stared into the distance. “College really is the coolest.”

“Oh, look!” Cupcake suddenly pointed excitedly towards the other end of the road in front of them, putting an end to Monty and Pippa’s astonished reverie as they looked to see what she was pointing at. “There’s Claude and Caleb!”

Her exclamation regained Hiccup’s attention, and his eyes immediately followed to the direction that she was pointing in. He could see the twins running towards a backyard at the other end of the street. He watched them stop in front of what he now realized was Jamie, who was standing alone alongside the fence. Realizing that they were almost at their destination, Hiccup looked around the area wildly, hoping to spot the man he had been searching for.

Damn. The man in question was still missing. Had he already seen Hiccup and decided to flee? 

Contrary to Hiccup’s disappointment, though, Pippa gasped happily when she saw her friends by the fence. She turned to give Hiccup a massive grin. 

“Come on, Hiccup!” she squealed, not giving him any time to respond before grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the gate of Jamie’s yard.

“Ow! Pippa- wait!” He was suddenly very uncomfortable as the force of the shorter girl’s pulling caused him to hunch forward towards the ground. It was all he could do to avoid tripping over his own feet as he tried to keep up with her. “I’d really prefer to keep my arms inside of their sockets, if you wouldn’t mind…” 

Pippa didn’t seem at all interested in slowing her pace, however, and Cupcake and Monty had already caught up to sprint alongside them, giggling in excitement. When they finally came to a halt in front of Jamie’s gate, Hiccup wrenched his hand out of Pippa’s grasp and straightened himself back to his full height, exhaling in relief. 

“Okay - next time, let’s try and remember that Hiccup has his own legs that work perfectly fine,” he grumbled, rubbing his shoulder and wincing.

He glanced back down at his cousin, half-expecting some hint of an apology on her face. Instead, she was watching him with an eager grin, as though she were waiting for him to do something amazing. Only then did he notice the sudden hush around them. The other children had gone quiet too, every one of them staring at him with the same bright, expectant smiles

“Uh… You guys are kind of creeping me out...”

Pippa’s smile seemed to falter. 

“But can’t you… can’t you see him?” she asked, gesturing at the empty space between Jamie and Claude.

Hiccup’s eyebrow climbed higher when he looked all around the space behind Jamie and Claude and saw nothing. 

“Uh… Can’t I see who?” His uneasiness was starting to shift into something slightly edgier, as realization started to dawn on him. If Pippa was about to say what he thought she was, he was going to be very unimpressed with her and her friends…

“Jack,” Pippa answered obviously, waving her hands towards the empty space again. “He’s right there. Beside Jamie.”

Shit.  

Hiccup immediately groaned and covered his eyes with one hand, his stomach sinking.

“Pippa...”  He was trying his best to tamper down the sudden rush of annoyance that shot through him. His aunt and uncle had been right about Jack Frost - the kids were just messing with them. Here he had been concerned that they might be in actual danger hanging around some weird older man, but it turns out that Hiccup was just a gullible idiot. 

“God... I can’t believe I fell for this,” he said dryly, letting his hand fall down his face and shaking his head before he finally reopened his eyes. He expected to see the kids laughing at him, but he found they actually appeared fairly panicked and upset. 

“N-no - Hiccup, we’re telling the truth," Jamie said desperately. “He’s real! Just… look harder.” The boy grabbed into the thin air beside him, and Hiccup could say it honestly looked like Jamie had grabbed onto something - if it wasn’t for the fact that he could see with his own eyes that there was nothing there to grab on to.

“Okay - hah hah,” Hiccup said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms across his chest. “Fine. I admit it - I’m a huge sucker. Happy, now?”

“B-but - you told me you believed he was real last night!” Pippa’s panicked expression intensified. “You have to be able to see him!” 

Pippa was right - he had believed the man was real - which is part of the reason why Hiccup was so unhappy with her and her friends right now. He had been genuinely terrified for their safety. He knew kids did dumb things sometimes, but he couldn’t help feeling especially bitter about his normally sweet cousin being in on this. 

“Pippa, come on,” he said almost sadly, shaking his head. “Just stop-”

“No! Hiccup, please,” she begged, grabbing his elbow and pulling him towards Jamie. “Just… look!”

Hiccup was a little taken aback by her ferocity. He was willing to admit the distressful look on his little cousin’s face was almost enough to make him second-guess himself, and against his better judgement he did in fact look again. Yet still, there was nothing - and despite his cousin’s plea, there was no disputing the fact that the space between Jamie and Claude remained empty. This was apparently all part of the show.

“Okay - seriously, you guys. The joke’s over.” He had been trying to be a good sport about it so far, but he was starting to get irritated. He turned his back to them and took a few paces back where he had come from. “I mean, you actually had me worried you guys were in some sort of trouble,” he said grumpily as he crossed his arms across his chest. He turned to face them again and tried to convey his disappointment in his expression. “So can you please just drop the act, now?”

“Wait - ‘trouble’?” Jamie echoed. The kids all looked bewildered now, and Hiccup wondered at what point they had all become such excellent actors. “What are you talking about?”

Hiccup sighed and looked up at the sky. 

“I’m talking about the fact that I thought you guys were out gallivanting around with some sort of... some sort of deviant,” he blurted, gesturing around himself angrily.

The children all reeled back in confusion. 

“Deviant?” Claude repeated, looking between the other kids for an explanation. 

“What does that even mean?” Monty asked, his face scrunched up in bafflement.

Hiccup blew out the angry breath he had been holding and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself back down. These were just kids, after all, even if he was very annoyed with them right now. He didn’t want to scare them - he just wanted them to understand why he had been so worried.

“I just meant…” he looked away from them and gestured in front of himself with a hand, suddenly unsure of what to say. “You know. I thought you guys were just spending time with someone you probably shouldn’t be. Someone… creepy.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I mean, you never really know what intentions people can have-”

Splat. 

Hiccup froze mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open in shock. He blinked his eyes through the mask of freezing-cold snow that was now covering his face, feeling some of it fall down onto the ground around his feet. He was in such a state of astonishment that he couldn’t even be bothered to wipe the rest of the snow off his face. He vaguely heard some of the kids gasping quietly behind their hands, but his eyes remained fixed on the air in front of him.

Something had just thrown a snowball into his face, and he could have sworn that it came from the direction of the empty space between Jamie and Claude. 

A few more long seconds went by in which nobody said anything, and Hiccup continued to stare into the empty space, completely stunned. 

“Hiccup…” Pippa finally said carefully, drawing his attention back down to her and the other kids. When he slowly turned to look at her, he found that she actually looked amused. 

He blinked again. 

“W-Which one of you guys threw that at me?” he asked hollowly, feeling deep-down that it couldn’t have been any of them, but looking for some sort of excuse to be proven wrong.

Please, please prove me wrong...

“It wasn’t us, Hiccup...” Pippa said quietly, shaking her head apologetically and biting her bottom lip to keep from smiling. He looked around desperately at the other kids, but they all shook their heads along with his cousin. 

Hiccup blinked a few more times, then shook his own head. 

No. He could not accept this. There had to be some sort of reasonable explanation. Why was he even entertaining any other idea? He finally brought one hand up to wipe off the snow that still clung around his features, shaking himself out of his stupor. 

“Well, it had to have been one of you-”

SPLAT. 

This time the snowball hit him with enough force to cause him to reel back with an “Oof!” He instantly turned his face into the inside of his elbow to rub the snow away, spitting some of it out of his mouth and onto the ground. 

“‘Some sort of DEVIANT’?” a deep voice bellowed from towards the kids. 

Hiccup froze mid-motion, his eyes flying wide as his breath caught in his throat. The voice was unmistakably not one of the kids’, yet he couldn’t bring himself to turn and face it, terrified of what he might find. A chill swept through him, and it felt as though his entire world had just tilted off its axis.

“Who does this guy think he is?” the voice continued in outrage, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that it was causing Hiccup’s grip on reality to loosen with every word. “‘Some sort of deviant.’ What kind of thing is that to say about a Guardian!” 

Hiccup’s heart was pumping a mile a minute, the beat of it in his ears causing him to feel lightheaded. 

This can’t be happening. This can NOT be happening.

“Over three centuries I’ve spent on this planet, and I’ve never been called something so… so disrespectful!”

Hiccup closed his eyes and swallowed thickly, willing himself to calm down. He just had to turn back around, and everything would be as it should be in the world. He was probably just having some sort of auditory hallucination... Right? 

“I mean really?” The angry ranting continued. “You’d never hear anyone say something like that about North or Tooth - and they literally sneak into kids’ bedrooms, for god’s sake!”

Bracing himself for the possibility that his entire belief system was about to change on the off chance that he wasn’t just going insane, Hiccup slowly straightened up out of his elbow and turned back towards the kids. When he came face to face with a very disgruntled-looking, bare-footed, young man holding some sort of long stick just a few feet in front of him, he felt as if his heart had finally stopped. His mouth fell open in a slight gape as he froze again.

“Holy shit,” he breathed unintendedly, temporarily forgetting that he was still in the presence of a group of ten-year olds.

“Wow.” The man narrowed his ice-blue eyes even more disapprovingly. “And he swears in front of children,” he said with conviction, gesturing at Hiccup like he was something to be disparaged. The man crossed his arms against his chest and looked off to the side, shaking his head in disgust. “Unbelievable.”

Hiccup found himself unable to respond. He still couldn’t think of anything more eloquent to say than “holy shit”, but at least he had regained enough self-awareness after the man’s comment to remember that he was, in fact, still in front of children. His brain seemed to settle on silence as a compromise, so he simply stared back at the man with widened eyes and an open mouth.

“Wait - Hiccup…” Jamie said softly after a few more seconds of silence, catching on to Hiccup’s shock. He slowly stepped around the angry man and put himself between them. “Can you… see Jack right now?” he asked, his mouth starting to form a tiny, hopeful smile.

Hiccup watched the white-haired man whip his face back towards him. 

“Wait - what?” the man said forcefully, his arms uncrossing as he quickly replaced his look of anger with one of cautious awe. He took a single, hesitant step closer, his eyes now glued to Hiccup’s. Apparently this was a surprise to them both.

Hiccup closed his mouth and met the man’s intense gaze head-on, nodding his head lightly to answer Jamie’s question. The confirmation incited a shocked huff of laughter from Jamie - who reached out in excitement to grab the other man’s blue sleeve - while the man’s eyes widened even further, still maintaining his fierce eye-contact. Hiccup imagined their facial expressions probably looked pretty similar right about now.

“I KNEW it!” Pippa cheered, grabbing onto Hiccup’s elbow and shaking him back and forth as the two men kept up their staring contest. The other children joined her and jumped around them, whooping in joy.

“I told you it was possible, Jack!”

“This is so cool!” 

“Does this mean we’re actually gonna’ have even teams today?”

Hiccup watched as the other man - or rather, Jack -  finally seemed to blink, a miniscule smile starting to pull at the corner of his lips as he shook his head lightly in disbelief. 

“You can really see me?” His voice was quiet but optimistic.

Hiccup nodded again, his own amazed smirk appearing as his eyelids fluttered. 

“I… I guess I can...” He could still hardly believe it, but he couldn’t possibly deny that which he could now see.

His mind was reeling. Jack Frost was real. And so… not what Hiccup would have expected to see if he had pictured a three hundred year old mythical being. How many other things that he thought were just stories actually existed without him knowing? He had so many questions swimming through his head - questions that he needed answers to as quickly as possible.

“I can’t believe it!” Jack’s smile finally burst across his face, his body starting to vibrate in place as he shook his head again at Hiccup. “You can see me!”  He reached one hand up to run through his hair, further messing up his already-chaotic, white spikes.

Hiccup released a quiet, shocked laugh, finding the man’s excitement infectious. 

“And I can’t believe you’re actually real... ”

Jack allowed himself to laugh again, still looking back at Hiccup with wonder. 

“And I can’t believe-” He cut himself off and blinked, something seeming to click behind his eyes. His smile suddenly sank back into a frown and his eyebrows furrowed. “Wait,” he said, now glaring back at Hiccup with a familiar angry expression. “I still can’t believe you called me a ‘deviant’.”

Hiccup’s smile fell off his face, his eyebrows inching up to the top of his forehead in confusion at the quick change in mood. 

“Uh…” It seemed he was at a loss for words, again. 

“Oh, who even cares about that!” Jamie interrupted. He jumped between Jack and Hiccup again, still grinning from ear to ear. “I’m sure it was just an honest mistake… right, Hiccup?”

Jack huffed and narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms against his chest in a stand-offish stance. 

“I care.” He turned his face to the side and his nose up towards the sky. “It was rude and uncalled for.”

Hiccup blinked at the childish response. The novelty and amazement of meeting a mythical being for the first time seemed to be wearing off very quickly now that said being was giving Hiccup a hard time.

“Well, that’s… Obviously it was just a- a misunderstanding...” Hiccup stuttered in genuine disbelief, gesturing with both hands. Jack remained silent and refused to meet Hiccup’s eyes, his crossed arms tightening further in on themselves. Hiccup glanced towards the kids, silently looking for help, but they looked at as much of a loss as he was. Apparently, Jack was giving him the silent treatment. 

Hiccup’s face deadpanned and he raised an eyebrow, his arms dropping back down limply by his sides. 

“I’m sorry, but I’m in the middle of an actual existential crisis right now - I mean, a fairytale man has literally appeared in front of me out of thin air - and you’re worried about... that?” 

Jack finally turned back towards Hiccup, narrowing his eyes even more and leaning forward in an attempt to look threatening. 

“First of all, I am not a ‘fairytale man’. I’m Jack Frost, and I’m very real.” He leaned even closer, pointing his stick against Hiccup’s chest in a warning fashion. “And second of all, I am not a ‘deviant’.”

Hiccup looked down at the stick against his chest, and for the first time, he wondered if he needed to be scared of this being. He immediately regretted his previous sarcastic tone. 

“W-Well, I know that now,” Hiccup said nervously, leaning back and trying to bat the stick away from his chest. “But what was I supposed to think when my little cousin told me some strange man was parading around the neighbourhood, telling kids he was a three-hundred-year old ‘winter spirit’ who was conveniently invisible to adults.”

“Uh, how about believing her?” Jack retorted. 

“Uh, guys-” Jamie tried to interject uneasily, moving to put one hand on both of the men’s stomachs to make sure they kept their distance. The other children were watching on anxiously but remained silent, apparently fine with letting Jamie play the peacemaker. “Jack, come on… I think Hiccup was just looking out for us.”

For a long moment there was silence, but then Jack finally looked down at Jamie’s pleading face. 

“Alright… Fine,” he conceded, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He pulled his staff away from Hiccup’s chest. 

“Okay... Well, now that that’s settled…” Jamie said uncertainly, turning to give them both an obviously phony grin, “Uh… guess we can finally-”

“But you still owe me an apology,” Jack interrupted, now pointing a warning finger towards Hiccup instead of his staff. 

Hiccup quickly held up his hands in defense and nodded in agreement, not wanting to be at the bad end of some sort of wintery curse. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Hiccup said, trying for a smile that came out more as a grimace. “I’m sorry for calling you, uh… that,” he finished lamely. Hiccup expected Jack to at least say something in return, but instead the other man just glared at him with an unimpressed look, and Hiccup’s smile melted away. 

“Uh… S-so, we’re good?” Hiccup asked anxiously, holding out a trembling hand towards Jack to shake on it.

Jack stared down at Hiccup’s outstretched hand for a few seconds, but eventually he reached out warily to shake it, his skin feeling strangely cold against Hiccup’s own. His grip tightened, not enough to cause pain but enough to imply that he wanted to - a warning for Hiccup without having to say anything more in front of Jamie and the other kids.

God - he really didn’t want anyone to smite today.  

“Great!” Jamie said obliviously, grinning up at both of them as they shook hands. “So... now can we have that snowball fight?” 

“What…?” Hiccup blinked, as if remembering where he was and what was happening. He had barely even processed the fact that Jack Frost existed, let alone the potential for all the other mythical beings he had read about . A snowball fight hardly seemed like a top priority right now.

But before he could vocalize any of that, Jack answered for him.

“Oh, you bet we can,” he said menacingly, nearly crushing Hiccup’s hand again. Hiccup winced and turned back towards him, almost having forgotten the weight of Jack’s hand still rested in his own. He did not like the look of the mischievous smile that was now spreading across the spirit’s face. “My team versus Hiccup’s.”

“O-oh,” Hiccup said with a fake smile, trying not to make the pain his fingers were in that obvious to the kids. “I-I don’t know about tha-”

“Unless you’re too scared, of course,” Jack said smugly, shrugging one shoulder.

He couldn’t explain it, but something about that smug look flipped a switch in Hiccup, and an uncharacteristic spike of competitiveness took over inside of him. 

“You know what? Fine,” Hiccup suddenly spat. He straightened up, narrowed his eyes and instinctively yanked the spirit closer to him by their still-joined hands. Jack’s blue eyes widened in surprise as he was pulled closer, the smugness startled right off his face. “My team versus Jack’s.”

Apparently the questions he had for Jack would have to wait until after he brought the guy down a few pegs.

Chapter Text

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“Ow! Tell me again why I agreed to this?” Hiccup grumbled, rubbing the back of his head where a snowball had just exploded against it. He sunk his back - which was pressed up against a snow bunker - a little bit lower to avoid any other oncoming attacks.

Pippa gave him an amused smirk. 

“Because you thought you were coming to save us from some crazy guy pretending to be Jack Frost.” 

Hiccup glared at her for her sass, but then softened and looked away awkwardly. 

“I guess I kind of owe you an apology, don’t I?”

“That’s okay.” Pippa shrugged shyly. “I guess I can’t really blame you for not believing us, since we didn’t really believe in him at first either.” Her smile was reassuring, which made Hiccup feel a little bit less guilty about not trusting her before. And in his defense… who in their right mind would have really thought that there would be such a thing as Jack Frost?

“Well, still. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Pippa,” he responded quietly, sheepishly returning her smile. But not even a second later, a snowball smashed into the top of his head, ruining their nice moment. “Gah!” 

Apparently, he hadn’t sunk down quite far enough. His face scrunched up in annoyance as he rubbed his head again. 

“But mostly I’m sorry that you got stuck on my team,” he added sarcastically. It had taken him all of two minutes to realize he was completely useless at making, throwing and dodging snowballs, and he was long regretting having allowed himself to be coerced into participating. Why he had thought he would be able to beat the living embodiment of winter in a snowball fight, Hiccup had no idea. Instead, he was just embarrassing himself. 

His cousin giggled, reaching up to brush the snow out of his hair for him. 

“You just need some practice.” Another snowball skimmed his hair and ricocheted against the tree several feet in front of them towards the fence line. Pippa winced a little, but to her credit continued talking as if it hadn’t happened. “I’m sure Jack would be happy to give you some pointers.” 

Hiccup refrained from rolling his eyes at her naivety.

“Uh, yeah, maybe…” he said with a tight smile. He didn’t actually believe that for a second. So far, they did not seem to be hitting it off well. In fact, he was more than certain that every single one of the snowballs that he had been hit with thus far had been specifically sent to him courtesy of Jack. 

Pippa turned to peek her head around her side of the bunker. 

“Okay - I’m gonna’ make a run for that cover up there. I should be able to get a few good shots in on Claude from that spot.” She turned back to Hiccup and patted his head with a patronizing smirk. “You just hold down the fort back here.” 

This time Hiccup let his eye roll happen as he leaned away from her patting. 

“Wow, you’re so funny,” he said sarcastically. He waved her off with a limp hand. “Fine, go. I’ll just be here - waiting until it’s over.” She snorted a laugh, then quickly stood up and bolted further up the yard towards a shelter near the middle line, a couple of snowballs flying around her as she did so.

Hiccup turned his head towards the opposite direction, looking for his other teammates - Caleb and Monty. He spotted them towards the back of the property, Caleb’s head poking around a bunker and Monty seeming to cower behind him. The smaller boy’s shaking made Hiccup feel a certain comradery with him. At least he wasn’t the only ineffective member on their team.

A piece of the bunker the two boys were sheltering behind suddenly crumbled away, prompting Caleb to steel his face. 

“Okay, that’s it! Come on, Monty - we’re getting creamed back here!” He grabbed Monty’s hand and forcefully dragged him ahead towards one of the bunkers closer to Pippa, eliciting a shriek from the blonde boy as he was pulled along against his will. “We’re gonna’ get closer!” Caleb yelled to Hiccup as they ran past him, ignoring his trembling friend's pleas to go back and hide.

Hiccup blew out a puff of air as he watched the boys disappear. Great. Now he was alone back here.

It suddenly occurred to him that Jack hadn’t managed to hit him with a snowball for at least a full minute. In fact, Hiccup hadn’t seen anymore come towards him since Pippa abandoned him. Maybe Jack had finally given up his grudge? He wondered how terrible of an idea it would be to poke his head out and take a look at what was going on. He bit his bottom lip in thought, then decided he’d risk it. It’s not like he hadn’t been hit several dozen times already. 

He narrowed his eyes, scanning for the one member of the opposing team that he was truly worried about locating. When he couldn’t see Jack in plain sight, he started to get a sinking feeling in his stomach. 

This did not bode well for him. 

He quickly pulled back around the bunker and looked around his team’s side of the yard - just in case. He had only known Jack for an hour, but he wouldn’t put it past him to sneak over onto the other team’s side for an ambush when nobody else was looking. He glanced at all the snow shelters around him, but he couldn’t see Jack anywhere. Maybe he was still on his own side after all?

Then again... for all Hiccup knew, Jack could just be on the other side of the very bunker he was leaning against. 

His eyes widened slightly when the thought crossed his mind. The sounds of the children’s battle behind him could still be heard, but the space directly around him had become eerily quiet. Now that he had it in his head, the nagging feeling that he was being watched was starting to settle over him. 

Quiet as he could, he reached down for some snow beside him and scooped it into his hands. He started to form a shape with it - not one that could really constitute as a ball, but one that would at least cause some sort of impact when launched into someone’s face. Even slower than he had before, he started to move. This time he decided to poke his head up over the top of the bunker instead of around the side, his snow lump in hand and ready to fire quickly if needed.

He sprung his head up the last couple of inches with a triumphant smile, hoping to catch Jack by surprise. He had almost released the snow that was in his pulled-back hand, but he stopped himself when he realized that there was nothing there after all.

Damn. He had been so sure that Jack had been hiding somewhere nearby. It must have just been his imagination- 

Crack. 

Hiccup froze, then processed where the noise had come from. His head shot upwards to the sky, and he realized the tree at the back of the yard had branches that stretched far enough to hover about 10 feet above his head. 

And there, balancing atop a snowy branch, was a man with an equally snowy head of hair and the smuggest smirk Hiccup had ever seen. 

“Gotcha'.” 

Hiccup gasped and willed his body to move out of the way of the snowball now rocketing for his face, but his reflexes weren't quite good enough. He grunted in annoyance - a slight stinging in his cheeks when the cold, wet snow collided against his skin. He quickly rubbed it away to clear his vision, just in time to see Jack float down from the tree as if light as air, still looking positively joyful from his successful attack.

The sight of him flying was actually kind of impressive, but the smirk Jack was sporting reminded Hiccup that he was meant to be annoyed right now. He wiped the awed expression off his face and quickly stood up to meet Jack’s stance, trying to muster up an indifferent look instead.

“So… I guess you can fly, then?” He was aiming for nonchalance and hoping he hit the mark, but he couldn’t help his curiosity.

Jack leaned his staff against one shoulder and shrugged the other, looking quite pompous. 

“Sure can.” His confident expression suddenly shifted to something slightly more hesitant. “Well… not technically. But the wind responds to me when I need a lift.”

“Huh,” Hiccup hummed in interest, forgetting briefly that he wasn’t supposed to look like he cared.

“Which means I can also do this.” Jack leaned down and slowly picked up a handful of snow, causing Hiccup to subconsciously flinch. Jack froze when he noticed, then smirked. “Oh, relax… I’m not gonna’ throw it at you.” 

A slight flush of embarrassment filled Hiccup’s cheeks, but he nonetheless watched in intrigue as Jack started to form a perfect sphere with the snow between his cupped palms. When the ball was perfectly round, Jack held it in his flat, outstretched palm. A slight change in the wind caused the hair on Jack’s head to flutter, and the ball started to hover in the air above his hand.

Unable to hide his amazement this time, Hiccup's mouth opened slightly and his eyes widened. The guy might be a pain, but Hiccup had to admit that controlling the wind was certainly cool - even if it was just to himself and not out loud. He flicked his gaze from the floating snowball to Jack, whose smirk looked impossibly more cocky at Hiccup’s reaction.

Just as Hiccup was about to say something almost complimentary, Jack’s smile turned devilish. This was all the warning Hiccup got before the snowball suddenly zoomed through the air on its own and splattered into his forehead.

“God- You are just-” He cut himself off with a growl and rubbed the snow out of his eyes, then turned back to Jack and shook the snow out of his hair with both hands. “Just insufferable!” he finished, balling up his fists and trying to give Jack the most murderous look one could muster with a face full of snow.

Jack shrugged, looking even more delighted after Hiccup’s outburst. 

“Hey - I said I wouldn’t throw it at you. I never said the wind wouldn’t.”

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, suddenly deciding he had had about enough of Jack’s shenanigans. He swiftly bent over and scooped up some snow off the ground to form another lump, then determinedly chucked it right for Jack’s head. 

To Hiccup’s credit, Jack’s eyes did momentarily widen in surprise - but unfortunately, the throw was not as well aimed as Hiccup had thought. The snow veered to the right - Jack’s wide eyes following its path - and when the snow bounced off the trunk of the tree, the spirit’s face deadpanned.

“Nice throw,” he said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at Hiccup. 

Hiccup heaved a sigh, his anger deflating as quickly as it had come. He really was terrible at this. Oh, how he wished he could hit Jack just once…

As if someone was answering his prayers, a snowball suddenly shot into their side of the yard, nailing an unsuspecting Jack in the side of the head and causing him to grunt in aggravation. Hiccup quickly straightened up at the abruptness of the attack, his head reeling to the side to see where it had come from. When he laid eyes on Jamie on the other side of the yard, his arm still frozen in the position it had been in to release the snowball, Hiccup felt a smirk break out on his face. 

He knew there was a reason Jamie was his favourite of Pippa’s friends.

“Wha- Jamie!” Jack exclaimed petulantly, looking betrayed as he was forced to wipe snow off of his own face now. “You’re supposed to be on my team!” 

Jamie did nothing but shrug his shoulders and smirk. 

“Change of plans,” he answered, crossing his arms across his chest. All of the children had halted their throwing and were watching the scene in amusement.

Hiccup snorted in laughter, causing Jack to turn his glare on him instead. 

“Hey,” Hiccup said, crossing his arms and shrugging. “Serves you right- ow!”

His body teetered as another snowball forcefully smashed into his head this time. His instinct was to somehow blame Jack, but when his eyes found him he could see that Jack looked as surprised as he did. He turned back to the kids, where he could now see Pippa waving at him with a faux-innocent grin on her face. He tsked in disapproval at the realization that it was her who had thrown that one.

“What is this - some kind of mutiny?” he asked, voice now dripping with sarcasm. Now that he properly looked at the kids, he could see they were all looking rather rascally, not just Pippa and Jamie. He wondered how long they had been planning this. He hadn’t even noticed they had stopped their war, having been so wrapped up in his spat with Jack. 

“New game,” Pippa responded with a smirk. “Kids versus…” she faltered, unsure what to identify him and Jack as. “Uh... you two.”

Jack scoffed. 

“You’re gonna’ stick me with him?” He gestured at Hiccup with a thumb, an incredulous look on his face. “How is that ‘even teams’? I might as well be on a team by myself!”  

Hiccup shot him a scornful look. 

“Hey! At least I play fair!” 

Jack turned his body to face Hiccup, gearing up for another argument. 

“Well at least I play well!”

The sound of Caleb clearing his throat caused Hiccup’s next retort to die in his throat. He and Jack both turned their heads back towards the kids, who were all now lined up and each holding a snowball in their hands, preparing to launch. 

“Alright, well good luck with that,” Caleb said amusedly. 

Within an instant, six snowballs were all catapulting towards Hiccup and Jack. Hiccup’s eyes went wide with terror, and he dove instinctively for the nearest bunker. He barely hit the ground before a sharp jab of elbows and knees landed on his back, followed by a heavy weight that smushed his face into the snow. Apparently, Jack had had the exact same idea.

“Ow- Jack!” he coughed out angrily, spitting snow out of his mouth as he lifted his head, his body still pinned underneath Jack’s. Snowballs had started to rain down all around them, splattering ice crystals everywhere.

“W-what the-?” Jack’s voice was muffled with confusion, as though it had only just dawned on him that he wasn’t sprawled on the ground at all, but on top of someone currently wriggling beneath him. He scrambled to get off, but slipped in his panic, his elbows digging into Hiccup’s back even harder.

Hiccup grunted in pain, twisting instinctively. He grabbed Jack’s forearms to shove him away, but the sudden movement threw Jack off balance. Their noses nearly collided, a startled gasp escaping Jack as his eyes flew wide open. Hiccup froze in horror when he realized what he’d just done: they were now lying chest-to-chest, tangled together, his hands still clutching Jack’s arms between them. Heat flared across his face, burning scarlet.

“G-god, just- get off,” Hiccup huffed, irritation covering the heat in his cheeks. With a sharp shove, he finally flipped the startled Jack off of him. Jack yelped as he toppled onto the ground beside him, and Hiccup scrambled to his knees, ducking his head as snowballs kept hammering down around them “And go find your own shelter! I was here first!”

“No way!” Jack glowered as he got to his own knees. “You find your own!” He launched himself towards Hiccup, trying to push him out into the open battlefield, one hand on his face and the other on his shoulder.

“Jack!” Hiccup squawked, his voice muffled behind icy fingers. His hands came up to try and peel Jack’s hand off of his face, succeeding in at least uncovering his mouth. “God, are you sure you didn’t mean three years old instead of three hundred?!” 

The jab only earned him a harder shove. Hiccup stumbled, his balance giving way, and before he could catch himself his upper body slid out into the open.

A snowball instantly exploded across his nose.

He groaned and tried to blindly scramble back behind the bunker on his hands and knees as quickly as he could, rubbing snow out of his eyes. Once he could see again and was safely back under cover, he looked up and came face to face with Jack - who was now sitting on his haunches and sporting that ever-infuriating cocky grin of his. 

Hiccup gave him his best glare through his snowy fringe, which annoyingly only prompted a burst of laughter from the spirit.

That was the last straw. 

Feeling vengeful, Hiccup took the opportunity to shove Jack back before he had time to recover from his laughing fit. He watched in satisfaction as Jack toppled sideways with a startled gasp, landing just in time to get pelted—one snowball smacked into his temple, another across his chest, and two more on his back before he managed to dive back under cover. When he sat up again, his grin was gone, replaced by a scowl aimed squarely at Hiccup.

“Seemed only fair,” Hiccup said, shrugging his shoulders and taking his turn to look triumphant. 

“Alright, fine.” Jack’s eyes narrowed, still sulking. “We’ll share.” He looked as if it pained him to say it, but at least he wasn't arguing anymore. He leaned his back up against the shelter and finished brushing the snow out of his hair by running his fingers through it.

A snowball zoomed over Hiccup’s head, causing him to flinch and move to lean his back against the shelter like Jack had. It was a much tighter squeeze to fit two grown men behind one of the shelters, so their shoulders were only a few inches apart. He half-expected Jack to shove him into the open again despite his agreement to share, but it appeared as though the spirit seemed to have temporarily gotten over his grudge, letting Hiccup sit next to him without further incident. 

A constant stream of snowballs continued to land around them, and the rivalry between him and Jack seemed to fade into the background as the two of them took a moment to consider the situation they were in. As much as Jack had been pressing on his last nerve all afternoon, it was becoming clear to Hiccup that they were going to have to work as a team to get out of this. He was starting to suspect that was part of the reason the kids had thrown them together like this - to force them to try and get along. The realization suddenly made him feel ashamed that he had let himself act so immaturely just because Jack excelled at pushing all the right buttons. 

He heaved a heavy sigh, tampering down his pride as best he could. He knew what had to be done. 

"Truce?" he asked reluctantly, outstretching his hand to Jack and breaking the silence. Jack's eyebrows rose in slight surprise as he turned his head and looked down at Hiccup's hand. For a moment Hiccup thought the guy might actually be egotistical enough to refuse, so he quickly added on. “For the kids, at least?”

It seemed Hiccup had hit the mark with that. Jack’s face softened, and he let out his own weary sigh and nodded. 

"Truce," he agreed, shaking Hiccup's hand once. Hiccup was again startled by the coldness of his touch, a sudden reminder that Jack wasn’t human despite his looks.

“Okay. Good,” he said, nodding his head stiffly. Perhaps this was progress -  a step in a better direction for them. 

"But this is for them," Jack warned, releasing Hiccup's hand and pointing at him. “This doesn’t mean I like you.” 

Or, perhaps not. 

“Whatever you say," Hiccup answered sarcastically, rolling his eyes. They didn’t have to be friends, after all. He just didn’t want to fight with him any more. At least he could say Jack’s voice lacked the previous anger it had carried earlier, though. Maybe all hope was not lost.  

A snowball splattered into the shelter above Jack’s head, causing him to wince. 

"We're gonna' have to come up with a plan if we want to beat these guys.”

"So what’s your plan, then?” Hiccup asked, turning his head back towards Jack. 

Jack’s eyebrows rose as he turned his head to face Hiccup’s. 

“Why do I have to come up with the plan?” 

“I can’t even hit a target six feet in front of me,” Hiccup said sarcastically. “Do you really wanna’ let me come up with the plan?”

Jack hummed in thought before nodding in agreement. 

“True - you do suck.”

Hiccup frowned, feeling slightly offended. 

“Well, I wouldn’t say that-”

“You’re right, I’m far more brilliant. We’ll go with my plan,” Jack spoke over him, earning himself an eye-roll from Hiccup. 

“Then I repeat: ‘What’s your plan?’”

The mischievous smile that Hiccup had already come to learn meant deeds of evil were at foot appeared on Jack’s face. 

“I’m thinking… wind cannon.” 

Hiccup’s eyebrow peaked and he shook his head in puzzlement. 

“'Wind cannon'? Do I even want to know what that entails?” A strange mixture of discretion and - as much as he would like to deny it - excitement started to swirl in his gut at Jack’s impish look. Jack Frost was childish and ridiculous and a complete pain in the ass, but dammit if Hiccup wasn’t still a little eager to see a demonstration of his mythical abilities.  

“Oh, you’ll see,” Jack replied ominously, his grin looking more devilish by the second. “You’ll see.”

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Jack crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back against the bottom stair of Jamie’s back porch, taking a moment to relax after exerting himself for over an hour during a well-fought battle. 

“Well, looks like another win for Team Jack,” he said, grinning to himself. 

“Uh, excuse me? When did we agree on that name?” 

Jack turned to look at Hiccup, who was sitting one step above him. Even after spending a bit of time with the man, Jack wasn’t sure what to make of him. They had not started off on good terms. His hot-headedness was something he was known for amongst the Guardians - particularly with Bunny - and it had come through loud and clear today. 

That being said, he did feel a little better after taking some of his frustration out on Hiccup with a few good-sized snowballs to the back of the head. It had almost been… therapeutic. And after calling a truce, he had had time to cool off and think things over better. He could even admit to himself now that he may have overreacted to Hiccup’s little comment, and that the man’s assumption might have even been understandable. If nothing else, the mishap had at least shown that Hiccup cared about Jack’s friends’ well-being. As far as Jack was concerned, that was a point on the board for him. 

So he had internally decided to forgive Hiccup for his faux-pas. Did this mean they were suddenly now friends? No. It just meant he felt more… indifferent towards the man. Which was at least a step above animosity.

He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly in reply to Hiccup’s question. 

“The glory should go to the hero. Which would be me, obviously.”

“Wow.” Hiccup gave him a dispassionate look. “How very modest of you.”

Jack simply grinned and turned back to face the yard. He may not know much about Hiccup yet, but there were two things he had already learned for sure: the guy was completely awful in a snowball fight, and he was very fun to tease. 

“Hey - who even decided that you guys won?” Claude said disgruntledly from his position beside Hiccup. The other children all shouted their agreement. 

Jack scoffed. 

“Uh, isn’t it obvious? Or do I need to remind you of all of my snowballs that nearly beat you guys into a pulp?” 

“I’m not sure your snowballs count for anything if they turn on their maker and attack us too,” Hiccup said sarcastically, crossing his arms. “Hardly seems like a victory.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at Hiccup. 

“Keep up those traitorous remarks, and you’re gonna’ get yourself kicked off of Team Jack.” Privately, though, he had to agree with the man. He had lost all control over the wind today - even more so than last time - and he and Hiccup had received a pummeling equal to the one the kids had received.

Caleb rolled his eyes good-naturedly, then stood up and descended the steps. 

“Alright, I think it’s about time we get home,” he said, gesturing towards his brother with his chin. “Grandma is coming over for dinner tonight, and our mom wants us home early.” Claude nodded and joined his brother at the bottom of the steps.

“Yeah, I think I should go too,” Cupcake said, standing as well. “I’ve got ballet practice tonight.” 

Jack sat up quickly from his relaxed position, the familiar pang of disappointment starting to bubble under his surface. 

“Oh... sure. Right.” 

Here we go… Why did these goodbyes always seem so abrupt? 

Monty was next to rise, running to join Cupcake. 

“Well, I’m just freezing. My gloves and boots are soaked,” he said with a frown. 

“We’ll see you guys later, though,” Claude said with a wave to Pippa and Jamie, making his way to the gate with his brother, Cupcake and Monty all in tow. “See ya’ Jack! See ya’ Hiccup!” 

“Yeah, see ya’,” Jack echoed quietly, trying not to sound too disheartened. 

“Bye guys!” Hiccup called out casually, waving back. 

Jack felt himself deflate as he watched the kids slip out the gate. It wouldn’t be long now until Pippa had to leave too, and then not much longer after that until Jamie would have to go in for dinner... and then just like that, he’d be alone. Again. 

A few quiet moments went by before Hiccup cleared his throat, pulling Jack out of his forlorn thoughts. 

“So,” the man said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact when Jack, Pippa and Jamie all turned to look at him in question. “Don’t suppose you have to get going as well?”

Jack stared for a moment, realizing the question was being directed at him. The other man looked almost shy and nervous - but for what reason, Jack had no idea. It was a far cry from the cheek he had been giving Jack all afternoon. Hiccup’s tone also suggested that he had something in mind, which was... intriguing. 

“Uh…” He cleared his throat. He didn’t want to make it seem like he had nowhere else to go after this in front of Jamie and Pippa, but he certainly wasn’t in a rush to get away, either. “Well, I guess I have a little bit of time left to spare,” he said, trying to feign importance. He thought he saw just the slightest hint of a smirk on Jamie’s face at that, but he chose to ignore it. “Why?”

Hiccup bit his bottom lip, still avoiding eye contact. 

“Actually, I was kind of hoping I could ask you some things. You know, about... “ He gestured towards Jack as if he was having trouble finding the right words.

“You want to ask questions about… me?” Jack asked, partly in skepticism and partly in awe. This was not something he had been expecting. He was so used to being invisible to everyone that the thought of someone wanting to know more about him seemed foreign. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but he was lying somewhere in the middle of uncomfortable and - for lack of a better word - flattered.

“Uh, yeah…” Jack thought he saw a slight blush form on Hiccup’s cheeks before the other man looked away again. “U-unless you’re too busy, of course...”

“No!” Jack nearly shouted. He winced at his own eagerness when three sets of eyes widened at his outburst, and he tried to pare it back a bit. “Sorry… I meant… No, I’m not too busy.”

Before Hiccup could respond, Jamie cut in, looking very apologetic. 

“I’m probably gonna’ have to go in for dinner soon...”

“Ah. Right… I guess I’ve gotta' take care of Pippa and I’s dinner, too,” Hiccup said disappointedly. He shrugged his shoulders. “Well… Maybe another time, then?”

Jack’s excitement plummeted. It looked as if the questions would have to wait, and he’d have to leave after all. 

“Unless you wanted to come over to our place for dinner?” Pippa said to Jamie, her voice bright as always. “My mom and dad are away this weekend, so we get to order pizza for dinner. Jack could come too.” She quickly looked over at Hiccup. “If that’s okay, I mean...”

Hiccup’s eyebrows rose and he blinked at his cousin. 

“Uh, sure it is,” he said. His eyes went to Jack. “Is that, uh… Is that okay with you?”

Jack’s eyebrow peaked, and he looked between Hiccup and Pippa. 

“You’re… inviting me over for dinner?” It was a strange concept, but he couldn’t deny the new flutter of excitement that he felt. When was the last time he had been invited over for dinner? Had he ever been invited over for dinner? 

“I-I guess we are, yeah...” Hiccup replied, meekly shrugging his shoulders. He looked embarrassed again.

“Uh… Sure. I could do dinner.” His eyes flicked to Jamie. “As long as it's okay with Jamie’s mom-”

“Just give us one minute to ask!” Jamie interrupted, excitedly grabbing Pippa’s arm and dragging her to the back door of his house with a massive grin.

The moment after Jack watched them disappear into the house, the air around him and Hiccup became tense and awkward. The kids were like a mutual interest that gave them some sort of reason for needing to interact - without them around, there wasn’t much for him and Hiccup to discuss. He glanced at Hiccup and could tell that the other man was thinking the exact same thing. 

“So,” he said awkwardly, unable to control the instinct he had to break the awkward silence. “Pizza.” 

“Pizza,” Hiccup confirmed, not quite meeting Jack’s eyes. “You, uh… like pizza?” 

“I, uh… haven’t actually had it before,” Jack admitted, feeling suddenly stupid for attempting conversation.

Hiccup’s eyebrows rose in surprise at Jack’s answer. 

“Oh.” He looked at as much of a loss for what to say as Jack was. 

“Yeah…” Jack shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t need to eat food when you’re… like me.” 

“Oh,” Hiccup repeated. He nodded his head. “You don’t need to eat food.” He looked as if he was struggling to process this information, and Jack was reminded of how strange this must still be for Hiccup. Kids even had a hard time believing he was real, so he couldn’t imagine how an adult who thought he had a pretty good understanding of how the world works must feel about it. 

“Yep…” Jack muttered, feeling as if his attempt at filling the silent void with conversation had somehow compounded the awkwardness of the situation. Talking to kids was like a second nature to him - but talking to an adult? Evidently not his forte. 

A beat went by in which neither party spoke, before Hiccup’s startled expression shifted into a more pensive one. 

“But… could you eat food? If you wanted to?” He turned to meet Jack’s eyes this time, his own brimming with curiosity. 

The question caught Jack off guard. 

“Uh… I have before,” he answered. “But the opportunity for pizza, specifically, hasn’t really come up.” He didn’t eat a lot of food beyond the sweet baked goods that North always had set out in his workshop. He may not have eaten pizza before, but he knew enough about it to know that it wasn’t at all like the desserts he had grown to crave. “Doesn’t seem that interesting to me anyways,” he finished, shrugging his shoulders indifferently.  

Surprisingly to Jack, Hiccup scoffed at his last remark, acting as if this offended him. 

“Spoken like somebody who’s never had pizza before.” The slight upturn of his mouth gave away the fact that he was teasing. 

As soon as Jack saw Hiccup's smirk, a tinge of relief trickled through the awkwardness he had been feeling. Joking. Now this was something he could do. Finally, he could feel the previous discomfort that had settled around them lifting a little. 

“I’m sure it can’t be that great,” he responded, grinning and rolling his eyes. “I mean, there’s no chocolate chips, no cinnamon, no icing…”

Hiccup shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows in genuine confusion. 

“Of course there isn’t,” he said, gesturing with his hands. “It’s pizza.” His smirk returned. “And it has something even better. It has cheese.” 

Jack’s eyebrow rose and he huffed out a small laugh. 

“Right. Coagulated milk and mold. Sounds real delicious.”

This actually managed to earn him a chuckle from Hiccup, followed by another eye roll. 

“Well of course it doesn’t when you put it like that.” He looked back at Jack, looking quite keen to change Jack’s mind. “Trust me, though,” he said, pointing a finger at Jack. “You have to at least try it.”

Jack was amused with how adamantly Hiccup felt the need to defend pizza. 

“I think I’ll pass,” Jack said, shrugging his shoulder coolly in hopes to wind him up. “Seems pretty gross.”

Hiccup huffed and opened his mouth to rebut, but before he could reply, the back door to the house finally opened and the argument died on his tongue. 

Both men turned to the door. Jack caught himself holding his breath, waiting to see whether or not Jamie’s mom had agreed to their plans or if he’d have to spend the rest of the evening alone again. When he saw that both of the kids looked ecstatic as they emerged from inside the house, he felt a flutter of relief and allowed himself to grin again.

“All good?” Hiccup asked, standing up from the step. 

“Yep!” Pippa said, grinning between him and Jack and then racing ahead for the gate with Jamie.

“Mom says she’ll call your house later when she wants me to come home,” Jamie added over his shoulder. They were already out the gate before Hiccup or Jack could say anything more. 

“No, no - really, you guys go ahead,” Hiccup said sarcastically towards the now empty gate.

Jack couldn’t help but chuckle lightly as he stood up to follow them. 

“Come on, then,” he said, turning back to Hiccup with a grin and gesturing for the gate with his head. “Wouldn’t want all that festering, moldy cheese to go to waste.”

Hiccup rolled his eyes before he moved to follow, but Jack didn’t miss the tiny smirk the other man wore as he did so. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

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Hiccup was sure he was the only one who felt a little awkward during the walk back to his and Pippa’s place. For the most part, he stayed out of conversation and watched on as Jack talked excitedly with Pippa and Jamie, occasionally forgoing walking to float around them as he spoke. Hiccup had to admit, the guy was a natural with kids - much better than himself. 

He let his mind drift off as he followed behind the others. Overall, Jack Frost had turned out to be… interesting, to say the least. There had definitely been some hostility between them at first, but Jack’s previous fury with Hiccup had seemed to dissipate after their snowball fight. He’d still been nervous to ask Jack to answer some questions he had, but surprisingly - considering Jack had done nothing but give Hiccup a hard time all afternoon - the spirit had agreed to it. He thought he might have even felt something shift between them back on Jamie’s steps. Somehow Jack’s jabs had seemed less deliberate and more in good fun.

Who knows? Maybe one day they’d even learn to be friends.

He almost wanted to laugh at that idea. Was he really about to have Jack Frost over for dinner? Nevermind befriending him. The idea still seemed so surreal, and he wondered - not for the first time in the past couple of hours - if he was somehow stuck in some elaborate dream. 

When they finally reached their house, Pippa opened the door and let herself in, followed closely by Jamie. Hiccup couldn’t help but notice that Jack seemed to hesitate at the door before looking back at Hiccup, as if silently asking for permission again to enter. Whether Jack meant to do it or not, Hiccup wasn’t sure, but he gestured with his hand for Jack to go in ahead of him anyway.

Pippa and Jamie were still engrossed in their own conversation as they took their coats off and headed straight for the kitchen. Hiccup closed the front door behind himself and glanced at Jack, who was looking around the living room, eyes wide with interest. 

“I take it you haven’t been here before,” Hiccup said, interrupting Jack’s private analysis of the house as he unzipped his own coat. 

“Uh, no,” Jack said, smiling a bit awkwardly. “The kids and I mostly hang out outside. I guess I don’t get a lot of invitations for dinner…” 

“Right,” Hiccup nodded awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling as if he had said the wrong thing. Pippa’s parents didn’t believe Jack was real, and from the sounds of it neither did any of the other kids’ parents. It made sense that Jack wouldn’t have ever been invited inside, let alone for a meal.  

Not really knowing what else to say, Hiccup hung his coat up then gestured to the kitchen where Pippa and Jamie had already disappeared to. 

“Well, I guess we’ll go this way…” 

Taking the lead, he meandered into the kitchen and headed for the fridge where his aunt had pinned up the pizza flyer. Pippa and Jamie were already seated beside each other at the dining table, still rambling on as if Hiccup and Jack weren’t even there anymore. Jack lingered in the doorway as he took in the kitchen. 

“Okay,” Hiccup said, taking a seat across from the kids and gesturing for Jack to take the seat beside him. He threw the flyer open on the table to look at the menu as Jack awkwardly seated himself. The kids halted their conversation as their eyes eagerly roamed over the menu across from the table. “Everybody gets to pick one topping they want on the pizza.”

“Pepperoni, of course,” Pippa grinned and shrugged.  

“And bacon!” Jamie added. 

“Oh, yes!” Pippa agreed. 

An amused voice muttered quietly from the other side of Hiccup. 

“Chocolate chips...”

The kids both turned to look at Jack like he was crazy. 

“Ew!” Pippa shrieked, her expression a cross between entertained and horrified.

“Gonna’ go ahead and ignore that,” Hiccup said sarcastically, trying to send Jack a withering look but unable to help his slight smile despite himself. “People who have never had pizza before do not get to have an opinion on pizza.”  

Jamie’s eyebrows rose. 

“You’ve never had pizza before?”

Jack crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table. 

“Nope.” He jutted his chin out defiantly at Hiccup. “And I don’t plan on it.”

“What! You have to, Jack!” Jamie insisted “You’ll love it! It’s so good.” 

“I doubt that very much,” Jack replied, sticking his nose up in the air. 

“Please, Jack?” Pippa joined in, trying her best to give him her best puppy dog eyes. 

Jack’s eyes reluctantly moved to look at her, and Hiccup could see him falter as his expression instantly softened. Jamie snickered from beside Pippa, apparently noticing Jack waver as well. Hiccup almost pitied him - he knew that look of Pippa’s far too well and had been victim to it many times.  

“Pleeeease,” Pippa said again, expertly widening her eyes just a bit to enhance the effect of her look. Hiccup shook his head and laughed lightly to himself. Sometimes he thought his little cousin might secretly be made of pure evil, rather than the sugar everyone thought she was made of.

Jack groaned and rolled his eyes, but there was no malice behind it. 

“Fine,” he finally agreed. “But just one bite!” he tacked on, pointing a warning finger at Pippa.

“Deal!” Pippa grinned, the puppy-dog eyes gone in an instant. She turned back to Hiccup. “What topping do you want then, Hiccup?” 

Hiccup hummed in thought before a wicked idea suddenly came to him. Jack had been giving him a hard time all afternoon, and this was his chance for some payback. A slightly devious smile appeared on his face, and he met Jack’s eyes full on. Before he had even given his response, Jack’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, apparently cluing in that something bad was about to come out of Hiccup’s mouth. 

“Guess I’m gonna’ go with… extra cheese.” 

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“And then they officially made Jack a guardian,” Pippa finished the story, a proud smile on her face. Hiccup watched Jack duck his head and shrug sheepishly in what was possibly the first display of real modesty that Hiccup had seen from the spirit. 

His mind was still racing from everything he had just learned. They had just spent the last half hour or so telling him the story of how Jack had first met Jamie and the other kids - which apparently stemmed from some war involving Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and the Boogeyman. A couple of hours ago, Hiccup had thought discovering that Jack Frost was real would be the single most unbelievable thing to happen to him in his entire lifetime, let alone today. 

Oh, how wrong he had been.

“So this whole time, you guys have been hanging out with this group of…” His eyes ticked to Jack. “No offense,” he said to him, before turning back to his cousin and finishing his sentence. “But this group of folklore characters?”

“We aren’t characters,” Jack interjected. “We’ve been real all the time.” 

“You know what I mean, though,” Hiccup said, rolling his eyes passively at Jack. 

“Well, we really just hang out with Jack,” Jamie said, answering Hiccup’s original question. “The other guys are all a bit too busy-” The boy cut himself off with a wince and looked guiltily towards Jack. “I mean… they’re not as fun...” 

Jack raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. 

“Nice save.” 

“It’s true, though.” Jamie gave him an apologetic smile in response. “We don’t like them as much as we like you.”

The spirit’s face flushed at the praise, and Hiccup was surprised by how affectionate the smile he gave Jamie was. He seemed to have a genuine soft spot for the kids, contrary to the cocky and casual attitude he put on most of the time. Hiccup could tell the feelings were well and truly reciprocated, as well. The way that all of the kids looked at Jack proved how much they loved him. There was something very pure about it, and Hiccup once again felt guilty for being initially suspicious of Jack Frost.

“And after all that, these guys are still the only ones who believe in you?” Hiccup asked quietly. Jack had explained that the Guardians all needed to be believed in to be seen and heard. He’d told Hiccup about how he had spent three hundred years as an invisible entity until last year, when Jamie finally came through for him. Hiccup had thought he had experienced loneliness, but… his seemed impossible to compare to three centuries’ worth. “I mean… you basically helped save the world’s entire population of children. Shouldn’t you be getting at least a little bit more recognition for that?” 

“Hey,” Jack said, breaking out his trademark, lopsided smile again and shrugging a shoulder. “I may only have a few believers, but they are clearly the best and most intelligent believers in the whole entire world.” He winked at Pippa and Jamie as he spoke, causing the two children to giggle. His eyes turned mischievous as he looked back at Hiccup. “Well, most of them are, anyway.” 

Hiccup snorted in laughter, but his heart wasn’t in it. He was still feeling too guilty right now to joke around. 

“I just can’t believe it,” he muttered, his eyes resting on the tabletop. “We’re literally taught when we get older that you guys are all just… stories.” He shook his head in disbelief and looked back up at Jack. “But you’re not.” He almost felt as if he owed Jack an apology on behalf of all the humans who grew up and lost faith.

“Yeah, well…” Jack shrugged his shoulders, an attempt at nonchalance that didn’t quite fool Hiccup. “That’s just the way it goes,” he said quietly, eyes avoiding Hiccup’s stare. Something behind his voice almost sounded as if he had read Hiccup’s mind and was silently offering him forgiveness. His eyes found Hiccup’s again. “It’s not really anyone’s fault.”

“Yeah,” Hiccup said, giving him a tight smile. “Still doesn’t seem right, though.” 

“Well you know now,” Pippa said, giving Hiccup a bright grin in an attempt at picking up the mood. 

“Exactly.” Jamie nodded his agreement. “So that’s one more believer for Jack. His first adult one, too.”

Jack turned pensive at that. 

“That’s true…” he said, looking off into the distance. “You might actually be the first adult believer that any of us Guardians have had.” He turned back to Hiccup, looking curious. “Why is that, I wonder?” 

Hiccup was a little caught off guard by the question, but he thought back to that heart-stopping moment a few hours earlier. His face deadpanned when he realized what it was. 

“Well - the snowball to the face would probably be to blame,” he said, sarcasm finding its way back into his words as it so often did. “Especially when it seemed to come out of thin air.”

Jack laughed in surprise, his pensive look turning into one of mischievous delight. 

 “Well if I had known it was that easy, I’d have gone around pelting everyone in the face with a snowball three centuries ago.” 

Shaking his head lightly in exasperation, Hiccup was unable to stop the small huff of laughter that escaped his lips. He was about to say something else, but the sound of a doorbell ringing sounded through the kitchen and stopped him in his tracks. 

“Pizza!” Pippa and Jamie both shouted at once. 

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“Come on, Jack - we don’t have all day. Just do it!” 

“Yeah! What Jamie said!” 

“Will you two just give me a minute to collect my thoughts?”

“Shouldn’t take more than a second to collect your thoughts…”

Jack deadpanned and glared at Jamie over the piece of pizza he was holding up to his face, while Hiccup and Pippa both laughed quietly behind their hands. 

“Very funny.” 

“I thought so.” Jamie shrugged, looking rather pleased with himself. 

Jack narrowed his eyes even more. 

“Maybe it’s time I demonstrate for Hiccup what exactly a winter spirit is capable of.” 

Jamie rolled his eyes. 

“Or maybe you need to take a bite of your pizza like you said you would.” 

Jack huffed. 

“And to think, Jamie - I used to think you were cool.” Jamie simply giggled and rolled his eyes again, knowing better than to take Jack’s comment seriously.

“Alright, come on - quit stalling, Jack!” Pippa insisted, sitting up in her seat and pointing at the pizza in Jack’s hands. 

“Fine,” he conceded, glaring at all three of them in turn. The other three had already eaten their fill of the pizza, and Jamie and Pippa had been trying to goad him into eating his slice for several minutes. It seemed he had avoided it for as long as he could. 

He directed his ire back down to the pizza. He scrunched up his nose at the sight of gooey cheese melting down the sides, the meats leaking grease that dripped onto his hands. He glanced up once more at Pippa, hoping she’d take pity on him, but she simply shook her head mutely and raised an eyebrow to indicate his hopes were misplaced. 

Damn. 

Reluctantly, he started to bring the piece of pizza closer to himself and opened his mouth. He pinched his eyes shut as he finally closed the distance, tearing as small of a piece off as he could manage and chewing slowly, waiting for his gag reflex to kick in. A couple of chews in, though, and his eyes reopened in surprise. 

Oh. 

He swallowed and looked back down at the pizza in astonishment as if it was the most curious thing in the world, then looked back up to meet the three sets of eyes staring back at him in anticipation. He could hardly believe what he was about to say. 

“It’s actually… good?”

Hiccup snorted in amusement and smirked, while Jamie and Pippa burst into laughter. 

“I told you,” Jamie said through his giggles. 

Jack grinned back, then immediately bent down to take another large bite of the pizza, chewing with a renewed sense of vigour. 

“This might actually be better than chocolate chips,” he admitted through his mouthful. Who would have thought that salty, hot, greasy, coagulated milk could translate to… this? 

“What happened to ‘just one bite’?” Pippa gave him a knowing smile as he chewed through his second bite.

Jack swallowed thickly around the pizza and shrugged his shoulders, giving her a small smile. 

“Hey - What did I know?”

“So you admit you were wrong, then?” Hiccup crossed his arms across his chest and smirked, lifting one eyebrow as he waited for Jack’s reply. Jack thought he should have guessed Hiccup wouldn’t let that go so easily - but for the miracle that was pizza, it seemed a small price to pay. 

“Just this once,” he said reluctantly, unable to hide the smile from his face. He ducked his head to lick a drip of grease that had been dangerously close to running down his wrist before looking back at Hiccup. “I will admit defeat.” 

“Huh.” Hiccup’s lips twitched again as his eyes flicked ever so slightly between Jack’s wrist and his eyes. “Can I get that in writing?”

“No, you may not,” he responded with a grin, taking another hefty bite of the pizza. The slice was already half gone. He swallowed it down before he spoke this time. “But if you give me another piece of pizza, I might not tell anyone how terrible you are at throwing snowballs.” 

“Deal,” Hiccup said, laughing lightly. He turned his head off to the side, then froze for a moment when his eyes caught on some heavy looking books on the kitchen island.

“Hey, wait,” he said, standing up abruptly to fetch one of the books. He placed it down in front of Jack before he reclaimed his seat. “This is one of the things I wanted to ask about. What about these guys?” 

Looking down at the book in confusion, Jack put his pizza down and pulled it towards him, raising a questioning eyebrow at Hiccup when he read the cover. He opened the book and flipped through the first few pages, realization quickly dawning on him. 

“You’re asking me if these guys are real, too?” 

Hiccup shrugged one shoulder and nodded. 

“If Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are real, it didn’t seem like that far of a stretch that other beings might be as well...” 

“Would it surprise you if I told you they were?” Jack turned back to the book, scanning through each page.

“I’m not sure anything can surprise me now.” Hiccup smirked. “So… are they?”

“Oh yeah,” Jack confirmed plainly, still flicking through the book. “They’re definitely real. Whether or not they do much nowadays, though...” He trailed off and shrugged his shoulder, picking up his pizza to resume his eating. 

Pippa looked far more excited than anyone else by this news. 

“Really?”

“Really,” Jack echoed, swallowing another bite down and looking up to grin at her. “But these guys are all really old. Most of them aren’t very active anymore. I’ve met a couple of them in passing over the years, but most of them keep to themselves and let the newer generations handle things.” 

Pippa’s mouth had fallen open. 

“Even Thor?”

Jack rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her. He should have seen that coming. 

“Yes, even Thor.”

“No way!” Jamie gasped. “Thor is so cool. Have you met him?”

Jack scoffed. All the kids nowadays were so into Thor, thanks to those damn comic books. The guy wasn’t even out there doing anything anymore - hadn’t been for centuries - and yet he was getting all the praise and attention. The man even had his own merchandise. 

“No, I haven’t met him,” he said with another roll of his eyes. “And he’s not that cool,” he couldn’t help but add petulantly. He knew it was immature, but something about seeing his kids fawn over another legend was very aggravating. 

“I don’t know… I think he’s pretty cool,” Hiccup backed Jamie up, a mirthful glint behind his eyes. “I mean, he’s got that hammer…”

“I’m sure there are cooler weapons than a hammer,” Jack answered, narrowing his eyes at Hiccup. He then turned and gave Jamie and Pippa an expectant look and gestured with his eyebrows to his staff that was leaning against the table beside him. “Right, guys?” 

“Plus he can control the wind and storms...” Hiccup added, ignoring Jack’s comment entirely and causing the kids to giggle at his expense.

“Hm, sounds familiar,” Jack retorted grumpily, crossing his arms against his chest. 

“Thunder and lightning…” 

“Snow and ice…” 

“And he’s also the god of fertility,” Hiccup said, raising an eyebrow at Jack as if challenging him to even attempt to compare himself in that capacity.

Jack’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open a little. 

“W-well, that’s…” He trailed off, looking around and searching for something to say. Hiccup smirked as if he could tell that Jack knew he was beat with that. “You know… not everything has to be a competition, Hiccup," he finally said lamely, picking up his last bite of pizza and cramming it forcefully into his mouth. 

Hiccup, Pippa and Jamie all dissolved into giggles. 

“Alright, fine. I guess snow is pretty cool too,” Hiccup said with a good-natured roll of his eyes as their laughter died down. 

Jack couldn’t help but smirk, his irritation having immediately disappeared with the compliment. 

“Cooler than lightning?” 

“Absolutely not,” Hiccup deadpanned. 

Jack scoffed, but this time he laughed with them.

Before anyone else could say anything more, a ringing phone blared through the kitchen, instantly killing their laughter. Jack could almost feel his stomach drop when he realized who was probably on the other end of the call. He thought he saw just the briefest flicker of disappointment behind Hiccup’s eyes before he stood to answer the phone in the living room, but the kids’ letdown was much more obvious when he looked at them. Jamie shot Jack a tiny, apologetic smile, which he returned with one of his own that he hoped said “don’t worry about it." 

A moment later, Hiccup returned to the kitchen looking sorry as well. 

“Alright, Jamie. Your mom expects you home in a few minutes.” 

Jamie sighed, then stood from his chair. Jack and Pippa reluctantly did the same, their shoulders slumped as they exited the kitchen. Hiccup was the last to follow them out to the front door, stopping beside Pippa. 

“I assume you’re gonna’ walk him home?” Hiccup asked Jack.

“It’s not dark yet,” Jamie said before Jack could answer, grabbing his sleeve lightly. “So you don’t have to…” 

Jack smirked down at the boy. 

“But then who’s gonna’ protect you from all those deviants that are apparently out running the streets, huh?” His eyes darted sideways towards Hiccup as he spoke, making it clear who he was really teasing. Call it retaliation for the Thor comments. 

“Hah hah,” Hiccup said sarcastically, crossing his arms against his chest. A light blush across his cheeks told Jack he was embarrassed by his earlier mix-up, hopefully because he realized how ridiculous the suggestion had been after spending a little bit of time with Jack. Sadly for Hiccup, the fact that he now felt bad about it was not going to deter Jack from using it as fodder for taunting him for the rest of eternity. 

“Well… thanks for dinner, Hiccup,” Jamie said with a polite smile as he reached for his coat and started pulling it on. 

“Sure.” Hiccup uncrossed his arms and gave Jamie a nod and genuine smile. “I mean, I didn’t make it or pay for it, technically… but you’re welcome any ways.”

A couple of seconds went by before Jack felt a sharp jab in his hip. He looked down to see Jamie elbowing him and giving him a stern look as he discreetly gestured towards Hiccup with his head. 

Oh. Right…

“Oh- uh, yeah...” Jack said, suddenly remembering his manners and turning back towards Hiccup. Let it be known, despite what Aster may say, that he did in fact have them. “Thanks for, uh… pizza.” 

“Yeah,” Hiccup said, running his hand through his hair and looking around awkwardly. “Sure… And thanks for, you know… sticking around to explain some things...”

“Well, it did get me a free dinner.” Jack shrugged his shoulders and gave Hiccup a lazy grin, aiming for casualness. In actuality, it really hadn’t been a hardship for him - but he was trying not to seem starved of social interaction. “Pathetic, friendless, loner” was an image he was trying to get away from. 

“Right,” Hiccup said, a knowing glint behind his eyes.  

Jack awkwardly looked away and moved for the door now that Jamie’s boots and coat were on. 

“Well… I’m sure I’ll see you around, so if you have anything else you’re curious about, you know…” He trailed off. Was that an invitation to hang out again? He was surprised by himself, and from the look on Hiccup’s face, so was the other man. Even more surprisingly, perhaps, was that he had actually meant it. Hiccup was… more okay than he had originally thought.

“Oh,” Hiccup said, still looking a little dazed by Jack’s subtle suggestion. “Okay, thanks… I’m sure there will be.” 

“Cool,” he said stiffly with an awkward nod. He felt oddly pleased, while also feeling the sudden desire to escape as soon as possible. He opened the door and gestured for Jamie to go ahead of him.

“Oh! Wait!” Hiccup suddenly exclaimed, his hands going out in front of him and stopping them in their tracks. “Hang on a second!” He bolted out of the entrance and back towards the kitchen before anyone could reply. Jamie and Jack exchanged a confused glance before looking at Pippa, who was still standing on the other side of the doorway. She shrugged her shoulders, looking just as confused as them. 

A few seconds later, Hiccup reappeared looking out of breath and holding the pizza box in his hands. 

“Here,” he said, thrusting it over the threshold towards Jack.

Jack looked up at him in surprise as he hesitantly reached up and took the box. 

“Oh, are you… are you sure?” The smell of the box’s contents made him desperately hope that Hiccup would say yes, but he felt it was only polite to make sure. His eyes ticked to Pippa since it was really her pizza as well, but the sight of her giggling behind her hand suggested she didn’t mind. 

Hiccup simply shrugged one shoulder and grinned. 

“I did promise you another piece.” 

Jack laughed quietly, unsure of what else to say. 

“Uh, okay. Thanks.” 

A hand tugged at the inside of his elbow and started pulling him away. 

“Alright, come on - before my mom sends out a search party,” Jamie said with a laugh. He  turned to walk backwards as he and Jack started away from the house. “Bye guys! Thanks again, Hiccup!”

“Bye! Call me tomorrow if you wanna’ hang out!” Pippa said, waving back enthusiastically. 

“See ya’ later, Pippa,” Jack said, turning over his shoulder with a wave towards the girl. His gaze traveled to Hiccup, who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “And, uh... See ya’?” 

“Yeah, see ya’.” Hiccup lifted one hand in return. He smiled politely once more and ran his hand through his hair before moving to shut the door, sealing himself and Pippa behind it.

Jack's eyes only lingered on the door for a second before he turned back forwards, resting his staff on his shoulder and balancing the pizza box in his other hand.

“So,” Jamie started, his eyes flicking over to Jack as they walked side by side and turned down the street. “I was right.” 

Jack chuckled lightly and rolled his eyes. 

“You were right,” he confirmed with a smirk. 

“And I think that went okay. Didn’t it?” 

“I suppose it did.” If they glossed over the first hour or so, that is... 

“Although,” Jamie grimaced and bit his bottom lip. “I did think for a second that you guys weren’t really getting along…” 

Jack laughed again and looked at Jamie from the corner of his eyes. 

“Can’t imagine what gave you that impression.” 

“You’re good now though, right?”   

“I think so,” Jack said, glancing down at the pizza box with a small smile. 

“Do you think that maybe… other adults could believe in you after all?” 

Jack looked out into the distance in front of them and pondered. 

“A few hours ago I was certain they couldn’t. But I’m not really sure anymore…” he said honestly. He looked back down at Jamie who was giving him a contemplative look, and he wished he could give the boy a better answer than that. Unfortunately, that was the best one he could give for now. He had no idea if the possibility for other adults believing existed, or if Hiccup was somehow… special. 

There was one thing he knew for sure, though. As soon as Jamie was home safe, he had to go talk to North.   

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Chapter Text

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Jack landed with pinpoint precision in front of North’s workshop, skidding to a neat stop right at the entrance - pizza box still balanced effortlessly in one hand. Part of him wished someone had seen that, just so they could be impressed.

He raised his arm and used his staff to bang on the intricately carved set of double doors that towered a dozen feet above him. It only took a second before he heard the sound of a metal flap in the centre of one of the doors opening, revealing nothing but a set of suspicious, beady green eyes. 

Jack offered up his most winning grin. 

“Hey, Phil.” 

The eyes turned exasperated, and the door remained tightly sealed. 

“Aw, come on!” Jack begged, his grin falling into a frown and his lip jutting out a little. “I’m here on real, official business this time. Promise!” 

The eyes narrowed. Still no movement to open the door. 

Jack bit his lip in thought and an idea suddenly struck him. He held the flat box he was holding up to the slot. 

“I’ve got pizza?” 

A thick, furry eyebrow raised in question as Phil looked at the box. 

“It’s really good,” Jack said in a singsong voice, waggling his eyebrows as he thrust the box a little bit closer to the slot. 

Phil looked to be having some sort of internal debate. Finally, after several long seconds, the flap closed and Jack could hear the sound of the metal gears within the complicated locking mechanism working on the other side of the thick door. 

He smirked wickedly to himself. Pizza really was a magical food. 

The door swung open to reveal Phil in all his large, hairy glory. He didn’t look particularly impressed to see Jack - but then again, with yetis, who could ever tell? Phil stepped aside, granting permission to enter. Jack crossed the threshold before Phil could change his mind and immediately opened the box, offering up a cold slice of pizza as promised.

Reluctantly taking the pizza, Phil sniffed it as he let the door shut behind them. Without a word, he started down the hallway, leading Jack deeper into the Workshop. He took a bite of his cold pizza as he walked - but promptly grimaced. He shot Jack a look of pure betrayal before tossing the rest of the slice over his shoulder, where it landed with a distant, sloppy splat.  

Jack scoffed - offended on his new favourite food’s behalf - but he knew better than to say anything contrary to a yeti.

They walked on in silence for several minutes, broken only by Jack’s casual greetings to passing elves. Eventually, the winding hallways gave way to a cozy sitting room that Jack recognized. North often used it for casual visits - far removed from the clamor of the workshop floor. Which meant, Jack realized, that North must already be entertaining someone. 

Phil stopped at the doorway and motioned for Jack to go in alone. Jack gave a polite thanks, then stepped inside - only to freeze when he saw who was already occupying the room. 

A grin tugged at his lips. 

“Bunny! Fancy seeing you here.”

Aster looked up upon hearing his name. He sat casually on the sofa, his arms across his chest and his legs crossed at the ankle in front him. North was seated in a big comfy, high-back chair beside the roaring fireplace, turned at an angle towards the room that allowed him to engage in conversation while still enjoying the warmth. 

“Jack, my boy!” North exclaimed, standing up from his chair at once to come and greet Jack properly. He slapped Jack in the back, causing Jack’s entire body to jolt forward. Somehow Jack managed to catch the pizza from flying out of his grip just in time.

“Frost,” Aster said cordially, nodding his head and heading over to join them. His eyes flicked to the box in Jack’s hand. “Bring us a pressie?”

“Depends on how good you’ve been.” Jack shrugged his shoulder, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Aster huffed a small laugh. 

“Thought that was North’s schtick,” he said, gesturing to the older man with his thumb.

Jack chuckled, then opened the lid of the pizza box to present his offering. Aster and North both leaned in closer, looking confused by the handful of pizza slices that remained in the box. They both cocked an eyebrow and stared back at Jack in confusion.

“It’s pizza!” Jack announced with a wide, eager grin. The lack of enthusiasm on the other two faces didn't deter him; after all, he'd only just discovered it tonight, so he figured they probably hadn't had it before either. “Trust me, this stuff is gonna’ change your life,” he insisted, moving towards the fireplace. “It just, uh…  needs to warm up a bit.”

North looked on in bewilderment as Jack started carefully balancing the individual slices of pizza on the iron grate that was kept in the fireplace. 

“Warm up?” he echoed.

“Yeah,” Jack said, turning back around to face them once the last slice was in place. “The cheese gets all melty and the pepperoni is just…” He trailed off and his dreamy grin faltered when he saw their twin expressions of mild disgust. “Just… trust me,” he said, placing the empty box on the coffee table while he waited for the pizza to warm up.

“Cheese?” Aster repeated, incredulous. He nudged North with his elbow and lowered his voice - pointlessly, since Jack could still hear him loud and clear. “You reckon he’s finally lost his marbles?” 

Jack rolled his eyes good-naturedly and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall beside the fireplace. 

“You’ll thank me in a couple of minutes,” he said, pointing at them both. The smell of hot pepperoni and bacon was already filling the room, and he took in a long, satisfying sniff and sighed. “We’ve really been missing out, you guys.”

“Well, as much as I enjoy your company, Jack…” North started, returning to his seat in the wing-backed chair. “I do not think you came here just to share pizza. What is your real reason for stopping by?”

“What - can’t a guy just want to hang out with his best buddies?” Jack raised an eyebrow and smirked. 

North and Aster both snorted. 

“First of all, you are Jack Frost. You always have ulterior motive,” North replied. “And secondly, I do not think Phil would let you in unless you told him it was matter of importance.” 

“True,” Jack nodded in concedement, not even trying to deny it. Phil was a far more effective security block than any of the locks or alarm systems that North could have installed in his workshop. “Although, I think I’ve finally found his weakness.” 

“Oh?” North answered, the corner of his lips rising into a playful smirk.

“Seems like I just need to bring some sort of snack the next time I want to weasel my way in here,” Jack said, raising his eyebrows towards the pizza and inciting a chuckle from North. He was long past the days of trying to break into the workshop - and they both knew it - but it was still fun to joke about. “But fine, you caught me,” he surrendered, raising his palms. “I do have some news.” 

Before he could launch into his story, a sizzle from the fireplace caught his attention. A speck of cheese had dripped off the pizza and onto the grate, which Jack figured meant it had officially returned to its original state of melty, gooey deliciousness. 

“Uh, just a sec’,” he said, holding up a finger and pointedly ignoring Aster’s tongue sticking out in disgust at the sight of the cheese drip. 

He grabbed the nearest tray - one already stacked with cookies - and dumped it onto the table. Most slid right off and shattered across the floor. North groaned, asking under his breath why Jack always had to make mayhem, while Aster simply rolled his eyes in exasperation and shook crumbs off his feet. 

"Oops... sorry," Jack cringed, quickly shuffling the pizza slices off the grate with his staff and onto the now-empty tray. He set it on the table carefully this time. "Uh, maybe let that cool for a minute." 

North sighed, then called out to some elves that happened to be walking past the open doorway, gesturing to the mess. The elves bolted in, but instead of cleaning up in the typical fashion, they threw themselves onto their hands and knees and started making quick work of lapping the crumbs up off of the floor with their tongues. North, Aster and Jack all scrunched up their noses in distaste and recoiled at the sight. 

“Not what I meant, but, uh... is fine,” North said reluctantly, turning his attention away from the frenzied elves on the floor and back to Jack. “Tell us news, then, Jack.” 

“Uh, right,” Jack said, tearing  his eyes away from the horrible display on the ground and blinking. He shook his head lightly and returned to his position of leaning against the wall. “Well...” he started, rubbing the back of his neck. A hint of embarrassment flushed through him as he prepared himself to voice his next sentence. What he was about to tell them would not be a big deal for either of them if they were in his shoes, but he also knew they would understand why it was a big deal for him. He smiled shyly. “I uh… kind of have a new believer.”

“What!” North shouted, springing up from his chair and throwing his hands out in excitement. “This is excellent news!” 

He picked Jack up and gripped him in a bear hug so tight that Jack was sure his rib cage wouldn’t hold up. He could do nothing but groan and pat North on the back a couple of times, trying to indicate that he couldn’t breath and was mere seconds away from being crushed to death. Luckily the older man got the hint and dropped him, wincing at Jack’s pained expression when he immediately bent over and clutched his sides as soon as his feet touched the floor. 

“That’s brilliant, mate!” Aster added, punching Jack in the shoulder while the winter spirit was still bent over in agony from North’s hug. The punch was hard enough to cause Jack to flinch in pain again, and Jack instinctively sucked air in through his teeth and rubbed the spot, silently hoping that he wasn’t going to bruise. 

Taking a second to recompose himself as North and Aster continued to shower him with kudos, he stood up straight and exhaled in relief now that they seemed finished with physically expressing their joy. 

“Jeez - I’d hate to see how you guys respond to news that’s upsetting,” he said over top of them with a sarcastic smirk. 

“Ah - sorry!” North chuckled self-consciously. “Was just excitement. So… Tell us story about new believer,” he insisted, taking a seat in his chair again with a happy grin glued to his face.

Jack hesitated for a moment. A new believer was definitely news worth sharing in his world, but the real reason he had wanted to talk about it with North was because… Well, because of the circumstances surrounding this particular believer. He decided he’d better ease them into it. 

“Well, uh… He’s Pippa’s cousin, for one.”

“Ah! Little Pippa,” North said happily, clapping his hands together once “Lovely girl.” He gestured for Jack to go on.

“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “Anyways, uh… his name is Hiccup.”

“Hiccup?” Aster repeated, shaking his head incredulously. “Crikey. Parents, nowadays... These poor little tackers don’t even stand a chance.”  

And there was Jack’s opening to transition into the weird part. 

“Right. So, here’s the thing…” he said in a rush, pushing off the wall and walking idly toward the other side of the room. He stuffed his hands in his front sweater pocket and cast his eyes down to the floor as he walked. “Hiccup isn’t a… Well, he’s uh…” He spun back around to face them again and awkwardly gestured in the air with his hands, as if searching for the right words. “He’s kind of… an adult.” 

He lifted his eyes and cringed in anticipation as soon as the word had left his mouth, only to find both Aster and North looking back at him in silent astonishment. He waited several long seconds for either of them to say something, but neither did. He ran his hand through his hair again and laughed awkwardly, unsure of what else to say. 

Aster was the first to blink. 

“Right... And when you say ‘adult’... you mean-”

“An adult,” Jack said again overtop of him, nodding his head in confirmation. “Like... a full-blown adult. About, uh…  20 years old?” 

North’s brows furrowed as he started to come back to life. 

“But… this is impossible.” He shook his head and looked around the room, clearly at a loss for what else to say.

“I thought so too,” Jack answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “But… apparently not.” 

Aster started to pace behind the sofa. 

“And… you’re absolutely sure that he can see you? It wasn’t just a… just a fluke?”

“He can see me, he can hear me,” Jack nodded, putting his hands back in his front pocket. He thought about the blunder behind the snowbank when he had accidentally leapt on top of Hiccup. “He can even feel me.”

Aster and North both paused and lifted an eyebrow at that. 

“Don’t ask,” Jack said with an eye roll. “But we just spent several hours together hanging out with the kids... had several conversations...” He shrugged his shoulders. “No flukes. He definitely believes.” 

North was rubbing his hands over his beard, still shaking his head as Jack spoke. 

“But… this is not how it’s supposed to be.” He turned to finally meet Jack’s eyes, looking more alarmed than anything else. “He is adult.”

“Is this… a bad thing?” North’s reaction was not quite what Jack thought it would be, and he was starting to wonder if there was a reason that they needed to be worried about this. He had thought it was unique, perhaps even exciting. It hadn’t occurred to him that this could be a negative thing, though.

North seemed to ponder before answering Jack’s question. 

“Not necessarily… bad. Just… strange.” He looked back at Jack, his fingers drumming against the arm of the chair he was in. “We must learn more.”

“Learn more?” Jack asked in curiosity, his eyebrow peaking. 

“There’s definitely something dodgy about this, mate,” Aster nodded his agreement. “I mean… adults don’t believe in us. They just don’t. So why does he?”

Jack blinked, then shrugged his shoulders. 

“Uh… more open-minded?” he asked helplessly, shaking his head.

North stood so he could walk around as he started stroking his beard again. He was silent for a moment, but then turned in his spot and pinned Jack with a determined look. 

“We should bring him here.”

“What?” Jack asked in disbelief. “You want to bring him here - to the Workshop?” He looked at Aster, hoping to see some of the same apprehension that he felt himself, but the other guardian only looked intrigued at the suggestion. He turned back to North. “And what exactly are you planning on doing with him?” he asked suspiciously.

North shrugged nonchalantly.

“I just think it would be good idea if we… study him.”

“Not gonna’ lie, North,” Jack said, a little disgusted at the images going through his mind. “You’re kind of giving me some ‘alien probe’ vibes right now.” He saw Aster grimace and shudder out of the corner of his eye, but the reference seemed to go over North’s head. 

“Da, exactly!” North nodded, pointing at Jack. “We probe him-” 

“Please don’t say that-” 

“-for information,” North finished, oblivious to Jack and Aster’s discomfort. “We find out what makes this boy special.”

“So…” Aster was looking pensive again. “We bring this bloke here. We question him,” he emphasized, giving Jack a pointed look. “And then… what? Just make sure he’s on the up-and-up?”

“Are you guys sure this is necessary?” Jack interrupted before North could reply. “It’s not like he’s something sinister that we need to investigate. He’s still a human. He’s just… older.” Jack was almost regretting sharing this information. He had thought this would maybe just set a precedent for other adults to believe... not incite a kidnapping scheme.

“We are not saying he is ‘sinister’,” North insisted, raising his hands in a placating manner. “I just think it is in our best interests to make sure he is… well, not sinister.”

Jack sighed in exasperation. He was clearly being outnumbered, here. He was glad to not be Hiccup right now, but he did feel a bit guilty for bringing this upon the unsuspecting man. 

He chewed his lip in thought and haphazardly walked over to the forgotten pizza, feeling North and Aster’s eyes follow him as he distractedly grabbed a slice. He silently took a bite, pondering on if there was anything he could say to get Hiccup out of this. But when the delicious combination of cheese and meat registered on his tongue, he was startled anew by how good it tasted.

“Man…” He hummed in pleasure as he swallowed his bite and closed his eyes, momentarily distracted from the issue at hand. “You guys seriously have to try this,” he said, opening his eyes again and lifting the tray towards them.

The other two looked at each other, probably a little thrown off by the sudden change in topic. They seemed to silently agree to go along with it though. Jack watched them turn back and grab their slices with a thumb and finger, dangling them in the air away from them as if the pizza might suddenly turn and attack them. He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling at their dramatics.

“Alright…” he said reluctantly, focusing back on Hiccup. “Say - theoretically - that we do this-” 

“No theoretics. We are doing this,” North said firmly, eyes still glued to his pizza as he stared at it in mistrust. Aster’s scowl towards his own slice was so focused that Jack wasn’t sure he was even paying attention to their conversation anymore.

Jack sighed again. He resigned himself to the fact that he wasn’t going to be able to spare Hiccup from this, but hopefully he could make sure it didn’t get out of control. 

“Okay, fine.” He took another bite of the pizza. “So we do this. But… how exactly are we going to get him here?” 

North shrugged. 

“We ask him to come?”

Jack blinked. 

“O-oh,” he said in surprise. The memory of his first visit to North’s workshop then came back to him and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked between North and Aster. “Wait, so… I get forcefully shoved in a sack by a couple of handsy yetis and thrown through a portal without my consent… but Hiccup just gets an invitation?” 

“Da.” 

“Yep.”

Jack’s face deadpanned. He took another bite of his pizza - almost violently this time - to keep himself from saying anything rude. 

“Then we are in agreement. You will bring him tomorrow?” North asked, gesturing to Jack with his uneaten pizza slice. 

Jack heaved yet another sigh. Of course he was going to be doing the dirty work. 

“I will go along with this, on one condition,” he said, pointing at them and giving them a firm look. The other two waited to hear what his stipulation would be. “If you eat your pizza,” he finally said, pushing Aster’s hand with the dripping slice in it closer to his face.

Aster scrunched his face up and away from it, looking towards North for help. North simply sighed and shook his head, then brought his own slice closer so he could take his first taste. Seeing he wasn’t going to get any help from the bigger man, Aster scrunched up his eyes, then leaned in and took his own bite. 

Jack looked at them in anticipation as they apprehensively chewed through their bites. 

“So… what do we think?” 

A few more seconds went by. Finally, rather than the elation Jack expected to see on their faces, they both soured and immediately spat their pizza out on the floor. 

“Ugh! You really have lost your marbles!” Aster shouted towards Jack, fiercely rubbing at his tongue with the back of his free hand. 

The elves from earlier were now leaping towards his and North’s feet. Jack watched as they sniffed at the spat out pizza experimentally, but they shrank away from it almost immediately, acting as if it was poison. They spit their tongues out at it and went back to their cookies.

“See,” Aster gestured at the elves with his thumb. “Even they don’t like it.” He plonked the pizza back on the tray and shook his head. “Cheese. I shoulda’ known.”

“You guys can’t be serious!” Jack scoffed, completely aghast at their reaction. 

North put his pizza back as well, although with a little more grace than Aster. 

“Is… not good, Jack.”

Jack shook his head and crossed his arms in disappointment. 

“First Phil, now you guys. Does anyone else in this place have any sort of good taste besides me?” 

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Chapter Text

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A cold breeze brushed over Hiccup’s exposed skin, inciting an involuntary shiver from the man. He groaned in his sleep and pulled the duvet that had settled around his waist up to his chin. His eyes were still clamped shut, but the remnants of a rare, pleasant dream were starting to clear from his mind as he slowly returned to consciousness. 

Another breeze passed over him, and he shivered a second time. He cursed himself for leaving the window open and burrowed further into his mattress - but then he paused in his movement. His brain was still sleep-addled, but it had suddenly dawned on him that it was January. It didn’t make any sense to have his bedroom window open with the negative temperatures they had right now. In fact, now that he thought harder about it, he was certain that he hadn’t opened the window...

Click.

His eyes flew open and he shot up to a sitting position in his bed, his heartbeat pumping through his ears. He vaguely noticed the sound of an angry meow when Toothless - who had been curled up at his feet - jumped a foot in the air and skittered under the bed thanks to Hiccup’s sudden movement. Unfortunately, his brain was too preoccupied in that moment to feel guilty about it. 

When he finally laid eyes on the source of the disturbance, he was shocked - albeit, a little relieved - at what he found. 

Jack Frost was in his bedroom - having just closed the bedroom window after having climbed through it - and was wincing apologetically at him, presumably for the rude awakening. The spirit was the last thing Hiccup had expected to see, but at least Hiccup was pretty sure he wasn’t in danger, now. His terror ebbed and his heart slowed.

“Uh… hey,” Jack said awkwardly with a small wave. His eyes trailed to Hiccup’s chest before quickly looking up at the ceiling. The gesture reminded Hiccup that he slept in his underpants - meaning his bare torso was on display after having sat up so abruptly. Jack was pointedly not looking at him now, probably trying to give him time to cover up. 

“J-Jack…” Hiccup blushed at his near-nudity and snatched the duvet up higher to cover himself back up, his heartbeat picking up again. “W-what are you, uh… doing here?”

To his credit, Jack looked as uncomfortable with the situation as Hiccup felt. He rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze flicking anywhere but on Hiccup. 

“Sorry for just… barging in here like this....”

Silence stretched. Hiccup waited for Jack to explain, but instead the spirit just fidgeted with his staff, avoiding eye contact. It was strange - yesterday Jack had been all bravado, and now he looked like a kid caught doing something he shouldn’t. If this was about the pyjamas, Jack would’ve bolted already. No, he was here for a reason. So why wasn’t he saying it?

“So…” Hiccup started, unable to bear the uncomfortable silence anymore. “Are you going to tell me why you’re sneaking into my bedroom while I sleep, or...?” His instinct to make jokes in the face of strained situations had kicked in again.

The corner of Jack’s mouth twitched, some of the stiffness in his posture easing. Apparently humor worked on him, too.

“If you’re about to make another ‘deviant’ implication, I might have to punch you this time,” he said mirthfully, finally meeting Hiccup’s eyes. 

Hiccup smirked, happy to fall back into the banter they seemed to have honed yesterday. At least it distracted him from his current state of dress - or lack thereof. 

“Right - because I’m sure whatever intentions you have for slipping through my window while I’m unconscious are completely ethical,” he said sarcastically.

“Must you always think the worst of me, Hiccup?” Jack shook his head and clutched his chest in mock insult.

“Not sure there’s any explanation you could give me right now that would have you coming off as good,” Hiccup retorted with a raised eyebrow. 

“First of all - I can assure you that there are a lot of other things I would choose to do in my free time before spying on you while you sleep,” Jack said with a smirk, leaning on his staff with one elbow and sticking his other hand in his sweater pocket. “And secondly - I really don’t appreciate you questioning my virtue all the time when I’m clearly the most pure and righteous being to have ever existed.”

Hiccup snorted. 

“Well then, by all means… Please feel free to tell me the real, not-creepy reason you’re here.” 

Jack’s humorous grin faltered at that and Hiccup could see him slip back into nervousness.

“Right...” Jack said, looking a little awkward again as he stood up straight. “Well, uh… I’m kind of here to… kidnap you.” 

A beat passed in which Hiccup could do nothing but stare at Jack, mouth agape. Jack cringed at his reaction as the room fell back into silence. 

“You’re here to… kidnap me.” Hiccup blinked. 

“Uh… yes?” Jack put on a forced smile. 

Hiccup blinked again, but then his face deadpanned. 

“Ah. Well that’s much better, then.” He flopped back down against his mattress and pulled the duvet all the way over his head. “Look - can you kindly come back and kidnap me another day?” he asked sarcastically. “Sunday is supposed to be a day for rest.”

Despite the previous tension, he heard Jack chuckle lightly - although it sounded muffled to his ears now that Hiccup was cocooned under the blanket. 

“You are… really not a morning person, are you?”

“I would say it’s more that I’m a ‘not excited about being kidnapped' person,” Hiccup said with a roll of his eyes. He had no idea what Jack’s plan was, but if he had to guess, he’d say Jack was trying to rope Hiccup into another snow battle with his cousin and her friends. He had been pretty adamant last night that that was not going to be a thing he’d be doing again.

“Hey, at least I’m not forcefully throwing you into a burlap sack,” Jack muttered.

Hiccup pulled the blankets back down to his chin and propped himself up on his elbows, raising an eyebrow at Jack. 

“Is that... something I need to be concerned about?” 

“Uh, not sure yet.” He watched Jack’s eyes flick nervously to the window. “Depends on how patient they are.”

“They?” Hiccup sat back up, still being careful to keep himself covered. “What do you mean by ‘they’? ” Was he talking about the kids, then? Hiccup sure as hell hoped so…

“Trust me," Jack said, plopping himself into Hiccup’s desk chair and kicking his heels up on the desk in front of him. "I can tell you from experience that you probably want to take the easy route and come on your own."

Hiccup’s eyes narrowed. Somehow he didn’t think this had anything to do with his cousin and her friends anymore. 

“Wait. Are you… literally kidnapping me?” Hiccup asked incredulously, starting to feel some real concern. “That wasn’t just some cute phrasing for trying to get me to hang out outside with you and the kids?”

“Nope.” Jack shook his head, looking apologetic again. “Sorry.”

Hiccup flopped back down and covered his head with the blanket again. 

“This is just a bizarre nightmare, right? Jack Frost is not actually in my bedroom threatening to kidnap me.”

Another deep chuckle came from the other side of the blanket, but this time it sounded as if Jack had come closer to his bed. Hiccup’s eyes widened and his breath hitched slightly when the duvet started peeling back to uncover his face. His heartbeat was back to racing, but thankfully, the blanket stopped at his chin. 

He looked up and right into a pair of shockingly blue eyes that were alight with mischief. Jack was bent over so he could see Hiccup’s face, the end of his staff still hooked onto the edge of the duvet after having used it to pull the cover down. 

“Aw, come on. You don’t even know where I’m taking you yet,” he said with an impish smirk.

Hiccup willed his heart to slow down, but Jack’s proximity to him in his bed felt weirdly intimate and was making him jittery. He swallowed thickly, hoping his discomfort wasn’t that obvious. 

“And where would that be?”

Jack stood back up and out of Hiccup’s personal space, and Hiccup felt himself exhale a breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. 

“Oh, just a little place called the North Pole,” Jack said with a shrug of his shoulder, pretending to examine his fingernails.

North Pole?  

Hiccup sat up again, naked chest be damned. 

“You don’t mean…”

“Yep,” Jack said smugly, looking back at Hiccup as he leaned on his staff again. 

Hiccup stared at him in shock, exhilaration thrumming underneath his skin. 

“I-I’m gonna’ get to see the Workshop?” he asked quietly. Jack had briefly described it to him last night, but it sounded too amazing to really appreciate without seeing for oneself.

“Hey - I was as surprised as you.” Jack’s smile turned a little bitter. “Took me three hundred years to get in there, but that’s besides the point...”

“I’m going to the North Pole,” Hiccup said to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. He looked at Jack again. “And I’m being captured by… Santa Claus?” His brain seemed to be stuck on some sort of loop.

“Well, the Easter Bunny is in on it too. Although… I wouldn’t say ‘captured’, per se,” Jack said, biting his bottom lip. “North’s exact word was actually ‘probed’.”

“Hang on- probed?” Hiccup asked, reeling back in horror as the anticipation evaporated from his body instantly. “No, no, no- You’re completely insane if you think I’m going to let you guys-”

“For information,” Jack finished overtop of Hiccup, grinning at the reaction he had gotten. 

“Oh,” Hiccup said, exhaling in relief. “Thank god,” he muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes, shuddering at the images in his head. 

Jack laughed, obviously pleased with his joke. 

“Seriously, though. They just have some questions.”

Hiccup hummed. 

“Uh, not that I don’t really, really want to see Santa’s Workshop…” he started as he turned back to Jack. “But is there any particular reason why this is happening?” He wasn’t scared of Jack, and he didn’t think he needed to be scared of Santa Claus, but it also didn’t seem like he was actually being given a choice here. He didn’t like the idea of being forced to do something, so it was kind of taking some of the excitement out of it. 

Jack rubbed the back of his neck and looked towards the floor. 

“Uh… it might be my fault.” He looked back at Hiccup and gave him a sheepish smile. “I kind of told them about you.”

Hiccup blinked, then involuntarily blushed a little. 

“You... told them about me?” He didn’t normally make much of an impression on people, and the idea of someone wanting to talk about him was… interesting.

“Yeah,” Jack sighed. “You know… the whole ‘adults don’t believe’ thing. Figured they should know.” 

“Oh, right - that,” Hiccup said, immediately feeling stupid. Of course that was why they had been talking about him.

“Yeah, they’re pretty intrigued.” Jack wandered back to Hiccup’s desk and hoisted himself up to sit on the surface, resting his staff against the wall beside it. He leaned back and perched his hands behind him, idly swinging his dangling feet in the air in front of him. “They want to make sure there’s nothing wrong with you,” he said, a teasing smirk on his face.

“Great,” Hiccup said acidly, rolling his eyes. “As if I haven’t already heard that enough times in my life.” 

Jack huffed a laugh at that, but before he could reply a quiet knock sounded from the other side of Hiccup’s bedroom door. 

“Hiccup?” Pippa’s voice rang out. She sounded apprehensive.

Jack’s eyes widened and he instantly shook his head at Hiccup, holding his finger up to his lips to indicate he should be quiet. Hiccup gave him a confused look, trying to silently question why they shouldn’t respond. 

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for the kids to know that we’re taking you,” Jack whispered quietly. “I don’t want to… worry them.”

Hiccup chewed his lip in thought. Jack was right - it wasn’t worth worrying the kids over. He was pretty sure no harm was going to come to him, but he was also pretty sure Pippa would be kind of freaked out if she knew that Hiccup was being taken against his will. 

A second knock came, and both Hiccup and Jack froze again. 

“Hiccup? Are you awake? I thought I heard you talking to someone in there...”

Shit. 

He bit his lip and stared back at Jack in silence, both of them waiting to see if she would go away this time.

“Okay, I’m gonna’ open the door… okay? Please don’t be naked...” 

Jack bolted up from his position on Hiccup’s desk and whipped his neck back and forth, scanning Hiccup’s room for a place to hide - while at the same time, Hiccup was wildly gesturing towards his closet, snapping his fingers to get Jack to look at where he was pointing. Jack finally turned and looked at him, nodding his head in understanding as he dove towards the closet and shoved himself between some of Hiccup’s hanging clothes just in time for them to hear the doorknob start to turn.

Hiccup threw himself back down against his mattress, trying to feign sleep. He heard the door open all the way as his cousin slipped through. 

“Uh… Hiccup?” 

He pretended to yawn and stretch, acting as if he was being roused from his sleep. It turns out the theatrics were unnecessary though, because when he sat up he saw Pippa with her hand across her eyes - probably just in case he had been nude. 

“Pippa! Morning,” he greeted her, indicating she was safe to uncover her eyes. 

He watched in trepidation as his cousin removed her hand and looked around his room, then narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. 

“Are you just waking up?”

Hiccup’s eyes involuntarily shifted towards the closet when he heard something hit the ground in that general direction. His stomach dropped when he saw that Toothless had chosen that moment to come out from his hiding spot under the bed, apparently intrigued by a pair of wide, bare feet sticking out from behind the clothing in Hiccup’s closet. The cat was now curiously swatting and nipping at Jack’s toes, and a hanger had fallen down as Jack wriggled around from the unwanted attention to his feet. 

“Uh, y-yes,” he said hurriedly, inwardly cursing both Toothless and Jack’s big feet. “Yep. Just woke up.” He slipped his hand down over the edge of the bed and started snapping in Toothless’ direction, hoping to draw the cat back over to the bed.

“Huh,” Pippa said, in a tone that suggested she didn’t believe him at all. She hadn’t moved much further into the room than the couple of steps she had taken to cross through the doorway, so she wasn’t able to see Hiccup’s closet from her vantage point. She was still casting her eyes about what she could see of the room, though. “Because I could have sworn that I heard you talking to someone when I was out in the hallway…”

“Uh… m-maybe I was talking in my sleep?” Hiccup bit his bottom lip and shrugged, praying that she didn’t come any nearer to the closet. 

Pippa stopped scanning the room with her eyes and raised an eyebrow at him that all but said "That’s the best you can come up with?"  

“I, uh, do that sometimes…” He gave her another forced smile.

“Right…” Pippa droned. She clearly didn’t believe him, but mercifully, she did look like she was going to do him the favor of letting him get away with it. “Okay, well I just wanted to come and ask if it’s okay if I go over to Jamie’s house. There’s a new video game he just got that he wanted to show me-”

Another thud and a slight hiss from the inside of his closet had Pippa stopping short, her head tilting to the side as if trying to prick her ears up for another noise. 

“Uh, right,” Hiccup said loudly, abandoning his attempt at gently drawing Toothless over and lunging over the side of the bed to grab the cat instead. Toothless tried his best to resist, digging his claws into the carpet with one paw while still slapping at Jack’s dancing feet with the other, but Hiccup was successfully able to drag the cat in by his back legs and up onto the bed with him. “Uh, yeah sure,” he said with a big phony smile, struggling to maintain his hold on Toothless as the cat tried his best to return to his conquest in the closet. “I - ow, Toothless! - I assume his mom is home?”

Pippa was now staring at him as if he had sprouted a dozen extra heads. 

“Uh… yeah, she’ll be home…” she finally answered slowly, watching in distraction as Toothless let out a low and angry meow before one of his clawed feet finally slipped out of Hiccup’s grasp and caught Hiccup on the cheek.

“Ow! God, you-” He cringed in pain and tried to wrestle his demon of a cat back into submission before putting his faux smile back on and refocusing on Pippa and their conversation. “ Uh, okay then… Sure, as long as his mom is there.” A thought suddenly occurred to him: he couldn’t exactly have left Pippa at home on her own anyway, kidnapping or not. At least if she was at Jamie’s house then she was under supervision. “Uh… any idea how long you’ll be over there?”

“Probably an hour or so.” Pippa said with a shrug. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure I’m home for lunch.” 

“So you’ll be gone for an hour…” Hiccup repeated a little louder, trying to discreetly look towards his closet. Jack’s face was now carefully sticking out between two shirts. The spirit cringed and shook his head at Hiccup, which Hiccup assumed meant that an hour wasn’t enough time. Hiccup looked back at Pippa. “Uh… actually… An hour really isn’t that long to play video games, Pippa. I mean, I think you should probably stay for at least... two?” His eyes darted to Jack, who was holding up three fingers. “No, wait- three,” he said louder, looking back at Pippa, who was now staring at him as if his dozen extra heads had each sprouted their own dozen extra heads. “Three hours, for sure.”

“Uh, okay then…” Pippa said, looking more suspicious than ever. “I’m sure Jamie’s mom would be okay if I ate lunch there, I guess...”

“Great!” Hiccup said with a grin, a bit squeakier than he intended. Toothless let out another low groan, but Hiccup’s hold seemed tight enough to keep the claws at bay now. “And I will definitely be here in three hours when you get back from Jamie’s house, because I am responsible for you right now and you can’t be home alone.” 

“Right…" Pippa responded. “Hiccup, are you sure you’re feeling okay today?” 

“You know, I am actually feeling a little bit tired, so... Think I’m just gonna’ go back to bed. Take a nap...” He pointedly looked at the bedroom door, hoping his cousin would take the hint and leave. “But I will absolutely see you in three hours.” 

Pippa shook her in bewilderment, but she finally looked as if she was turning to leave. 

“Alright, if you-” 

She froze in her tracks, staring in the general direction of Hiccup’s desk. Hiccup followed her line of sight to see what it is she could be looking at, and his eyes widened as soon as they laid upon it. 

Jack’s staff was still resting against the wall beside the desk. 

He and Pippa both turned to look at each other. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He closed it again. There was no point in lying now. Pippa squinted at him, and he waited with bated breath for her to say something. 

After several long seconds, she finally spoke. 

“Alright, well… Guess I’ll be on my way out then,” she said loudly, walking back to the door.

Hiccup shook his head in confusion, hardly able to believe she wasn’t going to seize the opportunity to catch him out in his lie. 

“Uh… okay then?” He followed her with his eyes all the way to the door - waiting for the other shoe to drop - but nothing came. Maybe he had gotten lucky… Was it too much to ask that she hadn’t actually seen the staff? 

“I’ll see you after lunch,” she said, moving to pull the door shut as she slipped through it. She gave him a good-humoured smirk as she backed out of the room. “And enjoy your ‘nap’,” she added, using her fingers to make quotation marks as she spoke the last word before firmly shutting the door. 

Hiccup closed his eyes and sighed. Of course she saw the staff. He finally released Toothless from his death grip and flopped back down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm as he groaned. 

A few seconds later, the sound of the front door downstairs opening and shutting rang through the house, indicating Pippa had left for Jamie’s. A flurry of noises from the closet caused him to uncover his eyes again, where he saw Jack tumbling out, covered in pieces of his clothing. 

“I see you have a cat…” Jack droned, peeling a shirt off of his shoulder and dropping it to the floor. He sent Toothless - who was now sitting on the end of Hiccup’s bed and nonchalantly cleaning his paws - an annoyed glare.

“Jack - meet Toothless. Toothless - Jack,” Hiccup grouched, rolling his eyes. 

Toothless perked up at the sound of his name, pausing his paw bath. He wandered over to Hiccup and nudged his head against Hiccup’s chin, apparently looking for some attention now despite the fact that he had nearly clawed Hiccup’s eyes out a minute prior.

“‘Toothless.’ Adorable,” Jack muttered sarcastically, smirking down at the cat for a second. He shrugged and his grin turned chuffed. “Well, I think that went well - even with his attempt at sabotage.”

Hiccup huffed and shook his head as he sat back up. 

“It absolutely did not. She knows you were here, Jack.” 

“What?” Jack said, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “But she didn’t say anything. How do you know?” 

Hiccup deadpanned and simply pointed at the staff with his thumb. 

Jack’s mouth fell open a bit before wincing and turning back to Hiccup. 

“Oops."

Hiccup sighed. 

“At least she didn’t ask any questions... But I feel bad about lying to her, especially since she knows I lied.” 

“Yeah… me too,” Jack nodded sympathetically. “We can explain it to her later.” He walked back over to the window and peered outside of it. “Uh… we should really get going, though. Think they’re about ready to get the sack.”

“And who are ‘they’ again?” Hiccup asked suspiciously. Surely Santa and the Easter Bunny weren’t out there themselves. 

“Yetis,” Jack answered, turning back towards Hiccup with a roll of his eyes. “They’re our escorts. Lucky us.”

Hiccup’s mouth dropped open. 

“Yetis are standing in my backyard.” He shook his head as if in a trance and threw the blanket off. “What even is my life, now?” he mumbled to himself. He started to stand up, having momentarily forgotten that Jack was still in the room with him, but froze the second he remembered. He looked up to find Jack watching him in interest, then blushed furiously and grabbed the blanket to cover up his waist again. “Uh… do you mind, you know… turning around for a minute?”

Jack blinked as if suddenly remembering where he was. His cheeks turned pink, and although they weren’t as bright as Hiccup’s own, Hiccup was still surprised to see it. 

“S-sorry!” Jack nearly shouted, turning around as quickly as he could. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you weren’t wearing pants under there-”

“N-no, I’m sorry -” Hiccup cut him off, immediately feeling guilty for having essentially exposed himself. “I-I just kind of forgot you were here for a second-” he stuttered, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him whole.

“I promise I wasn’t staring at, uh… you. Well, I was but not- not because you’re, you know-”

“-It’s fine, really… It’s my fault-”  

“-I, uh… just happened to notice the scar...” 

Hiccup paused, a little caught off guard, and his mouth clamped shut. 

“Oh. Right.” He looked at the long scar running from his inner thigh, down to his knee. He wasn’t by any means embarrassed or ashamed of it, he just wasn’t used to it being visible - and he hated the memory that it brought with it. He quietly exhaled and resumed making his way to the closet, even more desperate to get clothes on. “Guess I haven’t mentioned it…”

Jack was quiet for a few seconds, but his curiosity seemed to get the better of him. 

“Have you, uh… always had that, or…?”

“Uh.. no,” Hiccup said quietly, rummaging through the hanging clothing. “I was… involved in an accident a few years ago.” He tried to keep his voice steady. “My dad and I, both.” 

“Oh…” Jack said quietly, and Hiccup could tell he was starting to read between the lines. “...And your dad…?” 

“Wasn’t as lucky,” Hiccup confirmed, swallowing thickly as he finally selected something from the closet. 

“That’s… I’m sorry,” Jack said quietly, running a hand through his hair. “That really sucks.” 

“Yeah, it does…” Hiccup said awkwardly - because what else was there to say? He pulled the shirt he had chosen over his head, then sat back down on the edge of the bed to pull his pants on. “But, uh… thanks.” 

Jack didn’t say anything else, making sure to steadfastly stay turned towards the wall, but the silence was anything but comfortable. Hiccup finished dressing himself and pulled on his shoes as fast as he could, then cleared his throat. 

“I’m, uh... fully clothed now.” 

“Good,” Jack said, turning to face him again. The tail end of a blush still coloured the spirit’s cheeks, but he was quick to cover it up with a grin. “Uh… shall we?” he asked, gesturing to the window.

Hiccup forgot his embarrassment almost instantly at the reminder of what was in his backyard. He practically ran to the window, nearly knocking Jack out of the way to get a look. He gasped quietly as he laid eyes on a couple of very large, very furry beings sitting in a couple of his family’s lawn chairs. As amazing as they were, he was amused to see that they looked bored to tears - all slumped over with their chins resting on their fists. 

He huffed out a small laugh. 

“Something tells me this is going to be the strangest day of my life.”

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Chapter Text

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“Hey, don’t look at me, Phil!” Jack said with a grin as soon as he and Hiccup had stepped into the backyard. “I’m not the one who slept in.” He laughed when Hiccup whipped his head towards him to give him a terrified look then elbowed him. “What? It’s true.”

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at him, then turned to the pair of yetis and laughed awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Uh, sorry about that…” He looked nervous, which Jack couldn’t help but find amusing. Yetis could be fierce in battle or when it came to protecting North and the workshop, but for the most part they were actually quite friendly. They just didn’t care that much for Jack - although he did think some of them were starting to warm up to him. Even Phil.

“Oh - don’t sweat it,” he said on Phil’s behalf, giving the yeti a cocky grin. “Phil’s used to it. As head of security at the Workshop, standing around and waiting for me to arrive is what most of his job entails, anyways. Ain’t that right, Phil?” He gave the yeti a wink and socked him in the arm, although the punch wasn’t enough to even wobble the yeti. Phil remained silent and glowered down at Jack, clearly not amused. Phil’s companion, however, almost looked as if he was about to crack a smile - so Jack considered his joke a success. 

“Uh... It doesn’t seem like he likes you very much,” Hiccup said quietly, leaning towards Jack’s ear while keeping his eyes up at Phil. 

Jack smirked and shrugged his shoulder. 

“Phil and I have a… history.”

Hiccup’s eyebrow raised and he pulled back in surprise as he turned to look at Jack. 

“You guys…?” He trailed off, gesturing between Jack and Phil with a finger. 

“...What?” Jack’s eyes widened when he realized what Hiccup was asking. He broke out into a laugh. “Oh, God, no - absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head at the idea. He turned and saw Phil looked downright disgusted at the suggestion. He scoffed at the yeti. “Okay - well there’s no need to be so rude. You’re not exactly my type, either.” 

Phil simply rolled his eyes and shook his head towards the sky, then turned towards the empty yard and gestured at his counterpart. The second yeti joined him and took a snow globe out of the satchel he had across his chest, then threw it at the ground. A swirly portal instantly emerged in front of them from the shattered globe, and Jack could hear Hiccup’s breath catch from beside him. The yetis turned in their spots to face Jack and Hiccup and stared at them expectantly. 

“W-what is this?” Hiccup asked, eyes still glued to the portal in front of him. 

“Portal that transports us to North’s shop,” Jack replied casually. 

Hiccup’s eyebrow peaked. 

“Wait… this is how he gets around?” He looked at Jack and actually looked a little disappointed. “I thought there was a sleigh.” 

Jack smirked and started walking backwards towards the portal so he could still address Hiccup. 

“Oh, there’s definitely a sleigh.” He shrugged his shoulder and gestured at the portal with his staff. “This just… helps.” 

“Oh.” Hiccup moved to follow him and cautiously approached the portal, still eyeing it skeptically.

The yetis stepped on either side of the portal, clearly giving Jack and Hiccup the silent direction to go through first. Jack took a step closer, then looked at Hiccup and ticked his head towards the portal to suggest he should do the same. 

The other man swallowed thickly and seemed frozen to the spot. 

“Uh… what exactly happens to you when you go through this thing?” he asked Jack nervously.

“Oh, you know...” Jack said nonchalantly, moving to stand behind Hiccup instead. He grinned mischievously to himself. “Just your regular unspeakable pain and agony.” 

Hiccup’s head whipped around to look at him in terror. 

“What-?” 

But Hiccup was unable to say anything else before Jack grinned bigger, winked at him, and shoved him through the portal. He was quick to hop through after Hiccup, chuckling to himself at the sound of the other man’s drawn out screech. 

The feeling of being teleported was still odd, even after having done it several times now. The sound of rushing wind filled his ears and everything seemed to disappear into a dark, cold void. His body felt as if it was being pulled every which way, but contrary to what he had said to Hiccup, it wasn’t actually painful - just… weird. A bright light finally appeared, and he tried to brace himself for the moment when he would be dumped back out on the other side of the portal. Sticking the landing was always the tough part for him. 

The light quickly turned into a swirl of colours, which then sharpened into a more tangible image of the workshop. Despite his attempt at landing upwards, he realized too late that he was heading straight for the floor. Even worse, Hiccup had already exited the portal and was lying in a heap precisely where Jack was about to land. 

“Oof!”  

“Ow! Jack-” Jack was still a little dazed from his landing, but he could feel Hiccup wriggling underneath him. He blinked his eyes and looked down to find that he and Hiccup were chest to chest again. Hiccup’s cheeks flushed pink. “How does this keep happening!” 

Before Jack could say anything or even bother to be embarrassed himself, a suction sound from behind him made him realize who was coming through the portal after them. He gasped and grabbed Hiccup tight against himself, doing a sort of barrel roll to the left. Hiccup yelped when their foreheads banged against each other, but the move seemed to pay off when the two yetis landed on their feet with practiced ease directly where the two men had been laying a second earlier. 

Hiccup’s green eyes widened when he looked up and saw the yetis. 

“Ah,” he said in understanding. “Thanks.”

No sooner than the words had left Hiccup’s mouth, a pair each of large, furry feet and thick, leather boots appeared above their heads. Jack froze and slowly looked up at the beings that were attached to them, while Hiccup tipped his head backwards to do the same. 

“Looking quite cozy there, Frost.” 

Aster had his arms across his chest and was smirking down at them, his eyebrows high on his forehead. North was next to him, hands on his hips, looking equally amused but at least holding his tongue. 

Jack’s mouth fell open a little. His elbows had braced on either side of Hiccup, unintentionally boxing him in, and he jerked back the moment he felt Hiccup stir. Snatching up his staff from the floor, he got to his feet quickly. Heat crept into his face—he was almost sure of it, though why it was happening now of all times, he couldn’t say. He wasn’t the blushing type; he hadn’t even flinched when Hiccup once joked about him and Phil. Maybe it was just Aster. The pooka had a way of needling him like no one else.

He leaned down to grab Hiccup’s arm and help him stand, if for no other reason than to hide his face while he tried to will the pink tinge in it away. Hiccup let himself be helped up, looking completely mesmerized by the other two beings and not appearing to notice Jack or his embarrassment. 

“Uh, Hiccup…” Jack cleared his throat. “This is Aster and North.”

“G’day,” Aster said, sticking out his hand for Hiccup to shake. Jack noticed that his tone wasn’t quite friendly, but at least he was being polite. Jack just hoped they didn’t give Hiccup too hard of a time. “Guess I don’t need to ask if you can see us or not.” 

Hiccup was still gaping at him, but eventually he blinked. 

“You’re… Australian?” he asked skeptically as he shook Aster’s large hand. 

“Adult boy! Is nice to meet you!” North grinned, not giving Aster time to reply as he took Hiccup’s hand out of the pooka’s with the both of his. He shook Hiccup’s hand rather enthusiastically, rocking Hiccup’s entire body as he did so. 

Hiccup let out a quiet laugh as he pulled his hand out of North’s grip, now looking at the taller man with awe. 

“Yours makes sense, I guess.” 

“Come, come,” North said, putting an arm around Hiccup’s shoulders and leading him away from the spot where the portal had spit them out. Jack and Aster followed closely behind, and the two yetis brought up the rear. 

Jack couldn’t help but watch North carefully as they walked, still weary of what it was that North and Aster planned on doing. Hiccup, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned with what was about to happen to him, being far too busy looking around the area in amazement. Jack couldn’t really blame him, though. He suspected his own face was similar the first time he had seen the inside of North’s shop. 

Several levels of balconies jutted out both above and below the one they stood on, stacked like the tiers of some enormous hive. Each overlooked the vast chamber’s centrepiece - a massive, slowly turning Globe, its surface glowing faintly as tiny golden lights pulsed across it like constellations. The balconies wrapped around it in a great circle, buzzing with life. Overhead, toy planes, whirring helicopters, and other improbable flying contraptions zipped between levels, wings flashing in the light as they ferried parcels from one side to the other. The air was alive with motion: the deep grumbles of yetis hauling armloads of supplies, the high-pitched chatter of elves weaving between them with nimble speed, and the constant mechanical hum of toys in flight. Everywhere Jack and Hiccup looked, something was happening, the chaos so perfectly orchestrated it almost felt like standing inside the heart of a great machine.

Jack smirked when Hiccup jumped a little at the sight of a handful of elves running past them, arms full of toys that teetered off their piles and left a trail behind the small beings. A rather grumpy-looking yeti followed closely behind the elves, bending down and picking up their mess as they went. 

“Is very impressive, no?” North asked Hiccup smugly, ducking Hiccup’s head for him to avoid one of the planes while the other man was still fixated on the elves.

Aster rolled his eyes and looked at Jack. 

“I’m sure he’s just on cloud nine now that he has someone new to show off to.” 

North turned his head and narrowed his eyes at them, indicating he had heard the comment.

“It’s amazing,” Hiccup said breathily, staring at a toy blimp that was soaring above them. Jack smiled to himself at Hiccup’s awe. He imagined that for a Mechanical Engineering student, visiting Santa’s Workshop was probably a childhood dream come true.  

“‘Amazing’!” North echoed Hiccup and fixed Aster with a cocky smirk, squeezing Hiccup a little bit closer to him as they turned down a hallway. “He is clearly smart boy.”

North continued to lead them around the balcony for a couple more minutes, but eventually steered them off towards a hallway that Jack wasn’t familiar with. The remainder of the walk down the hallway was quiet, but the further and further they went the darker and darker it seemed to get. Without the bustle of elves and toys, the atmosphere had turned rather quickly. One look at Hiccup told Jack that the man was starting to get nervous now that he was away from the buoyant theatrics of the workshop. 

When they reached what seemed to be the end of the hallway, they stopped in front of a solid, metal door with a keypad lock on it. Jack had never seen this particular door before. He looked over at Aster, and from the look of his face, he wasn’t familiar with this room either. Suddenly, Jack felt nervous, too. 

“You stay out here and guard,” North said to Phil and the other yeti. The yetis nodded their heads and stood on either side of the door, backs straight and heads forward. 

Guard? Jack’s uneasiness increased further. 

North released Hiccup’s shoulder so he could hide the keypad with one hand while he entered the code with the other. The door made an ominous, low-tone beep, then unlocked. Jack watched North push the door open with one hand and gestured for him, Hiccup, and Aster to enter ahead of him.  

As they stepped into the room, fluorescent sconces on the wall came on and lit up the scene. The windowless room was made entirely of steel - from floor to ceiling - and the only furniture to be found was a steel table with a single chair in front of it. A giant spotlight lamp above the table focused on the chair, lighting it up even more than the rest of the room already was. Jack’s eyes widened when he saw that the chair had straps on its arms and front legs, clearly designed to restrain people who sat in it. 

The sound of the heavy door slamming shut and locking itself behind them caused Jack, Hiccup and Aster to all jump. Jack looked towards the other two, finding terror on Hiccup’s face and severe hesitation on Aster’s. He knew his own probably reflected both of those things and more. 

“Do I even want to know why you have this sort of room, mate?” Aster asked suspiciously, eyeing North as the larger man put his arm around a reluctant Hiccup again and guided him to the chair. 

“Is... not important,” North said evasively with a shrug of his shoulders. He pushed Hiccup into the chair and stood behind him, his hands still grasped on the other’s shoulders. Hiccup gave Jack an alarmed look as soon as he was in the chair, and as much as Jack wanted to assure him this would be fine, he was unable to do anything but wince sympathetically. North leaned over Hiccup’s shoulder and grinned. “You are comfy?” 

“Uh… yes…” Hiccup muttered, looking a bit squeamish as he looked at the un-tied straps on the chair out of the corner of his eyes. “Is this all...necessary?” 

“I don’t know…” North said nonchalantly, shrugging again as he moved back round to the other side of the table with Jack and Aster. All of a sudden, he turned and smacked his hands down on the surface of the table so he could menacingly lean in towards Hiccup. “You tell me.”

Hiccup reeled back in shock at the turn in demeanor as North crowded towards him. His eyes flicked to Jack and he gave him another desperate look, which prompted Jack to actually intervene this time. 

“Alright, alright,” he said firmly, pulling North back by the arm and out of Hiccup’s space. “Let’s not get all dramatic.”

“No kidding,” Aster snorted, giving North an exasperated look. North sent him an irritated look in return, but Aster just shrugged. 

Jack moved to stand on Hiccup’s side of the table and looked at North pointedly. 

“Look - let's just calmly ask our questions, and then Hiccup can be on his merry way.”

North tsked and shrugged his shoulders innocently, gesturing around the room. 

“Who here is not calm? I am calm. He is calm. We are all calm!”

“Sure you are.” Jack rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

Ignoring Jack’s sass, North started to pace around his side of the room, his hands grasped behind his back. 

“Hiccup. If that is your real name. First question.” He stopped walking, holding up a pointed finger as he turned towards Hiccup. “What species are you?”

Everyone else started talking at once. 

“North- Are you serious with that question, right now-? ”

“Oh, for the love of- that’s real subtle, mate-” 

“I’m sorry- what- what species am I?” Hiccup looked at Jack as if silently questioning him if this was real life.

“Is simple question,” North replied when everyone else had finished talking. He was still looking at Hiccup with mistrust. “So what is your answer?”

Hiccup looked around in bewilderment before focusing back on North. 

“Uh… human?”

“Hm.” North’s eyes narrowed. “Or so you say.” 

“North. Of course he’s human.” Jack shook his head in frustration. “He’s Pippa’s cousin. You probably even delivered gifts to him back in the day. Aren’t you supposed to know all these kids by name?”

North’s watchful expression turned into something more sheepish at that. 

“Well, I cannot possibly remember all kids… I have list for reason.” His face hardened again. “Besides, who is to say this boy wasn’t on naughty list?” 

“N-nope.” Hiccup’s eyes widened at North’s darkened tone and he shook his head. “D-definitely not on the naughty list-”  

“Question two,” North said firmly overtop of Hiccup, resuming his pacing. “On scale of one to ten, how badly does your skin burn when you touch iron?” 

 “This is completely ridiculous.” Jack covered his face with his hand and shook his head again. He looked over at Aster, hoping for some backup, but Aster was just leaning against the wall by the door looking completely unphased by this line of questioning. “Please tell me you agree with me?” 

His stomach sank when Aster and North exchanged a look. 

“Jack,” North said quickly, putting on a big, fake smile as he walked towards him and started pulling him towards the door. “Perhaps you would be more useful outside, da?” 

“What? No, I don’t think so-”

“Is fine, is fine!” North said, still grinning down at him as he started to type in the unlock code.

“You guys have clearly lost it!” Jack tried his best to squirm out of the hold North had on him, but even with one arm North had him pinned so tightly that escape was futile. 

“Do not worry. We take good care of adult boy,” North assured him as he managed to finally open the door. 

“Don’t you dare kick me out, North!” He looked at Aster again as he continued to struggle, but the pooka just looked away guiltily. Jack scoffed, making sure to send him the most betrayed look he could muster. 

“You wait here with yetis. Everything will be fine!” North promised again. Jack got one good look at Hiccup’s concerned looking face just as North shoved him out into the hallway, and his guilt at having brought this upon the man intensified. 

God, he should have never agreed to this. 

North seemed to catch the guilty look on his face and softened. 

“I promise him no harm, Jack.” He sounded sincere when he said it, but he still allowed the door to shut between them before Jack could say anything else. Jack’s face quickly went back to annoyance and he narrowed his eyes at the shut door and huffed, but he knew there was no point in trying to gain entry. 

He sulked over to the wall across from the door and leaned against it, arms crossed tight against his chest. He huffed again and looked over at Phil, who was still standing guard as if nothing had happened. 

“Can you believe that?” 

As expected, he received no reply from the yeti. He returned his glare to the door, fully intending to stare at it until it reopened. 

But just out of the corner of his eye, he thought he might have actually seen Phil smirk.  

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The moment the heavy, steel door unlocked, Hiccup felt himself exhale an alleviated breath. North opened the door and held it for him, gesturing for Hiccup to go through first with a bright grin - as if he hadn’t just been grilling Hiccup for over an hour. In return, Hiccup gave him the politest smile he could manage considering the circumstances. He may be off the hook, but this was still North’s territory and he knew he had to tread lightly until he was out of there. 

The first thing he saw as he stepped into the hallway was Jack springing up from his position against the wall across from the door, his glower immediately shifting into something that looked more like relief. Hiccup couldn’t help but be a little touched by that, although the look was short-lived - having vanished as soon as Jack laid eyes on the two people who had walked out of the room behind Hiccup. 

“Finished your interrogation, then?” Jack asked them grouchily, narrowing his eyes at North and Aster in turn.

Aster crossed his arms defensively. 

“Blimey - you’re in a real state today, aren’t ya’?” 

Jack rolled his eyes, but he seemed to deflate a little as if realizing Aster might be right. 

“Well… what’s your verdict, then?”  

“‘Verdict’?” North asked in puzzlement. 

“Did he pass your ridiculous little ‘human test’?” Jack replied, looking back at them and wiggling his fingers in a dramatic way.

“Ah! Yes, yes,” North said jovially, nodding his head. “We decided he is just weirdo.” He gave Hiccup a pat on the back that nearly knocked him off his feet as he said it. 

“Uh… thanks?” Hiccup said back at North, shaking his head incredulously.

“You are quite welcome!” North grinned bigger, apparently missing the sarcasm behind Hiccup’s words. 

Despite his previous mood, Jack almost looked amused now. 

“Well, I could have told you that he was a weirdo...” he said under his breath, the corner of his mouth twitching.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the comment, but refrained from rising to the bait. 

“Right. Well, not that this hasn’t been a complete and utter joy… but I really should be getting back to Pippa.” 

“You do not wish to stay for tea?” North’s face turned crestfallen. “Perhaps some cookies and fruit cake?”

“Uh, maybe another time…” Hiccup said politely, confused by what seemed like genuine disappointment in North’s tone. An hour ago he was treating Hiccup as an enemy, and now he was upset Hiccup didn’t want to spend more time with him? The conflicting “naughty” and “nice” tattoos on his forearms that Hiccup had gotten a glance at during the interrogation were starting to make more and more sense. The man was straight-up neurotic.

Jack rolled his eyes at North’s invitation and grabbed both of Hiccup’s shoulders to start pushing him back down the hall where they had come from. Hiccup startled at the sudden physical contact, trying his best to suppress the tingly feeling he was suddenly hit with from Jack’s cold touch. 

“Now you want to have him in for a cup of tea? You guys are really something, you know that?” Jack said bitterly, evidently oblivious to Hiccup’s shift in demeanor. The spirit’s pace picked up as he steered Hiccup away from the steel room as quickly as he could, forcing Hiccup to instead focus on not tripping over his own feet rather than the icy fingers gripping his shoulders. 

“What! What is problem?” North asked in bafflement as he and Aster moved to follow them down the hall, leaving the yetis to trail behind them. Jack merely grumbled under his breath and kept up his quick momentum until they were back out into the main area of the shop, where he finally brought them to a halt. 

Despite his eagerness to get home after the time he had spent in that room, Hiccup couldn’t help looking around in wonder again - particularly at the large globe circulating in the centre of the area. He had been so excited earlier at the possibility of getting an inside look of the Shop, and he felt a pang of regret as he stared at the globe longingly. It seemed like a real shame to miss out on such an opportunity, so much so that he almost turned to Jack to ask him to reconsider staying for North’s offer of tea... but he knew that Pippa would be coming home soon, and he really did have to get back. 

“Alright,” Jack said, rounding on North and Aster with crossed arms as the rest of the group came up behind them. “Make with the portal. Come on.” 

“Oh, don’t get your knickers in a knot...” Aster muttered with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms to mirror Jack. He gestured towards Hiccup. “The boy’s fine.”

“Right,” Jack huffed. “I’m sure he was just ‘fine’ with being held against his will in a metal room with you two goons for an hour...” Hiccup was once again surprised by how offended Jack was on his behalf, although he did appreciate it nonetheless.

“Bein’ a bit overprotective, don’t you think?” Aster barbed.

Jack’s face turned a violent shade of pink, and he scoffed again. 

“W-what? T-that’s not,” he spluttered in indignation. His frown intensified, despite the blush on his face. “I-I just don’t like the idea of you guys terrorizing innocent humans. You’re gonna’ give the rest of us a bad name!”  

North simply bellowed a laugh and came round to pull Hiccup into an awkward one armed hug against his side. 

“Nonsense. We had lovely chat.” Hiccup couldn’t help but raise his eyebrow at that, but he held his tongue. “You will have to come back for tea some time soon, da?” 

“Uh… right…” Hiccup stammered, trying to squirm out of North’s tight grip. North - who was oblivious to Hiccup’s discomfort - gestured to Phil, who obediently removed a snow globe from his satchel and then smashed it on the floor. 

Jack took no time at all to grab Hiccup by the elbow and help yank him out of North's grasp, dragging Hiccup away from the bigger man and towards the portal. Hiccup felt the spirit’s arm tighten around him as he glared behind them at North, and regardless of what Jack had just said a minute earlier, Hiccup didn't think he was imagining the overprotective vibe Jack was giving off. He wasn't sure what to think about that, considering they had only known each other a couple of days themselves - and he felt heat rise up the back of his neck. 

"Don't think we aren't going to talk about this later, by the way," Jack said firmly as he and Hiccup stood at the edge of the portal, his hair fluttering in the wind that came from it. He was looking between North and Aster like a parent might be between two children during a scolding. 

Neither of the other men seemed even remotely rattled by Jack's threat. 

"Perhaps next time you visit, I show you more of the workshop!" North beamed at Hiccup, acting as if he hadn't even heard Jack. "Maybe see more of where we build toys, da?"

"Really?" Hiccup said, a genuinely excited smile on his face as he subconsciously took a step back from the portal.  

Jack's scoff of annoyance from beside him reminded him that they were still supposed to be mad at North. His smile melted away and he sent Jack an apologetic wince instead. Jack rolled his eyes, then once again shoved Hiccup through the portal without any notice.

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“So…” Hiccup said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “That was… something.” 

Jack exhaled and looked around the backyard. He was still a little worked up, but he did feel more relaxed now that they were back in Burgess.

“I did mention that I had next to nothing to do with this plan, right?” 

“You didn’t really have to.” Hiccup smirked, a teasing glint appearing behind his eyes. “Despite your many character flaws… abduction and imprisonment don’t really seem like your type of thing.” He paused and narrowed his eyes into the distance. “Mind you, they really didn’t really seem like Santa Claus’ thing, either…”

Jack laughed and rolled his eyes, loosening up a little bit more. 

“Maybe not to you. I definitely should have known better.” Hiccup looked back at Jack with a raised eyebrow. “Let’s just say I’ve got some first hand experience...” Jack explained, shrugging his shoulder.

“Ah,” Hiccup nodded, looking equal parts sympathetic and amused. A beat went by before Hiccup’s smile slipped away and he instead worried his bottom lip between his teeth. “You, uh... think they’re still suspicious of me?” 

“Nah,” Jack said with a swat of his hand through the air, trying to ebb some of the concern he could hear behind Hiccup’s question. “But if it makes you feel better, I’ll make sure to sort them out next time I see them,” he added with a wink. “They’re very intimidated by me.”

Jack was happy to get exactly what he was looking for when Hiccup laughed. 

“Right… It sure seemed like they cared very deeply about your opinion when they locked you out in that hallway…”

“Hey - I’m sure I could have gotten back in if I tried hard enough,” Jack said with a smirk. “I am the reason North has to reinforce his base the way he does, after all.” 

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head down at his feet, sticking his hands in his coat pockets. 

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” 

Jack laughed with him, but eventually their laughter died out and a silence came over them. He found himself uncharacteristically at a loss for something to say to fill the void as the seconds stretched on. Talking to Hiccup still didn’t seem to come as easily to him as talking to his younger friends did. 

“Well, I think I’d better get inside…” Hiccup finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence and hesitantly looking back up at Jack. “I’m sure Pippa will be home any minute now.” 

“Oh, right…” Jack agreed, wondering why he suddenly felt disappointed. “Any idea what you’re going to say to her?”

Hiccup puffed up his cheeks and blew his breath out. 

“Think I can convince her it was all her imagination?” 

Jack chuckled. 

“If you’re even half as smart as Pippa, you know the answer to that is ‘absolutely not’.”

“Guess I’ll just have to tell her the truth,” Hiccup said begrudgingly. “I might spare her some of the details, though. I don’t think she needs to know that Santa Claus keeps an impenetrable interrogation room down the hall from where he makes her favourite toys.”

“Probably not…” Jack said with another small laugh. “So… guess I’ll see you around, then?” 

“Sure, yeah,” Hiccup said, nodding his head. “You, uh… obviously know where to find me?” he asked awkwardly, gesturing to the house behind him as he started to ease his way towards the back door. 

“You bet,” Jack said, just as awkward as he started to back away from Hiccup in return. “And next time I promise to knock,” he added, cringing apologetically.

“That's all I ask,” Hiccup said, his grin stretching as he reached for the doorknob. He paused before turning it, his smile softening just a little as he looked back at Jack once more. “Okay, well… See ya’, Jack.” 

“Yeah… See ya’,” Jack replied, giving the man a tiny smile of his own and a shy wave before leaping off into the wind. 

Somehow - despite North and Aster’s ridiculous scheme - the day hadn’t ended up to be quite the disaster Jack had assumed it would be.

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Chapter Text

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A week after his first encounter with Jack, Hiccup sat at his desk in his bedroom and stared out the window at the darkening skyline, one hand propping his head up while the other unconsciously sifted through Toothless’ fur on his lap. The only sounds to be heard besides the quiet music chiming from his laptop were those of the cat’s gentle purring. He had been trying to get through a small mountain of school assignments that had been evading his attention for several days, but he’d yet again become distracted by his thoughts.  

The initial elation and shock of his discovery last weekend had been steadily shifting into more of a feeling that reality had been yanked out from underneath him. He hadn’t been able to focus on very many of his classes all week, and his work had consequently been piling up. His Ancient Mythologies class was proving to be especially difficult to get through without his mind wandering in directions it shouldn’t. Every myth, legend, and lore that they discussed in class had him wondering if they were based off of a real being that was out there at that very moment. In fact, he had resigned himself to the idea that they almost all certainly were. 

It was a lot to take in, and all week he’d felt himself edging closer and closer to a nervous breakdown. There was no one in his life he could share this with—no one who would believe him, and honestly, he wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t. The only person he could talk to about this strange new world was Pippa, but the last thing he wanted was to burden her with his issues. Not only did he hate the idea of worrying her, but he doubted she’d really understand what he was struggling with. For Pippa, who was still a child, believing in magic came naturally. For him—an adult who’d long ago decided he understood how the world worked—accepting it was something else entirely.

He had entertained the idea of trying to talk to Jack several times throughout the week, thinking that he may at least be able to help answer some of the numerous new questions that Hiccup had swirling through his brain. He figured having some tangible facts from someone who knew more than him might help him better work through this, rather than stewing in his own incomprehension and letting his anxiety about it build up. Plus, Jack had offered the first time they met to answer any other questions he may have. 

But that then begged the question - how exactly does one contact Jack Frost? 

He had tried to subtly find out if Pippa had any plans to hang out with him through the week, but he didn’t want to seem too overeager and arouse her suspicions. From what he had gathered, Jack just kind of showed up around the neighbourhood whenever he pleased - usually on weekends when the kids were out of school. Hiccup had been hopeful he’d somehow see him before the weekend, but it was now Friday evening and he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the guy since their little excursion to the North Pole. 

Sighing in exasperation when he realized he had zoned out and was once again neglecting his work, he closed his eyes and let his forehead drop down against his desktop with a thump, his hands coming up to cradle the back of his head. He was about ready to give up on it and call it an early night. The sooner he went to sleep, the less time he had to dwell on his thoughts. Tomorrow would be Saturday and - with any luck - he’d get to talk to Jack.   

Tap tap tap. 

Hiccup’s head shot up from the desk, and he immediately looked towards the window he had just been staring out of seconds earlier. As if Hiccup’s mere thoughts had been enough to summon him, there was Jack Frost - sitting on his staff and floating in mid-air outside of Hiccup’s second-story bedroom. He gave Hiccup a timid looking smile and a small wave, as if he wasn’t sure if he should be there or not. 

An unexpected huff of laughter at his sheer luck came out of Hiccup, and he immediately removed his sleepy pet - who protested with a quiet, grumpy meow - from his lap so he could move towards the window. 

At the window, he gave Jack a reassuring grin and a wave of his own before sticking his fingers underneath the frame to pull it up and open. He had to bend down some in order to see through the open section of the window, so he crossed his arms on top of the windowsill so that he could lean down more comfortably. 

“Nice to see you knocked this time,” he said sarcastically, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. 

Jack laughed quietly, some colour rising in his cheeks. 

“Figured I shouldn’t push my luck,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Although, I see you still don’t lock your windows. You’re not exactly making it difficult for intruders...”

“Well, I never had to worry about intruders before I met you,” Hiccup returned. He raised an eyebrow. “Why…? Are you suggesting I need to make it more difficult? Gotten wind of any new kidnapping plots that I should know about?”

“No,” Jack said with a roll of his eyes and another laugh. “But I promise to warn you next time, if I do,” he added, jokingly placing his hand over his heart as if swearing to it.

“Good,” Hiccup said with a chuckle of his own. He uncrossed one arm so that he could prop his chin up in his hand. “So - if it’s not trespassing or abduction - then what does bring you to my window?” He was pretty sure you couldn’t actually summon Jack Frost just by wishing hard enough, but Hiccup could never truly know for sure about any of this anymore.

Upon Hiccup asking the question, the humorous ambience that had quickly been built from their banter seemed to erode into something more delicate. Jack suddenly looked a little evasive. 

“I was just over talking to Jamie about plans for this weekend...” he replied, rubbing the back of his neck and vaguely gesturing down the street towards where Jaime lived. “Happened to fly by and, uh... saw you with your head down on the desk. Thought I’d better check in...”

“Ah,” Hiccup said awkwardly, quickly looking down at the window ledge he was still leaning on. He unpropped his chin so that he could pick at a piece of chipping paint on the windowsill, suddenly feeling embarrassed and fidgety. “You saw that…” 

“Yeah… Is everything… okay?” Jack asked stiltedly, looking at a loss for what he should be saying. “You didn’t look so good.”

Hiccup sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He had been wanting to talk to Jack for several days, but now that Jack was actually here in front of him the thought of sharing his concerns with him seemed a little uncomfortable considering they still hardly knew each other. He looked back at Jack as he tried to quickly make up his mind.

A few seconds later, he came to a decision and blew out another long breath. Wasn’t this the very opportunity he had been waiting for all week?  

“I guess I just haven’t been processing all of... this... very well,” he finally said, hesitantly gesturing at Jack and his floating in mid-air. 

“Oh,” Jack said quietly in surprise, eyes flicking off to the side. “Is there... anything that I can do to help with that?” he asked, still looking unsure as he met Hiccup’s gaze again. 

“Maybe, actually. I don’t know…” Hiccup said with a shrug. “I guess I’m just looking for some more information? I think it would help, anyway.” A small gust of wind chose that moment to blow through his open window, inciting an involuntary shiver from the man. “It’s kind of cold with this window open, though. Do you, uh… wanna’ come in?” he asked, shuffling to the side of the window and gesturing towards his bedroom. 

Jack blinked, looking caught off guard. 

“Oh-”

“Sorry-” Hiccup added hurriedly as he started to blush, immediately realizing his mistake upon seeing Jack’s reaction. He shouldn’t have assumed that Jack wouldn’t have anything more important or interesting to do than answer more of Hiccup’s boring questions. “I should have said ‘if you have time’. I totally get it, if you’ve got somewhere else you need to be...”

“No, no - it’s, uh... no problem,” Jack said quickly, giving Hiccup an encouraging smile as he crawled through the open window. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve got nothing else on the agenda tonight.”

“Okay… Well, uh... thanks,” Hiccup said quietly, giving Jack a tiny smile as he moved to close the window.  

He turned back to face Jack, but something about the window now being sealed shut behind them made him instantly feel more nervous. Perhaps feeding off of Hiccup’s sudden tense energy, Jack’s smile soon became stiff and overly-polite-looking. A few moments went by in which neither party said anything or seemed to know how to start, the air becoming thick with discomfort. The quiet sounds of Pink Floyd ringing out from Hiccup’s laptop behind him seemed to only amplify how silent the two men had become. 

Jack finally cleared his throat, apparently deciding to take the initiative. 

“So…” he said, steadfastly looking around the bedroom as if searching for something to save him from the situation. 

“So…” Hiccup echoed, feeling like an idiot for not being able to follow-up with anything better. He looked at the floor and ran his fingers through his hair. When he raised his head back up, their eyes met and they both smiled awkwardly again before quickly looking away, Jack rubbing the back of his neck as the slightest tinge of pink decorated his cheeks. 

Why was this so uncomfortable? And why did that seem to keep happening to them? Based on what Hiccup had seen, around other people Jack had enough charisma for the both of them and then some - but maybe Hiccup was just so astonishingly socially-inept that he could turn any interaction into a cringeworthy one without even trying. 

He wondered again if he was overstepping by asking Jack to hang around. Jack might not have anything better to do, but it’s not like they were friends - he certainly wasn’t obligated and didn’t owe Hiccup anything. As the silence continued to stretch on for several more seconds, a sudden urge to give Jack an out overcame him. 

“Look, Jack - you’re sure this isn’t… weird?” Hiccup blurted bashfully, rubbing the inside of his elbow with his other hand. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to - really. I’d understand.” 

Jack’s head snapped back towards Hiccup, looking equal parts surprised and confused. 

“N-no, that’s not it,” he said, shaking his head. His expression changed into a slightly guilty one. “Sorry, it’s just… I don’t have a lot of experience with… this.” He gestured at Hiccup. “Uh… comforting people,” he clarified, avoiding eye contact again. 

“O-oh,” Hiccup blinked in surprise, his mouth agape. He blushed, a little abashed at Jack’s phrasing. “That, uh-”

“-or at least, people who are over the age of 12 years old…” Jack mumbled overtop of him, his own flush deepening.

“-right, right…” Hiccup nodded. “That, uh- that would make sense, yeah...” Despite his embarrassment, he found himself to be relieved that it wasn’t that Jack didn’t want to stay and help - it was simply that he didn’t know how to. “Well, I think all I really need right now to make me feel better are some answers. I just wanted to ask you some more questions… if that's okay?” 

“Y-yeah... I think I should be able to handle that,” Jack said, smiling with a little bit more sincerity this time.

Feeling slightly more confident now, Hiccup turned towards his desk and pulled out the vacated chair before they could fall into another horrible silence. 

“Uh, here-” he said, gesturing for Jack to sit. He then took a seat himself on the edge of his bed, careful not to disturb Toothless in his new napping spot on the corner of the bedspread. Jack leaned his staff against the desk and sat in the chair to face Hiccup, his back as stiff as a board against it and his hands clasped on top of his lap.

“Right, so…” Jack said, still looking very out of place but trying his best regardless. “Questions?” 

“Questions, yes,” Hiccup nodded in agreement. “Right - uh, first question…” He chewed his bottom lip in thought and tapped his foot on the ground, trying to decide what to ask first.

Come on Hiccup, this is your chance to get your answers - think of something!

“Oh! Okay… The Loch Ness Monster - real or not real?” 

The words hung in the air between them for a single fleeting second - Jack blinking in confusion as he absorbed them - before Hiccup was already regretting saying them. 

Jack’s face abruptly deadpanned, all his previous sense of nervousness vanishing in an instant.

 “Really?” he asked sarcastically, crossing his arms against his chest. “That’s your first question?” 

“No - god... I’m sorry,” Hiccup said with an apologetic cringe, slapping a hand over his eyes and mentally kicking himself for being the way that he was. “I panicked and it was the first thing I could think of,” he admitted. The small huff of laughter that came from Jack only enhanced how stupid he felt. 

“Well… for the record, the answer is ‘real’,” Jack said, a smug grin now fixed to his face.

“Wait - seriously?” Hiccup asked in astonishment, his hand dropping from his face and his humiliation immediately forgotten. 

“Seriously,” Jack confirmed, obviously taking great pleasure in Hiccup’s amazement. He seemed to have settled back into his regular, cocksure persona as he kicked up his feet to rest on the bed beside Hiccup.

“Huh…” Hiccup said, starting to feel more relaxed in the conversation alongside the return of Jack’s confidence. He arched an eyebrow in an almost challenging way as he looked back at Jack. “What about unicorns?” 

“Sure - if you know where to look.” 

“…Mermaids?”

“Yep. But those I wouldn’t look for, if I was you.” 

“Leprechauns!” 

“Oh yeah,” Jack nodded, his face now full of distaste. “Nasty little buggers, too…” 

Hiccup exhaled in wonderment, taking a moment to process. He had already personally encountered yetis and elves, so he wasn’t sure why he was still so surprised by any of it. 

“Wait…” he started, eyes wandering to the notebook he had on his desk. “What about… dragons?” 

“Sadly, no,” Jack said, looking sorry to disappoint. “At least, not anymore…” 

“But before…?” 

“Before my time, yes.” 

Hiccup ran a hand through his hair and breathed out a laugh, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“Now that’s something I’d really love to see.”

“What - suddenly I’m not good enough for you?” Jack scoffed, but the smirk on his face told Hiccup that he was only pretending to be offended. “I brought you to Santa’s Workshop."

“Ah, yes - how could I forget?” Hiccup snorted. “I especially loved the part where I was held against my will in a locked, metal room and aggressively interrogated for over an hour…”

Jack narrowed his eyes at Hiccup, still fighting back his smirk. 

“...Touché.”

Hiccup chuckled and leaned back a bit, his arms moving behind him to keep himself propped up. 

“Although, you did introduce me to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny - who are possibly just as dangerous as a dragon, and certainly more terrifying.”

“Well, if you think they’re scary, I hope for your sake that you never get to see Sandy in action,” Jack said with a laugh. 

“The Sandman is really that scary?” he asked, still amused at the thought of it. 

“The scariest. I definitely couldn’t beat him in a fight.” 

“Well that’s not a very apt comparison considering you couldn’t even beat a group of small human children in a fight last weekend,” Hiccup said with a smirk.

 “Hey - I still maintain that my team could have won if I had literally anyone else besides you on it.” 

“You know, I think I even overheard Pippa say that she was so embarrassed by you that she was going to call up Thor and see what he was up to this weekend instead…” Hiccup teased, arranging his face to be as serious as he could muster.

“Very funny,” Jack said sarcastically, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. Hiccup could tell he was fighting as hard as he could to not laugh at the jab, though. “I could definitely beat Thor in a fight, by the way,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Hiccup. 

Hiccup laughed lightly at Jack’s petulance, then bit his bottom lip as his thoughts started to drift off. 

“Thor... I still can’t believe he’s real, too…I mean, I still can’t believe any of this is real...” 

“You keep saying that…” Jack said carefully, his smile becoming more tentative as he sensed the shift in Hiccup’s mindset.

“Yeah, I know,” Hiccup said with a sigh, suddenly turning serious again. He sat forward again to lean his elbows on his knees. “So they’re pretty much all real, then? Even all these gods?” Unicorns and leprechauns were one thing - or even Santa and the Easter Bunny. But the sort of entities that Hiccup was having the hardest time with were the higher beings who seemed like they could have complete undue influence over humans.

“Pretty much,” Jack said with a small shrug, looking as if he was trying to be as delicate as possible. 

“There’s so many, though,” Hiccup said, thinking about the Ancient Mythologies textbook he had been flipping through all week. “And they all have their own jobs involving us. Deities of wealth, war, agriculture… Beings that decide if they want to give us extra luck, or make us fall in love… Even ones that can control whether or not we have fun,” he said quietly, gesturing pointedly at Jack. “I mean - have humans ever had much say in their own lives? Do our decisions really even matter?” 

Jack blinked, but didn’t hesitate for more than a few seconds before answering. 

“Of course they matter…” he said, seeming surprised that Hiccup would even ask such a thing. “All of your decisions are your own. Think of us as more of… uh, helpers. Our jobs don’t have anything to do with controlling your decisions - they’re more or less to help you attain those things on your own. And most won’t generally interfere with things like that unless you ask us to.”

Hiccup mulled Jack’s words over in his mind. Maybe he had overestimated how much ultimate control these beings had. 

“And if we do ask for interference?”

“Well… Even then, you’re still not necessarily going to get any.” Jack cringed and looked away evasively. “Just because you ask a god or deity for something doesn’t mean they have to give it to you. They may help you out somehow if they have the time or the inkling - or they might just ignore you entirely,” he said with a shrug. “Just depends on who you ask.”

Hiccup remembered how Jack had said before that most of the older gods weren’t really doing much nowadays. He wondered if the newer entities like Jack - if one could call a thing over three-hundred years-old “newer” - were there to pick up the slack of the older ones as they lost interest. The thought reminded him of another question he had wanted to ask.

“So… Where exactly did you come from?” 

Jack seemed momentarily alarmed by the question, but he covered it quickly and his eyes turned mischievous. 

“Oh, come on, Hiccup. Has the school system really failed you so badly that I have to explain to you where babies come?”

Hiccup spluttered and his face flushed, not having expected that answer at all. 

“Wait - what? Are you saying you were, uh… That you… uh, have parents?”

Jack’s impish smile turned sad and he shrugged a single shoulder before looking down at the ground. 

“Well, yeah. Or… I used to, anyway…”

Hiccup’s stomach dropped at the implication. It had never occurred to him that Jack might have had a family. He hesitated before asking his next question, not sure if he should continue down this line of questioning or not. The fact that Jack hadn’t changed the subject yet was what made him decide to keep going. 

“Did something… happen to them?”

Jack shrugged again. 

“I’m hopeful that they lived normal, healthy lives well into old age - but honestly, I have no idea.”

“Old age?” Hiccup frowned. He didn’t think beings like Jack would have expiration dates - especially since the others all seemed to have just slowly faded into retirement. And why didn’t Jack know for sure what had happened to them? 

Jack bit his bottom lip and rubbed the back of his neck, his discomfort almost palpable. He looked as if he was trying to decide whether or not he wanted to elaborate. Hiccup wasn’t going to push him, so he sat and waited silently for Jack to decide whether or not to carry on. He only had to wait a few seconds. 

“They were, uh... actually humans,” Jack said, gesturing towards Hiccup. 

Hiccup blinked, trying to wrap his head around that. 

“So your human parents gave birth to… a winter spirit? Did they- did they know that they did that?”

Jack laughed quietly. 

“Not exactly… I kind of… used to be a human, too,” he said, cringing slightly as he awaited Hiccup’s reaction. 

Hiccup’s eyes widened at Jack’s reply, his brain momentarily coming to a complete halt. 

“You…What?” He knew in the back of his mind that he should say more, but found himself at a loss of words. 

“I used to be human...” Jack repeated patiently before giving Hiccup a small, tight smile. 

“That… really only leaves me with more questions,” he finally answered, trying to imagine how Jack could have possibly once been a regular person like himself. 

Jack’s smile softened and he chuckled lightly. 

“I can tell you the story, if you want?”  

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“So they don’t even wear green?” Hiccup mused from his position stretched out on top of his bed, his eyes not leaving the ceiling above him. 

“Nope,” Jack replied. He was still sitting in the desk chair, but at some point in the past couple of hours he had turned it around to sit in it backwards, and was now leaning his chin on his crossed arms on top of the back of it. “And they’re very offended by bare feet.” 

Hiccup snickered. 

“Why don’t you wear shoes?” he asked, turning his head to the side to look at Jack and raising a questioning eyebrow. 

Jack shrugged his shoulders and smirked. 

“Who needs ‘em? You get way better grip without them.” He lifted one of his feet up towards Hiccup’s face and wiggled his toes for emphasis

“God- get those away from me,” Hiccup laughed lightly, grabbing his pillow to shield his face. 

“What? I make sure to keep them clean,” Jack said as he laughed with Hiccup, pulling his foot away.

He couldn’t help the relief that he felt at seeing Hiccup smile, considering the mood that Hiccup was in when he had first arrived earlier that evening. After Jack had shared his own story with Hiccup - something that he was still surprised with himself for doing - Hiccup had asked him many more questions, and Jack had answered them all the best that he could. Their heavy conversation had been gradually getting lighter and lighter, Hiccup’s existential dread eventually becoming more of a keen curiosity. 

“You better keep them clean,” Hiccup answered, taking the pillow away from his face and using it to prop up his head instead. “It’s bad enough that you put them on top of my kitchen table and my bed, let alone my face.” 

Before Jack could retort, Hiccup suddenly released a giant yawn that caught them both off guard, his hand coming up to cover his mouth as he tried to dampen it. Jack knew what that meant, having spent enough time with his other human friends to recognize it. He felt a pang of disappointment - but as much as he didn’t really want to leave, Hiccup had been looking closer and closer to being ready to drop, and Jack knew letting the man rest was the right thing to do.

“Seems like that might be my cue to get out of here and let you sleep,” he said, his smile softening. 

“Hm?” Hiccup started, eyes widening fractionally. “Oh… Yeah, I guess I am pretty tired,” he admitted as he sat up again on the bed and sleepily ran a hand through his hair. 

Jack couldn’t help but chuckle to himself when he saw Hiccup’s hair standing up at all angles as soon as he pulled his hand out of it. A strange and confusing instinct to flatten it back down for him came over Jack, but he instantly pushed it out of his mind knowing that it would be both weird and inappropriate. Instead, he stood from his chair and grabbed his staff before meandering back towards the window. 

“Well in that case, I’ll leave you to your beauty sleep.” He turned back to Hiccup and gave him a mischievous look, pointing at his messy hair. “If there was ever anyone who needed it…” 

Hiccup immediately reached a hand up to the top of his head and blushed as he tried to pat his hair down, causing Jack to laugh again. He watched as Hiccup rolled his eyes, but the slight smirk on the man’s face told Jack that he knew he was only teasing. 

“Ha, ha,” Hiccup said sarcastically, throwing his legs over the side of the bed to stand and approach the window with Jack. 

“Guess I can’t really talk, though,” Jack said sheepishly, pointing towards his own mop of hair. He was very aware of his own situation, his hair having been in a near-permanent windswept state for the past three centuries. 

Hiccup laughed as he glanced at Jack’s hair. 

“I’m glad you said it and not me,” he said, reaching for the window to pull it open for Jack as he spoke. “Somehow you seem to pull it off, though,” he added as he slid the window upwards. 

For some reason unknown to him, Jack felt his cheeks flush at the comment - an annoying reaction that thankfully seemed to only occur when he was around Hiccup.

“Of course I do,” he quickly retaliated, hoping the grin he gave Hiccup when the man turned back around was cocky enough to hide the fact that he was blushing. “I can pull off anything.”

“Of course...” Hiccup rolled his eyes good-naturedly. 

Jack winked at him as he started to climb back out the window, but paused to straddle the windowsill with one leg outside and one still in. 

“You’re, uh… feeling better, then?” 

Hiccup looked momentarily surprised at the question, but the small smile he gave Jack right after seemed sincere. 

“Yeah, actually… I think this helped a lot.” 

“Good,” Jack said, feeling a small burst of pride at the fact that he had been the one to help make Hiccup feel better. At the start of the evening, he didn’t know if he was going to be able to do it - no matter how much he had wanted to. “I’m, uh… glad to hear it.”

“It was actually pretty lucky for me that you stopped in at Jamie’s tonight…” Hiccup added. “I had kind of been thinking of trying to contact you all week.” 

“Uh, yeah... lucky…” Jack quickly agreed, hoping his blush wasn’t coming back. He had gone over to talk to Jamie, but the fact that he had flown by Hiccup’s window afterwards wasn’t really a coincidence. In fact, he had gone out of his way to go that direction because he had been curious to see if Hiccup would be there or not. He hadn’t really expected to stop and chat with him, but when he saw Hiccup face down on his desk he knew right away that he had to check in. “Anyway… Feel free to let me know if you ever have any more questions. I really don’t mind.”  

“Thanks, Jack,” Hiccup said warmly, his cheeks tinted much like Jack’s were a minute prior. “I appreciate it a lot. And, uh… feel free to stop by anytime you’d like.” He ran a hand through his hair and looked off to the side with a shrug. “Even if it’s just to, you know... hang out or whatever.”

Jack was surprised at the offer, but couldn’t deny he was pleased by it. 

“Uh… Yeah, for sure. I’ll make sure to stop by again soon,” he said with a grin. He enjoyed talking to Hiccup - even if it was sometimes awkward for them - and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have another friend. It seemed to him that Hiccup wasn’t really hurting from the company, either. 

“Yeah?” Hiccup asked, looking momentarily dazed by Jack’s reply before giving him another earnest smile. “Okay, uh… great!”

Jack summoned the wind outside and prepared to hop out the window. 

“See ya’ later, then?” It was worded as a question but they both knew it was more of a statement.  

“Yeah, see ya’,” Hiccup confirmed, still grinning. 

The wind quickly carried Jack up and away, but he glanced down at Hiccup’s window one more time. When he saw the other man’s head sticking out of the window and watching him leave, he gave him a wave from the sky - which Hiccup shyly returned. 

As he flew away, he wondered to himself if dropping by the next night would be too soon.

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Chapter Text

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Over the next couple of weeks after Jack’s first drop-in visit to Hiccup, Jack found himself gravitating towards the other man on a near daily basis. 

The first night he went back was the day after their impromptu hang-out session. He’d spent all Saturday outside with the Burgess kids, and had loved every second of it - but he couldn’t deny that he’d been a little distracted. He hadn’t really expected Hiccup to join them considering how adamantly the man had stated the previous weekend that he wasn’t interested in any future snow fights, but Jack still kept sneaking glances down the road, hoping the man had changed his mind. 

After one too many losses, Jamie called him out in front of everyone for “having his head in the clouds” all day. Jack brushed it off, but deep down he knew the kid was right - and he was kind of embarrassed by how desperate he was for a new friend. Even so, the moment the kids were called inside for the night, he found himself flying straight toward Hiccup's bedroom window. 

He was still pretty new to this whole “friendship” thing, and part of him worried that showing up again after only a day might come off as too much, too soon. Just in case, he'd already prepared a flimsy excuse to use if he sensed any trepidation from Hiccup: “Just checking in after yesterday’s crisis - strictly for your benefit, of course. Definitely not because I get kind of lonely sometimes!"  

It turned out that he needn’t have worried at all - because when Hiccup opened the window, he looked just as excited to receive him as Jack was to be there. 

“You’re back,” Hiccup said with a grin, stepping aside without any hesitation whatsoever so that Jack could hop through the window. “Perfect timing.” 

“Oh?” Jack said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as he landed on the other side of the window in front of Hiccup. The casualness with which Hiccup had greeted him had immediately put him at ease.

“I’ve got this assignment I’m working on for my Ancient Mythology class,” Hiccup elaborated, reaching for a paper on his desk and handing it to Jack. “I need to come up with my own ‘hero’ and create a legend about them. Could use a little insight from an expert...”

“Wow… Puts me to work as soon as I arrive,” Jack said as he shook his head in mock disappointment, his eyes scanning the paper as he wandered over to sit on Hiccup’s bed. “Is this what I have to look forward to every time I stop by?”

Hiccup’s smile turned wily and he crossed his arms across his chest. 

“Well, if you’re not willing to help, I’m sure I could call Tho-”

“Don’t even say it,” Jack said overtop of him, pointing a condemning finger at Hiccup. 

“Alright, alright,” Hiccup laughed, raising his hands in a defensive manner. “Does that mean you’ll help?” he asked, taking a seat in the desk chair and giving Jack an expectant look.

 “I suppose,” Jack agreed after a moment. “In fact, I know the perfect example for who you can base your legend off of,” he added, giving Hiccup a cocky grin and gesturing to himself. 

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but the uptick of the corner of his lips gave away his amusement. 

They ended up spending a half an hour or so mapping out Hiccup’s assignment before they got distracted. They spent the rest of the evening arguing about which gods they think would beat other gods, laughing at different imaginary battle scenarios that kept getting more ridiculous than the last. 

It was probably the best fun Jack had ever had with anyone over the age of twelve.

The following morning, Jack had a standard meet-up with the other Guardians. Everything was business as usual - which in other words, meant that Jack was bored to tears from listening to everyone else ramble on about their endeavours. When Aster took the floor to talk about a new chocolate recipe he was working on, Jack tuned the pooka out and instead found himself thinking about his and Hiccup’s discussion from the night before on who would win in a fight between North and Aster. He snorted to himself as he visualized it in his mind, briefly forgetting where he was as he zoned out. 

“Care to explain what’s so funny about this, mate?” a mildly-perturbed voice called out from in front of him.

“Hm?” Jack asked, eyes widening as he sat up straight. Aster was glaring at him from where he stood at the head of the meeting table. Jack looked around the table and realized that North, Tooth and Sandy were all watching him inquisitively as well. A question mark formed above Sandy’s head.

For a second, he thought about apologizing for the interruption and letting Aster continue with his spiel… but where would the fun be in that? 

Instead, he gave Aster a devilish smirk. 

“Oh, don’t worry. I wasn’t laughing at your boring chocolate thing.” Aster huffed at that. “I was just amusing myself by wondering who would win in a fight: North or Bunny?”

Tooth, North and Aster all replied at once.

“Jack! Why would you even say such a thing-?”

“What? Why would Aster and I ever be in fight-?”

“Well, I reckon it’d be me. Obviously-” 

North’s expression immediately turned from confusion at Jack to indignation towards Aster. 

“And what exactly do you mean by ‘obviously’?” he asked, voice taking on a mildly threatening tone. 

Sandy and Tooth both visibly cringed at the change in North’s demeanor, while Jack’s impish grin grew at the idea of some actual excitement finally coming from one of these meetings.

“What?” Aster shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms. “The bloke asked a question and I answered it.”

“Yes, but you should not lie to him,” North replied, spreading his hands out on the table in front of him and leaning in more menacingly towards Aster. The pooka bristled at North’s stance and narrowed his eyes at him in retaliation.

“Please - let’s not fight over something so ridiculous,” Tooth pleaded, reaching out to grab North’s forearm in an attempt to mollify him. She discreetly turned to Jack and gave him a dirty look for what he'd started. 

Jack - unphased by her silent chastising - simply gave her a quick, mischievous wink in return before stirring the pot a little more. 

“If it makes you feel better, North - I definitely think you’d win.” Tooth tsked at Jack, while Sandy silently slapped a hand over his eyes and shook his head. “But Hiccup was firmly on Team Bunny.”

The two sparring beings blinked and snapped out of their staredown before each raising an eyebrow at Jack - a far cry from the reaction that Jack had been hoping for. The ensuing silence made him question what it is that he’d said that was so wrong, his playfulness quickly turning into uneasiness.

“‘Hiccup’…?” Tooth echoed slowly after a few seconds, looking as though she was trying to place the name. “That’s your adult believer, isn’t it?” 

Jack still wasn’t sure why they suddenly all looked so confused. 

“Uh… Know anyone else named Hiccup?” 

“What, you’ve been... hanging out with him, then?” Aster asked skeptically. 

Jack shrugged, wondering how he suddenly felt self-conscious when moments earlier he’d been having great fun at North and Aster’s expenses. 

“A little bit, yeah… What’s wrong with that?” he asked, his voice sounding defensive even to his own ears.

“Nothing wrong!” North said quickly, holding his hands up as if trying to approach a wild beast. “Nothing at all. Is just… surprising.”  

“You just don’t, um…” Tooth bit her lip and winced as she tried to find the right words. “...Don’t necessarily have a strong affinity for making new friends,” she finished delicately. 

Jack scoffed, feeling resentful. 

“Well it’s a bit hard to make friends with people who can’t see you.”

“Doesn’t quite explain your attitude towards us for all those years...” Aster rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath. 

Tooth gave Aster the same dirty look she’d just given Jack a minute ago. 

“Well, I think it’s lovely that you’ve made a new friend,” she said brightly, turning back to Jack.

Jack felt his cheeks burning at the comment. Were he and Hiccup friends, now? He wondered what Hiccup would say if he was asked that, and found himself hoping that the other might agree. 

“Da - is excellent news!” North agreed, flashing Jack a big grin. “Is always nice to have more friends!” 

“And we just worry about you sometimes…” Tooth added tenderly, giving Jack a concerned look.

Jack flushed deeper in humiliation and rolled his eyes, feeling a little pathetic. 

“You guys really don’t have to worry-”

“You must bring him back to shop - for proper tour, this time!” North shouted jovially over him. 

“Oh, yes!” Tooth shrieked in agreement, nodding her head profusely and grinning eagerly at Jack. “I’d love to meet him, this time!” 

Jack let out a single, incredulous laugh. 

“North, you’re out of your mind if you think I’m going to bring him back here after the last time-” 

“Tell me, what is adult boy’s favourite cookie?” North asked, too caught up in his own excitement now to even pretend to listen to Jack. “He strikes me as gingerbread person, but perhaps he prefers shortbread?”

“Why would I know-?”  

“And how are his teeth?” Tooth cut him off again, eyes wide as saucers as she leaned in excitedly. 

Jack reeled back in distaste at the question. 

“H-his teeth?” That confirmed it. He definitely couldn’t bring Hiccup back there. 

“Well, we will just make both,” North continued happily, seemingly talking to himself at that point. He gasped as if the most troubling thought in the world had just occurred to him. “But… What if he is snickerdoodle man?”

“Oh, but I hope he flosses,” Tooth muttered worriedly, clasping her chest and turning her distressed eyes back on Jack. “Please tell me he flosses, Jack. Not enough young people take it seriously...”

Jack made a tormented noise and let his head drop down into his crossed arms on the tabletop. North and Tooth continued to chatter away between them, completely oblivious to his agony. 

“Well...” Aster chuckled, apparently giving up on his chocolate explanation and reclaiming his seat on the other side of Jack. Jack peeked up at him just enough to see the smuggest look he’d ever seen, which all but confirmed that he was probably not going to get any help from the pooka. “I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing Hiccup again.”

Jack simply let out another guttural groan in reply, although it was barely heard over North and Toothiana’s ramblings about what Hiccup’s preference of baked goods and dental practices could be. Sandy - apparently the only empathetic party at the table - patted Jack’s arm in a placating manner as the spirit thunked his head back down against the tabletop, cursing himself for ever mentioning Hiccup. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next night that Jack stopped in to visit Hiccup had also happened to be a night that Hiccup and Pippa’s family had ordered pizza for dinner. 

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” Hiccup said as soon as he threw the window open to let Jack in. He hadn’t actually been sure if Jack would stop by that night, but he’d been prepared just in case. 

“Surely not more homework?” Jack asked as he crawled through, a playful glint in his eyes. 

“Nope - not today,” Hiccup answered. “This one you’ll actually enjoy.” He bit his bottom lip and looked off to the side as he started backing towards his bedroom door. “Or, at least… I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“Hmm,” Jack hummed, looking equal parts intrigued and amused. “Should I… stay here?” 

“I’ll just be a couple of minutes,” Hiccup promised, already opening the door to slip out as he spoke. Jack looked to be holding back a laugh, but he merely shrugged and took a seat, reaching out to pet Toothless on the end of the bed to pay the cat some attention while he waited. 

Hiccup instinctively tiptoed down the hall past Pippa’s room, although he did question himself as to why he was bothering to be so secretive. He was sure that Pippa wouldn’t care that he was hanging out with Jack without her, and she was already aware that he’d spent time with Jack before. 

When he made it downstairs, he beelined for the kitchen, hoping not to catch the attention of his aunt and uncle watching TV in the living room. He opened the fridge and took out the two slices of leftover pizza that he’d insisted on “saving for later” - a move that had been quite the surprise for his family, who was used to seeing him wolf down every last bite when it came to pizza. 

He opened the microwave and popped the pizza in before starting the timer. He drummed his fingers on the countertop as he idly stared at the plate turning inside of the microwave, not noticing that anyone else had entered the kitchen behind him. 

“Eating again already?” 

Hiccup nearly jumped out of his skin at the intrusion. When he turned around, he exhaled in relief when he saw it was just Pippa. 

“We really should consider getting you a bell to wear around your neck,” Hiccup said sarcastically as his heart rate came back down. “But uh, yes… just heating up that leftover pizza.” 

“Hm,” Pippa hummed. “The same pizza you didn’t want to finish an hour ago?” 

Hiccup shrugged and looked to the side as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

“Maybe I changed my mind…” he lied. He could feel himself blushing - probably giving himself away immediately - and once again questioned why his instinct was to try to hide it from Pippa.

Pippa raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not believing him for even a second.

“Or... maybe it’s for Jack,” Hiccup finally admitted, unable to keep up the ruse under his cousin’s scrutinizing gaze. 

The corner of Pippa’s mouth turned up in a smirk. 

“Well, that makes a lot more sense to me than you not being able to finish your pizza.”

Hiccup’s cheeks burned hotter. He’d never been very good at lying. 

The microwave beeped behind him, causing him to jump in terror again. He quickly turned around to open the small door to stop the noises from luring anyone else into the kitchen. He reached for the plate, but then promptly dropped it on the counter with a loud clatter when the heat almost burned his skin off. Wincing at both the pain and at how much louder the clatter had been than the beeping, he shook his burnt hand in the air to try and ebb the pain while Pippa covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Both of them froze as their gazes immediately traveled towards the living room to see if her parents had heard. 

A moment went by before it was clear that they either didn’t hear, or just didn't care. Hiccup breathed out in relief. 

“Just… don’t tell your mom and dad that the leftovers weren’t actually for me, okay?” he begged, pulling his hand up to his mouth to gently blow on it. 

“Obviously not.” Pippa said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. “Even if I did think they’d believe me.” Her face softened. “I actually think it’s nice that you’re getting along, now.” She bit her bottom lip and winced apologetically before continuing. “And that you’ve got someone to keep you company…”

Hiccup’s blush returned at full force at the reminder that he was kind of a friendless loner, but he knew Pippa didn’t mean it in an offensive way and he did appreciate the sentiment. 

“I-… Yeah. Thanks, Pippa.” He gave her a quick smile before reaching for the plate again, making sure not to grab the hot section this time. 

“And tell Jack I say hi,” Pippa added, giving him another teasing smile as she turned to walk out of the kitchen and towards the living room, evidently going to spend the evening with her parents. 

Trying his best not to trip on the stairs as he went, Hiccup dashed back upstairs to his bedroom. He stuck the pizza behind his back before opening the door and stepping into his room. 

Jack was now laying starfish on Hiccup’s bed - his feet up by the pillows so that his head hung over the footboard - with Toothless curled upon his chest, dozing as usual. The cat looked comfortable, but Jack looked bored to death. 

Hiccup couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. 

“I wasn’t gone that long, was I?”

Jack's head jerked up to look at him. His big blue eyes immediately went to Hiccup’s hands, which were still hidden behind his back. A mischievous smirk dressed his face. 

“And what do you have there?” he asked, carefully removing a disgruntled Toothless and jumping up from the bed to run towards Hiccup. 

Hiccup quickly turned his body so that Jack couldn’t see what he had, then turned again the other way when Jack tried to peek around the other side instead. 

“Wow. Three hundred years old and you still haven’t learned any manners.” Hiccup taunted.

Jack rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, but his face gave his amusement away. 

“Fine. Please, can I see the surprise?” he drawled, clasping his hands against his chest and batting his eyelashes exaggeratedly.

Hiccup laughed at the dramatics. 

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” he said with a shrug, pulling the pizza out from behind his back. 

Jack's eyes widened when he saw Hiccup’s proffering. 

“You got me pizza?”

“Just, uh… thought I’d save you some from dinner tonight. You know... as a kind of a ‘thank you’ for helping me with my assignment yesterday…” Hiccup felt his cheeks flushing yet again and shrugged his shoulders self-consciously, suddenly feeling really dumb. “Sorry it’s not something… cooler.” 

A grin stretched across Jack’s face. 

“Are you kidding?” he nearly yelled, snatching the plate from Hiccup to hold it closer to his own face so he could take a whiff of the pizza. “This is the coolest. Trust me - I would know. I’m the ‘King of Cool’,” he added with a cocky wink.

Hiccup merely rolled his eyes in mock-exasperation, but he was genuinely glad to see Jack was pleased with it. He watched the spirit plop down on the bed and immediately start devouring his prize, his eyes closing in satisfaction as he hummed happily around the first bite. Jack looked so elated that Hiccup was almost regretting not saving one of Jack’s slices for himself. 

When Jack opened his eyes again, he caught Hiccup staring at him and swallowed thickly around his food. 

“Oh… Uh, sorry - did you want any?” he asked almost timidly, holding the plate back out towards Hiccup.

Hiccup smiled politely and shook his head lightly, unable to bring himself to say “yes” no matter how badly he wanted to. 

“No thanks, I had some earlier. That’s for you.” The relief behind Jack’s eyes suggested that the other hadn’t actually wanted to share and had just offered out of politeness. “Just try not to get any on my bedspread,” Hiccup added with a fond laugh.

Jack grinned before taking another massive bite out of the slice. 

“Thanks, Hiccup,” he said around his mouthful, swallowing it down before speaking again. “You know, you might be in contention for my new favourite human,” he added, smile turning cheeky. He paused, then tipped his head to the side with a wince and laughed. “Just, uh… don’t tell Jamie.”

The unexpected rush of warmth that was now filling Hiccup’s chest suddenly made the loss of his pizza feel significantly less important. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sometimes Jack got into a wallowy sort of funk - and his next visit with Hiccup was on one of these days.

Usually he would get into these moods on days where he didn’t get to see his friends, didn’t have much going on as far as his Guardian duties were concerned, and had too much time to spend alone with his thoughts. He’d always tried his best to stay positive, but three centuries’ worth of near-invisibility had taken its toll on him - as it would on anyone. 

One morning before a Guardian meet-up - when he, North and Aster were in North’s sitting room waiting for Sandy and Tooth to arrive - Jack was clearly in one of these moods.

All of his young Burgess friends had been occupied the night before with homework and after-school activities - which wasn’t terribly uncommon for a weeknight. The thing that had thrown him off was that he had tried to stop in on Hiccup instead, only to learn from Pippa that the man wasn’t home. Apparently, he had stayed late at the university to work on a group assignment all night. 

Jack wasn’t sure why he’d been so disappointed. He and Hiccup hadn’t even known of each other’s existence until a couple of weeks ago. They both had their own lives that they had been living without the other’s company up until this point. Hiccup was a full-time student who, understandably, sometimes had things he had to do and places he had to be. 

And yet, even though he knew all of this, Jack had still ended up spending the rest of the night sulking in the park, trying to convince himself that he wasn’t jealous that Hiccup was spending time with someone besides him. 

“Jack - are you sure you would not like slice of fruitcake?” North asked from his lounge chair near the fireplace, lifting a serving tray towards Jack for the fourth time that morning. 

“Maybe later, North,” Jack said, giving him as polite a smile as he could muster given his mood.

Aster narrowed his eyes at him from the other end of the couch. 

“You feelin’ alright, mate?”

Jack knew that Aster had become especially good at identifying when he was in one of these moods. While Aster didn’t usually go so far as to try and talk to Jack about what was bothering him, he did at least tend to tease Jack a little less on bad days. He wondered if he was somehow being especially obvious that day if Aster was outright asking him if he was okay.  

He shrugged his shoulders in what he hoped was a nonchalant way. 

“Yeah… As alright as I ever am.” 

He watched Aster and North share a knowing look with each other and could tell right away that they weren’t buying it. 

“Something happen last night?” Aster pressed, raising an eyebrow. 

For the briefest of moments, Jack forgot that he was trying to mask his feelings. 

“Absolutely nothing,” he breathed out introspectively, propping his head up with a fist on the arm of the couch. He caught Aster and North exchanging another concerned glance between them and realized that he might have just given himself away.

“Ah,” Aster replied quietly. “One of those nights.”

No point in denying it, then. 

“Yeah,” Jack admitted with a light sigh, eyes casting down to his lap to avoid the pitying looks of his cohorts.

“You know... you are always welcome to visit here, Jack,” North said kindly, placing a large hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Spend some time around shop?” 

Jack breathed out a sad laugh and rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms across his chest. 

“I’m sure Phil would love that.”

“Could always use some extra help ‘round the Warren, too...’ Aster added quickly. 

“Help with what?” Jack cocked an eyebrow at Aster. “Easter’s still three months away.” 

Aster cringed when he realized Jack was right, his eyes darting to the side. 

“Uh… mowing the lawn? Got a lotta’ grass...” he finished lamely.

 Jack’s face deadpanned, but he spared Aster from any snarky comments, knowing that he and North were just trying to help. To his credit, the pooka did look sorry for even suggesting it.

“Or, uh… What about new friend Hiccup?” North asked, trying to distract from Aster’s ridiculous suggestion. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him recently, da?”

Jack tried his best not to react too much. 

“He had plans yesterday,” he answered, hoping the bitterness didn’t come through in his voice.

“Ah,” Aster said for the second time that morning, giving Jack an appraising look that made the spirit want to squirm.

“It’s alright, really,” Jack said with a sigh, wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible. He pushed himself up from the couch and started wandering around the room, stopping to fiddle with some ornate reindeer statue on the fireplace mantel. “I do have actual work that I have to do. Keeps me occupied most days.” He gave both North and Aster a teasing look. “Some of us have to do our jobs more than one night a year.” 

“Oh for the love of... Not this bloody thing, again!”

“I’ll have you know running shop is full-time job, Jack!”

Jack merely chuckled - pleased with himself for having both successfully wound his friends up and changed the subject at the same time - while North and Aster both started ranting like raving madmen about how their jobs were just as time-consuming as anyone else’s.

Hiccup couldn’t help but notice that the knock on his window that night sounded decidedly more reluctant, and when he went to open it up he could see the same hesitation present in Jack’s facial expression. 

“Oh, you’re home,” the spirit said with a smile, albeit a stiff one. He didn’t automatically make a move to enter like he usually did, and Hiccup got the feeling right away that something might be wrong. “Wasn’t sure if you’d be busy or not, tonight…” 

“Uh, no - not tonight,” Hiccup answered, smiling in what he hoped was a genuine way. “Did you, uh… wanna come in?” He hadn’t actually had to verbally invite Jack in the last couple of times the spirit had visited, but Jack’s tentative body language made him feel the need to ask this time.

“Uh- sure,” Jack answered with an overly polite smile. 

Hiccup stepped aside and gave Jack space to enter, immediately plopping himself down on his bed. He watched as Jack hopped through and shut the window behind him before turning back around to face the room. Normally, Jack would make himself at home by lounging at his desk, or perhaps by sprawling out on the other side of his bed. But when Jack made no move to seat himself anywhere, the bad vibes Hiccup had been sensing were amplified. 

Hiccup didn’t like it one bit.

“Is, uh… everything okay, Jack?” 

“Hm?” Jack said, turning to face Hiccup again and momentarily looking like a deer caught in the headlights. “Yeah, everything’s fine,” he quickly answered, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to brush off Hiccup’s question. 

The awkwardness in Jack’s body language reminded Hiccup of the first couple of times he had been there. He watched Jack fidget under his gaze for a couple of seconds, knowing full well that Jack wasn’t being honest with him. He considered pushing the issue further, but ultimately decided that if Jack wanted to elaborate on what’s bothering him then he would have. 

Hiccup exhaled lightly, his expression softening a little as he conceded to let Jack keep his secret for now. 

“If you’re sure...” he said skeptically, subtly giving Jack one more chance to change his mind. The spirit merely gave him a strained smile and nodded his head.

A few awkward seconds went by before either of them spoke again. Hiccup was trying his best to think of a change of topic that might distract Jack from the tension he was obviously feeling, but Jack ended up breaking the silence first.  

“So,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck. “How did the, uh… ‘thing’ go, yesterday?” 

Hiccup blinked in surprise at the question - partly because he couldn’t remember telling Jack of his after-school plans, and partly because he thought he might have detected some underlying bitterness in the tone of Jack’s question. 

“What - the assignment? It was okay, I guess,” he answered with a shrug, eyeing Jack carefully.

Jack hummed in reply and meandered over to the other side of the room, sticking his hands in his front pocket. 

“Just ‘okay’?” he asked over his shoulder.

This time Hiccup was sure he could hear some underlying disdain. 

“I mean… We got all of our work done, so I guess it was pretty successful,” Hiccup answered slowly. He leaned back to prop himself up with his hands behind him and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Jack’s back, trying to figure out what behind this line of questioning would be bothering Jack.

“‘Successful’,” Jack echoed, nodding his head slowly as he turned back around and traveled back towards the desk. He picked up a textbook off Hiccup’s desk and started flipping through it. “Well… glad it was so successful, then.”

“Right…” Hiccup said, feeling as if he was treading on broken glass but not quite understanding why. He opted to change the subject as quickly as possible. “And, uh… what did you do last night?”

Jack shrugged nonchalantly and leaned back against the desk, eyes still glued to the pages that Hiccup was sure he wasn’t actually reading from. 

“Oh, nothing really. Regular stuff.” Hiccup expected him to elaborate, but instead he suddenly slammed the book shut and started walking across the room again, book still in hand as he walked. “So... did you have fun?”

Hiccup blinked again, confused by Jack’s emotional whiplash and decision to circle back to the topic of his assignment. 

“‘Fun’?” he asked in bewilderment. “Doing school work?”

“With your school friends,” Jack clarified, now walking back towards the desk again - all the while refusing to look at Hiccup. 

“Well, I wouldn’t call them ‘friends’,” Hiccup rebutted, shaking his head incredulously. “We only just met when we got forced into this group together-”

Hiccup cut himself off, clamping his mouth shut. In a moment of startling clarity, he finally realized what the undertone he’d been picking up from Jack’s voice was.

“Wait, wait, wait-” he said, unable to help the smirk that pulled at his mouth as he tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. “Jack, are you… are you jealous?” 

The brief flash of dread Hiccup saw in Jack’s eyes when they finally snapped towards him confirmed his suspicions - but it was very fleeting. Jack was quick to rearrange his face, attempting to feign amusement.

“W-what?” he stuttered with an unconvincing laugh, returning the book back to the desk. “Me? Jealous?”

Hiccup stayed silent, but raised his eyebrow just a little higher.

“N-no way,” Jack said with another chuckle, shaking his head and crossing his arms across his chest protectively as he looked anywhere but Hiccup’s face. “Absolutely not. I mean… why would I be jealous?”

Hiccup - taking great enjoyment from the pink flush that was now filling Jack’s cheeks - merely tilted his head the other way. Jack’s eyes darted back towards him, but he was unable to hold eye contact.

“W-what…” Jack continued, his voice a couple of octaves higher than what Hiccup was used to, “Just because you were hanging out with someone else?” He shook his head and laughed again, loud and inauthentic. “That would just be... ridiculous."

Hiccup pulled a smug face that implied he didn’t think Jack was wrong in calling it “ridiculous”, but he still refrained from saying anything, knowing Jack would keep digging his own hole deeper and deeper if he kept quiet. As expected, Jack buckled under the pressure of silence after just a handful of seconds. 

“Okay, fine,” he muttered petulantly, rolling his eyes and uncrossing his arms to let them flop to his sides as he spoke. “I might have been... a little jealous.” 

Hiccup snorted. 

“But just a little,” Jack repeated defensively, rounding on Hiccup and pointing a menacing finger at him. 

Hiccup held his stare, still smirking triumphantly. It only took a couple more seconds before Jack sighed again and finally deflated.

“Okay, look - I guess I just… got kind of used to popping in every night,” he admitted sheepishly, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He started to pace a little as he spoke towards the floor. “And then I came by yesterday and Pippa said you were out with other people and I know you’re sometimes gonna’ have other stuff going on just like I do but I really just hadn’t been expecting it last night and so I was just…” He paused and breathed out before finally lifting his head back towards Hiccup. “I was just kind of bummed.”

As amusing as it was to see Jack squirm, Hiccup couldn’t help but be endeared by both the reluctant admission and the deep pink that was blossoming across the spirit’s cheeks. He softened almost instantly. He did feel a little guilty when he pictured a sad-looking Jack finding out from Pippa that he wasn’t home, but there was also a warmth in his chest at the idea that Jack would be so affected by not getting to see Hiccup for a day.

“...Would it make you feel any better if I said I hated every second of it?” he finally said, giving Jack a knowing smirk. 

The tension in the air seemed to break and Jack’s embarrassment looked to ebb a little, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. 

“It might…” he admitted coyly, finally taking a seat on the bed beside Hiccup.

“It was really boring,” Hiccup continued, happy to slip back into regular conversation as Jack settled into his spot. “And I don’t really do well with… new people.”

Jack chuckled. 

“What - you? Are you sure? I mean, you seemed so laid-back during our first meeting…” he said sarcastically, nudging Hiccup’s shoulder with his own.

Hiccup tried for a scowl but could feel his smile over-powering it. 

“Well, you’ll have to forgive me for not being more amicable after you’d just pelted me in the face with a snowball.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about. And I’d also like to point out that I’m pretty sure you came out that day with every intention of beating me up.”

“Who says I still won’t?” Hiccup challenged, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’d like to see you try.” Jack’s grin turned sly and he narrowed his eyes at Hiccup. 

Hiccup shrugged and stretched his arms above his head, pretending to yawn. 

“I’m biding my time,” he said, leaning back to lay down on the bed, his arms folded underneath his head to prop it up. “I’m all about the stealth attacks.”

He felt especially pleased when he saw his comment elicit a hearty laugh from Jack, unable to stop a grin from spreading across his own face as he watched. He was glad for how easily they had gone back to their usual banter now that Jack had gotten what he needed off of his chest.  

“Sure you are, Hiccup,” Jack said, voice still thick with laughter. He casually adjusted himself to lay on his side, a fist propping up his head as he looked towards Hiccup.

They fell into a short silence, and Hiccup suddenly became very aware of the fact that Jack was only a couple of feet away from him and that they were lying on his bed. It seemed almost… 

He tried to banish the thought immediately, wondering where in the world it had come from. He swallowed and quickly looked up towards the ceiling, hoping that Jack wouldn’t notice the blush he could feel coming on. Why had his brain even gone there? It really wasn’t that out of the ordinary for two friends to be in this position. Jack looked perfectly at ease - he was the one making it weird by thinking things like that.

“So,” Jack said quietly, clearing his throat. 

Hiccup snapped out of his own thoughts and turned towards him, noticing that Jack now looked a little uncomfortable too. For a brief moment he worried that Jack could somehow sense what he had just been thinking about. Could Jack Frost read minds? Surely he’d have said something about that by now…

“You really hated it with those other people yesterday?” Jack asked timidly.

A flush of relief went through him when he realized Jack’s discomfort was stemming from having to ask that question and not because he could read Hiccup’s bizarre thoughts. He huffed out a small laugh. 

“Hated it,” he confirmed, giving Jack a smile that he hoped eased the self-consciousness he could see behind the other’s eyes. “Trust me - I would have much preferred to have been hanging out with you.” He could feel his blush returning as soon as the words had left his mouth, but the affectionate smile that Jack gave him in return made it hard to regret saying them. 

Or at least it did for a few seconds. 

“Well,” Jack said, smile turning impish as he shrugged his shoulder. “Can’t say I blame you. After all, not everyone can be as cool and fun as I am- oof!”

Hiccup laughed when he stuck his head over the edge of the bed, seeing where Jack had landed on the floor in a heap. Jack blinked up at him for a second - looking equal parts amused and surprised - before narrowing his eyes at the weaponized pillow Hiccup was still clutching in his hand.

Hiccup shrugged dispassionately. 

"Told you I was all about the stealth attacks…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The nightly visits continued for several weeks, going mostly the same way each time. But there was one night where Hiccup surprised even himself. 

He and Jack were in his room, as they always were when they hung out. Jack was lying upside down on the bed with his head dangling over the edge, Hiccup sitting on the floor with his back against the bed beside Jack’s head. They’d been idly chatting away, Hiccup working on a drawing in the sketch pad he had leaned against his knee.  

“And then they just started ganging up on me!”

“Uh-huh,” Hiccup mumbled distractedly, tongue sticking out as he focused on his drawing. “And did you deserve it?” 

“...That’s besides the point,” Jack answered evasively, rolling over on his stomach so he was right side up again. “Don’t they teach kids to respect their elders around here?” 

Hiccup merely snorted, still focused on the spot he was shading in. 

“So,” Jack suddenly changed the subject. “What’re you working on?”

Hiccup jumped at the out-of-the-blue question, instinctively shielding the page from Jack’s line of sight out of habit. He looked up and found Jack looking at him questioningly, arms crossed on the bed and chin resting on top of them. Hiccup bit his bottom lip for a second as he pondered whether or not he wanted to share with Jack. He hadn’t minded working on his art around Jack up until now because the spirit was usually more interested in chatting than whatever Hiccup was doing in his sketchpad, but he supposed he should have known that Jack would ask about it eventually. 

Before he could come to a decision, Jack seemed to sense his hesitation and frowned apologetically, looking a bit dejected. 

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be nosy-” 

“N-no!” Hiccup quickly interrupted, shaking his head. He immediately felt guilty for making Jack feel bad about asking something so simple. “You’re not. I just don’t normally, uh...” He trailed off as he watched Jack’s expression shift from apologetic to curious. 

After a couple of seconds, he huffed out a quiet, self-conscious laugh, then reluctantly moved the paper back towards Jack as he made a decision. 

“It’s, uh... just a dumb drawing,” he said with a blush.

Jack tilted his head in interest as he took the pad from Hiccup’s outstretched hand, but as soon as Jack peered down at the drawing, Hiccup found himself unable to watch his reaction and looked away, feeling embarrassed. 

“It’s uh,” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s just a time-waster, really-”

“You really drew this?” Jack asked in wonderment. 

Hiccup, surprised by the tone in his voice, risked turning his gaze back in Jack’s direction. 

“Uh, yeah…” he answered, blush deepening as he watched Jack carefully trace over the lines of his drawing with one of his fingers. Jack grinned and looked back down at him. 

“This is what you consider a ‘time-waster’?” He laughed incredulously. “This is amazing, Hiccup.”

Hiccup was sure his face must have looked like a tomato by then. 

“I wouldn’t say it’s ‘amazing’...” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. It was a redraw of a dragon he’d been working on for a while - and although he was happy with how it was turning out, he certainly didn’t think it was anything special.

“Can I look through the others,” Jack pleaded, already priming himself to start flipping the pages upon Hiccup’s go-ahead. 

Hiccup bit his lip again. 

“Uh… If you really want to-”

“I do,” Jack nodded excitedly, already flipping through the pages. He shook his head with another bewildered smile as he slowly started to go through each one. “How did I not know you did this?” 

Hiccup shrugged. 

“Probably because I don’t really show people,” he admitted sheepishly.

Jack paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow at Hiccup. 

“Why don’t you?”

“I don’t know.” Hiccup shrugged again and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess because it’s kind of… nerdy.”

“Can’t argue with that…” Jack snorted as he refocused his attention on scouring through Hiccup’s drawings. “These are definitely nerdy,” he teased, giving Hiccup a good-natured smirk.

Hiccup couldn’t help but match Jack’s smile as he rolled his eyes, knowing there was no maliciousness behind Jack’s teasing. 

Jack suddenly paused his page-flipping and his smile softened. 

“Well, except for this one…” He pointed the book towards Hiccup so he could see which drawing he was talking about.

Hiccup grinned as he looked at a drawing he had done in the spur of the moment last week - Pippa stretched out on the couch in their living room after school, nose in a comic book. He shrugged a shoulder. 

“Sometimes I draw other things.”

Jack flipped to another drawing, but suddenly his grin suddenly dropped into a resentful frown - and for just a second, Hiccup’s stomach plummeted at the idea of Jack hating any of his art. 

“Seriously?” Jack asked in annoyance, pointing the sketchpad back towards Hiccup and smacking the page with the back of his hand.

When he saw what Jack was so upset about, he felt instant relief flush through him and tried to stop the laugh from bubbling out of his chest. 

“What?” he asked with feigned innocence, blinking between Jack and the drawing of Thor he had done one night after a Mythologies class in which they had discussed Norse gods. “You know... I think that might actually be my best work.”

“Funny,” Jack said with a scoff. “Because I was gonna’ say that this one kind of sucks.” 

Hiccup laughed, unable to hold the facade while looking at the petulant look on Jack’s face. 

“Aw, come on…” he said, tilting his head to the side. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous again- ow! Jack!”

“Okay, you were right,’ Jack laughed, now kneeling on the bed and pointing to the pillow in his hand while Hiccup rubbed the side of his head. “That was pretty fun.” 

“I hate you,” Hiccup muttered, narrowing his eyes through his smirk as he discreetly reached around the side of the bed for the other pillow that he knew was on the floor. 

“Nah,” Jack said, crossing his arms and sticking his nose up in the air. “You love me- oof!”

Hiccup laughed from his position on the ground as he watched Jack double over, clutching his belly where Hiccup’s pillow had struck. 

“Can’t beat me at my own game, Jack!”

Jack scoffed and peeked up at him through the fringe of his hair, his smile turning devious as he straightened back up. A rush of anticipation went through Hiccup at the sight, knowing what was coming next. 

“Are you challenging me?” Jack asked incredulously, tilting his head to the side. 

For a few seconds they just narrowed their eyes at each other in amusement, each waiting for the other to make a move. 

Neither of them noticed when Pippa worriedly poked her head through the bedroom door a couple of minutes later - drawn by the thumps and yelps she had heard from the other side of her bedroom wall - nor did they notice when she rolled her eyes in exasperation upon taking in the feathery chaos unfolding around the room, withdrawing back into the hall and giggling to herself as she returned to her room. 

“You showed your art to Jack.”

Hiccup looked up from the assignment he was working on at the kitchen table, startled by his cousin’s sudden presence in the room. 

“Hm?”

“Your art,” Pippa repeated, giving him a curious smile as she pulled her wet coat and gloves off and sat at the table with him. “Jack was going on about how good it was.” 

Hiccup felt his cheeks flush and a burst of warmth behind his chest at the thought of Jack thinking his art was good enough to talk about. 

“O-oh…” he stuttered. “I did show him some of it, yeah…”

Pippa hummed as she rested her chin on top of her crossed arms on the tabletop. 

“You’re normally really weird and secretive about that.” 

Hiccup shrugged and looked off to the side, wondering why he felt as if he was back in Santa Claus’ interrogation room. He knew deep down that it had been significant that he had shown his art to somebody outside of his family, but for some reason he was reluctant to admit it to Pippa.  

“He just... asked if he could see it,” he finally answered, aiming for nonchalant. “It’s not that big of a deal.” 

“Your face is really red right now,” Pippa commented with a smirk. 

“It is not,” Hiccup huffed, unconsciously adjusting his fringe to cover his forehead. 

“Mmm, yes it is-”

“Fine. But it’s warm in here,” Hiccup muttered, pulling at the top of his sweater to illustrate his non-existent point. 

Pippa merely stared at him pensively, although there was definitely still some underlying amusement in her look. After a long moment, she shook her head and giggled. 

“Whatever you say, Hiccup,” she said, rising from the table.

Hiccup watched her stand, not liking the tone she had used at all. It was far too… knowing. As if she was in on something that he wasn’t. He had the instinct to defend himself - he just wasn’t sure what it was he was supposed to be defending himself from.

“By the way, you guys should probably try and keep it down tonight…” Pippa said, giving him a cocky smile and rolling her eyes as she started to head for the doorway. “I’m not sure I can keep coming up with good excuses for Mom and Dad for what noisy things you’re doing up there when you’re supposed to be by yourself.”

She walked out the door without waiting for Hiccup to respond - which was probably for the best, since the poor man was far too embarrassed to have spoken anyways. 

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“I really like this song,” Jack said one night, stretched out on Hiccup’s bed with his arms crossed underneath his head like a pillow.  

“Yeah?” Hiccup asked from his desk, a small smile tugging at his lips as he looked away from his schoolwork on his laptop and towards Jack. “You’re a Who fan, then?”  

Jack raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look at Hiccup. He recognized the band’s name - he’d been around for a long time, after all - but he wouldn’t have been able to actually recall any of their music. 

“If that’s who sings this, then... I guess so?”

“Uh, yeah - it is,” Hiccup said, eyes turning curious. “Do you… listen to a lot of music?”

Jack shrugged. 

“I know about it,” he answered. “Or… some of it. I hear kids talking about most of the popular stuff. I just don’t really listen to it. Never really had a way to...” 

Hiccup hummed. 

“I guess that makes sense. Do you like listening to music?”

“I never really thought about it before now,” Jack replied. “All I knew is that I hated the music at North’s place,” he added with a shudder, thinking about the music that North sometimes subjected them to at the workshop. But when he compared it to Hiccup’s music, they were completely different. He gave Hiccup a small smile and shrugged again. “I think I like most of the music I hear here, though.”

“Hmm…” Hiccup murmured, biting his bottom lip in thought for a moment. “I could… give you some music? Like… to take with you for when you’re not here.” 

Jack pushed himself up to a sitting position, intrigued by the idea. 

“What do you mean?”

Hiccup turned to his desk and started rifling through his drawer. 

“I mean, I mostly just stream my music on my phone or computer nowadays. But I’ve still got an old iPod around here- Ah! Here it is.” 

Jack watched as Hiccup pulled out a small rectangular device that he knew he’d seen many times before - although obviously, he’d never touched one. 

“I’ve already got lots of music on here,” Hiccup continued, suddenly looking excited. He plugged the device into his computer with a cord. “But I’ll put some more on here for you and charge it up, and then you can take it with you.” 

Jack stood from the bed and moved to watch over Hiccup’s shoulder. 

“You just put whatever music you want on it?” 

“Sure,” Hiccup answered nonchalantly, still focused on his computer. “I’ll put some more Who on there for you, and maybe… Hmm, what else?” He seemed to be talking to himself now. “Let’s see… We’ll get some Ramones, maybe some Stones - oh! Definitely need some Floyd!”

Jack watched as the man continued to list off band names, a fond smile on his face as he waited patiently in silence. He honestly had no opinion on this one way or the other, but he was admittedly endeared by how excited Hiccup seemed to be about it. 

“There,” Hiccup said, grinning up at Jack after several minutes. “That should be enough for now.”

He blinked down at the small device that Hiccup was now placing in his hand. 

“Thanks,” he said. “But, uh... I have absolutely no idea what to do with this.”

“Right…” Hiccup winced apologetically. “Sorry,” he said, standing from his chair to stand beside Jack so they could look down at the iPod together. 

He gave Jack a tutorial of how to use it - showed him the way to switch between songs, how to pause and play, and how to put the headphones in. By the time he was finished, Jack wasn’t sure how much of it he had retained - but he pretended as if he understood and told himself he’d figure it out later when he was alone.

“Next time I see you, you can tell me what you liked and what you didn’t and we’ll add some more,” Hiccup added with an enthusiastic grin.

“Sure,” Jack chuckled, still amused by Hiccup’s eagerness. “Sounds good.” 

“I think I hate Pink Floyd,” Jack stated the next night, already pushing his way through the window before Hiccup could even say “hello”. 

Hiccup scoffed, forgoing his own greeting in his apparent shock at Jack’s announcement. 

“What?”

Jack had listened to every song on the iPod throughout the night before and all of that day, surprised by how much he enjoyed listening to the music while he went about his work. Most of it had been great, and he suddenly understood what the big deal about listening to music was.

...With one exception, of course. 

“I just don’t care for them,” he said honestly, shrugging his shoulders as he strode across the room and flopped onto Hiccup’s bed.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” Hiccup looked off in the distance, shaking his head in bewilderment. 

“They’re just so… boring,” Jack replied, scrunching up his nose in distaste.

He heard Hiccup let out a small huff of incredulous laughter as he returned his glare to Jack. 

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“Just calling it like I see it, Hiccup,” Jack said, watching Hiccup take a seat at his desk. 

“Well,” Hiccup said, crossing his arms against his chest, “I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.” He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes mirthfully at Jack. “Even if their opinion is wrong…”

Jack rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped his lips. 

“Whatever,” he said, sitting up on the bed to face Hiccup and taking the iPod out of his pocket to hold it out in front of him. “I did like most of the other stuff, though.”

“Well, then I guess there may be hope for you yet,” Hiccup said good-naturedly, rising from his chair and relocating to sit on the bed beside Jack. “Show me which ones you liked.” 

“U-uh, yeah… okay,” Jack stuttered, momentarily caught off guard by the sudden warmth of Hiccup’s body as the man pressed in towards him so that he could peer down at the iPod in Jack’s hand. He blinked and shook his head at himself - trying to rid himself from the strange feeling - then quickly carried on with what they were doing.

They divided it up between bands that Jack had really liked (Queen, The Ramones, Fleetwood Mac, and The Who had all been favourites of his) and bands that he had kind of, sort of liked. The only one he’d say he outright disliked was still Pink Floyd, which Hiccup continued to insist was merely a character flaw of his and not, in fact, because they weren’t any good. 

“Hmm…” Hiccup hummed, once they had gone over it all. “You seem to like the more up-beat stuff.”

“You mean the ‘not boring’ stuff?” Jack countered smugly.

Hiccup rolled his eyes in exasperation. 

“They’re not boring.” He grabbed the iPod from Jack’s grasp and plonked himself down on the desk chair. “But I do have an idea of some more things you might like, now.”

“I don’t know…” Jack drawled, failing to hold back the amusement in his voice. “Should I really be taking music advice from somebody who finds Pink Floyd enjoyable?” 

Hiccup immediately rose to the bait, turning his chair to glare at Jack. 

“Just for that, I’m putting twice as much Pink Floyd on there.”  

“So that’s a thumbs up for Supertramp, David Bowie and Electric Light Orchestra,” Hiccup muttered to himself the next night, eyes glued to his computer. “And a thumbs down for U2.” 

“Big thumbs down,” Jack reiterated from his regular spot on Hiccup’s bed. 

“Noted,” Hiccup answered, turning his chair around to face Jack. “I’ve got some more ideas. Mind you, they’re not necessarily things that I would listen to all the time, but… We’ll see what you think of them,” he said with a shrug, whipping back towards the computer.

“And they’re not boring?”

“Definitely not boring.” 

“This is the best music you’ve given me, yet!” Jack happily exclaimed, crawling through Hiccup’s window the next night. Upon seeing Hiccup’s wince as he spoke, he realized that he may have been shouting - probably because he still had the earphones in and the music blaring through them. “Oops… sorry,” he quickly apologized, pausing the music and yanking the earphones out of his ears.  

Hiccup laughed as he closed the window behind him. 

“And what music are we talking about, right now?” 

“This,” Jack grinned excitedly, holding the iPod up for Hiccup to see. “I’ve been listening to it all day.”

Hiccup breathed out another laugh as he saw what was on the screen. 

“I knew it,” he said with a fond smirk and a shake of his head. “You’re a disco fan.”

“You’ve gotta’ give me more of this, Hiccup,” Jack pleaded, thrusting the iPod into Hiccup’s hands.

Hiccup chuckled again as he wandered over to his computer. 

“More ABBA, coming right up.”

“Jack - have you heard a word any of us have said today?” Tooth asked, snapping her fingers in front of Jack’s face to get his attention.

Jack - who had been using one hand to simultaneously prop his head up and hide the fact that he had one earphone in - startled at the snapping. He looked around and realized everyone at the table was staring at him, Tooth looking particularly annoyed from her position beside him. 

“Of course I have,” he lied, looking away evasively as he straightened up in his chair.

“What’s that in your ear?” Aster asked suspiciously, immediately pointing to the side of Jack’s head. 

“W-what?” Jack stammered, slamming his hand back up to his ear to cover it and cursing himself for having dropped his hand to begin with. “N-nothing…”

North narrowed his eyes at Jack. 

“Jack… What are you hiding now?”

"North - you wound me,” Jack said dramatically, clutching his free hand against his chest.

Before anyone else could say anything, Sandy immediately reached up to remove Jack’s other hand from his ear and yanked out the hidden earphone. He raised an eyebrow at Jack and gave him a triumphant smirk as he started spinning the earphone by the cord in between their faces. 

“Uh…” Jack sank further into his seat and laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s… H-how did that get there?” 

“Jack!” Tooth chided, grabbing the earphone from Sandy. “Are you listening to music in the middle of our meeting?” she asked, holding the offending device in front of his face. 

“...I might have been,” he admitted, not seeing a way he could talk himself out of it. 

Tooth tsked, then lifted the headphone up to her own ear to hear for herself. Her disgruntled face briefly changed to confusion. 

“Is this… Is this ‘Dancing Queen’?” she asked incredulously, arching an eyebrow at Jack. Sandy immediately perked up and started silently making grabby hands towards the headphone to indicate that he wanted it back.

Jack couldn’t help but grin at her in confirmation. 

“My new favourite,” he gushed, plucking the headphone back from the bewildered Toothiana and handing it over to Sandy instead.  

Aster huffed out a disbelieving laugh. 

“Since when do you listen to music?”

“Since Hiccup gave me his iPod,” Jack shrugged nonchalantly, watching Sandy excitedly stick the earphone in his own ear.

“But I thought you hated music,” North pouted, no doubt thinking about the numerous times that Jack had insisted he stop playing his over the past year. 

“Nope,” Jack answered, giving him an evil smirk. “Turns out I just hate your music.” 

North made an offended noise. 

“There is nothing wrong with my music,” he retorted bitterly - but a second later he was looking between the rest of the Guardians with a worried look on his face. “You all like it, right?”

Tooth and Aster both hummed and bit their bottom lips as they looked away - trying their best to evade both the question and North’s now pleading look - while Sandy just happily bopped away in his seat, completely oblivious to the conversation at the table.

“Sorry, buddy,” Jack said to North, leaning back in his chair with a cocky grin as he crossed his arms. “But it’s pretty bad.”

“Oh, right...” Aster quickly countered before North could do anything but scoff. “Because ABBA is so much better than the rubbish that he listens to,” he said, gesturing towards North with his thumb.

“What do you mean, ‘Rubbish’? ” North scoffed even louder as he turned his glare on Aster. 

Jack rolled his eyes at Aster, ignoring North’s outrage. 

“And let me guess - you’re a Pink Floyd fan...”

Aster shook his head in confusion at the specificity of Jack’s accusation. 

“I- I mean, sometimes I like a little Floyd, yeah...” he said defensively. “What of it?”

“Pffft,” Jack said, rolling his eyes. “Typical.”

“Boys…” Tooth scolded, giving the three of them a warning look. 

“Sorry...” they all three muttered in unison, none sounding sincere but all at least in agreement to end the argument before it escalated.

A few awkward seconds went by before North cleared his throat. 

“You know, Jack...” he started, taking the initiative to return them to the original point of their conversation. “If I had known you wanted music player, I could have given you one.” He gestured broadly around the area. “We have lots here at workshop...”

“I guess you could have…” Jack shrugged, giving North a small appreciative smile for the offer. “But, uh... Hiccup picks out music and puts it on this one for me. And he’s pretty good at knowing what I would like.” 

“He picks it out for you…?” Aster tilted his head to the side and gave him an entertained smirk. “What - is this like the modern day version of making someone a personalized mixtape?”

“Mixtape?” Jack echoed, looking at Aster in confusion. He was already starting to bristle again, not liking the amusement he could see behind Aster’s look even if he didn’t understand why it was there. “What do you mean?”

Tooth made a small gasping noise as if something had just dawned on her. 

“Oh,” she said, pointing at Aster in understanding as they shared a meaningful look. Her face softened as she turned back to Jack and gave him a syrupy-looking smile. “Oh…” she exhaled again, clutching a hand to her chest.

Jack narrowed his eyes in suspicion at both of them in turn, even more confused by Tooth’s sudden dreamy demeanor. 

“What?” he repeated a little bit more forcefully, feeling as if he was missing something.

“...Mixtape,” North muttered to himself, stroking his bead and looking at the table. His eyes suddenly widened and he looked between Aster and Tooth. “Oh! Mixtape! You don’t think…?”

“Think what?” Jack nearly shouted, voice a little panicky as he leaned forward and looked between all three of them. There were few things he hated more than being out of the loop.

“Seems like they’ve been pretty inseparable, lately,” Tooth said giddily to North, apparently oblivious to Jack’s annoyance.  

“Hey,” Jack nearly shouted, standing up to lean over the table and snap his fingers in front of Tooth’s face, much like she had done to him several minutes ago. “What are you guys going on about?” Tooth startled as if suddenly remembering that he was there, but she was quick to wince and look away from him, obviously not willing to elaborate or explain.  

“Oh, relax over there, mate,” Aster said smugly, clearly loving whatever it was that was apparently happening at Jack’s expense. “With any luck, you’ll figure it out for yourself.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

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“I’m sorry - can you repeat that?” Jack asked sarcastically. “I must have misheard. Because there’s no way that you just asked me to bring Hiccup here again.”

Aster snorted from behind the newspaper he had held in front of his face. 

“Told ya’,” he muttered smugly, eyes never leaving the print as he continued to read.

North looked towards the pooka in the armchair and sent him a scowl - although it went entirely unnoticed by Aster from behind the paper. He turned back to Jack instead and tried for a friendly grin. 

“But, Jack…” he started, apparently aiming for sweet and innocent.

“No, North,” Jack cut him off firmly, pushing himself up from his laying down position on the sofa. “‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me’.” 

“But I swear - there is no fooling, this time!” North countered, his friendly demeanor quickly turning sulky. “Please?” 

Jack huffed. 

“You should know by now that puppy-eyes never work on me,” he said, arching an eyebrow at the other man. “At least not from you.”

North frowned, dropping the puppy-eyed act as he plopped onto the couch beside Jack. 

“You know… There is such a thing as being over protective.”

Jack felt his cheeks start to burn. 

“I am not being overprotective,” he insisted. “Given the circumstances of the last time, North, I’d say I’m being just the right amount of protective.”

“But this is completely different!” North pouted again. “We just want to make up for last visit!”

“Right. Of course.” Jack rolled his eyes. “And then you’ll ‘just’ want to check him for tentacles or experiment on his brain.”

“I promise - no experiments and no checks for tentacles!” 

Jack scoffed, but before he could reply Aster decided to intervene. 

“If it makes you feel better,” the pooka said, finally lowering his newspaper, “Toothiana and Sandy would be there as well.” 

Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously between them both. It did bode well that the other two Guardians would be present, but he still didn’t understand why they wanted this to happen so badly. Hiccup had moved on from the incident and certainly didn’t expect any sort of apology from them. 

“Why are you guys being so insistent on this?” 

“We just feel so bad about before,” North started. “And you and this Hiccup are obviously very close friends now…” he added, eyes subtly ticking towards where Aster was sitting. Jack caught the motion and immediately turned to look at the pooka for any clues, but found nothing but an intentionally impassive expression on Aster’s face. He turned back when North continued. “We just thought it would be nice to make amends with him.”

Searching for any possibility of deceit, Jack stared into North’s eyes for a long moment as he pondered. North’s remorse did seem somewhat genuine, but something still seemed off about the request. And yet - Jack had to admit that it was hard to believe that they’d intentionally terrorize Hiccup a second time. They had had no objections or concerns after they’d brought Hiccup to the North Pole the first time, and they were aware that Jack was at Hiccup’s house nearly every night and hadn’t shown any worry about it. 

After a few more long seconds, he reluctantly sighed. 

“If I said yes… You promise there’d be no funny business this time?” 

North’s face brightened instantly, finally seeing a crack in Jack’s resolve. 

“No ‘funny business’,” he echoed, grinning and nodding in confirmation. “Just some dinner! Nothing funny at all.”

“Uh-huh.” Jack squinted harder. “And you have no ulterior motives, whatsoever…” 

“Uh…” North’s smile faltered ever so slightly, which all but confirmed Jack’s suspicions that North was, indeed, up to something - even if it wasn’t malicious. He just wasn’t sure what.

“Look, mate,” Aster interrupted again, folding up his paper and scooching forward in his chair. “It’s just an apology dinner. Nothing weird, nothing dangerous… just dinner. Maybe let the bloke loose in the workshop afterwards,” he added, shrugging his shoulders. “He seemed pretty stoked about that idea last time…”

Jack bit his bottom lip in thought again. There was no denying that Hiccup - the eager engineering student that he was - would certainly love the opportunity to get a proper, thorough look around the workshop. The man had mentioned the missed opportunity numerous times, seeming more concerned about having not gotten a proper tour of the shop than about what had actually happened to him while he was there. Jack could only imagine the excitement on Hiccup’s face from such an invitation... 

“But if you wanna’ say ‘no’,” Aster suddenly continued, repressing a knowing smirk, “then I’m sure Hiccup would understand...” 

And damn it if Aster didn’t know exactly what Jack’s weakness would be.

Jack heaved a heavy sigh, knowing when he was beat. 

“Fine,” he finally conceded, slumping back into the sofa and pointedly ignoring Aster’s smug smile. “I’ll... extend the invitation.”

North whooped in excitement and clapped his hands together. 

“Excellent! Is settled, then. You bring adult boy this Saturday!” 

“But if he doesn’t want to come, then we’re not coming,” Jack added firmly, attempting to seem as if he still had any control over the situation.

The fact that he knew that there was absolutely no way Hiccup would refuse was irrelevant. 

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“I get to go back?” Hiccup asked excitedly, a smile already pulling at the corner of his lips.

Jack shrugged his shoulders, looking decidedly less excited than Hiccup felt. 

“I mean… You can say ‘no’ if you want... It was probably traumatizing last time-”

“Are you kidding?” Hiccup interrupted, grin spreading as he thought about what it had been like inside the Workshop - even just the small amount of it that he had gotten to see. He’d been dreaming about getting to see the rest of it ever since, and North had offered to show him around the next time he came by. “Of course I want to go! No way am I passing that up a second time.”

Jack looked unsurprised by Hiccup’s answer, although he didn’t seem particularly happy about it either. 

“Even though they essentially held you captive?”

“What - that old thing? I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding…” Hiccup shrugged, not letting Jack sour his enthusiasm. He had long since gotten over the ordeal - and truth be told, he’d be completely willing to endure another interrogation if it meant he actually got to look around the shop this time. 

“We both know you’re only saying that because you just want another look at North’s shop.” Jack crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Maybe I’m just a little more forgiving than other people…” Hiccup replied, giving Jack a pointed look. For whatever reason, Jack’s personal grudge about the incident seemed to be much longer-lasting than Hiccup’s own. 

“Uh-huh. And maybe you’re full of crap.” 

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Hiccup turned towards his bed and decided to change tactics. 

“Look,” he said, laying back on the mattress and folding his arms behind his head. “You promise not to let them do anything weird to me if we go, right?” 

The spirit waited a couple of seconds, then sighed in annoyance. 

“Well, obviously,” he finally resigned, flinging his arms above his head as he spoke. He grumpily threw himself down on the bed beside Hiccup and mirrored his position.

Hiccup turned to look at Jack, careful to hide his amusement at the other’s petulance. 

“Well, then that’s good enough assurance for me,” he said brightly. “It’ll be fine.” 

Jack worried his bottom lip with his teeth and stared at the ceiling, not looking at all convinced by Hiccup’s words. 

“I just get the feeling that they’re up to something…”

“Don’t you trust them?” 

“Of course I do,” he said obviously.

“So then…”

“They’re definitely still up to something,” Jack insisted, narrowing his eyes.

“Something evil?” Hiccup smirked.

Jack tsked. 

“Of course not,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “Just something… sneaky.” 

“I can handle sneaky,” Hiccup laughed. “I’m used to you, after all.”

The teasing seemed lost on Jack, though, as the spirit continued to stare at the ceiling in contemplation.    

After a few quiet seconds, Hiccup sighed. 

“Look, Jack - If you really don’t want me to go, then we don’t have to…” he said reluctantly. He tried for the best sad eyed look he could manage. “But it would be really, really cool...”

Jack finally pulled his eyes away from the ceiling and turned to look at Hiccup. He immediately groaned and rolled his eyes right back up to the ceiling. 

“Come on… Don’t look at me like that,” he muttered, amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Hiccup could already tell that he had won, but he suppressed his smirk and carried on anyway. 

“You know - it’s a real shame. Just think of all the relevant stuff I could have learned, there…”

“God - you’re worse than North.”

“...Could have been a real boost for my future in engineering...” 

“Now you’re just being dramatic.”

“...Not to mention the fulfillment of a lifelong dream of getting to dine with my childhood heroes…”

“It’s not like you haven’t dined with me before,” Jack answered smugly, smile turning wily.

 When the spirit turned to him and grinned at his own joke, Hiccup couldn’t help but snort in laughter, breaking the theatrics.

“Alright, fine,” Jack said through his amusement, finally relenting. “We’ll go. But if you disappear from the face of the planet, I’m not the one who has to break the news to Pippa.”

“Deal,” Hiccup grinned, far too excited about getting to see the Workshop again to worry about something as trivial as death.        

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By the time Saturday rolled around, Jack was a nervous wreck. 

He had spent the days leading up to it bouncing between periods of paranoia - desperately trying to figure out what in the world North and Aster could possibly want with Hiccup this time - and periods in which he tried to convince himself that the dinner wasn’t some sort of an ambush.

Of course, the paranoia was winning.  

“You’re sure you’re okay with this, Jack?” Hiccup asked for the third time that day, ripping Jack away from his worried thoughts. “You’re all... fidgety.”

Jack sighed, willing himself to calm down. He knew Hiccup was excited about this, and he was trying his best not to bring the man down with his nerves - especially since it was entirely possible that his suspicions were unfounded.

“I’m fine,” he lied, trying for a reassuring smile as he leaned against his staff. “Just, uh - hope they don't embarrass me too much.”

“Interesting,” Hiccup said, grabbing a sweater from his closet and pulling it over his head to cover his white t-shirt. He smirked as his head poked through the neckhole. “Because I was kind of hoping for the opposite.” Before Jack could reply, he turned around and gestured at himself. “How’s this?” 

Jack blinked. 

“How’s what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. 

“What I’m wearing,” Hiccup responded, plucking at the sweater on his body with two fingers. “Is this fine?” 

Jack rolled his eyes and chuckled. 

“Hiccup - half of us don’t even wear shoes. Heck, Bunny doesn’t even wear clothes. Nobody’s going to care about what you’re wearing.”

Hiccup meekly shrugged his shoulders and turned around to start fixing his hair in the mirror on the wall beside his closet. 

“Just want to make a good impression, I guess…” he admitted. Jack could see the man blushing from the admission in the reflection of the mirror. 

“I’m sure they’ll be plenty impressed by your sweater,” he half-joked. He had to admit it was rather endearing that Hiccup was so worried about it.

“Are you sure?” Hiccup said self-consciously, still toying with his fringe. 

“Hiccup…” Jack said with a fond laugh. He crossed the room to stand behind the man and grabbed him by the back of his shoulders. “Trust me - You look fine,” he said firmly, catching Hiccup’s gaze in the mirror. The pink on Hiccup’s cheeks darkened when they made eye contact. 

Feeling his own face quickly start to flush, Jack cleared his throat and laughed stiffly, quickly releasing Hiccup’s shoulders. 

“Besides...” he continued, going for a teasing grin and a wink in an effort to hide his sudden, inexplicable awkwardness. “The portal’s just gonna mess up your hair, anyway.”

Hiccup’s face deadpanned and his shoulders slouched. 

“I forgot about the portal.”

Jack laughed genuinely this time, putting the brief moment of clumsiness behind him. 

“Sorry, buddy,” he said with faux-sympathy, reaching up to pat one of Hiccup’s shoulders. Hiccup narrowed his eyes at him, but the expression was quickly replaced with surprise when Jack grabbed the man by the elbow to turn him around and push him towards the window. “Now let’s get going before Phil gets impatient and decides to get out the burlap sack.”

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For Jack to say that his fellow Guardians had laid it on thick would be an understatement. In fact, it was a miracle that Hiccup hadn’t literally suffocated from the smothering they had given him.

“Hiccup!” North boomed as soon as they were ejected from the portal and onto the floor. He immediately lifted Hiccup out of the pile of limbs that he and Jack had ended up in and pulled the man into a bone-crushing hug. “Is so nice to see you again!” 

Jack watched in horror from the floor as Hiccup cringed in pain, his legs flailing uselessly above the ground. 

“U-uh,” he groaned, unable to stammer out anything else thanks to the constriction of North’s thick arms around his chest. 

Before Jack could intervene, Aster was already there and squeezing one of North’s shoulders. 

“Easy there, Juggernaut. At least feed him before you kill him.”

“Oops…” North instantly turned sheepish and instinctively released Hiccup, resulting in the man crashing back down onto Jack on the floor with a small yelp. 

“North,” Jack moaned, flushing in embarrassment as he tried to disentangle himself from Hiccup again. When he was finally able to get on his feet, he quickly leaned down to grab one of Hiccup’s arms to help pull him up.

“Sorry about that…” North said, giving them both an apologetic grin as Jack hauled Hiccup back onto his feet and swiped some dust off of the man’s sweater for him.  

“T-that’s okay,” Hiccup said with a strained smile as he rubbed his back - ever the polite guest, even in the face of his near-murder. 

“Nice to see ya’ again, mate,” Aster said warmly, stepping forward and grabbing one of the man’s hands to shake. Jack was surprised to find that it actually sounded genuine this time, although he couldn’t be certain. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the pooka as he spoke again. “Been keeping well?” 

“Uh, yeah - thanks,” Hiccup said, a hesitant smile on his face as he returned the handshake.

“Good, good,” Aster said amiably, giving Hiccup another uncharacteristically bright smile. “And how’s the, uh… studies going?” Aster asked, apparently determined to continue the small-talk. “Still getting on okay?” 

If Jack was sitting in a chair, he’d have probably fallen out of it by now.

For just a second, Hiccup blinked in surprise - probably just as thrown off by the attention as Jack was considering his and Aster’s last interaction. Still, the man did look pleased with the change in Aster’s demeanor and seemed to relax. 

“Uh, yeah. It’s going really well, thanks,” he answered, giving Aster a more genuine smile this time.

Even though Hiccup seemed more at ease, Jack was more suspicious than ever. He started to scan his eyes around the area in which the portal had spit them out - only to realize that Tooth and Sandy were nowhere in sight. He could feel his panic rising, and he had the sudden urge to grab Hiccup and flee.  

“That’s great to hear,” Aster said, chummily slapping a hand on the back of one of Hiccup’s shoulders.      

Just as Jack was about to interrupt the spectacle and demand to know where the rest of the Guardians that he and North had promised would be there were, North suddenly moved back around Aster and wrapped an arm around Hiccup. He immediately started pulling the man away and directing him further into the shop. 

“Okay, enough talk for now. We must go meet new friends!” 

The implication that Toothiana and Sandy were in fact there did alleviate some of the anxiety Jack had, but he still wasn’t convinced that they were safe just yet. As soon as North had started to lead Hiccup away, he scowled at Aster to make sure it was well known that he didn’t trust anything at all about the performance the pooka had given. 

Aster merely rolled his eyes - apparently unconcerned by Jack’s attempt at intimidation - and wordlessly started following North and Hiccup.

As the group started their way down a hallway, North made sure to babble at Hiccup the entire time - while Jack made sure to glare at the back of his head, still waiting for the other shoe to drop. He felt as if he was having déja-vu as they walked, but at least they were nowhere near the dreaded metal room this time. The portal had spat them out relatively close to North’s sitting room, which meant they only had to walk for about a minute before they reached it. 

When they finally entered the room, Jack was hit with an instant wave of relief upon laying eyes on Tooth and Sandy sitting on the couch. The two Guardians gave the newly arrived group great, big smiles, and Jack could feel his nerves finally starting to settle knowing that there was no way that these two would be in on anything malicious. It struck him that Hiccup might have been right about him overthinking the whole thing, and he almost felt guilty for his prior suspicions. 

Not that he’d admit it, of course. 

“And please meet Toothiana and Sandy,” North grinned, gesturing towards the two Guardians that Hiccup hadn’t met yet. “You may know them better as Tooth Fairy and Sandman.” 

“Please, call me Tooth,” Tooth answered, already off the couch and fluttering around Hiccup excitedly. She quickly snatched up his hand to shake it, while the rest of them stepped back to watch the interaction. 

Now that he was finally at ease with the situation, Jack couldn’t help but be amused when Hiccup looked a little star-struck as he shook the fairy’s hand. A slight blush tinged the man’s cheeks as he stuttered out a reply. 

“O-oh, okay - Tooth,” he echoed, smiling almost dopily. “Nice to meet you.” 

Tooth giggled at his reaction, covering her mouth with the hand that wasn’t still gripping Hiccup’s. 

“Nice to meet you too. We’ve heard so much about you from Jack...”

Hiccup’s blush darkened as his eyes ticked over to Jack’s. 

“O-oh, really?” he said, sounding both surprised and embarrassed by the prospect as he released her hand. Jack could suddenly feel his own face flushing and quickly looked towards the ground, feeling for some reason as if a secret of his had been spilled.

“No kidding…” Aster - who was still standing off to the side between Jack and North - rolled his eyes and smugly murmured under his breath in North’s direction. “All he ever talks about, nowadays- Ow! You little-”  

The pooka bit off the rest of his sentence and started hopping on one foot, holding the other one in his hands and rubbing it in an effort to ease the pain from Jack stomping on it. When Aster realized the rest of the group had all turned to look at him in shock, he quickly dropped his foot and crossed his arms defensively in front of his chest, glaring at Jack from the side of his eyes and muttering to himself. Jack couldn’t help the discreet snicker that escaped his lips as he kept his eyes innocently glued to the ground.   

After rolling her eyes in exasperation at the interruption, Tooth was quick to draw Hiccup’s attention back to herself. 

“Don’t worry,” she continued, giving Hiccup a reassuring smile as she gently patted the side of his face. “He only has good things to say - promise.”

Feeling his embarrassment creep back up, Jack made sure to steadfastly keep his eyes on the floor, privately wishing it would open up and swallow him whole. He hadn’t noticed that he talked that much about Hiccup, but apparently he did it more than he’d realized. He hoped Hiccup wasn’t too weirded out by it.  

He heard Hiccup clear his throat awkwardly. 

“R-right. Well that’s, uh - good, I guess…”

“And this is Sandy, of course,” Tooth suddenly said. Jack finally pulled his eyes back up from the floor at the change of subject and saw her gesturing towards the final Guardian behind her.

As much as Jack would outwardly insist that he was the most adorable Guardian in the group, he knew in actuality that there was no competing with Sandy in that category. The fact that the tiny Guardian couldn’t actually speak out loud didn’t diminish his obvious enthusiasm as he bounced forward and grinned up at Hiccup, proffering his small hand for shaking. 

Hiccup had to squat down some to be able to reach Sandy’s hand, but he returned the friendly smile with one of his own. 

“Nice to meet you, too,” he said with a small chuckle, obviously endeared by the being’s eagerness. His eyes brightened in wonderment when a smiley face made of golden sand formed above Sandy’s head, and he laughed again.

“Well, now that we are all introduced,” North said jovially, stepping forward to pat Hiccup on the back, “you must try shortbread.” He reached down to grab a tray of cookies off the coffee table and stuck them right under Hiccup’s nose, not giving the man any time to refuse. 

“Oh - sure,” Hiccup said politely. He reached for one of the baked goods, but didn’t have time to actually taste it before the rest of the Guardians started to swarm him.  

“And you have to tell us what little Pippa’s been up to,” Tooth added sweetly, grabbing one of Hiccup’s arms and clutching a hand to her chest. “It’s been so long…"

Jack could see the start of the affectionate smile that Hiccup usually had when he talked about his little cousin, but when the man actually opened his mouth to reply Aster was already grabbing his other shoulder to steer him towards himself instead. 

“Right, right... but first things first - I reckon you’ve got a ton of dirt on Frost by now…” he said, grinning mischievously and waggling his eyebrows. 

Again, Hiccup opened his mouth to talk, but was cut off by North grabbing another cookie off the tray and holding it up to Hiccup’s face. 

“We have lots of time for dirt later,” he insisted, forcing a cookie into Hiccup’s mouth. “First we eat!” 

Despite his previous embarrassment and the fact that it sounded like he was in for quite a bit more of it before the evening was over, Jack found himself smiling fondly at the scene as they all continued to fawn over Hiccup. He could feel a strange sort of happiness settling behind his chest at the sight of Hiccup meeting and getting on well with his other friends. He leaned on his staff and opted to stand back and watch for a minute, reluctant to interfere as they continued to merrily jabber away at Hiccup. 

“So what’s the deal with this ABBA obsession, then?” 

Aster’s question was enough to pull Jack out of his brief reverie, especially when Hiccup laughed before answering it. 

“No idea. I swear - I tried to turn him on to better music first.” 

Jack made an outraged noise - not so subtly reminding his friends that he was still in the room. 

“Okay, okay - that’s enough of that,’ he muttered in annoyance. He narrowed his eyes at Hiccup’s smug look in particular as he moved towards the group. “Say what you want about me, but I won’t tolerate you badmouthing ABBA.” 

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“Tell me again why I agreed to this,” Jack groaned, thunking his forehead on the dinner table a couple of times for added dramatic effect. 

Hiccup couldn’t help but feel a little bit bad for him. Not that that stopped him from laughing, anyway. 

“Oh come on, it’s not worst story I could share,” North said, giving Jack a playful grin.

Tooth was obviously holding back a laugh, but she did try to take pity on him. 

“Oh, Jack - don’t worry. I’m sure we’ve all almost been fooled by North’s decorative baked goods at some point or another.” 

“The key word there, Tooth, is ‘almost’.” Aster smirked. “The rest of us haven’t actually eaten half a slice of wax figgy pudding before we realized it was fake.”

“Half a slice?” Hiccup asked incredulously.

“I thought the yetis were just having a bad day in the kitchen,” Jack answered defensively, lifting his head off the table. He pouted as he crossed his arms against his chest. “Turns out they’re just really good at making fake, decorative cakes.”  

“Of course they are,” North confirmed, reaching over to grab the cake stand in the middle of the table that still had a half-eaten pudding on it. “They are best at making fake cakes and real cakes. More pudding, Hiccup?”

Hiccup reluctantly bit his bottom lip as he contemplated the offer. In all honesty, he was completely stuffed. He hadn’t been expecting an entire Christmas-themed spread for what he thought was a casual dinner, but apparently that was what most of the meals at North’s place looked like. That being said - North certainly hadn’t been lying when he said that the yetis made the best cake... 

He blew out a small breath and finally conceded, nodding his head with a grin. 

“Alright... One more slice couldn’t hurt.” 

“Is what I always say, too!” North grinned, patting his stomach. He cut Hiccup another hefty slice of the dessert and plopped it onto the empty plate that was still sitting in front of the man.

Before Hiccup could take the first bite, Jack suddenly perked up in his seat and leaned in closer to him, scooping the first bite of the slice with his own fork without any regard for whether or not he should ask first. Hiccup rolled his eyes with a fond smirk - but the spirit hadn’t had any interest in eating anything at dinner except for the desserts, so Hiccup didn’t have it in him to actually refuse him. Instead, he picked up his own fork and silently resigned himself to sharing.  

Neither of them noticed the knowing look the other guardians quickly shared with each other over the table as the two dug into the cake.  

North eventually cleared his throat after a few seconds. 

“So, Hiccup,” he continued. “Perhaps you would like me to show you around shop when you’ve finished your cake?”

Hiccup brightened instantly. As enjoyable as both the company and the food had been so far, this was the real reason he had been so excited to attend the dinner. 

“Y-yeah, that’d be great,” he said, nodding eagerly. “I-I mean - if you don’t mind, of course…” 

“Is no problem at all!” North insisted. “As long as you have time to stay for a while.”

“Of course,’ Hiccup grinned. “I’ve got no other plants tonight.” The only plans he ever had nowadays outside of school were hanging out with Jack. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he sheepishly looked at Jack. “You’re okay with staying?” 

Jack pretended to sigh in exasperation. 

“I guess we can stay,” he said, giving Hiccup a teasing smirk. When Hiccup beamed back at him in excitement, Jack quickly dropped the act and shrugged his shoulders with a laugh. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve got anything else to do tonight, either.” He shoved another massive forkful of cake in his mouth. “‘Cept maybe eat more of this cake…” 

“Great,” North said, clapping his hands loudly and suddenly rising from his seat. “Why don’t Hiccup and I head down to shop while you all stay here and enjoy dessert?” He gave no time for either Jack or Hiccup to answer, quickly grabbing Hiccup by the elbow and dragging the man into a standing position.

“Wait - what? By yourselves?” Jack asked in confusion around his mouthful of cake. He swallowed thickly and narrowed his eyes in suspicion at North. “Why?”

“Is engineering stuff.” North shrugged nonchalantly and put an arm around Hiccup’s shoulders. “No need to bore everyone else, right Hiccup?”

Hiccup blinked in surprise as North put him on the spot. He wasn’t happy to see the return of Jack’s tension after the laid back dinner they had just had, but he really didn’t think anything untoward was going to happen to him if he went with North alone. He looked between Jack and North for a couple of seconds before making up his mind.  

“Uh - s-sure,” he finally said, nodding in agreement at North. He looked back at Jack and tried his best to silently convey that he was okay with this, giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “We’ll be fine,” he said placatingly, holding Jack’s gaze. 

The look Jack was giving Hiccup in return suggested that he wasn’t entirely convinced, but he did seem to relax a little at Hiccup’s insistence. 

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, yes - we are sure,” North said happily, oblivious to the fact that Jack was clearly directing the question at Hiccup. Hiccup snorted in amusement and discreetly nodded his head back at Jack in confirmation   

“Or, if you prefer… We could always just keep him here and tell him more stories,” Aster suddenly joined in. “Don’t suppose you’ve heard the leprechaun story yet?” he asked Hiccup, giving him an evil smile.

Hiccup’s interest was immediately piqued. 

“Oh?” he said amusedly, raising an eyebrow at Jack.

“Oh, I love that one,” Tooth added, giggling in delight. 

“Okay, okay, okay,” Jack interrupted, shaking his head in annoyance as he dropped his forehead back onto the table. “Just take him away, please,” he muttered into the table, gesturing towards the exit with one hand.

“Well, now I kind of want to stay,” Hiccup teased over his shoulder, already being led away by North.

“Don’t worry,” North half-whispered, loud enough so that Jack could still hear it. He winked conspiratorially at Hiccup as they walked away from the table. “I can tell you story when we get to shop.” 

The pained groan from Jack didn’t do anything to dampen anyone’s amusement - least of all Hiccup’s. As the rest of the room chuckled, the spirit raised his head and turned in his seat towards the exit. 

“Just… promise to bring him back to me in one piece,” he grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest and giving North one last half-hearted glare.

Hiccup was momentarily surprised by the choice of Jack’s words - almost making it sound as if Hiccup was his. But as quickly as the thought had crossed his mind, he felt stupid for even thinking it. He was sure that Jack hadn’t meant it that way, and that nobody else in the room would have heard it that way either. Still, he could already feel his face flushing - so he kept his head in front of him to hide it as he and North approached the doorway.

“Yes, Jack,” North hummed, waving nonchalantly behind him as he and Hiccup finally made it to the doorway. When Hiccup sneaked a look at the larger man’s face, he could see there was definitely an amused smirk as he spoke, and Hiccup wondered if he had already seen the blush. He felt North’s hand squeeze his shoulder once before he called out again. “I promise to bring him back to you in one piece.”

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Chapter Text

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“So this whole time… it’s not even been the elves?” Hiccup asked in awe as he stared at the long workbench in front of them, watching the yetis work.

North winced and looked around them in panic. 

“Shhh!” he whispered, grabbing Hiccup’s shoulder and leaning in towards him. “Careful not to say it in front of elves!” When Hiccup raised a bemused eyebrow at him, the larger man shrugged and straightened back up. “Is good for their self-esteem to let them think they are helping,” he explained quietly, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Hiccup nodded in understanding, mirroring North’s smirk. 

“Ah. Got it…”

Just then, a loud explosion from the back corner of the room caused them both to nearly jump out of their skin. Hiccup blinked in shock as they turned to see a group of elves shrieking in terror, all dancing in panic around some sort of object on the ground engulfed in flames. One of the elves had a small flame on the very top of their hat, and was running around the rest of the group in circles while swatting at their own head. 

“Oh my god!” Hiccup exclaimed. He instinctively moved to help them, but found himself pulled back to his spot by North. 

“Is fine, is fine,” North said, rolling his eyes in exasperation as if this was an everyday occurrence for him. He still had Hiccup pinned to his spot, but he patted his shoulder placatingly. “Trust me - this happens all of the time.”

Hiccup blinked in shock at North’s blatant indifference to the chaotic scene. 

“B-but…” 

He looked back at the elves and saw the one whose hat was on fire throw themself to the ground and start to roll around. The rest of the group was dashing towards a cabinet on the wall, all still screaming at the tops of their lungs. Between the five or six of them, they heaved out a fire extinguisher three times the size of any one of them and rushed it over to their comrade. They managed to stand it upright, several of them starting to make a tower on each other’s shoulders to reach the trigger while one grabbed the nozzle and pointed it at the elf aflame on the floor, ready to extinguish them. The resulting pressure from the hose as they managed to work the extinguisher was so great that it began to flail wildly all over the scene, the poor little squealing elf who still held onto it being flung about with it as they covered every inch of the space with foam.

“Da - see?” North grinned, giving the horror-struck Hiccup another slap on the back as he gestured to the elves.

The extinguisher had finally stopped. All of the elves were laying in the foam on the floor and panting from their efforts as more foam dripped from the ceiling around them. One in particular squeaked out a smoky cough and groaned in pain. 

“Totally fine!” North insisted, releasing his grip on Hiccup. He leaned in again once more to whisper loudly to him. “This is why we keep them in corner away from real work…” he said, smirking in amusement.    

Hiccup was far too stunned to do anything but blink.

“Any ways,” North said nonchalantly, apparently oblivious to Hiccup’s trauma as he started to lead him away from the area. “Let me show you last room in shop.” 

Still gaping at the defeated looking elves, Hiccup allowed himself to finally be dragged out of the large work room and into a much smaller space. He snapped out of his stupor and turned back forward as soon as he noticed the change in scenery. A barely audible gasp came out of him as he finally took in the room. 

North chuckled at Hiccup’s reaction. 

“This is what I like to call my ‘Fun Room’.”

As gorgeous and amazing as the rest of the Workshop had been, this room was what Hiccup could only describe as a mechanical engineer’s dream. Whereas the other rooms had all been open spaces with tall ceilings, exposed rafters, intricately-carved wooden columns, and craftsman-style workbenches, this one was far more modernized - almost taking on an industrial quality to it. 

Metal tables and benches lined most of the perimeter of the walls, and several more filled out the centre of the room in neat rows. Each work-surface was designated for a particular piece of machinery - all of it clearly state-of-the-art and far superior to anything Hiccup had access to on his university’s campus. The walls were all adorned with shelving and pegboards that were filled with tools and materials, all perfectly organized and stacked neatly in boxes. There was also what looked to be like a heavy-duty car-lift off to one side of the room, and a large, floor-to-ceiling rolling steel door that must have led somewhere else.  

Hiccup grinned as he continued to look around the room. 

“This is amazing,” he breathed out.

“I am glad you agree,” North said amiably. “The other Guardians do not have strong interest in what I do here. Is nice to have someone around who can appreciate it like I do.”

He walked over to the car-lift over in the corner, and Hiccup realized that there was actually something on it that was draped in a large sheet. 

“Come,” North gestured to the lift. “I show you one of my favourite things to work on.” 

Hiccup eagerly followed, excited to see what was under the sheet. He watched as North lowered the lift until the large object was at eye level with them. The larger man grabbed a corner of the sheet, waggled his eyebrows at Hiccup, and ripped the sheet off to reveal what was underneath. 

Hiccup’s mouth dropped. 

“T-this is…” He blinked in astonishment, starting to slowly circle the lift. “I mean this is… it?”

“This is it,” North confirmed, watching Hiccup with a smug look. 

“It’s…” Hiccup was at a loss for words. He ran his fingers lightly against the sleek curves, a sense of wonder building within him at the thought of how far this vehicle had travelled. “It’s perfect.” 

North shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 

“Is not bad, I suppose…” 

“And you built this yourself?” Hiccup asked incredulously, turning to look at North. 

“Da.” North was back to looking proud. “I am engineer at heart, after all - just like you. As time has gone on and business has gotten busier, I let yetis and elves help work on everything else. But this-” he patted the sleigh affectionately “-this is my special project.”

Hiccup simply shook his head and laughed, eyes still glued to the exquisite details of the sleigh. What he wouldn’t give to be able to see it in action-

“You want to test it out?” 

“W-what?” Hiccup’s head whipped back up towards North, hardly able to believe the opportunity he was being offered. “R-right now?”

North shrugged his shoulders and smirked. 

“I had to make small repair after Christmas a few weeks ago, so is due for test any ways.” His smile turned devilish. “So - what do you say? One quick ride before anyone notices we have left?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiccup felt as if he had died and gone to heaven.

The wind tore past his face, cold and sharp, but he hardly noticed - it only added to the rush flooding through his veins. His stomach swooped with every sudden drop, and he couldn't stop himself from laughing, whooping, and cheering as North steered the sleigh like it was second nature. It was wild and unrestrained, like being on the most terrifyingly intense roller coaster imaginable - except there was no track beneath them, only endless sky. 

“I knew you would love it!” North bellowed over the roar of the wind and Hiccup's own delighted shouts.   

Hiccup’s grin split wider. He clung to a nearby handle as the reindeer banked hard to the left, his body lurching with the momentum. His heart hammered, but not with fear - with exhilaration. For once, he wasn’t clumsy or out of place. He belonged here.

“You did?” he called back, breathless from laughing. 

“You have that spark,” North answered with certainty, glancing at him with bright eyes as he tugged the reins and pulled the sleigh into a smooth climb. “I could sense it inside of you.” His smile turned fond. “Just like Jack.” 

Hiccup thought of all the times he had watched Jack soar through the air, weightless and untouchable, like the wind itself had chosen him as its favorite. There had always been something about the way Jack moved - free, effortless, laughing like the sky belonged to him - that made it impossible to look away. Now, after feeling the rush of the sleighride for himself, Hiccup understood. That wild spark in Jack’s eyes wasn’t just mischief; it was joy, the unshakable thrill of being unbound. And for the first time, Hiccup found himself envying him - not just the flight, but the freedom Jack carried with him every time his feet left the ground.

“It’s hard to imagine someone not loving this,” Hiccup laughed, whooping again as North dropped them back down. 

“You would be surprised,” North said, levelling them out and turning back towards the direction they had originally come from. “Just ask Aster - he was very much made to stay on ground.”

“Well, not me,” Hiccup said, risking a peek over the edge of the sleigh. There were only clouds to be seen, but he grinned anyway. “I could do this every day.” 

A gap opened in the clouds ahead, and the shop’s roofline came into view, glittering faintly with frost under the moonlight. The sight tugged a pang of disappointment through Hiccup’s chest - already? He wasn’t ready for the ride to be over. But tangled in that reluctance was another sharper ache, a whisper of regret as he thought of who was waiting for him back there.

“Kinda' wish Jack was here, though…” he admitted, guilt creeping into his voice. He really should have thought of him before leaping at the chance to ride. “He would love this.”

North’s low chuckle rumbled against the wind, warm despite the cold air whipping past them.

“Do not worry,” he said, adjusting the reins with practiced ease. “Jack has taken ride on sleigh before.” A knowing glimmer lit his eyes, something old and wise and a little amused. “Although,” he added, glancing sidelong at Hiccup, “I think he would have enjoyed it even more with new friend Hiccup here.”

The words landed heavier than Hiccup expected, chasing warmth up his neck that had nothing to do with the sleigh’s speed. He ducked his head, too flustered to reply, and instead clung tighter to the railing as the reindeer dipped lower toward the glittering workshop. He loved being in the sleigh, but he felt he would have had an even better time if Jack had been there too. Most things were better with Jack’s company. 

“Speaking of Jack…” North’s tone shifted, his expression thoughtful. “You two seem to have become very… close.” 

“I-I guess we have, yeah,” Hiccup admitted, cheeks warming. He wasn’t sure why his voice had gone so awkwardly high-pitched, or why his hands suddenly felt like they didn’t know what to do with themselves.

“I have been wanting to ask…” North’s gaze softened, though he glanced away as if the question caused him a measure of hesitation. “You two. You are… friends?” 

The sleigh’s runners hissed over a gust of air, and Hiccup blinked. Friends? He opened his mouth, shut it again. He did think so—of course he did—but then again… what if Jack didn’t?

He shook the thought off with more force than necessary. They’d spent nearly every night together for weeks now. If that didn’t count as friendship, what did?

“Yeah, I guess we are…” he said at last, trying to sound confident and failing spectacularly. “Or… at least, I think we are.”

North hummed, the sound low and contemplative, his hands steady on the reins.

“And you are… just friends?” 

Hiccup froze, the words slicing through him more than the cold wind around them did. His face went hot enough to melt snow.

“W-what?” he squeaked. As if fate itself had a cruel sense of timing, a fat snowflake caught in his throat. He coughed and sputtered, trying to catch his breath. “What- uh- what do you mean by that?”

North tilted him a knowing look, lips curving into a sly, almost paternal smile.

“Hiccup, I think you know what I mean.” And when Hiccup only gawked back, North rolled his eyes with exasperated fondness. “I mean - are you becoming romantic-?”

“N-no!” Hiccup quickly yelled over top of him. His hands flailed uselessly. “O-of course we’re not-” He gave a breathless, too-loud laugh, shaking his head as though the very idea were absurd. “Why would you even- why would you-"

“You just seem a little… smitten.” 

The word landed like a hammer to the chest. Hiccup’s vision wobbled for a moment, and he jerked back as if it physically struck him.

“W-what?” His heart thudded painfully in his ears. He was definitely not smitten. He would know if he was smitten.

But North didn’t let up.

“There are all the long looks with the goo-goo eyes-” 

“Goo-goo eyes?!” Hiccup’s voice cracked in panic. He definitely didn’t do that…. 

…did he?

“-and then there are the secret smiles when you think nobody else is looking-”

Hiccup swallowed thickly. Okay. Maybe he’d been guilty of that one. But that didn't mean he was smitten.   

“-and, of course,” North finished, gesturing pointedly to the sleigh they were in, “missing him when he is not here.”

And there it was. The truth, laid bare.

Hiccup went very still, staring out into the endless horizon as his heartbeat grew louder and louder until it drowned out the sound of the rushing air. Every example North had listed fit far too neatly, lining up in his head like damning evidence.

Oh god.

Did he really have a crush on…  Jack Frost? The three-hundred year-old spirit of winter? His first real friend in years?

His stomach bottomed out. 

North must have seen the color drain from his face, because concern softened his booming voice.

“Hiccup - is everything okay?”

Hiccup forced himself to glance over, his throat too tight.

“I am very sorry - it was just question,” North added quickly. “I did not mean to pry-”

“N-no, it’s fine,” Hiccup cut in, though his voice was so strangled with alarm that the words barely counted as reassurance. He pasted on a quick, brittle smile. “Really. It was just a question. No harm done," he lied. 

North studied him in silence for a few long, heavy seconds, the way an adult looks at a child trying too hard to mask a scraped knee. At last he nodded slowly.

“Okay…” he said, though the doubt in his tone was plain. Then, hesitantly, “So… you are just friends, then?”

“Just friends,” Hiccup confirmed quickly, the words spilling out too fast, too tight. He turned his gaze firmly away, hoping North couldn’t see the dread clawing at his insides. “D-definitely just friends.”

“I see…” North’s hum was quiet, unreadable. His smile returned, but it carried less cheer this time, tempered with a touch of something wistful. “Well. Friends are nice, too.”

By then the workshop loomed closer, and North had to shift his attention to landing the sleigh. Hiccup was grateful for the reprieve. He needed the cover of the descent to steady his breathing, to force his thoughts into order.

But the damage was done.

How could he have been so reckless - so stupid - as to let this happen? Jack wasn’t even human, for one thing. And even if he had been, he was still Hiccup’s first real friend in years. And now, thanks to his traitorous heart, Hiccup had gone and ruined everything by… catching feelings.

Worse still, if North had noticed, how long before Jack did? His imagination tormented him with scenarios, each ending in disaster - Jack finding out, Jack recoiling, Jack laughing, Jack leaving. 

Hiccup swallowed down the rising panic and made a quiet, desperate vow then and there.  

Nobody would ever find out about his feelings.

Especially not Jack.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jack didn’t like this one bit. 

North and Hiccup had returned from their tour of the shop an hour earlier, acting as normal as they had been before they left. The group had moved back to the sitting room for tea, where Hiccup talked animatedly about his ride in the sleigh - to which Jack gave North a betrayed look for not inviting him along - as well as his tour of the shop facilities. He eagerly participated in more conversation with the other Guardians, and laughed along with their jokes just as he had before North had taken him. 

Yes, perhaps to the untrained eye, Hiccup seemed fine. But Jack had spent a lot of time around Hiccup over the last few weeks, and he knew better. 

Something was wrong. He just didn’t know what.

It was the little things that had given it away. 

The first thing that had thrown him off was when they had first come into the sitting room. Jack plonked himself down on one end of the couch, expecting Hiccup to take a seat beside him. But when Hiccup chose to sit on the other end of the couch and leave the middle open for Aster, Jack couldn’t help but frown. He chalked it up as a fluke and silently chided himself for caring so much where Hiccup sits. 

At one point, Aster was going on and on about the embarrassing depiction of bunnies in modern Easter decor. Jack leaned behind Aster to catch Hiccup’s eyes, giving his friend an exasperated eyeroll in secret. Hiccup’s initial reaction was to smirk in return, but then the smile suddenly fell off his face and his eyes darted in concern to North. He straightened up and pointedly avoided looking in Jack's direction for the rest of the conversation - leaving Jack feeling strangely dejected.

By the time it was time for the evening to wrap up, Jack was feeling a lot more ignored than he usually did. North had opened a portal for them, and they all gathered around it to say their goodbyes - but then North and Hiccup got distracted talking about some piece of tech that North had in the shop, and their departure had stalled. 

“Okay - time to let us go, North,” Jack butt in with a good-natured eye-roll, grabbing Hiccup by the arm and gently pulling him towards the portal. As he did so, he felt Hiccup’s muscles clench underneath his touch, and his smirk disappeared as he realized that Hiccup suddenly looked uncomfortable. 

“O-oh,” Hiccup said, gently wriggling himself out of Jack’s grip with a strained smile. Jack blinked in surprise, his heart sinking at the brush-off. Hiccup was now steadfastly looking at North. “Sorry…” he said apologetically. “I guess it is getting late.” He stepped forward and held out his hand to North politely for a handshake. “Thank you very much for having me.” 

“You are welcome any time,” North replied, shaking Hiccup’s hand with enough force to shake the man’s entire body. “Next time you visit, maybe you can help me with special project,” he added with a wink. 

Hiccup perked up immediately. 

“R-really?” he asked, giving North an incredulous smile. “Sounds great!” 

“Hiccup,” Aster nodded with a cordial smile, sticking out a hand to shake. “We’ll catch ya’ around, then?” 

“Definitely, yes,” Hiccup confirmed. He looked towards Sandy and Tooth. “And it was really nice to meet you guys-”

“It was so nice to meet you too, Hiccup,” Tooth interrupted, flying forward and giving Hiccup a tight squeeze. “Make sure you keep an eye on our Jack for us, okay?” 

“O-oh,” Hiccup answered, back to looking uncomfortable. “You bet, sure,” he said hurriedly, avoiding meeting her gaze when she finally released him. Jack saw it, but luckily Tooth didn’t seem to notice the shift in demeanor. 

Jack narrowed his eyes conspiratorially at North. He knew he shouldn’t have brought Hiccup back here. 

What is it that happened on that tour? 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“So…” Jack rubbed the back of his neck, shifting his weight like he wasn’t sure where to put it. They’d made it back to Hiccup’s place, lingering in the backyard instead of heading inside. “Did you still wanna hang out?”

Hiccup winced inwardly. He’d deliberately skipped going upstairs to his room, hoping Jack would take the hint. He really did need some space tonight - but asking Jack to leave felt like trying to push away sunlight.

“You know… I’m actually feeling kinda' wiped,” Hiccup said at last, forcing a yawn that even to his own ears sounded rehearsed.

“Oh.” Jack’s gaze dropped to the ground. His hands disappeared into the front pocket of his hoodie, his voice quieter now. “Uh… yeah. No problem.”

Guilt tugged at Hiccup immediately.

“S-sorry. It’s just… with the sleigh ride and everything... I’m pretty beat.”

“Yeah, no - don’t worry about it.” Jack flashed a smile, but it was too quick, too brittle to be real. He took a couple of steps back, as if already preparing to lift off into the night, but then froze mid-motion. His eyes flicked off toward the distance, and he worried at his lower lip like he was chewing on something unsaid.

Finally, he stepped forward again, his tone softer, hesitant.

“…Hiccup, is everything okay?”

Hiccup blinked in surprise. Was he really that transparent? Or was Jack just better at reading him than others?

“Uh - y-yeah,” he lied, forcing a smile and glancing away. “Why do you ask?” 

“Nothing… weird happened when you were with North?” Jack’s tone was careful, almost hesitant, but his eyes searched Hiccup’s face like a magnifying glass.

Hiccup swallowed, willing the flush he could feel in his cheeks to go away. 

“N-nope,” he said, his smile getting tighter. “Just normal conversation…”

Jack didn’t look convinced. He held Hiccup’s gaze, waiting for any tell of deception, and for a moment, Hiccup wondered if he should fess up. But what they’d talked about in the sleigh was private - a secret he had promised himself he’d carry to the grave.

Finally, after a long, tense pause, Jack’s shoulders relaxed slightly. Hiccup exhaled in relief.

“Alright…” Jack said, his face softening into something more worried than accusatory. “And… you’re not upset with me?”

Hiccup blinked, genuinely confused.

“Wait - what? No, of course not,” he said honestly. “Why would I be upset with you?” 

“I don’t know,” Jack shrugged sheepishly, a faint blush colouring his cheeks as he avoided Hiccup’s eyes. “You just felt kind of… distant… after dinner.” 

Hiccup’s stomach sank. He hadn’t realized he’d been tense, let alone that it would come across as cold or distant. The thought of causing Jack even a fraction of hurt made him wince.

“Jack - of course I’m not mad at you.” He gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I promise. I’m just… tired.”  

Jack nodded slowly, returning a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Okay. Sure.”

“I’ll, uh… see you tomorrow, though?” Hiccup added quickly, hoping to patch over the unease between them.

“Yeah.” Jack nodded, but the sadness lingered in his expression. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

Before Hiccup could reply, Jack had already called the wind and started levitating in place. 

“Bye, Hiccup,” he said softly, waving shyly before ascending into the sky.  

“Bye, Jack,” Hiccup whispered back, his hand lingering in the air as he watched Jack fade into the night.

Once Jack was gone, Hiccup hunched his shoulders and crept up to his bedroom, moving as quietly as possible. He mechanically went through the motions of getting ready for bed, then sank under the covers with a heavy sigh. The quiet of the room pressed down on him, emphasizing the emptiness he felt without Jack there. 

He wished he’d asked Jack to stay. No one had ever made him feel so understood, so in tune with another person. Whether they were talking, laughing, listening to music, or just sitting in silence, Jack had quickly become the best part of Hiccup’s day. Now, that part was missing, and the absence felt almost physical.

To compound onto that was the guilt. He couldn’t stop replaying Jack’s sad look from earlier, the one he’d inadvertently caused by asking him to leave. Hiccup had been worried that Jack finding out about his feelings would ruin their friendship - but after the look on Jack’s face tonight, Hiccup realized that their friendship wouldn’t last if he pushed him away, either. 

Hiccup knew he had to make a choice: either accept his feelings and try to move on from them while staying close to Jack, or cut him out entirely to protect himself.

He swallowed hard, the wrongness of Jack not being there pressing on him. There really wasn’t much of a choice at all.

Tonight, he would let himself feel the loneliness. But tomorrow… tomorrow he would do better. He wouldn't avoid Jack. He’d act normal, bury the infatuation deep, and navigate the days without letting it show. He would endure it - because it was far better than not having Jack in his life at all.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been a couple of weeks since Jack had taken Hiccup to the North Pole, and he had been hoping that whatever weirdness had flared up that night would fade quickly. Unfortunately, things between them still seemed… off, to say the least. And yet, if you asked Jack to pinpoint what exactly was wrong, he honestly couldn’t.

After Hiccup had rebuffed his attempt to hang out following their dinner, Jack had spent the night replaying the evening over and over in his mind, trying to figure out what he might have done to upset him. The next night, he showed up at Hiccup’s place fully prepared to apologize for anything - only to find Hiccup greeting him with the same enthusiasm as ever. They spent the evening immersed in Hiccup’s backlog of new music as if nothing had happened.

But as much as Jack wanted to believe everything was normal, something had shifted. Hiccup’s words and actions were the same, but Jack couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something unspoken lingering between them. He noticed it in the subtle tension when they were close, the way Hiccup’s body stiffened at even the slightest touch, the invisible line that seemed to stretch between them.

Of course, he had no proof - Hiccup hadn’t said a word, and continued to invite Jack over every night, unbothered by his presence. Still, to Jack, it felt real, undeniable even. He couldn’t stop tiptoeing around the space between them, second-guessing every glance and gesture. 

Had he overstayed his welcome? Did Hiccup actually enjoy having him around, or was he just too polite to ask for space? Jack hoped it was all in his head - but he couldn’t be sure. 

He stared at Hiccup intently now, his mind racing as he watched the other man slowly trace out a name in cursive, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he focused on the small red envelope in front of him. 

“Earth to Jack?”

Jack startled, blinking in surprise as his chin fell out of his hand. He looked around Pippa’s family’s table, finding several sets of eyes on him - including Hiccup’s, who had torn his gaze from his work and was now looking up at Jack in curiosity.   

“W-what?” Jack asked, feeling his face warm as he responded to Jamie. 

“Pippa asked if you could pass the red glitter glue,” Jamie answered obviously, raising an eyebrow at Jack. 

“Unless you’re too busy zoning out, of course,” Pippa said with a smirk. For some reason, the look made Jack feel as if he had been caught doing something worth feeling guilty over. 

“S-sorry,” Jack said, quickly breaking eye contact with the girl and reaching for the glitter glue beside him. He passed it to Pippa, his eyes evading both her and Hiccup’s gaze. “Uh… Guess I’m a little bored of arts and crafts,” he muttered. 

Jamie snorted in amusement. 

“Yeah, we can tell,” he said, pointedly gesturing to the ever growing stack of open envelopes sitting in front of Jack that were waiting patiently to be licked and sealed. “You’re slacking.” 

Jack glared at the pile, frowning at the taste that still lingered on his tongue. Valentine’s Day was a week out, and the kids had all been assigned to make cards for everyone in their class. Hiccup and Jack had agreed to help - but somehow, Jack had gotten stuck with the worst job possible. 

“Why do I have to be the one to seal all the envelopes?” he grumbled, reluctantly grabbing one off the top of the pile and grimacing again at the flavour of glue.

“Because you stink at art,” Cupcake replied nonchalantly, still focused on colouring in some hearts on one of her cards. 

Hiccup, Claude, Caleb, and Monty all snickered, earning themselves a withering glare from Jack. They quickly refocused on the cards in front of them.

“You know - for people who’ve asked for my help, you could certainly be nicer to me…” Jack said petulantly, snatching another envelope from the pile and pulling it across his dried-out tongue. “Here I am, taking time out of my busy schedule so that you guys can celebrate some other guy’s holiday.” 

“Right,” Hiccup smirked. “Because you have so many other things you could be doing, right now…” 

Jack spluttered in indignation. 

“W-well… T-that’s…” He crossed his arms against his chest as he looked away. “That is so not the point.” 

“Don’t listen to these guys, Jack,” Pippa said kindly. “We really do appreciate your help. Licking the envelopes is the most important job.”

“Thank you, Pippa,” Jack said pointedly, resuming his envelope licking and narrowing his eyes towards Hiccup. “At least somebody appreciates me around here.”

“She’s just saying that so she doesn’t have to lick her own envelopes,” Hiccup quipped, eyes still trained on the table as he slowly traced out a new name. 

In spite of himself, Jack couldn’t help but be impressed with the delicacy with which Hiccup’s pen scrawled across the envelope. He hadn’t realized Hiccup had such elegant penmanship - the way his hand glided over the envelope in smooth, precise strokes, forming graceful arcs and loops.

“Am not!” Pippa scoffed, while the other kids around the table all giggled.

“Well then, why don’t you trade jobs with Jack?” Jamie said smugly. 

Pippa stammered an excuse, but Jack was far too absorbed in watching Hiccup work to pay attention. His eyes followed the fluid motion of Hiccup’s hand, then slowly traveled upward, observing the concentration on his face. There was a sense of calmness behind Hiccup’s expression; his bright green eyes steady and locked onto the paper, his lips parted slightly as the very tip of his tongue poked between them. Jack’s eyes tracked Hiccup’s tongue as it slowly moved across his upper lip, wetting the skin-

“JACK."

Startling for the second time in a handful of minutes, Jack ripped his gaze away from Hiccup and blinked down at Pippa. The girl looked almost amused, her head tilted to the side as she looked at Jack in interest. 

“You really are out of it today,” she said, looking as if she somehow knew something that Jack didn’t. Jack felt his face flush again and he instinctively looked away, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. He couldn’t help when his eyes quickly darted to Hiccup - who was still intently focused on the names he was writing out - before settling back on the pile of envelopes beside him. 

“Just… bored,” he reiterated, reaching for the next envelope in the pile and continuing his job. 

All of a sudden, a jarring alarm chimed out from the other end of the table - this time causing everyone to startle from their work. Jack watched as Hiccup fumbled to get his phone out of his pocket. 

“Oh, shoot - time for me to go,” he said hurriedly, silencing the alarm. When the kids all groaned in disappointment, Hiccup gave them a regretful smile. “Sorry, guys - I’ve got my own schoolwork to do.” 

Jack felt his heart start to sink as he watched Hiccup stand from the table. The other man had a planned work session for a group assignment that he had to go work on, which meant he’d be at the university for several hours. Jack was trying to be a little bit more mature about it than the last time this happened - but he still felt sad that they wouldn’t get to hang out until later that night.

“Guess I’ll take over writing the names,” Monty said, grabbing the pile that was in front of Hiccup and pulling it towards himself as Hiccup rushed to the front door, already pulling his coat on. 

“Thanks, Monty. Good luck on the rest of the Valentine’s cards, guys!” Hiccup said over his shoulder. “Bye Aunt Lisa! Bye Uncle Dave!” he yelled up the stairs. The adults yelled out a farewell in reply. Hiccup reached for the doorknob, but then paused and turned back to Jack. “And uh… see you later tonight?” 

“Yep,” Jack answered, giving him as genuine a smile as he could muster given his sudden disappointment that Hiccup was leaving. “See you tonight.” 

The moment Hiccup stepped out the door, a sudden hollow pang hit him - sharp and unexpected. He tried to brush it off with a quiet sigh, but his eyes immediately found the empty chair Hiccup had just vacated. His friends were still there, bustling with energy, but Jack felt… abandoned. He chided himself for being dramatic. One night. That was all. Yet, the absence pressed on him in a way that made his chest tighten.

“How many more of these do we have, any ways?” he asked, voice low, almost sulky, as he brought another envelope to his tongue. 

“I’ve only got a couple left,” Claude said triumphantly.

“Same here,” Caleb added. 

“I’m on my last one.” Cupcake held up a card that was three times the size of all the others she had made. “How’s it look?” she asked Jack eagerly. 

"Oh,” Pippa giggled before Jack could answer. “I bet I know who that one’s for.” 

Cupcake blushed but didn’t hide her grin. 

“Let me guess,” Jamie added with a smirk. “That one’s for Logan.”

Jack watched in confusion as Cupcake and Pippa both dissolved into a fit of giggles. 

“Logan?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. “Who’s Logan?” 

“He’s another kid in our class,” Jamie answered, rolling his eyes. 

Monty leaned over, whispering loudly to Jack. 

“Cupcake has a crush on him.” The two girls giggled again. 

“Oh…” Jack answered awkwardly. He didn’t have any experience with things like that, but he’d been around long enough to know what that meant. “I see. And does he… like you back?” 

“Not yet,” Cupcake answered with a shrug, her smile still set in place as if seemingly unperturbed by this fact. “But he will.” 

“Sounds more like a threat,” Jamie snickered. Pippa elbowed him for that comment, but they all laughed - including Cupcake. 

Deciding to give Jamie a bit of payback for his teasing, Jack’s smile suddenly turned devilish. 

“And what about you,” he said, leaning down towards Jamie and leaning his elbows on the table. “Who do you have a crush on?” 

Surprisingly to Jack, Jamie’s expression quickly turned from laughter to embarrassment. 

“N-Nobody!” he blurted, a scarlet blush blooming across his cheeks and up to his ears.  

“Huh,” Jack hummed, watching Jamie with amusement. Interesting. He made a mental note to question Jamie about it more at a later date. “If you say so.” 

Perhaps taking pity on Jamie, Pippa took her chance to intervene. 

“And what about you?” she asked, giving Jack a pointed look. “Ever had a crush on anyone before?” 

Caleb, Claude and Monty all made amused ooh-ing noises from the other side of the table.

Jack snorted. 

“Nope, never,” he said smugly, crossing his arms across his chest. He had seen countless kids over the decades act all sorts of bizarre around other kids that they had a “crush” on. He almost felt sorry for them. He raised his nose in the air in a mock display of superiority. “Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with such human trivialities.”

Pippa narrowed her eyes in skepticism and hummed, but Claude jumped in first. 

“You mean you’ve never had a crush before?”  

“Never,” Jack confirmed. 

“I don’t believe it,” Caleb challenged.

“It’s true,” Jack insisted, laughing at their incredulity. He shrugged his shoulders. “Wouldn’t even know what that feels like.”

“Well then how can you know you’ve never had one before?” Monty quirked an eyebrow at him. 

Jack faltered. Just for a heartbeat - just enough to feel the fluttering of uncertainty in his chest. 

“Well... I just… do,” he maintained - although he couldn’t help but pause and consider Monty’s question. 

“Then you’re lucky,” Claude said with a self-deprecating laugh as he shook his head. “They’re the worst.” 

“They are not!” Cupcake quickly countered, holding her giant card against her chest. Her smile became sappy as she stared into the distance. “They’re the best.”

Jack’s eyes flicked between the two kids in confusion, considering their contrasting opinions. He knew that having a “crush” made humans act a little strange and silly, but he never really considered the other feelings that might go along with that before now. He eyed his friends in interest, a sudden desire to understand his human charges better leading him to ask his next question. 

“So … What does it feel like?”  

All at once, an assortment of reactions came from the kids around the table - ranging from awkward, to forlorn, to dreamy. 

“Don’t even get me started!” Claude moaned, slumping onto the table. 

“You think about them constantly,” Cupcake grinned, hugging her card a little bit tighter. “They’re all you think about, all day long. And you wonder if they’re thinking about you, too.”

“But if you think about it too hard, you might get all moody,” Claude interrupted. “One minute you’re thinking about how great they are, and the next you’re jealous that they’re hanging out with someone who isn’t you. It’s like a rollercoaster!”

“You also stare at them a lot,” Pippa added, raising an amused eyebrow at Jack. “Like… a lot.” Somehow Jack felt as if her amusement was being directed at him, but before he could dwell on it, another voice distracted him.

“And you get pretty sad when they’re not around…” Jamie said sheepishly, his cheeks tinged pink again. “You wish they didn’t have to leave, and that you could just hang out forever.”

“But you also get really happy when they’re nearby!” Caleb said excitedly. Jack was starting to get whiplash from the difference in attitudes.

“Yeah - you get the butterflies!” Monty added. 

 “Butterflies?” Jack repeated in confusion, struggling to process all of the information the kids were giving him at once. 

“In your belly,” Monty clarified, patting his stomach. “Not real butterflies… but it feels like it. Like a sort of… nervous-happiness.” 

“I see…” Jack said, trying to imagine what that could feel like. But before anyone could say anything else, the sound of the front door suddenly slamming open caused them all to jump and look over towards the entrance. 

Hiccup had tumbled through the doorway, his chest heaving, his hair disheveled and his forehead damp as if he had just been running. For one jubilant moment, Jack thought that maybe Hiccup had changed his mind and decided to skip the group assignment so that he could stay home with Jack and the kids, and he felt his stomach flip at the prospect. 

And just like that, Jack suddenly knew exactly what butterflies felt like.

He froze, a jolt of panic shooting through him as the realization hit like a bolt of lightning. The fluttering butterflies in his stomach twisted into a sick, sinking sensation, as if his insides were plummeting toward the floor. His pulse hammered in his ears, and his hands went clammy. Images and words from the kids’ earlier chatter flashed through his mind, each one striking too close to home.

The moodiness. The jealousy. The constant desire to be around Hiccup, and the sadness when either of them had to leave.

And oh, god… the staring. He gulped thickly as his eyes now instinctively followed Hiccup running anxious fingers through wild, auburn locks. Jack hadn’t noticed how often he stared at Hiccup before now, but in hindsight… 

Every description felt like a mirror reflecting a truth he hadn’t been ready to face, and for the first time, Jack was confronted with the dizzying, undeniable awareness that the very feelings he’d dismissed as trivial were his own. How could this happen to him? He wasn’t even human. 

“F-forgot my laptop,” Hiccup panted, frantically searching, oblivious to the storm inside Jack. “Ugh - I’m gonna’ miss the bus!” 

When Hiccup finally laid eyes on his laptop bag, he snatched it off the floor and bolted back towards the exit. 

“Okay - see ya’ later tonight, Jack!” he yelled out blindly over his shoulder, his voice already fading as he pulled the door shut again. 

Jack gaped at the now sealed door, and the room went silent. The envelope-laden table, the giggling kids, the scattered markers - they all blurred into background noise. His mind spun. 

He had a crush on Hiccup. 

Was this new, or had this been the case the whole time? Was he going to start acting like a crazy person like all of the kids he’s watched over the years? He blinked as he considered the supposed “weirdness” he had been convinced of for the past couple of weeks, and he suddenly suspected that the “weirdness” had likely just been coming from him.  

“Uh… Jack? Are you okay?” Pippa’s voice pulled him back to the present.

“No,” he admitted without thinking, his gaze still fixed on the now-closed door. Then, realizing he’d said it aloud, he scrambled, “I-I mean - y-yes!” He bolted upright, causing a screech across the floor, hearts stopping the kids in their tracks. “I’ve, uh… gotta go.” 

“‘Go’?” Jamie repeated, eyebrows furrowing as he shook his head in confusion. He looked down at the small mountain of unsealed envelopes still sitting in front of Jack’s place at the table, then back up at the spirit himself. “Go where?” 

“J-just… somewhere,” Jack stammered out, backing toward the door. He needed air, space, a moment to process the truth that had just landed like a thunderclap in his chest. “Something I uh, forgot to do…” 

“What?” Jamie asked in incredulity. He stood up from the table, but refrained from moving towards Jack. “B-but, what about the envelopes?” 

Jack ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Couldn’t a guy get a moment of peace to himself for a bit of an internal panic? But then he looked between the small faces who were all staring at him as if he had suddenly descended into madness, and he felt himself soften. He took in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. 

“I-I’m, sorry, guys,” he said genuinely, wishing he could stay but knowing he had to leave - at least for right now. He had finally reached the door, and was already turning towards the door to open it. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” 

“B-but, wait!” Pippa was now standing too, and she reached out a hand to stop Jack. “Should I tell Hiccup you won’t be back tonight, then?”

Jack - who was now turned away from the kids - closed his eyes and thunked his head against the front door at the reminder. He grappled with himself as he considered what he should do against what he wanted to do. 

After a couple of long seconds, he made a decision.

“No,” he said with a grudging sigh. He mustered up as much confidence as he could and turned to give Pippa a faux-smile. “I shouldn’t be too long, so I’ll be back later. You can let him know I’ll see him then.” 

“O-okay,” Pippa answered, still looking at him in concern. “Uh, sure. I’ll tell him you’ll be back, then.” 

“Thanks, Pippa,” he answered softly, giving her another apologetic smile. He turned the smile towards the other kids before finally slipping out of the door. “And, uh - sorry again, guys.” 

As soon as he was out of sight and the door was shut behind him, the smile melted off his face. He felt like a jerk for leaving his friends after he had agreed to help them, but he needed some time to collect himself before he had to face Hiccup again later that night.

He took off into the sky - but he didn’t go very far. He landed himself in a tree off to the side of Pippa’s family’s property, and hunkered down onto one of the higher branches.

He sighed to himself as he stared out across the yard. He couldn’t help but think that the fact that he knew exactly where to go for an unobstructed view of Hiccup’s bedroom window should have been a more obvious indicator to him that he was harbouring a crush. He didn’t do anything creepy like watch the man in his sleep or anything - but there had been numerous nights in which he had waited in that very tree so that he’d know exactly when Hiccup got home and could make his appearance shortly after, acting as if their timings were purely coincidental. He had always felt like an idiot doing it - and looking back at it with what he knew now, he felt even stupider. 

What was he supposed to do about this? Hiccup was his friend, and he wanted to be able to keep hanging out with him without having to deal with all of these… feelings. He didn’t want to be sad and wistful every time he thought of the other man. He didn’t want to be awkward every time they accidentally touched. He didn’t want to be jealous every time that Hiccup spent time with someone who wasn’t him. 

So, how could he make it… go away? Who could help him with this?

Obviously, the kids weren’t an option. The last thing he needed them knowing was that he’d developed a crush on Pippa’s older cousin. He briefly considered consulting one of the other Guardians, but somehow that seemed even more embarrassing than the kids knowing about it. He scratched that thought almost as quickly as it had appeared. 

He sighed again as he leaned back against the tree trunk. He still had a few hours before Hiccup got home. Maybe he’d think of some way to rid himself of this new inconvenience by then. 

And if he couldn’t come up with anything by then, he’d just have to hide it until it had been dealt with. If there was one thing that Jack Frost had become especially good at over the years, it was acting as if everything was fine when it absolutely was not. 

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Hiccup squinted down at the text, trying to make sense of a paragraph that he had already read a half-dozen times. His eyelids were desperately heavy, and the story was slipping away from him. He’d been fighting the sleep that had been pulling on him for over an hour now, and he knew all it would take was a couple of seconds of his head against a soft surface.  

He blinked and shook his head in an attempt to stir himself out of his drowsiness. He was still holding out hope that Jack would show up that night, and he didn’t want to miss him. He felt a little pathetic waiting around all night just so he could have what would probably only be a short visit with Jack, but such was the life of a besotted, pining idiot. 

He wondered for the hundredth time that night where Jack had gone, and if he was okay. Pippa had told him that the spirit made a rather quick and sudden exit while they were still working on their Valentine’s cards, and she sounded more than a little concerned about it. Hiccup hoped that whatever his business had been, that it hadn’t been too dangerous. 

He tried to refocus on his book, but it was no use. Finally deciding to give up on it, he dropped it on the bed beside him and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He rubbed his eyes with enough force to sting, then looked around the bedroom until his eyes settled on his sketchbook on his desk. Maybe some drawing would do better at keeping him awake. 

Before he could muster up the motivation to get up from the bed, however, he suddenly heard the familiar sound of his bedroom window being lifted open. His head whipped towards the noise. 

“Jack!” he grinned, relief flushing through him at the sight of his friend. He moved to meet Jack at the window, his energy mysteriously replenished now that Jack was there. 

“Hey, Hiccup,” Jack said, giving him a meek smile. “How’d the assignment go?” 

It took Hiccup a second to remember what it was that Jack was talking about, having spent the past couple of hours worrying about nothing but Jack. 

“Oh, uh - fine,” he answered dismissively, blinking in confusion. His eyes scanned Jack for any sign of bodily harm. “But - what about you? Are you okay?” 

Jack looked surprised at the question. 

“Uh… Pippa said you had to leave pretty quickly for something…?” Hiccup clarified, arching an eyebrow in bemusement. 

“Oh,” Jack replied, understanding flitting across his face. “Uh - yeah.” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and gave Hiccup a tight smile. “Yeah, everything was fine. Nothing dangerous. Just, uh… you know. Guardian stuff…” 

“I see…” Hiccup said, now squinting in skepticism at Jack’s answer. He was relieved to hear it was nothing dangerous, but he couldn’t help but feel as if Jack was hiding something. The spirit seemed otherwise unharmed, however - so Hiccup reluctantly decided to let it slide. It wasn’t technically his business, even if they were friends. “Well… that’s good, then. I know the kids were worried.” 

“Yeah,” Jack sighed, his shoulders sinking as he wandered over to Hiccup’s bed and plopped himself down. “I feel kinda’ guilty about leaving them like that.”

Hiccup softened at his friend’s expression. 

“I’m sure they’ll understand,” he said, taking a seat beside Jack. “Well - maybe not Jamie,” he added with a teasing smirk. “He got put on envelope duty after you left.” 

“Poor kid.” Jack grimaced, but Hiccup was pleased to see there was now amusement behind the look as well. 

“I’m sure he’ll live,” Hiccup said, shrugging his shoulders. They laughed together for a moment before falling into an amiable silence. A long moment went by before Jack cleared his throat. 

“Hey, uh… Can I… ask you something?” 

Hiccup looked back at his friend, surprised at the hesitation he now heard behind Jack’s voice.  Jack was clearly avoiding looking at him, and Hiccup was taken aback by the violent blush that had started to spread across his friend’s cheeks. 

“Oh, uh… O-of course,” Hiccup said, intrigued by Jack’s change in demeanor. “Sure. Anything.” 

Hiccup waited patiently for Jack to ask his question, but all Jack did was fidget in his seat and wring his fingers together. 

“So…” Hiccup prodded. “Did you mean now, or…?”

Finally, Jack seemed to steel himself and turned his body towards Hiccup, tucking one leg up underneath himself. Hiccup mirrored him, trying to show that he was paying the conversation extra attention given how nervous Jack obviously was. 

“O-okay, uh…” Jack started, awkwardly rubbing the back of his now scarlet neck. His eyes roamed anywhere but Hiccup’s face. “Have you ever, uh…” He paused to clear his throat, as if something were physically blocking the words he wanted to say. “Have you ever… had a crush on someone before?”

Hiccup’s breath hitched at the question, his brain grinding to a complete halt. He stared at Jack with eyes wide in terror. 

“W-what?” 

Jack was as red as can be, but he started to repeat himself anyway. 

“I said, ‘Have you ever had a crush-’”

“W-w-why would you ask that,” Hiccup stammered loudly over him, eyes darting around the room as if searching for an escape route. This was it - Jack knew about his crush. He’d have to leave town - hell, maybe even the country. He pushed out a fake laugh as he tried to think of what possible excuse he could give his aunt and uncle for needing to drop out of college and move halfway across the world. “T-that’s just ridiculous… I-I don’t-”

“C-Cupcake has a crush on Logan!” Jack half-shouted, interrupting Hiccup’s train of thought.

For the second time, Hiccup’s brain stalled - and he blinked in confusion before finally re-meeting Jack’s gaze. 

“This is about… Cupcake?” 

“Y-yes!” Jack said insistently, his eyes widening and darting to the side before coming back to Hiccup. He laughed awkwardly. “O-of course it is. Obviously.” 

Oh. 

Hiccup felt his heartbeat slowly start to return to a normal pace, relief washing through him at the realization that he wouldn’t have to pack up all of his worldly belongings and flee the country. 

“Wait…” He shook his head in bewilderment. “Who’s Logan?”  

“I don’t know - some kid,” Jack muttered, waving his hand dismissively. “But see, we were talking about, you know… crushes,” he continued, looking especially awkward to have to say the word again, “and I didn’t really have any advice for them.” His eyes shifted from side to side. “Uh - you know… On account of not being human, and all. W-we don’t, uh…”

“R-right, of course,” Hiccup quickly nodded in agreement, his own eyes ticking away as he processed what Jack was getting at. He tried to ignore the way his heart was now sinking. Not that he had ever thought he stood a chance any ways, but it still wasn’t easy to hear. “You guys don’t, uh… do that?” 

“R-right! Exactly!” Jack said loudly, nodding his head fervently. His eyes were wild but his smile now looked almost relieved. “So anyway - we were talking, and they started asking questions that I didn’t know how to answer, so I thought…” He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know… That maybe you would know?”

Hiccup felt his face warm. Given his current predicament, he didn’t really feel much like talking about something like that with Jack. The last thing he needed was for Jack to actually find out Hiccup’s true feelings. 

“I-I don’t really have a ton of experience in that department…” 

“But you have had one before…?”

“I mean… I guess so, yeah…” Hiccup said evasively. 

“Okay - great!” Jack nodded in eagerness. “So then, how do you get rid of one?” 

Hiccup blinked. 

“Get rid of one?” he repeated incredulously. 

“Yeah, exactly,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “Like… permanently. For good.” His eyes were concentrating on Hiccup as if he was about to share one of the most important pieces of information in the world.  

“Uh…” Hiccup couldn’t help himself and snorted in amusement. “You can’t just ‘get rid’ of one, Jack…” 

To Hiccup’s surprise, Jack’s face fell at that answer. 

“What? What do you mean?” 

Hiccup blinked again.

“I mean… If people could just ‘get rid’ of them, don’t you think we all would…?” 

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed as he considered the question. He looked away from Hiccup, seeming troubled by the answer Hiccup had given him. After a few seconds he looked back at Hiccup, something sadder behind his expression this time. 

“So… What do you do about them?”

Hiccup stared back at Jack. In spite of himself, his heart fluttered as he locked onto those crystal clear blue eyes. He swallowed thickly. The irony of who was asking him this question was not lost on him.

“Just… wait for them to go away, I guess,” he answered quietly, giving Jack a sad smile as he shrugged a shoulder. “And hope that they do.” 

Jack’s shoulders sank. 

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” he confirmed. 

“That sounds… awful,” Jack said, shaking his head at the prospect. 

Hiccup laughed quietly. 

“Well - you’re not wrong,” he agreed. “She’ll just have to try and ignore it until it goes away.” 

“‘She’?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. He blinked as if remembering something. “Oh - right. Cupcake.” He blew out a long-winded sigh. “Yeah. I’ll, uh… have to tell her.” 

“Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful,” Hiccup said with an apologetic grimace. 

Jack looked back at Hiccup, the disappointment fading from his expression almost instantly. 

“Nah - don’t worry about it,” he said genuinely, giving Hiccup a small, appreciative smile in response. He shrugged a shoulder and laughed lightly. “Not like I could have come up with anything better.” 

“Yeah - guess not,” Hiccup said with an amused smirk. “Honestly, I think Cupcake would probably do better without either of us two’s advice.”

“Probably,” Jack agreed. A familiar mischievous smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Now, maybe if she needed some advice on being a nerd…” he teased, pushing Hiccup lightly on the shoulder. 

Hiccup scoffed good-naturedly. 

“Or how about being a menace to society?”

“Exactly,” Jack laughed. “Then we’ve got her covered.” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

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Jack slid his hand into the oversized bowl balanced on his lap, fingers fishing through the buttery kernels until he managed a small handful. He lifted them carefully, mindful not to disturb the other half of his body - the half currently trapped. His right arm lay pinned stiffly against his side, tingling with that restless, numbing sensation that came from being held too long in one position - but he didn’t dare move it.

He tipped the popcorn into his mouth one kernel at a time, chewing slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. He’d been trying to expand on his flavour pallet over the past few weeks, and buttered popcorn had turned out to be a surprising delight. 

It allowed him some distraction from the personal hell he had now found himself in. 

His eyes stayed locked on the television, the flickering colours painting shadows across his face. But he couldn’t have repeated a single line of dialogue if asked. Every thought, every nerve, was caught up in the solid warmth that was pressing into his side and pinning his arm to his own body.

A sudden shift in the weight caused him to freeze in place, and he wondered if this is where his torture would finally end. But instead, the weight settled deeper against him, curling closer, and with it came a new and devastating sensation: the faint brush of warm breath against the curve of his neck. It ghosted over his skin in steady rhythm, each exhale sending ripples of heat down his spine. 

Jack closed his eyes against the sudden rush, his jaw tight, his pulse drumming far too loudly in his ears. The butterflies he’d been trying to deny for days now returned in force, wings thrashing wildly in his chest. He swallowed hard, forcing air into his lungs, trying to cage the frantic longing that clawed up with every breath against his skin. He couldn’t let it show. He couldn’t let it win. 

It had been one week since Jack had discovered that he had been inflicted with the horrible ailment known as a “crush”, and it had been… difficult, to say the least. It turned out that Operation “Murder His Crush On Hiccup” wasn’t as feasible as he had hoped. He had certainly tried his best, but in the end, Hiccup had been right - there didn’t seem to be a cure. And so instead, he had moved onto Operation “Wait For His Crush On Hiccup To Die A Natural, Yet Slow And Drawn Out Death”. 

This operation was already much, much worse. 

Jack forced his eyes open again, reminding himself sternly that this wasn’t going to vanish just because he wished it would. If he couldn’t learn to ignore it, then he’d drown in it. So he glued his gaze to the glowing television and tried to pretend that the warmth pressing into his side wasn’t there. Tried to pretend that the soft, steady breaths feathering against his collar weren’t sinking into his skin.

But his eyes betrayed him. Slowly, inevitably, they slid to the side.  

Hiccup had shifted in his sleep, no longer merely leaning against Jack’s arm but turned fully toward him, his head tucked neatly against Jack’s shoulder. The weight was startlingly solid for someone who seemed so wiry, and Jack’s gaze traced the gentle curve of his neck down to the slow, even rhythm of his back rising and falling. The sight was almost hypnotic.

Jack had always known Hiccup as sharp and quick, brimming with wit and restless energy. But now… now he looked so unguarded, so completely at peace, that Jack almost felt as though he’d stumbled into some secret place he wasn’t supposed to see. It was intimate and disarming in a way that left his chest tight. How many people, Jack wondered, had ever been allowed to see Hiccup like this?

A stray strand of auburn hair had fallen across Hiccup’s forehead, half-shielding his closed eyes. Jack’s fingers twitched, aching with the absurd desire to brush it back. He scolded himself for even thinking it, biting down on the impulse until his jaw ached, and wrenched his gaze back to the TV.

On the floor in front of them, Cupcake sat cross-legged mere feet from the screen, enraptured by the cheesy romance she had insisted they all watch. She was the only one still awake besides Jack. Around her lay the scattered evidence of their evening: thrown pillows, half-kicked blankets, and the sprawl of three sleeping children - Monty, Pippa, and Jamie collapsed together in a makeshift nest. The room hummed with the quiet comfort of their dozing breaths.

Jack squinted at the movie, trying to catch up. A couple was arguing heatedly about why they couldn’t be together, their dialogue earnest and overwrought. Before he could piece together the context, one of them suddenly grabbed the other by the back of the neck and kissed them hard. Jack’s stomach lurched, his cheeks flaring hot as his gaze - completely against his better judgment - drifted downward again. His eyes caught on Hiccup’s parted lips, and his heart thundered so violently he thought it might wake the whole room. What would that even feel like? 

“Ugh,” Cupcake suddenly groaned in disgust, reaching up to pause the movie. “Even I don’t wanna’ see that.” 

The outburst seemed to startle everyone out of their slumber, and Jack froze when he felt Hiccup stir against his shoulder. 

“Mmm… Is it finally over?” Hiccup’s voice was rough with sleep, low and warm in Jack’s ear. His eyelids fluttered, fighting the dim light of the TV, but the second his gaze cleared, recognition struck. He shot upright like he’d been burned, posture stiff and panicked. “Oh god - I-I fell asleep on you-” 

“Uh - yeah,” Jack’s voice came out too flat. He flexed his arm in front of him, trying to shake out the dull tingling that had set in long ago. The movement gave him something to do, some excuse not to dwell on the sudden absence of warmth pressed against his side. But even as the pins and needles faded, he couldn’t ignore the hollow ache left behind. “Haven’t been able to feel my arm for the last hour,” he added lightly, trying to mask the way it stung to see Hiccup so horrified. 

“God - I’m sorry.” Hiccup dragged a hand down his face with a wince. Even in the dim glow, Jack could see the deep flush spreading across his cheeks and ears. It wasn’t disgust - it was embarrassment, raw and unfiltered, and Jack felt something inside him ease at the realization. “Seriously - you could have woken me up-”

“N-no—it’s fine. Really.” Jack cut him off quickly, almost too quickly, the urge to soothe him swelling up before he could stop it. His voice faltered as he glanced around and caught the unmistakable weight of four sets of eyes fixed squarely on them. Heat climbed his neck, and he ducked his head, fumbling for composure. “It’s, uh… no big deal.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he caught Pippa smirking. Maybe it was just the flicker of the TV - but the look was sharp enough to make his stomach twist. 

“Can we watch the other movie now?” Monty’s groggy voice broke the tension as he stretched his arms wide with a cavernous yawn.

“Oh - yeah, of course,” Hiccup said, quickly pulling himself up from the couch. He looked as grateful for the interruption to their awkward moment as Jack was. “We’ve got a couple more hours until your parents come and pick you up, so we’ve got time.” 

“It’s just not very Valentine’s-y,” Cupcake said, although she settled into the blankets along with her friends regardless. 

“Exactly,” Jamie replied with a laugh. “Just because it’s Valentine’s Day, doesn’t mean we have to watch gross movies,” he added, gesturing to the kissing scene that was now paused on the television screen.  

“It wasn’t gross!” Cupcake protested. But when her eyes flicked back to the screen, a faintly disgusted expression took over. “Well… not all of it, anyway.”  

 “Anyone need any more snacks before we start?” Hiccup asked, loading the next DVD into the player. He gave Jack a pointed look over his shoulder. “Since Jack seems to have polished off the rest of the pizza.”

Jack scoffed, happy to settle back into their regular banter over the suffering he had endured for the past hour. 

“Well it’s not like any of you guys were eating it,” he said defensively. He scooped up some more popcorn. “And it was getting cold,” he added, before unceremoniously tipping the popcorn into his mouth. 

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but his smile was fond. 

“I think we’re good,” Pippa giggled, pulling the bowl of popcorn that Hiccup had given to the kids earlier in the evening towards herself. She squinted at Jack. “Just stay out of our bowl.”

Jack squinted back at her, his chewing becoming decidedly more forceful. 

The menu screen for the DVD came up with a startling noise, and Hiccup quickly reclaimed his seat on the couch beside Jack - although Jack noted that he put a lot more space between them, this time.  

“Is this movie gonna’ be scary…?” Monty asked, looking at the screen with uncertainty now as the movie’s cryptic theme tune started to play. 

“Only a little bit,” Pippa promised. “At least according to Claude and Caleb.” 

Hiccup frowned in concern. 

“We can always watch something else, if you want-”

“N-no, it’s okay,” Monty said, shrinking behind the blanket he had wrapped around himself. “We can watch this one.” 

“Are you sure?” Hiccup asked skeptically. “I don’t think I’d be a very good babysitter if I accidentally gave you long-lasting trauma.” 

“He’s fine,” Jamie quickly insisted, wrapping an arm around Monty and squeezing. “If Claude and Caleb can get through it, then so can we.” 

“I-it’s fine,” Monty agreed, now trembling as he eyed the screen. He gave Hiccup a shaky smile. “Y-you can play it now.” 

“Alright…” Hiccup said reluctantly. “But if it gets to be too scary, let me know and we can turn it off - okay?” 

Monty nodded and steeled himself before turning back towards the television, then Hiccup pressed play on the remote. 

Now that Hiccup wasn't draped against him like an impossibly warm, distracting weight, Jack was finally able to focus on the film. It was some kind of sci-fi classic - not technically horror, but it may as well have been. The claustrophobic silence of the spaceship set his nerves jangling. Every creak of metal echoed like a threat, every flicker of a shadow hinted at something waiting just out of frame. His shoulders tightened unconsciously with each step the on-screen crew took down those dim, steel corridors. 

By the time the movie hit its midpoint, Jack was practically perched on the edge of the couch. The children in front of them had gone unusually quiet, bundled together in their blanket nest, their giggles long replaced by wide-eyed stares. Jack reached absently for the popcorn bowl balanced between him and Hiccup, gaze fixed on the screen as one of the characters crept through a narrow passage, gun raised and trembling in their grip. His fingers sifted through the popcorn without looking-

-and then closed around another warm, slender hand. 

Both he and Hiccup shrieked on instinct, jerking back so violently that the bowl went flying. Kernels rained down on the kids, and their startled yells instantly joined in, all of them twisting around to see what fresh horror had snuck up behind them. 

But before anyone could process what was happening, the real scare landed: the movie alien dropped out of a ceiling vent with a guttural snarl. 

Another round of ear-splitting screams shook the room as every single head whipped back toward the TV. 

Jack clutched at his chest, heart hammering. Hiccup looked like he'd just been electrocuted, his own chest heaving. He whipped back towards Jack, his ears red. 

"S-sorry!" the man blurted, looking equal parts terrified and embarrassed. "I didn't - sorry!"

But before Jack could reply, the kids were all turning back to glare at them. 

“What the heck was that?” Jamie barked. "You scared us half to death!"

Jack was sure his face was bright red, but he hoped the darkness was enough to hide it. 

“N-nothing!” he said quickly, looking anywhere but at the kids. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he caught Pippa shaking her head and rolling her eyes before turning back to the screen.

The movie carried on, but Jack’s focus had entirely shifted. He kept stealing glances at Hiccup as the awkward moment faded. Part of him wished he could just grab those fingers again, hold on, and never let go. The thought alone made his chest tighten, and he swallowed hard to quiet the sudden racing of his heart.

When he finally risked another glance, Hiccup’s sharp green eyes were already on him. Jack’s face heated instantly, and he snapped his gaze back to the screen. Hiccup’s eyes flicked away at the same time, betraying a similar flustered awareness.

Great. He was acting weird, again. And now Hiccup looked uncomfortable too. Jack clenched his jaw. He really needed to stop staring.

As if on cue, the next alien leapt from the ceiling with a spine-chilling shriek, sending the kids into another chorus of terrified screams. Monty shot upright from the floor, nearly toppling his carefully constructed pillow fort in his haste.

“Um... I think I’m gonna sit on the couch,” he announced, dragging his blanket behind him as he hurried toward Jack. Without hesitation, he launched himself onto the unoccupied side, pressing against Jack and inadvertently nudging him closer to Hiccup. Monty’s small body trembled against Jack’s side, the vibrations running through him. “It’s, uh… comfier…” Monty added, his voice muffled against Jack.

“Right…” Jamie deadpanned from the floor. “Comfier.” He flinched at another sudden noise from the movie, eyes darting nervously, before reluctantly standing up. “But, uh... maybe that doesn’t sound so bad,” he muttered, inching closer.

Before long, Pippa and Cupcake followed suit, screams erupting in unison as yet another well-timed jumpscare rattled the room. The two girls pushed themselves against Hiccup on his side of the couch, while Jamie wedged in beside Monty. Jack barely had time to grab the popcorn bowl before being sandwiched between bodies.

“Ow - would you guys be careful?” Jack muttered, once again finding himself pressed shoulder-to-shoulder with Hiccup because of the kids on either side of them. 

“I knew we should have watched something else,” Hiccup sighed in exasperation, wiggling uncomfortably between Jack and Pippa. The kids, meanwhile, seemed oblivious, burrowing deeper into their blankets and ignoring the grown-ups entirely as they refocused on the movie.

Jack tried to concentrate on the screen, truly he did, but the familiar warmth of Hiccup pressed against him made it difficult. Unlike before, Hiccup wasn't asleep, so the weight of him against Jack felt different now. Every small shift - an elbow adjusting, a breath drawn too deeply - registered against Jack with distracting clarity. It was uncomfortably intimate, and the silence between them only made it worse, stretching Jack's nerves thin.

Eventually, the kids succumbed to sleep, curling and stretching across the couch in ways that made any attempt to move feel like a monumental task. Hiccup glanced down at Pippa, her head heavy on his leg, and gave a small shake of his head. 

“I have no idea how they can sleep through this,” he murmured, wincing at a particularly loud alien screech through the speakers.

Something akin to relief flushed through Jack at the attempt in conversation. He hated the weight of the quiet, and anything was better than sitting in that awkward limbo where every second felt too loud. So, he forced himself to let out a soft laugh, grinning and lobbing the first joke that came to mind.  

“Aw - don’t tell me you’re scared too, Hiccup.”

“I’m not scared,” Hiccup answered, giving Jack a good-natured roll of his eyes that helped to ease the knot in Jack's chest. “I just think it’s noisy-”

He jumped when a door was smashed in to reveal a particularly large and menacing alien. The squeak that came out of him cut off his sentence, and he instinctively grabbed Jack’s nearest wrist in startled panic. 

Jack snorted, amused despite himself. 

“You were saying?” he teased, lifting an eyebrow. 

“Shut up,” Hiccup muttered, letting go quickly, cheeks flushing in the dim light.

“Don’t worry, buddy,” Jack pressed on, bumping their shoulders together gently. “I’ll protect you from the aliens.” 

This time, Hiccup snorted. The tension drained from his posture as he let himself settle more comfortably against Jack's side. It was subtle, but Jack felt the shift immediately, like the air between them had finally loosened. For the first time that night, he let himself relax too, the awkwardness melting into something easier, something familiar. 

“You’re the worst, you know that?” Hiccup muttered, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“And yet here you are spending your evening with me,” Jack countered. “So I can’t be that bad.” 

“Well it’s not like I had anything else to be doing on Valentine’s Day.” Hiccup huffed in amusement. “I’m not exactly in high demand.”

“Ouch,” Jack said, still smirking as he grabbed his chest. He gestured towards Monty and Jamie, who were tucked underneath his other arm, still fast asleep. “Are you saying we’re your last resort?”

“No,” Hiccup said nonchalantly. “My last resort is spending Valentine’s Day alone in my room with Toothless.”

Jack cringed sympathetically. He looked towards the cat in question curled up on the coffee table. 

“Okay…yeah. You’re right. That does sound worse.”

As if he could hear Jack, Toothless cracked open one eye to glare at him, but then quickly closed it and went back to sleep. Jack snorted in amusement. 

“But you have to admit-” he continued, looking back at Hiccup and giving him a self-satisfied grin “-hanging out with us is a pretty good back-up plan. I mean, what could you possibly rather be doing?” 

Hiccup’s amusement faded subtly, replaced by something quieter, more contemplative. He bit his lip, eyes meeting Jack’s for a brief, unreadable moment before flicking over the sleeping kids on the couch. 

“Honestly,” Hiccup said quietly, a more genuine smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “this is probably the best Valentine’s Day I could hope to have.”

“The best Valentine’s Day you could hope to have is one spent babysitting?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow in mock skepticism.

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

“Not that.” To Jack’s surprise, Hiccup’s cheeks were starting to turn pink again, and he suddenly looked shy. He turned to look straight ahead towards the television, an obvious attempt to seem nonchalant. “I meant… you know. Hanging out with you,” he clarified, shrugging his shoulder into Jack.  

Jack blinked in surprise, a warmth blooming behind his chest. 

“Yeah?” he asked, his smile turning from teasing to gentle as he stared at Hiccup’s head in quiet awe.

“W-well, I mean,” Hiccup stammered, his eyes ticking between Jack and the TV as he tried to continue to appear aloof, “Y-yeah.” He shrugged his shoulders again. “It’s nice to at least spend it with friends. And you’re… kinda’ my only friend…” His face scrunched in thought and he looked into the distance. “Actually - I think… that might make you my best friend,” he said, shaking his head in confusion. 

“I’m your best friend?” Jack laughed quietly in amazement. Jack had never had a best friend before, and he was surprised by how much weight the moniker carried. 

“Uh… I think so?” Hiccup finally turned to meet Jack's gaze, still looking bemused by the realization. “Aren’t you?”

“Well, you've just admitted that you have no other friends besides your cat…” Jack replied with a teasing smirk. “So…”

“And thank you for that reminder that I’m a friendless-loser,” Hiccup deadpanned. 

“Well - not completely friendless,” Jack smiled smugly. “As we just established.” 

Hiccup squinted his eyes at Jack, but he was clearly trying not to smile. 

“You know, I might have to rethink this.” 

“Wow,” Jack said, feigning offense. “Is that really any way to talk to your best friend, Hiccup?” 

“Is this any way to talk to your best friend?” Hiccup countered, snorting in amusement. 

“Hey - I never said that you were my best friend,” Jack shrugged, unable to resist one last jab. “You just said that I was yours.” 

“Oh really,” Hiccup scoffed, still looking amused. 

“Really,” Jack said dispassionately, turning back to the television as if to refocus on the movie. 

“Alright, fine,” Hiccup said, also turning back to face the television. 

They both pretended to watch the movie for a few more seconds, but it wasn’t long before Hiccup caved. 

“Okay, but…” Hiccup finally broke the silence, a hint of worry tinging his voice now as he turned back to Jack, “...am I?”  

Jack rolled his eyes fondly, unable to keep up the charade. 

“Obviously you’re my best friend, too, Hiccup,” he said with a laugh. 

“R-right, yeah.” Hiccup nodded as if he hadn’t been worried at all, but Jack could tell there was some relief behind the expression. “Obviously.” 

“Just don’t tell Aster,” Jack added, rearranging his face into mock sympathy. “It’d only break his heart.” 

Hiccup laughed lightly - a noise that made all of Jack’s senses dance.

“I’m sure,” he said sarcastically, and they both laughed together again, the comfort of it settling over them. 

As the movie continued, a quiet, companionable silence enveloped them. Jack was almost even able to pay attention all the way through to the end of the movie - but every once in a while, he couldn’t help but steal a glance at Hiccup and smile fondly to himself as he remembered his new title. 

Jack had a best friend. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Alright,” Hiccup said, closing the front door behind Monty and his parents. “That’s the last one.” He turned to face Jack and Pippa, the latter of whom was mid-yawn. “And I think it’s about time for you to head up to bed, too,” he added with an amused snort.

“Yeah,” Pippa said through her yawn. “I think so too.” She gave Hiccup a hug around the waste and smiled up at him. “Thanks for letting us get pizza and watch movies.” 

“Sure,” Hiccup said fondly, patting her on the back in return. “It was fun.” 

She pulled herself away and headed for the stairs. 

“Bye, Jack!” she yelled over her shoulder with a wave. “See you later!” 

“You bet,” Jack said with a light laugh. He waved back. “See ya’, Pippa!”  

Hiccup and Jack watched her leave, but before they could do anything else, a loud noise from behind them caused them both to jump. Hiccup gasped and grabbed his chest in shock as he and Jack looked frantically at each other, but it didn’t take long for them to realize that it was just someone knocking on the front door again. He released his breath, feeling silly for jumping - but the fact that Jack was clearly a little on edge after the alien movie as well helped him feel a bit better.

“Just, uh… the door,” he said with a nervous laugh.

“Y-Yeah,” Jack smiled tightly, also trying to feign confidence. “O-obviously.”

“I’ll just…” he trailed off, gesturing to the door with his thumb.    

He turned back towards the door, expecting one of the kids who had just been picked up to be standing on the other side - probably because they’d forgotten something behind. But when he opened it, he was shocked to see someone he’d never have expected to be knocking on his door. 

His eyebrows climbed to the very top of his forehead, but before he could say anything, Jack spoke first. 

“Thought you were more accustomed to the chimney?” he said with a smirk, leaning against the doorframe beside Hiccup and crossing his arms against his chest.

“Jack… ” Hiccup muttered, elbowing him in the ribs. He didn’t want to come off as rude in front of this particular person. Luckily, the man in front of them didn’t seem to mind. 

“Jack!” North said with a jovial laugh. “You are here, too.” He gave Hiccup a knowing look. “Imagine that.” 

Hiccup immediately felt himself blush under his gaze, the conversation him and North had while out in his sleigh coming directly to mind. 

“Sure am,” Jack said happily, one of his arms snaking around Hiccup’s shoulders as he leaned into him. He seemed oblivious to Hiccup’s sudden embarrassment. “Just here, hanging out with my best friend.”

“I see," North answered, his look towards Hiccup becoming amused. “And on Valentine’s Day, no less.” 

Hiccup found himself wishing the floor would open up and swallow him whole. 

“Y-yeah,” he said with an awkward laugh, his eyes evading North as he tried to pry Jack’s arm off of his shoulders. He really didn’t want to give North the wrong idea. “Just uh, you know. Babysitting… Watching some movies with the kids…” 

“Da - of course, of course,” North nodded, the amusement not gone from his voice despite his words. “Well,” he continued, readdressing Jack, “Is very nice to see you here as well.” He reached into a satchel across his body. “Because I have something for both of you.”  

“Uh - you do?” Hiccup raised an eyebrow and looked towards Jack, but he now looked just as bemused as Hiccup. Jack shrugged his shoulders at him to indicate he had no idea what this was about, either. 

“I do,” North grinned. He pulled out two envelopes and handed one to each of them. “Here you go.” 

Hiccup looked down at the forest green envelope in his hand, his own name scrawled on the front of it in swoopy, gold ink. 

“Oh,” Jack said. Hiccup looked over at him and saw that his envelope had his own name written on it. Jack snorted in amusement and rolled his eyes. “I think I know what this is.” 

“Well, maybe this year you actually make appearance - hm?” North said, raising an amused eyebrow towards Jack. 

“Appearance?” Hiccup asked, looking between the two in question before starting to peel open the envelope. 

Inside was a thick, cream-coloured invitation. Hiccup’s eyes widened as he started to read through the information. 

“Is invitation to my birthday party this weekend!” North beamed. “I invite Jack every year, but he never comes. Perhaps this year you drag him along.” 

“Your birthday’s in February?” Hiccup asked in confusion. 

“Da,” North answered plainly. “So - you will come?” he asked, looking between Hiccup and Jack both. 

“I don’t know, North…” Jack said with an evasive look. “You know I’ve never been into these things…” 

“Jack,” North softened, putting a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I know getting to know others is not your favourite thing. But now you are Guardian! People, they want to get to know you.” He slapped Jack’s shoulder in a friendly way. “Maybe you even have a little fun, hm?”

“So - when you say ‘others’...” Hiccup interrupted. 

“Oh, all kinds of others!” North grinned at him and crossed his arms. His smile became smug and he shrugged one shoulder. “Is quite a big invite list.”  

Hiccup could imagine. He looked over at Jack, where he found his friend biting his bottom lip in thought. Jack seemed to notice his gaze and turned towards him. 

“Do you… wanna’ go?” he asked Hiccup hesitantly. 

Of course Hiccup wanted to go. Who didn’t want to go to Santa Claus’ birthday party? But North’s words from earlier kept him from outright saying “yes”.

“Uh… do you want to go?” He didn’t want to force Jack into something he wasn’t comfortable with. 

Jack started to worry his bottom lip between his teeth again as he considered the question. His eyes darted to North before resettling on Hiccup. 

“I guess if you were going to be there, too…” 

“Great!” North grinned, raising his arms in celebration. “Is settled, then. You both come to party.”

“If you’re sure…” Hiccup said to Jack, trying to get a sense for whether or not his friend was really okay with this. Jack hesitated for a couple of seconds, but eventually blew out a breath and turned back to North. 

“Alright, fine,” he said with a good-natured roll of his eyes. “We’ll be there.” 

“Is what I already said,” North said happily. He clapped his hands once in front of him. “Okay, I leave you alone so you can get back to whatever it is that you were doing.” 

“Babysitting,” Hiccup said pointedly, his cheeks starting to get hot again. 

“Of course,” North smirked as he turned from the door and started walking towards the street. It was only then that Hiccup realized there was an entire sled parked in front of his house, complete with reindeer. 

“Whoa,” he breathed out. He was surprised nobody else on the street was out to question it, and supposed it was lucky that it was already dark out. 

“I see you at party, Hiccup!” North waved as he climbed into the sleigh. He looked at Jack and squinted. “And I see you tomorrow at meeting. Try not to be so late this time, Jack.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack said with another roll of his eyes. “Bye, North.” 

Hiccup watched in awe as North coaxed the reindeer up into the sky, feeling envious as he recalled the sensation of riding in the sleigh. When the sleigh was finally high enough to be out of sight, he snapped back to reality and closed the front door. 

“So… You’re really okay with going?” he asked, turning back to Jack.

“I mean, it’s probably about time I go to one of these things…” Jack shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “And I’m at least familiar with the other Guardians, now.” His expression turned meek as he looked back at Hiccup. “And I guess you’ll be there, so…” 

“Exactly,” Hiccup confirmed. “And we can leave anytime you want,” he added hurriedly, hoping to provide some reassurance. “You know... If it gets too overwhelming, or whatever…” 

Jack gave him a grateful smile in return, a sight that made Hiccup’s heart skip a beat. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed. “And who knows,” he added with a shrug. “It might even be fun.” 

“Stranger things have happened,” Hiccup smirked.

“Right,” Jack said with a light laugh, his hand moving to the front pocket of his sweater. 

Hiccup’s eyes tracked the movement of Jack ‘s hands as they slid inside the pocket - but then a new thought occurred to him, and his face suddenly dropped. 

“Wait…” he said, a slight panic rising behind his chest. His eyes snapped back to Jack’s, who was now looking at him with concern. He grabbed onto Jack’s shoulders and shook him lightly. “What am I going to wear to this?” 

Jack’s face immediately fell. 

“Seriously?” he said, squinting his eyes at Hiccup in disbelief.   

“The invitation didn’t have a dress code!” Hiccup’s voice had risen several octaves. “Is it casual? Is it formal? I don’t want to seem out of place!”

“Hiccup, you’re going to be the only human at a party full of deities and magical creatures,” Jack deadpanned. “You’re guaranteed to be out of place.”

“M-maybe that new green cable knit I got last week?” Hiccup continued, starting to pace the area as he mentally ran through everything in his closet. “U-unless that’s too casual,” he added, pushing a hand through his hair in frustration. He dropped his hand and whipped his head back towards Jack. “Should we get, like… tuxedos?”

“Right - okay, then,” Jack said sarcastically as he turned towards the stairs. “I’m gonna’ go wait upstairs for you to get over whatever episode of insanity you’re going through.”  

“Too formal?” Hiccup yelled after him as he rushed to follow him up the stairs. “M-maybe just a nice suit, then…” 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

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“Hiccup, you look fine,” Jack said with an exasperated eyeroll. 

“I just wish the portals didn’t do such a number on my hair,” the other man grumbled, batting at his hair as he tried to make it lay flat. Jack suspected that it was probably a losing battle, but he refrained from saying it. 

“Trust me, it’s better than what the wind does to my hair,” he said instead, smirking as he pointed towards his own head. 

“Yeah, but yours just ends up looking… effortless,” Hiccup complained, still running fingers through his wild locks. Jack was absolutely not jealous that he couldn’t do the same.

“True,” Jack said with a cocky smile as he raised a fist to knock on the sealed door to North’s workshop. “I do make it look good.” 

“And are you sure we’re dressed up enough,” Hiccup continued, Jack’s comment going right over his head. He self-consciously pulled at his green cable-knit sweater. “Maybe we should have gotten the tuxedos.” 

“We don’t need tuxedos for a birthday party, Hiccup-”

“And what if he doesn’t like my gift,” Hiccup said anxiously, now fussing with the ribbon on the wrapped gift he carried. 

“Uh - don’t you mean our gift?” 

This finally seemed to snap Hiccup out of his spiral, earning Jack a mildly amused snort and roll of his eyes.  

“All you did was write your name beside mine on the tag.”  

“Well, yeah…” Jack shrugged. “But you’re my plus one. So that automatically makes it a joint gift.” 

“What?” Hiccup scoffed. “I’m not your plus one. I got my own invitation!” 

Before anything more could be said, the door was finally answered, and Jack was greeted with the familiar sight of Phil opening the small security window on the door.

“Jack Frost - here with his plus one,” Jack said quickly with a smooth smile. He smirked as he saw Hiccup glare at him from the corner of his eye, but the other man held his tongue this time as he sidled up next to Jack. 

Phil’s eyes narrowed at him, peering at Jack in mild disdain. Jack rolled his eyes at the well-known treatment. 

“Come on, Phil. You know we’re invited,” he said in a slightly annoyed tone as he held up their invitations. Phil merely squinted back at him, but eventually he closed the window and started to unlock the door. 

“Oh no,” Hiccup muttered as soon as the door opened, his eyes raking over Phil and his face falling.

There was Phil - standing stick-straight off to the side of the open doorway, one arm still on the door that he held open, and the other gesturing for them to enter - adorned in a perfectly fitting tuxedo.  

“You have got to be kidding me,” Jack deadpanned.  

“I knew it,” Hiccup whispered frantically towards Jack as he looked down anxiously at his own outfit. “ God - I knew it.” 

“Just - try not to panic,” Jack whispered back as they slowly crossed the threshold. 

As soon as they entered, they were met with all of the sounds of a party already in full-swing. The sound of music was filtering down the hall towards them, mixed in with the chatter and laughter of people. They followed the sounds all the way to the main area of the shop, their eyes wide as they took in the display that was North’s birthday party. 

The entire place had been decorated from top to bottom with curtains, balloons, and string-lights - even the giant globe in the centre of the shop. There were lavish food and drink stations set up all over the space, all run by yetis dressed in chef hats and aprons. A ten-foot-tall champagne fountain towered directly over them near the entrance. People were milling about everywhere, chatting in small groups and mingling amongst each other as they grabbed food and drinks off of trays carried by tuxedo-cladded elves. If Jack had to put a headcount on the number of attendants, it’d be at least a couple hundred. 

“Uh - might be a bit of overkill here,” Jack muttered to Hiccup as his eyes continued to sweep the area. A tree guardian suddenly walked in front of them, wearing nothing but a loin cloth made of moss. “At least it doesn’t seem like we’re underdressed, though.” 

“Who is that?” Hiccup gaped as the being made of twisted branches and leaves made his way towards what looked to be like an omelet station. 

“He’s a tree guardian,” Jack answered nonchalantly. “Guards the trees, and whatnot.” 

“Wow," Hiccup breathed. “That’s so cool.” 

“I guess,” Jack shrugged as if unfazed. “Not as cool as being the entire spirit of winter,” he teased, giving Hiccup an overconfident grin. “But cool enough, I suppose.”

“Jack! Hiccup!” 

They turned their heads in unison towards a familiar shape that had started flitting towards them, followed by a few more familiar faces behind her. Jack was secretly relieved to see that they were also all dressed the same as usual - with the exception of one small addition on Sandy’s part. 

“You’re here!” Tooth greeted them both with a hug as her companions tried to catch up to her. 

“Hey, Tooth!” Jack answered, laughing lightly at her enthusiasm. “How’s the party going?” 

“Great, so far!” A sprite with a plate of crêpes piled high with whip cream and chocolate sauce flew past them, and Tooth’s smile faltered as her eyes followed the plate. “Although - this food isn't the greatest for maintaining healthy teeth…”

“More business for you,” Aster said with a shrug as he finally reached them. “Frost,” he said with a curt nod. Jack returned it with one of his own. “And Hiccup.” He smiled as he reached out to shake Hiccup’s hand. “Nice to see you were able to drag him out.”

Before Jack could say anything, a set of small arms wrapped themselves around his calves and squeezed with such force that Jack almost fell over. 

“Whoa - Careful, Sandy,” Jack said with a laugh. “It’s nice to see you, too.”

As the small being detached himself from Jack’s legs, a giant golden hand made of sand granules appeared above his head and waved at Hiccup.

“Hey, Sandy!” Hiccup waved back. “Nice bowtie,” he added, pointing at the small bowtie made of sand pinned to the front of Sandy’s neck. Sandy preened at the compliment, the waving hand shifting into a heart. 

“Is that Jack and Hiccup?” 

They all turned towards the booming voice, the man of the hour making his way over to them as he carried a tray chock full of cocktails. Jack cringed as the glasses wobbled to-and-fro, clinking against each other, but somehow never spilling a drop. 

“You made it!” North beamed as he closed the gap between them like a freight train, immediately wrapping both Jack and Hiccup up with his one free arm and scooping them up like rag dolls. They both groaned in pain as they were lifted from the floor in a bone-crushing hug, their faces mashed into the front of North’s beard. “Is so nice to see you!”  

“N-North,” Jack gasped through the agony of his ribs being bent into a new shape. “T-too tight."

“Sorry, sorry!” North said, still grinning as he gently placed them back on the ground. The two both immediately doubled-over as they tried to catch their breath. “Is just so exciting!”

“God - I think you just realigned my spine,” Jack hissed, rubbing a hand on his lower back to ease the pain as he righted himself. 

“H-h-happy birthday, North,” Hiccup panted, a distorted attempt of a polite smile on his face as he also stood back up. “And thank you for having us. The place looks great.” 

“Thank you, thank you. The yetis and elves really went all out this year,” North nodded in confirmation as he looked around the space. “Is some of their best work yet.” 

“Yeah… It’s very, uh… elaborate,” Jack said evasively, his eyes flicking to the side. “Any ways, we got you this,” he quickly added, grabbing the gift out of Hiccup’s hands and thrusting it toward North. 

“Oh! You did not have to do this,” he grinned. “Thank you. Is very kind.” He grabbed the gift and held it up to his ear, shaking it lightly as he listened for something. His face dropped, and he looked directly at Hiccup. “...Is this new Stratoscale D857X Digital Calipers set?

“Uh…. y-yeah,” Hiccup said, his cheeks flushing as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “You probably already have them, right-?” 

“The extreme weather resistant ones with automatic shutoff, two inch display screen, and two hundred millimetre range?” North was now grinning from ear to ear, which caused Hiccup to blink in surprise and start to smile back. 

“Uh… yeah, that’s them,” Hiccup laughed. His expression suddenly became excited to match North’s. “They also have the built-in data port to- 

“-to copy and transfer measurements directly onto computer!” North finished for him, nodding his head emphatically.

Jack cocked an eyebrow and looked between North and Hiccup, wondering what strange language they were now speaking. 

“This is perfect!” North continued. “I was going to get them next week, but now I don’t have to! Thank you, Hiccup.” 

“Actually, North-” Jack raised a finger in protest “-if you look at the tag, I think you’ll find that that gift was from both of us.”

“Da - of course,” North replied, the sarcasm barely concealed behind his smile. “Thank you to you as well, Jack.” He looked around him, spotting a nearby elf walking past with a tray of hors d’oeuvres and waving them over. “Please, put this with the others.” 

The elf nodded and grabbed the still-wrapped gift from him, then trotted over to a table behind them that Jack hadn’t noticed before then. His mouth fell open at the sight of what was on it. 

“Those are all for you?” Jack gaped, taking in the small mountain of gifts teetering on the tabletop - a pile stacked nearly fifteen feet in the air.

“What can I say,” North said with a smug shrug of his shoulders. “I am quite popular.” He turned back towards the other Guardians and thrust out the tray of drinks. “But enough chit-chat - you are all empty-handed! Please, take themed cocktail!” 

The Guardians did as they were told and grabbed a glass, Aster passing one down to Sandy before taking his own. 

“And you two, as well,” North said, passing a glass each to Jack and Hiccup. 

Jack squinted at his glass in suspicion. The liquid inside was creamy and white, and the rim was lined with red and white sugar. He gave it a sniff, and found it smelled like a combination of the pungent scent of alcohol and sugar cookies. 

“Uh… Does this have alcohol in it?” Hiccup asked reluctantly, giving his own drink a sniff. “I don’t think I’m supposed to-” 

“No drinking age in the North Pole, mate,” Aster said matter-of-factly, before unceremoniously tilting his head back and chugging half the cocktail in one gulp. He smacked his lips and tilted his head to the side as he considered the flavour, then shrugged and finished the second half in another big gulp. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and plunked his empty glass back on North’s tray. “Not bad, actually.”

“Uh… Looks like a lot of sugar in there…” Tooth smiled tightly, already passing her glass over to Aster. Without a word, he accepted it and started chugging it back. “Think I’ll pass today…” 

“Suit yourself,” North shrugged, grabbing a cocktail for himself and taking a sip. He hummed in satisfaction at the flavour. “More for us!” he said as he winked down at Jack and Hiccup. 

“R-right,” Hiccup said with an awkward laugh, still looking unsure. No doubt out of an obligation to be polite, he finally raised the glass to his mouth and took a tiny sip - but as soon as he did so, his expression changed from reluctance to one of pleasant surprise. “Actually, that is pretty good.” He followed it with another, more normal-sized sip. “Is that a hint of chocolate, I taste?” 

“Is my own secret recipe,” North said with a self-satisfied grin. 

Curiosity getting the better of him, Jack finally took a sip out of his own drink. He had to admit it was pleasantly sweet and reminded him very much of the chocolate swirl cookies that the yetis put out for visitors to the shop - but then the sharp aftertaste hit, and he couldn’t help but blink and grimace.

“Wow - how much vodka did you put in this?” 

“I just said, is secret,” North answered, taking another long pull from his own glass. “Alright - I must go perform host duties and schmooze with other guests.” He started to walk away from them, already heading towards a group of gnomes near the salad station. “Please, enjoy food and drinks and company! I will see you all later.”   

“He’s certainly in his element,” Aster said with a wry smirk as North started animatedly chatting with the gnomes and offering them their own cocktails. 

“I’m sure the extra ‘Christmas Cheer’ helps,” Jack snorted, taking another sip of his potent drink. 

“Well - how about we get some food, hm?” Tooth said, hooking an arm into Hiccups and tugging him towards some of the food stations. 

“O-oh, okay,’ Hiccup said, looking over his shoulder towards Jack to make sure he was following them. 

As the rest of them followed Tooth and Hiccup, Jack took an opportunity to look around at all the options. There were all kinds of stations, including ones for tacos, pasta, carved meats, and elaborate seafood. Jack didn’t have much interest in anything of that nature - but one station in particular had him stopping in his tracks. 

“No way,” he breathed excitedly. He immediately passed the rest of his cocktail to Aster and made a beeline for the station, weaving his way in and out between other guests like a man on a mission. Tooth and Hiccup both stopped and turned around to see where it was that Jack was heading to. 

“Uh… Jack? Hiccup said - but then he saw exactly where Jack was going, and he smirked. “Ah,” he said obviously. “Of course.” 

“Hiccup - look at it all!” Jack said excitedly as he reached the table. “Pepperoni, Hawaiian, Margherita…” He was already salivating. “So many kinds.” 

“North must have really been banking on you coming this year,” Hiccup said with a laugh as he finally made it over to the table. 

Grabbing a plate off the stack on the side, Jack held it out towards the yeti behind the station and gave him a bright grin. 

“I’ll take two of each kind, please.” 

“Jack, there’s like… a dozen types of pizza here,” Hiccup blinked in shock. “And you need two of each?” 

“North said to enjoy the food,” Jack shrugged as the yeti started to pile slices of pizza onto his plate. “Pizza is food.”

Once his request had been fulfilled, Jack carefully balanced the giant stack of pizza back towards where the other Guardians were still waiting for them, Hiccup following at his side with a hand outstretched, prepped to catch any slices that might fall off the staggering pile.  

“What are you feeding with all of that?” Aster reeled in shock as they carefully made their way back. “An entire army?” 

“I’m feeding my soul,” Jack grinned, grabbing a slice off the top of the stack and shoving it into his mouth. He moaned in ecstasy as the flavours danced across his tongue. “Whoever first decided to put jalapenos on pizza is a genius,” he said through cheeks stuffed with pizza. He fervently ripped another bite off of the slice and moaned again. “Seriously."

“Is he okay?” Tooth whispered to Hiccup, staring at Jack in mild horror. 

“No, definitely not,” Hiccup said with a roll of his eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna’ go get some pasta and act like I didn’t come to this party with a complete lunatic.” 

Eventually, Hiccup and the other guardians had picked out their own meals, and the group made their way over to the dining tables that had been set up nearby, looking for an empty table to sit at. 

“Oh - if it isn’t the Guardians!” a cheery voice rang out. 

They all turned towards the direction of the voice, and Jack spotted someone waving them over to a table that was already half-full of other guests. Jack recognized all of the people already sitting there - although he wasn’t particularly familiar with most of them. 

“Fortuna!” Tooth beamed back, already heading over towards the table. Aster and Sandy were quick to follow.

“Who’s Fortuna?” Hiccup whispered towards Jack, falling back to walk alongside him while the others lead the charge towards the table.

“Roman Goddess of Fortune and Luck,” Jack whispered back, his gaze moving to the goddess in question. Many of the older deities tended to take on a more modern style, but Fortuna had maintained her ethereal Roman appearance for centuries. Her long, blonde hair cascaded down her back in pristine curls, and she wore a long, sleeveless white dress that clung to her body perfectly. She looked immaculate, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary for any of the Roman deities - fancy party or not. “You might also know her as ‘Lady Luck’.” Hiccup’s eyebrows rose up his forehead as he nodded in recognition. 

“Care to join our table?” Fortuna asked them, gesturing towards the seats that were still vacant.

“Of course!” Tooth grinned as she took a seat beside Fortuna herself. “It’s been so long since I last saw you!” 

“It has. It’s so nice to see all of you,” she said, nodding at each of the Guardians in turn as they reached the table, including - to his surprise - Jack. Her eyes lingered ever-so-slightly on the mountain of pizza that Jack was carrying on his plate, but to her credit, her face was quick to rearrange back into its expression of polite friendliness. When she finally laid eyes on Hiccup, though, her smile turned curious. “And who might this be?”

“Oh - this is Hiccup!” Tooth said, gently pulling Hiccup towards her to sit on her other side. Hiccup obediently sat beside her, placing his plate of pasta on the table in front of himself. Jack, naturally took the chair on the other side of Hiccup, leaving Sandy and Aster to fill out the seats beside the other guests at the table. Tooth patted Hiccup on the shoulder. “He’s a close friend of Jack’s.” Jack felt himself flush at the comment, and hoped nobody else noticed. 

“Uh - n-nice to meet you,” Hiccup said, holding out a hand towards Fortuna to shake. Unfortunately, as he stuck his arm out, his hand accidentally bumped into Fortuna’s wine glass and knocked it over. “Oh, sh- I’m so sorry!” Hiccup started to say as the contents started to run towards Fortuna’s seat - but somehow, the wine spilled in a way that completely diverted around her, not a single drop actually reaching her.

Hiccup’s brows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the mess that had evaded her, his mouth gaping. 

“Well - that was lucky,” Fortuna grinned. A nearby elf was already cleaning it up and replacing the placemat at her seat for her. “Now, where were we?” She stuck her hand back out to Hiccup. 

“Wow,” Hiccup said, still dazed by the display. He blinked as he remembered himself and carefully reached out to shake her hand again. “Uh, sorry again,” he said with an apologetic smile. “I’m Hiccup.” 

“So. A human,” she said with a wry smile as she shook his hand in return. “How very interesting. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen your kind at any of North’s parties before.”

“Uh, yeah…” Hiccup said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, we kind of just met a few months ago.”

“Well, it’s always nice to meet new friends,” Fortuna said with a reassuring smile. She gestured to the others around the table, who up until now had just been chatting amongst each other while the new arrivals seated themselves. “I suppose introductions are in order, then. Everyone!” she called out, earning the attention from the others at the table immediately. “I’m sure you’re all familiar with the Guardians - Toothiana, Sandy, Aster, and Jack Frost.” The other guests all smiled politely and nodded. “And this here is a human friend of Jack’s,” she said, patting Hiccup’s hand. Jack noticed that the word “human” definitely seemed to pique the interest of most of the guests, and he could understand why. “His name is Hiccup.” 

“Hi,” Hiccup said with an awkward smile, waving one hand in greeting. 

“Hiccup - this is Sylva, the Spirit of the Forest.” Fortuna pointed towards the being to her immediate left - a woman dressed in a short, gauzy dress spun together with leaves and vines. Her long, red hair flowed around her frame, wildflowers and bits of moss braided throughout it, and her eyes were a sparkling shade of emerald. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Sylva bowed her head in greeting. She was reserved in her expression, but her eyes held a hint of curiosity as they met Hiccup’s. 

“And this is Emily,” Fortuna continued, gesturing to the person beside Sylva. The woman’s appearance was dramatic, her long black hair matching the colour of the inky dress she wore, a mist of dark clouds moving gently around her body. “Although you may know her as Mother Nature,” Fortuna added. Emily didn’t say anything in return, but nodded her head politely towards Hiccup. 

“Beside her is Eros, God of Love - also known as Cupid,” Fortuna said, gesturing towards a tall, athletic, winged man clad in a tight-fitting, white dress shirt and simple black slacks. Jack might not have had much experience in the way of attraction before Hiccup came along, but even he could tell that Eros was startlingly handsome. The deity had thick, artfully tousled dark brown hair, deep blue eyes, and a strong, square jaw dabbled with the perfect amount of stubble - enough to seem easy-going and carefree, without seeming lazy.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Eros said, immediately standing up and leaning over the table to offer a hand towards Hiccup. He flashed Hiccup what Jack was sure was his most charming smile, a set of perfectly straight, white teeth shining behind it. A hot wave of jealousy coursed through Jack as Hiccup shook the proffered hand, his eyes narrowing when Eros’ hand seemed to linger just a little too long in Hiccup’s. Jack took a long, slow breath, trying to tamper down the jealousy as best he could.

“And then we have Loki, the God of Mischief and Trickery,” Fortuna said, gesturing towards the next guest at the table. Much like Eros, Loki was tall and athletic, although his handsomeness fell a little short of Eros’. Still, his light blue eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair were striking to look at. He gave Hiccup a wink as he lifted one hand in greeting, his smile almost as charming as Eros’. 

“Last but not least,” Fortuna continued, gesturing to the final guest at the table seated between Loki and Aster, “is Skreeklavic Shadowbent, commander of the Werewolfian Hordes.” Shadowbent - by far the largest member at the table - was covered from head to toe in long, wild fur. The fur on the top of his head joined together and climbed upwards to form a point, giving him the illusion of being even taller than he was. His long, thin face looked to be somewhere between amused and intrigued as he nodded at Hiccup, the tips of his fangs making an appearance when he grinned.

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Hiccup finally said. “I’ve heard a lot about you all.” 

“Even me?” Shadowbent smirked, lifting a glass of red wine to his mouth to take a sip. 

“Oh, uh…” Hiccup faltered, his smile turning awkward. He cleared his throat. “Well, maybe not-” 

“Don’t worry about him, Hiccup,” Jack interrupted, stepping in to save his friend from Shadowbent’s attempt at making him feel awkward. He grabbed a piece of pizza off the top of the pile and took a large bite. “Nobody’s heard of Shadowbent,” he said with a smirk. 

“Oh, that’s right - I forgot,” Shadowbent said smoothly, Jack’s jab not seeming to affect him at all. “You’re a Guardian, now, Jack. You’re practically a celebrity.” He took another sip of his wine, his smile growing. “And how many believers are you up to now, then? Five? Six?”

“Seven, actually,” Jack said nonchalantly, before stuffing the piece of pizza back into his mouth. Out of everyone else at the table besides Hiccup and the other Guardians, Jack was most familiar with Shadowbent. Their paths had crossed a handful of times, and although they didn’t necessarily like each other, Jack still technically considered him an ally. Much like he had with Aster, he had become accustomed to the teasing remarks, and had no issue matching Shadowbent’s energy with some digs of his own. Unlike his relationship with Aster, however - there was definitely no underlying feeling of camaraderie beneath the jabs and insults.  

“So - Hiccup,” Loki grinned at the man, a Scandinavian accent on his words as he spoke. “Forgive my prodding, but this does seem like a rather unique situation. How is it that you have come to find yourself in the company of one Jack Frost?” Loki’s smile turned wily as he looked at Jack. “He’s notoriously elusive in our crowd, you see.” 

“Lucky you,” Aster snorted in amusement, before stuffing a chocolate éclaire in his mouth. Jack made sure to send him a withering glare in response. 

“Yes - I find I’m interested to hear how the two of you met, as well,” Eros added with a small smile, shifting back in his seat and resting his chin on one hand as his eyes bore into Hiccup and Jack. Something about his gaze made Jack want to writhe in his seat, and he could feel his collar start to inexplicably flush hot. “Your friendship seems very… unique.” 

“That’s a word for it- Oi!” Aster’s sarcastic comment was cut off when Sandy elbowed him in the ribs. “Watch where you’re pointing those things!” 

Hiccup opened his mouth to respond to Loki and Eros' inquiry, but Jack quickly cut overtop of him.

“Oh, I don't think anyone really cares about that story…” he said with an awkward laugh, his eyes shifting away evasively. He didn’t like how suddenly interested everyone at the table seemed in his and Hiccup’s relationship. “I’m sure there are more interesting things you could ask Hiccup about…”

“Oh, come now,” Shadowbent said, clearly picking up on how uncomfortable Jack had become with this line of questioning. He smirked at Jack as he spoke. “Because of his friendship with you, he’s a human being who’s scored a birthday party invitation from Santa Claus! What could be more interesting than that?”

“Exactly,” Loki agreed, winking at Jack before turning back to Hiccup. “Please, Hiccup - do go on.” 

“How we met? Well, uh…” Hiccup started, blushing furiously as everyone at the table turned to listen to him. “I guess it was a few months ago. My younger cousin had been talking about this guy called 'Jack Frost', and at first I didn’t believe her… But eventually I came to realize that he was real-” 

“And how did you come to that realization?” Fortuna interrupted, tilting her head in curiosity at the two of them. "It's different for us deities, but I'm not sure I've ever heard of an adult human believing in any of the Guardians, before." She swirled her glass. "Something truly momentous must have happened to have an adult believing in Jack Frost."  

“Um, well…” Hiccup’s eyes ticked to Jack as his blush darkened. “It's... kind of stupid. But he, uh… sort of threw a snowball at my face?” 

Loki, who had been lazily sipping from his glass of wine, nearly choked on it. 

“A snowball to the face, you say?” he grinned, giving Jack a pointed look. “Is that really the charming start to your friendship, Jack?” 

“What can I say?” Jack shrugged, an impish smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth in spite of himself. “He deserved it.” 

“Well, as the God of Chaos, I have to say - I approve,” Loki said with a light chuckle, raising his glass in cheers towards Jack. Jack grinned back at him, his embarrassment starting to fade. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of Loki yet, but he sensed there was probably a lot of common ground between them when it came to causing mischief. Loki gestured towards Hiccup. “Please - continue.” 

“Uh, well… I guess we just started, uh… hanging out?” Hiccup finished lamely, looking towards Jack as if seeking help. “R-right?” 

“Pretty much,” Jack confirmed. 

“‘Hanging out’,” Eros repeated, his sharp gaze turning on Jack. Jack couldn’t escape the feeling that Eros somehow knew the secret that he’d been harbouring for a few weeks now, and considering what Eros was the god of… he really wouldn’t be surprised. Eros smiled directly at him, and Jack fidgeted under the look, taking a sip of his sugar cookie cocktail. “I see. And now here you are, as Jack Frost’s plus one.” 

Now it was Jack's turn to choke on his drink, the liquid burning his nose as he coughed and spluttered. 

“Oh, n-no - h-he’s not my plus one,” he struggled through his cough, his face heating again under Eros’ knowing gaze. “He actually has his own invitation. R-right, Hiccup?” Jack said, plastering on a fake smile and elbowing Hiccup in the side. “Go ahead and show them your invitation!” 

“A human and a spirit,” Sylva, who had been quietly observing the exchange, said matter-of-factly as she looked at Hiccup, completely ignoring Jack’s spluttering. “Friends. How very interesting.” 

“Best friends,” Tooth clarified, patting Hiccup gently on his red-tinged cheek. “They practically spend every day together, now. It’s adorable.” 

“Is that so?” Eros replied, looking between Jack and Hiccup with barely contained delight. Jack silently cursed Tooth for making things worse. “How sweet.”

“Never thought I’d see the day where Jack Frost would have a friend, let alone a best friend,” Shadowbent added. “He does love his alone-time.” He smirked back at Hiccup. “You must be really special, Hiccup.”

“I-I mean, I don’t think so,” Hiccup said, his face as red as can be. “I guess we just kind of… click.”  

Emily, who had been silent and stoic for most of the conversation, finally spoke - her voice firm but not unkind. 

“Shadowbent, do not tease them too much.” Her gaze flicked to Jack, and he felt as if it was penetrating right through him. “Soft spots are rare for beings like Jack Frost, and he’s not so easily attached.” She turned to Hiccup. “You should consider yourself fortunate.”

“Well - that’s certainly true, Emily,” Fortuna added, taking a bite of her roasted lamb. “Jack isn’t necessarily known for his mingling. I have to say, I was surprised to see you here tonight, Jack,” she added, looking at him appraisingly. She smiled sincerely. “Although we are, of course, glad for your company.” Jack was surprised that she sounded truthful as she said it. 

“Figured I better start making some appearances,” Jack said with a shrug, happy to move the conversation away from where it had been going. 

“Especially since you are now a coworker of North’s,” Loki agreed, popping a shrimp into his mouth. “And how have you been settling into your new duties, then?” 

“Fine,” Jack shrugged. “It’s been mostly smooth-sailing, with a few… incidents, here or there.” 

“Oh, yes - we heard about that dreadful business with Pitch,” Fortuna said, taking another sip of her wine. “Perhaps you could regale us with the story.”  

Jack straightened up, grateful for the change in topic. 

“Uh - sure, Jack nodded, looking at all the faces around the table who were now peering back at him in anticipation. For the first time since they had sat down, he finally felt as if he was on solid ground. His work, his kids, the Guardians - these were things he was happy to talk about. His smile became confident. “Yeah. I can do that.” 

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“Might have bitten off more than I can chew, here,” Jack reluctantly admitted, rubbing his stomach as he pushed his half-full plate of pizza away from himself. Unfortunately for him - it seemed as if a limit on how much pizza one winter spirit could eat did, in fact, exist. “I think I’ll have to call it there.” 

“Now that you’re fifty-percent cheese,” Shadowbent muttered, casting Jack’s plate a look of disdain. 

“Only fifty-percent?” Hiccup asked, piercing a few pieces of sausage penne onto his fork. He deadpanned as he looked at Jack. “That won’t do. You can’t stop until you’ve reached your full cheese potential.”

“Hey - I think I’ve successfully completed my goal of disrupting the cheese-to-body ratio,” Jack insisted. This earned him a round of laughter from several other people at the table, including Hiccup. Jack grinned at the reaction. He was surprised by how pleasant of a time he was having at North’s birthday party. He’d felt a bit out of sorts initially, but after spending some time with some of the other guests, he had come to the realization that socializing wasn’t as awful as he remembered. 

“Well…” Tooth said with an awkward smile. “At least pizza doesn’t have all of the sugar content that those desserts you used to eat all of the time had.”

“Oh - don’t worry,” Jack said, patting his stomach again. “I made sure to leave a little room for that fancy pastry table over there.”

“Try dipping ‘em in the chocolate fountain,” Aster said, stuffing a chocolate-covered cream puff into his mouth. All he had selected to eat was the aforementioned desserts, and his entire plate was swimming in melted chocolate. Sandy nodded in agreement and grabbed a cream puff off of his own plate, reaching over to dip it into the puddle on Aster’s and giving a tiny thumbs up after popping it into his mouth. “Makes ‘em even better,” Aster said around his mouthful.

“Smart man,” Jack answered, ignoring Tooth’s disgusted expression. 

“And what about you, Hiccup,” Eros asked. Eros had stopped probing them about their friendship, but Jack had noticed that Eros seemed to have some sort of interest in learning as much about Hiccup as possible. “Do you have as much of a sweet tooth as your friends here?” 

“Uh - not like these guys, no,” Hiccup said with a small laugh. “I don’t mind a little bit of dessert now and then, but cream puffs for dinner is a bit much for me.”

“I’m afraid I can’t say the same for myself,” Loki said, taking a sip of wine as he eyed Aster’s plate. “Sugar is one of my weaknesses. In fact, I might have to take a page out of Aster’s book for my next course.” 

“Well - dessert isn’t my favourite thing. But I definitely recommend the lamb,” Fortuna said, taking another bite of her own meal. “It’s divine.” She turned to Hiccup and smiled. “And how’s the pasta, Hiccup?” 

“It’s great,” Hiccup answered. He pierced another few pieces of penne on his fork and swiped them in some of the creamy sauce off his plate, then slid them into his mouth. Jack watched in interest as a small amount of the sauce clung to the corner of Hiccup’s mouth as he chewed, his tongue poking out ever so slightly to clean it away.

“Hey - let me try some of that,” Jack said impulsively, leaning toward Hiccup with his mouth already open. 

“I thought you were full?” Hiccup raised an amused eyebrow, but he stabbed some more pieces for Jack on the fork anyway. 

“I am, but I haven’t tried this one before.” At some point over the past few weeks, it had become normal for Hiccup to share his food with Jack if it was something that Jack hadn’t tried before. Jack couldn’t put his finger on why, but he liked that Hiccup shared his food with him - and sometimes he even lied about having tried something before just so that Hiccup would share with him. This time, though, he happened to be telling the truth.  

“You know, you could just go and get your own plate right now,” Hiccup said with a good-natured roll of his eyes. Despite his words, he was already holding out his fork towards Jack.

“But that would require walking all the way over there,” Jack countered, opening his mouth again to receive the fork. Hiccup snorted in amusement as he slid the fork into Jack’s mouth for him, his eyes ticking down to Jack’s lips as he slowly pulled the empty fork back out. Jack chewed lightly, taking a second to process the flavour - and then his eyes closed of their own accord as he moaned in delight around the mouthful. He swallowed and slowly opened his eyes back up. “Oh my god, that’s so good.”

“Why do I suddenly feel like the rest of us should leave?” Shadowbent mumbled towards Aster. Jack and Hiccup both blinked and looked across the table, finding all of the other guests at the table staring at them - most in bemusement, eyebrows high on their foreheads - with the exception of Eros, who was definitely trying to hide a smile. 

“Oh, uh… D-did anyone else want to try some?” Hiccup said quickly with an awkward smile, his cheeks flushing as he leaned back away from Jack, his eyes unable to meet the others’ as they darted off to the side. “It’s, uh… pretty good.” Jack was surprised with himself by the slight hint of jealousy thrumming through his body at the question - a feeling he knew was illogical, but couldn’t be helped.

“Uh… No thanks, mate,” Aster said, still looking between them in bewilderment. “Think we’ll leave… whatever that was… to Frost.” 

“Fine by me,” Jack said with a shrug, hating that he was relieved to hear it. He pulled Hiccup’s plate and fork over towards himself, immediately helping himself to more penne. He moaned again at the savoury flavour. “You gotta start making this one at home,” he said, turning back to Hiccup. 

But Hiccup was no longer listening, his gaze focused on something in the distance, his eyes widening in shock. 

“Uh - Hiccup?” Jack asked, eyeing Hiccup in concern.

“Jack!” Hiccup whispered excitedly, leaning in and clasping one of Jack’s forearms. “I-is that him?” 

Jack’s eyes followed Hiccup’s gaze across the crowded room, and his stomach dropped as he realized exactly who had captured his friend’s attention. There, standing across the room, was a man who stood nearly seven feet tall, and looked as if he had been sculpted from marble itself. He had the physique of a body-builder, hair straight out of a shampoo commercial, and a smile that could light up even the darkest of rooms. Unsurprisingly, he was surrounded by other guests all yearning to get a speck of attention from him - a hero to both human and mythological beings both - and was throwing his head back in jovial laughter at something one of his many admirers had just said to him. 

A tight knot of unease coiled in Jack’s chest, and for the first time that night, the laughter and music around him felt distant. 

Of course Thor was at the party.  

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Chapter Text

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Jack’s stomach twisted as he watched Hiccup’s gaze lock onto the deity across the room. Thor. Of course Thor would be here. The blonde god’s presence seemed to radiate attention, and Hiccup was smiling with unguarded excitement. Jack could already feel the familiar burn of jealousy crawling up his spine, and he realized with a sinking heart that he had no idea how to stop the sudden, tight ache in his chest.

“Ah,” Loki muttered, briefly turning to look at Thor from across the room before immediately returning his gaze to the table. “Another Thor fanboy. How original,” he drolled, taking a long pull of his wine. 

“Right?” Jack said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. He knew he liked Loki. 

“I’m not a fanboy,” Hiccup protested, his eyes never leaving Thor as he spoke. “I’m just… a fan.” He squeezed Jack’s arm even tighter as he turned back to him, his grin growing. “Can we go say hi?” 

Jack tried to push down the fresh wave of jealousy, but it was a losing battle. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was watch his best friend fawn over Thor. 

“I-I don’t know,” Jack said evasively. “I don’t really know him like that-”

“Oh - I can introduce you both to him, if you’d like,” Fortuna said, smiling politely at them. Jack was sure she was only trying to be helpful, but he couldn’t help but wish she’d suddenly disappear. “He’s a dear friend of mine.” 

“Really?” Hiccup beamed, practically vibrating in his seat as he turned to Fortuna instead. 

“Well, I don’t really wanna’ bother him…” Jack tried again, pointedly ignoring the pleading look Hiccup was now giving him. “He looks pretty busy over there-”

“Nonsense,” Fortuna persisted, completely oblivious to Jack’s plight. “It’s no bother for Thor.” To Jack’s horror, she stood from the table and waved a hand to him and Hiccup to follow her. “Come, come - I promise you, he’d love to meet you both.”  

Before Jack could come up with some sort of excuse to not, Hiccup was already scrambling out of his seat to follow her. He hooked his arm through Fortuna’s offered one, casting one cursory glance back at Jack as they started walking towards Thor. 

“Coming?” he grinned. 

Jack blew out a breath as he considered his options. He really didn’t want to witness this particular meeting, and he didn’t trust himself to not say something he’d regret. Making up his mind, he pulled his forgotten plate of pizza back towards himself. 

“Actually, you know what?” he said, gesturing toward the plate. “I, uh… think my appetite is back. You go ahead, though.”

“O-oh,” Hiccup said, a brief glimpse of disappointment pushing in front of the excitement. “Are you sure? I can wait.” 

“No, no - go ahead,” Jack insisted, plastering on a fake smile as he waved Hiccup ahead. “Go say hi. I’ll be here, eating my pizza.” Despite the fact that he was so full of pizza that it was uncomfortable, he forced himself to take another bite of the now cold food to give credibility to his lie. 

“Okay - I’ll be right back,” Hiccup said, his excited smile returning as he and Fortuna turned back towards the direction of Thor. Jack would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little upset that Hiccup didn’t insist on staying - but he tried not to show it as he aggressively ripped another bite off. 

“Definitely a fanboy,” Loki mumbled. 

Jack snorted, leaning back in his chair. 

"Seriously. What's so great about that guy, anyway?" he muttered, tearing into the pizza again as if it had personally offended him. 

"Big muscles, big hammer, small brain," Loki said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "Mortals love that sort of thing. Gets old fast, if you ask me." 

"Right?" Jack said a little too quickly, grateful for the backup. "It's like everyone just... forgets that he's kind of an idiot. And that he's loud. And-" he waved his slice vaguely toward the crowd that Hiccup was heading for, "-way, way to pleased with himself." 

"Hmm," Loki said, lips twitching. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you hate him even more than I do." 

That had Jack remembering himself. He glanced away, trying to appear casual, though his foot was bouncing under the table. 

"I don't hate him," he insisted. "I've never even met the guy." In spite of himself, his eyes lingered towards Hiccup across the room. "I just doubt he's as great as everyone says he is."

"Interesting," Eros murmured, an unmistakable smirk tugging at his mouth as he watched Jack intently. His eyes sparkled with amusement, which didn't help Jack's sudden bad mood one bit. 

"What?" Jack snapped, tired of all of Eros' knowing looks. 

"...Nothing," Eros said quickly, that infuriating smirk still fixed on his face. 

Jack stuffed the rest of the crust into his mouth with unnecessary force, resisting the sudden desire hurl his pizza at him.  

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“Thor!” Fortuna beamed, unhooking her arm from Hiccup and breaking her way through the small crowd that had formed around Thor. Hiccup stood back nervously and watched as the crowd easily dissipated for her, giving her space to approach. “I have someone here with me that you absolutely must meet!” 

“Fortuna!” Thor grinned back, raising his arms in the air in greeting. He moved to meet her, his hands cupping her face as he firmly kissed her on each cheek. “You look absolutely ravishing!” 

“You’re too kind,” Fortuna smiled back. The crowd started to go about their own devices, recognizing that Fortuna was now temporarily laying claim to Thor’s attention. Her eyes raked over his white, embroidered tunic. “And you look rather dashing, yourself,” she added, gently pulling at the purple cape that fell down his back. She turned back towards where she had left Hiccup, gesturing towards him to come forward. “I’d like to introduce you to a new friend - Hiccup.” 

“Hiccup, you say?” Thor confirmed, addressing Hiccup himself now. Hiccup was aware that he was grinning like an idiot, but a lifetime wish of his was currently coming true, and he couldn’t stop if he tried.  

“H-hi,” he said dopily. He immediately wished he had come up with something better than that, but it would have to do.  

“Nice to meet you,” Thor smiled. “Although, I’m not sure I’m familiar with you. From where do you hail, Hiccup?” 

“Uh… Burgess?” Hiccup said, one eyebrow peaking in bewilderment. His smile was quick to return, though, his giddiness at who he was speaking with taking over. “Wow. Wow. I can’t believe I’m talking to Thor right now. The Thor. It’s so nice to meet you,” he finished, quickly sticking his hand out for Thor to shake. 

Thor’s laugh was like rolling thunder, his head tipping back as his golden locks fell around his shoulders. 

“It’s nice to meet you as well, Hiccup of Burgess!” he said, grabbing Hiccup’s hand and shaking it in return. “Tell me - what is it that you are the god, spirit and or master of? I’m afraid I’ve never heard of your realm before.” 

Hiccup blinked in confusion, but Fortuna stepped in to help.

“Hiccup is actually a human, dear,” she said with a gentle smile.  

“Uh - y-yeah,” Hiccup said sheepishly. “Burgess is just the town I live in.” 

“A human!” Thor said in surprise, although his smile didn’t waver. “Well, that’s certainly unexpected. Although I suppose that may explain the unfortunate name.” His tone suggested it was nothing more than a statement of fact, rather than an insult. 

“Uh…” Hiccup was a little thrown off by the comment, but this was Thor, so he tried to recover his enthusiasm. “Y-yeah, I guess it’s, uh… not the greatest name,” he agreed with an awkward laugh.  

“Fear not,” Thor said cheerfully. “I once met a man called ‘Squid Pockets’, and he went on to conquer many giants.” He slapped Hiccup once in the back. “You’ll be fine.” 

“I-I guess that’s nice-?”

“Do you get many giants in Burgess, Hiccup?” 

“I… can’t say that I’ve ever seen one before…” Hiccup answered, a little surprised that he had to explain this. Maybe Thor didn’t get out much, or just wasn’t familiar with the going-ons in the human world. 

“Well - allow me to share my best giant-fighting strategy with you, in case you ever encounter one in the future,” Thor beamed, patting the hammer that was attached to the belt around his waist. 

“Oh - how lucky for you!” Fortuna said, grinning at Hiccup. “Thor really is an expert when it comes to giants.” 

“I-I really don’t think I-”

“You see, the trick is to try and hit them first,” Thor said over top of him, suddenly all business. “Sometimes the giant hits you first - but then you just hit them back even harder.” He grinned again. “And then you just keep hitting them, until they are no longer upright!”

“Brilliant,” Fortuna smiled, one hand on her chest. Hiccup honestly couldn’t tell if she was being serious, or if she was just placating him. “Absolutely brilliant.” 

“Y-yeah, that’s… a great strategy,” Hiccup answered with a tight smile. To be honest, it seemed less like a strategy, and more like regular old gravity - but who was Hiccup to judge giant fighting tactics? “T-thank you, for that expert advice…” 

“You’re most welcome,” Thor answered. “I’m happy to share my expertise in fighting giants with anyone who needs it.” 

“Such bravery and strength,” Fortuna smiled as she hooked an arm around Thor’s giant one. “Oh - but he’s not just brawn,” she added, patting Thor’s bicep. “He’s also got plenty of wit.”

“It’s true,” Thor said, his smile becoming cocky as he looked back at Hiccup. “I also once solved a riddle!”   

“O-oh,” Hiccup said, doing his best to look impressed. “A riddle… Wow. And, uh… what was it?” 

“The riddle was ‘What has four fingers and a thumb, but isn’t alive?’” Thor answered, looking at Hiccup expectantly. 

“Oh,” Hiccup said with a more genuine smile. He had heard this one before. “It’s a glove.” 

Thor’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he considered Hiccup’s answer. 

“...I’m not sure I see your logic there, Hiccup,” Thor said honestly. A proud grin spread across his face. “But what I said was - ‘The corpse of a one-armed giant!’”

Hiccup stared, his face deadpanning as the realization that Thor might actually be an imbecile settled within him. Is this why people always said not to meet your heroes? 

“Of course!” Fortuna agreed, grinning at Thor. “Such intelligence!” At this point, Hiccup was convinced she was just trying to make Thor feel good about himself. “You really are a treasure, my dear Thor.” 

“W-well, this has been a great conversation,” Hiccup said, forcing another smile as he looked back towards the table he had left Jack at. He could see the other Guardians still chatting with Eros, Loki, Sylva and Emily - but Jack was nowhere to be found. “But, uh… I think I better get back to my friends,” he said, turning back to Thor and Fortuna. “Thanks again for the… giant advice,” Hiccup said, stretching out a hand towards Thor to bid him farewell. “This was really…” He blinked as he struggled to find the words. “Uh… eye-opening…”

“Of course!” Thor said, oblivious to Hiccup’s tone. “Perhaps our paths shall cross again, Hiccup of Burgess.” He bowed dramatically. “Farewell for now.” 

“Uh, yeah… maybe,” Hiccup said with an awkward laugh, already backing up towards the direction he had come from. He gave Thor and Fortuna a small wave. “Okay… Bye, then.” 

He turned on his heel and immediately started back towards the table he last saw Jack at. Thor had been nice enough, but Hiccup was afraid he might start losing brain cells if he spent any more time with the man. He shook his head and laughed to himself at the conversation he had just endured. He was sure Jack was going to give him the biggest “I told you so”, but Hiccup was still looking forward to Jack’s reaction. 

When he got back to the table, he immediately noticed that Jack’s plate was still sitting there, several pieces of pizza still untouched. Hiccup frowned. Hadn’t Jack said he was hungry? Maybe he decided to get some dessert, instead. His eyes lifted towards the food stations, scanning for any sign of that familiar white shock of hair. 

“Hey, uh… do you guys know where Jack went?” Hiccup asked nobody in particular as his eyes kept searching the room. 

“Think he said something about getting some pie,” Aster answered, briefly pausing his conversation with Sandy and Shadowbent.

“Thanks,” Hiccup said, deciding to head for the dessert table directly. He made his way over, scanning the crowd as he went. Jack didn’t seem to be in line for any of the food stations, but Hiccup wasn’t sure where else to look for him. His frown deepened. Surely Jack wouldn’t have just left him there… right?” 

“Oh - Hiccup!” Tooth said, flitting over from a far corner. “There you are. Have you seen Jack?” 

“I was just looking for him,” Hiccup answered, noting the hint of concern in Tooth’s expression. “Is… everything okay?” 

“Oh, I’m sure it’s fine,” she said with an insincere smile as her eyes continued to dart around the space. “He said he was going to get some pie, but… he’s been gone for a while, so I just thought I’d check on him.” She sighed as she looked back at Hiccup. “Now I can’t find him anywhere.”  

“Maybe he just got distracted talking to someone else?” Hiccup asked, trying to ignore the sense of worry starting to creep in on him. He knew as soon as he said it that it wasn’t likely.

“Hiccup! There you are!” 

Hiccup turned towards North, who was beelining towards them. 

“Oh, uh - hey North,” Hiccup said, trying for a smile but still frantically scanning the area for Jack. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen-”

“Jack?” North asked, finally reaching them. “I have, actually. He is out on balcony.” 

“The balcony?” Hiccup blinked in confusion. 

“Balcony, yes,” North confirmed. He looked towards Tooth, and something unsaid seemed to pass between their eyes. “...Said he needed some air.” 

“Ah,” Tooth nodded in understanding. Her frown deepened. “And he seemed like he was having such a good time.”  

“I-is he sick…?” Hiccup asked, his brows furrowing. “He did eat a lot of pizza…”

“Not sick, exactly,” North said, looking away evasively. “Sometimes Jack just gets… well.” North seemed to think better of whatever he was about to say, instead giving Hiccup a tight smile. “Sometimes he just needs to go out for some air.” 

Hiccup blinked again as he processed this. He wondered if maybe Jack was just too overwhelmed by the party. 

“Do you think one of us should go check on him…?” 

“I think it might be best if you go check on him, Hiccup,” North answered, another quiet look passing between him and Toothiana. “He would probably appreciate it more from you than from us.” 

“Sure, of course,” Hiccup said immediately. “Which way?” 

North pointed to an area all the way across the shop, away from all of the hustle and bustle of the party. Seeing a set of large double doors in the distance, Hiccup nodded and thanked him before starting to make his way out of the crowd and towards the balcony. Concern for his friend quickened his pace, and it wasn't long before he reached the doors, the guests and noise all behind him as he peered through the glass. 

The balcony outside was massive -  large enough for a hundred or more people to comfortably occupy the space - but there wasn't a single thing on it, besides the gentle dusting of powdery snow that covered the ground. Hiccup looked around and finally caught a glimpse of Jack laying horizontally on the balcony fence, his arms tucked underneath his head as he stared up towards the night sky. A flush of relief went through him at the sight, and he quickly burst through the doors to join him. 

"Jack-"

But his abrupt entrance seemed to startle the spirit, because suddenly Hiccup was watching Jack shriek, fall over the fence, and hurtle towards the ground. 

“Oh my god,” Hiccup nearly yelled, the bottom nearly dropping out of his stomach. His legs moved faster than his brain as he sprinted towards the fence and thrusted his head over the edge to look for his friend. “Jack!”

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“Give a guy a bit of warning next time,” Jack said grumpily, perfectly safe as he looked up at Hiccup’s horrified face, hovering horizontally in the air a couple of feet below the balcony line. 

“Oh, thank god,” Hiccup muttered, his eyes closing in relief as he clutched his chest. He blew out a breath before reopening his eyes. “I’ve been looking all over for you. What are you doing out here, any ways?”

“...Nothing,” Jack said quietly, floating himself back up over the balcony fence and landing a few feet from Hiccup, his back turned to him as he started to pace. He had been hoping for a bit more alone time than this to collect himself. “Just… needed some-”

“Some air,” Hiccup finished for him as he watched Jack pace. “Yeah, North said…” 

“Of course he did,” Jack muttered, crossing his arms against his chest as he silently cursed North for being a traitor and giving away his location. 

“So, what is it - are you sick?” Hiccup continued, the concern in his voice obvious. Despite his mood, Jack was admittedly touched by it. “You know, I did tell you to pare it back on the pizza-”

“I’m not sick,” Jack cut him off, letting his arms fall to his side as he moped over to the balcony fence and leaned his back against it so he could face Hiccup. He softened when he looked up at Hiccup’s confused expression. “I just… wanted to be alone, for a bit.” 

“Is it the party…?” Hiccup tried again, rubbing the back of his neck as he shifted to lean against the balcony beside Jack. “I thought you looked like you were having an okay time.” 

“Yeah… I was,” Jack sighed, wishing now that he had just stayed inside. He wished he didn’t get this way, that he could just act like everything was fine even when it wasn’t. 

“Is it something someone said?” Hiccup continued, still not letting Jack off the hook. He hesitated, chewing lightly on his bottom lip in worry. “...Or is it something I said?”

Jack didn’t answer right away. He could feel the words sitting in his throat, the instinct to lie screaming at him from the inside. But then he glanced up and saw Hiccup looking at him with that open, worried expression - and suddenly lying seemed impossible. 

“I just…” He paused to take a deep breath - the air carrying the scent of pine from the snowy forests beyond the workshop - then breathed out slowly, watching his breath billow and swirl in the cold air in front of him. “I guess I was… jealous,” he finally said quietly, his face flaring at the admission.   

Hiccup blinked, staring at Jack in bewilderment. 

“...Jealous?” he echoed. “Jelaous of what?” 

“It’s stupid,” Jack said, waving a hand in an attempt to act casual as he pushed off the fence and started pacing again. He couldn’t believe he had just said that, and was already eager to backtrack. “Just… don’t worry about it.” 

“Jack,” Hiccup said, a slightly pleading tone to his voice. Jack reluctantly turned back to face him, regretting it almost immediately as soon as he saw Hiccup’s face. There was very little chance he’d be able to deny this man anything looking the way that he did now. “Come on…” Hiccup continued. “It’s me. You can tell me.” 

Jack heaved another sigh, this one much more dramatic. 

“Fine,” he said, rolling his eyes as he raised his hands in the air in defeat. He stomped back over to the fence and resumed his leaning, crossing his arms against his chest defensively. “Just stop looking at me like that.” 

“Then tell me,” Hiccup insisted, retaking his spot beside Jack. 

“It’s just… him,” Jack grouched, gesturing towards the shop in front of them. Jack could remember exactly the look on Hiccup’s face: wide-eyed, grinning, like he’d just spotted a living legend. It made something twist unpleasantly in his chest. “You saw him, and suddenly it was like I didn’t exist.” 

Hiccup made a noise that sounded somewhere between a cough and an amused snort. 

“You’re not seriously talking about Thor right now, are you?”

“Of course I am,” Jack said defensively. “You should have seen you. All giggly and laughing and starry-eyed,” Jack said, shaking his head in annoyance. 

This time Hiccup even had the audacity to laugh. 

“I was not starry-eyed,” Hiccup insisted, shaking his head back at Jack. 

“Oh please. You were too.” He clasped his hands together and held them up under his chin, batting his eyelashes dramatically towards Hiccup. “‘Oh Jack, can we please go say hi to the dreamy, Norse god with arms like tree trunks?’” he said in a mocking tone. “‘Pleeeease?’”

“You really need to work on your impressions,” Hiccup replied, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. “I did not sound like that.” 

“You absolutely did,” Jack said, deadpan.

“Okay - fine,” Hiccup admitted, still grinning as he turned his body more towards Jack’s and crossed his arms against his chest. “Maybe I was a little excited. He’s been a hero of mine since I was a kid,” he explained. “And maybe I was starry-eyed for like…ten minutes. But that was before I figured out he was a complete moron.”

This admittedly had Jack stopping short, but he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. 

“You’re just saying that,” he said, waving Hiccup’s comment off. 

“It’s true,” Hiccup laughed again. “I’m honestly not sure how he dresses himself every morning.”

Unable to help himself, Jack found himself smirking in amusement at that comment. He kind of hated that this was actually making him feel better. 

“…Well now you’re just being mean,” he chided good-naturedly, elbowing Hiccup lightly in the arm.   

“Probably,” Hiccup agreed, still smirking as he shrugged a shoulder. “Honestly, he was a nice enough guy. Just… not winning any Nobel Prizes anytime soon.”

“I called it,” Jack snorted, feeling the last of his jealousy seep away.

“You did,” Hiccup agreed, still smirking.

“So… what you’re saying, is that I’m not at risk of getting replaced by Asgard’s finest himbo?” 

“Nah,” Hiccup said, eyes still twinkling with mirth. Then, softer, “You’re… kind of hard to replace,” he added, his cheeks tinting pink as he looked away. The words sat between them for a moment, Jack feeling his chest twinge - no longer with jealousy, but with something warmer.

“Guess I overreacted,” Jack finally said, ducking his head to try and hide his sudden bashfulness, his eyes training on the strings of golden light from inside that spilled onto the snow covered ground.  

“Probably a little,” Hiccup agreed with another laugh, scrunching his face up apologetically as he said it. He shrugged. “But I’m glad you told me.” 

They stood there for a while longer, the silence feeling easy and comfortable. Inside, someone started singing “Happy Birthday” horribly off-key, inciting the entire crowd to join in. Jack and Hiccup both looked back toward the door. 

“You wanna head back in?” Hiccup asked. “See if we can grab any cake before Aster eats it all?” 

“Only if you promise not to ditch me for any more Norse gods,” Jack grinned, bumping Hiccup’s shoulder as he started walking towards the doors. 

“Deal,” Hiccup laughed, moving to follow him. 

They went back inside together, the cold still clinging to their skin, but the air between them warmer than it had been all night. 

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“And then,” Thor said, voice booming loud enough for several nearby elves to flinch, “I hurled Mjölnir at the frost giant’s face with such force, it shattered three of his teeth and the ice wall behind him!” 

“Wow,” Hiccup nodded, biting back a grin. “Sounds… tactical.” 

“Yeah, very strategic,” Jack’s mouth twitched. “Real… precision work there.” 

“Indeed!” Thor said, missing the undertone entirely. “You see, most warriors hesitate in battle, but I have found that the key is to never stop hitting things until they are no longer moving!” 

“That’s, uh… one approach,” Hiccup said, carefully neutral as he listened to Jack nearly choke on his drink. 

“The only approach worth taking!” Thor said proudly. “When faced with an obstacle, you must smash it!” 

Jack nodded, trying to keep a straight face. 

“Right, so if, say… a locked door was in your way-” 

“Smash it!” Thor interrupted. 

“And if you needed to cross a river?” Hiccup leaned in, eyes dancing. 

Thor didn’t hesitate. 

“Smash it!” 

“Bold,” Jack nodded solemnly. “Innovative.” 

Hiccup’s lips were twitching so badly now that he had to take a sip of his cocktail to hide the smile. 

“It really is foolproof,” Thor winked. 

“Clearly,” Jack said with a tight smile, a knowing glance passing between him and Hiccup. 

“You see,” Thor continued, beaming at them both, convinced that he was imparting priceless wisdom, “the hammer is not just a weapon - it is the solution to all problems.”

“I’m starting to think his hammer is doing all of the thinking for him…” Jack leaned toward Hiccup and murmured just loud enough for him to hear. Hiccup elbowed him in the side, but luckily it didn’t seem like Thor noticed. 

“You are good company!” Thor clapped both of them on the shoulders with enough force to jostle their drinks. “I can tell that you understand the ways of battle.” 

“Oh, totally.” Jack smiled innocently. “In fact, I’m thinking of getting my own hammer. Much cooler than my staff.” 

“Me too,” Hiccup grinned. “Clearly, it’s the secret to… everything.” 

“Wise choice, my friends.” Thor, completely missing the joke, nodded in approval. “Very wise.” 

As Thor launched into another tale about “smashing a mountain in half”, Hiccup caught Jack’s eye over the rim of his cocktail glass. They both tried - and failed - not to laugh. 

Thor never even noticed. 

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“So,” Loki said, his eyes focusing on something behind Aster’s head, before flicking between Aster and Toothiana. “What’s the deal with Frosty and the human?” 

“What deal?” Aster asked, not looking up from his tea. He could already sense where this conversation was going, but out of respect for Jack and Hiccup, felt as if he should at least try and keep the God of Chaos from nosing around in their personal lives. 

“Oh, come on,” Loki drawled. “The glances? Feeding each other during dinner? Not to mention the fit Jack threw when Hiccup started paying somebody else a speck of attention.” 

“Didn’t even notice,” Aster lied, taking another sip of his tea. 

“Well, obviously they’re in love with each other,” Eros said nonchalantly from the other side of Loki. 

Aster choked on his tea, spitting it back into his cup. 

“Could be a little bit more subtle there, mate,” he pushed out, rubbing an arm across his mouth to clear away the tea all over it. It’s not like Eros was wrong, but he didn’t have to say it. 

“Subtle like Jack was when he was moaning around that pasta?” Eros asks with a raised eyebrow. “Please. I’m the God of Love. There’s no point in acting like I’m not correct, here.”

“We… try not to get involved,” Tooth sighed, putting down the apple that she had been munching on. She bit her bottom lip and looked back in Hiccup and Jack’s direction, where they were still animatedly chatting with Thor. At some point, they must have patched things up - because the two now looked like they were having the time of their lives. Tooth turned back to the table and leaned in, a conspiratorial smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “But do you really think so? Because I totally agree with you.” 

“You ever think of… I don’t know. Nudging them in the right direction?” Loki asked, a mischievous glint behind his eyes. 

“No,” Aster said pointedly. “Not our business.” 

“And I think they’ll work it out in their own time,” Tooth agreed with a small smile. 

“I could think of a few ways to make them work it out a hell of a lot sooner than that,” Loki smirked, taking a long sip of his wine. His grin turned sharp. “In fact, I bet I could get one of them to confess within a week.” 

“A week?” Eros raised a brow. “Please. I could do it in three days.” 

“Two,” Loki shot back, his eyes narrowing in defiance. 

“One,” Eros smirked. 

“Oh - here we go,” Aster muttered, running a paw down his face. “Just… don’t even think about it,” he warned, already dreading whatever nonsense was brewing in front of him. “The last thing they need is one of you two stirring the pot.”

“You act like we’d ruin things,” Eros muttered into his wine glass. 

“Look - Jack and Hiccup are friends,” Tooth said carefully. “We just wouldn’t want to see them pushed too hard. It could mess everything up.” 

“You wound me, Toothiana,” Eros said, putting a hand to his heart and feigning injury. “I am the embodiment of love. I create happy endings.” 

“And I,” Loki interrupted, “am the embodiment of making things… interesting.”

“That’s exactly the problem,” Aster answered. He looked them both directly in the eye and pointed at them. “Stay out of it.” 

For a moment, they both sat back, exchanging a glance. 

“Fine,” Eros said. 

“Fine,” Loki echoed. 

They both took another sip of their wine and looked at the other, something unsaid passing between their identical expressions of fake innocence. 

“Care for a walk?” Eros finally said, already standing up from the table. 

“Don’t mind if I do,” Loki grinned back at him. He rose from the table, then turned to Tooth and Aster. “Well - so lovely to see you both again,” Loki said with a bow. “We must get together more often.” 

“Such a lovely evening,” Eros mirrored Loki’s bow. “Please do take care.” Before either Tooth or Aster could respond, the two gods were already scurrying away, heads together in discussion as they walked towards a corner far away from the dining tables. 

“That does not look like two people who are going to stay out of it…” Tooth muttered anxiously towards Aster.

Aster eyed them over the rim of his teacup, that uneasy feeling persisting. Somewhere from behind them, he could hear Jack and Hiccup laughing together - blissfully unaware that two of the universe’s most meddlesome beings had just taken an interest in their love lives.

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Chapter Text

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“Mom wants me to find out what you want to do for your birthday this weekend.” 

Jack’s head snapped up so fast that he nearly knocked the carrot nose right out of Monty’s hand. He whipped away from the snowman that he, Cupcake and Monty were building and stared at Hiccup with eyes wide as saucers.  

“It’s your birthday this weekend?” he blurted, voice pitching in disbelief. How on earth had he not known this? 

“Uh… yeah,” Hiccup admitted, his eyes evading Jack’s. He shrugged, keeping his eyes down, and scuffed his shoe against the bottom step of Jamie’s porch. “February 29th.” 

“Whoa, a leap day birthday,” Monty muttered, eyes wide. “Cool.” 

“Does that mean you only get a birthday once every four years?” Cupcake asked, slapping some more snow onto the top of the snowman to start making the unicorn horn that she had insisted upon. “‘Cause that would make you younger than us.”

“Maybe we should be your babysitter,” Jamie added, smoothing some snow down onto the snow creature that he, Caleb and Claude were working on a few metres away. Jack eyed their sculpture warily. He had no idea what it was supposed to be, but apparently it was from some sort of space videogame that they liked to play. He thought he might be able to make out what he hoped was a tentacle, but he was too scared to ask. 

“I wish that was the case,” Hiccup said with a smirk. “Unfortunately, I still age like everybody else.”

“Uh - hello,” Jack said, waving his hands towards Hiccup in exaggerated disbelief. “Can we circle back to the part where I didn’t know it was your birthday?”

“I just… don’t really like to make a big thing about it,” Hiccup said with a slight shrug, his cheeks faintly pink. “It’s not that big of a deal.” 

Jack scoffed like that was the most absurd thing he’d heard all week. 

“It’s your birthday,” he insisted, as if the word alone should have been enough to shatter Hiccup's reasoning. His mind flashed back to North’s birthday the weekend before - the giant feast, enough decorations to rival an actual holiday, and, okay, one unfortunate misunderstanding with Thor - but still, it had been fun. “Come on - you don’t want a party like North just had?”

“I don’t think I even know that many people,” Hiccup said, laughing under his breath. 

Jack opened his mouth to argue, but Caleb beat him to it. 

“I still can’t believe you guys got to go to Santa’s birthday party,” Caleb laughed, shaking his head in disbelief as he worked on what Jack was relieved to see was looking more and more like a tentacle as time went on. “That would have been awesome.” 

“It was,” Hiccup allowed, before shrugging his shoulders. “Just... not really my style.” 

“Well then what do you want to do?” Pippa asked, plopping herself down beside Hiccup and kicking her boots against the porch. “I’ve gotta’ tell her something.” 

“I’m fine without anything special, Pippa,” Hiccup answered. “I always kept it low-key, even before I moved here.” He hesitated then, his gaze dropping down to his feet. His fingers tapped restlessly against his knee, like he was debating whether to continue. Finally, he added: “Although... there might be one thing..."

"What is it?" Pippa perked up, her brow arching in curiosity. 

"Well..." Hiccup tilted his head, a faint smile tugging at his mouth as though he'd stumbled across a memory worth holding onto. "We didn’t bother going out or anything like that. But… my dad would always make me my favourite breakfast foods on my birthday. And honestly-” his smile turned fond “-that was more than enough for me.” 

Jack's chest tightened at that. He'd pieced together enough from Hiccup's scattered mentions to know that the relationship between him and his father had been... complicated. Still, complicated or not, they'd been all each other had for a very long time. Jack could only imagine how much sharper days like birthdays must feel now - when the absence was loudest, when the traditions were suddenly gone.  

“That sounds nice,” Pippa said gently, giving him an encouraging smile. Jack caught the flicker of understanding in her eyes, and he knew that she hadn't missed the weight behind Hiccup's words, either. “I’ll tell her that, then.” 

Cupcake leaned over their snowman towards Jack, her mitten shielding her mouth as she lowered her voice conspiratorially. 

“Don’t you think you should be doing something for him too?” she whispered, quietly enough that nobody else except Jack and Monty could hear.

Jack stared at her owlishly, caught off guard. 

"For... Hiccup?" 

"Obviously for Hiccup," she answered, looking at him as if he'd just failed the easiest test in the world. 

“Yeah,” Monty whispered his agreement. He raised an eyebrow at Jack. “You guys are, like... best friends. Best friends do stuff for birthdays.” 

Jack blinked, his eyes ticking over to Hiccup - who was now laughing at something Jamie had said - and felt a twist of… something.

“You… think I should?” he whispered back, voice full of uncertainty. “He did say he doesn’t really wanna’ make a big deal about it…” 

“That’s just something adults say,” Cupcake replied with a roll of her eyes. “They’re weird that way.” 

Jack bit his lip in thought, his eyebrows furrowing together. Maybe they were right. Even if Hiccup wasn’t a party guy, he’d probably still appreciate it if Jack planned something. 

“So…" Jack leaned closer. "What do adults like to do on their birthdays, then?”

“I don’t know, just… take him out to eat?” Cupcake whispered back. “I think they like that.” 

“My mom and dad like to go out for fancy dinners,” Monty confirmed. 

“I think you guys are forgetting that I’m kind of invisible to everyone else around us,” Jack whispered back, his eyes flicking over to Hiccup quickly to make sure the man was still preoccupied. “People might question the crazy man talking to thin air in a restaurant.”

“Well… just take him somewhere, then,” Cupcake answered. “I’m sure you can come up with something.” 

He looked into the distance and bit his lip in thought again, as if the answer might magically appear in the snowdrifts. He might have to ask around for some ideas. When he looked back at the kids, Monty was giving him a pointed look and silently jerking his chin towards Hiccup. 

“Oh,” he blinked. “Right.”

He cleared his throat and looked back towards Hiccup, nerves curling in his stomach for reasons he didn’t want to examine too closely.

“Hey - uh, Hiccup?” he said, raising his voice. 

“Hm?” Hiccup turned to look at him. The other kids paused their conversation and were now looking at him, too. 

Jack hesitated, feeling himself blush under the gaze of the other kids. Why was he nervous? He tried to shake the feeling off, readdressing Hiccup. 

“Do you, um… wanna’ do something on your birthday?” 

Before Hiccup could reply, Caleb piped up from behind his snowman. 

“Uh… Did you miss the conversation they just had about the breakfast?”

"Shut up," Claude hissed through his teeth, elbowing his brother and giving him a pointed look. 

“That’s not…” Jack's face heated, and he had to steel himself before trying again. “I meant… Do you want to do something with me on your birthday?” 

“Oh…” Hiccup said. Jack couldn’t tell if it was apprehension or surprise on his face.  

“J-just the two of us,” Jack quickly added, worried that Hiccup might think otherwise after just stressing that he didn’t want to make a big deal about his birthday.

For some reason, the kids all made quiet “Ouuuu” noises and looked between each other with barely contained glee. 

“W-what?” Jack asked defensively, looking between them and frowning in confusion.

“Nothing,” Pippa said too quickly, barely able to repress her smile. 

Meanwhile, Hiccup’s face had turned a deep shade of pink. He rubbed the back of his neck, not looking directly at Jack. 

“Uh - yeah, sure,” he said finally. “I guess we can do that. What did you, uh… have in mind?” 

Jack’s eyes widened at the question, before involuntarily darting towards Monty and Cupcake for help. The kids just gave him helpless shrugs in reply. Traitors.

“It’s… a surprise,” Jack finally replied, turning back to Hiccup with a forced smile that probably looked more like he was in pain. 

Immediately, the kids broke into another chorus of muffled “Ouuuu” noises, hiding their smiles behind their hands. 

“Seriously, what is that?” Jack demanded, looking at them in annoyance. He got nothing but giggles in return. 

Hiccup cleared his through, pulling Jack's focus back to him. Jack noted that his cheeks seemed impossibly brighter. 

"S-sure," he stammered, still not quite meeting Jack's eyes. "Sounds... fun." 

“Cool,” Jack said lamely, returning the awkward smile with one of his own before returning to the snowman with exaggerated focus. He could see Cupcake and Monty discreetly giving him a thumbs up out of the corner of his eye. "Stop that," he hissed at them under his breath. They didn't.

He sighed, picking up some snow and mindlessly spreading it over the snowman’s midsection, his brain already spinning with panic.  He had no idea what the "surprise" actually was yet - but now he had until the weekend to figure it out. 

Somewhere out there, there had to be something that he and Hiccup could actually do together… even if no one else could see him while they did it. 

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Jack strolled into the workshop ten minutes late for their Guardians meeting, the familiar scent of sugar cookies, pine sap and sawdust rolling over him like a warm blanket. The air carried the faint sound of hammers and saws somewhere deep in the building, mingling with the occasional jingle of bells. 

He slipped past a pair of yetis lumbering by, each gripping one massive hand around the torso of a giant teddy bear that looked like it belonged in the world’s most excessive carnival prize booth. They grunted a greeting without breaking stride, Jack nodding in acknowledgement before rounding the last corner towards the main shop. 

The other Guardians were already gathered at the long meeting table, the large globe in the centre of the shop spinning lazily behind them as they chatted amongst themselves while they waited for Jack to arrive. North sat at the head of the table, stroking his beard between chuckles. Tooth hovered near the table’s edge, her bright feathers fluttering every time she laughed. Sandy sat cross-legged on the table itself - watching the conversation like a silent referee.

“You’re late, Frost,” Aster said the moment Jack walked in. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossing and his long feet kicking up on the table like he owned it. “What’s the excuse this time? Blizzard in Hawaii?” 

“So, uh… quick question,” Jack said, ignoring Aster entirely as he came up to the table. His voice was casual, but his shoulders were just a little too tense. “Totally unrelated to anything important.” 

“This sounds exactly like something someone would say before asking about something very important,” North said, raising one thick eyebrow.  

Jack sighed, dragging his hand through his hair until it stuck up even more than usual. Asking them had seemed like a decent idea on the way over, but he was already second guessing himself. Still - desperate times, and all that. 

“It’s… Hiccup’s birthday this weekend,” he eventually said, avoiding meeting any of their eyes as he said it. “And I, uh…” He grimaced like the words hurt to say. “Well… I kind of told him I was going to plan a surprise-” 

“You’re planning him a surprise?” Tooth’s eyes lit up. She floated closer, pressing a hand over her chest as she grinned. “Jack - that’s so… thoughtful.” 

“Yeah, well…” Jack muttered, feeling his ears turn red. He shoved his hands in his sweater pocket and gave an awkward shrug. “He is my best friend, so…”  

“Right,” Aster smirked, exchanging a knowing look with Sandy. “We’ll go with that.” 

“Look - are you guys gonna’ help me, or what?” Jack blurted, not willing to dwell on Aster’s comment at that particular moment in time. He didn’t have the patience for the knowing smirks today. The quiet pressure in his chest had been eating away at him all morning, and he really wasn’t in the mood to pretend otherwise. 

“Help with what?” North asked, his eyebrows furrowing as they all looked at him in confusion. “You just said you have planned surprise! What do we need to help with?” 

“I said I was planning a surprise,” Jack corrected. He’d been turning ideas over in his head all night, but every time he thought he had something good, he imagined Hiccup’s polite-but-unenthusiastic smile and scrapped it. He flopped himself down in one of the empty seats at the table with all the drama of someone who’d been through a day-long battle. “And so far I’ve got nothing.” 

Tooth and Sandy exchanged a wince, the universal expression for yikes. 

“Jack - it’s no problem!” North assured him, leaning in and patting Jack on the shoulder. “Of course we will help!” He glanced towards Aster, Tooth and Sandy, giving them a pointed look. “Right?” 

“Classic Frost,” Aster said, rolling his eyes up the ceiling. But to Jack’s surprise, he removed his feet from the table and squared himself as if ready to start planning. “Alright - what’ve you got so far?”

“I just said, I’ve got nothing,” Jack groaned, letting his forehead thunk onto the table. “I’m the worst best friend ever.” 

“Jack,” Tooth said quietly. “Don’t you think you’re being a little bit dramatic?”

“He’s gonna’ have the worst birthday in history, and it’s gonna’ be all my fault,” Jack mumbled, his voice muffled against the wood. 

“You’re overthinking this, mate,” Aster said, pulling Jack up by the hood and shaking his head in exasperation. “You hang out with the guy constantly. What does Hiccup like?” 

Jack hesitated, then shrugged. 

“Well… he likes music? He’s always got something playing when we hang out.” He bit his bottom lip in thought. “He also likes drawing,” he continued, counting out on his fingers, “reading, and video games.” He looked at North in particular. “And, you know… all that engineering stuff.” 

“Plenty to work with,” Aster nodded. “So just… plan a day around a few of those things. Visit a few places he likes.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t have to be fancy."

“Yeah, just make it personal!” Tooth smiled at him. “If you know what makes him happy, just use that.”  

Jack’s brows furrowed. It did sound simple when they said it like that. Could it really be that easy? 

“I… guess I could do that,” Jack muttered, already turning over some ideas in his head.

“See - you’re already halfway there,” Aster said, slapping him on the back once. “Now, if we’re done with the ‘domestic advice’ session, I do have some actual problems that we need to talk about.” He straightened up some papers that were in front of him, putting on his business face. “As you all know, Easter is coming up - and I reckon it’s about time we look into that maintenance work for the tunnels-”

But Jack was no longer listening, lost in his thoughts as a plan finally started to come together in his mind. His invisibility might complicate things, but he suspected he’d be able to work around it in most cases. He smiled to himself as he plotted. Maybe he could give Hiccup the birthday he deserved, after all. 

When he finally glanced up again, Sandy was watching him with that small, knowing smile of his. The moment their eyes met, Sandy winked and shot him a thumbs-up. Jack’s face went hot. He turned sharply back to Aster’s boring tunnel presentation. 

Why was it starting to feel like his secret crush on Hiccup wasn’t nearly as secret as he thought?

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The air in the yard outside of the family’s home was cold as ice, Eros’ breath billowing in front of him as he carefully watched his prey. Jack Frost was sprawled on the bed, making lazy snowflakes dance above Hiccup’s head while the human sketched in his notebook, smiling faintly every once in a while when he had to bat a snowflake away. Eros leaned forward a little closer, peering through the glass like a cat watching fish in a tank, his grip subconsciously tightening around his bow. 

“Well, well, well… What do we have here?” 

Eros didn’t even jump. 

“Hello, Loki.” 

The trickster god was crouched on a different branch a few feet away from him, in a tree that Eros had to say was very conveniently placed for beings that wanted to spy into the bedroom of the human known as Hiccup. 

“You want to tell me why you’re loitering in this family’s yard?” Loki asked, his smirk curling like smoke.  

“Just… general observation,” Eros answered, straightening and brushing imaginary dust from his dress shirt. “That’s all.” 

“General observation,” Loki repeated, the smirk staying firm on his face. “Interesting choice of location - here, outside of the exact bedroom that our frosty friend and his mortal like to hang out in every night.” 

For a brief moment Eros thought about feeling bad about it, but then he realized something and tilted his head as he stared at Loki. 

“You’re here too.” 

Loki’s mask slipped for just a second at being called out, but then he shrugged his shoulders and looked away, still smiling. 

“...Purely coincidental.”

“Of course,” Eros smirked back at him, crossing his arms against his chest. “And not that you came to spy, just like I did.” 

“Fine.” Loki rolled his eyes and looked back at Eros. “Perhaps I was curious. Besides - you are the God of Love. Don’t I deserve a little bit of a leg-up on our wager?” 

At the mention of their bet, Eros’ smile sharpened. 

“Starting to realize you’re no match for me?” Eros shrugged and looked back towards the window, his smile turning cocky. “Can’t say I blame you. In fact - I’ve just uncovered something useful. Perhaps it would only be right for me to share it with you, instead of using it for my own advantage.” 

Loki rolled his eyes at the bravado. 

“And what, pray tell, would that be?” 

“Jack is planning a birthday outing for his dear Hiccup tomorrow,” Eros answered, turning his smug smile back towards Loki. “Something special.”

“And you think this… outing, or whatever it is… will be enough to tip the scales?” Loki asked with an arched brow. 

“With the right… encouragement,” Eros said, eyes glinting, “it could be perfect. A few well-timed coincidences, a little emotional nudging, and those two will confess. And then you,” he grinned wickedly as he pointed at Loki, “will owe me.”  

“Is that so?” Loki smirked. 

“So long as you don’t meddle,” Eros squinted at him. “Yes, that is so.” 

“Oh please,” Loki chuckled, not even pretending to be threatened. “You really think I need to meddle with this one? I’ve already got a plan - and I can assure you it’s better than whatever you’ve got planned with this little birthday outing.” 

“Confident words for someone who’s losing,” Eros smirked back at him. 

“I’m just biding my time,” Loki replied with a nonchalant shrug. “You do what you like with your birthday scheme, and I’ll stick to my methods.” He looked back towards the two men that Eros was hoping would be a couple after tomorrow. “Trust me, when Jack and Hiccup finally crack - it will be because of me.” 

“And if it’s because of me?” Eros asked. 

“Then I suppose I’ll be granting you a favour.” Loki’s smirk deepened. “One that I’m sure I will instantly regret.”

“Naturally,” Eros agreed. “Well - may the best god win,” he said, sticking a hand out towards Loki to shake. 

“Oh - I’m planning on it,” Loki grinned, grabbing Eros’ hand and giving it a solid shake. 

They parted ways - Eros heading skyward, Loki slipping into the dark - both convinced that when Jack and Hiccup finally confessed, the victory would be theirs. Inside the room, Jack flicked a snowflake onto Hiccup’s nose and laughed when the man sneezed - neither of them aware that they’d just become the centre of a very ancient, petty battle.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Text

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Hiccup sat cross-legged on his bed, his pencil tapping an erratic rhythm against the edge of his sketchbook. The page in front of him was a half-finished tangle of lines - something that had started as a dragon wing and had somehow devolved into… a blob? His focus had evaporated a while ago, replaced by a jittery kind of nervousness that had absolutely no usefulness when it came to creative endeavours.

At the foot of the bed, Toothless stretched languidly, the tip of his tail flicking in a lazy arc before he curled back in on himself with a sigh. His eyes blinked open for a half second - just enough to give Hiccup a slow, judgmental look - then shut again, as he fell back asleep. 

Hiccup tried not to take it personally. He knew his energy had been off since he came back upstairs to his bedroom, and Toothless was clearly picking up on it. 

His birthday morning had been… surprisingly nice. Better than he’d dared hope, honestly. As requested, his aunt had put on an entire feast for breakfast - stacks of golden pancakes swimming in maple syrup, piles of crispy sausages, and fresh scones still steaming in their basket. The kind of spread you only saw in movies. He, his aunt, his uncle, and Pippa had all crowded around the table, eating until they couldn’t move and chatting until near noon.

The gifts had been thoughtful too; a pristine set of sketchpads and professional-grade pencils from his aunt and uncle; a handmade card from Pippa, proudly decorated with stickers and glitter glue, now pinned above his bed. It had been the nicest birthday morning he’d had in years…

And now, somehow, he felt like his nerves were about to split him in half. 

It was just him and Toothless, now. After breakfast, the rest of his family had gone out of town to visit his great-aunt Muriel for the afternoon, but Hiccup had stayed behind because, well… he had plans. 

He could still picture the sly smirk on Pippa’s face when he’d said it. 

He felt a little ridiculous for being so nervous - it's not like this was the first time he'd be hanging out alone with Jack - but he couldn't shake the feeling that something felt different, this time. This was more than just killing time together - this was scheduled. Planned. Intentional. Jack had asked him to set aside this time just for him, and that felt... important. Hiccup kept telling himself that he was overthinking it because of his stupid crush, but no matter how many times he tried to push the thought down, the butterflies in his stomach only fluttered faster. 

When the bedroom window finally creaked open with a protesting groan, a gust of frosty air cut across the room. Hiccup’s head snapped up just in time to see a flash of pale hair. 

“Hey-”

“Don’t look!” Jack blurted, vaulting halfway into the room while clearly hiding something behind his back. 

“What?! Why?!” Hiccup startled, instinctively snapping his eyes shut and spinning around like Jack had ordered. 

“I, uh… got you a gift,” Jack said, his voice somewhere between sheepish and proud. 

“...You did?” Hiccup asked, his surprise genuine. He could feel the corners of his mouth tug upward despite himself. 

“‘Course I did,” Jack said with a laugh. Hiccup heard shuffling - furniture being skirted, maybe a desk drawer rattling - and then the unmistakable sound of his closet door opening and closing. “But you’re not opening it until later.” 

“Why later?” Hiccup asked over his shoulder. 

“Because I said so,” Jack answered, like that was the most airtight logic in the world. “Okay - you can look now. Just, uh… don’t peek in your closet.” 

“You really didn’t have to get me anything, you know,” Hiccup said, turning around and raising an eyebrow. Despite his words, his heart fluttered at the thought of Jack bringing him a gift. 

“Hiccup-” Jack gave him a look like the answer was obvious, “-it’s your birthday. And as your best friend, I am legally and morally obligated to get you a gift.” He flopped himself down onto Hiccup’s bed without asking, folding his arms behind his head like a king surveying his kingdom. He grinned at Hiccup and winked. “Happy birthday, by the way.” 

“Thanks,” Hiccup said, praying his knees wouldn’t give out then and there at the sight of Jack’s wink. He dropped down beside Jack, desperately fighting off the ridiculous giddiness behind his chest. “And here I thought your gift would be your mere presence,” he said, his smile turning wily. 

“That is a gift,” Jack shot back, pointing at him in mock seriousness. “And don’t you forget it.”  

“How could I? You remind me of it every day.” 

“Exactly,” Jack smirked. “So - ready for your surprise, then?” 

Hiccup blinked. 

“Uh… the thing you just hid in my closet?” 

“That’s just the gift. The surprise is better.” Jack sat up suddenly, grinning in that way that always made him look like he was about to cause trouble. “We’re going out.” 

“...Out?” Hiccup asked, lifting an eyebrow in intrigue. 

“Out,” Jack repeated. “Whole day planned. Multiple stops.” He rubbed his fingernails on his chest and looked at them, smiling in a way that made it clear he was very proud of himself. “Very official.” 

“Wait,” Hiccup said, a small, disbelieving laugh escaping his lips. “You’re actually taking me places? Like… plural?”

“Obviously,” Jack said, as if the alternative was absurd. “What - did you think I was just going to sit here and watch you draw all day?” 

“...I mean, kind of,” Hiccup admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s what we usually do.” 

“Yeah, but it’s your birthday,” Jack said, for what felt to Hiccup like the dozenth time. “So you get an upgrade today. Gotta' make it special.”  

Hiccup felt a sudden warmth creep up the back of his neck. The way Jack was talking - so casually confident about spending the entire day together - made his chest tighten. It sounded dangerously close to a date. Which would have been great… if he believed for even a second that Jack meant it that way. Unfortunately, he knew better. 

“Special, huh?” Hiccup swallowed, suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands. He managed a small smile and hoped it looked casual instead of flustered. “I’m almost afraid to ask what you’ve got planned.” 

“Good.” Jack’s grin widened as he rose from the bed. “Because as I’ve already mentioned - it’s a surprise. Now let’s get going.”

“W-wait!” Hiccup hesitated for a beat before sliding off the bed. “Is… what I’m wearing fine?”