Author's Note: This isn't really a continuation of Always By Your Side, and while it can be read on its own, the original story might help clarify a few things as to what is happening here. I'll be borrowing (Hijacking!) the style I used for What Could Have Been, so we'll see how that turns out :)
IMPORTANT: Not all of the following content is mine. Some materials have been taken from other fanfics, but please note that I have asked the respective writers for permission to use their ideas in this story. Refer to the Author's Note at the end for the complete list of referenced works.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or How to Train Your Dragon.
In Another World
In another world, Hiccup does not dream of a nameless white-haired stranger.
He wakes up one morning to see a note from his father telling him not to wait up that night. The man will be busy helping the new station manager and his family move into town when they arrive on the last train, and Hiccup shrugs indifferently at the news. Another lonely night is no big deal to him – he has grown used to it by now – and he merely fixes himself breakfast before heading to school.
One day later, a new transfer student shows up in his class sporting a head of dyed white hair and Hiccup gets volunteered by his homeroom teacher to show him around. His name is Jackson Overland, but he prefers to go by 'Jack Frost'. Within the hour, he has taken to calling his guide 'Hic' and while the brunet rolls his eyes at the unimaginative nickname, he finds himself smiling alongside the other boy, not particularly willing to complain about it.
Jack seems to enjoy his company and despite the flock of students who swarm towards him when they part ways during lunchtime, he cuts through the crowd after collecting his tray and surprises Hiccup by asking if he can sit with him. Given the attention Jack has attracted on his first day, Hiccup is fairly certain that he would have no problem joining the group of popular kids in the school, but the white-haired boy appears to be genuinely interested in being friends with the awkward, talking fishbone in front of him, and Hiccup tries not to nod his head too eagerly when he agrees, feeling a strange burst of warmth in his chest.
Two weeks later, they wipeout while sledding down a hill during a snow day. Hiccup lands on Jack and sprawls on top of him, but when he scrambles off and offers his hand to help the other up, he gets a faceful of snow for his effort. The rest of the afternoon is spent chasing Jack around and pelting each other with snowballs, and they are still laughing together as they walk home when the sun begins to set.
For all his love of all things winter-related, Jack is shivering before they even make it halfway to his place, so Hiccup unwinds part of his scarf and wraps it around Jack's neck. Jack grins sheepishly at him and leans forward to nip the freckled brunet on the nose, leaving Hiccup with a faint blush on –
– the snow piling up at the sides of the road. There is a storm coming and it simply would not do to get away from his dad only to get himself killed due to sheer stupidity (not to mention good ol' Viking stubbornness, though it runs in the family).
Busy programming the GPS to direct him towards the nearest town, Hiccup nearly drives past the lone figure of a hitchhiker who sticks his thumb out when he hears the approaching vehicle. The brunet doesn't have the heart to ignore the poor guy when he knows that the weather will take a turn for the worse, so he applies the brakes and slows to a stop next to him.
"Thank you so much," the stranger says gratefully as he opens the passenger side door and settles himself in, rubbing his gloveless hands together. Hiccup takes the initiative to turn up the heater, noticing with mild surprise that not all of the white on his passenger's head is from the heavy snow.
"No problem. Where're you headed?"
"North, but you can drop me off wherever it's convenient for you. My name's Jack, by the way."
"I'm Hiccup," he replies, and though the hitchhiker's lips twitch up in an amused smile, he politely keeps his comments to himself.
They end up sharing a meal at a small diner in the next rest area, and Jack insists on paying for dinner in return for the ride. Hiccup learns that the white-haired teen is a sophomore in his town's local college and is currently spending the last two weeks of his winter break doing some travelling. Seeing as they look the same age, Jack asks if Hiccup is in college as well.
Sharing his problems with a stranger is oddly therapeutic, Hiccup discovers. He tells Jack about his dad suddenly becoming interested in his life after he finally graduates high school, the way he gets this disapproving frown on his face when he learns that his son wants to major in art, and how I don't get why he thinks he knows what's best for me when he's never home! Hiccup has taken a gap semester to do an internship with a design company and Jack nods in sympathy when he hears that the freckled teen packed his bags and rented a car to just get away from everything after he had another fight with his dad about his career choice. Jack agrees with him taking some time off to cool down, but he also advises returning home to talk things through after figuring out what he wants. Hiccup sighs as he concedes Jack's point and thanks him for listening.
Though the other boy makes it clear that he is perfectly fine with finding his own way from there, Hiccup asks if he wants to tag along and travel together. Jack has an ambitious list of places he aims to hit within the next week whereas the brunet has a car with a full gas tank and no particular destination in mind, not to mention having a companion around might make things a little less lonely for the both of them. A bright grin lights up Jack's face at the invitation and he happily accepts before settling the bill and following Hiccup back to –
– a pair of oil-stained legs sticking out from under his car as the mechanic tinkers with his ride. Jack feels bad for interrupting what might be a delicate procedure, but he is running on a tight schedule and the burly man with the braided beard who greeted him in front of the garage promised him that his car would be ready in an hour. Shuffling awkwardly, he clears his throat to get the mechanic's attention. The other man pauses and slides out, and whatever Jack wanted to say to him instantly dies in his throat.
"Sorry about the delay" is the apologetic response to his wide-eyed stare. "Just give me ten more minutes and you'll be good to go."
Jack snaps his jaw shut (since when was it hanging open?) and nods dumbly, earning a grateful smile in return before the brunet servicing his vehicle ducks back under to resume his work. At that moment, there is only one thing on Jack's mind:
Oh my god he's HOT!
Bright green eyes, shaggy auburn hair, freckles peppering every visible inch of skin… Is it his birthday today?
Technically it's Jamie's, and while Jack knows that his best friend probably wouldn't appreciate him showing up late to the party, he actually has a legitimate excuse this time. His car broke down in the middle of the five-hour drive to his house and he had no choice but to have it towed to a repair garage in the nearest town. Despite his previous worry, Jack suddenly finds that he doesn't mind being delayed a little longer, and the mental image of the handsome mechanic flashing that killer smile at him makes his heart skip a beat and his knees nearly buckle. He sighs dreamily to himself before hastily wiping the love-struck look off his face when the other man slides out again.
"Gobber told me you were in a rush, so I did a quick patch-job which should hold till you reach the city," he explains, getting to his feet and wiping his hands with a rag snatched off the worktable. "But I strongly recommend sending your car for a full servicing. It could use some more work and I'd gladly do it myself, but I guess it can't be helped since you're pressed for time."
Jack's gaze strays towards a streak of black grease across the brunet's right cheek and he shakes his head distractedly when he catches himself, blushing slightly as the mechanic shoots him an odd look.
"Right. So..."
"Yeah, thanks, uh..."
"Call me Hiccup." At the raised eyebrow he receives, Hiccup simply shrugs. "It's a nickname," he replies easily.
"I like it. I think it suits you." Jack grins as Hiccup gives him a lopsided smile, and now he knows for sure that he really doesn't want to leave anytime soon. He whips out his phone to check the time, suppressing a wince as he imagines the look on Jamie's face when he finally shows up at his doorstep. Jack knows that he should be hitting the road, but then...
Screw it. He's already an hour late. What's two more going to do to him? Jamie will understand, he thinks.
Pocketing his phone, Jack returns his attention to the freckled brunet in front of him. "Hey, my friend just texted me to say that he'll be late, so it looks like I have some time to spare," he says, trying to look nonchalant. "Maybe you could do that servicing thing you were talking about earlier?"
"You sure? It might take a while..."
"Oh, take all the time you need! Don't mind me, I'll just be waiting here," Jack chirps a little too enthusiastically as he hoists himself up to sit at the edge of the worktable, but Hiccup doesn't seem to notice and picks up his tools –
– before handing the change over to the customer's waiting hand.
"Thanks, and have a good day!"
Having attended to the last person in the queue, Jack's blue eyes dart over to the clock hanging on the opposite wall for the umpteenth time. He sighs and rests his elbows on the counter, tapping his foot impatiently as he watches the minute hand crawl sluggishly. A light giggle behind him prompts him to turn around and he sees Anna grinning at him while munching on a freshly baked brownie, presumably nicked from the oven.
"Glaring isn't going to make it go any faster, you know," she laughs, sending him a cheeky wink. Jack smirks back at her.
"Oh yeah? How about you tell the Snow Queen to give me the rest of the day off then?"
"Nice try Jack, but you know Elsa's already letting you leave early tonight. I still can't believe you're abandoning us like that!" Anna pouts with mock hurt and makes a show of wiping away tears, but a jingle of bells from above the café's doorway interrupts Jack before he can reply. He flashes his colleague an apologetic smile as he goes back to work.
"Good afternoon! How may I –"
His words grind to a halt at the sight of the freckled teen in front of him, and Hiccup chuckles at the dumbstruck expression on his boyfriend's face. "Hey Jack," he greets brightly. "What's up?"
"You – I – How –" Some part of Jack faintly notes that he is floundering in the exact same fashion as he did when he first met the brunet, but a quick glance at the clock confirms that it is way too early for him to be there. "What are you doing here?" he manages to blurt out, ignoring the way Anna struggles to stifle her laughter behind him.
"And here I thought you'd be happy to see me," Hiccup says dryly, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. "Hi Anna," he nods at the other girl with a smile. Anna cheerfully waves back at him before retreating into the kitchens, sighing loudly about 'true love' and whatnot.
Jack shakes his head and blushes in embarrassment, a tinge of pink on his cheeks. "I am! I was just surprised, that's all. Weren't we supposed to meet at six?" A brief spike of panic shoots through him at the possibility that he had gotten the time mixed up, but the other teen quickly puts that worry to rest.
"Astrid called me earlier to cancel our tutoring session. That left me with a few hours to spare, so be grateful that I have decided to grace you with my holy presence," Hiccup smirks as Jack rolls his eyes.
"And what would the mighty Dragon Conqueror like today?"
"That's Dragon Tamer to you, sir. And I'd like to try that new cinnamon-vanilla latte you keep telling me about."
"Right away, your Vikingness."
While Hiccup takes his usual seat after paying for his drink, Jack busies himself with making the best latte of his humble career, working his magic on the cream with a flourish. He has spent the past few weeks perfecting a new design and this is the perfect opportunity to show it off to his boyfriend.
"One cinnamon-vanilla latte for that gorgeous boy sitting by the window?" Jack calls out with a grin, delighting in the heavy blush coloring Hiccup's cheeks as he comes to collect his order.
This time, it is the brunet's turn to be speechless when his gaze lands on the latte art on his drink. Jack must have been rifling through his sketchbooks (again) and taken a picture of his drawings, because there is no other way he could have recreated the Strike Class dragon logo he had designed for an art class a couple months back.
Jack's heart soars at the sight of the wide smile spreading across Hiccup's face and there is no mistaking the happiness behind the freckled teen's words even as he complains about not being able to drink his latte now. They grab dinner and catch a movie after Jack gets off from work, and then Hiccup proceeds to show him exactly how much he appreciates the latte art when he invites Jack into his apartment and –
– flops onto the couch, draping a woolly blanket over them. Hiccup hums in content and buries himself deeper into Jack's side, scrunching his nose slightly at the smell of Axe and smoke on the punk's clothes.
Sometimes he still finds it hard to believe that he is dating the infamous Jack Frost. The first time they met was several months ago in one of the more secluded record shops in town, where the other teen had taken an immediate interest in the freckled nerd browsing through the classical pieces. To this day, Hiccup doesn't know what possessed him to linger around the shop when Jack had told him that his shift ended at seven, but he is far from complaining about the results of that decision.
Of course, most people take one look at the tattooed boy and are quick to caution poor naïve Hiccup against associating himself with the troublemaking delinquent. Granted, Jack doesn't exactly give off the best first impression, but Hiccup knows that he is so much more than what people think he is. Despite his ruffian-like appearance (Hiccup counted at least nine piercings on Jack's body, but who knows how many more are hiding under his clothes?) and somewhat roguish demeanor, the white-haired punk does have a soft side. He showers Hiccup with attention, takes him out on fun dates, makes him laugh with his lame jokes, and most importantly, he respects him. Jack never pushes things further than what the brunet is comfortable with, and Hiccup can't be more proud to call Jack his boyfriend.
Like now, for instance.
The other teen wraps an arm around his shoulders to pull him closer, chuckling as he plucks the thick-rimmed glasses off the bridge of Hiccup's nose before they get crushed. Hiccup smiles appreciatively at him and cranes his neck to meet Jack's lips in a kiss. They break apart when Hiccup starts to yawn, but Jack only ruffles his hair fondly when he blushes in embarrassment.
"You sure you don't want to go to bed? We can hang out another time," he asks, knowing that the brunet is exhausted from staying up late to study for three different exams in the past week. Jack had originally planned to take him out on a date that night to celebrate the end of his finals, but one look at the bags under his boyfriend's green eyes was enough to make him change his mind and stay in instead. Cuddling was an acceptable alternative, and Hiccup looked like he could really use the rest.
"I'm sure," Hiccup replies with another yawn. "Just wanna stay here with you..." he mumbles sleepily, snuggling closer to Jack.
Not surprisingly, Hiccup nods off within the hour and Jack remains by his side until he hears the familiar rumble of his father's car turning into the driveway. The punk then picks Hiccup up bridal style and tucks him into bed, bidding him goodnight with a peck on the forehead before slipping out the window –
– in a tangle of limbs. Jack rushes forward to help the dance instructor separate the fighting girls, noticing a brunet following not far behind him.
They are told to step outside to resolve the matter, and Jack can tell that the other boy is tempted to throttle him when he learns that he told his blonde charge to punch the redhead in retaliation for all the hair pulling. Apparently their rivalry has been going on for some time now, and Jack's 'advice' did not help matters in the slightest.
It turns out that the redhead (Merida, the boy calls her) was only trying to be silly and didn't mean to tease Rapunzel so badly. After a stern talking to from the other teen, she apologizes and admits to being envious of her dancing skills. 'Punzie' offers to be friends while Merida promises not to tease her anymore. With that, the two make up and happily return to the class.
Jack smiles sheepishly at the brunet and apologizes for his part in the whole episode. Hiccup ("Well, Hamish actually, but who wants that name?" he chuckles) shrugs it off, saying how babysitting isn't exactly the easiest job in the world. They talk for the rest of the session, sharing about their hobbies and the different schools they go to, and they find that they seem to have quite a few things in common. Neither realizes that the class is over until their charges run up to them, begging for some ice-cream at the nearby fast-food joint. The boys cave and they end up getting dinner altogether, finally exchanging numbers before parting ways.
The next afternoon finds Hiccup and Merida over at Rapunzel's house, where Jack is busy setting up the video player for a Disney movie marathon. Hiccup goes to the kitchen to prepare some snacks while Merida and Punzie build a fort from cushions and blankets, giggling with each other.
"Alright kiddos, what do you want to watch?" Jack asks, holding out a stack of DVDs for the excited girls to choose from. As they inspect the pile, Hiccup returns with a large bowl of popcorn and some sweets.
They make it through 'The Little Mermaid' and 'Cinderella' before hitting 'Frozen' (Jack's personal favorite), and when Olaf comes to life, Jack mimics him saying "Hi, I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" and opens his arms in time with the snowman's twiggy little limbs. Unnoticed behind him, Hiccup grins wickedly and makes a hand signal at the girls, prompting them to take the opportunity to launch themselves at their unsuspecting white-haired babysitter and tackle him to the carpeted floor in an attack hug.
Jack yelps in surprise and dissolves into laughter when Merida and Rapunzel begin to dig their fingers into his sides. He calls out to Hiccup for help, but the brunet only smirks and joins in to tickle Jack into tears. The movie is quickly forgotten and Jack eventually turns the tide when he manages to sic the girls on Hiccup instead, cackling madly at the sight of –
– the white-haired boy on the screen. Flashing a smile, Jack raises a hand in greeting as Hiccup waves back at him.
"Hey, Hiccup! How's your week been?"
"Pretty good. And you?"
"Heh, just awesome! You won't believe what happened yesterday! There was this…"
Hiccup laughs as Jack recounts his misadventure in the science lab the day before, having accidentally swapped some chemicals and produced a foul-smelling concoction which had forced his teacher to clear out the room. The class was dismissed early thanks to him, but apparently Mr. Black hadn't been too pleased about the interruption and sent the poor boy to detention for the rest of the day. Jack shoots Hiccup an annoyed look when the brunet pretends to choke on the air, swearing that he can smell the stench all the way from Norway.
"Yeah yeah, very funny," Jack pouts before brightening up again. "Oh, can I ask you something?"
"You just did," Hiccup deadpans.
"Smartass. Can you give me your address? I wanna send stuff over to you."
"Like what?"
"It's a surprise," Jack winks at him, and Hiccup rolls his eyes before giving him the information.
They chat for about an hour before Hiccup has to go to bed, seeing as he has to wake up early for classes the next day. No one ever said that maintaining a long distance relationship was easy, but Hiccup thinks that he and Jack are managing well enough. They've never met in person, but they make it a point to Skype each other regularly and despite the time difference and their schedules preventing them from talking for hours on end, Hiccup looks forward to getting video calls from his boyfriend every weekend.
One particular Saturday morning however, Jack is late.
It is the start of a month-long break for Hiccup and he is itching to get online. He has missed the past two weeks' worth of interaction with Jack since he had been busy studying for exams, but he can stay up for as long as he likes now that the holidays have arrived. Strangely enough, Hiccup knows that the white-haired teen is also on break at the moment, so why isn't he answering his calls?
His laptop suddenly lights up with a chime and Hiccup's head snaps towards the message that pops up on the screen.
'Sorry, can't find my headphones. Give me 5 minutes?'
Hiccup sighs fondly and shakes his head, sinking into his chair to type out a reply.
'No problem. I'll just go grab a snack and come back up.'
'See you soon! XOXO'
The brunet is halfway to the kitchen when the doorbell rings. His father is out for the day and he isn't expecting any company, so there is only one way to find out who is on the other side. Tentatively, he pulls the door open and his jaw drops at the impossible sight of the person standing in front of him.
Balancing a tablet on one hand and holding a bouquet of roses in another, Jack grins at him three feet away.
"Surprise!"
"B-but – wha–?"
Jack briefly explains how he finally managed to save up enough money for a return ticket and accommodation to spend the next two weeks with Hiccup, and he remains still as the other boy slowly reaches forward to touch his face, as though to convince himself that he isn't imagining things.
"It's me, Hic. I'm right here," Jack says softly, smiling lovingly at his boyfriend.
He nearly drops his tablet when Hiccup abruptly closes the distance between them and pulls him into a tight hug, not paying any attention to the flowers being squashed between their chests as they –
– lie side by side on the grassy hill overlooking the west end of campus, just close enough to touch, but not quite touching. They watch the orange sunset in silence, neither knowing how to broach the issue that is weighing heavily on their hearts.
Jack is the first to fold, unable to take the tension any longer. "I'm sorry for yelling at you," he blurts out, turning his head slightly to glance at the brunet beside him.
"…Sorry for locking you out of our room," Hiccup says after a while, but he does not meet Jack's apologetic gaze.
The white-haired teen winces at the memory of sleeping in their hall's lounge for the past week. The couches there aren't exactly the most comfortable and he has woken up on more than one occasion itching like crazy. He doesn't think either of them remembers what their fight was even about in the first place, but he knows that he misses Hiccup terribly and is willing to do anything to make it up to him.
"Are we…" Jack pauses and swallows hard, almost afraid to continue. "Are we okay?" he asks quietly, mentally preparing himself for the other boy's rejection.
Hiccup doesn't reply and Jack thinks he can hear his heart beginning to shatter, but then a freckled hand reaches out to grasp his own in a loose hold. Jack instinctively squeezes back as he chokes down a sob of relief. He doesn't realize that his eyes are starting to water until he hears the brunet rolling onto his side to brush away a few stray tears making their way down his pale cheeks.
They shift closer to each other till they are pressed side to side, shoulder to hip, their fingers laced tightly together between them. There's still some ways to go before they can return to where they were before, but they both know that they'll be alright in the end.
No more words are exchanged after that, and they make an unspoken promise never to let each other go ever again.
In this world, Jack throws his sister to safety and falls through the ice. Hiccup sits alone at the dinner table and talks to a picture of his mother on the wall.
Author's Note: I received a request to write a 'what could have been' fic for Always By Your Side, so this is a mashup of the different ways Hiccup and Jack's lives could have played out. Just in case it isn't blatantly obvious, this fic also serves as a shout-out to some of the other Hijack works in the fandom. There are simply too many to be included in this story, so I applied some restrictions set in ABYS (i.e. modern setting, Hiccup and Jack don't meet as kids, etc.) and picked a handful of the more well-known ones. In order of appearance, the AUs and works used in this story are as follows:
AUs / Fics (Writers)
Modern AU / Apocryphal Gallery (Just Call Me Endy)
Hitchhiker AU / Road Trip to Nowhere (Sisaat)
Mechanic AU
Coffee Shop AU
Punk Nerd AU (Laryndawn) / Trouble (Joraye97) - both on Tumblr
Modern AU / Double Trouble (geminisonic)
Long Distance AU
College AU
.
A big thank you to the talented and lovely writers who have very kindly given me permission to use their works in this story! I really appreciate it :)
I hope everyone enjoyed the ride! Thanks for reading :)