um... so, this is complicated to explain. hopefully the summary covered most of the confusion. But this is originally an excerpt from the book I'm currently working on, and I thought I could Hijack this scene, so... unprecedented angst and sadness occurred.

Note: Jack has his powers, Hiccup is older (but still has his foot), and I do not own the characters mentioned, only the storyline.


Thinking that this whole thing was pointless and he was going to blow up in someone's face, Hiccup told Astrid that he was going on a walk. In all honesty, he was. In his defense, Hiccup didn't want to sit there and do nothing all day, and frankly, he just wanted to be by himself. Astrid reluctantly agreed, and Hiccup grabbed his backpack, just in case, and headed off.

Jack and Toothania were scavenging again, on Pitch's orders, and Jack was eating some of those blueberries he stuffed in his pocket when he found that bush earlier. Scavenge Day was a breath of fresh air. Everyone was out of those dank little tunnels and everyone could breathe air instead of the person-next-to-you's carbon dioxide they exhaled. The sky was a beautiful blue, and the clouds were huge and fluffy. Jack almost climbed a tree and went cloud-watching, but he was anchored by Toothania so that was off-limits.

"Got your head in the clouds, sweetie?" Tooth asked, scoffing at the boy lightly.

"Everything's beautiful today," Jack mumbled, shoving another fat blueberry into his mouth and munching on it happily. "Even the clouds look happy."

"How can clouds possibly look happy?" Tooth asked. "You are one strange guy, do you know that? We're supposed to be looking for moss, not shapes in the clouds."

"Right, sorry," Jack said, scooping up some moss from the floor and shoving it into his jacket pocket.

~*.*~

Hiccup walked around for an hour, biding his time and enjoying everything around him. It seemed like a perfect day to do nothing, and he smiled lightly to himself. He found a creek and followed that, his toes getting wet in the process. The sound of rushing water filled his ears, almost drowning out everything else.

Almost.

A twig snapped in the distance, and someone laughed lightly. Hiccup's eyes grew wide, and he froze. He knew that voice, he could pick that noise out from anywhere. His heart thrummed loudly in his chest, the pounding filling his ears like a symphony of drums. He took a step into the creek, and waited.

"…know that I'm supposed to be helping, but I have half a mind to not do anything at all…" Someone said from across the creek.

"Jack?" Hiccup called out, just loud enough so that the person talking could hear him. He started running through the creek, the cold water seeping through his jeans and leaving him soaked and uncomfortable but he didn't care. Someone gasped, and then there were footsteps.

"I… I thought that I…"

"Jack…" He said, breaking into a run. It was him! He could feel it! He knew that there was something missing, and there was; not Jack, but the ever-constant pain in his heart that has been with him throughout this whole entire thing.

"Hiccup!" Jack yelled.

Hiccup could see him now. He was wearing a jacket that was a little big for him, jeans that looked a little worn and a tee shirt that has seen better days. His hair was spiky and unkempt, the original pristine whiteness of it turned dingy and oily. He threw his backpack to the floor; it wasn't important anymore. And then he was running faster, determined to get to him, to close the gap between the two.

Please don't have this be a dream… don't be a dream

But it wasn't a dream, it was better. Reality had a hold on them as Hiccup wasted no time in wrapping his arms around his torso and Jack draping his hands over his shoulders, clutching his shirt to make sure he didn't fade away with a gust of wind. They were there for a while, both close to tears and were determined to not let them loose.

"I'm so glad I found you…" Hiccup said. "Gods, I'm so glad I found you!" Jack moved, and placed a light but lingering kiss on Hiccup's lips.

"You're here…" He whispered. There was the sound of a tongue clicking in disapproval in the background, but neither of them cared. Jack stood on his tip-toes slightly and rested his forehead against Hiccup's. "You're really here…" Then his hand came up and gripped at his short hair. "And you got a haircut."

"Yeah, just for you," He said with a smirk.

"It looks good," He mumbled, fingering the short auburn strands that was left of his boyfriend's hair. "How… how did you get here?"

"We walked. Duh." Hiccup said, rolling his eyes quickly and smiling. He knew his face was probably going to hurt after all the smiling, but it was worth it.

"No… how did you figure out where I was?" Jack asked, confused.

"Well, Phil helped us a lot…" Hiccup said, and when Jack replied with a blank expression, he nearly slapped himself. "Oh! He's new. Let's go, you can meet him."

"Hic, no, I…" Jack said.

"Him and Baby Tooth sort of have a thing, they're sort of adorable," Hiccup informed, ignoring whatever Jack had to say on accident because of his excitement.

"I don't think you're-"

"C'mon, everyone will be so happy you're back!" Hiccup said, starting to turn around and head back when Jack caught his arm. He looked back at him slowly.

"Hiccup, I… I can't go back with you." He said, his voice breaking and it was a wonder he could have gotten the words out at all. Hiccup was about to open his mouth to protest, when he continued. "You need to go back home. There's too many of them, more than we anticipated. HE's getting stronger, and HE's trying to figure out what's so special about me and my powers. I need you and everyone else to leave…"

"No!" Hiccup yelled, hugging him again, one hand was in the middle of his back, the other cradling the back of his head. "No, I'm not going to leave you… I'm not losing you again…" He held on tight, this time really threatening to never let go. He could have done it. Someone scoffed at them, the sharp and clear sound making him open his eyes and look around, but not making him let go. Jack sighed loudly, and tanged his arms around Hiccup's middle.

"I don't want to lose you either…" He confided. "I did this so you and everyone else can be safe. If HE finds out that you're here, HE'll take you prisoner, HE'll kill you to make me talk. And… I can't let that happen." Tears welled up in his eyes as he buried his nose into the crook of Hiccup's neck.

"And I can't let you give yourself away for me." Hiccup said, stroking his hair comfortingly; comforting himself or Jack, he didn't know.

"You have to." Jack said. "You have to… It's already starting. I'm already HIS… pretty soon, I'm going to be HIS slave, and I don't want you to see me like that..."

"Astrid can change you back!" Hiccup said, holding Jack away from him by his shoulders. "She did it to Phil! She can do it to you too! You don't have to do this…"

"Yes, I do…" Jack said, brushing his hands off his shoulders lightly and taking his hand. "What good will running away do? They'll hunt us down again, they'll kill all of you, this whole thing will just continue. And they will always win. If I can give HIM what HE wants, this'll all be over."

"HE's never going to stop killing." Hiccup said. "This will never end, even if you do rat yourself out."

"That's why I'm trying," Jack said. "I'm trying to find a way to stop them… from the inside. Because trying to destroy them from the outside-in isn't doing any good. Please Hiccup… please just listen to me. Get out of here. Take everyone and run as fast as you can. I'm not going to be the reason that all your lives are in danger, not anymore."

"Jack…" He said, a tear leaking out of the corner of his eye. He didn't have the energy or the will to wipe it away. He leaned in, and kissed him lightly. Hiccup cupped his cheek with his hand, wiping away all the tears that ran down his pale face. "I love you."

"I love you too…" Jack said. They hugged one last time, and when they parted, Hiccup scooped up his backpack from the floor, and ran through the creek. He didn't look back once, too scared that if he did, he'll lose the nerve to leave. Jack watched him go, and felt the pain bloom in his chest again.

It was only then did he let himself collapse onto the floor. He sobbed, heart-wrenching, body-wracking sobs that seemed to overtake him like a flood. It was hard leaving him the first time, but it was harder now; it's harder to say goodbye in person.

It's hard to say 'I love you' and leave.


I made myself sad in the process of doing this. I'm sorry if I killed anyone. Thanks for reading! leave a review please, but you don't have to!

-HB