Bedtime story

by Lajt Hane

"You are my first Believers, you're not the first people who saw me…" And only when Jamie face twisted into confusion the meaning of his words really hit Jack. He just told them about Hiccup… Frostcup fanfick!

Series: How to Train Your Dragon/Rise of the Guardians

Pairing: JackxHiccup

Genre: Romance, Angst

Rating: PG-13/T

All characters belong to Cressida Cowell, William Joyce and DreamWorks Studio. May contain some OOCness.

Warning: This story isn't beta-read, so there may be many grammar and spelling mistakes. Sorry, english isn't my native language. For more details see the comments below.

Playlist: If someone want to listen to some tunes while reading I recommend CD Islands by Ludovico Einaudi (especially CD 1 as I was writing this story listening to it).

---

Bedtime story

„And then Caleb just jumped off the sledge and landed in that giaaaant pile of snow with his butt up! You should really see it!"

Jack chuckled and waved his staff so the snow bunny that was hoping around brown-haired boy exploded into bazillion tiny snowflakes that landed on girl's bed.

Sophie giggled happily as she turned on her bed and tried to catch the biggest one that was there.

"And who do you think made that pile, huh?" spirit asked staring at amazed Jamie that was looking around the room. No matter how many times he already did it, kids always reacted the same.

And that's why he liked doing it and most of all, doing his job.

"But you didn't see it!" Jamie said as he tried to brush away snow that landed on his nose.

Well, fair point. Jack was at that moment in Canada bringing even more snow there than it was the rest of the year. Yeah, giant fields of nothing more, only beautiful white snow.

Jack opened his mouth to comment that, but was stopped by the yell coming from downstairs.

"Jamie, Sophie off to bed! We're going out with your Dad in an hour and I expect you to be asleep by that time!"

The Winter Spirit lifted his eyebrow and looked at the boy form that suddenly slumped down onto his sister bed. Sophie moved from the way, trying to catch the last snowflake and almost fell. The sudden swish of wind helped her back to her bed.

"Wow, sound… serious? Some kind of celebration?"

Jamie puffed his cheeks and laid down on his sister's bed.

"Yeah, the anniversary of my parents' marriage. Dad is taking her to some fancy dinner and some party after that…"

"Well it sounds nice. You should let your parents enjoy themselves from time to time." Jack said, shrugging his arms and moving so now he sat on the nightstand and not on the commode.

"Yeah I know… I'm just not sleepy yet…" Boy said and turned on his bed so now he was facing the boy.

Jack put his chin on his hand and smirked.

"That really is a problem then…" He murmured and turned his head just a little to look at the window and the weather behind it. Snow was slowly dancing in the air, covering every inch of the Earth in beautiful white fluffy carpet. Just the way he liked.

"Hey Jack, tell us a story?"

Jack turned, surprised and stared at his believer with wide eyes.

"What kind of story?" He nudged, nevertheless he exactly knew what boy was asking him about. He just like teasing, that's all. In the end he was a Guardian of Fun right?

Jamie rolled his eyes playfully.

"You know, a story to lull us to sleep? Ring something in that frozen head of yours?"

"Ugh you… maybe I won't tell now a story, huh?"

But the look small girl gave him was impossible to take. He need to learn that Sophie was still too small to understand the whole concept of teasing someone.

And Jamie, even though knew what was happening made the best puppy eyes in his arsenal.

And who was Jack to say no to that faces?

"Okay… what kind of story do you want then?"

Jamie shrugged. Sophie in that time rolled herself under the warm quilt and turned her head staring expectantly at the spirit.

"I don't know, chose something. You're living for three hundred years, you must know some stories…"

Jack looked up at the ceiling trying to find some memories that would entertain those children, but wouldn't be too exciting to let them fell asleep. He could tell them how he wandered the whole Earth, how he awoke for the first time, or maybe he should tell that time when he accidentally froze Aster's Easter's eggs?

Jack looked at the window, at ice patters he made when he tried to get Jamie's attention to let him inside. The snowflakes were swirling around the edges, making it look like the window was some kind of frame, showing the picture of the world behind it.

Well he was supposed to be here earlier, but he had some things to do. Very important things. Things that take priority above all.

His chest clenched, but he tried the grimace to not being show on his face. He was supposed to be the Guardian of Fun, the whole epitome of enjoyment.

"Okay, so why won't I tell you the whole story about how I became the Guardian?" Jack asked looking back to the siblings.

Jamie face was not amused, although Sophie looked happy with that option.

"You said that story about five times, not to mention we lived through it." Jamie smirked and took out the quilt from beneath his body and moved, so he also laid under it, next to his sister.

Jack felt a little taken aback by them. Was it really so many times?

"But this story is cool! Like… literally…"

Both kids giggled and this small movement made his heart a little bit lighter.

"Come on Jack, we know we were the first people to see you and this story is amazing, but we also from time to time want to hear something else…"

It wasn't his intention to blurt it out. He really didn't mean to. But this whole day was stressing, tiring and he was alone this whole day, so words just slipped past his mouth, before he even thought about the meaning.

"You are my first Believers, not the first people who saw me…"

And only when Jamie face twisted into confusion the meaning of this words really hit Jack. For brief moment, he stopped breathing, thinking maybe he somehow made Jamie and Sophie sad by that statement. But he was wrong.

The confusion quickly turned into bewilderment, then into happiness and both kids stared at him with wide eyes, sparkling so bright like someone just captured whole night sky and put it into this four orbs.

"Whaaaat?! Why didn't you ever said so? Who it was? When it happened? How was it?!"

"Tell us, tell us, tell us!" Sophie shouted excitedly swinging her small arms under the cover.

Jack stared at those two kids, that laid patiently (or not really right now) on the bed, staring at him, drilling their eyes into him and he just… didn't know what to do.

Until now this story only belonged to him. To him and maybe the Man in the Moon. And he treasured those memories for almost two hundred and fifty years now. This was his whole heart.

But the longer he thought about it, the longer this option sounded seductive. Not to mention for the first time in very long he wasn't alone. He had Believers, fellow Guardians and horde of children waiting for him to smear them with snow and, of course, fun…

He looked at the window and up the sky where moon lighted the Earth with its faint light. Maybe... maybe it was the time to finally share those memories.

Jack smiled and turned to the kids.

"Okay, prepare yourself for the best story ever. Well the best story not counting me becoming super Guardian that's it!"

Both kids tugged themselves further into the warmness of quilt - bodies next to each other and stared at him expectantly.

Jack moved his staff and small snowball landed on the switch, turning it off. Then with his hand he turned the bedside lamp on.

"This is a story of a small Viking, with the biggest heart I know…" Then he laughed remembering that one part too. "And a dragon… in the small village called Berk…"

---

"Okay, so that's make the end of my job here…" Jack mumbled to himself as he stared at the white tracts of snow beneath him. Every tree, every bush was hidden under the white quilt of snow, lulling everything to sleep. Perfect. "Time to move on~"

The Winter Spirit with a smile plastered on his face jumped from the cliff right into the sea. But before the dark monster could hollow his whole body, he was swooshed up right into the beautiful blue sky above them.

The Wind never dilly-dallied on his job, for what Jack was grateful. He was immortal yes, but he still felt pain. Especially when he dived into freezing sea in the winter.

He sighed content with the breeze that was flowing through his body and taking him to another place of work. Ugh, so much work, so many continents, so many places to bring winter to and here he was, one Winter Spirit to make it all happened. Sometimes he envied North and Aster for his one a year celebrations… But not Tooth… that girl was straight workaholic.

Finally some free time to sleep. For the past few days he needed to make all animals go to sleep, cover every field and ask trees to let go of the last leaves on their branches. And yes, some of them were very stubborn in that matter.

Jack put both his hands on his stomach and glanced with one eye at his staff, the most precious thing in his world. But it laid securely inside his pale as sheet hands.

So high in the sky it was warmer than near Earth, thanks to the sun that was pretty visible on today clear sky. Sometimes he felt bad that he needed to hide it behind all those snowy clouds to make it… well snow. But heck, maybe he was young, but he took his job seriously. This was the only thing he was able to do.

He frowned a little. Till the end of the world he would be bringing snow to every country possible. This was the job the Man in the Moon gave him but… it sounded plain. He enjoyed it, he really did… just…

He wanted something more. He wanted people to say his name, to be happy whenever he visited them, he wanted… to simply talk with someone. Heh it was so funny that you could actually miss speaking with someone, like hold a conversation. Of course there were other spirits or Guardians but still… it wasn't the same. He missed looking right into someone eyes, missed hearing people voice, missed touching someone – even if just a little bit (like ruffle someone hair, or punch playfully in the arm), missed just simply feeling someone presence next to him and not being ignored.

Jack turned on his stomach and lifted his eyelids. The water below him waved in one direction, slowly moving the white foam to the shore. In the distance he could see the stone wall of earth, towering above the sea. On the small foreland Jack could see wooden huts - a village. He saw it few times and always wondered why they decided to live there. Especially when there was so many ferocious dragons around.

Well, the dragons never attacked him, nor made any movement that showed they didn't like him, but also… they didn't show their warm feeling towards him. They weren't nemesis, but Jack couldn't call it being allies either.

Jack flew a little higher and observed small points moving around like paws on the board. Some of them stood in one place, like they waited for their turn and some of them hid inside the house, sparing the time for their moves.

Wait, something was off about this village. They had few new buildings, but that was normal. Even some places were cleaner than the rest, but it wasn't so weird.

The most astonishing thing was that dragons were… everywhere. On the roofs, walking around, flying. Did actually dragons won the long war with the Vikings, making them their slaves? That… could be possible.

But before he could think and observe the village more the wind took him above the forest and further, further away from the only populated place in this part of world.

"Well that was weird…" He was slowly moving to the opposite end of the island when he finally looked back. The village long time ago disappeared behind high pines, spruces and larches. "I wonder what happened there…"

He tried to turn back, to look forward to the place where wind was taking him but couldn't. Why? Because he saw something above him. And this something was moving fast towards him.

But this wasn't the weirdest thing. It could be a bird or something like that. The weirdest thing was that this wasn't a bird.

It was a human.

What some kind of human was doing so high? This was also a question that ran through his mind at that moment. But in the end the only thing that was left there was…

Why was he or she falling right towards him?

But before Jack could form any coherent and logical answer in his mind the said human (boy, in this spare second he got to look at his face, he could see that it was a boy, with so many freckles that Jack wasn't sure there was as many stars on the sky) flew into him.

And Jack expected one thing. That the boy will flew right through him, down towards his death. But it didn't happened.

Boy just crashed into him, like they were two normal people walking down the street in two different directions. But they weren't humans…

The crash made Jack lost his breath (more like the oxygen was pushed from his lungs) and of course lost his balance. He made few wild circles and flips and his stomach moved high into his throat, before he moreover regained his balance. His hand moved, his staff swirled and shone with freezing light as he sent a gust of snowy wind towards the boy, trying to slow down the small body, but was interrupted be the dragon that flew past him, making him do another circus tricks in the air.

Jack one more time regained his composure and quickly, turned to look down at the duet, just in time to see the boy grasping something on dragon's neck and then… riding him?

What?

For brief minute Jack only stared with awe at the dragon and the small boy flying away, together, like nothing just happened.

But for Winter Spirit his whole world just crashed down. Well, it didn't moved, nor it fell down. It was more like someone put foundations on the solid ground of his heart. The first step.

Jack tried to recollect his memories from the past fifteen minutes. Or five in that matter. This couldn't be his imagination right? This wasn't just a dream right? It really happened, right?

Because when they both crashed and boy swirled in the air, their eyes met and boy lush green eyes shone with recognition.

---

"And this is how I met him…"

Jamie blinked few times, his eyes were now round as two plates and his cheeks were red. After a second he bit his lips and using this hopeful voice, asked:

"There were real dragons?"

Jack laughed. Oh yeah, those mythical creatures now only lived in legends and books. Kind of sad ending for them. Once ruling, now almost forgotten.

"Yes, real dragons. With real fangs and real claws…"

Sophie laughed and repeated word 'fangs' like it was the funniest word in the world. Brown haired boy looked at her with kind smile, but then returned to him:

"And they breathed fire?"

"It depends on the dragon, some of them could breathe ice."

Jamie looked like he was given the early Christmas present. Well, North wouldn't be too happy if that actually happened.

"So, where were we? Ah, yeah after the fall. I simply couldn't let this one chance go away…"

---

Jack really wanted to just turn and follow the boy back to the village. He really did, but the Sun was quickly moving to the horizon, bathing everything into beautiful orange light tinted with pink waves. He need to bring few stormy clouds to other islands, but then he was free.

Not free… he need to bring winter to Berk, but that was in his favor.

So when he was finally off the work on that day, The Man in the Moon disappeared making the place for the star that brought morning to the world here.

Jack was tired, exhausted to the point his eyes were closing and he couldn't control it. But he needed to return back, he needed to check it, to see it for himself one more time. Because this couldn't simply happen right? This was only his imagination.

His heart clenched and twisted, thinking that maybe he was wrong, maybe it was a figment of his mind, some kind of wild dream. For the past forty years nothing moved his body so hard than this one, simple look.

Jack landed behind some wooden house and pecked outside the corner. The center of the village was empty, which wasn't very off. It was still pretty early for a normal humans to begin their days.

Slowly Jack made his way through between buildings onto the stone street and breathed heavily. He quickly smelt cold wind – his old companion in his lonely world mixed with a touch of long forgotten burned fireplace and a little bit wet wood.

He walked slowly around, staring at buildings new and old, some of them he recognized form his previous visit, but there were definitely new innovative parts. His interest was caught by the huge armory that stood somewhere a little bit further from the courtyard. He always liked to look through long swords, deadly axes and heavy hammers, to play with small nails or screws and maybe… freeze something when he was there. But not today.

Because his mind couldn't comprehend what was standing just in front of his eyes.

What happened with this place? Where once stood board with knifes or sickles now hang belt, straps and reins. The giant barrel that contained spears disappeared leaving place for…saddles and blankets. The door were increased in size and from the ceiling hang belts that looked like they were used to hold something in place, while other people work on it.

What happened with this place? Why there was no weapons, no brass beads, and no cannons. What happened with this place in maybe only few years?

The Winter Spirit took few steps inside (his feet dragging small freezing traces after them, that quickly evaporated into air) and slowly lifted his hand to put it on one saddle near him.

"In the name of Great Odin, please give me patience for this boy!"

Jack jumped and hit his head on pincers hanging above him, making loud clanging sound that echoed in the armory. But it looked like that didn't bring attention of the two Vikings entering the building.

Both were big, in every aspect of this world. Even Jack felt this power beaming from their posture, from the way they moved, but the bigger one - with sea of fiery red beard - looked like a lion above his herd, with his almighty curious eyes that made everything he looked at bow before him. The other man behind him smiled and Jack saw something silver shining in his mouth. The smaller one took his hand to his mouth and stroked long, blond mustaches.

"It's not his fault Stoick, it's just who he is…"

That name rang a bell in spirit head. He made few steps back as men walked into his directions, because as long as he knew that they would just simple walk through him, the feeling was terrible (and Jack knew that he would never change his mind about it).

Stoick, Stoick… Ah, he snapped his fingers and man passed him without sparing a glance. The chief of the Village.

"I know, I know… It's just… The winter is behind the corner and we have so many things to do and he just… walks out of the door whenever he got chance and fly! And I remember I asked him yesterday if he would help…" Stoick waved his bear arms in the air like it could help. He had to bend when he moved to another room, with plump man following him.

Jack moved after them.

"If he said he would do it, then he will. Stoick, you know Hiccup… Let him enjoy himself from time to time. He was overflown with the dragon training regime and he still takes care of all dragons from the village…"

"I know, I know Gobber, it's just…"

"Just what, Stoick?" The smaller one asked as he sat down on some turned upside-down bucket and lifted his pants to reveal wooden leg.

The chief breathed heavily and then massaged his eyes and slumped down to the chair next to his friend. It creaked so loud beneath the heavy body, Jack was almost sure it could fell apart any second. But the strong Viking's chair held strongly.

"I feel like we're moving away from each other once again… Lately he looks so grumpy, barely talks with me and I don't know what to do with him…"

Gobber sighed and looked at his friend.

"Just let him be for a while… He still is young, he needs time for himself…"

"I know Gobber, I know…"

Jack slowly backend out of the room. He heard enough of the conversation, not to mention he felt a little bit bad for eavesdropping so easily on others, without them ever knowing it. But before he was able to jump out the open window he heard a soft sigh:

"I don't want to return to what we had year ago…"

---

"Who was Stoick?"

Jack smiled and waved his staff in the air. A small dragon materialized itself on Jamie's head and Sophie jumped, reaching her hands, trying to catch it and embrace. But the dragon was faster, flying away to finally circle around her head.

"Hiccup's father, but back then I didn't know that…"

Jamie hid mouth behind the quilt and softly asked:

"Is Hiccup?"

The Winter Spirit only nodded and took another deep breath.

---

Jack walked around the village for almost half a day, looking into every corner, into every opened building, and every not blocked well he was able to find. But with no positive results.

He bit his lips so many times, that the number of it would cover the entire wall of pyramid. But nevertheless his lips remained as pale as snow.

Maybe he was wrong after all. Maybe it was just his dream. He was tired after all his work that he had to finish lately. Swinging his arm to bring storm and clouds was exhausting for the body, not to mention the amount of steps he needed to make to freeze one lake or breath he had to blow to cover every tree with icicles. Yes, being the Winter Spirit was hard work.

Jack yawned. Yeah, he was too tired.

Near the center of Berk he found a pile of hay, covered and hid a little bit away, behind the bushes. It looked way too big for a horse, not to mention he never saw horses here. But hey… now it was not occupied and he would probably woke up before the host would be back right?

So simply he fell down on the comfy pile and curled himself off to beautiful world of dreams.

How long he was asleep, he wasn't sure. He knew he only dreamed about flying, flying somewhere far away, somewhere where he didn't have to work almost every day, somewhere where there was a lots of animals and food, delicious food and people. Oh so many people with smiles glued to their faces, people so kind and nice to each other it almost like a utopia.

And as every Jack's utopia, everyone can see him, can talk, can pat him on the back and laugh when he made jokes. Just one small village where everything is perfect for him. No loneliness, no boredom.

Most of the time the loud shouts didn't wake him. He was used to shrieks of fear or (much appreciate) pleasure when he brought winter fun to other people. Even the loudest roar of Aster probably wouldn't brought him to the world of alive (or in that matter, unasleep), but that one shout (not loud, it almost couldn't be qualified as something louder than typical voice) made him woke up.

"I'll be back in a minute! I need to get something from the house!"

Jack wasn't sure why he found himself lifting his body up from the warm kingdom of his slumber and why he was crawling and pecking from the bush (like some kind of creep), but he did it. And he was never so thankful for that.

Because the boy stood right there, right in front of him. It wasn't an imagination, it was a human made from blood and bones. And Jack could only gape with mouth wide open as the boy passed right next to him not glancing ever for a second at the bush.

It took him minute or so, before he moved away and jumped high in the air. He quickly scooped the surroundings and found his target, not too far away.

The boy with auburn hair walked slowly up the stairs to the giant house on the hill. His both hands hold onto something heavy, as he was struggling to keep straight position on his way.

Jack heart clenched and he swallowed saliva that gathered in his mouth. He found him, he managed to found this one person that held all his hopes.

But what to do from now on? He can't simple flew to him and appear in front of his eyes. He needed to make plan… good plan…

---

"So did you plan something amazing?"

"Yeah…" Jack smiled sheepishly. "More over…"

---

Well sitting outside boy's window wasn't the smartest plan he ever thought, but it was his own plan and he was proud of it. It had of course few flaws, but nevertheless was perfect. Perfect for the Winter Spirit – Jack Frost.

For the rest of the day Jack followed the boy, keeping very high distance from him. He saw where boy lived (and came to know which window showed the perfect view on boy's bedroom, not to brag), he saw as he helped other Vikings fish (and ended catching only two salmons, one eel and few hakes), he saw as the boy feed the dragons (now sleeping peacefully in stables) and before boy finally entered his home he saw as he played with the beautiful, black dragon.

This one moment he enjoyed the most, hidden behind the well. Jack found something mesmerizing in the way boy smiled and laughed whenever dragon jumped at him and tackled him to the ground, or licked his round face (leaving a trail of saliva that still looked disgusting) to this point he wasn't sure when he himself started to grin widely. It was so peacefully and warm and simply… nostalgic for some reason that Jack couldn't tear his gaze away.

But then came his moment of shine, when boy and his dragon finally returned to his home.

Jack pecked from the corner of the window, trying not to breath directly onto glass surface to not make some kind of sigs, to show that someone was also there. His blue eyes were fixed on the small posture of the boy that moved from one side of the room to the other, putting few things away, checking some over there, writing something on the desk, then correcting other things on the picture on the wall.

Jack was literally burning outside, feeling the urge to move, to show himself, to emerge from the darkness of the night and stood in the faint light coming from the fire place and shout 'It's me!'. But couldn't and his body and his mind knew it better than he.

The black dragon was sleeping calmly in one corner only once sparing a glance in his direction. Or maybe few more times, Jack wasn't sure.

The boy… Hiccup, was his name, finally yawned and turned around. He smiled fondly when his eyes landed on the ebony creature next to his bed (this smile, a little bit crooked, but so honest and warm, that Jack didn't want anything more from a simple movement that could lighten one hundred years) and finally, FINALLY stood up and changed into some other clothes and laid down on probably not so comfy wooden bed.

This was his chance. Well not exactly now, he still needed to wait few minutes, but after that it was his chance. His chance to prove something.

The plan was simple, sneak inside, check if Jack hand really can't go through boy's body and walk out. For now it was all Winter Spirit needed. The whole concept of touching someone, someone alive, someone who can also feel it, the quiet tingling of nerves on the skin. That was too much and enough all in the same time.

Slowly Jack flew down to the front door and opened them with a light creak. His heart froze (not that it could do that actually, but well… you got the point) and he waited. One, two, three… nothing happened. Breathe in and out…

Everything was painted in dark with a soft touch of light coming from the burning down fireplace in the middle of the house. Jack slowly tip-toed inside, looking around like a frightened animal. There wasn't too much to see, beside the corrupting darkness, not to mention the Winter Spirit wasn't interested in what was on the first floor, but more about person on the upper floor.

He heard a loud snore coming from the door near the stairs. For brief minute his body made no movements, no sharp breaths, no steps, but nothing more happened. Everything was fine.

Jack found stairs to the upper floor immediately. But there was one problem. They were making creaking sounds. With every step Jack held his breath, expecting everything to happen.

Maybe he was Winter Spirit, but he never broke into someone house. But today was different. He just had to check it. There was no other way. Just the thought of someone being able to touch him was making his stomach flip and his heart to storm around his chest. And if maybe… just maybe his suspicions would be confirmed, then Jack was almost afraid of the consequences to his body.

His hand finally touched the cold and sharp surface of a wooden door. It felt like air stopped flowing through his body, like every cell suddenly froze in one moment, but he was still alive.

Slowly his throat relaxed, and saliva moved through it down. But his tongue was still as hard as stone.

When was the last time he heard his heartbeat in his cold ears?

Then he slowly pushed the door and welcomed the sudden gust of warm air with almost relief.

He remembered arrangement by heart now, not that it wasn't too creepy.

Dragon – Toothless (he heard this name so many times today that it was sure to engrave in his mind for all eternity) was sleeping peacefully in front of still lit small fireplace, curled like a cotton ball. His back was moving up and down rhythmically and evenly like flowing sea near the shore. The red firelight danced, reflecting itself on the black scales of the dragon.

If maybe he wasn't here for totally different matter Jack would look longer at the sleeping legend. But he wasn't the center of his plan.

The main point laid there, sleeping peacefully on the spruce bed that didn't look too comfortable, yet the small boy laid under the quilt with such happy and relaxed expression that Jack's mind couldn't comprehend it.

The Winter Spirit hold his breath as he slowly moved to the bed. With tiny movement of his staff he made a small snowy gust of air and he flew a little bit and landed on the bed (that still unfortunately grated under his weight) just above the boy.

The small doubt imps finally caught to him, scratching his mind with their little claws and whispering soft proposals of desertion in his head. But he made his mind and now (especially now) there was no turning back.

His hand felt like a block of osmium, but somehow, with a sudden rush of blood he lifted it.

This one or two seconds before he finally did it felt like an eternity, like Father Time deliberately lengthened that short spare of time especially for him. But Jack knew it wasn't true and Father Time would never do that.

And then he felt it. The soft, delicate, mild skin beneath his fingertips. It was like someone just blasted off firecrackers just under his skin and it made Jack thought that he never… never felt human skin. For almost forty years… he was missing this.

Jack choked on his breath as his long finger slowly, terribly slowly moved along the boy freckled cheek, higher, higher, where they circled around eyebrow (that now looked like a small thin field) to the narrow wrinkle that suddenly appeared on the forehead.

How something so simple was making him feel so enchanted, special, dazed, like he was tracing through some historic books, hypnotized by the words written in them. And he was hypnotized by that touch, by the way it made his finger felt warm, by the way his touch could made boy eyes twitch or fringe to fell from the way. It was all so simple, yet so out of this world that Winter Spirit never felt so… full in his entire life.

The simply touch was intoxicating, addictive, yet so pure and timid like he was touching nothing more than wing of a butterfly.

His finger traced base of the nose, where it fell slowly down (he felt the soft breath which made goosebumps appear on his forearm and shiver ran through his spine) and drag a little bit further to land on half-parted plump, yet tender and subtle lips (maybe a little bit cracked and dry on the bottom lip, but still soft as petal of flower).

And then Jack saw it. Two giant lush green orbs were staring right at him. His heart froze. This was bad.

"Uh huh… I can explain…" Of course he couldn't but it was worth a try.

And boy simply screamed and Jack really couldn't blame him for this. Who wouldn't scream while spotting someone unknown sitting atop of you and touching your face like a total maniac? But that wasn't his main point of worry. The sudden shriek woke up the dragon and that was bad.

Jack somehow flew up in the air in time to avoid being caught by sharp and long teeth of the dragon that lunged itself at the stranger that was strangling his rider. And that movement definitely woke up the house (especially as the building literally shook when dragon not only didn't caught trespasser but crashed into shelves making it all go down like a waterfall).

"Toothless, no! Stop!"

But it was a little bit too quiet and late as dragon tracked spirit down, spread his wings and opened mouth to probably let a not-nice-especially-for-the-winter-spirit stream of fire into his direction. This wasn't looking good for him, not good.

In one moment he was suddenly thankful to all spirits that suddenly took pity in him and helped him out of this mess.

The boy jumped at the dragon and forced closing its mouth by wrapping himself around it, just in time for door to suddenly swung open.

"Hiccup, what happened?"

Jack looked back and forth between the door and the bed, where boy still struggled with the dragon, trying to calm him as hard as he can, while the chief stared at it with slightly bewildered look clearly painted on his face. For moment or two he thought about making his way through the door, but trying to get past that humanoid wall was making it impossible.

Boy finally calmed his pet down to the point of reptile curling around him and laying down on the bed and fixing eyes on Jack sprawled in the corner and breathing heavily.

"Nothing, nothing… I just… suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and… screamed at the shadow that looked like a human and made Toothless attack it… right, so…" Here he scratched the back of his head and twitched and Jack almost felt like boy wanted to turn to him, but forced himself not to do so. "Everything is fine… nothing to worry!"

The crimson-bearded Viking furrowed his eyebrows which made him look a lot angrier and older that he appeared.

Jack looked at him, then at the boy shifting on the bed, looking probably uncomfortable, but still less uncomfortable that Jack.

"Look, Dad, everything is fine… it is okay now… everything is fine…"

"It doesn't look like that to me…"

Boy sighed heavily and his hand automatically landed on dragon head, which made its eyes to close a little bit to enjoy this moment to the fullest.

"But it is…" He murmured sleepily as his eyes rolled around.

"Is it about your break-up with Astrid?"

"What? No… It isn't this…" Boy's hand made a circle around dragon ear, which made him purr and snore aloud. "I just felt that it wasn't… you know THIS… this something you and Mom had…" Then he sighed and lifted his hands to comb them through his brown locks. "I-I'm really fine…"

The older Viking didn't look reassured with that answer, but after a while of silence he probably noticed that was the end of conversations and he would get nothing more out. And most important was that his son was safe. So he slowly made step back.

"Okay, if you say so. Just… you know you can call me anytime… if you want… you know help."

Boy smiled.

"Yeah, I know."

The Viking made another step back.

"Goodnight then."

"Goodnight, Dad."

---

"Don't look at me like that!" Jack murmured as he pointed his staff at the small boy half hidden behind the quilt, but unfortunately his eyes were visible, and spirit could swear he never felt so bad under someone gaze.

"It's was just creepy…"

"Oh shush it. I didn't mean for myself to act so creepy, but forty years without a touch have consequences, just so you know… for future!"

Jamie made that quizzical look and Jack couldn't agree more on that. Sophie looked between them with a little bit confused grin playing on her face. She lifted her small hand and brushed away the fringe.

Jack cleared his throat.

"Anyway, we had to wait a little bit for his father to fell asleep once again. And let me tell you this was the longest twenty minutes in my entire life and trust me… I live long."

---

For the next span of time Jack made no movement in this little corner that he quickly got fond of. It was quite cozy, if you didn't count ferocious dragon that still looked like it wanted to get him for dinner… or breakfast. But he would put up with it for now, he need to.

After finally adrenaline slowly dropped down, the memories rushed through his mind and he came to realizations so amazing that he hold himself strong to not start giggling and laughing like some kind of psychopath. Okay, he kind of made boy freak out, but he made boy freak out. Which meant that boy must have seen him. And if it wasn't the best day (err night) of Jack life then he didn't know what could fight with it for the first place price. He wanted to shout, yell, jump and hug boy, just to make sure that it was actually possible, this this wasn't some kind of deflated old dream that Sandman sent upon him, that this was reality that he really was in Berk, in dark room with small Viking that sat on the bed and stared persistently at the door.

Because it was too good to be true. It was all his dreams come true. And when that happen you start to doubt flow of reality and sequences of cause and effect. People often deny something happy happening to them, in protection of it. Because they are afraid that everything is a mistake. And admitting it first is better than feeling someone pointing that out.

But as soon as that small dread started to plant its seed in Jack snowy heart, boy twitched and (oh my God) his head turned, right at him, those eyes shone and Jack was almost sure he could see his reflection in those two pools.

It almost made his eyes water at just that one, simple, yet endearing movement.

The boy coughed (like he tried to clear his throat) and then looked everywhere just not at Jack.

"Well this is… totally not weird. Finding someone in my room in the middle of the night…" Jack chuckled which made boy focus his eyes on him again. He loved it, being in the center of attention, being the main point of something. "Care to explain who you are… as I think I need some explanations right now…"

And slowly, very slowly Jack descended on the floor that unfortunately creaked loudly beneath his bare feet. But this sound smeared into darkness, just like everything else. Right now there was only one thing (or to be more precise person) on Jack's mind.

And the first thing that left his mouth was of course, this one simple question:

"You can see me, right?" his voice too hopeful, too soft, too quiet, but it couldn't be asked in any other way. He made one step forward, which ended in dragon making loud growl in his direction, but that was still ignored by the spirit.

The boy looked totally taken aback, by that question for mere second, but with the flow of his voice, the understanding started to appear in his eyes and reflected on his freckled face.

"What do you mean I can see you? It's obvious I can see some kind of creepy guy that looms above you in the middle of the night. Not to mention Toothless and Dad…" his hand moved to his face, where it stayed entangled with auburn locks. He blinked once, twice, bit his lips and looked at him, right into his eyes.

This made Jack shiver with excitement.

"He couldn't see you, couldn't he?"

Another step closer. Jack leaned on his staff.

"No, he couldn't."

Boy nodded and his tiny palm moved to mouth, where the nails were bitten by a little bit crooked teeth. Green irises travelled from one corner of the room to another and eyebrows furrowed together, like they were old friends that didn't see each other for a long time.

Jack waited. He waited so long that few minutes wouldn't change anything now. He could still wait another hour if boy wanted.

And then, that look, straightforward, a little bit unsure was back on him and boy murmured:

"So who are you?"

Jack maybe replayed this scene in his mind like a bazillion times that day, just to make it perfect.

"Jack Frost, Winter Spirit, at your service…" and with a quick movement he showed his hand to the small Viking. This was something people did, when they were meeting with someone for the first time, right? It was called a handshake and Jack was very proud for being able to hold that kind of knowledge.

Boy probably did it automatically, but he quickly took Jack hand.

The petite, frantic movement that could be called a 'shake' was his small present from the Man in the Moon, just for him.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III…" Jack snorted, just in time for boy's eyes to widen suddenly. "Wait… you're a spirit?!"

He nodded.

"Yeah, Winter Spirit. I just said so."

Hiccup gaped at him with mouth hanging open for few seconds, before his mind comprehend that whatever he was feeling, hearing and seeing was some kind of dream.

"Like you bring snow and freezing winds? Like Old Man Winter?" He asked sounding astonished.

Jack shrugged slowly, which made boy tumble forward. Their hands were still intertwined, but it looked like Viking didn't really see that and Jack simply didn't want to let go. Not now especially, after he felt someone with those icy cold palms of his.

"This is what I do."

And then Hiccup mouth stretched into a wide grin.

Was it possible to feel so happy seeing someone smile so purely, so nicely, so kindly and knowing that it was something you did, something that concerned you and not anyone else? Jack felt like this smile was prevent all this time just for him, like it was a secret between the two of them.

"That is really cool…" Came the soft whisper that tugged some string inside his chest.

They both heard some snarl coming from somewhere very close to them. Hiccup looked back at his pet dragon, which puffed air at him through his nostrils (the movement which made boys soft hair dance in the air for second or two) and then returned back. Then he looked down at their hands that were still holding onto each other and jumped, retrieving his palm back.

"Uh, sorry…" Boy murmured and Jack noticed in the dim light that his cheeks were a little bit darker now.

"No problem, your hand felt nice anyway."

And - oh my gosh - Hiccup graced him with the most weirded out look Jack ever saw on anyone face and to tell the truth, Jack couldn't blame him.

"Hey, don't judge me. It was the first time I ever touched someone!"

Hiccup took one step back.

---

Jack chuckled under his breath remembering such small details. The way Viking face shone in the light coming from the fireplace, the way he played with his shirt while feeling nervous, how he often brushed the fringe away from his forehead with those freckled, soft hands.

Even after all those time the memories were still fresh in his mind. Especially today…

"And what happened then?" Jamie asked softly.

"We started to hang out of course."

---

"Good morning sleepyhead~!" Jack would had to lie if he said that he didn't enjoy the sudden shriek of the boy and view of him tumbling to the floor.

Not soon after he heard a loud grumble, something like a flow of curses and then the hand emerged from the other side of bed.

"Could you just stop doing it? Sooner or later I will get a heart attack from it…" Came soft mumble, a little bit gibberish at the end tone.

"I could, but it's too funny to stop it~"

The look that welcomed him from the other side of room definitely wasn't holding onto his translation of fun, as Hiccup gave him pretty skeptical look.

"Not to mention you were supposed to wake up in few minutes…" At that statement Jack received a deep-throat growl from the boy as he slowly lifted himself on the bed. The small hand travelled to the fake leg, standing sheepishly near the wall. With few quick movements, taps and turns the metal clicked in its place, on boy leg.

No matter how many times Jack had already seen it (and it was quite few) it was always so inviting, so interesting that Jack couldn't tear his eyes away from this sight. He wasn't disgusted or anything like that, it's simple that he was amazed by the whole process on putting on whole another limb.

When the Winter Spirit saw that the boy was ready, he sent a gust of chilly wind that helped Hiccup stand on his two feet. Actually Jack was quite proud of himself for noticing the small hiss of pain that always came out of boy mouth whenever he tried to stand up in the morning.

"T-thanks…" Lips twitched in small maneuver of ghostly smile. "Sometimes it's hurt in the morning."

Jack knew from boy façade that this wasn't sometimes, but always in the morning. For past few days he observed so many different faces, that he started categorizing them, recording, stamping. At first it was difficult to see what was truly behind those eyes, behind those twitchs and turns of mouth and nose, behind that little shrug and tilts, but with time… it somehow became clear. Like opening book with tiny, tiny colorful bookmarks on different chapters. Now it only took Jack a second or so to fish out the emotions described to the movements.

"No problem."

As the boy turned to change his clothes Jack flew outside the room and down onto the icy road, where he melted it a little to make it bearable for the boy. Not soon after the front door opened, revealing him fully clothed and ready.

"Toothless!" Hiccup shouted looking up at his house.

Jack loved that every time Hiccup saw his best-friend - companion - his eyes lit up, like a kid that was given the best present ever, like candle lit up by a match. It was a small spark, something that could be unnoticed by someone else. But Jack wanted to remember as many features as he could.

And this was one of his favorites.

The dragon jumped down from the roof (smashing his beautiful snow everywhere, which included Jack's head of course) and circled around the boy with purrs and scowls as he finally rested his head on boy's arm. Hiccup patted him affectionately.

"Ready for a flight?"

Toothless snapped his jaws happily.

Then auburn haired boy turned his head at him, stared right into his eyes (the feeling was almost still new, sending waves of pleasure, shivers down his spine every time their eyes met, every time he was recognized) and spoke to him, simply:

"Wanna tag along too?"

Jack was ready from the beginning.

---

"We flew around the land sometimes for hours, sometimes only few minutes. And we talked, talked and talked…" His voice drove off, getting quieter with every tone, every word, every syllable. Those times, those memories were still burning in his heart – lungs. Sometimes he could close his eyes and still hear it and it was painful, it was tearing him apart from the inside and yet, he didn't want, couldn't let go. It was his own pirate treasure, just for him.

He missed it, missed those simple moments, hearing his voice and being able to respond. His heart tore from his chest, trying to run, trying to return to those moments, but to no avail. It was gone.

Yet it was still alive inside of him. Every second, every minute they spent together was fresh, burning fresh, like spring flowers on the fertile soil.

Jamie didn't said a word, nor Sophie made sound so Jack turned to them. Their eyes were on him, big, blurred with something Jack could only describe as worry. He didn't want it to be like that. These were the happiest days of his life and he wanted them to be like that.

Till the end of HIS world.

"So, where was I?"

---

"Wait, how old are you?"

Jack waved his hand and his staff hit the trunk of a fir and the snowflakes exploded, swirling around it like a warm scarf. The movement made Hiccup gasp in wonder and Jack felt awfully proud of that. He already showed him few small tricks, but every time the reactions were the same and it was… kind of cute.

"Forty three this year."

"You're holding nicely for an old man…" The sentence made Hiccup squeak as not-so-small lump of snow might not-quite-accidently land on his head, covering it with white eiderdown.

Hiccup quickly brushed away the left-overs and glared at him, but the small smirk didn't come unnoticed by the Winter Spirit.

"I'm very young for a Spirit, if you want to know."

Hiccup started walking again, huffing warm air onto his gloved hands. His metal leg (something that Jack only noticed the day later after their first encounter) was creaking weakly with every step boy was making, but it looked like he was used to it by now.

"So are you like… immortal?" Auburn haired boy asked sneaking a glance at his direction, but quickly returned his eyes to follow the narrow road they were currently walking and trying not to fell down (which actually happened few times).

Jack slowly stomped behind him.

"Not quite actually… We're everlasting but we're not quite immortal. We don't get old, but we still can be killed."

"So you're gonna live… forever?"

Jack didn't really paid too much attention to Hiccup's voice, but if he did then maybe he would feel a tingle of sadness, tone of sympathy and a pinch of concern.

"Yeah, probably, but who knows…" Jack murmured and swung his staff, covering the naked piece of land with cold quilt of pure white snow. He never really thought about it much. The point of being eternal was that you start to lose track of time and don't think about the future much. Of course the dread of death was there, was possible, but he never put much attention to that topic.

Well, more honest answer was that he avoided delving into those areas of problem as long as he possibly could.

"Oh…" Hiccup said and then put both his palms under arms. "That kind of sad actually…"

Back then he quite didn't understand what boy meant. Back then he was still feeling like the happiest person… err spirit on the whole globe. Back then he was still an over-excited, happy, joyful Jack. Reality hit him hard with a metal pipe later on.

But back then everything was easier.

"Heh, you can get used to it."

It felt like Hiccup wanted to add something (Jack knew it from the inhale, from the way boy's arms tensed, from the small movement of his hair indicating that he tried to turn around) but was stopped by a sudden roar coming from the sky and then a giant dragon landing on him, making him lose balance and falling flatly into the soft snow.

"Toothless stop!" He shouted as the dragon started to lick him on the face and chest, leaving long trails of saliva all around it. "I know you're happy about winter, but stop!"

Jack couldn't prevent that smile that sneaked onto his face, but he decided to be a good spirit today. With a little bit of his imagination and a slight help of his staff he composed a snowy fish out of the young fallen snow around him and sent it towards the dragon.

Toothless gaped for a short moment after a ghost animal, then jumped towards it and started to chase it around the forest.

Hiccup growled and slowly lifted himself off the ground, trying to swap away the wet substance from his body.

"Maybe you should enjoy winter too, Mister Grumpy-grump?"

Hiccup shot him a doubting glance with an awry imitation of smile ghosting over his face.

"Not trying to be mean, but when you have a metal joist for a leg the winter can became quite troublesome." Jack showed him his hand which boy took and used it to get up. "Not to mention winter mean more work for us - Vikings."

Jack tried not to feel offended by that, because he knew that Hiccup was right, but heck that! He was the whole epitome of winter! Winter wasn't only cold. The freezing weather was only a cover of the book, holding so many pages of true meaning of winter.

And the small Viking probably forgot to read few chapters from it.

"Oh come on, winter can be fun. You only need to…" Jack waved his hands in the air trying to search for a perfect word to describe what he meant. "…loosen up!"

Hiccup slowly shook his head, making Jack felt like he was treated like a child.

"Maybe later. I don't have now time for fun…"

He didn't have time for fun?! That was impossible! What was life without a little bit of adventure, without the laugh of joy from experiencing something new, without the tranquil feeling of relaxation? He couldn't possibly be speaking the truth, right?

There was always time for fun.

"Now help me gather the wood."

And Jack would prove it.

---

Jack was quiet for some time, staring blankly at the world outside the window. Now the snow has risen up due to his mood, making the vision from behind the glass a blur. He could only hope the weather won't destroy Jamie and Sophie parents plan for today night.

This wasn't entirely his fault. Sometimes he just couldn't control that peck of magic that flew from his body.

Maybe he should stop talking right now. It would be a good idea to end story here, before he would be thinking, living those moments over and over again.

"You became friends quite quickly…" Came soft whisper and Jack lifted his head, that somewhere through the story landed on his chest.

Jamie was staring at him with sparkling eyes, eyes so big that tugged on his chest as he showed him chaste smile.

"Yeah, you know, no one could see me so of course I tended to spend as much time with him as I could." Then he brushed his lips. "We actually spoke in the same language, so maybe because that was why…" This was more to himself than actually to Jamie, but even though his voice faded down, boy caught it.

"But how could he sees you? Did he believed in the Old Man Winter?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure he believed in Old Man Winter or Jökul Frosti… although he believed in many mythical creatures… It was more like… he had a gift."

Jamie eyebrows rose high on his forehead in incomprehension.

"A gift?" He parroted.

Jack nodded.

"Yeah, a gift to see some things other couldn't see…"

---

Jack knocked softly on the glassy window. Ha had done it now too many times to count, but every time the sound was making him itchy, like he was still scared that he could wake up entire village with one simple movement.

"Hiccup, are you asleep?"

The lump on the bed moved and not soon after the auburn hair emerged from beneath brown quilt. Boy blinked few times and almost immediately redirected his gaze at the window (a movement Jack was very proud of right now).

"Jack, what are you doing here at this hour?" Came drowsy reply and then Hiccup rose to his feet and moved to the window. He quickly opened it with one swift move and shuddered as cold winter flew into his over-warm room. "It's like middle of the night…"

Jack grinned. He couldn't hold himself too long, but heck who could blame him? The last two weeks of spending time with someone, talking with someone, being able to look at someone (and being able to feel the stare on his back) made him such giggly and over enthusiastic spirit.

Was it already two weeks? It almost felt like just yesterday he was holding onto dear life in the corner of the room.

"I want to show you something!"

Hiccup looked at him with doubt and massaged his arm, probably freezing due to the weather. Jack tried hard not to make today extra cold, but well… he actually messed that up in that matter. Blame his jumping heart for doing it.

"Like right now?" Boy sighed, brushing his eyes and Jack could swear he saw golden sand dancing around boy eyelashes right now.

"Yes, right now! Take your boot and we're leaving!"

"Can't this like wait till morning?" Hiccup asked pleadingly one more time and Jack almost submitted himself to those puppy eyes of boy. But no, he's a strong independent spirit and he would not fell under the spell of those… soft, drowsy, adorable eyes. Nope!

"No it can't and now move!"

Jack watched as Hiccup growled loudly and took his one shoe that stood near his bed and slowly tried to put it on (he missed his foot actually five times trying to do that). Then he observed as boy made his bed, after that he looked as he threw few planks into the fireplace and even after that he even stared as boy started to clean his desk a little.

But when he started to change his clothes he fumed. It actually made no sense. Of course, he was still in his sleeping clothes (something they called pajamas, heh funny word to Jack) but heck, he already had shoes on! Winter Spirit couldn't hold this any longer.

So he just flew inside and caught boy under his arms and stormed out of the room in a blast of a lightning. His hands tightened his grip on the boy armpits and chest as he flew higher and higher, but also father and father away.

"Jack, what are you doing?! I'm still in my pajamas not to mention I didn't even took my coat!"

Jack bit his lip. That was actually a mistake. Human couldn't get too cold right? Well, he was only starting to learn more about those creatures, so it wasn't his fault entirely right?

So he flew a little bit closer the earth and snatched some kind of cloth that looked warm from someone window. When his hand lose grip on the boy, Hiccup shrieked and tried to turn a little in spirit's hold, to find a way to held himself more securely.

"Here you go!" He said as he pushed the cloth into boy chest, regaining his hold onto boy.

Hiccup tensed.

"Jack, this is curtain!"

"Is it bad?"

"I can't walk around wherever were flying in curtain!"

Jack shrugged.

"You got to live with it for now."

Hiccup still grumped and growled few probably not nice words under his breath, but Jack only laughed at that. Lately he was laughing and smiling a lot, to this point in the evening his mouth and cheeks were hurting him, but to tell the truth… he didn't mind.

The boy beneath him gasped and Jack looked down at the tracts of treetops sprinkled with pure, white snow like a desert served on earth platter. He saw the view so many times that it wasn't making much impression on him, it was his every day job to bring snow whenever he gone, but tonight was… different. It was almost like he was first born when simply swoosh and gust of wind made him chuckle and giggle with excitement.

He wasn't sure why but he tightened his grip on boy in his arm and only then he felt, realized, the heat radiating from the body. For the last two weeks he was seeking human touch, trying to touch Hiccup as many times as he could, to engrave those moment in his memory, because… because he wasn't sure if he ever would live through them one more time.

And at first Viking glanced at him a little bit weirded out, a little bit scared and surprised, but when Jack explained it to him, he relaxed at the constant touches.

But well… he never was so close to someone to the point of feeling the vibration of someone breath, to had someone hair tickle his freezing nose and most of all to taste the warmness seeping through somebody. It was… nice, awfully nice. Jack felt full and safe. Fulfilled was the right word. Yes, fulfilled. Like he was… at home.

And immediately with the feeling of security came fear. Because life was volatile, delicate, like a puffball. Humans don't last forever. They are here for a brief moment… and then they are gone. The walk into your life and move out with all their belongings leaving only memories after them.

Mother Nature once told him about it, but until now Jack wasn't seen by any person, so he didn't quite actually put much attention. But now was different. The last two weeks were the happiest moments of his life. But life wasn't constant. It was a wild mathematical function without equation with giant x mark as an unknown part, a surprise. And a black circle as an end point.

Death will consume everyone, the Father Time will no longer see the ticking time of people life's, hear the soft heartbeats of their hearts. The hourglass will never be reversed once again.

And with that warmness, the cold, terribly glacial, icy feeling spilled all over his body. He found someone who can see him, but Jack knew he will lose him, maybe not today, maybe not this year but in the future. And yeah, people reconciled with those thoughts but Jack… Jack was terrified.

He brought Hiccup body closer trying, needing to feel the warmness - to confirm that the boy right in his arms was still alive, was still here with him. Oh how he wanted to stay like that forever.

But he couldn't, especially today as he had a mission to do.

Slowly they both lowered the flight until the soft ground came into view. Yes, everything was perfect, just the way he left it few hours ago. Jack first put Hiccup on the ground and only when he saw that boy touched it with his feet, he also landed next to him.

Right inside the tiny cirque in the middle of the forest.

Viking looked around as he clutched the material closer to his chest. The moon shone today very brightly, making it possible to see everything with a touch of faint, serene light. Yes, it was the perfect night. Finally the all wandering green orbs landed back at him with a look of surprise and ting of excitement, hiding somewhere deep down in those eyes. Jack came to like this look.

"So, why did you brought me here?" Hiccup finally asked lifting his hand to the face and brushing away the fringe that fell into his eyes. His hand was shaking a little bit.

Jack bit his lip playfully.

"Because, my dear small Viking…" The same hand that was used to uncover his eyes now punched him in the arm. But unfortunately Hiccup was too late to retrieve his limb, as Jack caught it between his own palms, moved closer, leaning his head and grinning. "We're going to ice-skate tonight!"

And with that he tugged on his arm as he moved to the frozen pond just right next to his feet.

"Jack, no, no, no! This is bad idea, this is really bad idea!" But the Winter Spirit didn't care if this was bad idea for Hiccup, because it was great idea for him.

He intertwined his fingers with boy's hand as he made first step on the ice.

"Oh come on, Hiccup it will be fun!" Jack chortled seeing as Hiccup's eyes became so big and so bright, like someone turned them into full moons for few seconds. The bottom lip was quickly attacked by Hiccup's teeth as he nervously mumbled on it, still withstanding Jack tugs.

"No, it will not. Don't you know that fake legs mix badly together with ice? Because I know!" Hiccup voice was barely a whisper, but sounded so pleading that part of Jack wanted to stop it. Wanted to direct boy back to the house and put him back into bed, then cover with featherbed and kiss on forehead and lock the door.

But the other part was stronger.

"And I know you need a little tug~!" And with those words he pushed all worries back into his mind, swept them under the stair of his consciousness and let himself free and tugged boy onto the pond.

Hiccup squealed and in one moment lost balance, which might prove his point. But Jack actually didn't mind, this wasn't the part of his plan anyway. He only wanted over stress by work boy to have a little bit fun, but well… this was fine too.

The boy waved his hands in air for few second until they finally found support on Jack back as Hiccup threw himself completely onto the spirit and clutched onto him like there was no tomorrow.

Their chest were glued and Jack felt some fancy, happy feeling starting to grow inside his stomach at that touch. Every kind of contact was amazing for him, new experience for his body, but somehow, there were times that those moments were a little bit different than the other. And this was the one.

But it was a great feeling.

He chuckled lightly as the hold on his back became more timid and stronger with his feet still slowly withdrawing from the protecting range of land.

"Jack! This is really bad idea! I can't ice-skate! I'll fall!" Actually hearing scolds as whispers were very funny to him. It still felt bad, but yet it was endearing.

His hand traveled to boy's waist as he hold him closer, much closer to once again felt that something in the air they had not so long ago. The warmness, that small sparks of heat that tickled his skin. It was like an addiction, that he knew he wouldn't (couldn't) never let go.

The Winter Spirit leaned to boy's ear and murmured.

"Shh it'll be alright. You have to believe in me and everything will be fine…"

Jack wasn't sure what that sudden tug on his back meant, but it made Hiccup stop complaining which was a good sign.

They both stopped when they were at the center of the lake. Jack waited patiently for boy's mind to register that they weren't moving anymore. And slowly, after a minute or so Hiccup lifted his head and stared at him, right into his eyes.

His eyebrows were furrowed, cracked bottom lip hidden under teeth and those shy eyes looked at him. And Jack only had seen stars, thousands, millions of stars, tiny specks of light inside those dark pools, swirling, twirling and jumping around like kids in the garden.

He was a goner from now on.

"Wasn't so bad, wasn't it?" He asked after he finally found his breath, that got stuck somewhere between his heart and throat, like his body was a maze.

Hiccup took deep breath and relaxed his fingers.

"M-maybe not…" And then his face twisted into a grimace as he sneezed loudly, making few drops of snow fell from the trees above them.

Jack laughed and with one hand he took the greased curtain from boy's hand and threw it over smaller Viking head and body, feeling like a guardian putting on protective spell. Spell that no one can break, spell simple, yet strong, radiating power and kindness.

Hiccup glanced at him from beneath elegant patterns, embroiders and ornamentations. With twitching hand he moved the material away from his eyes and further on his head and in this time Jack hooked the material on boy's pajamas buttons making it look like a giant, gray night coat around a forest spirit that leaning out of its hiding.

"So now what?" He asked, his voice stuttering a little at the end but that smile, oh that smile was playing in the corner, in those beautiful dimples on boy's cheeks.

"Now we simply enjoy ourselves…"

Jack hands were cold as always, but when he took Hiccup's hand it felt like he was touching the sun. Warm, fuzzy, itching, burning, heavy. Like they were two metals, molting together into one alloy. It was heaven, heaven inside his own palms.

And he tugged the boy, held him closer, spun around, swirled, moved, around and around the moon light, just the two of them, only them and no one else. Just them and the wind, wind slowly dancing between them, pushing, pulling and hugging like an old friend, like a mother. Once closer, then apart, both hands mixed together. And those eyes never leaving his, never faltering, even if for a second.

And those smiles, those laughs and chuckles it was making him burn inside, burn with the fire he wasn't sure he could possess. It was painful, it was overwhelming, but it took only one blink and it all faded away. Only one blink and those stars, those small galaxies were back with him, and he returned on the right orbit.

Around and around, closer, then further to once again come back. The sound of breaths mixing together, the small squeaking of shoes on the thin ice and fluttering of the curtain, flipping after the boy with every step – like a small kid following its mother.

Jack felt full and apart all in the same time. His heart was beating, it was beating so awfully fast it was scaring him, but he couldn't and didn't want to stop. He wanted to prolong this moment, to never stop their movements, he wanted this to last forever. To put all this into a snow globe and make someone shook it till the end of the world.

And Hiccup laughed when Jack slipped on his own creation and his chest clenched, ripped inside of him, tore apart and yet… it was calm, tranquil, like it was totally okay to feel that, to feel so contradictory emotions inside of him. It was a blessing and a curse.

Apart, then together, closer and closer.

So close Jack could count those small freckles on boy's nose and cheeks. But even this closure wasn't enough. The heat that wrapped around him, the heat coming from the boy was his addiction, his habit. Those inches away are making him fall apart, making him lost senses. Because all those inches could mean years.

Further and further away, with every year till the end of the world. But there was only one world for Jack.

And he was scared, terrified, aghast that it was only a peck of moment that will soon volatilized and he couldn't let it go.

Jack tugged the boy closer and he felt Hiccup fall into his arms and he wrapped him into his own, like it could help, like this one simple movement could make this all demons go away. But he knew it couldn't.

"Jack, are you alright?"

Oh how he wanted to give affirmative reply, to simply nod, smile and make it all go away. But it was impossible, now the fight against his glassy eyes were his own personal war.

"Y-yeah…" Raspy whimper was the only sound that left his mouth. It was quiet, soft and he really didn't want for Hiccup to hear him like that, now, especially now. They were supposed to have fun times not sappy times. "Don't worry about me…"

So they stood, together, embraced in a hug in the middle of the frozen pond, intertwined like two old willows growing next to each other. Oh, how he wanted to let all those emotions go, to let them fly away with the morning breeze, to bit them farewell. But he knew better that he couldn't.

And then, the grip on him tightened, and Hiccup moved closer, like he knew what was happening. And probably (maybe) he deduced it, from the look in Jack's eyes, from movements of his body, from his voice, from all those symptoms that were probably very visible, like first-born flowers pecking out of the snow on the first day of spring.

"Hey, everything's going to be fine…" Boy whispered, softly, graced him with that kind and warm tone, like a vow and Jack really wanted to believe him, he really did. But he knew better than that.

Yet for now he was fine, for now it was okay. He shouldn't have worry about the future. Not now, especially not now as he found that one speck of hope, one string of radiance, of salvation just in his arm, holding onto it.

And he really did, he held onto it, onto his dear life, fearing of losing it, losing him.

"Y-yeah, just got… just got some bad thoughts…" Winter Spirit sniffed as he moved away and looked back at the boy.

Hiccup took the edge of the curtain and lifted it to his face, slowly brushing his eyes with it.

"I might have an idea what will lift up your deflated mood."

Another sniff, but this one was mixed with a glimpse of rakish glint in those ice eyes.

"Yeah, like?"

"Like a snow fight!"

Jack didn't need more encouragement.

---

Jack stared at the wall, chewing on his bottom lip. In the middle of the story he silenced and allowed his memories to flow around him.

All those bad thoughts, all those bitter moments he left for himself. It was supposed to be a nice lullaby, a simply bedtime story. But maybe today was bad day. No, today was terrible day for this kind of thing. Some voice whispered into his ear that he should stop right now, but couldn't.

He shut his eyes tightly.

---

It was all a beautiful dream. So nice, so perfect that Jack knew it would end sometime, but he hoped, prayed for it to be in the future. Many, many years away, so that he had time to reconcile with this thought, with this fate.

(But deep inside he knew it would never happen).

And he remembered plain as day that one night, that one night that stopped his heart.

Two weeks, turned into two months and two months turned into half a year. The winter on Berk lasted for nine months, unusually long which made Jack stay in one place for long, long time.

But he loved every minute of it. Until now he just swung around the globe, bringing snow everywhere where he was needed (and even there where he wasn't). Few days in one place was enough for him, because for how long can you décor lakes and give coolly, snowy coats to trees? But now it was different.

His work never stopped. In the middle of the day he travelled to faraway lands to do his job. There were still so many towns and fields that needed to get under his winter spell, there were still so many animals that didn't know it was time for their slumber and don't start him on leaves on trees (because this was one heck of a tough job for only one Winter Spirit). But whenever he was free, whenever he had a chance, he always returned to that one place.

And somewhere in the middle of this year he started calling it home. The only place that he could return to.

Because whenever he returned, whenever he came back Hiccup welcomed him with that smile (a little bit shy, but warm and sincere, but most important directed right at him). For this one moment he could travel through cosmos. And sometimes he felt like that, like he was in space, getting closer and closer to those stars hidden deep inside green eyes.

At first it was a day like any other. He ended removing additional snow of the mountains and now returned back from his work.

Even from far away he saw the soft light coming from that one window, his special window. And as usual he flew to it, sat on the roof and knocked on it. Until now.

The window was already opened.

It was the first time something like that happened. Hiccup loved his over-heat room with fire burning happily in the fireplace and whenever Jack visited he was sweating too much for his comfort. But not today.

The Winter Spirit slowly sneaked inside and looked around. Although he saw dim light from very far away, now, when he was already inside he felt that it was much darker than usual. The wood inside the fireplace was already burned, with only few slivers being incandescent, letting plume wobble around them. It was freezing inside (and coming from his mouth it really meant something).

Then he heard a quiet whine, coming from behind him as he spun around on his heel, facing the source of it.

Toothless stared at him with those full eyes of his, but this look, Jack never saw it. Well he never saw it directed at him always at the rider. The plead radiated from those irises, was making him cringe with anticipation and fear, because… well because what was he supposed to do? What dragon could possibly want from him? Then the dragon swished his head, pointing to the bed behind him.

With a lot of bad feeling storming inside his stomach, he ran there.

Hiccup laid there, on his bed, shivering madly. His legs were close to his chest, like he wanted to curl inside himself and disappear. If maybe Jack wasn't at some other place and some other time he would notice that boy was almost totally naked, with only his underwear on, but right now it didn't matter like that. Well, he noticed it of course. Hiccup looked like he was in pain. The quiet whines, sighs and sobs were flowing out of his mouth like a mantra, accompanied by the rocking of arms (and it looked like breathing was a problem) and oh he simply looked like a mess. But that was only a look from a far away.

Jack leaned above the boy and stared as those lips really trying to catch a breath, as eyes flutter like maniac on the loose and sweat came running down, just as rain on the bad autumn evening. Hiccup looked devastated, his skin pale, even more than Jack's own (which was unnatural, he always looked so healthy!) making all freckles stand out. He loved staring at them, especially in the morning light, but this was different.

Now it was terrifying to look at.

Jack lifted his hand and put it on boys head and it took all his willpower to not freak out and jump away. The skin was burning hot. Jack never though, knew, that human body can get this high temperature. But this was bad, very, very bad…

He looked around. On the bed laid frozen bags of water that probably fell down or away while Hiccup rolled around bed. As he tried to grab them, he already found they were no longer nicely cold nor had the structure of the ice. The bags slipped through his fingers, like lifeless dolls. And he felt like that.

He cursed aloud and spun around, spotting Toothless staring at him expectantly, nodding his head off and whining. Near the bed stood bucket with the cloth hanging on it. With one quick move Jack drowned material inside, wringed and started to brush it through boy's forehead, unsticking every flock of fringe out of his way. W-was he supposed to do that? Mothers often did that to their kids when they had a fever (Jack saw it happened few times through windows, but observing and actually replaying the scene were two different things). Forehead, eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, neck, arms… slowly, he traced the (at least he hoped) cold cloth around the body, biting his lip.

How did it happen? Six months of full winter did nothing to that fragile body and now… His mind couldn't take it.

Where was his father now? He knew he was the chief of this village, but Hiccup right now needed someone to take care of him (someone with hand and not claws like Toothless had). Why won't he come to check on his son?

Then it hit him, the overgrowing silence around the house. Every time they talked till the late hours of night the loud snoring echoed around the house. But not today.

"Okay Jack… it will be fine… nothing bad will happen…"

But he barely believed it, especially now as he found that there was no one to call for help.

He jumped as he saw boy's body tremble in delirium and heard a loud gasp coming out of those half-parted lips. This was terrifying.

"What do I do Toothless?" His voice was raspy, weak and he knew he himself started shaking.

But the dragon only moved his head, like he encouraged him to do something. It was written all over Toothless face. But Jack wasn't Hiccup and he couldn't read him. It was frustrating - feeling helpless, being helpless.

Hiccup moaned which made Jack focus back on him.

He looked so vulnerable, so small, so lifeless, like a rag doll. But right now he was still alive, those lung were still moving, working, pumping oxygen in and out, the blood was flowing, the heart was beating, organs were working. And Jack would help keep it up, for however long it will take.

"Come on, Hiccup, don't leave me here alone…" And then he put his palm on boy's cheek.

And Hiccup at first tensed, shuddered, a quick spasm ran through his body, then he slowly leaned into that touch sighing loudly.

Suddenly those wires inside his head connected and a spark of electricity jumped between them, making information flow through his head. This idea was delusional, insane, and mad and yet, this was his string, his beautiful blue string of hope that now dangled in front of his cold face. Now, he could only pray it would work.

And won't make it too awkward in the morning.

"Don't judge me, Toothless…"

Quickly he striped himself of his clothes and threw them somewhere, somewhere around the room. He tried really hard to not look back at the reptile that was probably observing him with tilted head and maybe fear, but that wasn't important right now. What was important was beating the fever down now.

In only his underwear Jack slowly laid down, lifted his hands (they were trembling, his heartbeat was loud in his ears and the air just won't come inside his lungs) and wrapped them around the boy. He leaned his body closer in a weird imitation of hug. He leaned for the touch with every centimeter of his body that could be used, clinging it to Hiccup, trying to cover as much skin as he could.

And the boy in his arms shivered, tensed, then slowly, after few seconds relaxed. Hiccup head moved just an inch or so and landed somewhere in the crook of Jack neck.

When their skin met it felt like a lava meeting the icy cold water. It burnes, it hiss, it steam and Jack was purely surprised that there was no steam around. It made him shiver in nice and totally dreadful way.

He touched Hiccup skin many times. Occasional pinch on the cheek, soft tugs on the arm, brushes of hands, ruffles of hair. The whole concept of boy warmness engraved in his mind. And this wasn't the warm he remembered.

It was burning, like a fire was lit inside.

He was scared, frightened.

With one free hand he brushed away the fringe that returned on the forehead. Boy whimpered.

"It'll be okay, everything will be okay…" He murmured leaning into those hair, now glued and sweaty. "Everything will be okay…"

He never prayed so hard in his life than that night.

---

He didn't sleep that night. Every minute was getting longer and longer and he was scared that in next the Odin will take him to Valhalla.

Sophie and Jamie both stared at him, with quizzical looks, both arms tensed and theirs mouth forming a thin line, asking him to continue what he once started. But Jack still needed a minute or two to sweep away those memories of that night.

---

Hiccup woke up in the very early morning.

Every muscle on Jack's body was tensed by the full night watch on the boy. His eyelids were heavy, his arms felt like they were made from bismuth and his heart ached in his chest, feeling like someone was piercing needles inside it.

But when the boy finally stirred all those pains and contractions disappeared into the fog.

"J-Jack?" Came the quiet, weak whisper from under his chin and Jack felt like he could burst in tears in that moment.

He moved a little bit away and stared at Hiccup that was looking at him with still a little bit darkened, misted eyes.

"What happened?"

And Jack chuckled, laughed and that movement made his stomach twirl in bad manner. Hiccup sent him a surprised glance.

"I don't know, you tell me… I found you shivering to death on the bed in the middle of the night…"

Hiccup eyes rose, widened and Jack was almost sure he saw flash of memories flowing through those orbs. Then boy sighed (and the hot air that left his mouth tingled his skin, just above the collarbone) and dived his head down and rested it on Jack's arm.

"So, what happened?" Jack nudged.

Boy shrugged and his eyelids fluttered. The Viking looked tired, exhausted and even though he woke up his arms were moving vigorously.

"Dagur happened." Were the words that left his mouth. They were sharp, shaded with some venom and never… never the Winter Spirit heard boy talk like that about someone.

Hiccup never hold any grudge against anyone. It was natural that he didn't like some people, some were neutral to him, and many were precious, close to his heart. But he never wished someone bad luck.

"Who's Dagur?"

Another sharp breath came in and out of boys half-parted lips.

"The chief of Berserkes…" That name ringed a bell in his head. "We had a peace with them for quite a long time, but after he took over ruling there…" Another slow movement of head, something like a shook. "…guess not anymore…"

Jack hand migrated to boy's neck as he made slow circles down on the spine. Boy's body was still hot as active volcano.

"So what happened?"

"I was patrolling the waters around Berk when I was shot down and fell into water." Shiver ran through his spine. "Toothless helped me swim to the shore…"

Jack lifted his eyes and directed them at the sleeping dragon next to the bed.

"And your father? Why isn't he here…"

Hiccup bit his lip.

"That was the case. We got a message that their ships were regrouping near the Dragon Island, so my father took few ships to see what they were doing there."

Seemed logic enough for Jack.

His hands absentmindedly still travelled up and down on boy's naked back. It felt a little bit like finger tracing the soft structure of map, making swirls and turns around points made in ink. Human map on the body.

And Hiccup chuckled and Jack tensed, when those lips brushed against his collarbone.

"It is quite funny you know…"

"What is funny?" Asked Jack not understanding a single thing from all of this.

"Your touch, that is funny…"

Well, he tried not be offended by that, but the sudden tug on his heart, the quick prick in his lungs told otherwise.

And it looked like Hiccup understood without Jack even opening his mouth to say anything.

"Not like that! It's just…"

"Just?" His eyebrows wandered high onto his forehead.

Hiccup stirred in his hold, but didn't move away.

"It's just… your touch. Is so… misleading…" Jack didn't said a word, signaling for boy to continue. "You are a Winter Spirit and your touch should be freezing, icy cold, like snow. And it is, it is chilly but only for a brief second." Then boy giggled and after that his body shook in coughs. It took him few seconds to regain his breath. "And after that… your touch is warm. And soft, delicate, kind of shy. Cordial, comforting…" Words drifted off but those words took a piece of his soul with them. Not tore his soul. They just took what was theirs in the first place. "… It makes me feel safe…"

Jack didn't open his mouth, nor didn't he look down. He felt as the corners of his eyes sting, prickle, the air was stuck in his throat.

But he felt so happy right now, like that whole night just disappeared, took his change and left his mind quietly through backdoor, leaving only a mist of memory.

The Winter Spirit didn't speak. He didn't want to, and even if he did he couldn't find words proper for this moment. It felt like his whole existence was complete, full, like he found his only place, place just for him. His… no, their perfect world. It still felt like tapestry, a little bit unplanned, with holes, with corner dyed in wrong color, worn out and yet… it was ideal.

There was no cold, no Man in the Moon, no Dagur, no problems in that little speck of perfect life.

And Jack simply moved his hand around the boy's back, listening to soft breaths of boy laying in his arms.

---

"Hello?! Jack to Earth!"

Jack snapped back to reality with a slight jump that made the night lamp twitch on the surface. For few second it swirled a little, but then stabilized. The crisis was defused.

"W-what?"

"You stopped talking! And you were just staring straight with this super concerned look!" Jamie threw his hands in the air and puffed his cheeks.

Did he? Probably yes. Today was really bad day for that kind of thing. Maybe he should stop? No, this was definitely even worse idea. He was just finding excuses to stop the flow of memories right there, to not show how much they influenced him. People could think that three hundred years of living could cure you from anything. Guess they were wrong…

"So, where was I?" Jack asked inhaling deeply and looking back at kids.

"When you took Hiccup ice-skating…"

"Oh right!" He snapped his fingers. As he slowly put his hand on his chest, he cleared his throat. "Soon after the Berserkes declared war."

Sophie gasped quietly and covered her eyes. Jamie lifted both his eyebrows that drifted far away onto his forehead. It looked quite comical and Jack would probably laugh at that if the mood suddenly wouldn't turn so serious.

"Who were Berserkers?"

"The tribe that lived near Berk. For long time they were keeping peace between them, but when the son of a chief - Dagur - pushed away his father from power, the situation between them got complicated…"

"Why?" Jamie nudged.

Jack sighed.

"I guess Berk kind of betrayed them. They promised to themselves eternal fight with dragons, but when Berk changed, the deal was off. Hiccup told me that he and Stoick had to lie to them to keep the peace and that was what made them totally mad…"

The part of Dagur being totally crazy over war Jack decided to leave for himself. Kids didn't have to know that.

---

"We're under attack!"

Jack grabbed his staff tighter as he flew through the village. He could see the ships earlier and he tried to get here on time, to be first and warn Berk, but it looked like the ships he saw were only a back-up. The actual front was already close to the village.

Vikings ran around Berk, like they were in panic but the Winter Spirit knew better. Every one of them had eyes focused on front, of their a-prior goal. Some of them were women gathering kids around the village, few were farmers herding animals to their shelters, but most of them were warriors running to gather weapons.

He flew through all people he passed. If this was any other day, he would maneuver through them, like they were on obstacle courses, but not today. He need to check on Hiccup, fast!

When he landed on the sill, the boy was tightening the belt on his vest.

"Hiccup!"

"I know, Berserkes attacked, I know!"

Jack for few seconds observed as the boy rummaged through room in search for his shield, or some kind of rope and when he finally reached Toothless ,something inside him cringed.

"Are you going?" He found himself speaking even before he knew it. The question was dumb, he knew already the answer to that, but his mind didn't trust the image send by his eyes.

Hiccup didn't even turn to him, as he jumped on the leather saddle and pined his belt to the dragon so he wouldn't fall down.

"Yea, I'm going, what did you expect?"

No matter what he would say or do, the small Viking wouldn't change his mind. He was sure of it as much as he was sure that he was Jack Frost. But those thoughts were nudging him inside, were planting small bombs of anxiousness inside his ventricles and they were slowly, one by one being detonated.

"So I'm going with you…"

It was better than doing nothing.

Many, many spirits told him to not interfere with life of humans and back then he believed in what they were saying. Well, he still did and though they were right. The strings of destiny that encircled people were indestructible and yet they could be changed. The Winter Spirit mind couldn't comprehend it.

But they told him it wasn't up to them to change them. Their will to help could destroy some particles, some atoms that were necessary to the flow of life.

Yet Jack knew he couldn't stop himself. No matter what would happen or where he would be, he still would go, help. Later he could only blame himself.

Hiccup shot him a small smile, shy, awkward, terrified, yet self-confident. And then he rose, flew up into the sky and Jack followed him.

---

"What happened? Did Vikings from Berk won?"

Jack turned to the siblings, now both almost fully covered under the warm colorful quilt and he felt an urge to lay down next to them, to felt the warm protection of the material.

Their eyes were so big, so bright and so curious.

Jack almost felt like he really was talking about fictional story, a small lullaby just to lure kids to sleep.

"Yeah, they won… but they didn't defeat them completely…"

"Why?"

"Berserkes retreated in the morning…"

Jamie nodded, then something glinted in those soft irises of his.

"But they were back?"

Jack took deep breath, and the collar of his baby blue blouse tickled his neck making him shiver.

"Yeah, next year…" Then he swished his staff with no high purpose. He just need to do something with his hands right now, they were starting to tremble.

The story wasn't magical. It almost felt like typical meeting, the one you find in books, the one you see when you watch movies. There wasn't a giant plot-twist in the middle, there wasn't an over happy ending.

"The winter on Berk was coming to an end…"

---

Jack touched the melting icicle and the water dripped slowly down his arm. The grass around him was now vivid green, lush, alive, was bending lovely under the wind tickling it.

Hiccup next to him sighed happily. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the swift movement of wind caressing his cheek and fringe. The Winter Sprite locked his orbs onto the boy for far longer than he should.

This look was so calming, so sincere, it was tugging on his heart and he knew that feeling. Now he could name it, he knew exactly what his mind, body wanted. But he also knew that it was impossible.

"Winter is coming to an end?" Came the soft voice and Jack sighed.

"Yeah…"

He never felt this something, he never felt that tug on his chest, whenever he thought about flying away. The idea of belonging to some place.

Of course he disappeared for few days to bring beautiful snowy days to other places, but he always came back. And whenever he did, the warm smile welcomed him. A little bit crooked, a little bit shy, it wasn't perfect, but it was ideal for Jack.

Time flew fast, days changed, winter came and then disappeared. But only now Jack really understood the real meaning of passing seconds, minutes, hours, days…

It almost felt like yesterday when he sneaked inside small Viking's house. But now nine month passed right in front of his eyes not even sparing a glance in his direction.

So little time.

"Will you be coming back next year?"

Jack would come back every year just to stare at this smile, those eyes. Just to felt some of this soft touch.

He was cursed, now he knew it.

"Yeah, of course."

But it was a sweet, lovely hex that slowly overtook his heart, day by day putting more damage. But Jack didn't mind it, didn't regret any second of it, he knew that sooner or later he would be destroyed, broken inside beyond repair, but now… Now he was the happiest spirit in the entire universe.

Jack sat down, next to the boy who looked at him with that small twitch of lips that made his dimples visible.

"Will you be there when I come back?" The Winter Spirit voice was soft, barely louder than whisper.

And Hiccup chuckled. He dared to snort in that lovely way of him and then cover his mouth with his hand. Well Jack felt offended, here he was putting his heart on plate just for small Viking to stab his fork right into it. Well no more, Jack's heart for dinner!

"Of course you doofus, do you think I will go somewhere?"

Take that back, maybe they would have it anyway.

Jack shrugged trying to hide all this mixed emotions swirling inside his mind. There were many things that could be said now, yet no words left his mouth.

Hiccup probably didn't know how human life was so fragile, so delicate, like a crystal flower. One wrong move and it disintegrated into thin air and flowed away with the passing time. But Jack took his words as a promise.

And then he felt something landing on his arm, well just a little bit beneath it and from the corner of his eyes he could see swirls of auburn locks on the top of boy's head. And the scent, oh boy, how he loved it. The small particles of smell twirled around his nose. Hiccup smelt like forest - fresh woken forest in the morning and wood – a little bit burned, making his nose twitch, but yet endearing.

Should he do it? Should he bring himself more pain?

He probably was a masochist.

Jack lifted his hand and rested it on boy's waist, bringing him to himself in a half-hug.

This warm was contagious, flowing between their bodies, diffusing, mixing. Like a tiny sparks, flames. Oh how he loved it…

Hiccup sighed and his lock brushed Jack's cheeks.

He couldn't ask for more.

---

Jamie stared at him with this weird look, like he couldn't find one very important piece of puzzle through all of these pieces. Once or twice he opened his mouth, like he wanted to say, ask something but then quickly closed it and glanced at his sister.

Sophie stared at the spirit with eyes a little bit dazed. It looked like she was ready to fall asleep anytime, but didn't want to.

"Jamie, Sophie, we're going out in thirty minutes!"

The boy jumped and turned his head to the door, silencing every unspoken question.

"Okay!" He answered rising his voice only a little bit.

Jack wanted to leave this room and maybe end this story some other day (because every day was better than today), but as he was about to push his body up, chocolate eyes returned to him.

"So did you return?"

"Yes, yes I did…"

Every year. Every year for the past three hundred years he was back at this place. Even when everything was gone, even when everything was overtook by the nature. And simply even when he was…

"It was a promise I would never break."

---

It was that time of year again. It was only three months or so (actually four, because he slackened a little bit on his job for the previous year), but it was a full eternity for him. Days were never longer than today.

And when he felt, heard the wind howling, calling him to spread the white pappus on the other end of the world, he was never so happy to oblige with it.

He was smiling, grinning, laughing all the way. His heart was beating so loud, so fast. It felt like energy was sweeping through him into the thin air and he couldn't contain it inside. Nor he really tried.

And when he saw buildings very far away (that were just a tiny black dots mixed with the dirty green of grass) he shouted.

Only when he get closer he felt something was terribly off.

Jack sped up with wind whistling behind him. His eyes wandered around trying to take everything in and glue together those pieces that made him cringe.

The whole town was… quiet, calm but not calm in the good way. The calm before the storm was the good term for the atmosphere that was tensing around. People walked around, but their faces… oh, their faces were tired, with dark circles marking their eyes, dirty, hollow (like just Death painted it white and green, using her bony fingers), empty…

Even dragons didn't soar through the sky, only sat on the porches with their heads down, like they were embarrassed about something.

"What happened here?" Murmured Jack more to himself than to anyone else. The Monstrous Nightmare hiding beneath the roof near him lifted its head and only puffed grey smoke at him. Nothing more, nothing less.

With every step he took the ice that got created beneath his feet creaked, but no one heard it, yet the sound of it made him shiver. He walked through Berk stealing glances at Viking's faces, at their low postures, at their wounded hands.

He wanted to find out what happened, but no one spoke a word – mouths were closed, locked.

Jack scurried fast to the familiar giant house that was build higher than others. With one swift movement of his staff he flew into air and landed on the sill and glanced inside.

There was no one home. Yet something in this look of the place calmed him a little (papers were discarded everywhere, bed was only half-way made and few clothes hung on the door).

The window was repealed a little bit and Jack put his finger into this crack and tried to push it, before he heard the sound of opening door under him.

The mighty posture of Hiccup's dad emerged from it with a frown on his face. His beard (furiously red, as Jack remembered it) was now interwoven with grayish threads and even a little bit thinner. Yet his arms weren't slumped like the rest of the Vikings. There was fire in those eyes.

Jack landed and followed man. And heck it, this was difficult. How someone so big and massive can walk (walk, not run) so freaking fast? It took Jack all his energy to just not fell behind.

Stoick stopped for brief second in front of the giant door to the Great Hall and his palms wavered, but as soon as the Winter Spirit saw it they clenched into tight fists.

"Gobber, how it's going?!" The mighty voice of chief echoed around the wall and bouncer right into Jack ears as he swept right behind man inside the chamber.

"Could be better if you ask me…"

And his breath got stuck between his lungs and throat and the only thing he could do was cough.

Bodies, human bodies, old, young, adult, male, female, it didn't matter. Bodies were splattered around the room, under the white sheets, mumbling, grumbling, breathing heavily in some kind of hideous painting, smeared with only dark colors. The faint fire in the center barely lighted the corners of the Hall and Jack wasn't keen on finding what was there.

The voices, gasps were overwhelming, burning him inside. Especially as he spotted familiar face trying to stand up with the help of Gobber (Hiccup told him so many stories, that her name engraved in his mind).

Astrid - was her name - looked up at the Viking that was fast making way towards her.

"Are you okay?" Stoick asked and from the corner of his vision Jack saw as his almost always stoick eyes softened up a little bit and eyebrows furrowed down.

"Yeah, felt better some times, but I'll live…" Girl said and with shaking hand brushed away the blond fringe from her eyes. Jack saw big black bruise circling around her one particular eye. "How is the village?"

"With dragons the repairs are coming quite quicker than earlier, but…"

"But what?" Astrid lifted her head to stare at the Viking.

Stoick's arms slumped as his hand travelled to his face.

"I don't know if it is really necessary. Too many people are keen on rebuilding the village, but I'm afraid that Dagur will attack one more time soon and with our currently situation I don't think we can fight them off for long time…"

Gobber nodded and Astrid next to them hanged down her head.

"Where's Hiccup?" Jack jumped hearing this name. He moved closer leaning on his staff with his whole body.

"I don't know. Flying somewhere around the island probably…" Stoick's voice was tired and an octave quieter that his previous one. It felt almost like a whisper.

"Oh…" Astrid looked down once more and moved her feet around the ground.

The Ice Spirit made few steps back with intention of going out and finding said boy. He quickly glanced around the room one more time and gulped hard the nervousness inside his throat. But as he lapped outside he heard a faint reply.

"He's probably blaming himself for what happened…"

---

Sophie stared at him with wide eyes and the rest of her bubble face hidden under the cover. Jack reached his hand and slowly patted her head and stroked those silky locks.

"Hey, don't be scared, little one…"

But he was glad that they didn't see it. The look on people faces, their eyes, hollow, shadowed, overtaken, miserable. Alone… empty…

Jamie bit his lip.

"Was it his fault…?" He asked in this faint voice whenever he wasn't sure or had doubts.

Jack shook his head.

"It wasn't."

---

The rest of the day Jack spend flying around the island searching for black dragon. Because well… where Toothless was then there definitely was also Hiccup. But it felt like they just disappeared.

And maybe that was the truth, maybe they were above sea, patrolling the water around Berk. Jack really hoped that wasn't the case (he had very bad feeling about it judging by the latest actions) so he searched every tree, every cave, every field on the land. With no use. As the winter was following him, the days were significantly shorter and the Man in the Moon quicker bathed the world with his warm light.

His eyes darted from one place to another as he tried to spot the moving shadow through black canvas on the night sky. His limbs were sore, his sight not as good as few hours ago and he felt that throbbing feeling inside his chest. But he refused to give up.

Because Hiccup had to be somewhere right… But it looked like he just disappeared.

Jack slowly flew lower and disturbed the peaceful surface with his staff. The sparkling trail of ice followed him, but he paid it no mind. The waves will soon destroy it anyway.

He landed on the soft sand that seeped through his toes with every step. It felt like every step echoed and bounced on the stone walls towering above him and returned ten-folds louder. It was getting under his skin. He walked around for hours. His eyelids were heavy, arms tired and feet barely moved, but he didn't want to stop.

Three months is actually a short span of time in Spirit life. Sometimes it felt like only few days passed when in reality it were months or even years. But those three months were the longest in his life. It was a torture, ripping him from inside. It was a burning feeling slowly eating his heart alive. It was pain, physical and emotional.

And yet, whenever he thought about someone, someone really waiting for him, those voices, those pain, stings, burns disappeared. And his body felt lighter, lighter than feather, lighter than snowflake, like only helium was inside of him, lifting him up, higher, and higher. But the higher he got, the stronger chances of burning and falling down.

His body froze when he heard a sound. A muffled sigh, animalistic but very familiar in its own way.

Jack quickly followed the trail which ended into walking into the cave (or to be more specific maneuvering around stalagmites, stalactites and stalagnates). For brief moment his heart skipped a beat when he though he got lost (or even worse, it wasn't the place) but quickly, after his sudden rush of stress, he heard a low rumble.

Well he should be more mad that he actually went out on another part of the shore (he could simply fly around the rock that was in the way) that was hidden between two giant stone walls. He could actually be quite pissed (well he scraped his knee and was very tired), he could! But he wasn't…

Because the first thing he felt was a relief when he spotted familiar back sitting on the sand with face directed at the sea.

Toothless was sitting just next to the boy, purring and bumping his head from time to time onto boy's arm, like he wanted to get his attention (or direct his thoughts away from something).

Jack breath got caught inside his throat and his heart stopped, but his body moved freely, getting closer to the small body near the shore. And as he slumped down, Hiccup didn't even lift his head, nor he turned it to look who was interrupting him.

And Jack simply waited. Slowly but surely the knot inside his throat untangled allowing oxygen to flow freely out of his lungs and his heart started to beat, at first quickly (like it was in some race and was trying desperately to win) then slowed down, with every passing minute. Now he was simply happy that he found him safe.

Once or twice Toothless tail nudged him, but every time Jack pushed it away. If Hiccup wanted to talk, he would start first. There was no point in pushing himself on someone, someone as hard as Viking, so he waited patiently. If Hiccup didn't want to talk, then he was… maybe not fine with it, but he would respect it. He only wanted to make him feel even a tiny, tiniest bit better.

His palms twitched and the urge to put them around the boy and hug him tightly was slowly overwhelming him.

They sat for few minutes, or maybe half an hour or maybe it was even a full one (Jack didn't count time), before Hiccup finally opened his mouth.

"It was my fault…"

His voice trailed around Jack ears, like the vibration wasn't sure if it was supposed to be heard or not.

The Winter Spirit was in no position to judge. He hardly knew what happened. So he nudged boy's arm.

"Why?"

Hiccup lifted his arms (like he wanted to shrug, but decided otherwise midway) and then slowly exhaled air from his nose. He scrunched his nose and then with one hand quickly swiped it.

"I should have seen them, I mean… I was patrolling the sea yesterday…" He mumbled, barely opening his lips. Jack had to move closer to even hear what boy was speaking. "I should have seen them…"

"But you didn't?"

Hiccup bit his lip. Toothless put his head on boy's knees and lifted his pleading eyes to look at his master. Boy slowly lifted his palm and scratched the dragon near the nose, which gained him a low purr. Hiccup orbs sparkled for thin second, but as soon as Jack saw it, it was gone.

"No I didn't…"

He felt a little bit as a kid, as the only thing he still asked was simple:

"Why?"

"I don't know. It was dark and it was raining and ugh…" Hiccup threw his hands in the air, which Toothless commented with a pat of his tail on boy's head. "Why do you make me talk like that?"

Jack smiled.

"Like what?"

"Like it wasn't my fault!"

Whoops, busted. Well at first it wasn't his intention to direct the conversation to that kind of grounds, but well, he decided he can give it a shot.

"So was it your fault?" He asked.

Hiccup made that weird growling sound that came from deep inside of him, as he threw his hands in the air. Jack knew the topic was subtle, that it wasn't easy to talk about it (half of the village, if not entire was like family to the boy), but something in him just ordered him to act like that. It was a hunch, a sudden swoop of wind whispering him advices inside his ears.

But beside that outburst boy said nothing more, only fixed his eyes onto the glowing surface of the water.

Okay, so this only worked half-way.

"I'm supposed to be future chief of the tribe. How can I do that, when I can't even spot ships on the sea?"

Jack never thought about that.

"I think you'll do fine, don't worry too much about it…"

Hiccup snapped, his eyes a little bit glaring at him, fist clenched on his knees. His arms were shaking and Jack wasn't now sure if it was because now it was terribly freezing outside or the anger was fueling his body to this point.

"How can you be so sure?" Boy asked, voice cracking at the end, like the vibrations were trying to exceed some kind of barrier. "How can you be so sure about it, when I'm making so many mistakes?"

Well, Jack didn't know. Just every atom inside his body was telling him that Hiccup had nothing to worry about. It wasn't like he had a tangible confirmation, a proper full answer that would dispel any doubts. It was just a feeling.

But sometimes feeling was more than enough.

"Everyone makes mistakes…" He hated how that phrase sounded, so worn out, so outdated. It was easy to say that, but truly believing in it was difficult. "Don't worry Hiccup, you'll do just fine..."

Oh and boy's eyes (so tempting, so full, so alive) looked up at him, with question overflowing them, most of them shouting at him, screaming – why, why, why… It was a plead, an order, a beg. It was too much and too little in the same time.

"You're smart, you're creative, you understand people… You can look into their hearts and see what is bugging them." Jack voice trailed, his hand gesticulating, but the palms weren't able to interpret what he wanted to say, nevertheless it helped in some mysterious way. "You never give up, of course you think about it, but deep inside you never really thought about it and you can make people follow you…" Here his arms slumped down as he cracked a hearty smile at the Viking and glanced at him. "So don't worry too much about the future, when it comes, then comes, you'll worry about that later…"

Jack couldn't stop the sudden growth of proud growing inside his stomach as Hiccup sheepishly brushed away the fringe from his forehead, munching on his lip and looking anywhere but at Jack.

The Winter Spirit could see the redness spreading over small Viking face and it made him giggle inside.

"Tha-thank you, I guess…" The way he stuttered, oh man. The lush green orbs travelled far away onto the ocean, then swam to the shore to finally rest back on him. "It really mean a lot to me…"

Jack raised his hand. He wasn't really conscious of that movement. It just suddenly felt like someone took control over his body and lifted up his palm. But he definitely felt as his fingers softly brush boy skin to finally rest on his cheek. And his skin was so warm, maybe a little bit too hot.

Jack stopped counting how many times he actually touched boy's skin just to feel that shiver running down his spine – the sudden sparks of electricity jumping between the connected points. But there were times when it wasn't only occasionally bumps of arms, an accidental brushes of hands or frequent ruffles of hair. Those were times when he felt those weird things inside his stomach, it was a wild ride of the train (and few times Jack was almost sure he could feel steam coming out of his ears), it was a special moment, where times stopped, where there was no worries, no problems. A little bit like an isolated place, just for them.

And Jack loved every second, minute spend in that bubble.

Hiccup eyes shone in the dim light coming from the Man in the Moon. They sparkled so beautifully, so breathtaking, so simple, yet so endearing. It was a north side of magnesium and Jack whole body was south part.

His fingers twitched in weak imitation of caress and boy's lips twitched into that delightful smirk.

They stared at each other, waiting. Jack gulped.

He was cracking inside, his heart was racing, storming, his mind was shouting him so many mixed signals. It was a constant buzzing of 'yes, yes, yes' fighting with a nudging of 'don't do it'. It was a war, it was losing and winning both in the same time.

And then Hiccup closed his eyes, hiding this whole galaxies behind thin eyelids and Jack didn't need more as he slowly leaned down.

It was simple, yet full. It was sweet and sour. It was flying and falling down. It was killing him inside and making him feel more alive than ever. It was everything and nothing in the same time.

Just a soft touch of lips. How something so simple could make him so burnt out and yet still burning with feelings? It almost felt like he was touching a rustled leave with his lips, but… it was enough. It was more than enough. It was burst of fireworks inside his head, heart, lungs, stomach and whole body.

Jack closed his eyes and moved a little bit closer.

Hiccup's lips were dry and chapped, they weren't the ideal plump and soft as rose petals lips. They weren't ideal with their shape or twitch of nervousness. They simply weren't those ideal boys lips that Jack read about in books or heard people talk about. But they were perfect for him.

Those lips were dazzling, exquisite but most of all warm and welcoming. This was dreams coming true.

And above all, accepting.

Jack didn't want to move away, he wanted to write this memory inside his head, engrave it and hid somewhere to cherish for the rest of his life, but his head was a mess, his heart beated so rapidly and it was hard to comprehend anything. Anything but how good it felt – to be needed by someone.

And when they finally moved away and Hiccup smiled at him (crooked, dorky, and full of affection) nothing else mattered at that time. Just the heat sweeping from the body crushed between his arms.

---

Jack smiled under his nose. The memory was sweet, was making him fuzzy inside, was making him want to grin and giggle. But after that flow, came the darkness, emptiness, that stinging feeling prickling his skin.

Back then he felt like the happiest spirit alive. The mutual feeling was renovating him, putting new paint on his body, making him feel needed, kind of beautiful. He was strong, stronger than everyone.

It was amazing.

Those few days were the best days in his entire life. Better then every other night, evening, morning, afternoon he spend. Those days…

Ended so quickly.

Jack knew that Hiccup would die. He knew it from the very beginning and yet it didn't stop him. Because spending some time with him meant more than years of loneliness. And he knew (oh, he knew) that as soon as boy would leave this world to swam to Valhalla, there would be giant black hole inside his chest. But back then he thought that it would take Death years to finally put her hands on boy arm.

They were unstoppable, right?

Little did he know that beautiful, calm Death was just waiting around the corner, smiling sadly at their grinning faces.

"Jack?"

His head snapped up.

Both Jamie and Sophie were staring at him with wide eyes, filled with concern and curiosity. Their lips were partially opened like every other word died on their small tongues.

"Yeah?" He asked and oh… his voice felt so devastated, cranky, choked, pushed from his lungs by sure coercion.

"Are you… you know… alright?"

Jack sniffed and laughed both in the same time. He sure wasn't alright, even after all those years he found himself reliving those few moments. They said time is a great healer, but when Jack told Father Time about it man only shook his head turning his eyes to the ground – some wounds need more time than other - was the only thing he said.

He wasn't alright. But he was fine…

Maybe he was a masochist, because well… because he simply didn't want to forget those memories. They brought him pain, they were tearing him apart. But also rebuilding. It's funny what love can do with people even if it is long gone.

Yes… love… That was the thing he regretted the most. Not feeling the love, but speaking about it.

"I'm okay…" He finally said and it was the closest to truth. "It feels like I'm moving away from the main line of the story, right?"

Jamie grinned.

"A little…"

Jack brushed his fringe away from his forehead as he took deep breath. Well that was the hard part, because now he felt that this story didn't have a main plot.

He glanced at the kids.

"Well…"

He can't let them leave hanging like that right? But what he could tell and what he should leave for himself only?

He furrowed his eyebrows. There wasn't too much to tell now… But kids loved stories of great and brave heroes and won battles right? He just need to garble few details right? No problem, definitely no problem.

"Vikings from Berk had enough of silent attacks under the cover of nights so they declared war between their tribes…"

Sophie eyes got wide and now looked like two plates of moon shining at him with fright and curiosity baked together.

Jack moved from the nightstand and sat on one side of Sophie (ah he loved how the quilt bended beneath his body, like a new born pile of snow) and ruffled her head playfully.

"Don't worry Sophie. There is nothing to be afraid." He smiled. "This story has a good ending…"

Well, for most of them anyway.

---

"How did it go?"

Jack really tried to push away the sound of twitch at the end of Hiccup's question somewhere to the corner of his mind, but it was still definitely there.

Stoick lifted his head and even from Jack's place on the beam he could see as the light coming from the fire was dancing on his tired skin and eyes, highlighting empty eyes rid of everything that was blasting inside of them.

The Winter Spirit saw the chief of Berk tired many times, but never so devastated, so miserable… so scared.

Hiccup glanced at him, but Jack didn't know what to do.

"We tried negotiation but… Dagur didn't want to listen to that…" His bear hand travelled to his head and massaged temples. "Oh Thor why Oswald left him in charge… This boy bring only destruction with him…"

Hiccup gulped hard and clenched the end of his tunic - knuckles turned white, almost as pale as Jack own skin. His spine trembled and Jack slowly slid from his place onto the floor. Toothless only spared a glance at his direction, but did nothing more.

"So it means…?"

"It means war… Prepare yourself, we're setting in two days…"

The small Viking's eyes widened as fear slowly made its way inside, overpowering all happiness with its cold touch. And boy only whispered quietly:

"Oh… okay…"

Stoick threw him a sad look, mixed with guilt and dolor. Vikings shouldn't be able to stare like that. They were strong, they were brave. They had that kind of aura around them that made Jack felt that there was nothing impossible for them. Thor and Sif were watching over them right? With gods on their side there was nothing they couldn't do right?

So why the mighty chief was looking so… so small?

The man left them alone as he slowly walked out of the room and closed the door behind him slowly.

The silence overgrown them.

Jack wanted to do something, to lift this mood somehow, but his mind was blank. The only word left was – war. He wasn't sure if you can hate really one word, but he did. He despised it from the bottom of his heart. Because… because he couldn't do anything about it.

"Hiccup?"

And the reply came fast, like spark that suddenly jump out of wiping out flints.

"I'm fine, don't worry…"

But Jack knew it was lie. Because you can't be fine when your whole façade just crumble in front of your eyes. It was hidden in sunken eyes, trembling arms, bitten lips and quick gasps for air. You can't be fine when there is storm raging just outside your window, threating to take your whole world with it.

The Winter Spirit moved and put his hand on boy's arm. He halfway expected Hiccup to jump, break down right in front of him or turn around and bury his head in Jack's chest. But nothing like this happened.

Hiccup's own palm found its way to his arm and it rested on Jack's hand.

---

"The day of the battle was coming close. The next two days Vikings from Berk spent gathering and sharpening their weapons or training." Jack took deep breath. "In the morning we set out with twenty six boats and twelve dragons…"

"Where were you supposed to meet?" Asked Jamie.

He shrugged.

"Some Isle of Night? I wasn't very familiar with the map of Archipelago…"

The boy only nodded in response.

---

They travelled for a day and a half.

If they were only on dragons then this whole journey would take only few hours, but somehow Jack was very grateful that it took much longer than expected.

The boats swam in good for quick defense formation, but he expected nothing less from Vikings born to fight. In the first boat stood Stoick who was talking about something with Gobber and was scrutinizing the waters around them with judging eye. He had that kind of feeling around him like he was ready for anything. And Jack would bet many things that this Viking really had plan for every occasion.

The dragons were flying above ships observing the ocean for any kind of enemy boats that could emerge from behind rock formations or islands. They were definitely unhappy with the speed which was imposed on them, but it looked like they felt that something was wrong in the air and didn't complain.

In the front flew girl with long blond hair (the one that was concerned about Hiccup in Great Hall, with the name of Astrid). On the left were twins (Ruffnut and Tuffnut, when Jack first heard their names he snorted loudly) on right Hiccup cousin Snoutlout (not better name than the siblings) and in the middle (surrounded by the rest of dragons and their riders) Fishlegs.

The procession closed Hiccup himself, a little bit further away.

His eyes were focused on dark, moving waters around them, now moving boats like they were cradles.

Jack sat behind small Viking. Until now he was flying with them, also looking around for possible threats, but he decided… well, he decided to spend some time with the boy.

He had that sinking feeling inside his gut that predicted nothing good.

"Hey…" Jack murmured. "How are you feeling?"

"Well I feel like half of my village can die in two days, and you?"

"Sorry, bad question…"

Hiccup turned his head a little and his lips twitched into small smirk (too empty, yet it was there).

"Don't worry, I appreciate your effort…" He said and then quickly returned his gaze onto waters, like this few seconds of disturb could ruin their whole chances of winning.

Jack moved and sat so they were facing different directions but their backs were glued to each other. Well more like half of their backs, because even though Hiccup grew few inches he was still smaller than the spirit. But Jack didn't complain, he liked how boy's hair tickled the back of his nape whenever boy moved his head.

The feeling of dread was still inside his stomach, crawling its nails, screeching, swirling, like a wild animal that wanted to get out, to be free. And Jack tried very hard to contain it inside, to not allow it to take control.

He maybe should believe it, not shook his head slowly when the creature spoke.

The sigh escaped his lips. The nerves inside his body were trembling, shaking, his muscles were strained to the limits, whole body was on the edge. Ready…

And it wasn't even the beginning.

Jack will interfere. He knew it from the very beginning. Not only for Hiccup but for the whole village. They maybe didn't see him, but Jack had seen them being simply… people. They laughed, smiled, cried, shouted, yelled, and got angry and devastated like every other creature.

So even though they weren't with him, he was with them.

He should stand back, he knew that meddling with living humans issues was bad. It wasn't forbidden per se, but every spirit, ghost, guardian and protector knew that it only brought destruction with it.

But if… if this destruction can save only few lives - precious few lives, than he was fine with it.

Hiccup moved behind him, so now he was laying on the Spirit and not the other way around. His spine relaxed, maybe arms even slumped, showing a particle of weakness in his stance. But that movement – oh, it made Jack so happy…

Hiccup trusted him, even if this only lasted for few seconds.

---

"We arrived at the destination point on the afternoon on the second day and camped in the caves… The whole island was icy and snowy and no matter what I did, the snow didn't want to disappear…" his breath shuddered. "But gosh that night was awful…" then he chuckled. "If you would look at us back then, on that night you would say I was joking. There were dances, songs, food, drinks. There were laughs, jokes and smiles. There were talks, kisses and hugs…"

Jack smiled which brought confusion on both kids' faces. Sophie looked like she was a little bit lost in his description and Jamie's face was filled with turmoil (pretty visible in those eyebrows, lifted high on the forehead and a little bit scrunched nose).

"The last evening…"

Jamie opened his mouth, which formed a small 'o' and then nodded. Sophie only looked between them, but said nothing.

---

Jack stared at red faces, at turned up corners of lips, at glossy eyes. He stared and listened to laughs, chuckles, swears, whispers, hisses and it was a music, a beautiful sound, melody made by the greatest musicians.

They were alive. And it was enough to make them happy.

It was all a little bit hazy, misty, like some kind of dream that you can't really remember. But this was reality, everything was made from matter, particles connected together by chemical bonds. Beautiful, precious reality, where souls danced together under the watchful eyes of gods.

Jack admired how these people could forget about horrible future for this few moments of joy. He simply couldn't. The dread, the fear was building inside him with every passing second. Of course, sometimes he caught himself forgetting about it, but it only lasted for few minutes, no more. But these people partied for hours letting all those bad thoughts loose.

His eyes travelled around the cave, trying to grasp everything that was happening inside. The couples danced, smashed together to the fast beat of pan flutes, accompanied by lyres and lures (Jack loved to observe their eyes, directed at each other, like there was no world beside them). The rest of the tribe sat on the stone floor in the circle and talked, reaching for meat and drinking horns filled with mead and beer.

It was different than any fete Jack saw.

But most of the time his eyes were on one particular boy.

It looked like Hiccup tried to be everywhere at once. Or maybe not he himself, but people wanted him to be with them. One second he was talking with some tall Viking and then he was kidnapped to dance with woman that could be his mother, to be roughly torn to drink with some of his friends.

Hiccup didn't like physical contact or even much contact with people, but now… he looked so cheerful, so full, so alive that Jack blue eyes could only follow small posture appearing and disappearing in different parts of the cave.

It was definitely one of the best evenings of his life.

So when people finally started to fall asleep it was pretty late night. Some of them dozed off sitting, some actually walked to the makeshift bedding and the few left where whispering to each other. Stoick and Gobber were ones of the few chosen.

The most of teenagers and their dragons were already asleep, curled together, trying to protect each other from the horrible nightmares that were sure to follow them to Morpheus land.

The only ones left were Hiccup and Astrid. But girl's eyelids started to object to its master, as they were quickly falling down.

"Go to sleep Astrid, we'll have a very harsh day when we wake up…"

Blonde nodded and brushed her eyes.

"What about you?"

Hiccup shrugged.

"I'll go to sleep in a moment"

Astrid stood up and waved at the boy to finally walk away and curl with her dragon somewhere near her friends.

Hiccup stood up and without turning back walked slowly out of the cave. Toothless that until now was laying beside him, lifted his head, stared at his rider, then moved his head to lay deep orbs on the spirit. Jack only smiled in response and followed the small Viking out of the cave.

He almost forgot how nice it was to feel the touch of cold breeze coming from the ocean. Inside the cave was hot and muggy, yet he didn't mind. Only when he finally went out he understood how he missed this.

Hiccup was walking along the shore staring at the ocean. His foot was leaving small traces on the sand mixed with fresh fallen snow. Jack once or twice looked back at his own footprints. As fast as they appeared, they vanished under the new pile of snow.

They walked a little bit away, not too far (if Hiccup would shout loud enough then everyone back at the cave would hear him), not too close. Hiccup suddenly turned and moved to the small recess in a rock formation, enough to accommodate two people (well, one small Viking and the Winter Spirit) and protect them from the freezing cold of the night. They both sat close to each other on the solid ground.

"What a night…" Jack finally said when the silence surrounding them was making him a little bit edgy.

"Yeah…" Hiccup sighed and scooted a little bit closer, so now their sides were touching. Few seconds later Jack felt something landing on his arm. "I'm tired…"

He chuckled and Hiccup hair tickled the skin on his neck.

"Do you always, you know, party like that before battle?"

"Yeah, more over."

And for few minutes they did nothing, only stared at the sea moving in front of them, flowing, running, like fate. Not stable, constant, but always moving. And as fate, incalculable.

Jack felt something soft brushing his palm and his breath stopped midway between his lungs and throat. Only then he turned his hand a little bit and Hiccup palm sneaked inside, like a thief capturing, intertwining Jack fingers with his own. It was like a touch of two different worlds, like a contiguity of ice and fire. Yet, perfect in its harmony.

He brushed his thumb on Hiccup's palm.

"I'm scared…"

The words were so soft, so quiet, so weak that if he didn't hear them right next to his ear he would took it as a whisper of the wind. But he knew that voice by heart now, he remembered every syllable, every sound that left those lips.

And he wanted to answer that, he wanted to say those sweet, sweet lies – everything will be alright. But he knew he couldn't.

"I know… I'm scared too…" He was terrified, fearful, aghast. It was making him ramble inside.

"I don't want to see anyone die in front of me…" The embrace on his hand tightened and he replied by subtending it even more.

"I know…" He will do everything, just to reduce the victims of this war, even if this was highly inadvisable. Even if those Vikings couldn't see him, the part of his soul would always be with them.

It was his home now.

Everything could happen tomorrow. That was scaring him the most. The unpredictable. There is no war without fatalities, no war without screams and cries, no war with no tears. Pain was a soldier that stood with straight back with the rest of people in equal line. It was a friend, comrade and enemy in the same time.

Maybe Jack wasn't living for a long time, but he saw enough. Enough to be scared of the war.

What will happen to Hiccup tomorrow? Will he be one of the devastated so-called heroes of the war – that are leaving the battlefield with no soul and no heart? Or maybe he will fall down, with cuts and bruises sealing his lips for the rest of the eternity? Will he take a deep breath or will be the air pushed out of his lungs by force?

Someone once told him that it is better to always prepare yourself for the worst, so then you will never be disappointed. And earlier he thought that maybe this someone was right.

But now, he simply couldn't prepare himself for the worst. The warm radiating from the boy next to him, his smile, kindness, presence, just him whole was what made his live more… happy. And he couldn't simply even thought about now living it any other way…

They still have many years together, right?

"Hiccup I…" Jack started. He felt boy's head moving on his arm and little after that he felt gaze piercing inside his cheek. "Well, I just wanted to say that… well, I don't know what will happen tomorrow but… I just want to say that I lo…"

The warm finger on his lips stopped him midway.

Hiccup eyes sparkled in the darkness, making it look like stars, constellation of star dust focused in two lush green orbs. He was staring right at him, with gaze so condensed, with an addition of happiness and pinch of sadness. But concern was the most visible of all emotions running through them.

And this concern broke something inside of him. A long crack appeared and darkness slowly, steadily flowed through uneven gaps.

"I-I know…"

So why didn't you want to hear it?

"Me too…" Then his breath hitched and wavered and something glinted in those irises. "… but please don't say those words…"

He really wanted to, those words just clinged at the end of his tongue, waiting, needing to be told. Thinking and knowing them was one thing, but saying aloud was totally different matter.

Jack couldn't understand what Hiccup meant, but did as he begged.

They sat next to each other and Jack enjoyed warm seeping from the body of the other person sitting next to him.

It maybe wasn't much, but it was enough for him.

---

Both kids stared at him with expectant look, although Sophie eyelids were slowly falling down.

"And?" Jamie said when the silence encircling them was lasting for maybe too long.

Jack shook his head, brushing away the dust of bad thoughts that landed on his mind.

"Then morning came…"

---

Jack heart was hammering inside his chest. It was hard to breath. He felt like someone squeezed his lungs and surrounded them with heavy chain. It was unbearable.

His hand frantically searched for something to grasp on.

The atmosphere, the density of air was making him dizzy, sick, scared, nervous. It was too much. He felt like vomiting, right here and now, but he had nothing in his stomach. Only raging gale.

He felt small, tiny under the huge pressure of the battlefield. The fear that stood between people, the resolution, the assurance and reliability that glared at fear (like he was a mere speck of dust). The atmosphere, the low breaths, the steady and panicking beats of hearts.

Someone next to him caught his hand and squeezed it. Jack looked down but Hiccup didn't looked at him. His eyes were facing forward.

"Oh, people of Berk. It's a pleasure to see you all armored and ready to battle…" Jack shuddered, his head moved up to look at the army in front of them.

There were so many people, probably one and a half time more than Vikings on their side. They looked so strong and so big – massive, like standing mountains, unable to be moved by anyone or anything. The looks in their eyes, ferocious, animalistic, but also scared, panicky, yet confident.

And in the front stood the chief. The famous Dagur that was the root of all of this that was happening around them.

Jack expected some bulky Viking, with bear arms, chest as extensive as barrel and look that could kill in an instant. Yet the boy could be only four years older than Hiccup.

But the atmosphere, the air around him was different. It actually made Jack skin crawl whenever he felt those eyes penetrating him. Those eyes were lunatic, mad, demented, like they could hold promise of everything evil…

Deranged – it really suited him.

"You still have time Dagur to stop it all. We do not want to fight your tribe!" The mighty voice of Stoick roared around them, shaking every fiber of the air.

Dagur blinked a little bit surprised, but then threw his head back and laughter replaced the echo of Stoick voice.

"Don't make me laugh Stoick…" The grip on his hand tightened and he replied with the same. "But I'm ready to make a deal. Give me your tribe and that Night Fury and this battle will be over even without starting…"

Toothless that stood on the other side of Hiccup snorted and his pupils narrowed. The small puff of smoke flew away from his nostrils.

"We will never give our people to you, Dagur!" Hiccup voice was strong, loud and it was like a magic charm that destroyed that wall of fear that stood in front of them. The Berk's Vikings roared, shouted, yelled, screamed in confirmation, anger, support, like one big family.

And Jack shouted too, even if no one could hear him, but Hiccup could and this was all it mattered. One giant family.

Dagur eyes glinted with something mad, dangerous, but even that look didn't fazed them. They were ready.

"If that so…"

Then Jack heard it, soft whisper kissing his ear.

"Jack promise me than no matter what happens, you'll protect my people…"

The Winter Spirit heart skipped a beat, froze for millisecond.

"Then this means only one thing…"

His voice somehow made it to his mouth.

"I promise…"

"Berserkers attack!"

---

"Then the two arms clashed, smeared together like two paints brushed alongside the paper. The only sound echoing were clashes of weapons and shields… man versus woman, kid versus adult, it didn't matter to them… They fought for a home, tribe, family, ferocious like animals, like wolfs and tigers…" Jack took deep breath. "I did everything I could to help them…"

To tell the truth even now he sometimes heard the screams and yells of pierced people, falling to their knees and giving out the last exhale. He wasn't proud of what he did. He helped people of Berk fight, so he also was guilty of the deaths of innocent people.

It wasn't their fault. But Berk was his home and he would do everything to protect his family, even if it means helping killing people. Oh how he hated it. It felt disgusting.

"Dragons fought from the air, sinking enemy ships and disarming the largest group…"

Jamie and Sophie stared at him, but girl was constantly closing her eyes for far longer than earlier indicating that she will soon fall asleep. And maybe it was better for her.

Jack didn't know how to tell the story of the battle. Because no matter what words he would use, they weren't enough to give the seriousness of the suffering, the bravery, the sacrifice. This was hell, hell on the Earth.

He was really grateful that his first believers lived in era so peaceful and calm (although wars still contaminated world around them). No one should see what he had seen, no one should live through it. The experience was wasting, maddening, was ripping hope away from his hands. And yet people from Berk didn't lose it. They gripped onto the last string of hope with bloody hands.

Jack saved the children details of the battle. It was better for them. They didn't have to hear about turned empty eyes, guts swimming onto the earth and screams, so many terrified shrieks…

He shuddered.

"Vikings from Berk fought till the end and…"

"What happened to Hiccup?"

Jack blinked, a little bit taken aback by the sudden voice that busted inside his sentence. Gosh this name, this name sounded so weird. Familiar yet strange. How many years it was when he last time heard someone say it aloud.

Sophie head fell down onto Jamie's arm that drilled his eyes into Jack's body.

"I heard that Dagur held some kind of grudge against Hiccup so he took it on himself to fight alone with him…"

And something in Jamie's eyes told him that boy knew where this was going, where this story would end.

"The battle lasted for hours… long, long hours until the last standing Berserkers bowed their heads in a sign of defeat when Dagur was defeated…"

Defeated but not killed.

---

Jack stared with beating heart at the cliff that rose above the dark waters of ocean. He stared as metal blade touched the neck of a man rasping for breath. It would only take one movement to end it all. Maybe most people from Berk would do that.

But not Hiccup. Hiccup wasn't like them, he was one of them, but different. Like a beautiful red weed on a field of dandelions.

Even from so far away Jack saw his own war, his own battle raging inside those eyes, fighting for dominance. The sweet words of revenge saying 'do it, end it all' advancing on shield of 'no, he isn't worth it…' It was a merciful battle. The only one side could win.

Toothless laid down few meters away, under the icy wall with shot wing and leg, unable to move anything, but his head. He stared with wide eyes though at his rider, as he slowly put down his hands, sparing the life of their enemy. And his lips moved, forming a simple sentence.

"It's you loss Dagur, we won…"

And the chains fell from his lungs, bursting into dust as he jumped and screamed in the key with the rest of Berk's Vikings who shouted, waved their swords, cried and laughed. It was a quiet feast inside their minds, souls, hearts. The hours, hours of murders, fear of life of the closest to you, your family were finally over.

And dragons roared, people helped each other up, patted them on their backs, looked around and finally, finally took it all to their heads. So many meaningful victims, the blood splattered everywhere painting their armory, clothes and skin like new disgusting dye.

The people who lived through Hel found their friends laying down, with arrow protruding proudly from their chest, their family slaughtered to death. These one cried in agony. But then someone patted their back and the light returned to their eyes. Not everyone were dead.

The living stood up. There are not many of them, but they were still alive. And they one more time screamed, like the first burst wasn't enough and Jack joined them.

They won.

---

Jack stared at Sophie head that finally fell down onto soft pillow, at her small mouth moving with every inhale and exhale she takes.

"So Vikings from Berk won right?"

Jack nodded, not trusting his voice now.

He wanted to end this story now, to finish it with a small imitation of a happy ending.

His body felt heavy, tired and his heart throbbed painfully inside his chest, memories flew in front of his eyes and voices… so many voices echoed in his head – happy, sad, terrified, loving. This was all too much. He needed to rest, to lay down, stare at the sky and dream, remember those few happy moments.

"This wasn't the end… right?"

Jack opened his eyes that closed somewhere in between. Jamie orbs shone in the dark, reflecting the soft glow of Manny's light coming from the window. They sparkled with something concerning spirit, they searched for some gap to confirm their theory.

And Jack simply couldn't hold it any longer, as he chuckled, but it came out like a choke.

"No, it's not the end…" He rasped

"Then what happened?"

Something that he feared from the very beginning, something that his mind was nudging him about, something that his gut was whispering to his ear. Fate happened. Simply as that.

"Jack, tell me what happened…"

It was so hard to breathe. Three hundred years, three ages of living only on memories and still… he couldn't forget. It was like a wound that could never get a scar. Whenever he traced the outlines it always opened, making him live that moment over and over again. And it should be painful. And it was, damn it was so exhausting, tiresome, heartbreaking, agonizing (like an old recording – replaying in his head).

But he didn't regret it, there wasn't a minute he didn't treasure this one year and especially this one week. To tell the truth it sometimes took only one glimpse of that smiling face to make all fear and sadness go away…

He really was a masochist.

"Okay…" He sighed and suddenly felt like someone took something heavy from his arms that felt limp.

Sophie happily snored and snuggled closer to her pillow.

"Let's move to your room then."

Jamie nodded and scrambled out of the bed, as quietly as he could, still trying to not wake up his little sister.

The corridor was dark, only a dim light was coming from downstairs, where the TV was turned on. Jack also heard a low noise of the dryer. Bennett's parents were still inside house.

Jamie walked to his room and Jack floated behind him. Jamie pushed the door to his room which creaked quietly and the boy stopped in his movements and glanced at the stairs. But neither of his parents probably heard that.

They both walked inside and Jamie literally ran and jumped onto his bed, where he hid himself under the protection of the warm quilt. His bright eyes immediately caught up to Jack that flew and sat on his usual spot near the window.

Sandy was working above them, sending gust of gold sand across the city. He hoped that the spirit didn't forget about Sophie today.

"Jack…"

The boy shook his head and for a brief moment Jack had a feeling he saw gold sparks in front of his eyes.

"Vikings from Berk won…" He said, repeating the last statement, a connection to the rest of the story, thin thread that could snap under even the lightest pressure. There was no positive news after the war. They won of course, but the bitter aftertaste was left on their tongue.

"But then…"

---

Jack was far away from the cliff. But even from his position he saw clearly what happened.

He saw as some of the Berserkers suddenly stood up, he saw as Stoick with furious look walked toward them, with axe held down (there was no more need for blood and deaths). He saw it all - as mighty Viking turned his back.

It was all like a bad dream.

Dagur pushed Hiccup away and grabbed the crossbow that laid near his leg. One arrow was still attached to it.

Jack jumped, flew, shouted at the wind to fasten up, to bring him closer, faster, quicker. Not enough, not enough, too slow! There was still time, he must make it!

"Toothless!"

Bowstring was taut.

And the mighty beast roared painfully, like someone just tore his heart apart, dug dagger inside his chest and drew it to the very bottom. And the pleading green orbs turned to his rider, like he wanted to confirm the plead, beg that felt from his rider's mouth with that one word.

Jack quickly calculated how many times he saw the sudden outburst of light and he almost prayed that it was enough.

Unfortunately, still one shot.

And time stopped. It all happened in only few seconds. The slowest and the fastest seconds in his entire life.

At first he heard a shout. Someone screamed with warning pointing at the cliff. Then he saw running eyes, from one place to another, bloodshot, scared.

After that came Stoick, his giant posture slowly turning around and his eyes - his eyes that so often hold bravery and courage now suddenly lost it all. Like someone blew out a candle fire.

Then came a shout and a swish of arrow that missed Stoick about one foot, digging hard into a ground and standing, like a tombstone telling fortunes.

After that came the sudden light, a fire blast stronger than ever, that blinded Jack and everyone around. Like with that one shot Toothless tried to hide what would happen next, to save people from this view.

But the crumbling sound, the murmurs of destruction, the whispers of falling ice wall, the moans of trembling rocks, the growls of ocean consuming the land. That… that was terrifying.

And Jack pleaded, begged, prayed, screamed, accused, sued, ramped, harassed the wind to make him go faster. But not matter how hard he tried…

It wasn't enough.

He saw as Hiccup and Dagur struggled on the cliff. As Berserker chief tried cowardly to get up and jump to safety and as small Viking hung onto him, like it was his last ray of hope.

The ground under their feet trembled, shuddered spasmatic and then with a low whistle of apologies gave up under the pressure of ice crumbling onto it.

He was so close. It was only few feet, only few meters, only few yards. It was so close, so close… but too far nevertheless.

Then it was a blink of the film, when someone happily cheers to smile and people turn around, for just one moment and grace them, grace with image so precious and amazing.

It was that moment, one in an eternity. As the familiar face, full with freckles and so warm eyes turned to him and lips twitched, turned into a soft smile, then opened to form words.

And Jack shouldn't hear them and he didn't, but somehow he knew what Hiccup said. He knew every syllable that left those lips, every letters that his mouth formed. It was like a code that he broke.

And his heart broke down. Simply as that.

Hiccup eyes, two beautiful lush, still alive orbs glanced at him (one last time and with those words, one sentence, one magic spell that can turn your life into a dream or nightmare) blinked, sparkled with kind apologies.

And Hiccup, together with Dagur and all Jack's hopes disappeared under the cold surface of the ocean.

---

"We searched for him for hours. Long, long terrible hours. And…" His voice broke down, like a shattered glass, hitting the ground with clinking, faint sound. "And we found him… He was so cold, so terribly freezing but… but he…"

The image of the dead boy blinked in front of his eyelids. He still remembered the exact moment Gobber picked the lifeless body out of the water, as Stoick ran to it and grabbed it, hugged, like he wanted to give his own warm, live, energy. But it was too late.

Hiccup was long dead, lost. His soul left his body, on a half-way to Valhalla.

"But he had so peaceful look on his face. The corners of his lips were a little bit higher, like he was smiling. God, that look…" The air left his lungs in a low sigh.

There wasn't enough words to describe it.

But he remembered the various cacophony of emotions that played inside his body. He remembered pain - clearly as moon on the beautiful sky - with despair playing the soft tunes in accompaniment with anger - full madness (like a wild dragon that banged the drums, louder, louder). Slow strokes of emptiness, void, flops strings of fault, blame, guilt (that clawed their hands on his mind).

But with all this sadness, misery, dolor, sorrow, grief, animosity there was something small. A quiet tune of voice, a little bit shy, like it was sang from the back. Yet it held something that captivated his heart. Just as it did many, many days ago.

Kindness. Calmness. Serenity. Repentance. Remorse. Those beauteous voice had it all.

And affection – love, like it was written it this one last twitch of lips.

Jack took deep breath and sniffed, which was followed with brushing his nose with the sleeve of his blouse.

"Jack…" Jamie voice was weirdly quiet, like he wasn't sure of something, maybe even a little bit afraid or nervous.

The Winter Spirit lifted his head and by the sudden surprise painted on boys face he guessed he must have looked terrible.

"Yeah…" The voice that left his mouth was hoarse and scratched his throat.

Jamie fiddled with the quilt for few seconds and bit his lip. But then he lifted his head and stared him back into eyes and simply asked.

"Jack, did you love Hiccup?"

Jack chuckled heartily.

"Did I love him?" He repeated and closed his eyes. "No, I didn't…" He more like heard movement, than really saw the sudden twitch of Jamie arms. His hand fell down and his temples touched the cold glass of the window. "I still love him… There isn't a day when I don't think about his smile, voice, that mischievous glint in eyes. I remember those times and sometimes I feel like I'm falling in love once again, but this time deeper and deeper."

"But…"

Jack replayed immediately.

"Yes, it's painful. There are some days when I can hardly breathe, but there are some when it only takes one glint of memories and then I feel that everything will be fine…" He chuckled.

"How… how can you feel so two different things in the same time?"

Jack shrugged.

"I don't know. Love is…" He lifted his hand and moved the finger in the air, like he was touching an invisible strings. The small stream of snowflakes twirled around his finger and flew away. Maybe it was his imagination, but it looked like they made a small heart shape before they dissolved and left this world forever. "Love is a totally weird thing. In the same time it make you unbelievable happy. You feel that there is nothing you can't take on. It make you feel strong, stronger than ever. But in next second love can make you fall to your knees and cry, beg for mercy…" He giggled seeing the confusion written clearly on Jamie face. "… You'll understand when you will be older…"

The boy nodded, the reasoning still beyond his comprehension. His mouth formed a thin line for a second or two, before it opened.

"Do you… regret it?"

His hand stopped midway, his drawing of a Christmas tree stopped midway too.

"Never…" And it was the truth. He never regretted meeting Hiccup, spending time with him, laughing, joking, and talking. Until meeting him he didn't believed in those talks about people connected by fate or people promised to each other. But then… it only took one look for all puzzles to fall back into place. "I only regret not telling him how I felt…"

"But you…"

"Yeah, we knew each other feelings, but it is a little bit different with knowing it without talking and speaking it aloud…" He turned his head so he was staring right at Jamie, right into his wide, big eyes, still so young, so carefree and so clear. "Don't make the same mistake…"

His first believer closed his mouth and one more time nodded, but this time more firm.

"And this, Jamie, is the end of the story. I think you should go to sleep, it is a little bit late…"

"Okay."

The boy slid on the bed, so he was no laying fully on it. With one movement of his staff Jack raised the quilt and pushed it higher so now only Jamie eyes were visible.

He squinted it and pushed the material a little bit away, so he could breathe freely. Then his eyelids fell down.

Jack decided to stay for a while with the boy, until he fell asleep. Just to be sure…

Not even a minute passed before he heard a soft voice speak one more time.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?"

The boy moved and turned on his bed, so now he was facing the spirit.

"Thank you for telling me this…"

Jack only smiled.

"Thank you for listening…"

And with those words Sandy took care of Jamie dreams.

---

Jack stayed in Jamie's room for some time. Few minutes after boy fell asleep the door to his room opened and he heard a low whispers of his parents talking with someone else. But the voices were too tranquil and quiet for him to hear what they were talking about.

After that the parents with additional person walked downstairs and talked for few more minutes, then finally left.

The sound of the door shutting echoed in the house for some time, but when it faded Jack was able to hear the whisper of turned on TV, but weirdly quieted down. Maybe the babysitter was afraid to wake the kids up? Too bad, that when Jamie and Sophie felt asleep not even an earthquake would wake them up.

Jack sighed and curled on the window sill.

Today was definitely… odd, peculiar. In the beginning of the story he travelled hundreds of kilometers to visit the grave. Or to be more precise what was left of it. A single tree roaming, stretching its beautiful branches to the sky. Jack few days after the war saw Astrid planting the tree near the tombstone and now, he was never more grateful for that simple gesture. Because even when the stone was eaten by the time, even when the first tree died, there was always new ones, following their ancestor with full pride.

He never missed that one day.

After that he returned home, to Burgess. Now here was his home, his heart, his first believers. It wasn't that Berk suddenly stopped being important in his life. Even after Hiccup's death he often visited that place. Through time he saw it expanding, changing their architecture, industry.

Dragons had to leave that place. There was no more room for them. The mighty beasts became legends. But Jack knew better. There were times he saw a giant shadow, lurking behind clouds and sometimes he guessed what type it was. Then even on rarest occasions he saw a glint of their beautiful scales. Jack never guessed wrong…

His ears caught a movement coming from downstairs and then flipping on the switch.

Jack stood up and glanced one more time at Jamie. The gold sand danced above his head. For brief second the shape turned into a small dragon, the sight of it made him a little bit warmer.

He walked out of the room. As he expected there was a faint light coming from downstairs. It looked like this someone moved their occupying to the kitchen. He might as well see who the babysitter is. Jamie and Sophie told him few times that there was someone watching them when they were alone, but Jack didn't paid it too much attention.

People often advised other to move on, forget about the past. But the truth it… Jack didn't want to forget. Because for first how the heck he is supposed to let go of the only memories that made him feel alive again? And of course they hurt as hell, they sometimes made him want to cry, but they were the only things that were left after Hiccup.

Was it so bad to cherish them?

Maybe fate wrote them different stories, maybe they met only for a short span of time, but they met nevertheless, they lived through something beautiful, something amazing, extraordinary. And Jack would give everything to live it once again. Even with the same result. He would definitely change one thing thought.

Telling him how he felt.

Only after a great amount of time he understood why Hiccup forbid him to do so. And Jack came to conclusion that the Viking had to feel something from the beginning, felt the soft tugs of fate, pushing him in specific direction.

It would be harder to leave him, if he heard the truth. If his ears would caught those sweet words, those words that every person want to hear even once in his or her entire life. Hiccup might have changed his mind if the ring of those sounds echoed in his heart and he simply couldn't do that.

He was a natural born chief, even if he didn't believed it. But the Vikings of Berk, his father, friends and Jack knew it.

And part of Jack was very proud of that.

The panel under his foot creaked, but he paid it no mind. Only Sophie and Jamie would hear it.

He lived through some happy times, even though it only lasted for few days. And the Winter Spirit felt gifted, special, because he was able to have that. This wasn't much, but it was enough for him… Even if it ended so fast.

Some people don't have this chance.

Jack somehow found his lips forming a small smile as he slowly descended the stairs swishing his staff in the other hand. His feet tapped happily the ground as he jumped on the floor from the last step.

Maybe if he wasn't so much lost in his thoughts he would take a notice of the silence that encircled him.

The TV was switched on in the living room, but there was no one inside. Jack although saw opened books, notebooks and something that looked like a started homework. So the babysitter was still in school.

"What do we have here…?" Jack murmured to himself as he moved closed to the coffee table. The light from kitchen threw his shadow on the floor, only visible to the people who believed.

With his staff, he turned the cover of the book and the dim letters danced in front of his eyes.

"Ugh physics…"

Then he saw something in the corner of his vision. Well, he didn't saw it, more like his brain registered that sudden movement of black stain on the floor, that wasn't him. Then he heard a loud swishing sound.

And Jack jumped away before this something crashed right into his head.

His heart skipped a beat, it froze.

"Wow, wow, what the heck…?" Somehow the voice cut through his throat and landed on his tongue as he descended down from the air and his feet met with the floor.

Someone just attacked him, from behind! And he or she missed barely! If Jack brain wouldn't be so fast to react then he would woke up in the morning with a giant bruise on his head!

Wait, someone attacked him…

Jack lifted his head and stared at the small shadow standing in the place where Jack was only few seconds ago. His or her arms were moving frantically, in quick, sharp breaths. Then the person moved and the tool that almost met with his head glinted in the kitchen light.

"Did you seriously tried to hit me with a frying pan?" Jack asked, his voice shivering a little, because he couldn't believe what was happening around him.

The person yelped (and the sound send a throbbing pain through his chest) and directed the assault weapon at him, like it was a gun that could fire real bullets.

"W-w-w-who are you? And what a-are you d-doing here…" the voice was high, messy, frightened, disturbing… familiar.

And Jack lost his breath for a second. Why, why today? Why exactly today he had to hear someone who sounded so familiar? The tunes, the stutters, the yelps. It was messing with his head, lungs, functions of his body. Few times he met people whose voice sounded almost the same. When it had happened the first time his heart almost shattered once again when he saw different face attached to the voice. But after that he learned to not put much attention to the same sounds.

This wasn't Hiccup and it will never be.

Slowly he put his staff on the ground and the person in front flinched at the clinking sound.

But this whole situation was still unbelievable. Some teenager attacked him in Bennett's house with a frying pan. Some teenager was staring at him with big eyes full of fear. Some teenager actually could see him!

"What are you doing in-in this house? A-are you a thief?!"

And he took him as a thief. Jack couldn't really blame him or her for that misunderstanding. The person was supposed to watch over two small kids, not additional Winter Spirit about whom he or she probably couldn't know.

Jack blinked.

"What, me?" He asked, his voice hopeful and maybe a little bit too bright for this whole situation.

"No, that weird guy b-behind you! Of course I'm talking to you!" The voice was a little bit lower. A boy, definitely a boy now.

Jack lifted his hand, a movement, which he hoped, would calm a little bit nerves of the frantic babysitter.

"I'm not a thief…" He said slowly, trying not to grin while he said so.

"You're not Jamie either. So who are you and what are you doing here…"

Well, how to explain it. Jack never expected himself to be found in that kind of situation so he never really though what he could say when he was met face to… metal with murderous frying pan.

"Well… that is actually a funny story… You see…"

And boy twitched, his weapon slowly fell down, but before it completely slumped down it struck up again and boy moved closer. Now the kitchen utensil was too close to his throat for comfort.

"Oh my god, are you a pedophile?!"

"What? NO!"

Jack was so glad that Bunny wasn't with him right now, because he wouldn't stop laughing at him and teasing after hearing those words.

"So, who are you?"

Jack tilted his head when the metal pushed a little bit too far into his throat.

"I'm a friend!"

Boy laughed suspiciously and moved closer. Jack had to make few steps back to not feel the threating touch of the weapon on his skin once again. Now they both were slowly wandering towards the stairs and towards the bright light coming from the kitchen.

As much as Jack loved being seen by other people, he wasn't too fond of pain and be in such stressful situation.

"Yeah right… Jamie and Sophie parents only told me to watch over two kids, not additional friend."

"They don't know about me…" Jack blurted which might be a bad move from his side.

"Well that makes me less suspicious…" Oh, the voice dripped with so much sarcasm Jack could almost hear the air tingling with it around boy's mouth.

And maybe he would laugh at that, if he wasn't so scared right now. Okay, he can do it. He was mighty Jack Frost, a Guardian of Fun, not afraid of anything. Especially not afraid of the smaller boy in front of him. And his frying pan.

His heart beated in his ears so loudly that he barely heard his voice in the air.

"Jamie and Sophie parents can't see me."

The frying pan wavered and only now Jack finally looked at two green orbs staring at him. Right into his eyes!

And, oh my God, those eyes. Those eyes were so familiar. The same warm hue, tint or Chartreuse mixed with gold sparks, the same deep, smart pupils now extended to their limits, the same look, look from which Jack could read everything. Like it was an opened book.

But it wasn't possible. This was all a bunch of accidents, in one big bowl of life.

"What?" Boy whispered, voice empty of all menace.

Jack exhaled the air he was holding inside his burning lungs. This was something for the start.

Okay, so how to actually say it? The boy was definitely a teenager. How to say that he was a spirit and not scare him? This was almost impossible. For first, Jack didn't know if boy believed in that kind of things. Well, no… he had to believe but how Jack can make him believe that he was actually a real spirit without freaking…

His heart stopped beating.

The boy made one more step forward finally coming into the range of the kitchen light and Jack fell down on his butt.

"Who are you?"

The same round face, the same skin dotted with small brown points, like stars adorning delicate canvas. The same nose, not perfect nose, a little bit too big but it was the same one - like a button. The same crooked teeth, with a gap and identical lips, a little bit pale and chopped, with assaulted corner from biting too much into it… from nerves.

It was a dream. Jack has to dream. It wasn't possible. This was an illusion. A hologram made by his brain. Because it wasn't possible that…

"Hiccup?" Came his hoarse voice, full of wonder, fear, anticipation, hope, love, and surprise.

And he feared the reaction. He was afraid to see that blink of confusion, that static face of misunderstanding, that one look that could make all his hopes crumble down. He knew he should expect it, because this wasn't possible that Hiccup was…

And boy eyes grew wide, eyebrows swam high onto the forehead, lips opened and closed in frantic movement and hands shivered. So many small details, but this was…

"How… do you know…?"

Enough…

And Jack felt like crying, laughing, shouting, yelling, hugging, kissing, screaming, giggling, chuckling all in the same time. His chest was suddenly so light, a feather that could flew away with the smallest movement of the wind. Flew away, high into the sky.

How was this possible? It must be a dream, it was…

Jack lifted his hand, reaching it, trying to touch something, anything, just to be sure that this was reality, not some kind of weird, twisted dream, nightmare from which he soon would wake up.

And the frying pan hit him hard on the palm and he hissed, but it was a sweet pain.

Jack slowly stood up, with shaking legs, trembling hands and beating loudly heart, but so full, complete, like all the shards, puzzles, suddenly found each other and stuck together.

He stared at the same face and finally smiled with this bright smile.

And Hiccup only blinked and raised the weapon.

"Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

And Jack threw his staff on the arm, turned the smile into the smirk and stared right at the boy.

"Jack Frost, Winter Spirit, at your service…" and with a quick movement he showed his hand to the small boy.

He might have replayed that scene in his mind like a bazillion times, just to make it ideal. But it never was.

Yet, the sudden touch, the small spark when the familiar palm touched his hand was perfect for him.

THE END

---

Yahoo. This is literaly the longest one-shot I ever wrote. I didn't plan it to be so long, but well... it happened somehow xD. And I don't know, but I really like it. Hope you too enjoyed it.

Now few fun facts (or things to be cleared):

1. Jack didn't actually told the whole story to Jamie and Sophie, some parts he only recalled in his memories.

2. I had so many problems with naming this story. At first it was Nuvole Bianche (as this song fit this story perfectly), but then changed the name to english version White Clouds. But it still wasn't right (I had few ideas like First and Last or Fairytale), only when I was putting the file here I decided on the title xD.

3. I know, Jack is so sappy in this story it's almost unbelievable xD. I still love him thought.

And one more time sorry for any (a lot) mistakes. I was spending so many hours checking it, but as english isn't my native language I probably missed many details. I'm so sorry about that! If any of you are willing to check it for me, send me a PM :3. I will be grateful.

Thank you Reader for being with me on this journey~ Hope you all will have an amazing day!