A/N: Hello everybody! This is my first crossover and honestly, my first time writing a pairing like this. Hopefully you guys like it! I only plan on this being a few chapters, around 5-6, but it might end up being 10-12. We'll see how much I like to draw things out. ;) Speaking of drawing, I'll have my own drawing as a cover to this story as soon as I've finished the drawing.
Anyway, please read, review, and enjoy! :)
Mistaken Beds
Jack fumbled to get his dorm's keycard out of his pocket. Why did he have to stash it in the pants pocket rather than his sweatshirt? His drunken mind couldn't make sense of his sober decision to keep his card in the pocket that was least likely to lose it. It had fallen out of his sweatshirt too many times to count, and he always had to call up Hiccup when he became locked out. Jack had probably paid hundreds of dollars for all of the lost keycards he'd had to replace. Even Hiccup forked over some money a couple times. The boy said Jack needed to pay him back, but Hiccup never berated him for it. He was a good roommate like that. Jack bitterly thought his own behavior was a rude form of a thank-you: coming into the room on a Sunday night drunk off his ass. Hiccup would love that, especially if he was still awake.
The tip of the card poked into his hip, reminding him that he'd tucked it into his waistband instead. Perhaps he had been drunk when he'd slipped the card on his person after all. Jack's fingers slipped on the deceptive plastic and a moment later he heard a few clacks on the floor. Peering down, Jack put a hand on the door frame to settle his uncertain balance. His mind swam and the ground seemed a little closer. A thud occurred a few seconds later and Jack realized that he was the one on the floor. Rolling onto his back, Jack felt more at ease and closed his eyes, thinking it would be okay to sleep here.
An indeterminable amount of time later and Jack opened his eyes. The card was on his face, balancing on his nose, and his head was held at an awkward angle against his door. Jack groaned and palmed his face, fingers failing to grasp the card. How the card got on his face, Jack didn't have the sobriety to think through. Rolling over, Jack reached up and fumbled with the door handle. He pulled his body up into a standing position and continued to open the door. Numbly realizing he still needed to actually use the card, Jack smashed the card into the slot after a few tries. He then pulled it out and watched to see the light turn green. Alright, one more step. Enter your code and open the door. And make it to your bed. Wait, that wasn't one step. Jack furrowed at the thought and contemplated it for awhile. By the time he remembered he had to punch the code in, the light had turned red. Grumbling, Jack struggled to put the card into the keyhole again. First, it was the wrong, longer side. Second, it was the wrong opposite side. Lastly, it was the right side, but it was too high or too low of the actual slot. They need to make these things bigger, Jack smirked crookedly. The light turned green again and he punched in the four numbers. Apparently, he punched it in wrong and the light flashed red again. Jack growled. He knew he put it in the right way! The dumb door was just not allowing him entrance. This was awful. He had a class tomorrow. He probably wouldn't go because of the resulting hangover this binge was sure to create, but still. The door must have something against him.
Suddenly the door opened. Jack opened it with his mind! He'd have to tell Hiccup in the mor─
Hiccup was standing in the doorway, clad in red boxers. "On a Sunday, dude? Really?" Hiccup turned back into the room to take a glimpse at the alarm clock, which read 4:30am. "Well, Monday, technically. But seriously?"
"H-hey, Hiccup," Jack's slurred speech certainly would have given him away if his appearance hadn't. Jack's brown hair was disheveled and his eyes had dark lines forming underneath. And although Jack didn't know this, his pants were also falling off, the buttons and zipper having both been undone. Hiccup didn't want to know how that occurred. Jack had probably gotten himself into more trouble than was worth mentioning. It would all blow over once he went to sleep. "I was trying not to wake you," Jack mumbled as he plodded through the doorway, ducking under Hiccup's arm that rested on the frame. Hiccup was surprised the boy didn't walk straight into his arm. Jack wavered his way through the room and fell onto the bed, falling asleep halfway through rolling over.
Hiccup was about to tell Jack that he'd gone into the wrong bed, but once Jack was asleep there was no waking him on any other terms but his own. "Seriously, Jack?" Hiccup muttered, shaking his head. He shut the door quietly─ much unlike Jack's attempts to open the door. Thankfully, Hiccup had been studying moments before Jack had shown up. Unthankfully, Hiccup had just been about to fall asleep after said studying when Jack's drunken stupor thrashed against the door, the floor, and the lock. Hiccup had listened to it for a moment, wondering if Jack was just being a trickster in order to make Hiccup get out of bed only to open the door before Hiccup got to the handle. Jack had done that before, and Hiccup always fell for it. The first few nights it was rather funny, but after the twelfth or so time, it got annoying. It was even more annoying when Jack was drunk.
The first few weekends at college, Hiccup had figured they'd just been experimenting with the college lifestyle. But a few weekends more and he realized Jack hadn't stopped. But at least it had only been on the weekends. Jack never drank on a weeknight─ this night being the first exception─ and worked harder than many other students. A few times Jack had mentioned his motives for college; it mainly involved his family and his sister. A picture of her was in a frame on Jack's desk─ one of the only things on his desk, in fact. But the drinking seemed to counter this. Hiccup didn't ask, but it bothered him. The weekends had been fun with Jack, and neither boy was very conservative about their lives. Hiccup had his fair share of stories about his controlling father and newly-returned mother (she'd been overseas working for a major corporation), and Jack had his fair shares about being the only working person in his household, caring for his sister and mother. They got along well, though. Hiccup believed that they were good friends, which was a good thing, since Jack didn't seem to have many friends other than the friends that were shared with Hiccup. Jack never had friends over, he always left─ but only on the weekends.
With these thoughts floating in and out of Hiccup's sleepy consciousness, he walked over to the bed and slid underneath the covers. Seconds later and he was out until morning.
Beep! Beep! Beep! BEEP! BEEP! BEE─
Hiccup smacked the back of his hand against the alarm clock that was on the desk at the head of his bed. His half-lidded eyes glanced out the window to notice that it was still early. He could afford to sleep for a few snoozes. Jack did that to him all the time, so he figured the best way to repay him was when he had a hangover. Hiccup smirked as he rolled around again, only to feel something warm against his cheek. Before his mind could make the connections, Hiccup instinctively curled into the warmth and pressed his hand by his cheek.
A low rumble was heard and Hiccup's eyes flew open. There was an overwhelming amount of blue fabric in front of his eyes and they darted upward to test his suspicions. There Jack was, head lolled higher on Hiccup's pillow, brown hair plastered to his face, and his arms were encompassing Hiccup close to his chest. His eyes fluttered and Hiccup feared that his roommate would wake, but Jack simply cleared his throat and exhaled through parted lips, still passed out. Hiccup blinked and wrinkled his nose; he could still smell the alcohol on Jack's breath. Hiccup's head had been cradled underneath Jack's chin, but upon waking he had backed up to take in the situation. The boy pushed himself away from Jack only to find out that he had been on the edge of the bed and Jack had been keeping him from falling. Hitting the floor painfully, Hiccup let out a small yelp and cursed the gods.
For a few moments, Hiccup just lay there, completely at a loss for words. He'd completely forgotten that Jack had stumbled into his bed and wasn't sure about how to figure out the events after he'd fallen asleep. Jack had been passed out... but there was no way that Hiccup initiated anything that followed. But Jack didn't move much in his sleep. It scared Hiccup sometimes because Jack would appear to be dead most mornings, but he'd soon adjusted to the boy's sleeping habits. But this was nothing compared to other nights. One of them had done something. Sure, the college's standard-issue twin bed was very slim, but was what happened really the result of that? Was it some natural human instinct to grab onto another to anchor both of them to safety? Hiccup's lips turned downward; it was plausible, but he didn't know for sure. Perhaps he'd look it up later at the library after the day's classes.
Yeah, that's what he'd do.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Jack's eyes slowly opened. The effort exerted for this task was unbearably large. But the reason for being awoken was the sun that decided to snipe in between the blinds and directly onto the pillow his head rested upon. Grimacing, Jack spun around and his feet hit the floor faster than normal. His bed was raised higher than this, he thought. Looking around, Jack's mind put the pieces together. He fell asleep on Hiccup's bed, not his own. Jack swore to himself. He hadn't meant to make Hiccup take his bed, which was horribly unclean and unmade. Jack wasn't sure if he'd ever made that bed since he got here. His mother wasn't here to nag at him after work. Jack thanked whatever was out there for that, too, because his mother would be in a rage if she saw this. Even his sister would be a little disappointed. That thought determined Jack to make his bed when he sobered up today. If his family every scrounged up enough cash to visit, he'd have to make sure it was presentable. He might not even drink for a weekend if they gave him advanced notice. As soon as those thoughts cleared, Jack realized he was sitting on the floor and his head pounded. He must have been lightheaded, because he didn't remember falling and he didn't hear any thud.
Jack stood back up carefully and walked over to their shared coffeemaker on top of Hiccup's bookshelf. Flipping the top, Jack poured some grounds into the sifter and glanced around for water. Finding Hiccup's water bottle, Jack figured the boy wouldn't remember how much water he'd had and poured the rest of it into the machine. He shut the lid and pressed the button, understanding a second too late that he didn't have his mug. Instead of running to his side of the room, he simply grabbed Hiccup's and shoved it under the spout as hot liquid began pouring out. The problem being resolved, Jack walked back over to his side to grab a towel from the top of his dresser. No need to dirty anymore of Hiccup's things; Jack wasn't that awful of a roommate. He took the towel and pressed it around the edges of the coffeemaker where the coffee had begun to spill over.
The alarm clock read 10:17am, seventeen minutes past the start of his first class. Shrugging, Jack knew that this was bound to happen and decided that he would go to his second and last class of the day. That class didn't start until 3:00pm, but it lasted for two hours. Jack wasn't too happy about that, but he didn't like to miss classes. Hiccup wouldn't have to worry about him, either. Jack knew Hiccup must have noticed that Jack didn't drink on weekdays. Jack never wanted it to affect his academics, but last night was a weak point. After a certain phone call, Jack needed an escape. Instead of dwelling on it, Jack ducked his head into his sweatshirt and pulled it off of his body. The thing smelled an awful lot like vodka and the odor was pungent enough to make Jack want to puke. He stretched his bare torso just as the coffeemaker beeped, interrupting his improvised yoga practices. The thought of doing yoga entertained Jack, a smirk playing on his lips. He grabbed Hiccup's full coffee mug and his towel and walked over to his own side of the room, settling into his chair.
Jack sipped the coffee gratefully. He knew it wouldn't magically cure his hangover, but he was hoping the caffeine would jump start his brain enough to get him to finish some classwork. He didn't want to start getting behind, not when midterms were so close. His earliest exam was next week, and Jack needed to finish a few things. Not that many people knew, but Jack liked to be prepared. He liked to be, but he rarely was. Granted, his guesswork was fine-tuned and he was able to keep his grades above B's, yet he always aimed for more. At some point─ the same point every time─ he'd get distracted or in worst cases even distraught. Something would grab a hold of his mind and the anxieties got the best of him. He made sure that Hiccup never found out, or anyone else. He needed to make it through college for his mother and sister. The three of them had had a rough life after his father left, and Jack wanted to make sure that he didn't do the same. He shielded his sister as much as he could from the financially strained reality that they had to live in, and his mother had been so thankful. It scared her to see her only son trying to play father, son, and brother all at the same time. Jack had been working one job while his father had been around. Then two jobs after he left. Now, Jack was looking for a third while he was in college. Hopefully he could find a work study job, one where taxes wouldn't be taken out so that he could save up more.
Money. For his card. Jack's thoughts, sped up by the contents of half a cup of coffee, turned to last night. Where'd he put his card after getting into the room? Twisting around in the chair, Jack scrutinized the room for the familiar plastic piece. Not seeing anything, Jack stood up and walked over to his bed. His sweatshirt lay, haphazardly thrown, among his blankets. Jack picked it up and shook it, checked the pockets, and set it down again without regard for neatness. If the card wasn't there, Jack didn't care.
The boy scratched his bare shoulder and walked over to Hiccup's bed. He didn't know where else to check, and he had fallen asleep there. It might still be in between the sheets. And Hiccup didn't have a chance to make the bed, so if his card was anywhere, it was definitely there. Jack began shifting around the sheets, tearing them up and out and over in all kinds of twists. Hiccup would be a little upset that his bed was ruined, but considering Jack had slept in his bed in addition to making it messy, he doubted that Hiccup's anger would compile. After a few minutes, Jack heard the door open. He didn't bother to stop to look up; he knew who it was.
"Hey, Hiccup," Jack greeted automatically, tossing the sheets one final time. There it is! The card was immediately apparent after Jack tossed the last, thinnest sheet. Why on Earth did Hiccup have so many sheets on his bed? Jack didn't remember shoving himself under all of these.
"Uh, hey," Hiccup slid his bag off his shoulder into the corner of the room where the shoes were kept. Both were his, of course. Jack didn't like to wear shoes, and if he did, Hiccup never saw them. Speaking of shoes, Jack wasn't wearing any. He also wasn't wearing a shirt. He was also tearing apart his bed. "Y-you, uh, looking for something?"
Jack held up his card. "Thought I lost it," Jack beamed a smile, "thanks for the bed last night. You know I didn't mean to take yours, right?"
"That's fine," Hiccup was eager to wave the subject away and saw that his mug was over on Jack's desk. "Wait. Is that my cup?"
Jack's head whipped around to his side of the room and realized his laziness. "Oh yeah, I made coffee. You want some?" Jack walked over and grabbed the mug, still very warm, and handed it to Hiccup. "I only drank half. I figured you wouldn't be too happy with me using your stuff. Consider it an apology."
"Apology accepted," Hiccup took the cup warily and sniffed it. Jack didn't spike it, thankfully. Hiccup hadn't thought that Jack would do that, but he still made sure. Jack had been known to pull that sort of prank from time to time on the weekends, and it made homework impossible. Taking a sip, Hiccup kept a wary eye on his roommate. Jack smiled at him briefly before walking over to his dresser and undressing the rest of himself. Hiccup looked away immediately. It was an unspoken rule between them to turn away casually when the other was dressing, and Hiccup didn't intend to break it.
But he couldn't help it. He glanced in Jack's direction, trying to figure out if the boy remembered anything about the previous night. Jack was in his dark blue boxers─ one of the only pairs Hiccup believed Jack had─ and searching through various open drawers. Jack was acting as he normally would, so Hiccup turned back to his desk and set the cup down. He began to tear off the covers and make his bed. "You, uh, sleep okay?"
"Hmm? Yeah, sorry. About kicking you out of your bed, that is. I know my bed's not the cleanest place in the world," Jack explained as he stuck his feet into brown pant legs and pulled upward, shifting the waistband around until he felt comfortable. Jack then looked around his open shirt drawer for something he could wear until his sweatshirt was cleaned. Maybe he could toss it into Hiccup's laundry without his knowledge. Jack didn't have enough clothing to do laundry all that often, but his favorite sweatshirt needed a wash. Grabbing a faded white long-sleeve, Jack pulled it over his head lazily and turned to his roommate. "You wanna grab lunch in a little bit? I've got some work to do, but it shouldn't take more than half an hour, maybe an hour."
Hiccup stalled tucking in his sheets at the request. So Jack didn't remember the night before. Then again, Jack had been asleep when Hiccup crawled into the bed. There was no reason for Jack to remember. Hiccup just had to breathe. There was nothing wrong. It was a simple misunderstanding and nothing happened. "Sure, yeah. Just let me know. I can assume you didn't make it to class this morning?"
Jack laughed, pulling on a worn brown vest without buttoning it. "And look like all the other college washouts? C'mon, Hic, you know I'm better than that. Drinking on a Sunday night might not have been the best idea, but I'll pull through."
"You might want to 'pull through' a shower real quick there, bud," Hiccup tried to gear the conversation toward Jack's stagnant alcoholic odor, but he could tell it wasn't all that subtle.
Jack raised an eyebrow at him and sniffed under his shirt. "Fair enough," Jack pulled the shirt and vest off, already tugging his pants off with his toes, "make lunch an hour and a half." Hiccup was relieved that Jack wasn't one to get offended easily. Or if he did, the boy didn't show it. Turning around to finish making his bed, Hiccup heard Jack walk out of the room with a towel around his waist.
Sighing with relief, he fell onto his chair and stared at his desk. He should do some work, but he had class again in an hour. Perhaps lunch with Jack wouldn't be possible. Hiccup decided that he'd bring it up later to see if Jack would allow himself some time off to eat something. Jack was the type of person to go days without eating if he was focused on something else intensely enough. Hiccup often had to drag him out of the room or buy him snacks just so he could stop listening to the boy's stomach rumbling. It wasn't exactly a mindful action, but Hiccup wanted to look out for his roommate. He knew the status of his family and helped out whenever he could. Just because Jack was used to not eating for the sake of his family didn't mean that Hiccup would let him starve. Jack was way too skinny. Besides, it made Hiccup feel a little self-conscious. Hiccup weighed more, was taller, and had decidedly more muscles than Jack, but Hiccup still found himself comparing the two. He realized, every time, that it was an odd thing to do, but he couldn't help it. Hiccup had been very, well, awkward when he was younger. True, he had filled in nicely as told by others who had known him since high school, yet he still felt he had to compete. He didn't want to, but it was how he was raised. His bodybuilder-like father had made sure that had gotten through his head early. Hiccup shrugged the thought away and dug through his backpack for the week's work.
Jack stood in the shower as cold water poured over his face. Pieces of hair were stuck to his forehead and glued to the back of his neck. He hated hot showers. The cold was much more to his liking. It woke him up faster. And thanks to this cold water, Jack's thoughts began to return to him. Thoughts about last night started to rise out of the dense fog that had settled in his drunken mind.
He'd awoken during the end of the night, the sun nowhere close to rising, but the moon nowhere to be seen. Jack had lain on his back, staring at the ceiling. His lips had twitched in anger at himself and his actions. He knew he shouldn't have had any drinks that night. Hell, he didn't even want to drink that night, but he had. Jack was in the middle of silently yelling at himself when Hiccup had muttered something. Jack believed he'd been across the room because his brain was still definitely influenced. But as Jack rolled to ask Hiccup what he'd said, he'd accidentally hit Hiccup in the head. Jack held his breath, hoping that Hiccup wouldn't wake. When he didn't Jack calmed back down and turned over, not thinking anything of it.
Jack grabbed his body wash off the shelf and began to pour some into his hands. He'd forgotten his pouf, so this would have to suffice. He paid little attention to his current situation as the memories flooded back to him. The water ran down his spine as he turned around to face the other wall. Hiccup had fallen asleep beside him. Jack didn't blame him. He knew he'd woken up Hiccup in the early morning hours to let him into the room. Bed sharing didn't bother Jack; he'd shared a bed with his little sister when their house was tight on space. At one point, his entire family shared one bed, so Jack had learned not to move much in his sleep. And yet, Hiccup clearly woke up before Jack and didn't seem anymore upset than his general demeanor let on. But there was something else. Something Jack wasn't quite remembering.
Hiccup had asked him to roll over, and Jack had done so. But then Hiccup had said something else. To Jack's drunken state, Hiccup could have said anything. Presently, Jack set his body wash back on the shelf and proceeded to dunk his head right under the shower's head, drenching his hair. Hey...Jack? Hiccup's tired voice that floated in the darkened room of the night before echoed in the shower stall. Could... could you roll closer? Closer? Was that what Hiccup had said? Jack hadn't been sure. But in that state, Jack hadn't been sure of anything. He had been otherwise preoccupied with virtually everything else in his life. All of the yelling he'd heard from his father, the tears he'd heard from his mother, and the questions he'd heard from his sister had roared in his head that night. It was part of the reason he'd started with that shot of vodka, but it was also part of the reason he'd woken up again. Still, Hiccup had said something. Jack must have obeyed and rolled over─ he tended to do whatever people say when he was drunk because he wanted to trust people. But without explicitly remembering, Jack had no proof. Besides, Hiccup talked in his sleep all the time, and that never annoyed Jack.
Jack thought little more of the occasion during his shower. After he was clean, he walked back to his dorm room at the other end of the hall, nodding to several ladies as he passed. He wasn't sure why he did; it was just something that he'd seen other men do. It didn't feel natural all the time, but Jack ignored that and walked onward. He knew that they were looking back at him, anyway, and it gave him a smirk.
Hiccup had talked Jack into going to lunch a little earlier because of a class that he would have soon after. Jack had readily agreed, much to Hiccup's relief. They were sitting at a tall table in the corner of the dining hall: a cherished spot of both of them. It was still early in the day, so lunch items were fresh but there were few people at the venue. It was calm and quiet, which Hiccup preferred. Jack, on the other hand, preferred the noise of busy people around him. It made him feel more connected, less alone.
Not that Jack was really alone. He had a few friends... Well, he had Hiccup and Hiccup's friends. Okay, he only had Hiccup. But on weekends, he was friends with everybody, and that helped. Usually, during the week, Hiccup's company was enough for Jack. He certainly talked enough for the both of them, especially if it was about something he really cared about. Just now, Hiccup was rambling on and on about his physics course this morning, a class that Jack cared little for, but Jack listened intently. He knew it felt great to be listened to, to be recognized by others. Even if Hiccup had more friends than he, Jack knew that Hiccup wanted people to listen to him as well. His friends were great, but they didn't listen to Hiccup very often. That's where Jack came in. It was a nice, clean dynamic. And whatever happened last night was a low point in that dynamic, as Jack convinced himself.
"─and so the calibration was all outta whack and I had to go and fix it before my group had to present, and they didn't know what they were doing, so I─" Jack nodded, even if he didn't know what Hiccup was talking about "─ basically did the presentation all on my own. No thanks to the other three lab members."
"You should really stop being such a pushover," Jack commented jokingly, chewing on some pasta he'd picked up at the first counter. There wasn't much on the plate, but if Jack ate slowly enough, Hiccup wouldn't question the serving size that Jack had set for himself.
"I am not a pushover!" Hiccup aimed his fork at Jack, flicking his own pasta onto Jack's face.
Jack blinked as the piece of pasta rolled off his nose and fell onto the table space between them. He raised an eyebrow. "I think you should apologize," Jack said, testing him.
"Sorry, Jack! I-I didn't mean that─" Hiccup cut his words short when he saw that Jack was laughing. His head was thrown back and his chair was tilting on two legs. Hiccup's face heated, realizing that Jack had tricked him. Hiccup leaned back in his chair and tried to pull it off that he was cool and collected. "Oh, haha, really funny, Jack. You know, one of these days I'm going─ well, I'm not going to─ pushover anymore. How are you going to deal with me then?"
Jack finished his plate and took a long gulp of the milk he'd had in front of him. "I wouldn't. You'd be dead before you quit being nice to everyone you met," Jack took one last drink of his milk and set the empty cup down. "You got time for seconds? I could go for more food. I don't know if I ate dinner last night."
Hiccup wanted to roll his eyes so badly. But he realized that Jack obviously would have wanted to get seriously drunk last night if he hadn't eaten beforehand. Instead of asking about it, Hiccup began picking up his lunch stuff to make it easier to carry. "Sorry, bud. I've got a class to get to. I'll see you later─ oh, are you working today?"
Jack's face paled more than normal. "Uh, yeah, I've gotta fill an hour or two at the coffee shop downtown before class. Thanks for reminding me."
Hiccup laughed. "No problem. Just don't work yourself to death, alright? I don't need you messing up my bed again."
"Oh, please, you messed it up just as bad!" Jack pointed at Hiccup who was already trying to walk away.
Hiccup turned back to him and countered without thinking. "You were in the bed longer than I was!"
They both stared at each other for a moment. In that instant, they realized that the other knew they'd been in the same bed last night. They should have waved it off. They should have ignored it. It was a silly thing, really. It should mean nothing. Jack knew that Hiccup knew, since Hiccup woke up before Jack. And surely Hiccup could guess at what happened if they had woken up like─
Jack ignored his next train of thought and looked down. "Sorry," he muttered.
"No, it's..." Hiccup paused, conflicted and a little embarrassed, "it's fine. See ya."
"See ya," Jack muttered. But he didn't think it was fine, not one bit. What was that supposed to mean? Was what happened fine? Was stealing the bed fine? Was rolling on the bed and holding your roommate closer than most couples held each other fine? Even when drunk? Memories rattled around in Jack's skull and he didn't feel as hungry anymore. He pushed away his plate and ran a hand through his hair, wondering what he'd do next time he saw Hiccup.
A/N: As I said, this is my first crossover. The rest of my works are solely under Rise of the Guardians, where I have three other ongoing series and a short or two. If you want to check any of them out, go to my profile! I really appreciate the support! Also, if you have any suggestions (drawings, writings, or otherwise), let me know! Always happy to take in requests! :)
