Character Notes: At the beginning of the story, Jack Overland is 20, his sister Emma is 14, and their mother's name is Helen. Hikke Haddock (Hiccup) is 19, Nathaniel Fury (Toothless) is 18, and his mother's name is Nora. Ethan Aster (Bunny) is 19.

A/N: This is an extended story of "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" that begins three years earlier. Chapter updates will be uploaded every Saturday through Christmas eve (December 24th) so be sure to Story Follow if you want to read the Yule surprise as it's published.

Year one - November 15th

Hic!

"Oh for Frost's sake!"

Jack rummaged through his backpack until he found the unopened bottle of water he kept for emergencies. He wasn't going to get much work done like this, and anyone with hiccups that bad obviously needed it way more than he did. Hiking his backpack higher on his shoulder, he started wandering the stacks of Burgess State University library.

Herk!

Rounding the corner of 620.00 - 629.99 revealed the back of a brunet with incredibly red ears, who jumped with surprise when Jack held the bottle of water in front of his face. "You need this? I haven't opened it yet."

Staring back gratefully with big hazel green eyes, the boy tried to take a breath. "Thank -hic- you!"

Jack chuckled as the other boy drank deeply, the redness in his face fading into the cutest freckles ever seen. "You're welcome. Don't hold your breath so long next time; you looked like you were going to pass out."

"I won't. Again, thank you so much, I really appreciate it."

Jack laughed and held out his hand, "And again, you're welcome. I'm Jack Overland by the way."

"Hikke Haddock."

"Your parents named you Hickey?"

The brunet looked confused for a second, then mortified. "What? Gods no! It's pronounced Heek-eh. It's Norwegian."

"Oh. Heek-eeee, yeah I'm not even close am I?"

Slightly crooked teeth showed through Hikke's lopsided grin, "It's ok, not too many people get it right."

"How about I just call you Hiccup then?"

"Oh gods! You wouldn't!"

Jack grinned back mischievously, "Maybe I would!"

"You know for some reason I believe you?" Hikke shook his head and began packing away his books.

In the few minutes they had been talking, Jack had taken a liking to the brunet with the cute smile and freckles, and maybe wanted to get to know him a little more. "Hey, um, do you want to get some coffee? I know a great place not too far from here."

"Are you asking me out or something?"

Mentally Jack was shouting: Yes! Yes! I am! Though externally he managed to stay cool, "I just like getting to know people and you seem like you might have an interesting story."

Hikke looked at Jack as if pondering something before gesturing towards the door. "Coffee sounds great. After you."

The two boys stepped out into grey afternoon drizzle that made their breath surround their heads like miniature clouds, and walked the two blocks to Burgess's best coffee shop. The front door opened with the jangle of a bell and a rush of warm coffee scented air that soon washed away the gloom from outside. The unimposing grey brick exterior belied the cozy atmosphere inside; the walls were hung with an eclectic variety of artwork ranging from simple charcoal sketches to detailed oil paintings. Hiccup gazed around appreciatively and nodded, "It's very hygge."

Jack was about to ask what he meant, but the brunet's attention had turned to the menu board. "This is actually a nice selection. Oooh, I need to try that." Hiccup ordered black coffee and Jack chose mocha with double whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.

The boys sat down at an empty table in the back corner and Jack started his 'getting the freckled cutie to talk about himself' mission while they gazed out into the rain. "What was that word you said earlier? Um, higgle, or something?"

Hiccup chuckled, "Hygge; higg-eh. Or koselig. They're words to describe something very cozy; like having dinner at home with your friends in soft candlelight with fresh bread, it's snowing outside, but you're warm and comfortable."

Jack felt his eyes sting a little at the thought. "Wow... I could almost feel everything you said. Is that Norwegian too?"

Hiccup blew on his coffee and nodded. "Yep, my grandfather's family was Norwegian and I'm named after him. I studied the language for a while in high school, but I'm a bit rusty now. So what about you? Where's your family from?"

Jack took a deep drink of his cocoa, enjoying the feeling of it sliding all the way into his chest. "Right here in Burgess for the last three hundred years. I was named after one of my ancestors who fell in the pond and was never seen again."

"Sounds like a ghost story to me."

The white haired boy grinned and leaned closer, "Oh, it is. They say that sometimes he can be seen skating in the moonlight. I even saw him once."

Hiccup's green eyes widened, "You did?"

"Mhm. About six years ago my sister and I were skating on that very pond when the ice started to crack. I was able to push her out of the way but I fell through and almost drowned. Right before I fell though, I saw this kid waving his arms like he was trying to warn me, and in the water I felt like something was stopping me from sinking."

"Wow, so he's like... your guardian."

Jack smiled as he thought about it and leaned back, taking another sip his drink, "Yeah, I guess he is."

Hiccup tentatively brought his own cup to his lips and tasted the contents.

"How is it?"

The brunet wrinkled his nose and shrugged, "Hm, not as good as the stuff I make at home, but it's not too bad. I've definitely had worse."

Jack chuckled, "Are you an expert on the subject?"

"I wouldn't be much of a Scandinavian if I wasn't."

"You seem to be pretty connected to your heritage."

Hiccup shrugged again, "I don't really care that much, it's more of a way to try and honor my mom. She died when I was a baby and I... I know how much I remind my dad of her. I guess I'm keeping her alive for him."

Jack nodded sadly, "I'm sorry. You must love your dad a lot. Are you close?"

An almost pained look crossed the other boy's face. "Kind of, not really, yes and no? It's complicated. What about you?"

Jack shook his head, "It's just me and my sister and our mom. We're all really close, so it's been hard for them since I moved out for school."

The two sat in silence, each trying to think of what to say next. When they did speak it was at the same time and they both laughed. Hiccup stayed quiet and smiled for Jack to go ahead. Jack, for his part, tried to calm the heart flutters that smile caused, and focus on his cup. (Which, he noticed with annoyance, was almost empty.) "Soooo, um, what are you studying in school?"

Hiccup drained the last of his coffee and wrinkled his nose one more time. "Art and engineering. Sometimes the professor has me substitute teach the class because I'm an inventor. You?"

Jack stared across the table with his mouth open, "Uh, mind backing up a bit! If you teach college classes, why are you even in college? Shouldn't you be at CERN or something?"

The brunet snorted a chuckle and flashed that grin again. "CERN is particle physics, not engineering! I only teach the classes to get extra credit; there are some subjects I'm not really good at so I take better grades wherever I can get them. I'm just a normal guy who happens to invent stuff. Now back to my question, what do you study?"

The white haired boy had to think for a second, "Oh, um, nature photography and folktales. I've always been fascinated by childhood heroes like Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman; but out of all of them my absolute favorite is-"

"Jack Frost?"

Hiccup tried to figure out the look on Jack's face at his comment; it was a strange mixture of shock and wonder with more than a little sadness.

"You're going to laugh at me now. It's ok, I'm used to it. It's weird for a twenty year old guy to believe in fairy tales, right?" Jack looked down at his near empty cup; he didn't feel like finishing it now. He shouldn't feel this bad about someone thinking he was strange. It was hardly anything new; most people treated him like he was invisible anyway so why should this guy be any different? Jack was brought back from his thoughts by a warm hand settling on his arm.

"Hey. I'm not laughing. If you're weird for believing in fairy tales then I'm weird for believing in dragons. I get it, no one sees the person you really are. They stop at whatever they think you should be, and when you don't live up to their expectations, they ignore you."

Hiccup's gentle green eyes held years of hurt and disappointed dreams as he squeezed Jack's arm once more, "I understand."

The warmth of Hiccup's hand lingered after he moved it away and Jack smiled. "Thanks. I guess I better get going; I've got a test today that I barely studied for so I probably shouldn't be late. It was nice meeting you, Hiccup."

The other boy looked at his watch and yelped before hurriedly shrugging on his coat and running for the door, "Yeah, you too. Sorry, but I'm late for a class I'm supposed to be teaching."

Jack finished the last of his drink and was just standing to leave when he felt something being shoved into his hand and heard the cafe door slam shut. Looking down, the boy's pale cheeks warmed at seeing a phone number and note scribbled on one of the cafe's paper napkins. 'Call if you need anything or just want someone to talk to.' Jack tucked the napkin into his shirt pocket and headed back towards campus with a warmth in his heart he hadn't felt in a long time.

Hiccup was glad he only had to turn on a documentary video for his class since he was out of breath from running. For some reason he was also feeling slightly distracted, but attributed that to full strength coffee on an empty stomach. Well, not exactly empty; there seemed to be a few terrible terrors flying around in there. He shook his head and tried to focus on the projector screen. The video showed Vikings making flexible swords that were less prone to breaking during battle, a topic that would normally keep him on the edge of his seat, now only faded into a background hum as his mind wandered to the white haired boy with the haunting blue eyes. Gods how he'd love to look at those eyes every day... So full of fun but with a sense of sadness, and childlike innocence, and that longing to be seen. Hiccup didn't realize how long he'd been thinking about Jack until a fellow student nudged him and cleared her throat.

"Earth to Professor Haddock! Mind giving us our assignment so we can get out of here?"

Hiccup blushed and handed out a stack of papers after taking one for himself and dismissed the class. All the way to his dorm, Hiccup's mind puzzled over the strangely familiar feelings he was having, so he decided to call the one person who always seemed to have all the answers.

Tuffnut was out when Hiccup arrived in the tiny dorm room they shared, so he took the opportunity to actually call instead of texting.

"Hey Astrid."

"Hikke? Oh my gods, you have a voice!"

Astrid groaned, and Hiccup could hear muffled arguments in the background. "Are you busy? I can call back later if you need me to."

The girl's voice rose over the ever increasing noise, "No, please, talk to me now! Ruff and Tuff are driving me crazy!"

"So that's where he went. Why don't you come over here and we can go get something to eat."

"Thank you! I'll be right there!"

Astrid arrived a few minutes later and the two friends walked in the gathering dusk along Burgess's main street. Astrid noticed her friend was quieter than usual, which meant he was feeling unsure about something. "You want to talk about it?"

Hiccup smiled at how his friend always knew his moods better than he did. "I think so, but it's a little strange."

"You're always strange, that's why I love you. Now out with it."

The brunet blew a long breath which turned to steam and floated away as he started to babble. "Is it normal to feel like you want to look at someone all day and hug them and comfort them when they're sad and have to stop yourself from holding their hand?"

"Yes, yes, yes, and why didn't you? If you like someone you should totally hold their hand!"

Hiccup's face was glowing an uncomfortable red under the streetlights and he stopped walking. Astrid put her hand on his shoulder and softened her tone a little. "What's wrong, Hikke?"

"Is it normal if the other person is a guy?"

The girl smiled and wrapped her friend in a hug. "Perfectly normal; and if you want, I can introduce you to a group that can help with any questions you have."

Hiccup looked at his best friend with a relieved smile, "Astrid, you are amazing."

The blonde tossed her braid back and smirked, "You know it! Now let's get something to eat, I'm starving! And I want to hear all about Loverboy. Is he nice?" Hiccup blushed again and grinned before launching into a lengthy ramble about the boy he was already head over heels for. "Oh gods, you have no idea!"

Jack groaned and joined the throng of students leaving the testing room as they made their way slowly towards the glowing exit sign that meant freedom. He knew he would get a passing grade but probably not much more than that. Not studying was a pretty dumb thing to do (Hey, it was a snow day!) but the green eyed, freckle scattered, chestnut haired boy currently taking up 99% of his brain didn't help either. Not like he was complaining... that crooked little grin of his made Jack's cheeks pink as he thought of it again and was still on his mind when he walked through the door of the house he shared with his four best friends.

A petite girl with multicolored hair looked up from her homework when he came in. "Hey Jack, how was your test?"

Kicking off his sneakers as soon as the door shut behind him, Jack hung up his coat and headed through the living room. "Ugh, don't ask, I probably got a C minus if that."

A tall, muscled, and tattooed boy caught him in a noogie as he passed through to the kitchen. "Should've studied then. 'Ello, what's this?" Aster plucked the napkin from Jack's pocket and held it above his head.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"Oho! Frosty's got a phone number! Is he cute?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you! Now give it back!"

Tooth sighed and called from the front room, "Bunny, give Jack the paper!"

Aster noogied his friend one more time before handing him the napkin. "I was only teasin' ya, Frostbite. No hard feelings?"

Jack carefully folded the napkin and replaced it in his pocket, "No, but just remember, if you give me a hard time on this, I will get you later."

The taller boy grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it, mate."

That night Jack lay wide awake on his bed and listened to Aster's soft purr-like snores from the bunk below. Normally the prankster would be planning ways to exasperate his friends, but tonight was different... Tonight, Jack was thinking how he could arrange to see a certain freckled brunet again.

A/N: Please R&R if you liked it, and don't forget to Story Follow for updates.