Back by popular demand!

-ahem- Well now…I didn't actually think anyone would like what I wrote. Huh…the world works in strange ways… Anyways, I want to thank everyone who read the first chapter, whether you reviewed it or not. Thanks for all the support, everyone. I am sorry to say that I don't know if I'm able to do faster updates.

Warnings for cursing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a laptop and certain plot elements

The other children had long departed, leaving only the babysitter, his two charges, and (unbeknownst to the former) a curious ice-spirit that scrutinized the other teen's every action. Eyes of blue traced each soft sigh, exhale, or word that drifted to the air carried along with it wisps of white as the snow outside continued its dizzying descent…

In torrents.

Now while the snow day to extend the holiday break was definitely part of Jack's plan…the freak blizzard out of nowhere was definitely not.

The Guardian didn't have to turn to see Jamie shooting curious glances at him; it was, after all, quite unusual for Jack to just stand there in silence…in the middle of Jamie's living room…in the middle of a snowstorm that he made. He watched Hiccup pace around the room, cell phone pressed to his ear as rapid and foreign words* flew out of his mouth in worry. Jack suppressed the urge to groan. Okay, so yeah… three hundred years and he still had a few kinks to work out with his powers. Things like this still happened when he got a little too excited…

(And no, not in that sense.)

The lights flickered again, causing Jack to wince and send an apologetic look to Jamie. The boy in turn gave him a relenting smile as he held on to his little sister in comfort.

Hiccup sighed and pocketed his phone. He approached Jamie with a weary smile, eyes tinged with anxiety.

"I just got off the phone with my dad…it looks like the roads are completely iced over." Jamie nodded with understanding as Hiccup slumped onto the couch beside Sophie, currently huddled in a blanket for warmth. He let out an exhausted chuckle. "I had to beg for him to just stay put at work until it's safe. I know that the winters here aren't as bad as Berk, even in this weather, but it's still too dangerous to drive." He shook his head, the action heavy with concern. "Another thing about Viking tradition…we certainly inherited some stubbornness issues."

Crawling over to Hiccup's side, Jamie tugged his blanket over both of them. "It's all right. I'm sure it'll let up soon. Or, at least I'm sure everyone'll be safe." A hopeful glance at Jack's direction kicked the Winter Guardian's guilt into overdrive.

Hiccup smiled and drew both Bennett kids close, mindful of Sophie who seemed to have drifted off to sleep already. "Thanks Jamie. I'm sure everyone'll be fine." He paused in thought for a second. "Well, since your mom's basically in the same boat as my dad…so what do you guys do after having dinner?"

Jamie beamed. "Well…mom usually lets me stay up pretty late…"

Jack smirked as Hiccup fought not to smile. "Oh? Just how late?"

"'Till midnight!"

Jack snickered. "Clever."

Hiccup pretended to think it over. "Well, I dunno Jamie…even I don't stay up that late."

"That's 'cuz your dad says you're a talking fishbone and you need more sleep to grow."

Hiccup reddened while trying not to sputter indignantly "Thank you for summing that up."

"And he said you need to eat more," Jamie pointed out.

Jack, juxtaposing the other teen, doubled over in laughter. "Haha! Brilliant!"

"I'm kidding, I swear! I'm sorry." Hiccup frowned, but accepted the apology, blatantly ignoring the too-wide smile stretched on Jamie's face. "Mom just lets me and Sophie play till about an hour before bed…then we get into our pajamas and she reads Sophie a story. Sometimes I get to read one too." He grinned as Sophie slowly roused from her sleep. "What about you, Hiccup?"

"I…well usually I read for a bit and draw. Then I clean up after Toothless…and…" Jack jumped back in shock as Hiccup practically bolted from the couch and scoured the room for his boots. Tugging them on, Hiccup looked back to the startled children. "Sorry Jamie, I'll be right back. Please watch Sophie for me until I return!"

Jack raised a brow. "Toothless?"

"His cat," Jamie whispered to the Guardian before turning his attention back to the teen by the doorway. "Hiccup!"

"Toothless doesn't like being left alone all day and he'd never forgive me if…well…" He sighed shook the thought out of his head. "I'll be back; don't worry. I'll just be right next door." And with that, he swung the door open and shut it close, only allotting a few small mounds of snow to puddle on the rug.

Jack frowned. "What was that all about?"

Jamie fixed the blanket around his sister while focusing on a memory made not too long ago. "Toothless is really protective of him. His dad told me once that Toothless saved his life and ever since then, Toothless hasn't left Hiccup's side." A soft whine from Abby served as a reminder. Jamie padded over to the greyhound and petted her head affectionately. "Hiccup couldn't bring Toothless over 'cuz he and Abby don't really get along."

"Huh…" Jack wondered audibly. "But is going out into the snow to pick up his cat really all that necessary?"

Jamie laughed. "A little. Toothless always looks out for him since Hiccup gets into a lot of accidents. His dad always says so anyways."

Jack thought that through for a moment. The kid definitely seemed the type to get into all sorts of trouble, albeit unwittingly. He seemed so fragile...er, frail. Yes, he meant frail. A talking fishbone. For a second, a tremor of worry welled up within him, but he quickly dispelled it; it was just snow, right? The kid would have to be pretty unlucky if he hurt himself out there, not twenty feet from Jamie's house.

"And Hiccup's kinda…danger-prone too."

Jack paled. "Uh…Jamie?"

"Hm?"

"I'll be right back…"

A gust of chilly air later and Jamie was left standing in the room. The boy sighed and hopped onto the couch, the greyhound following suit. "Teenagers…" Beside him, Sophie mumbled incoherently, but Jamie just assumed that she agreed.

.

Hiccup was pretty glad that no one back at Berk could see him now, face-flat on the snow for the umpteenth time as the wind picked up. True, while he had faced worse back at his hometown, that didn't mean he was any more graceful. Gritting his teeth and straggling to his feet, Hiccup shivered…but it wasn't from the cold.

From the corner of his eyes, there was nothing but blinding white and dusk. Yet he still couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was there—

Watching him.

A sliver of fear raced down his spine but he eased the paralytic emotion out of his system. He just needs to focus on getting to the front door and to his bedroom where Toothless was no doubt lounging about, awaiting his friend's return. Right…priority; that's what he needs. Stumbling a little, Hiccup got to about three feet before his foot caught on something buried in the snow and face-planted onto the cold, wet earth once again.

Behind him, Jack could only sigh and try not to seem too amused. "Wow. This guy's a walking disaster."

He watched the boy as he picked himself up again, shaking the snow off of him before continuing forward in his (apparently for him) perilous journey. Jack narrowed his eyes as a glint of silver amid the snow caught his attention. Stooping down as within another two feet, Hiccup managed to somehow evade gravity through a series of whirling arm movements to keep him balanced, Jack picked up a house key—no doubt necessary for Hiccup's little operation.

Jack tsk'd. "Where'd you be without me, kid?"

While Hiccup was distracted by a gust of wind that "just so happened" to blind the boy for a second, Jack blasted an open path for the boy to trudge on. Upon finding the frosty walkway, Hiccup's eyes nervously shifted from left to right before tensely continuing on.

"You're welcome," Jack drawled, key still in hand, as he floated behind the boy.

Upon approaching what was probably Hiccup's front porch, Jack thought that now would probably be a good time to slip the key back into Hiccup's vest pocket. Well, it was the opportune moment before Hiccup almost elbowed him right in the gut.

"Damnit, where'd I put that key…"

Jack snickered. "You better not say that around Jamie and Sophie."

Checking his front pockets, the boy only met with frustration. "Shit…"

"That too…"

Now reaching his back pocket did Hiccup really moan out some interesting noises of irritation. "Fuck."

"Yes, definitely that one as well," Jack said airily. "What a dirty mouth you have~"

When Hiccup seemed on the brink of panic, Jack caved in and proceeded to inch his way towards the boy to place the key back inside the vest pocket. However, as fortune would have it, Hiccup chose that moment to move his arm to begin his search all over again.

It was only for a moment, but that was all Jack needed.

Hiccup emitted a strangled noise-hybrid of triumphant cry and a yelp as he located the key in the crevice of his pocket. He jammed the key in the slot, turned, and ran inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

Jack just stood there, frozen, because for that one moment—

their hands touched.

.

Hiccup, as soon as the door slammed, was immediately attacked with a pounce of four paws to his chest and a rough, padded tongue on his face. He smiled as he scratched the black Norwegian Forest's chin, feeling his friend purr from his touch. "Hey bud. Missed me?"

The cat mewed, nuzzling closer to his human.

Hiccup smiled, stroking the cat's silky fur. "Okay Toothless, I know you don't particularly like Abby, but please bear with me for just tonight, okay boy?"

The cat replied with silence, curling up to Hiccup in acceptance. Hiccup gave him a short pat before opening his vest to allow the feline some buffer from the snow and cold. Thinking for a moment after feeling the cat pressed up against him and noticing for the first time how wet his clothes had gotten from the snow, Hiccup decided that he should at least bring a change of clothes.

Jack was jolted from his previous stupor as Hiccup threw the door open and slammed it shut once more. The ice-spirit gave a bit of distance between them, still eyeing the boy with bewilderment. He noticed that Hiccup brought with him a small backpack and a little bundle of fur peeking out of his vest…a little bundle of fur that started yowling and hissing once toxic green eyes met Jack's.

"Toothless? You okay, bud?" The cat struggled to defend his human from the specter, but Hiccup was having none of that. It wasn't that Toothless hated the snow…but it was the water it later became that Hiccup had trouble with, despite Toothless's fondness of it.

Jack didn't know whether to laugh or sink further into his confused state. "Geez, what's with this? First you and now your cat?" Another violent hiss and a reprimand later from Hiccup though the boy nervously eyed where Jack remained, and Jack settled for laughing. "Heh, can't wait to meet your folks, Hiccup."

Apart from the occasional growl from Toothless, the rest of the trek over to the Bennett household was pretty uneventful. And by that, Jack meant that Hiccup didn't trip at least once. Jack thought back to what Jamie had said earlier and guessed it may have be a subconscious thing; maybe Hiccup felt a bit more confident in his steps now that Toothless was there…

Jack shrugged off the thought. Maybe he was reading too much into it (and yes, he's capable of that too).

When reached the door, Jamie swung it open to let both boys inside. "Saw you coming from the window," Jamie explained. He beamed when the cat jumped out of Hiccup's clothes and onto the floor, stretching his body languidly now that the cat was surrounded with heat from the home. "Hi Toothless!"

At the sound of that dreaded name, Abby dashed from the couch and into the safe recesses of the kitchen. Jack gave Jamie a puzzled look while the boy giggled. Sophie, excited to see the pretty feline again, ran to him to stroke his fur. Meanwhile, the greyhound whimpered, feeling a little betrayed.

Hiccup sighed. "Toothless, you draconic little creature…can you please stop terrorizing those bigger than you for once?" The cat in question mewed innocently, but Hiccup wasn't buying it. Nevertheless, the teen smiled fondly at the cat. "I swear you have a Napoleon complex of some sort." The cat only puffed out its chest in pride. Hiccup laughed, "Yeah, yeah, it works for you, I know."

Jack cocked his head to the side. "Well, that isn't something you see everyday."

"I'm sure they'll learn be friends one day," Jamie consoled, scratching behind Toothless's ear.

Hiccup smirked. "Yeah, sure…" Murmuring under his breath, he added, "…the day me and Snotlout have a drink of yak-nog together during Snoggletog."

"What's 'Snoggletog'?" Jack asked aloud.

"What's 'Snoggletog'?" Jamie echoed.

Hiccup stilled awkwardly. "It's—er—Jamie could I use the spare bathroom to take a shower? It's, uh, getting a little uncomfortable in these wet clothes." Because it was…and he really didn't want to explain that Viking holiday to Jamie…especially when it involves exploding eggs for some odd reason.

Jamie nodded. "Go for it."

Pouting, Jack followed him down the corridor. "Hey, you didn't answer the question! And what the heck is a 'Snotlout'?"

"Hey, Jamie…do you mind if I borrow a towel too?" Hiccup called.

"Sure! They're in the hall closet to the left!"

Still frowning, Jack decided it was best to let that one slip by; he'll just ask Jamie to pester Hiccup about it later. Besides…

Now was his chance to tell Jamie what happened with him and Hiccup.

Turning around, Jack stifled a yell when he Toothless blocked his path…with a rather menacing expression he might add.

The feline's pupils narrowed to slits, crouching low to the ground as if ready to attack. His fur stuck to his body and warning hisses that bared sharp fangs informed Jack that this cat wasn't scared of him…no, he was warning Jack, an admonition of an imminent attack.

Jack took a hesitant step back, unsure how he found himself in the position of the common mouse. Sure he could defend himself…but he doubted Hiccup would have been pleased to find his precious cat encased in ice. He could just fly over him too, but that would raise quite a few questions as to why Toothless was chasing after air. When his back met a door, Jack guessed it was better to play on the defensive. Not waiting for another sinister hiss from the ferocious feline, Jack quickly turned the knob and slipped inside.

You'd think that after battling against the Nightmare King himself that Jack would've been able to keep his cool even under extreme conditions…

"Toothless, is it really necessary for you to stand guard out here?"

Jack gulped as he heard a relenting sigh from the other side of the door. "You want…what? Okay, okay, fine. You can stay inside while I shower."

When the knob started to turn, Jack started to panic.

Hiccup entered and flicked the lights on; Jack could only curse Fate. Of course he picked the bathroom by accident. Of course, because Jack Frost just has that kind of luck. Toothless, the evil thing, glared at Jack as Hiccup closed the door and locked it.

This time it was Jack that made a strangled little noise, a cross between a cry and a dry whine. He tried not to be too freaked out by this. Of course not. He's Jack Frost—the epitome of 'cool'. He'll just slip out once Hiccup's in the shower and make sure to close the door in time so the malicious little demon wouldn't follow him. Besides, it's not like he wanted to stay.

'It'll be fine. Nothing to worry about—'

And then Hiccup started to strip.

Jack felt his face heat up and his breath shorten.

Oh shit.

…Maybe I should increase the rating later on…

(Oh God what have I done.)

*= I guess I made Hiccup from Norway…and he speaks Norwegian, since it does descend from Old Norse. And Toothless is a Norwegian Forest Cat, which may have been brought to Norway by Vikings.