Chapter 3—The Coin Sleight
When Hiccup came downstairs to meet Jack in the lobby, his dignity still somewhat in one piece, he felt his heart fluttering when he saw Jack standing at the gate. He was adorned in a white button-up, a black vest, and a familiar blue tie that brought a comforted smile to Hiccup's face (that added to the relief Hiccup felt when he found that he wasn't overdressed at all). Although the outfit wasn't exactly tight, it was enough to allow Hiccup to quietly admire how lean Jack's body looked as he ran a hand through his messy white hair and looked at his phone.
Hiccup walked quietly up to the other man, who seemed rather preoccupied with his phone, even when Hiccup was standing a foot away from him. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity before shaking his head—prying on a first date is a bad idea, after all. So instead, he pressed his fist to his mouth and awkwardly cleared his throat.
Jack jumped in surprise, fumbling with his phone and jamming it into his pocket before smiling sheepishly at the brown-haired man, who wore an expression of pure amusement.
"Oh, I, uh—" Jack looked at his feet in embarrassment, scratching his neck as his prominent ears became tinged with pink. "Hey."
"Hey," Hiccup echoed as he stifled his laughter, his previous nervousness dissolving with every second.
"Sorry about that," Jack apologized, shuffling his feet as he looked back up at Hiccup. "I was just answering some important texts."
"Don't worry about it," Hiccup said, resisting the urge to ask how a person like Jack could read text messages with such a serious expression.
Jack chuckled and his abashed expression quickly flickered to a cool and calm smile at a pace that surprised Hiccup. "Shall we…?" Jack said coolly as he held the gate open.
Hiccup pushed his moment of shock from his head and returned the smile, walking through the gates. They walked to Jack's car and exchanged some polite, yet rather constrained conversation during the drive and Hiccup couldn't help but feel mildly uncomfortable. Whenever the conversation fell, Hiccup noticed that Jack's eyes held a stern expression as they were enveloped in silence. He couldn't help but feel that Jack's current expression totally contrasted against Hiccup's first impression of him. However, Hiccup pushed the thought away, figuring that Jack might just be one of those very serious drivers, and cleared his throat.
"So, Jack," Hiccup began awkwardly, "I mean, I know you're a performing magician and all, but what do you do when, you know, you don't have a performance?"
Jack seemed to be startled, as if just remembering that Hiccup was in the car with him. An unfitting smile stretched on Jack's lips as he attempted to clear the heavy aura. "Actually, I don't really do anything," Jack chuckled. "I mean, normally I just plan some new tricks and stuff and my manager will call and tell me to get some work done, so I don't do much else," Jack looked a bit dazed before his eyes flickered quickly to Hiccup as they approached a stoplight. "How about you?"
"Oh, I work in the entertainment industry," Hiccup answered without thinking.
"Aha! I knew you seemed at home on a stage," Jack said with a seemingly triumphant smile.
"Oh no—it's actually not like that at all," Hiccup said hastily.
"Oh," Jack frowned. "What do you do then?"
"Oh, you know," Hiccup grimaced, scratching his neck. Come on, Hiccup, you're going to have to do this eventually at some point, Hiccup reasoned with himself.
"I just have a run-of-the-mill office job," Hiccup finally said, folding his hands in his lap and looking down at them. "I just do some paperwork and stuff—you know how it is."
Well, he wasn't lying.
A silence fell over them and Hiccup felt a chill run up his spine as the car slowly came to a stop in front of a red traffic light. The previous heavy aura had returned and a dark look cast a shadow on Jack's face. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at him.
"Jack?" he called tentatively. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah," Jack said, his eyes flickering back and forth as the light turned green. "I just, uh…" Jack sighed. "Do you mind if we walk a bit?" he asked, jerking his head to the left.
"Uh, no," Hiccup blinked in confusion. "Not at all."
They both sat, absolutely speechless. Hiccup played with his thumbs anxiously, a question buzzing in his mind that he dared not to ask. The muffled sound of the cars passing filled the silence and the lights before them seemed to flash brighter with every passing moment as the sun set. Eventually they pulled into a parking lot next to the park.
"We just have to walk through this park across the street to get to the restaurant," Jack said nodding at the trees to their left. He gave Hiccup an apologetic smile. "Sorry—the other lot was full."
Hiccup returned the smile as he flung his seatbelt from his waist. "No, it's alright—I understand."
They made their way across the crosswalk and into the crowd of trees, Hiccup walking slightly behind Jack as he led the way. They pushed through a path of trees and Hiccup sighed. Their conversation was… lacking, to say the least. Actually scratch that—their conversation was basically nonexistent. If he had known that his "exciting" date would end up like this, he would've stayed home.
Hiccup stared at Jack's back disconcertedly as they walked through the grass. Questions buzzed in his brain like a swarm of bees as he watched the white-haired man. He was mysterious, Hiccup observed, maybe too mysterious. He wondered how he could be so different compared to when he met him at the performance last night.
Lost in his thoughts, Hiccup didn't think to walk carefully. To be fair, it was a wonder how he hadn't tripped when they first entered the forest, what with all of the roots and branches scattered on the grass, not to mention the fact that it had been getting rather dark. So, to no one's surprise but Hiccup's, his foot snagged on an odd root that hooked over the ground. Hiccup barely had time to register what was happening as he lurched forward and everything in front of him blurred. He thought he saw Jack turn just before he landed face first in the grass, his nose crushed between his head and the ground.
Of all things that Hiccup imagined his lips might be meeting today, the dirt was definitely not one of them.
"Woah, are you okay?" Jack asked, offering his hand and obviously trying to cover up his laughter.
Hiccup groaned and rolled his eyes, taking Jack's hand and letting himself be pulled up. He dusted himself off and sighed when he looked down at his clothes. Astrid was going to have a ball when he came home.
"Yeah, I think I might've seen my life flash before my eyes," Hiccup said with a shrug as he fixed his tie, "but you know no big deal."
"Sorry, this place is sort of riddled with traps," Jack said, picking a leaf out of Hiccup's disheveled hair. "We should probably be more careful."
"That probably would've been useful a few minutes ago," hiccup said, looking to the side and dusting off a shoulder in an attempt to hide the blush that rose to his cheeks.
"Well, hey, now you know," Jack chuckled. "We can't have you falling for anyone else except me for the rest of the night, can we?"
Hiccup bit his lower lip in a vain attempt to stop a smile before bursting out in laughter. His arms held his sides as he leaned over. "That… That was terrible. Why did you even try?"
"Aw, c'mon it made you laugh," Jack said, a wide smile on his face as he looked at Hiccup with teasing blue eyes.
"I only laughed because it was so terrible," Hiccup smirked.
"Oh, you wound me, Hiccup," Jack said, holding a hand over his heart. "These wounds are pretty fatal—I might die."
"Damn, then I'd have to eat dinner alone. Won't that be a shame," Hiccup said, shaking his head.
"With some luck, I might be able to make it to the restaurant and you could eat with my corpse."
"I guess it'll have to do," Hiccup said with a shrug.
"Well, let's test our luck then, shall we?" Jack smirked, jerking his thumb behind him. When Hiccup squinted he could see the streetlights illuminating the sidewalks just a few yards away. He smiled and walked aside Jack, their pace matched and their conversation light. Their hands brushed against each other as they wormed themselves through close trees and helped each other over some rather cumbersome obstacles—they might as well have been hiking with all the rogue forestry.
However, as Hiccup stepped over the last stump and landed on the sidewalk, he couldn't help but sigh in relief as Jack pointed out the restaurant. It seemed like an extremely extravagant place (which is saying something, considering how many restaurants Hiccup had been to for business affairs). It was two stories tall with a balcony for outdoor seating. Twenty-foot tall columns decorated the entrance along with a fountain and a few rather interesting statues. Hiccup had to admit it almost put his prized theater to shame.
As they walked inside, Hiccup noted with wide-eyed awe that the interior of the restaurant was no disappointment. Several crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings, illuminating the room full of people who were obviously dressed in their best. They were led in a surprisingly short time to a small table adorned in a white table cloth right next to a large aquarium of tropical fish. Hiccup made a mental note to come here with Astrid some day.
He peeked over his menu at Jack to catch the other man sporting a satisfied grin. Jack placed his menu on the table and smirked when he caught Hiccup looking over at him.
"So, what do you think?" Jack said, leaning back on the back two legs of his chair. "Nice place, right?"
Hiccup placed his menu lightly on the table and suppressed a grin. "It's satisfactory," Hiccup said, suppressing a grin and trying to keep a dull expression. He saw the smile on Jack's face falter for a minute. "I'm kidding," Hiccup said quickly. "It's actually a pretty cool place, but I've never heard of it."
"It just opened a few months ago," Jack said, giving the waiter a quick thank-you as he filled their glasses. "I'm good friends with the owner—he doesn't say much, but he's a great chef."
Hiccup nodded as he peaked through his menu again, Jack giving him suggestions and licking his lips every time they got to something on the list that was really good. Hiccup couldn't help but follow suit as he looked at all the pictures of probably the finest food in the country. However, eventually he settled on his meal and they ordered their dinner, holding light conversations that contrasted greatly to the stinted conversations they held in the car.
"So, Hiccup—I've got a question for you."
Hiccup looked up from his food and raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were already asking questions."
"Well, this one's sort of… out of the blue, I guess you can say," Jack explained. Hiccup smiled and nodded for him to go ahead, lifting his glass to his lips.
"Alright, so," Jack began, leaning forward slightly, "what brought you to my show yesterday?"
Hiccup froze, the wine glass still pressed against his lips. His brain seemed to whir as he pressed his lips together in thought.
"Well, it's just like I said before," Hiccup said as calmly as he could manage. "My friend bought me a ticket and I thought I might as well humor her."
Jack tilted his head slightly. "Well, I guess, but you never actually go to something you dislike unless someone actually dragged you there, you know?"
"I-I suppose you're right," Hiccup said, quickly lifting his glass to his lips again and taking a drink.
Did he really want to tell Jack about all of this now? When he considered it, this was probably a pretty appropriate time to mention it, but something in the back of his mind kept throwing excuses at him. It was simply too early into the date—it would ruin the atmosphere. He really was enjoying this date, after all, what if the genuineness of the conversation suddenly disappeared? He's had it happen before. Hiccup had learned at a young age that people will do anything to achieve their goals.
Yet, somehow, Astrid's voice seemed to worm into his thoughts, nagging him and scolding him for delaying the inevitable. After all, the situation was pretty urgent and Hiccup was never exactly a procrastinator. There was no point in starting now.
"A-actually," Hiccup stammered, running a hand through his hair, I—"
"Excuse me, are you Jack Frost? The magician?"
Hiccup almost sighed in relief when he looked up to see a middle-aged woman holding the hand of an excited-looking small girl, who he guessed to be her daughter. However, despite the well-timed diversion, Hiccup couldn't help but feel that a bit irritated at the sudden interruption.
"Uh, yeah," Jack said disconcertedly. He moved a hand over his mouth very quickly and his look of confusion was quickly turned into a smile. "Yes, that's me."
"Sorry to bother you," the woman said with a grimace, "but my husband and I took my daughter to see your show last night and she was absolutely blown away. This may sound like a strange request, but could you show her a quick trick?"
Hiccup watched a kind smile play on Jack's lips. Hiccup rested his face on his palm as he watched Jack kneel onto the floor in front of the little girl.
"Sure," the white-haired man said. The girl's eyes seemed to sparkle as she giggled in excitement and Jack's smile grew wider. "What's your name?"
"Jenna!" the girl squeaked.
"Jenna?" Jack repeated. The girl nodded and he chuckled. "That's a pretty name you've got there, Jenna. Do you believe in magic, Jenna?" She nodded again. "That's good—only the best believe." Jack tapped his chin with his finger in an affected manner. "You don't happen to have a coin, do you, Jenna?"
The little girl nodded eagerly, her hair bouncing as she reached into the pocket of her dress, pulling out a game token. Hiccup's lips curved into a smile as he watched Jack take the large gold coin in amusement and interest.
"Perfect," Jack said as the girl pressed the coin into his palm. Hiccup raised his eyebrows as he watched Jack roll the coin over the back of his fingers with ease. The girl's mouth formed an O as she clapped her hands in amusement. Jack smiled as he rolled the coin back into his palm.
"Alright, Jenna," Jack began, "on a count of three, I'm going to make this coin disappear. Are you ready? One, two…" Jack closed his palm, "Three!"
Hiccup watched in amusement as the white-haired magician very obviously moved his hand behind his back, pretending to be very impressed with himself as the girl giggled.
"Ta-da!" Jack said grandly as the girl shook her head between her laughter. "What are you talking about? It's gone!"
"No…" the girl laughed, pointing the arm he hid behind his back.
Jack sighed theatrically and brought his palm back, opening it to show that the coin was still there. "Alright, you caught me," Jack said in mock surrender. "You're too smart for that—let's try this again."
Hiccup smiled as Jack made a fist with his left hand and placed the gold coin on the back of it.
"For sure this time," Jack assured her. "I'm going to count to three. Ready, Jenna?" The girl's head bobbed up and down in glee. "Alright, here we go," Jack positioned his right hand in a snapping position over his left fist. "One… Two…" Jack paused for a second before smiling widely. "Three."
Jack snapped his fingers and moved his right hand away from his fist to reveal his bare fist. The girl's eyes darted in surprise from Jack's fist to his open right palm and clapped in appreciation. Hiccup found himself doing the same.
"Thank you, thank you very much," Jack said, making a small bow by nodding his head and holding his left hand near his chest. "Now, I wonder where your coin is—you want it back, don't you?" The girl nodded eagerly and Jack laughed. "Don't worry; I know exactly where it is." Hiccup watched as Jack reached behind the girl's right ear and pulled out the large gold coin. The girl gasped and felt her ear before taking the coin back from him. She clapped enthusiastically as Jack got back up to his feet.
Hiccup lips were still frozen in a small smile as he watched Jack and the girl's mother exchange "thank you's" and "no problem's" before the mother ushered away her eager daughter, who gave him a cheery thank you and a wave before they disappeared into the crowd. It was the simplest trick in the book—even Hiccup knew it, yet there was something charming about the way Jack's eyes, normally full of mischief and curiosity, softened when he spoke to the little girl. Jack had a proud smile on his face as he sat back down and Hiccup couldn't help but lean forward when Jack looked back at him.
"Impressive," Hiccup said simply, "you really have a way with words, you know? It really sets up the trick."
Jack grinned at Hiccup's compliment. "Haha, thanks for noticing—I practiced with my sister when I was younger."
Hiccup tilted his head in curiosity. "Really? How long have you been into magic?"
"Oh man," Jack leaned back and his eyes flickered upwards. "You know, I'm not really sure. I've been doing it ever since I was a kid—eight at the very latest."
Hiccup raised his eyebrows. At eight years old Hiccup had barely been able to lift a textbook, let alone embark on a career that his father didn't believe he could achieve in the first place. "Eight?" Hiccup repeated. "That's pretty young."
Jack laughed sheepishly. "Yeah. You see, when I was a little kid, I was always running around, playing pranks on people, causing mischief, seeing what limits I could push—basically being a little shit all of the time. My parents figured that if I was going to be a little trickster, I might as well have a safe outlet so they bought me this magic kit." Jack leaned back in his chair, looking up as he seemed to be reminiscing. "I was instantly hooked—I'd practice the tricks every night and collect magic books and perform them for my family. I never grew out of it and I just kept at it and, well," Jack looked back at Hiccup, an open grin on his face, "here I am."
Hiccup caught himself smiling along with Jack—after all how could he help it? The way Jack seemed so pleased when he spoke about magic—the way his smile seemed so soft and his eyes seemed brighter made Hiccup's heartbeat accelerate. Hiccup couldn't help but admire Jack's passion and enthusiasm, not to mention the fact that Jack's grin made him melt.
"Wow," Hiccup finally managed to breathe. "That's… that's incredible. Most people would've given up by now."
"Well," Jack sighed and returned to poking his food with his fork, "it's been a really long road, I've got to admit. I've thought about giving up a few times, too. But," Jack took a deep breath, "I guess I figured that I've come this far, you know? I want to get all the way to the top—even if I die trying."
There was a pause before Jack gave Hiccup an apologetic grimace. "Sorry, you probably don't really care about this stuff."
"No," Hiccup told him quickly. "No, I actually get where you're coming from," Hiccup said with a reassuring smile. "For the longest time since I was a kid, I've been working pretty hard to prove myself," Hiccup sighed, regretting his awkward words as they escaped from his lips. "I mean, I was on the verge of just throwing away all of my progress at some point, too. So… I really do get what you're saying."
Hiccup felt himself blush furiously as he lowered his eyes, focusing on his plate as he shoveled a forkful of food into his mouth in a desperate attempt to cover up his embarrassment. Nice job, Hiccup. 'I really do get what you're saying'—you're a regular Casanova. You've got the cheesiness part down perfectly.
"You know, Hiccup," he looked up to see Jack giving him a pleased grin. "You're a really cool guy," Jack said, "I'd even say you're frosty."
Hiccup groaned and rolled his eyes, despite the fact that he was smiling. "You know, if you keep it up with the puns, I'm going to have second thoughts about going out with you again."
Jack smirked and leaned forward, reaching over to hold Hiccup's hand. "Are you saying you'd come with me on a second date?"
Hiccup's ears turned bright red as Jack's fingers brushed against his and his seemed to thump even louder when Jack held his hand. Hiccup took a moment to compose himself before looking up at Jack with a sly smirk. "Are you asking?"
The rest of their date proceeded rather nicely and Hiccup felt himself growing more comfortable around Jack at a surprising rate. When they left the restaurant, Jack insisted on leading Hiccup hand-in-hand through the park's obstacle course of trees, to which Hiccup "reluctantly" agreed. The entire time they trudged through the rogue branches and stumps, Hiccup found himself laughing at Jack's stupid jokes and statements about Jack being the brave knight who was leading the prince through the treacherous tendencies of the woodlands.
When they got into the car, they both fell into a lethargic, yet comfortable silence. Neither of them feeling the need to entertain the other with conversation as they drove into the night. Hiccup looked out the window at the bright lights that they passed, his mind always wandering back to Jack, a small smile creeping to his lips every time it did.
Hiccup couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed when they arrived at his apartment. Jack insisted on walking him from the parking lot to the gates and Hiccup agreed. Their stroll was rather silent, aside from a few cats that awoke in surprise as they walked by, with Hiccup leading the way, peeking over his shoulder at Jack every once in a while. They arrived at the gates and Hiccup turned, rocking back and forth awkwardly.
"Well, here we are," Hiccup stated simply, resisting the urge to smack himself in the head for not thinking of something more charming to say.
"Yup," Jack agreed, looking at the floor. They were silent for a moment before Jack spoke again. "You know, Hic, you never answered my question."
Hiccup looked up at Jack, perplexed. "What?"
"Remember how I asked you why you went to my show yesterday night?"
Hiccup's mind caught up with the moment and he thought he felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck. "Oh," Hiccup said, looking down, "that question. Well, to be completely honest…"
Time froze for Hiccup as arguments ran through his mind. He was going to have to tell Jack at some point and now was as good of a time as ever. There was no extremely awkward air between them and Hiccup had become more comfortable around the blue-eyed performer. He admired his passion and enjoyed the aura of Jack's enthusiasm. At this point, Hiccup had to admit that saying that he "liked" him was a bit of an understatement. He really understood Jack's perseverance and knew what it was like to be in Jack's shoes—ready to do anything to achieve an important goal. He knew it all too well.
In fact, that was what scared him.
Hiccup scratched the back of his neck, his eyes darting towards the ground. "I went because my friend, the one who bought my tickets, was supposed to go with me," Hiccup lied, "b-but she fell ill at the last minute and didn't want me to waste the money she spent on the tickets. So… that's what happened," Hiccup concluded, hoping his lie was sufficient enough.
When he looked back at Jack, he only saw him nodding, as if in understanding. If there was anything on Jack's face that showed disbelief in his simple story, Hiccup couldn't see it. Perhaps it was just because it was too dark for Hiccup to make out too much, but it seemed that Jack believed him.
"That makes sense," Jack nodded. There was a pause again. "You know, I really enjoyed today," Jack finally said.
Hiccup smiled, "I did, too, actually." He ran a hand through his hair and grinned, "Thanks for tonight. I'd… I'd really like to do this again."
Hiccup thought he saw Jack's face light up in the dark. "How's tomorrow?" Jack said eagerly.
Hiccup snorted (unattractively, he might add). "Someone's pretty eager," Hiccup smirked.
"What can I say? I can't get enough of you, Hic," Jack returned the smirk. Hiccup's face warmed up as Jack took his hands once again.
"In that case, I guess I'll have to see if I can squeeze you in for an appointment," Hiccup frowned, faking a nonchalant shrug. "I'll probably call you."
Jack laughed, "I guess that's better than nothing."
Hiccup joined into the laughter just before silence found them again. Hiccup had learned something new today—silence had many different forms, and he wouldn't be surprised if he had met them all today. This final moment of noiselessness was a peculiar one—it seemed far too familiar, yet Hiccup couldn't really place his finger on what it was.
Then he noticed, with a furious blush, that he was moving closer to Jack. Their faces were just inches apart and Hiccup felt himself panicking. He really couldn't be doing this, could he? Despite everything, they have only known each other for a day.
Hiccup caught himself before he got too far and moved his head to the side, quickly placing his lips on Jack's cheek before moving away from him. He untangled his hands from Jack's and backed away.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Hiccup called to him as he opened the gate.
Jack had a hand pressed against his cheek and a smirk on his lips. "Deal."
Hiccup jogged all the way back to his apartment, feeling jumpy as he dove under the covers—not even attempting to be quiet as he was distracted by his own thoughts. He groaned and buried his face in his pillow as a final thought came to his mind before he fell asleep.
Astrid was going to kill him.
A/N: A longer chapter to make up for the previous chapter's shorter length! Hopefully this chapter was better—it was a little bit slow but hey I did what I had to do. Not much else to say except look out for the next chapter in the next week or two? But don't get your hopes u Thanks for reading!