Author's Note: In this chapter, I didn't try to coordinate Merida's dialogue with how it would sound in her accent. First, because I'm lazy, second, because what she says is important and I wouldn't want anyone to be confused, and finally because I didn't want to offend anyone, because I do not have much experience listening or speaking with a Scottish accent, so how am I supposed to know how certain words sound?

Also, thank you all so much for the wonderful feedback. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!

Jack's POV - A Month Later

Jack lay awake, tossing and turning as if the answered lied on the opposite sides of his bed. He didn't get a lot of sleep these days; the usual questions would not permit it.

It was enough to have to deal with Repunzel. Sure, she was beautiful, and popular. . .but she had no idea what she was talking about half the time. Since they'd started their relationship, Jack had been figuring out what exactly he looked for in a person; and the more he thought about it, he found, the more he realized his girlfriend had none of these qualities.

Oh, and she was a girl. But how Jack felt about that was a question still unanswered.

Jack did not start asking himself these questions until he started tutoring with Hiccup. Despite how much his "friends" would disapprove, Jack found himself drawn to him. Hiccup certainly knew what he was talking about. He was funny even when he wasn't trying to be. he had a certain demeanor that made Jack want to hold him and protect him; even though Hiccup made a point not to need it.

Wait a second, Jack thought, as the sand man was creeping up on him; Am I...in love with Hiccup?

Hiccup's POV

Similarly, Hiccup was thinking about Jack as well. But he was not falling asleep, Hiccup was studying. Hiccup knew his father would skin him if he failed this test. Besides, he wanted to make sure he knew what he was talking about when he tutored Jack again tomorrow. ...And there I go again. Hiccup thought.

Hiccup found himself thinking a lot about Jack lately. He was almost sure why, he just didn't know if he wanted to admit it.

But how was Hiccup supposed to know? Hiccup had never been in love before. There were girls he liked, sure, like Merida; but Hiccup had a had a lot of time to think about her. She didn't send his stomach exploding and the thought of them being together didn't make him see rainbows and stars. He just thought it would be nice to hold her hand and call her his girlfriend. Interestingly enough, though, stars and rainbows did appear for another person-Jack.

This, of course, brought on a whole new wave of thoughts and questions. For instance: What would Stoic say? What if Jack actually liked him back? Jack acted like he did, but is the name Jack Harkness more fitting than Jack Frost?

Well, Hiccup knew what Stoic would do. Hiccup wouldn't survive it.

Hiccup wished his mother were there with him. She would have sent him off to bed hours ago, telling him grades didn't really matter. She would make sure Hiccup was fed well. There would be no slits on his wrists, no bruises on his back. . .his father wouldn't be made of old memories and alcohol. Hiccup longed for a functioning family, a household filled with love.

But nope, Hiccup spent his time at home hiding from his only caretaker, trying to eat without being noticed or accused of anything, and wondering whether or not he was gay.

He needed to talk to someone. Right now.

"Hello?" Merida's voice sounded sleepy; "Hiccup? You okay?" Hiccup held the phone up to his ear and crept up the stairs, where his room was the only one in use.

"No," Hiccup said, as he closed the door. He hated showing his feelings, but, Merida was like an older sister to him.

"Do you need me to come over there?" She asked. She sounded more awake now, and far more concerned.

"My dad's sleeping." Hiccup noted; "Just listen to me for a second."

"Okay." Merida replied softly.

Hiccup explained a month worth of confusion:

"I've been tutoring Jack Frost. He's really bad at math. And whenever I go over there he's always so nice to me-you wouldn't expect that, would you? Considering the fact that he used to ignore me-but you know what, Merida? I think he likes me. Like has a crush on me. He always listens to me and does what I say and he tries extra hard and looks so ashamed when he gets something wrong; and when he comes home with a good grade, he's so happy about it. He shows me it before he even shows his own parents."

Merida said nothing.

"He has a crush on me, Merida."

"I know. That's pretty unfortunate."

"But you know what? I think...I like him too."

After a moment, she said:

"Well, that's good then, isn't it?"

"Have you met my dad?"

"C'mon, Hiccup. Your dad would understand."

Hiccup chuckled in a really sad, hurt way. In a way that screamed if only you knew how broken I am.

"I'm really extra sure that he wouldn't."

"Hiccup," said Merida fondly; "I know he's Mr. tough guy straight pants, but he is your father."

"No, but you see, Merida," Hiccup said; "I've already got a plan."

Merida was silent on the other end of the line, listening.

"What if you...acted like my girlfriend? Like whenever you drive me to Jack's house, I would tell my father I was going to yours?"

Merida thought about this for a moment, then said,

"Why isn't the fact that you're tutoring him be a valid excuse?" There wasn't an edge in her voice, just curiosity.

"I tried that." Hiccup said.

"And?"

"And he still doesn't believe me."

"Okay...alright. I'll do it."

Hiccup sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Merida," Hiccup said; "You have no idea how much you're helping me."

"Can I go to sleep now?"

"Yeah...yeah. Goodnight."

"Sleep well, Hic."

There was a click, followed by the deep, droning buzzing sound of a dead phone line. With a sigh, Hiccup crawled gingerly into his bed...Then, of course, he remembered he had a test tomorrow.

Jack's POV

Jack woke up tangled in his sheets, his pillow half way across the room, and he was drenched in a cold sweat, though he did not recall having any dreams. Jack tried to adjust himself to stop an unknown object from poking into his back, but toppled over. Turns out the object was his own arm.

Confused, Jack raised his arm with effort into view, hitting it repeated to confirm that it was, in fact, numb.

"Jack?" His sister's melodious voice was the first pleasant sound of the day; though that didn't stop Jack from groaning as she entered the room and jumped on him. It took an extra second this morning for Jack to sort out his thoughts.

"What Jillian?" Jack asked, a tone of annoyance evident in his voice.

"Is Hiccup coming over today?"

"Yeah."

"Okay! When are you going to tell him that you like him?"

At this, Jack bolted upright and looked intently at his sister, his eyes filled with both panic and confusion. But, oddly, Jack felt relief, too-he was glad someone knew already, so he didn't have to tell them.

"How do you know about that?"

"Please, Jack," Jill rolled her eyes, "It's so obvious."

Was it, really? Were his feelings really so conspicuous that his 10-year-old sister could decipher it without a hint of doubt?

"I..." Jack's face became hard; "Don't you dare tell anyone, Jill."

"Psh," Jill said, climbing off of Jack and hopping off his bed; "Not to be rude or anything, Jack, but this is your problem. I just know about it."

With a sigh, Jack said,

"What am I going to do?"

"Do you think he likes you too?"

Jack had never really thought about it; too busy pleasing everyone.

"I don't know...he blushes a lot."

"But, isn't he kinda prone to blushing?"

"He isn't prone to blushing, he's prone to embarrassing himself," Jack found himself smiling at the countless memories Hiccup had been awkward or klutzy or cute; "But then there's that matter of Repunzel..."

"Oh, her." Disgust colored Jill's voice. Oddly, though, Jack did not feel the need to defend his girlfriend, or even disagree; "You know she called me a little brat once?"

Jack, though he certainly did not agree with Repunzel's views on his own sister, was not surprised.

"Did she really?"

"Yeah! When I forgot my sneakers in your room a few weeks back. She was waiting there for you to get out of the shower."

"Is that all she ever said to you?" Jack pleaded with his eyes for Jill to tell him the truth. He trusted Jill, they'd always gotten a long; but he didn't want Repunzel to be under false accusations, even though he felt himself detaching from her rapidly.

After pondering this for a moment, Jill said:

"I avoided her after that."

With a sigh Jack got out of bed and carried on to school, feeling certain of only one thing.

Hiccup's POV

As usual, Hiccup made his way to first period feeling very small. But now, he did not feel incapable; Jack had stopped ignoring him a while ago, and even defended him. It was because of this he had someone to wave to in the hallway, and someone to sit with at lunch (though he never contributed to the conversations, because he found them all very boring).

But Jack was still with Repunzel, which confused Hiccup on what he should believe. Jack was the master of mixed messages, it seemed.

It wasn't until he sat down in wood shop did he see a window of opportunity.

"Where were you yesterday?" It was Repunzel. She wasn't in this class, but her face was flushed. She seemed rather out of breathe and flustered, as if she had hurried to get there.

Jack turned away from Hiccup to talk to her, rolling his eyes as he stood up.

"At my house?" Jack wore a look like he knew Repunzel wasn't going to believe him.

"With Hiccup?" People were starting to take notice of them now.

"What does it matter to you?" Jack said accusingly.

"Jack, I saw you and Hiccup sneaking into your back door." She looked very pleased with herself. The class became silent, waiting for Jack's rebuttal.

"Repunzel, I forgot my house key. And we usually keep the back door open." Then a look of realization dawned on him; "You were spying on me?!"

Repunzel seemed to have just now realized that this action could have been viewed negatively. What was worse is she said nothing to justify her creepy actions. She just grew very red and looked away.

"Wow," Jack said in a sort of amused irritation; "Talk about crazy ex-girlfriends."

Repunzel's face snapped back. "Wha-what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, Repunzel," Jack took a step closer, glaring into Repunzel's eyes; "We're through."

Repunzel lashed out for Jack's arm:

"Jack, I-"

"Don't touch me."

Jack stormed out of the classroom, leaving Repunzel to be embarrassed. But instead, she turned to Hiccup rapidly.

"He's all yours now," Repunzel said angrily; "Enjoy it."

If she was trying to make Hiccup uncomfortable, she had succeeded.

That afternoon was not so much a time for tutoring but more Hiccup listening as Jack ranted. Hiccup sat on the edge of Jack's bed.

"I can't believe she would do that, y'know? Who does that?"

Hiccup nodded patiently.

"I mean, it's enough to spy on me," Jack paced the room, his fists clenched so much that his knuckles turned whiter than they already were; "But to call me out in front of everyone? Who does she think she is?"

"Maybe she thought you'd be more compelled to tell the truth if everyone was staring at you." Hiccup suggested.

"I was telling the truth."

"She doesn't know that."

"She doesn't know anything."

"Jack, do you even like her?"

"You know what, Hic?" Jack stopped mid stride and looked directly into Hiccup's eyes. Hiccup's stomach dropped.

"I don't think I ever did."

"Then...then why did you date her?"

"...I guess when it's kind of expected for you to do something, you make yourself believe that's who you are."

"Who are you then, Jack?"

"I don't know!" Jack seemed to be forgetting who he was talking to. He was really getting angry now.

"I have no freaking idea! I walk around all day like some sort of ice king. Like no one can reach me, like I'm not allowing them to. I do things because I think I ought to. But I only think I ought to because other people think I ought to. You know how confusing that is? And how stupid and pointless it is? And how frozen it feels? It feels like you're moving, but you aren't the one in motion. Like everyone is just pushing you along. People keep telling me I'm up for a swimming scholarship. They keep patting me on the back and saying 'good job, son.' But why would they tell me that? My achievements hardly effect them. They only say it because they think I'm happy about it. And the only reason they think I'm happy about it is because I act like I am, because I think I ought to be happy about it. But you know what, Hic? I really couldn't care less."

Hiccup wondered how long Jack had been feeling this. When he realized he wasn't who he thought he was.

"And you know what made me figure all this out? What made me wake up and see that I'm more than just a piece of plastic, all artificial and moldable and crap?"

Hiccup looked at him expectantly.

"You did."

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"I don't understand."

Jack sighed.

"You know...I didn't have any real friends before I met you. I waded through an army of posers that cared for nothing but themselves." When Hiccup said nothing, Jack continued, "I was so alone...and I owe you so much."

Hiccup had never heard Jack speak so seriously to him. Jack never told Hiccup his life story-why would he-so Hiccup just sort of got to know him, picked up bits and pieces of who he was. Jack had always seemed more real with him, though; more carefree. And Hiccup liked Jack more than he liked himself. But that wasn't saying much.

"You don't owe me anything, Jack," Hiccup said at last; "I'm just glad I could be your friend."

Hiccup wished he could be better with words. Even when he was on a rant, spilling out his anger and sadness, Jack made his life sound so much like a broken song. He described everything in the most descriptive, most poetic way-and here Hiccup was, using generic nouns like "friend."

"I did find out something else about myself, too. More recently." Jack came to sit beside Hiccup, his hands folded in his lap.

"What was it?"

"It was that...I'm in love with you."

Hiccup let this sink in for a moment. There was nothing he could say that would make Jack's confession less severe. He had never been in love before. And nobody had ever loved him.

"You are?"

"Yeah."

But then Jack seemed to take on a look of shame.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you that. Just forget I said anything, okay?"

"No, Jack, I..."

Jack looked at Hiccup with a mix of astonishment and something else. Hiccup wasn't sure what it was.

"...I love you, too."

The words hung between them like a dangling spider.

"I-I should go." Hiccup said at last, getting up from Jack's bed and gathering his things. Jack followed him wordlessly.

Hiccup turned around to exchange a goodbye wave with Jack, whom was standing closer than usual.

"Hiccup, there's just one more thing."

And that's when Jack kissed him.

Hiccup had never kissed anyone except for his old relatives. He heard of it, sure, seen it in movies and stuff. But, contrary to what Hiccup had been led to believe, nobody's tongue was down his throat. The two of them just stood there, Jack slouching slightly to reach him, his hands hovering slowly toward his hips. Hiccup's hand went to cup Jack's face lightly, gently. Their hearts intertwined just as their lips did, moving and dancing around one another.

Finally, they broke apart. But they were still locked in something like and embrace, Jack's hands resting around Hiccup's waist, Hiccup's arms draped over Jack's shoulders.

"Well." Hiccup said quietly; "I wasn't expecting that."

"But you didn't object, did you?"

"Why would I?" Hiccup said; "Jack...what does this make us?"

"Well, gay, for one thing."

"Besides that."

"I think they call it "partners" these days."

"Are you serious?"

"One hundred percent."

Hiccup had nothing more to say. It amazed him how one kiss could transform Jack.

"My dad's gonna flip out." Jack chuckled.

"You're going to tell him?"

"He'll understand."

"I wish I could say the same."

Jack looked at Hiccup very seriously then and said, "You don't have to tell him yet if you don't want to."

"I'm not going to."

"I really do care about you, Hic. And I'm really sorry that it took me so long to let you know. And I'm sorry that now I'm just acting like we've been like this forever. But I really can't wait to get to know you. Not as my tutor. Not even as my friend. As my boyfriend."

They were both quiet for a moment. It wasn't an awkward silence. It wasn't a silence where they were having their own introspections. It was a both a reflective silence and a loving silence, filled with relief and satisfaction.

"I really should go." Hiccup said quietly, breaking away from their embrace.

Jack allowed it, with a sigh and a final word of farewell. He took out his phone as he passed Jill in the hallway, who looked far too excited to just be coming home from ballet. Hiccup didn't question it. He just texted Merida.

Can you come pick me up? I've got a lot of things to tell you.