Too Far Gone

by HighGreenBunny

Hiccup has a chance for a somewhat normal life when he earns a full scholarship to Thaddeus Burgess Academy. He begins anew with therapy, a gym membership, and his new personal trainer. But is he too far gone for a chance at happiness? modern!au, HiJack/Frostcup. Mention of DagCup. M In in later chapters.

4. Chapter 4

Hey everybody. I am so sorry for not updating in a while. This is a long ass chapter (nearly 20,000 words) and I couldn't make up my mind on if I wanted to add a few details in this chapter or wait until a later one. I want to thank those who have reviewed.

In this chapter we learn a bit more about Hiccup's relationship with Dagur. We also meet several more characters (Sandy, Merida, Mavis, Eugene, Rapunzel, and Baby Tooth!)

NOTE!: Slight mention of Dagcup and HTTYD2 references.

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Too Far Gone

Chapter 4

The sounds of soft raindrops patted on the window as Astrid sat gazing at the glowing laptop screen before her. She was glad to be off of work that day, nothing but movies and TV shows, things she rarely got to enjoy anymore since she started working at the department store. She was trying to do the responsible thing and save up as much as she could before she started college next fall that way, in case something happened, she would be prepared. Astrid wasn't as lucky as Hiccup, who got a full scholarship. She was intelligent and was therefore able to get grants, but that wasn't going to stop her from working. Plus, a bit of spending money was never a bad thing.

Lately, Astrid had been burying herself in work since Hiccup had left. He was her closest friend and she had gotten used to him being around her since her return to Berk, now it felt dull without him around. She had begun to pick up shifts and would sometimes find herself working 14 hour days. It wasn't until Ruffnut told her she needed to calm it down or she would end up burning herself out. Even though Astrid agreed with the female twin, it wasn't until she almost passed out at work from exhaustion that she had decided to take her advice. Ruffnut had suggested she came over to Astrid's house and they would chill in their pajamas, watch movies, and order pizza—just a regular lazy day.

So, that's what they did. The two blondes had been laying across Astrid's bed pretty much all day, only getting up for bathroom breaks, watching BBC's Sherlock. Ruff would occasionally get lost and ask questions or give Astrid weird looks when she failed to get the jokes or didn't understand what they were talking about. They had already made it through the first season and were now starting up the second.

Astrid sat up in the bed and shook her hair free from the braid that had remained there since yesterday. She looked over at the other girl who was staring intently at the screen. Astrid was actually rather fond of Ruffnut. They got along well and had a lot of the same interests seeing how they both weren't very girly and enjoyed sports. She figured it was mainly because of Tuffnut that she acted the way she did. The two fit their nicknames very well. They were always fighting and punching each other or banging their heads against one another, for some odd reason that was never really explained. The two were also oddly in sync with one another. They both thought and acted a lot alike, but despite their rough exteriors they obviously cared about each other in their own weird way.

Astrid often thought about how it would be for them when they got older. Seeing how one would think, by the way they acted, that they were joined at the hip, how it would probably be heartbreaking if one of them when the other would finally move out and begin living a separate life. Astrid was amazed how even though Raquelle held interest in guys that they worked with or had met, she never really pursued them and she figured it may have something to do with the guilt of leaving her brother behind.

Even though Tuffnut would tease his sister about her looks, she was not ugly. Raquelle was very pretty, especially when she dressed up. Yes, Ruffnut, on a few very rare occasions had actually dressed up. In fact Astrid helped her get ready for their senior prom. It was unusual to see Ruff in an elegant pale blue dress with her waist long blonde hair actually out of those messy braids that she always had. Ruff was never one for wearing make-up and Astrid found it completely adorable that she had to help her friend with putting it on. But what was even better than that was when Tuff decided to make fun of her and despite the fact she was wearing heels, she was still able to chase him down and kick his ass.

Another reason Astrid never minded hanging out with her was because the twin never seemed to bother Hiccup like the rest of their classmates did. Sure, she did pick at him a little bit, but nothing more than playful banter.

Astrid felt bad about one incident she witness back in high school was when the twins decided to join her and Hiccup for lunch. They sat and ate and had casual conversation, but when things got quiet between them Taren decided it would be a good idea to have Raquelle 'do her stupid Hiccup impression'.

Astrid felt so bad when Ruff started imitating Hiccup's nasally voice and said things like, "Hello nice dragon! You can be my friend." and, "All of the dragons are my friends." She couldn't help, but spit out her drink and laugh… really hard. Poor Hiccup was always picked on as a child for his love of the mythical creature and it only got worse for him when he got into high school. He sat there with his face flushed a bright pink and a sour look. After a moment he finally mumbled how he didn't sound like that. Even though she had apologized to him for laughing, Ruff actually did do a descent impression of him.

"Hey," Ruffnut called out, snapping her fingers in front of Astrid's face, bringing her attention back to the present, "are you even still watching this?"

"Yeah… well, kind of. I spaced out for a minute," she replied honestly.

Ruff rolled over onto her back before sitting up, "Well, if you are bored we can always find something else."

Astrid smirked, "What's wrong? Having trouble following it?"

The female twin rolled her eyes, "No. I'm following it just fine. That one dude is a psycho and the doctor follows him around and blogs about him solving mysteries. Now the psycho and doctor are chasing an even bigger psycho who likes to kill people and strap bombs to them."

Astrid laughed, "Close enough. Let's take a break and we'll finish up this season."

Ruff nodded before rolling off the bed and prancing out of the room, stepping over Stormfly, who must have grown bored of the girl's antics, and decided to lie in the hallway. But before proceeding to the bathroom she popped her head back in as Astrid crawled off the bed, "By the way, while you were being a space cadet your phone had vibrated several times," and with that said she continued down the hall.

Astrid looked over at her side table where her phone laid and picked up the device and unlocked her screen and as she had guessed it was from Hiccup. She opened the message and saw that he had sent her two pictures and a big grin spread across her features. She opened the first attachment and her jaw nearly hit the floor. The first picture she had opened was the selfie that Jack had taken of himself. By the angle it was taken it seemed to be closer to his face. Jack had his head slightly cocked to the side and sported a mischievous smile, his perfectly whitened teeth gleaming from the flash. What truly caught the blonde's attention were his eyes and the way they shined their brilliant polar opposite colors. She had never seen eyes like his.

She studied the soft contours of his slightly sun kissed face, noticing little things like how his cheeks held a light dusting of freckles and the way the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly and the shallow dimples that graced his features as he smiled. This man was positively gorgeous. She knew that Hiccup said he was very good looking, but never in her life did she expect to see this Adonis that displayed on her screen. The man was obviously ripped too. From the angle of the picture, she could see his white shirt that clung to his frame and how it exposed the firm shape of his chest.

"Oh, my gods," she finally said after staring at the picture for what seemed like ever.

"What are you doing," asked Ruffnut as she strolled back into the room, wiping her wet hands on her teal pajama pants.

Astrid glanced up as the other blonde joined her on the bed, "Hiccup just sent me a picture of his trainer. Look at him," she replied pushing her phone towards Ruff.

The twin rolled her eyes and took the phone from Astrid. She unlocked the screen that had gone dark only to have the same jaw-dropping reaction Astrid did, "Holy shit!"

"I know!"

Ruffnut's mouth curled into the goofiest smile Astrid had ever seen, "Me likey. Me likey a lot."

Astrid couldn't help but laugh. The look that Ruff had was absolutely priceless. She could practically see the stars in the female twin's eyes as she gazed at the picture. Raquelle pulled up the second picture that was attached to the message and smiled, "Here's one of him and Hiccup together," she showed it to Astrid who gave a warm smile at the photo. Hiccup looked so adorable alongside Jack. They both had their arms draped over each other's shoulders. It seemed like Jack was more comfortable in the picture instead of Hiccup who looked stiff and was obviously blushing even though they were both smiling, Jack's looked more natural unlike Hiccup's which looked at bit forced, but either way Astrid would have been lying if she said she didn't think they looked cute together.

Astrid could see why he caught her friend's attention, Jack was indeed handsome and from the way Hiccup spoke about him, very sweet as well. It was nice for Hiccup to have someone like that in his life. She knew that Hiccup was upset from his jealousy and became frustrated. She knew he acted irrationally about it too from what he had told her, but it seemed everything ended on a good note.

She could see that Jack must have overlooked it and forgiven him, otherwise she doubted she would have actually gotten a picture of him. Astrid really did hope that things went well with the two of them. Hiccup needed others in his life. He needed people who were accepting of him and didn't judge him by appearance alone. She knew what life was like outside of Berk and how different people were beyond their old fashioned community. Hiccup, anywhere else, would be considered normal in stature, maybe a bit underweight, but not like a runt.

Ruffnut chuckled a bit, "You know, Hiccup looks kinda cute in this one as well. He's still a bit scrawny, but still kinda cute."

This caught Astrid's attention, "Oh, really? Why didn't you ever tell him that?"

Ruff shrugged and laid back, "I don't know. I mean, I never thought he was ugly or anything. He wasn't really one to catch someone's eye at first I suppose. He never really bothered me or Tuffnut and we didn't mind having him around, but he seemed to want to be by himself or with you or Dagur more than anybody else. He was always such as smartass though," she explained.

Astrid cocked an eyebrow, "Yeah, he is a smartass. He always said it was one of his better qualities. Also, you didn't really answer my question."

Ruff scoffed, "Just because I didn't think he was ugly doesn't mean I needed to tell him. Who honestly goes up to someone and says, 'hey, I don't think you are ugly'. It's pointless. That's like telling someone that their clothes match," she rolled onto her side, "It can do more harm than good because they will start to think about times that their clothes didn't match and in this case, Hiccup would start thinking that other people found him unattractive."

Astrid was astonished. It wasn't normal for Ruffnut to make this much sense, but she did have a point, especially since Hiccup already suffered from low self-esteem and poor body image. She nodded, "Well, I gotta hand it to you, you have a good point. By the way, I thought that Tuffnut didn't like Hiccup."

Ruff shook her head, "If he does he never said anything to me about it."

"Then how come he threw that big trig book at him during our senior year," she asked, tilting her head a bit to the side and furrowed her brows.

Ruffnut laughed and sat back up, "If you recall, he wasn't aiming at Hiccup, he was aiming at me. Tuff can be a dick sometimes, but I do know that particular time he was aiming for me. I actually thought he broke Hiccup's nose that day. I kinda felt bad for him. Hey I have a question, how come you and Hiccup never got together? I mean, you two were always together… well, with each other—except when he was hanging around Dagur."

Astrid's blue eyes widened. She was not expecting this question at all. Ruffnut, as far as she knew, didn't know that Hiccup was actually with Dagur. As far as Astrid knew, Ruff saw them as friends and more or less figured they hung out to toughen Hiccup up. However his relationship with Astrid seemed to go beyond a "normal friendship". In fact them being as close as they were is what made Dagur hate her so much. This was something she knew for a fact because Dagur had told her this to her face several times.

She never understood his jealousy towards her. He treated Hiccup horribly and wondered why he wasn't close to him. He would wonder why Hiccup never confided in him and would instead run to Astrid, but then again, Dagur wasn't the sharpest arrow in the quiver. After a moment she realized she hadn't answered her friend, "Well," she paused, trying to think up something really quick, "we were always better friends. We have spoken about dating several times, but we never got that far."

Ruff chuckled, "Tuff said he thought that he may be gay," she said bluntly.

"Just because he is picky about whom he dates doesn't necessarily mean he is gay."

"Well, it wasn't any of my business, and still isn't, on who he dates. I was just telling you what Tuff said. However, if I had to make a bet on it, I would say he was at least bisexual, which I don't see a problem with personally. He doesn't carry the normal traits of a straight guy. He's always been into art and writing and all other types of things that you really don't see a lot of straight guys being into. All I can say is I would hate it for him to break that news to the chief," she stated nonchalantly.

But before Astrid could say anything, they both turned their attention back to the phone when the device started to ring. Astrid snatched the phone back and looked to see who it was then answered it when she saw Hiccup's name, "Hey Hiccup," she greeted, putting it on speakerphone.

"Hey Astrid. Did you get the pictures?"

"Yeah, we were actually just looking at them now," she looked over at Ruff who was shifting around to get more comfortable on the bed before adding, "By the way, Ruff is here. I think she fell in love." Astrid let out a small giggle when the twin bit her bottom lip and nodded her head, "By the way you are on speakerphone."

Hiccup sighed at the news of Ruffnut being there. He didn't hate her, but it wasn't like they were buddies either, "Hey Ruff," he called out to her stiffly.

"What's up, Haddock? You need to give your trainer my number, like seriously," she replied while crossing her legs.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Why would I do that? He doesn't even know you and I don't even know if he is single," he retorted.

Ruff laughed and peered over at Astrid before bring her attention back to the phone, "Because if you won't fuck him I will," she stated bluntly.

Astrid's eyes widened at the other girl's comment even though she should have expected something like this to spring from the twin's mouth. Hiccup on the other hand did not, he must have been drinking something because it sounded as if he was spitting it out and started coughing. Astrid suddenly burst into laughter, "Oh gods, Ruff," she said between her cackles, earning a teasing snicker from the twin, "I think you killed him."

Hiccup cleared his throat, not really sure what to say, but nonetheless got their attention as Astrid's chortling calmed down. Hiccup was blushing furiously at this point. He hated how he embarrassed so easily, "What the hell makes you think I am going to fuck him?!" he shouted, obviously embarrassed.

Ruff shrugged her shoulders even though Hiccup couldn't see, "Look, Haddock, don't take it personally. I am merely saying that this guy is so hot that, if you did have sex with him, nobody would think you were gay. Shit, even guys around here would probably find it an honor to sleep with this guy," she explained insouciantly.

Hiccup was dumbfounded by what the twin was telling him, "Why is it my conversations with you two always end up with sex?"

Astrid laughed, "Because you are easy to talk to about it I guess."

"Hiccup," Ruff interjected, "you seriously need to make him a friend."

Hiccup shook his head, "Well, I am trying. We're going to hang out tomorrow."

Astrid squealed with joy, "You actually asked him out on a man-date? I'm so happy for you! Where are you going?"

Ruff chuckled, "Man-date, eh? Seems like Hiccup has gotten more ballsy then I remember," she said earning a punch in the arm from the other blonde.

"Uh, heh, yeah. I asked him to hang out last night. I'm not sure where we are going to go. Jack said he had a good place to go. I actually have to meet him over at this guy's house. He has band practice over there so I am gonna meet up with him since he is apparently close by," he said.

"Wait, he's in a band," Astrid asked with a curious expression, "I know you said he sang well, but you never said he was in a band."

Ruffnut, whose grin only grew bigger, sat up on the bed, "This guy is sounding better and better by the moment. He's not in like one of those lame high school type bands is he?"

"Well, from what he has told me, he plays at some of the local clubs. According to him the gay clubs really love him."

Ruffnut playfully nudged Astrid, "Well, Haddock, I suppose you may actually have a shot at him after all, but then again I can see why they like him too."

Hiccup let out an exasperated sigh, "Anyways, I gotta go. I have a… doctor's appointment I have to get to. I'll talk to you later," he said, nonchalantly, making sure not to bring up the fact that his doctor's appointment was actually his therapy session around Ruffnut.

"Okay Hic, call me later. We were actually in the middle of watching Sherlock anyways."

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After getting dressed, as well as showering, eating and brushing his hair and teeth, etc., and feeding Toothless, Hiccup walked the mile and a half to his therapist's office. He took note on how lovely the day was— a bit colder than the previous day, but still nice. Most of the leaves had fallen from the trees and painted the ground in small mounds of the discarded foliage. A light chilling breeze caused Hiccup to huddle more so under his coat. He was amazed at the low temperatures even though it was barely October. It wasn't anything compared to Berk, but he figured it must have been from getting used to the slightly warmer temperatures of Burgess.

It didn't take him long until he entered the heated building and into the doctor's office that was down the first hall he came too. He approached the counter where the familiar female secretary sat and tapped on the window, catching her attention. She pulled the glass window open and smiled, asking, "How can I help you?"

"Hi," he cleared his throat, "Hamish Haddock. I am here to see Dr. Toothiana Hy Loo." The secretary nodded and started typing at the keyboard. Hiccup started looking around the waiting area as he awkwardly waited for the woman to finish whatever it was she was doing, "Okay, Mr. Haddock, please take a seat. She'll come get you in a moment."

Hiccup nodded and proceeded to take a seat in the provided chairs across the room. He began wondering if he should bring up his "date" with Jack. He didn't want to get his hopes up too much by foreshadowing the events to come. It's not like it's an actual date, just an outing with a friend. Still, it might be nice to bring up something positive and it was something that he was excited about. Even if it was an outing with a friend, it meant that Jack wanted to spend time with him. It also meant that he was indeed capable of making new friends as well.

Hiccup's thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the door opening and a young teenage girl, no older than thirteen or fourteen if he had to guess, came bouncing out with Dr. Toothiana following behind her, "Okay, okay," she chimed, "I will be home by 9:30."

The young girl, on closer inspection, seemed to have similar hair to Toothiana with the exception of it being brown and a bit longer with bangs that swooped off to the side, but still containing the same turquoise and pink streaks that his therapist sported. The girl was thin, but taller than his therapist. She had large brown eyes and a round button nose and had a beauty mark—that added a bit of charm— just to the side of her right eye. The girl walked over to the coat rack and grabbed a puffy purple coat that had been hanging there and pulled it on, "Emma, seriously, don't you dare think of pulling that 'we lost track of time' bullcrap with me again and show up two hours late. Do not think I will not lock you out. It's supposed to get down tonight so sleeping on the patio will be a bitch for you. Especially since I will be too comfortable in my nice warm bed to answer your cries of 'Mother, oh please will you let me in'," Toothiana said with a taunting tone.

It became very apparent to Hiccup that this had to be Toothiana's daughter that she would always talk about. He couldn't help, but chuckle at the exchange between the two. He had to admit that her daughter didn't favor her that much, but he brushed it off figuring that she must have taken more from her father's side. Toothiana glanced over at Hiccup, "Hey Hiccup," she said, giving him a warm smile, "If you haven't noticed, this is my daughter, Emma."

Hiccup smiled over at the young teenager, "Hello, nice to meet you," he greeted while giving an awkward wave.

The girl turned her attention to him, "Hiya, Hiccup," she said giving a small smile, but still held a rushed aura, "I'm sorry I'm not able to stay and chat, not trying to seem rude, but I am running late and my mom insists on holding me up even more," she glanced back over at the petite woman with narrowed eyes and gestured to the door with an outstretched arm and open palm, "can I go now? Jamie has been waiting for me for, like, twenty minutes."

Toothiana waved her off, "Yeah, go, but remember what I said. Be back by 9:30 or I will lock the door," she replied, giving a stern face. Emma mumbled under her breath and left, calling back to her mom that she loved her and she would see her later that night. With Emma gone, Toothiana turned her attention back to Hiccup, "I'm sorry about that. I know it looks unprofessional, but I don't really care who sees me fuss at my kid. At least it shows I care," she piped with a laugh, "Come on back."

Hiccup nodded and followed his therapist back to her office, "So, that's your daughter, huh?" he said, making small talk as he closed the door and took his seat on the couch.

His therapist smiled over at him while she gathered his file and her notebook, "Yeah, she's a pistol, but she's still my little Baby Tooth. She's getting to be that age where she thinks her mom is 'super lame and embarrassing', even though I give her more freedom than most parents," she said as she made her way over to the couch as well and took her seat on the opposite end, "I try to be firm, but fair."

Hiccup nodded and smiled a bit, "Baby Tooth, huh? That's actually really cute."

"Yeah, a friend started calling her that when she was younger because I used to be a dentist and it kinda stuck."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I'm curious, you wouldn't actually lock her out if she showed up late, would you?"

"She'd learn real quickly to not show up late again," Toothiana snickered, "I don't know. She's never tried me twice. I suppose I'd cross that bridge when I came to it. But I personally don't think I'd leave her out there all night, but a few hours, definitely."

Hiccup couldn't help, but laugh. This was the reason he liked Dr. Toothiana, she wasn't like most doctors who tried to hold that stiff professionalism, she acted like a real person, though still professional, she knew how to make people feel comfortable. She talked to her patients like people and not the other way around. She would share things about herself and made people feel like they could open up more about themselves.

"So, Hiccup, how have things been? Are you still attending the gym," she asked, bringing her legs onto the couch and propped her notebook in her lap.

Hiccup took off his coat and laid it across the arm of the couch, "Yeah, I've been going quite often. Last week I went almost every night. I won't lie, my trainer made me work my ass off and I was sore for quite a few days, but I think my body is starting to get used to it," he replied.

"That's great!" she exclaimed, "So, has anything else happened?"

"Well," he said with a grimace, "Yeah, actually, last night when I went I apparently got jealous and made an idiot of myself."

"Jealous of whom?"

Hiccup felt his cheeks heat up, "Well, when I got to the gym Jack, my trainer, and this girl were flirting. I don't know why, but I was an ass to her when he introduced me, but when she left she kissed him and I just got so angry," he paused, "and maybe a little hurt. Anyways, when he asked me if I wanted to talk about it, I snapped at him and tossed the barbell I was holding and stormed off. But the thing is I have never acted like that before."

"Oh my! Well, that does definitely sound like jealousy," she commented, "What happened after that?"

Hiccup shrugged, "Well, I apologized and he forgave me. I suppose we are back on good terms now, I asked him to hang out tomorrow."

"That's fantastic. At least he didn't take it to heart like some people do. As for the 'acting out' on your part, did you ever do this when you were with your ex? I ask to see if there is a pattern of some kind."

Hiccup thought for a moment. Being around Dagur was different than being around Jack. Dagur was more controlling over Hiccup and also had a very bad habit of double standards. Dagur, on several occasions, had sex with multiple partners without Hiccup's knowledge, well, until he felt the need to belittle him and compare 'his muscularly challenged friend' dimly to another partner. He would tell Hiccup that this person was better at riding him or this person gave way better blowjobs or this person could make him see stars with a flick of the tongue. It was like Dagur was allowed to brag about things like this, but Hiccup was never allowed to be jealous. As he explained this to Dr. Toothiana, her eyebrows knitted together, "Well, it seems to me that you are more comfortable around this guy you just met then the one you were with for four years. I say this because you say you weren't allowed to feel or show feelings of certain things, but with this guy you not only feel these things, but you are able to freely express it to him, despite the fact that you feel remorse afterwards, you can still show it nonetheless. Do you like him?"

Hiccup nodded and ran his fingers through his hair, "Well, I do like him as a friend, but I'm sure that's not the question you are asking," he sighed and saw her nodded in affirmation, "I don't think I am ready to like someone else."

Toothiana leaned forward and interlocked her slender fingers, "Hiccup, an infatuation doesn't have a time or a place. It can happen whether you want it to or not, but even you said that your relationship with Dagur should have never happened, does this feel the same way?"

The brunette wasn't really ready to answer a question like this. He was afraid of the answer even though he already knew what it was. Saying it out loud made it that much more real. He averted his eyes and started glancing around the room, "It feels like I am happy, but scared at the same time. With Dagur," he exhaled deeply, "it felt more like desperation, like it was the lesser of a bad situation."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you two actually get together? I know that you said he was the son of your father's friend, but what led up to you two becoming a couple?"

Hiccup's mossy green eyes found their way back to the woman that sat on the opposite end of the couch, "One day when I came home from school my father had told me that Dagur said he wanted to take me out for a while. At first, I didn't want to go because of all the crazy things Dagur had done to me when we were younger. He actually scared me, but I eventually agreed because my dad kept pressing for me to go," he ran his fingers through his auburn hair, "We went and hung out for a while, catching up, and it actually wasn't bad. I had fun with him so we started hanging out more often."

He came to his feet and started pacing around the room, trying to reframe from fidgeting as much, but obviously failing at doing so. His palms were sweaty and he kept kneading his hands together, excluding when he began his wide gesturing that he did habitually, "I'd say that it was around the three month mark that things between us changed. I'll never forget that day either, mainly because it was one of the most awkward moments of my life," he cleared his throat, "This one day he called me and asked me if I wanted to go to a party. I was actually really excited about it. Dagur had been the only person who ever asked me to go to one with him so naturally I was happy when he asked. We had gone to a few before, but the excitement never ceased up until that point. When we got there, we had a blast. I actually got a little drunk and had been having a good time. After we had been there for about an hour, Dagur came over to me and told me how he wanted to bang this one girl there and ended up doing so. The thing that made it awkward was he made me watch him…" he trailed off at the end, almost mumbling.

Toothiana's violet eyes widened, "Wait," she paused holding up a hand, "he made you watch him have sex with another person?"

Hiccup nodded, "Yeah. I don't know why I did it either. I followed him blindly and did what he asked. I don't know if it was because I was a little drunk or because I just was so afraid of losing a friend since I didn't really have any, but I'll never forget what he said to me afterwards. He looked at me and had this malicious smile on his face and said, 'You are nothing until you can make a woman come like that,' and then we left the party shortly after that. I didn't speak to him the whole way back to my house."

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again. Toothiana could see the hurt in Hiccup's eyes. She felt so bad for him, but she didn't want to come right out and say it. He wasn't there to be showered with pity and it would have only made things worse for him. It seemed that he was driven by the fear of loneliness. He would cling to the slightest bit of affection or attention without question. She exhaled, "So, how did things progress from there?"

"You mean, when we started sleeping together?" he questioned, looking over at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Not necessarily. I am assuming there had to be some sort of time lapse between then and when you two became intimate. You said it was the most awkward moment of your life, I was just wondering how you confronted that," she explained.

"Oh, well, I didn't see him for a while after that. It stayed like that for a month or two and then one day he showed up at my house and asked me to go hang out with him again. We didn't really talk about that night," Hiccup took his seat back on the couch, pressing his back to the arm; "Things went back to normal for a while. We'd hang out or watch movies, until one day he just kissed me out of the blue and everything changed from that point. It went from that to fierce make out sessions and eventually to us… y'know," he trailed off at the end.

"Your father," she began as she scribbled something on her notepad, "he didn't know about this?"

He shook his head, "No, I never told him about anything. Him looking at me was hard enough, I couldn't imagine if I told him a small percentage of what I have told you."

"So, you haven't come out to your dad?" she asked, chewing on the end of her pen.

"My dad always had hopes of me marrying my friend Astrid. For years, even after she moved with her dad, he still would occasionally bring it up. He would talk about how I needed to keep the family line going. He is all about holding up the traditions and customs of our community. Also, since I had never been with a woman I don't even really know what to call myself," Hiccup let out a deep sigh.

"Well, Hiccup, even if you are gay, bisexual, pansexual, or whatever orientation you identify with, doesn't mean you couldn't ever have children. There are other options for that if children ever interested you and you did end up with a man," she stated while giving a weak smile, "there is adoption as well as surrogates. Don't take this the wrong way, but have you ever thought about being with a woman? I ask because if you have it could help you come to terms with identifying your sexual orientation."

Hiccup thought for a moment. The thought of him being with a woman had crossed his mind a few times over the years, but there had never really been any one to catch his attention, except Astrid. However, being with any other woman beside Astrid never felt right to him. He knew and trusted Astrid and loved her dearly. If he had to put a name to what he was he would probably go with being gay with one exception. Toothiana nodded along as he tried his best to explain this to her, "Your friend Astrid must mean a lot to you if you can see yourself being with her."

Hiccup gave a crooked smile, "Yes, she does. She was always there for me when I had nobody else. When she moved away from Berk, we still continued to talk and would see each other every so often. She was there for me when my mom died and was my shoulder to cry on. Even though I was sad and I cried until I couldn't cry anymore, her simply being there made things better. I felt bad for lying to her about Dagur for so long," he said, his smile fading.

"Why did you lie?"

"When things were starting to get rough, which was also around the time Astrid moved back to Berk, I would lie to her or make up excuses for him or just lie about the situation as a whole. I wasn't trying to deceive her; I just was so embarrassed to tell her the truth," he said, wiping a tear that slowly began to slide down his cheek, "I'm a terrible liar and she knew better. She would question why I had so many bruises, where a gash came from, how I sprang my wrist, but like an idiot, I lied. The worst part about this is that what I have told you was the good part."

The petite woman grabbed the box of tissues that was placed on the table behind her and sat it between then, allowing Hiccup better access to them. He graciously grabbed one and blew his nose after wiping his eyes. She wanted to ask him to continue, but figured by how he was fidgeting and acting he was probably done for the day. "Hiccup," she said, gaining his attention, "you are not an idiot, you were scared. You had grown conditioned to this treatment and feared it to get worse. That doesn't make you an idiot or stupid or dumb. Fear, just in itself, is a powerful motivator. It can make people do things they wouldn't normally do. It doesn't make you weak, it makes you human."

Hiccup nodded and wiped another falling tear, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetie," she smiled warmly at him.

"Would it be okay if we talked about this another time?" he asked, meekly.

Toothiana nodded, "Absolutely and for what it's worth, you made great strides today. I'm glad you are opening up to me."

Hiccup simply nodded, "It actually makes me feel better to talk about this some, despite how difficult it can be."

"I know it can be painful, but the thing you must remember is that it happened and it is behind you now. You are not broken beyond repair."

Hiccup looked at the floor with a frown, "How do you fix a broken mirror?"

Toothiana placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Magic," she said with a reassuring smile.

Hiccup looked at her curiously, "Magic?"

The multicolor haired woman nodded, "It may sound odd, but whether you choose to take it from a literal stand point or figuratively, magic is around us. Faith, belief, hope, wonder, and even our own memories can be considered magic. They are mystical forces that keep us going when we feel that all is lost and we are at our lowest. I do have faith in you, Hiccup."

Hiccup felt his chest tighten some. He really felt that he had lucked out finding Dr. Toothiana to be his therapist. In many ways she reminded him of his mother— caring, understanding, whimsical, and compassionate, "Thank you," he said as they came to their feet.

"You are very much welcome. Now, I will be out of town this coming week, so I will see you the week after next."

Hiccup nodded, "Okay, I'll see you then," he said while pulling on his coat.

"I hope you have fun tomorrow with your friend. Any ideas of what you'll be doing?" she asked as she gathered his file and her notebook and went to place them onto her desk.

Hiccup shook his head, "No, not yet, but doing anything that isn't sitting around all day is better than nothing."

The petite woman smiled, "I agree. Well, like I said, I hope you have fun and take care."

---

Unsurprisingly Hiccup didn't sleep well that night. When he had arrived home after his therapy session his apartment was yet again destroyed by his furry companion. Toothless sat by idly and watched Hiccup's vain attempt to once again straighten the place once more. The auburn haired man swore and mumbled under his breath the whole time, occasionally glancing at the cat that had perched up on the counter and stared mockingly at him while he did so. Even though the majority of the time Hiccup was home Toothless slept or would sit and watch him draw, write, paint, or whatever craft his owner was in the mood for. It was only when Hiccup was out that he would entertain himself by knocking anything that wasn't fastened down onto the floor.

Hiccup had to count his blessings; at least Toothless wasn't the type of cat to actually destroy anything. He would simply scatter papers, nudge books onto the floor, or attempt to pull the covers from the bed.

After he had cleaned up the apartment, fed his naughty cat, and fixed him something simple to eat, he made his way to his room and began to draw. He spent hours at his desk trying to perfect his latest drawing: the Deadly Nadder. His inspiration for this dragon was Astrid, not so much the design, but the color pallet and behavior she possessed. She was a beautiful creature that stood erect on two legs with a long wing span, sharp talons, and prominent horn coming off the nasal bridge as well as along the crown of her head, along with hundreds of spine needles that could be shot from great distances.

Once of Astrid's most beautiful, and Hiccup's favorite, features were her big, bright blue eyes. Besides Jack, Astrid had some of the most beautiful eyes anybody could ever see and because of this he chose to color the dragon a matching shade. He added a mixture of yellow along the underside of the wings and tail, symbolizing Astrid's hair.

By the time he completed the tedious details of his work—shadowing, scales, and age markings—it was close to 2 a.m. He had received a text from Jack telling him the address of where he would be and around what time to show up. His mind continued to race causing him, when he finally did go to bed, to toss and turn for hours. He was excited about hanging out with Jack, but his mind kept turning back to what he had told his therapist earlier that day. The memories made him sick to his stomach and what was worse was he didn't even tell her the worst of it. It was a bit of a relief to have somebody, other than Astrid, to talk to about his past.

The only thing was he didn't like talking about it. It was something he was going to have to live with for the rest of his life, but he did have hope that as time went on and with therapy, he could live with himself. He knew that he couldn't bury it and pretend it never happened. That would only make things worse. He had to look forward at what the future held for him and he had to keep telling himself that. After spending what felt like forever mulling this over in his mind, Hiccup was able to go to sleep.

He woke up later than he initially planned that next day. It was a little passed noon, but thanks to Toothless meowing and batting at his nose, demanding to be fed, he sprang out of bed. After feeding him, Hiccup made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself and shower. Hiccup didn't understand why he was so nervous, but he was. He felt as if he may fly away by the amount of butterflies that filled his belly.

It only got worse after he finished showering and brushing his teeth. He stood in front of his opened closet in nothing but a pair of boxers and towel around his shoulders, staring at the contents within and debating on what to wear. Toothless entered the room and looked at his owner. He meowed at him as if to let him know he was there and Hiccup turned his attention to the black feline and held up two shirts, one was olive green with a bold black Celtic knot and the other was a black shirt with a blue and green dragon on it, "Hey bud, which one should I wear?"

Toothless cocked his head to the side. Hiccup groaned and turned to the mirror that was fastened to the door, "I think I may wear the green one," he said rhetorically. Toothless slinked over to him and snaked between his bare legs letting out a loud meow. Hiccup looked down at him and smiled, "Thanks bud. I like it better too."

After dressing into the green shirt and a pair of jeans, Hiccup slipped his socks and shoes on and made his way to the door. As he grabbed his wallet, keys, and cell phone he looked back at Toothless who followed him, "I'll be back later, bud. Try not to destroy the place while I'm gone." Toothless licked his paw and rubbed at his ear nonchalantly. Hiccup shook his head and closed the door, making his way out of the complex and towards Aster's house.

He pulled out his phone and show that it was close to 3:30 p.m. and he felt himself growing more nervous. He decided to send Jack a text and told him he was on his way. It only took a moment before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he saw that Jack had texted him back. Hiccup opened it, "Hey, Hic! We are in the garage. Just come in the side door when you get here."

Hiccup carded his fingers through his auburn hair. One thing he was grateful for was that at least when Jack texted somebody he actually wrote out the words. He hated when he would get texts and he couldn't understand half of the shit written there. After texting him back he slipped his phone back into his jacket pocket and made his way to his destination. He grew more and more nervous as he turned down the street Aster's house was supposed to be on. At one point he even debated on just turning back around and going home and cancelling the whole thing or at least have Jack pick him up from his apartment, but it was too late for that. From where he was standing he could see his friend's blue car in the driveway of a small brick house.

Thor's beard, he was nervous. He hated being so awkward around new people and he knew that this situation was going to make him very uncomfortable. He had only met Aster once and he hadn't known Jack but for a few weeks. 'This is a bad idea,' he thought as he made his way up the drive way, 'I shouldn't have agreed to meet him here.'

As he approached the house he was able to hear music coming from the garage and some indistinct chattering. Around the side of the house, where the garage was, he saw a screen door and figured that was where Jack told him to go. The sound of a guitar being played was caused Hiccup not to walk straight in. He peered through the door and was able to see Jack, Aster, and three other people. Just as he was about to knock Jack glanced over at the door and smiled. He brought his index finger to his mouth telling Hiccup not to say anything before motioning for him to enter with a flapping hand.

Hiccup reluctantly entered the garage and stood awkwardly against the wall. His heart almost stopped when he saw a familiar brunette there. Heather sat behind a keyboard and giving Hiccup the biggest smirk she could muster. He felt his cheeks heat up a bit from the embarrassment of their first meeting. Hiccup quickly averted his eyes from her and began looking around. There were only two people there that he didn't know… in some way or another and that was a tall brown headed guy that was on bass and a girl with long, really long, braided blonde hair who was on the electric guitar.

She didn't seem to really notice him since she was concentrating on the complicated looking fingering of the strings she played. Hiccup was not musically inclined in anyway, so playing any type of instrument looked difficult to him. He looked over at Jack who was standing in front of a microphone stand, clasping his hands over the mic. The blonde girl was soon joined by Aster of the drums and Jack's body began to move along with the music.

Everybody's looking for love, Oh, oh (oh, oh).

Jack's deep, crisp voice rang through the small set of speakers that was placed on either side of the room. He had the brunet man on bass that was singing backup, adding to the almost nonexistent acoustics the garage provided for them. Hiccup found his heart rattling inside of his chest as the bi-color haired man's hands went to his chest and, with his slender fingers in the shape of a heart, imitated a rhythmic beating, his eyes, locking onto the skinny teen.

Ain't that the reason you're at this club? Oh, oh (oh, oh).

You ain't gonna find it dancing with him, no, oh (no, oh).

I got a better solution for you girl, oh, oh.

The brown headed male began syncing in with the blonde as the music began to speed up and Jack's body react more to the beats. With one hand dropping back to the mic and the other swaying back and forth in the air.

Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go.
I'll be your teacher, I'll show you the ropes.
You'll see a side of love you've never known
I can see it going down, going down.

As Jack finished the bridge of the song, Aster's beat picked up into a quick pace and crashed down onto the cymbals. Hiccup did whatever he could to keep his jaw from hitting the floor because within that moment Jack's true showmanship began to emerge. He placed to mic back into the stand's holder.

In my head

I see you all over me.

Jack's knees locked and his eyes once again glanced over at Hiccup. He had ran his fingers through his hair slowly before his finger shot out and pointed at Hiccup causing the boy's eyes to widen. Jack's hands slowly slid down the length of his body, halting at his slightly protruding iliac crest.

In my head

You fulfill my fantasy.

Hiccup felt like he was going to die right then and there. Jack's heterochromatic eyes slid shut and his hips began to move as he rolled them against the microphone stand and his hand moved up under his shirt, running his palms over his incredibly toned belly. Hiccup was blushing furiously at this point. He couldn't take his eyes away from the man before him on top of the fact he was blushing and smiling like a big goof. He prayed to whatever gods were listening that everybody was too engulfed in the music that they didn't pay attention to him.

In my head, you'll be screaming OUT!

In my head, it's going down.

In my head, it's going down.

In my head…

As the momentum slowed Hiccup leaned back against the wall, trying to hide his awkward and probably creepy looking smile. He glanced over at Heather, who had yet to touch her instrument since he had arrived. She was indeed staring at him with a smug grin before looking back at the sheet music that sat on the attached stand of her keyboard.

Some dudes know all the right things to say, aha, aha (aha, aha).

When it comes down to it, it's all just game.

Instead of talking let me demonstrate, yeah (yeah)

Get down to business and skip foreplay, ahay

Heather glanced over at Jack, then back at Hiccup. He felt a little weird about the fact that he was being stared down by Jack's maybe-girlfriend. He looked back over as the bridge of the song came around again.

Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go.
I'll be your teacher

I'll show you the ropes.

This time around Jack seemed to be a bit more provocative. He started gesturing to Hiccup, or at least in his direction, and pantomiming as if he was trying to draw him closer.

You'll see a side of love you've never known,
I can see it going down, going down.

In my head, I see you all over me.

In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.

Hiccup couldn't help, but stare at the bi-color haired man as he once more pointed at him before gesturing to himself. Hiccup gave up trying to hide his goofy smile as the chorus came up again and Jack repeated his moves from the first time. The guy was obviously a great showman or at least telling himself that will help him sleep at night.

In my head, you'll be screaming OUT!

In my head, it's going down.

In my head, it's going down.

In my head.

At this time Aster and the brunet male on bass stopped playing and only the long haired blonde continued for a few measures. She looked up over and Hiccup at this time and flashed a sweet smile at him before turning her attention back to the guitar in her hand, Aster joining back in with her. All, but Jack started singing in the background for a couple of measures.

(Ay-oh, ay-oh, ay-oh)

Jack glanced back at his bandmates and winked before turning his attention back to the front of the room. He looked at Hiccup and smiled at him, earning a smirk back from him as the auburn haired lad crossed his arms.

You singing to me baby in my head right now!

(Ay-oh, ay-oh, ay-oh) everybody!

(Ay-oh, ay-oh, ay-oh)

She'll be screaming out when it all goes down.

Heather who had been sitting still behind the keyboard for the majority of the song began playing a much softer melody as the other's rested their instruments for a moment until Aster joined her after the second line of the bridge, allowing the song to pick up once more. She rested again after the bridge.

Just leave with me now, say the word and we'll go.

I'll be your teacher, I'll show you the ropes.

You'll see a side of love you've never known,

I can see it going down, going down.

Once the rhythm picked back up, Jack's erotic display once more shined around them, his eyes never looking away from Hiccup. Hiccup felt his body stiffen the more he watched his friend move.

In my head, I see you all over me.

In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.

In my head, you'll be screaming out.

In my head, it's going down.

In my head, it's going down.

In my head, I see you all over me.

In my head, you fulfill my fantasy.

In my head, you'll be screaming out.

In my head, it's going down.

In my head, it's going down.

In my head.

As the song came to an end and the other instruments faded out, Heather once more played a softer melody until the song's end. Hiccup's smile grew wider as he clapped like a seal trying to earn a treat from the zoo keeper, "Wow! That was amazing!" he exclaimed as Jack took a bow.

The bi-color haired male laughed a bit as he walked over and grabbed his bottle of water off of a nearby table before joining Hiccup, "Glad you liked the show," he commented before taking a drink. Aster rolled his eyes and got up from behind the drum set, grabbing his own bottle of water and joined them, "For a moment I thought you were about to start having sex with my mic stand," he quipped at the bi-color haired man, playfully nudging him before extending his hand to Hiccup, "Aster Bunnymund. We've met before."

Hiccup smiled and politely shook the older man's hand, "Yeah, you were the one who registered me," he said in affirmation, "it's nice to see you again."

The Australian chuckled before glancing over at Jack, "Wow, Jack, you found a polite one. Now don't go turning him more like you."

Jack looked at Aster with a fake offense, "More like me? What is that supposed to mean, old man?"

"You just answered your own question," he stated flatly.

Hiccup chuckled at their back and forth, "No worries, Aster. I may be a runt, but I can hold my own."

The older man patted him on the back of the shoulder, "You're alright with me, kid."

Jack rolled his eyes and exhaled deeply, "Come on, Hiccup," he pulled him back towards the back of the garage where the others were putting away their instruments, "Let me introduce you to everyone."

Jack gestured towards the keyboard where Heather stood, "You've met Heather, our pianist—keyboarder… whatever you wanna call her," he said with a small laugh. Hiccup gave her a weak smile. He had felt awkward around her since he first met her and now was no different. She wasn't giving him the look of inferiority, but more of a sarcastic smirk that remained planted on her features. He couldn't explain why he felt some intimidation from her, but if he had to guess he figured that maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was possible competition and he felt that if that were true she would surely win and she knew it.

Turning his attention back to his friend who pulled him over to their bass and guitar players, he was greeted by a warm smile from the blonde girl, "This right here," Jack began by gesturing to the brunet male, "is Eugene—er, Flynn," he corrected himself when Flynn gave him a sour look. He then looked at the blonde, "and this is his little squeeze—Rapunzel."

"Who are you calling a squeeze?" she asked with venom before turning her attention back to the auburn haired teen, "Nice to meet you, Hiccup. Jack's been going on about you all day. I couldn't wait to meet you."

Hiccup smiled at the two of them and shook their hands when offered. He looked back at Rapunzel, "Has he now? Well, I hope I didn't disappoint," he said. He looked over at Flynn, "And for what it's worth, I like Eugene better."

Rapunzel laughed, "See?! I told you."

Flynn shrugged, "Well, I figured I might as well start going by a stage name and Eugene sounds too personal."

Jack snickered at him, "You got it from a children's story."

"One of the best fucking children's stories out there!" he retorted with a cocky smirk, earning a slap to the arm from Rapunzel and her chastising him about his language.

"Well, I'm going to go jump in the shower so we can head out," he said to Hiccup and patted him on the back before say out loud to the others, "Aster I'm using your shower. You guys be nice to Hiccup while I'm gone."

"Make sure you get all the hair out this time! I don't need to pull another Jack Frost wig out of my shower!" the Aussie called to him as he entered the house only to have Jack turn back and say, while sporting a shit-eating grin, "You could always use it for your receding hairline!" and with that he disappeared into the house, but not without Aster trying to throw the bottle of water he was holding at him but instead hitting the door.

---

Hiccup actually enjoyed spending time with the others while Jack got ready. He even spoke with Heather, even though he did feel a tad awkward around her, she never brought up the elephant in the room that stood between them. She, along with the others, held casual conversation with them and he got to know a bit more about them. Aster explained how he got caught up in a band with people ten years younger than he was. He told Hiccup it was mainly because of Jack and how he was the only person they knew that knew how to play the drums. He also said that he was also there to keep an eye on them and make sure they weren't getting cut short on any deals.

Eugene, Rapunzel, and Heather knew Jack since high school. Eugene also lived in the boys home with Jack, but he didn't get moved there until he was about sixteen. They told him how the idea for the band came together after they did a performance in the talent show during their junior year of high school. Hiccup had even asked Rapunzel about her hair and why she kept it as long as she did, which it was at an impressive length of being down to her calves when it wasn't braided. She told him that her mother, growing up, never wanted her to cut it and over the years she got used to the weight of it being there, despite the fact that it caused her neck a lot of strain.

She spoke of the possibility of cutting it and donating it to a wig maker for cancer patients which made Hiccup smile. He remembered when his mother had lost all of her hair during the chemotherapy and she was so happy when she got her wig. She told him that it made her not feel as bad about herself when she had it on. However, he didn't want to bring this up to them, but he did tell her that if she did then it would make a lot of children and other cancer patients happy because even though her hair was really long it was very well taken care of and it looked as though it could make a lot of descent length wigs. Normally people who have incredibly long hair and after it gets to a certain length, it begins to tatter and get really bad split ends, but Rapunzel's didn't. Her hair was beautiful and full from the top of her head to its end.

Jack returned after a while dressed in jeans and a deep blue t-shirt with his car keys and hoodie in hand. He was glad to see Hiccup and his other friends getting along so well. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit anxious for them to meet, especially after Hiccup met Heather. Even though he knew Hiccup wasn't having a good day when he met her and things ended on a good term, he just hoped that things didn't end up bad.

"Hey, Hiccup. See you've gotten to know everyone a bit better," he said with a big kool-aid grin, "You ready to go?"

Hiccup looked over at his friend and smiled, "Yeah." He turned to Aster, "Thanks for having me over and it was nice meeting the rest of you," he said before walking along over to Jack.

Aster smirked at the two, "Now you two behave yourself. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he called out to them.

Jack looked over his shoulder, "Bunny, we are not going to the Poodle Skirt Sock-Hop and going to get a couple of Club Sodas."

Aster's face fell, "Oi! Fuck off, Frost!"

Jack busted out laughing and pulled Hiccup out of the garage. Hiccup pouted a bit, "Why are you so mean to him?"

Jack threw up his hands in surrender, "Hey, if you knew half of the things he used to do to me when I was a teenager then you wouldn't be upset about a few Old Age jokes," he said as they got into the car and earned a hum and nod from Hiccup.

"So," the auburn haired teen began as he pulled his seatbelt on while they backed out of the driveway, "where exactly are we heading?" he asked only to have Jack hold a hand up to him.

"Uh, uh, uh. It's a surprise."

Hiccup nodded, "Oh, well, I was just asking because I only have so much money."

Jack glanced back over at him, "Don't worry about how much it is. I'm paying."

"Why?"

Jack ran a hand through his still slightly damp hair, "Because you look like you could use a little fun. Plus, I was the one who offered to take you to this place. I wouldn't suggest coming all the way out there if I wasn't going to pay for it."

"Thank you. You know that you don't have to do that," he replied.

"Yeah, I know and I wouldn't if I didn't want to," he smiled over at Hiccup, "Look, just don't worry about it. If you want to pay me back then you can by having a good time." He mentally slapped himself for sounding so utterly cliché but brushed it off.

Hiccup nodded and eventually changed the subject. The drive to their destination wasn't too long and they passed the time with small talk. Eventually Jack pulled into a parking lot of a rather large stone building. Hiccup marveled at it for a moment, "Dreamland Arcade Bar & Grill?" he read aloud and looked over curiously over at Jack who nodded with a cheeky grin.

"Trust me, it is even better than it sounds," he said turning off the car and getting out, "I hope you are hungry because the food is amazing."

The two of them headed into the building and Hiccup gazed around in astonishment. The inside looked so cool. The building was split off into two sections, one being a regular restaurant and the other being the arcade. Hiccup glanced into the arcade side to see what all was in there, but Jack told him that after they ate that they were going to go in there and he could see it for all its gloriousness. The two of them approached the hostess stand where a woman of medium height and with long insanely curly red hair that was pulled back in a ponytail stood. She was wearing a long sleeve white shirt and black slacks with a gold tie, which seemed to be the uniform here.

At the moment she hadn't noticed them. Her back was turned in their direction as she spoke into a headset, obviously sending in a to-go order. Jack stood there with a smirk on his face and leaned against the counter as she turned around. Her face went from a happy smile to a disappointed scowl, "Oh, no…" she said in a thick Scottish accent, rolling her eyes, "wha' are yoo dooin' 'ere?"

Jack laughed, "Aww, come on. Is that the welcome back I get? Whatever happened to 'Greet All Customers with a Smile'?"

She scoffed and leaned forward a bit, "Ha! Rubbish with all tha'! I'm not cleenin' oop your mess again, Jack Frost. I still 'ave not furgott'n last time."

Jack chuckled softly, "I promise, I will behave myself. Now, come on, Merida, I wanna show my friend a good time." When he mentioned Hiccup, Merida glanced over at him and smirked. She grabbed a couple of menus, "Wee lamb, yoo don't know what yoo got'n yourself into. Follow me," she said gesturing for them to follow her.

By the time Hiccup was very confused. He didn't have the slightest idea what they were referring to and he was beginning to think that there was more to Jack then laughing and harmless jokes. He sped up behind Jack and whispered, "Um, mind explaining what that was all about?"

Jack waved it off, "It's a long story, but trust me there is nothing to worry about."

When they arrived at their table and took their seat Merida told him once more that he better behave and set their menus down before making her way back to the front of the restaurant. Just as Hiccup was about to ask for an explanation once more their server, a shorter girl with short black hair that was in a pixie cut and wearing black lipstick, approached the table. However, much to Hiccup's surprise she had the same attitude as the girl Merida.

"Jackson Overland-Frost," she stated simply.

Jack laughed and smiled, "Hey there Mavis. How have you been? How are dear ol' Count Drac and Johnny?"

She rolled her eyes, "Well, if you think my father forgave you for what you did then you are sorely mistaken. He still locks up the alcohol when Johnny comes over. However, Johnny and I are doing as well as we can be. In two weeks it'll be our three year anniversary."

Hiccup winced at her words. Whatever it was Jack had done must have been pretty bad to have the staff keep bringing it up. The two continued for a moment before Jack introduced him to her. She wasn't bitter toward Hiccup as she had been with Jack, "Well Hiccup, it is nice meeting you. Just don't let him talk you into doing anything stupid."

The auburn haired man smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."

She nodded, "Now what would you like to drink?"

"Iced Tea, please," Hiccup replied.

"Just a Pepsi," Jack chimed, "Oh by the way Mavis, is he in?"

The raven haired girl smiled, "Yeah, I'll go get him." And with that, Mavis disappeared into the kitchen.

Hiccup sighed, "Now do you mind explaining what's going on here and why everyone is scolding you?"

Jack sat back in his seat and chuckled, "Alright, alright. Last Halloween, Mavis's dad threw a costume party here and I was invited, as were a lot of Mavis's other friends. It was pretty cool. Her dad was dressed as Count Dracula, one of her uncles was Frankenstein, the other was a Werewolf and one of his friends was a mummy. Johnathan, her boyfriend was doing some cheesy Frankenstein knock-off and was calling himself 'Johnny Stein'. Well after a while the party started getting pretty lame and I wanted to spice it up a bit," he explained casually, "and me coming as Jack Frost, the Embodiment of Winter and Fun, I decided to get drunk."

Hiccup's face fell, "Oh, gods, what did you do Jack?"

Jack laughed, "Well, I only got a little drunk, but I made sure Johnny was shit-faced. But you can't blame it all on me, I just supplied the drinks, not force them down his throat. Anyways, I somehow convinced Johnny that everybody here was not in costumes and that they were real monsters."

Hiccup slowly raised a hand to his mouth in awe of the story and also trying not to laugh. Jack continued, "Needless to say, Johnny didn't take it too well. He started freaking out and screaming, trying to get out of here. He knocked her dad over a table, along with a few other tables on the way out. The place was trashed, man."

"You didn't?"

"He did," said Mavis, interrupting their conversation and sat their drinks onto the table, "and it took us hours to clean this place up."

"Mavis, I told you guys I was sorry!" he protested.

She scoffed, "Yes you did, but you didn't help clean it either."

Jack rolled his eyes, "No, I was too drunk for that. Also, I went after your boyfriend to make sure he didn't run into the street and get run over."

"Well, he wouldn't have if you didn't tell him my father was actually Dracula," she retorted.

"Okay, Mavis, you win. I apologize… for the eighth time."

Mavis's black painted lips curled into a smirk, "Good. Now, he should be out here in a moment. I'll be back to get your order."

Jack nodded and the black haired girl walked away to attend to other customers. He turned his attention back to Hiccup who was sitting there trying to hold back his laughter, "Well, it seems that she told you. By the way, how are you even still allowed in here after pulling a stunt like that?"

"Well, that's easy," Jack replied, lazily taking a drink out of his soda, "I am friends with the owner." And before Hiccup could say anything else, Jack's heterochromatic eyes glanced off to the side and a wide smile sprouted onto his features, "And this is him." He said while gesturing to a short, chubby, man with blond hair that was wearing black slacks and a yellow button up shirt that approached the table. He greeted the two of them with a kind wave.

Hiccup suddenly became very confused when Jack's arms and hands started moving about creating odd gestures, "Hiccup, I'd like you to meet Jayel Sanderson." It was then that the younger boy realized what Jack was doing: he was using sign language. A big grin came onto his face as he looked over at Sanderson who tipped his imaginary hat.

Hiccup waved at him awkwardly, not really knowing what to do at that moment since he didn't know any sign language. Jack continued to sign as he spoke, to keep Sanderson in on the conversation, "You can speak to him Hiccup, he can read lips."

Hiccup turned back to the short man, "Hello, I love your place you have here. My name is Hiccup."

Sanderson turned back to Jack with a confused look on his face and curled his hand into a fist, leaving his thumb pointed up and pushed it to his chest and did a slight jerk upward asking if he had read his lips correctly, "Hiccup?" he signed, earning a laugh from Jack.

"Yes, he goes by 'Hiccup', Sandy," he signed. Jack looked back over at Hiccup, still signing to Sandy as he spoke, "He wasn't sure if he read your lips wrong or not."

Sandy looked between the two for a moment before getting Jack's attention and started signing away at him, "So, are you two together?"

Jack shook his head. He didn't want to repeat what was being asked because he didn't want to embarrass his friend or himself, "No, Sandy. We're just friends. You sound like Bunny."

"But, Jack he's a cutie and he seems nice. Besides, when was the last time you actually dated somebody?"

Jack sighed and the two continued their silent conversation. Hiccup watched in astonishment as his seemed to sign with ease. It was obvious that he had been doing this for a long time and was very well versed in the language. One thing he did notice from Sandy was when he would sign, apart from moving his mouth along with whatever it was he was saying, is that every so often he would click his tongue. Hiccup wasn't sure if that was his way of ending sentences or if it was just out of habit, but he remained quiet and watched the two.

After a moment Mavis returned and Sanderson excused himself because he had some things he needed to attend to. After ordering their food, Jack looked over at his friend, "So, are you enjoying your time so far?"

Hiccup took a drink out of his tea and nodded, "Yeah. I now know that you are a prankster that likes to trash parties. I also know now that you speak sign language."

Jack shrugged, "Sandy was actually the one who taught me. He has actually taught a lot of people here. But he does also carry a pad of paper around as well. He actually used to work for North, my adopted father, as a supervisor in his factory back in the day. Then about five years ago he wanted to start a business of his own and bought this place with North's help. It didn't take long for this place to become a success, this being a college town and all. This is why I admire Sandy so much. Even though he is deaf he never let that slow him down and look at what he has to show for it."

Hiccup smiled, "He seems nice. I wish we had colorful characters like that back in Berk."

The bi-color haired man gave a half smile, "I'm sure there are. I mean you seem pretty interesting."

The other male scoffed as he took another sip of his drink and sat back, "Not really. Berk is full of people who are tough and tasteless. A perfect example of that is, well, there was this old man that used to live on the outskirts of town. His name is Milton and this guy was a dick. He used to walk around with this old crusty looking dog of his named Fungus. It seemed like everywhere I would go, there he'd be. He always had something to say to me, nothing good either, but I wasn't the only one. He would be like that to everybody. He used to smell really bad too. It was almost like he would wash his clothes, but wait a few days before throwing them into the dryer, so they smelled soured and like mildew… so that's what I started calling him— Mildew. It seemed to have caught on because soon the whole town was calling him that and he hated me even more," he ended with a chuckle.

Jack burst into laughter, "Oh, my god, that's wonderful!" Hiccup smiled. He loved hearing Jack's laugh. He loved how the other male was always smiling and laughing, always having a good time. He loved how when he smiled, the corner of his eyes would crinkle and his dimples would show as he flashed his perfectly white smile. He watched as Jack continued to talk, but didn't really pay attention to the words, just his facial expressions and his enthusiasm. Hiccup's train of thought was interrupted when Mavis returned and placed their food on the table and refilled their drinks. They continued their small talk while they ate.

When they were finished, Jack paid and they headed over to the arcade. The large room held a plethora of games, some that Hiccup hadn't seen in years. The variety of machines went from old school cocktail Ms. Pac-Man and Asteroid to Dance Dance Revolution and many different hunting and racing games. There were also several pool and air hockey tables as well. Along the far wall were a row of basketball games and whack-a-mole machines. It was the most incredible thing Hiccup had ever seen. He couldn't ever imagine an arcade like this even existed and some of the rare games must have taken years to track down, but alas here they all were right before him.

"Geez, Hic, might want to pick your jaw off the floor before you leave it behind," he chimed with a chuckled, causing the younger male's face to heat up due to his noticeable excitement.

Jack had gone to the coin dispenser and came back handing him a handful of tokens. Hiccup thanked him and they headed off in different directions. The auburn haired lad didn't immediately go to a machine, but instead wandered around, dodging kids who were running around, to see more of the impressive game collection. He looked over his shoulder to see that Jack had settled on a motorcycle racing game, which he played rather well.

Hiccup smiled over at him, watching as he bent his body side to side and skillfully turned sharp corners of the virtual track. He couldn't slow his beating heart that rapidly rapped against his sternum. He noticed that every time he kept his eyes on Jack that this would happen. He was definitely attracted to the man despite his attempts to push those thoughts away, it seemed as though he was more accepting of them when he was with him.

Eventually Hiccup found a fighting game to play. It was one that he used to play as a child, but it became apparent very quickly that he was rusty since he hadn't played in years. After a while he eventually met back up with Jack and they played a few rounds of pool before moving onto air hockey, which Hiccup also found out that while playing against Jack that it was like riding a bike. He was very good at the game, great even. Hiccup was very aggressive when he played it too, sending the plastic puck flying off the table a few times and across the room. Even though Jack knew he was no match and because he was a sore loser, he didn't give up easily and continued to challenge his friend.

A dozen matches later, Jack finally threw up the white flag and gave up. He knew that there was no way of him beating his friend and decided that enough was enough. Hiccup laughed as Jack pouted over his losses, but soon cheered back up when Sandy approached them.

"Jack, here are two passes. You should go check out the laser tag," he signed, handing the bi-color haired man two small yellow sheets of paper.

Jack looked at them curiously before signing back, "When did you get laser tag here?"

Sandy chuckled, "It was finished about two weeks ago and opened a few days after that. So far everybody seems to love it. Take Hiccup and have some fun. By the way, I saw that he kicked your ass at air hockey. It's about time somebody put you in your place."

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head letting a smile creep onto his features, "Very funny, Sand Man. Thank you for the passes."

Jack turned back to Hiccup and hold up the two passes, "Sandy is giving us a pass to laser tag, wanna play?"

Hiccup's face lit up, "Sure! Jack how do I sign 'thank you'?"

Jack smiled and held his right hand out flat and placed his four fingers on his chin before pulling his hand about a foot away from his face in a smooth motion. Hiccup studied the motion and copied him the best he could. He only hoped that Jack didn't actually tell him to say something incredibly insulting to the man he had just met. After he did the swift outward motion he looked at Sanderson who gave him a thumbs up before walking away.

"Come on, let's go try this out!" Jack exclaimed, grabbing his friend's wrist and pulling him towards the back of the building where they entered a room that was lit with a black light and gave the purple, orange, and hot pink blotches that covered the wall a glowing 3D effect. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the white part of his friend's hair was now glowing brightly. They were joined by a small group of kids, no older than the age of twelve, which hurried in and began pulling on their vests. A woman then came into the room and explained the rules—no fighting, jumping on the equipment, or covering the sensors. Even though she tried to split them into equal teams, the children already decided that the game was going to be kids vs. adults.

Once the guns that were attached to the vests were activated, everyone was released into a large dark room that was dimly lit with a black light that, like that other room, was painted in a multitude of blotches of different colors that popped out due to the light. There were many different columns to hide behind and platforms to run across and crawl under. What made it difficult was the fact that there was really loud music that drowned out most of the noise, so listening for the kids was going to be difficult.

Hiccup took off across the room and hopped over a platform where he had spotted a boy crawl under and once he emerged, shot him with ease before jumping off and running to the right and slipped behind a column before the, now, angry boy retaliated. He could hear Jack off in the distance yelling at a kid, who he figured had shot at him and hit. He slinked off towards the sounds of his protesting friend. As he turned a corner he saw Jack had slipped off to avoid the children who were now on the hunt for them.

Just as Hiccup was about to hop onto another platform he heard his sensor going off and turned to see a blonde haired girl standing there with her gun pointed at him. Hiccup smirked and wagged his index finger at her before chasing after her. The girl screamed and ran in the opposite direction and slipped between two columns and jumped onto a high platform. Just as she was about to slip off to the other side Jack came around the corner and started firing his gun at her and hit her after the third try. Hiccup laughed and they swapped a high five before running across the room, having shots fired at them from two directions, Hiccup successfully being hit twice.

From the other side of the room he could hear a boy shouting, "The weird haired guy is going to the left!" Then suddenly a barrage of laser noises and suddenly Jack shouting, "These little shits are coming out of nowhere!"

Hiccup started chasing after a brunet boy and the blonde girl from before that was trying to be smooth and hide behind a row of columns. He got into a corner and open fired on them, only to have them scream and return fire. Hiccup could help but laugh. He was having some of the most fun of his young life. Jack on the other hand wasn't as much. It seemed that he was a choice target. He had only seen Hiccup get hit once so far, it wasn't fair, his friend was like a fucking ninja.

He turned a corner and started firing at two boys, hitting them both successfully before turning the opposite way and running. As he backed up around a corner he felt a hand go over his mouth and pull him around until his back connected with the wall. It was Hiccup. His friend put his finger to his own mouth to indicate for him to remain silent. Hiccup was obviously running out of breath, he was panting hard and his forehead matted his hair with perspiration. Jack felt his face heat up, and not just because the room had become quite stuffy, as he stared at the younger male's viridian eyes. Their proximity was rather close and he could feel Hiccup's hot breath on him.

Without saying a word Hiccup pointed up and Jack followed with his eyes to see that his friend was pointing to a way to get on top of a platform without being noticed. Jack smirked as Hiccup removed his hand, "You are quite competitive," he whispered loud enough to be heard.

Hiccup stepped onto the lower level of the platform and brought his face back down so Jack could hear him, "I'm not going to be beaten by a bunch of twelve year-olds."

Once they both crawled onto the top of the platform they were able to see the whole room and everybody in it. The kids had spread out and were looking for them. Jack and Hiccup looked at each other and started laughing before they both open fire on the kids and received a barrage of "You cheaters!", "That's no fair!", and "How did they even get up there?!".

As the game came to an end, Jack and Hiccup crawled off of the platform and joined the kids back in the other room to return their vests. It was obvious that the kids were sore losers, but Hiccup and Jack didn't care, they both had a lot of fun. As they both exited the laser tag area they ran into Sandy who asked, "Did you enjoy the game?"

Jack smiled and signed back to him, but also spoke to keep Hiccup in the loop of conversation, "Yeah! It was loads of fun. For a while I was getting my ass handed to me, but I personally think Hiccup and I came out victorious."

Sandy chuckled, "Well, as long as you had fun. That's what counts. I have to get going. Tell North I said 'hi'."

"Sure thing, Sand Man. Thanks again for the passes."

Jack and Hiccup exited the building and were greeted by the crisp autumn night that caused goose bumps to rise off their skin. It was actually a relief to be outside after they had been in the arcade and played laser tag. As they approached the car Jack glanced over at his friend and saw a melancholy expression on his features, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Hiccup's eyes connected with Jack's heterochromatic ones and he smiled weakly, "I had a lot of fun…"

"But…?"

"I wasn't really ready for it to end," he replied honestly, his freckled cheeks flushing slightly.

Jack was slightly taken aback. He glanced off to the side and turned back to Hiccup, "Me either. If you want there is a park across the street. We could go for a walk…"

"Sure. I'd love that," he said with a small grin.

They soon found themselves walking along a paved path that was covered with leaves. Hiccup was glad that Jack decided not to take him home. He kept glancing over at his friend as the silently walked; their foot falls echoed in unison. The park was rather large and was brightly lit along the pathway. From where they were Hiccup could see a small playground and what looked like a community center and beyond that was a large pond. The moon hung high, it was rather large that night and shined brightly over them, causing the dark water of the pond to shimmer under its light. It was a rather beautiful night. The cool air caressed Hiccup's face and chilled his body making him glad he wore his heavier coat. A small scraping noise to his side caught his attention and he glanced back at Jack he was returning a lighter to his pocket and exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"I didn't know you were a smoker," he commented.

Jack looked at the white filtered stick between his fingers and then over to Hiccup, "That doesn't bother you, does it?"

Hiccup shook his head, "No, I was just saying."

Jack nodded and took another draw, "I only do it occasionally. It's not like I go through 3 packs a day. A pack can last me a long time. Anyways, I am glad you had fun tonight."

"Me too," the shorter male replied as he kicked at a rock, "Thank you for bringing me out here."

"It's no problem. I like hanging out with you," Jack's tone was soft, his eyes remaining on Hiccup, occasionally glancing to the walkway, "In fact I wouldn't mind getting to know you better."

Hiccup's face flushed. He wasn't exactly sure what Jack had meant by that, "I would like to get to know you better too."

Jack laughed lightly, "Well, how about we start with your name? You said 'Hiccup' was a nickname. So what is your real name?"

Hiccup smirked at him, "It's a secret."

"That's all well and good," he said as he stomped out his cigarette, "I'll just look it up when I get to work tomorrow."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Good luck with that. When I signed up I wrote 'Hiccup'."

Jack groaned in slight frustration, "Come on Hic! Don't play me like that. I showed you a nice evening; you can at least tell me your name."

"What is this? 20 Questions?"

"If you wanna go that way about it, then yes. How about we both ask 20 questions each?" he suggested, as they came to a halt.

Hiccup pursed his lips, "Hamish," he stated simply, "Hamish Horrendous Haddock the third."

"Hamish, eh? Old school. Wait, did you say 'Horrendous'?"

Hiccup chuckled and nodded as he stepped off the walkway and began making his way to a nearby swing, Jack following close behind, "Yeah," he said as he sat down, "It's kind of a tradition where I'm from." Jack sat down beside him and hummed in acknowledgement, urging him to continue. He watched his friend as he seemed to gather his thoughts before continuing, "In Berk a lot of its residences are from Norway and our ancestors go back to the Old Norse Vikings."

"You're kidding?" he asked in astonishment, "So, you are a Viking?"

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head, "I'm not, but my ancestors were. Anyways, our community, though modernized, still hold a lot of the old traditions. They believed that if you are given a hideous name that it would frighten off gnomes and trolls… like their 'charming' Viking demeanor wouldn't do that," he words dripping with sarcasm, earning a laugh from Jack, "In Berk, we have our regular names that go on our birth certificate and we also have our nicknames that we go by and because I am the smallest of my generation I go by 'Hiccup' because if you have a runt in the litter it's always been considered a Hiccup."

"You seem like a regular guy to me," the older male commented.

"Yeah, well, you obviously have never been to Berk. Everyone there is huge and I am not," Hiccup rocked the swing and leaned back, "Now it's my turn. What are your plans? Like do you plan on going to college?"

Jack leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, "You mean do I plan on staying at the gym for the rest of my life or try to become a famous rock star?"

"If you want to be that black and white about it," he gestured, urging his friend to continue.

The older male let out a chuckle and leaned his back against the swing and crossed his legs, "No, I don't plan on staying at the gym forever and the band is just a hobby. I do want to go to college. North offered to help me with tuition, but I always feel bad when he offers things like that. I know he has money and he wants to use it to see that I have a brighter future, but I can't shake this feeling that I already owe him so much as it is and to have one more thing I'm gonna feel like I owe him more."

Hiccup nodded. He could understand Jack's reservations; it wasn't completely irrational, "But you said he is your adopted father and that means he is still a father nonetheless, adopted or not. Have you ever considered that maybe you succeeding is payment enough for him?"

"Yes and Aster has been telling me the same thing for years. He thinks that because I grew up poor that I take everything North does as an act of charity and it hurts my pride or some shit like that and maybe to a small degree it has merit, but when he says it, it sounds so mean. I know North's heart is in the right place and I know that he cares about my well-being and future, but I feel like I need to repay him in some way since he has done so much for me," Jack carded his fingers through his hair. He looked at Hiccup's soft expression and figured he probably said too much. He forced a smiled, "But I think if I ever did go to college I would become a physical education teacher. I love children and I love fun."

Hiccup smiled, "Sounds rather fitting for you."

"Almost like a glove," he chuckled, "So do you have any siblings?"

The brunet shook his head, "No, I'm an only child. In fact my parents were lucky that they had me. By what my mother told me they had tried for a couple of years after they got married and had almost given up. She apparently almost lost me a few times and I know that I was born a month and a half early, but after that she wasn't ever able to have any more children due to high risks to herself and the baby. What about you?"

"I have a little sister. She actually looks like a carbon copy of my mother," he said with a chuckle, but his smile soon faded. Jack missed his sister. He thought about her all the time. She was adopted a few years after their parents died. He was lucky that they were able to remain together for as long as they did. When their parents died they were first sent to an orphanage that catered to both boys and girls, but a few months later she was adopted, Jack was moved to the Burgess Home for Boys, where he spent the remainder of his childhood. Once his sister was adopted he barely saw her. At first she visited every weekend, but that didn't last long. Soon it became every other weekend, then once a month. After a while, it was only on rare occasions that he saw her.

At this point, it had been a little over a year since he had seen her and not a day goes by that he doesn't think about her and wander how much more beautiful she has gotten. Jack had promised himself that the next time he saw her he was going to get her her own personal cell phone that way he would be able to get in touch with her whenever he wanted.

Hiccup looked over at his friend and noticed the blank, thoughtful expression that Jack sported and became curious as to what plagued his thoughts. He knew that Jack had lost his parents and was now wondering about his sister, but chose not to ask about it. He cleared his throat, "So, um, you and Heather…" he trailed off.

Jack turned and faced Hiccup, "Me and Heather what?"

"Are you two dating?" he asked timidly, almost afraid of the answer.

Jack shook his head, "No. Well, I mean, we did, but that was back in high school. We were always better friends than lovers and the break up was mutual."

Hiccup felt a huge weight that he didn't realize was there being lifted from his shoulders. He couldn't help, no matter how hard he tried to suppress, but feel a big smile trying to spread across his face. The bi-color haired man rested his arm on the back of the swing, "What about you and your 'friend', you know the one who wanted my picture, are you two together?"

"Astrid? No. She is an old friend that I have known for years. Like you, we are better friends. I mean, we have never dated or anything," he explained, "I think you would like her if you met her."

Jack smiled, "Maybe one day I will. What are your favorite things to do?"

"That's easy," he turned to face Jack and pulled his leg onto the swing, "I dabble in a lot of things—sculpting, quilting, cooking— but I mostly love to write, draw, paint, read, play video games, and build weapons and other gadgets. If you'd like I could show you some of my drawings."

"I'd like that," he replied with general enthusiasm, "You are a one of a kind Viking."

Hiccup snorted, "Uh-huh, what about you? What do you do for fun besides causing mischief?"

"Well, I suppose mischief is my fun, but I do like video games as well. I love singing, obviously, and I love swimming and hiking. Pretty much your run of the mill guy interests," he retorted, "What is your fondest memory?"

Hiccup had to think for a moment about that one. He hadn't really had any good memories since his mom died. If he had to pick his favorite, it was definitely one that involved her. One memory that really stuck out was this one time, when he was about eight and Valka had yet to be diagnosed, his parents and he had gone on a camping trip for the weekend. Hiccup had a blast the whole time. They went swimming in the lake and went fishing, but the detail that stuck out was their last night there, he and his parents sat and made s'mores by the fire.

As his mother went to retrieve her water bottle, Stoick stood from his place that was beside his son and slowly paced towards his wife and began whistling an oh too familiar tune that Hiccup recognized immediately. Valka glanced over her shoulder to see her husband approach her and begin singing the song he wrote for her all those years ago.

I'll swim and sail on savage seas

With ne'er a fear of drowning

And gladly ride the waves of life

If you will marry me

No scorching sun

Nor freezing cold

A bright smile came onto her face. The apples of her cheeks flushed like a school girl as he learned forward and cupped her face. Stoick's mighty red beard hid his expression, but it was apparent that he was smiling just as brightly as she was. He wrote this song for his beloved wife in order to purpose to her, but over the years it became more of their own personal theme song and sang it any chance they got. Even though he and Valka had been married happily for nearly eleven years now, he still loved her as he did the day they met. He loved everything about her, faults and all.

Will stop me on my jour-ney

If you will promise me your heart

Valka glanced over at their son who sat and watched them in awe. He always loved when his parents would sing their song along with the gauntly dance that they did when doing so. She turned back to her husband and began to sing; her voice was angelic and complemented her husband's perfectly.

And love me for eternity

My dearest one my darling dear

Your mighty words astound me

They soon crossed their arms and stood opposite of each other as they would change between walking clockwise to counter-clockwise.

But I've no need of mighty deeds

When I feel your arms around me

Soon they were laughing and dancing as they joined hands and Stoick gave her a twirl around him as he leaned down onto one knee momentarily.

But I would bring you rings of gold

I'd even sing you poetry

Valka continued to giggle as her husband sang her his promises, "Oh, would you now?" she teased, causing little Hiccup to laugh. His father continued, but added more gusto to the end of the verse.

And I would keep you from all harm

If you would stay beside me

Valka and Stoick began to moved, using a multitude of dance styles—contra, folk, swing, country western—all flawlessly mashed into one. Hiccup had tried to learn how his parents did this several times, but quickly learned that he wasn't really graceful on his feet. He listened to his mother sing tactfully back to his father without missing a beat.

I have no use for rings of gold

I care not for your poetry

I only want your hand to hold

Stoick let out a hearty laugh as his brought his wife down in a dip. They swayed back and forth and the bearded man's booming voice made Valka's heart flutter when he sang.

I only want you near me

At that moment they picked up the tempo and sang faster in unison. Hiccup sat by idly watching his parents, clapping along with the tune.

To love to kiss to sweetly hold

For the dancing and the dreaming

Through all life's sorrows and delights

I'll keep your love inside me

I'll swim and sail on savage seas

With ne'er a fear of drowning

And gladly ride the waves of life

If you will marry me

Hiccup smiled at the memory as it played in his head. He shared this with Jack, still feeling that twinge of sadness from knowing that he would never have another memory like that again: his mother, alive and healthy and his father, smiling and happy. They were a family, a happy family.

"I had never seen so much love between two people. You would think it only existed like that in movies, yet there it was, right in front of me," Hiccup said sadly, "but things will never be like that again."

Jack cocked an eyebrow, "I'm sure they still love each other. Marriage can change a lot of things, but if it's as pure as you say, then everything will end up being alright."

Hiccup shook his head, "No, it's impossible."

"Why do you say that, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Because, like you, I sail on the same boat: the S.S. Deceased Parent," he replied.

Jack's expression softened. He wasn't really sure what to say, but he did his best to offer his friend some comforting words, "I'm sorry, Hiccup. I know it's painful to lose a parent, but that's why we should cherish these types of memories." He placed a comforting hand on Hiccup's shoulder.

The younger male looked off to the side, "Memories are nice, but that's all they are… just memories."

The bi-color haired man lifted his friend's chin until their eyes met, greeting him with a warm smile, "You're wrong. I used to think the same way, but a dear friend of mine told me that that's how they live. We keep them alive in our memories and that is how they thrive." Hiccup smiled as Jack's cool hand remained on his chin and his eyes shined down at him in the moonlight. His freckled cheeks began to stain with a modest flush and his heart pounded against his chest. He never really liked talking about his mother since she had died. It was even painful to speak about her to Astrid, but it seemed to flow easily with Jack. He wasn't near ready to speak a word about his life since her death, which that topic didn't hold one iota of his interest to share, but he felt that this was a good starting point.

Jack's cold hand slipped away from Hiccup's face and back to his side as he came to his feet, "Come on, let's walk."

Hiccup nodded and he came to his feet and journeyed back to the walkway, turning a curve that led them towards the pond. The moon made the black water glisten as the water gently rolled towards the bank. It was actually a rather large pond, bigger than Hiccup thought it was, but then again this part of the park was darker than the rest. Jack began to pick up small pebbles and attempt to skip them against the water, "So, do you have any pets?" Hiccup asked, watching Jack throw another stone, trying to continue their previous conversation.

"Nah, I thought about getting a dog at one point, but decided against it since I was spending a lot of time away from home," he replied, gingerly casting another rock before turning back to Hiccup, "What about you?"

"Yeah, one smart ass cat named Toothless," he said with a small laugh.

"Toothless?" Jack cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Mm-hmm. Back in Berk there was a cove that Astrid and I liked to go hang out at and one day when we got there I heard this really loud meowing and I saw this itty bitty black kitten up on a ledge. I looked all over the place for his mom, but he was all alone, so I climb up there and got him. Since he was such a little guy, his teeth hadn't come in yet, so I called him Toothless. My dad wasn't too keen on me having a cat at first, but let me keep him. I nursed him with a syringe until he grew a bit more."

"Aw, Hiccup the Caregiver."

"Ha, well, now he can be a pain in the ass. Ever since we moved here he loves to greet me with a destroyed apartment and demanding of food," he retorted, "In fact I am expecting it when I get home. Actually, I think I should be heading back before too long. I have class tomorrow."

Jack hummed, almost disappointed, "Alright, well, we start heading towards the car," he motioned towards the path, "So what are you going to college for?"

"I want to become an engineer since I like building things, but I also love to write. It's a passion of mine. I figured I'd get my degree in engineering and a minor in Creative Writing," he replied.

"That sounds awesome. What do you like to write?"

Hiccup shrugged, "Science fiction mainly. I love dragons and fairy-tales. I know a lot of people see fairy-tales as childish because of how they are portrayed, but if you ever read any of the original stories you will see that they are anything but. In fact, a lot of them are really messed up."

Jack loved his friend's passion as he spoke. His wide gesturing and word emphasis made any story he told pretty interesting to listen to. "What makes you say that?" he asked, encouraging him to continue.

"Well, I'm sure you have seen the Disney version of Cinderella," he continued after Jack nodded in affirmation, "in the original the step-sisters were not physically ugly, they were actually quite beautiful. They are called ugly because of their ugly hearts and vanity. They actually cut off parts of their feet to try and get it into the shoe. Their mother telling them that once they were queen they'd never have to worry about walking around again and they'd be waited on hand and foot. But the prince spotted their feet bleeding and found out what they had done. Once he and Cinderella were married and leaving the church, her step-sister's eyes were pecked out by birds."

"Holy shit," Jack exclaimed, "You were right, that is a bit messed up. I wonder why she invited them to the wedding."

Hiccup laughed, "I don't know. It seems like she was gloating a bit. But the stories only get worse. There are some that have cannibalism, rape, and suicide. If I ever want to read a weird, crazy, or messed up story then I read the old fairy-tales."

As they approached the parking lot where Jack's car sat he looked over at Hiccup, "You are an interesting person, Hiccup. You really are. I'm glad you woke me up that night."

Hiccup's face heated up once more as Jack unlocked the doors. He used to always be made fun of for his hobbies and literature choices, but Jack was actually interested in what he had to say. He didn't shun him for what he liked and would listen intently to his words and now he was saying how glad he was they had met? Hiccup was starting to believe this was too good to be true, "Me too," he replied and climbed into the car.

The ride back to Hiccup's apartment was nice since Jack had turned the heat on and his stiffened body was able to relax. They continued to talk to each other about their own personal trivia. Once they pulled into the parking lot of Hiccup's complex, he looked over at the bi-colored haired man and smiled, "Thank you for taking me out. I really did have a lot of fun. We should do this again."

"Well, just let me know and we'll make another date," he chimed with a wink.

Hiccup unbuckled his seat belt and opened the passenger door, "I'd like that. Would you want to come up for a minute and meet Toothless?"

Jack nodded, "Sure," he said putting the car in park and turning off the ignition. The two made their way to Hiccup's apartment. The auburn haired lad was not surprised in the least to enter the main room and flip on the lights to see things scattered on the floor. It wasn't as bad as it normally was when he arrived home, but he still rolled his eyes at the sight, "Well, this is my humble abode," he said gesturing to the room, "Sorry about the mess, I told you he loves messing it up."

Jack followed his friend into the apartment and shut the door behind him. It wasn't a big place, but he figured it fit the needs of one person. Even though there were a few things scattered on the ground, for the most part the place seemed pretty well kept. There were two book cases that sat again the far wall on either side of the plush couch and above the flat screen TV there was a large picture of what looked like a younger Hiccup and his parents, "You have a nice place," he replied as he walked over to the picture. In the picture they were under a tree at a park. Hiccup, who looked to be around the age of ten, sported a big cheesy grin as he leaned back against a woman, who he figured was his mother.

The woman was very beautiful. She looked like she was in her early thirties and had long auburn hair that was worn back in a braid. Here she was wearing a tan tank top and jeans and stood smiling, well more like laughing, next to a rather large man that was leaning down as he would easily tower over them. This man was huge! Maybe bigger than North. He sported a mighty red beard that held several braids. The man's beard made his expression harder to read, but he was no doubt happy here. Looking at the two, he was able to decipher who Hiccup took after and that was definitely his mother. He did inherit his father's nose, but also had his mother's hair and smaller body structure.

Hiccup joined Jack as he marveled at the photo. Jack turned to him, "Your mother was very beautiful; you look a lot like her."

"Thank you. Everybody used to say that back home. She was a wonderful person," he said, not really looking at Jack.

Jack smiled, "You must have gotten that from her too."

Hiccup smirked and turned to see Toothless slink into the room, "Hey bud."

Toothless yawned and strutted over to his owner, but stopped once he saw Jack. He backed away a few steps and narrowed his eyes. Hiccup crouched down and held out a hand, "Toothless, this is Jack. Be nice to him." He gestured for Jack to approach and crouch down as well, only to have Toothless growl, "He won't hurt you, bud. He is a friend."

Jack became nervous as Hiccup was coaxing the black feline over to them. He was afraid that any second the cat would pounce on him and claw him to pieces, "Should I be worried?"

"No, he just doesn't know you," He replied as he stroked the cat's fur. Hiccup reached over and grabbed Jack's hand and started pulling him towards the cat, "Now, hold your hand out like this and let him come to you," he instructed, "it helps to show trust if you look away while doing it."

Trust? How was he supposed to know that the little furry creature would just attack him the second he looked away? Jack bit his bottom lips and nodded as he cast his heterochromatic eyes to the ground. Hiccup marveled as Toothless slowly slinked towards his friend, keeping his body lower to the floor. The cat slowly brought his nose to the twitching hand and began to sniff the guy before him. He looked at the two toned head of hair, then back at the hand. He soon began butting his head into Jack's hand, causing Jack's tense shoulders to relax as he exhaled a deep breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Hiccup smiled at the sight and slowly back away from the two. Jack turned back and saw a toxic green pair of eyes peering at him as the cat sat up straight. He moved closer and began petting him, being more encouraged as Toothless started to purr. Toothless nipped at one of his fingers, causing his friend to pull away, "Ow!"

Hiccup chuckled, "He likes you."

After playing with Toothless a while Jack and Hiccup made their way back to the front door. Hiccup stood there awkwardly, fiddling with his shirt sleeve, "Thank you… for taking me out."

"You have thanked me like eighty times already," he exaggerated.

"Well, I am not used to meeting new people and them doing nice things for me."

Jack shook his head, his smile never fading, "Well, that's going to change. I'll see you tomorrow," he said before looking over at Toothless who was perched on the counter, "Bye Toothless." Toothless meowed at him and began licking his paw.

As Hiccup went to open the door, he was quickly pulled into a tight hug. Jack pressed him firmly against his broad chest and held him there for a moment. Hiccup didn't know how to react at first, all be could do was stand there and try to take it all in. He slowly lifted his arms up and wrapped them around his friend's slender waist. He wasn't sure why this was happening, but he wasn't complaining. This wasn't a sideways Bro Hug, it was a warm embrace and it was quite comforting in fact.

After a moment or two, Jack pulled away, "Um, what was that for?" Hiccup asked.

"Reassurance," he responded simply, "Everybody needs it occasionally."

Hiccup cocked a dark eyebrow, "Reassurance of what?"

"That you are appreciated. See you later, Hiccup." And with that, Jack was gone, leaving Hiccup standing dumbfounded in the doorway.

---

Gah! That was like forever long XD I hope you enjoyed it.

Also, when I wrote for Sandy I used this woman who my aunt used to know. She was deaf and when she would sign she had a habit of clicking her tongue a lot. I am not sure if a lot of deaf people do that, all I know is that she did. I also tried my best to describe the motions of sign language. I am not completely fluent in it (Just a little FYI).

I would like to point out that this was my first attempt to write out an accent.

I would also like to thank TheAlchemicFox, who was the inspiration for the "In My Head" scene. XD She has taken that particular video down, but you guys who don't know of her should look up her "Fridays With Frost" videos.

And for those who caught it, yes I did do a Final Fantasy X reference.

Songs featured are "In My Head" (Mayday Parade cover) and "The Dancing and The Dreaming"

Until next time my lovelies! :3

Reviews are not required, but indeed appreciated!