Laughter echoed all around Hiccup, and he grinned up at the treetops. The noise sounded as light and free as the North Wind itself, brushing through the evergreen pines and the crimson and orange oak leaves just finishing their turns into winter. Snow-white hair danced through the branches, stripping them of the last vegetation and replacing the color with ice. In an instant, it melted down the branch into crystal spikes of warping blue. Pale feet lighted down gently onto the bark.

Jack's toes fidgeted, yearning to run on the air again, but he laughed and took the thick branch in his hand to swing down to earth. He fell with a thump on the new snow, sending flurries up around his legs. Brown leather decorated his shoulders in a cape that fanned out as the wind filled his arms. It curled around his body, embracing him through his cotton shirt and whipping through his hair. With a grin, he twirled his crook up onto his shoulder. His eyes blue eyes crinkled with joy, and he turned his gaze to the young Viking before him.

Underneath the new attention, Hiccup fidgeted, his face flushing. He gripped his arm close to his body, the furred jacket on his shoulders brushing his cheek as he looked down. Green eyes flickered up through his bangs, and they struggled to meet the blue ones. He grew sullen, scared to move his feet.

The smile faded from Jack's face. His dark eyebrows furrowed, and he gripped his staff, looking down at the ground. It flipped in his hand again to become a leaning post as he struggled to break the apparent silence between them.

But Hiccup beat him to it: "It's been a while, hasn't it?" His voice sounded tight, unlike himself, almost hesitant.

Jack nodded, and replied, "A few months. Did you miss me?"

"Yes!" Hiccup cried, suddenly breaking. His whole chest burst forth, and he closed the gap to clutch at Jack. He held him close, as a tender burn began behind his eyelids.

As his shoulders began to shake, Jack quickly bolstered, "Hey, it wasn't that long of a time…"

The body against him suddenly froze, and Hiccup pushed away. His eyes stained red from fighting tears, but he balled up his fists and bit back another sob. In his anger, he screamed, "Maybe it wasn't long for you! I bet that for you, a few months fly past like a day!" He cracked, and a wet snivel escaped his lips. He turned away, wiping his face. "I waited for you. Almost every day I came by here and I sat down and I waited. It was hell, Jack. The whole village thinks I'm crazy, or at least the ones that actually notice I'm gone. And then when you finally show up, after ten months – that's right, more than a few – the first thing you have to ask is if I missed you? Of course I missed you! You're the only person in this entire damn world that bothers to pay attention to me for more than five minutes at a time!"

"Listen, Hiccup, I understand–"

"No, you don't understand! Sure, you can't be seen by anyone except me, but at least you're not a disappointment whenever someone looks at you. At least you don't screw up everything you touch. At least you have something that won't get you banished for the rest of your life!"

Jack watched the boy with the heaving chest and brimming tears, and he folded his arms. "You done?" he asked plainly. When the outraged Viking opened his mouth again, he interrupted, "What are you talking about? Why would you get banished?"

Hiccup's breath caught. In the chilly air, he clutched at his arms as his anger dimmed for the moment. His fist wiped at his nose, and he stammered, "Th-three months ago… I found a dragon."

"So?" Jack tested, "You live on Berk. There are more dragons here than people."

"I… caught a dragon," Hiccup amended. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "And I kept him."

A choking noise blocked Jack's throat, and his voice gave a strangled gasp. "What?" he yelped, "Wha-where? How?"

Hiccup hugged his arms to his chest, turning in a small circle. His gaze looked deep into the forest surrounding them, over the glittering snow and hanging branches. The pines drooped down to the ground, creating dips in the white blankets. A breeze blew through his hair, and he bit his lip in contemplation. Finally, he let his arms fall to his sides, and released a misty breath to the air.

"Follow me."

They made their way through the forest, Hiccup trudging through the overgrown shrubbery and clawing branches while Jack simply flew overhead. Caution guided the journey; hesitance towards each other, and fear of being caught kept them on their toes. Every step in Hiccup's boots crunched the snow, and he sent silent curses to his companion. He knew it was unreasonable, but he blamed Jack anyway. In turn, Jack only kept a wary eye on the Viking, expecting another angry outburst at any time.

Eventually, they came upon a ridge, and Jack floated down to stand next to Hiccup. He gazed down into a small cove, with water lapping the edges of a small sandbank, and a large clearing of grass in the center. Rocks piled up into formations of tilting towers and sitting boulders on a sand field. Lines drawn in the dirt traced out scrawls of markings, leaving an indiscriminant image upon the surface.

Jack took off high above it, blue eyes searching over the drawing.

"Is that supposed to be you, Hiccup?" he called down, returning to the boy's side.

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

Jack folded his arms, his staff bumping against his chin. "So where's the dragon?"

"Probably hiding," Hiccup responded. He started down the cliff face to the ground below. His boots found the worn footholds easily at this point; he could have made his way in the pitch-black night.

Jack hesitated, nervously shifting on his feet, before he glided after the Viking.

The moment his pale feet touched the grass, a dark bullet shot out from behind one of the rocks. The dark form barreled into Jack' slamming him against the ground. His head smashed against the dirt, and pain shot through his skull, before he blinked away the stars from his eyes. He heard his staff clatter away on the earth. Claws gripped at his shoulders, giving him a final assault before he gazed up into the snarling face of a dragon.

The black mouth pulled back to reveal razor sharp teeth as they extended from the beast's gums. Its cat-like eyes focused, the irises narrowing before they opened again, examining its newfound prey. With a low growl, it opened its maw, combustible gas beginning to spew from its throat. Jack cowered, and he reached out for his staff, sighting it just beyond his fingertips.

"Stop!" cried Hiccup. He leapt forward, grabbing the dragon's shoulder. "Toothless, stop! He's a friend!"

The creature froze, the fumes dispersing around its mouth. Abruptly, it twisted, turning its cat eyes into an apologizing stare directed at Hiccup.

The Viking released its hold on the dragon, breathing heavily. The claws left Jack's shoulders, and the dragon padded next to Hiccup's side.

Jack picked himself up slowly, trembling as he bent to grab his staff. The dragon snarled again and fell into an attack position. Hiccup yelped, jumping onto its nose and pushing him down.

Jack's arms snapped before him in defense. He aimed his staff along his jawline, gripping the wood until his knuckles turned white.

"Your – your dragon just tried to kill me!" he gasped.

Hiccup stepped between the two, guarding the dragon with his body. "He's just scared, Jack. He hasn't seen another human besides me for the past three months! He's injured, and he needed to protect himself."

A strained silence fell between the two, only broken by low growls from the dragon.

Finally, Jack relented his stance, dropping his staff to his side. "He's hurt?"

Hiccup's chest deflated in relief, and he stepped forward. "Not anymore," he reassured, "I helped him, but he can't fly without me. He lost half of his tail. I built a saddle and prosthetic for him, and it's not much, but it works."

Jack nodded, looking around the dragon at the leather fan unfurling behind the dragon. He murmured, "Yeah, you're good at that stuff…"

The brunet felt his cheeks begin to burn red, but he rushed forward, seizing Jack's hand. The sprite stumbled, tugged forward by his friend.

"Here, his name is Toothless," Hiccup said, pulling Jack's hand towards the dragon.

Toothless sat placidly, his sharp gaze studying Jack thoroughly.

"Wait, what?" Jack protested.

But then his fingers found Toothless' scales. Jack gasped in wonder, placing his hand fully between the dragon's eyes. He set his staff away, taking his other hand to Toothless' chin.

"Ooh," he breathed, "He's amazing."

Hiccup hummed in agreement, patting Toothless fondly. "Jack," he began, "I've been thinking… Take me with you."

The pale fingers froze against the black scales. "What?" Jack blinked, backing away from them both. "Are you crazy?"

"Please, Jack," Hiccup pleaded, "I have Toothless! We won't get in your way, and we'll help you, and then you'll have someone to talk to, and… Please, just get us away from here."

Jack leveled his blue gaze at the boy. "The answer is no."

As he began to turn away, Hiccup leapt forward again. "Why not?" Jack ignored him, and knelt to take off. "Don't leave!" Hiccup cried, grabbing Jack's cape. "Answer me!"

"Because you're lucky!" Jack shouted, slamming his staff against the ground as he whipped his body around to face Hiccup. Toothless snarled again, but Hiccup held up a hand to stop him.

"You're lucky," Jack repeated, his blue eyes becoming watery as they brimmed with tears. He blinked them away, clutching a hand to the back of his head.

Hiccup balled his fists, and said, "What makes you think that?"

"You have a family!" Jack yelled, "You have people that love you, and care about you. You have people that can see you!"

"See me? You think they can see me?" Hiccup asked indignantly. He thrust a hand out wildly, gesturing to the world. "They don't even notice me! You think they care about me? They don't give a damn about where I am, if I'm even alive. If I never went back, do you think that they'll bother to look for me?"

"Oh, come on," Jack groaned. "Sure, you're life isn't perfect, but at least you've got one! I'm stuck forever throwing snowballs to people that don't even know I exist!"

"I know you exist!" Hiccup rushed forward in rage, seizing Jack's shoulders as he shook him. "I'm here, and I'm real! You can live forever! You can leave and do whatever you want for eternity!"

"And you're going to die one day!"

They stopped, both clutching at each other as they fought. Jack's chest heaved, and the tears finally broke, running down his cheeks. He gave a sob, and hugged Hiccup to his chest, burying his face into the boy's neck.

"You're going to die," he choked, "And I'm going to have to watch. You're going to grow up, and get married, and have kids, and then one day, you're going to die. And I would do anything to be able to die with you."

Hiccup gripped Jack to him close, and he gritted his teeth to prevent crying as well.

"I love you, Hiccup."

Jack's back shook gently as his weeping subsided, and Hiccup's breath frosted into the air, his eyes wide at the words. They stood like that for several moments.

Snow began to drift down around them, reflected off of Jack's heart. It lighted in Hiccup's hair, melting on his reddened cheeks. His throat opened and closed in an effort to speak, but no sound emerged.

Finally, he gasped, "I want to come with you."

Jack shook his head, still hidden under Hiccup's chin.

"Please, Jack. I have no life here. When they find out about Toothless, then we'll both be in danger, and you might not be around then. I've wished every day that I could fly away from here like you. And now I can. Please," he begged quietly, "Let me come with you."

Suddenly, another voice called from above the ravine. "Hiccup?"

The Viking boy stiffened, startled. "Astrid?" he whispered. His face went slack. "Jack, we need to leave. Now."

Jack shook his head again. "No. I have to leave."

"She can't see you, Jack. She can see me, and Toothless. Let me come with you, now."

"Hiccup?" her voice called again, closer.

"Jack, please," Hiccup begged, squeezing the sprite's shoulders so tight as to draw blood, if Jack had any to lose. When he didn't respond, Hiccup cursed. He pushed Jack away. "Fine," he slandered, "Fine. If you won't let me come with you, I'll just go myself. There's nothing left for me here, anyway."

He climbed up on Toothless' back, strapping his foot into the stirrup. He adjusted several straps about his waist, looking back to give the tail fan an examination. Satisfied, he gripped the saddle before him.

"Come on, Toothless." He looked back down at Jack, his green gaze wet with finality. "You're the lucky one, Jack. You have someone who loves you every moment you're gone."

Toothless shot up into the air, just as a blonde Viking burst out of the brush.

"Hiccup?" she called. Her mouth hung open in shock. "Hiccup? Is that a dragon? Hiccup? Hiccup! Get back here!" The boy only sped away faster, and Astrid shouted after him, "Traitor! You're a rat!" Her voice broke, and she gasped away the tears.

Chest heaving, she reached behind her as Toothless took a small dip in the air. Her battle-ax swung into her grip, and she took the leather strap in her hand. It took a large arc, before she whirled it, spinning it in her grasp. She gave a loud grunt, and it flew from her grasp after the dragon.

A white dart, invisible to her eye, reached the weapon first. Wood struck the metal away, and it fell from the sky with a flurry of snow, and the strangled cry of the shattered winter met her ears.

Astrid's nails bit into the palms of her hands, and anger shook through her body. Tearing from her throat, she screamed, "You aren't a Viking! You were never a Viking! I should have known you were a coward! Don't you ever show your face here again! Do you hear me Hiccup? Never again!"

She broke into a sob, falling to her knees.

Up high in the air, Hiccup released his own tears, and they froze on the wind, as a winter sprite appeared beside him, burning with the envy of mortality.

A/N: Why are my endings always so overdramatic? Like my Author's Notes.

Anyways, thank you for reading! Love you!

~Renoku