I AM SOOOOOOOOO SORRY! I won't go into too much detail, but basically in the past couple months I suddenly left the province, my computer broke and I lost almost EVERYTHING, I got (and lost) a job, and school started again. I promise the delays shouldn't be this long again...I hope...Oh, and my friend won the bet on the number of 'DUN DUN DUNNN' reviews XD
...
No one in the room moved or even spoke. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop for the first few moments as the boys stared at each other in disbelief. Of all the people in the room, it was Mr. Smith who spoke up first.
"Alright. You're all ready to leave whenever you'd like. I'll leave some cards on the table in case anyone is interested in talking to anyone here at the hospital. Thank you for coming today." Mr. Smith then proceeded to drop a few pieces of paper onto the small table in the room and walk out the door, sealing it behind him. Hiccup was almost insulted by the lack of apology, but then he realized that an apology in this scenario may have been insulting itself.
The silence remained for another few moments, during which the boys managed to take their seats. The quiet started to move from tense to awkward, and Aster finally found it in himself to break the silence.
"Wow, Jack, what're the odds you'd walk through that door?" was all the university student could say. However it did garner a response from Toothiana.
"Wait, Aster, you know him?" she asked, tears no longer flowing; at least for the moment.
"Yeah, I actually met him yesterday for a few seconds. He was one of the guys Hiccup went out to dinner with, remember?"
Turning to him, she asked, "You're that Jack?" He nodded in response but said nothing.
"You two are friends, yes?" North asked, again receiving a nod from both boys. At that point, Toothiana stood up and made her way over to Valka, sitting on the arm of the couch next to Valka.
"I'm so sorry that you have to go through all of this."
"Don't apologize," Valka said immediately. "This wasn't your fault. I'm Valka by the way."
"I'm Ana, and this is my husband Nick," Toothiana explained, pointing to her husband. "But everyone calls me Toothiana and him North. That there is our son Aster and my brother-in-law Sandy." Valka nodded, but Jack was the next to speak. He had been waiting for Toothiana to finish talking to his mother, not wanting to interrupt.
"So, you're my biological mother?" He asked Toothiana, and she nodded. "And you're my biological father?" North nodded in response. "Wow, it's hard to believe that at 16 I'm meeting you for the first time. I mean…" Jack started, but he stopped when the crushing realization hit him. It appeared that it had hit Hiccup at the same time too, looking around and suddenly having his face drop.
"Hiccup, I'm so sorry you'll never get to meet him," Valka said, managing to fight back her own tears. She wouldn't say his name, not at the moment. She needed to maintain her composure.
The blatant statement caused a chain reaction of realizations among everyone in the room. Stoick would never get to meet his real son, and Hiccup would never get to meet his biological father. Hiccup realized, however, that while it hurt to know that, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He never really knew the man and had no previous emotional attachment, so while it still upset him it could have been worse. Hiccup spoke to break the new found tension.
"I just feel like I should say that my real name is Hayden. Everyone just calls me Hiccup. When I was taken home I had a case of the hiccups." Hiccup immediately regretted saying the last sentence, realizing that that might be a bit of a sore spot, but no one seemed to catch on or care.
"Which do you prefer?" Valka asked immediately, not wanting to upset her son by calling him the wrong name.
"Either is fine. Maybe just stick with Hiccup for simplicity's sake."
"Hiccup it is then," she said with a smile, or at least the closest thing to a smile she could muster.
Hiccup was fighting an internal battle with himself at this point. He wanted to give Valka, the woman who had brought him into the world, a proper hug, but at the same time he wondered if that would be truly appropriate. After all, he didn't know her at all. He noticed Toothiana seemed to be waging the same war in her head, her arms restless as she spoke to Jack. The conversation slowly began to die down, and North took it as an opportunity to interject.
"I think we should leave hospital. Is not good for anyone to be here. Why don't we all go out for lunch, hm? My treat at Mead Hall?"
No one found a reason to disagree, so Hiccup grabbed Toothless as the group left the room and piled into the elevator to get to the parking structure. When they arrived at the point where they would have to split up between the cars everyone paused and looked at the boys, placing them in the spotlight once more. Aster was the one to speak up this time.
"How about I take the boys, dad you take Sandy, mom you go with Mrs. Haddock?"
"Please, call me Valka," she insisted, and Aster nodded.
"Sound good?"
When everyone started off to their designated rides, Aster took that as a resounding yes. He led the boys silently to his Volkswagen and started it. As he drove, he glanced into the mirror to the two boys who had sat together in the back seat.
"Guys, I'm really sorry about this." They only shrugged, so Aster continued. "Guess it's a good thing you were friends already. Otherwise it might've been even more awkward."
"I guess," Jack responded. "But what happens now?"
"Dunno," was Aster's short reply. "But I'm sure something will get worked out. It always does. But look at it this way, it's like you both have two families now! That's two groups of people looking out for and caring for you. Even if it feels strange at first I'm sure you'll get used to it. I'm the only one with a downside here."
"Oh? And why's that?" Hiccup inquired.
"Because now I have two annoying brothers instead of just one."
The boys couldn't help it; they each let out a smirk.
...
Aster was the first to park in the restaurant's parking lot, and Hiccup momentarily wondered what to do with Toothless. While the cat seemed happy in the car at the moment, Hiccup was worried about what would happen if they were in there for a long time. He didn't think that simply rolling down the windows would be enough either. As it turns out though, Hiccup's worries were for naught.
Toothless awoke as Hiccup opened the rear door, took a look around, and climbed the fence against one side of the parking lot that led into someone's backyard. Toothless started walking along the fence in the exact direction of the house, and Hiccup had a feeling the cat would know where he was going; he was an outdoor cat after all. Who knew how far the cat could go. The cat mewled once before it was off, and Hiccup didn't have any residual worries for the animal. When Jack looked confused, Hiccup explained.
"Toothless is an outdoor cat. He'll be able to find his way home."
"You know, you didn't explain to me why he was named Toothless," Jack pointed out.
"Remember the story I told you about my leg?" Hiccup prompted, continuing when Jack nodded. "Well, Toothless was the one who came to my aid first. Took out that dog all on his own. Lost a few teeth in the process, but I got to keep him and being a kid I named him Toothless."
Jack had no time to make a comment as just then the other cars pulled into the lot. Aster had gone inside almost immediately after parking, and everyone made their way to him. When they were seated inside the restaurant, Jack and Hiccup sat down next to each other and were instantly chatting and laughing. The adults all shared a confused look, but Aster let out a knowing smile that only North saw. He made sure to sit next to Aster, expecting to get an explanation.
"What exactly happened on way from hospital," the man asked in a hushed voice. Aster needed a moment to register the voice, not being able to remember the last time the man had spoken so softly.
"I just had a little talk with them. Nothing big. But I think they'll be good, at least for now."
"Well thank you. You are good brother." Aster took the complement with a smile, returning his focus to the menu.
As Sandy took the last seat next to Toothiana, Jack leaned over to Hiccup.
"Hey, Hic? Who's that over there," he asked, nodding in Sandy's general direction. "He hasn't said a single word all day."
"Oh, that's my uncle…well I guess YOUR Uncle Sandy."
"Hey, don't say that. Remember what Aster said? We're one giant family now," Jack smiled, nudging Hiccup with his shoulder. "But continue. Why hasn't he said anything? Is he ok?"
"Hey, Uncle Sandy!" Hiccup called across the table. "You feeling ok? You haven't said anything all day."
"Yes, I'm fine. I just haven't had much to say," he signed, which Hiccup translated for Jack.
When Hiccup nodded Sandy looked away, and Hiccup turned his attention back to Jack. He had to hold in a laugh; Jack looked shocked like he had just been randomly attacked with a 2x4. He closed Jack's jaw for him and shook his head.
"What's wrong?"
"He's…deaf?" Jack asked, incredulous.
"No, but close. He's mute. He can hear us perfectly fine, he just can't speak. Or make any noise for that matter."
"So you know sign language then?"
"Yup. Better than Aster over there."
"I heard that!" the Australian accented student hollered.
"You were supposed to!" Hiccup retorted. He noticed Valka and Toothiana smiling at him, and he cocked an eyebrow in confusion. When they laughed a little Hiccup looked over at Jack, finding he bore the same confused facial expression. When the girls stopped laughing, they explained.
"Valka and I were just talking about how great it is that you two get along." Toothiana explained.
"Yes, it's really making this whole process much easier than it could have been," Valka confirmed. As she finished speaking a larger man with a fake leg and arm and a braided beard walked up to the table, stopping right behind her.
"Valka how are you? It's been a while since you've been in here!" the man said happily and patting her on the shoulder.
"Gobber! I know. I've missed it here. But, you know, with recent happenings…"
"Hush! There'll be no talk of that here! Only happy times!" He glanced up to Jack and called a quick, "Hey Jack! Good to see you again too!" before returning his attention back to Valka. "So, who's the rest of the group here?"
Several pairs of eyes trained on Valka. The entire Frost family was wondering the same thing: would she tell the truth? Was she ready to spread it around already?
"Oh, this is Toothiana and North, their son Aster and North's brother Sandy. You know Jack down at the end there, and next to him is Hiccup." Everyone immediately looked away to avoid being suspicious, but they also all noted that she had specifically avoided mentioning or even implying Jack and Hiccup's lineage.
"Friends of yours?" Gobber asked, eyes sweeping across the table.
"New friends," Valka confirmed, "But they are already like family to me."
"That's great to hear! I hope to be seeing a lot more of the lot of you here! I'll go get Bertha to come take your order in a minute. I've got to get back to the kitchen. I'll talk to you later!" Gobber waved goodbye and headed back into the kitchen, the door swinging shut behind him.
True to his word, Bertha was by a minute or so later. She too greeted Valka and Jack and Valka gave her the same explanation of the group as she had to Gobber. She then proceeded to take their order before leaving them to talk once more. The boys immediately went back to talking, so the adults remained talking amongst themselves. The happier the boys were today, the better for everyone. Plus the adults could learn about the kids from each other.
"Hey Jack," Hiccup asked, catching the boy's attention once more. "I was wondering about something."
"Hm?"
"A while back when I first introduced you to everyone, Fishlegs let slip my interest in dragons."
"I believe he said a love of dragons," Jack smirked.
"Irrelevant," Hiccup stated, but he couldn't help but smile as well. "Anyways, when he said that, I noticed you smiled. What was up with that?"
"I always smile like that," Jack defended, but Hiccup was having none of it. "Alright fine. I may or may not have a mild interest in dragons as well."
"Really? That's cool! What's your favourite species?"
"I like the Polar Serpent personally."
"Wow, you love the cold a little too much. You really are related to dad...North…whatever."
"So which is your favourite species, hm?"
"Definitely the Night Fury."
"Ooh, dark and mysterious. I like it."
"Back off, that's my species," Hiccup cracked with a smile, nudging Jack.
As he did that Bertha and Gobber returned with plates of food, setting them down on the table. The group hungrily dug into their food, and Hiccup definitely noted that they would have to come here more often.
...
The group stayed in the restaurant for four hours, making it almost five o'clock when they walked out the front door. The restaurant had started to pick up for dinner, and the group didn't want to hog the table for longer than necessary. As they got to the cars, everyone paused.
"Valka, I feel like we have much more to talk about, but I feel like this has already been a long day for many of us," North said. "Perhaps we could get together tomorrow at our place to talk? I understand Jack already knows the address." Jack nodded at this.
"I understand. Is ten an acceptable time?"
"That sounds perfect," Toothiana piped up. "We'll see you tomorrow Val."
"Bye Tooth."
Jack and Hiccup looked at each other with a confused look. Their moms already had nicknames of their nicknames? They shrugged it off until they realized they had another moment of confusion: tonight may be obvious, but where would each boy end up living after this whole ordeal was over? Their future living arrangements may be the hardest point of their recent discovery.
...
That night both boys slept in the beds they had for years, but something felt off. It was home, it was where they had always belonged, but it almost didn't feel like it. There was something not right that threw off both of the boys' sleeping patterns. Perhaps it was fact that they learned they were not under the same roof as blood, or perhaps simply the new discovery had rattled them further than they would like to admit; further than they thought it had. No amount of suppressing, no matter how well they had pulled it off during the day, would actually suppress the underlying issue. Perhaps this was not something they could get over as quickly as they had originally thought. And then came the thoughts as to if they would even be sleeping under their current roofs tomorrow night. An uncertain future was always unsettling, and while no one knew it, it was something that was bothering the adults as well.
Both boys attempted to find solace in something, Hiccup in Toothless who was sleeping at the foot of his bed and Jack in his own thoughts, but neither boy had much success. They both passed out in the middle of the night from pure exhaustion, wondering what to expect in the morning.
