The Journey Into Us

Pairing: Hiccup X Toothless
Rating:
M for Mature

Disclaimer:I do not own anything HTTYD-related.

Chapter 35

=Normal POV=
(Friday, 1/23/2020; 4:30 pm)
(Barbarchi City, Archipelago)
(The Park)

Five days had gone by, and Trayden wasn't having too much luck with finding a job. Either places weren't hiring due to winter and fully staffed, or he hadn't heard anything back after submitting applications online or in person. Trayden had a few interviews, but no one had called him to say he got the job. Trayden tried a variety of places that were in a familiar area of work such as restaurants and bars, but he didn't limit himself to only those two types of work. Trayden did try at fast food and grocery stores too. So far, nothing. Trayden wasn't discouraged, and thankfully, he had enough money in savings to probably get him through to May with rent and bills. Meaning he would need more money for June, so he had some time to find a job, but he also didn't want to kill his savings because as much as the money was used for bills and rent, there were emergencies that came up. Trayden knew that his car had inspection coming up, and he knew that tires were going to be necessary to pass. Trayden supposed he'd just have to keep trying, and if nothing else, he had the offer from Hunter and also to return to work for Andrew.

Today, Trayden had spent going around the city and seeing if anyone was hiring. Trayden was now walking around in the park for the sake of not sitting in his apartment bored to death. Yes, Trayden wanted more time to do things, but not to this extent. Trayden liked working as much as he enjoyed seeing friends and family, and that's all he'd wanted more time to do. Everyone was busy today, so Trayden hadn't talked to a lot of them unless they were on a lunch break of had a few minutes to chat. Even Hunter was busy with show stuff, so Trayden felt like he should just wander the streets or park for a bit. It was good exercise for him as Trayden noticed that he'd gained a few pounds in the last two weeks. However, the time was now 4:30 pm and Trayden figured he should be heading home to figure out dinner. Trayden kept along the path with his coat zipped shut and hands in his pockets.

"Tray?" He heard a voice from behind as Trayden stopped and glanced over his shoulder to see Hunter. "Hi. I thought I recognized that jacket," Hunter chuckled, getting up beside Trayden now. Trayden was wearing his signature black jean jacket with an embroidered Strike Class symbol on the back. The symbol was for the fabled Night Fury dragon. The jacket had black fur on the inside, so it was warm for winter and Trayden was seen wearing it almost all the time when outside or coming in from outdoors. "Heading out or coming in? He asked, motioning to the fact they were standing at the entrance/exit.

"Hey. Out and home to figure out dinner. I take it you're on one of your jogs?" Trayden replied.

Hunter nodded. "Just finished. I was going to text you when I got back to my car to see what you were up to today. Seeing you in person is much better," He smiled. "You opposed to joining me for dinner, since we were both about to head home to make that? I figure we could hang out, catch up, and eat out somewhere,"

How could Trayden say no? He hadn't really wanted to go home and be bored again. "Sure. Sounds way better than what I had planned for my night," Trayden smiled.

"I'm honored that I'm better than whatever you planned," Hunter grinned as Trayden laughed a little and shook his head. "I'm not taking you from anything important, right? You said you had plans,"

"No, no. My plans for the night were leaving here, going home to make dinner, clean up, sit on the couch and watch TV, Netflix, or Hulu until I decide I should go to sleep. I planned to be bored by myself all night," Trayden shrugged as they started making their way out of the park.

"Looks like we ran into one another for a reason then," Hunter informed. "So I can save you from being alone and bored," He stated. "Now, where did you park your car at?" He wondered.

"I didn't bring my car. I left it at the apartment, I've been walking around most of the day." Trayden shrugged.

"Then we'll take my car, it's right out here along the sidewalk. Gives your legs a break, and we can warm up heading to dinner. I can drive you home after," Hunter mentioned, leading Trayden to his car, and unlocking it. Trayden slide into the passenger seat, and buckled as Hunter was getting in the driver's side, then buckling as well. "So, where to for dinner?"

"Anywhere is fine, Hunt. You know I'm not picky," Trayden reminded as Hunter chuckled some, turning on the car, then the heat.

"Anywhere it is!" Hunter joked. "I've got a place that I think you'll like,"

"Lead on," Trayden responded. Hunter moved into traffic and they were headed down the road.

About ten minutes later, Hunter pulled into the parking lot and shut off the car once he found a spot. The two males stepped out of the car and Trayden looked over the place they were at. "Here we are," Hunter moved next to Trayden as they made their way towards the entry door.

"I know this place," Trayden remarked.

"Yeah?" Hunter asked once they got inside.

"Mmhm. It's where my ex-girlfriend works," Trayden answered.

"Most recent ex?" Hunter wondered. Trayden nodded to him. "We can go somewhere else,"

"Nah, it's fine," Trayden smiled. The hostess came over with a smile, grabbing two menus, and two place settings.

"I apologize for the wait. Two this evening?" The girl beamed.

"Yes, please?" Hunter replied gently.

"Table or booth?" The female inquired.

"Either is fine," Trayden said when Hunter gave him the shrug that it was up to him. The woman nodded, leading them to a place in the back of the restaurant. It was a booth, and not far from the bathrooms.

"And here we go. Your waitress will be Gabriella, and she'll be right with you. Enjoy!" The female had set both places, and then quickly returned to her position.

Trayden and Hunter both started looking over the menu right away, so their order would be set when the waitress came. "What are getting?" Hunter questioned.

Trayden glanced around at the different things. "I don't know, maybe one of the wraps. I've always been a fan of the honey barbecue chicken,"

"That does sound good," Hunter nodded, seeing the option in the sandwiches and wraps column. "Shredded lettuce, cheese, tomatoes…And it comes with fries or onion rings. I'm sold," He added. "You want a starter app to share?"

"I need to watch how much I eat, especially since the rest of my night after this is sitting around," Trayden admitted.

"Oh, never mind," Hunter stated. "You and I have the about the same figure, and you stay pretty in shape for sitting around,"

"That was when I was working…I'm mostly stationary these days and gaining weight, which is why I walked everywhere today," Trayden informed.

"Come on, live a little. And here I thought I was the one who had to watch my figure and stick to a good eating and exercise diet," Hunter laughed some. "I'm lowkey finding ways to waste time so I can get more with you," He winked. "If you're that worried about it, I know fun activities that could burn calories and feel good," Trayden felt his cheeks burn from the blush that just appeared. Of course, Hunter would suggest foreplay and sex. "I'm trying to figure out if all the blood drained to your cheeks, or some of it went South and now you're both embarrassed and turned on," He grinned.

"You're terrible," Trayden rolled his eyes.

"But you love me anyway," Hunter shrugged.

"It's really hard not to," Trayden reminded. "You're irresistible, remember?"

"Hm, quite true," Hunter agreed. "I'm flattered that you love me,"

"I love all my friends," Trayden chuckled.

"Including the ones you're sleeping with?" Hunter smirked.

"If they were; one, single. Two, the girls were males. And three, willing…Then sure. But since that is not the case, I suppose that just makes you my special friend," Trayden countered.

"Oh, touché," Hunter smiled, nodding his head approvingly at what Trayden said. "I'm fine with being your special friend," He added with a little laughter. "Do I get to be your only special friend, or once you experience everything, you gonna play the field?" Hunter leaned forward, chin on his connected fingers and elbows on the tables with a smirk.

Trayden glanced down a bit. "Haven't really thought about after. Definitely no to random strangers, maybe with friends, and yes with a boyfriend when things got to that point, I guess." He admitted. No, Trayden would absolutely not just look around for random hookups with strangers. He was fine with still having sex with Hunter, but didn't want to just announce that and it would only go on for the times he was single and opportunity arose that it could happen. It went without saying that if Trayden had a boyfriend, he would be loyal and only sleep with that one person when the relationship became intimate.

"Should I tell Eli and Jason to be ready? Totally joking, of course. I know how bad they want to play with you, it came up in conversation last Friday when you got sick and didn't come over," Hunter enlightened.

Trayden blinked. "Play with me?"

"Mmhm," Hunter nodded. "You're the new gay guy in the friend circle, so it's like…New toy they can see what they could do with. That's, at least, how I think their minds are operating on the subject regarding you,"

"Okay, guess that makes sense…But still. I don't know about a threesome. I feel like I'm to new for all that," Trayden confessed.

"Hey, it's personal preference, handsome. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to or aren't comfortable with and they have to respect your boundaries and limits," Hunter reminded.

"What are they like?" Trayden asked as Hunter arched a brow. "Threesomes," He clarified.

"Three people pleasuring the hell out of each other. There's no real wrong way to do it, just have to make sure it's good for each participant. Example being that I could fuck one person, and finger the other. Or someone fucking me, but I could be sucking the other guy off," Hunter explained. "All people involved have to be aware of limits and boundaries, as I said before,"

"I guess I'm not against it, but iffy right now while I'm still coming out of my shell and learning stuff," Trayden mentioned.

"Everyone is new at one point or another, Tray. Don't think you're the only one who ever felt silly for not knowing something or awkward, super shy, any of it," Hunter reminded gently. "The only difference is the amount of time everyone takes in getting to a place they're comfortable, and there is absolutely no rush in making it to that point." He added. "For me, I knew I was gay from a young age and was comfortable with my sexuality. I only kept quiet to avoid trouble. And even at fifteen when I knew it was average time teenagers would be fully aware of what they were, I told my parents and was kicked out. Yeah, I had my downs about their reactions, but it didn't change that I was still gay. And once I got past the hurt of my parents not accepting me, but they can accept Greg…Well, I've been this way ever since. Open, flirty, forward."

"Don't know if I'll ever be like that," Trayden admitted.

"You've come a long way, just saying. But consider that you battled your sexuality for a while, Tray. Not a couple weeks or months, but years. And that's not a bad thing, but like I said, everyone moves at their own pace. You also had a lot going on when the full attraction to only men hit. The crazy work, what happened with your ex, trying to make time for friends and family. That stuff takes away from you focusing on you because all of it can make you stressed, overworked, tired, and you know that can affect your physical and mental health," Hunter informed.

Trayden nodded to him, knowing it fully well. "I suppose," He shrugged. "I don't think I've come all that far,"

"Well, that's you," Hunter smiled. "An outsider looking in, say me, says you've come pretty far from when I met you two months ago. Two in February, at least. But it's like, what? Eight days until February, so close enough that we can call it two months. When I met you, there was nothing by shyness and uncertainly. But slowly, you found yourself in a group of incredibly open people and saw that it's perfectly fine to be yourself with us," He explained. "Because we don't judge, and we're good with basically everything. A month ago as of tomorrow, in fact, you very forwardly admitted you wanted to experience things with a male. A day later, you got your first blowjob. And two weeks from that, when you thought you wouldn't be ready to have sex for a while, ended up feeling ready to just let it happen," He continued as Trayden blushed. "And I think you've become my match in sarcastic, sexual comebacks too,"

"I learned from you," Trayden mumbled.

"So what? Who cares where you learned from, the point is that you did. You've come this far in like, seven weeks, Tray. That's immense progress for someone who only just accepted they were gay back in…What did you say? September? October?" Hunter asked.

"October," Trayden confirmed.

"Did you think back in October when you accepted you were gay that over the course three, almost four months you'd end up where you are now?" Hunter inquired.

"No," Trayden shook his head.

"Then see? You were only all shy and stuff from when you accepted you are gay in October, to the start of December, when you met me. And we've been working at getting you out of your shell since then. Here you are a week before the end of January and you've kissed a guy, and had sex with one. You have also come out of your shell a bit since meeting me and my friends. So in my eyes, yes, you've come pretty far, Tray." Hunter smiled. "Don't get discouraged or put yourself down, handsome. One day, you'll wake up and nothing about being gay will bother you, that everything is okay, and everything that makes you shy or embarrassed will fade. You always stay firm on your limits, boundaries, and pace. Always remember that it's-,"

"My choice?" Trayden questioned.

"Bingo," Hunter nodded with a wink. "And those few things stay with you for life. Whether you are a newbie or been doing it twenty years. Don't change for anybody. Never force yourself to put up with someone who pressures you to try something that is outside your comfort boundaries and beyond your limits. If you have said no, and they push, put your foot down. If you must, walk away and tell them you're done. Never stay with someone who won't respect you. Understand? If they don't accept and respect you as you are, then they don't need to be in your life and they aren't worth your time," He advised.

"I will keep all that in mind," Trayden responded with an affirmative nod.

"Good boy," Hunter teased playfully. Trayden blushed a little, but before either of them could say anything, a group of people caught their eyes. It was their friends, but not all of them. At a quick look, it appeared to be Bryan, Alyssa, Hailey, Ethan, Rylee, Tyler, Devon, Thaxter, Chelsea, Shane, and Fisher.

"Tray? Hunt?" Devon asked.

"Hey," Hunter gave a smile. "Out for dinner?"

"Yeah, we were all hanging out at Bryan and Devon's place after practice earlier and figured what the hell, lets all go to dinner," Thaxter chuckled.

"You were both invited too," Hailey informed. "But we never got an answer,"

"I've been with Trayden the last twenty minutes. We met in the park, I'd finished my run and he was just leaving. Since we were both headed home for dinner, I invited him out to grab a bite with me since we haven't seen one another in a couple weeks," Hunter explained. "I haven't checked my phone since I started my jog, so that's probably why I didn't respond,"

"I also haven't checked my phone in a while, I actually think it's about to die or has died," Trayden mentioned as he pulled it out of his pocket. "Yeah, it's dead," He added before slipping it away once more.

"We're all here regardless," Tyler chuckled.

"We could all join together?" Alyssa suggested.

Trayden subtly rolled his eyes and gave a light sigh. It happens so many times, he could even remember the exact number of when his friends would run into him and sort of insert themselves just because they were in the same place to hang out. Normally, he wouldn't mind, but this dinner was supposed to be him and Hunter. Not himself, Hunter, and everyone else. Maybe it was a little selfish of Trayden to want to keep the outing at what it was intended to be, dinner between him and Hunter.

"Perhaps next time," Hunter told them as Trayden looked at Hunter with some surprise. "We never received your invite, so it was never agreed on that we'd join you. I already set my dinner plans with Trayden this evening," He added, looking at Trayden with a smile, which made Trayden smile back.

"Well, alright then," Bryan stated.

"Uh, enjoy!" Fisher said as they moved just a few tables down to where they had been seated by the hostess.

"Think they're surprised I declined their suggested?" Hunter asked.

"I'm surprised you said no," Trayden admitted.

"Why are you shocked? I never got their message and neither did you. We ran into one another at the park, neither of us having dinner plans and I invited you out so we could hang out and catch up," Hunter chuckled. "Since we never received their invitation, it means we weren't committed to those plans, so we were free to make our own and that's what we did. Just because they showed up here for their group meal and we happen to be here too doesn't mean that we have to break our plans to join theirs since we had been invited and happen to be in the same place. Know what I mean?" He informed.

"I see your point…I just didn't want them assuming anything…" Trayden mumbled.

"Let them assume. It's only an assumption until you tell them the truth. No matter what they say, it's only what they think until proven wrong or right. So if we don't say anything about their assumptions, then it just stays an assumption," Hunter winked. "Now…The waitress is coming over it looks like, we doing an appetizer? I promise to help you work it off later," He grinned.

"Fine, fine. Nachos, or Mozzarella Sticks," Trayden caved, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Hunter beamed at his victory in getting Trayden to agree to having an appetizer.

"Mozzarella sticks sound good," Hunter replied at the woman, Gabriella, approached them with the order pad out.