He Is… Supportive
Hiccup walked to the forge, Jack reluctantly floating behind her. She hefted the door open and a blast of heat hit her in the face. She heard Jack wince behind her. Hiccup turned back and smiled,
"You know, you don't need to stay. I've been working alone in the forge for years,"
"I know that," Jack smirked. "But now, I'm here. We're friends, aren't we? Friends do this sort of thing for each other... Right?"
Jack's question wasn't rhetorical. But Hiccup wasn't sure how to answer. Neither she nor Jack had had any friends before, so the whole 'friendship' thing was new for both of them. Every new challenge, every new emotion, every new bought of laughter… it was exhilarating and Hiccup loved it. She always knew she wanted a friend, but she never realized just how much she needed one, too.
"I'm not really sure," she answered, "But I would love your company."
Honestly, Hiccup wasn't sure if that was completely true. She had never worked with anyone other than Gobber in the forge, and he usually left her alone to do her work.
"Yeah, don't expect me to help you with anything, though. The forge is all… 'hard work and deadlines,' and I'm more…"
Hiccup giggled a little at Jack and finished his sentence.
"You're more snowballs and fun times,"
"Exactly!" Jack exclaimed. Hiccup turned around to face him, leather apron in place. She put her hands on her hips as she blew a little piece of hair off of her forehead.
"Well, thanks for keeping me company anyway,"
"Of course," Jack shrugged as Hiccup started up the fires in the forge.
XxX
It could have been minutes or hours later, but Hiccup was done doing the jobs Gobber had assigned to her the previous afternoon. As she swiped the sweat off her brow, she continued to talk to Jack while clearing the forge down for the night.
As she was about to leave for the night, ready to accept the cool night air, she turned to Jack to tell him how glad she was that he had stayed with her. The words froze in her throat as she took in Jack's appearance.
He was still handsome (he was always handsome), but Hiccup had never seen him look quite so… run down. His face was pale in a clammy fashion, and his eyes looked pained. And yet his voice was still so cheerful.
Words weren't enough. Hiccup stepped closer to her only friend and hugged him. She stepped away quickly, though, realizing that her own body heat would probably only serve to make Jack more uncomfortable.
"Thanks for staying, Jack." Hiccup said before she left back to her house, letting Jack go do whatever he needed to do. As she walked up the hill to her house, Hiccup couldn't help the warm feeling in her chest. And it wasn't because of the forge. It was because of—ironically enough—Jokul Frosti. Jack Frost.
He had been so uncomfortable. But he had stayed. And Hiccup was happier about that than she would've liked to admit.
"Are you sure about this?" Jack asked, hovering behind her as Hiccup finished packing a basket of supplies.
"Are you trying to stop me?" Hiccup said, trying to sound braver than she felt.
"Well, no." Jack said. "Just want to make sure you know what you're doing. Running away, I mean… it's a big decision. Sure, you'll have Toothless and me with you, but, are you sure you want to do this?"
"You and Toothless are all I need." Hiccup smiled before turning back to her supplies, even though she had packed everything she could possibly need. She just needed a minute to compose herself. Jack had said that she would have him. That warmth was back in her chest, and Hiccup wasn't too sure about what to do with it.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Hiccup stood in front of the cage, helmet in hand. Jack put his hand around her, and even though his lack of heat made her shiver, Hiccup snuggled into his embrace. If everything went well, she would tell Jack just what he meant to her.
"Hiccup." Jack said. Hiccup waited for him to say more, but Jack seemed content to leave it at that and just tighten the grip he had on her shoulders.
"It's time, Hiccup," Gobber said from behind her. "Knock 'em dead."
The gate opened and Hiccup stepped through, expecting the chill from Jack's presence to leave. But it didn't. Jack was still with her.
"Do what you have to, Hic, but don't think I'll make you do it alone," Jack grinned down at her. Hiccup looked up at him, still shocked at how much the winter spirit actually worked at being close to her. "What? Don't think I'll always let you be the cool, heroic one in this relationship."
And so the two of them had walked into the Nightmare's arena together.
Hiccup had seen Jack's face before she had flown up with Toothless. He had finally figured out the plan. And Jack was definitely not happy. But what could Hiccup have done? They were Vikings, and exceptionally stubborn Vikings, at that. If Hiccup didn't kill the Red Death right then, the village wouldn't have moved. They would have kept coming back, trying to kill it themselves until no one but Elder Gothi was left to actually fight it.
She would explain it all to Jack later. She would tell him everything and she would hold him close and cry into his shoulder because the sky was yellow if she wasn't damn scared right then.
But Jack wasn't stopping her. He wasn't that type of guy. He would let her do what she needed to do, and he would help her or support her the entire time. That was the type of guy Hiccup had never had before, but it was the type Hiccup had always needed.
"Even before Toothless, Jack was there. He was with me when no one else was, and he always supported me. Sometimes, he didn't even know he was supporting me, and other times, he did even though he didn't want to. But now I'm worried that… he isn't going to be on my side anymore. I'm worried that Jack's going to just… not care. But even though I'm telling you that, I kind of know that there's no way that could happen, because he is…"
