Pairing: Jack x Hiccup

Genre: Romance, Drama + Angst

Warning: NC-17/T

Warning: only half beta-read

All characters belong to Cressida Cowell, William Joyce and DreamWorks Studio. May contain some OOCness.

Guldberg-Waage law – the law of mass action – the rate of a chemical reaction is proportional to the concentrations of the reacting substances; when the forward reaction rate equals the reverse reaction rate (that is, at equilibrium) then, at constant temperature, the product of the concentrations of all the products divided by the product of the concentrations of all the reactants is itself a constant (Keq).

The weekend came to an end way too fast in Hiccup's opinion. He didn't even have time to catch up with Fishlegs and the teen already had to go.

In the evening both he and Astrid walked Fishlegs back to the train station, with his new console wrapped in different papers and tapes, to prevent it from getting wet or dirty.

They talked for a few minutes on the platform, but not for long as Fishlegs' train rode onto the correct rails and stopped to let the passengers in.

"I hope to see you two soon!" Fishlegs said, hugging Astrid first and then giving Hiccup a half-embrace as a farewell.

"Holidays are only three months away." The blonde haired girl added, patting the boy on the arm.

"Three months is a long period of time." Fishlegs said, raising his eyebrow.

Astrid only smirked, leaned closer and glanced at the package standing between them.

"Yeah, but now you can fill this time with this baby."

Hiccup groaned loudly – a sound which echoed around them and made a few people glance in their direction. Seriously Astrid!?

The girl snickered at his reaction and then moved away.

Fishlegs got in and moved to the window when he had found his place. He waved at them from behind a glass and then quickly disappeared in his seat as more and more people started to walk through the compartments.

Astrid and Hiccup waited for the conductor's whistle and then observed as the train rolled away from the platform, with the wind swishing past it, ruffling everyone's, who were still standing there, hairs.

Hiccup stared for a few more seconds at the dot on the horizon and then sighed, feeling that way too familiar emptiness overpowering his stomach. Hanging with Fishlegs was fun, nostalgic and simply calming.

It was similar to hanging out with Jack, yet there were some aspects which were totally different.

"Are you ready to go?" Astrid asked, nudging his shoulder and then pointing with her head at the underground tunnel.

Hiccup blinked and nodded, following his friend's steps down the stairs.

"Guess who is a part of the Prom Organization Committee?" Tooth asked, tilting her head and making her rainbow colored hair fell on the table, spreading around like sand on the beach.

"I'll take a wild guess and say that you?" Aster mumbled, not lifting his head from the books he had sprawled on the table in the cafeteria.

"You guessed right!" Tooth chirped, shimmering with mirth.

Jack was glad. He couldn't imagine himself actually trying to organize such big event, but Tooth had been talking about it since they had started attending High School.

Though it was also kinda sad, because usually the organizers didn't have time to enjoy the party they had organized.

"So did you already plan something?" Jack asked instead, leaning his elbow on the table and putting his chin on his palm.

"We mostly split tasks and budget. So you know, every person will know how much they can spend on their part."

"And what did you get?" Jack continued the topic, finding happiness in Tooth excitedly answering him back.

"I will be in charge of decorating the Gym!"

Oh, so she got the perfect job for herself.

"Nice." Aster said, not even moving his head an inch.

Even though Bunny wasn't looking at them, he was probably listening to their conversation. Maybe not even intentionally actually. They could be interfering with his learning for a test he had in just a few minutes, but knowing him he probably had already learned a lot and now was only repeating it.

"Yeah, I'm so happy! I have so many ideas. White ribbons everywhere! Or maybe not only white! Green and white! Yeah and a few blue balloons, but very light blue! Oh maybe we should also color the punch!"

Tooth waved her hands around, speaking fast, faster and faster with every second. In just several minutes Jack had at least four different images of the Gym – and Tooth was still spurting ideas, some more colorful, some more toned down, but every one seemed amazing and delightful in Jack's opinion.

Even Aster stole a few glances from time to time in the girls' direction.

But soon after the bell rang and they all had to go to their respective classes. They both helped Aster pack and bid him farewell, wishing good luck on his test. Both Jack and Tooth walked to their next class. The girl was still chirping to him about the prom. She was still doing so when they entered the classroom and found their places, somewhere in the middle, because the girl hated to sit at the back. She always said that she was too small and couldn't see anything from there.

"So yeah, basically those were my first ideas!" Tooth said, taking out a pencil case and flipping open her pink notebook to another page not filled with notes.

Jack blinked and glanced at the girl.

"First?"

"I'm just really excited about it."

"I can see." Jack said, also taking his things out and clicking his pen a few times. Yep, it still worked.

"So I hope you and Hiccup will definitely go and see my work."

Jack smiled softly at her, feeling as his heart leaped inside his throat, beat heavily and knocked loudly on his chest.

To be honest he had thought about it. That lone thought had sneaked into his mind a few days ago when Tooth had mention prom, but then it had been buried under the pile of other problems, situations and things that had needed to be think through first.

"There is still a lot of time before the prom." Jack said, because this was the honest truth.

There were still around three months before the party and so so much could happen in those three months, so he didn't want to make any quick choices and decisions.

Even though he already knew what he wanted. But what Jack wanted could not be the same as what Hiccup wanted and he respected his wishes more than his owns.

"Yeah, I guess." Tooth said and then turned her head to the door which opened.

Their teacher walked in, clicking her heels on the tiled floor and turning to them with a smile stretching over her mouth. She greeted them and then put all her books down on the desk.

"But it still would be nice to see both of you there." Tooth added in a shushed whisper, leaning to him so that no one else besides Jack would hear it. "I definitely expect you there."

Jack sent her a grin and a slight nod of acknowledgement.

"I won't miss a party you organized." He replied at the same volume.

He was Jackson Overland. There was no way he could miss his own prom – that wasn't even an option here.

Tooth smiled to him and then turned her head to the chalkboard and the teacher who had started speaking a few seconds ago.

Hiccup laid on his bed and stared up at the ceiling with Toothless sprawled on his stomach.

The cat looked up at him when he sighed loudly.

He glanced down at his cat and scratched him behind the ear. Toothless tilted his head, letting out a soft purr which resonated inside Hiccup's stomach loudly, making him calm down immediately.

"No worries, there is nothing wrong with me." Hiccup said, when he stopped petting the cat and he still looked at him kinda worriedly.

Because it was true. There was nothing wrong with Hiccup – or at least not in a physical meaning. But there was something that was bugging him internally – emotionally – for some time actually.

Jack. Jack was bugging him nowadays. Not in the bad way, not in the way that Hiccup didn't like spending time with him, not in the way that he was repulsed by seeing his messages or while talking with him. It was actually on the contrary.

Jack was bugging Hiccup in that very positive way.

And there were those weird symptoms he was having nowadays while he was around Jack. At first he hadn't quite noticed them, as they had been small, tiny even, to this point it had been almost impossible to see them without a scanning electron microscope* (or maybe even a transmission electron microscope?). But they had been growing with time, multiplying, raising inside his body to this point Hiccup couldn't quite now not notice them.

So he did.

He was conscious of those weird flips his stomach sometimes did whenever Jack looked at him or moved closer. He noticed the clenches of his chest (lungs? Maybe even heart?) when Jack's mouth would stretch into that adorable, kind, kinda goofy smile. He knew that his brain had the ability to turn off whenever Jack would say something nice to him.

And there were sometimes those weird… urges.

(That sounded bad, but Hiccup didn't know what to call them otherwise.)

Because sometimes he could feel the need – the surging want – to do some small thing. Tiny movement. Sometimes it wasn't much. A small pat on the shoulder, a jab to the side, maybe even a poke to the cheek. But sometimes it was different. Like there had been a time when Hiccup had stared at Jack and felt this sudden, surprising urge to push his white hair away from his face – and okay, they had looked like they had been getting into his eyes, but that still hadn't explained Hiccup's urges. But that had been only a beginning.

Sometimes he simply wanted to step closer to feel the sweet warm radiation emanating from Jack's body. Sometimes Hiccup's hand would twitch in search, in need for something.

(And there had been this one time, when he had wanted to hug Jack, to feel his hands wrap around Hiccup's body and do something similar in response, but as quick as that thought had appeared, Hiccup had burned it and buried the ashes somewhere in the dark part of his mind.)

So yeah, at first Hiccup could have not care about those small thoughts, but now… now it was getting out of control.

And he had to know what was happening, because not being sure what was wrong made him utterly terrified.

He had a few ideas – some were more possible and some totally weird and absurd. He analyzed them all. He wrote them down in his brain, glancing at them from different perspectives, trying not to immediately assume some ideas as fully true or fully false.

Because the world wasn't all black and white, but gray – Astrid's voice whispered somewhere in the back of Hiccup's brain.

There was one idea that made Hiccup's insides kinda twist. That kinda familiar twist with a curling and swirling feeling somewhere inside his lungs. This sorta sparkling sensation, buzzing in his ears. These somehow vibrating voices inside his mind – whispering, cooing, shouting, yelling and nudging and nudging and nudging at the back of his skull.

And it wasn't a negative, but kinda positive sensation, which warmed him from the inside and made him shiver with excitement and sparks of happiness rolling down his nerves to his hands.

So even though Hiccup wasn't fully sure and there was some kind of fear still gripping tightly onto his limbs and consciousness, he picked this option as the most possible one. He put it above the list and circled a few times, pondering over it inside his head.

He had a few evidences, a few memories, a few things that would confirm, that would verify this thesis. But he didn't have enough. There were still a lot of aspects that needed confirmation, that needed more evidences, that needed more time so he could be fully sure that…

That it could be true.

(But that idea didn't terrify him as much as he thought it could. It was still kinda scary, but there was some kind of cool peace overflowing his whole body and mind.)

Toothless stood up from his stomach and trotted to his chest, where he curled down, laying his head between Hiccup's cheek and bed.

Hiccup softly stroked his fur, smiling at the purrs which resonated in his body.

Jack hadn't managed to catch Tooth alone for four days. With her starting to work on the prom and Aster almost spending every minute with Jack at school it was almost impossible to find a few minutes to be able to talk face to face with the colorful girl.

Jack could always write to her, but there were some conversations he preferred to have in person. And this was one of those.

Plus he kinda wanted to see Tooth's reaction in real life.

So one day he managed to see her exiting a classroom together with other people, talking excitedly about something.

"Tooth!" Jack shouted, raising his hand and waving at her to try to get her attention.

The girl swished around on her heels with her red skirt swirling around her body, only to slowly float down. Her painted, violet lips turned into a smile as she waved at him back. After that she exchanged a few words with the rest of the team, bid them farewell and approached Jack who was standing not that far away.

"Hiya Jack." She shouted.

Jack smiled, reached and ruffled her hair, kinda destroying the colorful braid she had.

Tooth shrieked and tried to swat his hand away, but only managed to grab it.

"Jack, stop!" She pouted, glancing at him from between green and red fringe.

Jack moved his hand a few times more and only then moved his palm away.

"You're mean."

"No, I'm not." Jack quickly said, grinning at the grimace Tooth sent him.

"You are. Sometimes!" Tooth started putting the strands back into her braid, furrowing her eyebrows in the process. "Are you done for today?" She asked.

Jack slowly shook his head.

"Nah, I still have training in an hour or so."

"Oh, then where is Aster?" The girl inquired, looking behind Jack like she expected for their friend to magically pop out from thin air.

"He had some consultations with a teacher." So this way Jack had some free time to find Tooth and talk privately about something. Less than an hour was hopefully enough to fill Tooth in on what had happened lately. Or what Jack had seen a few days ago actually. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Sure." Tooth said, tilting her head and looking very surprised. Her face even had that look which said 'we are talking right now, but okay', however Jack had to be sure.

"Cool. You mind walking me to the Gym?"

"Of course not." Tooth smiled

They turned and moved in the direction of the sports hall, shuffling their feet slowly through the tiled corridors. Jack purposely waited till they would pass a pretty busy corridor, before he started speaking.

"So…" He licked his lips. "Do you maybe remember our conversation? The one from a few days ago?" Or more than a few days ago actually, but Jack was bad at guessing how much time had passed since then.

Tooth chuckled.

"You have to be more specific, Jack. We talk everyday."

"The one in the girls' bathroom."

The rainbow haired girl twitched, but the smile didn't disappear from her mouth. Yet there was some sad, some disheartened glint in her eyes.

"Oh, that one. Yeah, I remember it. What about it?" Then she blinked and some kind of relevance stormed through her eyes, which looked right back into Jack's ones. "Wait! Did you find out something?!" She spoke, raising the volume of her voice with every spoken word.

Jack quickly looked around, but gladly the corridor was empty. Wait, no, there was a lone freshman getting his stuff out from a locker, but he barely paid them any attention really.

Heh, kinda sad. The freshmen didn't react so excitedly after seeing him as they had used too. There had been times when Jack couldn't walk through the corridor without stopping to chat for a bit, but now it was different. Not like one hundred and eighty degrees different, but just a few degrees different.

"You can kinda say that. I mean, maybe not find out, but well…" Jack started, looking away for a brief moment, scratching his nape, only to sigh in the end and stare back at his friend.

He told her about the small meeting and whom they all had had met in the cinema during Saturday evening.

Tooth listened intently, nodding from time to time, but when Jack got to the reveal, she opened her mouth and stared in astonishment at him.

"So I was right!" She shouted and then clasped her hands over her mouth, when Jack put a finger to his lips. More quietly she added. "So were they on a date?"

"No." Jack shook his head. "Or at least both of them said that they weren't and that they just met there."

"Oh." The smile which had appeared on Tooth's lips dissipated a little, but didn't fully disappear. "And what do you think, Jack?"

"Me?" Jack blinked, kinda surprised by this question, but shrugged in the end. "I mean if they both confirmed that they weren't on a date, then I believe them."

Tooth nodded.

Even though Aster had lied to him, Jack still believed him. Because no matter how honest Jack tried to be, some lies sometimes slipped past his lips, without his brain thinking about them in the first place.

Plus something in their posture told him that it could be true.

They hadn't been on a date, however it didn't mean that they didn't have feelings for each other. Those could be hidden, locked away deep in their hearts and minds, so the outside world wouldn't see them.

"Okay, but that doesn't mean Aster doesn't have feelings for her." Tooth nodded to herself, holding her chin between her fingers like she was pondering over a war strategy. Or maybe for her it was a love war strategy in the end. "So this meant he still could have a crush on her."

Jack made an uncoherent sound at the back of his throat. Some people would interpret it as a negative answer and some as an agreeing reply and it looked like Tooth was in the first group, because she turned to him with a wide smile on her lips.

"We need more evidence."

Jack shrugged.

"No, Tooth, we're not playing Ace Attorney in real life." He said.

Plus he didn't really want to spy on his friend.

"Hold it! But it could be fun!" Tooth said, clasping her hands together and staring at him with mirth dancing in her fluttering eyelashes.

"Objection! No, it won't. There is a thin line between something being fun for you and hurting someone." Jack knew it pretty well, being the King of Pranks in this school taught him many things.

Because there had been some jokes that he wasn't quite proud of. Or even if he could, he would move back in time and told his stupid old self that he should stop right there.

But they had happened and Jack had learned his mistakes from them. So yeah, he didn't want to repeat them.

Tooth pouted, but nodded at him.

"Yeah, maybe that would be going too far."

"You think?"

"Man, but it still could be fun."

"Your definition of 'fun' is totally different than mine." Jack concluded, looking at his colorful friend with sympathy swarming his eyes.

Tooth stuck out her tongue at him and then giggled happily.

"So what do you have in mind then?"

"I actually thought that maybe you could ask him?" Jack asked, glancing at her.

Tooth hummed under her nose and then glanced down at her swishing red skirt. They walked through the corridor near the cafeteria from which they could hear shushed conversations and laughter echoing off the walls in an empty corridor.

"But won't it be suspicious then? He will know you told me."

"I mean, is there anything bad in telling you that I saw them together?" Jack asked instead.

"No, not really. But I thought we were staying in the shadows in this matter." Tooth said, turning around the corner.

The door to the gym stood proudly in the far away end of the hall. Two people from his team already stood there, talking with each other about something while waving their hands around.

"Yeah, but sometimes we need to get out." Then like an afterthought he added. "Plus I think in this matter he would prefer to talk with you than me."

Tooth's mouth twitched, forming something like a hesitant, but very warm and radiant smile.

"Well, maybe he likes to rely on my woman's intuition." She said, the small grin turning into a wide grin, stretching from ear to ear.

"That could be the reason." Jack admitted.

Tooth nodded.

"I'll ask him subtly about it." She finally said, glancing at him for a brief second.

"Thank you."

They walked for a few more minutes, before Jack reached the gym and his two other teammates. They waved at them both with smiles gracing their faces. The girl did it back excitedly and then turned to Jack to give him a brief hug. Then she was walking away, the red skirt fluttering around her like butterfly wings.

Now he only needed to wait.

"So Hiccup." The man said, looking at him after he finished cleaning the chalkboard. "The contest is in a month. Where are you standing with your project?"

Hiccup moved his fingers, unclenched them from a strap of his backpack, only to clench them again.

"I think I should finish it in…" Wait, Dagur had told him that a few days ago. Hiccup only needed to remember the correct date. Think, think, think. "… two weeks?"

Hiccup wasn't sure if that was the correct date, but the smile stretching over Professor Robinson's lips and his radiating presence made him forget to care about such trivial things.

"I'm so glad! For a moment there I was afraid we wouldn't be able to finish it on time, but it looks like everything is going smoothly."

Hiccup nodded and then moved his backpack higher on his back, not really sure what else he should say.

But to be fair, there had been times when he had thought about giving up. But with Dagur's help everything was smoothening out, to this point – when even though his project was probably the lamest of them all – he felt really proud of achieving so much.

"Yeah."

"Oh, gladly the display isn't that far, it just an hour by car!" The man said, clasping his hands together. "If it was further I would have to ask school for funds, and I doubt they would cover the costs of going there. But gladly it isn't that far away."

Hiccup nodded again.

Professor Robinson was still moving around the desk, gathering some old tests, moving books here and there, grabbing pencils to put them in a cup and collecting projects, talking excitedly about the future, when Hiccup found a small, short span of time when Professor Robinson had to take a breath to ask his question.

"Uhm, I'm just curious…"

"Yes?!" The teacher lifted his face quickly to stare at him with clear positivity vibrating in his muscles and eyes.

Hiccup glanced to the side, but then quickly returned his stare at his teacher.

"Did Dagur already finish his project?"

Professor Robinson blinked and then burst in soft, kind laughter.

"Yeah, yeah he did. Around a month ago."

"Oh, okay."

To be honest Hiccup was really curious what the other teen had built. But Dagur hadn't wanted to tell him and Hiccup wasn't this type of person who asked other people about the truth. So asking whether he finished it was okay – to some point of course.

"Oh, I'm so excited for both of you!" The Professor said, staring at him with the kindest and proudest of smiles gracing his face.

Well, to be honest, Hiccup wasn't that excited about the idea of going there. Just the three of them – yes, this couldn't end well. But lately he was on quite good terms with Dagur (could he even call it that) so maybe it won't be that terrible? Hopefully.

It was still a month away, so Hiccup had still a lot of time, so he could worry about it later.

"Okay, don't make me stop you. I'm sure you have a lot of other things to do!" The man said, waving his hands.

Hiccup had quite a few things he still wanted to do today. Like finish his experiment in the laboratory. So yeah, he could use those minutes.

Hiccup said goodbye to his teacher and walked outside the hall. He stepped slowly through the school corridors, passing the last few people that just like him attended some clubs. Some talked with each other and a few lonely souls stomped quickly, passing Hiccup by like the wind.

He checked the phone in his pocket. He swiped his finger on the screen and smiled at the name blinking happily there.

Jack had replied, around twelve minutes ago.

Hiccup quickly opened the message, feeling this something sizzling inside his stomach, like someone just threw a match into a beaker full of hexane* – though Hiccup hoped that it wasn't hexane which was burning inside his stomach. That would be actually terrifying.

His fingers moved above the small keyboard as he pushed letters to write a quick reply. Hiccup knew that Jack had training today, so he wouldn't be able to answer him for another two hours, but that was okay. This way he would be able to focus fully on his experiment and not be distracted by his phone, waiting for another reply.

:Evidence no. 7:

Hiccup catalogued this information inside his head and then clicked send. Just in perfect synchronization with his so perfect life kicking him once again in the shins. Or actually being hit on the forehead by an opening door in front of him.

"Shit!" Hiccup immediately shouted, feeling the pain surging from his face to his neck.

Seriously, okay, he needed some award for his bad luck in life. Because this was impossible!

Hiccup massaged his forehead. After a second he took off his glasses and inspected them with his blurry sight. They didn't look destroyed or even cracked, but he wasn't sure. It was hard to see anything with his eyesight now – which felt like it was getting worse and worse.

"Uh sorry, didn't mean that."

"No problem."

Hiccup moved the glasses closer to his face, but he still couldn't see a thing.

"Everything's okay with them?"

"I'm not sure, I can't see."

"Gimme."

And this someone, who had attacked him, grabbed his glasses to inspect them by themselves. The palms appeared in his line of vision only to disappear a second later.

Hiccup lifted his face. Oh, he knew those contours, he would recognize them anywhere. But somehow he didn't feel anything – no negative emotions, no fear rippling through his limbs. It was like any other encounter.

"They look okay for me."

The glasses were returned to him and Hiccup put them on. He lifted his head higher and, yeah, he was right.

Dagur was standing in front of him, eyeing him suspiciously or curiously or maybe even worriedly, like he searched if something else than Hiccup's glasses and pride could be broken. But he only had hit his forehead and gladly nothing else was wrong with him.

They stood like that for a few more second, before the taller male's lips twitched and opened one more time.

"Uh, sorry again. Didn't mean to."

If someone had told him a few months ago that he would be standing in the middle of the corridor with Dagur who was apologizing to him because he had smacked him face first into the door, Hiccup would have burst in laughter at that person. But he was here, doing exactly that, without feeling even a little bit nervous.

Life was weird sometimes.

"Don't mention it. I should also look where I am going." Hiccup said, simultaneously glancing down at his hand and phone he still held dearly there.

Yup, that probably should teach him that from time to time he should lift his head to at least check if there were no obstacles on his road.

He intended to lift his gaze and maybe look at Dagur, but the pile of books the teen held under his arm caught his attention. Without thinking too much about it Hiccup tilted his head and started to read the title of the first one.

Oh, he knew it. He had read it! He loved it.

"You like sci-fi?" Hiccup asked instead, raising his eyebrow at the taller teen who still stood in front of him.

The red haired male blinked and the angry look he usually wore (even now) softened a teeny-tiny bit. A very small bit, so small that it could be almost impossible to see it without looking at it through an optical microscope with a high magnification.

"What?" The teen said, maybe even snarled, but at this point Hiccup was kinda used to that tone and didn't flinch.

He only moved his hand and pointed to the first book of the pile.

"You have The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy here." Hiccup said.

Dagur blinked and then like he really wanted to confirm this information he took out the pile from under his arm to stare at the title.

"I'm not a big fan of them." He finally said, turning the book over in his hand to stare at the back of it. "But I heard that it's a good one, so I decided to finally borrow it."

Hiccup nodded.

"It is a good one. Plus also funny." Hiccup added, smiling softly under his nose.

He had read it around three years ago and he had a blast while doing so, so he would gladly recommend it to other people.

"Can I see what else you've got there?" Hiccup asked, staring at the rest of the books in Dagur's hands.

To be honest, he was kinda curious what other titles he had there. He knew for a fact that the teen had read his favourite book – 1984. And through their tutoring session a few times Hiccup had caught references to other novels too, so he couldn't stop the first sparks of interest from appearing inside his mind, like substance crystallizing automatically in room temperature.

"Sure?" Dagur said and then passed him the books.

The first one was obvious, so Hiccup almost immediately moved it to the very bottom of the pile. The second one he didn't really know. But it looked really interesting, so he tried to remember the title so he could check it later on the computer. The third one was The Name of the Rose. And the fourth was Solaris.

In the end those were titles Hiccup would definitely also read.

Hiccup moved the third book to the very top and looked at it curiously. He wanted to read it for some time, but never had enough time to do it. Plus he had other books waiting patiently (or not) on his bookshelf.

Hiccup lifted the book and waved it at Dagur.

"Tell me later if it's interesting." He said, feeling the corners of his mouth twitch.

Dagur looked… really taken aback – yeah, that would be a good combination of words to use here. His eyes widened a little bit and split lips (oh, he had a bruise there, how Hiccup hadn't noticed it earlier) opened, forming a small, squished o.

"I've been meaning to read it for a long time." Hiccup said, like some sort of an explanation that in reality didn't explain anything and was only just a small added statement to fill the gap.

But Dagur acted like it explained everything as he gave a short nod of his head.

"Uhm, sure." He reached and took the books from Hiccup's grasp. "I will."

Hiccup tried to smile at that, but he felt that it came out a little bit crooked. But gladly he didn't have to do it for long as his phone pipped in his hand. He almost immediately looked at it, feeling something inside of him swirling happily.

yeah, right… (._.") okay

i have training now! ( ᐛ )/

Hiccup was just about to click a reply, when he heard Dagur above him speaking:

"Is it… uhm, Jack?"

Hiccup's heart hammered inside his chest, as he lifted his head hesitantly and nodded.

"Yeah." He answered quietly, wrote a quick reply and then pocketed his phone.

"Oh." Dagur mumbled and then moved his weight to another leg.

Wow, they were both a kinda weird, sorta nervous, mess. But Hiccup wasn't nervous in that bad meaning of the word, not in the fearful way hidden inside this word, but he was more like a lost nervous.

And Dagur looked simply out of place, like he wasn't sure how to act in this particular situation. And maybe he really didn't. But it looked like there was an inner fight happening in his mind, with the wrinkles appearing and disappearing on his nose, smoothening and waving intermittently. His hand clenched and unclenched.

"I'm happy… for you." Dagur finally said, but the words were clashed and glued together and it took Hiccup some time to decipher them. "For… both of you." He added after a second.

And Hiccup should be happy. He really should be happy. Because now it felt more real than ever that Dagur stopped pestering him.

But Hiccup didn't feel the twinge of happiness inside his gut. To be honest he felt a sudden wave of guilt and shame overpowering his stomach, flooding it with thick, heavy something that weighed him down, further and further away from the surface. It made him twitch internally, it made him shiver, it made him want to lay down and curl up.

Hiccup's felt his breath getting lost somewhere in the middle of his throat and he had to clear it to answer. Because Dagur was stealing glance after glance at him.

"Thanks." Hiccup mumbled, feeling like something was scratching his neck from the inside.

Dagur looked up at him and nodded.

"So I guess, see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup said.

The taller teen finally closed the door to the library and turned on his heel to stomp away with the pile of books secured tightly under his arm.

Hiccup observed him for a few more seconds, looking as his posture was getting smaller and smaller with every step he was taking away from Hiccup, until he simply turned around the corner and disappeared fully from his sight.

He sighed and slowly moved forward too.

It would be embarrassing to say goodbye and then move in the same direction, right?

Hiccup was doing him homework and finishing his project (slowly, but finally, wow it was so amazing to even think that he could finish it in the next few hours or so), when he got a message.

His hand immediately moved to his phone to grab it and brush the touchscreen.

hey… i know this is dumb

but do you have zzome time

to talk? （･_･｀）

Hiccup stared at the message and all this warmness that had spurted inside his stomach and laminated his insides died down immediately, replaced by thick worry climbing up his chest to his throat.

But at least Jack added an emoticon, so probably nothing terrible had happened. Hopefully.

Whenever Jack talked about really important matters, he never really used emoticons. But to be honest he rarely talked about anything important via messages. He always preferred to meet and talk face to face.

Would this be the case here?

Hiccup stared at his homework. He still had a lot to do and the deadline was tomorrow, so he wasn't sure if he had a lot of time to do it. But on the other hand he didn't want to leave Jack alone with his problem.

Hiccup mulled the idea over in his head, biting his bottom lip softly for a minute or so, before he nodded to himself and let his fingers move above the keyboard.

I have homework, but if

don't mind me doing it, you

can come over to my house? :)

Okay that was enough.

Hiccup put the phone away, but he almost immediately had to grab it again, when Jack responded.

Wouldn't I be interrupting you then? (.`･﹏･.)

No, not really. Just come here.

Okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes.

Hiccup sighed and put the phone away. Toothless, who was laying on the desk, lifted his head and pried open his eyelids to perk curiously at Hiccup.

He reached and scratched the cat under his head.

Evidence no. 19

Hiccup shook his head, feeling the worry constricting his stomach.

"I hope nothing happened."

Jack exhaled slowly as he stopped in front of Hiccup's house. Okay, maybe, if he had to be honest, he quite had fastened his pace to get here faster. But not significantly, just a little bit.

He rang the doorbell. The sound echoed in the house, jumping off the walls and crashing into doors.

Jack fidgeted in place, waiting, listening to the familiar sound of footsteps.

To be fair he had been meaning to talk with someone about this topic. With Aster learning so much, because the exams were getting closer and closer, and Tooth suddenly throwing herself fully into organizing the prom, Jack didn't know to whom he could turn.

Well, he wanted to talk with Hiccup about it, but for a long period of time he had felt like he would be bugging his friend too much. But the last escapade with the twins had convinced Jack that time was flying fast and he needed to make some decisions and direct his path for the future.

Hopefully a bright one.

The footsteps moved through the house and soon the door was being opened, with Hiccup's face smiling at him from the other side.

"Hey." He said and then looked down. "No, Toothless, you're not going out now. You've been an hour ago!"

Jack glanced down at the black cat curling around Hiccup's leg and looking up at him. Hiccup huffed, leaned and grabbed the cat. He stepped away from the doorway to let Jack in.

He walked inside and immediately looked around.

"Is your dad home?"

Hiccup shook his head, locked the door and then freed Toothless, who glanced up at him while flicking his ear and swishing his tail back and forth.

"No, he will be back in two hours or so." He responded.

So Jack didn't have to welcome anyone right now. Okay.

He took off his shoes and then hung his jacket.

"Something to drink?" Hiccup asked, yet he was already moving to the kitchen, not even waiting for Jack's reply.

"Sure." Jack said and then shuffled behind Hiccup.

"I'll take my wild guess and say that you want coffee, right?"

Jack couldn't stop the chuckle that tore through his mouth, escaped, seeking sweet freedom. So he let it out, feeling his chest swell up, almost to the point he was sure he could explode.

"Yeah, you guessed right." Jack nodded and then moved to the fridge to take out the milk.

They occupied their time by catching up on small things they hadn't shared via their messages and Jack could feel his shoulders relaxing, losing the tension they had held a few minutes ago.

Soon after they were going up the stairs with both cups and Toothless trotting after them. Well almost after, because in the middle of the stairs he sneaked between Hiccup's legs, almost making him slip. But the teen only glanced down.

"No, you got food."

Toothless meowed loudly and then moved to Hiccup's room.

They got inside and Hiccup's moved to his desk.

"Do you need a chair?"

Jack put the cup down on the nightstand and simply slumped down on the bed.

"Nope." He said, way too late as he was already laying on the bed.

Hiccup shook his head and Jack grinned at that.

"Okay, this homework shouldn't take me more than thirty minutes, so you can wait. Or talk and I'll be listening."

Jack hummed in reply, looking up at the ceiling above him.

"I can wait, if you don't mind." He said.

"Sure."

Even though Jack said that he would wait, they still talked as Hiccup did his homework. There was soft music playing from Hiccup's laptop, floating above their heads, mingling with the warm, comfortable atmosphere and it made Jack so drowsy.

But he couldn't sleep. Even though he felt that he could do it if he closed his eyes for longer than several seconds. The bed was comfy too, making him fell into the mattress and warm quilt beneath his back. But Hiccup's voice was bringing him back to the reality whenever he answered some of Jack's questions.

It smelled a lot like Hiccup here too. Well, it wasn't surprising, it was his own home, but Jack never really paid that much attention before. But when he acknowledged it, he came face to face with the biggest amount of scent spreading around his body. It was nice, kinda sweet, but had a hint of something new floating in the air. Maybe it was due to the house.

Jack laid on Hiccup's bed for almost forty minutes exchanging sentences with the boy in quieter and quieter voice. A few times Jack closed his eyes for way too long than he was supposed to, but he quickly and forcibly hoisted himself back to the reality.

"Okay, I'm done." Hiccup finally said. Then it looked like he turned in his chair, if the squeaking sounds were any indication. "Are you sleeping, Jack?"

"Nope." Jack said, but let himself have closed eyes for a few more seconds.

Only when he felt his mind returning to the real world from a faraway, kinda foggy land he opened his eyes.

Hiccup was staring at him from his chair, grinning weirdly to himself.

"What?" Jack asked, moving so he was able to sit on the bed and lean on the wall behind him. He stretched his hands in front of himself and yawned.

"Nothing. You just looked like you were comfy."

"I was." Jack nodded, opening his one eye and staring at Hiccup.

His coffee turned cold by now, but Jack didn't mind. He needed it to wake up. He slowly sipped it while staring at Hiccup, who stood up, grabbed his own cup and then flopped down on the bed, in front of Jack, who had to bring his legs closer to himself.

"So." The auburn haired teen started. "What did you want to talk about?"

Straight to the point. Without any preparation. But well Jack had around forty minutes to gather his thoughts, but he hadn't done that, so maybe it was his fault.

"Uhm, I need advice." Jack said, not really knowing how to start this topic.

"I'm all ears." Hiccup added.

Jack took a deep breath and poured his heart out.

"I don't know what I should do after High School."

He closed his eyes for a second, but then opened them after he let out a long exhale to look up at Hiccup.

Who was staring at him with kinda surprised look roaming around his face. But when Jack lifted his head, Hiccup shook his head and then crossed his legs on the bed, bringing the cup closer to his mouth.

"Like you don't know if you want to attend Uni or work?"

"Yeah, something like that." Jack nodded. "I don't know what I want to do."

Hiccup hummed.

"And what is your dad telling you to do?"

"North tells me that I should go to Uni." Jack said and then bit his bottom lip. "But he also told me that if I want to start working he would support me too."

"So that is good."

"Yeah." Jack said and then sighed. "And I'm happy that he will support me no matter what, but it makes me even more confused." He lifted his hand and combed it through his white locks, messing them up more and more.

Hiccup hummed as he took a sip of the coffee and then put the cup down, to rest it on the quilt.

"Okay, let's start from the very beginning and make our way up to the solution."

Jack felt his heart accelerating for a brief moment. He liked the way Hiccup talked about it – like it was their problem, like it was their future they were deciding on. Not only Jack's one. It made his chest flutter with sparks of electricity running through his limbs.

It made Jack almost think that they were together for real. And he wanted it, gosh, how much he wanted it. He wanted to be able to reach his hand, take Hiccup's own and know that the boy was feeling the same thing towards him. He wanted to be able to be near Hiccup for as long as he could, not because they both were gaining something from it.

Hiccup cleared his throat and Jack shook his head, focusing fully on the boy in front of him.

"So, would you mind going to Uni?" Hiccup asked.

"No, not really." Jack said, nodding to himself. "I'm afraid I won't be able to finish it though and all that money will be wasted." He took a deep breath. "And I don't want that."

Hiccup hummed under his nose and tapped his fingers on the cup.

"We will return to this topic in a second. Would you mind going to work?" Hiccup inquired instead.

"No." Jack said. "I don't mind working. I don't expect of course to get an amazing job at first, but I would do what I can do."

Jack sometimes had worked during summer holidays and he had enjoyed it. Well sometimes customers had been kinda irritating – even for him – but there had been times when it had been worth it.

Plus he had found joy in working. He had liked waking up and getting there, doing his job and being able to relax afterwards with his friends and family, or even alone. It had been rewarding.

And this way he could earn some money.

"Okay, so you wouldn't mind doing either of those things in the future." Hiccup murmured, but more like to himself than to Jack really. "Okay, let's return to the Uni part. Did you think what would you want to study?"

Jack nodded.

"I've been thinking about it, but I'm not sure really." Jack's hand landed on the nape, but it quickly slipped down onto his legs. "I mean, I'm definitely not a science fan guy like you or Aster and Tooth, so nothing like that. I'm also not into literature, history, psychology and engineering. I mean I can go into economics, but I don't know…" He sighed. "It doesn't sound too interesting to me and I can't imagine myself doing it really."

"Hmm then it really doesn't leave many things to study." Hiccup murmured, lifting his one hand and tapping his chin. "How about Computer Science?"

"I don't know. I think it's too hard for me. I like playing games on the computer and consoles, but I never got myself into programming or other things." Jack admitted. "I definitely thought about it, but I'm not sure."

Hiccup nodded.

"So that is a maybe."

Jack confirmed, bobbing his head. He grabbed his cup and lifted it to his lips.

"Is money a problem in this case?" Hiccup then asked another question and Jack slowly started to get the feeling like he was interrogated. But he wanted it. He wanted Hiccup to factorize it, he wanted Hiccup to break the problem down into small pieces so he could look at each and every piece to see from what they were made off and hopefully it would help Jack put them back together in a way that would please him.

Jack mulled over the answer in his head. Just how much could he tell Hiccup? He trusted him and he doubted there were any cameras in here, but Jack never really liked talking about money. It made him feel uncomfortable.

Yet when he looked at Hiccup he felt only clear scientific curiosity, like the boy needed a special ingredient to solve a formula – no hidden needs or plans. He only wanted to help Jack.

"Yeah. North actually has enough money to pay for my Uni. I mean, he has been collecting it for forever." Jack finally admitted, looking down into his cup and then tilting it to stare at the small rippling waves. "And I feel like I will waste all his time if I don't go." Jack added, glancing up for a second. "But if I don't go, then we won't have to worry about money for Emma's Uni."

"But Emma is still young, there is still a lot of time before she will even start thinking about it."

"I know." Jack nodded. "But we still wouldn't have to worry about it for a few years. And if she decided she wouldn't want to go, then we could use it for something." He then curled on himself, hunching his shoulders and bringing all his limbs closer to himself. "I kinda feel bad, you know?"

He more felt Hiccup shifting his position and probably tilting his head, than actually saw him doing so.

"Why?"

"Because some people can't afford it and want to go, but I'm here thinking whether I should actually go or not."

"Oh." Hiccup mumbled and then the air around them shifted, thickened even.

"Like Ruff, Tuff and Snotlout work so hard to go to Uni, but I don't know. I feel like I don't deserve to go. Like I have it easier than them, and it makes me feel so bad." Jack tapped his fingers on the cup, still not looking up at his friend.

"But life is like that." Hiccup finally said, after a minute of silence which spread between them, engulfed them in a tight, uncomfortable hug. "I mean, I don't want to sound mean, but life is like that. Unfair. You may have it easier in this case, but it doesn't mean your life is all that easy. It doesn't mean you will always have it easy in the future either."

Jack's twitched and then glanced up.

"Was that supposed to lift my spirits up?"

"No, not really." Hiccup said, a ghost of a smile dancing on his lips. "If you wanted someone to lift up your mood you came to the wrong person, unfortunately." He moved his hand and pushed his glasses higher.

"No, it's okay." Jack admitted. "But you're right."

"You shouldn't feel bad about it. But it's nice that you worry about such kind of things." Hiccup added, with the kinda evil smirk morphing into a softer, kinder one. "So okay, we more or less have this one side analyzed. Let's move to the other part." Hiccup took a sip. "You worked somewhere before?"

"Yeah, a few summer and winter jobs, not too much." Jack said.

"Is there a place where you could possibly start working after High School?"

Was there? Once he had worked at his aunt's restaurant and if Jack had to be honest that had been one of the best times of his life.

He really liked spending time in the kitchen, moving around, cutting vegetables, seasoning meat, moving ingredients on the frying pan and adding spices to the pot. He enjoyed making something utterly delicious (hopefully) from scraps and pieces of something. He liked to see people smiling after eating what he had made. He liked seeing their mood lightening up after tasting one of his dishes.

That was why he liked cooking at home.

His aunt was still way better than him, but she was cooking everyday. Jack every few days. But during that summer he had learned quite a lot of tricks and a lot of receipts.

Jack had worked a few times in other places too, usually doing small jobs like giving away leaflets or standing behind a cash register in a supermarket.

"I'm not sure." He answered finally. "I mean I could start working as a cashier once again."

"You would prefer to do something else, right?"

Jack nodded.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't mind doing it. Just I would prefer to work in something I kinda like?"

"Like?"

"Like cooking." Jack said, shrugging.

"Oh. You worked in a bar or restaurant before?" Hiccup inquired, lifting his eyebrow.

"Yeah, at my aunt's restaurant during one summer."

"Oh, I can see that the talent for cooking is swimming in your bloodline." Hiccup said, smiling at him from behind the cup.

There was a movement in the corner of their eyes and Toothless jumped onto the bed. He glanced at Jack and, seriously, the teen could feel the hostility this gaze emanated. After that the cat moved to his owner and made a few circles in front of him on the quilt. Only to climb into Hiccup's lap and lay down, facing Jack and observing him.

Hiccup's hand moved to the cat's head and started to scratch it slowly, almost absentmindedly.

Jack lifted his head, processing the words Hiccup had said several seconds ago. A talent in cooking? In their bloodline? Eh, Jack wasn't sure if he could cook that well. Tiana definitely could cook. Tara's dinners were also tasty (oh, how Jack missed them). North also was pretty good in it – mostly in baking as pastries were his specialty.

But Jack?

Was Jack a good cook? He liked doing it, of course. But he wasn't sure he was good at it. Well, people still ate what he made and even a few people complimented his dishes, but…

"Ehh." Jack finally mumbled, raising his palm and scratching the back of his nape nervously. "I don't know if I'm that good."

Hiccup opened his mouth, but then closed it and shook his head.

"But I know you are, so you only have to believe me."

Jack stared at him, blinked and then – oh, God – he could feel his heart missing a beat and then jumping high into his throat. He felt his hand twitch and the urge to scratch his neck nervously subsided. His hand flopped softly down on the bed, next to his hip.

It was an amazing feeling with happiness spreading from his chest to his limbs and mind, lightening it up with bazillion colorful sparkles.

It took Jack too long to find voice inside his throat.

"Thanks."

Hiccup smiled back at him.

"Okay. So well will there be a chance to work at your aunt's restaurant if you don't attend Uni?" He asked, continuing the topic from before.

"I'm not sure, I didn't talk about it with her." Jack answered truthfully, scratching his chin in thoughts. "But she is always complaining about too much work, so maybe?"

Hiccup nodded to himself, still patting Toothless who now gladly closed his eyes and stopped observing Jack and looking like he was ready to scratch his eyes out.

There was a silence between them as Hiccup stared at the quilt beneath. His eyebrows were moving, sometimes up, sometimes down, and sometimes he was furrowing them. His eyes were jumping, moving from one side to another, almost like he was reading some kind of inscription, or was following the code he was writing inside his brain.

Jack wasn't sure whether he should start speaking or not, so he occupied his time with drinking the rest of his coffee and looking around the room.

Hiccup's laptop was opened and even from his position he could see that someone wrote to him on Skype.

Then Jack's eyes moved to the window next to the desk and then to the shelves close to it. He slowly started to read every book's title, sometimes tilting his head or squinting his eyes to read the smaller letters. He got almost to the middle before Hiccup spoke again:

"So let's collect all information."

Jack turned to him and focused back on listening.

"You are not sure what to do after High School. On one hand you want to attend Uni – but you are afraid you may drop out, you won't like the major you will pick and that you will be wasting your father's money, right?"

"Seems like me." Jack mumbled.

"On the other hand you want to start working to earn some money and be able to start living by yourself, right? But in both options you are not sure what to pick."

"Yeah, sounds about right." Jack crossed his hands on the chest and nodded.

"Is your family urging you to go to Uni?' Hiccup asked.

"Yep."

"And how about your friends? Tooth and Aster? What are they planning?"

Uh, that was a harsher question. One that wasn't covered yet.

Jack fiddled with his fingers for a few seconds, gathering every information inside his head, forming sentences, changing the arrangement of words to come up with the best answer in this situation.

"They are planning to attend Unis, but in different cities." Jack finally said, hunching his shoulders.

"Oh." Hiccup mumbled and then after a second – a long, painful, empty second – he cleared his throat. "So you are separating?"

Damn, Jack's chest squeezed uncomfortably, making his breath hitch inside his throat and heart throb painfully.

He had thought about it like that, but thinking about it and hearing it personally in real life were two different things. And the second was usually way worse.

Jack wiggled his fingers and then decided on playing with the wrinkles of the quilt beneath his crossed legs.

"Uhm you could say that." He admitted, not even trying to smile as he spoke.

He didn't have to. Hiccup would understand. He always did. He could always sense when his smiles were fake, so Jack didn't even try right now.

Hiccup looked at him and licked his lips. There was some dark hesitation, some kind of a sad frown dancing, playing somewhere in the wrinkles which appeared on his nose as he scrunched it.

"And how do you feel about that idea?" He finally asked, glancing back at Jack.

How Jack felt about the idea of separating with his best friends? The answer was simple, yet it was incredibly hard to put it into words.

He, Aster and Tooth had been friends since like forever. Back when they had been kids they had spent a lot of time together and it hadn't changed since then. They shared many secrets, they were there for each other. They could count on each other when one would call or message asking for a meeting (sometimes it would take hours or sometimes a day, but Jack knew he could trust them).

And that idea simply terrified him.

Jack had heard stories about friends who stopped talking with each other after going to different Universities. Naturally there was a possibility of talking less with some people – because sometimes you can't find the time to do so. There were classes, lectures, homework, sometimes part-time jobs that kept interfering with your free time. Jack could understand that. He had seen it with his own eyes.

He had had a few friends who had gone to Uni and had started talking less and less with him. They were occasionally talking nowadays, but the connection now was strained, almost corroded, just waiting to be snapped in two.

And Jack hated it.

So the idea of being separated from his friends terrified him.

His heart beat painfully inside his chest as the possibilities ran through his head, giving him images of the future – future so empty of the smiles and moments that were daily life now.

Jack glanced up at Hiccup's worried eyes and sighed, trying to ease the tension his shoulders yet again possessed.

"To be honest?' Jack asked, even though he knew it was kinda stupid.

But Hiccup looked at him, bit his bottom lip hesitantly and nodded delicately.

Toothless opened his one eye and stared at him.

"To be honest I'm really terrified." Jack admitted, sensing his voice shivering at the end. But this didn't sound like enough, like he didn't really show how he felt using only those words, so he continued, feeling the pressure on his tongue as his chest pleaded to be free. "I know they've been meaning to go to Uni for a long time, but I guess only lately it really hit me. We never were separated for long, usually only for vacations and then we still had a lot of time to talk together." Jack put the cup away on the night stand to do something, just anything, with his hands.

"So you are scared that you are going to stop being friends, right?" Hiccup proposed, flicking Toothless' ear.

Jack nodded, feeling a bile forming inside his throat.

"Yeah. I mean I know that it could not be true, like we wouldn't stop being friends at all and we would remain as those till the end of our days, but I guess I'm just terrified of the possibilities. Like I know sometimes the distance can kill even the strongest bonds."

Especially with Aster moving further away from him nowadays.

"Well that is one way to play your future." Hiccup said. "But it doesn't have to end like that."

"I know. I'm just scared that it won't end happily."

There was a brief silence between them, when Jack could hear the birds chirping outside Hiccup's window.

"I understand your concerns." Hiccup said. "As a really pessimistic person I get it. I had the same worries when Fishlegs was moving away."

Jack lifted his head and started at his fake-boyfriend with curiosity shimmering, sparkling to life in his temples.

That was right. Fishlegs also had been and was a part of Hiccup's group. Back when the teen had been still living in Burgess and the twins and Snotlout had been attending High School, Jack could see them walking around together. However when the twins and Snotlout hadn't been with them, the trio always had remained the same.

(Back then Jack hadn't really paid that much attention to Hiccup. Jack had noticed him, but he hadn't been interested in him. He had a good memory of faces and names. Mostly because of Astrid who had been a little more famous than the rest of the trio.)

When the white haired teen didn't reply, Hiccup continued, turning his position a little. Toothless lifted his head and bumped it on the hand that now floated above his head.

"I was also terrified. I mean, I felt like our small group was slowly breaking. On one hand the twins and Snotlout were ending High School and on the other Fishlegs was moving to the other side of the country." Hiccup took a deep breath and then took a small sip. "At first we talked a lot, almost every day. And I thought that maybe it wouldn't be that bad. But then the new semester started and we started talking less and less."

But they were friends now. Jack had seen Hiccup talking with Fishlegs through Skype and through messages a lot, so this definitely couldn't be the end of the story.

"And then there was a time when I really thought we stopped being friends." Hiccup admitted, looking up at Jack. His hand stopped petting the cat and moved to wrap itself around the cup.

Jack still didn't speak, not sure what else to add.

"I'm usually not the type of person who writes first–"

"I've noticed." Jack quickly commented, not being able to stop himself. But he also wanted to say something to show that he was listening intently.

Hiccup shot him a small glance mixed with a glare, but his lips twitched into a smirk.

"– So yeah, that also played a role in it. And we probably would still be talking sporadically if Astrid didn't give me a lecture about writing to other people." Hiccup's absentmindedly shivered and Jack chuckled softly at that.

"Astrid's lectures are usually on point. And also harsh."

"You tell me. I get them every two weeks. I should start collecting stamps from them to get a free coffee in McDonalds."

"You should propose her this idea." Jack added.

Now it was Hiccup's time to laugh under his nose. He twirled the cup on the quilt and Jack noticed that it was empty.

He also had finished his coffee.

"The point is, even though I don't really like to write first, I tried to do so. And well, to be honest at first it was kinda weird. But I decided that I didn't want to lose what we had." Hiccup smiled up at him. "Fishlegs is one of my best-friends. And I'm sure Aster and Tooth are close to you too."

Jack nodded.

"So I think if you try, you can still be friends. And even though I don't know them that much, I think they will do the same. Of course, you won't talk as much as you used to and you won't be spending as much time together anymore, but sometimes this is a part of growing up. Not a nice part. But it doesn't mean though that by becoming an adult you will need to stop having friends."

That was true. Even though Aster had moved away, Jack couldn't really imagine him suddenly breaking all the contacts. The same was with Tooth, if not even more.

(But if Aster tried to break the contact, Jack would try to get it back. He didn't want to lose any more friends, especially the close ones.)

"So I don't think you have to worry about your friends." Hiccup said, with some kind of finalizing tone to his voice. "I'm sorry, I don't feel like I helped you enough." Hiccup reached and scratched the back of his head, moving his glasses a little during this process. "I think like I made the matter for you more complicated."

"No, don't worry. You didn't." Jack shook his head. "I mean you made me think about pros and cons of both options."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you pick the right choice."

"No worries. I have to do it by myself I think." Jack nodded.

Even though he had kinda hoped that the talk with Hiccup would made him chose an option immediately. It had been a kinda childish hope, but he couldn't brush it away. Yet nothing was always so easy in life. Things rarely smoothened out after one conversation.

But it did calm Jack down a little, made him less sensitive to some topics. Unfortunately he was sure he still will spend some evenings pondering about the possibilities over and over in his head, planning different pathways for the future.

Every way had its pros. And every had its cons.

There always will be some fog inside his brain, nudging him at weird times, filling his mind with ideas about a different future. But Jack didn't want to back down. If he picked one, he would be damned if he didn't finish it.

Though he was still kinda scared. Or a lot scared. But he had his family with him and friends.

"You do." Hiccup said, nodding to himself. "It's a choice you have to make on your own." Then there was a pause, when a lone crease moved through his forehead. "But remember to think about yourself. I understand that you don't want to be selfish, but there are matters when you have to be a little bit like that. No one else is going to live your life for you, so you need to focus on yourself and on what will make your life good." Then he tilted his head. "Thinking about your family's future is good too and I'm not saying you shouldn't take it in your account. You should. But it's your future and you are going to live it, so you need to focus on yourself too."

Oh, yeah, Hiccup hit the point. The painful point inside his mind that made his chest clench painfully and stomach jump high into his throat.

Jack hesitantly licked his lips and twirled the quilt in his fingers, staring down at it.

But he was right. Jack also had to think about himself when he was planning his future. He wanted to move out someday and live by himself.

(Maybe with someone by his side.)

So he had to think about how he could achieve that. It didn't mean that he wanted to stop helping his family, but every child had to grow up at some point.

And Jack was literally on the verge of jumping into an adulthood, crossing the border into another world. He had to find his way around it.

"Okay, I will…" Jack took a deep breath. "I will think about myself too."

"Great." Hiccup smiled at him.

Even though he didn't feel fully better, some kind of tension was lifted from his shoulders, was taken away from his chest, was brushed away from his mind, allowing him to think more or less clearly now.

And it this weird moment, a lone thought popped into his mind. That one which also concerned his future, but much closer one. The one that was maybe around three months away.

The prom. The prom that was happening after the finals, but was still a big part of his life. The prom that Tooth was organizing. The prom that wasn't that far away.

It would be a good moment to ask about it, right? They were talking about the future and they were alone, so there probably wouldn't be any better moment to ask about it than this one.

Because they were technically still dating. But even if they wouldn't be, Jack still wanted to ask Hiccup to accompany him to the party.

(He wanted to ask him about other things, but Jack wasn't sure if there was any point in doing so. Even though he deeply wanted to. There was a lone resonating sound inside his chest that begged him to do it, that pleaded him to let the words slip past his lips. But Jack held strongly.)

However asking about the prom was fine, right?

Right.

So Jack looked up at Hiccup, took a deep breath, trying to calm the stress suddenly playing a weird symphony on his nerves, and licked his lips.

"So Hiccup..." He started and immediately found out that he had problems with speaking. Damn. "… There is this matter I've been thinking about."

Hiccup blinked and tilted his head.

"Yeah?"

Okay, Jack got it. He only needed to use a few words to combine them in a sentence and then everything was going to turn out fine. Easy peasy. Jack definitely could do it.

He knew he could, but it was still so hard!

"There is this party coming up. I mean it's happening in a few months, but well, a few months is not that long period of time, so I've been thinking –"

Life had weirds way of making people share their secrets, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally.

This time it was unintentionally.

During Jack's rambling mess Toothless stood up form Hiccup's legs. But he didn't walk away, only made a few circles in place. Only when he found a perfect position, he started to move his paws, preparing a place for himself to sleep. And during this process he had been pulling Hiccup's jeans' pantleg higher.

Then something on Hiccup's now exposed ankle caught Jack's gaze. A soft glint of something silver.

He immediately stopped moving, looking curiously at this something definitely metallic sticking out from under the material.

"Jack?" Hiccup said his name, but Jack barely heard it.

There was something familiar ringing at the back of Jack's head. Like some kind of revelation. The memories, things he had noticed, but forgot about almost immediately started to swim to the surface, filling his mind with ideas. He had remembered Hiccup shifting his weight quite often, he had seen Hiccup limping sometimes from time to time, God, he once or twice even had heard Astrid asking Hiccup about his leg. But back then he simply had thought that maybe the teen damaged it a little, while running somewhere, probably for additional labs.

But it wasn't the case. The damage was there. Only not in the way Jack expected it to be there.

He could see Hiccup's head moving, glancing down at the place Jack was observing with wide eyes.

He felt a wave rippling through his ribcage, a sudden fear taking control over his chest, a storming shame overpowering his core, he felt concern knocking on his mind. There was a sudden hollow space inside his heart, a sad, dark place that got bigger and bigger as he looked up at the auburn haired boy.

Hiccup eyes were wide. Terribly wide with something utterly heartbroken fogging those deep, vivid irises. Jack didn't like this look, he didn't like how his body made him rigid, because damn, how he hadn't noticed it earlier. Why hadn't he asked Hiccup what was wrong when he had seen him massaging his leg? Why hadn't he done something to take away the pain?

Hiccup looked devastated, looked suddenly broken, looked like he was on the verge of –

"Hiccup?" Jack whispered, moving closer.

Hiccup felt like he couldn't breathe.

He felt his hands shaking with the coldness overpowering every finger, then his palms and arms.

His heart beat so loud, so fast, so quickly and it hurt. It made his chest clench. It made his lungs constrict, it made him feel like he couldn't use them properly, like they were broken.

Why was breathing so hard? Why couldn't he take one deep inhale?

He knew he shouldn't hide this fact about himself. But somehow, when he was spending time with his friends – with Jack – he often forgot about it. Because his friends didn't care that he had an artificial leg, that he wasn't complete. They had known Hiccup before it and had known him after that and they didn't care. They accepted him.

But with Jack he simply felt comfortable, to this point the thought of sharing his secret always slipped past his mind.

He wanted to tell him one day, but definitely not like that.

He knew how people reacted to it. Some with fear, some with worry, some with pity and even some with disgust. Hiccup had seen it all and more.

But something in Jack's surprised, betrayed, scared gaze, in his sudden tremble of the lips, in his sudden pale colors of his cheeks, in his sudden frozen and rigid posture made Hiccup terrified.

Because what if Jack changed his mind? What if he started to look at Hiccup differently? What if everything they had was lost? What if Jack decided to stop being Hiccup's friend simply because he was not complete?

So Hiccup stared right into Jack's fearful eyes and somehow he could feel it all again. He could feel the pain rippling through his chest, he could feel the end of his leg pulsate loudly, he could hear the wails somewhere in the background, with the light going on and off as he blinked and it hurt it hurt it hurt. There was a screech and someone was shouting his name and he wanted to reach somewhere, but he couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, everything was swirling, everything was getting foggy, he was here and there both in the same time and Hiccup was so terrified –

"Hiccup?"

It was Jack, Jack was calling him. But Jack wasn't there, he wasn't in the vivid memories playing in front of Hiccup's eyes and heart. Jack was in the reality, he was in front of him, he was still with Hiccup.

He needed some kind of an anchor.

But he couldn't move.

He wanted to do something, maybe ask for help, maybe grab some part of Jack to get out from the never ending ocean of memories and emotions that was pushing him further and further under the surface. He wanted to end the sensation running through his mind. He wanted to stop the movie being played in front his eyes.

It all happened in the past, he didn't want to relive it all again.

But he couldn't breathe and the world tilted, turned foggy, black dots started to scatter around, making him almost feel like he wasn't even here anymore.

Hiccup needed someone and he was so terrified. He was scared, he could feel the fear nibbling on his flesh, mind, everything and he was so so afraid and it all was so dark, so empty, so hollow and he wanted to take a break and he needed to breathe –

Then there was something warm wrapping itself around his palms, tightening its grip on his hands, brushing something soft on the tops and Hiccup looked forward, trying to decipher, to see Jack's face among the dark spots dancing around his eyesight.

"Hey, hey, hey Hiccup, I'm here! I'm not going anywhere!" Jack said. A shiver intertwined with his words.

He looked terrified, but he was still here, with Hiccup. He was still sitting in front of him, even when the shouts and yelps and names were echoing inside Hiccup's mind.

Hiccup tried to grip Jack's hand, but he was sloppy, he couldn't do it properly.

Jack moved closer and it seemed like his leg touched Hiccup's knee.

"Shit, I don't know what to do here, but Hic you need to… you need to breathe with me."

Breathe, yes, right. He needed it, he needed it to get rid of the black spots now slowly starting to rule in front of his eyes.

Jack took a slow, deep breath, staring at Hiccup and he tried to do it too, but it was hard to do so as he barely could see the white haired male in front of him. Then there was exhale and Hiccup felt like he didn't have enough air in his lungs to do it as long as Jack was doing.

The second try wasn't good either. The third one too.

"Okay, this isn't working, this isn't working…" Jack mumbled, sounding extremely panicked and Hiccup wanted to almost laugh, if he could actually do that, but his lungs hurt and everything was swirling.

There was a short pause and then Jack spoke again.

"Okay, I know, inhale when I'll be clenching your palms and exhale when I'll be unclenching them, okay?"

Hiccup tried to nod and he felt like he managed to tilt his head a little bit, but he wasn't sure whether Jack could actually see it.

"Okay, okay, okay, let's try it."

There was a slow squeezing sensation around his palm and Hiccup tried to take a shallow inhale. He held it for a second and then accidently let it all out when Jack started to unclench his fingers.

"Okay, okay, one more time."

Hiccup took another shallow inhale, but this time he managed to exhale as long as Jack was unclenching his sweaty palms.

"One more time, you're doing amazing."

Hiccup wasn't sure if he was doing amazing, but he started to hear Jack's voice almost normally, not altered and kinda fuzzy like a few seconds ago.

Another inhale and exhale, also short. Then another round, but a little bit longer. And another one and another and another and another.

The dark spots slowly dissipated from Hiccup's sight, moving away to the corners, only to disappear fully after a minute of repetition.

Breathe in. Hold a little bit. Breathe out. Repeat.

The shivers were still running down Hiccup's spine, but step after step they turned into shudders which only happened from time to time. The coldness which had overpowered his limbs dispersed slowly, leaving a sweaty mess in its place.

Inhale. Pause. Exhale. Repeat.

Jack's fingers were freezing cold against his skin, but they worked, clenching Hiccup's palm in synchronization with their breaths. They trembled from time to time, but Jack held strongly, guiding Hiccup with his soft voice, even though there was fear still hidden in his eyes.

Another inhale. Another exhale.

It took minutes to calm Hiccup down to the point when his throat unclenched and he was able to let out a few words, but not before coughing first.

"I'm sorry." Hiccup croaked, feeling utterly tired and childish.

Jack looked at him, still holding Hiccup's palms in his and still clenching and unclenching them as they both breathed.

"For what?" Jack asked.

Hiccup wasn't sure. Probably for everything. For scaring Jack, for hiding the truth from him, for messing up this quite good day, for making Jack see the miserable part of him, for needing Jack right now, for asking for so many things from him.

Hiccup shrugged while exhaling. Another repetition.

"For everything, I guess." He mumbled, inhaling deeply.

Jack's raised his eyebrow, trembling a little as he exhaled slowly.

Jack didn't answer, looking weirdly surprised by Hiccup's response.

"I won't be mad if you want to go home." Hiccup said, feeling as the words barely wanted to leave his dry lips. Damn.

Jack blinked.

"I'm not going anywhere." He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the entire universe.

And it kinda made Hiccup drop his shoulders, letting go of the tension his muscles had held for a good few minutes.

Everything hurt.

His sight almost fully came back, but he found out that it was a little bit fuzzy on the sides.

Hiccup inhaled deeply and slowly brought his hands closer, slipping them from Jack's grip. He flexed his fingers and found out that they were a little bit tense and sweaty. Definitely sweaty. The blood slowly started to circulate normally through the veins, bringing much needed oxygen to the fingertips.

There was a rustling sound in front of him and it looked like Jack was searching for something in the bag he had brought with himself. A few seconds later something was thrusted almost in his face.

"Here."

Hiccup looked at the pack of tissues.

Oh.

Slowly he took one out, took off his glasses and brushed his eyes. Oh, yeah, they were wet a little bit. He quickly brushed them, then cleared his glasses a little bit and blew his nose.

Jack stood up.

"I'll be back in a bit."

"Okay." Hiccup mumbled.

Jack glanced at him, sent that always kind smile and then shuffled outside of the room.

Hiccup bent his fingers and then straightened them slowly. After that he rolled his shoulders, then moved his knees and ankles around. The bones jerked and squeaked inside his body. Muscles twitched with every movement.

Toothless circled his body, purring loudly as he pushed his face against his palm. With still kinda shivering hand he scratched the cat under his chin.

"Sorry bud for scaring you…" Hiccup mumbled, feeling his throat tightening, words scratching the back of it like they were made from blades.

Toothless purred louder and glanced up at him, whiskers moving softly against his skin.

He was pathetic. He was a mess. A terrible, selfish mess.

Why hadn't he told Jack sooner? And now Jack probably hated him, hated him for lying right in front of his face. He probably was disgusted by Hiccup, by everything that came with him and now was planning a way to get out of Hiccup's house as quickly as possible.

But Jack wasn't like that.

Yet Hiccup still scared and lied to him. Maybe not lied, but he avoided telling the truth. Which in some aspects could be counted as lying.

And Jack had stared at him with such fear and terror in his eyes that it had broken Hiccup's heart.

(Stupid, stupid, stupid.)

Toothless glanced up at him, eyes blinking terribly slowly.

"I'm sure Jack hates me now." Hiccup mumbled, moving his hand so it would scratch a place behind Toothless' ear.

"I could never hate you, Hic."

Hiccup twitched and quickly lifted his head up, almost crashing it in the glass Jack was moving in his direction. Gladly the white haired teen moved it an inch or so back, so Hiccup wouldn't make an even bigger mess.

He blinked, staring at the glass with swishing around water and then up at Jack, who was looking down at him with sad and surprised face.

Jack moved the glass closer and only then Hiccup concluded that it was for him. He slowly lifted his hands and grabbed it, feeling the coldness seeping into his skin.

"Thanks." He mumbled, really grateful.

He brought the glass closer to his lips and took a small hesitant sip. Then he took another, bigger one and then another and another and soon the glass was empty completely.

Jack sat down on the edge of the bed, but close to Hiccup. He turned around, bent his one leg and put it on the bed, so it almost touched Hiccup's knee.

Hiccup couldn't look at Jack. He was ashamed and embarrassed. He felt a shivering storm inside his stomach.

"Hiccup, why didn't you tell me?" Jack suddenly asked.

Hiccup shrugged, still staring down at the empty glass inside his hands, turning it around and watching the last few drops rolling around.

"I don't know." He mumbled. "It's not that I don't trust you." Jack's leg twitched and he moved closer, brushing their knees together. "I really do."

Toothless stepped through Jack's lap and then stopped on the other side of Hiccup.

"Then why?"

"I just forgot." Hiccup admitted, caressing the glass with his fingers.

"Is it really true?" Jack asked, tilting his head softly and staring worriedly at Hiccup.

Hiccup didn't like that look. He didn't like the creases appearing on the forehead, near the eyes and mouth. They didn't fit Jack. Those were wrinkles filled with sadness. The small dimples near his mouth and the thin lines appearing in the corner of his eyes when Jack smiled fitted him more.

And it was Hiccup's fault.

"Yeah." He mumbled. "I wanted to tell you a few times, but I don't know… Whenever I started talking with you I forgot about it and then remembered it back at my home. I don't think it's a topic that should be talked about via messages, so I waited for a perfect moment." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

This was pathetic. Only his dad, Astrid and a few doctors had seen him in such state – had seen him losing his breath, had seen him panicking and reliving those memories.

Nowadays it didn't happen too often. Coming to this, Hiccup couldn't even remember the last time something like this had happened. And because of that he stopped worrying about it. He didn't expect for it to happen again, especially during a meeting with Jack.

"Why are you sorry for?" Jack asked.

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat, as he lifted his head to stare at the really astonished teen.

"For making problems, for kinda forcing you to deal with me, for scaring you? I think I may give a few more reasons if you want."

Jack stared at him, blinked several times before he chuckled.

Jack chuckled! Right in front of him! He started to laugh with that soft tone which smoothened everything out, which dissolved the thick air around their bodies, which made the muscles inside Hiccup's back relax significantly. It was like the strongest solvent, being able to dissolve every substance.

It wasn't a laugh filled with negative emotions. There was no anger, no malice, no mean bite behind this chuckle. It was a relieved one – it was filled with some kind of calmness, some kind of hesitation and a mixture of content and nervousness.

Hiccup liked this laugh.

But he still was taken aback by it.

"W-what?" He stammered, moving an inch closer, like by getting nearer he could read the emotions on Jack's face and decode why he suddenly started laughing.

Jack brushed away the white strands from his forehead, sliding them back, but they quickly fell down again when the palm left his head.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't stop myself." He said, that nervous smile tugging on his lips. But even though it was filled with stress, it was honest.

"So you started to laugh at me?" Hiccup asked, lifting his one eyebrow.

"I wasn't laughing at you." Jack quickly interrupted him, eyes darkening for a second.

Hiccup knew he wasn't chuckling at him, but he couldn't stop his mouth in time.

"So why were you laughing?" Hiccup intercepted, moving even closer, curiously peeking at Jack.

Toothless nudged his knee and then laid down on the quilt next to their legs.

"Because I simply couldn't believe you."

"That makes no sense." Hiccup said.

Jack sighed, but then looked at him kindly.

"Hiccup, you have nothing to apologize for."

"I do."

"No, you don't." Jack said. "Things like this happens sometimes and you can't know every time it will. You can't control them." He took a deep inhale and then reached to grab Hiccup's hand.

Hiccup felt his chest constricting, then hammering loudly inside, bursting with something that made it almost painful to bear it.

(ba-dum)

Jack looked at him, searching in his eyes for something, maybe some kind of confirmation that this movement was okay, that he wasn't pushing some boundaries that shouldn't be stepped over.

And maybe he kinda was stepping over some invisible line, some line that Hiccup drawn around himself and left most of people outside of it. But weirdly, he didn't mind. He didn't mind Jack taking his hand and asking him for a permission to cross over, like he was some kind of a guide.

The touch was reassuring, kinda chilly at first, but then it was a never-ending warmness spreading through his arm to his shoulder and face. A limit approaching the lemniscate* - the infinite. Like starting exothermic reaction, getting hotter and hotter with every passing second.

Hiccup gripped Jack's hand, feeling his mouth getting dry once again.

"I must admit that you scared me." Jack mumbled and, yeah, this didn't feel too good. "But mostly because I didn't know how to act. I felt so helpless suddenly and terrified, like it was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault."

It was no one's fault. It was a mess of bad interpretations, of sudden emotions, of memories that seeped under the lockdown. It was a fear of rejection and misunderstanding. It was a fear of being alone once again. It was a combination of all small things that built it up. It wasn't anything major, but a small crook in the reality, in the atmosphere, in the program without known code.

Because it really wasn't Jack's fault.

"I know. But maybe I simply shouldn't act so surprised, but well…" Jack said and then lifted his other hand to scratch the back of his head. "… but well to be honest I was really surprised for a moment. Not in the bad way! Just really surprised." The words were flowing through his mouth like a waterfall, a kinda clumsy one, but Hiccup liked it. "I mean not everyday…"

"You find out that your fake-boyfriend have a prosthetic for a leg?" Hiccup proposed, not being able to stop the giddy and childish grin from forming on his lips.

Jack looked sorta astonished for a second, before he nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, exactly that." A short pause for an inhale. "Because wow, to be honest I didn't expect that."

To be fair not many people knew about that. His family and close friends (the twins once had stolen it and started to throw it to each other in the backyard a year or so ago) knew about it. Some of his teachers also knew about it – Hiccup had to inform them to be able to be a part of the Chemistry club. But beside that only a few doctors and that was all.

And now Jack.

Hiccup looked at him.

"Do you want to see it?"

The sudden nod was expected, but the sudden blush quickly forming on the cheeks afterwards was kinda not so much.

"I mean, hell yeah, but if you don't feel comfortable with showing me then I'm okay with that."

Well Hiccup couldn't remember exactly the last time he had showed it to someone. It was just a part of him now. Some kind of constant that had appeared after a few calculations he had done in his life.

But did Hiccup mind it? He wasn't sure, he never really thought about it. But Jack deserved to know. Jack deserved to see it after he had helped Hiccup.

"I'm okay with that." Hiccup said and then lifted his leg.

His fingers hooked under the fabric of the jeans and then he pushed it higher on his calf. Actually he barely managed to push the material above the place where the prosthesis was ending due to the dense material of his trousers. But it had to be enough.

His prosthesis wasn't much. A mishmash of polymers in form of a foot, a short rod, ball and socket joint in place of an ankle and another round part made of metal resembling a part of the calf. This way when Hiccup was wearing a trousers he could hide that something was missing and the material was fitting perfectly over the place, not bending weirdly. Plus he usually wore socks to hide it anyway.

It wasn't much for Hiccup. He was used to it, taking it off and putting it on during the evening and mornings, taking care of the place where it connected to the rest of his leg, having to watch out during freezing and warm weather. It was an everyday part of his life.

Back when he had first started to use it, he had been very aware of everything – of how he had walked, how the trouser had been hugging his leg, how people who hadn't known him had been looking at him.

But now… now he was okay with it. Now he found comfort it putting it on and being able to walk normally, to this point he sometimes even forgot that it was there.

Jack slowly hinted towards. His hand shot up, but stopped midair as he hesitantly looked up at Hiccup.

"Can I?"

"Yes, you can touch it." Hiccup said.

Jack smiled at him nervously, flexed his fingers and then slowly reached his hand.

Of course, Hiccup couldn't feel a thing. It would be really terrifying if he actually suddenly felt something. But there was something strange in seeing the fingers move smoothly on the plastic, touching the gears and rods and still feeling nothing.

Jack stared in childish awe at Hiccup's leg, mouth partially parted as his eyes glistened with curiosity at the image displayed in front of them. His finger moved on the plastic, barely touching the material, like he was afraid that it could get destroyed just by touching it.

"It's so cool." He finally mumbled. Then the sound was followed by a blink and a quick retrieve of his palm, close to his chest. "I mean, not that you have a prosthesis or anything like that. I didn't mean it in a bad way. I mean the appearance of it is cool. Like it looks really dope, but… I mean…"

Jack was a mess, a nervous, stressed mess as he tried to find a way to explain what he thought. It was pretty visible in his lost eyes, hesitantly twitching mouth and creases appearing and disappearing on his forehead.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to…"

"No, it's okay, I get you." Hiccup quickly said, not stopping the grin from splitting his lips.

Well, Hiccup definitely didn't expect this kind of reaction from Jack. But weirdly… it calmed him a lot.

"I've never seen a prosthesis in real life." Jack admitted, still looking in awe at his leg. "Well not counting the one in the photo of your uncle."

"Oh, Gobber? Yeah, he helped find the perfect one for me. Taught me a lot about taking care of it too." Hiccup admitted, fingers tapping the plastic unevenly.

"That's good. I mean... you know, not in the bad way…"

"I get you."

"I'm happy that you had someone who could help you."

That was true. Having Gobber near him had helped him a lot. Without him Hiccup wasn't sure if he could have moved forward. The man had taught him everything – and he had been the first one to treat him like nothing changed.

"Yeah, me too." Hiccup nodded and then moved the material further down, hiding his leg from the world and putting his sock back on.

Jack still stared at the place where he had seen his prosthesis with a really surprised look, before he shook his head and then looked up at Hiccup.

"Is it troublesome? I mean walking with it."

"Hmm, not so much. I mean at first it really was problematic." Hiccup said, lifting his hand and pushing the glasses, which had slipped down, higher. "You just have to get used to it. Not that I want you to have one, God, no!"

Jack snickered softly at that and the same lopsided, hesitant and kind smile appeared on his face, making Hiccup snap his head up and stare in awe at it.

"How are you feeling now?"

Oh, yeah, that, Hiccup almost forgot about that.

He took a deep breath and found out that his chest wasn't constricted anymore. He lifted his one hand and stretched his fingers, then brushed them together. Oh, they were warm. Maybe not fully warm, but they weren't as cold as they had used to be before the accident. There was still a little bit of tension hanging on his muscles, making then move like rusted metal hinges, but beside that it looked like he was okay.

Thanks to Jack.

"Good." Hiccup said.

"Really?"

"Yes, Jack. I'm fine."

The white haired teen observed him for a few seconds with this spark inside his eyes that wasn't fully convinced.

Oh yeah, maybe Hiccup didn't feel the best, but he never had felt good after such attacks. But he didn't want to make Jack worry. He had seen enough today and he had a lot of problems on his mind, so Hiccup didn't want to add additional one to the pile and make it all crumble down.

"Maybe I should make you a tea?"

"Jack, really, come on, everything is okay." Hiccup sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, okay, I know I'm a nagging butt, but I'm just worried." The white haired teen said, lifting his hands in front of himself.

"You came here for my help, but I'm feeling that we are currently doing the total opposite."

"But you did help me." Jack blinked, leaning back on the bed.

That was actually very reassuring. Because Hiccup was almost one hundred percent sure that he didn't manage to help Jack. Or maybe even worse. That he had complicated the matter for him.

He tried to approach it from his side – and Hiccup usually looked at every advantage and disadvantage of the options and picked the best one. But it was Hiccup's method of working and it didn't have to work for everyone else.

Yet Jack really looked like he was searching for any kind of thread of hope and it broke Hiccup inside.

He didn't like seeing Jack looking so worried.

Which he was exactly doing right now.

So Hiccup had to prove it somehow.

And what was a better proof than doing a normal thing? Like standing up and going to the bathroom for example? Yeah, that was good. Actually Hiccup may need to use the bathroom.

So he shook his head, put his one hand on the bed and one leg on the floor and slowly hoisted himself up.

Actually, maybe in hindsight, this was a really bad decision. Because as soon as he was standing, the world swirled and then once again the black spots plagued his vision. His hand made a weird round patter in the air and it felt like he heavily tilted forward and uhhh…

Maybe Jack was right.

No. Hiccup was fine. He just stood up too quickly. Yep, he really shouldn't have done that, especially if a few minutes ago he had been on the verge of losing consciousness. Hmm, when he was looking at it like that, then actually he shouldn't really be surprised that he got dizzy after standing up.

But now it was too late, as Hiccup felt that he was moving, but he wasn't exactly sure where was up and down.

Well at least he had some power to close his eyes. Maybe he won't crash face first into a nightstand or floor. Maybe he won't break his nose, or worse, glasses. Maybe it won't be that bad. Hiccup was kinda used to his bad luck.

He felt something wrapping itself around his wrist. Or at least he had a feeling that there was something. The world swirled too much to actually look if that was true.

Argh, why did he want to prove something! He could have avoided it!

But he never welcomed the nightstand or floor or anything solid with his face, as he felt something kinda soft under his face. And soon after his vision got black, but not because of those pesky dots, but because his face was pushed into something warm.

(ba-dum)

For a brief moment there was stillness, filled with sounds of his own and Jack's breathing and something resembling a faraway staccato of a beating heart. For a moment the world stilled to a halt, as Hiccup's brain slowly, but surely, started to return to the reality. The spinning sensation started to creep away, with the dizziness following its every step.

Hiccup blinked and found out that he still had his glasses on. And they didn't look broken. So that was fine. Also it didn't look like his face was on the cold ground. No, it was pushed into something soft, like a fabric. A blue fabric.

Wait, why was this something so warm? And why there was an echo of a sound he could hear and feel on his skin and resonating in his mind.

(ba-dum)

"See, this is why I asked." It was Jack, sighing at the end and letting go of Hiccup's wrist.

Hiccup slowly turned his head and looked up at Jack's really concerned face. Yet again.

"I'm fine." He mumbled, voice covered by the material of Jack's t-shirt that was touching his mouth.

"I can clearly see you're not."

"I am. I just got dizzy after standing up. It was predictable actually." To this point that Hiccup kinda was irritated with himself for not getting it earlier.

But the anger quickly dissipated as Jack moved and brushed Hiccup's hair from his forehead.

The touch left a kinda sizzling sensation on his skin. Like he was very aware of every place and nerve the teen touched.

"Yhm sure it was." Jack said, the disbelief clearly seeping from his voice.

Ugh, why he didn't want to believe him?

Hiccup shuffled in the hold so, he could lay on his back and look up at Jack, who was still holding him.

"Why don't you want to believe that it's true?" Hiccup asked, tilting his head back and laying it on Jack's chest, so he could stare at Jack's face leaning above him.

"Right now?" The boy asked, to which Hiccup nodded. "Just to mess with you, actually."

Hiccup huffed and then lifted his hand to mess Jack's hair heavily. The white strands brushed through his fingers, making quite a funny chaos on Jack's head. Hiccup knew that Jack usually tried to tame his hair and stylized them every morning. That's why messing them now were the perfect revenge.

Jack yelped with eyebrows furrowing. His hands sneaked around Hiccup's stomach and started to jab him in the sides and tickle every place they could reach.

"What?!" Hiccup gasped, wiggling his body, and pushing his head further into Jack's chest and stomach, as he practically laid on him now. "That is unfair." He chuckled.

"You started!" Jack said, the kinda pissed look was now fully replaced by a wide grin as he leaned further and tickled Hiccup's sides.

"I did not!" Hiccup managed to say between painful giggles and chuckles. His fingers gripped the hair tighter, making even bigger jumble and disarray on Jack's head.

(ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum)

Hiccup could feel Jack's body shifting behind his back, he could feel the heat radiating from his body, he could hear and feel every laughter coming from Jack's chest in form of low rumbles, he could feel Jack's heart beating rapidly in his chest – so loudly banging on the ribcage.

Hiccup could feel his own heart jumping in his throat. He could feel his mind getting hazy – but positively hazy. He could feel the sudden rush in his stomach. He could feel the smile stretching on his lips as Jack finally stopped attacking him and now connected his hands on Hiccup's stomach as he stared down at Hiccup.

Hiccup looked up, trying desperately to catch his breath, but from totally different reason. His one hand was still holding Jack's white locks and he slowly moved it down to hook it on one strand of the white fringe.

Jack tilted his head and looked down at him, delicately and surely tightening the grip and embracing Hiccup's tighter.

And Hiccup found out that he was lost. He was lost in the moment, in Jack's gaze, in the warmness spreading through Jack to Hiccup's chest. He was lost in the happiness surging through his body. He was lost in his own suddenly blaring mind that felt like it broke down, with bazillion different programs shutting down and reopening once again.

The weird sensation in his stomach was back. A rumble, a fluttering feeling resonated in it. And the longer he stared at Jack, the longer he felt hot, happy and simply comfortable.

His heart thrummed heavily, but joyfully inside his chest. His whole insides were vibrating. He felt like he could – no, no, wanted – to stay like this as long as he could.

(ba-dum)

Then Hiccup's brain stilled and everything turned off. For a moment there was only void and blackness inside his mind. And then, after a second or so, there was a sudden beep. A short gasp inside his brain as he got the results of the analysis.

Hiccup saw the results.

He blinked when Jack grinned at him.

Was that how love felt like?

Author's note:

Finally! Thank you Hiccup, it took you 16 chapters to finally notice it! drops down on the bed Now I need a drink and break xD! Anyway, I hope you are as happy as I am!

And some nerdy facts:

*Scanning electron microscope – SEM – is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. You could get pretty cool pictures =D!

*Burning hexane – not counting the fact that hexane is pretty toxic, it is also flammable :D. You can watch some cool videos on yt with people combusting hexane =D!

*Lemniscate – it is any of several figure-eight or ∞-shaped curves.

And some answers as always :D

Kisskisshug – AWwwww thank youuuuu! I'm happy about every review, so don't worry =D. To bo honest I put a lot of thoughts into Jack's messages, to make them as Jack as I can xD" I love writing pure friendship!

-O – Thank youuuu =D! Don't worry, English is not my native language either, so I also make a lot of mistakes! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

AnhiVann – No worries, sometimes I don't remember what happens in chapter I publish so yeah xD! Hahaha I think I just fulfilled your wish =D! #LetAsterBeHappy2018 xD

Hope to see you soon x3!