..

This is mostly in response to HuskaAkita's comment from the last chapter, but this applies in general. Keep in mind that this entire story is taking place in Germany as of right now. Therefore, the characters are conversing in German most of the time and I personally distinguish it using brackets [ ] instead of quotation marks "" when translating the speech within the story. Sometimes I will leave bits untranslated and in quotes, but I want you all to trust me as the author that I'm not doing so to try and hoodwink you or give you trouble. Any text I leave untranslated is usually just for setting purposes. Just know that you're no worse off if you don't understand those bits.

A/N: The first scene is a dream/flashback.

Schuld

[Well, Tom and I better get going,] Alli said tiredly as she stood up from the couch.

[Wow, you two are already turning into an old married couple,] Nico slurred as he took another swig of his drink. [It's only three in the morning.]

Alli stuck her tongue out playfully at him and Tom added, [Yeah, well. That's what happens when you get up at the crack of dawn for work. Not everyone can have your job, Nico.]

Nico laughed and nudged Luka in the side before asking, [How did the interview go with the boss by the way?]

Luka nodded his head as he took another drink and said, [Good I think. He said he'll call me next week and let me know.]

[Awesome,] Nico smiled encouragingly at him before turning his attention back onto Alli and Tom. [Well, we'll see you both later.]

[Ya, ciao,] Tom said as he left out the door closely followed by Alli.

Nico stood up and wavered a little before going to lock the deadbolt. [I think you'll get the job though,] he said in reference to their previous conversation.

Luka shrugged and said, [I don't know. I have no formal training or anything-]

[Yeah, but I've seen what you can do,] Nico interjected before taking a seat next to him on the couch. [You're better at coding than all the other college grads that have applied. How'd you get so good anyway?]

[Ehm…my mum starting teaching me when I was younger and then after I moved to the States, my dad worked with someone who was into the same thing,] he explained while staring absentmindedly at his drink.

[You must be smart then, to learn at such a young age,] Nico complemented and relished in making Luka crack a smile at the comment. [Did you move back here with your mom?]

Nico instantly knew he had said the wrong thing after how quickly Luka's smile faded. However, he answered, [Uh, no. My mom died when I was thirteen and I left to go live with my dad in the States.]

[I'm sorry man…So you left your dad then to come back here?]

[He died too.]

[Oh…] Nico trailed off suddenly feeling like shit. [I'm really sorry. That's horrible.]

Luka shrugged and replied, [It's alright, I'm over it. He was kind of an asshole.]

[I feel that,] Nico said as he took another drink. [My dad was a drunk. Eventually drank himself to death. I just kind of wish it happened a lot sooner than it did.]

Luka cast his eyes on Nico, who instantly felt like he had exposed too much about himself.

[I…I mean…he would get really mad at us sometimes…] he said as he trailed off and took another drink. [Especially with my mom.]

Nico heard Luka take a deep breath before he saw him lean his arms across his lap and said, [I can relate.]

[You can?] Nico asked looking back over at him.

Luka nodded solemnly and alluded, [It kind of sucks when you're young and can't do anything about it.]

Nico stared at Luka for a long moment. He never really knew what to make of the guy…

[I..uh…] he started but was having trouble connecting his brain to words, [I better clean some of this up.] Then he proceeded to gather up all the empty beer bottles and carry them into the kitchen. However, his drunkenness got the best of them and one slipped out of his grasp, landing directly onto the wooden floor and shattering.

"Sheiße..." he slurred reaching to set the other bottles on the counter before bending down to pick up the shards of glass. But as he picked up the individual chunks, a piece slid and sliced across his palm causing him to cry out in pain and drop the remaining shards onto the hard floor.

Luka appeared around the corner and immediately started picking everything up in his place. Nico merely stared at his bleeding palm trying to see if there was still any glass in it.

[Here, come here,] Luka murmured before supporting Nico around the smaller fragments and to his bathroom. [Do you have tweezers?] he asked.

Nico gestured up to the cabinet and turned on the faucet to run cold water over his hand. Luka then rummaged through the bottles and vials before pulling out a pair of tweezers and washing them off. He indicated for Nico to give him his hand, who conceded and held it open to allow Luka access to the cut.

[You're really not the most functional drunk, are you?] Luka asked while smirking teasingly up at him.

[Not really,] Nico agreed while laughing at his own failure.

Luka leaned over and inspected Nico's palm closely. [Yeah you've got a little bit in there. Just hold still for me,] he said as he adjusted the tweezers in his hand.

Nico took a deep breath and braced himself for the misery. Although, after the initial stabbing pain of the tweezers, Luka removed the shard as quickly as he had inserted the tweezers.

[Wow…that's it?] Nico asked looking for conformation.

[Yeah,] Luka breathed and smiled a little at him.

Nico looked away embarrassed and searched to pull out a bandage to wrap his hand. Luka ran a hand through his hair before turning to leave the bathroom.

After Nico was finished, he walked out to see Luka slouched on the couch with his eyes closed a little.

[Thanks for your help,] Nico said to then see Luka open an eye to look up at him. [I guess it serves me right for being rude earlier.]

[When were you rude?]

[I just got up and left in the middle of our conversation…I didn't mean to make it look like I didn't care about what you said or anything…]

Luka's face relaxed into a smile and stood up to face Nico, which made Nico hesitate all of a sudden. [I didn't make you feel awkward did I?] he asked.

[No…] Nico started but ended up getting lost in Luka's gaze. He had the most unusual eyes… [But, you know, it's always hard to…talk about shitty parents.]

[We could talk about something else then,] Luka said in a low tone as he stood over Nico.

Nico didn't say anything as he slowly looked up in order to connect again with Luka's gaze. He couldn't think of anything else to say as he was trying to steady his own heartbeat.

[Why are you staring at me like that?] Luka asked quizzically as he raised an eyebrow at him.

[Sorry…] he said while observing more closely the raven-haired boy's facial features. [You just…are different than anyone else I've ever hung out with,] he admitted.

[And how's that then?] Luka asked as a corner of lips curved up a little while his eyes focused on Nico's.

Nico didn't even realize that he had slowly brought himself closer to Luka as he had spoken, sparing only inches between the two of them.

[I couldn't say, really,] he uttered in almost a whisper.

Then before he had put it together, Luka bent his head slightly and delicately pressed his lips against Nico's. After pulling away, he smiled coyly at him while Nico just stood there baffled.

Holding his assured grin, Luka simply said, [You're welcome by the way. I should probably be go-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Nico pushed himself up to kiss the raven-haired boy back. It was quick, but it managed to cause warmth to bloom in his cheeks. He pulled away for just a moment, flitting his gaze between Luka's eyes and his lips, before giving in and pushing himself against him even more forcefully.

In his drunken haze, he had forgotten Luka's anatomy entirely. He had become lost in his face and couldn't help but be mesmerized by him. And as he continued to kiss him, he thought about nothing. He only felt the rush it gave to feel the other's lips pressing against his own, his teeth biting his tongue playfully, and the taste of mouth...

He paused in his frenzy after realizing what he was doing. As feminine as Luka appeared to him…he wasn't a girl. Pulling back while panting a little he looked up into the raven-haired boy's eyes and felt immediately drawn in again.

But he stopped himself. He just had to turn himself off somehow.

Reaching forward tentatively, he grabbed the bottom of Luka's shirt and pulled it up. Luka complied and raised his arms to allow Nico to lift it over his head. As he did so his long, dark hair fell and cascaded around his shoulders and hung past his collarbone. Nico scanned his eyes along the boy's torso. He knew Luka was thin for a guy. But…the smoldering way his eyes watched him, how his hair draped past his shoulders, and his small waist…

Close enough.

…

…

Nico languidly woke from his dream pressing his palm into his forehead. Why did he drink so much that night? And why the hell was he reliving that experience in his dreams? Was it just because Luka had stayed the night again? He sat up and took a deep breath trying to settle his thoughts. His body ached after feeling the effects of the tequila from the night prior, but fortunately, it wasn't a true hangover. He just felt really thirsty and the need to fill his stomach with something substantial. Urgh…but that would have meant that he would have to go to the store. However…there was still the frozen pizza from the night before…He figured that it would have to do or else he'd have no breakfast.

Crawling out of bed, he raised his arms above his head to stretch out his sore muscles. But then he noticed that the blankets and pillow he had given to Luka were folded neatly and placed next to his bed. He must have left already…

But after leaving his room, the aroma of coffee filled his nose and he followed the smell dreamily down the hall and into the kitchen.

[You're still here?] Nico asked in surprise when he saw Luka standing at the counter preparing a cup of coffee. Then after looking off to the side, he saw one of his shopping bags on the floor and a few fresh baked rolls, a small block of cheese, and some breakfast sausage laid out. [And you bought breakfast?] he asked perplexed by the generosity and that in order to do all this, he would have had to have woken up at least an hour ago.

[Mhm,] Luka nodded while helping himself to Nico's cream in the fridge and adding a little to his coffee. [It was the least I could do for causing you so much trouble,] he said monotonously before leaning against the counter to sip.

[You didn't…] Nico said still a little surprised.

Luka shrugged again and said, [Either way, I wasn't planning on staying. I just bought this for you and was going to make a quick cup of coffee for myself before heading out.]

[Well…] Nico started to concede, but quickly changed his mind, [No, stay. You might as well, considering you bought everything.] He moved over to his cupboard and pulled out a couple plates and started to set his small kitchen table. As he did so, he looked over into the living room and asked, [Where did the girls go?]

[They woke up a little after I did. Laura asked me to give you that,] he said pointing to a magnet on the fridge.

Nico walked over and noticed it was her phone number. [Nice,] he quipped happily. [Did you get Charlie's?] he asked turning to look at the raven-haired boy.

He smiled slightly and answered, [Yeah. Did you want it?] After saying so, he reached in his pocket to pull out a small, folded bit of paper.

Nico then remembered their conversation the other night as well as the dream he had this morning. So he tried to behave nonchalantly. [I mean…sure. As long as you're not using it,] he said taking the note from Luka. Then he turned to grab some jam from the fridge and brought everything over to the table.

[How'd you want your coffee?] Luka asked while Nico finished setting the table.

[Cream, same as you,] Nico replied as he sat down.

Luka finished up what he was doing and brought the two mugs over to the table, setting one in front of Nico before sitting down himself.

[Thanks for all this though,] Nico admitted to Luka as he helped himself to the bread. Then he laughed a little and added, [Usually people aren't this nice when they stay over.] His mind fleetingly recounted many a time when people left behind many a mess for him to clean up.

[It's no problem, really,] Luka repeated as he took a bite of the roll.

An awkward silence draped over the both of them. The only sound either could hear was the chewing their mouths made.

Eventually, Nico came up with a question to try and stimulate some kind of conversation. [So…where'd you get the scar on your back from?] he asked in reference to the intricate fractal he had seen the first night Luka had stayed over.

However, after hearing the question, Nico saw as Luka paused mid-bite and his eyes flickered to glance at Nico in a way that suddenly made Nico regret asking in the first place.

But he answered anyway, [Someone I knew in the States.]

[Mm…] Nico murmured in contemplation as he cut his roll and spread more jam on it. [I bet that stuff hurts way more than any tattoo would, huh?]

Luka simply nodded his head and took a bite out of his little sandwich.

[How long do those last for?]

[Awhile.] Luka answered even more sharply that made it clear he didn't want to continue talking about it.

The silence fell upon them again as they continued to eat. Nico realized the atmosphere between the two of them had drastically changed.

So he tried to change the subject again, [Did you get in touch with your boyfriend at all?]

Luka shook his head slightly and stared at the table.

[…Did you even try to talk to him?]

Luka shook his head again.

[Well…look,] Nico said all of a sudden feeling responsible for what happened, [If you need some more time. Feel free to stay here as long as you want. But I'm sure if you just talked it out, he'd understand.]

Luka smirked cynically before raising his eyes to look at Nico and replying, [He's given me a lot of chances already.]

Nico simply held Luka's gaze for a minute contemplating what he meant by that. Then he laughed nervously and asked, [Do you do that a lot? Get drunk and…] he trailed off.

Luka bit his lip and shook his head. [No…I just come with a lot of baggage. And I seem to hurt everyone around me without even trying.]

[Oh come on,] Nico exclaimed protesting against his melodrama, [If you don't mean to hurt anyone, you can't really blame yourself, can you?]

[I can if I could have prevented it.]

[Shit happens, man,] Nico said as he laid his arms on the table. [The only thing you can do is learn and move on.]

Luka cast his gaze back to the table as if contemplating what Nico had said. Nico hoped he had helped to some extent. He wasn't the best person at giving advice given his history…

Suddenly Luka pushed his chair back to stand up and started gathering the plates and silverware from the table.

[You don't have to do that,] Nico interjected standing up as well. However, Luka ignored him in silence and continued to clean up. [Hey,] Nico said as he reached out to grab Luka's arm, [I'll take care of it later. Let's go out.]

Luka looked over at him in surprise. [Out where?] he asked.

[I don't know,] Nico shrugged suddenly realizing he had moved from nearly kicking Luka out to inviting to spend the day with him. [I was just going to buy pants today. Whatever else we do has got to be more fun than that.]

Luka laughed silently and raised his gaze to meet Nico's, making Nico reflect on what had happened between the two of them the night before. He just came off as…vulnerable in a way. Nico felt the need to help him.

After a moment, Luka replied, [Alright.]

…

…

Jack finished drying himself off from his afternoon shower after returning from a long run. Part of him just needed to escape for a minute and clear his head, another part of him was avoiding Benedikt like the plague.

Jack knew that Benedikt was well-aware that something was wrong. The guy had some extra-sensory twin radar or something. However, Jack also knew that he wouldn't say anything as long as Hiccup was around. So he had conveniently gone out for a run and showered knowing Hiccup would be home by the time he was done.

"Hey Hic," Jack greeted as he walked out of the bathroom seeing Hiccup lounging on the bed.

"Hey," he replied simply turning the page of a book.

Figuring that Hic was engrossed in his novel, Jack proceeded to move about and finish dressing himself. He pulled on a pair of brown jeans and a forest green t-shirt.

Not even looking up from his novel, Hic spoke abruptly, "Luka's not back yet."

Jack paused from fixing his hair and looked over at Hiccup in concern. He almost never called Toothless by his real name…

But trying to settle his nerves Jack replied, "No? I'm sure he'll be back pretty soon though."

"How do you know?"

"He…texted Benedikt a while ago," Jack smoothly lied.

However he watched as Hic reached into his pocket and pulled out a cellphone before tossing it over to Jack, who reached out and reflexively caught it before realizing it was Toothless's phone.

"Where did you find this?" he asked suddenly growing anxious.

"After he left yesterday afternoon to go look for it," Hic replied sharply while pretending to be engrossed in his book again.

Jack stood absolutely stunned as he slowly put together the trap he had fallen into.

"You going to tell me what happened between you two?" Hic asked again, the anger starting to weigh heavier on his tone.

"N-nothing," Jack stuttered in his failed attempt at a lie.

"Yeah?" Hic replied as he shut the book and dropped it on the nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed. "He came back from a run with his arms and neck completely scratched up. And on top of that, his eyes were red. Now tell me what happened," he demanded as he glared into Jack.

"I dunno. I wasn't with him-"

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Hiccup raged at him as he stood up, causing Jack to back up a step. "Do you think I'm some kind of idiot?!" he asked breathing heavily as he spat out every word. "Do you think that I haven't noticed you and Benedikt walking on eggshells around me for the past six months?!"

"N-n-no Hic. That's not it at all, we just-"

"I know something is wrong, Jack," Hiccup said lowering his voice to a normal volume. "Now tell me what happened between you two."

A long pause ensued between the two of them as they stared one another down. Jack was too afraid to speak. He had no idea where to start. And he didn't know how to start without seriously hurting Hiccup.

Fortunately Hiccup broke the silence first, "Something happened with him and someone else, didn't it?" he asked in a low voice.

Jack felt his breath catch in his throat; however, he slowly nodded in confirmation. The staring contest continued for several more moments until, finally, Jack started to explain, "A couple nights ago he came back really late and completely trashed. He…was a giant ass towards me and wouldn't answer me in English at all. Eventually, he threw up and that's when I saw the bruises all over his neck. I knew neither of us gave those to him…" Jack finished keeping his eyes fixated on the floor during the whole explanation.

Hiccup paused, but Jack eventually heard him ask, "Someone named Nico, right?"

Jack looked up at him in surprise and asked, "How'd you know that?"

"I know the password to his phone."

Jack knew that Toothless never gave anyone his passwords. So Hic must have figured it out without him knowing.

Hiccup interrupted his thoughts and continued asking in a low tone, "So what happened after you found out?"

"Nothing…at first," he admitted while returning his focal point to the floorboards. "He was too much for me, so I left him with Benedikt. The next morning, he insisted on going on a run with me and acted as though nothing had happened."

"Maybe he didn't actually do anything," Hiccup stated plainly.

"Yes he did, Hic. What other explanation is there?" Jack asked growing exasperated at the extent to which Hiccup could simply turn a blind eye to anything Toothless did. "I couldn't put up with it anymore and we got in a fight in the woods, during which he said a lot of shit to me and actively freaked me out. I ran back home and avoided him ever since."

"What did you say to him?"

Jack's jaw dropped as he looked up at Hiccup. "What do you mean what did I say to him?!" he asked completely baffled that Hiccup was instantly blaming him for this whole thing. "He was the one who said I…" and he trailed off unable to repeat the words.

"What?" Hiccup asked continuing to keep his glare fixated on Jack.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter," Jack said growing angry.

"Was it true?"

Jack stood absolutely dumbfounded at Hiccup's line of questioning. "Why are you instantly taking his side?!" he yelled throwing his arms up.

"Because you haven't told me what either of you said," he replied in an unwavering tone that made Jack grow even more furious.

"I busted him alright?!" Jack yelled in complete exasperation, "I told him that I found the bruises and was pissed at him for treating me like dirt and whoring around behind our backs. After which, he proceeded to say the only reason I was mad was because I-"

But amid his rant, Jack was interrupted by their bedroom door being thrown open and Benedikt storming in and shoving Jack toward the bed, who caught himself on his hands and twisted around to face the virulent blonde.

"Did you seriously SAY that to him?" he asked, his voice nearly a roar.

Jack didn't answer, as he could only stare wide-eyed at Benedikt as his breath shuddered and sweat started to drip down his neck.

The anger became even more evident in Benedikt's face and he started to clench his fists reflexively. Hiccup noticed immediately and shoved himself in between the two, effectively shoving Benedikt away as he shouted, "Do you have any IDEA what you of all people saying that would mean to him?!"

"What are you TALKING about?!" Jack shouted growing furious that everyone was blaming him for this. "If he gave two shits about me then he wouldn't have turned all Hannibal Lector and nearly molested me in the middle of the woods!"

Benedikt's frustration looked to be near its breaking point as he reached up to roughly pull both his hands through his hair and down his face. After taking one last flustered breath, he turned on his heel and said as he stormed out, "Forget it. I'm going to go find him."

"You don't even KNOW where he IS!" Jack yelled after him, from which the only response he received was the front door slamming shut.

Jack stood there panting and staring at his open bedroom door. He couldn't believe any of that had fucking happened. That Benedikt had yelled at him for getting mad over something he was perfectly allowed to be mad about. And yet both him and Hiccup were treating him like this was all his own fault.

After remembering Hiccup he looked over to his right to see the brunette standing perfectly still alongside him. He was focusing on a distant point completely lost in thought.

Trying to gain control of his breathing Jack shuddered and said, "You're honestly not blaming me for all this too, are you?"

Hic didn't answer for a minute. He continued to stand there staring at the wall.

"Hic?"

"He needs help, Jack," he said in a low voice.

"For what?!"

"This isn't him," he emphasized again.

Jack couldn't believe his ears anymore. "Hic, you can't just keep forgiving him for everything just because you love him."

"You don't get it Jack," Hic growled before turning to look at Jack sharply. "I stayed out of it because Benedikt asked me to and I trusted his judgement. But now I know that you were in on it and just ended up making everything worse."

Jack nearly flinched as the brunette's words sliced into him. "That's not fair," he said as his voice caught in his throat as he struggled to hold his composure. "He's the one who messed up here, not me."

"He doesn't know what he's doing half the time, Jack."

Jack bit his lip and turned to face away from Hic as he said, "Fine. Blame me. Whatever."

Hiccup cut him off with a sigh. "Never mind. I'm going to go find him."

And with that he strode out the door leaving Jack behind and alone. As Jack watched him go, he grit his teeth and failed to hold it in any longer.

Aw Jack baby, I hate making you cry...

So... I'm gonna be honest and say that I had a really shitty day today.

But maybe that's good for you all because I tend to write more when I'm upset.

Perhaps the key to my craft is to wallow in the pit of unemployment forever despite how much I've studied my ass off.

Anyway /endrant/...you spent 5 minutes reading this chapter. It'd mean the world to me if you took a few more to leave a review.

xoxo

Special Thanks to:

Ishikawa Miki, Andrew008, Shanatora, ajmc2509, ruka126, Love Laugh Live Your Life, Rowis12, JackieMikaFrost, and Optomistic Emo Kleptomaniac for following/favoriting my original work as well as this sequel.

EmJx: haha yeah I am so passionate about these characters. If I had any artistic drawing ability, I would try and make this into a manga. But alas...I suck at that. u_u Thank you for the review though, you know how much I appreciate it. xoxo

hersheykiss221: hahaha yeah they definitely don't give Hic the credit he deserves. Hopefully you still like him even though he blew up at Jack.

violets fire: Oh yeah, fo sho. I like to think of Hiccup as an intuitive person. He's just good at understanding other people. Anyway, sorry for the long pause in between updates.

HuskaAkita: I answered the first part of your review up top. But if you really needed to know what Nico sent Luka in the text that Hic saw. He said, "Hey Luka, I begging you to totally forget last night. Please call me later." So it wasn't meant to be new information to you as the reader, but rather just to hint that Hiccup figured out what was going on. Sorry if it stressed you out though. I hope it didn't turn you off completely.

Kigen Dawn: haha I never knew that you expected so much out of angry Hiccup xD

Teddy: haha your reviews always make me smile. I hope that Hiccup got angry enough for you this time around. I'm so glad you still enjoy the story so much even though I'm honestly making this up as I go along. I'm seriously surprised that this idea is developing as much as it had. I guess I'll just see where this goes...

blazingwing: haha no I like the name Nico. I'm generally trying to find German names that don't make people automatically think of lederhosen. xP Do you still like my portrayal of Nico? I don't want to ruin the name for you...

Elder The 1st: haha nope, you definitely got it. But I'm glad you like my version of Hiccup. Hopefully that hasn't changed after this chapter. But if it has, you can tell me. I like to know these things :] And yeah, I'm adding OC's because shoving random movie characters in at this point seems unbefitting. Plus I am still making this up as I go along, so who knows when I'll need them lol.

JackieMikaFrost: Sorry for the late update! But I appreciate the motivation all the same :3