...

Hope everyone's having a good autumn!

Fortunately, I have come up with a couple new story arches for this.

Maybe this can turn into a full-fledged sequel after all...

Happy (early) Halloween!

Normal

It had been a few more weeks since Toothless had informed everyone of his diagnosis. Benedikt had tried to continue life normally, as if nothing were different, but the thought gnawed at the back of his mind that his brother was permanently injured. Maybe not visibly, to anyone else he just looked like a brooding, long-haired guy who probably listened to too much metal. But to Bene, he couldn't help but feel responsible for Luka's mental collapse. They had both lost their mother, they both had moved in with their father, they both had been trained by Caesar…and yet they had seen something in Luka that made them want to hurt him more than Bene. To make him stronger, they said, so that he could deal with the deception and violence while Benedikt handled the bureaucratic bullshit. It wasn't fair. And Benedikt always felt like he could have done more to stop them. All he did was clean Luka up afterwards and promised to watch over him while he slept.

After they had successfully escaped together, returned home together, Benedikt had almost expected to have his old brother back. The Toothless he knew who would usually do homework for him when mom would leave the room, who would dare him to drink hot sauce and then would be laughing so hard that he would never do it too, and who would sometimes mimic him relentlessly until Benedikt would get so mad at him that he would chase Luka around the house until he could pin him down and fart on him.

Well…Benedikt didn't actually expect them to act like eight year olds again. But he missed having a brother that wasn't guarded all the time, who was mischievous and played tricks on him, who wasn't so deep into his own problems that he would notice when Bene was bothered and try to make him laugh.

Which had finally brought Benedikt to talk to Luka, since Luka probably was too engrossed in his personal affairs and his new job to notice that they had very quickly run low on funds.

Climbing up into the attic, Benedikt found Luka lying on his bed with his laptop watching an arbitrary comedy, but paused it when he saw Benedikt emerge.

"Hey," Bene greeted him as he smiled in an attempt to relieve any tension.

"Hey," Toothless replied as he folded his laptop and sat up.

Benedikt swung the rolling office chair around so he could sit and face his brother. [How was your day at work?] he asked trying to ease into the situation. Albeit, he was interested in Toothless's current emotional state.

Toothless shrugged and said, [Same as usual. Nothing that interesting ever happens.]

Benedikt nodded his head and focused a little more on Luka's eyes as he then asked, [Have you talked to Jack lately?] He knew that his brother was worried about Jack, even though he had distanced himself from him after realizing that Jack did blame him for a lot of what happened.

As expected, Toothless shook his head slightly.

[Maybe you should try again,] Benedikt suggested encouragingly, [It's been a couple weeks and Hic's really—]

[Why did you come up here?] Luka interrupted as his eyes pierced into Benedikt in such a way that made him uncomfortable. He had seen through Benedikt's intentions and wasn't that thrilled to hear advice he had already considered.

Benedikt exhaled and gave up on trying to help Luka with his complicated relationship affairs and switched instead to the main point. [I know you've been preoccupied Zahnlos and rightfully so, but we're running out of money.] Toothless averted his eyes to a spot on the floor, but Benedikt continued anyway, [This apartment is expensive and you and I only just started working again. Hic's internship will start soon and Jack's still in school…I'm going to look into securing a smaller place and—]

[No.] Toothless asserted, cutting Benedikt off. [I don't want to uproot everyone all over again, especially when everything's already in such a mess.]

[But at this rate—]

[I'll move some money around,] Toothless said as he met Benedikt's eyes again. [I can hold us over until Hic and Jack get solid employment.]

Benedikt stared at him intensely for a moment, trying to discern if Toothless had become too stressed from this conversation. But he determined he was indeed talking to his brother. Benedikt wasn't nearly as familiar with their familial accounts as Toothless was. If he knew where money was kept and was able to access it, then they would be set for life. The problem was that they couldn't move exorbitant amounts all at once or too frequently since the money wasn't exactly clean.

But if he thought he could do it…

[Alright,] Benedikt agreed more relieved that they weren't in as much trouble as he thought.

Toothless smiled ever so slightly at his brother before reaching over to grab his laptop again.

[Are you going to do it now?] Benedikt asked a little surprised.

[No, but I'll take care of it,] Toothless assured him.

Taking that as a dismissal, Benedikt rose from the chair and descended down the attic ladder to leave Luka to his show.

…

…

Hiccup wanted to help Toothless, so much so that not being able to was making him anxious. After he had confessed his diagnosis, Hiccup respected his wishes that he still wanted his separate space. Despite not closing himself off to Hiccup entirely like he was before the diagnosis, Toothless would often still retreat to his room to be alone and would get annoyed if anyone disturbed him. Hiccup couldn't help but feel as though Toothless was avoiding him.

Jack hadn't been home the past few days. In fact, Hiccup hadn't seen him in about a week. He couldn't believe how selfish he was acting. That someone he used to love was sick, and Jack could so easily turn his back on him like that. It made Hiccup question Jack's true feelings for the both of them.

Trying to push the thought out of his mind, Hiccup finished his breakfast and went back upstairs to gather his things before leaving for his internship. But as he turned the corner, Hiccup was surprised to find Toothless lounging on their bed thumbing through the book Hiccup was almost done with.

"Hey bud…" Hiccup said a little surprised to find him there.

"Do you like it so far?" Toothless asked, his voice a little distant.

"Like what?"

"The book," he elaborated as he held it up a little.

"Oh, yeah. It's alright," Hiccup said as he walked into their room.

"I uh…" Toothless hesitated as he sat up on the bed. "I know I've been avoiding you lately and…I'm sorry."

Hiccup instantly softened once he realized that was the real reason Toothless had come to talk to him.

"It's alright, bud," he said in a low voice as he walked over to the bed to sit next to him. "You don't have to worry about me though, I can handle myself."

"Why aren't you afraid to be around me?" he asked sounding a little melancholy as he tilted his head to look at Hiccup.

"Because I'm not," Hiccup said. "I know you wouldn't hurt me."

"How do you know though? You've never even seen my alter."

"Yes I have."

Toothless turned his head fully and looked at Hiccup in complete surprise. "When?" he asked.

Hiccup smiled slightly, albeit it was strained, and said, "The day you rescued me from Caesar."

Toothless didn't say anything for a minute, instead he stared blankly past Hiccup as he tried to compute what the auburn-haired boy was saying.

"You don't remember that day too well, do you?" Hiccup asked quietly, despite already assuming the answer.

Toothless avoided thinking about it. He never wanted to dwell on what had almost happened to Hiccup. But at the same time…his memory did fade after he had shot Caesar. He had always assumed it was just the adrenaline rush. But maybe Hiccup was right…

"I knew that you weren't yourself when it was happening," Hiccup continued in a low tone, "You were…cold. You didn't look at me the same. You were so violent…I honestly thought you were going to kill him in front of me."

Toothless didn't even realize that his heartrate had increased as Hiccup brought up details from that day. It was the first time he had ever brought it up. They both had never even talked about what happened since Toothless had said good-bye to them.

"So why aren't you afraid of me then?" Toothless asked still baffled by that question after hearing Hiccup's dark description of his alter.

"Because you only acted to save me. I think your alter only comes out in self-defense," Hiccup said assuredly. After Toothless didn't respond for a minute, Hiccup stood up and added, "I've got to get to my internship, but…can we still talk tonight? It doesn't have to be about this, it can about…cats or something."

"Cats?" Toothless asked drawn out of his thoughts and slightly amused that that was the first topic Hiccup thought of.

"Or whatever," Hiccup said smiling down at him. Then he leaned toward Toothless, but hesitated before asking, "I…I know you're supposed to be abstinent and everything. But am I at least allowed to hug you?"

Toothless's smile grew wider at Hiccup's need for affection, and after a second he stood up and pulled the auburn-haired boy into the first hug they had shared in over a month. Toothless felt Hiccup instantly melt into him and Toothless buried his face into the other's hair. He had missed him so much…

"I'll see you later, Hic," he murmured in Hiccup's ear while rubbing his back.

Hiccup pulled away from Toothless with a half-hearted smile. He didn't want to leave after Toothless had finally felt comfortable enough to talk to him, but he knew that he couldn't be late to his internship.

Squeezing the other's hand one last time, Hiccup reached down to grab his bag and turned to head out.

…

…

Jack knew no one was home. Jack knew what he was doing was dishonest and shameful. But at the same time, why should he continue committing himself to two different people who have done nothing but treat him like shit lately?

Jack snuck quietly into their apartment to exchange out his dirty clothes for clean ones. He had been staying with Lucie for the past three days, and he would argue that he was basically living with her. However, she never officially offered to let him move in with her, and as such, he kept his stuff at his apartment. But he found it less awkward and stressful if he could sneak in while everyone was either asleep or at work and take care of what he needed to undetected.

As he walked in, Jack noticed the house was quiet and after opening the small closet, he noticed several coats were missing. The summer had quickly dissolved into autumn and it was immensely easier to figure out if anyone was home. After determining such information, Jack relaxed ever so slightly and made his way upstairs. He leisurely started exchanging his clothes before decided that he might as well take a shower. He didn't like the smell of Lucie's soap and if he could have the opportunity to use his own choice of toiletries, he would.

After getting out and getting dressed again, Jack felt immensely cleaner than he had in a while. He never realized how much he would miss simple things, like the kind of towels they owned. Lucie's were too short.

Leaving the bathroom, he resumed swapping out the contents of his overnight bag.

"You leaving again?" Toothless's voice asked, making Jack nearly jump out of his skin.

He looked up to see the black-haired boy leaning against the doorframe to their previously shared bedroom with his arms crossed in front of him, his expression neutral. Jack had no idea he was even home.

After getting over his initial surprise, Jack responded curtly, "Yeah." He had no intention of having a conversation with Toothless, mostly because he never trusted anymore with whom he was talking to. Apparently Jack had the innate ability of bringing out the worst of Toothless's personalities.

But Toothless didn't speak again, while Jack finished gathering his things and shoving them more vicariously into the bag. As he straightened up to leave, he looked at Toothless to see him staring forlornly at the floor.

Bracing himself, Jack started moving forward to stroll past him.

"You met someone else, didn't you?" Toothless said more as a statement than a question as Jack crossed him.

Jack paused outside of the door and answered without turning to face his former lover, "Yeah."

Toothless didn't answer for a long minute, after which Jack decided to move again and took another step forward.

But as he did so, Toothless interrupted his decision. "Did you tell Hic?"

Jack sighed and turned around to face Toothless as he answered bitingly, "I told him I was done. I'm done with his bullshit and you already know I'm done with yours. I just want to have a normal relationship and not be treated like dirt for shit I didn't do."

Toothless nodded his head solemnly at the doorframe in front of him, not meeting Jack's eyes at all. After a slight pause, he added, "I hope you're happy with her."

At first Jack was taken aback that he had given up so easily, but then again, Toothless seemed to at least understand that he had royally fucked up and why Jack didn't want to be involved with someone who cheated on him. However, a small detail suddenly occurred to Jack.

"How'd you know I was with a girl?" he asked suspiciously. He could have just as easily found another guy.

Toothless tilted his head to finally glance up at Jack as he said flatly, "Because you said you wanted a normal relationship."

Jack stared into Toothless's vibrant green eyes for a moment. A small amount of guilt bubbled to the surface amongst the anger. He didn't mean to imply what Toothless had evidently picked up on.

Refusing to answer to Toothless's insight, Jack simply turned and walked down the stairs without uttering another word.

…

…

After Jack had left, Toothless got dressed and made his way to work. He didn't tell Jack that he had always heard him coming in every few days after Hic and Benedikt went to work to repack his bag and sometimes do laundry. Jack obviously didn't know that Toothless didn't have to be at work until nine thirty.

But he figured a long time ago that Jack had met someone else. He only knew a small amount of people, and there was only so often that a new friend would let someone crash on their couch. There had to be more to it than that.

However, after learning that Jack had found himself with a girl…it bothered Toothless more than he thought it would. It was a feeling that he couldn't shake all morning.

[You alright man?] Nico asked turning around from his desk to face Toothless.

[Yeah,] Toothless said realizing that he had been staring at the computer screen for the last ten minutes without moving.

[Well you remember that they want us upstairs in a few minutes, yeah? You get to finally meet the incompetent yuppies we work for.]

Toothless smiled at Nico's remark. The office they worked for wasn't very large and good amount of the employees were young businesspeople who inherited their positions in the company. According to Nico, they were alright to work under, but he preferred not to interact with them if at all possible. The two mostly just stayed in their basement office and performed most of their duties without ever having to see anyone.

But today was a new day, and the people who ultimately hired Toothless were interested in finally meeting him…either that or he and Nico were just supposed to show them how the new network worked. Regardless, he had anticipated meeting them for a while. He had always made it a point to look professional. He wore a suit to work, even though he would discard his coat and roll up his shirt sleeves as soon as he got to the basement. And so far, no one has said anything about his hair. He kept it tied back, of course, and that seemed to be an acceptable style recently. But he hoped that they didn't pressure him to cut it.

After standing up, rolling his sleeves back down, and donning his jacket, Toothless and Nico made their way over to the elevator that would bring them to the upper floors. During the wordless elevator ride, Toothless was able to completely revert his attention away from thoughts of Jack and focus instead on the situation at hand.

They arrived at their destination and Nico strolled out boldly first and Toothless followed him down the hallway and turned right into a room.

As Toothless walked through the doorway, he found himself in a polished meeting room, complete with a long table that seated about twelve people, a projector, and a hanging screen against one wall. Light shone brilliantly through the windows on the wall that looked out upon the vast cityscape.

With a smile that could charm a cobra, Nico greeted several of them, firmly shaking their hands, before turning to introduce Toothless.

[This is Luka Schwarz, my new colleague,] he said using the name Luka was born with, instead of his father's last name. And then Nico proceeded to introduce him to all of the men and the two women in the gathering as they approached Luka to shake his hand. He noticed that most of them were older, the youngest being around thirty give or take. He made a mental note of their names and attempted to summon the same charm that Benedikt often used with these kinds of people.

[Would you mind getting the blinds before we start?] Nico asked him quietly, after which Luka went to go close them and dim the lights.

The presentation went as expected. Nico and Luka (mostly Nico) demonstrated how to use the new network setup and they answered a lot redundant questions that a monkey could figure out if he thought about it longer than two seconds.

But their work was done. After they finished shutting everything off and most of the other members had left, Toothless and Nico turned to retreat into their dungeon of an office. However, the youngest figure in the group, Fabian Albrecht, caught their attention.

[I wanted to thank you both for all the work you do,] he said politely. [As a company, we are trying to unite the departments together and encourage collaboration and input from various perspectives. And I think the things you two are doing are a major contribution to what makes us successful.]

[Thank you sir,] Nico replied. However, Toothless watched him trying to figure out what his true angle was.

[We never received a response from you two, but I assume you will be attending the faculty party tonight?] he asked, even though Toothless could tell there was only one answer he was expecting.

[Of course,] Nico responded.

[Great, we'll see you both after work then,] he added before shaking both of their hands again and exiting the room.

Nico didn't say anything to Toothless until they had exited the elevator and entered their office. He finally released the sigh he had been holding in and said, [I was really hoping he would forget to bring that up…]

[What's wrong with it?] Toothless asked suddenly concerned.

[It's just a bunch of bullshit I would rather not waste my time around,] Nico said as he removed his jacket and collapsed in his office chair. ['Collaboration and innovation'] he mimicked, [He just wants to pretend to include us so that we are more willing to run up and fix everything at their beck and call.]

[Don't we do that already?]

[No,] Nico said turning to grin impishly at him, [Remember how I always wait until after lunch to go upstairs? It's just to make them think we're too busy to leave right away.]

Toothless laughed at Nico's unexpected deception. But it made sense. Most of the crap people have trouble with, they can usually figure it out themselves if given a little time. Both he and Nico would rather spend their time working on the programs they were developing than showing someone how hook up a couple speakers. Programming wasn't even technically a part of their job, they both just enjoyed doing it, which was why Nico hired Luka in the first place.

[So do they throw pretty crazy office parties?] Toothless asked rhetorically.

Nico just rolled his eyes and said, [About as crazy as you would expect.]

…

…

After the unexpected encounter with Toothless, Jack couldn't shake the questions he had inadvertently brought up. Did Jack want to be with Lucie just so he could have a normal relationship? What was normal anyway? By 'normal', Jack had thought he meant finding one person who cared about him… Who he could be out in public with and not feel as though everyone were watching him… Who he could maybe one day get married to…

Maybe Toothless was right about what Jack meant…

Jack had thought in depth before about what the future held for him. After Toothless had left them, Hiccup was the most important person there for him. It killed Jack to see him suffer every day, but at the same time, he couldn't stay away. Because after Toothless left, it hurt. It hurt a lot. He hadn't felt so alone since his mother died. Toothless wasn't there and Hiccup was so wrapped up in his own emotions that he never even noticed Jack's.

But then Hiccup started to recover both physically and emotionally, and Jack thought they might be able to have a future together. They could continue living at the Guardians, Hic could make a living off of his furniture and Jack could continue helping his uncle out.

Jack shook his head to shake away the thoughts as he sat on the streetcar en route to Lucie's. Whatever future they could have had was gone now. They had uprooted their lives for Toothless, only to find out he was mentally unstable. And Hiccup loved Toothless more anyways…

So yeah, he was happy with Lucie. He could have a normal life with her and not have to worry about the insane drama that the other two were wrapped up in. Lucie was here in Germany on a grant. She wanted to become a doctor and while she was studying, her room and board were being completely paid for. She had a good family, a whole family. Sure, they weren't wealthy, but they supported their daughter. And Lucie was one of the kindest and most selfless people Jack had ever met. She originally wanted to become a doctor so that she could help her younger brother. He was diagnosed with a rare, genetic disorder and her family struggled with paying for all the treatments and surgeries that he required. Lucie just wanted to save her brother…

Lucie was good for him, Jack decided. He hadn't known her very long, but they had good chemistry. And she had direction, ambition, and would always take the time to listen to him.

He disembarked the streetcar and walked the remaining few blocks to Lucie's apartment building. It was located near the university that she would be attending after she passed the intermediate language examination. It would suck not having her in his class anymore, since she was the only other person close to Jack's age, but he could still see her afterwards. Although she'd probably be as busy as Anna once she started school…

Oh well, they'd figure it out.

Jack climbed the stairs and knocked on the solid beige door to her one-bedroom apartment. At this point, she really should just give him a key…

But after a moment, he heard her remove the locks on the door until she could open it to let him in.

However, the Lucie he had anticipated seeing wasn't the one who opened the door. After Lucie opened the door, Jack was taken aback to see that her expression was nothing short of distraught. Her eyes were bloodshot and she shook with every small movement.

"Lucie?!" Jack exclaimed as he walked into the apartment, shutting the door behind him, and pulling the crying girl into a tight hug. Her body trembled against his as she struggled to hold it all in.

"Luce, hey…it's alright," he soothed in a low voice as he rubbed her back gently. "What's the matter?"

He felt as she squeezed his torso tightly while resting her forehead on his shoulder. After taking several shaky breaths, she finally managed to get it out.

"I'm pregnant."

Oh yeah, it went there.

How will Jack react?!

Find out next time ;D

If you have an idea, let me know!

I got ten really awesome reviews last chapter

and I couldn't bare to keep you all in suspense much longer.

So, tis true that your reviews motivate promptly posted chapters.

Bring it on!

..

A/N: Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the pregnancy trope.

So I'm going to tryy not to fall into the typical plot traps.

I guess we'll see...like I said, still making this up as I go lol.

Let me know if it gets boring.

Special Thanks to:

Ritaoak and allanimefreak7375 for your follows and favorites!

EmJx: haha yeah you've still got that soft spot for Jack. And there will be all the spokes to this relationship xD Not sure whether Hic will find someone else...guess we'll just have to see there. As a separate note, I hope you got my review for your chapter! Sorry I spelled a bunch of things wrong, I typed it on my phone, which has a habit of correcting random words.

Kigen Dawn: You got it, that's exactly where they stand. I think that happens to everyone sometimes. You often care more about someone when they stop paying as much attention to you. Not sure if you ever experienced that, I know I have. But this time, there's three people and the imbalance is more apparent. However...I don't expect the normal (ish) to be returning anytime soon after this surprise.

violets fire: I know! They all have good points, and yet they're all wrong somehow. I guess sometimes relationships don't work out and it's nobody's fault in particular. Glad to know you're still reading! Hope you liked this chapter!

Guest: There is a bigger reason for Hiccup's blind love that will come into play a little later. It's like what I said to Kigen Dawn, you sometimes care overboard about a person when you sense that they stopped paying as much attention to you. It'll come back to bite Hic at some point. But the reason I think why I've been focusing mostly on Luka and Jack is because the last story was mostly from Hiccup's perspective. There were still a lot of unanswered questions around Luka and Jack (mostly Luka) that I never went into, and now I am. And I also didn't have a pre-planned story with this one. So if it seems like Hic's become dull, you're probably right. But I do have a good scene planned out for him later.

Teddy: hahahahahahahaha you are more wonderful than words can describe. I actually went back and read your past comments on the original story and I love how you just got funnier as time went on. You're amazing. But anyway, before you harp on Jack, just remember that Luka, yer babes, slept around too. So did this chapter give you any heart explosions? xPP

blazingwing: THE TENSION. But I hope your little heart doesn't break...It's interesting that you are one of the few sympathizing with Jack. It's honestly so interesting to see who everyone aligns themselves with. Several people are against Jack because he's cheating, but you feel bad for him even though he's being close-minded. He's going through some stuff, obviously. And now he's got more stuff. Which, who knows what he'll do...

BlackNightRaven1: hahaahahahaaha you are so sassy, but it's awesome. That's why I liked reading your story. Did I throw you for a loop again? And do you still hate Lisa-Louis-Liza-what's her face? xD Not sure if I mentioned this, and I will more clearly later, but she doesn't even know about Jack's previous relationship. #mini-spoiler

martinezabelina18: I've created an addict?! DD: lol, but I'm glad you're liking it so far! The only reason I've kept writing this was because people are interested in it. So it's motivating to know that I've still got readers! Sorry if I haven't updated as frequently, just been pretty busy, plus I've got my other story. But you'll get your ToothlessxJack time ;D

Elder The 1st: [High Five!] See? You were so spot-on it was impressive. Best of luck with college and I look forward to hearing what you think whenever you've got time!

allanimefreak73754: I will thank you doubly so for the other comments you left on the original story. I rarely get those anymore, so it's nice to see that people are still reading that long-ass thing xP And you read it in one day? HOW? Hope you are liking the sequel! And I hope you keep reading!