Braces
Jack was not happy. Today was the day he was getting his braces put on. His tongue poked at one of the spacers jammed between his teeth. He really wasn't looking forward to this. He shuffled into the orthodontists office behind his adoptive father, North.
"It will be fine, Jack." North said trying to comfort the boy.
"Yeah sure," he said.
An uncomfortable hour and a half later, Jack stood behind his father as he talked to the receptionist. The door opened again and a burly red haired man with an impressive beard walked in. He was as big a North was! Behind him was a tiny boy with auburn colored haired, wearing a green long-sleeved shirt and jeans.
The man went to sit in the waiting area while the boy walked up to check in. Jack peeked at the name, Hiccup Haddock. Weird name, but who was he to judge? His last name was Frost!
The boy turned around, his eyes were a deep and beautiful green, Jack found himself at a loss for words.
"Hey," the boy, Hiccup, said.
"Uh, hi," Jack said finding it really hard to stay focus and form sentences. And then Hiccup smiled.
His smile like, his teeth, was crooked and absolutely adorable. His braces had green and blue bands, the blue was the same as Jack's.
"Just got them today?"
"What?" Jack breathed completely lost.
"Your braces, did you just get them today?"
"Uh, yeah actually."
"I could tell, you'll get used to them, then they only hurt after you get them tightened."
"How long have you had braces?"
"A year and a half." He answered. Being the expert on the subject Jack decided to listen to him rather than the boys at school, they had told him they hurt all the time.
"How old are you?" Jack asked, he was pretty small, most likely twelve or...
"Fourteen." He was a whole year older than Jack, and yet Jack was taller than him. "How old are you?"
"Thirteen. But I'll be fourteen in a month." He loved having a December birthday it was like double the presents.
"Cool," Hiccup said.
"Hiccup?" Called the nurse. With a little wave Hiccup headed to the back.
The next time he saw Hiccup Haddock was three months later. The orthodontist was seeing someone who had broken their bracket and needed immediate attention. Hiccup was sitting on the little window bench, looking out at the flower bed in the back of the office.
"Hi!" Hiccup looked up at Jack. He smiled his crooked smile, his bands were red this time.
"Hey, I never got your name last time." Jack was surprised to find that the boy remembered him, but Jack hadn't forgotten the boy with the strange name either so maybe it wasn't that far of a stretch.
"It's Jack."
"Well hi Jack, I'm Hiccup." Hiccup held out his hand, Jack accepted the handshake. Hiccup's hands were calloused and small, but warm.
"Is that your real name?" Jack asked incredulously.
"Yeah, my family descends from vikings. It's tradition to name the runt Hiccup."
"I don't think you're a runt."
"I'm the smallest in my family."
"Well I think it's cute." Hiccup blushed.
A plump boy with blonde hair came out into the lobby holding his cheek. "Be more careful next time," the orthodontist called out. "Alright Hiccup come on back."
"Bye," Hiccup said giving a little wave as he walked away.
It took only two months for Jack to see Hiccup again.
The office was swamped and the all appointments moved back an hour (or you had to be rescheduled completely). Hiccup's dad, the giant red head, had a meeting to go to so he had left Hiccup there. He was sitting on the window bench like last time, pretending to read a magazine. Jack left North at the front desk to sort everything out.
Jack sat next to Hiccup. "What are you doing?" He asked noting that the magazine was upside down.
"People watching." Jack nodded. They sat and watched the people in silence for a while.
"You know I feel like we're friends but the truth is I don't know anything about you."
"You're right, I guess I could start at the beginning we're going to be here awhile anyway." Jack was surprised he hadn't expected the boy to be so willing to give out information.
"Well my mother died when I was eight in a car crash. I lost my leg that day..."
And so it went on for an hour. Jack learned that Hiccup felt like he was disappointing his dad because he was too clumsy and small to play sports. He looked more like his mother and he was a total nerd. He read comic books and loved dragons. The only thing he had of his mother was a stuffed dragon, named Toothless, she had made him before he was born. He was born in a town called Berk that was in Norway. His dad had moved them to America, it had been his mother's dying wish, to see her son in the land of freedom and apple pie, at least that's what Hiccup said. He went to a small charter school rather than the public school that Jack went to. Hiccup wanted to pursue a career in engineering and was the smartest and smallest kid in his class.
Jack told Hiccup about being an orphan and how he couldn't remember his parents but he did remember that he had a sister. She had been adopted before Jack. North had adopted Jack, who came from Russia and looked like Santa Claus. For friends he had a nonbinary mute named Sandy, a colorful girl named Ana, and an Australian pen pal. Jack went to public school where he was almost completely invisible. He liked anime and wanted to try cosplaying someday, but wasn't sure how to start or who to start with.
Before they knew it the hour was up and they were taken into separate rooms to have their braces tightened.
It was six months before Jack actually saw Hiccup again. They never planned their appointments together so it was always hit and miss. Jack was sure Hiccup would have forgotten him by now, it had, after all almost been a year since they had met. "Hey, Hiccup!" Jack's worry became reality as he saw confusion cloud Hiccup's beautiful green eyes.
"Jack?" He looked older now, he was taller but he still looked tiny. But maybe that's just because Jack got taller too.
"Yeah it's me."
"Your hair..." Hiccup said staring at the top of Jack's head.
"What?"
"It's white." Hiccup stated.
"Oh yeah! I got so used to it I forgot you've never seen it."
"Well it think it's cool."
"I did it for a cosplay."
"So you finally got into that?"
"Yeah and it's as much fun as I thought it would be!"
"That's really great, I'm glad."
Then something occurred to Jack. "Hey I'm getting my braces off today!"
"That's awesome Jack!"
"So uh, I feel like I'm never going to see you again. Can I...can I have your number?" Jack asked nervous.
"Yeah sure," they pulled out their phones and exchanged numbers.
It was three years before they saw each other again.
"Jack!" Jack whipped his head around trying to see who was calling out to him. Suddenly he felt someone hug him from behind.
"Hey I haven't seen you in forever!" It was Hiccup, the boy who was always on Jack's mind, the boy who had always been attractive. And now even more so.
He was taller than Jack by three inches or so, and lean but muscular. His hair was longer but still auburn. He was wearing a rainbow head band and an ace pride tank top, which wasn't odd seeing as it was a gay pride festival they were at. Jack had a pansexual pride tank top and wrist bands.
"Hey, I never thought I would see you again," Jack said. In three years they had lost touch, phones and numbers changed. People did too, but Hiccup seemed the same if a little more forward, but that could've been the setting.
"It's great to see you! I see your still rocking the white hair."
"Yeah actually I kinda grew attached to it." The two laughed together.
They enjoyed pride together for the whole week, catching up. Hiccup while looking adorable in braces looked even better without them. He had gotten them off just in time for senior year, and he was now attending college at Cooper Union in New York. Jack was attending Dartmouth in New Hampshire.
They stayed in touch this time but they didn't see each other again until after Jack graduated from college. Jack had received an invitation to Hiccup's graduation but he couldn't make it. Hiccup, however, made it to Jack's.
They spent the week together living in the apartment Jack had been renting for his senior year, he had gotten fed up with the dorms. They decided to move in together and it wasn't long before they started dating.
"You know I had a crush on you the second time we met." Hiccup said one night as they were driving home from the cinema.
"I loved you the second I saw you."
"Nuh uh."
"Okay fine, I did get a crush on you the first time we met though."
"Really?"
"Yeah I never stopped thinking about you, and whoever I dated, which was like two people, it never felt as right as it does with you."
"I never dated anyone, I think it was because I knew I could never love them as much as I love you."
"...Well I think we're tied."
"No way I get bonus points for being sappy."
They we're having one of their "who's a better boyfriend" contests. "But I get bonus points for love at first sight."
"Yeah but that's more cliche than romantic."
Jack stuck his tongue out at Hiccup.
It had been a day since he saw him. Astrid, Hiccup's best friend, had been adamant about the whole "no seeing the bride before the wedding it's bad luck" thing.
Jack was dressed in a simple black tux with a green bow tie that matched Hiccup's eyes. Hiccup was wearing a tux virtually identical to Jack's but he had a blue bow tie, to match Jack's eyes. They had decided to both walk down the isle with their fathers separated by their harbingers of wedding cheer.
The flower girl which was Jack's sister's daughter went first. Followed by Sandy, Ana, and Aster. Jack followed his friends out, escorted by North. Then came Astrid and Finny (or Fishlegs). Then came Hiccup and Stoick.
Jack grabbed Hiccup's hands and looked directly into those green eyes he had fallen for in the first place. While they had changed over the years one thing could never change, their love for each other.
