Chapter: Building and Breaking with Hiccup and Jack

There were smashed figurines everywhere. It was almost as if a huge child had thrown a tantrum and destroyed the little figures. Jack shook his head. All that work, all those hours, all the effort put into meeting the deadline-gone. Oddly enough, only the figures had been destroyed, completely ignoring the original miniature version of the store.

But Jack didn't have time to think about that. How was he supposed to explain this to North? Or, to Hiccup? The sound of clinking metal let Jack know he was running out of time. Hiccup had mentioned he would be coming that way...Jack didn't turn around.

"Jack..." Maybe it was someone from maintenance.

"Jack?" Maybe it was another employee trying to escape.

"Jackson."

Jack turned. It was Hiccup.

Jack ran to him instantly, crossing the room and startling the teen. "Hiccup!"

"Ah! W-What?"

Jack placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Now, Hic. Don't freak out, okay?"

"Sure." Hiccup looked him in the eye. "Are you okay? You look really tired."

Jack sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought. He wrapped his arms around Hiccup for a slightly uncomfortable hug. Hiccup reciprocated the hug, unsure of the motive behind it. He wobbled slightly, and Jack steadied him.

"Hiccup..."

"What?"

As words were failing him, Jack simply took Hiccup by the hand over to the scene of the crime. "I don't know what happened. I just came up here, and..."

Hiccup's stomach lurched. He was silent for a moment longer than Jack was comfortable with. Finally Hiccup exhaled a heavy breath that he himself wasn't aware he was holding in. He scratched his head. "Well...That's hours of work I'll never get back." He glanced at Jack, who looked worried. "Could be worse I g-guess."

"You're taking this surprisingly well, Hic." Jack studied his face. "Are you okay?"

Hiccup nodded. "I could be a lot better." He kept his tone light and even. Now wasn't the time to fall apart. "There's still time...not a lot of it b-but..."

"Surprise!" Eilonwy yelled from across the room.

Jack turned to see Taran and Eilonwy walking across the room.

"Wooooow!" Eilonwy's voice echoed through the space. "Look at all these toys! It's like a seven year old's dream in here!"

"Shh! Eilonwy!" Taran hissed. "You're not even supposed to be up here!"

Unlike Eilonwy, Taran was working part-time at 's department store. After Jack disappeared, Taran had been sent to look for him. Eilonwy had shown up for the sale and followed after him, bringing them to their current situation.

"Gah!" Eilonwy pointed to the mess on the floor. "Don't tell me those are for the window display..."

"They were." Hiccup looked at the floor. "But I guess someone wasn't a fan."
Taran looked at Hiccup. "Sorry."
Eilonwy nodded. "Yes...Too bad. But I'm sure your team will be able to make them in no time!"

Hiccup shook his head. "There is no team. I made them all myself."

"Well maybe that's what you need." Jack turned to Eilonwy. "I don't suppose you're free today?"

"What? Under any other circumstance I would but." Eilonwy looked away. "I was planning on shopping. There's a bunch of stuff downstairs for 40% off!"

Jack wasn't willing to give up that easily. "What if I promise you an even better discount?"

Now Eilonwy was all ears. "How much better are we talking?"

While Taran was glad a solution had been found, he wasn't all that confident the two of them could handle it on their own. "Maybe you should see if any of the other art club members are free. The more the merrier, right?"

A few phone calls later, Hiccup had a small army on his side. Eilonwy had called a few people in who were willing to help for a discount at North's (a sacrifice Jack was willing to make) and Jim had gotten a hold of Tooth by looking her up in the school registry. Calling in Tooth resulted in several art enthusiasts showing up, including a craftsman named Geppetto. He had built the original model of the store for North in the first place.

Working with someone like Geppetto was an eye opening experience for Hiccup. He had commended Hiccup for his work, but scolded him for working on it alone. True he had shared the work of window dressing with his classmates, but he had left making all the figures to do himself. In hindsight, Hiccup agreed working by himself had been somewhat foolish. This wasn't just a personal project, this was meant for the eyes for the town.

Pitch had watched as, at least once an hour, Jack would lead small bands of hippies and yuppies upstairs. It was aggravating. Hiccup's madness was spreading. Who were these people? Could they be trusted so close to North's collection? To his dismay they stayed past closing and had a small party in the cafe area. With all the extra help, work on the window display had finally been completed. This time around, North looked up the figures in his office.

After putting away three carts worth of re-shop items, Jack headed up to the party. Hiccup was seated at a table with a few unfamiliar faces. Jack pulled up a chair and helped himself to the bowl of beignets on the table. "I hear everything went well."

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, its pretty awesome. Oh, this is Flora and Fauna."

Jack gave both of them a nod. "Hello."

"How was work?" Hiccup asked.

Jack shrugged. "Aside from two fights, it was pretty okay."

Hiccup winced. "Hm...That's why I'm an online shopper. No lines, no shady clerks-well no offense, but you know what I mean."

Jack smiled. "None taken. We shady clerks take pride in our work."
After a few parting words Jack took Hiccup home. Instead of taking the car, the two walked. The evening air was cool and icicle lights lit up the park. Jack kept his arm around Hiccup all the while, concerned he could trip any minute. Hiccup had been uncoordinated enough when he had two legs. Who knew what he was capable of with one and a half?

Hiccup welcomed the closeness. Each time he walked through the park, he was reminded of the night he first found Jack sitting in the snow. So much had happened since then, it was strange to think it had only been a year ago. 'If all this can happen in a year, what can happen in two, or three?' He glanced at Jack for a moment before turning his eyes back to the path ahead. 'What would we even be like, years from now?'

His eyes fell on a lump under a tree that he quickly identified as his neighbor. "Lilo?"

"Hi, Hijack." Lilo looked up at them.

"Hi-what?" Jack said.

"That's one of the names for your couple on tumblr." She explained. "There's a daily blog run by a bunch of people called the Burgess Bonanza...That's what they call you..."

Hiccup decided to file that odd bit of information away for later. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home?"
Lilo shrugged. "I guess."

As if on cue, Stitch crawled down from a tree and landed at her side. "Eh."

Hiccup ignored Stitch. If he kept on pretending Stitch was a dog, he could keep his sanity. "Riiight. How about we go home then? It beats being out in the cold."

Jack crossed his arms. "Do you always pick up people in the park, Hiccup? Are you trying to tell me I'm not special?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes at Jack. "That's right. Maybe I'll make her pancakes too."

Jack gasped."You wouldn't!"

Lilo nodded. "Pancakes sound good, actually. What do you think, Stitch?"
The blue...dog nodded.

The four of them walked back, Lilo swinging in-between Jack and Hiccup while Stitch walked ahead.

"Why don't you want to go home, Lilo?" Jack inquired.

" 'cause its not gonna be my home." Lilo explained. "I never really thought of it as my home, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"Home is back in Hawaii. That's what I thought...But now Nani says she's got a job. We're going back when spring comes. Which means, I won't be here anymore."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah. I mean, I thought so. But, I like Burgess now. I guess I didn't think I would go back so soon..."

Hiccup nodded. "I think I can understand that. When I first came here, I didn't think of it as home, either. But whenever I visit Berk, I feel like I left something in Burgess."

They were back on Lilo's block now. "But you know, it's okay to have more than one home. You can always come visit us, Lilo."

Lilo looked up at him. "Really? Can you visit me too?"

Jack grinned. "Of course! I'm sure we can find our way to Hawaii, somehow."
They stopped outside the Pelekai house.

"I suppose that's okay." Lilo ran up the stairs after Stitch. "Goodbye, not forever though."

Hiccup nodded. "If you don't want to say 'goodbye', just 'say see you later'. That's what I used to do with my parents when I knew I wouldn't see them for awhile."

Jack shook his head. "Guys, it's not even Spring yet. We have plenty of time to hang out before you go. So...See you later, Lilo."

Lilo smiled. "See you later, Hijack." With that she disappeared into the house.

Jack and Hiccup continued to the end of their journey. Jack walked Hiccup up to the porch. They stopped at the door for a moment. Hiccup was sure he was supposed to do something here, he just wasn't sure what. He rubbed his arm. "So...Thanks for walking me home...I guess...?"

Jack leaned his head against the door. "Do I get an award for being such an attentive boyfriend?"

Hiccup crossed his arms. "I suppose so." 'Jeez, this relationship stuff is hard...' 'What do you want?"

Jack pried Hiccup's arms from his chest before pressing a gentle kiss on his lips.

"How about a sleepover?" Jack whispered in his ear, wrapping his arms around Hiccup.

Hiccup tried to keep calm. "I don't know about that...I doubt my dad would be up for it."

Jack sighed, burying his face in Hiccup's hair. "Your Dad's no fun. You'd think a pro wrestler would be a little more liberal."

Hiccup held on to Jack's shirt to steady himself. "Sorry...No." He pushed Jack away gently. "Good night, Jack."

Jack squished him before letting him go, messing up his hair. "See you later."

Hiccup patted his hair back down as Jack walked off. He shook his head and entered the house. His mother was in the living room with Toothless, watching a documentary on large reptiles. "Oh Heccup, welcome home. You didn't walk back, did you?"

"I did. But I was with Jack, so it was fine."
"Did you now. How nice of him to walk you back."

Hiccup shrugged. "I guess. I mean, that's how it is with... couples...right?"

Valka put her eyes back to the screen. "Sometimes. Not always. Yer father used to walk me about...And I would accompany him to his matches and such."

"Uh huh." Hiccup looked at the screen.

"What I'm saying Heccup, is that couples have a sort of commitment to each other. Holding hands and kissing-"

Hiccup winced. "Mom, please-"

"Is sweet and all." Valka continued. "But it's not all there is. If you want to be with a person for all long time, you have to take all that they are...even the parts you don't understand or like, and accept it...work with it...help them be who they want to be...and they do the same for you."

"Okay." Hiccup looked away from the TV. "Yeah. I get that."

Soon, the great 'unveiling' was upon them. A large crowd had huddled outside 's that day, so big the street had to be sectioned off. Plenty of familiar faces had shown up, including Rapunzel, the Arendelles, and even Kuzco and his entourage. It was November 30th. In less than ten minutes it would be December 1st. Light snow fell like powder as the mayor spoke from a small wooden podium build in front of the store. North and Jack stood to the mayor's right, dressed for work, instead of hidden under layers of clothes like the denizens of Burgess. One speech was made after another first from the mayor, and then from North, who turned the microphone over to his staff. Finally the moment came, and the window displays were out for the world to see.

Valka and Stoick couldn't have been more proud, and Hiccup could tell. He had longed for the day he could stop being an embarrassment to the Haddock name. Hiccup had always felt a disconnect between himself and the men of his family. He labeled himself the black sheep. He wasn't a fighter like his father, or big as his uncle, or strong as his cousin. But now, he was part of something no one in his family had done.

"Of course I didn't doubt him for a second." Jack was telling a teammate right after practice the next day. "My baby squirrel's a genius after all."

Before Jack could speak anymore praise, he was interrupted.

"Hey Jack, it's that time of year again. Where's your party gonna be?"

Jack froze. "What?" 'December. Birthday party. Right.' "I have to get to you about that."
Jack didn't put much thought into his party at all this year. In fact, he hadn't put any thought into it at all. Which is why he tried to dodge the subject each time someone brought it up. It was the following Wednesday when he found himself cornered (literally), between Eilonwy and Hiccup.

"Why wasn't I invited to your party?" Eilonwy whined. "Everybody's saying if you don't know where it's happening, then you weren't invited."

"I'm sure that's not true." Hiccup said. "You just..." Hiccup looked at Jack. "Didn't tell her yet, right?"

Jack stood there, silent.

Hiccup could tell he was trying to figure out how to answer that. 'Oh. Maybe he didn't want to invite Eilonwy at his party...No, that doesn't seem right.'

Mavis chose that point to appear. "Jack, are you using the ballroom this year again, or not? Dad wants to know. Someone else wants the space for an event."

Jack raked a hand through his hair. "Crap. Um...Let them have it, Mavis."

Mavis shrugged. "Alright. See you around then."

Eilonwy watched her walk off. "So, am I invited or not?"

Jack sighed and studied the floor. "...I haven't...I let you know when I've picked a place, okay?"

"Oh...kay..." Eilonwy replied. The sound of the warning bell rang through the halllway.

Hiccup stood to the side. "Well, I have study hall. I'll see you later."

He received a nod in reply. Unsure what to make of that, Hiccup headed to the library. The teacher for that period was absent, leaving the students with the urge to do anything but study. Hiccup wandered off into the fiction section and had a seat on the floor. He skimmed over the pages of a heavy novel. 'What do other teenagers do at times like this?' Bored. He decided texting was his best bet. 'Talking to Jack seems awkward at the moment, Merida is in a lab class, and Jim's in shop so that's impossible, and Rapunzel...' She was definitely the easiest to talk to.

Hi -Hiccup

….

….

What's up? -Rapunzel

….

No teacher. Bored -Hiccup

….

….

Is everything okay -Rapunzel

….

I guess...-Hiccup

….? -Rapunzel

…..

…..

Okay, maybe not -Hiccup

What's wrong? Did something happen?- Rapunzel

I think something's wrong with Jack -Hiccup

Like what?-Rapunzel

….

Idk -Hiccup

Have you tried...asking?- Rapunzel

….

Don't know how- Hiccup

Ask next time ur alone- Rapunzel

….

I'll try -Hiccup

Do. Or do not. There is no try (u) -Rapunzel

….

Right. Thanks Yoda. -Hiccup

Hiccup found Jack while taking a bathroom break. It was an odd discovery, considering he had been walking the halls aimlessly at the time. Had he not seen a familiar pair of beat-up Converse poking out from behind the teacher's desk, he wouldn't have went into the empty room.

Jack straightened up at the noise, concealed behind the large desk. Once Hiccup came into view, he relaxed and tugged the smaller boy down to his level. "Taking a break?" He asked, put his smile back in place.

"Yeah..." Hiccup rubbed his arm. 'Asking questions...Yoda. Right...'

"So...Are you okay?" He asked, hesitant.

"Yeah." Jack replied, in a tone lighter than intended. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, earlier you seemed kind of...not...okay...I mean." 'Yep. I definitely sound like a college bound scholar.'

"Oh." Jack ran a hand through his hair slowly. "You caught that..."

'Alright Hiccup, go for the gold.' "Is it about your party?"

Jack looked at the floor, hugging his knees to his chest. "You could say that." Considering his birthday was in a few weeks, he didn't look as excited as he had last year talking about it. "I guess I've got some planning to do."

Hiccup watched him closely. "Do you even want to have a birthday party?"
Jack smiled at him. "That's a tricky question."

Hiccup pressed further. "Why?"
"Well, when I was a kid, my birthday wasn't a big deal...It wasn't until I was adopted that I really 'celebrated' it...Then every birthday with North was a big event, and each year it got bigger...and bigger. I welcomed it, at first. I mean, what kid doesn't want to be all about them? And who doesn't want to be your friend when you always throw the best parties? If there's anything I've learned, it's that when you have money, you have friends." He paused.

"But I didn't always have stuff to give them, so I had to come up with other ways to keep everyone's attention. Now, it took me a while to realize what I wanted wasn't attention." He looked at Hiccup. "I just wanted company...I was lonely, I guess. But you can't build up a persona like that and let go of it. Whenever I was with a group of friends, I had to have something to say. If I didn't, they started to look at me weird. So I keep it going...I keep smiling...Keep talking. I can't stop. If I don't keep the party going, everyone will leave."

Hiccup took a moment to process that. "Do you seriously think I'd go away because of something like that?'

"No..."Jack panicked. "At least, I don't think so."

Hiccup sighed. It wasn't like this revelation was completely new. Jack had said something similar at his party, last year. "Just stop." Hiccup instructed. "You don't need to keep acting just to keep people around. If they aren't willing to take you just for you, forget them. You're not here for their amusement."

Jack sighed. "I want to believe that...But aren't I? When I'm playing lacrosse, I'm playing for everyone in the stands. When I'm working at the store, I'm just pandering to my customer's needs. How is that any different?"

"If you don't want to do something, then don't. When I was a kid and my Dad wanted me to wrestle, I did at first. But I realized pretty early on that I didn't want to. So I stopped practicing. I know my Dad was disappointed...A good portion of the island was..." Hiccup shook his head. "And I felt bad for letting them down. But I didn't keep beating myself up about it. I just...let go."

"I don't know if it's that easy for me, Hic. I've been keeping this up for a long time."

Jack scratched his head. "And I've been doing it so long, I don't think I can stop. I don't I even want to stop...It's like... I'm sick or something."

Valka's word were starting to make a little more sense. There's was still more Hiccup had to learn about Jack...And things that Jack had to learn about him. They were only teenagers, but they had years of material to catch up on and sort out.

"I don't think you're sick, Jack." Hiccup said. "You just need help. I'm not saying form a doctor, or anything...I'm saying...um..."

Jack leaned his head on Hiccup's shoulder. "I think right now, I just need this."

"Right." Hiccup stayed as still as possible. "Then we'll start here."

Refs

Geppetto: Disney's Pinocchio

Flora and Fauna: Disney's Sleeping Beauty

Do or do not. There is no try-Yoda, (Disney's) Star Wars

There's more of a focus on Jack this time around...Probably because we got so much of Hiccup in the first one, and a somewhat even mix in the second fic...