Ahhh it makes me so excited that this AU is being so well received (: Thank you all so much! I sincerely hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry it took me a little longer to get up. I've been busy with holiday stuff and all that. And this is a pretty long chapter for me. Thanks for your patience!

Hiccup rolled his pencil back and forth on his desk. The professor's voice droned on and on, but it was just a dull roar in his head. No matter how hard he'd been trying, he couldn't seem to focus on lectures these days. His thoughts were far away from the classroom.

It'd worked out so that they were able to return from the lodge on schedule. Jack's parents arrived in hysterics the day following the accident. They met Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel at the hospital and were told the whole story. Hiccup hated to be the one to relay it to them, and though he understandably gave them an extremely edited version of the incident, they were still considerably horrified and completely distraught over the state of their son. Mrs. Overland wept for him, and the pain in her husband's face was impossible to miss. Thankfully they'd left his younger sister at home. Hiccup didn't think Rapunzel could take seeing the little girl right now, considering her immense fondness for her, and heaven knew the last thing they needed was another person crying over what happened.

It was good for her that the Overlands were there though, Hiccup thought. He knew she was like a daughter to them. In fact, Jack's parents treated all of them as their children. Hiccup supposed it had something to do with the fact that, out of the four of them, Jack's was the only family that lived in Burgess at the moment. Hiccup's father was travelling due to work and should be somewhere in Europe right now, if he remembered correctly. Merida's parents were in Scotland. Rapunzel's adoptive mother was…actually, Hiccup wasn't sure where she was. Rapunzel didn't talk about her very much. Theoretically, the woman might actually live close by, but he knew Rapunzel would never go to her if she could help it.

After they'd all become so close with Jack, the Overlands had sort of taken them in. But it was obvious how much they adored Rapunzel. Hiccup was glad they were there to offer each other some solace.

On his parents' insistence, Jack was deemed well enough for travel and transferred to the hospital in Burgess the next day. Hiccup supposed that was a good sign. It made him feel considerably better knowing he was home. So they'd packed up his car and made the drive back.

After dropping Merida and Rapunzel off at the dormitories on campus, he had returned to his apartment. It was dark and silent and empty. If it hadn't been for Toothless, he knew he would've spiraled into madness within a few days. The black German Shepherd had been Hiccup's constant companion for a long time, and he'd never been so grateful that the apartment complex was pet-friendly before now. But even with the dog's unconditional affection and silent support, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. The apartment still felt empty. So, so empty.

He'd lived with that emptiness for over a week now. Life without Jack was…a lot more depressing than he'd been anticipating. He missed his whining about the earliness in the morning and his complaining about homework in the evening. He missed the way he'd show up at night with takeout so they didn't have to suffer their own cooking. He missed staying up too late playing video games. He missed Jack.

But the thing that depressed him the most was knowing that when Jack came back—if he came back—nothing would be the same. They wouldn't get to play video games together anymore, or watch movies, or sit pretending to pore over textbooks while secretly waiting for the opportune moment to shoot spitballs at one another. Jack probably wouldn't come jump on his bed just to annoy him anymore. There were so many things that they wouldn't be able to do anymore, and these were the things that occupied Hiccup's mind for a majority of the time.

Everyday he waited patiently for a call to tell him that Jack had finally woken up, but the days passed and it didn't come. He was beginning to get scared. His thoughts became darker and darker as time went on—what if he was in a coma and slept for months? What if he had no memory when he woke up? What if he didn't wake up?

It was becoming increasingly difficult not to torture himself with what ifs.

But when you're alone with nothing but your thoughts…what ifs were pretty much all he had to think about. Merida came by frequently to try to help with his loneliness. It certainly helped. Some nights she'd bring him food or stay a while to work on homework, and he was undoubtedly grateful for the company. But it wasn't the same. And on the nights when she couldn't come by and Hiccup pulled Toothless onto his lap and turned up the TV to drown out the silence, the weight in his gut felt too heavy to bear.

It had been seven days since the accident, but to Hiccup it felt like a lifetime. If there was one thing he learned in that week, it was that he'd taken his roommate for granted. He had never realized how boring life was without him, how much fun Jack was able to bring with him wherever he went.

It terrified Hiccup to think that he would never be that way again. Sure, he would still be Jack, but he would never be quite the same. How could he be, when such a big piece of him was missing?

Hiccup heaved a heavy sigh and continued to roll his pencil across the small expanse of his desk. At some point, his chin had sunken into his arms and he hadn't realized it until the students began to stir and he was jerked back into reality.

"And that's it for today," the professor announced. "Don't forget about the test next week."

Hiccup groaned internally as he began stuffing his things into his satchel. Another wasted class. He was doomed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so behind on schoolwork.

He tried to keep out of people's way as a steady stream of students rushed for the doors. That was his last class for the day, but he grimaced when he remembered he was supposed to work a shift at the auto shop that night. Maybe he would call Tuff and ask him to cover it. He really wasn't feeling up to working. Or dealing with people. All he really wanted to do was sleep.

But then he remembered the rent. And that, as of now, he was solely responsible for paying it since Jack was out of commission. The apartment was a bit of a dump and wasn't exactly expensive as far as apartments went, but on top of all the other expenses he had to cover, paying the rent on time would be quite a challenge. He needed to go to work tonight, no matter how much he dreaded the idea.

With leaden feet he walked to his car and proceeded to drive the short distance to the complex. It was a nice area for such shabby apartments. The street was lined with neat black lampposts and the shrubbery was trimmed nicely and everyone seemed good about picking up after their pets, so Hiccup considered it a good place to live. He and Jack hadn't gotten to know many of their neighbors, but the ones they'd bumped into occasionally seemed friendly enough.

The climb to the third story of the building felt like a long, daunting task these days, and Hiccup took his time getting up the stairs. The small, empty place that awaited him at the end wasn't a very inviting destination, either.

He was struggling to unlock the door (the deadbolt had an irritating tendency to get stuck) when he heard a sweet voice behind him say, "Hiccup! How are you today?"

Hiccup turned in time to see their next-door neighbor coming up the stairs with her arms full of grocery bags. He smiled and waved in greeting. "Hi, Tooth. I'm fine, thanks." Then he noticed a small movement by the girl's legs and bent down to greet the small face and large, mismatched eyes peeking out from behind. "Hey, Baby. How are you?"

The little girl smiled widely and waved.

Tooth smiled fondly and patted her little sister's head. "She's a little tired. We've been out shopping all day."

Hiccup nodded in understanding.

Toothiana was an older girl who Hiccup believed was currently in medical school. She lived in the apartment next to his with her sister, a small five-year-old that Jack had a rather large soft spot for and had inexplicably nicknamed "Baby." Sometimes they let her come over when Tooth had somewhere to be or needed some peace and quiet to study. Jack loved babysitting the little girl. Watching them play together was always amusing for Hiccup. It brought out a soft, tender side of Jack that you'd never know was there otherwise. Hiccup had been shocked when he first found out that he was so good with kids. Though, in retrospect, he supposed he shouldn't have been so surprised.

Tooth shifted a large paper bag against her hip and tossed her rainbow-colored hair. "So where's Jack? Baby's been asking about him, and I haven't seen him around lately."

Hiccup's gut turned and his fingers clenched around they key. "Uh…"

"Is he buried under schoolwork already? That doesn't sound like Jack. He's probably with Rapunzel, huh?"

"Um..." He sighed, feeling all the loneliness and misery and worry flood into his face. "No. No, he's not."

Alarm flickered across Tooth's birdlike features. "What's wrong? Is he all right?"

Hiccup quickly glanced at Baby, and then back at Tooth pointedly, hoping she got the message. Realization sparked in her violet eyes. She took the smaller of her bags and handed it to her little sister. "Would you put this inside for me, please? Then you can watch TV. I'll be in in a minute, okay?"

Baby took the bag carefully, looking up inquiringly at Tooth. "Where's Jack?"

Hiccup bit his lip. "Jack will be back soon. Don't worry." He did his best to smile and hoped that it was enough.

Baby didn't look entirely convinced, but she nodded anyway. "Okay," she said, and promptly took the bag inside her apartment and shut the door.

Hiccup sagged against the railing.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" Tooth asked anxiously, taking a step toward him.

"Jack managed to get himself hospitalized while we were at a ski lodge over break," he answered glumly.

Tooth gasped audibly. "Oh no! Is he all right?"

"Um." Hiccup reached up to rub his jaw, absently noticing that he needed to shave. "Not exactly."

"Wh…why not? What happened?" Tooth looked more concerned than she had a right to be. They were friends, sure, but Hiccup wouldn't exactly say they were close. Then again, he'd pegged Tooth to be a very sympathetic and caring person, much like Rapunzel. It made sense that she was so concerned for Jack's wellbeing, especially when her little sister loved him so much.

Hiccup sighed again, searching for words. "He hit his head, and…uh…they're saying he's gone blind. Permanently." He had to force himself to say it. Just hearing it out loud again made it that much more real, and that much more painful. It's not like he was trying to deny reality or anything…but ignoring it was a lot more favorable. He didn't like having to talk about it.

Tooth covered her mouth with her hands, face contorting in shock and distress. "Oh, Hiccup…I…I'm so sorry."

He gave a humorless laugh. "Why? I'm not the one who's hurt."

"Is he…I mean, how's Jack taking it? Is he okay?"

"He doesn't know yet. He's still unconscious."

"Still?"

Hiccup leaned his elbows on the rail and looked down into the stairwell, deciding to let his silence speak for him.

After a moment, he felt a delicate hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you, okay?"

He smiled at her over his shoulder. "I will. Thanks, Tooth."

"And let me know when you get any news of Jack," she added, beginning to move toward her door.

"Okay."

She gave him a sad wave as she closed the door, compassion shining in her eyes. Hiccup's posture slumped and he stuck his key back in the lock, wiggling it halfheartedly.

When the deadbolt finally turned and he pushed the door open, he wanted to run from the darkness that he saw. Part of him wished it was dark only because Jack was napping on the couch, but the desolate silence that emanated from the small space they called the living room reminded him harshly of reality.

He reluctantly stepped over the threshold and went inside. The thump thump of Toothless's tail against the side of his crate was the only thing that greeted him, and he eagerly flipped on a light and opened the crate's door. The big dog exploded out of it, knocking Hiccup backwards and covering his face with saliva from his tongue. Hiccup laughed as he pushed him off and wiped his face on his sleeve.

"Hey, bud," he said. "It's good to see you too. I hope you're having a better day than I am."

Toothless wagged his tail in response.

"I'll take that as a yes."

He stood up with a groan and stretched. He supposed he should get some studying done before work, but the sagging couch seemed a lot more appealing at the moment. After a quick and rather one-sided internal debate, he tossed his bag and keys on the kitchen table and threw himself onto the worn cushions. It took maybe ten seconds for him to fall asleep.

Work was a complete bore, as usual. The night seemed slower than his usual shifts, which he really should've been thankful for, considering his low levels of energy and lack of motivation to be friendly. He was pretty sure his boss, a hulking man with a drooping mustache named Gobber, even picked up on it. Thankfully, though, he had enough grace not to say anything to Hiccup about it.

He had just enough energy when he got home to do a bit of homework and take Toothless for a walk. Then he collapsed gratefully into his bed and slept, extremely thankful that the next day was a Friday and he only had one class in the afternoon.

Instead of waking up the next morning to Toothless's tongue licking his face, he was roused by his ringtone. Grumbling to himself, he turned over in the bed and pulled his pillow over his head. But then it occurred to him that it might be Merida, and he didn't want to induce he anger by ignoring her call. He'd tried that before, and apparently "I was sleeping" wasn't a valid excuse.

So he pushed himself up and groped blindly for his phone. Once he had it in his grasp, he pressed a button and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Oh, Hiccup, were you asleep? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you."

At the sound of Mrs. Overland's voice on the other end, Hiccup was immediately awake and shot up in bed. "Oh, no, you didn't. It's fine," he said hurriedly. "Is…something wrong?"

His heart was pounding against his chest. The only reason she would call him that he could think of was if she had news of Jack.

Her voice sounded both overjoyed and dismayed at the same time. "I thought you'd want to know that Jack's awake."

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat. For a moment he said nothing and stared at the far wall. Jack was…awake? After waiting for so long to hear those words, they seemed to want to take their time to sink in.

"Hiccup? Are you still there?"

"Uh, yes," he answered. "Um…is Jack okay?"

There was a slight pause in which he felt his stomach drop. He was terrified of her answer.

"He's as okay as he can be, I suppose," the woman said. "He woke up for the first time two days ago, but he hasn't been very coherent and he's had a difficult time talking, so I didn't call you. But he's better today. He doesn't remember the accident, but that's normal. The doctors say he doesn't seem to have any further brain damage."

Hiccup closed his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Is he, um…you know…doing okay with…with everything?"

"I'm sure he would love it if you came by to ask him yourself."

He blinked, remembering what the last doctor had told them. "He's okay for visitors?"

"Well, maybe not today, but they say he'll probably be lucid enough tomorrow," Mrs. Overland informed. "I'll call you when he's awake if you'd like."

"That would be great. Thanks, Mrs. Overland."

He hung up and ran a hand over his face tiredly. So, you finally decided to wake up, huh? Took you long enough. He'd been waiting for that call for too long. Now that it had finally come, he didn't feel as relieved as he thought he would. Because now came the part he'd been dreading. The part where Jack would have to get used to a new life. And really, by default, they all would.

Hiccup exhaled heavily through his nose and raised his hand, but found himself hesitating again. Open the door. Just open it.

He'd been standing there for two full minutes already, trying to work up the courage to enter Jack's hospital room. He didn't know why he was so reluctant to go in. Jack's mom had called a while ago to tell him that Jack was awake and asking to see his friends (Hiccup was sure he was mostly asking for Rapunzel, though), so he'd driven over to the hospital immediately. And now he couldn't even work up the courage to open the door.

Honestly, he was scared to see Jack, to see the shape he was in. But the thing he was most scared of was that, for the first time, Jack wouldn't be able to see him back.

Finally, Hiccup forced his hand to grasp the doorknob and push the door open.

The first thing he saw was Jack's mother standing from a chair by the bed and smiling at him. Smiling, looking as cheerful and pleasant as always, as if nothing was wrong. Hiccup wished he could put on that kind of face, but he was sure his expression looked more like a grimace.

"Thank you for coming," the woman said, her voice painfully upbeat. She turned back to the bed. "Jack, Hiccup's here to see you."

"Hiccup?"

The small, weak voice drew Hiccup's eyes to the hospital bed, and he sucked in a breath. He'd expected him to look bad—but not like this.

Jack had always been pale, but now he was stark white. Thankfully not the sickeningly gray pallor he'd been in the ambulance, but the color was still gone from his face. Both of his eyes were ringed in dark circles, alarmingly stark in contrast with his paper white complexion. Bandages now covered his broken nose and the gashes on his face, though quite a few scratches were still plainly visible. A large, thick white bandage was wrapped around his head.

But the worst thing—the absolute worst thing—was the look in his eyes. As Hiccup moved closer to the bed he could see it better, and the sight of it was creating a pressure that was slowly crushing his chest.

Jack's usually warm brown eyes were glassy and dull. There was a vague, unfocused look in them that had never been there before. And everything that had been there before—wit, fun, mischief—was all gone. The lively spark that had defined Jack had dimmed along with the light in his eyes, and to Hiccup it felt like a stab to the chest.

Currently, Jack was lying against a stack of pillows, the upper half of the bed tilted upward so that he was almost sitting. His eyes stared blankly ahead into nothingness, but his head turned at the sound of Hiccup's approach.

"I'll give you two some time," Mrs. Overland said, and promptly left the room, the door shutting behind her.

For a while, Hiccup just stood at the foot of the bed awkwardly, trying to process the sight in front of him—his best friend's battered, emaciated form swallowed in the white sheets of a hospital bed, surrounded by machinery and IV stands that Jack didn't even know were there because he'd been left with broken eyes. Hiccup swallowed, trying not to let the scene unnerve him, but knew it was too late for that.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything. The mere fact that he had to say something at all just so Jack would be aware of his presence got to him more than it should have. It was wrong. It was so, so wrong. It shouldn't be this way.

Jack turned his head on the pillows again, his face scrunching in confusion. "Hiccup…?"

"Uh…hey, Jack," he finally managed to say, moving closer to the bedside. He sunk into the chair Jack's mother had vacated and looked down at his hands.

"Well, don't you sound happy t'see me," Jack responded, his voice incomprehensibly light and joking.

Hiccup stared. How could he talk like that? How could he be making jokes? "Jack—"

"I don't wanna hear it, okay?" he said, and suddenly the joking tone was gone. "I don't want you t'say 'I'm sorry' or 'everything's gonna be all right' because I've…I've gotten plenty of that from my parents already and I don't need it from you."

Hiccup frowned at the way his voice was so weak and raspy and slurred. He took a breath to reply, but Jack cut him off again.

"And I'd really be grateful if you spared me the pitiful look I know you're giving me right now too." A weak smile appeared on his split lips. "Makes me feel like some kind of invalid."

"But I'm not—"

"Yes you are." Jack's smile widened. "I know you, Hic. I've always told you that you need to lighten up."

Hiccup couldn't help but crack a smile. Maybe the old Jack really was still there. "Well, don't worry. I'm smiling now."

"Good."

Hiccup huffed out a breathy laugh and shook his head. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

Jack closed his eyes and frowned. "Well, I'm a blind idiot now so you have t'be nice to me."

Hiccup's smile vanished. He marveled at the way he could just say it like that, like it didn't even bother him. Somehow, he just couldn't keep joking the way Jack could. That weight settled on his chest again.

"Hiccup? Hellooo?"

After a few seconds passed, he finally muttered, "You really have no idea how much you scared all of us, do you?"

Jack's expression changed. He opened his eyes and stared up toward the ceiling, suddenly serious and solemn. "Did I? I don't remember."

"You wouldn't. I thought for sure the rest of your brains had been turned to pulp."

"What happened? The last thing I remember is…is the night before."

Something about his tone made Hiccup realize that there was more to "the night before" than he was telling, but he didn't ask about it. Instead he told him, "You wiped out on one of the slopes. A slope that I specifically told you not to attempt."

"I know that," Jack said, ignoring his last sentence. "They told me that much. But what happened? They said you were the only one there."

Hiccup shuddered at the memory. "You don't want to know, trust me."

"That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say I saw enough blood to last me a lifetime."

That seemed to make Jack begin to realize the gravity of what had transpired. His brow furrowed, but he said nothing more.

After a while, the silence got uncomfortable and Hiccup cleared his throat. "So, how are you feeling?"

Jack blinked heavily. "Really tired. And sleepy. And there's this pressure in my head, and my brain's all foggy, but I'm pretty sure I'm pumped full of pain meds right now. But other than that, I feel good as new. Thanks for asking."

"Are you…" He paused, not really sure how to phrase the question. "Are you doing okay with…everything?"

"You mean with being blind? I guess." He shrugged. "Gee, Hic, you're so sweet to worry about me. How's Rapunzel?"

It took Hiccup a second to process the question. And when he did, it worried him that Jack sounded so eager to get off the topic.

"Hiccup. Rapunzel. How is she?" When Jack asked again, he sounded urgent and worried.

"Uh…she's…not very good, Jack."

In truth, he hadn't seen her lately. All he knew was what Merida had told him. According to her, Rapunzel had been a wreck all week, barely eating enough to keep a bird alive and being unable to focus on her studies. She'd stopped crying, apparently, but now she was…Merida had used the word numb. She said it seemed like Rapunzel had just stopped caring. She didn't laugh, hardly ever smiled, and appeared very indifferent to everything going on around her.

"I'm worried, Hic," Merida had confessed to him over the phone the other day. "She's skipped three classes this week already. She never skips classes. And she sleeps way more than she used to. It's like she's…dead…on the inside."

"What do you mean?" This time, Jack sounded alarmed. And scared. "Why?"

"Why?" he said incredulously. "The person she loves most in the world busted his head open, lost his sight, and has been unconscious for a week. Why do you think?"

Jack closed his eyes, brows drawing together, and for the second time that day, didn't say anything.

"Merida says she's pretty much shut down," Hiccup continued. "Are you really surprised?"

A long silence stretched through the room, with only the beeping of the heart monitor to fill it. Jack's chest rose and fell with deep, controlled breaths.

When he finally said spoke again, his voice was low and drowsy and slurred. Hiccup knew they didn't have much more time to talk. "When's she comin' t'see me?"

Hiccup sighed. "I don't know."

"Tell her I wanna see her," he droned sleepily, his eyes still closed. "I mean…not see her, but…y'know. Hear…hear her."

"Okay." Hiccup ignored the pang he felt in his chest.

"And Hic?"

"Yeah?"

"I…m'sorry."

Hiccup didn't have time to ask what he was sorry for before he fell asleep.

So, I think the next chapter (which will probably be significantly shorter than the past four) will be the last part to the "Mountain Air" arc. Which means...I'll be taking prompts! I'll remind you again when I post the next part, but if you have ideas for one-shots, I'd love to hear them! Thanks again!