Okay , so this one is for the first birthday from Two of the broken masks. The prompt from 18th was Unread, so I immediately thought about unread text messages and what would happen if one of the boys didn't respond to texts from the other... This one turned out a lot longer than I thought it would, and I like how it turned out. Enjoy x

...

It was safe to say that Hiccup was beginning to panic. He was alone in their flat because Jack was working late that day. It was now well past two in the morning and Jack was never this late back. He worked in a pub, and they usually closed at around eleven. So why the hell hadn't he come back yet?

Hiccup wouldn't've been so worried if only he could get a response from him about his whereabout. He'd called a few times, ad texted about once every five minutes.

-you okay?- 11:47pm

-what time are you coming home?- 12:10am

-are you staying later than usual?- 12:38am

-jack pls reply, r u ok?- 1:23am

Jack hadn't replied to a single text since his shift began at seven that evening. And it wasn't like he was ignoring him either, because Hiccup could see that all the message hadn't even been read. It had been hours, and Jack was supposed to have been home by now.

So there Hiccup was, sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the front door, and trying not to completely stress himself out.

"He's fine…" He told himself, but the shaking in his voice did nothing to comfort him. "He's probably just been asked to do a deep clean of the place or something…"

On a Tuesday night? Yeah right.

"But what if he's not?" Hiccup whispered, eyes widening, "What if he can't answer the phone for a reason?"

Like what?

Hiccup seemed to be having an argument with himself inside his own head.

"What if someone stole his phone?"

Jack would've found some other way to contact him surely...

"I dunno, what if he got attacked on his way home?"

He knew Jack would've been able to defend himself if that happened...

"Well, what if it was something he couldn't help, like- like a car accident or something-?"

If you're that worried about him, why don't you go look for him?

"You know what, I will!" And Hiccup stood up so quickly that his chair fell to the floor with a clatter. Grabbing his coat, phone and keys, he ran out of the flat and nearly flew down the three flights of stairs. "Don't worry Jack, wherever you are, I'm coming!"

Hiccup knew he was probably overreacting, but at the time, he had just finished a binge session of Supernatural so his imagination was running dangerously loose. Jack could have been kidnapped by a demon for all he knew…

As soon as he reached the bottom of the building and opened the front door, he whipped out his phone again and tried calling Jack one more time as he sprinted across the courtyard to his car.

Still no answer.

Shit shit shit.

Time seemed to speed up as soon as Hiccup started the engine on his car because the next thing he knew, he was turning it off again in the pub car park. He didn't remember anything from the ten minute drive there, he was so preoccupied.

But nevermind that, Hiccup jumped out from the car, forgetting to close the door behind him and he ran up to the pub… which still had it's lights on?

Glancing at his watch, Hiccup frowned. It was nearly three in the morning. There's no way the pub would ever stay open that late, even if they were doing a deep clean or something.

One more time before knocking on the door, Hiccup called Jack.

He didn't know why he bothered, no answer again.

The pub was a pretty substantial building… Used to be the town hall, if Hiccup remembered correctly, which meant it was all heavy sandstone bricks and pillars, which made it stand out massively against the shabby other buildings and flats in the town. It had been renovated though, to make it more 'homely' so it had a bright red front door and potted plants in every windowsill.

Hiccup knocked on the door as loudly as he could. When there was no answer for about thirty seconds, he tried again and called out, "Jack, are you in there?"

Of course there was no reply.

"Fuck's sake…" Hiccup swore and went to knock even harder, and on the third knock, it swung open.

It was open the whole time? So someone must be here… Hiccup thought.

"Hello?" He called into the pub, which was decked out with christmas lights and had Mariah Carey quietly playing from further in. "Jack, you here?"

Upon not hearing anything, Hiccup stepped in and started to search around. His first though was to head to the kitchen or behind the bar, thinking if Jack was here, he'd probably be cleaning up back there.

But both the kitchen and bar were Frostless.

Now panic was starting to pump into overdrive… There was literally no sign of anyone here in this pub, which had it's lights on and music blaring in the early hours of the morning. Hiccup couldn't think of any other reason that would be the case if Jack wasn't here still.

One more time, Hiccup called Jack.

And Hiccup heard the one sound he'd been praying to hear all night.

A faint song started playing over the top of Mariah, coming from somewhere behind Hiccup.

Darling you've got to let me know

Jack's stupid ringtone was playing

Should I stay or should I go?

Hiccup whirled around, trying to locate where it was coming from.

If you say that you are mine

It wasn't behind the bar or in the kitchen, or even any kind of staff room.

I'll be here til the end of time

It was playing from the restaurant area… In a corner with a table still laden with dirty plates.

So you've got to let me know

Hiccup approached the table as the music got louder with every step, and then...

Should I stay or should I go?

Jack was curled up under the table, with a cleaning rag and tray in his lap, fast asleep. His hair was messy and he had several stains covering his white uniform shirt, which was unbuttoned at the top.

Hiccup could tell he'd had a rough night of work. This was how he looked when he came home from work on busy nights, and he usually just collapsed into bed and didn't get up until noon the next day.

The ringtone coming from his pocket stopped then and Jack shifted slightly. Hiccup could've cried right there and then. Jack was alright. He was okay. He was… sleeping under a table.

"Hey Jack." Hiccup kneeled down, careful not to hit his head on the table and shook Jack's shoulder gently. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

Jack groaned as his eyes fluttered open and he winced when he tried to move his head. Catching his eye, he frowned slightly, "Hiccup?"

"Yeah it's me, what's wrong?" Hiccup steadied him as he fully woke up and looked around.

"Stiff neck…" He mumbled.

"Yeah, that'll happen when you fall asleep under a table." Hiccup smiled as he helped his boyfriend up and into a chair so he'd be more comfortable. "How'd you manage to fall asleep under a table anyway?"

"Just closed my eyes for a second and… wait, what are you doing here?"

"I came to find you, you idiot. It's three in the morning and I had no idea where you were, or if you were okay, you weren't replying to my calls and texts and I was so worried."

Jack looked very confused as he looked around at the pub and then back to Hiccup. "Three in the morning?"

"Yes, why are you here on your own anyway?" Hiccup realised he still had a hand on Jack's shoulder, but didn't move it.

"North had to leave early for a party, so he asked me to close up after he'd gone…"

"So you've been here all alone since eleven?" Hiccup interrupted, not wanting to believe what he was hearing.

Jack nodded, "Guess I coulda' used a bit of help after all." He looked down and around at all the dirty tables in the restaurant and sighed. "Aw man, I'm so gonna get fired…" He stood up slowly, taking the tray with him and beginning to pile the plates and cups onto it. "Go home and sleep Hic, this is gonna take a while…"

"I'm not going anywhere." Hiccup raised an eyebrow and then rushed out to the staff closet to grab an apron. He returned to a shocked looking Jack, as he tied the apron around his waist and rolled up the sleeves of his jumper. "Gimme something to do."

"Dude, you don't have to help me… This is my fault-"

"Nope. I'm not gonna let you stay here cleaning up all on your own. Give me a job and I'll do it."

Jack's face broke out into an exhausted smile as he put down the tray he was loading. "Okay, well can you finish clearing the tables out here while I get the dishwasher fired up? Just load up the trays and bring 'em out to the washroom and I'll sort them out there."

"Okay." and Hiccup began loading the trays.

As the night ticked by, Hiccup couldn't help but laugh every so often at how bizarre the whole situation was. This was hardly how he'd been expecting to spend his Tuesday night, or would that be Wednesday morning? Cleaning a pub with his boyfriend at half three in the morning… Who else had the privilege of being able to say they'd done that?

Once Hiccup had finished clearing the tables, he swept the restaurant floor, wiped the tabletops and polished the drink glasses. It was nearly half past four when Jack finally emerged from the washroom, hands above his head, a massive grin on his face.

"And we're done!" Jack pretended to collapse onto the (now extremely clean) floor and the two broke out in laughter. "Okay Hic, let's get the hell outta here."

Jack turned off the music, the lights and the hot water before grabbing a huge set of keys and locking every window and door in the place. Then the two of them trudged out to the car, giving one last look to their masterpiece of cleaning before Hiccup started the engine, and they were going home.

"Sorry for worrying you." Jack said quietly after a few minutes.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry for making you worry." Jack repeated.

"No, don't be sorry. I'm just so happy you're alright. I thought you'd been kidnapped or something…"

"You've been watching Supernatural again, haven't you?"

Hiccup smiled, "You know me too well."

The two sat in a sleepy silence for a few more minutes, a few more miles, before Hiccup spoke again, "You could've called me earlier, y'know. I would've come and helped you clean up if I'd known you were on your own."

No response.

"Jack?" Hiccup looked over and smiled when he saw that his boyfriend was fast asleep again, leaning against the window, snoring softly. "Yeah, you sleep as long as you want." He kissed his fingers and then touched Jack's forehead, "I'll wake you up when we get home."

...

Awwww, you like? I liked writing it so much! PS I have no idea whether pubs work like that. I based it on what happens in the cleaning up at the end of the day at my cafe... I also seem to be left on my own to close up. Wish I had a Hiccup to help me sometimes. Anyways, 26th is next, so keep your eyes out for it, and don't forget to leave reviews and stuff so I know you want more!