Hello my Lovelies! I am SO sorry for the delay in updating. I have actually had this chapter done for quite some time, but due to recent life altering, personal events, I put this on hold until I could properly edit it.

I would like to thank the beautiful and amazing Heather (AmazingRuin) for helping me out with this chapter. I couldn't have done it without her!

This chapter is a bit lengthy: 24,800 words. Holy shnikes! I make characters ramble as much as I do. O.o

But I hope you like this chapter. It clears up the aftermath of what happened with Hans (who I actually felt bad for making into a villainous character. I really love Hans).

NOTE!: I am aware that Heather is Dagur's sister in the show, but in this story she is not. I probably would have tied that element into the story, but it would have been just TOO big of a coincidence to have Dagur's sister show up in a random town and discover Hiccup. Plus, he and Dagur were together and had known each other for years, he would have known he had a sister. So, no, they are not related in this.

Anyways, enjoy!

Before I forget, I want to thank everyone who reviewed! Those REALLY mean a lot to me.

Too Far Gone
Chapter 6

It wasn't like he was expecting himself to fall asleep. No, in fact, he knew with full certainty that sleep would be impossible. Hiccup had figured the gods had hated him by now. After all that happened with Dagur and his mother it was nearly deemed a universal truth. He had run from Berk, fled, in order to find a fresh start. It had all began the day he got that letter in the mail. The first class postage with the pretty school emblem beside the return address, that was the day he had finally decided to break free of Dagur forever. He never gave his father many details or Gobber for that matter, he only told them not to utter a word of this to Oswald, Dagur, or anyone for that matter (it wasn't any of their business anyways). He told them the only other person who knew was Astrid and he wanted to keep it that way. He was thankful, despite the skeptical looks he received, that they were men of their word. They vowed to not say where he was going, only answer (if any) that he was in school. His father did at one point try to pry the reason out of him, but the only thing he gave him was a half-assed excuse. Something about how he and Dagur having a falling out and he didn't wish to continue their friendship. Ever. Something like that.

He had prepared all the necessary arrangements online or over the phone for weeks. He was lucky that Dagur hadn't needed him much around that time or he probably would have missed this chance. Hiccup was determined and prepared to leave his life behind. He was excited. He was scared. He prayed that Dagur never found out. When he told Astrid, she did everything in her power to help him. It took the two of them two days, a U-Haul trailer, her mom's blazer, and about fifteen hundred dollars of his savings (buying his couch, refrigerator, a few shelves, cutlery, cookware, and a few other odds and ends) and he packed up Toothless, gave his dad a hug, and he was gone. Off to start his new life.

He was thankful the school had been generous enough to have some movers help them—mainly the couch, fridge, desk, 56 inch TV (a graduation/college acceptance gift from Gobber) and bed—because there would have been no way he and Astrid could drag that stuff up the two flights of stairs to his apartment. Afterwards, Astrid stayed the night. The two of them huddled in his new bedroom, sprawled out on his mattress and box spring that rested on the floor since the frame wasn't put together—Toothless curled between them—passed out from the six hour drive and running back and forth, bringing all of his stuff in.

It all seemed to be falling into place until Astrid had left. She got up early that morning and after showering she gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek before she left for Berk. The first few nights he spent his time unpacking and decorating that he fell into deep dreamless sleeps. His mind was occupied and he was optimistic. Around the fourth day mark it started hitting him, slowly sinking in. He felt like he was on the run, hiding out. Dagur could find him. Dagur would find him. Dagur would drag him back to Berk. All of his preparations would be for naught. He didn't want to think about what would happen if he was able to drag him back.

He spoke to Astrid every day and she kept assuring him that Dagur knew nothing even though he was indeed looking. Geez Astrid way to make someone feel less paranoid. She felt guilty for telling him, but she wasn't going to lie either. He would have known she was lying anyways. Dagur wasn't one to let go so easily.

When classes started his mind began to ease some. Yes, the paranoia was still hanging in the back of his mind. That little voice that told him not to sit too close to a window, if he looked in he could see you. Make sure you check the stalls in the bathrooms, he could be waiting when you come out. Eat at places you know he would never go. Yes, it was still there. It was becoming too much already. When he slipped to Astrid that he might as well come back and just continue his life there because the paranoia was eating him alive he could almost feel Astrid's hand come through the phone and slap him across his face.

He received the tongue lashing of a lifetime. For nearly two hours, Astrid chewed him out for thinking something so stupid and proceeded to remind him of all the things he wanted to forget. That was when the idea of therapy came to light. He had only been there about two weeks and despite not really wanting to, he was almost ready to give up and throw in the towel. He told Astrid he didn't think he could bare standing in a room full of people, even if they were strangers, and say out loud all the things he had endured. No, that was not an option. He did however talk to someone at said place and was referred to Toothiana.

Talking to her made everything seem like it wasn't as bad as it was. After the initial meet and greet, he found opening up to her being easier than once thought, even if it was a little bit at a time and his real session was him staring at his lap, not speaking, for 45 minutes. When she first asked him his purpose for seeking therapy all he had told her was how he was incredibly paranoid because of his ex and depressed because of his home life. His emotions he had bottled in for so long tend to become overwhelming at times and he was grateful that Dr. Toothiana didn't press him to continue. She was a lot like his mother in so many ways. She was a lot like Astrid too. That was probably why he felt so comfortable around her. She had a lot of patience and had told him a slow release of emotions was better than letting it all out at once. "Things can get messy," she said.

But even now, even after all his progress he had made, he still somehow managed to fuck up. He fucked up. Big time. One slip, one teeter over the edge, not even a full plummet, and he had managed to fuck up everything he had built. It seemed to be a talent of his. His progress with moving forward: gone. His progress with Jack… he didn't even want to think about that. Dagur was still with him. Dagur was still controlling him. Dagur was still winning. However, he had willingly gone with Hans. That was all him and he couldn't blame Dagur for that, could he? Still, he wanted to forget. He couldn't stand it anymore. That dread that resided in him, the guilt and hurt that nestled in the cozy spot within him seemed to grow and press against his vital organs and it hurt.

He continued throughout the night to beat himself up worse than Hans ever could. He knew what buttons to hit, every switch to flip. He continued to think of how stupid he was for tipping that scale back the way it came. He should have known. He should have seen it coming. He knew guys like Hans; he used to deal with them all the time. Charming and voices like silk. Touches that could feel so incredibly good but then suddenly feel like the claws of a wild, rabies infested beast that would rip his throat out within seconds. He knew those things. And now here he was beating himself up for allowing it to happen. He wasn't blind. He knew what Hans wanted the second he spoke to him.

The only thing that seemed to keep him above water was when he realized he no longer wanted to be that person. He wasn't that person anymore. It was hard to keep reminding himself of that, but he had. He had and he got away. That was all that mattered. Right?

The only thing is that when he ran he didn't know where he was going. He didn't know how to or what to feel. He ran straight into Jack's arms and cried. He hadn't cried like that since the day they buried his mother. He cried until his sides and back ached and he just couldn't get close enough to Jack. He just wanted to melt into him and stay there. But he didn't. All he did was cling to his trainer so tightly he was amazed he didn't crack Jack's ribs. In the back of his head he kept waiting for Jack to push him away or tell him to 'man up', but that never came. Jack did none of those things.

Jack held him tightly and soothed him. Jack sang to him and gave him the comfort he needed. Hiccup couldn't figure out why he did those things. Back in Berk Hiccup was conditioned to not cry because men didn't cry. But Jack wasn't like them and the thought of him accepting Hiccup for the emotional mess he was had still left him bewildered. He never knew such a caring person existed like that aside from his mother.

Jack held him for what seemed like hours before they finally made their way down the ladder and into the warmth of the gym. Hiccup's head was pounding and the techno music that echoed through the empty building wasn't really helping too much, but it was dulled once Jack had him follow him into a room on the opposite side of the gym—'North's office' he assumed. It was nice and warm. His hands and feet had numbed due to the cold and tingled as his body started to return to a normal temperature.

The room wasn't like he had expected—small and dull with flat colors and maybe a filing cabinet along with a cheap desk. But no, it was really big. It had a big flat screen desktop monitor—probably a touch screen—with the gym's logo bouncing along the screen and mouse resting on the oak desk, a nice big cushioned office chair, and a couch along the opposite wall. There was a small shelf with books (some in another language) and many, many packages of cookies with a small personal fridge beside it. A filing cabinet was behind the desk and most likely held hard copies of employee files and gym memberships.

Across the room, by a window, held a large table with a beautifully hand crafted train set. Parts of it looked like blown glass, other parts were stained wood. All Hiccup knew was it looked expensive so he did his best to not touch it.

Along the walls were many pictures. Pictures of Jack and Aster at their performances, Jack when he still was a brunet, and some of people he didn't recognize and a few of Jack and a very large, robust man who sported a long white beard and looked like Santa. This man would fit well in Berk. This must have been North. They were standing in front of the Moscow Kremlin in Russia. He didn't know Jack had ever been to Russia. What exactly did this man do for a living to be able to afford going to Russia?

Hiccup looked closely at the photo and ran his fingers over the glass panel, "That's my adopted father, North. We went to Russia shortly after I graduated high school and moved in with him. He had a business meeting and it was very boring, but afterwards we went sight-seeing," Jack explained before Hiccup could even ask.

Hiccup gave a weak smile, "Do you or him speak Russian?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah, he does. I've only picked up a little over the years. That's where he's from. You'll get used to the accent after a while. After being around him and Aster for so longI am amazed I don't have an accent," he joked and pointed to the desk chair, "take a seat and I'll get the first-aid kit." He disappeared into a restroom after tossing the blanket onto the couch haphazardly and Hiccup took his place in the large comfy computer chair. Hiccup could hear him rustling around in there and smiled slightly. He took this time to close his eyes and lean back in the chair. It was comfortable. He could feel his body relax some, not completely, but some. His palpitating heart was able to go back to a normal steady beat.

Here with Jack he felt safe. It wasn't so much as him thinking Jack could beat the shit out of someone if they were to attack him, even though he was sure Jack would not stand by idly either, but he felt secure in knowing he was no longer alone and had someone who would help him stand his ground if need be.

Jack returned moments later carrying a folding chair, the first aid kit, and a warm wet wash cloth. He set everything down on North's desk and unfolded the chair in front of Hiccup and took a seat. Hiccup had watched him through half-lidded eyes until he opened the kit and grabbed the wash cloth. He sat up and watched as Jack began checking his hands and legs, which were skinned and sore. They burned anytime Hiccup flexed the areas, but be managed to ignore it. Jack lifted his leg across his own and pulled up his left pant leg to view the damage which wasn't a lot and only had minimal bleeding.

Hiccup wasn't sure when he skinned his leg, he didn't remember feeling it happen, but if he had to guess it was probably around the same time he hurt his hands. There was a comfortable silence between them. Jack carefully patted the small dots of dried blood away with the warm cloth, his brows furrowed in concentration. He grabbed some antiseptic spray from the kit and sprayed it on the burning area, causing Hiccup to flinch at the sudden contact of the cold spray. Jack mumbled an apology and pulled his pant leg back down before moving to his hands.

His hands were worse than his leg. His hands had more dried blood on them and the torn skin of his palms looked a bit deeper. His palms were red and a bit swollen with bits of dirt and gravel lodged into them. He gently ran a finger over the irritated flesh, causing Hiccup to inhale sharply. He scrunched his face some and looked up at Hiccup's red lined eyes, "I need to get the gravel out or it will get infected." Hiccup nodded and Jack grabbed a pair of tweezers from the kit, "Just let me know if I'm hurting you, Hiccup." From the looks of him he had been hurt enough and Jack didn't want him to have any more pain than he had already endured. With another nod, Jack set to work on pulling the tiny pieces carefully out of Hiccup's hand.

As he watched, he couldn't help but feel a small smile tug at his lips. He stared at Jack, not at what he was doing, just Jack. He knew he had probably nearly given him a heart attack and frustrated the hell out of him by showing up the way that he had and not tell him what had actually happened, but Jack wasn't letting that show. He did want to tell him what had happened and still felt that pang of guilt curling around inside his body, but he couldn't fathom the thought of telling Jack. It wasn't that he didn't think Jack could handle it, quite the opposite. It was he who couldn't handle it. Maybe one day he could tell him, but today wasn't that day.

Hiccup looked down and watched the tweezers pull the gravel out of his hand, Jack occasionally meeting his gaze—most likely trying to measure his face for any pain. It didn't hurt too badly, a few times Jack accidently pinched the soft dermis, but Hiccup did his best to ignore it, even if his flinch didn't go unnoticed and would earn another apology from Jack.

After the last shard of gravel was removed he wiped the dirt and blood covered areas of his hands until clean and sprayed it with antiseptic spray. When Hiccup let out a hiss from the sudden burn, Jack blew on his hands to help the spray dry faster and sooth the already burning skin. He placed the tweezers back into the kit and grabbed a few pads of gauze and placed then onto the inflamed areas of Hiccup's hands before wrapping them with bandages and securing them with tape.

He looked up at Hiccup who didn't say a word and smiled some, "You can take those off in a day or two when they scab over. Just treat it like you would a burn," he said, almost in a whisper. The cinnamon haired lad just nodded at his trainer. Jack took the cloth by a clean edge and scooted closer to Hiccup. He leaned in, taking a moment to brush his hair out of the teen's face, and brushed the area with the calloused pad of his thumb under the cut on his cheek and squinted slightly, getting a better look.

Hiccup felt his face heat up when he felt Jack's cold fingers touch the hot skin of his bruised cheek. Jack's pale fingers grazed the areas and slid down under his chin to tilt his head up slightly. Hiccup's heart was rattling within his chest. He took this time to really take in the fine details of Jack's face. The brightness of his crystalline eye and the richness of his brown eye. He wondered what he would have looked like without the blue eye—still as handsome, obviously, but would it take away from the subtle mystery about him?

There was a small scar in his eyebrow that would normally go unnoticed if you weren't looking for it. It looked like Jack had purposefully shaped his eyebrows—or had them shaped—to try and hide it. Hiccup didn't ask about it. He stayed quiet as Jack wiped the blood that was caked onto his face with the cloth, getting a better look at the damage done by Hans. While he gently had his face patted at he watched the concentrated look on his trainer's face. His beautiful face. Hiccup could see his almost non-existing dusting of freckles that were on his nose and cheeks. Jack had such beautiful skin. He had a natural pale complexion that seemed to have darkened some by either spending time outside or in a tanning bed. Hiccup never figured Jack to be the tanning bed type and assumed it to be from spending time in the warm sun during the summer.

"It's not as bad as I had thought it was," Jack said, interrupting his thoughts, "so I doubt it'll need stitches. It probably won't leave much of a mark either."

Hiccup nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat that he hadn't realized was there, "You seem to know what you are doing," he muttered softly.

Jack let out a cynical chuckle, "I've had plenty of practice from taking care of the kids at the boys Home. I was the unofficial boo-boo healer."

Hiccup smiled a genuine smile. Jack pulled out a q-tip and some triple antibiotic cream and pulled Hiccup even closer until their knees were touching, causing his breath to catch in his throat. Jack was so close. He could feel the other's breath on his skin with every exhale and he dared to admit he liked it. He was looking into Jack's softened eyes as he gently rolled the q-tip with the cream on the tip over the cut. Hiccup was so close to him. He knew how right now probably won't be the ideal time to kiss somebody, but at this moment he wanted to. Not to forget. Not to distract. None of that. He wanted to because he knew now that he was indeed ready to accept the fact that he did have feelings for Jack.

He had feelings that leapt over the bounds of mere friendship. He liked Jack. He wanted to be closer to him. That was why he was drawn to this place. He knew Jack was there even when his brain was on auto-pilot. He wanted to be near him then. He wanted to be near him before then but couldn't bring himself to face Jack because of the horrid memories that were taking over his mind and causing him to be in a near state of panic.

Hiccup felt his body being pulled toward his bi-colored haired trainer. He didn't know when it started but he didn't want it to stop until his lips touched Jack's. He didn't even know if Jack liked guys. The guy could be completely straight. He could turn Hiccup down in an instant, but at this moment he didn't care.

"Hiccup?" He heard, "You okay?"

Hiccup opened his eyes. Wait, when did he shut them? They were so close, but at this moment Jack looked worried. His dark brows were knitted together and his head was cocked to the side, "You aren't about to pass out are you?"

Hiccup shot back in his seat, "Oh! I-I'm s-s-sorry. I must have gone somewhere else for a moment. I'm okay. I promise."

Jack shook his head and applied more ointment before covering it with a medium sized bandage, smoothing the edges down nice and flat before meeting Hiccup's eyes, "There you go," he smiled.

"Not going to kiss it and make it all better,"—'Where did that come from?!' Hiccup teased, "Oh great boo-boo healer."

Jack's face heated up and his mouth gaped before a sly smile curled onto his lips, "If that is what you want, I can't say 'no', now can I? You cheeky thing, you," he retorted while placing the items back into the kit.

Hiccup laughed a little, "I was kidding." He wasn't. He really wasn't. He really wanted a kiss from Jack. Oh gods, how he wanted to feel his lips.

Jack chuckled along with him and closed up the kit and gathered the other supplies. He didn't know that Jack was thinking the same the whole time he was working on him. He stood and made his way back to the bathroom, returning a moment later after washing his hands. He walked over to the shelf and grabbed a box of chocolate chip cookies and brought them over and sat them between the two of them as he returned to his seat, "Cookie?"

Hiccup opened the box and graciously took one, mumbling a 'thank you'. He hadn't eaten all day. He remained quiet as Jack went on to tell him about how cookies were his father's one true vice and when he met him not to be surprised when he shoves an assortment of them in his face. He continued to ramble on and on about different things for a while. Hiccup didn't really care what it was about; he just listened quietly and munched on the cookies provided to him.

After a while, despite trying as hard as he could not to, Hiccup started nodding off. Jack was able to catch his attention and offer to take him home. He really didn't want to. He wanted to stay there and he wanted to be close to Jack.

After practically eating half a box of cookies by himself he reluctantly agreed and he and Jack left the gym, locking the door behind them. On their way back to Hiccup's apartment they stopped off at a 24-hour store and Jack came back out with a bag of gauze, bandages, peroxide, and tape, telling Hiccup to make sure to keep his wounds cleaned.

"You didn't have to do that," he stammered.

"I know, but I wanted do."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The ride back to Hiccup's apartment was quiet and slightly awkward. It was obvious that there was a huge elephant in the room… er, car. Even though Jack had managed to reframe from speaking about it, the whole way there he had this concerned look on his face. His forehead was crinkled and his eyebrows knitted together. It was obvious he wanted to bring up what had actually happened to Hiccup, but bit his tongue.

He pulled into a parking spot and shut off the engine, looking over at his friend with a sort of sad smile. He handed the bag of supplies over to Hiccup and unclicked his seatbelt, "I'll walk you up," he offered. Well it wasn't really something Hiccup could turn down. Jack would have gone anyways.

He nodded and undid his own seatbelt and they made their way up the two flights of stairs to his apartment. Hiccup's body was sore and he was exhausted, moving up the stairs was a bit problematic, but he managed. They stood for a moment outside the door and Hiccup rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, "Thank you, Jack," he mumbled, "for everything."

Jack didn't say anything, he just reached forward and pulled Hiccup into a tight hug. Hiccup tensed for a moment. His chest tightened and his emotions started getting the better of him. He knew why Jack was doing this. He knew why Jack walked him to the door in the first place. He wanted to make sure he was safe, that he was alright. Hiccup wasn't as fragile as he looked, but at the moment he did feel like he would break. Tears prickled at his eyes, but he didn't let them fall. He slowly raised his arms and wrapped them around Jack's slim waist.

He didn't want to let his bi-colored haired friend go. He wanted to ask him to stay, beg him if necessary, but he didn't. He pulled away and looked Jack in the eyes. Those gorgeous eyes. He could see the hurt in them, the hurt he put there. Knowing that, it made it that much harder to even look at him. He gave a weak smile and backed away, pulling out his keys, "I'll see you around."

Jack nodded, not saying a word, and watched as Hiccup entered his apartment, waiting for the door to close before leaving. Hiccup was amazed his place wasn't trashed when he came home. Toothless had managed to behave himself and jumped off the counter when his human entered, letting out a loud meow.

The black cat bumped his head against Hiccup's calf, "Hey, bud," he said softly, setting the bag down on the counter before leaning down to pick his furry companion up. He walked over to the balcony door and pulled the shade back, watching Jack climb into his car and leave. He let out a loud sigh and Toothless cuddled into the crook of his neck, "I always seem to mess everything up, bud, everything. I can't fix something that's so far beyond repair."

Toothless meowed again, but this time with more of a growl as if disagreeing with him, "Don't give me that attitude," he retorted, setting the feline down.

After he fed Toothless again, since his bowl had been long since empty, he strolled down the hall to his room and changed for bed. He immediately took those clothes he had been wearing and threw them into the trash, never wanting to see them again. He went into his bathroom and finally got a good look at himself in the mirror. His eyes were puffy and red, the bruise forming on his face was bleeding out under the bandage Jack had placed on his cheek, and his hair was a hot mess. He pretty much looked like shit run over twice, maybe thrice.

He shook his head and walked out of the bathroom, unable to look at himself anymore or he would probably get sick. His stomach was churning and he could taste a hint of bile in his throat. It was disgusting. He was disgusting. He didn't deserve the kindness Jack had shown him. He didn't deserve Jack. Jack was good and didn't need poison like him ruining his life like he had already ruined his own. What was he doing to say when he saw him next? What could he say? He knew what Jack wanted to ask him and he knew he couldn't tell him because it would only raise more questions.

What was he going to tell Astrid for that matter? He walked over to the trash can and dug into the pocket to retrieve his phone only to not find it there. Wonderful. Just fan-fucking-tastic. It must have been in his jacket that was left in the alley, which he was never going back to. Well at least he'll have time to think about what to say to her until he could get himself a new phone. Maybe if he was lucky, Hans wouldn't find it either. Maybe if he was given any sort of break he smashed it when he landed on the ground.

Hiccup returned the pants back into the trash bin and crawled into bed. At least he was smart enough not to lose his wallet or keys. He reached over and turned off the light on the night table and rolled up in the covers like a burrito, Toothless joining him, taking his spot on Hiccup's pillow behind his head.

He didn't move from that spot for a long time. He stayed in bed for the majority of the day. He didn't sleep at all despite how tired he actually was. He wanted to sleep, but he was more afraid of what dreamland had in store for him. His mind kept racing about everything: Hans, Dagur, Jack. Especially Jack. The thought of him made things seem not as bad. Like it was just calming to think about him or the thought of spending time with him.

He wanted to spend time with him. He wanted to spend a lot of time with him, but now, despite the fact that he does want be to near him, at the same time he doesn't. He is still afraid that Jack will not want to be around him. He will start asking questions that he doesn't want to answer. He doesn't want to make him mad by thinking he doesn't want to answer because he doesn't trust him. He doesn't want one answer to lead to more questions that he couldn't bare if Jack knew the answer to. It was too much.

Throughout the day, Hiccup rolled around in bed, only getting up to feed Toothless, go to the restroom, clean out his wounds, or go lay on the couch. He tried watching TV, but only saw it as useless noise before quickly shutting it off. At one point he tried eating, but couldn't bring himself to have an appetite and slowly made his way back to his room and flopped down on the bed where he remained for the rest of the day.

It wasn't unusual for Jack to wake up with a pounding headache after a gig or his throat parched. Their set last night went fine, well, in his head anyways, all things considering. He hadn't really wanted to go through with it. It was the first time in a long time he didn't put his all into a performance. The intrusions in his mind were almost constant. He knew he started a few beats too late or held a few notes a bit too long, but the crowd either didn't mind or didn't notice from either being too drunk or high or just tone deaf, but his bandmates sure did. Besides him hardly moving from his spot in front of the mic his heterochromatic eyes were in a daze and this did not go unnoticed either.

During their water break Aster had pulled him aside and gave him a once over before checking him for a fever. He had seen Jack like this before, though it had been a while, but nonetheless he was starting to worry about the young man. Jack had swatted his hand away and assured him he was alright and scolded him for messing up his make up (which he didn't). Speaking of, it had taken Jack longer than normal to get dressed in his black slacks, white dress shirt, and black cardigan that evening. It took him even longer to put on his make-up, which after so long Aster knew Jack had down to a science. What would normally take someone 45 minutes to an hour to do, he had down to an impressive 15 minutes—foundation, powder, smoky eyes, eyeliner, lip balm in that order and perfectly blended. Something was definitely off and Aster knew it. What it was, he couldn't say for sure.

He wasn't an idiot and figured it had something to do with the little ankle biter he had been hanging out with lately. He was pretty good at judging character and Hiccup didn't come across as someone who would intentionally hurt someone and he wasn't sure if this change in Jack was a good thing or not, he just knew that whatever was going on was distracting him big time. The look of uncertainty was constantly plastered on the younger male's face. Like he was continuously lost in thought and it was actually starting to drive Aster and the others crazy because he wasn't addressing it. Whatever 'it' was. It wasn't as much as them being nosy or even friendly concern; it was how Jack had suddenly become lost in his own head. Jackson Overland-Frost. The kid who had gotten over his past and moved on. The kid who knew who he was and never doubted himself, sometimes it was kind of obnoxious. He had retreated back inside his mind and had the endless look on his face like he was trying to put together a clock with no instructions.

Analyzing each piece and testing it against other parts to see if they fit without any avail. His brow was furrowed and dark circled had begun to form under his eyes. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days. Which wasn't a complete misjudgment, he had slept, just not as well as he'd hoped. He looked as if he was pushing himself to keep a "normal" front. Only thing he didn't realize was that him doing this only made it that much more obvious that that was all it was—a front.

What they didn't know was that Jack was wanting to address it, he really did, he just wasn't sure how. He knew that his friends wouldn't shun him; he just could never seem to find the words that he desperately wanted to say. He couldn't even string together the proper syllables to form said words. Each time he did try it was like a puzzle piece that didn't quite fit. It hung in the back of his throat and he never seemed to be able to cough it up. How hard was this? It's not. Not at all. Only thing he had to do was tell them he may have a crush on a certain cinnamon haired teen he had only met a few weeks ago and had been spending a lot of time with recently.

But what would that lead to? Did he even like Hiccup that way? Of course he did. Any idiot who took a millisecond to peek inside Jack's brain could see that he liked the guy more than a friend. The only problem was he didn't have the fucking balls to say it out loud. And because of that he kept having question after question rattle around inside of his head and try and make sense of something that already made sense. He was denying it. He knew he was denying it. However he was also in denial of his denial. So instead of accepting it, he did what any person in denial would do: Ask the same questions over and over to try and get a different response. He would think of different ways of asking the questions to try and trick himself, but every time the answers stayed the same. So why hadn't he accepted it? The million dollar question.

Jack knew if he accepted this feeling and realization about himself that he had been wrong and Jack was too prideful for that. Because if he was wrong about this, what else was he wrong about? Had it been so obvious and because he wore blinders for so long that he couldn't see what was right before his eyes? Was this why he couldn't hold onto a girlfriend for more than a few months or even weeks? So what if he was wrong about this? It doesn't mean he is wrong about anything else. He never had a reason to think he had any attraction to men until he was actually attracted to one.

He always was accepting of gays, transgenders, or people who didn't really have a sexuality, gender or even people who identified as both or could be with both. It wasn't his right to police people's bedrooms—or bathrooms for that matter. He had met plenty of people with many different identities while performing at the clubs. He would use the proper pronouns, or pronouns of their choosing, and was perfectly fine with that because he never saw them as anything less than a person. He was okay being around anybody and accepted all for who they were and not for what gender or sexual orientation or lack thereof… so why was it so fucking hard to accept himself?

He applauded those who had the strength to come forward and accept who they are. Maybe if Jack could find the proper word for what he was it may make things easier for him. He liked Hiccup a lot, but to what extent? He wasn't for sure. Could he see him still wanting to be around him in 15 or 20 years? Sure, he could see that. Would he kiss him? Hell yeah! He'd kiss his face off if he could, but he wouldn't admit that out loud. But he would admit that he would do anything to keep him smiling. Seeing that genuine smile, crooked teeth showing and eyes crinkling slightly. Yes, he would do anything to keep that smile on his face.

Jack spent longer than he'd like to admit slumped against the back wall of the stage thinking about all of this. One thing he was almost certain of was he'd have to stop making it so obvious that his mind was clouded over with these thoughts. Put some effort into this show. They were getting paid for it after all.

They made it through the rest of the night fine. North ended up showing up around the last part of the set and congratulated them on another great performance, which was the better part seeing as Jack had to step up his game since it was obvious that everyone around him was noticing a sudden change in him. There were times that night he had to fight the urge to call Hiccup and check in on him, but he figured that after the night he had that he probably would have wanted to be left alone and sleep.

Jack crawled out of bed, looking at the clock on his phone and saw it was close to one in the afternoon, which he considered early since he didn't get back to his house until nearly five in the morning and after showering, removing his make-up, and dressing in a white tank top and blue plaid pajama bottoms, it was nearly six before he actually hit the plush dark blue comforter on his bed and promptly passed out.

He wobbled down the hall on tired, unsteady legs, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes and made his way into the kitchen where the smell of coffee filled his nostrils from where the timer had gone off and the automatic machine came on and brewed him a strong batch of liquid life. Jack scrapped his feet over the cold tile floor as he made his way to the cupboard and pulled out a large white mug with a blue heart on it and poured the coffee. Jack wasn't what you'd call a morning person, but he wasn't really a night owl either. However he mainly worked or performed at night so that seemed to be where he fell.

Mornings were ok if it weren't for all the noises of either road work or cars honking every two seconds because the person is too lazy to get out of their car and go knock on whoever's door, but instead sit in their car and blast the horn where everyone in the neighborhood with hopes of catching a few more Z's come crashing back into reality.

As Jack made his way to the sliding glass back doors, as he did every "morning", while swirling the sugar and creamer he had added to his beverage idly with a spoon. He pulled the drawn blinds back and peered out at the town just beyond his backyard. It was definitely cold outside, which he actually didn't mind. Cold weather meant snow. Snow meant snowball fights. And snowball fights meant fun! His lips quirked upward slightly and his brow had softened as he rested against the wall beside the glass door, taking sips of the hot liquid. His heterochromatic eyes traced the floral looking frost patterns that climbed up the glass and began thinking about what today's agenda held.

There were a lot of things he had been putting off due to practice, training Hiccup and of course their little outing. The thought of that made Jack's chest tighten. He remembered how Hiccup's forest green eyes had lit up when he saw the arcade. He looked like a child on Christmas morning who just laid eyes on the gifts Santa left.

He smiled at the vivid image of how the teen was so competitive as they played air hockey. How his brows furrowed with determination and he bit his lip in concentration. Jack marveled at his skill for the table sport. He didn't mind that he had his ass handed to him that night. It was clear that his friend was victorious and he gladly handed over all bragging rights.

Jack wiped away the condensation that had gathered on the window, distorting his view, and allowed his mind to be drug off once again, only to more murky waters. He felt his heart ache as he remembered Hiccup crawling up the rickety old ladder to the roof, his body trembling, his eyes filled to the brim with tears, his voice shakily calling out to him. Jack remembered that feeling of dread, as if his heart was pulled from his chest and stomped on repeatedly, as he held onto the smaller boy who clung desperately to him and poured his heart out into his chest. Jack had never been good with sad or crying people. He knew he would become just as emotional as they were, given time. It took everything he had that night not to break down and cry alongside him.

He wanted Hiccup to tell him what had happened but he seemed like he could barely form words let alone speak them without the harsh sobs covering his voice. Jack was just as lost as he was. He had wanted to help and it seemed to him the only way Hiccup wanted his help was to just be there, even though he, truthfully, didn't feel like it was enough. He knew something had happened, something bad. It was evident someone had roughed him up pretty good and he wanted to find that person and beat the shit out of them. He wanted them to feel what Hiccup did tenfold. Nonetheless, he could not do that. No matter how tight his chest was or how his blood seared the vascular network of his veins or how at the same time he wanted to cry as much as Hiccup did, all he could do was be there for him.

Years ago when he was still in the boy's Home there were many nights inside of those cheery painted walls that the guise of children living happily together awaiting the day that new parents would come whisk them away into their new happy life—their happily ever after that they read about in books or heard in poems—would melt into the cold heart-wrenching truth that they were alone. Parents who were either in jail, on drugs or faced the same fate his parents did and died.

With no family to care for them they all ended up in the same place. Yes they were cared for, but they were lonely children. The people who ran the place could only do so much. They had fifteen or so children to clothe, feed, bathe, make sure got to school and did their homework, and stay out of trouble. It had to be exhausting.

These children couldn't all get the love and attention they craved or needed. There just weren't that many hands available and Jack being the eldest of the bunch found himself, on many sleepless nights, cradling a small child in his arms that desperately clung to him, crying their eyes out and asking why their parents left them. It was a question he never knew how to answer and really couldn't answer. He would just sit on the floor beside the child's bed, rocking said child back and forth, singing to them the few lullabies he remembered. He would sing as softly as he could without waking the other children and did this until the boy would fall asleep in his arms. Once he would put the child back to bed he would go back to bed for however long he could before having to get up and go to school.

It never bothered Jack to do this. He loved the children there. They were almost a reflection of his younger self when he was brought there after his sister was adopted, he only wished there was someone there that would have stayed up with him on those painful sleepless nights he endured when he first got there. But he knew the pain these kids were going through all too well. He could see the anguish and loneliness in their eyes, same as he did with Hiccup the other night. Jack figured that this was why his feeling of protectiveness towards the cinnamon haired teen was so strong. As least that is what he kept telling himself. He continued to deny that the pain in Hiccup's eyes were from something more than familiarity. He continued to deny that he never wanted to see him like that because there was something more than friendship blossoming in his heart (or just in that state period).

He took another sip of his coffee and tore his eyes away from the door, he was a bit more awake now and the pending tasks at hand were becoming clearer in his mine. He saw that his house was a mess. His fridge was nearing empty and he needed to wash the clothes that were piling up in his hamper. So many things to do and no energy to do it. He knew soon that North would visit and he didn't think he could stand seeing the displeased look on his father's face due to the state of the house he graciously rented to him.

These were things he couldn't continue putting off. He didn't have to work today, North had always encouraged them to take the day off after a gig, and informed him and Aster that Dingle would be taking over for them and North himself would take the morning shift.

Jack was always so impressed with the workload North was able to handle. He had several factories worldwide, owned a gym (which Jack and Aster mainly ran), and still managed to find time for their shows. The man was a superhero. Jack knew that a man by the name of Phil, who he only had the pleasure of meeting twice while visiting the factory in Moscow with North, practically ran the place. Jack had only been out of the boy's Home for about a month and since North was practically his father and he was living in one of his many spare bedrooms, he didn't mind the forever plane ride to Russia. He had tried on numerous occasions to slip away from whatever room they had him held up in while North was in a meeting and explore the factory. But it was fruitless, because every time he managed to start looking around Phil would always be around the corner pointing both his index and middle fingers at his own eyes then turn them on Jack as if to say 'I'm watching you'.

Despite the language barrier, Phil always managed to make his point clear and when Jack started messing with things, he would promptly hoist him over one shoulder as if Jack was as light as a kitten and drop him back into the room from wince he came. He had to admire the swarthy man though. He was just as big as North and twice as hairy, but he could keep up with Jack with no problems.

Jack didn't have as much fun at the factory in Berlin. In fact, while there in Germany, he mainly stayed in North's office and snooped around the massive bookshelves that lined the walls. The trip to Germany didn't last as long as the trip to Russia, but it was still nice. He had never imagined he would get to see these parts of the world and actually standing there in the flesh was way more amazing than any pictures he has seen.

As for the factory in San Diego, he had yet to see it. By the time North had paid them a visit Jack was already working and as much as he would have loved to go and spend time with his father, he wanted to get to work as soon as he could because he felt like a leech while crashing at North's house. Even though North said it was no problem and he could stay as long as he wanted, Jack felt like since he had always had to share everything it was time he had something to call his own. His own car, his own house, his own bed. Which was when he finally broke down and explained this to North, he was reluctant, but understood. For the longest time Jack never really had something of his own and now was his chance.

He still visited North, whether at his house or at the factory, and they would occasionally meet up for dinner somewhere. North also dropped by from time to time and they would also see each other when he would come in the gym. So it wasn't like he and North were distant, they were still very much in each other's lives and since North was in town he knew soon that his father would be coming for a visit and he knew that if the place wasn't in order North would start in on having a cleaning service come by and Jack was perfectly capable of cleaning his own house. It wasn't that big. It was a three bedroom, two bathroom house and one of the spare bedrooms only had their performance gear in it. The other had a twin bed with no sheets and blue curtains covering the window.

The only time the spare bedroom was used was when Aster would pass out after a night of drinking and bad 80's B movies. Which half the time he didn't even make it to the bed and just slept on the couch and Jack would throw a blanket over him.

Jack finished his coffee and padded his way back to the small kitchen and dropped the mug into the already full sink and turned to the fridge. He wasn't surprised to see that all he had in there was a bottle of spoiled milk and a wrapped paper plate that had fuzzy lasagna. He sneered at the plate and threw it and the milk away.

"Fuck…" he murmured, "guess I better go to the store."

The aisles seemed shorter than they normally did as Jack walked around the grocery store, but that was probably due to his mind still being clouded with the same thoughts that have been plaguing him for the past couple of days. He wasn't even really paying attention to the junk he was throwing into his cart, just whatever he grabbed for first, stuff that was quick to make or could be microwaved before going to work.

He didn't cook big meals for himself often. In fact, it was incredibly rare. Every now and then he would crave certain things and would make enough to last him a few days. Other times would be if, for instance, it was Father's Day and he wanted to do something nice for North, but even then he never really did anything too fancy. He wasn't a good cook per se, but he did know how to do somethings.

But even now he couldn't concentrate long enough to even think about trivial things such as this. He was currently standing in the aisle of shampoos staring intently at a purple bottle. His mind was elsewhere thinking about Hiccup. He wanted to see him and talk to him. He wanted to make sure he was okay. He wanted to know what happened to him.

He wanted to comfort him properly, help him deal with whatever it was that had happened. It was driving him crazy by not knowing. By the state Hiccup was in it was a no brainer someone beat the shit out of him or at least tried—seeing as he could've looked worse. It could have just been a random thing that happened, it had to be. Hiccup had no enemies here; he hadn't been here long enough. Maybe he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and someone tried to mug him.

That was the only thing that made sense. He was convinced. He could understand Hiccup being freaked out, he would have probably freaked out just as much if he were given the same situation. His mind kept rolling around in this train of thought for what felt like ever. Moving from wanting to comfort Hiccup to what happened to him. He knew by now, because it was incredibly obvious, that he cared about his friend. How much he cared for him was still debatable in his eyes. Was he attracted to Hiccup? Well, he couldn't say for sure. Yes, there were moments where he found Hiccup completely adorable. Little things he did like his competitiveness or the way he concentrates while working out. His sheer will power and eagerness were wonderful and admirable traits.

Jack could be attracted to him, not just by his looks either. Which his looks were a nice bonus. He loved his freckles that dotted his body, his forest green eyes that lit up when he was excited about something, when he blushed and his cheeks, tip of his round nose and the tips of his ears would flush, or how his crooked teeth showed when he smiled, Jack couldn't get enough of that smile. Yes, he was very cute indeed.

"You know, no matter how much you stare at it, I can promise you it won't do a trick," a voice came, snapping Jack out of his thoughts. He craned his head to the side and saw Aster leaning against a shopping cart at the end of the aisle with a smirk on his face.

The salt and peppered haired man didn't seem to be bothered by the chill that was in the air that day because he was wearing a thin short sleeved, grey shirt that made his tattoos seem darker, and tan cargo shorts, which was unlike Bunny. He was always complaining about the cold. Jack eyed him for a moment before placing the shampoo he held into his cart, "Why don't you take a picture, Frost," he joked.

Jack returned him a sour face, "Warranty is expired and I don't need you breaking it," he deadpanned.

"Har har." Aster maneuvered his cart into the aisle beside Jack and looked at him for a moment before something caught his eyes, "Um, Jack," he turned the younger man around some and too get a better look at his back, "why is there blood on your hoodie?"

Jack's eyes widened and he gripped the material, pulling it into his view. There were indeed small, dark smears of dried blood on his hoodie before deflating some, "It's not mine," he whispered.

"Not yours? Whose blood do you have on you? What have you been doing," he asked, his emerald eyes filled with apprehension, looking back at the spots on his clothing.

"Calm down, it's Hiccup's," he answered pulling away from Aster.

"Care to enlighten me as to why you have Hiccup's blood on you?"

Jack sighed and leaned onto the cart, "The other night, after you left, he showed up. Something happened to him, he was banged up and freaking out and I suppose in the process of calming him down and cleaning him up he bled on me a little."

Aster's eyebrows knitted together. He wasn't quite sure what to say to this. He supposed this may have accounted for some of Jack's behavior the previous night. He could see the worry plastered on his friend's face and knew that Jack had a soft heart when it came to people being bullied, even though he knew there was more to it.

Aster let out a puff of air, "Come on, you can finish your little tête-à-tête with yourself later, walk with me," he said as he started down the aisle.

"Why?"

"Because I have somewhere to be in a little while so I need to finish up my shopping. Plus, we need to talk," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Got a hot date or something," Jack asked.

"Mind your business, Frost. Now come on, I still have some stuff to get," he said flapping his hand, ushering Jack to follow him.

Jack shook his head and they started making their way down the aisle. It wasn't often Aster requested that they talk and when he did he was trying to pry or scold him over something and this was no different. He was using that tone and had the same look in his eye he always had when this happened. It was times like these he really felt like Aster was the big brother he never had.

"So, what all happened when the little ankle biter showed," he inquired humbly.

"Well, I was on the roof and he climbed up there, wearing no jacket, bleeding, and shaking like a leaf. It took a while before he was able to calm down enough to get him inside to clean him up," Jack explained earning a hum from Aster.

"He didn't tell you what happened?"

"No, he could barely complete a word, let alone a sentence. I didn't want him freaking out more," he frowned.

"Did you call the coppers?"

"No, I asked him if he wanted me to or to at least take him to a hospital, but he started freaking out again."

Aster walked silently for a moment, picking up items and dropping them into his cart before turning back to Jack, "Well, sounds like something happened, that's for sure."

Jack said nothing and continued walking beside his friend. He wasn't sure what to say and at this point he wasn't sure he made the right call by not calling the police. He knew Hiccup was scared and if he couldn't even tell him what happened there was a chance he wouldn't tell the cops either. Maybe there was an off chance that Hiccup knew who the person or at least seen them before and he didn't want more trouble.

"You think he would object to learning some self-defense," Aster asked, "I am a black belt after all."

"Well, I doubt it, but then he'll know I said something to you," Jack replied quietly.

"Not necessarily. If I see him and ask him myself he may just think it's because I saw what he looked like and it's obvious that something happened," he explained, turning to Jack, "besides it's always good to know how to defend yourself. I taught you and if you can learn then he should have no problem."

Jack smiled and nudged him with his shoulder, earning a snicker from Aster, "That's up to you. I think it wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Glad you approve," he joked, "Now besides this, is there anything else you want to get off your mind?"

Jack glimpsed over at him, "What are you talking about? Like what?"

Aster's face fell, "Cut the shit, Frost, it's been three days since your little outing with Hiccup and ever since that night all you have been doing is staring off into space every time you have a moment you are not talking or being spoken to. Now I get that the night before last was a bit hectic, but I know that's not all there is."

"Bunny, there is nothing else wrong with me. I'm not shitting you."

"I'm not an idiot, Jack, don't treat me like one," he said sternly, "I normally wait for you to just tell me whatever it is that is bothering you, but when you start fucking up our performances that's when we start having problems and I draw the line. I'm not the only one to notice either."

Jack stopped his strides and glared at Aster darkly, "I don't recall fucking up our performance! I know our last one wasn't one of my proudest moments, but it wasn't fucked up. We all have our off days," he spoke, jaw clinched tightly as to try and keep his voice down, only to be met with Aster's emerald eyes being narrowed at him. "Well if you are so good at telling me I have problems, please go ahead and tell me what they are, oh wonderful mind reader," he spat venomously.

Aster smirked and gave a condescending laugh as he continued walking, "Alright, you wanna play that game, fine, have it your way. I think you are grieving."

"Grieving over what? That doesn't make any sense."

Aster rolled his eyes and leaned onto his cart, waiting for Jack to catch up to him, "What do people normally grieve over, ya gumby? Loss. You are grieving because you have lost something. Don't give me that look either."

Jack shook his head in confusion, eyebrows furrowing, "What look? You have completely lost me. What do I have to grieve over that I haven't already grieved over?"

He gave an exasperated sigh, shoulders slumping some, "Grieving doesn't always have to be over a person, ya know. Say, for instance, you thought you knew a person and when you find out something new about them, you 'lost' the person you once knew. You didn't lose the actual person, just a piece of them or an image of them and it can sometimes be just as devastating as losing the actual person. You grieve because of that loss because that person meant something to you," he explained calmly, "especially when that person is yourself."

Jack's head snapped to Aster and his eyes widen. 'Oh shit…'

Aster chuckles at Jack's speechlessness and cocks an eyebrow, "I told you not to treat me like an idiot. I didn't just study law, you know, I took courses in psychology as well."

What was Aster trying to say? There was no way he could read Jack's mind and could tell what had been bouncing around his head these past couple of days. He was jumping to conclusions. Jack wasn't grieving. What part of himself did he lose? He hadn't changed, nothing had changed. No life altering epiphany or catharsis here. Why was he suddenly angry? He didn't like Hiccup like that. He was straight. He liked women goddamnit! There was nothing to grieve over! He wasn't grieving over the fact that he was wrong about himself. He wasn't wrong! Right? Right?!

Hiccup was his friend and he cared about him. That's what friends do. They care. Of course Jack never wanted to see him violently sob into his chest and cling to him as if the world around them was disintegrating. He wanted Hiccup to trust him enough to tell him what actually happened. He wanted to comfort him while staring into those bright mossy green eyes. He wanted to hold him and let him know what everything would be okay and he would make sure of it. He wanted to tenderly kiss him to get his point across. He wanted all of that!

Well, that last part isn't really what friends do…

Fuck…

Okay, well maybe there may be more to it than friendship. Why does this have to be so goddamn confusing? 'Maybe because it isn't… you are just making it that way,' his mind chimed in.

Jack closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. When he finally looked back at Aster he could see the older man watching and reading him. He had figured what was bothering Jack. He had his suspicions the night after their 'date'. He saw the look in Jack's eyes when he left with the little ankle biter, it was the same as what he had seen on Hiccup.

After they had left Rapunzel was the first to speak up. She brought up how cute they looked together and how Hiccup's eyes looked like they were ready to pop from his skull. Eugene was the one to point out that Jack, despite the fact that he is indeed a show off, was showing off way more than normal. Aster had to agree with him. When Jack was singing it was almost like a one man show up there, but this time he was way more focused on his audience than he had ever been.

That was when Heather mentioned how territorial he had seemed when she first met him. She had admitted to noticing almost immediately how tense Hiccup looked when she saw him walk in the door. The hard glares she had received before he had even opened his mouth were what made her want to test the waters a bit. She was pretty perceptive when it came to things like this and trying to see how he would react to her harmless flirting was her way of trying to make sure she was right. His malicious snap at her was what confirmed it.

No doubt in Aster's mind Hiccup held an attraction to his show off of a friend. He could see that Jack liking Hiccup back was probably harder for him to accept than he had thought. Jack was indeed hardheaded and him coming to terms with this was probably something he'd need a little nudge with.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Jack finally said, seething, after a few moments of silence.

"For fuck's sake Jack!" he yelled throwing his hands in the air, "You need to stop being so damn stubborn. It's obvious you have feelings for the kid!"

Jack's eyes widened, Aster was being way too loud. They were still in the grocery store for crying out loud. He gave him the 'keep it down, you idiot!' look and let out a frustrated sigh, "You shouldn't make assumptions like that about me! You don't know if that's true!"

"Wake the hell up, Frost!" the Australian man hissed at him, "I know you quite well. Well enough to know when you like someone. You talk about them non-stop, you have a dazed look in your eyes like you are constantly thinking about them, and you have this sudden urge to spend a lot of time with them. I know you Jackson!" He gritted his teeth. Hopefully listing off some facts would help Jack see the merit in his words. He had known Jack for years and he was almost insulted that he would brush off what he said as speculation or a theory. He didn't care how many stares they were getting at this point, he wanted Jack to listen to him.

Jack set a heavy glower on Aster, he couldn't believe they were actually arguing about this—in a grocery store of all places. He couldn't really say much except deny that what Aster had said was true. He wasn't ready for it to be true and Aster pressing the matter was pissing him off.

"Shut the fuck up, Bunny," he grounded out, "I am not gay. I do not like Hiccup like that!"

Aster gave a deadpanned expression. He was ready to sock Jack in the nose at this point. He bit the inside of his cheek and pushed his cart to the side for a moment and crossed his arms, "Did you tell him?"

"Tell him what," he shot back.

"Did you tell him about your parents or your sister?"

Jack was taken aback. What business of it is Aster's to ask what he had told Hiccup? So what if he did?

Before he could reply the older man cut in, "I can tell by the look on your face that you did."

"So what?"

Aster ran his fingers through his hair and scrubbed at his face, "Jack, you have opened up more to him in the short amount of time you've known him then you have to any of your other friends. It took years for you to tell Eugene and Rapunzel and Heather still doesn't know the entire story. She still doesn't even know you have a sister and you dated the girl for four months. I'm not saying it's a bad thing that you told him, but I am saying you have major trust issues when it comes to your personal life and you have taken a giant leap of faith with someone you barely know. You did it for a reason and you are too bloody hardheaded to acknowledge why that is." He sighed; he had calmed down a little.

Jack was speechless. He honestly had nothing to say back to him for the first time in a while. He tensed when Aster rested a hand on his shoulder, "Look, mate, I just want you to be happy and it seems like you are standing in the way of yourself. It's frustrating to stand on the side lines and watch, it's almost painful. Just keep in mind that he likes you too," he said pulling away, "he does and he proved it by coming to you. He could have gone home, to a hospital, or to the cops, but no, he came to you. He let you see him at his weakest point. He wanted you to be there."

Jack chuckled, "Aww~ you do care," he cooed at his friend, only to receive a punch in the arm.

"Rack off, Frost."

Jack's smile fell some, "This is more confusing than I thought it'd be. I don't know what I feel anymore. I mean, if I'm wrong about who I am then what else am I wrong about?"

Aster snorted at this and rolled his eyes, "Thinking like that gets you nowhere, mate, and it is best not to think about it like that. I would say that you should look at it like you weren't right, but you were also not wrong. You can't beat yourself up over something you didn't know or never had the opportunity of experiencing."

"I still don't know, Bunny," he said, his voice hushed.

"Just give it some thought because not accepting it and living a lie will only hurt the both of you in the end. You should also know by now that we all have your back. We don't care if you are gay or whatever, as long as you are happy," he clapped Jack on the back, "Now come on, we need to get you some hair dye for those roots of yours."

As they began back down the aisle, Jack actually feeling a little bit better, he couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious about his hair now, "What's wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing is wrong with it; you just need your roots done is all. They are starting to show a lot," he replied.

"I can make an appointment at the salon and have it professionally done. I don't want you touching my hair," he chuckled.

"Oh you mean the same salon that burned the shit out of your hair and scalp last time? Real professional," he deadpanned, "and I was going to have Rapunzel do it, smart ass."

Jack grinned slightly, "Fair enough. Come on or you'll be late for your date."

Aster paused for a moment, "Wasn't what I'd really call a date unless that's what you call meeting Sandy for drinks, but you know, I think I can postpone it."

Jack flapped a hand at him, "Nah, go ahead. You haven't seen him in a while."

"Actually," he thought for a moment, "if you want, you could come with us."

Jack smiled, "Where would we be going exactly? I'm not 21."

It was Aster's turn to chuckle, "Have you already forgotten that Sandy owns a bar? I'm sure as long as you don't destroy his place again he wouldn't mind."

Jack scoffed, "Why is everyone not willing to let that go? It happened one time and I wasn't even that drunk or the one who destroyed the place."

"Weren't you the one instigating it and supplying alcohol to a minor?"

"Point taken."

Aster peered down into Jack's cart, "And we might as well get you something to eat that has nutritional value while we are out because you obviously don't know how to take care of yourself."

Jack rolled his bi-colored eyes, "I can take care of myself just fine."

Aster leaned over to get a better look and laughed, "Really? All I see is junk food and instant noodles. And what is that—ping pong balls? Seriously, Jack? What the bloody hell are you going to do with those?"

"I'm going to shove them up my ass," he said flatly, reaching in and pulling them out, setting them on a nearby shelf. He honestly didn't remember putting them in there. Then again, half of the stuff he had in his cart he didn't remember putting in.

"Whatever you do in your free time is your business, mate," he replied.

Once Jack made it back to his house and put away the groceries he figured he had some time to kill before he had to pick up Aster and meet up with Sandy. He spent the next hour or so mulling over what Aster had said to him. Even though he was a bit pissed at how direct his friend was, he was thankful he was. Aster knew Jack better than he knew himself at times and he could appreciate his honesty even if he didn't want to hear it.

Jack cleaned up and started his laundry that desperately needed to be done. He used this time to think about Hiccup and what he meant to him. Aster spoke about Hiccup's attraction to him like it was the gospel truth and what he said did make sense.

A lot of what Aster said made sense, but he wasn't going to fork over bragging rights just yet. He wasn't sure why he was still denying his true feelings. Normally after speaking with the moon it would help him clear some things up, but this time it only brought on more (unnecessary) questions. And what was that that Aster had said about grieving? Was he really grieving over the idea of losing that part of himself he thought he once knew?

What were the stages to grieving again? When he lost his parents he and his sister went to see a child psychologist and she told them about the grief stages—denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. He knew those stages all too well. He went through them when he lost his parents and he went through them again after his sister was adopted. Yes, he knew them well.

Was he grieving? Denial. Oh yeah, there was plenty of that and then some. Anger. Not as much as denial, but yeah, he did show some of that as well, especially toward Aster. Bargaining. Well, if you wanna count him trying to come up with excuses for what he is feeling and how to categorize his sexuality, then sure. Bargaining was a bit more difficult to place. He had been trying to make sense of everything and trying to convince himself that it couldn't be true. Okay, check that off the list.

Depression. He hadn't felt depression in a long time. The degree of it was nowhere near as bad as it had been in the past. This time he would say more like intense frustration with a hint of melancholy. He knew he cared for Hiccup, a lot, and seeing him hurt made him hurt. He knew that he had been somewhat sad before all that happened because of the frustration he felt. He wanted all these things and was stopping himself, like Aster had said (another point for you, asshole.).

Yes, he could say he was a bit depressed, just not as much as frustrated. Why was he frustrated? He was frustrated because of all the questions he wanted answers to even though he already knew the answer. He didn't want it to be true because he would've been… not entirely right.

'So again, why are you not accepting this? Why are you putting yourself through all of this even though you have the answers? Why are you doing this to yourself?'

"Because, I'm afraid…" he whispered to himself as he placed a folded shirt down onto the bed. 'DING! DING! DING! DING! You win! Congratulations! Now how about we double the prize with a bonus question? It's a two-parter. Question 1: What are you so afraid of?'

Jack sat down on his freshly made bed and dropped his head into his hand, rubbing his eyes in frustration, "I'm afraid that if I am having trouble accepting myself than why would he? Or maybe because I could be setting myself up for the worst heartbreak I could ever experience," he answered the voice in his head.

'Very good. Now for the final question: Have you finally accepted that you do, in fact, hold romantic feelings for your new friend, Hamish "Hiccup" Horrendous Haddock III?

Jack grumbled and he began to feel a squeezing around his head. He bit his lip and chewed at the chapped skin. He knew these answers. He didn't need Aster or anybody to tell him this—he already knew. He was afraid of the answer. He is still afraid of what would happen if Hiccup was turned away by him. Hiccup, the one who initiated these feelings and unjustifiable self-loathing has had him racking every corner of his brain for days, maybe even longer than that. Being turned down by him because he wasn't interested in men would be a critical blow. Not that he figured Hiccup would run and jump into his arms like a poorly written romantic comedy, but because all of this would have felt like it was for nothing.

Jack flopped back onto his bed and pulled a pillow over his face. He wanted to scream, but his head was already starting to feel like it was in a vice. He was doing it again. He was allowing his fear to cloud over the truth. 'Well, Mr. Overland-Frost?'

"Yes," he murmured into the pillow, "yes, I have feelings—romantic feelings –for Hiccup."

'You are correct! Congratulations, Jackson Overland-Frost! You have won the grand prize! Thank you for playing "5 Stages of Grief: The Game You Didn't Even Realize You Were Playing"!'

Why did saying it out loud feel like a 5 ton weight was suddenly lifted off of him? He sighed and squeezed the pillow into a tight hug against his body. There was the truth. The truth that Jack had been running from since the first time he had actually spent with Hiccup up on the roof. The night he snapped at Heather and lied about the reason. The night that stupid voice in his head started teasing him about the feelings he was nowhere near ready to accept. There they were.

"I figured all you needed was a little push," a voice came from the doorway. Jack shot up with wide eyes to see Aster leaning against the door frame munching on a crisp baby carrot, "now are we going to go or do you need more time making out with the pillow?"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Jack practically screeched, "How did you even get in?"

Aster took another loud chomp out of the carrot and chuckled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of spare keys that Jack had given him and jingled them in the air as a reminder before placing them into his jean pocket, "Well, you were supposed to be over at my house an hour ago and I tried calling, but I kept getting your stupid voicemail. So I figured you fell asleep and I decided to come over, but when I came in I heard you in here talking away to yourself and the rest is history."

"Goddamnit," Jack grumbled, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment, "I didn't want anybody to hear that you asshat. You don't just waltz into somebody's house, eat their food and—"

Aster gave a shit eating grin, "and listening to them confess their love into a pillow," he interrupted, earning a glare from Jack, "it didn't take you as long as I thought it would, so you have that going for ya."

"Fuck you, Bunny."

"According to your pillow talk, I'm not the one you fancy," he shot back, "by the way why haven't you gone to see him or at least call?"

Jack looked at the ground, grimacing. The thought of visiting Hiccup was something he had wanted to do all day, but he found that situation would be a bit awkward for the both of them. Jack knew Hiccup probably wouldn't want to talk about it and he wasn't really sure what to even say to him after a night like that. He told this to Aster and surprisingly he understood, even if he found it to be a bit silly. He knew Jack was a caring person but he knew he wanted a better excuse then 'just came by to see if you are still alive'.

Aster sighed, deciding to end this part of the conversation, "Come on and get dressed. We are running behind enough as it is. Unless you wanna spend a romantic evening with your pillow, in that case I won't tell Hiccup, he might get jealous."

Jack threw said pillow at Aster's face, but barely missed, as he let out a bark of laughter and made his way down the hall, probably to eat more of his food. Jack called out to him that he would be ready shortly and started looking for something decent to wear seeing as the majority of his clothes were still being cleaned. He ended up settling on a simple short sleeved, turquois shirt with a white thermal and jeans. He grabbed his freshly cleaned hoodie and after pocketing his keys, phone, and wallet they were out the door.

"Why are we here," Aster questioned from the passenger seat.

Jack pulled into his regular parking space at the gym and shut off the ignition, "I left my driver's license here. I dropped my wallet the other night when I was coming down the ladder and apparently my license fell out. North called earlier and said Dingle found it while taking out the trash," he replied.

"What?! You've been driving around all day without a license? Bloody hell," he continued to gripe as he and Jack unclicked their seatbelts and got out of the car. He ignored the older man because it was all stuff he had heard before, but gave the occasional hum or grunt so that Aster thought he was listening.

They were greeted by a booming 'hello' by North who was returning from the supply closet and making his way back to the front desk carrying drinks to replenish the cooler as they entered the gym. He sat the mass of drinks that had been cradled in his large arms down on the counter and dusted off his red button-shirt, "I give you off day and you still show, such commitment," he joked.

Jack smiled at his father and Aster rolled his eyes, "Genius here," he jerked his thumb to Jack, "had been driving without his license for god knows how long and we're just here to pick it up."

North tutted at Jack with a wagging finger, "You know better than that, Jackson," he stated with an accusing look which made Jack throw his hands up in surrender, "you are lucky Dingle bring it to me."

Aster cocked an eyebrow at the young man next to him, "He is lucky it was his license instead of his bank card."

It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes, "Okay, I get it. My bad. Don't you two sit there and talk about me like I'm not here."

North laughed at this and pointed towards the back of the building, "Good. It's in my office, top drawer," he said, turning to start placing the drinks into the cooler and Jack sprinted off.

Once he was gone North turned to Aster who was now leaning against the counter, "So where are you two going," he asked.

Aster shrugged and stretched his limbs, "We were going to meet up with Sandy and get something to eat."

North hummed, "So, I am guessing you have talk with him, yes?"

Aster chuckled, "Oh yeah. In the middle of the grocery store of all places. I felt like I was scolding a five-year-old after catching them sticking candy in their pockets."

North frowned a little, "It wasn't that bad, was it?"

"No," Aster leaned over the counter and grabbed one of the bottles of water the Russian man had brought out, "ya know how he is, North, hardheaded as hell and denial so bad I couldn't even begin to draw a colorful comparison to it. You were right though, about him needing a nudge."

North chuckled at this, "Jack forgets we know him so well sometimes. He can be easy to read given enough time. I had my suspicions when I kept finding him on roof every morning. But he seems better now. Less spacy."

Aster cracked open the bottle of water and took a drink, "Yeah, it seems like once I told him how he was hurting himself with this that he accepted it pretty quickly. Quicker than I thought he would. I was expecting this to go on for at least another week or so."

North hummed at this. The conversation lulled and that was when Aster was able to hear a muffled noise. It was kind of annoying and North seemed to ignore it, "Uh, North?" he asked gaining the man's attention as he sat down on the chair behind the counter, "what is that?"

The older man cocked a white bushy eyebrow before realizing what Aster was talking about, "Oh," he smiled, "I find phone in my office. I figured one of you sat it in there, but I brought it out here in case someone came looking for it."

Still the phone kept ringing and North made no attempt to answer. Aster rolled his eyes and walked around the counter and opened the draw to search for the device, but it stopped ringing by the time he found it. "What's with that look," he looked up and saw Jack standing in front of the counter.

The Australian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "North found a phone and it was ringing, but he wasn't answering it," he explained.

North shrugged, "Not my phone to answer."

"It could have been the owner trying to find it," Aster said unlocking the screen, "well, whosever it is, they've missed 16 calls from Astrid."

Jack's eyes widened, "Let me see that!" He nearly leaped over the counter to snatch the device out of Bunny's hand, "This is Hiccup's phone! His phone has been here the whole time."

Aster crossed his arms and chortled, "Well, you wanted a good reason to see him, didn't ya?" Jack glared over at him, sliding off the counter he had been practically laying on, "Well, go take it to him."

North gave a booming laugh, "Yes, Jack, go see him. Seems you are not the only one thinking about him," he teased.

Jack grimaced at the both of them, "I was going to go out with Bunny an—"

"Go, Jack," Bunny said firmly, "Me and Sandy will still have fun without you. Besides, it's probably best you are not around alcohol."

Jack groaned, "Why won't you guys let that go? That was like a year ago!"

North chuckled at his son's misfortune, "Everyone has that one story their family won't let them live down, this is yours. Is funny story. Almost as funny as when Aster got you in the bathroom with water gun. Now go! Go see Hiccup. I will take Aster to Sandy's."

Jack glanced back over at Aster who nudged his head to the door and he smiled, "Thanks, guys." And with that he was out the door, running to his car as if someone was about to steal it. He didn't hear Aster and his father laugh at how quick he was to jump to the chance of seeing Hiccup. North stood from his seat and began to finish filling the cooler, "So, what do you make of this Hiccup," he asked over his shoulder.

Aster shrugged and stole North's chair, leaning back casually and crossed his arms, "I have only met him twice and it wasn't for very long…"

North turned and raised an eyebrow, "But…?"

The salt and pepper haired man smiled, "He seems like a good kid, a bit shy, but he was polite every time I spoke to him, so I guess he isn't too bad. At least he left a good first and second impression."

North hummed and closed the cooler and joined Aster, leaning against the counter. Aster saw the look on North's face and the forlorn expression stained on it, "Alright, North, spill the beans. What is it?"

North shook his head, "I know he has dated before, but I have never seen him like this."

Aster scoffed, "So? Is it because it's a guy?"

North shook his head and ran his fingers through his beard mindlessly, "Not at all, I love him no matter what, but I know we do not live in perfect world, Aster. Not everyone is as accepting to this as we are. Jack and his Hiccup will not always have it easy. There are people out there that can do cruel things to people like them."

Aster looked at his lap. He knew what North was worried about and completely understood why. North was Jack's father, adopted or not, and he cared about the safety of his son. Aster knew North lost a daughter and his wife and he wouldn't be able to handle it if he lost Jack too, especially to someone's prejudice. It was always a worry North had when it came to Jack, something happening that caused him to lose his son. The boy had already gone through some pretty traumatic things as it is, losing him to a hate crime would just be… North didn't even want to think about it.

Letting out a sigh, Aster looked over at North, "What you're feeling is called 'being a parent'. It is natural to worry about your kid, but Jack is stronger than he looks. Keep in mind that it's not always like that. Even if he does end up with the boy, they could still end up living a completely normal life. The world isn't safe for anyone, really. We just have to be there for them when we can and help him prepare for it," he said, just above a whisper.

The white haired man shook his head, "Well, at least I get to see Jack fall in love for the first time," he said with a bit more cheer in his voice.

Aster laughed, "There ya go. That's the spirit. Besides, they may not even end up together, but if they do, all we can do is be there for them. Be happy for him, North. It's not everyday someone as boneheaded as your son comes to terms with something like this and it's not every day a father gets to watch their child fall in love without missing it."

Jack made it to his car in record speed. He threw on his seatbelt and pulled out of his parking spot and raced out of the lot. His mind was going a mile a minute and he couldn't even pin his thoughts down with words. All he knew was he was going to see Hiccup. He didn't even realize how excited he was at first. When had that happened? His heart was hammering against his sternum and his palms were a bit sweaty as he gripped tighter onto the steering wheel.

He wanted to jerk the traffic light off of the wire it hung from and throw it somewhere. Why did they even need traffic lights? Why was it taking so long? Jack let out a frustrated groan and hit his head against the wheel, "Fucking come on already!"

He lifted back up and saw that the light was green, but the cars weren't moving as fast as he'd like them too. He was antsy and getting a bit irritated at himself for being so. Hiccup was still going to be there.

Just as Jack turned a corner the phone that sat in the passenger seat started to ring. He figured that it must have been a newer phone because of the impressive battery life. It had been almost two days and it still had some life left. He reached over and grabbed the device and saw that it was Astrid calling again.

He hit the answer button but before he could even say 'hello' he got, "Hiccup?! Where the hell have you been and why the fuck haven't you been answering your phone?! Oh, gods, you had me worried about you!"

Jack stared blankly at the phone for a moment before returning it to his ear, which he had pulled it away due to the fact he thought Astrid voice was going to knock out his eardrum, "Um, hey, Astrid right?"

"You're not Hiccup. Who the hell is this and why do you have my friend's phone," she screamed into the phone.

Jack gave a wry chuckle, "My name's Jack, I'm Hiccup's trainer, he had left his phone at the gym the other night and we just found it. I'm actually taking it to him now," he explained, flinching a little expecting her to scream again, but it never came.

She instead let out a huge sigh, "Thank gods," she whispered before changing her tone, "so you're Jack, huh?"

"That would be me. And you are Astrid, the friend who wanted my picture. Like what you saw?" He answered with a bit of a sultry tone before he chuckled, sometimes Jack couldn't help himself, he was a natural flirt and would just do it even when he's not meaning to.

Astrid cleared her throat rather loudly as if she were embarrassed, "Yeah…" she said before quickly adding, "I mean, yeah to me being the one who wanted the picture," earning another snicker from Jack, "So, anyways, Hiccup's still alive and well?"

Jack fell silent. Should he tell her what happened? I mean, she was Hiccup's best friend and he would probably tell her anyways. She sounded very concerned for his well-being. Maybe it wasn't his place even though Hiccup came to him. He didn't know the details of what happened and he didn't want to worry her more, but maybe she would be able to help their friend out more than he could.

"Jack? You there?"

He cleared his throat, "Uh, yeah… I'm here. Listen, I probably shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but something happened to Hiccup the other night," he spoke softly, worry clearly in his voice, "give me a second and I'll explain."

Jack placed the phone down in the seat and turned into the parking lot of a department store. He needed a bit more time. He was pretty close to Hiccup's apartment complex and didn't really want to have a chance of Hiccup walking past him and seeing him on his phone, also he didn't want to be pulled over for being on the phone while driving. After engaging the breaks he picked the phone back up, "You there," he asked.

"Yeah, now what do you mean something happened? What happened? Was it Dagur?"

"What? Daggers?"

"Nothing, go ahead."

He could tell she was worried and she probably had good reason to be. He wanted to be there for him, but he knew she would probably make things better for Hiccup since she was closer to him or at least easier for him, but why was she talking about daggers? Oh well, not important. He sighed, "Anyways, the other night I think," he paused and corrected himself, "I know something happened to him. He showed up at the gym and he wasn't himself. He was a little banged up and freaking out."

Astrid was quiet for a moment, "Banged up and freaking out," she echoed.

Jack hummed in affirmation, "Yeah."

"What happened to him exactly?" At the moment Astrid sounded like she was near panic, but was trying to cover it up. It was understandable. She called thinking she was going to talk to her friend, but instead got a stranger and said stranger is telling her something had happened.

"I… I'm not sure. I asked him and he wouldn't tell me," he answered, "Truthfully, the only thing I could think of would be that he was at the wrong place at the wrong time and either someone tried robbing him or just beat him up."

Astrid was quiet for a moment, Jack assuming she was mulling over what he had just told her. He was curious as to what maybe going through her mind, but didn't ask.

"Anyways, Astrid I was wondering if maybe there was a way that maybe you could come here and spend some time with him. Maybe a familiar face would do him some good," he said, leaning back in his seat, "He wasn't hurt incredibly bad physically, but mentally… well, that may be a different story. Whatever it was had to definitely be jarring."

"Well, I'd love to come there, but it'd have to wait. Berk is quite a ways, six to seven hours depending on traffic," she explained, "I was thinking about coming there for his birthday and I could take him out."

Jack perked up some, "I didn't know it was that far. When is his birthday?"

"It's in three weeks. It's the day before Halloween."

This got Jack thinking, "Oh yeah… he did tell me that now that I think about it. Hey, how'd you like to surprise him? I'm sure we could come up with something to lift his spirits."

"What exactly do you have in mind?"

"No idea, but we have three weeks to come up with something," he said, feeling a little giddy, "We could give him the best birthday ever!"

The blonde giggled, "Alright. Well, I gotta get to work. Thank you for taking care of him. I would have probably been on the road heading to Burgess if I didn't think he was in good hands. Now give me your number so we can plan something and you better not come up with anything lame."

"You want my number? My, oh, my, aren't we forward," he laughed.

Astrid rolled her eyes and groaned, "Don't flatter yourself too much,"

"Ouch! Lift me up only to tear me down. I am indeed wounded," he joked before telling her his number.

"Thank you, Jack. Make sure he is ok for me. I worry a lot about him. As for seeing a familiar face, he has you there. He may not know you as well as me, but trust me, he'd be just as happy seeing you as he would me, even if he doesn't always act like it." This made Jack smile and could feel a tightening in his chest. Hiccup was right when he told Jack he'd like Astrid. She seemed like someone who could keep Hiccup grounded and wouldn't take any shit from him.

"I'm not sure I would take it that far," he sounded modestly.

"I would," she scoffed, "he was the one who said he was saying how much he wanted to be friends with you, Mr. Cool Trainer. Now, I seriously have to go now. I am running late for work. Take care of Hiccup for me!"

"I will. Nothing to worry about here. I'll tell him to call you in a bit."

When Astrid hung up the phone she couldn't help but feel worried. Something had happened to Hiccup and she didn't know what it was. She so desperately wanted to see him, check up on him, but she couldn't. There was quite a distance between them. She was actually grateful that Jack was there with him. If they weren't friends—budding friends anyways—than she would have already stolen her mom's car keys and been on the road before Jack explained what happened.

She didn't know Jack but his heart seemed to be in the right place and he seemed to be just as worried about Hiccup as she was and Hiccup not telling Jack what had happened only made her more concerned. She knew her friend was stubborn, hell they all were. They were Vikings, stubbornness issues were a genetic trait. However, under normal circumstances the victim would normally give an idea of the crime committed against them and not leave everyone in the dark—so what really happened?

She exhaled a deep breath and slipped her shoes on before leaning down to pet Stormfly who sat beside her, tail happily smacking against the hardwood floor. Astrid came back to her full height when she heard Ruffnut honking and made her way outside, yelling a 'bye mom, going to work, love you' over her shoulder. As frustrating as it was, there wasn't much she could do at the moment. She was a little over six hours away and Hiccup didn't have his phone on him.

'Guess I'll call him tonight and find out what the hell is going on…" she thought.

Hiccup stood on his balcony wrapped in a blanket and stared at the sky that was a mixture of orange and pink hues. It was sights like this that made him miss Berk. He would sit at the docks and watch the sun disappear, slowly dipping below the horizon. The way the lights would reflect off the water and you could smell the salt in the air as the moon and stars became more visible in the darkening sky. Before Valka got too sick to leave the house, she would join him at the end of one of the piers while waiting for his father to get off work.

She would tell him stories she made up or speak of legends and folklore and no matter how old he got, he always listened. His mother was a fantastic story teller. She knew how to stretch the truth just enough to make something as simple as a trip to the grocery store into an epic journey. She would give her stories vocal wings and let them carry you off into different realms of possibilities.

Hiccup wished he could do the things she could. He wanted her amazing abilities in storytelling or her incredible singing voice. He wanted her appetite for life and adventure. But mostly he wanted her. He just wanted her near. He wanted to make her proud and at the moment he couldn't feel farther from that. He knew his mother would always love him, but after everything that's happened, he highly doubted he'd make her proud.

One of the biggest regrets he has about leaving Berk was that he could no longer visit his mother. After she died he would sit in the cemetery and talk to her about his day like he had when she was alive. He would talk to her about his father, school, and Toothless. He wished his mother could have met Toothless. He knew she would have loved him like she did most animals. He only figured as much since she worked in a vet's office as an assistant. He would do this almost every day for hours on end and once they watched the sunset Hiccup would go home.

It got more difficult to come see her once Dagur was in the picture. He never wanted Dagur to go with him and he didn't want to talk to his mom about the things that were happening between them. After a while he would just sit at her grave and tell her how sorry he was, even though he wouldn't tell her what he was sorry about.

Hiccup let out a sigh and shook these thoughts out of his mind. He felt bad enough about what had happened and it was time to move on. He never had a problem moving on after a night like the one he had with Hans. He'd go home, take a shower, and wake up the next morning continuing on with his life as if nothing happened. It was easier than it was now. In those days he didn't care what people did to him. He let anyone do anything without a second thought, but after waking up from that it seemed far more difficult to face the day.

Even though he finally got up and showered he still felt like he had been rolling around in mud. He stood under the hot spray for a good 45 minutes before even bothering to wash himself. He washed his hair about four times and brushed his teeth seven. Afterwards he changed the bandages Jack had placed on his hands and face. The bruise on his cheek had darkened more into a greyish purple and the cut had begun to scab over which he was thankful for since it pretty much bled the whole day yesterday from where it was opening back up when he made any kind of facial expression.

He wanted to try and forget what happened with Hans. It was a simple mistake that anybody could have made. At least that's what he was telling himself. He was glad he didn't take Hans up on his offer when he asked him if he wanted anything to drink. That bastard probably would have drugged him. Anyways, enough about Hans.

The skin on Hiccup's palms would still burn when the bandages would rub against it. He had been dealing with that all day. Toothless seemed to know something was amiss because he was keeping a careful eye on his human. Even now as Hiccup stood on his balcony, Toothless was staring at him through the glass door. He kept jumping into Hiccup's lap and snaking around his legs whenever he stood. Hiccup had to hand it to the little furry beast, he knew how to make him feel better.

Hiccup pulled the glass sliding door open and entered his apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him, and made his way to the kitchen. He poured Toothless some food into his metal dish and watched as the cat curiously eyed him with those toxic eyes while he ate. He watched his human as if he were to look away for a second he would simply vanish. The cinnamon haired teen leaned down and stroked a bandaged hand down the cat's soft fur, earning a small purr-meow noise from him, "Thank you, bud," he said before walking back to his room.

It had been nearly two days and Hiccup figured he'd better go to the store and get himself another phone, or at least a temp phone, until he could get a replacement ordered. He needed to call Astrid and maybe his father to let them know he was still breathing and had misplaced his phone.

He figured he couldn't continue to hold up in his apartment, eventually he would have to leave anyways. He couldn't allow this one mishap scare him from ever trying to move forward again. He pulled out a baggy, long sleeved green shirt and a pair of jeans and quickly got dressed. He wasn't sure how long the store would be open and he wasn't feeling too good about going out at night.

He slipped his shoes on and walked back into the living room, seeing Toothless stretched out on the couch, full and purring. Hiccup smiled at his furry friend and grabbed his keys and wallet off the counter. He and Toothless both nearly jumped a foot in the air when there was a sudden pounding on his front door. Hiccup wasn't sure if he wanted to answer it or not. He looked down to see Toothless circle his legs before slinking over to the door and meowed.

Hiccup sighed and opened the door to see Jack standing there, "Jack?"

"Hey," he gave a half smile.

Hiccup could still feel his heart jumping around inside his chest, but forced himself to calm down some. He opened the door wider and gestured for him to come in, closing the door behind him, "What brings you here?"

"Oh!" Jack reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out Hiccup's cell phone, "North found your phone in his office," he explained handing it over.

"Thanks. You saved me a trip to the store," he said.

Jack leaned down to pet Toothless who was craving attention from him and let him know by nudging his calves. He nipped at Jack's fingers and pressed his face into his palm, lovingly. Hiccup scoffed, "He has really taken a shine to you. It normally takes him a while."

Jack smiled, flashing his pearly whites, "Maybe he is an excellent judge of character and knows an awesome person when he sees them."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and sat his phone on the counter, "Someone thinks highly of themselves."

"Just calling it like I see it," he said confidently, stroking the cat's back, "Isn't that right buddy?"

"Need to get your eyes checked," he murmured, getting a pout from Jack.

"Oh, Astrid said she'd call you later because she had to go to work."

"You talked to Astrid?"

Jack came to his full height and stretched, "Well, she called while I was on my way over and you already had like 16 missed calls from her already, so I answered it. I hope you don't mind."

The cinnamon haired teen shook his head and shrugged, "Nah, I don't mind. I figured she would have been worried since she hadn't heard from me since the day before we went out."

Jack nodded and there was an awkward lull between them. He took this time to look more carefully at Hiccup's face. He could see the darkened bruise showing from under the freshly changed bandage. He was curious as to how his friend had been and was going over different ways to ask him while in the car, but now that he is there it is much harder than he thought to bring it up.

He exhaled deeply and chewed on his lip, leaning against the wall, "So," he finally said after what felt like years, "how, um, how have you been?"

Hiccup tensed a bit. He knew the question was coming as much as he prayed it wouldn't, "I got out of bed today, so I have that going for me."

Jack gave a sad smile. He wanted to hug him, but didn't. He fought the urge as hard as it was. He knew that things were getting awkward but he didn't want to leave him just yet. "Um, you hungry?"

Hiccup shrugged, "I haven't really had much of an appetite lately."

"Well, as your trainer, I must insist that you eat three meals a day," he gestured to him, "you know, to maintain proper health."

Hiccup shook his head, "I don't know, Jack, I just…" he trailed off.

"Ever had a gyro?"

"A what," he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"A gyro. It's Greek."

"Um, no. I don't even know what that is."

Jack gave an over dramatic gasp and tsked, "Shame, you don't know what you are missing. Come on, I know the best gyro place! It's actually by the park we were at the other night." Hiccup stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. He didn't really want to leave the apartment, except to get his phone and he didn't even want to do that. Even though he knew things were a bit uneasy around Jack, if he was willing to let it go for a while, he wouldn't mind spending some time with him.

Jack moved closer to him and jutted his lower lip out in a fake pout and proceeded to give puppy eyes at him, "Unless, you know, you want me to go all by myself—alone—and sit in my car and eat awesome food—alone."

Hiccup shook his head and laughed, "Come on you dork."

Jack did a fist pump, "Alright! I promise you won't regret it."

However when Hiccup reached for the door Jack stopped him. He looked at his friend curiously as he stripped off his blue hoodie and handed it to him with a smile, "It's cold out."

Hiccup took the offered garment, "You know Berk has some of the worst winters. I can handle a bit of cold. Besides, what about you?"

Jack gave him a cryptic look, "Well, I have on a thermal plus another shirt on top of it. Besides, I actually love the cold. You, on the other hand, do not have a jacket on and a thin shirt. Now you better put that on," he said the last part jokingly.

Hiccup was about to argue with him and tell him he could change into something warmer to make him happy, but he realized that Jack must have had a reason behind giving it to him. Maybe it was his way of offering a truce.

"Yes, father." And with a smile and a roll of the eyes, Hiccup pulled the large hoodie over his head. He was a bit distraught to see how it actually looked on him. On Jack it looked maybe a size too big, but it nearly swallowed him. The sleeves were too long and the hem was about two inches from his knees. Was Jack really that much taller than him? Just looking at him it was clear he was at least 5'11 maybe six feet.

He pulled the sleeves up some and pursed his lips, "I didn't think I was going to drown in it."

Jack rolled his eyes, "You look fine. Now come on, let's go."

They made it to the restaurant and Jack ordered them their sandwiches, fries, and a drink. He shushed Hiccup when he started complaining about Jack paying for his food and kept telling him he'd pay because it was his idea to bring him there and it wasn't like it was incredibly expensive. Hiccup thanked him but not before telling him, again, that he didn't have to do that.

After pulling away with their food in hand, Jack drove a few blocks to the park they had been at a few nights ago. It was dark by the time they got there, but Hiccup was thankful that no one was around. He didn't care much for seeing people.

It didn't take long after the first bite of his food that Hiccup dove into his sandwich. His face was covered in sauce and he was literally moaning into it. Jack sat and watched in awe, chewing slowly, with a goofy grin on his face. He didn't think it was possible for Hiccup to eat like that. Sure he saw him eat when they were at Sandy's restaurant, but he definitely was eating way slower than this.

Jack couldn't help snicker in amusement, "Are you eating that thing or are you eating that thing?"

Hiccup's face flushed a deep crimson and he averted his eyes, "Shut up," he mumbled, "I haven't really eaten a lot lately."

Jack chuckled and pats his friend on the shoulder, "No worries. I've just never heard someone moan so much into a gyro before. I take it that you like it though, right?"

Hiccup nodded and grabbed a napkin and wiped off his face. They finished eating, making small talk and what not. By the time they finished Hiccup wanted to take a mini coma. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he had started eating and now he felt like he was seven months pregnant.

He thanked Jack once more and Jack scolded him for thanking him so much. He couldn't help, but smile. He hadn't smiled a real smile in what felt like an eternity and Jack made it so easy for him to do so.

"You wanna go walk around? Might help your stomach settle some," the bi-color haired man offered. Hiccup nodded as he finished the last gulp of his soda and proceeded to gather their trash into the bag from once it came and got out of the car to throw it away in a nearby bin. Jack joined him after locking up his car and they set down the darkened path. There was a comfortable silence between them as they walked, feet crunching down on frostbitten leaves that littered the path.

The weather was indeed cold for early October, but still tolerable. Their breath muddled together as they exhaled soft clouds that gingerly disappeared. Hiccup could feel the gentle breeze nip at his face, as could Jack, but neither said anything about it.

Hiccup could feel all of his anxieties that had been crushing him the past couple of days slowly dwindling away. He was still upset, no doubt, but at the moment he felt like he could handle it better, like everything wasn't so bad after all and it was because Jack was there. Jack had this way about him that could melt away all his petty fears and insecurities and he didn't know how he did it.

Hiccup had accepted now that he did have feelings for Jack, in more ways than one, but he didn't want to risk telling him out of fear of losing him. He didn't think Jack was the type to turn someone away because of them being gay, but he wasn't so sure about the possible awkwardness (adding to the existing awkwardness) of finding out and the feelings aren't returned. He didn't know if he was bisexual or whatever, but he did know that he had at least some interest in women since he learned that Heather was his ex-girlfriend.

Even if Jack had interest in men it didn't mean that he had an interest in him. He wanted to ask him and honestly didn't know what was stopping him from doing so. Maybe because of the possible 'no' and the follow up of 'are you?'

Hiccup could feel his hands starting to shake a little. He was frustrated and fidgeting and kept clenching and unclenching his fists and tugging at oversized sleeves. Besides, even if the gods took mercy on him and he somehow managed to get Jack to be with him, he could never be completely honest with him. There were things about himself that Hiccup would rather be skinned alive and thrown into a vat of salt and lemon juice before Jack found out. What relationship could he possibly hope to have with him? Jack would never want to be with someone like him. He could barely stand looking at his own reflection at times, how could Jack bare to be in the same room with him if he knew the truth?

The painful thoughts that Hiccup had started to believe were vanishing had returned in a new form, but still filled him with what he believed to be self-righteous indignation. His knuckles were turning white under his bandages from how hard he had started clinching his fists and he somehow managed to ignore the burning that sprouted in his palms from where his fingernails had been digging in. However, that all stopped when a pale hand wrapped around his clinched one. Hiccup's head snapped to the side where he looked down and saw Jack's hand gently holding onto his. His mossy green eyes followed the arm to see Jack looking at him with concerned eyes.

"Hey, Hic, you okay?" His voice was soft and worried which didn't make him feel any better. He had made Jack worry enough, maybe a little too much. He looked back down at the hand over his own and could feel his face heat up some, "Is this… okay," he asked cautiously, examining Hiccup's face for any displeasure.

Hiccup stared at their hands for a moment almost trying to see if he was indeed daydreaming. How could someone with so much caring and compassion exist? He was right there and all Hiccup could think of was ways to push him away because of his own self-loathing. He was stopping himself and he knew it. He didn't want this for himself, his mother, Astrid, even Toothiana didn't or wouldn't want this for him. Why was it so hard to accept that he could actually be happy, even if it wasn't in a romantic way, but platonic as well? It wasn't.

Hiccup looked back into Jack's bi-colored eyes and smiled, "This is fine," he replied, lacing their fingers together, earning a soft squeeze from Jack, and caused Hiccup's heart to leap.

Never in his years had he ever felt like this. He and Dagur never did this sort of thing. It was always sex and pain and hurting. Never had he felt like his feelings were returned in any way, but with Jack it did and so much more. He wasn't sure how Jack felt but it had to be something. He was always so nice to him and never asked for anything in return.

The two continued to walk in silence down the path, fingers laced and swinging slightly. Hiccup wanted to say and ask so many things, but didn't really know where to begin. He finally turned to his friend and smiled, "You know," he cleared his throat, "we never finished our game of 20 Questions."

Jack glanced over to him, giving Hiccup's hand a slight squeeze, not enough to hurt him, but enough for him to feel it through his bandaged hand. He nodded, "Okay, you go first."

Hiccup thought for a moment. He should have thought about what to ask before suggesting this. He tapped his chin in thought before turning back with a smile, "Well, I know you like to play pranks, but what is the most memorable one ever played on you?"

Jack laughed, "It's funny you ask that, North actually mentioned it earlier today," Hiccup smile and gestured for him to continue, "Well, this one time I knew Aster was coming over to talk to North—I believe at the time he was helping Aster look for a house. Anyways I hid behind the bushes and when he came to the door I jumped out and sprayed him with a water gun. I got him good too, I might add. Well later that night, it was close to midnight, I had fallen asleep and I got up to go to the bathroom and while I was in there—defenseless and not fully awake—Aster burst in with a water gun in each hand and started spraying me," at the moment Hiccup was laughing so hard that his face was flushing and his side was starting to hurt. Once he calmed down Jack continued, "Yeah, he got me good, but that's not even the worst part! He had slammed the door on me and while I was getting my pants back up he sprayed cooking spray on the floor—hardwood, mind you—and hid. When I came running out of the bathroom to go after him I slid and busted my ass."

Hiccup doubled over in laughter, letting go of Jack's hand in the process and grabbed at his sore belly. He could see Jack trying to chase after the older man while pulling his pants up and suddenly fall as if it happened right in front of him. He finally calmed down again and wiped away stray tears that had fallen in the process of laughing. Jack couldn't help but chortle as well. Hiccup's laugh was infectious and probably one of the cutest things he had ever heard. He shook those thoughts from his mind and continued, "You are a butthead for laughing," he said with faux anger before it disappeared into a smile, "Well, what made it better was as I lied on the ground, soaked and with a sore ass, Aster came out laughing at me and ended up slipping and falling himself. So, I guess that made it better."

Hiccup shook his head, still giggling a bit, "Well, that would indeed be memorable."

"Yeah, I was amazed North wasn't mad at us for nearly ruining his floors, but when he saw us he just stood there and laughed at us," he said with a small laugh, "anyways, my turn. Righty or lefty?"

"Lefty. You?"

"Righty," Jack replied, wigging the fingers on his right hand, "First kiss?"

Hiccup smiled, "Astrid in second grade. I kissed her one night while we were at her house after the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut decided we were doing to play Truth or Dare."

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut? You people and your weird names."

Hiccup nodded, "Their real names are Taren and Raquelle, but because we all go by nicknames—except Astrid—they go by Ruffnut and Tuffnut, or just Ruff and Tuff. Ruff was actually there when I sent Astrid your picture and she apparently fell in love with you."

Jack chuckled, "But Hiccup, I only have eyes for you, baby," he half-joked.

Hiccup laughed as well and began fanning himself, "Oh, Mr. Overland-Frost, I do believe you have me weak in the knees."

They continued to ask each other questions as they made their way down the pathway, every so often bumping shoulders with one another. As they reached the pond, Hiccup made a daring move and laced his hand back together with Jack's, who held his back, occasionally giving him a gentle squeeze. They didn't talk about it or what it meant, they just let it happen. For all Hiccup knew Jack could have thought he was just wanting comfort and contact with another person, which wasn't that much of a stretch, but it wasn't just anyone's contact he wanted, just Jack's.

Hiccup and Jack learned a lot about each other. Hiccup learned that Jack's last name was 'Overland-Frost' (his mother's maiden name was Frost) and she had apparently told his father she'd refuse to marry him if she couldn't keep her last name and they came up with a compromise and also that Jack didn't have a middle name. When Hiccup asked him why that was all he replied was, "Isn't Jackson Overland-Frost enough?"

Jack, in turn, learned a lot about Hiccup as well. He learned more about where he was from and how his mom was apparently one of the worst cooks and every year on his birthday he would wake up to the smell of burnt eggs and bacon from where she attempted to make him breakfast. He never turned the meal down though because he didn't want to hurt her feelings and would eat it anyways. Soon they started talking about how Hiccup's classes were going and how he was liking Burgess. Hiccup admitted he enjoyed his own space and the new scenery.

He told Jack about how he hated living in a small town where everyone knew everything. It was like the people knew things about you before you knew things about you. Burgess wasn't a huge city, but it was definitely bigger than Berk and the more people that surrounded you the more privacy you get because everyone is too engulfed in their problems to worry about yours as ironic as that may sound.

Eventually they made their way back to Hiccup's apartment and Jack walked him to the door, their hands finally parting after all that time, "Thank you, Jack. I really needed a day out."

Jack rolled his bi-colored eyes, "Hiccup, I swear I am going to sock you if you keep thanking me. I already told you that you were welcome, stop being so humble."

"You want me to not thank you?"

"No," he sighed, "but it makes me feel like you think this is an act of charity and that's not it. I am doing it because I want to."

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow, "Why?"

Jack was taken aback. He didn't know exactly how to answer that. Well, that's a lie, he did. He knew exactly why—it was because he liked Hiccup and he wanted to be around him as much as possible and he didn't like it when he was upset or sad. He averted his gaze, that wall over there suddenly became very interesting. He wasn't ready to let Hiccup know he liked him, hell, he just accepted it himself today.

He cleared his throat and peaked back over to his friend, his face suddenly feeling a lot warmer, "I, um, I just wanted to. I don't like seeing you sad and we are friends, it's what friends do, right?"

Hiccup seemed to accept his answer or at least decided not to question it further. The conversation lulled for a few moments before Jack finally spoke up again, "Well, I had fun today, but I suppose I'll let you get inside. I'll see you later," he said with a sad smile and turned to walk away, but was stopped when he felt Hiccup's skinny arms wrap around his center and his forehead press into the spot in between his shoulder blades.

Jack froze and looked down at the freckled hands that were resting on his belly, he didn't say anything at first, just rested his hands on top of Hiccup's. They stayed like that for a moment before Hiccup finally pulled away and Jack turned to meet his gaze, "I'm sorry," he said, just above a whisper, "I just really wasn't ready to see you go yet."

Jack was slightly stunned at what had just happened. He knew Hiccup had seemed to be craving contact today but he wasn't sure what it had meant. He wanted it to mean a little something more than friendship but he wasn't going to press his luck and ask. Instead he smiled and placed his hand on his shoulder, "Got any good movies?"

They both entered the apartment and unsurprisingly walked into a mess. Toothless must have once again grown bored while his human was out and decided to start knocking his homework and other papers off the counter. Hiccup groaned and begrudgingly picked them up. Jack found the naughty feline sitting on the back of the couch and sat down, allowing the cat to hop into his lap. He kicked off his shoes and stroked Toothless while Hiccup went to change, telling Jack where the movies were and to pick one.

He shooed Toothless out of his lap before going over to the large movie case that was in the corner of the room and began looking through them. It didn't surprise him at all to find a collection of Sci-Fi and Fantasy movies (Eragon, Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Labyrinth, and The Dark Crystal to name a few), but what did surprise him was his apparent love for Disney films (The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, and so on). Quite an impressive collection, he'd admit. There were also some independent films, a few romantic comedies and horror films too, some he had never heard of. After a while Hiccup returned dressed in his pajamas—a pair of black sweats and an oversized green shirt with a dragon on it—he looked incredibly adorable in Jack's opinion.

"You must have a thing for dragons," Jack teased.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, "Shut up," he sat Jack's hoodie on the back of the couch and joined him at the cabinet, "Find anything yet?"

Jack shrugged and held up a DVD case, "I was looking at this one. It sounds interesting. Is it any good?" Hiccup took the offered case and saw that Jack had picked the movie Triangle.

Hiccup nodded, "Yeah, it's about this women who goes out on a boat with her friends and after they are caught in a storm and pulled out further to sea, they find this seemingly abandoned ship and a bunch of crazy shit starts happening."

Jack beamed his pearly whites, "Triangle it is then!"

Jack jumped back onto the couch while Hiccup popped the movie in and grabbed a large blanket for them. He got them some drinks and shut off the lights, finally joining his friend on the couch, pulling the blanket over them both. Hiccup sat in the middle of the couch and Jack sat, legs almost to his chest, on the right side with his back to the arm. It wasn't even ten minutes into the movie that Jack wiggled his toes under Hiccup's butt causing him to jump a little before scooching away some.

Jack laughed, "You're warm and my feet are cold," he stated simply.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "We have a blanket, you dork." He tugged at the blanket that rested over them.

"Your butt is warmer," he piped while wiggling his toes under Hiccup's butt again, this time he didn't move.

The movie went on and Jack was surprisingly quiet throughout it so far. Hiccup would have sworn Jack was the type to not shut up during a movie, but he sat there and stared at the screen before them, only occasionally would Hiccup catch those beautiful bi-colored eyes glancing over at him and even then their gaze didn't hold for long before turning back to the TV. Toothless ended up joining them and snuggled into Hiccup's lap, where he was given gentle strokes down the length of his body.

What Hiccup didn't know was Jack was barely devoting any of his attention to the movie. He watched bits and pieces and was getting the gist of the story, but at the same time he was a bit lost. In fact if Hiccup were to question him about the plot he would have failed miserably at trying to explain what had happened thus far. All he knew was there was some chick and her buddies that got caught in a storm while on a boat and then said boat was—was it flipped or something?—anyways, now they are on this seemingly abandoned ship and there was a someone chasing and shooting at them.

That was pretty much all he had gathered before his mind started to wander. It wasn't like he wasn't happy that Hiccup wanted him to stay, but he couldn't help but think about how their day—well evening—had gone. Hiccup had been acting a bit strange, but it was a no brainer why that was, however that wasn't what was bothering Jack. What bothered Jack about this was, despite his friend being a bit clingy (which he didn't mind) and a little nervous, was the fact that he seemed a bit too calm overall. Jack was no fool and he knew something had happened to his friend, but even still it was almost unsettling how calm he was acting. It was a gut feeling he just couldn't shake. Oh god he was starting to sound like North.

He knew that just because something had happened didn't mean that Hiccup couldn't still feel joy and could no longer laugh, but something was a bit off. He was now acting like it had never happened or like he was no longer bothered by it. He didn't even bother locking his front door when they came in, Jack was the one to do it, and he didn't seem to have a problem with going out, even if he was with someone and not constantly looking over his shoulder like one would expect a person who had the victim of some kind of assault.

Jack figured he could also be looking too far into it and just examining it as how he would have probably reacted to such a thing. Jack wouldn't lie to himself and say he wouldn't be bothered after being beat up by, most likely (he figured), a random stranger. He knew he would try and fight whoever off, but he also knew that his faith in people, in general, would definitely be shaken. He probably wouldn't want to be alone. He would most likely stay with Aster or North. He wouldn't want to really go out and he knew he would be paranoid. Like who wouldn't?

'Stop thinking about it too much, Jack, maybe he is trying to forget and move on,' his mind echoed in his head, almost hushed as if Hiccup could hear it if he were too loud, 'You are not the same person and people react differently to various situations.'

Jack's attention turned him back to Hiccup as he left him shifting his position, probably trying to get comfortable, and ended up resting sideways against Jack's propped up legs, resting his forearm on his knees. The two-toned haired men gave a gentle smile at his friend, not minding the weight against his legs. He could see Hiccup's eyes flick over to him for a moment as if seeing if he minded the new position and when he saw there was no bother, his turned back to the movie.

They watched in silence, Jack eventually leaning further into the couch's cushioned arm. He had to admit that Hiccup did indeed own a very comfortable couch. He let the plot once again catch his interest even though at this point he had no idea what was going on. He figured he didn't miss much time wise, but he did miss some key elements to the story. Oh well, any noise was better then what was going on inside his own head.

For a brief moment Toothless catches his eye as he hops from Hiccup's slanted lap, probably from no longer being comfortable, and prances off somewhere into the darkened apartment. He turned back to the movie and watched in silence, trying to absorb the plot line. It seemed like hours had passed, but it was probably thirty minutes tops that the movie was over. He felt the need to stand and stretch the stiffness out of his legs, but when he turned to say something to Hiccup all he could see was the top of his head that was now resting on his propped arm.

Sometime during the deration on the movie his friend had fallen asleep. Maybe Jack had been wrong about Hiccup being too calm about all of this. When was the last time he had actually slept decently? Or slept at all? He did seem a bit lethargic (maybe a tad sluggish), among other things, when he first arrived, but he seemed to thrive fine while they were out. Maybe Jack was right when he told Astrid that Hiccup needed a familiar face around and maybe Astrid, too, was right to say he was that familiar face Hiccup needed.

From his awkward view he could see his shoulders moving ever so slightly with each even breath he took. He was out and sleeping deeply. Maybe Jack could move him enough to allow him to lie down on the couch without waking him. What if he did wake him? Jack would feel terrible if he woke him and he hadn't been sleeping these past few days.

He thought for a moment and figured the best way to do it would be to place his arms under Hiccup's and hold him up while quickly sliding out and then ease him downas slowly as he possibly could without—well, that won't work now. Hiccup mumbled incoherent syllables as he shifted around and turned some to where his back was pressing more against Jack's legs than his side. Well, it might work actually, but Jack, by this time had already made up his mind that he didn't mind Hiccup laying on him. If he were being honest this was something he was hoping for. He didn't want to leave after all. He was sure Hiccup wouldn't mind him crashing for the night; he did ask him to stay after all and it was pretty late now that the movie was over at least that's what Jack kept telling himself.

So instead of finding a way to get out from under his friend, he decided figure out a way to at least stretch out his legs. He pushed up some from the couch arm, careful not to jostle his friend around too much, and held onto him as he slowly moved his legs apart and lowered Hiccup back between them to where his head was now resting on his chest. Hiccup groaned and his bleary eyes opened half way and looked inquisitively at Jack, who sat frozen for a moment. He wanted to ask Hiccup if this was alright. He wanted to explain to him that he wasn't trying to do anything funny and was just trying to get more comfortable since he wasn't able to get up (not that he'd admit he didn't really want to).

Jack gave a weak smile that was laced with a bit of guilt from waking him, but that soon washed away when Hiccup's eyes closed and he flopped a noodle arm lazily over Jack's abdomen, snuggling up into the crook of his neck. Jack let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and began to relax his suddenly tensed shoulders. He stretched out his legs on either side of Hiccup, joints popping as he did so, and laid back against the couch arm, pulling the large blanket over them and casted his eyes to the darkened ceiling that reflected the blue hue that was cast from the TV's auxiliary station after the DVD player turned off automatically after running through the main menu screen twice.

It was in that moment that Jack's mind began to wander again as he laid awkwardly under Hiccup. For what seemed like ever he had been mulling over the fear he had of his friend rejecting him for having feelings for him that he never took the moment to think of what kind of relationship he could possibly have if he didn't. What if Hiccup did like him back and they could have something and what would that be like? He had never had a girlfriend last longer than a few months so something long term was foreign to him. Would it be like this? Feeling safe and needed by each other?

Jack's chest felt tight. He looked down at Hiccup, who was breathing soundlessly through his nose, his breath tickling Jack's neck but not enough to be bothersome. He reached down and laced their fingers together pulling the limp arm up enough to place a gentle kiss on his exposed knuckles before resting their hands on his chest.

He could get used to this. He could.

He couldn't form the words to describe how he was feeling at the moment but he knew the more time he spent like this the more he realized that he's got it bad. He really liked Hiccup and though he had accepted it, he still hadn't been ready to admit it openly. Even with Aster knowing since he walked into his house at the "perfect time", he still wasn't willing to repeat it to him. Even if he did admit it how the hell would he take the next step? This wasn't high school and he couldn't hand him a stupid note that read "Will you be my Boyfriend? Circle 'Yes' or 'No'."

Maybe he could just take it slow and just let whatever happens just…happen. He brushed Hiccup's bangs out of his face and gently combed his hair with his fingers. His hair was really soft. He tucked a stubborn piece behind his ear and just watched him sleep. If this were any other situation Jack would have thought he was being a bit creepy, and maybe to a point he was, but what else was he supposed to do? He couldn't reach the remote to the TV and Hiccup obviously didn't mind him being there or hold hands with him since they had earlier that day. So, Jack didn't let this bother him.

He didn't want risk waking him by messing with his really soft hair that was asking to be played with so he laid his arm over his friend's shoulder. He kept their fingers laced and began to gently run the pad of his thumb over Hiccup's knuckle, just above the bandage, soothingly. He figured if he could keep his friend calm enough to get a good night's rest than he didn't mind being a body pillow for Hiccup to snuggle into. He wanted to help him as much as he could, crush or not, he hated seeing him upset, maybe it was the Big Brother in him, but he felt the need to protect him as much as he possibly could.

Hiccup was beautiful. A precious gem and he never wanted to see him shatter or damaged. He wanted to be there for him in any way he could. He knew that he hadn't known him long and he had fallen for him pretty fast, but even if they remained friends and nothing more, he wanted to be near him. Jack pulled Hiccup closer to him and placed a small peck on the top of his head. He could feel Hiccup stir a little and he began tracing small designs lightly against his back and shoulders to calm him.

His fingers began fan out as his fingertips rubs to the middle of his back and over Hiccup's ribcage, feeling all the contours of his back and side, earning a mumbled noise from his friend. Jack gave a small smile before returning his hand to Hiccup's lean shoulder where it remain, not to disturb his friend more.

Yeah, he could definitely get used to this.

Hope you enjoyed the fluff as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you have any suggestions for fluff or maybe something you wouldn't mind seeing happen please review and let me know.

Until next time!