Well, I never thought I'd be posting something here again…but…blame FrostCup.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a laptop and certain plot elements.

Ages: Jack – 18 (in appearance), Hiccup – 15, Jamie and his friends – 9

The snow drifted lazily onto the scene of dimming skies and white-blanketed neighborhoods; a classic atmosphere of nostalgia weighed heavily onto the onlooker. Green eyes traced a flock of wayward snowflakes as they skittered with unusual zeal, picking up momentum from the wind. He then caught sight of his young charge playing in the snow outside, excitedly chatting about with his friends, their voices stirring enthusiasm at the prospect of a snow day.

The boy blinked, allowing an inkling of hope to well up in his chest, then shook his head. It would be a little too lucky of him for the snow to suddenly comply with his wishes…it was off to school first thing in the morning then.

His first day in Thaddeus High.*

Hamish "Hiccup" Haddock III groaned at the prospect. Now, it wasn't that Hiccup detested school…no, in fact he was an excellent student. Sure, he had a bit of a tendency for his mind to wander to other things and interpret the world in his own way, but he still scored high marks in his studies. It was just that this was going to be his first official day in a new school, in a new town, in a new country. Moving from his hometown in Berk certainly brought some…mixed feelings with him and his father, but he knew it was for the best.

They packed their bags and settled into an American suburb in Burgess within a week's notice. The town was not at all the same as the speck of land smack dab in the Meridian of Misery (as he calls it); as far as he could feel, the winters weren't as fatally-freezing as the little island, and the people were kind and amiable, especially the Haddock's neighbors—the Bennetts— in sharp contrast to the majority of Berk's tough and tasteless citizens. No, as far as Hiccup was concerned, this place was pretty okay.

Definitely different, but okay.

…And not just because of the new change in scenery and the change in pace; there was something else…

A round of gasps followed by squeals of delight broke through the small compare- and-contrast session in Hiccup's mind.

The boy peered out the kitchen window, eyes widening at the sight of the rather impressive and towering snowman in the middle of the backyard surrounded by Jamie and Sophie as well as the other neighborhood kids.

"Huh…well that escalated quickly…" he murmured with amusement. A thought occurred to him as to how so much snow built up to make the seven-foot snow-creature in the first place, but he shrugged off the thought; he really did daydream too often for his own good. He'd have to be careful though. He can't be so irresponsible now that he claimed the role as the Bennetts' new babysitter.

With that in mind, he decided to take a step out into the cool, crisp air and praise the kids in their remarkable efforts…and to keep a closer eye on them.

.

"Jack!"

The ice-spirit chuckled as the kids crowded around him, bubbling with eagerness at seeing the Winter Guardian once more. While it was great traveling around and finally knowing who he is and his purpose, it was great to be back home in Burgess and seeing his first believers again.

Plus, it was pretty sweet being able to make flashy entrances like that…and getting due credit for it. After all, one does not simply create the paradigm of snowman in all of snowman history out of thin air like that. Much less stand on its head as well.

Unless you were Jack Frost of course.

"Hey kiddos!" He swung his staff over his shoulder, a grin on his lips as he looked to each child's eyes—glimmering with anticipation. "Well since I'm here, you know what that means—"

"SNOW DAY!" the kids shrieked in unison.

It was a bit ear-splitting, but Jack could never get tired of hearing that and knowing that he brought joy and fun into children's lives. He stopped that train of thought right there, though; there's no way he'd get all mushy about this again. Jack leaped down onto the plush, cold, white earth to join the kids in their games. For now, he'll enjoy bringing Burgess a little belated Christmas gift:

An extended Winter Break.

Jack felt a small tug at his jacket and turned to an ecstatic Jamie, looking absolutely thrilled to tell him something. Jack raised a brow in amusement before finally relenting. "Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to—"

"Jack, guess what!" The boy seemed ready to explode from anticipation.

He snickered. "I dunno Jamie, wha—"

"Jamie's got a new babysitter!" Pippa interjected. "Just moved here last week!"

'Hm…well…didn't see that one coming' Jack mused. "Oh reall—"

"Yeah, he's from Europe!" Monty explained. "From Berk to be exact and he's really—"

"Cool…" Cupcake sighed.

There was a break of silence.

She glared. "What?"

"Uh…well he's pretty cool, I guess." Caleb shifted away from the girl and towards his brother.

"Yeah, but he is kinda dorky too," Claude remarked. "He is nice though…way better than your last babysitter."

The troupe shivered at what appeared to be a rather traumatizing time in their young lives.

"Okay…?" Smile never leaving his face, he turned to the house and caught sight of a figure by the window. His eyes narrowed as the silhouette shifted, as if broken from a trance, or as though he had seen something…or knew he was being watched. Jack's curiosity was piqued; he hadn't seen the kids this excited since the first time they met all the Guardians. "And just what is Mr. Babysitter's name?"

"H'cup." Sophie, shyly peeking out from behind Jamie, tottered over to the winter sprite.

At that, Jack had to chortle. "Hiccup?" He patted the girl's head affectionately. "What kind of name is that?"

"Well, his real name's Hamish, but he said that everyone called him Hiccup in his hometown," Jamie explained. "He said something about Viking tradition. He's great! You should meet him, Jack!"

'Well this guy just keeps on getting more and more interesting...' Jack turned his attention to the door, his smile twisting to a devious grin as he swung his staff in his hands. "Viking, huh…well, is Mr. Big, Strong Viking scared of a little snow or something?"

"Not…exactly," Monty quipped.

"On both parts of that sentence," the twins mumbled.

"He got a phone call from his dad a while back," Pippa clarified. "He'll probably join us soon."

Jack made a sound of acknowledgment as his eyes narrowed to the turning of the door. 'Oh, this'll be good...' "Let's see just how cool he is."

Jamie didn't quite like the mischievous look in the Guardian's eyes. It usually meant a power outage or a miniature avalanche in his own backyard. "Uh Jack…what're you doing?"

"Oh, just having a little…" When the door opened, an icy blast of air and a flurry of flakes surged towards the unsuspecting victim. "…fun."

In all honesty, Jack was just wanted to test the waters with this guy, to see how much fun he could have with him. A prank isn't a prank if he doesn't get the right reaction, after all. It wasn't like he knew that the guy would just walk out of the house with just a light sweater and a vest on in early January. So he did feel slightly guilty…

That is, until Hiccup seemed to completely ignore the sheer cold torrent of wind that would have normally sent an ordinary person off scurrying to the nearest heat source. Instead, the babysitter smiled and waved at the group, completely oblivious and unfazed by the previous onslaught.

"Hey guys!"

Jack didn't know whether to be relieved, impressed, or put out. Well, at least it means this Hiccup can play in the snow without much problem.

"Hiccup! Aren't you cold in just…that?" Jack tried to ignore the discreet nudge sent to him by Jamie as the boy innocently inquired the teen, gesturing to his attire.

"Hm? Nah, the cold doesn't usually bother me." Jack was about to roll his eyes in slight annoyance…until he actually looked at the other boy.

Jack wasn't one to wax poetry and wouldn't waste his breath on superfluous clichés about someone's hair or eyes…

(like the boy's auburn hair that seemed to glow red under the snow-light at early dusk, or his eyes, a shade of viridian richer than any he'd ever seen, or the miniature constellation of freckles that dotted across his cheeks…)

But he had to admit…"Hiccup" was damn cute.

"Having lived in Berk has its perks…snowing for nine months and hailing the other three kinda makes this weather seem a bit more tame than what I'm used to." Vivid green eyes seemed to meet Jack's for a second and the winter spirit swore his heart skipped a beat. "But still ample enough snow to make an awesome snowman, I see."

Jack tried not to seem crestfallen—because he wasn't. He was used to others seeing right through him and though he had gained a few more believers, there were still a lot more people that the newest Guardian remained invisible to.

Jack was, however, a little astonished when instead of phasing right through him, Hiccup instead hesitantly sidestepped the Guardian and approached the frost-monument.

He whistled lowly, even more impressed up-close. "You all made this by yourselves?"

"We, uh, had help," Jamie answered evasively.

Hiccup snickered. "Got ol' Jökul Frosti to pitch in, huh?"

Jack felt his heart lurch. "What?"

"What?" the kids parroted, each exchanging nervous glances.

"Jökul Frosti? You know…Harbinger of Winter, nature spirit, embodiment of ice and cold?" Hiccup cocked his head. "In English and, er, more modern versions, he goes by the name Jack Frost."

The Guardian's jaw dropped.

"Jack!" Sophie gleefully recognized.

Jamie, from the corner of his eye, could see Jack openly gawking at Hiccup. Sometimes invisibility did have its perks…"Oh yeah! We know about him. H-how'd you know about Jack?"

Hiccup smiled softly, a visage of happiness flawed by an unnamed emotion in his eyes. "Oh, Viking tradition. I heard stories about him all the time when I was young because of how cold it was back in Berk. My mom used to warn me about the whole 'nipping at your nose thing.'"

Jack tried not to seem offended when Jamie and his friends giggled.

"Wait, so…Jokul Frosti?" Monty awkwardly pronounced.

The teen nodded. "Jökul Frosti." Jack ignored the way his face heated up at the sound of such a foreign yet familiar name spill from the boy's lips. "In Old Norse, his name means 'Icicle Frost'…and apparently, he liked to cause a lot of trouble for a lot of people, mostly for fun."

Again, Jack tried not to seem too offended when the group laughed; the teen was, after all, right on target.

Pippa, still grinning, couldn't help but to ask: "Sounds like you know a lot about him…ever wished you could meet him?"

(Jack would then later on come to deny that he chocked upon hearing that.)

"Oh definitely," Hiccup drawled. "I'd like to personally thank him for all the times I've slipped and fell on my butt from the ice and the mounds of snow I've been buried in after walking outside for five minutes at Berk." Smirking, Hiccup continued. "But actually, yeah. It might be cool to meet the legendary personification of winter and youthful folly."

The children smiled, tentative and covert, and Hiccup can't help but feel like he was left out of some inside joke.

Moments later, they all insisted on playing for at least another hour before heading back inside, dispelling the fluttering unease in the air. For now, spheres of frost were catapulted through the air as vivacious youths engaged in icy-warfare as the babysitter fled from the siege.

And during this, Jack leaned against his staff, replaying Hiccup's words in his head. "Well, there's something you don't hear everyday," Jack murmured. This Hiccup knows exactly who he is from legend and doesn't seem to be lying to the kids about wanting to believe. And he still can't see Jack? The sensible part of him (and yes, it exists!) guesses that Hiccup probably doesn't believe in him at all and only said that to placate the children. That was something Jack was used to hearing, especially from parents. Yet there was another part of Jack, a stubbornly insistent faction in his brain, telling him that there's more to it than that.

It was only when Hiccup inadvertently held Jack's gaze again when the teen took cover behind Jack's newfound creation as the kids ran amuck that Jack ultimately opted for the latter theory.

There was something definitely interesting about this kid.

…And no, it definitely isn't just the fact that Jack finds Hiccup slightly attractive.

*= the town Burgess was named after its founder, Thaddeus Burgess. In all honesty, I didn't want to name the high school "Burgess High."

There will be some more things explained in the later chapters…if there are any later chapters.

-posts, runs, hides- Sorry if it sucks. I haven't done this in a long time.