Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I've been meaning to bring this AU to a close. In the last few years, I've been dragging my feet with the plot threads, and always hoping to give them a satisfying end. Here, with this story, I want to push everyone to their limits. While I'm not sure if this is the end, I hope you enjoy it!

It's been a minute. Here's your primer in case it has been awhile since you read the others

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III: the main protagonist of these fics, Likes to build models and draw, Wrestler parents, lost part of his leg in a car accident, dating Jack, currently in college with his friends

Jackson "Jack Frost" Overland St.North : From a broken home, adopted by Nicholas who owns the department store, younger sibling Sophie lives nearby but doesn't remember him, played keyboard in a band with Jim Hawkins

Rapunzel Corona: Kidnapped at a young age and raised by Gothel, rescued from abusive lifestyle by her friends, loves crafting and singing, previously had a crush on Hiccup, currently seeing Eugene

Merida Dunbroch: Heiress of the Dunbroch Hotel company, played Lacrosse with Jack in High School, dating Jim Hawkins

Jim Hawkins: Good at computers, helped Hiccup and co rescue Rapunzel, currently dating Merida, enlisted in the NAVY,

for a 3 year contract in exchange for tuition, about to ship out

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Prologue (side A): Seaside with Hiccup

Hiccup watched from his spot at the end of Rapunzel's bed as she checked the camera one more time before taking a few steps backward and sitting next to him. The red light was on, and their mirror image on the left side of her computer screen indicated that it was indeed recording. "Good morning everyone, and welcome back to our little crafting corner!" Rapunzel's smile was radiant as she clasped her hands together. "As you can see we don't have a table or any supplies out. This is just an update." She glanced to the side at Hiccup, who nodded.

"That's right." His delivery was slightly more relaxed than hers. Despite appearing in several dozen videos with her at this point, Hiccup could never keep up the same cheery persona that Rapunzel exuded for My Little Crafting Corner, the web show she had begun filming last year. Crafting Corner had begun as a way to take Rapunzel's mind off things between classes. With Hiccup's assistance, she had been working on different creations every week, and after a surprising spike in viewership, her little hobby was growing into a part-time job.

"Like we mentioned last time, there won't be any crafts until next week-so not this week, but NEXT week." He laughed nervously and Rapunzel patted his hand.

"Forgive him." She said, looking into the camera. "He's tired."

They both laughed for a moment as tired was an understatement. After a short television appearance nearly two years prior, Rapunzel had managed to land a recording contract and released a single the previous year. The song was a minor hit, sending Rapunzel to three different states just to perform it at different television stations. Frightened but willing, Rapunzel dragged Hiccup along for her media based adventures. Between the crafting channel, Rapunzel's public appearances, classes, and dodging the local press, it was a wonder that the two achieved any studying at all.

"Contrary to what you've all been saying in the comments, we're NOT running away to get married." Hiccup rubbed his temples with one hand. He didn't know what was weirder, the fact that he now spent a significant portion of his week playing roadhand, bodyguard, and co-star for his best friend, or the fact that a rabid fanbase of strangers kept insisting that 'Hiccunzel' was a THING. It reminded him of when he was sixteen. Rapunzel had a crush on him then, something that still confused him to this day.

What had been so alluring about Highschool aged, gangly, dragon scribbling, acne and freckle covered Hiccup? As far as he was concerned, he was a dork. He knew of course if he ever said so out loud, either Rapunzel or Jack would quickly come to the defense of his much younger, smaller self.

To this day Jack would still wax poetic over the difference in height they had once had. 'Oh Hiccup, how I miss putting my elbows on your head.' Jack had even said so in one of Rapunzel's videos when he appeared momentarily towards the end of a crochet tutorial. His sudden appearance had caused feverish demand for a return, and the ship Jackunzel was born overnight. Jack appeared again, this time to decorate a 'winter wonderland' made mostly of cotton and cardboard while pretending to flirt with both Rapunzel and Hiccup and calling himself the 'third wheel to end all third wheels'.

Hiccup dismissed all thoughts of his boyfriend, getting back to the task at hand.

"We aren't flying off to Vegas." Hiccup continued. "We just seriously need a break." He looked at Rapunzel. "But if you want to see more of us just keep an eye on Rapunzel's tweets, stories, and posts...I'm sure you'll get to see our whole vacation."

Rapunzel hit his arm playfully, something she had adapted from a few years of being in Merida's company. "Oh my gosh, You make it sound like I can't put my phone down!"

Hiccup shrugged. "Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but you do like to share, which will probably have something to do with our next episode."

"Oh, that's right!" Rapunzel nodded. "Next week is all about alternative scrapbooking. If you're like me, you probably take tons of photos. There are a ton of fun ways to store your memories and we'll be exploring some of them. Sorry this video is so short guys." She gave a sympathetic smile. "We'll be back soon, I promise."

After they said their goodbyes, Hiccup walked over to the camera and stopped the recording.

"That should be enough."

Hiccup stared at the screen as Rapunzel flopped backward on to her bed.

"I don't know how I'm gonna do this. " Rapunzel closed her eyes. Her side of the room was full of supplies, glitter, and finished projects."When we graduate, I don't know if I'll be able to run this myself. Whenever we're apart, the comment section gets all weird."

Hiccup remained at the computer, watching the footage they recorded. "I'm telling you, stop reading the comments section. It's a scary place, and it tests the limits of my sanity."

Rapunzel sat up. "But sometimes people have real questions. I can't ignore them."

"No." Hiccup sighed. "But you can't answer them all either. You just hit 30,000 subscribers. Sure, it's not a million, but it's still a lot of people. As for the few that actually watch for the arts and crafts, I think they'll understand."

Rapunzel's hands went to her hair. It was shorter than she had worn it before, stopping just below her shoulder blades. Her fretting over her channel was a clear sign to Hiccup that they needed to get away from it.

Once he was satisfied with the short video's quality, he got to editing, assuring Rapunzel repeatedly. The channel was fine. The show was fine.

She was going to be fine.

He had decided long ago that Rapunzel had nothing to worry about. It seemed these days, everyone was talking about the 'future' as if it was some unknown entity that lurked nearby. But unlike many, he didn't fear this inevitable beast. He supposed that was unfair. After all, not everyone had a job lined up after college, or was finishing their degree on time, or had decided on their chosen career. He believed he was one of the very fortunate few to have no questions or MU he would return to Burgess and work at his father's gym for the time being. When he wasn't working, he would try to work on his art, maybe study techniques somewhere. North had already agreed to let him help with window displays given the success of his first. And he would be fine with that.

He was fine. Everything would be fine.

After adding the right background music, some light editing, and uploading their vlog of the week, Hiccup left Rapunzel's dorm.

He found Jack in his dorm room, fast asleep despite it being after ten a.m.

"Hey." He shook Jack several times.

Jack's response was to immediately turn over, mumbling something about pancakes.

"I don't even have classss. Let me sleep." He rolled back over and looked up at Hiccup. "Or better yet, join me. You look like you could use a nap."

"I might." Hiccup paused. "It depends."

"On what?" Jack squinted at him.

"Did you finish packing?"

Jack's eyes widened suddenly, and Hiccup had the answer to his question.

He glanced to the side, avoiding Hiccup's eyes. "You know, I didn't…'not' pack."

Hiccup looked up at the ceiling. 'Gods in Asgard.' He took a deep breath. "Get up."

Jack possessively held on to his pillow. "But we still have a few hours-"

"Jackson Overland so help me I will smother you to death-"

"Ah, I'm up, I'm up." Jack dragged himself into a sitting position. "For the record, I started packing, but I didn't exactly finish."

Hiccup glanced around. As it was their final year, many of Jack's belongings had been packed up and sent back home. Laziness had caused him to leave his possessions packed away in the closet. As Hiccup helped Jack unpack and then repack, his mind went back to Rapunzel. Maybe doing the show alone really was too much for her.

"Hic?"

"Hm?"

"You folded that shirt three times." Jack took the t-shirt from Hiccup's hands. "I can pack for myself thanks. You obviously have something else on your mind."

"Oh, yeah." Hiccup took a seat on the bed. "A few things on mind actually. Like, shouldn't the son of a department store owner, someone who has been working in that same department store for years, be way more efficient at folding clothes?"

"I don't wanna hear that sass from you." Jack reached for a pair of pants. "By that logic, you should be a pro wrestler by now."

"With these arms?"

"That excuse doesn't work anymore." Jack tucked his clothing into a large backpack. "I've seen you bench press twice your weight, so yes, those arms. And oh look, the packing is done."

Hiccup stared at the backpack. "You sure?"

Jack's smugness waned. "Yeah…?"

"Are you sure you're not forgetting something?"

"Like…?"

"Maybe several somethings?"

"Well gee, now I'm not sure of anything. Fill me in."

Hiccup kept his voice at a sarcastic tone. "Like you know...socks, and underwear?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's hotter there, like 80 degrees out! Why do I need socks!?"

"Because you have frozen feet. If you touch me with those, I will kick you out of bed."

Jack looked mortally wounded. "You're not serious."

Hiccup shook his head. "I have woken up far too many mornings to your cold bony body touching me. I don't care of you wear flip flops the whole time, but we both know the hotel room is always cold in the morning. I demand warm feet."

Jack nodded his head solemnly. "It shall be done, you have my word. But in exchange, I would like to be able to waste my money on room service and not be judged."

"That can be arranged."

Jack sat next to him on the bed. "While we have negotiation channels open, what are the stipulations required for digging out the hotplate to make breakfast?"

"Negotiation channels? You're making me feel like a dictator."

Jack glanced off to the side. "Well…"

"Or wait, am I a tyrant instead?"

Jack looked off to the side, his usual mischievous grin in place. "No way~"

"Consider yourself liberated then." Hiccup crossed his arms. "I'm leaving."

Before he could get up, Jack wrapped his arms around Hiccup, dragging him down."No, wait! I don't wanna be liberated! I just want breakfast!"

Hiccup glanced to the side as Jack spooned him. That month of confusion and fear seemed like a half-forgotten nightmare, a figment of his imagination. He never did learn what exactly Heather did and did not do, or why Dagur did any of it at all. But with a University board to fight with, and a bunch of friends to look after, Hiccup didn't put much thought towards Dagur's actions.

"Okay then. And what does my captive want for breakfast?"

Jack released his grip, and Hiccup rolled onto his back. Jack pinned him in place, his hands on either side of Hiccup's shoulders. "You."

Just a few hours later Jack was singing a different tune.

"I'm starving!" Low on energy, he leaned on Hiccup's shoulder for support as they walked towards the car. It was finally time to depart for Miami. In order to get there from MU, they would be driving two hours to the closest airport, then flying to Florida.

"That's what happens when you choose sex over sustenance." Hiccup replied.

Merida bumped past them, her duffle bag hitting Jack. "What's the matter Frost? Yer lookin' a wee bit green."

Jack maintained his hold on Hiccup's arm, his chin resting on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I need fooooood!" He whined.

"Do you have anything in your bag, Merida?" Hiccup asked, patting his head.

Merida dropped the duffle onto the pavement in front of the SUV. "Ach, y'had all day to eat. Y'hafta stop babying him, Heccup."

"I do not baby him!"

Merida crossed her arms and leaned against the car. "I've known you two fer years now Haddock. Y'don't have to lie to me. I've watched y'put him to bed fer heaven's sake."

"Guys~" Rapunzel ran towards them, a huge backpack on her back. She tripped over a small crack in the pavement and Jack ran to catch her.

"Whoa there Goldie!" Jack steadied her.

Merida leaned forward. "Y'alright Punzie? What's with that sack? Y'look like yer movin' out."

"Sorry guys, I'm okay." She raked a hand through her hair and laughed nervously.

Hiccup stared at her. Despite all the things that had happened to her, she had maintained her sincerity, kindness-and clumsiness. Suddenly the thought of letting her out of his sight again seemed frightening.

Jim came bounding down the brick steps next, light on his feet. His long bangs had been cut, and the ponytail he'd maintained for years had been chopped off. Hiccup had noticed his attire was becoming less relaxed and more conservative as of late. However, today he wore a crisp grey t-shirt and pressed jeans. He still wore his beaten up boots, so he at least appeared laid back. "Gang's all here." Jim swept his bangs back with one hand, the other already digging the car key out of his pocket.

Rapunzel gave out a deflated, "Yeah." When the trip plans were initially conceived, her boyfriend-Eugene Fitzherbert was coming along. However, their relationship had become strained in recent months, giving her friends conflicting opinions. For the sake of keeping things civil, Eugene was sitting this one out.

Jim and Hiccup shared a glance as Jim pulled out the car keys.

At the ping of the lock, Merida opened the back of the SUV and outstretched her hand. "Pass me yer bag, Punzie."

Rapunzel shrugged off her backpack. Merida hefted the heavy sack into the car, then took Hiccup, Jack's, and her own belongings as well.

As Jim got into the driver seat, Jack made a dash for the passenger side. "Shotgun!"

"Ach, no you don't!" Merida practically tackled him and the two laughed.

Hiccup shook his head at them before sliding into the backseat with Rapunzel.

After hitting Jack with the door, Merida looked back at them from the passenger seat.

Jack appeared at the door next to Hiccup, rubbing his chin but looking amused.

"Okay." Rapunzel held up her camera."Ready to make some memories?"

She was met with a car full of smiles.

After a ride of full radio karaoke and excited chatter, they arrived at the airport.

As they stood online for the initial metal detector, Jack leaned his chin on Hiccup's shoulder.

"What do you think Hic?" He wore an evil grin. "Should I cartwheel through the detector?"

Hiccup had a deadpan expression. "Not if you want to actually want to make it to Miami."

Rapunzel stood in front of them, already taking a selfie. Jack angled his face into the shot.

"I heard that." Merida glanced back at them before putting her belongings on the conveyor belt. "Keep yer kid in line Heccup."

Jim chuckled. A few years earlier he would have considered doing a cartwheel himself. When did he become so responsible?

Merida glanced up at Jim, she could see a glimmer in his eyes."Don't get any Ideas." She frowned back at Jack. "See? Yer a bad influence."

Once they moved away from the metal detectors, their pace picked terminal was filled with people coming and going, dragging luggage in every direction. After moving from area to area and line to line, the group was finally given a moment to rest. Lining up for the flight had yet to begin, so they sat together, watching planes taxi on the mat just beyond a large window.

With time to spare, Hiccup's eyes wandered to the wide hallway across from their seating.

"I'm gonna go use the bathroom." Hiccup announced, before standing up and walking off.

He was only a few steps away when a sun-kissed shoulder bumped into his. He looked to the side to see Merida falling into step with him.

"Y'don't fool me Haddock." She slipped her hands into her shorts. "Yer going to find something for Jack t'eat, aren't you?"

"Guilty." Hiccup shrugged as they stopped at a Grub2Go cart.

Hiccup's eyes raked over the various snacks.

"Can y'believe we're almost outta school?" Merida asked. "Four years of college gone in a flash!" Her eyes trailed over to departure times and gates of flights rotated on screen. Instead of amusement, her face held a look of sadness.

"Yeah…" Hiccup looked away from the snacks.

"It went by too quickly." Merida sighed. "I feel like I wasted it."

Hiccup was silent. Their college years weren't the only thing coming to an end. Just as Rapunzel would be going away, Merida was likely headed back home.

"I wish I had more time."

"With Jim?" Hiccup asked.

Merida looked away from the screen.

"Gods yes. But I wish...I wish I had more with him away from school, time to go all the places we wanted to see, all the getaways we planned."

She finished her phone from her pocket. "We had planned to do so much. And now there's barely any time left. I just wish we could be free."

Hiccup didn't have a response to that. He didn't know what he would do if Jack left his sight for several years.

"And I mean free in more than one sense." She scrolled through a set of messages. "My Mum wants us t'get married before Jim leaves." She stared at him, wide-eyed. "Married, Heccup! Married! Just a moment ago she was treating me like a wee thing, and now she wants to plan a weddin'! I might go mad! I'm barely an adult, I feel like I've been asleep fer the past six years!"

Hiccup blinked. His Merida, the same Merida who thumb wrestled for the last french fry, the Merida who once found her lost USB stick in her hair, who once confided in him that Voldemort gave her nightmares was supposedly getting married?

"I'm sorry." Was the only response Hiccup could come up with.

"I know." Merida stretched. "I'm just knackered." She ruffled her hair. "Let's just go have some fun in Miami, yeah?"
"Yeah…"

After acquiring snacks they went back to the seating area. Jack abandoned the backpack he had been cradling when he saw them.

"Have I ever told you guys that you're amazing?" He beamed.

"Don't give him his food just yet Haddock, I wanna squeeze more praise out of him." Merida smirked before sitting on Jim's lap.

"Don't listen to her." Jack reached for the bag. "She can't think under all that hair."

Merida moved to kick him, Rapunzel laughed, and Jack hopped up out of his seat. Merida chased him down the hall and Jim shook his head at them.

"You'll never catch me Red!"

"Com'ere Frost!"

Hiccup watched them, still thinking about what Merida had said. Time had passed in the blink of an eye. They wouldn't have moments like these much longer.

Would Merida be alright back home? Surely she could call or visit from time to time.

Right?

"Come on guys!" Rapunzel called. "It's time to line up!"

Isolated from the others during the flight, Hiccup didn't know what to make of Merida or Rapunzel's predicaments. The lack of control was frustrating.

After what felt like an eternity of pondering, Hiccup heard the pilot announcing the end of their trip, and their descent towards Miami International Airport began.

Rapunzel recorded bits and pieces of their journey as they traveled from hall to hall, concourse to terminal, until they were outside. One suspiciously long cab ride later they were in front of DunBroch Miami, which sat snugly among several hotels, all towering above them.

"It's beautiful!" Rapunzel beamed, stopping to take a picture if the exterior. The hotel was enclosed by a border of stone walls and iron gates, making the structure seem more like a castle than a hotel.

The entrance had a curving driveway, occupied by arriving and departing cars. Employees in tartan print shorts and turquoise polo shirts assisted guests inside and out the establishment.

They walked in, finding themselves in the lobby, a large space decorated with dark green carpets, high ceilings, and marble desks. To the left there was a short walkway, leading to a large indoor pool, already occupied by frolicking guests. To the right there was a small bar, store and seating area, leading to a set of elevators.

Merida moved to the front of their group, walking up to the marble desks.

The concierge looked away from his computer to see a young woman with wild red hair, dressed like she was ready to hit the gym rather than the club. His eyes raked over her group. The white-haired boy and blonde girl were already eyeing the pool, while the two brunet young men were looking around as if they had never entered a hotel of this caliber.

'Kids.' The concierge thought. He could already hear the noise complaints. Still, he kept an air of composure. The DunBroch hotel chain was meant for the international traveler, the visiting diplomats, the family of embassy bound delegates, and most importantly for the next four days home to one of the heirs of DunBroch-

" Merida DunBroch."

No. He heard that wrong.

"Penthouse suite." She continued.

The concierge's eyebrows raised in alarm.

Impossible. An heiress of the DunBroch name wouldn't be this disheveled…

Would she?

At the concierge's hesitation, Merida raised an eyebrow.

"Just a moment please." An imposter perhaps? With a trembling hand he minimized the hotel's database and opened an internet browser tab. The DunBrochs. Why had he never bothered to look up his employers before? A quick search resulted in a sea of news articles. Hotels here, castles there, something about a girl joining a lacrosse team-Oh.

Jim looked at the concierge."What's the problem?"

"No problem here!" The concierge pressed a button, summoning a bellboy seemingly from nowhere. "Ronald, collect our guests' belongings…"

"Miss DunBroch!" He pumped as much charisma into his delivery ad he could. "Welcome! We're so pleased to have you with us! Here are your room keys, and your VIP passes. These will allow you access to our indoor pool, rooftop lounge, restaurants, lounge and shuttle services. If there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to ask!"

Merida passed out the opaque cards and passes. "Thanks. We just swipe these to get to the top floor, right?"

"Yes, ah-"

"I've got this." She began pushing the trolley with their belongings, confusing the bellboy. Jim joined her as she pushed it towards the elevator. The others followed behind.

There was something about the look on Merida's face that gave Jim unease.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Not really." She shook her head. "It's just I've seen that look a thousand times. No one ever thinks I'm Merida DunBroch."

Jack shrugged. "Well, you gotta admit, you don't fit the hotel heiress type. People are looking for Paris Hilton, and they get...You." He smiled.

"And it's a good thing," Jim added. "Not every heiress is going to be the same."

"Wow!" Rapunzel kept her hands pressed against the glass. After leaving the lobby, the elevator walls appeared transparent, letting her watch the floors go by. "This place is really amazing, Merida! Do they all look like this?"

Merida smiled. "Oh no. A lot of 'em look different."

"Have you been to them all?" Rapunzel asked.

"No, just a few. We used to go to all the opening when I was a wee thing." She looked at the ground. "I'd like to see the others, someday."

The elevator stopped at their floor, and the doors opened to a large room. Turquoise walls, floor to ceiling windows, and mother of pearl flooring greeted them. A long, wrap-around couch sat at the center of the main room, but beyond it there was a staircase, leading up to two bedrooms, a bathroom, a small office, and a small pool on the roof.

The sight of the beds made them aware of how tiring the journey had been.

Hiccup plopped down into the mass of sheets. "I'm enjoying this trip already."

Rapunzel and Jack ran to their new personal pool, bordered by glass and brick.

Jim came out to the rooftop with Merida trailing behind. "This place is the size of a house." Jim said, eyes wide in shock.

Hiccup abandoned his new bed to see where the others had disappeared to. He found them gazing at the city below. Well, most of them. He watched as Merida's gaze moved from the city to Jim. Jim, her future husband. He shivered. The two of them married? Really? Wasn't that a bit soon?

"Okay. We've got a few hours of daylight left." Jack grinned. "Who wants to go sightseeing?"

After a lengthy discussion, they settled on visiting Little Havana, a neighborhood in the heart of the city. Vibrant murals were painted along Mom and Pop shops, delicious food was plentiful, and friendly faces all around. It became clear that they wouldn't be able to cover it all with the limited daylight they had left.

Excited yet exhausted they returned to the hotel.

Rapunzel collapsed onto the couch with Merida.

"I want to play dominoes in the paaaark." Rapunzel whined.

Merida rubbed her stomach. "Ah think Ah need a bigger stomach."

"What was the name of that park?' Rapunzel asked.

"Domino Park." Jack muttered, his face, smashed against the carpet. He turned his head and glanced up. Hiccup was sitting on the edge of the long couch, bent over and fingers laced together as if he were pondering life's mysteries.

"Hic, are you okay?"

Hiccup looked over at Jack, who seemed comfortable on the floor. "Oh. Yeah, I'm just tired."

"Mm."Jack rolled onto his back. "Okay."

Hiccup's concentration went back to Merida and Rapunzel. Or as his brain kept reminding him all day Soon-to-be-married -Merida and Not-ready-to-be-on-her-own-Rapunzel. Both had seemed happy earlier, but Hiccup wondered if those smiling faces were a facade.

Jim checked the large, empty fridge. While there were a few complimentary items, he knew a store run was necessary. "I'm gonna to go to grab some stuff." He stepped back over to the living room. "Anybody need anything?"

"Some fresh air." Hiccup decided, standing up. "I'll come along."

Hiccup and Jim headed downstairs, stopping for at the hotel's built-in store. The items there were somewhat pricey, so they headed outside. The night air was pleasantly warm, a nice change from the somewhat chiller temperature they had left on campus.

Jim was quiet as they walked, something Hiccup first attributed to him being tired like the others. However, as they moved further away from the string of hotels, Hiccup felt a building sense of dread. With hesitation, he acted on this feeling, testing the waters.

"Something wrong, Jim?"

Jim glanced to the side at Hiccup. "Hm?" He raked a hand through his hair. "I guess. Maybe."

"I've just been thinking."

Hiccup stopped in his tracks.'Oh no.'

"I'll be gone for three years. What if I'm not the same person when I come back?"

Hiccup was quiet, waiting for Jim to continue.

"Three years is a long time. What if I change? I might go all over the world. I might see things. Great things. Terrible things. There are secrets I might have to keep. Oaths I'm going to take. I'm excited, but I'm also scared. There's a chance that I won't come back at all."

"Don't say that!" Hiccup snapped, before resigning himself in. Jim was scared enough, he knew there was no point in yelling at him. "I'm sorry. I just…" He sighed. "I'm sure this isn't easy for you. I wish I knew what to say … I want you to know that we'll all be waiting for you when you get back."

A passing car illuminated the sad smile of Jim's face. "I know. That helps."

Hiccup was silent. He wasn't sure if it did.

They eventually found a corner store, stocked up and returned to the hotel.

"We're back." Hiccup called as they entered the penthouse suite. He stopped in the kitchen with Jim to put things away. When they were finished, they returned they found Jack and Merida dozing off on the couch. He looked towards the stairs. "Did Rapunzel go to sleep?"

Merida blinked at him. "Ey? Punzie left a little while she wasn't goin' far."

She elbowed Jack. "Wut time did Ponzie leave?"

"Ow." Jack rubbed his side." He blinked at the display on the television. "I think like...right after you left? Twenty minutes ago."

Hiccup rubbed his arm. "It's getting late. I'm gonna see if she's downstairs or something. You guys stay here in case she comes back."Before he could receive any response, Hiccup headed back out. He pulled his phone out his pocket and checked his feed. Sure enough, there was a picture of a tiny shot glass posted by Rapunzel just ten minutes before. The Location was 'DunBroch Miami'. Hiccup recognized the lacquered wood. "She's at the bar downstairs."

He found her there, on a bar stool at the bar, staring at her phone. There was a pensive expression on her face as she swiped. Hiccup hopped onto the bar stool beside her. "So, uh...What are you doing?"

"Just thinking." Rapunzel propped her chin up with the palms of her hands. "About the future."

"Ah." Hiccup stared at the wall of tabs and bottles in front of them. "That's a popular topic these days."

The bartender appeared in front of him, wiping a shot glass. "What'll it be?"

Hiccup jerked his thumb at the empty shot glass in front of Rapunzel. "Whatever she had."

The woman shrugged. "Another glass of Pineapple juice then." She glanced at Rapunzel. "How about you?"

Rapunzel waved the tiny glass. "I think I can handle another." She smirked.

"Coming up." The Bartender walked away.

Hiccup was still reeling from his talk with Jim, but now knew he had to focus on Rapunzel. It was like a strange carousel of confusion and he was going around and around, with no end in sight.

"So, uh...The future." Hiccup scratched his head.

"Hiccup."

"Yeah?"

"Do you think we'll still be together like this in the future?"

"Like how?"

"Like, hanging out and taking trips together?" Rapunzel looked away from her phone. "We won't be at MU. We'll be far apart."

The bartender returned with two shots of juice and a martini.

Hiccup pointed at the extra drink. "We didn't order this."

The Bartender shrugged. "I know. It's for her, from the gentleman over there."

Hiccup followed her line of sight. Away from the bar was a set of tables. One was occupied by a middle-aged man, he gave Rapunzel a nod and raised his drink.

Hiccup blocked his view of Rapunzel, took the Martini and downed it in one gulp. The drink had a surprising tanginess he hadn't expected, causing him to shudder.

Rapunzel looked at him. "Are you alright?"

"Hey." Hiccup put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll find a way."

"Even a year from now things could be completely jobs, different towns...Some of us might even be married."

There it was again, the M word. It sounded so grown-up and distant, despite being a normal occurrence for people their age.

Hiccup was quiet for a moment. Rapunzel studied his face.

This time two Martinis appeared. Hiccup gave the older man a nod and drank them both. "Oof. What's in these?"

"The world's smoothest Gin, a splash of Vermouth, and zest from the best Oranges in Florida."

Rapunzel finished her pineapple juice. "Could you tell our new 'friend' that we won't be needing any more of these? Thank you."

She patted Hiccup's arm. "Maybe we should just go back upstairs."

"Why?" Hiccup blinked her. "I thought you wanted to talk. So let's talk."

So they did.

About what, Hiccup couldn't remember.

The next thing he knew, Hiccup found himself in bed. It was early morning, judging by the dead room was chilly, something he found accepted for mornings on the isle of Berk, but not the city of Miami. He sat up quickly and was rewarded with a throbbing headache. The events of the previous day came rushing back, and a wave of anxiety crashed over him.

On his first full day of vacation, Jackson was expecting to sleep in, take it easy, and order a full buffet for breakfast. Instead, he was violently awoken his a kick in the back and his boyfriend made a quick dash for the nearest bathroom.

He really didn't want to be up yet.

Jack crawled onto his stomach and blinked sleepily at the now open door. He could go back to sleep. He really looked at the dresser next to the bed. 8:15. Too early to be conscious.

His eyelids began to droop.

He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. It was 8:45 now. The door was still ajar. Hiccup had not returned. "Hic?" Jack called, hoping he was nearby.

"Hiccup?" Jack dragged himself out of bed. He wandered down the hall to the bathroom, which he found locked.

He strummed against the door with his fingers. "Hiccup?"

Hiccup opened his eyes. He crawled next to the toilet, and curled up into a ball. He knew he would be found eventually. He cursed his luck. Why build a suite this large and give it one bathroom?

"Hiccup?" Jack repeated.

"O-Oh." Hiccup remembered how to speak. "Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

Hiccup bit his lip. The question seemed so asinine. Was he okay? Of course not! Nothing was okay!

"Hic?"

Hiccup's exhaled a long, shaky breath.

"Well uh… I mean. I just need...Can you give me like, ten minutes? Or, I don't know, a year?"

Jack gave the door a blank stare. 'Sounds like my old friend Mr. Panic is back.'

"Okay...well, unfortunately, the whole 'year in a bathroom' thing isn't going to work for the rest of us, so if you could just come out of the bathroom, and then maybe we can discuss whatever made you lock yourself in there in the first place-"

There was some shuffling.

"Hiccup. Please? Plus, I kinda have to go to the bathroom now."

The door opened.

"Hey. You did it! Now just give me a minute okay? Do not lock yourself in the bedroom."

Once Jack was finished and returned to the bedroom he was pleased to find the door unlocked. Hiccup was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space.

"Alright." Jack pulled a pair of shorts out of his bag. "Let's take a walk."

They headed out, tiptoeing past Jim who had slept on the couch, and out of the suite.

The journey was silent, and it wasn't until Jack could see that Hiccup would need to be provoked.

"We can keep walking like this, but we're going to run out of land at some point." Jack glanced over at Hiccup. "Why don't you tell me what happened."
Hiccup stopped. "Nothing happened."

Jack waited.

"Okay. Everything happened. But I guess I was just too self-absorbed to see it. If you had asked me how things were going two days ago, I would have said that everything's fine. But nothing is FINE. Nothing."

Jack slid his hands into his pockets. "And how's that?"

"How-Rapunzel's scared to be on her own, I'm not sure she can handle this new I don't know, Vlogger-slash-singer-persona thing she's doing-and then there's Merida, you know Merida who just yesterday was chasing you around an airport, who isn't ready to get married to Jim, who let's not forget is shipping off to Odin knows here and hey, I thought you know joining the NAVY is a big decision but he's prepared and last night I come to find out he's actually AFRAID to go out there. You should have seen the look on his face. and here we all are on vacation, everyone is secretly miserable and I can't fix it. I can't fix any of it!"

Jack looked skyward. "IOh wow. And here I thought it was something awful."

"What-"

Jack cupped Hiccup's face in his hands "Now I hate to break this to you, but literally no one can predict the future. Not even that fish Lilo keeps telling us about."

"Pudge doesn't make predictions, he controls the weather."

Jack sighed. "Okay, fine. Pudge is a Weather God. Look, the point is that everyone is scared of the future. You think I'm not scared? We're going back to Burgess after old man wants me to start running shifts-next thing I know I'll be 50 years old, sporting my own beard and managing a store, having never done anything, going anywhere, talking about what could have been." He sighed. "But for the next few days, I'm going to stop thinking about that because no matter what I do, the time is going to keep on moving.."

"That's both assuring and terrifying."

Jack smiled. "It's great that you-as usual, want to fix everyone's problems, but that's not really your job, you know. You just have to do what you always do."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows."And what's that?"

"Support your friends. No matter what happens, we're all going to be there for each other. We may not have all the answers right now, but that's doesn't mean we won't look for them, okay?"

Hiccup's shoulders dropped. "Okay. Now let go of my face." Once free he frowned. "You know things have to be really bad if you're the voice of reason."

"Or things are actually going so well that your anxiety had to even things out."

Hiccup had no retort for that one.

"So, I need you to go back to your slightly serious, vigilant self because I plan on being wildly irresponsible all week."

Hiccup sighed and turned back towards the way they came from. "You got any other demands while we have negotiations open?"

"Oh definitely. I would like to propose..."He reached into his pocket. "Spooning." He patted a small box and withdrew his hand. "Yeah, spooning is enough for now."

Hiccup shrugged. "Well, that's fine."

Jack slung an arm over Hiccup's shoulder and they walked back to the hotel.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2018 is getting wild. New Kingdom Hearts news, good Marvel movies, the new Big Hero 6 cartoon, show reboots left and right...Plus, we're getting How to Train Your Dragon 3 next year!

Chapter Text

Merida stamped her foot impatiently. “Did you ask yet?”
Rapunzel pouted. “He didn’t.”
Jack looked back and forth between the two young women. Their looks of disappointment were intimidating. “Look, we discussed this. He was pretty clear the first night he wasn’t interested in that anyhow--”
“He was blootered outta ‘is breeks! Punzie already said so.”
“Yeah!” Rapunzel glancing to her side at Merida. “Wait, blootered means drunk right?”
“Aye.” Merida nodded, glancing at her before the two of them gave Jack even more intimidating looks.
Jack shuffled nervously. “Oof. I can tell you’re getting mad, things are getting hella Scottish.”
Rapunzel giggled. “Oh wow, I haven’t heard you say that word in a long time.”
Jack frowned. “Yeah Hiccup said that the other day. It’s not like I used it a lot--”
“In High school y’did.” Merida nodded.
“I did not!” Jack protested.
Rapunzel bit her lip, looking away. “Well…”
“There you are.”
Hiccup appeared behind Jack, holding a snowglobe. “Are you guys done, or are you still looking around?”
They were standing in the corner of a gift shop, allegedly picking up last minute souvenirs for loved ones before returning to the hotel. In reality, Rapunzel and Merida had pulled Jack aside to interrogate him regarding a special ‘mission’.
“Ah think we’ll be needin’ a little while longer, Heccup.” Merida smiled.
“Sorry sweetie, we just have to borrow Jack for a minute. We’ll be done soon, we promise.” Rapunzel assured.
Hiccup shrugged. “Alright.” He walked away to purchase the snowglobe.
As soon as she was sure Hiccup was out of earshot, Merida resumed her attack. “Today is our last full day before we go back home, Jack.” She jabbed a finger at his chest. “Make it count.” She took Rapunzel’s hand. “Come on Punzie, let’s get some keychains.” They marched past Jack, giving him one more set of spiteful looks.
Jack didn’t like being made to feel so low during a vacation, but he supposed he brought this situation upon himself. He had been so pleased when he first drummed up this plan, and now in light of a new development, he was ready to scrap the idea altogether.
Hiccup was right, wasn’t he? He was always right. And since Hiccup had said so, wasn’t this all unnecessary?
He would cast these plans aside, he decided. He would enjoy the rest of this trip as much as he could, no matter what faces Rapunzel and Merida made.
After stuffing themselves one final time at a local bistro, the friends returned to their suite stuffed and tired. It was Jack’s turn to take the couch, and with everyone exhausted, he found himself alone.
But not for long.
Jack stared blankly at the large television as an old sitcom played out on its screen. It was a show he had seen multiple times, offering a comforting familiarity he did not know he had been craving. Just as he was about to succumb to the sands of slumber, he heard a voice.
“Hey.”Hiccup appeared behind the couch, toting a duvet cover and a pillow. “You still up?”
Jack nodded. “Mmm. You couldn’t sleep?”
Hiccup shrugged. “I was fine. But I wanted to see if you were okay down here.” He took a seat next to Jack, his eyes going to the TV. “You seemed a bit...wired today.”
Jack put his arm around Hiccup, who scooted closer and unfolded the duvet cover.
“What do you mean?” Jack asked, his lips ghosting the side of Hiccup’s face.
Hiccup didn’t budge, staring ahead. “Like you were trying to make yourself have a good time.”
Jack laughed, surprised. “You know me too well.” He smiled, even as Hiccup looked at him with concern.
Hiccup squeezed Jack’s hand. “Did something happen?”
“Mm..” Jack moved his hand, intertwining their fingers together. “Maybe before, but not now. I’m fine.” Hiccup didn’t look convinced. “No, really! I’m fine, okay?”He leaned his head against Hiccup’s shoulder.
Hiccup said nothing.
Another episode of the show started. Jack stared at it, smiling. Hiccup absently played with Jack’s hair, and before Jack knew it he was falling asleep again. Why couldn't things just be simple like this? This was what he wanted--nights where he could sit on a couch and fall asleep next to his favorite person in the whole wide world, nights where he could doze off and wake up in his boyfriend’s arms. Mornings where they would eat breakfast together, or take Toothless for walks, or just sleep in with no other place to be or return to.
That was it. That was what he truly wanted.
“Hiccup…” He yawned.
“Mmhm?”
“I love you.”
Hiccup smiled as he began playing with his boyfriend’s hair. “I love you too, Jack.”
Jack opened his eyes. “Hiccup?”
“Yeah?”
“Move in with me.”
Hiccup froze.
“When we get back to Burgess…”Jack sat up, looking Hiccup in the eye and holding his hand. “Move in with me. We can get our own place.”
Hiccup blinked. Sure, he had known that at some point they would be living together, it was the next logical step. But something in him resisted, as it was just another form of change--the thing he had wanted to avoid. But he felt foolish. Things were already different from before, and whether he liked it or not, they would keep progressing.
They weren’t kids anymore, yet he didn’t feel like an adult. But he would be one, he knew. And for Jack, he could become one.
“Okay.” Hiccup nodded.
Jack squinted at him in the dark. “You don’t sound sure.”
“No, I uh…” He could feel tears coming, and he wasn’t sure why. Hiccup rubbed at his eyes to stop them from falling. “It was just kinda sudden.”
“Hiccup…” Jack squeezed his hand. “You don’t have to say yes. You don’t--”
Hiccup silenced him with a soft kiss.
“Odin’s beard. Stop panicking. I was just thinking about it. Of course I want to move in with you. Just shut up and let me think. We’re going to need to buy a ton of stuff and get some documents together look for something that’s not too far from St.North’s--”
Jack laughed and kissed him back. “Oh God, you’re already thinking about all the boring stuff. You’re totally ruining it!”
Hiccup frowned.“You started it! I came down here to make sure you were okay, now all I can think about is homeowners insurance.”
Jack blinked. “What even is that?”
Hiccup sighed and closed his eyes. “You know what? You're right. Let's think about the fun stuff.”
Jack relaxed and wrapped himself in the duvet cover. “Let's get a place with a skylight. And a giant comfy couch.”
“It has to be a place that allows pets.” Hiccup stated as he draped the other half of the cover over his legs. “And more than two rooms. Toothless is moving with us.”
Jack stared at him. “Of course he’s moving with us. And we need tons of rooms.”
Hiccup blinked at him sleepily. “Mmmhm. For company?”
“I was thinking for your art actually. Jim and the girls can sleep on the couch.”
Hiccup closed his eyes again. A room just for his art, like a personal studio? It sounded too good to be true. “Great. Now you just have to convince my Dad.”
Jack broke out into a cold sweat.
But a peaceful night’s sleep by Hiccup’s side, a journey home with friends, and a tearful graduation were enough to propel Jack forward. So months after their Miami getaway, among family and friends alike, Jack was able to look beyond the plate of beignets and look Stoick in the eye.
For a moment Jack indulged in a daydream involving wrestling Stoick for Hiccup’s hand, It ended with Jack getting chucked across the table, through the window, and out of Tiana’s place. As horrifying as that thought was, everyone had just graduated. Stoick couldn’t murder him here.
Asking was the polite thing to do, but that was out of the question. He clenched his hands into fists. This was a Viking he was dealing with. He had to be assertive, but not rude. Calling him ‘Sir’ was too impersonal. He shoved another beignet into his mouth and looked around the table. Rapunzel was talking a mile a minute, reaching for food and gesturing wildly. Her plans and thoughts were still a bit tangled, but it seemed like she would work things out. Jim and Merida were both deep in conversation with Jim’s Mom. Despite her circumstances, Merida was putting on a brave face, for all their sakes.
A warm hand latched on to his.
‘Of course.’ Jack thought as he looked into Hiccup’s eyes. He wasn’t doing this alone.
He looked back at Stoick again.
“Dad.” Hiccup said. “Mom.”
Stoick turned his attention away from his wife, drawing Valka’s attention as well.
“I...”Jack took one last look at Hiccup before carrying on. “We want to move in together.”
Stoick’s eyebrows shot up towards his hair.
Hiccup squeezed Jack’s hand.
Valka patted her husband’s arm. “Well isn’t that something!”
Nick clapped a hand on Stoick’s back. “They’re growing up eh, Stoick?”
Stoick had yet to give any reaction.
‘Two out of three isn’t bad.’ Jack thought to himself. ‘Technically Nick already knew but--’
“Well…” Stoick began. “I should hope so. Yer not
children anymore…” Stoick looked down at the plate of Beignets. “And...it’s time for you to start taking care of yerselves…”
Hiccup stared at his father. He wasn’t sure if Stoick was talking to them, or convincing himself what he was saying was true. While he felt like he was on his own at college, he knew it was different from moving out. With no control over Stoick, he could only hope that his father’s words were sincere.
On the other hand, it felt like a massive weight had been lifted off Jack’s shoulders. All that tension and planning, all for it to be brushed aside with a concurring opinion. The lack of resistance almost maddening.
“I should think you’ve started looking already...?” Nick inquired with a wink. In truth he already knew the answer. At this point in life, Jack hid very little from his adoptive father. “Oh, who am I kidding! I spoke to a buddy of mine the other day. The Pelekai home is back on the market. We can get us a tour before its listed.”
Stoick looked down at the table. “I suppose that isn’t far…”
Valka looked towards the door. “Why, that’s just up the street! We can visit anytime!”
Hiccup blinked. There was something sinister about the way his Mother said that.
His suspicions were confirmed when Hiccup’s parents tagged along to ‘inspect’ the house. It was larger than Hiccup had expected, devoid of all furnishings. A polished wooden floor and cream-colored walls were all that remained of the Pelekai home. Goen were Lilo's drawings, Nani's constant patchwork, and Stitch's claw marks. They walked from room to room in the echoing space as the realtor and Stoick discussed the ongoing renovation.
“This space in here was the kitchen but we want to open up the space. The ventilation system is being updated to accommodate the…”
Hiccup tuned in and out of the conversation. His attention had been stolen by his Mother.
Valka was holding up different paint swatches to the walls. Hiccup trailed to the back of the pack, where Jack stood. Jack was busy taking photos of the apartment and sending them to Nick, who was busy at work.
Hiccup fell into step with Jack. “Does any of this feel weird to you?”
“100% of it. Why?”
Hiccup sighed. “We haven’t made one decision about the apartment since we told them we were moving out. I’m beginning to wonder who it’s really for--Us or them.”
“Oh great.” Jack slumped his shoulders and leaned against the wall. “I’m glad it’s not just me. I knew things were off when they said yes--It was too easy.”
Hiccup rubbed his arm--a tell-tale sign that he was uncomfortable. “I don’t know about this. I feel weird living in Lilo’s house, even if she isn’t here anymore.” His eyebrows knitted together in worry. “I just...I mean, do you like it?”
Jack stared at one of the bare walls. “How do I put this...It’s big. There’s like, hella space. What do you even do with all this space?”
Hiccup looked back at his mother, who had produced fabric swatches, “Oh man. Mom’s really into it. Now what?”
As the realtor and Stoick began their trek upstairs, Jack grabbed Hiccup’s hand.
“Let’s blow this Popsicle stand.”
Hiccup bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. “Oh wow, how romantic.”
Valka looked back when she heard the boys snickering. “What’s so funny?”
Jack fanned himself. “Sorry Val, I’m feeling a little light headed. You mind if we break for lunch?”
Val began to turn back. “Well I’m sure we can--”
“Great! See you in 20 minutes!” He quickly steered Hiccup towards the front door and out of the house. Outside on the pavement, Hiccup laughed.
“What a daring escape. Where to now?”
Jack crossed his arms with a smirk. “I think I know a place we can use as a hideout.”
A few minutes later they were sitting at a table in the Hotel restaurant. The area was vacant during the day, a perfect place for a lunch date.
As they stepped out, Jack’s eyes went to the concierge desk. Standing there was Mavis. She had upped her fashion game in the last few years, from Emo teen to Gothic Queen. She stared at passerby over a pair of bat-shaped sunglasses through dark eyeshadow. When her eyes landed on Jack, she squealed. “Oh my Goth! My favorite power couple!” She ran to give them a big hug. “I didn’t know you guys were back in town!”
Jack smiled. “Yeah, just got back a few days ago. How have you been?’
Mavis released them from her hug prison and looped her bat sunglasses into her Medieval style sundress. “It’s a real drag around here, not gonna lie. Dad’s freaking out because reservations are down. The Hotel’s going through renovations left and right to keep up with the new DunBroch they’re building two towns over.”
Jack winced. “Oh..Sorry about that.”
Mavis shrugged. “No biggie. This place has been stuck in the dark ages for centuries. It could do with a few changes. There's only one thing I'm worried about.”
“What's that?” Hiccup asked.
“Tenants.” Mavis’s grin morphed into a tired stare. “We’re renting out luxury apartments upstairs. It’s steady revenue, but I don’t want to get stuck with anyone snotty.”
“Apartments...” Jack blinked. He glanced at Hiccup, who looked just as surprised as he did. “Can we take a look?”
Mavis clasped her hand to her chest. “Wait are you guys looking for a new place!? That's too perfect! Let me just get someone to watch the desk and we can go right up!”
A few minutes later they were stepping off the elevator. The smell of paint was fresh, and the floor was covered in roll upon roll of brown paper. They walked down the hall to a black door.
“This one’s finished,” Mavis said, pulling out a ring of keys. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, allowing them to head inside first. A short walkway lead to a wide open area. To the left, a small kitchen, stainless steel appliances already standing, and a large refrigerator.
Hiccup surveyed this area first. “Oven, stove, dishwasher...This is all included?”
“Yeah.” Mavis opened the fridge doors. “This thing’s is so big you could put a body in here.” She remembered this was more than a social visit. “Okay! So take a look at this.” She lead Hiccup over to a panel on the wall. A tiny remote was tucked in next to it. “This is pretty cool, the floors have this special system that you can use to warm them up or cool them down. It works in all the rooms. And this is the thermostat. And this is--”
Jack moved on to another hallway, this time finding several doors. “Hey, Hiccup!” He called. “ThIS PLACE IS HUGE!” His voice echoed. “THERE’S 3 MORE ROOMS!”
Hiccup shook his head at the sound of Jack’s voice. “Sounds like he likes it.”
With Jack preoccupied, he inquired about the nature of the listing. “So, how does this work? Are we renting the space like a regular apartment, or is it still technically part of the hotel and we’re like, long-term ‘guests?”
“Well from what I understand you’re tenants, instead of guests. It’s like an in-between thing. You have access to the restaurant, the ballroom, the roof...But, you’re responsible for your own furniture. The appliances, heat, and electricity are all part of the rent…”
Jack could hear Hiccup and Mavis going over the specifics as he made his way through the empty spaces. He felt some obligations take part of the discussion, but actually looking at the space seemed more appealing. The polished floors seemed perfect for sliding. The barren walls were begging to be painted, and the rooms themselves were like Hiccup’s empty canvases, soon to be filled with all manners of personal junk. He could see it now, dragons here, miniatures there…
He made his way back down the hall and into the wide expanse of their would-be living room. Sure, there was no skylight, ut the huge windows were nice. He peered out at the town. They were higher up than he expected.
Hiccup looked across the room. Jack was at the set of large windows, staring out at the town of Burgess. Hiccup joined him there. He could see all of downtown below--the park, the stores, the traffic, the people...And of course, just across the way was St. North’s department store.
Jack bumped his shoulder against Hiccup’s and tapped his finger against the glass. "Look.”
Hiccup blinked at him before trying to find what his finger was pointed at. He tilted his head slightly, and then he saw him--Nicholas scowling in his office, staring at paperwork and trying to dunk a large cookie into his mug.
“We’re almost level with the offices.” Hiccup realized.
Jack grinned. “Yup. See that empty window there? I’m in there all the time!”
“Ah. So that’s where you take your naps.” Hiccup nodded.
Jack frowned. “Rude. Besides, daily naps are essential--a random internet article told me so. But that’s not the point. Look, this is perfect! We can literally see each other whenever we want!”
Hiccup smiled, drawn in by Jack’s enthusiasm. “We can do that with our phones too, but I do love the stalker vibe it has.”
“Stalker? I was thinking more 90s rom-com. Oh!” He pointed to the wall on their far left. “Let’s put a TV there! Which I guess means the couch has to go there...it’s gotta be a futon, I feel like I’d fall asleep here…”He crossed his arms.
"You sound like you've made up your mind." Hiccup raised an eyebrow.
“This place seems perfect.” Jack blinked. "I mean...right?"
HIccup laughed. "Yeah."
Mavs clasped her hand together. "Great! Now for the grownup stuff!"

Just a few weeks later, Nicholas and Stoick entered the empty spaces, plagued with doubt. The papers were signed, the furniture was ordered, set to be delivered that afternoon. Boxes and containers of their son's belongings were here and there.
“Are you sure?” Stoick asked.
“It’s fine.” Hiccup assured his father for the tenth time that day. “The couch is going to be here any minute. You guys should get going, really. You can't leave Mom on her own for too long. She might run off to save the whales or something.”
Stoick stroked his bear. ‘Well, Yer not wrong about that.”
North clapped a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Jack. When I first met you, I see bad child. Mischievous, sneaky, not so good at lying---”
“Is this my roast? I’m not prepared. Not that I don’t deserve it, but--”
“But that is before. This is now. Now you are real adult. And I am proud.” Nick beamed at him, tearing up.
“Aw come on Dad, I haven't changed that much--” He left the large man pull him into a hug. “Oof. Okay...Urk. I think my bones are breaking…” He patted the older gentleman’s back until he was released. “Okay, you big softie, I’ll see you at work.”
With some deliberation, Hiccup was able to get his father to the door.
North followed suit. He stopped to regard Hiccup with a clap on the shoulder. “Watch after that one.”
Hiccup smiled. ‘Don’t worry. He’ll be fine. We’ll be fine. See you later.”
Still reluctant, the two left. With a sigh, Hiccup leaned his head against the door. The furniture had yet to arrive, there were plenty of boxes to unpack, but they had done it. They had officially moved out.
The sounds of skidding feet and crumpling boxes. HIccup turned around. There, in the living room, was Jack, sitting in a pile of boxes.
“Odin’s beard….” Hiccup groaned. “Did you just slide across the floor?”
“Had to,” Jack said, not moving from the boxes. “The floor is so smooth. Besides, this is the only reason I put on socks today.”
Hiccup blinked. “It begins.” He muttered.
“What was that?”
Hiccup shook his head. “Please don’t kill yourself sliding across the floor. I just promised North I’d look after you. You’re gonna make me a liar.”
Jack sat up. “He said to watch. You had your back turned.”
Hiccup approached him. “So do me a favor. When I’m not physically there to watch you, please pretend that I’m around.” He offered Jack a hand.
“I feel like I already do that…” He let Hiccup pull him up.
“Cute.” Hiccup smiled. “Help me clear a path okay? I want them to be able to set the couch up without these boxes in the way.”
“Ohhkaaay.”
The afternoon was spent shuffling things around, unpacking, packing, and accepting more deliveries. As the evening rolled in, Hiccup was beginning to see a pattern in their deliveries.
“Okay. So, we’ve got a mattress top, but no mattress. Sheets, but no bedpost, extra pillows but no couch…” Hiccup began dialing. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Can you take that stuff to the bedroom?”
Jack nodded and picked up a box before disappearing into the mostly barren bedroom. A chest of drawers was set up in one corner, along with several boxes. Jack opened one of the two closet doors. There, behind the shroud of hanging shirts was Toothless. The cat blinked at him in the darkness. “I was wondering where you went.”
Toothless stood and stretched before stepping out of the closet. He regarded Jack with a wide yawn and went towards the door, giving him an expectant look.
“Are you hungry?” Jack asked. He couldn’t remember when he started speaking to Toothless, but he supposed that was part of owning a pet. Hiccup did it so often that it seemed normal.
He followed Toothless out of the room. While their belongings were here and there, everything for Hiccup's furry companion had made it safely.
Jack found Hiccup sitting on the floor, looking defeated.
“Did you find anything out?” Jack asked, kneeling in front of him.
Once out into the living room, Toothless bypassed them both and made a beeline for the front door.
“Yeah…” Hiccup closed his eyes. “None of its coming. Traffic is really bad wherever the couch coming from. They rescheduled for tomorrow. The other company won't answer my calls.”
Jack rocked on his heels. “Oh..Kay. Well, what do you want to do?"
HIccup said nothing, his eyes still closed. Toothless scratched at the door. Jack glanced in the cat's direction. "Okay, how about this? Let's take a walk. Toothless seems to want out, anyway." Hiccup opened his eyes. "But what if the other stuff comes while we're out?" Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I could stay here." Hiccup frowned. "By yourself?" Jack chuckled. "Yes, by myself. No floor sliding, I promise. Now go get some fresh air, you look like you need a break."

Hiccup didn't want to leave Jack alone, but he didn't feel like he would get anything done sitting on the floor.

Toothless meowed, his voice echoing.

"Okay." Hiccup sighed "Do you want anything while I'm out?"

"Nah. I'm good. Go take a break."

With little resistance Hiccup headed out, accompanied by his trusty pal, Toothless. Burgess was bustling as usual. Toothless totted ahead of him, unperturbed by the stares they received from passerby. They walked through the park. Dozens of old memories bubbled to the surface--walking home from school with his friends, dragging art supplies in the old wagon, the occasional outing during summer break. Somehow those days seemed so distant when in reality they were not far behind him. They continued their jaunt around downtown Burgess. Toothless sniffed here and there while Hiccup peered into shop windows and mused about his life so far. Something was different about the town today, he decided. Somehow this was not the same place he had once called home.

But this feeling wasn't frightening or scary. It was exciting. It was like he was new to everything, just as he had been when his father moved them to Burgess ages ago. Feeling much better, Hiccup picked up some takeout for their next meal and returned to his new home. He gave the bellhop a friendly wave before taking the elevator back up to his apartment. Toothless, now tired out from the walk, stayed by Hiccup's side.

Hiccup fished his keys from his pocket, he first came across the key for his old home. He stared at it for a moment, a sense of longing prickling at his heart. 'You can still visit.' He told himself. before he found the right key. 'The house didn't move, you did.' He turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open. "Hey..."

Toothless picked up speed once they were inside, darting towards the kitchen to drink his water. HIiccup didn't move from the doorway. His face was marred with confusion, as he tried to process the sight before him. In the living room, there was a tent. a tall, bedsheet covered tent. It stood at nearly 5 feet, its contents, shrouded by more sheets. There was a rustle of fabric and Jack poked his head from under the 'entrance' a grin on his face.

"Ta-da!" Hiccup slipped off his sneakers, confused. "What is that?" Jack rolled his eyes. "Come on HIccup, don't act like you've never seen a fort before." Hiccup blinked. "Not that big, no. I don't think I've seen you make one since went moved into MU."

Jack nodded. "I admit it's overdue."

Hiccup whistled. "That's got to be the biggest one you've made yet." He set their dinner own on the counter and walked over into the living room area. The floor was warm beneath his feet.

He tapped on one of the boxes. "Ooh, sturdy. May I come in?"

"What's the password?" Jack asked from beyond the sheet.

'Uh.."

"Perfect! Step in, weary traveler!" With an eye roll, Hiccup knelt down and crawled inside.

It was much bigger than he originally surmised. Above him, Christmas lights were taped to the sheets, twinkling and lighting the interior. The extra pillows they had ordered for the couch were strewn around Jack, who laid down on the mattress top, surrounded by snacks. Jack's laptop was propped up on one of the pillows and playing a movie. Hiccup looked around, amazed. "I can't believe you built this whole thing while I was out. Very impressive."

"Thank you, thank you." Jack gave a nod, instead of a bow. "I had a burst of inspiration."

Hiccup squinted at the twinkling Christmas lights. "Where did these come from? did you bring them from home?"

"Oh! Mavis helped with that. They belong to the hotel."

Hiccup smiled. "That was nice of her." He crawled further in.

Jack patted the spot next to him and Hiccup filled it, letting out a long sigh.

Jack welcomed him in with a kiss. "How was your walk?"

Hiccup blinked at him, leaning his head on Jack's shoulder. "Nice." He glanced over at the laptop. "What're we watching?"

He stretched out to lay down. The mattress top made for a very comfortable bed on its own.

"80s Buffy," Jack replied, crawling towards the entrance. "You got takeout, right? I'm gonna go get it."

"Okay." Hiccup murmured, pulling a pillow to his chest.

They spent the rest of the night inside the fort. Hiccup woke up beside Jack some point during the night as Toothless kneaded into his back. He blinked sleepily at his surroundings. The laptop had blinked off some time ago, the Christmas lights twinkled overhead, and Jack was beside him, fast asleep. He could hear the muffled sounds of rain from beyond their hideaway. Cut off from civilization, no phones in sight, Hiccup had no idea what hour it was, but the darkness beyond the boxes suggested, 'night'. It was nice, this timeless void Jack had created. He looked at Jack. So this is hat living together was like? Takeout and box forts. He laughed softly. Of course, it was. Why would he expect anything else?

Jack's facial expressions suddenly twisted. 'A nightmare.' Hiccup thought.

He reached over and poked Jack's face. "Hey. Hey..." Jack's eyes suddenly snapped open

Once he realized he was looking at Hiccup, his gaze softened. Hiccup crawled closer."Are you okay?"
"Mmhm." Jack whispered. "Vampires." He muttered as if that was all the clarification Hiccup needed.
In a way, it was. "You're safe now."

"Yeah." Jack closed his eyes again. "Thanks."

Hiccup smiled and kissed him on the lips. "Jack."
"Hm?"
"Thank you."

Chapter Text

Hiccup woke up first. No alarm was needed. No foreign noise had startled him. The sun was rising and that meant so was he.

He rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom, hobbling along without his prosthetic. After washing up, he attached his prosthetic, stretched for a bit, and headed to the living room windows. Downtown Burgess was showing signs of life-the occasional passerby appearing on the streets below. He turned on the news. The world was still a bit of a mess, but nothing catastrophic had occurred overnight, so he moved into his morning routine. He took Toothless for a short walk, stopped at the grocery store, greeted the hotel staff, and returned to his home.

Hiccup glanced at the clock in the kitchen. A certain someone should have been awake already. He shook his head and turned on the coffee maker.

Jack woke up to the smell of coffee. He rolled over to meet with empty sheets. Hiccup was missing. He grumbled into his pillow. Of course Hiccup was already awake. Why couldn't the coffee make itself?

Begrudgingly he rose from the bed, grabbed an old hoodie hanging on the closet door and pulled it on. He stared at the nightstand. There was already a washcloth and towel there for him to use. He glanced at the two objects before heading to the living room.

Hiccup was there at the window again, staring down at the town below. Jack encircled him from behind.

"Good morning."

Hiccup looked back at him, blinking. "You're going to be late." Was the first thing he said. When he saw Jack's face twist up in annoyance, he kissed him. "Good morning."

Jack sighed and buried his face in Hiccup's shoulder.

"Did you see the towel I left out for you?"Hiccup asked.

"Why do you want me to leave so bad?"

Now it was Hiccup's turn to sigh. "I don't. I just want you to get there on time. You know things get out of hand there really fast. You could come in ten minutes late and be short-staffed."

Jack looked up from Hiccup's shoulder. "It's just across the street. Besides, I'm one of like, four different managers working today. No one is gonna die if I'm a little late."

Hiccup relented slightly. "Okay." He patted Jack's face. "Well, get washed and dressed. Breakfast will be ready by the time you're done."

Jack smiled. "What're we having?"

"Pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon...Unless you want to eat downstairs?"

"No, that's perfect." He kissed Hiccup's neck. "Are you sure you don't wanna join me in the shower?"

Hiccup's eyes went from Jack to the window. "I'm trying to get you to work on time, remember?"

After showering (alone) and getting dressed, Jack returned to the living room in time to see Toothless darting across the room, towards their dining table. Hiccup had enough food for a small army laid out as usual, which Jack devoured with no qualms. Toothless sat beneath the table, chewing his own helping of sausage.

Moments later, full and content, Jack headed over to his place of work-The family-owned department store.

He arrived after its doors opened to the public, causing a ripple of chatter among the employees. Unlike the other managers and higher-ups, Jack never used the side entrance, choosing instead to walk through the front doors. He gave the employees nods and glances as he moved through the store.

"There he is!"

"Jack Frost!"

"Jack Frost?" A new employee repeated, confused.

Unlike the days of his youth, Jackson's nickname retained a different meaning among his new associates.

Two other workers glanced at the newcomer.

"We call him that because he's so cold."

"But...he hired me." The new employee blinked. "And during the interview, he was so nice. He worked around my school schedule and everything."

One of the others shrugged. "He is nice...to customers. New hires, other people on his level…" They paused. "But once you know the ropes he turns into a drill sergeant. All the displays have to be perfect, the till cant be short, no leaning against anything…"

"It's not what he does, it's how he does it." The other explained. "If he catches you doing something wrong he gives you this cold stare, and then you have about fifteen seconds to correct your behavior before he comes over."

Paying no heed to their muttering, Jack headed to his office. The room was small but adequate. A file cabinet full of documents covered one wall while the other held three windows in place. In the center of his room was his desk and armchair, both bogged down by paperwork but tidy around the edges. His laptop sat on two reams of unused printer paper. On the right side of his desk sat a miniature portable keyboard-a birthday present from Hiccup that he played from time to time.

He went to the window and peered straight across street-into the living room where Hiccup stood, waving with Toothless in hand.

And just like that, Jack was at peace again. He left the room and headed into his father's office.

With Jack off at work, Hiccup was left to move on to his projects. While he and Rapunzel were far apart, he still collaborated with her from to time, and edited for her videos. Working with her had lead to his own success, as he was able to make his own income via art commissions and the occasional video project.

With Stoick and Valka back in Berk, Hiccup was also left to look after his father's growing chain of gyms. Each morning he appeared to open up the local gym branch. Once a week he checked on the neighboring town's branch.

Any time not spent making art, editing or tending to his father's business was spent keeping their home in order. While Jack did help out around the house, the holiday season never failed to exhaust him, leaving Hiccup to take care of affairs.

Hiccup stayed in constant movement throughout the day, moving from task to task before dinner.

Before he knew it, the sun was setting. He went to the living room windows again. The sun was already sinking below the horizon line, and the sky was tinged purple and gold. He peered over into the department store windows.

Jack was in his office, packing up. Hiccup fished his phone out of pocket and dialed. He watched Jack's reaction, as he looked around for his phone before disappearing from the window.

He reappeared with his phone against his ear and a small whiteboard in his hands. Jack held the board up the window, an evil grin on his face.

Even from that distance, it was easy to figure out what Jack had drawn on the whiteboard, and Hiccup was ready to chide him for its explicit nature.

"One day the wrong person is going to catch you drawing this stuff." He shook his head. "I wouldn't be surprised if one of the hotel guests thought you were flirting with them."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Maybe. You jealous?"

"Oh, yeah." Hiccup replied, deadpan in both face and tone. "I'm just boiling over. Are you coming home soon?"

Jack smiled, his face was full of relief. "Yeah, finally. I just have to talk to Pitch."

It had been years since Hiccup had first met the night manager of the department store, the elusive Pitch. Seeing the man before sundown was rare, and the few interactions they had were less than pleasant. There was something about the way he interacted with Jack that Hiccup couldn't quite comprehend.

Jack's eyebrows raised. "Something wrong?"

Hiccup blinked. "Wha? Oh, uh…" He rubbed his arm, suddenly uncomfortable. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Oh." Jack set the whiteboard aside. He shrugged. "Surprise me."

Hiccup wasn't surprised when Jack showed up over an hour later, he was only sorry he had nothing to offer.

As Jack tossed his jacket onto the back of a chair, he glanced at the bare table.

"Surprise." Hiccup shrugged as he scrapped a charred pan. "There is no dinner."

Jack didn't bat an eye. "Is this a form of protest?"

"No, I was talking to a client on the phone and subsequently burning everything. That's what I get for looking away. Did someone hold you up?"

Jack pulled a chair at the dining room table and began flipping through his phone. "Mavis and Dennis came in at the last minute."

Hiccup glanced at Jack. The small smile he expected was there, as it always was when Dennis was mentioned. Jack treated the child as if he were his own. While their relationship had ended long ago, Hiccup couldn't help but wonder how things would be if Jack and Mavis had been broken up. Would Jack and Mavis be married? Would he be working at the hotel instead of the store? Would they have children?

"-bigger but really oily."

Hiccup blinked. "What?"

"Pizza slices." Jack repeated, chuckling. "I just said Pizza Planet's further away but the slices are bigger. Is something wrong?" He narrowed his eyes. "Did that client give you a hard time?"

"No…" Hiccup shook his head. "Anyway, dinner."

Jack set his phone aside. He rose from his chair and crossed the room, quickly closing the gap between them. "Are you sure nothing is wrong?"

Hiccup sighed. "Yeah." He wore a wry smile. "Nothing is wrong. I'm worried about nothing."

Jack glanced to the side, unsure of how to proceed.

"I know." Hiccup rubbed his arm. "I'm good at that. Let's focus on something I'm usually better at-Dinner."

A few hours and several pizza slices later, Hiccup and Jack were sitting on the couch, watching TV. Jack laid with his head in Hiccup's lap, while Hiccup fed himself from a small bowl of popcorn.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Can I have some?"

"You have to sit up." Hiccup instructed. "Because if I feed you like this you might choke and possibly die-and then I'd never be able to eat popcorn again, and that's a future I'd like to avoid."

"You want to avoid me dying, or you want to avoid never eating popcorn again?"

"Eh." Hiccup shrugged. "Fifty/Fifty."

Jack laughed. Before he could respond, the phone rang. He sat up and glanced across the room at his phone, which sat on the kitchen counter. With one hand he reached as if he could extend his arm across the room.

Hiccup blinked at him. "I think you've been watching too many superhero movies." He chuckled softly. "Pretty sure you have to go get it."

Jack shook his head. "Ye of little faith." He stood and headed over to his phone. "My powers are gonna manifest any day now." He answered the call. "Hello?"
Hiccup turned down the volume of the television and looked ahead. Seeing an opening, Toothless hopped up next to Hiccup.

"Hey bud." Hiccup scratched the cat behind his ears and the cat moved closer, curling up in his lap. Hiccup turned his attention back to the television until Jack eventually returned to the couch.

Jack poked Toothless gently. "You took my spot."

Hiccup shrugged. "It was vacant. Who called?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "You won't believe it. My old group home."

Worry was already setting in on Hiccup's face, but Jack waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing serious. The home is in danger of closing, so they're sending the kids to a local orphanage I was at...and that just happens to be run by an old…'friend'. I think I mentioned him before... Aster?"

Hiccup blinked. "Yeah...North mentored him right?"

Jack nodded. "Right. He worked at the last place I stayed before North took me in. I know I made his life a living hell. Anyway, they're looking for sponsorship. He invited me to drop by, but…"

"But?"

"I don't know. It feels like that stuff was another lifetime ago. Sometimes those days don't even feel real to me." His gaze hardened. "But they were…" He stared in the direction of the television. "I couldn't make up those things. I won't forget them either."

As he would have with any other issue, Hiccup was ready to provide support.

"So…" Hiccup looked at him. "When are we going?"

That Sunday Jack and Hiccup drove out to Sixth Street Orphanage. A heavy downpour thudded against the car. Hiccup watched Jack as he parked the car. He had been quiet for most of the ride.

Jack could feel Hiccup watching him. "Sorry. This is weirder than I thought it was going to be." He looked out the window. " I used to steal candy from that store over there...And I blew up that hydrant one time…"

Hiccup smirked. "Wow. Sounds like you would've put that DunBroch triplets to shame."

Jack gave him a weak smile. "I was a mess."

Hiccup nodded. "You're still a mess. But I'm used to cleaning up after you." He reached for the door handle. "Come on."
Jack reluctantly followed him out of the car and up the short steps to the orphanage.

"You're not thinking about trading me for a new model are you?"

"A younger kid could help me with cleaning those hard to reach places...Like that gap between the stove and the fridge…" Hiccup placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Look, if you're good I'll bring you back home, okay?" He rang the doorbell.

Jack laughed, half out of nervousness, half out of habit.

Without warned the door burst open, A black and red blur bumped into Jack and he took a step back as a small boy went running down the street. Jack's eyes went to the boy's hoodie, clearly stuffed with something heavy.

"Oi! Get back here!" An exasperated voice called from within, its drawl distinctly Australian. A tall gentleman with a head of sandy brown hair and a five o'clock shadow came to the door, towering over them both. The rolled-up sleeves of his dress shirt revealed a set of matching tattoos that on first glance looked tribal but connected into floral designs. The juxtaposition between his business attire and the tattoos instantly reminded Hiccup of North.

"Bunnyboy!" Jack beamed.

Instantly the man's emerald eyes narrowed. "Overland." His shoulders dropped, dejectedly. "Yer just in time."

Jack glanced back in the direction that the boy had run. "Apparently. Do you want help tracking that kid down?"

The man sighed."No." He moved to the side, allowing them access to the entranceway. "Come in."

As they entered, the distant murmurs of voices could be heard from down the hallway that connected to a sitting room on one side, a common area on the other, and ultimately led to a flight of stairs.

A girl in pigtails was hoping down the steps as the entred with heavy thuds. One glance from the gentleman was enough to make her smile fall, and she began to quietly descend the steps, one foot at a time.

"EB, this is my boyfriend, Hiccup Haddock. Hic, this is-Well, get this, Ea-"

"Aster." The man snapped. "Aster Bunnymund."

Jack's smile widened mischievously. " Bunnymund."

Hiccup's brows raised. ' ?' Jack's mood suddenly made sense. As someone who had been with Jack for years, Hiccup knew exactly what his sense of humor eas. And there was no way that he would not make fun of a name as unfortunate as 'E. Aster Bunnymund'. 'This poor guy…' Hiccup thought.' He's probably been calling him Easter Bunny for years. Only Odin knows how many rabbit puns this man had to endure.'

"Nice to meet you." Hiccup smiled nervously. But why the E? His first name must be something else Jack used as ammunition against him.

Aster folded his arms behind his back. "Let's take these pleasantries to another room, shall we?"

A moment later they were sitting in Aster's office upstairs. It seemed Aster was keen on talking business only, something that bored Jack after not seeing the man for such a long time. Still, he listened intently as Aster laid out his plans for revitalizing the home while maintaining the wellbeing of the staff and children. Jack was happy to help would be sure to bring his father in on the situation. North had always had a soft spot for children, and would likely pull his network together to ensure the futures of many.

Following Aster back down the stairs, Jack was overcome with a strange feeling. A glance into the common room had set if off. Several children of varied ages were in the room, most of them seated in front of the television, some preoccupied with toys. But he saw their eyes glance over him, and he knew what those looks meant.

'Who are you?' 'Will you take us?'

That strange feeling bubbling into something sickly in his stomach. He remembered those early days, when he did everything he could to keep his sister by his side. The adults would eyes them as if they were puppies in a shop-

The front door opened again. It was the same boy from earlier. He was short but thin and gangly with a pale complexion. He wore a red hoodie, t-shirt, shorts and sneakers-all of which were slightly oversized, making him look even smaller. A mop of shaggy black hear sat atop his head, and his brown eyes were scrunched up in a glare.

"Hamada, back at last." Aster sighed.

"I put it back," He grumbled.

Aster rubbed his temples. "Hamada…" He began.

"What? That's what you wanted right!?" Despite the anger in his voice tears began to form in the corners of his eyes. "Can I go now?"

Aster stepped to the side and the boy stomped along past him.

"Quietly, please!" Aster yelled, but the boy was already running up the stairs.

Jack watched him go.

Hiccup glanced between them both.

Aster rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't mind Hamada, he's not a bad kid, just needs some direction."

"Right.." Jack murmured, eyes still on the stairs. "Well, we better get going. I'll call to set things up-"

Aster nodded. "Thanks fer stopping by."

Jack smiled. "No problem."

Despite his smile and wave goodbye, it seemed Jack wasn't all that ready to leave. As he started the engine, Jack's hands hovered on the steering wheel.

"Jack," Hiccup's voice was soft. "Are you okay?" While Jack had said very little it was a plain as day by his distant gaze that visiting had indeed brought out something in Jack, possibly his own painful memories tied to adoption. To this day he still had not told Sophie that they were related. It was only by a stroke of luck that they had both settled in Burgess.

Jack finally settled a hand on the steering wheel but cut the engine.

"I keep thinking about what Aster said about that kid." Jack paused. "It still feels like it wasn't long ago that I needed some direction."

"It wasn't." Hiccup replied, dryly. "You literally made a wrong turn on the way here."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. You know what I mean."

"Yeah." Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to help him?"

"It's not like I can adopt him. I'm still a kid myself." Jack laughed nervously. "I mean, that's crazy, right?"

Hiccup squeezed his hand. "Is that what you want to do?"

"I…" Jack squeezed the steering wheel. "It's not like adopting a dog. It takes a lot of time, and money, and commitment, and I am totally not talking myself out of it. I'm not even scared."

"Jack…"

"But I can't do it if you don't want to." Jack shook his head. "We've never really talked about it."

"No, we haven't." Hiccup stared at him. "But that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it. You always seem so much happier when Dennis is around. I should have said something before, but I wasn't sure, you know?"

Jack looked down at the wheel. "Dennis is a great kid with great parents to take care of him. Everyone loves him. But that kid back there...He's already getting big...probaly a preteen. It gets harder to find a home the older you get. And if he acts out, he might not get as many chances. I sure as hell didn't. I was lucky that North tried to save me." He looked at Hiccup.

Hiccup's gaze hardened."Jack...Do you want to save him?"

"I do." Jack nodded.

Hiccup smiled. "Then I think we have a lot of work to do."

Chapter Text

Mornings at the group home always started the same way for Hiro Hamada. Crammed into a room full of children, he would slip away from the bunk beds and sneak away downstairs to the common room. Most of the staff had yet to arrive, leaving him to access one of the shared computers at his leisure. He’d been caught doing this more than once but usually allowed to continue his browsing, but not without an occasional observer at his back.
Hiro, despite being only ten years of age, had a knack for mayhem. Technology-based mayhem. It started with a touch of identity theft. One of the staff members had signed into a browser on one fo the shared computers to make a purchase--and forgotten to log out. After figuring out their login info, Hiro had decided to order a round of pizzas for the kids. He would’ve gotten away with it too, had one of the kids not blabbed.
After the mysterious pizzas came mysterious donated toys, at which point his privileges were revoked. But this only pushed Hiro out into the streets. While their town was no Gotham, there was still plenty for Hiro to get his hands on. It started with ‘walks’ around the neighborhood--which Aster eventually found out were for pilfering curbside electronics and reselling at them at pawnshops.
The animosity Hiro held for the older Aussie was palpable. Don’t touch this, don’t do that...Eventually, he offered the olive branch of allowing Hiro to use the shared laptops again, but with a child locked browser that Hiro had found a way around quickly with the help of few tutorials. That was the fun of the internet. If you kept digging, you could find all sorts of information--good or bad.
“Hamada.”
Hiro nearly jumped out of his skin. How on earth had Mr. Bunnymund figured out how to move around without making any noise? A giant like him that moved so quietly had to be a ninja, or ex-special forces or something. Maybe he’d try to dig up some research on him later.
“What?” Hiro furrowed his brow. It was still early right? He glanced back at the screen. It was already ten. The other kids were probably eating breakfast.
Mr. Bunnymund rubbed his neck, looking sheepish. “I need you to eat and wash up...And put on a nice shirt…”His uncomfortable gaze was offputting. “You’re going to have visitors today.”
Hiro’s eyes widened. It couldn’t be. Was the home finally going to get rid of him? Where would they send him? Some orphanage far away?
“Look...” Hiro’s eyes darted around wildly. “I don’t know what you think I did, but I didn’t do it okay? I’ll...I’ll do whatever chores you want or fix whatever it was but don’t send me away!”
Mr. Bunnymind shook his head. “It’s not that simple Hamada. They’re coming to--”
Hiro pushed past and made a run for it. No, he wouldn’t let himself be tossed away. He would run. He could make it on his own. He could scavenge on the streets, swipe things to eat from the local stores, sleep at the junkyard. He could--
Just after opening the front door, he slammed hard into something.
A pair of hands fell on his shoulders as he inhaled a strong scent, a mixture of peppermint and pine.
“Caught you this time.”
Hiro pushed away and looked up. It was that white-haired guy. He’d showed up at the orphanage a couple of times now to talk with Bunnymund. A pale guy with white hair and blue eyes who called Bunnymund the bunny man straight to his face. Anyone capable of that was an absolute legend.
“Hi.”
Hiro glanced left. This time there was another guy with him. This guy looked… familiar for some reason.
“You’re a bit early.” Bunnymund was behind Hiro now, slight irritation in his voice.
Jack shrugged. “Sorry, I had to swap shifts at the store and I had some free time. We can wait if you’re busy.”
Mr. Bunnymund pulled at his collar. He stepped aside for the two strangers, gesturing down the hall. “No, er...Have a seat in the office will you, we’ll be in a moment.”
Before Hiro could move Mr. Bunnymund put a firm hand on his shoulder.
The two men moved past them, both giving Hiro a glance before heading down the hall.
Hiro glanced up at Bunnymund with an uneasy glance, and let himself be steered back inside.
The older man bent down to his level. “Listen to me Hiro”, His gaze softened. “You’re not being sent away. These two want to offer you a home.”
Hiro blinked. Once. Twice. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that? I think I just hallucinated.”
Mr. Bunnymund bit back a laugh before putting on a serious face. “You have an adoption offer, Hiro.” He stood up straight. “Now go fix yourself up a bit, you’ve got five minutes.”
This had to be the weirdest moment of Hiro’s life. Just a minute ago he was ready to start a new life on the streets, now he was being told someone was interested in adopting him?
It sounded too good to be true. And maybe it was. Hiro went to the bathroom, fixed up his appearance as he could. His hair refused to sit down properly, but he didn’t want to look too polished. He hated the way some of the kids tried to change themselves when visitors came.
Hiro frowned at his appearance in the mirror. He wasn’t going to leave with them just because they asked. He would decide whether they could be his parents or not.
Hiro let Mr. Bunnymund lead him into the office.
The two men were seated on the other side of the desk, from Bunnymund and Hiro, and the older man set up a chair for the children.
With a lap pillow acting as a booster, Hiro food himself face to face with the pair.
“Okay.” Aster took a seat. “Hiro Hamada, this is Jackson Overland and Hiccup Haddock--”
Hiro blinked, recognition clear on his face, but the emotion was read as surprise by Hiccup and Jack. He stayed quiet as Aster rolled through pleasantries and procedures.
Jack admittedly, was only half listening. Something about the interview procedure and breaking boundaries. He wasn’t listening.nHiccup had one and resting on his knee, grounding him in the moment. This was actually happening. He was trying to become a parent.

“Mister Bunnymund!” A miserable looking girl appeared in the doorway. All four pairs of eyes moved to her. “The boys are fighting!”
Aster sat up. “Where is Miss Duffy?”
“She’s trying to get jane’s arm out the toilet!”
Aster rubbed his temples. “Not again…” He rose from his chair. “I’ll be back.”
Jack and Hiro both watched him go, terrified.
The door softly clicked behind Aster, and the three went back to staring at each other.
Hiccup, hoping to actually get something done today, was the first to break the ice.
“So, Hiro. This is probably a little weird right? I mean, we’ve never met face to face before.” He rubbed his arm, his usual sign of discomfort, but continued on. “Do you have any questions for us?”
Hiro blinked. That was unexpected. He did have questions, perhaps too many. One came forth without warning, and he regretted it as soon as the words finished tumbling out his mouth.
“You guys are gay, right?”
“Yeah.” Hiccup bit back a laugh.
“So...Which one of you is the guy?” Hiro couldn’t control his word vomit.
“We’re both guys.” Jack glanced over at Hiccup with a smirk before returning his attention to Hiro. “That’s what makes it gay.”
“Right…” Hiro scratched his head as his face flushed.
“Does that bother you?” Hiccup asked.
“N-No!” Now he had done it. There was no way this could get any more awkward. Where was Bunnymund? “Sorry. That was..rude. You know what? I’ll just ask Bunnymund to swap me out for another kid--” He began to slide off the chair.
“Wait--” Jack smiled nervously. “ I mean, that’s a pretty valid question. But I get it. So let’s uh, start over okay?”
Hiro shifted on the pillow. “Okay. Uh…” He looked down at the table. “You probably saw my file already. I’ve been in the system for a while, and I don’t have the best record. Honestly, I thought I would just age out of it one day.” He chuckled, a sad smile on his face. “So I guess what I want to ask is..” He looked from the table. “Why me?”
Jack and Hiccup exchanged glances.
Jack spoke first. “Well, if I learned anything from all the times I got in trouble growing up, it’s that you never do those things for the reason people think you do. And sometimes you do those things because you can’t get people to hear you otherwise.”
Hiro gave him an incredulous look. “You used to get in trouble?”
Jack stared at him. “You know that empty patch on Filmore street and Thrid?”
“Yeah.”
“There used to be an old house there--”
Hiccup glared at Jack. “You told me that was an accident!”
Jack reared away from him, hands slightly raised in defense. “It was! I didn’t mean to burn the whole thing--” He glanced over at Hiro. “Anyway, no one wanted to adopt me either--at first.”
“You don’t have to wait to age out, Hiro.” Hiccup squeezed Jack’s hand. “You don’t have to be perfect to get adopted.”
Hiro shrugged. “I guess not...But I don’t’ think I deserve it like some of the others.”
“Every kid deserves a home,” Jack replied.
Aster cleared his throat. “Sounds like the first interview is going well.” He cut his eyes to Jack. “Arson, Jackson?”
Jack narrowed his eyes at him. “It was an accident, Bunnyboy.”
Hiro snickered.
Aster crossed his arms. “I think you’ve learned enough about each other today.”
Jack opened his mouth to protest but Aster continued. “Paramedics are coming, and I have my hands full.” Registering their looks of concern, he clarified the situation. “Another day, another arm in a toilet. I’ll call you regarding the follow up..” He nodded to Hiro. “Hamada, could you wait in the common room, please?”
Hiro slid off his perch. “Uh, oh...kay?”
Hiccup nodded at him. “It was nice meeting you, Hiro.”
Hiro walked around the desk as he headed for the door. “Uh...Yeah…Nice meeting you guys…”
He gave them both another glance before heading to the common room.
A moment later, as Hiro sat with the other anxious kids busying themselves with crafts while paramedics worked upstairs, Hiro realized where he had seen Hiccup’s face before.
There on the television, during a video on ‘21 super-fun popsicle stick crafts’, was a woman with long golden hair and beside her, a slightly younger Hiccup Haddock.

Hiro’s eyes locked onto the video. This was his starting point. He had research to do.
With years of youtube uploads, online posts and concert appearance to sift through Hiro spent his days online until the second interview--something Bunnymund was glad to see.
Bunnymund, of course, assumed Hiro was reigning in his behavior to protect his status of possible adoption--something that wasn’t too far from the truth.
Aside from a trip to see the vacant lot Jack had ‘accidentally’ created, Hiro had stayed inside.
At the end of the week, Hiro went on the computer one last time. Sifting through the notes he had taken, he compiled a document for reference.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third. Son of retired wrestlers Stoick Haddock aks the Hairy Hooligan and Valka Haddock, aka Valhallrama the Viking Queen. Has a cat named Toothless. Uploads fantasy art and models on various platforms. Freelancer. A frequent collaborator featured on Rapunzel Corona’s Youtube channel.

Jackson Overland-St.North. Adopted, son of Nicholas St. North. Attended the same high school and college as HIccup and Rapunzel, according to several comments. Works at a department store. Seen occasionally on Hiccup and Rapunzel’s Social media. Old friends(?) with Bunnymund.

With the next interview hours away, Hiro went over the document again. He would be ready this time. No weird comments, no slip-ups. Bunnymund would be right there to smooth things over. It was going to be fine.

Jack got out of the car first, wiping his hands on his pants and shaking his head. He felt oddly jittery, something he hadn’t experienced in years. When was the last time, he wondered. Before a big game? A hospital visit? An oral report? That one weird weekend in college when they found a strange man under their bed?
Hiccup fell into step with him on the sidewalk. “Nervous?”
Jack slid his hands into his pockets, trying his best to relax. “That obvious, huh?”
Hiccup stopped in front of him, setting his hands on Jack’s shoulders. “You’re going to be fine.” He kissed him then, pulling back to look into Jack’s eyes. “We’re going to be fine.”
“You’re right.” Jack sighed, leaning against Hiccup. “You always are.”
They met Aster at the door, headed inside, and went to the office.
“The second Interview is going to be like the first.” Aster went over the procedure. “I was supposed to be there the first time, but nothing was reported by the child in question, so you’re allowed to talk to him on your own this time.” He shrugged. “Protocol.”
They entered the office where Hiro was waiting once again, this time with a determined look on his face. However, as Aster headed for the door the look disappeared, and he reverted to the small, scared ten-year-old he really was.
And having been that child once upon a time, Jack could understand what that felt like. So he knuckled down, and took his seat. He couldn’t be that nervous kid anymore. He had to be the parent that child needed.

Chapter Text

"How have you been, Hiro?" Hiccup asked.

Hiro shrugged. "Oh, you know...just..." He tried to come up with something interesting, but nothing came to mind. He mentally cursed himself for not fabricating some amazing. Why hadn't he spent any time working on himself that week "Doing…nothing."

"Well last time we didn't get to talk about much...except, you know, arson." Hiccup shot Jack a look, mocking than critical.

Jack crossed his arms. "It's called 'sharing'." He said the words with air quotes. "You never been in a 'share circle'? That's what we're in right now. No shame in the share circle." He wagged his finger at Hiccup as if he were scolding him.

Hiccup shook his head, aware that Jack was mocking the parenting 'counselor' they had recently seen. Jokes or not, At least Jack had been paying attention.

"Hiro, why don't you tell us something next?"

"Oh uh-" Hiro was drawing blanks. Suddenly he felt bad for all the kids he had made fun of in the past for putting so much work into their sessions with potential parents. Learning tricks and reciting things they had learned. And yet, he felt like he couldn't do that. Not to these two.

Hiccup seemed just like his online persona: nice and unassuming. Jack's charisma was practically oozing, he could see why he was always requested in the comments.

Hiro scratched the back of his neck. Lying about himself felt wrong.

So, he wouldn't.

"I..I've just been watching videos lately...There's not much to do around here anyhow."

"Videos huh?" Jack saw an opening and took it. "What kind? Let's plays? True Crime?"

"Crafting." Hiro clarified.

"Really?" Hiccup replied. "Our friend has a crating channel."

"Yeah.." Hiro shifted nervously in his chair. "I know."

Jack and Hiccup exchanged glances.

Hiro was quick to defend himself. "I know that sounds weird but-"

"No, it's okay." Hiccup smiled.

Jack shrugged. "I mean, they do background checks for almost anything these days right? It's not like Aster didn't go over your file before we started the process."

Hiro's eyes went wide. "What?"

"We didn't do it to pry into your past or anything-" Hiccup tried to sound reassuring, as the look on Hiro's face worried him.

"It's part of the process." Jack leaned forward, keeping eye contact. "Aster just-"

"Then why are you still here?" Hiro had not meant to ask that aloud. His voice sounded strange and small to him. "You-" His voice cracked. "You saw what I did, right?"

"Yeah." Jack bit back a laugh. "The pawnshop scheme was pretty sweet-" He could feel Hiccup staring daggers at him. "But uh, totally...wrong and uh…that's in the past! Everyone makes mistakes right? And like we said last time, Every kid deserves a home. Even the sneaky ones."

Hiro felt like crying. "It takes one to know one, right?"

Jack laughed. "You know it!"

"But records don't tell a whole story." Hiccup stated. "Which is why we're here. We want to know the real you."

"And that goes both ways," Jack added. "As handsome as we look on camera, we're probably a little different from what you're expecting. So ask us anything."

With tension gone from both parties, they were able to move forward.

"...So I've been watching model builders lately...and model car racing." Hiro continued. The topic had switched to hobbies, something he could handle. "There are these people that build entire race tracks and have competitions...The cars are really detailed."

Hiccup nodded with interest. "I think I've seen those before. I make models from time to time, but I'm interested in animatronics right now."

Jack rolled his eyes. "He says it like it's just a hobby, but Hiccup designs models for shop windows and art galleries."

Hiccup shrugged. "It's not like I do it every day, and it doesn't feel like work to me. I think I'm lucky, in that regard."

"Work that doesn't feel like work is a blessing." He looked towards the ceiling. "But the stuff you do takes a lot of time and effort, so don't discredit it."

"So, what do you guys do for work?" Hiro asked.

"Hiccup rubbed his arm. "Well, I do editing part-time and do paint and model commissions. My family owns a couple of gyms, so I work with them from time to time."

"I'm a manager for my Dad's department store." Jack paused. "Think Macy's, but in a small-town setting."

"Burgess isn't that small." Hiccup replied, glancing at Jack. " Our store, 's is actually a landmark. It's one of the oldest department stores in the states, and brings in customers from all over the place. Including a certain Emperor. Isn't it almost time for his visit."

Hiro blinked. "An Emperor?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh my God, don't remind me." Seeing Hiro's interest, he continued. "Yeah, a certain tiny nation that controls a big output, has a certain eccentric ruler who comes like once a year, drops a cool million or so on us and leaves again. He's gotten better in the last couple of years, but his visits throw the whole town out of wack. There's a precession with his gold cars, and flower girls, and llamas. I don't know what it is about the llamas. Anyway, that weirdo aside, we do get diplomats and other people coming through...But Burgess has other stuff going on."

"If you want to see it, we can request the home visit." Hiccup offered. "Aster did mention we can do meetings offsite."

"Can we!?" Hiro asked, ecstatic. The thought of getting away from the home was enough to fill him with excitement.

"Sure." Jack laughed. "I'll ask the bunny boy to drum up the paperwork."

The door to the office opened. Aster stood there, arms crossed. "How many times have I asked you not to call me that?"

Jack sneered. "How many times have I actually listened?"

Hiccup shrugged at Hiro. "Nicknames are kind of his thing."

Aster huffed. "If its a home visit, you'll need a witness. Let me take a look at my schedule, and I'll see when we can fit one in…"

Hiro was hardly listening as Bunnymund went on, murmuring about budgets, plans, and appointments. As long as he was allowed to go, he didn't care if it was tomorrow or two weeks from then.

Two days later Hiro was in the middle of his lesson when Aster pulled him out. They stood in the hallway of the home. While Hiro was glad to do his schooling there, he hated how simple the lesson plans were.

Hiro was quick to defend himself. "Whatever it is, I didn't do-"'

"The schedule is clear. It's either right now or three weeks from now."

"What?"

Bunnymund crossed his arms. "Either you're going to Burgess today or-"

"Yes!" Hiro exclaimed, before calming down. "I-I mean, yeah. Okay, right now!"

"I thought so," Bunnymund smirked.

Things seemed to move in a blur after that. Hiro found himself in the back seat of Aster Bunnymund's car, strapped in and sitting on a booster seat much to his chagrin. He watched the town go by until brand new sights surrounded them, and they moved onto the highway. The sky above was wide and inviting. Hiro let down the window slightly, and the wind ruffled through his hair. It was his first taste of freedom in ages. No matter what happened, he would enjoy this day he decided. He still didn't know where he stood with Hiccup and Jack, but he could at least make the most of what came his way.

The car rolled off the highway and eventually made its way to the backstreets of Burgess. Manicured lawns and cheery houses were lined up in rows. Neighbors stood on corners and chatted, joggers weaved down the blocks, and kids walked in bunches on the sidewalks.

As they came to a series of storefronts, Hiro stared at the row of glass window panes and old fashioned lettering. "This place is like...those cheesy towns you see in Hallmark movies."

Bunnymund laughed. "Burgess certainly has its charms." When they came to a stoplight, he dialed a number on his phone, and tapped his earpiece. "Yes, we're almost there. We'll meet you in the lobby."

Aster parked the car across the street from North's, adjusting his things as Hiro rolled the window back up. Grabbing his phone, he yanked the keys from the ignition and exited the car.

Hiro followed after him, across the road and through the revolving doors into the much-celebrated lobby of North's department store. Hiro watched as clerks milled about and purchases were made. His eyes moved from counter to counter, concierge to concierge until they found Jack.

Mid conversation with a staff member, Jack's gaze was distant. He was dressed in a tailored blue suit-a contrast to the casually dressed staff, but made of a higher quality. It was a change from his As the employee headed off he adjusted his cufflinks, his gaze thoughtful.

"Jackson!"

At the sound of his name, mirth returned to Jack's eyes. He suddenly looked much more like the man Hiro had met weeks before. Jack's grin spread as they approached him. "Aster, Hiro, you're just in time!"

Hiro's eyes went from Jack to the figure coming up behind him-a large man with a wild grey beard. His frame seemed more muscular than expected for his girth, somehow restrained under a red button shirt, pinstripe suspenders, and pants. One of his sleeves was slightly rolled up, revealing the heavy ink of a tattoo. His piercing dark blue eyes fell upon Hiro as the boy gulped nervously.

Jack followed Hiro's gaze, turning to see Nicholas. "Dad?"

Hiro put two and two together, based on his notes. This was not the man he had been expecting. 'This is Nicholas ?'

"Good to see you, sir," Aster said.

"Aster! You are doing well, yes!?" He clamped a mighty hand onto his shoulder. "It is good to see you again!" His eyes went to Hiro next, bending towards his level. "And this must be Hiro!" He extended a hand. Hiro offered his own, only to have it shook like mad. North practically lifted him off the ground.

"Easy Dad." Jack soothed. "You could snap him like a twig!"

Nicholas laughed, his voice booming. Coupled with his white and red attire, Hiro couldn't help but crack a nervous smile. 'Whoa. Buff Santa.'

"He is just like you when you were little boy!" Nicholas continued with a chuckle.

"They've got a few things in common alright." Aster nodded. " 'cept Hiro's got the better record."

"Yeah, yeah." Jack crossed his arms, but his tone was light. His attention went back to Hiro. "This is my Dad-Nicholas . He runs this place."

"We run this place." Nicholas corrected with a jab at Jack's arm. "Come Hiro, we will show you everything!"

North led the way as they moved about the store, pointing out facts while Hiro listened. Jack stepped away only a few times to instruct the occasional employee or help a customer but otherwise remained part of the group. Aster was on his phone for half of the tour, typing away about something. They concluded their time together with North getting Hiro a large frozen hot chocolate from the cafe and guiding them to Jack's office at which point the jolly shop owner departed.

Hiro, now full of facts and high fructose corn syrup, looked around the office. Aster settled into a chair, still typing.

"Want to see something cool?" Jack asked, gesturing to the window.

Hiro nodded, leaving his drink on the edge of Jack's desk before following him to the window.

Downtown Burgess was below, a buzz with activity.

"Look straight ahead," Jack instructed, pointing to a building nearby.

Hiro stared across the way, eyes searching until they landed on a familiar face.

Hiccup was at a window, sipping from a mug. His gaze met third and he smiled, waving.

"That's our apartment over there," Jack explained, waving back to Hiccup.

"At…" Hiro squinted to read the building's awnings. "Hotel Tartakovsky?"

"Yeah. The lofts upstairs are for permanent residency, but we can still order things like room service or use the pool."

Hiro's eyes widened. "So you can just...ask for stuff all the time?" He had seen room service in movies on TV. The idea of living with such a thing sounded incredible. "Awesome!"

Jack smiled down at him. 'Yeah, it's pretty sweet. Do you want to go try it?" Remembering Aster was there, he looked back. "If…that's okay, I mean."

Aster looked away from his phone. "That would save us some time."

"Great." Jack waved at Hiccup again, mouthing something. "Let me just get Hic on the phone…"

After a brief chat, Jack escorted Aster and Hiro back out of the offices and down to the main lobby of the department store. Still draining his frozen hot chocolate, Hiro followed the two men back through the revolving doors, and onto the streets of downtown Burgess. Hiro wasn't sure if it was the sugar or the adrenaline but everything seemed a little cozier, and the people looked friendlier.

A bell chimed as they stepped through the doors of the hotel. Much like North's there was a buzz of activity; as bellhops and guests moved about. Standing by the front desk was Hiccup, leaning back and talking to a woman behind the counter. Despite her dark attire, her mood was jovial.

"Hic!" Jack called.

Hiccup turned at the sound of his name, and the woman looked over her dark sunglasses.

"Just in time." Hiccup said as Jack stopped in front of him.

Hiro smiled. It was funny how in sync the two of them were. "Jack said the same thing before."

"Yeah?" Hiccup scratched his head, before looking at Jack. "Mer might be right...We're slowly becoming the same person."

Jack leaned forward then, grinning. "Lucky me."

"Are you okay?" Jack whispered in Hiccup's ear. "Your hands are really red."

"I was just scrubbing off some paint." Hiccup hissed. "But the living room is clean, so don't worry about it."

Aster looked up from his phone. "Well, let's see the home, shall we?"

Jack slipped his hand into Hiccup's with a nod.

One elevator ride later they were following Hiccup and Jack down the hall to their apartment.

Hiccup slipped his key into the lock and tugged on the doorknob. "Well, it's not much but…" He pushed the door open. "Welcome."

Hiro entered first. The walls of the entranceway were decorated with paintings large and small. There were lush landscapes, icy tundras, wide open seas-all inhabited by Dragons. Large ones. Skinny ones. Ones that breathed fire, and others that spewed poison.

Something brushed up against Hiro's ankle. He jumped and turned, just in time to see a dark thing scurry behind the kitchen counter.

Hiccup placed his hand son Hiro's shoulders. "Easy now. You scared him."

Hiro looked up at him but Hiccup knelt down and reached towards the counter. "C'mere, bud."

There was a brief pause, but the cat reappeared from behind the counter, eyeing them both.

"Give me your hand." Hiccup instructed.

Hiro offered his hand with some hesitation but told himself not to be afraid.

Toothless attached them both. Sensing no danger, he trotted towards them. Sniffing Hiro's hand, he deemed it worthy, and pressed his tiny head against it.

Hiro, surprised, patted the small cat's head. He felt foolish for getting scared in the first place.

"See? Nothing to worry about." Hiccup scratched the cat behind the ears. "Toothless is harmless."

Toothless, deciding they were allowed to enter, shifted way and darted towards the living room. There, a large flatscreen sat across from two long matching sofas, surrounded by long windows that displayed downtown and beyond. In one corner sat an easel, a hastily folded sheet covered in speckles of paint, and a box of materials.

On the easel was another painting, this one of a black dragon in mid-flight. Lighting crackles along it's back, bouncing off a set of luminescent scales. Looking at its eyes, he realized it looked a lot like Toothless.

"It's not finished." Hiccup crossed his arms, frowning.

"It's really cool." Hiro replied, observing the painting.

Aster moved down the hall, glancing at the kitchen before moving towards the living room. He took out his phone again, typing quickly.

Jack followed him. "What are you writing?"

Aster turned away from him. "Never you mind."

Hiro continued to take in his surroundings, this tie moving towards the tv stand. Photos, movies, and video games were held in the and above the stand, but Hiro's eyes fell on the gaming console. "You guys have a Gamebox Six?"

Jack moved towards the living room. "Uh huh."

There was a soft beep and Hiccup went back to the kitchen area. Sitting on the marble countertop were a series of appliances, among them a large pressure cooker. Hiccup reached for a potholder and unlatched the pot. There was a rush of steam, and a pleasant aroma wafted through the apartment. Hiccup took a wooden spoon and moved to the stove, where a pot of mashed potatoes, and a set of rolls were resting. "Looks like dinner is done a little early."

"Can we stay for dinner?" Hiro asked, eyes lit with excitement.

Aster's face portrayed no emotion as he glanced between his phone and Hiro's face. "We can spare another hour. No more."

Dinner was served swiftly of course, as the four gathered at the kitchen table.

Jack and Hiro talked about everything from the games that had recently come out to the strange customers that appeared at the department store from to time. Everything seemed to be going well, until a tear dripped down Hiro's face and into his stew.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, startled. "Are you okay?"

Hiro rubbed at his face. He felt hot all over from embarrassment. "I'm sorry." His voice came out squeaky and uneven. "This sucks…"

He felt Toothless nudge his leg and looked down to see the cat tilt its head.

"I guess..." Hiro reached out to pet Toothless' head. "I kinda wish I didn't have to leave…'cause I may never come back here."

"Aster." Hiccup scowled at the man. "You didn't tell Hiro why he was here, did you?"

Feeling mildly threatened under Hiccup's and Jack's accusatory stares, Aster dropped his fork.

"N-Now hang on. Hiro," Aster turned to the boy and adjusted his suit out of habit. "Hamada, we're past the interview phase. This is Hiccup and Jack's third evaluation, not yours."

"What does that mean?" Hiro blinked, rubbing his face.

"Well, they've already completed training. This is the last check for home study, where we check the surroundings and families or prospective parents. But…Er, I already know them so…All that's left is a few documents."

Hiro looked around the table for confirmation.

"You're being adopted, Hiro." Hiccup shook his head. "If you want to be, that is."

For the second time, Hiro began to cry.

Chapter Text

"This next part is your choice, Hiro," Jack explained.

The three sat at the dinner table, as Hiro was making his third trip to Burgess.

"You can change your last name….if you want. You can have the honor and prestige of being a St. North or…" He grimaced in Hiccup's direction. "A fish."

"A fish? Seriously?" Hiccup stared back at Jack. "Hundreds of years of Viking history and you're just dismissing my last name as a fish?"

Jack gave him a sideways glance. "Welp, that's what a Haddock is, Hic. I'm sure it's a good source of vitamins but it's still, well...dinner."

"Tch. Whatever Jack." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "And what is St. North supposed to mean? A saint of the north? What are you, the descendants of Santa Claus?"

"Thanks for making my last name sound even cooler than yours." Jack grinned. "I appreciate it."

Hiro stifled a laugh. "Actually, I think I want to hold on to the Hamada name if that's okay with you guys. I don't know anything about my parents except they tried to shield me in the crash…" Hiro stared down at the table. "I think keeping their name the least I can do, so I have some connection to them."

Jack and Hiccup shared a glance.

"I think that's a great idea." Hiccup nodded. "I'm sure they would love that."

"In that case, all that's left is a signature." Jack pushed the paperwork towards Hiro.

Hiro picked up a pen, and scanned the paper again, ignoring the bubbling feeling in his stomach. While he was getting used to interacting with Jack and Hiccup, the doubt of his situation still lingered. 'No.' Hiro thought to himself. He pinched himself hard more than once to check. The welt on his arm was still there. This was happening.

Jack and Hiccup drove him back to the home this time, as Bunnymund was busy with new adoptions in progress. And as they pulled up to the house, Hiro realized it would be for the last time. Tomorrow, he and his backpack of belongings would be making the last trip to Burgess. No more bunkbeds, no more lines for the bathroom. No more scathing looks from Mr. Bunnymund or scavenging for things to fix up and sell.

Surprisingly he felt a twinge of regret. For all the complaining he did, the sneaking out, the hours he spent daydreaming...part of him was going to miss his old life.

He spent the rest of the visit giving short replies and spacing out. Neither Jack nor HIccup pressed him on the sudden change of mood. He was quiet for the entire ride back and when Bunnymund inquired about his visit, Hiro said he was tired and went off to bed.

Except he wasn't.

Hiro spent the next five hours staring into space. By the time he had drifted off to sleep, he was being woken up. One of the younger kids was standing over him, blinking and teary-eyed.

"You're leaving?" Was the first thing he said.

"Yeah…" Hiro replied before shrinking back, as the child looked as if he would burst into tears.

And then he did.

"Whoa, hang on!" Hiro put a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"You're...gonna g-go away…" The little boy rubbed his eyes. "Who...Who's gonna fix our toys...And help make our peas go away so Bunnymund doesn't see?"

Hiro wasn't expecting that. Sure he had fixed the old action figure, found batteries for their playsets, or unstuck a few legos, and maybe he ate the vegetables off a few plates for the younger kids...But he didn't consider what that meant to the others.

When Hiro went downstairs for breakfast he was greeted with more sniffling noses and wobbly smiles. As a stack of pancakes was dropped on his plate, he was showered with well wishes. The kids asked all sorts of questions-where he was going, who was adopting him, what was his home like...It gave Hiro had that strange feeling again, just as he had while signing the papers back in Burgess. Somehow it was still not clicking that he was leaving for good.

It was noon when Jack showed up at the home, where he found Hiro sitting on the steps, half-obscured by an oversized greeting card.

"Hey…" Unable to see Hiro's face, Jack poked at the back of the card, "Hiro, you in there?"

"Yeah…" His voice was strained, and when he closed the card, Jack saw that Hiro's eyes were red.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Hiro wiped his face with his sleeve.

Jack rubbed the back of his head. "It's still settling in, huh? That you're leaving?"

Hiro blinked. "Yeah. That must seem weird, after everything that's happened."

Jack leaned against the railing of the steps. "Not really." He slipped his hands into his pockets. "I thought North was going to change his mind for months. Every time I screwed up, I thought it was still a possibility. But he never gave up on me."

Hiro looked up at him. They were similar in a lot of ways, he supposed. But unlike Hiro, Jack had a family before North.

"If it's okay to ask, what happened to your parents?"

Surprise flashed across Jack's face. He was not expecting that."My parents...Didn't want to be parents anymore."

Hiro regretted the question instantly. "I'm sorry."

Jack shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Some people just aren't meant to do the parenting thing." He glanced at the door. "I have to talk to Aster…" He looked down at Hiro. Did you say your goodbyes?"

Hiro nodded. "Uh-huh." Jack moved towards the door, but Hiro stayed put. When Hiro saw him pause, he spoke. "I don't think I can go back in there. It feels like I wot come back out again."
Jack opened his mouth to say something but he paused. "In that case, I'll be right back."

Left alone, Hiro went back to staring at the large greeting card in his hands. The inside was full of signatures and short notes from everyone at the home.

Hiro was so busy wrapped up in the card that he was taken off guard when the door opened again and several tiny hands seized him.

"There's no escaping the goodbye hug." smiled as the children toppled onto the lawn.

Hiro looked up to see Bunnymud and Jack coming out of the house.

Aster crossed his arms. "It's going to be weird not having to pick you up from the dump yard."

In recent days, Bunnymund's opinion of him seemed to soften or perhaps, Hiro realized, the man never disliked him at all.

Hiro slid away from the kids. "Maybe I'll steal your junk, or old time's sake." He stood, dusting off his pants. He held out his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Bunnymund. This wouldn't be happening with you."

"This happened because of you, Hiro." Aster shook the child's hand. "Every kid deserves a home...Even if they're a pain in the neck sometimes."

Despite hearing the phrase a million times, this time Hiro felt like he really meant it.

He smiled. "Thanks." He could feel the tears threatening to come back, and despite all these recent revelations, he still didn't want to be one of those teary-eyed kids that couldn't let go. Instead, he puffed out his chest, accepted a few hugs, and headed for the car.

As Jack pulled off he glanced over at Hiro, who sat in the passenger seat. He was turned away from. Jack was quiet. Once the home was out of view, he switched on the radio, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.

Hiro took a shaky breath and let himself cry.

While Jack and Hiro made the journey back to Burgess, Hiccup was in the middle of a video chat with his friends from Berk. In his highschool years, they had chatted online and in college there was the occasional conversation, but now they had settled into a group call to keep in touch. Adulthood was propelling Hiccup and his friends into different directions, so he was grateful that they took the time to work in a call.

As everyone started talking about the latest bit of news, Hiccup threw them all off with his own recent change.

"Well, uh, I became a dad the other day so…" Hiccup rubbed his arm. "Not that Dad probably hasn't told half the town already…Aunt Freda didn't faint did she?"

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "You know she did. Right into her shepherd's pie."

"Wait a sec, what's that?" Astrid had looked away for a split second and the connection in Berk, while leagues better than it had been years before, was far from perfect.

"Jack and I adopted a kid...So I guess I'm a Dad?"

Astrid stifled a laugh, Hiccup's flavor of awkwardness didn't seem to dissipate no matter how many years passed.

"Whoa." Tuffnut exclaimed.

"Where'd you pick it up?" Ruffnut asked.

"Congratulations." Fishlegs gave him a normal response, prompting HIccup to go on.

"Thanks. Honestly it's still kicking in that he's moving in today. If you had told me last year this was going to happen, I wouldn't have believed it."

"Sounds like you're going to have your hands full,"Astrid replied with a smirk. "I thought having Jack around was already like having a kid in the house."

Hiccup heaved a sigh. " Yeah, all I'm missing is crayon on the walls. Hiro is already ten though, so I expect that Jack will still be the main source of their messes."

Astrid shrugged. "Who knows, maybe Jack will mature a little now that there's an actual kid around."

"Well, if it weren't for Jack, we wouldn't be adopting a kid in the first place, so maybe it's already working."

An icon appeared at the top of the screen, indicating that Jack and Hiro would soon be arriving.

"Maybe this will be the start of something new."

While Hiro and Hiccup had their own doubts, Jack was too busy psyching himself up. He let Hiro wipe away his tears in silence, let him recuperate, and settle into watching the scenery go by. He would do for Hiro what North had done for him, Jack decided. Whether that meant giving him space or simply keeping a roof over his head. Eventually, they entered Burgess and made their way from the rows of houses to the busy streets.

All his worldly possessions tucked not one bag, Hiro followed Jack back into the Tartakovsky hotel, back into one of the elevators that would take them up to the residential floors. As the needle on the display moved from floor to floor, Hiro could feel the nervous energy building once again. He flinched when the elevator dinged at their floor, something Jack noticed but gave no reaction to. Instead, Jack moved ahead, unlocking the front door.

The apartment was warmer than the hallway, the smell of baked good wafting towards them as Toothless trotted towards the front door. Hiccup fell into their shared line of sight, a smile on his face.

"Welcome home."

Home. Even after the first two nights, the feeling of waking up in his own bed, with his own room was still surreal. Hiro had gone to pick out a few items for hsi room with Hiccup, his own sheets, new clothes-the type of stuff that probably seemed mundane to most kids, if tv show depictions of shopping were to be believed. Being the grandson of the owner of a department store had its perks, and Hiro and Hiccup moved through the floors of the family department store picking up odds and ends.

As Hiro's enrollment in the local school had not begun he was free to adjust to his new home. According to Jack that meant access to the gamebox six, using his new laptop in the living room (an early birthday present, courtesy of Hiccup), and hanging around either the apartment or the lobby below if he was bored.

It had only taken two days of living in the home for Hiro to realize there was only one adult in the household, and it wasn't the guy with the 9 to 5 job.

It was his life manager, Hiccup Haddock-the mysterious vlogger-slash-artist-slash gym running- cat lover that always seemed to be wide awake no matter what time of day or night Hiro approached him.

It was Hiccup who made sure Jack left on time, breakfast was ready, Toothless got his walk and the local gym branches opened smoothly-all before nine a.m. Hiccup's eccentricity seemed to begin and end with his art.

On the second day Hiccup had taken Hiro up to his workshop above the active floors of the department store, a space full of previous window display models and ongoing projects.

Hiccup worked on a sculpture for hours, with Hiro popping in and out to see its progress until Jack was off the clock. Hiccup presented his masterpiece fro critique, looking more irritated than anything.

"What do you think?" Hiccup asked, wiping sweat from his face.

"It's nice." Had been Hiro's reply, causing Hiccup to immediately look at the dragoon made of mixed media with disdain.

"Nice." Hiccup muttered.

Jack pulled Hiro away, just as Hiccup slipped his goggles back on, picked up a sledgehammer and began bashing the thing back to bits. Jack checked the time on his watch. "Looks like it'll be pizza for dinner.." He said, shaking his head as he pulled Hiro along. They left Hiccup to his 'art'.

"Did I say something wrong?" Hiro asked, confused.

"Nah." Jack slouched and pulled at his tie, relaxing as they exited the building. "Hic is a perfectionist. If he doesn't get a specific reaction, he keeps working on it until he gets what he wants. Sometimes he works all night. I'll get him out of there before midnight though."

True to form, Hiccup still called to make sure that Hiro ate dinner and would be in bed by 9. Jack half-heartedly promised he would, before settling down on the couch with Hiro for pizza and movies...and activity that ran late into the night.

Around midnight, Hiro woke up to the sound of Jack mumbling and Hiccup carrying him off to his room, something that he would have protested hours earlier.

Still drowsy, Jack rose from the couch. "You came back early...I didn't get a chance to call."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Were you going to call me in your sleep?"

Jack held up his phone. "I set an alarm. You're early."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "Okay, now I'm impressed. I'm still deducting points because you guys ate the whole pizza without me."

"Hiro's a growing boy, Hic."

They stood in the doorway to the bedroom. Jack leaned against the frame, wearing a mischievous smile.

"Maybe order him something with a little more nutritional value then?" Hiccup wrapped his arms around Jack's neck.

Jack leaned in, whispering in Hiccup's ear. "Meat is protein."

Tired, Hiccup could barely suppress a chuckle. "Odin's beard. You're ridiculous."
"Mmhm." Jack pulled him closer. "And you're exhausted. How about we call it a night?"

"Okay." Hiccup mumbled into Jack's shoulder. "Remind me to complain about the fact that you didn't defrost the chicken tomorrow."

"I definitely won't."

The following day was Sunday, the last day of freedom before Hiro started at Burgess Middle school. School was boring and repetitive as far as Hiro was concerned, but not difficult. If he kept his head low and did the work on time, he could get through it. It was dealing with other kids that he found complicated. At his age they wanted to talk about things like toys or sports or games and sometimes Hiro found the conversation a bit...Stagnant.

And of course using words like stagnant made other kids see him as smart, which usually led to them either wanting to copy his work or pick on him, but never want to be his friend. Hiro never understood why kids insisted he was so smart or grownups said he was bright. Almost anyone had access to a library. And as far as he was concerned you could learn whatever you wanted with the internet.

But before the boredom of school, on that Sunday he had something else to worry about. Three somethings to be exact. His new grandparents.

Hiccup's parents, the famed wrestler Vikings, were set to join them for dinner via Skype, whereas North would be there in person. Hiro had already met North, and was warming up to the man. While he found him somewhat intimidating, he didn't think North could hurt a fly.

Hiccup's parents, however, were another story. Out of curiosity, Hiro had looked up a highlight reel from their wrestling days. It was going to be hard separating 'Hiccup's Mother Valka' from Valhallarama-the woman who bashed someone with a folding chair.

He asked Jack about them first.

"Hic's parents? They're...Intense." He sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "Val is always off protesting something or helping some endangered species. She's nice though. Stoick…" Jack laughed. "I used to be so afraid of him. I swore he was going to body slam me once or twice. But he never has."

"That's reassuring," Hiro muttered.

Hiccup, who was vacuuming on the other side of the room, stopped. "Dad's not that bad."

Jack said nothing as the memory of Stoick and Hiccup shouting at each other inside a diner haunted him.

The doorbell rang, prompting Jack to head for the door. "That should be North."

Hiccup unplugged the vacuum and set it in a corner. "Hiro, can you help me set the table?"
"Kay." Hiro hopped off the couch.

"Hiccup! Hiro!" North came into the house, voice booming with cheer.

Hiro looked up placing the last pair of cutlery next to a plate. "Oh hey-"

He was caught off guard when Nicholas scooped him up for a hug.

"Whoa, easy." Jack laughed. "No cracked ribs. We just got this kid."

"I hug many children, Jack," North frowned, setting Hiro down. "I have not broke bones in years."

Hiro went wide-eyed. "W-What?"

Jack and North both gave him an ominous look before bursting into laughter.

"Is joke! Is joke!" North responded, grabbing a chair at the table.

"We're kidding." Jack ruffled Hiro's hair. "Come on, he plays Santa every year."

Jack helped Hiccup set up the table and they sat down to supper.

As they tucked in, the conversation shifted to Hiro's upcoming enrollment.

"Hiro." North began, snapping a bread loaf in half. "Jack tells me you are starting school tomorrow."

Hiro swallowed a mouthful of soup. "Y-Yeah…"

"You scared?" Jack asked, glancing Hiro's way.

"N-No-" Hiro tried to act nonchalant but his voice broke on the word and he took a gulp of water. "I-I mean it's not a big deal...It's just school." He pushed his fork around his plate, causing his peas to tumble in several directions on his plate.

The screen suddenly brightened on Hiccup's laptop, which sat positioned at the other end of the table. There was an incoming call, prompting Hiccup to set his fork down and tap the screen. "That's them. Are you guys ready?"

Jack and North nodded in agreement as Hiro hurriedly wiped his face with his napkin.

"Mom? Dad?" Hiccup asked, accepting the call.

Stoick's scowling face filled the screen before he stepped back, revealing Valka. They were seated in what looked to be the den on their home, trophies and horned helmets rested on a mantle above a fireplace in the background.

"There y'are son." Stoick squinted at them before putting on a small pair of glasses. The gesture instantly seemed to soften his image to Hiro, diminishing his nerves.

"Heccup!" Valka beamed. "It's been ages. Jack, North good to see ye…" Her eyes fell on Hiro. "Oh my stars...Is that Hiro?"

"It's nice to meet you." Hiro piped up, smiling.

Stoick cleared his throat. "Likewise." He seemed as uneasy as Hiro was.

Jack nodded. "Now I know what you're thinking...He's got my dashing good looks and Hiccup's messy hair, but somehow he's not a clone!"

"I'm sorry we couldn't come in person dear, we're having a wee bit of a whaling problem over here," Valka explained, an apologetic look on her face.

"Whaling?" Hiccup frowned. "I thought it was legal, for nearby groups anyway."

"It is dear. But this group has been snatching them up-"

Hiccup let out a frustrated sigh. "Mom, have you been fighting poachers again?"

Hiro looked at Jack who whispered, 'See?'

"We were in a standoff fer about a week, and before that, we were taking turns doin' surveillance. I'm getting ready to go back out there tomorrow."

Hiccup, both understanding of his mother's love for animals and somewhat disappointed that his parents had yet to make the trip to meet their grandchild, crossed his arms. "Well, just promise me you won't get arrested this time."

"I'll make sure of it." Stoick nodded.

"You guys are still coming up for Thanksgiving, right?" Jack asked.

"Certainly dear." Valka began, "As long as the poachers…" She took in Hiccup's scowl and trailed off.

"So, we were just talking about Hiro starting school..." Jack stated, shifting the conversation in a new direction.

Chapter Text

As Hiro predicted, school was boring. He tried his best to hang on to conversations at lunch, and he took notes in class but the week seemed to drag on forever. By Thursday he had fallen into a routine of following the other kids that walked downtown.

Fall had settled nicely into Burgess, with the tree leaves taking on all hues of red, brown, and gold. They crunched nicely under Hiro's sneakers as he walked. When the park came into view, he spotted a familiar face.

Hiro immediately bid his classmates goodbye and headed into the park, heading straight for Toothless. The cat turned at his approach, giving him a curious look before continuing his trot across the grass.

"Where's the stick?" Hiccup frowned at the cat before smiling at Hiro. "Oh hey!"

"You guys were...playing fetch?" Hiro inquired.

"Yeah." Hiccup selected a stick from the ground and offered it to Toothless. The feline sniffed it before taking two steps back and waiting patiently.

"You wanna play with him?"

"Oh...Kay…" Hiro took the stick and looked at Toothless before trying to toss it. It didn't go far, and Toothless immediately sprang into action. Toothless retrieved the stick, bringing it back to Hiro's feet.

"Oh sure you bring the stick back for him…" Hiccup rolled his eyes at the cat. Feeling his phone vibrate in his jeans, he held up his hand. "One sec." He cradled the device to his ear. "Haddock speaking…"

Hiro tossed the stick again, harder this time, causing Toothless to take off. Unexpectedly Toothless continued to gallop across the park, far beyond the stick and into the distance.

"H-Hey!" Hiro dropped his backpack and ran after the cat, scared that he would run off.

Toothless stopped in his tracks near a set of benches. One was occupied by a woman feeding pigeons, the other by a man in a suit, resting his eyes.

Toothless ran at the birds, causing them to fly in various directions, feathers floating everywhere. The resting gentleman rose to his feet, angrily swatting at the birds.

"You!" He pointed at Hiro, causing the child to flinch. "Get that thing out of here!"

Hiro went to scoop up Toothless. "Come on, let's go…"

As his eyes fell on the cat, the man's eyes narrowed. He knew that disgusting animal anywhere.

"Hiro!"

Hiccup was sprinting towards them, bewildered. "You guys just took off…" His gaze trailed behind them. "Oh, Hi." Hiccup smoothed his hair back.

Hiro, Toothless in hand-turned back towards the stranger as Hiccup put a hand on his shoulder.

"You met our son, right?" Hiccup paused, the words sounding foreign to him. "Pitch?"

Pitch sat up straight on the bench, his usual tired expression momentarily replaced with widened eyes and a slack jaw. "No…" He said quickly, but not for the reason HIccup thought he would.

"Oh." Hiccup squeezed Hiro's shoulder. "Hiro, this is Pitch, the night manager for the store. I guess you've never met because of the late shift." Hiccup rubbed his arm out of discomfort.

Hiro looked from HIccup back to the man on the bench. He vaguely remembered Jack saying something about the night staff. "Nice to meet you."

Pitch couldn't believe what he was hearing. In recent months he had come to enjoy watching Jack's cold demeanor. But in the last few weeks, he had suddenly begun to soften, and here was the catalyst. A child. And an awkward one at that. A Messy haired, gap-toothed little thing-almost the spitting image of Hiccup's gangly teenaged self. Where was Jack finding these things?

With a huff, Pitch collected himself. "Unfortunately I have business to attend to." He rose from the bench with a nod. "If you will excuse me…"

HIccup scratched his head. "Sure. See you around!" He waved him off, but Pitch did not return the gesture.

Once he was out of earshot Hiropiped up. "That guy is a little…"

"Weird?" Hiccup guessed.

"I don't want to be rude but-"

Hiccup shook his head. "It's cool. Jack's been saying the same thing for years. I always get the feeling he doesn't like me."

"I get the feeling he doesn't like anyone." Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Maybe…" Hiccup took Toothless from Hiro's arms. "Come on, let's head back. Jack's coming home soon, so I want to start dinner early."

"That's really early. Did something happen?"

"Oh, he's fine. He has a checkup today."

Hiro followed Hiccup back up to their apartment at the Tartakovsky Hotel. He set down his backpack and washed his hands before returning to the living room to look out the window. The novelty of moving to Burgess had yet to wear off. No younger kids tugging at him to find a charger or batteries for their toys, no lines, no ducking around to avoid trouble. The chaos of that house was behind and it seemed his future held nothing but peace. With a twinge in his chest, Hiro found himself wishing that all the children of the group home would find a similar fate-a home where they could feel safe and free.

Hiccup meanwhile was chopping away, working on a nice comfort meal for his boyfriend. In truth, Hiccup was already feeling pretty tired by the time they had returned to the apartment, but he decided to power through it. He knew Jack was always anxious whenever he went to the doctor, something that didn't seem to change whether his visit was for a common cold or an updated vaccine shot.

So he made something nice for dinner, tidied up the bedroom, and replenished the Epsom salts in the bathroom in case Jack decided to take a long bath...

By the time Hiccup was finished, and Hiro had put his homework away, Jack was walking through the door. Toothless met him in the foyer, bounding towards him quickly as if he were reporting his daily duties. Jack patted the cat's head likely. "Did you guard the castle well?"

"You're just in time." Hiccup set the large iron pot atop a cork bed in the middle of the table.

After giving Jack a moment to settle in and join them at the table, Hiccup made an inquiry.

"So, how did it go?"

Jack's gaze was downcast, a clear indicator of bad news.

Hiro's eyes flit between them, chewing.

"The doctor says I'm way heavier than I used to be, and that's why I get nauseous all the time."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Jack scratched his head. "Well, I don't know how to say this...but I was wondering if you could cook something less..heavy?"

Hiccup dropped his fork. "You're saying my food is making you fat?"

Jack was skittish. "...Yes?"

Hiccup nodded. "Okay." His voice was a little higher than usual. "So you want something different. That's fine."

"Great!" Jack beamed, instantly relieved. "I knew you'd understand."

Hiccup nodded again. "Yeah. Totally. No problem." His face was completely blank.

Jack, not seeing the obvious shift in HIccup's features, was already adding another helping to his plate.

Hiro stared at his peas. There was definitely a problem.

The following night, Hiccup prepared dinner once again. Hiro came to the table at the call of his name, slipping into his spot. Jack had already called before he left the store, so they knew he would be coming back any second now.

Hiro stared at the table, an uneasy feeling rising.

Yeah. There was definitely a problem.

The door made a clicking noise and he almost jumped.

"I'm baaack~" Came Jack's singsong voice from the foyer. Toothless stretched for his place under the table, but did not move to meet him this time.

Jack went straight to the bathroom and Hiro continued to stare at the plate settings.

Jack returned to the table after a few minutes, the smile on his face gradually fading.

Tonight's side dishes were already on each plate-Hiccup and Hiro's plates had mashed potatoes, carrots, corn-while Hiccup sawed slices of meatloaf for himself and Hiro. But at Jack's usual seat there were no side dishes, just a large Kale salad-consistently almost entirely of Kale and a few shakes of salt. But still. Just. Kale.

"Hiccup…." Jack's face darkened. "What gives?"

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked, slicing a large piece of meatloaf and sticking it on Hiro's plate. "Oh, you mean this? Well, Y'see Hiro gets Meatloaf because he's a growing child, Toothless gets to eat Meatloaf because he likes it, and me? I get to eat it because I have self-moderation. But somehow, even though you're clearly under 200 pounds, you're overweight, so you get Kale. Just Kale."

As he often did when an argument was brewing, Jack went over the previous day's events in his head-the mostly quiet dinner, Hiccup staying up late and never coming to bed...

Jack dropped his utensils. "Don't you think you're being just a bit childish?"

Hiccup shook his head. "No. Not all all. Being childish is blaming someone else for your weight gain, when you could have avoided it by not eating four helpings of mashed potatoes and going to the gym-which you have access to at no charge, because your boyfriend runs it."

"And when am I supposed to do that!? I work all day! Do you have any idea how tiring it is to be on your feet all day?" Jack snapped, raising his voice. "I can't just go, 'well time to work out and run over there'-"

Hiro dropped his glass, and it shattered loudly, silencing the two.

"I...I'm sorry." Hiro glanced at them both, wide-eyed.

With a trembling hand, he went to retrieve it.

"No wait-" Jack stood. He knew what that look on Hiro's face was. He had felt that fear long ago.

"Don't touch it." Hiccup rose from his seat."I'm gonna get the broom." He left the table.

Hiro jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey." Jack hovered over him. "I'm sorry I yelled." He dropped his hand from Hiro's shoulder. "You can go to your room if you want."

As Hiro made his hasty retreat, Hiccup returned with the broom and dustpan.

"What happened?" Hiccup asked. "Is he alright?"

Jack rubbed his temples. "I shouldn't have yelled." He reached from the broom. "I'll clean things up."

Hiccup sighed."No, this is my fault too. I'll fix it."

"You're good at fixing things..." Jack reached for the broom once more.

Hiccup looked towards the hall. "I'm gonna go talk to him." He relinquished the broom. It didn't seem like Jack would be able to handle anything other than clean up at the moment. His face was ashen, and his hands trembled slightly.

Hiccup went to Hiro's door, pausing. He remembered when he was younger, who he would shut himself in his room from time to time, and the way Stoick would barge in.

He knocked and waited for a response.

"Come in…"

"Hey…" Hiccup stayed in the doorway.

Hiro was seated on his bed, one hand clutching the superhero-themed sheets beneath him. He looked less scared than before.

"I…" Hiccup could feel the guilt coming down in waves, the regret ebbing on. "I wanted to say I was sorry. I was being petty and selfish…" He rubbed his arm. "I should have just talked to Jack about it by myself." He wasn't sure what to say next. Despite all those hours spent on the parenting courses, his own experiences as a kid, he had still made a careless mistake.

"I just have one question," Hiro said, breaking Hiccup from his reverie.

"Yeah?" Hiccup replied.

"Can I finish my dinner in here?"

"Oh." Hiccup blinked. "Yeah, sure."

Hiccup returned to the dinner table. Jack had already cleaned up the mess and was waiting for some sort of verdict.

"Is he alright?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure." Hiccup retrieved Hiro's plate from the table.

Unbeknownst to them both, Hiro was at his door, listening.

"But listen. I'm sorry about dinner." Hiccup began. "I should have talked to you about it."

Jack shook his head. "No, you were right."

Hiro stepped away from the door. He could hear Hiccup returning to his room. As discussed, he ate his dinner alone, occasionally listening for any other harsh tones, or raised voices. It wasn't the yelling that had startled him, it was the fact that Hiccup and Jack could even get upset with each other.

Hiccup and Jack allowed him his space, letting Hiro have his dessert and leaving him to read into his room until he drifted off into dreamless sleep.

Hiccup was restless that night, until Jack eventually latched onto him, Toothless curled up at his side and he fell asleep. He woke up early the next morning, still in Jack's arms. Toothless had left the room at some point, possibly in Hiro's room or playing in the living room. Hiccup didn't move, relishing the last minutes he could spend that morning in Jack's arms before he was off again.

Before the previous night, the closest thing they had to conflict was Hiccup asking Jack not to touch his butt in public, and that was months ago.

He felt Jack stir, and shifted to see his face.

Jack blinked at him."Hic?"

Hiccup kissed him. "Good morning."

Jack squinted. The room was mostly dark. Hiccup's features were illuminated by the small shards of light that crept beyond the curtains.

"I was thinking about what you said." Jack's voice was low. "About going to the gym. If I get up earlier, I could go."

Hiccup buried his face in Jack's neck. "You could. But I wouldn't be able to have you like this."

"Like this?" Jack laughed. "Barely coherent and messy?"

Hiccup smiled. "Barely coherent people don't use words like 'barely coherent'."

"You got me." Jack pulled him closer. "Right where you want me, apparently."

"We should put this time to good use." Hiccup said, eyes alight with sudden inspiration.

"Yeah?" Jack raised an eyebrow, not entirely on the same page.

"Yeah. Put on your sweats."

When Hiro woke up, he wasn't alone. Toothless had settled onto his stomach, staring back at him as he opened his eyes. The cat hopped off of him and headed or the door, looking back to make sure he was ready to follow.

The house was quiet, perhaps too quiet. Nonetheless, Hiro went to the bathroom to wash up and begin his day. As he stepped back into the hall he heard the front door opening and the whispers of his missing guardians.

Jack shuffled out of his sneakers at the door, wiping the sweat from his face. In a worn blue hoodie and brown sweats, he looked much younger, more like the carefree guy who has interrupted Rapunzel and Hiccup's vlogs.

"Hiro, morning." Hiccup greeted him first, looking somewhat guilty and he stripped off his windbreaker. "Sorry, we just went jogging. Did you see the note? Were you okay by yourself?"

Hiro put two and two together. "I'm fine." It seemed the previous night's argument had absolved, and the two were already trying to fix the problem.

"Great." Hiccup smiled. "I'll get started on breakfast."

It isn't long before off to work, Hiro's dropped at school, and Hiccup is alone again. Instead of finding himself at the workshop, Hiccup spent his time brushing up on his parenting courses and looking up low calorie dinners. He didn't want last night to ever happen again, and he was determined to make that wish come true.

He was surprised when Jack returns around one o'clock without his bag or his blazer, looking bleary-eyed.

"I couldn't focus," Jack remarked, sitting on the couch next to him, and closing his eyes. "And I didn't want anyone to find me sleeping in the office. I'll go back," Jack yawned. "After my break..."

In what felt like the blink of an eye, Jack felt something touching him.

Hiccup swept Jack's bangs away from his eyes and leaned in close. "Are you really that tired?"

"Hm…" With Hiccup's coaxing hands he adjusted until his head is in Hiccup's lap.

"Maybe the morning run was a bad idea." Hiccup thought out loud.

"No," Jack responded with his eyes closed. "That was fun. I like running with you."

"Yeah?" Hiccup leaned forward to kiss him on the forehead.

"Yeah...We should run on the weekends...We'll have more time. Take a long shower after."

"Together?" Hiccup asked, one hand smoothing Jack's hair back.

"Mmhmm…" Jack was all smiles, clearly content. "That sounds nice."

"We have time now." Hiccup looked towards the window. "It's a shame that you're so tired."

Jack's eyes snapped open as if someone dumped cold water on his face. "I'm not." He moved to sit up and Hiccup stifled a laugh.

"I'm not that tired." Jack declared, arms crossed with all the indignation of a petulant child.

Hiccup thought Jack's sudden change in mood was adorable but scooted away from him. "What a quick recovery."

"Well…" Jack snaked an arm around Hiccup's waist. "With the right medicine…"

Hiccup kissed him, smiling against his mouth and breaking the kiss. He pressed a hand against Jack's chest. "I'm sorry about last night."

Jack's eyes narrow. He doesn't want Hiccup thinking everything is his fault, or his problem to fix. "I'm sorry about last night. We're both guilty."

Hiccup rests his forehead against Jack's and sighs. "Maybe."

"Let's both apologize then." Jack replied. "In the shower. It'll be a fun bonding exercise." He eyed the paused parenting course of Hiccup's laptop. "We have to work as a team, right? That's what Lesson 2 was all about."

Hiccup rolls his eyes. "Okay, Mr. Expert." They both rose from the couch and Hiccup took Jack's hand. "I'm pretty sure this isn't what the instructor had in mind…"

By the time Jack was getting dressed for work again, his phone buzzed, and he was thirty minutes past his lunch break.

Assuming the worst, he answered the phone while trying to button his shirt.

"Hello?"

"Jack." North's voice was light. Great. The store was most likely not on fire.

Jack's shoulders drooped as Hiccup moved his hands away. While Jack held his phone, Hiccup began buttoning his shirt for him.

"You are home, yes?" North continued.

"Yeah, I just needed to recharge. I'll be back in a flash, promise."

"No need." North paused. "Work is slow. Stay in house."

"What?"Jack's face contorted in confusion. "You sure?"

Hiccup moved to retrieve Jack's tie but stopped when Jack tugged on his t-shirt.

"Sure is sure." North continued. "Rest. Tell Hiro and Hiccup I say hello." With that North hung up.

Jack looks at the phone in his hands for a moment.

"Did something happen at the store?" Hiccup asked.

"No," Jack replies, shaking his head. "Apparently nothing is happening at the store. So I get the afternoon off." He shrugged. "And here I was, full of energy again and ready to take on the world."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "I'm sure we can put that energy to good use."

Jack raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Yeah?"

"Uh huh." Hiccup leaned against the couch. "The litterbox isn't gonna clean itself."

A few hours later, Hiro was once again exiting the hallowed halls of Burgess Intermediate. To his surprise Jack was there, giving the building a wistful gaze, as if seeing it drudged up memories long repressed. It did, of course, but that information had yet to be shared with Hiro.

Hiro frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Jack's expression changed at the inquiry, softening before going blank. "I wanted to talk to you."

Hiro paled. Earlier that day things seemed to have gone back to normal. Hiccup had made breakfast, Jack had cracked a couple of jokes, and they had gone their separate ways. Were things more serious than the two had led on?

After seeing Hiro with the older man, Hiro's friends peeled off, saying their goodbyes.

As they began to walk back towards the downtown area, Hiro looked up at Jack.

He squeezed the straps of his backpack. "Did something happen? Are you two still fighting?"

"What?" Again Jack's expression changed, this time to a look of confusion. "No, no. Sorry. But that's…" Jack looked skyward as if he could find the answer there. "I guess that is what I wanted to talk about. Things got out of hand yesterday. I wanted you to know that isn't normal for us." He looked down at Hiro. "And it's not something we're going to make a habit of either. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, or feel like you have to hide in your room. I...lived in a house like that." He grimaced. "More like a trailer, but you get what I'm saying."

Hiro's eyes narrowed. Something about Jack's expression didn't match the words he was saying. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that Jack looked...scared.

When they returned to the apartment, Hiccup was off again on another errand. Jack returned to the couch just as the house phone started to ring.

As Hiro shrugged off his backpack, Jack reached over to grab the phone."Jack speaking."

"HI JACK!" The nearly breathless voice of their high school art teacher was louder than expected. Jack yanked the phone away from his ear.

"Tooth?" Jack blinked, setting the phone to 'speaker'. He could hear banging in the background. "Is something wrong?"

Hiro looked up, interest piqued. What kind of name was Tooth?

"Sorry!" She lowered her voice. "They're still setting up! Is Hiccup there?"

"He's at the store but he should be back soon-"

"Do you know if he has plans for the evening? We're doing a booth for the Night Market in Thornebrook. It would only be for an hour, there's just a gap in booth hands. I mean, it's a real treat! There are over a hundred active booths and food stalls and rides-"

Hiro's eyes lit up. "Can we go?"

"..." Jack frowned. "It's kind of last minute...I mean, you have homework, right?" It was a school night after all. Hiro looked crushed, and Jack considered it for a moment. Thornebrook's Night Market ran until December. If not tonight, perhaps they could all go the next day. "Maybe T-"

"If I finish it really fast, can we go?"

"Hiro-"

"Thirty seconds!" Hiro held up 3 fingers.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Sure, thirty seconds. Tooth, I'll text Hic right now, gimme a second."

As Jack fished into his pocket for his cellphone, Hiro rummaged in his backpack for his math workbook. Jack typed out the inquiry with one hand and held the house phone against the other. As he waited for a reply, he heard the frantic scribblings of his ten-year-old. "Hiro, I know you want-"

"Done!" Hiro held his book up in triumph.

Jack was ready to retort, but as his eyes scanned over the sheet, he found the answers to be correct. Thirteen multiplication problems, thirteen division problems, and two word problems for good measure. All complete.

"You did all of these just now?"

Jack had spent enough time balancing books with North and cashing out to be able to do quick sums without a calculator's aid.

Hiro read the confusion on Jack's face as disbelief. "If you want me to show you I can-"

"I believe you." Jack cut him off.

Hiro looked skeptical.

"We can go." Jack clarified, setting the hastily done math aside.

Satisfied, Hiro ran to put his things away in his room.

Jack's phone buzzed and he gave it a glance. "Tooth, we'll see you in thirty minutes."

After Hiccup returned, the three drove out to Thornebrook's Night Market. Set in a sparse field, rows of food stalls, shops, games-and a corn maze brought in visitors from across the state.

Long strands of icicle lights and lamps illuminated the area. As small crowds huddled outside the stands, Hiro tried his best not to get stuck. Eventually, he tripped, latching on to Hiccup's shirt to stop his fall.

Hiccup looked back at him in surprise.

"I…" Hiro's voice squeaked.

Unperturbed, Hiccup took his hand. "You don't mind right? I don't want to get separated."

Unable to respond, Hiro nodded. Many times he had watched the younger kids cling to the staff and new parents alike. Heck, he was sure he had done the same when he was much younger. But there was always a sense that he would never experience that recently Hiro was thought that he would stay in the system until he aged out. Hiro thought he would spend the next few years pawning items and saving up; so he could go to a trade school, and try his hand at major league gaming...But everything had changed so fast.

Hiro let Hiccup guide him through the crowd. The smell of cinnamon wafted from an apple cider stand, and the screams of riders echoed from a ride off in the distance.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?' Jack asked.

"No."Hiccup bit back a laugh. "Because we never came here together."

Jack's face clouded in confusion, and Hiccup continued."You're probably remembering someone else."

Jack grimaced, and Hiccup's gaze went to a 'corn on the cob' stand.

"How come we never came here together?" Jack asked bumping shoulders with Hiccup.

"School." Hiccup replied, taking his hand. "We had class around this time when we went to MU. Before that, I couldn't walk yet too far...And before that, we didn't really know each other."

Jack squeezed his hand. "We were hanging out all the time in high school."

"We were...But you also had practice... And we both worked for our Dads off and on...and I've helped Tooth out here before, but we weren't friends yet."

"We'll have to make up for lost time." Jack said, bringing Hiccup's hand to his lips."Can I interest you in a hayride?"

Hiccup smirked. "I have to work, remember? Why don't you take Hiro in the maze of maize?"

They stopped in front of Tooth's stand. The art teacher flitted back and forth, waving and calling to passerby. Small painted wooden lanterns hung from the top of the tent and small handcrafted items were strewn across the table.

"Hiccup! Jack! And this must be Hiro! It's so good to finally meet you!" Tooth beamed.

"You know who I am?" Hiro asked.

"Word travels fast around the department store." Tooth smiled down at him. "I'm a holiday helper there. It helps make ends meet."

"You could just bite the bullet and be a Dentist..."Jack shrugged. "I mean, you love teeth and you're parents-"

Tooth gasped as if she had been wounded. "And give up enriching the minds of Burgess High!? I could never!"

Hiccup moved to hop over the short barrier between the craft laden table to where Tooth was standing. "Well, I'm here to help. What do you need?"

"Just a second pair of eyes for now. My little volunteer is running late but they said they would be here in an hour."

"One of your students?" Hiccup asked.

"Yep! Really fun kid. Her name is Star." Tooth waved at a passing couple." She's so creative! You'd love her."

Hiccup smiled. "I'm sure." He turned his attention back to Jack and Hiro. "Why don't you guys walk around?"

Jack and Hiro exchanged a glance.

"I don't mind waiting," Hiro said.

"Same here." Jack crossed his arms.

Before Hiccup could interject, Tooth piped up. "Excellent! Look at all these extra hands! Now let's put them to good use..."

At Tooth's instruction, they flagged down passerby and chatted up onlookers.

"Did you make these?" Hiro asked, pointing at the small wooden trinkets. Hiccup had set him up in a folding chair with a large turkey leg.

"Oh yeah! The Memory boxes are my new hobby! But some of these were made by my students. We just got these cool printers in, and we can burn patterns right onto the wood!"

While Tooth went on about the finer points of wood-burning, Jack looked over at Hiccup. The urban Viking's attention was completely taken by a mildly infatuated young girl. Jack could tell from a glance that she was more interested in him than the tiny wooden box in his hands.

Despite the many years that had passed, Jack was sure that Hiccup still saw himself as that awkward kid from Berk. They had plenty of conversations when they were younger about Hiccup's lack of self esteem. But at this point, Jack was sure it was less about self-worth, and more about Hiccup's sense of self. Hiccup didn't differentiate his outer appearance from his personality. He didn't cultivate a specific image, he was just himself. And that, Jack surmised, was probably the reason people were drawn to him in the first place.

"Jack?"

Even if he was oblivious to others, Hiccup was definitely aware of Jack's attention. Perhaps it was their close proximity. They had made the change from classmates, to friends, to boyfriends, and now they lived together. Hiccup probably had his every movement down to a science.

Jack blinked. "Nothing, i-"

"TOOTH WOMAN!"

The distant screech of a young girl's voice cut through the din of the market, accompanied by the motor of a scooter.

Tooth and her helpers watched as a bright blue motor scooter came to a screeching halt in front of their stand. A girl with long blonde hair wearing a horned, stick crusted helmet hopped off the scooter, stomping loudly with her boots. "I maaaaaaade iiiiiiiit!" She yelled in a sing-song manner, tucking the helmet under her arm and grinning.

"There you are, Star!" Tooth beamed back at her.

The young teen offered Tooth a salute. "Reporting for duty!" THe walked her scooter around to the other side of the booth.

Frightened by the motor scooter, the customer talking to Hiccup looked for an escape. "I guess I'll take this. Will you, um, be here all night?"

Hiccup glanced at the price. "Huh? Oh no, I don't want our kid staying up too late."

"Our?" The young woman repeated, blinking.

"My partner-" Hiccup pointed at Jack. "My kid-" Hiccup looked back at Hiro, who waved. "That'll be twelve dollars. Do you need a bag?"

Slightly deflated, the girl paid for her trinket and disappeared back into the crowd.

"Well boys, you're off the hook." Tooth watched as Star hopped behind the table.

"Let me know if you need help again." Hiccup replied, lining up several of the knick-knacks,

"Yeah, it's been fun." Jack added. "I forgot all about this place."

"I'm surprised you had the time, Jack." Tooth gave him an appraising look."This is the time of year that things start to hear up at the store."
Jack rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't remind me...I've got plenty of sleepless nights ahead."

"Come on Hiro," Hiccup called.

At the sound of his name, Hiro hopped off his chair and discarded what remained of his turkey leg in the waste bin. After saying their goodbyes the trio weaved their way back into the crowd. Hiccup took hold of Hiro's hand again, carefully pulling him along as they passed stall after stall.

As they passed a Ring Toss stand, Jack nudged Hiccup again. "Should I win you a stuffed animal?"

Hiro glanced at the stand. A small sea of different colored glass bottles sat beneath a row of stuffed animals. "Arent' those things rigged?"

Jack gave Hiccup an amused look before responding to Hiro. "They may or may not be a little fudged. But that's part of their charm!"

Hiro stared at the stand. "I want to give it a try."

"Alright." Jack fished his wallet out of his pocket, handed Hiro a few dollars, and watched the child run to the booth.

As Hiro received his wings and eyes the targets with a determined look, Hiccup and Jack stood only a few steps away.

"Oh, by the way, Hic...there's something we gotta talk about..."

"Yeah?" Hiccup responded, his eyes still following Hiro.

Instead of aiming for the targets, Hiro sent the first ring spinning towards the baseboard. When it got stuck in the small space between the board and the targets he nodded and tried again. The ring bounced this time, hooking on one of the red glass bottles at the center.

The stand's handler whistled. "Red bottle eh? Great shot! You get to pick one of the big ones!"

Hiro's face lit up. "I knew it!" He looked back at Hiccup and Jack who were ready to congratulate him. Hiro continued. "I knew if I hit it at the right angle, the hoop would land dead center! It's all about the trajectory, you see if you calculate the projector for the projectile-" When he saw the look of confusion on Hiccup's face, he tried to simplify his reasoning. "Uh, the ring I mean-"

Jack clasped a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Our kid is a genius."

Chapter Text

"A test?" Hiro asked. It was the next morning but he was still coming down from the high of late-night markets and carnival rides, Hiro still felt like he was spinning. He should have known something was wrong. Hiccup had been giving him looks ever since he won that ring toss game, and Jack was more than happy to let him get on ride after ride despite the late hour. When they had returned to the apartment it was almost midnight.

"If your classwork is too easy it might be better to go to a higher level." Hiccup said, sliding eggs onto Hiro's plate.

Jack sipped his coffee. "Are you bored at school?"

Hiro opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. "I...Isn't everyone bored at school?"

"But do you feel challenged at all?" Hiccup questioned him, sitting at the table.

"It might be okay now, but you don't want things to be that way forever right?" Jack said. "YEARS of this stuff? Besides, it can't hurt to try right?"

Hiro looked at them both, chewing. "I...guess.."He swallowed. "I'll do it..."

'Just...Don't be disappointed.'

"Do you want me to come upstairs with you?" Hiccup asked, cutting the engine.

Hiro stared at the school building. All acceleration testing for the area took place at Burgess High School. After doing research the day after their visit to the market, it turned out they had only the following weekend to sign Hiro up or testing. It was now or never. Or rather, next year.

"Just... To the door maybe?"

Hiccup could practically see the nervous energy radiating off of the child. He bit back a smile. "Okay." He unbuckled his seatbelt.

Hiro let himself out of the car, his sneakers sloshing against leaves and rain-soaked cement.

Of course, it had to be a miserable, rainy Saturday morning. Hiccup had tried to brighten things up with his favorite breakfast, Jack had offered a few encouraging words before rushing off to the store...but Hiro still felt a sinking feeling as he and Hiccup entered the nearly empty building.

After passing the security guard, Hiccup made a beeline to the left.

His eyes raked over the walls with a sense of familiarity. It reminded Hiro of the look Jack had on his face the other day when he looked at Burgess Middle. But whereas Jack's face was wistful, Hiccup's gaze was full of mirth.

"You and Jack went here right?"

"Yeah…" Hiccup's eyes raked over a board full of upcoming events. "It's funny. It seems like it wasn't that long ago I was running to class or dragging art supplies for Tooth…" He smiled. "Even though it felt like a nightmare, those were some of the best times I've ever had."

He stopped at the elevator.

A sign covered in old plastic, read 'STAFF ONLY' was stuck to the doors. But Hiccup ignored it and pressed the button. There was a hum, and the elevator door slid open. There in the elevator car, sat an old man on a chair.

Hiccup'd eyebrows rose in surprise. "Long time no see. Jack thought you would still be here."

His words received no reply, but Hiccup continued. "Let my kid ride with you, okay?"

The old man reached for the floor buttons, his gaunt arm trembling.

Hiro entered the elevator reluctantly. "Three please."

Hiccup stepped back from the elevator car. "I'll be back when the test is over. Call me if you need me."

"Okay." Hiro nodded as the door began to close. "See you later!"

It wasn't long before the door was open, Hiro was down the hall, and signing in for his exam.

He was one of a small handful of kids, all between the ages of ten and fourteen- testing in the hopes of moving anywhere between 1 and 5 grades up. With the test being short notice, Hiccup went over as much as they could in an afternoon...Some math, grammar, a little biology.

On his own, he spent an hour or three under the covers analyzing sample booklets and common questions online-Maybe it had not been the best idea, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

At best Hiro thought he would move up to seventh or eighth grade. He wanted Hiccup and Jack's interest in his education to pay off somehow, even if it was one or two years less of school. After all, didn't adults love to boast about their kids?

North already enjoyed parading him around the department store like he was some shiny new toy. He felt the need to earn some of that adoration. So he answered everything he could...Far outside of the requirements. In his fervor, he had half-listened to the instructions spoken when the testing began, which made what happened next all the more surprising.

It was the following Friday when Jack entered the house with a stack of mail, looking more jovial than he had in days. Hiro was watching television in the living room while Hiccup sketched at the dining table. They both looked up as Toothless trotted towards Jack.

"Guess what I've got?" Jack wore a familiar mischievous grin, and Hiccup's eyes went to the mail bundle.

Jack dropped the bundle on the table with an audible splat. It might as well have been a death knell as far as Hiro was concerned. He slipped off the couch, perhaps too quickly, and regained his footing before heading for the table.

Jack waved the envelope. "You wanna do the honors?"

With a wince, Hiro took the envelope. He flipped it over. The seal over the envelope fold seemed to taunt him. 'Rip it off.' Hiro told himself. 'Like a bandaid.'

Under Hiccup and Jack's gaze Hiro tore the envelope open and pulled out the results.

When he didn't read anything out loud, Hiccup peered over his shoulder.

"Don't leave us in suspense!"Jack clasped a hand on Hiro's shoulder as he took a look for himself.

"Suggested placement…" Hiro blinked twice. "Ninth grade or higher?"

"That's..."Hiccup began.

"Awesome!" Jack beamed.

"So...I could go to High School?" Hiro asked, voice cracking with surprise.

"I thought you were testing from level one to three." Hiccup stared at the results.

"Yeah. Well, I was kinda nervous so I just answered everything-" Hiro looked over at Jack who was on the phone. "Who are you calling?"

"Dad! He's gonna be so excited-Hello?"

Hiccup continued to stare at the results as if they held the secrets of life. Their ten-year-old child was smart and that was great. But high school?

While Jack gushed about the achievement and North babbled with pride, Hiccup was left to retreat further into the kitchen.

"Hic?" Jack's voice was soft, his breath tickling the back of Hiccup's neck. Hiccup nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What's wrong?"

"Wh-What makes you think something is wrong?"

Jack crossed his arms. "You've been staring at the sink for a while now."

"I..." He looked across the room.

Hiro had entered the livingroom and was still on the phone with North.

"That..." Hiccup gave Jack an incredulous look. "High school, Jack?"

"Yeah. It's pretty cool-"

"He's ten, Jack." Hiccup lowered his voice, and cast a cautionary glance towards the living room. Hiro was waving at North from the window. Hiccup looked back at Jack.

"Do you remember high school? Because I sure do, and I don't think that's the right environment for a ten-year-old!"

"Hic, come on it wasn't that bad..."

"Jackson Overland don't you dare tell me it wasn't that bad." Hiccup pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Do you remember how we became friends? Because I vividly remember that night and everything that came after."

"That's a little unfair, Hic. I was messed up way before high school."

"Jack..." Hiccup's shoulders sagged. "That's not what I was-"

"Is something wrong?" Hiro asked.

Jack leaned against the counter, arms still crossed. "Nope."

'Great...' Hiccup stared at the ceiling. "No, nothing's wrong. I'm just...gonna borrow Jack for a second."

With that, he dragged Jack towards the bedroom. Not sure how to respond, Hiro returned to the living room again. As he turned on a movie, he cast an occasional glance towards the hallway. He didn't hear any shouting. That was good...Right?

"I didn't mean that you were-" Hiccup began.

"I know what you meant." Jack reached for his hand."I wasn't good with dealing with pressure back then, and I was spiraling at that point. You think it's going to be too much for him?"

"He's just a kid," Hiccup said, entwining Jack's hand with his. "He'll be the youngest kid in the school. What if no one wants to be his friend? What if he thinks he always has to have the best grades? I.." He squeezed Jack's hand. "I don't want him to grow up so fast."

"I don't want that either Hiccup." Jack pulled him closer. "But we told him to try. I don't want him to have to settle when he can do something great. Today it's highschool but tomorrow it could be, I don't know anything! I don't want him to be just a smart kid. I want him to go do something."

"I...I just don't want him to burn out." Hiccup rubbed his arm. "Just...If he gets overwhelmed, can we put him back in a regular school?"

"If that happens, we'll be there for him. He can go to whatever school he chooses. Whatever grades he gets, that's fine. But we have to let him try things."

Hiccup heaved a heavy sigh. "I can't believe this."

Jack cupped Hiccup's face in his hands. "He's going to be fine, Hiccup. We're going to be right there, the entire time. And when he graduates from Harvard at 16, and then finds the cure for the common cold at 20 we're gonna be even more proud, okay?"

Hiccup grimaced. "I don't know about Harvard...

"Princeton?" Jack suggested.

Hiccup leaned his forehead against Jack's shoulder. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Chapter Text

"Do you have everything?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah…" Hiro looked down at his backpack. "Just like the last time you asked." He muttered.

Hiccup sighed. "Okay, I'm just checking. I'm just...worried."

Jack reappeared from the bedroom, bag in hand. "Are you guys ready?"

Hiro stood up just as Hiccup slumped against the wall.

"Yeah!" "Yeah..."

By the time they pulled into the school parking lot, Hiro felt like he might explode.

Hiccup looked back at him. "I'll be back to pick you up after school. If anything happens, go straight to the office, or find Tooth."

Hiro looked deflated. "Can't I meet you halfway at the park?"

Hiccup was ready to retort but Jack cut him off. "Maybe tomorrow?"

Hiccup shot Jack a look. "We'll talk about it." He unbuckled his seatbelt. "Let's go."

Through the parking lot and up the stairs they went.

Per a previously made agreement, Hiro would be escorted to his classes by a guidance counselor for the first day.

Hiccup, albeit reluctantly passed Hiro over to the woman. "You're going to be fine." Hiccup said, and they both wondered if Hiccup was trying to convince himself or Hiro.

"See you later." Just as HIccup turned to leave the bell rang, and the hallways were practically vibrating with activity. Hiro froze immediately on the spot. Suddenly he was aware of how much taller his new classmates were and how easily they could trample him. He squeezed the straps of his bag as the counselor guided him through the herd.

Out in the parking lot, Hiccup was making his way back to the car. Jack smirked as he watched several students ran into the building before the late bell. "Definitely don't miss that."

Hiccup opened the door and sat down, his gaze vacant.

Jack looked over at him. "Hic?"

Hiccup didn't reply.

"Are you mad at me?" Jack asked, somewhat nervous. Things had been tense lately.

At that inquiry, Hiccup shook his head. "I'm not mad."He looked at Jack. "But If anything happens to him I'm definitely going to say I told you so."

Jack smirked. "That face makes you look like your Dad."

HIccup's face twisted into a scowl. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Now you look even more like your Dad."

"You wanna see if I can do a german suplex like my Dad?"

Jack started the car, his smirk losing its mischief. "Please don't hurt me, Mister Haddock."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh. "That's better."

Meanwhile, Hiro was transferred from the counselor's care to his homeroom teacher, who explained the situation briefly.

"Hiro Hamada is new to our school. I hope you all will help him adjust."

Met with everything between glazed stares and confused looks, Hiro suddenly felt like bacteria under a microscope. Before he could say anything, the bell rang once again and the other students began to make their way to their classes.

From there the day moved in a loop-the guidance counselor appeared at the end of each class to ferry Hiro along to the next, and the teacher for that class explained Hiro's situation. Each time Hiro made his way to his new seat, sometimes at the front of the class, sometimes all the way the back-feeling more wobbly each time as eyes followed him. WIth the looks came whispers, but never a direct word, and Hiro found himself longing for the window seat at Burgess Middle.

Jack returned home with lunch for two that afternoon, joining Hiccup in the sketchbook-covered living room.

"Are you looking for something?" Jack asked.

"My sanity I think." Hiccup replied. "Rapunzel called."

"Yeah?" Jack smiled. "What's our favorite ball of sunshine up to these days?"

"She's supposed to go to a convention next week, and she asked if I wanted to tag along."

"Cool." Jack retrieved a sandwich from the bag. "Are you gonna go?"

Hiccup gave him an incredulous look. "Now?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "No, next week."
"It's kinda short notice, don't you think?" Hiccup replied, stacking several sketchbooks. "I already have the gyms and Hiro just started school…"

"I can do the check-ins for the gyms." Jack offered. "And drop Hiro off at school. How long is the convention?"

"It's three days, but I'll need two days extra for the setup and stuff…"

"You should go." Jack insisted. "It's been a while since you've gotten out of Burgess. Now is a perfect time."

"I guess." Hiccup flipped through another sketchbook. "Ah, there's that Skrill sketch."

"Hiccup."

"Hm?" Hiccup was already tidying up.

"You didn't pull these out because of that, did you?"

"I may or may not be trying to distract myself from taking Hiro out of school."

"Alright then…" Jack stood and picked up several sketchbooks. "Let's make a deal. If Hiro makes it through the first day, you have to go with Rapunzel."

Hiccup looked ready to retort but didn't say anything.

"It's been a long time since you went to an event with Rapunzel right?"
Hiccup sighed. "Yeah…"

"And I'm sure I can handle things for a week."

Hiccup stared at him. "You almost had me there."

Jack went from bargaining to whining. He leaned his weight on Hiccup, sketchbooks still in hand ''Hiiiiiic~"

"Ah, alright, alright!"

Triumphant, Jack went in for a kiss. Hiccup pressed a finger to Jack's lips. "But you have to promise that you'll call me if something happens."

Shifting the weight of the books into one hand, Jack took HIccup's hand and kissed it.

"I promise."

By lunchtime, Hiro was ready to find a small hole to hide in. However, with no burrows in sight he opted for an empty classroom. Hiro wandered the halls until he came to Tooth's art room. The woman had seemed nice enough the other night at the fair. Perhaps she would permit him to stay for the period, at least for today.

As Hiro approached the room he heard the muffled voices of two students.

'Maybe they're dropping off homework or something.'

"-And puppies that shoot laser beams!" A voice suddenly exclaimed.

"I don't think that's allowed, Star." Someone replied.

Hiro poked his head into the room. 'Maybe not.' "Hello?"

While Tooth was nowhere to be found, Hiro saw a different familiar face. The screaming girl who had shown up on a scooter. Today she had replaced her sticker-crusted helmet with horns for a red horned headband. Sitting across from her was a boy in a red hoodie. He had dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and sunkissed skin. The boy addressed Hiro first.

"Oh, were you looking for Ms. A-"

"Drumstick boy!" Star pointed.

Hiro laughed nervously. "Uh...Actually, I just wanted somewhere quiet to eat…?" He squeezed his backpack straps. "Is that okay?"

The boy gestured to the empty desks around them. "Sure."

As Hiro took a seat nearby, Star pressed him for input.

"Hey, you!" She held up her notebook. "You think laser-eyed puppies would be an improvement right?"

"Uh…"

"Star!" Her friend frowned. "Sorry, we're supposed to touch up the art on the mural and Star wants to add uh...Embellishments." He laughed. "I'm Marco. You're that new kid, right?"

"Yeah…" Hiro reached into his bag. "That's me."

"My friend is in your Math class." Marco continued. "Is it true you're like, a super genius or something?"

As he retrieved his lunch bag, Hiro shook his head, his ears burning. "Nope. Just skipping a few grades. Are people saying that about me?"

Marco shrugged. "Afraid so. I guess you're gonna stand out for a while."

Hiro slumped in his seat. "Yeah. Maybe if I didn't get an intro every time I walked into a room, things would change. But people keep staring at me…"

"Like this?" Star bugged her eyes out at him.
Hiro laughed. "Ha, something like that."

Star set down her book, rising from her chair. "If you're gonna stand out, give them a different reason to stare!"

Hiro blinked, confused. "What?"

"Or you know…" Marco shrugged. "If you wanna hide, you can keep hiding in here."

While Marco and Star discussed what could and couldn't be considered 'appropriate' for the school mural, Hiro mulled over what Star had said. No matter what, he was going to be the youngest kid at Burgess high school and until he had a growth spurt, he was probably going to stick out. What could he do to make that a good thing?

After a few more periods of introductions and staring Hiro was practically ecstatic to see Hiccup waiting for him after school. Clutching his bag for dear life he made a beeline for the car.

"Hey!"Hiccup greeted him with a smile. "Did you have a good-"

He was cut off when Hiro tackled him with a hug.

"Hiro…" Hiccup patted the child's head. "Are you okay?"

"Uh huh." His voice was muffled by Hiccup's sweater. Remembering where he was, he broke away and went to sit in the back seat. At his height, he wasn't supposed to sit on the passenger side. Hiccup decided not to pry, keeping his eye on the road until they parked outside the hotel. Only after they were inside the apartment did Hiccup ask his first question.

"So, how was school?"

As Hiro sagged against the couch his stare became vacant. "It was uh.." What was he supposed to say? "Okay."

"Okay…" Hiccup didn't believe him for a second. But he also didn't want to press on the issue. Hiro likely knew that HIccup wasn't too enthusiastic about him going to high school. And as supportive as Hiccup would be if Hiro announced he wanted to leave, he didn't want Hiro to give up.

'Some things about highschool are going to suck whether you're ten, fifteen, or whatever.' Hiccup thought to himself as he sketched. 'If it's something that can be fixed, I'll help.'

The subject was left alone until dinnertime, at which Jack appeared with takeout and questions.

Hiro's answers were at first vague, but not negative.

"Did you have a hard time getting to class?"

"Not really."

"Did anyone give you a hard time?"

"No…"

Jack and Hiccup exchanged a glance over their orange chicken.

"Did you make any friends?" Hiccup asked.

Hiro stared at his plate. "...Maybe."

"Maybe?" Jack repeated, curious.

"I ran into that girl who volunteered at Miss Tooth's booth the other night. And uh, her friend. They're nice."

Hiccup smiled. "That's great."

"Friends are like the best part of school," Jack looked away, chewing thoughtfully. His gaze turned stern. "Good friends, anyway. Not the kind that always wants you to do their homework. Watch out for those."

The topic of friends brought Hiro back to Star's words.

"If you're gonna stand out, give them a different reason to stare!"

After dinner, Jack and Hiccup sat on the couch, eyes glued to the television. Hiro had gone off to his room to read. Threading HIccup's fingers with his own, Jack kept his eyes on the tv.

"Well, he survived…"

Hiccup leaned his head against Jack's shoulder. "Yeah."

"Soooo." Jack looked down at him.

"So?'Hiccup rescinded dryly.

"Don't you have a call to make?"

Hiccup sighed and squeezed Jack's hand. "I can't believe I'm turning into my parents so fast." He sighed. "My Mom almost took me out of school once, you know. She thought I was being bullied in school."

"What happened?" Jack asked, squeezing back.

"She came marching up to the school after I had come home with a was Snotlout of course. He accidentally pushed me off of something. I was so embarrassed, I begged her to let me stay. And I could have done that to Hiro today." Hiccup shifted away slightly. "It's gotta be hard enough being the youngest kid in school without your parent embarrassing you like that."

"That's one of the things I love about you though," Jack smiled, pulling him closer again. "You always want to save someone."

"You think I have a hero complex?"

"A Hiro complex, maybe."

"Odin's beard." Hiccup stared at him. "You're going to make Hiro/Hero jokes for the rest of our lives."

Jack winked. "The best part of being a Dad is making Dad jokes."

"You've been making Dad jokes since you were sixteen. I think actually becoming a Dad is only going to make it worse."

Jack cackled. "I've only just begun."

"Please no…" Hiccup pulled away. "Ugh...Let me go make that phone call."

"Make that phone call who Hiccup?"

"Stooooop!"Hiccup squirmed. He looked over at Toothless who sat beneath them. "Save me, Bud."

Toothless yawned at him before stretching out his limbs.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the feline. "Traitor."

The following morning, Hiro was still mulling over his situation at breakfast but found his thoughts hijacked by a plate of golden pancakes.

After Jack dropped him off at school Hiro made his way to class, careful to stick near the walls to avoid being trampled. His second day seemed easier than the first, as fewer eyes seemed to be watching him, but the occasional whisper was there.

While moving to his study period, Hiro slowed his pace. There was no rush to move to the library, after all. As he waited for the rush of students to settle, he stopped beside a display case. Catching his reflection in the mirrored back of the case, Hiro peered inside. Trophies from championships, medals, ribbons, and images of dozens of previous teams filled the shelves. And there, arm slung over a red-headed girl and smiling for the camera was Jack-seven years younger but wearing the same mischievous grin.

Inspiration struck like lightning. Hiro found his answer.

Later that day, while Hiccup was off in the workshop Jack found himself eating dinner with Hiro in the living room. Leftovers in hand, Jack chewed absent-mindedly. Hiro however, was scrolling away on his laptop.

Jack's eye went from the television to the windows of the department store across the way. Hiccup was preparing to go on the road with Rapunzel. 'Might as well practice solo parenting.' He thought to himself.

"How was school today?"

"Fine." Hiro didn't look away from the screen.

"Oh. Okay…" Jack glanced over at him. 'He doesn't seem excited about high school anymore. Should I ask if something happened to--'

"I'm thinking of joining the lacrosse team," Hiro said, looking up at him.

Jack blinked. Once. Then twice. Maybe he wasn't ready for solo parenting after all.

Chapter Text

Chapter: Trying with Hiro

"How was school today?"

"Fine." Hiro didn't look away from the screen.

"Oh. Okay…" Jack glanced over at him. 'He doesn't seem excited about high school anymore. Should I ask if something happened to-'

"I'm thinking of joining the lacrosse team," Hiro announced, looking up at him.

Jack's eyes went as wide as saucers. He blinked once, then twice.

"Yeah?" Was the best response his brain could come up with, while the rest of its functioning went into making him remember every bruise, every sprain, every bit of contact accidental or intentional that he had either sustained or witnessed on the field.

Hiro tried to read the expression on Jack's face. He wasn't sure if he was surprised or scared, but going by the twitching eyebrow he was sure Jack wasn't happy about it.

"You sure?" Was Jack's follow-up. "I mean, You don't seem like you're into sports."
"I'm not," Hiro admitted as he shrugged. "But I thought I should give it a try."

Jack was at a loss for an answer. 'Well, we want him to try things…How do I softball this?'

Toothless suddenly stood, stretched, and headed towards the door.

Jack ruffled his hair as if he could shake out an answer."Well, a team sport is a lot of commitment...And uh-"

With an audible click, the front door opened. Hiccup entered the house. "I'm home." His face was speckled with paint and his hands were a dark shade of green. "Hey, guys.."

"Hic!" Jack practically leaped from his seat. "You're back! Great, that's great!"

Hiro watched him cross the living room and head towards the dining area where Hiccup dropped off his bag.

Tired, Hiccup gave Jack a drowsy glance. "You guys had dinner, right? Sorry, I think I'm just going to take a shower and go to sleep…."

As Hiccup moved towards the hallway, Jack could only follow. He cut Hiccup off right before he could reach the bedroom.

"Hiccup, Hic-" He placed his hands on Hiccup's shoulders.

Hiccup, not sure what was causing tonight's freak-out session, tried to piece two and two together. "You didn't buy that water bed, did you? We said we would talk about-"

"Hiccup." Jack squeezed his shoulders. "Our tiny, tiny son wants to join the Lacrosse team."

Hiccup's eyes widened with new energy and concern. "And you told him no, right?"

Jack bit his lip. "Not exactly…?"

Hiccup studied his face. "But you didn't say yes, right?"

"That's.." Jack glanced to the side. "Technically true?"

Hiccup sighed. "Great. Then there's still hope. Now back to me taking that shower…"

By the time Hiccup returned to the living room, Hiro had fallen asleep, and the topic of Lacrosse was dropped.

Hiro returned to Tooth's classroom the following afternoon. He had skipped lunch the prior day in favor of the library. Star and Marco were having lunch alone once again. They greeted him as he entered the room.

"Heyyyy smart kid." Star gave him two finger guns.

Marco looked up from his sandwich. "Hey, Hiro. What's up?"

Hiro approached slowly, taking a seat across from them. "I don't know…" He stared at the table. "I thought about what you said. You know, 'finding a different way to stick out'? I think I found one but...My uh…." 'Dad' still felt weird to say. Hiro scratched his head. " My Guardian didn't seem too excited about it…" As he relayed the previous night's events, Star and Marco listened with interest.

Star pondered. "Hiro the Heffalump. Could be cool."

Marco shrugged. "Maybe he's just worried about you getting hurt? Not to be rude but you're kinda...smaller than the other players."

Hiro pulled out a thermos. "I don't know, I guess I thought he would be excited? It's always my other guardian that does the worrying. Jack's a really carefree guy." Pouring the soup into a cup, he continued. "It's funny how backwards they are."

"What do you mean?" Marco asked.

"Jack works all day at the department store, he's really chill. Hiccup works from home most of the time but he has to keep everything on a schedule and make sure everything is okay. You would think the artist would be the more carefree one."

As Hiro unfurled a perfectly warm grilled cheese sandwich from a different thermos. Star gasped.

Hiro blinked. "What's wrong?"

"It's. Still. Cheesy!" She pointed. "What is this magic!?"

Hiro tapped the thermos. "The insulation of the can?"

"Hiccup?" Marco looked down at his lunch. "Why does that name seem so familiar?"

"You can craft!" Star blinked. "I used to watch those all the time! That's where I found out about edible glitter!"She snorted. "It's way better than the regular kind."

Hiro stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"Nun uh, we don't talk about it." Marco shook his head. "Your Guardian is a YouTuber? Cool."

"Waaait, Jack! I remember him too! The guy with the white hair!" Star's eyes widened. "Are they married now!?"

"Not exactly." Hiro shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going to go down to the field after school and see if I can try out."

"We should come with you."Marco gave Star a sideways glance. "You know, for moral support." He added before Hiro could retort.

"Oh." Hiro was surprised. "Thanks."

As the conversation shifted to classes and coursework Hiro found himself feeling a little hopeful. Maybe things were moving in the right direction.

After he sent off the afternoon's earnings to the bank, Jack went to check in with North. He found the jolly old man carrying a new shipment from the loading area to the backrooms on the ground floor. Setting the heavy boxes down, North huffed for a moment. His breaths went from wheezes to a set of throaty coughs.

"Whoa there." Jack stepped up to him from behind. "Are you okay?"

"Is nothing." North shook his head before coughing again.

"Uh-huh." Jack wasn't convinced. "Don't you have a checkup coming up? You should talk to your doctor."

North was ready to deflect. "And what about your doctor?"

"I'm fine." Jack leaned against the wall. "I'm already seeing a change after starting my morning runs. I'll be back to normal in no time." He crossed his arms. "But I'm not the one with the cough."

"Bah." North waved a hand in dismissal.

Before Jack could press further, his cellphone rang. Seeing Hiccup's name incoming call, he smiled. "Hey, what's up?"

"I'm still at the gym trying to sort something out. Can you pick up Hiro after school? I won't make it back to Burgess in time."

"No problem."

As North began to trudge away, Jack shook his head. "Do you need me to pick up dinner too?"

"No, I should be back before then." Hiccup paused. "Thanks."

After they said their goodbyes, Jack hung up and returned to his duties around the store. The hours went by faster than he expected, and soon he found himself sprinting over to Burgess High. He was late. Very late. Hiro wasn't waiting in the parking lot, or near the steps. Panic was starting to seep in. But he wasn't ready to give up just yet.

'Maybe he's helping Tooth with something.' He reached for his phone. Tooth wasn't answering.

'He didn't mention trying out or the team…' Jack made a beeline for the practice area.

Just moments earlier Hiro had his way to the field. Marco and Star had been by his side-for opposing reasons. While Marco wanted to make sure Hiro was okay, Star was looking forward to seeing the aftermath.

Naturally, they both got their wish. After Hiro approached Coach Shang (who wasn't even sure a child was allowed to join the team), he was told to join in with practice drills. If he was unable to keep up with drills, trying out a position was a waste of time as far as the coach was concerned.

At half the size of his would-be teammates, Hiro was packing a little less muscle and a lot less stamina. With those qualities in mind, Jack wasn't that surprised when he watched his child eat dirt as he hit his face on the side of one of the safety cones.

Hiro didn't know what was worse; Jack's horrified face as he entered the gate, Shang's blowing the whistle to stop practice, or the resounding snickers that seemed to be echoing from every angle. As he picked himself up, he thought he heard Star yelling something from the bleachers. Whether it was encouragement or teasing but he didn't care.

He let Jack lead him back towards downtown Burgess. It felt as if they walked for hours, all the while the stinging in his face slowly numbed and the ice pack Jack had retrieved from the nurse's office slowly melted.

Jack understood why Hiro had gone quiet, failure was hard to take at any age. He traded the melted ice pack for a bag of frozen peas and checked Hiro's face. Despite his silence, Jack was sire the nasty purple bruise on his face had to feel like something.

"Does it hurt?" Jack asked, possibly for the third time that hour.

Hiro shook his head. "Can I lay down now?"

"Yeah."Jack scratched his head. "But you have to promise you'll tell if something is wrong, okay?"

Hiro kept his eyes on Jack's shirt. It was easier than looking at his face. He couldn't take that pitying look, it made his blue eyes look watery and huge, like twin pools of sadness.

"Uh huh." Was Hiro's eventual reply, his voice cracking as he slid off the couch and headed to his room.

Curled up in bed with the peas dripping melting ice on his pillows, Hiro tried to forget the laughing, the stares, and the sinking feeling that maybe he shouldn't have moved grades up after all.

Hiro must have fallen asleep at some point. The next thing he knew, he was drooling on his pillow, the soggy peas had disappeared, and bright light was streaming into his darkened room from the hallway. Hiccup poked his head into the room. "Hiro?" He whispered. "Were you asleep?"

Hiro blinked at him. "What time is it?"

"Six-thirty." Hiccup replied.

"Oh." Hiro felt sweaty in his clothes. He had only been out for a few hours.

Hiccup leaned against the doorframe. "Are you feeling okay? Jack said you fell."

Hiro wondered what else Jack had said. "I'm okay." His voice sounded robotic. Unnatural. He watched Hiccup's mouth press into a thin line. He definitely didn't buy that answer.

"Are you hungry?" Hiccup asked. "Dinner is almost ready."

Part of him wanted to go back to sleep, but he also wanted to see that look on Hiccup's face disappear. "No thanks." He rolled back over. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Hiccup replied, before closing the door.

Bathed in darkness, Hiro willed himself to go back to sleep.

Gnawing hunger woke Hiro the next morning.

'That's what I get for skipping dinner'. He thought.

Moving Toothless from his stomach, Hiro stalked out to the living room. Going to be early had caused him to wake up earlier than usual. The house was quiet. Hiccup and Jack were likely out on their morning run, which meant he would have to fend for himself. He went to the kitchen, patting his growling stomach. What he wouldn't give for a stack of pancakes...

Jack finally came to a stop at a bench in the park. His chest burned and sweat dripped down his face, but he felt more alert than he had in months. The autumn chill was lessened by his internal temperature and the worn scarf that Hiccup had wrapped around his neck.

Hiccup stood over him, hands on his hips, visibly less winded. "Ready to go home?" He asked.

"Yeah…" Jack nodded before laughing. "No, actually. I know the training says to leave him be but this is like the second time he's shut himself in his room like this. We should do something."

"I know." Hiccup sighed. "We can start by trying to cheer him up when we get upstairs. Or take him to see a movie after school, maybe?"

Jack stood up from the bench. "Anything to help him get past that. You should have seen his face. I thought I was gonna have a heart attack."

Hiccup's face twisted into a grimace."I thought I was gonna have one just hearing about it. Let's head back."

Upon returning to the hotel and heading up to their apartment, they entered into a smoky haze. The smoke alarm was blaring, and Hiro was scraping a smoldering pan over the sink.

Jack moved to open the windows and silence the alarm, while Hiccup went to see about Hiro.

"Are you okay?" Hiccup asked, grasping the pan's handle. "What happened?"

"I…" Hiro heard his own voice crack. Tears warped his vision and he rubbed at his face with his sleeve. "I just-"

With the smoke fanned away and the smoke alarm shut off, the apartment was quiet.

"Nothing I do turns out right!"Hiro suddenly snapped, breaking the silence.

"Hiro." Hiccup set the pan down in the sink. He placed a hand on the child's head. "It's okay."

As the tears continued to fall, Hiro latched onto Hiccup's shirt. He felt like he could stay there forever, crying while Hiccup rubbed circles into his back. Eventually, his sobs subsided, and he let Hiccup guide him over to the table.

They both took a seat.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out Hiro." HIccup began "But you know what? That's okay. Because at least you tried. Sometimes when you try something you're going to fail at first. But that's a good thing. Because that means you can change something and try again or try something completely different." Hiccup glanced at the clock. "Let's try making those pancakes again, okay?"

Hiro nodded, relieved and lacking more energy than he had woken up with. "Okay."

"Great." Hiccup replied. "But you gotta promise me you won't use the stove when we're not around."

"Deal." Hiro agreed. "Can we make chocolate ones?"

"Sure." Hiccup smiled. "Whatever you want."

After breakfast, Hiro and Jack were off. Despite how relieved he felt, Hiro was less cheerful once they pulled into the parking lot.

Jack looked from Hiro's glum gaze to the parking lot. "Not ready to go back, huh?"

Hiro stared at the dashboard. "Everyone's gonna stare at my face."

Swelling down, and bandaged up, Hiro's bruise was now a new point of interest for anyone that looked his way.

Jack recalled an earlier conversation he had with Hiccup. "Well. I guess you don't have to go to school today..."

Hiro's eyes widened, already elated.