Chapter Text
Hiccup’s life had reached an unfortunate stand-still.
Every day was the same. Day in and day out, his routine never changed. Wake up at the same time every morning, eat the same meal, make the same commute to work, wear the same uniform, feed the animals the same meat, and talk to the same people- every single day.
Healthy routines and all that. Keeping everything the same makes a person sane, or something. At least, that’s what he’s trying to stress to Astrid during their lunch break. Sure, his life is like clockwork, but he likes clockwork. The repetition is very relaxing, in his humble opinion.
They’re sitting across from each other at the Merry Moon Café, Astrid leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed and a very unimpressed look on her face.
“Hiccup, I know that you enjoy your life, but you seriously need some hobbies,” The blonde argued, tapping an incessant finger on her forearm.
“I have hobbies! Plenty of hobbies! I don’t understand why we’re talking about this,” He replied defensively.
She raised an eyebrow at him, “Your job doesn’t count.”
Hiccup put his hands palm up in exasperation, “Isn’t that the whole point, though? Doing a job you actually like? How does the saying go, ‘Find a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life’?”
“Yes, but it’s all you do. The others have taken to calling you ‘the Panther Boy’ behind your back, you know,” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “It just seems like you’re always at work, Hiccup. We never see you anymore, I never see you anymore- I mean, come on, we’re your friends. We’re allowed to miss you, and we’re allowed to worry.”
“That isn’t actually a half-bad nickname- better than being a fishbone like I was when we were kids…” He grumbled half-heartedly.
“That’s not my point and you know it.”
Hiccup groaned, “I know, I know… I just… I do miss hanging out with you guys, but Toothless needs me. Florida panthers are very endangered, Astrid. Hel, he’s the only recorded case of a black Florida panther to date. With his missing leg, we can’t release him into the wild. Ever. I’m the only staff member he relaxes around.”
“Yeah, I get that, but it’s not like he’ll attack your coworkers if they take over for you every once and a while. I know you still tinker, draw, and sew here and there, but I really think you should pick up something active- it can only be good for you,” She semi-uncrossed her arms to gesture in an offering kind of way.
“Like a sport?” He deflated in mild confusion.
“Like a sport,” Astrid agreed, nodding, “Anything you were interested in as a kid? You could do that.”
“Eh…” He leaned away, breaking eye contact, “I used to figure skate, but…”
The blonde perked up in interest, “Oh? You did? When? I don’t remember that.”
“You don’t remember because you and the others used to bully me. I wasn’t about to add more fuel to the fire. Figure skating is a ‘girly’ sport to kids, y’know,” He used air quotes around ‘girly’.
“Oh… right,” She shrunk down again, “Well, why’d you stop?”
Lacking any finesse, he propped his prosthetic onto the table, knocking a fist gently against the metal, “Oh, gee, I wonder,” Hiccup said sarcastically, “Might have something to do with why Toothless likes me so much.”
“Ah. Would it still hurt you if you were to figure skate on a prosthetic?” Astrid tilted her head, blonde fishtail braid falling over her neck.
He shrugged noncommittally, “I don’t think so. I’d definitely need custom skates, though.”
A silence befell the table momentarily, his friend nodding in consideration- more for herself. He wished he had half an idea of what was going on in her head, but at the same time, he realized she probably felt the same way about him half the time.
“Consider it done,” She finally said with one last nod, looking almost proud of herself.
“Huh? Consider it done… consider what done? What are you planning?” Hiccup vaguely wondered if he should be concerned. Whether for himself or for others was still up for debate.
Astrid smirked, “I’m getting you the custom skates. I’ll do some research, we’ll get you the best money can buy,” She said, pulling out her phone and typing something in. The notification sound dinged several times not even a second later.
“Woah, woah, hey, what did you just do?” He tried to keep the alarm from his voice.
“I just texted the group chat. They’ve all decided to pitch in,” She wiggled her phone triumphantly, “So, tell me more about what exactly you did as a kid.”
“But-”
“No buts, tell me.”
Hiccup set his head down on the table, “My father made me go into a sport. Said he didn’t care what it was. I never saw the appeal in tackling other people for random objects or just because, so I picked something… more performance-based, I guess.”
Astrid pursed her lips, “...I get that your dad was a world-famous wrestler and all, and your mom was a gymnast, but did he really force you?”
He shook his hand in a so-so kind of way, forehead still on the table, “You know my dad is really intimidating. As an only child, he wanted me to do something to carry on the family legacy. First and foremost, I’m a people pleaser. I didn’t want him to be disappointed in me, so…”
“So you joined the one sport you could do while being small and skinny. Was he okay with that choice? I mean, like you said, it’s kind of seen as a girly sport.”
“He heavily implied that he’d prefer if I did, like, ice hockey or something, but he didn’t argue. Got me lessons with the best teacher he could find, bought me the best skates on the market, and I started figure skating,” He shrugged.
She nodded, “I guess I don’t actually know the origin of your prosthetic leg. I know it was some kind of accident, but… was it related…? If you’re okay talking about it.”
Hiccup sighed, “Yeah… made a really bad land, broke my ankle really badly… like, the lower half of my tibia broke off completely and was shoved up into the muscles. The other bones in that area were shattered. They couldn’t save it. The best option was to just amputate my foot. With how badly damaged everything was, I wouldn’t have been able to walk and would have been in constant pain.”
Astrid didn’t look as horrified as everybody else he’d told that story to usually did, “That… makes a lot of sense, actually. I bet that hurt, huh? Is that why you didn’t go back to skating?”
“Hm? Oh, no. I loved the sport, I just decided that I’d probably never be as good as I had been before, so I quit.”
She hummed, “Well, you’re unquitting.”
“I don’t think that’s a word-”
“It is,” The blonde said, leaving no room for argument, “So, how out of depth do you think you are, now? Like, on a scale of one to ten, how much would you suck if you were to put on a pair of skates right now and go for a spin?”
Hiccup raised his head just to give her a withering glare, “You’re very encouraging, you know that?”
“Yeah, that doesn't answer my question,” She crossed her legs as if to emphasize her point.
He made an aborted strangling motion, but sighed knowing he was resigned to this fate, “Honestly? I don’t know. My center of balance is all off from how it was when I learned this stuff. Probably pretty bad. I’ve kept up with stretching and everything, but the actual skating? Would be a fruitless endeavor, probably.”
Astrid blinked at him, “That’s not on a scale of one to ten, Hiccup.”
“Five and three-fourths, on a scale of one to ten,” He provided, dryly.
“We can work with that. I bet we can get you back on track pretty fast,” She raised her eyebrows, a small but pleased smile on her face.
“You’ve never even seen me skate. For all you know, I was never any good at it. I mean, that would be a safe assumption considering I made a landing so bad it cost me one of my feet,” He didn’t know why he was arguing against himself when he really didn’t feel any particular way about the matter, but he’s too stubborn to stop now.
“I have a feeling if I asked your mom nicely enough, she’d have plenty of videos to show me,” Astrid said, picking at her fingernails with all the fake disinterest of a lazy house cat.
Hiccup feigned looking at the time, “Oh, would you look at the time? My lunch break is over, I gotta get going- this was a nice talk, Astrid.”
“What-” She looked at the clock as he stood up, “Yeah, no, uh-uh, sit your ass back down. You still have a good fifteen minutes left, you liar. Don’t even try to argue, I know your schedule.”
At the sight of her death glare, he immediately sat back down, “My bad.”
“Mhm, that’s what I thought,” There she went again, looking at him with a very unimpressed stare, “How much of figure skating do you still follow?”
He blinked, “You mean like other athletes? A little bit, I guess. I watched the skating portion of the Winter Olympics.”
The blonde pointed to the café’s TV, “Like the interviews they’re doing for that right now?”
“Yeah- wait, what?” He swiveled his head and surely enough, they were interviewing his favorite skater. Jackson Overland, better known to his fans as Jack Frost for his wintery appearance and skill on the ice.
“Who is that guy?” Astrid mumbled, “He looks young.”
“He turned nineteen last November,” Hiccup replied, paying more attention to the interview.
His friend side-eyed him but wisely didn’t say anything, also directing her attention to the interview. They’d missed the first part of it, but it was still ongoing.
“Jackson ‘Jack Frost’ Overland wins Gold in his first year participating in the Winter Olympic Games” read the news title.
In the footage, there stood a pale teenager with short, fluffy snow-white hair and icy blue eyes. He was wearing a blue hoodie over his figure skating costume, both of his hands resting in the front pocket. He smiled serenely, his teeth almost unrealistically bright.
A reporter held a microphone to his face, “Mr. Overland, sir, do you have anything to say to aspiring athletes who might be watching?”
He turned his unnervingly blue gaze to the camera, the self-assured smile never faltering, “I say go for it. The person that holds you back the most will always be yourself. You’ll never know if you don’t try. What’s really important is believing in yourself. Believing it’s possible. When there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“The fans want to know; how did you get into figure skating?” Another reporter asked.
Blinking owlishly, he paused, “…Do you really wanna know?”
“Uh… yes, sir.”
Not breaking eye contact with the camera, he slowly leaned forward until he was at eye level with the mic, staying silent until he finally said: “Yuri on Ice.”
The reporters did not say anything in response.
He grinned impishly, standing straight again, “I’m just kidding. Though it is a good anime, I recommend it.”
There was nervous chuckling to be heard from some of the reporters, “So? How did you really get into figure skating?”
He gave a considering expression, it was almost fond, “When I was nine, my parents took me ice skating for the first time. I didn’t think I’d be any good, and I was scared to try. However, there was a boy there, not much older than me- maybe two or three years older- who looked like he belonged on the ice.”
“I watched him skate for a little bit. He did a bunch of elaborate spins and turns- and then he jumped! Spun in the air and man, I was just in awe. He didn’t look scared. He looked happy. Like being there meant he was free,” He smiled as he recalled the memory, “I wanted to feel that. I wanted to understand. So I worked up the nerve, put on my skates, and I practiced.”
“When I wasn’t practicing, I was watching him. He was there every day. It was hard to miss him, it was like he never left. I never talked to him. I don’t know his name, I vaguely recall what he looks like, but I do know that he was one with the ice. A couple of years later, he stopped showing up all of a sudden. I don’t know why. I don’t know what happened or where he is now, but if I ever meet him again, I’ll thank him. He inspired me to be where I am right now, and for that, I couldn’t be more grateful.”
The reporters sat in silence from the story, one eventually stuttering out, “T-t-thank you for y-your time, Mr. Overland, s-sir.”
He made an attempt at pouting but it was disrupted by his grin, “Aw, no more questions? Well, that’s fair. I need to be going, anyway. Have a nice day.”
“Y-you too.”
The camera switched to another interview with a different skater.
Astrid turned to Hiccup with a contemplative look, “So, that guy.”
He wanted to shy away from the knowing gleam in her eyes, but there was nowhere to go. He gulped, “…What about him?”
“You knew his birth month. That's a very odd fact to know off the top of your head, don’t you think?”
Shrugging, he looked anywhere but at the blonde, “Not really… it’s public information.”
“Maybe, but it’s not like that’s information you just stumble upon randomly, Hiccup. You looked him up,” She stated it like a fact, but it seemed more accusatory than anything.
“What? No, that’s crazy talk, Astrid. Do you even hear yourself?” Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could acknowledge that he was digging himself into a hole. But he’s been carrying the shovel for the whole conversation thus far, he might as well commit and take it to his grave.
She scowled, before a terrifyingly familiar smirk plastered itself across her face, “Do you have a little celebrity crush?”
He was stripped of his chance to reply when his phone alarm went off, signaling the end of his lunch break, for real this time. Hiccup laughed to stave off his nerves, “Oh, wow, it’s been fifteen minutes. I have to go, Astrid, c’ya!”
Astrid was left floundering, not calling him back because she knew he wasn’t lying this time and she wasn’t about to inhibit his work.
During the short walk back to his job, the brunette fretted over how close a call that was. When he got back to Toothless’ enclosure, putting the cat’s prosthetic back on after his own break from being surrounded by visitors, he was muttering the whole time.
The panther looked at him with big, curious green eyes, meowing a soft ‘mrrrh’ sound like a question. Hiccup sighed, petting the big cat on the head and scratching behind his ears as he sat down next to his sleek-furred friend.
“Oh, bud, what am I gonna do?” He asked, pulling his hand back to fiddle with his own sleeves. Toothless just tilted his head in curiosity, so he started ranting to the feline, “I’m never going to live this down, am I? First I’m getting roped back into a sport I haven’t done in seven years and now Astrid knows about my little admiration. And you know she’s not the type to ever let stuff go, huh, bud?”
The black cat gave a deep-throated noise, almost like a purr but not quite. He supposed that was good enough, giving him a scratch under the chin which he leaned into.
Hiccup snorted to himself, “Oh, who am I kidding? She’s right,” Toothless opened one eye at him in acknowledgment but otherwise continued to favor the scratches over anything else. The brunette sighed, “Well, guess it’s time for us to get back to work, Toothless.”
The response he got was a giant lick to the face, which had him sputtering.
“Agh, Toothless, gross! You know how hard that is to wash out!”
✔️@1ceIc3baby | Jack Frost ❄️
You guys are getting very carried away with this
Comments 63k | Likes 299k | Retweets 124k
@Xrlyz | at war w/ writer’s block 🥲
Was it just me or did Jack seem like he had a little crush on our Mysterious Sk8r Boi™️? #WinterOlympics #JackFrost #FigureSkating
Comments 18.2k | Likes 49.1k | Retweets 25.7k
@MrArtistPants | Levi Suitor 🏳️⚧️ is sleepy
Oh, he totally does. Look at that little blush [attachment: httyd3rotg1hj4w.jpeg]
Comments 154 | Likes 5.3k | Retweets 2k
@AlphaMale69 | GigaChad Phase 👿
wut is wrong w/ u ppl. is it gay 2 admire another man from afar, wishing u could build up the courage 2 talk to him but knowing u’ll nvr b good enuff for his recognition and eventually going ur separate ways, thinking about wut u’d say to him if u ever saw him again every day?
Comments 72 | Likes 561 | Retweets 391
@unhingedA03 | Unhinged AO3 tags 🪦🕊️
Bro are you okay?
Comments 15 | Likes 417 | Retweets 51