Work Text:
Jack hummed to himself as he hung from the rafters, his legs looped around the beam as he hung upside down with a grin. He watched as Hiccup tinkered with his newest design for Toothless, his tongue peeking out from the corner of his mouth as he screwed in small details. Jack smirked lightly as he blew a cold gust of wind at the back of Hiccups head, rolling his eyes as Hiccup just shrugged off the chill. He blew another his way, watching in satisfaction as Hiccup's hair flared around him. Hiccup turned his head slightly to look up at Jack, a raised brow his only question. Jack just gave a satisfied smirk back.
"Enjoying yourself there, tinker boy?"
Hiccup gave a mocking laugh as he fixed his hair, grabbing the tail he was working on and holding it up for Jack to see. "Unless you want to explain to our resident reptile why he won't get a snazzy new tail, I need to finish this." Jack hummed in thought as he let his legs release the rafters, gliding down gently to crouch next to Hiccup.
"Apologies to our great Lord Toothless. Please, great tail smith, continue."
Hiccup smiled lightly as he smacked Jack on the nose with some spare fabric. "Just sit there and look pretty while I finish this will you?" Jack gave a low chuckle as he lay his arms in Hiccups lap, leaning his chin on them so he could look between the table and Hiccup as he pleased. They stayed that way as Hiccup worked, neither speaking as he worked. Hiccup felt Jack's eyes on him, looking down into the brilliant blue eyes as they shined up at him.
"Yes, Frostbite?"
Jack simply gave him a lopsided grin, reaching up to run a frosty finger over Hiccup's cheek. "I love you." Hiccup blushed bright as his hands stilled, looking down at Jack with big eyes. No matter how many times the spirit of winter told him those three words, they never seem to amaze him. He leaned down into Jack's space; blue locked on green as his breath ghosted over Jack's lips. He placed a soft kiss on his lips, smiling in satisfaction as all comments were ripped from Jack's throat.
"I love you too."
Jack grinned impishly as he snuck his hand up Hiccup's chest, finger playing with the strings of his shirt. "No no dragon boy, I love you more." Hiccup laughed lightly as he turned back to his work, giving Jack's hair a quick ruffle as his hands busied themselves in his craft.
"Pobably."
Jack froze in Hiccups lap, hands stilling against Hiccup's chest as frost slowly crept out from under his fingers. His breath caught in his throat, ears ringing as his word echoed in his mind. Probably? Did he not love him like he loved Hiccup? Was he not enough? Hiccup yelped in surprise as frost creeped up his neck, bringing his hand up quickly to brush it away before it could spread. He opened his mouth to scold Jack on his carelessness when he froze himself, eyes locking on the even paler face of his love.
"Jack?"
Jack didn't respond, his hands falling to his side as he stood quietly. Hiccup reached for him, Jack shrugging off his hands as he moved past him, staff gripped tightly in whitening knuckles.
"Jack? Where are you going? Jack!?"
Jack stalked out of the hut, Hiccup running after him only to see the fast blur that was Jack shooting off into the air. He raised his hands to call for Toothless, a hand shooting out to grab his wrist. "Let him be. Whatever sent frosty off like that isn't something following him will fix." He snapped his mouth shut as he offered Astrid an unamused huff.
"I wish I knew what exactly that was. I swear to Thor he switched faster than Toothless!"
Astrid hummed as she watched Hiccup pace, finding slight amusement in his frazzled rambling, tuning him out as he threw his hands up in frustration. "I swear all I said was probably!" Astrid shook herself out of her thoughts as she locked eyes with Hiccup, her eyes narrowing to slits.
"Tell me you didn't."
Hiccup stopped his pacing, raising a brow before freezing at Astrid's cold stare. "Um, did I do something stupid or?" Astrid gave an exaggerated groan, reaching out to grab Hiccup by the front of his tunic before dragging him back into the hut. She pushed him down into his bed as she sat next to him, running a hand over her face in annoyance. as he righted himself into a seated position.
"You have been dating Jack for a whole year and yet, somehow, you still don't understand his head."
Hiccup motioned for her to continue, Astrid giving him an eye roll.
"Hiccup..he's been through so much. He was alone for Thor knows how long before any of us even met him and you heard what he said, we were the first to see him and talk to him! Then your mutton headed ass goes and unknowingly throws his love in his face. You are ungodly smart when it comes to dragons but hot winter spirits? Clueless."
Hiccup sighed as he hung his head in his hands. "I'm stupid. So stupid." Astrid nodded, crossing her legs as she leaned back on her hands. "So. What are you going to do about it?" Hiccup sat in silence as his mind turned, mulling over everything. He snapped his fingers suddenly, making Astrid jump slightly as he grabbed her arm.
"Get the people together!"
Astrid yelled in shock as he dragged her from the hut, shrugging as Stoick gave her a questioning look. Hiccup turned to his dad with a wide-eyed smile, pointing at him as though giving a soldier an order. "Dad, I need you to get everyone in Berk to the hall! Everyone! And snow, I need snow! Toothless!" Toothless bounded to his side with a lopsided grin, his eyes saying he already knew where they were going. Hiccup jumped onto his back, securing himself to the saddle before giving his friend a wide grin.
"Let's go get our snowflake."
Jack groaned in frustration as he hurled ice at the poor tree in front of him, sharp shards embedding themselves into the bark. He stalked up to the tree, hands wrapping around a shard and yanking it out with a growl. He threw it to the side, sinking to his knees as he leaned against the tree, cold hands tracing the lines of the bark with unseeing eyes.
Probably.
Years of being alone had left jack sensitive to words, the longing driving him to be seen. He had wandered aimlessly, scanning and searching for anyone in this dragon filled land to see him. To hear him. To even send one word his way. He had gotten used to the hatred of winter from the residents, none of the rough Vikings ever considering the fun he had attempted to send their way. Until these riders changed everything. Until Hiccup changed everything. He changed how the people saw dragons, how they lived everyday life and how they would move forward. He was smart, innovative and downright gorgeous to Jack. He was used to watching from afar, being the one to admire the other.
Until he was seen.
Hiccup had seen. Not the winter winds or the snow that piled on the grass. Him. Jack. It wasn't long before they became friends, Hiccup determined to make the people see him just as he had. Jack was content being only Hiccup's, only being in the eyes of the boy he had grown to love.
Then came the twins, the twin terrors being the next people to see him as Jack powdered the fields for their snowball fight. Everything spiraled from there. From the twins swearing they see him to Hiccup's shocked screech echoing their words. One after the other the riders slowly started to see him until only Astrid remained; the stern unbelieving look plastered on her face as she asked if they had gotten into the mead early. She refused to believe anyone, mocking the so-called spirit until a blob of white smacked her in the face. She growled in anger as she wiped it away, eyes scanning for the culprit as everyone swore it was Jack.
Then she saw him. Blue eyes met the icy blues of the winter spirit. She pointed. He laughed. Then the snowball fight of the century commenced.
Jack smiled at the memory, fingers reaching to hold the wooden carved whistle around his neck. The small whistle was Astrid's idea, rolling her eyes when she had tossed the small dragon whistle to him. "Not everyone believes. If anything happens or you find yourself in danger just blow. We will come. No matter how far you are. You will have us all riding to you." He smiled as he brought the whistle to his lips, blowing ever so softly into it as he allowed the sound to carry through the air.
"Since when do you consider snow danger?"
Jack jumped to his feet, hand slapping over his chest as Hiccup landed Toothless just in front of him. Jack gave him a small glare as he brushed the snow from his pants.
"You could have given me a heart attack."
Hiccup rolled his eyes as he slid off of Toothless, giving Jack a pointed look. "You would have had one a long time ago if you could. If your hair wasn't white before it would be after hanging out with us for so long." Jack shrugged weakly as Hiccup walked over to him slowly, his warm hands reaching out to grasp his cold ones.
"Jack."
Jack didn't meet his eyes, instead focusing on the clasped hands between them. Hiccup frowned and raised a hand to Jack's chin, lifting so Jack was looking right at him.
"I'm sorry."
Jack let out a small sigh as he tried to pull his hands away, Hiccup holding tighter and pulling him closer. Their noses touched as Hiccup leaned into his space, foreheads pressed together as Hiccup ran a thumb over Jack's hand. "I didn't think when I said what I said. I swear I love you more than anything in this world. I didn't mean it in a cruel way; you know that right?" Jack shrugged, his voice low as he looked down at the snow.
"Probably."
Hiccup clicked his tongue as he set his jaw in determination. His grip tightened on Jack's hands, spinning on his heels as he dragged Jack behind him towards Toothless. Jack met the dragon's eyes, giving him a 'What the hell' look as the reptile simply gave him a loopy smile. Hiccup picked Jack up without warning and ignored the surprised yelp as he settled the spirit behind him on Toothless.
"You know I can fly right? We did establish this."
Hiccup gave him a small smile, turning to the side to place a soft kiss on his cheek. "Just hold on and wait. I have a gift." Jack's brows furrowed in confusion as they took off, mind turning trying to figure out just what his boyfriend could possibly have done. They landed swiftly in front of the hall, Jack rolling his eyes as Hiccup hoisted him off the saddle.
"You enjoy giving me the princess treatment, don't you?"
Hiccup gave a sly smile as he grabbed Jack's hand, leading towards the leaning form of Astrid outside of the large hall doors. She gave Jack a small frown before punching him in the shoulder, smirking as Jack grunted under the force. "That's for running off and making Hiccup have to pull this stupid stunt." Jack raised his hands in surrender as Astrid laughed at him, the ever-evolving girl wrapping him in a quick hug.
"Go on ice cube, they are waiting."
Jack opened his mouth to retort but was quickly silenced as Astrid pushed open the doors, all of Berk staring back at him as Hiccup led him inside. Stoick grinned from the head table, clapping his hands together to gain the halls attention.
"Today is a grand day! For today, we celebrate!"
The hall went up in a roar, hands clapping and slamming on tables as Jack was led to the center of the room. Hiccup's mother smiled at him softly as she stood next to her husband, jerking her head lightly to the side as Jack's eyes followed. He once again felt his breath catch as he looked at the towering statues made of snow and ice, his own face staring back at him with an impish grin. Stoick cleared his throat as he stepped down from the head table, head high and voice ever loud.
"Today we celebrate the wonder that is Jack Frost."
Jack stood frozen as Stoick walked away toward the many statues of Jack, the frosty replicas in many states of action. Forming snowballs. Playing with children. Tears pricked his eyes as he looked at the largest one, a hand coming to cover his mouth as a gasp left him. His frozen smile beamed at a frozen Hiccup, their arms intertwined as they stood next to a frozen Stoick and Valka. Stoick motioned for Jack to step forward, large hand falling on his shoulder as he placed Jack in front of the display.
"The boy who changed Berk once again. The one who brought joy to our land and vanquished the fear of the winter months. The one who has protected our people from those who wish to do us harm."
Stoick gave Jack a small smile as he motioned towards Hiccup, the other boy giving Jack a small grin as he walked forward.
"To the boy who gave my lad a partner in this life."
Hiccup stopped in front of Jack; his cheeks tinted a slight red as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It was never a question of if I loved you, Jack. Today I said something I didn't realize would hurt the way that it did. I didn't fully share my thoughts and because of that I hurt you. " Jack nodded slowly, biting his lip to keep tears from forming. Hiccup grabbed his hand as he continued, the hall quiet as they all watched with bated breath.
"I said what I did because you love with the force of a million blizzards. Your unyielding protectiveness and stubbornness to help anything and anyone no matter the situation. It was never a question of if I loved you."
He took the final step forward, hands coming up to grab Jack's face between them. He leaned down into his space, letting a thumb graze over Jack's trembling lip.
"It was if I could ever love you enough for all the years you spent alone. If I could love you so much you forget what loneliness is, what fear and quiet is. If I could somehow love you so much that you forget the past. I realize that it is a hard thing to do, but you can bet your frozen ass I plan to try. Not just today either."
Jack's eyes widened as Hiccup locked eyes with him, his voice low as he reached into his shirt. From his small pocket he pulled a small metal band, small snowflakes dancing around the oddly Toothless shaped dragon as it stretched across the band. No, the dragon was the band! Hiccup cleared his throat as he reached back in, pulling another matching ring from within. Jack couldn't stop the tears as they flowed from his eyes, Hiccup giving him a small grin as he grabbed Jack's hand softly.
"You will never know what loneliness is again Jack. You have all of Berk. You have the riders and the dragons. But most of all you have me."
He held the ring out in offer, looking pointedly at Jack's hand.
"If you will have me for the rest of our idiotic lives and beyond."
Jack couldn't stop the smile that grew as Hiccup slid the ring on his finger, the silver dragon catching the light and the snowflakes shining up at him. He looked around the room, the anticipated faces smiling back at him. Astrid giving him a look that swore murder if he said no. Stoick, ever vast, holding his wife as they looked at him longingly. He had it all now. He had friends. He had family and people to cherish. He had people who bumped into him when he walked and didn't pass through him like mist. He was seen and heard and loved.
He was loved by Hiccup. His Hiccup.
Hiccup looked at him with pleading eyes, his voice low as he waited. "Well frostbite? Will you be my eternity?" Jack threw his arms around Hiccup, smashing their lips together as the room went up in cheers. Hiccup spun them around, holding Jack as tightly as he could to him. He had him, and by every god he could name, he was never letting go. He looked down at Jack, a brow raised in humor.
"Is that a yes?"
Jackl gave him a sly grin, leaning up to blow crisp air into Hiccup's face. Hiccup stared at him in disbelief as Jack chuckled, unsure what exactly the crazy winter spirit was thinking.
"Seriously Jack! Is it?"
Jack hummed in thought as he grabbed Hiccup's hand, sliding the other ring on without waiting for Hiccup to do it himself. He brought the hand to his lips, frost covering the snowflake design as he kissed the ring. Jack smirked as he ran his thumb over Hiccup's hand, an amused smirk flashed up at Hiccup.
"Probably."