Chapter Text
"C'mon uncle Hiccup, the others are gonna be waiting!" Jamie said, tugging Hiccup along by his sleeve.
Hiccup eventually sped up a little, his long strides easily outpacing the child urging him on. It wasn't like he'd been dawdling per se, he just didn't look forward to spending so much time with children in the park.
His sister was out of town for a couple weeks, and he had reluctantly agreed to look after her kids in the meantime, only after every other avenue had been explored. He actually liked Jamie and Sophie, for what it was worth. Jamie was a little precocious, and easily excited, but it was more cute than annoying. And Sophie was still small enough, making her pretty easy to handle. In general, he'd found that just letting them watch TV was the easiest way to get through each afternoon. And ever since that little snowstorm at the beginning of the week, they had been content to play outside in the snow all day, giving Hiccup some peace and quiet.
He only had to check on them every so often, but he could do that from the comfort of the living room window, watching as they built snowmen and had snowball fights with their friends in the yard. The biggest plus: After playing outside all day, they were nice and tired in the evening, speeding up the process of getting them to bed. But today, Jamie had asked if they could go play in the nearby park, to meet some more friends, and have more room for sledding. Hiccup had been a bit weary of that idea. It wasn't like he wanted to be a spoilsport, but he had a responsibility for these kids for the time being, and letting them out of his sight for an entire afternoon seemed like too much of a risk.
Jamie's big doe eyes and a good hour of begging had been too much to bear though, and Hiccup had agreed, as long as an adult was there with them. Which, according to Jamie, was no problem at all, since Jack Frost would be there.
So who was Jack Frost? Maybe a parent? An older sibling? A teacher, or social worker? No, nothing as straightforward as that. Jack Frost, of course, was a winter spirit. A guardian of childhood. A friend of Santa and the Tooth-fairy.
Hiccup had only rolled his eyes at Jamie's stories, but the boy was so insistent on Jack being a real person that would be there to watch over them, that Hiccup ended up more concerned than amused. Was there some guy playing with the kids in the park? An actual adult, maybe pretending to be some sort of magical figure? It didn't exactly sound nefarious from Jamie's descriptions, but Hiccup couldn't help a prickle of dread going down his neck. He had to check this out now, and make sure nothing weird was going on with Jamie's friends.
So here he was, being dragged by a child towards the park.
Hiccup let out a long breath and watched it freeze in the air. He liked winter. It felt like home. Maybe keeping watch over the kids in the park wouldn't be so bad. At least he wouldn't have to sweat in the heat.
They entered the park and Hiccup slowed a little, careful not to slip in the trodden out, and slightly icy path. He could hear children playing ahead, and Jamie pulled him in the same direction. As they drew nearer, Hiccup spotted a gaggle of children building something out of snow, with a lanky teenager sitting on a nearby branch. Was that Jack Frost? The first thing he noticed was that he was barefoot. Hiccup stared openly at the boy's swinging feet, his mouth hanging slightly open. What the fuck was wrong with this guy? It was something like -10°C, and he was barefoot? Hiccup looked around, but he couldn't see any shoes either. This guy was either some flavor of insane, or maybe a pervert, but he certainly wasn't someone Hiccup would entrust the kids to.
The strange teenager chose that moment to look over to Hiccup and Jamie, and his eyes lit up. He seemed to ignore Hiccup entirely, his focus was on Jamie and Sophie, which was suspicious to say the least. Jamie wanted to run towards the teenager immediately, but Hiccup held up a hand to stop him. "Hang on a minute. Who is that guy?" he said, furrowing his brow as he eyed the teen suspiciously. Jamie looked up at Hiccup with wide eyes, a grin spreading on his face "You can SEE him?!" he asked, excitement sparkling in his eyes. "That's Jack Frost! I told you!" At almost the same time, 'Jack Frost' looked at Hiccup for what seemed like the first time. He stared at him, wide open, impossibly blue eyes making contact with Hiccups.
"You…" he turned his head, looking over his shoulder as if to check if Hiccup was looking at something just behind him. He blinked when he turned back and Hiccup was still frowning at him. "You can see me?" he asked in a disbelieving whisper, like saying it too loudly would make it less true. "Yeah?" Hiccup asked, still frowning suspiciously. His hand was still on Jamie's shoulder, holding him back. Something about this guy was very weird. Why did Jamie know him so well, and why did he think of him as a 'winter spirit'? Jamie had talked his ear off all afternoon, telling him of all the adventures they'd had with 'Jack Frost'. Had this guy involved the children in some sort of delusional episode? He didn't know much about that sort of thing, but he found himself wondering who he should call to get this guy some help.
"Who are you?" he asked warily, his eyes wandering from the guy's bare feet, over his ragged pants and blue hoodie, to his strangely white hair and impossibly blue eyes. Fair is fair, if he was going to try and cosplay as a mystical figure, 'winter spirit' would probably work.
"Wh-" Jack said, blinking a couple times, before a wide grin spread on his face. "Well I'm Jack Frost!" he said "And you can see me! You believe in me!" his smile seemed so genuine that Hiccup's suspicion faltered for a moment. This guy was about as nutty as a fruitcake, and Hiccup had to resolve this whole thing peacefully, somehow. He eyed the long staff Jack was swinging around excitedly.
"S-sure bud. Uh.." he took a step back, his hand still on Jamie's shoulder. "Why don't you start by getting down from that tree, hm?" he looked around, wondering if there were other adults around who could help, and hopefully no cops. Adding heavily armed thugs to a mental health crisis was never a good idea.
"Sure!" Jack said brightly, not at all picking up on Hiccup's apprehension. He got to his feet in one swift motion, easily balancing on the branch, like he wanted to jump off.
"Hey now, there's no need to-" Hiccup started, stepping forward, his arm outstretched. The branch was way too high to-'Jack Frost' lightly hopped off the branch, was picked up by a breeze billowing his hoodie, and floated to the ground like a leaf. The wind swirled around him playfully when he touched down, creating a beautiful swirl of snow for Jack to grin through.
"What the fuck." Hiccup said, staring with his mouth hanging open.
"Hiccup!" the children around them gasped, which turned into giggles, while Jack looked downright shocked. As if a curse word was more outrageous than the physics defying stunt he just pulled.
"Hey! Think of the children!" Jack hissed, though the corner of his mouth twitched, trying to hide a smile.Hiccup blinked and looked at the gaggle of children. Right. His sister had asked him to watch his language. Not that he saw the point.
"Sorry." he muttered, then shook his head and took a step back, pointing at Jack.
"No no, hang on, don't change the subject. What the f- frick?" he glanced at Jamie, who was bent over laughing and slapping his knee. Well he wouldn't be of any help.
"What did you just do! You, you floated, or, or, flew?" Hiccup stammered, his eyes roaming over Jack again, like he could find a hidden jet pack.
"So?" Jack asked, tilting his head.
"SO?!" Hiccup shouted, smacking his forehead with his palm. "WHat the f-rick do you mean 'SO'?! You can't just fly!"
"Why not?" Jack shrugged, like Hiccup was the one acting crazy. Hiccup gaped at him. Was he acting crazy? He blinked rapidly, then rubbed his eyes. One thought at a time, Hiccup.
He looked at the children, Jamie in particular "You just saw that, right? No, tell me what you saw." he said, and Jamie looked way too comfortable with the situation.
"Well Jack jumped from the tree, and the wind caught him. He can fly like that." Jamie said, like he was describing the most normal thing. Hiccup felt his eye twitch at the frustratingly casual way he said it.
So this hadn't been a trick of the light, or some delusion? His mind was racing, trying to come up with answers that fit his understanding of the world. What the fuck was happening.
"You can fly." he said tonelessly to Jack, shaking his head slightly."Of course." Jack said with a friendly smile, as if Hiccup had asked if he could ride a bike. Was this guy trying to be annoying on purpose?
"H-how can you be so-" Hiccup cut himself off, huffing in frustration. "Ok. Hang on. Lets be rational about this." he muttered, pinching his chin as he contemplated the reality of the situation. He wasn't a scientist, but as a mechanical engineer he was no stranger to the scientific method. Presented with an impossible problem, his mind retreated to the safe space of trial and error. Anything was preferable to simply admitting he'd lost his mind.
Maybe this was a dream? Anything would seem real if it was a dream, right? How could he test that?He pulled out his phone and opened the browser, pulling up Wikipedia. If he could read about something he knew nothing about, it couldn't be a dream, since he couldn't just generate new information. The first thing that came to mind was string theory, which he typed in with shaking hands.
Type I string theory turns out to be equivalent by S-duality to the SO(32) heterotic string theory. Similarly, type IIB string theory is related to itself in a nontrivial way by S-duality.
Yeah no, he couldn't even parse whatever the fuck that sentence meant. But most importantly, he was able to read it. And reading in itself wasn't really possible in dreams, right? He looked up to find Jack and the children standing around in a circle, watching him with bemusement, apparently wholly uncaring to his unraveling mind.
"No. Ok. Wait." he said, narrowing his eyes. "This is some sort of trick you're pulling, isn't it?" he asked Jamie, already miffed that he'd fallen for it.
"You have some sort of..of rope or…" he continued, walking around Jack, convinced he would find him wearing a harness with fishing line or something similar.
But. There was nothing.
Hiccup waved his arms in the air as he rounded Jack like he would catch even invisible ropes, but he came up empty. He faltered.
"Magnets?" he said, voice cracking in desperation, to the general amusement of the children. Jack looked perfectly calm, even happy to indulge Hiccup as he stepped closer. Hiccup was so wrapped up in his panicked investigation that he completely forgot about personal space or courtesy, patting Jack's hoody down, hoping to maybe find a thick vest lined with metal. Maybe in combination with a huge electro magnet hidden in the floor…? He was yanked back into reality when Jack yelped as Hiccup tugged up his hoody slightly, revealing a strip of pale skin, and no harness at all.
"S-Sorry, I didn't-" Hiccup stammered, raising his hands, then burying them in his hair, eyes wide as he walked around the perimeter, looking for any mechanisms in the ground, or the tree, that could explain what he had seen. Jack, meanwhile, adjusted his hoody, a slight layer of hoarfrost dusting his cheeks. He floated over to Hiccup, hovering about a foot off the ground as he watched him dig in the snow with his gloved hands.
"What'cha doin?" he asked, making Hiccup yelp. Hiccup stared at the floating teenager, at his bare feet hovering over the undisturbed snow cover. He hadn't heard him approach. Hiccup swiped a hand under Jack's feet, but couldn't find anything holding him up. Not that that would have made sense. The snow was undisturbed. He would have to stand on something.
"You're floating." he said in disbelief as he stood up, patting the snow from his knees.
"Hm?" Jack said, then looked down as if he hadn't even noticed. "Oh. I can stop, if that makes you feel better?" he said, genuine concern in his voice. He landed on top of the snow cover, not sinking in even a millimeter.
"No, that's worse somehow." Hiccup muttered, leaning down to touch the snow, confirming that it wasn't hardened ice. It was powdery and soft. And yet Jack was standing on it like fucking Legolas.
"Ok. What the…" Hiccup shook his head again, like he could shift back into a reality that made sense. "Can someone please tell me what's going on here?" he asked, looking to Jamie with desperation. "If this is some sort of trick, I'll admit, you got me, it's really impressive, but please tell me now." Jamie looked apologetic, and approached Hiccup like one would a startled animal
"Well, it's not a trick." he said gently "Jack is just like that. He's a winter spirit. He's magic!" he added, getting more excited with every word. "It's so cool that you can see him to! You're the first adult who can! Usually only children can see him! And not a lot of them!" he glanced at Jack at the last addition "No offense, Jack." Jack shrugged, looking fondly at the boy.
"None taken." he smiled. "I'm as surprised as you are, I didn't think this would work." he looked to Hiccup. "Why can you see me?" he asked, tilting his head. Hiccup tried his best to hold it together, he really did.
"Huhh?" he said cleverly, alternating between shrugging and throwing up his arms. "Why can I- why.." he stammered, then closed his eyes and turned away from the madness, pinching the bridge of his nose. Not a dream, not a hallucination. No trick. No invisible ropes, no magnets. He looked around and felt the cold but gentle winter breeze. No gas leak. He took a deep breath to steady himself. Hiccup was an atheist. He believed in science and tangible things. Things that were provable and repeatable. Accepting something like 'Magic' as real went against everything he'd ever known.
But an important part of the scientific method meant being open to possibilities never before accepted as fact. If he could repeatedly test and prove something as real and true, then it was real and true. Even if he was the first to ever discover it. Even if it seemingly didn't make sense. He turned back to the others, his gaze intent as he studied Jack again, a gleam in his eyes.
When you have eliminated the Impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. This 'Magic' was real, and standing right in front of him.
Hiccup had a lot of questions.
******************
While Hiccup's very small mental breakdown at meeting Jack had apparently been hilarious, the kids had lost interest in his questions pretty quickly. The fun of a snow day was beckoning, and they had forts to build and snowballs to throw. Their attention shifted, and Hiccup consigned himself to waiting around on the sidelines, breathing into his hands to keep them warm. It was a little frustrating, since Hiccup had just discovered that his entire conception of reality might just be wrong, and he wanted to find out everything he could about this new world.And while the focus of his attention, winter spirit Jack Frost, was very willing to humor Hiccup, he eventually excused himself. Having fun with the children was his priority.
But children, as it turns out, are not allowed to stay up late, and are expected to be home before sundown.Hiccup had never been as thankful for the short winter days. It wasn't even close to four o'clock, when the sun first dipped behind the treeline, casting a weak golden glow through the bare branches. Soon enough, Jamie's friends excused themselves and headed home one after another, blaming their parent's 'ridiculous rules'. Hiccup hid a smile as he watched them go. After hours of playing in the snow, they were probably tired and cold, but would never admit as much.
At last, he was left with Jamie, Sophie and Jack, the latter looking wistfully at the departing kids. That made Hiccup add another question to the long list he had mentally compiled as the others played.But first, he had to think of his responsibilities.
"C'mon guys, you need to get home too." Hiccup said, lightly nudging them towards the entrance of the park.Just like the other kids, Jamie and Sophie would deny being tired, but he could see it in their subdued mannerisms and their red cheeks. Jamie failed miserably to hide a yawn, looking frustrated of his own sleepiness.
"But it's not that late!" he said, pouting a little, Sophie nodding eagerly beside him. "I mean…you could stay in the park all night..." Hiccup said, tilting his head and crossing his arms as if considering it "I guess I'll have to drink all that hot coco myself then.."
Sophie fell for it, rushing to his side and hugging his leg "Noo! I want coco!" she said, eyes big and pleading. Hiccup had to hold back a snort. Jamie, on the other hand, was too old for such trickery, which he made a show of by crossing his arms and briefly glaring at Hiccup, though there was no malice behind it. Still, having done his due diligence in pouting a little, he fell into line as they headed towards the exit.
Having successfully wrangled the kids in the right direction and letting them go ahead a little, Hiccup stopped to look back at Jack, who busied himself inspecting the rather unflattering rendition of a snowman-Hiccup the children had built earlier.
Hiccup realized that he had no idea if Jack was even willing to stick around and answer all his questions. Maybe he had other, important things to do? More questions for the list.
"Uh..would you like to come over for dinner?" Hiccup asked, a little awkwardly. This was a winter spirit. A Guardian of Childhood™, and Hiccup invited him just like that?
Jack perked up at that, blue eyes blinking in surprise."Me?" he asked, pointing at his chest.
"No, I was talking to that Pine over there." Hiccup deadpanned before he could stop himself, gesturing to the tree behind Jack. Gods damn, couldn't he keep his snark in check for once? He couldn't talk to a stranger like that. "Sorry, I-" he started, but Jack just huffed, giving Hiccup a crooked smile.
"No I get it, it's a very fine pine." he said, kicking up his staff until it rested over his shoulders, resting both hands over it. It looked like a well practiced maneuver. Hiccup smiled back, relieved he hadn't offended him. He decided to play along.
"It really is." Hiccup said, looking at the tree with admiration, then shook his head. "But trees are so set in their ways, I doubt it'll come over. How about you though?" Jack smiled again, more genuine, and Hiccup found he very much liked the sight of that. Jack almost seemed a little shy then, looking down and kicking up a bit of snow. "Parents don't usually welcome a cold gust of wind at the dinner table." he said with a shrug, glancing up at Hiccup through his fluffy white bangs.
Among all the technical questions Hiccup was eager to ask, new, more personal ones formed. If he really was invisible to all adults and most children, wasn't that lonely? Was that why Jack had looked so wistful when the other kids left? What did he do when all the children he knew went to bed? Sure, it was always daytime somewhere, but did he know children in every timezone?Hiccup clenched his fists. He had so many questions, but he also didn't want to scare the spirit away, or offend him. He would have to earn his trust and patience first.
"Well I welcome you." he said, with conviction. It was a simple statement, but Jack looked at him with wide eyes, momentarily stunned, like it was a monumental thing to say.
Hiccup wondered if vampire rules applied to someone like Jack, and if he was making a mistake, but he added "You are officially invited to my house." with an exaggerated flourish of his hand, gesturing towards the general direction of his sisters' house. Which, at least currently, was under his care, so it should count.
Jack blinked several times, then his face lit up, and he skipped a couple steps closer.
"Well if you put it like that-" he started, but was distracted by something above and behind Hiccup. "Ugh. Not now.." Jack muttered, and Hiccup turned around to see nothing less than a magnificent aurora borealis above them, lighting up the sky in a gorgeous array of colors.
Hiccup gaped up at the display, blinking rapidly. He'd only ever seen them so strong and vivid way up north in the polar regions back home. He knew it was possible to see them this far south, but it was exceedingly rare and certainly never this vibrant.
"What the hell.." he muttered, and turned back to Jack, who looked a little chagrined.
"Sorry," Jack said, frowning up at the sky, the aurora's colors reflecting in his pretty blue eyes. "Looks like I have to go. Rain check on the dinner?" he asked, looking genuinely apologetic, like he was hoping Hiccup wouldn't rescind his invitation.
"Sure.." Hiccup said, furrowing his brow in confusion "what's with the..does this aurora mean something to you? How is it…" he was struggling to put together his question, and Jack had already gripped his staff tighter and walked off a couple steps, looking like he might take off any second. He seemed in a hurry, but still looked back at Hiccup.
"Oh, Santa starts up the aurora, to let the other guardians know he needs us at the north pole." he said, then winked and shot up into the sky. Hiccup staggered back with the cold gust of wind Jack's takeoff created, his eyes following the retreating figure into the colorful evening sky, picking up speed at an impossible rate and quickly disappearing. How did he not break the sound barrier? He was going so insanely fast, that he should definitely do so, and yet Hiccup didn't hear the distinctive sonic booms or see the air compressing in front of him. Maybe because Jack was carried by the actual wind itself (what did that even mean?) he could somehow manipulate the air pressure? Damn. The questions really never stopped coming.
Hiccup shook his head as he watched the slowly fading aurora. Only then did he process what Jack had said.
"Wait WHAT?!" he yelled at nobody in particular.