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Hiccup really needed to stop coming back to this place. That was what he kept telling himself at least. It had been nearly a year now since Jack had fallen through the ice, and every night Hiccup would come back to visit, as if somehow, some way, Jack would crawl back onto shore again. He’d often sit by that cruel pond, waiting. Toothless would often wait with him, watching as his rider would talk to the air, praying for a reply.
Winter had of course rolled around again this time. The vicious season never was gone long when it came to Berk. Hiccup hadn’t expected the trip to be any different, just him sitting under a tree with Toothless until the moon was directly overhead. This time, however, it was different.
When Hiccup arrived at his usual spot, he couldn’t help but notice how bright it seemed. He looked up towards the very full moon overhead, and it seemed to shine down on him. He gave Toothless a curious look, but the dragon only burbled at him in confusion. Hiccup’s eyes narrowed, and he turned to the pond. That was when he saw it, a new hole in the ice.
The auburn-haired boy’s heart sank at the sight. Had someone else fallen through? Was someone in danger? He didn’t wait to find out.
“Toothless!” Hiccup shouts, hopping onto Toothless’ back and gliding down the hill side. They reached the edge of the pond where the ice began, and peered out towards the center of the water. “Come on bud–” Hiccup murmured. Toothless followed the implied order, and lifted them both into the air. The two hovered just over the hole, and Hiccup looked down to try and see if anyone was there. He couldn’t see anyone, nor were there any bubbles or major ripples. Had someone really fallen in or was it just the ice breaking apart?
When Hiccup finally concluded that no one was there, they landed on the shore again. It was only now that Hiccup realized how fast his heart was beating in his chest. He was half sure it was boring a hole through his ribcage. The auburn-haired boy looked out at the ice again, and sighed as the adrenaline began to fade from his system. He was so sure another person had fallen victim to the watery death trap that he’d almost stopped thinking rationally.
Once Hiccup was sure his legs would allow him to stand, he slid off Toothless’ back, and sat down by his usual tree. It was tall, and firm, likely having been there for decades. As he sat, Toothless wandered over and nudged his arm with a croon. Hiccup chuckles warily, and pets his head.
“I’m okay bud… just a little shaken up.” He whispers. Deep down Hiccup wasn’t okay. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the ice, reliving the moment he’d arrived just slightly too late to save Jack. He remembered having to comfort Mary, Jack’s little sister as she wept and begged for her big brother to come back. The grief he felt from that moment was still so strong he swore he was crying. Wait, was he?
Hiccup brought a hand up to his face, and lightly wiped away the tears that had begun to form streaks down his cheeks. He scoffed as he looked down at the droplets on his hands, wondering how he ever made it through those first few days without the person he loved more than anything else. Hiccup had seen Jack everywhere after that day. He’d seen him in the stars with the way they twinkled like his eyes, or in the pastries he’d used to swipe from Mrs. Ingerman for the two of them to share. Hiccup had always gone back and paid her for the treats after the fact.
The boy laughed at the memories of them running through the streets of Berk together, or flying on the back of Toothless as one. He’d promised to help Jack train his own dragon one day, to help him fly on his own… Hiccup never got the chance.
Hiccup wasn’t exactly sure how much time had passed since he’d sat down by the tree tonight, but it didn’t really matter to him. He continued to stare out at the water until Toothless seemed to catch sight of something.
The dragon had been lounging next to Hiccup in the soft, fluffy snow, pretending to nap as he waited with Hiccup when he suddenly turned his head up towards a tree branch. Hiccup looked over at his night fury in confusion when he finally saw what caught his attention. Along the branch, frost patterns had begun to form in rapid succession of one another. The ice carried intricate designs that could only be described as magical. With how fast the frost was spreading, Hiccup was pretty sure that it was in fact magical.
He quickly stood up and took a few steps back to get a better look at the frost. From his new perspective, Hiccup could see the ice was almost completely covering the tree. Then it started to cover the next, and the next. It was as if it was leaping from one tree to the next. Suddenly, a cool wind was blowing around Hiccup and Toothless. It startled them both at first with how abrupt it had been, but Hiccup couldn’t help but be in awe at the beauty the wind carried with it. Snowflakes danced through the air with twirls and flips, circling him and Toothless, as well as the trees and pond. Hiccup made the official determination that this had to be some sort of magic.
Then came the voice. Hiccup froze when he first heard it, believing it to be his mind playing tricks on him, but as the wind blew past, he heard it again, and again. It wasn’t words exactly, but a laugh, one he found all too familiar. It was a laugh he swore he’d never hear again. His eyes widened and began to water again as they followed the windswept snowflakes to the center of the pond.
“Jack?” Hiccup whispered, sounding unsure of himself. He looked up at the snowflakes, and watched as they seemed to float in midair, as if they were looking up at the moon. The boy stared at them, afraid they would vanish, then blinked, and he was there.
It felt like Hiccup’s world came crashing down all at once. There in the sky was Jack, floating several meters up, looking up at the moon. His hair was a snowy white, and his eyes were a soft blue. He clutched a wooden staff in one hand and reached out to the worlds above with the other. Hiccup knew this was Jack. Even without his brown hair and hazel eyes, it was unmistakable. The boy he’d loved was alive, but no longer as Jackson Overland, but as something more. A new name came to his mind… Jack Frost.