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     Jack: Hey Hiccup. Sorry to send this so late, text me when you get this k?

    Hiccup squinted at the text, unable to look away despite his watering eyes. Finally glancing away he caught site of the flashing red readout of his alarm clock; 2:14 A.M.. Why on earth was Jack texting him this late at night? Could he not wait till tomorrow for the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ talk? His hand shook a bit as he began to type. Hey Jack, whats- *Delete Delete Delete* Its really late, what do you wa- *Delete Delete Delete* I got it. *Send*

    Jack: Oh, I didn't think you'd be awake this late. Did I wake you?

    Hiccup: Uh, sorta

    Jack: Oh, sorry about that

    Hiccup: So...?

    Jack: Oh yeah! I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out tomorrow?

    Hiccup stared at the phone in shock, his exhaustion forgotten in a sudden surge of adrenalin as his tired mind launched into motion. Jack wanted to hang out tomorrow. Jack wanted to see him again-tomorrow! Maybe whatever he'd sensed that night hadn't been as big a deal as he thought it had. Or maybe Jack just wanted to break it off in person...no, that could have waited until tomorrow to set up, couldn't it? Besides, he would be able to see Hiccup at school on Monday if that was all he wanted. Unless he didn't want to do it in a public place like that, did Jack think he would make a scene? Hiccup growled in frustration as the amazingly resilient hopeful part of him warred with the more pessimistic rest of him.



    Maybe it was because he was incredibly tired, maybe it was a residual lack of caring from earlier that night, or maybe he was just sick and tired of the twisting feeling in his gut. Whatever the reason, Hiccup found himself typing out, perhaps a bit more viciously than his phone deserved, Look if you wanna do the whole 'I don't think its gonna work speech' just go for it, I appreciate the chivalry or whatever of doing it in person, but you don't need to feel obligated too. He promptly hit send before he could have a chance to regret it, which he did about the same time the “message sent” notification appeared.

    Hiccup let out a groan that morphed into a frustrated shout and he had to fight the urge to throw his phone across the room. “Good job Hiccup. No really that was just brilliant! Way to crush any residual chance of things even possibly working out between you an- *Riiiiiiiing Riiiiiiiing*” Hiccup jump as the phone in his hand suddenly rang out. He knew that it couldn't really have been anybody else, but was still surprised to see Jack's name flashing as the incoming call. The phone rang seven times before he gathered the nerve to flip it open and put it to his ear “H-hello?”

    “Hey Hiccup, I didn't think you were gonna answer for a moment there.” Jack's voice was clearly nervous as he spoke.

    “Me neither.”

    “Yeah...” Jack let out a sigh before speaking, “Look Hiccup...I, uh, I obviously need to apologize to you for how our date ended as it has clearly left you with the wrong idea. I was kinda a huge ass and I really hope you can forgive me cause I would really like to see you again, well as a date that is, I'm mean of course I'd want to see you either way but I'd prefer if it was in date form and I'm going to stop talking now.” Jack said in one breath. After several seconds of silence Jack spoke cautiously “Uh...Hiccup?”

    "Yes!-er, I mean, sure I, uh, I'd like that." Hiccup stammered, still processing the sudden turn of events.

    "Really? Great!" Jack half shouted into the phone before lowing his voice to an acceptable level. "How about tomorrow, or later today I suppose?"

    "Sure, er, at least I think that should work, I'd have to let my dad know but it should be fine. What do you want to do?"

    "We can just hang out?"

    "That sounds like fun, where do you want to go?"

    "We don't have to go out somewhere, I mean unless you wanted to go somewhere?"

    "No not really...so you want me to come to your place tomorrow?"

    Jack took a minute to answer, and when he spoke his voice was careful "Uh, actually my house wouldn't work very well tomorrow, how about yours?" Hiccup didn't know to respond. On the one hand, he had no desire to be in the same house with both Jack and his father at the same time. Sure there weren't really even dating yet, having only had the one date, so it wasn't like they'd be making out on the couch or anything, but still Hiccup wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his cool spending the entire day with his father and his...guy that he liked. On the other hand, Jack's mood shift the previous night had came about around the time Hiccup had brought up his father and he didn't want to risk messing things up again by bringing it up. Evidently his silence had been enough of an answer because Jack spoke "Its not like I'm going to jump you at the front door Hiccup."

    "Wha- No thats not- well I mean its part but- I know you wouldn't-"

    "Look Hiccup, you told me last night that your dad doesn't know about you, and you would rather he not find out and I understand that. I promise to keep things friendly and not let on, no matter how much I might want to jump you at the front door."

    Hiccup blushed and covered his face with a hand despite the fact he was alone. Rubbing his eyes he thought for a few more seconds before his desire to see Jack again won out and he gave in. "Alright fine, you can come over tomorrow. What time?"

    "How's like eleven? I doubt I'll be able to get Aster to give me a ride earlier then that."

    "Sounds good, I'll have time to let my dad know you'll be coming over then."

    "So I'll see you in a few hours?"

    Hiccup couldn't help smiling at the enthusiasm in Jack's voice and he was incredibly thankful that whatever had happened last night seemed to have past. "Sounds like a plan. So can I go back to sleep now?"

    "Yeah, I should get some sleep myself."

    "I'll see you later Jack."

    "See you then."

    -click-

************************************************************************

    Hiccup stared at his window, glaring at the light peeking into his room between the curtain and window frame, quite rudely informing that he had indeed been lying in his bed trying in vain to fall asleep for nearly the entire night. "Well, might as well get up," Hiccup half spoke half yawned as he rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, earning him an irritated meow from toothless who had been sleeping soundly in the crook of his arm. "Sorry Bud," Hiccup said to the cat who promptly moved to lay on Hiccup's pillow, curled up, and closed his eyes. Shaking his head Hiccup slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Glancing at his alarm clock Hiccup rolled his eyes in irritation at the flashing 5:42. He'd spent the majority of the night, ever since Jack's call, alternating between being excited over the fact that Jack A) did want to see him again and B) would be seeing him later that day, and worried about being in the same house as both his father and his...guy that he liked. He wasn't really sure how to refer to Jack, even to himself. Friend wasn't right, not that he didn't consider Jack a friend because he did even after such a short time, but there was obviously more there then *just* friendship, or at least Hiccup hoped that there could be. Boyfriend was no good either, after all they'd been on one date and even though they'd agreed to have another 'date' (if you could even call hanging out at Hiccup's house a date) that didn't mean they were actually dating. Special friend, crush, and guy-I-have-occasionally-though-about-naked were also dismissed for various reasons. That train of thought carried Hiccup out of his room, to that bathroom briefly, and then into the main part of the house. The largest room in the Haddock household was their conjoined kitchen living room, which were separated by a shiny metal strip that marked the transition from the living room's beige carpeting and the kitchen's heavily scuffed hard wood.

    Hiccup gave a sigh as he saw his father was awake and at the stove, the smell of eggs and bacon reached Hiccup as he entered the room proper. He pulled out a chair and took a seat at the kitchen table. The noise of the chair legs scraping against the floor alerted Stoick to Hiccup's presence and he turned around, his expression a surprised smile. "Morning son, you're up early."

    "Yeah, couldn't really sleep last night." Hiccup propped his head up on his hand, his elbow on the table, and fought against his eyelids which were growing heavier by the second.

    "Oh, is uh, is everything alright?" Hiccup pried his eyes open and was confused for a minute as the worried expression adorning his father's face before comprehension dawned on him.

    "Yeah, just, must have been cause it was my first night home." Hiccup hoped his explanation would allay Stoick's worries; he really did not need his father paying closer attention to him then usual today.

    "Good, good. You hungry? I didn't think you'd be awake this early but I can throw some more on." Stoick gestured to the stove as he turned back to it, grabbing the spatula off the counter where he had set it.

    "Uh, sure, thanks." Hiccup said as he tried to gather the nerve to ask his dad about Jack coming over later that day. He wasn't sure exactly why he was so nervous, it wasn't like his dad has any reason to think Jack was more then a friend. Well that wasn't true, he knew exactly why he was so nervous, but he also knew that he really shouldn't have been so nervous right now since his worries about the day were mostly focused on what might happen after Jack arrived. Still, he couldn't keep his stomach completely calm as he opened his mouth to speak. "Uh dad?"

    "Hmm?"

    "Is it alright if a friend comes over today?"

    "Of course Hiccup, you know Astrid is always welcome here." Stoick said from the fridge where he was currently rummaging.

    "Uh, actually it’s not Astrid dad." Stoick turned around from the fridge and raised an eyebrow at Hiccup.

    "Well ya see there's this guy I met at the hospital, Jack and-"

    "Jack Frost?" Stoick interrupted him.

    "Uh, yeah." Hiccup was taken aback that his dad knew Jack's name.

    "I met him at the hospital as well, he's the one who..." Stoick's voice trailed off as the conversation threatened to veer into uncomfortable territory.

    "Yeah. We kinda talked a lot while I was there and he wanted to come hang out here now that I'm out, make sure I'm adjusting properly or something."

    Stoick looked at Hiccup long enough that he had to fight the urge to fidget under the large man's gaze before smiling. "I'd be glad to have Jack over, he's certainly welcome here." Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as Stoick turned back to the stove, cracking the eggs he'd just retrieved into one of the pans and dropping several strips of bacon into another. "I'm glad to see that you’re making friends."

    A combination of embarrassment and guilt caused Hiccup's cheek's to flush slightly as he covered his eyes with his hands, resting both his elbows on the table. "Yeah."

    The rest of the morning passed faster then Hiccup would have expected, the breakfast his dad made was good and the meal was pleasantly non-awkward, mostly because Stoick spend most of is reading the Sunday paper and Hiccup was preoccupied with not falling asleep at the table. It was quite irritating that, while lying in bed he was completely awake, but now that he was up and about he felt like he was going to pass out at any moment. The full stomach did not help the situation either and Hiccup zoned out for several minutes before his father's voice roused him. "When is Jack coming?"

    "Uh, he said he'd probably be here around eleven."

    "Alright. I've got some things to finish outside, would you load the dishes in the washer."

    "Sure." Nodding to Hiccup Stoick stood, rinsed his plate in the sink, and headed across the room to the door that led to the back yard. Stretching Hiccup stood and did as his dad asked; loading the dishes from the sink into the washer after making sure they'd been rinsed well. That done Hiccup headed to the bathroom to shower, which turned out to be an unfortunate idea as the warm water didn't do anything to help his drowsiness and he found himself almost dozing off against the shower wall until he turned the temperature down. The cooler water did help him wake up and after cleaning himself, drying off, and wrapping his arm in fresh bandages he found himself in his room trying to decide what to wear for the day. First he'd grabbed one of his nicer button-down shirts but then he realized how silly he would feel dressing up to hang out in his own house, plus it would be sure to raise awkward questions from his father. After sifting through his tee shirts he settled on one of his favorites, a dark green one with a stylized black dragon curling around itself on the chest. That done he grabbed his phone and text Astrid to insure her there was no need to crash her car into his house on this particular day, catch her up on the events of the previous night and promising to call her that night and tell her everything. Glancing at the clock he saw it was quarter passed seven and groaned at how much time he had to kill. Although to be fair his room was rather messy so maybe it was a good thing that he had some time. Soon Hiccup had completely cleaned his room, a process that was hampered a bit by his injured arm, but he was still pleased with the end product. In fact his room was cleaner now then it had been in months, all the clothes put away in his closet or the hamper, the various papers that had been scattered over his desk had been stacked and placed in drawers or deemed garbage and thrown away. He had even gone so far as to dust the three shelves on the wall above his bed, taking care to clean off the various models and figurines that occupied them. Hiccup was just wrapping the vacuum's cord back up when he noticed a dirt spot on the carpet of the hallway just outside his door. On closer inspection, the hall carpet was littered with cat hair, bits of dirt, and other various household detritus. Not wanting Jack to come over to a messy house Hiccup unwound the cord and set to work vacuuming the hallway and from there it was an easy transition to the living room and before Hiccup knew it he was wiping down kitchen counters and fluffing couch cushions. If he'd stopped to actually evaluate his behavior he would have berated himself for thinking that Jack would care what state his house was in (and it hadn't been that messy to begin with really), at least Hiccup certainly did not think he would, he did not seem the type. Hiccup enjoyed the cleaning though; it gave him something to do with his hands and kept him from dwelling on everything that could possibly go wrong that day. He only stopped cleaning, broom frozen mid sweep, when Stoick entered the kitchen through the back door and gave him a quizzical glance.

    "Uhhh, I guess I kinda got into a cleaning mood." Hiccup ran a hand through the back of his hair self consciously as he spoke.

    Looking around Stoick grinned. "Well you did a good job, place hasn't looked this clean in months. Feel free to have moods like that more often eh?" Stoick gave a hearty laugh and Hiccup joined in a moment later with a lighter chuckle. "Didn't you say Jack was going to be here at eleven?" Stoick asked as he walked past Hiccup to the kitchen sink where he began to scrub at the grease that was covering his hands.

    Hiccup immediately looked at the time on the microwave and was shocked to see the little red 11:17. He’d had had no idea how much time had passed. Sudden worry surged through Hiccup as he began to wonder why Jack wasn't there yet, or had at least not bothered to contact him and he reached into his pocket for his phone only to find it empty. "Uh, yeah he did say that...hold on." Hiccup headed back to his room and after a bit of backtracking found his phone sitting on the bathroom windowsill. Flipping it open he saw he had three new texts.

    Jack: Hey Hiccup just making sure were still on for today

    Jack: Alright were leaving now so we should be there soon.

    Jack: Hit a bit of a snag so I'll be a little late. Assuming we’re still good on your end?

    Hiccup frowned, wondering what sort of snag had come up, and what time Jack would be arriving. His question was answered a moment later as the doorbell sounded through the house. Hiccup spun on the spot, pocketing his phone as he did, and speed walked out of his room. Putting on the little burst of speed as he entered the living room Hiccup was just in time to slip in front of his father and answer the door to find Jack standing there in his usual blue hoodie and kakies with a bright smile on his face.

    "Hey Hiccup," Jack said happily "sorry I'm a little late."

    "Hey." Hiccup returned Jack's smile, most of his anxiety fading away. "Sorry I didn't answer your text, I put my phone down and forgot about it."

    "Ah that explains it, hope you weren't to worried."

    "About you? Please." Jack tried to arrange his face into a wounded expression but was only able to manage bemused, the corners of his mouth seemingly unable to stop pulling upward. The clearing of a throat behind Hiccup made him start and he turned to see his father standing there, giving him a meaningful look. "Oh, right uh, this is my dad Stoick, dad this is-"

    "Jack," Jack extended his arm forward "We've met once before."

    "Aye, good to see you again Jack." Stoick took Jack's hand and shook it firmly. "Your most welcome in my home." The sincerity of Stoick's words made Hiccup's stomach squirm with guilt, knowing full well his father would not be saying them if he knew the full extend of Hiccup's new "friendship."

    Jack seemed to be of the same opinion as his response was somewhat awkward "Uh, thanks." Then before anything else could be said he continued. "And this is my brother Aster." Jack motioned to Aster who Hiccup had not noticed leaning casually against the side of his house, and stepped aside to let the latter man step forward and offer Stoick his hand.

    "Nice ta meet'cha." Aster said before turning to Hiccup "Nice ta' see you again too Hiccup."

    "You too," Hiccup responded just before his father spoke.

    "Oh you've met before?" Hiccup's heart froze at his father's innocent question. Before he had a chance to properly panic however Jack spoke up.

    "Yeah, Aster drove me to the hospital and he stepped in to see Hiccup once." Aster hesitated for a split second before nodding in agreement.

    "Right, good to see you're up and about."

    "Thanks." Hiccup was impressed how quickly the pair played off each other and was sure his dad hadn't noticed anything amiss with the conversation. He'd only picked up on the lie because he knew the truth.

    "When would you like me to pick 'im up?" Aster directed the question at Stoick.

    "I can drive Jack home if you give me your address."

    "Ah that's alright, Its a bit o’ a drive and I'll be around taking care of some things in town till late."

    "Alright then, how about nine?"

    "Nine?" Hiccup interjected, surprised at the early time, he was a senior in high school after all.

    "Nine," Stoick repeated,” You’ve got school tomorrow and should get a good nights sleep. Hiccup grudgingly nodded his agreement.

    "Nine it is then. You behave yerself now Jackie. Bye Hiccup, Stoick." Aster said, ruffling Jack's hair in an annoying older brother way as he turned and headed back to his Jeep.

    As the door closed Stoick spoke "I've got to finish working in the garage for a bit so I'll leave you boys be, let me know if you need anything Hiccup."

    "Alright, thanks dad." With that Stoick left, leaving Hiccup and Jack standing by the front door looking at each other awkwardly.

    "Soo..." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck.

    "Its good to see you again, I didn't know if you'd want to."

    "Oh, well you know. The jokes on you actually because as you can see my house is incredibly boring."

    "Well I've only actually seen here." Jack gestured around vaguely.

    "Well would you like a tour? Then you can see for yourself how boring it is."

    "I'd love one."

    "Well, this is the living room." Hiccup gestured to the carpeted half of the room where one large couch took up most of the space, facing a flat screen TV sitting on a small black stand. "Kitchen." Hiccup swept a hand at the kitchen with its spotless counters and small table sitting against one wall, three old chairs pushed in surrounding it. "That way leads to the backyard and the garage," Hiccup pointed to the door his father had vanished through moments ago. "And if you'll follow me," Hiccup said as he walked the few steps to the hallway that lead to his bedroom and bathroom "You will find my room and my bathroom. Well I mean it’s not like connected to my room or anything, but it’s basically mine since my dad's room does have a connected bathroom. His room is down that hall, only thing down there." Hiccup pointed to the hallway across the living room from the one they currently occupied.

    Jack followed Hiccup into his bedroom and looked around, apparently very interested in the smallish room. "Wow, I've not been here five minutes and already you're inviting me to your room. I must really be on my game today."

    Hiccup cheek's acquired a dark flush as he glanced around, making sure his father hadn't suddenly materialized hanging from the ceiling or under the bed. He hadn't. "Oh my god," Hiccup shook his head, "please don't say that kinda of stuff when my dad's around." Jack's face fell slightly for a moment before he rolled his eyes.

    "Give me some credit Hic, its not like he's anywhere around right now." Hiccup knew Jack was right, and anyway he was too distracted with what Jack had just called him to think about that. Jack had called him that before, but Hiccup hadn't given it much thought as a one off comment. Hiccup smiled unconsciously at the simple thought; Jack had given him a nickname. It was a simple little thing, but it gave Hiccup that warm feeling in his chest that he'd come to associate with Jack. Realizing he was kind of standing there staring at Jack and smiling like and idiot Hiccup blinked several times and cleared his throat. "Right, I guess your right."

    His own smile turning into a smirk Jack walked over to one of the shelfs against the far wall and examined the various models more closely. "You build all these yourself?"

    "Yeah, there a bit of a hobby of mine I guess. I used to do them pretty often."

    "Oh? Why'd you stop? You've got some skill-are these hand painted too?"

    "Oh, uh yeah, all but the hard plastic bits. And, uh, I just haven't really felt like it lately." It wasn't technically a lie, and Hiccup really didn't feel like thinking about those thoughts at the moment.

    "Fair enough. Why not the plastic bits?"

    "The paint I used didn't stick to it worth crap so it wasn't worth it. They usually looked alright just plain."

    "I'll say," Jack had moved as far as he could down the shelf without climbing onto Hiccup's bed, "So you've kinda got a thing for dragon's huh?"

    "I guess." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, suddenly very aware of just how many dragon models filled the shelves.

    "Hey, dragons are cool," Jack said as he turned away from the shelf, "who wouldn't like giant flying fire breathing lizards? Easily the most badass of the mythical creatures."

    "Exactly! Plus there always so much smarter then, well really anything. Plus there actually supposed to sparkle, and still manage to look badass doing it." They both laughed.

    "So which is your favorite?"

    "My favorite...?"

    "Dragon?" Jack gestured to the figures.

    "Oh, thats easy." Hiccup hopped up on his bed and grabbed a figure from its place right above his pillow and handed it to Jack. Jack could tell a lot of work went into the building and painting of this relatively small black dragon, but there were also several obvious mistakes, scratches where pieces had been incorrectly assembled or handled roughly enough to leave scuff marks. It also had no teeth and half of the creature's tail was missing.

    "What makes him so special?" Jack asked in such a way as to not sound like he was casting aspersions on the dragon, but like he was earnestly curious.

    "He was the first model I ever did. My, uh, mom got him for me when I was little and we build him together." Hiccup smiled at the dragon for a moment before snatching him out of Jack's hand and going to replace him in his spot on the shelf.

    "That’s cool." Jack said after a moment. "So where do you get all them?"

    "Oh you can order them from different catalogs, websites, craft stores usually have a pretty good selection."

    "And what all goes into making them?"

    "Oh well that depends..." From there Hiccup launched into a rather lengthy discussion on the process of assembling the model, different types of glue and their pros and cons, various types of paints and brushes and before he knew it all the apprehension and worry he'd been feeling just melted away. Jack seemed genuinely interested in everything Hiccup was saying, occasionally asking questions. Soon the two had settled down, Hiccup taking a seat cross legged on his bed and Jack in Hiccup's desk chair, sitting in it backwards so his hands rested on the back and his chin rested on his hands. After a while the conversation lulled and Hiccup noticed Jack's expression had turned to one of discomfort. "Everything alright?"

    "I owe you an apology, a proper in person apology with an explanation that is." Catching Hiccup's suddenly wary expression Jack clarified. "About the way I acted last night. When you said that your dad didn't know...about you, and that he wouldn't react very well if he found out...well I've seen that sort of things nearly destroy a couple and so I had decided that I didn't want to end up with someone in that position. That was pretty upsetting since I, well I really like you and I didn't exactly know how to react aaaaaand I ended up acting like an ass."

    Hiccup wasn't exactly sure how to respond, on the one hand Jack was right, he had acted like an ass and caused Hiccup no small amount of distress when he hadn't even done anything wrong really. On the other hand, he really didn't want to be purposefully confrontational and revive the issue. In the end he couldn't stop himself from saying "You were kinda an ass." Jack looked down and away.

    "Yeah I know," looking back to Hiccup with a tiny grin he said "I got brought around pretty quick though."

    "True, what exactly brought that on, if you don't mind me asking?"

    "I had some sense talked into me by Aster, and his boyfriend."

    "Well remind me to thank them then." Hiccup said, grinning.

    "Oh please don't tell them I said that, I won't hear the end of it for a month."

    "That might make us even for you waking me up at two in the morning then."

    "It was a pretty good reason to wake up though wasn't it?" Jack raised his eyebrows meaningfully and Hiccup laughed, grudgingly agreeing. "So-"

    "Boys!" Stoick's booming voice echoed down the hall and into the room causing Hiccup to jump violently, and spring of his bed as though one of the pillows had stung him?"

    "Yeah dad?" Hiccup answered, his voice quavering a little.

    "Would you come down here for a moment?"

    "Sure, on our way?" Jack looked at Hiccup questioningly, to which Hiccup just shrugged his shoulders, to busy trying to fight the sudden and irrational sense of dread mounting in his stomach. When they arrived in the living room they found Stoick sitting on a kitchen chair tying the laces of a boot large enough to swallow both of Hiccup's shoes and still leave room for a flip-flop. "Bad news Hiccup, one a the machines at the shop broke down, I need to go in and take care of it."

    "Oh," Hiccup had to fight to not sigh in relief "well that sucks, but if they need you.” Hiccup hoped his disappointment didn't sound too forced. “

    I'll probably be gone till evening, so I though I'd pick up a pizza for us on the way back? How’s that sound?"

    "Sounds great dad, thanks."

    "Are you alright with sausage Jack? Hiccup insists on ruining half the pizza with Pineapple, same as his mother that way, but I don't mind sharing." Stoick had finished with his boots and grabbed a large set of keys from a small hook next to the door.

    "Yeah, thats fine."

    "Alright, I'll be back later then, you know the rules Hiccup."

    "Clean up after any wild parties and be sure to replace any booze before you go looking for it?" Stoick shook his head and chuckled as he stepped outside, closing the door behind him. As the door clicked closed Hiccup couldn't hold back a sign of relief as he locked the door with a 'click'.

    "So do you throw a lot of wild parties?" Jack's joking tone sounded from behind Hiccup. Rolling his eyes as he turned around he responded.

    "Oh yeah, this house is just party central, booze are in the top cabinet, bathrooms down the hall, theaters downstairs, don't forget the coasters."

    "Theater?" Jack chuckled.

    "Oh, yeah, my dad put it together a few years ago, I helped get all the stuff working for it. It’s nothing big really." Jack raised an eyebrow. “You called it a theater, it can’t really be ‘nothing’.”

    "Alright fine, see for yourself."

    Hiccup led the way downstairs, flicking the lights on as he got to the bottom of the carpeted stairs, revealing a fully finished basement. Carpet covered the floor, one door on each of the left and right walls separated the main basement area from where their washer and dryer were hidden and keept the sub-pump out of sight. The wall opposite the stairs was painted a slightly off white and was smooth and completely spotless. Three couches faced the wall, one dead center and one on either side. A projector hung from the ceiling just above the center most couch connecting to a series of media players and a few game systems stacked in a rather beat up entertainment center set against the right wall.

    "Nice." Jack said as he looked around "Very-OH!" He had caught site of the video game systems. "What games do you have? I bet I can beat you at any game you've got." He said with a smirk.

    "Oh will you? You've got yourself a challenge Frost." Most of Hiccup's games were of the single players RPG variety seeing as multiplayer games were much less interesting without multiple players. He did have a couple multiplayer games though, and it was one of those he went for after switching on the projector. Putting the small disk into the system Hiccup grabbed the two wireless controllers from their drawer and tossed one to Jack who caught it before sinking down onto the center couch. Hiccup joined him a moment later, taking a seat next to one of the arms of the couch as the opening cinematic played.

    They proceeded to fight one another for quite a while, the score distinctly one sided until Jack declared that Hiccup could no longer play 'that god damn rat, its cheating!' to which Hiccup argued that Jack just couldn't handle Hiccup which lead to several blush inducing comments. In the end Hiccup relented and played other characters, which at least gave Jack a fighting chance though Jack was still pretty sure Hiccup let him win at least a few of their matches.

    "Are you sure you want to continue this massacre?" Hiccup asked Jack as they finished another match, giving Hiccup his 9th win in a row. "

    "Never!” Jack cried. “I will be victorious! Besides I've got a new strategy I want to try."

    "Suit yourself, I'll take an even ten." Hiccup snarked. Jack grunted.

    They started playing and Hiccup didn't notice any sort of change in Jack's strategy, which generally seemed to equate to 'hit hard and fast' when Jack asked casually "Hey Hic, are you ticklish?"

    Focused on dodging Jack's latest attack it took Hiccup a moment to process what Jack had said, and by this it was far to late "Uh-wait wh-shit! Jack th-ah-ahaha this this this ahaha this is ch-ch-ch-aha-cheating!" Hiccup fought against Jack's insidious fingers as best he could, but with only one good arm he couldn't keep Jack from reaching his sides, the crook of his neck and the backs of his knees and he found himself laughing uncontrollably right along side Jack. In a last ditch effort to escape Hiccup rolled off the couch onto the floor. Jack was on him in a flash, towering over him and pinning him down with one leg thrown over Hiccup's legs, fingers still going at it.

    "Surrender Hiccup, surrender and this can all stop."

    "N-n-ahah-NEVER!" The defiant effect somewhat ruined by his involuntary laughter.

    "Then you have sealed your fate!" Jack continued tickling Hiccup mercilessly for what felt like hours, but was really about three minutes before Hiccup gasped "Ok ok!"

    "Hmm? What was that?" Jack down over Hiccup, placing his ear inches from Hiccup's mouth "I didn't quite hear you."

    "I surrender, you win." Jack let out a triumphant whoop as he stopped tickling Hiccup whose sides were hurting from all the laughter. "Your an ass." Hiccup said between deep breaths.

    "The winning ass." Jack exclaimed smugly, bringing his face right next to Hiccups.

    Hiccup rolled his eyes and when he looked back at Jack he was suddenly aware of just how very close their faces were, and that Jack had made no move to back away. Suddenly it was hard to breath for reasons completely unrelated to the viscous tickling he had just received. In a move that seemed somehow both painfully slow and incredibly fast, Jack's face moved closer to his, covering the last few inches between them. Jack’s head tilted slightly and Hiccup's head mimicked the motion of its own volition, and then Jack's lips were pressed against his. Hiccup's eyes drifted shit as his brain seemed to go into overload. His chest was filled with excitement, his heart suddenly beating over time. His mind was filled with the feeling of Jack's lips, how warm and soft they felt against his own and they way they moved against his, invoking innate reactions that Hiccup had no control over. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Jack pulled slowly away. Hiccup's eyes opened slowly, revealing Jack's mystified face hovering inches above his own, brilliant blue eyes sparkling. "Wow..."

    "Wow," Jack agreed, a wide smile stretching his lips

    "That was, uh...wow." Hiccup smiled as they both chuckled. They stared at each other for several long heartbeats before Hiccup, unsure what exactly had come over him, said "Could we, uh, do that again?" His smile shifting to a smirk Jack leaned forward and pressed their lips together again. Hiccup felt Jack shifting himself above him and a hand slid up to his cheek, cupping it briefly before continuing on to the back of his head and angling it slightly. And they kissed again.

    Hiccup had no idea how long they made out, because that is what they had been doing he realized-holy crap he'd just made out with someone- but eventually they pulled apart for longer then just the few seconds it took to shift positions. He stared at Jack, his brain still trying to process the last unknown amount of time, filled as it was with lips and the occasional clacking of teeth, and even tongues on several occasions, trying to reconcile it with Hiccup's idea of reality.

    "Wow," Jack said this time, which snapped Hiccup out of his trance and made him laugh.

    "Hey, that’s my line." Jack chuckled. They stared at each other smiling for a bit longer, just enjoying each other's presence. Finally Hiccup spoke "Well that was certainly a hell of a first kiss."

    "Agreed."

    "Wait, was that your first kiss too?" Jack nodded. "Huh, I guess I kinda just assumed you'd done it before."

    "You did?"

    "Well you seemed to know what you were doing a lot more then I did." Hiccup blushed slightly as he added "And you’re pretty good at it."

    "Oh, heh, well I've had Aster giving me tips since I turned thirteen. Besides, you’re not to bad yourself Hic." Jack grinned as he pushed himself off the floor and onto the couch.

    Blushing deeper, his smile undiminished Hiccup said "You know I'm not really surprised." Jack chuckled. There was silence for a minute before Hiccup pushed himself up off the ground "I'll be right back, need to use the bathroom." Jack nodded as Hiccup turned and headed up the stairs.

    Reaching the kitchen he took a moment to revel in what had just happened, still not completely able to believe it, and grabbed a glass a water to wet his parched throat. Not wanting to be a bad host and leave Jack alone for to long, and honestly just wanting to be back in his presence again, Hiccup hurried to use the bathroom, a process made more difficult by certain regions insisting on expressing their ecstatic approval of his recent activities. Having finally taken care of that he grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and headed back downstairs. He found Jack standing in front of the entertainment system, perusing the DVDs lining two of the shelves there. "Hey." Jack said with a smile as Hiccup approached.

    "Hey." Hiccup smiled at Jack for a moment before remembering the water bottle in his hand. "Here, thought you might want some water."

    "Thanks." Jack took the bottle and drained half of it before screwing the top back on. Slipping the bottle into the pocked of his hoodie he pulled as DVD off the shelf "Is this that dragon thing that was on the Discovery Chanel a few years ago?" Looking at the case he was holding out Hiccup saw the title "Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real".

    "Animal Planet, but yeah, I used to watch the crap out of it when I was younger."

    "I never got to see it."

    "You wanna watch it?"

    "Sure, I mean unless you don't want to."

    "Well, it is one of my favorite shows ever, beside, no person who claims to like dragons should go without seeing it." With that Hiccup snatched the box and headed over to put the movie on, switching the projector to the DVD player and grabbing the remote from its place on the shelf. As he did so he heard Jack yawn from behind him, which triggered a yawn of his own as his exhaustion began to return. Turning around back toward the couch he saw that Jack was sprawled out on the middle couch, an arm covering his eyes. He originally planned to take a seat on one of the other couches, but the same sense that had overtaken him before once again took control of his body and he found himself flopping down on the couch next to Jack so they were lying parallel, his back pressed up against Jack's chest. Seemingly caught by surprise for a moment Jack recovered quickly, wrapping an arm around Hiccup's chest and pulling him closer to his chest before placing a small kiss on the back of his neck. Hiccup's chest did a little flip. Pointing the remote Hiccup started the movie and turned the lights off (on of his favorite features).

    It wasn't five minutes into the show that his heavy eyelids became to difficult to lift anymore and Hiccup drifted off to sleep, Jack’s arm wrapped tightly around him.

:) (Smile) — Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

     Jack: Hey Hiccup. Sorry to send this so late, text me when you get this k?

    Hiccup squinted at the text, unable to look away despite his watering eyes. Finally glancing away he caught site of the flashing red readout of his alarm clock; 2:14 A.M.. Why on earth was Jack texting him this late at night? Could he not wait till tomorrow for the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ talk? His hand shook a bit as he began to type. Hey Jack, whats- *Delete Delete Delete* Its really late, what do you wa- *Delete Delete Delete* I got it. *Send*

    Jack: Oh, I didn't think you'd be awake this late. Did I wake you?

    Hiccup: Uh, sorta

    Jack: Oh, sorry about that

    Hiccup: So...?

    Jack: Oh yeah! I wanted to ask if you wanted to hang out tomorrow?

    Hiccup stared at the phone in shock, his exhaustion forgotten in a sudden surge of adrenalin as his tired mind launched into motion. Jack wanted to hang out tomorrow. Jack wanted to see him again-tomorrow! Maybe whatever he'd sensed that night hadn't been as big a deal as he thought it had. Or maybe Jack just wanted to break it off in person...no, that could have waited until tomorrow to set up, couldn't it? Besides, he would be able to see Hiccup at school on Monday if that was all he wanted. Unless he didn't want to do it in a public place like that, did Jack think he would make a scene? Hiccup growled in frustration as the amazingly resilient hopeful part of him warred with the more pessimistic rest of him.



    Maybe it was because he was incredibly tired, maybe it was a residual lack of caring from earlier that night, or maybe he was just sick and tired of the twisting feeling in his gut. Whatever the reason, Hiccup found himself typing out, perhaps a bit more viciously than his phone deserved, Look if you wanna do the whole 'I don't think its gonna work speech' just go for it, I appreciate the chivalry or whatever of doing it in person, but you don't need to feel obligated too. He promptly hit send before he could have a chance to regret it, which he did about the same time the “message sent” notification appeared.

    Hiccup let out a groan that morphed into a frustrated shout and he had to fight the urge to throw his phone across the room. “Good job Hiccup. No really that was just brilliant! Way to crush any residual chance of things even possibly working out between you an- *Riiiiiiiing Riiiiiiiing*” Hiccup jump as the phone in his hand suddenly rang out. He knew that it couldn't really have been anybody else, but was still surprised to see Jack's name flashing as the incoming call. The phone rang seven times before he gathered the nerve to flip it open and put it to his ear “H-hello?”

    “Hey Hiccup, I didn't think you were gonna answer for a moment there.” Jack's voice was clearly nervous as he spoke.

    “Me neither.”

    “Yeah...” Jack let out a sigh before speaking, “Look Hiccup...I, uh, I obviously need to apologize to you for how our date ended as it has clearly left you with the wrong idea. I was kinda a huge ass and I really hope you can forgive me cause I would really like to see you again, well as a date that is, I'm mean of course I'd want to see you either way but I'd prefer if it was in date form and I'm going to stop talking now.” Jack said in one breath. After several seconds of silence Jack spoke cautiously “Uh...Hiccup?”

    "Yes!-er, I mean, sure I, uh, I'd like that." Hiccup stammered, still processing the sudden turn of events.

    "Really? Great!" Jack half shouted into the phone before lowing his voice to an acceptable level. "How about tomorrow, or later today I suppose?"

    "Sure, er, at least I think that should work, I'd have to let my dad know but it should be fine. What do you want to do?"

    "We can just hang out?"

    "That sounds like fun, where do you want to go?"

    "We don't have to go out somewhere, I mean unless you wanted to go somewhere?"

    "No not really...so you want me to come to your place tomorrow?"

    Jack took a minute to answer, and when he spoke his voice was careful "Uh, actually my house wouldn't work very well tomorrow, how about yours?" Hiccup didn't know to respond. On the one hand, he had no desire to be in the same house with both Jack and his father at the same time. Sure there weren't really even dating yet, having only had the one date, so it wasn't like they'd be making out on the couch or anything, but still Hiccup wasn't sure he'd be able to keep his cool spending the entire day with his father and his...guy that he liked. On the other hand, Jack's mood shift the previous night had came about around the time Hiccup had brought up his father and he didn't want to risk messing things up again by bringing it up. Evidently his silence had been enough of an answer because Jack spoke "Its not like I'm going to jump you at the front door Hiccup."

    "Wha- No thats not- well I mean its part but- I know you wouldn't-"

    "Look Hiccup, you told me last night that your dad doesn't know about you, and you would rather he not find out and I understand that. I promise to keep things friendly and not let on, no matter how much I might want to jump you at the front door."

    Hiccup blushed and covered his face with a hand despite the fact he was alone. Rubbing his eyes he thought for a few more seconds before his desire to see Jack again won out and he gave in. "Alright fine, you can come over tomorrow. What time?"

    "How's like eleven? I doubt I'll be able to get Aster to give me a ride earlier then that."

    "Sounds good, I'll have time to let my dad know you'll be coming over then."

    "So I'll see you in a few hours?"

    Hiccup couldn't help smiling at the enthusiasm in Jack's voice and he was incredibly thankful that whatever had happened last night seemed to have past. "Sounds like a plan. So can I go back to sleep now?"

    "Yeah, I should get some sleep myself."

    "I'll see you later Jack."

    "See you then."

    -click-

************************************************************************

    Hiccup stared at his window, glaring at the light peeking into his room between the curtain and window frame, quite rudely informing that he had indeed been lying in his bed trying in vain to fall asleep for nearly the entire night. "Well, might as well get up," Hiccup half spoke half yawned as he rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, earning him an irritated meow from toothless who had been sleeping soundly in the crook of his arm. "Sorry Bud," Hiccup said to the cat who promptly moved to lay on Hiccup's pillow, curled up, and closed his eyes. Shaking his head Hiccup slid out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Glancing at his alarm clock Hiccup rolled his eyes in irritation at the flashing 5:42. He'd spent the majority of the night, ever since Jack's call, alternating between being excited over the fact that Jack A) did want to see him again and B) would be seeing him later that day, and worried about being in the same house as both his father and his...guy that he liked. He wasn't really sure how to refer to Jack, even to himself. Friend wasn't right, not that he didn't consider Jack a friend because he did even after such a short time, but there was obviously more there then *just* friendship, or at least Hiccup hoped that there could be. Boyfriend was no good either, after all they'd been on one date and even though they'd agreed to have another 'date' (if you could even call hanging out at Hiccup's house a date) that didn't mean they were actually dating. Special friend, crush, and guy-I-have-occasionally-though-about-naked were also dismissed for various reasons. That train of thought carried Hiccup out of his room, to that bathroom briefly, and then into the main part of the house. The largest room in the Haddock household was their conjoined kitchen living room, which were separated by a shiny metal strip that marked the transition from the living room's beige carpeting and the kitchen's heavily scuffed hard wood.

    Hiccup gave a sigh as he saw his father was awake and at the stove, the smell of eggs and bacon reached Hiccup as he entered the room proper. He pulled out a chair and took a seat at the kitchen table. The noise of the chair legs scraping against the floor alerted Stoick to Hiccup's presence and he turned around, his expression a surprised smile. "Morning son, you're up early."

    "Yeah, couldn't really sleep last night." Hiccup propped his head up on his hand, his elbow on the table, and fought against his eyelids which were growing heavier by the second.

    "Oh, is uh, is everything alright?" Hiccup pried his eyes open and was confused for a minute as the worried expression adorning his father's face before comprehension dawned on him.

    "Yeah, just, must have been cause it was my first night home." Hiccup hoped his explanation would allay Stoick's worries; he really did not need his father paying closer attention to him then usual today.

    "Good, good. You hungry? I didn't think you'd be awake this early but I can throw some more on." Stoick gestured to the stove as he turned back to it, grabbing the spatula off the counter where he had set it.

    "Uh, sure, thanks." Hiccup said as he tried to gather the nerve to ask his dad about Jack coming over later that day. He wasn't sure exactly why he was so nervous, it wasn't like his dad has any reason to think Jack was more then a friend. Well that wasn't true, he knew exactly why he was so nervous, but he also knew that he really shouldn't have been so nervous right now since his worries about the day were mostly focused on what might happen after Jack arrived. Still, he couldn't keep his stomach completely calm as he opened his mouth to speak. "Uh dad?"

    "Hmm?"

    "Is it alright if a friend comes over today?"

    "Of course Hiccup, you know Astrid is always welcome here." Stoick said from the fridge where he was currently rummaging.

    "Uh, actually it’s not Astrid dad." Stoick turned around from the fridge and raised an eyebrow at Hiccup.

    "Well ya see there's this guy I met at the hospital, Jack and-"

    "Jack Frost?" Stoick interrupted him.

    "Uh, yeah." Hiccup was taken aback that his dad knew Jack's name.

    "I met him at the hospital as well, he's the one who..." Stoick's voice trailed off as the conversation threatened to veer into uncomfortable territory.

    "Yeah. We kinda talked a lot while I was there and he wanted to come hang out here now that I'm out, make sure I'm adjusting properly or something."

    Stoick looked at Hiccup long enough that he had to fight the urge to fidget under the large man's gaze before smiling. "I'd be glad to have Jack over, he's certainly welcome here." Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as Stoick turned back to the stove, cracking the eggs he'd just retrieved into one of the pans and dropping several strips of bacon into another. "I'm glad to see that you’re making friends."

    A combination of embarrassment and guilt caused Hiccup's cheek's to flush slightly as he covered his eyes with his hands, resting both his elbows on the table. "Yeah."

    The rest of the morning passed faster then Hiccup would have expected, the breakfast his dad made was good and the meal was pleasantly non-awkward, mostly because Stoick spend most of is reading the Sunday paper and Hiccup was preoccupied with not falling asleep at the table. It was quite irritating that, while lying in bed he was completely awake, but now that he was up and about he felt like he was going to pass out at any moment. The full stomach did not help the situation either and Hiccup zoned out for several minutes before his father's voice roused him. "When is Jack coming?"

    "Uh, he said he'd probably be here around eleven."

    "Alright. I've got some things to finish outside, would you load the dishes in the washer."

    "Sure." Nodding to Hiccup Stoick stood, rinsed his plate in the sink, and headed across the room to the door that led to the back yard. Stretching Hiccup stood and did as his dad asked; loading the dishes from the sink into the washer after making sure they'd been rinsed well. That done Hiccup headed to the bathroom to shower, which turned out to be an unfortunate idea as the warm water didn't do anything to help his drowsiness and he found himself almost dozing off against the shower wall until he turned the temperature down. The cooler water did help him wake up and after cleaning himself, drying off, and wrapping his arm in fresh bandages he found himself in his room trying to decide what to wear for the day. First he'd grabbed one of his nicer button-down shirts but then he realized how silly he would feel dressing up to hang out in his own house, plus it would be sure to raise awkward questions from his father. After sifting through his tee shirts he settled on one of his favorites, a dark green one with a stylized black dragon curling around itself on the chest. That done he grabbed his phone and text Astrid to insure her there was no need to crash her car into his house on this particular day, catch her up on the events of the previous night and promising to call her that night and tell her everything. Glancing at the clock he saw it was quarter passed seven and groaned at how much time he had to kill. Although to be fair his room was rather messy so maybe it was a good thing that he had some time. Soon Hiccup had completely cleaned his room, a process that was hampered a bit by his injured arm, but he was still pleased with the end product. In fact his room was cleaner now then it had been in months, all the clothes put away in his closet or the hamper, the various papers that had been scattered over his desk had been stacked and placed in drawers or deemed garbage and thrown away. He had even gone so far as to dust the three shelves on the wall above his bed, taking care to clean off the various models and figurines that occupied them. Hiccup was just wrapping the vacuum's cord back up when he noticed a dirt spot on the carpet of the hallway just outside his door. On closer inspection, the hall carpet was littered with cat hair, bits of dirt, and other various household detritus. Not wanting Jack to come over to a messy house Hiccup unwound the cord and set to work vacuuming the hallway and from there it was an easy transition to the living room and before Hiccup knew it he was wiping down kitchen counters and fluffing couch cushions. If he'd stopped to actually evaluate his behavior he would have berated himself for thinking that Jack would care what state his house was in (and it hadn't been that messy to begin with really), at least Hiccup certainly did not think he would, he did not seem the type. Hiccup enjoyed the cleaning though; it gave him something to do with his hands and kept him from dwelling on everything that could possibly go wrong that day. He only stopped cleaning, broom frozen mid sweep, when Stoick entered the kitchen through the back door and gave him a quizzical glance.

    "Uhhh, I guess I kinda got into a cleaning mood." Hiccup ran a hand through the back of his hair self consciously as he spoke.

    Looking around Stoick grinned. "Well you did a good job, place hasn't looked this clean in months. Feel free to have moods like that more often eh?" Stoick gave a hearty laugh and Hiccup joined in a moment later with a lighter chuckle. "Didn't you say Jack was going to be here at eleven?" Stoick asked as he walked past Hiccup to the kitchen sink where he began to scrub at the grease that was covering his hands.

    Hiccup immediately looked at the time on the microwave and was shocked to see the little red 11:17. He’d had had no idea how much time had passed. Sudden worry surged through Hiccup as he began to wonder why Jack wasn't there yet, or had at least not bothered to contact him and he reached into his pocket for his phone only to find it empty. "Uh, yeah he did say that...hold on." Hiccup headed back to his room and after a bit of backtracking found his phone sitting on the bathroom windowsill. Flipping it open he saw he had three new texts.

    Jack: Hey Hiccup just making sure were still on for today

    Jack: Alright were leaving now so we should be there soon.

    Jack: Hit a bit of a snag so I'll be a little late. Assuming we’re still good on your end?

    Hiccup frowned, wondering what sort of snag had come up, and what time Jack would be arriving. His question was answered a moment later as the doorbell sounded through the house. Hiccup spun on the spot, pocketing his phone as he did, and speed walked out of his room. Putting on the little burst of speed as he entered the living room Hiccup was just in time to slip in front of his father and answer the door to find Jack standing there in his usual blue hoodie and kakies with a bright smile on his face.

    "Hey Hiccup," Jack said happily "sorry I'm a little late."

    "Hey." Hiccup returned Jack's smile, most of his anxiety fading away. "Sorry I didn't answer your text, I put my phone down and forgot about it."

    "Ah that explains it, hope you weren't to worried."

    "About you? Please." Jack tried to arrange his face into a wounded expression but was only able to manage bemused, the corners of his mouth seemingly unable to stop pulling upward. The clearing of a throat behind Hiccup made him start and he turned to see his father standing there, giving him a meaningful look. "Oh, right uh, this is my dad Stoick, dad this is-"

    "Jack," Jack extended his arm forward "We've met once before."

    "Aye, good to see you again Jack." Stoick took Jack's hand and shook it firmly. "Your most welcome in my home." The sincerity of Stoick's words made Hiccup's stomach squirm with guilt, knowing full well his father would not be saying them if he knew the full extend of Hiccup's new "friendship."

    Jack seemed to be of the same opinion as his response was somewhat awkward "Uh, thanks." Then before anything else could be said he continued. "And this is my brother Aster." Jack motioned to Aster who Hiccup had not noticed leaning casually against the side of his house, and stepped aside to let the latter man step forward and offer Stoick his hand.

    "Nice ta meet'cha." Aster said before turning to Hiccup "Nice ta' see you again too Hiccup."

    "You too," Hiccup responded just before his father spoke.

    "Oh you've met before?" Hiccup's heart froze at his father's innocent question. Before he had a chance to properly panic however Jack spoke up.

    "Yeah, Aster drove me to the hospital and he stepped in to see Hiccup once." Aster hesitated for a split second before nodding in agreement.

    "Right, good to see you're up and about."

    "Thanks." Hiccup was impressed how quickly the pair played off each other and was sure his dad hadn't noticed anything amiss with the conversation. He'd only picked up on the lie because he knew the truth.

    "When would you like me to pick 'im up?" Aster directed the question at Stoick.

    "I can drive Jack home if you give me your address."

    "Ah that's alright, Its a bit o’ a drive and I'll be around taking care of some things in town till late."

    "Alright then, how about nine?"

    "Nine?" Hiccup interjected, surprised at the early time, he was a senior in high school after all.

    "Nine," Stoick repeated,” You’ve got school tomorrow and should get a good nights sleep. Hiccup grudgingly nodded his agreement.

    "Nine it is then. You behave yerself now Jackie. Bye Hiccup, Stoick." Aster said, ruffling Jack's hair in an annoying older brother way as he turned and headed back to his Jeep.

    As the door closed Stoick spoke "I've got to finish working in the garage for a bit so I'll leave you boys be, let me know if you need anything Hiccup."

    "Alright, thanks dad." With that Stoick left, leaving Hiccup and Jack standing by the front door looking at each other awkwardly.

    "Soo..." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck.

    "Its good to see you again, I didn't know if you'd want to."

    "Oh, well you know. The jokes on you actually because as you can see my house is incredibly boring."

    "Well I've only actually seen here." Jack gestured around vaguely.

    "Well would you like a tour? Then you can see for yourself how boring it is."

    "I'd love one."

    "Well, this is the living room." Hiccup gestured to the carpeted half of the room where one large couch took up most of the space, facing a flat screen TV sitting on a small black stand. "Kitchen." Hiccup swept a hand at the kitchen with its spotless counters and small table sitting against one wall, three old chairs pushed in surrounding it. "That way leads to the backyard and the garage," Hiccup pointed to the door his father had vanished through moments ago. "And if you'll follow me," Hiccup said as he walked the few steps to the hallway that lead to his bedroom and bathroom "You will find my room and my bathroom. Well I mean it’s not like connected to my room or anything, but it’s basically mine since my dad's room does have a connected bathroom. His room is down that hall, only thing down there." Hiccup pointed to the hallway across the living room from the one they currently occupied.

    Jack followed Hiccup into his bedroom and looked around, apparently very interested in the smallish room. "Wow, I've not been here five minutes and already you're inviting me to your room. I must really be on my game today."

    Hiccup cheek's acquired a dark flush as he glanced around, making sure his father hadn't suddenly materialized hanging from the ceiling or under the bed. He hadn't. "Oh my god," Hiccup shook his head, "please don't say that kinda of stuff when my dad's around." Jack's face fell slightly for a moment before he rolled his eyes.

    "Give me some credit Hic, its not like he's anywhere around right now." Hiccup knew Jack was right, and anyway he was too distracted with what Jack had just called him to think about that. Jack had called him that before, but Hiccup hadn't given it much thought as a one off comment. Hiccup smiled unconsciously at the simple thought; Jack had given him a nickname. It was a simple little thing, but it gave Hiccup that warm feeling in his chest that he'd come to associate with Jack. Realizing he was kind of standing there staring at Jack and smiling like and idiot Hiccup blinked several times and cleared his throat. "Right, I guess your right."

    His own smile turning into a smirk Jack walked over to one of the shelfs against the far wall and examined the various models more closely. "You build all these yourself?"

    "Yeah, there a bit of a hobby of mine I guess. I used to do them pretty often."

    "Oh? Why'd you stop? You've got some skill-are these hand painted too?"

    "Oh, uh yeah, all but the hard plastic bits. And, uh, I just haven't really felt like it lately." It wasn't technically a lie, and Hiccup really didn't feel like thinking about those thoughts at the moment.

    "Fair enough. Why not the plastic bits?"

    "The paint I used didn't stick to it worth crap so it wasn't worth it. They usually looked alright just plain."

    "I'll say," Jack had moved as far as he could down the shelf without climbing onto Hiccup's bed, "So you've kinda got a thing for dragon's huh?"

    "I guess." Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, suddenly very aware of just how many dragon models filled the shelves.

    "Hey, dragons are cool," Jack said as he turned away from the shelf, "who wouldn't like giant flying fire breathing lizards? Easily the most badass of the mythical creatures."

    "Exactly! Plus there always so much smarter then, well really anything. Plus there actually supposed to sparkle, and still manage to look badass doing it." They both laughed.

    "So which is your favorite?"

    "My favorite...?"

    "Dragon?" Jack gestured to the figures.

    "Oh, thats easy." Hiccup hopped up on his bed and grabbed a figure from its place right above his pillow and handed it to Jack. Jack could tell a lot of work went into the building and painting of this relatively small black dragon, but there were also several obvious mistakes, scratches where pieces had been incorrectly assembled or handled roughly enough to leave scuff marks. It also had no teeth and half of the creature's tail was missing.

    "What makes him so special?" Jack asked in such a way as to not sound like he was casting aspersions on the dragon, but like he was earnestly curious.

    "He was the first model I ever did. My, uh, mom got him for me when I was little and we build him together." Hiccup smiled at the dragon for a moment before snatching him out of Jack's hand and going to replace him in his spot on the shelf.

    "That’s cool." Jack said after a moment. "So where do you get all them?"

    "Oh you can order them from different catalogs, websites, craft stores usually have a pretty good selection."

    "And what all goes into making them?"

    "Oh well that depends..." From there Hiccup launched into a rather lengthy discussion on the process of assembling the model, different types of glue and their pros and cons, various types of paints and brushes and before he knew it all the apprehension and worry he'd been feeling just melted away. Jack seemed genuinely interested in everything Hiccup was saying, occasionally asking questions. Soon the two had settled down, Hiccup taking a seat cross legged on his bed and Jack in Hiccup's desk chair, sitting in it backwards so his hands rested on the back and his chin rested on his hands. After a while the conversation lulled and Hiccup noticed Jack's expression had turned to one of discomfort. "Everything alright?"

    "I owe you an apology, a proper in person apology with an explanation that is." Catching Hiccup's suddenly wary expression Jack clarified. "About the way I acted last night. When you said that your dad didn't know...about you, and that he wouldn't react very well if he found out...well I've seen that sort of things nearly destroy a couple and so I had decided that I didn't want to end up with someone in that position. That was pretty upsetting since I, well I really like you and I didn't exactly know how to react aaaaaand I ended up acting like an ass."

    Hiccup wasn't exactly sure how to respond, on the one hand Jack was right, he had acted like an ass and caused Hiccup no small amount of distress when he hadn't even done anything wrong really. On the other hand, he really didn't want to be purposefully confrontational and revive the issue. In the end he couldn't stop himself from saying "You were kinda an ass." Jack looked down and away.

    "Yeah I know," looking back to Hiccup with a tiny grin he said "I got brought around pretty quick though."

    "True, what exactly brought that on, if you don't mind me asking?"

    "I had some sense talked into me by Aster, and his boyfriend."

    "Well remind me to thank them then." Hiccup said, grinning.

    "Oh please don't tell them I said that, I won't hear the end of it for a month."

    "That might make us even for you waking me up at two in the morning then."

    "It was a pretty good reason to wake up though wasn't it?" Jack raised his eyebrows meaningfully and Hiccup laughed, grudgingly agreeing. "So-"

    "Boys!" Stoick's booming voice echoed down the hall and into the room causing Hiccup to jump violently, and spring of his bed as though one of the pillows had stung him?"

    "Yeah dad?" Hiccup answered, his voice quavering a little.

    "Would you come down here for a moment?"

    "Sure, on our way?" Jack looked at Hiccup questioningly, to which Hiccup just shrugged his shoulders, to busy trying to fight the sudden and irrational sense of dread mounting in his stomach. When they arrived in the living room they found Stoick sitting on a kitchen chair tying the laces of a boot large enough to swallow both of Hiccup's shoes and still leave room for a flip-flop. "Bad news Hiccup, one a the machines at the shop broke down, I need to go in and take care of it."

    "Oh," Hiccup had to fight to not sigh in relief "well that sucks, but if they need you.” Hiccup hoped his disappointment didn't sound too forced. “

    I'll probably be gone till evening, so I though I'd pick up a pizza for us on the way back? How’s that sound?"

    "Sounds great dad, thanks."

    "Are you alright with sausage Jack? Hiccup insists on ruining half the pizza with Pineapple, same as his mother that way, but I don't mind sharing." Stoick had finished with his boots and grabbed a large set of keys from a small hook next to the door.

    "Yeah, thats fine."

    "Alright, I'll be back later then, you know the rules Hiccup."

    "Clean up after any wild parties and be sure to replace any booze before you go looking for it?" Stoick shook his head and chuckled as he stepped outside, closing the door behind him. As the door clicked closed Hiccup couldn't hold back a sign of relief as he locked the door with a 'click'.

    "So do you throw a lot of wild parties?" Jack's joking tone sounded from behind Hiccup. Rolling his eyes as he turned around he responded.

    "Oh yeah, this house is just party central, booze are in the top cabinet, bathrooms down the hall, theaters downstairs, don't forget the coasters."

    "Theater?" Jack chuckled.

    "Oh, yeah, my dad put it together a few years ago, I helped get all the stuff working for it. It’s nothing big really." Jack raised an eyebrow. “You called it a theater, it can’t really be ‘nothing’.”

    "Alright fine, see for yourself."

    Hiccup led the way downstairs, flicking the lights on as he got to the bottom of the carpeted stairs, revealing a fully finished basement. Carpet covered the floor, one door on each of the left and right walls separated the main basement area from where their washer and dryer were hidden and keept the sub-pump out of sight. The wall opposite the stairs was painted a slightly off white and was smooth and completely spotless. Three couches faced the wall, one dead center and one on either side. A projector hung from the ceiling just above the center most couch connecting to a series of media players and a few game systems stacked in a rather beat up entertainment center set against the right wall.

    "Nice." Jack said as he looked around "Very-OH!" He had caught site of the video game systems. "What games do you have? I bet I can beat you at any game you've got." He said with a smirk.

    "Oh will you? You've got yourself a challenge Frost." Most of Hiccup's games were of the single players RPG variety seeing as multiplayer games were much less interesting without multiple players. He did have a couple multiplayer games though, and it was one of those he went for after switching on the projector. Putting the small disk into the system Hiccup grabbed the two wireless controllers from their drawer and tossed one to Jack who caught it before sinking down onto the center couch. Hiccup joined him a moment later, taking a seat next to one of the arms of the couch as the opening cinematic played.

    They proceeded to fight one another for quite a while, the score distinctly one sided until Jack declared that Hiccup could no longer play 'that god damn rat, its cheating!' to which Hiccup argued that Jack just couldn't handle Hiccup which lead to several blush inducing comments. In the end Hiccup relented and played other characters, which at least gave Jack a fighting chance though Jack was still pretty sure Hiccup let him win at least a few of their matches.

    "Are you sure you want to continue this massacre?" Hiccup asked Jack as they finished another match, giving Hiccup his 9th win in a row. "

    "Never!” Jack cried. “I will be victorious! Besides I've got a new strategy I want to try."

    "Suit yourself, I'll take an even ten." Hiccup snarked. Jack grunted.

    They started playing and Hiccup didn't notice any sort of change in Jack's strategy, which generally seemed to equate to 'hit hard and fast' when Jack asked casually "Hey Hic, are you ticklish?"

    Focused on dodging Jack's latest attack it took Hiccup a moment to process what Jack had said, and by this it was far to late "Uh-wait wh-shit! Jack th-ah-ahaha this this this ahaha this is ch-ch-ch-aha-cheating!" Hiccup fought against Jack's insidious fingers as best he could, but with only one good arm he couldn't keep Jack from reaching his sides, the crook of his neck and the backs of his knees and he found himself laughing uncontrollably right along side Jack. In a last ditch effort to escape Hiccup rolled off the couch onto the floor. Jack was on him in a flash, towering over him and pinning him down with one leg thrown over Hiccup's legs, fingers still going at it.

    "Surrender Hiccup, surrender and this can all stop."

    "N-n-ahah-NEVER!" The defiant effect somewhat ruined by his involuntary laughter.

    "Then you have sealed your fate!" Jack continued tickling Hiccup mercilessly for what felt like hours, but was really about three minutes before Hiccup gasped "Ok ok!"

    "Hmm? What was that?" Jack down over Hiccup, placing his ear inches from Hiccup's mouth "I didn't quite hear you."

    "I surrender, you win." Jack let out a triumphant whoop as he stopped tickling Hiccup whose sides were hurting from all the laughter. "Your an ass." Hiccup said between deep breaths.

    "The winning ass." Jack exclaimed smugly, bringing his face right next to Hiccups.

    Hiccup rolled his eyes and when he looked back at Jack he was suddenly aware of just how very close their faces were, and that Jack had made no move to back away. Suddenly it was hard to breath for reasons completely unrelated to the viscous tickling he had just received. In a move that seemed somehow both painfully slow and incredibly fast, Jack's face moved closer to his, covering the last few inches between them. Jack’s head tilted slightly and Hiccup's head mimicked the motion of its own volition, and then Jack's lips were pressed against his. Hiccup's eyes drifted shit as his brain seemed to go into overload. His chest was filled with excitement, his heart suddenly beating over time. His mind was filled with the feeling of Jack's lips, how warm and soft they felt against his own and they way they moved against his, invoking innate reactions that Hiccup had no control over. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Jack pulled slowly away. Hiccup's eyes opened slowly, revealing Jack's mystified face hovering inches above his own, brilliant blue eyes sparkling. "Wow..."

    "Wow," Jack agreed, a wide smile stretching his lips

    "That was, uh...wow." Hiccup smiled as they both chuckled. They stared at each other for several long heartbeats before Hiccup, unsure what exactly had come over him, said "Could we, uh, do that again?" His smile shifting to a smirk Jack leaned forward and pressed their lips together again. Hiccup felt Jack shifting himself above him and a hand slid up to his cheek, cupping it briefly before continuing on to the back of his head and angling it slightly. And they kissed again.

    Hiccup had no idea how long they made out, because that is what they had been doing he realized-holy crap he'd just made out with someone- but eventually they pulled apart for longer then just the few seconds it took to shift positions. He stared at Jack, his brain still trying to process the last unknown amount of time, filled as it was with lips and the occasional clacking of teeth, and even tongues on several occasions, trying to reconcile it with Hiccup's idea of reality.

    "Wow," Jack said this time, which snapped Hiccup out of his trance and made him laugh.

    "Hey, that’s my line." Jack chuckled. They stared at each other smiling for a bit longer, just enjoying each other's presence. Finally Hiccup spoke "Well that was certainly a hell of a first kiss."

    "Agreed."

    "Wait, was that your first kiss too?" Jack nodded. "Huh, I guess I kinda just assumed you'd done it before."

    "You did?"

    "Well you seemed to know what you were doing a lot more then I did." Hiccup blushed slightly as he added "And you’re pretty good at it."

    "Oh, heh, well I've had Aster giving me tips since I turned thirteen. Besides, you’re not to bad yourself Hic." Jack grinned as he pushed himself off the floor and onto the couch.

    Blushing deeper, his smile undiminished Hiccup said "You know I'm not really surprised." Jack chuckled. There was silence for a minute before Hiccup pushed himself up off the ground "I'll be right back, need to use the bathroom." Jack nodded as Hiccup turned and headed up the stairs.

    Reaching the kitchen he took a moment to revel in what had just happened, still not completely able to believe it, and grabbed a glass a water to wet his parched throat. Not wanting to be a bad host and leave Jack alone for to long, and honestly just wanting to be back in his presence again, Hiccup hurried to use the bathroom, a process made more difficult by certain regions insisting on expressing their ecstatic approval of his recent activities. Having finally taken care of that he grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and headed back downstairs. He found Jack standing in front of the entertainment system, perusing the DVDs lining two of the shelves there. "Hey." Jack said with a smile as Hiccup approached.

    "Hey." Hiccup smiled at Jack for a moment before remembering the water bottle in his hand. "Here, thought you might want some water."

    "Thanks." Jack took the bottle and drained half of it before screwing the top back on. Slipping the bottle into the pocked of his hoodie he pulled as DVD off the shelf "Is this that dragon thing that was on the Discovery Chanel a few years ago?" Looking at the case he was holding out Hiccup saw the title "Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real".

    "Animal Planet, but yeah, I used to watch the crap out of it when I was younger."

    "I never got to see it."

    "You wanna watch it?"

    "Sure, I mean unless you don't want to."

    "Well, it is one of my favorite shows ever, beside, no person who claims to like dragons should go without seeing it." With that Hiccup snatched the box and headed over to put the movie on, switching the projector to the DVD player and grabbing the remote from its place on the shelf. As he did so he heard Jack yawn from behind him, which triggered a yawn of his own as his exhaustion began to return. Turning around back toward the couch he saw that Jack was sprawled out on the middle couch, an arm covering his eyes. He originally planned to take a seat on one of the other couches, but the same sense that had overtaken him before once again took control of his body and he found himself flopping down on the couch next to Jack so they were lying parallel, his back pressed up against Jack's chest. Seemingly caught by surprise for a moment Jack recovered quickly, wrapping an arm around Hiccup's chest and pulling him closer to his chest before placing a small kiss on the back of his neck. Hiccup's chest did a little flip. Pointing the remote Hiccup started the movie and turned the lights off (on of his favorite features).

    It wasn't five minutes into the show that his heavy eyelids became to difficult to lift anymore and Hiccup drifted off to sleep, Jack’s arm wrapped tightly around him.