Trader's Son

“C’mon, Bud, let’s go!” Hiccup Haddock sifted his left foot down in the stirrup on Toothless’s saddle and they were off, soaring through the air.

When word had come in the trade ship from the New World was spotted Hiccup insisted that he go out and greet them himself.

Stoick saw it as a chance for the seventeen year old to take on a more ‘chief-like’ responsibility; Hiccup saw it as a chance to see his best and oldest friend.  

Just the thought of seeing Jackson Overland made his stomached flip. As the woods below become a blur, Hiccup allowed his mind to wonder back to the last time he had last seen his friend almost two years prior.

The two boys laughed as they ran through the trees, pushing branches out of the way and trying to trip the other as they went. “It’s just up here, Jack!” Hiccup yelled over his shoulder as he neared the Cove where he had trained Toothless just two years before hand.

Said dragon was more than happy to stay with Emma, Jack’s little sister, while the two boys went out. With Jack’s father doing trade with the Vikings of Berk ever two years, he had not had the chance to show Jack where the Villages change had all started.

Jack tackled Hiccup as the raced into the Cove, knocking the slightly smaller boy to the ground.

Hiccup gasped for breath and wiggled beneath Jack, trying to break free from the older boy’s hold. “Jack, get off of me.”

Jack just grinned and flipped Hiccup over so he could sit on his belly, staring into pine green eyes that he found to be just a bit too interesting.

Hiccup stared right back, cursing Jack in his head for being stronger than him. Hiccup watch as Jack shook his head, as if to rid it of bad thoughts, and wondered how he never noticed just how warm the maple color of his eye were.

Upon seeing the vacant look his friend was giving him, the smaller boy attempted pushed Jack off, but his efforts were cut short when his friend leaned down and kissed him.

Hiccup froze, body stilling as Jack’s lips, Jack’s really warm and soft lips, pressed to his, working his mouth open just the slightest bit.

This was wrong, this was so, so, wrong. He was gonna be with Astrid, right? He liked her for years and she had kissed him after the defeat of the Red Death and why was he kissing Jack back?

Sure enough, his lips were moving with Jack’s, even pushing up at them. Belatedly, he noted that his hands were tangled in Jack brown hair, knotting his fingers in the strands and when he tugged Jack let out the most amazing noise. Something wet probed against his lips and he opened his mouth without a second thought.

 When Jack’s tongue touched his he let out a surprised squeak and Jack laughed into the kiss.

For some gods’ forsaken reason, Hiccup’s lungs decided that they just had to remind him that he was a human and thus needed to breathe, so he pushed Jack back a little and took a much needed gulp of air.  

When the two boys locked eyes their cheeks flamed a vibrant red.

“Um, I guess now would be a good time to tell you that I-” Whatever Jack was going to say was cut off when Astrid’s voice called from the woods.

“Hiccup! Jack! Where are you? You have to come back to the village!”

Hiccup sighed and leaned farther over Toothless’s back, trying to catch a glimpse of the trade ship.

He never did find out what Jack was going to say, as it turns out they were needed back because it was time for Jack to leave.

That day in the Cove plagued his dreams, each time ending without the interruption and almost every time Jack said that he loved him.

Shortly after Jack had left he and Astrid had grow apart, no that they were particularly close to begin with, and she took Snotlout up on his offer to make her dinner.

Hiccup smiled when he remembered just how well that had gone. Despite the rough, and smoky, start, they had been together ever since.

Finally he saw the ship.  “There it is, Bud. Let’s land.”

As the dragon flew down and landed on the docks Hiccup kept a close eye out for Jack. Two years since the kiss and Hiccup still felt nervous just thinking about it. However, if his repeated dream made one thing clear it was that he loved Jack and needed to tell him so before the week was out.

The ship docked and the ramp was lowered, but instead of seeing Jack bound down the board like he expected he saw a very withdrawn Emma.

The now eleven year old girl rubbed at her eyes when she saw Hiccup and reacked out to pet Toothless’s snout.

“Emma,” Hiccup started, “where’s Jack?” He knew that it was the wrong thing to ask, a diplomatic how was your journey or even a simple welcome to Berk  would have been the right thing to say.

“Hiccup, a word, if I may.” Green eyes snapped up to meet those of Tomas Overland and the Viking was shocked at what he saw.

The normally lively man looked like he had aged ten years instead of two, his brown hair now shot almost completely through with gray.

Hiccup approached the older man. “Mr. Overland,” he greeted.

Behind Tomas, Clara Overland walked down the ramp dressed in black. Something about the distinct lack of the fourth family member made something hot and uneasy curl in Hiccup’s belly and he suddenly dreaded the thought of hearing what the trader had to say.

“Jack he- Hiccup, Jack died last year. I’m sorry I know you two were friends.”

The hot feeling turned icy, numbing Hiccup nerves and filling his ears with a dull buzz.

He gasped, not even feeling the hot tears well up in his eyes until they were already rolling down his cheeks.

No, this couldn’t be happening. Not Jack.

Hiccup shook his head, his mind failing-no, refusing- to possess what had been said.

“H-how?” he wasn’t sure how he had managed to rasp out that one impossible word, or if he even wanted to know the answer.

“Last Winter he took Emma ice skating, but it wasn’t late enough and the ice was too thin.” Behind him he could here Emma’s breathing become ragged as she clung to Toothless. “The ice was breaking under her, he saved her, but it was too late for him to get off the thin ice himself.” A ragged breath from the father. “He fell through.”

He drowned? That’s how the world replayed Jack for being a ball of light and joy? Hiccup couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to except that the one person he could be himself around was gone and never coming back, that his life had been snuffed out like a low-burning candle. It was all too much to take in and inside he felt something begin to crack. A sorrowful thought crossed him mind them; he would never get to tell Jack he loved him.  The thing broke, and with it so did his last shred of composer.

“No, no, no, no.” Clara rushed to him, falling with him to the docks as he cried and screamed.

She hushed him, carding her hand through his hair and whispering soft empty words.

He clung back, grateful for the comfort, but knew that it would never help ease the pain in his heart.

That night, when the Village was asleep, Jack Frost watched a lone figure crept up to the highest point on Berk. He didn’t know why he’d been so compelled to follow the ship overseas, or why the sight of the distraught green eyes boy made his heart ache. All he knew was that he wanted to know what this boy was up to so late at night.

When the boy spoke, Jack felt like he couldn’t breathe.

“I loved you, you know. I was gonna tell you.” He broke off, swiping his sleeve over his eyes in a movement that Jack knew all too well. “Jack, I-I miss you!”

He fell then, face buried in his own knees as he cried, words like no and oh gods why slipping out on harsh breaths.