Work Text:
On sunny days after school, especially when they had a sleep over scheduled ahead for that night, Jack and Hiccup always went exactly three and a half blocks down the street from the Overland household. Jack would insist they take off their shoes before they left, so they could feel the pleasantly warm tarmac of the pavement up through their toes.
Together they would then turn left off the road, avoiding the four thistles on the bank and jump over the small trickling burn as if it were a massive canyon, with their school bags swinging wildly across their backs.
Then it was a race down the hill and grass and into the forest. Past their favourite landmarks of boulders and oddly shaped stumps and finally, their tree.
A massive oak winding up to the skies with dark and fully lushed limbs, swooping bark and rustling leaves. And build in between three of the largest splitting branches lay their treehouse.
“I win!” Jack cried triumphantly, slamming his hand on the trunk and hunching over breathlessly. “Pay up.”
Hiccup was only a couple beats behind him, sighing in frustration at his second placement. “I…let you…win.” The boy insisted, between inhales.
“Yeah yeah sure you did.” Jack snickered.
He swept a hand through his rich oaken hair and accepted his prize of an extra rocket ice lolly before re-slinging his bag so he could climb the ladder.
The wood squeaked quietly under his bare feet.
“I won last time.” Hiccup pointed out, starting on the ladder himself.
“And you lost the one before that.” Jack laughed, reaching the top and hauling himself through the little doorway.
He grinned down at Hiccup.
The sun bled through the leaves above, lining his figure in light and making his coppery eyes shine.
A small sensation of jittery butterflies fluttered in Hiccup’s belly whenever Jack smiled like that, though he was too young to know or even begin to guess what they could mean.
Still, he was old enough to know Jack was ridiculously pretty for a boy. Not that Hiccup had ever said that out loud.
Hiccup rolled his eyes as he neared the top. “What I’m saying is that there’s consistency- Ah!”
A sharp snap beneath his foot sent his heart into his throat as gravity suddenly pulled on him. He lost his balance and began falling back.
A pale hand snatched his wrist, another coming to clutch at his shirt.
Hiccup, now still, peered down to find half of the step had given way under his left foot. Quickly, and with Jack hauling him up too, he finally made it off the ladder.
“Whoa.” Jack breathed. “Jeez. We need a new ladder.”
“We could add one of those knotted ropes?” Hiccup suggested.
“A rope? Hiccup we watched Bridge to Terabithia yesterday .” Jack scolded. “How have you already forgotten the core message of ‘rope swings are bad’?”
“Jack I’m pretty sure the core message was something about the importance of imagination-”
“Rope wings are bad.” Jack repeated, poking Hiccup in the chest.
“Okay what about a net ladder?”
Jack paused, then shook his head. “That’s just a rope with extra steps. Literally.”
Hiccup laughed at him. “That movie really got to you didn’t it? Fine then. New ladder it is.”
“It was a sad movie!” Jack protested as he began to unload his bag. “Anyway. I can get uncle North to make us a new one, he’s coming over on Thursday. I’ll get my mom to call your dad and then you can come over and help me carry it here.”
Hiccup nodded at the plan. “How many of these do you think we can watch between now and then?” He asked, linking up the car battery to their tiny shared box TV with the VHS.
Jack carefully eyed all the VHS cases piled on the floor with a hum. “As long as the supplies stay good I’d say at least 12.” He guessed, laying out their bounty of snacks and cans next to the bean bags under the plastic tarp. “We’re agreed that we’re prioritising the Peter Jacksons yes?”
“Agreed.” Hiccup said with a wire between his teeth as he set everything up. “But I’d reckon we can get to 15.”
Jack pulled off the tarp and collapsed into his preferred blue bean bag. “Wanna bet?
Hiccup smiled at the competitive edge to Jack’s tone. Jack was always up for a competition. It was the fun of it that got him excited. It’s what Hiccup thought made Jack such a good ice skater even though they were still kids.
“Stakes?”
Jack tapped the beanbag in thought. “My silver goo alien.” He decided.
“My dragon bay blade.” Hiccup said, reaching out his hand which Jack shook.
“Deal.”
It wasn’t long before they were both settled close together, munching on crisps as Kate Blanchet’s prophetic voice filled the quaint little treehouse deep in the woods.
The birds sang a faraway chorus in the branches, offering a gentle harmony with the gentle breeze as the hazy summer day gave way to a calm and warm summer evening.
The boys pulled out their sleeping bags and continued far into the night until neither of their little heads could stay awake much longer. They fell asleep against each other, with the faint flickering light of the movie’s menu screen playing on repeat, with Howard Shore’s score somehow lulling them deeper into slumber.
══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══
It was days like these Hiccup would remember fondly when he was much older.
He and Jack had stayed close all the way throughout high school, even if his crush had grown from small and childlike into something stronger and barely concealable.
On their graduation day, even if they had been dressed in those god awful high school robes, Hiccup had had a crashing sense of urgency slam into him.
It had hit him like a truck, the realisation that his and Jack’s paths were about to diverge for the first time in their lives.
Hiccup was going off to university. His grades had earned him a place in a top notch engineering course.
Jack meanwhile had signed with a high profile coach in Russia called Pitchiner, who was confident Jack would skate at the Olympics in no time. Jack was going pro.
The urgency had made him want to talk. He wanted Jack to know how he felt before he disappeared.
But he hadn’t said anything. His fear had gotten the better of him.
What was the sense in confessing his love now? It wouldn’t do anything to stop either of them, and it’s not like they could’ve made it work. Hiccup had heard all about failed relationships right after high school.
So Hiccup said nothing.
And soon, Hiccup could begin counting on his fingers the amount of years that had passed since he had seen his best friend.
He grew up, got taller again and knuckled down into his course. He made friends with a boy who called himself Fishlegs, who he frequently worked with at the library and sometimes went out to the bar if they were feeling adventurous.
Hiccup changed too. He felt some of his teen-ish nervousness begin to give way to a quiet but assured confidence. He knew who he was and who he wanted to be.
But no matter how much of an adult he became, he always made sure the figure skating events were clearly marked in his calendar and that he had reminders set into his phone.
If he needed to, Hiccup would skip lectures to make sure he could watch it live.
So he could watch him .
Jack Frost, the silver-haired upcoming American sweetheart of the figure skating world. He already had Olympic gold under his name, as well as a multitude of other competitions that he had blown out of the water.
Jack was making history, and Hiccup was so unbelievably proud.
And just seeing him skate- seeing Jack, taller and with his muscles trained to perfection under the glittering suits and costumes- it was enough to make Fishlegs assume Hiccup was an obsessed fan.
Which he was, he supposed.
Sometimes Hiccup would listen to Jack’s interviews on repeat while he was cooking or cleaning or studying, just so the low timber of his voice could grace his ears. Just so that he could map it back to that wiry teen with brown hair and a toothy smile.
Jack’s career followed Hiccup through each stage of his degree. Jack was his constant.
And when Hiccup was dressed in much nicer graduation robes, when he went up on stage and shook the hands of his professors and accepted the bit of paper he had worked so hard for, when he smiled at the crowd and found his father and uncle Gobber hollering madly, when he found the camera televising the event and waved…a small part of him hoped Jack, somewhere out there, waved back.
══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══
“Honestly it’s so good to have you lot home for a summer.” Jack’s father, Jeremiah, said as he brought a water jug to the table. “All these young adults are always so busy! Getting them home is hard, let alone at the same time.”
“Hiccup, how’s everything with you? You had your 25th the other day right?” Sarah, Jack’s mother, asked. “You’re all finished at uni aren’t you?”
He swallowed his bite and took a drink. “Yeah, it was weird handing in my last bit of coursework. All graduated now.”
A big hand clapped him on the back.
“My boy’s gonna rattle the engineering industry! He’s already got a job.” Stoick said proudly.
Hiccup smiled in exasperation. “It’s from an old work placement, Dad.”
“It’s paid. Therefore a job.” The big man refuted.
“How are the horses, Nod?” Sarah asked the other young man at Hiccup’s side. Another friend from school.
“They’re good.” The jockey replied. “Bolt is about to retire so they’re bringing in a new thoroughbred stallion named Sparrow. I haven’t met him yet but I’ve seen pictures and videos. His coat is like dark dark.”
“Oh he sounds beautiful.” Mary commented from down the table.
Mary, Jack’s sister, was probably the most successful of them all so far, which was totally unfair since she was also the youngest but oh well. She had written a children’s story about spirits and belief that had seen big bucks and was getting adapted into an animated movie soon. It was being launched in all cinemas.
The Overlands had to be proud of their famous kids.
“According to his trainer he’s a menace,” Nod joked. “But we’ll see how he gets on.”
“Takes one to know one.” Ronin said above his meal.
“ Hey .” Nod squawked at his godfather.
Mary’s phone lit up and she peered at the notification.
“Speaking of menaces,” She began, opening the text. “Jack just messaged. He said he’s on his way and to make sure Nod doesn’t polish off all the barbecue.”
Hiccup nearly snapped his neck with how fast it turned.
“No promises.” Nod muffled through his food. “Snoozers are losers.”
“Jack’s coming?” Hiccup repeated, eyes wide and heart jolting in his ribcage. “I- I thought he couldn’t make it? I thought he was in Alaska?”
Mary continued reading the text. “So did we but- Hold on,” She swiped down before letting out a chuckle. “Oh that’s so him.”
“What?” Hiccup urged, leaning over.
“A kid lost his mom in the airport so Jack missed his connecting flight to help him find her. There was however another flight back here so he got on that instead.” She grinned. “He said he’ll be here in forty-five.”
Oh god. Forty-five minutes. Five years and forty-five minutes. Forty-five short minutes until Jack would be right here.
How would he say hi? Would it be awkward? No- This was Jack they would pick up right where they left off surely...right?
Hiccup was so excited he was beginning to feel nauseous.
“Oh that’s brilliant.” Stoick said, shovelling in some beef. “Haven’t seen that kid in years.”
“Wish, I could say he’s still a kid.” Jeremiah sniffed dramatically, leaning into his wife who patted his hair indulgently. “He’s my height now, Stoick, my height. When did that happen?” He lamented.
“Hiccup dear,” Sarah wondered. “How long has it been since you’ve seen Jack?”
He cleared his throat. “Oh uh. Actually I don’t think we’ve spoken properly since high school.”
‘Think’, as if he hadn’t been paying attention to the fact very closely for the last half-decade.
“High school!?” Jeremiah shot up. “Did you two not stay in touch at all? You were inseparable when you were little ones!”
Hiccup shifted uncomfortably. “A bit in the beginning. But y’know, he was always busy in different timezones and I had to focus on work, it was hard to keep up.”
“That’s gotta be what? Five years now?” Nod calculated. “Damn. He didn’t shut up about you last time I saw him. Jack will definitely be happy to see you.”
Hiccup was about to ask what Nod meant when the sound of a door closing echoed behind them all.
“Jack will be happy to what?” A deep, lovely voice asked.
“Jack!” Jeremiah shot up and crossed from the table through to the kitchen to wrap his son in a bear hug.
Time slowed down as Hiccup’s eyes landed on him.
A grey jacket hood was pulled down to reveal a head of bright silver hair, as stark as the ice the man skated on for a living. A large rucksack was unslung from his shoulder and thrown on the kitchen island, and the jacket was taken off to reveal a blue hoodie that clung to him in all the right ways.
Stoick’s form obscured them, but Hiccup tried to peer around. His heart stuttered when he caught a glimpse of that smile behind Jeremiah’s shoulder, or those copper eyes sparkling in the dangling kitchen lights.
It was Jack.
Scratch that. Five years and two minutes.
“How the hell are you here already?” Mary called with a laugh as she too crossed to the kitchen. “I just got your text!”
“Oh I sent that ages ago. Connection was shit, must’ve only just delivered. My bad.” Jack’s voice said.
“Good to see you, lad.” Stoick stood and shook his hand as they all crossed back to the table.
“Hi darling.” Sarah said, hugging him and ruffling his white hair. “Welcome home.”
Jack smiled over her shoulder as he hugged her back. “Hi mom-”
It was then Hiccup managed to get his legs to bring him out from behind his father.
Their eyes met, and Hiccup couldn’t stop the nervous grin sprouting on his face.
Upon the exact moment of recognition, those copper eyes grew to the size of the plates on the table as Jack audibly gasped.
With the speed of a literal olympian, Hiccup barely had a second to react before Jack unceremoniously tackled him to the floor.
“Gaoh!” Hiccup squawked as he landed on the carpet with his arms full of Jack Frost.
“What the bloody hell are you doing here?!” Jack shouted down at his face with glee. “I thought you were in the city!”
Hiccup couldn’t stop the laugh bubbling out from him. “Just graduated. Good to see you too.”
Jack’s mouth was open, starting and stopping on unfinished words, his eyes darting over Hiccup’s face in disbelief.
His gaze shot up and pointed an accusing finger at his little sister. “Mary! You didn’t say Hiccup was home!”
“Would that have changed your flights?” She laughed along with everyone else at the theatrics.
“Of course it would have, it’s Freckles!” Jack turned back to Hiccup, who was still pinned flat against the floor. “Jesus Christ you got taller again.” He said a little quieter in observation. “Stop it already you lunatic. One growth spurt is plenty, you selfish bastard. You’re gonna make me look small!” He said, ceaselessly wrenching more laughter from the poor man by poking his sides.
“Hey hey not the poking stop stop!” Hiccup pleaded as no one came to his aid.
The Overlands’ family dog decided to get in on the fun and began playfighting with Hiccup’s face. “Gah! Rudolph! Take it easy!”
Jack sat back in his heels, still essentially sitting on the guy, and crossed his arms in satisfaction. “That’s it girl. Get him. This is for that god awful card you sent me for my birthday.”
“Wha-” Hiccup spluttered with a face full of dog. “The Chris Pine one? Oh come on! That was funny! Ack-”
Hiccup had been worried for nothing. It was just them. The years didn’t matter to Hiccup and Jack.
══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══
Hiccup stood under their treehouse much later that night.
The Overlands had hosted a wonderful get together and their bellies were all wonderfully full and the talk had been hearty and homely.
As the night grew older, so did Hiccup’s memories. So it was no shock that when he said he’d go out to get some air, he ended up going on a walk down the street instead, even if the cold bit at his arms in his black t-shirt.
Three and a half blocks…left off the road…over the burn…down the hill…and into the woods.
He didn’t even have to think about which way, even in the dark. The path was carved into his mind, even if their little trails had long since disappeared.
And now, framed by the moonlight, sat their treehouse, still cradled by the old oak. Yet the wood had darkened with age and rot, moss had overtaken most of it. It would probably be damp inside with bugs and such. God forbid whatever had become of the beanbags.
He liked to think their posters were still on the walls inside though. Maybe a stray can or packet they had forgotten to pick up the last time they had left the place, unaware that it had indeed been the last time.
Hiccup stood with his barely touched beer and breathed in the fresh night air.
He couldn't hear any birds.
A twig snapped behind him.
Hiccup startled in fright to find a figure emerging from the shadows.
“Relax.” Jack smiled as he stepped into the clearing. “It’s me.”
Hiccup breathed out and rolled his eyes. “You should announce yourself.”
“I just did.” The man grinned as he came to stand next to him.
Silence took over as they both beheld the capital of their childhood. It seemed so much smaller than it used to be…which made sense, they were taller now.
Jack took a sip from his own beer, memories ghosting over the darkness of his pupils. “It’s a bit sad isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Hiccup agreed quietly.
Jack put down his can on the nearby rock and stretched his back. “Well.” He tapped Hiccup’s shoulder. “Come on.” He stepped up to the tree.
Hiccup blinked. “What?”
Jack spun on his heels to walk backwards and splayed his arms with mischief in his eyes. “It’s our treehouse. You just gonna stand and stare?”
“Jack, it's old .” Hiccup warned, placing down his own drink next to Jack’s. “That wood isn’t safe anymore.”
Jack blew a raspberry and wrapped his hands around the ancient ladder. “Wow, that engineering degree sure taught you a lot, huh.” He jibed playfully.
“Jack, we are both heavier than we used to be.”
Jack continued to climb and began making chicken noises that grew in volume.
Hiccup scoffed. “Oh screw it.” He began climbing too.
Jack was mid laugh, about two thirds to the top before the ladder inevitably snapped beneath his foot.
Hiccup barely had time to jump down before Jack crashed back into him, sending them both to the forest floor.
The second time Jack landed on him in one day. Great.
“Ow.” Hiccup groaned.
Jack blinked away the shock before snickering, he braced his arms by Hiccup’s head. “Sorry.”
“No you’re not.”
The man nodded, those white strands of hair falling down. “You’re right I’m not.”
A careful heat worked its way into Hiccup’s cheeks at the feeling of Jack's body against his own, at the fading smile giving way to something else, unnameable, on that stupidly handsome face.
It wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. High school had quite frankly been a mess. Hiccup’s feelings had often had him acting like an idiot and there was always this unspoken air around them that didn’t really make sense under the term ‘friends’.
They had never spoken of it. They had just continued as normal. It was normal to go to Jack’s skating sessions at school just to wave at him from the other side of the arena glass.
It was normal to end up in the same bed at sleep overs. It was normal to be touching each other far more than needed throughout the day. It was normal to whisper in each other’s ears in class. Normal to get jealous of other people.
Back then, Hiccup’s self confidence had never been enough to let him believe that maybe Jack had felt something too. And when he was 19, that hope, along with his heart, had maybe broken right in two when the skater community unearthed pictures of Jack kissing another contestant in some secluded arena back-hallway.
A contestant who ended up filling the tabloids with Jack in a widely covered rivals-to-lovers story as it came out they were in an actual relationship.
Hiccup had never told anyone about how his grades had absolutely tanked that semester. Thankfully Professor Grimborn had helped him out of the slump with a new schedule so it didn’t end up affecting his degree.
He liked to think it was all just from stress of the course but he knew why.
It was because every time he tuned in to watch Jack skate, he knew he’d have to switch it off immediately after Jack’s program finished, unless he wanted to watch the man he’d loved for as long as he could remember celebrating in the arms of another.
Jack seemed to come back to himself and retreated backwards, offering Hiccup a hand. “Here.”
They returned to their feet and dusted themselves off. Hiccup, retrieving his glasses, went to lean against the tree trunk.
Jack had his hands on his hips and peered up at the treehouse and the broken ladder, contemplating their chances.
“Second attempt?” He wondered.
Hiccup snorted. “No.”
“Bah you’re no fun.” Jack waved a dismissing hand, even though he knew it was hopeless too. “Well.” He took a breath. “How was uni?”
“God please don’t ask me that. That question is so worn out that it’s in the ICU. Tell me about Russia instead.”
Jack shrugged. “Cold.”
“Oh come on. There’s more than that.”
“What do you want me to say?” He asked, reaching down for a twig to fiddle with. “It’s all training, press and travelling. Any actual competitions are a tiny percentage of the time.”
“I watched you on TV.” Hiccup murmured, digging his nail into the bark behind him absently.
It didn’t feel right to specify that he watched every single time Jack was on a channel, so he kept it vague.
Jack grinned. “You did?”
“Yeah.” A memory stuck out. “Who’s idea was that costume from October?”
Jack barked a laugh. “The cowboy?”
The cowboy costume in question had been a part of Jack’s southern rock program. Figure Skating Twitter had completely lost their minds and had been retweeting those images for months .
“What about it?” Jack asked, a sneaky little undertone lacing his voice.
Hiccup flushed more strongly, why had he brought this up again? “Nothing. I’m just saying it looked good.” He cleared his throat. “That other skater you’re with, the aussie, sorry I forgot his name, he must’ve liked it I’m sure.”
Hiccup was totally lying. He knew the guy’s name.
“Aster?” Jack scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile, like he was shocked Hiccup even knew about him. “We broke up a few weeks ago.”
“Oh…” Hiccup was torn between mentally slapping himself and jumping for joy. “Why?”
“Eh.” Jack snapped the twig in his fingers and began picking at it. “It was always a casual thing that just kinda ended up going on for a while. It wasn’t some great romance or anything. We were both clear on that.” He mumbled. “Even if the tabloids wanted to believe otherwise. Great for press though.” He chuckled.
Jack hadn’t loved him?
“So you’re…not seeing anyone?”
Jack shook his head, before glancing up in what was barely concealed curiosity. “You?”
“No. Well. There was this person in first year for a few months but that fizzled out.” He explained.
Jack was watching him really weirdly. What was that face?
“Why?” He asked, taking a small step forwards.
It was Hiccup’s turn to shrug. “I couldn’t fully dedicate myself to it.” He said honestly. “My heart wasn't in it.”
Jack was in front of him now. Through the twilight, that weird glint shimmered in his eye. “How unfortunate.” He said, toneless, but with redness blossoming on his face
Hiccup glanced him up and down. “How many drinks have you had?”
“Just that one.” Jack replied, not even bothering to gesture to the can on the rock. “But it’s heavy. And flat. So none really.”
Jack scrutinised him in silence.
“You really don’t know do you?” He whispered.
Hiccup swallowed, frozen, Jack was- He was really very close now wasn’t he? “Know what?”
“There’s a reason Aster and I were only ever casual, Hiccup.” He said, smiling gently, with his cool breath ghosting over Hiccup’s lips.
A pale hand came to rest against the bark by Hiccup’s head. Jack’s mouth curled. “I win.”
A small bit of air huffed out of Hiccup’s nose as his heart thudded harder than it ever had before. “Technically I touched the tree first.”
Jack’s mouth came to his ear. “Only losers need technicalities.” He breathed, sending a bolting shiver right down Hiccup’s spine.
That mouth paused there, breathing him in, before two lips pressed against the skin beneath. Hiccup inhaled sharply, his hands gripped Jack’s hoodie.
Jack’s other hand came to Hiccup’s hip. His deft thumb dipped in between his waistband to work circles into the skin as his mouth explored Hiccup’s neck, tasting him.
“It was you through everything y’know, Hiccup.” He whispered, his movements beginning to grow in need. “So many things have changed- High school was madness but you were there-” His tongue swept up to the edge of Hiccup’s jaw. Desperation creeped into his low voice. “You followed me everywhere you know. Every country . Every competition . It was so stupid. I was stupid.” His kisses grew in frequency, driving Hiccup insane against the tree. “I wanted to call you so many times and I know you would’ve picked up, but I- I just… didn’t .”
His hands came to Hiccup’s face, gazing at his blown out, dazed green eyes, and he found there everything he had needed.
“What the hell was I thinking?” He said, entirely to himself.
Hiccup could hardly believe it. In fact he couldn’t. This had to be a dream. He’d had enough of them over the years, but this one was far too good quality.
“Jack..” He breathed heavily, blinking profusely.
“Finals.” Jack blurted. “The finals. Norway. Two years ago. Did you see it?”
Even in this dream, Hiccup’s mind found the memory easily. It was and probably always would be Hiccup’s favourite of all Jack’s programs. He had made it with Mary’s help, basing the character of the piece on one from her stories.
A winter spirit with a crook, bound to loneliness, begging to be seen, wishing for love, dancing in his own blizzard of passion to music of endless yearning. The camera had zeroed in on Jack’s face in his finishing pose, there had been genuine tears in his eyes.
Many heralded the program as Jack’s magnum opus. Hiccup was among them.
“I did.” He nodded. “I saw all of them.”
Jack blinked, his eyes crinkled, emotion pricking. “It was for you. That’s why it won. I hoped you were watching…I was right.” He beamed, cradling Hiccup’s face. “It was for you .”
Hiccup kissed him.
It wasn’t enough to hold him, no touch was satisfying enough. He needed more. He needed to hear each of Jack’s gasps for breath. He needed his hands in that hair, Jack’s taste in his mouth, Hiccup’s name on his lips.
“I missed you so much you have no idea.” Hiccup gasped, his voice cracking.
Jack pressed a chaste little peck to his lips again before resting their foreheads together. He smiled that stardom and starry-eyed smile. “I beg to differ.”
They would always live two different lives, but that was irrelevant. They could make it work. They were each other’s constants, and beneath the tree in the woods not far from the hill by the burn left of the road, three and a half blocks from Jack’s childhood home, they finally returned to each other in the way they had always wanted.
Sunlight eventually peaked down through the leaves, down to the moss, where two people had fallen asleep in each other’s arms amidst the warm summer forest.
The birds began to sing.
The End
══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══