chapter12

It had been long since the last time Jack had a backache, but since the cause of it was Jamie falling asleep in his arms, he didn’t really mind. After Jamie’s breath evened out, Jack didn’t have the heart to try to move him. It didn’t take long before Jack dozed off too, with his back leaning against the wall.

The next time he’d woken up, he found that someone had managed to maneuver them down to the bench while he was asleep. Another blanket was draped over the both of them. After the trip down memory lane with Jamie, it felt weird knowing that someone had actually touched him and moved him, and not just passed through him. But he was too tired to dwell on it, and so he drifted back to sleep.

The next few days passed relatively peacefully.

Neither Jack nor Jamie had said outright that they’d like to work in the forge with Gobber, but that’s where they kept ending up anyway. Mostly for Jamie’s sake, because 300 years still hadn’t made Jack into a handyman. Still, he didn’t get away from Gobber’s teachings; at the end of each day, both Jack and Jamie were feeling the aftermaths of manning the forge.

Astrid’s mother, Leikny, turned out to be lovely, despite her slightly terrifying looks. She was brash and loud, but she had a big heart, and despite the rest of the village’s wariness – her own daughter included – she immediately took a liking to both Jack and Jamie. Jack really only saw her in the mornings and in the evenings, but it still didn’t take more than a couple of days before Jack felt mostly at ease around her. There was just something warm and trustworthy about her that made Jack want to lower his guard.

It took him another couple of days to realize that it was because she reminded him of North. A less broad and airheaded version, but still.

Astrid’s offer to let them stay with her family was nice, and Jack liked to pretend he didn’t know she had ulterior motives. What better way to watch over Jack and Jamie if they slept under the same roof as her every night? Especially after what happened with Jamie, it wasn’t weird that she was wary of them sneaking out at night again.

But nothing more dramatic like that happened, and after about a week, she seemed to be coming to terms with the notion that Jack and Jamie actually wasn’t out to get anyone. Keyword being seemed. Jack wasn’t going to lie and say that he didn’t find her suspicion a little annoying, but he guessed he couldn’t blame her or anyone else, and tried to focus on the fact that Astrid was actually really cool and fun to spend time with – even if Hiccup was completely right to say that she was a bit intimidating sometimes.

Hiccup tried to follow up on his dad’s orders by looking after Jack, but he didn’t fool anybody: There was no way he was going to be tied to the ground just for that, especially not now that Hiccup had already decided that he trusted Jack and Jamie.

That was not to say that Hiccup didn’t hang out with them, though. He just did it because he wanted to, and not because he had to – he made that pretty clear when Jack had jokingly accused him for the latter. Hiccup was a very sarcastic person, but apparently he didn’t expect it from anyone but himself, Jack noted.

When Hiccup wasn’t spending time with them, Jack was incredibly curious to know what he and his friends were doing. Flying with their dragons, that much was obvious. Hiccup had mentioned training a couple of times, but Jack couldn’t know what that entailed. And then there was something else that really peaked his interest, but he hadn’t gotten the chance to ask about it: What the hell was dragon racing?

Most importantly there was, of course, Jamie.

Jamie’s mood had changed ever since Jack told him about his past. Not in a bad way, but there was definitely something that felt different between them now. Lighter or easier, somehow. Closer.

At the same time, Jack could tell that Jamie was a bit rattled about it all, because he kept catching him gazing at Jack with a deep frown on his face, like his brain was still trying to process all that had been said. Truth was, Jack had expected to reveal even more than he had. If it meant improving Jamie’s mood and making him feel even just a little safer, he would’ve told him everything. But it seemed Jamie was satisfied for the time being, despite those long looks he’d send Jack every once in a while.

And maybe it was for the best. Jack didn’t know if he was ready to tell him about Jackson Overland, and how his story ended.

Of course, life on Berk was not just a bed of roses. While Jack was glad that Jamie felt more comfortable around him now, it also meant that he’d much rather spend time with Jack than any of the other kids. Jack couldn’t really blame him; these were the kids of history’s most infamous barbarians, of course they wouldn’t all have mild and welcoming personalities. It was alright as long as Jack was nearby – which he was a whole lot of the time, since the kids had taken a liking to him – but the moment Jack had to leave, Jamie left with him, leaving no chance for the kids to get to know just Jamie, instead of Jack and Jamie.

Though after that first dinner in the Great Hall, there was one thing that hadn’t been mentioned again, but Jack kept thinking about it – or rather, her: The Snow Queen.

From what he’d heard from the kids during dinner, Jamie had heard about her from them. According to the kids – and Tuffnut – the Snow Queen was the one who brought devastating winter to the island. Nobody – except for Tuffnut, apparently – really believed that she was anything other than a fairytale, but of course Jamie, being the way he was, had jumped to her defense.

It was heartwarming in a way only Jack could understand. Some people also regarded Jack Frost as the fiend who draped the dark, icy cold blanket of winter over the world. Jamie Bennett knew that wasn’t true, and refused to let any winter spirit slander pass, and Jack loved him for it.

But it was weird, because Jack had the faintest feeling that he’d heard that name before. Sometime in his life, someone had told him about the Snow Queen, but either he’d heard it before he died and the memory was just barely coming back to him, or he had only heard it in passing or something. Either way, it was a long time ago, and chances were that she really was just a fairytale.

And simultaneously, chances were that she was more than that. Maybe Jack had just been looking for the wrong people. The Guardians might not exist yet, but who knew what other kinds of spirits roamed these islands?

Could that be their ticket home?

“You’re going to get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.”

Jack looked up only after Jamie nudged him. He’d been too deep in thought both to hear Hiccup approaching, and to remember that people actually spoke to him now.

They were sitting on the same little cliff where they’d spoken to Fishlegs during their tour of Berk. It was a nice and slightly secluded little place, and the view of the ocean was beautiful and calming. It was a nice place to sit and cool down after being cooped up in the forge.

Jack raised a brow at Hiccup. “I don’t want to hear that from you,” he said.

Hiccup grinned and sat down beside Jack. “I keep finding you two here,” he observed.

“It’s nice,” Jack said. “I like the view. That’s one thing I miss from living with Gothi.”

“Life is more boring down on the ground,” Jamie said, sending Hiccup a long look.

Jack laughed at Hiccup’s guilty expression. Jamie wasn’t much of a pesterer, but he’d pestered Hiccup in his own way, by making innocent comments about how wonderful it would be to ride a dragon, and that chances were he’d never get the chance to do so before he and Jack went home, and, oh, how happy he’d be if he’d get to try it at least just once!

It probably seemed a whole lot subtler in Jamie’s mind.

Hiccup scratched his cheek. “Uh, I guess so,” he replied awkwardly.

Jamie pursed his lips and looked around. “Where’s Toothless?” he asked.

“Playing with Stormfly, last I saw him,” Hiccup said with a shrug. “He’s grumpy because I couldn’t fly with him today. Like I want to deal with this mess any more than he does.” He rolled his eyes.

Jack frowned. “What mess?”

“Oh, I don’t even know,” Hiccup said, sounding horribly tired. “Probably nothing. Every, like, third full moon or whatever, the village grows bored and finds something to panic about. Usually it’s the twins’ fault. Don’t ask me how they do it. Either way, it takes a lot of time to convince them all that not everything is a bad omen and they’re not in any danger.” He shook his head exasperatedly.

“Weird,” Jack said. “I haven’t heard anything about it.”

Hiccup smiled grimly. “Yeah… That’s probably because they think you two have something to do with it.”

Jamie gave a quiet groan, and Jack wholeheartedly agreed.

“Why am I not surprised?” Jack said flatly.

“I wouldn’t think too much about it,” Hiccup said, smiling apologetically. “Episodes like this usually pass on its own eventually. Probably won’t be like the time the village blamed Toothless for bringing down the wrath of Thor. If I hadn’t figured out metal attracts lightning in time…” He trailed off and shuddered.

Jamie was giving Hiccup a weird look. “You… figured out that yourself?” he asked.

“By accident,” Hiccup confirmed. “And apparently, that ordeal ended with me sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Not that I remember any of it, because I was unconscious by that point.”

Jack’s heart did a jump. “And you survived?” he asked.

“Well, obviously. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“Oh. Yeah. Obviously.” Jack scratched his head. “Well, what’s the panic this time?”

Hiccup rubbed his temples. “Something about teeth?” he said. “Not sure how that connects with the two of you, but I guess you’ve brought with you some curse or whatever.”

Jack met Jamie’s eyes, and Jack knew they were both thinking the same.

“Teeth?” Jack repeated.

“Teeth,” Hiccup confirmed with a smile. “I don’t suppose you’ve invited your tooth-enthusiast friend over?”

Baby Tooth chirped hopefully.

“Uh… no,” Jack said with a chuckle that came out just a little bit forced. “What exactly are the villagers saying?”

Hiccup raised a brow, but as he often did, seemed to decide not to ask. “Some people have reported their kids’ baby teeth missing,” he said. “Some like to wear them as lucky charms, and now that a bunch of them has apparently disappeared, they think it’s some kind of bad omen for… I don’t even know. Misfortune, maybe? Either way, most people here aren’t exactly organized, so chances are… Uh, Jack?”

Jack had been sending a certain tooth fairy a long look, but he turned back to Hiccup. “Hm?”

It was Hiccup’s turn to give Jack and Jamie a weird look. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Jack replied with a snort. “Why wouldn’t I be? So weird that the teeth are missing. I wonder why that might be.”

Hiccup stared him. “Yeah… I wonder too,” he said slowly. “But like I was about to say, this is probably just some idea the twins have planted in the villagers’ heads. They’ve probably just lost the teeth in battle or something.”

Baby Tooth hovered in the air beside Hiccup’s head, her hands clasped together. Compared to her acting abilities, Jack was freaking Shakespearean; her innocent smile fooled nobody.

Jack sighed. “Yeah, that’s probably it,” he said dryly.

The mass paranoia caused by the missing baby teeth was worse than Jack had hoped. Now that he knew about it, he heard about it everywhere. From Astrid and her mom, or from Gobber, and especially from the twins, who hadn’t done anything wrong for once. And of course, from random villagers who thought Jack and Jamie somehow had something to do with it.

It was especially annoying, because they weren’t exactly wrong.

Jack had no idea that Vikings liked to keep their children’s baby teeth for good luck. Wearing a charm of teeth into battle seemed a bit morbid to him, but the Vikings thought it brought good fortune. And now that they were gone, it had to mean something horrible was coming, right?

And how Baby Tooth had managed to hide them all somewhere out of sight – first in Gothi’s hut and now in Astrid’s – Jack really had no idea. Maybe she could make them invisible or something, because even when she presented to him a little bundle filled with tiny teeth, he still didn’t understand where she’d been keeping them. And Jack felt like Baby Tooth was always at their side, so how had she gotten the time to go around collecting teeth anyway? During night, he guessed. Now that he thought about it, she usually wasn’t around during dinner either. How long had this been going on?

Both Astrid and her mom were out for the time being. Jack sat with the bundle of teeth in his hand, a little at a loss of what to do.

Baby Tooth chirped, and Jack made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle.

“You and Tooth, honestly…” he mumbled. “We’re not home right now, Baby Tooth. You can’t just steal people’s teeth!”

Baby Tooth chirped indignantly.

Jack frowned. “Do you even have any gifts to leave?” he asked, then raised a brow at her answer. “Pretty stones and berries, huh.”

Jamie was holding back a laugh, even if he also looked worried about this whole thing. “Can’t she just put them back?” he asked.

Jack had thought about that, but he shook his head. “People already know they’re gone,” he said. “Putting them back like nothing happened might not solve their panic. If they really think someone has stolen them, then… I guess we have to give them back with some sort of explanation…. somehow…”

Baby Tooth did not look happy about this plan. Jack deadpanned.

“Baby Tooth, what were you planning on doing anyway? There’s no Tooth Palace here! And you couldn’t have brought them back to the present anyway. There’s no way to give the memories back to the kids then, is it?”

Baby Tooth chirped something that sounded like “I don’t know,” along with a pout. Jack studied her for a few moments, before he sighed softly and held out his hand. Baby Tooth landed on it, looking up at Jack with a mix between stubbornness and sadness.

“I know it’s hard,” he said. “But we’ll get back home, alright? You just have to hold on for now.”

She held his gaze for a few seconds, and only seemed to relent when Jack’s lips quirked up in a reassuring smile. Then she looked away shyly and nodded.

And then, the door opened. Jack jumped and hid the teeth pouch under the blankets, and Baby Tooth jumped onto his shoulder instead of his hand. Astrid poked her head inside and frowned at them.

“Why are you cooped up in here?” she asked. “It’s almost dinner. You coming?”

Jack exchanged a brief look with Jamie.

“Uh, yeah. I’m starving,” he said, getting to his feet, leaving the tooth pouch hidden beneath the blankets.

As they walked up the stairs to the Great Hall, the gears in Jack’s head turned to figure out the best way they could solve this tooth problem. Handing them back out like some reverse tooth collection would do no good. But revealing that he had the teeth would just create more problems. There had to be something else he could do.

Jack’s plan was not complicated, and definitely not bulletproof, but it was the only plan he could think of.

He waited until everyone was asleep. Astrid was out on patrol again, and Astrid’s mom was snoring softly in her bed. Jamie was balled up in a bundle of blankets, sometimes muttering in his sleep. Jack never caught what he was saying, but it was adorable nonetheless.

Only he and Baby Tooth were awake. Jack had seen Baby Tooth asleep before – back in Jamie’s bedroom when Jamie had caught all the Guardians in action. Jack had felt bitter about being the only one Jamie couldn’t see, so when Abby began growling at Bunny, of course Jack had to set off the alarm. It was simply the right thing to do.

But back then, Baby Tooth had been hit in the face with Sandy’s dreamsand. If she was ever asleep otherwise, Jack didn’t know – and she was definitely not asleep now, but instead staring pointedly at Jack as he silently got out of bed and grabbed the tooth pouch, hiding it in the folds of his cloak.

He sent Baby Tooth an exasperated look. He went to grab his staff, but then hesitated. Leaving it would be safer. He clenched and unclenched his fist for a few moments, before he steeled himself and left the staff behind. He tiptoed across the floor and opened the door as carefully as he could.

Jack didn’t pretend he was good at being stealthy. It didn’t matter that he’d been relentlessly bullied by North singing Jack be nimble, when most of his nimbleness had disappeared along with his ability to fly. Also, previously he’d never needed to hide, because people couldn’t see him anyway. Maybe that was why he never got past the yetis whenever he’d tried to bust into North’s workshop.

He tried creeping along the edges of the huts. Stormfly perked up when Jack passed her, but Jack recoiled, holding up his palms.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “Just… passing by. Nothing suspicious going on here.”

Stormfly tilted her head to the side, before she seemed to accept Jack’s lie, and Jack moved ahead.

Not having his staff made Jack jumpier than he’d like to admit. It’s not like he could really use it to defend himself anymore, except by whacking people on the head, but still – not having it felt wrong and dangerous.

The stairs to the Great Hall lay in mostly darkness. The braziers by the entrance didn’t provide that much light, so as long as Jack crouched and kept close to the side of the stairs, he should be fine.

He stopped when a patrol guard walked past, flattening himself against a wall. He refused to wish that he was invisible again, but he couldn’t deny that this job would’ve been a whole lot easier if he was.

He peeked around the corner and decided that the coast was clear. With his heart hammering in his chest – which was still a strange sensation after not having a heartbeat the past centuries – he sped across the ground towards the stairs, and then crouched by the banister. He waited until his pulse stopped being so loud, and then began climbing the steps.

Once at the top, he hid behind the statues. He let out a quiet laugh.

“I’d say mission accomplished,” he whispered to Baby Tooth.

He crept forward and put the tooth pouch by the entrance doors.  That way, someone was bound to find them, and they’d have no idea who put them there. Hopefully, they would come to the conclusion that whoever had taken them had just done so as a prank, and hopefully they wouldn’t think that those people had been Jack and Jamie. Hopefully. As mentioned, this plan wasn’t bulletproof, but if things went as well as they had on their way up here, maybe Lady Luck was on Jack’s side for once.

But of course, the world would’ve been upside down if Jack Frost – or Jackson Overland, for that matter – was on good terms with Lady Luck. As he turned around to head back down the stairs, he came face to face with the bright yellow eyes of a Hideous Zippleback. Jack yelped, then slapped a hand over his mouth to shut himself up.

Someone laughed darkly. “Finally. It was only a matter of time.”

Ruffnut and Tuffnut appeared from behind the heads of the Hideous Zippleback, grinning devilishly down at Jack. They jumped off at the same time and clanked their helmets together in smug triumph.

“Uh… hi,” Jack said after the twins had stopped staggering dizzily. “Didn’t expect to see you two here.”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Ruffnut said, smirking at Jack. “What’cha got there, Jackson?”

Jack tried stepping in front of the tooth pouch, but Belch’s head snapped forward and yanked Jack away by his cloak. Jack gave a choked yell, dangling in the air while the twins collected their prize.

“Put me down!” Jack hissed, wriggling desperately, but Belch didn’t let go.

“I knew it,” Tuffnut said, sharing a grin with his sister. They both turned to Jack, Tuffnut pouring the pouch’s content into his hand for Jack to see. “What kind of nefarious plan did you need these for, Jackson?”

“It’s Jack,” he said irritably. “And- Nefarious? Really? Tell your dragon to put me down!”

Ruffnut snorted. “After you framed us for stealing everyone’s teeth?” she asked. “Tuff and I might be insufferable, but we’re insufferable on our own terms. We don’t like to be blamed for pranks we didn’t commit. We don’t take credit for other people’s work.”

“And your work is… remarkable,” Tuffnut said, holding up the little pile of teeth like they were a precious diamond.

“I didn’t steal the teeth!” Jack protested. He wriggled some more, and suddenly gravity took a hold of him. He fell to the ground, now without his cloak, which was still dangling from Belch’s mouth. He got to his feet. “Put the teeth back,” he ordered.

The twins raised their brows.

“And then what?” Tuffnut asked, pouring the teeth back into the pouch. “You’ll plant a curse in our midst? What did you do to these teeth?”

“Nothing!” Jack hissed, but he was beginning to realize that there was no convincing way to explain this. And contrary to Hiccup, he didn’t think the twins would relent that easily.

Baby Tooth chirped nervously, and Jack sent her a mildly murderous look – but then he had an idea.

“Nothing,” Jack repeated, calmer now. He looked at the twins, pressed his lips together and then sighed deeply. “Fine. You got me.”

The twins looked confused.

“We did?” Ruffnut asked.

Jack shrugged. “Yeah. But it’s not what you think,” he said. “I never meant any harm. I’m not here to hurt anyone. And I didn’t steal the teeth, but I can tell you what happened.” He hesitated for a moment. The part of his brain that was still sane screamed at him to shut up, but now he’d already opened his big mouth. “I’ll tell you everything.”

The twins exchanged a look.

“But-“ Jack said, getting their attention again. “You have to promise not to tell anyone.”

Ruffnut narrowed her eyes. “And why should we do that?”

That was a good question. Jack shrugged nonchalantly. “I know you’re both going around spreading rumors about who I am,” he said. “I know you’re both very anxious to figure it out. I mean, what kind of people appears in a blizzard out of nowhere, with amnesia and everything?” He made a dramatic pause then leaned a bit closer to them. “…But I’ll tell you, as long as you keep it to yourself.”

“So you do remember!” Tuffnut said.

Jack just looked at him silently, because the twins hadn’t promised anything yet. They shared another look, before they both grabbed Jack and hauled him back behind one of the statues. Barf and Belch followed, crouching behind the statue as well, which left very little room for the rest of them. Jack was wedged between the wall and the twins.

“Alright,” Tuffnut said. “We promise not to tell on you, if you promise to tell us the truth. Are you a troll?”

Jack snorted. “No.”

Tuffnut frowned. “What?”

“You both have to promise first,” Jack said. He didn’t even know if the twins would keep their word, but it was worth a try.

“We promise,” they said in unison.

Jack smiled. “Good,” he said. “Let’s see. First of all, I didn’t take the teeth, but I know who did.”

Baby Tooth protested.

“But it was just a misunderstanding. She had good intentions and never meant to cause any harm,” Jack quickly said. “But since it’s my fault that we appeared on Berk in the first place, I’ll gladly take the blame. I just don’t want to get into any more trouble.”

The twins looked confused.

“Your fault?” Ruffnut repeated. “How?”

Jack took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, he thought.

“My name hasn’t been Jackson Overland for a very long time. For 300 years I’ve been called Jack Frost. I was a winter spirit, but I got into trouble with a magical creature that sent me, Jamie and Baby Tooth back in time and we landed here on Berk. I lost my powers in the process and became human again, and now we’re stuck here until I figure out how to travel back to the future.”

Baby Tooth’s mouth hung open and she was staring daggers at him.

The twins were quiet for a long time. Jack didn’t expect them to believe him right away, but Tuffnut nodded slowly.

“That explains so much,” he said. “I knew there was something weird about you.”

Being called weird was one thing coming from Hiccup, but it was something else when it came from the twins. But Jack sent him a lopsided smile anyway.

“You were right,” he said.

“And what about that blizzard?” Ruffnut asked. She didn’t look completely convinced. “Was that you, then?”

Jack hesitated. “I… don’t know,” he said. “Maybe. Right before we were thrown through time, I tried attacking the time creature. I think it saw my powers and somehow eliminated them. It did the same to one of my friends, Bunny, but… maybe some of my powers still went through and created that blizzard. If so… uh, sorry. It was self-defense.”

“What did you do to Fanghook?” Tuffnut asked.

It took a moment before Jack remembered what he was talking about.

“Oh, that wasn’t me,” he said. “I wasn’t really thinking back then and just jumped in front of Jamie. It was Baby Tooth who distracted him.”

“Baby… Tooth?” Ruffnut repeated slowly.

Jack nodded. “She’s a tooth fairy. She collects children’s baby teeth in exchange for gifts,” he explained. “Obviously, that tradition isn’t the same here, so… I mean, a little cultural confusion was inevitable, right?”

“And why should we believe you?” Ruffnut asked.

Jack shrugged. “It’s the truth,” he said. “And, if you do believe me, you should be able to see her right now.” Jack looked over at Baby Tooth, and the twins followed his gaze.

What followed passed in a bit of a flurry, because in the next moment, the twins had both given shocked shrieks, tried to reach for Baby Tooth, but Jack jumped in front of them to stop them. Baby Tooth flew behind Jack, tweeting indignantly at him. Jack made a mental note to apologize to her later.

“Stop it!” he ordered, and to his surprise, both of them froze midmovement. “Huh. Okay, so… there’s that,” he said, slowly stepping away from the twins. “Do you believe me?”

The twins’ eyes were fixed on Baby Tooth, both their mouths hanging open.

“Fairies are evil, you know,” Tuffnut said.

Jack raised his brows. “Not this one,” he said, waving his hand in front of their faces. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

They tentatively looked back at him.

“You’re a winter spirit?” Ruffnut asked.

Jack averted his eyes. “Was,” he corrected.

“And you’re from the future?” Tuffnut asked.

Jack nodded.

“How far in the future?”

“I’m not sure. About a thousand years, maybe?”

“Woah. What’s it like?”

Jack sent them both a serious look. “This is why I need you to keep quiet about this,” he said. “I can’t tell you about the future. What if it changes things? And if people find out about my identity… It’s just too risky. I don’t know what would happen, so I’m trying to keep a low profile, though… it’s not always easy, as you can see.”

The twins nodded, and Ruffnut frowned.

“Why are you telling us this?” she asked.

That was also a good question. Jack looked intently at both of them.

“I thought that… if anyone would believe me, it would be you two,” he said. “I need some allies. Someone that can help me out if I get into another mess like this. Navigating this time era isn’t easy while keeping a low profile. No one can know about this.”

“Did you say you were 300 years old?” Ruffnut asked.

Jack swallowed down his impatience. “And eighteen,” he said with a smile. “Do you understand why you can’t tell anyone?”

“Do all winter spirits like to be barefoot?” Tuffnut asked.

“Focus!” Jack snapped, and the twins jerked back a little. He frowned, gesturing exasperatedly. “What? I don’t have any powers now, I’m not gonna zap your or anything.”

Ruffnut looked a bit doubtful. “Would you if you had them?” she asked.

Jack stared at her, before he gave a laugh, because that notion was ridiculous. “No,” he said. “Look, I’m not a bad guy. Like I said, I’m not here to cause any harm. We came here on accident, and all we want to do is go home.” When the twins didn’t answer, Jack sighed, giving them a pleading look. “Please. I’m asking for your help.”

That seemed to ground them a little. They looked at each other one more time, before they nodded.

“We won’t tell anyone,” Tuffnut said, and Ruffnut nodded in agreement.

Jack smiled gratefully. “Thank you,” he said. “Now, please put the teeth back.”

“Eh, we’ll just tell them we did it,” Ruffnut said. “That’s what most of them think anyway.”

“Really?” Jack asked, his smile widening. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Maybe that was unwise to say, because the twins’ got a devilish glint in their eyes, and Jack got a feeling like he’d just made a deal with the Devil. But then their attention was dragged over to Jack’s shoulder, and Jack glanced down to see Baby Tooth sitting there, a wary look on her face.

Jack sent the twins a pointed look. “And try not to stare at her too much,” he said. “Because people will think it’s weird, and also, it’s rude. Can you tell Belch to give me my cloak back? I’m freezing.”

Ruffnut laughed. “You’re freezing?” she said.

“Oh, good, we can joke about it,” Jack said with a halfhearted smile. He held out his hand, and Belch dropped the cloak. It was a little wet with drool. Jack wrinkled his nose but put it back on anyway. “Alright,” he then said. “I’ll go to bed now. Jamie might be wondering where I am.”

“Is Jamie a winter spirit too?” Tuffnut asked.

Jack sent him a long look. “Jamie is my brother. That’s all you need to know,” he said.

The twins seemed to understand that Jack wasn’t going to budge on this matter, because they both nodded.  Despite Jack’s reassurance, he got the feeling they were a little bit afraid of him. Jack didn’t like it, but he also guessed it could come in handy.

Jack said his goodbyes to the twins and snuck back down the stairs. Ruffnut and Tuffnut flew away on Barf and Belch, and Jack could only hope that they kept their word.

When Jack came back into the hut a few minutes later, Jamie almost made him jump out of his skin:

“Where were you?” he hissed.

Jack put a hand on his chest. “Jamie,” he breathed. “You’re awake.”

Jamie frowned at him, silently demanding an answer. Jack swallowed.

“I… may or may not have just done something very stupid.”

Hiccup thought it was a little bit strange that the twins suddenly decided to come clean. Stealing teeth wasn’t exactly their style, and he was sure that they had to have some kind of ulterior motive for admitting it. Giving the teeth back didn’t help much, because the teeth were all mixed together so nobody could know which belonged to who, but at least the village wasn’t on the brink of mass panic anymore.

The next few days passed in a breeze. Hiccup got to focus on his usual activities, and after everything that had happened the past days, everything felt so normal it was almost weird.

Jack and Jamie seemed to be finding their place in the village, slowly but surely. There were still a few suspicious villagers, but after almost two weeks, they seemed to understand that there was no point in being wary around them. Even Stoick had begun to relax, though Hiccup suspected he would be the last person to trust any outsiders a hundred percent. After what had happened with Heather and Johann – especially the latter – Hiccup couldn’t really blame him.

The next dragon race was approaching rapidly, and Hiccup found himself looking forward to it. It felt like the first time since before the battle against Krogan that the village had done something fun just for the sake of having fun. They’d all been preparing diligently, but Hiccup still thought that his and Toothless’ odds were the greatest.

However, this day was reserved for another type of training: Close combat. It had been a while since they’d trained together like this as well – Hiccup was pretty sure they hadn’t done it since leaving the Edge – and he was feeling a little rusty. He wouldn’t bet on his chances against Astrid, who trained with her axe almost daily.

And besides, they were just training anyway. Just sparring. It wasn’t a competition.

Hiccup and Toothless were flying towards the arena. He was probably a little late, because he’d dragged out his time flying with Toothless again, but being on schedule had never really been one of his strengths. So he wasn’t surprised when he saw that the others were already inside the arena. He was, however, surprised when he saw a couple more figures than usual.

Toothless flew in through the entrance and landed smoothly.

“Oh, so you decided to show up,” Snotlout immediately drawled, crossing his arms.

“Good morning to you too, Snotlout,” Hiccup said dryly and dismounted Toothless. Snotlout started to argue that it wasn’t morning anymore, but Hiccup ignored him when his eyes fell on Jack and Jamie, who were talking to Ruffnut and Tuffnut. If that wasn’t strange enough by itself, they also seemed to be having a nice, non-threatening conversation.

Jack spotted Hiccup and sent him a cheerful smile.

“What are you doing here?” Hiccup asked as he walked over to them.

Jack shrugged. “Was bored,” he said. “Tuff said you were going to spar, so I figured it would be cool to watch.”

“Watch,” Hiccup repeated, raising a brow. “You know my dad won’t be happy about this?”

“Won’t be happy about what?” Ruffnut said in mock confusion. “I don’t see anyone but us in here. Or what, Tuffnut?”

“Definitely not a Jack in sight,” Tuffnut agreed.

Jack’s eyebrows twitched, like Ruffnut and Tuffnut were being slightly distasteful, but his expression smoothed out the following second. “See?” he said contentedly to Hiccup. “As far as your dad knows, we were never here.”

Hiccup huffed a laugh. “If you say so,” he said. He glanced over at Snotlout, who was bragging about something or other to Astrid and Fishlegs. “Sure you don’t want to do more than just watch?” he then asked, looking back at Jack again.

Jamie seemed to like this idea, grinning broadly at Jack, but Jack hesitated.

“Uh, I don’t know,” he said. “I’m a little rusty.”

“So am I,” Hiccup said. Truth was, he was very curious to see what Jack could do in a fight, as he had been ever since Jack had decked Snotlout in the forge. “We’re just sparring for fun. It’s not a competition or anything.”

“That’s what he says, but just you wait,” Astrid said, coming up to stand beside Hiccup. She sent him a smirk. “I know you’ve been neglecting your training, Hiccup. You’ll regret that.”

Hiccup felt his previous conviction fall out the window; this was officially a competition.

Astrid looked at Jack, and her brows furrowed. “Your hand,” she said. “Did you take the splint off?”

Jack looked down at his hand, and Hiccup realized only then that it wasn’t bandaged anymore. Jack flexed his wrist and then shrugged.

“It didn’t hurt anymore,” he said. “I guess the injury wasn’t so bad after all.”

Astrid stepped forward and carefully took his arm, turning it over. “Doesn’t hurt at all?” she asked, then hummed thoughtfully when Jack shook his head. “Weird. Eir must be looking out for you.”

“Eir?”

“The goddess of healing,” Astrid said, letting go of his arm. “Though I guess, after surviving that blizzard, that isn’t very surprising.”

“So who’s gonna go first?” Tuffnut asked then, looking around expectantly. Before anyone got to answer, he raised his hand. “Alright, I’ll go. Who will challenge me?”

“I will,” Snotlout immediately said, wearing a cocky grin.

While Tuffnut and Snotlout readied their weapons – Tuffnut with his new mace and Snotlout with a battle axe – the others sat down to watch. Astrid counted down, and Snotlout started half a second too early, but everyone already expected him to do that, so nobody tried to stop him. And the sparring begun.

It was slightly worrisome to watch, but Hiccup knew Tuffnut and Snotlout never went over the line. Most of the time, anyway. They all knew each other well enough to predict what the other’s next move was going to be, so the chances of anyone seriously hurting anyone were slim.

Jamie’s eyes were wide as he watched Tuffnut and Snotlout spar, even if they danced around each other most of the time. He kept making awestruck noises, which probably did nothing to shrink Snotlout’s ego.

Jack sat between Jamie and Hiccup, his brows furrowed as he watched.

“Why is it only two at a time?” he asked. “Can’t you just split up in pairs and spar at the same time?”

“To point out what they can do better,” Hiccup said. “Can’t really see that if I’m busy fighting someone else. Besides, someone has to make sure they don’t accidentally murder each other.”

Jamie sent him a wide-eyed look. “Has that happened?” he asked.

“Not to us, but-“ Hiccup started, but Jack sent him a look. “I mean… No. Don’t worry.” He smiled stiffly.

Just then, Tuffnut hit the ground, and Snotlout triumphantly put a foot on his chest with a haughty laugh. Hiccup had been busy talking to Jack and Jamie, so Astrid was the first to tell Snotlout everything he’d done wrong, just to make him stop gloating.

Next was Astrid versus Ruffnut, which was a fight that lasted about ten seconds. Hiccup grinned, and looked over at Jack and Jamie to see their reactions. Jamie looked like he’d just fallen from the sky, and Jack was wearing a stunned grin.

Astrid helped Ruffnut up, then sent Hiccup a meaningful look. Hiccup could already feel the bruises blooming.

Next was Hiccup against Fishlegs, which wasn’t much of a fight because Fishlegs had never liked sparring and let himself be defeated even faster than Ruffnut had. Hiccup stared at him exasperatedly.

“What?” Fishlegs asked, already retreating to where he’d been sitting earlier. “You beat me, fair and square.”

Hiccup decided not to argue and sat back down with Jack.

“Tough fight,” Jack said amusedly, then looked at Hiccup’s sword. “I’ve never seen a blade like that one. Why is it shaped like that?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” Hiccup said, smiling secretively at him.

Nobody said it, but everyone was waiting to see Hiccup and Astrid spar, so nobody questioned why they waited for them to duel last. The pairs kept rotating, and they all became more and more exhausted for each battle. In the end, Snotlout’s boasting came to a stop when Astrid whacked him on the head with the butt of her axe then sent him sprawling.

“I went easy on you,” Snotlout tried to say, even if he knew nobody would buy it.

Astrid sat down with Hiccup, and they discussed the various ways she could’ve taken down Snotlout faster, but it was mostly just to give Astrid a breather before her last duel with Hiccup. Astrid’s fighting was nearly impeccable; Hiccup didn’t really have anything to add that she didn’t already know.

“That was awesome,” Jamie rejoiced, halfway to his feet in excitement. He stared at all of them, though his attention was mostly on Astrid. It was obvious his admiration for her was growing more and more every day, and Hiccup couldn’t blame him. “The way you just rolled, and then dodged that swing by grabbing his wrist, like, how do you bend someone’s arm like that? You looked like you knew exactly what he was going to do!”

Snotlout rolled his eyes in the background.

“I did,” Astrid said smugly. “Snotlout is pretty predictable.”

“Shut up, Astrid,” Snotlout grumbled.

Jack had been watching them in mostly silence, save for a few laughs and gasps here and there. His fingers were tapping restlessly against his staff, so Hiccup put his hand on top of his to make him aware of it. Jack’s fingers stopped tapping, his eyes snapping up to Hiccup’s.

“Sure you don’t want to give it a try?” Hiccup said amusedly. “You seem pretty restless.”

Jack looked at him for a few seconds, and his hand coiled around his staff. “Why?” he asked, raising a brow.

It wasn’t what Hiccup expected him to say. He frowned.

“Uh… Because it’s fun?” he tried.

Something glinted in Jack’s eyes and he grinned. “Can’t argue with that,” he said. “But you have someone else to fight, I think.”

Hiccup turned to Astrid. They didn’t have to say anything, but Astrid looked at Hiccup like she was going to pulverize him, and Hiccup looked at Astrid like there was no way he was going to let that happen. Astrid got to her feet and held out a hand to Hiccup, helping him up.

After that, there were no friendly gestures.

There was no need for a countdown: Astrid raised her axe and charged Hiccup with her best battle cry, and Hiccup ignited his sword. Even when he jumped out of the way of Astrid’s first strike, he didn’t miss Jamie’s gasp.

“No way!” he hissed, and Hiccup got a glimpse of him and Jack staring at Hiccup’s sword with matching awestruck expressions.

And then his focus was forced back to Astrid, who didn’t wait long to try and strike again. Hiccup met the hilt of her axe with his sword and pushed her away. He dodged a high kick then tried to strike, but Astrid rolled out of the way, and was just as quickly on her feet again, without a scratch.

It continued like this for a little while. They were both tired, but now that they were fighting against each other, Hiccup’s energy was renewed, and it looked like Astrid felt the same. Her eyes were focused, but there was a small smile on her face, breaking the illusion that she was out to kill him.

The battle came to its climax when Astrid managed to kick the legs out from under Hiccup, sending him sprawling to the ground. For a second, Astrid had the upper hand, but Hiccup rolled out of the way just in time. He got up and parried her next blow, his sword sliding up to the axe. He pushed sideways, and the axe went flying out of Astrid’s hand. In the next second, Hiccup’s flaming blade was inches away from Astrid’s throat.

Astrid breathed heavily, and sent Hiccup a grudging smile. “Not bad,” she said.

Hiccup lowered the sword. “Not bad yourself,” he replied, and didn’t try to hide how satisfied he felt.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Tuffnut handing Ruffnut a silver piece, like he’d just lost a bet.

“Alright,” Hiccup then said, turning to the others. “Now we can split up in pairs. Remember what you were told earlier. Fishlegs, try to make an effort. Snotlout, spend less time thinking about your appearance and you might stand a chance. That goes for you too, Ruffnut.”

“You don’t need to try, Ruffnut, you’re already beautiful,” Fishlegs said. Ruffnut just groaned and trudged over to her brother.

Hiccup killed the flames on his sword and retracted it. The others split into pairs again, spreading across the arena, which left only Jack, Jamie and Toothless sitting on the ground. Hiccup and Astrid walked over to them and sat down to rest up for a bit.

“What is that?” Jamie yelled as Hiccup came over, pointing at the hilt of Hiccup’s sword. “It looks light a lightsaber! I mean- Uh…” His gaze faltered before he shook his head. “Did you make that yourself?”

Astrid smiled warmly at Jamie, then raised a brow at Hiccup, whose cheeks were getting a bit pink.

“Yeah,” he said, holding it up for him. “It’s called Inferno. The hilt contains Monstrous Nightmare saliva and Hideous Zippleback gas. It’s retractable so that it can soak in the saliva inside the hilt, and then…” The blade slid out from the hilt, and Hiccup ignited it again.

Jack jerked back a little before giving a laugh that sounded both impressed and nervous. “That’s incredible,” he said. “But won’t it set fire to, like… everything?”

Hiccup shook his head, retracting the sword. “Only if I intend to set something on fire,” he said. “But like you saw earlier, it doesn’t set fire to any of the wooden hilts of the weapons. It has singed my hair a couple of times, though.”

“There’s been a few accidents,” Astrid said. “A few eyebrows lost.”

“Accidents which have all been prevented now,” Hiccup said, flipping the hilt in his hand. “It’s completely harmless. Well, as harmless as a weapon can be.”

“Can I try?” Jamie asked.

Hiccup hesitated and glanced at Jack. Jack just shrugged.

“Yeah, just… hold it like this and- Woah!” He jumped out of the way when the sword almost impaled him. “Try not to, uh, stab anyone.”

Jamie grimaced. “Sorry,” he whispered.

“No worries. Now, hold it away from your face and click this thing.”

Jack subtly inched away from Jamie before Jamie ignited the sword, even if the blade wasn’t even near him. Jamie gave a triumphant laugh, holding the sword as far away from his face as he possibly could. His arms were shaking a little from the strain.

“That’s… so cool,” he gawked. He looked at Hiccup. “Can I learn how to use a sword like this?”

“Er- You can at least learn how to use a sword, I think,” Hiccup said, glancing at Jack again. He tilted his head to the side. “I mean, you do have an older brother who apparently knows how to fight.”

Jack blinked. “Not with a sword,” he said.

“I’m just saying, maybe fighting with sticks is less dangerous than fighting with swords when you’re a beginner,” Hiccup pointed out.

“It’s not a stick,” Jack mumbled, bringing his staff closer.

Jamie retracted Inferno, then turned to Jack. He had a hopeful look in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Hiccup held back a laugh; this was textbook puppy dog eyes.

Jack faltered. “I don’t… I don’t even know if I can still fight,” he said.

“Why not?” Jamie asked, but then immediately followed the question with a dejected “Oh… But you don’t know for sure… right?”

Hiccup didn’t know what they were talking about, but it was clear it was a sensitive subject. Jack looked contemplatively down at his staff. He was pouting slightly.

“I don’t-“

“Then try,” Astrid said, making Jack look up at her. She raised her brows challengingly.

There were a few seconds of tense silence.

“I’m just saying that when we get back home,” Jamie said, “you wouldn’t want to be out of practice, right? Imagine what Bunny would say.” He smiled elfishly.

Jack stared at him. A smile began growing on his face. “You sure know which buttons to push, Jamie,” he commented, and Jamie grinned. Jack looked at Astrid, then at Hiccup. He nodded. “Fine,” he then said, getting to his feet. He held out a hand to Hiccup, and his smile was filled with anticipation. “For fun, right?”

Hiccup mirrored his smile and accepted his hand. “For fun,” he agreed.

Jamie handed Inferno back to Hiccup with a thrilled look on his face. Hiccup and Jack walked out onto the arena.

“Sure you don’t want any other weapon than that one?” Hiccup asked, because the last thing he wanted was to accidentally break something that was obviously so dear to Jack as that staff.

Jack flipped the staff in the air, and Hiccup was surprised to see how easy and graceful he made it look. He grabbed the staff in both hands and frowned at Hiccup’s sword. “It’s not a weapon,” he mumbled. “But no, I’m alright.”

Hiccup ignited Inferno and didn’t miss the way Jack set his jaw. Was he nervous?

“Astrid, would you do the honors?” Hiccup asked, without taking his eyes off Jack.

Astrid held up three fingers. “Are you ready?” she said. “Three, two, one – fight!”

Hiccup charged at Jack, but consciously slowed down his approach just a little. He didn’t want to go too hard on him in the beginning – at least until he knew Jack’s skill. Jack’s eyes were still on Hiccup’s sword and they widened a little before he jumped out of the way, swirling around to dodge the blade. Hiccup instantly felt bad, but his guilt was short-lived: Jack’s staff swung in the air so quickly and smoothly, Hiccup didn’t register where it was going before the end had hit him in the ribs.

“Ouch!” he yelped, jumping back.

Jack winced a little too, like he was sorry, but it was impossible not to notice the amusement in his expression. He got over it and then it was his turn to charge, but Hiccup easily deflected his blow with his sword, the fiery blade coming scarily close to Jack’s face. Jack gritted his teeth and jumped back again. He looked a little pale.

Was he afraid of fire? Or was he just afraid of swords? Hiccup supposed any reasonable person would be afraid of either of those things. If Jack truly had a problem with it, then he would tell them that, right?

“Are you-“ Hiccup started, but cut himself off with a surprised yelp when Jack suddenly surged forward and swung at him. Hiccup went to dodge it, but it was a feint, and he barely managed to roll away in time. He felt Jack’s staff swing through the air right above his head.

He rolled onto his feet again and advanced while Jack was still recovering from his attack, managing to hit his shoulder. Jack stumbled in his attempt to jump away, but it was a failed attempt. Hiccup hit him with the flat end, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Jack groaned and stumbled back. Behind Hiccup, Jamie gave a choked yelp.

Was this a bad idea? Hiccup started to lower his sword.

“Jack, do you want to-“

“No,” Jack said, looking up again. To Hiccup’s surprise, he was smiling, though his expression was still a little tight. He fixed Hiccup with a determined look. “I’m fine. Just a little rusty.”

Hiccup couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment Jack’s demeanor changed, but all he knew was that from that point on, Jack was done warming up. Hiccup raised his sword to deflect Jack’s blow, but Jack spun around and avoided the blade. Jack’s staff spun quickly through the air, moving from his right hand to his left and back again, and Hiccup barely managed to collect himself to dodge it.

Their pace changed. They exchanged blows faster and whirled around each other, each of them landing a few hits every now and then, but never enough to push the other to the ground. Still, Hiccup found himself holding back; there was just something about Jack that seemed off:

Jack moved in a way Hiccup had never seen anyone move before. He didn’t recognize his fighting style from anywhere, and because of that, Hiccup could almost believe he’d been telling the truth when he said he was self-taught. But that couldn’t be true, right? Nobody got so good at fighting on their own, at such a young age. Jack managed to seem both graceful and clumsy at the same time, like he knew exactly what he could do, but he also wasn’t afraid to test out maneuvers that were risky. There was a bounce in his step that made it look like he was playing, but his gaze was focused and dark, his brows furrowed like he was thinking of something unpleasant.

And Hiccup thought he knew why that was. Because despite all of Jack’s nimbleness and skill, there was something odd in the way he moved. It looked almost like he was overcome by a sudden dizziness, which sent him stumbling even without Hiccup advancing on him. Like the ground was moving beneath his feet. Hiccup had seen it before, back when Jack and Jamie had first appeared. He hadn’t thought about it in a while, because that weird kind of stumbling had since disappeared, but now that they were fighting, it seemed to be making a return.

That was what caused the frown on Jack’s face. He was annoyed, for some reason.

Their fight continued for a minute or so before Hiccup managed to land a hit on Jack, which he only did because Jack had lost his balance again. Jack jumped backwards and stumbled like he was surprised the ground was beneath him, before falling on his ass. Hiccup almost laughed, but that would’ve been mean. Jack gave a frustrated growl and quickly pushed himself to his feet again. He went to attack, but had to change it to a block to avoid Inferno hitting him in the chest. Hiccup kept advancing on him, pushing Jack to the other end of the arena. Jack was struggling now; a few more seconds, and Hiccup would win.

Jack’s expression was a tight frown. He gritted his teeth, and suddenly jumped away from Hiccup. Then he did something very weird, but very Jack-like: He jumped on one foot and pulled off his boot.

“Stupid, heavy-“ he muttered heatedly to himself, tossing both shoes away. Then he grinned wickedly at Hiccup and ran at him.

Hiccup, who’d been momentarily dumbfounded by Jack’s random impulses, gave a surprised yelp at the other’s newfound gusto. Jack jumped sideways to avoid Inferno, but then jumped back in course just as quickly, and Hiccup stumbled back to avoid getting whacked in the face. He slashed, but Jack avoided the blade by crouching down and disappearing behind Hiccup. Hiccup acted quickly by turning with a sideway kick, but Jack jumped over his foot like it was the easiest thing in the world.

There was no way getting rid of his shoes helped Jack this much. When he’d told Hiccup he thought the shoes were in the way, Hiccup hadn’t realized he meant they were that much of an inconvenience – and yet here he was, and here Hiccup was, losing the upper hand to a Jack that was now grinning triumphantly and even laughing.

In the next moments, nobody managed to land a single hit. Hiccup’s instinct took over. He didn’t hold back; he couldn’t hold back. The gasps and comments from their onlookers became distant background noise.

They kept whirling around each other, jabbing, dodging, rolling, slashing, both of them giving their all. Hiccup was surprised that he wasn’t more exhausted. The longer the fight continued, the more he even caught himself grinning and laughing too – which wasn’t entirely unusual, but there was something very different from fighting with the others to fighting with Jack. It wasn’t just because of Jack’s fighting style… it was something else, but Hiccup couldn’t tell what it was.

Hiccup had thought Jack was elegant before this, but that was nothing in comparison to the way he moved now. Hiccup almost wanted to give up, because he felt like he already knew where this fight was going, but at the same time he never wanted this to end. Maybe it was just because Jack’s fighting fascinated him, but he knew it was also because Jack’s frown had turned into a sunny smile, and his groans and growls into laughs and playful battle cries.

Hiccup struck low, and Jack dodged by doing something so completely out of the ordinary, Hiccup almost dropped his blade. In a flurry of movement, Jack jumped off the ground – not away from Hiccup, but towards him. One hand pressed down on Hiccup’s shoulder and Jack pushed off him, bounded through the air like he was flying, then landed on his feet behind him. In the next second, Jack’s staff smacked against Hiccup’s hand, making Inferno clatter to the ground. Hiccup tried whirling around again, but when he did, Jack’s foot collided with his torso, and he went sprawling.

When the world stopped spinning, he looked up at Jack standing above him with the staff pointed at his face like a spear. Hiccup’s breath had already left him when getting kicked to the ground, but if he’d still had it, it definitely would’ve been knocked out of him at the sight of Jack’s expression.

He looked… warrior-like, was the first thing Hiccup could think of. But at the same time, not at all, because of the childlike glee playing in his hazel eyes. Jack laughed, his expression relaxing as he lowered his staff. Only then did Hiccup notice how out of breath they both were.

Jack offered Hiccup his hand yet again. “Happy now?” he asked.

Hiccup was probably smiling like an idiot. He grabbed Jack’s hand and staggered to his feet. “Very,” he replied laughingly.

Jack beamed at him. Then he suddenly stumbled forward, like his legs couldn’t hold his weight, and Hiccup caught him in surprise.

“Woah- Uh, sorry,” Jack said breathlessly, leaning on both his staff and Hiccup to remain standing.

“Are you okay?” Hiccup asked, trying to meet Jack’s drooping eyes.

Jack laughed airily and nodded. “Yeah. Think I overexerted myself or something,” he said, sounding exasperated. “My shape isn’t what it used to be.”

Hiccup helped him regain his balance. “You sound like an old man,” he snorted.

Their eyes met then, and Jack’s eyes twinkled with mirth. “I guess I do,” he agreed. Then his eyes landed on something behind Hiccup, and his smile faltered a little. Hiccup followed his gaze.

The rest of the gang were all watching, with various looks of astonishment on their faces. Jamie was grinning, Astrid looked almost angry in the way she did when she was surprised, and the twins seemed strangely pale. Even Toothless looked taken aback.

Jack cleared his throat and bowed jokingly. “Ta-da. Shows over,” he said with a slightly sheepish laugh.

That set the gang into action. In the next moment, they’d all flocked around Jack with words of bewilderment and questions and compliments. Hiccup was reminded of the time when he’d just been starting to figure out dragons, and for the first time got attention and admiration from the others. That’s why he didn’t feel too bad when he was forgotten in the background while Jack got all the praise.

Jack looked a bit overwhelmed at first, but he was quick to smile again. Hiccup left him to it, retrieved Inferno then walked over to where Jamie was still sitting, and still wearing that proud smile on his face. Hiccup sat down beside him with a heavy sigh.

“That was harsh,” he muttered.

Jamie giggled. “You looked like you were having fun, though,” he said.

Hiccup gazed over at the others. Jack was laughing, and as if he noticed Hiccup’s eyes on him, he looked back and met his gaze. He quirked a brow, and his smile turned into something more private – and slightly teasing.

Hiccup chuckled softly. “Yeah. It was fun,” he agreed.