Guardian Chapter 18

Jack blinked his eyes slowly as he awoke the next morning, his sleep-muddled brain trying to make sense of the unfamiliar weight radiating warmth pressed against his side. He turned his head and came face to face with a pair a bright green eyes set in a familiar freckled face. Memories of the previous night came rushing back to the forefront of his mind and he smiled.

“Well hello there handsome.”

Hiccup’s lips pulled up into a smile as he looked at Jack “Good morning sleeping beauty.”

Jack cocked an eyebrow quizzically “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“That if you slept much longer I was going to go find a bucket of ice water.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?”

Hiccup shrugged “Didn’t really see a reason to.”

“What have you been doing while I’ve been snoring?”

“Lying here, enjoying myself, thinking about last night.” 

Hiccup’s voice seemed innocent enough, but there was an undertone of suggestiveness that had Jack smirking. Jack had just woken up and so was standing at attention ready for round 2 from last night, and Hiccup’s position pressed against him told Jack that the other boy was in a similar position. “Oh?” Jack questioned pointedly. “And what exactly were you thinking about last night hmm.”

“I’ve been thinking that I’m such a whore.”

Jack choked out a laugh, “Excuse me?”

“Or is it a slut? Which one gets paid and which does it for fun?”

“You’re not a slut.” 

“I don’t know, here I am sleeping with a guy after like a week of dating, seems pretty slutty to me.”

“First off, a slut is someone who has sex in a way you don’t approve of, so it's like impossible to call yourself a slut and second, you’re not a slut. You,” Jack’s voice gained a pointedly sensual tone as he rolled over onto his hands and knees so that he was looking down at Hiccup “are my exceptionally sexy boyfriend who can do whatever he wants, and fuck anybody who said otherwise.”

“Oh? And what if I say otherwise?” Jack blinked down at Hiccup in surprise as the brunette began to blush at his own.

“Why what a dirty mind you have Hiccup! I’m I corrupting you?” Jack said in mock shock as he leaned down and pressed his lips to Hiccup’s. 

“And what if,” Hiccup said between kisses “you are?” Jack grinned into their kiss and leaned his head back, deepening it. A repeat performance of the previous evening quickly followed suite and left both boys breathing heavily and grinning broadly. Jack was just getting up to retrieve the towel from where it had been thrown the previous evening when his phone chimed. Tossing Hiccup the towel he snatched up his phone and check the message.

Mom: Breakfast in 20 minutes. Shower first, both of you. Smirking he tapped out a response.

Jack: If we both shower we’ll need more than 20 minutes. Jack finished typing as he slipped back into the bed with Hiccup and he was caught what Jack had typed right before he sent it. 

“Oh my god Jack.” Hiccup shook his head incredulously. "I can't believe you just said that to your mom."

“Really? Seems exactly like the kind of thing that I would do.” Jack joked. He was about to say something more when his phone chimed again and he checked the message, Hiccup looking over his shoulder. The freckled teen let out a bark of laughter while Jack flushed.

Mom: I very much doubt that sweety. 

“My god mom.” Zach sighed as his own faint blush mirrored hiccup’s as they read the text.

“Well we should probably get ready for breakfast, I doubt we want you mom coming to get us.”

“She wouldn’t come get us, she’d probably send Aster, which would be much worse,” Jack commented as he pulled himself out of bed, offering his had to Hiccup and helping the gangly teen to his feet. “After you.” Jack gestured toward the bathroom.

“Well, what a gentleman,” Hiccup joked as he headed toward the bathroom.

“Of course, I’m always a gentleman. Plus its lets me stare at your ass on the way.” Jack laughed and hopped out of the way as Hiccup turned and swatted at him.

Hiccup still couldn’t quite wrap his head around everything that had happened since he arrived at the North home, and everything that was still happening. He, Hiccup Haddock, the introverted, socially awkward, deeply closeted boy was currently standing naked in front of an absolutely gorgeous guy who he’d recently had sex with -sort of. That fact alone was almost incomprehensible to the freckled teen, but even more baffling was the fact that he wasn’t feeling self-conscious or awkward or embarrassed or anything that he would have expected to be feeling. Whatever this strange effect that was preventing him from feeling what he would usually have felt if he were standing naked in front of someone else, Hiccup hoped it remained at least long enough for them to shower. It did. 

The pair of them got into the shower together but only after Hiccup extracted a promise from Jack that he would behave himself, which he did for the most part. There may have been some making out under the steaming water, but Hiccup had to admit he was just as much as fault for that as Jack so he let it slide. In fact, if Hiccup wasn’t worried about taking to long and having Aster sent up after them he may have been the one misbehaving, his newly awakened teenage libido was certainly ready for another round. With an effort he was able to resist the considerable temptation, thought it was very clear throughout the shower just how ready for another round both he and Jack were, a fact that made soaping up a risky affair to say the least. Still, they managed to make good time showering and, after toweling off and getting dressed, made it to the kitchen only three minutes late. 

“There you two are, I was just about to send Aster to get you,” Anna said from the kitchen where she and Pitch were piling various breakfast foods onto several plates. The smell coming from the kitchen smelled amazing and Hiccup said as much as he took a seat at the table with Jack, Aster, and Nick. 

“Thank you Hiccup.” Pitch said as he deposited a bowl of scrambled eggs, a skillet of fresh hash brown and a bowl gravy on the table to join the fresh fruit, biscuits, and sausage Anna had brought over. “I must say it's refreshing to have someone around who knows how to express gratitude properly, I could get used to it.” He gave Aster a pointed took as he spoke though Hiccup could now see that his comments were just playful banter between the couple. 

“Sooo,” Aster drew out the word as he spooned some eggs onto his plate “You have a good lay last night Jacky?” Hiccup coughed on the sip of orange juice he’d taken and began to blush a furious red, all the self-consciousness that had been so wonderfully absent earlier that morning came rushing back.

Jack looked from Aster to his mother and spoke incredulously “Mom! You said you wouldn’t say anything!”

Staring directly at the biscuit she was slicing in two Anna said “I didn’t.” Hiccup watched as Jack’s eyes widened in what he assumed was horror as he realized his mistake and looked at Aster, who’s face wore the expression of a small child with a magnifying glass who’d just discovered an anthill. 

“Wait, you really did? Way to g-OW!” Aster winced and turned to glare at Pitch, “What was that?”

“A warning,” Pitch said calmly as he spooned eggs onto his plate “behave, or I beat you with the skillet.”

Hiccup turned to Pitch in surprise, as did the rest of the family, Aster glared at him for a moment then hunched over in his chair and stabbed at spice of melon on his plate. An awkward silence hung over the table keeping anyone from making eye contact until it was finally broken by Nick’s deep voice.

“Did you sleep well last night Hiccup?” There was an intake of breath and then a grunt from Aster and Hiccup turned to him in time to see him glaring at Pitch, the latter eyeing the hashbrown filled skillet meaningfully.

“Uh, I slept fine, thanks,” Hiccup mumbled, feeling incredibly self-conscious as he spoke. 

“Good, good,” Nick said, oblivious to the teens discomfort. “You had mentioned you liked to build models and tinker yes?”

“Oh, um yeah I like to do that when I have to time, I haven’t done it in a while though.” Nick nodded as thought he understood completely.

“I also do not get to spend as much time doing that as I would like. If you would like after breakfast I have some things that you may enjoy looking at.”

“Oh, really?”

“He’s talking about his workshop,” Jack said, not seeming too thrilled by the idea.

“I think it's a wonderful idea dear, I’m sure Hiccup would love a quick tour.” Anna gave Nick a pointed look.

“Hmm, oh yes yes.” Nick agreed to some agreement that Hiccup was not aware of and Jack grew visibly less annoyed by the prospect. 

“That sounds like fun Mr. North.” Hiccup said, not sure what else to say. The awkwardness at the start of breakfast was forgotten as the conversation turned to plans for the day and the rest of the week. Nick and Anna would be busy with work related things for most of it and Jack told them he planned to spend the evenings at Hiccup’s if his father was ok with it. Hiccup said he’d have to ask, but he didn’t think it would be a problem, after all, his dad had basically given Jack and open invitation to the house. Pitch told the table that he would be in court for most of the week as well, and Aster attempted several suggestive remarks throughout the meal that made Hiccup blush and, from the grunts of pain that cut them off early each time, earned him an under the table kick from Pitch for each, thought Hiccup never saw any indication of such from Pitch himself. Finally, after they had all cleared their plates and the meal had been taken away Nick stood.

“Alright Hiccup, are you ready?” Hiccup stood and nodded. He started to follow Nick from the room when he turned back to Jack who hadn’t moved.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Tour dad’s workshop for the thousandth time? No thanks. I’m sure you two will have plenty to talk about in there, just text me when you’re done and I’ll come meet you.”

“Oh, uh, alright.” Hiccup was suddenly a lot more nervous about this tour, now that he would be spending it alone with Nick. Not that the man had ever done anything to make him uncomfortable, quite the opposite in fact. He really shouldn’t be nervous right but he’d only met Nick yesterday and he was the father of his boyfriend and thanks to Jack’s slip he at least had an idea what they’d been up to last night and- Hiccup took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing thoughts. He needed to relax and just try and make the best of the situation. Once he decided on that it was easier for him walk calmly behind the large man as he guided him through the house which Hiccup also decided he’d never be able to navigate without a map. He also decided that Jack was a grade A ass for abandoning him like this, even if Nick had managed to relax him even more by striking up a conversation about the various things that Hiccup had worked on during his various spurts if tinkering inspiration.

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As soon as the kitchen door closed behind Hiccup Jack rounded on Aster “I cannot belive you, no strike that I’m actually not suprised in the slightest that you’d be such a dick.”

“Language Jack,” Anna cut in “He’s right though Aster, you were being a dick.”

“I was just joke’n with ‘im.” Aster said defensively.

“I know that, but Hiccup’s not used to you yet, and sometimes when you’re joking you-”

“-Think you’re being funny when you’re really just being a giant dick?” Jack interjected. 

“They are right, you need to leave that poor boy alone. It's painfully clear how hard all of this is for him. Your ribbing is not going to help him be more comfortable here or in his own skin.” Pitch added, drawing surprised looks from everyone at the table.

“Uh, thanks Pitch.” Jack said, looking at the older man with suspicious gratitude. 

“Yeah, thanks Koz.” Aster said sarcastically and then, rubbing his leg “And thanks for the bruises.”

“Oh please, you do not bruise that easily. And You,” Pitch rounded on Jack “Shouldn’t have sent him off alone with Nick like that.”

“Oh come one, it's just touring Dad’s workshop. It's not like I’d be any fun doing that, plus its dad, I can’t think of anybody less intimidating when he wasn’t to be.”

“That’s beside the point. Did you even see the poor boys face when you said you’d be abandoning him? He was clearly trying not to show how scared he was at the idea.”

“Why would he be scared? It's not like any of us have done anything to justify him being scared, his dad’s not here to catch us, what’s there to be scared of?” Pitch pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes for a moment before speaking.

“Do you know the key to being a good liability resolution lawyer, Jack? Putting yourself in the mind of the plaintiff. Figure out what it is they want then giving it to them. It's the same for a relationship. Try to think about this from Hiccup’s perspective. He’s in a strange house with people he just recently met with a boy whom he has truly only known for a short time whom he also, apparently, likes quite a bit. That situation alone is enough to make a person nervous, not throw in the fact that, from what I’ve been able to gather, his father would be non-to happy to discover the extent of your ‘friendship’. You and Aster both have had Anna and Nick raising you for years, you’ve never had to live in fear that someone that you love and respect will hate you because of something can’t control. You’ve never had to live with the constant fear that you’ll say something or do something that tips your hand, that you’ll reveal yourself and have your whole world fall apart in an afternoon. It's hard to turn that off, even if you are in a place where you don’t need to worry. And I can only imagine what it would be like going through that when you are not a grown adult with a job and no reliance on your family nor real close bond with them. The whole situation is probably terrifying for Hiccup.”

The kitchen was silent as Pitch spoke. Jack sometimes forgot just how observant Pitch could be and now he felt properly ashamed that he’d sent Hiccup off on his own. “Thanks.” 

“Figure out what he want’s, then give it to him.” Pitch repeated pointedly. 

“I don’t know, you don’t do a very good job of giving me what I want.” Aster snipped.

“You didn’t seem to have any complaints about what I was giving you last night.” Pitch replied without missing a beat.

“Boys, please.” Anna half said, half sighed.   

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It was about an hour later, during which Jack helped clean away the breakfast mess and endured a seemingly endless stream of questions and inuendoes about his activities the previous evening from Aster who seemed to have been given free reign now that Hiccup was out of the room, when Jack received a text from Hiccup.

Hiccup: Done with the tour, your dad’s workshop is amazing! 

Smiling to himself Jack made his way toward his dad’s workshop on the first floor until he ran into his dad and Hiccup, apparently on their way back to the kitchen. 

“Hey, you enjoyed the tour then I take it?”

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome. Your dad said that he could help me make a couple replacement parts for some of my older models with his 3D printer and maybe even design some of my own!” Hiccup was practically bouncing with excitement as he walked over to Jack and gave him a peck on the cheek before seemingly remember he was in front of Nick and blushing. All in all, it was one of the cutest things Jack had ever seen and he hugged the freckled teen tight and returned the kiss. 

“Glad you had a good time.”

“We had very good time. Remember Hiccup, next time you come over for weekend bring broken models and we will work on replacements.” 

“That would be awesome Mr. N-er, Nick.” 

Nick patted Hiccup on the back as he headed down the hallway “I have conference call to prepare for, it was a pleasure to meet you Hiccup. I hope you come back soon. I’m glad Jack has found such nice boy.”

“Uhh, thanks.” Hiccup stammered, his face flushing bright red. Jack tried to keep himself from laughing, he to was glad he’d found such nice boy.

“Sorry I skipped the workshop.” Jack said once Nick had gone and he and Hiccup were heading back toward his room. 

“Its alright, like you said I’m sure you’ve done it a hundred time. I doubt it would have been much fun for you.”

“No, it was a dick move and I’m sorry.” Hiccup hesitated for a moment then nodded in agreement.

“It was kinda a dick move.”

“Besides, I would have had fun cause I would have been with you.”

“That was so…incredibly sappy.” Hiccup snarked, but his couldn’t keep the broad smile off his face.

“It's my specialty.” Jack said, spinning Hiccup toward him for a quick kiss.

“I’ve noticed.” Hiccup laughed, returning the kiss. “I am really excited about the 3D printer though, I’ve like always wanted one but never been able to justify the cost.”

“Dad uses it all the time when he’s working of prototyping stuff. Prints it out to see how things all fit together before going through the trouble of fabricating a prototype.”

They continued to talk about Hiccup’s plan for the 3D printer until they reached Jack’s room where they settled down onto the couch and held a rematch for the previous evening. After a bit Jack challenged Hiccup to a game of strip-Smash-Brothers which the freckled teen proceeded to win quite handily because he was cheap and picked Pikachu. Soon Jack found himself removing his underwear while Hiccup had only lost his socks and shirt. Of course at that point Hiccup’s clothes didn’t remain on for much longer and, before long they found themselves in the shower after an encore of that morning. After a much longer shower than they’d had that morning they toweled off and spread out on the couch to finish air drying. Jack was in the middle of counting Hiccup’s freckles, which adorably covered essentially his entire body, when he shifted and Jack noticed a thoughtful look on his face. 

“Watcha thinking about?” Jack asked, giving up on his impossible task. 

“Hmm? I’m just thinking about how incredible it is that I’m lying here right now.”

“You mean like here with me? Or the fact that you're naked?” Jack teased, ignoring the or because you could have been dead right now that jumped into his mind. He pushed that unpleasant thought away as Hiccup responded.

“All of it I guess? I mean-”Hiccup sighed in a lost for words and contented kind of way “just that I’m lying here with you, and I’m incredibly happy, and yes I’m naked but I’m not feeling all self-conscious like I normally would.” Jack had to admit that he was kinda surprised about that too. For someone as self-conscious as Hiccup was Jack was surprised that he’d been so at ease with being naked as much as he had, not that Jack was complaining mind you. Hiccup was quite attractive as far as Jack was concerned. 

“I do seem to remember that you were one of the boys that didn’t never showered after gym during that one class we shared last year.” Hiccup looked away but nodded.

“Yeah. Not that I really needed to, I kinda did my best to avoid participating as much as I could. But yeah, the idea of, of being naked in front of all those people absolutely terrified me. That and the idea of getting a boner in the shower.” Jack laughed at that.

“That happened to me like five times freshmen year.”

“What? No way, what the hell happened?”

“Nothing really. I made a couple jokes. Asked the guy who was pointing it out if he wanted to take care of it for me, that shut him up pretty quick.” Hiccup shook his head and laughed.

“I can totally see you doing that. I think I could have died from embarrassment right there. Just melted into a puddle and gone down the drain.” Jack chuckled and the conversation lulled. He’s just started counting Hiccup’s freckles again when Hiccup spoke again. “It's not like that with you though for some reason. It just feels more comfortable, more safe with you I guess.” Smiling, Jack leaned over and drew Hiccup into a deep kiss and soon the couple was in danger of needing another shower. 

In what seemed like no time Jack’s phone buzzed with a message from Aster saying to get ready to bring Hiccup home. They hadn't realized until then that it was approaching nine in the evening. Getting dressed quickly they gathered Hiccup’s bags and headed down. Anna was there to see Hiccup off with a hug which he returned after a moment’s hesitation and an invitation to come back and visit next weekend, which he said he’d love to accept if his father said it was ok. Pitch was there to and said goodbye to Hiccup with a handshake and an apology for Asters ‘utterly juvenile behavior’ which earned a chuckle from Jack and Hiccup and a middle finger from Aster. The ride to Hiccup’s house went by much faster than Jack would have liked and before he knew it they were pulling up in front of it. Aster got out and knelt down to tie his shoe which Jack recognized as a surprisingly tactful way of giving him and Hiccup a moment of privacy to say goodbye. He pulled Hiccup and a hug which turned into a kiss which he broke off after a moment, sensing that Hiccup’s usual nerves had returned with his return home. 

“I had a really great time with you Hiccup, like a really good time.” Jack said seriously, without a hint of innuendo, at least he hoped he did. 

“Me too, I lovvvvve-d spendingtheweekendwithyou.” Hiccup said, seemingly suddenly flustered. Hiccup cocked an eyebrow in confusion at Hiccup’s suddenly strange behavior. What on earth had gotten into him?

“I loved it too.” He said “Tomorrow is going to suck not being able to see you.”

“I’ll see you on Monday, I’m sure you can make it that long.”

“I don’t know, I may wither away without your touch.”  Jack said over dramatically.

“Oh please.” Hiccup scoffed. He leaned in and Jack gave him one last quick kiss. “Bye.”

“Bye.” With that, Hiccup opened the door, slid out of the car and headed to his house. 

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Oh my god oh my god oh my god Hiccup thought as he walked up the path to his front door. He’d nearly just told Jack ‘I love you.’ What the hell had gotten into him? He’d known the guy for less than a month?! Well at least he’d caught himself. Knowing his luck he’d let that slip out and scare Jack away. Luckily he was interrupted from his thoughts as he unlocked the door, turned to wave at Aster who waved back and started to drive away, and headed into the house. 

“Welcome back. How was your weekend?” his Father asked as he locked the door and took his shoes off.

“It was fun,” Hiccup said, hoping his face didn’t show any guilt as he said “he played watched a movie with Jack’s parents and then played a some video games, he’s got quite the collection.”

“Sound like you had a good time. If not terribly productive.” Stoick said in a tone that made it clear he was joking.

“Oh, and his dad has a 3D printer that he says I can use to try and make a couple replacements for some of the pieces I’m missing from some of my older models.”

“Really? How would you even do that?”

“Well, you design the piece on the computer and then the printer prints it just like paper except instead of ink it uses plastic to crate a 3D model.”

“Well, that sound just up your ally.” Hiccup nodded and went to head toward his room. “You going to bed already?”

“No, but I wanna get started on my homework since I haven’t yet. I’ll come out and say goodnight when I actually go to bed.”

“Ah, alright, well good job being responsible.” He said with a chuckle. 

“Oh, dad?” Hiccup turned around to ask as he reached his door.

“Hmm?”

“Can Jack come over after school on Monday?”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that.” 

“Thanks!” His father nodded and waved it off as nothing.

“Sure. I’m glad you’re spending so much time with friends.” Stoick smiled at him and Hiccup smiled back, hoping once again that the guilt he was feeling wasn’t showing on his face.