pookabox | i like your messy hair, i like the clothes you wear

i like your messy hair, i like the clothes you wear

[ A week passes with two spirits and one human as residents of the enormous Workshop, dining with North whenever he appears out of his office but generally doing their own thing in the meantime. Jack flies off now and again to spread snow and wintry cheer, tactfully letting Dave and Hiccup some time to get to know each other now that both of them are rubbing along better than could have been hoped. He hasn't seen much of either of them separately, so Hiccup wandering the Workshop corridors far below Jack (where he sits atop the Globe playing with a puzzlebox) in the new clothes the winter spirit procured for him from a high street store a couple of days ago, is definitely a head-turner.

Oh no, he's hot. Hotter.

Hiccup looks not entirely unlike the way he does in his flight-suit, only ... casual, cut and shaped into modern-day clothing in a way that has Jack staring (fitted brown leather jacket, bottle-green leather pants with laces up the sides so they can be adjusted to those skinny legs), puzzlebox dropped forgotten atop the North Pole as he sweeps down to land in front of him. He drapes his staff over a shoulder as he hops onto the carpet, a hand stuffing inside his hoodie pocket as he ducks his head with a greeting smile. ]

So where've you been all morning, lazybones? It's almost noon.

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[He tilts his head slightly, humming before shrugging, letting his head rest back against Jack's and reaching to wrap his hand around the one holding onto the staff.]

Sad, like you said. A little lonely. This place was home for so long, it feels like...empty, I guess.

[ A glance flickers automatically, then dismissively from the hand covering his on the staff, Jack's slight body-weight resting against Hiccup. ]

Thank you for bringing me back here. I know it's not easy on you either.

[He notices the glance but he doesn't say anything about it, instead leaning back and up into his husband's body weight with a small nuzzle.]

You're welcome. It's easier on me than it is you. This place was lively just a while ago for me, remember?

[ Pausing, he has to shake his head again, slowly. ]

No, I ... I keep forgetting that, somehow.

[ How it can seem like such a small thing to come here is beyond him, because it will never be a brief part of his life that he missed out on in this room. The hours were long and lonely, the pain sometimes kept him up for days, and Jack is so engrossed in his own sense of loss that he overestimates it in Hiccup. ]

That doesn't mean that it hurts any less.

[He turns around without jarring Jack's weight resting against him, reaching up to brush his fingers through snow white hair. Hiccup tilts his head to press a kiss to Jack's forehead, then brushes one down his nose and pulls away, hand coming down to tilt his chin up.]

That doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt to know I was just laying there when I should have woken up. That doesn't mean that it doesn't feel jarring standing here in this room with you when it used to feel so alive.

[ He doesn't look like he believes him until the end, giving a nod as he eases his chin free. He stays in Hiccup's arms but remains distant, still too twisted up inside to know what he wants or how to feel; bitterly, a part of him still feels coolly toward Hiccup for not coming around for so very, very long. A thousand, not ten or fifty or a hundred. After a short, silent interlude, he looks at him again. ]

I think we're done here, we should head back.

[Did he screw up with his words? He can never tell, but the distance he can feel between them again makes him bite his bottom lip in worry. When Jack speaks again, he feels his chest twist with guilt and regret, wanting to take hold of him. Hiccup drops his other hand from where it rests against Jack's on his staff, pulling back.]

If...if you think so.

[ There's a thin sliver of Jack which he holds untouchable and will for some time, not trusting whatever part it was of Hiccup that kept him asleep. He gives him a peck on he lips as he turns to step aside, staff twirling anew. ]

On second thought, you go back and I'll catch up. I'm going out.

[His fingers slip away when Jack steps aside, falling to his side. He wants to tell Jack to scream at him, to curse his name and Hel, even punch him, but the words fail in his throat. He won't be getting that part of his husband back anytime soon, he knows. His fingers itch at his side, wanting to pull him back, but at the same time knowing he needs his space.

Instead, he swallows it down and pulls his foot back from where he was going to step closer, shaking his head.]

I...I should check on the herd anyway. It's...been a while.

[He looks at his mate, pursing his lips together before he speaks again.]

I love you.

[ He pretends not to see Hiccup's disappointment, not wanting to deal with it right now. Jack blows a kiss over at him with a flurry of snowflakes, instead. ]

I love you too, I won't be long.

[ Soaring out of the old caverns, two days and nights pass by until he makes his reappearance at the Workshop, wind-blown and bright-eyed after doing what he does best and indulging the feral adrenaline that undercurrents his Center of Fun. Sleeping in trees, sliding down mountains, starting snowball fights and blowing important documents out of windows has all put him in a far better mood than when he last saw his husband at their den.

Jack doesn't announce his presence to either Dave or Hiccup, one day just happening to be perched on the back of a sofa in the main lounge, chatting with North. ]

[Hiccup had checked in with the herd, informing the Bewilderbeast on the land to the East that Dave had told him about, where their kind was sacred, where they'd possibly be safe from human contact. Though they were already part way to the northernmost parts of the globe, he traveled with them a short distance before deciding to go back to the Workshop. Guiding dragons had been his role for the better part of his life, and it helps him forget the bitterness that had stirred in his stomach when Jack left him.

The Workshop was like home base right now, the only home he and Toothless had other than the one with the dragons. North was more than happy to let them take up their old room again, having told the yetis to keep it the way it was, a feeling in his belly telling him that the dragon prince would be back. Hiccup still wasn't prepared to explore the world proper, having encountered metal dragons in the sky (North informed him those were planes) and large boats ferrying humans across oceans (cruise liners), so for now he was more than happy to bury himself in any work the older man needed help with.

Hiccup emerges from the stables where the reindeer and the sled are kept, jacket-less due to the work, leaving his upper body exposed. Scales littered his torso as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand, scars showing.]

Those repairs you wanted me to do should hold up by next Snoggletog, North, unle... [He trails off when he spots his husband perched on the back of the couch, the wrench in his hand nearly dropping before he fumbled for it, catching it as he manages to regain control of himself.] Jack! Wh-when did you get back?

[ The conversation between himself and Hiccup is stoppered briefly by North exclaiming that he can't wait to get down to the stables and inspect Hiccup's hard work, although Jack's attention doesn't waver from his husband for a moment as a small smile plays on his lips, gaze flicking down over that bared torso. Did he grow more scales than last time ...? Huh. The fumbling with the tool is adorable, harking back to his Boy more so than the dragon prince, and he remains placid only outwardly.

Jack gives North a grin and a nod as the elder Guardian tactfully (or not so much) takes his leave of them, abandoning Jack and Hiccup to their reunion. He hops to his feet, staff slung over a shoulder. ]

About a half-hour ago, Russia was a lot of fun. Been keeping busy?

[He feels like smacking himself in the face with the wrench with how dumb he sounds. He's more than a little grateful when North removes himself from the room with surprising tactful grace for the older spirit, nodding a thankful incline to North as he leaves. Hiccup realizes he's still keeping the wrench pinned to his chest and he coughs, letting go of it long enough to set it down on a nearby table, scratching the back of his neck.]

Uh, y-yeah. North needed a few repairs done and all the yetis are busy. [Mysteriously busy. He seemed to have them in droves but none of them could lend a hand? Though he was happy for the work - it was easier to lose himself in it than keep thinking.] So I put up my hand. Next thing I know Phil's trying to tell me how to use a wrench in yetish.

[ Highly doubting all the yetis are busy, he says nothing of North's incredibly obvious scheme to give Hiccup something to do. He looks ... sweet, even bare-chested and ruggedly attractive as he is, he's still one-hundred percent dork. ]

I need someone to put a lock on my window from the outside, if you want to get on that. It's so I can come and go if I happen to shut the thing.

[He's grateful for the distraction, hair pulled back at the nape of his neck minus the two usual braids as he runs his hand along his jaw, placing the other one on his hip. It's moments like this that make it seem like he hasn't changed from the awkward boy he used to be. Hiccup gives a small shrug, tilting his head.]

A lock shouldn't be hard to do. [A lock was easy to do once he'd gotten the hang of it.] Uh, did you want it done now? Because I'm pretty sure I'm all done with sled repairs...

[ Careful to hide how much he's drawn to him, Jack shrugs and wanders past Hiccup with an aimless gait. ]

You could do it now, sure. I'm heading out for a bit, so I won't get under your feet.

[ Even though he only just got back. It's fun to see just how Hiccup will react, whether it'll be anything like he responded to the sight of Jack's arrival. ]

Edited 2014-08-10 05:39 (UTC)

[He's actually a bit surprised, but he doesn't show it. Jack just got back. If he's going out again, that means that he doesn't want to talk just yet. Instead, Hiccup pulls the cloth from the back of the tool belt around his waist, wiping his hands with it.]

Well, it's a lock for the outside of your window. You wouldn't be that under my feet...

[Trying very hard not to sound enthusiastic about Jack staying there while he works, he picks the wrench up again, placing it and the cloth back into the tool belt.]

Sure I would.

[ He steps in to snatch that dirty cloth away, giving it a glance before tossing it aside to the floor and hooking a finger in the front of Hiccup's belt. Pointedly, he gives him a once-over from head to toe and back again, his attention lingering on Hiccup's naked chest. ]

Where do you think I'd be hanging out, if not to watch all ... this?

Uh, inside?

[He resists the urge to say but you just gestured to all of me, finding himself with a foreign finger hooked into his belt. Hiccup's chest raises sharply with the small hitch of breath that he exerts, wanting to reach out and return the touch but not wanting to cross any boundaries that might still be up.]

Wouldn't want you to get hit with anything after all...

Get hit?

[ Jack's playfulness turns confused as he tries to make sense of that, figuring nothing out that can't be taken literally. Why would Hiccup hit him while working? He's not that clumsy ...

Quizzically, he lets his touch slide free and back to his staff, giving a shrug as he steps past him. Weird. ]

Uh, alright then.

[Somehow he manages to stop the disappointed noise that leaves him when Jack slides his finger free from his belt, bottom lip going up between his teeth as he unintentionally gives a small pout, leaning down to pick up the cloth.]

Uh, I'm still learning how to use these kinds of tools. I accidentally hit an elf in the eye with a nail.

[A sheepish grin.]

[ He turns around when he hears that, giving Hiccup a critical once-over to try and decide whether he even realizes he was being flirted with. Probably not. Jack straightens the twitch in his lips when he hears about the elf getting brained and inwardly sighs. ]

C'mon, Master Craftsman, I'll show you where I want that lock.

[He kind of had an inkling but he was just more than a bit flustered when he saw his husband again to really pay attention to any flirting. Hiccup smacks himself in the forehead, dragging it down his face with a sigh of his own.]

I just said something stupid again, didn't I?

[ He leads him up the corridors, since Hiccup can't just fly to the landing he wants to get to. ]

Passive-aggressively threatening to hit me was a nice touch, sure.

I didn't passive aggressively threaten to hit you, I just said something might happen when I was putting the lock into place.

[Hiccup rolls his eyes and huffs, scratching the back of his neck as he followed Jack to his room.]

Nice to see you too.

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t-t-t-timessssskip

/o/

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