dig if you will the picture of you and I engaged in a kiss (for dragonring)

[dragonconqueror]

[Hiccup was proud of himself for being able to navigate New York on his lonesome.

It was only his second or third time in the city, so much bigger than the village he'd grown up in. Jack was off doing winter spirit business elsewhere in the world and North had no need for him in the Workshop ("Go get fresh air, boy!" the Guardian of Wonder had boomed, clapping him on his back), so Hiccup had found himself going to New York to see if he could catch Dave after school.

Jack had told him the human's schedule, and North had taught him to read a clock. Hiccup loitered around the city, watching people bustle about on their eclectical (eclectical? electronic! he still had trouble pronouncing some words) devices, stole some food from a street vendor and sat in the park while he waited.

Time passed, and his nose led him towards the university when he picked up the distinct smell of electricity. Magical electricity. There was a difference between that and the stuff running through the undercurrents of the city. The smell of books and paper came to him too, as well as that of coffee and a little wet dog.

He stopped a little way away when he saw Dave talking to someone. The smell of perfume wafted to his nose and he fought the urge to gag, clamping a hand over his mouth. One of the curses of having a strong sense of smell. Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the way Dave was acting, the way he stumbled over words and swung his arms and used his hands for emphasis...oh boy. He'd been there before.

They hug, the girl leaving him with a wave goodbye and a small smile, and Hiccup makes his presence known. He thought about placing a hand on the boy's shoulder but he's jumpy enough as it is, so he settles for casually leaning against a nearby wall, crossing his arms as he speaks.]

Did you two love birds want some alone time or should I just go?

Comments

[dragonconqueror]

[He's actually quite glad that there's no awakward moment between them about that, especially given the other meaning of 'cold' between the two of them. He wouldn't have wanted this budding friendship...relationship...whatever to hit a sore spot again, so he just keeps munching away on leftover pizza as Dave talks. Tank gets a couple of bites of crust when Hiccup finds he can't chew through the rest, reaching for his soda to wash it down as he leans his head on his free hand.

When Dave starts coming down from his excitement, he blinks a little at the teenager before he leans back up, shaking his head with a small chuckle.]

It's fine. You were [cute] very informative. [He reaches for another slice of pizza, commenting offhandedly,] People used to call my ideas boring to the point where if I even so much as had a plan, they'd groan. [Hiccup bites into his new slice, nodding for Dave to go on.]

[dragonring]

[His smile comes back when he realizes Hiccup is perfectly fine with all the science talk. It's pretty sweet, having someone that will listen without complaining and will even understand too. He could really get used to this... hopefully.

He chuckles along, taking a sip of his own soda can before speaking.]

My experiments... they are a little bit dangerous, so my teacher gave me a special permission to use that place you see in the pics. It's underground but huge, I have fully free range in there. A secret lab of my own... [Using the arrow keys, he shows Hiccup some more pictures of his lab, with full shots of the Tesla coils and the cage, finally ending with a shot of the floor.] ...whiiiich means my master took the chance to make it our training grounds too.

[He rolls his eyes, but it's obvious that he is complaining for the sake of it and is fonder of Balthazar that he lets on.]

[dragonconqueror]

[He's definitely perfectly fine with all the science talk, happy to find a like minded person even a thousand years into the future. Even back when his only friend had been his husband, Jack would claim it 'boring' and convince him to skip out on the village for the day. He takes another bite of his second slice of pizza to keep himself from mentioning such a thing, remembering this was his attempt at getting along with Dave and it was probably best not to mention Jack at all since they were trying to do the friendship thing before the relationship thing.

He chuckles a little at Dave's complaining around his mouthful, holding the back of his hand against his mouth to keep any food from falling out as he does so.]

I had a similar reaction when my dad found out I was planning on putting the ring where we used to kill dragons to good use by using it to train them, and again when he found out we'd been sneaking out at night behind his back when he put a No Flying ban into effect due to an enemy threat.

[Hiccup lowers his gaze to his food, feeling a little melancholy at the thought of his father. He...actually hadn't gotten over Stoick's death by the time he became a Guardian, and he'd never forgiven himself for the whole thing with Drago. He shakes his head to snap himself out of it, rubbing the back of his neck a little sheepishly.]

This is really cool though. How long have you been working on it?

[dragonring]

[Dave chuckles too, not noticing Hiccup's melancholy since his eyes from the food in his hands to the computer. That sounds like one hell of a family, way more interesting than Dave's housewife mother and office dude father. He's a little jealous, he has to admit.]

Your dad... the chief, right? He sounds... strict. But I know what's like - being told to stay inside because danger is out there to get you. And it only gets worse when they're proven right.

[He takes a sip of his soda, a bit lost in thought himself, remembering how Becky got dragged into his mess... so much for that story. It's Hiccup's question that makes him snap out of it - he offers a little smile, still a bit distracted.]

Almost three years now. Those coils... they're my life. Or were? I don't even know anymore. I used to have a plan for post-graduation life and now... [He sighs and rubs his face.] Sorry, I'm rambling.

[dragonconqueror]

Yeah, he...he was. And with good reason, because back during the war, a dragon kidnapped mom. We presumed she'd died in the finish, but that only made dad more eager to find the nest and destroy it. I guess...looking back on it, I guess he was looking out for me because I reminded him so much of her. [He scratches the back of his neck.] We didn't get along well back then, because I was always messing things up trying to prove myself to the point that I actually cost us more livestock because one of my inventions would backfire and free the dragons we caught during the raids on our village. And I didn't listen to him.

[Wow, this was...embarrassing to talk about, but Dave deserved a little insight into who he used to be. Who he still was in some ways. At the very least, Jack still saw him as his Boy, but his husband had known him since he was small, so that didn't count much. North too, for that matter, since he met the older Guardian when he'd been a lad. Hiccup takes a sip of his own soda, letting the fizz slide down his suddenly dry throat. He hadn't thought about his father or mother in a long time.

He blinks a little when Dave mentions how long he's been working on the coils, pulling the can away from his mouth with an impressed look on his face before he shakes his head at the apology.]

Don't apologize, I ramble myself. [He smiles softly.] There is a bit of that 'what now?' feeling after you complete something, isn't there?

[dragonring]

But from what you told me... it was a good thing you didn't listen to him, right? You were able to do your... dragon thing. You helped the village, isn't that what a chief does? He must've been very proud of you.

[Logic is the way to go when he doesn't know what else to say. Should he try for comforting? But how ridiculous it is to pat a thousand year old man on the back and tell him it's ok? There is some stuff here that goes beyond common reason. Still, Dave appreciates being told the story. If Hiccup can trust him with this, then they definitely can work things up.

The question has him shaking his head, hands leaving his can so they can gesture along. This is one topic that gets all his messy thoughts out.]

Ah, no, see... I used to know the answer to that. I knew what came after 'what now?'. But now... I'm not sure anymore, not after... magic happened.

[dragonconqueror]

[He smiles a little bitterly at the notion of Stoick being proud of him, remembering how he inadvertently led Berk to another war and caused his best friend to kill his father. But he doesn't tell Dave that, only shrugging.]

I went from being the Hope and Heir to the Pride of Berk, you tell me. My mom tried to do the same thing fifteen years earlier but people just rebuffed her ideals. Nobody believed dragons could be anything more than coldblooded creatures who raided our village for their own sake. Then I shot down Toothless and learned differently and used what I learned from him in the arena where we were learning to kill them. I'd intended on showing the whole village what they were really like during my graduation 'killing', but...it went wrong.

[Hiccup gives a small sigh, remembering the clang that had sounded in the arena due to his father hitting the barrier with his hammer and the way Hookfang's eyes had dilated with the noise. Still, that had been a thousand years ago. There was really no use feeling guilt for it, or so he kept telling himself.]

Well, when dad started pressuring me to become chief and succeed the family, I started to travel and add to the map. Which...I guess you can't do that now, but it kind of drove the feeling away for a bit. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't really ready to settle down with Astrid or anyone, much less have kids. [His smile turns a bit sad.] I guess that's why I took Jack's offer to become a Guardian. Then the battle with Drago happened and I became chief and I didn't have a lot of time to get the village back on its feet before I...stopped being visible to them.

[dragonring]

[Dave can only stare with his mouth a bit open as Hiccup tells his story. He hasn't expected such a sudden info dump. It's not a bad thing, but still... wow. It makes him feel guilty for complaining about his much simpler life.

And what is he supposed to say to that? All his words feel insignificant.]

Hiccup... I'm sorry you lost all that. I wish... I wish any sorcerer would've known about you to help you wake up. [He rubs the back of his neck.] I know it's not much but... we can try tracking down your family line. It's gonna be difficult after all these years but... [A shrug. He really feels like he has nothing, ugh.]

[dragonconqueror]

[He's a little surprised at himself for revealing so much of his past to the young man in front of him that he stops and stares down at his soda as soon as he realizes he was rambling, hands closing around the can. Guess that was weighing a little too heavily on my mind, he thought to himself, scolding himself for putting so much on Dave at a time. It wasn't like he could talk to Jack about it since the other spirit had been there.

So much for taking things one step at a time.

Hiccup bites his bottom lip, about to blurt out an apology before Dave speaks, making him blink at the sorcerer. He smiles, the twinge of his lips a little sad.]

I was kind of hidden away from the world...I'm not surprised no one found me, especially after J...the cave entrance fell in on itself.

[The offer makes him blink again, surprised. They could do that kind of thing now?]

That's...that's a thing?