26 June 2017

Prompt: Forbidden Love

Modern AU

So this story is actually based off of a drawing by dhdart on Tumblr. The Tumblr post of this fic has a link to it!

...

Hiccup sighed as the last box was dropped into the foyer. A new house, a new beginning, and a life far far away from his ex. He knew that they had broken up for the best, but it still hurt him a little inside. If nothing else he had taken out his anger in the gym, so at least he was in the best shape of his life. He flopped down onto the couch, taking a well-deserved break before he would start the tedious task of unpacking.

…

When Jack had first seen the moving truck out front he had placed himself by the window and refused to move. So what if he was a little nosy, he wanted to see who his new neighbour was going to be! He watched the movers start to take stuff out of the truck but clearly none of them were the new neighbour; they were all in uniform. He watched the movers go back and forth with what was a somewhat questionable taste in furniture, but his judging was thrown to the wind when he saw a pick-up truck pull into the driveway.

Jack perked up momentarily, then grunted when it parked on the opposite side of the moving truck. He only caught a split second glance as the person passed between the rear of the truck and the brick wall of the garage, but he was able to tell that it was a man. This raised more questions than it answered however: why did he come alone? Was he single? Was his family coming afterward? Jack's natural curiosity was getting the better of him.

After only seeing the movers come in and out of the house for another several minutes Jack decided to give up on his little spy mission. Instead he would let the move finish before going over and introducing himself. He would have to find something to bring as a housewarming gift, but first, a shower. He was still in his hoodie from the night before.

When Jack returned from the shower he just caught the tail end of the moving truck turning the corner at the end of the street. The pick-up truck was still in the driveway, and Jack sprinted to get some clothes on. Putting on a blue polo and some skinny jeans he grabbed the first bottle of wine that he could find and flew out the door.

…

Hiccup had barely managed to close his eyes when there was a knock on the door. He momentarily considered not answering, but there was also the chance the movers had forgotten something of his in the truck. Reluctantly he arose and made his way to the door. It definitely was not a mover.

The man that stood before him appeared to be a few years younger than himself, had hair so white that it rivaled paper, and a complexion so pale it looked like it was in competition with his hair. Hiccup found the man oddly attractive, but he didn't dwell on the thought any longer than it took him to realize that the visitor was handing him a bottle of wine and talking to him.

"Hi, I'm Jack. Your new neighbour. I wanted to bring you a housewarming gift."

Hiccup hadn't expected a voice so soothing to come from this Jack, but then again that wasn't the first thing surprising from this first impression.

"Thank you. I'm Hiccup." Jack started to inhale as if to ask a question, but Hiccup quickly snuffed the man's curiosity. "It's an unfortunate translation of my real name from Norwegian. Please, come in."

Jack stepped over the threshold as Hiccup moved, and was entirely unshocked to see moving boxes everywhere and only a few large pieces of furniture scattered here and there. He followed Hiccup into the kitchen and watched as he dug around in a box for a couple of wine glasses. Hiccup skillfully popped the bottle in a way that made Jack internally whimper.

Jack wasn't oblivious to how attractive Hiccup was. He was sure his eyes had almost bulged out of his head when the man had opened the door and he had finally gotten the full view of his new neighbour. Hiccup was tall, clearly enjoyed going to the gym, had the perfect messy hairdo, and perfectly grown facial hair. His eyes were a kind of green that Jack would gladly stare at for hours, but he knew he couldn't be so forward on the first visit. No, he would prod gently.

"So, Hiccup, tell me about yourself," Jack started as he was handed a perfectly poured glass of wine. Then again, by this point, Jack would probably find anything Hiccup did to be perfect. "What brings you to this little neighbourhood?"

"Honestly, a bad break up. I just wanted to get as far away from her as possible, and this is sort of where I ended up."

Internally, Jack deflated. Of course Hiccup was straight. All the best guys were straight or taken. But he kept up his façade. This was an introductory visit, and they could definitely be friends. Jack got a good vibe from Hiccup.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's ok, bigger and better things."

"In that case, to bigger and better things!" Jack said as he clinked his glass against Hiccup's.

For the next several hours the pair made small talk. They continued to drink, and by the time Jack had to go the bottle of wine was done. In the time they had shared Jack had learned that Hiccup had studied Engineering in university, had lived in 3 countries, and was currently working with a robotics firm working on advanced prosthetics. Jack had been shocked when Hiccup had shown him his own leg; it had moved so fluidly and easily that Jack never would have known. He decided not to ask right away what had happened.

When Jack was at the door he wasn't sure if he had just become brave or if the alcohol was getting to him, but he went in for a goodbye hug. Hiccup actually hugged back, and Jack was at least happy that he had managed to save the embarrassment that could have arisen from the situation. With promises of seeing each other soon Jack returned home, but that whole evening his mind never left the topic of Hiccup.

…

Hiccup and Jack became fast friends. Jack's crush on Hiccup never truly subsided, but with the friendship in the foreground it was easy to push it to the back of his mind. That was, until approximately the six month mark of their friendship.

It was a Saturday night and Jack knew that Hiccup had no plans. Having no plans himself he decided to ask Hiccup if he wanted to go downtown, get a drink, and maybe meet some people. In the end, Hiccup said yes.

They chatted about this and that as they rode the subway, but 3 stops too early Hiccup suddenly got up and pulled Jack off the train. It only took Jack to recognize the station they were in; he had been here countless times before.

"Um, Hiccup? Any reason we got off here?"

"This is the station closest to the village isn't it?" Hiccup asked the question as if it was entirely normal, but Jack was still entirely confused.

"Yes, but that doesn't really answer my question."

"I want to go to a gay bar. I've never been. I hope you don't mind. I probably should have said something on the train, but I only thought of it a few stops ago."

"Mind?" Jack laughed, "Of course not. Come on, I know EXACTLY where I'm taking you." Jack kept laughing as he grabbed Hiccup's arm and led him forward.

Jack took Hiccup to his favourite bar. They had a few drinks and a few men even tried to flirt with Hiccup, and while he always turned them down he didn't seem to mind their advances as much as other straight guys Jack had been here with had.

"Jack, can I ask you something extremely personal?" Hiccup asked as they started on their fourth drink each.

"Shoot," Jack smiled.

"How did you know you were gay?"

Jack almost did a spit take. He took no offense to the question, but he had to admit, it caught him off guard. Regardless, he answered the best he could.

"Honestly, I just sort of knew. For me it started with this inkling at the back of my mind. From there it just sort of grew without my noticing until one day it was just, like, yeah. That one day came where I just realized that I liked guys. There wasn't really any individual moment where something sort of changed, I just sort of came to the conclusion gradually. But I assume it's different for everyone. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," Hiccup responded before quickly taking a sip of his beer. As soon as he put the beer down he changed the subject, and it didn't come up in conversation again that night.

…

Normally Jack would have forgotten about that night rather quickly, but it seemed Hiccup didn't want to let him. They still saw each other on a regular basis, but things had changed. Hiccup was becoming touchier (not that Jack was complaining) and seemed to be much more interested in all topics about sexuality, but Jack felt it might be awkward if he said anything blatant to Hiccup's face. That is, until pride rolled around.

Pride was almost exactly two months after the night at the bar in the village. With Hiccup's seemingly new interest in the area Jack had decided to invite Hiccup along, and now they were back on the subway together.

They could hear the noise from the street fair and the parade before they even left the subway station. As they reached the surface they could see the mass crowds and people weaving in and out of each other, and Jack felt a warm but strong hand on his shoulder. When he looked back he just saw Hiccup smiling and nod forward, silently encouraging him to lead the way. Well, at least they wouldn't get separated.

The streets were all closed for the event, and that was quite fortunate as the crowds easily overflowed the sidewalk. As Jack tried to lead them through a slightly less crowded part of the street Hiccup suddenly pulled back on Jack's shoulder, a silent request to stop for a moment.

"I want to go take a look in this store. Do we have a few minutes?"

"Sure, what are you looking for?" Jack asked, but Hiccup just smiled.

"Wait outside, you'll see."

Jack was confused, but he complied nonetheless. It was a beautiful day, he probably had a few messages after being on the subway, and standing off to the side he was less likely to get bumped into for a few minutes.

Jack didn't notice that Hiccup had exited the shop until he was right in front of him, and when he did notice, Jack almost fell backwards. Hiccup had changed out of his plain white t-shirt and into a brand new bi pride tank top.

"Ummm, Hiccup," Jack started when he finally managed to regain his composure, "You do know what that shirt is, right?"

"It's the bi flag, right?" Hiccup half asked, half stated.

"Exactly."

"The truth is," Hiccup started, and as he did so he led Jack to a recently vacated bench. "Over these past several months, spending time with you, you've helped me realize something. You always looked so happy, so comfortable with who you are. I wanted to be that way, and it made me start to wonder why I couldn't be. The realization sort of came to me a little before our night at the bar near here, but then talking to you I realized that I didn't need this massive 'aha!' moment, and that maybe it had always been inside of me and that I had never noticed. I did a lot of thinking these past two months, and I think that this is the real me."

Jack couldn't help but smile. As he pulled Hiccup into a slightly awkward sitting hug he asked, "So tell me, what's your type in guys then?" Jack knew he was being a little flirty and a little forward, but seeing as he had had to hold his tongue for so long around someone so attractive, he figured he deserved it.

"Well," Hiccup started, and his smile grew even larger, "There has only been one guy I've had eyes for, and he was the one who really made me look deeper into myself to find this part of me. He has ice blue eyes, shocking white hair, and a questionable fashion sense."

Jack thought he was going to pass out. Him?! Of all people, Hiccup found him attractive? This was like something out of a cheesy rom com, but Jack suppressed the need to laugh. He thought it might be inappropriate given the situation. Instead he smiled, grabbed Hiccup's hand, and pulled him up.

"Come on, let's go see the parade."

Their hands didn't separate for the entire event.

…

By the time the pair made it home it was almost 7pm and their feet were sore from standing all day. They made it half was up Hiccup's driveway before he sat himself down on the asphalt and announced, "Nope! I'm not moving any further!" Laughing, Jack sat down next to him.

"So what did you think about your first pride?" Jack inquired. "Did you have fun?"

"Loads," Hiccup sighed contentedly, crossing his legs. Jack pulled his own up next to him, almost nervous to ask something he had been wanting to all day. He decided he was going to ask it now, because there was no way he could wait any longer.

"Hiccup, do you mind if I do something I've been wanting to do basically since I first met you?"

Hiccup smiled knowingly, and that gave Jack hope.

"I wouldn't dream of saying no."

With that Hiccup leaned in half way, and Jack closed the gap with a touch of their lips.