Chapter 1: Moving On And Moving Out
Chapter Text
Gary never actually expected to get in. He was a year behind most of his peers in age, and had decided to take a gap year to do more work at the Dragon Stables, which actually set him two years behind most of his friends. But eventually, he was ready. And once the days became hotter, and his friends were thinking about how the school year would finally be over for them, Gary was thinking about what to put in his applications, barely able to contain his excitement.
When the email came back to him saying that he was accepted into the same college his friends were, he was ecstatic. For once in his life, his father seemed proud. Emphasis on seemed. Maybe his hopes were way too high, maybe he had reached somewhere he knew he shouldn’t be reaching. Or maybe, just maybe, the small glimmer in the elder Jorgenson’s eyes once he reviewed the email sent to his son was real. There wasn’t any scolding, there wasn’t a strong backhand that made contact with the back of his head, and there wasn’t a sign of that face that his father almost always wore when he was in his vicinity—one of utter disappointment.
There was a “Good job, kid.” Then, he walked away.
Gary had seen his friends here and there throughout their college years. The campus was about 2 and a half hours out from their hometown—Berk, a small cozy town on the edge of the water. They visited for a couple of holidays throughout the year, but they were usually too busy with classes and school work. Which Gary understood, of course. Especially since this year, he’ll actually be doing it as well. The next step was trying to find someone to share a dorm room with.
“I would let you room with me, but Justin and I are already rooming together. And I… honestly would prefer if we didn’t have to switch. Our dorm hall is right next to a good chunk of our classes.” Hiccup explained one day, while the six of them were all on a group video call. He and Justin were the only two rooming in a different dorm hall, one that just so happened to be across the entire campus.
“I’m not letting you be my roommate.” Astrid put, bluntly. But a shot of guilt seemed to have pierced through her, because almost right after she said, “No offense—it's just… dude odor. I wouldn’t be able to handle it. It’s not just you.” Even though it was meant to be reassurance, Something inside of Gary told him that she was lying straight through her teeth. There wasn’t any proof of this though.
“Yeah, I get it As...” The dark brunette mumbled.
There was a long pause filled with silence. This is exactly what the Jorgenson son was dreading. Having to room with a complete stranger. Someone he didn’t know, someone he had to worry about putting off a good first impression to. He was horrible at those. He didn’t even know how he got in with his current friend group, other than the fact that Hiccup was his older cousin. Luckily, however, the silence was broken by a familiar voice.
“I’ll room with you, Gare.”
It was Laverne. He and his sister, Eugene, were the oldest of the group. But they were in the same grade as Hiccup, Astrid, and Justin growing up. They were held back a year in 1st grade. Not even Thor himself knew how, or why.
The two of them also took a gap year after they graduated high school, which set them a year behind the other three, and one year ahead of Gary.
Sapphire eyes lit up with hope. Gary had (non admittedly) realized that he had a big fat stupid crush on Vern about a year ago. And never will he act upon it. That’s what he told himself, anyway. He was so sure that this was just a phase, something that was going to just come, and then go as soon as the blond showed him how undesirable he is. That was if he hadn’t already. But there was still hope in him, an unexplainable hope. Something in Gary said that this was a good thing. Maybe Vern actually had the chance to show him how undesirable he was now. That’s what he forced himself to chalk it all down to, anyway.
“Really? But you’re rooming with Ginny, aren’t you?” He blurted, a little too quickly.
“I don’t mind switching. I can’t stand rooming with her anyway.” Laverne sneered. His twin sister was the only one who wasn’t on the call, but she was in the back of his video, doing something with a notebook, the others weren’t sure what.
“Fuck you too!” She shouted from the back, not even looking up from what she was doing.
“Thanks dude, I totally didn’t want to room with some stranger.” The darker brunette let out a heavy sigh in relief, in which Vern simply shrugged in response.
A few days later, they all came down to Berk to help Gary pack away and transport most of his things, since he couldn’t load all of it on the train with him. He found himself clinging onto his cousin’s hug for a little too long after he emerged from Justin’s truck, not realizing how much he had missed him until then. Or maybe there was another reason why he hugged Hiccup for a whole 45 seconds.
“What are you bringing with you, your entire bedroom?” Astrid commented as she lifted a pair of boxes labelled ‘Bathroom’ into the truckbed. “The dorm rooms aren’t that big, you know that right? And you have to still consider leaving room for Vern’s things—“
“I know, I know…” Gary muttered with a huff, finishing up the support ropes that were keeping his motorbike down. “I’ll probably end up donating half of it halfway through the year, but I just… couldn’t bring myself to part with most of my belongings, y’know?”
Astrid hummed, crossing her arms and leaning back against the vehicle, looking over her shoulder at Gary, who was still sitting in the bed. “At least you’re self aware.”
The dark brunette let his eyes flicker up, and they seemed to have fixed on something. Astrid arched her brow, letting her blue eyes follow his. They landed on the twins, who were arguing with each other—-of course. Ginny was being rough with a box that had the ‘Fragile’ label plastered on the side of it. Vern was trying to point it out to her, but it only instigated more roughhousing with the box… which in turn, instigated an argument.
Gary didn’t even notice how long he was staring for until Astrid started speaking again. “Speak of the Devil,” She turned her attention back to her friend, a knowing smirk spreading across her face. “Did you tell him yet?”
He flinched at the question, clasping his hands together in his lap and exchanging another reciprocated glance towards the blond woman. “Tell who? What?” He snapped, trying to act oblivious, but the heat rising to his cheeks wasn’t helping keep up with the facade.
“Don’t act stupid, Snot.” She scolded, turning herself to properly face the other, hands grasping on the tailgates of the truck. “The desire in your eyes is almost too obvious. You have to tell Vern eventually.”
He took a second to swallow the knot of dread that was building up and drying out his throat. “It's just a phase, As’.” Gary argued, shaking his head softly. “Next thing I know, I won’t even be giving him a second thought. He’ll just go back to being my friend.”
“Crush ‘phases’ don’t last for over a year.” Astrid retorted. “Your last crush lasted only a day. This is more than just some phase. You really like him, Gary. And I think you should go fo—“
“Hey—! Guys!” Gary suddenly called out to the twins, not letting Astrid finish her sentence. The twins stopped whatever fighting they were doing and turned their heads to look at the other duo. “There’s… not actually anything fragile inside of that box. It’s just an extra box I had left over from when I had to live with Gobber. And it just so happened to have a fragile sticker on it.” He explained, lifting his hand and rubbing his forearm.
Ginny clicked her tongue. “So I could’ve slam-dunked this bad boy into the truck already!! But this asshole wouldn’t let me!!” She gestured to her brother, throwing a glare at him as she walked over to the vehicle.
“It’s not my fault that I wanted to be careful with Gare’s belongings!” Vern spat, following his sister in tail.
There was a pause. Not a long pause, but long enough to be noticeable. And awkward. Astrid stared between Gary, then Laverne. Then, to break the silence, she scoffed. “Gods—men…” Astrid excused herself from the conversation, disappearing back into the Jorgenson house to grab more of Gary’s things.
“What?? What’d I do??” The male twin glanced around in confusion, as if anyone or anything at that point could’ve explained to him what was going on.
“More like what you didn’t do.” Eugene snickered.
The rest of their conversation fell into the thin lines of quiet that swam through the air. Gary refused to listen, trapping himself within his own thoughts. He didn’t want Astrid to be right about this. Him ‘really liking Vern’. It would only lead to disaster, he was sure of it.
The day when Gary had to travel to the campus and properly move into his dorm couldn’t have come any quicker. The bigger load of his belongings had already made it to his dorm with the rest of the group’s help, but now it was just him, and a couple of leftover bags. Everyone was waiting for him on the campus, but he still had a 2 and a half hour train ride ahead of him. As well as a couple of goodbyes.
The first one was to his dragon, Hookfang. The campus allowed pets, but not dragons. “Too much ruckus,” is what one of the college staff said when Gary asked her why. The rest of the group had to say goodbye to their dragons as well when they moved, but it was Gary who was left behind to take care of them. Now, it was a relative of the Thortston’s who were working at the Dragon Stables facility to cover for them. Alongside Gustav, who begged and begged to help. The twins’ relative said yes, even after Gary’s harsh warnings that came to no avail. He swore to Gustav under his breath that if any of the dragons died under his care that he was next.
“I know you’ll miss me, Hooky, but this is important… a big step towards my future, y’know. I’ll be back though!! As much as possible, anyway…” He spoke to the small winged creature as if it could understand every word. Gary thought it could, anyway, because after his small speech, Hookfang snorted out a disapproving puff of smoke right into his owner’s face.
“I know, I know… you love me so much that you don’t want me to leave!” He cooed, dramatically. “Well, it’s too late…” Gary sniffled, as if he had started to tear up and cry, turning his head away from the small crimson beast, and facing his open palm towards his snout. “I have to do this, Hooky, for us… you have to understa–OW!!” To stop his owner’s dramatics, Hookfang chomped down on his hand. The dark brunette shook the quick sharp bout of pain from his hand, watching as his dragon snorted again, this time a snort of satisfaction.
“Yeah, okay, that was on me, for putting my hand right in front of your mouth.”
“If you’re done with your… ahem. Pleasantries, Snotlout.” Came a familiar voice from behind him. “Your train’s almost here.”
Gary turned his head to see his uncle, Stoick, Hiccup’s father. Playing into their childhood nicknames was fun for him, even if they were all adults now.
“Yeah, right…” He turned to the dragon again, scooping him up and giving him a tight–-but not suffocating—hug. “I’m gonna miss you, little guy.” Hookfang affectionately nibbled on Gary’s ear in response.
The next goodbye was to his uncles. He had Stoick, his actual uncle, but there was someone else in town who generously helped to raise him, especially through the tougher times of his life. Everyone in town knew him as ‘Gobber’, and nothing else. He was a mechanic, but a lot of people just referred to him as the ‘fixer-upper’, because he worked on much more than just vehicles. Gary had even helped him out around his workshop a few times in the past to get enough money for a video game or an accessory for his motorbike he really wanted. That was waiting for him on the college campus as well. The motorcycle was sent a couple of days ago on the back of Justin’s pickup truck, along with the other boxes of his.
“You’re the last one out of your little friend group to go, aren’t you?” Gobber asked, as the three of them, along with a few others who decided to crowd around to say goodbye, stood by the train station.
Gary nodded. “Yeah, but I bet I’ll be able to return more often than the others do!” He chirped, confidently placing his hands on his own hips.
Stoick shook his head. “You’ll be as busy as they are, you won’t have time to visit until the holidays.”
The younger man frowned. “Then I guess you all will be lonely until Christmas—...” He mumbled.
“We’ll surely miss the spunk and personality you add to the town, Snotty, but this is going to be good for you.” The blond placed a robotic prosthetic hand onto the younger’s shoulder. “Change and challenge help you grow, boy. Even if things seem rocky in the heat of the moment, things happen for a reason. Even the worst things have a purpose. You just gotta remember not to beat yourself up over it.”
Gary gave him a slow nod in response. He was just all excited about leaving his hometown and crossing one of the gaps that were between him and his foreseen future. Going to college was a huge step, especially when he was moving onto the campus. And especially for him. But now… a wave of anxiety had hit him like an overpowering tsunami. His childhood was lived out here in Berk. He was born here. He watched his sister be born here. He watched his mother die here. He watched as his father began to slowly turn… unrecognizable, here…
The dry knot of dread loomed in the back of his throat again. He swallowed it back, cringing at the dryness. Something in him told him to run. It ordered him to move his feet, to run back to the comfort of the spare bedroom in Gobber’s house. But it was too late to turn back now. The train was almost here, and all of his friends were waiting for him, 2 and a half hours away. He didn’t give any sort of verbal response to his uncle–figure’s pep-talk, Gary simply opened his arms, and leaned his weight on the two of them. Gobber and Stoick instantly hugged him back.
“Don’t get too homesick, kid.” Stoick uttered, which made Gobber smack his arm.
“Don’t jinx it for him!”
After a few more seconds of silence, the dark brunette let go. “Thanks, guys…” He mumbled under his breath, before trying his best to regain his composure and turning to face his next goodbye. His little sister.
Adelaide Jorgenson resembled the closest to their late mother. Long, curly, dirty-blond hair that hung over her shoulders, and draped over her back. There was so much of it that even with half of it clipped up in some sort of half-done bun, it still looked like she had a full head of hair. But she inherited their father’s piercing green eyes. But hers were often traced with sympathy, rather than aggression.
She was 4 years younger than Gary, and currently going through a ‘reclusive angsty teen’ phase, her eyeliner becoming darker and smokier with every time you saw her, it seemed. But both her and her older brother have gone through so much. It didn’t mean she was going to miss saying goodbye.
They didn’t say anything to each other at first. They stared at one another, before both of them began walking. The siblings reached out their arms, meeting in the middle for a tight embrace.
“Your grip’s getting stronger.” Gary commented into her ear. “You might be as strong as me one day.” He hummed, teasingly.
“I’m gonna miss you…” She responded, her voice so quiet that Gary could barely even hear it.
“I’ll be back for Christmas.” He assured her, pulling his face away from over her shoulder. “I promise. As long as you can promise me something in return.”
“What?” Adelaide asked.
Gary leaned his head back in, touching their foreheads together, blue eyes staring deep into green ones. “If he does anything to you, call me.” He whispered. “I’ll be back here before you can even think.”
Gary Senior hadn’t laid a hand on his daughter. Yet. Towards her, it was only verbal. It was the very boy who took his name out of respect and idolization who got the physical beatings. Everything changed the night the 11-year-old Adelaide took her father’s phone and dialed for any sort of authority that could come and help her 15-year-old brother covered in black, blue, and crimson. All he wanted was help answering a question he was stuck on for his nightly homework assignment. That night, Gary Junior watched as his father was shoved up against the hood of a vehicle, handcuffs clicking into place around his wrists, as a cold metallic hand protectively gripped his shoulder. The Jorgenson siblings lived with Gobber up until a few months ago. How their father got legal custody back for his children was beyond comprehension. The justice system had failed them with every chance they got. But he had acted differently ever since he had been released from jail.
He was far from a normal father, and Gary would never in his right mind forgive him for what he did, but the abuse stopped. Or it seemed to have, at least. Now he was just quiet, and stayed in his bedroom for most of the day. Gary almost begged for Adelaide to come with him. But he knew that the only world where he would have custody over his sister was in a world where their father was dead. She promised that she’d keep herself safe, but Gary was still worried, rightfully so.
He didn’t even give a glance to the intimidating figure that was looming in the corner. He knew it was his father. Why he came, he didn’t know, and he didn’t want to know. The familiar screeching of halting wheels filled the train station, luckily enough. It was followed by an announcement—a horn whistle, and then the conductor declaring their next stop. They had a couple of stops between Berk and the college campus, which actually added 15 more minutes to the train ride time, but it’ll go by faster than expected.
Gary stepped away from his sister, and grabbed the bags he left on the ground in front of his two uncles.
“I’ll watch her, Gare.” Gobber muttered into the younger’s ear in passing. He nodded in understanding, before waving to the crowd of people who watched him go. There were a few recognizable faces, close relatives of his friends and friends of his mother’s, in the crowd. He then let himself disappear onto the train after showing the ticket counter his phone screen, where he had stored his ticket.
The dark brunette sat down at a vacant window seat, one that overlooked the station. Adelaide was still waving at her brother from outside of the train. Gobber gave him a thumbs up of reassurance. And Stoick was watching him with a look he hadn’t seen. On his own father, anyway. Genuine pride. He tried looking for his father, who was lurking in the back, within the darker shadows against the wall. But now, he was nowhere to be found.
Once the train took off, he turned back to face the front. As beautiful cliffs and scenic valleys rolled by, Gary couldn’t find his eyes watching them. Instead, his gaze lingered on the bite mark on his hand that was starting to redden and swell.
Chapter Text
“We have arrived at the Coagad College campus. If this is your stop, please exit the train as your earliest convenience. Thank you.”
This ominous robotic voice is what woke Gary up from his power nap. He was practically sprawled across the passenger seat, his head lulled to the side, and drooling helplessly onto his shoulder. He drew in a sharp breath as he began to wake himself up, and groggily wiped away the spit that oozed down the side of his jaw. He cringed at the sense of it on his hand before he wiped it away on his jeans. Gary took to his feet, and let out a monstrous yawn as he stretched his arms into the air. Once he regained his composure, he glanced down to see almost every other passenger on the train car staring at him. Sending them a warning stare is what made them all back to whatever they may have been doing.
The dark brunette grabbed his bags—one that was down by his feet, and the other up in the spare luggage compartment—and strolled out of the train car. He had almost tripped on the step down onto the train station pavement due to having just woken up, but his embarrassment from it was soon pulled away by the sound of a very familiar voice that called out his name. Gary’s eyes flicker upwards to meet with his cousin, who was waving excitedly and walking towards him. The two of them met in the middle to embrace each other.
“Hey, Hic—” Gary chirped, pulling away from the hug. He glanced around the rest of the station. There was only Hiccup. No Justin, no Astrid, and certainly no sign of the twins. “Oh, where’s everybody else?” His eyes meet with hazel ones again, a thick brow arching up in confusion.
“They all stayed behind at the dorms.” Hiccup explained, letting go of his younger cousin. He moved to his side, slinging an arm around his broad shoulders. “I think they’ve got a surprise for you.” He coaxed for the two of them to start walking.
“Oh? What kind of surprise?” Gary challenged, slinging an arm back around Hiccup’s shoulder.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you what it was, Snot.” The other replied, a mocking smirk spreading across his lips.
“You can’t give me a hint?” The younger one pouted, batting his eyelashes at his cousin as they emerged from the station and into the parking lot, their arms now kept to themselves.
“Nope! You’re going to have to wait and see what it is for yourself.” Hiccup unpocketed the set of keys in the left pocket of his jeans, pressing the button on the ignition to unlock his car. It was a dark grey Chevy SUV, and even though Hiccup’s had it for 4 years, it still somehow looks brand new. Even from the squeaky clean inside. Gary was always fascinated on how his cousin could keep his car so clean and new–looking.
Feeling bad if even a single piece of gravel that was lodged in the bottom of his shoe got into Hiccup’s passenger seat, Gary was sure to shake off any potential debris off of his shoes before he entered the vehicle.
“I appreciate the effort,” the lighter brunette hummed, “but you don’t have to worry about getting something in my car, really. Unless you were like… covered head to toe in mud. That’s when I’d care.” He got himself into the driver’s side, shutting the door and buckling himself in.
“But your car’s so clean…” Gary whined, guiltily, “If I kept up with my motorbike this much I’d definitely want to keep it that way.”
“You do though.” Hiccup retorted, as the SUV roared to life. “You were so picky about who picked up your motorcycle to lift it into the truck the other day. You warned all of us that if you found one scratch on it later that we were all dead.”
“Still keeping my word, by the way.” The other mumbled, not denying the fact that this happened.
The two of them made it about halfway to the main dorm hall in a comfortable silence. But as they were passing the small residential neighborhood of condos, Hiccup spoke up again. “Hey, Gare. Um…” His focus was completely on the road, but Gary’s was now onto him. His eyes read with a tone of concern for what he’s about to ask. Hiccup would’ve picked up on this, if only he was looking. “Is… Adelaide going to be okay?”
He flinched at the question, not expecting this confrontation. He didn’t want his cousin to think that he had just abandoned his little sister and left her with their monster of a father—not that Hiccup would think that… but his brain was suddenly going haywire. The lighter brunette finally let his hazel eyes wander over to the darker brunette, and quickly noticed the panicked look on his face. “Too soon to ask?” He squeaked.
“No—no—” Gary shook his head, sitting upright in his seat, staring straight ahead of him. There was another beat of silence, this time filled with awkwardness, as Gary let himself taste each word before letting them leave his lips. “It’s just… something I’ve been stressed about. Gobber said he’d watch her though.”
Hiccup nodded, properly directing his attention back to the road ahead. “That’s good. And… he—” He paused to clear his throat. “He hasn’t… hurt either of you?”
Gary shook his head. “No.”
“Is he really turning himself around?” His cousin threw out, teasingly.
The younger scoffed back, unable to hide the smile from appearing on his face. “I wouldn’t keep your hopes up, he’s still an asshole.”
Another, very long beat of silence, this one more comfortable than the last. But from Gary’s end, the unsettling nature of the silence grew as a certain thought was eating at the back of his brain.
“You don’t think I just—up and left her, do you?” The darker brunette blurted out. Which made the older one whip his head around to stare right at him.
“What? No! Of course I don’t!” Hiccup relentlessly shook his head, his attention panning back to the road. “You’re doing this out of your own volition, are you not?” He asked, his tone now, rather than surprised and booming, was as soft as silk. “You even tried asking if she could’ve come with you.”
“Yeah—I know—it’s just—-” Gary winced, cutting himself off.
“You’re not alone, Gary.” The lighter brunette let his gaze flicker over to the darker brunette, just for a moment, to rest his slender, freckled hand on top of the other’s large, battered up freckled hand. “I’m here for you—the whole gang’s here for you—Hel, almost all of Berk was there to support you that night.” Gary not-so-subtly wrapped his hand around Hiccup’s comfortingly. “I’m just trying to let you know. If you need somewhere to go, or someone to talk to, you have someone in every corner. I speak for all of us.”
The younger waited a few moments before he responded. He let the words sit in the pit of his stomach. It was like trying to digest a meal your body was trying to reject back out of your mouth. These were the words he wanted to hear, but it was like he didn’t know whether he wanted to push everyone away, or keep them close and never let them leave. He didn’t know whether he enjoyed the reassuring speech or whether he thought Hiccup was completely making it up. But he couldn’t sit there in silence forever. He had to say something .
“You sound corny.” Mocking, blue eyes met with hazel ones, as the two of them had finally parked in the parking lot of the dormitory hall.
“Glad to see that my little cousin hasn’t changed a bit since I last saw him.”
Hiccup gave Gary’s hand a firm squeeze, before letting go, and getting out of the SUV. The two of them stepped into the sunlight of a late afternoon summer that beamed down onto them with a familiar fury. The dark brunette didn’t even notice as Hiccup took out his phone to rapidly text someone, his eyes were completely fixated on his Harley, which now took the spot right next to Laverne’s beige-silvery 2000 Toyota Camry, which honestly looked like it had seen better days. He almost hesitated to walk over, he was almost afraid of what could have potentially happened to his motorcycle in the span of the last two days of Gary not being here with it. With her , actually. Giving the motorcycle a set of pronouns that wasn’t just ‘it’ or ‘its’, like how rich people did with boats. He always secretly thought it was kinda cool, even though he verbally expressed how ‘lame’ and ‘dumb’ it was.
Once he walked over, though, and thoroughly inspected it, he was relieved to find out that there was no damage. No further damage, anyway, other than a couple of scratches that totally weren’t Gary’s fault. He remembered breaking down on the days he discovered the scratches. Astrid had rolled her eyes and called him a baby, reminding him that people elsewhere had it a lot tougher than he currently did, with his motorcycle situation. All affectionately, of course.
Gary shook himself out of his thoughts, and scampered back over to his cousin’s side, who was still texting back and forth with someone. “Who are you texting that’s more important than me?” He joked, that stupid smug smirk spread across his stupid face.
“It may or may not be related to the surprise.” Hiccup casually hummed.
The younger one playfully rolled his eyes. “Right, the secret you can’t tell me about.” He scoffed, making his way through the entrance of the dormitory hall.
“I think that counts for every secret.” Hiccup retorted, following in Gary’s trail. “And, besides, you’ll be seeing it soon.”
The duo grab a set of keys for Vern and Gary’s dorm room from the man behind the front desk, who had handed them the set of keys—a main one and a spare—for room “45” without even looking up from his phone. Hiccup was almost impressed, leaving after quietly thanking him, down the hall with the odd numbered dorm rooms. There was one hall—on the left—with the even numbered rooms, and the one on the right was for the odd numbered rooms. Astrid’s room was on the even side, and Ginny’s room was also on the odd side, a few doors away from her brother’s.
The rooms were admittedly huge. Not like your typical dorm room. Most of them were more like tiny apartments, hooked up with their own kitchen and living room—albeit both areas of the dorm were cramped. They didn’t know why they still called them dorm rooms with that kind of budget.
Once Gary and Hiccup reached the 45th room down the hall, the lighter brunette gave the wooden door a swift knock, almost like an alert to whoever was in there. He waited a few moments, hearing shuffling from inside of the dormitory, before he shoved the key into the keyhole, twisted it until he heard a click, and then opened the door. Before Gary could even part his lips to ask his cousin why he chose to knock on the door and then stand there for a couple of seconds, he stepped into the seemingly dark room, before he was interrupted with a harsh, sudden light, and chorused yelling.
“Surprise!!” The four blondes declared.
Gary’s eyes had to adjust themselves to darkness, then readjust themselves back to light all in a matter of 7 seconds. But once he could focus again, he truly saw what was laid out before him.
It was Ginny, Vern, Justin, and Astrid, three of them surrounding the kitchen counter where along with a chocolate cake, were bowls of various other snacks as well. Ginny was the one who had moved over to control the lightswitch, she was off to the right just a tad, over by the wall. Above their heads, was a long banner, A white one, decorated in fancy red and orange trimming. Large, red letters danced across the paper that read as follows: “Welcome Home, Snotlout!”
The dark brunette cracked an amused smile at the nickname sprawled across the banner, but it turned genuine once he glanced back down at the whole array. “Is this for me?” Gary asked, voice almost cracking from the genuine surprise and joy he couldn’t even try to hide from his face.
“Who else would this be for?” Astrid asked, leaning an arm back onto the counter. Fair point. Gary felt a short rush of embarrassed stupidity go through him. That was a dumb question to ask.
“It was Vern’s idea.” Justin chimed in, reciprocating Gary’s face–splitting smile with one of his own, and vaguely gesturing to the lanky blonde next to him.
“What?” Laverne squawked, embarrassed now that the spotlight was on him. He was trying to find any other gaze that wasn’t Gary’s, before it just landed on the tile flooring at the unsuccess of the attempt. “Pssh—it was nothin’.” He quickly humbled himself, waving off Justin’s remark and nonchalantly slouching his shoulders. “I just… figured that we should make Gare’s first day here on campus be comfortable for him, y’know?” Crystalline optics meet with sapphire ones, his embarrassment slowly turning into genuine care and concern. Even if it was just for a moment. “You seemed really stressed out lately, man…”
Great, another confrontation. Even with the very kind gesture of a custom banner and food, intertwined within it was just another confrontation with reality, right? The shortest of the group let his brows furrow and unfurrow, not sure if he wanted to come off as ungrateful or dismissive to the topic at hand. He didn’t want to go the ungrateful route, so settled for trying to dismiss the topic. Gary shrugged. “I’m… fine.” His words were hesitant, as if he had to force the lie to get past his lips. His eyes fell to the floor, then back up to meet everyone else’s eyes. He always wanted everyone’s eyes to be on him, just not like this. He grumbled to himself. Why couldn’t things just be happy, for one moment?
But then he remembered what Hiccup had said in the car on the way here.
“I’m just trying to let you know. If you need somewhere to go, or someone to talk to, you have someone in every corner. I speak for all of us.”
He wanted to talk to his friends, of course, if they were willing to listen, but too many contradicting thoughts were running through his brain. Some of them still continued to tell him that they were all lying or playing all of this up just for their own sick entertainment. Gary didn’t have the time or energy to pick through each one and decipher through them.
“I don’t want you guys to worry,” that’s if they even are actually worried about you, “But I don’t… want to talk about this right now. Later. When I’m more… settled in. That’s when I’ll be ready. On my own terms.” Gary nodded, his crown angled low, eyes widened and staring right up at his friends. “I want to enjoy my surprise.” That’s when his head lifted back up, and the smile came back to his face. “I won’t be able to thank you guys enough for this.”
It took a moment to wait for the brain cogs to start kicking into gear, but eventually, it was Astrid who nodded in acceptance first. “Yeah, okay. Understandable.”
“We can wait for you to be ready!” Justin hummed with a quick nod. “Take as long as you need.”
“Yeah,” Vern strolled over to Gary’s side, slinging a lanky arm around his shoulders. Gary watched, wide–eyed, and surprised that his arm could even reach far enough to curl back around to touch right above his stomach. “Sorry, for killing the mood. This is supposed to be a happy welcoming party.”
The dark brunette mentally tumbled over his words. “I—uh—um. No—it’s—you’re fine.” He managed to pick himself back up, and finished what he was trying to convey, but he didn’t leave the floor without a few scuffs and bruises. He was staring at Vern’s hand for what seemed like eons, before pulling his eyes away, and having them land somewhere worse . His face.
Pale, crystalline eyes that had locked into his. The way the bridge of his nose turned off to one side, before leading down to the tip. The result of a harsh punch thrown by his own sister when they were both about 5. The bone never managed to heal back properly. The braids that strayed from the rest of his golden locks, and curled around his angled cheekbone and jawline. He mesmerized all of it. Every single bit.
He felt Astrid’s eyes burning into him from over by the cake on the counter. Although he never met her gaze, he could already hear the words she so desperately wanted to say. “A phase, huh?”
“Yes.” He wanted to reply. “Just like some silly high school crush. That’s all this is. I just need to let it pass.”
Gary told the mental Astrid to shut up, before forcing his gaze to turn back to the cake on the counter. “You guys even remembered my favorite cake flavor!” He took a step away from Vern, trying his hardest to distract himself from the sparkle of wonder he thought he saw in his eyes as he stared back at him.
“Duhhh,” Ginny commented, “because it's the worst one.”
“That take has to be the worst one. Especially hearing it come from you.” Justin responded, face contorting into disappointment.
“Sheeple!! All of you!!” The female Thorston twin continued, her pointing gaze landing on each of the five people who were in the kitchen with her. “No one will ever understand the greatness that is Red Velvet cake like I do.”
“Velvet isn’t even a flavor.” Gary sneered, as he had already grabbed a knife and started cutting into the cake. “It’s a fabric texture.”
After another minute of arguing about which cake flavor was the best one, the fire had died down and melted away at the sheer taste of the rich, airy, chocolate cake. Even if they couldn’t agree on whatever the best cake flavor was, there was one thing for sure. This one tasted fantastic.
“Are you sure this was store–bought, Justin?” Astrid asked the larger, round–faced blond.
“Yeah, they usually taste cheap as fuck. This… doesn’t . I bet he made one from scratch and posed it off as a store–bought one to not make us feel bad.” Vern added on, a snicker leaving his body right before shoving another chocolatey bite into his mouth.
“I didn’t!!” Justin argued, face hot, embarrassed that Laverne had even suggested that. “I bought it from the grocery store!! I promise!”
“This actually isn’t that bad. For chocolate.” Eugene admits, with a small shrug of her shoulders.
“Stop trying to be nonchalant.” Vern elbowed her in the forearm. “Justttt admit that it’s the best cake you’ve ever had.”
“Mom’s Red Velvet cake is the best cake I’ve ever had.” She corrects him, leaning towards her brother and sending him a threatening snarl.
After conversations continued, and time seemingly slipped by their train of thought, the sun had already said its goodbyes as it disappeared behind the rest of the apartment buildings. Now the moon was high in the sky, and hues of oranges and pinks were still finishing off their show along the horizon line. They had eaten off a good portion of the cake, about 1/4th of it left on the platter now. That was when Justin suddenly perked up. “Wait! We didn’t even show him the best part!” The tallest of the group interjected.
Everyone’s attention turns towards him. “I’m sure he’s noticed by now.” Astrid replied, her eyes gently carrying themselves over to the small family room.
Gary, clueless, followed her gaze. In front of the couch, there laid a large blanket that took up most of the carpet, and five pillows lined up in a row. Another pile of about six blankets sat off to the side on the floor. Only sort of understanding the situation, his attention turns back to his friends.
Laverne sensed the touch of confusion that lingered behind Gary’s eyes, so he decided to explain. “A big sleepover! Just like we all used to do when we were younger!”
“I remember switching from house to house every couple of days, multiple sleepovers back to back during long summer breaks.” Hiccup chimed in, a reminiscent hum laced through his words.
“Most of them were at our house though, because we had a pool and a trampoline.” Ginny bragged.
“And because your mom didn’t kick us out after one night like Hiccup’s dad did.” Said Astrid.
“It was only because the twins were screaming the whole time… it’s like they were doing it on purpose.” Hiccup argued lightheartedly, standing up from his chair. The other five followed suit, giggling amongst themselves. They each took a spot—Hiccup sitting off to the left of the couch, then Vern sitting right in front of the arm rest, then Ginny, Astrid, and Justin on the other end. They insisted that Gary took the couch, since this was about him. The rest of them would’ve felt guilty if they took the couch and left Gary on the floor.
“What should we watch then?” Ginny asked, voluntarily grabbing the TV remote and turning the TV on.
“A horror movie.” Vern answered, too quickly
“I’ll have nightmares, I can only handle horror if we’re watching it in broad daylight.” Justin reminded him.
“Right…” The male Thorston twin mused.
“A documentary?” Hiccup suggested, shifting his artificial leg under his blanket.
“We’re trying to stay awake, not fall asleep from boredom.” Eugene rolled her eyes, flickering through the streaming service options.
“How about one of those stupid romcoms?” Gary piped up. The others glanced back at him. “So we can make fun of it the entire time.” While the others muttered in agreement, Astrid gave him a knowing look. He met her gaze, and stared back at her, eyes sharpening threateningly. She bit back an amused laugh through a slight upturn of her lip, and turned back to the TV screen.
Ginny finally picked one after 4 more minutes of searching—3 of those 4 minutes being spent as the twins bickered about whether they should watch Sixteen Candles or Sixteen Wishes, her arguing that Sixteen Candles was one of her favorite movies growing up, and him arguing that the movie was actually good and they all wanted to watch something that was bad, so they should be picking the latter. In which they did.
About a third of the way through the movie, Gary decided to properly lay down on the pillow he was thankfully provided with on the couch. But he quickly realized that someone’s head was now in the way of him viewing the movie. Vern’s. The dark brunette scoffed, breaking the momentary silence that fell upon the group as they paid attention to the ridiculous plot. “Hey, Vern-o, your big ass head’s in the way.” He called, brows furrowing playfully as his friend’s gaze turned to meet with his own.
“You’re one to talk about big heads.” Vern sneered, but obeyed, scooting himself back against the arm of the couch, and leaning his head back against it, now practically sitting right next to Gary. His eyes drift away from the movie, and land on the blond next to him. He wished that it was only for a brief moment, but his gaze lingered for 60 seconds longer than he wanted it to. He only had snapped his attention back to the movie then they all started complaining about something stupid the main character did. Gary quietly cursed himself out for missing this clearly important part of the plot. “What happened?” A voice sounded from next to him.
He hadn’t even noticed that Vern heard him mutter the curse under his breath. The dark brunette glanced back, quickly putting on a calm and collected facade. “I missed whatever happened in the movie… I started to fall asleep.”
Laverne’s head rolled over, his face now facing towards Gary’s. “Sucks to suck.” He flashed him a quick, playful smile, before rolling his head back to the screen.
“Asshole.”
There was a moment of silence that fell over the two. Justin was complaining about the inconsistency of the entire film—mostly to himself, since practically no one else was listening. Intently, anyway. Ginny was pointing out any time any of the actors made a stupid face, Astrid was letting her laughter pass as sharp exhales through her nose as Ginny did so. Hiccup was silently watching, seemingly… actually invested in what was going on. But Vern’s and Gary’s attentions were half on each other, and half on the TV screen.
“Hey,” The blond mumbled, eventually wanting to spark up a new conversation. His head rolled to the side again. Sapphire eyes flicker over to him, and Gary hums softly in acknowledgment. “I know you said you didn’t wanna talk about it, but… think about this more like a quick check in.” He advised, before asking his question. “Are you feeling better? Better than you were earlier, I mean.”
Gary thought about it for a couple of beats, his eyes wandering, as if he were trying to find his answer around the room. But eventually, his gaze meets back with Vern’s. “Yeah, I do feel better.” He responded, short and sweet. A grateful smile even spread across his lips.
“Good. I did my job then.” Laverne lifted his arms, crossing them behind his head, as if he had just done a bunch of work and went on a well deserved break. The shorter one chuckled at his attitude.
“Whatever…” He murmured back, letting another beat of quiet wash over the two, before adding on, “Thank you, though.”
The taller one shrugged. “What friends are for, right?”
As Gary felt a familiar sense of slumber begin to kick in, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, he relaxed further against the sofa. It was as if something in his brain had finally decided to shut off the power for the night, as if they were closing up a department store. The smile lingered, tired trills leaving his lips as he was cascaded by his urges to fall asleep. “Mmmhm… yeah… What friends are for…” He mused in return, his eyelids finally giving way, and shutting over his eyes.
Notes:
coagad derives from the scottish word, coagadh, which means "war" :33