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Hiccup jolted into consciousness when he felt the bus jerk into a stop. When did he fall asleep? He straightened in his seat with a grimace and shook the cobwebs of sleep from his mind. He looked outside and saw a sprawl of trees and road-packed dirt. At the front, the few passengers that remained were ambling off the vehicle, loaded with their bags and armed with their cameras. 

Tourists, his mind supplied. Although what the sleepy town of Gravity Falls could offer, Hiccup still didn’t know. 

“Any day now kid.” He snapped into attention, the bus driver meeting his gaze with unmasked impatience. 

“Oh! Right, sorry,” Hiccup replied sheepishly as he scrambled up from his seat. He gathered his things, nearly tripping on his shoelaces in his haste. A hand on his elbow saved him from his fall. That was one less shining remembrance from this bus. 

“You alright there?” 

A guy about his age stood behind him. His brown eyes met Hiccup’s with concern and the latter felt himself blush. It irked him a bit that he always found himself flustered in front of pretty boys, and this boy certainly counted as one. He hoped to all the gods not to throw him into some generic YA summer romance bullshit. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m alright,” Hiccup said. He stumbled and bumped into the seats, too hurried in straightening to a stand. He laughed to cover his embarrassment. “Thanks, by the way.” The smile he directed at the guy was undoubtedly awkward; at least, he wasn’t stuttering, he’ll take what he could get. 

He definitely didnothear the huff of annoyance from the driver. 

Hiccup reached for his suitcase. He tugged at it and found himself almost knocking against the handle. Dammit why did it get itself stuck between the seats? This time, the blush definitely had nothing to do with the boy. 

“Here, let me—” the guy fiddled with the seat’s control and the backrest adjusted, hand on the side of Hiccup’s suitcase, he simply slid the case and it merrily rolled out into the aisle. Hiccup’s eyes hurt from how much he was glaring at it. “There.” 

“Thank you.” 

“Don’t mention it.” He smiled at him and Hiccup returned it with a less-awkward-less-embarrassed-more-honest smile. 

The both of them got off the bus, much to the relief of the bus driver. The bus acted like a particularly pissed off cat as it hissed and snapped the jaws of its doors shut. It rolled away, leaving Hiccup and his unnamed companion on the bus stop. None of the other passengers were milling around. They’d probably been picked up by their rides. Was there shuttle service into the town? 

Hiccup turned to the guy, mouth open to make conversation just to eat the silence, when a car pulled over and a jubilant shout of “Tony!” stopped him. The guy—Tony, apparently—looked up and a bright expression spread over his face. 

“Andy!” he greeted back with a wave. He took a step forward but paused and looked back to Hiccup. “Hey, uhm, I hope this isn’t weird since we’ve only met and I don’t know your name, but do you need a ride into town? I’m sure my cousin wouldn’t mind.” 

Hiccup blinked. Well, he didn’t exactly expect that to be Tony’s next words. He could be offering to be polite. Tony seemed like the Good Samaritan kind of guy—ready to help, asking nothing in return. He probably saw Hiccup’s scrawny frame and worried he’ll get eaten by a bear up the road or something. The woods here did give him an eerie vibe. Like it’s watching them. Shit, now he’s getting paranoid. 

“Hiccup,” he found himself saying, just to cut off his thoughts, “People call me Hiccup.” It was Tony’s turn to blink. (His nickname sounded ridiculous, of course he knows this.) “And I appreciate the offer but my grandpa’s probably on his way.” As if summoned by his words, he saw a familiar blue wagon driving up the road. “Actually, there he is.” 

Tony’s eyes followed the direction Hiccup gestured to. “Okay, it was nice meeting you Hiccup. Maybe I’ll see you around town?” He didn’t know why he nodded. Maybe there was something about the hopeful intonation in Tony’s words. Hiccup would be lying if he said he didn’t like the idea of having someone to go to when he felt like having company. Summer vacation didn’t sound so bleak. 

“Bye Hiccup!” 

Hiccup waved back and watched Tony run up to the waiting car. His grandfather’s car stopped a few feet away and he made his way towards it. He greeted the man as he loaded his suitcase into the back. 

“Made a friend already?” the old man asked with a smile when Hiccup slid into the passenger seat. 

“I guess so,” he answered buckling himself in. 

“He looks like a nice boy.” Hiccup hummed. 

Far into the drive his grandfather said, “I’m happy you’re here lilledrage.” 

“Yeah, me too.” His grandfather doesn’t say a word about the pause. He doesn’t point out how obvious it was that Hiccup had to consider his reply. How the both of them knew it hadn’t been Hiccup’s idea to stay the summer here. 

He’s thankful anyway. 

“You know you could have just sent Uncle Kozmo to pick me up, right?” Tony said lifting his suitcase out of the trunk. “It would have saved you the drive and you’d be well on your way by now.” 

Andy snorted. “Yeah, and he’d be so happy to pick you up instead and leave the business unattended,” The car shook as the trunk slammed shut. The eye-roll told Tony just how absurd his cousin found that idea. 

“I thought he has a part-timer?” He dragged his suitcase with a bit of difficulty as they walked up to the house. He should have guessed why Andy took the other bag instead. The older boy was smiling at him, stride undeterred by the uneven ground, unlike Tony, who had to tug every now and then, before giving up and carrying the damn thing the rest of the way. 

“You mean Jack? Yeah, but you know Uncle Kozmo.” Andy shrugged. “He doesn’t trust anyone other than himself to keep the shop standing. Especially , Jack. The guy may be good at charming people to buy but if you want to have a shop to return to, better have someone to supervise him.” 

“Why exactly did Uncle Kozmo give him a job again?” Andy laughed at Tony’s incredulity. 

“Free labor.” And yeah, that did sound a lot like his Uncle. The man was the type who took advantage of a situation. Tony had no idea what deal Jack made with his Uncle. Anyone who knew the man understood that you just didn’t make deals with Kozmotis Pitchner. More likely than not, his uncle benefited more from this agreement than this Jack guy. 

“Uncle Kozmo! We’re back!” 

Andy didn’t wait for an answer, instead ushered Tony further into the house. He led Tony up the stairs, passing a few doors before Andy settled on one. It opened into an attic that’s been converted into a bedroom. Two beds were pushed up on opposite walls. One had a bedside drawer and a lamp. The other made do with a lantern set on top of a table. There wasn’t much decorations, save for the fluffy looking carpet and— was that a bird nest tucked in the beams?— an old painting of a ship. It wasn’t the fanciest or the biggest, but it certainly was clean, cozy and large enough to fit two people without brushing shoulders. 

“You’ll be taking my bed,” which Andy indicated by dumping his bag on the bed on the left. It’s only then that he noticed the packed bags at the foot of it. Tony rolled his suitcase inside and placed it against the wall on his side of the room. 

“Make yourself at home.” 

“What the f—” 

“Language, children.” Tony’s hand was still on his chest, heart jack rabbiting within, when he faced the door to see a tall man standing just outside of the room. A man that hadn’t been there a second ago when Tony’s eyes had glanced at it. At least he wasn’t alone in his embarrassment. Andy looked just as frightened as he did. 

“Why do you feel the need to do that!” his cousin huffed in mild annoyance. Uncle Kozmo raised a brow. Andy met it with a scowl—which Tony felt he would forever deny was actually a pout —before it melted and Andy threw his arms up in defeat, “Okay, I get it! Shouldn’t have asked that.” 

Their uncle shifted his attention to Tony, “Had a safe trip?” 

“It was.” He tried his best not to squirm under his uncle’s eyes. There was something about it that reminded him of the time they looked at blood under the microscope in Biology. Only, he was the blood and his Uncle was the one operating the microscope. 

Whatever it was his uncle had been looking for, he hummed and smoothed down his already wrinkle-free suit. “Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. North thought it prudent to share some of his casserole. Apparently, his Yeti made too much again, as if I’m an imbecile not to see through his mothering.” Tony had never seen anyone so exasperated from receiving free food, but their uncle sure looked it. He glanced at his cousin. Andy’s face told him exactly how amusing he found all of this was. 

“Come down when you’re ready,” and just as swiftly as he had appeared, their uncle left, steps quiet on the wooden floor. Tony had to blink, waving away the idea of shadows swallowing his uncle. 

Andy caught his eyes and whispered, “North’s an old friend of Uncle Kozmo. He also thinks he isn’t taking care of his guests well.” Meaning their uncle gave them free reign in the kitchen to feed themselves. Which is honestly more than any of them could ask from the man. As long as they didn’t waste anything from the pantry, they were free to use the supplies. This might be Tony’s first time to stay with his Uncle Kozmo, but he was familiar with the man’s brand of care. 

There was a reason Tony learned to cook at an early age and it had nothing to do with his parents owning a family restaurant. He still remembered being under his uncle’s watchful eyes as he cracked eggs in a bowl, careful not to spill any. There was also the memory of a soft pat on his head, the swell of warmth in chest and the grin splitting his face. 

“Let’s go,” Andy beckoned him. “It’s time you meet Jack.” 

Following his cousin out of the room, Tony wondered what his uncle’s part-time employee was like.