Chapter six, in which we get a little sparknotes version of their first meeting, and start connecting to the old version! :D

Chapter 6 – Sparks

"You'd just moved to Berk and, uh, weren't really the best with gas hobs," Hiccup said, intertwining his fingers, his eyes flickering up to hers shortly. She smiled hesitantly. "I guess you must've kept the gas going for too long and when you lit it, the flame sparked a bit too much and set something on fire that was lying around. So, you called the fire department and I think Gobber – my uncle – was on call duty and he picked up. Made me and my cousin drive out there. He'd told you to evacuate and we met you outside." He trailed off, seemingly lost in thoughts, chuckling softly.

"You were so beautiful. I was acting annoyed, the more you called. But the whole time I just … I couldn't stop thinking about you."

He could feel her eyes on him, carefully watching him. Astrid's eyes fixed on his jaw (she wondered when he'd last shaved) as he spoke and then wandered up; his green eyes looked very vibrant in contrast to the red shirt, she thought. And the stubble didn't make him any less attractive, a treacherous little voice added.

"Well, eventually – I think it must have been your second call or so that week – I finally mustered up the courage to ask for your number. I kept thinking I was crazy, and that I was at work and you must think me very unprofessional and weird and then you … asked me as well. At the same time"

He let out a chuckle. "It felt like one of those rom-com moments, you know? I think I said something stupid, like, 'I'll give you my number if you give me yours'. You laughed. And I just … I don't know, it was almost like a vision. I love your laugh. In that moment, I thought how it kind of sounded like … I wanted to hear you laugh again. Forever. It's funny how those things happen."

Her ears were burning. She stayed silent. She was twenty-three – or, she had been when they'd met.

Suddenly, Hiccup looked directly at her. "Tell me – tell me something?" he asked, his voice hesitant.

Astrid nodded, awaiting his question. He started fiddling with his ring finger again. Almost reflexively, her hands touched his ring on her finger. He opened his mouth, but no sound came forth except a noise that sounded like a curt chuckle.

Finally, he met her eyes, his gaze steady on hers.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

She paused, slightly taken aback. Of all the things she'd been expecting him to say, this had not been it.

"Well," she started and paused, furrowing her brow. Now that he'd asked, she didn't really know anymore. Had she told anyone? The memories of her talk with Dr Emrys seemed blurry now, hazy. "I think I … remember calling the fire department, actually. I must have spoken to your uncle, then. I'd tried putting out the fire but was afraid of getting burnt. So I grabbed Stormfly's cage – she was sleeping already, I think. And I just kind of … ran out. I don't have a lot of stuff in my apartment, you know. Not a lot of … sentimental stuff I might want to hold on to. I think … I was still wearing my jacket? So I had my walled with me. Once I'm outside, it kind of starts getting … blurry. It's like … when you're so drunk you black out. That's what it feels like."

She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders, looking back up at him. His emerald eyes looked very warm and very, very tired now.

"I met you on that day, maybe three minutes later," he said quietly, smiling softly.

Astrid's shoulders slumped. She felt kind of numb.

"How many years have we … been married?" she asked then, her voice raspy. She grabbed her drink from the table.

He smiled. "Two years. Well, in a month it'll be three. We've known each other for five years now. We got married when we were both twenty-five."

She nodded ever so slightly. Her body felt strange, as if it wasn't hers at all, with a mind that felt like it was jet-lagged, with five years she didn't recognise as her own. Right now, she had a life that would have to be reconstructed for her.

Suddenly, she felt very tired.

When Astrid woke up, Hiccup was snoring lightly. Groaning she sat up and groggily reached for the glass of water on her bedside table, hungrily gulping down the stale liquid.

For a while she sat there, motionless, staring at her hands. On her right hand, the wedding rings gleamed in the golden morning sunlight. The clock to her left told her it was only 7 am.

Her eyes fell to her right. Sunlight poured itself on a tousled mop of auburn hair in stark contrast with the crisp white mattress. He was snoring, his face hidden in the crook of his elbow, resting on the edge of her bed.

Astrid felt strange watching him sleep. Part of her felt like invading his privacy, the other thought how peaceful he looked like this. She almost would have brushed a stray strand of hair out of his eyes. Almost. She pulled back and closed her eyes, leaning against the pillows.

How am I feeling?

She didn't know. Checking in with herself seemed impossible. How could she, when the woman she was now was as distant to her as the memory of the man sleeping soundly next to her? She had got snippets of herself from him yesterday, at best. There was still so much left to take in and process and accept and remember. Her gaze fell back onto his sleeping face.

She was lucky, she mused, as she took in his sharp jawline and freckled skin and the messy, auburn hair. He really was attractive. Her ... husband. The word itself still seemed like a lot to take in. The more she thought about it though, the luckier she considered herself.

From what she knew so far was that he had callouses all over his hands from work and basketball and that his hands were very gentle. The only thing she had seen him touch so far except his own hands while fiddling, was her and his hands had been careful. She thought about how someone could be so careful while touching another person.

His gaze had been so intense, so burning on her skin that it seemed as though he was trying to edge her into his memory detail after detail, mapping out every inch of her. Then again, he had looked at her with so much warmth and care that she thought surely it must be impossible to be loved this much.

But she was. Yet, he was still a stranger. Astrid did not really know this man, no matter how much he loved her. But she wished, almost longed, to be able to love him back ... again.

Sudden anger bubbled up inside of her. Anger at herself and cars and drivers - a hit and run, they'd said.

Beside her Hiccup stirred and groaned softly.

The anger did not subside; on the contrary, it seemed to only grow at the thought of the fact that she could just be in bed, next to her husband and watch him wake up. Happily. Injury-free. Without a throbbing head and an aching leg she was on painkillers for and a wrist she couldn't even bend. With a head and a body that were still hers.

She wanted to scream, cry, punch something, find the person who had done this to her, but all she could do was lay there in the morning light that continued to drip onto her bed without any hurry.

Hiccup's eyes fluttered open. At the sight of his wife, his lips curved into a warm smile. "Morning," he mumbled, lazily dragging his free arm across the mattress and draping it around her waist. Astrid froze cold in her tracks, shivers running down her spine at his touch.

His arm felt heavy and warm and familiar, and what was that feeling?

"Oh - oh God, I'm sorry!" Hiccup darted up, yanking his arm away from her. Astrid blinked. The moment was gone.

"Sorry," he repeated, apologetically searching her gaze. Still completely dumbfounded, Astrid's mind was scrambling to keep up with that moment, that thought she'd just had.

"Astrid?"

"Do that again," she stated flatly. This time, he blinked.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Could you please do that again?" the young woman repeated, this time clearer and whilst meeting his eyes.

Hiccup seemed to understand, swallowed and quickly put his arm back around her waist.

Astrid closed her eyes, trying to focus on the weight around her and the warmth of his arm and the sunlight -

- sunlight was dripping onto washed out reddish bedsheets - the auburn of someone's hair seemed to be melting into the fabric - an arm draped around her waist, pulling her close - warm breath against her skin - a nose nuzzling into the crook of her neck - lips pressing a kiss on her collarbone -

Astrid gasped, opening her eyes. Hiccup's arm left her side abruptly, his voice frantic.

"What's wrong? Astrid? Should I call-"

"I think I - I just remembered something," she said, still stunned. The young man stopped in his tracks.

"You did?"

Astrid nodded, still trying to keep the memory in place.

"I think we're laying in bed. Somewhere with a red duvet. It's warm and," she felt heat crawl up her skin. "You have your arm around me, pulling me close. And you- " she stopped abruptly, not daring to tell him. Her face was burning.

And yet she found him staring at her in awe, his eyes soft and full of hope and wonder.

"I-" he started, then seemed to change his mind and nodded.

"Do you know when that could have been?" Astrid asked, now set on determining it as something. A specific memory with a specific day or month, year, anything. She was disappointed.

"Well, that could have been any day since basically five years ago. Or maybe since we moved in together. I'm sorry, I don't really know. I also do that a lot - pull- pull you closer, I mean. In the morning. I'm trying to keep you from getting up," he blushed and cleared his throat.

"Do you want breakfast?" she heard him say. "I'll call Ruff and she could join us if you'd like."

Astrid nodded and watched him get up and dial a number on his phone, her cheeks rushing with blood again, a strange feeling in her chest as she watched his thin fingers fly across the phone.

"I, uh, should get going," Hiccup said, somewhat nervously, getting up from his chair, clearing his throat as he looked at Astrid. "I'll leave you two alone. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure," Astrid said, smiling at him. There was hesitation in her smile and she hoped Hiccup wouldn't mind.

He nodded, waving to Rachel shortly.

"Okay, I l- will see you tomorrow. I'll bring you some fresh clothes and some skincare and stuff."

"Okay. Thanks."

Astrid's voice felt rough as she spoke and she swallowed, her eyes never leaving Hiccup as he slowly turned around and walked out of the room.

The door clicked close. Astrid exhaled, almost relieved.

"You okay?" she heard Ruffnut ask next to her; she nodded, turning towards her.

"Yeah. Um, this might sound weird but … is it just me or is he, like, kind of really hot?"

Ruffnut snorted with laughter. "I mean, you're definitely biased but yeah, he's good-looking. Not really my type but still. I guess you can't really go wrong with a firefighter, huh?"

Astrid felt herself blush slightly. "Okay," she said, her voice unusually high for her. "Good. Just checking."

They continued to sit in silence for a few minutes until Astrid asked quietly, "How's Tuff?"

Rachel snorted. "Oh, don't ask. Last I heard of him he was backpacking around some island I've never heard of in my life but he's gonna come back in a couple of days. What else, he's … been trying to open up his own restaurant, you know how he's always complaining about no good vegan options in town? Uh … a couple of years ago he randomly got engaged to this girl for like … three days after knowing her for maybe a week, two weeks tops and then she broke it off because of Chicken, which … yikes but we can unpack that later."

Astrid was listening as Ruffnut rambled on about her gym membership and work gossip and guys she'd been out with, and she knew she was doing her a favour by talking about anything and everything. It was so comforting she almost drifted off to sleep.

Ruffnut quietly clicked the door to Astrid's room shut and turned around to find Hiccup sitting on one of the chairs in front of the room. Without a word, she sat down next to him and together, they both stared at the floor.

She'd never have expected it, but over the years, her and Hiccup had grown close enough to form their own little friendship, and by now he almost felt like family to her.

"How you holding up?" she asked, her hands tucked beneath her thighs as she raised her eyes to the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. One of the cold lights was flickering. Really leaning into the stereotypes here, she thought.

She felt Hiccup sigh beside her.

"I can't remember the last time I got a good night's sleep. I just … keep having this nightmare where ... I get called out to a scene, a car crash, and I come closer and just," he paused, taking a shaking breath, biting down the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "the closer I get, I - I see her face and I know she's dead."

Ruffnut cursed beneath her breath and met his gaze.

"What about you?" he asked her softly, wiping his eyes. Her lips curved into a hesitant smile.

"I'm okay. At least she remembers me, you know? Sorry," she added quickly upon seeing his face. "Sorry, that was insensitive."

"No, it's okay," he replied and scrubbed his hands over his face. "I get it. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. Is she sleeping now?"

She nodded and they sat in silence for a while. A lot of loaded silences today, she thought and after a while, bumped their shoulders together.

"You wanna grab a coffee?"

Hiccup smiled now, for the first time since leaving Astrid's room. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Could use a bite, too."

Ruffnut got up, grabbing her bag.

"Okay but if all they have is egg and cress sandwiches again, you have to take all of my cress."

He chuckled. "Okay, deal."

Thanks for reading! :D I hope you have a wonderful week ahead of you!