Here we go, another chapter (not as short as I originally planned it to be, I got carried away again) before the next date!

This will be last you'll see of me for the next 2-3ish weeks, sadly, as my a-levels are coming up (ohgodwhy).

Chapter 8 - Sunlight

Astrid skidded to a halt in front her calendar on the kitchen wall, coffee mug still in her hand.

She quickly retrieved a pen from a kitchen drawer and scribbled into the space for Friday, 'date w/ Hiccup 15:30!'. She grinned into her mug. So far she'd already mentioned him four times in a calendar she hadn't really used before. Except ... her gaze fell onto the date she had circled multiple times in red.

17th July.

A surge of energy went through her as she edged the date into her memory.

Okay. Two more weeks. Only two more weeks, then she'd have enough. Then she could finally quit and embark on a better journey.

Academical fulfillment, as someone had called it.

'Chase it.'

Oh, she would. And she was close to catching up.

She couldn't wait.

The sun had already started to rise by the time Astrid left her apartment for her morning run.

Now it painted Berk with soft shades of pink and orange, peeking just over the rooftops of the city. The young woman picked up a faster pace as she skipped around the corner, her feet beating the concrete in a steady rhythm.

Ten minutes later, however, Astrid felt as though she might collapse every given second now and came to a halt, panting, clutching her chest.

'Shit,' she thought. 'Am I just out of shape or going into cardiac arrest?'

She tried to walk on her wobbling legs and actually made it to the next turn before she decided she'd very much like to sit down, just for a minute or two.

'This is fine,' she thought, trying to breathe as evenly and deeply as possible. 'Inhale. Long exhale. Why did I ever stop running? Was snoozing EVER that good? Why did I have to trick myself into thinking I wouldn't enjoy running just to be stuck with THIS?'

Okay. She needed to get up. Sitting around on concrete wasn't going to get her back in shape.

So she heaved herself up and started walking, carefully watching her wobbly legs until she trusted them again.

Which wasn't the wisest decision as far as the occupation of her eyes went, she quickly realised as she collided with something.

Something solid.

Something warm.

Someone-

"Hiccup?" his name had tumbled off her lips before she'd even seen his face.

He was currently scrambling to pick up his headphones.

"Ooh, my god," he mumbled, "I am so sorry." Then he straightened up again, blinked and looked at her as if seeing her for the first time.

She grinned at his dumbfounded expression.

"You okay?"

Hiccup looked at her and suddenly he noticed the sun had come up and he wondered where his head had been.

"Hi," was the best he could come up with. "I, uh, didn't - wait. Let me start over."

Hiccup's heart was still racing, albeit not from running previously.

He inhaled and somehow his hands gravitated towards her as they uncurled, relieving the tension of his body.

"Good morning. I'm sorry for running into you - not, I mean, not running into you but running into -" he broke off, hoping she would release him from this misery.

Astrid laughed and took an involuntary step closer to the young man, part of her reminiscing about their first phone call, another part of her relishing in how adorable he looked, his cheeks flushed not only from running.

"I didn't look where I was going," she answered truthfully and watched his chest deflate as he exhaled. "But it's nice seeing you, too."

'Really nice,' she added internally as she took in his pushed-back and slightly damp hair, revealing his freckled forehead. Her eyes flickered to his upper body, just for a split second, to find his form hidden by a baggy t-shirt with the logo of the fire department on it.

Hiccup knew she was staring at him. If anything, their shared silence made it obvious. He tried not to stare back. Tried.

Well, A for effort.

He'd also be lying if he said that Astrid, her hair tied up to a ponytail, fringe pinned to the side, clad in a top and running shorts wasn't the best thing he'd seen all morning. Maybe even all week.

He quickly got to his senses, however, and gulped, his throat dry not only from running anymore.

He managed a weak "You, too," which made her meet his eyes again.

At least they still had the decency to both blush.

He watched her furrow her brow as if trying to piece something together, then she slowly asked, "How come you're out, though? Didn't you say you usually do this at night?"

He chuckled and pushed his hair back simply to somehow occupy at least one hand.

"It's a night shift week. So I usually go for a run really early and then sleep for another couple hours."

She nodded, still flushed and Hiccup offered her a toothgapped grin, which she easily returned.

"I didn't know you were a running person," he added. "You always up this early?"

Astrid laughed, waving off. "I wish. There was a time I was, but then I started slacking off, with the night shifts and all that. But I'm trying to get back into it."

If he had taken longer than 0.4 seconds to think about his next sentence, Hiccup would probably have cancelled it.

"Hey, if you'd - if you'd like, we could go running together sometimes. I find it's much easier if someone's forcing you to do it," he laughed nervously, his hand back in his hair, already regretting he asked this. She was Astrid, she wasn't just going to let-

"If you want to, yeah!"

He blinked.

Astrid tightened her scrunchy, a smile dancing around the corners of her lips.

"You're gonna have to go easy on me, though. I just jogged ten minutes and had to sit down for another five."

"Don't worry, " he said, still surprised by his own boldness. "You're up against a one-legged guy with asthma, how bad can it be?"

She laughed. "Yeah, but he also has a job that requires him to be on alert for more than 50 hours per week, so."

"Wait, how did you …?"

"Did you seriously think you were the only one doing some research?"

"I haven't done any …"

She smirked and raised an eyebrow. "The lasagna? My workplace which I never mentioned to you by name?"

"You're saying this as if Berk was overflowing with pet shops," Hiccup muttered and earned a playful nudge in his ribs.

"Here I was, thinking there were. Turns out Gothi's known you since you were a little mite."

'I'm barely thinking when I'm with you,' he wanted to say but bit his tongue and muttered, "Gothi knows practically all of Berk since they were little mites."

Astrid laughed and sqrunched her nose at him. There it was again. This distant memory of something that had not happened yet.

"Astrid?"

"Hm?" Her eyes were sparkling, reflecting the golden hues of the sun, making them look like lapis lazulis.

"Are you good with flowers?"

She paused, giving him a puzzled look, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

"Flowers? Why …"

"Oh, um, nevermind," he answered quickly, feeling his face heat up. "When did we want to meet up again tomorrow? I was thinking we could go to the market, they also have freshly caught fish."

To his relief Astrid did not seem to dwell on his question and replied breezily, "15:30, I just put it in my calendar."

"You … you put our dates in your calendar?"

Hiccup felt as though he only had two working braincells left upon seeing her smile.

"Well, yeah," she explained and he could have sworn he saw her blush at her next words. "Otherwise I'd forget how many dates we've been on."

Well, there it was. If Hiccup hadn't already been head over heels for the woman in front of him, this would have definitely sealed the deal.

For now, it was enough to make his heart skip a beat and confirm that she seemed just as occupied with this as he was.

"Well, how - how many have it been?"

"If we were to count the time you brought me the lasagna as a date, then four."

'Four,' Hiccup thought distractedly. 'Is four enough to be asking her?'

"Um," he said eloquently.

Astrid snorted, a smile returning to her lips but she waited for him to sort his two cells until he finally opened his mouth.

"Four, huh. I, uh, listen, I'm - how do I say this?"

"If you're going to tell me you're actually married I will punch you, you know that, don't you?"

"What? I - no! How could you-"

She laughed, nudging him again. "Come on, I'm just kidding." Her expression grew softer. Her hand stayed on his forearm. "You're actually worrying me a bit."

'It's a scary thing to ask,' he wanted to say but his voice failed him as she continued softly, "You don't need to think about how you say it, you know. At least not - at least not with me."

He let out a short pant, the ghost of a smile lingering on his lips.

"Okay. I, uh, actually wanted to ask this for some time, but it was probably too early, I don't know.

I … Astrid, I really - really, really like you and - and if it's alright with you, I'd like to keep seeing you. Exclusively."

Astrid stopped, openly surprised, her arm falling to her side as she looked up at him. Part of her felt as if she hadn't fully comprehended the full meaning of his words yet.

Then again, out here on the streets, his eyes only fixed on her, it sounded like a promise.

"You mean it?"

Hiccup almost laughted at the disbelief in her voice. "Of course," he stressed and quickly reached out to take her hands in his.

She did not pull them away.

"And do you," he asked, his voice low, eyes searching hers. "Want to continue … this?"

He let go of her hand to wave aimlessly back and forth between them.

"Yes," Astrid blurted, now grabbing his hand, maybe a bit too quickly but she couldn't bring herself to care. "I do. You don't even know how much more than alright this is with me."

For a couple of moments Hiccup only stared at her, seeing revelations and endless skies in her expression.

A slow grin blossomed on his face. Then the happiness that had bubbled up inside of him gave itself way in a breathless chuckle, not quite believing his luck.

And suddenly they gravitated towards each other, sparks soaring away in a warm breeze as they collided.

Astrid buried her face in his chest, her hands clutching around the fabric of the shirt around his shoulderblades.

She felt Hiccup exhale slowly and press the ghost of a kiss on the crown of her head. Astrid closed her eyes.

She had never been good with flowers. But she was willing to try.

I'm enjoying the spark-theme way too much and the flower and space images too! Someone take my phone away from me!