Midnight

It's been a few days since the little midnight heart-to-heart. Honestly, things haven't changed too much. Not to say that's a bad thing - quite the opposite, in fact. But there really haven't been any further discussions about... us.

However, Midnight has occasionally been using my shoulder or leg to rest her head. On one occasion, I messed with her mane when she was being particularly fussy about something. I got a glare that could have cut through steel for that stunt. But she didn't yell or say anything, so maybe that's part of the game?

Nevertheless, I didn't want things to be turned upside down overnight, so the constants remain nice. But the few notable changes are nice, such as waking up next to her.

Well, not right next to her. That would just be weird, wouldn't it?

Her words, not mine.

However, wasn't that the point of the whole breakthrough? Being closer?

Ah well.

But Midnight actually is right next to me this morning. She's sprawled out on her side facing me, with one hoof lying on my arm.

I twist around just enough to get a look at her face...

She's still soundly asleep. God damn is she cute.

As soon as she wakes up, I know I'll hear an excuse for why this happened.

That's alright. Being able to gaze upon her and marvel at her up close is worth it.

As much as she's been through and all the tests and experiments, she still looks gorgeous, with no hint that some of her features are synthetic. But just the features she was born with...

How the hell did they get those colors? As much as I enjoy looking into her eyes, her mane is quite something in itself. After all, blue with violet streaks is not a particularly common hair color...

Well, other than crazy people.

I've only had the pleasure of messing with it twice, and honestly, I could easily lose my hands in it without realizing it. It's that silky smooth.

And she's got quite the bedhead this morning. The wildly mussed hair only makes the sight even more adorable.

Whether it be by chance or a slight movement I made, I spy Midnight's eyelids slowly fluttering open to let the morning light in. Still somewhat glazed over with sleep, her eyes lazily peek around, before honing in on me.

At that point, they get a little wider.

"What are you doing?" she mumbles, trying to put a bit of gruff in her voice. It falls rather flat.

"Laying in my bed. What are you doing?"

"Wondering why you're laying so close to me."

"I'm not, though."

"Bullshit you aren't," she says, retracting her hoof away from my arm and using it to poke me in the side.

"Do I need to put down tape lines to mark boundaries and prove you wrong?"

Midnight raises her head sluggishly, looking over me to my side of the bed and what little space I have to the edge. She has to straighten her body to gander behind to her own expansive side of the bed for comparison.

Then her focus returns to me. "What the fuck?"

"Told you."

She quickly scooches over to put space between the two of us.

"What, you're afraid I'm gonna bite now?" I joke. "You seemed content enough to be beside me while you were sleeping..."

"...I must have gotten a bit cold last night," she muses quietly.

"Probably. It did get down to a chilly seventy degrees last night," I comment with a shit-eating grin crossing my face.

Midnight's face twists as I call her out on the excuse. I can practically hear the gears twirling in her head as she comes up with the next best reasoning.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

"You know I'm not judging you, right?"

"Why would you be judging me for a mere coincidence?" she suggests.

"Midnight."

"What?"

"Relax. Isn't shit like this the reason we talked a few nights ago?"

Midnight mulls that question for a moment as I take the opportunity to comb some of her mane with my fingers. Initially, she tenses up at my gesture... But the hesitance fades quickly enough.

"I don't like feeling... I'm not a wuss," she says slowly.

I have to hold myself back from scoffing at that, reminding myself this is a genuine issue for her. Even after months, she's fighting with the idea of letting someone else in.

Rather than reply with some sort of inane comment about understanding, I continue my ministrations with her hair.

"What time is it, anyway?" she asks after a short spell.

"Early enough to not worry about getting up yet. Just think, another week or two, and our focus is spending the day pulling parts, rather than standing around."

"How will you cope with having to actually work all day?"

"You're right - you might have to do most of it," I threaten.

"I figured you were going to answer with something like that."

"Hey, I'm just doing my part."

"Oh, being my personal hairdresser?" Midnight quips, finally alluding to my current fascination.

"You got it all fucked up, Middie," I say, scolding her in jest. "Were you just rolling around on the bed all night? Is that why I woke up before you did?"

"Yeah, well..." Midnight trails off, trying to think of a comeback. Or anything in response.

"Remember what you told me about how you overthink things and it ends up riling you up?"

"...I need to stop rationalizing everything."

"Yep."

While she answered the question for herself, Midnight's face still scrunches up in mild irritation.

"I don't think you realize how difficult that is for me."

"I have a vague idea. But when it comes down to it, what's really bad about this? What are you trying to rationalize?"

I can feel the mattress shift underneath us just a bit as Midnight merely offers a shrug to my question.

"Don't be coy. I'm trying to help you."

"Playing twenty questions is your way of helping me?" she responds, raising an eyebrow.

I stop fiddling with her hair, pulling my hand back far enough to hone in on her snout, booping her right between the nostrils.

She snorts and recoils a bit at that. "Hey!"

"I'm trying to help us both understand why you're so... well, uptight."

"You want me to be your concubine?" Midnight retorts, an edge to her voice.

"No. I want you to not be so adamant in keeping to yourself. Lean on me - metaphorically and literally."

"Ugh, you keep pushing that," she grumbles, rolling her eyes as she pushes away from me a bit.

"I am. But I'm curious - do you feel better or worse about life since the day we first met?"

"Do I even need to answer that?"

"No, but that proves my point, doesn't it?"

Silence.

Midnight studies me for a moment, before shuffling back to a position closer to me.

"I hate you," she mutters.

I can feel the heat radiating from her face as she blushes underneath that midnight blue fur. Rather than respond with a snappy comment, I reach over her form with my left arm and gingerly rest it upon her side. The hand itself finds an area of her back between her wings to tend.

"I know you do."

"...you don't take me seriously anymore, do you?"

"I do. But I refuse to hate you."

"I meant my threats."

"Oh. Not really, no."

"I feel like you're making me lose my edge."

There it is. The pinch of worry in her voice combined with the frown of uncertainty chiseled into her muzzle makes it clear this is also a major sticking point for her.

"Midnight, you know we've been around each other for a while now, right?"

"Yeah, I can't get rid of your clingy ass. I don't want you rubbing off on me."

"I'm serious, Midnight."

Midnight shuts down any other remarks she has in store for me as her face softens.

"Midnight, I've been around you long enough to feel comfortable around you. So no, I don't have this fear you're going to harm me or you're dangerous because I know you give a shit about my well-being, as I care about yours. But that's me we are talking about - you scared the shit out of that stoner a few days ago."

I'm not sure how well that does to get my point across, but Midnight remains quiet even as I pause. She seems to sense I'm not done explaining.

"Midnight, you don't need to act like a hardass all the time. I understand that's how you've managed to come this far to where you are now, but... well, is that all you want out of life? An image?"

"You really know how to say that in a demeaning and shallow way," she huffs.

"All I'm saying is I know you well and you know me. There's no shame in letting that tough mare relax a bit in private. While I realize that night we went out you got drunk, it let another side of you come out that I've never seen. The macho mare is still renowned in the public eye and as much as I love the snappy back-and-forth interactions we have, I want to get to know the mare behind that. Does that make sense?"

"...maybe."

Even though her agreement with my reasoning sounds hesitant, I feel the tension in her back muscles practically melt away.

"Consider this a new chapter in your life, Middie. You got a home, you got someone to talk to, and who cares - you don't have to fight twenty-four-seven. Just like how I can act like a dumbass, I can be serious and display a fair amount of intelligence. I'm still the same person, just different facets of me and different moods for different situations. You said you couldn't deny that what you said that night - what about how you acted? All alcohol does is wash away inhibitions, Middie."

"You can act like a dumbass and you can be serious, but I'm going to call bullshit on the last claim about yourself regarding intelligence," she remarks with a smirk.

While I would normally go along with it, this conversation has become heavy for me. I bite my tongue, keeping a stoic face to show this conversation is serious business. I don't want her hiding behind shallow jokes to avoid this.

I want to see her be able to relax.

To have fun.

To feel love.

"I'm not going to just sit back and be this happy-go-lucky bubbly mare, either," she warns before her hardened face softens up a bit. "But I don't know. I do have more than I expected to have at any point in my life. It's an actual life now, not just... living. But it's hard to just... let go of that mindset too, you know?"

"You'll get there. I'm not asking you to change yourself. I'm trying to help you find yourself," I explain, moving my hand back to her hair. "The fact that you're willing to acknowledge what I'm saying means a lot."

"Maybe you aren't as stupid as you seem sometimes," she says quietly. "But now what? Are we gonna get up, or just lay here all morning?"

"We can get up. You're gonna have to pull me up, though."

"I gotta do everything around here."

"Because you're good at getting shit done."

"I suppose you're good at being a sap."

"And someday, you'll learn to be sappy, too."

"I think you just need to stop talking now."

Interesting... That wasn't a no. For now, I enjoy this morning's small victory.

"I'm all done."

"Done?"

"Done."

"As in..."

"Finished. Completed one hundred percent, ready for your viewing and use," Midnight elaborates as she plops the laptop onto my lap.

After weeks of fiddling with layouts, entering in information, and piecing everything together, Midnight has finished compiling all the cars our yard has and where they are in the yard in one neat file.

And holy shit, is it a piece of work.

I have not seen much of her work in progress, as Midnight was dead determined to keep her creation under wraps until the very end. Sure, I managed a few glances - but it was always an inopportune time. More often than not, I was greeted by a page of gibberish or a wall of text - or at least that was all I could make out.

But as I hover the cursor over various squares, another window pops up with information on what car is located there, along with VIN and other information.

It's one thing to hear about this being planned out in words. But to actually see it is astounding.

I can say that I know my own junkyard by the back of my hand - but this will make sure that what I believe is back in the yard is truly available for parts.

"Midnight, this is amazing."

"Oh, I know," she replies in an attempt to reclaim her arrogant, nonchalant visage. It doesn't work, as she is turning almost violet with how deeply she is blushing.

"I'm serious, Mid. I could have finger-fucked this keyboard for two years straight and still wouldn't have come up with anything like this. Take the compliment - you did a hell of a job."

"I appreciate it. There was a lot to learn as I progressed with the whole spreadsheet. You probably could have done it - give or take ten years."

"Give me more credit than that, damn."

"John, you're technologically retarded. That's the cold hard facts."

Well, I can't really argue with that. But I also don't really put forth an effort when it comes to shit with computers, either.

"You're feeling savage tonight, huh?"

"I haven't really roasted you in a while. I have to make up for that, don't I?" she says with a devious grin.

"I can kick you out of my bed if you hurt my feelings too much."

That cocky grin fades quickly as she narrows her eyes.

"You wouldn't."

"I dunno, you can keep trying your luck..."

"You don't have feelings anyway."

"Well, no - feelings are gay. But if I did, and you hurt them, then I'd kick you out."

"Interesting way to save face," she comments, lying down against me.

"Kinda like you insulting me before snuggling up close to me, huh?"

"Shut up."

"I thought so."

"You wanted this, didn't you?" she asks in a wry manner.

"It's still fun to point out and make you squirm," I say, petting her side. "I'm surprised you took the plunge this deep already."

"I'm not going to say no to a servant dedicated to keeping me happy."

"Oh, in that case..."

I pull my hand away from her coat and set it back in my lap.

"Fucker."

"Life's tough."

Midnight shifts around on the couch, laying on her belly now. It's a pause in banter that lets me share a thought I've harbored for a couple of days now.

"You know, we should try to do something more than our own separate things in the evening."

"What do you mean?"

"Like how I'm usually flipping through the channels on the tube or fiddling with my phone, while your eyes are glued to that computer screen," I explain, gesturing to each piece of technology.

"Okay, humor me - what do you have in mind?" she inquires, her attention piqued.

Shit. Maybe suggesting that now wasn't the best idea. I... never actually thought up any ideas beforehand.

"You don't have any ideas, do you?"

"I do, I'm just thinking which one would be best to offer up first."

"Holy shit, do you think I'm stupid enough to believe that lie?"

"Miracles happen," I say with a shrug and a sheepish grin.

Midnight possesses a distinct lack of enthusiasm with my answer.

"You could have just said that you were open to suggestions."

"Well, I am open to suggestions, now that you mention it."

"Alright... what do people normally do?"

"I dunno... cards maybe? I mean, I don't know how to play, but we could probably figure it out. Maybe board games or something?"

Neither option really connects with Midnight, who looks at me with a healthy dose of skepticism.

"Honestly, what's wrong with what we're doing now? It isn't like we're ignoring each other - we're just... we're just living in harmony, aren't we? And then at some point, you or I find something to mention and discuss or bicker about like children."

"There's nothing wrong with it. I just feel like sometimes, we're just sorta..."

Midnight places a hoof upon my leg. "You need to stop thinking - it isn't your strong suit," she says in a slightly smarmy tone.

"Fine," I say, crossing my arms and pouting in an exaggerated fashion.

"Very attractive look there, John."

"Aw, thanks."

Midnight snatches up her laptop again, sitting up and positioning herself so she is side by side with me.

"This better? A more togetherness feeling?" she asks, laying her head on my shoulder. Her hair splays out over my right side, making me acutely aware of how easily she could entangle me in it.

"I feel like I have a mop hanging on my shoulder now," I joke.

For my efforts, I get a light blow from a hoof on my leg, dangerously close to my no-no square.

"It was a little funny."

"Not really."

"I thought it was funny."

"You have poor taste in humor, among many other things."

"What about in ponies?"

"... that's one of your few bright spots. You have impeccable taste in that category."

"I'll agree with that," I reply with a chuckle, throwing an arm around her. She's become more used to that gesture as I've done it more and more. I don't feel her tense up for even a moment.

"We could always have a small fire out back on a cooler evening. That might be nice."

"Why?" she asks. It's not a disappointed or skeptical question - her voice makes it clear this idea and the reasoning are completely foreign to her.

"Honestly, it's something that is hard to put into words," I admit. "There's just something being around a fire ring with others, listening to the crackle and the smell, the warmth it gives off... I'll see if I can't get some firewood to burn, we're going to do that one of these nights. Maybe try to cook on it, too - definitely brings a different flavor out that the stovetop or gas grill won't do."

"Alright. I'm game for that, I suppose."

"I'll just need to get a bare rim from out back, that way I'm not burning the whole junkyard down."

"What, afraid that sand is flammable?"

"With the number of crapwagons that have been hauled in and out of here and the leaks they possess, I wouldn't be totally shocked, Middie."

She clearly didn't expect that answer but nods in agreement with my reasoning and caution.

"Maybe someday we'll do a double date with Teddy and Starla."

"Okay, now you're getting too far ahead of yourself," Midnight scolds.

"I said someday, not tomorrow," I reiterate. "Though it's good to know you're not opposed to actively dating in the public eye."

I am teasing her. Sort of.

"We're testing the waters right now. You're also testing your luck."

"Maybe," I say, reaching over with my left hand and ruffling her hair up even more than it already is at this point. "But it's fun seeing you all worked up, little wisps of steam coming out of your ears..."

"Oh, shut up," she says quietly, doing her best to hide her head from me while she undoubtedly fights off embarrassment. It's funny to see her like this.

"You know, if you're looking for shit that we can both do together, you still haven't really considered my suggestion from before."

"Midnight, it's very early in this relationship to be thinking about the horizontal bop."

"What?" she asks, confused enough to raise her head off of my shoulder and flip her hair back to look at me.

I really don't want to explain that one to her...

"Nothing. What were you talking about?" I ask innocently.

She keeps silent for a spell, her eyes practically piercing through me as if searching for a proper answer.

"Pictures last longer, you know."

"How do you know I can't do that with these?" she asks with a smirk. Her sky blue eyes that always subtly glow seem to get just a bit brighter after that statement.

...I don't know if that's a joke or not. Even after all this time, I don't know what she's capable of doing.

"Can you actually do that?"

"No, but I at least made you ask like a dumbass. Anyway, I'm talking about building a car. Kinda like Teddy has, you know?"

"I remember you hinting at that before... would you really want to work on that after a day of pulling parts?"

"I don't see why not. It's just a suggestion."

"Shit costs money, too. You want to spend that on a shitbox after only recently making a profit?"

That inquiry oddly elicits a smile from Midnight. "Well look at you being responsible and thinking fiscally," she gushes. "But you know, there's plenty of cars to pull out of the yard..."

"Maybe. But that reminds me, you wanted to go to a car show at some point. We ought to do that soon before taking that step."

Her eyes light up at that offer - in the figurative sense this time.

"Yeah? Know of any shows soon?"

"Small ones, which are probably best suited for us. I know Sunday morning once a month, there's a little gathering at a coffee shop in town. Want to go to that next time?"

"Trust me to be well-behaved?"

"Just don't bite anyone, I think you'll be good. Maybe a bit of alcohol will help you out."

"Yeah, let's not bother with that last suggestion," she says, sticking her tongue out in disgust.

"Fiiiine. Gonna have to do it sooner or later, so I can hear that singing voice draw me in like a siren again."

With a smirk and a blush, Midnight lightly bodychecks me.

"How about we just do our 'normal' thing tonight? I'll even let you share my laptop."

"You mean my laptop?"

"Same thing."

Once again, Midnight rests her head on my shoulder, while the computer screen scrolls under the work of Midnight's 'magic.'

This is a situation miles beyond anything I could have anticipated months ago. But for whatever reason, fate has led us down this path. With Middie's receptiveness, I'm more than happy to cruise the path laid before us.