Midnight

"Well this looks like some seriously primitive shit."

"Maybe an open mind will help with your perception?"

"...I never said I hated it."

I poke at the firepit that sits in front of us with a scrap length of rusted steel, moving the crackling wood chunks around to perk up the flames a bit. It isn't really that cold out, but as the sun sets, the warmth and light the fire provides is a welcome comfort.

It isn't particularly classy, considering the wood is arranged in a battered and weathered steel truck rim. That was a fortunate find over a tiny fourteen-inch car steelie. Another good find tonight was the worn and torn vinyl bench seat from a Biscayne to serve as a shared lawn chair for Midnight and I.

"I really don't hate this, by the way," Midnight clarifies, a tinge of uncertainty in her voice. "I just didn't know what to say."

"I know, you don't have to apologize," I reassure her. "We aren't fancy around here - otherwise, we wouldn't even be outside."

"Well, sort of like old times for me," Midnight says, a bit of a laugh following the comment.

It's a rather strained laugh, though. Midnight spent quite some time roughing it out in the junkyard before I found her. That fact isn't lost on me in the slightest.

"It doesn't bring up bad memories, does it?"

"Hm?"

"The early days? Living out here?"

"Oh - no, not really," she replies, waving a hoof. "You have to remember, other than the fear of getting caught, this was like paradise compared to the lab. Sure, I was provided for in there, climate control, all that... but there was no free will. It was just asking how high to jump when instructed, so to speak."

Midnight looks beyond the rows of cars, to the horizon where the sun is barely hanging on.

"I never saw the 'outside' until I was dumped here," she mumbles. "We had sunrises, sunsets, and night - but nothing like reality."

"That something that really can't be replicated."

"They really didn't try. Of course, everyone was complacent, took it all at face value. I probably did too before they started fucking with my head. After that - I guess I just saw through the whole charade. I don't know how, but I could just tell everything was... none of what they were telling us was real."

Midnight takes a deep breath and a short pause. I can tell there's a lot coming back to her mind with this current setting.

"What was it really like out here?"

"This would be one of the more relaxing periods during my time out here," Midnight says with an amused hum. "I knew once the sun was about gone, I didn't need to worry about people. That would be a load off of my mind. I could let my guard down just a bit."

She doesn't seem to be bothered by going through the past - and frankly, I'm curious as to how she managed to live out here for so long in more detail.

"So did you sleep at night then?"

"No, this was the time to find something to eat. I got my sleep during the day. Slept with one eye open, I guess - ready to jet and find somewhere to hide if I heard someone or something nearby. Maybe that's the real reason I never slept much - at least out here. Couldn't afford to do so."

"Yeah, you certainly get more shuteye now than when you first shacked up with me. I didn't expect that from someone who said they didn't need sleep - though I also didn't expect you were - well, you know, a living being."

"I didn't know what to expect either. I think actually doing things now has a lot to do with it, too. I don't think I ever slept a 'normal' amount before I was dropped out here, either. Naps more than anything. So I guess seven, eight hours of sleep is a change that I didn't anticipate, either."

She turns back to look at me. "Getting away from what this is supposed to be about though, aren't we?"

"There's not really a right or wrong way to enjoy a campfire, Middie. You don't seem upset discussing this. Almost sounds like a load off of your mind."

"Yeah, maybe. I feel like I've been able to start sorting things out."

"Oh?"

"I think I'm letting go of the past little by little. Everything Ive been through. I've begun to come to terms with it, I guess."

I toss another chunk of wood on the fire, watching as the flames hungrily envelop the newest morsel.

"I thought you said you were going to try cooking over a fire - what happened to that idea?"

"Laziness. Also, this is a really short fire ring - I would want something that I don't have to practically get on my knees to flip and check how food is cooking."

"You could have stopped at laziness."

"That doesn't mean I won't ever do it - just not with this setup," I say, leaning over and booping her on the nose.

As usual, she playfully gnashes at the presence of my finger as it departs.

"So you basically need to come up with something that sits higher."

"That would be ideal," I say with a nod. "Heck, I could probably stack a couple of rims on top of one another and tack weld em. I bet that would work well enough, assuming I can find some more of these truck rims. Probably have more somewhere..."

"That wasn't hard, now was it?" she chides with a smirk.

"You have no idea. Took all three of my brain cells to stop jerking each other off and connecting together in a short circuit to do that."

"Careful, that's actually a believable story."

From there, things fall quiet for a bit. Only the snap and pop of the fire and the distant sound of a passing car out front dares to intrude.

"What is the... end goal? With me."

"I... don't follow," I respond, turning to her for further context.

Midnight has shrunk down in the bench seat just a bit, feeling a bit exposed.

"Well, I don't really understand this whole - you and me. A relationship, I suppose. What is the end goal if this really gets to that point?"

That's a...

Hell, how do I even answer that?

Frankly, I'm stumped on where to start..

Midnight seems to sense my befuddlement. "That might just be the 'electronic' side of my brain, but I feel this nagging sense of what it all means. In an objective, black and white sense. You have to understand, I've never had anything like this. Having you as a friend was something rather new."

"I get it, Midnight," I reassure her, hooking my arm around her form and pulling her up next to me. She's surprisingly yielding tonight.

"I guess I don't have an answer to that. Relationships are... they're just a closer friendship, I suppose? Don't get me wrong, I don't have much experience, and it's been some time since my last attempt. But I like being around you, and you seem to be a bit more tolerable of me. So stuff like this, just talking, being close, enjoying each other's company... I guess that's what it's about."

I hone in on her face to see how well that was received.

Midnight's scrunched face tells me she's hesitant to reply.

"That wasn't very much help, was it?"

"A little bit."

"You could have just said no."

"I can tell you tried, though."

"And now you're worried about my feelings? Are you feeling okay?"

Midnight pokes me in the ribs with her hoof.

"Ow," I announce monotonously.

"Puss."

She leans her weight onto me, sighing contently.

"You know, for someone so full of hellfire and rage when we first met, you can be surprisingly mellow when you want to be. It's nice to see."

"You can actually be pleasant to be around sometimes when you stop trying to be funny all the time."

"Or picking at you for my own amusement."

"That too."

"I suppose life is a work in progress. To be fair, I didn't really know how to act around you. You didn't want much to do with me, and the only way I felt I could dispel the tension was by being a purposeful dumbass. And you are kind of cute when you're spitting fire."

"Cute, huh? You didn't seem to think so the first time you made me mad."

"...okay, so you can be a little frightening."

Midnight gets a snicker from that.

"I'm starting to understand the 'relaxing' thing more. It's easier when you don't have to worry about your situation or planning far into the future."

I understand the first part. The second is... murky.

"Planning? You mean getting the junkyard to make a profit?"

Midnight remains mum, her eyes focused on the fire as it glows, the only light afforded now that the sun has completely vanished.

Maybe there's something more.

"You good?"

"I really did see you as nothing more than a means to an end at one time, John," she says, sounding rather bitter.

"I know."

"You... don't. I mean, you do, but it's..."

I keep my lips sealed as Midnight mulls what she is trying to convey.

"I started trying to learn about cars because of you - er, you were part of the reason. I really do like reading, and that's what was available," she says, turning her head back to me. "I knew I couldn't hide out forever."

So...

Wait. Holy shit.

"You meant for me to find you?"

"Earlier than I wanted. I knew I was going to have to be useful to someone in order to have a chance at staying under the radar. It was either make some sort of connection here or risk trying to find somewhere else to hide."

"And you took a chance on me."

"I took a chance on you."

With no warning, Midnight raises her head, leaning in and planting a light kiss on my cheek that I would have missed had I blinked.

But I didn't blink.

As if ashamed or unsure of her actions, her ears pin back as her gaze goes straight into the flames once again.

Well that was...

Unexpected.

That's all my mind can come up with right now. Nothing in my brain wants to connect to say, do, think...

That was a thing. A very surprising thing.

"Sorry," Midnight mumbles. It's clear she's wondering if she actually did something wrong.

Dumbass, do something.

The only thing I can think of is to lean toward her.

Kiss the mare.

As I get closer to her, Midnight's eyes dart to me as she spies the movement out of the corner of her eye. She turns to face me head-on, her face stained with uncertainty.

"Hi."

That was the first thing that came to mind

Holy shit, dude...

"Hi," she repeats back quietly.

Yet somehow, that simple awkward exchange is enough. Midnight meets me in the middle, this time sure of herself as her and I gently lock lips.

There's no aggression. No heated, lustful passion behind it.

It's an overwhelming sense of unity.

We both took a chance upon each other. We both needed each other, without realizing it. Even despite lamenting the initial situation and arrangements.

Somehow... It's all led here.

Already having one arm around her back, I sling the other one around her and fully embrace her. Likewise, I feel her forelegs fumble around my midriff before finding a suitable location.

Even her wings are eager to join in the hug as the feathers brush past and nestle up over my back.

As she backs up a bit, I feel another exhale of content tickle my face, as the serene smile that greets my vision is a wonderful sight.

"Thanks for giving me a shot, John."

"Likewise, Middie."

While we both release each other from the embrace, neither of us scoots away. If anything, Midnight snuggles up next to me.

"I guess... maybe I can see this being a good thing."

"What's that?" I ask, amused by her feeble attempts to dismiss the moment we just shared.

"Us. Together. Maybe there is something to it."

"Are you really gonna try tiptoeing around it now?" I tease.

"I... shut up. I'm learning."

I can feel the heat radiating off of her face as she rests her head upon my shoulder. She's too damn cute for her own good.

But rather than pick at her, I leave it alone and enjoy the moment and the warmth she shares. After all, it can get cold at night in the desert...