Building Better Worlds - Chapter 9

This fic is rated Mature.

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**9. Trust and Comfort**

Blue.

Bavarium blue it was.

Of her design.

The element ran through everything in this building.

So therefore.

Blue.

The colour of the ceiling she stared blankly at.

Blinking every now and then.

She sighed heavily.

And she just lay there.

Only moving to breathe and blink.

To anyone else, it would look like nothing.

She's doing nothing.

But the dorks know better.

Midnight is lost deep in her thoughts.

Mostly negative, pessimistic thoughts.

But thoughts none the less.

***He's going to hate you now.***

*I know that.*

***I suppose it could be worse. It could have been her arm that got broken.***

*Not helpful.*

***Alright. Alright. So now what?***

*I dunno.*

***You're not just gonna give up, are ya?***

*I might.*

***No. No don't do that. He needs you, remember?***

*I thought you said he hates me now?*

***He'll come around.***

*Look at you being the positive one for once.*

Another sigh as she tried to silence the pair of them. They're quietly driving her mad.

***Should do something other than lie here. Something good. Go speak to Dan!***

*No. I'm not doing that.*

***Well why not?***

*Just no, OK?!*

"Shut up the pair of you!" Midnight said aloud to her own head.

God she was losing it.

*Losing Control*

Silence for a while. The voices shut themselves up.

So now it was just staring at the Bavarium blue ceiling. No energy for much else.

Until of course, there was a knock at the door.

Midnight simply grunted at it.

"Does that mean I'm allowed in?" Xerxes asked through the door.

Midnight made a more negative, leave me alone grunt.

She heard Xerxes sigh.

"If you won't talk to me, then talk to him. He was here earlier to drop off the little amount of stuff he had and get settled. He wants to meet you outside the burnt house. Say... In 10 minutes? But the sooner the better." The sergal explained before walking away, this time, actually towards his own home.

Midnight gave a big huff.

*Should probably see what he wants to talk about.*

So she decided.

And got up.

Cleaned herself up and tried to stop feeling so tired.

She decided to fly there, which would hopefully wake her up the amount she needed to be able to hold some form of intelligent conversation.

They seemed to have a habit for meeting in the dark and pouring rain. Though as of right now it was simply a drizzle.

She decided she would land a little way away from him, as not to startle him.

Dan stood perfectly still behind the yellow tape, staring at the burnt building.

He knew she'd just turned up. Best start this off then.

"The investigators can't find any evidence of arson. They're so completely baffled as to how this fire started." Dan stated.

Midnight hesitated, messing with her hands. ".... I dunno if I caught it on tape but... She said "Figured you'd survive" to me..."

"I hardly think that counts as a confession." His voice sounded angry.

Midnight shrugged. "Perhaps not."

Dan folded his arms. The light rain had left little droplets in his hair.

There was a pause in the conversation, the light taps of raindrops on the ground the only sound to be heard.

"So. You did it then." He started, clearly agitated.

Midnight said nothing.

"You went and you beat her up."

"Actu-"

He cut her off, "When I told you, not to!" His voice echoed around the street.

Midnight's ears took a defensive position. "Actually, I didn't beat her up. She beat me up. Or, more rather, her new boyfriend did most of it." She all but spat.

This made Dan's eyes widen in shock. "S-she... Hurt you?"

"Yes. I hardly got a look in edgeways. And I've been doing this for 10 years. 10 years! And never have I been brought down like that. Most of the credit to her new fella though." She shrugged.

Dan started to pant. "New... Fella..."

Midnight now folded her arms. "Moved on pretty quick if you ask me. Though still no remorse for what she did to you."

Midnight noticed Dan had started to tremble.

"Big musclely guy too. The one she always wanted, I assume. The one she tried to make you become." Midnight was always one for the cold hard truth.

Slowly, Dan turned to look at her. His breaths now quick, and thin frame violently shaking.

Was he cold, or upset?

Honestly, probably both.

He licked his dry lips before he spoke again. "I... So... He.... She.... They..."

"Between the pair of them they nearly killed me." Midnight said bluntly.

He gasped at that. "... I'm sorry..."

Her tail swished, and she took a step closer. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's my fault you're in this mess??!" His voice cracks horribly on that last word. Before Midnight can even respond, he continues. "If Y-you hadn't had met me... You wouldn't be in this mess! I-I... I dragged you in to this... M-maybe I should have just.... Let myself die... Then you wouldn't be in this mess and I'd be free of the pain!" He stopped as he looked to the sky and shut his eyes. Breath shaking at tears trailing a path down his face.

Midnight is shocked herself, her gaze completely softening at how hurt he is. "First of all, this? Is my job. It's what I do for a living, it pays my bills. Secondly, it is rewarding. I love this job so much. It... Gave me a purpose in this world... Yanno? Thirdly, I do not regret meeting you that day. In fact, I wish I had gotten to you sooner. The amount of times I'd walked past that house while you were suffering in there absolutely disgusts me. And lastly, no. No you shouldn't have just let yourself die. You're worth so much more than that. You deserve to get better. You deserve happiness. You deserve to feel safe." She affirmed.

"... I'm a burden o-on... You...." He managed to choke out.

"You are not a burden!" She stamped her foot down. "You're someone who needs help! ... And I'm someone who helps people."

Dan looks up at her with sad, wet, puppy eyes. His trembling had increased, as had the rate of rain.

She gives a small smile.

An *it'll be OK. I promise.* smile.

He then breaks down in to sobs.

Those same, absolutely heartbreaking sobs she heard the night she met him. Midnight felt her own tears well up. "Come on. Come here." She motioned for him to come closer to her.

And when he was, he instantly dropped his head on to her shoulder, sobbing in to it.

Midnight stopped still, unsure what to do now.

Her hands wavered around his back. Should she or shouldn't she?

Dan seemed to sob harder. Completely shattering whatever was left of Midnight's heart. Her ears dropped.

A moments hesitation before she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him closer to her.

"Alright. Alright. It's OK... You're gonna be OK..." She whispered. "I promise you. It will get better." She began to rub his back, closing her eyes as a low purr started.

Her shoulder was completely soaked with his tears, but she didn't mind that much. Eventually Dan's arms clasped themselves around Midnight. Gripping her tightly as he continued to shiver. Holding on to her for dear life.

The rain had now started to come down heavier, faster. Not unlike the night she found him.

Now, with no climate control suit on, Midnight was beginning to get cold. And she knew Dan was too.

She took a deep breath, "Hey Dan. We should head back. I dunno about you but I'm cold..."

He squeezed her tightly for a moment, before nodding in to her shoulder.

"Yeah? OK, come on then."

Dan pulled away first, looking down at Midnight as she did the same.

God he's such a mess.

Poor guy.

She gave a reassuring smile, and then turned towards HQ.

He only took a few steps to catch up, wiping his eyes with his soaking hand.

As they walked, his hand brushed against her's.

Without so much as a whisper, or even a glance towards it, Midnight took his hand within her own.

And he curled his fingers around her's.

It took a while to walk there, but eventually they made it in to the HQ building, and out of the rain.

Dan's hair had gone flat, and in the better light, it was easy to see how puffy his eyes were. How red. How bloodshot. And still they remained fractured. The same as how she found him.

Midnight looked at the clock in the lobby. 2am.

*Got to stop these late nights.*

"Come on."

She practically dragged him through the building and to his room.

When they got there, she let go of his hand and headed towards the on suite.

He just stood in the middle of the room, looking lost. Unsure of what to do.

Midnight came back as quickly as she had left, and threw a towel at him.
Though he didn't react quick enough and it landed on top of his head with a satisfying oof.

Midnight had one too, and was drying herself off.

He removed the towel from his head and looked at her with a questioning look.

She glared back and said: "You're cold. You need to get warm. Dry yourself off."

And so he did.

Midnight then took a seat on the small sofa in the room. Making herself comfortable it seemed.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She raised an eyebrow back. "Isn't it obvious? I'm keeping you company! Now come and sit."

And so he did.

And then for a while, silence.

The only sounds being their breathing.

Midnight sighed deeply. "... I'm sorry I went against your wishes and went to hurt her. I'm an idiot who acts on impulse and emotion and I just... Sorry..." She decided it best to leave out the detail that Xerxes played a part in all of this.

"It's OK.... I... You said she hurt you. I don't see any marks...."

"Nano-tech. Healing stuff." She shrugged.

"Oh."

Pause.

".... Thank you..." He whispered.

"What for?" Midnight questioned.

".... Everything you've done for me." Pause to yawn. "You've been great to me. And I have no idea why, since I'm just a nobody..." shrug, "But thanks."

"You're not a nobody." She said gently. "You're Dan Smith. And you matter. You're under my watch now, OK? If anything happens to you from now on, it's on me." She places her hand on his knee.

He hums at that.

"Hey! You never did sing for me!" Midnight grins.

"Well I was just plucking up the courage to, but you decided to leave before I got the chance to look through my playlist..." He hung his head slightly.

"Oh." Now she felt like an idiot. "Would you... Sing now?" She gave a lopsided smile.

"Isn't it a bit late? I'm tired honestly and my voice sounds worse than it usually does when I'm tired..." He trails off.

"Oh. I can go if you want me to..."

"No. Stay. I uhm... Don't wanna be alone right now." He looked down at his hands sat in his lap.

"Alright."

Silence again. This time for longer. There wasn't anything to do to occupy their time.

Eventually, Dan's eyelids became droopy.

He tried to fight it though, not wanting to fall asleep with Midnight here.

She gave a huff as she watched him struggle for a few minutes.

Close eyes for a few seconds. Open them wide and shake his head a bit, before they drift shut again...

Midnight's Bavarium swirled around his shoulders, and gently brought him so his head rested on her shoulder. Her arm holding him against her.

"Just sleep, OK?" She whispered to him, flicking the lights out.

Slowly, he nodded against her shoulder, letting his eyes close and this time not forcing them back open.

Midnight smiled at that, taking his askew glasses off his nose, placing them on the dresser on the other side of the room with the Bavarium levitation.

She listened as his breathing evened out, her own eyes drooping.

So she hadn't lost his friendship after all. And that, that was a very good thing.

He trusted her enough to now sleep on her shoulder. To cry on to her shoulder.

She leaned her head on to his slightly damp hair, starting up a purr once again.

Eventually, her own breathing evened out, and before she knew it, she herself was also asleep.

Trust.

Quite the wonderful thing when put in the hands of the right people.

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