David walked into Canterlot Castle for what must have been the dozenth time. By now he knew almost all of the royal staff by name, and even the guards were kind enough to greet him when he arrived. His relationship with Celestia was well known throughout the castle by now, so most guards dropped their previously cold attitudes and adopted a more friendly personality when he dropped by.

The circumstances of his public outburst a month ago were well known throughout the city, and many ponies began to sympathize with him upon learning the reason behind his anger. That and a verbal reprimand from Princess Celestia were all it took to get several apology letters sent his way. Her vocalized disappointment in the way David was treated worked wonders in getting ponies to regard him with much more kindness.

As he walked through the massive front doors, he greeted the pegasus guards with a tired smile.

"Hey Stormy. Hey Sunshine." David greeted.

"Morning Davy." Storm Shield replied with a smile.

"Morning." Silver Shine replied blandly.

Silver Shine wasn't too fond of the nickname David took to calling him. He was a soldier of the Royal Guard, not some random pony for David to be all buddy-buddy with. Despite his obvious distaste for the nickname, he was even more annoyed by the fact that Storm Shield absolutely loved hers. All the same, he tolerated Davids lighthearted eccentricities for the sake of maintaining pleasantries with the human.

"Ohmygosh David your face! It's all fuzzy!" Storm said, abandoning her post to close the distance and see Davids facial hair up close.

"Uh hehe, yeah. I figured I'd grow out the beard, you know? Try something new." David said, a little taken aback by the excitement.

"It looks so good on you! I'm glad you're growing it. But uh, all that aside, are you here to see the princess again?" Storm asked.

"Yeah." David yawned. "I've got a meeting with Tia and Twi in about... twenty minutes?" He said, looking at his new watch.

"You alright Davy? You seem kinda tired. You sleeping alright?" Storm asked with a look of concern.

"Uh, no. Not really. Been having trouble sleeping since I got here and I keep getting these killer headaches every so often, so I've been lying in bed awake most of the night." David said with a frown.

"Oh no, that's not good. I'm sorry to hear that, David. Have you tried talking with Princess Luna about it yet? She might be able to help with your sleep problems. If not, I'm sure she could point you in the right direction."

"I've thought about it, but this is more of a personal problem. Something I have to deal with myself. Besides, I don't think her magic works on me. I've never seen her in my dreams. At least, I don't think I have."

"Well, I hope you get better. I wouldn't want my favorite human to be a drowsy downer all the time." Storm said, sticking her tongue out in the most adorable way possible.

David chuckled at her antics.

"Will do, Stormy. Oh by the way, you've got something right...... there." He said as he booped her muzzle, causing her eyes to cross and her face to scrunch up.

They both shared a hearty laugh while Silver Shine just sighed. Their antics were far too cutesy for him.

"Ahem. David. You have a meeting to attend, do you not?" He said with a slight frown.

"Oh damn, you're right. Uh... I'll talk to you later Stormy. Later Sunshine!" With that, he ran off into the castle as Storm waved goodbye.

"Bye Davy!" Storm called out, before turning to her partner. "Now why'd you have to go and make him leave? I was having a good time on this shift for once." She said with a pout.

Silver snorted.

"It's not our job to entertain him. We are here to guard the front door. Not make friends. You're lucky no higher ups saw you abandon your post like that either."

"I was like, ten paces away!" Storm countered.

"Ten paces too many..." Silver replied dryly.

"There you go again mister rule book. You're no fun."

David reached Celestia's dining room without incident. The castle was very familiar to him by now, and he practically knew it like the back of his hand. He knocked three times and the doors were pulled open by a golden magic. David walked through the doorway to find Celestia and Twilight sitting together, smiling warmly as he approached.

"David, I'm so glad to see you again. It has been quite some time now hasn't it?" Celestia asked.

"It has been a while. A little over a month if I remember right. It's good to see you too Tia. I missed you." David said as he closed the distance to give Celestia a hug.

Twilight just smiled as her former mentor hugged David. It wasn't often she got to see Celestia remove her royal mask and act like a normal mare. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time Celestia was able to relax. Luckily, David's presence seemed to rip that mask right off.

Once David released Celestia, he turned to Twilight and leaned down for another hug, which Twilight happily reciprocated.

"My my, somepony sure is affectionate today. I'll take that as a sign of some good news?" Twilight asked through the hug.

"Nah, I'm just tired and your fluff feels like a pillow." David teased, earning a pout from Twilight as she released him.

"Hehe, I'm just messing with you, Twi. Things have been great lately." David said with a chuckle.

"Well that's fantastic! Here, take a seat and tell us all about it. We haven't been able to have our weekly meetings the past couple of weeks and I want to catch up." Twilight said, motioning to the chair across from hers and Celestia's.

"Yeah, it's been a while. Can't blame you though. Being a princess must be really busy most of the time.

"Thank you for understanding, David. It's been a crazy month. So, anyways, tell us about the last few weeks! I'm so excited to hear about it!" Twilight said, levitating some paper and an ink quill out of seemingly nowhere.

"Yes, please tell us everything." Celestia chimed in between sips of her tea.

"Well, the last few weeks have been great. Especially with Midnight. After my little... uh... let's call it a 'public disturbance', uh Midnight made a point to take me into town pretty much daily. After that little speech you gave, well, I think they felt so bad that they felt like it was their responsibility to be nice to me. At least, they don't seem as afraid of me as they used to be, for the most part. But anyways, Midnight's been amazing with helping me fit in, and I think at this point she's kinda become my new best friend." David finished with a smile.

"That's fantastic news David. I'm so happy to hear that!" Twilight said as she scribbled notes down on her paper.

"Indeed. I'll admit, when I heard about your incident last month, I was furious. When I recieved Midnight's letter detailing what was said, I could not sit back and let that kind of hostility continue. Still, I'm very glad to see that Midnight is helping you integrate so quickly. I'm extremely happy for you." Celestia said sincerely.

"Thanks. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you say? Mid and I weren't in town for that speech." David asked, quizzically.

"I simply told them how disappointed I was. After everything we've been through, as a species, to abandon our morals and let hate and fear dictate our actions... It wasn't right, and I couldn't help but feel personally responsible for the way you were treated." Celestia admitted with downcast eyes.

"Tia, that had nothing to do with you. Thank you for doing that, but don't blame yourself." David said with a comforting hand on Celestia's wither.

"I am the one who pushed you to go out and mingle. It seems you were ready to do so, but my ponies clearly were not, and you suffered because of that." Celestia replied.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. You did nothing wrong, besides, they are genuinely starting to come around." David said with a smile.

"Well, at least there's some good to come out of the whole mess. Maybe they're finally starting to see how ridiculous they were being." Celestia replied with a roll of her eyes.

"It's weird, the mares are pretty friendly now while the stallions are still a little standoffish. They're not hostile anymore, but not super friendly like the mares." David recollected.

"Maybe they're just jealous of your good looks and think you're going to steal all the mares from them" Celestia said with a wry grin.

"Hehe, maybe it's just the new beard that's winning them over." David said, stroking his stubble.

"I noticed that. I'm happy you're growing it out. It looks very appealing on you. It makes you look a little furry, almost like a pony. I'm sure the mares have been eyeing you a bit more... closely..." Celestia said with a wink.

"Ahaha, funny you mention that. A nice mare on Trot street even asked me out for drinks if you can believe it." David replied.

The two princesses stared at David with bated breath for several seconds. After a while, it became clear that David was not going to proceed.

"Sooooooooooo..." Twilight began.

"So... what?" David asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What did you say?" Celestia pressed.

"Well, I would have gone, but I had dinner plans with Midnight that night. I couldn't cancel on her." David said, nonchalantly.

"Oh... Sounds to me like somepony already had a date then." Twilight chimed in.

"No... I mean... it was just dinner, that's it..." David said, nervously shuffling in his seat.

"It almost sounds like you wanted it to be more..." Celestia cooed, her words bringing a hot blush to David's cheeks.

"Uh... You guys really need to stop reading into things too much." David quickly replied.

"Whatever you say David. Although, that does raise the question - do you want to have something more than just friendship with a pony?" Celestia asked, genuinely curious.

"What do you mean?" David replied, cautiously.

"Well... This is more of Cadence's department, but I'm very curious. Have you put any thought into... a relationship?" She asked with a slight blush.

"You mean a uh... romantic relationship?" At Celestia's nod, he continued. "Well... I mean... I don't know. I know I'm gonna be stuck here for the rest of my life, and ponies are so much like people, but I don't know if I even could love a pony. And even though you guys are completely adorable... I don't know. It's hard to find ponies attractive in that way when your whole life you only found your own species as attractive. Not to mention, I don't want to deal with the potential backlash. Ponies reacted poorly enough when I first went out on the town, and I don't want some poor mare to get hounded because of me." David finished with a sigh.

"I think you've already passed that hurdle. Like you already said, ponies have started to warm up to you. Or at least to the idea of you being here. Besides, there are plenty of inter-species relationships here. One of the maids in the castle is married to a griffon, and I believe one of the elements of harmony bearers is in a relationship with a yak. Our kind has plenty of love to give, and you'll be no exception." Celestia said with a wink.

"I guess I never really thought about it like that. I mean, I'll definitely think about it more, but I can't say I'd be too opposed... It'd be nice to have someone to spend my life with." David said, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Something tells me that you've already been thinking about it." Celestia smirked.

David shuffled nervously while Celestia lightly giggled.

"Anyways..." David said, trying to change the subject. "I was told there would be food here, right? Let's eat. Please?"

"Very well." Celestia replied through her giggles.

With that, Celestia wrapped her magic around a small bell and rang it, causing the doors to open and multiple servants to push the carts of food into the room.

David walked back through the country road leading to Midnight's house. Lunch with Celestia and Twilight was fun as expected, and they discussed many current events. Things like the elements of harmony and what they were up to, as well as everyone's plans for Hearth's Warming Eve were the major topics of discussion. However, he could not get Celestia's words out of his head.

Have you put any thought into... a relationship?

"Of course I've thought about it! Hell, I've thought about it every day for the last two weeks... I mean, fuck, how could I not? It's either 'find a mare to date or die alone'. It's not like that's much of a choice. But after that little fuck up a month ago, who knows how the rest of them could react."

David walked the along the worn country road as he closed the distance to Midnight's house. As he closed the last few feet to the door, a final thought popped into his head.

"What if I asked Midnight out?"

It was enough to make him freeze right before his hand reached the handle.

"No! She saved your life, and she's your best friend. You don't want to ruin that. Besides, she hasn't shown any signs of affection for you. At least... I don't think she has... She's cuddled with you a bunch, but all ponies do that. Personal space isn't a thing here. She's a very good friend but asking her out would just ruin it. Besides, can you imagine if you did and she said no? How awkward that would be? There's no way you could still live with her after that... Fuck, this is just like dating back in high school... She is really cute though. I just love the way her eyes seem to just shine... The way her soft fur feels on my skin... Those lips-"

David was torn from his thoughts by a knock on the window next to him. He turned to see Midnight in the window giving him an amused, yet confused look. He quickly shook those thoughts away and pushed them into the far reaches of his mind as he opened the door.

"Hey, Mid." David said with a forced smile and a quickly forming blush.

"Hey, uh... what was that about? You were standing there for a few minutes just staring at the doorknob. I was starting to think you were trying to win a stare-down or something, hehe. I hate to break it to you, but I think the doorknob was gonna win." Midnight said, not even trying to hide her giggles from David.

"Uh, it was nothing. Just got lost in thought was all." He said, shaking the thoughts from his mind for the time being.

"Suuuuuuuuure. Anyways, how was the meeting with the princesses? You seemed kinda tired when you left."

"It was great. Got to catch up with Twi and Tia so that was good."

"Anything exciting going on?" Midnight asked with cautious tone.

"Nah, just normal stuff I guess."

"Great! Then that means you have no plans for the night!"

"Uh, I guess not... Why? Did you have something planned?"

"Yeah, we're going to the Broken Barn Bar in the lower Canterlot district. It just opened a few days ago and I've heard a lot of good things about it. They've got stuff for everypony. Plus, since it's in the lower district, there won't be any snobs or prissy nobles to throw a fit."

"Well, that... that actually sounds like a great idea. The lower district was always a bit more friendly. Besides, I haven't had a few drinks in a long time. Might be nice to just drink my troubles away."

"Pffft what troubles? Your lazy bum sits around all day, eating all my food." Midnight teased.

"Hey, I have to eat to maintain these beautiful guns." David said, flexing his extremely average muscles.

Midnight immediately burst into laughter while David continued to flex. After a few seconds, David couldn't keep it together and joined in with Midnight's infectious laughter.

"That's... that's n-not even how building muscle works! You need to exercise!" Midnight said between giggles.

"I'll have you know that my exercise includes raising the food to my mouth with my arm. I'm basically doing curls right there!" David said as he chuckled again.

"Hahaha. Alright, alright. You and your guns need the energy. Anyways... So what time do you wanna head over there?"

"Whenever you want. I have literally nothing planned tonight. Like... at all. Usually ever."

"Well, let's go at seven. It shouldn't be too crowded with it being a workday and all."

"Seven it is. I can't wait."

"Me either, big guy."

David and Midnight walked through the typically busy streets of Canterlot to find them nearly empty. Most ponies either went home already or just started the night shift. Of course, there were still ponies out and about on the streets, but they paid David and Midnight little mind. Even if they didn't see them before, everyone knew about the bipedal alien living with the charcoal unicorn.

As they rounded yet another bend in the seemingly never ending streets of the Canterlot lower district, David found he was almost out of patience.

"Mid, are we lost? This is the fourth dead end street you've taken us to."

"I know where it is David. It's just a little further." Midnight said with a roll of her eyes.

They continued onward, eventually finding the elusive bar. There were drunk ponies already stumbling out of the establishment. Some ponies were already passed out on the side of the street in all manner of awkward positions.

"See, told you we'd find it." Midnight said with obvious pride in her voice.

"Yeah, only took five detours and and extra half hour." David teased.

"Hey, better late than never! Come on, let's get in there."

Midnight led the way as David followed into the bar. The intentionally crooked sign covered in neon lights read "Broken Barn Bar" in a fancy font. As they entered the establishment, they found themselves surrounded by drunk and semi drunk creatures of all species. On their immediate right, there was an elevated stage, surrounded by large speakers and bathed in warm light. A number of ponies were playing some generic country songs as ponies, griffons, and even a minotaur drunkenly danced on the floor in the center of the room. Further into the room on the far right side, there were several booths. Some were filled with ponies kissing and drinking together. To the left was the bar itself, in all it's rustic, wooden glory. There were several stools at the bar, most with ponies barely managing to stay upright as they tried in vain to convince the bartender to give them "just one more shot".

"So uh... Wanna get a booth while I get drinks?" Midnight asked, struggling to be heard above the music and chatter.

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you over there." David replied as he started making his way past the dance floor.

Eventually, David managed to weave his way through the minefield of drunk ponies and reach his destination. He found an empty booth far enough away from the music and dance floor where he could hear better, and sat down, twiddling his thumbs while he waited for Midnight to arrive with the drinks.

David took the time while he waited to observe the ponies throughout the room. A couple in the booth next to him were kissing and groping each other very conspicuously, leaving nothing about their plans for the evening to the imagination. The dance floor wasn't completely packed, but there were several ponies enjoying themselves as they clumsily fumbled about in their drunken stupor. It wasn't long before David's thoughts were pulled from his casual observing when Midnight arrived with their drinks in her magical grasp.

"Hey, so I wasn't sure how drunk you were planning on getting tonight, so I started us out with some Apple Family Hard Cider. If you want to get completely trashed, well, they've got just about everything you could think of over there." Midnight said before taking a swig of her cider.

"This is fine. I was just planning on getting buzzed anyways. Kinda want to actually make it home you know?" David replied as he grabbed his mug and took a gulp.

"So... I saw you checking out the couple over there... You want in on that?"

David choked on his cider and spilled some on the table as he coughed and wheezed oxygen back into his lungs, much to Midnight's amusement.

"Ahahahahahaha! You do, don't you!" She teased, pointing her hoof at David.

"N-no... I-I don't know what you're talking about! I w-was just looking... It's kinda hard not to. They have no shame!" David replied, finally catching his breath.

"You're cute when you're all flustered, big guy." Midnight replied with a wink, making David's growing blush deepen.

"U-uh... Thanks... I think. Uh... Anyways..." David trailed off.

"Anyways?" Midnight replied, motioning for him to continue.

"Anyways... how's.. how's the... weather?"

Midnight gave him a deadpanned look.

"Weather's great. You're conversation skills on the other hoof..."

"Well we already talk about everything at the house, so I'm kinda out of things to talk about..." David said, looking down into his drink.

"Well then, how's about instead of talking, we do something?" Midnight replied, excitement once again finding its way into her voice.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there is a dance floor right over there..."

"Yeah that's gonna be a hard no from me."

"Oh come on, David! Lighten up a little."

"Firstly, I can't dance to save my life. Secondly, as the only one of my kind here, I really stand out. That makes doing things like making a fool out of myself in front of a bunch of ponies a big deal. Everypony will know about the dumb hairless ape doing some dumb shit at that new bar everyone wants to go to." David said as he took another swig of his cider.

"Alright, firstly, there's no such thing as a bad dancer. Just somepony who hasn't quite figured out their rhythm yet. Secondly, everypony in here is at some level of drunk. Either they aren't going to remember you being here at all, or they will like you more for acting like one of them instead of the strange alien cooped up in my house all the time."

David raised a finger to respond, but found no holes in her logic. He stumbled with his words for a few more seconds before eventually giving up.

"Well?" Midnight asked with an expectant look in her eyes.

David sighed deeply.

"Fine. But I'm going to need a lot of these before I even consider going out there and making a fool out of myself." David said before chugging the rest of his cider.

"They're on me, big guy. You've got yourself a deal." Midnight said as she hopped out of the booth to get more cider for David.

"Nah-no, n-no no... Y-you mean to tell me... you me- you mean to tell me... that you went to school with purple-smart before she *hic* before she got wings?" David barely managed to say.

"Yeah. We... we went to school together. I didn't really talk to her all that much... Nopony did, but we all knew her. Once she moved out to ponyville, we kinda just all lost touch with her." Midnight replied.

"T-that's crazy... You're crazy... You silly *hic* s-silly little pone..."

As David slammed down the last of his cider, he belched loudly, earning a cheer from some of the equally drunk patrons in the bar.

"Alright big guy, I think that's enough cider for one night. I'm cutting you off before something bad happens."

"Aww." David groaned, earning a chuckle from Midnight.

"Aha! Got you to laugh. Y-you're cute when you... laugh. O-or always." David said as his head spun.

Midnight could barely hide the blush that immediately forced its way onto her face. Luckily, David was far too drunk to notice and continued to talk.

"W-well *hic* a deals a uh.... wha was it? A deal's a deal? Yeah that's the one! Let's go dance until I puke." David said, rising from the booth before Midnight could respond.

"D-David are you sure? You might be a little too drunk." Midnight asked, suddenly concerned.

"Don't vorry about me smol horsey. I can handle mine liquor." David said in a bad Russian accent.

"Did... Did you just change your accent? And cider isn't liquor. What?"

David grabbed her by the hoof and pulled Midnight into the crowd of ponies. The world became a blurred mess of multicolored forms shaking and swaying wildly to the beat of the music. David was still easy to spot in the crowd though. He towered over the ponies by several feet, and his drunken dancing was drawing a lot of attention. Ponies cheered and danced alongside him, twisting and turning, matching his moves as best as they could with double the legs, and half the height.

David however, had no idea what he was doing. He simply flailed his arms wildly, moved his legs enough to keep shuffling side to side, and swayed his hips to the beat of the music. In the drunken haze, he lost track of Midnight for a while, losing himself in the music and the positive feedback the ponies were finally giving him before he found her again. She danced her way over to him, weaving through the crowd until she was in front of David, then began to dance alongside him.

"I told you this would be fun!" Midnight yelled over the now deafeningly loud music.

"Haha! You were right about that!" David shouted back.

They danced the night away. Lost in the moment, the whole bar seemed oblivious to the outside world and passing time, and before anyone could protest otherwise, the band was on their last song and the bar was closing for the night. It was still a work night after all.

David and Midnight found themselves some of the only beings still on the dance floor as the band began their last song. It was a slow, relaxing melody, designed to help everypony calm down for the night before they headed home and back to work. For Midnight and David, it was a slow dance.

Neither knew how they ended up back together. Maybe it was just luck, or maybe it was fate that all the other ponies still on the dance floor had partners, except for David and Midnight. Standing on her hind legs, Midnight reached up and around David's back. He brought his arms down around her shoulder and head as he held her close. They stepped side to side, simply content to hold each other and dance the last dance of the night.

Midnight looked up at David, her sapphire eyes glistening in the warm light emanating from the ceiling lights. A stirring rose in David's chest - a feeling he did not quite understand how to confront, but it was there all the same. Before he could even process the feeling, Midnight spoke, forcing the feeling to flutter away.

"Pretty good night, huh big guy?

"Best night I've had in awhile." David replied.

As the song came to a close, David and Midnight separated and made their way out of the bar, making sure to thank the musicians on the way out.

David stumbled out into the freezing street, waiting for Midnight before attempting to walk back. He didn't make it far before Midnight had to press her shoulder against his leg to help keep him upright. Eventually, they found a rhythm and walked back in a happy silence, both parties having nothing left to say after the best night either had had in years.

Midnight unlocked the front door and pushed it open with her magic while she helped David inside. Closing the door behind them, she helped David through the hallway and towards the guest room. Once inside, David flopped onto the bed. In just a few minutes, he was asleep.

Midnight chuckled lightly at David's snoring.

"David might look different, but he's the same as a pony in just about every other way. Hehe... He's so damn cute."

Midnight turned away and walked back up to her room to find her bed right where she left it. She hopped in and went to sleep... At least, she tried. She tossed and turned for a while. Sleep eluded her, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to find it. The minutes slowly turned to hours as she rolled about, unable to find the sacred dreamscape.

"Luna dammit! Why can't I just go to sleep?! It's probably three in the morning for crying out loud!"

After another half hour of tossing and turning, Midnight gave up and rose from her bed. She walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Maybe some water will help."

She brought out a glass and filled it with water. After a few gulps, she placed the glass in the sink and headed back for the stairs.

She reached the bottom of the staircase before a sound caught her attention. A strange, almost grunting sound.

"What the hay is that?"

Midnight followed her ears and walked down the hall towards the guest room. Once at the door, she found the source of the noise.

David was thrashing about in his sleep, tossing and turning every few seconds and grunting with effort, as if he was trying to run away from something.

"Oh no... He's having another nightmare... What do I do?" Midnight thought to herself.

As David continued to thrash about, Midnight tried to recall some way to help him. Waking him up would only solve the current problem, not deal with the long-term issue. There weren't any typical remedies that could deal with nightmares, and her magic wasn't able to work with dreams. Only Luna could do that.

As her mind searched for the right answer, a thought finally emerged in her head. A memory of what her adoptive mother once said to her after she had a nightmare.

"Mommy!" A young Midnight called out.

She rushed into her parent's room to find moonlight gently streaming in through the open window. A larger pony form hung from the ceiling by her tail. Her leathery wings were wrapped around her midsection and her amber eyes slowly opened.

"Mmm yes dear?" A soothing voice replied from above.

"Mommy, I- I saw the headless pony! He was gonna eat me!"

"Oh dear, it sounds like you just had a nightmare. Here, I know the remedy." She said as she dropped from the ceiling. She landed on the soft mattress below and patted the spot next to her, promoting Midnight to hop onto the bed with her.

"Now... the secret to beating nightmares is... snuggling up with somepony you love." Her serene voice calmed Midnight's nerves slightly.

"R-really?"

"Really really. Come now little one. I promise you won't have to worry about the headless pony anymore."

Midnight closed the distance and hugged her adoptive mother. She was embraced by soft, leathery wings and furry hooves. Warmth overtook her, and sleep came quickly. This time, without the nightmares.

While it might not have been the most scientific technique, it was the only option Midnight could think of. Doing her best to push her doubt into the back of her mind, she walked towards David.

"What if he wakes up? What if he gets angry? What if this is crossing the line with him and he'll want to move out after this? No. No, Luna entrusted me to help him deal with his nightmares, no matter what. If there's even a chance that this could work, I have to try... Besides, I'll wake up before him and leave before he notices I was even here. Easy peasy... I hope..."

Midnight hopped onto the bed, landing mere inches away from David. She hesitantly closed the last of the distance between them, careful not to wake him. She laid down on top of his arm and leaned onto his chest. Resting her head against his neck, she found the most comfortable position with a quick escape route, and relaxed her tense muscles.

Midnight listened intently for any changes in David’s breathing and for any sign of him waking up. Extraordinarily, he seemed to calm right down. All the fear and panic seemed to dissipate just by her proximity.

"Huh? Maybe this was a good idea... Oh shi-"

Midnight's thoughts were cut off when David suddenly rolled over towards Midnight and wrapped his other arm around her chest. He pulled her in close and rested his chin on the top of her head and breathed out a contented sigh.

The only sound that filled the room was David's happy breathing. Midnight was too scared to move, let alone breath.

"What have I gotten myself into!? There's no way he's not going to notice now! Me and my bright ideas..."

After a while of laying there, it became evident that David wasn't going to release her any time soon, and Midnight was far too afraid of waking him to attempt to move his arm off her body. Eventually, David's body warmth, steady breathing, and beating heart soothed Midnight's tired mind.

"Maybe... I'll... just..."

Midnight quickly drifted off, the sweet lullaby of David's heartbeat lulling her into the calm embrace of sleep.

Hey guys, exciting chapter here! This one was a lot of fun to write. I was kinda stuck for a while, but I finally got some inspiration and started writing until 3AM. It was a good night. I hope you guys like this one, the sauciness is coming. I promise. I hope by now you guys know that this isn't just a clopfic, I'm trying my best to show a genuine, realistic relationship here, so I hope I'm doing a good job of that.