Midnight Walks

At first, our late night meetings were purely coincidental. A breath of fresh air from the neverending trail of smoke that rose from our scorching tracks across the world. I'd not intended for us to cross paths, only excused myself a few minutes after he'd disappeared to look at the stars and try and take it all in. The constellations were far more vivid and recognizable than back at home, and there must have been a million more stars. As I kept my eyes up on the stars, I forgot to look around at where I was going.

Before long, I reached a massive cliffside, stretched out in jagged and odd formations to form a strange curve over a colossal trench. I panicked for a moment as I realized I was completely lost, when I saw a silhouetted figure standing by the ledge, looking out over the vast expanse. I recognized the familiar curves of the coat and the brim of his hat tilted up to look at the sky.

I moved slowly, as not to startle him, my soft footsteps echoing over the stone to alert him of my presence. He spun around quickly, shoulders slumping in relief when he realized it was me. He turned back to the sky. I joined him by his side, unable to stop myself from noticing the way the moonlight spilled off his skin making it look like he was glowing. Even under the jacket his muscles were well defined, and I found my eyes trained on the little patch of skin by his collarbone tracing up to the crook of his neck that was exposed in a place where the arm of his jacket sagged.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked, voice surprisingly soft; maybe just because of the hour of night.

"Not really," I said casually, trying not to let the syrupy affection I felt dripping from my heartstrings come up in my voice. I shouldn't be so infatuated with the sight of him. Jotaro had been surprisingly kind to me when I came out spontaneously to him a few nights ago. To think he'd fancy himself to be alone with me in the middle of the night was more than unexpected.

Relax. I told myself, He probably wasn't even thinking of it that way. "What about you?"

"Thinking, mostly."

"About what?"

He paused, reaching into his jacket to brandish a cigarette. He spoke with it between his teeth as he lit it, hand covering the breeze. "I guess what's gonna happen after this. I can't really imagine going home after this."

I smiled. Every word out his mouth was a surprise. "I didn't think you thought about such little things. Makes you seem..."

"Weak?" he asked, voice even despite the defensive prospect of the question.

"...Normal, I guess. Kinda sweet." He tilted his hat down, in the ever so adorable attempt he made to look cool. "But yeah, I don't think it'll be much different. You'll see your mom, and go back to school. But maybe I'll see you around more, yeah?"

"Yeah. I hope so," he said, taking a seat just on the edge, legs swinging over. I nervously joined him, legs criss-crossed and very much glued to the stone. I was a little surprised again by the sincerity in his statement. I still wasn't used to the idea of Jotaro wanting to talk to me, so every kind word sent electricity down my spine. Or maybe that feeling stemmed from the look he gave me. His eyes were heavy lidded in the well practiced uncaring gaze he offered. But underneath his delicate eyelashes there were those dazzling blue eyes. They looked like seawater, and the dazzling stars above swam in their depths in a gorgeous reflection that was nearly beautiful enough to make me cry.

The wind picked up, blowing the sand in little swirls and causing me to draw my arms around myself. I'd walked off from around the warm fire in just my wifebeater, not expecting the desert to get so cold so quickly. Wordlessly, he slipped his own jacket off his shoulders and draped it over mine.