Midnight Sun

“I didn’t bring mine either.” Admittedly, she’d been expecting him to use that as a thinly veiled segue into both of them getting mostly undressed. No matter how much things had changed, she knew exactly where things would go. There was always something magnetic like that between them and time hadn’t changed that. Even though she was trying to be cautious and take things slow, she still couldn’t stop reaching out for him. Her hand now in his. 

“That sounds good,” she smiled pleasantly surprised at his choice instead. She tugged him along gently, leading the way to the water before finding a place for them to sit. Erin took off her shoes and socks and put her feet in the water. She smiled as she looked out at the view. It was a nice to be there and to be there with Xander. A dream come true, one she never really believed would happen.

“You should get one eventually you know,” Erin continued their previous conversation, “there’s some really beautiful beaches. Not exactly close but not too far either. Can’t miss out on those. That’s why most people come to Australia in the first place.”

“Beaches? Really?” He’d just started to remove his shoes and socks, waiting and watching her to be sure it was safe. Realistically he knew Australia was basically a giant island, but he’d always pictured it more like where he currently lived, desolate and arid.

“And what would I have to do to rate a beach outing? Do I have to survive a gauntlet out here to be worthy?” He slid his feet into the water and bumped her shoulder. “You know I’m willing to do anything, right? To prove myself to you.” He let that hang in silence for a little while.

“You mean venomous. And yes, there are but there’s a lot of things around here that could hurt you. Me included.” Erin grinned and was about to joke around with him a little more but she could see he seemed a little concerned about it. 

“Snake bites are pretty rare and you have time to be treated. I know exactly what to do and where to go even if it does happen. But it won’t. We’re making enough noise kicking around out here that they’ll stay away and we’re not going to go poking around looking for them.” 

She reached out and gently gave his hand a squeeze. “Xander, I promise that I won’t take you anywhere that’s not safe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I know you didn’t get a chance to really see it before but you’re safe out here with me.”

Xander laughed at her casual joke. He had no doubt she was the most dangerous and deadly thing out here. “I’ll trust you, but just because I know you grew up with this stuff. If you survived childhood in this place, you must be pretty smart about things.”

He took her hand and smiled at her when she squeezed his. He’d missed this. He’d missed them. Even when things were bad between them they could have their moments of just being in the other’s presence that always made his heart come back to hers. She grounded him, she was his constant.

Erin looked down at his hand at her side and then turned a little to look at him. The genuine concern for her safety on his part made her smile. The small affection making her heart skip. “I’m safe, don’t worry. I do this all the time.” 

For his sake, she stepped back a little from the edge, closer to him. “Do you not like heights?” Erin realised she’d never really had the chance to explore those kinds of things with him in their previous urban setting. All the normal fears, heights, water, snakes.

She laughed a little, “I hate to tell you but there’s probably about a dozen of those snakes around us right now. But there won’t be any in the water. It’s safe, no crocodiles either,” Erin assured with a grin. “We can go have a sit at the edge or get in if you want.” 

“I’ve spent a small part of my life hanging out on fire escapes, usually high or drunk, but at least two stories up, sometimes three. It feels different when you’re sober though, I think it sinks in that a fall could actually kill you.” Xander had become more aware of his mortality when he wasn’t pushing the edge of death.

“Ground snakes, huh?” He hadn’t had to deal with snakes since he lived with his grandparents in Tennessee, and the dangerous ones had mostly been in the water. “Are they poisonous? Like are we too far out to get help if one bites us?” He looked around them cautiously, toeing at his bag to make sure there wasn’t one hiding beneath it.

A pang of guilt coursed through her at the mention of Gareth. Wrestling for a silent few moments about whether or not she wanted to talk about the topic, she finally spoke, “I feel bad about what happened with him,” she admitted softly. “I tried to apologise but I don’t really think I could ever make it right. I really do hope he’s okay now.”

Erin nodded, “Almost untouched by people. Here you still occasionally will run into some adventurous tourists or sometimes some locals. Our property is further out. No one goes out there except us. There’s some places that I don’t think have even been explored properly over the years. Real solitude and isolation. Places not many people get to see.” 

Knowing they were getting closer, she enthusiastically skipped a few steps ahead, gesturing for him to come get a look. She stood right at the edge of the rocks, taking in the beautiful view of the falls. “Amazing, isn’t it?” Erin said as she smiled back at him. Being able to share this with him, especially now after all that had changed, meant the world to her. 

“Gareth is Gareth. I’m the reason everything turned out the way it did. I’m the reason you left. He forgets there were three of us, and we all had a part in it.” He fell in step beside her as they walked along. It was just the two of them now.

Erin made him a little nervous when she went right to the edge. He came up behind her but stood a few steps back. “It’s gorgeous, and peaceful.” He placed a hand at her side, afraid she was going to fall forward. “You seem awfully close to the edge, don’t want you to fall.”

“You’ll love this then,” she insisted as she released his hand to shift and park, “c’mon, it’s not too far of a walk.” Erin shot him a smile as she climbed out and retrieved her bag from the back. She was happy and comfortable and she knew it was dangerous, part of her screaming for caution but she couldn’t help but embrace the carefree feeling. It was something she hadn’t felt in awhile. 

She looked around as she led Xander towards down the trail, pleased that there seemed to be no one else attempting to enjoy the falls that day. The only sounds were the crunching of rocks under their feet, the soft rush of water somewhere in the distance carried through the trees with the breeze. She smiled as she looked around it was all so familiar yet everything seemed new and different all at once.

“I love this,” she mused as she looked at him, “remember the apartment? How noisy it always was? Either from outside or other people in the building. It never stopped.” Erin extended her arms out gesturing to everything around them, “out here it’s just you and your thoughts. If you can ever get a little time off I can take you somewhere really remote. That’s a whole different feeling too.”

It felt good to be out in the fresh air. He never really had the opportunity or will in Atlanta, and even though he’d spent a good deal of his time outdoors since coming to Australia, there was nothing quite like being out in nature like this, especially with Erin as company. That overshadowed the whole thing honestly.

“I swear the walls in that apartment were made of paper, you could hear everything.” Once he’d said that he felt a little bad. There had been advantages and disadvantages to those thin walls. Overheard conversations and intimate encounters chiefly among them. “It’s a wonder Gareth put up with us.”