A Good Night

“This is a good night…”

Even from the rooftops overhead, the pair barely missed a thing. The noise of the celebrating crowd lifting high off the streets and into the night, the sounds of their merrymaking echoing off the tall, looming skyscrapers. The smells of fried foods like crepes, funnel cakes, and even fried donuts wafted up from the droves of food carts and stands that lined the streets. Mel even claimed that she could feel the rumble of their footsteps and their marching and of their dancing from the space several stories above them. And of course, there were the lights that gleamed off the misty air. The strings were strung from building to building, zigzagging overhead the streets, and shone with colors of blues and yellows and reds!

Sam looked over to Melody…Mel, as he knew her, and smiled. “Ha, yeah…and to think, it’s all because you stopped the villain who wanted to ruin this festival.” His voice was soft, but by the way her ear flicked as he spoke he knew she heard him.

“We stopped him.” She corrected, giving him a small smile as she glanced over at him.

Sam didn’t reply. Instead, he just briefly glanced down below. His gaze would fall upon her again once he was sure that she was also distracted by the celebration below.

Usually, she would insist on being down below in the streets, dragging him along with her, but tonight was different. Tonight she couldn’t. To be in crowds like that, she needed special earplugs so that she could drown out all that loud sound, while still being able to make out the noise. Tonight, however, after battling a villain who could control fire they were rendered just melted piles of gunk.

So, this was as close as they could get to the festival, here…up about…twenty? Twenty-five stories above the parade.

The pair sat close, not too close…but close enough that you’d know they were at least friends with each other. The way Sam looked at her, though, one might assume he wanted to be a bit more than just friends with her, and by the look on her face as she watched the parade you could assume that she had no idea about the way Sam felt or the way he looked at her.

In these moments of silence between the two, Sam had come to appreciate it. Despite all the noise and playful mayhem below, it was almost tranquil here…watching her watch the streets below and smile tenderly at the people she knew she had worked so hard to keep safe. Despite all that strength she carried around, there was still that almost soft side to her. They had known each other for almost three…four years now, and he had no shame in admitting that he loved that about her. Or…at least, admitting it internally.

“You know!” Mel suddenly declared, breaking that silence and nearly causing Sam to jump out of his skin. She looked over at him, which made him promptly look away, and smiled playfully at him. “For a sidekick, you’ve probably saved my ass more than I have yours.” She went on, a small laugh in her tone. “Ya really do inspire me to do better out there.”

“Oh…yeah?” Sam remarked, still not looking her way, though feeling awfully a bit hotter.

She scooted a bit closer to him, smiling. “Yeah…I was just thinking about it. Even tonight with that hothead, you managed to float me out of the way of those flames. I don’t think I would’ve died, but that heat he was packing was serious.” She tilted her head so she could better see his face, still that smile clinging to her expression, “You’re really getting a handle on that new ability.”

Sam rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, finally managing to turn and look at the now closer Melody. Despite that dark, starry skin of his, there were still hints of red across his cheeks. “I don’t know about any of that. I mean…uh…ha! I have a really good mentor who has trained me well. I mean…I still have a lot to learn, and a long way to go. But really, I am as good as I am because of you.” He paused for a moment, before opening his mouth to go on. “I-”

She gave his shoulder a small shove. “Oi! I’m complimenting ya right now, you gotta learn to take ‘em and not just hand ‘em out! And stop putting yourself down. You’re honestly…” She trailed for a moment, then shook her head, “But really…you’re more amazing than you think, Sam, and you should start acting like it.”

He didn’t reply, and while that blush didn’t fade he did seem a bit more surprised than anything at her words.

Mel’s gaze shifted from him to the people below, watching them celebrate and party in the streets as the parade marched on. “I mean look at those people down there.” She made a wide sweeping gesture with her arm, “Right now they don’t have a care in the world because of us right now…they can party and have fun and relax because now that not too far, watching from above, there are heroes who can sweep down and save the day.”

Her gaze drifted back to him, looking more like she did when she was head to head with a serious threat. There was a sternness in those eyes, “People look up to heroes, they want them to be confident and sure of themselves. People want to believe in you, but they won’t be able to if you don’t believe in yourself, ya know?”

He went to speak again, but once more she cut him off with another playful shove, this time causing him to let out a small chuckle. “Still not done.” She beamed, “And there’s always gonna be someone more amazing. Just because I’m incredible, which I know I am, that doesn’t mean you’re not also pretty incredible yourself. So start acting like it, okay? You’re strong, you’re talented, and honestly…you…you’ve probably got the best heart out there. You…you really do inspire me to be better.”

And then, for a third time, before he could speak, she stopped him again. As he opened his mouth he felt her head suddenly rest against his shoulder as she leaned into him. She wasn’t looking at him, instead, her eyes were on the streets below. She watched another parade balloon float by, this one of a familiar hero. As it passed, on the horizon in front of them, there was a sudden burst of light.

It was an explosion of red and orange as the firework popped and sparked down in a willowing path. It illuminated the pair as they sat quietly. And then another not too far behind it, and another…and another…

Sam’s gaze once more shifted from the celebration before them and went back to Mel who was now looking up at the fireworks, her head still resting against him. His mind raced, trying to put this all together, what he should say…what he should do? This feeling of having her so close, though. It was nice, it was nice and it was making his thoughts slow. He tried to conjure forth something, something clever or nice or thoughtful to say. Anything at all…he had to-

He swallowed hard as a single thought pierced his mind. Something she had said had stuck there. A reminder that he was…that he should act…he needed to act…confident. Sure of himself. That he was more amazing than he thought and deserved to feel…act confident.

And what better moment was there?

They were close…they had a tender moment, there were even fireworks that set the stage perfectly.

There was another bright flash of red and orange, and then purple and pink! A blue firework streaked across the sky, and one after another, more and more began to explode. It was the finale, the last act of this show…his last chance.

Though, as he began to speak, for the fourth? Fifth time? Melody caught him off, interrupting him. “Speaking of confidence, you should really stop letting me interrupt you.” She said ironically, grinning at the fact.

Sam let out a small, breathless chuckle at this, shaking his head. “That’s part of being confident, right? Should I start interrupting you? Catch you off guard?”

“Yeah, you should, but I don’t think you cou-”

Sam had finally done it. He had cut her off. He had leaned in, put his face close…closer than it ever had been before, to hers. And he kissed her. It was a soft, gentle kiss. Tender. He kept his lips pressed to hers for only a few moments, though for both…it felt so much longer.

The finale was still in its full swing when he pulled away. His was red and he held his breath as he looked at her, though something was still determined in those nervous eyes as he looked at her, his gaze never straying from hers. Hers…her gaze was still on him, her mouth still slightly open from not having finished her sentence. Those words though…

Those words were lost now.

She was slow to react. First, her eyes slowly went wide. A shade of red only barely crept to her cheeks before exploding into a full red. Her ears went from slightly bent, to fully extended. And her mouth gaped open as she took in a slow, steady breath of air. The realization of what had just happened was finally dawning on her.

She slowly raised a finger, pointing at him. “You…” She started, but the words were lost on him as she tried to process it. How she felt about the kiss…the kiss…it had felt nice. Though, it was from Sam. What did that mean? How did she even feel about Sam? Sam was a friend…she cared about him…he was…he was cute…in an attractive way. Had she been attracted to him? Is that why this was difficult? Or did he just catch her off guard? Should she be upset at him? Proud? Relieved that it finally happened? Her mind was racing and it couldn’t seem to settle on anything. It was all so muddled, it was all so…

Confused.

She looked into those star-lit eyes, that blushing face…how nervous and scared and…there was something else there. Something that made something in her flutter. She had to get this figured out, she had to…

She leaned in, not slow, but not fast either, and pressed her lips to his. She kissed him this time, searching for that feeling. She kept her soft lips pressed against his, taking in his warmth as she rested a hand on his knee. He kept her lips to his for several moments, not daring to pull away until she had this figured out.

Or until she needed to breathe, which beat out figuring it out.

Nothing was got sorted. Her mind was still racing, her cheeks were still burning and…and she didn’t know what to do or what to make of any of it. She hated this feeling. She never got like this. She had the level head, she knew what to do, and she was always sure of herself, but now…now she didn’t know anything.

And then he leaned in and kissed her again, another firework going off as he did. This time, he cupped her cheek in his hand, this time keeping her close instead. She kissed him back, longer…with more want. She found herself shifting towards him, their bodies closer now. They both could nearly feel each other's chest rise and fall with excitement at this new feeling.

This time, it was his turn to pull away, needing to breathe. He swallowed a bit, trying to collect himself. He wanted to explain, wanted to tell her why he kissed her. How he felt…

But it was her turn again, and she kissed him. She kissed for a long moment, moving even closer and resting her hands on his chest until finally, she had to pull away. Then after a moment, it was his turn, and he kissed her back. This time his hands wrapped around her waist, not daring to pull away, even after this kiss ended.

And then she kissed him…and then he kissed her...and then her, then him, then her…and they both went on like this. They went on, even after the fireworks had long since ended, and until they both understood how they felt about that first kiss.

Melody had been right, Sam decided. This was a good night.