Their First Date (Forgotten Existence) [Concluded]

[CableZ]

Aero wasn't exactly thrilled to be tackled to the ground like a common criminal, not least because he'd just been the opposite of a criminal! Okay so maybe vigilantism was technically a crime but semantics aside, he wasn't exactly thankful for the experience. He was grateful to have the idiots off him so he could get up and stretch himself out. While Nightfall simultaneously chastised and praised her troops in a way, Aero stood up with a less than happy look on his face. He wanted to make it clear that he didn't appreciate the treatment. It noticed an incredibly sharp pain in his wing when stretched it out, looking to it he went wide eyed for a moment. His wing was bent in a way that could only mean that it was broken. The metal blade that was fused to his bone was bend and twisted backward in a rather nasty looking manner. It had broken his wing but at the same time had kept it in place and in one piece which was the best outcome of having a bone broken. He stood there with a worried look on his face as the guards were busy restraining the criminals and Nightfall was occupied talking to her subordinate.

"Uh..Nightfall?"

Aero grabbed her attention and she would immediatly see his badly bent limb.

"I think we need to go to the hospital." Aero winced with a smile, the date was swiftly running away from him and he had no way of doing anything about it. He felt bad, his wing hurt and he was about to ruin the date by making them go to the hospital. He wanted to give her the perfect night, to prove he was cool headed and somepony she wanted to be with. He felt like all he'd done was prove he was a smooth talking let down. He dropped his smile for a moment.

[ForgottenExistance]

Sighing as her soldiers let her boyfriend get up, she turned back to them and faced the one who had addressed her before. They were decent soldiers, she had worked with them before. Having someone who jumped to conclusions in charge of their patrol group was good for a learning experience in most cases, giving him the skills needed to make good decisions under pressure. However, the zeal had caused her boyfriend to be tackled that night, which meant that he'd need a bit of a talking to whenever she got back to the barracks. Maybe having him run the Vertical Trial until he was ready to collapse would be a decent incentive, or wingups for him and the patrol group. Regardless of how she chose to enforce the lesson, she'd have to deal with it later.

"Go tell someone you're leaving a hole in your patrol route. Process their records in the jail, get them filed away, and then you can make sure that the jailer gives the updated case file to whatever Solar is replacing her when the sun comes up. When you're done that, get back to your posts. I expect you to be back where you're supposed to be in no longer than twenty minutes," she snapped the brisk order to him before turning her attention to Aero as he called to her.

Blinking a few times in surprise at the odd angle that his wing was bent at, her first thought was along the lines of; how did his wing get broken that easily with the metal on it? However, after the initial lack of comprehension in the situation, Nightfall quickly stepped over to him to examine the broken limb, concern crossing her face as she looked it over. Turning her head up to him and giving a mix of a grimace and a smile, she nodded, "I...uh.... think that might be best," she agreed softly. Certain to be gentle, Nightfall leaned in and gave the tip of his wing a soft kiss, careful to avoid the twisted area before she leaned up, "Come on, they've got it from here. We should get you checked out. Hopefully it just got twisted between you and the ground, but we'll have to see," she said before taking a position by his good side, worry still evident on her face.

She had experienced a broken wing before, it had been among her many career injuries, and she knew just how much broken wings hurt. The fact that Aero wasn't screaming was surprising, but he was a tough pony, and if anyone would be able to tolerate the pain, he would be able to. She was mostly concerned about the metal that was fused to his wings; if it was seriously bent with his wings, then she thought that there might be a chance that it would actually hold his wings in the broken position and make it harder to correct their position. However, she wouldn't pretend to understand how reinforced wings actually worked; they were outlawed long before her time.

Pushing her barrel up against his gently in a nudge, she gestured with her head towards the entrance they came through, "I'll bring you there, and we'll go at your pace. Don't push yourself if you need to take a breather, okay?" she said gently, keeping a delicate smile on her face. As worried as she was, she knew that he wasn't exactly in danger of dropping dead in front of her. And it wasn't the first casualty she had been witness to. As long as she stayed calm and helped him get to the hospital, then he'd be alright. And then she'd be able to scold him on opening his wings while falling, and debate on whether to smack him for worrying her or kiss him when the doctors confirmed that it was just a break. She would decide when she got them both there safely.

[CableZ]

Aero could at least walk fine, he didn't need her to support him but it felt nice. Like a safety net. A regular pony might have limped a little or played off that it hurt more than it did, and there was no mistaking this hurt. Aero however remained collected and even calm which was impressive. Soldiers were trained to disguise pain however, something that Nightfall would know all too well. Her subordinates nearly exploded when they saw their hard as nails captain kiss the wing of this stallion, the idea that she could kiss anything blew their brains so much that they would think it was a dream when they woke up tomorrow.

As the couple walked, Aero looked back making sure they were finally alone and then he let out an exhausted sigh. His head hung and the stallion looked defeated for the first time since she had met him, like everything she had read about him had caught up with him all at once. He didn't say anything for a while, just walked in silence with that horrible look on his face.

"I'm sorry.." The words trickled from his mouth, full of sorrow. "I tried really hard tonight, seems no matter what I do things are just always a little out of my control." Aero had felt since being thrust unwillingly to the future that nothing he did control where he went, and mistake after unfortunate mistake continued to cripple his confidence in where he was going in life. "I figured I could at least handle one date you know?" He looked at her and gave her a weak smile, her Aero was still there at least.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall kept close against Aero as they walked, there to support him if he needed it. She knew it was just a broken wing, but broken wings hurt, the small bones were easy to break and they jutted in all the wrong places to pinch nerves and veins. She knew it was a painful thing, and she knew it wouldn't cause him to limp, but she just felt better knowing that she would be there to catch him if he needed her to. Not that she expected he actually would need her to catch him; he was more than strong enough to take care of himself in this particular situation. It was mostly just to make her feel better about it and feel useful.

Turning her head up to look at him while they walked she offered a soft smile and nudged his chin with her nose, "Hey, cheer up you," she said quietly to break the silence, keeping her eyes on him while they walked until he responded with his own apologies. Listening intently to him, she hummed softly in thought. She didn't really understand how it felt to be out of control of things; she always took control of situations or rolled with them so she wasn't swept up, but he had been through so much, she really didn't know how he did it.

Finally giving him a little kiss on the cheek, she offered a slightly bigger smile, "Well, it was a pretty eventful date if I do say so myself. I don't really have any complaints, except that you wound up getting hurt," she said with a little chuckle, turning her head forward and guiding him in the direction of the nearest hospital. Continuing after a moment without breaking stride, she spoke lightly, "Sometimes things just happen though. It's not because of anything you did or because of anything you didn't do, it's just something that happened. You need to go with it and accept it as something that happened, and just look on the bright side. You could have been hurt a lot worse, or both of us could have been really hurt, or you could have gotten arrested! None of this is your fault, it's just something that happened," she offered, gently nuzzling against his neck after a moment of conclusion.

[CableZ]

Feeling her soft touch under his chin made him look down at her with a weak smile, seemed no matter what mood he was in, she was able to cheer him up. With a sigh he kept walking, shaking off his self pity as he straightened himself out. He tried to keep his wing as still as possible, he really wasn't looking forward to getting the metal heated and bent back into place, that was always the worst part. Ah well, he had Nightfall there and he was no stranger to pain. As he lent into her softly as they walked, chuckling as he looked down at her.

"Your men would drop their jaws if they saw you being all caring and supportive." He nudged her playfully.

They soon reached the hospital and due to the nature of the break and the face he had a wing blade he was rushed into the A&E room where they spent several hours heating and bending the metal back into place before ensuring nothing was too damaging and wrapping him up. They had to put a cast on his wing and splint it as well so he wasn't going to be flying anywhere for some weeks.

He lay in the hospital bed with a sigh, waiting for his discharge to be finalized. Sadly it was a busy night for the nurses so he had to wait for a bit. Nightfall was allowed to stay past visiting hours due to her captain status, so she could sit by his bed.

"Wow...this sucks." he laughed, though not for long as it hurt his wing in the movement. "You could go if you want, I don't want to make you sit around here with me not doing anything." He smiled at her, hoping she'd say no.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall laughed lightly at his comment and gently nudged him back in response, looking up, "Hey, I'm supportive to them. It's just a rougher form of support... With more yelling," she said, giving a sheepish grin before returning her head forward as they made it the rest of the way to the hospital. She didn't expect that they'd have to wait, and even if they did then she could easily just pull the strings that her position offered and get Aero in the emergency room fast. But, luckily enough, they recognized that his break was a tough one and so they were quick to get him into the emergency room themselves. During the several hours that it took for him to get his bones bent back into place, Nightfall had only been out of the hospital for about ten minutes, long enough for her to tell someone that she would likely not be back in the office until morning.

Staying in his designated room while he was being tended to, Nightfall spent most of the time playing mental chess against herself while he was getting his wings fixed. Not an orthodox way of spending time, but without anything else to do it was better than nothing. By the time Aero was returned, Nightfall had succeeded in defeating herself twice. Which side won is a question that could only be answered in queries and paradoxes, and as such, Nightfall had only claimed that she had been sitting around killing time. If she had an actual board, it might have been more understandable, but when one is nocturnal and spends many hours alone doing paperwork, one learns to entertain oneself.

When Aero was returned, Nightfall was quick to take his hoof in her own and hold it for his comfort, always presenting a smile whenever he looked her way. She was glad to see that his wings were back to being straight, even if they would be in splints until the bones were healed. Squeezing his hoof lightly, she chuckled, "Well, you know what they say; it could always be worse. And don't be ridiculous, I already told one of the Guards that I had an emergency to take care of and I might not be back until morning. I'm staying until you either kick me out or I get you home safe," she replied with a kindhearted smile.

[CableZ]

Aero hated hospitals for the standard set of reasons, though having Nightfall with him certainly made it better. Sat there, it gave him time to consider some stuff. His one thought that gave him concern through all of this was how fast this was perhaps going, this was their first date and he already felt incredibly strong about her. Was this too fast? He'd fallen in love just before coming through to this time, he was still hurt by that. There was no denying it though, he really really liked Nightfall. Shuffling in his bed for a moment, he sighed softly. Smiling at Nightfall as she insisted on staying, he chuckled for a moment.

"Thanks, I really appreciate you being here." He gave her hoof a squeeze. "Hey, c'mere." He grinned as he pulled on her hoof up into the bed with him. She was certainly strong but he got the surprise attack on her as he hoisted her from her seat up into the bed with him. Pulling her into his side, he wrapped his arms and wing around he as her head rested on his chest, thankfully his busted wing was on his right side while he had pulled her into his left. After the dust had settled, they both lay in bed, Nightfall wrapped in Aero's embrace.

"Much better." He gave her a squeeze. "Okay, the date's taken a much nicer turn now." he laughed, looking down at her with a smile. "You know, I've never felt so good about somepony so quickly. You really are amazing." Hugging her close, he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

They sat in silence for a moment, the beep of his pointless heart monitor really the only thing making much noise in the room. It was late, the hospital may never stop but it was certainly quieter, much easier for the two to sit in quiet content. Aero was just so happy to hold her close, he almost didn't want to leave the hospital.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall wasn't much of a hasty commander. She would bide her time until the opportune moment to strike, calculating every movement of her opponent until she was able to strike at a weakness. But even with all her calculations and patience, she would also jump on a weakness and latch on like a rabid Diamond Dog and not let go until she was flung off. Sometimes the best tactic was to move fast and not look back, and to Nightfall, she thought her relationship with Aero was a lot like that. She was quite attached to him and she wasn't afraid to admit it, and while it might be strange to be so attached to someone you only knew for a few months, Nightfall really didn't think it strange at all.

Smiling at him and squeezing his hoof back in return, she shrugged, "Don't mention it. It's one of the many reasons I'm here for," she replied with a little wink. This wink was quickly followed by a sudden yelp of surprise as she was pulled into the bed, elicting a laugh from her after she realized that she had been pulled onto the bed next to her lover. Rolling her eyes she gently pushed his chest with her free hoof, "You dummy, you have to be more careful with your wing!" she criticized with a lighthearted smile on her lips, betraying her only semi-serious nature in the situation.

Pulling closer to him, Nightfall contently snuggled up against him and sighed happily. Looking up into his face with a smile, she replied, "I'm not very amazing, I'm just predictable. You're the amazing one," she said before closing her eyes and putting her forehead against his neck, "But I'll admit that I feel pretty good about you too," she added in quickly to his chest before settling in for the wait before they could be discharged and she could make sure that he got home safely. Not that he was incapable, but she'd feel better if he wasn't walking home in the middle of the night by himself with a broken wing. They had already gotten mugged once.

[CableZ]

Aero sighed with contention as his arms were wrapped around Nightfall, slowly stroking her main idly as she snuggled into him. He couldn't imagine anywhere else in the world being better than right here. Despite the hospital bed, the dull room, his broken wing. It was all perfection when he was snuggled up with Nightfall, the feeling of her wing possessively wrapped over him was always something to bring a smile to his face. Her happy sigh just gave him a cherry on top, the date may have gone a bit pear shaped but this was just awesome.

After about twenty minutes of happy snuggling, a nurse finally entered back into the room. She saw the happy couple and let out a little 'd'aw' before clearing her throat and recomposing herself.

"Mr Tempest?" She asked with a curious tone.

Aero looked up from his pillow, not really being able to move due to his girlfriend having a loving death grip on him.

"Yes?" He asked with a chuckle, realizing the amusing situation he was in.

"Your doctor has cleared you, you're free to go...when you can." With a little giggle she headed out of the room, leaving the couple to themselves.

"Alrighty cute stuff, as much as I would love to stay here forever maybe we should get going?" He smiled as he gave Nightfall a little nudge.

Lifting her hooves from him, Aero hopped out of bed and stretched himself out. Looking around for a moment, he sighed as he moved his wing slightly, wincing at the aching pain. With a smile he turned to Nightfall, admiring her for a moment. Realzing he was staring, he gave a sheepish grin.

"You ready?"

[ForgottenExistance]

With her wing firmly wrapped around him, the image looked very similar to a bat with its wings wrapped around itself. In this case though, he was wrapped in with her, and she was very content to have him held close to her. Sighing contently and nuzzling against him, she closed her eyes and laid there in content silence for the moment. There wasn't a reason to be concerned for him any longer, and there was no reason to worry about the guards operating poorly without her around. She could just lay there and relax for once, and that's precisely what the Captain did. At least until the sound of a nurse's "aww"ing roused her from her quasai-slumber.

Pulling back from Aero to look over her shoulder at the nurse with slight confusion marring her eyes, Nightfall realized that the nurse had said that Aero was free to go. Not too eager to part, but relishing being able to get her boyfriend back home so he could rest, Nightfall rolled away from Aero after he poked her and onto the floor, landing on her hooves with a loud smack of hooves contacting with tiled floors. Grumbling her agreement as she recovered, she took a moment to yawn, returning oxygen to her brain after the long lay-down.

Shaking the sleep from her head, she smiled over at him and gestured to the door, "Looks like we overstayed our welcome. Let's get you home, soldier. I think you could use some rest," she said with a caring smile before she cantered over to the door and pushed it open, holding the door for him to go and then for her to follow.

[CableZ]

Aero headed out of the door, planting a kiss on Nightfall's cheek in thanks for her holding the door for him. Waiting in the hallway for her, he gave her a smile as they began heading down, beginning their search for the exit. Due to the late time, the hospital was fairly quiet. Visitors had gone home, many doctors had gone home and everyone was nice and peaceful. The pair had opted to keep quiet as they walked, they didn't want to disturb some sleeping sick pony. It took the couple a little longer than it really ought to have done to find the exit, places like hospitals were just mazes. They eventually found themselves walking through a large pair of electronic sliding doors, breathing in the cool night air with a happy sigh. Looking up at the moon, Aero smiled softly but noticed the light of the sun just peeking over the horizon. Sighing, he knew the date was definitely on its hour. He'd be home in near twenty minutes and while he'd try and keep Nightfall at the door for as long as possible but the date would certainly be over within the hour. Still, best not to dwell on such thoughts.

"Okay, lets get heading home. Though can you promise none of your other arch nemesis' are gonna show up and ruin the date?" He chuckled as he winked at Nightfall.

As they walked down the quiet streets, the couple just enjoyed the warmth of each other as they pressed into each other's sides. They were in no rush, they were just content with life as it was right now, it was hard for things to be much better, well maybe if Aero didn't have a broken wing but that was a technicality. Aero rested his head against Nightfall's, since she was a little shorter than him he was resting into her mane softly.

"Thanks by the way, I'm glad you could finally make the time for this." He smiled happily.

[ForgottenExistance]

Nightfall smiled warmly in response to the kiss before following her lover's exit, rejoining him in the hallway as she let the door fall shut behind her. She'd been to the hospital before, usually to keep an eye on a wounded prisoner or drop off a victim that had gotten hurt somewhere, but she had never been through the halls enough to actually find her way out. At most she had been to the urgent care and emergency centers, she'd never been in the outpatient wing. So, due to her inexperience in this particular building's architecture it took them a little while longer to get out then it had to get in. But it gave them a chance to stay together for a few minutes longer, even if it was in silence the entire time.

By the time they had gotten out through the magitech sliding doors, Nightfall was thoroughly glad to be out of the hospital and back into the cool dawn air. As much as she enjoyed being with Aero, she wasn't a huge fan of hospitals and had been eager to get back outside. With the sun peaking its way over the horizon, Nightfall had to turn her eyes away from the bright ball of energy lest her sensitive eyes send her right back into the hospital. Being out in the day wasn't usually a problem, but that was typically due to the fact that she had a helmet on to shade her eyes from direct sunlight, or had on glasses during her off-days. It wasn't that the light would really damage her, but nocturnal creatures like herself were considerably more photosensitive than somepony like Aero, so that sunlight would wind up giving her eyes the pinprick feeling of her pupils trying to adjust to the light that they weren't meant to be adjusted to. So Nightfall took that as a sign that their date was coming to an end and that she would have to head to bed for the day.

Looking up at Aero, she laughed softly and shook her head, "I can't promise that, there's more than a fair share of enemies of mine in this city. But I'll do my best to not make any more on the way to your place," she said with a good-natured shove against his uninjured side and a snort of laughter.

Falling in beside him, Nightfall happily nestled herself into his side as they walked, even allowing him to rest his head on top of hers (Despite the fact that any of her soldiers who witnessed it would likely die from heart attacks or plead insanity). Sighing contentedly she responded with a quiet, "I'd say it was quite worth it, even if it did go bugger-up around the middle there," she said, giving a light chuckle as she nuzzled up into his resting head. It wasn't really a terrible date, they had even managed to kick some flank together. Kicking flank was what she did, but it was just so much more fun when Aero joined her. Nightfall thought that perhaps the thought of violence as being fun should be concerning, but she dismissed the thought as quickly as it had come before she returned to nuzzling her lover affectionately.

[CableZ]

The pair walked in content silence, there wasn't much that needed to be said any more. They'd talked, they'd fought, they'd kissed and at this point they were just perfectly happy. Disappointed that the night was coming to an end but not unhappy about it, of course it had to end. It had to make way for the next day and the next date, so that was something to look forward to. Aero considered what the future held for them, and he really had no clue. It wasn't worth planning out, it was just much more fun to live in the moment, plus harder to get hurt. As the light in the sky got a little brighter, the purple light on the horizon spread. Soon they were on the street that Aero lived on, a small suburb near the walls of the city. It was no high class area but it was nice enough, certainly not the richest area in Canterlot, which you could tell as the houses were connected, not some kind of palace that was trying to outdo Celestia's.

They arrived at Aero's door, the little wall with a fence that lead up to his front door. They stopped at the fence for a moment, Aero looking up at his house with a sigh, wishing he lived just about anywhere else in the world. Maybe he was being a little overly dramatic but he had a penchant for it when it came to romance, though Nightfall might not have admitted it, he guessed she enjoyed it, or at least found him goofy.

"Well here we are, going to give me a kiss at the door?" He said in a girly and dramatic way with a smirk. "I should be the one walking to home." He chuckled. "Thanks for finding the time for this by the way, I know it can't have been easy, I'm just glad you wanted to sacrifice your rare free time on me." He smirked as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

[ForgottenExistance]

The whole walk was spent in a comfortable silence, Nightfall pacing next to her lover with her barrel against his good side so she wasn't harming him more then he already was. It was a nice walk, and they didn't need to say anything else. They had a great date, despite half of it being spent in the hospital. If Nightfall was going to rate the date, it would probably rank as the best date she had ever been on. Considering that the number of dates she had been on could be counted on a pony's hooves, that might not have been as much of a compliment she thought it was. But if she had been on more dates, it would still rate somewhere on the top of the list.

By the time Aero led them to a gate in a little suburb, Nightfall was actively squinting whenever they were facing the rising sun. Since the house wasn't backlit by the sun, Nightfall could see him off comfortably and without looking like she was trying to scrutinize something on his face. She had to admit though, Aero looked good in the light of the dawn. He looked like a hero returning home after a long campaign; wing bandaged, bruises, light gleaming off his armor. Could easily be slapped into a poster somewhere for an advertisement campaign. Not that Nightfall was admiring him, or that she would ever actually admit that her eyes were wandering. He was just a very handsome stallion.

Chuckling at his comment, Nightfall nodded and leaned up, giving him a gentle kiss on the lips and savoring it for a moment. After breaking apart and leaning back, she smiled before responding, "Well I couldn't very well say no. You would have just kept asking," she joked with a small wink before laughing out a continuation, "Besides, it was well worth it. Though I think we should try to avoid any more hoof fights next time we go out, hospitals don't make for good venues when it comes to dates," she said, wrapping her wings around him gingerly in a sentimental hug.

[CableZ]

Aero chuckled at Nightfall's mention of his persistence, he'd argue if that's not exactly what he'd do.

"You know me too well cutie." He smirked as he gave her a little nudge. "I don't know about the whole hoof fight thing though, maybe a fighting league could be a great place for a date." Aero chuckled.

Letting out a soft yawn, Aero hated to admit it but his body was tired. Being a pegasus, he wasn't used to the late nights he'd been forcing on himself recently. He'd powered through it for Nightfall and he was damn sure going to continue doing so. Still, there was no denying it, the night was over for them both. Planting a soft kiss on her lips, Aero looked at his girlfriend for a moment.

"Okay, I don't wanna prolong this anymore so lets call it a night. Thanks for the date...wow it sounds like you just took me out." Aero laughed, using his good wing to rub the back of his head. "Whatever, I'm glad you found the time. Now its my turn to find time for you...and I don't mean that I'm busy, I mean find some of your time I can sneak into." He smirked.

Bringing her into a little hug, Aero smiled his warmest smile.

"See you tomorrow, thanks again." Aero once again planted a kiss on her.

Letting go of her reluctantly, he headed up the path to his door. Opening it and turning back to face her, he gave her a little wave with his good wing before heading inside. He closed the door softly and when the mechanism clicked in place he let out a sigh and slumped down. Date was over, he was in love. He didn't know how it happened so quickly, but he was in love. Well, he'd had to deal with that at some point, for now he needed to get some sleep.