//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Textbook Soldier // by Backslasherton //------------------------------// The sky had turned to a brilliant orange and the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon by the time the uniformed man had been able to regain his composure. Holding him the entire time, Sunset had done her best to comfort him. . The bus had come and gone, with her still at CHS with the lost soldier. She didn’t mind. There was a late bus that came later. At that moment, James needed her more. At some point, he had pulled himself together enough to just stare off absentmindedly. He politely shrugged Sunset off of him, muttering something that never reached her ears. She looked up at him, but his eyes never left the ground. All of the anger and sadness from before was gone, replaced with a numb indifference. Eventually, James grabbed his rifle and racked the bolt. With a sharp ping, the remaining rounds fell to the ground. The soldier swept up the loose rounds, dropping them into his pocket along with the now empty clip. He glanced around, looking for something. Looking over his equipment, Sunset realized it was his helmet. “Oh, here you go,” the girl said, remembering she was still holding the helmet. He nodded a small thanks before placing it on his head, returning to his equipment check. Sunset shifted awkwardly as her eyes watched him go over his gear again. “So, what are you planning on doing?” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I just wanna get away from this damn statue.” “Where are you going to go?” “I’ll find somewhere.” Sunset bit her lip nervously. A man walking around in a full vintage army uniform would attract attention. Adding on the rifle currently in his hands, attention would quickly become suspicion and a call to the police that would cause even more problems when they talked to him and he told them he was from a fictional country. Suffice to say, Sunset was not keen on the idea of him just “finding somewhere”. “Well, you can stay with me... if you’d like,” she offered. “It beats being homeless, right?” The man stared at her for some time before slowly nodding. “I suppose,” James said slowly, his gaze dropping to the ground in thought. After a moment, he looked up and shook his head. “No, I can’t. I don’t want to be a burden.” “No, no, really!” Sunset said, perhaps a little too quickly. “I’d be more than happy.” The Equestrian shrugged her shoulders and grinned sadly. “I know the feeling of being alone here without anything… it’s not pleasant.” After a slight hesitation, he nodded again, offering no resistance this time. “Alright. If you insist.” Sunset’s grin warmed. “Great. My apartment isn’t too far. Um…” She paused, “one more thing, before we head out.” “Yeah?” “You kinda need to hide your… weapon. I don’t think it’d be great for people to see a man waving a gun around the neighborhood.” James looked down at the rifle in his hands and nodded with a half-grin, showing the first bit of emotion since the portal closed. “Good point.” He unclipped his ammo belt and swung the bag off his shoulders , as his pack was attached to the belt. He slipped off the jacket he was wearing and wrapped it around the rifle. After a little bit of adjusting, it managed to hide the shape well enough that, at a cursory glance, a passerby wouldn’t really be able to tell what it was. “How’s that?” James showed her the bundle. Sunset nodded apprehensively. “Let’s just get going. I don’t know how long that’ll fool anybody.” James gestured for her to go. “I’ll follow you.” Sunset grabbed her bag off the statue and tossed her books into it, careful not to let him see the cover of the novel. After zipping it up and swinging it onto her shoulder, she glanced down at her phone’s clock. The late bus was due any second now and they had to make it or take a long walk would await them. With a nod, she turned to James and found that the man had gotten distracted by looking at the high school. “James.” He turned around, and she waved for him to follow as she started walking towards the bus stop. “Alright. We’re gonna take the bus back to my apartment.” Sunset hesitated as he fell in line next to her. “Um… you know how buses work, right?” James stared at Sunset. “...Yes. I know how public transport works.” Sunset’s face flushed with embarrassment. “Stupid question, I guess. Sorry,” she mumbled. James sighed. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be an ass there. I’m just a little… stressed out.” Sunset shook her head as she reached into her bag. “I shouldn’t have assumed,” she mumbled bashfully. She reached into her bag and pulled out her coin purse. She counted out the right amount for the fare and handed it to James. “Here.” He silently took the coins in his hand. As he kept looking over the array of coins, Sunset noticed his confusion. “What’s wrong?” “How far are we going?” “Just a few miles into the city. Why?” James counted the money again. “You gave me a dollar twenty five.” “Yeah, that’s how much a bus pass is.” James stared blankly. “Okay…” The man managed to say. “I’ll trust you here, I guess,” he looked away awkwardly. “Um… Thanks, by the way. I appreciate this.” Sunset smiled. “Of course.” The city bus pulled up towards the stop, and Sunset went on first. Because of the distance between home and school, the school buses didn’t go out to her apartment. When she started riding everyday, costs started to pile up to pay for each individual ride, so she had bought a commuter pass, which meant she didn’t need to mess with change anymore, and it cut down costs over time too. The bus driver nodded to Sunset as she scanned her ticket, recognizing her from her daily commute. The girl smiled and waved back as she stepped past. James stepped on next, dropping the coins into the payment bin. The driver gave him a sideways look, glancing at the soldier’s uniform. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything, and James nodded respectfully before taking his seat next to Sunset. As the bus started moving, the man’s eyes were caught on the advertisements plastered around the interior. Sunset grinned to herself as she watched James’s wide-eyed reaction to the interior of the bus and realized that this must’ve been what she looked like the first time she rode the bus. She decided that being on the other side was much more amusing. His eyes roamed across the advertisement scroll on the ceiling, and he frowned. After staring long and hard at one particular ad, he turned to Sunset. “What the hell’s a ‘tablet?’” Sunset burst out laughing. She didn’t mean to laugh in his face, but the question caught Sunset so off guard that she couldn’t stop herself. James’s confusion only grew more at her reaction. The girl quickly pulled herself together to explain. “It’s like a portable computer that you can take in your bag and use for a bunch of different things based off of the apps you get for it.” “...What’s a computer?” After Sunset’s basic, crash-course explanation of the computer and all of its variants, the bus slowed. James had gone quiet after absorbing the information, electing instead to resume his childlike stares. The younger girl smiled and shook her head, glancing out at the bus’s latest destination. The current stop was situated in the middle of the inner-city area of Canterlot. There were lots of small tenements and townhomes lining the street, all in various states of repair. Not too far away, the sound of a passing train could be heard. Beyond those tracks were the nicer parts of downtown. Music from the bars and clubs could just barely be made out underneath the rumble of the train. Sunset stood, grabbing her bag from the floor. “Here we are,” Sunset said, stepping out into the aisle, “Come on, this is our stop.” James stood, still staring at the ads with an awe-stricken look on his face. “James,” Sunset repeated. The man in question turned back and realized she was already standing on the sidewalk outside of the bus. The glares of the annoyed passengers surrounded him, and he quickly stepped off behind her. He’d barely gotten both feet on the ground before the impatient bus driver pulled away. “Here we are.” Sunset gestured to the building in front of them. Night had just fallen, but they could see enough of the building thanks to the streetlight on the sidewalk in front. It was a two story apartment building situated in a row of similarly designed structures. Its walls were red brick, with grey concrete bricks framing the corners and the trimming. Like the rest of the buildings around it, it had an old-world feel to it that alluded to design styles that had long since fallen out of fashion. “This looks more like what I’m used to,” James said with a half-grin. He tilted his head and squinted to get a closer look at the details he could make out. “It looks a bit rough, though.” “Well, this building is about seventy-five years old.” Sunset didn’t take notice when James frowned, and she started walking across the street. “Come on. It’s getting late.” James followed. As they neared the building, they could see just how old it really was. The brickwork was weathered, probably much darker than it was when it was built, and there were more than a few places where the facade had been replaced at some point. The concrete steps were in similar condition. Once a smooth white, they were now a coarse grey with a dozen filled cracks across its surface. Sunset punched in a code on the number pad and there was a beep and a click as the door unlocked. James reached over, grabbed the handle and held the door open for Sunset as they walked in. The inside of the building looked like it had only fared slightly better than the outside. The wood floors were scratched and faded, but it looked like they’d been replaced at some point. However, that point was probably over thirty years ago. Faded green carpet lined the stairs and the creaky wooden floorboards groaned through the stairwell as the two started to climb. Coming to the second floor, they rounded the corner to Sunset’s apartment. She slid the key into the lock and swung the door open as she walked inside, James right behind her. He closed the door behind him and stopped just beyond the threshold with a small grin. “Homey looking.” Sunset smiled as she looked at the place she called home. For one person, it was really quite spacious. The lofted portion that acted as her bedroom allowed for a large desk to sit underneath, on top of which was a large computer setup that took up most of the desktop along with a few bits of memorabilia Sunset had collected through her life. Along the stairs going up to her bed hung a traditional acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, and sharp, v-shaped red electric guitar with yellow flames along the bottom. There was a dresser by the door, right next to a tall window that spanned the two story height of the room. Beyond the window, a sleek, modern flat screen television hung on the wall. The back wall of the studio apartment was a small kitchenette where a few appliances sat on top of the counter next to some well-kept house plants. The left wall sat rather plainly, taken up only by an open door to the bathroom, a closet door, and a tall metal cabinet that sat next to the staircase. “Thanks. It took awhile, but I think I’m finally happy with the place.” Sunset walked over to her desk and set her bag on top. She looked back to see James standing awkwardly. He hadn’t moved from his spot from the door. In fact, it looked like the only thing he’d done was take his helmet off. Sunset grinned. “You can sit down. You don’t have to just stand there by the door.” “I don’t want to touch anything,” he laughed awkwardly. “It all seems so… nice. I don’t think a full kitted-out soldier like myself should even be allowed in here.” Sunset raised an eyebrow. But then it hit her. He didn’t smell the best. Looking closer, she saw that his pants weren’t a camouflage pattern, and that was actually just dirt and mud. The same could be said for his shirt and the jacket that was currently wrapped around his rifle. “Um… I don’t mean for you to take this the wrong way but,” she suppressed a gag. “How long has it been since you took a shower? Or washed your clothes?” James’s face flushed in embarrassment. “We get water to sponge off every few days when we can, but real showers are a bit harder to get in the field.” Sunset stared at the man. “How long has it been since you’ve had a… ‘real shower?’” “That would be the last time we were pulled off the line.” “And how long ago was that?” “...Three weeks ago.” Sunset tried to suppress another gag. Three weeks? Celestia knows what he’s tracking into her apartment right now. “Right…” She said, trying and failing to keep the disgust out of her voice. “First off, let’s get you cleaned up.” James nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He pointed at the rifle in his hand. “Um… what do you want me to do with this?” Sunset stared at the rifle. While she didn’t really want it out here, there wasn’t anywhere to put it right now, and the jacket hiding it was just as disgusting as the rest of his clothes. He could leave it wrapped up, or he could take it out for a bit until they found a place to stash it. She went with the option that didn’t result in a disgusting jacket sitting on her furniture. “Is it loaded?” She asked. He shook his head. “Then I guess just put it down somewhere with your bag.” James unwrapped the rifle and looked around for a place to set it down. He decided to lean it against the wall by her desk, and threw his pack in front of it along with his helmet. With that done, he sat on the floor and started undoing the string on his leggings. “What are you doing?” Sunset asked. “Taking my boots off. I gotta take the leggings off before the boots.” “Leggings?” Sunset asked, even more confused. James pointed at the laced canvas wrapped around his ankles and looped under his boots’ sole. “O-Oh.” Sunset blushed. “Leggings means something slightly different to most people nowadays.” “What does it mean?” “Just… don’t worry about it.” Sunset definitely didn’t want to explain that right now. After quite a bit of fiddling with the laces, James pulled off both leggings and his boots. Standing, he followed Sunset as she led him back into the bathroom. “Okay, so here’s the shower and all the shampoo and stuff. Don’t use that, that’s conditioner and I don’t think you’ll really need it. Other than that, I think you’ve got it from here.” Sunset grabbed the handle on the doorway, but paused before she left. “...Do you even have something to change into?” James looked up and grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, about that. We only get issued one uniform usually, and uh…” He looked down at his mud covered pants. “This is it.” He looked back up. “I have spare socks and underwear in my bag, but that’s about it.” Sunset thought for a moment. He’d need clothes eventually. She could deal with that later. Right now, they just had to make it work. “Are they clean?” She asked. He nodded. “Good. Go get those, then. I’ll try to find something for you to cover up with while I wash your clothes. When you change, just throw them on the floor outside and I’ll handle them.” James nodded once again and went to grab his clothes. When he came back, Sunset was holding a white bathrobe. “This was all I could find.” She grinned. “For some reason, I don’t think a five-foot six girl’s clothes would fit a however-tall-you-are man.” James grinned. “It wouldn’t be comfortable, I’ll tell you that much.” With a nod of thanks, he took the robe in his hands and hooked it on the towel rack as he shut the door behind him. The remaining bits of his uniform, sans underwear, were quickly removed before he opened the door and tossed the dirty clothes onto the floor. With that done, the man reached over and turned the hot tap in the shower. With a gurgle, the water came spraying out of the head in a constant stream. After a few moments, James reached his hand in, and grinned as he felt the warm water run across his hands. Wasting no time, the remaining pieces of his clothes came off and he stepped in. A long sigh escaped him as he felt the dirt wash off his body. “Oh, Lord, this is amazing.” Sunset reached down and picked up the pile of clothes on the floor, holding them at arm's length as she carried them. The girl pushed the door next to the bathroom open, and flipped the light switch as she walked into the laundry closet. Setting the clothes on top of the dryer, she opened the washing machine and quickly slid the man’s clothes in. The knobs on the machine clicked as she turned the heat setting to cold. Once the water had started, she poured the detergent in and closed the lid, leaving the beat-up washing machine to run its cycle. Stepping back out into the living room, Sunset sighed as she took a seat at her desk. She laughed and shook her head. I’ve got a storybook character taking a shower in my bathroom while I do his laundry. This definitely takes the cake for weirdest thing to happen to me. Sunset sighed as she slid deeper into her chair. What am I even doing? What do I need to do? Long run, James needs to get home, obviously, but I don’t even know how he got here in the first place! All I know is that the book reacted with the portal… somehow, and he came through it. She glanced over at her book bag and thought for a moment. Wait… the portal to his world closed when I took the book off the statue. So that probably has something to do with it. She shook her head. But that still doesn’t explain why it opened to his world in the first place. Sunset unzipped her bag and pulled out her journal and the novel. The pages flew by as she flipped through the pages of the novel she’d read already. They didn’t seem any different than before. Not sure what I was even expecting there. She thought disappointedly. Next, she grabbed her journal and inspected the outside to make sure it wasn’t damaged by the mystery magic. A weight left her shoulders when she saw it was completely untouched. Wait! She jerked upright in her seat. What if it changed the portal completely?! What if we’re not connected to Equestria anymore?! Sunset flipped open the journal and grabbed a pen from her desk, quickly writing out a brief message to Princess Twilight. Hey Twilight. I know this is a bit weird, and kind of late in the night, but I was wondering if I could ask you a question real quick. Sunset looked at the clock. It was already almost ten o’clock. There was a good chance that Twilight was either busy or asleep. But, as Sunset had learned in her past conversations with the mare, there was also a very good chance Twilight was not only still awake, but reading or studying something nearby. The thought put her a little more at ease. If there was a response to be had, it’d come soon. But as the seconds rolled by, and no response came, the fear started to come back in spades. Sunset tapped her pen and bounced her leg impatiently as she waited for a response. Her mind started to wander towards the what-ifs. What if the connection really was severed? Would Twilight notice? If so, how long would it take? Would she even be able to fix it if she did? Fear and worry swirled around in her head in force now. So much so that when the journal finally did glow with its familiar aura, she jumped in her seat as the vibrating shook the desk. She leaned forward to read the words as they appeared across the page. Hey Sunset! I’d love to answer your question. What’s up? Sunset allowed herself a small sigh of relief. Her journal still worked. At the very least, the connection wasn’t completely severed. I just wanted to know if the portal’s on. It looked a little weird earlier and I wanted to make sure everything’s alright. She frowned. Not that anything’s wrong on our end, of course. I was just wondering if you tested it. Actually, I wanted to know if it was on. If it wasn’t, I wanted to know if you wanted to test it. Not that anything’s wrong on our end, though. Sunset stared at the words on the age. As she read over them again, she cringed. With a groan, she dropped her head on the desk. Twilight had to be suspicious of something at this point. That was probably the least ‘nothing’s wrong’ message she’d ever written. The journal vibrated, and Sunset pulled her head up to read the response. It isn’t right now, no. I try not to leave it open, just in case an animal or something gets curious and accidentally falls in. As for your other question, no I don’t really test it regularly. I can only see it from one side at a time, and it’s a bit of a pain to go through it, in more ways than one. I know it’s a bit late right now, and I’m assuming you don’t want to go all the way back to school on a Friday night, so we can test it tomorrow morning if it’s worrying you! Sunset smiled to herself. Leave it to Twilight to completely gloss over about half a dozen warning flags, but remember her commute. Either way, Sunset would be able to make sure the portal worked. Sounds great! I’ll meet you tomorrow morning. Sunset nodded to herself. If the portal wasn’t closed permanently, that would mean that not only was she not trapped, but they could also enlist the help of Twilight to get James back home. The princess in Equestria would know more about this sort of thing than her friends at CHS. Sunset pushed her chair back from the desk and sighed as she spun the chair around. She stared out the window at the moon. Ever since school let out, time had flown by. First soccer with her friends, then James’s appearance, and now getting him here, she hadn’t really stopped since her talk with Rarity. She was drawn from her thoughts as a familiar feeling resurfaced. “Oh yeah, dinner,” she said to herself. Sunset laughed quietly. She’d completely forgotten about food. After the day she’d had, something as mundane as dinner was a welcome change. Standing up, she wandered over to her kitchenette. Opening the fridge, she sighed at the dismal supply of foodstuff. Moving onto the cabinets, she swung them open and grinned. No matter what, ramen noodles are always there for you. She reached up and grabbed a package, and hesitated before grabbing a second. He’d probably eat whatever she made. He’s not your child, why are you treating him like one? Sunset shook her head. “I’m just worrying too much,” she said to herself. “Worrying about what?” Sunset jumped, dropping the package of ramen on the counter. She turned around, and promptly blushed furiously. The robe that she got for him was a little shorter than she thought it would be. It barely covered the… important bits and she could see his underwear peeking through the bottom. “You got done quicker than I thought you would,” Sunset said quickly. “Oh, uh… sorry?” “N-No, it’s fine. I just… wasn’t expecting you to be done yet, is all.” “Well, I didn’t want to take too long and use all your hot water,” he peered over her shoulder. “Oh, are you cooking something?” “Y-Yeah. Nothing fancy.” “Need help?” He said as he walked up to the counter next to her. Sunset shook her head and turned back to the stove top. “I think I’m fine. This stuff is really easy to make.” James grabbed one of the packages and looked it over. “What is this?” “Ramen noodles.” “Is this… Japanese?” He mumbled. Sunset paused. “N-No. It’s Neighponese,” she said. Best not to open that can of worms today either. James stared at the package and glanced back up at Sunset. He didn’t seem upset, which put her at ease. “What is it?” “It’s like a soup. It’s got noodles and a broth.” “And this…” he held up a package. “Has everything you need to do that?” “Pretty much. Just add water.” “...How?” “Here, let me show you.” Sunset grabbed the other package from the counter next to him and tore it open. She pulled out the block of noodles and two small packets. “This is the noodles. You drop this in boiling water, stir, and when they turn soft, you add these two packets to make the water into broth.” “Ah. Clever,” he grinned. “Man, if we had this back home, I’m sure the army would’ve thrown about a hundred of them in a pot and called it dinner.” Sunset grinned. “Well, I don’t think I’d complain too much. They’re pretty good.” “Most guys wouldn’t, probably. It’s hot and it sounds easy for the cooks to make,” James shrugged, “Everyone would like it.” “I guess they would,” Sunset shrugged. “If you wanna hang out, this’ll be ready soon.” James nodded and walked towards the couch. “Oh, and your clothes should be done washing here in about twenty minutes, after that we have to let them air dry.” Sunset turned to James. “Sorry, but I can’t get you your clothes back until tomorrow.” James waved a hand. “It’s fine. I’ll just be glad to get clean clothes.” They laughed softly together. His laughter faded quickly and he grew more serious. “I really appreciate this. All of this. You really didn’t have to do anything for me.” He chuckled softly to himself. “I’m just a random guy that came out of a statue.” Sunset grinned. “You’re welcome.” “I’ll find a way to pay you back for all this. I swear.” Sunset shook her head. “You don’t have to do that, James.” “No, I do,” James insisted, “I don’t want to put any more strain on you. Staying financially stable just out of high school is hard enough, even without some guy mooching off of you.” James paused. Sunset seemed to have frozen completely where she stood. He tilted his head. Then his eyes widened and he leaned his head back as he realized. “You’re not out of high school… are you?” he said slowly. Sunset said nothing. James nodded slowly. “Right,” he said softly. The silence of the room made James wish he was being shot at again. “James…” Sunset started, “I promise you, you are not a burden.” “Sunset… I can’t. Not only do I feel terrible enough already, I can’t expect a family to take care of me. I’m nineteen, I can handle myself out there.” “I don’t have a family,” Sunset said quickly, “You’re not a burden at all.” James stared at Sunset. “You… live alone?” “Yes. You won’t get in anyone’s way.” “That’s not the problem, Sunset! How am I supposed to let you do all this and be a student and have to work to pay for an apartment?” “James, it’s fine! Really!” “Sunset… I just don’t feel comfortable letting you do all this.” “James! It’s fine!” Sunset repeated, “I promise you, you are not a burden. Look around! Do I look like I’m on the brink of poverty here?” “That’s not the point-” “Then what is?!” Sunset threw her arms up, exasperated. “I was in your situation not too long ago. I came here with nothing, and I was from a completely different world. But unlike you, I had enough on me to keep myself secure until I could get a stable income. But you,” Sunset gestured at him. “You’ve got a gun. Which not only doesn’t help you, it’ll get you arrested and thrown in jail. And then they’ll find out you have no documentation. Then what? What happens then?” “Sunset-” James tried to say. “You can pay me back later, if you really need to. But I need you to get over whatever kind of dumb pride you have and just accept my help!” She threw the potholder in her hand down on the counter. “I just don’t understand why you would rather starve in the streets than accept my help!” “Look, Sunset, I get that you want to help me and I appreciate it. Really, I do,” Sunset was taken aback by the force in his voice. It was the first time he’d spoken with really any sort of confidence since coming through the portal. “But I’m a grown man who can work for himself. You don’t need me coming in here and messing everything up for you just because I happened to fall out of that… thing, right in front of you. And I really can’t understand why you’re insisting so much that I let you do this.” “Maybe you just need to see that friends can help other friends and not expect anything back.” James frowned. “Friends? You don’t know me! You met me two hours ago!” “Dammit, James, just let me help you. I will let you pay me back however you want when you can. But right now, you can’t. And I want to help you get there. Alright? And me leaving you on the streets is going to cost you way more than it would for you to just accept my help.” James clenched his jaw and stared at Sunset. He realized there was no use in arguing, and he shook his head and sighed. He hated not having a choice. “...Fine,” he relented. “But I am going to pay you back at some point.” He looked her in the eye. “And you can’t sto- oh shit.” Sunset raised an eyebrow, but wasn’t able to get a word out before James ran over to the stove. She turned her head and gasped. The potholder than she’d thrown on the counter had slid near the stove’s flame and caught fire. He grabbed it from the non-burning end and threw it in the sink, reaching over it and hitting it with the taps on at full blast. The flames were quickly extinguished, leaving only a smokey silence. James stared at the soggy piece of fabric and looked up at Sunset. “The potholder may have caught on fire a little bit,” James looked up at Sunset sheepishly. “And, um… sorry for cussing.” Sunset grinned. “Consider part of your debt repaid.” James frowned and pointed at Sunset. “I don’t count that.” Sunset shrugged and grinned. “I do.” She walked over and dropped a block of noodles in the boiling water. “Food will be ready in a bit.” James shook his head, muttering to himself as he dropped himself down onto the couch. Sunset grinned to herself as she stirred the noodles. She started thinking about what she’d said to James. Yes, he wasn’t going to bankrupt her any time soon, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t put a dent in her savings. Of course, she’d planned for things to come up at some point. She could easily provide for him for a good bit of time. Maybe a month or two without many lifestyle choices, especially since he wasn’t very picky, it seemed. But beyond that? Sunset wasn’t so sure. If she picked up a few more shifts during the week at work, that should help keep things afloat a little bit longer. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Despite the fact that she'd told Rarity that very same day this was what she had dreamed of, she knew her first priority should be to get him home as soon as possible. Hopefully it wouldn’t take them more than a month or two at the most. Especially with Princess Twilight’s help. Sunset shook her head. One thing at a time, she thought. With a little more flair than was necessary, she poured the flavor packets into the noodles and stirred. When the broth was mixed, she poured the pot into two bowls and set it in the sink to be cleaned later. Then she dropped a fork and soup spoon into the bowls and picked them up. “It’s ready, James.” She got no response, and frowned. Sunset glanced over her shoulder and grinned. The soldier had fallen asleep on the couch. She grabbed the two bowls and set one down in front of him with a thud, and the man jerked awake. “Somebody’s tired,” she teased. James nodded as he sat up. “How can I not with a couch this comfortable?” “Oh trust me, I know the feeling.” Sunset grinned as sat down next to him on the couch. “Anyway, there’s your food.” James leaned forward and stared at the noodles. He picked up the fork and poked it around. He grabbed the ceramic spoon and lifted a spoonful of broth to his mouth. “Dammit,” He cussed, dropping the spoon back into the bowl. “That’s really hot.” “Sorry about that. Forgot to tell you,” Sunset apologized, “Just try to blow on it a bit before you eat it.” James tried again, holding it to his lips as he blew on the spoon. Hesitantly, he tried the broth again. “How is it?” She asked. He nodded. “Well, when it isn’t scalding my tongue, it’s pretty good.” “Glad you like it.” The two sat in silence for quite a while, content with quietly eating rather than making conversation. The day wore them both down significantly, especially for James. Setting aside the fact he was in a different universe altogether, Sunset realized that if he’d gone through anything like what she’d read so far, he’d been sleeping in the dirt and hiking through the mountains without proper rest in awhile. He had to be exhausted. It almost made her exhaustion feel insignificant. In the end, she thought, exhaustion was still tiring, regardless of whether it was justified or not. Sunset sighed in content. Warm ramen on a brisk fall day was always nice and left a warm feeling behind. Looking down, she was happy to find that she still had at least half of her bowl left. Then she glanced over to see how James was liking it. “Did you seriously finish already?” She asked, mouth agape. “What?” James glanced down at his empty bowl on the table. “Oh, uh… yeah?” “...Did you even chew?” “Yeah, but you don’t really need to chew noodles a whole lot.” James shrugged. “It was good, though. Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Sunset just shook her head. “Well, do you want to watch something?” She said, gesturing to the TV. James eyed the thing skeptically. Sunset could tell he was still reluctant to believe that it really was a TV. Although Sunset had explained to him that screens didn’t need tubes anymore, he didn’t seem to completely believe her. But, to his credit, he seemed willing to entertain the idea and nodded. “Sure.” Sunset nodded and flipped the TV on, defaulting to the news channel. “What do you want to watch?” James’s eyes were wide with wonder as he watched the figures move and talk on the screen. “It’s so clear…” he muttered. Sunset grinned. “Little better than you’re used to, James?” “Much.” “Well, what do you want to watch?” James stared at the screen a few seconds longer, and finally tore his eyes from it to face her, shaking his head. “Uh… Anything’s fine. News is news. Doesn’t matter to me.” “Well, we don’t have to watch the news. We’ve got plenty of options.” “Do you not have evening newscasts?” “Well, yeah. But it’s not like that’s the only thing on right now.” “What? So... do one of the channels just not do the news or something?” “...James, plenty of channels don’t do the news at night.” “Plenty? Hold on, how many channels do you have?” “How many…?” Sunset shook her head, “I don’t know, maybe a few thousand?” “You… what?” James gaped, “A few thousand?” Instead of answering, Sunset grabbed the remote and brought up the guide on the TV. James’s eyes widened as he stared at the TV as Sunset brought the guide up. The screen was plastered with various channels and a list of each of their scheduled programs. Sunset scrolled through the lists, grinning to herself as the channel numbers ticked up into the thousands. James stared all the while. When the guide looped back to the start, she turned and smiled smugly at him. He just shook his head. “This place is gonna kill me…” He muttered, head in hands. “What was that?” “I said just pick whatever you like,” James said, sitting up. “There’s a show on here about nature that I think you might like.” “Sounds good to me.” The TV flashed all kinds of animals and areas of the world. Sunset always liked these programs. It showed her the world that she now called home. Of course, given certain legal limitations, she’d probably never get to see these places. Being an illegal alien, in two senses of the word, tends to make that difficult. Sunset’s thoughts drifted to her legal status here. They’d flubbed enough papers for her to be made a citizen. She had even started the classwork needed for her driver’s license. But would those papers hold up for a passport? She was scared to find out, which is why Sunset had never tried to leave the country. Then there was James. A whole other ball of worries. He had even less documentation than she did. What would happen if he tried to get a library card, let alone a passport? The equestrian shook the thoughts from her head. A worry for another time. “So how does this world compare to yours?” Sunset asked, setting her now empty bowl down on the table. No response. With a furrowed brow, the girl looked to her side and grinned at the sight in front of her. James had his head back against the couch with his mouth open, completely passed out. Again. Sunset stood, grabbing a blanket from the cabinet and throwing it over him. The man didn’t so much as flinch, and Sunset shook her head before going up to her own bed. She grabbed her pajamas where she’d left them on her bed that morning and quickly changed into them. Then, coming back downstairs, she stopped into the bathroom to wipe off the little bit of makeup she wore before brushing her teeth. Once that was finished, she flipped off the light switch and stepped out of the bathroom. “Goodnight James,” she spoke softly to the form on the couch as she ascended the stairs. “Goodnight Sunset.” She heard a groggy voice mumble softly from below. She grinned as she came up the stairs and climbed into bed. Sunset reached over and switched off her bedside lamp, plunging the whole apartment into darkness. The only light remaining came from the streetlights coming through the window, and the moon hanging in the sky.