• Published 24th Apr 2012
  • 5,030 Views, 55 Comments

Duality - RaijingtheClockworkPony



A young man must choose between two worlds, but can he?

  • ...
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Only Human

Sam awoke in his bed on Earth. He sat up and looked around the room. 'Well... That went better than I thought.' He rubbed his left cheek where Luna had kissed him good night. He sat on his bed for a moment remembering how Applejack and Apple Bloom wouldn't leave him alone, demanding every detail of the night. He had told them everything from the dinner to Luna saying good bye just before the gate to the farm.

He smiled as he got dress. He had just successfully had a date with a Princess pony from a cartoon show. 'Wow that's weird to say.' Sam rose from the bed and went to the closet to grab a bag. After all that had happened to him and how perfectly last night in Ponyville went he was surprised that the first thing on his mind was packing. He didn't really know why until he finished putting most of his shirts in the bag.

"Packing for New York I see. Well I suppose that's the best way to spend your day."

Sam sighed and resumed packing his clothes. "Mister would you please just this once not be a pain in my arse. I would like to keep my sanity."

Sam turned to see Mister chuckle and float above the bed. They went back and forth for a hour talking, or rather Mister taunting Sam and Sam telling Mister to shut up. Sam closed the final bag and placed it in his living room and glanced around at all the things he would have to return for later in the year. 'If I come back at all...'

Sam made himself a quick lunch of ramen noodles while Mister amused himself with changing the color of the walls to whatever he found to suit the moment. Mister had just changed the walls to a bright puce when Sam reached annoyance with him.

"Would you stop that!"

Mister only gave him a shit eating grin. "Why? I think this fits quite nicely given its occupant. Besides what do you care, you may never return here anyways. By the way you and Luna are indeed a cute couple."

Sam gave him a look the dripped with as much sarcasm as his voice. "So glad I have your approval. That's all I wanted in life."

Mister gave him a mirror of his sarcastic smile. "So nice to hear that. I'm so unloved around here these days."

Sam rolled his eyes and went to the living room. Mister followed him after turning the kitchen into a bright shade of blue. Sam sat down on his sofa and grabbed a magazine that was sitting on the coffee table. He flipped through the articles not really interested in what they went on about but he was hoping that Mister would grow bored and leave him in peace.

"Stop ignoring me."

Sam kept looking at the article about some stupid reality star getting married for the ninth time. He made sure he didn't look up from the magazine lest he see something he would regret. However he wasn't able to stay the way he way because the magazine burst into flames. He yelped and threw the ball of fire away from himself. When it hit the floor he rushed to put it out by grabbing a pillow but when he turned back to the flame it was gone. He looked at Mister, who was standing off to the side.

"What the hell?"

"I don't like it when you ignore me. Besides we draw closer to the choice you have to make. I know it's been on your mind and regardless of how much you think you know about your choice I would like to throw this little tidbit into your head. You’re only HUMAN. You’re only the human."

Sam sat there confused by what Mister was saying. 'I'm only human? Really what is that supposed to mean...' Sam gave Mister a skeptical look. Mister merely smiled at him.

"Give it a moment."

Sam sat there for a moment before something clicked in the back of his mind. "I'm only the human..." Something about one of those words made him suddenly uncomfortable. 'I'm only human... only the human...' He looked up quickly as the realization hit him harder than Big Macintosh.

"If I stay there I'll stay human!"

Mister lounged on the couch. "And?"

"If Luna and I are now a thing. What if she wants to take it to the next..."

The sudden implication that struck Sam's mind was something he had never thought about. "What is she wants kids, er... foals?"

Mister smiled as he always did. "What if, indeed. Do you think she has already come to that conclusion or is she avoiding thinking about that like you did? That's the one thing every little mortal creature forgets when they fall in love with another species. I can't tell you how many times I've seen that."

Sam put his head in his hands as he thought about what that could mean. He looked up when another thought ran past his mind.

"Why am I worrying about this now? Luna and I are just barely into the first day of 'courtship' and we haven't even done anything even close to that. Hell we haven't even kissed. IF I stay then We'll face that challenge when we get to it."

Mister leaned forward on the couch and his smile grew into something akin to a father proud of his son. "Now you're thinking like a real lover. What if I told you I could offer you something to make that issue never need be worried about?"

Sam gave a halfhearted chuckle. "Like what turn me into a pony or something?"

Mister joined him in the chuckle and nodded. "Yes. That or bring Luna here."

Sam's mind seemed to shut down at that point. "Wha..."

Mister rose from the sofa and started circling Sam like a beast on the prowl. "Come now. I'm a god. I sent you to another dimension where colored ponies are the dominant race and you have been going back and forth every time you fall asleep. Is it really that hard to believe I could change you into a pony, or for that matter turn Luna into a human and bring her here for you?"

Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was too good to be true. 'Way to good.'

"Why would you do something like that for me?"

Mister gave Sam a cold smile. "Because my dear Sam I have grown fond of you, like a cat grows fond of a mouse. Besides it the least I could do for you seeing as I have already turned your life upside down and there's no going back."

Sam grew silent as he thought it over. His silence only prompted Mister to keep talking.

"But of course that leads to a much darker question doesn't it? Would you be willing to give up the one thing that makes you unique in there, no her world just so that you could stay with her, to give her a family if she so wishes? To abandon your species in the hope that you could fit in. Or would you be so thoughtless to drag her here and take her away from her friends and family so that you could keep yours."

Sam sat there trying his best to take it all in. "You're not making this any easier."

Mister continued to smile. "It's not supposed to be an easy choice. That's the point my dear stupid mortal. This was never going to be easy, nor was it ever going to be painless."

A brief silence overtook them as Sam mulled over everything that Mister had said. He didn't know how long he sat there thinking but when Mister spoke again he jumped. He had been so busy thinking that he had forgotten that Mister was even there in his apartment.

"I know that when it comes down to making the choice however that you will make the right decision. You humans have a knack for doing that when it comes down to what you really want from life. For better, for worse. I'll give you this advice before I leave you for now. Talk to the one you trust most."

Before Sam could say anything Mister disappeared in a puff of smoke as well as a loud bark. Sam Sat there for a moment trying to figure out what type of animal the bark had come from but then realized that it was a moot point. He pulled out his cell phone and made a call to the closest human friend he had.

"Hey Alex. I need to talk to you."

The next hour of Sam's life was filled with making up a scenario to explain everything that had happened to him in the past week. He was technically breaking the 'Don't tell any humans' rule but he wasn't saying that it was real, merely a thought exercise he was working on.

"Well... I would say that I would stay on the island. Sure I would miss my family and friends but I would make new friends and start a family of my own. Is this all due to going to New York so early, because it's not nearly as drastic as your making it out to be."

Sam could almost see the cocky smile that Alex must have been wearing when finish his last statement, and if his amused tone was anything to go by he was going to hold this against him next time they talked.

"No. I was just on the internet and someone posted it up and it got me thinking. So you would really give up your "religion" for this person?" Sam had used religion as a replacement for 'turn onto a pony.'

"If they are the one person I could spend the rest of my life with then yes. I would do it in a heartbeat if it meant being happy and seeing them happy."

Sam gave Alex a quick good-bye and thanked him for talking with him. 'Well that went better than I could have hoped.' He considered calling Roger to ask him as well but when he thought about it for more than three seconds he knew that all Roger would ask about is 'How hot are the chicks there?' Sam sighed and continued with what he was going to do with his day before Mister derailed it and made him even more of a nervous wreck: packing up his stuff. As he packed he considered every possible outcome he could, each becoming even more outlandish than the last.

"Where would she even get a banjo?"

Exhausted from a combination of packing, thinking, and more packing Sam settled down for the night wondering how this would play out.

************************************

Sam awoke to the sounds of two very familiar voices talking just outside his door. He couldn't quite tell what they were saying but when the voices got closer to the door he could just catch the tail end of the conversation. The first of the two voices he heard was of the youngest of the Apple clan.

"And did the two of you kiss? Like under the stars all romantically?"

For a scant second he was wondering if it was Applejack she was talking to but when the other half of the conversation spoke his thoughts were put to rest.

"We shared a fine moment under the stars and I did kiss him on the cheek. Now if you would please excuse me I wish to speak with him."

'Shit' Luna was on the other side of that door and Sam was in nothing but his boxers. He sat up and frantically started putting on his pants. He was interrupted in his rushing to get dressed by a knocking on the door.

"Sam? Are you awake?"

Sam stopped for a moment. "Eh... Yeah. Just give me a sec."

He finished putting his shirt on then went to let her in. When he opened the door he was surprised by a sudden hug. Luna broke the hug after a moment and gazed up at Sam. He could only smile back and wonder why she was here. Before he could even vocalize his curiosity Luna started to grab his hand.

"Come on Sam! We should get going."

Sam could only follow; Luna was much stronger than she looked. "Where are we going?"

"You still owe me ice cream."

And with that Luna dragged Sam down to the lower level of the house, only letting Sam pause to give Apple's a quick good-bye. They reached the road before Sam could regain use of his arm. Massaging feeling back into his arm he got a chance to really look at Luna. She was once more out of the royal regalia but wasn't wearing anything to replace it. She was simply standing there like any other pony.

"So... uh, Luna I thought you would have some, uh, princess stuff to do today. Not that I'm not happy to see you because I am-"

She cut him off by placing a hoof over his mouth. "I just wanted to spend some more time with you, and technically I'm not here right now."

Sam cocked an eyebrow at her and noticed the sudden playful glint in her eye. "And how is that possible?"

She playfully shrugged and looked around as if she was checking that they were alone. "Well... I didn't tell anypony that I was going to be here. In truth I should be back at the castle working on something I'm certain. I just thought we could spend today just doing something fun, and I wouldn't have to have all the pomp and circumstance that being a princess brings."

Sam couldn't help but feel touched that she did this just to spend some time with him. "But last night you weren't treated any differently than I was. I would say that our night was pomp-less."

She smiled up at him. "Well the pomp I'm talking about has to do with the guards. They follow me everywhere and sometimes it's nice to get away from them. This isn't even the first time that I've done this; even Celestia does this every now and then."

Sam could see how that would be annoying but thought about what that meant about last night. "So we were being watched last night?"

Luna looked guilty as she nodded. "Celestia insisted, but at least she told them to stay a good distance so that we could have some privacy. That's why I'm here right now; I would like to just have a nice day without worrying that a guard will show up and ruin the mood."

The two of them continued down the road and were soon upon the outskirts of town. Luna motioned for them to take on of the smaller streets off to their left. When Sam asked why they were heading this way she told him about a small shoppe that she had found when she was in town at the last Nightmare Night. As she explained why she loved this place over any other ice cream shoppe she was practically bouncing in place in a manner that a royal should have been embarrassed by.

"And he had these little candies that would glow when you put them in a special soda he only makes during that time of the year. I hope he still has some in stock, because that soda was beyond anything I have ever tasted in all of my years."

They arrived at a small shop that looked like an ice cream cone tipped upside down. Sam Opened the door for Luna, needing to be a gentleman for his companion, and followed her in. The layout of the shoppe reminded Sam of those old 50's styled restaurants. Much to both of their surprise they weren't the only customers. Sitting at the 'bar' was Pinkie Pie chatting animatedly to the owner of the establishment. The stallion she was talking to was bright orange with a lime green mane. His cutie mark was of a milkshake with a candy cane in it. The pair of confectioners looked over to Sam and Luna as they walked in.

"Oh, hiya Luna, hi Sam. I was just about to go looking for you. Well just looking for Sam. Not that it isn't nice to see you to Luna but I really needed to see Sam and talk to him about the ‘’you know what’’ tomorrow."

Luna gave Sam a quick look then returned her gaze to Pinkie and the stallion. "Good to see you Pinkie and it is good to see you again Cream Float. I hope you have had a good year so far?"

The stallion gave her a friendly smile. "Hello again your Majesty. It is good to see you too; I have been having a good year. I take it you're here for some of my famous soda?"

The sly smile that played over Cream Floats face showed that he knew Luna loved the soda, and more to the point it was a weak spot of hers that was amusing to them both. Luna giggled and nodded. Cream pointed to a pair of stools at the bar for them to sit down at.

"Lucky for you I keep a few bottles in reserve just in case I get a request from a good customer. Let me go get some."

He walked into a back room leaving the two mares and Sam alone. Pinkie didn't waste any time in jumping over to Sam.

"So Sam I need you to distract Twilight for me for about an hour tomorrow. We need that time to set up her-"

She stopped to look at Luna as if she finally realized she was there. She swiftly moved to Luna and was less than an inch from her face.

"Can you keep a secret? Oh, wait of course you can I invited you to the party. Whoops my mistake." She turned to look at Sam again. "-Party. It wouldn't take nearly as long as normal but this is Twilight and her birthday needs to extra super special this year. She worked really hard and really deserves a good break. OOOO I should teach her how to break dance, or how to dance at all. I mean really have you seen her dance, poor Twilight looks like she's throwing a fit."

At some point of Pinkies long winded speech Cream returned with two bottles of slightly glowing cola. He placed them down on the counter for Luna and Sam then quickly grabbed a candy bar of some sort and shoved it into Pinkies mouth to silence her.

"Now Pinkie, will you be needing anything more for the party or is 40 gallons of punch more than enough?"

She chewed on the candy bar with a thoughtful expression. "No I think 40 should be enough. If we need more I could come and get some more. Anyways remember Sam, distract her for an hour tomorrow."

She started for the door and right as she reached it Sam realized he was missing a crucial part of the plan. "Uh... Pinkie? When should I distract her?"

She stopped for a moment with her hoof on her chin. "At least an hour before the party silly. See ya tomorrow Sam, bye Luna. Thanks for the help Creamy!"

With that she was out the door leaving Sam at the bar rubbing the bridge of his nose. 'Should have seen that coming. The time of the party is probably on the invite. Stupid question I guess.' He looked up to notice Cream standing behind the bar looking at him with interest plain on his face. Sam smiled then opened the bottle and placed it to his lips. The taste was nothing like what he was expecting. It was somewhere between hot cocoa and root beer mixed together with jelly babies. The sweet smooth taste hit his tongue hard and amazed him. 'No wonder Luna loves this stuff! This is the single greatest soda I have ever tasted.'

Cream chuckled to himself when he saw Sam's obvious reaction to the soda. He turned his attention to Luna, who was equally enjoying her drink.

"So your Majesty what brings you to my shoppe so far from Nightmare Night, and with the human I have heard about?"

She placed the bottle back on the counter and licked her lips. "Well I wished to show Sam here the best soda Equestria had ever known and I couldn't think of anywhere better than here. I'm spending the day with Sam as well."

Cream raised an eyebrow and a playful smile crept onto his lips. "So I take it that the rumors of you two dating are true then?"

Luna blushed and Sam joined her in that action. Luna was the first to recover. "Well, yes. We are a couple. How did you hear about... Rarity?"

Cream let out a short laugh. "Rarity. I have to say you two are an odd couple but who am I to judge. I dated a griffin for three years. Anyways would you two like something to eat?"

Luna ordered a tofu burger and Sam ordered the onion rings. Sam was glad to have a chance at food that he was used to back on Earth. As the pair of them ate they talked about this and that. The conversation was mostly about what Sam would do to distract Twilight.

"Tell you the truth I have no clue. I might just make something up about wanting a demonstration on magic or something. I dunno but I'll think of something."

After they finished their meal they said there good byes and left the small shoppe. Luna had insisted on paying but Cream told them it was on the house. They walked around the town, more or less just wandering around until they ended up at the same park bench they had become a couple on. As they sat there talking about random things Luna laid her head on Sam's shoulder. Sam looked down at her and saw the content smile on her face. Just looking at it made his heart melt.

"Luna?"

"Hmmm?"

"I've been thinking."

She sighed. "I've heard that's a dangerous pastime. What have you been thinking about?"

He let the comment slide. "I was thinking about the choice I have to make real soon."

She kept her head on his shoulder but did glance up at him. She didn't say anything, prompting him to continue.

"I don't know how I can choose. There's so much that makes me want to stay, and yet..."

"You have reasons to stay on your own world." She finished for him. He nodded. She shifted so that she could look him in the eyes.

"What are your thoughts? Share them with me."

He's explained everything that had changed since the week had started, about how he felt conflicted about the death of his father, Jenny breaking his heart, about how he had made friends with the Apples and others in town, and finally how he had fallen for her.

"I just don't know what to do. I want to be there for my mother but I don't want to leave you or Apple Bloom, or this place. I have a good life back on Earth but here... This could be a second chance of sorts."

He paused for a moment sighing deeply due to frustration. "I wish I knew what choice to make."

Luna listened to him thinking deeply, but when she heard the defeated tone in Sam's voice she couldn't stay silent. She leaned over to him and wrapped her legs around his torso, hugging him tightly.

"Sam. I know that this is hard for you, but I know that whatever choice you make will be the right one for you. I trust you completely and I want you to know that if you choose your home that I would only think the best of you. I know that if Celestia was in pain or needed me I would be there for her."

Sam gently unwrapped himself. "But I want to be here with you just as much. I don't want to lose this just as soon as I got it."

She silenced him with a kiss on the cheek. "Let's not worry about that right now. We have the rest of this day for ourselves. Come, let’s go have some fun."

Sam let the conversation drop as Luna grabbed his arm, forcing him up from the bench. She lead him to a small hill in the park.

"Stay still. I don't want to mess this up."

Sam was about to ask her what she was about to do when he noticed her horn begin to glow a gentle cobalt. Within seconds the aura covered the ground around Luna and Sam. Then everything went dark, dark as the blackest of nights. A tingling sensation went across Sam's body and a sudden feeling of nausea hit him. He barely had time to feel either sensation when he felt an incredible pressure all over that made him feel like he was being shoved into a bottle. The sensation ended after a few moments but left Sam winded. Light returned to him and he fell to his knees as he tried his best to catch his breath.

"Here we are Sam."

Luna Finished her teleportation spell and let the last of the magical energies fade. She glanced over at him to see him breathing heavily on his knees. She rushed over to him and placed her hoof on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Sam took a moment to catch his breath. "I don't think magic agrees with me."

Luna's face was filled with concern as she helped Sam to his feet. "I have never seen such a reaction to magic. This may be due to your world’s lack of magic."

Sam rubbed his temple as he nodded his head in agreement. "Well, when we head back let’s take the scenic route."

She giggled nervously hoping that he was joking. Sam took a steadying breath, then another. He rose to his feet and gave Luna the best smile he could.

"So, where is it you've kidnapped me to?"

Sam almost missed the confusion on Luna's face as she worked out what he meant by 'kidnapped.' Her face brightened in understanding once she made the connection.

"Oh! I brought you to the Crystal Caves. I wanted to show you something that not many living ponies get to see."

Sam looked around the dimly lit cave and recognized that it was similar to the same caves that Cadence had been held captive in on her wedding. He was busy studying one of the closer crystals when he noticed the cave growing brighter. He turned to find that the source of light was Luna. Her horn began to glow as she drew energy into a tiny orb of deep midnight blue. After a few seconds the orb grew from the size of a marble to roughly the size of a baseball. Once it reached full size Luna directed it into a large column that was made purely of the softly glowing crystal.

"Behold. The Light of Eternity."

The orb moved away from Luna and into the column. The light the orb was making faded instantly leaving the pair in semi-darkness. For a moment Sam thought that whatever spell Luna had cast had failed. His doubts in her power were eradicated less than a second after the thought had passed through his mind. The column began to shine with its own light that surpassed that of the orb, each individual crystal a unique color many of which Sam had never seen with his own eyes. Bright reds, vibrant greens and breath taking blues filled the cavern, to only name a few of the colors coming from the column. Soon other crystals in the cave began to glow. Brighter and brighter until they all shone light the moon itself. Sam looked away from the column and noticed that Luna had moved farther down the cave. She looked over to him and motioned for him to join her where she was standing.

Sam walked over to her wondering what could possibly surpass the column, but as with his foolish thought about the spell his mind was blown wide open. In front of him and Luna was a vast cavern that was beyond anything Sam had ever read about or seen. The cavern was impossibly large, large enough to make Sam that all of New York and Chicago could share it and still have plenty of room for quite a few other cities to join them. The cavern had several hundred of the columns that the other cave had, only these were on a massive scale. The one in the smaller cave was maybe a few feet taller than Sam but these were all beyond using feet to measure.

The light from the cave danced on what little of the walls he could see. The colors swirled and danced as if they had a life of their own. Sam didn't know how long he sat there with Luna or when she wrapped her wing around his shoulder, all he knew is that there was nothing that could ever truly compare to what he was watching. After a long, happy time the lights started to slow their movements and faded to a dull glow that made everything they touched seem much more peaceful.

"Sam?"

Luna's voice was like the sweetest music to Sam. He tilted his head to look at her and was once again by how pretty she looked.

"Yeah."

She blushed and looked at the ground for a second. The simple action reminded Sam of those cheesy teenage romance movies.

"I wanted to give you something special. Something you could always remember, regardless of where you are."

She didn't look up at Sam but started to make small circles with her hoof on the cave floor. Sam gave her a gentle squeeze that he hoped showed his thanks.

"I wanted to make this moment special for both of us and make it something that we could always look back on with fondness and joy."

Sam shifted closer to her. "Luna I-"

She placed her hoof on his lips. "I'm not finished yet. I made you this."

She held up a crescent made from a pure white crystal just like the ones around them both. Despite the fading light levels it shined with a joy that the other crystals didn't match. Sam gazed at it speechless. Luna placed the crescent over his neck and let it hang over his chest. Sam only barely noticed the white chain that held the crescent.

"I don't know what to sa-"

He was silenced once more by Luna, only this time with her lips to his own. Sam's mind went blank and he stiffened for only a moment. Once that moment passed he found himself melting into the kiss. It was simple and romantic. His mind was only focusing on showing how much he cared about Luna with the kiss and it seemed Luna was intent to do the same. After a blissful eternity with their lips seal together they broke apart gasping for air. Sam wanted to say something but all he could do was look into her eyes. The smile on her face was all he needed for the rest of his life.

"Sam. I have a request of you."

All he could do was raise an eyebrow. "I want you to stay with me tonight. I know it might be sudden but I want to spend as much time with you before you leave."

Sam's heart plummeted as he saw the smile fade and a frown begin to take hold of her face. He lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes as he spoke.

"I'm not leaving you. I'll always be here for you."

He brought her lips to his own for another kiss. they broke apart much to soon for either if their likings as the last of the light faded. Luna let out a giggle.

"Shall I take us to our quarters then?"

Sam gave a smile that Luna could barely see. "Sure, but can we take the scenic route?"

Luna's laughter was all Sam got as a response as he felt magic flow over him once more.


************************************

Sam rematerialized inside a spacious circular room that was easily just as much a piece of artwork as it was a bedroom. The ceiling was a perfect recreation of the night sky. So much so that Sam thought that there was no ceiling in there room until he glanced at one of the taller bookcases in the room. The second thing he noticed about the room after the ceiling was that there were a lot of bookcases. He walked up to one of the cases and had his eye caught by a perticular series of books. 'Daring Do and the Ziggurat of Souls... Daring Do and the Temple of Lost Hope. Huh... how many of these does she have?'

"I contacted Twilight Sparkle and told her to notify the Apples of your changed sleeping arrangement."

She noticed his studying her collection. "See anything to your liking?"

He looked up from the shelf. "I never knew you were a fan of literature. Your collection is amazing."

She smiled and joined him at the shelf. "When I returned from the moon I had a lot of free time. I started reading to try and fill some of it up and now I can't go a week without buying a new book or re-reading some of my favorites."

They spent the remainder of the night talking about their favorite stories and debating on which characters were better. Luna had surrendered trying to convince him that Daring Do was a much better character than Harry Potter. Sam likewise couldn't get her to understand the complexities of the Odyssey. After long hours of debate and agreement to disagree, Luna noticed the time.

"I must raise the moon. Excuse me for a moment. While I'm busy you could get ready to retire for the night."

Sam sat down on the bed before a chilling thought raced through his mind. 'What if she wants to... NO. She hasn't made any hints at that. How could I think of such a thing with her.' He removed his shirt but stopped at that. Luna walked back from the balcony.

"Do most humans wear so much clothing when they sleep?"

Sam glanced up at her then took off his shoes. "Some do, some don't."

Luna floated onto the bed next to Sam and began to get under the covers. "Well I guess that makes sense. You do lack a fur coat to keep you warm."

Sam finished with removing his clothes and sat on the edge in his boxers. Before he could say anything to her about his worries she spoke with a tired voice that was strangely sweet as well.

"Sam. I was wondering if we... that is to say I was wondering if it would be alright if we... cuddled."

Whatever it was that Sam was prepared to hear it wasn't that. "Cuddle? You mean you want to fall asleep. Holding each other, and that's it."

She blushed deeply and nodded. "I think it would be the best way to end this night, that is if you would let me."

Sam slipped under the blankets and wrapped his arms around her neck, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"I couldn't agree more."