Summertime.

She came up on the horizon like a ghost, an eerie silhouette lit up by the swollen moon hovering over them. He'd chased her, never pausing, deep into the desert where the terrain was near impossible to navigate and even more impossible to survive in when all you had was the clothes on you back. And she must have known this, she'd lived out here so long now there was no way she couldn't.

"You're an idiot." She sighed as he slowed in front of her gasping for air and clutching his side. "Why did you… you should have just let them take me."

"N-never." His teeth chattered violently as his body began the rapid cool down in the deserts cruel night. "C-can't. Y-you're my princess." He finished with a daring smirk as he looked up at her through his hair.

She shuffled awkwardly in place and turned to look behind her, an exaggerated sigh leaving her lips in a cloud of vapor. She was debating something, her lips moving feverishly as she spoke to herself in mute. Thinking of how terrified she must be Poison reached out and took her hand, squeezing it fondly before stumbling forward and bringing her into his waning warmth, wrapping his trembling arms around her tightly and pressing his face into her damp hair.

"You'll die." She whispered to the night, her hot breath sinking into his shirt. "When he comes for me… he'll just- he doesn't care."

"He won't get another chance like that, I wasn't ready then." Molly pushed off him slowly and shook her head at the ground while her fingers tips lingered on his chest. "But right now," He grinned and squared off his shoulders. "There's more immediate concerns. Like a fire."

Stepping away he began stumbling through the night, feeling the ground blindly as he hunted for timber to use while Molly watched on with a curious smile on her lips. "Poison," She called quietly. "You don't-"

"In the morning we'll trek back to the road, find a car-" He spoke over her, blissfully unaware as she counted steps.

"For once," She groaned from behind a large shrub. "Can I be in charge?"

Holding his clumsy stack of timber under his chin he straightened up and glanced over at her down on her knees running her hand across the ground. "Found something?" He wondered as he came up behind her.

"Looking for something." She grunted as she shuffled along on her knees.

"For what?" Curious he lay his efforts on the ground and hovered behind her like a shadow.

"Please," She mumbled and glanced at him quickly. "Don't ask questions, they're dangerous." Her eyes glittered under the blanket of stars, wide and pleading before she knocked on the ground quietly.

It was a hollow sound that rolled through the air, creating a mixture of feelings ranging from relief to terror. Scenario's and explanations raced inside his head as she pushed her fingers under the trap door and pried it out of the ground. Sand trickled into the dark hole that was just wide enough for one person to fit through at a time and Molly, who'd known it was here all along, reached inside to grope around the dark until she caught hold of a rope ladder and, before he could stop her, she lowered her self in and stared up at him apologetically.

"Don't forget to lower the door in behind you." She reminded him quickly before sinking into the dark, the soft thud of feet hitting the ground following soon after.

Poison hesitated and ran his hand over the wooden door he needed to replace. He tried to think of something reasonable to explain this, and not just this but the whole night. "Hurry," She called, her voice echoing beneath him.

Once the trap door had been replaced there was nothing but darkness. He fumbled awkwardly down the unsteady ladder and breathed a sigh of relief when his feet finally hit the tightly packed dirt floor. But it was warmer down here and the make shift ceilings were high, the whole underground room seemingly spacious as he waved his hands around looking for direction.

"Molly?" His voice echoed around him in his same nervous tone and then the light came, a small lantern resting on a makeshift table in the center of a long room. "Where-"

"I can't tell you." She apologized as she swept comfortably through the space lighting lamps until the whole space was glowing.

"Can I guess?" He whispered as he stared on in awe.

The room was basic but luxurious when compared to her garage. Reinforced with corrugated iron and heavy wooden posts it served its purpose as a hideout. A table, a mattress, some old sheets and thin pillows crowded against the walls. A small cupboard that stood on an angle sat with a small gas cooker and a clumsy pile of pots and chipped crockery. He'd seen these once or twice, it was a bunker. A temporary haven when you found your self out of luck. A definite Killjoy effort.

"Was this Str- Jamie's… hideout."

"What did I say about questions?"

"But-"

"But nothing." She told him firmly. "I'm already in enough trouble. And so are you."

Weaving through the furniture Poison made his way to the old cupboard and swept through it. There wasn't much, and of what there was most was expired. He read faded labels while Molly swept papers off the table, gathering them in a neat pile before tucking them under the mattress. "Brothers?" He asked without much hope for an answer or dinner.

"Your chance of survival increases with each answer I don't give you."

Nodding Poison sat down beside her and stretched out on the dusty mattress, kneading the pillow in a hopeless attempt to make it comfortable. "What now?" He asked, his head rolling to the side lazily where their noses touched.

"We wait." She told him with watery eyes.

Rolling onto his side and holding her gaze he smiled daringly. "For?

"Truthfully?" She murmured as she came closer, fingers playing absently with the collar of his shirt.

"It'd make a nice change."

"Death." She mumbled, her gaze falling away. "And a show pony."

"Wh-" Quickly, before things escalated beyond her control, she cut him off with her lips, running her hand over his face and trailing her fingers down the back of his neck. Questions were forgotten, replaced with something more important- Molly.