Poison had stayed up all night to make sure all the weapons were functioning properly and both them and Ghoul would have enough of them in the case of a emergency. When Sky woke up, he was outside, fixing the dirt bike with Jet. They would take the car but Ghoul needed something as well.

'You're still up for this right? You haven't changed your mind or anything?' she asked them and sat down next to Poison.

'We're still in.' Jet answered for both of them although it was obvious Poison would never bail on her.

'Awesome.' she smiled and wiped some engine oil off of Poison's cheek at which he blushed and smiled at her from behind his hair.

She could tell Jet was watching them, probably trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Sky often wondered what the other guys' stories were but had never dared to ask. They had accepted her into their group and enjoyed teaching and training her, not once making her feel like she was inferior to them. It was obvious they would give their lives to protect her and she would do the same for them. Just like Poison had said the day she officially became a Killjoy. It still sounded weird to her. A Killjoy. Sometimes she couldn't even quite believe she was even with them, let alone one of them. Did she really deserve this title? Poison seemed to sense her doubt.

'Hey...we'll have answers soon. Don't worry. The Phoenix Witch will know. And she will tell us what to do.' he said, taking her hands in his.

'If we find her.' Jet noted, obviously trying not to sound too pessimistic.

'We will find her. We're good at finding places no one else can find.' Poison pointed out. We. He was talking about Sky and himself.

But could it really be that easy? Did they just have to find this old witch in order to find out where they had come from, what had brought them together and why a man named Korse was looking for her now? What was up with the necklace? A small part of her still doubted the witch's existence and she knew Poison felt the same way. They had talked about it in bed last night. The Phoenix Witch had been living out here in the desert, hidden, for decades. Possibly even longer. No one knew for sure. She was a native and, according to the stories, over a hundred years old. Long before BLI took over, she had predicted how 'a corporation would turn everything into black and white', taking souls, leaving bodies like empty shells. She knew the sky, the earth, even where the border was and what was beyond it. Sky couldn't help but hope she'd even know how to get there and live in peace, far away from the wasteland and ultimately, BLI's grasp.

'So how come she has never tried to help? If she has all the answers, why can't she just appear and do what prophets do - proclaim the prophecy? Or lead us away from all this.' Sky felt those were legitimate points, although she did believe, it was still confusing to her how someone who was supposedly that powerful, didn't have more influence.

'First of all, they'd find and kill her immediately. These days, a revolution has to happen quietly. And she can merely be the one who plants the seed, the idea, in people's heads and leave it there to grow into something bigger. The time will come and she knows exactly what role she has to play in it.' Poison explained and both Sky and Jet looked at him, finally understanding.

The witch was waiting. For them.

*

'Open your present before we leave.' Poison said and placed a box on Sky's bed as they were packing. Her eyes lit up with excitement and she immediately came over to grab the box and sit next to him.

'What's the occasion?' she asked.

'It's self-explanatory.' he smiled and she gave him a confused look before opening the little bow he had placed around the box, then lifting up the lid.

'Poison!' she gasped as she saw what was in it.

'I hope you like it. I painted it last night.' he said and watched as she took her new gun out of the box, looking at every detail.

He had painted it in the same colors as his. Yellow, red and black, but in reverse. The gun itself was black, with yellow and red stripes while his was yellow, with black and red stripes. It looked perfect in her hand.

'I love it. It's beautiful. I can't believe you stayed up and did this. Thank you so much.' she placed the gun back in the box and hugged him, nuzzling his neck with her nose which gave him goosebumps. Her touch was electrifying every time.

He put his arms around her and she kissed him and it was different this time. So far, their kisses had been sweet, almost innocent, despite the intensity of it. But this was more than that. It almost took him by surprise when Sky opened her mouth and he could feel her tongue sneaking into his. Poison couldn't help but pull her onto his lap, suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to have her as close as possible. The sound that escaped her as he did encouraged him to deepen the kiss even more. Her arms wrapped around him as she pulled herself even closer, making him pant. The heat between them was intense and it made it impossible to think straight. All logic had disappeared from his brain, almost as if he was purely acting on instinct. His lips left hers and he started kissing her neck which made her giggle and he smiled at the adorable sound. It was the sweetest feeling, the taste of her skin completely clouding his senses. While his hands started traveling under her shirt, hers were in his hair, slightly tugging, all the sensations making him unaware of how his body was responding to it. All of a sudden, he could hear Sky gasp and pull back and he couldn't help but groan in frustration.

'We should stop.' she just whispered, breathing heavily. He finally opened his eyes, looking at her flushed face.

'Why? It feels good.' he whispered back, leaning in for another kiss but she shook her head.

'Maybe a little too good.' another rush of red appeared on her cheeks and she shifted on his lap, making him realize the consequences of their actions.

'Oh. That.'

'Yeah. THAT.' Sky giggled, looking down on him, biting her lips. She looked so cute he just had to steal another kiss from her.

*

Her knees were still weak an hour later and she couldn't even look at Poison without blushing. Something had changed. Watching him load the car she noticed little things about him that she hadn't noticed before. The way his shirt stretched over the muscles on his back when he bent down. The freckles on his collarbone, three of them, looking almost like a constellation in the night sky. His long, dark lashes and the way his cheekbones looked when he pouted. The veins on his forearm and the black, red and yellow paint that was still on his hands from when he had painted her gun last night. She even caught herself staring at his ass, wondering whether she should just grab it because it looked really nice. Sky rolled her eyes at herself, sighing and he turned around raising one eyebrow. Even that. He smiled. And that. What the hell was wrong with her? Was this normal? She felt silly but noticed his eyes wandering over her body, realizing he was looking at her exactly the way she was looking at him.

Behind them, someone cleared his throat. Ghoul.

'We should test all the frequencies. Make sure the radios are working and the settings are correct.' he said, clearly uncomfortable about having to interrupt them. Sky was actually grateful for the distraction. She had already gotten way too hot and bothered again.

After checking the radios, Poison gave Ghoul some last instructions, so Sky went to pick out a holster for her gun. She chose one for the thigh, like the one Poison was wearing, since she had practised with the same one and felt most comfortable with it. Then she helped Kobra and Jet with their stuff before Poison returned to the car, ready to go. Sky said goodbye to Ghoul, hugging him and thanking him for holding the fort while they were gone.

'You look like a real Killjoy now.' he said, pointing out the gun in her holster.

'I hope I can fight like one when it matters.' Sky replied and she suddenly felt a bit scared. Yes, she could shoot, fight, knew how to survive. But did she have the guts to do it?

'Of course you can. Just don't doubt yourself. You got no reason to. We all see what you can do and it's time you see it too.' Ghoul was a good motivational speaker. She hugged him again and then ran over to the car to get in the backseat behind the driver's seat, next to Jet. Poison looked at her in the rear-view mirror and she just smiled and rested her hand on his shoulder.

'Let's go.' Kobra said and Poison hit the gas.

They were heading south. None of them really knew how far they would be able to get but it was the direction in which they needed to go. That's all they did know. Sky had brought the cards so her and Jet were playing in the back while Poison and Kobra discussed the details of the plan again. She could tell Kobra was still sceptic, as always, but she didn't blame him, they all were, even though they weren't as vocal as he was about it. In the end, it didn't really matter anyway. All that mattered was that they agreed that trying was better than speculating about whether it would work or not.

*

'Poison, I need to pee.' Sky said, breaking the silence. They had been driving for about four hours and Kobra and Jet had fallen asleep.

He looked around. The landscape had changed slightly, from rocks and hills to a plain of salt and gravel and as far as he could see, there was no end to it. They had to stop and make shelter for the night anyway so he pulled over by a group of shrubs. Sky jumped out of the car as soon as he had come to a stop.

'What's happening?' Kobra had woken up and was stretching.

'We stopped for the night. Help me get a fire going?' Poison asked and Kobra just nodded. They woke up Jet and by the time Sky came back they had all gotten out of the car.

Another 30 minutes later they had a little fire burning, just in time since the sun was about to set. After having some food, Kobra and Jet went straight back to sleep while Poison set up the radio to call Ghoul and update him on their position. Everything was fine back at the diner too and Ghoul informed them that he hadn't picked up any signals that would suggest that someone had picked them up via satellites. Their journey had gone unnoticed so far but Ghoul had warned them not to use the car radio and only to touch base on the encoded frequency. Poison knew the protocol but had left Ghoul in charge of it a long time ago.

Sky had already crawled into her sleeping bag and he couldn't help but move closer when he saw how far away from him she was. The others were asleep anyway.
She looked even more beautiful in the warm glow of the fire and he reached out to touch her cheek, finding a curl of her hair and tucking it behind her ear. He could feel her shivering at his touch.

'Are you cold?' he asked her but she bit her lip, smiling.

'A little bit too warm, actually.'

'Why you all wrapped up in this big fat sleeping bag then?'

'So you can't get too close.' she replied and he pouted, feeling a little offended.

'Why?'

'You know why!' Sky was close to losing her patience with him but he liked playing this silly game. He liked teasing her.

'Because you won't be able to control yourself if I do?' he smirked and she sat up, staring down at him, her mouth open in shock.

'ME?' she pointed at herself and he couldn't help but laugh. 'I'm not the one with a raging boner in my pants!'

'I'm a boy! I can't help it. And if you could have a raging boner, you would have had one all day! Don't think I can't see you checking me out.' he laughed and she shoved him hard. 'HEY! It's a compliment okay.'

'A boner is a compliment?' she asked, crossing her arms.

'Of course it is. It means you turn me on. How's that not a compliment? I thought it was sweet when you got all hot when I touched you.' he pointed out and she smiled again before she looked at him all seriously.

'What if it's only the necklace though? What if you wouldn't even like me without it?' he sat up so he was facing her. He couldn't believe she was saying that.

'It's not the necklace, Sky. Come on, you know that it's not. We could throw it away and we'd still feel the same way. It just helped us find each other. And it helped us realize we are supposed to be together. Without it, it would have just taken us longer.'

'You really think so?' she wanted to know and he nodded. 'Will you get a boner again if I kiss you?' she added and he snorted.

'Probably.' Poison replied and pulled her close.

Notes

There was a lot of dialogue in this chapter but I just had to add this little exchange between Poison and Sky at the end.
And before you say it, I know, there was fluff. But I hope it wasn't too cheesy and if it was, well, I apologize. I thought I'd make this chapter a bit more light-hearted and fun (and a bit sexy) since we all need a bit of it in these serious times. ;) I think it's a fun idea to have them experience love for the first time together because it's something neither of them know. And like I said before, their love story isn't just something that's there to make it more interesting or because 'that's the way it should be in a fan fic' - it's a major part of the plot.

Anyway, feedback would be appreciated! :) Thanks