As the day stretched on, so did their balloon ride. By the first half-hour of their flight, they could no longer see the city they called home. Instead, just like Monika promised, the only sights to be seen now were vast stretches of untouched nature. With the exception of the balloon itself, not the slightest trace of human civilization could be seen by either party.
It was a clear day, and the blue skies were perhaps more beautiful than MC ever remembered them being before. Flocks of birds, their destinations completely ambiguous, dove and danced and dodged all around them. They had long-since passed over the rolling green hills that formed the border between the city and the wild. Now, they found themselves over a grassland that was only mostly flat. Mesas of all shapes and sizes jutted over the rest of the level landscape. One particularly large one housed a waterfall that cascaded down the rock, forming a tiny creek bed that divided the valley into two halves. Up ahead, far to the west, there was a relatively small mountain range just barely visible on the horizon. Only a few tall peaks were dusted in snow; the rest were brown and rocky all the way up.
All the while, a perfect early morning sun shined down upon this magnificent creation. MC had an innate knowledge of what the real Earth looked like; it simply came with the fact that he lived in a digital facsimile of it. However, while it was one thing to have some vague understanding of the beauty such a world could harbor, it was another thing entirely to be presented with it on such a flawless scale.
It was all thanks to Monika. How had she found all the time to create this entire landscape? As soon as such a question crossed his mind, he shook his head and laughed a little. Monika found a way because she was Monika, that's how.
"This is so amazing!" he remarked out loud. "Everything is so pristine!" he declared. Then, he sniffed, relishing in scents that just simply could not be found in a bustling modern city. "Even the air!"
Monika's resulting grin made no effort to hide the amount of pride she had for her own handiwork. Nevertheless, she tried anyway. "Eh, it wasn't that complicated, not with my powers, anyway. The hardest part was imagining the landscape I wanted to create. After that, it was just the addition and manipulation of certain assets."
"Still, it's all so real."
"Real as this rainbow," Monika said with a wink. She snapped her fingers, brought up the mod menu, and tapped a way. A moment later, a long band of colors stretched across the skyline, as if it had been there that entire time.
MC thought he couldn't be more amazed, but he somehow was. Words eluded him. What could words do to justify the monumental sight before him? Very little, he believed. Still, there was one thing he knew he could do to show his appreciation. While Monika was also distracted by the environment, he stepped closer to her. He wrapped her in a tight hug, causing her to gasp, then giggle, and finally melt in his arms. She spun herself around to face him, then brushed her nose up against his. That was when MC realized that nature wasn't the only thing that smelt good at the moment. Though she was dressed in her trademark white pajamas, she had apparently taken the time to bathe and splash on just a hint of perfume before her visit. That made her all the more tantalizing.
"Thank you," was all he said. Those two words alone were so jam-packed with heartfelt appreciation, so full of love, that it was all he really needed to tell her. She squeezed onto him as tightly as she could. In a way, it mirrored how he had once clung onto her up in the sky, if for entirely different reasons.
After a moment of silent embrace, MC brought up a question. "So, how long is this flight going to stretch on for, anyway."
Monika shrugged. "As far as you want, I suppose. I've made enough landscape for us to travel the entire day through, if you wish. If you want it to end before then, though, then that's also fine by me."
MC thought about it for a moment. A whole day with just Monika, him, and the privacy of a world beyond a world? It was like a little vacation.
"Let's keep going," he stated with unshakable confidence.
Monika's eyes lit up with joy. "Yes! I was hoping you'd say that!"
By the time the balloon made it over the mesa-dotted prairie and over the small mountain range, it was late into the morning. Beyond the mountains, there were still plenty of sights to behold. Small woodlands dotted hilly a hilly landscape, separated by grassy clearings of various sizes. At one point, Monika lowered the balloon and conjured two pairs of binoculars. The pair watched as deer, bears, and other woodland fauna explored the near-limitless stretch of terrain. Even predator and prey seemed to stay in some undisturbed state of harmony. If that happened to be due to Monika's deliberate manipulation of the laws of nature, she didn't say so.
At any case, as time wore on, the air got hotter. Gradually, while the grasslands remained, the amount of forest dwindled until there was a point where no trees remained at all. The balloon kept flying westward, and some miles ahead lied a point where the grasslands also died. Behind that final line of green was a sea of golden-brown sand dunes. Much like how mesas had been a feature of the prairie, oases dotted the foreboding desert.
MC felt his stomach growl. He had no clue what the exact time was, but it definitely felt close to lunch. He had forgotten all about food since this flight first began, but since he skipped breakfast, he suddenly realized just how hungry he currently was.
"I don't suppose you brought any food on this flight, did you?" MC inquired with a curious tilt of his head.
Monika's eyes widened in sudden realization. She smacked herself on the forehead. "Oh, I knew I'd forgotten something! Don't worry: I can fix this!" she declared matter-of-factly. "Just let me set us down somewhere nice and flat, preferably before we hit the desert."
The balloon touched down about a half-kilometer from the grassline. The air down here was definitely hotter than a normal spring day in the city, but to call it sweltering would be an exaggeration. If anything, it was relaxing, like sunbathing on a beach in June. Hopping out of the balloon, MC took a moment to stretch his legs. It felt weird being back on the ground again. Meanwhile, Monika had brought open the mod menu and was scrolling through it furiously.
"Let's see here," she mumbled to herself. "Pickaxe, pickle, picked flowers. . . Aha! Picnic basket!"
A moment later, a basket popped into existence around Monika's arms. She kept running a finger through the mod menu, however, quickly popping a big blanket, some plates, a cooler, and two chairs into the world. "Can you give me a hand with that stuff, MC?"
MC didn't have to be told twice. He quickly went to work unrolling the blanket, then took the plates from Monika, set them in a pile near the center, rolled the cooler over to the edge of the blanket, and finally unfolded one chair while Monika took the other. Within five minutes, everything was in place.
"Improvisation!" Monika declared after setting the basket down next to the plates. "Who knew how easy it could be?"
"Well, it probably helps that you have access to everything you could ever imagine," MC teased.
"Hey, don't besmirch a woman's work like that!" Monika laughed. She opened the basket, setting out some bread, imitation lunch-meat, a diverse spread of vegetables, and some chips. "I know it's not much, but I had to come up with this at the spur of the moment."
MC placed a hand on Monika's shoulder. "It's fine. In fact, it's better than fine. We haven't had a picnic before, I don't think, and I can't think of a better place than this."
Monika planted a kiss on his cheek, which never failed to cause him to flush. "I can't think of a better person to spend it with, you know?" she stated, very much aware of her own blush. She took a seat in her chair, beginning to dig out the ingredients for her ideal sandwich. MC quickly followed. After taking the first bite of a "ham" and cheese sandwich, he hummed with delight. He still wasn't a vegetarian, in part because Monika was respectful enough not to force her life choices on him, but he had learned to appreciate the taste of a meat alternative.
They ate, laughed, talked, told stories, and sat staring out at the desert. However, eventually, MC brought up something that Monika wished he hadn't.
"Hey Monika, I'm sorry for what I said earlier today about mistakes. I meant for that to inspire you, but it was poorly thought-out, you know?"
Monika's smile dropped. She frowned, but tried her best to hide her discomfort. "Yeah, I know. It's fine," she stated. It was true enough, but that didn't mean she didn't want him to keep talking about it.
Unfortunately for her, MC didn't quite seem to take the hint. "Well, I don't think it's very fine of me to do something like that," he admitted with a sigh. "You went through all of this trouble just to give me a wonderful day, and then I was stupid enough to make you feel like crap."
"It's fine," Monika repeated. She gently held his hand in a silent attempt to get him to drop it. "This isn't like what happened on Valentine's Day. I understand your intention behind it, got it?"
"Well, it's just-"
"MC!" Monika barked suddenly, squeezing his hand tighter. He jumped. Monika's expression no longer hid her peevishness. "Please. Stop. Talking. About. It."
MC shrunk, then sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll shut up about it."
Both her grip and expression softened at that concession, then held him close. "I'm not mad at you, I promise. I just want to stop thinking about it all the time, OK? You've been very supportive of me ever since the game happened, but you just. . . you just don't understand what it's like."
MC looked entirely lost. "I wish I understood," he said after some hesitation. "I know you tell me that I don't, but I feel like I'm helpless in this whole situation, you know?"
Monika stared into his eyes intensely. Her mouth quivered. She held him closely, but she was strong enough not to waver this time. "You've helped me so much already," she promised. "Like I said, you've been more supportive of me than I feel like I've ever deserved."
"Monika, I-"
The ghost of a smile made it onto Monika's face, and she placed a finger over MC's mouth. "Shhhhh, it's OK. I appreciate you caring, you know, but let's not ruin the day over a fight like this."
MC nodded, but still seemed to worry that he had crossed the line. To force it out of him, Monika kissed him tenderly on the lips. It did the trick wonderfully. Once again, they both allowed their memories to evaporate in the midday sun.
They finished lunch by talking about happier things. After eating, they cracked open a couple of sodas and washed it down. Though they were both politer and happier, something about the awkwardness lingered. It made talking more difficult than usual, but that didn't mean they didn't make the effort.
"So, what made you go for a desert?" MC asked.
"Have you ever seen a desert at sunset?" Monika returned.
"No, at least, not a real one."
"You have to see it," Monika stated whimsically. "It's beautiful, watching the red sun at dusk reflect off the dunes. I should probably take the cooler with us, though, in case we get thirsty along the way."
"Good thinking," MC complimented, then burped loudly. "Excuse me!" he exclaimed with exaggerated embarrassment.
Something about his comical display made Monika burst into a fit of giggles, halfway through which, she burped as well. That rendered MC incapable of hiding his own chuckles. Soon, they were both back to normal, having shrugged off the awkwardness of the previous discussions. After finally recovering from the humorous exchange, Monika rose. She took him by the hand and pulled him up.
"Well, I suppose we should get going," MC remarked, turning his gaze skyward.
"Aww, we don't have to take off so soon," Monika said flirtatiously. "I was hoping, er, that we could sorta-" - she suddenly poked MC in the ribs and took off sprinting. She threw her head back, grinning deviously. "Tag, you're it!"
MC cocked his head. "What the-? Oh, you sneaky little devil!" he shouted. He took off after her, and the arid grasslands echoed with their laughter.
