Equius drove her home. He had to stop and buy them food since Nepeta's fridge, stomach, and pockets were empty. They ordered food in a drive through and ate it in the parking lot of her apartment. And just sitting in the car-she felt guilt wear her heart down, and didn't even feel like getting out of her car and walking up to her apartment. She didn't want to lose Eridan, not after they just started forming something of a relationship. And she most certainly didn't want to hit that car. Personally, she didn't know which experience was worse.

As her thoughts and feelings clouded her mind, she tripped on the stairs she didn't even realize she was walking on.

"Goodness Nepeta!" Equius scolded. He helped her up and she relied mainly on his help to stand. She hurt all over. With an aggravated groan she continued walking.

"What's your problem?" Equius asked her, not amused in the slightest.

She stuck her tongue out at him and flung the door open to her floor.

"Nepeta, you're behaving like a child."

She ignored him, shuffled over to her door, and thrust the key into the lock.

"Remember that thing we talked about-maturity? This is why you're not."

"I don't care." Nepeta said, kicking the door open.

"I highly doubt that was necessary," he said, walking into the apartment.

"I highly doubt you're necessary."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Yes it does."

"Nepeta-"

"Equius-"

Equius groaned. "Fine. Be a pest. I'm going to take a shower. By the time I am finished, it would be in your best interest to have your act cleaned up."

Nepeta watched him go into the bathroom and shut the door behind him through glaring eyes. When she heard the lock of the door click she stuck her tongue out at him.

She changed out of her work clothes and into a plain blue T shirt and shorts. She lied down on the bed and stared up vacantly at the ceiling. She had no idea how she was going to pay for this wreck. Equius said that her insurance would probably cover the man's car, but not hers. And while it was getting fixed, how was she going to get to work? She groaned and shoved a nearby stuffed animal into her face. She hated being an adult.

She listened to showerhead run, and then shut off. She heard the shower curtain open and close, and then the sound of her cabinets being searched. She was a little annoyed at Equius for going through her things like that. Even though she assumed he was just looking for a towel, she was still ticked that he would have the audacity to search through her things without her permission.

After a few more minutes of just listening to Equius go about his business he unlocked and opened the door and Nepeta sprang out of bed. She ran up to him, where he gave her a disapproving glance.

"Were you listening to me again?" He was shirtless, and attempting to dry his ridiculously long hair with a towel rolled up around his head. In his dress pants and "fashionable" headgear, he looked positively ridiculous.

Nepeta didn't answer immediately. "Yeah. Just because I got frustrated with thinking."

Equius chortled. "We need to call your insurance company," he said, changing the subject.

Nepeta groaned and dramatically slouched. "I don't wanna."

Equius glared at her. "It's what you get for running into someone."

"Rude." Nepeta said, standing up straight and folding her arms.

Equius dismissed her comment. "Find the number, call it and put it on speaker. I'll help you through it and keep you entertained."

"Can you talk for me?" Nepeta asked sheepishly.

"Absolutely not. You got yourself into this mess, I'll help you get out of it but certainly will not clean it up for you," Equius stated.

Nepeta sighed, retrieved her phone from her purse, and sat down on the couch. Equius sat next to her. She dialed the number, which her mother had sent her after the phone call, and put the phone on speaker.

The phone call took way longer than what Nepeta had been hoping. It consisted mostly of being on hold, having Equius explain things to her, and asking the person on the other end to repeat themselves. By the time the phone call was over probably 4 hours had passed, she was annoyed, and was craving ice cream.

"They took forever," Nepeta said, tossing her phone onto the table.

"The phone call lasted twenty minutes."

"and four hours," Nepeta added.

Equius rolled his eyes.

"Can we go for a walk?" Nepeta asked.

"I suppose so. I'll be stuck here until we go to work tomorrow anyways," Equius said.

"Um, Equius. We have tomorrow off."

He groaned. "I forgot about that. Fine. Let's drive to my house instead. We can pick up my car on the way there."

Nepeta didn't object, and in half an hour they were at Equius's house. When it came time for her to drive her car, she almost flatly objected the idea and left behind her car. However, after some coaxing from Equius, she was behind the wheel again.

Equius didn't actually live on his own, he still lived with his parents. They were nice people who generally stayed out of his way so he didn't mind. The property they owned was rather large, and on the outside of town-away from people and city noise.

Nepeta made herself right at home upon entering the house, and got herself a bowl of chocolate chip ice cream. Equius was used to her presence in his home, and didn't even give her a second glance.

"I'm going to find my parents, and tell them you're here."

"Okay," Nepeta said, wandering into the office from the kitchen.

"Do you mind if I tell them what happened?" Equius asked, poking his head into the office.

Nepeta thought for a few moments. "No, it's okay. They're practically my second parents. They deserve to know."

He closed the door and Nepeta was left alone. Her eyes wandered over to the computer. The screen was black, but the computer itself was on, so she wiggled the mouse a few times. The computer woke up and revealed Equius's Facebook page. She giggled to herself-she often forgot he even had a Facebook account. She saw that he had an unread chat message, so she naturally clicked on the chat icon.

It was a conversation with Aradia. She was asking him to be her groomsman for Kanaya and Rose's wedding. Nepeta beamed. She typed an enthusiastic acceptation followed by a few hearts. Even though it wouldn't really sound like Equius responding, she didn't care.

Equius opened the door and Nepeta quickly closed the window. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Nepeta replied a little too quickly.

Equius rolled his eyes but then smiled a little. "My mother is away on a business trip, but father wishes you well. He also purchased a new horse, and said I should go riding, care to join me?"

Nepeta's face lit up. Even though horses scared her out of her wits, she loved riding, and hadn't been on a horse in at least a few years. "Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping in place a few times.

"Come on then, let's go," Equius said, motioning towards the door.

She followed closely behind Equius to his backyard, where the stables were located. Equius and his older brother Horuss loved to ride. When she was little, the three of them would ride for hours on end whenever she stayed the night at their house. Horuss was about five years older than them, and had more experience riding. He would oftentimes push his horse to the fastest it could go and tease the younger pair that they weren't brave enough to do the same. In her freshman year of high school, when she and Equius met a lot of new friends, she suddenly stopped coming over. Horuss moved out, and with Equius joining more sports teams and having more homework, there was no one to take care of the horses. His dad ended up selling all of them. Nepeta wasn't sure why he decided to buy another one, but she was actually kind of happy to be around horses again.

They approached the gate leading into the pasture and Equius whistled for the horse. A whinny rang out from inside the stables and a large black-coated Arabian emerged from the shelter. The horse walked over to where they stood at the gate, and nudged Equius with its nose. Equius patted it a few times, and Nepeta beamed up at the creature.

"It's beautiful."

"Isn't it? a co-worker of my father's is moving. The family couldn't transport the all the animals they had so they practically gave us the horse for free," Equius said.

"What's its name?"

"It's a boy. His name is Zach, ironically."

Nepeta giggled. "Hi Zach."

"Would you like to ride him first?" Equius asked.

"Oh...I don't know. It's been a while."

"He's nice. Father and I have both ridden him. He's fast, but gentle and easy to work with."

"I don't know..."

Equius opened the gate and Nepeta followed behind him as they slipped into the pasture. He closed it behind them and led her into the stables.

A little while after retrieving his saddle and bridle and suiting him up, Zach was ready for riding. Nepeta wasn't too sure if she was. Equius led the horse over to where Nepeta stood with a goofy grin on his face.

Nepeta giggled uneasily. "What's that look for?"

Equius sighed and folded his arms. He looked Zach over, and let out another big grin. "It's been so long since the two of us have ridden together. There's so much nostalgia just being around the creature. Shame Horuss isn't here...shame we only have one equine. Ah! No matter, the smile on your face when you get back in the saddle will be enough."

Nepeta died a little inside. She didn't know what to say, so she giggled nervously.

"Come on, I'll help you up," Equius said, holding out his hand.

Despite the fact she might pass out any moment, she wasn't about to let this big doofus down. It was rare to see him in such a degree of happiness, and she wasn't about to spoil it. She reluctantly took his hand, and he put his hands under her armpits and awkwardly lifted her onto the horse. Zach uneasily shifted and Equius turned to the horse to calm him. With Equius no longer holding onto her and the horse moving nervously underneath her, Nepeta used all her willpower not to have a nervous breakdown.

"I can walk him by the reins for a little while if you like," Equius offered.

"Yes please," Nepeta gulped.

Nepeta's body swayed with every step the beast took. At first, it was nauseating. As she started to acclimate to the feel of the horse's body and her own against it, she relaxed. A smile slowly made its way onto her face as all the years spent in this pasture came back to her. Equius noted her smile and handed her the reins.

Nepeta took them eagerly and beamed. With a few clicks of her tongue, the horse was galloping. Fear clutched her heart at the sudden acceleration, but as she realized just how easy it was to control Zach, she started laughing and even threw her hands up in the air for a few moments.

Wind blew her hair and fire pumped in her blood. Zach's mane flowed brilliantly behind him, and tall grasses scratched at her bare legs. She turned the horse back around directly towards Equius, who she hadn't noticed was having his own solo-celebration. She ran Zach towards him, and then before she ran him over, she ran a few circles around him. Equius was shouting at her with joyous excitement, clapping his hands and throwing fists into the air.

For the first time in a while, Nepeta felt the joy of pure infinity, and by the time she dismounted Zach, she felt like a whole new person.