Mal was brushing her teeth when the power went out. Good thing she had her phone nearby. She turned on her flashlight and finished her night routine. The blond woman was whipping her face with a towel when she was startled by a banging noise coming from her bedroom.

"Mal, you there?" followed after the knocking noises. Apparently, front doors didn't exist in the world of Mal and Evie.

Mal walked slowly to the balcony door noticing Evie's silhouette illuminated by her phone flashlight.

"Thank God, you are home," Evie barged in once Mal pushed the glass door open. The smell of rain invaded her bedroom.

"What's going on? Are you okay?" the blond asked when noticing Evie wasn't holding any kind of light-providing object.

"Do you have some flashlights or candles or something? My phone just died and I really don't like the dark," Mal could sense the anxiousness in the taller woman's voice.

"I don't have any flashlights but I think I have some candles in the kitchen," Mal answered and wandered off to the other room.

"Thank you so much, you are a lifesaver!" Evie exclaimed once Mal handed her a few candles.

"Pff, it's nothing," Mal replied and decided to walk Evie to her apartment since her phone was the only source of light.

"Are you sure you won't need any of these?" the brunette asked walking towards the balcony.

"Yeah, I still have my phone and I'm about to call it a night. You need them more than I do," Mal replied, stepping out in the rainy cold night that their shared balcony offered.

"Wow, half of the city has no electricity," Evie remarked, pointing to the buildings around.

At the far end, the skyscrapers' lights illuminated the rest of the city that was consumed by total darkness. Only a few passing cars lighted the misty streets soaked from the rain.

"I hope they get that fixed soon," Mal added.

Walking into Evie's dark apartment was nothing new to Mal, but this time there was no moon to shine in or the night lights on the streets providing some kind of light. Everything was consumed by darkness leaving them blind. Except for Mal's phone and Evie's laptop screen.

"Thank you again for this," Evie spoke after lighting a few candles and positioning them around her living room.

"Don't mention it. They won't last long though," the shorter woman responded, sitting on the couch.

Ben announced his arrival by giving them a loud "Meow."

"Hey there little guy," the brunette bent to pet him on the head.

"We better leave you to it, I see you have some work to finish," the blond said, looking at the spread sheets of paper scattered around the table.

"Yeah," Evie sighed. "I won't be finishing these now. You know, drawing in this dim light can really damage your eyes, M."

"Yeah, you are right. Forgot about that," Mal laughed. "I remember reading about that guy that wrote something in the moonlight and almost went blind. Forgot his name though, I think he was someone famous,"

"Wasn't that Galileo Galilei?" the taller woman smiled looking at Mal's furrowed brows.

"Not sure, not important. We better get going, let's go, Ben," Mal suddenly stood up, motioning for her cat to follow.

"Wait," Evie spoke immediately after her. She bit her lip and nervously avoided any eye contact before asking: "Can you stay for a while?"

"Uh," Mal said uneasily. "Uh, yeah sure,"

"I mean, if you need to get up early tomorrow - I wouldn't want to keep you up. I just really don't like being alone in this darkness,"

"That's okay, I can stay for some time," the blond assured.

"Thank you," Evie let out a breath she didn't notice she was holding.

"Okay, since I will be around for a while, you can start by telling me why are you so scared of the dark?" Mal asked when Evie sat next to her on the couch. The brunette laughed nervously.

"It's a long and complicated story," Evie answered.

"We have time, E," Mal tried to push further.

"Okay, let's say I had a really traumatic experience when I was little,"

"You're right.. such a long and complicated story," the blond joked, making them both laugh.

"I'm sorry, I just don't like talking about it,"

"That's fine," silence fell upon them after that. Mal watched as Ben was searching for a spot for a good nap.

"What are you scared of, Mal?" Evie asked after a good amount of quietness.

Mal was taken aback by the question. No one ever asked her that. She never actually thought about it.

"I'm not scared of anything," the shorter woman responded after a few seconds.

"What?" Evie chuckled. "We are all scared of something, M. Are you really gonna put out Jay's 'i'm the toughest guy' when he is actually scared of spiders?" Mal laughed alongside her.

"Okay, now that you say that it actually sounds stupid of me to say,"

"You're not wrong there," the brunette pointed out teasingly.

"Alright, let me think,"

Mal started searching her mind for anything that terrified her. She didn't like heights but then again she tolerated them more than most people. And the view from a high place was always worth it. Then she couldn't swim but she always managed to not drown so that was also a no-no.

"I'm afraid of.. not being enough for the people around me," Mal stated finally.

"How so?"

"Well, ever since I was little - I always wasn't good enough, perfect enough. People around me always getting disappointed by the way I was turning out. I tried to please them all but I never was good enough for anyone. I was giving my all and no one really noticed or appreciated it. Not my mother, not my dad, not my friends, not my... relationships. Always tried to be the glue that keeps everyone together but I was more of a spit-out gum that sticks to your shoe and you can't really get rid of," Mal explained. "I tried so hard to not be that person anymore. I'm afraid that I'm falling back to that little girl who forces people to stay with her, instead of letting them go."

"The important thing is that you are not that person anymore, M. Even the fact that you have realized all of that shows how much you have grown since then," Evie reassured her with a sad smile.

Mal returned a nervous smile filled with gratitude. She suddenly felt too exposed. Maybe she said too much? Sharing that felt like someone was making a hole in her defensive walls and Evie was extending a secure hand to pull her out of it. And she knew that is dangerous, but it felt so good to just grab it and get out of the person she had built to be.

Both of them jumped when someone rang the doorbell. Ben looked curiously in the direction of the sound. Evie stood up and walked to her front door. Mal followed her a few seconds later, trying to settle down the anxious feeling in her stomach.

"Good evening there, Evelyn," an elderly woman greeted her. Mal recognized her as their apartment building manager, but couldn't remember her name.

"Good evening, what is going on?" Evie returned. Mal followed the taller woman's gaze. Their neighbors from their floor were exchanging candles and other objects that provided light sources. Their murmurs filled the corridor.

"Sorry to bother you this late. The power went out as you have noticed so we are giving out some supplies for the night. Would you be needing anything, dear?" the elderly woman explained.

"No, thank you. I think we are all good," Evie said with a grateful smile on her lips.

"Oh-oh, hello there deary," the woman greeted the shorter woman when she noticed her.

"Good evening," Mal returned with a smile.

"Do you by any chance know when the power will be back on?" Evie asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Half the town is without electricity so I'm sure they are already working on it, dear," the woman explained. "Sorry to bother you girls, have a good and safe evening,"

Mal walked inside after the conversation ended and waited for Evie to lock the door after them.

"Maybe taking a few candles wouldn't hurt, since these are halfway burnt," the blond addressed the lightning objects.

"It's fine, I'm sure other people need them more than me,"

"Okay, so what are you afraid of, E? And I want a whole story, spill your mind to me," Mal asked when they settled comfortably on the couch once again.

Unlike Mal, Evie didn't give it much thought and replied after a few seconds.

"I'm afraid of.. not living my life to the fullest."

"How come?"

"At times it feels like all of this," she made a motion gesturing at everything around her. "Is just too good to be true, you know. So good, that I feel like every moment now someone will pull the rug and everything will crumble to the ground. And I know I won't pick it up. I'll just leave it there and move on. It will follow me till the end. I won't do anything but let it be that way. At the end of the day, I deserve this burden. It will weigh me down and I won't be able to make things be like this anymore."

"I'm sure that won't happen," Mal said after Evie finished. The blond gave her a sympathetic smile and rested her hand on Evie's shoulder. The brunette looked so serious in this moment, Mal wanted to make sure that such a thing would never happen to her. "Hey, don't worry about it, it won't happen. You have worked so hard getting here. I'm sure you won't give up so easily and everything will be alright,"

"Thanks, M," Evie let a small smile slip on her lips. "What are you most afraid of?" Evie asked again, catching Mal's green eyes. Mal averted her gaze and fell silent, giving a lot of thought to Evie's question once more.

What was she most afraid of?

"I'm scared of.. me," the words started filling the silence between them before Mal could register them. "There is this.. thing inside me. I don't know how to explain it. I feel like I'm filled up with gasoline and I just wait for that fatal spark, the lighted match - that will ignite and burn me from the inside out. Like a wildfire during the summer, satisfying to watch but destroying everything on its way. I don't know. I just feel like there is something deep inside that will get triggered and will be the end of me. And at the same time, I yarn for it to happen. Does that makes sense?"

"I don't know, it sounds dangerous.. yet exciting.." Evie hummed, trying to understand Mal's thoughts.

The silence filled the room once more. The candles burning peacefully as the rain outside was raging upon the city.

"Are you cold?" the brunette asked softly breaking the silence.

"I could use a blanket," Mal watched as Evie stood up and disappeared down the hall. She couldn't understand why her heart was beating so fast at that very moment. She felt like she said too much and thinking about the last few moments made her think she sounded like an idiot freak.

Evie returned a few minutes later with a few blankets in hand.

"Here," the brunette offered Mal a cream-colored blanket.

"Thanks, it's soft as hell," the blond commented, brushing her hands through the material.

"Yeah, I know right," Evie laughed, sitting next to her and throwing some blankets on herself. "You know, I thought about what you said earlier," Evie started. "About that burning feeling in you, that... longing."

"Yeah, I realize how stupid it sounds now that you mention it," Mal laughed anxiously.

"No, I think I know what you mean," Evie finally said and met Mal's piercing gaze.

"You do?" Mal asked, surprised. Mal couldn't help but wonder, was Evie addressing all the tension between them that was appearing for so long? Or the constant touching and lack of personal space?

"I think so," the brunette spoke, moving a strand of hair behind her ear.

Mal didn't understand what made her do it. One second she was having small talk and the next second - she was kissing Evie. Mouth to mouth, one slow motionless kiss that ended when oxygen became an issue. Mal realized then when Evie stood still - that this might be a mistake. Big mistake, she could only blame her unthoughtful reactions.

Mal was collecting her thoughts as fast as she could and was about to speak when Evie's hand made her way around the back of her neck and pulled her for another kiss. Her brain went blank within a second when the kiss turned into a whole make-out session on Evie's couch.

There was only one thought that made sense in her head, with Evie's hand in her hair and the brushing of their lips. Maybe repeating it enough times will make it untrue.

You are the spark that started the fire in me.