//------------------------------// // Night III // Story: Cascade! Clouds Above, Obfuscate! // by WritingSpirit //------------------------------// Retirement. It's a big deal. It must be. It certainly was to Soarin', from the looks of it. She can't picture herself doing it however. Seriously, to have spent your whole life working for that dream job only to throw it all away in two decades (give or take) was just... baffling, there's no other way to put it! Just baffling! Why would anyone do that? Why would he... why must it be Soarin'? It's not as if it's age β€” he's only a few years older than her β€” and it's not as if he's not a good flyer anymore? He's still perfectly capable of pulling off all the signature moves the team had came up with, some of them even by he himself, and yet... Rainbow Dash sighed. The argent moon did her no favors. The wind oozed by, smothering her in a swarm of primal moisture that she quickly expelled with a wheeze. Steadily, the dreary seconds ticked in her head, her tail swishing side by side to its errant rhythm. Her eyes were barely staying open: staring was cumbersome, especially at this time of the night, though she had to be sure. His absence, though unwanted, was slowly setting in, and she was doing everything she could to not spring up from the branch she was resting on and just scramble about. She doubt he would just wander off for whatever dumbfounding reason he found compelling enough, yet here she was without the gentle embrace of his proud wings around her midriff. Here she was without the warmth of his breath brushing the back of her ears. Here she was, waiting. The night rolled onward. With a nicker, Rainbow turned to her side and closed her eyes, only to open them again. The winds were truly trying her. Being near the coast, it shouldn't be a surprise that they would come sweeping in to sour the night. Shuddering from its onslaught, Rainbow shuffled upward onto the higher, leafier branches, gritting her teeth. There was much scorn to be had, though it was ultimately fruitless. Perhaps she could remedy the situation herself, being a pegasi and all, only to stop herself: one missing pegasus was one pegasus too much, to be frank. The foggy sigh was all that's left of her willfulness as she quietly curled herself up, her voice faltering through chattering teeth. "Why does it have to be so cold..." "Need some help with that, Dash?" Her stare shot downwards, pupils flaring at that voice. The mischievous smirk he dared to wear made her seethe. Like a panther, Rainbow Dash pounced onto him, her weight pushing him onto the ground with an oof. The familiar fuzz of his chest cupped her chin, her snout burrowing like a mole into his hairs before she dragged herself upwards with the finesse of a painter's brush, leaving only a trail of sensations to remember it by. She stopped when she reached his neck, tense and taut throughout from her advance, only to jerk when she dug her snout in and gave it a deep whiff. "R-Rainbow, Iβ€”" "Shut up." "I just wanted toβ€”" "Shut up." Soarin' knew what to do. Her hooves sifted through his wings, faintly and absentmindedly stroking them. Her gaze rose to meet his, and though it remained a marvel, there was not a hint of joy in them. Oddly enough, he was smiling. In admiration, perhaps. Or adoration? Or both? Either way, there was no mistaking that little crook of the lips, which remained even as she reached out a hoof and gently traced the contours of his cheek. Of course, he gracefully reciprocated, his two hooves clasping around it and burying it deeper, even bringing it to trace the dry edges of his lips. "Did I worry you?" She almost scowled. "What do you think?" "Didn't mean to. Was looking forward to another dip in the river." "River's pretty far from here. Bay's a lot closer." "Figured as much. You were right about the heat being worse around here." "It'll even out in time, I'm sure. Just the changing of the seasons." Her hind hooves curled inwards, interlacing with his. The glances they shared quivered with their skin. Gently, Rainbow Dash turned her head to its side, her murrs of contentment traipsing in a waltz with his genteel exhalations. The warmth they shared flickered with every puff, with one particularly strong gust even making Soarin' yelp out and almost keel over, though that only made Rainbow Dash cling onto him tighter. Throughout the next several minutes, the assault was relentless, yet they remained brave in the face of each other. They always do. "We're gonna pull through this one." "You don't have to tell me that." "Yeah, I guess I don't," Soarin' laughed. "I'm just... I feel like we should be talking about something here." "Talking? About what?" A pause. "Stuff. Anything on our minds, really. I mean, there's still some things I don't know about you, Dash, and at the same time, I'm sure you have a bunch of questions for me. You know, third date stuff." "Well, it's not like I have much to ask anyway." A wellspring of nostalgia came spiraling through her head, kindling a faint grin on her lips. "I mean, we're in the Wonderbolts together, we always hang out after practice and chatting up a storm. Even had a couple of bar nights together, just the two of us. Heck, the rest of the gang were surprised that we weren't dating already back then." "Who would've thunk, huh?" "Always overthinking the platonic friendship stuff, those girls." "Can't really blame them. Spitfire, Fleetfoot and the others had been dying to see us together the moment we signed you up for the reserves." "Huh," she mumbled at that prospect, her glance falling sideways. "So, uh... since we're on that topic, why didn't you... uh... what's the best way to say this..." "Hm?" "W-Why not Spitfire? Or Fleetfoot? Why me?" "I... wow... well now..." Soarin' quavered, forehead tingling from a few beads of sweat. "I think, well, if I really gave it any serious thought and I really didn't... well... lemme see how this... I think for Spitfire, she and I are always perfectly happy with how things are between us. She'd hate for me to become her coltfriend and vice versa. As for Fleetfoot, I think we did try to spark something up, but it didn't work out." "That's news to me. You and Fleetfoot, huh?" "I mean, she's fine, really, I like her just the way she is. It's just... she's not... well... we just couldn't get into it, I guess." "O-Okay..." Rainbow muttered, cheeks burning red. "Then w-why me then?" "Don't know." A long pause. "You... don't know?" "Really, I don't. Don't get me wrong, I'm very sure that I like you," he sheepishly responded, hoof quietly stroking her mane. "It's just... I don't know what exactly it is about you that I like, but it's there and... I guess that's why I'm doing all these dates. To figure out what it actually is, you know? I wanna find out what is it about you that just... clicks, you could say." "I don't know, Soar, I'm pretty bad with understanding these kinds of things." Another long pause. "It's fine though, isn't it?" "Hm?" "Not knowing what it is in the end? Would it be fine?" "I... guess so." "Okay... alright... great, uh, h-how 'bout we stop there for now? Too much of reality for one night." She shuffled her hooves, insistently brushing them alongside her coltfriend's. "Anyways, we're gonna have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow. Hopefully we'll find our temple by then." "Hopefully." Rainbow didn't need to look to know he was smirking. "We'll definitely find it, I know we will." Soarin' didn't need to be told what to do next. "Well then, if you say we will, then damn right we will!" With those words came the one thing he always adored watching. "Heh. Now there's a beautiful smile." "Get some sleep, dork."