Rainbow glanced over her shoulder, but saw no one. It had been about a week since Adagio Dazzle had done anything big, and the sense of relief she felt at being mostly recovered was mildly tempered by the fact that she knew she was planning something.
She slowed to a stop as she approached her home. There were people in her house! Rainbow Dash crouched (and winced as she did), hand straying to her cell phone. The shadow moved, and…
Wait. She’d thought it was two people, but it was just one person; one person that had a mountain of hair. Rainbow smirked and straightened up. Adagio Dazzle was there. She’d chosen tonight, of all nights. The joke was on her; Rainbow was sure she was far too tired for anything even remotely romantic. In fact, if she weren’t so tired, she’d probably call the cops on her for breaking and entering. It’d be funny to see her led out in handcuffs wearing whatever little slinky dress (it was probably red) that she’d worn tonight.
When Rainbow tore open the front door, she was half expecting soft music playing and a trail of rose petals leading to a candlelit Italian dinner.
What she got, though, was something completely different.
Her house smelled amazing. Pizza rolls. Bagel bites. Hot wings. Chicken tenders. All arrayed on her table, many still steaming hot. And lounging on her couch was one former siren, wearing a soccer jersey. Rainbow squinted. Was she even wearing anything underne-?
“Rainbow Dash! About time you got here. Real Equestria is playing Yakyakistan United, you’re missing it!”
Still slightly stunned by this development, Rainbow slowly took a seat on the couch. She had been wanting to watch this, actually, but this was a pay-per-view event. It would be kindof a shame to not take advantage of th-
Rainbow spun and glared. “I’m not falling for this,” she growled.
Adagio shrugged and picked up one of the boneless wings, and dipped it in the white bleu cheese sauce. “Suit yourself,” she said, placing it carefully in her mouth. It was almost innocently sensual.
Rainbow crossed her arms and turned and looked at the screen. She would not be falling for that.
The game was as exciting as she’d thought it would be. Both teams were fairly evenly matched, and it wasn’t long before she was lost in the game.
And then she realized that she was lounging on the couch, eating Adagio’s snacks. She glanced over almost guiltily; but Adagio didn’t even seem to notice; she, too, was focused on the game. She reached over and picked up one of the pizza rolls, and it crunched in her mou-
“Whoa. Those crunch?”
“Yeah, they’re baked,” Adagio answered. “They taste better that way.”
Rainbow tossed one into her mouth and was forced to concede this point. She doubted she’d be able to microwave them ever again.*
“And the wings are baked, too. Full of flavor, not so heavy as when they’re fried.”
“How do you know so much about this stuff?” Rainbow had to ask.
Adagio shrugged. “When we were feeling lazy, we’d hit up sports bars. People arguing everywhere, people mad at the waitresses, half the fans get mad that their team lost, everyone mad at the refs; it was a great supply of negative energy.” She smirked. “That’s also why we’re so good at pool and ping pong.”
Made sense. “So what made you hit up Canterlot High?” Rainbow had to ask.
Adagio expelled air out through her nose. “Because Aria is a lightweight,” she said irritably.
“Aria?”
“Yeah. You'd think it’d be Sonata, right? Nah. Sonata can take shots all night and still be standing there smiling like the airheaded idiot she is when everyone else is stumbling home or passed out on the ground. Sure, she’ll be swaying and have a massive headache in the morning; but cram enough orange juice down her throat and she’ll be ready to go again in twenty minutes. It’s Aria that’s- that was the weakest link.”
“Huh,” Rainbow said, curious against her will. “What happened?”
“Well, it was a normal night, right up until she took her shirt off. Which wouldn't have been too bad, except she then refused to put it back on. And then we don't have ID because, surprise, surprise, the portal to this world doesn't issue passports. So they thought she was underage, she couldn't prove she wasn't, it was a big mess. Took some quick talking and we had to burn a lot of energy to get out of that one—crowded bar, no one can hear you sing, you know? So just to be safe, we've never gone back to any place like that again.”
Rainbow laughed.
“She's still embarrassed. She’ll deny it, of course.” Her voice grew quiet. “Or, she would,” she amended. She looked back towards the screen, deliberately not looking at Rainbow.
Rainbow took this opportunity to grab a potato skin. Strange. Sometimes, Adagio almost seemed… human.
“And he’s taking it down, he beats one, two, kicks- and it's in!”
Rainbow leaped to her feet and threw a fist into the air.
“Oh, my goodness gracious, I can't believe it!” the announcer continued, still in awe; though his voice was nearly drowned out by Rainbow's triumphant yell. They had done it! There was no way Yakyakistan could score another in the time they had left. They had won!
Rainbow looked over, still screaming, and Adagio was screaming back. She looked back at the tv, saw that the game had ended, and then Adagio reached out, touched her shoulder, and kissed her on the cheek.
Rainbow looked back at the tv, still in awe at what had just happened. “Aw, yeah,” she murmured, shaking her fist triumphantly. She glanced back over and saw Adagio, smirking. What was that f-?
Wait.
She had just-!
Horrified at what had just happened a little closer to home, she reached out and punched Adagio in the shoulder.
Adagio seemed to smirk harder. No flinching, no reaction. Just that same, confident smile.
“Don't expect any more of that,” Rainbow snarled. She scooted over as far away as she could while still remaining on the couch. She was not about to admit defeat (or get too far away from the snacks) by leaving the couch entirely.
Adagio just smiled and picked up another jalapeño popper.
The talking heads on the tv discussed the game that had just happened, how it would affect everything from team ratings to player worth to fantasy basketball stats.
But currently it was just background noise.
Rainbow Dash sat on the floor, leaning against the couch, between Adagio’s legs, with Adagio gently brushing her hair.
Rainbow whimpered, feeling conflicted. This was so wrong. How had she done this? It was just a game. A couple games. A couple good games.
Maybe it had started on the topic of sisters. Yeah, that was it. Adagio had mentioned having two sisters and Rainbow said she had one, ish. And it had kindof spiraled from there. Something about how sad it was that she’d never had anyone to do her hair, Rainbow saying something about her not needing anyone else touching her hair, and Adagio deciding to prove her wrong.
She was certainly competitive. That's the word she would go with.
Then Adagio leaned down and gently kissed the top of her head
And Rainbow let her without complaint.
This was too weird.
But soon the clock showed midnight. Adagio looked up. “Well, I've got work tomorrow, so I've got to go. But thanks for a lovely evening.” She stood up and stepped over Rainbow, somehow managing to gently brush her hips against her cheek.
Rainbow got up to get the door. It was only polite, right?
She opened the door, and as Adagio passed to leave, she gave her a gentle peck on the lips.
Adagio smiled demurely. “I win,” she whispered. “Good night, Rainbow.” And with that, she left, her hips gently swaying as she walked away.
Rainbow watched her leave into the darkness. She actually felt disappointed that she couldn't stay longer.
She stopped, confused at her own feelings. She shook her head. It was a strange feeling, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
That confusing feeling diminished slightly and was replaced by irritation when she realized that Adagio had left her kitchen in a bit of a mess. But still.
Was that a date? Rainbow mused as she rinsed off some of the smaller dishes. It had probably been a date. She’d hung out with her friends enough to know that friends didn’t kiss friends like that.
Well, if you were Fluttershy, it was a bit different. She always had some little fluffy thing to snuggle with.
And now…
Rainbow realized she could probably say the same.