//------------------------------//
// Love is in Bloom 
// Story: Elements of Heroism Interlude: Vacation 
// by Bahamut0 
//------------------------------//

Adagio yawned as she woke up. As per usual, she spared a glance at the flowers by her bed side and smiled. 'Venus put these here when me and my sisters returned.' Adagio then took a moment to inhale the scent of the flowers. 'Not to mention, he's the most bold suitor I've had in my lifetime.' Adagio smirked to herself upon recalling her first encounter with Venus Bloomer. He had come to CHS through the mirror portal from Equestria. Adagio had been basking in the adoration brought forth by the performance she and her sisters had performeed, and had decided to grace the crowd with another display of the voice granted to her by her pendent. Then, Venus suddenly started to dance with her as she sang.

'Half the people who tried courting me in the centuries I've been alive never had that much spirit in them.' Adagio thought fondly. 'I suppose that's what I find attractive about him. He and I share a love of being alive. Knowing that the time we live is our moment and no one else's.' Adagio then giggled. 'Not to mention he's the first one to give me a run for my money in the way of being a flirt.' She then smiled when Venus went shirtless. 'Of course, there ARE plenty of obivous reasons for our attraction as well.' Adagio then decided there was no longer any point in staying in bed all day. Plus, she never missed a chance to try and flirt with Venus ever since he was put in charge of watching over her. Sure enough, she saw Venus making breakfast. "Hope I didn't mess up any plans you had to serve me breakfast in bed." Adagio said with her trademark smirk.

"Wishful thinking." Venus said with a smile. "I like it when you decide to grace me with your presence." Venus then chuckled as a thought came to him. "Then again, you do love being the center of attention."

Adagio smirked. "You got that right."

"Good. Now then, breakfast is ready." Venus replied. "I'll meet you downstairs."

'Heh. Venus sure is a card. The only one with true spirit.' Adagio thought.

Meanwhile, Venus was thinking to himself. 'I'm glad I found Adagio.' A smile then crept across Venus's lips. 'She really makes me work for her. I like that.' Venus headed downstairs with breakfast in tow, and sat across from Adagio at the table. "So. I've got plenty of free time now that I'm on vacation. Anything you'd like to do?"

"Hmmm." Adagio tapped her chin in thought. "It's quite the lovely day outside. A picnic sounds nice."

Venus blinked. "You know? I expected something grand coming from a woman who's spent her life being in the spotlight."

"Well, I've been giving things some thought." Adagio said as she looked down into her tea. The surface reflecting her contemplative gaze. "I've lived my life solely for myself and my sisters. Only caring about how much people could want me. My life was almost always in the fast lane. But after losing our pendents, I started to do some thinking after the anger of our defeat subsided. I'd never thought to slow down and enjoy a moment. So I figured, maybe now I can stop and smell the roses." Adagio then shot a sincere smile at Venus. "One in particular has a sweet scent to him."

Venus smiled. "i know just the place for our little outing." And with that, the two polished off their breakfast before enjoying the house for a couple hours.

"Having a recent villain attack really makes you appreciate the quiet moments. Doesn't it?" Adagio asked as she glanced out the window at what looked like a typical day.

Venus nodded. "I won't lie. The last battle I had especially makes me grateful for moments of peace." Venus then stopped reading the newspaper, and smiled at Adagio. "Of course, it helps to have some lovely company to enjoy it with."

"Even when you're not trying to match me, you just exude charm, don't you?" Adagio asked with a smirk.

Venus shrugged. "I'm only doing it because you make me work for you. Before you came into my life, girls were throwing themselves at me. Each one of them nearly swooning the second I looked in their direction." Venus then frowned at the memory. "It was so boring."

"Oh?" Adagio asked. "Why's that?"

Venus sighed. "Tell me Adagio. When you gained the adoration of people under you and your sisters' spell, did it ever feel fulfilling? Did it make you feel whole?"

"Well...." Adagio then brushed over the spot where her pendent once embraced her neck. "No. It felt empty. No matter how much a crowd screamed our names, how much they said they adored us, it never lasted. And before we knew it, we had to get more and more. Like there was a bottomless pit at our cores." Adagio then put her hands over her heart. "To be honest, I've never shared that with anyone."

Venus had a sad smile as he gazed into Adagio's eyes. "Well, I guess you could say in some regards I felt the same being on the receiving end of all that female attention. But the reason it felt so empty to me was because it was so effortless. It felt so hollow because I didn't need to do a thing. And that made me feel empty inside too. Meeting the other Elements of Heroism partially filled that void because it gave me good friends. But some part of me still felt incomplete because I still wanted someone whose adoration I had to work for." Venus and Adagio looked directly into each other's eyes. "And I never found that someone until I saw you." Venus and Adagio both blushed as they peered into each other's souls. "I...think I should get the food ready for our picnic." Venus immediately set to work preparing the basket. Anything to calm the rapid beating of his heart. At the same time, Adagio was trying to calm her own heart as well. Fortunately for the both of them, they soon regained their composure. "So...are you ready to go Adagio?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah! Just let me get my shoes on!" Adagio said with a nervous smile. "Alright. I'm good to go." Venus and Adagio head over to one of the hills around Ponyville. "You weren't kidding when you said you knew the perfect place." Adagio said as she looked over the view the hill gave them. "It's beautiful..."

Venus scratched his head. "Well...this is only part of where we'll be dining." Venus then put his hand to the ground, and a mass of vines shot up and began to twist and bend! Not a few minutes later, a small castle of vines stood before them! "I know this is a simple date. But there's no reason why we can't have a grand view, right?" Venus then summoned a vine to drop down to them. "Hold onto me tight." Adagio nodded and wrapped her arms aroudn Venus as tight as she could. Venus then tugged on the vine, and they were zipped up to the top of the tower. Venus then set to work laying out the blanket while Adagio's heart caught up with the rest of her body. "Okay." Venus called to her. "It's all set. What do you think?" From the tower, Venus and Adagio had a view of the whole town, and the clear sky.

"Going the extra mile, aren't we?" Adagio asked with a playful smirk.

Venus smiled. "Well, you're worth the effort. C'mon. Let's eat." The two set about enjoying their lunch. 

"Hey, Venus?" Adagio asked.

Venus swallowed his food before answering. "What is it?"

"Oh. Nothing too important." Adagio said with a small smile. "It's just that whenever someone tried to win my affection, they'd usually shower me with compliments of how beautiful I am. Or make some sort of grand declaration. Always making such a spectacle out of it."

Venus chuckled. "Well I can't shower you with compliments because they'd probably either be cliche, or ones you've heard before."

"True enough!" Adagio said with a giggle. "But I meant what I said in the best way. Sometimes things need to be shown rather than told." Adagio then scooted closer to Venus. "And you've shown me plenty. Especially with that shirtless tactic."

Venus smiled. "Funny. I could say the same about you and that swimsuit."

"Then I guess neither of us have anything to hide." Adagio said with a sultry smirk as she brought her face closer to Venus's. "So why hold the tension any longer?"

Venus slowly smiled as he put his hands on Adagio's hips. "You might've lost your singing voice. But I'm still under your spell." And with that, the two pressed their lips against each other. They were soon lost within the kiss in a matter of seconds. Adagio grabbing onto a portion of Venus's hair. "That's the spirit." Venus said with a grin as he broke the kiss.

"What can I say?" Adagio said with a giggle. "We make each other feel alive." The two ceased their make-out session, and simply took in the view while holding each other close. "This is the first time I've really felt loved."

Venus smiled as he tightened his embrace around Adagio. "It won't be the last." Venus whispered. "I've still got to show you how much I adore you."

Adagio smirked. "Oh? How are you planning to do that?"

"A hot bath with your name on it when we get home." Venus answered with a smirk of his own. And with that, Venus slowly deconstructed the vine castle and had a few vines lower him and Adagio to the ground. The second they hit the ground, Venus scooped Adagio up into his arms. "So is this the first time you've been swept off your feet?"

Adagio giggled. "I never expected you to do it so literally." She then nuzzled against Venus's face. "But it's more than a welcome surprise. And it's also quite sweet of you to run me a bath. You know sirens love water. Of course, I'll need your assistance."

"With what?" Venus asked.

"Have you seen this mane?" Adagio said with a giggle as she motioned to her hair. "You'd be surprised the amount of time it takes to maintain these locks all by my lonesome."

"You've done a good job so far." Venus said. "But I do so adore you." A few minutes later, Adagio was back in Venus's house soaking in the tub. Venus soon arrived and helped wash Adagio's hair. "You sure look at home in there."

Adagio smiled. "Well, I was born in the sea. To me, any water feels like home. But this water in specific..." Adagio then reached for Venus's face and caressed it. "It feels like I'm where I belong since you're around. But it makes sense since your spirit makes me feel alive."

"And being near you makes my spirit bloom." Venus said with a smile as he and Adagio shared a kiss. But unlike the earlier kiss on their date, both Venus and Adagio took their time to savor this kiss. Both of them enjoying how they completed one another. The two soon breaking their kiss for air.

Adagio lightly blushed. "You know? This is the first time."

"The first time what?" Venus asked.

Adagio sighed. "The first time...I actually feel adored. I guess me and my sisters were going about it the wrong way." Adagio then looked into Venus's eyes. "Quality over quantity. And you're certainly a quality lover if I ever saw one."

"Then you're experiencing something better than adoration." Venus said with a smile. "Now you know what love is." Venus then left Adagio so she could change. And soon enough, the two found themselves curling up on the couch together. Venus smiled down on Adagio's sleeping form. 'You'll always take center stage in my life.'