The moment we exited the facility, I swept my companion up in a tremendous hug, surprising the blue mare and making her blush.
"C-Cole, what's gotten into you?" she whispered, trying to hide her delight at my sudden show of affection. "People could see…"
"Let 'em," I murmured in her ear. "My amazing mate is about to be formally decorated by Starfleet for being awesome and we just got the best Christmas/Hearths Warming/birthday gifts ever. I'm so happy right now, I could kiss you right now in front of the entire Admiralty and be totally fine with it."
"Any more surprises like this and I might hold you to that," Trixie said, giving me a soft kiss. "Trixie likes affectionate Cole."
"Well then, excuse me while I summon them," I said with a smirk, pretending to tap my new combadge. "Captain Remy, Trix and I've got a heavy make-out session planned, would you mind getting your Admiral friends together? Oh, and don't forget the popcorn!" Trixie nearly doubled over with laughter, giving me a playful punch for good measure.
"You're terrible!"
"Mr. Stevens? Are you there?" A voice from my combadge startled us, prompting me to respond.
"Captain Remy?" I asked, thoroughly confused. Trixie leaned in to make sure we both weren't hearing things.
"Is there something I can do for you, Mr. Stevens? I mean, besides getting my admiral friends together and replicating some popcorn."
"Wat." Came my succinct response. Trixie went red and groaned.
"Did you not just request an audience for an, ahem…intimate moment?" the captain asked, obviously trying to suppress a laugh.
"How did you…"
"New combadge?"
"Yes, but how…"
"You might want to adjust the touch sensitivity on it," Remy recommended after theatrically clearing his throat. "Some of the new combadges don't take much to activate. Sometimes, all you have to do is wave your finger in front of it and it activates."
"Ah. Well, then. Thanks for the heads-up."
"My pleasure, Mr. Stevens. Give my regards to Miss Trixie."
"Will do, sir." I said with a sigh. "And, uh…sorry about that."
"No problem. I was young once, too." At that point, I wisely decided to end the conversation and attempted to console a thoroughly embarrassed Trixie.
"Okay so maybe we should set these things," I suggested, trying to disperse the awkwardness.
"Trixie hopes you realize what this means."
"We have the most absurdly terrible luck out of anyone in the entire universe?"
"Close. We're two for two on 'Captain Remy accidently spies on us during private moments'."
"I hope it's accidently. His timing's uncanny. Now, if it was Quark, we'd have a problem."
***
I shouldn't have been surprised that after hearing about our afternoon, both Captain Remy and Kyana had insisted on celebrating. With the weather just about perfect, we decided to have dinner outside around the fire pit, something I'd never actually done before. Feasting on delicious fire-grilled shrimp, fish, and mixed vegetables for Trixie, we shared our lives with each other. Unsurprisingly, Kyana had taken a special interest in Trixie and plied the showmare with questions, all of which Trixie was happy to answer. Magic seemed especially thrilling and Trixie did not disappoint; in fact, her impromptu show went well into the evening and ended only when the fire finally died out.
As we retired for the night, I remembered what having a family was like. It was for these moments, moments that would remain with me for the rest of my life, I knew that whatever happened, we had to persevere. There was nothing I wanted more than to keep having moments like this and as I got into bed, I truly realized it.
I also realized something else, another moment I knew would stick with us forever. A moment that, up to this point, I wasn't sure I would ever be ready for. It was time for me to commit myself fully to the one I loved.
I took a deep breath as the realization hit me; was I truly ready for what I had in mind?
Could I finally call her my 'marefriend'? Was the word okay to use? Would it leave a dirty taste in my mouth? Would I be ashamed to say it in front of strangers and people who might not see the beauty in what Trixie and I had?
Did I truly love Trixie enough to conquer my hang-ups?
As I waited for her to finish brushing her teeth, my eyes wandered about the room, finally settling on her hat and cape sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. I smiled as I recalled the look on her face as I presented them to her. That look had expressed something powerful, a feeling that told me everything I needed to know. Over our journey together, we'd become friends, warriors, liberators, entertainers, and everything in-between.
And now, after everything we'd been through, everything we'd seen…perhaps it was time to become lovers as well.
I heard Trixie exit the bathroom and pad over to the bed. A she got in, I became aware of how fresh and clean she smelled, of how shiny her coat looked, and her inquisitive expression.
"Yes?" she asked.
"What?" I replied a little too quickly.
"You've been staring at Trixie since she got out. Yes, Trixie realizes how beautiful she is but…eep!" I interrupted her monologue with a hug, gathering the surprised showmare into my arms.
"You're right," I murmured as I held her close. "Trixie really is beautiful."
"Cole…" Trixie sighed, returning the hug before pushing back enough to regard me. "Is something on your mind? Are you okay?"
"Actually, Trix…I've never felt better. These last couple of days has been like a dream come true and now that I've seen it…it made me realize something."
"Oh really? That you're the dorkiest human to ever come from Earth?" Trixie asked with a smug grin.
"Well yeah, there's that," I replied with a chuckle. "But it was something more along the lines of this." With that, I pushed my lips firmly against hers, eliciting a surprised squeak from my companion.
No, my marefriend.
There was no doubt in my mind that she wasn't expecting the kiss to go on as it did. Up until this point, our kisses had been passionate but relatively brief; this time, however, I wanted nothing more than to show Trixie how dedicated to her I was. So I kept the kiss going, gently coaxing her mouth to open enough to slip my tongue in. Her eyes shot open but soon became half-lidded and my initiative was rewarded with a low moan.
My hands slowly moved downwards, travelling down her back to her haunches before boldly settling on her cutie mark. She gasped and gently pushed away and for a moment, I thought that I had overstepped.
"C-Cole!" she said breathlessly. "What…what's going on?" She saw my worried expression and continued. "Not that I'm not enjoying this! It's just…different from what we usually do."
"I know, Trix and I'm sorry if it's startling but it took me this long to realize that I love you so, so much, and…if you'll have me…I'd like to show you just how much." I answered, looking deep into her eyes. It took a moment for what I'd said to sink in but when it did, her eyes widened and she looked at me in disbelief.
"A-Are you serious?" she practically whispered. "Y-You want to do this…with Trixie?"
"Yes, Trix. More than anything." I confirmed with a nod.
"You mean…you don't mind that I'm not…human?" I barely heard the last word but even if I hadn't, I would've known. We both had our hang-ups and tonight I was determined to banish both of them to the far reaches of the universe.
"Trixie, you are what you are. And that is who I love. I'm sorry it took me so long to see it. I just…had so many preconceived notions and…"
If the first kiss was loving, the one that silenced me was pure passion. It was my turn to murmur as I felt her tongue lick at my lips, asking permission to enter. I gave it and soon our tongues were fighting for domination, our mouths providing the battlefield. Soon, our tongue play escalated into a fervent make-out session, the kind one could charge admission for.
Our hands/hooves also got braver and began to explore in earnest; my hands soon found her backside and while Trixie's forelegs were too short to do the same, she reciprocated by kissing my neck and collarbone, exciting me in a way I'd never felt before.
It felt wonderful.
And I wanted more. We both did.
I rolled us over so I was laying on my back, giving her control over how things would proceed. She looked down at me, face flushed and panting, before diving in for another breathtaking kiss. Impassioned moans, along with declarations of "I love you" and "That feels nice" or "Keep going" permeated the air as we grew much more acquainted with each other's forms.
The lovemaking that followed took many forms that night. Slow and steady, fast and zealous. Anything that came to mind, we indulged in, and even after we'd collapsed from exhaustion, the blazing passion remained, refusing to die down after finally being allowed to ignite. We became one, two minds, two bodies, and two spirits uniting in a show of love and appreciation.
We laid exhausted in a sweaty heap that night, scarcely able to believe what we had just done but overjoyed that we finally had. It was the beginning of a new chapter for us, one that I was looking forward to writing.
***
Just as I was falling asleep, something occurred to me.
I wonder how much Jacob and Kyana heard.
Meh, that's future Cole's problem.
With that, I passed the Hell out.