“‘We meet again’,” Starburst repeated as soon as they were out of her parent’s earshot, doing her best to imitate Starfall’s voice. Glaring at her coltfriend, she hissed, back in her normal voice: “Seriously, you just had to say that?”
Starfall winced slightly, clearly upset, but it didn’t stop him from trying to defend himself. “Well, to be fair, it was your pet that started it-”
The scarred unicorn apparently had enough common sense left roaming around in his skull to stop his ridiculous argument abruptly as soon as Starburst’s glare hardened. She opened her mouth to berate him, but at the same time Snow, whom she still held with her wing, began to wiggle, trying to escape.
“Oh, don’t you start now too,” she told the albino ferret, who gave one last defiant wiggle before giving up.
Starburst next had immediately turned back to Starfall, who had his mouth open, probably about to say something along the lines of ‘Start again you mean’.
He seemed to rethink that idea as she narrowed her eyes at him. “Sorry,” Starfall said instead, ears dropping. He then tilted his head and asked: “Can’t you just explain later that I ran into him when I was over for a dinner or something?”
“I’ll probably have to,” Starburst replied, sighing. As usual, her annoyance quickly ebbed away as soon as Starfall displayed an apologizing demeanor; she wondered if he’d start to ‘use that’ against her at some point. “Though hopefully my dad will just let it go. So what if you had met my pet before?! For Celestia’s sake, we’ve been dating for over two weeks now,” she snorted and shook her head.
Even if aside from the time we had slept in my bed together he hadn’t really met him, she mused briefly, then dismissed that line of pondering as they reached their destination.
“Alright, so,” she began as they stopped, pointing at the door next to them, “this is a guest room. Actually, all of these are guests rooms,” Starburst amended, rolling her eyes, as she spread her forehoof at the other doors of this corridor around them. “Pick whichever you want, we don’t have any other guests now. And this is the guest bathroom,” she added, opening the other door next to them, opposite of the one she had originally pointed at. She led Starfall inside and opened the cabinet, taking out a fresh towel. “Here’s a towel, and over there you’ve got shower gel and other stuff,” Starburst finished, pointing with her wing at the shelf within the shower cabin as she laid the towel on top of the cabinet.
Her gaze shifted from the shower to the wing with which she had pointed. It was dirty. Mud and whatever else had gathered on the remains of the roof before the rain water washed it all away down through the hole and drench them - Starburst hoped that there weren’t any bird droppings in this - had seeped into her feathers and coat. It wasn’t that bad, especially to somepony who was used to being covered in sweat and dirt after hours of training, but still not appropriate state for one to be when in company of others. Especially their family and coltfriend (even if said coltfriend was in no better state).
“Okay, so I’m gonna go take shower too now,” she said, folding her wing back and covering herself better with the towel her mother had conjured for them. “And I’m going to put this one back to his ‘den’. I’ll see you in…” Starburst began as she turned back to Starfall, only to trail off. She narrowed her eyes. “Star, why are you smirking?”
“No reason,” he replied, shrugging… and still smirking.
“Don’t give me that, I know that smirk!” Starburst exclaimed, pointing a hoof at his face. “You’re up to something!”
“Me?” Starfall exclaimed in turn, faking shock.
At least he’s no longer smirking…
“Whatever I could be up to, my Beloved Nemesis?”
“I don’t know, anything?!” Starburst replied, exasperated.
Starfall rolled his eyes, dropping the pretenses. “Alright, let’s say I am up to something. But you know that despite what I often display, I am smart-”
That’s debatable, she thought, recalling the conversation she had overheard yesterday between him, Claire and Illusion. Part of the reason why she was so annoyed at him for deciding to spend time with her family instead with just her, alone, was that she had hoped she’d get a chance to talk to him about that. Maybe we’ll get some privacy before going to sleep...
“- on top of being paranoidly worried about your parents,” Starfall continued, oblivious to her plans, “and above all care a very great deal about you. Whatever I would be up to couldn’t be bad then, couldn’t it? Don’t you trust me?” he asked, his eyes slightly widening and his lip quivering.
Is he… doing puppy-eyes at me?! Starburst thought, both surprised and annoyed. Ugh, really doesn’t work with those eyes of his… even if one could stare into them for hours…
She shook her head, not wanting to get all dreamy when she was in the middle of berating him. “Of course I trust you,” Starburst replied with annoyance. “Except that between you asking to spend time with my family, and now apparently plotting something while being in my home with my parents right here, makes me wonder if you really hadn’t gotten hit in the head back in the ruins.”
Starfall chuckled. “Ah, yes, I can see why you’d be worried in such case. Well, don’t worry, nothing hit me. You’re welcome to examine me if you want later. Now, though, I would like to get cleaned,” he said, looking at his coat with dismay.
Starburst nodded, not exactly happy with the way this conversation had went. She looked at Starfall, trying to figure out what he was planning, but she couldn’t come up with anything.
“So?”
Starfall’s question broke her out of her musing. “So what?” she asked, turning to him as he raised his eyebrow questioningly.
“Are you going to watch me shower?”
She opened her mouth, perplexed. Suddenly, she could feel warmth on her cheeks.
“I mean, I don’t mind,” Starfall continued; finally she noticed that he was holding back laughter, “I just thought that-”
Starburst shook off her embarrassment and began to leave, elbowing him on the shoulder as she passed him. “Very funny,” she hissed, doing her best to scowl.
“I know,” Starfall replied, sticking his tongue out playfully.
Rolling her eyes - while failing to hold back a smile - Starburst walked out of the bathroom and locked the door behind her. On the corridor, she thought about sitting down for a moment, needing a few seconds to calm herself. There was an off chance that she’d run into somepony after all, and she didn’t want them to see her blushing after seeing her coltfriend off to a bathroom. However, she could already hear him turning on the water, so staying here would lead to her hearing her coltfriend taking a shower. Which, aside from being a fodder for another joke of his if he’d ever find out, would certainly cause her blush to grow even worse.
“Annoying little…” she muttered to herself as she began to head for her own bathroom, half-annoyedly and half-fondly. Snow, who remained quiet wrapped by her wing - and cast unfriendly gazes at Starfall most of the time - had voiced a dook of agreement. Starburst frowned at her ferret. “Okay, now you-”
“So for the love of Celestia, stop hissing at him every time you see him,” Starburst finished, now speaking normally in the privacy of her room instead of using a hushed tone so that her family wouldn’t hear her scolding her pet ferret.
Snow, whom now she had released, hurried over back to his sleeping basket. Starburst followed him, not believing that he’d listen to what she had told him, and at the same time not liking one bit that she actually had to tell him things like those.
“Please?” she tried different approach as Snow looked at her from his ‘den’. “I really, really like him, okay? Could you give him a chance, for me?”
Snow tilted his little head, considering her plea, and finally nodded, although with clear reluctance.
“Thanks,” she sighed with relief, then lower her head to nuzzle him affectionately. “You’re the best Snow.” Starburst brought her hoof to pet him under his chin for a bit, before finally turning away. “Now if you excuse me, I’ve got to shower and get ready for a very fun day.”
Despite her sarcastic tone, she tried to think positively of this family time plus Starfall thing. If they were going to just watch movies or play some board games or whatever her parents had planned for the rest of the day, it couldn’t possible turn out badly.
Especially since Nighty will be there, Starburst thought, trotting towards the door leading to her private bathroom. They won’t be able to ask too many questions about our relationship… I hope.
There was a certain irony that she’d have to be grateful for her little brother’s presence while spending time with her coltfriend.
Then again, she thought, rolling her eyes as she put her forehoof on the door-knob, opening the bathroom doors, I suppose they wouldn’t outright ask if we, well, became intimate and stuff, anyway, so...
Her thoughts abruptly trailed off as her brain shut down upon entering the bathroom.
Starfall, who was sitting next to her bathtub - above which thin steam could be seen, suggesting that it had been filled with a hot water - turned to her as she entered, neutral expression on his face. After a second, he turned his head to the bathtub, then back at her. His lower lip pulled up, as if waiting for her opinion.
Finally, her brain had rebooted. She shook her head for good measure - and to make sure that Starfall was really there, that it wasn’t some hallucination - and facehoofed. “I severely underestimated just how insane you really are,” she half-exclaimed, half-groaned.
“Clearly,” Starfall agreed humorously.
She immediately snapped herself into glaring at him… but her glare was ruined by how fiercely she was blushing already and how nervous Starfall’s suggestion had made her. “A-are you s-seriously suggesting… t-that we take a bath together?! I-I… forget embarrassment, what about my parents!?”
Starfall began to open his mouth.
“If you say ‘I was hoping they’d get their own bath’, I’m going to hit you,” Starburst interrupted him, frowning at him angrily. “Hard.”
Starfall closed his mouth, but to her surprise he looked at her with annoyance. After a second, though, he rolled his eyes and said: “Okay, that does sound like something I would say.”
“You weren’t though?” Starburst asked, bewildered.
Now she wasn’t sure if he really hadn’t hit his head earlier…
“Well, even I can get serious from time to time… especially when you are involved, my Beloved Nemesis,” he replied, smiling at her seductively. His cheeks were slightly red though, too, betraying that despite coming up with this he was a bit embarrassed, too. “As for the bath… it’s just a suggestion. I thought we could take a nice, relaxing warm bath together. Maybe as a way to make it up to you for how I earlier invited myself into your family time instead of taking the opportunity to spend time alone with you.”
“... And the fact that my parents are just a floor below doesn’t alarm you at all?!” Starburst exclaimed after a second.
To her irritation, Starfall\s face brightened as he heard that. “So you don’t mind the bath idea alone?”
Her eyes widened. Did she? “I, um, w-well um…” she stammered, unsure how she felt about it.
It was… she would have lied if she said that she wouldn’t have liked that. Starburst really enjoyed how affectionate Starfall was towards her, and she also liked to display her affection towards him in turn. She loved kissing him, and making out… and him, too, of course. Displaying their feelings through physical acts like those were quite pleasant, and far more enjoyable that she’d have thought before meeting Starfall. However, taking a bath together… it seemed to her that it would be more intimate than what they had done up to now.
I mean, sure, the bathtub is big enough for us to use it without, um, anything touching, she thought, feeling as hot as if she had already jumped into the warm bath Starfall had prepared. And it does seem like it would… fun, maybe we could make out a little…
Feeling the blush on her muzzle grow even hotter, she fought of those thoughts and focused on a more practical aspect of this idea for now. “Star, my parents are in the house! For crying out loud, they are waiting for us to join them! Which part of this seems like a good idea to you?!”
“The part where you recall how good of a trixter I am?” Starfall replied, smirking. However, he then added, his smugness disappearing: “Also the part where we hurry this up, I think it would be weird if we took longer than… half an hour?”
Starburst sighed in annoyance. “Star, we are not taking a bath together with my parents here!”
They were taking a bath together.
“How do you keep talking me into stuff?” Starburst asked, a little bit annoyed, as she wriggled against Starfall’s side to make herself more comfortable, then placed her head on his shoulder. “This is so crazy…”
A shudder had went through her as water touched the not-submerged yet part of her (her head to be specific) when she shifted her position. Despite the bath being prepared by Starfall a good few minutes before they went into it (the delay that happened mostly due to their short argument), it was still very hot. Starburst didn’t take such baths too often; usually only after very hard training, when she’d feel really tired and would need to relax. And of course, never before she had taken such bath with somepony else.
“Again, I left my water duplicate behind in that bathroom, so it will seem like I am still there,” Starfall said once again, replying to her, as he nuzzled his head against hers gently. A different kind of shudder went through her body. “Not to mention that nopony would expect we’d do this.”
He has a point there…
“Besides,” he added; Starburst cranked her head to check his face and saw that he was grinning, “doesn’t the risk of being discovered make this more exciting?”
Starburst blushed as she looked into his red eyes. She didn’t want to admit it, but now that she thought about it, it was exciting. “W-well, maybe… starting to understand why you’ve spend the last few years living the way you had,” she added, half-frowning and half-smirking at her coltfriend. “If risks excite you I mean.”
“Meh, that life had its charms, but I prefer this one,” Starfall replied, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek and causing another shudder go through her coat. “But back to the topic; you are complaining about me talking you into stuff?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do you remember how you asked me to sleep with you after I asked you out?”
“That was different, you didn’t have a place to sleep,” Starburst defended herself, although she did smile hearing the remark, recalling that night. “Still don’t, actually.”
“Okay, then how about you talk me into family dinners and camping trips? Or the whole thing with education…”
“I think you are confusing me with either Princess Celestia or my mom right now,” she replied, rolling her eyes.
Starfall turned to look at her, surprise in his eyes. “Wow, that would make this situation really awkward.”
It took Starburst a good three seconds to understand what he meant. When she did, she snorted with laughter; the thought of Starfall taking a bath with either her mom or Auntie Celestia instead of her by some cosmic-level of confusion was just… insane.
“That would be awkward indeed,” she told him, shaking her head as she calmed down. “Actually, more like mentally scarring, all things considering,” she added in an afterthought.
“True,” Starfall agreed. “But I did get to relax a bit, didn’t I?”
Starburst frowned; he was right, she was a bit more relaxed now, the conversation making her forget that they were in a situation where things could get touched. However, what bothered her now was that Starfall had noticed that she wasn’t comfortable.
“Sorry,” she apologised, feeling stupid; this was a nice, pleasant moment, and she trusted Starfall to not do… anything, and they’ve done a lot of making out before that, and yet she was having some issues. “Guess I’m a little… um, skittish? Or something,” she murmured, looking away in embarrassment.
Her ear perked as she heard Starfall chuckle. “Guess that means I should step-up my ‘make your marefriend’ relax game, huh? Good thing I know how…” he trailed off, lowering his voice to an amlost evil-sounding whisper.
“Star, what are you…” Starburst began to ask, slightly worried, but then her words turned into a groan as she felt Starfall’s mouth engulf her ear, his fangs scratching behind in just the right way.
Her groans quickly turned into moans as pleasure shot through her. All her tension left her, her body surrendering to Starfall’s ministrations. He had moved his foreleg underneath and around her to bring his hoof against her other ear and began to scratch it too, while his other forehoof he placed on her chest, brushing her fur sensually. Starburst stretched out her limbs (as best as she could in a bathtub with another pony), completely lost in the wonderful feeling, so much that she barely even noticed that she had stuck her wing out of the bathtub and water was now leaking from her wet feathers on the bathroom floor.
“Oooh…” she groaned, the last vestiges of her mind that didn’t surrender burning with annoyance at how easy it was for him to turn her into moaning mess of wet fur and feathers. “I bucking hate yoooouu…”
A slow chuckle escaped Starfall. “No you do-” he began to reply, but to do so had caused him to release her ear, and while he continued to scratch behind the other one with his forehoof, it wasn’t as nearly as good as when he did it with his fangs, plus he lost his concentration on that task while replying anyway.
It would be his downfall.
Being given enough of a break to recover, Starburst quickly spun around, landing with her chest on Starfall’s so that now they were facing each other. She reveled in the sight of surprise in her coltfriend’s eyes for a brief moment, then leaned in and pressed her lips against his, kissing him. Her wings, previous only half-unfolded due to the overall body relaxation that she had experienced, now completely unfolded, helping her support herself against the bathtub’s edges. Now they were both hanging outside the bathtub, dripping more water on the floor. But Starburst didn’t care, all she cared about was her coltfriend’s lips and mouth, his tongue, his chest on which she laid on, her hoof she put to the side of his head, his forehooves that she could feel brushing her back, his-
Despite being in a bathtub full of hot water, Starburst still felt a cold shiver go down her spine, immediately snapping her out of her trance. She pulled back her head, breaking the kiss, and stared down with wide eyes, realization what had happened dawning upon her. As she had wriggled against Starfall in pleasure, her foreleg had brushed, briefly, against… something.
“Um… “ she mumbled, her cheeks burning way more hotter than the water, as she tried to come up with a thing to say. All the while her coltfriend laid underneath her, looking up at her with confusion, a slight blush on his face as well. “I- um… sorry,” she finally said quietly.
“You don’t have to apologise,” he replied, chuckling sheepishly.
“I know, just… didn’t mean to… y-you know, touch you there,” Starburst explained, stammering, as she slowly pulled off Starfall.
Starfall frowned a little as she moved away practically to the other end of the bathtub, but then he sighed, his ears dropping. “Maybe this bath was a bad idea…”
“No, Star, it wasn’t a bad idea, but-” Starburst began to explain (not really sure how she was going to do that), but Starfall stopped.
“Star, tell me something,” he began, looking into her eyes with unusual for him seriousness. “Are you just awkward because of what you did - however small that was-”
So glad Annie didn’t hear that, a quiet voice said in Starburst head, she’d have a field day…
“- or was that about what I had been through?” Starfall finished, crossing his forelegs on his chest.
Starburst stared at him, surprised. Was it? she wondered, unsure herself.
“This had happened to you a few times before, apologizing after you had done something a bit more forward,” Starfall added.
“I…” Starburst began to reply, but realized that she didn’t have an answer to give him. “I don’t know. I think… both?” Starfall sighed again, but he didn’t stop her from continuing. “I-I mean, look, I am mostly embarrassed, because, well, I didn’t mean to… touch you there, and we hadn’t done anything of that sort despite all our… making out sessions. But also… w-well, you-”
A hoof pressed to her lips stopped her from speaking further, about what Starfall had been through and how horrible it was. Starburst looked at Starfall and found him smiling at her warmly.
“Star,” he said, his loving eyes burning into her, “you could never hurt me. Yes, what I had been through was horrible, but whatever you and I would have in terms of physical contact would be nothing like that. So please don’t let it bother you anymore, okay?” Starfall finished, moving his hoof from her lips to her cheeks.
“I’ll… I’ll try,” Starburst promised, feeling as she was melting against his hoof, especially after hearing how convinced he was that she could never hurt him. “But I’ll still get embarrassed!” she added, poking him in the shoulder and pretending to frown.
“That’s fair,” Starfall replied, chuckling, as he took his hoof away. “Sorry if my idea made you uncomfortable; I was going more for the ‘romantic’ thing,” he added, a bit sheepishly.
“Well, it is,” she admitted, giggling nervously. “Sorry I kinda ruined the moment.”
“Stop apologizing,” he countered, sticking his tongue out playfully. “Now turn around,” he added, lifting his forehoof and making a circular motion with it.
“Um, why?” Starburst asked, taken by surprise by the strange request… especially since the memory of what they’ve talked about was really fresh in her mind.
But Starfall was already grabbing a shower gel, soap, and a shampoo in reply with his magic. “So I can help you wash your back? ‘Cause we need to actually get cleaned here?” he asked, pretending to be surprised. He then raised an eyebrow and smirked. “What were you thinking?”
“Oh shut up,” she told him, rolling her eyes, as she turned around with her back to him while he applied the shower gel on his forehooves.
Starburst gasped and shuddered as Starfall spread the cold gel on her shoulders and further down her back. She quickly recovered and began to wash her front, although she found it difficult to focus, as what her coltfriend was doing to her back felt more like a massage rather than washing.
“So since we already… ugh, touched that subject,” she began to say after a few seconds of silence, “have you… um… been thinking about us becoming… you know, intimate?” she finished, her face somehow finding a way to feel even more hot than before.
She glanced at him with annoyance as she heard him chuckle. “Wow, you’re really uncomfortable about just saying se-”
Starburst nudged him to interrupt him, then deadpanned at him. “Only when I am in a bath with a colt,” she said.
Starfall raised an eyebrow, smirking.
“Yeah, I hear how ridiculous that sounded,” she admitted, rolling her eyes.
Her coltfriend chuckled again, his hooves now working on her wings, making sure her feathers were getting clean. “Would there even be a way for me to reply to such a question affirmatively without it sounding creepy, considering the current situation?” he asked instead of replying.
“More like embarrassing than creepy,” Starburst corrected him, glancing at him curiously. “Does that mean that you… have been thinking?”
Starfall didn’t reply at once, not until he was done with her wings. At first Starburst assumed that he was focusing on that task, as she hadn’t thought that answering her would be difficult for Starfall. True, those matters were about the only thing that he could get embarrassed about, but he was completely open with her, so she expected him to just say either “yes” or “no”. However, when she glanced at him after several moments, Starburst saw his brow furrowing in deep pondering.
His serious consideration of her question was so bizarre that Starburst almost felt dread at that sight.
“How should I say this…” Starfall finally began to say. “A part of me does think about it… but at the same time, another part of myself doesn’t… like to.” Starburst raised an eyebrow, confused by his reply. Starfall noticed that and explained further, looking into her eyes. “I sometimes, when we’re close and I can bathe in your scent, have those… urges,” he said, grimacing as if he didn’t like that word.
Starburst, surprised to hear him speak like that - and about things like those at that - barely even noticed that his forehooves had left her back and began to brush her chest.
“Urges like holding you close, kissing and licking you... or pinning you down and biting your mane…” he added as his hooves moved sensually across her chest.
Starburst felt a strange shiver go down her spine, but she couldn’t decide if it was a “bad shiver”; she enjoyed the attention her chest was receiving, of course, and also a part of her mind found his words to be a little bit… exciting.
She referred to that part of her mind as “her inner Annie”.
However, before Starburst could address this, Starfall stopped caressing her, his hooves instead embracing her. He pressed his chest against her back, placing his head on her shoulder as he hugged her.
“I don’t like having those thoughts,” Starfall confessed, his voice sounding almost dejected. “I don’t know if it’s just teenage colt hormones acting up, or… something I picked up,” he added, shuddering. Starburst almost shuddered, too, knowing what he was referring to. His hug tightened as he whispered “I would never want to hurt you.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” Starburst quickly assured him, putting a hoof on his forelegs on her chest and brushed against his cheek. “And I know you won’t. Seriously, you’ve just told me that whatever we’d have from those things would be nothing like what you’ve been through, what, five minutes ago?” she added, pulling her head back slightly so she could stare at him with one eyebrow raised.
“Yeah, well,” Starfall countered, releasing her from his hug and pulling away, “I’m allowed to have those fears,” he said, smirking.
But Starburst wouldn’t let him get away that easily. She turned around and moved closer to him through the water, her forelegs embracing him around his scarred back, their chests touching and muzzles inches apart.
“Star, I mean it, you would never hurt me. If not for you being such a sweet goof deep down, then for me kicking your ass if you’d try anything funny,” she added, smirking.
Starfall snorted with amusement. “Yeah, can’t argue with that one.”
“Don’t let that bother you, okay?” Starburst continued, growing serious again. “You are a wonderful coltfriend, and I love how, um… affectionate you are,” she admitted, her blush returning. “You really make me feel great and comfortable around you. So don’t worry about what I am pretty sure are just teen colt’s hormones,” she told him, rolling her eyes. “Heck, even I sometimes get… um, you know, urges,” Starburst added quietly, looking away in embarrassment.
And apparently I justify their existence by calling them my “inner Annie’s” ideas.
A rumble of amused purr rose in Starfall’s chest, sending vibrations through Starburst. “Oh, you do, huh?” he asked, his muzzle sliding past hers and kissing her on the neck.
Starburst wanted to sigh, but due to the treatment she was receiving, it came out more like a moan. “I just stroked your ego, didn’t I?” she asked, hoping she had retained some dignity.
Starburst ignored her inner Annie telling her what else could she stroke.
“Only a little,” Starfall replied, chuckling. He kissed her on the cheek and pulled away, so that they could look each other in the eyes. “Tell you what; you decide if we’re ready to take our relationship further. I’ll be fine waiting until then.”
“R-really?” Starburst asked, a little surprised. “You’d be okay with me deciding on that?”
“More than okay, Lil’Lioness; I would be relieved,” Starfall confessed. Starburst frowned a little, figuring out that he was still worried about having ‘urges’, but her annoyance quickly dispersed as Starfall nuzzled her cheek. “Besides, I do not mind in the slightest for you to wear the horseshoes in this relationship.”
If Starburst wasn’t so engrossed in the moment, perhaps she would have pointed out that neither of them wear those.
“If there is anything particular I’d want, it’s to make you happy,” Starfall continued, planting a kiss on her neck as he looked her in the eyes. “So you can choose when you’d want us to become intimate. Just give me a little heads-up,” he added, winking. “I’d like to… prepare.”
“Um… sure…” Starburst stammered, a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of her being in total control of their relationship. “‘Prepare’?” she asked, feeling oddly curious as to what he could mean.
A warm purr emerged from Starfall. “Well, there is this thing called ‘mentally preparing’.” Starburst cursed at herself; of course he too would have to be mentally ready for such a thing. However, before she could get embarrassed for not thinking of that, Starfall had resumed “But also… I’d like to continue this tradition. Of amazing first times,” he explained as Starburst shot him a confused look. “Remember our first date, when I took you to a secluded island? I was thinking of doing something amazing for every first time of ours,” he confessed, blushing a little despite his smirk.
“S-something amazing?” Starburst mumbled, more than a little overwhelmed at the thought. She’d have thought that just ‘taking the next step’ would be amazing enough. (And probably awkward. And embarrassing. Possibly a little confusing.) “W-what… just what the heck are you planning?”
Starfall didn’t reply immediately, instead he pulled his head back, so that their noses were touching, and stared deeply into her eyes. Starburst felt as if she was being pulled by his gaze, and after a few seconds she was about to lean closer and kiss him, but just then her coltfriend very quickly licked her on the nose.
As she blinked, stunned, Starfall grinned at her. “Not telling.”
That sight helped Starburst recover. “Fine,” she said, frowning, “I’ll trust you with this… more importantly though,” she began, eager to change the subject and push those confusing thoughts away, “you know you should want other things in life than just making me happy?” she asked him, raising her eyebrow in concern. “I mean, I’m really touched you’d want that and all, but-”
A hoof pressed against her lips stopped her (again). Starfall smiled at her warmly and said “I had nothing before meeting you. Now I feel like I have everything. And it is all thanks to you. I will probably develop some interests eventually,” he added quickly, shrugging; Starburst had a suspicion that he said that just so that she would drop the issue. “But for foreseeable future, I am content focusing on you, my Beloved Nemesis.”
Starburst briefly considered mentioning what she had overheard yesterday, about what he told Illusion and Claire about him not pursuing a career as a stage magician out of concern for her reputation. It seemed like a perfect moment to do so. However, a pleasant shudder went through her coat as he said that nickname, and found herself unable to do so now, now while they were talking about their relationship while having a bath.
However, there was one thing that she wanted to make clear.
“Okay, but there is one more thing we need to talk about,” she told Starfall, growing serious again. “What you said, about me ‘wearing the horseshoes’ in this relationship… I don’t want that. I want us to be equals, partners,” she explained, blushing.
Starfall looked at her, blinking in surprise, before nodding and smirking. “If that’s what you wish.”
Starburst nodded with satisfaction. “Yes, that’s what I… wish- hey!” she exclaimed, frowning as she realized what Starfall had just done.
But her coltfriend was already chuckling and nuzzling her apologetically. “Sorry, couldn’t help myself. I love that that’s what you want… although, you do know you’re kinda bossy, right?”
“I’m not-” Starburst began to defend herself, frowning, but then hesitated. Wasn’t she? She thought back to yesterday how she ordered him to erase that mural he had made, and other cases. It’s not being bossy, it’s having common sense when your coltfriend does not! a part of her argued. Still, she had to admit he had a point. “Okay, maybe I am… a little,” Starburst said reluctantly.
“One of the little things that make you the wonderful pony I love,” Starfall replied, making her smile. “Sorry if I’ll seem… submissive at times,” he added, his ears dropping. “I just… don’t wanna upset you.”
Starburst sighed, not knowing what to say to that. After all, he could sometimes upset her, as demonstrated yesterday with that mural thing. All she could think of was to kiss his cheek and tell him “Don’t worry about it, okay? We’ll figure everything out. I want this to work,” she added, blushing.
Starfall blushed to, then smiled and kissed her back on the cheek. “Thanks, Lil’Lioness. Now close your eyes,” he added unexpectedly with a smirk, his horn glowing.
“What-” Starburst managed to ask before water fell on her head, soaking her mane.
She shook and brushed water and wet hair out of her eyes, then glared at her coltfriend. “I did tell you to close your eyes,” he said innocently, a bottle of shampoo held by his magic next to him.
“I really hate you sometimes,” she remarked with a huff as she turned around, so that her back was facing Starfall.
“No you don’t,” Starfall replied playfully as he poured a hoof-full of shampoo on her mane and began to wash it.
He was right, of course, but Starburst didn’t want to let go of her annoyance quite yet. “Didn’t you say something about not wanting to upset me and being submissive about a second ago?” she asked as his hooves brushed her short mane.
“I dare say that I have learned when I can allow myself to be more bold with you,” Starfall replied, chuckling. “And that I am not upsetting you by being playful.”
Starburst rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky that you’re right. And cute,” she added, blushing slightly blushing.
“I’m lucky that I met you,” Starfall countered, leaning closer to kiss her on the cheek. “Close your eyes again.”
This time Starburst did as he asked, so this time when he poured water over her head, rinsing her mane, she didn’t get anything into her eyes. She waited until he finished, then shook her head in an effort to dry her mane.
“Alright, thanks,” she said, turning around. “Now turn around, I’m gonna do you.”
Starfall blinked, then smirked. “Wow, your friend would enjoy hearing that one.”
Starburst realized what she had said and how it could be interpreted after hearing her coltfriend comment. However, instead of being embarrassed about it, she merely rolled her eyes. “Annie would have to be here to hear that, and I’m pretty sure we’d have already given her enough to talk about by now.”
“True,” Starfall replied with amusement as he turned around.
“On the related note, if you’d ever invite Annie to watch us bathe, I’m dumping you,” she added, grabbing the shower gel bottle.
“Why the heck would I ever invite her?” Starfall asked, looking back with mocked horror. “You know she creeps me out!”
Starburst chuckled, quickly joined by Starfall, then proceeded to wash his back. It dawned on her that the water around them had started to turn cold; they’ve been here way too long. Soon her parents could get suspicious.
However, as she began to rub Starfall’s back, she paused. Her hoof traced along one of his scars. “Do they hurt you sometimes?” she asked, wondering if she should be careful while washing his back.
Starfall hesitated before answering. “Sometimes,” he admitted, clearly reluctantly. He glanced back at her and quickly smiled. “It’s not as bad as it sounds, honestly.”
Starburst nodded, figuring that she would have noticed earlier if they’d bother him. Still, it didn’t make her wish she could have kicked the face of the bastard who had done this to him any less.
“You know,” she began as she began to wash his back, “I actually always liked scars…”
Starfall chuckled. “Really?” he asked, glancing back.
“Yes… I mean, I always thought they look cool on ponies, like they’ve been in great battles and such. But yours…” she paused, frowning. “To be honest, they kinda make me regret ever thinking that-”
“They’ll definitely will if you continue to think only about how I got them,” Starfall told her, not unkindly. Starburst looked into his eyes and saw understanding in them. “Instead, you could try to focus more about how amazing I am for withstanding all of that,” he added, grinning.
Rolling her eyes, Starburst found that she couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Sure, you’re awesome,” she said, resuming her task.
“I know, thanks for noticing,” Starfall countered, sticking his tongue out.
“Shut up and wash your front,” Starburst told him, pushing his cheek gently to turn his head back forward.
Together, they quickly washed his body, then similarly began to wash his mane. However, due to its length, it took a bit longer than doing hers had.
“Why do you keep your mane this long anyway?” Starburst asked after a while, curious.
“Better suits magicians,” he replied, shrugging. “Make me seem more mystical and stuff.”
Starburst nodded absentmindedly - as she had asked that question mostly to keep up their conversation - when a thought hit her. “You seem to care a lot about being a magician, huh? At least as far as appearances and demeanor are concerned,” she added carefully.
This was a perfect opportunity to approach the subject of his magical performances. After all they’ve talked during the bath, she really didn’t feel like just coming out and saying “I overheard you talking about something you didn’t want me to know about”. It sounded too much like eavesdropping to her, and plus, she didn’t want to seem bossy by discussing it. As such, she had decided for a more careful approach since the chance had presented itself.
“Well, I was born and raised by a travelling performer,” Starfall pointed out, replying to her question. “It’s only natural that had acquired certain… mannerisms?” he tried, unsure of what word would sound best.
“Okay, but have you ever-” Starburst began, only to stop abruptly as somepony’s voice cut her off.
“Star?”
It was her mother’s voice. And it was coming from her room.
Both Starburst and Starfall turned sharply toward the bathroom’s doors, right at the moment when an aura of lavender-colored magic had enveloped the handle. Realizing that this meant that her mother, the alicorn Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle was about to enter and see her teenage daughter in a bath with her coltfriend, Starburst panicked. Without a second thought, she grabbed Starfall’s head and shoved it underwater.
Barely a second later, her mother entered the bathroom. “Star?” she asked, looking at her with confusion.
“H-hey mom, what’s up?” Starburst asked, stuttering slightly, as she carefully moved her wings so that Starfall was completely obscured from view (all the bubbles they’ve made while using shampoo and shower gel had helped a lot, too) and hoping that it didn’t look suspicious. The next second, though, she realized that her mother just entered her bathroom. “Wait, what the- what are you doing here Mom?!” she demanded, frowning at her.
“Oh, sorry Star, I didn’t expect you’d be taking a bath…” her mother replied, at first looking at her with mild embarrassment, then with surprise and confusion. “Why exactly are you taking a bath?”
“I- I just felt like it,” she answered, forcing herself to not sound panicked. Starburst hoped that her slight perplexion would be interpreted by her mom as embarrassment on being walked in on while bathing, and not suspect an actual reason. “What, I can’t take a bath now?”
“Of course you can, I just would have thought that with Starfall here you would have wanted to hurry up.”
The said unicorn just widget beneath Starburst, reminding her that he was without an access to oxygen at the moment.
“Though then again, he is also taking a long time,” her mother added, slightly frowning. “Star, do you know if-”
“He, um, he mentioned that he might take a while,” Starburst immediately grabbed the explanation that her mother had just unwittingly given her. “Because, you know, he doesn’t get to use an actual shower too often. So I figured I would have the time to take a bath.”
Twilight blinked. “Uh-huh,” she slowly exclaimed. Her horn began to glow, and she turned her head to the side, in the direction where - as Starburst quickly realized - the bathroom where Starfall was supposed to be. “He’s still there…” she heard her mother mutter very quietly to herself as her face slightly relaxed.
Normally, Starburst would grow offended at what her mother just had implied to be thinking, but due to her coltfriend running out of oxygen (and her being totally right) she decided to pretend she hadn’t heard that.
“Was there anything you wanted Mom?” Starburst asked, hoping she would leave soon (Starfall had again twitched).
“Just checking if everything is alright. We’ll be eating dinner soon,” her mother explained as she began to backpedal, her magic grabbing the door again. “Sorry for walking in.”
“Knock next time Mom,” Starburst told her, frowning.
It was a bad move on her part, as it caused Twilight to stop and look at her with mixture of annoyance and unhappiness. “Oh Star, honestly, I’ve both seen and given you bath a hundred of times, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
She’s doing this now while my coltfriend is suffocating…
“You’re right, good point Mom, I’m sorry, I’ll be out in a moment,” Starburst quickly said, praying she didn’t detect panic in her voice.
Twilight looked at her with wide eyes, no doubt surprised that she had surrendered the argument and apologized so quickly. Mercifully, she was satisfied with her response. “Alright Star, we’ll be waiting for you. Get Starfall on your way back,” she added as she closed the door.
Starburst waited a few more seconds afterwards, to make sure her mother wouldn’t come back, then finally took her hooves off Starfall’s head. Her coltfriend, who had again resumed struggling a moment before, emerged, taking a deep breath and coughing.
“Sorry, she wouldn’t leave,” Starburst told him, looking at him with worry. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, been through worse,” he replied, waving with his hoof.
“My mom wanted to check on me ‘cause we were talking such a long time,” Starburst continued. “We’d better get going.”
“Sure, we were done anyway. But tell me one thing, Star,” he said, turning to her. Smirking, he asked: “You forgot that I can teleport, didn’t you?”
Starburst opened her mouth. “... S-shut up!” she said after a moment, punching his shoulder as he laughed.