"Seriously Shyshy, that's what you were most worried about?" Rainbow Dash was laughing boisterously in the hall in front of the pair's lockers. Her attention was directed inside the other girls locker. On the lower shelf of said locker was the slip of paper her actions the previous day had earned her. All other items had been moved from the shelf, as if in some attempt to keep it quarantined lest it somehow infect her school books.
Fluttershy was giving a serious, but no less cute pout at Rainbows reaction. They had been talking about the previous day. All conversation about the previous day had been collectively put off by the entire student body. Though it was true that nobody really believed Luna or any other member of the staff would go to such an extreme as she had laid out, it was also true that nobody wanted to be the one to test that theory. Thus, had the halls of the schools been covered with egg shells for the second half of the previous day, one would be sure that none would have been damaged while the students, and some staff, tiptoed around them.
For her part Fluttershy had been particularly concerned with her written warning, it being the first one she had ever received. Being that she too had been scared to utter even a single word after lunch the previous day, she had promptly began asking Rainbow Dash questions about this ominous slip of paper the moment she had arrived at their lockers.
"It's not funny Dashie," she said, still pouting. "What am I going to do? I've only ever been to the detention room to give you your homework, I've never been inside. What am I going to tell my parents."
"First of all, I wouldn't lead with the fact that you got it by making out with me repeatedly." Fluttershy's pout dropped somewhat as she turned away to hide a slight blush. "Second of all, don't even bother telling them."
"But Dashie!!! I got in trouble, how am I supposed to not tell my parents?"
Rainbow Dash reached into Fluttershy's locker and pulled out the offending slip, brandishing it at the girl for dramatic effect. "Shyshy, these things are basically a joke. You didn't get in trouble, you got one fifth of being in trouble. Because it takes five before you get one day of after school detention. And they expire after a month." She then looked at the slip in her hand. "Wait up. Why does yours say it expires after a week?" She gave her friend a suspicious stare that was met by a confused one. "Eh, must be a first timers thing," she said, giving it a flick towards its owner.
Said owner grabbed at it several times before finally catching it still midair. Gently she placed it back on its place of infamy. "So I don't have to go to detention? Or do that thing where I write something on a chalkboard over and over? Or..." She was cut off as Rainbows laughter started again.
"Trust me Shyshy, especially if it's you, you don't have anything to worry about." She flashed a cocky smile before adding, "unless you find random reasons to smooch me like you did four more times by Friday." Her laughter grew more at the sight of Fluttershy's face going bright red in an instant.
She looked into her own locker as her laughter died down. She noticed the pile of slips to which her latest one had been added. She smiled genuinely as she turned back to the girl she wished she could be dating for real. "I really appreciate what you did though." Her voice was lower and devoid of her usual bravado. "I really had lost track of how much trouble I've been letting myself get into. Laying that douchebag out would have been a five day final warning suspension. How did you know?"
Fluttershy looked down for a brief second before looking back up to Rainbow Dash and putting on her best attempt at a confident tone. "You might not care about how much you get yourself into trouble, but I do. I know you usually get off pretty easy because you defend me. But eventually it'll catch up to you, and then it'll be my fault that you got in real trouble. And then what would I do without you?" Fluttershy cut herself off abruptly realizing the territory she might be heading into.
Rainbow didn't notice it as she took to leaning against the lockers again. "Yeah, as much as he deserved a beating, that guy wasn't worth leaving you alone over." She gave a satisfied sigh. "Any word on what happened to him?"
Fluttershy shook her head slightly before continuing with a finger on her chin in thought. "Nothing official as far as I know, but there's lots of things being said. Rumors on the school forum are saying everything from suspension and expulsion, to Luna grinding him up into next week's sloppy joes."
Rainbow Dash gave a snort of laughter. "Really good thing we don't touch that slop with a ten foot pole then huh? Well good riddance to him either way."
Fluttershy gave her a look of mild disapproval. "That's not very nice Dashie."
"Oh my god Shyshy, you are way too nice." She said this while looking away and giving a casual scratch of her cheek to hide the blush on her face. "Even having sympathy for that guy. Honestly tell me, would you miss him if he never came back."
Fluttershy's look turned apprehensive. "Well, umm... I can't really say. That is, umm....."
This went on for a minute, the kind girl still unable to say something nasty even about the very nasty boy. Rainbow Dash closed her locker by way of showing Fluttershy she didn't really have to answer. Fluttershy hesitantly went back to going through her own. Rainbow shook her head with a small, genuine smile and a small scoff of a laugh. "You really are perfect aren't you."
"What?"
Rainbow Dash managed to turn away quickly to hide her wide, panicked eyes. She managed to get herself back under control quickly as she turned back. A casual, "what?" was her response.
"Did you say something?" Fluttershy asked, looking confused as she closed her own locker.
Rainbow Dash shook her head casually and gave a, "nope," resisting the urge to hold her breath.
"Oh, ok." Fluttershy seemed to brush it off without a thought.
'Holy frick Rainbow Dash!!!!! What the heck is wrong with you!!!???' Rainbow mentally berated herself at the slip. She normally kept her feelings for her oldest friend way in the back of her mind, only letting the little things that were easy to love about her out every once in a while. Being in this situation with Fluttershy was obviously making them harder to try to ignore. The walls she had put up long ago so she would not scare off her skittish friend with her feelings for her were only now showing how many cracks they had.
'Just because you want her doesn't mean you deserve her. If you crack now you're no different than all those people who have been hitting on her.' This was definitely getting harder then she thought it would. She had never thought she'd get to feel what it would be like for Fluttershy to pull her into a kiss. Even in the occasional fantasy she'd allow herself it was always her who would have to initiate any... physical show of their feelings.
"Why did you do it?" Rainbows eyes went wide again. That one was out loud too. And Fluttershy had clearly heard her that time.
"Do what?" Fluttershy asked with a caring look.
'Dang it!!!' There was no way she was going to be able to play this one off. She desperately wanted to turn the conversation to safer subjects, but there was only one thing that made sense for her to be asking right now. And it was something she desperately wanted an answer to as well. She steeled herself before continuing.
"Why... did you kiss me like that?" She gave a casual smile and a quick chuckle of laughter as she went on to try to mask her worry. "I mean really, it was pretty bold. Not exactly a Fluttershy thing to do."
Fluttershy blushed again and looked down to her backpack at her feet. That much Rainbow had been anticipating. What the shy girl said next she was not.
"I know. But I really wanted to help you, the way you always help me. But I couldn't think of any way to do it. So I tried to think of how you'd help me." She looked up to give Rainbow Dash a smile, one Rainbow had to force herself really hard not to see as flirtatious in her current state. "Kissing me worked for you, so I thought it... it might work for me."
The laugh that followed was genuine as Rainbow Dashes slip up seemed to be forgotten. "Jeez Shyshy. Your parents were right, I really am a bad influence on you."
At that moment Rainbow saw a very rare sight. Most probably wouldn't be able to identify what they were seeing, but Rainbow knew Fluttershy well enough to be able to tell. Fluttershy was giving her a devious smile. "I'm not so sure Dashie, maybe I'm the one who's a bad influence on you."
Though Rainbow was always proud whenever Fluttershy found her confidence, that didn't mean she wouldn't challenge it. She leaned forward to be eye to eye with her slightly shorter friend and flashed her a challenging smile. "And how do you figure that, miss kindness incarnate?"
Feeling a level of confidence that was amazing even to her, Fluttershy leaned forward to match Dash's smile leaving their noses just inches apart. "I'll admit I did react way worse than you did. But it doesn't seem very Rainbow Dash like to freeze up like that just from one little kiss." She went as far as fluttering her eyelashes at her pretend girlfriend. Outwardly she was just having the kind of moment with Rainbow Dash they'd normally only be able to have in private. Inside Fluttershy was freaking out as she struggled with her brain screaming at her to stop and her heart begging her to go further. Though it was mild, she was openly flirting with Rainbow Dash in public.
It was a good thing Rainbow Dash was so proud of Fluttershy standing up to her in public, otherwise there would be no way for her to keep a blush from igniting her whole face. She was furiously arguing with her own good sense that there was absolutely no way Fluttershy was really flirting with her, no matter how much wanting it to be true made it seem so much like it was. She managed to maintain her cocky smile as she responded in a casual tone. "Oh who knows why that happened, maybe I was just floored by how good a kisser you are." Rainbow saw Fluttershy's usual timidness try to break through briefly, but impressively she seemed to manage to maintain.
Fluttershy had to physically restrain herself, pulling back just the slightest bit and hoping against hope Rainbow Dash didn't notice it and see it for what it was. Fluttershy was way out of her comfort zone right now. Occasionally she could muster the slightest confident retort to Rainbows good natured teasing, but only ever when they were alone. Rainbow had said it was good for her, helped her work on her confidence. Fluttershy had always seen it as a way of letting her affections for Rainbow Dash out just the slightest bit so that they wouldn't consume her. But she was starting to realize that letting them out might make them consume her too, and possibly even more quickly. She wasn't even sure what she had caught coming to her lips. Words better left unspoken or an action she'd regret, but it had been there.
'Focus Fluttershy. You had one thing you wanted today and this might be the best and only time to do it. Just remember that if you get this, that will be enough. It WILL be enough!
"Well then, maybe you'd like to do it more often."
Both girls pulled away, nearly matching looks of shock on their faces.
'Holy frick, what was that!?!? Holy frick, what was that?!?! Holy frick, what was that??!!??!!' Rainbows mind raced, but luckily the shock kept her from saying or doing something that would really scare Fluttershy away.
'Oh my gosh, that was way too much!!! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!!! Fluttershy's usual level of confidence had returned very quickly, and it was now up to the linguistic skills of that side of her to try to fix what she'd just done. "Rainbow, I mean Dashie, I mean...I didn't, I mean that came... I don't know what..."
Much more natural instincts came over Rainbow Dash at that moment. Fluttershy was moments away from a full on panic attack, so Rainbow did what she always did in that moment. Quickly, firmly, but gently, Rainbow embraced her oldest friend. One arm went around her back, pulling her in close so she could feel her breathing. The other went behind her head, pressing it down against her shoulder ensuring she could see and hear little else but her and her words. "Shhhh, shhhh, shhhh. It's ok shy, I'm right here, I got you." The weight of the potential implications of what Fluttershy had said meant little as she fell into this practiced routine.
Far quicker then it usually took in this sort of situation, Rainbow felt Fluttershy's breathing slow and her body pull away.
"I'm sorry Dashie... That umm, didn't exactly come out right."
Rainbow figured there was no reason to hide her own blush at that moment. She was glad the occupants of the lockers directly around them had already concluded their business and been on their way, everyone seemed to be giving them their space this morning. But the halls were still filling up as the start of the school day drew near. Several students definitely seemed sold on the couples authenticity from the sly looks they seemed to be getting at that moment. Rainbow also noticed looks of mild to moderate anger, the owners of which being added to her mental checklist for later.
"Yeah, I kinda figured. Don't worry, I still know this is all fake." She said it low, both to keep others from hearing and because saying it seemed to make her chest tighten.
Fluttershy was somewhat glad that embarrassment was still dominating her features. She needed that reminder, but it still hurt to hear. "Y.. Yeah. Umm it.. It was just that I was...I was thinking yesterday that umm.... That, that seemed to be the thing that was working the best." Fluttershy did not look to Rainbow, but she could still feel her eyes on her, pressing her to be more clear. "K... Kissing I mean."
They had separated at this point, but they each leaned against their respective locker facing each other, so the space between them was still minimal. "Yeah, I guess it's been working to throw people off. What are you suggesting?"
"I was just thinking that, it would actually make us look like a real couple... if we kissed, you know, like regular couples do."
Rainbow had calmed considerably, but that still sent off conflicting arguments in her head. She wanted to read more into it, but knew the truth. But she could still allow herself to enjoy this a little more, so hopefully she could be satisfied and lock this away for good once this was over.
"Well, if you think you can avoid getting into trouble over it," she flashed a cocky smile with no substance behind it, "then I guess I could manage that. I mean, it still doesn't count if we don't mean it right?"
'Suppress cringe.'
'Suppress tears.'
"Yeah, we can still give our first real kisses to someone someday." Fluttershy hoped her smile seemed pleasant, because it felt hollow.
Both girls jumped slightly and looked up to the bell ringing not a great distance from their lockers. They then blushed slightly as they turned back to each other.
"Well I guess that means..." Rainbow was managing to keep herself facing the other girl, but her eyes were as far turned away as she could manage.
"Yeah... I mean, I guess..." Fluttershy was focusing on the floor, eyes darting up very quickly to see what Rainbow dash was doing.
They inched forward slowly, gazes slowly becoming more directed on their targets.
The smallest sound was made between them as their lips met. They were probably the only ones who noticed. And yet despite being brief and nowhere near as intense as either other time they had tried, this one seemed much different. Without any other reason to kiss the other, it just felt....
"See ya later Shyshy." Rainbows natural cocky smile had returned as she looked down to the girl she wanted so much to kiss again.
"Yeah, see you soon Dashie." Fluttershy smiled shyly as she looked away with her hands tightly folded against herself.
....Right.
Both girls picked up their bags and turned in opposite directions.
'It's not supposed to feel right Dash. Stop feeling like you could give her all the tender love she deserves.' And yet it still felt....
'It's not right Fluttershy. You already drag Rainbow down enough, don't pretend like this wouldn't just make it worse.' And yet it still felt....
.... Right
Both girls looked back as they walked. Both stopped as they awkwardly realized the other noticed them look. An awkward smile and wave passed between them, and they both rounded corners to their first classes.