When the police arrived, they were ready to arrest both myself and the Diamond Dogs, but Rarity quickly explained the situation. I showed the officers who I was, which caused them some level of embarrassment. I took the time to explain that having a badge doesn't give you a pass to be a racist. I explained how not all drakebloods are criminals, or things of that nature. They offered assistance for my wound, but I brushed them off, telling them it was just a flesh wound and that they shouldn't worry. They took the Diamond Dogs and left as quickly as they had arrived. Rarity looked at me with the same compassion in her eyes that drove her to such extreme lengths for her customers. I could've lost myself in those eyes forever, but that was a chapter in my life I closed the book on long ago. I'm sure she's happy with Applejack, as far as I know. The day I found them together, that had been final. Snapping fingers brought me out of my stupor. "Darling, I said are you alright?" Rarity apparently reiterated.
"Sorry Mrs. Belle, I was...lost in thought. Thinking about a previous situation similar to this one." Lying jackass. "I'll be fine, but I don't think I can salvage either my coat or shirt." I concluded with a smile.
"Honey, there's no need to lie to me. Rover was very lucky when he stabbed you, he could've nicked some vital areas. I don't want you to lose scales over this so, show me." Rarity demanded. If there's one thing I love-used to love about her, it's that she's not afraid of demanding what she wants.
I sighed and shrugged off my jacket, loosened my tie, and took off shirt, allowing to take a look at the bleeding stab wound. "You don't have to do this, I'll just go into the walk-in clinic later."
"How did you know that Ponyville has a walk-in clinic?" Rarity asked.
"I got a map of Ponyville from my hotel, made notes of the important places like the mayor's office, the police and fire stations, and the medical facilities." I stated, "I do it for any place that I go out of town for."
"Oh." Rarity said and looked closely at my wound, then she looked at the rest of my exposed body, "You have a lot scars."
I looked down, what she said wasn't untrue. My body was littered with scars from bullets, stabbings, and the occasional explosion. These are memories left behind from my more exciting adventures. "Yeah, that I do. I think it's better for me to take the pain rather than someone else."
"Regular knight in shining armor are you?" Rarity asked.
"Something like that." I answered her question. She was still inspecting the fresh wound, "If you're gonna keep staring then I'm gonna have to start charging you." I joked.
Rarity snapped her head up, "Sorry, I was checking to see if there were any pieces of the knife that had broken off. I have a very keen eye for detail."
"I don't doubt that, you're pretty famous Mrs. Belle." I said.
"Please, just call me Miss Belle, Mrs. Belle is my mother." Rarity said as she poured rubbing alcohol onto a cotton swab and began to clean my wound.
I had a sharp intake of my breath when she touched the cleaning agent to my wound. "I thought you would've been a Mrs." I noted.
"How exactly would you know that?" Rarity asked.
"The tan line on your right ring finger." I stated, "There must have been someone special in your life."
"There was...for a time, but it fell apart." Rarity stated as she begun to suture my dermis and epidermis. "It was only an engagement, we never got married."
"It was Ms. Apple wasn't it?" I asked, Rarity stopped.
"There's coincidental and then there's just plain psychic. How did you know that?" Rarity asked.
"It's the small things, you kept sneaking glances at each other. There's always a tension between you two, more than just a conflict of personal preference. More than just she's a city girl with big dreams and she's a rustic country girl with a down to earth attitude." I stated, "I feel like she wasn't the one who broke it off though."
"You're right." Rarity said, "However, I would prefer to continue this after you are sewn back up."
I shut my trap and let her get to work on sewing me back up. She did so with an expertise that I had never seen before, I say this because last time I checked she sewed clothing together, not people. I could feel every time the needle went in and out of my skin, bringing the two pieces of severed flesh back together. She finished with the stitches and then raised my arm and wrapped a gauze around my shoulder. She squeezed my bicep as she did, is she...feeling me up? I coughed and the squeezing stopped. I spotted a faint blush on her face and she finished wrapping up the wound. "Hopefully you'll want to continue talking. Otherwise I wouldn't want to waste either of our time, seeing as we're both very busy people."
"No, I'm willing to continue our conversation. If it will help with the investigation." Rarity said, "I just want to wash my hands and put these away first." She gestured to the medkit.
"I can wait." I said as I took my gun off the table and put it back in the holster. It was removed from my body when taking off my clothes, that much was obvious. I sat there, shirtless and waiting.
I heard the sink turn on and a few doors closing then Rarity came back down with a shirt, "Here." She said, "Something for you to wear while I fix your clothes."
It was one of my old purple dress shirts. "Did this belong to-?"
"Spike? Yes it did, the poor dear had a bad habit of leaving his clothes all over the place, well here he did. To be fair I did ask him to strip down and be a model for my more skinny mens clothing." Rarity said, "That boy was too damn good to me... I wish he was here so I could tell him."
I put my old shirt on, it was a more snug fit now. I reached over and pulled out my notepad, "What would you say to him?" I asked.
"I would tell him that he meant so much to me, that I was a blind and manipulative fool. That I had always felt guilty that he left, I feel like I was ultimately the reason why he left. I was always there for him but I was never there for him in the way that he was for me. Most of all I want to say I'm sorry." Rarity grasped the shirt that was draped over the chair behind me. She continued to speak as she retrieved a needle and two spools of thread from her workspace. "Is this silk?" She asked whilst feeling the material of my shirt.
I blushed a bit, "I like the way it feels on my skin."
Rarity chuckled a bit, "That sounds just like....Spike?"
Shit, did my ring fall off? I stole a quick glance to notice that my ring had stayed in it's position. I looked around a bit then a confused look crossed my face, "I'm sorry?" I questioned her.
"Oh dear, I'm sorry. Just for a moment there I thought you looked like Spike." Rarity started to laugh, "You must think I'm hysterical!"
"It's common to associate someone you don't know to someone you do. It happens a lot." Not really.
Rarity began to sew up my shirt. I always loved watching her work; She's so studious, graceful and even when she gets disorganized she always knew where everything was. I could watch her work for hours. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. This is going to be tough, I thought I had buried these feelings. And yet, like a vengeful revenant rising from the grave, they've returned, I want to take this ring off pull her close and kiss her, she's so beautiful. More gorgeous than 1,000 sunsets, someone who I want to take care of and hold and comfort her when things get bad. It would be worth it, but then there's that little voice in the back of my head that makes me question.
Would it be worth it?
That's what makes me question everything, 'cause I don't think I could come back. Not entirely, I remember long ago when I was a teenager that the girls and I were sucked into one of my comic books, they stood up for me. They said that I was just as much as their friend as anyone else, but then after that. It was back to business, back to the same old, same old. That's what sparked this feeling of inadequacy and a feeling of wanting to belong, and the need to leave, I may sound like a broken record at this point. In fact I know I do, however it still rings true. I know I talked to this with my mother, but no matter what I did. It never felt like it was enough to satisfy anyone. And after I saw Applejack kiss Rarity, I stopped thinking about satisfying everyone else and started to think about what made me satisfied, what made me happy and right now I'm very happy in my life. But I still know, I made a lot of people upset with the way I went about pursuing my own happiness.
There it was, the light bulb moment. If they are truly my friends, they'll be happy with whatever I decide to do with my life. I huffed a little, but not enough for Rarity to notice. Why did it take me this long to realize it? I kept watching her as she finished up with my shirt. She looked at me, "Is something wrong Mr. Drake?"
"No, nothing at all. In fact, I think everything will be okay." I smiled, "While we're at it, please call me Jack."
"Alright then, Jack." Rarity blushed a bit when saying my first name, however fake it was. I smiled then I got on with the 'questions'. I just asked a few things, like what was he like before he left and what, if anything, made him decide to leave. Rarity answered honestly, as I expected her to do. She then got to work on sewing my jacket back up as I put on my white shirt and tie, but as I was tying my tie Rarity got up from her chair. "No, darling, it should go like this." She started to tie it for me, "I used to do this for my father all the time before he started to wear those dreadful Haywaiian shirts. He never...could...get it...right..." Rarity trailed off as she looked up at me, staring into my eyes. "Why do you do it?"
"Why do you?" I turned her question against her.
"I just love to see people's faces light up with joy when I've made them something absolutely stunning. That's why I do what I do." Rarity answered, "Now spill it, why do this. It's dangerous."
"I've always been too curious for my own good, I've always needed to answer whatever questions I find myself asking. Putting my life on the line for those answers just...occurred to me." I answered her.
Rarity moved her hand up and caressed my cheek, for a moment. It was everything I've ever wanted I pressed my forehead against hers, "There's something about you. I just can't tell what it is." She whispered and closed her eyes.
I wish I could tell you. I looked at her, whispering back "I'm not going to do anything, but I'm not going to stop you."
Rarity closed her eyes bringing her lips to mine for a brief moment she tore them away as fast as she could. "I'm sorry! I can't."
"Why?" I asked her, "I'm not upset, I just want to know why."
"I may feel better but I know it's just a temporary fix, my heart lies with Spike, wherever he may be." Rarity admitted.
You have no idea how much that means to me, mon trésor. I smiled, "Well then," I straightened my tie, "If you don't mind. I'd like to place a rush order. I need to get to work."
Rarity took a deep breath, "I'll have it ready in just a minute Mr. Drake."
"Take all the time you need."