Ashwyn sat at the table, a piece of bacon crunching between her teeth. Glancing up, she saw the Alpha was taking a long drink from his mug, his eyes unfocused as he was seemingly lost in thought. The slightest frown crossed her face as she remembered the events of the previous night.
She had admitted her feelings to the Alpha, and though he had not rejected her, what he said did not exactly clue her in towards how he felt about it. ‘I can work with that.’ Was what the Alpha had said, and while it had made her happy in the moment, now it only left her in confusion.
What was the state of their relationship now? Was she his mate now, or was he simply saying that he could deal with the fact that she loved him? When she had stared into his eyes, she saw no sign of love in return. He had looked at her like normal. Sure there was something else there. A sparkle that she had tentatively labeled as interest, but with her track record for accurately guessing emotions, she didn’t trust that to be the case. A sigh escaped her as she realized what she would have to do.
She would just have to ask him.
Looking up once more, she could see that he was still thinking about something. Did she want to interrupt him? Maybe he was thinking about the same thing as her? She shook her head. She knew she was just delaying herself.
“Alpha?” It took a moment, but his gaze refocused and settled on Ashwyn.
“Yeah?” He looked at her with a raised brow.
“Hmm... “ She paused for a moment as she thought about how best to ask the question. “What… are we now?” In the back of her mind, she realized she had finally formed a full coherent sentence for once, but she was too focused on the Alpha to truly notice.
“That’s…” He frowned and scratched at his beard. “I’m going to be honest with you, Ash. I don’t love you.” Ashwyn’s breath hitched. She wanted to respond, but found that she couldn’t. Not that it mattered, as the Alpha continued on. “However, I think I could.” He sighed and took a sip of his coffee.
“I know I get irritated with you a lot, but I’ve really enjoyed having you around.” He told her, a small smile on his face. “I don’t know if you know this or not, but I’m not exactly from around here.” Ashwyn raised a brow, but didn’t speak. The Alpha noticed this, and looked down into his mug. “I’m an alien, Ash.”
That brought her mind to a halt. The Alpha was an alien? Sure she had never heard of his species before, but she just assumed he was part of a reclusive race. One that hardly ever left their lands. Many questions begged to be asked, but she held them back. The Alpha was not finished speaking, and she wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I’ve been her for maybe a month and a half now.” He sighed his small smile growing more somber as he spoke. “There’s no way for me to go home. No way to see my friends, or my family again.” His gaze lifted and met hers. “I was lonely. When I first arrived, I was becoming depressed. Then I got roped into the situation with you.” He told her, pointing his cup in her direction.
“You were a pain in the ass for the first week. Even more so after I brought you in, but…” He paused for a moment, “In a sense, you reminded me of home. Sometimes when I’d close my eyes, it was like I was back there. With all my friends waiting for the next mission. Then I’d open them up to find I was alone.” He gave her a warm smile. “With you around, I don’t feel so alone.”
“Maybe I’m just getting soft. Maybe this isn’t the best idea, but… I want to see if we can’t make this work. If we can make us work.” Ashwyn returned his smile. She still had many questions, but those could come later. This was not the time. For now, there was only one thing for her to say.
“I would like.”
~-~
Ashwyn had noticed that their daily routine hadn’t changed much. The only difference being that the Alpha would wrap an arm around her on occasion and hold her close. She had attempted to do something similar with her wing, but the awkward angle made it start to cramp. She just had to settle for being held, not that she minded.
Even during business hours, the Alpha would stay beside her. Normally he’d be standing and talking with the customers closer to the entrance, but now he had them come to the living room and sit down with them. She noticed that this had somehow made the customer’s happier and more relaxed. Perhaps because it felt more welcoming to sit down in the living room to discuss business?
Either way, didn’t pay too much attention. She was still the one noting down the transactions. Of course, it was still as boring as ever. However, with the Alpha so close to her, she didn’t mind it as much. She was still spending time with him. Perhaps not the most enjoyable ways to do so, but if the Alpha was going to keep her company, she was more than willing. Especially when he would occasionally scratch behind her ear.
The pony visitors had, at this point, gotten used to her presence. The fact that the Alpha would occasionally pet her only helped that fact.
She didn’t like the fact that they were watching her, but she would accept it. It made the customers more comfortable, and if the customers were comfortable, the Alpha’s job would be easier. That made it more than worth it in her eyes. All she had to do was ignore the stares.
~-~
Aurick laid down to sleep, Ashwyn snuggling in beside him. He looked down at the mare in his arms, a small smile on his face. He still wasn’t sure if he made the right choice. He may not love her, but he certainly had started to care about her. He didn’t want to hurt her if things didn’t work out between them. His thoughts faded as she looked up at him.
The mare’s eyes, like the rest of the ponies, were rather large. It was always said that the eyes were like a window to the soul, and it couldn’t be more true for these ponies. Within those eyes, he saw how she felt when she looked at him. Trust, comfort, happiness, and most of all, love.
“Night.” She said, smiling up at him. His eyes lowered to her lips. Should he give her a kiss? An act to solidify their new relationship? No. He couldn’t. Despite his knowledge of how false it was, his mind still rang alarms of beastiality. It would not be something that would go away in a day. It would be quite some time before he was capable of crossing that line. Instead, he did the next best thing.
He kissed her on the forehead. Despite the act lacking the intimacy he had desired to show, the mare flushed red. A fact that left a smirk on his face.
“G’night.” With that he pulled her close and closed his eyes.