//------------------------------//
// In Which No Real Work Gets Done 
// Story: Study-Cuddling with Sunset Shimmer 
// by CategoricalGrant 
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You knock at Sunset Shimmer’s door, albeit anxiously. You had let her head home to her house near the high school while you had taken care of some things there, but now there was no barrier of time or distance for you to hide behind.

The door swung open, revealing a radiant teen with fiery hair, wearing shorts and a loose-fitting shirt. “There you are!” she declares victoriously. “Come on in, let’s get started!”

Try as you might, you had no idea how you had wormed your way into Sunset Shimmer’s social circle. The last few months seemed like a blur to you. Still, despite the past, you were more than happy to be in such a position now. “Alright,” you oblige quietly, stepping through the threshold. 

The foyer of her home is, in effect, a long wooden hallway. You had been here a few times before, but only briefly. Now, you were meeting here. As you walk down the hallway as if in a dream, you can feel your heart beat harder and harder in your chest. You had liked Sunset Shimmer for years…And now she had invited you over to her house to study.

And her parents aren’t home.

Come to think of it, you had never seen her parents. Nor had she talked about them.

Did she even have parents?

“It’s so good to see you!” Sunset Shimmer gushes as she follows you deeper inside. “Thank you so much for agreeing to help me study for the history test! You know everything about it.”

You scratch the back of your head sheepishly. “Well, yeah, I guess.”

She meets your eyes with her sparkling turquoise irises and lets out a mocking chuckle. “Nothing to ‘guess’ about it,” she affirms. “Come on, let’s get started.” She leads you out of the hallway and under a small archway into a small side room. Inside is her computer, a green couch, and a glass tank housing her gecko, Ray.

She always loved to talk about Ray.

Sunset hopped onto the couch and sat down cross legged, hefting a book onto her lap. She pats the cushion next to her enticingly.

You take a seat next to her, keeping your hands clenched on your lap as Sunset relaxes and flips open her book. A thick silence sets in, and you can practically hear the blood coursing through your capillaries as you try to simultaneously remain respectful of her space and minimize your own awkward aura.

Sunset hums softly. “Hey, uh, what’s ‘Dollar Diplomacy’ again?” She looks up at you sheepishly, but her weak smile and the lines around her eyes tell you that she’s begging for a response.

Your heart soars as you hear those words. For the first time since seeing Sunset again, you knew exactly what to say! “Ah, that’s an easy one. Dollar Diplomacy was the Taft Administration’s strategy for dealing with issues in the Caribbean! It was focused around using capital investments- money, basically- to prop up governments and keep the Europeans out of the island countries’ affairs!”

Sunset Shimmer is undoubtedly a genius, but she’s also more of a math girl. Her brow perks up slightly as she tries to digest your words. “…Uh-huh…”

“Like, for instance, we refinanced the national debt of Haiti!” You lean toward her slightly and point at the nation on a convenient little map of the region in the textbook. “Just to make sure other countries didn’t step in and threaten our interests.” You painfully clear your throat, realizing how dorkily enthusiastic you sound.

“Oh, okay, I think I get it!” Sunset Shimmer sincerely smiles at you. “Thanks a ton.”

You feel your cheeks get hot but try to act normal. “You got it,” you answer, retorting with a smile of your own. Another silence sets in as Sunset continues to scan the chapter; this one feels much less awkward, and you allow yourself a moment to relax. 

Suddenly, you feel a sense of great unease. You immediately concentrate and immediately find the source; your shoulder is pressed against Sunset’s. You silently berate yourself- you must have moved closer to her when you leaned in to point at her book!

However, you think for another moment before moving away. Sunset Shimmer, after all, isn’t moving away on her own. Does she not feel it? Or…Is she okay with it? The thought seems so scandalous and far-fetched, you have trouble even considering it. Your mind grows hazy as you concentrate on the slight warmth and pressure on your left arm.

“Hey,” her voice sounds again. “I keep hearing about the Panama Canal; which one of these countries is Panama?”

You lean over and tap the map once more. “There- the skinny one.” Sucking in a breath, you retract your arm again, but lean into her shoulder with slightly more force.

“Got it!” she confirms. You can feel her lean back into you, but only just barely.

You sit with Sunset Shimmer for the next several minutes, savoring her touch and trying fruitlessly to work up the courage to do what you wanted to do.

Eventually, you throw caution to the wind, and wrap your arm around her. Instantly, Sunset leans into your torso and rests her head under your chin, still reading your book. 

Your whole body is flush with warmth and excitement as your crush snuggles up to you and asks increasingly disinterested history questions. Slowly, she leans more and more into you, and soon you find yourself in an uncomfortable, oblique position.

“Oh, screw it,” she huffs, closing her history book and tossing it down on the floor, causing an audible thump to echo through the room. Rotating her body to face you more directly, she wraps her arms around your neck and pushes you down onto your back. Her causal clothes provide her with great flexibility as she clambers up to lie down on your chest. Tentatively, you wrap a single hand around her mid back, and she smiles and wiggles happily in response, humming softly at the attention.

“Hmmmm… I can hear your heartbeat,” she purrs in her resonant, velvety voice. She rubs her cheek softly against your upper chest.

You bring up your other hand and gently stroke her exposed forearm. She purrs audibly and continually in response at the contact, and you take the opportunity to sneak a leg in between hers, savoring the feeling of her smooth skin against yours.

With one last stroke of your fingers, you remove your hand from her forearm. Sunset instantly lets out a deep growl in response.

Paralyzed with indecision, you do nothing until another deep growl echoes into your chest wall, and one of Sunset’s eyes flicks open to stare at you accusingly. You immediately return the hand to her arm, at which point she smiles, purrs again, and shifts her body into a more comfortable position against yours.

After a few more minutes, you move your right hand from her arm to the small of her back and squeeze her gently against you. 

Sunset Shimmer sighs in happiness. “Thanks for coming over. I really needed your help…Sorry we got distracted.”

You squeeze her lightly again. “That’s okay. Feel more prepared for the test?”

“Uh huh,” she confirms, smiling at you from your chest. “I’ll pass…I hope.”