Chapter Thirty-One
Reconnection
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Everything sucked. It had been a miserable few months, and it was finally culminating in what was likely to be the single most miserable night of the year. So naturally, Sunset was determined to be as unhappy as possible for it.
It wasn’t hard to do. To start with, she was freezing. The only solace she had came in the form of an electric blanket. It was a bit of a splurge on her budget, but she was picking up enough extra hours at work that she figured it was worth it. Besides, it had become essential.
And well, it wasn’t the only solace. One gloved hand was outside of the electric blanket from her place on the couch, and it held a coffee mug filled with wine. That also helped to stave off the cold.
Other than that, though, Sunset was miserable. She was sitting at home alone and watching Christmas specials that she thought were kind of dumb. But they were the kind of dumb that reminded her of that dumb Hearth’s Warming pageant she used to watch as a filly. She had always hated it at the time, hated the whole ‘fire of friendship lives on in our hearts’ thing.
But now, so many years later and a whole world away, she kind of wanted to see it again. Maybe just to laugh at how dumb the whole thing was one more time. Or maybe not. Hard to say.
What mattered was that there was no Hearth Warming Special on Earth. The closest she could come now was drinking until she forgot Christmas and Hearth’s Warming were separate holidays. She hadn’t made much headway in the endeavor, but the night was young and her bottle was mostly full. She took another gulp of wine.
Her phone rang, which gave her another reason to feel miserable. She recognized the ringtone, but she still looked at her phone and the picture of a pink-haired woman that popped up on it.
She should be thrilled. She’d wanted to see that picture light up her phone for months. And yet, now that it finally was, Sunset just felt miserable about it. She waited for the picture to change to a grey text box that read ‘one missed call’, which she swiped away.
After another minute or so it chimed again, this time informing her that she had six new voicemails. She dropped the phone on the couch. ‘I’ll listen to them tomorrow,’ she told herself, although she knew she wouldn’t. It was too hard to hear Fluttershy’s voice on today of all days, but then, tomorrow would be just as bad.
She downed the rest of her wine and refilled the mug.
Rather than worry about Fluttershy, Sunset tried to focus on what the TV assured her would be a wonderful life, even though it seemed to be a sort of miserable one. It was a holiday classic, but like most holiday classics, Sunset had never bothered to watch it. She’d never cared about the holidays, even when she was growing up in New Horizons, and it was only this past year that finally changed her mind.
More wine. That’s what she needed to stop thinking about how horrible her past year had been, more wine. Not that it helped much. She wasn’t supposed to be alone now, and the phone calls only made that feeling worse.
Since she wasn’t able to focus on the TV, she really ought to just turn it off and head to bed. It wasn’t really late and she wasn’t really tired, but enough of her wonderful drink could solve at least one of those problems. And so what if she woke up feeling like shit, it wasn’t like she had work in the morning; she had requested the time off months ago, back when she thought she’d be spending it with two others.
More wine. Another gulp. Swallow down the memories with the wine, don’t focus on what could have been.
She spilled some of it when a knock at the door made her jump. Who the hell was knocking? Sunset glared at the door as if it was the one that had allowed company to be on the other side.
There weren’t many people who would show up unannounced. Maybe it was Applejack. Come to think of it, she might be a pleasant surprise, actually. Sunset forced herself to get up into the cold and answer the door, hoping to find Applejack on the other side.
Instead, she opened the door to find Fluttershy shivering on her doorstep. “I tried calling.”
Although she was dumbfounded by the appearance of her ex-girlfriend, Sunset didn’t show it. Instead, she simply stepped aside to let the freezing woman in. “Sorry, phone must be on silent.” She shut the door against the cold and turned to see Fluttershy take off her coat and walk to the bedroom to hang it.
When Fluttershy returned to the living room, she held her arms open and smiled. Despite how complex her feelings towards the situation were, Sunset couldn’t help but smile as she accepted the hug. She didn’t even mind that Fluttershy was still damp from the snow.
“So how’d you get here anyway?” Sunset asked.
“I took a taxi,” Fluttershy said. “I know if I asked Rainbow to drive me, she’d want to stay. And, uhm, I didn’t want to make things uncomfortable.”
“It would have been fine,” Sunset lied. “I can behave myself if I need to.” She could behave herself for Fluttershy was more like it, but she caught herself before saying that.
Fluttershy smiled at Sunset’s reassurance. Truthfully, there was no telling what would’ve happened if Rainbow had come. But there was no point in saying that, not when Fluttershy actually looked happy to see her.
Sunset returned to the couch, and Fluttershy sat next to her. She smiled when she saw what was on TV. “Oh, I love this movie.”
“I kinda caught it halfway through.” Sunset offered half of the blanket, which Fluttershy happily accepted. That was another lie; she’d seen it from the beginning, but she’d been too preoccupied to pay it much attention. “So I kinda get what’s going on, but why is this a Christmas movie?”
“Well, it gets more Christmasy at the end,” Fluttershy said. “Sort of.”
“What’s with the stars that keep talking?”
“That’s God and His angels.”
“Ah okay, I guess I can see it.” That didn’t count as a lie, exactly, since Sunset could at least understand that people did stuff like that in movies. She did find it dumb, though. “So why do they care about this guy?”
Fluttershy looked at her as if the answer was obvious. “Because God cares about everyone.”
If it wasn’t Fluttershy, Sunset might have laughed. If there was a God, Sunset doubted very much he gave a damn about ‘everyone’. Especially after what she’d lived through in the past year.
But it was Fluttershy saying it, which meant Sunset wouldn’t question it. It was just a movie, after all.
As they watched, it became clear that Fluttershy wasn’t going to just tell her why she had come over. Sunset almost didn’t question that either, since this was the best turn of events she could hope for. But the more time went on, the more curious she grew, until she couldn’t help but ask.
“So, Shy… I’m really happy to see you and everything, but uhm… what’s going on?”
Fluttershy didn’t seem to mind the question, just smiling at Sunset. “I knew you’d be home alone, and nobody should be alone on the holidays.”
Sunset grinned. “Yeah, that’s nice and all, but it’s still almost a week until Christmas.”
Fluttershy rolled her eyes. “I know, but it is Hearth’s Warming Eve.”
Sunset’s grin changed into a real smile. “You… you actually remembered that?”
“Of course I remember. Honestly, Sunny, just because we’re not dating anymore doesn’t mean you’re not still important to me.”
Sunset wasn’t sure what to say. Usually, her friends didn’t even remember that she barely cared about human holidays; even after years of living in Everton, Sunset mostly just celebrated things because her friends did. No one had ever remembered what day Hearth’s Warming was. “Thank you.”
Fluttershy smiled warmly. “You’re welcome. So, what do ponies usually do for Hearth’s Warming?”
“I don’t think it’s much different from Christmas, really. We don’t have TV to watch specials on, but there’s a sappy Hearth’s Warming play every year. Other than that, ponies just spend time with their families and friends. Eating, drinking, talking by the fire. That sort of thing.”
Saying it out loud made Sunset feel guilty. Of course, Fluttershy was always welcome to anything in her kitchen, but that didn’t amount to much. For the first time ever, she was hosting Hearth’s Warming Eve, even if it was only for one guest, and she didn’t have anything special to offer. “Sorry I didn’t make a big dinner or anything.”
Fluttershy laughed. “Silly, you didn’t even know I was coming. I could make us something.”
Sunset frowned. “No way, you’re my guest tonight. I couldn’t let you do that.”
“Well then, I know it’s not the same as a home cooked meal, but how about I order us a pizza?”
“Pizza sounds great, but I’ll get it,” Sunset said, trying to remember if she had enough money in her wallet.
“Not a chance.” Fluttershy pulled out her phone and placed a call before Sunset could argue more.
As she was ordering their usual – a large veggie lover’s pizza – she got up and walked into the bedroom. Sunset was a little perplexed, especially when she came back with her hands behind her back. “So do ponies give gifts for Hearth’s Warming?”
Sunset eyed her suspiciously. “Yes. Tell me you didn’t get me anything.”
Fluttershy pulled out a box. “Of course I did.”
Growing up, Sunset hadn’t received many gifts. New Horizons’ budget only allowed for inexpensive gifts on birthdays and Christmas, and for Sunset, that usually amounted to a book on either day. Other kids also exchanged gifts with their friends, but Sunset had never had any of those.
Even once Flash was around, gift giving always felt like part of the social manipulation she used to keep him in her sway. Maybe that was why even though she’d had friends for a couple of years now, Sunset wasn’t exactly comfortable receiving gifts.
Still, she took the box from Fluttershy. She couldn’t very well refuse it, after all. It was wrapped in blue paper with a pattern of white snowflakes.
“I know you don’t really like the snow,” Fluttershy said, “but I wanted to use something that wasn’t too Christmasy. And I didn’t really know what would work as Hearth’s Warming wrapping paper…”
The consideration caused Sunset to smile just as much as the gift did. “Pretty sure snow is universal, at least. Thanks, Shy.”
Sunset tore open the paper to reveal a black jewelry box inside. Her heart lurched at the thought, and just hoped whatever it was hadn’t been too expensive. She opened it to find a necklace of yellow and red gemstones.
It was simple, but still looked expensive. “Shy, this is… you really shouldn’t have.”
Fluttershy bowed her head. “Uhm, I know you don’t usually wear jewelry, but when I saw it I thought of you and… Well, you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.”
“No, I love it. But you probably paid way too much for it.” Sunset stared at the necklace, almost afraid to even touch it. “You should return it.”
“Oh, uhm, it really wasn’t that expensive,” Fluttershy said almost bashfully. “It’s… to tell you the truth, it’s costume jewelry, so it really didn’t cost too much. I’m sorry, you deserve better, but…”
Sunset smiled and finally lifted the necklace out of the box. “No, it’s perfect.” She attempted to put it on, but she couldn’t quite get the clasps to connect.
Fluttershy giggled. “Here, let me.” Sunset pulled her hair out of the way, and Fluttershy clipped the necklace into place.
“How do I look?” Sunset asked as she turned around.
“Beautiful,” Fluttershy said. She blushed and turned away. “Uhm, I mean… you know…”
Sunset blushed too, more so because of Fluttershy’s reaction than the compliment. She walked into the bathroom to look at her reflection and grimaced. She was an absolute mess. To start with, because she hadn’t expected company, she was still only dressed in her warmest pajamas. And she hadn’t even so much as brushed her hair.
At least she could change one of those things. She grabbed a hairbrush and started to attack the unmanageable mess hanging from her head. That would at least make the necklace look a little less out of place.
Maybe she should put on some real clothes to do it justice? No, if she did that, it would just seem like she was trying to look nice for Fluttershy. Which, of course, would be exactly what she’d be doing.
By the time Sunset returned to the room, Fluttershy was already back under the covers. She smiled at Sunset. “This is nice. Too bad we didn’t think to get a blanket like this before.”
“Yeah, it’s been the saving grace of this cold front.”
“I can imagine.” Fluttershy wiggled a little under the blanket. “Aren’t you coming back? You must be cold out there.”
“In a minute.” Sunset scratched the back of her neck. “You know, I got you something too. Should I get it now, or do you want to wait for Christmas?”
Fluttershy thought for a moment. “I guess… let’s wait until Christmas.”
“Sure thing.” Sunset finally joined Fluttershy back under the blanket, which she was grateful for. She was a little less happy about having to wait until Christmas to give Fluttershy her gift. It had been so long since she could give a Hearth’s Warming gift to someone, and not since she first became Celestia’s pupil had she actually wanted to.
Oh well, she knew it would mean more for Fluttershy as a Christmas gift. She had originally planned on getting her something for both holidays, but that had been when there were two incomes in the house.
With the gifting set aside for the time being, Sunset turned her attention back to the movie. The guy was running around town wondering why nobody knew him. “You know, this is kind of depressing for a Christmas movie.”
Fluttershy laughed. “You should watch the whole thing sometime, I think you’d really like it. When did you get cable, anyway?”
“Oh, uh… I kind of didn’t.” Sunset grinned sheepishly. “I figured out how to get it from my neighbor’s line.”
She expected Fluttershy to lecture her about stealing, but she just rolled her eyes. “Well, now that you have it, you should keep an eye out for this movie. It’s always playing on some channel this time of year.”
While Fluttershy was explaining a bit more about the movie, someone knocked on the door. Both women jumped up and ran to it, laughing and pushing each other out of the way. Sunset got there first and grinned victoriously as she opened it.
“One large veggie lover’s,” the delivery guy said as he pulled the box out of his thermal bag and handed it to Sunset.
“Thank you,” Sunset said as she set down the box on her computer table. She reached for her pocket before realizing her pajama pants didn’t have pockets. She sighed and turned towards Fluttershy. “Hey. could you grab my –”
“Nope.” Fluttershy pushed her out of the way. She pulled out her own wallet and paid for the pizza. “Keep the change. And happy holidays!”
Sunset fixed her face into a pout as Fluttershy shut the door. “I could have paid…”
“Sunny, it’s fine. Could you please get us some plates?”
If there had been any argument waiting in Sunset, it melted at that nickname. All she could do was agree. “Yeah, alright.”
She went into the kitchen and grabbed them each a paper plate and a can of soda. She returned to find Fluttershy had moved the pizza to the coffee table in front of the couch, which they both returned to.
They ate as they watched the end of the movie, savoring the heat from both the blanket and the food, and, at least for Sunset, the warmth that Fluttershy exuded.
It was a perfect moment, which meant it couldn’t last. Eventually, Fluttershy broke the comfortable silence between them. “Uhm, Sunny… Do you, uhm, do you need to borrow some money?”
Sunset frowned. She could guess easily enough where this was coming from. “No, I’m fine.”
Fluttershy hesitated a moment before continuing. “You wouldn’t actually need to pay me back or anything…”
Sunset set her half-eaten slice of pizza down. “I’m fine, Shy. Thanks, but don’t worry about me.”
For a second, Sunset let herself believe Fluttershy’s silence meant that she would drop it. Only for a second though, then she caught sight of Fluttershy’s face. She was biting her lip and her eyes looked around as she tried to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say. “You know, Rainbow’s parents don’t charge me rent… I, uhm, I wouldn’t mind if you still needed me to pay the gas bill.”
“The gas bill’s paid. It’s bad enough you won’t let me pay for my half of the phone bill.”
Fluttershy tilted her head to the side. “Then why isn’t the heat on?”
Sunset slouched back into the couch. “Because the heater’s broken.”
It wasn’t that Sunset cared if Fluttershy knew how she lived. Hell, she knew better than anyone else possibly could. But the last thing Sunset wanted was for Fluttershy to waste her money on her.
“Oh. Well, how much is it to fix?” Fluttershy asked. “Maybe you could use your half of the car insurance money for that.”
“That money’s for you to go to school though…” Even after they broke up, Sunset had still always planned on sending Fluttershy to school with her half of the money.
“But this is important… If you won’t use the insurance money, maybe I could help.”
“Shy, really, I’m fine,” Sunset insisted.
“But it gets so cold at night. At least let me get you a little space heater until you can –”
“I don’t need any help!” Sunset said, much sharper than she had intended to. Even as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. And of course, Fluttershy flinching away only hurt worse.
“Okay.” Fluttershy stared down at her hands, hiding her face in her hair. She moved a few inches away, making Sunset realize how close they had actually been.
They didn’t talk for the rest of the movie, and half of the pizza lay forgotten.
‘This is exactly why I’m all alone,’ Sunset reminded herself. It wasn’t like she’d forgotten, but it was good to make sure she kept remembering. Maybe someday she could actually learn from her mistakes that way.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Sunset said weakly.
“It’s okay,” Fluttershy said, although her voice was hesitant.
Sunset moved around her empty soda can. She thought about getting up to get another, but she couldn’t feel motivated.
“So, uh –” Sunset was cut off by a punk rock song.
Fluttershy smirked as Sunset scrambled around the couch to find her phone. “On silent, huh?”
“Well… okay, I was ignoring you.” Sunset finally found her phone wedged in the cushions between the two of them. She didn’t have to check who was calling, since only one person had that ringtone.
“Is that Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yeah. Should I be worried?”
Instead of answering, Fluttershy took the phone and silenced it. She set it on the table and sighed. “She’s just being overprotective. I turned off my phone when I got here.”
“You should probably let her know you’re alright.”
“She’ll be fine. She knows I’m here, and I told her I didn’t know how late I’d be out.”
Sunset wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t argue. Rainbow could mind her own business for once; in the months since Fluttershy moved in with her, Rainbow had either ignored Sunset or talked to her just long enough to remind her to leave Fluttershy alone.
“So why’d you ignore my calls?” Fluttershy asked. She didn’t sound upset, just curious.
“I guess… I thought you just wanted to pick up more of your stuff or something, and I was already feeling down about spending Hearth’s Warming alone.” Saying it out loud made Sunset feel silly. It seemed she could have saved a lot of trouble by answering sooner.
“I’m sorry, I should have tried calling before today. I… well, I wasn’t sure I wanted to come. I only made up my mind earlier today. I kept thinking about you being alone, and, well… I realized how sad I’d be if you didn’t want to see me on Christmas…”
Sunset grinned. “So is that an invitation?”
Fluttershy giggled. “Maybe. If you think you can play nice with Rainbow after all.”
“I’m sure I’ll manage,” Sunset said. Fluttershy beamed, which made Sunset feel warmer than should be possible in this weather. “And thanks for coming, Shy. It’s been too long since we just got to hang out.”
Fluttershy moved a little closer, recovering the inches they lost in Sunset’s outburst and then some. “Yeah, it has been,” she said as a cartoon started on TV, one even Sunset was familiar with. “You know, you could have gone back to Equestria. At least everyone would be celebrating there. And I’m sure Twilight and the other Fluttershy wouldn’t mind.”
Talking about them was a risk, and Sunset wasn’t sure how much to say. At least Fluttershy had brought them up this time, that probably meant it was safe. “I guess. But I don’t know… I mean, I’m sure Twilight would be okay with me coming over, but I’d feel a little intrusive. She and the other Fluttershy are hosting Hearth’s Warming at Twilight’s place this year, and her whole family’s gonna be there. Besides, I don’t know if Celestia will be there or not, and I have no idea how that conversation would go.”
Even if Fluttershy had brought them up, Sunset still left out that she had actually been expressly invited, and that both Twilight and Fluttershy had made it clear they would love nothing more than for her to go. Sunset had been sorely tempted, but as always, she found every excuse to avoid visiting her foalhood home.
“I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad,” Fluttershy said.
Sunset smiled at her. “Maybe. But then I wouldn’t be here with you.”
Fluttershy smiled back. “I’m glad you stayed.”
“Me too.”
The moment was perfect enough that Sunset’s text message tone just had to go off in the middle of it. She checked it to find it was from Rainbow, just as she knew it would be. “Is Fluttershy still with you?” Sunset read aloud.
“Let me answer it,” Fluttershy said. She held out her hand, and Sunset placed her phone into it. She typed up a message, turned off the phone, and set it back down on the table.
Sunset wanted to ask what she’d said, but she didn’t want to pry. She decided to ask another question on her mind. “So how late are you staying? Not that I mind, I’ve got nowhere to be.”
“School’s closed for the holidays, and I don’t have work tomorrow,” Fluttershy said. “So I can stay for a while.”
Sunset celebrated internally. “So how’s work going these days anyway?”
“It’s been pretty busy lately. Winter is always a big time for us. But it’s good, we’ve found homes for so many lucky little animals. I just hope their new families understand how big a responsibility it is to own a pet.”
Sunset grinned. “Something tells me they probably have an idea.”
When Fluttershy first started working at the shelter, she’d hated how many families brought pets back in the months after Christmas. The animals got too big, or they started scratching the furniture, or the kids just got tired of them.
But rather than let it get her down, it motivated Fluttershy to become very thorough in lecturing potential adopters on what they were getting into. She wound up scaring away more than a few, which had initially upset her coworkers, but their minds changed when they saw how many fewer animals were returned. These days, they liked to have Fluttershy talk to every new pet owner whenever possible.
“So how about you?” Fluttershy asked, already wearing her ‘everything’s going to be okay’ smile. “How’s your job going?”
“Busy, which unfortunately just means more idiots.” Sunset frowned, then shook her head. “But you already know about how that goes.”
Fluttershy placed a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. She didn’t have to reach far; without realizing it, they had been steadily moving closer each time they shifted positions. Even if she enjoyed it, realizing how close they were made Sunset a little nervous. If she ruined this like she always seemed to do, then there might not be another chance.
She decided to get up and get herself another drink after all, but shifting the blanket and feeling the cold air outside of it changed her mind. Instead, she reached for the still half full mug of wine.
Before she could drink it, however, Fluttershy took it from her hand. “You drink too much,” she said, before finishing the wine herself.
Sunset grinned. “You’re one to talk.”
“Please, I don’t drink that much.” Fluttershy refilled the mug and took another sip.
“You know… that’s probably a really bad idea. Us drinking together, I mean.” Some of Sunset’s best memories came out of drinking with Fluttershy. As did some of her worst.
“Hmm.” Fluttershy took a large drink, leaving the mug half full. She handed it to Sunset. “Maybe. But you won’t stop me.”
Sunset drained the last out of the mug. “Well, no. But I did warn you.” She looked at the bottle. “So should I get another cup?”
“Probably.”
Sunset steeled herself to face the cold, then threw the blanket off. It didn’t last long, as she immediately threw it back on. “But it’s cold out there.”
Fluttershy giggled and scooted closer, then reached across Sunset for the wine bottle. They were close enough that they were touching, and Sunset had to resist the urge to put her arm around her ex-girlfriend. Fluttershy refilled the mug and set the bottle back down, but she stayed pressed against Sunset.
“I’m sure we’ll be fine with one.” Fluttershy drank some of the wine, then handed the mug to Sunset.
Sunset drank, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of Fluttershy. She was so beautiful. She always was, but right now, that was the only thing Sunset could think of. She was so beautiful, and as much as she wished she didn’t, Sunset loved her so god damn much. And they were so close together right now, and…
And Sunset needed a distraction before she did something she would regret. She forced herself to turn away, her eyes naturally falling on the TV. One of the elves in the cartoon was yelling at a smaller elf. “How does elf society even work?”
Fluttershy laughed at the sudden question. “What?”
Sunset gestured to the TV. “So he wants to be a dentist. Who fucking cares? I mean, do they not have dentists or something? They apparently know what dentists are, so there must be some around. What about doctors? I mean, does every elf do nothing but make toys? How can a whole society possibly run on only one job?”
Fluttershy shook her head and smiled. Her hand wrapped around Sunset’s arm. “Sunny, it’s just a cartoon.”
It was a little hard to keep ranting now that Fluttershy was touching her, but the fact that it was between several layers of clothes helped. “So? It’s ridiculous. Don’t some elves have to make food at least? And then what do they even eat? It’s not like they can grow food in the snow, and all the animals are sapient.”
Fluttershy let her ramble about the TV, which kept giving her plenty of ammunition with every new development in the story. All the while, they passed the mug back and forth.
“You’re so weird,” Fluttershy said one of the times she took the mug. She finished off the wine in it.
“Hey, you gotta admit I make valid points,” Sunset defended.
“I guess so. I kind of miss the way you see everything. How you notice stuff no one else pays attention to.” Fluttershy refilled the mug.
“You know what I kind of miss?” Sunset asked as she watched Fluttershy take another sip. She turned towards Sunset expectantly. “You.”
“Sunny…” Fluttershy looked down, but she didn’t move away.
Sunset turned back to the TV. “Sorry. I shouldn’t say stuff like that. I’d blame the wine, but it’s just me being dumb.”
Fluttershy swirled around the wine before drinking the rest. “No, you’re not dumb.” She poured the rest of the bottle in the mug and drank it all, then set it on the table. She leaned against Sunset, who put her arm around her. “I miss you too.”
Sunset expected Fluttershy to pull away, but she didn’t. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Sunset and just watched the TV while using Sunset’s chest as a pillow.
On some level, Sunset knew she should stop this. It was exactly the kind of thing she wasn’t supposed to be doing with Fluttershy, not anymore. But through the haze of the wine, the feeling of their bodies next to one another felt too natural to worry about it. She hardly even noticed when the movie came to an end.
“You still awake?” Sunset asked quietly. Fluttershy was facing away from her and hadn’t spoken since they shifted positions. Sunset was kind of hoping she wouldn’t get an answer.
“Yeah,” Fluttershy said, speaking just as quietly as Sunset had.
Sunset knew she should suggest Fluttershy call a cab to take her home. She knew it was true, but she couldn’t remember why. For the first time in months, things felt right, and Sunset couldn’t think of a single reason why anything should change that.
“Hey, Shy…” Sunset said slowly. “Do you… think things could ever work for us again?”
“I don’t know. Probably not.”
“Yeah. You’re probably right.”
Fluttershy slowly sat up, but she didn’t move her arms from Sunset’s body. She lifted her head until they were looking into each other’s eyes, and there were no comforting smiles. Fluttershy looked every bit as sad as Sunset felt.
Whatever was left of Sunset’s better judgement was lost in that instant, and she put her hand behind Fluttershy’s back and pulled them closer. Fluttershy closed her eyes and allowed herself to be guided, and they kissed.
Just like that, the past was rewritten. This was still their home. Fluttershy was still her girlfriend. Things could still be good, everything could still turn around and get better.
They didn’t pull apart after one kiss, nor did they after two. Fluttershy placed a hand behind Sunset’s head and Sunset slipped hers under Fluttershy’s sweater. Her hand rose along Fluttershy’s body, pulling her sweater up with it.
Fluttershy pushed Sunset away, and she fell down to the couch. For a second, Sunset had thought she’d ruined everything, then she caught sight of Fluttershy’s grin. She positioned herself over Sunset, holding her in place as she leaned down to kiss her some more.
She moved down slowly, kissing Sunset’s lips, then her cheek, her jawline, her neck. She lingered there, occasionally biting softly before kissing again, while her hand wandered lower.
It stopped at her hip, a few fingers teasing the hem of her pajama pants before working their way back up to Sunset’s chest. Sunset once again pulled at Fluttershy’s sweater, and this time she allowed it to come off.
Sunset tore off her gloves so she could feel Fluttershy’s body, then traced her fingertips across it. She smiled as she brushed against Fluttershy’s shoulder, where a yellow and red sun would forever adorn her skin.
Shivering slightly, Fluttershy pulled the blanket up higher before returning to Sunset. She moved her hands down her sides and took hold of the hem of Sunset’s pants. She began to pull downwards.
“You’d have to be crazy to go out in this weather without our luxury tires!”
They both jumped at the sudden volume of the TV commercial. Sunset glared at it with more disdain than any other inanimate object could possibly deserve, but Fluttershy laughed.
And after a moment, Sunset did too. It was impossible to stay upset when she heard that angelic laugh.
Fluttershy sat back up. She left Sunset pinned down, but she enjoyed the view far too much to care about a little thing like that. Fluttershy didn’t waste any time in finding the remote and turning off the TV.
She leaned back down to kiss Sunset once more, but then she got up. She shivered without her shirt, which caused Sunset to laugh again.
“Shut up,” Fluttershy said, but she started laughing again too. She walked into the bedroom. “And bring the blanket!”