//------------------------------// // 391 - Point of Commonality // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Things had gone awry before Lex had so much as made it out of the lobby. Even the process of extricating himself from the girls had proven to be extraordinarily difficult. His aching body protested every movement, particularly in the aftermath of his recent bout of recreational time with Aria, Sonata, and Nosey. While he’d managed to get some rest after they’d all finished, he could immediately tell that he’d expended himself far more than he’d managed to rest (though he couldn’t bring himself to regret what they’d done). Worse, the rest he had gotten hadn’t been enough to replenish his dark magic. Had he been able to turn into a shadow there would have been no problem, but at the moment that was still beyond him. The most obvious course of action was to lie down and go back to sleep, so that he’d regain at least some of his powers. But he knew better than to follow through with that option. Time was not on his side, and if he fell back asleep now Lex felt certain that in his current state, he’d remain that way for a considerable period. Nor, he suspected, would the girls be inclined to wake him; they’d likely let him sleep as long as possible in order to recover his strength, not knowing that he was up against the Night Mare’s – quite possibly literal – deadline. Which meant that he needed to take action now. But that was far easier said than done; while Sonata was simply cuddled against him, Nosey was actually gripping his foreleg, and Lex didn’t dare use his telekinesis to extricate himself, lest the purple glow prove luminescent enough to wake them up. So instead, he spent long minutes fighting both her unconscious grip and his own weariness as he slowly worked himself free. That he managed to do so without waking her was nothing short of miraculous. But his luck deserted him when it came to Aria. Sitting up while simultaneously lifting her head from his lap and also sliding himself backward proved to be more than he was capable of doing all at once, and the rough motions caused her eyes to flutter open. “Mngh. Huh? Lex?” she muttered sleepily. “What’re you doin’?” “Nothing,” whispered Lex, still trying to pull away from her. “Go back to sleep.” But rather than obey him, she only stirred more, sitting up with a yawn and inadvertently freeing him, causing him to curse under his breath as he suddenly fell back and very nearly off the bench entirely. Rubbing her eyes, Aria frowned at him in the dim light, watching as he struggled to his hooves. “Where are you going?” she whispered, making no effort to hide her suspicion, though he could also hear what sounded like mirth in her voice, likely from the sight of him fighting so hard just to stand up. “Hot date?” “I have an errand I need to take care of, one that doesn’t concern you.” At least not if it succeeds, amended Lex silently, making his way toward the lobby door. Ordinarily the mere act of exiting the station would have taken him a few seconds and no effort whatsoever to accomplish. Now it would be a hard-won victory, one that would only be more difficult if he had to deal with Aria at the same time. “Hmm.” For a moment Aria didn’t react, and Lex held a fleeting hope that he’d convinced her to leave well enough alone. But a moment later she climbed down from the bench, stretching before trotting alongside him. “So, where’re we going?” In the dim light, Lex could just make out her grinning at him. Her contrariness was so transparent that he found himself more exasperated than irritated. “Out.” The curt reply made Aria’s grin disappear. “You know, you’re pretty grumpy for a guy who just scored with a girl who’s a twelve out of ten on the hotness scale, not to mention sampling those two almost-sevens on the side.” Frowning, Lex glanced at her, and then back at where Nosey and Sonata were still asleep before looking at her again. “Precisely what unit of measurement does that scale utilize, and how is it quantified?” “…you know, I’ve never quite understood how you and Sonata got together in the first place, but now I think I’m starting to get it,” answered Aria dryly. The statement was cryptic enough that Lex didn’t bother trying to decipher it, instead focusing on the door. Modulating his pace so that he didn’t push himself to the point of collapse, he was still short of breath by the time he made it there. Despite matching her pace to his, Aria made no offer to help, not even bothering to get the door after he’d made it there. Lex briefly wondered if she was being standoffish by withholding her aid or considerate by not implying that he needed it, and finally decided that he didn’t care as he got the door open and stepped through. Just making it outside had been an ordeal, and Lex wasn’t looking forward to the next leg of his journey. But for once things took a turn for the better, as he noticed Feather Duster curled up only a few feet away, sleeping. Nor was he the only one. “Well well well,” snickered Aria, “what do we have here?” “Wake her up,” ordered Lex. “I have use for her.” Aria waggled her eyebrows at him in an exaggerated manner. “Wow. You do three girls after getting beaten up, and you’re still rearing to go? Someone’s out to prove something.” Lex let out a slow breath. Aria’s poor attempts at humor were beginning to grate on him. It was one thing to enjoy her needling in the context of an intimate encounter, but outside of that context he found it progressively irritating. But the last time he’d let her get to him he’d very nearly ruined their relationship, and he wanted to avoid that again if at all possible, particularly since the Night Mare had already placed their relationship in jeopardy. “Just wake her up, Aria.” “Sure thing.” Reaching a hoof out, she gave Feather Duster a shove. “Hey, maid brigade. Rise and shine.” Feather Duster’s eyes fluttered open, looking around blearily until her gaze fell on Lex. Gasping, she bolted upright, fully awake in an instant. “M-Master Legis, forgive me!” she yelped. “I mean, I do apologize for being asleep when you had need of me! And, and…” She looked almost frantic, wings flared as she began to babble. “I took the foals to Miss Bank’s mansion like you said, and the doctors examined them all and said they were fine, but Miss Dusk said it was better for them to stay there and let you rest, so I stayed behind to put them to bed early, but then I thought it would be better if I came back myself in case you needed me, and, um, oh! And I made sure to pass out food at dinner time, because I thought that’s what you would have wanted me to do, and, then I was waiting to see if you needed me for anything and I guess I passed out…” Despite himself, Lex was mildly impressed. Feather Duster’s execution of her duties had been both flawless and diligent, carrying out not only the orders he’d given her, but also anticipating his needs. That she’d thought to pass out the evening rations was- “So, did you enjoy the show?” Despite the knowing grin on Aria’s face, Feather Duster looked confused. “I’m sorry?” “Me, Sonata, and Nosey all getting it on with Lex,” drawled Aria, nodding towards the interior of the station. “Did watching us turn you on?” “Wh-, no!!!” Feather Duster shook her head rapidly, backing away from Aria as though the other mare had the plague. “I mean, I didn’t spy on you! I didn’t even know what you were doing!” “Aria!” snapped Lex. “That’s enough!” But she didn’t seem to hear the rebuke, advancing on Feather Duster like a cat on a mouse. “Oh come off it. I bet you had one hoof under your skirt the entire time.” She reached out then, as though to grab the maid and physically examine her for evidence of prurient activity, but her hoof stopped as it got within an inch of the quivering pegasus, Lex’s purple aura keeping it in check. “I said enough!” he growled, his eyes shining brightly now. Aria gave him a sour look, relenting as she lowered her hoof. “What’s your problem? I’m just-” “My problem,” hissed Lex through gritted teeth, “is that you’re harassing someone who works for me!” Now he was the one advancing, slowly stalking toward Aria, and although his steps were faltering she still backed up as he slowly strode toward her. “This mare is serving me in a professional capacity! That means that visiting an indignity upon her is a slight against me! And even if that wasn’t true, she’s still deserving of basic considerations of respect as a pony!” A bitter look crossed Aria’s face then, and she came to a halt. “Right, so where were those ‘basic considerations of respect’ when you took away my voice?” Lex stopped moving at that. For a long moment he just stared at Aria, and she met his gaze evenly. After several seconds Lex ended the staring contest, looking over at Feather Duster. “Fetch Fruit Crunch and the rest of his friends. I want them brought here immediately.” “Y-yes!” Looking relieved to be allowed to leave, Feather Duster flapped her wings. But she only rose a foot into the air before stopping, biting her lip as she looked back at Lex. “I, um, forgive me for asking, sir, but are they in any trouble…?” “No,” replied Lex, hoping that he was correct. He couldn’t imagine that the Night Mare would take offense to his asking those children what Severance had taught them so that he could find a way to subvert her demand of him, but even the possibility of it was enough to make Lex deeply uncomfortable. The risk was miniscule to the point of being nil – particularly since the wire around his foreleg hadn’t reacted to the order he’d given Feather Duster just now, and hopefully wouldn’t (save for its continued slow tightening) while he interrogated those foals – but Lex still hated that he had to keep involving those children in potential danger. But once again, he’d been placed in a situation where he had no real choice in the matter. “I just want to talk to them about their activities over the last few days.” A relieved look crossed Feather Duster’s face at that. “I understand.” She didn’t hesitate any longer, flying off in the direction of River’s mansion. The silence that fell in the wake of her departure was heavy as Lex turned back to where Aria was still glaring at him. “To answer your question…” he began. Sitting up on her haunches, Aria crossed her forelegs, still giving him an indignant look. Lex took another deep breath, but this one had nothing to do with how enervated he felt. He’d thought that their lovemaking had been in lieu of having to revisit this topic, but apparently he’d been incorrect. As such, he had little choice but to proceed with the line of reasoning that he’d worked out in the short time he’d had since River had explained Aria’s reaction to what had happened. “With regard to what happened this morning…if my actions seemed harsh, it was purely because I was attempting to communicate in no uncertain terms that your behavior was inappropriate.” Aria bared her teeth at that. “You-” “However,” cut in Lex before she could finish. “In hindsight, I didn’t appropriately gauge your level of trauma. As such, while my actions were not incorrect in and of themselves, neither were they optimal given the circumstances. To that end, I regret whatever anguish you might have felt as a result of what happened.” “‘Whatever anguish I might have felt’?” scoffed Aria. “Are you kidding me?” Lex didn’t reply for a long moment, processing her response before trying again. “It’s my hope,” he said slowly, “that in acknowledging that a more appropriate response would have better served everyone’s interests, you’ll recognize my desire to redress whatever wrong you perceive me to have committed-” “Oh, well, thank you very much, good sir,” spat Aria, her voice thick with sarcasm. “Such a fine proclamation would surely move the heart of any fair maiden. I’m pleased beyond measure that you want to ‘redress’ whatever wrongs I perceive were done to me.” Giving him a disgusted look, she stalked towards the door to the lobby. “You know what? I’m sorry I brought it up again. Just forget the whole thing.” But again, Lex’s telekinesis grabbed her foreleg, bringing her up short as she tried to pass him. Maybe it was the knowledge that his relationship with her, along with the others, was in danger of coming to an end soon. Maybe it was the lingering echoes of pleasure from when they’d consummated their relationship earlier. Maybe it was the memory of what River had told him about how badly Aria had taken what he’d done to her. But whatever it was, he couldn’t bring himself to let this go unresolved, even in the face of the very real possibility that he’d make it worse if he kept talking. “Aria, listen to me.” She snatched her hoof out of his telekinesis. “Why should I?” “Because…” Lex took a half-second to choose his words, hoping they would be the right ones. “I’m trying to express remorse for hurting your feelings.” Her expression shifted then, losing its harsh edge, but for the life of him he couldn’t place the look she gave him at that moment. “You took away my voice, Lex.” “I know. I-” “My voice. You were the only person who cared about what happened to me, the only one who wanted to fix me – your words, not mine, remember? – and then you snatched it right back again the first time you got angry at me.” “In hindsight-” Aria rolled her eyes. “Right, this again.” Sighing, she walked past him. “Thanks a bunch for the non-apology. I’m going back to bed.” The flippant response made Lex grit his teeth. The sheer disingenuousness of her reducing what he’d just said to being a “non-apology” was galling in the extreme. He’d gone out of his way to make it clear that while his punishment had been ethically sound, he still regretted that she’d taken it so hard! And yet that miserable ingrate had no appreciation- For your treating the pain you caused her like an inconvenience rather than a source of unbearable guilt? The voiceless words from his shadow made Lex’s spine stiffen. That wasn’t true at all! Finding out that he’d inadvertently hurt her had been upsetting in the extreme! It was just that other pressing issues had come up! Not to mention the very idea that Aria was upset because his statement of remorse didn’t have enough emotional intensity was ridiculous. If that had been the case she should have said so… “Sonata told me that you and she had a really sweet heart-to-heart before, that you turned on the waterworks and everything. And I’ll admit, I was a little jealous. I started wondering how I could get you to say sorry like that to me.” Lex grimaced, his indignation gone as quickly as it had come. “Aria, wait.” For a moment he thought she wasn’t going to, but she stopped just in front of the door. “What is it? I’m tired.” Lex paused again, not to think of what to say, but because he was suddenly struck by the symmetry of what was happening. He’d ended up apologizing to Sonata after he’d almost thrown her away in a fit of childish pique. He’d apologized to Nosey – first in his mind and then verbally – for not being able to protect her from Xiriel. It seemed almost appropriate that he apologize to Aria now, like it was some sort of rite of passage for being in love. He couldn’t bring himself to cry the way he had with Sonata, nor even make a small gesture the way he had in restoring Nosey’s broken glasses. So, not knowing what else to do, Lex slowly made his way over to Aria, and wrapped a foreleg around her, pulling her close. “I’m sorry for hurting you,” he murmured. He felt her tense up, and then relax with a shudder a moment later. “Why?” The word was almost whispered, her voice barely audible. The question should have been an inscrutable one. She could have been asking why he’d done it, or why he’d waited until now to say what she’d wanted to hear. But somehow, he knew that wasn’t the case, that she was asking him why he was sorry at all. For once, the answer came easily to him. “Because I’m in love with you.”