“...forgetting self and finding time for others.”
-Tommy
Little white specks.
The first inklings of a late and long overdue winter.
This Gallop welcomed it. Sitting at his telescope, he watched the draconequus across the way while little strands of warmth reached out to him from the fire blazing in the living room fireplace.
“Beautiful isn’t it?”
This Gallop kept his eye on his target. “Yes, you are.”
“No. Not me, silly.” Jasmine sidled up to this Gallop and gestured to the snow falling outside the window. “The snow.”
“If you say so.” This Gallop shrugged.
“Say,” Jasmine peered out the window, “what are you looking for?”
“Intruders.” He said flatly.
Jasmine shook her head. “I’m sure that robber won’t come back anymore. My big brave husband scared him away.” She pressed her face against this Gallop’s. “Let me see, sweetums.” Pushing him away and looked through the telescope, she hummed. “No intruders. Just a peculiar family. But, they look so happy together. I wonder how long those two have been together.”
This Gallop hummed a slight laugh as he rubbed Jasmine’s shoulder. “They’re not married. Those dragons are from down the street, originally. They’re friends.”
“I don’t know.” Jasmine rubbed her nose against this Gallop’s. “They’re smiling at each other too much. They look so happy together. Them, and those two boys.”
This Gallop looked away from Jasmine as he retreated to the living room to bask in the warmth of the fire. “I’m sorry that I can’t give you children.”
Jasmine sort of chuckled. “What brought this up?”
This Gallop pointed towards the window. “The way you looked at them. Children. I would give them to you if I could. I believe I would do everything for you, for as long as I could.” That last thought shook him. He had begun to worry about his position’s future. Honeybee was not thrilled to find out his enchanted comic book stunt had failed to capture the draconequus. More slip ups meant his days in the neighborhood were numbered. His days with Jasmine were numbered.
“Hey.”
This Gallop felt his senses melt at the mercy of Jasmine’s touch. Somehow she was warmer than the fire. And somehow, she appeared braver than he. Such is the bliss of your ignorance, to not know the full truth.
“We could always adopt, Tarsi.”
This Gallop felt his insides burst from utter joy upon hearing that name. “How many would you want. Just name the number. You want five? Ten? Twenty? A whole orphanage? Just say it, and it shall be done.”
Jasmine laughed. “Maybe not that many, Tarsi. Maybe just one to start with. We shouldn’t overwhelm ourselves.”
“Okay,” this Gallop smiled, “one. And I’m sure that one would be overwhelmed with such happiness to have you as a mother.”
“And you,” Jasmine gently kissed this Gallop’s nose, “a father.”
“Father? Me?” A strange amalgamation of feelings swept over this Gallop. Could I be? What place is it of mine to be a father? There is only a mother. “I don’t believe I’d be a good father.”
“No.” Jasmine beamed with bright smile. “You’d be a great one. I just know it. I can see it now. I can see you teaching our son to play catch or teaching our daughter to stay away from bad boys.”
“Bad boys?” This Gallop growled under his breath at the thought. My daughter? “I will destroy them before they can hurt her.”
Jasmine erupted into laughter as she leaned against this Gallop for support. “I’d like to see that, sweetums. See? You’re already thinking about protecting our daughter that we don’t have.”
“But if she was one of us. I would do the same for sons and daughters alike. As unto you, so unto them.” This Gallop sneaked in a kiss to Jasmine. “I want to protect you all. You are not weak. But, you are dear to me. If my life were in danger-.”
Jasmine rolled her eyes. “I’d give ‘em a taste of my hooves.”
This Gallop smiled. “I would hope that it never comes to that.”
“Then it won’t.” Jasmine stared off into the fireplace along with this Gallop. “Together we can survive anything. Tarsi, I can tell work is hard for you right now. I’m sure it’s just the hustle and bustle of the Hearth’s Warming season. Remember, I’ll be with you every step of the way. If you fall, I’ll catch you. As long as we are together, all this hardship will pass.”
You have no idea how much stronger you really are. This Gallop felt a different warmth growing inside. It wasn’t from Jasmine and it wasn’t from the fireplace. “I hope that’s true. I want to believe you. I want to keep you safe.”
“You will.” Jasmine brushed his mane until he hummed to her delight. “I believe in you. Do you believe that I believe in you?”
This Gallop settled on smiling, even though it wasn’t the most sincere of actions. He was still beginning to navigate the complexities of expression. “You make it easy to believe.”
“Hm.” Jasmine gave this Gallop a peck of a kiss before walking away, towards the kitchen. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, sweetums. I’m going to make some hot cocoa. Want some?”
“Yes, please. And, thank you.” After watching her disappear into the kitchen, this Gallop returned to his post at the telescope. Peering through, he observed as the draconequus and the younger dragon left the living room to hit the sack. “Hm.” He noticed the pony and the older dragon smiling at each other, laughing here and there in between conversations. “She may be right about those two. Jasmine, you would have been perfect if you were one of us.” This Gallop thought on what that really meant. “But, you wouldn’t really be you if you were.” He watched the house across the street long enough to see the lights go out. “I’ll protect you, Jasmine. I’ll do everything in my power to get rid of that draconequus, please Honeybee, and hopefully stay with you forever. I swear. I’ll do whatever it takes, even if it kills me.”