//------------------------------//
// 4: Hearth's Warming 
// Story: Hearth's Warming Eve 
// by Sennerazen 
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Fluttershy looked sideways at him. She was not sure what she had expected, but it was not Discord looking so calm and relaxed. He was holding one arm out for her. She couldn’t decipher his emotions; she never could when he didn’t want her to, but she felt her shoulders unstitch and turned to look at him properly. 

“Do you...?” she began, but was too embarrassed to continue. Squeezing her eyes shut, she stepped against him and only exhaled when she felt his arm wrap gently around her shoulders. Tears stung her eyes, but she bit her lip to keep them at bay. She felt his softness, the comforting protection of his arm, the strength in him; she could have stood there with him for hours. 

Now what?she wondered after a minute. He was not holding her tightly, nor moving at all. Was she supposed to do something? Didn’t he yet understand what she wanted from him? That she wanted him?

She forced her arms from her chest and wrapped them around his waist. Then, she lightly nuzzled her forehead against his belly and squeezed her arms a little tighter, acutely aware of the heat emanating from his body. 

His body was like a furnace, but she felt a strange shiver throughout her own when he lay his hand on her head and said, “Fluttershy…” 

“Mm?” 

“Angel wants you.” 

Grimacing, Fluttershy extricated herself from Discord and found Angel sitting nearly between them, arms crossed and feverishly tapping his foot. 

“Angel?” she asked, trying not to sound angry. “How did you... did you need something?” 

Angel’s mouth quivered and he pointed to the windowsill and then the house. Fluttershy bent down to give him a sympathetic smile. “Angel, you can’t have cocoa. It’s not good for you.” 

Angel huffed and brought his foot down hard. 

”Oh, that’s right,” she gasped. “I forgot all about your Hearth’s Warming treat! What kind of monster am I?” She rushed out of the open door and into the house where Angel’s treat had been hidden and returned to Discord in minutes.

“It’s been a tradition for a long time,” she explained. “I hide something special for Angel in the tree and then give it to him after my family has gone to bed. Sorry,” she added, realizing Discord hadn’t moved from his spot since they’d embraced. 

Discord shook his head. “Angel knew you first.” 

Fluttershy smiled. “I am sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” Discord wore his own faint smile, but his eyes were distant, distracted. 

She couldn’t look up to face him, though it nearly killed her to keep from doing so. Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his cheek. 

“Fluttershy...” he said again, but this time he sounded surprised and uncertain. 

“I’m sorry,” she said, just above a whisper, then pulled back. “I think I’m just tired. All of this Hearth’s Warming stuff really takes it out of me.” 

Discord gripped her upper arms to keep her from stepping away, but he still sounded perplexed when he said, “I’m tired, too.” He let her go. “Did you... want something?” 

Oh, yes! Dear Celestia, yes! Why can’t you figure it out? Fluttershy mustered her courage and tried to smile at him, though it looked more like a grimace. “No. Sorry.” She felt she was about to burst into tears.

She couldn't do it. He couldn't be interested, after all she’d thrown at him during the evening. She couldn’t push him anymore and didn't want to. This is what it felt like to have a broken heart.

“Fluttershy, sit down,” Discord said, and guided her to the edge of the bed.

She had a feeling she was not going to like what he was about to say, and sat rigidly, her hands clasped in her lap. "I can leave. I really don't mind. I didn't mean to take up your whole night."

"Stop," he said, without malice. "You're not a waste of time. You hear me? You think I've ever been invited to something like this, ever? I want to be here."

Moved at his words, which were genuine, she was sure, she unclasped her hands. “You like me, don’t you?” 

“I'm here, aren't I? I'm sleeping in a normal bed with normal sheets and nothing outside the window but a house and some clouds, right? What kind of question is that?"

“But I mean... we aren’t just friends, are we?” 

“No, not just friends.” 

Well, then...?Her mind raged as again Discord lapsed into silence. She traced a moose pattern on the comforter with her finger. “I thought maybe you’ve been upset with me.” 

“What? No. I’ve never been upset with you. Do I look angry?” 

She held her hands up again to calm him. “No, it’s just you’ve seemed kind of distant. I thought maybe I’d done something wrong.”

Discord sat beside her. “You haven’t done anything wrong. We’re both busy, and we live in different places...” 

She felt her heart sink at his obviously weak explanation. “Yes, but we used to have such fun together and we could be...a-alone. You know?” 

"We're usually alone."

"Not as much as we used to be, but I don't mean like this anyway. I mean... being together. Here. Now."

"Oh."

“I suppose you’ve done this before.” 

Discord shrugged, looking sheepish. 

“No, no,” Fluttershy said, waving her hands. “It’s perfectly... it would be odd if you hadn’t.” 

“Have you?”

“Um. No. But I’m a quick learner.”

Discord’s brow remained furrowed for a moment longer, but then he laughed. “You are one of a kind.” 

“Oh, I’m really not,” Fluttershy told him, blushing, but smiling, too. 

“Of course you are. I don’t have dreams about just anyone.”

“Dreams? Oh. I-I’ve never felt wanted before.”

Discord looked at the ceiling. “I cannot say for certain, but I’m sure there have been many broken hearts where you’re concerned, my dear.” 

"Hardly." She shook her head. "But I could say the same of you."

"Really?"

“Oh, Discord, I adore you.” She touched his cheek.

Discord did not pull away, but closed his eyes before kissing her palm. “You know those dreams I just mentioned? They’re erotic. I’ve wanted you for so long... I don’t even know how long. But, Fluttershy...” 

“What’s wrong?” 

“You’re so young,” he said, playing absently with her hair. “And I’ll go on living. You should be getting married to someone like you; someone you can grow old with.” 

Her heart surged at his words, but she had to be practical. “Are we talking about that? I haven’t thought... I just want to be with you, right now.Is it- is it not enough?” Already her heart was sinking, but Discord covered her hands with his. 

“I just don’t want you to be hurt,” he said, his voice low. “I’ve done it before, more than once. More than a few times.” 

“You won’t hurt me. Not like this.” She showed him what she hoped was her warmest, most encouraging smile. 

“How do you know?” he asked, genuinely puzzled. 

“Because I know who you really are. Discord would never hurt me on purpose. He would be gentle and patient. It’s why I... I think I probably love you.” She covered her face with her hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare you off, but I just do. I had to tell you.” 

He was quiet for so long, Fluttershy peered between her fingers to gauge his reaction. He looked both troubled and happy, and she didn’t know quite what to make of it.

“I love when you’re with me,” she continued, half to herself. “I feel like, when we’re together, we’re invincible. I’m never afraid.” 

He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Maybe we are invincible,” he said, smiling. He leaned down to kiss her, and she parted her lips for him. 

She felt the warmth of his mouth and tongue as they held each other, their respective grips growing tighter and tighter until she had to break away gasping. 

“I’m sorry!” he cried, letting her go. 

“No, no, just...” She lay on her back and lay her hands on his shoulders to pull him down on top of her. They gazed into each other’s eyes before she planted small kisses along his cheek. “Happy Hearth’s Warming.” 

They spent some time kissing each other before Discord eased her nightdress off. She felt no embarrassment when he looked at her and touched her. He licked her breasts and sucked on them, alternating his tongue with her neck and mouth and more hidden places. 

Fluttershy was not as skilled as she had hoped she would be, but the passion tugging within her own body more than made up for anything lacking, at least on her end. Discord surprised her with his own occasional nerves, but they figured it out together. 

***

They awoke, startled, with the sound of someone pounding on the cottage door. Bright sunlight half-blinded them as they opened their eyes and made the remnants of falling snow shine as they drifted through the clouds to the land below. It was warm, and at first Fluttershy did not want to move out of the tangle of Discord’s arms and legs and the bedsheets. 

Discord felt similarly, for he wrapped his arm around her waist and rolled to his side with her before the pounding sounded again and Zephyr calling out, “Flutter-Butter, what are you doing in there? It’s present time!” 

She heard him walk away as she stumbled out of bed; Discord caught her arm to steady her as she searched for her nightgown, then settled back with his arms behind his head and took in the view of her backside. Fluttershy struggled to put the dress on correctly and ended up with her head and right arm sticking out of the neck hole. When she caught Discord’s eyes, she dropped to her knees, overcome with laughter. 

“Help me, please,” she begged, laughing. “I can’t go out there looking like this.” 

“I see no problem,” Discord said, standing up beside her. “Although your hair looks like a bird’s nest, and that we cannot have.” He ran his fingers through her hair to untangle it. 

Fluttershy, for one brief but powerful moment, had a mind to rip her dress off again and jump on Discord right then and there, but she couldn’t keep her family waiting. By the sun, it was at least nine o’clock. 

When she had managed to dress herself properly, she opened the door before looking back at Discord. “Nnn!” She pointed at his body and shook her arm so he would look down at himself, wearing nothing. 

Discord joined her laughter as he searched for his own pajamas (the pants were somehow on the windowsill and the shirt in a ball under his bed) and put them on. They wrapped themselves in their robes and slippers and  hurriedly patted their faces and spruced their hair to try and look presentable before Discord lifted her up into his arms and kissed her hard. She returned his kiss with the same force until they were too tired to continue. 

Fluttershy opened the door and tilted her head at Discord. He bowed to her and they made their way to the house, making a show of yawning and stretching their arms. 

Fluttershy’s parents were seated on the sofa with coffee; her mother was trying to pin up the stray curls that had escaped the pins already in place. She smiled her angelic smile when she saw her daughter. “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Fluttershy. And to you, Discord.” 

Mr. Shy stood up to shake Discord’s hand. “And how did you sleep, Mr. Discord? Well, I hope? The guest cottage really does have the best bed.” 

“I, er, fine,” Discord said. Mr. and Mrs. Shy were wearing matching cloud slippers, and their robes bore different colors of a matching Hearth’s Warming tree motif. 

“Zephyr’s been waiting for four hours to open presents,” Mrs. Shy said. “You’d better sit down a minute and let him open one, at least.” 

“Coffee, Mr. Discord?” Mr. Shy asked. 

Discord, momentarily overwhelmed by such attention again, nodded. “Yes, please. Thank you. But, really, you don’t have to call me ‘Mr.’.” 

“Oh, it’s just hard to change habits, isn’t it?” Mr. Shy chuckled. “And you, our daughter’s closest friend.” 

Fluttershy blushed, but said quickly, “You don’t mind, really, do you, Discord?” She and Discord locked eyes, just as flustered as the other, and Fluttershy thought, Friend? We just slept together! Twice!

“Sis,” Zephyr said. “Will you let me open this? Just settle down for, like, ten seconds.”

 Clearing her throat, she sat on the loveseat, where Discord joined her. 

“A-ha!” Zephyr unwrapped a pair of fluffy red hair wraps. “You’ll let me practice on your hair, won’t you, sis? You can make two buns with these; they’re all the rage in Shangneigh.” 

“Ouch,” she squeaked when he grabbed her hair. “Cut it out.”

"Why don't you open one, Fluttershy?" Mrs. Shy said. 

Smoothing her hair, Fluttershy undid the intricate gold and red wrapping on a small present and found gold star earrings inside. "Mom, dad, thank you. What do you think?" She held them to her ear so Discord could see.

"Very nice."

"And for you," she said, pulling out a box wrapped in crazy quilt paper and handing it to him. Inside were a pair of multicolored knitted socks and a matching scarf, much improved from the tea cozy she had made him some years earlier.

Discord's face lit up and he glanced at her. "They're perfect. I'll, uh, give you yours later. I didn't wrap it."

She smiled. She did not care if the present was a used bow stuck in her hair, as long as it came from him.

The rest of the morning passed in a chaotic flurry, but by noon, when bellies were full and eyelids were dropping, Discord and Fluttershy excused themselves for a quick stroll before going to Twilight's castle for further festivities. The direct sunlight was warming, as the two walked arm in arm across the clouds.

"Well," said Fluttershy, "not a bad Hearth's Warming, wouldn't you say?"

"Best one I've had, that's for sure."

"Same."

He bent down to kiss her forehead. "One more present, though. Before all our friends get in the way."

"You didn't have to get me anything."

He ignored her. "We'll have to detour a little." He snapped his fingers and they appeared in the living room of her darkened cottage. "Back this way."

She followed him through the kitchen and to the back door where he stopped and pointed. She saw nothing but a holly ball tied on a hook by the door. "Holly?"

He admired it. "Reminds me of you. The dress with the holly, remember? I've been thinking about it."

"It was lovely."

He lifted the holly from the hook and with three loud cracks, a portal appeared in the wall. "Ta-da!"

"W... wow. What is it?"

"A portal to my realm, naturally. And all sorts of places. Sort of a 'believing' kind of deal. Now you can visit whenever you please. And I do expect you to take full advantage of this new and prodigious opportunity."

Fluttershy held her hand to it, almost touching. "This is wonderful. Oh, Discord, you didn't have to-"

He snapped his fingers again and she was once more in the wine taffeta with holly sprigs. "Yes. Just as I remember."

"Thank you so much. I'll be happy to visit you, but I wouldn't want to overstep my bounds."

"How is that possible? I overstep mine all the time."

She grinned and admired her dress. "I love this, too. But where could I wear it besides here at home?"

"Surely there's a holiday ball somewhere in the universe we could crash."

"Surely. But after we've met with the girls."

He squeezed her hand with his. "Then it's a date."

Finally, Fluttershy thought. Things had come around a bit backwards, relationship-wise, but now she could see their path together clearly moving forward. Almost. "Will it take me always to your place?"

He nodded. "Probably. Want to take it for a whirl? Now that I'm here, I can have it take us somewhere else specific. Puerto Caballo? Manehattan? Earth? Z'ha'dum? Leap of faith?"

"How about Twilight's? We should head over soon."

"Well, I can do that myself. This portal takes you to dramatic places."

She eyed the portal. "It is tempting."

Discord returned the holly to its hook and fiddled with the leaves when the portal remained. "Where's the off button on this thing?"

Laughing, she jumped through the portal, dragging him with her.