"A whole week!" Gabby grabbed for Spike's hand. "Can you even imagine?"
Spike gently held her, fingers working between hers. "Gabby, we get to hang out all the time."
"But not just... relaxing, you know." She hiked a thumb at herself. "I'm working with Sassy, Rarity, or you. Not that I mind doing that, you three are great, but it's still work." She suddenly swung around, thumping her head against Spike's. "And you! When's the last vacation you got, huh?"
"Been a while." He frowned as if thinking back for the time. "Longer since I didn't spend it with Twilight."
Gabby squeezed his hand, bringing their joined hands up into view. "Twilight is a sweetie, but you two are not attached."
Spike snorted with a sudden grin. "I seem to be attached to a new lady."
"Darn right," laughed out Gabby, dancing back and taking Spike with him. He was large enough to resist, but did not, coming along with her joyful motions. "And I know just what to do!"
"Go to a convention?"
She hiked a brow at his idea. "Close, but no." She brought him to a window and pointed out to a lonely tree in a park in the city. "See that?"
"The park?" Spike shrugged at it lightly. "What about it?"
"Not the park." She waggled her finger. "The park is everyone's, but I claim dibs on that tree, and you're coming with me."
This was somewhat confusing. He hadn't seen her show interest in the tree before. Yet, there they ended up, a basket in either of their hands. "I brought snacks," she gladly reported, jiggling her basket. "What'd you bring?"
"A drink, like we agreed." He smirked a bit. They had gone over plans. "And some reading."
"Ooo." She leaned over as if to get a peek inside the closed basket. "What kinda reading?"
"The kind I won't get to do until we're set up." He tickled at her with his free hand, prompting a brief moment of giggles and dancing as she tried to return the favor.
"Alright alright, race ya!" And she took off into the tree, soon parked on her chosen branch. It was not a fair race.
"You never told me where we're going." Spike landed a little further up on the branch, hanging his basket on a smaller branch so it could dangle within reach. "But we made it."
"This tree has a secret." Gabby was grinning the grin of a secret kept. "Wanna know?"
"Uh, sure?" He reached into his basket, drawing out his book, a large thing that unfolded across his lap. "What's the secret?"
"For one, I planted this tree." She reached up to a hanging apple. "Well, not from a seed. That'd take forever." With a soft twist, she drew it free, popping off its stem into her hand. "Worked it out with Applejack, brought a cutting and planted it right on the tree that was here, so now you have an oak tree with a few apples on it." A trick not quite possible on earth, but that was not a place either of them had to worry about.
"Huh, that's... kinda cool." He watched the bright red apple being waved in the air. "So that's what makes it 'your' tree?"
"Yup." She crunched her beak down, taking a big bite of the apple. "Mmm! Not bad. Wanna try?" She held out the apple by the tips of her fingers towards Spike. "Grown with love."
Spike leaned forward, taking a chomp just to the left of her own bite. "Hm, not bad."
She burst into giggles. "Not even any hesitation."
"Why should I?" He flipped the page in his book. "I've put my lips on that beak before."
That got her to color, taking a fresh bite of the apple instead of replying, at least at first. "Sly dog."
"We're not past the mirror." His eyes wandered over the book and its mysterious contents. "It was crazy good luck that we both got off at the same time."
"The best kind of luck." She waggled the apple, reduced to about half its former glory. "I mighta had something to do with it."
Spike looked up from his book. "Did you ask Twilight?"
"The princess? Nah." She waved that off. "She's got enough on her plate. But I heard you were getting a week, so I just made sure I would too." She suddenly flopped forward onto her belly, half-hanging free of the branch. "So we could just, you know, enjoy it?"
He reached for her available beak, brushing against it gently. While some think that a beak is like a nail, that isn't true. Gabby could feel it, and colored faintly. Her gentle smile revealed her thought of it, accepting her boyfriend's touches along her sensitive beak. "So when're you gonna tell me what you're reading there, nerd."
Spike broke into a short fit of laughter. "Fat insult that is, coming from you." He tapped her on that same beak, getting her to sit up. "It's a book of ancient dragon folk stories."
Gabby inclined her head at that. "Are you... still looking for what you are?"
"No..." He rolled his shoulders. "Well, maybe a little? I don't feel as lost about that these days." He waved to Gabby. "I have a great friend, a few actually... I have a purpose. I'm... respected." He reached up to fiddle with the medallion that signified his station.
"Left mine at home." She slid back upright, perching with a grin. "You never take yours off."
"Huh? Yeah..." He lifted it a few inches. "It means a lot to me."
Her hands closed on it, capturing it in a fit of feline possessiveness. "I bet. It means a lot to other creatures too. It means you're respected. It means Twilight trusts you." She tugged lightly at it. "It means Equestria trusts you."
"It means a lot," he lamely repeated. "So why did you leave yours, if it's so important to everycreature?"
She released the pendant, just to grab Spike by the cheeks. The book tipped over in the sudden attack, but she snagged it with a feline footpaw before it could get far, not that she was paying it mind in favor of gazing into Spike's eyes. "Because, to me, it's about my connection to you, and I don't need to prove that to you, or anyone else. It's there to remind me, to smile at..."
Spike reached down to reclaim the book, bringing it back to his lap. "Gabby?"
"Hm?"
"You have doubts too, huh?" She stiffened. "Not judging." He snorted softly. "Like I'm in any position..." He waved at his pendant. "I shout... to say it's all real, what I've earned."
"I keep it close and quiet," echoed Gabby a bit more quietly.
"It's alright." He set a hand on hers, closing his fingers on her gently. "We all have those. I don't think less of you."
"You're the best." She brought their bound hands together to smooch Spike's hand. "But the thought of losing it, or damaging it, that scares me, so I leave it home where it's safe. Besides, if we're not on a mission, what do I need it for?" She shrugged with a silly grin. "Got what it means right here."
Spike leaned in and smooched her beak. "I don't have something that shouts 'you' in it."
She twirled the apple at the end of a claw. "Well, you have one thing now, and you can see it even when you're working half the time."
"I can?" He looked around, but nothing was in sight that he took notice of.
"Dummy." She bounced the half-apple in her hand. "I planted it for us. You see a nice big apple, you can think of us. And if you wanna, take one... I won't complain."
He looked up towards the castle and his room in it. It seemed so small from there, in the tree. "Hey, I made something for ya." He set the book aside and grabbed for his dangling basket. "Hope you like it."
Gabby's fists were clenched, little giggles of excitement bubbling forth as she watched him work to unwrap a small container. "Uh..." She inclined her head at the treat being offered. "Is that an eclair?"
"Not just any éclair," countered Spike with a confident smile. "This éclair is from Gustave le Grand, a--"
"--Oh!" She grabbed the edges of the glass bowl they were held in. "Wow! He's hard to get your hands on. And you got a handful here."
"He's tricky, but not so tricky I couldn't get a special treat for you." Spike gestured at them. "Go ahead, try one."
"You are too much." And she popped one right into her beak halfway, a loud slurp revealing that she siphoned out some of the cream inside. "Mmm! You gotta try this." Her beak snapped shut, cutting it in half. "Go on. Food's better with company anyway."
Spike was ready to refuse at first, but thought better of it. If Gabby wanted to share, denying her would upset her, and for what? Better to share the joy. He grabbed an éclair and licked some of the frosting off. "Huh, yeah, not bad at all." A big chomp that sent some goo splattering followed.
Gabby burst into giggles, grabbing a napkin to dab up the mess Spike had made on himself. "Enjoying that a little too much, Spike?"
Spike allowed the cleaning to complete, knowing it was another moment where it was better to let it happen. "I'll slow down. I wasn't trying to a mouth full of cream like you did."
"Your loss." She displayed her cleaned tongue. "Best part. By the way, there is something I wanna do, later..."
"Yeah?" He managed to finish off the rest of his treat without repeat errors. "What's that?"
"I want us to introduce each other to our parents." She waved a hand between herself and Spike with a big grin.
"Uh... Do you mean Night Light and Twilight Velvet? Sure, they'd be glad to meet you." He nodded, unsure episode fading away.
"Not those two, but sure, why not?" She shrugged gently. "I mean visiting the dragons, but not on business. And you have to come to the griffon lands, but also not on business. I want you to meet the griffons important to me, and I want to meet the dragons important to you, and they should all get to know we're important to each other."
As eager as she appeared, Spike did not quite match it. "Huh..."
"Don't be like that." She tickled lightly at his ribs. "It'll be different when we're not trying to get something specific done. Just a social trip, say hi, get to know some creatures."
"Let's start small." He held up two fingers close together. "Gabby, would you like to meet my parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet?" He nudged with his head. "They live just that way, right here in town. I bet if we can ask, we can see them this week, during our time off."
"Oh my gosh!" Gabby began to clap eagerly. "That sounds great! We'll start with that. What kind of ponies are they? They must be alright, they raised you and Twilight." She paused a brief moment. "Is one or both of them neurotic?"
Spike smirked at that. "One, but he's harmless. He just likes to have a schedule for things. No harm in that, right?"
"Where Twilight got it from." She rolled her eyes expansively. "I want to meet them, yes!" She grabbed Spike up in a firm embrace, smooching either of his cheeks in the death grip of love and affection. "Let's do it!"
"You got it! You got it!" he assured, trying to peel her free with laughter of his own. "I promise. Soon as we're done here, I'll swing by, say hi, and see if we can't set up a time to go on by."