Flash’s POV
“So, what do you want for dinner?” I asked Twilight as we stepped into my apartment, still shivering from the flight back.
“Mm, I don’t know. What sounds good to you?” She replied. I took off my helmet and placed it on the rack to the side of the door.
“I don’t know.” I said as I started unpiecing the rest of my armor and putting it away.
“This is going nowhere fast.” She replied flatly.
I laughed slightly, still musing over what to do. “I mean we can have leftovers from last night. Or…” I thought back to what I had in the fridge. What sounds good?
“That might be the easiest option.” I turned around after I finished putting my armor away. She was sitting on the couch already curled up under the blanket. I smiled. She looked… unbelievably cute and cozy, my heart was already speeding up a bit in my chest. I just wanted to cradle her in my limbs.
I walked up to her and asked with a grin, “Care to share?” I just wanted to be with her. Something about her just draws me in.
“Oh…” She looked away, pretending to think about it. “I suppose.” She giggled and smiled at me.
I chuckled and climbed onto the couch with her. She shared the blanket with me and leaned into me. I leaned back into the arm of the couch and managed to wrap my hoof and wing around her. There was the feeling of déjà vu mixed in with the calming effect that comes from being with her like this. Her shivering stopped after a little while and her breathing steadied. I could feel her heart beat, steady and strong.
I heard her hum a bit.
I looked down at her and I couldn’t help but smile. I leaned over and kissed her horn. She lifted her head up slowly. I… was hoping for a different look in her eyes, the look she gave last night. Now, this wasn’t planned. I didn’t want to recreate the possible moment from last night. It just happened that we were here again and well… I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. My heart, my gut, my head, it’s all telling me to go for it if I sense it again… that look, that spark, that silent signal that just makes want to show her how much she means to me.
This… this was her gentle, sweet-but look before she says, “Can I talk to you about something?”
Twilight’s POV
I love this. I love being with him like this. He makes me feel safe and warm. It’s like having another blanket with a soothing heartbeat. His fur tickled my face slightly as his chest moved up and down gently. I nuzzled his chest gently, savoring the feeling.
I felt him kiss my horn. There was a slight tingle and I smiled widely as I felt my heart warm up from the gesture. Being here with him. Being this calm… made this so much easier to talk about. I looked into his gentle blue eyes and said, “Say Flash?”
“Yes Twilight.” He looked at me with thinned lips and a wondering look in his eyes.
“Can I talk to you about something?”
“Anything.” He told me, intently. “Here.” He moved so that we could face each other. The blanket slipped off. “Oh, here.” He wrapped me in the blanket.
“Aww.” I said, appreciating the thought.
He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck for a second. “Heh.”
I smiled back and inched closer to him so that I could wrap the blanket around the two of us. The blanket didn’t wrap all the way around and we probably looked silly but it would do.
“Twilight-”
“No, no. It’s only fair.” I told him.
He slightly chuckled. “Actually, I was going to say, ‘Let me grab the other one from my closet.’”
“Oh, okay.” I smiled.
He got up and said, “I’ll be right back.”
When he came back, I wrapped myself in the first blanket and he wrapped himself in the second blanket.
“So,” he said as he looked me in the eye, “should I be concerned?”
“No, not at all.” I told him as I shook my head. “It’s just that, well, remember how I said before, that I wasn’t ready for my first kiss.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “Why?”
I looked down for a second as I felt a blush forming on my cheeks, my heart beating faster and a smile forming on my face. I took a breath and then looked at Flash again. His eyes were focused on me and notably worried before he noticed my smile.
“Well, last night, I realized that I’m ready for my first kiss.”
“O-oh, you are… huh…?” He looked at me with wide eyes, his mouth slightly ajar and his hoof on his neck.
“Yes.” I thought he might need some time to process this, so I waited for him to say something else. For a few moments, we glanced around the room and each other. I started to fidget with my hooves after a little while, feeling antsy. I knew he needed the time but being vulnerable like this was… uncomfortable.
“So…” He started. I refocused my attention to Flash. “C-can you tell me what happened last night that uh, that made you realize you’re ready for your first kiss?”
“Oh, well,” I felt more at ease that he was talking to me. “Actually, it was here, on the couch. There-” I took a pause to choose my words, “was a moment. I looked at you and… I just knew. I… I thought, well, I thought we were…” Suddenly, it was difficult to speak. My chest felt slightly heavy and my head felt warm. I felt a touch of the disappointment and embarrassment from last night again.
He sighed, “But I ruined it.” He slumped in his seat.
“What?” I was stunned.
He muttered something to himself.
I shook my head, refocusing on the conversation. “No, Flash. You didn’t ruin anything.”
“But I upset you.” He said firmly.
“No Flash, you didn’t upset me. I mean, yes, I felt disappointed and embarrassed but it’s not your fault.” I assured him. “It wasn’t the right time. You couldn’t have known, I didn’t even know.”
“But I did.” He said, before he buried his face into his hooves.
“What…” I gasped, not believing what I just heard him say.
He brought his head back up and looked at me with apologetic eyes.
“I did, urg, well okay, I had a gut feeling but I didn’t listen. I thought…” He looked away. “I thought it was too soon, I thought I was reading you wrong.” He let out a breath before looking back at me. “I’m sorry Twilight, I’m sorry for making you go through all that. I… just want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
At first, I was confused, but as he spoke, my heart warmed in understanding. He’s so wonderful. I felt my eyes water slightly and I smiled gently at him.
“I really appreciate that Flash. I really do.” I reached out and took his hoof. “I don’t know how many guys would be this patient or considerate.”
“Or unconfident, anxious, scared even.” He looked at me with a quick sad smile that turned into a frown and unsure eyes. “Some first boyfriend I turned out to be, huh?”
I immediately shook my head. This wasn’t right. I took his other hoof and spoke from the heart. “Flash, you’ve been a great boyfriend. You visit me when you can and your letters keep me in the loop, so that when we get together, it’s almost as if you never left. You treat me like a pony, and not just a princess. You let me talk you’re ear off about magic, and books, and my duties. You experiment with food and encourage me to try new things. And whenever I’m unsure about something, we stop to process our options.”
He nodded slowly as his expression softened. He brought his head up to look at me. “Yeah, yeah, I do.” He smiled genuinely for a moment before his lips thinned. So, I pushed onward. I couldn’t let him think he was a coward, or unworthy of my affection.
“You’re cautious, sweet, a real gentlecolt. A really great guy who makes me happy and…” I glanced away for a moment, “well, lets us have talks like this.” I’d be driving myself crazy trying to interpret Flash if he never spoke to me about these kinds of things.
He nodded slowly. “Well, this wouldn’t be much of a relationship if we couldn’t actually talk.” His smile was returning. “I’d like to say I know you pretty well by now, but I can’t read your mind.”
I nodded and smiled. I was glad to see him looking and talking more like himself.
“Nope. But evidently, you are pretty good at reading me. How else could you have known I wanted to kiss you last night?”
His smile faltered and he winced slightly. Oh no.
“I’m sorry.” I took my hooves back and raised them up. I waved my hooves in front of me in a panic. “I-I-I wasn’t thinking. I… I’m sorry I brought it up again.” I shrank in my seat and locked my hooves together. This was going so well. Now look what I’ve done.
“It’s okay Twilight.” He chuckled slightly. Huh? I snapped my head back up and looked at him, curiously. “Evidently, you can read me pretty well too.” He gave me a grin.
“I… I guess I can.” I couldn’t help but smile back.
He let out a breath. “Hm…”
We smiled oddly at each other before we both nervously laughed together.
For a few moments, we stared and smiled small smiles at each other. This was both easier and harder than I thought this talk would be. Easier, because I was actually able to talk to him without blurting all of my feelings out at once. Harder, because Flash was being so hard on himself and suddenly, I had to assure him that he’s a good boyfriend. In all honesty, this whole thing was starting to sound silly. I suppose that’s what happens when you actually talk about something that at first seems to be the biggest obstacle with someone who… you can actually talk to. A first kiss is special because it’s the first one. Once it’s done, it can’t be undone. So, you should strive to make it a wonderful experience. With Flash, I know it will be because… he’s Flash, he’s My Knight.
Suddenly, I felt that feeling again. The feeling of wanting to be close to him, of kissing him. My heart sped up to the point where I could feel its beat throughout my chest, into my head, even to my forelegs. I inched towards him, unsure but hoping he would do the same. He didn’t last night because he thought I wasn’t ready. It’s only fair I give him the same courtesy. He inched towards me too. I sucked in a breath. Is this it? My eyes darted from his eyes to his lips. He offered his hoof to me. He was asking for my permission. I looked at his hoof and then at him. He wants to kiss me too. I smiled at him, still feeling warm and feeling my heartbeat throughout my body. It didn’t matter though because I was here with Flash Sentry. My boyfriend, my first kiss. I placed my hoof in his and leaned towards him. He tilted his head and leaned towards me. I closed my eyes… When our lips met, I think my heart stopped. The kiss only lasted a few seconds. But in those two seconds, the heat in my face intensified and I felt some kind of sensation in the tips of my hooves. I felt myself tense up but relax once the initial contact moved through me like a ray of sunshine.
When we parted, I squeaked and looked down. My face was scrunched up to the point where my cheeks started to hurt and burn at the same time. My heart still pounded in my chest so hard that I could still feel it my ears. I had this odd smile on my face and I felt myself shaking slightly. I stayed like this for a few moments. We kissed! We kissed! I squealed inside my head. I kissed Flash, he kissed me. I couldn’t believe it for a moment but it just happened.
Flash’s POV
Wow… Just wow… It, it wasn’t my first kiss. I doubt it’ll be my last but… this was different. I hadn’t realized it until now but Twilight… Twilight makes me feel like I’m a teenager again. Timid and anxious about making a move, wondering and judging when a good time would be, feeling a rush and then a calmness when it first happens. In a way, it was bit awkward, it was a first kiss, so it was inevitable. This one, was sweet in a way that only comes from a pony as gentle, kind, adorable, understanding, motivated, book obsessed and so many other things, as Twilight Sparkle. It was warm and filled my heart with something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Something closer to love.
I couldn’t stop smiling at her as she kept her head down. I couldn’t stop staring at her and seeing… her glow… like the angel that she is… as overdone as that is. I… can’t think of anything else because that’s Twilight.
When she brought her head up and looked at me, we smiled at each other. Still reeling from our first kiss, I tried to say something. All that came out was, “Heh.”
“Hm.” She responded.
All we did was smile and stare at each other. I’m not sure how long, but it was long enough that I started to feel a rumble in my belly.
And there it is, a basic internal instinct was able to bring me out of this… daze.
“So, dinner?” I asked, hungry brain starting to set in.
“Huh, oh right.” Twilight replied with a small smile and a small blush on her face.