Pipp gulped, slowly trotting up towards Hitch's bed, looking over him curiously as she did. Hitch was motionless, the only movements he made were the slow rise and fall of his body as he took in breaths and exhaled. "Jeez, you really are out of the swing of things huh…" Pipp sighed, pulling out her phone shortly after and quickly tapping away. "How… to… deal… with… colds." The Pegasus spoke softly, pausing between words as she typed them in on her phone. She turned away from Hitch as she began pacing around the stallion's room, now scrolling the canternet for a possible answer to this dilemma. Hitch exhaled sharply, watching Pipp pace around his bedroom. Hitch would normally attempt to reassure the smaller pony, but the cold affected his better judgment. Instead, he made an attempt to slowly climb out of bed, his hooves wobbling ever so slightly as he adjusted to his weight on them. Pipp hadn't even noticed Hitch climb out of bed, instead paying attention to her phone. "Hot Soup… ugh… Ice packs… hngh… Rest? Right. Ok, it says to check your temperature. So I have to feel your forehead. Alright, Hitch I-" Pipp paused, cutting herself off as she turned to face the bed, and unfortunately for her, the stallion was out of sight! "WHAAAAAT?!"
Hitch wobbled over towards the door, grabbing his belt with his badge on it and lazily tossing it around his shoulder as he attempted to leave through the front door. Pipp squealed, running out of Hitch's room in a panic, looking around the house before hearing the creaking noise of the front door opening to the house. Pipp's eyes shot open as she rushed to the door, just in time to see Hitch stumbling out. She gasped, chasing after the stallion. Hitch wasn't able to get a few feet off his porch before the Pegasus flew in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. "Hngh… Pipp, I need to get to work, I'm already so far- ah…" Hitch looked as if he was about to sneeze, reeling his head back slightly. Pipp squeaked in response, throwing her wings in front of herself in defense. Hitch bit his tongue, fighting off the urge to sneeze as he took a deep breath. After a few seconds more he continued where he left off as if nothing happened. "Behind…"
"I'm sorry Hitch but you can't go!" Pipp sighed, now pushing against the stallion's front. Now with their size difference, she had to stand up a bit on her hind legs just to reach his chest, and even then, normally Hitch wouldn't budge so easily. Hitch was strong, it was practically part of the job, and Pipp was admittedly, probably the weakest pony in their group of friends. Even still, however, with the condition that Hitch was in, he stumbled backward, too weak to protest Pipp's pushing power. Hitch looked a bit puzzled at this, but also a bit tired too, he couldn't really process how Pipp had gotten so strong, even if she looked exactly the same as she always did, and not how he had gotten weaker as a result of his cold. Pipp was almost as surprised as he was, expecting her actions not to work, but she managed. After a couple more seconds of pushing, Pipp managed to get the duo back inside before shutting the door behind her. "Don't worry Hitch, Sunny and Zipp are taking over while you're here! Besides, you won't be able to catch up to any of your work like this…" Pipp sighed, sitting down for a moment as she had to catch her breath.
Hitch grumbled a bit. He was a bit stubborn when it came to his work, but if Sunny and Zipp were going to handle his job for him, and Izzy was going to take care of Sparky in his place, it did mean he could relax, even if for a little bit. Still, it didn't sit well with him to make the girls cover for him because he got sick all of a sudden. "I'm… sorry…" Hitch sighed, slowly pulling his belt off, albeit a bit sheepishly. Looks like he had no choice but to stay at home now.
Pipp breathed a sigh of relief, happy the stallion was finally settling down. She stood back up before walking over. "C'mon, let's get you to your room big guy." Pipp smiled softly. Hitch nodded, slowly beginning to walk towards his room, Pipp leading the way. He watched as the adorably pink pony trotted along. Though… He was feeling worse. Hitch groaned a bit, issuing a curious look by Pipp. Pipp looked back at him just in time. Hitch groaned, his front legs beginning to give out on him as he suddenly fell forward. Pipp squeaked, quickly rushing to catch him, and she succeeded, catching the stallion before he fell- but now the problem was she wasn't strong enough to keep his body up. "G-Gah! H-Hitch I- WHOA!" Pipp squeaked once again as she fell under the weight of the stallion. Somehow she wound up just underneath him. Hitch's eyes were closed, the stallion barely able to keep himself awake. Pipp's face turned blood red, spreading to the tips of her ears. "G-Gah! H-Hitch, g-get up! Get off of me!"
"Pipp…" Hitch muttered softly, before doing the exact opposite, instead nuzzling against Pipp. Pipp was somehow growing redder in the process. She squealed out, her wings standing erect by her sides. Hitch had a small smile on his face as he relaxed more against her, but soon enough he opened his eyes again. Hitch slowly looked down, spotting a beat red Pipp beneath him. She looked as if she was about to explode! "Hngh… Sorry… Pipp." Hitch didn't seem to realize just exactly what he had done, instead slowly pulling himself up, finally giving Pipp some room to breathe. Pipp was quick to pull herself up right after, turning away from Hitch immediately as she did her best to recollect herself, panting heavily, almost hyperventilating. Meanwhile, Hitch continued onto his room as if nothing happened.
A minute later Hitch was tucked into bed, no longer giving Pipp any trouble for the moment. Pipp sighed, her face slowly returning to its prior pink color, though even then she couldn't stop thinking about what happened. Her heart was practically about to beat out of her chest at this rate. Hitch stared up at the ceiling, doing his best to rest despite his better judgment. Pipp took this opportunity to finally feel his head. She placed her hoof against his head for a moment, it was really warm. "Really warm… ok… Hold on Hitch, I'll be right back." Pipp told the sheriff before trotting out of his room, now walking to his kitchen. She looked around, finding a sealable bag. She walked over to his freezer and thankfully he had some ice cubes in one of those cute rubber trays with a bunch of faces instead of cubes. Either way, they worked, she dumped the entire tray into the bag, found a couple of napkins, and wrapped them around the bag before rushing back off to the Sheriff's bedroom. Once she finally got back she saw Hitch, finally asleep. His face was red, probably a result of his cold. Pipp blushed lightly, slowly walking over and gently planting the bag on top of his head. "Phew… get some rest Sheriff…" Pipp sighed, using this moment of peace and quiet to finally look around a bit.
The Sheriff's room was fairly standard. Next to his bed was a nightstand, on it were two photo frames, one with Hitch, Sprout, and Sunny, they looked much younger, probably before they all met. The other frame had the entire group, Hitch, Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, and herself. They were all posed in front of the Crystal Brighthouse, this was the day it was finally finished. Pipp sighed happily, looking at the photo, and taking it off the nightstand. It was such a fond memory of theirs, she couldn't help but believe that was months ago. It only felt like it happened a few days ago at most.
Of course, the original plan was for all five of them to move in together but things didn't really go according to plan, did they? Maybe five ponies sharing a single room might've been a bit much, even so. She could still remember why Hitch said he wouldn't join them in the Brighthouse, he wanted to stay close to town and his office. It's not like the commute to the office from the Brighthouse was terrible, Sunny does it every day for her Smoothie Truck after all. Of course, Sunny, even if she was the one who pushed the idea the most, also understood there was a reason for it. Simply put: it probably would be pretty awkward to share a room with four mares when you're a stallion. When it came down to it, it made sense, even if they were able to get Hitch his own room it probably would still be awkward living with them all. Besides he still regularly visits, so it wasn't a total loss, even so, Pipp couldn't help but feel a bit sad that Hitch wouldn't join them. But hey, nothing's saying things couldn't change in the future! Pipp nodded, placing the photo back down. Looking around a bit more, Pipp didn't see anything else that was too noteworthy, so she decided to leave the stallion for now. She walked over to the door and turned off the lights, letting Hitch rest while she informed the others of the current situation.
Pipp tapped away on her phone, informing Sunny and Zipp that Hitch was resting in bed, she'd text Izzy but the Unicorn didn't have a phone of her own. She trotted towards the kitchen, now she just had to learn how to cook. She wanted to make some soup for the sickly stallion but she hadn't cooked a thing a day in her life. In fact, the only one in her family who knew how to cook or bake was Zipp! She called culinary a second science or whatever. Regardless she really did make some nice meals. Pipp stared at her phone for a couple of seconds, staring at the recipe for some hay and noodle soup- though… "GAH! This is way too complicated! Forget this, I know who to call!"
At the same time, Zipp was scouting around the town from above, but for the most part things were going swimmingly. Maybe Sunny was just overexaggerating about the whole Sheriff Hitch being an instrumental part, things were going so easy for her she should just become the new Sheriff! Zipp flew down to the ground and looked around, nothing to report, and so she trotted back towards Sunny. Sunny was doing the same, looking for any problems, be it magic or general business, but nope, it was a calm day out for certain! Zipp shrugged, ready to take off again before her phone began vibrating. "Eh?" Zipp grabbed her phone, flipping it open to see Pipp calling her. "Pipp? Did something happen?" Zipp asked herself before answering the call. "Hey Pipp, what's up?"
"Oh hey Zipp, do you remember how you'd make some hay and noodle soup for me whenever I got sick back at the palace?"
"Wha? Of course, I do, it's the only thing you'd actually eat whenever you got sick- which now that I think about it makes me think you weren't as sick as you said you were half the time you wanted me to make it for you." Zipp snickered softly at the thought that Pipp lied to Zipp just for some soup.
"Well- maybe once or twice…~" Pipp giggled. "But actually, I was thinking you could make some for Hitch? I wanted to make some myself but-"
"Don't you dare! Last time you almost burned down the kitchen when you tried to make something!"
"IT WAS ONLY ONE TIME!"
"And it'll be your last time too! I'm not letting you burn down Hitch's kitchen, a gesture of goodwill or not. I'll make some soup, it'll probably take a while though. I'll have to make it at the Brighthouse since that's where all of my stuff is. Soooooo… thirty to forty-five minutes, tops?" Zipp responded, staring at the Brighthouse in the distance.
"Sounds good. Oh, and make me some too, please?~ You know how I like it, extra noodles, oh, and a little bit of edible gold!"
"You realize you're not really tasting the gold right? It's the least reactive metal? It barely tastes like-"
"Edible gold please!~" Pipp retorted, speaking in her regal tone.
Zipp rolled her eyes, nodding in response, "fine! Just try not to eat Hitch's portion too.~ Me and Sunny'll be there to deliver it, so make sure Hitchie boy is well rested!" Zipp smirked before a quick exchange of goodbyes, followed by Zipp hanging up. She walked over to Sunny, letting the Earth Pony know that she planned on making some food before the two went off to the Brighthouse.
For the next 30 minutes it was utter bliss. The clock hit 3, and Pipp was browsing her phone as she normally did. However, she was beginning to think to check on the sheriff, though part of her was hesitant. She didn't want to barge in on him, not that she needed to check in on him every thirty minutes anyways. Besides, Zipp and Sunny should be here soon anyways, so no need to rush. She brushed off her responsibilities to make sure Hitch was alright, instead going back to checking her phone… except when she suddenly heard the sound of running water. "Huh?" Pipp looked up from her phone. She was just sitting on a couch in Hitch's living room when she heard the sound of water running. She looked around for a second, not sure where it was coming from. "What on Equestria is-" Pipp froze in terror for a moment, dropping her phone on the couch, "Hitch!" Pipp shot up, quickly rushing towards the Sheriff's room and throwing the door open, he wasn't in bed! The ice pack had almost completely melted and it was on his nightstand. "But that means… EEP!" Pipp backtracked, flying over to the sheriff's bathroom, the door is left slightly ajar. Pipp felt her face turn red as she placed her hoof on the door. She was about to just open it before realizing Hitch was probably ready to take a shower now! But what if something happens?! Like if he slips and falls in the shower and needs help? Or if he accidentally drops his mane dryer in the bathwater and electrocutes himself! Or if he uhh… if he… WELL WHATEVER HE DOES she had to make sure he was ok. "SORRY HITCH!" Pipp ran in, eyes closed just in case. She waited a couple of seconds but no response. She gulped, slowly opening one of her eyes to look.
Hitch was sitting down in the tub, laying back with a soft smile. He breathed a small sigh as water slowly filled up the tub. Looks like he just wanted to take a relaxing bath is all! Pipp let out a sharp exhale, breathing a sigh of relief herself before stomping off towards the tub. "Jeez Hitch, don't scare me like that- WHOA!" Pipp yelped as she suddenly tripped, stepping on a small rubber duck, presumably one of Sparky's toys. She squealed, landing right in the tub, which seemed to wake Hitch right up from his calmed state.
Hitch perked up a bit, looking at the other end of the tub, spotting a pink posterior in the air, with the pony's head and upper half under the water. "Uhm… Pipp..?"
Pipp turned herself around, pulling her top half out of the water and now sitting in the tub as she quickly tried to fix her now soaking wet mane. "Ack, nooo my mane! I just had it styled!" The princess whined. Hitch tilt his head, not seeming to mind Pipp's presence, no instead he couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at Pipp's dilemma. "Huh..?" Pipp looked over to Hitch, spotting him in the act of laughing at her. "What's so funny Sheriff?! My mane took for… forever… to…" The realization suddenly began to sink in. She looked down at the tub, her face suddenly going dark red as she realized she was sharing a bath with Hitch! She was frozen, she wanted to jump out of the tub and run far far away but she was too shocked to move, her brain having an internal meltdown.
"Are you alright? Your face is red… Shoot… I hope I didn't get you sick as well, I'm sorry…" Hitch was apologetic, looking down shamefully.
"Wha? Nonono! I'm not sick I'm just I-" Pipp couldn't find the words, her wings even began standing out once again. "I- mmph… I'm just fine! S-Sorry I'm hehe… I'm all good, not sick at all…!" Pipp declared, hoping the cheer up the stallion, still beat red. "The water is just a bit warm is all, that's it, ehehe…"
Hitch gave her a curious look before smiling in response, "that's a relief… Thanks for taking care of me Pipp. I really appreciate it~" Hitch smiled brightly over at Pipp. Pipp's eyes dilated as she looked back, putting her hooves to her mouth as she tried to process why being thanked like this was so exhilarating to her. She gulped, looking away and then back to the stallion.
"O-Of course Hitch, what a-are friends for..?" Pipp responded sheepishly.
"Heh… Fair enough…~ I feel much better than I did before, even still, once I get some food in me I'm hitting the hay until tomorrow, then I can make up for lost time…~" Hitch declared softly. He was still weak, his throat was a bit sore, and his voice was much quieter because of that. Psychically he was a bit feeble still but he was able to walk around just fine, which was how he was able to enter the bathroom so easily. Mentally, however, he was still lacking behind. For starters he didn't seem to mind at all that Pipp was literally inches away from him while he bathed, he also didn't remember how he nuzzled up and turned Pipp as red as a tomato just before he went to sleep. Nope, he just remembered attempting to leave before Pipp pushed him back inside.
Pipp breathed a soft sigh, looking at her now-soaked mane. At Least now would be as good a time as any to get her mane cleaned up, she could brush it later. She looked around before spotting a bottle of shampoo on the bathtub wall. "Huh…" She grabbed the bottle before her eyes widened at the sight, "what?! Hitch you use the most expensive mane shampoo I've ever seen! I don't even see this kind of stuff at Mane Melody!" Pipp cried out, looking back and forth between Hitch and the bottle.
Hitch rubbed his nose for a second, "well duh, I treat my mane as if it were my own child! It deserves only the best products!" Hitch declared, before sinking into the tub a little more. Pipp giggled lightly at the sight before looking between herself and her bottle. She paused for a minute as she looked at Hitch.
"Do you mind if I… Uhm, use this… on you?" She asked curiously, hiding part of her face behind the bottle.
"Huh? You want to wash my mane..?" Hitch asked a bit curiously.
"Well, you never let me wash your mane at Mane Melody! B-Besides, I want to try this shampoo out… if it's what makes your mane so soft I'll have to take some for myself!" Pipp replied a bit giddily.
Hitch paused for a moment before slowly moving closer to Pipp on the other side of the tub. At first, the Pegasus began growing red again, squeaking for a second. But soon Hitch turned around, showing his back to her and sinking deeper into the tub for a second. "Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt~" Pipp squealed a bit in response before soon grabbing some shampoo and lathering it into his mane. She licked her lips as she began to wash away at his mane, scrubbing lightly and letting the white foamy bubbles of the shampoo fill the tub as she gently got to work on him. Hitch hummed softly as she did so, leaning into her hooves a bit as she did.
This went on for a couple of seconds, however soon enough Pipp began to listen intently to what Hitch was humming to himself. It only took her a couple of seconds before she realized just exactly what he was humming to himself. "Wait… Isn't that… my song?" She asked the stallion curiously, just as she began washing the shampoo out from his hair.
Hitch nodded in response, "yeah. I love your music~" Hitch stated nonchalantly. Pipp on the other hand was losing her mind, resisting the urge to squeal like a school-filly. She blushed just as much as before though. Soon enough she stopped as she finished.
"All done, Hitch…~"
Hitch took this moment to tilt his head back, now looking right up at Pipp as she looked down at him. "Do I look good?"
"When don't you- Erm… Yeah, you look great!~" Pipp giggled sheepishly.
"Hehe, your face is all red again…~" Hitch responded sheepishly himself. Pipp was about to retort but before she could, he continued, "it makes you look so cute…~" Pipp was silenced, she was at a loss for words. She was about to lose it, her soul was fighting to leave her body as the heat the Pegasus felt from those words alone would make the bathtub boil. Hitch thought nothing of it, smiling up at her with that same dopey face. Pipp gulped, looking down at him.
"Y… You idiot!" She huffed, blushing madly as she leaned down towards him. Hitch watched this happen, blushing a bit himself as her face got closer to his.
"Are you…" He asked for a second but shut up, slowly leaning forward himself.
"WHOA! No way!" Shouted a sudden voice from the door, causing Pipp to squeal loudly as she shot up, breaking up what would've been the final nail in the coffin before she died of blood rushing to her head thanks to all the blushing. Hitch flinched himself, slowly pulling his head up too, but instead to look over at the door. Standing there was Sunny, Izzy and Zipp.
Sunny was at a loss for words. She was just as red as Pipp was, her pupils dilated and a hoof up to her face. Her luminescent wings were out at the moment and boy were they shot out, fully erect to her sides. Izzy was looking on cluelessly, on her head was Sparky who was gently playing with her hair. Meanwhile, Zipp was blushing lightly too, but more so out of shock. She was resisting the urge to laugh up a storm at the sight of Pipp and Hitch bathing together, and breaking up what would've been their first kiss! She giggled lightly to herself. "Sorry to interrupt this beautiful scene… But we brought some soup for you two, now come get it before it gets cold- oh, and we'll let you get dried up~ Maybe remember to close the door, next time fellas?~" Zipp responded slyly before walking off back towards the kitchen. Izzy giggled and followed behind nonchalantly. Sunny on the other hand was stuck staring at the two, still beat red, unable to move until Zipp came back and pushed her along back to the kitchen.
Pipp was silent, her entire life felt like it was crumbling down at the moment. Hitch was slowly climbing out of the tub as if nothing happened. If he was at 100% brain power, he would've been as equally embarrassed as Pipp, but as it stood now he was hungry for some soup. He climbed out of the tub, falling over onto the ground as he did, but recovered soon after grabbing a towel to dry off and making his way towards the kitchen for some soup. Pipp was left in the bath, slumped down as she had to recollect herself. Her eyes slowly returned to normal size as she held her cheeks in her hooves. "S-Sweet Celestia I almost… k-kissed him…"