You never really noticed when the weekends are coming to a, well, end. Those two days most people use to relax and wind down after a long week of either work, school or something in between. Sometimes even the weekends were so busy that it never felt like you’d ever get a break. Lots of people say the week really starts on Monday, that first day when you realize there are things you have to do besides sit at home and relax, when your sleep is disturbed by the unconscious effort to wake up to face the week ahead. There isn’t anything quite like it, though it's something that everyone deals with and eventually has to come to terms with.
Monday was the start of life.
But Mondays were also days he wished wouldn’t come at times.
Before it was because high school seemed to drag on forever, but with being able to make his own schedule in college it became a fight to deal with the rest of the day after his early morning class while he waited for his evening ones. But today? Today’s monday was the worst because it meant they couldn’t spend time from morning to night together for a long while.
Spike awoke early on Mondays, he was conditioned to almost. And he realized that a rainbow headed woman was curled around him. Her arm was around his chest, while her legs curled and trapped one of his legs, he could feel her lips brushing the side of his neck as she breathed slowly in a comfortable sleep. He recognized the nature of this as odd until the past two days came to him and though he blushed, his nerves remained settled.
The young man looked at her sleeping form and blinked. I’m dating Rainbow Dash. Was the thought that ran through his mind a few times until he smiled at it. He didn’t scoff at it or wonder how he got here, it all felt too natural for that. Of course the ‘how’ still bothered him a bit as his face fell.
“...I hope you don’t let what I said keep you here…”
Rainbow’s sleepy response was to nuzzle even closer to him, pressing her body completely against his arm and side.
He smiled and slowly sat up, turning and leaning down, planting a soft kiss on her cheek. Rainbow shivered and elicited what could only be called a ‘pleasant whine’ as her face contorted into a sleepy smile. Spike chuckled and slowly took his arm back before turning to get out of bed. Though he did turn back once more to look at the athlete in his bed. It took everything in his power to convince her to leave her shirt on, but she refused to sleep in jeans, so instead he’d given her a pair of his own shorts, something stretchy so it could actually fit. Something about seeing her asleep in a pair of his pants was strangely attractive. Yet another conversation he’d be sure to have with her.
He leaned back down and planted a small peck on her lips, the Skyborn attempting to return whatever pleasant feeling that was interrupting her sleep. He just laughed and rubbed her cheek a bit before getting up and getting ready for his day. A quick showered, a brush of his teeth and a change of clothes were all he really needed, stepping into his room with his worn jacket over his shoulder. He had a moment before she woke up he figured.
But the soft growl he heard behind him while he was looking in his closet, deemed to shove his foot in his mouth.
“Dashie like.”
“Dashie will keep it in her pants.” Spike turned to look at Rainbow as she laid on her side in his bed.
The athlete stuck a thumb under the elastic waistband of the shorts and tugged on them, flashing Spike with just a bit of hip. “Don’t you mean in your pants, tiger?” She lets the band go and with a light ‘thwap’ as it snapped to her hip. This all seemed to light a fire in Spike's chest as he blushed hard.
“I stand corrected.”
“Oh do you know?”
“There will be none of that.” Spike turned and pulled out a jacket and one of his short sleeve decal shirts.
Rainbow let out a loud laugh and rolled around on his bed while he threw on a t-shirt and the rest of his clothes. He turned to his still laughing girlfriend and leaned over her. She stopped to look at him, still chittering small laughs as he looked down at her. He glared but smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead, this got a squeak from her and a happy giggle as she turned around and sat up. Rainbow got onto her knees on the bed and leaned over, making Spike support her as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Good morning Dashie.”
“Mornin’ tiger.” She kissed him softly, leaned over more, finding Spike’s strength very pleasant as she didn’t feel worried at all that he would ever let her drop.
The kiss slowly began to deepen, the pair opening their lips for the other. Rainbow shivered at Spike’s minty warm breath and gripped hard at his clothes, finding it hard to feel her legs. Spike seemed to pick up that she was leaning more and more on him and broke the kiss. Rainbow opened her mouth to complain but only gave a ‘Oh!’ when Spike scooped her up out of the bed and held her up by her legs so they were at his sides. She blinked, her face flushed deeply, her blush only intensifying as Spike stole her lips, pulled her from the shock of being carried and back into their embrace.
Her arms wrapped tighter around his neck, her legs squeezed his sides a bit, his hands dug into the flesh of her thighs and sent a jolt of electricity from Rainbow Dash to Spike. It was here that Spike finally pulled back, looking at Rainbow as her breathing was a little rough, he made to speak until her arms slid from behind his head, her hands capturing his cheeks as she kissed him again. Deeper this time.
Her tongue rubbed against his own and Spike let out a soft grunt as he fought back, the kiss and the raging inferno. He pulled back and through harsh breaths managed to get out. “College.” Before Rainbow Dash kissed him again.
“We can miss a day.” She stole his lips again and Spike growled.
“I know we can, but next time.” He leaned up and kissed her roughly, Rainbow happily accepting, however being the one that pulled away this time.
“Next time.” She just looked into his eyes as he continued to hold her up.
“...next time.” Spike put her down but neither one of them moved.
This was going to get harder by the day.
After Rainbow sped home to pick up some clothes and came back, she’d expected to head home at night before he slept before things happened, they were on their way. The drive to campus was laced with the general conversation that seemed to crop up between the two.
“You do know my clothes are a bit small for you to like rob, right?”
“You’ve got some baggy stuff, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”
“Anything in particular you wanna lay claim to?”
“Maybe that pair of shorts, I liked them. Oh and that shirt that has ‘Crush, Kill, Destroy’ on it.”
“You’ve got one of those, I’ve seen you wear it.”
“Yeah, but that’s my shirt, it's better because it's yours.”
Spike just shook his head a bit as he pulled into the campus parking lot. He waved at a few people while getting out and stretched, his tail closing the door behind him. He turned to Rainbow as she stepped out with both of their bags in hand and began walking with her.
“I know I’ve got Tech 3, and you’ll be doing your morning sets and stuff. Where do you wanna go after?”
“Hmm…we could go grab a bite after I finish up. I remember you said Tech lasted a while, you got something else after that right?”
“Evening Math and Science.” Spike turned and bumped elbows with a friend from class and turned to Rainbow Dash again. “Around 4.”
“Damn, we’ve only got like…four hours together!” Rainbow huffed and grumbled to herself.
“And then when I get home I’ve got work.” He looked up to the sky, glaring at the light shade of gray it took on. “And it’s not looking pretty today.”
Rainbow huffed. “And I’ll probably be stuck on campus until 8 during practice, you can head home without me.”
“I don’t mind waiting, I’ve got a tablet I can work on.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you sitting around waiting if it’s gonna rain or something…”
“You did ask me to stop by during practice.”
Rainbow blushed a bit, saying it was one thing, seeing him there made her a little nervous, though- “I appreciate it Spike.”
The two smiled at each other when they were someone calling after Rainbow Dash. They turned and out came the rest of their friends.
“Howdy RD, mornin’ to ya Spike.” The mighty Terran Applejack, she was a step above any other of her particular subspecies. All Terrans were strong, sturdy and really good at things that required a personal touch. Applejack could beat any Terran on campus any day of any week. Standing at a 6’1” she was a tall, built and generally intimidating specimen, her tanned skin showed her years of working under the blistering sun while out on the farm. Her bright green eyes and wild blonde hair tied up in a ponytail accompanied the freckles upon her face, even as they were shaded by the stetson on her head. She wore a plain white t-shirt that cut just under her collarbone, over top it was a red unbuttoned flannel cardigan. A pair of well worn jeans fit her snuggly and led down to a pair of boots that looked like they had been unceremoniously beaten to shit and fixed up for use. In a word, Applejack was built like a barn.
“Good morning to the two of you, I just hope the rest of the day is well with this ghastly weather.” Rarity was easy to point out in a crowd, beautiful azure eyes, long flowing indigo hair, with a deep purple eyeshadow and a touch of blush across her cheeks it all beautifully contrasted against her dark skin, drawing the eyes of guys and girls around. She wasn’t terribly tall, only about 5’8 but she was fit and had an hourglass figure she strived to keep. Today’s ensemble was a light gray hip hugging skirt and black leggings, a blue and white long sleeve blouse and a grayish blue scarf hid some of her figure but anyone who knew her could recount the number of times she had been scouted by fashion agents. The fashionista seemed to have the sense not to be wearing heels today, going for a pair of white flats instead. She was the picture of beauty, one that Spike was happy to just admire now for aesthetic reasons alone.
“Mornin’ Dashie! Hello hello hello Spike!” Pinkie Pie bounced over happily, giving the pair a tight hug. Pinkie was, well, pink. Her poofy raspberry pink hair curled and bounced with every move. Her cerulean eyes could brighten even the most somber of folks as they sparkled with life before her friends. She was a touch lightly skinned then Spike but was still marginally darker then Rainbow. She stood shoulder to shoulder with Rarity in terms of height, and though she lacked the muscle a Terran would naturally gain over the years no one in their right mind would say she was anything but fun shaped. A slight amount of pudge that made hugging her delightful and hips that could turn eyes when she wanted to, these all made Pinkie, well Pinkie. Today was set to be a tad cold so she dressed in a cotton candy colored long sleeve shirt and wroe another bright baby blue shirt atop that. Her yellow skirt and blue pants led down to a pair of bright yellow shoes. The baker snuggled happily against Spike’s cheek, he recalled them not seeing each other in a few days.
“I didn’t get a chance to say hello this morning Rainbow, she just stopped by and flew off before I had come up after feeding everyone.” The shy Skyborn that walked over was the lovable Fluttershy. Always calm and just a bit too shy for her own good, the pale peach skinned woman was the second tallest of the group at 6’0, on the days she would stand up straight. A single cyan eye could be seen beneath her long pale-gray rose hair, the other hidden from sight as the long kept locks flowed down to the middle of her back. She wore a thick green turtleneck and a long pink skirt, coming down a pair of light green flats. Simple wear for the simple beauty of Fluttershy. What she lacked in ‘style’ some would say, Spike would claim she made up for it in heart and kindness, he did recall one of his few female friends outside of the girls before him saying ‘She has a big heart alright’. He set his jaw and just smiled at the shy girl who waved back at him.
“How are you all doing today?” He patted Pinkie on the arm as she let go of him.
“Early risin’, early to work.” Applejack huffed out. “With the weather bein’ testy like it is, we spent all yesterday tarpin’ the whole farm so nothin’ would get ruined.”
“Yes, this weather is quite temperamental, it was lovely just this Saturday too!” Rarity crossed her arms at the weather but sighed. “But such is the force of nature.”
“Sounds like a band I heard once.” Rainbow chimed in and leaned a bit on Spike’s shoulder, the dravyernian boy giving her a look and a smile.
“That’s because it is a band.” Spike laughed as Rainbow poked him in his cheek.
Fluttershy blinked at Rainbow Dash’s action as Pinkie moved and began poking Spike as well. Spike rolled his eyes and let himself be poked from both sides.
“Y’all stop teasin’ the little guy.” Applejack groaned and shooed Pinkie and Rainbow’s hands away, getting a sharp look from the athlete. “Ain’t he gettin’ enough of it with you watchin’ him?”
Rarity blinked and gasped. “Oh my! It had slipped my mind, Twilight’s already left hasn’t she? I do hope she enjoys herself.”
Fluttershy nodded and looked at Spike with a little smile. “Twilight asked if Rainbow and I could watch you, but we thought two people being over was a little much.”
Rainbow huffed and wrapped an arm around Spike’s shoulder. “Damn right, and all those rules are bogus too. I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind when she gets back.”
Spike just looked at Rainbow and shook his head. “Just don’t go breaking the wall again Crashie.”
Rainbow looked down at the young man and pouted at him, getting a laugh out of the boy as his tail wrapped around her waist.
“Sorry! Sorry! It’s too easy sometimes.”
“You’re lucky I like you.” She grinned and played with his hair a bit while looking at her friends. That was probably enough right?
She wanted them to piece it together, after all, it’d be obvious right?”
“I must say Rainbow, I don’t much care for how you’re bothering poor Spikey.”
Foot meet mouth.
Rarity reached over and patted Spike on his head. “He’s just a little gentleman, with the patience of a saint.” Spike let her pat him on the head a few more times before moving his head away and out from under Rainbow Dash’s arm.
“It’s not a bother, but I gotta get going. Last thing I need is to be late to my favorite class of the week.” He took his bag from Rainbow and looked at Applejack. “If you’re not busy could you stop by Thursday with some fresh apples? I’ve been craving a good pie and I haven’t baked in ages.”
“No problem at all, partner. Mind if we make a day of it?”
“A bake day!” Pinkie Pie gasped and jumped up and down in place. “I’m coming too!”
Spike laughed and nodded. “Just bring whatever you’re comfortable with, and try not to invite the whole campus either. Gotta keep the house clean.” He waved and walked off.
Pinkie waved in return and bounced on her heels while thinking of what to bring. “Oh there’s so much to bake! And so little time!”
“Just don’t get ahead of yourself Pinkie.” Rainbow huffed while watching Spike leave. “We’re trying to keep his house in one piece.”
“What’s bit your wings?” Applejack crossed her arms at her rainbow-headed friend. “You seem in a foul mood.”
“Foul how?” Rainbow looked at the farmer from the corner of her eye.
“Well ya keep teasin Spike for one, and you’ve snapped at us twice now. Just seems like something’s bugging ya.”
“I’m not teasing Spike.”
Rarity just sighed and shrugged. “A bit of fun is all well in good, but the young boy-”
“Man.”
“Excuse me?” Rarity blinked at a slightly irked Rainbow Dash.
“He’s not a kid, Rares.” Rainbow huffed and turned to look out across the campus again, even at this distance she could still see him. It was odd how now she could follow him without trying, she watched him turn and talk with another friend of his and the two turned a corner and finally left her sight. She almost reached out for the small part of herself that he took with him. “Not a kid at all…”
Her friends blinked and looked at each other for a bit before Pinkie spoke up. “We know he’s not a kid, silly. He goes here, duh.” She moved closer to Rainbow and smiled. “But he doesn’t mind.”
Rainbow’s eyes moved to Pinkie and she blew hair out of her face. “I’m sure he does.”
Applejack’s brow furrowed as she made Rainbow look at her. “Dash, what’s up with you? I get that you’re watching over Spike, but you’re acting mighty protective of him. It’s not you’re dating or somethin’.”
“We are.”
There was silence for a bit before Rainbow looked to her friends and smirked. “We are dating.”
Another long pause before Applejack laughed and roughly slapped Rainbow’s shoulder. “Pull the other one! Ha! Nice one, almost had me goin’.” She wiped the corner of her eye with Rainbow steadied herself. “Gonna be chucklin’ about that all day. See y'all later.” She waved and walked off.
Rainbow turned to say something when she spotted Rarity shaking her head. “For shame Rainbow, you should not jest about such things.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well obviously you and Spike are wholly incompatible.” Rainbow glared at that as Rarity continued. “Teasing and bothering Spike is one thing, but attempting to play with his heart is-”
“Something only you can do?” Rainbow shot back and immediately covered her mouth.
A cold, awkward silence held them in place while Rarity blinked, hurt behind her eyes.
Rainbow dropped her hand and sighed heavily. “I’m sorry, that…I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just…you know what. Talk to Spike about it. Maybe you’ll listen to him better…this time.” The athlete walked over and hugged Rarity before her cyan wings appeared and she flew off in a rush of wind.
Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie all stood in shocked silence before Pinkie looked at Rarity, her mood having dropped a bit. “...we should head to class…”
The other two nodded before moving in a line towards their next shared class, stunned into an awkward awareness that Rainbow had gotten mad, seemingly for Spike’s sake.
‘Sorry!’
Spike blinked at the word on his screen all during Tech. He had gotten the text about an hour ago, he couldn’t tear himself away from his assignment long enough to respond, waiting until he was done to finally look down and try and understand what was going on.
'What for?'
'I got kinda mad at the girls...'
Spike blinked hard and made sure the professor wasn’t looking at him before he continued texting.
'Why!?'
'Well Rarity kept calling you 'boy' and 'little' and it got to me. But I kinda left without...tell them.'
'And I'm guessing they're gonna come to me about it?'
'Yeah...'
Spike sighed.
'Rainbow, you are a dum dummy'
'I know...'
'I like you anyway, so when I'm out I'll give you a cheer up hug'
'...a kiss too?'
'A kiss too'
'Awesome'
'Ttyl'
'LU'
'Uh'
'Like you! You dork!'
'XP'
Spike couldn’t stop smiling at his phone, looking up one more time to make sure the professor was still mid-lecture and quietly snapped a picture.
Out on the campus track Rainbow was busy wiping her face down after texting Spike, she felt better after having talked to him, though not being next to him still sucked. Just as she was deep in thought, her phone went off again, she looked to see Spike sent her something. When she swiped her phone open she had to cover her mouth and look around to make sure no one was focused on her as she glanced down.
The shot was of Spike, looking down at his phone, his shockingly long tongue rolled out of his mouth and curled in a circle with the caption ‘Tongue or no tongue?’
Rainbow looked around again, no one around since it was still fairly early, and began jumping up and down, giggling and dancing on her feet. She felt giddy in the way Spike teased her, just thinking about kissing him again made her happy. Though she grinned and lifted her shirt a bit.
Spike felt pleased with himself, he was sure that Rainbow would enjoy it, though he was a little self conscious about it, he felt confident with his new girlfriend, but it was hard to ignore the idea in his head that things were moving too fast. As those thoughts plagued him his phone vibrated in his hand. He blinked and swiped it open before seeing what it was and had to choke down a cough.
An upward shot of Rainbow Dash, her shirt up high showing off her sports bra and toned abs. Rainbow was winking at the camera and biting her lip. Spike could clearly see she had just got down with a workout with how what little sun there was glistened off her body. A caption on the image reading ‘You’ll need all of it to keep up tiger.’
The dravyernian stifled a growl and put his phone away, lest he get caught. This woman could fight fire with fire, and if the fire in his core burning bright was anything to go by, he didn’t seem to mind.
However, as wonderful as his girlfriend’s abs were, he pulled himself back to the fact that he’d have to talk to the girls, and he knew who was likely to come see him first. She had a habit of being straightforward like that.
He sighed a bit, but smiled. Someone had to let it be known, who better than him?
And with that thought he focused on Tech and barely noticed the time as it sped by him. He was packing up when his normal partner for the class patted him on the shoulder and pointed at the door. He turned and chuckled a bit, it was just like her.
He pulled his bag up over his shoulder and stepped out of the lecture room before looking up at his visitor. “Where do you want to talk?”
“Um…if it wasn’t too much trouble, could we go and sit at our usual spot?” Fluttershy fidgeted with her fingers as Spike nodded to her.
When it came to matters between the group Fluttershy seemed ready to step up and see things from all sides. Her usually anxious nature fell away when it came to her friends and their relationships. Spike appreciated that about her.
Their usual spot was a set of benches under some trees near the parking lot. It was a spot that was out of the way enough that nobody really sat there but close enough to the parking lot that it just became the meetup spot.
The two of them were alone at the moment, probably by Fluttershy’s recommendation. He sat down and his friend took her place next to him. A small quiet moment passed between them while she tried to find the words. But if Spike had gotten anything in the past few days, it was better if he said something.
“Rainbow told me that she got mad at you guys.”
Fluttershy jumped at his words before turning and looked at him, the soft smile on his face calmed her down a bit. “Yes…well…more like at Rarity.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Fluttershy took a breath and nodded. “We were talking about you a little after you left, Rarity kind of scolded Rainbow for teasing you and then she said you two were…dating. Applejack laughed and it made her upset, but Applejack left before she could say anything. Then Rarity said something about playing with your feelings and…”
Spike could imagine how Rainbow responded. “We are.”
The shy woman’s eyes shot open wide. “...you…you are?”
“Yup, it happened Saturday.”
“Oh…oh…oh my.” She put her hand to her lips and whispered so only Spike could hear it. “How did it happen?”
Spike flushed and lightly rubbed the back of his neck. “It just…did? We started talking, we shared some stuff and…I told her something I’d kept really close to my chest. I opened up and the flood gates figuratively burst out, we just thought ‘Maybe we could work’ and took the shot.” Spike chuckled softly and didn’t fight the wide smile that crossed his face. “It still feels kind of unreal…but I learned stuff about myself and about her in just these few days.”
Fluttershy’s nervousness and worry were gone, she giggled and smiled at Spike. “You sound like you’re really happy with her.” She then looked away for just a moment. “But…I’ll admit it's strange. I love Dashie, and I’m really excited that you two are together, but she just didn’t seem…your…”
“Type?”
“In a word…”
“Well…having a type doesn’t really mean much I think.”
Fluttershy blinked. “I…guess?”
“I mean, a type is just your preference really. It doesn’t have to define who you can end up with. I’ll admit, Rainbow doesn’t exactly fit the type of girls or guys I’ve dated so far.” Spike chuckled and Fluttershy stared at him in shock. “Yeah, Rainbow gave me that look too.”
“I-I didn’t-”
“It’s fine, I never talked about it.”
Fluttershy nodded and suddenly couldn’t remember the last time the two of them had talked like this.
“But anyway, my point is that while I like nerdy girls, shy guys and fashionable types doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the things about someone that makes them beautiful.” Spike hummed softly at the thought of Rainbow Dash snuggled up to him in bed. “Her eyes, the brilliant color in them, the way she looks at me. Caring and soft, different from how she is normally, from confident and smug to adoring and curious. She’s really curious about the differences between us, you know? And I really like letting her explore the little differences between us. Everything about her is electric, and tastes faintly like strawberries.”
“Meep!” Fluttershy blushed but behind her hands she was smiling like a fool while she listened to Spike go on and on about her friend. “W-what else?”
“She’s really straight forward, it’s kind of refreshing. We’ve talked a lot about pretty much everything. What we’re comfortable with, the things we want to do together, the way we want to be seen and how open we want to be. We disagreed on the general use of alcohol but she’s prepared for me to be the sober one for however long…this lasts…” Spike slowly zoned out at those words, blinking and fiddling with his fingers.
“Spike? What’s wrong?”
“...I don’t think I want it to end…but neither of us are sure how long this thing will last.”
Fluttershy nodded and hummed in thought. “Maybe…talk to her about it?”
“It's only been three days, I just don’t know-”
“Three days of dating,” Fluttershy cut him off and put a hand on his shoulder. “But fourteen years of knowing each other, I know you’re probably worried about taking things really fast. But there’s nothing wrong with knowing what you’d like to do with someone before or after you actually, well, start dating. You shouldn’t lose yourself over the ideas in your head for the future like marriage or kids, but if you think your relationship will last that long, there’s no harm in asking. Applejack and Rainbow went out for a while but even after they broke up they’re still close, the worst that can happen between you is that you disagree.”
Spike chewed on his lip at the thought. “I just…I don’t want to mess this up…”
“I know Spike.” She took his hands and held them carefully. “But it’s obvious to me that you really care about her already. It’s what to expect going from friends to being in love.”
Spike’s face burned with a deep, powerful blush. “L-l-l-lo-”
“I can see it in you, the way you talk about her. I bet you think it’s too early to say that too, don’t you?”
Spike just nodded.
“It might be too early for anyone else, but when you know someone long enough and care about them enough, you can say things like ‘I love you’ and know the meaning behind it. Like this, I love you Spike.” Spike blinked and chuckled a bit as Fluttershy chuckled as well. “You’re a great friend and I couldn’t imagine not having you in my life.”
“You’re a great friend too Flutters, love you too.”
The two shared a tight hug and when they leaned away Spike rubbed his neck again. “But maybe I shouldn’t say stuff like that to peeps that aren’t cool with it.”
“Love means different things to different people after all. I can openly love my friends, but I know it's harder for others.” Fluttershy nodded. “That’s why you should remember something, no matter what. When dating someone you should remember the three Cs.”
Spike blinked and tilted his head. “Three Cs?”
“Conversation. Compromise. Cuddling.” She took on an air like Twilight, going into teacher-mode. “A healthy couple talks to each other, is prepared to make small sacrifices for each other and are ready to snuggle up in bed…at least that’s what Pinkie says…”
“Wise words from someone who’s…” Spike watched Fluttershy blush more and more. “You two!?”
“We’re still in the ‘not sure how far this goes’ stage…”
“At least I’m not alone.” Spike laughed and Fluttershy giggled alongside him. “But you’re right…I shouldn’t worry about that kind of thing. I care about her a lot, I always have but now it’s just taking a different form. I guess I was just worried being open about it would, I don’t know, scare her away.”
“If she values what you have to say, then you two will be able to talk about it. She’s probably where you are right now. She’s actually a giant softie.”
“Don’t I know it.” Spike’s smile turned smug and Fluttershy full on laughed at his face, the dravyernian returning the laugh in kind. It was liberating, yet again, just getting something off his chest did so much for him.
“Thanks Flutters, this helped a lot.”
“No problem Spike, and I’m sorry about how we handled being told the first time. We shouldn’t have treated it like it was something strange.” She looked a little down about it but still smiled at Spike.
“No sweat, really.”
“So how open do you want to be?”
“Oh, well we figured we’d just focus on ourselves for n- AH!” Spike jumped and turned to look over the bench at the pink puff hiding behind a tree. “Pinkie…”
“Sorry, couldn’t help it. Rainbow got mad and I was super duper worried. Fluttie said that she’d handle it but I thought ‘What if Spikey gets mad too’ and got even more worried! SO! I followed her out of class and tried not to eavesdrop but there aren’t a lot of places out here to sneak around so I ended up hiding over here and listening to everything you said. I’m really happy for you two by the way! You guys are really cute together, like an odd couple, but matching really well together. But that doesn’t change that I feel bad for not believing it at first, she wouldn’t lie about something like that, I should know that by now. And I didn’t know you were bothered by me and the girls treating you like a kid. The more I thought about it the more I realized that it wouldn’t be nice if people kept treating me like that! And then I thought about when was the last time we laughed together and it was SOOOOO long ago! We should really hang out together some day! Oh but we are! Thursday is going to be a blast and I can’t wait to come over and bake with you! And then after that we can go on a double date! Something super duper uper fun!”
All without taking a breath.
Spike blinked and decided to tackle each one, one at a time. Firstly, “Fluttie?”
Fluttershy covered her face, even the tips of her fingers were blushing.
“Second, I’m not mad and I don’t mind you hearing what we talked about.”
Pinkie bounced over and dropped into Fluttershy’s lap, snuggling into the taller girl as she hid further behind her hair. “I’m glad Spikey, I’m still sorry.”
“Like I said, no sweat. Next, thanks, I think we’re cute too. And it’s just…I don’t mind being ‘Spikey’, it's treating me like I’m still just some kid that gets to me. And lastly, I wouldn’t mind going on a double date later, once me and Rainbow have gone out together at least once. She wants to take off to the coast for the first one.”
By this time Fluttershy had wrapped her arms around Pinkie and buried her face into her pink girlfriend’s back. Pinkie for her part giggled and looked back at Fluttershy. “It’ll be super fun, but Fluttie is right, you shouldn’t worry about how long you’ve been going out, but how long you’ve known each other. My parents were only friends before they got married, and now they’re closer than ever!”
Spike thought of Ignesious and Cloudy, the rather reserved couple and tried to imagine them young and in love. He came up short but smiled at his friend regardless. “My ‘like’ and ‘love’ are only a few months apart. And I’ve known Rainbow for years.”
Pinkie grinned from ear to ear and Fluttershy gave a soft little smile at the young man.
“Now I just gotta wait for her to drop by…speaking of. Where’s Rarity and Applejack?”
Rainbow tried to finish her last set, just one more jog and she would have cleared her daily workout, so much for taking it easy, sure but she found it hard to stand still knowing Spike was out there working hard. But the last few laps were marred by the pair of girls waiting for her to finish up. She’d hoisted Spike while talking to them by Rarity and Applejack seemed content to spit at her words.
She jogged her last lap while trying to figure out how she was going to face this undoubtedly awkward exchange. But before she even realized it she was done, she silently cursed her legs but moved to her spot to towel off and get some fluids in herself. She looked up as the two of them stepped over, the pain of how awkward this all was, seemed already too much for her.
So why let it get worse.
“Rainbow I-”
“Spike and I are dating for real and I’m sorry for snapping at you.”
Rarity and Applejack blinked and looked at each other.
“It started getting to me that you guys just…dismissed it as a joke, a prank or something…” Rainbow groaned as she took another drink of her pleasantly cold water. “But I shouldn’t have shot back like that, it wasn’t cool.”
Rarity stepped over and sat next to Rainbow, ignoring how possibly filthy the metal seating was. “Oh darling, I’m the one who should apologize. That was unbecoming of me, you would never have joked about such a thing. I should have been happy for the both of you, but…”
“Inconceivable?”
“I said incompatible, though it's not much better I admit…I always viewed you two having different…values in life.”
“Like how?” Rainbow looked up as Applejack stepped over as well.
“Well…Spike is real smart, a lot like Twi. I seem him buildin’ or fixin’ somethin’ up good. Spending hours in a room drawin’ up plans or writing somethin’ for days on end. You’re always movin’ and runnin’, it's your nature. Just seems like you’re headed in different directions is all.”
“I can lo- like, I can like someone who isn’t into what I’m into, or trying to follow behind me. My values don’t have to be his values.” Rainbow sighed and leaned back. “Besides, I like it when he talks. I’m not a flunkie or anything but Spike is super smart, he went on and on about things I didn’t even think about but he says it in a way I get. We’re open about what we want and like and I feel like we’ve already got a really solid connection or whatever. If we’re talking values then I value our time together over anything else, I lo- like, I like spending time with Spike. He’s fun, cool and really warm.” She smiled before coughing and looking away from a smirking Applejack.
“He’s cozy, and I like it that way. We don’t need anything ridiculous, we just…are.”
Rarity put her hands over her heart and smiled softly at Rainbow. “Seeing how much you adore him I feel even worse for treating it like a joke.”
Applejack nodded and scratched at her head. “I shouldn’ have laughed at ya RD, sorry.”
“Nah, it's fine guys. Let’s just call it even.”
“Oh but darling I must know! Who asked who?”
“Well I asked him.”
“Oh? How did it come about!?”
“Um…we just…talked. And I just thought ‘Hey, Spike is awesome and it’d be awesome to date him’ and I asked.”
Rarity’s face fell.
“Sorry it wasn’t as romantic as you’d like.” Rainbow stuck her tongue out at the fashionista and Rarity rolled her eyes.
Applejack rubbed her chin a bit. “Have y’all kissed yet?”
Rainbow coughed hard and turned to her cowgirl friend. “I- …yes.”
Rarity made Rainbow look at her. “You have!?”
“Yes! Jeez! We’ve made out! It’s not a big deal.”
Rarity swooned. “Oh but it was! It was Spikey’s first kiss, you are his first-”
“Elveneth.”
“Eleventh girlfrie- EXCUSE ME!?” Rarity shrieked and Applejack almost fell over.
“Beg yer pardon!?”
“I’m Spike’s eleventh girlfriend, well, ninth, he dated two guys so I’m ninth.”
Rarity almost fell over herself. “H-how did I not know?”
“Ah still thought he had the hots for Rarity.”
Rainbow waved that particular thought away. “Nah, he said he stopped feeling like that years ago.”
Her friends stared at her wide eyed yet again, Rainbow looked between them and a smug grin crossed her face. “He’s spicy too.”
Rarity blushed and fanned herself, Applejack merely coughing into her fist.
Rainbow laughed out and stood up. “But we’re cool guys, don’t worry about it. You know now and that’s what matters.” She turned on her heel. “But he’s mine! At least for right now, neither of us seem like we’re sure if we wanna be exclusive or not yet. I don’t wanna hand those lips to anyone just yet though.” Rainbow licked her lips a bit and eyed her friend’s reactions.
Rarity was finding a cloud interesting and Applejack had pulled her hat down over her face. Rainbow smiled proudly and picked her stuff up. “Now come on, we’ve only got a few hours to hang before the next class!” She lightly jogged on as Applejack and Rarity caught up.
After a few minutes their usual spot came into view and Rainbow ran over to Spike, the young man talking to Pinkie about something while she was still in Fluttershy’s lap. Rainbow did blink at that but moved to her boyfriend.
“Hey tiger.”
“Sup Dashie?”
“Things got cleared up.”
“Same here.”
“...so…”
“Here? Now?”
Rainbow looked to the rest of their friends and nodded quickly, a blush across her face.
“...fine.”
The rainbow-haired woman jumped in place, shocking her friends at the decidedly giddy attitude before their eyes shot open wide. Rainbow had leaned down and Spike grabbed her by her cheeks and kissed her, their lips open, their embrace was deep but chaste, they were in public. After a moment Spike leaned back and Rainbow Dash huffed happily, being led to the bench by Spike’s hand on her cheek. She sat next to him and wrapped her arms around his as his tail curled around her waist.
Pinkie was the first to speak, or whistle in her case. “Wow, that’s spicy.”
Rainbow grinned at Rarity and Applejack and they looked elsewhere.
“I see someone has been teasing our friends.” Spike smirked at Rainbow as she snuggled into his neck.
“I like to brag.”
“I know you do.” He kissed her forehead and Rainbow giggled under his care.
“Now I’ve seen everythin’.” Applejack blinked at the display.
“Quite.” Rarity took a seat and fanned herself some more.
“They are very cute together.” Fluttershy managed to squeak out from Pinkie’s back.
“Cute and spicy!” Pinkie giggled as Rainbow grumbled softly.
The dravyernian laughed and looked at Pinkie, they shared a look and he looked at Rainbow, lightly poking her arm with his free hand. “Hey Rainbow?”
Rainbow Dash looked up at him and blinked at the look in his eyes, it was different, just a little, but a good different. Something about how his eyes glowed a little brighter when he looked at her made her unbelievably happy. Like nothing could make this moment better. She really did lo-
“I love you Rainbow.”
She stood, well sat, corrected. Her eyes opened wider as her cheeks flushed darker and deeper then they ever had before. Her wings sprouted from her back, flapping happily as she looked into Spike’s eyes. She was worried about saying it to him, he liked to take things slow. He was methodical like that, she didn’t want to push him, but something about being with him was different. He treated her respectfully but casually, being near him made her happy and kissing him was becoming her favorite thing in the world.
But those words, those three simple words sent wave after wave of happiness through her as she just looked at him. She could almost feel tears coming as she took his cheeks and kissed him. Pulling back immediately before she forgot to respond.
“...I love you too Spike.” She kissed him again and Spike returned it readily. They both blushed at their friends whistling and rooting them on as their foreheads came together. They just looked into each other's eyes. Happy.
Now this day couldn’t get better.