//------------------------------// // Chapter 30 - "Miscommunication" // Story: My Little Caboose II: Friendship is Fragmented! // by DarkWing //------------------------------// It was a quarter to eight in the morning when the sun rose in the clear sky, hitting Fluttershy's eyes. She clenched them tightly and let out a small yawn. She wasn't used to staying up extra late, so she felt that she could sleep a little longer before she would go feed her animals. As she readjusted herself, she realized there was something heavy sitting on her wing. "Give me a few more minutes, Angel," Fluttershy whispered, assuming it was her pet wanting it's breakfast. When the weight remained, she shifted slightly and opened her eyes a crack. The thing that was on her wing was not Angel, but was rather an orange foreleg. "Grif?" Fluttershy mumbled softly, hugging his foreleg. Her eyes then shot wide and she gazed at the leg wrapped around her and yelped sharply. She rolled quickly to the side and saw that Grif was indeed sleeping her her bed. "Grif?" "Hey, Fluttershy," Grif muttered tiredly, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry if I kept you up too late last night, I just-" Fluttershy then let out another high-pitched gasp of surprise and fell off the bed, crashing into the ground with a hard thump. "Snore a lot more when I drink alcohol..." Grif finished quietly, then crawled to the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?" "Y-yes," she mumbled, wrapping the cover around her nervously. A sharp pain flared into her head and she instantly clutched it and whimpered softly. "W-what happened last night?" "We talked a lot," he said, looking down at her. "More than I usually do, actually." "We... talked?" she asked hesitantly, trying to think back into the blur that was the night before. "Did I say anything?" "Yeah, you said a bunch of stuff," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just wanted you to know that I appreciated it. I'm not used to talking about my feelings, but the stuff you said was just the thing I needed to hear." "It was?" she asked, blushing slightly as she looked towards the window and winced as the sunlight shone in her eyes. Rubbing her eyes, she looked back to Grif and opened one eye at him, trying to block out most of the pain. "W-what did we talk about? "You really don't remember, huh?" he chuckled, then chuckled again when she put her hooves over her ears, massaging the area around them. "Do you remember how much you drank?" "Too much," she replied groggily. "Tea is supposed to be pretty good for hangovers. Want me to go get you some?" "T-that would be nice," she said with a curt nod. "Alright, get back in the bed then. I'll go see if Angel can help me make you some," he said, heading towards the door, only to pause and look back. "I had fun last night, though. Just wanted you to know that.' Fluttershy blinked dumbly when Grif left the room, a strange feeling in her gut. Many things ran through her pain-addled mind as she sat there. By the looks of things, she had told Grif her feelings and he felt the same way, so they slept together. At the thought of that, she blushed deeply and rubbed her head. She then realized the pain in her stomach was bile, so she quickly ran to the waste basket and shoved her head inside, trying her best to fight back her headache as well as what she had the day before. After a few minutes of sitting by the basket, she trudged onto the bed, carrying it with her in case she needed it. She looked at the open window, staring at the clear blue sky for what felt like hours, but was only just a few seconds. When she realized it was too bright, she crawled out of her spot, dragging the bin with her and closed the window. She then began to wonder if Grif was simply hungover all the time and that was why he slept so much, but her wondering deepened her migraine, making her whimper, so she quickly wrapped herself under the covers with her temporary bucket and waited there for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually she heard the door to her room open, so she peered out from under the cover at the foot of the bed, wrapped around snugly with a blanket. As she did so, she saw Angel hopping into the room, holding a tray with a steaming cup of tea rested on top of. Grif then walked in with tired eyes and watched as Angel delivered the drink to Fluttershy. She slowly took it off the tray and began to take small sips out of it, sighing happily as it offered up a small, but immediate relief. After a few more drinks, she glanced back at Grif and saw him leaning on the door's frame, eyes closed. "Thank you for the tea, Angel," she said, patting the bunny on the head. "You too, Grif." "No problem," he mumbled, clearly tired already. Angel smiled strangely at her, but paused when he saw the look Fluttershy was giving Grif. Tilting his head, he looked to Grif and saw him, almost asleep while standing up. He then looked at the bed and saw the imprint of a slightly larger pony on it. Raising a brow, he looked at Fluttershy's small frame, then at Grif's chubbier frame. His eyes then shot to Fluttershy and opened widely. "We went out for a drink last night with Tucker and Rainbow Dash," she explained quietly, seeing the look on his face. "I think I had a bit too much though, because I can't remember much from last night." Angel's eye twitched slightly and he hopped out of the room slowly, one hop every two seconds. He paused by Grif and tapped his leg, waking him up. "Bwuh. Huh?" he snorted, glancing down at the white ball of fluff. Angel tugged at his leg and pointed out of the room. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea," he sighed, looking to Fluttershy. "Listen, you should get some rest after you finish that, because sleep fixes everything. And again, sorry if you didn't get to sleep much last night." "O-okay," she said with a nod as Grif walked out the door. As soon as Grif closed the door, Angel tapped on his hoof. The instant he looked down, he was met with a foot to the face. "What the hell was that for?" Grif grunted, rubbing his cheek. Angel stomped his foot to the ground and pointed towards the door while giving Grif a serious glare. Grif looked to the door, then back to Angel. "What the hell was that for?" he repeated slowly, unsure of what he meant. "It's not my fault she drank too much. I told her early on to not drink too much, and so did the others." Angel's features relaxed slightly and he took a small, relieved breath as he looked at the door. Glancing back at Grif, he began scratching his head, mimicking the motion of drinking out of a glass. "Are you... wondering why she drank, or are you thirsty?" he inquired, then frowned when Angel put his paw on his face. "You know I can't understand you past basic things, right?" With a heavy sigh, he pointed towards the door and did his previous motion. "Who knows why she drank that much," he said with another yawn. "All I know is that it would probably be better if you waited to ask her later. She needs her sleep, and so do I. I only nabbed a few hours last night since I went to bed late and woke up early, so I'm missing nearly a dozen off of my schedule. Tell her I'll be out back if she needs me, alright?" Angel rolled his eyes once again and went back into Fluttershy's room to help her with her hangover.