I woke up to the sight of blue eyes hovering by the side of my bed. Still groggy, I leaned over to kiss the lips situated beneath the turquoise orbs. I was met halfway by a hand and a small squeak. As I removed my face from the incredibly soft palm, my eyes focused on the color of the hair surrounding the eyes I was so happy to see. It wasn't blue. It was eggshell pink. Shit. Habit, I guess. Two years is a long time to be with someone. Still...
"H-hi, Shy? Why are you in my room? It's kinda early to be up." I blinked a few times, and my eyes focused just a little better on her face. I reached over to my bedside table and fumbled around until I found my glasses. Placing their rectangular frames on my face, I used my other hand to push myself up into a sitting position.
"Dash, there's something you need to hear. Vinyl is here, and she says she has something for you. It's really important. Are you awake enough to go talk to her?" I squinted at Fluttershy, a look of confusion evident on my face. Why would Vinyl be here at... I glanced at the WonderBolts alarm clock on my bedside table... Seven a.m.? That's way too early, especially after how late we were up at that party last night. But if she's here, it must be big. I guess I'll go see what she wants.
"Yeah, sure. I'll go see what she wants. Did she say anything to you?" Shy's shoulders collapsed in on themselves, and seeing her crumple like that told me it was something bad.
I threw back the covers, flipped up and out of the bed, and sprinted toward my living room. Just as I rounded the corner, I collided with a body, and bounced back hard enough to slam into the wall at what felt like sixty miles an hour. What the hell was that?
I took a moment to breathe and assess any potential damage. I looked over and spotted Vinyl leaned up against the kitchen counter in a similar position to mine, rubbing the back of her head softly. A pang of guilt went through me. In my panic, I'd accidentally hurt my girlfriend. I leaned forward and crawled the short distance to her side. Sitting back with my legs folded under me, I quickly checked her head for any serious injuries. It was nothing more than a small bump. I was lucky this time. I softly kissed the swelling, and wrapped my arms around her. I could feel her laughing in my embrace.
"What'd you do that for, silly? I was coming back here to wake you up. You didn't need to run around like a crazy woman." I leaned back and grinned sheepishly at her. I kinda do rush into things without thinking sometimes.
"Sorry, Vi. I'll be more careful next time, promise. Shy just freaked me out because was being so mopey. She said you had something to tell me?" A flash of something tore across her face and disappeared as quickly as it came. Was it guilt? Worry? I couldn't tell.
"Yeah, there's something I've gotta tell you. It's not bad, per se. Just not necessarily good. Why don't you get some breakfast first and I'll tell you?" I shook my head. If I ate, that would just be longer that she would have this news stuck inside her. I know how torn up she gets when she has time to think to herself. Plus, my focus is better when I don't eat. It sharpens my perception, and it sounds like I'll need that for whatever this is.
"Nah, I'm good. I'm still packed from all that food we ate at the party last night. I want to hear what you have to say. It's obviously bothering you." Vinyl sighed, and shook her head slightly. Shoulders slumping marginally, she stood up and took my hand. I used the wall to balance while I stood, dizziness washing over me. I really did need to eat, and soon, but I'm not telling her that. I heard a soft click behind me as Shy escaped out the back door to give us some privacy.
Vinyl gripped my hand tightly as we made our way to the soft loveseat in one corner of my living room. Collapsing onto the left side of the cushion, I patted the spot next to me, indicating that Vinyl should sit. She did so hesitantly, nearly perching on the edge of the cushion before I put my arm around her and dragged her back to lean against me. She heaved a small sigh from the depths of her lungs, a sound of contentment tinged with something suspiciously like regret. I ran my fingers absently through her shoulder length blue hair, subconsciously picking up the hints of that citrus shampoo I loved so much. This was heaven, surely.
"Rainbow, I have something really important to tell you. My manager left me a voicemail this morning. He's signed me up for a two year tour. I'll be traveling all over the world, performing globally. This is big. My first true world tour." And now, this is hell. With six tiny sentences, my world came crashing down. I was no fool. I knew that this meant Vinyl was leaving me. Significant others don't usually tag along on tours, especially when said girlfriend hasn't even finished her junior year of high school.
"Vinyl... Vi... When? When do you leave?" My voice cracked, even more so than normal, and I could feel my heart in my throat with every swallow. Every shaky breath that escaped my lungs was one less that I could spend next to the love of my young life.
"That's the thing, Dash. I'm supposed to leave in three days. They want me to do a Christmas show in Trottingham, and that leaves me with a couple of days to get used to the new schedule before I perform. I stay there a couple of nights, making my rounds, and then I leave for Marelin. And so on, for the next couple of years. But I promise you, we can make this work. I can get you tickets to shows, and airline tickets to get to the performance. You can be there at every possible opportunity. We can work this out, I..." I silenced her with a kiss. She had three days with me? Well, I was gonna make them last, because who knows how long it was gonna be until I saw her again. Who knows if we could even make our relationship last? She wasn't just going to be a couple hours away, she might be a couple countries away.
"Look, Vi, that doesn't matter right now. All I want is to make these days we have last. You never know how much time you're gonna get with someone, so you've gotta make it count. I promise that I will wait for you everyday until you come home, but until you leave, we're gonna have the time of our lives. We'll make today a day to remember, and then tomorrow will never end. Two years isn't too long to ask for a lifetime of memories with you, is it?" I felt her snuggle closer, and I felt a teardrop smear against my neck. Of course she was crying. She was always the secretly sappy one.
"Do you mean it, Rainbow? You would wait for me? Are you sure you want to? I mean, that's a long time to be apart from someone. Wouldn't you rather break up and try your luck with someone else? You've got the rest of high school ahead of you, you could always find someone that would be here." I squeezed her tightly as she curled further in on herself.
"I would do anything to be with you. You're my best friend, and have been since pretty much always. No amount of time or distance between us could stop me from loving you. If you'll wait, so will I." She nuzzled her head up under my chin, and gripped my right hand so tightly I thought it would break.
"I don't think I've ever said it like this, but I love you, Dash. In every sense of the phrase. You are exactly what I've always needed." I felt my heart swell at these words. This girl is something special.
"I love you, too, Vi. I will always love you." She twisted around and laid on her stomach on top of me so she could wrap her arms around me. I leaned forward and kissed her on the nose, morning breath and all. I want so many more moments like this. I want a future with her.
Suddenly, I felt her hands shift behind my back. She pulled one hand free, and had something clenched in her fist.
"Give me your hand, Dash." I had no idea what she was doing, but I released my hold on her back and held out my left hand, securing her on the couch with the other. I felt her slide a ring on my third finger, and suddenly I knew what she was doing. She had given me her ring.
"Vi, what are you doing? You can't give me this. It was your grandmother's. I can't wear your ring." She grinned mischievously at me.
"You can wear if I say so. This way the other kids won't be poaching on my woman while I'm gone. You're incredibly attractive, and I don't want them thinking you're fair game. Please wear it, for my peace of mind?" I smiled at the compliment she gave me, all resistance to her plan melting under the gaze of those fiery eyes.
"Okay, Vi. I'll wear your ring. But you have to have something of mine, to make sure you don't end up with some hot foreign girl. How about this?" I unclasped the silver chain from around my neck, the one with the silver lightning bolt charm my dad had given me the day I was born. He knew I was destined to be fast, faster even than a lightning strike during a storm. I placed the chain around her neck and fastened it, before letting my arms rest around the back of her neck for a few seconds. She smiled at me self consciously, because she knew instinctually that I was just admiring the view. I think I like it when she blushes.
"There. See how pretty you look in that? And now everyone in the whole world will see that and know you're mine." She grinned lopsidedly at me, and linked the fingers of her right hand through my left one. She let our hands drop to hang beside the couch. We just laid there for a while, enjoying the other's company. We had no plans today, and we didn't need them. All we needed for the next three days was each other's time.