//------------------------------// // Chapter 36 - An Intimate Morning Moment // Story: Married to Her Job, Single in Her Heart // by Revenant Wings //------------------------------// 36. Redheart was awake. She could hear the birds chirping outside her window. She could feel the warmth of the early morning sunlight peeking in through the window, and she knew despite her eyes being closed they would be casting a warm orange and gold light across her otherwise austere white room. Her hoof was outside the blanket and caught a draft of cool air that clashed so thoroughly with the warmth that Redheart pulled her hoof into the blankets to keep it warm… and touched something else. A hoof. Another hoof that wasn’t attached to her. Redheart opened a lazy eye and found herself staring at the purple uni- alicorn that ran the Ponyville library. Memories of the previous night came rushing back to Redheart – the dinner at the fancy restaurant, the taste of the peach wine, Twilight coming over to her place for coffee, the cold wind that forced her to stay, her getting into bed and the two of them having a glorious night to themselves. But now, Twilight was sleeping. Her eyelids were closed but Redheart could see the quivering motions of the eyes underneath. Her mane was flopped over to one side and quite messy in places from where she had probably rubbed it against the pillow. Her stomach gently rose and fell, the sight nearly imperceptible if it weren’t for the soft warm breaths that came from her nose and slightly opened mouth. Her wings were folded neatly against her sides as though nothing wrong happened. Redheart sat there and relished the moment. Sure, she had similar experiences in the past, but this was different. She felt safe, comfortable, relaxed with Twilight. She felt secure watching Twilight sleep next to her. She felt protected as she recognized one of Twilight’s hooves wrapped around her. She felt… happy. That was a feeling she hadn’t recognized for a while. She thought she had felt it when she was with Caramel, but she had begun to diagnose that as simple complacency; it was okay but she hadn’t done anything to improve her surroundings when things got tough; she cried at his leaving instead of talking it over with him. But here… this was happiness, wasn’t it? The warm feelings that Redheart had inside weren’t just being fine with where she was anymore. She recalled long ago how Twilight had told her she wanted to get to know her better. That certainly had happened last night in both forms of the phrase. Redheart brought a hoof up and gently stroked Twilight’s cheek, feeling the velvet softness of her lavender coat under it. Twilight gave a contented sigh and Redheart was tempted to do the same, yet she held back for a moment for fear of waking her sleeping companion. The touch confirmed that everything the previous night wasn’t a dream, that everything that happened before had actually happened to her. Redheart turned around gently and scooted herself into Twilight’s embrace before closing her eyes again. It was nearly an hour when Redheart awoke. The bed was moving slightly behind her, and she could feel the gentle stretching of muscles from the pony behind her. Redheart didn’t open her eyes but let out a soft chuckle. The moving eventually stopped. “So you are awake?” came Twilight’s soft whisper from behind her. “I was awake an hour ago,” Redheart replied. “I was facing you before, but it wasn’t close enough for me. So I turned around and scooted in closer to you. For warmth.” “Are you sure it wasn’t for another reason?” Twilight asked, a hint of teasing in her voice. “Because it doesn’t feel that cold to me.” “Hey, I’m not Applejack,” Redheart said with a laugh. “I can lie every once in a while.” “I suppose so,” Twilight said. “And that’s a lie that at least isn’t entirely harmful.” “It’s based in truth.” “Which part?” “My hoof got caught in a draft. And I can’t remember if I turned the heater on.” Twilight pulled Redheart closer to her. “You forgot to turn one heater on, but the other one’s awake.” Gently, Twilight unfurled one of her wings and put it around Redheart. Almost immediately the temperature boosted as the feathers blocked the cold air from coming in and the warmth of the ponies’ bodies from leaving. “There’s an advantage of having wings,” Redheart commented. “You have your own insulation.” Twilight laughed. “So you do have a sense of humor?” “It’s there. It’s infrequent, but it’s there.” Twilight giggled a little more before settling down with a sigh. Redheart took her own hoof and pulled Twilight’s close to her, not wanting her to let go quite yet even though there was coffee to brew and breakfast to cook. She could feel one of Twilight’s other hooves stroking her back and occasionally run through her mane. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt this way,” Redheart commented. Twilight gave a tiny lick to the back of Redheart’s neck. It felt warm like the rest of her body. “Felt what way?” she asked. “Happy,” Redheart said. “I… I think the last time I felt this happy was when I got the job at the hospital. And it’s been a while since I was in a relationship that made me feel that way.” Twilight shifted position, putting a hoof under her head. “I was in a relationship with someone before I came to Ponyville,” she said. “He was nice to me and everything and was really polite and a gentleman. We even went out on a date. But then… then he told me of his idea of marrying me to get into favor with Celestia. Everything he did up until that point had a motive to me, then. He told me some of those feelings were true, but it was too hard to look past it.” “Did you ever get… intimate with him?” “Once. It was awkward and uncomfortable. He was gentle with me, and later apologized, but I couldn’t do it with him again.” “Who was it?” Redheart said as she turned around to face Twilight. “Oh, just some Canterlot noble at the School for Gifted Unicorns,” Twilight said. Her eyes gained a sort of faraway look. “We met for a short time after the Grand Galloping Gala my first year down here. I forgave him for his actions, but I couldn’t get together with him. He seemed to understand, though.” “What about me, though? Why choose me, a small town nurse, over Canterlot nobility?” “You’re smart, to start with. Nursing is a hard career and needs good grades, so we have that in common. You like to read and take notes, which is another thing we have in common. Also, the more we’re together, you remind me of me when I first came here.” “Not many friends, difficulty relating to other ponies, developing sense of humor, needing to learn a thing or two about social graces… yeah, I can see that.” Twilight smiled. “So, I suppose I should ask if you’d be willing to… continue this thing.” Redheart smiled. “‘Thing’?” She laughed. “I would have thought a walking dictionary would be able to come up with the right word for it.” Twilight gently bopped Redheart on the nose. “You know what I mean.” Redheart nodded. “Of course I do.” “You know what I mean?” Redheart gently returned the hit to the nose. “No. Of course I want to continue this.” “Do you… want to go to the Summer Wrap-Up Festival later today?” Redheart smiled back. “That sounds wonderful.”