//------------------------------//
// Linking Fingers 
// Story: Lost In Translation 
// by Shaud 
//------------------------------//

"Y-you want to what?" Sunset's face turned bright red as she looked in disbelief at her friend. She glanced around them nervously. People milled about inside the mall, a mall that was very close to the school where anyone could see them. Then, of all times, was when Twilight wanted to bring this up?

"For research purposes, of course!" Twilight's face was a bit too smug for Sunset to believe what she said. The scientist was plotting something, that was sure, and Sunset felt in her gut that following along would be a bad idea. However, Sunset wasn't one to turn away a bad idea. Especially one that involved Twilight in any way.

"F-fine." Sunset's upper lip curled up in something between a pout and a sneer as she offered her hand to her friend. She could never say no to Twilight, and the other girl knew it. She wanted to keep her tough girl look up, though, and made it seem like she did it against her will.

"Of all the things about humans," Twilight gently grabbed the other girl's hand, "Linking fingers has always looked the most interesting."

"Holding hands impresses you more than cars or non-sentient animals?" Sunset linked their fingers together and pulled Twilight along to the next shop with a scoff, hoping that no one from school--or worse, their friends--saw them and assumed things. She blushed at the very thought of it.

"Uh... Yeah..." Twilight blushed and ducked her head slightly. Sunset saw her opportunity, and smiled widely.

"...Or holding hands with me?"

"Mh... Yeah..."

Sunset laughed as Twilight's whole face went bright red. To be honest, Sunset found Twilight to be really cute. The princess seemed so naive and innocent at times, it made Sunset, with her bad-girl attitude, want to protect the girl. Common sense told her that Twilight didn't need her to do so, but she still liked to imagine herself as Twilight's knight in shimmering armor.

She did not mind holding hands with the princess, to say the least.

"Well, you can hold my hand any time." Sunset boasted, though she did glance around suspiciously once again. Twilight noticed both the words and the action, and smiled a bit.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, we don't have to." Her grip loosened, "I understand it's a more romantic gesture..."

Sunset was quiet for a moment before she tightened her grip and quietly said, "You can hold my hand any time."

She could already tell by Twilight's grin she would regret it, but at the moment, she didn't care, and they wore matching blushes and grins for the rest of the shopping trip.