The door to the gym was shut behind her, nobody was around, and she had the whole walk to the other side of the gym. There were no excuses. Head high, back straight, Fluttershy took two swingy steps before she started to hunch over with the fear of what anyone that saw her would say. Still, she kept her hips moving, back and forth, back and forth, certain it would be noticeable from clear across the room.
It's not exhibitionism, it's not exhibitionism, it's not exhibitionism.
It wasn't, she knew it wasn't, but the heat in her cheeks persisted. It wasn't like she was doing anything dirty, Rarity was known to strut a little and nobody ever batted an eye. Heck, Adagio herself didn't seem to get any extra attention for the way she walked, and she had the widest, swingiest hips of anyone in-
She'll tease you about voyeurism next, you know.
The thought didn't help with the burning sensation in her face as she reached the other end of the gym, not even able to recall if she'd done the walk or not. Touching the handle, she looked over her shoulder at the empty gym, feeling something flicker in her chest. She still had a few minutes until her next class, there was still nobody around to see her, and if she built a good foundation now, she might even be able to think about doing the walk in public by the time she was in college!
Not actually doing the walk, just thinking about it. But, in public! With other people around!
Planning like that worked for her transition to wearing skirts that ended above the knee from fourth grade to the start of high school, after all, and here she was! Then again, she knew Adagio wouldn't spend a minute thinking about whether or not something she wanted was too high to aim for, she'd just go for it until it was hers or she knew it was absolutely impossible to reach. And even then, she'd just find the next best thing and tackle it twice as hard! That was the only thing she had ever admired about the old Sunset, and one of the few things she and Adagio still had in common; to be so self-assured and assertive as to know what they wanted and go straight for it, gosh darn the consequences!
She squeezed the door's handle before releasing it and turning away. Marching right back the way she came, the blush persisted as she forced her hips to sway with every step. Stopping, she had an idea. Walking with any real confidence would look weird on her, but maybe if she just did it without the hip-shaking part, she could adapt it in later? Head high, back straight, she walked with no regard to the noise her shoes were making against the hard-wood floor, like someone who didn't give a twitch of a tail who heard her walking places! When she got to the door she came in through, she turned right around and marched the same way straight to the other side. Her heart beating fast, she decided that was probably enough for today and proceeded to class normally.
---
Wednesday morning got off to a flying start, because for once, Adagio's arrival went perfectly! Looking around as she waited for her favorite Dazzling, Fluttershy caught sight of her, smiled and waved at her normally, and got a normal smile and wave back as she approached! Not that she disliked Aria or Sonata, she was sure they were nice enough girls too. And, Adagio's smile was more like a half-smirk, but for her it was pretty much the same thing. But still!
Taking her usual place over the back of the bench, Adagio seemed a little extra relaxed today. "Morning, Sweetie."
She smiled brightly. "Good morning!" Feeling a strange sense of something she couldn't put her finger on just then, she opted to test the waters of small-talk with a former evil enchantress. "How are you today?"
Adagio's relaxed smirk grew a little wider. "How am I, you ask? Well," she stood up straight to stretch her arms up over her head, "I suppose I'm as lithe, limber, and-" closing one eye in a coy wink, she took up a pose not unlike the one she'd used on Fluttershy before, arms still raised, fingers interlocked as the palms faced outward, back arched, hips cocked, and one leg out to the side, the eye not winking kept on Fluttershy, "-flexible as ever." She bent over to position her face very close to that of her prey, her question coming with a slow, warm exhale. "Whyever do you ask?"
Wide-eyed and bright red, Fluttershy remembered that Adagio was still a little evil. But this time, she wouldn't run away! "I-I was just, y-you know, asking."
"I see. And how are you?"
From a variety of tingly feelings, she deduced that sometimes a completely honest answer wasn't best. Even so, she steeled herself, not wanting to shrink back any further than she already had. "I'm... okay?"
Adagio leaned in closer, their noses almost touching, eyes half-lidded. Her voice came in a husky whisper. "And now?" The only verbal reply was a series of high-pitched squeaks, but the sight of sweat running down Fluttershy's crimson face hinted that maybe she was going too far again. Chuckling, she backed away and resumed her usual pose. The way Fluttershy was glowing, a tiny part of her was worried about getting sunburned at that distance, anyway.
For the next two minutes, Fluttershy focused on breathing, the bag she'd brought today's treat in, and a niggling sense that she was going to regret her choice very soon. Glancing at Adagio, she was a little surprised to see her still waiting, not a single sign of impatience in that laid-back little smirk of hers. Something about the expression tickled the edges of her heart, making her smile. "T-today I brought something a little different." Fishing one of the candies whose wrapper she greatly loosened in advance, Fluttershy quickly revealed a little, red ball and offered it to Adagio. "They're usually called fireballs, very flavorful, but very spicy."
Taking it between two fingers, Adagio skipped any jokes about Fluttershy trying to get her 'hot' (too obvious) and popped it into her mouth. To no immediate effect. "Spicy, huh?"
Eyeing a second fireball in her own hand, Fluttershy was visibly steeling herself for the coming trial. "G-give it a minute..." Taking a deep breath, she put it in her mouth. Ordinarily, she gave this kind of thing to Pinkie, Rainbow, or maybe even Applejack, but she did not want to risk Adagio thinking she was playing a prank on her when the acidic properties of the ball kicked in. Sucking on one herself seemed like the best way to show that wasn't the case, though while they were sweet and sugary, she'd probably have to run to the nearest water fountain soon. Trying to take her mind off the rapidly-intensifying heat, she looked at Adagio, her analytical face reinforced with a sincere little smile.
"These are... interesting. Candied hot sauce? It's not so different from mint, but in reverse, somehow." Fluttershy winced a little as she caressed the tiny ball with her tongue. On purpose. "Yes, this is different, candy with a kick!" She chuckled. "Not bad at all, Sweetie! How's yours?"
Fluttershy internally screamed. Why did she have to ask that?! Visibly sweating, she tried to push the ball around in her mouth to areas that weren't burning as badly without letting it touch her tongue, with little success. Tears gathering in her eyes, she all but whimpered. "H-ho-ho-hot!!"
Adagio gave her a strange smile of amusement and sympathy. "Aww, you poor thing. Well, maybe I can help you."
Her mouth was barely opened to ask how when Adagio quickly darted forward, her long, slippery tongue extended like a hummingbird about to feed from a flower, sliding straight past Fluttershy's lips!
From there, her world exploded into heat. Heat from the fireball, heat from Adagio's fireball-coated tongue, and the regular kind of heat in her face, much hotter than usual, in response to awareness that she was possibly in the middle of her first french kiss. It was a wonder she didn't pass out! There was a haze of thoughts about whether or not it counted, of not being sure there was any kind of lip contact and not knowing if french kissing was just one tongue in another mouth, but the next thing she knew, Adagio was giggling almost maniacally and her mouth didn't feel so hot anymore.
Now enjoying the fiery intensity of two spicy candies as well as her usual morning entertainment, Adagio couldn't help smiling. "So, just asking, how are you?" As anticipated, the only reply was incoherent, red-faced babble. The display was tastier than the fireballs, but she was likely pushing her luck now. "Sorry," she offered with a chuckle, placing a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder, "in all seriousness, are you alright?"
The combination of Adagio's gentle tone, the sincerity in her voice, and what she was sure was a caring look in her eyes made Fluttershy's heart melt. Unless that was an after-effect of the fireballs, but she'd never heard of such a thing from Pinkie. She smiled warmly. "I think I'm okay." There was only a tiny jab in Fluttershy's chest when Adagio nodded and pulled away, but she hadn't really expected the moment to last.
"Good. As I said before, I tend to be a little too much for some people, so..." She shrugged, losing her smirk. "If you need me to back off a little, I-"
"No!" Quickly reaching out to grab one of the siren's hands in her own, Fluttershy was a little surprised to see Adagio startled for just an instant. "Please, don't worry about me, I might freeze up and shy away sometimes, but I'm fine! You, you personally, haven't hurt me since we met, and I like you just the way you are!" She frowned a little. "Please, don't let me keep you from being yourself, or nobody will be happy in the end."
Staring back at her in silence, it wasn't clear if the redness in Adagio's cheeks came from what Fluttershy just said, or the fireballs. She cleared her throat, glancing at the hand still being held. "Right, well..."
Realizing how the situation might look to an observer, Fluttershy squeaked and drew back, her face burning all over again. "S-sorry!"
Turning her gaze out toward the soccer field, Adagio shrugged again. "So, anyway, thank you for the fireballs."
Smiling through her lingering embarrassment, Fluttershy offered the bag. "Here! I-I don't really like these all that much myself, so, if you'd like the rest, um...?" Remembering her recent confidence, she tried to keep her shoulders and face up, but couldn't help a light tremble.
Adagio was a fraction of a second from asking what she wanted in exchange, but the answer was clear in her bright, blue eyes.
'Nothing. Take them, please?'
Letting out a short giggle, Adagio accepted the bag of spicy treats, narrowing down the best time in the day to tell Aria about them. "Quite the altruistic type, aren't you? Very well, thank you." She set the bag on the seat she was leaning over, smiling in what wasn't quite a smirk at Fluttershy. "So, if you don't actually like these, why would you bring them along? Spicy things don't sound conductive to steadying one's nerves to begin with."
This time, Fluttershy blushed for reasons that had nothing to do with being teased, being looked at, or wayward thoughts breaking free of their pen in her mind. "Do you like them?"
Adagio looked back at her in quiet surprise. The four, simple words said much more than the question they formed, returning greater warmth to Adagio's insides, independent of the fireballs. It was with just a tiny smirk that she reached out to ruffle Fluttershy's hair again. "You're too kind."
Giggling, she straightened her hair as much as she could manage. "Thank you."
"No, really," added the former mastermind, though her expression hadn't changed, "you waited out here almost exclusively to share these with me? It's a lovely gesture, but don't you think you're forgetting something?"
Fluttershy was lost, and it showed on her face. "N-no, not really. Waiting was easy, I do it all the time."
"That's not what I-" She blinked once, drawing a hand to her chin as she turned her analytical gaze on Fluttershy herself this time. "Why is that, anyway? I've been here long enough to hear 'good things come to those who wait,' but I can personally attest that they come much faster for those who get up and take what they're after. I know people are encouraged to wait their turns and all that, but all being willing to wait gets you is the chance to wait longer."
"W-well, I know that, but-"
"Then why do you do it?" Adagio hoped interrupting her to ask would demonstrate the point.
There was a pause, resolve clear in Fluttershy's face when she answered. "Because someone has to." Adagio's adorably inquisitive stare remained. "I mean, if nobody's ever patient, if everyone jumps in to take what they want all the time, then things only get cluttered and hectic, right? But, if they see others waiting patiently, nobody feels like they're the only ones, and it's easier to tolerate waiting their turn. I guess, I want to encourage the system of getting what you want in due time by being that example." She shrugged a little, looking down. "It, doesn't really seem to work all that often, but, that's my reason."
Then she waited. There were sentiments she'd heard many a time about standing up for herself, about being every bit as assertive as everyone else, but she'd thought about assertiveness vs. patience more than once. The conclusion she'd come to was that while being the kind of person that got what they wanted right away might have been nice, it wasn't fair and realistic for everyone. So, she would be one who could wait, as long as it took. Yet, to her surprise, there wasn't a word out of Adagio about her being weak or telling her to stand up for herself like her friends had in the past.
Looking at her, Adagio just kind of nodded. "I see. Well, just the same, it would be best if you brought something you enjoyed, Sweetie." Chuckling, she winked again, drawing an immediate, rosy-cheeked smile out of Fluttershy. "While we're trading philosophy, here's another tid-bit worth remembering; if you're not at least a little selfish, you'll never be happy."
Blue eyes blinked once. "Huh...?"
Smiling wider at her expression, Adagio giggled. "Just, something to think about, I suppose." She picked up the bag and pushed off the bench. "I'll see you around, Sweetie."
Watching her go (and noticing that she didn't shake her hips that hard), Fluttershy had a lot of thoughts to sort through. There were the specifications of hip-movement she'd try to remember for later, Adagio's philosophy on selfishness, and most tantalizing of all, the french kiss.
Am... Am I going to get pregnant now...?
No, don't be ridiculous! You know that's not how it works, it goes like-
Still partly recovering from the fireball, it was best that she not think about what she'd learned in health class right now. Still, she'd have the rest of today to work out everything that happened this morning... Just as soon as it stopped feeling like the butterflies in her belly were on fire.
Fireflies. Fireflies are so pretty.