//------------------------------//
// Careless Words 
// Story: Fickle Romance 
// by reflective vagrant 
//------------------------------//

	“I still don’t understand why they have to bury me in my own home every time it happens,” Time Turner, Ditzy's friend and host for the night, spoke idly as he threw another log on the fire. The warmth was certainly necessary, as the cold manifested by the howling blizzard was seeping into the house.
“Heavy storms have to happen every now and again to keep the weather system in balance,” Ditzy Doo answered from the guest bedroom.  “Blizzards are no exception.”
With a huff, he went back to his lab desk to sit down.  “I mean, I selected this house because its location and construction was ideal for almost any disaster.  It drains well and is high up enough not to have a problem with flooding.  Its structure is built so well it can even handle earthquakes with ease.”
A large pile of snow fell outside, catching his attention as it plopped down and blocked off the one window that still showed any streetlight through the storm.  “And all this snow I’ve been cursed with,” he grumbled.  “Why does the weather team have to throw so much snow my way every time any kind of winter storm is scheduled?”  He picked up his book again with a shake of his head.  “Whenever I complain, all they can tell me is that it has something to do with how my house is positioned with the neighboring hills, and that they can’t do anything about it.”
Ditzy yelled out again after making some rustling noises from her room,  ““Well, you didn’t have to stay here.  I had a spare bed at my place for you tonight, if you'd wanted it.”
“What!?”  He exclaimed in shock.  “And throw my ongoing experiments down the drain?  Most of them simply can’t be moved.”
Gesturing towards his experiments to nobody in particular, he began to rant. “Just about all of them require that I keep the lab warm through the night.  One is at a critical stage, and has to be tended to at exactly six forty-seven tomorrow morning.  I can't wait for them to clear the snow.”
He folded his arms together with his book in one hand and pridefully leaned back in his chair.  “I’m sorry, but I simply had to refuse.”
As he went back to his reading, a shadow slowly crept up and out of the hallway.  “You are so stubborn,” Ditzy called out with a huff before warming up her attitude. “But, that’s what I like about you, Doctor.  You’re just so dedicated to whatever you do that you don’t have time to do much else.”
After seeing that her host was still intent on his reading, Ditzy carefully poised herself against the door frame.  “But, when I manage to pull you away from your lab, you’re one of the nicest and funnest ponies to be with.”  Her head tilted and her eyes softened as her already warm voice gained a playful tone.  “I don’t really mind being snowed in with you, Doctor.”
Time Turner closed his eyes and gently shook his head for a moment.  “I still don’t see why you decided to come to my place to keep me company.  I told you I'd be perfectly fi–”
His train of thought had stopped abruptly.  He blushed.  His eyes darted rapidly, taking in the situation—as well as the rather revealing details of his companion’s dress.  Although he was only doing one of these on purpose.
“I, erm..."  With a cough he finally redirected his gaze to her face.  "Never mind.  I think I have my answer.”  He reflexively scooted his chair backwards a bit.
The primaries of her visible wing teasingly caressed the cabinet to the side of the door.  "I want to ask you a question, Doctor."
A weak blush came to her cheeks as she stopped leaning on the door frame.  With a puppy-dog-like charm to her drooping wings and ears, she carefully moved towards him.  Closing a part of the distance, she stopped and took up a simple, but suggestive pose. "Does this dress make me look sexy?"
Having scooted back his chair a bit more, her host had bumped into the experiment that sat next to his desk.  With a quick glance back and a sigh of relief, he drew a straight face and answered her calmly.  "Ditzy, I am a gentlecolt, and it is unbecoming for gentlecolts to think of mares that aren't their wives in such a fashion."
He scooted his chair back to his desk and cracked a smile for the briefest of moments.  "But if I must answer your question, then please, give me a moment."  He set his book down, then stood up and looked back at her. 
"The term 'sexy' is purely an opinion, and hardly scientific, but I'll do my best anyway."  He put his hands out as if they were the bottom corners of a picture frame. Then, he carefully examined her while she tried to control her blush.  After walking a full circle around her, he stopped back in front of his chair.
While he gazed at her, her wings gave a light fluttering.  "Come on, Doctor.  Stop teasing me."
"Alright, I have my answer."  He pulled back his hands and folded his arms up and closed his eyes in thought.  "In my opinion, it is impossible for that dress, or any dress, to help you look sexy."  With this he let out a sigh and slowly opened his eyes.
Her blush faded as she looked at him in shock.  A moment later she ran back into the hallway, crying.
"Wait, come back!" he called out to her as she ran.  She tripped multiple times and fell once as she ran to the guest room.
When he up to her, he attempted to help her up, only to be given a solid slug from her left fist immediately after.
"Some gentlecolt you are!" she yelled as she turned back to her room.  "You could have just said 'no!'"
Shaking off the punch as best he could, he stumbled after her and pleaded, "Please wait–"
She saw him coming and purposely slammed the door in his face, knocking him backwards into the bathroom.  The back of his head caught the edge of the sink on his way down to the floor.
Time Turner laid there, grasping his head in pain.  When he cried out in agony, all he heard was a "Serves you right!" from the door across the hall.  He stayed there for several minutes until the pain subsided.
Once he crawled into his kitchen, he opened the medicine cabinet and started tending to his head.  "Well old chap, somehow you managed to botch things up again."