//------------------------------// // Chaper 19, Coming Home // Story: Mechanic Hearts And Postage Stamps // by Ebony Runwick //------------------------------// The trip to Bitaly had been amazing, classical art, beautiful architecture, amazing food, and best of all, Adhesive got to share it all with his new husband! It had been absolutely perfect, the tickets had been first class, and the two stallions had gotten to stay at a beautiful and secluded villa. It had been so intimate and private, but with all the access to the major cities and locations. Now the two were at the airport, waiting for their ride home from one changeling hybrid. “That was absolutely perfect.” The mail stallion muttered softly, nuzzling into his new husband’s side. “Mhm..” Circuit muttered sleepily as he cuddled up with him, his arms wrapped tightly around the other stallion. “M’gonna be jet lagged for weeks though….” He yawned loudly, as it to clarify his point. “It was definitely worth it though.” Adhesive let out a soft chuckle and fixed his blue eyes lovingly on the gray ‘pegasus’. “Same here, but at least I still have a few weeks leave for the wedding from work. That means we can get over it together and be lazy.” With that being said, a familiar black carriage with silver trimmings pulled up, being pulled by none other than the two twins Lucky and Pixie. The carriage door was thrown open to reveal the golden hybrid herself, wearing a big grin. “Welcome back love birds! Hope in, I’ll drive.” She swung herself out landing with a thud and held the door open. The gray stallion yawned again as he got to his hooves, pulling Adhesive with him to the carriage. As soon as they were settled he flopped down again, pulling the other stallion into his arms so they could cuddle. “I’m so tired I could sleep forever…” “Me too babe, we’ll sleep when we get home okay?” Ebony then shut the door and threw the suitcases up on top of the carriage before tying them down and hopping into the driver’s seat. “Alright boys, you know where to go, HIYA!” _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In all honesty, Adhesive had fallen asleep moments after they started moving, and only woke up once the carriage jostled to a stop. “Ugh… What time is it?” “Too early that’s what time it is….” Circuit groaned, slowly lifting his head off of the other stallion’s shoulder. “Ebonyyyy...Why did we stop?” Said mare threw down the reins and thanked the two stallions pulling the carriage before answering her friend. “Cuz we’re at your house ya butt.” She smiled brightly, indicating the mare was only teasing. The pegasus jumped off the driver’s seat in a rebound and landed upright on her back hooves before opening the carriage door. “So get out, if you’re gonna sleep there’s a bed like, twenty feet from here.” “S’too far….” The ‘pegasus’ groaned as he slumped over onto Adhesive again. “Carry me.” The mare rolled her green eyes but grabbed the one still flesh hoof Circuit had and heaved the much bigger stallion over her shoulders before carrying him inside like he weighed no more than a pillow. “Adhesive, you coming?” Adhesive let out a grunt, practically falling out of the carriage. “Hnnng, pins and needles….I’ll be there in a sec once I get feeling back into my hooves..” The hybrid let out a laugh before opening the door with her magic, she walked down the stairs and promptly lay Circuit onto the couch before heading back upstairs to get Adhesive. “Need help there or are you good with crawling?” The mailstallion let out a dramatic sigh, reaching a hoof out to her. “I’ll lean against you, at least let me keep some of my dignity.” “Yeah yeah, get over here.” She pulled one of his hooves over her shoulder while dragging the luggage from before into the house ahead of them wrapped in a green aura. This time Ebony let Adhesive walk himself to the couch instead, letting him keep his ‘dignity’. “You know it’s funny, you asked to keep your dignity but I’ve been practically living with you two ever since, oh I don’t even know. Circuit, when did I officially unofficially move in or whatever?” “Nfghhhh…” The gray stallion responded, his voice muffled by the pillow he had his face buried in. Adhesive chuckled as he flopped down next to him, snuggling into his side. “I think that’s all you’re going to get out of him at the moment Ebs.” “Eh, seems legit, anyway, I’ve got to go back to my actual place, my sister Chichina, you met her at the wedding, she needs my help doing homework. Apparently she can’t find a Faust damn Robotics tutor so I have to do it myself.” Her ears splayed back in annoyance and the mare let out a small huff. The white stallion let out a soft snort, waving at the mare as he pulled a blanket over him and Circuit. “Alright, we won’t keep you. I’ll let Circuit know when he wakes up so he doesn’t think you died or anything. Have fun~” “Yeah, quantum physics, so much fun…” The mare huffed before walking out the door and getting into the carriage. “Take me home boys.” And just like that she was gone, off to teach Chichina rocket science. “Well, now that that’s done… how am I gonna get you off the couch and into the bed?” “S’not happening. Unless you plan to carry me, I’m not moving from this spot.” The stallion grumbled, covering his head with one of the pillows. “And there’s nothing you can do or say to make me change my mind.” “Sure I can’t, I guess you won’t get to see the cute little number I bought just before we left Bitaly~! Bitalian lingerie is so much different from the kind you can buy here, silk too~!” Circuit was silent for a few moments, his face steadily getting redder and redder from its place hidden in the pillow. He didn’t say anything, just simply got up, with the pillow still covering his face, and headed towards their room. “Good boy~” Adhesive purred before grabbing a certain scrap of cloth from his suitcase and following after his husband. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The stallion awoke to a chill about the room, the top half of his body was fine, snuggled into Circuit’s side. But the bottom half, mainly his legs and hooves were freezing, the blankets were only strewn about his midsection. “Faust damn it…” He muttered in frustration, too comfortable to move, but still cold. “Shhhhh don’t talk…” Circuit muttered from his spot curled up next to Adhesive, reaching up a hoof to smother against his mouth. “S’too early for this….” He grumbled before settling back down again. “Cooold…” The other stallion whined, trying to move his legs so the blanket would cover them, it didn’t work. “S’my blanket…..” The gray stallion grumbled, somehow able to pull even more of it over to his side. “Now suffer quietly, m’trying to sleep…” Adhesive narrowed his blue eyes before grabbing the covers with one hoof and swiftly grabbing them. Then, he rolled over towards the edge of the bed making himself a burrito in the warm blankets. “Now you suffer quietly.” Circuit just slowly opened one eye, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Alright, you asked for it.” He braced himself before pushing Adhesive off the bed, letting out a satisfied noise as he landed on the floor with a solid ‘thunk’. “Oof, that wasn’t very nice now was it?” The stallion huffed before propping himself up on his hooves and reaching for a pillow. “Now you’re gonna get it!” He jumped up and pulled the pillow up over his head before bringing it down on his husband. The ‘pegasus’ let out a squeal, covering his head with his hooves. “Adhesiiiive! Now I’ll never get back to sleep!” He whined as he scooped up one of the other pillows, smacking the other stallion in the face with it. “It is far too early for this!” He huffed, punctuating each word with a smack from his pillow. “Now you’ve gone and one it!” He squealed, grabbing another pillow in the other hoof. “Dual pillow action go!” Adhesive switched hits between both pillows, never giving his husband an opportunity to recover. “Muwahaha!” “Gah!” He yelped, covering his head with his hooves in an attempt to guard his face. “Okay okay I give! Uncle! The blankets are yours!” “Haha! Victory!” Adhesive cried happily before a grin covered his face. “I won, that means I own you darling. Bow to your master for me hmm?” The green maned stallion said sweetly, putting a hoof under his husband’s chin. Circuit rolled his eyes, letting out a dramatic sigh. “Oh yes my brave and loyal master, take pity on this humble servant of yours~” “Hmm, perhaps, perhaps not… maybe if you’re good~!” Adhesive flicked his tail and winked at Circuit. His face reddened slightly as he let out a huff. “Hmph, mighty big talk for somepony who’s..Ticklish!” He suddenly leapt at the mailstallion, his hooves attacking his sides. “Bow down before your new master!” “Ahahaha, N-never!!” Adhesive managed between fits of giggles and convulsions from the tickles. Circuit laughed as he continued to tickle him, intent on making him suffer a little longer. “Beg for mercy servant, and I might just let you live~” “Haha, I-I give.. Hahah, I g-give!” The stallion laughed, tears in his eyes but a smile on his face. “Hm...I suppose that is sufficient begging...For now~” Circuit teased, flopping down onto the ground next to him. “Oof….I’m beat….Can we go back to bed now?” “Okay, on one condition, this afternoon you promise we can go to the fair. The one we went to on Hearts And Hooves Day?” The stallion bat his eyelashes, giving his husband the puppy eyes. “Of course you’d still remember that..” The ‘pegasus’ grumbled slightly, despite the fact that he still remembered that fair almost as if it’d been yesterday. “I suppose I can..Humor your for an afternoon.” He spoke, letting out a long suffering sigh though, in actuality he was pretty excited. His husband pumped his hoof into the air in triumph before grabbing the blankets and jumping back onto the bed. Adhesive then covered them both with the multitude of blankets and snuggled into Circuit’s side. “I say we sleep til noon, your thoughts?” “Mmm..That sounds like a wonderful idea…” Circuit muttered, already starting to drift off from the combination of the warm blankets and the warmth of Adhesive at his side. “G’night again...Or I guess it’s technically good morning now..Whatever…” “Nnnn doesn’t matter…” The stallion mumbled, already drifting off due to the jet lag. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Ughhhh…. Circuit, wake up, it’s one o’clock…” “Nooooo…..” Circuit let out a dramatic groan, rolling onto his side and covering his head with a pillow. “It can’t be one yet….Just five more minutes…” He grumbled, already starting to drift off again. Adhesive narrowed his eyes before giving Circuit a shove right off the bed. “If you want five minutes, you’re gonna have to do it on the floor and without blankets you lazy grump.” The white stallion teased, pulling the warm blankets over his shoulders. The gray stallion let out a whine, slowly lifting his head up from the floor. “You’re so cruel...If I have to be on the floor then so do you.” He huffed as he reached up, grabbing the blankets and giving them a harsh yank. “Get down here you butt.” His husband let out a yell of surprise before tumbling over the edge of the bed and right onto Circuit’s chest. “...Ow.” “Oof….” He let out a grunt as the air was knocked out of him, going limp against the floor. “You’re heavy….” He wheezed, trying to catch his breath again. “Also you’re crushing my lungs…” Adhesive immediately rolled over to let Circuit breath, but was having a bit of a problem himself. “...Ow, again.” Circuit let out a breathy chuckle, wincing slightly as he pushed himself off of the ground. He held out a hoof for Adhesive, pulling the other stallion to his hooves. “Alright, let’s hurry up and get going before we hurt each other or ourselves again..” “Yeah yeah, but first, food?” He questioned with a smile, his stomach rumbling slightly to prove his point. “Yeah alright...But only if you make it.” The ‘pegasus’ chuckled, lightly pressing a kiss to his husband’s cheek before slipping off to the bathroom. “I’m gonna go take a shower! Don’t burn the house down!” “Fine! The only reason I’m not joining you in there is because I’m hungry you grump!” The stallion teased lovingly before waltzing out of the room and into the kitchen. Adhesive wasn’t a bad cook persay, just not as good as a certain hybrid that unofficially lived with them. “Mhm sure, just try not to eat everything in the house!” Circuit called back to him before shutting the bathroom door. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The fair was already in full swing by the time the two stallions arrived, ponies of all ages, shapes, and sizes running about playing games and spending way too much money on the overpriced fair food. Circuit huffed as the smell of deep fried something reached him, the scent both appetizing and disgusting at the same time. “Alright, what’re we doing first love?” “I don’t know, why don’t we go look at some of the booths? We didn’t get to last time.” He smiled brightly and, without waiting for an answer, grabbed Circuit’s hoof and pulled him into the fair laughing the whole way. Adhesive stopped in front of one of those cheap game booths with even cheaper game prizes. It was the classic knock down the bottles and win. “What about this one?” “You know these are all rigged right?” Circuit snorted as he looked over the booth. “You usually have to try like, twelve times before you can actually win anything. Plus, the prizes aren’t even worth it.” “Ah, but you haven’t seen me play these things, watch.” Adhesive shoved two bits at the attendant who gave him three baseballs in return. He smirked at his husband before tossing one and hitting all three milk bottles down on the first try. “Boom!” “Beginners luck!” The stallion snorted, lightly shoving the other. “It was a lucky shot, I bet you couldn’t do that on any of the harder games.” He teased, sticking his tongue out at him. The green maned stallion let out a laugh before picking out a soft panda bear prize and handing it to his husband. “For you my darling!” He smiled brightly, clearly enjoying himself. “I suppose this offering is….Acceptable..” Circuit huffed, holding the little stuffed bear close to himself. “Heh….It’s kinda like the first time we can here on Heart’s and Hooves day-” The rest of his comment was cut off as the speakers scattered around the park loud out a loud screech as they turned on. “Ladies and gentlecolts! Please gather around for a once in a lifetime performance from our special guest, the enchantress Mystic Sun!” “Oooo! Circuit, come on, let’s go see that!” Adhesive cried happily, running over towards the tent with the designated sign of ‘Mystic Sun’ above it. “I don’t know Adhesive….” The ‘pegasus’ muttered as they crammed into the tent along with the other patrons that’d come to witness the mare’s act. “Seems kinda….Fake to me. I mean c’mon, who’s ever heard of an earth pony that can actually do magic? It’s probably just a scam or something so they can try and steal our money.” “It’s free though, and Ebony can do magic, I mean, she’s half changeling but that’s not the point. Oh come on, please?” Adhesive batted his eyes and stuck out his bottom lip in a ‘Pretty please’ face. “Fiiine….But that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.” He huffed, pouting slightly. “You’re lucky you’re cute, otherwise you wouldn’t get away with half the things I let you.” Adhesive smiled brightly, giving a little hoof pump in triumph. “Yes! Let’s go!” The white stallion surged forward, dragging his husband with him into the tent. Circuit let out a grunt as he was dragged along, just barely managing to hold onto the other’s hoof as they made their way through the crowd, getting as close as they could to the front. “Slow down! For Luna’s sake, we don’t need to be right up front! There were perfectly good seats closer to the back!” “Shh, it’s starting!” Adhesive smiled, whispering lovingly to the other stallion. He snuggled up next to his husband, turning to look at the stage. The gray stallion let out a huff but fell silent, draping one of his arms over his lover’s shoulders. The light’s in the tent dimmed aside from the ones pointing to the stage. With a dramatic puff of smoke a dark purple mare appeared on stage, draped in bright colorful clothing. “Ladies and gentlecolts! Thank you all for coming to the show! I hope you’ll all enjoy the wonders of magic you’ll witness here!” Circuit let out a snort, rolling his dark green eyes. The noise was a bit louder than he intended, drawing the gaze of the mare on stage. She shot him a brief glare before resuming her act. “For my first feat, I’ll need a volunteer from the audience.” The white stallion next to Circuit brightened and shot a hoof into the air. “Me! I volunteer!” The mare scanned over the crowd, her gaze eventually landing on the white stallion. She shot him a bright smile, waving him up onto the stage. “You there, with the bright green mane.” Adhesive gave a small hoof pump in triumph before walking over to the side of the stage and climbing the stairs. He walked over to the mare, looking over the crowd then to Circuit whom he flashed a loving grin. Circuit let out a soft snort, settling back in his chair to watch. Mystic continued to smile at Adhesive, one of her assistants wheeling out a table onto the stage for them. “First, I need you to lay down on the table for me and just relax, empty your mind of all worries and frivolous thoughts.” The green maned stallion nodded, sitting down before pulling himself up onto the table and laying down. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, visibly relaxing. The mare gestured for one of her assistants to dim the lights before lifting herself onto her back hooves, her front ones hovering above the stallion on the table. “Good good….Release all tension from your body...Think of nothing and nopony, just let your mind go blank…” She spoke is a soft, hushed tone, adding to the dramatic tension building in the tent. His body went slack, all of the stallion’s muscles relaxed and he let out a soft sigh, Adhesive felt completely at peace. “Now...Whatever you do...Don’t open your eyes….” She began to hum as she finished speaking, waving her hooves above the stallion’s body. She began to mutter a soft incantation under her breath in something that didn’t sound even vaguely Equestrian. Slowly Adhesive’s body began to rise into the air, stopping once he was a few inches off of the table. As requested, Adhesive didn’t open his eyes, and he found he really didn’t want to. The words seemed strange, but he felt too relaxed to care. Adhesive felt like whatever he was laying on was so comfortable it felt like he wasn’t laying on anything at all. (Why do I do this? Ehhh, I’ll worry about my sanity later. ~Blackjewel101) The mare continued to mutter, her muttering steadily growing louder until it turned into more of a chant. The stallion continued to slowly rise further from the table until her concentration broke and he came crashing back down onto the table. The mare turned towards the one who’d broken her spell, her eyes narrowing at a certain ‘pegasus’ sitting up near the front. Said ‘pegasus’ had a hoof clamped over his mouth, trying to stifle his chuckles. Adhesive let out a groan of pain, sitting up as he rubbed the back of his head which was pounding from the fall. “Ow….” “Whoops...Sorry love!” Circuit called out to Adhesive, a sheepish, but still amused smile on his face. However, the mare making her way over to him did not look amused. In fact, she looked rather pissed. “Is this some kind of joke to you?” “Uh…” He stared at the performer, arching one of his eyebrows. “Yes?” Mystic let out an almost snarl like noise, her eyes narrowing. “Wrong answer.” She began chanting lowly in a more sinister voice, full of anger. The language was the same as before, an ancient dialect that was long dead. “Prius est in nocte, Ante diem autem per, Quidquid enim fecerit ad alios, Non iudicium venit ad eum ad vos.” Circuit braced himself as the mare chanted, tensing up as he waited for what he assumed would be intense pain. Instead he got...Nothing. Nothing whatsoever. “Ooooh, good work lady, your little chant didn’t do a thing. C’mon Adhesive let’s go, I’m tired of all this hocus pocus nonsense.” He helped the other stallion to his hooves, pulling him past the still gawking crowd. Mystic Sun just let out a snort as she watched them go, a little grin spreading across her face. “Just you wait Circuit Aquilus Heart...You’ll regret ever crossing me…”