Blossoming Roses

by Storm butt

Sapling

Fancy Pants lifted a strip of red fabric to his eyes. He held it out by the length of his forelegs, trying to decide if it was an eye-sore or an eye-catcher. He lifted his eyes up to the ponnequin beside him. It was dressed in a half-finished strikingly, red suit with golden cuffs and collar. There was a darker crimson chest area that poofed out from right above the final button. The vest was a dark shade of red as well, simply reminding Fancy Pants of a rose.

“I must say, this is certainly better than what you’ve put out in months,” Hoity Toity’s voice came from behind him. The grey stallion stepped forward to look up and down the crimson suit. “It’s eye catching to say the least.”

Fancy Pants watched Hoity set down a teapot with three cups on a small table, filling the two up and taking a sip from his own.

“Do you think it’s missing something?” Fancy Pants snapped open his pocket watch with a flick of his hoof. He tried his best not to bite into his cheek while the hands crept past six thirty.

“Wasn’t I the one who used to ask you things like that?” Hoity Toity chuckled with a shake of his head. Fancy stared long and hard at the dress, unwilling to blink, as if it might fall apart if he broke eye contact. “The color is unusual for a suit, which is good. You’re trying to make a statement here. The golden linings would usually be a bit much, but they work nicely here with the brightness of the whole thing. Exactly how long did it take you to create this?”

“About three days.” Fancy Pants sat on his bed, still staring at his creation. Hoity handed him a cup of tea, which he forced himself to drink with his eyes shut. “I came home that morning and… I just started working.”

Fancy looked to his watch again. He set down his tea and began to scratch at his cheek. He wasn’t expecting his chest to pound, but his mind was spinning so much he had to force himself to breathe.

“Your little boyfriend coming soon?” Hoity asked. He seated himself down right next to Fancy Pants and stared at the watch. Fancy Pants snapped it shut and held it to his chest. “Honestly did you have to invite everypony you knew? I’m surprised you didn’t invite Fleur to watch you make it.”

Fancy shook his head. He set the watch on the bed and ran his hoof up and down his bare leg. “No, I needed somepony’s professional opinion before I showed Blueblood.”

“Professional?” It was surprising to hear Hoity Toity snort at him, but his friend laughed just the same. “I think that’s the first time you’ve ever used that word to describe me.”

“We both work in the same business, and I value your opinion, Hoity.” Fancy Pants smiled at his friend, who had stopped laughing but had to keep a hoof over his mouth to do so. Hotiy adjusted his glasses, trying to regain some of his composure. “I need Blueblood to like it.”

“And I’m sure he will,” Hoity insisted. He put his hoof on Fancy Pant’s own for a brief moment. “Honestly you worry too much. You’ve designed suits and dresses fit for royalty before.”

Fancy Pants frowned at his friend. He pulled his hoof away and rubbed at it. “Blueblood’s opinion is just… important to me.”

“Yes, yes, we get it, you care about your boyfriend’s opinion.” Hoity swished his hoof through the air in what could be called vague enthusiasm.

“He’s running a bit late,” Fancy Pants mumbled, staring at his watch that was now reading six-thirty five. He shut it up again and tried to put it out of his sight by setting it directly behind him.

“Just don’t go for the wine this time.” Hoity sipped at his tea. “I don’t feel like having to baby you again just to get you in bed.”

“Let’s not bring that up,” Fancy Pants mumbled under his breath. He scratched at his cheek which he knew was glowing pink. “I’m hoping Blueblood forgets that in due time.”

“You’re worse around him now than you were without him ten years ago” Hoity Toity shook his head. He drank the last of his tea before he refilled the cup, swishing around the liquid. “You never did tell me where you went off to with Shining Armor? Am I just supposed to fill in my own blanks and spread rumors worse than the press?”

“What could you honestly spread that I haven’t heard already?” Fancy Pants laughed.

“That you vanished with a married prince to see another prince all alone in the castle.” Hoity jabbed his hoof at Fancy’s foreleg. “A gossiping pony like myself is sure to draw some conclusions from that alone. You have a lot of princes’ attention lately.

“Yes, you caught me.” Fancy Pants rolled his eyes. He put a hoof over his chest while he drank his tea and put on his best dramatic voice. “I slept with the both of them. Some royal guards came in and then joined in, too.”

“I can’t say I’m too surprised. I’m only offended you didn’t invite me.”

It was difficult to not crack up at Hoity’s reaction, so Fancy Pants didn’t bother trying. Hoity looked like he was about to open his mouth once more to ask further questions when the sound of a knock on the door caused both their ears to prick up. Fancy smiled despite his rapidly beating heart and got to his hooves.

Fancy Pants’ hoofsteps seemed to coincide with his heartbeat. With a light head, he put his warm hoof on the cold doorknob and pulled it open. It was hard to admit that his heart did indeed skip a beat at the sight of Prince Blueblood, but it did. Blueblood smiled at him, and almost all worry left Fancy’s mind for that one moment.

“Good evening, Sweetheart.” Fancy Pants stepped aside to let Blueblood in, but instead the prince stepped directly forward. He squirmed in place a moment, eyes darting away for half a second before meeting Fancy’s again and he craned his neck. Their lips met, Blueblood’s still soft as ever. Though the kiss was brief, Fancy let his arms lift and fall onto Blueblood’s sides and gave him a squeeze.

“Hey, Big Bear.” Blueblood’s cheeks were a pale pink, but he was giggling all the same. He buried his face somewhere in Fancy’s neck to hide his blush, but Fancy merely kissed the tip of his right ear. “I missed you. Didn’t have much time to get ready?”

Fancy Pants looked down at his own bare body, a smirk coming to his face. “Well, I didn’t think I’d need to doll myself up just to get you to my bed. Was I wrong?” His hoof touched Blueblood’s chin and held it in place. Blueblood tried to look away, but was only given a kiss on the end of his nose. “My my, are you going to blush like this every time you kiss me?” Fancy Pants knew Blueblood wanted to jab his hoof at him by the tightening in his muscles, which is why he only tightened his hug. “You know I’m beginning to like that name, after all. I know I don’t exactly have as big a bear as you do, but I can still live up to that name tonig-”

“I’m beginning to think your little tall tale wasn’t so tall.” Hoity Toity’s voice was close by. It made Blueblood jump back halfway out the door and look around desperately until his eyes fell onto Hoity. “I believe what I’m supposed to say here is ‘get a room’?”

“H-Hoity Toity,” Blueblood stuttered. He seemed to swallow hard, eyes darting between Fancy and Hoity. He fidgeted in place again, this time with a frown on his face instead of a smile. “Y-You’re here.”

“Why yes, I am,” Hoity said when ran a hoof over his mane. “I know it’s hard to take your eyes off of your hunky old-timer, but I like to think I make the room glow sometimes.”

“Well, I suppose you seeing us kiss is better than the press.” Fancy Pants rolled his eyes and slapped the back of his hoof at Hoity’s chest. Hoity laughed, and Blueblood’s eyes still stared at the porch under his hooves. Fancy stepped forward and grabbed Blueblood’s hoof. He kissed the prince’s cheek, and that at least seemed to force a smile.

“Lucky for you two love birds I was just leaving.” Hoity Toity straightened out the collar of his dress shirt. “Well I wasn’t, actually. I just don’t like seeing Fancy Pants in his honeymoon stage, where he’s a bit too grabby with a little less shame. Although… You are taking him out to dinner, right?”

“Excuse me?” Fancy Pants raised his brow at Hoity.

“Fancy, if you cook for a prince you will either poison him or he’ll dump you out of trauma.” Hoity Toity shook his head. He pressed a hoof to his temple and began to rub it in circles. “Actually scratch that. I’ve had your cooking, and I’m still considering dumping you.”

“I can… cook…” Blueblood spoke up for the first time. The two’s attention turned to him and he seemed to try his best not to look away. “I mean, my father wanted me to try everything to find my cutie mark, and I spent a lot of time in the kitchens, so I know how to make basic dinners.”

“Apparently you’re a good match after all. Looks like I’m out guilt-free.” Hoity patted his hoof down on Fancy’s shoulder. He took a step out the door and looked into Blueblood’s eyes.

“What is it?” Blueblood tilted his head the longer Hoity stared at him.

“Since you’re dating my best friend, we should get together sometime.” Hoity Toity smiled at him. Fancy raised his eyes, surprised he didn’t make any kind of follow up joke. “Besides, I’d like to hear what Fancy does around ponies he really trusts.”

“A-Alright,” Blueblood smiled politely, but the longer Fancy looked at it the more he realized it wasn’t entirely forced. “That sounds fun.”

“Sweetheart, can you head into the kitchen,” Fancy Pants asked, grabbing onto Blueblood’s hoof and giving him a minor tug. “Please don’t look in my room. I have a surprise for you in there.”

Blueblood nodded his head, and then nodded it again at Hoity before he walked past Fancy Pants and into the house. Fancy Pants smiled, his heart pounding for a different reason.

“Sweetheart?” Hoity Toity questioned. There was a smirk on his face when he lowered his sunglasses to look at Fancy Pants in the eye. “That’s a little bit cliche, even for a sap like you.”

“He likes it.” Fancy Pants shrugged his shoulders. “He always smiles when I call him that, at least.”

“Well, anyway...” Hoity Toity reached into his coat pocket before he pulled out a small box of cigarettes. “You dropped these in the carriage, and I forgot to give them back to you, Big Bear.”

Fancy tried not to show that that name bothered him, but he knew already that his face was warm. He stared at the box for a moment, beginning to lift a hoof before he settled it back down on the ground. He shook his head at Hoity.

“Pitch them. I don’t think I need them.” Fancy Pants chuckled. Hoity simply rolled his eyes and stuffed them back into his pocket. Hoity Toity began to walk away after he gave a wave.

“See you next week, Old Timer!” Hoity called, Fancy Pants smiling back at him. He could feel his smile falter for just a moment at that name, but he tried not to let it bother him.

Fancy Pants went back into his house and shut the door behind him. The floor was creaking when he walked up to the kitchen. When his head popped around the corner, Blueblood was looking through cabinets and drawers, perhaps searching for whatever the two were going to eat that night.

“How in Equestria do you not have hay or lettuce?” Blueblood looked at his lover with mild irritation in his eyes. “Honestly I’m beginning to see why you’re so tubby if you live off of eating at restaurants and oats.”

“You know, calling me ‘tubby’ isn’t much of an insult when you’ve been grabbing at me and saying you like it like you just a few days ago” Fancy Pants laughed and trotted into the kitchen. He could see Blueblood try to hide his face behind a cabinet door at those words. “You’re a lot less shy when you complain, you know that?”

“Oh can it.” Blueblood rolled his eyes, but it was obvious he was suppressing a smile by the way his lips tightened.

Fancy found himself squirming in place a bit the longer Blueblood looked through the cupboards. “Did you have fun with Shining and Cadence?”

The prince paused at that, staring up at the ceiling. He took a few moments of thought before nodding his head, shooting Fancy Pants a gentle smile. “It was a little weird for a bit… I’m not sure if things will ever be normal, but it got better the longer we were together. Cadence asked about you some… I got too embarrassed to talk about it.”

“Oh, truly?” Fancy Pants wiggled his eyebrows.

“S-Shining fell in a river,” Blueblood stammered out. He looked away from Fancy and continued to stammer as he rifled through the cupboards. “He tried to lead me and kept looking at me making sure I was doing fine and… when he fell, I couldn’t stop laughing. He glared at me for the next ten minutes.”

“It sounds like you had fun, then,” Fancy Pants said, grinning at him.

Blueblood nodded his head. He flicked his tail and closed the cupboard before he let out a sigh. Fancy Pants’ body leaned up against his own. A muzzle was buried into his mane, which was soon ruffled about.

Fancy Pants kissed his ear again. Blueblood giggled and nuzzled up against Fancy’s neck. “I hope my letter wasn’t too sudden.”

“No I… missed you,” Blueblood shook his head. He was smiling, but it soon faltered when his eyes looked at Fancy’s own. “Shut up.”

“C’mon, I have something to show you.” Fancy Pants tried to keep his tone under what could be considered giddy, but he failed in the end. Blueblood smiled as he was pulled along by his hoof out of the kitchen. Fancy paused right outside his bedroom door and took a deep breath, pulling Blueblood into the room.

Blueblood’s eyes looked to the ponnequin. Fancy Pants released him and took a few steps back. The older unicorn covered his face with his hooves and watched Blueblood’s reactions. The prince’s eyes widened and looked at the suit. He lifted his hoof hesitantly, letting Fancy nod his head before he touched the fabric.

“You didn’t tell me you made something.” Blueblood’s voice was quiet. He looked to Fancy Pants, a smile on his face. “Fancy, that’s… that’s great!”

“So do you like it?” Fancy Pants asked. His voice sounded as if it were at the end of his breath. He kept his smile contained, not wanting to become excited too fast.

“It’s… It’s beautiful, but I don’t know much about fashion,” Blueblood chuckled and scratched at his mane. He touched at the holden trimmings and let his hoof move over the crimson vest. “It’s bright… I think it’d make a stallion look really handsome if that’s what you’re asking.”

Fancy Pants took a step forward. He had something planned to say, but for the sake of Celestia he couldn’t remember a single word of it. He was smiling, barely containing a great desire to squirm. He took Blueblood’s hoof and placed it on his chest, right over his beating heart. He held it there with two hooves.

“I want you to wear it.” Fancy stated in as firm and mature of a tone as he could muster.

“W-Wear it?” Blueblood looked from the suit to Fancy Pants. “You mean to see if it fits?”

“Well yes and no,” Fancy Pants chuckled. He squeezed Blueblood’s hoof. “When I came home I was just… so happy. I thought about you when I made this, I thought about you wearing it and looking stunning and breath taking and…” Fancy was babbling.

“Wear it where?” Blueblood’s smile was now a frown. He was shifting in place every few moments and staring down at his own body.

“Next week is… my birthday.” Fancy Pants’ smile faltered for just a moment. “I wanted you to come so we didn’t have to face any kind of press scandal when they eventually catch us together. I booked a time and place near the castle, right near the gardens.”

“You mean like your date?” Blueblood asked. Fancy Pants couldn’t decipher if his tone was nervous or excited. Blueblood’s face didn’t betray emotion either, for he kept staring at the outfit. “I’ve never… been on a real date before.”

“What do you call this then?” Fancy Pants let Blueblood’s hoof fall to the ground. Blueblood didn’t appear to have an answer for that, so he simply shrugged his shoulders.

“F-Fancy… nopony wears red like that.” Blueblood put his newly freed hoof over his chest. “It’s so bright and eye-catching. Everypony will be staring and... T-The media doesn’t even know I like stallions.”

There was a moment of silence between the two, one where Blueblood kept staring at the floor. He kicked gently at the hardwood and swallowed hard. Fancy Pants didn’t realize he was holding his breath until Blueblood closed his eyes.

“Sweetheart, I’m not going to push yo-”

“When I go in… will you find me right away?” Blueblood asked. He looked up into Fancy Pants’ eyes and took in a deep breath. “If ponies talk and stare, you’ll be right next to me, right? A-And when the media finds out about us, c-can we just laugh about it and not make a big deal over it?”

“I would never abandon you like that, Blueblood.” Fancy Pants nodded his head. Blueblood’s lips trembled, but they soon formed a smile. “I want you to be my beautiful, handsome rose.”

“I’ll do it.” Blueblood looked to Fancy Pants. His eyes made Fancy’s heart sink, but the words kept a smile on his face. “I… I want to make you happy.”

“Really?” Fancy’s voice buzzed with the energy that struck him. He grabbed Blueblood’s shoulders and grasped tightly. Blueblood nodded his head, and without warning, Fancy hugged him tightly. Their lips met in a rough kiss, one which Fancy parted from quickly before he crashed his body into Blueblood. He picked the unicorn up with all his strength for as long as he could, long enough to twirl with Blueblood in his forelegs for the few seconds he could manage. The two crashed on the bed, Fancy still in Blueblood’s forelegs.

“F-Fancy!” Blueblood shouted, soon falling on top of Fancy on the bed only to have lips press into his neck. They sat up, Blueblood on Fancy’s lap. Fancy was writhing excitedly, heart pounding and body full of energy. “You’re like a little kid…”

“I love you,” Fancy Pants whispered, nuzzling his face against Blueblood’s dress shirt. He was about to unbutton the top button on Blueblood’s shirt when he felt the muscles of the other tense up. He looked up at Blueblood and chuckled. “Sorry, I let it slip again, didn’t I?”

Blueblood slid off of his lap and sat down next to Fancy Pants. Blueblood clenched at his dress shirt and nodded his head. There was a time where he gripped at Fancy’s arm, constantly opening his mouth but unable to force out any words. His cheeks were pink, mixes of frustration and embarrassment showing on his face. His hooves gripped at the sheets, and he began to bite into his lip.

“I’m sorry,” Blueblood mumbled. His eyes looked like they might start watering, but he was holding his breath.

“Sweetheart, you’ve given me more than enough today.” Fancy Pants let his hoof rest on Blueblood’s chin and lifted it until he looked in Blueblood’s eyes. “I won’t rush you on that of all things. I’ve had a dozen lovers who said it but don’t treat me as well as you do.”

Blueblood sniffled, and Fancy kissed right under his eye. He heard a giggle, even if it did sound choked up. He could feel Blueblood nod his head, and his lips showed a smile, even if it was small.

“I care about you,” Blueblood seemed to almost spit out. “I really… really care about you. More than I’ve cared about anypony in a long time.”

Fancy Pants closed his eyes and let their lips meet. Blue was still tense, but he softened up quickly and wrapped his legs around Fancy’s body.

“Thank you, Sweetheart.”

Fancy’s hooves moved up to Blueblood’s dress shirt, snapping the first one open along with the second to let his hoof run over Blueblood’s fluffy chest. He blushed, the sight of all that soft fur making his heart pound.

“Let’s get this off of you.” Fancy Pants grinned.

“Y-You mean to try on the outfit?” Blueblood asked as Fancy opened two more buttons and kissed his chest.

“Oh!” Fancy pulled away for just a moment. “You’re right, we probably do need to do that, too.”

Fancy felt a pinch on his belly, but he couldn’t help but smile and put his face back to Blueblood’s chest. He nuzzled it gently, taking in the smell of roses and flowers that he had grown to love. He ran his hoof up Blueblood’s chest to make the fur stick out more.

“W-What about dinner?” Blueblood asked, his voice sounding stranger the more Fancy touched him. “W-We still need to go shopping.”

“I can name twenty things I’d love to nibble on no more than three feet away.” Fancy gave Blueblood’s chest a very brief lick, but it was still enough to not only be pinched, but also smacked against his ear. He flinched, but he still laughed anyway. Blueblood giggled too, even if he had to see Fancy’s flushed face to do so.

“Stupid Dirty Bear,” Blueblood mumbled. He looked to the dress once more, and then down to his body. He frowned, a bit unsure of himself. “Do you think… it’ll look good on me, Fancy?”

Fancy Pants smiled at his lover when he popped off the last button of Blueblood’s shirt. Their eyes met for just a moment, and Blueblood’s eyes seemed to almost glimmer when he looked into them. He placed his hoof on the side of Blueblood’s face, and nodded his head.

“You’ll be my rose. And you’ll be breathtaking.”

Comments

[Mort]

I never thought it possible to howl with sheer joy in the middle of the night over a story--
Thank you!

[CrackedInkWell]

*Popping a monical in my eye and picking up a teacup.* I say, good show. Jolly good show.

[SageBrony07]

Awesome chapter. I can't wait for the big reveal. I also can't wait to see Celestia's response to this relationship.

[PrinceCelestia]

awwwww. their relationship is so sweet! i can almost feel their lovey dovey emotions spill out of my screen! so wonderful.

[Honestblade]

Did he make a dress or a suit? Because it changed to dress at the end of the chapter