Veins and Arteries

by Rhino

Chapter 2: Morning

It is the sound of doors opening and dishes clinking around that finally drags Winter back into the world of consciousness. Yawning, he sits up, barely noticing the covers of his bed strewn onto the floor as he mumbles to himself. “Why’s Lime up so early…?”

Swinging himself around and standing up, he doesn’t bother grabbing for a robe or other clothes to cover his green boxers, instead just levitating his glasses onto his face and stumbling out the door into the hallway. Still trying to blink proper vision back into his eyes, he carefully makes his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Inside, instead of his sister, he finds their newest housemate quietly eating a bowl of cereal with sliced bananas in it. She wears a robe over herself, however because of how loosely it is tied, some parts of what is under can be seen. At the moment, this means a trim of lace peeking out around her cleavage which is otherwise covered.

She looks up at him as he enters, holding her spoon ready for another bite. She smiles. “Good morning, Winter.”

He blinks, rubbing one of his eyes. “...huh?” He suddenly remembers the events of the previous day and blushes. “Oh… um, g-good morning… Silk...” He conspicuously tries to cover his lower half with his hands.

She simply looks at him and shakes her head as she giggles. “Not very subtle, you know… all stallions wake up like that. Nothing to be ashamed about.” She goes back to eating her cereal, leaning forward a bit so as to not drip milk on the table.

Groaning, Winter gives up and just rubs his eyes one more time before going to the fridge. “This is gonna be tough to get used to...” He rummages around before just taking out an orange. “Sorry you had to see me like this.”

She finishes her current bite, crossing her legs as she leans back to look at him. “Why?”

“Because… well, I’d say ‘bad first impression’, but we met yesterday.” He starts peeling the orange with a knife from the drawer. “It’s just… weird for me. Don’t know if it is for you, but I’m guessing not.”

“It’s only weird if you make it weird,” she says simply, taking another bite, waiting until she swallows to speak once more. “You’re being polite, you’re not suggesting I fix it for you, and you have the decency to see if it bothers me. I’d say you’re doing a fine job at keeping things comfortable, so thank you.”

He smiles, albeit nervously. “Well… thank you for not running off screaming at the sight of me.” He bites down on his chosen breakfast.

“Oh? Are you telling me that happens often?” Her tone is teasing, as is her smile.

He smirks. “No, but it’s what I imagined anypony outside of family would do if they saw me shirtless, let alone pantsless.”

“You never know.” She smirks right back at him. “You could end up with a herd of mares all vying for you.”

“Yeah, and maybe I’ll sprout wings and become an alicorn princess while I’m at it.” The unicorn rolls his eyes, sitting down. “Only time I have girls falling at my feet is when they’re turning away too quickly.”

She frowns, her large wings spreading with the tips towards him. “You shouldn’t put yourself down like that…”

“Why? There’s not exactly evidence to the contrary.” He finishes his orange and sighs, resting his head in one hand.

Her wings fully extend, one flicking his head. “Confidence.”

Winter raises an eyebrow at this. “Confidence needs a base to stand on. I’ve tried having high self-esteem, and all that did was make it hurt that much more when ponies pointed out my flaws. I’d rather just be fully aware of them, so if anypony brings them up, it’s old news.”

“There’s a difference between that and making yourself out to be worse than you are.” She points her wings at him threateningly before retracting them. “And if you continue to do so, I will continue to correct you.”

He raises an eyebrow, opening his mouth to say something before closing it, thinking, and trying again calmly. “No offense, Silk, but is this really any of your business?”

Blinking, she stares at him before narrowing her slitted eyes and crossing her arms tightly over her chest, wings flaring partially out behind her, giving her a dark purple backdrop. “Yes, because you are my friend.”

Winter tilts his head, still looking perplexed and irritated, though now more the former than the latter. “You have known me for literally less than twenty-four hours and you’re already calling me a friend?” His tone isn’t angry or accusatory; more than anything, it just sounds surprised.

She nods succinctly, still looking a little annoyed at him herself, but softening. “Yes. It’d be a darn shame to not be friends with someone I’m living with, let alone someone as nice as you.” Her wing stretches forward, but this time pats him gently on the head. “Just be nicer to yourself…”

He sighs, letting her do so as his expression softens back to a neutral, even guilty, look. “Sorry… I’m just used to doing things the way I do them...”

“I’m not asking you to change who you are, just…” She smiles softly at him. “Be a little more positive. It helps everypony else too, you know.”

He smiles back, starting to stand up. “I’ll try.”

She giggles a bit as he does so. “If nothing else, try to be as casual as your friend is as he currently points at me.”

A huge blush assaults his face and he tries to cover that spot with a hand, wincing inwardly. “S-Sorry!”

She just smirks at him, lifting her bowl and taking a sip of the milk left. “Again, why?”

He whimpers a bit. “B-Because… that’s not something you should see...”

Her eyes widen a bit. “Oh~! You’re shy! That explains it…” She waves a hand as she stands, straightening her robe as it had bunched around her waist, riding up a bit. After fixing this, she heads to the sink. “Go ahead then, hun, I’ve kept you long enough this morning. I have to get ready for work, but it was nice talking with you.”

Sighing a bit in relief, he stands up as well. “I’ve got stuff to do too… I’ll see you when you get home later, then?” He smiles at her, trying to brush away the prior awkwardness.

She smiles to match his, except pointier. “See you then.”

Nodding, he heads off to get ready for his day and leaves her to get ready for hers.

Silk walks back to her room, going through her now unpacked wardrobe to find something professional yet casual until she hears Winter complete his shower and vacate the bathroom. Securing it for herself, she sequesters herself in there, sprucing herself up for the day ahead.

Out of nowhere, though, the door opens and Limelight walks in, rubbing at her eyes. All she has on is her sleepwear from the previous night; specifically, a loose black t-shirt and a pair of blue-and-white striped panties. It isn’t until she’s walked in, shut the door behind her, and started getting ready to take the shirt off that she realizes she isn’t alone in the bathroom.

Silk looks at her from where she had been standing in front of the mirror in her own pink lacy undergarments and nothing else. With a hairbrush in one hand as another puts down a tiny mascara brush, she raises an eyebrow. “Not used to knocking?”

Limelight sighs and rolls her eyes before resuming pulling her shirt off. “Nope. Not used to getting up this early either.” She tosses it to the side, revealing her bare chest beneath. “Winter came in to get back a book I borrowed, and he made a little too much noise.”

“Why not just find some pillows and go back to sleep?” Silk looks down at the other mare’s chest out of curiosity, but doesn’t linger overly long before resuming brushing her mane, trying to gather the curling ends into a few big curls.

“I woke up just enough to get thirsty, and then to go to the bathroom, and then by the time I got out of the powder room I was more or less wide awake. So I just came up to shower.” She grabs her waistband with both hands before pausing. “...do you want me to wait until you leave, or is this fine?”

Turning fully to Lime, Silk makes a show of looking her over before giggling. “Hun, unless you’re secretly a hermaphrodite beneath your casual panties, I have everything you have. I’m not bothered.”

Limelight smiles as well before pulling off her last garment. “Good.” She drops them on top of her shirt before stepping over to the shower, starting it up. “So what are you up to today? My friends all have classes, and Winter’s doing whatever in the basement, so I’m bored.”

Silk answers as she deals with her bangs. “I’ll be running my shop today, which is why I’m spending extra time on myself. Does your brother often spend time in the basement, leaving you with full run of the house?”

“Far from full run. He can still hear if something breaks or somepony opens the door.” She puts a hand under the water, shivering. “But yeah, he’s in the basement a lot. Pretty sure he goes down there every day, though for how long varies. And before you ask, no, I don’t know what he does down there. For all I know, that’s where he keeps his porn stash.”

Silk mutters, but not quietly enough, “I suppose he did look pent up and raring to go this morning after I spoke with him…”

Limelight raises an eyebrow. “...I was joking, Silk. I’ve looked all over this house and there isn’t a single dirty magazine around that doesn’t belong to me.” She tests the water again, finding it a reasonable temperature. “And he doesn’t have the spare change to waste on that stuff anyway.”

“Low paying job or high spending habits?” she asks simply, curious to learn more about her housemates.

The earth mare steps into the shower, letting the water run over her body. “The first one. He only ever spends money on bills, food, and clothes, and that’s likely because he can’t afford much else.”

“Oh dear…” She parts her mane around her ears evenly. “Has he thought about different employment, if he can barely live off his current one?”

Limelight sighs. “His skills and field of study don’t exactly leave a lot of opportunities that other ponies aren’t better at. Besides, the way he looks at it, it’s not a problem until he goes from ‘barely getting by’ to ‘not getting by’.” She shakes her head, grabbing the shampoo. “I think it’s stupid too, but what do I know? I don’t have a job at all.”

“You don’t?” Silk stops and looks towards the shower, seeing the other mare’s silhouette. “But you pay rent…”

There’s a brief silence before the earth mare answers. “...it’s… been a few months since my last payment...”

“...” Silk stays silent for a time as well before she sighs. “Good thing I’m here with rent money too then, hmm?”

“Guess so.” Limelight finishes scrubbing her mane and tail, and begins washing the suds out. “I plan to pay as soon as I find some sort of stable employment, but for now, my only source of income isn’t too consistent… or well-paying.”

“What do you do?” the thestral asks, still brushing her mane but now for the soothing feeling instead of practicality.

The earth mare pauses. “Er… I’d rather not say.”

Silk pauses, worried. “...it’s not illegal, is it?”

“...not in this city it isn’t.”

“And now I’m worried.” She sighs, resting a hand on her forehead and slumping over the sink.

“Don’t be. It’s fine.” The earth mare starts soaping up her body, hastily trying to end the conversation.

Despite the feeling in her gut, Silk takes a deep breath, steadying herself as she starts to take a brush to her tail. “So… any plans to relieve your boredom?”

She shrugs, despite Silk not being able to see. “Follow you to your store and see what’s up. If you had said no, I would’ve used the time to work out or read or something.”

Tail trying to swish in thought, Silk holds it still as she brushes, plotting. “That sounds lovely. I think there’ll at least be some things in the store to interest you. Who knows, maybe you’ll inspire something in my next design.”

“Hmm… I’ll figure out if I’d be flattered or insulted in that case once I see exactly what you make.” The water shuts off, and the mare steps out onto the bathroom mat, dripping wet.

Looking over at her, Silk manages an honest smile and giggle. “Normally ponies towel off in the shower… not trying to seduce me with your wet body, are you?”

Limelight rolls her eyes. “If I was trying to seduce you, I have about ten different positions I could take rather than ‘hunched over sopping wet and grabbing for a towel’.” She plucks said towel from a hook on the wall and starts drying her mane.

“Touché, hun. Now, ignoring how this situation is likely somepony’s wet dream, is there anything stuck in my fur between my wings? It’s a bit of a pain in the ass to see back there.” She finishes with her tail, swishing it and nodding approvingly before she stands.

Limelight looks her over, taking noticeably longer to just check the designated spot than would be expected. “Nothing that I can see...”

Aware of the pause, Silk puts on an innocent tone. “Something wrong, hun?”

“Uh… n-no...” The earth mare blushes a bit, still letting her eyes roam up and down the other female’s body. “...you look good.”

Grinning toothily as she gets a mental hook in the other mare, Silk does a small twirl, careful not to hit her with her wings. “Why thank you, hun.” She cocks her hip to one side, doing a small pose. “The same to you, even if you are cheating by being naked and wet.”

Limelight smirks. “That’s just timing. I could always start getting dressed and come back when we’re on even ground… after I dry off, that is.”

“I assume you’ll be wearing something… like you had earlier?” Silk motions to the mare’s discarded clothes, frowning slightly at the panties on top.

“Maybe… but minus the shirt, plus a bra.” She tilts her head. “Something wrong?”

“Well, no, not really wrong…” Silk hooks a thumb into her own waistband for a moment. “I suppose I’ve just spoiled myself so that seeing plain ones like that is a little bit of a shock to me… You do see the differences between our sets, right?”

Limelight blinks, then giggles and nods. “Yeah, I do… I only have a couple of fancy sets like yours, though.”

“These are actually casual, hun…” Silk says with mild surprise. “I get crazy with ‘fancy’ ones.”

The earth mare looks a little confused, then smirks. “Really…? Where do you do your shopping? Or do you make your own?”

Doing a small bow, Silk smirks. “I make my own. I think ponies deserve to feel sexy and comfortable all at once.”

“Hm… if I ever come into some money, I’ll have to examine your wares then. I could go for something like that.” She smiles as she finishes drying off.

“Hmm…” Silk thinks, a few more plans forming in her mind and clearly visible on her face as she grins. “We might be able to work something out. We’ll just have to see how much you like them when we get to the store.”

“Fair enough.” Limelight hangs the towel up. “I’ll go get my clothes and be back. Should I put them all on, or wait for you to get a look first?” She smirks.

Silk winks. “I’ve seen what I need to. I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”

“Sounds good to me.” Gathering up her discarded clothes, she heads for the door. “I won’t be long!”

Comments

[Moongaze14]

I like the interaction between Silk and Limelight. They both seem to be BFF material. Likewise, I enjoy that Silk wants to help Winter become more confident.

[Rhino]

5433258 She's a helping kind of pony in her way.

[tsaukpaetra]

Hmm quasi-legal freelance job. Potential cross-advertising in the future?
Keep going! ;)

[Josephi Krakowski]

Wonder what the store is going to look like? Seems like its gonna be fun!