Fickle Romance

by reflective vagrant

The Punch Line

Late the next morning, Ditzy finally came out of her room in a normal winter dress, with her suitcase all packed and ready to leave. The sound of snow being worked outside the door indicated that the path outside was almost open.

Walking into the kitchen, Ditzy went straight for the towel drawer. She wet a towel at the sink then went to the breakfast table and sat down. Warm waffles, homemade butter-cream syrup and blueberries sat there to greet her. She glared past them and across the table at Time Turner, who was distracted refilling his ice pack from the bucket on the table.

She went about cleaning up the tear matted fur on her face. "I slept just fine, by the way. Thanks for asking," she grumbled.

"That's–Ah!" He cringed right as he placed the ice pack back onto his head, which he started wrapping with bandages. "That's good to know. As you can tell, I took the liberty of making us breakfast. I even made sure to follow the directions to the letter this time."

He finished wrapping the ice pack, got up and walked over to a half-full coffee pot. "Not that I could have managed to get inventive with it right now even if I wanted to." He poured himself a large cup.

Ditzy glared at the plate of waffles in the middle of the table for a long moment. Hesitantly, she picked up a fork and stabbed a few to bring them to her plate. "Don't think that this is an acceptable apology, just because I'm eating."

Time Turner finished his sip of coffee and set the cup down on the table. "Oh, this isn't an apology. I just needed to keep myself busy," he said as he retrieved a few waffles himself.

"Wait." Ditzy's eyes wandered to the counter where she noticed the wet coffee filters, still filled up with used coffee grinds. Next to those were several plates of cold waffles. "What do you mean by 'keep yourself busy'?" she asked with uncertainty.

Time Turner finished with the syrup, set it down and picked up his coffee cup again. "You see, I have this rather unpleasant bump from last night." He quickly finished his coffee and gestured to the bandaging with his free hand. "I got a nasty smack from the sink and my head has been a bit blurry since. So I'm sorry if I'm a bit slow this morning."

Her eyebrows went up in worry. "H-have you been up all night?"

He slowly swallowed his first bite and returned his focus to his plate, but didn't take any more of his waffles. "Kind of had to, really. With a bump this bad and my head still not all that clear, it could very well be a concussion. I'll need to check in with the hospital when they get the snow cleared."

Ditzy's eyes went wide. "C-c-concussion!?"

"The experiments are set and taken care of though, and we can't go anywhere until they reach the door anyway. All we can do is eat breakfast and wait."

. . .

After breakfast, the snow was almost cleared from the door. They stood at the entryway, mere moments from freedom.

Ditzy stood there with her suitcase meekly, glancing back at Time Turner somewhat frequently. After the long silence, she finally managed to speak, "Sorry for causing you to get hurt, Doctor."

"Oh, that's quite alright. After I thought about it, I realized I had spoken in a rather insensitive manner." He looked at her with eyes that squinted in pain for a moment at the shifting weight of the ice pack. "What you did was perfectly natural and the bump was an accident."

They returned their gazes to the door. The snow from the window gave way, and some sunlight was revealed through the stained glass. A few moments later, Time Turner spoke up, "But you still didn't let me finish."

Ditzy looked away, her face regaining some of the distaste from before, her wings shifting a little in kind. The crack at the bottom of the door started to show light from outside as Time Turner leaned over to speak in her ear.

"I meant that the dress can't help you because..." His voice had shrank to a wispier. As she listened, her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. The feathers on her wings puffed out slightly and a meek blush formed over her muzzle as he pulled away.

With a solid knock from the door as a signal that the way was clear, Time Turner reached for the doorknob. Ditzy looked up and reached out for him. Her lips were puckered up and ready to kiss him.

She stopped herself suddenly. In front of her stood Time Turner, holding the door for her to let her go first. His eyes were purposefully glued to the ground. His head was tilted down just enough to do so, preventing the ice pack from slipping forward. They stood there as a moment of silence passed, not even acknowledging the cold air that was coming in from outside.

Ditzy sniffled and shook a little. "That's why I like you Doctor. You're..." She paused as her voice cracked.

She wiped her tears on her sleeve then tried again. "You're the nicest and most dedicated gentlecolt I've ever had the chance to meet, even if you have trouble showing it at times."

She stood there a moment more, waiting for a response, but she got none. Hesitantly, she stepped through the door and went home.

. . .

Ditzy came through her front door and was greeted by her older sister's eager face.

"Soooo?" Sparkler asked as she took Ditzy's suitcase in her telekinetic grasp and threw it on the couch, "How was your little escapade? Did the dress do the trick?"

"It was fine," Ditzy answered as she moved past her sister's questioning stare.

"Hey Ditzy! Did the doc sweep you off your hooves?" Ditzy's kid sister called from the stairs, bundled up to go play with her friends.

"It's good to see you, Dinky, and it went fine."

Ditzy finished coming down the stairs in a fit. "What!? Just fine? That jerk! You've been planning that romantic dinner for weeks!"

Sparkler bit her lip as their little sister mentioned the term "romantic dinner."

"I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" Dinky declared as she ran past both of them and outside.

After Dinky ran off and she managed to get Sparkler to leave her alone, Ditzy tossed off her coat and scarf, and then went to her room. She locked the door and curled up on the bed, rocking back and forth a little. Her face lost all signs of frustration and confusion. She smiled so strongly it hurt.

She whispered to herself, "He thinks that the dress can't help me because I'm too sexy for it already." She closed her eyes and giggled. "I help the dress look sexy."

Author's Note:

Feedback is welcome.