"When's the Wedding?" And Other Rumbaloo Tales

by Candy-Sweets_12

Chapter 12; Déjà vu

Scootaloo glanced to the far off trees, seeing their brightly colored leaves, some of which had a redder hue then the others, just waiting to meet the ground. She turned to her right and waved to a few of the weather ponies, one of the many units that would set the scheduled late summer storm clouds into their designated places. She finally touched the ground, looking about for Rumble. Ever since she first started her job a few days prior, Rumble had been insistent on walking home with her. Even though she preferred travelling through the air, for it was much faster, she quickly grew to like the time spent with him. She actually started to look forward to their walks.

Yet now she couldn't find him. She started at a slow pace, hoping he'd show up soon, 'fashionably late' as Rarity might say. But eventually, the clouds started to darken the sky, threatening rain. She sighed. "Where is he?" she mumbled. She eventually quickened her pace, hopping into the air once the rain started to come down.

By the time she had reached their home, it was pouring down raining, and Scootaloo was soaked to the bone, she shivered, taking a very shaky step to the door. Bemusedly, she blew a tendril of her hair from her face, not bothering to ring out her dripping mane. She reached for her house key, pulling it out just as the front door opened. She glanced up to find a familiar pair of pink eyes staring back at her. She let out an annoyed sigh.

"Um, hey Scoot." Rumble said, seemingly a bit guilty.

Scootaloo didn't give much of a response. Rather, she blew at another tendril of her hair from her face, water flying from it in all directions. Rumble took a step back, letting her step inside, knowing she was going to question him. But then she noticed that there was food out in the kitchen, and that the stove had been switched on, a boiling pot of water and another simmering pot of pasta sauce sat atop it. She turned back to Rumble, who gave her a side smile.

"What's all this?" she asked, turning to him.

Rumble shut the door, walking up to her. "You know how we had that race at the Academy?"

Scootaloo thought for a moment. "You still remember that?"

"Yep. I owe you dinner, but considering the weather..."

"No way," Scootaloo said in mocking disbelief, a smile creeping to her lips.

"'No way' what?"

"You're not making dinner for me." she chuckled.

"Actually, it's for us," Rumble corrected. "and why not?"

"You don't need to Rumble, I would've been fine with another pizza." Scootaloo said, slipping off her saddlebag.

"I felt like treating you. Tomorrow's your first day off and I think you deserve it,"

"I didn't do anything special." Scootaloo stated, walking down the hall, Rumble following closely behind. " If anything, I did nothing while you cleaned the house all week."

"I wouldn't call scheduling several storms in the past week 'nothing special' you've been getting up every morning before I have, plus you made me pancakes this week."

"That was for the both of us. And I was just feeling productive." Scootaloo shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. I don't need you to cook dinner for me, Rumble."

"But I want to do it." Rumble stated. Scootaloo turned to him, cracking a smile of her own.

"You really want to?" she asked.

"Absolutely, I'm not as good as my mother, but hopefully it'll suffice."

"Fine." Scootaloo stated, turning for the hallway again.

"What're you doing?" Rumble asked, watching as she headed for the bathroom.

"Taking a shower." Scootaloo smirked.

"Oh," Rumble blushed, mainly because he forgot how soaked Scootaloo had gotten on her way home. He immediately took on a bit of a guilty look, throwing her an awkward smile. Scootaloo grinned and shut the door, leaving him in the hallway. "I guess I'll...get back to the food."

She chuckled as he walked away, shaking her head at his antics.

---

By the time Scootaloo came out, Rumble was just about done with the sauce. He stirred it, unaware of Scootaloo coming up behind him.

"That smells good." she said. He jumped, nearly dropping the spoon into the pot. He quickly turned and immediately relaxed upon seeing it was her. Though he couldn't help but feel annoyed by her laughter.

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. It's almost ready."

"What should I do then?"

He shrugged. "Nothing really, I am trying to treat you after all."

"Yeah, that's not happening. I want to help you out somehow." Before he could object, she stood next to him, looking at the sauce and then to the simmering noodles. "This looks about done." she stated. She took a fork and stirred to be sure, before ultimately turning the fire off and bringing it to the sink.

"You can be pretty stubborn sometimes, you know that?" Rumble said, watching as she drained the pasta into a colander.

"You can be too nice, you know that?" she remarked, throwing him a smirk. "Is the sauce done?"

"Almost, just give it a few minutes." he replied.

Scootaloo set the remaining noodles next to the stove, before taking a seat at the table, keeping her eyes on Rumble. "Is this really why you didn't walk me home today?" she asked.

"Why? Did you miss me?" Rumble smirked. Now it was Scootaloo who rolled her eyes.

"Maybe." she stated.

"I thought you believed walking home was a waste of time." Rumble continued, still smiling.

"It's grown on me. We haven't talked liked that for a while." she admitted.

"What do you mean?" Rumble questioned, turning off the stove.

"I don't know, it's just, ever since we came here, we seem to have gotten a bit..." she glanced away in thought. "distant." she decided.

"How so?" he asked, setting the spoon he used in the sink.

"I mean, there was the whole Wonderbolt's Academy thing, but it seems like we're changing."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Maybe? I don't know, really. I'm just a bit worried it may not be for the better."

"Why do you think this?"

"When was the last time we had an open conversation like this?"

Rumble paused, glancing away from the suspecting Scootaloo."I don't remember an exact date." he finally stated, choosing his answer carefully. "Unless you count the night we came home."

"I don't count it." she said. "You were comforting me, that's different."

"I guess you're right there."

"Ever since High School ended and we moved in together, everything felt...different. And I'm not sure how to feel about it. Sometimes I wonder if we may have..." her voice trailed off.

"Rushed into it." Rumble finished. She avoided his gaze, nodding as she stared at the design in the table.

"I know it's another step in our relationship, but do you think we were to quick to go into it? Don't get me wrong, I love being with you all the time. But I guess that it's just different now. And I don't think I'm used to it yet. Even now, it still feels weird to wake up everyday and find you next to me."

"I guess you're right." Rumble agreed. "Before, we didn't see each other as much, when we first started dating, I guess it made me want to be closer, you know? A bit of an 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' thing." he added. "Whenever you weren't there, and I was thinking of you, I wanted to be closer. Now that I can see you all the time, I guess I feel...different. Like I don't need to see you all the time, and I guess I've been branching out a bit from you."

"I have too." she admitted.

"Even with work and our friends, it just seems strange for me, to see you all of the time. I guess it's because I don't always have to wonder about what you're doing or when I'm going to see you again. I guess I'm just growing used to you. And I'm worried that I'll grow too distant, that our relationship will suffer from it."

Rather than making a witty remark, Scootaloo nodded. "Maybe we were too quick to jump into this." she suggested.

"Do you...want to take a break then?" Rumble asked, his voice wavering. He couldn't help but feel regretful of asking it, even though all of this was true, he didn't want to risk ending things with Scootaloo, he still wanted to be with her, he just felt like he could be show it more.

To his surprise, and to his own relief, Scootaloo shook her head. "No. I just feel like we're going too fast. I think we should just try to slow it down from now on, rather than rushing into such a big step or decision. I still want to be with you, but I don't want to end up in a relationship where I'm not as passionate to you as I used to be. You've done so much for me, and I know you love me, if you're willing to do all this" she gestured to the food, "and share your home with me. Especially when you say it to me all the time. I want to give it all back to you. To show you how much I really care for you, or think about you, or miss and love you as you do for me. And I think rushing into it is only going to prevent that.

"I don't want to live without you, Rumble. I can't see myself doing it. But I don't think I'm quite used to you yet, to the point in which you can just be a normal part of my life. You're so much more than that to me." her voice wavered a bit, and she shut her eyes, wiping the building moisture in her eyes away. Rumble set his hoof over hers, scooting his chair closer.

"I think I understand." he replied softly. "And I agree with you. Maybe we shouldn't rush into things anymore. I'll always be willing to support you whenever you make a decision, but I never want you to feel forced to do something you don't think you're ready for."

"I'm sure you'd never force me to do that anyway," Scootaloo chuckled, flipping her hair from her face, she turned to him. "but I'll let you know if I ever feel hesitant with any of your offers. I just want you to do the same with me."

"You have my word."

"Good." she smiled. "Now is the food ready? I want to see how good your cooking is."

"You might be disappointed." Rumble warned.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Scootaloo said. "I mean, it is edible, right?"

Rumble rolled his eyes, smirking at the remark. "Har, har." he said. He poured the pasta in a large serving dish, before mixing in the sauce. After a good minute or two of stirring, he brought it over to where they sat, setting it in the middle of the table.

"Sure smells good." Scootaloo commented.

"Doesn't mean it'll taste good."

"You'd really ought to take more pride in your cooking, Rumble. You're going to drive everyone away if you think it's terrible."

"Fair point." he shrugged. "You wanna try it now?"

"It's now or never." she shrugged. He scooped some on one of the plates he set out, and she took a bite of it, chewing slowly as she glanced up teasingly, as though she was trying to determine if it was good or not. In truth, she thought it was delicious, and a teasing smile crept to her lips as Rumble awaited her response.

"Well?" Rumble asked.

She smiled. "It's edible." she teased.

Rumble couldn't help but reflect it. "Oh, shut up." he chuckled.

Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, sorry it's been a while, hopefully these lack of updates won't become routine. Not only has writer's block been a factor, as well as the multiple chapters/stories and drawing I plan on publishing, (not just on this site) but real life was a bit of an obstacle for a bit. But hopefully you enjoyed this for what it had to offer! It's shorter than the previous ones, (especially that 6,000 words one) but I think it's one of the better dialogue chapters I've written in a long time. Feel free to leave a comment, or suggestion. Any and All feedback is greatly appreciated and encouraged. I want to make this story the best it possibly can be, though I need some criticism.

Once again, I hope you enjoyed, if you want to check out what else I'm working on, you can always visit my Wattpad (Candymlp12) and Deviantart (Candymlp02) accounts. Feel free to leave criticism for those as well. (But be aware my stories on Wattpad are nowhere near as lighthearted as the ones on Fimfiction, and they're way more cringy)

With that,

Peace, Love, Tolerate,

~Candy

Comments

[KingJoltik]

AUGH!!! Oh come on Scootaloo! Aren't you just going to admit you love him and move on?! He's perfect for you in everyway and you keep pushing him away!

[Cuy Val Dar]

"I have to," she said.

Missing a comma and an "o" on "too".

I have to= It is required of me.
I have, too= I have, as well.

[Candy-Sweets_12]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!7796193

[Candy-Sweets_12]

Alright, thanks for the heads up! 7796204

[Easy breezey]

It's edible