Studying (with) You

by PonyPlays2014

Path 1: Epilogue

Most of the students have already gone home and, eventually, the group of six friends join them. Yona, Sandbar, Silverstream and Ocellus, who were busy on the sparsely occupied dance floor, return to their table to find Smolder and Gallus having a little way-past-midnight snack.
"Still hungry?", the pony asks his friends who both answer with a satisfied burp.
"More like again... This is my breakfast", Smolder explains after downing her, at least, ninth cup.
"I can't remember the last time I ate that much and that often... I'm not even sure if there even was a last time", the griffon admits as he holds one of the little sandwiches in his claw, examining it and thinking about how many of these he already consumed in this single night.
"Yeah... One more bite and I will explode", the dragon continues as she stares at her almost empty plate with a look filled with a mixture of hatred, respect and a little bit of melancholy.
"Good to hear that you two didn't completely eat yourself to death", Ocellus comments her friends' behavior, judging them a little bit but, considering how good the food was here, also relating to them.
"We were thinking about leaving and wanted to know if you two wanna j-", Silverstream asks but she can't even complete her sentence before getting an answer from the two gluttons.
"Count me in..."
"Abso", Smolder agrees followed by a burp, "lutely."
"Then let's go! I can't wait to be in my bed."
Ocellus takes the lead as the other five follow with Smolder and Gallus being the last in line. They move a bit slower, most likely due to their recent meal and the amount of fluids they poured down their throat, which forces the group to wait for them once they climbed down the stairs.
"Are you guys alright? Can you really walk all this way back to the dorms?"
"Sure, no problem. Just a little walk, no biggie", the feather-covered male jokes but Smolder is not nearly as confident in her own ability.
"Honestly... No."
"Oh, don't worry", Ocellus jumps into action, "I will take her there in no time."
She transforms into a bigger dragon, similar in size to Garble, with green scales and black horns on his head. Gently she places the smaller dragon on her upper back, telling her to hold onto her horns so she does not fall down. She then spreads her wings and takes flight. In merely seconds, the other completely loose her out of their sight.
"That was fast", Silverstream admires the ability of Ocellus' new form but Sandbar quickly snaps her out of it.
"We better hurry if we want to get there fast as well. I can feel how I'm getting more and more tired now that I'm no longer in there."
The remaining four agree and begin to move again but after four minutes of walking it becomes more and more obvious that Gallus is struggling a bit.
"Are you sure you can make it?", Sandbar, who is walking next to him the entire time, whispers but Gallus tries his best to play it cool so he does not worry his boyfriend.
"Sure I'm sure, Sandy. It's just a bit of food. I've survived worse so don't worry.."
Hearing those words reminds the pony of something earlier that night and, just like last time, the same feeling awakes inside of him. The moment the griffon raises the foreleg closest to him, Sandbar grabs it and puts it around his shoulder, stabilizing him and taking away a bit of the pressure and weight.
"S-Sandy! What are yo-"
"Telling me to not worry only makes me worry more, you know... Especially when something is obviously not okay."
Knowing that his mate is right, he drops the strong facade and shows him a genuine smile, which the pony returns.
"You're right... Sorry. I really appreciate your help."
"You can always count on me."
"Is everything okay?", Silverstream, who hovers a bit further in front of them, asks, clearly worried about her friend.
She must have turned around when they were talking and saw how Sandbar lent him his shoulder. The two males nod while the earth-pony explains that he will take care of him, soothing the hippogriff's worries. This new position really helps and, without any incidents, the remaining four of the group also reach the school and, soon after, the fork which leads to the two dorms.
"Good night and sleep tight!", Yona wishes the two males who return the wish before disbanding from the girls and heading for the boys' building. Upon entering they immediately notice that the entrance hall is completely empty, which is not really surprising.
"I guess they all went to bed already. And I think we should-ah!"
Without a warning, Gallus starts to remove his foreleg from the pony's shoulder, taking away the additional weight in the process.
"Then let's get going. Our beds are waiting for us", the griffon leads but, much to the pony's surprise, he does not head for the staircase.
Instead, his boyfriend seems to be aiming for his room!
"W-What are you doing? The staircase is that w"
"You picked me up so it's only fair of me to escort you to your room, isn't it?", the griffon, who must have recovered a bit from his slightly dazed state during the walk, explains himself as he comes closer and closer to the door that leads to the pony's room.
Sandbar blushes a bit when he hears that and, honestly, it makes him a bit happy to hear that. He assumed that they would just say good night at the staircase before each going their way but this is much better.
The two stop at the door and Sandbar unlocks it but before he opens it, he turns towards the griffon.
"I... I had a great time. The Dance was so much fun, the food was delicious and to be able to spend time with you like this was the final touch to make this night... perfect. Thanks for asking me out."
"I'm the one who should thank you, Sandy. I was acting a bit like a jerk back then and, again, on the way here but you knew exactly what to do. Talking with you about it really helped and I realized that, no matter how hard and difficult it gets, it's all worth it when I get to spend time with you this way. I l-"
Before he can finish his sentence, Sandbar, overwhelmed by happiness, shuts him up with a long kiss.
"I love you", the pony whispers the moment their lips part.
Overwhelmed by the excitement, embarrassment and adrenaline his action created, Sandbar opens the door and, without even waiting for an reaction, scurries inside, leaving Gallus, paralyzed and with a bright red head, all alone in the hallway. His feathers suddenly puff up before he turns around and walks up the stairs to get to his room. After entering it and closing the door, the griffon lies down on the bed and just stares at the ceiling, not being able to forget not only the kiss just now but also the one in the park as well as the three words he just heard. Sandbar reacts the same way. With cheeks as red as tomatoes, he lies down on his bed and hugs his pillow as he completes the sentence Gallus was about to say followed by the memory of the feelings that ran through his body and mind when he kissed that griffon back at the park. The same feelings are taking over his body and mind right now! It felt surreal but at the same time like the most real thing in the world.
So that's what love feels like...
As he comes to that conclusion, a wide smile forms on his hot, red face, which he immediately buries in the pillow, trying to calm himself down, with only moderate success. Eventually, both of them fall asleep, thinking about what the future holds for them and how their new chapter will turn out to be. Excitement and anticipation fill their thoughts as they drift off into a pleasant dream.

Author's Note:

A little scene I wanted to add because I just like to complete something^^
This is the end of my first story with those two. Thank you all for reading, commenting and liking! There were times I actually thought of canceling this whole thing but all of your nice words (and these two babies) made me pull through and I am proud of it!

The next waaaaay shorter story is already in the making so look forward to it^^

Comments

[NicoRosyStar]

I really am so glad you finished this! And considering that Gallus and Sandbar still need to tell the girls about their relationship, I can see the potential for that in the sequel! This ending was very adorable, especially when Sandbar tells Gallus he loves him, and they're both very blushy and flustered Such cute boys~

This more positive path was really great, and I'll get to reading the more dramatic path when I can!

[PonyPlays2014]

10038409
Thank you so much for all of your kind words!
I am glad I made two paths because that way I got to spend a bit more time with them^^