Bits, Pieces and other Scrapped Ideas

by FoolAmongTheStars

In Which There's an Indirect Kiss

Author's Note:

Summary: A plotless fluffy one shot of Starlight and Sunburst flirting during Nightmare Night.
Warnings: Tooth-rotting fluff ahead.
Notes: holy cow, I've written 65K words for this pairing in this fic alone, I know that I'm crazy and this just proves it

This was the first time Sunburst wished Starlight would be just a little afraid of something.

The cliche always goes that scary movies are great opportunities for flirting. The mare would grab the stallion’s foreleg in her fright, or even try to cuddle into him for “protection” against the terror displayed on screen. All Sunburst had to do was make himself available, maybe even lean in and let their shoulders brush together. They’d be clinging to each other when the credits rolled with a perfectly valid excuse: “We were scared.”

There were a few problems with this. First of all: the movie wasn’t scary at all. Secondly, it was not that scary for ponies who’d spent their lives fighting magical disasters daily. Thirdly, Starlight was not a wuss. She’d seen some things that would make even the most battle-hardened pony shiver, and aside from the occasional sympathetic wincing when something that looked painful happened on screen, Starlight seemed more preoccupied with her popcorn and soda to feel fear.

Sunburst chastised himself for being—no, acting—so pathetic. A more confident stallion would’ve let her know that he was interested and wouldn’t care about being rejected. But Sunburst was not that brave confident stallion. Fears about how this might change their relationship dashed what little confidence he had to begin with, turning him into a puddle of insecurities.

Next to him, Starlight shifted in her seat and nudged his shoulder by accident. Sunburst leaned toward her, hopefully in a way she could not perceive, so their shoulders stayed in contact and he’d keep feeling her body heat.

He was taken slightly aback when she turned and smiled at him, finishing up with a sip of her soda.

“Want some?” she whispered, offering him the beverage. Sunburst stared at the straw.

Is this…would this be like an indirect kiss? Did she know that? Was she doing this on purpose? No, come on. Starlight was way too romantically obtuse for that kind of flirting…right?

She blinked. “No?”

Sunburst grabbed the drink a little more forcefully than he meant to. “No! I mean, yes. Sure. I’ll have some.” He took a long sip from the straw. “It’s good,” he mumbled, not thinking about the flavor of the beverage at all.

He handed it back. On the screen, something loud happened suddenly. He wasn’t even paying enough attention to be startled (what was this movie about again?), although Starlight jumped ever so slightly at the ruckus. Sunburst reached over and gently brushed the top of her hoof with his own. For one heart-stopping moment, she didn’t move, but then she grabbed his hoof in return.

He sighed under his breath. This should really not be a big deal. They had held hooves before, but there was something different about doing so in the heat of an adventure and doing so in a dark movie theater under no threat of a magical catastrophe. It was a mark of how important she was to him. Something had been brewing between them for a long time—since they met, probably—but taking the steps toward bringing it into the light made him a nervous wreck.

Ah, yes. They must be reaching the climax of the movie. There was lots of screaming and running and startling and considerably less suspense than before. He heard a terrified whimper come from Trixie, who sat diagonally behind him next to Mud Briar. Maud, the only one who hadn’t bothered to put on any Nightmare Night makeup, simply let out a monotone “Ooh.”

At that moment, Starlight leaned her head against his shoulder.

Eeyup, she was definitely using the movie as an excuse just as he was. She gasped as though scared, but he could tell it was forced, probably to distract from the potential awkwardness of the moment. His heart soared, and he leaned his head against hers.

---

There was a silent agreement between their small group of friends.

Sunburst noticed it a while ago. At first, he’d been afraid that he would be called out in front of Starlight if he outwardly flirted with her; that would make it near impossible to dance around the issue and approach it at their own pace.

But other group members had fairly obvious romantic attractions, too, and nopony ever said anything—at least, not in front of the wrong pony. It worked like this: Sunburst and Starlight would talk about Maud and Mud Briar behind closed doors, for example. Mud Briar and Sunburst would talk about Maud. Starlight and Trixie would talk with Maud about Mud Briar. Sunburst, Trixie, and Starlight would talk about Mud Briar and Maud—the list went on. But the point was that nopony would give any secrets, or talk about Maud and Mud Briar in front of Maud and Mud Briar together. It was a silent understanding, an agreement that nopony would say anything to make anyone uncomfortable. For as much as the two flirted with the other, the two earth ponies were as private as any creature could be.

Sunburst was incredibly grateful for this as he continued to walk closely with Starlight, shoulders bumping and tails brushing carelessly, on the way back to Maud’s cave at 11 PM. However, no one was safe from teasing, and he endured this on a daily basis now from his group of friends. He assumed Starlight probably did, too, as a willing participant.

Tonight they would be having a Nightmare Night slumber party. Things were already set up—everyone’s sleeping bags had been left there, and the cave had been decorated in a spooky manner with as many jack-o-lanterns, spider webs, and lights as they could fit in the space. They had considered having the party at someone else’s residence, but Maud insisted, saying that she wanted to host a proper party this time to make up for the party Terramar and Silver Stream had accidentally crashed.

Ponyville on Nightmare Night was absolutely beautiful. The residents were enthusiastic about pumpkin carving, and the glowing, leering, smirking, smiling, laughing, shouting, and grotesque faces appeared everywhere, like lanterns during a festival. They cast a generally warm glow across the town, in contrast to the chill autumn air that lingered in the night as winter slowly took over. Everywhere he turned there were foals and their parents dressed in every costume imaginable, plastic buckets filled to the brim with candy clutched between baby teeth or magic as they ran around the town, laughing into the night like little goblins on a sugar high.

This year the town decided to host a Nightmare Night festival, which was still open by the time they exited the movie theater, and no one in the group objected to the detour—Trixie was feeling much chipper now that the movie was over, and everyone was enthusiastic about the few rickety rides that had been brought for the event. Aside from games, there were also rows of sugar in various forms for sale—pies, cakes, candy, caramel apples, chocolate, and so on. Nearly everything was shaped like a pumpkin, ghost, bat, or cat.

“Heh. Nerd.” She grinned like a mischievous cat.

“Dummy,” Sunburst answered, pouting, but there was fondness in his voice.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is famished!” Trixie declared loud enough for anyone to hear.

Maud raised an eyebrow. “We just had dinner, and then you inhaled an entire bucket of popcorn at the movie theater.”

“Technically, most of that popcorn ended up on the floor because she threw it at ponies,” Mud Briar said dryly.

“Why don’t we get a snack while the others get on the rides?” Sunburst said, playing the part of peacemaker before Trixie could retort. “We’ll catch up later or just meet them at Maud’s.”

Trixie nodded. “Okay! Sounds like a plan! I see pie over there so let’s go!”

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to try some of that hot pumpkin spice cider.” Starlight gestured toward a stand right next to the one Trixie was so eager to try.

Before he could protest, the two mares were dragging him towards the stands. Sunburst protested with far more passion than he actually felt about the matter. In truth, he would have gone anyway; he just found it fun to give his two friends a hard time about it.

Maud and Mud Briar were already waving their temporary goodbyes as Starlight shot him one of those looks. She tugged him after their friend; he smiled because Starlight’s expressions were downright adorable, and followed wordlessly.

---

“...what?” Starlight asked.

“I said don’t worry about it. I got it,” Sunburst answered as he handed a couple of bits over to the stallion (dressed as a knock-off Tirek) manning the cider stand. In return, he was given an orange, bat-themed cup full of hot pumpkin spice cider, complete with a lid.

Starlight huffed. “You don’t have to buy me stuff.” In truth, this was her pride speaking. She resented the stereotyped idea that stallions are supposed to buy things for mares. Another part of her absolutely loved Sunburst’s chivalrous gestures, but she didn’t want him to think she was expecting him to pay for her stuff all the time because all she really wanted was him.

“I know, but I want to. You could pay me back later,” he suggested.

“Hmm, nah,” she smiled. “Too late. You didn’t get one for yourself?”

Sunburst shook his head. “No, I’m full. Can I just have a taste?”

“Sure,” Starlight answered. He took a swig from the little hole at the top of the cup, drinking longer and slower than was necessary. Then he handed the cup back, grinning.

Something passed between them at that moment—an understanding. If she drank from the same opening, this would be an indirect kiss. So he had understood what she was trying to do in the movie theater.

“How is it?” Sunburst asked.

“It’s good.”

Meanwhile, Trixie was chowing down on about nine different flavors of pie right in front of the cat-costumed mare working the pie stand while a crowd cheered her on.

---

Several mediocre carnival rides later, the group headed home. Sunburst decided to try one of the special giant chocolate peanut butter pumpkin cups and devoured it in about three bites.

“You didn’t even offer me some.” Starlight pouted.

“Uh, sorry,” Sunburst said, genuinely embarrassed. “I didn’t realize you wanted one.”

“You ate that pretty fast,” Starlight said, looking directly at him.

“W-Well, you know me, I’m not a picky eater,” Sunburst said sheepishly.

As they walked, Sunburst offered his hoof and Starlight couldn’t hold back her grin as she took it. They fell back a bit from Trixie, Maud, and Mud Briar, who weren’t paying much attention anyway.

“Hey,” she heard him say quietly from her right side as he tapped her shoulder.

When she turned to face him, she couldn’t anticipate what was coming next. Starlight assumed he was just going to point out something funny or say something about their friends. His face was a lot closer than she expected, and she barely had time to register what he was doing as he mumbled something like, “Well, you can probably still taste it on me so…” right before he pressed his mouth against hers in a soft kiss.

Then he didn’t say anything more, though he was bright red, and kept walking purposefully. Starlight was going to shout something at him, but the trio ahead of them came to an abrupt stop as Trixie rushed to the side of the street to throw up those nine pies behind some bushes.

Sunburst used this excuse to rush forward to assist their friend. If the others knew what they had been up to, it was quickly forgotten.

Starlight licked her lips. Okay, maybe there was a hint of peanut butter chocolate in there.

---

After such a hectic night, they all settled down around 2 AM. Sleeping figures turned into lumps of shadows and highlights in the moonlit darkness were scattered all over the cave. Unlit jack-o-lanterns kept a silent vigil.

Sunburst hadn’t said anything significant to Starlight since they got back—just the usual small talk; the ball was firmly in her court now. She waited until Trixie’s sleeptalk echoed in the cave, along with Maud and Mud Briar’s synchronized snoring, to take action.

She could barely see as she crawled her way in the dark, but Sunburst's red hair stood out even in the dead of night. Starlight crouched next to his bedroom, shaking his shoulder gently. “Psst, hey, Sunburst,” she whispered.

He groaned her name and stirred for a moment before realizing it was still the middle of the night. “Huh? Wha’s wrong?” he mumbled, blinking the sleep from his eyes.

“Shh, nothing,” Starlight assured him. Suddenly her heart and body were filled with nervous energy and she fidgeted next to him, feeling bashful. She felt like an idiot. No matter how many times they hugged, no matter how close they sat next to each other, even whether or not he’d stolen a kiss from her earlier tonight, she was still nervous and scared of messing this up somehow, by either going too fast or too aggressively.

But she came to do something, and if there was a right time, now would be it.

“Can I…join you?” she asked, a little breathlessly.

Sunburst looked confused for a moment, and then—his cheeks glowing pink even in the dark—answered. “Y-Yes, sure.”

Starlight scrambled into the sleeping bag, trying her best to minimize the awkwardness of her movements. After some shuffling and rearranging, there she was, lying eye-to-eye and chest-to-chest with her friend, all tightly wrapped up in warmth and softness. She held his hoof with both of hers.

“So…why are you in my sleeping bag?” he whispered. She felt his warm breath on her lips, still sugary from Nightmare Night sweets.

“You smell like peanut butter,” she said, moving her face just a fraction of an inch closer. She flexed her hooves; he squeezed her hoof back.

“Heh, and you smell like cider.”

“You’ve been…unusual tonight,” she continued, slowly and deliberately discarding the mask of ignorance they’d both been wearing to avoid making any risky moves that couldn’t be taken back.

“This has been going on for a while, right?” Sunburst asked, sounding a little dismayed. “I could’ve sworn you started it.”

“Huh? No way?” She hissed. “You started it!”

Sunburst snorted but quickly returned to seriousness. “But anyway. The important thing is…where do you want to go from here?”

Starlight leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. She felt his hoof flex with emotion. “Forward, if that's okay with you.”

“Yes,” Sunburst sighed breathily before leaning in and kissing her again.

Soon they weren’t holding hooves anymore. Running their hooves over each other’s shoulders and backs as their lips and tongues caressed each other. They tried as hard as they could to be quiet but with the feelings coursing through both of them, it wasn’t easy. It was not a large sleeping bag, but considering how close they wanted to be with each other, it felt like yards and yards of fabric between them.

Starlight reached up and ran her hooves through his hair as they held each other. They very nearly rolled over entirely off the bedroll, then his grasp wandered down to the small of her back and he pulled her as close as possible. She knew exactly what he wanted…but this was not the time, much less the place. She gave him one last deep kiss before pulling away and Sunburst relented with a disappointed huff, he still held her close though, as if to compensate for the interrupted lip-lock.

“Let’s go back to sleep,” she giggled as she cuddled against his chest and listened to his heart. And when he hummed his agreement, she felt his voice rumble, low and comforting, in her ear. She initiated a rather competitive game of hoofsie before they gradually drifted to sleep, the unicorns intertwined for the rest of the night.

---

The fresh, bright morning that woke Starlight was so dazzlingly that she felt like Nightmare Night was already a lifetime away.

The carved pumpkins suddenly looked out of place, she was fairly certain she never wanted to eat that much sugar again, and she could already barely recall the events of last’s night horror flick.

But most importantly, the spark between Sunburst and herself had finally ignited. The happiness that coursed through her veins energized her more than any sugary treat did, it made her want to jump, scream, dance, do cartwheels, and shoot a couple of fireworks into the sky for good measure, but she chose to nuzzle Sunburst's chest instead, grinning like a filly. She lay there relishing every sensation—the softness of the sleeping back, the warmth of their shared body heat, the gentle rise and falling of his breathing, even the slight draft coming from the hallway. It made her feel that much cozier all wrapped up in Sunburst and the smell of him and his soap.

Eventually, ponies started waking up around them. As Sunburst pulled Starlight up towards his face for what he hoped would be a subtle good morning kiss, the general consensus around the room seemed to be “About time!”.

Comments

[Xp45]

Blows door off of its hinges

Holy Fluff! It’s a new Bits and Pieces Chapter! On time for its reference material! And it’s… its… beautiful, as this couple always is

[lillytheomegawolf]

Cute. I like it.

[InfernalGuacamolePony]

11875052
Hentai and all fellow brony