Sugarcoating

by Draxonos135

Sweeter Than Expected

At Sour Sweet's bedroom, the girl sat on her bed and took a deep breath as she calmed herself down, trying to go back to her usual state of in-between sweet, and sour, just like her name implied.

She put a hand close to her chest with one final breath... then clutched it tightly.

"What have I done?!"

Sour Sweet leaned back and pulled her hair.

"Of all the people I could've snapped at today, why did it have to be Sugarcoat?! She was just trying to see if I was feeling alright, and I up and shout at her face like that!"

Sour Sweet kicked the air as she covered her eyes with her hands.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to make it up for her, if I can even do that!"

Sour Sweet planted her face on her pillow, but just as she continued to bemoan what would certainly worry her for the remainder of the day, her phone rang.

Nevertheless, the longer she kept it ringing, the more annoying it'd get, so Sour Sweet grabbed it, took it close to her ear, and took her face out of the pillow to answer clearly.

"Who is it?"

"Sour Sweet, it's me, Sugarcoat."

A thousand chills went down Sour Sweet's spine as her face slowly turned blue.

Sugarcoat? So early? She's calling me this early? Why? I mean, I was expecting her to call me eventually, but not this early!

Sour Sweet bit her lips as her mind began shooting disturbing ideas at her. Again.

Does she want to break up with me? She wants to break up with me, doesn't she?! And even if she doesn't want to break up, she wants to talk about me snapping at her, certainly! What am I supposed to tell her then?! "Oh hey, Sugarcoat, I'm sorry for shouting at you like that, I was having a bad day," what kind of excuse is that!?

Sour Sweet shook her head.

N-No, don't lose your head yet, Sour Sweet! M-Maybe she just wants to talk, right?

Then, Sour Sweet finally remembered.

M-Maybe... she wants to talk about our study date?

"R-Right, you asked me if I wanted to study with you, right?"

"Yeah, but we never really agreed on who should go to who's house. So, if you don't mind, would you like to go to my house?"

Sour Sweet gulped, but remained calm nonetheless.

"S-Sure, I have no problem... of course, if you have a-"

"I don't have a problem with that."

Sour Sweet flinched.

"In fact, I'd be delighted to have you over."

Sour Sweet winced, and clutched her chest as she sweated bullets.

"Can you come at 4 PM?"

"S-Sure... yeah, I... I can-"

"Great, see you then."

"W-Wait, Su-!"

*click*

And with that single sound, a dozen shivers went down Sour Sweet's spine, now expecting the worst.

She's going to break up with me, isn't she?

---

The next day, Sour Sweet was on her way to Sugarcoat's house a little bit over ten minutes before the planned 4 PM time slot. It did take a little while to go from her house to Sugarcoat's after all, if she had left any later, she probably would've arrived late.

Then again, it's not like Sour Sweet was eager to go.

Great, first I snap at the girl I love, and now I'm more than likely going to get an earful from her once I go to her house, if she doesn't break up with me right then and there.

Sour Sweet stopped by a fountain and took a deep breath.

Who's going to help me now?

"Sour Sweet!"

Sour Sweet flinched and turned around, instantly seeing a familiar figure approaching her in the distance: Suri Polomare, who waved her hand with a cheerful smile.

"Suri?"

"Sour Sweet! What a coincidence to-"

Suri tripped on a rock, and wobbled forward towards Sour Sweet, who tried to stand her ground as Suri got closer and closer... only for her to slow down bit by bit until she only lightly nudged her in the shoulder.

This was still enough to send her flying into the fountain.

"Oh my gosh, sorry, Sour!"

"I already told you, I prefer to be called "Sweet," Sour Sweet said as she got off the fountain, with Suri's help, and shook off the water like a dog. "Anyway, what do you want?"

Suri blocked the water and dusted herself.

"W-Well, I noticed you looked rather sad, and not in an angry way like yesterday," Suri clasped her hands. "And I thought that, well, maybe you'd like someone to talk to about it-"

Sour Sweet stomped to Suri, until the girls were face-to-face.

"And who asked you to put your nose in my private life!?"

"Nobody! Nobody did!" Suri screamed. "I-I-I just wanted to help a classmate!"

Seeing how scared Suri was reminded Sour Sweet of how surprised and shocked Sugarcoat was when she snapped at her, so she took a deep breath and scratched the back of her head.

"If I tell you about it, do you promise not to tell any of our classmates?"

Suri smiled, did the "my lips are sealed" gesture, and nearly threw the air key away before Sour Sweet grabbed her hand and opened her free palm.

"Give me the key."

"S-Sweet, it's not an actual key-"

"I'm not taking any chances! Give me the key!"

Suri dropped the air key on Sour Sweet's palm, and she saved it on her real pocket as she released Suri, then explained herself.

"Listen, yesterday I was really angry because of a rumor I heard about there being a surprise pop quiz once every week from now on, and the idea of my perfect record being tainted by something beyond my control just made me boil with fury!"

Sour Sweet grabbed her arm and lowered her head.

"A fury that blinded me so much I yelled at so many people that didn't deserve it: Miss Cadence, you-"

"I'm used to it, really," Suri frowned. "Prim Hemline has some pretty high standards."

"And worst of all, I yelled at Sugarcoat too, who's only crime was to try see if I was doing okay," Sour Sweet put her hands on her cheeks. "And I know Sugarcoat seems like a girl who could take a lot without flinching, but she's still just a girl. One can only imagine how scared she was when I snapped at her like that."

"And since you're going to go study with her today, you're worried that this "Study date" is going to turn for the worse?"

Sour Sweet lowered her eyelids, and nodded twice.

Suri, for ther part, smiled and reached for her pocket.

"You know, every time I make Coco upset, an apology gift with some words usually cheers her up."

Suri took out some dollars and extended them to Sour Sweet.

"Maybe you could give Sugarcoat a gift and see if she likes it?"

Sour Sweet's eyes widened upon seeing the money, and she reached for them for a moment before she paused, glared at Suri, and folded her arms with a stern look.

"Nice try, Suri, but I know what you're trying to do: once you give me this money and I fail to pay you back when you ask for it later, you'll force me to do you a favor in order to pay my debt to you. Well, it might've worked before, but that's not going to work today!"

Suri, in returned, scowled.

"Sour Sweet, this is your relationship with Sugarcoat we're talking about! I may do some shady stuff sometimes, but even I wouldn't take advantage of a girl who snapped at her girlfriend just to get a favor from them later."

Suri forcefully handed Sour Sweet the money.

"I'm giving you this money with the purpose to help your relationship sta afloat, so take it and use it to do just that!"

With the money now in hand, Sour Sweet clenched her fist as sighed.

"Even if you give me this money with no strings attached, what am I supposed to use it for? Sugarcoat doesn't really like jewelry or clothing since she gets that in every single one of her birthdays."

"Well, buy something you can both enjoy," Suri shrugged. "Maybe then, the feeling of just having a good time together will help you make amends."

Sour Sweet smiled.

"That could actually work."

Then, she turned to a nearby confectionery.

"And I know exactly what to buy."

---

Sugarcoat sat on her living room's couch, looking at her watch as she waited for Sour Sweet's arrival. Both this, and the ticking of the clock in the living room, did nothing to calm her down as it had already been ten minutes past their established date.

Sour Sweet doesn't usually take this long.

Sugarcoat looked at the ceiling.

Maybe she got caught up with something and that's why she's taking longer to arrive? I mean, I don't think she just forgot about our study date, did she?

And then, she heard the door being knocked.

Sugarcoat got off the couch, walked to it, and opened the door to find Sour Sweet outside, holding a box of donuts.

"Sour Sweet, you came!"

"Of course I did, I wouldn't forget our study date like it was nothing," Sour Sweet rolled her eyes. "I just got caught up talking with Suri, and she gave me some money to buy you something, so I went to a confectionery and bought us some donuts."

Sugarcoat's smile turned into a frown.

"Suri gave you some money? She wasn't trying to trick you into owing her a favor, right?"

"I thought she was trying to do that, too, but once I threw the accusation at her face, she told me she just wanted to do something nice for once."

Sour Sweet walked to the couch, sat down, and put the box on the table.

"Anyway, now that we're here, how about we start our study date?"

Sugarcoat raised an amused eyebrow.

"Study date?"

"Well, yeah, we agreed to go at your house, we're going to be studying for a while, I brought some sweets."

Sour Sweet paused to process what she said, then asked with a concerned tone.

"D-Did I get the wrong idea?"

Sugarcoat thought about it as she walked to and sat next to Sour Sweet, who clasped her hands and frowned as she expected Sugar's undoubtedly blunt answer.

Then, Sugarcoat smiled and responded.

"No, you're right, this is a study date-"

Which summoned Sour Sweet's sourer side.

"Don't mess with me like that, dang it! You honestly scared me for a second there!"

Sugarcoat let out a little chuckle, which somehow managed to calm down Sour Sweet back into a neutral state.

"Anyway," Sugarcoat opened the box. "How about we take some donuts and begin studying."

Sour Sweet, sensing that things were going well so far, smiled and nodded.

"Sure, let's do that."

---

Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet were starting their study session, the former preparing the sheets containing the problems for the session, while the latter tried balancing a pencil on her lips.

"Okay, Sour Sweet, I've already compiled the papers," Sugarcoat said as she laid the papers on the table. "Are you ready to start studying?"

Sour Sweet said nothing, being focused on the pencil.

"Sour Sweet!"

She flinched and shouted "Y-Yes!" at the top of her lungs, also causing her pencil to hit the ground.

"Aw man, I was about to beat my personal record."

"Sour Sweet, I asked you to come here so I could help you get prepared for the surprise pop quizzes," Sugarcoat stated, folding her arms. "The least you could do is act like you're interested in passing them, don't you think?"

Sour Sweet put her arms on the table and rested her head on them.

"I know, but... I just feel so dismotivated."

Sugarcoat frowned, and brushed Sour Sweet's head.

"If something's upsetting you, tell me about it and I'll see if I can help you."

Sour Sweet slowly raised her head.

"It's just not fair: we already worked so hard to get into Crystal Prep Academy, and now they're apparently trying their hardest to make us flunk it with all the complicated lessons, and the quizzes, and all that other junk!"

Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow.

"It's not that difficult, really."

Sour Sweet slammed her fist and narrowed her eyes.

"For somebody as smart as you and the rest of our classmates, of course it's not that difficult!"

Her anger quickly swapped for sorrow as she continued.

"But for somebody like me... it's like they're telling me to just, give up and look somewhere else."

Sugarcoat's eyes widened, and she narrowed them as she grabbed Sour Sweet's cheeks, and made her look at her right in the eyes.

"Don't you ever say that about yourself, ever again. I'll admit, the quizzes and all that other stuff is going to be pretty hard for somebody who isn't smart or a genius, but you have something that nobody else does: you have me, a smart person that's willing to help you pass these ridiculous tests!"

Sour Sweet's eyes shined with hope.

"Sugarcoat..."

Sugarcoat returned the shine with a hopeful smile.

"I promise you, one way or another, we'll work this out together."

"Sugarcoat... Sugarcoat..."

---

"Sugarcoat!"

Sugarcoat blinked twice before she finally returned to reality, seeing that she and Sour Sweet were not just starting their study session, but were actually nearly done, both with the practice and the donuts.

Guess time flies when you're having fun inside a fantasy.

Unfortunately, Sour Sweet was decidedly not having fun.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the last five minues! This is the last problem I need you to check, so please don't leave me hanging!"

Sugarcoat blinked one more time, then shook her head, adjusting her glasses as she grabbed the sheet.

"R-Right, sorry. Give me a moment."

"Please don't space out again."

Sugarcoat grabbed a donut as she mentally checked the problem done by Sour Sweet, all while she kept a sharp looking at her bespectacled girlfriend.

It didn't take long for Sugarcoat to finish the examination, although unlike the usual reason, it wasn't because everything was wrong.

In fact, everything was...

"Correct."

Sour Sweet smiled, lifted her arms victoriously, and stretched as she leaned back.

"Oh, thank goodness, that'll certainly get a weight off my shoulders!" "Thanks a lot for helping me study, Sugarco-"

"Please stop calling me that."

Sour Sweet flinched as Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses.

"I've been thinking about it for a while: if we're really going to be girlfriends, we should make up a pet name for each other, don't you think? Even if we don't use them in public, we should at least use them while we're by ourselves."

Sour Sweet scratched her chin.

"I see where you're coming from. So, what should I call you?"

Sugarcoat smiled.

"Split my name in half."

"Sugar Coat."

"Now take the first part of each half."

"Su Co."

Sugarcoat lightly chuckled.

"Okay, let's try something else: just take the first two letters."

"SC... sounds like Susie. Or Suzy?

"Either way."

Sugarcoat rested her chin on her palm.

"I'd like it if you called me that."

Sour Sweet didn't take long to realize Sugarcoat wasn't just saying that, but she was requesting her to call her that.

So, since this was going to be something they were going to from now on, Sour Sweet took a deep breath, gathered the strength to start the trend... and meekly spoke.

"Susie."

Sugarcoat smiled widely, nearly ear-to-ear, as she blushed and let out a little giggle, immediately sending Sour Sweet's heart aflutter.

"O-Okay, I called you by your pet name, so now it's your turn!" Sour Sweet exclaimed, blushing as well. "What pet name are you gonna give me?"

Sugarcoat didn't hesitate.

"Sourpuss."

"Denied!" a furious Sour Sweet pointed at Sugarcoat. "Try again!"

Sugarcoat let out a couple chuckles before she calmed down, and adjusting her glasses once again, she spoke with a sultry tone:

"Sweetheart."

Sour Sweet's blushing intensified.

"C-Could you please say it without that tone again?" Sour Sweet looked elsewhere and clutched her chest. "It makes me feel... weird."

Sugarcoat tilted her head.

"Sweetheart."

Sour Sweet smiled and turned back to her girlfriend.

"Much better."

What followed was a small bit of silence between the pair as Sugarcoat looked at Sour Sweet with a little smile, and Sour Sweet grabbed her arm and tried to keep her eye contact focused on Sugarcoat, thinking this was the perfect time to talk about... what happened earlier.

"S-So... u-um... Sugarcoat, I... I'd like to-"

"Sour Sweet?"

She shut her trap, a dozen chills going up her spine this time.

"Y-Yes, Sugarcoat?"

Sugarcoat played with her hair and looked elsewhere for a moment.

"Look, there's something I want to talk to you about, but I feel like this place isn't... personal enough to do it."

Sugarcoat smiled and blushed a little.

"So, would you mind going with me somewhere?"

Oh no! Not the cute face! Anything but the cute face! You know I can't say no to that face!

Sour Sweet smiled nervously.

"I-I wouldn't mind, but-"

Sugarcoat chirped up, ran up to Sour Sweet, and grabbed her hand before she dragged her out of the house, Sour Sweet only being able to ponder to herself:

Where is she taking me?