Cure For a Toxin

by RadBunny

Chapter Forty Five: Futures

Gelliana tossed and turned, the distant rumble of thunder making her grumble.

Sleeping in her own room was just out of the question if a storm was on the forecast. While the soundproofing spells could cancel out the thunder, the distant vibration and rain was harder to avoid. It still made her shudder; the spells were usually kept at a low level to take the edge off. Besides, she just plopped down next to Toxic’s bed on her own pillow nest and it worked well enough.

That plan had been her go-to for the past weeks. A little over a month after being rescued, and they had started to set into a simple routine. Therapy appointments twice a week, and then just…a ‘normal’ job.

Gelliana had enjoyed her work of gardening before, but now it had a new draw to the gryphoness. A simplicity that she had forgotten even existed in the world. Her shop had been staffed by Organization employees; her precious plants even being taken care of as best they could.

She still wasn’t ready to go back though. Between the King still on the run and wanting to be close to Toxic, it was a long road before the gryphoness would feel comfortable running her shop again.

Toxic, the sweetheart that he was, revealed there were plans for a greenhouse in progress, along with an export shop being built on the island. It had been planned before meeting Gelliana, but now they needed someone to give advice on various rare plants that very few others knew about.

He had gotten a long kiss for that. It had been the perfect distraction, a slow reminder of her life before things got turned upside down. Also, to that end, meeting Toxic’s parents for lunch the other day had been a treat indeed. The two unicorns were simply happy their son was safe and sound. Of course, Gelliana had been a blushing mess when Toxic’s mom had whispered a simple thing to her before parting.

‘I know that look, Gelliana, and I’m happy for you both. Just take good care of our son. I’m glad you two have each other.’

Without saying much, the mare had immediately picked up on how much Gelliana cared for Toxic, that much the gryphoness knew. She didn’t mind, it was just pleasantly unexpected.

A rumble of thunder made the room shake. Gelliana still winced slightly. That would have been a loud one, the spells muting it, but only just. She was getting better though; thunder seemed almost hatchlings-play after what they had gone through. Those dark thoughts still lingered, Toxic happy to wake up and give her a hug during bad nights.

To the stallion’s credit, he was doing much better on seeking out Gelliana with his own troubles. It made them feel like a team again, and, if the gryphoness was being honest, brought them even closer, if that was possible. Knowing that she was the one he went to instead of bottling it up; it was comforting in an odd way.

It was an odd back and forth. Usually, it was the gryphoness having the rough nights, but other times Toxic woke up with a gasp, soaked in sweat. He didn’t elaborate on what kept him up, but Gelliana could guess.

The stallion had endured days of nightmares from the King of Shadows. Even if Toxic hadn’t been surprised by the images, expecting them, having that much horror flood past one’s eyes would leave an impact.

She still had almost daily nightmares of what had happened, what almost happened. Therapy was helping her cope, but there was a definite feeling of loss from the ignorance and innocence Gelliana had from before their journey.

Sitting up with a grunt, she looked over to Toxic, a smile twitching onto her beak. Even with all the challenges, the nightmares, Gelliana wouldn’t trade her current situation for the world. There was someone in the world who understood almost exactly what she was going through, who knew what challenges had been faced.

And he was always at her side.

Bed-sheets shifting this way and that clued the gryphoness in that Toxic was likely to wake up soon. A surprising dulled boom of thunder made the gryphoness squeak softly in shock. But she didn’t dive under the covers and huddle like she usually did.

Her sensitive ears twitched, Toxic’s heartbeat skyrocketing. Within moments, the stallion bolted upright with a gasp. His forelimb clutched his chest, Toxic’s sides heaving as a cold sweat matted his fur.

Following the routine that had worked in most cases, Gelliana hopped up onto the bed, sitting next to him quietly. Sometimes the pony wanted an immediate hug, other times a few moments to compose himself.

The abrupt hurt in his eyes made Gelliana’s heart turn to ice. Something was somehow different…

“Gells?” he asked softly, the gryphoness nodding and scooting a tad closer. The pony shook his head, shivering and almost flopping against her shoulder.

“A bad one, huh?” she asked softly, the stallion nodding once and nuzzling into her neck feathers. The gesture never failed to make the gryphoness blush, especially as it immediately seemed to calm her special-somepony down.

He pulled away slightly, bright green eyes staring at his hooves.

“Just the usual Shadow-King memories at first,” he muttered, confirming Gelliana’s suspicions. “But then you were there.”

There was something in Toxic’s voice that made Gelliana’s eyes narrow, especially as the stallion’s ears flattened, a few tears trickling from his eyes.

“You had to make some choices. I was one of them, but you d-didn’t choose- you didn’t want….”

Gelliana immediately yanked Toxic into a tight hug, the stallion’s sides shivering against hers.

“You didn’t want this. Dealing with it all,” he paused, voice now barely a whisper. “You didn’t need me anymore; you didn’t want me anymore.”

Rocking him back and forth, the gryphoness simply held Toxic in her arms for a time. Once his tears had dried, Gelliana scooted her head underneath his, briefly making sure to meet his gaze.

“Toxic, I’ll always choose you,” she said firmly. Pulling him close, Gelliana shifted to rest her claws lightly against her stallion’s chest, her ears immediately tuning into his heartbeat. “I feel like we both need each other right now. And I hope never to make you feel as if I don’t want you. And that’s not just for the lovely island retreat.”

That made him chuckle softly, Toxic resting his cheek against hers.

“I want you in my life, Tox. Whatever leads to that happening, I’ll choose that, choose you, over everything. I hope I can eventually prove whatever doubt keeps telling you otherwise wrong.”

Gelliana felt a few tears on her shoulder at that. Her special somepony burrowed a bit tighter against her feathers, still hugging her close.

“I was so afraid we wouldn’t be able to get you out.”

She pulled back slightly, looking at Toxic with a no-nonsense gaze.
“But you did,” Gelliana said firmly, a tender, trembling smile on her beak, “and you kept me safe. I guess I’m just a bit selfish, feeling a smidge glad that I return the favor.”

Giving him a brief but loving kiss, Gelliana’s wings flared as Toxic returned the gesture, the stallion then clenching his jaw as they separated, trying to keep the tears unshed. His efforts failed as Gelliana reached a set of claws over, rustling them gently through the fur on Toxic’s chest. A soft smile was on her face as the gryphoness leaned forwards, Toxic wrapping her up in a loose hug as Gelliana listened to his heartbeat.

“I’m just happy you’re letting me help, Tox. I’m here for as long as you want me.”

Wiping his eyes despite a few more tears surging to the fore, Toxic managed a weak smile as gave Gelliana a squeeze with his forelimbs.

“Then you’re not going to be going anywhere for a long, long long time,” he whispered, Gelliana pulling back to give him another kiss.

“That was my plan. Right now, though, you need sleep.”

Gelliana made sure Toxic was comfortable before curling up half on top of him as an additional blanket. Her head lay just between his shoulder blades, wing extended over the stallion. Her sensitive ears picked up a final mumble before they dozed off.

“Thank you, Gells.”

---

Toxic chewed and let out a sigh of bliss, a large stack of pancakes in front of him.

“The chefs were on their ‘A’ game today,” he mused, Gelliana letting out an “Mmhmm!” He looked up, and abruptly saw the gryphoness attempting to eat two of said pancakes at once.

The stallion couldn’t help but abruptly laugh, tears coming to his eyes. Due to the syrup, the delicious food had slipped slightly out of either side of Gelliana’s beak, the gryphoness’s eyes widening in panic as the tasty morsels threatened to escape.

Barely able to breath as Gelliana flipped her head back and forth to snag them, Toxic clutched his sides as Gelliana let out a groan.

“Ow. Too big of a bite,” she said sorrowfully.

“S-serves you right!” Toxic crowed, the gryphoness flicking a blueberry at his nose with impeccable accuracy.

“Well, it’s nice to see you laughing. If I have to suffer through battling pancakes, so be it,” Gelliana said cheerfully, now tucking into the remainder of said food with a bit more caution.

After a few moments, it was Toxic who broke the silence.

“Hey Gells?”

“Hmm?”

“Last night, thank you,” Toxic whispered.

“You’re welcome. You’ve always been there for me, and if it takes a while to prove that voice wrong, the want-and-need doubts, then so be it,” Gelliana said firmly. The stallion managed a weak smile at that.

“I’ll definitely need reminders. Getting rid of that will take a long time. It’s a deep thing, that topic.”

“I know, Tox,” Gelliana replied softly, “I get it. And my answer remains the same. You said you’ll need reminders? Pretty sure we’ve discussed something like this before.”

“Hmm?” Toxic’s head tilted in curiosity. It did ring a bell.

Gelliana promptly got up, walked over to the confused stallion and gave him a very long (and syrup infused) kiss, then sidled back over to her seat with a happy grin. Toxic’s face was slightly purple, ears perked up as he stared at the equally-blushing gryphoness.

“I think I like these reminders,” he finally, said, Gelliana smirking from behind her fluffed feathers.

“I had a feeling you would. Syrupy kisses. Who would have thought that would be what makes you look like an eggplant?”

She took a special joy in seeing Toxic utterly flustered, Gelliana mentally adding those gestures of affection to the growing arsenal of things that would make her stallion turn into lovey putty.

He shook his head with a soft laugh, smiles now on both of their faces as they downed their breakfast. With not getting a lot of sleep and their emotions boiling so close to the surface, it was a nice reprieve to brush off the foul memories in lieu of better ones, to create better ones.

As they meandered towards the door, Toxic paused, giving Gelliana a nudge with his shoulder. His amulet was held in a magical grip, whatever the stallion wanting to say clearly opting to do so before putting it on.

“Hey, Gells?”

“Hmm?”

The gryphoness was given pause at seeing the stallion gritting his jaw, eyes dampening ever so slightly as emotion clogged his throat. He scooted forwards, wrapping his neck over hers in a slight hug.

“Y’know, I like sharing my mornings with you.”

The gryphoness immediately teared up, wrapping the stallion into a tight hug.
“And I look forward to sharing many more,” Gelliana whispered, letting the pony go as that goofy and adorable grin slid onto Toxic’s face.

They then set out across the island, side occasionally touching as they meandered down one of the areas many trails. There were a few meetings to attend to, but the mornings were relatively free for simple relaxation.

They didn’t say anything as they walked, but the two stopped on their designated favorite spot over the past month. It was an area where the grassy field jutted out onto a cliff, the slow drop-off leading to a small beach and the gently rolling waves.

Gelliana knew things felt different, something having been building. She wasn’t sure what it was; it couldn’t be put into words. The two simply sat next to each other, the gryphoness’s side pressed against her stallion’s. The salty mist that blew around them wasn’t too cold, a nice contrast to the warm sun.

Toxic spoke first, his tone surprisingly calm.

“Y’know, if I was going to propose, this would be where I’d do it,” he said softly. “I know we aren’t making any big decisions yet, but it’s a nice thought.”

Gelliana’s answer came almost without thinking. The topic, spending her life with someone had lost almost all nerves and anxiety many weeks ago. She had spent almost every day with this stallion for months, and then the many, many dates before that.

It wasn’t even a question in her mind at this point. Not spending her life with Toxic was the deviation from the norm now.

“It is a nice thought,” she said with a happy sigh, “especially since this would be the place where I would say yes.”

Reaching over to give his special somegriff a long kiss, Toxic’s hoof was quickly held tight by the gryphoness, Gelliana eventually pulling back to look at him with a wry smile.

“Of course, that assumes you would ask before I do.”

He leaned forward to rest against Gelliana’s head, sides shaking slightly. She felt her feathers dampen ever so slightly; the stallion’s jaw clenched.

“You really do mean that, huh?” he asked softly, “what you said last night…?”

She yanked Toxic into another kiss, one that made the pony see stars until she finally had to breath.

“I meant every word, and I would say yes a thousand times,” Gelliana stated firmly, “If not for the fact we’re both a bit vulnerable dealing with stuff, I’d ask you right now.”

Toxic didn’t say anything for a time, the two simply snuggled up next to the other.

“Sorry if it takes a bit to get through my thick skull,” he admitted.

“Eh. Just means I get to find creative ways of reminding you that I want you.”

The stallion couldn’t help but let out an amused huff at that.
“So, order of business then,” he said, “deal with trauma, both of us…”

“In progress.”

“Then, a proposal race?”

Gelliana giggled at that.
“I like that plan.”

Another few moments passed, the two simply enjoying the company of the other. Nothing to think about aside from the scenery and the warmth of the creature sitting next to them.

“Love you Gells,” Toxic whispered, leaning over to rub his cheek against hers, to which she immediately returned the gesture.

“Love you too, Toxic. We’ll get through this,” she said firmly, the stallion now actually laughing.

“It’s such a back and forth depending on the day, huh?” he asked, Gelliana nodding in agreement.

“Kind of like life condensed into a few hours?” she suggested, “I need help one day, you the other?”

“Ugh. Too serious and philosophical,” Toxic said, promptly leaning forward and licking right up the center of Gelliana’s beak and in-between her eyes.

“GAH!” she squawked, the stallion cackling before the gryphoness spun, pinning him to the ground. His eyes widened, an evil grin on Gelliana’s face as she stuck out her tongue.

“Don’t you dare!”

Gelliana leaned down and promptly gave her stallion a sloppy lick on the side of the face, the pony squirming.

“OH, IT’S IN MY EYE!”

“My noble stallion defeated by a bit of spit,” Gelliana laughed, the two sitting upright again as Toxic scrubbed his face with a forelimb.

“I suppose I deserved that,” he admitted.

“Just a bit.”

“Could be worse. At least you haven’t bitten off part of my lip when we kissed. So, I’m bite free!” Toxic said with a grin, Gelliana rolling her eyes.

“I’d never bite you, Toxic,” she sighed.

She felt Toxic’s eyes on her. She knew that when she turned to look at him-

That same cocky, smug, loving smirk on her pony’s face looked back at her. The feathers on her face fluffed, a bright blush coloring her cheeks.

“Mmmm. Yet.”

She could only manage a soft squeak as Toxic spoke, the evil stallion not able to resist a laugh. Thankfully, a cold mist of water doused the pair from a large wave down below as the pony grinned.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“You are not sorry,” she muttered, desperately smoothing down her feathers.

He scooted closer, wrapping her up in a simply hug, his head pressing down on top of hers.
“No, not really. It’s too much fun,” Toxic admitted, letting out a soft sigh. “But for all the teasing and fun, I love moments like this the most.”

Gelliana nestled her head in the crook of his neck, nodding in agreement.
“Same here,” she whispered. Her blush returned full force, however, when Toxic calmly reached down to pick up a set of her claws with a hoof. It was such a simple gesture, but coupled with the fact of their previous discussion about a hypothetical question…

If Toxic had a ring, how he held her claws would be just the same. Gelliana had done the same thing- well, holding his hoof like this at least. Such little exchanges had taken on a very simple meaning.

I love you, and I’m not going anywhere.

Author's Note:

Please take your fluff-controlling medications at this time. Extra doses are available by the door.

Comments

[Richtus]

So much fluff! Love it!

[ChakatRedstripe]

Good chapter!

[RadBunny]

11185454
11187512

[Lore Horse]

“Eh. Just means I get to find creative ways of reminding that I want you .”

Reminding you?