Dare To Date

by Scyphi

Moonlit Stroll

After only a little haggling over the bill, they both left the pizza parlor with full bellies and ready to move on to their next activity of the night, for which Gallus looked expectantly at Smolder.

“Oh yeah, I guess we did agree I’d pick the next activity, didn’t we?” Smolder realized with a start.

“I mean, we were at the pizza place a little longer than expected,” Gallus reasoned as he gazed up at the night sky, the moon now clearly visible. “It’s late enough that we could just call it a night now if you want.”

“Nah, I still wanna think of something else we could do.” Smolder rubbed her chin, considering it for a second. “Hmm…”

“Well?” Gallus prompted after another second.

“I’m thinking,” Smolder assured, shooting him a look. She frowned at herself, frustrated. “But of course, now that I’m put on the spot, I can’t think of anything.”

“Yeah, isn’t that just always how it is?” Gallus quipped with a chuckle.

Smolder shrugged. “I’ll keep thinking about it, try and come up with something. If I can’t before we start arriving back at the school though, then we’ll call it a night anyway.”

“Sounds good,” Gallus remarked.

They walked through the quiet streets in silence for a about a block, once again finding themselves feeling awkward, self-aware, and unsure what to say.

Gallus suppressed a quiet belch. “So that free spaghetti was pretty good,” he remarked, giving his stomach a content pat.

“Yeah, about that,” Smolder began slowly.

Gallus glanced at her. “You still feeling uneasy about how word on us got out?” he asked.

Smolder nodded. “I mean, I don’t wanna, and I know I can’t stop it now, so there’s not much point stressing over it like this but…” she trailed off for a second then glanced at him. “Look, that spaghetti…was it weird that we only got it because others noticed we were on a date?”

Gallus mulled on it for a second. “I don’t know…I’m not sure it even matters, really,” he said, choosing not to read too much into it. “And we didn’t exactly deny it either…I mean, they were still offering free food, and food tastes better when it’s free, so…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, the best way to sway you over is through your stomach,” Smolder quipped then shook her head. “It’s just…I’m still debating over whether or not I even want that kind of special attention. Like I said, I still wanna do the date and all that…but I also want it to…not be like everybody’s acting this is any great big thing they all need to fawn over.”

“Well, it’s true there’s a reason we had wanted to keep this quiet at all,” Gallus agreed with a nod. But upon thinking about it, he added, “Though now that you mention it…” He sighed. “…I get why you wouldn’t want everybody making a big deal out of this. It is, after all, a private matter, just between you and me, no matter what we do with it…not something for everybody else to butt in and steal peeks.”

“See, that’s what I’m getting at,” Smolder said, looking a little concerned. “The idea of this getting around the rest of the school…it makes me…” she paused, unsure how to describe how the not totally comfortable feeling bothered her. “Insecure,” she finally concluded. “It makes me feel insecure. And I can’t help but notice the trend, you know?”

“So…what?” Gallus made a reassuring smirk. “The universe is trying to say you’re not the one in control?” He chuckled when Smolder replied by averting her gaze, embarrassed. “Well, you just tell the universe to back off then, because it’s certainly not going to get the last word on the likes of us, right?”

“Oh absolutely,” Smolder quickly agreed with a laugh. “It’d be dumb of it to try anyway, as I’m sure it’d only end in tears.” She nudged him playfully before sighing. “It’s just…should we even try to fight it? Like you said, it’s all coming out anyway, so…why delay, right?” She rubbed at her shoulders as if cold again. “It’s just…I guess I wished we could’ve been the ones who decided it, not…other nosey ponies.”

“Yeah, but we don’t have to fight everybody along the way either,” Gallus added with a sheepish shrug. “I mean…we’re not that prideful…are we?”

“Well…I’m not.” Smolder shot Gallus a sly look.

Gallus rolled his eyes at her teasing jab. “You’re just jealous I make this look so good,” he said smugly, dusting off his front.

Smolder chuckled, the mood lightening a little. She thought about it for another moment. “I guess it’s just like what we were talking about before,” she reasoned slowly. “We’re still…adjusting to it all.” She hung her head. “I guess I just feel like we’re being pressured to step it up before we’re ready to.”

Gallus looked at her for a long moment. “Are we ready, Smolder?” he asked seriously.

Smolder fidgeted to herself for a long moment, unsure how to answer. “Well…I guess you are, at least,” she said. She gave him a warm grin. “Even when you made a fool of yourself pouring drinks—” Gallus rolled his eyes at that, “—you’ve been taking this all in stride.” She brushed up against his side affectionately. “So you’ve actually a pretty good date thus far.”

Gallus looked down at her warmly. “You’ve been a pretty good date yourself.”

Smolder smiled. “Thanks. Seriously, that helps me.”

They continued walking in silence for a moment.

“It’s certainly been an…interesting past week though, hasn’t it?” Gallus asked aloud as they walked.

Smolder snorted, amused. “Understatement of the moon right there,” she quipped.

Gallus shrugged. “It’s just, to think this all started because of some sleepwalking…” he gave Smolder teasing look.

Smolder frowned a bit, still a little embarrassed that she had done that. “I’m pretty sure that’s stopped now,” she mumbled while glancing away, sheepish. “You know why.”

Gallus put on a smug face. “I know, I know, my mere presence alone is inspiring you to overcome that.” Smolder rolled her eyes in good-humor while he continued. “It’s just…if somebody told me a week ago that’s what would kick off…all of this…honestly? I probably would’ve laughed.”

Smolder snickered. “I probably would’ve too,” she agreed. “But…here we are regardless.” she returned his earlier teasing look, raising a brow at him. “You complaining?”

“Seeing where it ended up?” Gallus replied, glancing over to where she walked beside him. He smirked. “Not a chance.”

Smolder grinned, moving a little closer so to better snuggle affectionately into his side. “Good,” she replied, pleased.

Gallus happily allowed her to do so, but his tone then softened a little, turning a bit more serious. “Honestly, I’m still just glad you’re willing to put up with me at all,” he continued, glancing at the dragoness, “I know I’ve said it before, but I sort of always figured that if you were gonna date anyone it’d be…well…”

“…someone of my own species?” Gallus nodded at her with a sigh, so Smolder nodded back. “Well, admittedly getting close with a non-dragon hadn’t been my plan. Heck, until a week ago, I never seriously thought you and I would be entering any relationships…or that I was even on the right track to finding one. Really I’d just sort of figured I’d end up with some hunk of a dragon someday…some guy who’d…treat me nice, I guess.”

Gallus mulled over what “treat me nice” might mean for a second. “How so?” he finally asked, raising a curious eyebrow.

“Just…you know…someone who cares enough to hang out and we could…you know…look out for each other.” She rolled her eyes, “Along with all of the other entailed benefits, but one step at a time here.” Thinking it over for a second, she let herself start to fall behind as she looked around at the darkened buildings of Ponyville and reluctantly sighed. “But then my prospects would’ve been practically nil so long as I stayed here, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess pretty few dragons are ever around here, aren’t there?” Gallus observed casually. “I mean, I guess there’s Spike, but…isn’t he like half your age or something?” He shrugged. “Besides, he’s got his eyes on others anyway, doesn’t he?”

This point weighed on Smolder more heavily than expected for a second, but then her gaze settled on Gallus again as she took him in. “…well, I’m still confident dating a non-dragon won’t be all that bad…”

She trailed off and didn’t speak further for a bit. Meanwhile, she continued to lag behind until Gallus noticed she how far she was now trailing behind him and glanced back at her. “Something wrong?” he asked.

Smolder, whose gaze had been focused on something else, blinked as if brought out of a daze. “Oh, no, just…thinking.”

So Gallus left her be, until a thought struck him and slyly asked, “Are you…checking me out?”

“No,” Smolder quickly replied. Too quickly.

Gallus merely raised a brow at her while she proceeded to try and look at anything that wasn’t him. She didn’t quite succeed.

Finally she scoffed at him in frustration, quickly catching up so they stood side-by-side again. “You were the one that got me thinking about it,” she argued in her defense.

Gallus just shrugged in concession. But after a moment, he couldn’t help but lean closer. “So, might as well ask…like what you see?”

Smolder shot him a brief glare for his impudence before letting her eyes do another pass over of him, assessing. She then averted her gaze, embarrassed again. “Well…you are pretty okay.”

“For a griffon,” Gallus repeated knowingly.

“I mean, you know there’s a good reason I hooked up with you at all, but…in all honesty, you’re still no dragon.”

“Fair.” Gallus went quiet for a moment. “I suppose I should answer the same question for you, though.”

“…I am a little curious.”

So Gallus’s eyes gave Smolder a once over too. The look in his eyes suggested he took it seriously, but after he was done, at first his only reply was to make a simple and curious hum.

“…well?” Smolder prompted after a moment.

“Well, I have to admit, I haven’t really seen all that many dragons in my lifetime,” Gallus began by stressing. “I mean, I’ve seen a good few since coming to the school now, but I’m sure that’s still a drop in the bucket by comparison.” His gaze wandered down to the ground, watching his talons kick at the cobblestones as they walked. “Still…of all the dragons I have seen…you’re easily the best-looking.”

Smolder stopped, surprised and flattered by this, while Gallus kept walking. A moment later, she was running to catch up to him again. “Wait, do you actually mean that, or are you just saying that to butter me up?”

Gallus smirked, keeping his gaze ahead. “I’ll never tell.”

Nevertheless, it gave enough for Smolder to think about that she stayed silent for another block or so of their walk.

“Anyway,” she finally said, changing the subject, “Thanks again for…earlier. Talking it out really helped. Still feel stupid for letting all that become a problem in the first place, but…”

Gallus glanced at her. “Do you still feel nervous?”

Smolder shrugged. “Maybe a little.” But then she made a big, devil-may-care grin. “But to heck with that—dealing that slag has just been the worst and it’s dragging us both down. This date’s been loads more fun when we both ditch it and just dive right in, so I’d much rather just go and have fun instead.”

Gallus smirked and gave her a caring slap on the back. “Then let’s go paint the town red, scale butt.”

Smolder returned it. “Just so long as we aren’t the ones that have to clean it up again afterwards!” she quipped.

“No promises!” Gallus smugly jested back. They kept walking for a moment longer before he realized something. “…Except we still haven’t decided if we’re doing anything else tonight yet, have we?”

Smolder snickered. “No, we haven’t.”

They laughed to themselves for a moment but decided they weren’t that bothered by it so they kept walking in the general direction of the school as before. It was a good distance away still, so it wasn’t really a quick walk, but Gallus and Smolder found they weren’t really in a hurry either and instead continued enjoying the company of each other.

“You know,” Smolder remarked aloud, making a smirk as she reflected back on their date on a whole, “except for the pizza, pretty much every part of this date didn’t go like we planned.”

Gallus winced a little to himself as he reflected back on the night and realized she was right. “Well…” he quipped, “…maybe we need to go back and get another pizza then.”

Smolder laughed. “Maybe another time,” she said and gave her belly a content pat, “Still too full of the last pizza anyway. And I don’t really mean anything about it. I just thought it an amusing detail, all things considered.”

Gallus chuckled a little but looked mildly embarrassed. “Yeah, says a lot about our track record for this, doesn’t it?”

But Smolder shrugged. “I wouldn’t sweat over it,” she said, giving him a reassuring nudge. “We still had fun, right? And that’s what matters more. So what if it wasn’t those perfect dates like in Sil’s cheesy romance novels? Honestly, I don’t think I’d want one of those over the top formal dates anyway.” She grinned warmly. “I’d rather make it our own thing. And we did!”

Heartened, Gallus grinned a little. “Yeah, I guess we did,” he said, and breathed a small sigh of relief. “Guess I managed to not mess it up after all then.”

“Oh no, you didn’t,” Smolder retorted and gave him a sly look. “We messed it up—together.” She then took his wing and gently wrapped it over her shoulders, hugging it tight. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way, feather butt.”

Gallus shook his head. “I guess I should’ve expected nothing about this would be conventional, dating you,” he replied, giving her a nudge back.

They snickered to themselves for a bit. Eventually Smolder released Gallus’s wing, letting him return it to its proper resting position. “That all said though, I suppose we don’t have to break all of the conventions…so…I don’t honestly know all that much about this dating thing, admittedly…but it’s still enough to know this: if it really has all gone well…does that mean that I have to kiss you goodnight or something at the end?”

Gallus laughed. “Joke would be on you then, because griffons don’t kiss.” He tapped the side of his beak with one talon. “No lips, see.”

“Is that so?” Smolder asked with a sly look. “Then you’re missing out. Do you know how long a dragon’s tongue is?”

Gallus, however, only gave her a confused look. “…no? What do tongues have to do with kissing?”

Smolder laughed, amazed. “Oh wow, I guess you griffons really aren’t kissers if you don’t know the answer to that already.” She pondered on the subject a second longer and became curious. “So what do griffons do instead?”

Gallus shot her a sly look of his own. “Aggressive nuzzling.”

Smolder snickered. “That does not seem like an adequate replacement for kissing.”

“Hey, don’t knock it until you try it,” Gallus said. “Maybe sometime I’ll have to show you.”

Smolder glanced his way. “Not before I show you a kiss.” She glanced ahead of them. “But let’s get back to the school first before we even go considering anything like that.”

“Deal.”

They kept walking through the quiet streets for a few more moments, their path taking them near the town park. Smolder eyed it for a moment, noting how it was bathed in moonlight. “You know, as sappy as this is going to sound…this is kind of a pretty night.”

“Yeah, it really is,” Gallus said, gazing up at the starry sky. He then snorted to himself, amused. “I suppose that makes us walking out in it a bit cliché, right? I mean, look how romantic it must be, right?”

Smolder snickered, but she eyed the town park again. “Actually, though?” she began suddenly, “Let’s embrace it.”

Gallus raised an eyebrow at her. “How do you mean?”

“Well, we don’t have to be back at the school right this moment, right? And I was supposed to come up with something else we could do tonight too, right?” She nudged him into changing direction so to head into the park. “So how about we take the scenic route and cut through the park on our way back? I mean, if we’re going to do the romantic walk…” she shrugged, raising her eyebrows knowingly, “…might as well go all in, right?”

Gallus allowed her to change their course but raised an eyebrow at her nonetheless. “I thought you said you didn’t want this to be a formal date though?”

“I changed my mind,” Smolder replied, “Dragon’s prerogative.”

Gallus gave her a look that was part amused, part suspicious. “You’re making that up.”

Smolder smirked. “Totally.”

They laughed and walked side by side into the park. Given the late hour, they seemed to have the whole place to themselves. It really was quite nice, with the silver glow of the moon making it all look quite pretty. This mixed with their slow and casual stroll across the hilly terrain allowed the romance of it to settle upon them, making their hearts beat faster as they sheepishly moved closer together—it just seemed like the natural thing to do at that point.

Ultimately becoming a bit self-conscious about it though, Gallus suddenly cleared his throat. “So seriously, why the romantic walk through the park anyway?” he asked. “I mean, I’m not complaining, but it just seems so…lovey-dovey.”

“So?” Smolder asked.

“Well, no offense, but you said dragons aren’t big on lovey-dovey.”

Smolder shrugged, brushing that off. “Yeah, but you’re also not a dragon, so I don’t want to force you to…take this purely how dragons would, and…and I kinda feel I ought to do the same back for you. I mean, it’s give and take in a relationship, right?”

Gallus shrugged. “I suppose,” he admitted, more interested in letting Smolder make her point without too much interruption. “I mean, I’m new to all this too, so…” He scratched the back of his head for a moment. “I guess I just feel the same way, like I don’t want to force you to take this the purely griffon way either.”

“Okay,” Smolder conceded slowly, “but…how do we do that?” She shrugged. “Heck, for that matter, now that we’ve gotten this far, just what exactly comes next? Does…life go on like before, just with more snuggling like this?” She sidled up next to him. “Or is there more to it than that?”

Gallus sighed wearily. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I guess just so long as we’re both happy with what we’re doing, that’ll do.”

“Well, I sure hope so,” Smolder quipped. “But then we probably don’t need to overthink this. That’s what I was doing back when I was all nervous as heck about others finding out about us, and that wasn’t getting us anywhere. It’s not like there needs to be this super long list of steps we have to go through in order to do this right.” She paused then quipped, “Not unless you’re Princess Twilight.”

Gallus made a solitary laugh at that. “True…but it still seems like the natural step, so…I just thought I’d…throw it out there, see what you thought about it.”

“Natural step, huh?” Smolder shook her head. “You know what then? Let’s just…do what feels natural. That’s basically what we did to get this far and that’s worked out pretty good, so…”

“You’re saying if it’s not broke, don’t fix it?”

“Basically, yeah.”

Gallus hummed to himself. “All right, I can work with that.” He gave her a wink. “Especially since it suggests I’ve managed to not break anything.”

Smolder returned it. “Ya darn right you haven’t.”

They kept walking in general silence for a few minutes, savoring the mood as they reached the crest of a particularly tall and rolling hill, tall enough that it overlooked a fair share of the park. Ahead of them hung the full and vibrant moon shining its light back down on them, casting a sort of mystical feel upon the scene, though neither Gallus nor Smolder chose to admit that aloud. It probably would’ve continued unspoiled if Gallus, grinning, decided to gently nudge Smolder with his elbow. Glancing back at him, Smolder nudged him back. Not to be outdone, Gallus nudged her again hard enough that Smolder stumbled slightly away from its force. So Smolder flat out gave Gallus a shove, causing him to stumble off the path and onto the grassy lawn surrounding it. Snickering to herself, Smolder kept walking, smug.

Until Gallus pounced her.

The impact knocking her clear off her feet and they tumbled to the grassy ground, rolling over each other more than once as they fought to pin the other, until about halfway down the hill, Gallus finally secured his hold on the dragoness, pinning her to the ground beneath him. Smolder tried to squirm free, but he quickly used his forelegs to pin down her arms and his hind to pin down her legs.

“Gotcha!” Gallus cheered, victorious as he peered smugly down at her.

“Oh, you say that now,” Smolder vowed as she peered back and continued struggling, flexing her dragon muscles against Gallus’s grip and trying to free at least one limb. Unfortunately, though she had strength on her side as a dragon, Gallus still had enough leverage in his position to keep holding her down, even if he couldn’t also hold her completely still. Nevertheless, Smolder didn’t relent. “But you can’t keep me here for long.”

“Oh, it wouldn’t matter by now,” Gallus assured, still smug. “If this had been a real hunt and you my prey, I’d already be gobbling you up by now.” And to demonstrate, he comically ran his head quickly up and down her upper body making like he was eating her flesh, moving his beak in a chewing motion. “Om nom nom nom nom nom!”

Despite herself, Smolder had to giggle at the silly display, but she didn’t let it distract her too much either. She still wasn’t finding much purchase against the griffon’s grip though—he’d clearly learned from past experience what was required to keep her pinned. So the only useful appendage she could move freely at the moment was her tail, and though she tried using it to whack Gallus off of her, swatting its spade-shaped tip against his rump, Gallus merely flinched and maintained his hold on her. “All right, all right, I get it,” Smolder finally assured him in defeat. “You’ve made your point. Now get off of me, you lunkhead.”

“Make me, scale butt,” Gallus sneered teasingly, leaning closer to her face. “Because the way I see it, I’ve got you at my mercy and I can keep you there for as long as I want.” He leaned even closer. “So what are you going to do about it?”

Well, there was really only one thing she could do. She pressed her face into Gallus’s fuzzy chest and blew a raspberry into it.

Gallus tensed immediately and tried to not react to it, but almost immediately a wheeze of air hissed out his beak and he was quickly laughing at the ticklish sensation as he tried to pull away. In so doing, he shifted his weight more to one side, giving Smolder the leverage needed to finally break her right limb free of his grasp and to wrap it around his neck, trying to tug him off of her. Gallus did indeed roll to the ground, but he kept his hold long enough that he pulled Smolder with and they once again tumbled down the side of the hill, play fighting the whole way down. At one point, Gallus managed to wrap a foreleg around her neck, holding her down long enough to playfully and harmlessly pound her belly with his hind paws before Smolder extricated herself by slapping him with her wing and they continued their roughhousing roll down the hill. Finally, upon reaching the bottom, they collapsed into a panting heap, giggling and laughing and more than a little wound-up now.

“Oh well, so much for that romantic walk,” Gallus remarked with an amused sigh.

“Eh, this was more fun anyway,” Smolder said, grinning as she let her head rest on Gallus’s shoulder, absentmindedly stroking his pale cream-colored belly. When she noticed Gallus letting out a pleased purr at the strokes though, she started rubbing with more energy. This pleased Gallus even more as he arched his back into it, one back leg twitching eagerly in time with the motions. Smolder snickered. “You’re basically just a big puppy dog, aren’t you?”

“Kitty cat,” Gallus corrected pointedly, thrusting a talon empathically into the air. “If you’re going to compare me to a dumb animal, at least do it right.”

Smolder rolled her eyes and kept rubbing. “So this is really a thing with you griffons?”

“What, don’t dragons have something similar?” Gallus asked, breaking out of his basking to peer at her questioningly.

Smolder thought on it for a moment. “Not that I know of…”

“Well, I’m pretty sure you have a favorite spot at least.”

“…you sure? Because I’m not so—” she trailed off abruptly as Gallus suddenly reached up and started scratched at a spot on the back of her neck right at the base of her purple crest. She at first tensed at the stroking, but quickly relaxed as she relished the enjoyable sensation. “Oooh, never mind,” she cooed as she melted on top of Gallus, draping over him like a scaly blanket.

She kept stroking Gallus though, moving her claws to his back now that she was in a better position to reach it. As before, Gallus didn’t really react and rewarded her by continuing to scratch the back of her neck. It felt nice, and Smolder eventually found her mind wandering, thinking about how the griffon’s soft, silky, blue fur and feathers felt nice and wondered briefly what it’d be like to be covered in both all the time. They remained like that for some minutes, losing track of the time as they lazily stroked and nuzzled each other…up until a patrolling police pony strolled up and peered disapprovingly down at them.

They peered back up at him for a beat. “Hey,” Gallus said idly, tilting his head to meet the officer’s gaze, “’sup?”

The cop raised an eyebrow at them. “Just checking to make sure there’s no trouble here,” he remarked flatly, unamused.

Smolder made a show of thinking about it. “Well…I don’t think there’s any trouble.” She glanced down at Gallus. “Gallus, are you trouble?”

“No,” Gallus replied, playing along. “Are you?”

“Nope!” Smolder replied, “and there’s not anybody else around that I can see.” They both looked back at the officer. “So…no trouble here, I think.”

The officer, to his credit, cracked a small smile at these antics. “Cute,” he admitted before getting back to business. “But I still need to stress that, despite the late hour, this is a public park accessible by all.”

“That would be why we’re here in the first place, officer,” Gallus quipped.

“I know. But that means anyone could be walking by here, so I still need to make sure neither of you are engaging in any lewd behavior that…”

Catching on abruptly, Gallus and Smolder scrambled to spring apart, jumping to their feet. “Oh, no, no, no, we weren’t…that wasn’t what we were doing!” Gallus fumbled to say.

“Oh yeah, we were just fooling around!” Smolder added before realizing how that sounded and backtracked. “I mean we were just goofing off—er—just being silly! Nothing…nothing like thaaaat!”

“Really!” Gallus reassured, starting to blush profusely. “We were just strolling through here because she thought it’d be romantic…which isn’t to say we were going to do anything, we were just on a date, and…” he winced and squeezed his eyes shut as he realized they were only digging themselves in deeper. “You know what? How about we just go now?”

“Might be a good idea,” the officer agreed with an amused smirk and tipped his hat at them. “Probably a bit late for you kids to be out now anyway. But have a good night regardless.”

“Yeah, night!” Gallus called back half-heartedly as he and Smolder started walking off as speedily as they could without breaking into a run.

They kept going in awkward silence for a few minutes before they finally looked back to make sure the officer wasn’t following them. He wasn’t—convinced they were in fact leaving, he had turned and leisurely walked off, continuing his late night patrol. They both breathed sighs of relief and kept going.

“That was embarrassing,” Smolder muttered as they scampered off through the remainder of the park, further away from the police pony. “Especially since he felt so obligated to make sure we weren’t doing anything…lewd.”

“I suppose given the circumstances though, I can see why he jumped to that conclusion,” Gallus reasoned, glancing back in the officer’s direction once more. “Back home, griffons would use that as an excuse precisely to go and do…well…something lewd.”

Smolder winced. “That must’ve made walking around treacherous some nights.”

“Oh, you don’t even want to hear about some of the things I had the misfortune of walking in on,” Gallus admitted, rubbing his face like that would wipe the memories from his mind.

“Well, if it helps, dragons aren’t exactly better,” Smolder said, sympathetic. “Back when we were young, there was a reason my mom wouldn’t let me or my brother out of the family cave at night. I’d thought it was just because it was dangerous out in the Dragon Lands at night, but after I molted and started going solo…let’s just say you quickly learned where not to be at such times…especially around mating season.” She shook her head to clear it of unwanted memories herself. “Still…it was embarrassing he thought we were even planning to do…you know…” She paused, tilting her head and making a puzzled expression. “Actually…” she glanced hesitantly in Gallus’s direction. “How…how would that even…you know…work between us? You know…assuming we were gonna try.”

Gallus, caught completely off-guard by the question, started to blush again. “Uh…”

“Because, anatomically speaking, it’s a little different for you griffons, right? You’re not like dragons where it’s all…you know…in just one…spot…to…you know…” unable to get the nerve to say it aloud, she instead attempted to mime it out with her claws.

Gallus only blushed more. “I, uh…” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “…you know, I haven’t really thought about it? Didn’t think I’d, uh…” he cleared his throat again, “…that we were…not gonna get there for…uh…” getting more flustered, he started waving a set of talons around clumsily, trying to recover. “…well, what I mean is…is…”

“No, no, I get it,” Smolder assured, waving it aside. She seemed a little abashed too. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make it embarrassing.”

“I’m not embarrassed,” Gallus unconvincingly claimed.

Smolder shot him a doubting, but amused, look. “You so totally are.”

Gallus’s blush didn’t fade, but he looked annoyed now, almost disappointed in himself. “Okay, so I am,” he relented. He stomped his feet angrily. “And I don’t know why…it’s not like I don’t already know how that all works or anything.” His gaze wandered to anything that wasn’t Smolder, as if unable to look her in the eye. “It’s just…”

“No, I get it,” Smolder assured him. “It’s one thing to know other creatures are doing it. But it’s quite another when it’s yourself you’re talking about.” She averted her gaze for a second. “If it helps…it’s awkward for me too. I hadn’t really thought about it either until literally just now myself…which I guess is sorta dumb seeing you and I are…well…it was gonna have to come up eventually, wasn’t it? I guess we both really should’ve seen it coming.”

Gallus was silent for a moment, his blush fading a little, then glanced her way. “We really weren’t prepared for any of this, were we?”

Smolder managed a small laugh at that. “No, not really,” she admitted casually. She sniggered to herself. “But then I guess it’s a good thing we haven’t been approaching this like how dragons normally do.”

Gallus frowned, uncertain. “…Why? How do dragons usually date?”

“Dragons don’t do dating, Gallus. We’re typically more interested getting right to the action, you know what I mean?” Smolder nudged Gallus slyly.

Gallus’s blush returned in full force. “Oh.”

“Yeah, and from what I’ve seen, full-swing dragon relationships are intense.”

Gallus only blushed further and averted his gaze, shifting awkwardly. “I-I think I’m going to need a cold shower after all of this,” he mumbled under his breath.

Unfortunately, Smolder overheard and leaned closer. “Maybe I’ll join you.”

That only made it all the more awkward for Gallus, now blushing bright red. “Um…” was all he could get out, looking awkward and hating himself for feeling so awkward about it.

So Smolder took mercy on him and patted him on the back with a laugh. “Nah, I’m just teasing you,” she assured.

Gallus’s blush didn’t fade though. “Oh,” he said again. He coughed into his talons awkwardly. “I mean, I was gonna say…we haven’t done any of that yet.”

“And I’m not in a rush to get there, honestly,” Smolder admitted casually, waving the matter aside with her claws. “Besides, I figure I’m still a little young for that myself. Got a few more years before I really need to start thinking about crossing that gorge.” She went silent for a second before giving Gallus an odd look. “Why? Are you saying you wanna…?”

“Ah, no, no—well, I’m not against it, obviously, just not right now because…what I mean to say is basically what you said.” Gallus coughed awkwardly again. “I, uh…I don’t think I’m ready to cross that bridge…or gorge…just yet either.”

“Oh,” Smolder said with an unperturbed shrug. “Okay then.”

They walked awkwardly in silence for a moment, needing that time before they could look each other in the eye again.

“If…I can be completely honest for a moment?” Gallus suddenly asked, sheepish.

Smolder actually looked surprised at that. “Gallus, you don’t even need to ask that,” she assured him.

Gallus took a deep breath, forcing himself to visibly relax. “Okay well…” he waved his talons around awkwardly again. “This whole…ah, getting fully intimate deal…it’s…not something I’d want to do just because at least. I know griffs back home who do that all the time, but I’ve also seen first claw how it didn’t end well for far too many of them. I…don’t want that to happening to us.” He sighed heavily. “But…I didn’t want to just come out and say it…didn’t want to seem like I was being a prude like Sandbar.”

“Nah,” Smolder assured him. “I’d say it’s pretty darn respectful of you to consider that for both of our sakes. Almost…gentlemany.”

Gallus perked up a bit at that and couldn’t help but puff out his chest with pride a little. “Well then…when you put it like that…”

They chuckled and kept on walking, heading out of the park now and starting on a loose path back for the school again.

Gallus then cleared his throat. “Just so long as you’re okay with that, I guess,” he added.

“Of course I am,” Smolder said, again surprised. “Why did you think I wouldn’t be?”

Gallus shrugged, uncertain. “I guess I just wasn’t sure what your expectations on that were,” he admitted. “At first I figured I’d just go with the flow and follow your lead and trust it all worked out, but…now that the subject’s come up…I just wanted to be sure you weren’t…you know…expecting it soon…and would be disappointed if I wasn’t.” He smirked and shot her look. “You were the one who’s been sneaking into my bed the past week, after all.”

Smolder groaned and rolled her eyes which spurred a chuckle out of Gallus. “That’s just for snuggling,” she stressed. “And besides, it doesn’t count if I’m sleepwalking.”

“Whatever you say, scale butt,” Gallus remarked back, smirk not fading. Smolder didn’t mind though—she was more pleased to see him relaxed again.

They kept walking. Because of the late hour, they basically had the streets of Ponyville completely to themselves, so Gallus and Smolder had few qualms about taking their time walking back to the school, nor did Smolder have any real issues about snuggling up into Gallus’s side as they went, savoring his soft, feathery, hide. He likewise embraced it, wrapping one blue wing over her shoulders. Smolder had to grin faintly as a mix of feelings, most of them good, filled her heart with this. Subconsciously though, she also felt it beat a bit faster at it all, making her pause for a moment as she thought of a point she still needed to address.

“Speaking of the sleepwalking,” she remarked to Gallus softly, meeting his gaze, “you know why I’m interested in you…but I don’t think you’ve ever explained just what it is you’re interested in me before.” As Gallus hummed at that and his gaze turned distant in thought, she added, “I mean, I don’t really doubt that you’re committed because…you’ve been great this whole date, you really have. I can tell you want to make this work too, maybe more than I do, even. It’s just…I guess I’d just like to know the specifics…if there are any.” Gallus still didn’t respond right away, brow lightly furrowed as he carefully considered how he wanted to respond. “If you’re really just humoring me because I showed interest first, that’s okay too.”

“It’s not that,” Gallus immediately assured, a hint of determination in his voice. He shuffled awkwardly. “It’s just…” he sighed, frustrated. “…I don’t really know how to say it.”

Smolder hummed to herself and thought back through the evening for anything that might sort it out for him. “Earlier this evening, then…” she abruptly spoke, her voice soft, “when we were assessing our looks and all of that…” she shuffled, feeling awkward about bringing up the subject again, but it had been bugging her a bit. “…you remember what you said about mine?”

“I do.” Gallus glanced casually at her. “What of it?”

Smolder kicked at a pebble before replying. “It’s just…did you really mean it? I mean, I know you haven’t met that many dragons, let alone dragonesses, but you’ve had to have seen one better looking than me, like…like…” her snout wrinkled as she sought a good example she knew Gallus had met, “…like Dragon Lord Ember. I mean, she’s gotta be more attractive than me, right?”

“You think?” Gallus asked innocently, like the thought hadn’t occurred to him. Smolder wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not. “What makes you think that?”

“Well…” Smolder held out her arms like the case was self-explanatory. “…you have looked at her, right? She’s gorgeous.” She glanced at him skeptically. “You do know who Ember is, right?”

“Sure I do. Tall and blue, lithe figure, leader of the dragons,” Gallus recapped simply. “So?”

“So…I guess I’m asking what do you think of her?”

Gallus frowned. “Well…she’s certainly okay…but…” he trailed off.

“…But?” Smolder prompted.

Gallus averted his gaze, looking abashed. “…You’ll laugh.”

“I won’t laugh.”

“Yes you will, I know you.”

“I promise I won’t laugh, Gallus.”

“…I’m gonna hold you to that, then.”

Smolder held out her arms, placating. “By all means.”

Gallus sighed then just admitted it. “Ember’s sort of…scary.”

True to her word, Smolder didn’t laugh. But she had to hold her breath and bite her lip hard for several seconds so to do it. “You think she’s scary,” she was finally able to say while keeping a straight face.

Gallus gave her an annoyed look, seeing how hard she had to work to keep her promise. “Well…she’s intimidating, at least.”

Smolder snorted. “You should see her father.”

“I’ll pass, thank you.” Gallus sighed again. “It’s just…last time Ember was up here for one of those school socials, I spoke with her briefly. She’s got a very…my way or the highway sort of attitude.”

Smolder shrugged. “A lot of dragons are like that.”

“You aren’t.”

Smolder stopped. Noticing, Gallus stopped as well and turned to face her. “Look, I get that this probably sounds…insulting…to a dragon like you. But you’re a lot more…approachable. Sure, you’ve still got those rough edges like any dragon would…kind of gives you this unrefined feel…but you get that you can’t always have it your way. And you’re cool with that. So you just try to make the best of it, makes you seem like you care, and it sort of encourages the rest of us to do the same.” Gallus shrugged. “It’s what makes you such a great friend…to all of us, not just me.” Smolder had to stop and process that for a long moment, so much so that Gallus felt obligated to add, “I’m sorry if me saying all that offended you any.”

Smolder averted her gaze, putting her fists on her hips. “There was a time where I would’ve punched you in the nose for even implying I had any namby-pambyness to me at all,” she admitted. “But…since coming here…I’ve learned that there’s a lot more to being a dragon than just being tough.” A little sheepish, she averted her gaze. “…I’m honestly glad you recognize that too, Gallus.”

Gallus tilted his head at her. “So…you’re okay with me saying all that, then?”

“Honestly?” Smolder made a small smile. “I’m flattered.”

“Oh…good,” Gallus started walking again. “You deserve it.” He blushed a little as his grin turned warmer. “And…I guess that’s all what I like about you too…since you asked and all.”

Smolder followed him and worked to match his stride again. “Thank you, then,” she said. She scratched the back of her head, a little embarrassed. “I…didn’t think I’d ever care about it that much, but…it’s good to hear things like that about myself.”

“Well, I mean every word, then,” Gallus stated confidently.

Smolder fell silent again after that, feeling very moved, but also left with a weird but pleasant feeling growing in her chest that she wasn’t sure how to respond to. Last night, committing to a relationship with Gallus seemed like the natural choice, and it still seemed so now—perhaps even more so now. But now the reality of it all really seemed to be sinking in, and with it all of the implications that came with such a relationship, making her realize just how truly big this step potentially was.

She saw this as a good thing, because it just made her all the more eager to commit to it with Gallus…especially after everything he had done to earn it. She was more convinced now than ever before that Gallus was someone she wanted to be in a relationship with. In fact, she really wanted to reward him for it in some way, to show just how much she appreciated all of this. The problem, then, was how, because she also didn’t want to rush things—this relationship was going to need to continue evolving at its own speed, that much was certain. That meant she felt like she needed to be careful which options she chose to pursue…but which ones?

Among dragons, it was pretty straightforward, so much so that Smolder knew most others would say she was holding back, as she and Gallus had already discussed. But she accepted that. Gallus wasn’t a dragon after all, so the purely draconic approach wasn’t going to apply. But then her problem was that she didn’t really know everything on how griffons approach their relationships and what they’d might expect of her, beyond a few details Gallus had conveyed in passing…not enough to make her confident of the whole picture, and it embarrassed her too much to just ask. She felt like she should be able to figure this out herself, which wasn’t that bad…she just didn’t know how.

Author's Note:

...though it probably won't be hard to guess at this point...

Comments

[Yoshifan30]

The impact knocking her clear off her feet and they tumbled to the grassy ground, rolling over each other more than once as they fought to pin the other, until about halfway down the hill, Gallus finally secured his hold on the dragoness, pinning her to the ground beneath him. Smolder tried to squirm free, but he quickly used his forelegs to pin down her arms and his hind to pin down her legs.

“Gotcha!” Gallus cheered, victorious as he peered smugly down at her.

You should Have him said pinned you That would have been adorable and funny

[Yoshifan30]

“Dragons don’t do dating, Gallus. We’re typically more interested getting right to the action, you know what I mean?” Smolder nudged Gallus slyly.

Gallus’s blush returned in full force. “Oh.”

Oh my goodness 😳

“Yeah, and from what I’ve seen, full-swing dragon relationships are intense.”

[Yoshifan30]

“Well…” Smolder held out her arms like the case was self-explanatory. “…you have looked at her, right? She’s gorgeous .” She glanced at him skeptically. “You do know who Ember is, right?”

OK the 1st time I saw ember in the episode I was like whoa she is pretty

[Yoshifan30]

Another cute chapter and funny one too So both smolder and Gallas are on there way to the school but it looks like they want to go somewhere else instead they want to the park and they have there playful tackle and everything but then the security Pony spot them and thought they were doing something else which I'm not going to say so they both kind of decided to head back to the school so they won't be any misunderstanding specially the awkward situation lol but it looks like smolder wants to do something nice for gallus but I'm sure she'll find a way