Racing Hearts

by Lazzari

Home, Sweet Home... Right?

Author's Note:

Prepare for the feels and the fluff everyone

art by https://www.deviantart.com/natsu714/art/Angry-Rainbow-Air-Horse-819556475

Also, I know my writing is kinda all over the place with this one. Jumping from one perspective to another. I'm still working out the kinks of trying to make smooth transitions. I hope the chapter is still enjoyable though :)

Art in this chapter is made by the incredabul KikiRDCZ

Soarin got Dash home, finally. After several minutes of trying to convince her that receiving help isn't the end of the world.

Soarin looked at Dash from his side of the couch. She was pouting and grumbling to herself with her back rested on a bunch of pillows and her leg up on his thigh. She looked pretty peeved and he wasn't sure if he should try to comfort her or to crack a joke, afraid either one might end with him being yelled at and berated for 'treating her like a helpless little girl.

From the moment they left the hospital, she was insistent that she didn't need any help, that she could do it on her own. Sure, He would oblige if it was just a broken leg or a broken foot. But Dash had a broken hip, leg, and arm, and she was still pretty tender from surgeries and bruising. There was no way he would let her hurt herself like that if he could avoid it. He was her caretaker and he'd be damned if she got hurt on his watch. Dash was stubborn as hell and he knew it, if she could avoid getting help from anyone she would.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?" He asked, hesitating a bit, knowing full well she might lash out about it.

Dash grumbled and growled, "If I want something I can get it myself." She said, glaring harshly at him. Soarin reclined a bit and shifted his legs so she didn't have any direct access to his... under luggage, for what he was about to say.

"Dashie, I'm not trying to treat you any differently, I just don't want you to hurt yourself or worse trying to do anything yourself..." He trailed off a bit looking away from her. Dash noticed and nudged him gently with her foot. He looked back at her and she gave him a concerned look

"What's up?" She asked, concerned. Soarin knew this, it was code for 'tell me what's wrong'. He sighed as he looked down at her leg, then her hip, then her arm. He scanned her top to bottom and his face contorted a bit into a scrunched glare as he did.

"I just..." He hesitated, but another harder jab in his side with her foot made him continue. "I just don't want you to get hurt anymore. It's bad enough that you might not have the flight capabilities you once had. And it makes me feel awful that I could have done something about it at least." He sighed as he grabbed his phone and looked through it. "I'm sure you noticed once you got your phone charged up and back to you that you had several missed calls and texts from me. I was kinda freaking out about you and I had a really bad feeling... I just wish I had acted on it... maybe you wouldn't be in this position now if I had." He sighed, but his face was still scrunched up.

Dash knew he wasn't telling her everything, so she tried to sit up but quickly found that with her angle it was hard to and very painful. She winced heavily, hissing through her teeth. Soarin quickly acted pushing her shoulders back down gently. He got up from his spot and helped her shift in a more comfortable way, easing her into a sitting-up position. He looked up at her, seeing she had an angry pout on her face. He smirked and chuckled.

"Face it Dashie, you're going to need my help for the next few months, better get used to it." He said smarmily. Dash grumbled and pouted at him. He knelt down in front of her on both knees and grabbed her good hand and held it tight. He smiled up at her with his goofy smile, but Dash knew something was off.

"Soarin, what's wrong. Please, talk to me." She asked, moving her hand to his cheek. His smile disappeared and he rubbed his face on her hand gently. Dash stared at him intently, he had grown some stubble in a month and the small bristles were scratching her hand. She didn't mind though, if feeling her skin on his was what made him comfortable at the moment then she wouldn't protest. He lifted his hand up to grasp hers gently in his own. Leaning closer put his head on her good knee gently. She could feel him shaking against her knee. Was he about to cry? She gave him an even more concerned look as she ran her fingers through his hair with her hand, trying to do her best to comfort him.

"I wish it had been me Dash..." Dash flinched heavily and stopped rubbing the back of his head for a moment. He continued hesitantly, "I wish I could take your place in this whole situation. I so wish none of this ever happened to you... You don't deserve this." His voice started to choke up a bit at the end. Dash couldn't take it, hearing this from him made her heart break. He had been so strong for her during all of this, she didn't think about how seeing her like this would affect him. And this also showed her how much he really cared about her, had she been wrong to assume he had gotten over the shock of the whole thing? Was he still worried about her, he knew she wasn't going to die, but was something else still eating at him about the whole thing?

"Soarin, don't say that. You're a great flyer, and don't think I would be in any better shape if it were you right now... In fact, I don't think I could have been as strong as your being right now..." She trailed off, gently twidling with the ends of his hair. He looked up at her, tears filled his eyes and it almost made her break down right there. "I doubt I would have been able to keep my cool for as long as you did. I probably would have just sobbed uncontrollably until I couldn't anymore... Heh," she chuckled as she ruffled his hair gently. "Hell If it were you in this position right now, they would have had to pry my dead cold hands from the room, cuz hell knows I would have refused to leave your side." She looked at him, hoping to receive a reaction to that. To her relief, he started chuckling, which slowly turned into light laughter as he laid his head on her lap.

After a few minutes of sitting there like that, Soarin got up and sat back on the couch with her. With a little bit of help from Soarin, she shifted so she could lay her head on his leg and lie down. He smiled contently as he gently stroked her prismatic hair, he leaned his head back against the edge of the couch and lay there with her in silence until they both fell asleep.

---

Rainbow was awakened by something rough and wet touching her face. She groaned quietly and fluttered her eyes open to reveal her cat, Cherished, gently licking her face. She smiled and reached up to pet him and scratched behind his ears. He purred in response, enjoying the attention from his owner. She looked up to see Soarin was no longer there, and in his place was a bed style pillow. She sighed and took a deep breath. She could do this, she could sit up on her own, maybe then it would show Soarin she could do even a little bit on her own.

She shifted her weight, putting most of her weight on her good arm, and carefully lifted herself from the couch. She grunted in discomfort as her balance shifted a bit, causing the pain in her hip to flare up. She sighed and grunted as she gently continued to push herself up. With one last solid effort to push her back up to the couch at an angle, she reached her hand to grab on the end of the couch cushion attached to the back of the couch and tried to pull herself up. She got halfway before a sudden shift causes her hip to pinch and she yelped and let go, and before she knew it she was on a collision course with the ground from her angle. She gritted her teeth, bracing herself for the impact, but to her surprise, she didn't touch the ground. She squeaked one eye open and looked behind her back. She sighed in relief when she saw two strong and muscular arms, cradling her.

Soarin gently placed her on the couch, back in the same position he had left her in. He sighed as he looked at her and glared disapprovingly at her. "Rainbow Dash, what did I tell you!? I told you that you are supposed to call me over if you want anything or need to sit up." He said harshly. Dash pouted and puffed her cheeks out.

"Soarin I was just trying to-"

"I don't care what you were trying to do Dash!" He said aggressively. He placed both hands on her shoulders and helped her sit up gently. He then positioned himself to be face to face with her and gave her a stern look. "What would have happened if I weren't there to catch you? You would have hit the ground, and Celestia knows what the hell could happen if you had hit the ground hard enough." He said gritting his teeth a bit. Dash glared at him and growled.

"Soarin it was two fucking feet! I seriously doubt it could have been that bad!" Dash said, starting to raise her voice a bit. Soarin glared at her more and grasped her shoulders gently and looked her square in the eyes.

"Dash!" he raised his voice to match hers, "What happens when it's not just two feet! What happens when I can't hear you! What happens when I cant get to you fast enough! What happens when it's the stairs instead of the couch! Hm well, Dash! What then?" He growled glaring at her more. Dash was starting to shake a bit but he couldn't feel it, too engulfed in anger. Raising his voice even more, "You said you didn't want to feel like a helpless child! Well, I can't think of anything more helpless than falling and not being able to get back up because you're in too much pain!"

All his words were stabbing into Dash. His grasp on her shoulders had tightened and she was feeling the pressure, but it didn't hurt. This was strange, he had never been this angry with her before. Not even when they had their stupid two-week-long fight. They had avoided each other that whole time and not once did he raise his voice this loudly at her. She flinched as he let go and sat on the floor with his back on the couch. He groaned as he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm himself down. Dash stared at him intently and said nothing, trying not to make his anger boil even more.

He had been aggressive towards her, and that scared her. Was she pushing his limits? Was she seeing a side of him that he suppressed? Was he... was he going to hurt her?

No!

NO! Stop thinking about that, Rainbow Dash. Soarin would never hurt you. He would sooner cut his own wings off before striking her... Right?

She whimpered quietly, leaning away from Soarin a bit. This caught his attention and he turned to look at her. Her eyes were watery, but they didn't look like tears would fall. She looked... afraid. He quickly looked away and tugged at his hair gently.

Had he just scared her? Oh sweet Celestia, no. What have I done, shes probably scared of me now! She won't trust me anymore and-

"Soarin?"

Soarin's thoughts were cut off by Dash whispering his name. He swung his head to look back at her. She was hugging herself with her good arm and looking away from him. "Yes, Dashie?" He asked her softly. He wanted her to see he had calmed down, so he took a gentle approach.

"You would never... hurt me, right?" She asked, purposefully being vague. Soarin quickly got up and sat next to her, draping his wing over her back gently.

"Absolutely not, Dashie. I would never in a million years hurt you on purpose. The day I strike you like that is the day I cut my own wings off." He said, rubbing her shoulder gently. Dashs' eyes widened and she chuckled a bit to herself.

She was right, that's definitely what would happen. She sniffled and leaned into his side, nestling herself into his strong wings and arms. Once again, she would have to kill anybody who saw this supremely girly display of affection. But she didn't care at the moment, she was in his warm embrace. His wings felt so soft, each feather gently grazing her back and arm in a comforting way. His muscular body, so large and inviting. His skin felt like silk to her, she would have to find out what body wash he used that kept his skin so soft. His warmth, dear Celestia, his warmth. He always kept her warm since she was always so cold.

She let out a content sigh as she snuggled closer to him, as much as she could at least. At least this was one position she could be in without pain. Like this, he could cradle her with his wing and prevent her from moving too much, and use his arm to stabilize her body and keep her from making any sudden movements that could cause pain. And this was exactly what he was doing for her. This position also helped with keeping her as close to him as possible.

Soarin smiled as he saw her get comfortable. She was never one for mushy public displays, but when they were alone she was like butter in his arms. He was so happy that she allowed this side of her to show with him. Not a soul, not even Fluttershy gets to see this soft, caring, and gentle side of her. It's reserved especially for him and him alone.

He smiled as he ran his hand up her side, from her hip to her upper ribs and to her arms. He grinned softly to himself as he reached her neck and gently massaged the very middle of the bottom of her neck. This made her let out a quiet moan of delight as she allowed him access to her neck. He smiled and began gently massaging her neck. He moved his hand to the side of her neck where it met her shoulders and put pressure into his slow rhythmic movements. This elicited a moan from Dash, her body was extremely sensitive as it was, but her neck was a special sweet spot for her.

He continued this and gave similar treatment to the other side of her neck, giving her a good neck massage to relieve the tension. He smiled as he burying his face into her hair, taking long, silent inhales of her natural smell. Her sent was rid of the apple and cinnamon scent that her hair normally took on, thanks to her shampoo. In its place, however, was the comforting smell that you always smelled after it rained. In a way, it was sweet but also earthy, and he loved that smell, much more than her normally sweet apple and cinnamon smell.

He gently planted his lips on the top of her head, rubbing her shoulders softly and gently as he kissed her. The steady rising and falling of her shoulders giving him solace. She was here, alive, and breathing, and that's all that mattered to him. He didn't care about her little 'almost accident' anymore. He had almost made her cry in fear, so he was more than willing to give her comfort and reassurance in this time of need for her.

Dash made a cute cooing noise as she nestled herself even closer to him. This made Soarin chuckle and he started to cacoon her in his large wings. Something he loved a lot about her small size, his wings were the size of her body, making it easy for him to cradle her and also shield her. This made him drift into a memory that unlike the other wasn't as enjoyable.

---

"SOARIN! ATTACK PATTERN 25 B!" Soarin heard the voice of his teammate, Rainbow Dash, ring through his ears. He grunted as he stopped his flight, using his powerful wings to slow himself down at an incredible rate. In an instant, another pegasus man slammed into his back. He grunted but quickly grabbed the man's arm and spun him around, putting his arm all the way to the other side of his back. He slung his other arm around the man's neck and used his knee to push his chest and stomach out. Before he knew it Rainbow Dash was right in front of him, she pulled up at an almost perfect 90-degree angle, and a second later another pegasus man slammed right into Soarin's captive, pushing his head directly into his comrade's chest and the rest of him into his stomach.

At high speeds, this made the man in Soarins grasp gasp for air after it was completely pushed out of him. Soarin held on tight to his thrashing captive, he was trying to make him pass out from air loss. After 30 seconds of this, the man finally stopped thrashing and let go of his arm. Soarin quickly loosened his grasp and flew to the ground. He set the man down and ran to his comrade, who was trying to regain his bearings. Soarin quickly pulled out his gun from the back of his pants and pointed it at the man.

"STOP, YOUR OUTMATCHED, STAND DOWN!" Soarin's voice boomed. Dash joined him seconds later retrieving her own gun and pointing it at him. They had been caught directly in the middle of an attack on Manehatten on an off day after a show. The two of them had been walking the streets of Manehatten together and seeing the sights. All of the sudden out of no were two pegasus men opened fire on an unsuspecting lunch seating area that was crowded. Soarin and Dash had both heard the shots and had jumped into action, using their military rank and royal permissions to step in when police weren't present. They had dragged them away from the city and finally cornered them both. At least... so they thought.

Without warning, Dash was tackled from behind by the man Soarin had thought they had knocked out. The man Dash had been fighting took advantage of Soarin's distraction and tried to grab for Soarin's gun. All Wonderbolts were required to carry some kind of weapon on them, except during shows and meet and greets. Soarin, a long time ago, had opted to take his father's gun he had been given once he became a Wonderbolt. This gun was nothing to sneeze at either. It was a Glock 20 gen 3 10mm, and this gun in the wrong hands could mean disaster.

Soarin did his best fighting the attacker, he struggled and grunted and the man's nails continuously dug into his flesh on his hands. But eventually, his grip was loosened enough by the pain and strain on his hands. The attacker grabbed the gun and knocked Soarin over the head with it as hard as he could, disorienting him to the point of being knocked on his butt.

Dash was struggling in the grip of her attacker, she had her gun held in her hand tight in a way that made it impossible to get out of her hands. The attacker then opted to just pin her down, placing a foot on her hand and crushing it, making the gun drop from her hands. His other knee was over her back holding her down, this was easy for him since Dash was not very large.

Without warning the attacker's partner pointed Soarin's gun at Dash and fired.

Soarin didn't think, all he heard was the fire and he stretched his large wing out to shield Dash beside him. Of course, the bullet went straight through the meat of his wings, but the movement itself was enough for it to miss Dash's head by mear centimeters. Quickly, he acted getting up and flaring his wings out and flapping them hard downward. Dash and Soarin both closed their eyes, but the attackers got a very fast and painful dust spout in their eyes causing them to be blinded.

Soarin sprang up and tackled the man and pinned him down and took his gun back quickly. Dash used her strength to push the man on top of her off, quickly grabbing her gun and pointing it at her attacker's head keeping him from moving until backup had arrived.

---

Soarin frowned as the memories came to a close. That had happened before they became a thing. He unfurled his other wing to look at the large bullet wound now there. It was all healed up now, it has been over a year since it happened. When Dash saw the amount of blood coming from his wing, she was terrified. Thankfully the bullet hadn't hit any arteries or important wing tendons, it just passed through some thicker skin on his wing. But unfortunately for Dash, who happens to have hemophobia, his wing was gushing blood. So not only was she getting sick from seeing it but she had been worried half to death about him.

He sighed as he noticed her head move, he looked down at her to see she was looking at him with concern. He gave her a warm smile and kissed her forehead. Dash smiled and nuzzled her head onto his chest, getting herself closer to him. He smiled, picking her up gently and placing her in a sitting position in his lap, her back being held up by the armrest of the couch and a pillow. Dash quickly adjusted herself to be comfortable and laid against his chest. He smiled even more and chuckled as she nestled herself into his chest, making cute cooing noises as she did. He wrapped both his wings around her along with his arms, keeping her cocooned in his tight embrace.

Art by: KikiRDCZ

"I'm sorry about earlier, Soarin. I just really, really, reeeeaallly don't like the idea of being this vulnerable. I like to do things by myself and this is all new to me. I'll try to restrain myself more so you don't have to worry about me." Dash said, resting her cheek on his chest. Soarin smiled and tightened his wings around her to get her even closer to him.

"Dashie, it's ok. I know this is hard for you. I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have freaked out like that, I know that you're trying to adjust and it was wrong of me to assume you would take it as a grain of salt at first. Heh, I should have known this would be hard for you, but instead, I got frustrated and pent up about it. So I'm sorry, I'll try not to let that happen again, ok Dash?" He looked down at the top of her head as he waited to hear her reply.

But he didn't get one. He looked at her, a worried expression coming across his face. "Dash?" He flinched as he heard a sniffle escape her. Soarin quickly unfurled his wings around her and lifted her chin so he could look at her. The sight made his heart drop. Dash usually didn't like crying, not even around him. But when she did cry, it meant that something was seriously eating at her, making her either that sad or just so angry to the point where she cries. But even then if that's the case she tends to not do it in front of anybody, not even him. She was about to cry, tears were threatening to escape her eyes as they weld up her face was starting to scrunch up and turn red like it was at the hospital earlier.

Right, how could he have forgotten? She had been so overwhelmed by this whole thing, it's a wonder she hasn't broken down yet, Celestia knows he would have by now. He cupped her cheek in his hand, looking her directly in the eyes. He refolded his wings around her slowly, "Let it out Dash, it's ok, I'm here," He said softly.

And with that, the dam broke. Dash buried her face into his chest and started to sob loudly. Soarin tightened his hold on her, keeping her in his tight embrace. She had to hear and deal with so many things in just three days. He couldn't imagine what she was going through right now, all of this information from the past month had been dumped on her and it was finally becoming too much for her to handle alone.

He leaned down, kissing the top of her head as he rubbed her shoulders and stroked her hair. Dash was a strong woman, but even the strongest of people can only take so much before it all comes crumbling down.

Comments

[Crystalline Waters]

Awe, I hope this gets easier for Dash, but I know Soarin will always be there for her! :)

[My Rainbow Dash]

That was definitely one of the sweetest chapters I've ever read before. Keep up the awesome work!

[Lazzari]

10814776
thank you

[Lazzari]

10814126
and there is still more to come 😅

[My Rainbow Dash]

10815287
You’re welcome. I just really hope that Dash gets better. I feel so bad for her.