Jason woke up the next day in his bed, sheets all askew, having rolled around in his sleep a lot. In honesty, he couldn't entirely remember getting home himself, but he remembered walking Rarity home. It'd been a lot of her leaning on his shoulder, a fair bit of stumbling, and a soft goodbye when they arrived on her doorstep, along with a promise to go out again soon.

No goodnight kiss, though. And Jason thought it was even better for that, somehow. He woke up with a pounding head and a big smile, taking a generous sip of the water he'd placed beside his bed before crashing out. The water had a piece of paper next to it, and in barely legible mouth-writing, it read 'for hungover Jason'. At least he knew how to look after himself.

His head kept pounding, a repetitive thing that ached in his temples and resounded in his ears, and a part of him wondered how late it was, as he still didn't own a damn clock. Ah well, not like he had anything to be up for. He tried to drift back to sleep, but the banging head persisted. In fact, it did so until he realised in his half-asleep stupor that the sound didn't actually come from his head so much as it did from his front door.

Great, Jehovah's little horsesluts were at it again. Jason tried to frown, he tried to put on his most angry and thoroughly 'done' face, but honestly, he didn't have it in him. Last night had been absolutely great, and it was going to take a fair amount of bullshittery to ruin his mood today.

So with the groan of being ripped from warm sheets and forgiving, curtained darkness, Jason crawl-trotted over to the door, steeling himself for the sun's stabbing rays. Once he felt as prepared as he was going to get, he opened it, only to find something he hadn't been expecting on the other side.

It was Rarity. Her mane was down, straighter and more bushy, almost resembling Rainbow Dash's, and there was a bit of mud on her hooves, likely from walking through the forest. That and a small twig that had somehow found it into the edge of her mane. The thing that she had in common with Jason, however, was the dumb smile she sported.

For a few seconds, both of them were totally silent, apparently not knowing what the hell to do or say. Jason was kind of hoping Rarity would lead, considering she was the one that had come all the way down here, but she seemed determined for him to make the first move. What was he meant to do? Talk to her? Kiss her? Both of them seemed like excellent options right now.

Still, too tired to read social cues, he went with the one least likely to get him in any trouble. "You've got a twig in your mane," he said, raising a hoof and pointing at the offending piece of tree.

Rarity shrugged, biting her lip. She kind of teetered on her forehooves, leaning back and forth a little, and part of Jason wondered whether she was still slightly drunk.

"What are you doing here?" Jason tried again, hoping to get a more worthwhile response this time. Also hoping that didn't come across as rude or accusatory in any way, because man did he not want to mess this up on account of being too blunt.

"I'm... not sure. I didn't sleep much last night..." Rarity raised a hoof, twirling it through her mane, seemingly not caring less about the dried mud. "Did you wake up feeling like death as well, or am I the only one that suffers the horrors of hangovers?"

"No, don't worry, I could barely remember I was a pony for the first ten minutes." Rarity laughed at his words. It probably sounded like a joke, but that was the god's honest truth. "I think I'm getting better though. Have you been waiting out here long?"

Rarity 'hmm'd, tilting her head. "Maybe two minutes? Nothing too egregious, I promise." She was quiet again, and Jason tried not to stare too much. In truth, this was the first time he'd seen her looking anything like this, and it felt like yet another personality shift. She wasn't as confident as usual, though she retained her elegance all the same, almost in a different light. "I thought that maybe... considering we're both feeling varying degrees of terrible this morning, you might want to feel a little less terrible together?"

There was a hopeful glint in Rarity's eyes. It was absolutely adorable. "Suppose it wouldn't hurt to—" Jason shook his head. What was he doing? "No, sorry, forget trying to be smooth. Head's still a mess. ...yeah, I'd love that. Thanks for coming all the way down here, and for wanting to see me again." Maybe he was appearing a little too grateful, but fuck it. He felt as if Rarity deserved it for fighting through what he was sure was a horrible headache and heading all the way down to the Everfree just to keep him company. "I was going to make breakfast, but I don't think I've got much you'd find appetising."

Rarity shook her head, appearing to cringe a little at the suggestion. "Honestly, I don't think I could really eat right now. That hayburger I wolfed down outside the club last night... Celestia, I can still taste it. Don't let me stop you though, go ahead."

Jason might have felt the same, but he generally avoided foods including flowers or hay. A good portion of pony food agreed with him, but those, not so much, so he hadn't opted to eat anything the night before. As such, he was feeling pretty famished. "I'm a meat eater, so you know," he said in a quiet tone, even though he knew there was no one but her around. He said it with a little decorum anyway, though, as he knew she might find it offensive.

Rarity looked at him with a raised brow, blinking a couple of times. "Like a griffon, you mean? Honestly, I don't think I've ever met a pony that eats other creatures. Odd."

Jason couldn't tell if she was offended or intrigued by the notion, but he didn't press it. If anything, the closer Rarity got to him and his house, the more he worried about scaring her off. It was such a strange change of circumstance. He was thoroughly used to the mares chasing him around as he tried to shoo them off by now, and now it felt as if he'd do anything to ensure she stayed put. "Guess I'm a bit strange," Jason shrugged, scratching at the back of his neck. "I don't eat anything, uhh, sapient, though. I hunt monsters, mainly. Cook 'em with some of the ingredients I grow out here."

He gestured to the garden behind them, and Rarity's face brightened a little. "I did notice you have rather green hooves as I walked through here. It's a pretty common habit with stallions, but I've found most of them focus more on the aesthetics of their gardens than the practicality of growing things." She looked back to him with a smile, and Jason silently thanked the gods she hadn't been scared off by the whole 'omnivore' thing. "You really are quite self-sufficient, aren't you?"

"As much as I can be," Jason nodded, quite happy for the praise for once. "Not that you aren't either, running your big business and everything."

Rarity shook her head quite forcefully at this. "I can't take all of the credit. Definitely not. I've had quite a bit of help over the years. My friends, a wonderful manager and assistant, and various other contacts I've made, they've all assisted in putting me in the right direction." Rarity was silent for a moment, and she looked over the grass again. "Have you ever had anypony offer to help you, Jason?"

Jason's hangover was fading pretty rapidly in the early afternoon heat, but the day showed no signs of slowing down soon. Rarity was sat in the grass with a pitchfork in her magic, digging through the earth and plotting out an area to plant new produce. Jason was stood there simply admiring her, the way the sun kissed her body, the natural beauty of her even without the outfits and make up...

A small clump of dirt was flung at his face. "Come on, darling, this is your garden! I've been doing the lion's share for the last half-hour, pick up the pace or I'll start prodding you with your tools." Rarity narrowed her eyes, and Jason had just long enough wondering whether she really would to conclude that he didn't want to find out. Being poked at by a spade didn't sound fun.

He dug out and smoothed patches of dirt before checking on his potato patch, then his tomatoes, which weren't yet ripe. The experience had been rather therapeutic so far, and as he'd expected, the two of them had a great synergy. It was the millionth time a mare had turned up at his door, and the first that he prayed she wouldn't leave any time soon.

"You know, darling, you could really do to start growing some herbs here. Every meal tastes better with a little seasoning..." her tail was flicking back and forth as she spoke, eyes narrowed as she focussed on the presentation of yet another patch of earth. It seemed beautifying things was in her nature. That, or it was just the fact that everything looked more vibrant when it was framed around her.

Oh, and if you're forgetting about her body? Don't. Rarity's got curves for days.

Jason eventually took a break, walking inside to fetch a couple glasses of water. He brought one to Rarity and gently clicked his glass with hers in a silent cheers before taking a sip. As they sat in the garden together, the smell of freshly toiled earth and the sound of wildlife around them, Rarity draped her tail over Jason's, relaxing into his body.

He could feel the warmth over him, it was almost like electricity, and it burned against his entire body, not just the part of him that felt Rarity's touch, the smoothness of her lightly mud-mottled coat. "I could get used to the help," Jason sighed, pushing back a little against her, testing the waters, "but I want to pay you back somehow. Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?"

Rarity sighed blissfully, the sound like the chime of a pleasant wind, pressing her cheek against Jason's, making him flush a little. "You already are, darling. You just don't realise it."

Jason did something a little brave. He pressed back against her, nuzzling her cheek, and she giggled at the feeling. Honestly, this mare just might have been perfect. "Well, either way, I owe you one for all of this. Let me help you at the boutique soon. Maybe my 'natural stallion senses' will finally come out when I'm put around a bunch of clothes, eh?"

Rarity laughed some more, but turned to him with a serious look in her eye, as if she was considering it. "Hmm... alright. Fine, but you'd better impress. You'll get to meet my assistant too. Coco Pommel, helped me to pick out the dress I wore that night." Rarity paused for a moment, then added: "and the thong you never got to see."

Blood rushed to Jason's head at the words alone. "Th-the thong?" His imagination picked up instantly, and all of a sudden, he realised just how close his and Rarity's faces were. Her lips looked really damn kissable from this angle.

"Yes, the thong," Rarity chuckled, lightly bapping him on the shoulder. "Maybe you'll see next time, if I even choose to wear underwear..." With that, she began to lean forwards, eyes seeming to flutter closed. That was the signal, right? He was meant to kiss her? God knows he'd been waiting to for a long assed time now, even if they'd only met two days ago.

And he was about to do it when a purple flash! shoved a pony between the two of them, and a very jealous, indignant looking Twilight Sparkle appeared right in Jason's face. He had to press crisis abort to make sure he didn't accidentally kiss her instead of Rarity.

"You let Pinkie Pie blow you?!" came Twilight's hoarse, betrayed words, and Jason suddenly felt his hangover coming back in full force.

"H-hold on, you did what?" Rarity added in, and Jason began to question why bad things happened to good people. Of course Pinkie Pie had decided to go and blabber to all of her friends, of course Twilight had decided to show up when Rarity was around, spoiling their moment, and of course, Jason was now completely and utterly fucked if he didn't deal with this and fast.

Author's Note

And as always, let me know what you think in the comments section below! I had fun with this chapter, and it's nice to be back in the swing of things!