Gilded Collar; Golden Love
Apple Buck wiped his brow as he finished up, stowing the last barrel of cider in the barn. He stood and stretched, letting out something mixed between a sigh of relief and a moan as his back popped. After making sure everything was safe to leave be, he stepped out to see Scooter making his way over on his board.
Scooter smiled and skidded to a stop, some dust flying up as he did. “Hey, AB, ya busy?”
“Well, no, Ah reckon everythin’s done fer the day. Ah--”
“Cool, so, could you come over?”
“Pardon? Look, Scoots, Ah’d love ta hang out with ya--”
“Then come on! My dad insisted I have Gold over after the deal at the skate park, and he’s bringing Diamond, too.”
Apple Buck stopped for a moment, his head cocked to the side. “Come again? Ya said Goldy and Diamond’s comin’ over?”
“Yeah. I mean, I just, I don’t mind seeing Gold so much now, but with Diamond bein’ there and all… It’d be kinda awkward, ya know? I mean, what with things between me and Gold now--”
“Scoots.”
“Huh?”
“How about we just head on? Ya ain’t gotta explain no more. Ah see what’s goin’ on now.”
“Oh. Thanks! I knew I could count on you to help me out.”
“O’ course. What’re friends for?”
“Sweet!”
Scooter and Apple Buck set off, each with their own thoughts to occupy them.
Now, why the hay didn’t Diamond tell me he was gonna be doin’ this? Did he get roped in too? Ah, horseapples! They ain’t figured us out, did they?
Apple Buck gulped quietly and chanced a glance towards Scooter, who was, thankfully, staring forward, his mind busy as well.
How am I supposed to ask this of him? There’s no way he’s agree to it too, but I can’t really ask anypony else. Ugh! Why do I even care so much about making things work with that silver-maned plot-hole?
Ah ain’t sure whether Ah want Diamond there or not. It’d be nice knowin’ he didn’t think he was gettin’ stood up. On the other hand, Ah ain’t too sure how well they’d take findin’ out how long me an’ him been together.
The two stallions walked in near perfect silence, both deep in thought and more or less dead to the world around them. Oddly enough, the two came to the end of their thoughts near arriving at Scooter’s house.
“Oh, crap. Were you sayin’ something? I was so spaced out, I--”
“No, no, it’s fine, Scoots. Ah thought you mighta been sayin’ something. I was kinda off in mah own thoughts too.”
“Oh, uh, okay then.”
Apple Buck raise an eyebrow. “Ya okay, there? Ya seem kinda nervous.”
Scooter opened the door and sighed. “I’d kinda prefer to talk about it inside.”
Apple Buck’s expression dropped a bit, but he kept quiet as he stepped in and Scooter closed the door behind them. The two took a seat on the living room couch, remaining quiet for some time. “So, how long ‘til they get here, anyways?”
“Probably another hour, I think.”
Apple Buck nodded. He noticed his friend's change in attitude and knew something was up. “So, any reason ya wanted me here so early, then?”
Scooter remained silent for a few moments, and his response came out as unintelligible mumbling. After noticing a slight glare from Apple Buck, he sighed. “I’m not very experienced with… you know… kissing, and stuff.”
Apple Buck quirked a brow at that, mulling it over for a moment before his eyes went wide. “W-wait, whoa, what?! What exactly are ya sayin’ here?”
“I’m saying that since Silver is straight as they come and there aren’t really any single mares that I could not gag trying, could ya help me practice before Gold gets here?”
Apple Buck took a moment to make sure he’d heard correctly. After quickly exhausting anything else that could have made sense, he blushed a bit, now unsure how to respond. Scooter slowly began fidgeting in place at the now deafening silence. After what seemed at least a good minute, Scooter spoke up once more. “I mean, when we were younger you did mention you had a crush on a colt in our class.”
“Well, Ah mean, Ah never thought about ya like that. Ah mean, we’re buds, we have been fer years.”
“Yeah, I know, that’s why I was nervous about asking. It’s just, I wanna impress Gold, I guess. I don’t want him to have something over me. I mean, yeah, he seemed like he was just as new to it, but maybe it was just the moment. It won’t be long. I just need to practice a little. You know I’m a fast learner.”
“I dunno, Scoots. It’s just kinda, well, weird.”
“Dude, it’s a kiss. It doesn’t even mean anything.”
“Then why are ya so dang worried about kissin Gold so well?”
“It isn’t just a kiss with him, okay? The first serious kiss is the first time dominance is established, and I will not start this relationship as the bitch!”
“An’ ya think practicin’ with me is gonna teach ya ta take the lead instead o’ followin’ it, why?”
“I…”
A simple glare from the farm pony sent a very clear message to be careful of wording. Scooter didn’t hesitate to take the hint. “Okay, look, all I’m saying is, if I get some kind of practice now, then I can at least try to take the lead when the time comes.”
Apple Buck groaned, letting out a resigned sigh immediately afterwards. “Fine, but you better learn kissin’ quick as ya did skatin’.”
“Awesome!” Scooter took a deep breath, calming down as best he could before turning to Apple Buck and freezing in place. “Uh…”
“Got dangit! Here! I’ll start.” Without another word, Apple Buck grabbed Scooter by the collar of his hoodie and pulled him into a firm kiss.
Scooter was shocked for a moment, but managed to shake it off and dive into the kiss as well, albeit more sloppily than Apple Buck. This lasted for a good few seconds before Apple Buck pulled away.
“Ease up a bit. Ah get what yer tryin’ for here, but ya can’t just force it.”
“What am I supposed to do, exactly?”
“Just try an’ feel it. It ain’t that tough. Jes’ ease into it an’ go with it. It should come natural.”
Scooter was quiet for a moment before nodding.
“Ya ready ta try it again?”
Scooter nodded before he and Apple Buck leaned in, sharing another kiss. It didn’t take long for Apple Buck to notice Scooter had managed to improve rather quickly, though the same couldn’t be said for either noticing how long they’d stayed locked. The thing to finally bring it to their attention was the faintest sound of a knock and the door opening. The two slowly pulled from their kiss, a bit too slowly, as when they both turned to see what the sound was, their faces lit up, easily matching Apple Buck’s mane.
Gold Watch and Diamond Crown stood in the doorway, simply staring, slack-jawed. Apple Buck soon caught up to the situation and quickly shoved Scooter back. “This ain’t what it looks like, Ah swear!”
Diamond Crown looked between the two stallions before him before sighing. “Look, I don’t care what it was. Just please tell me I’m allowed to smoke here?”
Scooter glared at Apple Buck for a moment for the shove but turned to his new guests before too long. “Yeah, Mom used to smoke, so it’s not like it’s anything new to me. Not sure Buck is okay with it, though.”
Diamond Scoffed. “Something tells me he’ll get over it.” Without any more banter, he stepped in, pulling out a cigarette and resting it between his lips as he pulled out a box of matches. Gold Watch stepped in, glaring at Scooter as he made his way to a chair a ways from the couch.
Apple Buck looked around the room for a moment before speaking up. “I, uh, I think Ah need ta go freshen up a bit.”
As he began to walk off towards the bathroom, Diamond shook the match to put out the small flame before dropping it in his used match box, one he had made for when he didn’t have a safe place to put them. “Good. You can show me where the bathroom is for later while these two have their little stare down.” Diamond then quickly caught up to Apple Buck without another word, leaving Scooter and Gold Watch alone.
“Dude, I swear I can explain.”
“Get started.”
Apple Buck went into the bathroom, Diamond Crown following immediately afterward, closing the door and taking a long, slow drag on his cigarette, something that did not go unnoticed, and told Apple Buck what would follow wasn’t likely pleasant.
After slowly exhaling the smoke, Diamond leveled his stare at his coltfriend. “What. The. Fuck!”
“Now, look, sugarcube, Ah can--”
“Oh no, don’t you start with those damned pet names. What the fuck was that out there? I walked in on you swapping spit with your best friend, who’s dating my best friend. I mean, seriously!”
“Diamond, if yu’ll just let me explain--”
“Oh, you’ve got plenty of that to do.”
“It was just a kiss. It didn’t mean nothin’.”
“It didn’t mean anything? Really now?”
“No, not a thing.”
“The kiss me, now.”
“What?”
“If you can kiss him just to kiss him, then you can kiss your coltfriend because he wants to be kissed, right?”
“O’ course!”
“Then why haven’t you kissed me yet?”
Apple Buck rolled his eyes before nearly yanking Diamond Crown close and kissing him, resting one hand behind his head. Diamond wasted no time reciprocating the kiss, however short the time between its start and end. “There. Ya happy?”
Diamond blushed a bit, the sudden pull leaving him still a bit light-headed and making him giggle slightly. “Okay, so I believe you don’t have something for him, but--”
“Give me a dang minute an’ yu’ll get yer explanation.” Diamond simply nodded before taking a short drag on his cigarette. Apple Buck nodded, though more to himself. “Scooter told me Gold was comin’ over an’ bringin’ you along. Ah figured, if nothin’ else, we could find some excuse ta spend a little time tagether. Come gettin’ here, Scoots tells me he wants some practice cause o’ somethin’ ta do with startin’ his relationship off some way. He said it’d be an hour ‘fore ya got here, so Ah didn’t think it’d hurt to help ‘im out.”
Diamond nodded slowly, remaining quiet for a moment. “So, how good is he anyways?”
“What?!”
“What? I’m curious. You should know that much by now.”
Apple Buck blushed and face palmed. “Don’t remind me, please?”
“Okay, is he better than me?”
Apple Buck opened his mouth to respond, but stopped himself, electing to simply shrug instead.
Diamond growled slightly. “And just what does that mean?”
“Well, assumin’ he was right, keep in mind we started less than ten minutes into that hour, dear.”
Diamond Crown jabbed Apple Buck in the chest and groaned aloud as he turned away, sending the farm pony into a fit of giggles. “Fuck. You.”
Apple Buck smirked and stepped forward, pulling his coltfriend close. “Now, now, there’ll be plenty o’ time fer that tonight. Don’t you go gettin’ ahead of me.”
Diamond blushed, squirming for a moment before rolling his eyes and leaning back into the embrace. “I hate how well you can push my buttons sometimes.”
“Hey, we both had plenty o’ practice, didn’t we?”
“Don’t remind me, please?”
“Deal, sugarcube. Now, howsabout we head on out there ‘fore they start puttin’ two an’ two tagether?”
“One more kiss first?”
“Yer lucky Ah got plenty of ‘em ta give today.” Apple Buck craned his neck slightly as Diamond turned his head and their lips met, briefly. They pulled from the kiss with a smile before stepping out of the bathroom.
“Dude, just admit that Kirbs wouldn’t last a second against Oscar already, wouldya? It’s obvious.”
“No it isn’t. You haven’t even mentioned any concrete reasoning behind it.”
“Just take the game situations and that’s all the freakin’ proof you need!”
“Oh, what? So, even though Oscar dies in the first few minutes of the game, meaning we don’t even know what he’s capable of, while Kirby is the hero of his, just the circumstances alone are enough?”
“Pretty much.”
“You are impossible.”
“Breaking damned news, huh?”
Diamond cleared his throat, catching the attention of the arguing stallions. “Were you two really in here arguing this whole time?”
Scooter responded on reflex. “Nope, we spent a good while betting on whether you were making out or fucking.” A single awkward moment passed before he realized what he’d said. “Ah, crap! Sorry! Reflex… Why are you two blushing?”
Gold Watch rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already.”
“No, I haven’t. It doesn’t explain why that’d make them blush, though.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Fine. It explains it. Happy?”
Gold Watch smirked. “Of course, dearest.”
Scooter’s cheeks flushed and he crossed his arms. “Fuck you.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, what’re y’all talking about?”
The two stallions looked to each other and then to Apple Buck and Diamond. “It’s pretty obvious you guys are together, ya know?”
“You’re not exactly subtle.”
“How long have you both known?”
Scooter and Gold Watch shared another look before shrugging. “I dunno, like, a month? Maybe two?”
“I’m pretty sure it was two.”
“Yeah, what he said.”
As the atmosphere seemed to lighten up, Apple Buck and Diamond Crown took their seats, Diamond sitting in Apple Buck’s lap since there was no more reason to hide anything. “So, was that whole hour fer nothin’ or have ya kissed ‘im already?”
“Wait, you two were kissing for an hour?”
“Maybe.”
“Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?”
“Dude, it was just a kiss.”
“That lasted for an hour.”
“Fine. We can make out all day some day. Better?”
Diamond groaned. “Will you two just kiss already? I swear, I feel like I bought tickets to a show and nopony is ready to perform.”
“Diamond!”
“No, these two have just been bitching about this whole time. I’m sick of it.”
“Now, sugarcube, ya just need ta calm down. We wasn’t even s’posed to be here.”
“Exactly. We showed up because we thought the other was getting roped in, right?”
“Diamond, now you just settle down right quick. You know what Ah’ll do. Do ya really want me to do it in front o’ them?”
Diamond’s cheeks grew hot. “Y-you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t dare.”
“You jes’ try me an’ see.”
Scooter and Gold Watch now simply stared on, intrigued. Diamond seemed somewhat conflicted in the relatively short time before his response. “There’s no way you’d do it in front of them.”
Apple Buck smirked, raising a brow before quickly grabbing Diamond. Though he struggled, Diamond was no match for his coltfriend’s strength and soon found himself bent over Apple Buck’s lap with one hand restraining both of his without any problem. “Ya wanna try sayin’ that again, dumplin’?”
Diamond Crown squeaked and squirmed, trying in vain to get free as his cheeks only grew more and more red. “No, no, no, please. I’ll beg!”
“Ya mean like ya beg me to do it when ya had a rough day?”
Diamond nearly squealed as he continued to wriggle about, though whether he was really trying to get away or not wasn’t easy to tell, considering the obvious physical difference between the two. “Th-th-this isn’t f-funny, Buck! Let me go!”
Apple Buck briefly scanned his eyes over the room before easing his grip almost completely on Diamond Crown’s wrists. “Now why th’ hay would Ah go an’ do that? Ya seem ta be havin’ fun down there.”
Diamond squirmed more, his cheeks so red he looked ready to pass out any second. Though he wriggled about convincingly enough, he still didn’t get free. “I do not enjoy this, now let me go!”
“Ah ain’t been doin’ nothin’ but restin’ mah hand on yer wrists.” With a wicked smirk, Apple Buck made a show of pulling his free hand back and bringing it down on Diamond’s rump hard, effectively silencing the sputtering response trying to make its way out, replacing it with a groan as Diamond bit down on his lower lip.
Gold Watch and Scooter stared, mouths agape, as they waited for a response from Diamond Crown, who seemed to only squirm about, his tail flicking to the side slightly as he raised his hips a little, still seeming to struggle, but not saying a word.
Apple Buck smiled and rubbed his hand along Diamond’s rear. “Now, what were ya sayin’ there? Somethin’ ‘bout not enjoyin’ it?”
“Th-this isn’t fair.”
“Oh, all’s fair in love an’ war. Now, are ya gonna get up, or do ya want me to keep goin’?” Apple Buck began lightly squeezing Diamond Crown’s rump, earning a few squeaks. Diamond seemed to think it over before looking around and noticing that all eyes in the room were on him. He then bit his lip and wiggled about a little more before flicking his tail to hang off to the side more, easily getting it out of the way of any further spanking.
Apple Buck smirked as his mate wordlessly raised his hips a bit more, turning his head and pressing his cheek against the couch cushion as he bit his lip. “Ya sure about that? Even with them watchin’ an’ all?” Diamond barely hesitated before nodding and trying to make sure his tail was as far to the side as he could manage on his own. Apple Buck smiled and gave Diamond’s rump one last squeeze before raising his hand and bringing it back down with a firm ‘pop’, this time earning a light yelp and what could be vaguely described as a soft moan.
Scooter finally collected himself enough from the spectacle to speak up. “Is this really happening right now?”
Gold Watch nodded slowly. “Y-yeah. I’m pretty sure it is.”
Apple Buck looked between the two of them. “You two don’t mind us none. Y’all go on ahead and kiss. Ah didn’t just spend all that time fer nothin’. Ya hear?”
A moment of silence passed as Scooter and Gold Watch looked at each other awkwardly. “Well? Come on, now. Ah could be balls deep in mah mare right now, so Ah’m expectin’ you both ta make up fer the fact that Ah ain’t. Now one of ya just be the damned stallion already.”
Scooter blushed slightly and sighed, closing his eyes. He took a few breaths trying to collect himself, only to be cut off just before an exhale. His eyes opened almost immediately as he found himself pressed against the couch and muzzle-to-muzzle with Gold Watch. A short moment passed before Scooter snapped from the slight daze and pulled Gold Watch closer, returning the kiss.
It was apparently Apple Buck and Diamond Crown’s turns to stare, as they found themselves speechless at the moment, watching as Scooter’s cheeks steadily burned brighter and he visibly sunk into the kiss; Gold Watch seemed to turn a light red as well as the kiss continued. With Scooter more or less pressed into the couch, Gold Watch was the one to pull away as the two stared into one another’s eyes, both panting and sporting matching red cheeks.
“J-just so we’re clear, I’m not the bitch here.”
Diamond Crown raised an eyebrow. “Scooter, do you even realize how perfectly you played the mare just now? It would be a crime against nature for you to be anything but the bitch.”
Gold Watch didn’t give Scooter a chance to even attempt a response, wasting no time at all going in for another kiss, which was near immediately returned.
“Ah can’t tell if the practice earlier was a waste or not.”
Diamond turned his head to look at Apple Buck. “He seems to be doing well.”
“Yeah, but he said the main point was so he wasn’t made the mare of the relationship from the get-go.”
“Oh. Did he at least improve?”
“Well, yeah, he’s a mite better than he was the first ‘un.”
“I can see how you’d be a bit confused” Diamond quirked a brow at Apple Buck’s expression, only to quickly find the reason for it after a shirt fell over his face. Diamond Crown tossed the shirt off of him and turned to the stallion, now bare from the waist up as their kiss continued.
Apple Buck looked down at Diamond, giving him a mild smack on the rump to get his attention. “Ah know ya ain’t starin’. Ah done toldya ‘bout that.”
Diamond blushed and grumbled, “I wasn’t even looking at the stallion, though…”
“Try sayin’ that again?”
“I said I wasn’t even looking at the stallion.”
Apple Buck looked back to Scooter and Gold Watch, both of whom were now staring into one another’s eyes, panting. Just by looking at them as they were, Apple Buck and Diamond Crown could tell who was meant for what role. After a moment of thinking, Apple Buck grinned. “Sit up, Diamond.”
Diamond groaned, but sat up, taking his place in Apple Buck’s lap once more. The farm pony then whistled, catching the shirtless stallions’ attention. “Ah think Ah gots a proposition fer y’all. Who wants ta hear it?”
Author's Note
I believe I mentioned somewhere in the comments of Tough Love that there would be a sequel. I'm not even sure if I'd planned one originally, but I left some room and got an idea, so here we are. I deliver, even if you're not interested. Ain't they sweet? Well, the rest of this plot was devised in the midst of a "mild" power trip I had one evening. Trust me, this is just getting started.
