Apple of Eden

by Reaps

Rating: teen
Tags: Anthro, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance, Apple Bloom, Rarity, Scootaloo
Length: 8073

A problem with Elusive's boutique leads Apple Buck to lend a helping hand. A simple token of appreciation gone slightly awry leaves future encounters to be quite interesting.

Contains R63 M/M shipping between Elusive(Rarity) and Apple Buck(Apple Bloom). Those who dislike this, please move along.

Elusive's air conditioning isn't working, something that doesn't bode well for him in the fresh summer heat. When he looks for someone to help him, Apple Buck offers. What was meant to be a small gesture of thanks winds up becoming a little bit more.

Once again, Mondai Shunketsu helped out a lot with the story. He jumped in to help with a little pre-reading for the second chapter and editing of the story in general. You should definitely go check him out if you liked the story.

Published 2014-03-09 03:50:08 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-29 04:22:16 UTC

It was an accident.

Elusive’s horn lit up as he carefully used his magic to hold his sewing needle dead still to wipe the sweat from his brow. He dried his hand quickly on a nearby hand rag before taking the needle back into his physical grip and finishing up the last vest he needed to complete his most recent order. With a sigh of relief, the unicorn used the rag to dab his face dry before stepping into the main room of his boutique

The Carousel Boutique had a tendency to get warm during the summer, but with the air conditioning no longer working properly, it was hardly cool enough to work in. As the very thought of continuing like this crossed his mind, it was batted away. Elusive smiled as he saw Apple Buck, now seventeen, searching through his small tool bag.

Were it not for Applejack, one of Elusive’s closest friends, being Apple Buck’s older brother, Elusive doubted he would’ve been fast by any measure to accept help from the young stallion. Knowing the Apple family and their work ethic, he figured Apple Buck would, at the very least, not make things worse.

Though he was sweating more for it, Elusive had his reasons for keeping his torso clothed. Apple Buck, however, was used to working around the farm and had little issue with removing his shirt to keep the heat off a little easier. This was something Elusive couldn’t quite help but notice.

As Apple Buck continued to work with the main unit, Elusive took the time to admire just how well the earth pony had grown into himself. All the work on the farm had definitely paid off for Apple Buck. His back and arms were well-toned, and he was starting to look a deal like his brother. Elusive noticed he may have been looking a little too much when he found Apple Buck looking at him with an eyebrow quirked and a slight smirk.

“Don’t think yer gonna be gettin’ me into any o’ that fancy stuff, now. Ah ain’t got a thing against other ponies wearin’ it. Just ain’t fer me.”

Elusive’s cheeks flushed slightly as his lips formed a slightly guilty smile.

“Well, then I suppose I’ll just have to save that suit idea for later. How’s the air conditioner looking? Do you think you can fix it?”

Apple Buck rolled his eyes, smiling. He took his own rag and dried his hands and face.

“Yeah, Ah reckon it won’t be too much trouble. From what Ah can tell, ya jes’ need a new crystal. Looks like the enchantment on this’un wasn’t all it shoulda been. They cost a good bit, but Ah figure if ya jes reimburse me for that, it’ll be plenty.”

Elusive frowned slightly, crossing his arms.

“Now, you can’t be serious. Surely you want some compensation for your time as well. If not you, I would be paying any other pony a good bit on top of the crystal. You must want something, dear.”

The farm pony chuckled and shrugged.

“Naw, no need makin’ friends pay fer a bit o’ help. Ah just hate that the only place with ‘em is closed today. Ah’d keep one or two around, but it ain’t often enough this is the problem. Ya got anywhere else ya can stay?”

“Oh, quite unfortunately not. It’s not that bad at night, though, so I suppose as long as I can keep cool enough during the day, it shouldn’t be too much trouble. I managed to finish all of my current orders today as well. Not many calls for suits this time of year, you know?”

Elusive paused, his expression seeming somewhat troubled.

“I’m dreadfully sorry if I seem pushy, but it just doesn’t seem right to offer you no compensation at all.”

“Look, Ah mean it. It ain’t no problem at all. ‘Sides, most other ponies’d probably have some way ta get it done today.”

Elusive couldn’t help but smile a little as he stepped closer.

“Fine, if you won’t accept normal payment, then I can at least give this.”

Elusive stood just in front of Apple Buck, leaning in to give the farm pony’s muzzle a small peck; however, as he leaned in, he apparently thought the younger stallion a little too short, as the unicorn’s lips connected not with the earth pony’s muzzle, but his own lips. As the two realized what had just happened, what was intended to be a quick peck turned into a slightly longer, very awkward kiss.

The two only remained frozen for a moment, though, and soon pulled away, both of them with cheeks red from more than just what felt like a slight rise in the temperature around them. They remained silent, simply staring at one another for a moment, neither sure quite what to say.

After what felt like half an hour, the awkward silence was finally broken as Elusive cleared his throat.

“Well, erm, s-sorry about that. It, uh, it wasn’t quite what it was meant to be.”

Apple Buck scratched the back of his head, letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Oh, uh, no worries. Ah understand, kinda. Ah mean, Ah get that ya didn’t mean ta just, ya know…”

“Oh, oh no, no. I mean, it’s not that you’re not a handsome stallion, but--”

“Naw, I get it. Ah’m not even eighteen yet. Ah know ya ain’t interested in me like that. It’s fine.”

The two stallions entered another awkward silence, Elusive scuffing a hoof on the carpet softly before speaking up once more.

“So, we can just ignore that, then?”

The earth pony shrugged, forcing a chuckle.

“Ah don’t even know what yer talkin’ about. Ignore what?”

“Precisely. So, I suppose that’s that, then?”

“Yup. I’ll uh, I’ll just get mah shirt and mah things and head back home.”

“Well, thank you for helping. Have a nice day.”

Apple Buck collected his things and waved to Elusive as he headed out the door.

“You too.”

Elusive waved back before closing the door and walking to his divan, promptly flopping onto it on his back. He heaved a sigh.

“What did I just do?”

He knew the question was rhetorical. He was well aware of just what he’d done. No, the real question was one that just the thought of made his cheeks flush. He tried to answer it, to no avail.

“Why don’t I actually feel bad about it?”

Apple Buck made his way through Ponyville Square, now with his shirt on. As he walked, he tried his best to figure out why he was still thinking about what had happened at the boutique. He’d made it about halfway to the main trail home before he decided he would figure things out faster if he talked it over with somepony.

With that in mind, he started stopped to think about who he could approach about it. He knew his brother was out of the question, as well as Silver Bell. Getting his or Elusive’s brother involved wouldn’t help in any way. He thought to maybe talk to Barb, but then remembered her ‘past’ crush on Elusive. It wasn’t likely that was going to turn out any better.

After trying to think of anyone else, Apple Buck sighed. Scooter wasn’t exactly his idea of a ‘go-to’ friend for things like this, but he was the best choice here, if for no other reason than Scooter didn’t hold any real stake in it, so even if Apple Buck had to come fully clean about it being with Elusive, it wouldn’t be as hard to explain.

The farm pony nodded to himself and turned, making his way to Scooter’s house. As he walked, he tried to figure out how he was going to go about telling his friend about it. As he neared his friend’s house, however, he found a better question being why it was even still on his mind. As he reached the door, he felt a bit better at least knowing what he wanted answered first.

Apple Buck knocked on the door. It didn’t take long before he heard the lock coming undone and Scooter opened the door. Scooter’s initial smile at seeing his friend dropped a little upon seeing Apple Buck’s expression.

“Hey, uh, you okay, Buck?”

“D’ya think Ah could come in fer a bit? Ah kinda need ta talk about somethin’.”

Scooter raised a brow, but stepped aside. Apple Buck stepped in and set his tools down beside the couch before taking a seat himself. Scooter closed and locked the door before jumping and landing on the couch himself.

They both sat there, silent, for a whole of twenty seconds before Scooter sat up a bit more.

“So, what do you need to talk about?”

Apple Buck took a moment, trying to pick his wording well before responding.

“Well, Ah kinda got a bit of a problem. Okay, so not really a problem, but somethin’ happened an’ now Ah can’t stop thinkin’ about it.”

“Ya know, it helps to hear what the ‘something’ is, dude.”

Apple Buck scrunched his muzzle a little, still nervous about how to say what he needed to.

“Okay, well, I, uh, Ah did somethin’ fer a friend. Ah told ‘im all Ah’d need fer payment would be him reimburin’ me for somethin’ Ah need fer the repair Ah’m doin’. He insisted on payin’ me somethin’ fer the actual work, an’ ah said there weren’t much need for it, seein’ as he was a friend an’ all. Well, Ah’m pretty sure he meant somethin’ else when he did it, but, well…”

Scooter sat for a few seconds, waiting as patiently as he could for Apple Buck to continue. When it was clear the earth pony was stalling, he decided to prod him along.

“Well…? What? What happened? Did he somehow slip, pull down your pants, and suck your dick on accident?”

Apple Buck’s cheeks heated up almost instantly.

“Wh-what?! No! What the fuck?”

“Hey, you left me to fill in the blank, so I did. What happened?”

“He just kissed me, okay? Ah ain’t sure exactly what he meant ta do, but he wound up kissin me on the lips.”

Scooter’s eyebrows quirked at that.

“Like, a kiss kiss, or just a ‘crap what the fuck did I just do?’ kiss?”

Apple Buck simply looked at Scooter, staring at him like he’d just grown a third wing. Scooter shrugged.

“What? I’m just asking if it felt like a real kiss or not.”

“But ya ain’t surprised at all that another stallion kissed me?”

Scooter seemed to consider it for a moment, looking Apple Buck over briefly as he did.

“Nah, no really. You’re kinda cute.”

“Scooter!”

“What? You know I swing both ways, dude. Just take the damn compliment.”

Apple Buck groaned and rubbed his temples. He took a deep breath, being careful not to mention said stallion by name.

“Look, Ah just need ta know what Ah should do.”

Scooter shrugged.

“If you like him, go kiss him back. If you don’t? Well, it sounds like it was an accident, so don’t worry about it. Just fix up whatever and let things be.”

Apple Buck looked like he wanted to speak for a moment, but nothing came out. After waiting almost a minute, Scooter gave his friend a suspicious look.

“What’s wrong? Do you like him or not?”

Another moment passed in silence before Apple Buck groaned once more.

“Ah don’t know. Why can’t Ah just be straight like Silver, or Barb? Neither o’ them would hafta worry about somethin’ like this.” He paused before mumbling, “Not like this’d ever be a problem for either of them anyways.”

Scooter’s ears perked up a little.

“What was that?”

“Nothin’, nothin’. Well, thanks fer the talk, but Ah gotta go get the house cleaned up. See ya.”

Before Scooter could even respond, Apple Buck had grabbed his tools and made his way out the door. Deciding it wasn’t too big of a deal, he shrugged it off and turned back to his new game.

As Apple Buck started out once more for his house, he tried to make sense of his thoughts and the ‘advice’ of his friend. If there was one thing Scooter was when it came to this kind of thing, it was blunt. Unfortunately, if there was one thing to make this kind of thing any more complicated, it would be such blunt advice. One thing was for sure, though: Come tomorrow, he just might need some kind of answer.

Back at Carousel Boutique, Elusive finished getting dressed in oddly casual attire for him. Considering both the heat and that he was going to the local pub, however, it wasn’t exactly shocking.

“I sure hope Blitz isn’t in one of his ‘prying moods’.”

The walk to the pub was short, but it gave Elusive enough time to find better phrasing than simply: Hello, Blitz. I just accidentally kissed Applejack’s little brother.

It took Elusive walking through the door to figure out where Rainbow Blitz was, as the pegasus appeared to be waiting on him. No sooner had Elusive walked in than had Rainbow Blitz wrapped around him.

“Heya, Lucy! Finally got time between making dresses and tryin’ out perfume to see me?”

Elusive groaned at the nickname, the rest being more accurate than he cared to admit, even to himself.

“Sure, sure. Would you mind letting me go? As much as I enjoy having you draped over me, I believe it would be easier to talk over a few drinks.”

The sky blue pegasus chuckled and let go of Elusive before taking a seat at the strangely empty bar. Elusive smiled a little and took a seat beside him. Blitz tapped the counter twice and pointed a thumb at his friend. The barkeep nodded and slid two mugs down before pulling down a nozzle and filling both until the heads just peaked over the brims. Rainbow Blitz put down a few bits and turned to Elusive.

“So, what’s got you in such a rush to talk that you called me?”

As Blitz took a sip of his beer, Elusive hesitantly followed suit, grimacing at the taste.

“Besides to remember why I prefer wine?” He sighed. “I may have a bit of a problem. You know that thank you I sometimes give that you hate?”

Blitz flushed slightly and planted his palm to his forehead. “You mean that stupid little kiss on the muzzle bullshit? Yeah, I remember it.”

Elusive couldn’t help but smile at his friend’s reaction, even if the smile went as quickly as it came.

“Well, I sort of did it a while ago and leaned down a bit too far.”

Blitz stopped mid-sip and put his drink down as he looked to the unicorn.

“So, you kissed somepony?”

Elusive groaned himself.

“Okay, yes, I kissed somepony, but it was an accident and I’m not sure if they understand that.”

Blitz seemed to think for a moment before shrugging.

“So, ask her.”

“Him.”

Blitz rolled his eyes.

“Then definitely ask him. If it’s a stallion, then there should be even less problem there. Sure, mares are nice and all, but they can be a bit complicated at times. Stallions? Well, save for the ones like you, we tend to be pretty outright with things like that. I mean, Scoots is like that and he’s not even legal yet… Okay, I know how that sounded, shut up. The point is, if a seventeen year old can buck up and tell you straight if they’re gay for you, then so can this, uh, however old this guy is. I mean, he’s what? Twenty-eight? Thirty-four?”

Elusive felt his cheeks heating up and quickly grabbed his own mug, nearly chugging down half of the glass before wiping his mouth and standing.

“You know what? You’ve got a point. I’m going to go and finish up the last order for the week.”

“Whoa now, you’re lookin’ a little buzzed already. You sure you should be sewing anything right now?”

Elusive did his best to look offended at the question.

“I am just fine, thank you. I’m as sober as when I walked in.”

Rainbow Blitz stared at the unicorn for a moment before shrugging and giving a dismissive wave as he turned back to his drink.

“Whatever, dude. Just don’t poke yourself or anything.”

“I am always careful. Thank you for the advice though.”

Another dismissive wave was all Elusive waited for before stepping out of the pub. Rainbow Blitz took another drink.

“Jeez, what’s got him so keyed up?”

As Elusive walked back to the boutique, he found himself faced with a decision. He knew that if he asked about anything tomorrow, he’d either find that he really had sent the wrong signal, or that he had nothing to worry about. If he didn’t, then maybe, on the chance he did send the wrong signal, Apple Buck would simply forget about it.

After all, it was just a simple, accidental kiss. Right?

That was not.

Author's Note

In case you are playing Dark Souls, have not yet beaten it, and have not yet looked at the last level, I feel obligated to warn there may be some spoilers ahead. I don't consider it spoiling much of anything, but I feel it better to be safe on the matter. Anyways, enjoy!

That was not.

A new day dawned on Ponyville. A day that, for Apple Buck, meant getting together what he needed for a cooling crystal and deciding what would happen once he was done with the repair he needed it for. As Apple Buck finished getting dressed and grabbed his tools and bits, he took a deep breath and set off for the local enchanter.

Though the walk to the shop was one of the farthest he’d taken in a while, his mind was strangely quiet, as opposed to the day before. The trip inside the store itself was fairly nondescript: He talked with the mare at the counter; she got the crystal; he paid, thanked her and was on his way to the boutique.

It wasn’t until Apple Buck knocked on the door to Carousel Boutique that his mind started running around the stallion inside once more. Apple Buck managed to at least push the thoughts about the repair he had to finish to the front of his mind before Elusive answered the door, welcoming the earth pony in with a bit of an awkward smile.

Upon stepping inside, Apple Buck felt a wave of heat hit him. About then, he looked and noticed that Elusive was actually without a shirt. Though the thought of it being for a certain reason tried to make itself known, the heat around Apple Buck was plenty reason to make sense of things.

Apple Buck soon noticed Elusive was speaking, his cheeks flushing now from more than just the heat as he tuned in finally.

“... Okay, dear? You’re being awfully quiet.”

“Oh, no, A-ah mean, yeah. Ah’m fine. Ah can see why ya need this fixed so bad, though. How’s it hotter in her3 than it is outside, anyways?”

Elusive shrugged.

“I can’t say I’m sure. I’m sure Dusk Shine could give you an answer, but all I know is that I really hope that crystal is what was needed.”

Apple Buck smiled and pulled the crystal from his bag.

“Should be, an’ it was a bit cheaper than Ah thought it’d be. Ah’ll have it fixed up in no time.”

Elusive smiled as well and nodded before turning and walking to his divan, where he sat, hoping staying still would ease the heat a little.

Scooter leaned back and sighed as Kingseeker Frampt warped his character to the Firelink Chamber. He walked towards the Lordvessel, anxious to be so close to the final boss, Gwyn. Just as he sat at the Lordvessel, however, he heard a knock on his door.

“Ugh! Who is it?”

“It’s Blitz, dude. Open the door.”

Scooter sighed.

“I’m playing a game. Didn’t I give you a key last week?”

There was a brief pause before the sound of the lock clicking. Blitz then opened the door, walking in with a slightly embarrassed smile.

“Heheh, yeah. Kinda forgot about that.”

Scooter smiled and rolled his eyes as he placed the last Lord Soul into the vessel, triggering the cutscene of the flame reaching full size and of the gates beyond it opening. Rainbow Blitz looked on with an amused smirk.

“Wow. Havel’s kit? Really, Scoots?”

The older pegasus took a seat beside Scooter, who made his way down the steps on the way to the Kiln of the first flame, only to stop reflexively and raise his shield at the ghosts of Black Knights walking by. Blitz’s smirk only grew.

“First time seeing this, I take it? Don’t waste a curse. They can’t hurt you and you can’t hurt them. Just worry about the not-so-ghost-like ones between you and Gwyn.”

“You sure they won’t attack me?”

“Look, I know I fuck with you a lot when you’re playing, but I get the feeling you’ve been screwed over enough by this game, like most who played it were by this point.”

Scooter hesitated for a moment before walking down the rest of the steps and seeing the Kiln before him. The scene of ash, of iron pillars melted back as though they’d seen an explosion, of no enemies in sight, was something that Scooter took a moment to take in. Thankfully for him, his character was in hollow form, which meant he did, indeed, have time to enjoy the level before him.

Soon, Scooter began making his way down the wide path.

“So, what’s kept you so busy lately? We’ve hung out, like, twice in the past two weeks.”

Blitz shrugged.

“Well, I’ve been having to train a bit more lately.”

“You sure you weren’t just drinking?”

“Hey, look, when you have to deal with Elusive’s random stallion problems, you’d be tempted to drink too.”

Scooter chuckled, remembering the day prior.

“Yeah, instead I’ve just gotta deal with AB’s.”

Blitz cocked his head a bit, looking at Scooter, whose character just reached the bridge of iron walkways.

“Huh, I thought he was into mares. If anything I figured Silver Bell would take after his brother.”

“Nah, Silv’s straight as a board. AB just isn’t good with relationship stuff. Apparently somepony kissed him on accident yesterday. He wanted my advice, so I just told him to kiss the stallion back if he liked him. Then he kinda mumbled something and left.”

This time Blitz was the one to laugh.

“Wow, seriously? Talk about timing. The thing Elusive was all strung out over yesterday was accidentally kissing some stallion.”

The two bursted into laughter, which almost caused Scooter’s character to die to a black knight wielding a large poleaxe. He recovered in time to avoid falling off and managed to best the knight.

“Hey, nice going. What level are you?”

“My SL is two-ten.”

“Oh, yeah, your first time.”

“Hey, I had to face Nito without a divine weapon. Cut me some slack.”

Blitz chuckled, some of what was said earlier playing over in the back of his head as Scooter finally reached the fog wall before Gwyn.

“Okay, so the usual strategy for Gwyn is to parry him. Think you can do that?”

“Parrying? A boss?”

“Yeah, he’s the only one I know of that you can do it to, but the first attack is usually easy for a start.”

“Psh, this’ll be easy then.”

Scooter entered the boss battle to see Gwyn charging after him before leaping nearly half-way across the huge room. Scooter managed to time the first parry well and got the riposte with no problem, taking nearly half of Gwyn’s health down. The battle went on for a while longer, as the rest of Gwyn’s attacks proved a little more difficult to work with, but soon Scooter learned the pattern and managed another riposte. After that, Scooter went in for a quick finish, tanking a hit that nearly killed him before taking out the last of Gwyn’s health.

The two stallions cheered at the victory. Scooter walked to the bonfire in the center of the room. He took a deep breath, taking in the moment before hitting A and linking the flame.

As the end cutscene played, Blitz’s expression slowly grew confused. As soon as it was over, he fell against the back of the couch.

“Hey, Scoots?”

“Hmm?”

“You, uh, you think maybe there’s somethin’ about Buck and Lucy?”

Scooter raised a brow.

“Like what?”

“I was just thinkin’, ya know they both kinda seemed to be in the same issue on the same day. Assuming they talked to us on the day it happened.”

“... Yeah?”

“Well, do you think it’s just luck that it happened, or do you think it’s related?”

Scooter opened his mouth to speak, but soon closed it and fell back against the couch as well, thinking. After a few seconds, he turned back to Blitz.

“Do you think it’s just luck?”

Blitz was quiet for a moment before his expression seemed to say he’d realized something.

“Hey, isn’t Buck your age?”

“Yeah.”

“Elusive never answered me when I asked how old the stallion he kissed was.”

Scooter looked puzzled for a moment as the gears in his head started turning. In a matter of seconds, however, his eyes went wide.

“Holy balls!”

Elusive finished pouring a second glass of lemonade before stepping out of his kitchen. He made his way back to the main room to see, once more, Apple Buck, shirtless as he worked on the conditioning unit. From the looks of it, he seemed to be nearly done. Elusive soon found himself staring a bit closer at the stallion than the day prior, looking over Apple Buck’s athletic frame in a light unlike any time before.

For once, Elusive could hardly help but admire the form before him. He would admit, if ever asked, that he observes and appreciates beauty in all its forms, whether it be sculptures, paintings, fashion, even other ponies, mares and stallions alike. What he may have been more hesitant to admit was how much he admired the still adolescent stallion in his boutique. As the thought passed through his mind, his cheeks became flushed further than what the heat had done already.

Elusive did, however, manage to catch himself before Apple Buck beat him to it this time. Something he was plenty grateful for. He shook previous thoughts from his head and stepped towards the farm pony.

“How is the repair coming along, dear?”

Apple Buck finished fitting a piece Elusive couldn’t recognize into place before wiping his brow and turning.

“Jest about done, ‘Lusive. Gotta finish puttin’ it back tagether and it should work good as new.”

Elusive smiled.

“Well, that’s good to hear. Would you like to take a short break for lemonade?”

“Thank ya, but Ah’m so close Ah may as well just finish up first. If that ain’t no problem, at least.”

“Oh, of course. I suppose I should have fixed you some earlier for you to take a break, hmm? Well, the tray will be over here when you’re finished. I’ll fix us something to eat. It’s the least I could do.”

Apple Buck chuckled.

“Well, a bite ta eat does sound mighty good about now. Ah won’t turn it down if it ain’t any trouble for ya.”

“Oh, none at all, dear. It’ll be ready in a minute.”

“Thank ya kindly.”

With that, Elusive set the tray on his coffee table and went to fix lunch. Apple Buck turned back to his work and finished putting the unit back together before closing it up. It took a good ten seconds before it started up, but afterwards it seemed to be working as it should. With a final nod to himself, Apple Buck put away his tools and walked to the table a few meters away. He lifted the filled glass and took a few gulps of lemonade before giving a relieved sigh.

With the repair done and the weight of the heat lifted some, however, Apple Buck found fewer things holding his mind where it needed to be. Before long, he found old thoughts about the unicorn only a room away returning, as well as the question Scooter had indirectly put in front of him: Did he like Elusive like that? With that came even more questions. If he did, what was he supposed to do about it? Should he wait until he was eighteen? Should he just walk in and kiss the stallion?

Apple Buck stopped himself there, mentally cursing himself. Here he was thinking about what he should do as though an older stallion had any reason liking him the same way. He was treating the situation like his own feelings were more important. Though he wasn’t sure when throughout his thoughts it’d happened, Apple Buck tuned back into the world around him to find himself looking at the stallion he was just thinking about.

Elusive was fixing lunch when the air conditioning had been fixed, so he was still without a shirt. Apple Buck had never looked too closely at another stallion before, but he couldn’t find much reason to look away at this moment. He had to admit that, for a tailor, Elusive was definitely fit. It made some sense he would be. A pony worried about looks would most likely be worried about their body as well, and Elusive apparently took good care of his.

While it’s true Elusive wasn’t muscular like Apple Buck or his older brother, or even on par with Rainbow Blitz, he wasn’t just skin and bone. Elusive was slim, sure, but, if anything, it only helped define the subtle tone of his muscles. It wasn’t hard for anypony that looked close enough to see why Barb, or anypony else, for that matter, might find him so attractive. Late adolescent hormones may have helped that much along, but weren’t making it any easier for Apple Buck to find a good reason not to try something.

As Elusive finished up himself, Apple Buck finally snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the side, taking another drink of lemonade. The unicorn turned only moments later with another tray, this one holding two plates of chopped fruit and vegetables instead of now one empty glass and a pitcher of lemonade. Elusive set the second tray by the first and took a seat on the divan.

“You can have a seat, too, if you want. I don’t expect you to stand while you eat.”

Apple Buck’s cheeks grew warmer, finally entirely from something other than the now fading heat. He gave a nervous chuckle before taking a seat beside Elusive, who handed the earth pony a plate before pouring his own glass of lemonade.

The two sat quietly as they ate, the boutique around them steadily cooling down to reasonable temperatures all the while. Both stallions were off in their own thoughts, each troubled over what to think about the other, as well as what the other thought about him.

Elusive finally came to a decision to speak around finishing half of his plate.

“If you wouldn’t mind too terribly, I think we should talk about yesterday.”

Apple Buck swallowed, despite having nothing in his mouth at the moment. He hesitated for a moment.

“Ya mean the kiss?”

“Well, yes. I just wanted to be sure you weren’t upset about it or anything. It wasn’t anything intentional.”

Apple Buck was silent for a moment more, but soon decided to take a chance.

“Ah ain’t upset. Ah know ya didn’t mean to, but…” he paused for a moment before regaining his nerve, “well, Ah didn’t exactly mind it.”

Elusive froze for a moment. He blinked, unsure whether or not he’d heard correctly.

“Excuse me? I, erm, I don’t believe I heard you quite right.”

“Ah said Ah didn’t mind it. Ah mean, ya are pretty, er, Ah mean, pretty attractive. It ain’t like Ah can’t see that. All Ah’m sayin’ is that Ah didn’t mind that ya wound up kissin’ me. Ah don’t think Ah’d mind too much if ya did it again, either.” Apple Buck blushed, unsure if he’d been too bold.

Elusive was silent for a moment, something that only made Apple Buck more nervous for a time. Elusive thought about the situation and soon decided it was a worthwhile risk. He took a breath, quietly.

“So, you mean if I were to, say, actually kiss you…?”

“Ah wouldn’t mind a bit.”

A beat passed before Elusive looked to Apple Buck, who had already looked over himself. The two looked into each other’s eyes for a moment before they both leaned in, their lips pressing softly against the other’s. The kiss was longer than the one prior, but still only lasted for a few seconds.

As the two pulled away, they looked to one another once more and smiled. They pulled each other into a hug. Their embrace ended at the same moment they found out that the door had remained unlocked, as they heard a synchronized chorus of “No fucking way!”

Elusive and Apple Buck nearly leapt out of their hides as they pulled back and looked towards the door to Blitz with his jaw slack and Scooter looking like he’d won the lottery.

“Ha! I fucking told you! You are so paying for my pre-order now.”

“What? But, but, what?!”

Scooter laughed and turned to Apple Buck.

“Fuck yeah, finally got a coltfriend, AB.”

“S-s-scoots? What the hay is goin’ on here?”

“Huh? Oh, Blitz came over a while ago and told me about his talk with Elusive yesterday. I mean, we probably shoulda figured it out a bit quicker, but we eventually pieced it together. But dude! Nice catch.”

Scooter ran, practically leaping toward his friend before hugging him. He then leaned close and whispered, “Seriously though, nice. He looks like a catcher too.”

“Scooter!”

Scooter leaned back, more or less sitting in Apple Buck’s lap.

“What? I’m just saying.”

Elusive finally found his ability to speak and move. He instantly covered his torso as best he could.

“What have I told you about just barging in here?”

Blitz turned to Elusive, disbelief still evident on his face.

“Hey, we closed the door when we came in. Besides, I just walked in on you kissing and hugging all over Applejack’s little brother.”

Apple Buck’s eyes widened at that.

“Whoa, ya can’t tell mah brother! He’ll kill me.”

Scooter smirked.

“Tch, I think he’ll go after your coltfriend first.”

And that's not good.

Apple Buck and Elusive sprawled out on Elusive’s bed, both shirtless and sweating despite the boutique’s conditioner having been working well for the past five months now. An hour of on-and-off making out will do that to most ponies. Apple Buck looked up at the ceiling, thinking. After a moment, he looked to Elusive.

“Lucy?”

“Hmm?”

“Ah’ve been thinkin’ about somethin’. Ya know how we’ve been like this fer a while? Jes’ kinda hangin’ out here, kissin’ a lot an’ all?”

Elusive turned to the younger stallion, a brow quirked curiously.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Oh, no. Ah like it, really, Ah do. It’s just, well, we’ve been doin’ this fer a few months now. Ah guess Ah’m just wonderin’ when we’re gonna do somethin’, Ah dunno, more?”

The unicorn’s white cheeks quickly turned nearly crimson.

“Buck, you know we can’t do anything like that, not yet.”

At this, Apple Buck sat up and turned more towards Elusive, hints of indignation creeping into his expression.

“An’ jes’ why not?”

“Now, now, we both know ‘just why not’, dear. As close as you may be, the fact still stands that you are not yet eighteen. We’re already pushing things as it is. Were Rainbow Blitz and Scooter the kind to actually hold up rules instead of trying to bend them as much as they can, there may be a chance I would be in trouble simply for what we’ve done already.”

The indignation in Apple Buck’s expression was no longer merely hinted. It was nearly glaring at Elusive as strongly as Apple Buck himself.

“Ah only have two more weeks! ‘Sides, who’s gonna find out we did anything?”

Elusive propped himself up on his arms, his expression sympathetic.

“Darling, please. You know I just want to be safe with this. You know it’s nothing personal.”

The earth pony’s glare lingered for a moment before Apple Buck sighed, leaning over and hugging Elusive before giving the unicorn a quick peck on the cheek.

“Ah know. Ah think Ah’m gonna go get some fresh air, though. Still ain’t quite used ta bein’ inside as much as we have lately.”

Elusive gave Apple Buck a concerned look before smiling slightly.

“Okay, dear. I don’t have any plans today, so feel free to come back if you wish.”

Apple Buck simply gave a nod in acknowledgement before pulling his shirt back on and heading out of the boutique. Elusive sighed and stood, redressing himself. He knew this was likely to be a problem. Even though his experiences with his adolescent hormones weren’t as severe as most, he’d still had his own share of issues with them. He knew waiting was very likely worse on the farm pony than on himself, but he had to draw the line somewhere for the time being.

With another sigh, Elusive made his way down to his work room and began tracing out new designs.

Apple Buck’s hand rapped against Scooter’s front door, yielding a yelp and several muffled thuds from within. Scooter’s voice followed shortly after.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me again.”

“It’s unlocked, dude.”

With little hesitation, Apple Buck opened the door, unintentionally slamming it shut behind him, again making Scooter jump as he focused intensely on his game.

“Shit, Buck. What’s got you so geared up?”

Apple Buck remained silent as he plopped down beside his friend, his mind still filing his disorganized thoughts. Scooter let it go, happy to be able to focus on the predicament he’d gotten himself into so quickly into his new game. This continued until the character on screen let out a cry of agony, followed by an achievement box proclaiming, “WELCOME TO DARK SOULS.” There was a second more of silence.

“Fucking shit!”

Scooter leapt up, throwing his controller at the wall, which so happened to have been covered in pillows. The pegasus flopped onto the couch and groaned as he cupped his face in his hands. After a moment to recompose himself, he looked over to see Apple Buck against the far end of the couch, pressed against the armrest and looking more than a little concerned.

“Uh, you, uh, ya okay, Scoots?”

Scooter sighed, slumping back against the couch.

“Dude, I beat a troll, a fucking troll-like ogre thing, one life, no healing, no problem. Then I get to what looks like the new Firelink and I get my ass handed to me by the three fucking pigs!”

“So, no?”

The pegasus waved his hand dismissively as his character respawned at the bonfire.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s just the new engine, I guess. It’ll take a bit of getting used to, but so far it’s just like the first, only harder. Entering that covenant probably didn’t help either.” Scooter stretched and sprawled back on the couch. “So, what’s up?”

The farm pony shook his head with a slight smile. “Ah don’t think it’s really as big a deal as Ah’m makin’ it out ta be, but, well…”

“Dude, are you having colt troubles or something? I know we’re buds and everything, but I am not one of those fabulous mother fuckers that you can just dump all your colt issues on.”

“So, ya won’t help?”

Scooter was silent for a moment before sighing.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

“Lucy’s treatin’ me like Ah’m just a foal.”

At that, Scooter raised a brow and sat up, suddenly more interested in the issue.

“And just how is that?”

“Well, ya know how me an’ him’ve, well, kinda goin’ out fer a few months now?”

“Yeah…?”

“Well, today Ah asked ‘im about doin’ more than jes’ kissin’. Ya know what Ah mean, right?”

Scooter leaned a little closer to his friend.

“Oh, absolutely, but tell me anyways.”

“Seriously?”

“Hey, if I’m gonna help, I need to be sure I’m on the right track here. You know how my mind works.”

“No, no, Ah really don’t.”

“Exactly! Me either, so let’s make sure it’s not off on some tangent about ducks.”

Apple Buck looked at Scooter like the pegasus had grown an extra set of eyes.

“How do ya even get ta ducks with this?”

“Rhymes with ‘fuck’.”

Apple Buck’s cheeks reddened slightly.

“An’ jes’ where the heck didja get that from?”

“Well, you wanna fuck Elusive, right? That’s what I was getting from this. Then you gave my mind time to wander and I got to thinking about ducks.”

Apple Buck opened his mouth, but no words came out. He closed and opened it a few more times, to similar effect.

“I, uh, Ah ain’t even got nothin’ ta say ta that. Well, ‘cept that ya were right about where Ah was goin’ with things.”

“Cool, so, you fucked him, right?”

“No, actually…”

“And why not?”

“He said Ah’m still too young, but he ain’t got no problem kissin’ me all damn day an’ night.”

“Oh, that’s right, your birthday isn’t for, what, a month?”

Apple Buck’s eyes narrowed at his friend, any semblance of amusement vacant entirely.

“It’s in two weeks, Scoots.”

“Oh… Well, the point is, you’re still a minor, dude. Isn’t he kinda already pushing it making out with you all the time?”

“Yeah well… Okay, so maybe it’s fair ta say we should wait, but it ain’t no easier ta do.”

Scooter simply shrugged and kicked back as a different voice from behind the two joined the party.

“What’s not easier, AB?”

Silver Bell smiled as he leaned forward, propping himself against the back of the couch. Apple Buck, however, found himself once more against the armrest.

“Silver? When’d you get here?”

Scooter looked over.

“Oh, he came over a few hours ago.”

Silver chuckled.

“Yeah, I had to clean up some soda Scooter ‘forgot’ was shaken up.”

“Do you really think I have the mind to focus on my game and set up a prank?”

“Wouldn’t be too surprising, really.”

Apple Buck cleared his throat and stood.

“Well, uh, Ah think Ah need ta go on. Got stuff ta do, ya know?”

Silver frowned.

“Buck, you’re always busy now. This is the first time I’ve seen you in almost three months. Can’t whatever you’ve got to do wait a little while longer?”

Apple Buck froze, one thought running through his mind: Don’t look at his eyes. Don’t look at his eyes. Don’t look at his eyes. However, he soon turned, his manners taking over as they tended to do at the least convenient times for him. His eyes met his friends and any resolve to leave left him at the almost pitiful expression. Damnit! What'd Ah just tell me?

With a sigh, Apple Buck sat back on the couch.

“Ah suppose it can wait.”

“Yay!”

Silver hopped over and sat between his friends.

“So, what were you guys talking about while I was gone?”

Elusive sighed and put his pencil down, walking to the window for a break from what little he could think up at the time. He was typically able to keep his mind clear of distractions, but it was much harder today. There was the concern for his coltfriend’s happiness, sure, but, in truth, the wait wasn’t much easier in him, if any. For now, there was little more to do than try to observe the town, which had become a fix for his blocks as of late. He felt it may have been helping once more when he noticed a very familiar streak of blue not far off.

It took Elusive only a moment to cover a gem near the window, which caused a section of the wall to disappear entirely. Had it taken him much longer, Rainbow Blitz, instead of hitting thin air before bounding off of Elusive’s floor, would have likely broken through the portion of the wall as well. Elusive uncovered the gem and the wall returned as though nothing had happened. He then walked over to Blitz as the pegasus hefted himself off the floor.

“Are you alright? You didn’t sprain anything this time?”

“Tch, nah. I’m fine. Nice trick with the wall, by the way.”

At that, Elusive smirked and shook his head.

“It was the only plausible course of action with this becoming as common as it has.”

Blitz chuckled a little as he finished dusting himself off.

“So, since I’m here, how’s things?”

“Oh, just swell. Buck brought up the distinct lack of intercourse in our relationship today.”

“Whoa, seriously? And you’re still walking normally?”

Elusive’s cheeks flushed bright red once again.

“We didn’t do anything!”

Blitz cocked his head.

“So, to be clear, you two have been together for months, he brings up something I’m willing to bet neither of you have had at least since you’ve gotten together, and you just let it drop?”

“He’s still a minor, Blitz.”

“And just how much longer will he be?”

“Two weeks.”

That made Blitz quirk his brow.

“Two weeks? Really, Lucy? The poor thing is probably horny as fuck, most likely at least half-naked in here, and you tell him he has to wait two weeks to get some? I thought I was the douche of our group, dude.”

“Blitz, you know as well as I do that--”

“That the law is there to make sure nopony ‘consents’ to something they don’t know much about. If you’re worried about AJ finding out and pressing charges, you have more problems than you think.”

Elusive opened his mouth to reply, only to have the words die in his throat. Blitz noticed and took the silence as his cue to continue.

“Listen, I’m not telling you whether or not you should do anything other than think it over. Buck’s not some foal. Sure, he’s not technically of age, but he’s off by two weeks. I may be wrong, but odds are that he isn’t a virgin either. Either way, he knows what sex is and I’m pretty sure four months, or however long you two have been together, is long enough for him to be sure whether or not he wants to take things further.”

A moment more of quiet passed before Elusive found his tongue once more.

“Just how are you sure about all that?”

“Anypony that bends the rules enough needs to know how they work. We have to know where to draw the line.”

“And you just happen to know about that particular rule?”

“I looked into it the day after I found out about you and Buck.”

Elusive sighed and crossed his arms.

“So, you don’t think it would be a mistake?”

“What I think? I think you and him both could use a little fun. I mean you’ve only been hiding everything from everypony for months. If he brings it back up, I say give it a shot. That is, assuming you trust me.”

Elusive flinched and his expression dropped.

“Look, this had nothing to do with a lack of trust in anypony, I assure you. It’s just that--”

Blitz cupped his hand over Elusive's muzzle, making a perfect gag with the base of his fingers.

“Do you hear something?”

The two remained quiet and soon heard very muffled voices.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Blitz’s ears perked up.

“Silver, come on, Ah said Ah was sorry.”

Elusive’s eyes widened just before the door to the boutique flew open. Silver Bell stomped in, apparently furious.

“You mind telling me why the fuck you’ve been dating my best friend for five fucking months?!”

Scooter and Apple Buck stepped in shortly after. Scooter stepped back a bit.

“Sorry, it kinda slipped.”