Perfectly Harmless

Oh.

Scoots let out the shaky breath she'd been holding, covertly gasping for air. Don't see me freak out.

She became aware of every detail of the moment. The chilly night and all its sounds. The swishy noise of Dash navigating the bedroll. The smell of her, somewhere very nice between sweat and soap; her warm breath on the back of her neck.

Dash snaked a limb behind Scoots' head and another across her chest. Oh my gosh.

Scootaloo's nauseating sadness abruptly reversed, but it made it hard to make sense of what she was feeling. She struggled to savor everything.

Deep breath. One more. Two... Things got quiet.

Okay. Okay. Now don't screw it up. Don't even move. Should I say something? What the hell would I say?

Rainbow shifted again, trying to get comfortable - or tease the living hell out of her, Scoots couldn't tell which. It seemed to require a lot of stretching and wiggling, and every second of it lit up Scoots' nerves like they were brand new.

Dashes' whole body was pressed against her now, and she even threw in a tight hug (or was she just stretching?) and a satisfied sigh before settling. Oh hell yes, oh my gosh...

A few moments passed. Raindrops and crickets. Her steady breathing. Am I breathing funny?

Scoots was fighting to sort through the jumbled feelings that had come in the last few minutes, urging herself to memorize this moment. Doing so many big emotional u-turns left her exhausted. But here they were. Definitely touching. It sure didn't feel like torture.

"Hey, Scoots?" Dash broke the silence. Scoots was so wrapped up in her head she was hardly aware of how long they'd been lying there. She also didn't notice how nervous Dash was: "You're cool with this?"

Ha. Ha! Cool with it. Yeah. Understatement of the century. A solid year's worth of dreams come true. But an iffy, "Yeah, totally," seemed to be the most she could articulate.

"It's just, you're kinda shaking. If this makes you uncomfortable-" If Dash was teasing her, she made the concern sound pretty authentic.

Scoots had hardly noticed before, but sure enough, she was shaking like a leaf. Without a better explanation to offer - at least not one she was prepared to share - she heard herself say "No!" a little too emphatically, followed by something about being chilly.

Dash pried free of her grip on Scoots, who bit back the urge to complain. She hadn't wanted to change a thing. She heard and then felt the oversized blanket as Dash pulled it across them.

Scoots subtly lifted her head to invite Dash to assume her previous embrace. She almost crooned out loud when she did.

Things got quiet again.

...Well. Here we are. This is it. Should I say something? No. No, I don't want to ruin it. Please don't let me ruin it.

She couldn't remember ever being so happy, conflicted, anxious. She'd never been held like this before. It was everything she knew it would be and then some.

"Pretty slick plan there, kiddo," R.D. whispered through an unwitnessed grin. She'd never heard her whisper like that, just inches away. Her mouth was right by Scoots' ear. Nothing sultry about it, but it was soft and new - foreign and familiar. It made her hair stand on end.

"Hmm?" Scoots made a puzzled noise, half-panicked. Does she...

"Well, gee whiz Rainbow Dash," Dash sang in a high-pitched imitation. She faced away to speak up, using her free hoof to grab Scoots in mock enthusiasm: "You don't have to bring a tent! We can just share mine!"

Scootaloo huffed at the ditzy impersonation, flooding with a fresh wave of excitement: I am so busted.

"It's not like it's so freakin' small we'll have to totally spoon just to be comfortable or anything!" R.D. bullied, using her purchase to shake Scoots around by the shoulder.

A shock ran through Scoots' body like ice-water; she hoped it went unnoticed. Wow! Did she just acknowledge- Oh my gosh...

"Pff," Scoots saved with blustering nonchalance, "Yeah, sure."

Her voice was thick with the previous moment's misery, which she couldn't quite manage to hide: "I really wanted to be crammed in here with you snoring in my ear all night."

At least the words came easily - only the sarcasm was forced. "You figured out my brilliant plan."

If Dash knew Scoots was full of it, she didn't press her advantage. If she noticed the way Scoots' voice broke as it recovered, she tactfully ignored that too.

Silence. Touching. Warm. Soft. Wow! This is really happening. Now's your chance. Tell her how you feel, dammit. That first opportunity got spoiled, and what are the odds you'd get an-

Wait a second. That rain had come on awfully strong and fast to've gone unpredicted. She dared to move for the first time in minutes, perking up to cut her eyes sideways at the dark silhouette behind her.

"Some weird weather, huh?" Scoots risked, suspicious. Dash made a neutral sound in reply, sounding fatigued. Scoots grew bolder: "Wonder what that was all about?"

"Dunno," Dash replied, yawning: "If it hadn't started up like that, we could've slept out under the stars and had plenty of room."

Wait, is she- No way. No way...

"So...while I was getting wood for the fire?" Scoots prompted through an audible smirk, sinking back into her pillow.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Dash assured, every syllable thick with feigned innocence. ...She's messing with me, right? Oh wow. Oh my gosh.

As if to put to rest any doubts, Dash propped her thigh over Scootaloo's - the last essential ingredient of a complete and unmistakably intimate embrace. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh-

They just laid together for a while in silence. Dashes' limbs were heavy and warm; her breath on Scoots' neck was driving her crazy. Scootaloo was drinking in every moment, finally suspecting R.D. might be enjoying this too.

Do I talk about it? No. Right? Don't jinx it. ...But then again, when else am I going to- No! Just hush.

Dash abruptly reached up to pummel her pillow; when she came back to rest, her cheek was pressed right against Scootaloo's.

Scoots wanted to stay awake all night to enjoy this, but she was so damn comfortable. She'd started to doze off when Rainbow spoke up.