Author's Note

Welcome to a new chapter!
Sorry we're late, but this is a double special.
No warnings for this chapter besides mentioning of heat and sex plus a couple of innuendos.
Have fun!

But beware of the next chapter...

I care about you

Chapter Seven: I care about you

I had no idea what happened. From one moment to another I pressed my lips against Octavia’s, drawing her in for a long kiss. What surprised me the most, was that she kissed back after a short moment of hesitation.

I couldn’t believe what was happening. Octavia, the object of my desires, was actually kissing me! If this was a dream, I didn’t want to wake up. If this was a hallucination, I didn’t want to be sane. However, I quickly realised that it wasn’t a dream when I felt a tiny, tender bite on my lower lip. I moaned into Octavia, mostly out of surprise, less of pain or lust. And boy, was there lust.

My hooves moved on their own, tracing the shape of her lovely body. Closer and closer I got to the point of no return. But then she stopped me. The little pony in my head howled.

“Vinyl. We can’t do this. It is too fast,” Octavia whispered and I hung my head. “I’m not saying that we never do this, but let us give it some time to develop. Deal?”

The little pony in my head shook her head, but I could only stare in Octavia’s beautiful, lavender eyes and be lost in them. All I could do was sigh and nod. “Deal. I would lie if I said that I’m not disappointed, but I can wait.”

Octavia traced my cheek with her hoof. “You’ve waited for me for a while already, dear. I’m sure you can wait a few more days.” Or weeks, the little pony in my head frowned at the remark. I told her to shut up, still lost in Octavia’s eyes, and that…

“You called me…” I gulped. “You called me ‘dear’?” My heart was jumping in my chest and butterflies assaulted my stomach as if I were a schoolfilly.

“Yes, I did,” Octavia chuckled softly, giving me a soft peck on the lips. “No sex doesn’t mean that we can’t spend the time very closely to each other. I-I have to say, that I care about you, Vinyl. I wanted to deny it, but I can’t.”

“Of course you can’t deny it,” I grinned smugly, my confidence returning once I escaped the captivating spell of the lavender eyes. “I am fire, Tavi. The liquid, pure kind of fire.”

She stopped me with a hoof. “Vinyl, my dear,” she started and I gulped as her eyes turned cold. “Don’t overdo it. For both our sakes. That I care about you doesn’t mean that I tolerate you being a completely degenerated ruffian.”

“Heh, sorry Tavi,” I chuckled, while I shooed away the little pony in my head that had already lifted a stick to beat me with it. “Sometimes I drop the bass so much, I drop my wits as well.”

Octavia laughed that pure, magical laugh of hers. “That doesn’t make any sense, and you know it.”

I laughed in return. It was a soft, liberating feeling. Like being able to breathe underwater. As if we were below sea level, deep under the surface of the ocean, swimming together, diving into the unknown, together. Which led me to an idea.

I offered my hoof to her. “Care to go for a swim with me?”

Octavia blinked in return. “It’s getting dark.”

“You don’t have to fear anything with me,” I reasoned. In a mushy way, I admit. In an entirely mushy way. But I felt those were the right words to say.

“I’m not afraid. I am just thinking about what we could do now, besides-” she stopped, blushing a bit.

“Besides crawling over each other in bed?” I tried and she nodded. “C’mon, Tavi. A deal is a deal. And I just made you an offer for swimming.”

She looked at my hoof I was still holding to her. Locking eyes with me, she smiled and took it, letting me lead her further down the beach. As soon as we reached the small waves, she stopped, shivering a bit. I wonder if she would mind… Smiling, I pressed my coat against her, sharing my warmth.

Her eyes searched mine, grateful, caring, and more. Then, she leaned in for a soft kiss before we continued our way, all the time staying coat on coat.

It was bliss. Pure, unadulterated bliss. I was filled to the brim with happiness. I wanted to share it with the world. And so I did. I raised my head up to the sky and yelled from the top of my lungs, “Tavi and I are dating!”

Octavia blinked, looking at me as if I were a madpony. I sure was grinning like one. “Vinyl?”

“Sorry.” I chuckled. “Just wanted the world to know we’re, you know.” I laughed merrily. “An item.”

Octavia scrunched her nose cutely. “Did you ask me out?”

“Wha-”

The cellist - my cellist! - smiled a knowing smile. “Well, seeing as you haven’t officially asked me out, we’re not really dating, are we?”

“Oh, come on!” I nearly scowled. “Tavi, who needs those stupid games?”

“Who needs courtship, you mean?” Octavia countered in that posh manner of hers. “Who needs proper wooing?”

I groaned and shook my head, getting cold in the water. If we were going to go for a swim, I had to go through this silly step. “Octavia… Will you be my marefriend?” I tried to put all the adoration I had for this mare into my voice - and still that wasn’t enough, it seemed to me.

She smiled shyly, visibly getting cold as well. “See? That wasn’t so hard. Now,” she winked, “how about we get warm?”

My ears perked up. “Oh ye-” Instantly, my smile faded. “Swimming. You mean swimming.”

“Who said something about only swimming?” she asked coyly, wrapping her forelegs around me, snuggling as close as she could as we were slowly surrounded by the cold water.

She’s so warm.

I wasn’t able to think anymore. Tavi’s body pressed against mine, her beautiful smile so close until our lips met once again, but this time way more passionate. She surrounded me more than the water, her scent and her body everywhere. It was like a dream as her tongue slowly, shyly even asked for permission to enter, soon enough in a heated battle with my own appendage.

Everything felt hot all of the sudden. Nothing was cold anymore, nothing around us. All that counted was us and our bodies in each other's embrace. When we finally broke, we couldn’t leave the eyes of each other. It was a simply magical moment.

And there was only one way to continue it. I held Octavia by the hoof and led her out of the water, guiding her to the shore, like a captain guiding a young sailor at the steering wheel. On the beach, we sat on the sand, without caring about getting dirty. In our minds - and, at that moment, I felt like I could read Octavia’s mind - we were already making dirty, bawdy love on the aforementioned sand.

In reality, I embraced her, wrapping a hoof around her shoulders, and raised my head to see the early stars. The very notion that she was watching the same stars filled me with unspoken serenity.

“Vinyl?”

“Yes?”

“Be a dear and remind me to have sex at exactly this place once we reach that point.”

The little pony in my head fainted. Again.

***

My head hurt.

No, I have to correct that.

Everything hurt.

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking against the light of the sun shining into the room. I was in my hotel room, laying on my bed. In Vinyl’s hooves. It would have been romantic, and very sweet… if snot wasn’t dripping from her nose.

And mine.

Oh Celestia.

I sneezed, jolting upright, waking my marefriend up. The marefriend in question (marefriend! Marefriend! the little pony in my head danced around) moaned and sneezed as well.

Which made me sneeze in return.

It felt like we were communicating in a weird fashion for a while, until, finally, the sneezes stopped. Vinyl grabbed the corner of the duvet and cleaned her nose. I frowned at such uncouth behaviour, but, upon remembering that I hadn’t taken any kerchiefs with me, proceeded to do just the same.

“You know, dear,” I said carefully, heeding the pain in my head - and thinking about Vinyl’s head as well, “I am not saying this is all your fault…” I coughed, feeling just how sore my throat was. “But this is all your fault.”

“Totally worth it,” Vinyl wheezed back. “Besides, you where the one getting all clingy in the water, not me.”

She was right, in some sort of manner. Groaning, I held my head. “I knew you were cursed. I only accepted your courtship a few hours ago and I’m already sick.”

“Hardy har,” Vinyl retorted. “At least we can cuddle all day now,” she finished and tried to grab me with her hooves.

“Ew, no. We will both take a warm, warm bath in that big tub,” I shoved her back. “I have a few herbs and salts that should make us feel much better.”

Vinyl raised her hoof.

I sighed. “Yes, Vinyl?”

“Can we have sex while in the bath?”

“No, we can not.” The little pony in my head groaned and facehoofed. “But you can come very, very close if you behave,” I added huskily, swishing my tail gently as I got up.

I already knew that she would follow me, but waving my scent around as a trail for her was a plus. That her nose wasn’t right up my sex was the only thing that didn’t happen. I could practically see her drooling behind me.

Ignoring her for now, I searched through my small cosmetic bag pulling out a few flasks before letting water into the big tub. It wasn’t long before I climbed into the tub, sighing and closing my eyes as I sank into the water.

When I opened them, Vinyl was still beside the tub, drooling. “Are you coming in or not?” I regretted it immediately as she practically jumped in. “I said coming in, not jumping in.”

She ignored me. “Tavi?” She asked. I hummed, waiting for her to continue. But her next question simply threw me off course.

“Are you in heat?”

“Excuse me, what?!” I sputtered.

“Your scent is strong. Either you’re in heat or shortly before it,” Vinyl continued.

I paused, going over the facts. I felt warm, extremely warm even. My pulse was also quicker than usual. Flaring my nostrils, I took the scent in the bathroom in, trying to filter out Vinyl and all the herbs. Buck.

Everything I had counted on me being sick came crashing down. I wasn’t in heat yet. But I would be soon.

“Vinyl. After this bath, you should go back to your room. Don’t come see me before I ask you to,” I said in a tone that allowed no response.

“No.”

“Pardon me? Don’t you understand?”

“I do. That doesn’t mean I’m breaking the deal now.” Vinyl leant in close to me. “I am not going to take advantage of the situation. See it…” She pondered. “See it as a test of trust.”

“Vinyl, you know a heat works both ways?” I raised my voice. “I don’t want to jump you on the first moment of weakness that could, but also may not happen! I want it to be special when we do it!”

“So do I!” Vinyl shouted back, tears in her eyes. “But I don’t want to lose you as soon as I’ve got you.”

That made me sound like a possession, but I let it slide. “Vinyl,” I explained very softly, “you are not losing me. All I need you to do is just… wait. Can you view it as, I don’t know…” I thought about it for a moment. The little pony in my head didn’t want to cooperate. “As if we have to stay apart for a while because we’re both contagious and we would only make our illness worse?”

Vinyl grumbled something incomprehensible under her breath.

“What was that?”

“I said,” she reiterated, a little louder, “can I at least wash your back.”

I smiled gratefully, knowing how much effort it took from her. And from me. “With pleasure.”

***

As the door to her room closed behind me, I felt horrible. I was leaving her for days to come. Not that I wanted it, no, but I had to respect Tavi’s wish. She wanted to be alone while her heat ran it’s course.

A small piece of me understood her. She wasn’t even in her heat yet, and I still had problems to behave around her. I nearly licked her on the way to the bathroom, to only taste a small drop. I nearly had done so.

Groaning, I smashed my head against the wall. Days without Tavi, now that I finally had her. Up to four days from what she had told me. Her heat cycle seems synchron with mine. I wonder why mine is so late. It should’ve started one day ago.

The little pony in my head raised the stick once again, pointing down the hallway to my room. I had no choice but to walk. I wanted to keep Tavi, so I had to do what she wanted.

Even if it broke my heart a bit.