Sour Sweet stood outside of The Pizza Hoard, arms crossed. Her foot tapped against the sidewalk as she looked up at the sign, glaring at the mascot: a cartoon looking green dragon with a mouth open smile, about to take a bite out of a slice of pizza.
What does a dragon even have to do with pizza? she wondered as she did whenever she had enough time to think about the sign. It had been one of those things that had bothered her since she was old enough to realize it, made all the more frustrating by the fact that no one knew and few even cared. Dragons ate meat, not pizza. They would hoard gold and jewels in their caves, not give away cheap plastic toys for a bunch of tickets.
Stomping her foot, Sour Sweet turned away from the sign. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her phone to check the time.
Ten minutes after four.
Sour bared her teeth, a growl escaping her throat as she shoved her phone back into her pocket.
She's late!
Turning around, she looked at the doors, lips pressed tight together.
Hope everything's okay.
She then mentally slapped herself, scowling.
Of course everything's okay! It's a stupid "family" restaurant with lousy pizza, money-grubbing games, cheap prizes and half-broken animatronics. The worst that could happen is that some brat ate too much too fast and puked in the ball pit or something.
The scowl faded.
Still, maybe I should check on her.
Walking toward the door, she reached out for the handle.
Then stopped.
The place was going to be full of children. Hundreds of them. All running around, screaming, jumping, doing who knows what all else. Then there were the games. Dozens of different ones, all over the place. A lot of them including bright lights and loud sound effects. That did not even include whatever kind of kid friendly pop music might be playing.
Just thinking about it all made her eyes ache, her ears ring, and her head throb.
She pulled her hand away and took a step back. She would give it five more minutes. If Sonata was not out by then, Sour Sweet would go in and find out what was taking so long.
It was significantly less than that when the doors open and Sonata Dusk stepped out of the pizzeria. She had already taken off her work shirt and hat, stuffing them into the bag she carried with her. A wide smile spread across her blue skinned face as she caught sight of Sour Sweet.
Sour Sweet smiled back.
"There you are," she called out.
The smile turned into a scowl as excitement quickly gave way to annoyance.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?" she growled out.
"Nope," Sonata answered as she approached. "Unless you showed up right on time." She then placed a hand on Sour's face and leaned in, placing a kiss on one of her pale sand colored cheeks.
Sour's already fading anger vanished at the feel of Sonata's lips on her skin, causing her to give a small smile.
"We had a big birthday party that lasted longer than scheduled," Sonata explained. "Plus, one of the kids got super sick, and barfed all over the Pete Za Dragon costume." Her nose wrinkled at the memory. "It was really gross." She gave shake of her head and smiled again. "But it did mean that we had to clean everything up before any of us could clock out."
"Sounds gross," Sour stated. Just the thought of it made her own stomach feel sour.
"Totally gross," Sonata agreed. "But it's done, and so am I." She grabbed a hold Sour's hand. "Now come on. We still have time to get to the theater before the movie starts."
"What movie?" Sour Sweet asked.
"It's a surprise," Sonata Dusk replied, pulling Sour Sweet along with her.
A groan of annoyance escaped from Sour, and she rolled her eyes, but followed, keeping a hold of Sonata's hand.
Not that they had to go very far. The Canterlot Multiplex shared the parking lot with The Pizza Hoard. It was practically the equivalent of across the street. If they wanted, they could sprint and be at the ticket booth in less than a minute.
"Okay," Sonata said as they came to a stop in front of a the ticket booth. She reached up with one hand. "You" -- she booped Sour Sweet on the nose -- "go ahead to the concession stand and get us some snacks. I'll get the tickets and meet up with you as soon as I'm done." She gave Sour another boop, actually saying the sound, before standing in line.
Sour Sweet watched the other girl a moment before heading for the doors and going inside. A small, sincere smile pulled at her mouth as she did. While there were, admittedly, times when Sonata could be irritating, more often than not, Sour found herself enjoying being around the other girl. She was sweet, optimistic, and did not seem bothered when Sour Sweet went through her mood swings. Whether it was overly sweet sarcasm, or sour annoyance, Sonata was never bothered. She always seemed to catch what Sour was trying to say, though.
It was always nice when she found someone that understood her.
Two large sodas, one large popcorn, and a bag of fruit snacks later, and Sonata returned holding up the tickets.
"Ready?" Sonata asked, holding them up so Sour Sweet could see the title.
"The Horror at Hearth's Warming?" Sour read aloud. "That stupid looking Hearth's Warming slasher movie?"
"Yeah!" Sonata cried out, grinning. "It's currently at 'unpeeled' on Mashed Potatoes." She then leaned closer, eyes narrowing. "Aaaaand..." she held the tickets up again. "We are the only two going to see it." Her grin widened. "Which means we can make fun of every stupid thing about it, as loud as we want, and no one will complain."
Sour smiled at the idea. The two of them, alone, making fun of the movie. They could poke fun at the cliches, yell at the stupidity of the characters, and mock some of the special effects. Plus, if any of the hundred of stupid jump scares actually managed to startle them, they could grab each other and scream as much as they liked.
Which was exactly what they did. They yelled at the screen when someone suggested they split up, shouted at one of the characters to turn around when the killer was right behind them, and talked about how bad an idea it was to run upstairs instead of out the door. At one point, Sour even cheered as one of the characters was decapitated, and at another, Sonata groaned in annoyance at how horrible the romantic sub-plot was.
The pair left the theater, still making fun of the movie and laughing as they went. As they walked, Sonata moved closer, taking a hold of Sour's hand.
"This was fun," Sonata stated. Leaning closer, her smile widened. "Do you want to come back with me to my place?"
The question made Sour Sweet pause, stopping where she stood for a second. One part of her was thrilled at the idea. She wanted to cheer up and down, shouting yes! Another part of her was terrified by it. This was her first real romantic relationship (as opposed to her first "relationship," which was when she was seven: went up to a boy and threatened him into being her boyfriend during recess), and that was a big step. Was it something she was ready for?
"No," Sour said, almost a whisper. She gave a shake of her head. "Sorry, but... I don't think I'm ready for that." She then braced herself, waiting to see how Sonata would react. What would it be? Anger? Guilt-tripping? Yelling? Crying?
"Okay," Sonata said with a shrug. She pulled out her phone, checking the time. "Well, we still have 'bout half an hour before the bus gets here." She put the phone away and looked up at Sour. "What do you want to do until then?"
Sour felt oddly disappointed. That was it? Just acceptance? She says no, and Sonata's okay with it? No yelling? No guilt-tripping? No trying to seduce her or try to change her mind? Just an "okay," and a change of subject.
Sour then mentally slapped that part of her. This was a good thing. Sonata was listening to what she said and respecting her opinion. That was a healthy thing to do. That is what is supposed to happen. Real relationships were not supposed to be like in Sunny Flare's romances, where one character completely ignores everything the other wants, says, or feels, until that other person somehow falls in love with the first. That was more like Stockholm Syndrome.
But... maybe it was because Sour was not so sure about what she said? Maybe that part of her that wanted to go home with Sonata was more dominant than she realized?
Or maybe she just expected it to be like that because of those stories? Maybe the problem was she was having a hard time with this new perception.
Sour Sweet mentally kicked herself as she let Sonata's hand go and took a step back.
"Actually, I think I'm going to take a walk alone," she said. "I'll see you later."
"Is everything okay?" Sonata asked, brow furrowing with worry.
"Yeah," Sour answered with a smile. Her own brow furrowed as she frowned. "No." With a sigh, she rubbed her head. "I don't know. I just need some time alone to think."
"Okay." Sonata stepped forward and reached up to grab Sour's shoulder, but stopped short. "Well, if you need to talk, you have my number."
"Yeah," Sour replied with a nod. She was both relieved and disappointed at not being touched. "I'll text you when I get home."
With that, she turned away and started walking. She could feel Sonata's eyes on her as she went. It was very tempting to turn around and look back. To look at those worried eyes and kind smile.
Sour Sweet kept going.
She needed to think.
Alone.
Author's Note
This was written unplanned and spur of the moment to try and get through a minor writing issue I'm dealing with. The idea was inspired by the forum post "May Promoted Ship - Sonata x Any Shadowbolt," in the Uncommon Dazzling Ships group forum. Sour Sweet was chosen as she seemed like a nice contrast to Sonata.
Mashed Potatoes is a Rotten Tomatoes type site I made up for some reason. There rating system goes: still in the dirt (0%), unpeeled, raw, boiled, lumpy, creamy, and with gravy (100%).
