He hopped down from the sofa, book floating beside himself as he trotted to meet his mare. There she was, smiling at the sight of him. She looked so... wait.

Her look fell, her eyes darting just off of him, seeing what was floating there. "Give that back!" she practically squeaked, rushing up and grabbing the book in her teeth, her cheeks on fire. "Ooo, what were ya thinkin'?!" The book dropped into her waiting arms, hugging it close and safely. "Ya ain't supposed to go pryin' inta other ponies' business like that!"

He pointed past her, to the shelf that held so many other journals, minus hers at the moment.

She glanced where he was pointing, then back at him. "What? I... They're reminders... Readin' them helps me... remember them." Her ears fell, a sudden loud sniff issuing from deep inside her. "What a mess... They're gone, ain't no privacy ah could go ruinin'. Ah--" She pointed at herself firmly with a hoof. "--am still here, so ya gotta respect that."

He leaned in and she didn't stop him from pressing his nose gently to her forehead. She smiled a little. "Are ya sorry?"

He nodded softly. Sure, he wasn't really upset at what he had learned, but he was sorry it had hurt her. He wanted her to be happy. He pointed to the book, then to her beyond the book. He brought up both hooves, rearing back as he drew a heart in the air.

She burst into laughter as she stood up, carrying her book to the shelf and putting it back. "Well ah'm glad ya still love me even after prying through my unmentionables, but don't be doin' that no more!" When she turned back towards him, he was right there, his nose inches from her own. "Oh! Don't startle me like that." She flicked her tongue over his nose. "Now promise. No more readin' that!"

He gave a soft nod, even if he really did want to see what came next. Would that he had a journal of some kind to trade. Maybe she would be less horrified if they exchanged their secrets equally. There was nothing for it. He walked past her, but that was a pretense, allowing him to run his side along hers as he did it.

"Aww... who can stay mad at you?" She trotted forward though, not turning to him. "What did you--oh." She spotted the discarded apple on the top refuse in the bin. "That ain't hardly a meal. I'll make something for us both. Workin' puts a powerful hunger in ya." She vanished into the kitchen.

That would not do. He had stayed home and read and he hurt her, even if he smoothed it over. He trotted firmly to catch up with her and his magic wrapped around her, drawing her right out of the kitchen. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she floated right up and away from where she had been intending to go. "What the?"

He set her down just outside the kitchen, touched noses with her, then marched in. He got right to looking for what could be prepared, clearly ready to make dinner for them both.

"What? You... don't have to," she weakly protested, sounding more baffled than anything else. "Can ya even cook?" She put a hoof behind her head, rubbing at her mane as she watched him, growing more curious by the moment.

As it turned out, he knew how a stove worked. He found some rice and set it on the counter and grabbed some veggies from inside of the fridge. With his other mental 'hand', he brought over a knife and began preparing things, cutting and dicing with a placid little smile. Cooking as a kirin seemed to be easier than as a human. Standing a small distance away, there was no way he could cut himself, so he went faster and fearlessly.

"What are you... making?" She tilted her head left and right, but she wasn't stopping him. "My boyfriend can cook? Do you stop gettin' better?!"

He put the veggies aside as he got the water going. It wouldn't be time to cook them just yet, the rice needed more time to get to that point. Filling the pot and getting it going, he turned his eyes to the spice rack, calmly reading over them. They were not written in English, and neither had the journal, but kirin knew how to read it, so he did too. He wasn't sure how that worked, since a written language wasn't... a biological thing... but accepting it seemed to make the words legible, and he just let it happen.

He grabbed a few of those bottles and went back to cooking.

"You seem to... have this under control... Ah'm gonna take a shower, alright?" When he nodded, she turned away. "Thanks. Ah can't wait to see what ya make." Her hoofsteps retreated away.

When she returned, he was much further along in the process, preparing two plates with a bed of rice each, topped with bright and colorful vegetables, seasoning dashed across both of them. He floated the two plates up and over to the table, silverware landing beside the plates as he clapped his hooves together in a simple 'job well done' satisfaction.

"You... little miracle." She hopped up onto the closer of the seats and sat down. "Smells tasty. Ah don't usually have rice. Bought that when it was on sale, figured why not, then I just kinda sat on it." She lifted an ear. "But 'nough talkin'. Let's dig in!"

He nodded as he took up the other seat. He willed a fork up, ignoring the parts that would attach to a hoof in favor of floating it. They ate, soft noises of satisfaction rising from Summer as she enjoyed the meal her boyfriend had made for her.

"You're forgiven," she sighed, setting her fork aside. "Mmm, ah could stand to end every work day like that, come home to a nice shower and dinner's ready fer me."

He raised a hoof to his chest, looking to her calmly.

She tilted her head, puzzling the gesture a moment before it clicked. "Yer sayin' you'll do that?"

He nodded gently.

"You're too good! But ah won't just have you always doin' that. Besides, ah like my cookin' too. How about we take turns?"

He nodded with the same gentle bob. That would work. He hopped down from his place, his magic gathering up all the plates and silverware to place in the sink before he got right to washing them without a pause.

"He does dishes," she sighed out, watching his magic make short work of the mess of the dinner. "Why ain't we already married?"

He dropped a plate, but it was a short distance, bouncing off the metal of the bottom of the sink without shattering. He looked to her, his expression calm. In his heart, he could feel some quickening. A marriage proposal was enough to pierce his shell, just a little, but... weren't they already bonded?

She started to squirm in place. "Don't look at me like that. Well, guess that's how you always look at me, but I didn't mean nothin'! We don't have to if you don't--"

He grabbed her in his magic and drew her closer, sliding her right along the smooth floor of the kitchen until their noses met in a soft bump.

"Or... maybe that ain't the problem." Her cheeks warmed as she smiled a little. "Or... maybe we're already married, come ta think..."

He nodded, satisfied that she had realized. He pointed to himself, then to her, and traced the heart in the air.

"My husband, the kirin," she breathlessly admitted to the universe. "My sleek mate that wants me to be happy, who... cares about me, just me. Who... wants to know everything about me. Everything." He nodded calmly to her assessment. "Everything," she repeated, cheeks warming with thoughts of him prying through her journal. "Look, yer a good one. Ah'm... so happy right now. Ah should write a letter to Fetlock. Mare deserves to know she done right." She clopped her hooves suddenly, a smile on her face.

Fetlock had created him, he figured. He was a copy, a phantasm that only existed because of the skilled hooves of Fetlock, pressing him against the original like silly putty to come away with the imitation that would become Winter Flame. Fetlock was... his mother? She was, kind of... He was still and looked off into the distance, considering his existence. He found himself wishing Fetlock wasn't half a country away. He would have liked to thank his mother, maybe give her a hug and a mother's day card. She had given him a nice little life, so far.

"You sure look thoughtful." She tilted her head at him. "Need some... time?" She looked so very unsure how to handle things.

He dispelled the awkwardness with a touch of noses, one of his growingly favorite ways to show a casual affection. There was something he still wanted to do. He sniffed over her gently, his tail swaying even as it lifted its great tuft into the air.

She sniffed back at him gently, her teeth felt against his tough flesh, nipping gently, almost grooming as she smiled. There were no words, and none were needed as the two inspected each other warmly, nuzzling and nipping.

But he arrived at her back end and gently nuzzled the base of her tail and his affections suddenly had a new meaning.

"Oh!" she squeaked, understanding what he was pressing for. Her tail twitched, lifting just a little. "Oh..." She looked back over her shoulder at the femme-boi that was her partner, but it had not been consummated. They were not properly wed until they went all the way. Was it time?

"It's only the second evening," she lamely defended, trying to push that back.

But he didn't seem that upset, gently drawing back. He would not force her. Forcing anything from his mare was just something he wouldn't do. Instead he circled around her, putting their heads together to rub his cheek against hers, showing his affection was very alive, even if he wasn't breeding her.

Breeding her. Her cheeks darkened all the harder, imagining it, and wondering at the consequences. Would she become heavy? Would he quicken the seed inside of her, turn her into a mother. Would it be a kirin, or a pony, or something that wasn't either?

She wouldn't hurt for a foalsitter, that much seemed clear. He would faithfully wait at home, playing the home maker, and raiser of any foals they made together. He would never complain, she felt certain. All she had to do was spread her legs a little and raise her tail up, and it would happen. It would happen over and over again, likely, and the consequences of that would follow.

All she had to do...

But she wasn't doing it. She felt confusion and anger welling up in her. She had exactly what she asked for, more than that, in a lot of ways. Her kirin was trying so hard to be better than perfect, but it was her that was delaying and not playing her part. What was wrong with her?! What more did she want?

Suddenly the ear closer to him was nipped. She started out of her musing to see him gently nipping and tugging at her. He noticed her start and released the ear, instead looking to her so calm and kind. Without words it seemed clear to her. He was there, and he would be patient, and he loved her.

She threw her arms around him suddenly, hugging him close as she buried her snout into his neck, nuzzling him so hard she couldn't see anything, her face buried in his warm fur. "Just wait a little bit fer me, alright? Ah ain't sayin' no."

But she hadn't said yes.

Author's Note

Is Winter Flame working through this reasonably, or is he coping desperately with a bad situation? Who is the pony that is out of balance here? And, most importantly, what would a Mother's Day card to Fetlock look like?

If you're worried, there will be more steam later, but people have emotions to work out too.

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