Author's Note
I was inspired to write this one shot after watching the Season 9 episode Daring Doubt, which I consider to be one of the best episodes of season 9. I also noticed that there are a very small number of fics with Dr. Caballeron in them, so might as well add another. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
The Morning After
The first thing Daring Do noticed was the sharp pain of a headache as she drifted towards consciousness. She let out a quiet groan as she slowly opened her eyes, only to forcefully close them again once the bright light of the morning sun hit them.
The let out another more audible groan as she turned her body to face away from the light and stopping just short of falling off the bed she was sleeping in. She buried her head in the pillow and let out a third groan as she kept feeling the constant pain that came with a morning headache. But, then Daring remembered, it wasn't just a normal morning headache, it was a hangover headache.
Daring didn't remember everything about the evening prior, but she could remember bits and pieces up to a certain point, then everything got all hazy. She remembered the convention that she attended under the alias of A.K Yearling and her co-author Dr. Cabelleron under the alias of Groom Q.Q Martingale. They had a panel where they signed copies and took pictures. She remembered everything going as planned and having a very enjoyable time at the convention. Afterwards they wandered about the convention, free of their disguises due to there being many cos-players wandering around like they were.
After spending much of the evening wandering around the convention center, they decided to leave and get something to eat and drink. Daring then remembered their trip to one of the pubs in downtown Fillydelphia where jokes were made, food was eaten, and of course, alcohol was consumed. Daring would never call herself an alcoholic, though she did tend to get carried away at times, one incident from one of her trips to South Equestria comes to mind. Daring could also remember leaving the pub, but the rest of the evening was eluding her in a haze of post-inebriation.
After recollecting her thoughts and remembering the evening prior, she slowly opened her eyes back up, and this time managed to make out where she was. She was in a high end Fillydelphia hotel room. The same hotel that hosted the convention she was at yesterday. She was facing the direction of the room's door and bathroom, with sunlight flooding into the room from the window on the opposite side from where she was facing. She let out another groan as she sat up with her legs over the edge of the bed, still facing the door.
She started to take a few deep breaths and clicked her tongue a little and cringed at the bitter aftertaste of the booze she drank the night before.
"What did I drink?" Daring thought, for even she didn't even remember. She raised a hoof up to her face and began to rub over her head and eyes to try to calm the headache by a little.
She looked around the rest of the room in front of her. The nightstand had the standard alarm clock on it, with the red numbers reading 9:30am. It must've been quite the night for her to sleep in this late. She scanned over, seeing a painting of a harbor on the wall, until her eyes landed on a small table near the door, where her pith helmet lay. She then focused her eyes down to the floor where she saw a few more articles of clothing.
She saw her green shirt, unbuttoned and laying in a clump on the floor, and next to it was a piece of clothing that made Daring's eyes grow wide. A white Khaki polo shirt.
"No..." Daring said quietly as she scanned the rest of the floor.
Sure enough, on the floor by the foot of the bed......was a red and white ascot.
Daring's stomach dropped and she slowly turned around. Despite the blinding light coming through the window with the curtains were drawn, she saw the pony laying in the bed next to her, facing the window.
And yep, it was Dr. Caballeron.
Daring felt a slight nausea begin to build in her stomach as she got up from the bed and stared in disbelief.
She and Caballeron....they had.....
Daring quickly turned and rushed to the bathroom and turned on the light and stared into the mirror over the sink, the feeling of nausea still there, but not subsiding or growing stronger.
She had circles under her eyes and her mane was a complete mess. Not that it wasn't normally a mess, but this morning it looked even crazier. Another thing she noticed was a few red marks around her chin and neck, red marks with bits of her coat sticking up and dried.
"Hickeys?" Daring said quietly in shock. If she didn't yet have a good idea of what happened, she was certain she knew what happened now.
Yeah, her and Dr. C were friends and co-authors now, but she still didn't forget that for a long time they were archenemies, and she felt like she couldn't just easily admit that they had just slept together.
Daring was pulled out of these thoughts by an attention grabbing cough coming from the bathroom door. She turned and there stood Dr. Caballeron, leaning against the door frame with quite a calm look on his face. He also had bags under his eyes and his mane was also a complete mess.
Daring quickly averted her eyes and gave her reflection a shocked look again before looking back at Caballeron.
"Good Morning?" Caballeron said a little cautiously, noticing that Daring had a look on her face that just screamed uncomfortable.
Daring stumbled backwards and sat down on the toilet, which had both the seat and lid still on. She put a hooves up to her temples and began to rhythmically rub them.
"uh, just, give me a minute to process this." Daring said. Caballeron let out a slight chuckle as he took a step into the bathroom and looked at his own reflection.
"What is there to process? Don't you remember last night?" Caballeron asked as he began to rub a hoof around the stubble on his muzzle and contemplating if he should shave it.
Daring let out a loud sigh before looking back up at Caballeron. "I don't remember anything about last night." Daring admitted. Caballeron looked down at Daring and smirked.
"That's too bad, it's a shame you can't recall a night that good." Caballeron said before turning back to the reflection.
Despite their reconciliation and new friendship, Daring still felt that same nagging feeling in the back of her mind, that Caballeron was lying, or that he did something else. Daring gritted her teeth.
"Did...." Daring started before quieting down, momentarily considering giving him the benefit of the doubt rather than outright accusing him of anything.
Caballeron turned fully towards Daring and saw her head hanging low, with a hardened expression on her face.
"What?" Caballeron asked. Daring took a deep breath before continuing.
"Did you take advantage of me?" Daring asked in a cold tone, a tone that Daring rarely ever used. It was the kind of tone that told the pony who hear it that if they respond with the wrong answer then there will be consequences.
Caballeron stepped closer to Daring and placed a hoof underneath her chin and raised her head to look into her eyes. Her shiny rose colored eyes.
"No, I didn't" Caballeron said while staring into her eyes. Daring stared right back into his dark green eyes. Daring wanted to reject the answer and accuse him of something, but she didn't say anything.
The expression on Caballeron's face was soft, gentle, and above all, genuine. The same could be said for the way he said it. His tone was genuine, Daring felt like she could trust him, even without the truth talisman from their last adventure.
Daring also took a moment to further inspect his face. Despite the bags under his eyes, his chiseled jaw line and even the stubble on his face made him look, dare she say, handsome. Pun intended.
In all the years that Daring had worked with Caballeron, she would admit, Caballeron was a handsome stallion with a very suave and sexy accent. And for her to think that, something between them definitely changed for the better.
Daring slowly brought her hoof up to the side of Caballeron's face and leaned forward, he did the same, and the two shared a surprisingly deep yet simple kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, but it lasted a lot longer for them. After they pulled away, Daring stood up from the toilet and stared dumbfounded at Caballeron.
"What happened last night!?" Daring said a bit louder than she should have because it caused both of them to flinch at the noise.
"Oh, sorry. Hangover?" Daring asked. Caballeron nodded.
"Yes, though, I assume not as bad as yours, since you can't remember last night?" Caballeron asked. Daring nodded slightly and glanced back at her reflection.
"I drank a lot, didn't I?" Daring asked. Caballeron nodded and grinned.
"We got hammered, I hailed us a taxi coach that got us back to the hotel, and the whole time you were really coming onto me." Caballeron recounted the story from last night. Daring's eyes widened.
"What? Really? No way!" Daring argued, but the look on Caballeron's face and the tone in his voice once again said otherwise. Caballeron smiled and draped a foreleg over Daring's back.
"If it makes you feel any better, you looked like you were really enjoying yourself." Caballeron said before lightly nuzzling her ear. Daring shut her eyes and tried to remember more, eventually remembering more from the night previous, including flirting with him, getting the cab, and making out with him as soon as they entered the room. Daring opened her eyes back up and a blush erupted onto her cheeks. Caballeron chuckled at the sight.
"You look even cuter when you blush." Caballeron teased. Daring shook her head and began rubbing her cheeks with a hoof.
The two then turned back to face the mirror and Caballeron picked up a tiny bag off the bathroom floor, containing Daring's Toiletries and placed it on the counter. Daring chuckled suddenly. Caballeron raised an eyebrow.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"This is such a cliche." Daring said.
"What do you mean?" Caballeron asked.
"Oh, you know, the two ponies who are enemies or rivals or whatever eventually getting together in the end, it's all over the place, especially in romantic novels." Daring explained, chuckling as she finished.
"Maybe we should work it into our next book." Caballeron suggested. Daring snorted and jabbed him playfully in the chest.
"If you do, I'll fire you." Daring said jokingly.
"You can't fire me, we're co-authors." Caballeron argued.
"Don't test me bub." Daring snarked as she filled one of the glasses on the counter with water and took a bottle of headache relief out of her bag. Caballeron was about to turn to leave Daring to do her business, but was stopped when she spoke again after swallowing the headache pills.
"Did you enjoy it?" Daring suddenly asked. Caballeron turned around and a small blush formed on his cheeks.
"What?" Caballeron said embarrassed. Daring smirked and wiggled her plot behind her a little.
"Did.You.Enjoy.It?" Daring repeated, putting emphases on each word. Caballeron turned a shade of scarlet, took a deep breath and responded.
"Yes, I did. I never realized until we recently teamed up just how beautiful you are." Caballeron confessed. Daring then blushed and smirked.
"Well, you're not so bad yourself handsome." Daring said as she walked up to Caballeron and planted a kiss on his cheek. Daring then stepped over to the shower and drew the curtain and turned back to Caballeron.
"Care for a morning shower?" Daring said with a hint of seduction in her voice. Caballeron, still bright red in the face, nodded and stepped forward.
"Yes, I'd love to." he said as Daring turned on the water. She turned and saw him staring her up and down.
"Might I say Miss Do, you have a great ass." Caballeron said trying to match Daring's previous seductive tone. Daring snorted and stepped into the shower.
"Come on you." Daring said, waving for her new special somepony to join her.
"Yes ma'am." Caballeron said before joining her and sliding the curtain closed.
