In a Rut

If I’m being honest I probably shouldn’t have made the date for tonight.

My head was still foggy and dull from breaking things off with Rainbow Dash, and the whole day after that passed in such a grey haze that by the time the evening rolled around I’d barely realised what had happened.

I hadn’t seen Rainbow on campus, and I suspected she’d skipped her classes that day. I didn’t strictly blame her, considering what I’d done, but it still hurt to know it was my fault.

I’d hurt her, and badly, but in the end I had to believe it was for the best. She was an alpha, and we weren’t meant to be dominated like that. What I had been doing to her wasn’t just wrong it was unnatural, and the fact that her mind had been bent to the point of actually wanting me to continue only reinforced my decision to stay away from her.

Alphas didn’t fall in love with other alphas, after all.

My brain was scrambled all day, and I could barely pay attention again. All the same I managed to fumble through my classes and make it home at a reasonable enough time to get ready for my date with Fluttershy.

This was the right thing to do.

It had to be.

Either way, though, I still had a date to get ready for and that meant I needed to at least be presentable.

Despite living in kind of a shit-hole part of town, I made sure to invest in some decent clothes. In my personal opinion, no self-respecting alpha should be without at least a pair of decent suits.

The one I chose for tonight consisted of a pair of black dress slacks, a scarlet button-up with gold thread trim with a matching tie, and a black blazer with faux-gold buttons.

I showered and dressed as quickly and efficiently as possible, briefly argued with myself over using lipstick, opted for a colorless sheen to give them some pop, and moved on.

My hair ended up tied back in a low ponytail that hung just loose enough to give me what I thought was an appropriately dashing, ragged air, and I finished my ensemble with a touch of pheromonal cologne to give my scent a slightly more appealing aroma.

Given that I’d be spending the night in the company of a gorgeous omega, I’d rather not be throwing off my usual musk.

Tugging the blazer straight, I gave myself a once over in the mirror and smiled.

I was no one’s knight in shining armor, that was for certain, but I flattered myself to think that I pulled off the ‘rake at the gates of hell’ look pretty decently, and that was charming for certain definitions of the word.

“Okay Sunset, time to suck it up and bring your ‘A’ game,” I gave myself my best glare, trying to bully myself into ignoring a certain rainbow-headed specter that was haunting my thoughts.

Turning away, I fitted my riding leathers over my outfit as carefully as possible, slung my heavy, black leather jacket on, and left my flat with a sinking feeling in my stomach that I had been trying to ignore all day with a noticeable lack of success.

I was still worried about Rainbow Dash.

That wasn’t something I could afford to let cloud my thoughts, though. I was courting Fluttershy, and I wasn’t just doing it to push away Rainbow… objectively speaking, Flutters was a perfect match for me, and I genuinely liked her.

I owed it to her to have my head on straight during our date, and hauling ass on my motorcycle always helped to clear my thoughts up.

The ride to Gustav’s was uneventful and blessedly dry. The freeways weren’t even particularly choked since commuter traffic was mostly leaving downtown at this time of day, rather than going in, so I was able to open up the throttle more than usual.

The roar of the engine and the wind ripping over my helmet was a welcome distraction, and by the time I rolled into the parking lot of the restaurant I was feeling reasonably more upbeat.

I was about fifteen minutes early, per habit, so I parked, pulled my helmet off, touched up my hair a bit, and settled in to wait.

And wait.

A~nd wait.

By the time seven-forty-five rolled around I had begun to suspect I'd been stood up. Anger welled in my gut, and not just over the fact that I, Sunset Shimmer, might've been left hanging on a date. The anger came more from how it highlighted an inescapable comparison that I’d rather not think about.

About how Rainbow would never have done this to me.

Hell, she would've been earlier than me. My bitch would have been waiting right here when I rolled up, thrilled that her alpha was doting on her. She would have been pretty and dolled up just for me.

Damn it.

I was torn. A part of me wanted to leave, while another part wanted to give it just a bit longer, if only to hear the explanation.

Just as I was about to make a decision on that, a long black Cadillac pulled up to the side of the restaurant.

I raised an eyebrow as a broad, thick-necked man who could be more accurately described as a goon and could’ve reasonably owned a nickname like ‘Tombstone’ stepped out of the driver's seat, moved around to the rear of the car, and opened the side door.

Well, actually he only managed to get it open about halfway before a pair of dainty feet in cute flats violently kicked the door the rest of the way clear. Their owner followed suit a second later as Fluttershy emerged from the car looking frazzled and irritated.

Her expression fell to something like mortified embarrassment when she looked around and spied me watching the spectacle bemusedly from the entrance.

The panic on her face seemed to spread through her body like wildfire as she rapidly smoothed out the creases in her long, flower-patterned skirt before looking around herself in alarm, diving back into the car, and then emerging again with a small clutch.

I think I did a fair job of not laughing as she pulled a little comb out to get her hair straight again, smoothed her skirt one more time, presumably for good luck, shot her driver a dirty look, then made her way over to me.

“Well that was fascinating,” I remarked dryly as she reached me, and her cheeks, already an abashed pink, reddened further.

“I am so sorry I’m so late,” she said softly, stepping in close to punctuate her words with a better-than-friendly nuzzle, which I allowed but only because she really seemed apologetic. “I uhm… I only told my mom what was happening a couple of hours ago and she insisted on a background check.”

“Of me?” That caught me off-guard, my eyes widening as a small nugget of shock displaced the anger in my chest. “Why?”

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and sighed, a more blunt gesture than I was used to seeing from the normally painfully polite omega. Her reserves of patience, which I’d always taken as nigh-on infinite, had clearly been taxed to their limits tonight.

“I… I think she wanted to make sure you were a good match,” she replied uneasily. “I also think she might’ve pulled your academic records… I’m so sorry, Sunset…”

“Talk about overprotective,” I said with a slightly nervous laugh before offering Fluttershy my arm. “So?”

“You uhm… you still want to have dinner with me?” Fluttershy asked, her hand going to a lock of her long pink hair to fidget with it as she shuffled her feet awkwardly. “I’ll… I’ll understand if this uhm-”

“Flutters,” I spoke with a solid, even tone that cut through her meandering nerves as I made a show of offering my arm one more time. “Let’s have our dinner, okay?”

Her angelic smile came back in full force as she nodded happily, moved to my side, and took my arm.

“You look beautiful, by the way,” I remarked quietly as I led her into Gustav’s, and she missed a step.

“O-Oh, uhm, s-so do you!” Fluttershy beamed up at me, then seemed to actually take my outfit in for the first time that night along with my wry grin, goldfished for a few moments, then sighed and hung her head.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Fluttershy wilted in on herself a little. “I r-really wanted to make a good impression, but…”

I paused as we entered the restaurant, the warm air and low chatter of patrons replacing the noise of the city, and turned to face her with a frown.

“Okay… how about this,” I started, then stepped back and gave her another smile. “Let’s pretend we both meant to meet at eight, which means we’re both early, and we just start the date over, alright?”

Rather than being happy, Fluttershy seemed to regard me with something like suspicion, which put me off a little. Her expression shifted back to that angelic smile of hers though, and the almost cynical look vanishing like smoke.

“If that’s okay with you,” Fluttershy said softly, pressing against me again. “What about the reservation, though? Gustav’s would need one, right?”

“Oh that?” I laughed and waved a hand. “Don’t sweat it, I’ve got that covered.”

I walked up to the girl at the front, a pretty blonde with bright hazel eyes.

“Good evening and welcome to Gustav’s,” she chirped. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Yes and no,” I replied with a laugh. “Is Bonnie in the back?”

The girl blinked, then gave me a sidelong glance.

“Why do you ask?” Her tone was one of guarded curiosity.

“Because she owes me big,” I replied, smirking. “Ask her about it sometime, it’s a fun story.”

The girl’s expression turned to a Cheshire grin as she pulled up a small black walkie and spoke into it.

“Hey Bons? We have a guest up here who needs to speak with you.”

The walkie crackled with reply, and through the whole exchange Fluttershy was just watching me. There’s more analysis in her gaze than I would have expected, and I got the feeling that I was being weighed or evaluated which caught me off guard.

It’s not that I thought Fluttershy was an airhead or anything, on the contrary it takes some real smarts to do what she does. That said, I hadn’t expected the kind of grim regard she was wearing.

“Was our reservation for seven?” Fluttershy asked quietly while we waited, shame still coloring her voice, though that odd regard never wavered..

“Mhm,” I nodded, and she hung her head. “But that’s why I chose Gustav’s,” I continued. “I’ve got an… acquaintance who works here, and I wanted to make sure we had a smooth night, I just didn’t expect to call this in so early.”

“I’m sorry.”

I considered telling her to forget about it, but my thoughts were interrupted as a pale young woman in the sharp, pressed outfit of a lead server emerged from the back and headed towards us.

Her hair was the same two-tone I remembered, with one side a deep navy blue and the other a cotton candy pink.

“Bonnie!” I grinned and detached myself from Fluttershy, throwing my arms wide.

The young woman’s face morphed from schooled professionalism to a deep grimace as she saw me, and her formerly studious gait turned into a stumble.

“Ah shit,” Bon Bon recoiled for a moment, then sighed and kept moving. “What do you want, Shimmer?”

“What, no hug?” I wiggled my arms at her but her teal eyes just sharpened with annoyance.

“I’m working,” Bon Bon said stiffly. “Now talk.”

“Killjoy,” I chuckled, lowering my arms. “Fine, so I had a reservation for seven but there was a little delay,” I began my grin still firmly in place.

“Not my problem,” Bonnie remarked cooly.

“Obviously,” I agreed. “Which is why I’m calling in that marker you owe me and making it your problem.”

A variety of interesting expressions flickered over Bon Bon’s face, all of them sharing a fascinating array of colors in the spectrum of red.

“I can’t just make a table appear!” She said finally, her voice tight and angry. “We’re at capacity! We’re always at capacity at this time of night!”

“No you’re not,” I replied with a grin. “There’s always one table still open.”

This time both Bon Bon and the girl at the register blanched.

“That’s the mayor’s table,” Bon Bon hissed. “I can’t just give it to you!”

My expression flattened to a cruel edge.

“You owe me, Bonnie,” I said evenly. “Unless you want me to collect from Lyra,” Bonnie went rigid, but I wasn’t done. “Alternatively, maybe I’ll ask Chancellor Celestia to take a closer look at your omega’s thesis, alternatively alternatively, you could fucking knuckle down.”

Bon Bon’s eyes widened to a furious glare, but only for a moment, and then the expression vanished.

“Fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “But after this we’re square.”

Then she closed the distance between us and the front entrance was suddenly choked in the pheromonal stink of an enraged alpha.

“And if you ever threaten Lyra again, I will fucking end you,” Bon Bon swore softly. “You know I can.”

“I know, and I’d make you regret it,” I replied, not budging an inch as she took a step back. “But so long as all debts get paid I’m happy to stay out of the way.”

“Fuck you, Shimmer,” Bon Bon snapped.

Then, like a drawn curtain, her expression shifted to polite hospitality and she was suddenly all smiles.

“Thank you for choosing Gustav’s, follow me right this way!” Bon Bon’s voice was bright but brittle as she turned on her heels and marched towards the rear of the restaurant.

I held out my arm to Fluttershy again, who took it, and whose expression had shifted from cool analysis to surprised interest.

We followed Bon Bon back into the further end of the restaurant, where things only seemed to get nicer.

Gustav’s was a beautiful, old-fashioned kind of place done up in shades of warm gold, bronze, and brown with honest-to-Celestia Crystal chandeliers. There was nothing harsh to the eyes, nothing that didn’t suggest you should be doing anything but relaxing with a tumbler of whiskey and good company while you were here.

The air was filled with a soft, jazzy horn, the kind of thing you could listen to all day without it becoming tiresome, and faded just enough into the background to provide the perfect foundation for an even better evening.

Fluttershy clung to my arm, her head moving gently this way and that. I had the impression she’d been here before, but if I was being honest I couldn’t say I was surprised. You didn’t take an omega like Fluttershy to just any old diner for a night out but, even if she had been here before, I was resolved to make sure that this visit was the one she compared all of those other ones to, and not the other way around.

“I’ll be along in a few minutes to take your order,” Bon Bon said through gritted teeth as she stopped at a private table set apart than the rest of Gustav’s.

The chairs were cushioned and well appointed, the table was spacious, and the menus were already in place along with a full cutlery set. The other tables in the main dining area were all of a similar like and kind, high end but identical. This table had far more adornments, and looked like it belonged in the parlour of a rich alpha’s study.

“Thanks toots,” I shot a grin back at her, and I could practically hear the vein in her forehead popping out.

She wisely said nothing as she left while I pulled Fluttershy’s seat out, and gestured with theatrical gallantry.

Fluttershy giggled, the first real expression of mirth she’d made all day, and swept her dress out of the way before sitting. I joined her on the opposite side and began looking over the menu as another server left a glass of ice water each.

“Uhm, Sunset?” Fluttershy asked warily, and I peeked over the menu at her.

“I guess you wanna know what that was about, huh?” I ventured, laying the menu down flat.

“K-Kinda,” she admitted. “It was a little… scary.”

“I was?” I asked. “Or did you mean Bonnie?”

“B-Both.”

I sighed, carding my fingers through my hair and pulling my loose tail out of its band so I could retie it.

“I pulled Bonnie and Lyra out of a fire a while back,” I explained slowly. “It was about a year and a half back or so, Lyra was about to graduate with her masters in psych.”

Fluttershy nodded along, leaning in as I took a sip of water and considered my next words carefully. It wasn’t that I didn't trust Fluttershy, but for all of our contentious relationship I didn’t want to put Bon Bon in a bind.

“They got into a fight, basically,” I finally said. “Bonnie has been hiding something, Lyra lost her shit, things escalated, and somewhere in there Lyra’s thesis research got… destroyed.”

“Oh no…” Fluttershy put a hand to my lips and her eyes went wide.

“I think Bonnie did it out of spite after Lyra split up with her,” I explained, but before Fluttershy could respond I followed up with, “but she instantly regretted it!” I held up a staying hand. “It was a rash, dumb thing, and Bonnie immediately tried to make it right.”

“What happened?”

“Well,” I chuckled weakly. “That’s where I come in… I kind of write papers for people… for money.”

“You cheat?!” Fluttershy looked shocked.

“No,” I gave her a pointed look. “Other people pay me so that they can cheat.”

“That’s still academic fraud,” Fluttershy pointed out.

“And I’m an orphan with a genius IQ,” I countered. “I don’t have a ton of options for cash, okay? I do what I have to to make ends meet, and if I end up with a little extra scratch at the end of the day because of my side business so be it.”

Fluttershy’s eyes went wide, and I sighed.

“Sorry,” I said softly. “I’m a little sore about that… stuff, okay? I didn’t mean to snap.”

She nodded silently, so I took the opportunity to continue.

“Anyway, Bon Bon swore to Lyra she’d make it right, and she’d must’ve heard about my business from somebody because she approached me,” I chuckled wanly and gestured towards the back of the restaurant. “She needed me to reconstruct the thesis in less than twelve hours, otherwise the deadline would pass and Lyra would never forgive her, so I told her I could do it, quoted her my price, and she nearly shit herself.”

To my surprise, Fluttershy barked out a laugh that she immediately covered up with her hands.

“S-Sorry, go on.”

“Don’t be sorry, you’ve got a cute laugh,” that earned me a blush and a smile. “But yeah, she couldn’t pay, so I made her a deal… she pays a lot less and owes me a lot more, and she agreed.”

“So now she’s paid up?” Fluttershy asked, looking concerned.

“At the end of the night, yeah,” I replied. “I told you, I’m no cheat. But I refuse to be cheated.”

“Would you have really done it?” Fluttershy eyed me carefully. “Gone after Lyra? Or told the Chancellor.”

“Hell yeah,” I said instantly earning another look of surprise. “She owed me a debt… it doesn’t matter how much I like Bonnie and her omega, I can’t just not collect, even if it would ruin both of us, that's just bad business.”

“She’d come after you?” Fluttershy pressed.

“Definitely,” I agreed. “Even if Bonnie knew I had every right, she’d still do it… even by alpha standards she’s crazy protective of Lyra.” I laughed weakly as I leaned back in my seat. “And honestly? She’d probably kick my ass or worse… Bonnie has some kind of history.”

Fluttershy leaned forward with bright eyes.

“What kind of history?”

“Dunno, not my circus, not my monkeys,” I replied with a shrug. “Bonnie and her family are really intense though, my guess would be witness protection or something.”

“Wow…” Fluttershy stared, and I waved a hand to interrupt her thought process.

“That’s just speculation though,” I continued. “Like I said, not my monkeys, I don’t care what Bonnie may or may not have done so long as she’s not whipping my ass with those crazy hand-to-hand skills of hers.”

At that point I saw the opportunity to pivot the conversation, and I leaned forward on the table to regard Fluttershy more directly.

“Speaking of history though,” I started, “since when does a college student have a bodyguard that looks like he works out by bench-pressing cinderblocks?”

“He works for my dad,” Fluttershy answered cooly. “I could have just driven myself but mom gets really… uhm… insistent about my safety.”

“Your dad has his own security guard?” I laughed lightly. “What’s he even do?”

Weirdly, instead of answering, Fluttershy just gave me an incredibly cold expression that surprised me with its intensity. Before I could question her about it, though, Bon Bon arrived to take our order.

I wasn’t paying terribly close attention to my order, I chose the only pasta dish on there because it was hard to go wrong with noodles, and the cream sauce sounded appealing, which was enough for me. I wasn’t here to eat, I was here for Fluttershy, which meant that my mind was occupied by the strangely aggressive response I’d garnered.

Fluttershy ordered the vegetarian dish, some kind of stuffed pepper dish I think I remembered point over, but I hadn’t given it much thought.

Bon Bon swept up the menus the instant we'd made our order, stalking off with irritation still writ all over her body language.

Bonnie’s attitude was the least of my concerns right now though.

“I… I’m sorry if I said something wrong,” I began quietly, taking a sip of water. “If your dad’s a sore subject I won’t bring it up, I’m not exactly great shakes with my parents either considering I don’t even know them.”

That got another glare, although this one was tinged with something like confusion. I didn’t look away from her though, instead I just met Fluttershy’s gaze and hoped she could tell I was being sincere.

Apparently it worked, because after a moment she relaxed, sat back, went back to that strangely analytical look, eyeing me up and down for several moments before finally speaking again.

“Do you… uhm… sorry, but do you know who my father is?” Fluttershy asked tentatively.

I raised an eyebrow as I sipped my water again, then shrugged.

“Should I?” I replied. “Is he famous?”

Fluttershy stared at me, her jaw hanging open slightly. After a moment of the background music filling the deafening silence, she finally closed her mouth with a click and then started to laugh uncontrollably.

Her mirth lasted several minutes, and that full laughter of hers was probably about the prettiest thing I’ve ever heard to be totally honest. If I’d known why she was laughing I would have felt a lot better, but since I didn’t I opted to just wait it out and take some comfort in the fact that she seemed to be in a better mood than when she’d been glaring at me.

Once her giggle-fit had subsided, I pushed her water glass a little closer, which she took and swigged from gratefully.

“So uh…” I fidgeted with a piece of cutlery for a moment as I searched for a way to broach the topic before deciding on the direct route. “What the fuck was that?”

“I'm sorry, it was nothing,” Fluttershy replied, her voice still bright with laughter. “So uhm… what kind of movies do you like?”

I sat back, confused at the sudden change of topic, but mentally shrugged and brushed it off. If she didn’t want to talk about her family then who was I to judge? Quill knows I had nothing good to say about the people who had raised me.

“Horror movies are basically cinematic comfort food for me,” I admitted. “Golden-age slashers are my favorite, but there’s some new stuff I’ve enjoyed.”

“Did uhm, did you see that one that came out about a year back?” Fluttershy asked with what I thought was slightly forced nonchalance. “The one about the nine people who all worked in the same building being stalked by a killer?”

“Nine Lies?” I grinned at that. “Best horror movie in the past decade in my opinion, it used all of the old school camera cuts and perspective tricks too, no messy CGI or computer effects, just good old-fashioned suspense and eye for detail.”

“The director was pretty spot on,” she agreed.

“He’s probably one of the best thriller and horror directors since the OG masters, like Carpenter,” I agreed. “I’m not a huge fan of modern stuff, but I’ll watch anything that Camera Shy has had his… hands… on…-”

I trailed off as my brain caught up with my words and began to short out while Fluttershy just gave me that too-innocent smile from across the table.

“Oh look, our food’s here!” she turned with a bright smile as our plates were put in front of us.

Fluttershy hummed in delight as she took a dainty bite of her stuffed pepper while I stared at her in gape-mouthed shock. It wasn’t often that someone caught me off-guard like that, but the knowledge that this pretty little omega was the daughter of one of the most famous modern horror directors left me speechless.

I picked at my pasta for a few minutes, trying and failing to find a new topic. Eventually, though, it was Fluttershy who managed to salvage things as she set her fork down and looked a little sheepish as she spoke up.

“S-Sorry,” she said softly. “I don’t usually, uhm… mess with people like that, but it’s been a long time since I met someone who didn’t know who my dad was.”

“More fool me,” I admitted softly, “I didn’t even think about looking at your parents.”

“That’s kind of charming actually,” Fluttershy replied, blushing as she raised her head to meet my gaze. “I… I thought you were like everyone else, you know?” she fidgeted and flushed prettily. “Like the ones who wanted to court me because my family has a lot of money? But you didn’t even know.”

“Looking at other people’s families is kind of an afterthought to an orphan,” I explained quietly as I leaned back in my chair. “It’s not important to me because I don’t have one, so it’s a blind spot, I guess.”

She reached out and took my hand, pulling it across the table towards her until we were met in the middle. My first first thought was just how soft her fingers were, her palms too. Fluttershy’s touch was feather-light, and her fingers wove between mine fondly as her smile brightened.

“But, uhm… I still want you to know that...” her voice cracks a little as she takes a firmer grip on my hand, “that the fact that you wanted to court me, for me… well, it just means so much to me!”

“Every omega deserves an alpha who cares for them,” I said firmly, more iron entering my voice as I spoke. “You deserve an alpha who cares about you, not your family.”

“Well…” she trailed off, her cheeks reddening, further as she gave me those heart-stopping bedroom eyes again. “I think I might have found one.”

I was about to respond when a sensation I had not been expecting glued my tongue to the top of my mouth. Fluttershy’s cute little foot was trailing up and down my leg beneath the table, occasionally brushing my inner thigh and sending tingles up my spine to my hindbrain that sent my alpha instincts into overdrive.

“You’re uhm… you’re a very beautiful alpha, you know,” Fluttershy began in a voice that was starting to grow husky as the omega instincts in her started boiling up to the surface, egged on by my own pheromones. “Or uhm, do you prefer handsome?”

“Handsome, beautiful…” I shrug and smile at her, “what does it matter? I always look good.”

I nailed the cheesy line perfectly, and Fluttershy burst into laughter. I had to admit, making Fluttershy laugh did feel good. It felt like she didn’t do it quite enough and that was a thought that bothered me.

The tension faded, we dug into our meals intent on getting to them before they grew cold. I ordered a pint of dark ale the next time Bonnie came around while Fluttershy ordered a berry cider that ended up tasting pretty decent when I asked to try it. I wasn’t the biggest fan of sweet things, but it had a refreshing bite to it that I enjoyed.

By the time we were done with our meals, I was feeling in considerably better spirits, and Fluttershy looked more than pleased with the evening which was my main concern. How it had begun notwithstanding, I actually found Fluttershy to be excellent company, a witty conversationalist, and a much deeper person than I’d expected.

“I still can’t believe I never connected you to your dad,” I admitted as I pushed my plate away, and Fluttershy giggled lightly again.

“It’s not like I’m anything like him, honestly,” she said a shrug. “Despite being an omega, he’s got a lot of wanderlust, and he’s so precise.”

“Camera Shy is famous, or maybe infamous,” I amended, and Fluttershy just nodded with a wry smile, “for having his hand in every stage of production…” a thought occurred to me that sank in my gust unpleasantly. “Fluttershy, is your dad very… critical of you?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at the question, then she burst into laughter.

“Oh! Not at all!” she shook her head, smiling as she reached out to take my hand again. “I’m sure daddy would love it if I went into film or something like him, but when I told him I was pursuing a veterinary degree he was nothing but supportive!” I felt a bit of relief at that. “No, it’s just, uhm… I don’t get to spend much time with him and momma, they’re always on six-or eight-month or even year-long shoots.”

“Right, your mom would be Barricade, then? Camera Shy’s bodyguard?” The director had famously married his own security officer during a long shoot decades ago, it was apparently pretty romantic, but now I felt a bit bad bringing it up. “They’re gone a lot then, I guess.”

“They both try to be home for birthdays and holidays,” she said wanly. “And it’s not that they neglect me or anything, they call as much as they can, and I know they love me very much, but it’s, uhm… a little lonely, I guess.”

“I’m a little surprised you never found an alpha to spend time with before this,” I admitted. “But then, you did have pretty good reasons.”

Fluttershy let out a dry little laugh. “I know some of them probably liked me, but a lot of them just gushed about my dad and…” she sighed quietly. “I mean, I thought maybe Rainbow, since we grew up together but…”

My heart clenched in my chest at the sound of her name. Rainbow… shit, why had I brought up other alphas to her? Rainbow was an alpha and Fluttershy’s childhood friend, of course she would have been in the running at some point! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“If you don’t want to talk about it…” I tried to give myself an out but Fluttershy, naturally, just smiled and shook her head.

“No, it’s okay,” she squeezed my hand. “I don’t want you to think you have to compete with her…” Not the problem, but alright, guess we’re doing this. “Rainbow tried to court me once, but momma shut her down flat,” I raised an eyebrow at that. “She said no, told Rainbow she wasn’t a strong enough alpha to care for me, and then told her to leave.”

“Savage,” I winced, that kind of blatant rejection must’ve hit Rainbow hard.

“She was… really upset for a long time,” Fluttershy said softly. “Rainbow has always been very soft and kind for an alpha, I think maybe it's because she was raised by an omega,” Fluttershy smiled fondly. “I care about her deeply, but Rainbow accepted that we weren’t going to be bonded when my mom rejected her, she respects momma too much for that.”

“I actually think that might’ve been a mistake,” I said carefully, and Fluttershy looked up in surprise. “Accepting the rejection, I mean.”

“Why?”

“Well, if it were me,” I considered my next words carefully, not wanting to offend her on Rainbow’s behalf, “I think I would have pushed someone away to see if they had the strength to push back… it’s an alpha thing.”

“You think momma wanted Rainbow to fight her on it?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes widening.

“Probably,” I replied. “It’s not necessarily fair but, like I said, it’s a very alpha thing to do.”

“I never thought about that,” Fluttershy admitted quietly, then she chuckled and shook her head. “That probably cemented it in mommas head that Rainbow wasn’t right for me, and maybe she’s right… I get the feeling Rainbow wants someone else.”

You have no idea.

Silence fell between us for a few minutes, barely filled with the background music of the jazzy horn that had never ceased to play, and I let it fill the space as I took her hand and rolled my thumb over Fluttershy’s knuckles, feeling the soft skin and her delicate fingers beneath mine.

“Sunset?”

I raised my eyes to hers, and found those big, perfect baby blues fixed on me.

“Hm?” I gave her hand a little squeeze, and she smiled.

The expression was big, wide, and radiant, and the sheer beauty in it caught me out for a moment. Before this there was something deeply guarded about Fluttershy that I hadn’t been able to see past, but now it was like the sun had come out from behind the clouds and it was all the lovelier for it.

“Thank you,” she said softly, “for taking me out, and for treating me so well, and for uhm… for everything,” I was about to wave it off, but she caught me before I could speak. “Don’t say it was nothing!” she pressed. “I was so late, and you’ve been so good to me tonight, and just… you’ve been the perfect alpha, and I’ve been just… suspicious and I’ve needled you, and I feel awful.”

“You had good reason,” I pointed out.

“It doesn’t forgive that I did it to someone who didn’t deserve it,” she countered gently. “I, uhm… I want to try this, us, I mean,” Fluttershy continued more firmly. “If you still want to, I’d very much like if you courted me and then, maybe down the line, we could uhm… y-you know…”

Her cheeks went deliciously red, and I smiled. She was genuinely offering to let me mark her eventually, assuming the courting went well which at this point there was no reason to assume it wouldn’t.

“I’m willing to wait,” I promised. “Maybe sometime next month I could meet your mom at least? Your dad’s on a shoot I think, right?”

For a moment it looked as though she was going to immediately agree, but a breath later Fluttershy’s face fell, and I got an odd feeling pulling at the pit of my stomach.

“He… is,” she confirmed slowly, her earlier good mood seeming to evaporate. “B-But, uhm… I’m afraid next month isn’t good for me.”

I blinked at that. Was that too fast? Waiting a month before meeting either the sire or dam alpha wasn’t too unusual but maybe her family was more old-fashioned?

“Then… the month after?”

Fluttershy sighed and sagged in her chair.

“Actually, in about a month I’m going to be gone for a while,” she replied finally. “For… almost five months, actually.”

My jaw dropped.

Five months?

“Summer is coming around and I don’t have classes,” Fluttershy continued with a touch of apprehension. “Daddy wanted me to come out and spend the summer with him on location for his shoot, since we barely get to spend any time together I agreed immediately… I didn’t know this would happen.”

Tears started to gather at the corners of her eyes, and immediately I was on my feet and by her side, kneeling at the side of her chair as she wiped at her eyes.

“I’m sorry!” she sobbed quietly. “I c-completely forgot until you asked, and then I remembered I’d promised daddy and… and I’m... -!”

Before she could say another word had a hand on her cheek, my thumbs wiping at the trails of saltwater tears as I pressed my lips to hers. Fluttershy let out a muffled squeak, but her surprise lasted only a moment before she all but melted against me.

Oh wow.

When I imagined how nice it would be to kiss an omega as soft and lovely as Fluttershy I had been badly underestimated just how lovely she would really be. Everything smelled like flowers around her, and it took me a second to realise that was just how she smelled. That was her pheromonal scent, and it wasn’t even a perfume base either… it lacked any of the vaguely chemical undercurrent of even high end aroma masks.

Fluttershy’s lips were like rose petals, and she draped herself across me in the most intoxicating way. Her warm, silky weight not only wasn’t a burden, it made me feel stronger just holding onto her.

But none of that held a candle to how Fluttershy kissed.

She kissed me like she could only breathe through my lips, like I was the only thing holding her together. She kissed me in a way that if I were any other alpha I think I would be hopelessly addicted.

If I were any other alpha, though, I wouldn’t have been thinking of Rainbow Dash’s lips in that moment.

We parted, and she had a dreamy look on her flushed face. Her lips were warm, soft, and just slightly red, and on instinct I leaned in to kiss them again. To kiss her again.

She kissed me back, and this time our tongues met. I stood as we kissed, pulling her into my arms with a strength that she readily and happily yielded to. Fluttershy was the kind of soft that every omega wishes they could be for their alpha, and it wasn’t hard to see why her presence alone tended to drive my breed batshit fucking loco.

Her taste was like nothing else, clear as spring water and sweet as plum brandy.

“Ahem.”

We both froze at the sound of Bon Bon clearing her throat, and we parted sheepishly, with Fluttershy instinctively burying her head against my chest, a purposeful act of submission. An omega sought shelter from its alpha by nature, and Fluttershy curling beneath me sent a thrill up my spine as I met Bon Bon’s level gaze.

“Well,” she began dryly. “I was about to check and see if you were ready for dessert, but…” she gave us a once over, “apparently you didn’t need the prompt.”

“Creme brulee for me,” I said with a smirk, then glanced down at my date. “Flutters?”

“Uhm… the chocolate cake a la mode, please,” she said softly from half-inside my blazer. “W-With extra whip cream, too?”

“Ugh, she’s adorable,” Bon Bon grumbled, before nodding. “Creme Brulee for the asshole, and chocolate cake a la mode, extra whip, for the beautiful omega who is way too good for her, got it.”

“Thanks, Bonnie, you’re a doll,” I quipped before lowering Fluttershy back to her seat, studiously ignoring the withering glare I was getting til Bon Bon left.

Fluttershy fidgeted with a long lock of hair for several minutes after I took my seat. Every time she raised her head to look at me or say something she immediately clammed up and lowered her head, only to make another attempt a second later with approximately identical results.

“You okay?”

“I think so,” Flutterrshy replied after a moment. “You uhm… you kissed me.”

“I’d apologise, but I’m not sorry,” I said with a broad grin. “That was way too nice of a kiss to regret.”

Her blushed deepend and this time she managed to look me in the eye.

“Does that mean… you don’t mind that I, uhm… that I messed up?” Fluttershy’s lovely blue eyes were fixed on me. I couldn’t exactly say anything but yes, could I? And honestly… I sort of was okay with it.

“Mhm,” I nodded. “We’ll try a few dates now, then you’ll go on your vacation, come back, and we can try this again properly if you still want to.”

“I think I will,” Fluttershy said.

Her smile turned to a thoughtful look, and I could see the wheels in her head turning as something occurred to her. Probably the same thing that occurred to me, honestly, so I braced myself for it.

“Or…” Fluttershy started. “You could come with me?”

I shook my head, my answer already leaving my lips.

“As much as I would love to watch Camera Shy at work, that’s gonna be a hard pass,” I replied without a moment of hesitation, and that drew a frown from Fluttershy. “No offense, but I’d rather his first impression of me not be me horning in on the big daddy-daughter bonding time that he’s probably been looking forward to.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened at that, and I smiled.

“But thanks, raincheck?” I offered, and that radiant smile made another show of parting the clouds.

“Mhm,” she nodded quickly. “I’m sorry, you’re right, that, uhm, that probably would’ve been awkward.”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t a bad idea, but I’ll have other chances, or at least I hope so.”

“Well, I certainly think so,” Fluttershy gave me a warm smile. “You’ve really been so perfect tonight, Sunset… I have no idea why your reputation is so uhm… rough.”

“Because like the lady said,” I gestured towards where Bon Bon had left. “I’m an asshole.”

“I don’t think-”

“I threatened to ruin Bonnie’s life and the life of her omega just to have a nice night out with you,” I pointed out, cutting flatly through Fluttershy’s denial. “I’m kind of an asshole.”

Fluttershy frowned then, sighed, nodded, and met my eyes again.

“But uhm, you’re not one to me,” she said softly.

I chuckled grimly. “Call it old-fashioned chivalry, but I like to think I know how to treat an omega.”

“I think you do, too,” Fluttershy agreed warmly.

There was a moment there, as she stared into my eyes, that I lost myself a little. The jazz horn filled the air and the sound of the distant patrons chatting and enjoying their night washed over us, and between that and the dim, comfortable lights reflecting tones of bronze, I found myself admiring just how beautiful Fluttershy really was.

Before it was something I just knew.

Now it was something I could feel.

I don’t know how else to describe it, but the way she looked at me, with those bright blue eyes of hers and that heart-shaped face that looked like it was made to make alphas fall in love, I could feel the beauty coming off of her.

“And uhm, you know…” Fluttershy blushed heavily as she tucked a long lock of pink behind her ears. “I… I like to think that uhm, that I know how to treat an alpha.”

“Oh?” I gave her a smoky grin.

“Mhm…” to my surprise she met my gaze with an equally intense one of her own. “So uhm… if anyone asks, I just went to use the little omegas room, okay?”

I blinked in confusion, trying to piece together her meaning. Before I could meaningfully manage it though, she gave me a wicked little smile, then vanished underneath the tablecloth.

“What- OH!”

I nearly jumped out of my seat as I felt her move between my legs. Honestly speaking, I was already pretty worked up between her little impromptu game of footsie on me and the kiss we had shared, but that was nothing unusual for an alpha who spent any amount of time in the presence of an omega, especially one like Flutters.

That’s not something you bring up at a dinner table, either, so I’d just been ignoring my hardness.

Now, though, I could feel the buttons on my slacks being undone by what I was reasonably certain were Fluttershy’s teeth, and a moment later a cool draft tickled across the bare skin of my length as she got past my pants with remarkable efficiency.

I was beginning to think Fluttershy might not quite be as innocent as I had been led to believe.

“Oh… sh-shit,” I moaned softly as Fluttershy’s tongue ran along my heated length. “F-Flutters that’s-”

I swallowed hard, glancing around as I tried to keep my composure. Fortunately, our table was set well aside from the other patrons so no one was looking our way. I forced myself to keep my hands above the tablecloth, too. My alpha instincts told me to grab her, to take her by the hair and use her, but I refused to give in.

Not only would that be pretty goddamn obvious, you also didn’t just treat an omega like that.

Well, not unless they wanted you to.

Like Rainb-

Nope, not thinking about he-, about that while I’m getting head from one of the most beautiful omegas in the fucking world. I am not going to think about that.

Instead, I took a deep, shuddering breath, and let myself feel her.

Fluttershy had been gently kissing up and down my length, teasing me with her lips and tongue, until finally she placed a dainty little kiss at my tip, one that turned into a soft opening as she began to take me into her mouth. Her warm tongue flattened and played along the underside of my cock as she bobbed her head up and down, each repetition moving her further down my length until she was pressed against my base.

I had to bite my lip to keep from moaning aloud, while Fluttershy, on the other hand, already had something muffling her moans. The vibration of her throat sent shocks of electric pleasure through my spine as she took a slow breath through her nose, and then started moving again.

“Holy f-fuck,” I muttered.

I’d gotten a few blowjobs in my life, and none of them even kind of compared to how Fluttershy’s mouth felt.

She went slow and gentle, every bob of her head allowed her tongue to caress the full length of my member as she hummed in soft delight.

I wanted to pull the tablecloth aside and look down at her. I wanted to see those blue eyes looking up at me as she serviced me on her hands and knees. It was a primal need, but one I knew I couldn’t indulge if I ever wanted to come back here again.

“Creme Brulee and Chocolate- hm?”

I went rigid as Bon Bon approached carrying a tray that had our desserts set out on them. Bonnie looked left and right, then back to me with level expression.

“Where’s your date?”

“L-Little omegas room,” I replied with what I thought was admirable composure considering I was in the middle of the best blowjob of my entire life.

Bon Bon narrowed her eyes at me as she slowly set the cup of custard in front of me, and the chocolate cake with its generous scoop of ice cream and large dollop of whipped cream in front of Fluttershy’s empty chair.

“She is way too good for you, y’know,” Bonnie repeated as she straightened, and I forced a grin onto my face.

My grin very nearly collapsed as Fluttershy began to purr with my cock taken fully into her throat. The sensation all but shut my brain down before I managed to wrestle conscious thought back into my grip with a titanic effort of will.

“You have no idea,” I forced out.

Bon Bon frowned, looking skeptical for a moment as she stepped back from the table, her tray in hand. It was only as she was turning that something stopped her, she froze, standing stock-still and staring straight down.

I followed her gaze with a glance of my own and spied a tiny corner of Fluttershy’s sundress peeking out from beneath the tablecloth.

Crap.

With a twitch of my foot I pinned the offending piece of fabric beneath the toe of my boot under the table, and tugged the sliver out of sight.

Bon Bon’s eyes widened as she looked up from the floor to me, clearly not fooled for a second.

“Thanks for the dessert, Bonnie,” I bit out with a shit-eating grin.

“You lucky little cunt,” Bon Bon snarled under her breath.

“LIke I said,” I replied as I shivered again, Fluttershy’s ministrations getting more intense now as her purring increased. “You have no idea.”

The glare I got was absolutely scalding, but she didn’t do anything more. I was lucky, in a way, that it was Bonnie serving us. She wasn’t going to risk me going public with her secret, so she would let me get away with just about anything within reason.

Apparently a discreet blowjob under the table fell into that jurisdiction.

Fluttershy began bobbing her head more intently, and I forced myself to relax into the sensation. A moment later that edge began to approach, and I let out a shuddering breath as twitched my leg, trying to signal to Fluttershy what was happening.

My guess was she already knew, because she redoubled her efforts and I had to clap a hand over my mouth to keep from crying out.

SHIT, the thought blared through my brain as I hit my climax, blowing my load deep inside Fluttershy’s small mouth.

My vision grayed at the edges as pleasure rolled through me, and to my surprise Fluttershy didn’t stop, she took every last drop, swallowing with slow, steady gulps until finally she drew back, cleaned me up with her tongue, put a last kiss at the base of my cock, and then put everything back the way she found it, right up to the buttons.

When Fluttershy emerged from under the table, peeking out first to make sure she was clear before rising to settle demurely back into her seat, it was a certain air of pleased satisfaction.

She didn’t say a word, she just gave me that angelic little smile of hers, licked her lips, and then started to take bites of her cake a la mode.

“I’m uh… not used to being speechless,” I started after a moment of floundering as I picked at my creme brulee.

Fluttershy giggled lightly. “I noticed.”

“That was uh…”

“Good?” she asked hopefully.

“Incredible,” I corrected her, and she laughed. I liked that laugh, it was bright and cheery, and just soft enough not to grate.

“I’m glad,” she said between bites. “I actually, uhm… I like doing that.”

“In the middle of Gustav’s, though?” I laughed a little weakly. “Fluttershy, that was crazy.”

To that she just shrugged and smiled again.

“But it was a lot of fun,” she replied, her cheeks reddening a little.

It was certainly that.

By the time we left Gustav’s, Fluttershy on my arm and Bon Bon’s glare settled squarely between my shoulderblades, it had grown well and truly dark. Fluttershy watched as I fitted my leathers that I’d left along with my jacket at the valet, and it was as I was pulling on the final strap that her own ride arrived, the same long black Cadillac with its cinderblock driver.

“Thank you for tonight, Sunset,” Fluttershy said softly, as the driver emerged, moved to the side door with the same mechanical efficiency, and opened it expectantly. “I had a lot more fun than I expected to.”

“Rising above expectations is a hobby,” I replied with a smirk, and Fluttershy favored with a smile and another one of those bright little laughs of hers.

Then she pressed herself against me, looped her arms around my shoulders, and pulled herself up to me. I responded in kind, cradling her slender waist and hourglass weight against me as I met her lips with mine.

The kiss was different from the first one we shared, less intense, but powerfully warm. The curve of her mouth found mine with delicious softness, and her tongue tangled with mine eagerly.

We kissed for what felt like hours but was probably less than a minute, not that it mattered because, hours or minutes, it didn’t last long enough.

When Fluttershy finally pulled back, her lips red with desire and her blue eyes burning, she didn’t step away. Instead she leaned in again, this time pressing her nose to my neck and taking a long, deep breath.

I replied in kind, burying my nose just above her ear into her hair and breathing her in.

It was a little early, perhaps, to be scenting one another like this. Imprinting was the second major step of a courtship though, a kind of affirmation that you would be back because the memory of scent would take weeks to fade, and the longer it took the more restless the alpha and the omega would grow outside of one another’s presence.

“I won’t be leaving for another month,” Fluttershy said as we parted. “Call me?”

“Try and stop me,” I gave her a bare-toothed grin and relished the little shiver of delight it sent down her.

Watching her leave left me with a strange feeling of detachment. It occurred to me that I should be feeling that pulling sensation in my chest, the feeling of an alpha being parted from her omega. It was a painful sensation, even when it was a bond as new and tenuous as ours, but to my faint surprise and annoyance I felt… nothing.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, or that I didn’t want to see her again. I certainly did want to see her more, I’d had a better time out that even I had expected, not even counting the impromptu ‘present’ she’d given me under the table.

I had deeply enjoyed the night with Fluttershy, and I was looking forward to more.

But that primal pull wasn’t there like it should have been.

Why?

I was an alpha, she was an omega, and we were pretty much perfect for each other so… why?

Why was I still thinking of Rainbow?