"...They're so... label-y..."
Ocellus lay sprawled across the messy blankets of her creaky mattress on top of her friend, Smolder, who was lying under the covers and looking exhausted.
Ocellus breathed, catching her breath; her lungs were on fire.
Like a match deflating seconds after touching the flame, her tail was draped lazily over the edge, swaying dazedly each passing second.
Smolder had her arms wrapped around the 'ling, her chest heaving slowly and her stomach rising and deflating. "H...How come you always beat me at this," Ocellus breathed, her eyes barely on the dragon as she spoke.
Smolder barely even answered but a small grunt, her eyes flickering to the changeling and then back to the ceiling. "I'm just better," she answered, not even aware of her own jab.
Ocellus grunted, nuzzling her snout into Smolder's stomach.
She could feel the rocky, yet chiseled muscle of her dragon friend's abdomen even under the covers, not even needing the shelter of the sheets to emit the soft warmth she cherished so fondly.
"Mmm, you're so... warm," Ocellus praised, digging her face further into her friend's belly. She somehow wished she could travel even deeper and fully immerse herself in the warmth, to wrap it around herself like a blanket.
She could hear Smolder chuckle, "If you're so cold, get under here." She made a point of moving her arm under the blankets, fondling the fabric so that the changedling could see.
Of course, Ocellus shook her head, "Mm-mm. It's better up here."
The room was quiet, filled with silence.
Still, the atmosphere wasn't lifeless at all. It was blissful, and somehow silently filled to the brim with emotion.
That was the most powerful wave of emotion Ocellus had ever felt before. Something that only lovers could share and cherish.
Her and Smolder weren't lovers.
Ocellus shifted her hind legs uncomfortably, wrapping her hooves around Smolder's waist and digging them under her, clutching to her tightly.
Smolder stirred, gripping Ocellus tighter as her eyes filled with question.
"What's up?"
Ocellus only clutched more, shutting her eyes tightly to prevent the tears beading in the corner of her eyes from threatening to fall.
She loved that warmth. She cherished each morning she woke up with it by her side. She didn't want to lose it.
If her and Smolder weren't lovers, then, what did that warmth mean? Did it have no purpose?
"Smolder, I..."
The dragon shifted at the bug clutching tighter to her.
Ocellus moved up a bit, her stomach up against Smolder's. "You what? What's wrong," she asked again. Ocellus bit her lip, looking to the side.
Her wings buzzed as she struggled to articulate what she was feeling. Even as she felt this way, and Smolder may not have felt the same, she really knew she gained true feelings for the dragon, still.
"I love you."
Smolder's eyes nearly widened. Ocellus looked back up at her, her eyes shimmering with hope and emotion.
It was like looking into two crystal lakes of the most deceiving pools of teal colored gasoline. Both of them had the potential to pull her in and set Smolder on fire if she wasn't careful. Still, she was nearly immune to things like that.
Instead, she hugged the bug close, focusing back onto the ceiling more than Ocellus herself.
As much as her mind willed her to, she didn't respond.
Ocellus' ears wilted.
She shut her eyes again.
Smolder blinked. The two teal oceans of carefree solace were snatched away from her. Her heart palpitated within her chest, making her breathing more or less rapid.
"Cel'..."
Ocellus looked up, her eyes flicking open.
Smolder saw they were wet with unsure tension, washed in hidden tears. Deep down, the dragon cringed inside.
"What?" Her heart shook as Ocellus spoke.
"I..."
There was silence again.
Smolder didn't like labels. She preferred not to be claimed; she didn't want commitment. What she wanted was to be herself with the one she...
...the one she wanted to be herself with.
"...I think you're the smartest creature I know, and... will ever know, but..."
Ocellus' gaze shifted to the side, then back into Smolder's. Her legs shifted again, her wings buzzing softly as she waited.
The intensity of those dense pools of flammable emotion scarred deep within Smolder, her heart bleeding immense amounts of hollowed out hopethrough her body.
She didn't move. Her nostrils flared with wisps of opaque clouds of black that threw themselves around like a shamble of poorly-taught ballet dancers.
Smolder was at a loss for words. Her mind was racing with questions and thoughts about what she refused to admit. All the things she refused to say or do for the one she...
...allowed herself to be around.
"H-How hard is it to say," she heard Ocellus hiss, bringing her surprised gaze down to the changeling in an instant. "A-Are we not... that...?" Her voice softened. It was damp with petrified sadness.
Smolder closed her eyes, her head falling backward onto her pillow.
She clenched her lids, furling her brow and contemplating what Ocellus just said. They were that, and so much more, weren't they?
Except, what did that mean if she wasn't willing to commit to that label?
Smolder... wanted to be around Ocellus, and she wanted to have this moment, cuddling together, being together forever.
Though, if her intentions were to be with Ocellus forever, then, wasn't that the commitment she didn't want? Why was she there? Why was she in the bed, cuddling, talking about feelings with her closest friend if they weren't more than friends?
...And that she wanted to be with her forever?
"Ocellus..."
"You... you can't say it, can you?"
Smolder huffed, her body growing warm. Her skin boiled under her scales, the cherished warmth Ocellus felt growing hotter.
"We're... not that," Smolder answered, her heart heavy.
Ocellus nearly felt her chitin crack and split, her heart taking a blow. The sharp glowing in her eyes dimmed down to a lifeless ocean of flammable gasoline, the flame sparking and setting Smolder's heart alight.
"...But at the same time," she continued, lifting the changeling's chin and bringing her eyes to meet her unwavering gaze. "We're more than that, i-if you want us to be."
Ocellus' eyes widened, the flame in her irises sparking brighter. "H-How...?"
Smolder brought a claw to pinch her muzzle, thinking about all the possible answers she could've given. "We're best friends, but," she paused, "We're also more than best friends. We're... lovers, I guess."
Lovers. Smolder liked how the word rolled off the tongue. She didn't have to say "girlfriend" or "partner" or anything like that. She loved Ocellus, didn't she? She didn't have to put a label on it. They were what they were, and that was that, right?
"No."
Smolder looked confused. Ocellus was looking up at her again, the chitin around her eyes moist. "W-What," she croaked, her throat gaining a lump as she swallowed hard.
"...You can't guess that we're lovers," Ocellus explained, "That's not how love works. Not for me."
The changeling smiled.
Leaning in quickly, she locked lips with her dragon, her hooves gently pressing themselves against Smolder's cheeks and pulling her closer.
Her wings buzzed as the kiss lasted longer, pulling more and more air out of her lungs by the minute.
Seconds passed, feeling almost like minutes, even into hours before the bug pulled back, breaking the kiss and taking a breath.
Smolder's jaw hung open, permitting a small string of saliva between the two.
"We're mates," she corrected, pressing her snout onto Smolder's and looking deeply into her deep turquoise eyes.
Smolder's jaw snapped back into it's rightful location, her lips curving into a small smile as her eyes grew half lidded.
She tightened her grip on the changedling on top of her, staring deeply back into those toned-down, flammable pools of deceivingly beautiful liquid.
Ocellus' lids dipped down halfway as well, the shine in her eyes flickering like the tail on a firefly.
They were mates.