Author's Note

Just wanted a human fic of FlashSpruce banter and Timber getting flustered. So I wrote it myself and it got a little too out of hand. Meh.

Anyway, all you need to know if you haven’t read my pre-release blog about this fic is that while this follows the EqG Canon timeline, the characters are humanised; in other words, they have ethnicities. There is also side TwiShy in this because I wanted it. If either of those are an issue for you, that’s okay, feel free to click off this fic.

If you stuck around, I hope you enjoy!!

if there are any grammatical errors, please let me know (preferably by PM)! thank you! ♡

1. Distract Me

1. Distract Me

IF TIMBER SPRUCE had known Flash Sentry was going to be amongst the notable faces he spotted hanging around the side of the cafeteria building, he would’ve prepared himself better.

And by preparing himself, he didn’t mean practising his poker face (he already had a good one), he meant suppressing any sense of attraction he felt towards the boy. Not because he felt embarrassed or that he felt the need to hide his feelings, but Timber knew he was kind of impulsive and had a bit of a sass tongue, so being around someone that pretty – and someone who didn’t even thinkhe was ‘that pretty’ – meant he needed to shut up before he said something he’d regret.

He twirled his axe by the haft, the cheek hitting the side of his neck lightly. It hadn’t been that long since he went into the woods, but his eyes had yet to adjust to the sunlight’s attempts at almost blinding him. Timber squinted, eyes wandering back to where her sister stood in the centre gazebo, entertaining this week’s group. She had alerted him by phone of the CHS students’ visit, whisper-yelling at him to get his ass over there. He rolled his eyes at how chipper she sounded now. The usual.

As far as he could tell from where he was, not all the superheroes were there. Only the Smart one, the Strong one, the Shy one and the Fashionista were, amongst three other students, Micro Chips, Sandalwood and Flash Sentry. Spike wandered between the gaps of the students’ legs, soon sitting down right by Flash.

Twilight Sparkle stood with her back to him as he ambled down the open path. Her summer outfit was different from the one she wore last summer, a plain white t-shirt, bluish-purple jeans that reached down to her knees, and some purple slip-ons for shoes. He also remembered she had cut her hair in a layered pattern, hence why it was out and a little messier than what it’d usually be.

She spoke to the others, making gestures that looked like she was checking things off with her fingers, leading him to assume she was giving the rest orders. Timber wasn’t surprised, she liked to have everything under control and straight to the point. He could practically hear her fiery voice from where he was.

His eyes moved from one face (or the back of Rarity’s head) to another, trying to remember the things the girls had told him about the three he didn’t know. Techie and Eco-Kid were two students he hadn’t interacted with for almost a year but he could see that they had grown a bit. Timber wasn’t sure why they of all people at CHS decided to tag along all the way out here but he figured they knew Twilight and Fluttershy respectively and had volunteered to help.

Then came Flash. Timber tried his best to conceal the grin climbing up his mouth. It was a good while back when Sunset introduced the two to each other at the Canterlot Celestial Society Members’ Social, almost nine months? He wasn’t going to lie, he almost didn’t recognise Flash at first with the shorter hair but he soon caught on before Sunset said his name. This time around, Timber could tell Flash Sentry apart from everyone else. Perhaps it was the attraction he had ever since that night – which definitely started as a desire for friendship but then transformed into, um… whatever this was after his breakup – that he could spot Flash in a CHS mob from miles away.

With his head cocked to one side cutely, Flash stood, his hands in the pockets of a dark blue hoodie, unzipped and slightly falling off his left shoulder. Past the white t-shirt underneath, he wore light grey shorts that were much shorter than the ones he wore last summer.

Timber would love to assume Flash was anything but straight and from looking at the way he dressed, back then and now, he might be right. Those shorts gave Timber a good reason to think Flash wasn’t but even then, doubt bounced around in his brain. To shut that voice up, Timber tried to think of the most plausible (also read: sensible) reason for the clothing choice and he came up with the heat. It was hot out here.

...No shit, smartass, it’s summer.

Timber shook his head.

“Hey, guys!” he called out. Twilight was the first to turn her head, followed by Rarity and then the rest. The former smiled at him. “Gloriosa told me you wanted to help out today.”

“Hi Timber! Yeah, we figured you might need it.” Twilight pointed a thumb over at the group of high school students they had this week. Half had their mobile phones out and Timber contained the urge to scoff. He and Gloriosa have had worse before but these teenagers came close.

“It’s also good for extra credit,” Micro Chips piped up, to which Flash elbowed him, almost robotically despite the snicker he failed to conceal.

Timber chuckled. “Thanks! We appreciate it. Even if it’s for extra credit.” He clicked his fingers at Micro with a wink. “There are two things I was planning on doing in the next two-three hours but with you here, we could get it done in forty-five minutes?”

A few of them nodded. Timber tried to ignore Flash’s eyes on him. He spotted the boy looking at him from his peripheral vision and damn… he hadn’t seen a gaze so intense before, despite his face remaining neutral. Shit.

“Since we’re here already, there are some fishing rods that need to be mended.” He caught onto Rarity’s expression to take his mind off Flash and saw her eyes widen at what he said. He let out a chuckle. “The students did it.”

Rarity turned her head to the wooden benches in search of them and as soon as she did, she pulled her head back in shock. “They did that?”

Timber’s eyes glanced over the snapped blanks and pulled out guides of the different rods. He looked back at the girl with a pained, exasperated expression. “Don’t ask.”

Rarity nodded in consideration. “Why don’t Fluttershy and I handle those, hm?” She looked at Fluttershy, her grin collapsing at the girl’s hesitation.

Fluttershy fiddled with her fingers as she chewed on her bottom lip. “Oh, I was hoping I…” She glanced between her friends and Timber swore her eyes hung on Twilight, longer than usual. “Um…” But she shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll go with Rarity!” As overly energetic as her answer was – to whatever extent since this was Fluttershy – no one seemed to mind or even notice. Rarity passed the girl a warm smile.

Twilight sealed the awkwardness before it could spread. “Okay, then it’s the rest of us with you!” She signalled to Timber.

“All right, settled,” Timber said, thankful his voice wasn’t hoarse. He watched Twilight tap Flash’s arm from the corner of his eye but he continued regardless, shooting a pointed look at Rarity. “The tools you need to fix them with are on the seats. Let Gloriosa know if you need more or anything else, okay?”

Rarity nodded, offering a reassuring smile. She turned to Fluttershy and ushered her to come with. Due to some remaining suspicion, Timber stole a glance at Twilight but quickly averted it when she looked back at him, unfortunately landing his gaze on Flash’s face. Flash’s how can someone be that gorgeous face.

He wanted to groan. If he’s straight then this would be so unfair.

Timber looked away with a blink. “We ran out of firewood this week and I was just chopping some before you guys arrived. Two or three of you could help me with that and the others could carry wood out and stack them up against the hut that’s near the tents?”

“Sure!” Applejack grinned at him and Timber mirrored it. “Should I go grab some axes?”

“Two more should be enough. Take these,” – he unclipped the keys from the belt loop of his shorts and held them out to Applejack – “and head on over there to the short, wide hut. Spare axes should be right by the door.” He pointed to the cabin by the two bright green evergreen trees, a good distance opposite them.

“All right, gimme a sec,” Applejack yelled as she sprinted off. In a few minutes (because as athletic the farmgirl was, she wasn’t Rainbow Dash), she found the axes, holding them by the middle while she ran back. “So, how much wood are you thinking of?”

“Depends,” Timber started as he turned, leading the rest of them down the trail. Applejack ran up to him. “I know you could carry twice the amount everyone behind you could with just one hand. I’m more concerned about you carrying a stack that could topple over easily. Safety hazard, y’know?”

“Ah, right. Gotcha. As long as I can carry a good load to help, it shouldn’t be a problem. Just holler if you need someone for heavy lifting, will ya?”

“Of course.”

“Did you forget what I have?” Timber snapped his head to his left, keeping his body steady to hide the scare Twilight gave him. His eyes caught the purple aura glittering around Twilight’s fingers and before he knew it, his axe slid in his grasp. Instinct raced to catch it before it hit the ground. He glared at Twilight who was already giggling. While she wasn’t as mischievous like some of the other girls, she didn’t pass up the chance to mess with Timber.

“Doesn’t your telekinesis rely on your strength too?”

“Yes, it does. However, I can carry just as much as I am able to and prevent the risk of a concussion.” Twilight snapped her fingers at him, soon turning them into finger guns.

“You have a point.”

Applejack glanced back to check on the three who were closely following behind, having a conversation of their own. He followed Applejack’s gaze as subtly as he could. He supposed Twilight asked Flash to look after Spike for her, since the purple dog looked around eagerly as Flash hugged him by the middle, clearly comfortable with where he was.

Timber turned to look at Twilight, staring at her for a bit, and then glued his eyes to the cobblestone path.

Gloriosa had said she was surprised when he and Twilight continued to be friends after their breakup. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised too. Despite her desire to communicate complicated situations no matter what, Twilight wasn’t the best at doing so. Timber could sense she had an urge to back out whenever she tried to bring up an issue between them and he always made sure to help it out of her if she really wanted to talk about it. So right after they settled that they shouldn’t be together anymore, due to mutual loss of romantic feelings, Twilight had suggested they should try being friends instead. Admittedly, he was a little baffled.

Though, if he knew he’d gain one of his closest best friends out of Twilight Sparkle, he would’ve definitely gone for it the day she brought it up.

Timber dodged his eyes to Twilight again and suddenly pressed his lips together to prevent himself from snickering. Unfortunately, one slipped out. Twilight picked up on it immediately. Though, before she could comment on that reaction, Timber reached for her hair, pulling out a small tree branch from her locks. She flinched at what he presumed was the tug, scrunching her face up, and her hand came up to the spot where the branch got stuck. He waved it around in her face, finally bursting out into laughter when Twi’s face contorted to one of exasperation and slight disgust.

“You looked like a reindeer with a broken antler,” he snorted through his laughing fit. Twilight pushed his side roughly, only making him laugh more.

“Gosh, you’re such a brat,” she muttered as her eyes whirled around. Timber cracked another smile once he caught sight of one on her face, chucking the twig somewhere in the bushes.

His red cart, partially stacked with wood, remained near a trunk lying on the grass. Sun rays dotted parts of the bark, leaving various random trails everywhere like colour splatters from a paint fight. The trunk was still damp from being half-dunked in the lake before Timber found it and there was an axe dent where he had started chopping.

“So, are we clear that AJ and Twilight will be carrying the wood back?” Timber asked. The three boys agreed in different ways. “All right! Twilight, could you two start with—”

“Ha, way ahead of you,” Applejack said, holding a bunch of logs with one hand. Timber slid his axe off his shoulder as he looked up, eyeing the pile that glittered with her orange aura. The height wasn’t so dangerous and she had stacked it properly to prevent any chances of it falling. Twilight lifted as much as she could out of the cart with her magic, testing a few more blocks but ultimately dropping some due to the weight. She carried them overhead, threading them through gaps between the tree branches to avoid anyone’s head.

“Thanks again, guys,” Timber said. Applejack waved her free hand as she walked back. He turned to the boys. “Okay, I don’t want to sound like that person, but who’s the strongest out of you three?”

The boys looked at each other before Sandalwood and Micro looked at Flash.

“I’d say you, man,” Micro said, signalling at Flash’s chest to prove his point more. Timber looked too, instinctively of course. Despite his frame, slightly thinner than Timber’s, Flash was a different sort of fit. His hoodie was a size too big yet it failed to hide his broad shoulders and Flash’s arms holding Spike only brought out more definition in his upper torso.

“Really?” Flash’s voice rushed into his ears. He had both his eyebrows raised, genuinely stunned. Sandalwood nodded in agreement, despite the tiny height difference between him and Flash. “I mean, I guess.” Flash looked down at his chest, tightening his hug around Spike who didn’t seem to mind at all.

Timber gaped at him. You guess? A snarky remark bubbled in his throat but Timber gulped it down. He had almost forgotten the boy couldn’t accept compliments without a slight hint of modesty in his reply. For some reason, that was cute. He’s always cute.

“From what I can tell, he’s not wrong,” Timber piped up with a light shrug. He did his best to hide his smile when Flash glanced down at the dog shyly; a faint red tint coloured Flash’s cheeks. If he could get that reaction out of Flash from complimenting him then he’d do it all the time. Not that he needed a reason to do so anyway.

“Like, dude, physically it doesn’t look like it compared to, for example, me, but you’ve definitely gotten stronger. I’ve seen it.” Sandalwood nudged Flash who let a small smile appear on his lips. Timber totally wasn’t staring.

“You know how to use an axe?” Timber asked. “Because it’s fine if you don’t, I can help you.”

Flash opened his mouth to speak but halted for a bit, thinking. The blush began to fade, much to Timber’s disappointment. In around half a second, he hummed mhm, his voice rising a little higher than usual due to the gentleness of the sound. “I can use an axe.”

“Great! All I want is for you to help me cut this thing down. Chop logs roughly a foot long. Does that make sense?” Timber’s voice softened at the end and he wasn’t sure why, but that didn’t matter because Flash nodded, passing him a smile. Timber wished he could film the way Flash smiled and store it because whose heart wouldn’t flutter at that?

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t used his camera in a while. Huh.

“And out of you two, um,” – he looked between them and Micro crossed his arms, an eyebrow lifted – “well, it’s obvious Sandalwood looks stronger, so could you cut the wood logs in half? There’s a wedge in the cart.”

“Oh yeah, no prob, dude. I got it.” Sandalwood smiled.

“Awesome!” Timber looked at Flash and he felt his grin falter. Flash glanced down at the dog in his arms and then held his bottom lip between his teeth.

“Um, Twilight asked me to look after Spike for her…” Flash trailed off when Timber looked to the right.

Timber spotted a tree stump, the top smooth and height low. “He can sit over there while you help?”

After peering over at stub, Flash crouched down, gingerly let Spike out of his arms, and watched him climb over the stump. “Stay there, okay?”

“Okayyy,” Spike sighed. He was about to sit but he suddenly stood, wagging his tail. “Wait, Flash.” Spike pulled his ears back and looked up at Flash who was about to walk away. The boy turned at the mention of his name and paused before rolling his eyes, a small grin playing on his lips.

He squatted down and scratched Spike’s ears, to which Spike responded pleasantly.

“Good boy.” Spike grinned at that. Flash stood again and looked at Timber. “So… should we start?”

Timber wondered what circumstances Flash got into to have learned how to use an axe. He wasn’t a master at it by any means compared to Timber, but he could cut some. Sentry must’ve learned it from somewhere and that held a curious string over Timer’s head.

Flash launched the blade into the bark, one sneaker-clad foot on the tree to keep it still. He let the haft rest on his thigh so he could roll up his sleeves. Timber’s eyes trailed down from Flash’s forearms, skin smooth, to the veins, very light against his backhand, and then landing on his hands. Flash’s hands were a blend of masculine and feminine, slender fingers but hand around the same size as Timber’s large ones. He was only looking at Flash’s hands and he wanted to know how they would feel holding his own, fingers intertwined with his. Timber’s palms wrapped around his axe handle tingled at the thought. Oh, holy shit.

He had always found Flash handsome. Handsome, pretty, gorgeous – any adjective that described beauty. While focused on his sister and the camp last summer, Timber had done a double-take when he spotted Sentry walking down from the bus behind Vice-Principal Luna. He’d never seen someone with features that fit so well like Flash’s before.

Now that he was out of a relationship, his attraction to Flash skyrocketed whenever he saw him. Timber didn’t have a typeper se – had a small list of turn-offs instead – but from what he could read off Flash, there was nothing he didn’t like about him.

Of course, he couldn’t say that one hundred percent. Yet, unlike most people he had encountered, he was more than willing to accept anything that Flash found ugly about himself, any flaws he came across. He didn’t think like that as if to say Flash’s flaws were easy to handle, he meant it in a way that when he encountered them, no matter how easy or tough they were, he’d try to handle them. Something inside his head told him Flash was worth it.

Flash swung at the same spot again. One more small cut and he’d have another log. But when he was about to pull the axe back again, he paused and then looked at him. Timber eyes widened for a second from the sudden turn.

“Is something wrong?” he asked softly, curiously.

Timber shook his head. “Oh, no, no, nothing wrong. Just seeing if you’re doing it right.” He bit his tongue. Don’t downgrade his efforts, you egg. “And if you needed any help,” he added with a casual tone as if that would save him.

Much to Timber’s surprise, Flash smiled. He looked… amused. “I’m good. Thanks, though.”

A beat passed. Timber wet his lips, drawing in a silent deep breath, and asked: “when did you learn to use an axe?”

Flash cut out his log and nudged it to the side with his foot. “My family and I were staying at our winter cabin for Hearth’s Warming last year. My Dad went to get firewood and I wanted to help so he taught me how to use one.”

“Ohh.” Timber slipped the head of the axe out of the split. “What does your Dad do?”

“He’s an architect. And, technically, the CEO of his architecture company.”

“Lemme guess, Sentry Corporation?”

Flash’s fake gasped. “How’d you know?” he giggled at the end. Please stop being so cute, I will combust. “But yeah.”

Timber struck the dent and chopped off that block. He had started in the middle while Flash worked where the roots were originally so they could get this done quicker. Timber laid the blade on the trunk and lifted it along with the two other logs he cut before.

“Are you the oldest in your family?” Timber asked, mostly for sake of saying something. He passed his blocks to Sandalwood.

Flash grabbed his two logs and wandered to them, his attention remaining on Timber. “Do I seem like the oldest?” Flash murmured curiously, tossing the log to Eco-Kid who poorly held back a smile, exchanging a knowing look with Micro.

“Uh, kinda?” he replied. In all honesty, Timber had no idea. He could see Flash Sentry being the oldest, the youngest or an only child. He knew nothing about Flash’s background life and none of the girls told him anything either. But he rather enjoyed this small talk, getting to know him better. And he muchrather enjoyed small talk with a much less awkward Flash Sentry.

Flash let out a laugh and started walking to where he dropped his axe. “I’m one of four, an older brother, an older sister, me and a younger brother.”

“Ohhh, I see,” Timber said with a chuckle. “What about your Mum? What does she do?”

“Oh, she’s an author.”

That snatched his attention.

“Really?!”

Flash nodded. “Heard of Flare Winter? Flare W. Sentry, even?”

The name rang a bell somewhere. Memories of Twilight dragging him forcefully down the corridors of a large bookstore flooded his head, then peering into a room, almost a hall, filled with people getting books signed by well-known authors. Twilight had read the names on the vertical banner outside and if he remembered right, Flare Winter was the third one down.

“Yeah, I have! She’s your Mum?!”

Flash bit his lip, smiling.

“The hell, that’s sick!”

The boy dodged his eyes away from Timber, shoulders sinking sheepishly.

“What does she write?” Timber asked, eagerly.

Flash’s eyes sparkled, a grin breaking out from his face in reaction to Timber’s enthusiasm. “Teen fiction and fantasy. Her teen fiction books are all standalones. There are around…” He looked up in thought. “Four books? Five? Four or five. And she has… one fantasy duology and a trilogy in the works.”

“What are her stories like? My TBR list has been really dry lately.”

“Hm,” he started, pulling his eyebrows in and tilting his head. “Oof, I’m gonna have to sell her stuff now, aren’t I? Hmm. What do you like in fiction?”

“Easy. Representation.”

Flash chuckled, nodding. “I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or anything, buuut all my Mum’s main characters are either gay or POC. Or both. Mainly both.” Despite his words, he passed him a proud smirk.

Timber’s brows rose. “Really? Um, what are they called, y’know, for scientific purposes.” He leaned his elbow on the end of his axe’s handle, pressing his lips together to conceal a smile. “Actually, what would you say I check out first?”

“Being the biased bitch I am, check out her fantasy stuff first,” he said.

Timber made sure his axe was firmly stuck in the log before crossing his arms. “If I don’t see magical girls with cute pony ears, wings, and a mirror portal in front of a high school leading to a land full of ponies, fake fantasy.”

Flash laughed and was it cliché to say it was the most heartwarming sound he had ever heard? Yeah. But did he care? No, not a bit.

“Wait, I know Teen Fiction demographic is for, you know, teens, but what’s your Mum’s Fantasy age demographic?” Timber asked, slipping his phone out. “I just want to know in case I need to hide the stories from my sister.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Ohhh. Yeah, I gotcha,” said Flash. “You’ll be fine, they’re targeted for teens.”

“Okay, good. You know, since my parents aren’t around to scold me, Gloriosa does it for them and boy.” He stared into the distance as he heard Flash snicker. “I get shit constantly for not calling her ‘Gloriosa apu’ – Bengali honorific – so imagine what would happen if she found out I was reading sex.”

Flash laughed again, this time with his whole body. His laugh was so full of energy, so contagious. Timber could feel himself holding back from completely losing it with him. He couldn’t remember if Flash laughed at all during their first proper encounter but he hoped he had. He wanted to see Flash smiling with his whole face, nose scrunching, eyes smaller, because Jesus, fuck, he’s so adorable.

“My Mum wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if she found out the shit I have on my phone,” Flash replied, passing Timber a coy look, completely contradicting what he just said. Timber was suddenly very tempted to know what kind of stuffFlash had on his phone, but he’d save that for another day. If that day ever came (which Timber silently hoped it did). “Hang on,” Flash spoke again. “Twilight hasn’t shown you my Mum’s books before?”

“Huh.” Timber blinked and then drew his eyebrows in. “Twilight’s read them?!”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “She fangirled my ear off once she finished the fantasy series.”

“The fuck—I can’t believe she’s been hiding these from me.”

“Oop.” Flash pressed his lips together and looked away innocently. “I have nothing to do with it.”

Timber laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll get back at her.” After jotting down the book titles that Flash told him on his phone – tapping the star on the notes to make sure he remembered this next time he was aimlessly scrolling through his phone – he shoved it back into his pocket.

“We need to finish this.” Flash sighed, looking down at the trunk. Now hearing that, Timber didn’t want to continue chopping down wood. He just wanted to drag Flash by the hand – giving him an excuse to hold the boy’s hand – and take him on a walk through the Everfree Forest. To just talk. Talk about anything. He hadn’t felt this good and carefree about everything else around them since his dates with Twilight and those were months ago.

He had always tried his best to seem happy for the campers, especially when he and Twilight broke up. He was used to it, shielding his messier emotions. It was part of his job too and he had seen Gloriosa do it all the time so he could also say he learned from her. Sure, he always had fun with the kids at camp, helping them catch fish, making them laugh whenever someone got hurt so they’d feel better. But he had to admit, those moments were all short-lived.

Being around Flash was easy. He was so… Timber couldn’t even figure out how to word it. Every laugh he had with him felt real, normal, great. He felt great. Flash actually made him happy and left a lingering feeling in him that Timber knew he wouldn't be able to forget in an hour or so. He just wanted to fill this day up with as many conversations, arm nudges, giggles as possible so he’d spend days after thinking about it.

Timber picked up his axe reluctantly with an internal sigh. The quicker you get this done, the quicker you can talk, maybe find an opportunity to flirt, and ask him out. He took a glance at the boy and regret seeped into his system.

Flash bent over to grab his axe and Timber’s eyes wander to Flash’s shamelessly tiny shorts, how they slightly rode up his thighs. Then his eyes rose to the curve of Flash’s ass and—

Holy shit.

He couldn’t enjoy the side view for long as Flash stood up quickly, forcing Timber to avert his gaze. Timber almost swung the axe too harshly into the tree trunk, only a bit of the bark still holding itself together at the bottom.

Fuuuck. Timber turned his head slightly so he could screw his eyes shut and erase the many thoughts the treacherous side of his brain conjured up. He’s definitely not straight, what the fuck would a straight guy do with an ass like that anyway, holy shit.

Timber had barely gotten the chance to up his game and drop a flirt somewhere in their conversation and he was already—oh, for fuck’s sake.

Timber cut that last bit of the log and kicked it forward to move it out the way. The kick wasn’t too harsh, only harsh enough for Flash to shift his focus onto it for a split second. Timber estimated around twelve inches from the log where he finished off, his blade hovering over the bark.

“Um, Flash…” Micro spoke up.

Both of them raised their heads. They found Sandalwood and Micro with their backs turned to them, staring at the lake darkened by the trees. Micro snapped his head back and pointed his thumb in the direction of the edge of the lake, specifically where Spike was.

The dog managed to somehow jump onto a cliff-like rock, towering over a part of the lake that was nowhere near the shallow end, or as shallow as this lake could get. Timber heard the clatter of an axe behind him.

“What the fuck—Spike! I told you to stay on the tree stump!” Flash rushed past the others before Timber could reach out and grab his arm.

Timber squinted in search of Spike’s sudden motivation to move from his spot and caught sight of a brown, bushy-tailed creature. “It’s the squirrels again,” Timber groaned under his breath.

Just as he said that, he heard a voice all too familiar shout: “Spike! What are you doing?!” Timber shot his head to Twilight sprinting down the trail, Applejack speeding up behind her.

“I-I really don’t know how the hell he got up there—I’m sorry!” Flash called out, anxiety staining in his voice. An urge fueled Timber’s legs, an urge to run up and help Flash but he wasn’t sure if he should do anything. Or if he would be any help at all.

“No, no, it’s okay, Flash, this isn’t your fault,” Twilight assured him in a warm voice and then turned to her dog. “Spike, how in the world did you get up there?!” From the way Twilight’s words faltered at the word world, Timber could sense the girl biting back curses.

The squirrel jumped into the branches overhead, though it didn’t escape. It appeared to be changing its mind every second, crawling back and forth on the connecting limbs. Twilight’s scolding tone went in one dog-ear and out the other as Spike continued to ogle at the animal.

“Oh my lord,” Flash muttered in annoyance, gripping the edge of the rock to try and jump up.

Amongst the other three’s yells, Twilight taking cautious steps closer and attempting to avoid all the brambles and sharp-ended plants that could scratch along her shins, Flash grabbed onto a tree branch above his head. When pulling himself up, he almost reached the end of the rock to safely crouch down.

Twilight looked up from the ground. “Flash, it’s okay, you don’t need to—”

Before she could finish, the squirrel leapt onto the branch Flash’s fingers gripped, specifically on Flash’s fingers. Spooking him, he instinctively shook his hand off and lost that grip.

“Ow!” He stood from his fall and staggered away from the stone cliff. His body jittered in pain, hand sliding to his inner right thigh. Flash squeezed his eyes and he removed his hand in an instant, his jaw tightening. The second Timber caught red smears at the heel of his palm, he dashed to his cart, pushing the logs out of the way to pick up the first aid kit he kept around in case he got a splinter or cuts. He squeezed past AJ, Micro and Sandalwood, kneeling on both knees to inspect the injury.

“I’m okay—it’s nothing,” Flash said through a couple of forced laughs. Timber gripped Flash’s left ankle so the boy wouldn’t shy away and lifted his hand, thumb brushing lightly along the bigger tears. Flash cussed loudly.

“It’s nothing, my ass,” Timber deadpanned, but his hand momentarily rose to try to soothe the pain for him, only for him to realise he probably shouldn’t. Instead, he tapped his backhand against Flash’s calf for him to spread a little so Timber could access the cuts better.

Flash followed suit and moved his free leg to the side a bit. Timber clicked the kit open after brushing the blood off onto his shorts, fingers digging around for wipes.

The chime of Twilight’s telekinesis fluttered into Timber’s ears along with an apologetic whine from Spike. Flash, who was originally looking down at Timber as he tended his wounds, stared up and breathed a sigh of relief. Timber assumed with his back to them that the chaos had solved itself with magic and Spike was in safe hands.

“How many times do I have to tell you to not run after squirrels?” Twilight chided. “Flash, are you okay? What happened to your thigh?”

“S’all right, nothing a first aid kit won’t handle.” He plastered a smile for her, yet Timber could feel the pain behind it.

He wondered for a few seconds – as he unfolded the wet wipe with a flick of his wrist – about how well Twilight and Flash knew each other. He didn’t think anything of it, just curious. They spoke so softly and friendly to each other but not to the point where they seemed like they were trying to avoid awkwardness, it came naturally. Maybe it was just how their friendship was.

Speaking of awkwardness, he turned back to the others. “You guys can continue with what you’re doing, I’ll just take care of this.”

Applejack nodded, shooting Flash a warm and slightly pitying smile as she walked over to the cart.

“Seeing as you can’t behave around Flash since he’s too nice, I’ll keep an eye on you,” Twilight grumbled. Spike dodged his eyes over to Flash and whimpered, genuinely sorry for what happened.

“Twi,” Flash said and raised an arm, calling her to him. Once a puzzled Twilight reached them, Flash scratched Spike behind the ears, fingertips running through the dog’s purple fur.

“I’m sorry, Flash.” The dog frowned.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine,” he replied. He took a glance at Twilight and let out a chuckle. Timber assumed she made a face at Flash. “I forgive you. Don’t beat yourself up over it, ‘kay?” Spike nodded. “And you, don’t scold him too much.” Flash teased, swatting Twilight’s shoulder.

“Fiiine.” She rolled her eyes.

Faint footsteps in the wet soil faded into the background. Timber dabbed the wipe along the bleeding cuts, barely touching them at first in fear of hurting Flash. He paused for a split second when Flash’s hand came up to the edge of his shoulder. His chest tingled. This wasn’t the time to panic about the fact Flash was touching him so he carried on, forcing himself to forget about Flash’s hand on his body. When Timber wiped along the deeper tears, Flash’s fingers dug into Timber’s right shoulder as the boy grunted through clenched teeth.

“It’s okay,” Timber comforted. “It’ll be over soon, I promise.”

A gentle breeze overtook the splashes of the river. Flash spoke up again, but in mutters, “I wanted to help but I ended up getting injured instead. And it turns out I didn’t do much.” Timber frowned and glanced up.

“I mean, you tried,” he said in the softest voice he could.

Flash pulled the corner of his mouth into his cheek.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Timber smiled at him. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, you already help enough.”

From all the magic stories Twilight and Applejack tell him, they always loved to point out Flash helping them. Not only did he like hearing what they had to say about him, he just loved hearing how much of a genuine angel Flash was.

Before Flash could deny that again, Timber shrugged a shoulder, going back to the cuts. “I can get the girls to lecture you on how much you help.”

Timber gladly accepted the chuckle he brought out of the musician. He sensed a smile in the laugh before he touched the larger cut and Flash hissed. “Shit.”

“M’sorry.”

“No, no, it’s okay. Not your fault.” Flash caressed Timber’s shoulder he gripped onto too tightly. “Did I hurt you?”

“Nah. You’re good.” Timber waved it off. Still, Flash’s freezing fingers slid up to the crook of Timber’s neck. A good kind of freezing but the idea of Flash’s hand on him made Timber warm up more.

He continued to clean up the blood and did so quickly, yet Flash’s hand remained on his neck. He didn’t mind it there, of course, he just didn’t want Flash to notice how worked up he got over him. Honestly, Timber’s ego would’ve gone off the charts if he knew someone felt the same way towards him the way he did for Flash.

Flash’s other hand scratched the back of his injured thigh to distract himself from focusing on the pain. They were almost done – Timber just needed to peel off a large white plaster and stick it onto the wounds. The marks started closer to the front of Flash’s thighs and escaped down his inner thigh, so Timber had to position the plaster diagonally. He fumbled with it as he realised how close he was to Flash’s thighs now; it didn’t help that Timber was such a leg person.

He flattened the plaster twice more with the heel of his palm, making sure it was on Flash nicely. Timber groaned internally, wanting to scream at his dumbassery, as he closed the first aid kit and stood. He had to keep his eyes off Flash’s thighs now since he wasn’t in a position to gawk at them, but from what he could see in the image he etched into his mind, Flash had the thighs of a motherfucking dancer. The simple thought of Flash being a dancer alongside a musician was… really attractive.

Timber relaxed his hand on his own thigh as he got up, Flash removing his hand from Timber’s neck. For a moment he could feel how sweaty Flash’s hand had grown on his neck and he didn’t know if it was because of Timber or the contact between them.

Flash smiled and it was only then Timber realised Flash had a dimple in his right cheek. A fucking dimple. No wonder his smile is so addicting. “Thanks, Timber.” His name had never sounded so good out of someone’s mouth before.

“Don’t mention it,” Timber said. “Be careful, all right?” He didn’t think twice before resting a hand on Flash’s shoulder, feeling the firmness of it under his hoodie.

“All right,” Flash said. Timber wanted to coo at how tiny his voice had turned. Flash’s left hand came up to Timber’s bicep and Timber pulled his hand off Flash’s shoulder. “C’mon, we gotta finish with the wood.”

Timber let him go first, finally smacking his forehead with his palm. The shoulder thing meant bro. Fucking bro, who even was he, a straight white boy? He rolled his eyes, shoulders sulking. He was better than this.

He wasn’t aware of the time, and before Timber did, Flash had pulled out his phone. His fucking phone of the latest model. Timber had stared at it in awe before interrupting Flash with a mess of stutters and three enthusiastic what the fuck’s, causing Flash to laugh. He apparently had a model from three years ago before buying this one so he said he wasn’t one of those kids who live to burn off Daddy’s money – in Flash’s words. Still flabbergasted, Timber looked over Flash’s shoulder, studying the phone’s fancy design and how new it looked.

“You need to visit the city more,” Flash giggled, smiling with his eyes.

“Hm, maybe I will.” I want to visit it with you, though.

They eventually got all the wood cut by twelve past two, the incident at the lake bay having been fifteen minutes ago, and the four boys were making their way back with the remaining logs.

“You guys go ahead of me,” Timber had said to Micro and Sandalwood. “I’ll stay behind you to protect you from Gaea Everfree.” He was pleasantly met with Flash laughing and smacking his arm and the other boys rolling their eyes with a smile. However, when Flash had begun walking with the other two, Timber reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Uh, maybe I could use another hand to take on Gaea.”

Flash had looked back with a sweet grin and walked with Timber on his right. So there they were, behind Micro and Sandalwood.

“So, what are you into?” Flash asked. This was the first time he had initiated any small talk between them so Timber couldn’t help but straighten his posture, growing a little excited.

Flash already had the opportunity to learn about Timber’s family, or lack thereof, from CHS’ time at Camp Everfree, at the CCSMS, and probably from stuff Twilight might’ve told him, but the idea that he wanted to know more gave Timber additional hope that Flash didn’t hate him.

Flash probably didn’t hate him at all. Maybe it was just that little voice in Timber’s head that liked playing Insecurities with him.

“Hobbies, I mean. You know I love music and, now, reading; what about you?”

“Hm… well…” Timber trailed off with his train of thought, the passing sound of his cart’s wheels rolling on the dirt track filled the comforting silence. There were a few things he could say – star gazing, also reading, drawing… oh. Wait. “Sometimes I like filming and video editing in my free time.”

Flash’s eyebrows tilted upwards and Timber’s heart jumped, revelling in that reaction. “Filming and video editing—what the fuck, that’s awesome! What do you, like, film in particular?”

Timber was about to answer when he thought of something. “Pretty things,” he said while looking directly at Flash. Even if Timber knew what he was doing, he hoped the red in his cheeks wasn’t obvious.

Flash seemed to pick up on the flirting too as the end of his left eyebrow rose. Timber would’ve missed that completely if he hadn’t been staring attentively at his reaction. And maybe Timber’s mind was playing tricks on him but Flash’s vivid cornflower eyes twinkled with intensity, such intensity that caused heat to pool in Timber’s stomach.

He still blushed, but there was something different about it. It wasn’t the pretty red he had seen before; it was pink. It felt different too, less shy, more cheeky. Timber liked it. “Oh? What kindof pretty things?”

“Like,” Timber began, reaching up and lifting a tree branch out of their path, Flash ducking his head with him. Flash raised his axe and leaned the handle on his right shoulder. “Pretty flowers, pretty views, pretty people…” He trailed off with the tilt of his head. “Just to name a few.”

“I see,” Flash replied, fingers fiddling with the haft of his axe. “Cute.”

Timber watched the blush fade from Flash’s cheeks as the boy turned to look at the path, a small smile playing on his lips. He wasn’t sure what to take from that response other than the obvious: Flash was flirting back. There was a decently sized rock in the middle of the dirt path and if Timber didn’t look down to try and calm his cheeks down subtly, he probably would’ve tripped over it.

He chuckled, deciding to take the conversation more seriously now since he clearly couldn’t handle the possibility of Flash reciprocating his flirtatious antics. “So, most of the footage I have is, really, just day to day shit I do at the camp with my sister – of course not filming any of the students. I have a few clips of Twilight and me but not as much. I think I’ve been filming since I was… eleven? And editing ever since my sister caught me watching those fancy how to edit videos on YouTube and bought me video editing software for my twelfth birthday.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet! So you’ve done it for five to six years?” Flash looked at him again and he looked endeared. Timber’s heart drummed in his chest.

“Yeah, basically,” Timber said, shrugging the shoulder of the arm that was dragging his cart. Wait, did that look too dismissive? He didn’t want to seem uninterested in the conversation when it was practically the opposite.

“That’s amazing, oh my gosh.” Flash smiled at him. Okay, phew. “Have you shown them to anyone? Like, Twi?”

“Not Twilight, but I’ve shown one to Gloriosa. And not to be, ahem, me or anything but she really liked it.” Timber tried not to soundtoo proud of himself, but he couldn’t help it.

“That’s good! I’m glad.” Flash smiled fully. “I take it the films are personal?”

“Pretty much. Even though I don’t have that many people to share them with.” Timber felt himself frown and as soon as he noticed, he blinked out of it and pulled on a happy-neutral face.

“Oh, is it because you’ve been, like, stuck here for most of your life?”

“Mhm. I’ve recently been going out more ever since I became friends with the girls. They’ve taken me out to parties and such.” Not to mention numerous dates with Twilight before but he didn’t reaaaaally want to talk about them. Especially with Flash. “But yeah, I’ve been stuck here mostly.”

“You like going out a lot?” Flash asked.

“Yeah! While I love it here, it gets boring after a while, y’know?”

“Yeahh.” Flash repositioned the axe on his shoulder. “So where have you been? Outside of Camp Everfree?”

Timber blew out some air as he thought. “The Planetarium, Rarity’s Boutique for, like, literally a minute, a few restaurants here and there. And again, parties but I don’t know where they happen. Oh! And Canterlot Celestial Society Members’ Social.” He looked at Flash, wiggling his eyebrows at him to which Flash giggled and nudged him with his elbow. “But yeah, I think that’s it, to be honest.”

“Oh, wow. So, you really haven’t been out a lot. But you want to?”

“Yeah,” Timber said with a shrug. “It seems like so much fun. I also still want to go to the mall.” He glanced at his boots, making faint footprints in the dirt and dust.

“You still haven’t hung out at the mall?!” Flash jaw dropped.

Timber simply laughed. “I know, right?!”

“Not even with Twilight?”

He shook his head.

“Man.”

“You’d think the reason I haven’t is because I’m a sheltered kid, right?” Timber joked and then waved a hand. “It’s fine, I’ll convince Gloriosa someday.”

“You’ve got good convincing skills?”

“Only the best at Camp Everfree.” Timber clicked his tongue with a smirk.

Flash sighed out a chuckle. “You and your ego.”

“What? You gonna roll your eyes?”

“Nahh. But I’m tempted to punch you.” Flash said, lips vaguely pulling up to counter Timber’s smirk.

“You can punch me anywhere but my face.”

“Who’d wanna punch a face like yours?”

“People who think I’m too good-looking to be real.”

Flash laughed, pushing his shoulder. The cart behind them rattled from the movement. “Timber, I swear to God.”

Timber laughed with him until he processed Flash’s words. His smile dropped from his face as he looked down at the track, wonderstruck. A face like mine? Did that mean…? Timber stole a glance at the boy, blood rushing to his cheeks. He didn’t mean that. Right?