Licorice unpacked her bags as she settled into her new place, a small home close to the hospital where she was assigned to work at. Things were quiet in the town, something she didn't mind one bit. It was better this way, better than the noise pollution in most of Equestria, and certainly better than the pompous jerks in Canterlot. She scowled a bit, remembering the stuff she heard and saw. It was a disgrace to call that place the capital. She wondered why the Princesses wouldn't just move to somewhere better. Then her mind recalled that atop a mountain was an advantageous position in case Equestria was ever invaded and conceded that it was okay, just filled with terrible ponies.
She pulled out a picture frame from one of her bags and looked at it, smiling a little at it at the many ponies. It was the photo of her and her friends post-graduation, all of them lined up and embracing. It was her, Dyspnea Drag, that idiot Septic Cleanse, and... Xathan. She stared at him the longest, never blinking as if she expected him to pop out of the picture. When that obviously didn't happen, she sighed and set the picture on her bedside drawer. It felt too long since she had talked with him; she always expected to see him whenever she exited the house, and every time she was disappointed. Nothing felt right to her without the stallion there.
Her mind wondered a bit about the last night she had seen him, and considered that maybe what happened that night was a mistake. Maybe, what happened that night was something that should have been left in her own fantasy. Maybe they went on a bit too strongly. She didn't quite know, but what she did know was that every time she thought of him, her heart ached with worry. She lied back on her and closed her eyes, slowly recounting the night...
Everyone was in the middle of celebrating Xathan's success in acquiring a new place of work, and Septic had just recovered from Licorice's blow after she and Xathan got done arguing about his placement. Dr. Biotic had pulled out the salt licks and hard cider, to which, everyone was partaking in. Everyone, that is, except Xathan, who simply sang with his friends with a joyous expression on his face. He clapped to the beat of his favorite songs, swaying to the tunes while everyone sang like drunken sailors. Eventually, the group formed a conga line and danced to their songs, and Xathan separated himself from the group, walking upstairs.
When he didn't show up after a while, Licorice decided to check on him and make sure he was doing okay. She found him looking up at the sky from his balcony, eyes lit with the stars in the sky. Slowly approaching him, she spoke up.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"
He flinched and looked back, relaxing when he saw it was her. He gave a nod as she moved closer.
"Ya know... Daddy always told me that nopony is ever alone, cause they have the sun and the moon."
"Your father's a smart man." He said with a smile. The two sat beside each other, Xathan looking down at the streets unsure of what else to say. Finally, Xathan spoke again. "You know, I... I never really had a family. They tell me that my village was wiped in a Changeling raid, and I was the only survivor cause a scouting party found me in a basket. The only closest members of my family were Mrs. Allspice and Dr. Biotic."
Licorice gave a small nod and looked down with him. "I ain't gonna sugar coat it, Xathan... Your chance of survival in the Slums is slim. A-Are you sure you wanna go through with this and go somewhere else?"
"Snidewater Slums need a doctor. I'll give it to them."
Licorice gave a sigh. She knew that no matter what she'd try and do, she had no chance of convincing him to change his mind. She felt like she was losing a friend. Not just in terms of moving away, but in sending him off to his death. It just felt wrong. She wanted to fight for him, she wanted to make sure that he was safe, but he just insisted to be sent into the lion's den alone. She started to tear up as she looked down at his hooves, unable to stop the downpour on her cheeks. And that was when he wrapped his hooves around her and pulled her in for a close hug. Before she could even say anything, she felt his lips touch her forehead. Her body instantly went warm. Her knees quivered and her cheeks went a bright red. She leaned into him and clung to his coat, shutting her eyes tight as she just savored the embrace, the only sound being the distant sound of hooves and the quiet sniffles coming from Licorice.
Xathan then spoke. "... Did you really want me to come with you to Trottingham?..."
"Don't ruin this moment..." Licorice commented, a small smile appearing on her face. After another long silence in which the two embraced each other, Xathan took a step back and looked at her. "It sounds like the party is starting to wind down. Maybe it's best that you get some rest."
Licorice nodded, tracing her hoof across the ground as her blush held. "Can I... Can I sleep with you? Just for tonight?"
This time, it was Xathan's cheeks that had turned red as he looked around nervously. "I... Well, I'm not sure... Colleagues should be, you know..."
"P-Please, Xath..." She muttered as she stepped closer. "Who knows when we'll see each other again. Just let me have this one thing and I promise, nothing has to happen between us."
He stared into her eyes as she silently pleaded with him and sighed, nodding. "Very well... Just... Make yourself comfortable while I take care of something first." She nodded and walked back inside with him, entering his room. Even as this was the last day, it still seemed like a mess, papers scattered across the floor, and bags containing his belongings strewn about. He sat at his desk, pulling outa book and writing in it speedily as Licorice slowly got into his bed, making sure there was plenty of space for him when he returned. She waited patiently for him, the sounds of the scribbling of his quill moving across the pages filling the air as she stared ahead at a bookshelf. She spent time counting them up and down until finally, the sound of the stool moving alerted her of his completion.
When Xathan got into bed, Licorice immediately moved into him and wrapped her hooves around him. She cuddled into him with a smile, taking in the smell of the many herbs that clung to his body mixed with the hard cider. It made for a smell of apples and tea that made her squeeze him lightly before turning and backing into him. He, in turn, wrapped a hoof around her, pulling her in close. That's when her flanks and tail started rubbing up against him and she blushed, having never been this intimate with anyone before. She tried to focus on the tender hoof holding the two were doing, or the body heat that radiated off his larger frame into her tight, petite body. She wiggled from side to side, incidentally rubbing herself on him which made his body squirm about. She was about to ask him if everything was alright when all of a sudden...
She felt something press against her.
It was hot, twitching slightly, and hard. And it made her freeze up and go red.
Both of them lied there, unsure of what to do. The two were virgins, only knowing of such matters from a scientific standpoint and not from a more passionate, pony standpoint. Licorice especially was at a crossroads. In her mind, the only solution to the problem was for her to take care of Xathan's (not so) little problem, an act that, by her own logic, would guarantee that the two would be inseparable. And yet... She couldn't. She knew his stance on that thing since he stated it during a post-finals party that they were invited to. Nothing until he found his special somepony.
But... she thought. I want to be your special somepony, Xath...
"I-I'm sorry, Liccy..." He muttered quietly, squirming some more. "I... I didn't mean for that to-"
She moved her hoof and touched it to his lips, shushing him slowly. She looked back and smiled a bit. "It's okay..." she whispered. "Let's just get some rest, okay big boy...?"
He nodded, pulling her back in and nuzzling against her mane with a calm expression. She smiled, rubbing against him a little and giggling as she closed her eyes with one final thought drifting in her mind. Emphasis on big... I envy whoever gets you, Xath...
Licorice's eyes snapped open, staring up at the ceiling as the memory came to an end. Everything that happened that night made her feel... Something. Something warm and soothing in her that made her heart flutter. She'd never truly been in love before. She always found most stallions to be annoying, stupid, and not worth the effort. Xath was different, though. He was kind, intelligent, and he always put others before himself, even to his own detriment. She admired that about him and wished she could do the same. She looked out the window as she heard the pitter-patter of rain start to sound off. The lights in the Trottingham streets had already been turned on as night fell upon them. She sighed and took a seat at her desk, pulling out her quill and paper and starting a letter.
She'd spend all night working on the letter, crupling and tearing drafts as she tried her best to express herself. It was always hard for someone who normally kept quiet about how she felt. In her mind, she felt that not being there for him while he was suffering in the Slums would be wrong. By the dawn, she was passed out at her desk, snoozing quietly as she only had five words written down.
Dear Xath...
I miss you...