As soon as the word left Vapor’s mouth, she winced. Her eyes instantly shot down to the table, and she pinned her ears back on her head.

Whatever courage had led to her finally making her confession, it was soon replaced by fear. She tried to swallow, but there was nothing swallow in the first place; her mouth felt dry as cotton. But it was too late. No takebacks…

But despite the new wave of fear washing over her, there was another feeling that was beginning to bubble up alongside it: curiosity. Morbid, but intense curiosity. Vapor Trail held her breath, and dared to look back up from the table. She didn’t know what she expected to see on Sky Stinger’s face. Perhaps disgust, perhaps worry, or maybe even some fear of his own to accompany hers…

Instead, she got something quite a bit different: a couple of slow blinks, and what looked like an almost blank stare… that is, except for the one eyebrow which he raised quizzically at her. Vapor’s own expression didn’t change, but seeing the way he was looking at her gave her momentary pause.

For some reason, she pictured something… else. She couldn’t put her hoof on what, but the way Sky seemed to processing what she just said, it almost seemed like he…

“Oh. Well uhh, okay… I mean, i-if that’s something you want, I… sure, Vape. Sure, I-I think I could do that, it’s…” He cleared his throat, “…I mean, that’s definitely not what I was expecting just now, but uhh… but that’s okay! And it’s alright, you don’t need to feel embarrassed or anything either, okay? It’s not all that weird to want a little—”

Aaaand… there it was. Vapor cringed inwardly, feeling like someone had just jabbed her in the gut with their hoof. It was a pang of sympathy, as well as just a bit of frustration… but she didn’t let the latter part show. After all, it’s not like it was even remotely his fault…

Bless this stallion, Vapor said to herself safely in the confines of her own mind. Bless him…

She shook her head, shrinking in her seat. “N-No no no Sky, I uhh… that’s not, um… that’s not exactly what I meant.”

Sky’s sentence trailed off with her interruption. Vapor watched him furrow his brow at her, and this time, a clear swish of his tail betrayed his discomfort. Her gut tied itself up into knots, and she gave a nervous mumble and crossed her front hooves together. “Sorry…”

He still looked down at her with his gaze unwavering. If it was even possible, Vapor suddenly found herself even more put on the spot than before; some part of her knew that this was going to happen, but it was now abundantly clear that she was going to have to get a bit more… “specific” with her request...

Sky’s voice lowered noticeably. “…Oh. Well then, uh…” He shifted a bit in his seat. “Then… what did you mean, e-exactly?”

Vapor heard the concern in his voice, and it made her heart flutter unpleasantly in her chest. The mare’s left hoof went up to rub her right leg up and down, self-soothing as she took another deep breath.

“I mean… I mean, I… gah,” Vapor gave what almost sounded like a low growl, and her face turned red. But she regrouped, and feeling a trickle of sweat traveling down the back of her neck, she spoke up once more. “I mean… Sky?”

It was only his name, spoken in a questioning tone. But somehow, Sky seemed to know exactly what it meant; the other, unspoken question was contained within. He hesitated, but only for a short moment… and then, he nodded his head.

“Yes, Vapor.”

Unlike when she said his name, his tone didn’t convey a question. It was affirmation. Vapor heard it, and she felt her heart skip a beat.

Yes, Vapor. It’s gonna be okay.

The fear didn’t leave her. But the courage… the courage returned. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. Vapor Trail closed her eyes, and she was about to further elaborate…

But just then, an odd smile flickered across her lips. And to her own immense surprise, an idea entered her racing mind, and stuck around long enough for her to latch onto it. And long enough for her to decide to…

A weird twinkle of mischief mixed together with all of the anxiety tearing her insides up… and Vapor decided that she was going to roll with it instead. She took a deep breath.

“Sky… okay. So uh… you know how you always tease me about how easy it is to tell when I’m embarrassed when I blush? You know, because of my white coat?”

Vapor’s voice slowly grew in volume and confidence, but she still didn’t completely look him in the eye. In response to the question, Sky’s one eyebrow once again raised up questioningly. He pursed his lips in thought, and nodded his head slowly. “Uhh… yeah?”

Vapor waited for a moment, reading his face. But alas, it was apparent to her that it wasn’t getting through to him what she meant, yet... so, with a short sigh, she continued.

“…Weeell… heh… so let’s just say that there’s another part of me where redness shows up really easily… and that I planned to tell you all this before our week off f-for a good reason.”

Vapor’s pulse pounded in her ears. Her entire face turned red with embarrassment, and a part of her wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and disappear into her chair. But she bravely forced those feelings aside, and once again faced him eye to eye, watching him.

At first, the look on her stallion’s face didn’t change very much. He cocked his head and looked down sideways toward the floor, pondering her words in his head. Vapor studied him closely, lips parted slightly as she waited with baited breath.

A few more seconds passed… but nothing. For a moment, Vapor could feel the frustration building up inside of her like a swelling balloon, and she couldn’t suppress an annoyed frown. Just how direct was she going to have to be? After all, she knew Sky had missed all of her little hints about this before, but was she really going to have to say, Hey Sky, I need you to put me over your lap and hold me down while you…

But just then, as she was lost in thought… Vapor saw it. It wasn’t much, but to her it said everything: Sky’s other eyebrow went up.

And then, even more surprisingly: the redness on his cheeks, blushing so hard that it was plainly visible even through his dark cerulean coat. Vapor felt the air catching in her lungs when she saw it.

Right then, she knew. She knew that he knew…

“Oh.” Sky’s eyes darted back and forth between her, and the floor. As much as Vapor would have loved to see a different look on her stallion’s face right now, deep down she knew all along that this had always been the greater likelihood. She could see the speechlessness setting in, and quickly decided to break the silence.

“Y-Yeah, I know, Sky… I know this is a lot to take in. But… do you get what I mean, now?” Vapor’s ears pinned back on her head apologetically. To his credit, Sky maintained a rather neutral facial expression, an effort which she appreciated. But she knew there was probably going to be a lot more to talk about in the coming minutes… or hours…

Sky bit his lip, and his nostrils flared. Very slowly, he nodded his head. “Uhh… yeah. I mean, at least I think so? So uhh, Vape, do you…”

The blush never left his cheeks. His voice and words were tentative, and his voice cracked slightly. But Vapor’s heart, which had been thumping so wildly she thought it might give out, actually began to slow down despite his obvious discomfort.

He was about to ask a question. And not only that, but a question in a tone that didn’t carry with it even a hint of judgment… Vapor couldn’t have asked for anything more than that.

“So does that mean that you’re like… into pain, then?”

Still, her embarrassment was far from gone. She smiled sheepishly, lowering her head. “I guess… sort of? But not just, you know, pain by itself…”

“Okaaay… But you DO want it to hurt, then? Like… hurt hurt?” asked Sky. He kept his tone admirably level, but Vapor could sense his newfound discomfort through the way his tail swished and his chest muscles visibly tensed up.

Vapor waited a moment as her mind raced. With every fiber of her being, she wanted to tell him the full truth, right then and there. She wanted to come totally clean, and tell him exactly what she wanted… but right as she opened her mouth, she hesitated.

Brave as she was feeling right now, Vapor couldn’t ignore the discomfort and uncertainty that Sky was showing her right now. What if she overplayed her cards right now? But at the same time, she couldn’t lie, either…

She made her decision.

“…Yes. I do.” Vapor gave a resolute nod. But as soon as she did, her body immediately shrank back, and all of a sudden she felt her heartbeat quicken as if someone had jabbed it with a cattle prod.

No going back, now. Sky knew everything, now. He was about to know what a freak she actually was… and all she could do now was wait for his response. She bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut and turning her head away as worst case scenarios raced through her mind…

She heard his voice break through the tense silence, and all of her other thoughts were suddenly whisked away like fog in the wind.

“Okay… s-sorry, Vape, I uh… I’m just a little surprised right now. I’m uhh… not exactly sure what to say…”

Vapor Trail’s face, which had been blushing nonstop for the past few minutes, suddenly blanched. She felt her throat tighten, and her eyes began to heat up.

This was it. She’d overplayed her cards. Things would never be the same, and she’d never…

“But…”

Vapor froze. So did her heartbeat. She clenched her jaw shut tightly, perking up her ears. Eyes fluttering open, she dared to look up from the floor…

…And when she did, she saw the smile on his face. It was faint, almost imperceptible… but somehow, it conveyed more warmth to Vapor than almost anything ever had. Sky’s eyes were wide, but a gentleness in his gaze made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“…I love you, Vapor. I love you, no matter what, even if… well, even if I guess I don’t fully understand you yet? But… I promise, I’m gonna try and my best to understand. Okay?”

At first, Vapor’s face remained blank. It was as if her brain was buffering, taking its sweet time to process what Sky had just said. The stallion’s eyes never left her, and his smile widened slightly. He shuffled a bit in his seat.

“A-And I uh… I definitely still have questions, too,” he said with a nervous flick of his tail. He swallowed, the blush returning to his cheeks. “Plenty of them. S-So… can we talk some more? But, you know, together?”

Vapor still wasn’t responding. Sky scooted to the side of the sofa, and patted the cushion next to him. He even unfurled his right wing, laying it flat across the back of the sofa like a throw blanket, framing the spot. HER spot.

For a moment, it looked almost as if Vapor was staring through Sky instead of at him. Like her mind had drifted away… but eventually, her brain caught back up with her.

And when it did…

Vapor’s eyes welled up. Her lip quivered, and then, it stretched upward into a smile. The worst case scenarios, something which she had been bracing herself for only moments prior… just like that, they seemed so silly.

She nodded her head, choking a sob back.

“…O-Of course, Sky. Absolutely. Of c-course…”

Her body entered autopilot as she slid down from her seat, walking around the table and blinking away fresh tears. Sky’s smile turned into a toothy grin, and he beamed down at Vapor as she approached.

The way she sidled up to him, climbing onto the seat and planting her forehead into his breast, practically melted his heart. He immediately wrapped his wing around her as she silently cried into him, hot tears staining his fur. And even with her face basically smooshed against his chest, he could see the sweet, sweet smile of relief she now wore on her blushing face.

Sky wrapped both of his hooves around her frame, and fanned his feathers up and around her head like a down blanket. He spoke softly down to her.

“You’re okay. I got you.” He kissed the top of her head, and began slowly rubbing his hoof up and down her back. “I love you.”

Vapor sniffed. She didn’t even hug back, but her body offered up no tension or resistance, just allowing herself to be held. She shuddered a little against him, and her voice peeped out, partially muffled by his chest fur.

“So… y-you don’t think I’m a freak?” she asked timidly. Right away, Sky scoffed, and he gave a tiny chuckle.

“No, Vape. I most certainly do not think you’re a freak.” He kissed her again on the same spot on her head, and he felt a puff of hot air on his fur as she gasped. He smirked. “As a matter of fact, I think you’re pretty great. Okay?”

He pet her head with his wing, softly stroking it through her wispy mane. Hearing his reply, a tearful little giggle bubbled out of Vapor’s chest.

“Heheheh, okayyy…” Sky felt as her right hoof reached around his croup to hug him back. “H-Hey, Sky?”

“Yes, Vape?” he replied. Sky slumped back against the couch as she leaned further into him, turning her face to rest her cheek under his chin. He kept his wing wrapped tightly around her.

“Can we just… stay like this for a little while? We can still talk later, b-but... just not right now?” she asked. Her whole body curled up against him, bunching her hind legs up beneath her. Sky chuckled again, and he nodded his head.

“Mmhm. Sure thing, Vape. In fact, we’ll stay like this…” He kissed her head again. “…as long…” Kiss. “…as…” Kiss. “…you like.”

Vapor Trail shuddered from the feeling of his soft lips on her skin as a happy chill traveled down her spine. She sighed contentedly, relaxing into his strong embrace fully, and she blinked away another pair of tears.

“I love you, Sky.”

“I love you, too, Vapor.”

The two ponies pressed against one another tightly. Silence, save for the faint sound of gentle breathing. Vapor relished the gentle massage of Sky’s hoof up and down her back and the softness of his wingfeathers over her head and neck.

There was still much to talk about… and lots there was still to do. But the ache of anxiety in her gut felt like almost nothing at all with the warmth from his body flowing into hers, relaxing all the tension away like a heated compress.

She smiled.

Author's Note

Alright, alright, this is the last "cliffhanger" chapter, I promise! I originally planned on publishing more at once, but based on how I'm going to break things down I really do feel like this story needs to be 3 separate chapters (with one bonus chapter at the end, too!). Next chapter is gonna be the big one.

Hope I was able to portray these two lovebirds in a compelling way (VaporSky is best ship), and I'm happy for the overall positive reception this thing has gotten so far, especially given its rather... niche subject matter. Thank you all for reading!

~Arwhale