Vapor Trail had always done her best to plan things well in advance. It made sense, of course; for someone with a nervous personality like hers, it never hurt to try and be prepared. But when it came to surprises or “spur-of-the-moment” decisions, Vapor was always more than happy to defer to someone else to improvise the next step.
Fortunately for her, nowadays Sky Stinger was that someone else. Her stallion was adaptable, and he didn’t mind a surprise; in fact, he seemed to relish them.
And for both of their sakes, thought Vapor Trail with beads of sweat forming on her brow and a lump in her throat, she hoped to Celestia that tonight would be no different. Because tonight… goodness knows she had a surprise for him.
Vapor was already on her third cup of tea in only the past hour. It was another one of her special homemade herbal blends, and one she frequently drank prior to big performances with the Wonderbolts. She’d spent a few years perfecting it, and now, it was a blend that never failed to calm her nerves and make her feel like she could breathe again…
Until tonight, that is. Vapor's hooves shook slightly as she took sip after futile sip, making a face as the bitter liquid warmed her throat and coated her tongue. But deep down she knew that if it hadn’t kicked in by now, it wasn’t going to make a difference. She sighed.
True to her nature, she had picked today’s date months in advance. Wonderbolts were almost always on call, but even the most elite flying outfit in Equestria still allowed for at least a little bit of vacation time. Sky had been more than happy to coordinate on the time with her, too; she still remembered when Spitfire handed her the stamped approval notice with a wink and a knowing smile. The two of them were not exactly a well-kept secret amongst her fellow Wonderbolts, even if no one ever explicitly talked about it.
But as far as other secrets went…
She’d already planned her own script for what she would say. She’d rehearsed the whole scenario in her head, imagining different outcomes, different possible reactions, planned answers to every possible question she could think that Sky would have…
Okay, Vapor had to chuckle at that one. Questions? Bold of her to assume he’d even make it past the “shock” phase long enough to start asking…
“Deep breaths, Vapor,” she muttered to herself, a hoof over her newly aching belly. She tried to follow her own advice, inhaling and exhaling deeply in an effort to calm her quickly beating heart, but no matter how hard she tried her pulse still pounded in her ears. Her fight or flight response was in overdrive, and there was no way for her to turn it off. And even scarier, the “flight” part was winning the battle, too…
No. That wasn’t an option. This was too important. She clenched her jaw, and grunted to herself with frustration that she would even dare consider going back on her plan, even with the fear gnawing away at her.
Hints hadn’t worked. Granted, stallions were pretty oblivious as a general rule, and Sky Stinger was oblivious even compared to those standards… but she’d held onto hope for far too long that he’d just understand. That he would pick up what she was putting down, play along, and one thing would lead to another until finally…
Fantasy was so very different from reality, Vapor thought to herself with a heavy sigh.
And even if she pulled back the curtain, dropped all pretenses, stopped giving hints and just told her stallion what she wanted… even then, would he understand? Or for that matter, could he ever?
Vapor stood up, pacing back and forth across her living room while her mind raced and her hooves trembled. She was a bundle of nerves that couldn’t be dissipated through any number of deep breaths or any amount of self-pep talking.
Could he ever understand that she’d never been able to remember a time when this wasn’t a part of her? Could he ever understand the type of intimacy she truly craved, or the hole she somehow still felt in her heart despite how much she loved him, and how much she knew he loved her? Could he ever understand that even in their tenderest moments, cuddled together on the couch with his forelegs wrapped lovingly around her, that the thing she sometimes noticed the most was how large his hooves were? How easily he would be able to hold her lighter frame down, how if he wanted to he could simply pin her in place while he…
Vapor shook her head roughly like she was coming out of a trance, keeping her mind from drifting to the images of her deepest, darkest fantasies. She needed to stay focused, needed to stay calm…
Knock, knock, knock.
His voice from the other side of the door. “Hey Vape! It’s me!”
Vapor’s heart leapt in her chest. Instantly, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle and stand up straight as if she were about to be zapped by a lightning bolt. She froze mid-step, and her head turned fearfully toward the door.
On any other night, Vapor would have been ecstatic to hear Sky’s voice. But in the midst of her racing thoughts, hearing him waiting at her door made the reality of what she was going to do turn from something abstract, something distant, into something that was right here. Right now.
With a gulp, Vapor moved toward the door with her hooves padding softly, as if she were afraid of waking someone up sleeping in the room beside her. She took a deep, shuddering breath before putting on a smile, standing up straight, and replying to Sky.
“H-Hey Sky! Come on in!” She managed to say with only a little bit of a stammer. She waited with baited breath as the doorknob turned, and the door swung open.
And there he was. The doorway around his tall figure looked almost like a decorative frame; Vapor’s eyes locked onto him as if his coat was glowing, and her lips parted open. Sky smiled down at her with a toothy grin and beaming eyes, and all of a sudden Vapor found herself practically rooted to the spot.
He closed the distance between them so quickly that before Vapor knew it, Sky’s big hooves were wrapped around her withers and his chin was resting on her shoulder. Vapor only tensed up for a moment out of reflex, but once the feeling of her stallion’s forelegs around her body registered in her brain, her muscles seemed to melt. She closed her eyes with a happy sigh and reached around his shoulders, hugging him right back.
You know what? She could just enjoy the moment for now. What was the rush? Vapor laughed inwardly; she’d waited her whole life for tonight already, so what was another couple of hours to her?
Sky cradled her head, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He smiled. “Hey, Vape.”
Vapor grinned. She leaned further into him, relishing the feel of his hoof running through her wispy mane. “Hey, Sky.”
Moments of silence followed their simple greetings. They were peaceful moments; Vapor simply breathed in her stallion’s faint but familiar scent as his hooves brushed through her hair. When he finally let her go, Vapor took a step back and regarded Sky with her face glowing and her eyes smiling brightly.
Sky’s face looked very much the same. He grinned. “Hey, soo… just curious, but have you eaten yet?” he asked with a little tilt of his head and a twinkle in his eyes.
Vapor knew that look; he had something planned. What that something was, she did not know… but that twinkle in his eye was unmistakable. Moreover, her eyes briefly widened and her brow furrowed slightly as she came to the sudden realization; she hadn’t even thought about dinner tonight. Heck, she hadn’t even thought about anything tonight except… well…
No! She already decided she wasn’t going to think about that right now! Fortunately, Vapor recovered quickly. She shook her head. “Oh. Oh! Well, um… n-no actually…”
“Ahah! Great!” Sky didn’t miss a beat. Without hesitation, he vaulted over the kitchen counter with a flap of his wings, landing nimbly in front of her refrigerator. “Because…”
He swung the refrigerator open, and quickly pulled out a carton of eggs, a block of cheese, and a bag of mushrooms and set them down counter. He gestured to the spread on the counter with a hoof and a cock of his head. “I’ve been working a lot on my omelet-making skills this past week, and you’d be very happy to know that I can finally make a pretty good one now! I thought maybe I’d make us both one tonight? Whaddya say?”
His enthusiasm was palpable. Vapor paused for a moment with an almost blank look on her face as the abruptness of the offer took her by surprise; it was no secret to either of them that Sky was not exactly the greatest cook in the world… and his omelet this past Sunday morning had testified to that fact. So much so, in fact, that he’d even apologized before she’d had the heart to say anything about it; even to somepony like Sky, the blackness of burnt egg was still impossible to miss. It was still edible, and she’d still eaten the whole thing, but… there was a reason he usually preferred taking them both out somewhere nice, instead.
However, seeing the genuine excitement on his face and the way his hooves almost seemed to be prancing in place on the kitchen tiles with anticipation practically melted her heart to watch. And besides, to even offer in the first place was very sweet of him. She smiled, and with a tinge of redness showing on her face, she nodded her head.
“Heheh, oh really now?” She giggled. “Well, I sure hope so! Because your last one, well… let’s just say it left much to be desired! So let’s see you work your magic, loverboy!”
Her tone made it obvious she was merely teasing him, and Sky took it in stride. He chuckled, raising an eyebrow and giving her a playful side-eyed glance.
“Yeah yeahhh, I know, I know,” he said with a fake pout. He laid carton of eggs and laying out the ingredients and began opening up the cabinets to get plates and bowls; he’d been over to her place enough times to be familiar with where things were by now. “Well I got you covered tonight, don’t you worry. So how about you just go grab yourself one of your books and relax on the couch while I slave away in the kitchen for you, hm?”
“Slaving?!” Vapor Trail exclaimed with an exhale through her nose. Sky waggled his eyebrows at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him in reply. But her amused smile quickly returned, and she gave him another low giggle. “Sure, Sky. Sounds good.”
“Good! Now shoo. ‘Chef Sky’ needs to focus,” he said with a smirk, grabbing the first egg from the carton. Vapor rolled her eyes, but walked away with a smile.
It was a short trek to her bookshelf. She’d tried to keep it organized over the years, but the small size of her apartment made it impossible to buy a bookshelf big enough to accommodate all of her favorite reads, and pretty soon the shelf had gone from having some semblance of organization to being complete chaos. Every square inch was used up; and so, Vapor had to resort to stacking some books on the floor on either side of the shelf. Their spines faced outward so she could at least tell what they were, but part of her really did wish that she had more space…
But one of the stacks of books wasn’t quite like the others. It was true that Vapor generally preferred newer authors, but if someone paid close attention they would have noticed that this stack contained almost exclusively works that were considerably older. Some dated back several decades, sometimes even a century or two. And unlike any of the other books on her shelves, virtually every one of these books contained some form of bookmark in them. And for the ones that weren’t hardcovers, the spines were noticeably bent at one specific location. Vapor wouldn’t have been surprised if these particular books didn’t even need the bookmark; they probably would have fallen open to those bookmarked spots naturally by this point.
Vapor found herself staring at this tall stack of books with unblinking eyes and a newly racing mind. Sky never was much of a reader, and truth be told he never really asked any questions about her book choices. She thanked Celestia for that…
“Hey Vape? You got a wooden spoon or a spatula I could use?”
Sky’s voice called to her from the kitchen. Vapor blinked and gave her head a little shake, snapping her out of whatever thoughts were racing through her head. But then, just a split second later, Sky’s specific request actually sank in and made the hairs on her neck prickle. She inhaled sharply, but with another shake of her head she successfully snapped out of it again and backtracked out of her room, leaving the stack of books alone once more.
“Oh! Umm, y-yeah! Here, I’ll get one for you…”
Vapor entered the kitchen at a low trot, making a beeline over to a drawer at the opposite end of the counter. Sky was already looking in one of the cabinets, pushing aside some of the clutter inside to look for a utensil he could use; however, when Vapor opened the other drawer, he immediately stopped looking once his eyes saw its contents out of his peripheral vision.
Vapor tried to open and close it quickly; however, it was full enough that the handle of one of the numerous wooden tools, a particularly large wooden spatula, caught on the edge of the counter and prevented it from sliding shut. Vapor jabbed her hoof down onto it with gritted teeth, and forcefully pushed the drawer shut. When she looked over to Sky with another, smaller spatula grasped in her hoof, she noticed that he had furrowed his brow as he looked her way.
He looked back and forth between Vapor and the drawer, a confused smile playing on his lips. A hoof pointed to the closed drawer.
“Wow. Uhh… so, you’ve got a lot of wooden kitchen utensils in there, huh?”
Vapor Trail stood momentarily frozen to the spot, clutching the spatula she had tightly in her hooves. Her tail swished nervously. And much to Sky’s befuddlement, a distinct red blush appeared on her cheeks in response to his simple observation, made even more visible by her soft white coat.
She nodded, swallowing. “Uh, y-yeah! Yeah, I uh… I guess I just need to do a little, uhh, decluttering. You know how it gets sometimes, over the years, and you just sorta…”
Vapor Trail trailed off. She didn’t need a mirror to know just from the warmth she felt on her cheeks that she had to have been blushing pretty badly. After a brief pause, Vapor just sighed and handed the spatula over to him, eyes cast down to the floor.
Sky took a second to take the spatula from her hooves, taking a moment to instead take note of the unusual change in Vapor’s demeanor. He cocked his head.
“Yeahhh, uhh…You good, Vape?”
Vapor nodded her head almost as soon as he asked, almost TOO soon for his liking. She eyed the spatula once again in his hoof, eyes flitting back and forth between his face and the unassuming wooden utensil.
In his own much larger hoof, it almost looked too small, thought Vapor. In fact, she’d be willing to bet he’d look a whole lot better holding that other, much bigger spatula in his…
“Yep! I’m good!” Vapor cut herself off mid-thought. She rushed forward and gave him a tight hug around his withers, smooching him on the cheek. Her own cheeks still blushing, she excused herself from the room with another nervous tail swish and a peppy sounding “good luck!”
She practically scampered away back to her room, leaving Sky to stand there with a blank stare and a furrowed brow. Once she was out of view, though, Vapor exhaled deeply and hung her head. She leaned forward until her forehead was resting on the side of her bed, smooshing her face into the comforter.
Goodness gracious, she really was a freak, wasn’t she? Vapor felt her eyes turning hot, but she blinked a few times and dispersed it away.
She remained in this position, simply doing nothing but wishing that she could melt into the floor, for the next several minutes. Practically the only part of her body that moved were her twitching ears as she heard the distinct sound of sizzling from the pan on the stovetop as Sky got to work.
Despite herself, Vapor smiled at the sound. It was a good reminder that one thing was still for sure no matter how she looked at it: she was in good hooves. Capable hooves. Capable, large, strong hooves…
Vapor groaned, thumping her head softly against the bedside.
She had to admit, as she chewed her third bite of the omelet her lovely stallion had just made for her, that tonight's iteration was considerably better than his last attempt. Fluffy eggs, the right amount of salt…
Sky chewed his own bite tentatively, paying closer attention to her reaction. Vapor made eye contact with him for the first time since they started eating, noticing how his gaze was so intently on her and how his mouth was barely even chewing his own bite of food. It was such a contrast from the usual; Sky often tried to act aloof or lackadaisical, but this time? He was looking at her like he was an aspiring chef who had just cooked his signature dish for Zesty Gourmand herself.
For some strange reason, Vapor thought it was hilarious. Vapor hardly managed to even swallow her next bite before she let loose a hearty laugh, dropping her fork on the plate. Sky’s ears pinned back, and his head shrank a little lower.
“Sooo… that bad, huh?” he asked sheepishly after swallowing his current bite of eggs. Fortunately for him, Vapor Trail was very quick to correct the record, shaking her head while she tried to suppress her current fit of giggles.
“Ohh, no no no Sky! It’s… heheheh… it’s actually very good! You just…”
Visible relief flashed across Sky’s face as she explained. However, it was obvious that he was still a little confused, if his wrinkled brow was anything to go by. Vapor got herself under control after a few moments, and she looked back up to make eye contact with him once more. “…the way you were looking at me just now was just, well… it was cute. Really, really cute. Heheheh…”
No sooner had that “c” word left her mouth than it was Sky’s turn to blush a little. He looked away, suddenly interested in his fork and seemingly needing to take another stab at his omelet right now. Noticing this, Vapor’s lighthearted laughing turned mischievous; she knew very well how much he hated being called “cute.” As a result, it was something which she had made a relationship goal to call him at least once per week.
Sky’s cheeks were still flushed red. “Hmm. Well… I’m glad you like it better than last time,” he almost muttered, not even bothering to address her other remark. His embarrassment was almost tangible in the air, and sensing it, Vapor did feel her heart soften just a bit. With an amused roll of her eyes, she reached her hoof out and touched his from across the table.
“Alright, alriiight, sorry… it was very sweet of you to make this for me tonight, Sky. It really is delicious, okay? I appreciate it a lot!”
Luckily, all it took were some sincere words of praise from his mare in order to get the sulking stallion to smile again. He nodded his head, and took another, much less aggressive looking stab at his half-eaten omelet. “Thanks, Vape…”
“You’re very welcome.”
The rest of dinner went by in relative silence as the two of them finished their meals. Vapor insisted on doing the dishes tonight; it was something that Sky normally did whenever she would cook for them, but since the roles were reversed tonight Vapor was not about to let him do both! Fortunately, there weren’t many dishes to do, and since Sky hadn’t burned the eggs this time the pan wasn’t even hard to scrub! Vapor hummed a little tune while she worked. First the pan, then the plates and forks, and then…
The spatula. Vapor paused as she picked it up, staring down at it with eyes wide. She soaped and rinsed off the bits of scrambled egg on it before running her hoof slowly down the smooth wood from head to handle. She bit her lip, and her heartbeat quickened…
A presence over her shoulder. Vapor reflexively tried to whip her head around, but not quickly enough to prepare for Sky’s lips on her cheek. Vapor jolted from the surprise, dropping the spatula into the sink with a little gasp. But as Sky transitioned from kissing her into resting his head on top of hers and traveling his hoof up to her chest in an affectionate hug, the tension in her body ebbed away. A faint “mmm” escaped her, and her eyes fluttered closed.
Well, if he was going to do this sort of thing every time, then Vapor may just volunteer to wash dishes more often…
Sky slowly stroked his hoof up and down her front, putting just a little bit of pressure onto her soft coat. Vapor’s heart felt like it was floating, feeling a slight tingle in her spine as she reached up to clasp her hoof around his fetlock. Sky replied with craning his neck to deliver another kiss to the nape of her neck.
There was nothing innocent about this hug. The air around them was filled with electricity, and Sky’s hoof slowly but surely made its way lower and lower. Vapor’s mouth opened with an involuntary squeak as she felt his teeth nibble gently on her ear; she couldn’t see him, but she could practically feel his lips stretching into a smile.
Even by Wonderbolts standards, this past week had been especially rough for both of them. Their recent schedule of very late nights followed by very early mornings had led to them reluctantly deciding that it was in their best interests to sleep in their own apartments for these past several days. And what was worse, even on the job the two of them had barely been able to see each other due to differences in assignments.
As such? “Pent up” did not even begin to describe how they both felt right now. Sky’s ear nibble said everything he wanted to say to her without uttering one word: I’m going to rut you absolutely senseless tonight.
Vapor’s fur bristled, and a wave of warmth spread throughout her entire body as Sky continued to feel her up. In her mind, the lovely things he was doing to her right now, combined with the delicious omelet he’d made for her… it had set the tone for the whole rest of the night. It set the record straight and removed any doubts about what was going to happen: tonight, he was taking charge, and he was going to take very good care of her.
It was something that just about any mare would have killed for. In fact, by all accounts Vapor should have been over the moon. After such a hellish week for them both, the imminence of a looong night with her stallion followed by a whole entire week off to look forward to… it should have driven her wild. Should have.
But tonight…
Vapor’s eyes opened up with a flutter of her lashes. And despite the stallion that was practically hanging off of her, her attention drifted inevitably once more to the discarded wooden spatula lying on the bottom of the sink, right where she’d left it.
And right where it could serve as the perfect reminder of what she still had to do…
Her gaze remained frozen onto the spatula for a good while… well, in actuality it was only a few seconds. But as Vapor’s thoughts began to race once more, the seconds stretched out longer and longer until it reached the point where it seemed like time itself had stopped. But most disturbingly to her, the sensation of all of Sky’s loving ministrations seemed to fade away behind a haze of her own mind’s creation. She was suddenly adrift, as if her spirit were drifting apart from her own body, floating away…
Off into the hole that was still in her heart. A hole that had been there her entire life, and a hole whose mere existence only made sense to herself… that only could ever make any sense to herself, no matter how much she could have tried to explain it. No matter how much she loved him, or how much he loved her. Unless…
Unless…unless tonight, she…
Vapor’s grasp on Sky’s softly stroking hoof suddenly tightened. Squeezing his fetlock, she gripped it hard enough to actually stop his hoof mid-rub over her soft barrel, holding it in place.
No sooner had Vapor done this than Sky’s teasing ear nibbles also came a screeching halt. This was soon followed by his entire body, which lay half-draped over her in this position, noticeably tensing up against her. The mare’s lips pursed together, and she took a deep breath through her nose as she immediately understood what he must be thinking.
Vapor didn’t think she had ever put a stop to him like this before; in fact, she couldn’t even recall a single instance where ear biting didn’t lead to them having sex. Sky lifted his head up from where he had been resting it on her neck and shoulder, and she heard his soft voice in her ears. All it said was her name.
“Vapor?”
The obvious concern and uncertainty in his tone of voice made Vapor’s belly ache in sympathy. He didn’t even use her nickname, either. She wilted, hunching her shoulders and aiming her eyes at the kitchen floor.
She couldn’t delay this anymore. It was time. The day had finally arrived. Despite her stallion’s warm body being pressed against her, Vapor shivered.
Sky felt her begin to tremble, and his eyes widened. He pulled back a bit, shifting from basically laying over her withers to sitting beside her. But as he tried to pull his hoof away from her barrel, too, Vapor gritted her teeth and squeezed it like a vice. He gave it another small tug, but Vapor’s jaw visibly tensed as she held it to her chest.
Sky’s sensual smirk from only a minute before faded, pursing his lips tightly together. He gulped.
“Are you okay, Vapor? Did I… did I do something wrong? Did I, you know, jump the gun? O-Or do something that made you feel…”
He didn’t complete the question. Nor did he need to; Vapor winced and immediately shook her head. The worry that dripped from his voice made her ears pin back and he vision blurry, but Vapor angrily blinked the moisture away from her eyes.
There wasn’t any time for that. Not right now. Right now, she had to focus… she owed him that. Vapor inhaled deeply, and without letting go of his hoof, she turned to face him.
She could see his worried expression now. A newfound feeling of guilt began to tie her insides up into knots, and she almost couldn’t even look him in the eye. But she did nonetheless, and with a hint of a crack in her voice, she spoke.
“Sky? Sky… we need to talk. A-And I know that probably s-sounds bad,” Vapor quickly interjected as she saw Sky’s eyes widen with what appeared to be panic, “but I promise it’s okay. I-I’m okay… WE’RE okay, but… there is something I need to tell you.”
Vapor watched his face closely. To Sky’s credit, while the worry was still very much obvious on his face, hearing her state so emphatically that things were okay did seem to soften his nerves. Good, thought Vapor; heaven knows this poor stallion didn’t do a damn thing wrong!
Sky let out a breath he’d been holding in with a loud puff, and nodded his head.
“Oh. W-Well, alright Vape… Let’s sit down then?” He cocked his head back toward the living area. Vapor’s throat felt dry, but his willingness to talk did in fact give her perhaps a momentary feeling of relief… but she knew this wasn’t over yet. The hardest part was still to come…
“S-Sure,” she replied, nodding back at him. She finally let go of his hoof, and stood up from her seated position on the kitchen floor. A ghost of a smile flashed on his face, but it went away after just a moment.
“Okay.”
When they reached the couch, Sky had a seat on the right. He obviously expected her to join him on the seat beside him, but Vapor had other plans. Instead, she sat in the armchair on the other side of the coffee table, looking at him from across the coffee table. Sky’s brow furrowed, and he took another deep breath.
Vapor and Sky talked all the time. At this point, they could have a conversation about just about anything and talk for hours on end. It was also true that both of them preferred talking when Sky had his foreleg wrapped around her shoulders and she had her head resting underneath his chin.
And now, Vapor was sitting on the other side of him. He already knew this was serious, whatever it was, but seeing that really brought the seriousness of this thing home. For both of them.
They both waited a moment. Vapor aimed her gaze at the table, breaking eye contact while Sky’s eyes were glued to her. He opened his mouth, looking ready to ask her a question to break the increasingly uncomfortable silence… but at the last second, he stopped himself, and his mouth closed again.
That left only her. Vapor felt the weight of his expectant stare on her shoulders like a lead weight, and if she had been feeling the pressure before, then she may as well have been at the bottom of the ocean now.
But this time was different. Her fight or flight response kicked into full gear, but unlike last time, her wings weren’t spreading out, ready to flap. Her eyes weren’t darting around the room, looking for an exit. She was right here, right now, and for the first time in her whole life, she felt the words coming to her as well as the bravery to say them… that is, all except one.
Just one word. But it was the word… the word that was so common to her by this point in her life that her eyes were practically programmed to see it even in walls of text. The word that she had looked up in the dictionary over and over again as a young filly, reading the definition to herself in the middle of class or in her room when she managed to get some time away from her parents. The word that other ponies seemed to drop without even a second thought, but that made her breath catch in her lungs. A word that was so familiar, and yet simultaneously so forbidden that it almost felt sacred to her to even speak out loud.
Slowly, Vapor raised her head up. And when she finally dared to look across the table, Sky’s turquoise-green eyes met hers…
His gentle, kind eyes. A certain warmth seemed to radiate from them, and the longer she looked back, the lighter she felt. Vapor’s breath caught in her lungs for a moment, but she let it all out in a deep sigh.
The plan she’d come up with all those months ago? Forgotten. Her script of what she had planned to say, scrawled down on a piece of paper so many weeks ago, the one she had rehearsed to herself so many times… it didn’t matter.
But Sky? He mattered. And Vapor knew in her heart that, no matter what, she mattered to him, too. No matter what…
Vapor closed her eyes. Then, she spoke.
“Sky… I wa… I need you to spank me.”
Author's Note
Well, this one is a bit different, now isn't it?
The next chapter is currently being written, so my apologies for the cliffhanger. But I will say this: regardless of whether or not you as the reader share this... interest... if I do my job right, I think there may still be enough of interest here to make this thing worth your while anyway.
Hope you all enjoy.
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
