Author's Note

Warning: FLUFF AHEAD!
I hope y'all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Be aware that there's going to be lots of POV switches, so it might get a tad confusing. I miscounted my chapter schedule, so here is a bonus for this week!
:)

The Taste of Cotton Candy

Another day had passed for the Wonderbolts. Practice had been held, a training session had been taught, and meals had been consumed. Soarin sighed as the day's events all caught up to him, making him sleepy. His teammates all probably felt the same way. He currently sat in the rec room with all the rest of the team, conversing about the events of the day and such. The team was all together in a circle, which in itself was very nice, because a lot of the times when they hung out in the rec room after practices, they'd still form small clusters in larger groups. They were long due to be able to have a good conversation. Even if it had nothing to do with work or flying, those conversations were very much needed. Summers were slightly more stressful for the team, due to the extreme heat that not even Pegasi could control, as well as the constant need to train for and be vigilant about incoming storms. To Soarin's right was Fire Streak who was just paying attention to Misty, who was talking about how she used to fly with butterflies in her old home. To his left sat Sun Chaser, who kept asking for details about what kinds of butterflies they were and how she managed to pull off flying with them. Misty herself was right across from him, with Surprise to her left and Rainbow to Surprise's left. Rainbow was happily munching on a piece of taffy, which she had insisted upon savoring each piece of.

"So they really didn't mind you at all?" Sun asked for what felt like the tenth time. Spitfire groaned.

"Sun, for the last time, the fluttery shits weren't afraid of her because A, they got used to her. B, her special talent literally has something to do with them."

"Damn Spitfire," Silver Zoom chortled. "'Fluttery shits'? Really?"

"Little harsh there," agreed High Winds with a chastising look, earning a thankful smile from Sun.

"In all seriousness though, what does your cutie mark mean, Misty?" asked Fire. Misty looked down for a second with a ghost of a smile gracing her features. Soarin was now admittedly curious. Misty had a hard exterior, so if she was this open about it, it had to be good. Then again, getting one's cutie mark was a huge milestone in anyone's life.

"Well, when I was little, I lived in a super small town that was farther away from other towns. It was called Meadow Creek and it was literally in the middle of nowhere. As the name suggests, there was a very large meadow surrounding it. One day, I was walking at the far corner of the meadow when I saw a weird ass cloud looking thing. I was about ten at the time, so I decided to get up close and personal to the 'clouds.' When I could see it more clearly, I realized that it was a swarm of butterflies. They saw me, I knew they did, but they didn't fly away. I just sat there and watched them fly. The day after that, I walked beside them while they flew. It went on like this for a while until they let me fly with them. The day I got my cutie mark, I was doing a sort of dance or routine. By that time, I had been practicing more intricate flight patterns and maneuvers. So the day I was doing super advanced things, I looked down once I had landed and bam. My cutie mark." Her serene look remained for just a short moment after she had finished.

"That sounds way too innocent for you Mist," commented Blaze, breaking the brief silence. Several ponies nodded in agreement. Soarin himself had to agree. Misty was a total hard ass, and on the outside, was very 'no nonsense'. The idea of her slowly befriending such delicate creatures was definitely unexpected.

"You sure you weren't trying to become one of them?" Rapidfire asked teasingly. Misty rolled her eyes at him, dismissing his comment with a wave of her wing.

"No you jerk, they taught me how to fly in a way. They were what inspired my love and appreciation of flight. As I flew more and more with them, I got in the hang of flying gracefully and was able to make an almost art-like style out of it. That's why when I first started auditioning and getting involved with the Wonderbolts, I struggled with the power aspect of flying. I was used to slower but more intricate flight," she explained, the serenity returning.

"I alwayth thought you were a thpeedthter," added Fleetfoot. "Though the agility part doethn't thurprithe me at all."

"I learned how to be. I couldn't butterfly my way onto the team without power or speed," Misty defended. In their tired, slightly stressed states of mind, their laughter could not be suppressed, even though it really was not that funny of a statement.

It was nearing 7:30 when the conversation ceased, and everypony had reformed their clusters and groups. Feeling sleepy and in need of a nice quick casual chat, or just some silent snuggles, he looked around for Rainbow. She was sitting with Thunderlane and Lightning Streak, the trio trying to keep up a conversation but yawning and trailing off every few sentences. Soarin walked up to them, giving a tired smile of his own. "Hey guys. Can I steal her from you?" After a teasing 'ooh' from Lightning and a smirk from Thunderlane, Rainbow stood up to join him. She waved goodbye to the two stallions before following Soarin out of the rec room and into the hallway.

"Rough past week huh?" Rainbow asked as she followed Soarin to his room.

"Yeah. I wish summer's weren't this stressful for us. I mean seriously, it's an entire two months of just training and being all flinch waiting for storms that might not even come."

"I know it's good to be alert, but it's so tiring. I wish we'd had more time to see each other," she admitted.

"Me too." They approached his door and he opened it for her. "But let's just enjoy our time while we can." For the past week, the team had barely had any time to just be with one another, much less their special someponies. Rainbow often felt bad for the rest of her teammates who were in relationships amongst themselves... which was basically all of them minus High Winds. Soarin and Spitfire had their private rooms for her and Fleetfoot, but the rest really had no privacy. Every couple would willingly snuggle up to each other in the company of others, but Rapid and Misty were sometimes caught kissing in a supply closet. Though most of the more intimate snuggles and kisses were reserved for clouds out of view from HQ's windows. For now though, she was perfectly content to put the room they did have to good use. She stepped inside after Soarin, and the two went straight to his bed. As usual, he just sat there and pulled her close to his body. They remained attached to each other in silence. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard between the two of them. They just reveled in each other's touch, looking out the window as they did so.

Celestia's sun was just beginning its slow descent into the unknown. It still showed, as if it were still daytime, because well, it still technically was. Soarin was always very fond of how the sky looked like cotton candy at this hour. Where the sky was still blue overall, but slowly started to fade into a soothing orange color just above the horizon line. When the sun's light bounced off the clouds making them appear to be glowing a gorgeous ballerina pink. About ten minutes had gone by with no movement other than his hoof running up and down her mane and neck, and her cheek being gently rubbed side to side against his stomach. He finally reached both hooves down to cup her cheeks and guide her gaze up to meet his. When her eyes met his, and he saw the look of such contentedness and care on her face, he felt... really good. He felt the need to be closer to her, to hold her tighter. "Dashie?" he spoke her name quietly, tentatively.

"What's up Soarin?" she replied, her cheeks being dusted by what was now an extremely familiar shade of crimson. He adored how she always got so blushy whenever he so much as looked at her in a caring manner. What made it even more special to him, was the fact that she did nothing to stop it from happening despite obviously not being used to it.

"It's nothing, Dashie, really. I just want you to know that you're very pretty.. and that uh.. I love being able to hold you.." he trailed off, as he didn't know how to put his feelings into words. The tiny gleam of both confusion and humor in her eyes told him that he wasn't off to a great start. Though there was no look of disturbance or discomfort, so he continued on. He scooted his plot backwards a bit and leaned down so that he could close the distance between their faces. He heard her stifle a gasp as his face came closer to hers, but she calmed herself quickly and leaned a bit forward herself. "You make me feel.. good, Dashie. Happy. Right. Maybe it's a bit soon, but it's true. All of it." He watched as her lips curved upwards and her brows raised about a half a centimeter. She looked surprised, yet very flattered. He tensed as he felt her forelegs reach up and wrap around him.

Her heart couldn't take it. It had been short, it had been awkward, it had been very forward. But it had been honest. Soarin was like a young colt trying to make his fillyfriend get all tingly. The two of them weren't foals, but that was the exact effect he was having on her. She admired his sweet attempts at trying to navigate this situation, as it only made him more lovable. Without realizing it until she felt him tense up, she had her forelegs wrapped loosely around his neck. She could feel his warm breath on her muzzle. His hooves on her face were so gentle. His touch reflected his smile, his personality, his demeanor. She loved that. There were a lot of things she loved about him. "Th-Thanks, Soarin. I like it when you hold me too." Her face burned. The sap levels were off the charts, but she couldn't help herself. "A-and, you make me feel sappy, but good sappy. I can be sappy. Thanks for that.. by the way." She finished, realizing that she too had suddenly spoken as if she had reverted back to her early teenage years, and her body reflected that too. It didn't matter now. She knew the impact of what she had just said as soon as she saw Soarin's face light up slowly. He removed his hooves from her cheeks and repositioned them, one behind her head, and the other draped over her side. She knew what was coming next. She had done it once before, and neither Twilight nor Fluttershy had never stopped talking about what it was like in the romance novels they liked to read so much. When he leaned in even closer, she closed her eyes and met him halfway.

A week. A week had gone by since Soarin had last held his marefriend. It was a Tuesday at 19:49. He was sitting in his bed sitting directly in front of Rainbow Dash. With one hoof cradling the back of her head, and the other resting across her back, he stared into the pools of cerise that could take him anywhere. Not just in the world they lived in, but also to the most abstract of places. Places not even Discord could conjure up with his reality-bending chaos magic. He could feel her chest rise and fall steadily. He could feel short tremors of nervousness and anticipation run through her body, down her spine as she stared back. Her statement meant a lot to him, as he was sure his did to her. He had very little time to dwell on this, for it was then that he decided to lean in closer. Every thought left his mind as her lips met his.

Seven days. Seven days had gone by since she had shared a quiet moment with Soarin. It was a Tuesday at 7:49 p.m. Her brain exploded as she felt the gentle, soothing pressure of his lips on hers. She could feel the warmth of Soarin's hooves as he held her. His hooves shook ever so slightly as he cradled her. She could feel the faint amount of moisture on her side where his left hoof was laying on her, obviously coming from nervous perspiration. Just as hers were, his eyes were closed, hiding his normally bright emerald eyes that were so captivating. She could look into them and feel as though she was protected, and would be until he let her go. But with the way he was touching her, she doubted that it would be anytime soon. He didn't taste like much. Just like... warmth. Their kiss wasn't one of desire, but one that truly marked how special one was to the other. She brought her hoof up to the base of his mane, and simply let it hang out there, feeling the soft tuft as they remained interlocked.

Soarin could smell the cotton candy on Rainbow's lips before he tasted it. It must have been the taffy from earlier. Every detail of the mare sitting in front of him was popping out in great force. He couldn't hear anything other than the whistling breaths coming out of her nose. He couldn't see anything other than the backs of his eyelids, but no sight was necessary for him to know what was happening. It was easy to picture her just melting.. or maybe that was because he could feel her doing that. He felt her reach up and dig her hoof into the back of his mane. He pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss. She reciprocated, pressing herself closer to him, until her chest touched his shoulder. Her body was loose, and she was fully using him as a support. He didn't mind at all, if anything, he knew she was there.

The kiss broke about a minute later. Soarin and Rainbow were too much in a daze to say or do anything other than lean on each other for another few minutes. When they had mumbled their goodbyes, Soarin flopped onto his back smiling like the goof he was sure he was. Sleep came easier that night, the memory of Rainbow's touch lulling him into sleep.

Rainbow earned several looks from her teammates as she practically floated en route to her bed. She ignored every questioning look, every 'ooh', every teasing comment. With fluttering wings, she plopped herself onto the bed. She was out before her head even hit the pillow.