Getting Shy

Pat got a strong feeling of deja-vu when he parked in front of his flat. Once again he had gotten home late with a sleeping Fluttershy in the passenger seat and he'd probably have to carry her inside. It was just like that time they'd gone to the zoo. Except that had been a happier time, without this horrible experience she'd just been through. Although, their time together had been limited then, but it wasn't now. 'Shy was coming to live with him permanently.

He unbuckled himself and leaned over to put a hand against the mare's cheek. "We're here. Want me to carry you inside or do you wanna walk?"

She shifted her hooves, but only to wrap Pat's coat more tightly around herself. "Carry," she replied, but it was heavily slurred.

He was only too glad to obey and hurried around the car to the passenger side. 'Shy wasn't buckled in, so it was just a matter of wiggling his hands under her and lifting her up like he would an infant. She tried to help by putting her forelegs around his neck, but it was haphazard and uncoordinated. She was very light anyway, so Pat didn't have any trouble holding her up, even with one hand while he locked the car. Too light, he thought to himself.

The first time he'd brought up her weight 'Shy had been upset because she thought he was trying to control her, but this time there was no denying it. She was emaciated, or damn near it anyway. At least that was what it felt like to him.

"Come on, let's get you inside..."

It was extremely early in the morning, so there were no people around to see him carrying the half-sleeping pony up the stairs. That was just as well. He'd rather no one knew 'Shy was with him. This way Mason wouldn't find out either. The jerk probably couldn't do anything to them now, especially with how effective Patrick's threat of publishing his precious financials had been, but there was no good reason to risk it.

A minute later they were both inside and the front door was locked. Pat suddenly felt the last week of sleepless nights catch up to him and he felt ready to collapse. He turned directly into the bedroom and had 'Shy laid down on the covers in a few more seconds. She didn't want to let him go, but he gave her nose a kiss and promised he would be right back. All he needed was a piss and a very quick brushing of teeth and he'd be ready. He gave the mare a final pat on her head and pulled at his jacket to completely cover her up.

He felt almost happy as he hurried away. No more having to wake up at some ungodly hour to see 'Shy leave. They'd sleep together until morning and then they'd have breakfast. No more lonely nights when she couldn't sneak over. They'd share a bed every day now.

Patrick couldn't wait to start and he rushed through his evening routine. He was almost done with brushing when a faint clop alerted him and he turned to see 'Shy standing in the doorway.

"I need to pee," she explained. Her little nap in the car seemed to have rejuvenated her and her eyes were no longer half-lidded. She pushed her forehooves further and stretched out her back with a relieved grunt.

"Go head, I'm almost done," he told her.

He hurried to wash out his mouth and give her the room, but 'Shy twisted her neck and sniffed at herself. "Ugh, I stink..."

Pat had noticed it too, in the car, but hadn't said anything. Fluttershy smelled strongly like a stable, no doubt from the filthy pen she had been kept in. He wasn't going to mention it, at least not until the following morning when they were a little more rested. "It's okay, it can wait until the morning and then we'll shower and change the sheets. Don't worry about it."

She was already shaking her head. "No, not soon enough," she almost growled. "I need a bath right now."

"Now? It's the middle of the night."

When 'Shy turned back there were fresh tears in her eyes and Patrick nearly backed away from her expression. "I want to be clean, Pat!" she spoke. "I need to be clean right now!"

There was no arguing that tone and if he tried, he had no doubt 'Shy would begin weeping again. He thought longingly about his bed, but shook his head. It could wait a little longer. "Okay, I'll help you. Use the toilet and call when you're done, I'll be just outside," he promised.

'Shy gave a single nod and already began climbing up to the toilet. She was alert, but still weak from her ordeal. Normally she'd flap her wings a few times and be sitting, but this time she had to do it the slow way.

"Need any help?"

"No," the little mare replied in a tight voice. "I have to do this myself."

"But you'll take my help with the bath?"

It was a bit of a contradiction and Fluttershy heaved a sigh, although that might just have been the relief once she was sitting on the toilet seat. "Yes. Pat, I've been- doing my business in front of other ponies and humans for a week. I want to do it alone this time, okay?" She suddenly smiled and glanced at the bath tub for a second before returning her gaze to him. "I'm not gonna say no to you helping me bathe. It'll be a lot faster and, mmm, more pleasant." Her gaze flicked down to his hands and her smile widened a little.

It made him instantly hard, but she was probably in no condition for sex, both physically and mentally. He'd have to control himself. Pat was fine with this. There'd be plenty of time, the important thing was that they were together; permanently this time. "Okay, call me when you need me!"

He didn't want to waste any more time, so he ducked out of the bathroom and closed it behind himself. 'Shy didn't wait and he heard water dribbling almost before the door was fully shut. It didn't take long before she flushed. There were a few moments of silence, then 'Shy raised her voice: "Okay, you can come back."

Pat wondered for a moment why she hadn't washed her hooves, but then he realized she was about to have a bath anyway. Not to mention that the sink was high and Fluttershy was probably too tired to stand on her hind legs.

"Okay. Do you want it hot?"

She nodded with what could almost be an eager expression. She was already clambering over the edge of the tub, trying to keep the clattering of her hooves on the plastic to a minimum while anon took off most of his clothes. He paused for a bit when he came to his boxers, but decided to keep them on for now. Less temptation that way.

Memories came rushing back as Pat sat on the edge. "Well, this seems familiar," he commented.

Fluttershy plopped her rump down in the tub and blinked at him in confusion. She looked around the room, but then brightened up. "Oh. When I was drunk!"

"Yeah!"

She shrugged a little, probably not remembering a whole lot. In the end she gave Pat an uncertain smile. "I'm glad I'm not drunk this time, though."

"Me too." Patrick reached for the shower head and opened the tap to what should be pretty hot water. It took a minute for it to warm up, then he plugged the drain and held the stream out in front of 'Shy so she could try it.

"Mhm. That's good." Almost before the words were fully out of her mouth Fluttershy slid forward and put her head under the water. She lifted up her muzzle into the stream and a luxurious sigh escaped her as the heat began to soak in. Now that her fur was getting wet the smell intensified, but Pat ignored it. It'd wash out. He focused instead on getting the mare as uniformly soaked as possible. The runoff pooling around her hooves was stained and there were flecks of dirt which had come loose from her coat. A few moments later she opened her mouth to fill it with water and swish it around in lieu of brushing her teeth. When she spat she noticed that she was sitting in dirty water and stretched forward to pull the plug back out.

"Sorry. I was thinking we'd make it into a bath, but I didn't realize how- well, how-"

"How dirty I was," 'Shy finished the statement. "It's okay. We can have a bath tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure."

"Um, here, stay still," she commanded and turned so she was facing away from Pat. She slid back until she was sitting mostly between his legs, then straightened up to rest almost completely on her haunches. Patrick was about to ask what she was doing, but 'Shy lost her balance and would have toppled over if she weren't leaning against him. This freed up her forehooves which she ran down her belly to try and scrub the filth out.

After a few seconds of this she froze and twisted her neck to look at Pat. "Um, mind doing my mane and back?"

"Oh! Right, sorry!" He could easily hold the shower head with one hand, leaving his other free to run his fingers through the fur on her back. She didn't seem to be as dirty there, but Pat didn't mind giving her this impromptu massage, especially when he felt her relax with a low, drawn-out groan.

She unfolded her wings as much as they would go between Pat's legs. "Just water, please. I'll preen tomorrow. I'm too tired now."

"Can I help?" So far all he'd been allowed to do was play with her feathers a little bit here and there, mostly after lovemaking when they were both tired and mellow. He wanted to do more, but Fluttershy had been really... well, shy about her wings.

This time didn't seem any different and she shook her head. "I'm too tired to guide you. Tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing. Shampoo?" he proposed and shut the water off even before hearing her reply. Luckily there was still her bottle on the edge of the tub and Patrick squirted a generous amount on her back. The floral scent nicely covered the other stink. He had both hands free and was able to lather her mane thoroughly.

'Shy worked on her front, but it was slow going with hooves. She didn't mind in the slightest when he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her barrel to reach her soft belly. She lifted her head to give him a foamy nuzzle. "Mmm, thanks. You don't know how much I needed this."

"I can imagine."

He played with her belly longer than strictly necessary, but 'Shy didn't comment or pull away. The few glances he sneaked of her face proved she was smiling at his ministrations. Eventually, though, she held out a foreleg in what was clearly a sign to move on. Pat let her go and moved his hands around the offered limb. With her still facing away and pressing back into his belly, it was easy to lather it up, though it did make him wince when he felt how thin and bony her leg had gotten. He kept his mouth shut, though, unwilling to make her upset by mentioning her weight again.

Pretty soon he had finished lathering at her hoof and 'Shy let her foreleg fall. She held up the other one and Pat simply repeated the process.

"Thanks," she murmured. "Ju- aahh," she yawned, then smacked her lips and tried again: "Just help me rinse, um, and then towel and- and bed."

"Yeah." Patrick reached over to the tap once more and opened the water. He nudged it a little more to the hot side and carefully tested the stream with his fingers. It felt good, but he still offered it to 'Shy so she could test it herself.

"Perfect."

He began at the top of her head, carefully shielding her eyes with a hand while he rinsed out her mane. The water ran down her neck and back, where it wrapped around her body and made her positively moan with pleasure.

It drew all the air from her lungs, after which 'Shy paused for a few seconds before inhaling through her nose. "Buuuuck, meee," she sighed.

Patrick couldn't help grinning at the reaction. It was as near to swearing as 'Shy usually came. Soon her mane was clean and he moved down to her face. It took some careful aiming and shielding with his hands, but 'Shy kept perfectly still and let him work. Except for when she parted her lips and let the water rinse out her mouth again.

"I'll need a toothbrush," she said. She'd never stayed the whole night after that first week and Pat hadn't remembered to buy one for her. Of course he'd have to get one now.

"I'll go to the store tomorrow, for groceries. Um, we'll have to talk about that. We don't have a lot of money for the next couple of weeks and we have to make it last. Can you look in the fridge and see what we need so we don't starve?"

'Shy nodded, but Patrick didn't think she fully heard or understood what he'd asked. That was okay, they were both more than half asleep and suddenly he wanted to hurry up the shower, however pleasant it was. Bed was calling for them both. He angled the stream down at her belly to rinse out the lather, then switched the shower head to his other hand to get her back. She was still keeping her wings slightly open and he ran some water down her feathers. They looked messy, even to his inexpert eye, but 'Shy had said she was too sleepy and it could wait until after they woke up the next day.

Now that he was concentrating on his task the job was going much more quickly. Pretty soon 'Shy was as clean as she was going to get, except for her backside.

"Um, your tail?"

She shrugged. "It's fine. I scrubbed it while you were doing my back. It's okay for now," the mare explained and tried to stand up, only to flop to her side. Pat had to support her with a hand under her belly before she could lift herself on shaky hooves.

"I meant, um, under your tail."

"Oh. It- it's fine. It's fine," she said, but it didn't sound as if she was certain and she was staring fixedly away.

Patrick began to fear that something really might have happened, even if she had denied it before. "'Shy, if someone-"

She stomped a hoof to punctuate her words. "I said it's fine!"

It'd have to wait. He wasn't thinking clearly and if he kept pushing now he'd probably do more damage than good. Pat bit back the demand for her to tell him and focused on washing her. He rinsed off her hindquarters as best he could through her tail, then shut the shower off and let 'Shy sit back down.

"Let me get you a towel," he offered.

This time he hadn't been sitting for long enough to make his legs fall asleep and Pat was easily able to stand up and look for a fresh towel on the washing machine. He selected the largest one and simply draped it over the pony, who was starting to shiver a little. They were both quite exhausted and he didn't worry about drying her off too thoroughly. He figured he'd simply wrap 'Shy up in a fresh towel and put the entire bundle in bed. He rubbed her mane as dry as he could in a minute or two, then followed the contours of her body under the fabric.

It was soon soaked through and he simply dropped it on the floor. "Come on, let's get you out."

'Shy didn't complain or resist as he simply lifted her up, one hand under her barrel, the other around her rump. She managed to stand upright on the tiles and Pat quickly fetched another towel. He remembered just in time to wipe himself dry as well. While he was at it, he simply slipped out of his wet shorts and left them on the floor. Then he draped the towel across 'Shy, wrapped it under her belly, and picked her up again. He had to bump the light switch with his elbow and find his room mostly by memory in the dark. He shuffled carefully forward until his shin found the bed, then he laid the pony in his arms down.

There was still his jacket 'Shy had worn when he brought her from the car, but Patrick just tossed it on the floor. Meanwhile she shuffled to the far side of the bed and waited. In moments he had joined her and 'Shy gratefully scooched her rump back into his lap. She lifted her head to allow his arm to snake under it, then laid back down on his forearm. His other hand wrapped around her barrel and found her belly. Both of them sighed in comfort.

"I ju-just thought of something, Pat," 'Shy whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I don't have to get up and sneak back into Mr. Mason's house in the morning."

The statement made Pat grin and he was sure Fluttershy was smiling as well. "No, you don't. You can sleep in as long as you want and I'll be right here with you, okay?"

"Good..."

Maybe she wanted to say more, but there was nothing else. A minute later Pat briefly wondered if she was already asleep, but he was drifting off himself. The long, sleepless nights and all the worry and anguish had finally caught up with him and the warmth of Fluttershy's fuzzy body in his arms did the rest.