Date Night: The Next Step
Hitch Trailblazer trotted down the streets of downtown Maretime Bay, headed southwest towards the lighthouse. He made sure to have a light lunch, so his appetite would be good and ready for whatever Sunny was preparing for their third date.
Every Friday night for three weeks now.
Sure, they had seen each other almost every day, and grabbed a quick bite to eat on their lunch breaks, but other than that, these Friday night dates before the weekend were all the time they could make for each other, and that was when the two of them even got something that could be considered a weekend.
Maretime Bay was getting more visitors than ever, so that meant more patrols by the MBPD to keep the streets safe, and especially clean. Sunny kept herself just as busy with smoothie sales. When locals and tourists alike wanted a smoothie made by the 'Reunifier of Equestria', it wasn't often when Sunshine and Smoothies didn't have a line down the boardwalk. When they ran out of their weekly supplies in two days, they had to make an emergency run down to the wholesale grocer, and then proceeded to double the size of their next supply order, and even that barely made it through the next week as tourism only increased.
So tonight, he was casting aside all worries about litter just as she was not thinking about next week's forecast.
But that also made him wonder... What was she thinking about? Hitch didn't have much of a dating life, but he was aware that in most social circles, it was around the third date when things between two ponies got... Closer. So, was she expecting things to get that close tonight? He hadn't had any intentions of spending the night, but then again, neither had she, when she had fallen asleep on his couch as their movie had come to a close on their second date.
Maybe he should just try and wing it, and not get frazzled if things didn't exactly go according to plan, if there was any 'plan' to speak of.
He decided he wasn't going to assume anything besides dinner was being planned on her part, and to just enjoy the evening.
He came to the western side of town, and made his way south down the coastline, nodding at passersby that greeted him as they went about their business. A pony couldn't ask for nicer weather for a Friday night, a light breeze as the sun began to dip below the horizon.
The path south became hilly, and after cresting the first hill, he saw the repaired lighthouse standing tall in the light of the setting sun. He sauntered up the front walk, came to the front door, and knocked. A few moments later, the door was opened, and he was greeted by his marefriend, Sunny Starscout, complete with an apron tied around her neck.
"Hey there, cutie," she said, coming in for a quick smooch.
"You get started without me?" Hitch asked as he wiped his hooves on the doormat and stepped inside.
"Yep, and finishing without you as well. After that veggie pasta last week you're gonna see what I can do on my own. I hope you're prepared to have your fetlocks knocked off," Sunny said with a smirk as she returned to the kitchen after ushering Hitch to make himself comfortable on the couch.
She had a nature show on low volume already on to keep her company while she worked in the kitchen, and Hitch could only guess this was how Sunny felt as the aromas only got more inviting as she chopped and mixed. While he mainly worked on the stovetop last weekend, he heard the oven door open and close a few times.
Twenty minutes later, just as he was getting into the nature documentary on the screen, over came Sunny, with a large baking sheet which she slid onto the coffee table. On the right side of the sheet were six freshly baked garlic breadsticks, and the main event was clearly the two-inch cast iron pan, in which rested a deep dish pizza.
"Whoa," Hitch commented, his mouth already beginning to water.
"One of my favorites from our big eat-out nights downtown, and I've been reading up on how to do it myself here. It's stuffed full of veggies, and we have to let it rest for about five minutes, so the breadsticks are to start us off," Sunny replied, going to go get a couple plates, a knife, and spatula. A third trip back to the kitchen yielded two tall glasses and a bottle of red wine, which she quickly poured, then sliding a glass over to Hitch.
"Happy third date!" She said, taking a sip before grabbing the knife, and cutting into the pizza. The farther the knife sunk into the cheese, the more Hitch wanted it in his mouth right now. After getting six equally portioned slices, she got the tip of the spatula placed right behind the crust, and got it between the pizza and the pan, and got that oh-so-marvelous ooey-gooey cheese stretch as she lifted the first slice from the pan and onto the plate, serving Hitch first. The next slice went to her plate, and with that, they dug in.
After just the first bite, Hitch had a feeling that he was going to happily hurt himself.
"Oh wow, you knocked it out of the park, Sunny. Please tell me this is cheaper to make than to order downtown," Hitch said, then immediately taking a second bite.
"If I made like three a week, probably, but this is a special occasion dish, no doubt," Sunny replied.
Another twenty minutes later, the cast iron pan lay empty, as did their wine glasses. It wasn't enough to make them tipsy, but it was just enough to give them the slightest bit of a buzz.
"You know, if you really want to get technical, that really wasn't a pizza. It was a casserole," Hitch commented, getting a chuckle out of his marefriend. Without a doubt, both of them felt like they had eaten too much, but that thing was entirely too good to be subjected to reheating of any kind.
"I don't know if I'm gonna be able to walk home, hehe," Hitch commented.
"Well, that's if you walk home. I recall that I spent the night on your couch last week, even if it was by accident," Sunny replied.
"It sounds like you're offering me this couch tonight," the sheriff said.
"Not exactly," Sunny answered, pushing the cork back into the wine bottle.
"Hitch, would you like to spend the night with me?"
Author's Note
Splitting this into two parts because I honestly wanted to get something out tonight.
Thanks for reading, and the end is on the way soon!
Date Night: The Next Step
Sunny took the platter and corked wine back into the kitchen, putting the bottle in the fridge and got the dishes rinsed off and in the dishwasher, which wasn't quite ready for a full cycle, then came back out to the living room, and made her way towards the stairs, motioning Hitch to join her.
Hitch visibly swallowed, but stepped out of the living room and followed his marefriend up the stairs to her bedroom.
He had spent more time on the top floor than he had in here, and hadn't been in here at all since the repair and rebuild, but while the construction teams modernized where they could, they stayed true to the original blueprints when it came to layout.
Her bedroom's layout had remained largely unchanged, as she had put everything back the way it was back before Sprout's demolition. The only immediate noticeable difference was, as with the rest of the structure, the modernizing, as the painted cast-iron radiator had been replaced with the space-saving vent in the floor.
Hitch was fairly certain of what her intentions were as she stood at her bedside, smiling at him, tail swishing from side to side, and she picked up on his hesitation almost immediately when she looked him in the eyes.
"Hitch? Is something wrong?" She asked, seeing Hitch shift uneasily on his legs.
"I... Sunny, are you sure about this?" Hitch asked.
"Sure. I mean, I think so. A bit nervous, but who wouldn't be for their first time? I-if you're worried about an unexpected addition in a year... I've started taking protection, so you don't need to worry." Sunny said, her nerves also apparent in her voice.
Hitch took a slow breath.
"I mean, I'm glad you're taking those kind of precautions, but... Sunny, I don't think I'm ready," Hitch confessed, seeing her ears twitch in disappointment. "I really, truly care about you, Sunny, and I want to be absolutely honest with you; I don't believe I deserve you in that way yet."
Sunny took a couple steps towards her boyfriend.
"Deserve me...?" She asked, trying her best not to sound hurt, just confused.
"I'm still really ashamed of how I treated you before reunification, Sunny. 'The law is the law'? What kind of bullshit excuse is that? I threatened you with incarceration, I even threatened our friendship, when we've known each other our whole lives... When all you were trying to do is make Equestria a better place... When you were right all along. I don't feel like I've done enough to make up for that, before I can feel comfortable being with you in that way..."
Now that he had spilled his heart, he stood there and waited for judgement from his marefriend, who stood there staring at him with a look of concern. After a few moments, she walked up to him and pulled him into a gentle hug.
"You're not the only one in Maretime Bay who's ashamed of who they used to be, Hitch. I think we've all become better ponies in the last few weeks. I remember what you said when you wanted to do your part, and you did. You got us out of the Crystal Tea Room, you did what you could to hold off Sprout's machine... And we've been on three fantastic dates together. No matter what you do, you're not going to be able to change the past, but just know that I will never hold it against you."
Sunny pulled away from the hug and gave him a sympathetic smile.
"If you need more time, I am absolutely willing to wait. We don't have to do anything tonight, but if you like, I'd still like to share my bed with you tonight," Sunny offered, beckoning him over.
"I'd like that," Hitch replied, managing to smile again. Sunny pulled back the comforter, climbed into bed and slid over to the far side to make room for Hitch. He slid in under the covers, and got comfortable. Sunny reached over to shut the light off, before she snuggled in close and kissed him on the snout.
"See you in the morning, Hitch."
