Love's Hydration

~ VIII ~

Sweet Embrace

Rainbow didn't know how it happened. How she came to sit between his legs with her back set against him. His tail rested on her lap as his claws crossed, holding her hooves. Spike loosely hugged her close. It was the closeness of lovers.

Spike didn't impose anything. Made no threat or a tease. The two indulged in the embrace. They faced the pond. The water reflected the lowering sun. Dying sunlight spread across the land.

"Hey… uh… sorry if I went overboard." The back of Rainbow's head rubbed into Spike's chest. She looked at his face from the underside of his jaw. "It can get annoying listening to someone rattle about how well their life is going. Hey… I'm not flaunting too much, am I? I don't want to be implying anything."

"Implying…" Spike toyed and tasted the world. "Because I've done nothing with my life?"

"What! No! I mean…"

His smile softened Rainbow's worries. "Relax. I don't mind being a loser." His talons stroked her wrists while he rested his eyes on the waters. Rainbow looked as well—but not liking his words. "Twilight said I could have been anything. Any school or any practice. I could have had it all. There's a lot told in my potential."

Ducks swam across the pond and left little waves in the water. It relaxed the dragon watching them. Nature put him at ease. His overwhelming presence faded. "But nothing interested me. Not that anything would have been possible, anyway."

His eyes fell from the ducks. "I was meant to wander. I didn't realize that at first." He exhaled with a drop of his shoulders. "But I don't mind it. Don't mind it one bit." A smile grew. "So long as I can help a few along the way… then I… I think I'll be okay."

Rainbow softly chuckled, snuggling into him. Her coat meshed into his scales, a tickling embrace equally cherished. They weren't dating. Things had yet to be romantic. Yet their interactions were beyond those of friends.

Don't… overthink it. Not everything needs a label. When's the last time either of us had someone to hold? Him out in the world, sleeping alone, spending the day fighting monsters. And what about me? How much do you hate that empty bed?

Just enjoy this. Don't waste too much time thinking about it. You'll do plenty of that once it's over.

"I guess it makes sense," Rainbow eventually said, becoming comfortable against him. "Kinda hard to see you in a classroom. Big ol' glasses. Snout in a book. Scribbling notes." She hummed. "Though maybe you'd look good in a lab coat."

Spike chuckled. "Thanks."

"You've stumbled well, Spike." Rainbow looked up at him. "And despite being a loser on paper: you've got none of the qualities of one." Her head tilted. "Do you regret it, though? Not chasing after something?"

"I don't hold any regrets." Spike took a moment to think more about it. "Though I would have liked to make others proud. Something that would have made Rarity and Twilight happy. Let them know I was on the right path. Living close to a good life."

He shrugged. "But it wasn't meant to be. I fell into this life. And nothing greater calls for me."

“But assisting others?”

"Closest thing I have to a passion." Spike squeezed her hooves. "Dress-making. Various chores on the farm. Keeping Twilight organized. I become versed enough to help others out." His head shook. "But I don't fall into anything for the sake of myself. If it were up to me, I would just wander, wander and wonder, until the end of time."

A hum.

"Though kicking trees is fun."

"Yeah," Rainbow snickered. "As long as you don't break them in half."

Or pin that cowgirl in the barn.

"Too late."

Rainbow blushed. Looking at the water helped fight down the rising red. She remembered what she said instead of what she thought. "Uh… h-how about Fluttershy? How did the animals take to you?"

"The cottage was empty."

"When did you go?"

"Enough to be empty every time."

"Oh." It made sense. Spike's size would frighten the shy girl. It wasn't personal. If Fluttershy spent enough time with him, she would come to understand that it was still Spike. Despite his looks, he wouldn't hurt her.

Maybe I should set something up?

"Spike?" Rainbow asked. His name wasn't a question. "No matter what happens between us… I'll be there for you. Do something horrible. Run away again. I don't care." She compressed fully into him, wiggling her hips between his legs, leaving no distance between them. "Knock on my door. It'll never be empty. You can go inside it whenever. It's your home too."

Spike laid back and pulled Rainbow atop him, who turned as she laid over his chest, feeling his arms cross over her back. They didn't go for the injured flanks as they stroked her all over.

Suddenly, his wings expanded, creating a dome around them, hiding their embrace from public view. Rainbow chuckled in seeing the sealing of dragon-hide around them. She shuffled closer to the dragon, their eyes glinting in the darkness. Her heart yearned for Rainbow to kiss him.

Kisses were meant to deepen lust. Craft better sex. But a kiss outside the bedroom? It meant something different.

His claw raised from her side. Rainbow watched it approach, twitching.

The claw stopped before her face.

Spike winced. He pulled away his arm—until Rainbow lunged, wrapping it with a foreleg. He watched her, confused.

"Don't." Rainbow looked at the claw. His palm could swallow the side of her face. Its talons were sharp. Yet it was a wonder to look at. Something easier to stare at than his eyes, sometimes. "I'm not scared of you. Even if I might jerk like that—I know it's you. You might hurt me by accident. But I don't mind. You've never hurt me the same way twice."

Weight pushed on Rainbow's shoulder. Her head hung. Something heavy rushed out of her heart. "Am I a burden, Spike? You're so careful around me." Her voice quickened. "And I'm always getting close to you. Do you hate that? You probably want your space. And here I am…"

Rainbow gave up speaking.

So Spike spoke for her. "Nothing like that. Never forever. Honestly and truly." Rainbow's eyes lifted to him. "Holding you is an addiction. It's just… I'm a dragon." His head shook. "Dragons don't play protective roles. We don't cradle others. We go out, and we fight. We mate because it feels nice. Getting to hold you, say nice things to you… it's a privilege for me."

Rainbow's surprised eyes glittered. She smiled gooey while bringing the claw close to her neck. "You idiot. Don't say such sweet things. And don't put yourself down either. It hurts me." She lowered his claw to her chest, letting it spread over its shape. "Being a dragon doesn't mean you have to be a certain way. Maybe it influences it. But I don't care about any of that."

She inched closer. "Because I'd rather be in your claws than in the hooves of anypony I know. You make me feel safe. Protected. Even when you're teasing me or tearing into me—I feel like nothing can go wrong. Like even if the moon dropped from the sky that you would throw it back into place. That, so long as I'm in your arms, nothing can hurt me."

Rainbow raised his claw on the side of his face, falling into his palm, sinking into his hold. "Not even you."

Spike's claw remained there as her hoof left. He rubbed her cheek, the side of her face, sweeping hair behind her ear—which he scratched at. Knowing it was okay to be like this with him, Rainbow settled fully on his chest. Her lips desired his kiss. To melt against his chest and into his mouth. But that could wait.

Wait until she was ready to admit she wanted the dragon in every way possible.

Rainbow settled into his torso, riding the soft waves of his breathing, hidden inside the dome of his wings. None could see her. No mocking or the sort possible. She was Rainbow Dash, an attractive mare outside as night approached. She wouldn't trust herself to sleep on a hill alone. Not one to take that chance.

But in lying on top of the dragon, her eyes started to close, soothed by the claw stroking her back, the one brushing her mane. He fluffed her up and combed her through. Held her sides gently before releasing. Her body tingled with life. Felt and touched and caressed. It all guided her to sleep.

And she didn't have to worry about what she would wake up to.

Spike.

Her consciousness faded.

I love you.