Two Strikes Makes A Birdy!
Anon didn’t know what to think of Gilda when he had first met her.
He was introduced to the tsundere pile of feathers weeks before Rainbow Dash had to go on tour with the Bolts. Gilda had stopped by to see her off, which surprised Rainbow Dash since, well, they didn’t have a consistent friendship. Not that it bothered either of them, the two had their own places to be, but when you don’t get to see your friend very often and majority of the time you talk to them through letters, getting to suddenly meet them in person made the two want to stick around for way longer than Rainbow Dash had the time for.
That time made Anon really see Gilda though. So much so that he asked her if he could visit Griffonstone.
Gilda couldn’t be happier to do that for him. Well, with some hesitation of course. She couldn’t show her excitement too early on.
He flipped a page and sighed. The book he was reading was great and all. It was more about Griffon folklore and why the Idol of Boris would save the Griffons from sure destruction, but he already knew the story. Plus, seeing it retold for the umpteenth time made Anon wonder if Griffons were tired of using the same material. Their current history was different, a trajectory that no one outside Griffonstone would think would happen.
After all, Anon was the relayer of said history now. A job that made him and Princess Twilight Sparkle the best of friends.
Smirking, he set the book aside on a nearby coffee table, before he got up, stretched his legs, and carried himself into the kitchen. Gilda was going to be home soon, and he thought it would be wise to surprise her with a little something.
He washed his hands in a nearby bucket, splashing the water and suds from his fingers, before wiping them off with a towel. The nearby table had already been set, and there was some food already prepped, mostly hidden under the bowls that covered them. But he had forgotten the most important thing in this whole foray: a little bit of red wine.
He knew how Gilda’s shifts went: make some scones, sell them, and make some more. Rinse and repeat until she sold enough to feel content with her day. Yes, that was literally her day. She talked to some other griffons, some who were nice enough to chat with her for a moment, while others ignored her and bared their beaks at her, leaving Gilda to wonder why. Why did they not open themselves up to the idea of change? Did they think she was weak for being so open now?
Anon knew. It’s due to the long history of being selfish; you can’t undo all of that overnight.
She’d tell him he’s not wrong but would still hide her embarrassment, her weakness in front of him.
Anon laughed. “God, she’s such a dork.”
He said this as he brought out his bottle opener. With a bit of care, he popped the cork right off the sucker, nearly sending it flying out the window. Luckily, he caught it after it had ricocheted off a nearby wall, and set it down on the counter beside him. Then, with a flick of the wrist, Anon slid two cups on the counter, and poured the delicious nectar into them.
He licked his lips. A little won’t hurt. He can’t get a DUI here, right? Not that he had a car, but…
After pouring the drinks, he held his glass close to him. Then, he looked out the window.
Any second now…
…
…
The door swung open.
“Phew. Another day, another fifty bits!”
There she was. She had walked through the door and puffed her chest, smiling all the while. Those amber eyes would be looking square into his, and for some reason, his heart would do a few three-sixties. That's not healthy sounding, but Anon knew it was. After all, he was in love with Gilda Grimfeather.
He walked over and rubbed his free hand gently over her withers. “Welcome home, Gilda.”
She nuzzled into his cheek. “Thanks, dweeb.”
Dweeb. It should be an insult, but for Anon, he could tell how she said it was definitely not meant to be an insult. She would always puff her cheeks, and those cheeks of hers would have a tinge of blush on them. She wouldn’t admit it, but it turned into some form of a pet name for him.
Either that, or she still thinks he’s a dweeb, and that’s fine. He’ll remind her he’s not when he rubbed his hands over her pinions later.
“You’re welcome,” he began, smirking as he nuzzled her back. He watched as Gilda raised a brow, even pointing a claw at his drinking glass. “Red wine imported from Prance. Want some?”
She nodded rather enthusiastically, nearly getting her to raise her wings a bit. “From Prance?”
“Yep. As a gift from Twilight herself.”
“For what?” Gilda asked, licking her beak. “Did you give her something?”
“In a sense,” Anon said with a grin. He turned and walked back behind the counter to grab Gilda’s glass. “She’s a fan of what I told her about last week.”
“Last week…” Gilda muttered under her breath. She tapped her chin with a claw, only to gasp, her eyes widening. “You didn’t tell her—”
“I did.” Anon handed Gilda her own glass of red wine. “Don’t barrel this one too quickly, birdy.”
She glared at him, but her cheeks flared a bright red while she accepted his offer, the glass looking rather fitting in her claws. “You’re lucky you gave me some of this wine.”
Anon let out a chuckle. “What? You don’t want anyone to know about your new business venture?”
Gilda folded her arms together against her chest. “You…” She shook her head. “You told her about that too?”
Anon nodded and sipped on the wine. “Of course. Like a scholar and a proud boyfriend. Can’t get better than that.”
“And what did Twilight say?”
“Congratulations on keeping tabs on the town’s infrastructure changes, and I’m glad to hear that you both are doing well.”
She rolled her eyes and took a sip of hers too. She moaned happily. “Well, if she keeps giving us this, I’ll let you gloat to her about me.”
“Deal,” Anon said immediately, holding out his hand. “Shake on it.”
“You and your handshakes,” Gilda jested, before resting her claws gently into his hand. The two firmly shook, before Anon decided to even the playing field.
He whipped her close into his arms. The liquid in her glass nearly flew out, but he made sure to not whip her too hard into him, making it only swig a little. Meanwhile, he set down his drink while the two molded perfectly into each other. Quickly, he risked it and kissed her on the cheek.
“Happy?”
“Mmhmm,” Gilda tittered.
“Good.”
The two stayed like that for a moment more, sneaking in a nuzzle in-between, but nothing more. Then, Gilda broke it off and smiled.
“Alright, enough of that. So, are we going to eat or did you set the table for no reason?”
“Well, you may notice something is off.”
She looked closer at the table and pointed a claw at the plates. “Yeah, you have our plates covered.”
“Gotta keep our food warm somehow.”
Anon smiled. Underneath these lids was going to be something that’ll either piss Gilda off, or make her overly affectionate. He was betting on the latter, but even a pissed off griffoness had her advantages. Currently, all he had was a curious one, who was craning her head down to try and peek underneath one of them.
“Gilda…”
“What? You’ve made me curious now, so I had to take a peek!”
“Well if you just waited, I’ll lift them up so you can actually see what I got you.”
She groaned. “You dweeb. You should’ve just said that!”
Anon smirked. “Too busy admiring the merchandise—hey!”
A smack of a wing, right upside the head. He rubbed his head with a free hand.
“You deserved that.”
“Yeah, and I’d do it again just to see those cheeks of yours flare up.”
Her cheeks burned red.
He pointed at her cheeks. “Just like that—”
“Shut up, Anon,” she growled, before shaking her head. “This better be some good food or I’ll—” As if she spoke the action into existence, he lifted up her plate and watched as Gilda’s wing stood at attention, having flicked out to full mast almost immediately. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Well, it depends. What do you think it is?”
Anon watched her sniff a bit, and then subsequently shriek on the top of her lungs. “SALMON?”
“Yes. Salmon with some green beans on the side. Oh and some mashed potatoes toooo!”
He almost got interrupted, but Anon stood his ground as Gilda slammed right back into his chest, her arms wrapped around him. Those amber eyes peered into his. “Thank you so much!”
She didn’t even hesitate to say it now. She used to, and it made Anon wonder if her brain was about to explode each time she tried to say it, but instead she would just pout, shuffle her way over to the couch, and lay herself down in a pile of feathers known as Gilda The Embarrassed.
She would hate when he said that nickname. Unfortunately for her, he wasn’t keen on stopping until she stopped becoming a stuttering mess. Clearly it was the greatest motivator of all time, as now he was seeing her genuinely smiling at her, with all the love in the world plastered on her face.
“Heh, you deserve it. I’ve seen how hard you’ve been working so I thought, why not give Gilda the best reward I could give her while also treating myself?”
Gilda snorted as she took another swig of her drink. “You’re such a Griffon.”
“I’m glad you see that I’m finally a—”
“—a dweeb.”
Anon frowned and took a sip of his drink. “I spoke too soon.”
Gilda chuckled behind a claw and set her drink on the table, right where her seat was (she designated it just now since she peeked at it). She looked over at his spot, eyeballing it as she spoke, “You’re going to eat that?”
He sighed and set his glass down in his spot. “Of course I am," he muttered. Carefully, he sunk into the seat before unwrapping his own platter. The scent of the nicely cooked salmon wafted into his nostrils, feeling like the best ocean breeze he could've ever asked for. He clapped his hands together and gripped onto his knife and fork, in that exact order.
Meanwhile, Gilda was already chomping down happily, holding a claw to her cheek as she chewed.
Maybe he should eat his portion before Gilda forgets to savor hers.
It didn’t take long for them to eat the food Anon had made. Gilda had finished rather fast, despite her saying she totally ‘savored each bite’. Anon doubted it, but when he decided he was full and there was some salmon still sitting on his plate, well, she was more than happy to finish the rest that he left behind.
Then, once she devoured the rest, Anon washed the dishes, with Gilda chirping with glee behind him.
“Anon, can we get salmon again?”
“Maybe next week. I could see if Gideon has any in stock.”
He could hear her grumble to herself. Granted, he could hear what she said, but the groan that followed cued Anon into her headspace. It probably wasn’t a good thing.
“What’s that?”
He turned to see her twiddling with her claws. “What about we go hunting together?”
Anon’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”
“You heard me,” she touted with a glare. She bowed her head a bit. “We could go… hunting together.”
Those words rung in his ears like a church bell blaring back home. “You aren’t saying—”
“Ergh, Anon! I’m saying exactly what you’re thinking!”
He blinked and raised a brow.
She tilted her head. “Dude?”
“Are you saying that you want to get married?”
Gilda’s eyes widened and she squawked herself into a tizzy. “W-What?!”
“Are you?”
She furrowed her brows before letting out a growl. “Don’t count your eggs before they hatch, dweeb.”
She folded her arms back to her chest and looked away from him.
She didn’t say no.
Author's Note
Another example of what not to leave in your drafts.
Finally finished fic that was written as a result of this blog! You're welcome for all who were waiting for this one. Sorry for the delay.
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