Author's Note

I plan to do more with Coco in the future, but for now, enjoy some cute fluff.

Coco the Cute

“Reuben, if you don’t fix it right now I swear to Celestia I will stand awkwardly outside for an unreasonable amount of time saying hello to ponies walking by!”

“You wouldn’t dare! You know Manehattan folks take that as a sign of aggression! I’ll lose out on so much potential business!”

“Oh yeah? Then fix. This. Sandwich.”

“Ugh, Anon, please stop it!”

A cute, feminine voice shouts from across the bodega. Standing behind the counter is Reuben, a gruff-looking tank of a stallion with a brown mane that’s finally starting to go grey at the tips. Before him is a freshly made sandwich with just a tad too much mayo. And there, staring daggers into the sweating shopkeeper is Anon, the only human in Equestria.

“Sorry, Coco!” Anon clears his throat and lowers his voice, but his expression doesn’t soften. “Anyway. Fix it.”

Reuben sighs, shaking his head as he slides the sandwich into a trash bin with a single, smooth swipe of his hoof. He’s done this before, and he will do it again.

“Less mayo, right?”

“Yeah, that’s…” Anon trails off as he glances behind him. On the far side of the store, Coco Pommel nods to herself as she finally picks out a flavor of ice cream from a conveniently placed freezer. “That’s how I like ‘em.”

“I know that ‘the customer is always right’ is an oft-repeated phrase, but I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t make a scene in my store.”

“Look, it’s a special day, alright? I just–”

“Ah.” Reuben chuckles a single time as Coco approaches the pair, quietly and politely setting the ice cream on the counter next to them. A small, knowing grin spreads across his face as his eye seems to twinkle. “I hadn’t realized.”

“What are you two talking about?” Coco asks with a tilt of her head.

“Nothing you need to worry about, little lady.” Reuben gives Coco a smile before wrapping up and sliding a new sandwich to Anon with a wink. “I think you’ll find this one more to your liking.”

“Thanks, Reuben.”

“Mr. Reuben? This flavor wasn’t priced.” Coco pulls her wallet out of her saddlebag as she looks up at the stallion with a gentle smile. “Could you let me know how much I owe you?”

“Eh, it’s on the house.”

“W-wait, really?”

“Today only.” He laughs to himself before flipping the ice cream cup nonchalantly into the air and placing it into a bag. Handing the bag over with a smile, he rolls his shoulders energetically. “Anyway, you two’d better scram. Don’t wanna get caught in the afternoon rush, do ya?”

“Oh, is it getting that late already?! Anon, we need to go!”

“Hey, it’s not like we– woah!”

With a shocking amount of strength, Coco grabs Anon by the sleeve and yanks him right out of the bodega, a fierce look of determination in her eyes.

“Oh, to be young again,” Reuben sighs to himself.

“Ah, these look good.”

Anon lifts one of the many scented candles at the market stall before him, gingerly holding it in front of his face as he takes a sniff.

“I just made them this morning,” the ginger-maned mare behind the stall proudly proclaims. “A maple scent, with just a hint of my secret floral additive.”

“It’s lovely,” Anon remarks, trying his best to not make fun of the mare’s Jersey accent. “How do ponies even get Jersey accents? Is there an Equestrian Jersey? Well, there’s an Equestrian Manhattan, so it can’t be that unlikely–”

“Sir, what are you talking about?”

“Did I say that out loud?”

“Anon!” Coco excitedly runs up behind her human companion, her smile wide and contagious. “Look, look! They had it!”

She reaches into her saddlebag and presents a hefty novel, its title reading Cottage of Leaves.

“Isn’t that book infamously difficult to read?”

“That’s exactly why I want to read it! Ooooooh, tonight is going to be so fun!”

She prances in place excitedly. It’s pretty much the cutest thing Anon has ever seen.

“Well, I’m happy for you!”

“What about you?” Coco tilts her head as she peers around him, her cyan eyes locking onto the candle still in his hand. “I didn’t take you for the candle-loving type.”

“N-no, I’m not! I, uh, I hate candles! Can’t stand ‘em!”

“Why, I never!”

The mare behind the stall lets out a “harrumph!” noise and turns away, her eyes closed and nose turned up in offense.

“Then… why are you here?”

“They’re, uh… they’re for the boutique! We’ve had some, er, rough-and-tumble customers coming into Rarity For You lately, and I thought these might make the atmosphere a little more inviting when it gets crowded and… you know, sweaty.”

“Oh. Oh! That’s actually not a bad idea at all!”

“Y-yeah! I’ll just finish taking care of these while you wrap up your own business and we’ll reconvene on the far side of the market, alright?”

“If you say so,” she giggles. “Try not to upset any more vendors, though. I’d really rather not get kicked out again over a bunch of plastic.”

“It’s not my fault Space Mareines are being sold for the price of silver! It’s a scam!”

Coco rolls her eyes, not sticking around long enough to hear the end of Anon’s rant. The instant she’s out of sight, Anon turns back towards the ginger mare.

“I’ll take five.”

“I’m sorry, I thought you hated candles.”

“Please, ma’am, it’s for… you know…”

She stares at him for a long, tense moment before her eyes quickly go wide.

“Ohhhhhh! Well why didn’t you say so?! Here.” She bags the candles, a small blush forming on her cheeks. “I should probably get some for myself, too. That’ll be 20 bits.”

“Thanks,” he whispers as he takes the bag and quickly turns to leave.

“I threw a sixth in there, on the house. Make it count!”

“I will!”

With a newfound pep in his step, Anon follows the route Coco took mere moments ago, leaving the mare smiling to herself.

“Wonder if I should go with Murgle: The Scent of Contagion or Celestia's Snowpity?”

“Ahhhhhhhh.”

Coco and Anon sigh simultaneously as the door to their apartment closes behind them. Their shoulders slumped, they slowly trudge their way into the dark, cramped living space. Coco leans on the comparably large human, the bags under her eyes making her exhaustion all the more obvious.

“I didn’t think our day off would be spent entirely on running errands.”

“Me neither,” Anon yawns. “Still. Good to be home.”

“I really want to go to bed, but… ugh, that ice cream is calling my name.”

“I’m sure the book is, too.” Anon lets out a tired chuckle as he sets down his bags on the coffee table next to the living room’s sofa. The apartment is tiny, with little space for anything else in that living room. On the far side of the room are two doors, one for the bathroom and one for the bedroom. Manehattan rent is no joke. “I’m gonna take a quick shower.”

“Alright. Nighty-night, Anon the Stinky.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I’m not going to bed just yet, Coco the Cute.”

Coco and Anon work together at Rarity For You, and while they don’t always see eye-to-eye, they appreciate each other’s company enough to live together. Smiling at the rare moment of peace in the quiet apartment building, Coco gently pats her dear friend’s leg, clearly too exhausted to think straight.With a yawn, she throws herself down on the sofa, her book and her ice cream gingerly held in her hooves.

Drinking in the adorable sight, Anon hesitates for only a moment before deciding to wash up. When he’s done rinsing off, he relishes in the absence of the stench of Manehattan pollution. Truly, the greatest five minutes one could experience in such a city.

“So, how is it?” he asks as he steps out of the bathroom, not entirely nude, but certainly still missing a shirt. Coco is unsurprised, and at least a little amused. “Worth the wait?”

“Do you mean the book or the ice cream? Hmhm.” Coco, now wrapped up in a cute, floral-patterned blanket, looks snug as a bug in a rug on that sofa. “I’ve only been reading for five minutes! And I put the ice cream aside for now, I don’t wanna get it all over the pages.”

“That’s fair,” he remarks as he crosses the room and reaches into one of his bags. Coco’s nose remains buried in the book, completely oblivious to the pair of candles being placed on the table and subsequently lit until the relaxing scent of maple hits her. “Hope you don’t mind me making it a bit more homey in here.”

“I thought those candles were for the boutique?”

“Yeah, I uh… lied.”

Anon shrugs as he slides his other bag across the table and plops himself down onto the sofa next to her. She opens her mouth to speak, but before she can say anything, a pair of hands has grabbed her by the flanks and lifted her into the air.

“Eep!” is all she can manage to squeak out as she finds her blanket-wrapped form placed delicately in Anon’s lap. He rests his head on top of her own, enveloping her in his arms and holding her tight. “A-Anon?”

Before saying anything, he tilts his head downwards, giving her a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Coco.”

“Happy… o-oh! Oh no! Anon, I’m so sorry, I totally forgot!”

“Hahah!” He hugs her tighter, forcing a blush to spread across her face. “I figured as much. You’ve been busier than anyone lately between your work at the boutique and that new musical coming up.”

“Oh, but that’s no excuse to–!”

“Shush.” He gives her another smooch. For a second, he swears he can hear her purring. “This is still your day off. You’re gonna sit right there and let me spoil you, okay?”

“Hrmph. Okay,” she mumbles with a fake pout through her poorly hidden smile. “But I’d better not hear you complain about the book being boring.”

“Only if you don’t complain about me feeding you.”

“Wh-what?”

“You’ve got your hooves full, and I’ve got your favorite sandwich right here. Sounds to me like you need a set of hands to give you a… a hand. That sounded dumb.”

“Hmhm! Nonny, you’re being silly again. I’m a grown mare, I can eat a sandwich.” She thinks for a moment before snapping to attention through tired eyes. “Wait! You were arguing over a sandwich you bought for ME?!”

“Well, yeah. Why else would I care so much about it?”

“Anon, I don’t know if I should smack you or kiss you.”

“I’d accept either as payment for my boundless generosity.”

“Ugh!” She rolls her eyes at him again, but she still can’t hide her amused smile despite her feigned annoyance. “Just gimme that sandwich.”

Anon laughs as the night slowly continues. She reads aloud a passage from the book, completely engrossed in its world and characters before Anon lifts the sandwich to her eager mouth. Bite by bite, paragraph by paragraph, the two share a romantic - albeit, somewhat strange - evening together, being sure to cap it off with a cup of somewhat-melted ice cream.

“You sure you want to share? I know how much you love this stuff.”

“It was free, Nonny. Now shut up and let me feed you.”

She giggles as she turns in his lap, smiling warmly while she lifts a spoon to his mouth. He accepts the offering, even if he secretly hates the flavor she picked. They don’t exchange many words as they share their little treat, content to simply enjoy one another’s presence on such a quiet, romantic evening.

“Well,” she sighs as she snuggles into his embrace, “I’m getting really tired.”

“...But?”

“But~! I don’t think I can go to sleep just yet.”

“And why’s that?”

She leans back, gently resting her hooves on his chest as she looks him dead in the eyes, a warm, sensual smile on her face. She briefly opens her mouth to speak, but thinks better of it. Instead, she closes her eyes and quickly closes the gap between them, pressing her soft, gentle lips against his own.

He recoils slightly at her unexpected boldness, but quickly regains his composure as he adjusts his grip on her, his fingers running through her silky smooth coat and mane. The scent of the candles overrides that of the city outside. The quiet evening melts all around them until nothing but themselves and the connection they share remains. Anon dares to push the kiss further, and Coco smiles as she gently rubs her tongue against his. He gives her a squeeze, causing her to start actually purring.

By the time they finally part, both are gasping for air.

“H-hey, Nonny?”

“Yeah?”

“I still don’t think I’m gonna be able to sleep yet.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Sharing a knowing smile, the two of them eagerly dive right back in, fully prepared to make this relaxing evening a little less relaxing.