Second Wind

It didn't help that the inside of Rainbow Dash's mouth tasted like one of the grape Jolly Ranchers you liked back home. It also didn't help much that her tongue couldn't have been more slick and velvety. Being as it resided in her mouth, it also tasted of it. These things just made you all the more eager. You gently lifted yourself off of the cloud with your knee, and climb over on top of Rainbow Dash. She opens her hind legs, and you climb inside of this new spot made for you.

You take your hand, and run it down from her neck, down from her chest, down to her lower abdomen. She breaks the kiss.

"A-Aaden?" You back your face away, and examine her carefully. She almost looks scared.

"Dash? Are you okay?" She smiles, but looks away from you.

"Yeah. Well. N-no. I really like you, I do, but t-this is our first night together. I d-didn't expect you to be s-so in to this. It makes me f-feel scared." She had a point. You were getting some mixed messages here, especially with that scene downstairs with Mr. Tasty, but you understood. You went to lift yourself off of her, but you felt her hooves hold you down.

"B-but." You heard her start. "I-I'm not done with you yet." She forces your mouth onto hers, and you can taste her tongue going back in.

Eh. This will work. For now.

You two spend your night together, filled with passionate kissing and gentle moans. You both had clear eyes and full hearts, so it must have been right. You didn't know. You didn't care. What you did know, is that you were now in love with Rainbow Dash, as well as Rarity. You were really digging yourself quite the hole. But you could dig yourself out of it later, you suppose. Rainbow Dash practically climbs on top of you, and falls asleep there. You had no qualms, she was pretty light. You lift the cloud blanket up over you both, and fall asleep with your arms around her.

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"KEEP, SHOOTING, KEEP, SHOOTING, NO, ONE, BREAKS, THROUGH!" Aaden shouted. He ran out of ammo with his rifle, and threw it on the ground, ripping his handgun from it's holster.

"CAPTAIN! WE NEED TO FALL BACK!" You call out. You were frightened. You didn't want to die.

"NO! THEY WILL NOT TAKE THAT VILLAGE!" You looked up at Aaden. His black armor was covered in dirt. He had one foot up on the little dirt hill, and was firing his handgun at the waves of PMCs coming through. Apparently, the Traffickers had grown tired of being raided, and decided to hire a PMC to attempt to raid a village they knew we were staying at. Aaden refused to let the other PMC within one mile of the village.

"SIR! THIS IS SUICIDE! WE'RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF AMMO!" Aaden didn't look over at you.

"YOU'LL BE DEAD BEFORE YOU RUN OUT, SO MAKE EVERY SHOT COUNT!" Your blood ran cold with fear. You held your rifle up, and squeezed a few shots off. You heard another voice call out.

"SHIT! OH SHIT! THEY HAVE A TANK!" You looked up in terror as the giant metal insect scuttled towards you. It turned it's cannon slowly towards your position.

"GET DOWN, THIS IS GOING TO BE BAD!" Aaden jumped up from his little trench, and ran far off from ours, waving his arms at the tank. You could hear him shouting.

"YOU WANT ME? I'M RIGHT HERE! FUCKING TAKE ME! TAKE, ME!" The tank turned it's cannon towards Aaden, who then continued his run. The tank fired with a boom so loud, it left a ringing in your ears. You then realized what Aaden was doing. He had an extremely high bounty on his head by other PMCs. They were going to follow him, in their attempts to kill him. He was clever enough to lead them away from the village. Watching as Aaden led a horde of men and a single tank away from innocent civilians, you hear your radio buzz.

"Angel-1, this is Archangel, strafing run will commence in 2 minutes. Get clear."

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You lazily lifted your head up off of the cloud mattress. You go to give Aaden a big hug, when you realize he isn't there. You jump up.

Oh no. You didn't do anything to upset him, did you? Was this about not going all of the way?

You hop up, still in Aaden's shirt, and get downstairs as fast as you can. You run into the foyer. Empty. You hear dinging, and a loud crack come from the kitchen.

"OW!" You hear. you run into the kitchen.

Aaden is standing over the over, cooking something. You notice him rubbing his head, while Tank buzzes about near him. He notices you, and laughs.

"Oh, uh. Hi. I was going to surprise you with some breakfast when Tank decided to give me a concussion. Ow." You laugh.

"You alright big guy?" You ask. Aaden nods his head.

"Hurts like Hell, but I'll live." You fly over to him, and kiss his head.

"Better?"

"Better." Aaden points back at the stove. "Now, obviously, I have no wings, so I can't exactly go get us something, but I can cook pretty well. What would you like?" Timidness washes over you once more.

"I-I can, g-go to th-" Aaden holds a single finger up to your mouth.

"No no. I'm cooking you breakfast, and I'm doing your dishes. That's gonna happen, so try and get used to it." Aaden can tell you're still in your Fluttershy mode. "Bet I can cook better than you." Your timidness leaves you almost immediately.

"Bet? How much do you wanna bet?" You give a boastful smile.

"I want a kiss if I win. You can have whatever you want from me if you win. That's how confident I am." He smiles at you. "We'll cook each others breakfast. Tank?" The Turtle flies over. "You wanna judge?" He nods his head. "There we go. So. Wanna compete? Or are you too afraid I'll get that kiss?"

"You're on!" You both race over to the cabinets. You decided you were going to fix him an omelette with cheese, veggies and peppers. You snag a skillet, and dash over to your cooler, where you grab several eggs, some left over peppers, cheese, and bunch of different vegetables. You look over your shoulder, and see Aaden with a bag of flour and other things that didn't make sense to you.

"Aaden, competitors trade of information. I'll tell you what I'm making if you tell me what you're making." Aaden laughs while he mixes something in a bowl.

"Pancakes. My Dad's old recipe." Your stomach grumbled at the thought of pancakes. "What do you have going on over there?"

"An omelette with vegetables, cheese, and peppers. My old recipe." You both then go back into silence as you compete. As you cracked eggs and added your touches here and there, you watched Aaden. He was already at the stove top, pouring out the pancake batter. He was moving with grace and precision. You couldn't help but be curios about his skills, so you spoke up.

"Jeez Aaden. Where'd you learn to cook?" He looks over his shoulder, smiling.

"I went to school for it. Graduated and everything. I wanted to be a chef. That or a bartender."

I'm competing against a chef. I'm definitely going to have to kiss him.

Nothing wrong with that.

Aaden goes back to his pancakes. You get your eggs together, and take the burner next to him. You pour the eggs out, and watch them cook. You noticed Aaden was staring off into the distance again, his eyes wide. While it made you uncomfortable, it didn't frighten you as badly as last time. You really wanted him to win that kiss, so you decide to make sure his pancakes come out okay. You wonder what might be going through his head. He must be remembering something.

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The helicopter descends from the clouds, and immediately begins ripping through the crowd following Aaden. It's gun even penetrated the tank. It stops moving in it's pursuit. It's pilot must had been killed. The radio then buzzes again.

"All hostiles KIA. Returning to roost." The Helicopter then ascends back into the clouds, and quickly flies away. The battlefield was now eerily silent. Aaden stood in the distance, staring at us. The orange lenses of his gas mask looked even creepier now.

You all regrouped in the village. Men, women and children all stood outside of their houses, clapping and cheering your return. The Mayor of this town came forward.

"Dearest Angel, what can we give you in return for your work." Aaden looks at him.

"'Nothing." The Mayor gets a concerned look on his face.

"Surely there is something, Angel." Aaden looks back at you.

"Get me a pound of white rice." The Mayor looks perplexed.

"Angel, surely we can give you more than just some rice!"

"No. Just the rice, please." The Mayor, albeit confused, nods his head.

"Edrin, all he wants is a pound of white rice. Do you think your farm could spare it?" The man identified as Edrin nodded his head. He ran home, and came back with a small burlap sack, filled with the rice, and handed it to Aaden. Aaden opened his duster, and took the bag, sliding it inside of a large pocket he had. Aaden shook the Mayor's hand, you all returned to the makeshift firebase you had set up on the outskirts of the village. You went to your bed, and decided to take a nap before dinner. You wake up after what seems like just a blink, but you feel refreshed. You stumble out of your bed, the smell of something cooking coming to your nose.

You walk into the kitchen, and see Aaden, not wearing his gas mask for a change, cooking something. You shrug it off, and decide to go to the infirmary and check up on Ryan, who had been grievously injured the day before. You sit down in the seat next to him, your eyes examining his IV bag, travelling down to his arm, back up to his face.

"How do you feel?"

"Shitty." You had to try to hide a laugh. Ryan was a funny man, the kind that when he curses, it's hilarious. You clear your throat.

"How is your leg?" He pulls back the blankets, revealing a leg completely bandaged.

"Third degree burns and broken bones. Yaaay." He pulls the blankets back up, and looks past you. "Hey, Aaden, what's going on?"

He handed Ryan a plate. "Oh, bad ass! Is this the stir-fried rice I keep begging for?" Aaden took the seat on the opposite side of him. "Yeah, Max," Ryan kept talking. "Aaden can really cook. He's been taking care of me since I got hurt." You look over at Aaden.

"Max. I was told something by Major Howard a very long time ago. Each of us have two families. Now, there are those your raised with..." He looked over at the picture of Ryan's family that sat next to him. He looks back over to you. "And then there are those you raise Hell with. Each and every single one of us are brothers."

Aaden's little speech gave you goosebumps. He had that effect on people. Hell, you were probably a year or two older than him, but his immense knowledge had the very calming sensation of someone much older and experienced than you. You wouldn't doubt it if he could put out a fire by talking it down, or hold off getting sick through sheer willpower. His eyes bled wisdom and experience as he stared at you, waiting for a response.

"Well. You make a good big brother. Ryan looks like he agrees." The soldier had a mouthful of rice, and without looking up from his food, gave you a thumbs up with his free hand.

"Max. I'm not going to be alive much longer." Ryan immediately looked up at him. You focused on him. "I've pissed the IMO off something fierce. After about 6 meetings with the Chairman, I've decided I'm leaving. Live a normal life." You could respect that. It was the only reason any of you fought for the IMO anyways. You just wanted to make a living. "I know they're coming for me. I don't know when, or how, but I know they are. When I am killed, you are to assume leadership of the Pathfinders. I see you most fit," You feel taken aback.

"Captain. I am honored." Aaden didn't smile, nor frown.

"My inevitable murder will serve as my penance. Attempt to lead the Pathfinders along the path I have started."

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You came back into reality. You notice your pancakes are finished, and sitting on a plate on the counter. You look around. Rainbow Dash wasn't there, but her omelette was done, as well. Everything was fresh. Your mouth was dry. You decide that, while water or juice is great and all, you REALLY want a soda. You go upstairs, and grab another bottle of Coca Cola, and bring it downstairs. You get two glasses, fill them with ice and soda, and place them on the counter top, one next to each plate of food. You hear the front door open, so you walk out into the foyer.

"Well good morning sunshine. Did you just now snap out of it?"

"Yeah. How long was I out?"

"Eh, it was only 10 minutes or so. I went to go get you something!" You see that she's hiding something under her wings. "You can't have it until after breakfast!" You both walk into the kitchen, and sit down on the bar stools, eating your breakfast, and sharing small talk. You both hand Tank a few small nibbles of your food, remembering your little competition. You get up when she finished, and took both of your plates, cleaning them and the dishes from last night. You also dry them, before putting them away, continuing your gossip with Rainbow Dash. You run your hand across your chest, feeling the bandages underneath of your shirt.

"Rainbow, I'm going to go change my bandages real quick." Rainbow hopped off her bar stool.

"I'll help. Just to make sure you do it right." You both go upstairs, and into the bathroom. You take your shirt off, and fold it over your left shoulder, where it would be out of the way. You peel off the bandage on your shoulder and abdomen, revealing two marble sized scabs. You had almost made a complete recovery. You wouldn't need to do this much more often.

"Hey, Aaden? Could I ask you something about the manticore?" You nod your head while you carefully use disinfectant to wipe your wounds. "What did it feel like, being impaled like that?" You look up at her.

"It didn't hurt at first. It just felt like someone pushed me really hard. Then it just kind of started to feel warm and wet. The pain never really came, I went unconscious before I could feel anything else. She cringed.

"Ow dude. That really sucks." You simply hum in agreement. You peel a bandage from it's wrapping, and stick it to your chest.

"Now I have a question for you. I have to patrol tomorrow. You know, Honor Guard stuff. How am I supposed to get down from this cloud?" Rainbow Dash held her hoof to her chin.

"That's a good point. You could always jump and hit a cloud closer to the ground." You imagine falling 500 feet onto a cloud, only to fall 15 more feet to the ground. You shudder.

"I'll find another way. Let's just enjoy the day for now. What all do we have planned?" You put your shirt back on.

"Absolutely nothing." You laugh.

"Well. I'm sure we'll find something."