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“So, you come here often?”
Fluttershy looked up from her textbook, blinking in surprise. A lean girl was sitting across from her, a bright rainbow mullet covering her head. She was grinning cheekily at Fluttershy, leaning on the table that the high schooler was using for her homework.
“Well I have, homework and um…” She mumbled her way through the sentence gesturing to her school supplies.
The rainbow-haired girl chuckled, “I’m Rainbow, can I study at this table too? All the other ones are full.” As she said it, she slid into the seat across from Fluttershy, placing her bag beside her on the booth.
Fluttershy nodded slightly, forcing a small smile.
“Rad! What’s your name? What school do you go to? What subject are you working on?”
Fluttershy felt her face go red with embarrassment, “Um.. Fluttershy…”
“Not very talkative, huh?” Rainbow grinned, “Well that’s okay, I’ll leave you alone to do your work. Do you want this coffee? They accidentally put cream and sugar in it but I only drink black coffee.”
Fluttershy nodded, guessing that Rainbow just wanted to bribe her into letting her stay.
“Hey cutie, can I sit here again?”
Fluttershy held back a squeak, trying not to sound scared. She nodded, pulling her things back to make room for Rainbow.
“Sorry to call you cutie, but I don’t exactly know your name, do I?”
“It’s--”
“Don’t worry about it hon, I wonder, do you like chai tea? I meant to get peppermint, they just can’t get my order right huh.”
“Oh! That’s my favorite!” She let out a quiet exclamation. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She felt her face go red again.
“No problem, I’m glad it won’t be wasted.” Rainbow smiled, sliding the tea over to Fluttershy and opening a laptop. Fluttershy found herself peeking over her book to glance at the girl every now and then.
A hot cup was placed on the table, and Fluttershy looked up to find that it was put down by the charming girl that had sat with her the last two times she studied. She noticed that there were a handful of free tables, but didn’t point them out.
“Look at the name!” Said Rainbow cheerily.
Fluttershy nodded, and her eyes widened at the cup, which read “A pretty girl I don’t know the name of”.
“I got them to write it for me,” She slipped into the booth, pulling out her laptop. “I guess I could have just asked your name.” She pushed the cup across the table. “It’s Chai tea, by the way.”
Fluttershy blushed, but this time it wasn’t only from embarrassment. “I’m Fluttershy.” She took the cup, a nervous smile on her face. “Thanks.”
A cup slid over the table to Fluttershy, but this time she wasn’t surprised. Rainbow leapt into the booth, grinning with excitement. “Hi Flutters--can I call you that?” Fluttershy nodded, and Rainbow gave a playful smile, “I have a huge test in history, so I’m gonna be here all day.” A grimace flashed across Rainbow’s face as she said it, but her face soon returned to her usually playful grin. “What are you working on?”
“Math.” said Fluttershy with a deep sigh. Rainbow reached out her arm, patting Fluttershy’s forearm.
“Good luck buddy.” Fluttershy nodded, but as she opened her notebook she couldn't help running her hand over the spot where Rainbow had touched her. She let her hair cover her face, which she could feel turning warm at the thought.
The temperature was colder and colder every day, and the touches of orange and brown on the leaves began to spread across the whole tree. Walking the city each day was filled with falling leaves as they fled their branches.
In spite of the lowering temperature, the cafe was vibrant and warm as ever, and the tea that Rainbow now handed right to Fluttershy was a comfortable heat.
“It’s actually tea season now isn’t it?”
Fluttershy chuckled, “For me it’s always tea season. I ordered you a coffee by the way, I noticed you were half falling asleep when you walked in.”
“Thanks, I owe you one.” Rainbow smiled, sliding into the booth beside Fluttershy, playfully running her hands through her pink hair.
“You’ve been buying me teas nearly every day for two months, Rainbow, I think you’ve earned a few coffees.”
“I suppose.”
“I got two croissants, also. So if you’re hungry you can have one of them.” Fluttershy moved the tea back to make room for Rainbow’s bag.
“Thanks! I’m starving. ”
“Did you have track practice again today?”
The two teenagers chatted, sharing news of the day and the dreadful homework they were receiving. After an hour, they’d barely touched their homework, which drew some stern reminders from Fluttershy, and some tired groans from Rainbow. By the time they both went home, they were buzzing from the meeting.
The day was dreary and cold. Rain tore down from the sky. While the winter was mild, it came with the disappointing rainstorms, rather than the excitement of snow, even though it was nearly cold enough for it. Fluttershy placed her coat on the seat opposite where she and Rainbow sat. She was always the first one to arrive, given that Rainbow was so busy with sports. She almost considered putting her jacket back on, since she was so cold.
Before she could get up to grab it, the bell rang at the front of the cafe and Rainbow strolled in, dripping wet.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy ran over to her friend, “You’re soaking wet, don’t you have an umbrella?”
“I left it at home, but it’s alright, I have some spare clothes in my bag.” Fluttershy looked down at the bag, which was dripping water onto the cafe floor.
“That’s nonsense, you need a towel and fresh clothes.”
Rainbow groaned. “But I live halfway across the city, I only come here because it’s close to my school.”
Fluttershy furrowed her eyebrows, “I remember.” She paused, looking at the water dripping from Rainbow to the floor.
“Come on, I live near here, let me just get my stuff, you can’t come in like that, you’ll give the employees such a hard time to clean up!”
Rainbow seemed to protest, but then nodded. “You’re right, lead the way.”
Fluttershy dragged Rainbow behind her, opening her umbrella against the pouring rain. Despite it, the two both got their fair share of rain, even on the short walk. Still, they arrived at Fluttershy’s house quickly, and Fluttershy dragged her guest onto the porch.
“We’ll stay her for a second, no reason to get the house all wet.” Rainbow nodded, taking off her jacket, shivering in the cold. After a moment of wringing out clothes, Fluttershy went to open the door, letting Rainbow in.
“Yo-you’re hou-ouse is ni-nice.” said Rainbow through chattering teeth.
“Oh, you must be so cold.” Fluttershy couldn’t help noticing that she was shivering as well. “I’ll turn the heat on when we get upstairs, my parents aren’t home yet, we should try and get dry before they get home.”
She grabbed Rainbow’s hand, putting their jackets onto the coat rack at the front of the house. She kicked off her shoes, and Rainbow did the same. Once that was done she led Rainbow upstairs and into the bathroom, pulling two towels out of the closet.
“Th-thanks.” Said Rainbow, taking a towel and drying her hair, still shivering.
“I’ll get you fresh clothes, although they’ll probably be too big.”
“Th-that’s o-okay.” Said Rainbow, wrapping herself in the towel. After a moment, Fluttershy handed Rainbow the clothes then headed back to her room to change her own clothes. After a few minutes the two met up and headed downstairs.
“They’re pretty big on you,” said Fluttershy as they stepped into the kitchen.
Rainbow chuckled, “Well you are a lot taller than me.”
“Yeah, I am. Do you want some tea, or maybe hot cocoa to warm up?”
“Oh yes, please. This sweater is warm, but I feel cold to the bone.”
Fluttershy smiled and started heating up the milk, pulling out the mix from the cupboard. While she did that, Rainbow began exploring the downstairs, which was mostly an open room with the kitchen and dining room.
After a moment, Fluttershy called her back, gesturing to two cups of hot cocoa, topped with little marshmallows. “Let’s go into the living room,” she handed one cup to Rainbow and they headed into the living room, which was past the dining room through sliding doors.
They took a seat together on the couch, and Fluttershy pulled a quilt over the both of them.
“Thank you so much, Flutters. I should have just gone home or something instead of hiking through this rain.
“Yeah, you should have.” She sat close to Rainbow, letting their body heat flow between them as they sipped the warm drink.
“This is hardly weather for hot cocoa,” commented Rainbow, gesturing to the rain outside.
“That’s true, but it’s at least cold enough for it.” She laid a hand on Rainbow’s mullet, gently stroking the shorter hair at the top. Rainbow placed down her mug and leaned into Fluttershy. They had never been so close in the coffeeshop, but now, in the privacy of Fluttershy’s home, there was nothing stopping them from being intimate.
“I can’t believe this is the first time either of us go to each other’s houses,” muttered Rainbow.
“Hmm, I know. We should spend more time together that isn’t studying, don’t you think?”
“Yeah.”
They let the rain lull them into a peaceful moment, a comfortable silence. Fluttershy felt Rainbow’s hand slip into her own, and her thumb gently rubbed the back of Fluttershy’s hand. Suddenly, she felt as if her heart were caught in her throat, and a familiar heat flushed her cheeks and ears.
As if Rainbow could read her mind, she sat up a little, not letting go of Fluttershy’s hand, but far enough away that they could look at each other, Rainbow found her eyes wandering away as she spoke, as if she didn’t want to make eye contact.
“Um… Fluttershy.”
“What is it?” Fluttershy looked at the teenager, normally bold and straightforward, now nervously avoiding her eyes. But as if it were a vision, she blinked and Rainbow’s demeanor changed. She set her shoulders back and stared directing into Fluttershy’s eyes, as if peering into her mind.
“Flutters, can I… kiss you?”
Fluttershy couldn’t speak, but she felt excitement welling in her chest. She nodded, the warmth that had touched her ears was now a hot blush, and she squeezed Rainbow’s hand in anticipation.
Rainbow swallowed and leaned forward, gently caressing Fluttershy’s cheek as she kissed her, warmth spreading between them, a different kind than before. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it was perfect. Fluttershy leaned into Rainbow, her arms wrapped around the other girl's waist. They stayed like that, just like that, and behind them, the dreary rain began to flutter around, as it began to snow.