Chapter Text
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A run-down red truck full of damage pulled into the hail-filled driveway. It was late: around 10 at night, and according to the forecasts, the thunderstorms would continue through the night. It was a miracle that the girls had even made it to Rarity’s home without ending up in a ditch. AJ had surprised herself; even she couldn’t believe that they’d made it without a scratch. While it seemed that they were at peace now, that certainly wasn’t the case at ALL. The rain was still rushing down, and the roads looked like running rivers full of white pellets of ice.
Rarity turned from the window and looked at AJ, sighing. She really didn’t want to do this, but it would be rude not to, considering the trouble the farmer had gone through to drop her off. She cleared her throat, “I know it’s quite a journey from here to Sweet Apple Acres…”
She looked away from the sun-kissed girl and laughed nervously. “..and you’ve gone through so much trouble to drop me off, would you like to stay the night?”
AJ blinked. Was this really happening? Rarity, the girl that she had been falling head over heels for, forever, was asking her frenemy, Amelia June Smith, to stay the night? She froze up for a moment, looking into the distance as she thought about just how lovely that was.
“AJ?”
“Oh, yeah! Uhhh sure.. As long as ya don’t mind my snorin’!”
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“Here: take some of my pajamas, you’re drenched, darling!” A nice soft set of violet silk pajamas was in the pale woman’s hand, her blue eyes looking up at AJ much more softly than they usually did. She didn’t know why she felt so tender with her tonight. AJ had done favors for her before; that wasn’t new, but tonight felt different. It felt… peculiar.
AJ didn’t have to come and pick her up from the fabric store, but she did, with no hesitation. And that felt almost sickening. She didn’t deserve that, especially with the way she had been acting today. Rarity had been a bit too snobbish, lashing out at her friends at lunch because they “didn’t understand high fashion”. Sure, she had been stressed out due to her latest internship in the big city, but that was no excuse. Rarity had been too mean, so mean in fact that she had insulted poor Francine! That was way too far…
Perhaps her kindness was a way for her to atone for her sins. Or perhaps it was because of something deeper, something she was far too ashamed to admit. But she’d keep that hidden, especially from herself. Mother would never approve.
AJ took the pair from Rarity’s hesitant hands and smiled, nodding. “Thanks, Rare.”
She nodded and returned a smile, one much smaller and guiltier. “Of course, dear.”
AJ walked off, confused by the interaction. Had she… said something wrong? She had seen the crook in the smile formed by the glossy pink lips. It wasn’t the crook of admiration, like when you’re crookedly smiling after making out in the back of a car, no– it was a crook like when you’re feeling a bit stilted, when you don’t actually want to smile.
As she slipped out of her soaking wet overalls and into the lustrous violet pajamas, AJ started to think about that small, supposedly forgettable moment. They were friends, sure. She and Rarity would hang around the same crowd with Soleil and Twyla, but they were more like frenemies. Rarity was just so… much. While she was just herself. It was so irritating, especially today, seeing her act all pretentious at lunch, but even after all of that, she still answered Rarity’s sudden call for help.
Maybe it was because she still had a huge crush on her.
Granny Smith had always told Mac about how some people would be mean to each other to show they liked them, so AJ had taken that and tried to apply it to Rarity. Sure, there certainly weren’t any tangible pieces of evidence of that working on the girl, but it had only been six years.
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“Oh darling, you look STUNNING!”
Rarity hummed as she admired AJ in the set of fancy pajamas. Purple looked so good against her tanned and freckled skin. The fitting was perfect too, which was a bit unexpected, considering that AJ was a bit taller than her.
“Heh, thanks?”
The fashionista couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
“Let’s just… watch a movie, AJ.”
She beckoned AJ to the couch and started flicking through the movie catalogue as the other girl sat down, snuggling a pillow.
“No romance, ‘kay? I’ll watch anything else, but I swear to goodness, if I have to watch The Journal for the fiftieth time, I’ll just go to bed.” AJ threatened with a playful giggle. Rarity looked appalled.
“How DARE you!”
AJ rolled her eyes, mimicking the gesture Rarity had done just moments ago. The truth was, she secretly loved that movie. She loved how, despite their differences and changes in lovers, the two lovers still got back together at the end. It was something she sorta wanted someday, maybe with a certain girl…
Despite what AJ had warned, Rarity clicked on The Journal.
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As the movie went on, Rarity watched AJ as the girl watched the film so intently. So much for going to bed.
But it was so cute, Rarity had to admit, seeing all the shocked gasps and small comments AJ made was so sweet. It was like getting to see a different side to the usually closed-off and tense AJ.
“Why are ya lying on my shoulder?”
Shit.
Rarity looked up, realizing that in her daydreaming, she was getting a bit too close to AJ. She quickly pulled away and blushed furiously, trying to hide her face. It was embarrassingly red.
“I - um, uh, was getting tired!”
“Sure.”
“N-no, no really!”
AJ grabbed her shoulder and laughed gently, looking away for a moment as she blushed.
“I don’t mind, I was just kinda wondering why.”
“M-maybe I don’t know why.”
“I guess that’s fair. I don’t know why I don’t mind.”
Rarity sighed and got up from the couch, not wanting to look at those bright green eyes, even if she usually wanted to. This was too much. She wouldn’t, no, couldn’t look at her. This was bad, really bad. The sickening feeling crept into her again, and she couldn’t deal with it right now.
AJ opened her mouth to say something else, but Rarity shook her head and turned away again.
“I’m sorry, dear, but um.. I’m going to bed.”
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