Gel wakes up, groaning softly and quickly picking up her journal, skimming the pages. ...so Rhino's becoming more open to the idea of us? She smiles softly, standing up and heading out of her room. ...I'll have to test that theory... She quietly nudges open the door to his room, glancing around cautiously.

Once again, the green stallion is snoozing peacefully in his usual position. His small alarm clock is sitting on his bedside table, silent for now.

Smiling slyly, she sneaks up to his bed. She lifts his foreleg and moves the pillow away, quickly laying down with her back to his belly. ...oh, he's so soft... She gingerly lowers his foreleg back down, slowly squirming back against his body. ...I know we aren't a couple, but...this seems so right... She flicks her tail a bit, almost teasingly brushing it against his hindlegs.

The hindmost twitches in response to the touch. The rest of his body does its usual contortions to accommodate her presence. A small murmur comes from his mouth. "Angel..."

She tenses up, eyes wide in shock. ...did...did he just... She blushes brightly, a fluttering sensation forming in her stomach. ...he did...h-he said my name... She glances over her shoulder at him, frowning softly. ...I would give anything to know what he's dreaming about right now...

A thought occurs to her. Smiling slyly once more, she turns around, laying her muzzle next to his ear. "...oh, Rhino...tell me...tell me how much you like me..." This always works. Well, in the novels it does, anyways.

His ear twitches before he responds. "...more than I thought I did... and more every day..." A small smile grows on his face.

She giggles softly, nibbling his ear a bit. "...you have no idea...how much that means to me..." She leans back, gingerly pressing her lips against his. ...he loves me...he really loves me...this is absolutely wonderful! Her eyes flutter closed, letting her enjoy the moment even more.

Suddenly, a high-pitched repetitive beeping comes from the small alarm on the bedside table. As if possessed, the arm that is draped over the mare comes to life and flops onto the clock. It shifts around before a small click announces its success at finding the switch.

Rhino lets out a small groan as he shifts, his lips twitching from the pressure on them. He cracks open his eyes slowly as he wakes.

She quickly backs away enough so that their lips aren't touching any more. She touches her nose to his, shyly smiling. "...g-good morning...s-sleep well?" ...well, you tried your best, but your face has 'guilty' written all over it...

He takes a moment to gather his thoughts. "Yes... Would you have had anything to do with that?"

"...I-I'm not sure..." She glances down between them, embarrassed. "...I-I suppose it depends on whether or not it was just the last few minutes or not..."

"Time is almost impossible to tell in dreams..." He gives her a quick lick on her muzzle. "But thanks for whatever you did... And for making waking more pleasant."

She giggles softly, tenderly nuzzling his cheek. "...glad I could be of service..." She moves to get out of bed, starting to turn as red as a cherry. "...s-so, y-you should get ready for work, right?"

"Well, I'm sure there's a saying somewhere about not forgoing beautiful mares in one's bed, but I suppose you’re right." He slips out the other side of the bed. As he heads to the bathroom he turns back to look at her. "Feel free to stay in there as long as you want though." He gives her a wink then leaves the room.

She smiles softly at this, heading down the stairs. ...he definitely has stronger feelings...but they're not to the right level...not yet... She looks at her journal, taking care to read what she can. ...okay, so, before I go to work, I need to return 'Of Scales and Feathers' to the library...that should be simple enough...

After about 15 minutes, Rhino comes downstairs in his work-ready form. As he fixes a small breakfast for himself he looks over to the mare. "Anything you want?"

"...I don't really know..." She shrugs slightly, smiling playfully at him. "...surprise me?"

He nods before turning back to the counter. After a few minutes, he walks to the table and slides her a plate of what appears to be sliced cheese slightly melted onto toast. "Here you are. It's simple, but I think you'll like it." He takes a quick bite of one of his own slices.

She takes a cautious bite, nodding slightly at the taste. "'S good." She eats it quickly, yet slow enough to enjoy the flavor of the food he made for her. It's a simple gesture, but I still like it.

"Glad you like it." He puts his dishes in the sink and rubs her head as he goes towards the door. "Take care of yourself while I'm at work."

She leans into his hoof, sighing softly. "Will do." She gets up and stretches, putting her own dishes in the sink. I should head out, soon. I have no idea when that library opens up. She grabs her saddlebags and, putting the romance novel in it, heads out the door. Well, this weather seems nice. Glad it's not raining, or anything. She walks down the street towards the library, taking note of her surroundings.

The sound of fluttering wings from behind her announces the presence of a pegasus. "Excuse me! Wait a moment please!"

She blinks, turning around to look at the gray pony. "...may I help you, Miss?" Who is this?

The golden-eyed pegasus gives a small salute. "Ditzy Do, mailmare, at your service!" She giggles as she puts down her hoof. "And yes, you can help me. I just wanted to make sure of something."

She smiles kindly at the mare, nodding a bit. "...yes? What was it you wanted to ask?"

Ditzy smiles as she responds. "Well, I just wanted to see if you had registered with the local office. I've seen you come out of Rhino's house for about a week now, but we don't have it registered of him living with anypony else. I am clarifying this oversight. So... are you Mrs. Rhino?"

"N-no!" She blushes brightly, shaking her head frantically. "M-my name's Angelic Grace! Rhino's just a...f-friend." She sheepishly smiles, rubbing the back of her neck.

The mailmare's eyes cross momentarily before they snap back into position as she smiles. "Oh, okay! I'll just register that name to the house so all your mail can get to you! Nice to meet you, and remember that you can always count on the local mail to get your letters and packages wherever you need them!" She salutes again before flying off, narrowly avoiding a lamppost.

Gel stares at this, unsure of what to think. ...she was...nice, I guess? She shakes her head and turns back around, heading off to the library. I hope she's alright to fly, though.

Soon enough, she arrives at the library. She knocks and waits for someone to show up. ...well, I didn't run into anypony else...whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen...

The rhythmic clicking of class of wood floors is heard before a familiar drake answers the door. He has a bored expression at first but tightens up when he sees who it is. "Hey Angel! You know you don't have to knock since it's a public library right?"

"...y-yes...b-but it's also a house, isn't it? I mean, that's what I've heard, anyways..." She shyly smiles, embarrassed. "...s-so may I come in?"

He nods and opens the door wider for her. "Sure! Twilight's upstairs studying today, so I get to run the place myself. First rule I made was an extended lunch break."

Gel giggles, stepping inside. "Always a good rule to have." She stops next to the table in the middle of the room, thinking for a bit. ...should I wait for Twilight? After a few seconds she shrugs, shaking her head. It should be fine. As long as he doesn't try to read it, at least. "S-so, are you able to check in books, Spike?" She looks at him, smiling softly.

"Of course! Let me just get Twi's list..." He walks over to the desk and disappears behind it as the sounds of frantic digging erupt. Over the clamour, his voice rings out. "So what book are you returning anyway?"

She keeps her face as neutral as possible, even as her mind races. "...i-it's 'Of Scales and Feathers'." She pulls the book out of her saddlebag, walking over to the desk. ...well, at least it's one of the few romance novels with an ambiguous cover.

"Scales huh? Any dragons in that book?" He moves a few pages to the side as he keeps looking for the right list.

"...yes, actually...one of them is the male protagonist..." She squirms slightly, becoming less sure of her decision by the second.

"Really? I might have to look at that one sometime. You don't find many books with dragons as protagonists." He shuffles through a few more lists before huffing and coming back up with a smaller one. "I'll just mark it down on the 'recent' list and find the genre one later." He holds out a claw for the book.

She gives it to him, if a bit hesitantly. "...s-sorry if this seems random, but...how old are you?" She sheepishly smiles, rubbing the back of her neck. That question could've been handled better.

He gives her a strange look. "Ten, why?"

She blinks in surprise, tilting her head to the side. "...ten? That doesn't sound like the age of a baby..." She giggles a bit, gently hugging him close. "...you're still a cutie, though..."

He chuckles at the hug. "Yeah, I know. I'm a baby in dragon terms, not pony terms."

A voice calls from upstairs. "Spike? Can you bring me some of our extra quills?"

Gel lets go of him, smiling softly. "...you go do what you need to...I did what I needed to do..." She thinks for a bit before a idea comes to her. "...you know, I was wondering if you'd like to meet sometime outside the library...I'd like to know more about you, since, to be honest, I've never seen a dragon before..." ...well, at least not one that didn't try to kill me.

"You know, you’re the second pony to say that to me in this town, but the first to ask me to hang out. Sure, we can do that!" He writes down the book's title and runs upstairs with the quills. "Sorry for the wait, had to check-in a book!"

Gel sighs softly, smiling happily as she leaves. I think I just gained a new friend! Maybe having him on my side would be something useful later on... She shrugs, heading back home to get ready for work.

***

The white unicorn enters the house, smiling brightly. That was a great day. Not that big of a lunch rush, and no ponies who were trying to get under my skirt. Returning home to Rhino is a definite plus. She takes off her headpiece, looking around curiously. "Rhino? Are you home?"

"In the kitchen!"

She enters the room, quietly setting her bag off to the side. "So, may I ask what you've got cooking?" She smiles shyly, sitting down in the doorway.

He turns to her from his position halfway in the fridge. "Nothin cooking, just putting away the last of some stuff I picked up at the market today." He holds up a container of lemonade. "Just a few little things to give us some options."

She blinks at this, curious. "...so...that's lemonade, right?" She gets up and walks over to him, staring at the container. "...is it the sweet kind or the tart kind?"

He pours a glass of it. "The sweet kind. Do you want some?" He holds it out to her in his magic.

She nods, gingerly taking it in her own magic. "I'll try it. I've never had the sweet kind, before." She sips it, letting the taste rest on her tongue for a moment before smiling at him. "...that's really good...a bit too sweet, but I can deal with it..." She leans up and gently kisses his cheek, giggling a bit. "...thank you for buying it..."

He blushes as he scuffs the ground with a hoof. "It's no trouble... though I do really appreciate the thanks." He hesitates a moment before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "There's one for you."

She blushes brightly from the kiss, a dreamy look coming to her face for a moment before she snaps out of it. "...that's sweet, Rhino...almost as sweet as this drink..." She gives him a wink before she turns to walk away, playfully brushing her tail over his chest.

The stallion shivers as the tail caresses him, but manages to still make a quip. "Well, at least I'm not too sweet like the drink."

She stumbles a bit, surprised by the words. She turns to look at him, confused and curious. "...I-I'm sorry?"

He waves a hoof. "Sorry, just a joke. You said the drink was too sweet, then you said I was also sweet... so you know... at least I'm not too sweet..." He laughs, a little embarrassed.

She nervously giggles, rubbing the back of her neck. "...o-oh..." I can't believe I thought he was talking about me. She jerkingly brings her glass up to her lips, hoping to hide her own embarrassment.

Instead, she splashes herself in the face with the liquid.

She yelps in shock, holding a hoof over her left eye. "W-why did I do that?!" She slams the drink onto the table and braces a hoof against the surface, groaning. Sweet Tartarus, that hurts!

Rhino rushes over, concern etched across his features. He holds her up with one hoof as he leans down and moves her mane out of her face with a careful swipe of magic. "Careful now, how bad is it?"

"...i-it feels like...a thousand needles in my eye..." She grimaces, trying to keep herself from showing any more pain. ...Rhino...he's always so...caring... She looks up at him with her good eye, whimpering softly. "...w-what do I do?"

He gently guides her over to the sink. As he wets a washcloth, he gently speaks to her. "Keep your eye closed for me, just let the tears come if they want to, it'll help." He wipes the area around her eye with the cold washcloth before setting it over her eye. "How's that?"

She gulps softly. "...i-it's...it's starting to feel better..."

He frowns. "Letting it sit in there is a bad idea... here, let's try this." He turns on the water in the sink and guides her over to it. "Alright, what I'm going to do is flush out your eye with the water, it'll feel weird and you'll try to close your eye, but resist the urge as much as you can. Okay?"

She turns to his voice, smiling shakily. "...o-okay, Rhino...I-I trust you..."

He uses one foreleg to support her barrel as he gently tilts her head under the stream of water so that it runs directly onto her injured eye. He has her hold it there for about thirty seconds before bringing her out of it and turning off the water. A soft dry cloth levitates over in his green aura as he gently wipes off her face and eye. "There... how about now?"

She blinks experimentally, brightening up significantly. "...it...it doesn't hurt, anymore. Rhino, you did it!" She hugs him happily, planting a kiss on his lips. She smiles at him, tenderly touching her nose to his. "...thank you..."

He tilts his head down so their foreheads touch, their horns crossing as he does so. "I'm just glad you aren't hurt..." He kisses her on the lips in response to her one a moment ago.

She blushes profusely, surprised that he kissed back. She looks up at him, her eyes shimmering with hope. "...R-Rhino?"

He moves a strand of her mane that had fallen in front of her face with a hoof. "So... I've been giving it some thought... and I was wondering if you might be interested in being... more than friends?"

Her jaw drops as she stares at him. "...y-you mean...like..." She trembles slightly, her hooves rubbing along his back. "...a-a couple?"

He nods, a small blush on his face. "If you're willing of course..."

She gently moves a forehoof to his cheek, smiling kindly. "...Rhino...y-you have no idea...how much I'd like that..." She kisses him lovingly, tears of joy streaking down her face.

He plops down into a sitting position, unprepared for her more forceful kiss. He responds in kind, but still stays gentle, not wanting to hurt her. After a time, they separate, both of them breathing deeply as they catch their breath. "So... um... what do we do now?"

"...I-I'm not sure..." She rubs the back of her neck, embarrassed. "...e-each of my novels has a different way things progress..." ...did I seriously just say that? Do I want him to know my little secret?

He nuzzles her lovingly. "Well, romance novels tend to portray things various ways... but I suppose one way to start out would be to actually go on dates."

She nods quietly, happily nuzzling him back. "...that sounds like a good idea..." ...w-wow...there's so much love coming from him...m-more than I've ever had, before...

"Well..." he gestures around them, "we still have most of the afternoon. Is there anyway you want to spend it in light of this new development? We could stay at home, do things here in the house..."

She squirms a bit, blushing brightly. "...um...w-well, could we...c-cuddle, for now?" ...well, it is an enjoyable activity, with him...

He smiles at her. "Well, I guess it would be interesting to see how different it is now that we've figured out how we feel. Your place or mine?"

"...your place, of course..." She giggles, nuzzling his cheek. "...and your bed..." ...I wonder if I can tempt him...maybe see how far he's willing to let me go? She hurries up the stairs ahead of him to hide her sly smile, purposely lifting her tail to reveal her panty-clad rump.

His face burns like a fire at the sight as he makes his way upward, averting his eyes from the sight and running into a door frame because of it. He chuckles it off and makes his way up to his room.

As he enters, he sees her laying on her back on his bed, trying to get the socks of her maid uniform off her body. As it is, her magic is causing her to flinch and bite her lip, trying hard not to laugh. She looks down over her belly and sees him, causing her to blush a bit more. "...h-hi?"

His blush intensifies. "Hi yourself... Having trouble?"

"...um...y-yes..." She squirms slightly, embarrassed. "...I-I don't want to get my outfit wrinkled...b-but my magic can't...n-not without..." She hides her burning face with her forehooves, visibly trembling.

He tilts his head. "It won't work for some reason?"

She groans, flailing her hindlegs. "...i-it tickles too much..."

A snicker escapes Rhino before it grows to a chuckle a finally to a full grown laugh. He gives her a cheeky look as his magic grabs the tips of her socks and suddenly slides them off. "Better?"

"...um...y-yes...t-thank you..." She shyly smiles at him, before sitting up and slipping off her maid uniform. She giggles as she lays there in her panties, patting the bed next to her. "...care to join me?"

His ears lay back on his head while his pupils shrink dramatically. His face is giving off tangible heat as he gulps. "I... Um... I..."

She tilts her head to one side, confused. "...what's wrong? I-is it the panties? I-I can take them off, if you want..."

"No, no, they're umm, wonderful... It's just that I... Well I've never... really... done something like this before..." He gulps again before slowly approaching her.

She carefully sits up, giving him her best 'innocent' look. "...like what, Rhino? Cuddling?" She giggles, playfully booping his nose. "...we've done that a few times, now...it's nothing to be worried about, right?"

"I... suppose not..." He settles on top of the bed, next to her. He looks at her questioningly for the next move.

She gently moves him onto his side and flips herself over, carefully pressing her back against his belly. She grabs his forehoof and holds it to her chest, sighing softly. "...I hope you don't mind...I-I kind of enjoy feeling you around me like this..."

His tail reflexively intertwines with hers as the rest of him shifts to get comfortable. He notes the feeling of her body against his. "Aside from the little fabric addition... this feels very familiar... and very right."

She giggles, teasingly wiggling her rump against his hips. "...I'm glad...you like this, as well..."

A shiver goes down his spine. Unnoticed by him, certain parts of his anatomy decide they don't need permission to do what they were born to do. They slowly rouse themselves. Meanwhile, Rhino has gotten past the initial awkwardness of the situation and is smiling happily at the mare's antics.

She looks over her shoulder at him, smiling softly. Even as she does this, she continues to gently grind against him, wanting to see how long it would take for him to notice.

He lets out a small chuckle as her rubbing tickles him. The other parts though, are only encouraged to further their rebellion against his conscious mind as they become more and more enticed by the mare's movements.

She takes his hoof on her belly, slowly rubbing it in circles with her own. ...this is actually quite nice...I'll have to ask him about belly rubs later on... She giggles at her own thoughts, absently continuing her gyrations. ...wow, he really is aroused at the moment...does he even notice that?

The answer to that question is no. Rhino is so focused on Gel that he still does not notice his stallionhood showing its own attentions to her. He chuckles as he continues the circular rubbing on her stomach. "You really are giggly, aren't you?"

"...sorry, laughing at some thoughts I just had..." She glances back between them, eyes wide in surprise. "...w-wow...y-you're really...b-big..." Her cheeks are starting to literally burn with her blush.

"Hmm?" He follows her eyes and finally realizes the sensation going through his lower half. His eyes widen in shock as he pushes himself away from her and thus, off the bed. On the floor, he flips over onto his stomach with his face as red as a tomato. "I am so sorry about that... I didn't even realize it happened..."

She moves over to the edge of the bed closest to him, gently nuzzling his cheek. "...i-it's fine, Rhino...I kind of...i-instigated that reaction...s-so it's my fault..." He's still too shy...why is that?

The stallion looks up at her. "It's... fine... cuddling will probably be awkward now though... sorry."

"...really, it's fine..." She leans forward and gently kisses him. "...if we need to, we'll just ignore it...after all, I value the time we cuddle because I'm with you...nothing will change that..." She smiles lovingly at him, resting her head on her forehooves. "...okay?"

"...Okay..." He gingerly makes his way back onto the bed, but is still staying stomach down. "Did you want to try it differently?"

"...well, since you have your 'little problem'..." She winks playfully at him. "...how about we just lay side-by-side?"

He nods. "That sounds nice..."

She pats the spot next to her. "...feel free to join me, love..." She squeaks, covering her mouth in embarrassment. "...t-that just slipped out...I-I'm sorry..."

His eyes soften as he looks at her. "Don't be... it's a bit sooner than I expected... but I don't mind." He shifts over until he is right next to her. "At least I'm not the only one who got embarrassed."

She rests her head against his neck, sighing softly. "...I-I guess that's a good thing..." His love is so good! I can't even understand why...wait, he's still aroused...why is there no lust in his love? She closes her eyes, focusing on him. ...maybe he really is special...