After wandering around town for a bit, the couple arrives at a small house near the center of town. The disguised changeling cranes her neck to see the number on the mailbox and nods, putting down the fruit basket in her mouth. "...this should be the place..."

Rhino nuzzles the mare lovingly. "Just so you know, no matter what happens, I'm very proud of you for continuing to try and be friends with Silk... especially on a Saturday morning."

She sheepishly smiles at him. "T-thanks." She quickly picks the basket back up and walks to the front door. I just hope she won't try to hit on you again. She knocks on the door before taking a step back next to her stallion to wait.

A voice calls from within the house. "Coming!" A sequence of hoofsteps can be heard approaching the door as well as a little muttering. "Now I wonder who that could be..." The door opens to reveal the familiar form of the purple-maned yellow pegasus. She looks genuinely surprised as she looks at the two of them. "Oh! Hello..."

Gel puts down the basket, shyly smiling. "H-hi, Silk. I-I know it's unexpected for us to be here, but...um..." She trails off, her nerves getting the better of her. She shakily pushes the container forward. "F-for you."

Silk looks down at the gift with wide eyes. "Oh my..." She gives the fruit a sniff. "These smell delicious..." She straightens back up as she looks at the mare and stallion. "What's the occasion?"

Gel smiles softly, waving a hoof. "N-no real reason. J-just wanted to see a good friend, right?" She turns to Rhino, her eyes pleading as she realizes she still feels too awkward around her former boss.

Rhino clears his throat. "May we come in?"

Silk hesitates before answering. "Oh, yes! Come in." She takes the basket in her teeth before heading back into her home and leaving the door open for the two ponies.

The white mare sighs softly before walking inside, glancing around the house quietly. ...this place is rather...cozy...if a bit small...

Single mare, probably doesn't need much when it's just her and her kitten. Rhino takes up the rear of the three pony congo train until they reach the living room.

Silk motions to the couch. "Please, makes yourselves at home." She sets the basket down on the coffee table while she settles in a comfy chair next to a basket of what looks like knitting supplies.

Gel sits herself down, quiet for a few moments before nervously speaking up. "N-nice place you have here, Silk."

Silk looks at the disguised changeling a moment before looking back down at the basket. "Thank you... Mittens and I are very comfortable here." Her ears perk up as she looks beside the couch. "Oh, speaking of which..."

The kitten in question looks up curiously at the two extra ponies in his home. His eyes focus on Rhino as he mews and jumps up into his lap, rubbing against one of his forehooves.

Silk giggles, less tense than she was. "Sorry, I guess he likes you." She frowns for a quick moment as she mutters barely perceptibly. "Not that I could blame him..."

Gel obviously misses this, smiling at the cute little feline. "...he's adorable..." She giggles, just watching him for a moment before turning to the other mare. "...s-so...h-how have things been?"

Silk feathers ruffle as she shrugs. "Oh... you know... the usual really... The cafe's doing well..." She plucks a bunch of grapes from the basket with a wing and pops one into her mouth. She looks like she has something to say, but isn't ready to spit it out yet.

In the meantime, Rhino has begun petting the kitten as he observes the scene and Mittens is purring up a storm because of it.

The disguised changeling sighs in relief. "That's always good to hear. I was worried I..." She trails off, clearing her throat sheepishly. "A-anyways, I-I was wondering if...w-well..." She bites her lip, finding it hard to finish her thought.

Silk eats another grape as she looks up at the other mare and her stallion. She sees the mare's honest face and sighs, her whole body seeming to droop. "Angel..."

She squeaks, looking up at the pegasus, her whole body tense. "Y-yes, Silk?"

The pegasus suddenly begins fiddling with her wings. "No no, sorry, you were going to say something... you first..."

She quirks an eyebrow at this but holds out a hoof, smiling kindly. "W-what you have to say matters more, right now. P-please, you first."

Silk's eyes are sad as she looks at the offered hoof. Suddenly she blurts out, "I'm sorry!" She hides under her wings afterwards.

This catches Gel off-guard, causing her to stare for a moment before responding. "...w-what?"

Silk's voice comes quietly from behind her wings. "I'm sorry... "I'm sorry for everything... "I'm sorry I fired you... I'm sorry I tried to steal your stallion... I'm sorry I was mean to you... I'm so so sorry..." A sniff follows this little episode.

For a moment, there is no reaction. Then a pair of hooves gently wraps around the pegasus. Gel smiles kindly, rubbing the mare's back. "...I forgive you, Silk...we all make mistakes, after all..." She tenderly nuzzles the mare's cheek, giggling softly. "...it just takes a better pony to acknowledge them..."

Silk sniffs again. "You and being nice... you could drown a pony in that stuff with how much you heap it on them, you know..." She sighs as she wipes her eyes with her feathers. "Good thing I haven't put my makeup on yet..." She giggles lightly.

The white mare rolls her eyes playfully. "I believe I've told you before..." She bumps her shoulder with a hoof. "...you don't need makeup..." She turns to Rhino, smiling softly. "Don't you agree?"

Rhino smiles warmly, still petting the kitten as he looks on at the scene. "Well, I'm a bit biased by I've always been more of a fan of the natural look."

Gel nods at this before turning to her former boss. "...Silk...the real reason I came here was...to ask if you'd be my friend, again..." She smiles softly, holding her hoof out once more. "...will you?"

Silk sniffs one more time before giving a hopeful smile. "Even after everything I did... you still want to be friends? Why?"

"Because I knew you were acting out of pain." She puts a hoof on top of the pegasus's. "I've seen how kind you are. How generous. I can forgive a spur-of-the-moment action for my best friend."

Silk embraces Gel with hooves and wings. "Best friend huh? I guess only a best friend would be as wonderful as you've been... Thank you..." She leans back a bit so she can look the mare in the face. "You know, you could have your old job back, if you wanted..."

Gel thinks about this for a moment. "...well, I'm happy with my job...but I suppose...it'd be nice to have a bit more income..." She looks to her coltfriend a moment. Do you think weekends could work? I mean, it would mean less time together...but the bits would help with raising a family, right?

Rhino frowns ever so slightly, his thoughts come out slowly, as if he were wording them carefully. Well... I admit I've gotten used to having you around all the time... and I like to think, as a doctor, I can support us even if you were to not have a job at all. As much as I love the uniform... you know I can get a bit jealous and protective of you... I don't know how to feel about others hitting on you... He shakes his head to clear it. But, considering the possible exposure threats right now, I'm not comfortable having you away from me at the moment... maybe we could discuss this at a later date?

She nods at him before turning back to Silk. "C-can I please get back to you on that?"

Silk nods as she waves a hoof. "It's a standing offer so don't feel pressured into answering." She fidgets a bit, but smiles. "It's... good to be friends again..."

"Agreed." She nuzzles her one last time before heading back over to her seat beside Rhino. A thought comes to her. "...hey, maybe you'd like to come over one of these days?" She motions to the kitten on her stallion's lap. "I know Selena would like to see her friend again."

Mittens decides this is the time to switch ponies as he jumps off Rhino's lap and walks over to his owner, mewing.

Silk picks up the little calico and starts petting him as she answers Gel. "I think that would be wonderful..."

She beams, clapping her hooves together. "That's wonderful! How does Wednesday afternoon sound?" She smiles, pulling out a notebook and preparing to write this down.

The pegasus simply shakes her head and giggles. "Always with the journals... Sure, Wednesday afternoon sounds lovely." She picks up the kitten and holds him in front of her face, "Isn't that right, Mittens? You want to see your friend?"

The kitten mews happily.

Gel nods, sighing softly and jotting this down. "Perfect!" She puts it away before turning to Rhino, smiling kindly. "Anything you'd like to add?" She keeps herself from saying a certain word, not wanting to agitate their rekindled friendship.

Rhino holds up his hooves. "I'm good. This was about you two, and I'm very happy you were able to get past everything."

Gel nods before standing up. "So am I." She thinks a bit before turning to the pegasus. "I can't think of anything else, so I guess we should go. He's going to teach me how to swim." She blushes slightly, embarrassed she just blurt that out.

Silk eyes twinkle as she raises an eyebrow and speaks in a suggestive voice. "Oh is he now? Well, I would want to keep you away from that." She giggles. "Do actually try to learn, no partially drowning just see he can give you mouth-to-mouth."

The white mare looks mortified at this. "W-what? I-I wouldn't do that!" She turns her head to the side, muttering to herself. "He doesn't like the thought of me being hurt..."

The pegasus just continues giggling. "Just a joke, dear. He just seems like he'd enjoy playing the hero." She winks. "Well, I guess you've something you need to do, and I should start getting ready for work. I'm looking forward to Wednesday though!" She leads them back out of the house and waves goodbye as they start to walk away.

Gel waves over her shoulder, smiling softly. She turns to Rhino, her smile turning into a playful smirk. I have to wonder if she's onto something there, love. You do seem like that type. She winks at him, her tail entwining with his.

He looks away coyly. Maybe I've entertained the thought or two about saving my beautiful maiden from unknown dangers... but the thought of her being in danger in the first place usually sobers the euphoria right up and makes... other... emotions more prevalent.

Her smile quickly fades and she tenderly kisses his cheek. Well, that means I have another roleplaying option we won't do. I want to be sure they don't upset you, after all.

Well, now don't go throwing it out the window yet. He nuzzles her lovingly. I said I still like the thought of saving, just not the thought of what I'm saving you from. It just needs to be played right.

She blinks at this, tapping her chin as she considers this. If you say so... She giggles, pausing and turning his head to peck his lips. ...who knows? Maybe you could play a knight rescuing his princess.

***

Later, the two are at their little private lake again. Rhino is setting up the towels and basket while Gel is pulling her swimsuit out of her bag. As the stallion finishes setting up, he looks over to the nymph who still hasn't donned her suit. "Do you want me to look away or something so you can change?"

She blinks, turning to look at him, sheepishly smiling. "S-sorry, I guess I was...lost in my thoughts..." She clears her throat and gestures for him to turn around. "I-if you could be so kind."

He obliges, turning around and resisting the urge to have his ears turned around so he can hear her getting dressed.

She sighs softly and quickly starts to get dressed. With a quiet snap, she finishes and turns to him. Suddenly, a thought occurs to her and, with a playful smirk, she quietly walks forward and nips his neck, giggling softly. "Ready, love."

He jumps a little bit, but laughs all the same. "So I see... but ready for what, I wonder." He winks before starting into the lake and motioning her to follow.

She quickly follows him, stopping when the water reaches her stomach. She hesitates for a moment, unsure what to do.

He immediately hears when her journey through the water stops. He turns around and heads back towards her. He takes one of her hooves in his own. "Don't worry love, we're not going any deeper than we did last time."

She shakily nods, gripping his hoof. "...o-okay, Rhino...i-if you say so..."

He leads her into the level of water they were at last time, where it just covers their backs. Well, her back, since his is higher. He lets go of her hoof and steps a short distance away from her in the same level of water. "I've got two things planned today, first we're going to get you used to moving in water this deep. Just walk towards me, I'll keep moving around but if I see you having trouble, I'll zip in to help, alright?"

She slowly nods, making her way over to him. She shivers at the sensation of water flowing through her legs. She takes a few seconds, but she eventually reaches him, giving him a small smile.

He quickly kisses her on the lips before moving away again. "Come on, keep coming. You can do it."

She follows him as quickly as possible, starting to get used to the sensations.

The two continue this for a time, until she can follow him almost as quickly as he can move backwards through the water. He beams and embraces her as she reaches him again. "You're doing great, love! Do you feel up to being taught one way to swim now?"

She blinks at this, thinking a bit before smiling softly and nodding. "...s-sure...a-as long as you'll help me if I fall..."

"Of course." He moves away from her and moves a short distance away, but toward noticeable deeper water. He stops at a point where the water is halfway up his neck, so Gel would be treading water when she gets to this point. "Alright, now just come out to me, and when you feel your hooves leave the ground, just keep acting like you're walking. Don't flail, it'll only tire you out."

She shakily nods, starting to move towards him. She reaches the point where her hooves have to leave the surface and her face falls into the water. Spluttering, she pushes with her hooves, gasping softly and hacking a bit, forcing herself to stand on her hindlegs as she recovers.

Rhino immediately zips towards her and holds her as she catches her breath. "It's okay, it's okay. I've got you. Though something does occur to me that we need to make sure of before we try that again."

She breathes heavily for a few seconds, letting her heart rate go back down before responding. "W-what is that?"

"Well..." His voice is a bit sheepish. "I probably should have made sure you're actually buoyant before getting you into deeper water..."

She stays silent for a few moments, thinking about this. "...I-I never really thought about that...c-chitin is rather dense..."

He nods. "Well, yes, but bones can be dense too. I've carried you so I know you don't way too much... but it's the net amount of liquids less dense than water plus the gases inside you that determine if you float or not. So... what are your insides like, for lack of a better way to say that."

She taps her chin, thinking about this a bit. "...well...we have muscles, organs...we have most of the same parts as ponies..." She raises a hoof. "We do have less volume for the same amount of weight. Does that make a difference?"

He thinks. "Technically that makes you more dense, and as much as I would like to sit here and discuss the various differences such as the fact that your muscles likely attach to your exoskeletons in order for you to move because you don't have bones to attach them to like ponies, I think there is a simple way to check if you are buoyant or not... but you might not like it."

She shivers slightly, still a little nervous but nods with a small smile. "O-okay, Rhino. I-I trust you."

He dips his head in the water and comes up under her in a way that flips her onto her back while laying on his. "Ok, what I'm gonna do is slowly crouch down into the water, as we get lower, you should eventually start to float on your back, if the water gets all the way up your body and halfway up your head, just tap my side and I'll stand back up. Okay?"

She nods at this and he slowly starts to lower himself. She can feel the water climb up the sides of her body, causing her to tremble in anticipation. It eventually covers her body, causing her heart to hammer away in her chest as the level starts to go up her neck. She whimpers but holds still as the water continues to climb. Just before it reaches her jawline, she feels him pulling away, her body not sinking any further. She blinks, unsure what to think of this.

Rhino's head pops out of the water next to her. "Well, there you go. You can float. Remember that if you ever find yourself wondering which way is up." He lightly pushes her in the direction of the shore and chuckles as she floats that way. "Lying on your back is also a good way to rest."

She nods and gasps softly, finally remembering to breathe. As she does this, the water level actually falls around her body, revealing a bit of her chest. "...t-that's good to know..."

He swims up to her. "Are you still up for learning the basic doggy paddle swim?"

She thinks about this for a moment before nodding, wrapping her forelegs around him. "S-sure...as long as we can cuddle afterwards..." She smiles playfully at him, leaning up and kissing the tip of his nose. "Deal?"

He smiles at her. "Like you even need to ask."