The rest of Saturday was… interesting, to say the least. I had to keep Fluttershy completely hidden from my mother. I practically had to stay in the basement the whole day, and when I’d bring down ludicrous amounts of food, I’d say to my mom that I had a hankering for food. Look out world, you’ve got a mastermind on your hands!

But aside from the nightmare that was keeping Fluttershy a secret, I managed to get through the day. It kind of sucked too. I had to turn down some calls from my friends to hang out, and when I had to eat dinner, I felt guilty for leaving Fluttershy alone for as long as I did (twenty minutes, but still!). Soon enough though, the day came to an end, and it was bed time!

Just like I promised, Fluttershy and I slept in my bed that night. Thank the good lawd (yes, I just wrote that) we did too. I had never really slept in my basement before, and after doing it once, I can wholly say I would never do it again. It made me ache and stuff. Fluttershy was fine, but she really liked my bed. As did I!

Getting to my room wasn’t difficult. My mother was already asleep by the time I went to bed. Again, thank the good lawd! I’m going to stop doing that now. Heh. Anyway, I took Fluttershy up to my room from the basement. I placed her on my bed and told her I would return shortly. I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth before returning to my room.

When I had reentered, dressed in some colorful Marvel pajama pants, I found Fluttershy flipping through one of my comic books. From the look of it, it was my Civil War comic (the Marvel heroes Civil War, duh). I smiled as I hung up my towel.

“Wutcha reading there?” I asked warmly, walking over to the bed. I guess she was so lost in the book, because as I sat down on my bed, she jumped a little and closed the book.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to snoop!” she squeaked. I laughed and took the book.

“Don’t be sorry. This is a great comic book. Want me to read it to you?” I asked. From behind her hair, I saw her smile, and she nodded. I put the book down on my night table for a moment as I tucked her in. Then, I joined her under the warmth and comfort of my sheets and blanket. Getting comfortable, I picked up the book and again and opened it. “Did you start from the beginning?” I asked.

“N-No. I sort of just… opened it. The characters just looked really nice. Some of them scared me though,” she told me. I nodded and began to imagine her seeing Venom for the short moments that he’s in the book.

“Well, why don’t we start from the beginning, huh?” She nodded as I turned to the first page. I started to read aloud what was happening on the pages. I tried as best as I could to do different voices for each of the characters. My female voice wasn’t that strong. And that’s saying something, considering I’m an actor. I could practically read it without looking, I had read the book so many times. Civil War was, and still is my favorite Marvel event story.

Fluttershy would continuously stop me and ask questions about who some of the characters were or what was going on. I could tell her most of what was happening and who most of the characters were. Some characters I barely knew, some I knew to an acceptable degree, and some I knew too much about. I was more than happy to explain what I could to her though. I loved talking about comics!

I’m a geek. Deal with it.

We got about halfway through the story before I found Fluttershy nuzzling my arm. I looked away from the book to see her half asleep, breathing gently as she looked at the book.

“Is it over?” she asked, looking up at me. I smiled.

“Well, no. We’ve got three more comics to go before the story ends. But you look tired. Do you want to go to sleep?” I asked. She shook her head.

“No. Could you please keep reading?” I nodded and continued on. Never had reading through this book been so enjoyable and fun before. I never really had a reason to read aloud before, but it wasn’t even that. I was reading a comic book to someone. Er, somepony, to be precise. And Fluttershy was enjoying every moment of the story. This was one read-through I was not going to forget anytime soon. And honestly, every time I read through Civil War, I would find a new reason to love it. Once again, I had found a reason to love this book.

As I closed the back cover of the book, completing the story, I looked down at Fluttershy with a tender smile. She looked up at me with a disappointed frown.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my smile fading slightly.

“Does it have to be over? I want to read more,” she said softly. It seemed like she might cry a bit. My smile spread farther along my face.

“Heh, don’t worry, I’ve got tons of books. We can read all you want,” I reassured her, running my hand through her mane. She cooed lightly and smiled at me. I looked at the clock, and it read only ten thirty. I looked back at Fluttershy, holding up the book. “Want to read more now?” I asked.

“Oh yes, please!” she beamed. It was actually endearing to see how passionately Fluttershy wanted to keep reading. I was so excited! I had found somepony who loved comics almost as much as me! And she had only read one book!

“Wait, before we continue, who was your favorite?!” I quickly asked her.

“Oh, um… I don’t know. Maybe Spider-Man. I really liked him! He seemed so sincere and talented,” she told me. My heart sored all the way to Venus as she said that! We shared a favorite hero!

And who says life ain’t good?!

“Okay, another question! Would you like to read another big event comic like this, or some books specifically involving Spider-Man?” The question almost seemed like too much for Fluttershy to handle. I chuckled as she pondered which to choose.

“Well, what do you want?” she asked. I laughed and got up from my bed, to her slight surprise. I ran over to my shelf and picked out a Spider-Man book. It was almost too difficult of a choice. I chose the Spider-Man book that got me started on Spidey. It was Brand New Day Volume One. Yes, the book is quite controversial, but, it’s a perfect starting point for those who haven’t read anything prior. That was my case.

I jumped back into bed, Fluttershy giggling at me as I eagerly opened the book. She could tell just how ecstatic I was to get reading. I wrapped an arm around her and started reading the book to her.

Pure bliss!

About an hour later, we were on Volume Three of Brand New Day. We were both getting tired, but we were determined to complete the trilogy of Spider-Man books before going to bed. But, by the time we started the book, Fluttershy had herself wrapped around me in a warm hug. I had my arm around her neck, holding her close. It took a bit for me to realize this. We had just gotten this way without even realizing it.

But, as I finally closed the back cover of the book, Fluttershy was fast asleep, smiling all the while. I gently got out of bed, put the book back on my shelf, turned off the light, and crept back in to cuddle with her. She was still asleep as I whispered to her.

“Goodnight, Fluttershy.” She nuzzled me as I wrapped an arm around her. I store up to my ceiling for a moment. Only one thought came to mind.

It was just the two of us. Together. It was just Fluttershy and me.