Adventures in the 6ix

Chapter 29: A Warm Bath and New Notes

XAVIER POV

HOME

Dinner that evening was a rather quiet affair. At times Pinkie and Skystar were talkative, and I explained a few of my future plans to Twilight, but otherwise the atmosphere was rather quiet. Quietest of all was none other than Tempest, who simply ate from her plate like a horse. Rainbow Dash, who sat beside her, was trying her best to hold back a face of disgust for some reason. I gave a questioning shrug. Very subtly, Dashie pointed to her armpits and chest and gave a pose of odor-identification. Then it hit me.

"Um, Fiz-I, um-hm," I began rather awkwardly. "Tempest, would you enjoy a nice bath afterwards?"

"I don't exactly see how that'd be practical, but, alright," she replied glumly. I let out a slight sigh and stared down at my food. Just when our relationship was going so well, it seemed to be thinning towards the point of tearing and breaking completely. As I cleaned up my plate, I recalled the week so far, and picked out what stood out about her, eventually coming to a conclusion:

Tempest didn't completely trust the world around her, not even those who were affectionately and mutually close to her. Twilight seemed to be the one who she had the highest level of trust with, given what Twilight had told me about the fight to save Equestria and how she saved Tempest from imminent death. If I was to win Tempest over, she'd have to take a personal initiative to rebuild her trust with the world around her – both on a small and grand scale, and I'd have to be right there for her in a situation of the highest critical state. Not easy at all.

The best I could do at the moment was simply to bond with her more, understand her past, and try to ease her mental state.

After dishes had been washed (and a lot of them!), I walked with Tempest to the bathroom. As soon as we stepped inside, I kicked the door shut, catching it in time to avoid a slam.

"Take a seat," I offered, gesturing to the side of the tub. "I want you to feel tranquil and calm, Tempest. Please. It's not good to be tense and edgy constantly."

Tempest narrowed her eyes before rolling them and huffing. "It's in my DNA. I've been so steely and cold-hearted in my prior quests for internal strength and power."

I shook my head. "No it isn't. It was impregnated by whom you submitted to. Now it is free, your heart and mind. It's not impossible, sweetie. You can reform their strength and control their impulses."

She shook her head at me – slightly, and raised a hoof in a direct, accusative pose. "Stop that. Don't call me 'sweetie'."

Now it was my turn for an eye-roll – only this time I chuckled. "How can I not? I've never had a girlfriend like you. Still denying your soft, fuzzy, affectionate side, eh? C'mon, let's get going."

I reached over and cranked open the faucet, testing the temperature with my fingers until it was hot, but not burning. I then sat on the edge of the toilet seat, arm outstretched, and touched the edge of the bathtub, and wore a sad, pitiful face, just to tease her. Through the corner of my eye, I watched the tub fill up. Then I noticed a slight fluff of fur sticking out, just a little, from behind her ear and on the back of her neck. A light bulb went off in my head.

"Stay here, I'll be back in a sec," I ordered, dashing out the door like a soaked cat. A couple minutes later I returned in nothing but a pair of blue shorts with a picture of a beach wave and a yellow sun on it, along with a pair of flip flops. I also tied the ends of every single dread with some hair elastics.

"Alright, let's get started!" I said rather excitedly, stepping forward.

The tub was now nearly half-full. Observing Tempest's armor, I soon found the joining points, and undid the clasp of her frontal collar plate without a word.