>Last night couldn’t have gone any better, and it kept you up for a while.
>Because you’re happy, happier than you ever have been in your whole life.
>The smile you wore was even plastered on your face when you went to sleep, so you’re a bit sore.
“At least it’s a good pain.” You say to your reflection.
>Though you see your scar, you don’t pay any mind to it for once.
>Of course you’ll still wear a bandanna, they are both fashionable and functional, regardless of what other ponies have said.
>You finish combing your mane and go grab a fresh bandanna to put on.
>As you’re tying it, you start to plan out your day.
>You don’t have to head to the theater today, so you will visit Paper like usual.
>Though it will be a little odd, considering last night.
>Technically you two are dating now, that’s how it works, right?
“I’m not so sure...” You sigh.
>When you were a colt you dated, though that really doesn’t count.
>As an adult however, you never dated and never noticed if a mare was interested in you. Paper proved that last night when she told you she was interested.
>So you’re not really sure how to go about all this...
>Regardless, you don’t want to change your usual routine, and you’re certain Paper doesn’t want to either.
>Still…
>You start to feel low again as your thoughts start to go to dark places.
>What if last night was a fluke? What if she regrets it now? Did she kiss you out of pity? Wha-
“NO! NOT AGAIN!” Slamming your hoof down in rage.
>Of course your thoughts went there, why wouldn’t they?
“Get it together Mellow, can’t lose your head now. Especially now!”
>Slowly, you work on getting your breathing under control like you remembered. They always helped calm you down.
>You won’t let yourself slip back again, things are different now.
>As you release another slow breath, you feel a little better.
“I can do this, I am stronger, I am better than before.” You repeat this a few times.
>Things aren’t perfect, but you will hold on.

>You’re certain on what to do now, you will visit Paper in the market.
>Grabbing your keys and your guitar, you lock up as you head out the door.
>As you trot along, you return the greetings of passerby’s and try to focus.
>Everything went perfect last night, there is no need to worry, it’s just your stupid fears.
>Paper clearly enjoyed herself and so did you.
>The play went well as well, so there is-
>”Mellow?”
>You freeze and see Paper standing there.
“Uh, what you are you doing here? I thought you would be in the market.”
>She smiles. “Oh, I decided to pack up early today as everything was a bit slow. What about you?”
>Talk about a coincidence, at least now you two can talk.
“I came to see you actually.”
>A small blush appears on her face. “That’s very sweet of you, shall we head to the park like usual?”
>That does sound nice…
“Yeah, of course.” You nod.
>Her smile widens as she trots alongside you to the park.
>Things feel like they haven’t changed...Then again, you’re not used to this still.
>You are after all, new to this whole dating thing.
>”What are you thinking about?” Paper knocks you out of your thoughts thankfully.
>A part of you doesn’t want to rush things, but the other part still wants to be honest with her.
“Just the usual doubts and fears, that’s all.” Not an entire lie either.
>She presses on. “You don’t have to hide those from me, we are dating after all.”
>Upon hearing the word ‘dating’ you stop.
>”Something wrong?” Paper looks at you with concern.
>It feels like all your doubts were crushed at once. All you needed were the words from her to do it.
“The opposite actually, everything is great.” You smile at her and start to trot again.
>She still looks concerned. “Alright then, but you can still share it with me.”
>Yeah, screw holding back. You’ve told her almost every detail of your life, so it’s not like this will hurt.

“I kept having this nagging fear that last night was a fluke.” You say with a sigh.
>Though you keep trotting, you can feel her staring at you.
>”Mellow, I had a great time last night, I really mean that.”
“It’s just my stupid fears is all, I promise everything will be alright.”
>You do mean it, you will never let the fear consume you like it once did.
>”Alright, I’m going to hold you to that promise.”
>You say nothing and nod with a smile, you don’t intend to ever break that promise either.
>The two of you arrive at the park and the events of last night flash through your mind for a second.
>It was so beautiful then, especially with how the moonlight gave Paper a beautiful glow.
>You pick a spot near the trees, not too far from the area you showed her last night.
>Still in the park, but far enough from other ponies, so not as to disturb you two.
>As you pull out your guitar, you hear a sigh of contentment from Paper.
>”Such a lovely day, it’s nice to see all the flowers blooming and the birds chirping.”
>You never really took the time to appreciate it like Paper does, she always spoke fondly of it.
>Nodding in agreement, you start to tune like usual.
>Things really aren’t that different now or maybe you haven’t noticed yet.
>Strumming your guitar, your mind wanders.
>How do you go about this? Do you ask her out for another date?
>That sounds dumb, you two already know enough about one another.
>Besides, your savings already took a hit.
>Sure it was for her, but that doesn’t make it sting any less.
>Well what do you even do then? You can’t just pretend that things aren’t different, you two are dating now.
>It’s all so complicated...If you had actually tried dating before, maybe you’d understand this more.
>But no, you were awkward and creepy, you always saw yourself as a ugly colt.
>Now here you are in an actual relationship, and you haven’t changed at all.
>A sudden touch causes you to flinch and be pulled from your thoughts.

>Turning your head, you see Paper looking at you with concern.
>”Calm down Mellow, I’m here with you.” She gently rubs your wither.
>How does she knows these things? You really want to know
“I have to ask, how do you know when I get like that?”
>She gives you a gentle smile. ”You usually have a certain look on your face when you get upset, but just now, you were practically grinding your guitar like you were trying to crush it.”
>You eyes widen and you look down to see she’s right. Your hoof is pressed tightly against the strings, but it doesn’t hurt.
>As you pull back your hoof, you see it’s bleeding slowly.
“Huh, that was unexpected...” Staring at your hoof as it bleeds.
>Paper notices and opens her bag, pulling out a cloth to wrap your hoof up.
>”Let me take care of that for you, hold still.” She motions to you.
>You bring your hoof closer and watch her, she’s so caring…
>She finishes and looks back to you with a smile. “There, all better now.”
>Don’t feel any pain as you move it, though now playing is out of the question.
“I really need to stop doing that, now I can’t play...” You sigh.
>”It’s okay, these things happen. How about we just sit and talk?” She offers up.
>While you did want to play a song, you’ll have to deal with your mistake.
“Yeah okay, what do you want to talk about?” You say as you put away your guitar.
>”We usually talk about work, let’s try to change things up.”
>You nod and pause as you see the heart she gave you earlier this week in your case.
>”I think the band last night was nice, do you think they’ll ever play elsewhere?”
>Picking up the heart, you turn to face her.
“It’s possible, but I wouldn’t count on it. Though I find it funny how they played love songs.”
>She giggles and nods as she looks over the park. “Yeah that was a coincidence.”
>You play around with the heart as you look at her.
>How’d you get so lucky? Was probably dumb luck.
>Probably shouldn’t stare, but you can’t help it.

>As you enjoying the sights and sounds of the park, you notice Mellow staring at you with a dreamy look from the corner of your eye.
“Something on your mind?” You say with a slight tilt of your head.
>His expression doesn’t change. “You”
>You immediately blush, he’s become so brazen with his compliments now.
>As you giggle, he must’ve realized his mistake as his face becomes flush with embarrassment. He quickly turns his head away muttering something.
“Well now, I can see that I’m distracting you.”
>You reach out and touch the side of his face, pulling his attention back to you.
>He stumbles his words out. ”S-sorry, I didn’t think that through. It’s like I-I don’t have a filter anymore.”
“It’s okay Mellow, like I said, we are dating now.” Giving him a gentle smile.
>It will take time for him to accept all of this, that much is certain.
>You remember how he said he hadn’t dated since he was a colt, so that didn’t help any.
>”Yeah...Yeah that’s true.” He sighs and leans back against the tree.
>Giving him a gentle pat, you notice he has the heart you made the other day in his hooves.
“I see you’re still carrying that, kinda funny how you have my heart.” You nod towards it.
>He arches his brow for a moment before realizing what you mean.
>Mellow smiles a little. “Yeah, it is kinda funny. I kept it close like you said.”
>As it looks like he is starting to relax he gets a look of concentration on his face.
>”Do you have any paper with you?”
“Yes I do, I always carry some in my bags.”
>His smile broadens. “Can I have a sheet? I’d like to try to make something.”
>You feel your eyes widen and your own smile grow.
“Of course!” Feeling overjoyed, you grab a sheet.
>As you hoof it over, you see him lay it on his case and start to fold.
>You watch him with fascination, you tried to teach him before, but he got frustrated.

>His previous attempts were less than successful, but he gave it his all, just like the others you’ve taught.
>The fact he is trying again really warms your heart.
>Is he doing this for you? Not that it would surprise you, he usually does anything for you.
>Though he should be a little more steadfast, not that you would ever use him!
>Pushing that thought aside, you continue to watch his efforts.
>Your smile never leaves your face, you love it when others make origami after all.
>He doesn’t seem to be letting his frustrations get to the best of him when he makes a mistake this time either. That alone makes you even happier.
>What isn’t helping him is his bandaged hoof, it’s messing with his ability to fold.
>You’re still worried how that happened, as it has never happened before.
>Before you can dwell on it, you see him finish and he picks up his work.
>It’s a paper heart, just like yours. It’s a little rough, but he really put his best forth.
>He presents it to you with small smile. “Now you have my heart too.”
>Your eyes rapidly moisten, a few tears creep down your face.
>Mellow’s immediately looks concerned. “Did I do something wrong? It’s ugly isn’t it? I-”
>You cut him off with a hug and sniffle.
“It’s perfect just like you Mellow.” You gentle nuzzle him.
>He nuzzles you back and his voice becomes shaky. “I-I-um...No, y-you’re the p-perfect one here.”
>Giggling you pull back and give him a kiss before he can say anything stupid.
>You stare into his eyes, and he into yours.
>It feels just as magical as last night, though not as sudden.
>To be fair, you couldn’t let him leave without expressing yourself.
>Pulling out of the kiss, you give him a gentle smile.
“No...We’re perfect...Together.”
>Mellow says nothing and slowly nods with his own smile.
>Ordinarily that would be considered false, but you know deep down it is true.

>You will still cut yourself with paper and feel like garbage, but you will have him.
>Mellow will still have his self doubts and beat himself up, but he will have you.
>That is real perfection, accepting each others flaws and building one another up no matter what.
>Letting out a sigh of contentment, you lay your head against his chest and close your eyes.
>He rests his head on top of yours and you can hear his slow, but steady breaths.
>You want to say it, but you’re afraid it might be too soon.
>Why though? You two basically have been dating for a long time now, last night was just the truth brought into the open.
>You’re certain he wants to say it as well, but is also afraid like you.
>After the other day, you’re certain of it. He would’ve asked you out sooner if it wasn’t for the confidence boost from the play.
>He needs more confidence, but this time, you’ll be the first to say it.
“Mellow?” You say in a low voice, but enough for him to hear.
>”Yeah?” His voice vibrates from his chest.
>You breath in deeply, inhaling his scent and slowly let it out.
>This is it, no turning back Paper, full steam ahead.
“I love you.”
>You can hear his breath hitch and his heart beat harder.
>For a few seconds you worry that you made a mistake.
>He slowly says it at last, like the truth it is. “I love you too.”
>The joy of hearing it allows a few tears to escape.
>This happiness is almost too much for you, it feels so foreign, and your certain he feels the same way.
>Coincidentally, you feel a few tears fall upon your head, causing open your eyes and pull back.
>Mellow is quietly crying. “S-sorry, I-I just...It’s a lot to take in.” He wipes away the tears. “I was worried about saying it first.”
>You giggle, of course you were right.
>Shaking your head slowly, you give him a quick kiss to catch him off guard.
>As you pull back, his face has a goofy grin on it.
>You wipe away your own tears and see it is getting later.

“Guess we’ve been here a while, haven’t we?”
>Mellow looks around and nods. “Not too surprising, we let ourselves get a little lost.”
>Without missing a beat, you add on like you’re reading his mind.
“We got lost in each other, that’s a good thing.” You boop him on his muzzle.
>He scrunches and chuckles. “Yeah...Yeah that’s true.”
>Shame you can’t sit here forever though, you pull out of his embrace and lightly stretch with Mellow doing the same.
“As much as I’m enjoying this, we should get going.” You say as you look at him.
>He nods as he picks up his guitar and looks to you with a smile.
>A devilish idea comes to mind, not a lewd one though...You’re an innocent mare after all.
>Might be a little much to ask, but you want to experience it regardless.
“I know you usually don’t refuse anything I ask for, but feel free to say no.” You take a breath and continue. “Would you like to spend the night? I’d like to have my special somepony to cuddle.”
>His eyes widen for a second, likely thinking the implication before returning to normal.
>”As if I’d ever say no to that, I’d be more than happy to!” He stands taller.
>With that out of the way, you put on your saddlebags and start to head home with him.
>Though unlike before, you’re slightly leaning on one another along the way.
>So this is what real love feels like? It’s addicting, and you’ll likely never have your fill of it. You’re already drunk on it, that’s for sure.
>You see some other ponies out who give a knowing smile as you two pass by them.
>The trot home is quiet, there is no words to be said for how you two feel.
>Arriving at home, you unlock the door and set your bags down.
>You trot into the kitchen and pull out some leftovers to enjoy with Mellow.
“Care to join me?” You flutter your eyes at him.
>He laughs and nods. “Of course.”
>As the two of you sit down and eat, it’s getting harder to not look at one another.

“Sorry it’s not fresh, but I don’t feel like cooking tonight.”
>Mellow waves his hoof. “I’m not complaining, we get to enjoy it together.”
>You smile and the two of you finish your meal with him helping you clean up.
>It’s still early, but going to bed now sounds nice.
“I’m tired, shall we lay down?” You fake a yawn.
>For once, he sees through it with a smirk. “I know that’s a lie, but yes.”
>You giggle and the two of you head upstairs and climb into bed.
>The two of you look into each other’s eyes.
>Though the lure of sleep starts to seep in, you want to stay awake, but know it’s fruitless.
“Goodnight Mellow, I love you.” You softly say.
>”Goodnight Paper, I love you too.” He says softly reply's.
>You blink slowly and start to drift to sleep, but you’re not alone.
>You’re with your special somepony, your coltfriend, your Mellow, and you are his.