Love Bites

chapter 7: wanting was enough

chapter photo creds: @nicomoru on tumblr
title from august by taylor swift

a/n: this chapter is sponsored by thirsty rarity. at this point she's my self insert character bc i want to make out with aj too.

                    _________________

October 2023

The next motel they stop at is relatively less shabby than the one they were at the other day. Sunset only asks for one room since they wouldn't be staying long, but Applejack is slowly starting to regret that decision. Too much had happened in the last hour for them to all be cooped up in one room together like this.

Sunset and Rainbow took one corner while Rarity and Fluttershy were talking quietly in another.

Applejack sits alone, a knife in one hand while she sharpens the dull stake in her other. She does it more so to pass the time rather than because she needs to. Sometimes she still forgets that the soul bond has given her the advantage of physical endurance, and has to remind herself that unlike her, Rainbow and Sunset need to rest before going out again.

"Applejack?"

She lifts her head to find Rarity looking over at her. "Yeah?"

"I need to speak with you," she says, standing up. "Privately."

It turns out the most private place they can congregate is the bathroom, and Applejack would find that comical if not for Rarity's serious demeanor.

Applejack closes the door behind them. "Okay. What is it?"

"I know they don't trust me or my decision to help Fluttershy," Rarity tells her. "So I need to know if you'll back me up if things get complicated."

"What do you mean complicated?" Applejack asks.

"I mean if they suddenly decide Fluttershy and I are liabilities. Whose side are you going to take?"

Applejack sighs, "You can't blame 'em for having doubts. Even I think bringin' a newly turned vamp with us might be risky."

"Alright," Rarity says, already turning to reach for the doorknob. "I shouldn't have expected any less."

"Hey, stop." Applejack grabs Rarity's wrist to keep her from leaving. "'Course I'm gonna back you. It's just– what we saw earlier. I've never seen bloodlust like that."

Rarity pulls her wrist free to cross both arms in front of her chest the way she does when she's closing herself off, bracing herself for a fight. "There were people trying to take her. And you think she's the monster here?"

"I never said she was–"

"You didn't have to."

"Stop putin' words in my mouth," Applejack snaps. "You know I'm just lookin' out for you, for all of us."

It's an age-old argument, this one. Because they'll never truly be able to escape it: the fact that humans and vampires will always be on opposite ends of a fight. It's what has driven them apart, time and time again. It's what almost drove them apart for good. There's a part of Applejack that thinks she never would've seen Rarity again if not for the hope of breaking the soul bond.

"I'm only asking you to trust me. At least until we've finished our business here," Rarity says. "After that, I'll take Fluttershy and help her on my own. You won't have to worry about liabilities."

Applejack does not miss a beat. "I do trust you. I swear it."

"Thank you." Rarity's cold expression at last begins to fade. "That's all I ask."