"Did you two have fun out there?" Amelia says with a knowing look. "Find everything you were looking for."

"For now." Apricot and I smile back at her. "Found a couple nice bonuses too, like a tree that looks it got knocked over in a storm last winter. We're not out of firewood yet, but I have been using a lot. Oh, and Roddy. I hope you can dress a rabbit, Apricot said the two I already had in storage wouldn't be enough for dinner."

"Yeah, but why do I have to do it?" He whines.

"Because Sorrel doesn't want to." Apricot answers with a laugh. "He thinks the little blood drinkers are creepy."

"Ugh. He's not wrong." Rodrick shivers. "Had one of those little bastards go after me when I was a kid."

"Hahaha. Oh gods, I completely forgot about that." Amelia laughs. "It got you on the butt when you were going poop. You refused to go in the woods for the rest of that trip unless dad went with to protect you."

"Shut up." He swats her on the arm and drops the reins in her lap. "Here, you drive, I'm going to lay in the back." He climbs onto the mattress in a huff.

"Heheheh." She chuckles when he flips the tarp down. "Ashley probably didn't let him get much sleep."

Seeing how cute Amelia looks at that moment; I can't help but pull out my painting supplies and capture that mischievous smile, and the twinkle of humor in her brilliant blue eyes. All framed by the light shining on her flaxen hair.

"Ooh, can I have that one?" Apricot pleads from my shoulder.

"Let me make a copy first." I nod and do so. And then, start on another one showing the embarrassed expression on Amelia's face right now.

"Would you quit it?" Her blush deepens by the second.

"For now." I say after giving Apricot a copy of this one too. "But, one of the first things we need to get is a big mirror, so I can make a group portrait with all three of us." I can probably make due using mini-me as a model, but a mirror would be nice to have anyways.

"Do me next." Apricot lands on my knee with an impish smile that I barely have enough time to capture before she shucks off her dress.

"Apricot." Amelia hisses through her teeth while making sure the tarp is fully closed, and that her brother can't see her lover naked.

"Relax, I can hear his breathing." The pixie waves away Amelia's concerns. "He's already fallen asleep. We'll be fine as long as we don't make too much noise."

"She's right." I add. "He's out cold. That girl must have really worked him over last night."

"Eww!" A shudder passes through her slender frame. "Please never talk about my brother's love life."

"Speaking of love lives." I turn a bit serious and tell her about what we discussed in the woods. "This started out as a casual thing, but I don't think any of us feel that way anymore. This is very much still early days, but we need to talk about this stuff. I... care very much for you, and want both of you to be happy." I want to smack myself for chickening out about the 'L' word.

"..." Amelia takes a deep breath and looks straight at Apricot. "I... will try. But, like I said before. It can't just be with some stranger."

"You don't have to force yourself just for me." Apricot shifts to human size to look Amelia squarely in the eyes. "The two of you are already more than I thought I'd ever have again. I'm not going to do anything to lose you. So, don't push yourself, please. Not for me." Those last three words come out as a barely audible whimper.

"Shh." Amelia wraps her arms around Apricot, who even though she's human-sized right now, looks even smaller than her normal form. "We're not going anywhere."

I pull both of them onto my lap. "I love you Apricot. I don't care about your past, I just want to stay with you. I love you, Amelia. I want to build a future together with all three of us."

"Sorrel." - "Baby." ""I love you too.""

***

We stayed like that, just holding each other, for a few more minutes. Apricot wasn't ready to tell her tale, so we didn't push her on it. The three of us only pulled apart when the wagon went over a large bump that tore a loud snore from Amelia's brother.

"Could you get dressed, Sweetie?" Amelia asks sheepishly.

"Just a couple more days until we hit Riverton." I try to cheer her up only to have it backfire.

"That means only two more days until I have to explain us to my parents." She has the cutest look of panic on her face.

"Relax." Apricot strokes the blonde's cheek, much like I did to her earlier. "You don't have to explain anything to anyone, just tell them we're together and leave it at that. Your parents love you, and will just want you to be happy."

"Yeah, and you can always distract them by telling about how Roddy hooked up with a guardswoman last night." I draw a small smile from her.

"Hey, I heard that." An aggravated grumble comes from inside the wagon. Her brother sticks his head out and glares at me for a second before turning to Amelia. "Don't worry about mom and dad, the worst they'll do is ask when you plan to have kids. Like they do to me every damned time they find out I'm seeing someone."

"Hahaha." She giggles at his grumpy look. "Well, we've already talked about that, and none of us are ready for children yet."

"I don't know, I think you'd look great with a big round belly." I'm forced to block several blows from her for that remark. "Oh, relax. I'm just teasing."

"Nng." She just glares at me.

"How about you put on some more of that music?" Rodrick says to change the subject.

"Oh, no." Apricot shakes her head with a look of glee plastered on her face. "Sorrel said he'd practice his guitar when we got back to the wagon, and we're back at the wagon now."

"Ugh! Fine." I sigh and retrieve the instrument from storage. After checking that it's still in tune, I run through some chromatic scales to warm up. "Here, I used to practice this one a lot, so it hopefully won't be too horrible." Shaking my hands out, I first harden the tips of my fingers -never thought I'd miss those calluses- and then start plucking out the chords to 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'.

"What? You're not going to sing." The pixie teases me.

"If I did, then you'd be the one weeping." I smile at her and focus back on my playing. I flub a few of the trickier notes, but it's not the worst I've ever played. "There, I practiced, are you happy?"

"More." Her one-word demand makes Amelia laugh. "Yeah, do some more Beatles songs."

I heave out a deep sigh, but acquiesce to their requests. I play through a few of their easier songs until I get into the groove, and start transitioning into some of the more difficult stuff. And, somehow, I actually manage to get through 'Here Comes the Sun' without screwing it up once, which surprised the hell out of me. I almost always screwed up the fingering on that one.

"What is that thing?" Roddy points to the capo. "I've never seen a guitarist use one before."

"It's called a capo, it's used to raise the pitch of the strings." I demonstrate by strumming with it on the first and second frets. "A bunch of songs use it up here on the first three frets, but when you bring it down to the seventh it makes the guitar sound like an entirely different instrument."

"You played it perfectly." Amelia compliments me. "I knew you just needed a little practice."

"Yeah, you were right." I concede, still a bit embarrassed. "But, right now I need a break, it's been ages since I played that much, and my hands aren't used to it." The guitar goes back into storage despite their protests.

"Fine, you can rest for now." The orange-haired terror relents. "But, you have to play for us later."

"Yeah, yeah." I take out the speaker and put on some musicians that actually know what they're doing. "You want a sandwich for lunch? There's still a bunch of that ham left."

"Sure, but do we have any sweets left?" She asks hopefully.

"Just this." I take out my last maple bar and take a big bite before handing it over. "Though, judging by the look on her face, I think Amelia might have squirreled a few things away."

"What? Nooo." She waves her hands in a warding manner. "No, I didn't."

"Sure you didn't, sis." Roddy knows his sister too well to believe she doesn't have something sweet stored away.

While Amelia tries to defend her stash, I fix up four quick sandwiches for us. "Oh, let her keep her sweets, I’ll make some cookies later." Amelia gives me a relieved look when I hand the pixie her plate.

The rest of the ride passes in music and laughter as the siblings tell embarrassing stories about each other. It's a little bittersweet for Apricot and me, who are separated from our families, but we do our best not to let it show.

...