1. Of Couches and Comfort
You slowly open your eyes. A blurry vision of your cozy living room starts to form before you. The candles are burning, and the fireplace is crackling merrily and casting a warm inviting glow to your surroundings. You yawn silently and stretch your arms over your head.
'What am I doing sleeping on the couch?' you think to yourself. The first night in your new home and you doze off reading your spell book. Spell book? Magic. Twilight! Oh gods what? An impromptu visit from your lavender friend turned into a long discussion on magic followed by a hastily prepared dinner salad and fruit dessert. Followed by more talk until you both managed to nod off. Content in each others company.
You try to tamper down a strange momentary panic, thinking she was not there. But calm returns when you see her curled up and snoozing on the other end of the couch. Tail occasionally twitching as she dreams. Her front forlegs under her head used as a pillow. The firelight seems to give her purple body a richer inviting depth. Inviting? You struggle to get the haze out of your head. Moving your spell book to the coffee table with a quiet thud, you slowly standing up as to not disturb her. You walk quietly over to the bedroom to retrieve a pillow and blanket for your sleeping guest.
Kneeling in front of your friend you whisper.
"Twilight, lift your head. I've got a pillow".
She yawns, jaw cracking but she doesn't open her eyes. Slowly lifting her head you put down the pillow on her forlegs and she lays her head down with a contented sigh. Spreading the blanket up to her neck where her mane starts, you impulsively put your hand on her forehead just above her horn. You rub a gentle circle and whisper in her ear lightly.
"Peace be unto you this night." Blinking, vague memories of someone doing that very same thing to you when you were young surface forth. Sleep has it's own idea for you though, storing the idea for later to resolve. Standing up and turning to go to bed, a hoof reaches out and catches your hand.
"Don't go" she says sleepily. You squeeze her hoof gently and return to your side of the couch.
Gently settling yourself on the couch you steal a bit of blanket from Twilight to stay warm. Fireplace or no, Autumn was having it's way with the wind outside, starting up a nice chill. Descending back into sleep, your followed into the darkness by a pair of beautiful amethyst eyes. Some time later you snort yourself awake with a little start. The room was colder, the fire was burning low, shadows formed where once the comforting glow was now replaced by darkness. But that didn't wake you. What did? Oh, it was just Twilight cuddling up to your chest. What?? At once your eyes shoot open. Looking down you realize your stretched all across the couch. She must have curled up on you some time ago as she is laying there contentedly under your blanket, head on your chest and body curled up on your stomach and a bit lower.
For the first time you really inhale her scent. Some kind of lilac perfume perhaps? Her mane and body had a muskier scent of sweat than you. But it was not unpleasant by any means. You find yourself rather intrigued by it. Moving your right hand slowly you bring it up to her horn and touch it lightly. You've never touched a unicorns horn before. It was decidedly colder than the equine sleeping on you, but it wasn't an unpleasant feel. Cool and smooth. You run your fingers down it lightly following the serrated edges to the spiral at the base of her skull. Feeling an odd urge almost impossible to resist your hand continues slowly down the side of her face to her cheek. She starts to shuffle in your sleep. Blood rushes to your cheeks and you freeze. She settles down but once she does you realize your hand is now trapped under her head still on your cheek.
Muttering and cursing yourself for being a thousand times the fool, you turn your attention to the fireplace. A quiet short chant brings the fire to a higher level, warmth now able to continue the battle of the cold and receding dark in the room. You turn your attention back to the unicorn laying on you. Startled for a moment, a pair of purple eyes are looking up at your face. You don't know what to say but you do know your hand is still trapped. You give a small smile and gently scratch her cheek. Her eyes close about halfway and she gives an happy cooing sound. Moving around a little bit she moves a hoof up to your cheek, seeking to return the favor. Your not sure how, but it doesn't feel as hard as you thought it would be. Maybe it's magic. Or some form of body control, you think to yourself before you realize that you really do enjoy the feeling of her hoof on your cheek. You can feel your blush forming. If you could see in the darkness better, your sure her blush would match yours.
She lifts her head fully to meet your gaze with hers. You keep your hand on her cheek, still rubbing gently. Pools of violet searching your own smaller pools of green. Her head starts to move closer to yours, and you find yourself mimicking her motion.You feel her hesitation in her body. Her lips stop a fingers breadth away from yours. You are inhaling her every exhale. It feels like your breath starts with hers and ends with your own exhale into hers.
She sees the hesitation in your eyes as well. Perhaps she feels the same inner struggle of is this wrong or is this right? You place both of your hands gently on the side of her face.
"I feel, but I fear. But I have no doubt that this is right" you say gently to your warm purple couch companion.
She bites and worries her lower lip for a moment and gives a tiny nod "As do I" she responds just as gently.
"Let's go slow then. And go from there" you say.
"Okay" she agrees, resolution with a little bit of uncertainty in her voice. You give your warmest smile to her in the growing warmth of the cottage. Of your breath. Of your bodies.
"How about one goodnight kiss then?" you ask almost breathlessly into her mouth. Her answer is the kiss.
