Something Halloween

It was unusual at first. Twilight felt like she should be tired by Monday evening, but she wasn't. At that point she'd been awake for thirty-six hours and still feeling like she'd just gotten out of bed after a restful sleep. The feeling was completely uncanny, but not unpleasant. She was able to get an incredible amount of work done! Not to mention that she felt cheerful and well-rested throughout the day.

This sleep magic certainly had its advantages, the mare thought.

She walked out of the lift into hers and Anon's apartment and dropped her saddlebags right beside the door. She could put them away later. "Hi! I'm home!" she called out, grabbing her cell phone.

"Evenin'," came a faint answer from the direction of the living room. Twilight went to look and found the terrace door slid open and a slightly chilly wind blowing in. Anon was sitting out on a lawn chair and looking into the distance. She didn't spot his laptop at first glance, which was quite interesting. The guy liked working outside sometimes, but usually in the summer and always with his laptop.

She left her phone on the coffee table and went to check. "Enjoying the fresh air?"

"Oh. No, just the sunset," came the reply. Anon smiled at her and patted his lap. He didn't need to ask twice. Twilight jumped up and sat on him before he could change his mind. His arms encircled her, but it wasn't enough.

"Nuh-huh, coat!"

She was glad to see he had bundled up well. The days were still deceptively warm, but the evening brought out winter's emerging fangs. Anon obediently unzipped his jacket and Twilight pressed herself against that warm chest. "Mmmm, better," she sighed as the hands and the jacket came around her barrel again.

The poor man shivered a little at her cold fur, but that was his own fault for offering. If he didn't like it, he could complain. Not that it'd change anything, though.

"Good day?" he asked. For some reason, his breath smelled sweet and slightly familiar. Twilight tried to put a hoof on what it was.

"Mhm! This no sleep thing is amazing. I feel fresh and full of energy."

His face fell. "So you're not coming to bed?"

This was probably the only downside of the whole arrangement, Twilight thought. Luckily, she had the perfect solution. "I am, I am. I don't wanna miss our cuddles, or... other things." She still couldn't always say 'sex' out loud, despite all the years and how well they knew each other. As always, Anon found her tiny blush and splayed ears incredibly cute and he couldn't resist gently kissing the tip of her nose.

"I also like... other things," he chuckled, making the mare sigh in exasperation.

"Funny. Anyway, I should rest my eyes and in bed with you is the best way to do that. I'll get up after you're asleep and go through some of those tricky bugs in the issue tracker."

He still wasn't convinced that the magic worked as well as Twilight had said it did, but he didn't forbid her or anything. Which was good, because she wouldn't have listened. Instead, Anon gave her a slightly worried smile. "If you're sure. Make sure you don't overwork. Stress is still a thing, you know?"

She nuzzled him, grateful for his concern, even if his faith in her ability was a bit lacking. "I will, don't worry."

They sat for a while, embraced and watching the last minutes of sunset. "Here," Anon suddenly said and reached down beside his chair. He brought up a thermos.

"What is it?"

Rather than telling her, Anon simply unscrewed the top and let the aroma speak for itself. Hot chocolate. She smelled plenty of hot, chocolate and sugar. Her favorite ingredients in this particular drink.

"Oooh!" She grabbed it in her magic and brought it to her muzzle. There was about a third left, which explained his scent earlier. The mare took a careful sip so she wouldn't burn herself, but by now the drink was merely warm, rather than scalding. "Thanks. You spoil me, you know?"

Anon had the audacity to nod! "I know," he said, but the corners of his mouth quirked up, which clearly showed he was joking. They sat in silence for another minute, while Twilight slowly emptied the flask. When she had drained the last of it and stuck her tongue in the opening to get the final drop, Anon poked her in the ribs with a finger.

"I might have wanted some of that, you know? Selfish horse!" he said in mock annoyance.

The mare carefully withdrew the bottle from the muzzle, but left her tongue hanging out. She gave him a pointed look, which made Anon laugh. After she'd swallowed, she joined in. "You can still have a taste, you know?" she offered.

Anon didn't waste time and brought his lips to hers. Twiilght closed her eyes and let him taste the last bits of chocolate on her tongue. It was strangely exciting, more than just plain kissing, for some reason. After a minute they pulled apart and Twilight was already almost out of breath. She looked down, thinking about simply pulling Anon's pants away and taking her... 'fun' right there and then.

Or maybe it would be more comfortable inside, where they wouldn't freeze to death. She looked at the terrace door and opened her mouth to tell him, but something caught her eye. There was a glimmer of color in the corner of her vision, but it was on the wrong side and she couldn't turn her neck any more.

"Huh?" She twirled the other way to look at it, but there was nothing. She could have sworn something bright and shiny had been floating over the terrace railing.

"What is it?" Anon asked, following her stare.

The mare shrugged a little. "I thought I saw something."

"What?"

She tried to identify it from her memory. She'd only caught a glimpse. "Dunno. Maybe a weird reflection off that building. Someone closed a window or something?" Another idea occurred and the pony looked around suspiciously. "Or maybe a drone or something?"

Anon shook his head. "If it was a drone, we'd have heard it. Those things are loud," he explained.

Twilight tended to agree, but perhaps there was some kind of a new, silent drone. Or - the thought chilled her for some reason - maybe it had been magic? She gave the man a quick nuzzle and then disentangled herself from his arms. "Hold on, I'll go look."

She walked to the spot where she remembered the weird object and looked over the railing. No drone, no balloon, nothing which would explain a flash of color. There was no one on the street below, either. With practiced ease the alicorn lit up her horn and felt around the air.

"Anything?" Anon asked.

"No, not really. Could've been a drone, or a balloon or just my imagination. I could swear I saw something, though." She took another look around, then shrugged to herself and went back to the sitting human, who was already shivering without her warm fur pressed against his chest. "Come on, let's get inside. I could go for another hot chocolate..."

Anon obeyed and stood up, grabbing the empty flask. "Okay, but you're making it this time," he agreed.

"Fine. Wanna watch a movie?" The way his face lit up was beautiful. They never watched movies on weekdays! Well, that - and some other things - were going to change now, Twilight decided. She had the whole night to work for the company and she'd have tomorrow's night too. No reason she couldn't take some personal time and just enjoy Anon's company for a bit. It didn't even matter which movie. The movie wasn't the important bit! What really mattered was what he would do with his hands once they were on the couch in the darkness.

That, and what she'd do with her magic. One of these days they'd really have to watch a movie all the way through...