The yawn caught Sea Swirl by surprise.
She read her book, sitting in her chair in front of the fire, curled up under the fuzzy blanket her mom had given her for Hearth's Warming. The huge yawn clenched her eyes shut as her aura spluttered out, the book falling to the floor. After rubbing her eyes, she glanced at the clock: "Oh! Oh, crud!" After two? Going on three? She had to work in the morning! If she didn't get some sleep, she would be absolutely miserable tomorrow.
She glanced at the book: but it was so good. Maybe just one more chapter, no, nooo, finish the chapter she was in the middle of—
Another yawn hit her, so huge it made her jaw twinge for a moment. No, it was bedtime. She re-found her place in the book, stuck in a bookmark, and struggled out from under the blanket. The cold air of the winter night took her breath away and she shivered, pointing her rump toward the fireplace for a few seconds, then turning and sitting down, raising her forehooves, letting the fire warm her chest and face for a minute. She levitated two logs on, glanced at the green-glowing crystal on the ceiling to verify the fire alarm spell was working, then headed upstairs.
Sea Swirl quietly tippyhooved to the bedroom. Sassaflash's breathing, deep and slow, came from the pile of blankets on the bed. Sea Swirl didn't want to wake Sassy: pegasi needed more sleep than the other two tribes, and Sassy was a morning pony by nature, usually up well before dawn.
Sea Swirl chuckled silently to herself. There were days—well, nights—when Sassy got her full night's sleep and was up and brewing coffee before Sea Swirl ever went to bed. And Sea Swirl was usually miserable the next day...
On tippy-hooves again, she snuck around to her side of the bed. Sassy slept flat on her belly, wings tucked tight to her back, her head cocked to the right and mouth slightly open.
Sea Swirl smiled and swished her tail, just enjoying the view Luna's moonlight playing across the blond mane and green coat of her wife. The pony she loved.
The air in the bedroom was a little warmer, a fire crackling in a small iron stove, but Sea Swirl's side of the bed was absolutely freezing as she crawled in, under the sheets. Her teeth chattered and her entire body shook.
"Unf?" Sassy said. "Hrng."
"Shhhhh," Sea Swirl replied. "Sorry I woke you."
"'sallright," Sassy said, and rolled onto her left flank before scooting backwards toward Sea Swirl.
Sea Swirl rolled onto her own left flank and scooted forward until her chest touched Sassy's withers and her belly touched Sassy's wings. Sassaflash curled up a little, halfway into a ball, and Sea Swirl draped her foreleg over Sassy's foreleg and her own thigh over Sassy's thigh. The soft fur of Sassy's cutie mark tickled the thin coat on the inside of Sea Swirl's thigh.
She released a deep sigh she didn't know she'd been holding. "Thanks," Sea Swirl said. "Oh, you're warm."
"Hmmmm," Sassaflash replied, eyes still closed. "You're up late. Book?"
"Book," Sea Swirl agreed, nuzzling her face deep into the back of Sassy's mane. Sassy smelled of mint shampoo. She must have taken a shower just before she went to bed. "You smell good."
"Mmm," Sassy mumbled happily and scooted another inch back, pressing her wings into Sea Swirl's torso and the base of her tail against Sea Swirl's lower belly. "Warming up?"
Sea Swirl giggled and nipped Sassaflash's ear. "Yeah, you're getting me all warm."
They lay still for a few minutes, the chill of the winter night driven away by the warmth of each other, their breathing falling into time.
Lowering her snout, Sea Swirl buried her face into the top of Sassy's wings, letting the downy softness tickle her muzzle. She breathed deep, savoring the other mare's scents: soap and shampoo; the smell of Ponyville's breezes in her down.
"Feels good," Sassy said sleepily, and shuffled her wings, tickling Sea Swirl's chest and nose.
"Hey, Sassy?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you awake enough to answer a... well, a personal question?"
A moment of silence. Then Sassy said, "After the things we've done in this bed? What could be more personal?"
"It's a... well, a pegasus question."
"Oh."
Silence for another few seconds. Sea Swirl thought about the conversation she'd had with her parents, three years ago, when she told them she was getting married to a pegasus, and the similar conversation Sassy said she had with her parents. Both sets of parents blessed the union and loved their daughter-in-law, but both sets also gave their daughter the are-you-sure-you're-sure? talk.
And, yeah, after two and a half years of marriage, they were both still finding little things that surprised them.
"You game?" Sea Swirl said.
"Yeah, go ahead."
Sea Swirl hugged tighter, pulling Sassaflash deeper into her chest, feeling the soft down and hard muscles of the wings against her own body. By concentrating, she felt Sassy's heartbeat through her wings.
"Why do you like being the little spoon? I'm surprised it doesn't hurt your wings."
Sassy chuckled. "That's it? That's the personal question? I was expecting something like 'clean your stupid feathers out of the shower drain.'"
"That's a statement, not a question."
Sassy sighed and pulled Sea Swirl's foreleg down, nibbling and kissing the knee. Sea Swirl squirmed and felt her motor starting to rev.
Sea Swirl bit down a little harder on Sassy's ear as Sassy nibbled the back of her knee.
"The reason," Sassy said after a minute, "the reason is... when you're cuddled up behind me. When you've got your legs tossed over me. When you're pressed up against me, holding my wings tight to me... I just..."
More silence. Sea Swirl rubbed her inner thigh against Sassy's cutie mark and kissed the back of her mane.
"I just..." Sassy continued, "I feel safe."
"Oh?"
"It's not like I feel unsafe any other time. It's just. Hmmm. I can't explain it. I just like knowing that you're there. Behind me. Around me. Here for me."
"I'm always here for you."
Sassy nipped at the back of Sea Swirl's knee, getting some teeth into it. "I love you."
"Love you too. I'm sorry I'm up so late, and sorry I woke you. Stupid book. I'll get to bed earlier tomorrow."
"You can apologize."
"I thought I just did?"
Sassy turned her head, twisting around to touch her nose against Sea Swirl's. "Apologize better."
They kissed deeply, and after their lazy, sleepy lovemaking, they held tight in each other's embrace. Warm against the chill winter night, they slept deeply and contently.
Author's Note
Just a little something that popped into my head when I saw the art on Derpibooru. These two appear in the background together all the time, so I assume they're either relatives or married. I went with married for this story's purposes.
