Silly Triangles

by David Silver

1 - It's Beginning to Look...

With a great yawn, Silly Sleeper, Silly to his friends, trotted at a sedate rate down the road. "Another day..." he paused to blink his tired eyes, a mini-yawn escaping in the process. "Another bit..." He had completed his workday at Quills and Sofas, which meant it was time to do his favorite thing.

Sleep. But he couldn't sleep walking. Well, perhaps he could, but it was so much better at home, or at least on something nice and warm and soft. "Hey Silly," called a pony he was walking past. He nodded back with a little smile, but he had his destination locked and trotted past.

Home. It was a simple place, and he let out a happy sigh as he slumped against the door. "Finally, now I can..." Sleep? No, wait, there was something he was forgetting. What was it... Something important. He tapped at his chin, eyes closed. Oh. Oh! His eyes snapped open wide. "He's coming!" He suddenly lurched into motion, grabbing up the blankets he had left on the floor and shoving them in a closet.

The pile of pillows went into the guest room and he slapped that door shut. He had to get the place looking right. "Don't want him thinking I'm a slob..." The day's paper was left unchecked and neglected on his doorstep. Displayed on its front fold, a warning to stay inside and be warm. Weather pegasi were bringing in a big snow that evening.

---

"It's been so long," Tri cheerfully talked to himself as he brushed his teeth, awkward as those words were. "Forever!" Sure, it had only been three days, but it had felt like forever, and that counted, he was certain. His heart fluttered in his chest, thinking of the sleepy stallion. "We're gonna have fun." They'd talk and be close and that was enough, right? That's what friends did!

"Shoulda saw him yesterday." He frowned a little, thoughts going back to a big nasty wad of gum he had been scraping off the bottom of a desk for Cheerilee. "Those foals..." Usually cleaning the school was a simple task, but that gum refused to move! By the time he had gotten it off, it was too late to visit any friends. "But not today." Oh no, there was nothing between him and some Sleepy time.

He snorted as he threw on a scarf around his neck. "That sounds like I'm going to take a nap." But that wasn't the plan. The plan was to visit his friend. On giddy hooves, he threw open his door, hopped over the newspaper that was on the step and wrenched his head. The motion caused the scarf to snap towards him, catching the door on the way and pulling it shut expertly. There was no time for reading papers, he pranced right on past it, heading towards Sleepy with a big smile.

It wasn't a long walk through Ponyville before he arrived at Silly Sleeper's cozy house. The sleeping cap-styled roof really sold it. "You know whose house this is," chuckled Tri as he approached the door. "One day I should do something like that." His house was so normal in comparison. That was alright, he was normal, not like his friend. He raised a hoof and clopped softly. "Hey, Tri here."

"One moment," came the voice inside, muffled by wood and wall. He heard something slide, then the door opened, Sleepy's mouth at the doorknob as he pushed it forward. "Hello!"

"Sleepy!" Tri trotted in and Sleepy scooched to the side to make room. "Place is looking nice."

Sleepy pulled the door shut, knocking the paper aside. "My house is your house. Want a drink? It's winter, how about some warm cocoa?"

"That sounds great," Tri easily assented, looking around before moseying towards the kitchen. "You don't have to go out of your way."

"Nah... this is the time of year for it." Sleepy slipped past him, wandering past into the kitchen and starting the kettle full of water. "What happened yesterday? Not often you delay the weekly."

Weekly. Normally they made it a point to meet at least once a week, despite both being Responsible Adults with Responsible Adulting that needed doing. Tri sat down on the smooth tile, raising a hoof to gesture towards the schoolhouse. "Some little brat decided to go for the record of how big a wad of gum they could chew and get the most stuck to a desk."

"Oh, wow... I thought Rarity was bad." Sleepy fetched two mugs and set them down, putting some powered chocolate in each, a jar of milk waiting for the right time and a bag of fluffy marshmallows already prepared. "She wore out her last sofa. She's one of our best customers, remember?"

"Best and worst," chuckled Tri. He affected her accent, poorly, his hooves held up beside his head. "Oh darling, I simply must have a sofa that slides well! But not when I'm on it."

"That was scary good." Sleepy smiled contently as he reached for the whistling kettle with his snout, grabbing the handle in his teeth and pouring out two big cups of sweet elixir. He set it back and grabbed the milk, adding a splash to each. Then a few marshmallows followed, completing things.

Tri accepted the cup that was to be his, cradling it between his hooves as he ran a mouth-held spoon through it gently. Without thinking, the mallows made a heart shape and he glanced sharply up at Sleepy, who was busy looking at his own cup. He gently dashed the image, sending it back into random chaos before taking a sip. "Mmm."

"Mmm," replied Sleepy eloquently, licking his lips. "The end of the week is coming up. We should do something fun."

"Yeah, fun..." Tri glanced towards the window. "There's that movie--"

"--oh yeah," cut in Sleepy. "I was waiting for that one. Do you want to see it with me? I'll get a big popcorn."

"It ain't a movie without popcorn." Tri nodded in solidarity. "It's a date." His cheeks warmed shortly after, realizing what he had said. It wasn't a date date! He was pretty sure. They were just two friends watching a movie. Friends did that all the time. "Gonna put on some music."

Sleepy nursed at his drink, not stopping Tri.

Tri rose up and got a record from Sleepy's collection and set it on the player. There was a moment of quiet noise before the music began proper, filling the house with cheerful Hearths Warming carols. "Now we're in the spirit."

Sleepy perked an ear. "Thank goodness he doesn't play that stuff at Quills and Sofas. He's too 'refined' for that. Suits me." He pointed at the player before quickly catching his tipping cup. "Only time I hear that is when I want to."

"Is now a bad time?" He hovered by the player, ready to yank the record off of it. "I wasn't trying to annoy you."

"Nah... It's fine." Sleepy nodded gently. "They're nice, in moderation. Sit down and finish your drink before it gets cold."

"Good idea..." Tri wandered back to his abandoned cup and flopped down past his haunches to lay down entirely. He grasped the cup in his forehooves and drew it closer, sipping softly. "Nothing like a relaxing winter day with a friend."

"Worth losing a nap for," easily agreed Sleepy with a content smile. "Did I tell you about my dream?" He had so many to choose from, but Tri gestured for him to continue, and he began to describe the strange and whimsical world that existed in his head.

Some time later, Tri was sitting up on his haunches, empty cup beside him. "Have you considered writing?"

"Wha?"

"You have a great imagination." Tri tapped his head. "I bet other ponies would love to read it."

"I dunno..." He yawned softly and shivered softly. "Getting cold. One moment." He went to fetch wood from a small pile. His last two significant logs, but he wasn't paying attention to that. He tossed them onto the fireplace and soon crackling fire threw heat and light into the room. "Way better. You can get some quality sleep next to a fire."

"I bet you're the expert of that." Tri moved to sit down near Sleepy, by the fire. "You do it a lot?"

"Every chance I get." He settled with a sleepy smile. "You ever try it?"

"I don't have a fireplace... Sounds nice though." Before he knew it, they had conked out until he started awake, legs kicking along the ground. "Huh what? That... actually wasn't bad. Figures you'd know the best ways to do a nap."

"Mmm?" Sleepy roused from his own little catnap. "Yeah, it's the best." He turned his head to the window, seeing it was getting dark. "Woah, where does the time go? You should get home for it's all dark out there."

"Yeah..." Tri stood up. "It was nice visiting though. I'll see you for the movie, right?"

"For sure." Sleepy slid to his hooves and trotted to the door to get it for his friend. Cold blasted in at them both, snow flecking on the ground instantly. "Uh..."

Tri peered past Sleepy to the rapidly building snow outside. "Wow. It's really coming down out there."

Sleepy nudged the door shut with a soft shrug. "No big deal. You can just stay the night. Sleepover time."

Tri smirked softly at that. "It has sleep in the name."

"So you know I like it." Sleepy nodded sagely, confident in his reasoning.

"So I'll just... sleep... here..." His brain seized, realizing what was happening. "With you."

"Uh huh," agreed Sleepy easily, moving off towards the guest room. "I'll get some bedding. We'll watch bad movies and play games and have fun."

Soon a blanket was spread across the living room floor, soft and warm. On it, a small board was placed. Sleepy nudged a piece on it forward, then drew a card. "Go directly to Town Hall." He nudged his piece again. "Nice."

"I hear Mayor Mare dyes her mane." Tri leaned over to snap up some popcorn and take his move, tossing dice at the board, though it was more of letting the dice go at an angle, which made them tumble enough. "My luck's turning around!" He pushed his piece up just behind Sleepy's piece.

"Don't count on it." Sleepy scooped up the dice with his hooves. "I call on the luck spirits." But the luck spirits did not like being called towards, and the dice went foul. "Aw no..."

Tri kept glancing at Sleepy, trying to figure out if his own luck was very good, or very bad. The sleepover wasn't bad, no, he felt increasingly sure of that. It was an excuse to hang out with his friend. They were having fun. He was winning the board game even!

Was he winning too well? He cleared his throat into a hoof, making a mental note to be a humble winner. "My turn..."

The fire in the fireplace guttered out, the light going with it, leaving them in almost complete darkness.

Sleepy sat up. "I'll put more wood..." But there were only a few twigs left. "Oh right, I was supposed to get more today. I forgot." He applied a hoof to his face.

Tri shook his head quickly. "It happens." Especially with Sleepy. Being not-quite-there was one of his specialties.

Sleepy tossed the crumbs of the firewood in, but they were burnt and gone almost instantly. "Oops... Oh well, at least this time I still have one warm thing to use."

"Does this happen a lot?"

"Sorry." Sleepy put a hoof behind his head, looking sheepish. "But you're here. We can just use each other for heat."

Tri's cheeks became the warmest thing in the room. "W-what?"

"We'll go to sleep." He pointed at the blanket. "All rolled up with the blanket, together. We'll stay warm that way."

"Oh... y-yeah... T-that makes... lots of sense..." Tri swallowed heavily, trying to fight his trembling.

Author's Note:

Welcome to a little romance with a sleepy stallion and a smitten-but-in-denial stallion. Done for a commissioner on Fiverr! Expect more updates soon! (I have 6 days to finish this story, 5k words is the target)