A soft purr from behind caused Night Light’s ears to twitch. Dropping the shirt he was about to put on, the stallion spun around. His eyes traced the rays of the late morning sun as they shone on his favorite constellation, sitting on the bed and wiggling her eyebrows at him. Normally, she’d be in a nightgown, but Night Light wasn’t complaining about her current state of dress—or near lack thereof, in this case. Judging by her smirk and her lidded eyes, Velvet shared the same sentiment.

“Care for another treasure?” She patted the mattress to her left. “Just a teeny tiny one.”

Night Light returned his wife’s smile with one of his own. “What did your mentor say again? ‘Easy pickings are easy paths to death.’”

“Aw, what’s the matter?” Velvet put one hand on her hip and the other behind her head. “Does this star not send a twinkle to your eye?”

Red flushed through Night Light’s cheeks as he licked his lips and put his palms together. He looked down, but couldn’t help glancing at his wife’s sleek, toned body every so often.

“Okay, you got me.” Night Light walked to the bed and sat beside Velvet. “But make it quick; I have to fix the telescope in—”

“Boop trap!”

“Wha—”

The Star Temple Mistress made her move. A finger to Night Light’s snout signified the inevitable.

Night Light’s eyes centered on Velvet’s finger, then at her smirk. “Clever. But let’s see how you like my counterattack!”

A soft tingling shot up Velvet’s body as Night Light brushed his fingertips to the sides of Velvet’s waist. A small squeak from Velvet’s end sent a wider smile on Night Light’s face, and he leaned close to Velvet’s ear and whispered.

“But that was just the appetizer!”

A barrage of tickles sent Velvet sprawling on the bed, thrashing around. Her laughs fell on deaf ears as her husband climbed onto her. She gasped for air and shivered. “Wa-ha-ha-ha-ha! No…please! I…ha ha…I surrender!”

As husband and wife caught their breaths, Night Light allowed himself a brief reprieve and lay beside his wife. He wrapped his arms around her waist; a soft pillow, it was not, but Night Light didn’t mind. Hard abs, along with Velvet’s other toned muscles and her scars, reminded him of one of the reasons he admired Velvet so. She wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty, either in the garage or in a distant land fighting bad guys alongside a maverick archeologist.

Nuzzling into Velvet’s mane, Night Light caressed her cheek and breathed in his wife’s intoxicating scent. It was a mix of engine oil and old books: something so unique, it couldn’t be replicated. It was something so—pardon the corniness—so Velvet.

“Don’t you have a telescope to fix?” Velvet pulled Night Light close, letting out a soft sigh as he kissed her neck.

“It can wait. As much as I like looking at the stars above, it’s the stars down here I treasure the most.”