He frowned in his last moments of sleep and shifted away from the rays of sunlight that fell across his closed eyes. Daylight encroached upon the territory owned by the dark, filling the room with the soft, orange glow of dawn. The inexorable domination of light over the dark was not met with a friendly welcome. No, it was met with a scowl and unvoiced curses. The coming of day meant having to vacate the bedroom, tending the bathroom and placating a petulant hunger; none of these were things he particularly wanted to have anything to do with.

Muscles ached and joints creaked as he stretched out his lazy limbs, face pressed into his pillow to protect him from the light. The effort, however, was futile. There was something about vacation from work that made every morning a fight just to drag his body, reluctant as it was, out of bed. There was no outside will insisting that he start his day, no higher power compelling him to not be lazy. He should be excited to greet the day, temporarily free from the shackles of employment, and spend his time seeking adventure and having fun. In reality, he wanted nothing to do with it until, at least, after noon. Perhaps he would consider getting up earlier if a certain someone got up ahead of time to make him breakfast. It would be a cold day in hell, as the saying goes.

The being beside him welcomed the persistent sunrise with an annoyed grunt and the rustling of blankets pulled over his head. He smiled into the pillow at the end of his stretch. If there was anybody that loathed getting out of bed more than him it was the grump lying next to him under the blankets. He decided he didn’t want to suffer through consciousness alone and thrust his hip into the lump beneath the blanket. An exasperated whine was his reward. If there was one thing he enjoyed about waking first, it was tormenting anybody still trying to sleep.

He rolled onto his back, uncovering his dark scales to the morning’s light, and grasped his pillow, lifted it high above his head, and brought it down onto the lump of twisted sheets. The force of the strike was blunted by the softness of the down pillow. An annoyed growl, like that of an angry cat, rose from beneath the sheets and he smiled to himself, leaving the pillow where it had struck. Next, he tried yanking the lump’s pillow away, but was met with stiff, vocal resistance and gave up. Prodding the lump with a finger was effective at further angering the beast.

The sun was now up high enough that the room was completely lit. Darkness that remained was relegated to shadows and memory. His stomach grumbled loudly. He knew it was time to get the lump out of bed and into the kitchen. The fluffy tip of the lump’s tail poked out from beneath the sheets and he grabbed it with a mischievous grin. It only took one firm tug before the tail began thrashing in his grasp.

"Stop it," The lump groaned and shifted. A pair of light brown, fluffy hands shot out from beneath the blankets. He had foreseen the attack and had retreated beneath the blankets to a safe distance, thankful for the obscenely large bed. The tail in his hands went limp and the grasping fingers stopped after a few moments. He eyed the placid hands warily, as if they would grab him as soon as he lowered his guard, and tugged the tail again.

"Mm! Go be awake somewhere else!" The lump’s tail slipped from his hand and disappeared beneath the blankets, along with the hands.

"But, you’re awake now too." The lump harrumphed loudly before going still and silent. He reached for, and grasped a handful of the blanket protecting the lump and waited. The lump showed no outward signs of life. With all the force he could muster, he tore the blanket away from the lump and revealed it to the cleansing rays of the sunrise.

The light brown and coffee colored fluff-dragon rolled over and was on him in a flash, sitting atop him and pinning his arms to his sides. The fluff-dragon’s brows were knit with disdain. He grinned with false apology at the dragon known as lump. Then he stuck his tongue out at lump.

"I’m gonna fluff you up," Lump growled. Lump tried to be intimidating but it had no effect on the lizard beneath him.

"Oh, I’m sure. I recall you saying the very same thing yesterday morning and then you just ended up sucking--"

"Quiet!" Lump interrupted, "I’ll show you no such mercy today." The lizard remained unfazed and continued to smirk, much to Lump’s indignation.

"And what could you possibly do to me?" Lump narrowed his eyes with a victorious smirk.

"I won’t feed you." The lizard stopped smiling and glared back. "Liar...you wouldn’t do something so cruel."

"Oh yes, yes I can and will. Unless…" Lump trailed off, looking away in thought.

"Unless what," he asked incredulously.

"Unless–you give me a massage later today," Lump said sweetly and shifted side to side like child running on pure sugar. "That’s not a fair trade at all!"

"And?"

He frowned and didn’t respond to the question. A massage wasn’t an unreasonable trade for food, but making a bid deal about it was more entertaining. His stomach complained loudly about being starved. The fluff-dragon looked, down at the lizard’s belly, distracted by the strange noise. He seized the moment and rolled onto his side, dumping the fluff-dragon off him. Lump squeaked when he seized him in his arms and squeezed him,

"Deal."

The lizard pressed his smooth lips softly, at first, to the fluff-dragon’s unsuspecting mouth. There was a momentary lack of response before his action was returned by Lump in kind. Two furry arms wrapped around his neck and held him close. Fingers teased up and down the tips of his sensitive spines, but not enough to compromise his state of awareness. They tilted their snouts in opposite directions to deepen the kiss, content to lie together for a gentle make-out session. The lizard’s four hands slid up and down the fluff-dragon’s back, fingers gliding through his short, silky fur. His lower hands ventured down until they cupped the fluff-dragon’s rump, giving it a firm, testing squeeze. He smiled into the kiss when the dragon playfully swatted the back of his head.

"Naughty Leezard," He scolded with no conviction.

He broke the kiss and touched his nose to the fluff-dragon’s. The short fuzz tickled his nose and he snuffled. Lump giggled and rubbed his nose against the lizard’s vigorously. He closed his eyes and sighed, content despite the dragon’s attempt to make him sneeze.

"Love you, Nalzyballs." Nalz smiled softly and held the fluff-dragon close.

"Love you too, Buttfluff." Lump grinned and made himself comfortable in the reptile’s encompassing embrace, intertwining his tail with Nalz’s.

The serene, romantic moment was skillfully ruined by the interjection of Nalz’s empty stomach. "Okay, okay, I get it! Sheesh, I’ll get up and make breakfast," Lump moaned loudly, pushing at the reptile’s chest.

"Such a good boy."