Sun opened his eyes blearily, groaning softly as his glow returned, energy coursing through his body again as he gently sat up, laying on top of the still-dark Moon. He shook his head, rays flapping and slowly lighting up as well, slowly waking up.
He blinked rapidly, taking a few moments to regain his vision as his body started providing energy to his eyes as well. After a few moments, he noticed the little interloper in their midst, Cadence clinging tightly to the both of them.
He had to resist the urge to coo at how cute she looked, face peaceful as her arms were wrapped around Moon's arm.
Sun slowly got up, careful not to wake the two of them up. He giggled as he left the room, seeing Eclipse passed out on the couch with an empty plate on the coffee table, his glow dim but not gone.
Sun walked to the kitchen, humming happily as he adorned his most favorite pink frilly apron and started cooking some delicious pancakes and mash potatoes. His head bopped back and forth as he got out the required materials to cook, hips swaying to an imaginary beat.
His rays flicked as he heard movement, glancing behind his shoulder to see Eclipse sitting up on the couch. "Goooood morning, brother!" Sun chirped happily, flipping a pancake high in the air, catching it with the pan.
"Mm, good morning," Eclipse mumbled, standing up and grabbing the plate, walking over and setting it in the sink, shaking himself out as his rays wriggled, his glow returning.
"Found Cadence in our bed!" Sun said happily, flipping a pancake high into the air, catching it with a plate, "Decided I would make her some breakfast."
"Mm, yeah, I did see her come in," Eclipse said softly, shaking his head as his rays fluttered.
Moments later, Cadence stepped out of the room, rubbing her eyes as she walked over and poured herself a glass of water. After gulping down the whole glass within moments, she set the cup down and licked her lips, looking at Sun and asking softly, "Bathroom?"
Sun blinked blankly at her, and Eclipse sighed and grabbed her gently by the shoulders, guiding her to his room and showing her the bathroom door. She nodded, going in for a minute. He heard her flush the toilet before washing her hands.
When she came out, wiping her hands on her shirt, Eclipse gently stopped her by setting his hands on her shoulders, kneeling to look at her worriedly.
"Cadence, are you okay?" He asked softly, voice concerned.
"What you mean?" She asked, tilting her head.
"When you came in last night, you were stumbling like a drunkard and crying like a babe," Eclipse responded softly, frowning, "Don't try to avoid the question. There's obviously something distressing you."
Cadence blinked, lightly squishing her cheeks in her hands. "Hmmm..." She said softly, "Don't remember."
Eclipse narrowed his eyes, leaning in closer.
"You do know you were talking, right?" He asked, "It was barely intelligible aside from the words 'safe', 'help', and 'step-father'."
At the last word, Cadence tensed the slightest bit, standing a bit straighter.
"Well, I also talk in my sleep, and it never makes sense, so it should be taken with a grain of mycelium," she shook her head, "Uh, salt."
"I wouldn't take such things so lightly. You don't do a good job of hiding when you're anxious, or worried," Eclipse replied.
"Oh wow, Sun's pancakes sure do smell good! Wouldn't want to let them get cold!" Cadence said cheerfully, laughing nervously and trying to leave the room.
"Cadence, you're doing it again," Eclipse said simply, and Cadence stopped at the doorway, narrowing her eyes at him over her shoulder. "Whenever we talk about you, you shut up and avoid the topic," Eclipse continued, "You brush it off with a nervous laugh, and quickly try to run away. It's like you're afraid of people getting to know you. Like you're afraid of people's reactions to what they will find under the surface."
Eclipse chuckled, advancing on Cadence, his eyes glowing ominously as he loomed over her, the shadows cast on his face as he looked down at her making his face be bathed in shadows aside from his four eyes. Cadence chuckled nervously, back pressing against the door as her right hand reached up and tried to find the door handle.
"No, that's, uh, nope. Couldn't possibly do such a thing. I'm like an open book. I'm an affable, nice person who's quite forgettable and pleasant," Cadence replied with a nervous giggle, smile straining more as Eclipse leaned closer, hands caging her head in.
"Aw, let's see," he cooed, his eyes opening wide, orange eyes swirling with white accents, his pupils disappearing.
"That's-that's net noccessary..." Cadence stuttered, shaking her head and trying to look away, but unable to, "Not necessary, I mean."
Cadence felt herself unable to look away from Eclipse's eyes, a sense of relaxation washing over her. He could feel him sifting around in her brain, and she growled slightly, pushing back mentally.
"Strong one, aren't you?" Eclipse teased, retracting slightly mentally. "You didn't have so much resistance when Moon did this same thing. But for... much different reasons~"
Cadence growled, face scrunching up. "Well, Moon asked," she shot back, "And he didn't go sifting through my mind to look at what's been bothering me, he just stayed in the mindspace for, well, you know why, Moon probably told you already. Y'all seem very close-knit family, very healthy, very demure, very mindful."
"Unlike yours~" Eclipse purred, and Cadence bristled. "You don't have to talk about it just yet, of course. Just know that bottling it up won't help~"
Cadence huffed, and Eclipse closed his eyes, breaking his hypnotic hold over her. He stepped back, opening the door for her so she could leave.
"Just know, Cadence," he said smugly, "Your insecurities aren't as well hidden as you would like. You do a much better job hiding your physical insecurities." He leaned in close, chuckling in her ear, "Though I must say, your body isn't as ugly as you would like to think."
He gently shooed her out of his room as she shot him a look, and he smirked as he said, "Go along now, dear, I need to shower. So, unless you want to see me naked, you better go out and hang with Sun. Though I wouldn't mind you staying." He winked salaciously, and she huffed again, turning and stalking away.
The door closed behind her, and she schooled her face into a relaxed expression before she stepped into the kitchen, smiling at Sun as he excitedly held out a plate stacked with pancakes.
"There you are! I made you some delicious pancakes!" Sun said excitedly, holding out a nice bowl of mashed potatoes once she took the plate, "And your favorite, some gar-lic mashed potatoes!"
Cadence giggled when Sun failed to pronounce garlic correctly, and she set the plate on the coffee table as she grabbed the bowl as well, setting it on the coffee table before making to sit on the couch, but Sun beat her to it.
He plopped onto the couch, smiling happily and still wearing his frilly pink apron, causing Cadence to giggle as he happily grabbed her and set her on his lap, nuzzling her head while wrapping his arms around her and bringing the plate and bowl closer.
"Thanks a lot, Sun," Cadence said softly, using her spoon to scoop up some mashed potatoes, "This is really good."
Sun merely smiled, cuddling her happily. Cadence could push away the vague memories of her dream last night, doing her best to just forget it and go on like it never happened.
Like she always did with problems of the past.