#xgrayx

Sunny stood groggily in the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. His stomach ached. He tried to remember what he'd eaten for dinner, but couldn't. Had he somehow forgotten to eat? It had been a busy day, certainly, but food was not something that typically escaped Sunny's mind. As hungry as he was, though, he supposed that must have been the case. He opened the fridge and winced at the harsh light. For a few moments, he stared blankly into the fridge, not processing a single thing that was in front of him. Then, he began fishing out ingredients. Somewhere in his sleepy mind, he knew for a fact that he had at least a little bit of bread left, and the thought of it made him want a sandwich. What kind of sandwich was still to be determined.

A pile began to grow on the counter as Sunny pulled more and more items from the fridge. Mustard, jelly, lunch meat, an assortment of vegetables, hummus, a few deviled eggs, some leftover pasta, shredded cheese, a pudding cup, the list went on. Finally, he decided he'd amassed a sufficient grouping of ingredients. Arms full, he bumped the door shut with his hip and got to work.

Sunny began assembling his sandwich with nothing but the light of the moon to guide him. The project involved three slices of bread and a lot of balancing, but with some focus, he was able to make it work. He stood for a moment, marveling at his handiwork, then picked it up and shoved it into his mouth. As he did, a voice behind him nearly sent him flying into the ceiling.

"Sunny?" Laurie squinted through the darkness at him. He let out a quick shriek, nearly dropping his creation.

"Laurie! Jesus Christ," he hissed, dramatically grabbing his hairy chest. "I forgot you were here. What the hell do you want?"

"I wanted to see what the hell was going on in here! It sounded like you were getting ready for a fucking party!"

"If you must know," Sunny said primly, "I was making a snack." Laurie flicked the light on. He cringed away from it, shutting his eyes. She stared wordlessly at the mess strewn about the counter, then at Sunny's enormous sandwich. It was dripping a mixture of mustard, horseradish, and grape jelly onto the floor. Sunny, realizing this, quickly shoved the drippy corner of the sandwich into his mouth.

"I don't know," she finally said. "I feel like a snack is something small and I don't think that qualifies."

"Of course it qualifies," he said with his mouth full. "A snack is something that isn't breakfast or lunch or dinner. And since it's none of those things, that makes it a snack." Laurie grimaced.

"Do you always make huge repulsive sandwiches in the middle of the night?"

"No," Sunny said defensively. "I forgot to have dinner."

"No you didn't, dumbass," said Laurie. "We got pizza, remember? You ate half of it!" Sunny's face went blank as he tried to remember.

"Oh. Huh."

"Christ, Sunny."

"Well, I was hungry!"

"You are such a goddamn specimen," said Laurie, rolling her eyes. Sunny shrugged and took another bite.

"Want some?"

"I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," he said through a mouthful of sandwich. As he chewed, the sound of approaching footsteps drew their attention. They both turned to see Gray in the doorway, rubbing his eyes.

"What's going on?" His voice was soft and sleepy.

"Sunny's having a second dinner," said Laurie, gesturing to their smaller friend. Gray stood and stared at Sunny's sandwich for a long time, then nodded understandingly, turned around, and returned to the couch where he'd been sleeping. Laurie buried her face in her hands, trying not to laugh out loud. Sunny, meanwhile, was finishing up his snack. Laurie was a little surprised at how quickly he'd wolfed it down, especially after stuffing himself full of pizza earlier in the night, although clearly the pizza hadn't had much of an effect on him. The sandwich, however, seemed to be catching up with him. His tummy, normally completely flat, stuck out conspicuously from his skinny frame, and Laurie could tell from the way he moved as he began cleaning up that he'd overdone it.

"Little too much for you?"

"Huh?" Sunny looked up.

"You look a little full," she giggled. He glared at her.

"Well, that's the point of a snack, isn't it?" He opened the fridge, nearly dropping half the things he was carrying as he did, and began shoving everything back in.

"Jesus Christ, Sunny, no wonder you can never find anything. Move," said Laurie, nudging him aside.

"Hey, don't fuck up my fridge," he protested, pushing his way back in. "Everything is exactly where it goes. You just can't understand my vision."

"Your vision! Yeah, right. At least put things in upright!"

"I am putting them upright!"

"Leaning them all over each other is not the same thing as upright."

"You don't even know what you're talking about. Would you get out of my way?" Sunny tried to move Laurie aside as she had done to him, but she didn't budge. As they stood bickering, a sturdy arm suddenly slipped around each of their waists. Sunny let out a groan of discomfort as Gray lifted both of them up with ease, elbowed the fridge shut, and carried them back to the couch. He lay down with his friends piled on top of him, then pulled the blanket up and returned to sleep. Laurie and Sunny looked at each other as Gray began snoring softly. Laurie, accepting her fate, let her head rest against Gray's chest. Sunny's belly let out an unhappy gurgle. Even under the thick blanket, the curve of his overstuffed stomach was visible. Smiling sympathetically, Laurie reached out and gave his belly a comforting rub. Sunny looked at her for a moment, his expression uncharacteristically soft.

"Go to sleep, Sunny," she whispered, and closed her eyes.