Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been a long day. Peppy had returned to his apartment complex after a long day of helping James Mcloud, his old friend, with one of his ventures. Normally Peppy would be disinterested, But James had lost his partner a few years back, and the itch to return to space had returned to both of them, so he was happy to help.

He stood in front of his apartments front door, letting out a sigh of relief as he reached his paw down into one of his jacket pockets. fumbling and grabbing as it moved from corner to corner.

"Naw. Ain't in that one" Peppy mumbled under his breath as he pulled his paw out, quickly placing his other paw into the jackets other pocket.

"...ain't here either"

"ya gotta be in these right?" Peppy continued to mumble as he dug his paws into his jean pockets. His eyes lit up as he felt a small metal object.

"There ya are! gotcha!" he said as he pulled it out "Knew this darn thing was in here somewh-"

Peppy looked down at the key "Oh for cryin' out....it's the CAR key!"

Rubbing his temple, Peppy knew he had yet another trip to make. Taking a short walk through the apartment complex and across the snow covered street, he had reached his car.

Rust obscured the normally red color of the machine and a thick sheet of frost covered the windows. Getting inside, Peppy placed the key into the cars ignition and twisted it. The engine sprung to life, ready and raring to go. But then, as quickly as it started, the power drained and a loud grinding noise filled his ears.

"Aw c'mon...ya can do it! yer a champ!"

Peppy twisted the key a second time. Thankfully, this time the engine stayed alive.

Peppy could only sigh as he looked at his watch, the digital display reading "2.00am".

"Well of course now I've gotta defrost the darn thing...."

-"Mcloud and Friends Mercenary services": break room-

-2.05am-

James Mcloud sat on a large sofa. Papers almost entirely covered the gaudy brown coloring. Only a small light sat nearby for very dim illumination. As his eyes scanned through a piece of paper, he removed his sunglasses and placed them down on a small wooden table in front of him

"While the CAF allows mercenaries the freedom to work on ventures of their choice, your organization is to prioritize jobs mandated by the Cornera Armed Forces or the Lylat government if it is to receive additional fundi-"

James stopped reading out loud, tossing the document aside onto the constantly growing mess of papers that surrounded him. As he let out a loud sigh, he reached out for another paper from a similarly huge pile that sat more neatly beside him.

His eyes, decorated with bags under them, began to scroll through the document.

"80% of your profits are to go to...."

James was quiet for a second before his eyes widened. "80 PERCENT?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MI-!" James yelled, rising from the sofa before cutting himself off. He sat back down and continued to go through the document.

-2.50am-

Peppy swung open the door to the break room, walking through the door, upon his entry, loud snoring filled his ears. Walking further and further into the room, it didn't take him long to find the source: James Mcloud, sleeping in spite of his intense shivering on the sofa, covered in various documents.

"Hey..." Peppy said looking down at his sleeping friend "hey.... Yer gonna catch cold like that!"

James refused to awaken, continuing to snore even louder.

"Dangit buddy" Peppy said under his breath "dontcha have a boy at home? Ya gotta stop doin' this..."

Peppy sighed, leaving the room for a short time. Minutes later, he returned with a brown blanket and bright white pillow in his arms. Placing the blanket over James and following up by placing the pillow under his head, he looked him over to ensure he was finally wrapped up warm. He was content his work was finished.

"That should hopefully keep ya warm, buddy" Peppy whispered at his friend "We'll talk about stuff tomorrow but, ya should just sleep for now"

As Peppy turned to continue his search for his keys, James groaned, finally opening his eyes a little. Causing Peppy to turn around.

"Ah! Yer awake! Yer feelin ok? Yer gotta stop burnin' the candle both ways like this, it ain't healt-"

"Peppy..." James said groggily "D-don't go, man..."

"James, it's 3 am in the dang morning..."

"so...then whaddya doin....here?" James replied, struggling to remain conscious.

"Lost me keys. Think they're in ere somewhere though so I'm gonna look about"

it was as Peppy turned to continue his search, that he felt strong pulling on his jacket, he had hardly any time to react as he got pulled back, now sitting in front of James on the sofa as a result.

"James? Whaddya doin'?"

"Cold...."

"Sorry bud, don't think there are any more blankets here and I-"

"Stay..."

Peppy twisted his head to look down at his longtime friend. his frown slowly turning into a gentle smile.

"ya...really comfortable with that?"

"J..." James said before his nose loudly sniffled "jus-just come under here man...."

Without any additional words, Peppy quietly laid down on his side, pulling some of the blanket over himself. Mere moments later James had wrapped his arms around Peppy, entering a spooning position around him, the legs of the duo wrapping together and beginning to share warmth.

Peppy's face lit up with a red blush "Darn man, ya really are cold..."

"Yeah w-well....you're a...you...you're warm" James replied, once again fully closing his eyes.

"Yer lucky I'm willin to warm ya up, ya big doofus"

Peppy quietly grabbed one of James' paws, quietly squeezing it, his gentle smile growing larger as he felt his friend grow warmer and warmer.

"I...I hope we can stay like this ah'while..."

"ugngh..." James mumbled in his sleep.

Peppy began to close his eyes, rubbing his legs against those of his friend, feeling his soft fur ever so slightly through his jeans. Consciousness slowly fading as the embrace instilled a sense of calmness unlike any he had ever felt. As he listened to James quiet breathing, his own began to slow. Before long, he had joined James in the world of sleep.

                                    -Peppy Apartment Complex-                                   

-7.10am-

The duo stood in front of Peppy's front door. Finally arriving after quite the trip.

"Thanks fer drivin' me home, buddy" Peppy said, turning to face James.

"It's the least I can do. I don't think I've ever seen THAT much smoke come out of a car before, though." James replied as he threw his hands in his pockets "Well, I gotta get back to my boy. One more thing for you, though"

James quickly planted a quick kiss on Peppy's cheek, before walking back down the hallway towards the exit. Peppy quietly watched him leave, a soft smile on his face.

"Right" Peppy Said,  searching his pockets. quietly digging his paws through all of them. his eyes widened as he realized an unfortunate truth:

...He had forgot to find his keys...

Chapter Text

The season had turned into spring, and the two had continued to work on forming their business. James's affections quickly ceased in the time since however, and Peppy had chalked it down to James just being exhausted and touch starved at the time. As much as he enjoyed James's embrace, he felt it was better to put the whole thing behind him.

This would change, however, when James invited him over to stay over at his place for the night.



After a short drive free of the problems encountered in the winter, he arrived at the front door of a flat. Clenching his paw into a fist, he knocked on the door before throwing it back into his jacket pocket. As he waited he could hear James and his son loudly discussing something through the other side of the door. He couldn't quite make out what was being said, but he wasn't surprised at all that the two had only become louder since the last time he was here.



Peppy continued to wait as the discussion continued and increased in volume. Before long, however, he heard footsteps coming towards the other side of the door. As the footsteps came to a stop and the door swung open, he was greeted by a small figure who barely reached up to Peppy's knee: Fox Mcloud.



“Uncle PepPep!!” Fox screamed, hopping up and down in excitement.



“Howdy, Bucko!” Peppy responded, squatting down “Well ain't ya grown since I last saw ya!”



“I sure have!” Fox flexed “My papa says I'm the strongerist!”



“Hehe. Well ain't ya adorable? Ya sure ya don't mean strongest, though?”



“That's what I said! I'm the strongethed!”



“I hope you're not causing uncle peppep any trouble, foxxy” James interjected as he entered Peppy's view, walking up behind his son, and scooping him up in his arms.



“C'mon Pops! Uncle PepPep loves my stories!! They're better than your BORING ones!”



“My stories are borin' huh” James responded, clenching one of his hands up into a claw “Even the story about DR.CLAW?!”



James quickly swooped his hand onto his son's stomach and began what could only be described as a “tickle attack”, causing Fox to giggle extremely loudly.



“POPS! STOP IT....YO-HAHAHAha...EMBARASSING ME IN FRONT OF....HEHEAHAH....UNCLE PEPPEP!”



“Well, I guess since Uncle PepPep is here Dr.Claw can come visit some other time” James threw his free arm to his side “Much trouble gettin' over here, Peppy?”



“Naw” Peppy continued as the trio entered the flat “Took the ol' girl to get repaired just last week, so she's been less trouble lately...”



Within seconds, the group had entered a small dining room. On top of a decently sized table surrounded by wooden chairs lay three plates, filled to the brim with chicken and various vegetables.



“Ol girl?” Fox asked as he was placed onto his chair, boosted up by books to allow him to reach his food “PepPep ya can't take your grandma to be repaired!”



“Naw” Peppy responded, sitting down on his own chair “Ya remember that time I had ta pick ya up from school?”



“Yea?”



“Ya remember my car?”



“Yea! I remember ya tellin' me to avoid the icky orange stuff...”



“That's the ol girl I'm talkin' about!”



“PEPPEP!” Fox loudly snorted “YOUR CAR IS YOUR GRANDMA?”



“Well you know” James interjected as he sat down on his own chair “Uncle PepPeps family is mostly automobile on his mom's side”



Peppy loudly chuckled. He and James had been so busy setting up their mercenary business that they hadn't had much time to just hang out like this lately. Something he honestly missed.



As the group chowed down on their food, Peppy couldn't help but think back to the time he had spent with James on that cold morning a few months ago. Strong feelings of longing washed over his body. Feelings Peppy tried to push back down as hard as he could. However, as James continued to converse and crack jokes as the meal continued, he found himself thinking about how cute he found his long-time friend and co-worker to be.



Before they knew it, dinner was finished. Fox had gone into the living room to watch an episode of his favorite cartoon, while James and Peppy washed up the dishes.



The two stood in silence as they washed up. Leaving the kitchen quiet aside from the sounds of plates, pots, and pans being cleaned to perfection. A couple of plates in James suddenly spoke.



“So. How's your love life been lately?”



“It's, uh...” Peppy paused for a second, trying to figure out how to go about responding to that question “It's...been ok, I guess?”



“Yeah?”



“Ye-yeah? I mean I've had my eyes on a couple of people but, uh, nothin' much goin' on that front yet...”



“Smooth, reaaal smooth” Peppy thought to himself as he scrubbed a particularly messy dish



“Yeah I hear ya...” James sighed, “I've been thinkin' about that stuff lately but it's been...difficult since the wife...well...you know...”



The two once again stood in silence as they continued to wash the dishes. Uncomfortable feelings dense enough to cut with a knife washed over the room. As they nearly finished, Peppy once again spoke up.



“So, how's the boy bein' doing in school?”



“Class wise? I'm surprised at how dang smart the boy is for his age. Outside of that, though...” James paused for a second before continuing “The kids got a real habit of gettin' into fights. It's almost always the boy tryin' to break up bullyin. But he can't keep on givin' other kids black eyes like that, you know?”



“POPS” A high-pitched voice screamed from the other room “DON'T TELL PEPPEP ABOUT THAT!”



Peppy and James could only loudly chuckle in response. Peppy's visit so far had been exactly the sort of break he needed.

Chapter Text

The sun had long since gone down, and everyone had gone to bed. James and Fox had entered their respective bedrooms. While Peppy had found himself resting on the living room sofa.



No matter how hard he tried, rest eluded him. Thoughts and feelings washed over him that made it impossible to relax. His attempts to bury them had just made it worse and worse. He could only stare up into the ceiling as he attempted to sleep.



He sat up. Realizing he wouldn't be able to sleep at all like this. He reached for the TV remote that lay on one of the arms of the sofa. Pushing the on button as he grasped it with his paw. Static greeted him from the square box in front of him.



It was as he was about to change the channel that he heard one of the doors from behind him swing open. Discovering it was James exiting his bedroom upon turning his head.



“Hiya man!” James greeted.



“You too, eh?” Peppy replied.



“Yeah, I can't sleep either” James said as he sat next to Peppy “This works out though, there's a rerun of one of those old, “Knife House” movies goin on right now. Maybe we could watch it together or something?”



“Oh dang! I'd love to! Ain't seen those films in ages!”



Peppy passed the remote over to James, and a few button presses later, they were greeted by a title card that read “KNIFE HOUSE 5: THE KNIFEINING! PART 3!”



“Aw man...Knife house 5? Dangit” Peppy sighed, “That's one of the worst ones!”



“Really” James crossed his arms “I remember really liking it.”



“Sure, on first watch the ol' things fine. But then you watch it a second or third time and ya begin to see problems”



“Well, I guess we'll see, then”

The words of the title card began to bleed and the movie started. Transitioning into a scene where the group of extremely murderable teens went into the titular “Knife House” to probably be attacked and killed by various sentient floating knives. As the film reached its halfway point and only half of the group remained, Peppy noticed that James was shaking.



“Are ya....scared?” Peppy asked.



“Me? Scared of some stupid knives? No! Of course not!”



“Yeah...suurrree...”



“I'm NOT SCARED, Peppy!”



As the movie continued, James's shaking grew in intensity. His fear getting bad enough to make him bite his nails in one particularly tense scene where one of the teens was being stalked by one of the knives. In contrast, Peppy hadn't even flinched the entire time.



“NO! NO YOU FOOL!” James screamed “THEY'RE RIGHT BEHIND YOU THEY'RE GONNA GET YOU!!”



The knife grew closer and closer towards the character and was practically behind them as it was about to strike. James shrieked extremely loudly as he jolted towards Peppy and wrapped his arms around him extremely tightly.



Peppy couldn't at all think straight as the warm embrace filled him with a sense of bliss. Feelings that only bolstered as he realized James was so close he could hear his heart beating inside his chest.



“Ya...really are that scared, eh?”



“N-N-N-No I'm not...”



“Look at ya self”



James blinked a couple of times, slowly realizing what he was doing “O-Oh”



In spite of this, James did not loosen his grip. Looking deeply into Peppy's eyes as his embrace tightened. Peppy only responded by looking back as James slowly moved his snout up to Peppy's mouth and softly kissed him.



The two squeezed each other even tighter as the kisses slowly progressed into a full on make out session. As their tongues began to wrap around each other, James slowly pushed forward, causing Peppy to lay on his back with James on top of him.

Their make out session continued for what felt like hours until James finally relented, Sitting up and leaving Peppy heavily breathing as he lay on the sofa.



After he had finally caught his breath, James quietly looked down at his companion



“Hey... Peppy”



“Y-yeah?” Peppy replied in between his huffing.



“I...can't raise the boy alone...and uh... I was wondering...”



James paused for a minute. As he tried to figure out the words.



“Would you uh...maybe...PERHAPS...want to uh....be my boyfriend?”



Peppy sprung up to sit. Blushing even more, as he rapidly blinked.



“W..wha?”



“Would you...wanna date?”



Smiling, Peppy quietly wrapped one of his paws around one of James's.



“Y-yeah... I'd... I'd really like that... Just...one thing, though.” Peppy replied, squeezing James's hand.

“Yeah?”

“Why'd ya stop after...ya know, that one time I left my keys at the office.”

“Oh, that! It's just... I got so caught up in work I didn't really have time for anythin' else, you know? But... I can't run from how I feel about you forever.”



The two slowly embraced for another kiss... No longer having to hold anything back.