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Wolf got up from the couch Fox graciously let him crash on, and walked over to the kitchen, the pads of his paws softly making noise as he did so. Not being able to sleep, he lit a cigarette to try and put his mind at ease.
Fox awoke to the sound of footsteps he didn't recognize, and forgetting Wolf was staying with them on the Great Fox, he grabbed his blaster and snuck out of his room to investigate the noise.
As Fox neared the kitchen, the smell of a lit cigarette filled his nose, and he knew that he was getting close to his target. Wolf leaned on the edge of the counter in the center of the kitchen, taking in the luxury of the Great Fox, a sort of sight he wasn’t used to. Sargasso was nothing compared to this. Well, it was nothing compared to most places, anyways.
Snapping out of his little distraction, Wolf heard the rustling of something nearby. It didn’t take long to put two and two together to figure out that someone was attempting to sneak up on him. His years of criminality really gave him an advantage in these kinds of situations.
Fox crept low on the opposite side of the counter from Wolf, ready to strike at any moment. He jumped up, pointing the blaster in his target's face, only to be greeted by a smirking Wolf, cigarette in hand.
"That's cute Foxy, but it's past your bedtime. Now, put your toys away and go back to bed." Fox ignored the snarky comment and attempted to put his blaster back in its holster, but soon realized he was in nothing but his underwear, and blushed, setting his blaster on the counter that separated the two. He looked away from Wolf, but could tell the lupine was looking at his exposed body. Fox knew neither of them would say anything about it.
"Shit, sorry Wolf. I'm just a little on edge with you being here. No offense." Fox didn't know why he felt sorry for what he had said, he was speaking to an enemy. No, former enemy, he thought. He was still trying to put what had happened between the two during the Lylat Wars behind them. Wolf had supposedly changed, and he was willing to see if it was true.
"It's fine pup, I'm used to stuff being shoved in my face." Wolf said as he took a puff from his cigarette, smirk still lingering. Fox was too busy being flustered by the pet name for the innuendo to register in his head. Cute, Wolf thought.
Fox, regaining his composure, attempted to talk sternly to Wolf. "Wolf you can't smoke in here, it'll mess with the air on the ship." That wasn’t true, the Great Fox was easily able to filter the smoke from the air. Fox just didn’t like it because it messed with his nose, and he suspected Wolf knew that, but refrained from mentioning it as he thought it would be embarrassing.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, just stressed is all." Wolf said, his soft tone catching Fox off guard. He looked away from Fox, smirk finally fading from his muzzle. This was a side of the gruff wolf that Fox had yet to see, and it was messing with his previous conceptions of the lupine.
"It's fine, Wolf, just don't do it any more, I guess..." Fox said, a sense of sympathy coming over him.
Wolf put out the cigarette In a small ashtray he had brought with him. Both animals sat in silence for a few minutes, neither looking at each other nor speaking, with the awkwardness of the situation becoming apparent. Wolf eyed the alcohol he had stashed with his junk by the couch, and got an idea on how to ease the lingering tension.
"Heya Foxy, wanna drink an' talk about our problems or whatever while we're both here? 'Specially since we haven't really talked one on one before." Wolf said as he motioned over to some cans of cheap beer he had with his stuff. The look in his eye signified to Fox that he was being genuine, and he decided that he might as well hear out the lupine’s request, since he would have to share a space with him for who knows how long.
Fox flashed a smile and shook his head. “Sure, Wolf. Probably won’t be able to sleep now anyways.”
With that, Wolf moved away from the counter, his full body coming into view for the vulpine. Fox quickly noticed that he was completely naked, but refused to say anything. Wolf didn’t need to hear an answer from Fox, as his reddening face said everything for him.
Despite Wolf seemingly not taking care of his body, what with his smoking and drinking habits, he maintained an impressive form. One that made Fox a little jealous, especially with how much work he had put in to get in shape. He admired the musculature of the lupine, something that he had never really taken the time to notice before this moment.
“Sorry about that pup, kinda forgot I'm supposed to show some sort of manners here.” Wolf said, as he moved to pick up a pair of obviously old and worn out underwear that sat atop his pile of junk. Fox felt a sort of disappointment when his former rival covered himself up, but quickly brushed it off.
Wolf plopped himself on the couch, as gracefully as a giant ball of matted fur could. Fox joined him soon after.
“Beer?” Wolf offered, picking up a can from the floor.
“Sure, but I'm not much of a drinker.”
“I can tell just by looking at ya, Foxy. Sort of a skill I developed over the years.” Wolf said with a wink. Well, a one eyed wink, but Fox could tell what the lupine was aiming for, and giggled at the sight. Cute, he thought.
Fox took a swig of the warm beer, and struggled to get it down. He was never a fan of it. Wolf noticed, and took the can from him. Fox looked over in confusion, as Wolf once again attempted to wink at the vulpine, chugging the rest of the can.
“You can’t stop showing off, can you?” Fox questioned. He thought about how Wolf’s attitude on and off the battlefield were similar.
“And you can’t stop being a killjoy, can ya?” Wolf said, his previous snarkiness returning to his muzzle.
Fox looked away from Wolf, feeling as if he’d messed up somehow. He feared that Wolf would lash out at him for his comment. Wolf saw Fox’s nervousness, and grabbed him with a hug from the side.
“Your fine pup, I'm just messin’ with ya.” Wolf said softly, sticking his tongue out at the vulpine. Fox said nothing in return, and just accepted the gesture, slowly getting more and more comfortable in the large lupines arms.
They both sat, just enjoying eachothers company for a while. Talking about each other's problems like school girls was quickly forgotten. The beer they planned on drinking sat on the floor, and it looked like it would stay that way for a while. Fox was completely baffled by this soothing side of the big bad wolf. Cornerian media had always made him out to be some kind of ruthless killer, hell-bent on wiping out all life on Corneria. It could have been true, for all Fox knew, he was part of Andross’s elite team after all. Despite that, his preconceptions were fading just as the time was.
After a long, comforting while, Fox checked his watch to see that it was already near 4:00 am. Looking up, he expected to see Wolf snoozing away, but was met with his smiling muzzle staring right down back at him. The vulpine blushed at the man above him, and slowly moved to stand up, leaving the others arms. Wolf stared at Fox as he arose from his arms, hoping the vulpine would stay with him. Fox thought about leaving the lupine on the couch by himself and simply returning to his own bed, but he felt that wouldn’t be fair. He reached out and grabbed the lupine's paw, pulling him up until they were both on their feet. The height difference between the two became very apparent, with Wolf towering over Fox, and having to look down at the smaller animal.
Fox, still holding Wolf’s paw, led the two of them to his bedroom. He realized they would be leaving the mess behind, but decided he would just deal with it later. Fox was only worried about the current moment. His heart raced as they walked down the corridor, and only sped up the closer they got to his room.
Before opening the door, Fox took a deep breath and turned to look at Wolf.
“This is a one time thing, ok? We’ll figure out your sleeping situation tomorrow.” Fox said, trying to come off as distant to hide what he was truly feeling at the moment. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it made his stomach fill with butterflies. He could feel his face heating up the longer he stared at the lupine.
“You're adorable, puppy.” Wolf said as he leaned down and softly kissed Fox on the lips. It wasn’t long, but to Fox it felt like an eternity. An eternity that he quietly wished would come back.