Chapter Text
Wolf adored his and Virginia's apartment, which was a fact that confused her to no end. He had fallen in love the moment that they had decided on it- for some reason the owners of her previous apartment had no longer wanted her to stay there- and had thrown himself into it.
That had been a little over a month ago, and by now it was truly cold outside. They had heavy curtains at the windows to keep the chilly drafts out, though they didn't help so very much, and their room was cold. Wolf had collected as many blankets as he could, however, and they were all piled on their bed into a dense nest. He woke right about dawn and looked down at Virginia as she slept in. He was pressed up against her back, where he could inhale the scent of her so easily (without disturbing her, which had initially been a problem) and where he could keep his arms around her all night.
He squeezed her a little tighter for a moment, and she shifted restlessly in her sleep, waking slightly at his motion, and he relaxed his grip. He held still in tense silence for a moment until she went back to sleep in their infinitely toasty nest.
As nice as it was, to rest and hold and love on her, he knew that his own restlessness would begin to be a nuisance before too long, so he carefully shifted until he was out of the warm cocoon of the blankets. His bare feet touched the icy floor and he hissed a breath through his teeth, before willing himself up and out of the room. He had a sweater laid out on one of their rickety, mismatched chairs in the kitchen area, so he pulled that on, and set about the amazing and remarkable process of making coffee with the magical machine as he had been shown.
Really, the machine did seem like magic to him. The first time he had been in the 10th Kingdom, it had all been just as strange and remarkable, but his mind had absolutely been on other, more pressing matters than figuring out how everything worked. His second time, though, he had come through the mirror to try and make a happily ever after with his one true love, and that had meant that he had had to acclimate himself to this amazing new world as fast as he could manage.
He loved every bit of it, he had decided abruptly over dinner one night, to a sigh and a small smile from Virginia.
"Wolf, what is it you love about this place?" She had asked him, amused, with a gesture that quickly encompassed all of their small apartment, with all it's dingy windows, bad plaster, suspicious stains, and noisy neighbors.
"Well... I love that you are here, of course, and I love just how... how... magical it all is!" He had said with excitement.
Her look heavily implied that that was the most insane comment that she had heard from him yet, which was saying something.
"You think New York City is... Magical. You may remember that I've been to your last home, Wolf. That place is magical. This is just... normal." She said, and took another bite of salad.
"Of course, my creampuff, that place had magic magic, so it's kind of a given. But remember, I grew up with all that, and trust me, it's more a pain in the tail than anything." He had replied with a knowing nod. "But here... Oh Virginia! Here, you made your own magic! Like, that thing we used, the thing with the-" he made a frantic gesture with his hands.
"The toaster."
"Yes, the toaster! How amazing is that!"
"You know, I am still surprised that all that was a surprise to you. You did have all that time trying to cook my grandmother to work all of it out." Virginia pointed out, looking down her nose at him.
"Psh, she was perfectly safe. And besides, that... was not a terribly complex reci- joke, not a complex joke. Anyway, the toaster! And the cars, and the food that comes in boxes and packages and sleeves and, and..."
She reached across the table and patted his hand. The wolf's body relaxed just from that gentle movement.
"I'm glad you're happy here." She had said simply, and he had replied with just an adoring smile.
Now, nearly a month later, he padded silently through the kitchen and made coffee for himself and his sleeping mate. He measured everything with exact precision, intent that everything should be absolutely perfect. When it was busy doing it's thing, he stepped away and performed his usual routine of pacing around the apartment, making sure that everything was where it should be and where it had been left.
If Virginia knew about this habit, she would have called him paranoid, but he was intent on following it through every morning. Where he had come from, where he had grown up, you had to be vigilant and wary, if you wanted to keep what was yours. He puffed a soft breath through his lips and looked out the window.
How strange his life was now! Virginia complained about the slight chill of the apartment, but really, compared to a night spent in the woods, it was nothing, it was wonderful. Compared to a night spent in the prison, this was beyond words. He looked down at his bare feet, at the way his toes were curled to keep warm and he chuckled.
"Now, Wolf, are you getting soft?" He asked himself, smiling. He knew the answer to that already, of course- yes, living somewhere safe and wonderful was going to make him lose that edge that had kept him alive for so long... but he was okay with that. He had his happily ever after.