Work Text:
It had been a long day for the former diamond cutters, the duo having finally beaten the man who had been stalking Whisper for years now.
That octopus's body, now laying limp in a slump at the bottom of Rainbow Ravine, and probably smelling of burnt takoyaki at this point, was now out of the picture for good.
Even though they hadn’t actually checked his body, they saw his motionless form at the bottom of the canyon and just knew.
They just had a gut feeling that everything was finally over, that they could finally relax, at least for the time being.
They were still heroes after all, so they couldn’t rest forever, not that they even wanted to.
The two of them had said their goodbyes to the psychokinetic hedgehog, and chose to sit down at a nearby cafe, the same cafe where Whisper had shared a drink with Mimic earlier in the day.
The tension that had been a constant for the wolf was now receding, they had no doubt that her stress wouldn’t just magically dissipate, regardless how nice the thought was, but she was better than she had been in a long time, and that was something worth acknowledging.
Tangle sat down across from her, resting her legs on the table and folding her arms behind her head.
Whisper rolled her eyes at her best friend’s antics, “Tangle,” she said sternly, the lemur got the message quickly and hastily removed her legs from the table.
“So we’ll just rest up real quick then head on home, that’s the plan right?” a waitress walked up to the table, they quickly ordered their drinks.
Whisper smiled at that, before taking on a more neutral expression, “Home, right?”
Tangle tilted her head at that, “Yeah…” the rambunctious woman felt something was off, “Are you alright Whisp?”
The wolf opened her mouth, just to close it after a few seconds, she did that a few times before settling on, “I don’t really have a home,” she looked off into the distance wistfully, “At least not anymore.”
Tangle’s expression fell slightly, “Oh,” she rubbed the back of her neck, “Sorry for bringing that up, I forgot about that since we shared a bunk at the restoration and all that,” she waved off the comment with her hand, “Forget I said anything, the last thing I want to do is upset you,” she chuckled uncomfortably.
Whisper quickly spoke up, “No, it’s quite alright, you don’t have anything to apologize for,” she put a hand atop Tangle’s instinctually, before quickly pulling away, a blush dusting her cheeks, “S-Sorry, I don’t know what came over me?”
Tangle was unbothered by the gesture, “Don’t worry about it, it’s all good,” she shot a pair of finger guns at the quiet woman.
She then began rubbing her arm, “Actually I don’t mind if you want to hold onto me or anything, you already know I’m a pretty touchy feely kind of person, so it’d be pretty hypocritical of me to say anything about that kind of thing anyway, and I already like touching you,” now it was her turn to blush, “Not in a weird way or anything though, just that your fur is really soft, and we-” her hands shot up to cover her mouth, “I’m just gonna shut up now.”
Tangle was now looking at anything that wasn’t the wolf sitting across the table from her.
Whisper just chuckled to herself, before reaching for one of the lemur’s hands and interlocking her fingers with it, “S’alright, I’m glad the feelings mutual,” she rubbed her thumb over the back of the other girl's hand, her claw lightly scratching against the other’s fur.
Tangle’s head frantically shot up, “WHAT FEELING’S?” she then cleared her throat, “I-I mean what feeling’s we talkin about here, specifically?” she rifled through her hair with her free hand.
The wolf chuckled at that, “Just feels right, I feel comfortable around you,” she realized that didn’t exactly answer the girl’s question, “I mean the feeling of being comfortable with physical contact with one another, s’all I meant,” she smiled softly at her blushing friend.
Tangle shook her head, “Yeah, yup my thoughts exactly,” she quickly nodded, “To the letter, precisely what I was thinking when you said that,” she knew she was talking too much right now, but also felt an intense need to properly articulate herself, even if she was just rambling incoherently.
The lemur was a bad liar, but Whisper wasn’t looking to call her out on it, at least not yet, she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to bring certain feelings to light yet, or if she even knew what these newfound emotions meant to her, so for now she would just keep those thoughts to herself and see how things progress naturally.
The waitress brought their drinks over, Tangle deciding to get a diet cola, and whisper ordering a glass of green tea.
The prosimian stirred a straw around in the rim of the glass, they sat in silence for a little while.
“So you mentioned home earlier,” the canine decided to break the silence this time, “You mean in Spiral Hill Village?” she asked, “You’ve mentioned it before.”
Tangle blinked, “Yeah, that’s totally what I meant,” she laughed awkwardly, “That’s my home at least, and since you don’t exactly have a place to stay at the moment,” Tangle stopped to take a look at her partner (other woman who had the same goal as her), “You did mention that before staying with the restoration that you just drifted from place to place, not really ever settling down anywhere for long,” she eyed her half empty soda, “If I'm remembering correctly that is.”
Whisper nodded, “That’s correct,” she answered plainly.
The ring-tail continued, “Well if that’s the case, well you know what they say ‘mi casa’ and all that.”
Whisper quirked a brow at that, “Your house? What about your house?”
Tangle facepalmed, “No I mean like that phrase ya know?”
Whisper blinked at her, “No enlighten me,” the wolf stated evenly, but the corner of her lip curled up ever so slightly.
And with that Tangle just figured out that she was messing with her, “I see you smirking over there, you know what I mean, just admit it,” Tangle thrust an accusatory finger at the wolf’s face.
Whisper smiled even wider, not being able to contain it any longer, “Whatever do you mean?”
The lemur groaned at that, holding her face in one hand, “What do ya want me to do, spell it out for you,” the wolf then lifted up her chair and placed it in a way that she was now sitting right at the other woman’s side, their elbows nearly bumping together.
She cupped her cheek with a hand, and leaned her elbow on the table, eyes locked on the rowdy woman, “Yes.”
That left the primate flabbergasted, clearly not expecting her fellow freedom fighter to be so bold, “W-What?” she stuttered.
Whisper just stared at her, a teasing glint in the corner of her eyes.
It took a second for Tangle to collect herself.
But Whisper was a patient woman. It was practically her most defining trait.
Eventually Tangle was ready, “If you wanna, you could just, I dunno,” Tangle glanced down at her empty cup, before looking back up at the pretty woman sitting across from her, “You could just bunk with me, until you have somewhere else to be,” she scratched at her cheek with a lone finger.
Whisper looked a bit taken aback, before smiling softly, “I’d love that,” she squeezed the other woman’s hand tightly.
Tangle forgot her hand was being held this whole time.
She tried not to think about it.
She also tried not to think about the way that Whisper said the word love.
Tangle almost wished that she would…
The lemur shook her head, flinging the thought away.
For now at least.
She hastily stood up, “Well look at the time,” Tangle she glanced at her watchless wrist, “We’ve gotta get going if we’re gonna make it back before sundown,” she grabbed the other woman by the wrist and started tugging her in the direction of the nearest train station.
Whisper was a little frazzled, being tugged around like a shy child on a play ground, but now trusted Tangle enough that she didn’t really mind.
If anything she may have leaned into the touch a bit.
Soon after they arrived at the train station and purchased their tickets.
—
By the time they made it back to Spiral Hill, the sun was already starting to set, the younger woman barely meeting the goal she had set hours prior.
Tangel led them to a modest cottage on the outskirts of the town; she had a view that overlooked the cliffs that their village was built atop.
“I know it ain’t much, but it’s home,” she rubbed the back of her neck, “I hope ya like it,” she found the key that she had stashed under her doormat.
Whisper decided to speak with the lemur about how that poses a security risk, but for the time being decided to not say anything about it.
She smiled, “Looks cozy.”
“It do don’t it,” she unlocked the door, returning the key to its place underneath the mat.
Whisper leered at her for a moment, before deciding not to press the issue.
‘Later’ she told herself.
They entered the house, locking the door behind them, “Make yourself comfortable,” Whisper glanced about the place, taking it all in.
It was a rustic little house, the furniture was quite simple, all of the wooden adornments you’d be more likely to expect in an older person’s home.
That wasn’t a bad thing however, Whisper liked how homely it all felt.
The wallpaper seemed a bit on the aged side of things, bits and pieces of it fading here and there, the edges appearing a bit frayed.
The kitchen was fully equipped, albeit with appliances that seemed to have seen better days, Tangle assured her that everything worked just fine and that she shouldn’t be worried about anything.
She also mentioned how she hadn’t stayed a night over here in the last few months, so that claim was yet to be seen.
They walked from room to room, Tangle telling her about all the little details of what she had, where everything was, and what she was planning on replacing as soon as she had the time.
Whisper would feel guilty to mention this aloud, but the house was quite unkempt, a noticeable amount of dishes in the sink, laundry strewn about whatever room, and the wires of the electronics of her living room were ‘tangled’.
Whisper laughed at the little pun she thought up.
The wolf decided that if she were to be staying here, she would help tidy up the place.
Though for now she wouldn’t bring it up.
But as soon as the next day came around, she was absolutely going to be saying something about it.
They were finishing up the tour, when they settled in front of the last unopened door in the house, “And last but not least, here’s my bedroom,” Tangle gestured to her bed, which was unsurprisingly unmade, blankets and sheets leaning over the side of it.
The lemur spun around on her heel to face the older woman, “Sorry about the mess, I don’t have people over often, if ya couldn’t tell,” she chuckled lightly.
Whisper was happy for the transparency, “S’alright, we’ll work on that later,” she walked past her partner (of the occupational variety), and sat down on the bed.
A loud yawn escaped her, Tangle getting a good look at the canine’s canines, before she slowly closed her mouth again, “Scuse me, just tired,” she blushed slightly.
Tangle was a bit slack jawed at the moment, having been distracted by just how dangerous her best friend's fangs looked, but quickly recovered, “So, if ya don’t mind, I’m probably gonna hop in the shower for a sec,” she waved her arms apologetically, “That is, unless you wanna take yours first, I’m good with whatever.”
Whisper nodded at her, “Enjoy your shower Tangle,” Tangle didn’t miss the tender smile that she wore.
“Uh yeah, that I will, I’m just gonna,” she pointed her thumb at the bathroom door, “Just gonna go ahead and hop on in,” Whisper just continued to smile at her.
“Yup got it, gonna shower now,” with that the lemur quickly locked herself in the bathroom, Whisper was able to hear the sound of water running from where she was sitting on the bed.
The sound was quite soothing to her.
She truly felt quite relaxed, and decided to allow herself a little nap while her friend washed the stress of the day away.
—
They were both properly cleaned now, Whisper having had to borrow some of the younger woman’s clothing for the night, the fabric was a bit tighter than the wolf would have liked, but it was good enough for the time being.
And besides it was quite comforting wearing her friend’s clothing, knowing that she had worn these before made her feel happy.
She could finally say that she felt genuinely happy, Whisper never thought she’d see the day.
But here she was, alive and well…
Unlike her fallen comrades, Whisper missed them dearly.
But she’d try not to dwell on that for the time being. She wanted to be able to relax for tonight.
She wanted at least one night of peace, so she'll mourn her old teammates properly another time.
She had set her wispon in the corner of the room, her colorful companions already having settled down and were all huddled up together in a little sleeping pile.
Whisper quietly walked over to them, placing a kiss on each of their foreheads.
“G’night little ones, you all did great today,” she placed a kiss atop the last one’s head, “M’proud of all of you,” she lingered by their side for a moment, before slowly peeling away from them.
She made her way back over to Tangle, who just as soon as she had been caught staring, quickly glanced off to the side, a slight blush dusting her cheeks.
She plopped down right next to where her partner (business associate) was sitting, “Don’t mind if you look at me you know,” Whisper placed her paw on the younger woman’s knee.
Tangle looked a bit surprised to have just gotten caught, she shook it off, “O-Okay, alrighty then, cool cool,” she trailed off before she could make an even bigger fool of herself.
Not that Whisper minded, she found her partner’s (co-workers?) antics to be quite charming. Though it’d be accurate to admit that it took a little while to fully warm up to the eccentric woman, she could be a bit much at times.
Whisper decided she didn’t mind a bit much anymore.
She watched the primate jump up and hastily start making the bed, “Just give me a sec,” Whisper wondered if she did this every night, right before she went to sleep, or if it was just for her.
Whisper watched her work for a minute, before a thought crossed her mind, staring at the bed having reminded her of a little something, “So if you're taking the bed, where do you want me to sleep?” Whisper could sleep just about anywhere, it was a skill she had picked up over time.
That and sleeping with one eye open, metaphorically of course, she had quite the spatial awareness of her surroundings even when in her sleep.
“Nah, the bed’s all yours, it’s the least I could offer after the kind of day you just had,” she finished fluffing the last pillow, and was now happy with how everything was placed, “I’ll crash on the couch tonight,” she proceeded to stand up from the bed.
Before she could make her way over to the door, a paw grabbed at her wrist, holding her in place, “Your house, you should take bed,” Whisper all but insisted.
“Nope, you get the bed, I’ve slept on that old thing plenty of times, I’ll be alright,” she tried to remove her wrist from the wolf’s grip, but she held firm.
“Bed is yours, you sleep here, I’ll go,” she let go of tangle’s arm, before having her own wrist tugged back, “Nuh uh, that ain’t happening Whispy, you're gonna relax whether you want to or not, and that’s final.”
Whisper relented, “Okay.”
“Okay,” with that, Tangle began to walk toward the doorframe.
“But you stay,” Whisper spoke firmly.
Tangle didn’t turn around yet, “W-What we couldn’t possibly I mea-” she was interrupted.
“We both sleep in here, bed’s big enough” she squished down on the comforter. The fabric slowly returns to its original shape after being pressed down.
Tangle scoffed at that, “Barely.”
“Barely’s good enough,” Whisper patted the blanket right next to her.
Tangle didn’t have another rebuttal in her, and that mattress was looking quite tempting now that the exhaustion from the day was finally catching up to her.
She sighed, “Fine,” she shuffled on over back to the bed, “I’ll be sure to get something for you to sleep on soon enough,” Tangle jotted it down on the mental list she had been keeping of all the things she had agreed to get done in the coming weeks, now that she was planning to stay at home again.
“Won’t need it, was told friends sleep over all the time,” Whisper shrugged the comment off. Deeming it unnecessary.
Tangle slowly sat back down, “I-if, if you’re sure?” she glanced back over to her partner (in not crime, the opposite of crime) and watched a warm smile quirk up from her lips.
The canine nodded her answer, they slowly peeled back the covers and made their way under the blankets.
Tangle was correct, there wasn’t a lot of wiggle room, there was more than enough for one person, but two people would be in constant contact with the other if they were to sleep anywhere close to comfortably.
So with their current positions their arms were touching at the elbows, Whisper's healthy hips pressed against Tangle's own waist, and let’s not even get started with the lemur’s signature ring-tail.
They were both glad it was quite cool out tonight, otherwise the heat of the blankets, their fur, and the other’s own body heat might be a bit too much.
Tangle leaned over on her elbow to meet the other woman’s gaze, “So about earlier…” Tangle looked a bit more serious than she had earlier in the day.
Whisper rolled over slightly, “Yes?”
The younger girl let out a long sigh, “You promised you wouldn’t kill him remember,” Tangle didn’t look upset, but she didn’t look very happy either.
Whisper wasn’t prepared to talk about this so soon, she opened and closed her mouth multiple times, searching for the correct words to say.
She rolled onto her back and gazed at the ceiling, “Sorry, but just wanted…” a pause, “No needed him gone, couldn’t take it anymore,” she couldn’t bring herself to look back over to her partner (new roommate).
She rolled over to her other side, her back to the lemur, “Sides’, didn’t kill him anyway.”
They laid there in silence for a minute.
“But you were going to,” Whisper didn’t utter a word.
“You promised,” there was a solemn sadness in the primates' voice.
The room was silent for a spell.
Tangle heard a rustling on her right side, Whisper was facing the ceiling again.
“You mad at me?”
Tangle sighed again, “No I’m not,” she brushed a hand through her hair, “I’m not mad at you Whisp, I’m just glad that you didn’t get the chance to actually kill him,” she placed her hand on the wolf’s arm.
“We’re heroes, Whisp, we can’t kill anybody,” she squeezed her arm slightly, “It’s not what we're supposed to do, you get that right?”
The canine curled into herself, bringing her knees to her chest, “Mm sorry, I promised, just wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Tangle exhaled loudly, “You, you’re fine Whisper.”
The wolf in question began shaking, “Whisper?”
Tangle heard a hitch in Whisper’s breathing.
She heard muffled sobbing not long after, “Mm s-sorry, I d-didn’t know what t-to do.”
Tangle realized what was happening and quickly drew her partner (situationship) into a tight hug.
“Shh, shh, it’s alright, I’m not mad at you,” she started to rub circles around her friend’s back, “It’s all going to be alright, I just hope that neither of us has to go through anything like that ever again.”
Whisper was now full on crying, she couldn’t possibly hold her emotions in anymore, she had been through so much for so long, and it was exhausting.
She was utterly and completely exhausted from that endeavor.
And now she was directionless, she hadn’t even considered a future without him constantly stalking her, tailing her.
She couldn’t even make any new friends for the longest time, she was far too paranoid to let anyone get that close to her again.
Sleep constantly evaded her, because just around any corner, any alley, behind any door he could have been waiting for her.
He could have been anyone, anywhere, at any time, and Whisper could not afford to get even the slightest bit complacent.
He had stolen not only her friend’s lives, but he had also stolen years of her life away, just to participate in a sick and twisted game of cat and mouse and she had hated every single second of it.
She just wished for it to be over, prayed for it to finally be finished.
And she had finally gotten that, and despite his best efforts she had found new friends.
She had learned to trust others again.
She had, as of today, found a new home.
Not a home as in a house in Spiral Hill Village.
But a home as in a person that she could be comfortable around, a person who would never judge her, never betray her trust.
A person she could just be herself around.
Tangle was her home, and it took her long enough to finally realize it.
The lemur was still tracing gentle circles around the fur of her back when Whisper finally stopped crying.
Whisper turned to face her partner (...), “Thank you Tangle,” the wolf wiped a tear from her eye.
Tangle chuckled, “Don’t mention it,” she continued to rub soothing circles over the older woman’s fur, “You feelin’ better now?”
Whisper nodded into her partner’s (...) chest.
“Thanks to you,” she raised her head up slightly, “Mm glad I met you,” she slowly but surely placed her paw on Tangle’s cheek, the lemur’s breath hitched.
She rubbed soft circles against her best friend’s face, “Thank you for everything.”
Tangle’s eyes flicked down to the wolf’s lips and back up again.
She didn’t say anything, she felt like she couldn’t.
Eventually she muttered out, “I’m glad I met you too,” she leaned into her palm ever so slightly.
“I think…” Whisper started.
Tangle spoke barely above a Whisper (Pun also intended), “Think what?”
“I think I…” Whisper leaned in closer to the other woman’s face, they could feel the other’s breath on their lips.
“Yeah?” Tangle’s breath was a bit heavy.
Whisper leaned in ever closer, “Think I love you,” she looked deeply into her partner’s (...) eyes.
“W-Woah,” Tangle’s eyes flickered shut.
They finally closed the distance.
They gently kissed each other, Tangle’s arms slowly snaking their way around Whisper's back.
Whisper drew her in closer, she readjusted her angle, dipping her head to the side slightly.
Tangle did the same.
They stayed that way for a little while longer before they parted with a slight pop.
They stared into each other's eyes, basking in the other’s warmth.
“I think I love you too,” the lemur admitted.
Tangle knew that Whisper didn’t smile often. There were so many things that kept her smile away from her.
But now she could bear witness to the most radiant smile she had ever seen.
Whisper was grinning ear to ear, her usually tightly kept eyes open wide.
Whisper just wanted to see her as clearly as possible, she was like a moth drawn to a flame.
And Tangle was a rather radiant flame, not only was she beautiful, but she was also such a lovely person to be around.
She was kind, helpful, heroic, gentle, caring, and everything in between.
But more than anything she was warm, like a light that guides the way for lost souls, she was utterly magnetic to be around.
Whisper just couldn’t resist her anymore.
She leaned back in for another kiss, this one a lot less patient.
Then another.
And another.
Whisper had pressed Tangle’s back against the mattress, the lemur staring back up at her, her eyes lidding slightly.
“Love you,” Whisper said again.
“Love you too Whisper,” Tangle was completely smitten.
They shared a few more kisses before leaning back into proper sleeping positions.
“Goodnight Whisp,” the younger woman yawned.
“G’night Tangle, Love you,” she began to feel her eyes glaze over.
The lemur shuffled closer into her partner’s (Girlfriend’s) side.
“Love you too.”
Tangle had been lying earlier, she did in fact find a new home.
And her name was Whisper.