6:59 AM

Red's tail refused to stop wagging that morning, yellow eyes sparkling with delight. The Doctor —whose hood was pushed back for once— stared at her curiously. After a week of intensive missions, it seemed strange to see the wolf girl in such high spirits. It was just barely 7am at this point, and with none of the other operators awake, and with their daily coffee still brewing in the pot, now was as good as any time to socialize. So the Doctor sidled up to sit next to Red.

"Hey Red. What's got you so happy this early?"

"Doctor Y/N!" The wagging intensified. Red's daily cup of chocolate milk sat in front of her, complete with its little striped straw and a blueberry muffin. The milk mustache on her face was nothing short of adorable, as was the little swipe of her tongue darting out to clean it. "Today's a great day! That's why!"

Y/N tilted their head. "But aren't you tired?"

They weren't imagining the circles under those yellow eyes surely? Or the way Red yawned when they sat down. Her ears were curving down the way they did when she first woke up, like they yearned for slumber for an hour more.

"Well, yes. But that's normal."

So this forgoes sleepiness then. Thinking about it, there seemed to be only one conclusion Y/N could come to on a Wednesday of all days. But really? I didn't realize they were still doing it. Those strange meetings that Kal'tsit refused to condone at the start, saying they proposed a safety risk. But for who exactly?

"You're meeting up with the other Lupos today, aren't you?" It was hardly a question, especially when Red let out a little yip of agreement, a sound Y/N associated with these meetings alone.

"Yep! We're all off and due for our monthly meeting." Red told Y/N. "It's gonna be so much fun!"

Y/N thought of Red's first interactions with the other wolves working at Rhodes Island. Most of them consisted of Red chasing the others down as they fled from the scene. There had been some crying, more screaming, and the end result of property damage of some form. Kal'tsit had been furious. And Y/N had been concerned. Seeing poor Red cry hurt something deep in the Doctor's soul, and it became worse when Kal'tsit tried to ban Red from seeing the other Lupos.

Flashback . . .

"Why can't she see them?"

"Too much of a safety risk. Can't have operators getting injured at base for nonsensical reasons."

"Oh come on Kal! Red just wants friends."

"And she has friends. I don't see why she must cause property damage in pursuit of more."

"That was an accident and you know it!"

"Yes, thirty nine accidents to be precise."

"Ugh. You know she didn't mean anything by it."

"Of course. But someone has to pay the bill for the damages. Which is why I don't want there to be any more."

"Then make sure it doesn't happen then!"

"Hmmph. And how do you suggest I do that other than telling her to stop?"

"Assist her."

"Assist her?"

"Yes. You're great at getting operators to get along. And you bring out the best in Red, so help her with this. I'm sure she'd be willing to accept it if you offered."

". . ."

"C'mon Kal'tsit. Please."

"I suppose you have a point. I guess I'll help."

"Thank you."

"Provided you take money out of your pocket if this goes wrong."

" . . . Fine."

"Good. Then we have a deal."

Flashback end . . .

"I'll take your word for it then." Was all Y/N said, content to let Red prattle on for the rest of breakfast.

1:00 PM

Red kept her gaze eagerly on the door, tail thumping away on the sofa. These meetings alternated in location per each of their tastes. Today was Texas's turn, so the wolves were scheduled to meet in dormitory one. This one was styled like a Penguin Logistics hideout: red, white and black were the theme colors, spotlights decorating the ceiling. It was state of the art —the cost of wiring had been a nightmare, or so Kal'tsit claimed while Closure chuckled in amusement— everything about it screamed modern and chic. And maybe that was why she gravitated towards the most simplistic part of the room, or maybe it was it's coziness. Either way, she was curled up on the sofa waiting.

Beside her, Provence was watching her with amusement. "You know, staring at the door isn't going to will them here any faster."

"Red knows." She responded, gaze refusing to depart from the doorway.

Any moment now and they'll walk on in. Hurry!

Provence huffed. "Red, we've talked about this."

She whined. "I knooooooww, but I can't help it! Red is excited!"

"No, no, no it's I am excited," Provence said pointedly.

"Fine. I am excited. I just don't see why it matters if I slip up sometimes. Red— I thought you didn't care about that."

Out of the corner of her eye, Provence nodded. "I don't care about it, no. But at the same time I don't like seeing people make fun of you for talking like that. And Kal'tsit did say that you'll be an even better hunter if you get your language skills down."

"Yes. That's true."

And of course, that was what Dr. Kal'tsit told Provence, not the reward of getting to hug all of Suzuran's many tails. How she had managed to get Suzuran to agree to such a thing was beyond her, but she was super happy about it. Those tails were magnificent, and Red knew they would be super cuddly: prime for petting, just like those puppies at the animal shelter Doctor Y/N had taken her to three months prior.

Creak.

A slight groan in the metal floorboards caught her and Provence's attention. There was a barely discernible whisper, and then the door was whooshing open. Lappland walked in first, followed shortly by Texas. The two lupos were holding hands, swords holstered at their hips. Red tried not to stare too long at their whisking tails. The dark blue and white-gray limbs were soft as well, though they didn't hold a candle to the size of Provence's fluffy monstrosity (which Red loved verrrry much).

"Hey guys!" Lappland said cheerfully.

"Greetings." Texas nodded in their direction.

The quiet wolf was constantly alert, triangular ears swiveling to take in the sounds. Red did the same —understood the need for awareness. Though there wasn't much in the way of noise here besides the air conditioning and whirring of machinery, it was nice to catalogue it all in the back of her brain. While an alarm would signal danger to everyone, wolves like them could pick up on it earlier just from the change in atmosphere. Change in vibration, a faint cry . . . none of it would go unnoticed with such a vigilant individual.

"We were just about to get started. Glad you guys could make it!" Provence's tail raised in greeting. Red resisted the urge to pounce on the fluffy thing. The way it waved around was tantalizing, her yellow gaze struggling to pull back.

"Sorry for making you wait," Texas said as she went to bring a chair over. She kept the legs of it in the air as she walked. The room came with the couch and some barstools. The cushioned chairs were an extra touch per the Doctor's request for their relaxation. They were within reach, pressed against the wall beside the door's entry. Lappland dutifully snatched up the other chair, not caring about it scraping the metal floor as she dragged it. "Someone kept trying to pick a fight with Waai Fu."

"Oh come on! She was asking for it, no one pisses off my Texas and gets away with it." Lappland was growling, though it wasn't as aggressive as it was vindictive. Something told her Lappland had settled the score and settled it well. Then again, the white wolf had a tendency to look pleased regardless of her mood. She didn't understand it.

Texas just rolled her eyes, expression fond as she took her seat.

"With that in mind, how was the rest of your day?" Provence directed specifically to Texas, left ear twitching. Red took time to study the cute bend of her left ear. Adorable wasn't a strong enough word.

"Oh. It was alright. Just more of the same old same old."

"What's same old?" Red asked, reaching idly for Lappland's tail.

Lappland eased the furry appendage, bridging the rest of the distance for Red's eager fingertips as she explained. "It's an expression. Everything's been pretty normal here lately. Regular missions and the hustle too."

Provence nodded. "I heard Emperor was getting back into the show biz."

"That he is. Though I'd rather him let me overlook his schedule first." Texas muttered.

"Mhmm." Lappland sighed contentedly at those soothing strokes. Red hummed happily at the calm that spread over her for doing such a simple thing. "That car bomb yesterday really had you in a tizzy."

"Tizzy?" Another weird word.

Provence explained this time. "She means a fit." The sniper's gaze flitted over to Texas, an inquiry. Texas tipped her head, a silent approval. "Texas got mad."

"Wow. I don't think I've ever seen Texas mad." Red admitted.

Maybe one time.

The first time she tried to pet Texas's tail.

Yes . . . that had ended badly. The kind of badly that got Texas growling at her whenever they crossed paths for the two months which followed. In retrospect, walking on the ceiling had upped the ante. Wolves weren't fans of being caught off guard.

Especially Texas.

Swords met knifes in a clash of metal in her memory.

Lappland smirked, teasing tone bringing Red back to reality. "Oh, it's quite the spectacle to behold. My girlfriend is the stuff of dreams. So, soooo hot when she's mad. Soooo dominant."

Texas shook her head, like she found her girlfriend's antics to be ridiculous. However the subtle shift closer to Lappland spoke of another story. And Provence's low whisper in her ear further confirmed what she had already guessed.

"Looks like someone's getting lucky tonight."

If Texas heard that, she didn't say a word about it.

As for Lappland, the white wolf licked her lips like she was hungry.

The action was slow, deliberate as her tongue dragged from one corner to the other before hiding in the recesses of her mouth. Red watched on perplexed. Texas swatting at Lappland's thigh, shaking her head cleared up next to nothing. Why's she hungry? Didn't they have lunch before they came? That was the general memo for these meetings. Eating lunch before prevented stomach rumbles, an unneeded distraction when they were trying to enjoy each other's company.

"Lucky? How?"

But her question went unanswered as conversation moved on from the daily grievances to fun.

And oh, did she enjoy the fun.

3:00 PM

"Haha! There's no escape!" Lappland cheered.

"Ah!" Provence yelped as the white wolf pounced on her back, pinning her to the ground.

"Tag, you're it." Lappland's tail wagged furiously as her hand was shoved at Provence's exposed back. Just as quickly she was darting off and making a run to the couch.

Texas, who had at some point perched herself on one of the barstools, shook her head in disdain. "For the last time Lappland: you don't shove people onto the ground whenever you tag them."

"Aww c'mon Texas! Don't be such a party pooper! Red and Provence don't care!"

Provence shook herself off as she stood up, fluffy tail stretched out to its full length. Red had a perfect view of it from her spot on the ceiling, the hood of her coat hanging over her back from gravity instead of its normal position on her head.

"Red doesn't mind." She agreed.

"Well I do." Provence huffed.

"What I'm hearing is it's a tied vote, so you're wrong Texas!" Lappland shouted.

"Gah! There's no need to yell idiot!" Texas chastised. "Are you okay Provence?"

The four of them had been playing games for the past hour or so. It was understandable that some were starting to lose steam. Red had calculated each time the likelihood of who would stop the game first, who would want to take a break and relax. And out of all of them, Provence was most likely to do so every time. Second was Texas, but never for a lack of stamina on her part. She just doesn't approve of our rough housing. Neither did Provence. It was something her girlfriend had talked with her about a few times.

"Yeah, just fine. Though I'd rather we stop being so rowdy." Provence swayed back onto her feet, stretching out her arms as the faint sound of a pop echoed. "One of these days you're going to break someone here." She shot a pointed glare in Lappland's direction.

But the white wolf just looked as pleased as ever, silver gaze dragging its way back to Texas. "You say that, but Texas is still here isn't she?"

And the flaming red color of Texas's face just caused Red further befuddlement.

Though the Texas chasing Lappland around the room for the next hour made complete sense.

So Red once again found herself seated next to Provence on the couch, waiting for their friends to fire themselves out before dinner that night.

*****

A/N: So in case you were wondering I head canon that Red is an adult here (hence the girlfriend). I might do another part for this, I might not. Depends on what everyone wants (because plenty of other shots are slated to do already). Don't forget to vote and comment and I'll see everyone next time!