𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 : 𝘼 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙁𝙤𝙭 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙀𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩: 𝘼 𝙁𝙤𝙭'𝙨 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣

Fox stared at the clock on the wall in his tiny kitchen. The apartment was silent except for the persistent drip of the leaky faucet he hadn't gotten around to fixing. He glanced at the calendar next to the clock. The date glared at him in its bright red letters and numbers the same way the clock did. Like they were taunting him for abandoning the only male he had given himself to.
It had been three days since Fox had left Wolf alone. It pained him to think of the state that Wolf could be in by now.
He sighed and stood, placed the unfinished bowl of cereal in the sink, leaning on the edge of the sink. "I can't keep avoiding the inevitable." He said with determination to himself and stood tall, his confidence returning. He then grabbed his flight jacket from the hook near the door and put it on, followed by a loose-fitting grey sweatshirt. He checked the pockets for his keys as well as the lock-picking kit in case Wolf was unable to open his door.
After locking the door to his apartment, he heard to the parking bay to get his Arwing. He bumped into Falco in the hallway. "Not now Lombardi, I'm busy." He said firmly just as the bird was about to open his beak. He brushed past his ace pilot and got in the elevator, tapping his foot in annoyance at the slow ascent.
When the elevator finally reached its destination, he stepped through the doors and immediately went to his Arwing, climbing the wing and hoped in the cockpit after unlocking it.
He set the signal scrambling system and left the parking bay, jumping into hyperspace.

Three hours later he arrived on Fortuna, the dingy atmosphere was already depressing, how anyone managed to survive was a testament to its citizens will to live.

He found a hidden space to park outside of the city, deciding to walk the rest of way to Wolf's apartment. He kept the hood up on the sweatshirt, hoping that it disguised him well enough. This was the first time he had come to this planet during the day and it unnerved him. The streets were oddly silent and he had no way of knowing if that was normal or not. He quickened his pace and arrived at the dirty looking apartment complex, the old tan bricks chipped. Stains from the rusted drainage systems and fire escapes streaked the sides, making the building look even more depressing.
He stepped into the complex and used the stairs, the elevators long-ago fallen into disrepair.
He made it midway up when one the metal steps creaked and broke beneath his foot, causing him to lurch forward and smack into the steps in front of him. "Shit!" He exclaimed, the impact making his chest and muzzle throb. "How does he stand this crap hole?" He muttered, rubbing his muzzle as he stood, now treading more carefully.

He reached the correct level and stepped into the hallway, immediately running to Wolf's door and knocked on it. "It's me O'Donnell, open up." He said, deepening his voice to sound like a business contact.
When he got no response, he decided to pick the lock, taking only a few seconds to accomplish the task.
He opened the door and was immediately hit by the stench of old cigarettes and soured alcohol. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he stepped inside, empty bottles and cigarette butts strewn about with no evidence of order. He sighed deeply, realizing that he had caused this turn for his lover. "Wolf? You in here?" He peeked into the kitchen, then the living room and bathroom, then the bedroom.
Wolf was on the bed, sprawled out and snoring, a half-empty bottle of vodka in his hand, a cigarette butt in the other.
"Oh Wolf..." He went over to him and got the bottle and cigarette from him, setting them on the table. Wolf's fur was matted and rough, his claws chipped. Fox sat next to him and stroked his head. "Wolf I'm sorry I left. I'll let you sleep for now, and maybe clean up a bit. It's the least I could do to make it up to you."

He stood and surveyed the room, deciding to check the kitchen for garbage bags and once he found them, he set to cleaning up garbage.

Three hours later, Fox listened to Wolf ramble on incoherently, as he had been for the past hour since Wolf awoke. He could only make out a few words which did not seem to be said in any order. He found Wolf to be quite frustrating when he was drunk. Wolf then sat up and began the attempt to dress himself, only floundering with his pants and shirt and growling in frustration. He fell back on the bed and began snoring.
Fox let out a groan and got the pants off the sleeping lupine, then set them aside with the shirt. He sat on the chair and groaned, running his hands over his face. Why did Love have to be so difficult?
He looked around the dreary apartment, the bedroom open to living room and that into the kitchen. It had to only be around two hundred square feet. No wonder Wolf was depressed. His thoughts wandered to Leon. He felt a pang of guilt and fear. The guilt was that he had come between Wolf and Leon, the fear was that they didn't know where Leon was. It was going to be winter in a few months and there was no way the chameleon would survive.
He missed Leon deeply and didn't understand why the chameleon felt as though he was a spare wing in their relationship.