The snow outside is thick, and it's so heavy that you can’t really see much from the other houses around the street. Silver Wolf can only tell their colors because she is used to seeing it every day by now. She thinks it’s curious how used she finds herself in this setting, so comfortable and secure living with her best friends.
Once she doesn’t find anyone outside the door, her eyes shift from the window to Blade on the kitchen. The tall man was making them some food for the night, and Kafka was just pestering him and bothering the poor guy.
The sight of Blade in an apron is something that often made her convinced that deep down, Blade had any sense of humor. She knew it was a very messed up one, but it’s not like Silver Wolf had never seen him smile—realistically, Blade is not an edgy emo man, he is just rather reserved about his feelings, and she can understand that after knowing about his past experiences in this world.
Her eyes study the couple silently, watching Kafka take a bite of whatever Blade was cooking for dinner, and by her reaction, it tastes good. Of course it does, Blade is surprisingly an amazing cook, and Silver Wolf is glad she moved in a house with someone who actually knows how to make good use of an oven.
She had... a rather traumatic experience with Firefly and cooking in the past. Having to eat burnt food because the other woman refused to order a pizza was in the list of things Silver Wolf gladly left behind in their old apartment. She was more than fine with eating Blade’s delicious and rich-in-taste food.
She looks back at the window, waiting impatiently. Where the hell was Firefly? She was supposed to be home by now, back from her little shopping. Blade had realized halfway through that they were missing some of the items that were necessary for making the desserts he wanted to make after dinner, and Firefly promptly made her way to the nearest market to buy what was needed. But the snow was starting to fall stronger outside, and Silver Wolf couldn’t shake a sense of worry.
Even if the girl was used to the extreme weather, it was still cold, and Firefly isn’t exactly known for her high immunity, getting sick often and having to stay home.
Though the sight of the snow slowly ceasing was somewhat comforting for her, she was still impatient. The girl left her in the middle of a match in the game they were playing, and afking in Overcooked is a loser behavior. She could have waited until the game was over, couldn’t she? Just a few minutes and they would be done with that level.
Her rising annoyance is quickly dissipated when Firefly is seen walking on the sidewalk with a few bags on her hand, while she spins the key on the other. Silver Wolf smirks, sitting back on the couch and getting another game ready.
Finally, they could finish making an absolute mess, with Firefly attempting to play the game to the best of her abilities and Silver Wolf groaning in her ear that she was being too slow — but of course, she didn’t really mind it. It’s just funny to make Firefly nervous while pushing her and pressuring on the girl until she tries to engage in a physical fight with Silver Wolf.
Firefly wasn’t even that competitive, really, but the way Silver Wolf pushed her buttons really did wonders to her patience.
She watches as Firefly opens the door and removes her coat, shaking a bit from all the snow outside. A cold breeze runs through the open door, making Silver Wolf snuggle in the blanket around her, but soon Firefly closes the door and the evil wind is gone.
Sam, their Tibetan mastiff being the said blanket, laying on top of Silver Wolf’s legs, that were already numb from the weight of the dog, but she made no effort in trying to move him, since he was warming up her legs, and he was kind of sweet too when he behaved like this.
Firefly glanced over at the couch and chuckled at the sight of Sam in her legs, raising an eyebrow.
“Getting cozy without me?” She feigns a pouty expression, hanging her coat on the coat rack, she gets rid of some of the snow in her body and walks towards the kitchen, placing the bag by the counter. Kafka peeks at the bags, opening it to check the items.
“Got everything?” She asked, looking up at Firefly, who smiled gently and nodded, placing down the note that had a list of the things she needed to get, all marked as done.
“Everything is here.” She says in a casual tone, to which Kafka replies with an amused noise, ruffling her hair and dismissing her with a gentle push on her shoulders, signaling she could go back to her attempts of murder against Silver Wolf.
Firefly nods once again and makes her way over the couch, sitting near Silver Wolf and hugging Sam. The dog, big enough to cover the both of them, slowly relocates himself, sitting above her legs as well.
Both her and Silver Wolf giggled at Sam’s eagerness to be close with Firefly. And not only him, because Elio soon shows up in the corner of the couch, meowing at Firefly.
“Damn, what are you? A disney princess?” The hacker scoffed, making Firefly chuckle quietly with her remark.
“I can’t help it if the animals just like me so much.” Firefly had a light teasing tone to her voice. Elio promptly jumped on the couch and made his way to her lap, nuzzling his little head on her chest, stepping on top of Sam, who was unbothered by the black cat’s presence. She gently moves her finger to caress his chin, making the cat purr. “It’s a natural gift.”
“Yeah, perhaps they see you as an equal.” She said, her tone dripping with mock arrogance.
“Don’t be mean to me just because they like me more than they like you.” The girl scolded her, though, it was all a joke. Silver Wolf didn’t mind the playful banter that they sometimes engaged into. “Maybe if you were less arrogant, they would see you as someone more approachable.”
“Yeah, because you know just how to tame every living being around you and know exactly how they think.” She raises an eyebrow in a hint of mockery, but she can’t hide her amusement with Firefly’s cocky and fun tone.
“Well, I did tame you.” She said quietly, in an innocent tone that would seem harmless to anyone. But not for Silver Wolf, she knew better than to believe Firefly was an innocent little girl.
The hacker bites back the urge to groan, knowing it would only satisfy the girl further if she displayed an exaggerated reaction. Instead, she lets out a quiet laugh.
“You surely know how to talk a lot.” She hands her the second controller, which Firefly grabs and sits comfortably on her seat. “A lot of nonsense.”
“What is that thing you often say? First stage of grief: Denial?” Firefly’s tone was playful, and that one comment made both of them laugh briefly, creating an easy and comfortable atmosphere.
“Alright, you’re being too funny.” She rolls her eyes, not trying to hide the smile that tugged on her lips due to their small discussion. “Get your ass on the game so I can absolutely destroy you.”
“We’re not supposed to be on different teams, you know? It’s a cooperative game for a reason.” The taller girl sighs, joining the party and locking eyes with the screen, but hearing Silver Wolf chuckle mischievously owns her attention, as she glances at Silver Wolf with the corner of her vision.
“Not my fault you suck at the game to the point where it becomes embarrassing to be called your coworker.” The hacker snorts, her fingers moving swiftly around the buttons as soon as the game starts, with trained precision and experience that came from the practice.
“Okay, you’re being quite rude now.” Firefly says in a scolding tone. Silver Wolf simply laughed at that, prompting Firefly to join in with a soft laugh, and for a few moments, they shared the laughter together.
“Weird. I don’t think being honest is rude. But call it as you will-”
She closes her eyes slightly when she feels a cushion smacking the side of her face, distracting her from the game on screen. Her eyes narrow and she glances back annoyedly at Firefly. “Hey!-”
Another playful smack along with a chuckle, the soft texture of the cushion didn’t harm her, though it did wonders for her annoyance.
“Girls. Behave.” Kafka’s voice echoed from the kitchen.
“But she is hitting me!” Silver Wolf scoffs, yanking the cushion from Firefly’s hand, winning a defeated glance from the taller girl.
“Wolfie.” Kafka says in that matter-of-fact tone that made Silver Wolf’s bones tremble with annoyance.
“Whatever.” She murmurs, focusing annoyedly on the game, setting a new goal: Disturb Firefly’s gameplay.
-
With all that anger forgotten, both of them make a mess in the game and achieve a welcoming and warm defeat. Silver Wolf put extra effort in burning as much food as she could, while Firefly could only pay attention to so much stuff until the timer ran out.
Silver Wolf, even with the loss, felt like a winner, knowing she got in Firefly’s way.
“Sometimes, you don’t need to be the first. You just need to make sure you’re not the last.” She says proudly, while Firefly shakes her head and chuckles.
“You are terrible.” She answers in an amused tone, though, a gentle smile crawls into her expression. She wasn’t mad that she lost. It was fun to watch Silver Wolf’s effort in ruining the game.
“Perhaps.” She hums, crossing her arms playfully and swinging the control in the air. “Still, you lost. That’s my win.”
“Careful, Wolfie. I might start thinking you actually hate me.” Firefly chuckles, shaking her head as she tries to move closer to Silver Wolf, her arms wrap around her waist lazily and her cheeks press against her stomach after pressing a gentle kiss to the skin, which rewarded her with an embarrassed grunt from her girlfriend.
“You’re just being insufferable now. Maybe you do deserve my hate.” She answers playfully, smirking smugly to hide her shyness.
The warmth is welcoming, and Firefly can feel Silver Wolf changing her position to accommodate her better, while she changes the game, now that Firefly dropped the controller to cuddle Silver Wolf. Firefly knew this one, Celeste. A game that required practice from all she knows. She watched the other girl move the character with ease, and she found herself relaxing with the quiet atmosphere.
Kafka and Blade were in the kitchen, talking and making something that smelled awfully delicious, enough to make Firefly’s mouth start to water. She had their pets around them, Sam covering one of Silver Wolf’s legs while Elio was laying on top of the dog, looking at the screen as if he was watching the game on screen.
And, of course, her girlfriend. Silver Wolf’s other leg was tangled in Firefly’s hips and thighs as she laid on top of her, with her head buried in the gamer’s belly. Her fingers rubbed the skin of Silver Wolf’s waist gently under her hoodie, in a gentle caress. Her cheeks were pressed against her stomach as she had her eyes on the TV in front of them, but it didn’t take long until it moved to Silver Wolf.
She stared at her silently, watching the concentration in her every expression as Silver Wolf focused on clearing the game with all her strawberries without dying once.
She almost felt tempted to disturb her, a spark of mischief shining in her eyes. And she would have done something to annoy and distract Silver Wolf, if it weren’t for Kafka’s voice echoing from the kitchen. “Dinner is ready.”
Firefly snaps out of her trance, glancing up at Silver Wolf when her girlfriend groans at Kafka’s voice.
“Seriously? Now? Out of all times?” She grumbled, without pausing the game just yet.
“Do you want me to get your food and bring it here?” Firefly offers, glancing towards the kitchen. “Though I think Blade and Kafka could enjoy our presence at the table tonight.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bring me my food, please. I’m not anywhere near finished with this phase.” She rolls her eyes, groaning.
Firefly then moved to sit up, smiling gently at the sight of Silver Wolf eyes moving from the game to her, and then back at the TV, as if acknowledging she was moving to leave now.
Firefly gets out of the couch with care, not to harm Sam on her way out.
Once she stands still on the ground beneath her feet and starts making her way to the kitchen, Elio jumps down from the dog and follows her. Once they arrive, Elio jumps in the small counter and stares at the other people in the room, tilting his head to the side a little.
“She is not joining?” Blade is the first to speak, glancing at the couch over his shoulder.
“I guess she isn’t.” Firefly says, apologetically.
“Hm.” He glances away, moving to the dining table and sitting down, waiting for Kafka to eat.
The woman herself chuckles at his behavior. “So sensitive, isn’t he? Looks like a whiny kid that didn’t get his treat whenever Silver Wolf isn’t around.”
Firefly gives her a weak smile. “Silver Wolf doesn’t mean to upset him. She would sit at the table if she knew he reacts like this every time. But I don’t think Blade would like having her to join out of pity...” She has no clue, honestly. Sometimes, that man acts as if he is so shady, when in reality he is very see-through. It was kind of amusing.
“We know that, darling, don’t worry about it.” Kafka shakes her head, smiling gently to the sight of Silver Wolf, far too entertained in her games to notice the people staring at her. “It’s fine. We’re glad she won’t be eating by herself, at least.” Her eyes met the soft magenta orbs that looked at her with some interest.
“I will make sure of that.” Firefly answers, with a nod.
Kafka doesn’t say anything else, joining Blade at the table.
Firefly watches her leave, and soon she remembers what she was supposed to do there in the first place. She gets two plates, setting food in each. She avoided getting the vegetables Silver Wolf didn’t like, but whatever she was neutral about, she added, trying to make her meal colorful enough for her taste.
Silver Wolf was a picky eater for specific things, since all she is used to eating are instant noodles and snacks, and she refused a lot of food because “they had a weird texture”. Firefly would sigh every time and Blade would cook something else for Silver Wolf to eat.
It was their routine now, and she had found fondness in the way Silver Wolf’s unhealthy habits were slowly getting better with some help and incentive from them.
After getting the two plates with a decent amount of food, she returned back to the couch, with Elio tagging along. The cat jumped on top of the dog, who huffed in answer, but made no major effort to remove the new weight on his belly.
Firefly had to settle herself with care again, to avoid accidentally hurting or bothering Sam in the process. It’s not hard, and she soon sits by Silver Wolf’s side, holding her plate while she watches the other girl pause her game after she is safe. She grabs the food from Firefly and stares at it for a while, as if judging the contents.
“You’re welcome.” Firefly jabs at her playfully, with no actual annoyance behind her tone.
“Thanks.” Silver Wolf chuckles, smiling as she takes a bite from the food, her eyes moving to Firefly then. “Kafka and Bladie are glued by the hip. That’s literally insane.” She says while glancing at the dining table, watching the two grown up talk quietly and eat their food.
“It’s not like we can really talk about them, though.” She hums thoughtfully, and Silver Wolf seems to acknowledge where she is coming from.
“But we’re not like that. I mean, sure, we are close, but that’s to be expected from two people in a relationship, no? They look like they’ve been married for fifty years and now they’re an old couple that are enjoying their retirement together.” She huffs, shaking her head.
“Jealous?” Firefly pokes at her, raising her eyebrows.
“Why would I be? I wouldn’t survive that much closeness. I need my personal space or else I’ll go insane.” She looks back at her food, and Firefly chuckles quietly.
Her eyes dart over to the other couple, her eyes studying them silently as she eats her own food. Personally, Firefly thought that it was quite adorable. To be so attached to someone and so used to their presence that it has become a habit to do things together. Secretly, she hoped that would happen with Silver Wolf and her too. In a way that wouldn’t overwhelm her girlfriend, of course.
“Being physically affectionate more often wouldn’t kill you.” Firefly says, poking at her, and when the gamer opens her mouth to speak, Firefly adds. “It would make me happy.”
The girl falls silent, her eyes scanning Firefly with reluctance.
“You’re so needy.” Silver Wolf huffs, rolling her eyes, but her expression was softer now.
“It’s not my fault my girlfriend makes me beg for her attention.” She shrugs.
An offended gasp leaves Silver Wolf’s mouth. “Wh- I don’t make you beg for my attention!” She frowns, pouting. “I had tried for a while, but you never noticed anyway.”
“Hey!” Firefly smacks her shoulder, and the other girl chuckles, her hand caressing the spot she was hit.
“That hurts, you know? Your hands are heavy!”
“You don’t seem to complain when they are hitting-”
“Shush.” The girl cuts her, waving her hand dismissively, though Firefly knew it was an act to hide her embarrassment. “Do you have to make everything about that? We are grown ups. We should be able to have a mature conversation.”
Firefly snorts with fun, shaking her head. “Right. Grown ups.” She leans over Silver Wolf, playing with a strand of hair, curling it on her finger while she whispers in her ear. “Then why don’t we solve this matter like adults?”
-
“You’re cheating!” Firefly groans when another snowball hits her face, making her feel a little annoyed that Firefly was losing this battle.
“Sore loser!” Silver Wolf says, as she gets another snowball ready.
She was more effective at a close range, but Silver Wolf seemed to know that, and on top of that, she had a great aim, which didn’t help Firefly at all. She was shivering with how many snowballs she had been hit by at this point.
She can’t blame Silver Wolf for wanting to make sure she had the upper hand. And Silver Wolf can’t blame her for wanting to turn the table.
When the other snowball hits her coat, Firefly starts to run after Silver Wolf. The other girl notices the approach and soon starts running too.
“Come back here!” Firefly laughs, watching the distance between them gradually grow shorter.
Silver Wolf quickly started to pant after a minute running in snow, her movements slowing down until Firefly jumps on her, gaining a yelp from Silver Wolf before they hit the soft snow in a quiet thud.
The girl grunts, barely opening her eyes before a snowball smacks her face—cold and powdery against her nose, cheeks, and shut lips, pressed into a firm line to avoid getting a mouthful of snow.
“Caught.” Firefly says smugly.
“Tsk.” The girl shakes her head, brushing the snow off while opening her eyes to stare up at her captor.
Firefly chuckles at the way Silver Wolf clicks her tongue to express her displeasure with the situation, so her fingers gently wipe away any remains of snow from her face, with an easy laugh.
The gamer stays there, her eyes studying the girl on top of her with quietness, her fingers tracing small, tender caresses on her waist almost as an instinct. Their eyes meet for a second and Firefly offers her girlfriend a gentle smile, just a second before she leans in to press a kiss on the defeated girl’s cheeks.
Not satisfied, though, Firefly pressed another kiss in the corner of her mouth, and finally, moved to the main target. Silver Wolf’s eyes flutter shut as her hand wraps around her girlfriend’s back, gently pulling her closer. Her initial annoyance melting away at the feeling of her soft lips moving with hers. Firefly’s fingers trace Silver Wolf’s flushed cheeks before hooking the back of her neck, drawing a small, breathless smile from the girl beneath her. A soft pink blush creeps up to Silver Wolf’s ears—whether from the kiss or the winter chill, even she isn’t sure.
It’s not a desperate embrace, just a quiet moment of warmth between them; a small addition to the tenderness of their playful snow fight.
Firefly is the first to break the kiss, and she has the pleasure of seeing Silver Wolf lean up to chase her lips as soon as she opens her eyes, before the girl falls back against the snow again with a defeated sigh.
Firefly chuckles quietly from the scene, pinching her cheeks. Silver Wolf’s eyes narrow in another wave of annoyance.
“We should get inside. I’m freezing.” Firefly sighs, moving from her hips to get up. She cleans the snow from her body that falls straight on Silver Wolf.
“Are you being for real right now?” She scoffs, kicking Firefly away playfully, gaining a laugh from the girl. She gets up and gives a few jumps so the snow can fall from her quickly.
“It’s just a little bit of snow. You can handle it.” She says with humor, shrugging for a second before offering her hand to Silver Wolf.
Silver Wolf huffs, but her annoyance is quickly forgotten as she grabs her hand and pulls her towards the door, both of them hurrying on their steps because of the cold that hits them.
Firefly opens the wooden door and Silver Wolf rushes in, both of them shivering when the warmth of the house hits them as a soothing blanket being pulled to block the cold. The taller girl walks in right after and closes the door.
“Bzzzz... So cold...” Silver Wolf hugs herself for a second before taking off the coat that still had snow on its surface. “Well, but I won, so it doesn’t really matter.”
Firefly can’t help a fun snort, shaking her head as she gives her a daring look, raising her eyebrow.
“You call eating snow winning?” She chuckles shortly.
“Let’s see how smug you’ll look when I’m eating y-”
“Hey.” Blade walks in the living room.
Firefly cheeks turn red as soon as she notices the man appearing in the distance with two cups in his hands. The smoke coming from it makes Silver Wolf’s eyes widen with excitement like a little kid. It was quite endearing, if you don’t take into account the switch of personalities.
“Hey. Hot choco?” She walks towards him when she notices he isn’t walking to the door, forgetting her argument with Firefly—much to Firefly’s delight.
“Mhm. I had a feeling you two could use it when you were back.” He gives her a cup and looks up at Firefly who was still removing her own coat at the door and hanging it.
She glances at Silver Wolf for a few seconds from afar, seeing her eagerly take a sip from the cup only to make an exaggerated reaction when it burns her tongue, making Blade sigh as she abruptly takes her mouth out of the glass.
“Ow!” She hisses and pouts, her tongue retrieving back into her mouth so she can feel the slight feeling of burnt.
“It’s hot.” Blade says.
“Oh, no shit!” She grumbled annoyedly.
“You saw the smoke, you know.” Firefly chimed in, approaching them and taking her own cup, a small ‘Thank you’ leaving her mouth directed to Blade as she held it. “Should’ve imagined you could burn your tongue.” She hums, carefully taking a sip of her own hot choco-
-and burning her tongue as well.
Though, she doesn’t overreact. A poor attempt to hide it from Silver Wolf.
“Moron.” Silver Wolf snorts a laugh, smiling at the realization.
“Oh, shush!” She chuckles easily, walking towards the empty couch and taking a seat in the middle, since Silver Wolf liked to sit near the armrest.
Silver Wolf smirked and sat on her designated spot; Firefly gave her a bit of space then quickly leaned over her so they could warm up together, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. The smaller girl curled herself a bit and rested her head against her shoulder, owning a simple smile from Firefly.
Blade, who was still watching the scene, looked at them for a bit until he turned to leave.
“Wait, old man.” Silver Wolf calls out, when she notices he is leaving. “Call Kafka, we should totally watch that horrible movie Kafka recommended.”
“The one she sent in the group chat saying we should watch it and roast it?” Firefly hummed.
“Yeah, that one.”
Blade sighs, but he eventually nods. “We will be here in a second.” He says simply before going into the house, probably to Kafka’s bedroom.
“Why is he like that?” Silver Wolf whispers, frowning a bit.
“Like what?” Firefly looks at the door frame the man had just disappeared on, hearing his footsteps get muffled by the carpet and by distance.
“He acts like he is the biggest ‘idgafucker’ in the world.” She huffs, but not really annoyed, just... frustrated, maybe.
Firefly doesn’t answer right away, humming thoughtfully for a few seconds.
“Do you think so? I just think he has a very specific and unique way of showing his affection.” Firefly says with tenderness, a bit of appreciation for Blade’s somewhat funny shenanigans. “Like realizing we went out in the snow and making hot chocolate for when we were back!”
“Yeah, I guess.” She rolls her eyes but there is a hint of a smile on her expression, tugging the corner of her lips up in a subtle smile. “He is just a guy, I suppose.”
Both of them share a short giggle before they hear footsteps approaching the living room.
“How was the fight in the snow? Do we have winners?” Kafka said as soon as she spotted the two girls curled up on the couch, kind of snuggled together.
Their dog, Sam, follows closely behind Blade and Kafka, who is holding Elio in her arms.
“Firefly was a sore loser.” Silver Wolf says with fun, and Firefly quickly adds.
“I was making it fair play.” She placed a hand on her hips, closing her eyes as she justified her actions, and the hand in Silver Wolf’s waist squeezed the smaller girl for a tickle.
“Sore loser.” She did feel the ticklish feeling of the squeeze, which caused a smile to escape her.
“Am I wrong for wanting the upper hand?”
“Not my fault your aim is dog shit. Maybe you should level up your talents.”
“It’s not my fault that you’re not good in close-range fights. You have to level up your talents too.”
“You’re using my own terms against me?! Okay, now you’re stepping tooooo low-”
As the argument goes on, Kafka couldn’t help a quiet chuckle, filled with amusement as she sat down by Firefly’s side, on the other extremity of the couch as she kept her legs slightly spread. Blade gladly took his place between them, sitting on the ground, and as soon as he settled there, Kafka’s hands came to stroke his hair in a swift, gentle motion, making Blade’s posture relax.
Kafka glances at the two girls who were still engaging in the argument of who lost the snow battle while Silver Wolf turned on the TV, getting the movie ready for them to watch.
The hacker will admit, she stumbled across this world by accident. It was just a sea of data she was looking at quickly, before something caught her attention and she decided it wouldn’t hurt to take a closer look.
And, secretly, she is happy she bothered to dive into it.
Amongst confusing cosmic data that at first made no sense, she found a world where another version of her family can coexist with happiness, even if in a distant universe. May this not be their true life, but hopefully here they can find solace from pain and an easy existence, perhaps even a peaceful one, Silver Wolf hopes.
This universe, the hacker saves in a folder and locks behind a password only she knows. Not that anyone would look for it, but this was a precious thing for her, and all her precious things were saved in a place other than a regular computer screen—in her heart, where she will remember dearly the day of a life she never lived. A life that wasn’t hers, and memories that she should never have.
She takes peeks at it every now and then, relishing in the knowledge that, at least somewhere, sometime, they worked out.