"There's been a lot of downtime these past few days," Sally said as she and Fox left the clinic for a lunch break.
"The recent business was due to some jackasses purposefully poisoning street animals and any animals that were kept in a backyard," Fox sadly sighed. "The animals we couldn't get to died. I hope those bastards responsible rot in prison,"
"Anyway, let's try to lighten up the mood," Sally decided to change the subject. "Where do you want to eat for lunch? It'll be my treat,"
'We're eating together?' Well, Fox wasn't going to say no to free food. "I'm fine with any place,"
"How about Ttosikki Chicken then?" Sally suggested. "They finally reopened after being suspended,"
"They do have the best chicken in the area," Fox agreed.
They headed over to the restaurant and chatted as they stood in line. "This place is more crowded than it usually is," Sally noted.
"More people have discovered it then," Fox said. "It looks like all the tables out here are taken and I'm sure the hall is also full. We'll have to order to go,"
"Fossa?" Alain called out to him. "Hi Fossa, how are you?"
"Hey Alain," Fox greeted back. "You on your lunch break too?"
"Yes," Alain nodded and then turned to Sally. "Hello there, I'm Alain Reyes. I'm a childhood friend of Fossa's. You must be his..."
"Friend," Sally shook his hand. "I'm Sally Gale. Fossa and I work together at Singil Vet Clinic,"
"Pleasure to meet you," Alain smiled. "Fossa, would you like to come over to Kaia's parents' house for dinner? Of course Sally and Wolf are welcomed to join too,"
"Is that really alright?" Sally asked. "You just met me. I don't want to intrude,"
"It's fine," Alain nodded. "A friend of Fossa's is a friend of mine,"
"Sally, you busy tonight?" Fox questioned.
"I don't have any plans," Sally shook her head. "If you're sure I'm not intruding, I'm willing to go,"
"Then the three of us will be attending dinner at the Kwan's," Fox declared.
"Shouldn't you also ask Wolf―"
"Nope. He'll be attending even if he refuses,"
XXX
"Hey Wolf, you're coming with me to dinner at my friend's place," Fox told his brother when the latter arrived home from school. "My coworker will also be coming with us,"
"I don't want to—"
"Too bad," Fox said. "You're coming. Besides, it's free food and their cooking is much better than mine,"
"Fine," Wolf agreed. Hey, could you blame him for being easily swayed? It's free food! It's not like he'd be going to a complete stranger's house again.
"My coworker/friend from Singil Vet Clinic, Sally, is also coming over in a few hours to accompany us to dinner," Fox added. "So behave yourself,"
Wolf decided to do his homework since he had enough time to finish it before they left. He then chilled with Luna, Solis, and Stella in the living room while watching TV. Fox was in the showers when the doorbell rang so Wolf answered it.
"Hi there," Sally greeted. "You must be Wolf. I'm Sally, your brother's friend,"
Wolf stared at her silently for a few moments. "You have a crush on him, don't you?"
Sally immediately blushed a deep shade of scarlet. "Y-You're mistaken! I'm just Fossa's friend! Besides, he's already in love with someone else," Her tone when speaking the last sentence had hints of sadness, as if she was trying to hide the fact that she was feeling unrequited love towards Fox.
"Fox is in the showers," Wolf allowed her inside. "You can wait in the living room,"
"Arf!" Luna happily ran up to Sally.
"Hi Luna," Sally patted the beagle's head.
"Mrow," Solis and Stella rubbed their fur against Sally's legs.
"Hi Solis, hi Stella," Sally rubbed the kittens' furs. "You know, Wolf, Fossa told me that you only wanted to keep Luna when he first brought these three home,"
"Luna didn't want to be separated from them," Wolf shrugged. "So I kept all three of them," And he may or may not have grown fond of the two kittens too.
Fox finally finished getting ready. "Alright, let's go,"
XXX
"It's been a while, Fossa," Mom Kwan greeted them at the door. "Hello Wolf, it's nice to finally meet you," She held her hand out to Sally. "Hi there, you must be Fossa's friend that Alain mentioned,"
"I'm Sally Gale," Sally shook her hand. "Thank you for allowing me to join you and your family for dinner, Mrs. Kwan,"
"No need to be so formal, dear. Call me Aunty," Mom Kwan told her. "Come in, come in, dinner just finished cooking,"
Mom Kwan led the trio to the dining room where Dad Kwan, Kaia, Alaina, Kayden, Donald, and Ashur were. Wolf flinched upon making eye contact with Donald. Everyone sat down at the table and began to eat.
"You two are both adorable," Sally told Kayden and Ashur. "How old are you?"
"I'm eight," Kayden answered. "Uncle Ash is in high school,"
"I'm not short," Ashur said before Sally could comment on his height. "My little brother says I'm fun size, right Donald?"
"He and I are fraternal twins," Donald explained. "Ashur's fun size,"
"So," Kingsley spoke up. "What's the occasion for this family dinner?"
"I proposed to Alain," Kaia announced.
"I was wondering when you guys were going to get married," Donald said. "Congrats,"
"Yay! There's gonna be a wedding party!" Ashur clapped his hands.
"Mom and Dad said I get to be the ring bearer," Kayden added.
"Congratulations, Kaia, Alain," Fox smiled, although deep down he was hurt.
After dinner, Ashur and Kayden kidnapped Wolf to play with them while everyone else continued to talk. Ashur apparently didn't immediately remember the bag thief incident. Wolf didn't want to play with them, but a glare from Donald and Kingsley forced him to comply.
Eventually, Fox had to excuse himself to go outside for a breath of fresh air. Sally had noticed his mood and followed after him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Fox nodded.
"I noticed your expression change slightly when Kaia said she and Alain were getting married," Sally said. "Was Kaia the one you were in love with?"
"Yeah," Fox nodded once more. "The thing is...I knew she loved Alain. She chose him instead of me. No matter how often I flirted or asked her out, she still stayed loyal to him. Hell, they even have a child together. Of course they'd get married eventually,"
"But you're still sad," Sally sat down by his side.
"Yeah," Fox sighed. "I guess I finally need to let my unrequited love for Kaia go. She'll never choose me over Alain. Even if Alain ever died, she wouldn't date me. She only sees me as a friend,"
"It's okay to be sad," Sally patted his back. "Love can be painful sometimes. You won't be able to get over her immediately. It'll take time. As your friend, I'll be there if you ever need someone to help you," 'It doesn't matter if you and I will never end up together, just like how you and Kaia won't end up together. I'm fine with just being your friend. I'll help you if you ever need a hand or a shoulder to cry on,'
"Thanks, Sally," Fox said. "You're a good friend," He checked the time on his phone. "It's getting late. Why don't I drop you off at your house?"
"Alright," Sally agreed.
Alain, Donald, Kingsley, Mom Kwan, and Dad Kwan watch as the two left together in Fox's car. "I ship them," Alain said.
Kaia, who had briefly left the room to check up on the kids, returned. "Did Fossa and Sally leave?"
"Yes," Dad Kwan told her. "Those two would make a good couple, don't you think?"
"They left Wolf behind,"
The room became filled with Donald's laughter.
XXX
"Uncle Donald sounds like he's having fun," Kayden, who was playing the role of the Little Red Riding Hood, said. "He's been laughing for ten minutes straight,"
"Uh...Chibi Fox?" Ashur, who was the Huntsman, stared out the window. "Fox and Sally went bye-bye,"
"They forgot me," Wolf, who had been forced into a Big Bad Wolf costume, sighed and his costume's ears drooped. "I bet that's the reason why Donald's laughing his ass off. Well, since they already left, I'll head home too,"
"But you don't have a car," Kayden brought up.
"I have legs," Wolf pointed out. "I'm walking,"
Alain popped his head into the room. "I'm having Donald drive you home,"
XXX
It was an awkward drive. Donald sat in the driver's seat and Kingsley sat in the front passenger seat, having decided to spend the night at Donald's house. Ashur sat next to Wolf in the backseat and was happily retelling the events of their playtime to the vampire and the vampire's boyfriend.
They pulled up in front of the Keum House and Wolf scrambled to get out. As they drove away, Wolf stormed into his house. "Wow, Fox, what a great brother you are. You left—why are you giving me a funny look?"
"Why are you wearing a wolf onesie?"
Wolf forgot to change out of the Big Bad Wolf costume. Donald definitely has photos.