Fox liked being a mercenary, as there was a certain freedom to be had in traveling the starry void of space doing work that most people either found too dangerous or too insane to do. However, that didn't mean that anything about this lifestyle was as glitz and glam as Corneria media often played it out to be. Seriously, between fighting off space pirates, body snatching A.I.s, and brain sucking insects, you had to had a lot of resolve to keep doing this line of work, yet the most frustrating aspect out of everything one often had to deal with in this line of work was negotiating with employers. Especially government officials who thought that medals and plaques were enough to both compensate him for his work and keep him on their payroll.

Fox was a patient Cornerian, having been taught by Peppy how not to lose his cool and say something that could possible destroy the team's reputation, but if there was one thing that often got underneath his fur, it was people who tried to stiff him and his crew on their well deserved pay. Pepper never did this, and thus he forever had Star Fox's allegiance. Everyone beneath him on the other paw...not so much.

Just recently the snobs had tried to rope him into taking less pay for surveying a dead planet that had supposedly been used as a weapon's base for some of Andross' more unpleasant pieces of technology. Recovering some of the equipment and the transporting it back for documentation had been no problem, seeing as there was no one left in charge of protecting the equipment, though the A.I.s designed to protect the base had been something of a pain for Slippy and R.O.B. to try and bypass. Because of this, it had been a simple enough mission to undertake, yet once they returned Corneria's officials felt like he and his team should hand over the technology and take less of a payout because they were 'proud members of Corneria' who should be 'glad to hand over such dangerous technology to those better suited to safeguarding it'.

Fox had politely told the three piece suit wearing alligator who spoke those words to fuck off. A shock to everyone save Falco who had tried hide his amusement behind a fit of coughing.

'My team doesn't work for free.' Fox had said in a tone that reminded Peppy so much of James.

Least to say that once the checks had been cut, for the full amount that had been discussed, McCloud had politely told the officials that unless it was a matter of life and death for Coneria's people to not call him or his people again. The vulpine had left the towering skyscraper with his team in such a black mood that even the normally overly jovial Katt had been afraid to try and speak to him.

Returning home after depositing the checks into the credit union Fox was not surprised to find Wolf waiting for him, the older man had taken to coming into the apartment whenever he was on the planet so often that the vulpine didn't even think to question it anymore. Instead, Fox pulled himself out of the clothes he had on, marched over to his sofa, and then carelessly face planted himself onto the cushions.

"Long day?" Wolf asked cheekily as turned in his seat at the living room table, his solitaire game forgotten.

Fox made a muffled comment that sounded suspiciously like 'fuck you' but Wolf couldn't be sure.

"I take it that they tried to shortchange you?" Fox pulled his muzzle up from the cushions of his couch to snarl at the older man. "Told you that you should have sold what you found on the black market." Wolf snickered while receiving a one fingered gesture.

Watching as the muscular lupine picked himself up from the table to make his way over, Fox didn't think to complain when the larger man kicked off his combat boots and then crawled over his back. A pleased murr escape from out of the Star Fox leader's muzzle when the lupine began to roll his palms against his backside.

"Thanks." Fox groaned, tail wagging freely as Wolf literally pushed the stress of the day out from his body.

"Of course. I don't like seeing you tense. Well, not unless I'm the one doing the tensing." Wolf joked to which McCloud merely rolled his eyes.

"What do you want for dinner?" Fox asked, ignoring the obvious unsaid statement.

"I'm feeling fancy today, so how about pasta?" the lupine answered.

"Sound good, but I'm in no mood to cook."

"Good, because your cooking is terrible." Fox turned his head to the side to snarl at the other man. "What? It's true." McCloud was two seconds away from spitting out a rather nasty retort but before he could form the words Wolf cut in with, 'Let's go for a ride. I know a nice restaurant just outside the city limits that makes the best spaghetti alla puttanesca." Fox narrowed his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll pay this time." Wolf snickered, remembering the last time they had been out.

Characters: (c) Nintendo

Art: http://www.furaffinity.net/user/beezlebumawoken/