“Well, many of my advisers say fatherhood suits me.” Wolf smiled, his voice quiet, “They’re not wrong.”
He looked at Zelda proudly.
“This one, however, will be my last.” He said, “I’ve fathered a lot of children in my time on this plane of existence, Red… I’ve had bastards running around for years. In the culture I was raised in, it’s not unusual to have a lot of children. Hell, you’re not considered a man until you’ve fathered a bastard. However… I’m happy now that I’ve had Zelda here… She will be my heir.”
He looked over at Red(F). He’d changed considerably since they last saw each other. Some of his scars had faded slightly, except the one close to his left eye. His eyes, which had once had some brightness to them, were dark, weary from years of war. His unruly hair, currently done up in a small ponytail, was now flecked with gray.
Closing his eyes, and sighing, he went and placed Zelda gently into a cot, kissing her forehead. Walking back to the seat, he sat back down.
“A lot has happened.” He said, “A lot of things I regret… a lot of things I don’t.”
Tears formed in his eyes. Carefully, he hugged her.
“I am so… so … sorry…” He said tearfully, his shame taking over, “For everything that I have caused you… for everything I caused the GDI… I am so… so… sorry…”
Red(F) returned the hug, her tone soft. “Don’t blame yourself too hard. Some of that was our fault too.”
The Admiral patted Wolf’s back. She too held some guilt over indirectly causing the rise of the Scorpion’s Hand.
“I’m sorry too.”
Pulling away after a moment, he regained his composure, sniffing a bit.
“Yuki’s been trying to console you… but out of everyone… I really missed you.” He said to her, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “I just… I kept messing shit up…”
“Oi, you two.” Yuki said, beginning to undo her clothes, grabbing the two of them, “Bed time.”
Red(F) gently eased Yuki’s hand away with her superior strength. “Sorry, Yuki dear, but I’ve got stuff that needs doing. I do wanna bed you again, but not right now, alright?”
She knew the succubus wanted her right then and now, she could practically feel Yuki’s burning lust, but even her own urges had to be put aside.
Red(F) turned to Wolf. “Just know that I’m not mad at you anymore, Wolfie. We’ve both got things to make up for.”
Yuki pouted at that.
“Okay…” She said sadly. Wolf looked to Red(F), and nodded. Going over, he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
“Don’t keep Yuki waiting too long.” He said when he pulled away.
Red(F) smiled and gave a nod as she left. There were a number of things she had to see to.
But she didn’t forget about Yuki’s needs. Her tasks would require fairly little time, so the earliest estimate was a few hours away.
Plenty of time to prepare, and make Yuki’s night a very fun and wonderful one.
Wolf, on the other hand, took Yuki into his arms. He wasn’t quite ready to pleasure his wife himself, but he was going to give her something he hadn’t been able to for some time: a cuddle.
“C’mere you.” Wolf said, picking Yuki up bridal fashion, and kissing her.
On her part, Red(F) had Blinked herself up to her male self’s office, proceeding to seat herself beside him as a remote-projection assembly of his Admiralty was underway.
Fleet Admiral Green was the first to speak up after her revelation of Yellow’s whereabouts, his tone grave and severe. “Terra Ancora? Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
The leader of the now greatly reduced Second Fleet sighed. “So why aren’t we dispatching even a single ship to retrieve her? Lumeri is performing her duty excellently, but in this trying time, we need Yellow back with us more than ever.”
“There are still other parts to this matter,” Lumeri herself chimed in. “Yellow’s parting words to me seemed to convey her eventual return. I stand by my belief that a search and recovery effort will not be necessary. Moreover, she specifically conveyed through Miss Himekawa that she did not want us to go after her. If nothing else, we would do well to heed her request.”
Platinum sat forward, directing her words at Green. “So even now you still stand by duty before all else? We were spared destruction by Bellatrix for a reason, Green. And that is to learn from this and become better guardians. I’m starting to think you haven’t.”
Red(M) gestured for silence. “Let it not be forgotten that we rightly bear the blame for much that has happened. No amount of kind words and acts of charity can bring back the dead. Our only hope is that we will all indeed learn from this. If or when Yellow returns to us, do we proceed with the motion of handing over the role of Commanding Fleet Admiral to her?”
In the mindscape running parallel to this assembly, Red(M) put forth the vote. As was usual for this motion, his own position and Lumeri’s remained ‘abstain’.
Steadily, the other Fleet Admirals put in their votes. Unsurprisingly, most of them were ‘yes’, with only Fleet Admirals Silver and Pearl voting ‘no’.
The results were collated and displayed. Red(F) eyed the rest, Lumeri in particular. “Then all that’s left is to see if Yellow accepts the proposition. Got a feeling we’ll all be disappointed.”
Initiative Archival Network 