Richard sipped the drink in front of him. He felt dumb and played with. Whoever this Red Wolf was, he was really a pain in the arse. They had looked everywhere they could. City database, direct observation, police help, yet this Red Wolf was nowhere to be seen. He knew that it was not going to be easy, but he couldn't help but feel like he'd been played with.

The hyena sighed and leant back on the seat. He was in a secluded corner of a restaurant just near the restrooms, so he was free to do his work there. He could see the entire room from here while remaining indistinguishable from the other customers. Also, the food here was great.

Scratching his cheek, he knew he was being petty.

Red Wolf's file was in front of him, unmarked to avoid attention. Inside was still the same document they had since this operation started. Nothing had been added. He knew he should be patient—Signora Lucia sure was—but dammit.

“Boss, this is what I told you to try!" Shinori and Oliver came to the table carrying a tray of food. They had been beaming since they came here. Although they were his subordinates, Richard felt like they were his brothers. They both were orphans, so he had taken the unofficial role of big brother ever since they joined the operation. Besides, they were 19, younger than him.

Although sometimes he couldn't help but whack their heads.

“Hate to say this but Shinori is right." Oliver said as he sat down. “Shit's great."

“See? Even Oliver agrees! Try this, boss!"

“Really though, boss, you said you came here often but you've never had this?"

The hyena chuckled and put the folder aside, then put a small bag on top of it. “Sure. Give me mine."

Shinori, a dark grey and white Akita, gave him his burger before taking his own spaghetti. Oliver, an ibex, took his own burger and began unwrapping it. Richard wasn't one to talk much, but he still smiled and nodded as the two in front of him talked. Shinori was generally a cheerful person, Oliver meanwhile was more similar to him, quiet and observant.

Unwrapping the burger, he began to eat it rather unenthusiastically. Truthfully, he wasn't really a fan of burgers, so he rarely had one. He preferred doves, especially the wings. It had the perfect amount of meat and bones.

He only gave a mrf when Shinori joked that he ate chicken with bones. Oliver explained that it was a normal thing with hyenas. He just ate his burger in peace, amusedly watching them debating whether that was the case or not.

“Okay, listen." He decided to join, putting the empty paper package down. “That's true, I eat all of it."

Shinori beamed. “I told you!"

“I wasn't even denying you!"

He let out a chuckle. “Funny you didn't know. But it's not like it's just hyenas." He reached for his spaghetti. “If you fry chicken till it's dry, the bones actually turn quite crunchy. Not for the drumsticks, though."

“I mean, drumsticks only got one bone and that's a big one."

“Don't you nibble 'em, Shinori?"

“Fuck you, I don't nibble bones!"

A few minutes later, with the plates empty, Richard let out a content sigh as he leant back on the seat. He had to admit, the burger tasted great. It seemed like he had a new menu the next time he ate here. He gulped his soda, coughing a little.

Taking his wallet out, he took some money and put in on the table. “Here, go pay. Spend the rest on snacks."

Oliver nodded at him, then went out from the seat. He nudged Shinori who looked like he wanted to nap and beckoned the Akita to follow him. Shinori followed him unenthusiastically.

With them away, the hyena stretched his arms and legs and huffed, feeling a little better. He looked out the glass wall; winter was coming. Signore Octo hadn't come to the office yet, so he couldn't report anything.

Something rustled, making him turn his ear and steal a quick glance. There was a bison wearing a thick coat with only one horn walking away from their table. That wasn't weird since their table was close to the restrooms. However, he recognised the way that bison's tail waved away.

“Hey!" He said rather loudly.

The bison didn't answer. He didn't even seem to hear him. The bison kept walking away towards the exit. His steps were easy, an indication that he wasn't trying to get away.

Yet, when he was about to exit the restaurant, he gave a passing glance to the hyena, then walked away.

Richard knew that glance. “Rodrigo?"

Was that… no… impossible.

Rodrigo was dead. He was killed that day. There was no way that was Rodrigo. Richard shook his head. That… that was just his imagination, that was all. Maybe because the burger was so good.

He was about to stand up and get to Oliver or Shinori to get him more drinks when he noticed something. On the table was another file. The hyena furrowed his brows in confusion. He looked around; no one seemed to notice it. Maybe that bison put it here?

It looked innocent, just a plain-coloured, unnamed file. He took it and inspected it. There was nothing suspicious about it.

Eh, probably someone just misplaced it.

He sat back down again and leant on the seat. Maybe a little peek wouldn't hurt. Besides, it could help him know who was the owner, if said owner was still here at all. Richard opened the folder, then his tail shot out in surprise. He pulled it closer to his eyes and blinked, unable to believe his eyes.

What...

Name: Thomas Luis Purnama “Red Wolf"

Species: Wolf – Canis lupus lupus

Fur colour: Grey

H/W/A: 175 cm/79 kg/24 y.o.

Occupation: Office worker

Address: …

There were more lines under it with a photo next to the basic info. The information in it was alarming. However, what surprised him the most were the two lines at the top.

…Purnama “Red Wolf"

Fur colour: Grey

No, this had got to be a joke. There was no way this guy was the Red Wolf. He even looked innocent in the photo! But the information provided under it was decidedly… believable. What shook him the most was the depiction of the original Operation Red Wolf was so detailed, so fucking detailed, as if the writer had been there.

He had to give this to Signora Lucia and Signore Octo as soon as possible. Joke or not, this was an extremely important lead.

Octo looked at the room, at Kevin, at the cow on the bed who was looking back at him annoyedly. His smile faltered, replaced by confusion. Kevin's smell up in the air was mixed with the cow's smell in a way that suggested that they were being too close. Even more, the fact that the wolf was shirtless with dishevelled fur was all the more confusing.

Still, maybe Kevin was just meeting an old friend. Maybe they were just talking, and the cow was helping him to brush his fluff. Maybe they weren't doing what he thought they were going to do. Maybe Kevin's visible anxiousness right now was just because he caught him at the wrong time. “Sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asked the wolf, trying to remain positive. He didn't want to suspect the worst.

Kevin chuckled nervously and scratched his muzzle. “Ah, uh... no, nothing. Er, y-you didn't say you were coming."

Octo forced himself to smile. “I wanted to make a surprise. Apparently, Little Snow had a new cake on the menu, so I wanted us to try." He opened the box and showed the cake to the wolf. “Sorry if I came at the wrong time, though. What were you doing, anyway?"

“N-Nothing, just... just brushing, that's all." The wolf said again, still with a nervous smile.

Octo still wanted to stay positive, but the way Kevin's tail tucked between his legs made him think of the worst. He went into the room and put the box of cake on the coffee table, staring at the cow on the bed in the background while pretending to look at the box.

Then, he noticed the erection in the cow's pants.

His mind leapt to the worst possible conclusion, but he still wanted to give the wolf a chance to explain. Taking a few steps back, he turned to the wolf and asked him, tone firm. “What are you two doing?"

“We weren't doing anything!"

His tail waved sharply. “You said you were brushing?"

“Y-yeah, just brushing!" Kevin's ears went down.

Octo narrowed his eyes. The wolf lied. He stared at the other, tail waving very gently to show that he was testing the wolf in case his narrowed eyes weren't enough.

Kevin caved in. “Uh, yeah, um…"

He wanted to turn to the cow, but the cow already beat him to it. “Hey, sorry dude, but does this really need to be done now? We're kinda in the middle of something here.

Kevin turned to the cow with his eyes wide. Octo held back a growl. “And what is that something?"

The cow continued almost carefreely. “Come on, it's really clear from the situation. I'm fucking hard already, can't wait to fuck." Then, he looked like he caught something on Kevin's face. “Oh… uh… well…" He trailed off.

Staring intensely at the cow, Octo kept his voice even. “You. Out. Now."

“Now wait a minute—"

“O-Octo, wait—"

He repeated, slower than before. “Out. Now."

Giving a sigh, the cow sat up and put his clothes back on.

Forced to wait as the cow did that, Octo glared intensely at Kevin. Kevin was in his nature a flirty and wild person. Like how he kept flirting with Vilkas during the summer holiday, it was really a regular thing. However, he expected the red wolf to learn some kind of restraint. While he allowed him to flirt with Vilkas because they had known each other for longer than him, he couldn't hold back the jealousy. He was Kevin's boyfriend, not Vilkas.

Yet, what the cow said…

As soon as the cow exited the room, the dam inside him broke. The list of small things that irked him about Kevin was already long enough. Now, the red wolf was… dropping this bomb even though they had just recently made up. “What the fucking hell?!"

“I wasn't doing anything with him, Oct!" Kevin defended, and from the wave of his tail, Octo could tell that he was getting desperate.

“Then what the fuck did that cow said?!"

The wolf shouted, “I fucking know that but there's nothing between us!"

“If there's nothing between you then why the hell did that cow said that and you're so fucking nervous right now?!" he shouted back, “And you said you love me!"

Kevin laughed sarcastically. “Come on, lots of shit come out of our mouths."

That held him back for a second, almost destroying any self-control he had. “Do you really expect me not to take you seriously?!"

“Maybe you are the one who takes things too seriously!"

Octo hissed at him, extending his claws. Kevin growled back at him and took a stance, readying his own claws. He was so close to punching that face…

However, he backed down. He didn't want this to be a repeat of last year. He took a deep sigh, claws still extended. “Tell me." He said softly, holding the anger back. “Tell me why you did it."

“Why do you want to kn—"

“Just fucking tell me why did you do it!" He finally roared, staring at the wolf with intense eyes and fangs on display.

Kevin stared back at him, a bit surprised. Maybe he didn't expect him to roar at him. The wolf then looked away and clicked his tongue, crossing his arms. For a while, he looked rather vulnerable. “I fucking need the money, Oct! You don't know what it feels to live on 800 euros a month!"

The panther took a step forward, his disappointment increasing. “I told you I can help! Just tell me and I'll do! How much do you want, huh?! Two thousand?! Five thousand?!"

“Don't you fuckin' slap me with tha—"

“Then why didn't you say anything?! I don't want to show off but I can he—"

“I don't want to be a fucking burden to you!"

They breathed heavily. Octo stared at Kevin, this time he was the one surprised. There was a mix of emotions on the wolf's face, anger, disappointment, sadness, insecurity. The wolf looked so helpless as if he had just discovered his biggest, most well-kept secret. Kevin then looked away, his arms falling limp next to his sides. “I… I don't want to use you. Do you know that… it's not easy for me to follow you?" The wolf gripped his head. “There's… some kind of standard I have to follow, and it's stressing me out." He gave a distressed whine. “I have fuck-all to think and I have fuck-all to take care of fuck-all."

The anger slowly ebbed away. The panther could only look at the wolf as his façade slowly fell. Those broad shoulders were slumped, his fur clamped close to his body and his ears flat. “K-Kevin—"

Kevin ran his hands through his hair, sighing heavily. “Let's… let's just break up."

Unprepared, he looked at the wolf's eyes in surprise. Did… did he just tell him what he thought he did?! Was all he'd done for the wolf for nothing?! Why was Kevin being so unlike the cocky wolf he'd known?! Did he… did he fail to protect him?

Octo looked away as realisation slowly came into view. Kevin now looked very vulnerable, exposed. He looked like he was tired of keeping up with him, like Kevin had been following his steps and now had fallen behind. His eyes caught sight of the wolf's phone on the table and he retracted his claws. Maybe their wealth disparity had been an obstacle strong enough for Kevin.

How stupid and selfish of him not to think that Kevin might have problems with that. Of course, being boyfriend with someone with a name as big as him came with strings attached, and the wolf didn't expect to be entangled in them. Kevin had his own problems and Octo had been ignoring them all this time.

He let out another sigh and said with a heavy heart, “Yeah… let's break up…" He looked at the wolf who was on the edge of sobbing. “I'm… I'm sorry, Kev."

Kevin did not answer right away, but then he cracked a sob and said, “Go away…"

Hearing the sob, Octo couldn't hold back his own cry. The panther turned around to hide his own tears, then left the room.

He didn't really notice the trip back home. His mind was too busy toning his emotions down. All he remembered doing was getting onto the metro, getting off the metro, walking a bit home, then getting inside his flat. He had been taught to never show his emotions in public, which was why when he got home, he closed the door, roared, and hit the wall in front of him.

Fuck it! Fuck him! Fuck everything!

He hit the wall again. His hand felt numb. He hit the wall again. The wall cracked. The clock on top of it wobbled. He hit the wall again, this time making a hole in it and the clock fell onto the floor.

His fingers were bloody, but he didn't care. Maybe he got a few cuts there, but he didn't pay any attention. The panther gripped his head, tears coming down his cheeks. He put his head against the wall, trying to hold back his cries. He sobbed into his arms. The image of Kevin smiling softly at him appeared in his mind, then he roared again and cried.

What did he do wrong? He knew the answer, but he couldn't hold the question back. What did he do wrong?

He had been lenient on the wolf. He had allowed him to just be himself. Honestly, that was the thing that made him cute; his charm, his cocky attitude, his sweet side that he rarely showed to other people. Octo never told him off for anything, he only wanted to treat him and be treated like a normal boyfriend would.

However, he knew that he too was wrong. He didn't pay the wolf's need any attention. He never stepped in. Kevin wasn't someone who looked for help like Max. Kevin was stubborn, and Octo only followed his stubbornness just because it made him even more attractive.

He should've intervened. He should've told him how he felt. He should've paid him more attention.

But the wolf wasn't all in the clear either. He never told him. He never asked for help. He always covered his problems up. He always acted like everything was fine.

But didn't Octo also do all the things that Kevin did? He never told him. He never asked for help. He always covered his problems up. He always acted like everything was fine.

They… never trusted each other.

His cries softened. Kevin was not his first love, but he felt like his heart had been torn apart. The red wolf… despite all the bad things about him, Octo genuinely cared for him. Even despite his bad traits, despite the looming danger that his mafia group might be looking for him, despite the fact that they had been fucking before, he… he genuinely… genuinely… loved him…

Was this really love? Were they too blind for that? Was he really too blinded by the wolf to see that they still had problems? Was he really too blinded to see that they might be incompatible, that the wealth disparity and social class between them might be an obstacle?

Had he really been ignoring the wolf so much till he had to sell himself just to stay afloat?

His cries died down, turning into soft sobs. He did not know what went wrong and who did wrong. What could he do? Could they make up? Did he even want them to make up?

He did not know. He was not sure. Right now, he felt very vulnerable, useless. All his efforts to protect the wolf were for nothing. How could he protect Kevin if Kevin himself couldn't even trust him?

Sitting on the floor, Octo wiped his face. His shirt was wet from the tears and some drops of blood. He looked at his bloody hand. There were some cuts there, the fur dirty from dust and blood. It hurt, but it felt numb.

His heart hurt, but it felt numb. He couldn't do anything.

His sobs slowly faded out, leaving him sitting on the floor, staring at the floor. This was their fault. No one was purely innocent. They were over. Kevin was now an ex. Slowly, he smiled bitterly, remembering all the things they did together. They were now happy memories. He would keep them and cherish them as things that happened when they were still a thing.

For now, he could only take a deep sigh and close his eyes, feeling defeated.

He would like to wallow in misery once in a while.