Apparently, taverns were the same, no matter what continent you were on. Scarlet smiled as she and Wolf stepped out of the heat of the New Phoenix afternoon and into the coolness of the bar's interior. The greasy air, outdated mishmash of battered booths and tables, and the distinctive sticky floors of a cheap dive bar reminded her of the Rieux back home in France, despite being squarely planted in the American Republic. There was a pang of homesickness in her gut at that thought. It had been just over a year since the Rampion left Luna, and though she had loved getting to be a part of stopping the plague through their antidote distribution work…she was ready to be home.
It wouldn't be long until she would be. Scarlet leaned further into Wolf's side as they sauntered up to the bar stretching along the back of the tavern, glancing up to catch a glimpse of his lupine profile. Until they would be. Only one more stop in the southwestern region of the Republic before their route was over and Thorne had promised to fly them home.
"You alright?" Wolf's arm curled around her shoulders and she felt his nose nudging softly at her hair. She chuckled and leaned into the touch, propping her elbows on the cold surface of the bar while they waited for the bartender to finish with the patrons at its opposite end.
"Fine. Just a little overheated. I'm going to be glad when we finish the deliveries here."
There was a snort. "You're going to be glad? Try working in this heat with fur."
Scarlet snorted, too, and shoved his shoulder playfully, drawing a low, rumbly chuckle from Wolf. The sound echoed awkwardly off the cheap furniture, highlighting the sudden silence in the bar. The normal sounds of forks scratching on plates and glasses clinking on tabletops, of chattering patrons and hissing grease, had all ceased. Both Scarlet and Wolf glanced up, noticing for the first time since they entered that their side of the restaurant had emptied swiftly, the few people that had occupied it shifting uneasily to the far end. They were there now, staring—no, glaring—at the couple. The bartender cleared his throat and shoved away from the counter he had been leaning on to saunter their way, a taunt smile pulling at his lips.
"Ma'am…sir." The second word was ground out through clenched teeth. "What can I get for you?"
"You really gonna serve one of them here, Craig? I thought this was a respectable dive." A burly, dark-haired man at the other end of the bar hollered, drawing guffaws and jeers from the crowd while the bartender flinched, casting a furtive, apologetic glance their way. Wolf frowned, but didn't comment.
Scarlet stared for a full thirty seconds, the corners of her lips tugging down into a progressively fiercer scowl. It wasn't the first time they'd run into this, and, in the beginning, it had been understandable. People were hurt, people were scared…people were still adapting to a rapidly shifting world. But that had been a year ago, before immigration between Earth and Luna had opened up, leading to a massive influx of Lunars—everything from shells to wolf soldiers—had descended upon Earth. What had been irritating, but expected then was no longer acceptable.
"Excuse me?" Scarlet swiveled to face to face the huddled crowd squarely, planting her hands on her hips and glowering.
"You heard me." The man smiled broadly, menacingly, and shoved his chair back to saunter closer. "Your friend there? He needs to leave." That warranted a few drunken hoots of approval and scattered applause.
"In fact, if he doesn't leave…we'll make him leave. Ain't that right, boys?" The noise level grew at that, fervent in its approval. Scarlet's hands balled into fists, rage boiling up in the pit of her stomach. She opened her mouth to retort, but found herself drowned out by the sound of chairs scraping on tile and heavy footfalls as the group rose to bunch up behind its ringleader. Wolf rested a hand on her shoulder and jerked his head in the direction of the door, glancing uneasily between her face and the crowd. He'd done his best to avoid confrontations since they had left Luna, partially because they did nothing to help keep his instincts at bay…and partially because there was no contest between him and anyone short of another hybrid. Either way, he'd sooner let himself be run out of the place than engage in a brawl that likely would've lasted no more than two seconds.
But Scarlet wasn't letting this go. Maintaining a nonviolent reputation was one thing, but sooner or later, you had to stop caving.
She glanced at the bar next to her with the oddest sense of déjà vu, and suddenly, before she really had time to think it through, she was gripping it with both hands and hoisting herself up onto it. Wolf stared for a moment, then bit his lip to keep from grinning and leaned back to watch. It was like the day they first met, and now, as then, Scarlet needed no help in speech-making.
"You're disgraceful, you know that?" She hissed, pacing back and forth on the narrow countertop. "This man is a hero. He fought in the revolution that kept both worlds out of a tyrant's hands! He almost died keeping people like you safe then, and now he spends his time helping keep you healthy by distributing the plague antidote, and all you can think about is what he reminds you of?"
Scarlet came to a stop in the center of the bar. "It's one thing to be afraid. That takes time to get over, I know, but it doesn't grant you the right to terrorize—"She paused. Friend was too small a word, but boyfriend sounded too juvenile for the relationship they had built. "—to terrorize the man I intend to marry."
Wolf's bushy brows shot up at that, his jaw going slack enough with shock to reveal the wicked points of his teeth. It was adorable, really.
Scarlet hopped down and stabbed a finger into the pudgy belly of the man in front, eliciting a shocked grunt. "Get over yourself before you hurt someone." She poked him a smidge harder before leaning in to hiss through clenched teeth. "Or before someone hurts you."
With that, she turned on her heel and reached out for Wolf. As usual, he seemed to have read her mind, already striding for the door when his massive hand closed around hers. The door slammed shut behind them with a cheerful jingle of the attached bell, the sound clashing violently with the tense events inside. They walked down the crowded sidewalk in silence for a moment before Wolf spoke, low and halting and unsure. "What you said in there…did you mean it?"
"About them not terrorizing you? Of course."
Wolf frowned. "No. About the marriage part. Did you…I mean, do you really want to…Was that a proposal?"
"Have I ever told you anything I didn't mean?" Scarlet smiled then, some of the ferocity easing out of her features as she sidled in closer to his side. She did mean it. It wasn't a subject they had discussed yet, by any means, but…neither had either of them discussed a future that didn't include the other. Marriage wasn't something she wanted right away…but it was certainly on her list. And there was absolutely no one else she would consider for the position.
Wolf stared for an instant before a broad grin unfurled on his wolfish lips, his eyes brightening with more happiness than she'd ever seen from him as he abruptly wrapped both arms around her and hoisted her off her feet for a much more passionate kiss than was normal for a public sidewalk. They were both laughing by the time he set her gently back on her feet, Scarlet more so than Wolf. "So, I guess that's a yes?"
"That's a yes."
