It had been a long day. Peppy had returned to his apartment complex after a long day of helping James Mcloud, his old friend, with one of his ventures. Normally Peppy would be disinterested, But James had lost his partner a few years back, and the itch to return to space had returned to both of them, so he was happy to help.

He stood in front of his apartments front door, letting out a sigh of relief as he reached his paw down into one of his jacket pockets. fumbling and grabbing as it moved from corner to corner.

"Naw. Ain't in that one" Peppy mumbled under his breath as he pulled his paw out, quickly placing his other paw into the jackets other pocket.

"...ain't here either"

"ya gotta be in these right?" Peppy continued to mumble as he dug his paws into his jean pockets. His eyes lit up as he felt a small metal object.

"There ya are! gotcha!" he said as he pulled it out "Knew this darn thing was in here somewh-"

Peppy looked down at the key "Oh for cryin' out...it's the CAR key!"

Rubbing his temple, Peppy knew he had yet another trip to make. Taking a short walk through the apartment complex and across the snow covered street, he had reached his car.

Rust obscured the normally red color of the machine and a thick sheet of frost covered the windows. Getting inside, Peppy placed the key into the cars ignition and twisted it. The engine sprung to life, ready and raring to go. But then, as quickly as it started, the power drained and a loud grinding noise filled his ears.

"Aw c'mon...ya can do it! yer a champ!"

Peppy twisted the key a second time. Thankfully, this time the engine stayed alive.

Peppy could only sigh as he looked at his watch, the digital display reading "2.00am".

"Well of course now I've gotta defrost the darn thing..."

-"Mcloud and Friends Mercenary services": break room-

-2.05am-

James Mcloud sat on a large sofa. Papers almost entirely covered the gaudy brown coloring. Only a small light sat nearby for very dim illumination. As his eyes scanned through a piece of paper, he removed his sunglasses and placed them down on a small wooden table in front of him

"While the CAF allows mercenaries the freedom to work on ventures of their choice, your organization is to prioritize jobs mandated by the Cornera Armed Forces or the Lylat government if it is to receive additional fundi-"

James stopped reading out loud, tossing the document aside onto the constantly growing mess of papers that surrounded him. As he let out a loud sigh, he reached out for another paper from a similarly huge pile that sat more neatly beside him.

His eyes, decorated with bags under them, began to scroll through the document.

"80% of your profits are to go to..."

James was quiet for a second before his eyes widened. "80 PERCENT?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MI-!" James yelled, rising from the sofa before cutting himself off. He sat back down and continued to go through the document.

-2.50am-

Peppy swung open the door to the break room, walking through the door, upon his entry, loud snoring filled his ears. Walking further and further into the room, it didn't take him long to find the source: James Mcloud, sleeping in spite of his intense shivering on the sofa, covered in various documents.

"Hey..." Peppy said looking down at his sleeping friend "hey... Yer gonna catch cold like that!"

James refused to awaken, continuing to snore even louder.

"Dangit buddy" Peppy said under his breath "dontcha have a boy at home? Ya gotta stop doin' this..."

Peppy sighed, leaving the room for a short time. Minutes later, he returned with a brown blanket and bright white pillow in his arms. Placing the blanket over James and following up by placing the pillow under his head, he looked him over to ensure he was finally wrapped up warm. He was content his work was finished.

"That should hopefully keep ya warm, buddy" Peppy whispered at his friend "We'll talk about stuff tomorrow but, ya should just sleep for now"

As Peppy turned to continue his search for his keys, James groaned, finally opening his eyes a little. Causing Peppy to turn around.

"Ah! Yer awake! Yer feelin ok? Yer gotta stop burnin' the candle both ways like this, it ain't healt-"

"Peppy..." James said groggily "D-don't go, man..."

"James, it's 3 am in the dang morning..."

"so...then whaddya doin...here?" James replied, struggling to remain conscious.

"Lost me keys. Think they're in ere somewhere though so I'm gonna look about"

it was as Peppy turned to continue his search, that he felt strong pulling on his jacket, he had hardly any time to react as he got pulled back, now sitting in front of James on the sofa as a result.

"James? Whaddya doin'?"

"Cold..."

"Sorry bud, don't think there are any more blankets here and I-"

"Stay..."

Peppy twisted his head to look down at his longtime friend. his frown slowly turning into a gentle smile.

"ya...really comfortable with that?"

"J..." James said before his nose loudly sniffled "jus-just come under here man..."

Without any additional words, Peppy quietly laid down on his side, pulling some of the blanket over himself. Mere moments later James had wrapped his arms around Peppy, entering a spooning position around him, the legs of the duo wrapping together and beginning to share warmth.

Peppy's face lit up with a red blush "Darn man, ya really are cold..."

"Yeah w-well...you're a...you...you're warm" James replied, once again fully closing his eyes.

"Yer lucky I'm willin to warm ya up, ya big doofus"

Peppy quietly grabbed one of James' paws, quietly squeezing it, his gentle smile growing larger as he felt his friend grow warmer and warmer.

"I...I hope we can stay like this ah'while..."

"ugngh..." James mumbled in his sleep.

Peppy began to close his eyes, rubbing his legs against those of his friend, feeling his soft fur ever so slightly through his jeans. Consciousness slowly fading as the embrace instilled a sense of calmness unlike any he had ever felt. As he listened to James quiet breathing, his own began to slow. Before long, he had joined James in the world of sleep.

-Peppy Apartment Complex-

-7.10am-

The duo stood in front of Peppy's front door. Finally arriving after quite the trip.

"Thanks fer drivin' me home, buddy" Peppy said, turning to face James.

"It's the least I can do. I don't think I've ever seen THAT much smoke come out of a car before, though." James replied as he threw his hands in his pockets "Well, I gotta get back to my boy. One more thing for you, though"

James quickly planted a quick kiss on Peppy's cheek, before walking back down the hallway towards the exit. Peppy quietly watched him leave, a soft smile on his face.

"Right" Peppy Said, searching his pockets. quietly digging his paws through all of them. his eyes widened as he realized an unfortunate truth:

...He had forgot to find his keys...