well then surprise surprise. we're in November once more. I considered writing another Halloween chapter but I felt like it might be a bit repetitive? so we're on to the next month. I'm probably going to do the same thing with Thanksgiving and kind of gloss over that one to give it a bit of resting time before bringing that up again as a story plot.

Song Suggestion: Kiss Me More - Doja Cat & SZA [Clean version] (That's the one I personally prefer, the explicit version got its rating for a reason, but to each their own?)

Disclaimer: say it with me Fan-Natic doesn't work with CapCom or have any connection to the Biohazard/Resident Evil franchise. She is a no-good fanfiction writer.

Chris walked into work as he looked at his watch. Thursday, November 3rd and he was just barely on time. As he walked to the break room to drop off his lunch thoughts of past conversations came to mind.

Once we get these cases more under control Hound Wolf Squad will be reinstated in full.

"Bunch of bull shit" Chris mutters under his breath. while he was promised that the two smaller teams would likely be able to see each other at the office, their mission and home time rarely if ever overlapped making it near impossible to see or talk to each other. They were being punished for talking back about their orders.

"Ey yo Alpha" a familiar voice calls as he's putting away his lunch. that got Chris's attention as he turned to see Umber Eye, Tundra and Lobo walk in, each sporting a very nice new tan. "Thought we'd catch you here this time of day, you put on a few pounds man?" he joked with a laugh

"you wanna put your money where your mouth is and try sparing later?" he asks in response which caused the others to laugh as Lobo quickly noped out of that one.

"Nah-ah, I like my neck unbroken you suplexing maniac," Lobo says shaking his head. "It's good to see you"

"Good to see you too, all of you." Chris replies and sends Night howl and Canine a quick text to let them know that the other half of the team was around. "how have you guys been?"

"Uuugh, don't even get me started on it. We've been hopping all around Europe and the middle east for the last few months. they keep moving." Tundra says with a tired frown. "We're going to be heading out again in two weeks for Louisiana so we get to go from hot and dry to hot and muggy. It's been great," she says clearly sarcastic.

"Don't let the director hear you say that," Umber eye warns quietly. it seems he picked up on the punishment as well.

"We're going to be heading out in three weeks" Chris admits which causes a collective sigh only for Night howl and Canine to join them. seemed they weren't too far behind the rest of the group.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," Canine says with a smile as he walks over and gives Lobo a solid hug, and Night howl does the same with umber and tundra.

"Good to see you guys again," Night howl says "so are we training together till you guys have to head out?"

"I'm afraid we're scheduled for the gym at different times" Umber eye explains with a frown.

"Jerks..." Canine says quietly.

"Careful" Chris warns.

"Right" Canine acknowledges with a frown "So we're at least going to meet up during the downtime before you guys have to head outright?"

"Abso-fawking-Lutely" Lobo says with an ear-to-ear grin "all in favor of crashing Alpha's place after work, say aye."

"ha! no," Chris says cutting down that Idea quickly. "The place only just got renovated, last thing I need is you guys trashing the place."

"ooh very fancy," Tundra says shaking her head "what's the occasion?"

"Water damage during a mission," Chris says with a frown which causes the others to wince.

"Ye-ouch Rough luck," Lobo says

"I dunno cap seemed pretty happy about it," Canine says with a snicker which earned him a glare.

Lobo pointed to him "we're going to catch up later for sure."

Hearing this caused Umber Eye to shake his head "Alright we need to get working before we get into trouble. If anyone has an idea, use the group chat, we're all stateside and on desk duty, so it should work now."

everyone nods before dispursing. As much as it was good that everyone was back the limited interactions were pretty annoying all the same if not even more frustrating than not being able to talk to each other at all. He went through the motions of the day and finished up his work and made his way back home and ate a quick dinner before taking his phone out.

[Chris] Hey I'm home when you're ready.

[Emma] KK I'll be over in a bit

Emma put her phone down as she looked at her computer screen. This was it. all of her work for the last month leading up to this. Late nights, long hours. she really believed in this one, which made it all the harder to press the final button. This would send out the EP to all the contacts she worked so hard to curate for this release. the favors she called in and meetings she attended to make sure that the email wouldn't be ignored. In all honesty, it still could end up being ignored. she shook her head. she couldn't think like that. She did everything she could. Chris was waiting on her.

Send.

She closed the laptop after making sure that the email safely made it to her outbox then gets up. "I'll be back in an hour or so Duke," she says to the dog who gives a quiet huff in response as if it was trying to say 'yeah right'. Emma shakes her head and heads out, locking the door as always before knocking on Chris's door.

"Door's unlocked," He calls and Emma lets herself in to see him finishing up his dinner.

"Hey, How was your day?" Emma asks even though she already knew the answer, and closed the door behind her.

"Good," he says which surprised her. "Got to talk with Hound Wolf squad as a whole for the first time in. half a year?" He says as he puts down his fork.

Emma stares as she watches him head over to the couch to get the mat. "Who are you and what did you do with Chris, he never has a good day," she says with a short laugh before going back to the routine and moving the table out of the way for him.

Hearing her accusation causes him to give a short laugh. "That's no true, I have good days." As of recent, most of them were days when she was around. All the same he puts out the mat before she walks over and gently holds the back of his neck in one hand while placing the back of her hand against his forehead.

"Hmm, no fever. Guess you're telling the truth," she says with a short laugh and lets him go.

Not during training, rang through Chris's mind.

"You should tell me about your good days more. it's nice to hear that things aren't all bad for you at work" Emma requests with a small smile. What was that? why was she so comfortable with just reaching out and holding him like that... to be honest she hasn't really been great about personal space has she. Memories of holding onto his arm through the haunted fair came to mind. I think I have feelings for him. It wasn't something that mattered, besides. They were friends. That was enough.

"Fair enough," Chris replies with a short chuckle. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Emma replies and gets into a ready stance.

Punch, kick, kick, punch, punch, kick. the rhythm began as the two started their training. while it has been over a year at this point and Emma was proficient enough that she'd probably be fine, the lessons continued neither one wanted to bring up that the condition for this was that the lessons would end once she was confidently proficient. to be fair, even if she was proficient, she'd need to practice to keep that proficiency right? that's the story they silently seemed to agree on.

Hold, break, pin, break, hold, break, pin, break, hold, break pin, break. it had been about 40 minutes. The two stood up to go through another drill going from a standing hold to a floor pin. Thinking proactively Emma shifted her weight as he went into the pin. to his surprise she managed to Reverse it as she hooked his leg while falling and shifting her weight. he stared up at the ceiling and Emma who was smiling down at him.

NOT DURING TRAINING. he had to remind himself more adamantly as he suppressed the urge to reach up and grab the back of her neck to pull her closer to him.

Emma gave his face a gentle pat before getting up "you're going easy on me today" she accused before getting into a ready stance.

"Just a bit distracted is all," He says as he gets up as well. That got Emma's attention as she dropped her ready stance.

"Oh?" she asks "What's on your mind?" she asks only to get pulled into a hold.

"Stay focused. We're still training," He says shaking his head and she laughs.

"That's cheating," She stays but eventually breaks the hold. "Seriously though, if something's bothering you, I'm all ears if you need me." they continue going through the motions as they talk.

"Nothing's bothering me per se," he says "Just trying to think of something the squad could do together while everyone's available," he admits. He had been thinking about that but it wasn't what distracted him.

"Oh," Emma replies breaking the hold to land in a new one "Well why don't you guys come with Me and Chel to the orchards next weekend. We could use the extra hands" Emma offers. "It's only fair, I crashed your guy's parties twice now. so you can crash one of mine. and I organized it so I get to say who goes." she says with a nod.

Hold. break. pin.

"That could work," He admits. "I'll run it by them."

"Sounds good. They're nice, it would be nice to see them again," Emma says with a chuckle.

break. hold. break. pin. break.

Another 20 minutes had passed as they eventually get up and go to get their drinks. Emma had switched to water after training lately instead of coffee. Something about needing to cut back on coffee before bed. as they relax and chat Chris sends a text to the group.

[Alpha] Hound Wolf Squad, we got an invite to go to the orchards next weekend with Emma

[Lobo] I'm down

[Tundra] Aw I miss her. sure that sounds fun.

[Umber eye] Sure, I think I can make that work.

[Night howl] sure

[Canine] You sure she's not just trying to invite you Alpha?

[Lobo] LMFAO He speaks the truth. 6_6 you sure you want us crashing your date?

[Alpha] Hey if you have any better ideas I'm all ears but you guys haven't sent shit.

[Canine] fine, fair just thought I'd check.

[Umber Eye] He kinda has a point. Fair enough to check.

[Alpha] Et tu brute?

[Umber eye] -shrugging gif-

.

Chris shakes his head as he reads the messages. "They're in. What time?"

Emma smiles at that "I'll text you the address, we're meeting there at 1pm," she says quickly sending over the address before switching to a different contact.

[Emma] Hey I'm bringing some friends too

[Chel] Sounds like a plan, hope they don't mind kids because mine will be all over them lmao

[Emma] something tells me they're used to it.

'*'*'*'*'

The weekend of the orchard trip eventually arrived and Chris waited at the entryway for Hound Wolf Squad while Emma went ahead with Chel, Jack and the Girls who were excited to see the fluffy animals in the petting zoo. one by one they eventually started gathered up at the meeting point.

"Hey boss," says Night Howl with a wave as he was the last one to make it. which made sense considering he lived the furthest away.

"Think they have anything to drink here?" Lobo asks curiously.

"Already checked, mostly just fruity shit," Chris replies with a shrug which causes Lobo to make a face.

"Hm," he says hums through his frown "Probably should have expected that."

"and it's probably for the best, we're going to have to drive during rush hour on the way back," Umber eye points out.

"Hey I'll take traffic over another flight back to Europe, that shit messes up my ears every time," Tundra replies as the group starts walking into the main outdoor section of the orchard.

"We'll have to talk later now that we're out of the office. something weird is going on," Chris admits and This causes Night howl and Canine to nod in agreement since they already knew what he meant.

before on Emma could be seen with a small group of people. the oldest of the kids stood next to her while reaching her hand through to the petting zoo to try and reach a sheep. Emma was the first to notice the large group walking towards her. he turned to look at them and smiled as she gave a short wave. "Hey guys! good to see you again"

hearing this caused summer to look over and see Chris with a large group of people. Summer's eyes went wide as she smiled. lots of friends. the sheep was no longer interesting as she left to hurry over and introduce herself with a big ole smile that showed a missing front tooth. "HI I'm Summer," says the now six-year-old child. Maurie had followed after her big sister and tried copying her as usual.

"hyi 'm marree," says the toddler who had picked up how to introduce herself properly. They grow up so fast.

"Was't your names?" Summer asks curiously. there was some hesitation but they answer with their usual nicknames

"Night Howl," "Canine" "Umber Eye" "Lobo" "Tundra."

"you know this kid Alpha?" Tundra asks with a raised eyebrow as she was a bit confused.

"Silly. His name's Chris, not Alpha," She says with a nod. she was so smart. "Chris is my friend," she says with a big smile as she reaches up to get his hand and tug on it. "Come on, Auntie Emmy 'n mama are this way."

Maurie walked over to Umber eye and jumped a few times to try and get his hand. "Dis way, Dis way." Umber eye watches her try a few times before leaning down enough for her to get a good hold and just carrying her along with him by the hands as he walked so he wouldn't end up breaking his back trying to appease the child.

"So when'd you take up babysitting?" Lobo asks with a chuckle causing Summer to turn and look at him.

"I'm NOT a baby. I'm Six," she corrected with an indignant tone and turned her nose at him before going back to leading the group.

Lobo held up his hands with an 'oh shit' expression while the others laughed.

"you got told," Canine says

"I like this kid," Tundra says with a chuckle.

the two groups met up as jack joined in with a few bushels to hold whatever they could pick. Chel did not seem impressed, she still wasn't super thrilled after finding out how little Chris was willing to share about himself in her mind the guy might have saved her kids but he was a walking red flag that was way too close to her friend that she treated like a sister. The introduction of the rest of his team who used their code names for ease's sake did not help her feel any better.

Hound Wolf Squad got their own bushels and before long the large group of 12 people got onto the Train-like Cart that carried visitors out into the fields for picking. they were dropped off at an intersection between two kinds of Apples, Pumpkins, and fall raspberries. As they picked various treats from the trees, vines, and bushes. every so often there would be a Cart that drove by offering hot cider, coffee, and tea along with various baked goods from their bakery to help keep people warm as they picked their fill.

Emma got a coffee and a pack of a dozen doughnuts to share with the group and walked back to the picnic bench that they claimed for ditching their bags. Chris was already there sipping his own coffee, with tundra and Lobo sitting on the other side. the group had taken to sitting on the benches backwards so they could rest their backs against the table.

"Doughnuts if you want one. their apple cider flavored apparently" she says as she put down the box on the table and grabbed one before sitting next to Chris in a similar fashion so her back was resting against the table.

"tired?" Chris asks causing Emma to chuckle

"Exhausted" Emma replies with a tired smile, "There's only so many times I can play fire rescue and save summer from a tree that she's absolutely able to get out of on her own." she admits with a chuckle "but this has been fun. Thanks for coming with."

"Not a problem, it's probably not the first thing I would have thought to do on a weekend but it's been fun" he admits with a chuckle as he watches the rest of Hound Wolf still running around trying to see who could find the bigger pumpkin to smash later.

"They can look all they want but no one is gonna take down Bertha," Lobo says while resting his feet on an admit-ably large pumpkin.

"You know you're going to have to pay an arm and a leg for taking that right?" Tundra points out and Lobo shrugs.

"Worth it for the win," he says with a nod before sipping at his coffee.

.

[INCOMING CALL - WORK]

Emma frowns at this and ignores the call.

[INCOMING CALL - WORK]

She gives a tired sigh "Sorry I have to take this." she says standing up so she can pace around as she talks. "Emma Swanson, How can i-" she stops short.

"Shut up," she says as a smile grows and she starts to chuckle the more she listens after. "You're joking... Really? Oh. Oh my gosh, that's. YEAH! of course, I. That would be great." She says as only half the conversation could be heard. this got Tundra and Lobo to turn and join Chris in watching her pace around. whatever this was about it sounds good? maybe?

"Yes sir. I'll talk to you then. Bye," she hangs up and smiles at the phone for a second before Jumping a bit and giving a cheer "YES! Ohhh my gosh ahahahaha" she turns and notices the others staring as she holds up her index finger "The results are in for the week, Number 1 on the rock charts. 20th overall..." Emma says with a proud grin. Lobo and Tundra had no idea what she was talking about but Chris did.

"That's awesome," He replies as she nods.

"And to top it off, guess who got a promotion to Senior Marketing Manager," she says with a chuckle. "It apparently outranked the pop album from one of our main idols, She practically owns the label as it is and it released at the same time," she adds clearly proud of herself and so in her own world that she didn't notice Chris get up and walk over to her. The agent hooked on arm behind her upper thigh as his other supported her back as he picked her and have a small spin. The motion caused her to laugh and lean forward, putting her arms around his neck and resting her forehead against his to try and keep from falling back.

It took them a moment to realize how close they'd gotten. This kept happening, didn't it. Emma thought. This was comfortable, being close to him.

I have feelings for him.

Eye almost drifted shut as the thought to lean forward crossed her mind but a voice pulled her back to reality. "EM! I heard shouting. You okay?" Chelsea called causing Emma to look over now pink in the face.

"Y-yeah, everything's fine. I'll be right there," She says before looking back to Chris "Sorry, I think I made her worry, can you put me down?" she requests and Chris complies.

"Yeah," He says trying to keep a neutral expression "You should tell her the good news too."

"Thanks," she says before giving him a quick hug and running off to join Chelsea who had been staring down Chris the whole time.

"That's rough buddy," Lobo says as Chris takes his seat once more. "Wasn't there a spice girls song about this sorta scenario?"

"Can it," Chris says before sipping at his drink. Causing Tundra to chuckle but she doesn't comment which was in its own way worse.

Another hour or two later and the two groups finally made their way back to the main entrance of the orchard and say their goodbyes. Traffic was awful as Tundra had predicted it would be but another hour later it was roughly 7 pm and two vehicles pulled into the parking garage and outwalked Chris and Emma, the latter of which was holding a half-full bushel of apples.

do you want to stop by for a cup of coffee?

He knew what he had to say. he thought as they walked up the stairs. as they made it to Emma's door He spoke up first. "Do you want to stop by for a cup of coffee?" he offers cautiously.

Emma smiles at this "Don't you think you've had enough coffee today? I think we both had like 4 cups at the orchard," Emma points out with a chuckle.

Right, that offer really only works if you didn't just drink a half-gallon of the stuff. "Fair enough, another time then. Have a good night," he replies with a nod.

"Thanks, you too," She says with a smile as she heads into her apartment. He was really sweet.

another barrier down. two solid acknowledgments of emotion all that's left is for the right moment to take a leap. next chapter though -looks at notes- boi get ready cause it's a good one. I am starting to run slightly dry on ideas but I have enough for like 4 more chapters so I'll hopefully think of more as I write. but if you have any suggestions of what you want to see please let me know and I'll try and work it in.

I'm just realizing the accidental parallel. Chris has Hound Wolf Squad as his found family which is 5 people. Emma has Chel/Jack and the kids as her found family which is 5 people. gonna pretend I planned that.

Review Response:

Ink Scribble - lol if it is an addiction then it's two-fold because I am having way too much fun writing all this. I'm having a tone of fun practicing with writing out believable emotional responses and pacing so it makes me really happy to get to chat with you and here was is resonating :) Chris is definitely going through his processes.

HairyLlama - I'm glad that you're enjoying the story vUv hopefully the wait for the chapter was worth it.