"Look at that guy!" Bucky said, watching some guy at the bar proudly talking to a girl who seemed like she couldn't care less what he had to say. "How does he not get that she's not into him? She's given every clue! Hell, she's not even looking at him anymore!"

"That's kinda sad, actually. She looks so bored."

"That, my friend, is the price of being female in a mostly male military base. Some guys in here are so desperate they're willing to do anything if it means they get their two minutes."

"Two minutes? Now that is sad."

"Yeah, it most certainly is." Bucky said with a chuckle "You haven't had a chance to check out the infirmary, have you?"

"Can't say that I have. I mean, I plan on visiting Hopper there, so I suppose I'll check it out soon enough. Why?"

"That, my friend, is where it gets really sad. I've heard of a guy who keeps getting himself shot up just so he can keep going there and looking at the 'pretty does'."

"That…That can't be real. Can it?"

"Oh, it is. It's very real. Well, I guess you'll see for yourself soon enough. Who knows? Maybe a few weeks from now it'll be you getting shot up just to get some female attention."

"Not even if they had the prettiest vixen on the planet."

"They don't have vixens."

"What do you mean?"

"They don't have vixen nurses. How do I put this? You know how most mammals aren't exactly comfortable being around preds in the first place? They're not too fond of having a pred near their open wound either. They think the sight of blood will make them go savage or something."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"

"I got a feeling you'll be saying that an awful lot while you're stationed here…"

We sat there in silence for a while, before Bucky turned towards the bar again. Sure enough, the pair we commented on was still there: The girl who badly looked like she wanted to leave and the clueless guy talking her ear off.

"Are you kidding me? He's still there!" I pointed out.

"Eh, it's the way things are. Not like anyone'd do anything about it."

"Maybe someone should."

I stood up, finished my beer and started walking towards them. I then poked the guy on the shoulder.

"Hey, man, can I borrow her for a second?"

If glares could kill, I'd be dead right now.

"Foxy, can't you see the civilized mammals are talking? Why don't you go back to the jungle?"

"I'm from Tundra Town, actually..."

"Good for you, man! Now, hop along."

Okay, this guy's a total asshole. I took a deep breath before continuing:

"Look, man, she really doesn't seem interested in what you have to say, so why don't you just leave her alone?"

"Tell you what: How about you leave us alone for now. You can eat her after I'm done or whatever."

"Get ready to run." The doe whispered to me, finishing her beer.

"Excuse me?" What did she mean by that?

"HEY, I'm talking to you, fox boy!" He said, jamming a finger on my chest. Does he seriously think he looks intimidating?

"Look, I don't wanna start anything, so how about you just leave the girl alone and we drop this?"

"Start anything? Ah, that's priceless! You can't touch me, chomper, otherwise you can look forward to a nice court-martial!"

"Why would I be the one being court-martialed? You're the one trying to start a fight!"

"Yeah, duh!" He rolled his eyes "But who do you think they're gonna believe? A civilized officer or a filthy, shifty, no good f-"

Before he could finish the sentence, the doe punched him straight in the face. He fell to the ground and hit his head on the floor hard.

"RUN!" She shouted before darting out toward the door. As soon as I realized what just happened, I ran out the door as well.

I caught up with her outside, both of us still running. I had no clue as to where we were going, but it didn't really matter either.

"I'm sorry about all this!" I managed to say, while panting.

"Don't be! I've wanted to do that all night. You, sir, just happened to give me the perfect excuse!" She said, smiling.

"Uhm, okay? But won't you get in trouble? I mean you just punched an officer in the face!"

"I'm a civilian, they can't court-martial me!"

"You can still go to jail, though!"

"The guy's been harassing me all night. Besides, I'm pretty sure a prick like him would be too ashamed to admit that he got knocked out by such a 'sweet little doe'!"

"That…actually makes a lot of sense. Can I just ask…why…we're still...running?"

She stopped almost immediately. I used that time to catch my breath.

"I thought foxes were great runners?"

"Just…in short…sprints…not…long range."

We looked at each other and before bursting into laughter.

"I don't think you ever told me your name, Lieutenant."

"It's James…James Barkley. And you are?"

"Maggie. Maggie Hopkins."