Wolf was sitting in the kitchen, drinking some Hot Chocolate. Wolf had always preferred Hot Chocolate to coffee. It was more soothing. And that's what Wolf needed right now. Just to calm down. That and the two promises Wolf had made Panther and Fae make before leaving the room. Firstly, they were only to refer to Wolf as Wolf. No pronouns. Not until… not until things made more sense. And secondly, they weren't allowed to say anything, positive or negative, about the outfit Wolf was wearing. Again, not until things made more sense. Wolf sighed. This was not what Wolf could have expected… maybe ever.

Panther and Fay walked in from the laundry room, which itself was impressive that Fay had one of those in her apartment at all. Better than having to go to a laundromat, at least. "Well," Fay said, clearing her throat. "Your flight suit is being cleaned, but it's probably going to take…"

"At least two more washes before it's clean." Panther finished. "Which leads us to a question."

Ah. Good. Another question. Not like Wolf had had enough of those today. "What would that be?"

"If you're comfortable enough going shopping in your current outfit or if you would rather wait until tomorrow when your flight suit will be completely clean." Fay placed her hand on her hip. "It's fine either way, we wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable at all."

Wolf wanted to scoff at that, but… no, they really had been trying their best so far. Any uncomfortable feelings had come from Wolf's own uncertainties, not anything they had done. But… what'd be the right option?

Panther walked over to the counter that Wolf was sitting at and leaned on it. "Please keep in mind, deciding to wear your flight suit is not 'surrendering' or 'giving up'. Discovering who you are is a process, and it doesn't happen all at once." It looked like he was going to say more, but stopped himself.

"I…" Wolf closed Wolf's eye and thought. "I'm going to wear my flight suit. Tomorrow. I'm not changing tonight, though." Yes. That's the best choice right now.

Fay nodded. "In that case, we'll just hang out here for the rest of the day." She smirked. "I don't suppose either of you would be interested in some rounds of G-Zero?"

As it turned out they were both very interested in some rounds of G-Zero. Panther smiled as the start screen booted up. "Ah, G-Zero X. I see you're only interested in the classics."

Fay shrugged. "What can I say? This one has the best roster and mechanics." She gave a sheepish laugh. "Plus, I, uh… never bought a Gamecube."

Time flew by as the three played. Panther was impressed with how skilled Fay and Wolf were, especially since he had never seen Wolf play any G-Zero games. Or any games. Heh, this was the first time he had seen Wolf smiling and laughing. It was cute. Not that he was allowed to tell Wolf that. Yet. Probably.

"Do either of you think it's weird that Fox's father is in this game?" Wolf asked as the three of them streaked down Mute City.

"Fox?" Fay asked.

"McCloud. The son of James McCloud. I didn't realize his father was a racer as well as a pilot." Panther admitted.

"Wait, THAT Fox? Leader of Star Fox? You think he's related to-"

Wolf shrugged. "I don't know too many foxes that have that last name."

"Perhaps next time we meet, we can ask him. Assuming he doesn't try and shoot us like he usually does."

Since Panther had ended up losing most of the races, he ended up being the one who had to make dinner that night. Which he didn't mind. Truth be told, cooking was a fun hobby for him. Pity that he had forgotten to pack his "kiss the cook" apron, though. Not that… either of the other two would, really. Probably. He shrugged. Not worth worrying over, at least not right now.

Wolf had been sitting at the counter, watching him work. "So… what's on the menu?"

"Grilled chicken sandwiches with a homemade sauce, fresh cut french fries, and salad." Not the most exotic meal he'd ever made, but there's only so much you can do when you're in someone else's house. It was a miracle that he had been able to find the ingredients for the sauce.

"Sounds good." Wolf sat quietly. "Panther?"

"Yes?" Must make sure to fry the fries just right. Straining them halfway through made sure they were golden brown and crispy, instead of limp and soggy. Plus it was probably healthier than just leaving them in there the whole time.

"How are you so… comfortable?"

"Comfortable?" With the chicken, it was important to not burn them on the grill. A smoky flavor is only appreciated if it's not associated with actual smoke. "How do you mean?"

"It's just…" Wolf paused, uncertain. "You know who you are. You always have. How do you… do that?"

Ah. That… is not an easy question to answer. Best to be honest, though. "To tell you the truth, I was not always so confident as I am today. When I was a kit, I had a terrible sense of self-identity. I was always questioning who I was. I tried to be so many different people…" He chuckled as he moved the chicken to a platter. "It took me a long time for me to discover that who I am is me."

"…what?"

"I am Panther. I am not anyone else. And I'm the only one who defines who 'Panther' is. And because I define it, then anyone who thinks otherwise is wrong. Panther is strong, Panther is handsome!" He laughed. "Confidence comes in time, after you have looked deep within yourself and accepted who you are. The love you feel for yourself will be evident on your face." Plating the fries and the salad, he began to set the table.

Wolf nodded, silently watching as Panther got everything ready.

With a flourish, Panther produced a single red rose for the centerpiece. "It's not easy accepting yourself, my friend. Especially not if you're used to fighting it, or repressing it. But it's so freeing once you do."

"Panther?"

"Yes?"

"You can… you don't have to avoid using pronouns around me anymore."

Panther smiled at his captain, his friend, and nodded. He could see Wolf's shoulders visibly relax. "Could you go tell Fay that dinner's ready? I don't know about you but I'm starving."

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving." The words had barely left Pigma's mouth before he started shoveling fistfuls of Venomian rations down his throat. He was barely even stopping to chew.

Leon poked at the ration in front of him. Prison food was better than this. Literally anything was.

"Come now, my compatriot! You must keep up your strength!" Andrew was staring at him as he dug into his ration with a fork and knife. "I'll need you all at your best while we enact our scheme!"

"Yes… this scheme that you haven't told any of us about. At all." Leon's eyes narrowed. "You also haven't told us what the payment will be."

"Ah! Payment. I forget that you luddites can be so focused on that rather than just doing a job for the glory of it!" This was rich coming from the guy who complained whenever his 'Uncle Andross' didn't give him his weekly allowance. While a member of Star Wolf.

Deep breaths, Leon, you'll have time to kill them all later. "Yes. Well. The point still stands. Are you going to tell us or not?"

"Whatever it is, I'm behind you every step of the way, sir!" Algy piped up.

"And that, dear Algy, is why your role will be quite different from that of Leon and Pigma."

Pigma's head popped up, mouth still full of food. Well, you could charitably call it food. "Wai wumph?"

"Pigma and Leon, the two of you will be disembarking and going to Macbeth to infiltrate one of the factories on the planet's surface. Thanks to Pigma's close encounter with the aparoids and Leon's stealth specialties, the two of you will be able to reach one of the inner labs, where you will await further instructions." He laughed a nearly insane laugh. "Finally, the Lylat system will rue the day that it crossed the mighty Emperor Oikonny!"

Leon sighed and looked down at his ration. This… was not going to end well at all.