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Texas just got a new apartment in Nuova Volsinii.
It was an idea from Leontuzzo since he thought that it would be inconvenient to find an accommodation whenever Texas had to make a visit to the city. And for security too, as a dark-haired wolf with orange eyes drew way so much attention that Leontuzzo was concerned about whether or not any rumor had run out into any famiglie, which roughly translated into beyond control incidents that could cause severe damage to the newly rekindled belief of the citizens.
Texas said she didn’t need it because she would prefer to spend the night at the Penguin Logistics department there, but Leontuzzo insisted.
“I understand, Texas. But I don’t want to put so many risks on this city or on you. You, alongside Lavinia, were the ones who were instrumental in Signora Sicillia’s decision that day.” He sat up straight from his chair behind his deck. “And that’s why I want to have everything under control no matter the situations. I will make sure this new place is near your friends’, and I will not force you into this. I will just let you know when you have to come there.”
And Texas stopped negotiating. She knew full well that this was not about her own apartment at all.
But this news excited Exusiai anyway. The angel kicked off her shoes and rushed into the living room, casting some curious glances at the 55-inch TV that stood out in the room even though it was intergrated to the wall. The wooden floor, kind of a Siracusan retro, was not the traditional brown or gold but an off-white. A set of navy blue velvet sofas sat in the center of the room, accompanied by a low glass coffee table on a white rug – white enough to stand out from the floor. An open kitchen with full amenities, a bedroom decorated similarly, and a minimalist yet spacious bathroom completed Texas's new apartment.
Texas had already previewed the apartment once at Leontuzzo's request. It was a bit extravagant for her taste, but a modern twist on the traditional Siracusa style. And from that day on, Leontuzzo had given Texas the key to the apartment, allowing her to come and go as she pleased.
"It's your apartment, Texas."
Those words echoed in her head when she hung the keys by the door.
“I can’t believe you are the first one of us to have your own apartment.” Exusiai poked her head out of the bathroom, washing dirt off her hands and legs before making herself at home with the sofa. “I thought it would be Sora.”
“Sora is more than capable of doing that. Besides, it couldn’t be you or Croissant though.” Texas shrugged.
Exusiai mock-scandalized, a playful pout forming on her lips. "Hey! That's mean, Texas!"
Texas only answered with a smile. She showed the angel the towel hanging nearby before dropping off her luggages to find a proper outfit change.
It was in the rainy season now at Siracusa. Even though they brought umbrella by themselves when they decided to walk from Penguin Logistics department to here, it hadn’t quite done the trick. Exusiai was fine, only some dirty water on her legs. Texas was not fully wet, but her tail had definitely taken a beating. A hot shower sounded like a bliss right now.
“I’m done.” Exusiai announced, emerging from the bathroom. “Go ahead and get your shower. Oh, and by the way, where’s the TV remote?”
“On the left shelf by the TV, I think.”
“Found it!”
“Alright then. I’ll be quick.”
“Oh and let me dry your tail today.”
“Say it later.”
The faucet was running afterwards. Exusiai placed a tableful of snack she bought on the way and took her time to discover the channels a bit. Technology had been advanced here from Columbia, but she wasn’t quite sure what could be possibly found on a TV at Siracusa. But the outcome exceeded her expectation: This was a smart TV! There was even Yotube on it.
But when she excitedly clicked on it, it turned out the TV hadn’t connected to any network. Exusiai frowned a bit, poked around the settings and found a network named PenguinLG, which surprised her a bit at first but quickly she remembered Texas’s identity. It couldn’t be Cellinia Texas anyway.
So she jumped on it and encountered the wifi password prompt.
Okay, at this point Exusiai knew full well that she could simply ask Texas, who was taking her sweet time behind the bathroom wall. The Lupo was capable of hearing her from such distance and obstacle, but where was the fun in that? She could prove to Texas how well she knew her and, shall we say, ways to improve Texas’s “improvable” security measures.
So she started with the basic that perhaps described Texas somewhat well.
“12345678”
Incorrect password. Please try again.
Okay, Exusiai was a bit surprised.
She didn’t think Texas would bother changing her wifi password at the first place. It’s Texas. She couldn’t care less about wifi passwords nor whoever was using it. Or maybe, Exusiai had never seen that side of Texas before because they were partners and shared the dorm?
Could it be for the territorial traits of the wolf?
Oh. My. God. The fun had now just begun.
“Pockylover”.
“Longlivepenguin”.
“Pineapple@pizza”.
“xxxxAlphaWolfxxxx”.
“SwordsAddictNeedsACure”.
“cigaretteisnotgoodforhealthTexas”.
“andneitherisoverconsumptionofpocky”.
She admitted she had gone a bit overboard for those last ones.
So she started all over again. Exusiai grinned. Something that could be Texas’s password… It must have been something simple, and directly related to Texas so she could draw it out however long she would be apart from this place. Texas wasn’t one for complex code. For example, her codename was her own family name, Texas. Or the names she put in the paper for her swords were her two favorite Pocky flavors, Blueberry and Dark Chocolate.
There were not so many things that could be so personal about Texas, so Exusiai started putting out one by one.
“0106xxxx”
“xxxx-xxx-xxx” not Texas’s phone number.
“CelliniaTexas” and its varies.
“Leontuzzo” because he gave Texas this apartment.
None of those worked.
At this time Exusiai felt a little bit defeated, but she wouldn’t give up. A dozen of ideas still flowed through her head, but she didn’t have the click that any of these would work. “ChocolateandBlueberry”, “PenguinLogistics”, “SoraExusiaiCroissant”, “TheEmperor”,…
Exusiai slumped back on the sofa and sighed deeply. She wouldn’t admit it, but now the initial excitement that had fueled her playful teasing had evaporated. A few more attempts and she would give up and concede defeat.
No. Defeat was not in her dictionary.
Exusiai flicked back up. She would fight this until the very end, which was coming nearby with the sound of the faucets silent, and wet footsteps echoing out. Sure, the obvious attempts had failed, and Texas’s security choice of password had been a worthy opponent to her. But they were partners, so so close partners that Exusiai muttered to herself.
”Let me see how much you love me, Texas.”
She typed in a specific sequence of numbers. A circle appeared on the bar, as usual, and started running round and round and round and round…
So long that Exusiai felt like she dropped a heartbeat.
Sure, they were coworkers. They were partners, mostly in crime. Sure they did mess around a bit, because Texas took pretty good care of Exusiai so she decided to be flirty a bit and and and…
“What are you doing?”
“Ahhhh!”
Exusiai yelped. The familiar voice behind sent Exusiai a pretty good startle through her spine. She tumbled back onto the sofa. The remote control went flying, only to be snagged mid-air by a single, nimble hand.
Exusiai looked up. A Pocky stick in Texas’s mouth was waving back at her, along with those concerned orange amber eyes. She was in a black shirt and a pair of shorts, sure, she was not a fan of pajamas anyway.
Exusiai took a deep breath. And hastily threw a glance back at the TV screen. The circle ended somewhere, and…
Incorrect passwords. Please try again.
Exusiai couldn’t tell she was relieved or disappointed.
So she decided to cast back her attention on her Lupo friend, who was glaring at her lying down on the sofa.
“Don’t tell me you bring Pocky into the shower with you too?” Exusiai feigned annoyance.
Texas only pointed at the table, indicated the source of her stick.
Oh, the snacks. Completely forgot about them in the heat of the moment.
“Oh, wifi password. You could have just asked me, you know.” Texas murmured lazily.
“No way I’m asking you buddy. I was on the verge of victory.”
“Oh, you aren’t joking around. A nice try.”
“What?”
“It was a nice try. You were so close.”
Exusiai couldn’t believe in her ears, so she proved herself by looking instead. Texas was fiddling with the remote control, which revealed the latest password attempt on the box, a few click behind and it was:
“Exusiai2412xxxx”.
And the wifi connected.
Now that Texas was fondling the remote control beyond her head, Exusiai didn’t know where to hide her burning crimson face. Perhaps asking upfront would have been wiser. And she should have had Texas blind-type the password in. Under Texas’s knowing gaze, her mind felt like a blank slate.
“Bother drying my tail anymore?” Asked Texas calmly.
“Stop messing with me you… wolf.” Exusiai managed a weak retort.
“Wolf is not a bad word.”
“Who told you to set the password?” Exusiai grumbled, attempting to deflect.
“Leontuzzo told me I should use something that’s memorable, simple and important to me, so I figured that out.”
“Urgh you stupid Texas.”
“You don’t like it?”
Exusiai didn’t answer, light blush lingering on her cheeks. Texas leaned down, getting closer and closer to her curled-up partner, until her own breath was stirring thinly around Exusiai’s ears.
“I can change it, Exusiai.”
Texas said in a calm, warm voice. It was so soothing that it sounded like she was trying to ease her partner down, not to bring something up.
“It’s a weak one.”
“But you haven’t figured it out until now, right?”
A brief moment of silence past by. Exusiai, burrowed deep in the sofa back, covering her face with her hands too, peeked through her fingers, just to see Texas hadn’t left her alone yet. She nervously closed her eyes. There were a lot of things running on in her head at the moment, and she hadn’t figured out how to process all of these just yet.
What are these feelings?
Why did my heart skip a beat earlier?
How to talk to her about all these things?
…
“Sorry.”
Just as Texas was going to leave her on her own, Exusiai, still half-hidden in the sofa, reached out and held on to her shirt.
“Don’t be sorry. Stay.”
The Lupo stopped. The Sankta turned her head to fix her gaze into the Lupo’s orange eyes. Slight red still burned on her cheeks, but her fingers were holding Texas on dear life.
“Hey.” Exusiai began.
“Hm?”
Exusiai’s grip tightened. She lifted her own body up, almost dragged Texas down with that, and snatched a bite of the Pocky stick dangling from Texas's mouth.
With half a stick poking out of her own lips, Exusiai managed a mischievous smile. A smile covered in crimson stain and chocolate Pocky. For the board-stiff Lupo from a shaking Sankta.
“I want to know how many things there are I haven’t yet figured out tonight.”
They sank into the sofa together and Texas swore she could hear their hearts beating in unison.