Arknights One Shots

Love 2 (Exusiai x Texas x Lappland)

Her movements out of the van and to the elevator were sluggish. Texas blinked slowly, eyes half-lidded as she leaned against Lappland for support. Exusiai was humming as she punched in the elevator button, whistling a nonsensical tune. Very rarely did she let herself be this vulnerable, very rarely did she allow herself to show weakness in front of others. But there was no one she trusted more than the two women in this elevator with her.

"How much longer?" She asked.

It was mixed with a yawn, her incisors poking at her lower lip. The tiny jolt was far from breaking the skin, but the sensation was grounding enough to keep her in the moment instead of passing out on her feet. She couldn't recall ever being so sleepy before. Maybe it really was one of those days. Texas had never taken Durin and her constant napping serious before, though as her consciousness continued to slip from the realm of humming machinery and Exusiai's whistling. Lappland was tapping along to the beat with her free hand. Her fingertips thrummed along one of the metal walls.

"Not much. Just relax Texas." Exusiai told her, pausing mid-whistle.

"Agreed. Just let us handle everything." Lappland murmured. Her breath was warm against her face, easing more of the tension out of her.

That made her frown. "What are you two up to? I can tell your up to something . . ."

Exusiai chuckled. The bubbly laugh reminded her of springtime and sunshine. So happy, so pure, really it was everything she could have asked for. Texas always felt like she didn't deserve to be the cause of such an innocent thing (even though she knew her angel was far from innocent at this point).

"We are, but trust us. You can do that, right?" Calloused fingertips reached up at her wolf ears and rubbed at just the right spots, making her let out a soft keening sound. This heavenly sensation was pure bliss. If she was a cat, Texas knew she'd be purring.

So Texas found herself nodding despite herself. "I trust you, just nothing crazy. K?" There would be some sort of mischief involved, but at least she'd probably be too tired to have to clean up the mess. How nice not to be responsible for once.

Lappland nodded, the movement jostling her just a tad. "Sure."

*****

The elevator door swung open as they reached their floor. Lappland and Exusiai kept Texas between them, practically carrying her the rest of the way to the room. When their girlfriend was too slow unlocking the door Lappland swiped up the key. After a few successful turns of the lock the door popped open and they made their way inside.

Exusiai bore Texas's weight with minor difficulty, somewhat dragging her over the threshold. The occasional blinks from the dark wolf and slight hitch of breath were all that let Lappland know she was still awake, albeit sleep was swiftly approaching.

"Should I put her . . .?"

Exusiai trailed off with the question, eyeing the stairwell that led up to their bedroom and three guest rooms. The apartment was under Texas's name —had been hers since she first joined Penguin Logistics all those years ago— so it's layout was made just right for someone who liked the comfort of home without being confined. Hence the two different stairways upstairs and the one leading down to the basement. For all intents and purposes, some might've considered this a house of sorts. But it was missing the backyard and grandeur of the front porch Lappland held in her memories, the park across the street filled with laughter as children played.

This apartment was nice, but it wasn't a home. It wasn't the place she and Texas grew up.

And that . . . was okay.