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It was hardly no time at all and Tuska was back in the Airport bar. She couldn't even remember the horse's name that had fucked her the night before. Ron? Robert? She groaned and settled her chin into the palm of her paw as she rested her elbow against the bar counter. In front of her was a red colored drink with a cherry and a couple cubes of clear ice floating around in it. The cubes had significantly diminished since the last time she had taken a sip but for some reason she couldn't quite find the energy to.

"What am I even doing?" she asked herself and gave another sigh. She forced herself to gulp down a significant portion of the bitter, fruity liquid before setting it back down. It was at that same time that she felt a towering presence behind herself and a familiar voice.

"I didn't think I'd find you down here," Arthur mumbled as he clapped a large paw onto her shoulder and then slid into the seat at her side. Tuska startled and turned to him with wide eyes and an expression that was a mixture between pure happiness and fear. She hadn't really talked to him since the last time she had seen him in court, and every other time they had crossed paths little more than a nod of the head in acknowledgment was shared between them. He was a busy guy after all, after being reassigned to another sled team.

"I could say the same for you," she retorted and smiled warmly at her former teammate and lover. "I haven't seen you in forever. How have you been?"

Arthur shrugged. "I've been okay, just got back from a short mission up North, thought I might stop down for something to drink." He signaled for the bartender and then ordered a simple drink, not too much different from her own.

"I never took you for a drinker though, did you use to do that when you were a part of my time?"

"On occasion, but not often. About as often as I do now." He leaned his powerful forearm against the counter as he continued to talk. "You on the other hand I know I've never seen drink. Is it all because of...uh...well you know?"

Tuska gave a slight shake of her head but then shrugged a little as well. "In part I suppose. I tell myself it's because I can't sleep but I don't know how convinced I am about that."

"Oh right, I remember your thing." He quirked his eyebrow and then turned his eyes forward. "You know I saw that horse guy leaving your room last night. Is that what you've also stooped to to get some sleep?"

"Come on, Arthur. I didn't choose my ailments, when you go so long without getting some proper shut eye you tend to get desperate, and the alcohol begins to get expensive after a while." She downed the rest of her drink in two gulps and almost slammed the glass back on the counter.

"I guess I can't really fault you," he mumbled as the bar tender came back with his drink. The muscular dog paid and then took his first sip and grimaced at how strong it was. "Yeah, I remember why I don't drink very often."

Tuska giggled and leaned back against her chair. "So...do you see the others very often?"

"Sometimes in passing. Since we don't share a team anymore it's rare, most often it's when we're going by in the apartment halls and even then it's short lived because we're either returning or going to a mission." He forced himself to take another drink and the fur on the back of his neck and shoulders stood on end. "But encase you'd like to know, Taylo still hates you."

Tuska nodded sadly and turned her eyes down to the bar counter and traced a blunt nail along the grain of the wood that was there. "And what about the sex?" She ventured.

"What about it?" he mumbled his reply and stared down into his drink. It was a little under two thirds gone. He grimaced at the sight but he wasn't someone to throw something away, so he had no choice but to finish it.

"Well, we fucked pretty often. Have you been faring as well as me?" she smirked and looked at him from the side. Arthur didn't know how to respond so he covered by taking a nice big gulp from his glass. Afterword he clenched his eyes to push what was in his mouth down and concentrated on not spitting it back out.

"If you mean...do I suffer from insomnia, the answer is no." He coughed and gave his head a quick shake.

"Maybe not quite that drastic, but do you miss it?"

"Sure I do. It was always great." He swirled the remaining liquid and ice around in his glass. It gave off a satisfying feeling. It was about then that he saw and felt Tuska reach over and rest a soft paw on his bulging forearm.

"Would you maybe want to relive some of that?" She smiled warmly but Arthur didn't take the offer so very well.

"I don't know, Tuska. Do you think that's appropriate?" He gazed into her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Why wouldn't it be? It's been seven months since Tyke died and my life has been thrown into nothing but turmoil. I just want a sense of normalcy again." She took her paw back and folded her paws into her lap. She knitted her brows in frustration and closed her eyes.

"Well, I can certainly tell that you need some normalcy," he rumbled and took to sipping at his drink again. "You know, Tuska, I'd be lying if I said I didn't come here without a purpose. I knew you'd be here from the start."

"What? You've been spying on me?" She opened her eyes a crack to give him a meager glare.

"Sort of. Though most would probably call it watching with concern."

"Psh, I don't need your concern." She turned and looked off to the other side and saw that the bar was sparsely populated. It must have been later than she thought. It was so hard to tell the time without a watch when you were always tired.

"Just hear me out. Please?" He leaned a little closer and reached his paw out to rest it on her shoulder. She rolled her eyes but he couldn't see it.

"Fine, what do you want?" She turned slightly to show that she was at least listening.

"There's a small fair tomorrow of sled teams opening up their ranks for new members. I want you to go and check things out." Tuska's eyes went wide and she whirled to look the larger canine in the eyes. This wasn't the sort of thing he would joke about but there was the slim chance that he was, she hoped. He wasn't though.

"I've been nothing but a leader my whole life, Arthur. Having two alphas on a team leads to nothing but bad news."

"All I'm asking is for you to try it. What's the worse that could happen?" Arthur stared at her expectantly but she only offered a shrug in response. "Tuska, what's the alternative here? You don't have an income, you'll eventually get kicked out of the airport when you can't make rent." The woman was still silent. She had clearly been thinking about this very topic and hadn't come up with a solution on her own.

He let his paw fall away from her shoulder and he let out a low sigh. "Is there anything I could do to just...convince you to attend?" Tuska's ear flicked at his offer and she turned a little towards him.

"I'll think about it. But only under one condition." Arthur's expression perked with hope.

"Well that's a start at least. What can I do?"

"I want you to come back to my apartment with me."

Read the full chapter here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/warmth-in-arctic-19448674