Lullaby

In... Out. In... Out.

Sleep teased in the corners of Fox's mind, but something kept him from drifting off into slumber. If he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing, he knew he could float into unconsciousness. But she kept him here. His eyes made another iteration of their lazy back and forth trip, following Krystal's chest up and down as she took a quiet breath in, and eventually let it back out. It was a soporific cycle, lulling him into a trance that made the dark room around him fade away. All that existed was himself, and her sleeping next to him. His blue wonder.

Up…. down. Up… down.

Fox couldn't help but bask in how stunningly gorgeous she was. But… not in a traditional sense. He'd grown up seeing attractive women in movies or on television, but Krystal wasn't like them. He had always thought that if the breeze blew even just a tad too strong on those girls, they would be swept away in the wind, carried off, unable to offer up any kind of resistance against it. They walked like ghosts, floating here and there without purpose. They spoke every sentence with such passivity, as if they couldn't muster up the energy to be interested in the words they were saying even as they were speaking them. Krystal was nothing like that.

At first glance, there was no mistaking that she was a knockout. Fox smiled just a little as his eyes ran over her lithe figure. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and he would go to the mat with anybody who disagreed. Light, fast, powerful, curvy… To him, she was like a piece of art that belonged in the most elite, important museums on Corneria. But Krystal was more than just mind numbingly attractive. He knew her spirit was made of pure titanium, and was just as resilient and unbreakable. She was subtle and more than a little bit of a tease from time to time, but when all the chips were down, Krystal's anger and punishment were swift, savage, and terrifying. She was ferocious, and underestimating her was the last mistake you'd ever make. He was continually astounded every time she destroyed his already stratospheric expectations.

Off the battlefield though, Krystal was just as purposeful. She moved with the grace of a dancer, but still carried the decisiveness of a bulldozer behind every move she made. Whenever she spoke, her soft, accented voice carried him off to cloud nine. More than once, he'd simply curled up in her warm embrace, letting her pull him into sleep by whispering sweet everythings into his ear with her musical voice. It always sent him off with a happy smile, feeling her hand stroking his fur, and her warm breath on his cheek. Don't let her angelic words fool you though, because her siren's song could cut just as easily as it could cuddle. Her rapier wit had sliced down Falco, Katt, and even Fara more times than he could count.

Soft… Strong. Delicate… Relentless. Warm… Hot. That's who Krystal is.

His vision went black as he shut his eyes for a long second, feeling a weight resist his eyelids when he brought them back open. Nothing but himself, and the marvel that was sleeping soundly next to him. He let himself gaze into her slumbering face. She looked so peaceful right now. Content. It washed away all the rigor and precision that she carried herself with around the Great Fox's halls. She was a warrior, a fighter tooth and nail, whether that was against a SharpClaw, an Aparoid, or Falco over a box of cereal. Years of discipline had worked itself into her posture, the way she stood and walked at all times. He loved that about her. She always seemed alert and ready to strike. The vixen would perpetually tease him with peeks and glimpses at her divine figure, like she was always exactly, effortlessly aware of herself at all times, and knew precisely how to drive him absolutely crazy. And yet, now that she was slumbering, he could see a side of her that he so rarely was gifted with.

Her warrior's training had evaporated off in her dreams, leaving behind his lovely vixen without a single care in the world burdening her. Her face was free from any concern. A few strands of her silken hair fell over her closed eyes. The soft lines of her face curved from her adorable black button nose down to the two tufts of sapphire fur on her cheeks. His eyes slipped just a little further, as he painted the flawless, snow white canvas of her chest with his gaze. He let out an amused breath when her nose wrinkled in unconscious annoyance at a lock of hair slipping down and batting against her muzzle. Reaching one hand out, he plucked the offending strand off her face, tucking it behind one ear and watching her features return to their peaceful neutrality. When she was asleep, none of that rigid discipline that he loved so dearly remained. Instead, he saw the normally taut cords in her back and arms relax, the careful sway of her tail turned into an intermittent wiggle as her dreams played out inside her mind. She looked… content. Krystal looked like being here, falling asleep next to him, getting to share a blanket and body heat with him, was the greatest gift she could ever ask for. He lived to make her happy. And seeing her like this let him know that he was doing his job.

She made him happy too, if that even needed to be said. Really, happy was too light a word for how Krystal made him feel. When she was nearby, he was invincible. Nothing could stop him, nothing could block his path. She made him want to laugh, want to grin, want to dance and sing and hug her close. His eyes started to water the longer he looked at her sleeping next to him, and he had to blink back the hot tears. Krystal meant so much to him. In a time when he hadn't had anything left, when everything had been dark and meaningless, she had given him a second chance. She was his second chance to do right in the world, and she was a constant reminder that he could make a difference in somebody's life. Now, he had a reason to live. A reason to fight. A reason to smile. Krystal was the reason that he smiled, just like he found himself smiling now. He had never felt this close to somebody before. Not Falco, not Peppy, not even his own parents, really. Krystal was more than just his mate. She wasn't even just his other half. She was his everything. The blue vixen that he never deserved meant more to him than Star Fox, Corneria, all of it. He would toss aside all of it for her. The bond that had developed between them was so strong, it had become fundamental to him. Nothing could ever break what they had.

Those were heavy thoughts though, and now wasn't the time for that. He could feel the cool tendrils of slumber snaking into his mind, whisking him away to the same place Krystal had gone. He smiled at her, and Fox could've sworn that he saw her smile back, just a little twitch of her lip. She sighed, readjusting on their mattress and snuggling up closer to him. She draped one arm over his torso, burying her head into the bare fur on his chest. She mumbled something in her sleep, and in the solitary quiet of their room, he could make it out without difficulty.

"Fox… love… Fox."

His heart melted, even as his eyes began to flutter. He wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling her in close and resting his chin between her ears. Sleep was only moments away now, and he could only murmur one response to the love of his life before finally drifting away.

"Love you too, Krystal… My everything."

/

A/N: Hey guys! Not much to say here. Just a little something I wrote last night, I like it enough and thought I'd put it up here. I'm working on a lot of other projects right now, and I wanted to write something short and sweet of these two goofballs. Stay tuned for more stuff coming soon!