Fox McCloud sat alone in his house. It felt extremely painful to be spending Christmas himself. He knew his friends would be busy as usual; Falco Lombardi would likely be with his girlfriend Katt Monroe, while Slippy Toad would be with his dad Beltino. Fox wished he had someone to be with him…
Times had been rough for Fox since the Star Fox team had disbanded. Star Fox had been established to keep peace and balance in the Lylat galaxy. Krystal, Fox's former girlfriend, had left the team to join Star Fox's rival team, Star Wolf. Star Wolf was headed by Wolf O'Donnell, Fox's rival, and also consisted of Leon Powalski and Panther Caroso.
Despite begging Krystal to stay, she ended up leaving anyway. After a few months, Fox could only hope that his former teammate was content with the life she had chosen. He knew he wasn't content with his…
If James and Vixy McCloud, Fox's parents, hadn't been killed, Fox knew he would want to be with them right now. It was James's death that triggered Fox to lead the team his father had established. A former teammate, Pigma Dengar, had betrayed Star Fox and left for Star Wolf due to his greed.
Peppy Hare, another old Star Fox member, normally would have spent some time with Fox over the holidays. However, his daughter, Lucy, still had to be taken care of. A lot had happened during recent times, and Fox could sometimes regret he had ever led the Star Fox team…
At times, Fox felt it had only caused him suffering, grief, and depression. And whenever he happened to be in a fairly happy mood, he considered the fact he had saved many lives in the wars he fought against the forces of evil. But in the end, he was still sitting in that chair, in an empty house…
One of the things that had hit hard after the end of Star Fox was finding a way to make money. Slippy and his father opened an auto-repair shop, while Falco fulfilled odd jobs such as being a bounty hunter. Fox also tried to find odd jobs, but ended up only making just enough to put food on the table and have shelter. Right now, he had a room for rent available at his house in an attempt to make more money. Unfortunately, no one had stayed yet.
However, Fox was happy knowing most of his former teammates had found good lives after Star Fox's end. Typically, Fox tried to be as selfless as he could.
Fox was medium-height, wore a white jacket around his green shirt, also had green pants, red boots, and had emerald eyes. Krystal had once called him the most handsome creature she had ever seen, but Fox didn't like to boast about anything, and Krystal had since abandoned him.
Fox gazed out the nearest window, watching snow fall from the sky onto the street. He recently moved deeper into the city, so he could still observe some pedestrians on the road. In a few hours, it would be Christmas; Fox figured he should go to sleep soon, and figure out a new way to make money.
Suddenly, he saw a slender, hooded figure moving towards his house. It rang the doorbell to Fox's house, shivering in the meanwhile; it became very cold on Planet Corneria during the winter. Fox ran over to open the door and greet his guest.
"I'm here for the room for rent," the figure explained.
The voice appeared to be female. It seemed somewhat distinctly familiar to Fox…
"Of course; right this way…" Fox began.
Suddenly, the figure gasped, and pulled her hood off. Fox was stunned to see Krystal!
"Fox!" Krystal yelled, throwing her arms around him.
"Krystal!" Fox returned the greeting and hug, still confused.
Krystal continued, "I'm so sorry Fox; please forgive me!"
Fox remembered the last time he saw her, she left to join Star Wolf. He frowned when he looked at her again, but would never want to hold on to the past.
"You're forgiven…" Fox began. "But I don't understand – what brings you here?"
Krystal was the same height as Fox, and currently wore a pink-and-white bodysuit underneath her brown cloak (typically, she wore blue). Her eyes were green as well, mirroring Fox's.
"I should explain that," Krystal agreed. "I regretted joining Star Wolf the moment I did, Fox. It's just that I thought you didn't love me anymore… After a while, I just couldn't stay with them. Terrible rumors about me spread, and all the Star Wolf members were jerks-no, they were monsters! I can't believe I even considered going with them. Eventually, I decided to leave, and returned to Planet Corneria. I needed a place to stay. I never thought I could earn your forgiveness…"
Fox hugged Krystal closely, never before feeling so passionate. She cried for awhile in his arms, but eventually stopped to face him again.
"It's okay, Krystal," Fox assured her. "You can stay with me as long as you want. I want you to feel at home."
After a moment of silence, Krystal spoke next. "So how have you been?"
Fox turned to her. "Horrible without you. You have no idea how much it means to me that you came back…"
Krystal suddenly took Fox's head and began to kiss him passionately on the lips. Fox returned the affection, and the two began to lie down on a nearby couch. After a while, Fox was the first to break it up.
"I love you, Fox," Krystal admitted, brushing her body against Fox's.
The two wrapped their arms around each other, happy to be reunited. For a while, they just lied down together, content they had each other again. Finally, Fox spoke next.
"The room is free if you like," he said, grinning at his mate.
Krystal returned the smile. "Fortunately, I was able to swipe some cash from Wolf. You look like you might need some…"
Fox put a hand to Krystal's head, feeling her cold cheek. "You don't need to give me anything. You've already made me happier than I've ever been."
Krystal kissed him on the cheek, and Fox began to get up.
"Where are you going?" Krystal asked with a smile.
"Getting the sheets!" Fox replied, halfway up the stairs.
After a minute, Fox returned with a large, dark blanket. As he came near the couch, Krystal grabbed one end of the blanket and threw the rest around her and Fox. Once the two were under the covers together on the couch, Krystal began to shut her eyes and purr next to Fox.
"I'm here to stay this time, Fox," Krystal announced, rubbing her head against Fox's chest.
"I wouldn't want it any other way," Fox answered, getting closer to Krystal.
Fox felt so jubilant, he hardly recognized himself.
Fox and Krystal hugged close, kissing once more before drifting to sleep. They smiled together, happier than ever. This had gone from the worst to the best Christmas Fox and Krystal had ever had.
A few days later, Peppy Hare walked up to Fox's front door. Peppy knew Fox was depressed about Krystal's betrayal and thought he could use company. He knocked on the door, but receiving no answer, tried the knob and found the door to be unlocked.
Stepping inside, Peppy called out "Fox?" No answer. Looking around, Peppy was greeted by a completely empty hall. Books, furniture, electrical appliances, you name it, it was gone. "Fox?" Peppy called out again. Still no answer. Deciding to come back later, Peppy turned around and left the house, but spotted a sign on Fox's front lawn.
As Peppy approached the sign, he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose so he could read it.
"FOR SALE"
