(A/N) It's midnight, I have school tomorrow, and I'm sick. So I should be sleeping but alas, here I am. Making another story when I really should try and update one of my other ones but whatever man. At least it's just a oneshot.
Enjoy as always~
Fox's flight jacket landed lazily on the roof floor. Fox wrinkled his nose in distaste, noting the likelihood of the jacket producing wrinkles in that condition. The pilot plopped himself next to the jacket, stretching his legs out in front of him for a moment before dangling them over the edge of the roof. Fox folded his arms to provide cushioning for his chin on the railing in front of himself- his eyelids immediately slammed shut, and he sighed in content as he felt each of his limbs lose the tension that had previously been present, moving into a more relaxed state.
To say he wasn't sore would be a major understatement. The Star Fox leader had just participated in yet another match for the preliminaries of the tournament currently underway, defeating the Ice Climbers with relative ease. The fight against the siblings on the Halberd stage wasn't what exhausted the vulpine-because as much as he wanted to not come off as a cocky shit, the kids weren't the toughest competitors in the tourney- the fact that that match was his third one in the past day and a half was beginning to take a toll on his body.
Fox rolled his shoulders and neck back and forth, a satisfying crack being heard. He breathed out slowly, his eyes opening to scan the scenery shown from the roof of the mansion. The sun was peeking out slightly above the horizon lined with trees, the sky a mixture of varying shades of blues and pinks, with hints of orange as well. A cool breeze floated by, tickling the vulpine's fur in a teasing manner, as though it was a warning of the dropping temperatures that the nighttime brought along with it.
With all of the new participants in the Smash tournament, Master Hand had to essentially dump extra matches on every single one of the smashers in order to get a move on. It had become a common routine for them to have a match every day, sometimes even two. The gloved host had expressed feeling sorry for the smashers, (although Fox believed that he was only saying that so no one would throw a fit about it) and every single one of them was fatigued beyond usual. Those who generally bickered and argued with one another had no energy left to do so; basically Falco and Wolf, and Wario practically with anyone else- Fox was especially thankful for the former.
The entire process was draining to sum it up. They were still in the preliminary round, meaning that the current matches didn't count for too much. You win the majority of them, and you get placed in the Winners bracket. You lose a majority of them, and you get placed in the Losers bracket. Lose a match in the Winners bracket, and it's off to the Losers bracket you go. Lose again in that bracket, and you're done.
The entire process was dizzying to think about, leaving the pilot to promptly push the thoughts out of his mind and redirect his attention back to the sunset. The moon was beginning to show itself in the still bright sky, making its way up to where the sun used to be sitting. Fox found the sight to be a thing of beauty, hence him making his way up to the roof as often as he could around dusk to unwind.
The clicking of a door closing behind him caused the vulpine to turn in order to look over his shoulder to see a blonde girl with long ears and a tail in the shape of a lightning bolt. Pikachu pulled the door shut behind her and looked up, her body immediately tensing up at the sight of Fox. She shifted uncomfortably from one leg to the other, ears twitching.
"Ah. Sorry Fox," she stuttered, running her fingers through her blonde ponytail. "I didn't know anyone else would be up here…" Pikachu's voice trailed off, and the vulpine chuckled quietly to himself.
"I didn't know that anyone else came up here."
Pikachu's blue eyes lit up in curiosity. "You come up here often?"
He smiled, turning back to face the railing and the sunset. "I try to. Almost every night." He paused for a moment, assuming the mouse-girl was unsure of what else to say. "What about you?"
She hesitated, biting her lip as she sorted out her response. "Not really." Pikachu shook her head, berating herself for such a vague answer. "Coming up to the roof I mean. I don't come up here really ever. I just needed some fresh air."
Fox hummed in response. Neither of the two said anything else, a thick silence making itself known. The vulpine's ears twitched as he heard the girl's feet slide across the floor, likely from her turning on her heel to walk away.
"You don't have to leave you know," he called out, making Pikachu stop in her tracks. She didn't bother turning around since she didn't want to potentially risk him seeing the growing smile planted on her face.
"I don't want to bother you," she quickly replied.
"You won't be." Fox patted the spot next to him for her, and Pikachu shrugged, walking over and sitting on the ground, crossing her legs in front of her. She turned her neck slightly to soak in the presence of her companion, relieved to see that he didn't notice her staring at him, or at least was giving off the impression that he wasn't noticing.
It became quiet once again, this time more comforting and soothing, like a warm blanket being placed over their bodies. Pikachu took one final look at the mercenary sitting to her left before redirecting her attention to the mixture of colors spread across the horizon. The only sounds were the intakes and releases of air from the two.
Pikachu heaved out an agitated sigh. Fox's eyes flickered over to her face, noting how her facial expression was contorted and almost twisted with conflict. He said nothing, hoping his silence would beckon her to initiate the conversation.
It did.
"I'm not going to win."
Fox blinked in surprise, opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. He quickly gathered himself mentally.
"You can't be sure of that."
Pikachu let out a bitter laugh- it was forced and sarcastic, like she was trying to brighten the now dreary mood but not knowing how to. She shook her head, facing the pilot. Fox felt a lump form in his throat as he registered the look on her face.
Pikachu's lips were taut, forming a thin yet forced line. Her usually pale complexion was dusted with pink around the two red pockets on her cheeks. But what pained the vulpine the most were her eyes- they were watery and shiny, glistening with fresh tears that were about make themselves more noticeable. That's when it hit Fox like a ton of bricks.
Pikachu didn't come up here to watch the sunset like he initially suspected.
She came up here to cry alone.
Pikachu bit her lip when Fox didn't reply, looking forward once more to avoid further eye contact. "There's no way I can possibly win this. I'm doomed," she sniffed, rubbing her eyes with back of her hand. Pikachu leaned her head back to try and have the tears not cascade down her cheeks. Another shaky sigh passed her lips, and she mentally kicked herself for coming up here and ruining the pilot's evening. "I'm just not built to be tough competition, you know? I get tossed around like I weigh nothing. I can't hit hard at all." She let out another forced laugh. "I'm fast- that's it. But of course that screws me over too. I was fighting Captain Falcon earlier, and I could have won it. But being the genius I am, I dumbly used a quick attack and sent myself flying off the freaking edge." She waved her arms in distress before slapping her hands back down onto her legs.
"You're too hard on yourself."
Pikachu lifted her gaze up to meet Fox's. The vulpine had a hardened expression, one that was too difficult for her to decipher. His eyes were clouded over, but not in the way that would come off as unfriendly.
He then smirked, and Pikachu felt her face heat up. Was her preparing to mock her?
"You can't expect to get good at something without failing a few times…." Fox licked his lips before continuing. "I think you, out of a vast majority of people here, would know that."
Pikachu froze, analyzing what Fox had just said to her. What does he mean that she would know….?
Oh. That's right.
She forgot that it was now well-known around the mansion that she was the leader of her own exploration team back in her homeland of Treasure Town. The amount of time, dedication, and most of all, failures, that she and her team went through to become as successful as they were was an unreal amount. That was part of the job. Fox would know that feeling too since his profession was, in a way, pretty similar to the one she had. Becoming a pilot and successful mercenary team wouldn't have been possible without failing a few times, right?
She giggled quietly, embarrassment crawling its way from the pit of her stomach and settling on her face. "I'm an idiot, aren't I?"
Fox shrugged, grinning at her. "I wouldn't say an idiot. Maybe just a little lost."
Pikachu nodded, lifting her hands to rub her eyes again. "I just wish it was a bit easier to win some of these fights. Everyone got so much better." Pikachu chewed on her lower lip for a moment. "Or have I maybe gotten worse…?" Her voice trailed off, intending for that to be a statement that only she heard. However, Fox had excellent hearing and picked up on every single syllable she just uttered.
"I also wouldn't say that," he started, smile fading into a slight frown. "Maybe more like everyone definitely got tougher. I've noticed that too."
She nodded again, not having a reply for him. The two once more sat in silence, another gust of wind weaving through their bodies. Pikachu shivered, rubbing her hands on her upper arms to try and retain some warmth. Fox took note of the girl becoming cold, and stood up, extending a gloved hand to her.
"The sunset ended a while ago, so we should probably head inside." The moment the words left his mouth is when Pikachu finally noticed the now darkened sky, the once light blues and pinks being replaced with darker shades of blues and almost black. She looked back to the hand in front of her face, involuntarily gulping before placing her own hand in his. As he pulled her up to her feet, Pikachu reached her arm out and swiped up Fox's flight jacket.
"Here." She held out the jacket to the vulpine. He made no move to take it from her, causing Pikachu to raise an eyebrow at him.
"I think you could use it more than me right now. I have an entire coat of fur to retain body heat," Fox grinned at her, and Pikachu rolled her eyes back.
"Whatever you say, Fox. But thanks." Pikachu gave him a small smile, pushing her blonde bangs out of her eyes. The vulpine nodded back at her and walked over to the door leading back inside. As he strode away from her, Pikachu glanced fondly down at the jacket before placing it over her shoulders and following behind the pilot.
Fox began to pull open the door towards them, and then paused for a moment as Pikachu walked up to him. Her eyes flickered to his in confusion, his own meeting hers for a brief second.
"If you'd like," he began, and Pikachu swore she felt her heart roughly thump in her chest for a moment. "Maybe we can train together sometime. Just the two of us."
Pikachu tried to contain herself, but couldn't help but allow some of her happiness bubble over onto the surface in the form of a grin.
"I'd like that."
(A/N) I am a lover of a practically nonexistent ship but that's alright I guess. I can dream that maybe someone out there will like the idea behind this pairing. I can dream.
I reaaaalllly hope you guys liked this! Please review and tell me what you think, and also if you would maybe like a sequel to this or something similar. Gracias!
Update: Just an FYI, any updates I make to this story have been and will just be fixing grammar errors I've picked up on. Anything that will be considered a sequel to this story will be uploaded seperately.