"Hey, uh, Fox. Can I talk to you for a minute?" lightly called Falco down the living quarters hallway. A set of light-orange ears perked up, standing outside the adjacent doorway.
"Yeah, I was about to check in to see how Peppy's doing, but I guess that can wait a few minutes. Uh, what's that in your hand?" prompted Fox as he approached Falco.
"Oh, y'know, I've been working on some robotics kits Slips gave me. I just finished making this tracking thingy for my coat pockets to find the dang thing more easily. It's soft too, feel it." invited Falco. Fox reached his furry hand down onto Falco's palm holding the device. Fox could feel Falco's body heat emanating through his feathery hands. That warm feeling made it obvious to Fox how comfortable Falco was to talk to him. Seeing the bird's beak open to start speaking again snapped Fox out of his daydreaming.
"Hey Foxy, you remember Katt, right?"
"Why wouldn't I?" mumbled Fox.
"Well, she reached out to me recently. I guess her boyfriend Kool got into some legal trouble and they had to ditch their gang. They need to rebuild a bit and the both of them want my help getting things off the ground so, they're on planet Rozsa now. And...if I showed up then I'd be gone for however long they need me." spoke a somber Falco.
"Well, you wanna go help your old team, right?" Fox encouraged.
"Not by myself."
The words 'Why not?' left Fox's mouth, but they only echoed off the hallway walls. Silence gave him the unhelpful knowledge that an answer wasn't coming. "Falco, I'd love to help you and your friends but I'm-"
"Tied up to meet with General Pepper for the next month. I know. I figured it was worth just asking." snapped Falco. Fox let the air in his lungs escape completely, crossing his arms at fate. "I'm sure I'll find someone eventually, even though Peppy's still out of commission and Slippy's on his honeymoon with Amanda. Ah well." shrugged off Falco.
"But, Falco these are some of your earliest friends. They could really use you, and you wouldn't be alone once you guys meet up, right?"
"...Fox, I'm just afraid I won't be able to do what they expect of me." and Falco trailed off again, this time with his gaze buried in the ground. He turned his body around and started pacing away from Fox.
"Uh...Falco, are you doing okay?" said Fox with regret as the words left his mouth.
"I don't know, Fox! I haven t flown the Arwing for a month now, I just don't know what's going on!" shouted a teary-eyed Falco. The commander stood patiently as Falco's outburst was replaced by soft sobbing. "I'm just sick of it. I don t know what I'm fighting for, cause it sure as hell ain't for myself." croaked Falco. He wiped his face and nervously chuckled before getting himself as he moved to lean against the hallway wall. Fox didn't let it show that he was afraid to speak next. Fox's lack of tension and posture pushed him to speak earlier than he was ready, bringing him into his commander voice.
"Falco, maybe you just need a break from it all. Don't push yourself harder than you have to. You're stronger than this, c'mon."
Falco scowled a bit in response, closing his eyes to look at himself. 'You have no idea what I've been trying to do all this time, dumbass.' thought Falco. Fox tried to regain Falco's attention, stepping forward and looking him in the eyes.
"Haven't you tried talking to a professional? I think I have a few contacts who could-"
"I've already seen Corneria's therapists, Fox. None of them 'got' me, I don't have any other options. I've tried my ass off, Fox. I don't mean to shoot you down like this but I don't know how you'd do anything different than what I'd do." stressed Falco, frustrated and indifferent to his commander. Fox had no response as his ears fell to the floor. Falco's long legs carried him out of the hallway, headed somewhere else in the Great Fox. Fox sat alone in his dorm room, that familiar silence hitting him as if a door had been slammed his in face.

Falco was nowhere to be found for the rest of the afternoon. Fox stayed put in his bedroom, hoping for Falco's return when he was feeling better. As the evening approached, Fox made his intended visit to Peppy, who was still recovering from a leg injury.

"Did he really say all that?"
"Yeah, it was like he just snapped. I don't know how we didn't see any behaviour sooner, I don't even know where he's been for the rest of the day." worried Fox.
"Well he couldn't have gone too far. If my age has made me notice anything about you two, Falco never grew out of eating like a young adult. That's the last thing I expect him to give up. He'll come around for dinner, I'm sure of it." noted Peppy with an earnest smile.
"I just hope you re right about that."
"Me too, but I guess it s nothing we can worry about right now. It's about that time anyways so, y'know, if you wouldn't mind wheeling me over, I'd much prefer it to ROB's whirring and squeaking. Drives me nuts."
"Yeah, don t worry about it." said Fox as he gripped Peppy's wheelchair by the handles and shifted Peppy out the door. "Jeez, we really didn't optimise this ship for people with broken legs."
"Yeah, and to think Corneria would be a little more grateful and give us somethin' for our efforts besides medical supplies. I'd love me some of those jet boots they're testin'."
"Augh, tell me about it. I go nuts looking at their blog with all of that tech we're not allowed to try out. I guess they don"t want any of us breaking some legs in the process." Fox and Peppy both laughed at the idea. Fox was satisfied to leave the medical wing with a smile on his face, even after having to break the harsh news to Peppy. Fox took Peppy's chair by the handles and sighed confidently as they headed to the mess hall.

Amidst the soft squeaking of the wheels and Fox's footsteps, a metal clacking from the floor above them could be heard. Fox let go of the wheelchair and started to walk briskly towards the nearest stairwell before Peppy moved his hand to tug on Fox's sleeve. "Hey, he'll come around when he's ready, just give him some time. Not to mention, I'd like to make it the whole way there before you go darting off, if you don t mind." snarked Peppy.
"Oh, sorry." said Fox with his head still poised at the stairs, not moving a muscle. Fox asked himself why he couldn't relax while thinking about Falco. Peppy was right, Falco's bound to pop up sooner or later, and it's not like they directly hate eachother. Fox shook his head briefly to get his head out of that train of thought, realising he had to take some initiative to take Peppy's words to heart. Fox smiled at Peppy as he reverted the wheelchair's course: Kitchen-bound as planned.

With Peppy moved and a bowl of ramen made, Fox decided he'd take things to his room to watch some local Cornerian TV. There were plenty of series he'd been meaning to catch up with that being on-duty simply didn't allow. He set his bowl of ramen on a nearby desk before plopping himself down onto one of his bean bag chairs, nestling himself in the dark like a kid watching Saturday-morning cartoons. The sounds of tires screeching, cheesy one-liners and soup-slurping emitted from Fox's TV, escaping into the hallway. The sound brought a certain avian out from hiding to see what was the fuss was about. Blue feathers inched into the frame of Fox's open door as Falco peered inside. Falco's heart stopped to see Fox wrapped in blankets, remote in one hand and a bowl of soup in the other. Falco couldn't pay attention to Fox after that point, as his mind went racing. 'He looks so happy to be beside himself! What the hell? He's acting like he's in someone else's company!' internally screamed Falco. He moved away from the door frame as he tried to stealthily regain his breath. 'He s not expecting me, is he? Does he already know I'm here?' The bird swivelled himself around the frame to lean against the wall, much more visibly this time. He stared down the length of the room as he noticed the walls were flickering with the light of the TV, centering on Fox s face. Fox was still captivated by the TV.

Falco spoke softly, "Hey." but the tone didn't stop Fox from jumping out of his seat, startled that he didn't notice Falco any earlier. Fox straightened his back to get himself out of the slump he was sitting in while he was tucked under the blankets.
"H-Hey Falco."
Falco wished he had better words for a moment like this, but instead he just darted his eyes and asked, "Do you mind if I join you?"

End of Chapter 1