(A/N) Hey guys! Got the sudden urge to write something about Wolf and Fox based on a drawing I made (which happens to be the cover of this fic). This whole chapter basically formed in my head over the course of one night not being able to sleep. Please bear in mind that my knowledge of Star Fox lore is pretty bare bones, so i took a lot of liberties and made past events generally vague. I really just enjoy the characters a lot! Hope you enjoy!
BZZZZZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZZZZT
Fox McCloud's eyes peeled themselves open to the bright light emanating from the screen of the phone next to his head, juxtaposed with the soft ambient light bleeding through the curtains, illuminating the modestly sized apartment. The phone was vibrating.
"Mmmmnnghnm." Fox reached out for the device gently with one hand while rubbing his eyes with the other. After a few wipes he was able to see the screen. An unknown number was calling him. "Mmmm yeah, no." He placed the phone back down and flipped over on his side, back turned to the call as it ended. The mercenary leader nuzzled himself back into the pillow, hoping to continue where he had just left off…
BZZZZZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZZZZT BZZZZZZZZZZT
Fox scoffed and turned to face the phone again, this time with a scowl. He snatched up the phone. Yup, same number. Still not one of his contacts. And that meant they get to leave a voicemail.
Wait, why didn't they leave a voicemail the first time?
Maybe that meant it's urgent? It could be one of his friends trying to call him because they're stranded somewhere without their phone and were forced to use a stranger's. Clearing his throat, mind made up, a single finger hit the accept call button.
"Hello?" Fox tried his hardest not to sound like he just woke up. A valiant effort, to be sure.
A gravelly, deep voice on the other end replied, "Oh, did I wake ya?"
"Mmph, who is this?"
"It's Wolf. O'Donnell. Uh, this is Fox, right?"
Fox felt a jolt in his chest as all of his drowsiness left him in an instant. "W-Wolf? What's this all about? How'd you get my number?"
There was a slight pause on Wolf's end before he responded with, "Oh, y'know. Around. I saw the Great Fox dock yesterday so I thought I'd see if you were planetside."
Fox pinched the bridge of his snout, squeezing his eyes shut. "Shit, you disappear for two years and then you call me on my private phone out of the blue? What do you even want? Are you gonna track my phone now? Gonna assassinate me or something?"
"Oh, come now, we left on far more amicable terms than that, didn't we?" The older man punctuated this with a sad chuckle.
McCloud thought for a second. It was true. His and Wolf's mercenary teams, Star Fox and Star Wolf, respectively, had worked in tandem the last time they were in contact, but he was unsure if that was enough to undo years of rivalry and animosity.
Wolf continued past Fox's silence. "Uh, anyway, I was calling because I just bought a new car and wanted someone to test it out with." It was almost sheepish the way he said it, his words speeding up toward the end of the sentence.
Fox just laid there, flabbergasted. "You're...you're serious." Silence. He felt he should probe again, while he also felt he should just hang up. The former feeling won out. "You know, they make cars now that only require one driver! Marvels of technology, those!" A bark of laughter was what he received in response.
"Ya haven't changed a bit, eh Foxy?"
"...Foxy?"
"Anyway, what fun is driving a brand new convertible in the summer all by yerself? No fun at all!"
As flimsy as that explanation was, Fox decided to humor his rival. "Alright, why call me then? You must have a lot of other people you could take with you before you even considered me." Thinking further about what the man on the other line had said in the past half minute, he came up with another question. "Wait wait wait wait wait, you're on Corneria? And you're near enough to me to have seen the Great Fox land? Are you in the Capital?" Fox bit his finger. His apartment was in the Capital. This was building up to be one of the biggest coincidences of his life.
What Fox heard could only be described as a giggle, but coming from Wolf O'Donnell it probably should have been classified as something else. "Woah, slow down! Yes, I'm in the Capital right now! Have been for a while. And no, everyone else I know is either busy or off planet." A slow exhale. "You're all I've got."
"Yeah, well that still sounds super shady and suspicious, sooooooo I'm gonna have to reject. Bye now!" Fox moved the phone away from his ear and hovered over the red circle on the screen before Wolf's voice rang out from the speaker, louder than before.
"Wait! C'mon, pleeeeeeeeeeeease!" It was pitiful, but that was probably the desired effect. Fox sighed and returned the phone back to the side of his face.
"Okay, tell me what this is really about then."
"I got a new car."
Fox let out a long sigh. "And how do you know I don't already have plans today?"
"Cuz ya would have told me already, dummy."
Fox blinked. Well he got him there. Curse his honesty! He could have been done with this by now if he had just made up some preexisting commitment.
"Also, it's like, past 2:00 and you were in the middle of yer beauty sleep. Yep, definitely no place to be." God, he never talked this much while they were dog fighting. Fox didn't know whether he missed that or not.
"Yeah yeah, okay wise guy. I'm not doing anything today. So why should I waste a glorious day of doing nothing on my vacation going on a joy ride in your new toy?" Fox moved himself to lay on his stomach as he hit speakerphone and placed the phone on the pillow in front of his snout.
"...Cuz it'll be fun? C'moooooon!" He immediately regretted turning on speakerphone.
Well, I was gonna try to find something to do today. And he has definitely piqued my interest enough, albeit in an insufferable way.
And with that, Fox's willpower was broken. He wanted to find out what Wolf really had up his sleeve, and he wouldn't find out if he just hung up now. "Alright. Sure. What's the worst that could happen." He accepted, deadpan.
"Ah, really? Uh, yeah so I'll meet you at 4:00 in Central Park?" The genuine excitement in O'Donnell's voice threw Fox off a bit.
"Yeah, and I'm bringing my blaster, so keep that in mind."
Wolf clicked his tongue in offense. "Well I'm not bringing mine! But fine, I'll just have to show you that you don't need it."
"Yep, precisely. Bye Wolf." And with a button press, he was gone, just as he had been for the past two years.
Fox rolled over and stared at the ceiling, mumbling. "Well, I don't really have to go now, do I? He doesn't know where I live."
Well, he did get my phone number somehow.
"Shit."
Rolling off the bed, Fox started preparing for his impromptu rendezvous with his sworn rival. Life could be funny like that. After a simple breakfast (lunch?) of last night's macaroni and cheese, the fox checked the temperature before choosing his clothes.
"35 Celsius? That freakin car better have air conditioning."
Fox pulled on a short sleeved light green polo and some dark shorts which might have been a smidge too small. Whatever. It all breathed really well and that's all he could ask for in heat like this. He stepped into some sandals and topped the outfit off with a pair of simple shades. Satisfied with the combination, he made his way over to his blaster case, hand hovering over the latch to open it. It stayed there a second before reaching into the drawer below and grabbing his wallet, which he slipped into his pocket.
Before putting his phone in his pocket, he pulled up Falco in his contacts. It'd be good to have someone know where he's going, and more importantly, who he's going to be with. However, Fox felt that explaining the whole situation would be more of a hassle than the possibility of Wolf trying anything shady. Putting the mobile device into his pocket, Fox opened the door to his apartment and descended the stairs.
Leaving the main building, the heat struck his body like a plasma bolt. He grimaced, shoving his hands into his pockets and setting off. Luckily, Central Park wasn't too far away from the complex. Fox breathed in and yawned. The streets were bustling and the air was filled with birdsong and distant music playing from storefronts.
So, Wolf had spent most of the time we hadn't seen him here?
It was odd to think about. Why would someone just up and leave the mercenary team they headed? It's not like the Cornerian Army had grounded Star Wolf after pardoning them after they helped Star Fox. As far as General Pepper had told him, they were still allowed to fly as they pleased, but would be back on the shit list once they took another illegal job. Why had Wolf stayed on blue, beautiful Corneria and not someplace seedy?
Fox was apparently lost in thought for quite a bit because he had made it to the park without realizing it. He shook his head as he looked for a bench to wait on, before seeing that Wolf was already there, standing next to a shiny new purple convertible in the parking area. He had a loose red button up with the collar popped, a white flower and leaf pattern adorning it. Only three quarters of the buttons were actually holding the shirt closed, with his white fluffy chest fur bursting out from where it laid open. Below that he wore light gray capri pants and some comfy looking laceless leather shoes. His eyes were hidden by a pair of shades, similar to Fox's. This was completely different from the Wolf he had always seen, who dressed to intimidate.
Aside from the clothing he also looked different physically. His coat had a healthy sheen, contrasting with the matted, dull look it always seemed to have over the comms. His fuzzy tail swayed behind him and the white hair on his head was longer, tied neatly behind him in a small ponytail. Fox continued to walk toward him the entire time he made these observations, wondering when he'd take notice of his arrival.
He looks…good.
Finally, when Fox was about 10 meters away, Wolf turned his head toward him. He flashed a smile and pulled the sunglasses up to his forehead, revealing the signature eyepatch covering his left eye. "Fox? Fox is that you?"
Said Fox rolled his eyes. "Of course it is, and you know it! You wouldn't have said that so loud if you weren't sure!"
Wolf seemed to ignore this as he looked the newcomer up and down. "Wow, Foxy, really? Ya look like an elementary schooler on a field trip!", he chortled. Fox had closed the gap by now, standing just in front of the once grizzled mercenary.
"Yeah, well at least I don't look like somebody's grandpa. Where'd you get that shirt, anyway, the floor of a thrift store?"
O'Donnell grabbed the collar of the garment with both hands, pulling it up a bit as if to make a statement. "As a matter of fact...I did!" His look was stern for a split second before flashing his yellowed fangs again. Fox stifled a laugh, but quickly returned to scowling. Not fast enough for Wolf not to catch, it seemed. "Ahh, ahhhh! I saw that! Ya think I'm funny!" He then held out his arms, holding them there for a bit as if he expected Fox to know what he was doing. Once he saw this was not the case, he inquired, "Hug?"
Fox crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "No hug." He meant it to sound mean, but amusement still slipped from his voice.
Wolf lowered his arms and head. "No hug.", he repeated quietly, scratching his nose. He suddenly shot his hand up, finger pointed to the sky in an 'a-ha!' pose. "Oh, I know! Handshake!" He held his paw out to Fox, whose arms stayed where they were as he continued to wear his annoyed expression, betrayed by the slight smile that crept around his muzzle.
"How about a polite nod?" He suggested.
Wolf retracted his arm. "Ah yeah, I know how to do that. Hold on." He closed his eye in mock concentration before opening it again and locking onto Fox's. He nodded curtly, saying "Politenod!" as he did so, once again causing Fox to grin as he returned the nod.
Goddamn, what is he doing?
Wolf could always be a smarmy asshole, and this version of Wolf was still that for sure, but with an added layer of charm and sincerity.
"Don't see a blaster on ya, big guy. Guess ya trust me enough after all!" The wolf's expression grew more joyous as he made this discovery, and his tail wagged idly behind him.
Fox became flustered. "I have it! You just aren't gonna see it unless you pull something!"
"Pssshh, well yeah, that's how concealed carry works!"
"Not what I meant!"
"And anyway, I can see you don't have a chunky blaster anywhere on ya, with an outfit like that. So ha!"
"And what about you? I don't believe what you said earlier about not packing anything." Fox stated flatly.
"Oh! Oh I'll show you!" Wolf began unbuttoning his shirt. "Ain't got nothin under here but my fur!" Fox held a hand up to his eyes and averted his gaze.
"Woah woah, hey! No need for that! I believe you, I believe you!" The fox decided it'd be a good idea to drop this topic. He turned his eye to the whole reason he was supposedly here. "Hey what gives, O'Donnell? I thought you said you bought a new car, but that's a '32 Icehawk! It's like 50 years old!" He went over to scrutinize it further. Despite his claim, the car really did appear to be brand new, strangely.
Wolf scoffed and walked over to the vehicle, leaning back on it as if he were posing. "Well, Mister Automotive Genius, if ya did yer research you would know that they just re-released this model since it's such a classic! All the quirks of a new one coupled with-" ,Wolf smacked the door for emphasis, "-all the aesthetic of the old!"
"Ah, well I'm very happy for you and your new toy, but does it have air conditioning?"
"Of course it has air conditioning!"
"Then we're starting this little drive now, I'm dying." Fox walked over to the passenger side while pulling at his collar, tongue lolling out in a pant.
"Heh, alrighty then!" Wolf hopped over the door and into his seat while Fox opened the door on his side and climbed in.
"Uh, you do know this thing has this nifty lil invention called doors, right?" Fox swung his door back and forth a few times to demonstrate its function.
"Well my way was cooler!"
"Gotta watch the arthritis though, grandpa."
"Hah!" With that, Wolf turned the engine on and the two men were greeted with a wonderful blast of cold air.
Fox leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Even with the top popped open, the rays of the sun seemed to be rendered harmless. "Y'know, I joke about your age but you definitely weren't alive when the original model was released."
Wolf put the car into reverse and looked over his shoulder to back out. "Oh of course not! But it was my first car! Was pretty old even at the time but I fell in love with it! This is like a dream come true to me!" The purple vehicle made its way out of the park, turning right and onto a busy street. "What about you? What was yer first ride?"
Fox froze up. He couldn't let Wolf know he never learned how to drive a car. Sure he could have figured it out without much trouble due to his expertise when it came to basically any other vehicle in Lylat. But he just kind of skipped right over basic car. "What!? Sorry, I can't hear you with all this traffic and wind!" It was true that the noise surrounding them was immense, but it really wasn't enough to drown out their speech.
Wolf reached over and flipped a switch on the dashboard, and suddenly the noise was negated. "Didn't really wanna use the audio-dampeners, but if ya can't hear, ya can't hear." He turned to the fox with a smile. "Now you can hear my lovely voice again!"
"Great."
"Anyway, I asked ya what yer first car was."
Shit!
Okay, he was just going to have to make something up. He scanned his mind for all of the car models he knew of. "Uhh, it was a MachBreaker. Really standard, really."
"Heh, ya never forget yer first car, huh."
"Yep." Fox turned his head away and looked out the side, signifying he was done talking. The city rushed past them as the traffic around them dispersed more. Wolf seemed like a surprisingly calm driver, yet extremely capable.
Guess his land driving translated pretty well into his space flying.
Fox cautioned a glance over to his driver, not wanting to start up another awkward conversation in doing so. Wolf reached into his pocket and stuck a data drive into a port on the dash. "Fancy some music, Fox?" The passenger simply shrugged, allowing Wolf to hit a button, bringing the speakers to life. The music was heavy, one thing about Wolf today that he totally expected. Not bad, though. Fox found himself tapping his arm on the side of the door as the loud music washed over him. Two tracks played without a word said. The third track, however, brought the familiar polyrhythms and eccentric playing style of Fox's favorite band to his ears.
"Woah, this is 30 Leagues Under Aquas! You listen to them?" The young man had jumped up in his seat as he recognized it. Wolf was clearly startled but recovered quickly.
"Heh, you know it! Funny, I thought my music tastes would be a bit too intense for yer liking!"
"What? No! This is legitimately my favorite band!" Fox, bowing under the sheer power of the music, began playing an invisible guitar as he let his head swing back and forth, completely losing himself in the waves of sound. Needless to say, Wolf nearly lost it, but Fox could barely hear his laughter.
"Go Fox, go! You've got the crowd pumped up! Rock out, buddy! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Wolf's high pitched howl brought Fox back to Corneria. He stopped going nuts and leaned back into his seat slowly, looking away as if nothing happened. He jumped up as he felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder and shake him. "Man, I can't believe you know about 30 Leagues! I've literally been listenin to them since I was like, 16!" The look on the older man's face was ecstatic now. Fox had definitely seen him smile more times in the past 15 minutes than in all the years he had known him.
"Ah, I only discovered them pretty recently, but they're unlike anything I've ever heard!" Fox's embarrassment slowly faded as he allowed himself to gush.
"Tell me about it! Used to listen to these guys in my Wolfen all the time!"
"I've never tried listening to music in the Arwing. Always wanted to focus as much as I can, y'know?"
"Pfffft, I always did fine with music. Sometimes it even helped!"
They both fell into a comfortable silence. Fox still felt a bit silly about his mini jam session, but Wolf hadn't made fun of him for it, so that made him feel a bit better.
The drive continued without further conversation, as both men enjoyed the music and the ride. Fox had to admit, it was a really nice car. He started to think he made the right decision to tag along, even if it made absolutely no sense still. Speaking of…
"So, were you gonna go anywhere today, or just drive around aimlessly the whole time?"
"Oh, uhh, I'm kinda flyin by the seat of my pants here, kiddo. I'm all ears for suggestions though, if ya wanna do somethin. I was just gonna drive around if that's all ya wanted." Wolf's bushy tail began to wag slightly next to him and Fox couldn't help but feel like he fell into some sort of trap.
Wow, I really just told Wolf freakin O'Donnell that I wanted to go do something with him.
It was true, though. With no other plans for the day, Fox wanted this little excursion to take as much time as possible, lest he be subjected to the boredom and depression that resulted from sitting around his apartment all day. Despite this, Fox didn't race to come up with any destinations.
The car was now on a road next to a large bay as the skyscrapers thinned out, giving the pair a glorious view of the city. Fox squinted and could actually make out the Great Fox, docked some distance away from them. Wolf, clearly having seen it too, pointed in its direction. "Well hey, I can see yer house from here!"
"Hah. Funny. You should be a comedian."
"I been getting that a lot recently! Thanks!" Wolf focused on the road once more before turning almost immediately back to his passenger. "So, wanna head over? Ya could give me the grand tour?" Fox snorted.
"Yeah, cuz that doesn't sound fishy at all." Adopting a higher pitched tone, he continued in a mocking manner. "Oh suuuure lemme just invite the leader of our rival team overrrrr! Show him our home base and all its weak points! Then we can make some cupcakes!" Fox fell back into his seat with his arms crossed, gauging Wolf's reaction.
Instead of the laugh he expected (and...wanted?), Wolf just held up a finger and said in a correcting tone: "Former leader."
"Hm?"
"I don't lead Star Wolf anymore, McCloud." He was looking at Fox with his one good eye, head still facing forward.
"...y'know, I think I had figured that out, already. But 'ex-leader' didn't sound as good for the joke."
"Oh, so it was only a joke? You wanna head over?"
"NO!"
The duo continued to drive, chatting occasionally as the city began to thin out. It was approaching 5:45 when Wolf suddenly pulled into a parking lot. Fox had been spacing out a bit and his ears perked up in response to the change in velocity. Wolf parked and turned off the engine, subjecting both once again to the heat of Lylat.
Wolf unbuckled and leapt out the side of the car, with Fox opening his door to follow. "God, are you always gonna do that? It doesn't look that cool!"
"Sure it does! It's how I did it as a pup and all my friends thought I was hot shit!"
"Yeah, uh huh. Anyway, where did you take us?"
"Food!" The gray wolf patted his stomach as they headed towards the building that occupied the lot, which was a simple diner. A perfect location on the outskirts of a big city for people coming and going. Despite having eaten after waking up, the microwave heated leftovers Fox had weren't doing much to keep him full, so he was in full support.
Walking into the diner, the two were once again blessed with air conditioning. Wolf stretched his back out with an audible crack before heading towards a booth and plopping down. The sun shown onto him, making the white parts of his fur practically glow, his eye half lidded with a look of contentment spread across his face. The sight made Fox stop suddenly.
To think this man used to be a feared mercenary…
He was thrown back into reality by a few snaps from Wolf. "Hellooo! Did the sun fry yer brain? Have a seat!" Fox complied, and both relaxed for a moment before the waitress appeared, a rare sight as many food services opted for automated systems.
"How are you two gentleman today?", the cat asked in a sweet voice as she placed menus down on the table.
"Just fine, sweetheart! Aside from the huge ball of plasma outside tryin to burn the clothes right off me!" Wolf answered almost immediately, as Fox grabbed a menu with a mumbled affirmation that he was doing fine as well.
The waitress giggled at Wolf's joke. "Oh, don't I know it! I'm so happy I work inside! My name is Andrea, by the way. Shall I start you two off with some water?"
"Oh, please!" Fox's face shot up from the laminated paper he had stuck his nose into, giving a pleading look to their server. Wolf just chuckled and nodded.
"Thought so! I'll be back in a jiffy!" Andrea walked off.
"So, you been here before?" Fox probed, assuming the answer already by how quickly Wolf had pulled in to park.
"Oh yeah! Many times. Never met Andrea, though. She seems sweet." Wolf tapped his claw on the table, not even looking at the menu in front of him.
"So, anything you recommend?" Fox was still scanning his, but found that nothing popped out.
Wolf leaned back with a smug grin. "Lemme just say, this place has the best burgers in the entire city."
"Really? They don't seem to be advertising them much..." Fox scanned over his menu again, this time finding the small section with the burger selection. It seemed to be mostly customizeable, with no weirdly named premade patties on display.
"Yeah, well that's what makes this place so special to me. Lil secrets like that!"
Fox nodded, deciding that he would just get a cheeseburger with fries, a harmless choice that he couldn't possibly regret. He turned to the back to see the drinks, which consisted of teas, juices, soft drinks, and beer, oddly enough. Then again, Fox had seldom been to diners like this, so maybe serving beer wasn't too out of place.
Andrea returned with two cold glasses of water and some straws. Fox immediately ripped the small tube from its paper prison and greedily sipped from his glass. "So you guys decide yet?" Wolf simply stared at Fox, which he took as a sign to go first.
"Yeah, uh, just a cheeseburger with standard toppings and a serving of fries, please. Oh, and a Dr. Flux as well!" He then went back to his water, which he had almost emptied.
"Allllright then!" Andrea tapped on the tablet in her hands. "And you, sir?"
Wolf licked his lips. "A triple burger with barbecue sauce, extra onions, on a toasted bun. And some fried stuffed peppers, please!"
"Very well! And anything additional to drink?"
"Hm? Naaah, the water'll do me just fine."
"Alright! It shouldn't take too long, so sit tight!" With that, the server removed the menus and made her way to the kitchen.
Fox looked over at Wolf, eyebrows raised. "Really? No beer?" He may not have known much about his former rival, but one thing that was well known about him was his tendency to frequent bars. Alcohol and Wolf just went hand in hand in Fox's mind.
Wolf returned his query with a wide grin. "Nope! Been clean of the stuff for five months now!"
"Oh!" Well that was surprising. Even more so than literally everything else that happened today. "Well, congratulations, Wolf! That's great to hear!"
The ex-merc scratched the back of his head. "Heh, yeah. I've been in a program for over a year now, and I feel like I'm finally makin some headway."
Fox smiled wide, genuinely glad to hear about Wolf's success. "That's awesome! So is it, like, an alcoholics anonymous type of deal or..." Fox cringed a bit as he finished the sentence, his ears flicking back. He hoped Wolf didn't mind him insinuating that he was an alcoholic.
Wolf didn't seem to notice, instead looking up at the ceiling, squinting with his mouth slightly open. "Eeeeehhh it's a bit more general than that. More like a group therapy sorta dealie. Helps with all sortsa stuff. Covers a variety of situations."
"Ah, well that's cool! How'd you find yourself there?" Finally, he might start to get some answers as to what exactly Wolf did after they had last seen each other, and what made him decide to give up the shady mercenary life.
Wolf stared into his glass, and for the first time today seemed to be something other than happy. Fox almost regretted his probing, but eventually Wolf spoke up. "Well, why does anybody join those things? Yer life shit? You go get help. I'm just glad I got to the point where I could see how shitty everything actually was."
Fox finished his water and was now leaning fully onto the table. "Oh yeah? I always figured Star Wolf made a whole lot of money taking on jobs nobody else would take. You must have been living it big, right?"
Wolf's face scrunched up, and he took a sip of water. He placed the glass down with a sigh. "It ain't that simple. Sure, the money was good, but it was dirty money. Could only really buy dirty things. Prolong addictions. Enable self-destruction...", he was looking out the window now. "I...did a lot of soul-searching after helping your team, Fox, and I realized the path I was on was gonna kill me and everyone I had managed to care about up until that point." His purple iris darted back to Fox, who jumped back a bit, not realizing how engrossed he had become in the story.
"So...your team members?"
"I'm still in touch with em, but they're still in that life. Nothin as bad as we used to do, mind you, but still not stuff I wanna be involved with anymore."
"So, you've been living here for two years?"
"Yep. Managed to find a dinky lil apartment with low rent that I've been able to pay off with the remainder of my money, but I'm gonna hafta find work soon."
Fox traced his finger around the rim of his glass. "So, not doing piloting anymore?"
"Oh, no no not something that drastic! I still fully intend to go back to piloting! I still have my Wolfen and everything! I don't think anything could keep me from flying! Just wanna do more honest work with it." He was twirling his unopened straw idly between his fingers as he relayed his job plans, which Fox was relieved to hear about.
"Honestly? That's good, cuz it'd be a hell of a waste for a pilot of your skill to be stuck planetside in a dead end job." Any shame Fox might have felt before in complimenting his once sworn enemy had completely melted away in the comfortable atmosphere.
"Aw, shucks, yer makin be blush." Wolf craned his head back and extended his hand toward the ceiling, sweeping it across dramatically. "Soon I'll be joining you among the stars, McCloud!"
"Wow, you make it sound so romantic!" Fox laughed a bit at his own joke.
"Oh, I have that effect I hear." Wolf punctuated this with a dramatic blink of his one eye.
"Was...was that supposed to be a wink?"
"It was supposed to be a wink."
There was silence, but the friendly mood persisted, preventing it from becoming awkward. Andrea arrived with their meals, and they began to dig in.
"So whattabout yer dear team Star Fox? How's that all goin?" Wolf managed to get out between bites of his huge burger.
"We're doing alright. Mostly escort jobs lately, but that's fine with me! Y'know on some jobs I almost expected your team to show up and tangle with us!" Fox started eating his fries and sipped at his soda. "But yeah, money is steady, times are peaceful. Even if I might be a bit bored, I'm not stressed, which is all I can ask for really."
Wolf, somehow almost done with his burger, followed up with another question. "And the crew? How's everyone doin?"
The orange furred man burped quietly from the carbonation of the Dr. Flux. "Scuse me. Uh, they're doing fine! Like, nothing to report or anything...not that you know them anyway."
"Heh, yeah, only their voices and how they act under stress. Hope Star Wolf didn't scar the frog for life or anythin."
"Slippy? Nah he's fine. Spending his vacation making adjustments to the Great Fox. I'm lucky that he enjoys his work so much that he prefers doing it in his free time, but I really wish he'd take an actual break." Finishing his fries, Fox turned his attention to the cheeseburger. "Peppy's getting older, but it hasn't seemed to stop him yet." He lifted the burger up to his mouth, preparing to take a bite.
"Heh, Peppy still got some pep in his step, eh?"
Fox stopped with his mouth open, closed it, and stared daggers at Wolf in response to his pun. The culprit simply beamed from seeing the effect it caused.
"How's birdy doin? Uhh, Falcor?"
Fox snorted before correcting, "Falco. And he's mellowed out a lot lately, surprisingly. I think conflict riles him up. Although I also think he looks for that conflict now whenever he's on shore, just in different forms like gambling and stuff." Finally, Fox was able to take a bite of his meal, which he reacted to quickly. "Woah, you weren't kidding! This is phenomenal!" He held the burger out and pointed to it, as if he could be talking about anything else.
"Haha! So was I right or what?" Wolf popped one of his fried peppers into his mouth.
"Very right! If this place weren't so far from my place I'd come here every day!" In a minute, the cheeseburger was gone, washed down with the rest of the soft drink.
Wolf, having also finished his meal, leaned back and exhaled happily. "So, ya say Star Fox is on vacation now?"
"Mhm. For a week starting today."
"And then back into the expanse! Man, just talkin about it and I'm itchin to go back."
"You have a specific time frame for when you wanna start flying again?" Fox began gathering up all his dishes into a neat pile as to not inconvenience the staff.
"Nah, nothin too concrete. I figure it'll be any time between now and when I run out of money." Wolf scratched his chest with one hand and picked at his teeth with the other. "Most that gives me is a half year."
"Well, I'll keep an eye out for any jobs for you!" Fox smiled wide, an expression that Wolf returned.
"I appreciate it, kiddo!"
Andrea returned to the table. "So, how was everything?"
Wolf chuckled and nodded to McCloud. "Fox, tell her." Their server turned to Fox expectantly.
"That was. The. BEST. Burger I have had in my whole life!" His green eyes were open wide as he flung his arms out dramatically, causing Andrea to giggle.
"Oh yeah, we get that a lot! We even have a tally going in the kitchen. It's well into the hundreds!" She placed a small screen onto the table between them. "There's your total! Just pay on there and you can leave it with your dishes. Have a good rest of your day, guys!" She walked off as both men reached for their wallets simultaneously, and then looked at each other.
"Fox, don't worry about it! I dragged ya out today so I should pay."
"What? You just were talking about your limited funds and unemployment! I have more than enough to cover it!"
"No, no, I insist!"
"Well, let's at least split it." Fox reached over to the device that had been placed between them. "See? There's an option right there for it."
"Hmmngh, fine. You win." With Wolf's permission, Fox selected the split payment option and the two of them touched their payment cards onto the screen, transferring the funds. They then both got up and walked out into the oven-like heat.
As they approached the Icehawk, Wolf let out a whistle to catch Fox's attention before tossing the keys at him, which he barely caught. "Ya wanna turn with it?"
Fox clammed up. "Oh, uh, n-no it's fine, you can keep driving. I was completely fine just being passenger." He walked over to hand the keys back.
Wolf eyed him in surprise. "Really? It's a really nice ride! Probably the best performing car I've ever driven. Ya sure?"
The smaller canine placed his fist in his hand, releasing the keys. "I'm sure. You enjoy your car, Wolf." He retreated back to the passenger seat.
Now that was close.
Wolf did his stupid jump into the car again and turned the air on immediately. Before pulling out, though, he turned his gaze to the fox next to him.
"Never learned to drive a car, eh?" Fox's eyes went wide, but other than that he didn't move. Wolf sat back with an amused expression, clearly pleased that he was correct in his assumption.
Fox gave up. "Alright, detective, how did you figure that one out?"
"Well, all the people I knew that started out drivin in a MachBreaker turned out to be crazy bastards on the road! Never woulda turned up the opportunity to drive a beaut like this!" He smacked the top of the steering wheel with his hand.
"Seems like flimsy logic to me."
"Well I was right, wasn't I?"
Fox sighed. "Yeah, well now you know why I can't drive your car, so let's just go."
"Well, I could teach ya!"
"Pssh, yeah good one!" Fox looked over and saw Wolf looking at him with a dead serious expression. "Wait, you actually mean that?"
"Of course I do! The great Fox McCloud, master pilot of all sorts of military vehicles never even drove a simple car! I'd be doin you and Lylat a huge favor! And my rates are reasonable! C'mon, it'll be fun!"
"N-no I don't wanna go to the trouble of all that an-WOAH!" The fox was cut short as he felt Wolf lean over and yank him up from under his armpits, moving him over to the driver's seat and smoothly sliding himself over to where Fox had sat, switching their positions in only a few seconds. The ease in which this was accomplished clearly showed how strong the larger man was. Regaining his bearings, Fox looked over at Wolf, shock painting his face, while Wolf's was full of mischief. Defeated, the new driver of the car quietly said, "Alright, now what."
"Well, first of all yer gonna have to adjust a few things, what with yer smaller stature and all that." Fox nodded, patting his hands around the seat around him, looking for a button or a latch. After letting him play patty cake with the seat for a few moments, Wolf finally said, "Under."
"Oh." Fox reached below his seat and found what he was looking for. He pulled the seat up to a comfortable position, his feet resting idly on the pedals and one hand on the wheel. He looked over the dashboard, trying to find anything he could go off of, but the simplicity of it all clashed with the complexity he was used to in the Arwing. The car being based off an over 50 year old model didn't help matters either. Fox looked back over to his new mentor, silently asking for further instruction.
Wolf pointed at the mirrors on the doors and attached to the canopy. "Now ya just gotta adjust those." Fox complied, moving the one above him with his hand while Wolf showed him how to move the door mirrors using the buttons inside the car. Getting them into a position where he could see everything around him, Fox looked at Wolf for the next step, and he proceeded to show Fox how to put the car into drive and which pedals were the brake and accelerator. Finally, the Icehawk began to roll slowly out of the parking spot.
"Here we go!" Fox turned the wheel slightly to the left, finding that the sensitivity was a bit similar to the stick he was used to in space. Wolf clapped mockingly.
"Ya did it! Now just get a feel for it in this parkin lot." Thankfully it was mostly empty, allowing the brand new driver ample room to move around.
Fox weaved back and forth, fluctuating in speed as he committed the feeling to memory. "It's just so weird being in a vehicle where I can't control its Z axis position. Even the friggen Landmaster can fly!"
"Well with enough speed and the right terrain, you can do that with a car!" Wolf cackled. "But that's funny! Normal people have trouble wrappin their heads around full three dimensional movement, but here ya are strugglin with just the two." He adopted the voice of a hoity toity professor type as he continued, "Fox McCloud, your psychological reaction to this is simply fascinating and I am considering writing my dissertation on it."
Fox snorted, steering in a smooth figure 8. He was glad he could stop pretending he didn't find the wolf funny, because he really was.
He was probably always a funny guy and we just never saw it because we never encountered him in a casual setting. A shame, really.
"Woah, hey! Heads up, Foxy!"
Fox transitioned from his thoughts back to reality to see he was nearing the edge of the lot now. He turned right to avoid going into the grass. "Hehe, oops."
"What were ya thinkin about?"
You.
"Ah, just how weird it is to finally be doing this, y'know? And it's just so easy too! I mean, I always expected it to be, but I just never got around to it and the longer I went without driving the easier it was to just have it stay that way and...stuff." Fox scratched his nose idly.
"Well, sounds like yer ready for the big leagues then!" Wolf practically leaned out of the car as he pointed to the main road they had come in on, and Fox's eyes widened.
"Oh, no way in hell I'm driving in the city! We'll die!"
"Didn't say city. Turn left and you'll drive through the country."
Fox followed this instruction, and the pair traveled across the plains and forests that surrounded Corneria's capital. Farm equipment and fields of solar panels whizzed past, catching the glint of the evening sun and reflecting off their sunglasses. At some point the music was turned back on and they simply enjoyed the ride. Wolf would periodically stick his hand out the window like an airplane, at one point swooping it at Fox and making laser sounds, which Fox deflected by swatting the hand-ship out of the sky with a laugh.
The couple of hours driving on that country road melted away as Lylat dipped low in the sky, its light scattering across the atmosphere in brilliant warm colors. The two canines had already turned the car around at this point, and were fast approaching the city once again. A small mountain approached them on their right, and Wolf tapped Fox's shoulder and gestured toward it. "Make a right onto the road that leads up there."
"Oh? What's up there?" The Fox of just five hours ago would have suspected Wolf of using the remote location as a perfect location to mug him, but he didn't have a single suspicion in his mind now.
Wolf flashed his sharp teeth. "A great view! One of my buddies in the group is a farmer out here and he told me about it! The path going up is sort of easy to miss so it's kind of a secret." He leaned his face on his hand and looked ahead, seeming happy with this special knowledge he possessed.
"Oh nice! Alright just point it out to me when it comes up."
The road in question was dirt, situated between dense foliage and was only really visible if someone was looking at it head on. Thanks to Wolf's navigation, though, Fox pulled cleanly into it and they made their winding journey up, flanked by trees on either side.
Eventually they reached the top, which had a fairly large dirt clearing. Just as was promised, the sunset looked stunning from the new vantage point. An older looking goat in overalls was standing there overlooking the scene, turning to see the car as Fox parked nearby. Wolf actually opened his door for once, getting out and walking toward the other man. He gave a small wave. "Hey Lou!"
"Heya Wolf!" The goat smiled heartily at him, his eyes then darting over to Fox before going back to Wolf, seeming to mouth "Is that...". Wolf just nodded before turning back to the car.
"Yep, there's my big purchase! Betcha didn't think it'd look this authentic, huh?"
"Ya kiddin me? Fucker looks like a piece a plastic!", the goat spat, once again turning his attention to Fox, who had gotten out of the car and walked over to the two.
"Oh yeah, uh, Fox this is Lou, the guy who told me about this place."
Lou stepped forward and took Fox's hand, gripping tight and shaking steadily. "Nice ta meetcha, Fox!" He disengaged his arm and walked past them toward the path down to the road. "You guys have a nice time now." He waved without looking back.
"Hey we still good for poker on Thursday?" Wolf called after him
The old man replied. "O'course!"
"Huh, seems nice." Fox looked over to Wolf, who had situated himself on top of the car's hood, patting the spot next to him. Fox walked over and hoisted himself up, sitting on Wolf's right.
"Yeah, he's a lotta fun. Brings in food from his farm sometimes." Wolf's features glowed orange in the light as a slight wind moved his fur. He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, snapping a picture of the vista. From this high up, all the fields laid out before them for kilometers, with the outskirts of the city poking out to their left before being hidden by the forest. Fox followed suit and pulled his own phone out to take photos.
"Man, that's so friggen pretty." Fox said quietly. Wolf smirked as he took another pic.
"Now aren'tcha glad you came with me to test out my new ride?"
"Yeah..." Fox was too enveloped in the view to say much else. He was glad. He was very glad.
Wolf lowered his arm and looked over the pictures he had taken. He took a deep breath before leaning into Fox, right arm moving over his shoulder as he held the phone out in front of them, the front camera turned on as the image of a surprised Fox looked back at him through the small screen. Wolf had a huge grin on his face as he pressed it against the side of Fox's own face. Fox managed to pull off a small smile before Wolf hit the button. He then brought the phone over for both of them to see, his arm still draped around the fox's neck. "That came out pretty nice, don't ya think?"
"Y-yeah." Fox looked down at the screen, seeing the both of them saturated by the warm colors of the sunset, Wolf staring straight into the camera with his huge smile and Fox looking like a nervous high schooler in a prom photo. Wolf swiped through the other sunset pictures he had just took, still not moving from his position as Fox asked, "You're not gonna post that online, are you?"
"Oh, nah! Just somethin I've started doin. Kinda like a photo journal. Here's some other pictures." Various images slid across the screen periodically. A picture of a group of people sitting in chairs arranged in a circle, an image of a poker table with various people around it, one of which Fox recognized as Lou, a photo of a street performer with a guitar. All these snippets of Wolf's life scrolled along on the small device as the two observed in silence, Wolf's right arm still not moving from where it wrapped around Fox, although he eventually transferred the phone to his left hand to make it less awkward on his joints. Fox moved his left arm from where it was practically being squished by Wolf's body, placing it unconsciously on Wolf's leg.
The pictures reached their end and the phone returned to the ex-merc's pocket. It was only then that Fox realized the intimate position they were in. He gazed at Wolf only to see him staring out over the expanse. This close, Fox could smell the mix of his cologne, body wash, and sweat more strongly. Their body heat coalesced, and although the setting sun's heat was definitely less intense than earlier, it made the temperature uncomfortable in the position they were in. And yet, Fox didn't want to move. His heart pounded in his ears as they sat there quietly for a handful of minutes.
Alright heart, calm down! I know he's not gonna mug me! Stop going nuts already!
Fox's phone interrupted his thoughts suddenly. He opened it up to see Falco had sent him a message.
-[hey fox wanna hit some bars tonite?]
Fox's ears flattened on his head.
[Not tonight, thanks.]-
Fox placed the phone back into his pocket as Wolf suddenly spoke, his deep voice quiet yet clear, "I didn't call you today just because I wanted someone to test my car with."
Fox made an ugly snorting sound as he choked on his sudden laughter. "Well duh! I already knew that!" Wolf shoved him a bit with his free arm.
"I'm tryin to be sincere here, ya bastard!" He cleared his throat before continuing again in the serious tone he adopted before. "In therapy, we were all talkin about past relationships with people that were ruined by our addictions, attitudes, lifestyles, what have ya." He scratched his nose with his claw. "And, the only person I could really think of that matched that was you. Y'know, even when I was still in Star Wolf, I would have these sleepless nights where I would sometimes wonder: what if our teams had both been employed by the same side? Could we be teammates? Friends? Even though we were enemies I could just tell you were a really good guy who didn't deserve the stuff I threw at ya. Of course I was a stubborn sonuvabitch back then and too caught up in everything to really do anythin about it." Wolf sighed deeply. "So it came up again in therapy, and I told everyone about ya and they all pushed me to reconnect. One of em was able to come up with yer phone number using their connections with the Cornerian army." Wolf looked into Fox's eyes with a smile. "They said it'd help me a lot!"
He's so close…
"A-and did it?" Fox swallowed.
Wolf showed his sharp teeth for probably the twentieth time that day. "You have no idea."
Fox felt his face erupt into flame. He blinked a few times as he looked back to the horizon. Lylat had finally begun to dip below the distant mountains, darkening the clearing around them. Wolf disengaged from their position as he hopped off the hood, much to Fox's dismay. "I'll drive ya back home, Fox."
Not yet!
"Y-yeah, okay." Fox shakily got off and got into the passenger seat once again. He took a few deep breaths, remembering his training on how to calm down during stressful situations. Of course, this wasn't exactly a stressful situation.
Man, what the hell.
Fox told Wolf his address, which he punched into the onboard GPS. The trip back went comfortably without a word, Fox deep in thought.
The purple car pulled into the lot of Fox's apartment complex. Fox exited the car and surprisingly, Wolf came out too. They both walked around to the back of the vehicle and stood facing each other. Wolf's fingers fidgeted as he spoke. "Hey, thanks a lot for comin with me today. I know you didn't have to, and I really pushed ya to do it, and I don't know if ya had that great of a time and all that an-" He was rambling.
Fox chuckled and rose his voice to get his attention. "I had a great time! And thank you for convincing me to come! I'm so glad you did! I didn't have any plans and I'm so glad I got to hang out with a friend today."
Wolf blinked. His eye looked wet. "A friend." He almost whispered to himself, but Fox managed to catch it. Fox could feel tears in his eyes as well. He held his arms out, and Wolf gasped slightly. "Hug?"
Fox beamed. "Hug!" As soon as the word left his mouth, Wolf was upon him, squeezing him tight. Fox could barely breathe but he didn't mind. The larger canine then lifted the smaller one up and spun him around, causing Fox to hang on tighter, laughing. Finally, Wolf put him down again, his hands on his shoulders. Both of their tails were wagging wildly.
"So, ya say yer still here for a week?"
"Yep! Wanna plan something else?"
"You read my mind, bud!" Wolf let go of Fox and wiped the moisture out of his eye. He sauntered over to the Icehawk and jumped in, prompting an eyeroll from Fox, once again. Wolf looked over his shoulder to face him. "I'll text ya if I come up with any ideas!"
Fox nodded. "Yeah, I will too if I think of anything!"
Wolf backed out from the lot and drove away as they both waved at each other. Fox stood there alone for the first time since he had left that same complex hours before. He strode toward the building, making it sluggishly to his room, where he flopped onto his bed, heart racing once again. He thought about a possible scenario where he might have invited Wolf to come in for something to eat and it raced faster.
Why do I miss him already?
Fox took his phone out. He went into call history and selected the last number that called him, updating the contact information to 'Wolf'.