Hello reader,

This is a brief message from her, FireyFox0526. This is my first fanfiction, so I'm trying my very best!

This fanfiction will contain yaoi and straight parts, so yaoi will be mentioned in the message in the beggining of the chapter.

To make this enjoyable for everyone, I would like to read review that may help me in my writing.

So, with that out of the way, enjoy readin Stuck In the Middle!

BOOM! As the Aparoid Queen shrieked in fury, the Star Fox team was screaming in celebration. They had did it! They had beaten the Aparoid Queen! As they circled the destroyed Aparoid homeworld, one member was not cheering as loudly. Fox McCloud, the leader of the famous mercenary team Star Fox, had many conflicting thoughts after the battle.

Sure, he was happy that the Aparoid war is over, and Peppy and ROB survived their ordeal, but the splitting image of James McCloud was still fresh in his mind. He put on a facade, even though Krystal, the telepath, could sense something up in Fox's mind.

"Fox, are you ok?", she asked over the comm-link.

"Huh? Yeah!" The vulpine replied with more enthusiasm than let on. "We killed the Queen, no more Aparoid battles, everyone is safe".

Krystal sighed and replied, "Yeah, we finally won, but a little talk at Corneria when we get back?" Fox looked surprised, but he accepted.

The comm-link ended, and Fox was alone in the cockpit of his Arwing. He leaned against the seat, sighed heavily, and rubbed his temples. He was getting quite a headache…

As they made their way to the warp portal, Fox got a call on his comm-link. It read General Pepper. Fox quickly answered the call, and was not met with a certain dog's face, but one he enjoyed to see nonetheless.

"BILL!"

"FOX!"

"How are you doing Bill? Haven't seen you in forever!" Fox happily commented.

"Good, but Rocky's in the hospital again, I gotta take up Husky again," Bill replied. Fox sighed, and asked, "What happened to him?"

Bill answered, "He got ambushed by the Aparoids as they were making a patrol between Corneria and Katina. No casualties, but they won just barely. Rocky's sorta, like, really hurt. This actually happened a few hours ago"

Fox cursed. If he was just a little bit quicker to kill the Aparoid Queen, Rocky wouldn't be in the hospital right now.

"Well, how is he?"

"He got away with a broken arm and some ribs, but he'll be okay, they wouldn't let a commander like him die so easily"

Fox replied with a wistful, "Yeah…" Fox thought back to their academy days, when Fox, Falco, Bill, Slippy, and Rocky would get together. Actually, sometimes with Falco, other times not. They would have lunch at the Corneria Air Military center, talking about teenage boy stuff, like video games, how they hated the written tests, and hot girls. Falco was always the one to bring the last one up. Fox, being the best of the best, was always swarmed with admirers, who some were deemed "acceptable" and "okay", mostly from his friends. Fox was never one to date, he was too shy to. He would be teased, but he was stoic, and wanted to accomplish his goal of killing Andross forever. All his friends supported him. Falco and Slippy joined Star Fox as soon as Fox reformed it, and Bill became the commander of Bulldog unit, while Rocky was commander of Husky unit. Rocky was tough, and would stand up for his friends anytime. So, when Fox left, he gave him a gift, in the form of a locket, with a picture of them beaming at the camera, the happiness from the picture could always cheer Fox up a little bit, if not more.

As Fox looked at the said locket, Bill coughed *Fox*. Fox snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the comm-link.

"Huh? What?", he asked.

"I just said that General Pepper is resting as well, he's fine, just like anyone affected by the Aparoids," Bill shuddered at the last thought.

Fox assured him, "It's all over now Bill, you can relax a little bit". Bill did relax a little bit, but it was still clearly nagging his mind.

An awkward silence continued, until Bill burst out with haste. "Right! I need you to land at these coordinates, at a destroyed hangar in Corneria. I have to show you something! Plus a surprise!"

"Can I get a hint?"

"They're a product of my teachings!"

"Like, What do you mean?"

Bill rolled his eyes, "Fox, I taught these ladies what they know, and admittedly, they're good enough to shoot down me and Rocky when we're in a tag team"

Fox then whistled, amused that Bill and Rocky were bested by their students. "You said they were females?"

"Yeah, what's that got to do with anything, is my best friend Fox finally trying to do something here?"

Fox looked mortified, and quickly denied it. "No! It's just that I haven't heard of top class pilots being two women!" He then proceeded to slap himself in the face. He had already met Krystal, a better than a great pilot, and Fara Phoenix, an old childhood friend who graduated in the top 15 pilots in the year before Fox graduated.

"Woah! What are you doing there buddy?! I don't need my friend to start slapping his own face! Keep that up and I'll make Rocky come after you," Fox gulped. You wouldn't want to be around Rocky when one of his friends get hurt. Fox almost experienced that first hand, trying to help Slippy up to the cockpit of a ship. He accidentally pulled too hard, making Slippy crash into the other side of the ship. Fox thought he was going to die.

"I'm only a little frustrated at myself lately. I've been forgetting stuff and I need a wake-up call."

"That, my friend, is what we Cornerians call stress."

"Har-de-har-har." laughed Fox sarcastically. "I didn't know such a thing existed!"

"Oh, you don't get that as much as a commander of two teams now"

"Well, I have to take care of my own team"

"True," Bill sighed. "Well, I have to go get them ready, see ya Fox!"

"Bye Bill"

And with that, the communication link ended.

After getting back to a destroyed Cornerian military hangar, Fox's headache felt a lot better, and he and the rest of the team embraced Peppy and ROB, who came out of the escape pod.

Fox had tears in his eyes as he hugged Peppy. Peppy hugged Krystal and Slippy, yet Falco wouldn't even look at him.

Fox noticed this and asked the blue bird, "Falco, what's wrong?" Falco turned to him and retorted, "We lost the Great Fox, it's going to take forever to gain all the money back! And we nearly lost Peppy and ROB too…" Falco had softly muttered the last part, and Fox's ears pricked up in amusement.

"Didn't quite catch that last part Falco," Fox playfully poked at the bird.

Falco turned to him and yelled,"WE NEARLY LOST PEPPY AND ROB AND…" and Falco started to falter, "I wouldn't want to lose a team member, even if he's an old annoying bunny or a robot with no feelings"

Everyone had a good laugh as Falco's skin burned with embarrassment.

"Never thought that you would say that," said Slippy in his high pitched voice. "Guess even a smart toad like me learns something new every day!"

Falco looked at Slippy and flatly said, "I take back my statement and I'll miss everyone but a certain green smart aleck toad."

"HEY!"

Krystal leaned over to whisper to Slippy, "He doesn't actually mean it." but she whispered loud enough for the blue avian to only sigh as the team had a good laugh, which was soon joined by his own.

After the laughter died down, out of the blue, Krystal stated, "I think that retirement is reasonable. Fox paled and whined, "What?! I mean, mercenary work is not for everyone, it's dangerous, but I think that you held up your own in the Aparoid Wars…" the vulpine's head flared up in pain. "This isn't the "talk" that you wanted to talk to me about, right?"

Krystal was taken aback. "No, of course not! I was reading Peppy's mind, and he, well…"

Peppy confidently said, "I'm leaving Lylat in the hands of the best team in the system. I think I can rest easy. But…" Peppy turned towards the other side of the hangar, "It makes me feel better when you have some company with you".

Fox couldn't believe his eyes. Across the hangar was a familiar bulldog. Bill Grey was going to join Star Fox?! Fox's mood dampened as he realized General Pepper would not let such an important commander leave. Then he saw the two figures talking to him. One was a tall white spaniel with a red bow on her head, and the other, a much shorter lynx. Both were in conversation with Bill.

After Fox made eye contact with Bill, Bill stopped the conversation and walked over to him, with the spaniel and lynx following him.

The two best friends walked to each other, clasped hands, and proceeded to bro-hug each other. Then they did the handshake only best friends know from their academy days. Falco only looked on with a hint of jealousy that THEIR handshake wasn't as long as Fox and Bill's. Well, Fox did know Bill longer. Ah, well, no need to dwell on the past, Falco.

After it ended, Bill announced to them, "These two fine young ladies have been invitied to join Star Fox, if I'm not mistaken".

As the duo stood there and nodded to the Star Fox team, Krystal leaned over and whispered into Fox's ear, "Watch out for the dog… she's thinking to jump you"

"Hey!" The spaniel finally burst out, "I'm Fay and this is my best friend Miyu!"

The lynx next to her nodded, "Yeah, Peppy here asked Fay if she could join Star Fox to help, and she brought me along".

Falco, though was not impressed.

"Are you sure you are qualified for Star Fox?" He asked rudely.

"Oh, yes!" Fay replied, "We graduated from the Cornerian Flight Academy with Bill as our instructor!"

Falco shook his head and replied, "That's "impressive" and all, but that isn't enough"

Fox remembered the comm-call with Bill earlier today, and he was talking about two tough female pilots and guessed that they were standing in front of them. "Did you take down Bill and Rocky in the simulator?" Fox asked with a hint of amusement.

"Oh yes! Plenty of times!" Fay answered. "Well…" Fox thought to himself "We should give them at least a chance, Peppy also called them up, they should be at least decent to also shoot Bill and Rocky down many times."

"Well… we should give them a chance at least, don't you guys think so?" Fox asked, turning toward his team.

Krystal nodded, Slippy following her lead, and Falco looked away with a, "tch! Fine I guess". Krystal giggled and Falco looked at her, clearly annoyed. "What?" Krystal, trying to muffle her giggle, and whispered, "you were thinking of bringing Katt along too, right?"

Now it was the rest of the team to have a laugh. Man, Falco's having a rough day, they beat the Aparoid Queen, new teammates, they were all laughing, but yet, Fox couldn't shake off the feeling of his father, how much better it would be with him there…

"HEY, FOX MCCLOUD! ARE YOU THERE?!" Fox jumped as Falco shouted into his ear. "We gotta formally accept them into the team, and I'm hungry!" Falco was right, they had to do exactly that. It was becoming dusk, and Slippy's tummy agreed with Falco's statement.

"Uh, ok. Fay and Miyu, welcome to the team," Fox stuck out his hand to be shaken, but Fay had other ideas. "Yaaay! Thanks Fox! Miyu and I won't let you down!"

As Fay tackled him with a hug, Miyu went up to Fox and gave him a handshake. This happened to everyone, and Falco was having none of that.

"Shaking hands is good enough ok?"

"Ok…" Fay said reluctantly, and shook his hand.

"Now that we got that all under control, let's go eat!" Peppy barked.

"Right!" Everyone replied, and started calling taxis.

"Sigh… I thought I would be able to stay longer, but my body tells me otherwise…" Peppy felt a hand on his shoulder. It belonged to Fox.

Fox started it all out with a big hug. "We'll miss you Peppy. Thank you for all the hard work you've done for us. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even be fighting now" Peppy said, "Aw, shucks guys, that's just my job. It's just that I'll support the team in a different way. Oh, right, Slippy?" Slippy looked up from his communicator. "Hm?"

"I already got everything done, the dinner, hotel, and the repairs of the Arwings".

Slippy simply said, "Oh, ok! Thanks Peppy!"

The taxis arrived, and they piled in.

They arrived at the Corneria plaza, at a cooling afternoon, not yet evening. They made plans to come back to the pizza place there, Corneria Pizza Kitchen, at 7.

Let's see what they split up into, and where they went…

Falco, being the anti socialist that he claims to be, sits at a bench after shopping at a few stores for clothes he lost on the Great Fox, and goes on his phone.

It doesn't turn out all that well for him… as a reporter spots him sitting there on his phone, the reporter sees a great chance at getting a scoop. She trots up to Falco, and taps his shoulder. Falco whips around and comes face-to-face with… Katt's sister, another pink feline.

Falco, however, doesn't know this. Or does he? It was Kitt, (Yeah, that's her name, deal with it. Kitt, Katt) who looks a lot like Katt, save her green eyes, contrasting her sister's blue eyes.

"So, Mr. Falco Lombardi, how does it feel to be on the Star Fox team with the famed Fox McCloud?" As she held the mic by Falco's beak, there was no response.

"May I ask the question again?" Kitt asked. She was greeted by silence, and she looked at his phone and saw that he was comm-texting Katt.

Suddenly, a notification for a comm-link came though.

"Uh-oh, well, Mr. Falco Lombardi, I will leave you to enjoy your day, good day sir" and with that, she bolted off, with the cameraman faithfully following her.

As Falco opened up the link, Katt was furious. "Are you sure that was my sister trying to get news out of you?! I will strangle her when I get the chance, did you tell her anything about us, or did you say something bad?! My sister's good at making you say things you shouldn't say, especially when you shouldn't be sayi…"

Falco chucked, "No, I didn't tell her anything about us, I completely ignored her, and she bolted when she saw your comm-link call get through"

There was maniacal cackling on the other end of the link. After that, Falco cackles too, pulling a prank on your girfriend's sister is the best!

"So my sweet little chicken wing…"

"I thought I told you not to call me that, pussy-Katt"

"Do you want to meet me?"

Falco immediately responded, "Yes!"

"So don't call me that, and I'll stop calling you that too, deal?"

"Deal"

"Now where are you…?"

Falco looked around, and told her, "I'm by the Cornerian Beagle, Star Credits, and Fandastic Sandwiches"

"Oh, I see you now!"

Falco notices a certain pink feline waving at him, and ends the call…

Slippy, Peppy, and ROB are going to the repair tools shop, to get materials needed to fix up the Arwings and to modify the new ones coming in soon for Miyu and Fay. After coming out of the shop, they drive to the hangars where they are held.

Peppy asked Slippy, "why are YOU repairing the ship? Why not let someone else take care of it? Slippy replied, "Well, I like it better when I know I contributed at least something in the fights, and I want to add a little upgrade to the Arwings. Also, it'll cost you more than me"

Peppy balked, and realized that.

"Gonna need some time on these repairs, Peppy," Slippy informed Peppy.

"Time estimated to be… 16 hours before each Arwing is in shape to fight full force," ROB helpfully informed them. "Thanks ROB, that gives us a few days to kick back and relax for a bit, don't'cha think, Slip?"

"Yeah, I'm really relieved that this was the result that came out of this war"

Peppy sighed, and responded, "Yes, Slippy. I'm relieved that I'm retiring and hoping to live a full, ripe age!"

Slippy closed his eyes, and thought about it too. "Maybe I shouldn't go out to fight in an Arwing, even though I repair them, I can't fly as well as everyone else in the team! Maybe I should stay in the base of operations and be like a tactician or something like that!"

"Slippy?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think you can be a tactician, because you are always going out alone, trying to become a "Fox". We all think that you are incredibly helpful to the team, and we appreciate that. But please for the sake of the team, do analysis and repairs for the team?"

Slippy thought about it, and accepted. "At least that's one less Arwing to worry about!" Slippy and Peppy laughed at Slippy's joke while ROB droned, "ha-ha-ha-ha that is very funny Slippy"...

In the heart of the jungle, the lone tod is in a mass of female predators. He's at Charming Carmelita by the way.

"OH MY GOD I GOT TO TOUCH FOX MCCLOUD!"

"HA! YOU THINK THAT'S GOOD? I GOT A SELFIE WITH HIM!"

"I LOVE YOU FOX! WILL YOU DATE ME?!"

Fox's ears started to hurt, and he didn't like it one bit. He tried to satisfy every girl there with autographs, pictures, and getting a high five. (Star Fox policy, no more than that).

"Will they take any longer? I can't take these women any more, why did I agree to come to a girls store still in my Star Fox uniform?! I surprise even myself with how stupid I am sometimes."

Now, don't get him wrong, he loves his fans, but… his fans love him a little too much. Thankfully, he could see the trademark red bow of Fay making her way towards him, yet he couldn't see Miyu (probably because she was that short, but boy, was she tough!) and more importantly, Krystal.

They had made an agreement to not split up… as a pinch in his tush makes him yelp in surprise. He turns around quickly, expecting to find a fan, only to see Krystal decked out in new clothes, an orange t-shirt with jeans, and many bags in her hand. One fan noticed this, and went ham.

"OH MY GOD THAT GIRL JUST TOUCHED FOX MCCLOUDS BUTT SHE BROKE THE POLICY SHE IS FOREVER OUTCAST FROM THE FANS AND IS A DISGRACE TO US FOX ARE YOU OKAY"

Fox recoiled and said, "Yeah, I'll take care of her and her friends outside, I'll make sure to give them the punishment they deserve". Krystal lifted her eyebrows at this comment and reluctantly let Fox drag her by the arm outside, where Fay and Miyu were waiting.

Thankfully, there were only windows displaying new clothes from the store, as the quartet made their hasty escape.

When they got to Cornerian Beagle, it was 5:30, and they were there for Fox's clothing. They spent a decent amount of time searching for matches to Fox's physically unmatched body, such as tank tops, v-necks, heck, even Fox could sport a sports bra.

(Now that that image is burned into your mind, you're welcome.) they finally decided on a simple blue tank top with jeans. (You see where this is going now?). As they exited, Fox saw a flick of a pink tail and a blue feather rounding the corner.

"Oh-no…"

"What's the matter Fox? Don't like your outfit?" Miyu joked.

"No… but… nevermind. You'll see when we get to the pizzeria"

Krystal looked at her watch and exclaimed, "Speaking of the pizzeria, it's only 3 minutes until 7!"

And with that, they ran as fast as they could towards the pizzeria, with the Corneria theme from Star Fox Zero faintly playing. (Seriously, it's a good song, and I run to it when I work out.)

There were good news, and bad news. The good news is, the quartet were barely on time, arriving just seconds before 7, but the bad news was, everyone else wasn't there. They were seated with confused looks from the staff, who were wondering who would be filling up the spaces at the table.

Just as if on cue, Falco and Katt burst in.

Falco started, "Sorry we're late. We got caught up in helping an old lady cross the street"

Fox giggled, and Falco knew why.

He shot Fox a look that said, "Don't you goddamn dare you fox"

Why does Fox know this? Well, first, there were no streets from Cornerian Beagle to Corneria Pizza Kitchen, second Falco would never help an old lady unless he got something back, unless the hangar made him a little more open about his emotions, and hey, not meeting your girlfriend after a stressful war? You gotta get back to them.

As Falco and Katt were being seated at the table, Fox got a comm-text from Peppy. It read, "Sorry Fox, Slippy wants to get as much done on the Arwings as possible, so we are ordering and won't be getting to the pizzeria until we have to come pick you up. Also, expect two more people to come in so reserve those. Do a barrel roll!"

Fox chuckled at Peppy's last comment. Even though he puts it at the end of every text, it never fails to make him laugh.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't a certain Fox man who I've quite literally have been dying to meet since forever"

Fox turned and saw his battered husky friend, Rocky. Fox immediately went up to the taller lupus, and gave him a hug, making Rocky wince. "Fox? I don't want to die due to giving a hug to a shorter vulpine". Fox realized this and released his grip on Rocky. Fox joked, "I can see the headlines now. Commander of Husky unit dies to Fox McCloud hugging him maybe just a little too much"

Rocky's laugh booms through the restaurant. "Now that's the Fox that I would know! And hey! Since I was coming to meet you guys, I might as well bring another friend!" It was Bill, who, unlike his companion gave his foxy friend a manly hug.

As they went to the table, the new recruits stood up and saluted them, then realized they didn't need to anymore. Being in Star Fox has already been life changing for them.

"So how's the first day of being on Star Fox going ladies?" Rocky asked them. Fay recounted the events earlier today, "We now know that Fox's weakness is over-loving fans, jokes, and someone who must not be named." Fox chucked at her analysis, "She's already observing, just like how you would do to girls at the Flight academy". This was directed at Falco, who stiffened at the comment, and turned to Fox slowly.

"What did you say Fox?"

"N-nothing!"

Falco stood up, walked to Fox slowly, who, at every step was afraid on what the avian would do. Said bird then wore a grin so large he couldn't be recognized as Falco Lombardi, ace pilot of the Star Fox team. "I don't need to, 'cause I found the perfect girl for me" said Falco as he turned toward Katt. Katt blushed at his sweet talk, and then pulls him in for a kiss. Don't ask me how she did it, she's a witch, even able to reel Falco in.

Everyone stood awestruck for a brief moment, then they went back to talking. They didn't want to draw too much attention to what just happened.

One topic of talk was Fay and Miyu's mentorship. Apparently, Bill had been mentoring Miyu, and Rocky Fay. Rocky was only a little bit annoyed when Bill said he told Fox he mentored both.

When the food came, everyone was so hungry that they ordered 3 of the largest pizzas, and they were still hungry after that! Boy, were the cooks in the kitchen working hard!

Miyu volunteered to feed Rocky, and she didn't seem to mind, saying that this was thanks. Fox was watching wistfully at Falco acting like he was giving a slice to Katt's mouth, but decided against it halfway through and brought it to his own. Needless to say, he lost that slice.

Krystal was watching him, seeing that Fox was still distressed. She decided to put more slices of pizza on Fox's plate. When Fox noticed, he looked at her questioningly, while she was nibbling at the crust of her slice.

Krystal told him, "Eat, and talk with your friends, it will make you feel better, I promise"

Fox was touched by her concern, and followed her advice. "Thanks Krystal". And he proceeded to give her a side hug, because they were sitting right by each other. The rest of the night came easier and cleaner to Fox.

Three hours after getting advice from Krystal, Fox and the team walked down the hall of rooms, all ready to go to bed.

"'Night y'all" Falco yawned as he went into his room, carrying a sleeping Katt.

"Goodnight Falco" Fox answered sleepily. One by one, the team dispersed, going to their rooms to get a good night's sleep. Fox and Krystal were the only ones left.

"Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember the talk we were going to have when we got back to Corneria?"

"Oh, yeah"

"I asked Peppy if we could share a room together for that purpose"

Fox looked at Krystal in bewilderment. Sure, he had romantic feelings for her, but it seemed a bit sudden, also considering the fact that *ahem* aren't an item. (Yet) ;)

"Uh…"

"Don't worry, we have separate beds… unless you don't want me there…?"

"No, no! I-It's all fine! It's j-just that…"

Krystal knew exactly what he meant, and she liked to tease him from time to time.

"Aw, what happened to the stoic Fox fighting the Queen?"

After a brief silence, Fox conceded, "You're right, I need to talk"

And they went into the room together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They lay in their beds and talked into the night, the events that happened earlier today, until the main purpose of the conversation was brought up.

"Hey Krystal?"

"Yes, Fox?"

"Umm… what did you want to talk about, really?"

"Oh yes, I sensed you were distressed after you saw your father. And the way that you refused to submit to the Queen was a whole other matter, but seeing only the silhouette of your father… it had a toll on you", Krystal explained.

Fox only sighed and admitted it. A soft creak could be heard as Krystal got up from her bed, and her soft feet padded on the wooden floor. Fox could not expect what was coming next. She gave him a hug as someone who deeply cares for one another.

As Fox was surprised by her embrace, he strangely felt safe, and he knew that he could trust her. Despite being in his early twenties, the vulpine knew many emotional mountains and troughs, from happiness to depression, and this was the former. As they melted into the hug, Fox softly drifted to sleep.

As Fox slept soundly, Krystal quietly got out of the bed, not wanting to disturb him. "And not to give him the idea, I want to let him sleep, he's stressed enough". And with that, she climbed into her own bed, and whispered, "Goodnight Fox…" as her tired body let herself be taken by sleep.

As a little footnote...

This is a chapter in my optimal length, (5,000) and I aspire to write one that is longer, about 8,000 words.

This is my first fanfiction, so reviewing will help me a lot!

Stay Foxy y'all!

-FireyFox0526