Hello, and welcome, to the relationship support for Fox and Slippy!

Now, this is meant to be a tie-in for my Star Fox fanfic, Nexus of Lylat, but if you're just looking to read about two of your favorite characters without the extra nonsense going on, you're welcome to read this without it as well. Since I've only got this chapter up and it'll be like that for a little while, it should be fine for now. No promises for the future, though.

Anyway, this short story will help develop Fox's relationship with Slippy, as the two get some one-on-one time with each other. It is meant to be separate from the other stories that share this title and the tie-in, but you're welcome to read all of them, if you like. Things will be platonic for now, but I am shipper trash, so I can offer you no promises that it will remain that way.

So, read on and enjoy!

...

[Great Fox Laboratory, Present Day, 21:36]

Inside of the ship's gray and metal lab, Slippy tooled with a device at his desk, screwing in a plate over the hexagon shaped object.

"This should get the kinks out of it," he muttered. "All set…now let's see."

He stood up from his stool and clicked the gadget. It generated a cyan hexagon light that surrounded Slippy, who grinned.

"Perfect! The Reflector is working again!" He walked back to his desk and stared at a pile of Reflectors on the table. "That's…one operational, and a whole lot more to go." Groaning, he brushed a few tools aside and placed the working Reflector alone. "Well, at least that's started, anyway. Falco just better use it properly this time." He gazed at a shelf filled with inventions of different sorts. "Yeah, unlikely."

"Recognized," sounded a recording of ROB from the door, as Slippy yelped and dropped from his stool. "Pilot Designation 01: Fox McCloud."

"Huh?"

Confused, Slippy picked up his red cap from the front of his face as Fox walked into the laboratory. The green eyed leader glanced down at his mechanic, still down on the floor.

"Slippy?" Fox jogged in and to Slippy's side. "Are you all right?"

"Yep, I just…slipped, I guess." The toad chuckled as he pushed himself to his knees. He stared at the hand in front of him, and then up at Fox. Smiling, he took it as Fox helped lift him back up. "Thanks, Fox."

"You're welcome." Fox folded his hands over his hips. "You should be more careful, Slippy. I wouldn't want you to get hurt just working in here."

"Been there, done that." Slippy waved his hand and laughed, but stopped when Fox didn't laugh along. "Uh, sorry? I guess that's not what you'd want to hear."

"No, I really don't." Fox shook his head. "I know that messing around with tools and vehicles is full of some dangers of their own, but I don't need my mechanic getting taken out by one of his projects."

"Easy, Fox, I'm fine," soothed Slippy. "Nothing to worry about, honest. I'm just clumsy."

Sighing, Slippy sat back on his stool and sank into it, staring down at his yellow jumpsuit and the jacket beneath him and placed over the seat. Fox tilted his head in confusion.

"Everything ok, Slippy?"

"It's nothing, Fox, I'm fine."

"I didn't mean to scold you," apologized Fox. "I just don't like seeing my friends hurt."

"Don't I know it?" Slippy glanced up and smiled at Fox, fixating his dark blue eyes on his friend. "You're always looking out for me, Fox. You're the best friend that anyone could ask for."

"Yeah, I try my best." Fox shrugged. "Though, I guess I'm not sure I do enough for everyone."

"Fox, you've literally saved the Lylat System multiple times," deadpanned Slippy.

"I meant my team, specifically," chuckled Fox. "And I had plenty of help with saving the galaxy."

"Yep, Peppy does great, Krystal's fitting in nicely, and I guess it is true that Falco helps." Slippy laughed at the last part, slowing to a stop again as Fox simply smiled at him. "What?"

"I was talking about you, Slip."

"Me? Nah, I just give you guys shiny toys." Slippy kicked his feet lightly at the air and stared back at the floor. "I'm not exactly the most useful member on the team, and you've seen me today alone: I'm useless at flying."

"We're not all about flying and shooting things, Slippy," corrected Fox. "Though, you're suddenly far more skilled than everyone in the Landmaster."

"Ha, you got me there," admitted Slippy.

"Your shiny toys are also what helps not only our missions, but essentially our every day life," continued Fox. "You've done a lot of work with Space Dynamics, too."

"So has my dad," pointed out Slippy.

"Obviously, but he's the director of engineering," countered Fox.

"Well, as his 'mechanic prodigy' son, I was expected to follow him," noted Slippy. "I still am, some day. Dad told me that when he steps down, he'd love to appoint me to the director's chair. I won't while I'm still on the team, which he respects, but at some point, he does want me there too."

"Is Beltino planning on leaving soon?"

"Him? No way." Slippy chuckled. "He's like Peppy and General Pepper: a stubborn old guy that will keep working until he finally crashes from exhaustion."

"There are worse ways to go," noted Fox with a slight laugh. He sighed and dropped his shoulders. "A lot worse."

"Fox, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…!" Slippy groaned and hung his head. "See? This is exactly like me. I'm the big screw up! Only I would take a good conversation and completely twist it to a bad one."

"What? Slippy, that was all me," contended Fox. "You were normal with the conversation. My mind just had to go to the dark place it always goes to."

"It doesn't always," alleviated Slippy. "You're usually great at cheering me up."

"So why am I getting us both down tonight?"

"Well, you visited your parents' old house earlier, so that's what has you down…how was it, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Old, dusty, nothing special and yet everything important." Fox emptily gazed at the table on the other side of the room, where Slippy had started working on a barrier device, along with screens of blueprints. "It would have been nice to have grown up there."

"I'm sorry, Fox."

"Me too, but there's nothing I can do to change it." Fox picked himself back up and forced up a smile. "Besides, I turned out pretty well. Academy dropout, maybe, but pretty good at flying, something of a galactic hero, and occasionally helpful with a few important people in my life."

"Who?"

"For starters, I'm looking at one of them." Fox smirked as Slippy chuckled, twisting around in his stool with raised shoulders. "Your turn. What's up?"

"With me? I don't know, a few things have been on my mind." Slippy hopped up from his stool and pushed a crate over. "Want the stool?"

"Crate's fine." Fox sat down on it, while Slippy waited at his side and looked him over. "Is this one important? Need me to get up?"

"Just a second, I need to read the top." Fox lifted himself up slightly as Slippy looked beneath him. "Nope, this one is fine. Sit."

Barely raised above it, Fox dropped back onto the metal crate and rolled his shoulders. He watched as Slippy picked up another Reflector and opened it with his screwdriver. He grabbed at the sides and tugged on it.

"Um…Slippy?"

"Sorry, I thought…this would be…quicker." Slippy gasped as the tool popped upon. The toad flailed around and nearly fell back over, but was swiftly snatched back up by Fox. "Thanks, sorry."

"You're welcome, it's fine."

Scooting back onto the stool, Slippy sighed as Fox waited. "Go sit, you've been on your feet for a while already." Hesitating, Fox complied and faced Slippy again.

"Slippy?"

"Right, well, I guess I can start with Falco's comments," decided Slippy. "I know he's just being his usual self, and I don't usually take it so hard, but I guess I've been a little self-conscious lately."

"Want me to have a word with him?"

"No, Fox, it's fine," insisted Slippy. "Falco's always mocking my flying, but he's like that with Krystal sometimes too. Even Peppy and you, right?"

"Yep. Falco can be a bit bigheaded," agreed Fox, "but he does mean well."

"He does, and I know he only picks on me because he really wants me to improve," rationalized Slippy. "He's not like the bullies back at school."

"Slip…"

"Yeah, that's been on my mind a bit too, lately," admitted Slippy. "I don't know why I'm thinking about the past so much, but I guess I can never really get it out of my head. Just really lousy incidents from when I was younger, getting picked on for being the 'mechanical whiz kid,' and whatever else they could make fun of me for." He glanced down and patted his stomach. "Like this, for example. I wish this gut went away ages ago."

"They were idiots for picking on your skills and your weight," grumbled Fox. "Probably just jealous. Besides, you're really not that heavy."

"I've looked at a mirror Fox."

"Ok, and you're still not obese," argued Fox. "Just round around the middle. And you've got some muscle too." Fox poked at Slippy's arm, and then traced his biceps down to the stronger muscles in his forearms. "You're tough, too."

"That's just from lifting junk around."

"And working out; I've seen you, and you've gotten into it, lately."

"A little," giggled Slippy. "Thanks for noticing. But yeah, I guess I shouldn't get hung up over what they made of me over. It just doesn't completely go away, though, not easily."

"True, and I've had a fair share of insults that bothered me for more than a day," recalled Fox. "It's harder when it comes from jerks that you can't blast out of the sky."

At that, Slippy laughed. "You got that right!" Fox grinned at Slippy, but it dropped as Slippy slowed back to his somber state. "Sorry, Fox. I know you didn't come here to hear my sob stories or watch me pout."

"I came to help my friend," clarified Fox. "…I just figured it would be with tools, but this works fine as well."

"Ha, sorry to deviate from expectations."

"Not a problem." Fox lightly tapped Slippy's foot with his own. "I'm here to help."

"Ok. Well…there's other stuff, too." Slippy glanced down at his device and shrugged. "Well, besides these things."

"You're working on the Reflectors again?"

"Just a few clean ups with them," detailed Slippy. "You and Falco have made use of them for some field missions before, but I wanted to make sure we had a bigger supply to pull from. Krystal, Peppy, and I should carry them around too, and I wanted to make sure that yours was properly functional again." Slippy sighed. "And that Falco's could withstand getting kicked around." He shook the two pieces of the opened Reflector. "His was next in line."

"What's the difference between them?" Fox tilted his head and looked them over. "I can't exactly tell."

"Oh, I just know based on their data of their usage," elucidated Slippy. "I check in with some statics on my computer over here. You used yours more, but Falco's kicked his around so many times that it's taken more of a beating."

"Classic Falco."

"Aggravatingly so. I have to make sure that everything's fixed up inside, so that way it still works well for him." Slippy adjusted his cap and studied the gadget. "Last thing I need keeping me up at night is how Falco tried kicking this to knock back a laser and instead it breaks on him and he gets shot, hurt, or…worse."

"He's a big bird, Slippy," joked Fox. "He can handle himself."

"…Right…but still…" Slippy shook his head. "Sorry, we all worry about that stuff. And you more than everyone else, I'm sure. But I guess that's why I think about it too; I want to make it easier on you too. And actually, I'm just as responsible, since I work on everyone's equipment, so I always need to give it my best with this work."

"You always do great work, Slippy," comforted Fox. "Even if I worry a lot, I know I'm in good hands with our tech and equipment." He picked up his Reflector from the desk. "Though, these are a little extra, aren't they? We already have barriers."

"Hey, it's one thing to defend, and something else to retaliate."

"That's true. And so is everything else that I mentioned."

"Thanks, Fox." Slippy forced up a smile. "You're good at this."

"You've been my best friend since we were kids, Slippy." Fox smirked. "I should hope I know you a little bit better than most, even now."

"Definitely, no one knows me better!" Slippy's smile relaxed a bit, now more genuine. "Well, ok, no one besides my dad, but he's family, so that doesn't count."

The pair laughed for a bit again, slowly settling back down. Slippy smiled for a bit while facing Fox, but exhaled and glanced down again.

"What else is on your mind, Slippy?"

"I…I'm still worried about you too, Fox."

"Me? Why?"

"Well, you worry about the rest of us and run yourself ragged over it, I'm sure." Slippy inhaled and exhaled quickly, noticing that Fox was about to butt in. "I know, you have it all mostly under control, and you're going to tell me that you help make it easier, fine. But I still…it's hard for you, and there's nothing that can convince me otherwise." Fox's shoulders dropped as Slippy frowned. "I just wish there was a way that I could help you more. And all of that recent information on your mom's work coming up? That's only giving you more emotional stress, and as your best friend, I can tell that much."

"You're right," admitted Fox. "It does get to me when they dig up information about her, because then I've got others asking me about her, to which I don't have many answers to." Fox shook his head. "In a twisted sense, I'm actually interested in what they've been finding, since…well, I'm learning more about her myself. My father never did go over everything in extensive detail."

"And…?"

"And I do worry about everything that I'm doing with you guys, hoping that I'm not screwing up any of your lives more than I already have."

Slippy tilted his head and placed the Reflector back on the desk. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb, Slippy," murmured Fox. "I've…taken a lot from you."

"…What?" Slippy shook his head. "No, Fox, you've given a lot to me."

"That's not true," quietly contended Fox. "I pressured you into dropping out of the Academy with me."

"Pressure nothing," countered Slippy. "I chose to go with you."

"After I went on about how I'd have a difficult time working on everything by myself, talking about how I could use someone with your talents, right, I made that a completely fair choice for you," deadpanned Fox.

"But you did. Fox, you told me that you would find someone else and that I could have stayed to finish my work in school. Sure, I went with you, partially because we both knew it would take you a while to find someone on my level of engineering, but I made that decision to leave and stick with you."

"Why though?" Fox threw his arms up and let them drop back down. "Slippy, we've been over this before, yet you never give me an honest answer. Why follow me through a path of vengeance?"

"Vengeance and justice," corrected Slippy.

"You're missing the point," argued Fox. "You could have had any kind of future you wanted, Slippy. With Space Dynamics, you could have become a big, full-time member, and proudly followed in your father's footsteps, or even surpassed that. Beyond that, you could have done anything with your mechanical expertise."

"And do you mind telling me where I'd be without my best friend?" Slippy folded his arms. "Fox, we both knew that you would have gone to whatever lengths it took to stop Andross. But if you didn't have me at your side, if you didn't have someone that really cared about you on the team, who would build the proper technology to help you and the others save Lylat and do his best to keep you alive?"

"See? That's my point, I really didn't give you a choice."

"My joining you didn't guarantee your safety, Fox!"

Harshly, Slippy pounded a fist against his desk and left it there for a moment. He then winced and waved it around, gently rubbing it with his other hand.

"True, it gave me a peace of mind, but I didn't go just to help keep you alive. Your dad was my friend too, and even closer friends with my dad. Losing him, watching your heart and world break before my eyes, that made me angry." Slippy sighed. "I knew how that was, feeling like you were totally alone in the world. But you actually lost both of your parents, Fox; what you felt was justified. What wasn't, however, was what Andross had done to you. What wasn't at all acceptable was that he would stop at nothing to make all of Lylat bow beneath his rule, his tyranny. I'm not a fighter, but I knew that with you, we just might be this galaxy's best chance." He shook his head and stared lower to the ground. "And for once, I wanted to help my friend with someone that was bothering him, because I owed you so much more than that." He looked back up to Fox. "You gave me some pressure, Fox, that's true. But don't think you made my decision for yourself, and don't think you stole an incredible future from me. Because, really, you didn't." He shrugged. "And…my role in the Lylat Wars did actually get me some additional attention and offers, so…it worked out for me, anyway."

"Slippy…I…I don't know what to…how do I answer that?"

"You don't need to." Slippy beamed. "You saved Falco by giving him a chance to turn his life around. You saved Peppy by giving him hope for the future. And you literally saved Krystal from the threats on the Dinosaur Planet, as well as offering her a chance to start anew. With me, you've helped out more times than I can count, and way more than I can ever repay." He picked up one of Fox's hands and squeezed it tight with his own. "So, don't ever think that your choices ruined anything for any of us, Fox. You helped all of us. We just try our best to return the favor and do what we can to help you too."

"I…Slippy…"

The frog patted his friend's hand and released it. "I can give the rousing friendship speeches too, Fox, and I've known you long enough to do it right."

"That you do, Slip," relented Fox. "Thank you."

"Not a problem! Anyway, it's late, and I'm past sick of looking at these Reflectors, so I might work on a few more, but then I'm getting some rest."

"Do you want any help?"

"No way. You need to get some sleep too, Fox, and probably more than I do." He pointed at the door. "So, get."

"Fine, I'll go," relented Fox. "But don't stay up late either, ok?"

"Sure. Oh, and Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"I…I miss my mom a lot too. It's not the same as you, I'd imagine, but…"

"I get it, Slippy. Thank you." Fox smiled. "We'll talk more about that next time, ok? Be open to it, because I will bring it up."

"R-Right."

"Ok. Good night."

Slippy nodded and watched as Fox stepped out the door to head to bed. He waited for a bit before turning back to work on the Reflectors, puzzling over the last of his thoughts.

...

And there is the first part to the Slippox relationship development! Poor Slippy actually has a lot of issues going on that he doesn't get to resolve so easily. Can Fox help him through them all? And can Slippy help his friend in return? Time will tell!

That's all for now. Feedback would be super great though, so if you've got time, please message or review with comments, questions, or criticism. Thank you for reading!