So, I figured that because story ideas keep popping up in my head, and because these ideas are usually too small to be made into bigger stories, why not just make a oneshot collection story?
I blame Cpt. Fox and Emile the Watcher for this. By they way, check them out, they're awesome.
So let's kick things off with the fluff train again, eh?
By the way, the stories in this collection are not connected with each other unless stated otherwise.
Anyway, please read and review! God bless, be safe, and have a pleasant evening!
Oh, and Mewtwo is confirmed for DLC for Smash 4. Public Service Announcement.
One Shot: Unprofessional
"Krystal, can I speak with you please?"
The vixen quirked an ear when she heard that message come in from her wrist-com. It was Fox, and whenever Fox wanted to talk to her usually he came to her on his own. Which meant that she was immediately curious as to what he wanted.
It bothered her a bit, that he would call in the middle of her eating lunch, but she smiled and responded.
"I'll be there in a moment, Fox."
She ate, put the dishes in the sink, and headed towards Fox's room. On the way she passed by Slippy, who waved at her, and she smiled kindly and nodded in reply. Before long she was in front of Fox's door, and she gave it a knock, just to see if he was ready to receive her.
"Come in," the vulpine replied, and Krystal giggled lightly at how nervous he sounded. She pressed a button on the side of the door, and she walked inside.
Fox was a neat person, mostly. Being a captain of a mercenary team meant one had to be organized. It was because of all of this that Krystal was surprised to see the room messier than usual. Fox's bed wasn't made, some clothes where on the floor, and his desk—admittedly usually covered with stacks of notices and bills—was covered with disorganized piles of paper. And Fox himself was standing by said desk, looking out his window and at the stars.
Krystal didn't have to read his mind to know that Fox was not only troubled at the moment, but lost in thought.
"Fox?" she asked, gently, "It looks like a tornado came through here. What's wrong?"
Once Fox did turn around, she could see a faint blush on his face. This wasn't too unusual. Fox had a habit of coming a bit undone whenever they were alone. Despite that, the two had grown quite close since she had joined the team, and talked often. It was a bonus that Fox looked absolutely adorable when he was shy. The proud leader of a mercenary team. But reducible to a bashful man when just one of her smiles.
And of course, thanks to her telepathic abilities, she always knew when she needed to be the shoulder to lean on. One of those moments was right now.
"O-oh, it's nothing," the light brown-furred vulpine replied. "I just did a lot of thinking today."
"Thinking makes you messy?" Krystal asked, quirking a brow.
"Well...I tend to forget things when I'm deep in thought like this. It's a bad habit," said Fox meekly, rubbing the back of his neck.
She smiled softly at him, and Fox looked down at the floor, red in the face. But Krystal went back to a concerned expression, and walked forward to put her hand on his shoulder. "Fox, what did you want to talk about? There's no need to be nervous if he want to talk about something," she assured him.
Fox gave her a meaningful look, one that surprised the vixen. She'd never seen him look at her like that before. Moving away from her first, he walked over to his bed and sat down. He propped his elbows on his knees and rested his forehead on his folded hands. He looked down at the floor.
Now Krystal grew really worried. She followed him and sat down close to him. She wrapped her soft tail around his waist, and put a hand on his shoulder and leaned towards him. Her eyes held nothing but concern.
"Fox?" She murmured, "What's wrong?"
Fox's green eyes looked up at her, looked down at the floor, then looked back at her.
"Krystal..." he murmured, "I...I have something I-I want to t-tell you."
Krystal had never seen Fox this nervous. Not even when she teased him did he ever look this shy. It was endearing to see him this vulnerable, but her worry for him won out as she stroked his back. Although she didn't want it to overpower her, a hope welled up in her bosom, a hope for something that she had been dreaming of for some time.
"It's...It's become s-something I-I can't ignore. And I-I want to tell you about it and...a-and I..." The vulpine stuttered.
Fox was getting redder by the second. Krystal nodded, and urged him to go on.
"Fox, you can tell me. I trust you, and I know you trust me."
She saw something in Fox's eyes in that moment. The anxiety that was there a second ago faded somewhat, and it was replaced with a confidence. She didn't allow herself to peer into his mind, despite her hopes, out of respect for him.
Swallowing, and nodding, Fox stared at the floor.
"I…I want to tell you because I've always wanted to be honest w-with you, s-so...Krystal, I..."
His eyes glanced at her, and he became redder. Then, in a quiet voice filled with care, he said:
"I love you."
Silence.
Fox looked down at the ground again, and she could feel him begin to radiate fear. He shivered, anxious to hear what she had to say, and Fox gave her another quick glance.
"Krys...I-I'm sorry if I-"
All that was silenced the moment she placed a soft paw on his cheek, and used it to hold his gaze. Krystal's eyes misted, and she gave Fox a kind, gentle, loving smile as she leaned over and brought Fox into a warm kiss.
Fox melted. There was shock at first, but within seconds he relaxed under her touch and lips, and he shyly pushed back, wrapping an arm around her. Krystal could feel the joy in his heart as it erupted, as it filled every part of his body. All the anxiety from before was gone, and he melted into her.
Krystal was crying with similar joy, of knowing that a dream she had always wanted to be real was happening right now; she was kissing the man that had made her so happy. What's more, he had actually told her he loved her.
They were like that for a time, caught in with one another, before the need to breath caught up with them. They parted, painting. Krystal nearly laughing when she saw that wonderfully dopey grin on the usually professional Fox's face.
"I'm glad you enjoyed that as much as I did." she cooed.
"I can't believe you actually love me back..." Fox whispered.
"What does that mean?" Krystal asked, cocking her head to the side.
"Well...you...you're just so darn perfect Krystal. And I'm...Well, I'm way too awkward and I have no idea what I'm doing right now. How did you-"
A furry blue finger interrupted him.
"Fox, give yourself some more credit. I've always loved you, really. Since before the Aparoid Invasion, and after. I was always worried that you didn't feel the same way." Krystal explained.
"Me not feeling the same way? Krys, I've been crazy about you for...a long time. I was interested in you since Sauria, and after the Aparoid Invasion I begin to think...I needed to tell you my feelings, if only just to be honest with you. You are part of this team, after all," Fox answered.
Krystal chuckled, and leaned forward to nuzzle Fox's cheek. Again, he melted with the contact. "And look where that honesty got you."
"Heh heh...yeah." Fox giggled. Krystal laughed.
"What?" he asked.
"Fox McCloud, I've never heard you giggle like that!" she chirped, putting a hand over her mouth. "My, aren't you love-struck right now."
"I wouldn't be lying...if I said that you had me wrapped around your finger right now." Fox answered, looking up at her shyly.
"And I wouldn't be lying if I said that you make me quite happy, Fox." she responded softly.
Fox looked at her, and moved to hug her. Krystal responded, and the two of them snuggled up in each other's arms.
"I…I haven't been in a relationship in quite a while. So I'm going to be awkward and make mistakes," Fox said seriously. "But I'm going to try my best to make you happy, because I want that for you. Alright?"
Krystal sighed and nuzzled Fox's cheek again. One of Fox's admirable qualities was his honesty, and she knew she'd fallen in love with the right person just by hearing those words. It had been some time since her last relationship as well, so in the end, they were sort of flying blind. But they could work it out. It would be awkward and hard at times, but it could work.
Fox pulled away and looked worried. "It's just...I'm worried by how unprofessional this could look."
Krystal twitched an ear. "What do you mean?"
"Well, we are 'co-workers' so to speak, though I don't think of it like that with this team. You are all my friends, and I treat you guys like such. But...this could affect the team, you know?"
A pang of fear echoed in Krystal's heart. "Fox," she began seriously, "If you are thinking of telling me to leave-"
"And that's not gonna happen," Fox responded. "This team is the only home you have now, and I wouldn't...I can't take that away from you. But still...I don't want to interrupt team cohesion, but I can't just wave off my feelings like that. It would be disrespectful to you."
Krystal knew Fox had a point. That being said...
"Fox, Falco and Slippy and Peppy are our friends, and they have a stake in keeping the team safe as well. And I'd like to think they figured the two of us would be...well," she smirked, "It was obvious, I should think. They trust the two of us to make good decisions. We should talk to them about this. What do you say?"
Fox smiled, and nodded. "That sounds like the best course of action."
They stood up, and walked out of the room together, holding hands.
Slippy, Falco, and Peppy met the two of them in the meeting room just as they had wanted. Falco looked at them with a gleam in his eyes, and Peppy smiled knowingly. Even Slippy, usually oblivious, could tell something had happened between the two.
Fox cleared his throat.
"Guys," he began, "I have a important announcement. I...I told my feelings to Krystal, and her and me are going to start a relationship."
Seeing the vulpine blush as he said this made the vixen giggle. It became a howl of laughter once she saw Falco wordlessly hand some credits to Peppy's outstretched hand.
"Please don't tell me you had a bet about this." Fox deadpanned, palming his face.
"Oh, we most certainly did," Falco responded, sounding disappointed. "Me and the old man here bet on how long it would take you to tell her, because pretty much everyone here but you knew that something was going to happen between you two foxes. I bet at about three weeks after the Aparoid shebang, since I know you to be the most awkward person around women I've ever met. Peppy had a tad bit more faith in you, and went with two weeks."
"And I'm happy to see that my faith paid off!" Peppy quipped, closing his eyes and smiling.
Fox looked to Slippy. "Thank you for not partaking in this."
Slippy laughed and shrugged. "Hey, I was tempted! But I'm glad you went ahead and talked to her, Fox. Hey, Krystal, was he as shy as I would have thought?"
Fox smiled cheekily and wrapped her tail around Fox's arm. "Does 'positively adorable' answer your question?" she asked.
"Okay, all of you!" Fox cried, blushing heavily. "Let me talk."
All of them laughed for a moment, before growing quiet again.
"Guys," he began, "We are all a team here. And I want to know if this relationship bothers you. I don't want it to affect our performance, but at the same time...I couldn't let my feelings stew for much longer. I needed to talk to her. What do you guys think?"
Peppy crossed his arms, and adapted a thoughtful expression as he looked at the two lovebirds.
"I'm glad you came to us about this. Fox, this relationship could affect your decision making on the battlefield, and that might affect our lives in combat. I don't want you doing anything crazy out there. And it is true that in professional relationships, romance changes things It can make things messy. That being said," and here the old hare adopted a kind smile, "I knew that the two of you, from the get go, would grow quite close. And to ask you to put those feelings on hold, to me, would have been at the least an unreasonable expectation. As the captain, this is your decision."
Fox looked to Falco next.
He held up his hands. "Foxie, same deal as Peppy mostly. I'm your friend, so I respect your choices. I knew this was gonna happen the moment I saw you two together. But like the old man here, I'm worried as to what can happen. At the same time...sheesh, you two look completely hopeless." At that, he grinned.
Next came Slippy.
The toad smiled warmly. "While I am worried…" he began, "Fox, you look happier than I've seen you in a while. I want you to be happy. I can't just tell you to not listen to your heart."
Fox looked at all his friends, and had one of those moments when one realizes how great your friends are.
"Guys...", he smiled, "...thanks. I'm glad you have reacted positively to this. What's your input on the team, though? If need be…I could step down."
The three other pilots looked at each other for a moment, then looked back at Fox.
Peppy once again looked thoughtful, and after a moment, he answered.
"Krystal is a good pilot, and on this team we take care of each other." The hare grinned wisely. "She's not a burden, and you have multiple people to depend on if she get's herself in a tough spot. More than that, she's even saved you a couple of times. Saved all of us. The only other things I will add is that you better make sure to not coddle her. She's capable enough, and two…remember, don't do anything crazy out in combat for her. She's worried about your safety just as much as you are."
Fox looked to his love. "You've become a good pilot, Krys. And while I assume one of your reasons for wanting to be on the team was to be close to me, you also liked helping people, right?"
"Well, of course," Krystal answered. "I know what it feels like to lose everything. I would do anything to make sure as much people as possible don't have to face something like that. What's more, I've always liked adventure. Fox...as long as you respect how much I want to be active on this team, I'm sure we can make it work. Also, like Peppy said, don't forget that someone else is worried about you just as much as you are worried about me."
Fox nodded, then grinned. "Respect? It's one of the reasons I fell in love with you. You can take care of yourself pretty well out there, I'd say. A little above average."
Krystal gave him bedroom eyes. "Oh, really now?"
Fox sputtered for a moment, before looking to Falco and Slippy. "What do you guys think?"
Falco shrugged, and wore one of his trademark cocky expressions. "Eh, I'm with the old man with this. Princess is good enough to be depended on. I just expect a free drink every time I help her out."
"Thanks, best friend." Fox replied, rolling his eyes.
"I love you too." Falco quipped back.
Fox looked to Slippy, who answered even before Fox opened his muzzle.
"Krysta's good at what she does, and we are the best mercenaries in the whole of Lylat," Slippy bragged. "We can take this.
Fox looked to all of them, and smiled. "Thanks guys...this really means a lot to me. I just didn't want to endanger you guys.
"The same goes for me as well," Krystal added. "If anyone of you need to say something to us...I want all of you safe, and-"
"Look at the two of you, being worry-warts!" Peppy cried, chuckling. "This more or less proves to me that you both are trying to professional about this, and I appreciate that greatly. Now, you both should get to know each other more."
Krystal donned a mischievous smile, and proceeded to wrap her arms around Fox's right arm. "I agree with that, certainly. Come on now, Fox." She began to lead the vulpine away by the arm, her tail wagging and tickling him.
"K-Krys! Where are we-"
"My room, of course." she answered.
She could practically feel the heat from his blush, and he sputtered. "But-but, don't you think that we should take this slow-"
"My, you were thinking of that?" She looked back at him with a mock-admonishing look. "Fox, aren't you being naughty right now!"
By this point, Fox was so flustered he couldn't speak.
"We're just going to cuddle," she murmured gently. "I just want to hold you for a bit, all right?"
Within a few moments, Fox found his voice again, and he put on a warm smile.
"I would like to hold you too," he replied.
That entire afternoon proved to be a very comfortable one for two certain vulpine.