Author's Note: Wow. I didn't expect anyone to be interested in this. Thank you to the people who reviewed and favorited this! o3o Well, I suppose for the readers out there I'll try to continue this the best I can without mangling it XD;
"What was his problem?" Sonic paced so fast that even he himself had trouble keeping track. "Everyone's so serious and moody around here. I mean honestly. All I was doing was taking a quick jog around the hanger and he gets ticked off at me!"
Mr. Game and Watch gave a consoling beep. The hedgehog ignored him as he continued his ranting.
"What is wrong with everyone? Don't they know how to have fun anymore?" The two-dimensional man shrugged. Game and Watch had no clue why Sonic chose him to listen to his troubles, but the monochrome wonder didn't mind. He buried his face into the magazine, half-listening to the hedgehog, half-listening to the music blaring down the hallway.
"This place sucks," Sonic sulked. "Especially Falco! Have you been noticing how weird he's been acting? I bet that he's up to something like…"
"…Like what?"
Sonic literally jumped out of his shoes when he realized that the very person he had been insulting was standing behind him, an amused smile on his beak. Mr. Game and Watch looked up and gave a series of beeps that might have been a sort of chuckle.
"What is it, Sonic? What am I planning?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Sonic looked out the door, searching for some excuse to leave the room. "Uh…I have to go now. I…erm…promised to help someone out…with…stuff." Before Falco could continue probing, the hedgehog was already racing down the hallway.
Mr. Game and Watch took note that Falco seemed visibly relaxed once Sonic left. The monochrome wonder said nothing, however, and continued to pretend that he was engaged in some very interesting article.
Brawlers always did act weird, anyway, during the springtime. It must be something in the air…
Fox hurried across the huge deck, paws in his pockets, his mood irritable despite the cheery weather. The Halberd was finally nearing Isle Delfino where they would spend their vacation. The vulpine scowled at the bright, blue strip of sky above them. There was little that would take his mind off Falco. That bird had been acting rather…queer lately. Fox, of course, was worried. What had gotten into Falco, anyway? He had sent Olimar to ask, but he got little results. Falco refused to even talk to him and, despite Fox's best efforts, mysteriously managed to avoid him flawlessly.
Such behavior was not normal. Fox leaned against a rail, his tail flicking moodily. God, if he could somehow get Falco to talk to him…
"Heads up!"
Fox's paw shot out instantly and caught the speeding baseball with ease. A small boy, at least for his age, hurried over, his baseball cap tilted askew. Fox tossed the ball back at the boy. "Thanks Fox!" Ness thanked the pilot. "You know, you should play baseball with us sometime. You'd make a great pitcher."
"Huh," Fox shrugged. An idea popped into his head. It was crazy, but if it worked, he might know what was troubling Falco… "Maybe. By the way, Ness…do you think you can do a favor for me?"
Ness adjusted his cap so it faced right-side up once more. "Sure. What cha need?"
"It's about Falco…"
"Falco, stop hogging the remote!"
Falco only changed the channel once more. Popo and Nana exchanged annoyed looks. "Why don't you run around or something instead?" The avian frowned as he watched a tin man jerk to life on the screen. He changed the channel once more. The Ice Climbers were defiant.
"You've been sitting there for over two hours!"
"We want our turn now!" Nana chimed in.
If only they would leave him alone! The only real way he could forget everything, at least briefly, was to zone out. There were two ways he could do that: take a spin in his Arwing or watch the TV. Much to his displeasure, his Arwing had been damaged as it had been loaded onto the Halberd. And he didn't want to give up control of the remote as it'll let his mind wander back to…
"Falco! Give up the remote now!"
Falco twirled the remote teasingly in front of their faces. "Make me." Before they could react, he tucked the remote into his jacket and focused his full attention on the dancing fish on the television.
Popo and Nana suddenly tackled him to the ground. Dang, for such small stature they sure were tough! Falco kept his grip on the remote as he attempted to flee to the safety of the stairs. Nana had a firm grip on his legs though and Popo held his arms down. "Give us the remote!"
Falco was about to retort with some sharp remark when he saw the familiar silhouette in the window that made his pulse quicken. Oh crap.
"You want it so bad? Take it!" Falco tossed the remote away and took the chance to run off the moment he felt their gloved grips loosened. Crap. Of all the worst times…hopefully Fox hadn't seen him. Screw the crap about love and how wonderful it was! All he knew was that it was a horrible, horrible curse…
"…Read minds?" Ness looked at Fox like he was crazy. "I don't think I-"
"You have PSI powers, don't you?" Fox sighed. "Look, there's something wrong with Falco. He won't even look at me!"
The boy nodded empathetically. "Uh-huh…but I don't like the idea of trying to read other people's minds. I think I can do it, but…I really don't think it's right." Ness spoke slowly, as if he was pondering his words as he talked. "I never really tried."
Fox might've known. Ness would have never thought of messing with people like that: he was sometimes a goody-two shoes like that. Before Fox could urge him though, he caught sight of a familiar blue and red blur. Falco.
"Thanks Ness," Fox swiftly said. "Sorry if I bugged you…I'll be going now." With that, Fox raced toward the door. His only thought was to catch Falco…
Of all the worst hiding places, did he have to choose this one?
Wario's room smelled like garlic and stank like rotten eggs. Falco nearly gagged from the stench when he first entered the room. Well, no one else in their right mind would follow him here, which was good. Unless Wario came in, this was an ideal hiding place. The stench alone chased away many of the Brawlers.
It was happening all over again. Everything was going smoothly as long as there was no damned sign of that fur ball. But now, when he thought he had everything under control, the emotion came roaring back at full speed. Was he going to put up with this all his life?
"Why does it have to be that cocky fox?" Falco muttered to himself. "It could have been someone else. Why him?" He had almost had no strength to deal with the whole matter. But he would never submit to the passion flowing inside of him! Never!
The door unexpectedly creaked open, making Falco jump. A weak curse died on his tongue as the vulpine standing in the doorway, panting from his intense run, growled, "All right, Falco. What's going on?"
