A/N: Been a while since I've updated this, huh? I know it's been over a month, and I apologize for the long wait. Hopefully this chapter will be worth it, since it's my longest to date. I hope you guys enjoy.

-o0o-

Sadly, the individual and team flying simulator classes were just more safety instructions and rules and no flying, much to everybody's dismay. The instructor assured them, however, that they'd be flying after the weekend.

The classes passed by slowly, and the two canines exited the team simulator classroom and started back to their dorm room. Fox was still incredibly uneasy and nervous around Wolf, but he thought it wasn't fair to act like that around the lupine. The vulpine shook his nerves off and tried his best to make conversation, and he forgot why he was so apprehensive around him.

"Any ideas for dinner?" The lupine questioned as the two walked down the halls.

"Hmm… I guess you can decide. After all, I've been the one making all of the food decisions lately. You can make whatever you want," Fox replied, much to Wolf's happiness.

"Alright then. I'll think about it, and it'll be a surprise," the lupine remarked, nodding to himself as they walked along.

Fox decided to think on what was happening with himself and Wolf as the two grew quiet while they walked on. He wasn't sure how he was going to tell Wolf what he felt, and what the lupine would do when he found out.

They were going to go somewhere tomorrow, during the weekend, so that was a good place to tell him. Fox had no idea if he was going to run off, however. There were too many ways it could screw up.

The vulpine decided to wait until the time was right. He'd know when the right moment to make a move was. It would just take some patience and time. Plus, it would save some anxiety.

By the time Fox had finished the train of thought that he was on, the two canines had arrived at their dorm room. Wolf produced his keycard, and slid it down the lock, opening the door for him. He walked in, and moved over to the couch, sitting down with a sigh. The lupine collapsed right next to him.

"So tired. Can't wait for tomorrow," Wolf murmured with a happy groan, closing his eyes.

"Yeah. I'll check the time for when that bus comes around the Academy to take us into town. I think it's pretty early, though," Fox replied, looking over at the lupine and smiling while he wasn't looking. When he reopened his eyes, the vulpine snapped his head back in the other direction.

"Hey, I'm good with that. How about you go check that out while I cook dinner?" Wolf asked, getting up.

"My PDA can't exactly access the Internet, you know," the vulpine remarked, rolling his eyes. The lupine snorted.

"Use my phone. Password is D3NI4L," he said, tossing the device to him. Fox caught it, and turned it on, looking down at the cracked screen.

The vulpine inputted the password, and the phone opened into the homescreen. He was half tempted to look through Wolf's phone, but he didn't want to break his friend's trust. The vulpine instead went to the app for the Internet and went to the Academy website.

It was a pain to type in the bus times on the search bar for the website, but Fox managed to do it. He found that it arrived at about seven in the morning and came back every hour after that. It wasn't too bad; they could spend the whole day out there.

The vulpine just hoped he wouldn't do anything stupid, and make Wolf hate him. Why was it so hard to have a crush on your roommate?

Fox sighed, setting the phone on the coffee table. It was then that he noticed the smell of something resembling meat in the air. He unconsciously licked his chops, getting up and walking over to the small kitchen.

What the vulpine found was Wolf making burgers. Fox smiled, inhaling the aroma wafting from the stove. The lupine grinned over at him. Fox couldn't help hut notice the apron he was wearing that said Kiss the Cook.

If only, he thought to himself.

"Oh, good. You're done. Get the lettuce and cheese from the fridge?" The lupine asked bluntly. Sometimes the vulpine forgot that Wolf could border rudeness sometimes.

Fox nodded, opening their fridge and rummaging around until he found the things he was looking for. He grabbed the two requested items, and some tomato slices for good measure. The vulpine set them on the space next to the oven.

"These still have a while to go before they'll be ready. Go ahead and take a shower, or something," Wolf said as he finished.

"Alright. I'll go do that," Fox murmured, walking out of the kitchen and to their room to grab some sleeping clothes.

The vulpine decided on some sweats and a t-shirt, picking them up and walking to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him as he entered.

Fox turned the shower on, and when the water felt warm enough to him, he quickly stripped and entered it, sighing at the comfortable heat hitting his back. He just stood there for a few minutes, taking in the events of the day.

He honestly never thought his life would be filled with drama like that. It was all said and done now, but it was still surprising to the vulpine.

The only thing Fox hadn't done yet was tell Wolf about his feelings. He didn't really know how to do that, either, mainly because he was almost certain the lupine wasn't gay. That was rather disheartening.

The vulpine quickly finished washing himself, and stepping out of the shower, soggy and cold. He grabbed a towel from the nearby hook and dried himself off with it as best he could. He ended up just looking like a ball of fuzz by the time he had finished.

Fox changed into his nightclothes, and walked out of the humid bathroom to the kitchen where he noticed that Wolf was busy putting the hamburgers together. The lupine looked over at him and snickered, handing him a plate with a burger on it.

"Oh, you look great, Fox," Wolf remarked with a grin. Fox snorted, walking to the living room and sitting on the couch, the lupine doing the same.

"You're gonna look the same when you step out of the shower later," the vulpine replied, flicking Wolf's ear playfully.

"Nah. I'd be way more graceful and good looking than you when I step out. I bet you fell," the lupine said, taking a bite out of his burger.

Fox did the same, thinking of a way to reply. The burger was really good, he decided while chewing. It was nice to taste homemade stuff instead of something you'd find at a fast food joint. He had to admit, he loved Wolf's cooking more than anything else in the world.

"You may look better, but at least I'm more efficient with my showering, I guess," Fox mumbled for lack of a better reply.

"Nice comeback, nerd," the lupine replied, chuckling. The vulpine's ears heated up, and he looked away, snorting.

The two finished their meals in comfortable silence, not sure what to talk about, as they'd been hanging out nonstop for the past few days. Eventually, Wolf took their plates into the kitchen and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

Fox walked into the bedroom while Wolf was showering, and climbed up to the top bunk of the bed, laying down and staring up at the nearby ceiling.

He wondered what Peppy and his dad were up to. They were probably flying to Venom as he lay there. Fox was worried something would go wrong out there, but even if it did, he knew his dad would make it out safely. After all, he was the great James McCloud the invincible. Off on a possible suicide mission.

Fox just hoped General Pepper knew what he was doing when he assigned James on that mission.

The sound of the shower turning off a few moments later brought the vulpine back from his train of thought. Wolf stepped into the bedroom wearing just a pair of shorts made his face heat up quite a lot, and it took serious effort to avert his eyes from the lupine's muscular figure.

Wolf then proceeded to turn out the lights and quickly climb into bed, sighing as he did so.

"Kind of strange that we're going to bed so early on a weekend," Wolf remarked from his bunk.

"Well, we need to get up early of we want to catch the bus to town. As much as I'd like to sleep in, we can't," Fox replied.

"I know, I know. At least it'll be fun tomorrow, you know? Just they two of us hanging out without anyone else," the lupine murmured.

"If only you knew," the vulpine whispered softly, turning over in bed.

"What was that?" Wolf asked quietly.

"Oh! I said good night, Wolf," Fox lied quickly, swallowing heavily.

"Oh, alright. Night Fox. See you in the morning," the lupine said.

Fox closed his eyes, seeking sleep. The events of the day had made him feel completely exhausted; who knew talking with people could be so tiring?

He did eventually find his sleep, however, and found it to be filled with memories of his father and the good times they used to spend. He felt nostalgic and rather sad.

A pit had formed in his hut that was full of doubt and anxiety that his dad wouldn't make it out, and it wouldn't go away.

Fox was truly worried.

-o0o-

The vulpine woke up, yawning and blinking the sleep from his eyes. Fox sat up and looked around, squinting his eyes at how bright the morning sun was. After taking a moment to adjust his eyes, he climbed down from the bed and looked over at the snoring form of Wolf.

The lupine had a hand over his eyes, and he kept snoring softly, dead to the world. His other arm was spooning his pillow. Fox had to admit, he looked adorable like that.

Wolf was busy murmuring something in between heavy snores, but the vulpine took no notice as he sifted through his suitcase for some suitable clothes to wear.

Fox ended up picking a pair of jeans and a plain green shirt, as well as a grey jacket to wear out. He made sure to get his scarf and pick up his PDA as he stepped out of the bedroom.

The vulpine grabbed one of the couch cushions and walked back to the bedroom, throwing it at Wolf to make him wake up. Fox quickly ran into the bathroom and locked it before the lupine realized what had happened.

He changed into the clothes he'd decided to wear, and he was glad that he was finally able to wear something other than that stupid uniform. It felt liberating for him. He was probably being just a little dramatic about that, though.

Fox went ahead and brushed his teeth while he was in the bathroom, and applied deodorant. He made sure to brush his fur down, as well. When he was satisfied he looked presentable, the vulpine opened the door and stepped out, finding that Wolf was dressed as well and sitting on the couch, yawning loudly.

"Morning, sunshine," Fox greeted him, smiling. The lupine replied with another loud yawn.

"Morning," the lupine replied sleepily. Fox sat down next to him, pulling his PDA out of his pocket and checking the time. It was half past six.

The vulpine looked over at Wolf, studying his clothing. He'd decided to put on a black tanks top and some jeans, and that looked to be it. He dressed simply compared to Fox. He must not care what people think, Fox thought to himself.

"We should probably get going. You going to brush your teeth or something?" The vulpine asked, getting up.

The lupine shook his head. "No, I'll be fine. I can do that when we get back later today," he replied, getting up from the couch as well.

Fox nodded, and he walked to the entrance of the dorm, opening it for his friend. Wolf thanked him, walking out of their room with the vulpine following behind. He shut the door, and the two continued on down the hallway, making for the entrance of the Academy.

"What do you want to do when we get to the town?" Fox questioned the lupine as they went down a flight of stairs that led to ground floor.

"Hmm. I know I want to get some breakfast somewhere. Maybe we could go shopping? I have a little bit of spending money I saved up," Wolf offered, smiling.

"Shopping sounds cool. I have more than a little money I saved. It's not my dad's, by the way. He taught me to earn my own money and save it," the vulpine said. The two were walking into the main lobby at this point.

"Impressive. I'm glad you aren't the bratty 'my dad is famous so I can get whatever I want' type," the lupine replied, laughing. Fox chuckled as well.

"I used to be like that when I was small, actually. I eventually grew out of it, but some people knew me as nothing but a brat before," the vulpine said, grinning fondly at the memories.

The two canines walked out of the lobby, which was rather empty, being only half past six in the morning, and stepped outside to the parking lot in front of the Academy. After Fox took a moment to get used to the cold air, he saw a small group of students in a crowd, waiting around.

"Must be waiting for the bus," Wolf remarked, shivering slightly. Fox didn't fail to take notice of this, and he wondered why the lupine had trouble with cold. He had thicker fur than the vulpine, after all.

"You look really cold. Do you need my jacket?" Fox asked with concern laden in his voice.

Wolf looked like he was about to refuse out of pride, but then he nodded slightly, shivering once more. Fox took off his jacket and handed it to him, who accepted gratefully and put it on.

"You better now?" Fox asked. Wolf nodded in relief, zipping up the hoodie. The vulpine smiled, reaching into his pocket and taking out his PDA. The time read about ten until seven.

The two canines waited around in silence for those ten minutes until a bus pulled into the parking lot, stopping and opening the doors to let students on. The wave of teenagers trickled into the bus, with Wolf and Fox on the tail end of it.

The two ended up taking a seat in the far back if the bus, settling down. Thankfully, nobody sat right in front of them or next to them, much to Fox's relief. He didn't particularly like being in crowds.

"Attention all passengers. The drive to the town of Wenshell will take about a half hour. I come back to town to pick people up every hour on the half mark," the bus driver announced over the intercom. The vulpine made sure to log that information into his memory for later.

"Well, with that thought, I'm going back to sleep. Wake me when we get there," the lupine stated from beside him. Wolf shifted around a bit in the seat until his was comfortable before closing his eyes and trying to get some shut eye.

Fox didn't really feel like joint the lupine in his slumber, but he felt exhausted as well. The vulpine slowly drifted off, finding it harder and harder to keep his eyes open. He eventually dozed on the lupine's shoulder.

-o0o-

The high pitched squealing of the breaks on the bus jolted Fox awake. He groaned slightly, getting off of Wolf's shoulder. The lupine was still asleep, he realized, his face heating up.

Fox shook Wolf's shoulder until he too woke up. The lupine looked over at him like he didn't know where he was.

"You getting off of the bus with me or not?" The vulpine asked with a grin, standing up and starting out of the bus. Wolf nodded sleepily, pulling himself out of the seat and following.

The two canines made their way out of the bus, and exited it into the morning sunlight. It seemed as if they were the last ones to leave, as the bus stop was empty and the vulpine could see some familiar students walking into town.

Speaking of the town, it was very nice looking.

The town- Wenshell, he remembered- was rather small compared to some of the other places he'd been, but it was still nice. Fox could see a road leading into a town square where a large fountain was located. The vulpine could see different shops and restaurants scattered about, as well. It seemed all of the building connected with one another on the outside, but that was alright. It looked more homely that way.

"Good looking place, huh?" Wolf asked from beside him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The vulpine nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it is. So where do you want to eat?" Fox questioned, looking around the places he could see for something.

"I don't know. Let's take a walk and see what else is here," the lupine answered, starting to walk down the sidewalk of the street that led directly into town.

The two traveled down the sidewalk, glancing at the names of the shops and restaurants that were around. There weren't really any that caught either of the pair's attention.

Fox and Wolf continued to meander down the same street, and deciding they'd seen enough of that road, took a left at the first intersection they saw.

The two ended up coming upon a restaurant that looked very appealing to them.

It was a diner that looked to have an old fashioned theme to it, with a sign on the roof saying Miyu's in big neon letters.

"Want to eat breakfast there?" Wolf questioned, pointing to the diner with excitement. Fox nodded, laughing at the lupine's actions.

"Of course. Let's see what we can eat there," the vulpine replied, starting to head towards the place, with Wolf trailing behind him.

The two entered the small doner, and what they found inside was a welcoming atmosphere that felt old. The floor was made of checkered tiles, and the booths and seats had red leather cushions. There were painting and portraits of old celebrities on the walls, and there was a small bar in the middle where a lynx was busy taking a few orders from some customers.

The joint wasn't too crowded, but it did seem like it was popular with the people. Fox looked over at Wolf, who was glancing around the place with a smile on his face.

"Come on, let's go sit down," the vulpine said, pointing to an empty booth by one of the front windows.

The lupine nodded, and the two ambled over and sat in the booth facing each other. There were a few menus on the table, and they each grabbed one.

"I like the look of this place. Don't you?" Wolf questioned as the two looked through the menu.

"It's different from anywhere else I've eaten, that's for sure. All of this food sounds really great, though. What are you going to get?" The vulpine asked, looking up at the lupine from over his menu. Wolf was busy studying his own, those amethyst eyes glancing up and down it.

Wolf gave no answer, merely shrugging as he kept looking. Fox decided he'd have some pancakes because he wanted something simple. The vulpine set his menu down at the far end of the table, and watched the lupine as he continued to look for something to eat.

Fox wanted to tell Wolf how he felt, but he didn't know when he would do it. It was getting harder for him to keep his feelings under control, but he was fairly certain he was being obvious in his attraction to the lupine. Fara figured out easily, and she didn't even know either of them very well.

Wolf was just blind, then.

"Alright, I know what I want," the lupine stated suddenly, setting his menu down and yanking Fox from his train of thought.

"That's good. Let me see if I can get the waitress' attention…" Fox trailed off, looking pointedly at the woman behind the bar. The lynx nodded in understanding when she noticed him, and grabbed a notepad, walking over to them.

"Name's Miyu. I'll be your waitress today. What can I get you boys?" The lynx asked in a accent Fox couldn't quite place.

"I'll just have a small stack of pancakes and a water, please," the vulpine said. Miyu scribbled something on her notepad, and looked over to Wolf.

"I'll take a hamburger with everything on it. Fries and water as well," the lupine stated. The lynx nodded, and wrote that on the notepad.

"Alright then. I'll go get your meals started, y'all hang here for a while," Miyu remarked, picking up their menus and waking off, leaving the two alone once more.

"A hamburger for breakfast? Especially after we had one last night?" Fox asked dubiously after the waitress left. The lupine nodded.

"None of the breakfast food here looked that good to me. Besides, I love hamburgers," Wolf replied, grinning.

"I'll log that to memory, then," the vulpine remarked dryly.

The two sat there in silence for a few minutes, waiting for their food. Fox's mind ended up wandering once more, and he found himself wondering how he'd tell Wolf what he felt.

He knew he needed to do it very soon, however. Maybe I could do it today, the vulpine thought to himself. That wouldn't be such a bad idea, would it?

"What are you thinking about, Fox?" Wolf asked, staring at him with interest.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing important. Just wondering what my friends are up to right now," the vulpine lied, his face heating up.

"Liar," the lupine said immediately. Fox looked at him, his blush deepening.

"Huh?" Fox asked, not sure how Wolf called his bluff.

"You're not thinking about your friends. You answered me too quickly. What's really on your mind?" The lupine pressed.

I'm in love with you.

"Nothing! It's nothing, honest!" Fox exclaimed in panic.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

I wish I could.

"Look, I'll tell you later, how about that? This isn't the place to tell you," the vulpine stated, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Oh. Okay, fine, later," the lupine finally said, backing off.

Fox didn't much feel like talking after that, so he decided to look out of the window at the town. He saw people walking on the other side of the street, sometimes alone, sometimes with a friend or two, and sometimes with a girlfriend or boyfriend. The vulpine sighed, looking away.

A few more minutes passed in silence while the two waited on their food. Fox ended up catching Wolf staring at him ages times, but he chose not to say anything about it. That did make the vulpine confused.

Finally, the lynx came back with an armful of food with her. She set the burger in front of Wolf and the pancakes in front of Fox. The vulpine licked his lips, looking down at the food before him.

"Y'all enjoy now! And when you're done, make sure to pay up at the bar," Miyu said cheerfully before walking away.

"Looks good," Wolf said not two seconds before taking a huge bite out of his hamburger. He hummed, grinning to himself and taking another bite. Fox thought he looked like a dork.

The vulpine grabbed a fork and knife and cut into his stack of pancakes, taking a bite from them. He had to admit, they were very tasty. Nowhere near as good as Wolfs cooking, though.

"This is really good," Fox murmured as he took another chunk out of the pancake. Wolf nodded in agreement.

The two ate in silence, enjoying their meals too much to speak. Fox decided he wanted to eat here again sometime; perhaps next weekend, if he had some free time.

Wolf and Fox scarfed down their food, and finished not too long after they started. The vulpine sighed in contempt as he pushed his now empty plate back.

"That was great. We'll have to come back here sometime soon," the lupine remarked as he finished his plate.

"Definitely. I'm going to go pay for our food, you can wait for me outside," Fox replied, getting out of the booth.

"Wait, no. I'll get the check," the lupine replied, getting up as well.

"No, I took you here, I'm paying. Let me take care of it," Fox insisted, giving no room for Wolf to argue as he walked over to the bar and in front of Miyu.

"Y'all enjoy your food today?" the lynx asked, handing the vulpine a check and a pen.

"Definitely. I think we'll be coming back here when we can," Fox stated as he scribbled his signature on the check and reached in his pocket for his card.

The vulpine paid for the food and left the restaurant shortly after, seeing Wolf waiting just outside, crossing his arms and looking out at the town with a toothpick in his mouth. Fox thought he looked amazing.

"Ready to take a look around some of these shops?" The lupine asked, snapping the vulpine out of his stupor.

"Uh... Yeah, I am. Where do you want to go first?" Fox questioned, looking around. He didn't really know where to go.

"I'm not sure. Let's just take a walk until we find something interesting," Wolf answered, starting down the sidewalk that order back into the town square.

The two canines walked around town, looking for somewhere to browse. Wolf saw a few stores he wanted to go into, but refused to go in them until Fox found somewhere he wanted to go.

As the two ambled down a sidewalk near a general store, the vulpine ended up snagging his scarf on a bush, tearing part of it. Fox cursed loudly, taking it off and examining the rip.

"Oh, damn it!" The vulpine exclaimed, looking to see if the scarf had been damaged anywhere else. It had not.

"Maybe we can get it fixed? That happens fairly often to clothes like that," Wolf murmured.

"I hope so. This just feels weird. I don't know, like some omen. This has never happened to me before," Fox replied, sighing and putting the scarf back on.

"I don't believe in that crap. It was just simple luck. Now come on, let's go find somewhere to fix your scarf," the lupine stated, continuing along the sidewalk, beckoning Fox to follow.

The vulpine sighed, walking with Wolf. He hoped he could get the scarf fixed. It was one of the most important things he owned.

-o0o-

The two canines didn't find a place that could sew Fox's scarf back together, so they instead resolved to see if anyone at the Academy knew how to sew. It was the best chance they had at fixing the item of clothing.

After failing to find somewhere to repair the scarf, Fox and Wolf visited a few stores the lupine found interesting. The lupine didn't actually buy much of anything, except for a necklace he found in the store they had just went into. It was a wolf's head attatched to a black string, and it was very pretty.

Fox had to admit, it looked very good on Wolf.

The two canines had ended up wandering to a small park they had found on the outskirts of the town. There was a path that snaked around some trees and a nicely sized pond before going up to a hill and looping back around. It was a nice change from the bustle of the shops and restaurants.

"Want to walk up to that hill?" The lupine questioned, looking over at the vulpine as they walked in front of the entrance to the park.

"Sure. We could take a rest up there," Fox replied.

The two turned and entered the park, starting to walk through the sparsely wooded area. The vulpine had to admit, it was very pretty and relaxing. He loved nature, and this felt like a little slice of it.

"It's beautiful here," Wolf murmured as the two friends walked down the path.

"Yeah. We should come back more often. I love this place," Fox replied, smiling to himself and looking over at the lupine beside him.

The rays of sunlight that broke through the trees landed on Wolf's face, making his eyes look so much brighter than they actually were.

He's so beautiful, Fox thought, and it was then that he realized he needed to tell the lupine what he was feeling.

The two continued walking up the path and started to ascend the hill they had made their goal. It was fairly steep, and seemed to rise up over the trees behind them. Fox and Wolf started climbing it.

A few moments later, the two canines reached the top, and gasped in wonder at the sight in front of them.

Fox swore he could see for miles around. To the north, he saw Corneria City and its monumental skyscrapers that seemed to reach for the stars. To the west, the vulpine saw the Academy. Over to the east, there was the ocean, a glittering sapphire color. The sights took his breath away as he sat on the peak of the hill, Wolf right next to him.

"I've never seen anything like this before," the lupine murmured softly, smiling and staring off towards the ocean.

"It's gorgeous," Fox agreed, looking over at Wolf, who held a blissful expression, his eyes closed. He was smiling up at the sky.

Make a move. Do something, the vulpine thought, realizing he was in the perfect position to tell Wolf what he needed to say.

"Hey... Wolf? I... Need to tell you something. It's been eating at me for a while now," Fox muttered. Wolf opened his eyes, staring at the vulpine curiously.

"What is it, Fox?" The lupine questioned. The vulpine took a deep breath, his ears heating up.

"It's not something that's easy to tell. For a while, I guess... I've been thinking about stuff. Well... You, specifically. I don't know, I guess I didn't understand before, but I do now," Fox started, stumbling over his words. Wolf raised a brow in slight confusion.

"What are you trying to tell me?" The lupine asked.

"Um... You're great. I'm really happy I met you. You're rough, but not mean, and you are good at fighting. You're an amazing cook, and you've shown me more kindness than I've been given from anyone other than my dad in a very long time. I'm… uh..." Fox trailed off, not sure if he wanted to continue or how he would do it.

Wolf's eyes widened slightly, as if he was grasping what the vulpine was trying to tell him, but he made no move to speak. Fox decided that he was going to have to get his point across more obviously.

The vulpine quickly leaned in and touched his lips to Wolf's softly, just for a moment. It felt more amazing than anything Fox had ever experienced, as if he was on a high. He also noted that the lupine made no move to pull away, and when the vulpine reluctantly pulled back after a second, Wolf sat there, dazed.

"Wolf?" The vulpine asked, his face burning from embarrassment. The lupine uttered something incoherent before regaining a small bit of his composure.

"Uh... I gotta go. Oh shit," Wolf stammered, getting up and running back the way they came, leaving Fox wondering what he did wrong.