Many, many, many thanks to my wonderful reviewers! c:
Too much traveling ...
And Korra ...
And babysitting ...
And fanart ...
I FINALLY found the time to write this chapter.
I've been wanting to write it for DAYS. Ugh.
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
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(Some drinks, some silliness, and the promise of an exciting night.)
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Krytal's Adventures
Tales of the Cobalt Vixen
A Collection of Cornerian Shorts
Chapter Nine: "Unexpected Date"
"To our new teammate," said Falco, raising his full glass. Fox nodded, raising his, too. Krystal gave a bashful smile, clinking her drink against the others.
"Thank you, boys," she said softly, glancing at both of them. They smiled.
Then the three of them brought their drinks to their lips, taking long sips.
"Ahhh," said Falco, smacking. "Nothing better than a dry martini after a flight sim."
Fox nodded, eating the olives out of his glass.
Krystal grinned, but she felt a little awkward. She pressed her fingers together around her glass. "Somehow I have the feeling that I'm intruding on a tradition," she murmured. "I don't want to interfere with your man-time..."
"Oh, don't worry about that," said Falco, waving a hand dismissively. "You make the 'tradition' ten times better just by sitting here. Besides, we're a couple of chumps. We can hardly ever get the ladies to join us, let alone a classy one like you." He raised his drink again, towards Krystal, smiling. She smiled back, feeling her cheeks grow warm.
Fox scoffed, twirling his last olive around his glass. "You've got no room to talk, Mr. Playboy." He leaned in to Krystal, who looked startled and curious. Fox started whispering loudly. "Falco's always bringing girls around," he said to her ear, his breath tickling it. "Girls no one's met before. Or after," he finished, giving his friend a wicked grin.
Falco's eyes flashed. "Too far, man," he grumbled, looking down at his drink. "And hey, I could say some stuff about Fox that would curl your tail."
Fox frowned. "I'm sure we all have secrets we'd rather keep," he mumbled.
Everyone was quiet.
Uncomfortable, Krystal shifted in her seat. She took a deep swig of margarita, draining most of the glass. She coughed. "Alright," she said, a little too loudly. She tried to regulate her volume, clearing her throat. "So." She glanced between Fox and Falco, who continued to avoid looking at each other. "What's the plan for this evening? Or tomorrow? Anything on the schedule?"
Falco shook his head, twirling his glass around. "I dunno. Don't think we're needed for anything, aside from keeping up with general training." His eyes brightened with a thought, and he glanced at Krystal. "Speaking of, do you have a trainer yet?"
She nodded. "Someone named ... Sedge, I think?"
Fox's ears perked, and he stared at her. "Sedge? Did you say Sedge?"
She nodded. "Yeah. I have my first session with him tomorrow, I believe."
Fox frowned. "You should request a transfer."
She looked at him, curious. "Why? What's wrong with him?"
Fox sighed. "He's ... just ... not good."
Krystal noticed Falco rolling his eyes as he drained the rest of his martini.
"What do you think, Falco?" she asked, turning her eyes on him. He choked on his drink, but she continued. "Is Sedge bad? Shall I transfer?"
Falco coughed back a laugh. "Dunno," he said, his voice hoarse. Fox glared at him, and he coughed again. "I mean, yeah, he sucks. Stay away," he said in one monotone breath. He quickly glanced up and down the counter, avoiding Krystal's eyes. "Hello, bartender?"
She looked back at Fox, the corners of her lips turned down. Life was so much harder without telepathy. "So what's wrong with Sedge?" she asked. "Why are you both acting so strange?"
Fox looked away, scratching the back of his head. He shrugged. "I dunno. I just ... I don't like him. I get a bad feeling from him. That's all." He shrugged again, still avoiding Krystal's gaze. She gave a sigh.
"Well, I think I'll try out one session with him first, just to see how it is."
Falco was grinning. "Yeah! You should do that!" Fox elbowed him, and he coughed. "I mean ... It's your choice ..." Fox elbowed him again, and he squawked. "What? It is her choice!"
Now Krystal was frowning, too frustrated to be patient. "Okay. One of you tell me right now: What is up with this Sedge person? Out with it."
Fox sighed, getting up from his seat. "I'll be right back," he said gruffly. Then he began to stalk over toward the bathrooms.
Falco watched him cross the room. He turned back to Krystal when the door swung shut behind Fox's tail.
"Okay," he said confidentially, leaning close. "Here's the thing."
Krystal leaned in too, feeling secretive. She fixed Falco with wide eyes.
"Sedge is beautiful," he said.
Krystal blinked.
"A beautiful man, I mean," Falco continued. "And he and Fox ... well, they have a bit of bad blood between 'em. Involving a girl. So ... you see ..."
"... He's jealous," Krystal said, finishing for him.
Falco nodded.
She sighed. "That's ridiculous."
Falco shrugged. "It's the truth."
"So he doesn't want me to go train with Sedge because he thinks ... he thinks I'll like Sedge." She rolled her eyes.
"Pretty much," said Falco. "And hey, it's happened before."
She sighed again. "Boys."
"Hey, don't judge."
She stared at him.
"... Okay, you can judge me," he said, scoffing. "But not Fox. Not about this, anyway."
She bit her lip. "Um... Could you tell me..." She looked away, at the counter, then back up to Falco's eyes. "What happened exactly? I don't mean to pry, but I'm curious... If you want to tell me, that is."
Falco nodded, opening his mouth. Then his eyes darted up, focused past her face. He gave a slight twitch of his head. "Maybe another time," he said quietly, looking at her and raising his eyebrows. "After another sim or something."
"What's going on?" came Fox's voice, behind Krystal. He took his seat between the two of them, glancing in their eyes. "What are you gonna do?"
Krystal looked at him, wetting her lips to speak, but she didn't know what to say. She wasn't very good at "covering." Never had been.
"We're talking about getting drinks after our next session together," said Falco smoothly, picking up the slack. "That is, if you want to join us."
Fox frowned gently. "Of course I want to join you. What kind of question is that?"
Falco shrugged. "I dunno. Sometimes you've got big-shot plans and stuff."
Fox's eyes flashed with the spark of a thought. "Oh, that reminds me. I've got this gift certificate to Café Jesperia that expires tomorrow night." He glanced between the two of them. "Did you guys want to come with me? I won't be able to spend that much money on my own."
"Oh, crap," moaned Falco. "I love that place."
"So come," said Fox, looking at him.
Falco stared down at his now-empty glass. "I ... can't."
Fox frowned. "Why?"
"Uh... I'm kind of... busy..."
"Busy?" asked Fox, skeptical. "We have nothing to do..."
Falco glanced around, looking down the counter, then over at the bathroom. He ran a hand through the feathery crest on the top of his head. "Uh... Hey, I think I gotta go." He fumbled in his pocket for his wallet, pulling out a bill and slapping it on the bar.
Fox stared at him. "Hey Falco, I was gonna-"
But Falco was standing up noisily from his bar stool, putting on his jacket. "Later," he mumbled. And then he walked quickly out of the lounge, back toward the lobby.
Fox and Krystal stared after him, completely confused.
"... What the heck just happened?" asked Fox, looking at Krystal with wide eyes.
She shook her head. "I don't know." And she didn't. She hadn't even tried to pry.
Fox blinked. He looked back at the door to the lobby. Then he glanced back to the bar, where Falco had left his money. He sighed. "I was gonna pay for his drink."
"Then replace his money and give it back," Krystal suggested.
Fox shook his head. "Nah, he's got pride issues. He's already done it now... He'd think I was undermining his manliness or something."
Krystal giggled softly. "No matter where you go in the universe, men are always the same."
Fox grinned. "Hey, at least we never change!"
"That's the problem." She fixed him with a sly glance.
"Woah, woah," he said quickly. "Take that back."
She shrugged, raising her eyebrows playfully and looking up at him through her lashes. "Make me have more faith in your gender. Then maybe I will."
Fox stared at her. He took a deep breath.
He was quiet for a long moment. Krystal stared at him.
"Come with me to Café Jesperia?" he asked in a rush. She blinked. "Just you and me," he continued. "If that's okay, I mean. Is that okay? Are you okay with that?"
Krystal reached over and touched his forearm, looking up into his eyes. "Of course I am. I was going to go with you anyway, before Falco left."
He was still staring down at her, his mouth slightly open. "But... But now it's just the two of us," he stammered.
She smiled at him, very slowly and sweetly. "Yes, it is."
He gaped at her, dumbfounded.
"It'll be nice to have some time with you one-on-one," she said gently. "I feel like we haven't had much of a chance for that."
Fox closed his mouth. "Uh, yeah," he mumbled. "It will be."
She was still smiling. "What time should we leave?"
He blinked. "For what?"
She chuckled. "Café Jesperia."
"Right," he said softly. "Uh, probably seven?" He glanced at the clock behind the bar, which ticked a little past five. "Is that okay?"
She nodded. "Perfect. I can go take this flight suit off." She picked at the fabric uncomfortably. "Maybe I'll have time to get a custom-fitted one before we do another simulation."
Fox glanced down at her body, then quickly looked away. "Yeah, that'd be great," he murmured, staring down at the martini glass in his lap. The last olive still rested inside it, speared through by a vibrant toothpick.
"May I have that?" Krystal asked, her voice soft.
He looked back at her, confused. "What?"
She stared down at his lap, then back up into his eyes.
His cheeks heated up, and he stared at her, tongue tied and silent.
"Your olive?" she added. "May I have your olive?"
He glanced down at his lap. "Oh," he sighed. "Sure. Take it."
She reached over and plucked the olive out with delicate fingers. Fox tried not to think about the transitive properties of her hand, the martini glass, and his lap.
Instead, he watched her pop the tiny bitter fruit into her mouth.
His cheeks heated up again.
This is gonna be a long night, he thought.
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Mmmmmm Krystal and Fox on a date.
I can almost taste the awkwardness. X3
Questions, ideas, suggestions: keep 'em comin'! c:
And make sure you check out my deviantart at the account frenzied-insanity!
I've got some really nice paintings of Krystal and Fox up!
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