A/N: This chapter gets a little more into Falco than anything else...I guess you could call it a filler but, hey...I am having that on again off again relationship with writer's block...
Chapter 11
Fox had little time to get himself to bed, his date with Krystal, though not that physically straining had pushed his nerves to their limits, and in that sense alone he was exhausted. He managed to set Krystal to sleep in the cottage's bed, before moving to the sofa himself for the night, for the most part he was simply happy that the night had gone off without too much of a hitch, though there were some things that still stuck in his craw...mainly that wolf that had harassed Krystal before giving them a hard time. Luckily however, his state of mind was in no condition to allow him to care for these things as he slowly slipped off to sleep, perfectly content with the fact that he was in love.
The blue vixen rolled lazily over harshly squinting her eyes at the light that poured into the room she lay in, quickly covering her eyes with the back of her paw. With a heavy yawn Krystal rolled out of bed and slowly walked toward the bathroom...she couldn't remember ever arriving at the cottage, her last and favorite memory of the night was being able to fall asleep in her favorite fox's arms, she was more than certain that he'd taken it on himself to carry her the rest of the way. Though she loved her new dress, she was a bit happy to finally change into a normal suit of clothing after taking a short shower to fix her fur and hair which had become terribly matted while she slept. As she allowed the steaming water from the shower to wash over her, all previous thoughts were washed away from her mind, there was no other one place she'd have liked to be at that moment...however, as she began running her fingers through her fur, helping the water to get ever fine strand of blue she felt something behind her. Suddenly a set of strong paws came about her waist pulling her lightly back, she could now see Fox's smiling face over her shoulder, who began to place little kisses about her neck as he paws began to explore her body. A sigh of passion rushed from her lips as she turned about to see the fox that was behind her, he smiled brightly back at the smile she was wearing...
"What are you doing, Fox?" She giggled.
The vulpine's lips slowly parted but, she did not receive the voice she'd been expecting, "Krys wake up!"
Krystal was a bit stunned, "Katt? What the hell?" She asked looking at Fox with the utmost of confusion.
Krystal suddenly shot into a sitting position striking her head against something that felt like some sort of boulder, sending a surge of pain through her body. Her paw instantly went to the side of her forehead over her, now closed, right eye. When her vision cleared the blue furred fox looked about only to notice she was still in bed and a pink furred feline was standing at her bedside rubbing roughly the same spot on her own forehead. Once Krystal had realized she was dreaming before, her entire face, along with her neck, grew a dark violet color making her skin feel like it were on fire...
"You know? Your head is about as hard as Falco's." The pink furred feline grimaced.
Suddenly the feline noticed Krystal's intense blush, "What? What's wrong?"
"It-it's nothing...I just wasn't expecting a wake-up call." Krystal replied nervously.
Katt sat on the edge of the bed looking deeply into the vixen's eyes for a moment before smiling, "My ass!" She said cockily, "You were dreamin' about Fox, weren't you? What kind of dream was it?"
"I-I'm really not comfortable talking about this right now Katt." Krystal said lowering her head.
"Oh...forget it then. Wouldn't be able to call you my friend if I didn't respect your space would I?" Katt said shrugging her shoulders, "Well come on, get up, you have to tell me everything about your date last night." Katt stood up stretching her arms and back a bit.
"Where's Fox and Falco?" Krystal asked as she rolled out of bed to find that she was still wearing her dress.
Katt sighed, "They found some sort of gym out here on the resort. I guess there are just some things that you can't change, huh?"
Katt made her way back into the kitchen while Krystal stepped out of her dress, and got dressed in a pair of green sweatpants and a light gray tank top. She made the usual morning stop to the bathroom on her way to the kitchen, where she found her pink furred friend sitting with a small breakfast for both of them, and a small spot of coffee. Krystal didn't really say anything as she sat down and began eating, Katt knew she'd be a bit hesitant to talk at first. For what seemed like the longest time possible the two simply sat there, even after their plates were clean and the only thing left to occupy their minds was their coffee...
"So...I saw Fox carrying you back into this place last night."
Krystal looked a bit shy about it, "Yeah...I sort of fell asleep. I guess he carried me inside."
"Yeah he was asleep on the couch when I first came over here a few hours ago..." Katt replied sipping from her cup, she stopped pointing her pinky toward the vixen, "How are your ears?"
Krystal gingerly ran her fingers over the earrings she had clearly forgotten to take out last night, "Still a little sore...but, not enough to really notice."
"You still have that ointment I gave you?" Katt asked receiving a nod in reply, "Using it?"
Krystal smiled, "Yes, Katt. Once last night and again this morning."
"Good...now. Tell me what happened on your date."
Krystal sighed lightly with a short sided smile, the feline was persistent she had to give Katt that much. To be honest Krystal really wanted to tell Katt everything for some reason, maybe girlish instinct, or maybe just because Katt was the best friend she'd ever really had. Krystal spared no real detail in what she told the pink feline. The entire story only took a few fleeing minutes really. The cat hung on every work the blue vixen spoke until Krystal finished and they were both left drinking their coffee again...
"So......" Katt said in a questioning tone, "Did he kiss you?"
Krystal thought back to that moment, when they were dancing, "Not for the first time."
"Really? When was the first time?"
Krystal thought to herself for a moment of whether or not it was something she wanted to share with the feline but in the end...
"Two days ago..." The blue vixen said lightly, "Just after he told me....that he loved me."
It took everything Katt could muster not to spit out her mouthful of coffee before swallowing, "HE WHAT!?"
"I kind of left that much out when I told you everything...then again technically I kissed him..." Krystal admitted looking into her cup, "I'm sorry Katt..."
Katt smiled, "You don't need to apologize to me. I was just surprised...those aren't words that Fox would just toss around, he must really love you." She said, "What about you? Do you love him?"
Krystal sat there in silence for a moment not really wanting to look Katt in the face, "I think so...It's getting to the point where I can't even look at him without smiling."
While the ladies sat at the cottage Fox and Falco were just making their way back from the gym. Falco had seemed oddly curious about Fox's date himself while they were exercising...Fox didn't really mind though, it was a lot better than the Falco attitude he'd grown used to over the years. Fox also made it clear that he was unaware on how to follow up in his date with the blue vixen, he felt so awkward that night, it seemed like the only point he wasn't nervous was when they were dancing...maybe it was the atmosphere, some place he felt more comfortable would most likely be a bit better for his nerves. As Fox and Falco approached the cabins they stayed, Fox pulled off toward the beach...
"I'm gonna go for a run...Katt should still be over there with Krystal." He shouted to the bird as he rushed off down the beach.
Falco shrugged his shoulders and made his way up to Fox's cabin door but, just as he opened it he heard something that made him refuse to open it any further...
"Yeah...Falco would never go for something like that." Katt's voice rang in his ears as he seated himself against the wall next to the door.
"True it doesn't seem like his style or anything but...you never know right? He could surprise you." He heard Krystal reply.
Katt sighed heavily, "I know he cares about me...but, sometimes...I don't know, I just wonder if he really loves me. Or if I'm just some sort of joy-ride to him." The feline's voice replied, "You're lucky enough that Fox is the romantic type...with Falco it's not so easy to tell how he feels. I wish just once we'd do something special instead of our normal dates at the local clubs...I enjoy the time we spend together but, I...I just don't know..."
As Krystal sat there listening to what the feline had to say a rather powerful stream of emotion seemed to hit her for a moment, before she noticed a blue feathered avian walking away from the window just over Katt's left shoulder, his head hanging either in thought, or in hurt of what he'd just heard. As they sat by and Krystal was forced to feel the blue falcon's pain, Katt noticed a slightly hurt look on Krystal's face...
"What's wrong?" Katt asked.
Krystal really didn't want to let Katt know that Falco had heard what they were talking about, "Nothing...I just feel like I should go out and get some fresh air."
After a short while Krystal found herself searching for Falco, she wanted to make sure he was alright after what he'd heard but, for the most part she had no luck finding him. Fox had just stepped out of the shower and was toweling off in the living room of their cabin watching something on the news channel when Krystal walked back inside. For a moment she was distracted by the sight of his still damp fur, but quickly snapped herself out of it, making certain to tell Fox about the situation at hand and the fact that she couldn't find Falco anywhere she searched. Fox simply up a paw placing a finger on the blue vixen's lips, while pulling a small folding communicator from his pants pocked...
Fox placed the device to the side of his head with one piece up near his ear, "Falco? Where the hell are you?" Fox paused for a moment but slapped his palm to his forehead, "Kay...look just...meet me at the Cafe over on Main Street..." There was another pause, "Yes that Cafe...just get there alright." Fox folded up the com device and slid it back into his pocked before turning to Krystal and placing his paws on her shoulder, "Listen...Um...damn, why isn't this any easier?" He cursed himself, "Look I really had fun last night and...I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing it again..."
Krystal smiled brightly, "Of course. I'd love to go out again."
"But...tomorrow, I have to talk to Falco..."
Krystal quickly reached out kissing Fox's lips, sending the same surge of red through his fur that made his entire face glow, "You're always gonna blush when I do that aren't you?"
Fox lightly chuckled, "Yeah...seems like it." He replied taking a short breath before walking toward the door, "I shouldn't be gone too long. I'll grab something for everyone to eat while I'm out."
Fox made his way out to the vehicle he'd rented, and before Krystal could make it to the door to see him leave, he was already gone. She knew how important Falco was to Fox, he'd even told her several times before that he cared for the bird like a brother, so...she found that it was only natural that he wanted to help the poor animal if he was hurting in some way, though she wished him luck on getting the animal to admit to his feelings. Fox had no trouble finding his way to the cafe he'd told Falco to meet him at; It was a small white coffee shop, with a blue roof, and several outdoor tables and seats. As he pulled the hover car to a stop across the street he could see his blue feathered friend, with his head laying on the table and one arm across the back of his head. He was most definitely thinking about what Krystal had told him the poor bird had heard Katt say. He slowly made his way to the table Falco was sitting at where he took a seat, the bird didn't move even after a young red furred vixen took an order for Fox...
"What am I gonna do, Fox?" The bird asked not moving his head.
Fox sighed thanking the pretty young vixen that brought him his hot drink, "What do you want to do?" He asked.
This time Falco finally lifted his head, "You know...I'm no good with these things." He said taking a sip of the coffee he'd ordered some time ago.
"Well how do you feel?" Fox asked, "Right now? How do you feel about Katt?"
The blue feathered avian sighed, "I love her...you know I do." He replied.
"Then why the fuck can you say that to me and not her?"
Falco thought about it for a moment, "You know why I can't Fox...you were there!"
Fox thought for a moment, "You're still blaming yourself for that?" He asked, "Falco...despite what her brother says, Ruby's death was not your fault. And it damn sure wasn't because you loved her!"
Falco turned away at the mention of the name, "It happed to my parents, then it happened to her...everyone I love dies Fox."
"THAT'S BULLSHIT!!" Fox yelled barely managing to get the falcon's attention, "I know what your fuck'n problem is. You're a god damned coward..."
Falco instantly looked Fox in the eyes, "What the fuck did you just call me!?!" He demanded slamming his fists onto the table.
"You fuck'n heard me!" Fox shouted, "All you ever fuck'n did when I was afraid to tell Krystal how I felt was look down on me, make fun of me! Then the other day, I thought you might have...changed a little bit, when you tried to help me. I thought for one minute, maybe even one second that you cared. I've always thought of you as the brother I never had...you, me, and Slip. We grew up together...we've watched out for each other every day of our lives since high school..." Fox said clenching his fists against the thought of the tear he could feel rolling down his cheek. Finally unable to say anything further the vulpine turned about and started to walk away, "Like it or not Falco...you know I'm right. Katt...I've known her since the two of us were only 6 years old...I was there when her brother died, and ever since then I've tried my hardest to fill in for him...to be the brother that she lost. And I swear...If you hurt her...there is no measure to the kind of pain I'll put you through..." Falco couldn't find any words to counter what Fox had said, and as Fox walked away he paused for a moment, "When you're ready to stop wallowing in your own fuck'n pity. We'll all be at Me and Krystal's cabin eating lunch......I got over my problems, get over yours."
Fox's irritation toward Falco and his attitude had already completely ruined his day. Meanwhile, Katt and Krystal sat by at the cabin...they had hardly said a word after Krystal had informed Katt of what Falco had heard. It was odd, sometimes Katt tried her hardest to act as though she didn't care but, in the end the feline's true feelings showed though. The two sat out on the patio basking in Sol's rays, the day was just right in the respect that it was only just so warm outside. Krystal seemed a bit worried about her pink furred friend, who'd been a bit depressed after finding that Falco had heard her, but, maybe this was all for the best...as Krystal looked over to the feline who lay on her side with her back toward the blue vixen, the feline's thoughts jumped out at her. Katt was thinking of an animal that Krystal had never seen before, a light orange furred cat, not only that she was thinking about a specific name that the vixen had never heard before...
"Katt..." The blue vixen whispered softly.
"Hmm?" Katt hummed in reply nodding her head toward Krystal.
"Who's Derick?"
Katt chuckled at herself, "I guess I was thinking too hard again, huh?"
Katt had been told about Krystal's powers, and was well aware that the vixen did not always have total control over what she does and doesn't hear...if a thought or emotion was strong enough, it would bore it's way into the blue vixen's mind whether or not she liked it. Krystal only smiled with a light nod...Katt had always tried to help her when she was feeling confused, she saw no reason why she couldn't do the same....but, Katt had a way of getting in words before anyone else...
'He was...my brother." The pink furred feline said sadly, "My older brother...my family died when I was still just a kitten."
Krystal bit her lip for a moment, "I-I'm sorry...I...I didn't..."
"It's okay Krys..." Katt chuckled a bit rolling onto her back interlocking her fingers and resting her paws on her stomach, "I still don't know what happened....I was only 6. I stayed with the McClouds for a while...about a year, that was long enough for me and Fox to warm up to each other. He was always understanding as a kit, really sweet and caring too..."
Krystal smiled and chuckled, "I guess some things just never change."
Katt smiled at the blue vixen, "We grew up together even after my uncle adopted me...hell we only lived two blocks away from each other." Katt sat the rest of the way up reaching for a drink that she had sitting nearby, "We spent so much time together that, by the time we were in high school I started to think that I was in love with him......"
Krystal froze up for a moment, "Did you ever pursue it?"
Katt laughed, "I tried once...sneaked a kiss in on him...that didn't go off so well though."
"What happened?" The cerulean vixen asked.
"Apparently, Fox had developed some kind of feeling for me..." Katt sighed, "He told me that he did love me...but, that he loved me the way he would love his own sister. You could probably guess how much that hurt. I stomped on his foot, pushed him down, and didn't talk to him again for almost a solid 3 months. I was humiliated, but, I also missed the stupid fucker more than anything...so I decided that having Fox as a fill in for Derick couldn't be as bad as that. By then he'd already met Falco, and after a while we went to the Academy together, and that's where Fara died. I'd like to say that Falco used to be a different person but......he's been the way he is ever since we met..."
Krystal thought to herself a bit, "So...that's why you and Fox were always so close."
Katt chuckled as she saw the light tan furred vulpine's rental vehicle pull up to the place, "Yep...that about sums it up. Come on it looks like Mister Hero needs the help of two young women to carry that food in here." The feline said as she stood up and made her way toward the door.
Krystal stood up only to see Fox with his arms full of bags of food, one hanging from his jaws, and two in each paw, He looked absolutely ridiculous trying to balance all the bags and shut the door of the car with his foot all at the same time. She could only down and shake her head while laughing to herself at the poor thing's expense. After helping Fox bring the bags of food inside, Katt looked over the things he'd bought...
"I thought you said you were bringing back food." Katt said.
"And I did...I just haven't cooked any of it yet." Fox replied making his way toward the kitchen.
"What happened with Falco?" Krystal asked.
Fox busied himself washing his paws for a moment, "Forget it. Only thing you'll ever get through that moron's head is a bullet."
As he began to work with the food Krystal made her way to his side, she didn't know much about cooking and found it interesting at how simple it seemed for Fox. Knowing she wanted to help in some sort of way, Fox gave her a few menial tasks to do, getting certain pans, filling them with water, and eventually showing her how to prepare the things he was cooking. Every so often the blue vixen would regale him with questions about what he was doing and why, he could only smile. At this point Krystal reminded him of the times he stood watching his mom cook, doing the exact same thing. After a short while however there was a knock on the cabin door...
"Hey Katt, you wanna get that...my paws are tied." Fox asked from inside the kitchen.
Katt smiled and even laughed a bit, he looked like a house wife himself, "Yeah, Fox. I got it."
The feline yawned a bit as she stood up stretching her back, which was sore from sitting for so long, and made her way toward the door which sounded off again with another series of knocks. A bit irritated at the person's impatience Katt threw the door open but, froze as she saw Falco standing there, staring at his feet. For a short while he didn't say anything, he just stood there seemingly afraid to look the feline in the eyes...
"Hey..." He half whispered, "Can we talk for a minute?"
Katt was a bit dumbstruck, this wasn't exactly the Falco she was used to, "Hang on." She said turning around, "Fox. I'll be right back..."
"Alright..." Fox called back, "This is gonna take a while to cook anyhow."
After the pink feline left the cabin for a moment, Fox looked to the door...then back to the stove...he could already tell that his plans for lunch had already been tuned on him. Soon however the door opened and closed again...
"Keys are on the table Faclo..." Fox pointed out as Krystal looked into the living room to see a rather shocked look on the blue avian's face, "You wreck it, the rental is coming out of your pay."
Krystal looked back to Fox as Falco left the room, "How did you know that was Falco? You can't even see the room from there." She asked, "I'm the telepath."
Fox smiled and chuckled a bit before walking past Krystal rubbing her head, "There's more then one way to tell. Only Katt and Falco were just here. And Falco has always had a slight limp in his right leg after he was injured playing sports in high school. It's funny though, he only limps when he walks."
Krystal followed Fox who sat at the table, "Fox. What did you say to him?"
"Just some things that he needed to hear." Fox replied, "I'm not the only person here with a screwed up past Krystal...his wasn't any better, neither was Katt's, or Slippy's for that matter...hell everyone in Star Fox has lost family somehow. Peppy's wife Vivian died when Lucy was only 3, Slippy never even got to meet his mom...she died in the hospital two days after he was born, Katt's entire family was killed by god only knows who, and my family was all killed by Andross...."
"What about Falco?" The cerulean vixen asked sitting down.
"He...really doesn't like me talking about it..." Fox replied, "but, he never knew his real parents. They found him when he was still a newborn, wrapped in blankets, hidden in a dumpster behind and old apartment building here on Papetoon...in Desmond, our old home town. It's actually not too far from here..." Fox said rubbing the back of his neck.
"Why would somebody do that to a baby?"
Fox shook his head, "I don't know. The officer that found him said that he looked like he was hidden for a reason. He was bundled up, and fed so, his parents clearly didn't want him to die. They were...hiding him from something, or someone. Apparently whoever it was, got to them before they could get back to Falco. There was never a clue toward it and nobody ever even questioned their disappearance, they just disappeared. I looked into it a while back, and Falco's real dad had some shady dealings when he was younger...I'm guessing that's what caught up to him."
Krystal's expression saddened for the bird, "So...that's why he's the way he is?"
"Not entirely...his life didn't get much better later on..." Fox said pulling an old photo from his wallet and setting it on the table, before heading over to the kitchen to check on their food.
The photo was of a number of animals; a young pink furred feline, a blue feathered avian, a younger vulpine that was most definitely fox from years back. There were three adults standing behind the group of young animals, who were all very nicely dressed...most of all Krystal noticed that the younger falcon in the photo was standing next to a very attractive red feathered avian girl, and even more surprisingly, he was smiling. Fox who stood to the far left of the bird, as well as his father who stood behind him, both looked incredibly down in the photo, and a young tan furred vixen stood beside Fox clearly trying to comfort him about something...
"This is you, Katt, and Falco..."
"Yep...prom night." Fox said adding some spices to one of the pots of food.
"Who's the pretty red girl with Falco? They look really happy..."
Fox chuckled a bit, "They should...they were dating ever since the first day of school. One of those, love at first sight incidences..." He said smiling at the blue vixen who blushed a bit, "Her name's Ruby...she was great. Always happy, helpful, funny..."
"But why do you look so sad...Even your father is crying..."
Fox approached the vixen from behind looking at the photo over her shoulder, "Yeah...if I weren't covering my face...you'd see that I was too." He sighed, "That was the week mom died. Wasn't any easier on Falco either...He was really close with my entire family, he was like a lost member of the family...spent more time with us than he did his own adopted parents. That's them standing behind him. He's always been good at hiding his emotions from everyone...not so much on my case..."
"Is this Fara?" Krystal asked pointing to the vixen at Fox's side.
Fox looked at the blue vixen in confusion, "Katt tell you about that?"
"Yeah..."
"Figures..." Fox scoffed walking back toward the stove, "Yes, that's Fara...Katt didn't even want to go, but, she wouldn't let me go in that state without her being there. It got even worse for Falco though..."
"How's that?" Krystal asked.
"About two weeks after the dance..." Fox started, "Falco came to me explaining that he was gonna ask Ruby to marry him, that weekend when they had a date set up. Ruby...she...never made it to their date. Her parents found her collapsed outside of her bedroom...she was just getting ready to leave and do something with Katt..."
"What happened to her?"
Fox took a light breath as he stirred something in one of the pots, "I was spared most of the details but, she had some rare form of Leukemia..." Krystal looked a bit confused at the word "leukemia", "It's a disease in the blood...it's pretty lethal. She was alive when she got to the hospital, but...she lapsed into a coma...never woke up. Falco spent ever day in the hospital with her...he always tried to hide it but, we all knew it tore him apart on the inside. All we could do to help...was to let him deal with it in his own way. Any time she was mentioned, he'd ignore you altogether, and just leave. I don't know why, but he always blamed himself and there was no reason for it, it's not like he could have taken it away...even if he were able to buy her time, she was still gonna die."
"Here..." Krystal said handing Fox the photo, "They just got back."
"Good..." Fox said replacing the picture into his wallet, "None of this food'll go to waste then..."
As Fox sat took his seat again across from Krystal, Katt entered the cabin, "Falco should be back soon...said he needed to do something..."
-A small town about an hour away from the resort-
A small graveyard spans out over a short few acres of land, the graveyard is well tended, and the grass is freshly cut. A cold wind blows through the air as the the day's light seems to slowly fade to darkness. Still however amid the lonely gravestones a single animal stands, a long, dark coat keeping him warm. The blue falcon sighs as he lays down a single rose in front of the marker...
"Hey, Red..." Falco said trying his hardest to muster a smile, "It's been what? 3 years. Sorry...team's seen better days, we got banged up pretty badly in that whole Aparoid business, but what am I tell'n you for? You can see us..."
The wind began to blow a bit harder causing the bird to wrap himself a bit tighter in the long coat he was wearing, as he shivered a bit...
"I really miss you..." He said as a tear rolled down his cheek, "I try my hardest to do what you would have wanted, but, I can't......" He said wiping his eyes on his sleeve, "Everything about her reminds me of you, but you two were best friends what the hell should I expect, huh? I'd give anything for just one more day....Then I could have told you everything that I was too afraid to say back then..." The blue avian said sniffling a bit, "I love you, Red. I always will..." More tears fell as he pulled a small object from his coat pocket...he spent a few moments looking over the small gold ring before kneeling down and digging a small hole in front of the gravestone, "I wanted to give you this...but, apparently I missed my chance at that. I still want you to have it though. I promise I'll visit more often..."
The bird didn't bother standing back up yet, his knees wouldn't let him. That is until he felt something touch his shoulder, he jumped to his feet turning about...but, there was nothing there. He felt it again, but this time he refused to move..as he could feel a familiar warmth. For a short second he could feel the warmth all about his body...as if a pair of arms had been wrapped around his chest from behind, and he could feel something against his shoulder. Ruby had hugged him the very same way the day Fox's mother had died. He was at first a bit frightened...until something caught his attention, a voice, so very light, that had the wind not stopped blowing he'd have never heard it...
...Don't cry...
Whether it was his mind playing tricks on him or not, he wasn't sure but, despite the origin of whatever apparition had made the sound. He did the exact opposite. He found himself only able to stand there with tears rushing from his eyes as he was forced to come to terms with his past...with help that came from the last place he'd have ever expected it...