retsuko1106: I miss you.

They were alone now.

Alone, with nothing to distract them. No cover to hide behind. No environment to manipulate, and no allies to call upon. Two mammals standing on a flat, featureless platform. First to fall off dies.

"You really are an idiot, huh?"

Wolf was first to break the silence. He stood there, watching Fox with both eyes. A cold blue light and a deep purple darkness.

"You'd stand here and let me knock your teeth out to give your new buddies, what? A three minute head start? Once I win, it'll be real easy to jump 'em from behind."

"You won't." Fox's green eyes were steady. "Andross needs to be stopped."

"If you want something done, Pup," he said, "do it yourself."

Wolf began to stalk forward, hands up in loose fists. Fox matched him, circling away slowly. The pistol lay on the platform between them. Unclaimed.

"That idiot raccoon had the right idea, for once," continued Wolf. "You should be the one up there. You and your little laser gun could handle Andross easy." He broke into a cruel grin. "And all you had to do was shoot me. You shoulda."

Fox shook his head, still alert. Ready. "If I had shot you, the others would have fallen…"

"Exactly!" barked Wolf, his smile dying. "I have no idea how you've gotten this far as a soldier. Your job isn't to make friends. It's to accomplish your mission. And-"

"Wolf," said Fox simply, "I think I know more about being a soldier than you do. I still am one."

With a roar, Wolf lunged. He covered the distance with three strides and a leap, coming down on Fox fist-first, but the smaller mammal slipped under him with a roll. Wolf tried to whirl around with a kick, but Fox had already retreated out of range.

"Sorry," said Fox, and meant it. "That came out meaner than I wanted."

Wolf barked a laugh, incredulous. "You don't even have the guts to trash-talk me?!"

He charged him, claws out, and Fox had to dodge back as he came in with heavy, brutal swipes.

"Why am I surprised?" said Wolf, still pressing the attack. "Let's be honest - you had more than one reason for not shooting me." His boot lashed out and Fox was slow to dodge, clumsily falling back and almost tripping over his own feet. "And it's the same reason I was dumb enough to let your friends go on ahead."

Wolf unfurled to his full, intimidating height. He still bore down on Fox, but more slowly. Every movement was measured.

"Hell of a time to air our dirty laundry," he growled. "Too much on the line. On both sides."

"Yes."

"So do the mature thing, Pup-"

He leapt forward, claws ready, fangs out.

"-and die!"

Wolf brought both hands in, sweeping his claws at Fox, trying to catch him - and Fox threw himself under Wolf's legs, trying to crawl under him.

"Oh, for the love of…"

Wolf was quicker this time, turning on his heel fast enough to plant a boot, hard, on Fox's tail. Fox gave a muted squeak of pain, pinned to the floor.

"You're not even trying!" Wolf's eye burned. "I only agreed to this because I thought you'd give me a fair fight. But you're barely stalling me!"

Fox gritted his teeth, trying not to move his tail. "I don't want to fight you, Wolf."

"Then you," he growled, "have made a series of bad decisions."

"No. You have!"

Abruptly, Fox slammed a foot into Wolf's knee. The impact was much harder than Wolf expected, earning a wide-eyed yelp and a stumble. Fox slipped away, scrabbling back to his feet.

"I hate this, Wolf." Fox's stance was steady, contrasting the melancholy on his face. "I really do. Please, can't we talk instead?"

Wolf ignored him. He had regained his balance, but still seemed a bit shaken. "That was a hard kick," he muttered. "Too hard. Aren't you supposed to be injured?" He watched Fox, his eye narrowing. "Just what are you hiding under those pants?"

Fox gave him a sad smile. "I think I'm supposed to say something like 'come find out'."

Another flying leap, another dodge to the side. Wolf was desperate to catch him, but Fox flitted around the platform, staying out of reach.

"My new friends would say something like that," he continued, his voice barely affected by the chase. "They're funny. They always know what to say. I don't." Wolf's hand came for his head and he had to duck under it. "I wish I knew what to say to you."

"I don't wanna hear it!"

Wolf feinted, then threw out a huge kick. Fox was too slow to dodge and threw his arms up instead, crossing them over his face. Wolf's foot still knocked him back, an immediate ache setting in.

"Will you shut that smiling mouth of yours for once in your life?!" Wolf tried to press his advantage, but he was back to slow, angry swipes. Easy for Fox to avoid. "If I wanted to talk, I'd be talking! But there's nothing left to say. Words won't fix this."

"I don't believe that," said Fox, every movement matching Wolf's.

"Then you're dumber than you look!"

Wolf lunged, and Fox bit back a cry as those claws dug into his arm. Grabbing Fox at the wrist and shoulder, Wolf let out a roar and shifted his weight and pulled, hefting the smaller mammal over his head in a brutal arc.

If Fox had been slower, he would have been slammed to the floor, weak and breathless. But he twisted in Wolf's grip, fast and light, and managed to use the momentum to his advantage. He kept his feet together and brought them both down on Wolf's toe.

He howled.

They broke apart, Fox stumbling from the dizzying throw he had interrupted, Wolf hobbling from pain. "Ngh! What happened to talking?!"

"You picked me up and I panicked! I'm sorry! Are you-?!"

"Stop," growled Wolf, "apologising."

He lunged with a sudden punch, now trailing one foot. Fox dodged him easily, but the next one would be faster.

Wolf bore his teeth, trying to seize his pain. Pain meant anger. Anger meant power, and focus, and the willingness to get this done. But the pain was already fading. Fox couldn't hurt him, not really. He was in control here.

This was all on him.

And suddenly he found a fresh reserve of anger. With a wordless snarl, he threw himself forward in a tackle. Fox hesitated, caught between those broad, spiked shoulders, and then Wolf had him. He pinned Fox to the platform, easily trapping him under his superior weight.

"Stop," repeated Wolf. He grabbed Fox's wrists, keeping him down. "Just stop, Fox. Either fight me or don't. Walk away or don't. Just pick something!"

"No." Fox, tiny and pinned, stared up defiantly. "I'm not leaving. Not until I get what I want."

Wolf barked a laugh, fangs on display. "Well! Look who's finally showing a shred of ambition!" He pressed Fox's wrists into the platform, applying steady, mounting pressure. "Couple years too late. You can't smile your way through this one, Pup - you wanna win, you're gonna have to-!"

He shifted position and the second he did, the second the opening came, Fox slammed both feet into Wolf's vulnerable stomach.

Oh, he felt that one. It definitely seemed like metal. Wolf wanted to give this development more in-depth analysis, but at that exact moment his body had to double-check it could still breathe.

Fox freed himself with vulpine grace, which is to say he wiggled around he was no longer under Wolf. He retreated, and with every step Wolf made out a slight mechanical whirr. He growled, forcing himself to stand as well. It seemed he wasn't the only one trying to enhance his performance.

"Wolf, please." Fox made one last appeal. "Let's stop trying to hurt each other. I don't want to do this!"

"I know you don't! And I know why you don't!" Wolf's eye narrowed. "You're not gonna win. Not at this rate. You're only doing this to buy time."

"I'm not!"

"Get this through your head: I'm on the clock. I have a chance to make more money on one job than all my ancestors put together, and I'm not letting you blow it for me!"

Fox stared for a moment. Then his little shoulders sagged. His tail drooped, his ears fell. "Money. Money and violence. That's all you listen to."

Wolf's mouth tightened. "It's all that makes sense."

A moment dragged in silence, and then Fox's hand suddenly balled into a tight fist. He met Wolf's gaze with an unfamiliar anger. "If that's how it is…!"

He could really move when he wanted to.

Wolf was thinking about maybe putting his arms up defensively when Fox punched him right in the nose. He followed this with a low sweep, his leg hitting Wolf's with that same inexplicable metal edge. Wolf wobbled, but stayed on his feet. He caught Fox's next punch, but couldn't stop the reckless headbutt that followed.

Fox was ferocious. He was quick and relentless, feinting around Wolf constantly. Punches and jabs and above all those strangely heavy kicks. But Wolf was stronger. Always had been, always would be. He bided his time, waited for his opening-

His hand closed around Fox's neck.

He flung him. Instead of crushing Fox's throat, he just flung him. And instead of flinging him straight off the platform, he aimed for the opposite side, leaving them both safely on their feet. Unfortunately, Fox noticed.

"I can tell, Wolf! I can tell you don't like this either!"

"Of course I don't like it! There's an annoying runt in my way!"

He flexed his claws and bore his fangs.

"Give up!"

"No!"

Fox began to charge him, building up speed for a flying kick. But Wolf didn't budge. He refused to. He stood his ground, and when Fox came for him, he kicked right back.

Their legs connected.

There was a horrible metallic noise as the device on Fox's legs cracked in half. The right angle, sufficient power, and Wolf's kick had broken it at a crucial joint.

Fox crumpled to the floor. And he screamed.

The sound echoed off the blank walls, down the endless pit. It hit Wolf in his core and made him stop short, ears pinned back. Fox lay at his feet, legs ruined, tears of pain in his eyes. Broken.

Fox ran out of breath, his anguish dying out into sad little pants. Wolf stared down at him. He suddenly didn't know what to do with his hands.

"You…"

His voice felt loud in the fresh silence.

"You really are injured, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Fox.

"Did I… hit you too hard, or…?"

"I'm sorry," said Fox, bizarrely.

He lay there, heaving in breath.

"Just give me a minute. I'm sorry for making noise. I'll be okay in a second. It's just - you broke the thing that was letting me walk…"

Wolf managed to tear his eye away from Fox's face - it was hard - and caught sight of a few loose gears bleeding out of his pant leg.

"…and when I fell, I just… twisted my broken leg funny, and it hurt a lot, so… give me a-"

"Broken leg?!" Wolf's eye widened in alarm. "You've been fighting me with a broken leg?! What the hell kinda machine are you wearing right now? The pain alone should be-"

"Oh, no," said Fox. "It just keeps me upright. It doesn't dull my pain."

Wolf felt his blood getting colder the more Fox spoke. "You've… been lugging around a broken leg this entire time? Are you taking anything for the pain?"

"If I told them I was in pain," he said, slowly, "they wouldn't have let me come."

His eyes, blinking back tears, met Wolf's shocked gaze.

"I had to be here. I had to try. So I didn't bother anyone. Didn't tell them how badly my legs have hurt this whole time." He smiled. "It's okay. I didn't want them to worry about me anyway."

"It is not," growled Wolf, his anger bubbling back far stronger than before, "okay. Do you even hear yourself?! This is not something you can casually keep from people, Fox! What were you thinking?!"

"Sorry," mumbled Fox, quieter this time.

Wolf took a deep breath. He wished they were still fighting. His body boiled with energy, but there was nowhere for it to go. "Does stopping Andross really mean that much to you?" He cut off Fox's response by scoffing at himself. "What am I saying? Of course it does. After what he did to you…"

"That was part of it."

Fox looked up at him. Small and frail.

"But I know other people can stop him. I know Inspector Fox and the others are probably doing it right now. So I could have gone home sooner." He let out a shaky breath. "But then," he said, "what would you do?"

Wolf opened his mouth to reply. Slowly, he closed it.

"I've missed you," continued Fox. "This whole time. I should have done a better job staying in contact."

"Don't." Wolf's voice came out husky. "After I got fired… there was no talking to me. You know that."

Fox nodded. "But I tried to keep track of you. I heard you started your own company. I thought that was really cool."

Wolf felt his face flush with shame. He knew exactly where this was going.

"But then you… Wolf. It was hard, reading about the things you tried to do. I know you were angry, but it was like you gave up. All you wanted was money. I couldn't understand it."

Wolf felt a growl in his throat. He seized that anger. Anything was better than the pathetic feelings trying to clutch at his heart. "There's a lot you don't understand, Pup."

"Yes," said Fox, sadly. "You're right. I don't understand how you could work for Andross. He says he wants a better world, but he doesn't care about other people. He never has. And-"

"Stop!"

Wolf roughly clutched his face with one hand.

"I know. I know. He's scum! I'm scum too! This is not new information. All you're doing is picking at old wounds."

"I'm not doing this to be mean, Wolf. I'm just trying to understand. I need to know what happened to you!"

Those green eyes stared up at him. Uncertain. Lost.

"I want to believe in you. I want to talk about you like you're still my cool friend from all those years ago. But I'm not an idiot, Wolf. And I couldn't defend you in front of the others. It's-" He hissed in pain. "Every year, you get worse! They told me about you. They told me what you did. It's one thing to break contracts, but you threatened a child! You beat Sly, savagely, when he was unarmed and handcuffed! And now… Now, this." His voice became uncomfortably quiet. "You blew up a building, Wolf."

"That was…! That was supposed to…"

Wolf stopped himself.

He may have accepted Andross' money. But he was his own man. And he didn't share the monkey's delusions of moral grandeur. "It doesn't matter what it was 'supposed' to be," he muttered. "You're right. I ain't got the right to do anything like that. Especially not for Andross."

Fox's eyes began to shine. "Does that mean-?!"

"No."

Wolf still felt unsteady. But he did his best to straighten his shoulders, towering over the beaten fox.

"Just shut your mouth, McCloud," he growled. "We're done here."

For a moment, Fox's face fell. Any hope that had built up instantly snuffed out.

Wolf wished he hadn't seen it.

But then Fox nodded. "I was worried you'd say that. I was worried that, no matter how hard I tried, I wouldn't be able to talk you down. But you're wrong about one thing." By now, he had blinked away the last of his tears. His green gaze was resolute. "We're not done yet."

"You can't walk."

"I'm between you and the elevator. I'll grab your legs."

"Are you kidding me? Knock it off. Now. I don't want to hurt you any more than I have to, so don't be stupid."

Fox just watched him.

And then he pulled out the pistol.

Wolf froze, ears instantly shooting up. Idiot. Idiot. Fox had landed right on top of it, and he hadn't noticed until now?! With his reflexes, and his aim, he could've sunk a shot into Wolf's chest at any point.

But Fox McCloud wasn't like that. He had fast hands and flawless eyes, but he also had a big, stupid heart. He wouldn't exploit Wolf's vulnerability to shoot him dead. Even still, his actual decision caught Wolf completely by surprise.

Fox slid the pistol over to Wolf's boot.

When Wolf just stared, Fox smiled up at him. "Well?"

Wolf hesitated. Then, moving slowly, like in a dream - a nightmare - he bent down and took it. It was a little small in his hand. But he could still get a claw on the trigger.

He stared again, the question clear in his purple eye, and Fox's smile didn't waver. "You win, Wolf. You shot me down, and you beat me up. I know you were always mad when you lost to me, so… congratulations."

"Pup." Wolf's voice sounded hoarse. "Why am I holding your gun?"

"I wasn't kidding," said Fox. "I never give up. You know that. So it doesn't matter if I can't stand. I'll still do everything I can to slow you down."

Wolf wished he would just stop smiling. But his little grin didn't dim an inch.

"You'll have to shoot me, Wolf."

He felt his throat close up. Immediately, he checked the gun, ensuring his claw wasn't on the trigger. It could go off accidentally, if his hands kept threatening to shake.

And Fox just kept going. "What you were saying about attacking the others from behind… or about me using the blaster to beat Andross… Well, you can do both. You can do whatever you want, really! Andross might pay you more for saving him, or if you scare him. And I know that's all you care about."

Wolf tried to protest. Yell that it wasn't. The words wouldn't form.

"You beat me. But I'll still try to stop you. I have to." Those green eyes sparkled up at him. "So it's a good thing I can't walk! I'm a very easy target."

The cybernetics running through Wolf's limbs felt heavy. But they weren't the reason his blood had gone cold.

"One shot should be enough. Though I know you're smart enough to shoot me twice." Fox's voice was soft. Low. "And that'll be it. You'll have what you want. If this will make you happy, go ahead, Wolf. I won't slow you down any more."

It really was that easy. And Wolf knew how powerful this weapon was. A single bolt of energy in the right spot. It wouldn't even be painful. For Fox.

There was no-one watching. No-one over his shoulder. And no anger coursing through his veins that he could blame later. He felt cold. Completely, utterly cold. The decision was his alone to make.

He dropped the gun.

The sound echoed, small but impactful. Wolf was already striding toward Fox, whose smile didn't waver. "Oh! I suppose you could beat me to death inst-"

"Oh, shut your damn mouth," growled Wolf, and grabbed him, and pulled him into a kiss.

Fox didn't hesitate. He returned it, cuddling close. A moment passed, then another. Just the two of them. Alone, letting nothing distract them.

Wolf finally broke the kiss, but he didn't go far. He remained hunched over Fox, shielding him from the world. "I… Pup…"

He sighed heavily.

"I'm so sorry, Fox."

"It's okay, Wolf. I knew you wouldn't do it."

Fox's hand found his. While Wolf kept him propped up, secure, safe, Fox gently squeezed his paw.

"I knew it'd be okay. If I tried hard, there had to be a solution." He smiled one of his little smiles. "And now we're here."

Wolf didn't smile back. He couldn't.

He did what came naturally. He held Fox to his chest, feeling his warmth. His breath.

They were alone now.