Holy mother of all thing's fluffy this chapter was a total bitch to write. Special shout out to Sheppard for helpping me get this SEVERELY delayed chapter out! i meant to have it done before christmas! Particularly because there is a joke in it that pertains to the Christmas one shot i posted, which if you have not checked out, do so! i loved writing it so i hope yall love readin it! anyway, i apologize for the wait, and please, drop some reviews. not to sound like an ass, but these reviews just sayin 'This is good' 'best story i've read', don't tell me jack fucking shit! and quite frankly, kinda tick me off! comeon guys, talk about Why it's good! give me reasons, specifics, what's your favorite part, who's your favorite character so far, was the tech and such cool, was the dogfight or fight scene awesome! i need feed back to continue to bring yall better and better things! so please, help me out, gimme some details! hell, tear something i did shittily apart, please!

My eye's slowly flitted open, finding the other half of my bed already empty. Mira had been spending most nights here in my apartment over the past week and a half, and had spent the last night here as well. As I slowly started to really wake up, I realized that there was music playing in the main room, and the smell of food cooking. Damn it… I really need to stop letting her cook breakfast every morning. I sighed as I slipped from the bed, quickly showering and changing before stepping out into the main room, only to be nearly blasted down by the incredibly loud song being played. Despite the high volume, I could easily hear her voice singing along with the human song, completely oblivious to who might be listening. Not that someone listening should have been much of a problem, for she had a gorgeous voice. Of course, she completely disagreed everytime I told her that. I smirked as I slipped across the living room, the loud music masking any sound I might have made as I got behind her. I rolled my eyes as she danced in between shuffling the eggs. I waited for a pause in her cooking before suddenly grabbing her around the waist, pulling her up and away from the counter and into a tight embrace, to which she promptly screeched about. Or, at least until she realized it was just me. Then her screech was replaced with a little giggle, and her smacking my arm playfully with her free hand.

"Seriously Will, you scared the crap out of me!"

I just smiled before gently kissing the soft fur on the side of her muzzle before setting her down and releasing her. "That's what you get for not waking me up this morning. Again."

She chuckled and shook her head, her focus remaining on finishing the food she was cooking. "Child."

I leaned up against the counter adjacent the stove, smirking at her sarcastic taunt. "Kit." I stuck my tongue out at her, earning another eye roll as she shut the burners off, sliding the abnormally large amount of eggs onto a plate next to an equally large plate of bacon and pancakes. But I didn't get a chance to ask about that, because she grabbed my hand and dragged me from the kitchen and into the relatively clear space in the dining room, using her wrist computer to operate the music player.

"Sing with me?" I stared at her for a second, utterly bewildered. "Come on, it'll be fun!" I groaned as she continued to scroll through our music, still trying to find a song she wanted.

"Mira, you don't want me to sing. I kill crows twenty clicks away. I've told you this before." She just chuckled as she finally selected a song, a simple percussion rhythm starting it off.

"Oh, I'm the same way and you know it!" almost on cue with her saying that, the words started, and I got left with no choice. "The club isn't the best place to find a lover, so the bar is where I go!" she was already singing so I decided to say 'fuck it', and joined her. "Me and my friends at the table doing shots, drinking fast and then we talk slow, come over and start up a conversation with just me, and trust me I'll give it a chance now, take my hand, stop, put Van the Man on the jukebox and then we start to dance, and now I'm singing like." I had no doubt that our voices overlapping with the male singer in the song likely sounded horrible, but with in the first few words, we both stopped caring.

"Girl, you know I want your love, your love was handmade for somebody like me." At this point the two of us had started dancing with each other. "Come on now, follow my lead, I may be crazy, don't mind me, say, boy, let's not talk too much, grab on my waist and put that body on me, come on now, follow my lead, come, come on now, follow my lead." By now, the world could've been ending at that moment, and neither of us would have noticed. By the time the song ended, the two of us were both completely out of breath, just flopping onto the couch. We were instantly cuddled together, my arms wrapped around her abdomen.

"Alright, I gotta ask, why the extra food?"

She just grinned and snuggled in closer, if that was even possible. "You'll see Will." I playfully growled at her statement, earning a giggle from her for it. "It's a surprise!" I rolled my eye's at her, but content with her answer. For now at least. I was just happy to be holding her like this, feeling the soft fur of her body, a softness human skin could never compete with. Even with that bliss, I couldn't help but feel afraid, if only just. No matter how much I loved being like this with her, I was still terrified I was going to hurt her. But that moment of bliss was suddenly cut completely off as I heard a knock at the door, Mira catapulting herself off the couch in an instant. I shot up after her, playfully giving her tail a gentle tug. Not enough to be painful, mind you, but enough to stop her in her tracks. She let out a startled yelp anyway.

"And who says you are allowed to answer the door?" she was glaring at me as I spoke, myself standing and stretching.

"I do!" she stuck her tongue out at me as she playfully walked away, intentionally swaying her hips back and forth along with her tail. I rolled my eyes as I followed her, seeing as she opened the door, and shocked at who I saw on the other side.

"Well I'll be damned, didn't expect to see you here today Wolf!" the massive Grey lupine smiled as I spoke, stepping past Mira with out even glancing at her. A cinnamon brown Canine followed him, but unlike him, was instantly greeting Mira. Not that I really payed attention to that, already grabbing Wolf's hand and getting pulled into a sort of half hug, to which his massive size swamped my own. I was not a small person mind you, but the six foot three lupine was built like a freight train with one cybernetic eye hidden behind a glass plate, one dark grey natural eye. His almost black grey and lighter grey fur always looked wild and unkempt, no matter how much he bathed and took care of it.

"Hey Will. I was expecting your place to be a lot cooler than Fox's. and more fun. Kinda seems the same though, and I imagined a lot more guns." Wolf spoke as he looked around the apartment, almost instantly dropping onto the couch, to which Mira instantly protested.

"You are not seriously going to try and eat breakfast on the couch are you?" Wolf just laughed at her complaint as she moved into the kitchen, likely grabbing the plates of food. The canine was helping her so I was content with just leaning on the back of the couch.

"Damn right I am! It's a comfy couch!" I chuckled and rolled my eyes at Wolf's retort, just walking over to the already set table and slipping into a seat. Mean while, the Canine set the plate she had down, marching herself over to the couch to glare at Wolf, hands on her hips.

"Come on you lazy oaf, food's on the table." I have no idea exactly what Wolf did, but it made the canine roll her eyes at him, reaching down and forcibly pulling him from the couch. Not that he seemed to really be fighting her in that regard.

"Oh, come on Sheila! I don't wanna leave the couch!" I couldn't help but chuckle at Wolf's antics, just happy to see him back to his more sarcastic self, something I hadn't seen since before I had been captured. I quickly served Mira a helping of food before grabbing my own plate, just as Wolf and Sheila sat down, all of us quickly digging in

I couldn't help but smile as I walked along the sidewalk, Mira's hand tightly with in my own. The day had seemed to simply fly by as Wolf, Sheila, Mira and I had spent it wandering the city, pretty much going anywhere that caught our eyes, laughing, joking and swapping as many stories as we could. Wolf had heard most of mine already, but the Canine, Sheila, hadn't. so myself and Mira had been sharing from our adventures in the Star Fox team for her, as well as a few I hadn't heard before, such as Mira's time on the Lincoln. Of course, we had mostly focused on the good things to happen, not the bad, so it had made for a very pleasant and entertaining experience. Especially hearing about Vince's freak outs while riding in a fighter craft. Having met and spoken to Vince Stazac on several occasions, it didn't surprise me that would freak out in a dog fight, but hearing Mira describe it had been an experience all of it's own.

"So where to next?" Sheila's incredibly bouncy voice shattered the small silence that had fallen across the group, drawing my eye's to her. even I had to admit, she was a stunning sight to behold, tall, lean, and curved in all the right places. most of her fur was a rich cinnamon brown, clashing with her vibrant white chest and neck fur, but in a way that was not at all harsh to the eyes. And although I would say Mira's relatively short fur was silky and smooth, Sheila's longer fur frankly looked divine even compared to Mira's. her pale blue eyes seemed to match the sky today, but her entire appearance was nothing compared to her almost explosion of sandy brown hair, long enough to fall all the way down to her waist. Luckily for Mira, I had never really cared about appearance's, because aside from Krystal, she was likely the most gorgeous lylatian I had yet to see.

"I was thinking milkshakes sound great." Of course, that particular thought had come to mind as I spotted a diner I used to love going to ahead of us, it being well known as a human style establishment.

"Down! Completely" Mira almost instantly said that, having had her first milkshake just over a month ago. and she absolutely loved them.

"Sure, why not?" Sheila's bouncy voice almost immediately followed Mira's, leaving Wolf to just grumble whatever his thoughts were on the decision. Whatever he grumbled out, had been totally lost on the rest of us. not that what he said would have made a difference as I moved straight for the diner, the other's following along. Upon entering, the four of us managed to claim a window booth, myself and Mira on one side, while Sheila sat directly across from me, Wolf almost perched on the edge of the bench. Of course, he still wasn't used to being able to move around so freely in public, the full pardon he had received being just a few weeks old. We ordered almost as soon as we were sitting down, Wolf and I both ordering chocolate shakes, Sheila a vanilla, Mira a strawberry. And it took little time at all for the staff to produce said drinks, even despite the busy crowd.

"So how did you guys know to be dating each other? I'm really curious, given the whole, well, stellar difference between you." I hadn't even been able to take even a sip of my shake before Sheila had spoken, but one glance at Mira said she wasn't going to answer, too busy sucking up her shake through it's straw. I was debating exactly what to say, still watching her thoroughly enjoy her milkshake when an idea hit my mind, instantly smiling to Sheila.

"Well, kinda like a good milkshake, actually. So a shake really has three major components, kinda like a relationship. The cherry, Whipped cream, and the shake itself. Now all you really want, is the shake itself, right? So the whipped cream and cherry are really just a bonus, if you know what I'm saying? For example, Mira here, to me." She glanced up at me as I mentioned her name, rolling her eyes. Knowing her, she had likely already completely figured out the analogy I had created. "Is like a rich chocolate milkshake, perfectly mixed, not too cold and solid, not too warm and runny, with a little bit of a zest that you can't quite put your tongue on. Coupled with a fair amount of very nice and fluffy whipped cream, and one of the only shakes I'd deem worthy of having a cherry. I'd lean toward a pair fresh cherries, although candied are spectacular as well. Of course, there are always the people who only go for the cherries and whipped cream, if ya get what I'm saying. Some still who only want the cherry." Sheila had seemed moderately confused for most of my short little speech I gave, one ear canted to the side. Wolf on the other hand, look absolutely dumbfounded, the entire analogy likely going right over his head.

"I don't get it…" Mira sighed and rolled her eyes at Wolf's statement, opening her mouth to speak as she drew my attention. But what I heard startled me.

"I think I do. I'll explain, Will, tell me if I'm wrong." My eye's snapped back to Sheila as she spoke, noticing Mira's small shrug and return to enjoying her own milkshake. Sheila was almost greedily eyeing Wolf's shake, scooting closer to him. "So the cherries." She stopped her voice for a moment, suddenly swooping down and licking the candied cherries clean off Wolf's shake, taking a chunk of whipped cream with it, and absolutely shocking Wolf. Of course, he didn't get the chance to protest it either. "Is the sex. Succulent, sweet, and oh so good, but really, in the end, it's just the bonus to a relationship." Wolf's brain very clearly hit a brick wall as Mira beside me coughed several times, trying to hide her giggling. "So that makes the whipped cream their physique. Ya know, the tits, the ass, the abs…." Sheila glanced pointily at Wolf's chest as she continued, not that Wolf noticed. His brain was still reeling from the 'Cherry is sex, Sheila just ate my cherry' part. "The pecs, you know, all of that physical good stuff." She quickly licked all of the whipped cream clean from his shake, taking a small amount of the shake with it. "But in the end, that's just a bonus too. what really matters is who the person is, whether you can love them or not, whether you trust them or not, and everything they do." As she said that, she took yet another enormous lick, taking a good quarter of the glass from Wolf's shake, Wolf's eyes having only increased in size over the past few minutes.

"Th-That-That's my shake though?" he sounded utterly confused and offended as he managed to respond, Sheila just chuckling and sliding his shake out from in front of him, stabbing a straw into it and beginning to drink it.

"That was your shake Wolf, now it's mine!" Wolf stared at her for several seconds before a flicker of understanding seemed to dart across his face, before he suddenly reached past Sheila to take her shake, which she tried to stop and epically failed.

"What? You stole my shake. Only fair I steal yours." He stuck his tongue out at her, just before using it to make the whipped cream, cherry and a fair amount of the shake disappear in an instant. After doing so, he glanced up at me, a small smirk flashing across his face, alongside a wink, just before he began sipping at the shake.

"You know Will, I never thought you, of all people, would try and romanticize a milkshake." I smiled at Mira as she spoke, seeing her return smile that almost instantly melted me into a puddle on the spot.

"Well, I'm not surprised you were the first to figure out what I meant. Unlike those two dim witted nimrods." I jerked my thumb at Wolf and Sheila, both of which were glaring daggers at me.

"Oh give them some credit, they still figured it out, and that's without knowing you like I do." I rolled my eyes at Mira, quickly giving her a small peck on her cheek, only to cover for my arms wrapping around to one of her many ticklish spots. She was instantly squirming and shrieking the second I found them, unable to protect herself from the onslaught of giggles she was now in. when I finally stopped, I pulled her into a hug, burying my face in the soft fur of her neck, and hearing Wolf and Sheila chuckling at the two of us.

Fox kneaded his hands together over and over and over again as he paced back and forth in the living room of his home. Finally, it's the day! I….. this is….just exciting! And more than nerve racking! Fox couldn't help as his thoughts seemed to loop a similar statement in his head over and over, constantly fiddling with every small thing on his suit to try and make it absolutely perfect.

"Fox, Stop. You're fine. if you keep fiddling with your suit, it's gonna fall off. Just breath." Fox glanced up at a surprisingly grinning Will as the human spoke, seeing his subtle eye roll he gave Fox. He was sitting on the couch in Fox's living room, leaning back into the soft cushions in his own plainer suit

"Oh come on Will! I'd like to see you stay perfectly calm when you finally marry Mira!" Will seemed to completely freeze as Fox said that. It took almost a full minute for him to be responding, Fox able to just imagine wheels grinding in the younger mans head.

"You think I should marry Mira?" he seemed shocked as he spoke, Fox finally managing to stop pacing and fretting.

"Should? I think it's a question of when Will. Look at what you two have gone through together, the fact that you are still going is a testament to how much you both care about each other." Fox was shocked to see will's brow furrow for a moment as he closed his eye's.

"I…. Don't know Fox. I nearly killed her, well more than once. And once is more than I ever should have…" Will's eyes dropped to the carpet at his feet, Fox unable to stop his ear's from going flat. He'd seen Will like this a lot lately, and quite frankly, Fox hated it.

"Will. Stop. Look, I know everything you two have been through together, it's been nearly nine months since you started dating, and well over a year since you met. Despite everything, you two are still a very playful couple. When you're around, Mira isn't shy and unsure of herself. And you stop being a fucking combat machine! I don't know about you, but to me, that speaks volumes. Do you know what I love the most about Krystal?" Will looked up as Fox asked his question, Fox not giving him a chance to speak. "She brings out the absolute best in me. Yeah, she brings out the worst at times too. but that's why I love her so much. Around her, I have absolutely no fear of being me. Not the Fox McCloud the universe knows, not the Fox McCloud my friends know. Who I really am. I'm not afraid to break down crying in front of her, I'm not afraid to say what's on my mind. And I know she feels the same way."

"Fox…. I….. I'm terrified when I'm around her…." Will's eyes closed again, his head dropping into his hands. Fox couldn't help the way his heart sank. Out of all the things he himself had been through, he couldn't imagine being terrified to be near the woman he loved. "No matter how hard I try, I can't shake the feeling that I'm going to severely hurt her one of these days. I don't ever want to do that again….."

"Will, I can't say I've been in your position before. I'm not sure if anyone has. But I don't think the solution is for you to shove her away. if anything, I'd say try to get closer to her. Face that fear, be defiant of it. and never let it control you. otherwise, you will hurt her." Fox sat down beside Will as he spoke, waiting very patiently for him to respond. Will let out a shuddering sigh before he sat up, looking fox straight in the eye. Fox couldn't help but smirk at the suddenly determined look his grey eyes held, one he had already seen on countless occasions and knew like the back of his hand.

"Okay Fox." Fox smiled and clapped his shoulder at his simple response. Fox's eyes bounced up to the clock on the wall and he started to panic.

"Shit, we're gonna be late!" Will glanced up at the clock as Fox spoke, his own eyes going wide before the pair leapt to their feet, Fox having to run back to the couch and grab his cane before they rushed out the door. Will immediately dropped into the drivers seat of Fox's SUV, Fox taking the passenger as Will backed out of the driveway. With in minutes, they were well on their way to the venue for the wedding, neither having said a word to each other.

"Fox…. It may be rushing but… I want to marry Mira. If only to let her know that I'm not giving up on her. do you have my back on that?" Will was very quiet as he spoke, his eyes never leaving the road. Fox smiled, every bit of his stone like appearance in this moment telling Fox just how serious the man was.

"Of course Will. I know a few good jewelry stores too, if ya need one." Will smiled at Fox's words, one of his very rare genuine smiles. Something Fox couldn't help but grin at.

"Good! And don't tell her, please, I want to surprise her!"

"Never Will."

Mira smiled as Krystal made a final adjustment to her hair, tucking some rouge strands back behind her ear. Wow, she looks gorgeous right now! The fur on Krystals muzzle started to stand up slightly as her tail flicked several times behind her.

"Thanks Mira." Krystal smiled at Mira as she spoke, Mira taking in the older woman's outfit again. It was a brilliant white sleeveless gown with gold trim and intricately embroidered gold flower like designs throughout the fabric. The silky material clung closely to her body, leaving her entire back exposed in much the same way a dress of Mira's did, forming a sharp vee, hidden under the base of Krystal's tail. the dress fell all the way down to her ankles, showing off the similarly styled low heels she was wearing. the sides of the dress were split all the way up to her thighs, almost showing more than what would have been decent. the shoulders wrapped around her arms and back down to the sides of the dress, a single silky string crossing her shoulder blades to keep it in place, hidden by her hair. Added to this was all of her old jewelry, from the gem embedded tiara to her tail rings, neither of which did she wear very often anymore. Mira herself was wearing the dress Krystal had bought for her nearly nine months before, the simple silver dress seeming almost bland next to Krystal. But that didn't bother Mira one bit, this was Krystal's day after all.

"Krystal, can I talk to you for a minute, if it's okay with you?" Mira was speaking before she could stop herself, almost cursing to herself. I really shouldn't be talking to her about this today, of all days!

"Of course!" Krystal was smiling at Mira, her head cocked to the side curiously, clearly waiting patiently for Mira to continue on her own. Well, no point holding back now. Mira let out a sigh, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Will…. He's…. he's been scaring me a lot lately." Mira shuddered as several memories slipped through her mind at once, and knowing Krystal, she saw them too. "He won't take care of himself, he won't talk to me, and he is so obviously hurting! I want to help him but I just can't and I've seen the looks he gives me when I'm not looking… i….. I'm hurting him….." she shut her eyes as she spoke, just trying to not cry. "I'm useless to him!"

"That's not true at all Mira! He's just going through something….. give him time, okay?" Mira just sighed at Krystal's words. "Look, lets just go and enjoy ourselves tonight, okay? We can worry about this later, today is a good day, remember!?" Mira managed to smile for her before they both walked out of the dress shop, Katt already outside waiting for them with a rental car the new Star Fox team had rented. Everyone else was supposed to already be at the venue. Mira heard Krystal take a single shaky breath before she climbed into the car, Mira shooting her a reassuring smile.

I groaned as I sat down in one of the many chairs, shocked at how tired I was, just by dancing with Mira for a few minutes. Of course, that more than likely stemmed from not doing anything at all for almost two months. No matter how strong or well trained you might be, if you don't maintain it, you lose it. Fox and Krystals ceremony had been deceptively short, held on the edge of a man made lake in a park not far from their home. As it turned out, Paptoonian weddings had very short ceremonies, with the main meat of the wedding, so to speak, being the party afterward. They had simply said vows to each other, and then Peppy had declared them married, and that was that. There weren't any cernian elements to it, mostly due to the fact that cerinians don't have a concept of marriage, or so Krystal had told me once. There was such a thing as a 'life mate' where two people become bonded telepathically for the rest of their lives, but that was the closest thing they had too it.

My eye's slowly started to wander the area, seeing Mira talking to Fay and Krystal together. Seeing her caused a hollow feeling I couldn't quite place to settle across me, not like anything I had experienced until recent memory. I really do not want to hurt her. I took a deep shuddering breath trying to get that feeling to go away. my eyes dropped to the floor as I let out a sigh, not noticing Mira look in my direction at that moment. If I had, I would have caught the disheartened look she had when she saw me now. it was something I had seen several times before, when she thought I wasn't looking. I need to reassure her. I know it's rushing, but if I proposed to her, it would at least let her know that I plan on staying around. It's not like I we have to get married immediately. I couldn't help but shudder at that thought, more memories I didn't want to see again drifting into mind.

"You know, I think you need to get a job." I startled as I heard Fox speak, seeing him sink into one of the seats beside me.

"What makes you say that?"

"Cause it would force you to focus on something. Too much time to think can be terrible for you." I rolled my eye's at him as Fox spoke, but despite that, I couldn't help but see his point. With no real responsibilities, the past few months had been almost hell. Mira had been the only saving grace. Without her, I would have probably gone insane.

"I wouldn't even know what to do. I've always been a soldier. Flying with the corsairs had just been a fluke."

"You could apply for the Cornerian police academy. I wasn't kidding when I said you should become a cop you know. And I know a lot of people who would personally write out recommendations for you." I merely grunted at him, my eyes drifting back to Mira, just silently watching her as she laughed at something one of the others said.

"I don't know Fox. And what about you. I know you well enough that you gotta be pullin fur out cause of bein jobless right now?" My eye's returned to Fox as I spoke, seeing him smiling at me.

"Well, that would most definitely be true, except for one thing. I'm not. I start at the Cornerian Flight academy as a dogfight instructor next fall. they were damn near beating my door down to get at me actually." Fox chuckled as he spoke, myself rolling my eyes at him.

"Glad you got something so quick. And I'll look into it. okay fox?" he very curtly nodded to the words I directed at him, a smile lighting up his face as he stood and stretched.

"Well, enjoy the night Will, I'm going to go spend it with my wife." His eyes closed for a moment, that grin not leaving his face as he chuckled softly almost to himself. "Man, is that amazing to say. See you later Will." I waved to him as he strode away, my eyes returning to scanning the room. Wolf and Sheila had taken to the dance floor, which was quite the sight to behold, all things considered. Wolf was by no means an expert dancer, or to be more accurate, he had the same dancing skills as I had singing skills. In less than a ten second period, he had stepped on sheila's toes three times, tripped on his own leg, and missed grabbing her hand while transitioning to a different position. But the pair looked more than ecstatic to be doing so together. Fay and bill, along with Fox and Krystal, had all joined them, leaving Mira alone where she had been talking to Krystal and Fay. A sigh slipped out of me as my eye's closed, trying to settle my surprisingly shaky nerves. Well, come on. You aren't going to just leave her hanging, are ya? My thought jolted me into action, standing and making my way straight to her to sweep her onto the dancefloor yet again.