Wow. this chapter has been one of the hardest chapters i have ever written for a story. trying to find the right way for it to go was... excruciatingly hard. most of the chapter was easy save one scene that has had me stuck for months now, but here it is! finally, i think i can get traction here again, truly!

Fox startled as a human song started blaring though the room, recognizing Will's normal ringtone, not the one both he and Mira used for each other. He bounced himself up off the couch to go grab it, knowing Will was in the bathroom at the moment, having left his phone on the counter. As soon as Fox reached the phone, he hit the answer button.

"Hello, Hawkin's phone, McCloud speaking." Fox was surprisingly used to answering other peoples phones, all of his time as a mercenary aiding in that manner.

"McCloud, nice to hear from ya!" Fox instantly recognized Ramirez's voice, his thick accent being unmistakable.

"Oh, hey Ramirez. Will's in the bathroom right now."

"Oh? Actually, I think this works. I'm getting some leave, I know Will has an apartment but way I hear, he's got that gal crashin there every night. Need a place to rack out for a few weeks." Fox smirked, turning around to lean up against the breakfast bar.

"I got a spare room. I'll have Will send you the address."

"Also, uh, McCloud, you ever hear of a thing called Christmas?"

"No, what about it?"

"Well, Mill's wife is bringing my boy from the Sol system. We can't leave Corneria so they are flyin out here. They'll be here in time for Christmas, and I'd love to try and throw a Christmas party for him. he's only three so, I just feel it's important to do. You get me?" Fox smirked at his clearly excited voice, having not expected it from the cool headed soldier.

"Well, I don't really. You would have to tell me what this 'Christmas' thing is?"

"Wait, Christmas?" Fox jumped slightly as he heard Will speak, nodding to the human. "It's a Christian holiday celebrating the birth of Christ. Lot of americans celebrate it whether they are religious or not. What about it?"

"Uh, yeah, that's just about the gist of it. are you cool if we use your house?" Clearly, Ramirez had heard Will speaking, given he had remained silent while Will spoke.

"Yeah, sure, wanna chat with Will about it?" Fox got a positive answer from Ramirez and passed the phone over to Will, the pair seemed to talk for a while before finally hanging up, Fox instantly speaking. "So, Christmas… what all goes into this thing?"

"Well, on the surface? It's family and friends getting together to exchange gifts. There's a whole bunch of old traditions to it though, colors, a tree, ornaments, good ol' saint nick, just loads upon loads of stuff. To be frank, might be really hard to throw a Christmas party here, I doubt they have any decorations for it around here." Will didn't even look towards Fox as he began pacing back and forth, very clearly lost in thought.

"Well, I'm sure Krystal and I can help make decorations. Maybe some of our friends would love to help?" Will finally stopped pacing as Fox spoke, a small yet genuine smile crossing his lips. The first Fox had seen in a while in fact.

"Yeah, actually, I need ya to help me with a tree and food, I think I can get Mira working on ornaments, if Krystal wants to help with decorations, that would be a life saver. And we need to think of who all to invite to this shindig. Definitely Fay and Bill, didn't Fay just leave the hospital? Anyway, as much of the ol' gang we can get, Winters would likely love to come, I'm sure a couple of guys from Ramirez's team will be showing…. Can you think of anyone else?" Will had started pacing again, Fox rolling his eyes at him.

"Slow down there Will. I think you need to be focusing on finding a ring. I think a marriage proposal would be a perfect gift for Mira. Let me worry about guests and planning. Okay?" Fox couldn't help but smirk at Will, the human freezing for a second, his smile suddenly exploding into one of the cheesiest grins Fox had seen from him.

"You're right, it would be a great time for that. I'll go talk to Mira at her work, and get some info to you about it, later Fox!" he barely had finished speaking before he was almost flying out the door, Fox chuckling at him before grabbing his comms device, preparing a mass invite to as many of their friends as he could think of.

"Damn it you piece of shit, work!" Blake startled at the sound of the shouted voice, hearing a tool clatter to the floor as the female voice sent a stream of profanity out of it that made even his ears burn.

"You okay over there Mira?" he called that out across the bay, where she was currently working on rebuilding the vehicle he had tested her with her first day.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just frustrated!"

He let out a sigh before pulling himself out from under a work truck someone had brought in that day, a sled he was on letting him easily slip out from under the truck before slipping to his feet. A rag came out of his pocket as he began moving toward her, trying to wipe away the fresh grease all over his hands, and failing as much as he always seemed to in that regard. She was currently cursing to herself as she flicked through the vehicles technical manual on a large PDA, displaying several interactive diagrams of the many parts to the vehicle. "You sure about that? You've been cursing the ever living snot out of that thing all week." He stuffed his rag back into his pocket as he spoke to her.

She let out a sigh, still focused on the PDA as he leaned up against the tool cart across from her. "Just…. Trouble with my boyfriend is all."

"Care to talk about it?" she shook her head, prompting him to continue. "Well, I'd prefer if you do. I don't want my tools being chucked around anymore.

She let out a small sigh before minimizing the hologram. "He….. he went through something. And he's closed himself off to everyone because of it…. I want to help him but all I do is hurt him. it's stupid, I know, it just has me irritated."

"That's not stupid at all Mira. What did he go through that you're hurting him?" he tried to sound sincere in his concern, but it wasn't an easy thing to be concerned for someone you barely knew.

"It's not my place to say what he went through. it's….. complicated. Part of me is scared of him, and I can't help it. I mean, he nearly killed me, not once, but twice! The way he looked, both of those times…. He keeps reminding me of that…" now that he was closer, he could easily tell that she was shaking like a phone being called, the woman gulping several times as she tried to resume working.

"If he's hurt you before, and you are scared of him doing so again, leave him. fuck that asshole!"

"I… I can't. he needs me. And I love him, it's not like he is a bad person, not at all! He just… he has some problems…" she finally stopped trying to work, but was facing away from Blake, brushing some of her hair out of her eyes.

"Sounds to me like you are just making excuses for him. trust me, if you think he might hurt you, leave. It will start with small things, and just get bigger from there. Trust me, I just went through a divorce with a woman I thought I loved, and now I only get to see my son once a fucking week. Kill it now before you get really hurt." The door to the shop chimed, announcing a visitor, breaking Blakes focus on her. "One sec, just think about what I said okay? You seem like a really nice girl, and you don't deserve to be mistreated." With that, he left her alone in the bay, headed for the small customer counter, speaking as soon as he entered the separated room. "Hello welcome to Blake's Auto woorr…" he felt his voice drop off upon seeing the individual to have entered the shop, the armed human being somewhat of a shock to him. between the scars on his face, and the short cut hair, he reminded Blake of a soldier by every description he heard of earth soldiers.

"Uh, hi, I'm looking for Mira, she works here?" he stared at the man for a few seconds, shocked. He had heard all of the media displaying humans as vicious and vile creatures, to think of them as less than people. And after the news about Katina and the attack on Cicero City, he believed it.

"Who's asking?" he crossed his arms at the human, trying to make himself as imposing as possible, wanting to protect the woman in his shop.

The human seemed to take note of Blakes demeaner, simply rolling his eyes and chuckling. "I'm Will, her boyfriend. Nice to meet you Mr. Slate." surprisingly enough, the human smiled to him, holding his hand out in greeting, Blake tentatively accepting it as the man continued. "Friends of mine are planning a party, just wanted to see if she was gonna be on a break or something sometime soon so we could discuss it."

"Oh, hey Will!" Blake didn't get the chance to respond as Mira almost shouted, darting past him for the two of them to instantly be caught up in a deep embrace, the human actually picking her up and spinning her around. "Uh, is it okay if I go on lunch, I know it's a little early?!" she looked toward Blake as she spoke, seeming like a polar opposite of what she was just a minute ago.

"Uh, sure, see you in an hour." She nodded as the pair finally released each other, slipping straight out the door.

"Your tongue is running away Krystal!"

Krystal jumped as she heard Fay's voice, nearly biting the tongue in question. She hadn't really meant to be sticking her tongue out after all, it simple lolling out of her mouth as she focused on gluing a hook to a toy Arwing. She, along with Mira and Fay, had been making tree ornaments all day, though she admittedly wasn't entirely sure the purpose of them. she knew they were going to be putting them on a pine tree of some variety, but beyond that, this whole celebration escaped her. it wasn't that she was unfamiliar with celebrations like this one, Cerinia actually had too many celebrations to even dream of remembering them all, but this one was different than any she had yet to experience. Or, to be more accurate, something felt different to her about it. Something she couldn't place.

"So I'm hungry, and I'm getting food! I'm going to charlie's, want me to grab you two anything" Fay's bright and cheery voice echoed slightly in the nearly empty home, Krystal looking up from the coffee table she was at to look at the canine.

"Sure! You know what I like by now! I trust ya Fay! Mira?" Krystal's focus shifted from Fay near the door to Mira beside her, who was currently using a small whittling knife to crave pieces of wood into ornaments. Her current project was a small Star Fox medal replica, much like the wings every Star Fox pilot was given as a team member.

"No! I'm not really hungry Fay! Thanks for the offer though!" Mira's voice wasn't quite her norm, which had become her norm of late. The only time she sounded normal being when ever Will was around. But any time he wasn't, she sounded like she was in some kind of pain or another, her quiet voice now most certainly not an exception.

"Alright Mira. If you change your mind, just give me a call, m'kay? I'll make sure you get something!" with that, the white canine disappeared out the door, leaving Krystal and Mira to quietly continue what they were doing.

Krystal slowly and gingerly set the ornament she had just created down, glancing at Mira. The younger woman was moving almost painfully slow, taking small chips out of the wood she was carving, and not even looking at what she was doing. As Krystal watched Mira, she slowly let her telepathy slip into Mira's minding, finding an incomprehensible mess of thoughts in her mind. Almost like her mind was nothing more than a pile of exploding firecrackers, no one sound able to be really registerable to the ear, but creating a tremendous amount of noise.

"Mira, what's bothering you?" Krystal spoke as softly as she could, not to hide what she was asking, but in an effort to be gentle with Mira. They were, after all, the only two in the house right now.

"Nothing is bothering me Krystal." Her voice was cold and dark in a way she seldom sounded, her eyes finally dropping to the carving she was working on.

"Mira. We both know that isn't true. Your mind is a mess right now. talk to me, please?" Krystal kept her voice soft and quiet again, but she added a sterner undertone to it, in what she would consider as motherly of a fashion as she knew.

Mira was silent for a while as she stopped carving the emblem, her eyes dropping to the floor. "I'm terrified Krystal…"

As small as they were, those three words caused Krystal's heart to sink deep into her core. She had thought she had an idea about how her friend was feeling, but the raw emotion in those quiet words was unlike anything the young woman had ever said, at least as far as Krystal had heard.

"Will… I keep trying to help him but all I do is cause him pain. I can see how terrified he is that he is going to hurt me… and as odd as it sounds, I am not afraid of that… it's what it is going to do…. What it is doing to him. and he is going to hurt me one day. I don't know how badly, I don't know when but I can see it. and when he does… it's going to destroy him. I don't want that to happen but I can't stop it! and being so powerless in this is just… I can't take this Krystal!" she curled up into a tiny ball as she spoke, burying her face in her knees as she started sobbing to herself. And as much as Krystal wanted to say something to her to comfort her, she had no idea what to say.

Because to a degree, she is right… Krystal let out a small sigh at that thought, pulling the younger woman into her chest as Mira continued to sob, gently stroking her hair. I mean, we still have no idea what was done to him, add that to those genetic enhancements… things could go really bad between them, Mira could even be killed! And if he killed her… he would kill himself… after what he did when he killed Fara and the others I'm sure of it. I need to find a way to help them…

"Mira, it's okay to be scared. we aren't going to let Will get hurt either. I promise, we are going to do everything we can to help him. this isn't on just you, and this is not your burden alone. He is a friend to all of us." Krystal shuddered as she spoke, just hoping her words helped the poor girl, barely realizing she had started crying herself.

"I know Krystal…"

Fox let a grin cross his face as he looked around, extremely proud at what they had managed in such a short time. His main living area was separated from the kitchen by a walled in breakfast bar, and though the couch normally sat near the center of the room, it had been pushed back under the bar to clear the space. The long wall that cut the house in half, separating the bedrooms and main living space, now had a small pine tree placed dead center of the wall, and completely blocking the TV set. It had been covered in various ornaments and trinkets, from Mira's various animal carvings and such, to even toy Arwings and Wolfens, a toy Great Fox jokingly placed at the peak of the tree, as if it was aiming to crash into the living room. Will had emphasized the 'jokingly' part to that because the tree was traditionally supposed to be topped with a five-pointed star, as far as his family went at least. And with the four wings and long ventral stab of a rudder, the front profile of the Great Fox was at least mildly star like. Hanging from the ceiling just in front of the tree, was a glistening crimson string of cut out letters, forming the human words of 'Merry Christmas!' brightly and boldly to the entire room. This was coupled with several strands of 'garland', just green paper Mira had cut frills into to make it seem like it was a vine like pine branch, was hanging from various points in the room.

On the breakfast bar was Fox's pride and joy, being an entire array of human and Cornerian dishes for the party, complete with disposable plates and more than ready to be devoured by the coming guests, who should have been arriving shortly.

"So Will, think we got the right feel going?" Fox looked to the human beside him as Fox spoke, who was currently inspecting every inch of the decorations, and more prominently so, the food.

"Oh yeah. I think we did good. Thank you Fox for letting me do this for Ramirez. I owe that man way more than I can repay." Will was genuinely smiling again, and Fox was absolutely ecstatic to see that.

Fox made a quick glance over at Mira and Krystal, who were currently busy hanging up a final string of 'garland', before leaning much closer to Will. "So uh, did you manage to get that gift you wanted for… um, you know who?"

Fox's whispered voice earned him an exaggerated eye roll, but even so, Will pulled a small, plain silver band from his pocket. It was by no means fancy or nice, just a simple piece of silver with a small engraving along the outside, Fox recognizing the Cornerian script simply saying, 'forever, together'. Fox gave Will a wide grin as the man quickly repocketed the small item. "Barely got it today actually. please tell me she has no idea…"

No, she still has no idea Fox! Fox glanced at Krystal, able to feel her in his mind, as she usually was. And as such, she had given an answer to his question without him even having to ask it.

"None what-so-ever buddy." Fox grinned as the younger man let out a shuddering breath, knowing exactly how nervous Will must have felt right then, having felt that nervousness himself not too long ago.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, announcing the first guest to have arrived. Fox immediately moved to the door and answered it to allow some of Ramirez's team in. the next hour or so seemed to simply fly by as more and more people showed up, most of Ramirez's team showing, Falco, Katt, Wolf, Sheila, even Peppy managing to make it. several of Ramirez's team mates had brought wives, and in one case, husband, as well as kids, dozens of presents joining the few Fox and Co had scrambled together under the tree. All in all, there were nearly a dozen kids here, most being under ten years old, all of which were playing to their hearts content with each other, while the adults were all laughing and joking, sharing stories with one another. The small space was absolutely crowded with people, but Fox honestly didn't mind it at all. Yes, he had to admit there were plenty of faces he didn't know, having never met the families of Ramirez's team, but it didn't bother him one bit. As far as he could tell, everyone here was beyond happy at the moment, and that was all that mattered to him.

"Hey Fox! Thought you might want to meet somebody!" Fox glanced up at the sound of the dark skinned human's voice, seeing Ramirez trotting forward with a child in his arms that could be a spitting image of him.

"Look! Look! Look! It's a fox daddy! Can I pet him! Please!" Fox couldn't help but chuckle as the little boy started freaking out as they approached, excitedly pointing at Fox as he shouted in English. Fortunately for Fox, the translator implanted in his ears seamlessly translated every word, but that wasn't something that would go both ways.

"No, you can't pet him! he is a person! Just like you and me!" Ramirez rolled his eyes at his son, still smiling.

"I'm guessing this andy, right?"

"Yeah, wow, I'm shocked you even remember that conversation Fox! So yeah, this i…"

"Daddy, look! He has whiskers!" the child shouted that as he reached up and grabbed Fox's whiskers, giving them a sudden and entirely not gentle tug. Fox immediately yipped in pain, doing everything he could to not try and jump away and force his whiskers to be tugged again.

"Andrew! I told you, don't just grab people like that! It hurts them!"

The child immediately let go at his father's words, Fox rubbing the side of his muzzle as the roots of his whiskers continued to tingle. "It's fine. he's a kid, I can't blame him for knowing how much that hurts." Krystal and Mira slipped over beside them as Fox spoke. something seemed odd about Mira's appearance, Fox taking a second look at her only to realize something seemed to missing. "Um, Mira, where is your tail?"

Mira glanced behind her for a moment before suddenly laughing out loud. "Oh! I forgot I did that! I tucked it into my pant leg!"

"Um Wh-AYYP! WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE KRAZOA!" Krystal's voice had been quietly confused until every hair on her body stood up as one, in sync with the high pitched yip she had let out, just before her shouted voice filled the room. There was a loud thud as Mira beside her literally fell to the floor laughing uncontrollably. One glance told Fox all he needed to know, as there was now a human child playing with and trying to hug Krystal's enormous tail.

"Hey, come on Alice, leave her tail alone!" Fox had grown so used to hearing Will speaking in Cornerian the past few months that hear his native tongue sounded eerily strange. He came up behind Krystal and very gingerly scooped the small child up and away from the bushy appendage, just for Krystal to suddenly back her rump up to the nearest wall.

"Let's not have that happen again! And you knew about this didn't you Mira!?" Krystal almost furiously pointed at Mira, who was still rolling on the floor chortling at them.

"Duh! I was in the foster system, remember!? Vulpine tails are like kid magnets or something!" she had finally managed to calm her laughter, but she was still laying on the floor, trying to wipe away the tears the laughing fit had brought on.

"Well, I can think of at least one attractive vulpine tail!" Will was starting to take the kid back to the others as he said that down to Mira.

"Will! No, there are kids here you perverted idiot!"

All her comment got her was Will laughing as he continued to walk away, shouting back as he walked, "Well, I could use the owner of that tail over here to help corral these rascals!"

"On it Cappie the Pervy!" Mira shouted that back, in Cornerian thankfully, as she artfully catapulted herself back to her feet to trot after him.

Meanwhile, Will was in the middle trying to stop himself from faceplanting, having tripped at her call out, visibly fighting laughter. "Cappie the pervy!? What forsaken pit did you pull that from you freak of nature!?"

Fox watched as the pair began to bicker back and forth while actively playing with the various kids, unable to stop smiling. No matter where he looked, all he saw was happiness and laughter, and after the war that was still so present in his mind, and all of the horrible things he had seen in it, the scene before him had to be one of the greatest he had ever seen before. I'm really glad Ramirez asked us to do this…

Mira smiled as she watched Falco passing out gifts, the impromptu santa hat on his head having been given to him because he had mistakenly worn a red leather biker's jacket to this party. So Will, jokingly, deemed him Santa, and he now had to pass out all of the presents. Which was a hilarious train wreck if she ever saw one, given he had no idea what was written on any of the labels, save the few from the present Lylattians. Of course, her smile wasn't as strong as she really wanted it to be, her mind fixated on what she had decided to do tonight.

How am I going to tell him though… I don't want him hurting any more than he has to be… she couldn't stop the small sigh she had, her eyes dropping to her feet for just a moment.

"Mira… can I talk to you? outside?" Will's soft whisper startled her slightly, looking at him for the barest trace of a moment.

Well, now or never… "Yeah, sure Will, i… need to say something to you too." she followed him as they shuffled free from the people filling the room, slipping through the sliding back door and out onto the small deck on the back of the home. It was just large enough to have an outdoor grill and table on it, but Fox had yet to get things like that, so the simple wood construction was empty for the time being, simply a raised and railed in platform overlooking the back yard.

Mira shuffled her feet as she stood by the rail, trying to not look at Will. Damn it! this…. is gonna be hard… that thought slipped across her mind as she leaned on the railing, closing her eyes for a moment.

"So, you go first." Will's voice was soft and quiet, in that tone she knew he reserved for her alone. Hearing it now made her shudder in fear, knowing that what she had to say was going to be painful for him.

"Will…" Damn it Mira, stop hesitating, just say it already! "I don't want to be with you anymore." She barely managed to whisper that, finally saying it aloud making her chest tighten as though it were in a vise. No matter how much she felt this was the right thing to do, she in no way wanted to. She did, after all, love him wholeheartedly.

"What?" His voice was barely audible, and completely shocked. She couldn't bring herself to look at him now, knowing how his face must look without actually seeing it.

"I'm hurting you. I can see it. I've been seeing the looks you give me every time you think I'm not looking. I've seen the pain you are going through, and I know I'm causing it. I don't know what's going on with you, and I know I can't help you! and the longer I stay, the more it's going to hurt you! and I can't just let that happen, so I'm leaving!" she finally looked at him, seeing the small twinkle of tears starting to form in his eyes as water began to well up in them.

Of course, her own eyes were already pouring tears out. No matter how much she wanted to stop it, her entire body was shaking, her heart pounding in her chest in a way that was down right painful. After everything she had been through, from being shot and stabbed, electrocuted, even what Noriega did to her, all of that pain was nothing to what she was feeling now.

"Mira… that's no-"

"Yes it is! I know you Will! We literally lived together for nine months! I've seen you at your worst and your best! I know what makes you cry and what makes you smile, I know the way you smell when you are terrified even! I know how much me being around is hurting you and I do not want that to continue any more!" she didn't realize how loud her voice was as she shouted that at him, her legs nearly buckling out from under her.

Please don't fight it! just leave! I don't want to hurt you anymore, just run away from me! She closed her eyes with that thought, turning away from him to try and hide her tears from him, no matter how futile a gesture it already was.

"Mira. You're right. I am hurting right now. more than I can express. I killed friends of mine. People I cared about. So yeah, I'm scared, I'm hurting, and I don't know what to do. But you are not the problem. I love you Mira, more than anything" his voice was soft and quiet again, but this time, she could hear a tremble even in his words. The previously sweet tone he normally had with her was tainted in a way she couldn't quite put a word too. "I… Mira please, turn around."

She let out a deep breath, pressing her hands to her forehead as she did her best to fight the urge to do as he asked. In the end though, she spun around and opened her eyes, only to find Will now down on his knee, a small silver band held up to her. in that moment, she froze. She knew exactly what she was seeing, but she couldn't believe it. after the months of torment she had seen him go through, after everything she had said, not only had he just said 'I love you' for the first time since he nearly died, he was now proposing to her. this can't be real! I must be dreaming! This can't be real! Not after everything…

"Mira. I love you with all of my heart. And I know how hard all of this is on you. but please, marry me. I'm not asking for anything immediate. Just… I don't ever want to lose you again. Even if it takes us a few years from now, I want this ring to be my promise to you… that no matter what happens, I'm not going anywhere." His voice was still trembling. Of course, it wasn't just his voice, but his whole body. It was as if he was just moments from collapsing.

Come on Mira, just say yes! You know you love him, and you know how much he loves you! just say it! Mira barely managed to close her eyes, very gently shaking her head no. "I'm sorry Will… I can't…" What can I say to him? I can't just leave him without a reason…

She heard a small faint sigh, and the sound of someone moving, but she still didn't open her eyes. She didn't want to see the pain she had just caused him. I'm just a monster aren't i?

"Okay Mira. I understand…Just" her eyes flicked open for a moment, seeing his tear streaked face, his eyes locked to hers. The almost empty stare he was giving her chilled her to the bone, her heart feeling as though it had suddenly stopped for the rest of eternity. "Be safe." With that, he turned around and stepped back into the home.

Mira didn't know if anymore happened after he left, for she collapsed where she was, doing everything she could to try and stop the tears soaking her fur as she sobbed without end.