StarFox: Stars of Yearning
Greetings dear readers and fans. I'm leaving this author's note here to inform that I've decided to rewrite the whole story from the ground and not leave you in the dark of whenever a new chapter is coming out or not. I'm really sorry if you were looking forward to a new chapter! I feel I've gotten a lot more experience as a writer now (At least that's what I like to believe :p). And I want to write the best possible version of my story that I'm capable of! For both you (dear readers and fans) and me! Please look forward to the new chapter of the new version and I hope you'll stick with me as I head into this new direction!
Other then that, please stay safe and stay home! Watch some tv series/movies, play the video games you never had the time to play/finish and have a wonderful day :)
Chapter 2: Meeting the girls!
"N-nervous? I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Fay stammered, feeling once again being put on the spot. "Oh Lylus... that's the first thing I say to this guy? Great first impression Fay...". She let out a heavy sigh with her eyes closed in embarrassment.
Meanwhile Miyu and Fara were observing and listening in on their friend from their booth that see how the conversation was going before they faced each other again.
"You still think it was a good idea to send the introvert to pick up the guy?" Miyu said with smirk before breaking out into a fit of laughter from their safety spot that was their booth.
"Not any more... no." Fara facepalmed while shaking her head. "What was I thinking?"
"To-to be fair we kind of threw her under the bus with our trick. So this one is kind of on us!" Miyu managed to say between fits of laughter.
"Mister hunk seems to be interested in her though so there's still hope!" Miyu held her stomach as it started to hurt now from laughing so much.
"Oohhh... I'm gonna get back at the two of them for this. Just you wait!" Fay was not pleased when she heard Miyu laughing. Both Flint and Fox had to stifle a laugh when they saw Fay pouting before she turned around to look at Fox again.
"Hey don't worry miss I won't bite! So tell me, what's troubling you? I'll listen and maybe I can help?" Fox offered Fay a tired but genuine, warm smile which surprised Fay.
"He's willing to help and listen to a stranger even when he himself is in such a tired state?" Fay could not believe it. She then smiled herself and found the confidence to speak again. "Really? You would do that for me? I don't know what to say..."
"Might be a good idea if we were to start with our names don't you think?" Fox chuckled as Fay blushed and fidgeted with her hands.
"O-oh yes! Of course! My name is Fay. Nice to meet you!" Fay said with a smile herself while holding out her hand towards Fox. "And what is your name?"
"The name's Duke and it's a pleasure to meet you miss Fay!" Fox accepted Fay's offer and gave her a handshake.
"Oh!, please! There's no need to call me miss. Just Fay is good enough." Fay giggled sweetly.
"Waah she's even cuter than I thought!" Fox chuckled. "Ah sorry! It's a force of habit that I've developed because of my occupation. Some of the kids I had as clients sometimes even demanded I referred to them as miss/mister haha!".
That piqued Fay's interest upon hearing that. "Oh! What is your occupation then? I-if you don't mind me asking that of course!". Fay once more began to fidget with her hands while waiting for an answer.
"No worries! Of course you can ask that. I'm a bodyguard for a living." Fox chuckled again when he saw Fay held her face with her hands while making a 'wooow' sound.
"It's not that impressive to be fair. There's not a lot of action involved! Though I do get to see a lot of places when I have to travel to either meet the client or escort them. And I get to wear a nice suit!".
"Still though, you provide a service that is a tremendous help to the people that need it. Making them feel safe and making sure everything is gonna be okay. That alone makes it impressive!" Fay beamed at Fox.
"W-well if you put it like that, I guess it is impressive then! What about you? I see that you're a student at the CFA." Fox eyed Fay's flight jacket.
"You must have some impressive flight skills for them to accept and enter into their academy!" Now Fox beamed at Fay which made her blush a lot.
"Oh thank you for the compliment! Yes it took a lot of hard work and determination to get accepted for it. I've wanted to become a pilot ever since I saw the StarFox team in action!" Fay reminisced about her journey to the academy and let out a pleasant sigh.
"Really now? I guess you could say they were sort of your role models?" Fox couldn't help but smirk at that.
"Are you kidding me? Of course they are!" Fay beamed gleefully which caught Fox off guard with how much energy she responded with. "Oh sorry! I didn't mean to startle you! It's just I always get excited when I talk about them. They're sort of my heroes ever since the Lylat Wars."
"Ooohhh if only you knew who you were talking to... Sadly that's knowledge I cannot share with someone right now..."
Fox once again chuckled, hearty this time. "Again, no worries Fay! In fact I find that adorable and cute about you!" Fay gasped and started to blush profusely while looking away and pressing her long ears against her face as if she's trying to hide and Fox's face contorted with shock, with him gasping too.
"OH NOOOOOO! DID I JUST SAY THAT OUT LOUD?! OH MY LYLUS WHAT DO I DO NOW?! I just had to run my mouth off huh?..."
Fay however was having a meltdown for a completely different reason. "Oh gosh! Oh my Lylus! He said I'm adorable! A lot of... albeit mostly creepy ones, guys has called me that in the past but hearing it from Duke... even when I just barely know him... Is there something wrong with me? Or?..."
"Uhhhhh..." Fox was at a lost for words. Meanwhile Flint couldn't hold it any more and guffawed, startling both Fay and Fox.
"Da two of you should see yar own faces hahaha! Oh you remind me of a mate of mine Duke! Toughest and most stoic guy I ever known but as soon as he had to talk to a woman he was a hopeless bloke just like you Duke!"
Hearing Flint guffaw with that much joy drew the attention of some of the other customers in the café and they in turn laugh too, further embarrassing Fox and Fay, both of them blushing profusely now.
"S-shut up! You're really gonna do me like that Flint?!" Fox said a in flustered manner as he felt he was betrayed by his friend.
Meanwhile Fara and Miyu watched everything happen from their booth and Fara buried her face in her hands while groaning. "Just when I thought she had it in the bag... Argh! This is just too painful to watch at this point!"
Miyu meanwhile broke out into another fit of laughter. "This is just too funny for words! Wished I went instead so I could tease him if I had known he would react like that! So adorable!".
After a while Fox recovered from his initial shock and turned his attention to Fay who still was covering her face with her ears. "Fay I am terribly sorry if I've offended you and/or hurt your feelings with what I just said. And also for embarrassing you..." Fox said with a downcast look on his face. Fox began rambling even more apologies till Fay herself got over her shock and unwrapped her ears from her face, she placed a hand on Fox's shoulder, which startled him out of his rambling.
Fay squeezed his shoulder a little to grab his attention and Fox turned his head towards her, looking her straight in the eyes.
"Duke? Duke! Please calm down! Don't worry you haven't done anything wrong. I-in fact I'm actually very flattered you called me adorable! And now that I've seen this side of you, I think you're adorable as well. I'm not used to being flirted with in a non creepy way." Fay admitted, still heavily blushing.
Several people in the café, including Flint, Fara and Miyu went 'awww' when Fay said that with several murmurs here and there saying how sweet and cute this scene is.
Fox placed a hand on Fay's hand on his shoulder "R-really? You mean that?" Fay nodded. "Whew that is such a relief! For a moment I thought I've screwed things up. Believe it or not, I'm actually not that good at talking to people, most conversations with people I'm not familiar with make me feel nervous actually!" Fox admitted to Fay.
Flint interjected on Fox's comment "Believe me, Da first few months he came to me café, he was as silent as da grave, only speakin' when he had to say his order! Hahaha!" Flint slapped his hand repeatedly on the bar while laughing and also ignoring a glare that Fox shot his way while growling.
Fay giggled sweetly hearing that, which further calmed Fox down, causing him to smile as well. "Hehe! As you've noticed by now, I'm a total disaster in that regard, so I can totally relate to what you're going through Duke. Though I must say you can hide it pretty good. I didn't noticed at all at the beginning of our conversation!"
Fox shrugged while still holding Fay's hand. "When I have to be professional I can manage quite well since I actually know what to do and what to say but as you just witnessed, I fond completely when it is a casual conversation where it can go in all kinds of directions."
Fay smiled and took her hand of Fox's shoulder but held on to his hand, placing them on the bar counter. "I know right?! You wouldn't believe how many times I've made things awkward with the things I blurted out at times!".
Fox and Fay shared a hearty laugh together before Flint decided to interject once more. "I really, really hate to interrupt and possibly ruinin' da moment for da two of ya but..." He made a gesture towards Fay. "you might wanna make a order darlin', so you won't end up waitin' extra long for yar food and drinks!". Flint suggested.
Fay nodded as she agreed with Flint's suggestion."Oh! Of course! Almost forgot! Mind if I make several for my friends as well?"
"Of course not darlin' the more, the merrier and more importantly, more cash fer me hahaha!" Flint guffawed.
Fay then turned to Fox "Did you place your order already Duke?"
"Yeah I've already ordered Fay. Thanks for asking though." Fox smiled.
Fay made several orders which Flint was all too happy to scribble down on his digital tablet. "Alright darlin' all said and done! It might take a while since the place's packed today! Hope ya don't mind waitin'."
Fay shook her head. "Of course not mister...?"
"Flint 'Bonfire' Firebelly me darlin'!" Flint winked at Fay with a toothy grin. "Back in me olden days I used to be a feared pirate of the savage seas of Zoness ya see!"
Fay gasped while holding her face with her hands. "Woooow... Really mister Firebelly? You gotta tell me more about it!"
"As the ill tempered crackpot of a chef on a marine ship you mean! Fay, don't be fooled by his strong tales of his 'pirate' life." Fox retorted while making air quotation marks with his fingers before laughing.
"Oi, boy! Don't ya go rain on me parade like that ya wily fox!" Flint shot Fox a mock angered glare before bursting into laughter once more.
Fay pouted and faced the the other way from Flint "Oooohhhh! Can't believe I almost fell for that one! That was mean mister Firebelly!"
Flint took a deep breath to stop himself laughing. "Sorry darlin' but ya're makin' such a cute face when ya're embarrassed or poutin'! Oh, ya can call me just Flint by da way. All that mister stuff is makin' feel old."
Fay held her chin in thought and turned around, facing Flint once more. "Alright I'll forgive you since you're a good friend of Duke here." Fay smiled at Flint. "Oh before I forget, our booth number is no.7."
Flint nodded and made one final note on his tablet. "I appreciate that darlin' and I'll have one me boys bring it over to ya." Flint finished with a wink. "Ya don't mind me callin'ya darlin' by the way? I'll stop if it's botherin' ya."
"While I don't mind actually, I would prefer it if you just call me Fay 'mister' Flint" Fay said with a toothy grin of her own.
"Oh ho! Ever since ya found yer nerve, ya become a lot more feisty Fay me lassy! I like that!" Flint guffawed once again.
"Thanks Flint! Oh yeah I almost forgot!" Fay smacked her fist on the open palm of her other hand. "Duke! Would you like to come and sit with me and my friends at our booth?"
Fay pointed towards the booth she and her friends sat in and Fox followed her finger in that direction, where he made eye contact with Fara and Miyu who both waved at him and winked at him, causing Fox to blush.
"Please Duke?" Fay gave Fox large, puppy-like eyes which glistened as she looked Fox straight in the eyes.
Fox once again found himself at a lost of words as he couldn't resist those eyes and stared deeply into them, gulped loudly. "Uuuhhh... I umm... I" "Gaah! Just when I thought she couldn't get any more adorable than she already is! Why am I so bad at talking to hot, cute girls?!"
"Oi Boy!" Flint poked Fox in the face with finger, snapping him out of his trance. "If ya don't seize this chance with both ya hands right now!, I'll take her up on her offer and sit with them pretty lasses instead mate!".
Fox looked flushed when Flint said that while Fay giggled and laughed. "Grr... Oh shove it! I said about to tell her my answer you scaly old fart!"
Fox turned to face Fay while holding both her hands with his, causing Fay to look flushed as well now. "Yes! I would to join you and your friends at your booth!"
Fay's face lit with joy. "Yay! Well come on then! Let's go!" Fay got out of her stool and pulled Fox alongside with her towards the booth with both of her friends seated in it.
Miyu turned towards Fara with a smirk and Fara flashing a toothy grin to Miyu. "Well well Fara! Looks like your hunch was right after all! She reeled him in! I knew she could do it!" Miyu fist pumped the air.
Fara heaved a sigh of relief "After nearly giving me a heart attack yes... I completely forgot Fay's got next to no experience with actual decent guys as opposed to the creepy ones. However, it's a good sign that she's comfortable around him.". Fara lit up when Fay arrived with Fox at their booth, Fox giving a two finger salute towards her and Miyu while Fay nodded at them with a smile. "And speaking of the man of the hour!".
Both Fara and Miyu got up to greet Fox and welcome back their friend. Miyu and Fara both gave Fay a small peck on each cheek. Fara was the first to speak "Welcome back hun! You sure gave me a fright back there but I'm proud you've made it through!"
"Yeah you almost gave Fara her first few grey hairs haha!" Miyu guffawed.
"Emphasis on 'almost'." Fara then turned to Fox and smiled, Fox in turn smiling too. "Well hey there! My name's Fara, what's your name handsome?" Fara held her hand out to Fox.
Fox's face was slightly flushed from being so openly flirted with since he wasn't used to it. "hello to you too miss Fara! My name is Duke. Pleased to meet you!".
Fox grabbed and shook Fara's hand "Likewise Duke!" Fara said with a smile.
He turned to face Miyu who gave Fox a big smirk as she held her hand out. "And what's your name, miss...?". Fox reached out to Miyu for a handshake which she accepted and returned quite a firm one, which Fox returned in kind, causing Miyu to grin and lick her lips. "You can call me Miyu you strong, handsome devil!" The girls then all giggled when they saw Fox's reaction to the very flirty compliment Miyu just gave him.
Fox's face was now completely flushed and he began to stammer as he was taken off guard by Miyu's forwardness. "Umm... umm... well thank you for the compliment miss Miyu!" Fox scratched his left cheek with one finger while fidgeting. "One cute, hot girl was enough already to make my day... now two additional cute and hot ones are talking to me as well!".
Miyu then lightly slapped a hand on Fox's shoulder as she broke out into laughter. "Hahaha! I knew it! You're even more fun to tease than Fay is! I'm gonna have a field day with you mister!" She then flashed Fox a toothy grin. "Well what are we standing around for? Come on Duke! Have a seat!" She then pointed to one of the sofa's of the booth they were seated in.
The booth where the girls were seated consisted of a long table in the middle with a large booth sofa on each side, each sofa being large enough for 4 people to sit in.
Fara and Miyu then turned to Fay with pleading looks. "Mind if Miyu and I sit next to Duke for now? Please Fay?"
Fay waved them off while smiling."Of course not! But don't hog all of him to just the two of you! I still haven't finished talking to him!" Fay waved a finger at them before smirking.
Fay was the first one to take a seat on the furthest corner of the sofa with Miyu sitting next to her. Miyu then waved Fox over to come sit next to her which Fox complied to. After Fox took his seat next to Miyu, Fara sat in the last open spot that was next to Fox.
The three girls all at the same time looked at Fox, his face still completely flushed from all the attention he's getting, causing the girls to all giggle at the same time as well. Eventually Fox smiled and chuckled himself and he was the first one to speak up as he felt more at ease now. "So do you ladies come here often? I believe this is the first time I've seen the three of you here and I come here for many years now."
"No this is our first time actually. We happened to be in the neighbourhood since a assignment of ours brought us to this corner of Corneria City." Miyu told Fox.
She then had a cheeky visage when she told the other half. "Annnd... since our fierce leader Fara here gets testy when she was hungry, she punched into the car's nav system directions to the closest nearby 5 star diner and this place came up!"
Miyu laughed when she heard Fara growl. "Grr! I do not get testy! I just get moody when I'm hungry and doing stuff on a empty stomach is a no go! Plus you seem to forget that I got a earful from the teachers and instructors today thanks to you!" Fara pointed a accusing finger at Miyu.
Miyu held her hands up. "Again I'm sorry about that! But that jackass had it coming when he thought he could get away with stealing Fay's trading card!"
Fox interjected on Miyu. "Trading card? Stolen? I feel like I've missed quite the story here! Can you tell me what happened? If you don't mind of course!".
Fay decided to tell the story. "I don't mind at all Duke! To make a long story short, a notorious group of bullies on our school ganged up on me because I happened to have something of good value on me that day, which was the trading card in question and they must've discovered it by eavesdropping us.".
Fay's voice began to waver a bit as she continued to tell the story. "T-they cornered me after school time since Miyu and Fara weren't with me at the time as they had a errand to do for the teachers and gave me the choice of either giving them the card or they were gonna beat me up badly...".
Fay had to pause for a moment as she was choking up a little because had to suppress a sniffle as the bad memories of that experience resurfaced again. Fara, Fox and Miyu looked worried and reached out to grab Fay's hand to support her.
Fara and Miyu were surprised to see that Fox did the same as now all three of them each held on to Fay's hand with one hand each. When the group looked at their joined hands, the four of them began to laugh hearty.
After they calmed down, Fay decided to continue. "Aww... thanks guys! I needed that. Any way, I felt like a had no choice but to give them the card and before they could shove me into one of the lockers they've adjusted just for that purpose, Miyu and Fara saw what happened as they've finished their errand early!"
Miyu smirked in triumph as she knew what Fay was about to tell next. "Miyu then immediately charged them with her incredible speed! Hoo! Haa! Targeting the boss of the group! Before they even had the chance to respond, Miyu blindsided him with her killer right hook, instantly knocking him out cold and almost all of his teeth as well! Woo hoo!"
Fay fist bumped the air as she recalled the memory and how hyped she was when it occurred. Fox turned to Miyu and smirked at her and she smirked at Fox in return. "To be fair I would've done the same thing Miyu. I can't stand such behaviour and I take it upon me to give such scummy bastards payback!"
Fara let out a sigh at that comment. "Ohh no... Not you too Duke..."
Miyu then grinned and held her fist out towards Fox. "You speak my language Duke! Finally! Someone else besides Fay who gets it!".
Fox then gave Miyu a fist bump with his own fist before they gripped each other's hand as a sign of respect. Fox grunted as he felt how strong Miyu's grip was "By the way, that's quite the firm grip you've got there! Grr, I can tell you work out a lot and don't like to hold back!". "Why does this feel so familiar?..."
Miyu grunted as well as she felt Fox returning it with a firm grip of his own. "I must say, grr, you've got a firm one yourself! You would make for a good sparring partner Duke!"
This went for several minutes of them grunting at each other while staring intensely into each other eyes before letting go and fist bump each other again while laughing.
Fay laughed seeing that Miyu and Fox got along so well. "This is just like one of my katinese anime series!".
Fara shook her head in jest while smiling. "Grrreat just what I needed... another muscle head like Miyu.".
Miyu flexed her right arm at Fara. "Hey don't be such a wet blanket sis! At least things are always lively when I'm around!" Miyu grinned.
Fara rolled her eyes at that comment. "Sometimes too lively for my taste... Any ways, to finish off the story, after Miyu knocked that bastard into a hospital, she and I got the tongue lashing from hell from the instructors and teachers of the academy, Miyu because she resorted to violence first and not talk things out and me for not keeping a member of my unit under control."
Fox raised a eyebrow at Fara's comment "Unit? I don't remember the academy working with a unit system or that the students had to form one."
Fara nodded. "Ever since the success of team StarFox in the Lylat Wars, the academy thought it would be a much more viable and effective training method if students were to train in made up units instead of as a individual. Me, Miyu and Fay are one such unit. We just haven't thought up a name for it yet."
Fay spoke up next. "Normally units in the academy are randomly drafted from the current students into units of either three, four or five based on the preferences of the student's choice on the size of unit they wanted to join. Buuut... since Fara knows a certain someone who is kind of a big deal, the three of us were allowed to form our own unit!"
Fox chuckled at Fay's giddiness. "Ah I see! Well good thing that Fara knows that certain someone who is a big deal since the three of you got to stay together in a unit. Especially since it seems like the three of you are such tight friends from the way I've seen you three interact with each other. Have you all known each other for long?"
Miyu nodded. "A keen observation Duke! Fay and I have known each other most our whole lives and the two of us met Fara three and a halve year ago. I was still a street urchin back when I met Fay and since I had no place where I belonged to back then, Fay's parents took me in as their second daughter and I've lived with Fay ever since. Fara, we met her after three of us had a run-in with a unsavoury group of scoundrels-."
Fara took a sharp inhale and she grimaced for a split second when Miyu said 'unsavoury group of scoundrels'. Fox took notice of it and took it as a sign that there was much more to the story than Miyu let on and that Fara wasn't too happy that Miyu said that. Fox didn't asked about it however as he didn't want to open potentially old wounds as this seems to be a loaded subject.
"And after that, we've been besties ever since!" Miyu finished with a grin. "And what about you Duke? Do you have a group friends you're tight with?".
Fox flinched at that question. "Oh! Umm... No actually, this may come as a shock but I've got next to no friends any more."
The girls were taken aback by Fox's response. Fox continued. "In fact I've led a lonely life for a long time now. The tight group of friends I had, after the Lylat Wars, we grew apart from each other and I've lost contact with them ever since. And my job as a bodyguard didn't leave me with much time for social activities either. This is the first time in a long while since I've had a good conversation with people..."
"Damn it! didn't want to bother them with my emotional baggage! But... I couldn't stop talking for some reason. Way to bring the mood down Fox..."
Fox heaved a shuddering sigh and looked at the table with a crestfallen visage. Miyu putted a hand on Fox's shoulder. "I'm so sorry Duke... I-I didn't know..."
Fox waved Miyu off "No... no, don't worry Miyu. There's no way you could've known that. No harm is done. It's just been very tough for me, sorry for bringing the mood down ladies..."
Fay looked worryingly at Fox. "Is that why you sounded so sad before I talked to you? When you spoke to Flint when he said in his words that you were soggy looking?"
Fox reluctantly nodded. "Y-yeah, that and... being very tired in general." "Why is it so easy for me to tell them all of this when I barely even know them? Especially since I'm wary of people I don't know for long."
Fay reached out to try and take off Fox's sunglasses which Fox didn't stop. She gasped when Fox looked her and saw Fox's orange eyes, which were bloodshot and puffy. "Oh Duke..."
Fara was next to place a hand on Fox's shoulder. "Duke?, I may not know you for very long but if you need someone to talk to, even if it's just to pour your heart out, know you can always talk to us."
Fox looked up and look each of the girls in the eyes with a incredulous look on his face. "A-all of you would do that for me? We... barely even know each other..."
Miyu squeezed his shoulder to grab his attention while giggling. "Hey silly, weren't you going to do the same for Fay? Who was just a stranger to you moments ago?" Fay nodded profusely at Fox when Miyu said that.
Miyu continued. "The fact that Fay feels so comfortable around you makes you a good guy in my book." Miyu then grinned "Pluuuus... you being a strong, handsome and now, adorable dork helps a lot too haha! I like you Duke, if I didn't, I would've either wrestled Fay away from you or I wouldn't have talked to you at all."
Fara decided to speak up next. "It sounds to me that you haven't had a good conversation partner for a long time now. May I ask how long exactly?"
Fox didn't want to answer that but it was as if his mouth moved on it's own "T-three years, I've been alone for three years now. The colleagues of my job aren't exactly the talkative sort of people nor do they want to become friends. Strictly business it is with them. In fact! They say that I talk too much! With them AND the clients!" Fox shook his fist in the air in anger.
Fara nodded sympathetically. "Oh tell me about it! I definitely know what you're talking about Duke! The people we have to work with sometimes are just sooo... emotionless, so cold and soo... stuffy! Urrgh! It drives me up the walls all the time! It's like they don't even know the concept of fun you know?"
Fay nodded once again. "Indeed! The ones I've met that had to work with us, they were like robots..."
Miyu decided to speak next. "And not even the fun ones but like the 'NO FUN ALLOWED' ones. Talk about total buzzkills! All they know what to do is either order you around, complain that you didn't do things their way and yell how much of an eyesore you are and that they hate working you with!"
Fox looked up with widened eyes. "Oh my Lylus that's exactly my experience with my so called colleagues as well. The three of you really do know what I'm going through. Strangely enough, it's kind of comforting that you ladies know how my work related pain feels."
Fox facepalmed before he started to laugh, confusing the three girls. "Some subject to talk about on our first meeting huh? Usually you talk about your jobs, your likes and dislikes, hobbies, interests etc., not repressed work related pains or crippling loneliness!"
Once the realization kicked in, the girls too began to laugh. "Hahaha! Yeah! You got that right Duke! One hell of a subject to start with indeed!" Fara managed to say while laughing. "At least your sense of humour is still intact! How about we start over again and begin with a much, much more light hearted subject, okay?"
Fox nodded. "Sounds like an excellent idea Fara!"
"Even better if the four of you did that while eating your meal delicious meals right?" The four all turned their heads to the source of the unknown voice and saw two waiters, the male, brown, white striped ferret like Lylatian that just spoke and a male, black and white border collie like Lylatian were standing in front of their table, each of them holding a tray with two plates with steaming, hot food on it and drinks on it. Fox smiled warmly at them and the two gave Fox a hearty nod. The male ferret spoke once again.
"Hi Duke! Sorry for the interruption but your food and drinks are ready ladies and gentleman! For the ladies that don't know me, my name is Ferdinand and together with my colleague Colin here, we'll be your waiters for the day!" Both Ferdinand and Colin made a small bow before Ferdinand set his tray down first.
"For the lovely miss Fara we have a lovely grilled salmon steak with a variety of steamed vegetables and a large Mocha. And for our good pal Duke we have savoury, BBQ pancakes together with chicken sausages and to top it off a large orange, strawberry and melon smoothie!"
Both Fox's and Fara's mouths began to water as the plates were set in front of them. "Ooohhh this looks amazing! If it tastes as good as it looks, I'll definitely make this café our regular go to place to eat!" Fara exclaimed.
"I was thinking the same Fara." Fay said with a smile.
"If you weren't, I was gonna make you after seeing these plates with food!" Miyu grinned.
Fox chuckled mirthfully at the girls' reaction. "Oh believe me. Once you've tasted their cooking, you don't want to eat at any other café ever again!"
Colin spoke next as he began to unload his tray after Ferdinand was finished. "Yep! Duke's been coming ever since he had a taste of Flint's cooking three years ago! Although he didn't spoke a lot, he was always very friendly towards us. Sort of became tradition that either me or Ferdinand brought his order to him!"
Ferdinand poked Colin's hip as his mind began to wonder off. "Ahem!".
Colin flinched before recollecting his bearings. "Ah sorry for the trip down memory lane! Any ways, for the lovely miss Fay we have a chicken bagel sandwich with a carrot, lettuce and sweetcorn salad topping. Topped off with a honey mustard sauce. And 3 frosted doughnuts with rainbow chocolate sprinkles together with a cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows."
Fay squealed with delight when she saw her plate with her ordered food and beverage of choice in front of here.
Colin then turned to Miyu. "And finally, for the lovely miss Miyu a home style gourmet hamburger with a thick 100% beef patty, the same salad topping as Fay's sandwich, with a rich ketchup and mustard sauce, fries and a large home made strawberry milkshake!"
After they were done unloading, Ferdinand and Colin both gave a bow and simultaneously said "Hope you'll all enjoy your meal.". And with that they took off.
After the waiters out of sight, Fara shot a glare at both Fay and Miyu, both of them well aware why. Miyu decided to speak up while holding up her hands. "Oh c'mon sis! I'm really, really sick of all those so called 'healthy' meals that you got us that tastes like freaking cardboard! Excuse me for living a little!".
Fay spoke up next, albeit a lot more restrained. "Sorry Fara but I have to agree with Miyu here."
Fara sighed exasperatedly before shooting Fay once again a glare, causing Fay to flinch and look away. "You knew that I wouldn't have ordered these if it were up to me, didn't you Fay? You know that we have a strict diet plan in order for us to stay in top notch health, condition and fitness right?!"
Fay bravely looked back at Fara with a albeit frightened visage. "C-consider it payback for laughing at me earlier!"
Fox couldn't hold it in any more and broke out in full out laughter at the girls' antics. "Hahahaha! Oh! You ladies are an absolute riot! Reminds of me of my group of friends from way back! Oh and by the way Fara, obsessing over strict diets can actually be a detriment towards your health if you neglect other things because of it."
Miyu and Fay smiled at Fox seeing that he was having fun while Fara was taken aback be Fox's comment. Fara looked at Fox with a confused look. "What makes you say that Duke?"
After Fox calmed down he turned to face Fara. "What I mean is, sure, following a diet and adjusting yours accordingly to it can be a benefit to you health but if you neglect your own mood and happiness because of it, it will ultimately backfire on you as you won't be nearly as committed to it as you would be if you allowed yourself to have a off day every once in a while." Fox said sagely with Fara nodding every once in a while as she was absorbing the info Fox gave her.
"Plus, it would help the team's morale tremendously if the food in the diet at least tasted decently! You don't want your own team mates to resent you for it." Fox finished with a chuckle. "Oh Peppy... How you tried to feed us those so called 'healthy' meals as well... I still remember the day Falco chucked his bowl of that stuff against the wall when he was completely fed up it while firing off profanities. Lylus! I'm getting so many reminiscing moments lately."
Fara stared in awe at Fox as she finished processing the info given to her. "Wow... I never looked at it like that. I'm doing things the way I do because I want what's best for my team... to think that it could actually be detrimental to them..."
Fara looked at both Miyu and Fay with a apologetic look on her face. "I'm so sorry Miyu, Fay... I want only the best for the two of you but it seems I've gotten overzealous this time!"
Miyu grinned at Fara. "It's alright sis! At least you finally realised it now!" Miyu then subtlety leaned in on Fox, which caused Fox's breath to hitch for a subtle moment as he felt Miyu's warm breath in his ear as she whispered. "Looks like I owe you one Duke. Thank you..."
Fay smiled sweetly at Fara. "Don't worry about it Fara! It's one of those quirks of yours that makes you a good leader! Just do sometimes listen to our suggestions and feedback every once in a while please."
Fara then turned to Fox. "Thank you very much for the solid advice Duke! Mind if I ask you more tips in the future? You seem you know a lot about leadership!"
Fox chuckled again. "No problem at all Fara! Now shall we dig in before our food gets cold?"
The girls cheerfully agreed with Fox and the four of dug into their food and beverages while having a lovely time.
I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I've had reading it! I've decided to make this chapter extra long because again, big thank you to everyone who decided to give my fic a shot! Especially the people who favourited and/or followed my fic. I can't say it enough! It means a lot to me :)
In case you were wondering, in my canon of the universe of StarFox, unevolved animals (mostly cattle animals) still exists and are kept and bred for meat. That's where the meat is coming from. I base this on the fact the in the games and comics the characters sometimes say things, in this case Pigma, like: "Hey! Stop treatin' me like a pork roast!" and that Falco reacts in anger whenever he sees cooked bird dishes in those silly promotional Super Smash Brothers videos.
I think I want to keep a steady 2 to 4 weeks schedule for writing and uploading new chapters unless of course IRL things come up that causes a delay. So until next time folks! :D
05/01/2020: Edited out some spelling errors and corrected some sentences.
