Fox's wristwatch chirped at exactly 8PM CCT. He let the high pitched chime sound twice before silencing it. Then, with the flick of his other arm against his dashboard, he activated the Great Fox's idle procedures and instructed the auto-pilot to remain in orbit. He turned to face the screen on his left, then tapped a few commands.

"Curfew, guys," he spoke into his console.

A bubble featuring Falco's profile popped on screen. "This early?" his compressed voice balked. "What's good with that?"

Fox shook his head. "You know we have first shift escort duty for the transports. They want us on stand-by by 6AM sharp. That means we gotta be out in the Arwings before that."

Falco grumbled as Slippy and Krystal's profiles soon joined the call. Slippy soon confirmed, "I finished prepping the Arwings an hour ago. We should be good to go first thing."

"Great," said Fox. He started tapping commands on his center console as he said, "I'm setting a wake protocol for 5AM sharp. I want you guys ready to go at a quarter till 6. Sounds like a plan?"

The three faces voiced their confirmations, then Fox wished them a good night before turning the call off. He finished up a few more procedures on the bridge before handing full control to the auto-pilot. The bridge's lights dimmed as it registered the curfew, allowing Fox to slip from his seat and out into the halls.

The vulpine commander wasted no time abiding by curfew. He retreated into his room, changed out of his mercenary garb and into comfortable night clothes, prepped himself for bed in just a few minutes, then climbed into bed. Just as he set his communicator and watch down to charge, the table he just set them on vibrated. Fox sat up and checked his communicator screen. One new message. Curiously, he opened the screen and checked the message—from Krystal.

Krystal: Goodnight Fox :3

Fox smiled as a warm glow filled his chest. He decided to message her back.

Fox: Goodnight Krys. Hope you sleep well.

He noticed that the read receipt flashed instantly, and then the typing ellipses soon followed.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Krystal: I hope you do too :)

Fox wanted to put the communicator down, but couldn't bring himself to. Instead, he brought the device close to his chest and laid down with it, opting to message her back.

Fox: You doing okay?

Krystal: Yes. Why do you ask?

Fox: Just checking in. Sometimes I forget to check in with everyone to see how they're holding up. Wanted to make sure you're okay.

Krystal: I am very well. Thank you for asking :)

Those little smiley faces Krystal added always made Fox smile to himself. He set his device on his chest and stared up at the ceiling, unable to wipe the silly smile off of his muzzle. He should have just put his device away and tried to go to sleep, but he didn't want to. She just made him feel too happy.

His chest vibrated. He picked up his screen.

Krystal: Thinking about you…

Fox's face felt warm in seconds.

Fox: Me too.

Krystal: I know ;)
Krystal: You should go to bed instead of texting me.

Fox: You started it.

Krystal: I did. :3
Krystal: It's because I like talking to you.
Krystal: I just like you, too.

The vulpine rolled onto his stomach, allowing his bushy tail to whip back and forth as he typed back.

Fox: I like you too. Maybe we should be friends?

Krystal: Hahaha.
Krystal: You're funny.

Fox: I can be sometimes.

Krystal: I like it when you are.

A few moments passed as Fox stared at the bubbling ellipses under her name.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Krystal: I know we've been busy, but we need to find time to have fun together. Hopefully sometime soon. I just miss the little moments.
Krystal: Is that weird?

Fox: No, I get it. I want to hang out with you too. I hope that we will have some time after this mission.

Krystal: I would love that.
Krystal: I miss you.

The vulpine rolled to his side and typed back. The illuminated screen showed his flustered, bright red blush very well. He was glad nobody could see it.

Fox: You still talk to me at dinner every day.

Krystal: No, I mean…
Krystal: I miss being next to you.
Krystal: I miss hearing your heart.
Krystal: I miss relaxing with you.
Krystal: I miss the quiet with just us.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Krystal: Do you know what I mean?

. . .

. . .

. . .

Fox had a hard time typing his reply. At first he just agreed, then he tried to explain it, then he tried to talk about how he felt, but none of it came out right. He rewrote and deleted words, sometimes dozens at a time—all in an attempt to voice his hopelessly complex position in emotionless text.

. . .

. . .

. . .

He wanted to say how much he agreed with her; how much he enjoyed their quiet time together. He wanted to say how much he missed her too; how much he wanted to forgo his assignments and spend days by her side. He wanted to say how being with her and having her as a dear teammate and friend seemingly made his life so much better.

He wanted to say how much he cared about her.

He wanted to say how much he respected her.

He wanted to say how hopelessly in love with her he was.

He looked at his device one more time.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Krystal: You don't need to type out all of that. I understand.
Krystal: I feel the same.

Fox was blushing bright as he typed back.

Fox: Thank you. It's hard to say all of that over text.

. . .

. . .

. . .

Krystal: Then come to my room and tell it to me yourself.

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

Fox let his device fall from his hands. He flipped out of his covers and made his way out of his room in nothing but a pair of underwear. Acting on the moment, Fox exited his room, walked across the hall, then opened Krystal's door just as fast. Her room was dark, but the ambient lights from the portholes illuminated his way. He shut the door behind him just as fast as he entered.

Krystal was on her bed just like Fox was. And when she saw Fox enter, she wanted to speak. It was harder to do than she thought, even as Fox approached her. She sat up and looked to stand, but she caught a glimpse of Fox's mind at that moment, and decided to stay seated.

Without another word spoken, Fox crawled onto Krystal's bed and sat before her. He didn't speak, but his eyes spoke for him. Krystal understood, and Fox understood and replicated her expression.

Just as quick as it started, they leaned forward and embraced each other. It was a tender, emotional hug—and the longer it held, the more strain it put on the dam until it had no choice but to collapse under the intense pressure. Hugging quickly turned to kissing, turned to undressing, turned to grinding. Still—not a word was said. They stayed quiet as their curfew commanded; all while the jaws of hopeless romanticism clamped down upon them.

They might not remember what happened that night a week from now. The alarm will wake them up at 5AM sharp, and they might go about their day without a passing mention of what happened past curfew. They may only remember the late night with little sleep, or the tired and sore day to follow—but even that may be forgotten just as fast as it happened.

But, if you're that hopelessly lost in someone, days like that blur into one another as they happen more and more, and the love grows stronger and stronger. Even while missions came and went, that feeling did not change. The only thing that did was the strength of a curfew. If you've hopelessly fallen for someone that hard, some rules can be bent to fit.

And Fox was pretty damn hopeless.