A/N: Sorry for the long delay for this chapter… Had a lot o' stuff to'do. Speaking of the chapter, it's gonna be a lot o' talking between our favorite Hunter and our favorite Sniper. So if all that blah, blah, blah gets you bored real fast… that's a problem.

And a quick request that concerns only hoboslayer95 at the moment, but pertains to EVERYONE: Although I did find your review somewhat amusing, I doubt fanfiction enjoys having crude reviews written on a site where kids go to enjoy a good story. So if you're planning on reviewing in the future, please don't swear.

Step Five Part II

Phoenix and Jullianne had long since finished preparations for the "mission" and had long since started on their long walk to Koringwood. By now, they were well within its boundaries and just… walking, bows in one hand, swaying with their step.

And Phoenix found it incredibly dull.

"I'm bored."

"Deal with it."

"How?"

"How should I know?"

"You're the Sniper."

"And…?"

"… Good point."

"Well, can you do it without talking? We might accidentally alert the flan, and that would make our job a lot harder."

"You've just talked a whole lot more than I have thus so far."

"Stop talking."

"But I'm BORED!"

Jullianne winced.

"No yelling either!" she hissed under her breath.

"Oh… sorry…"

"Just… enjoy the scenery or something."

"That's what I've been doing for the past hour or so."

"Well, keep doing it."

So Phoenix decided to remain quiet for a while, talking her advice just to make the Viera happy. He sorta lied when he said he'd been looking at the scenery for the past hour. He was looking, but he wasn't really LOOKING. Now, he fully appreciated the beauty of what was around him. The tall, magical trees with tons of little critters using them as homes. The small, stubborn shrubs that were intent on living, even though their dose of sunlight was taken by the tall trees above. The large, rocky boulders that were strewn about by some ancient, unknown event.

The beauty of it all sparked something within Phoenix, what it was he couldn't exactly put his finger on. However, it caused him to do something that he was not consciously aware of.

"… What are you doing?"

This unconscious act happened to involve Phoenix lacing his fingers through Jullianne's. How he managed to get his fingers through those nails without so much of a cut was beyond him. However, this physical marvel was the last thing on his list to worry about. He quickly let go of Jullianne's hand, just in case the action might somehow offend her.

"Umm… holding your hand?"

"… Why?"

"I'm not quite sure… although I think it has to do with the beauty of this forest… somehow." He finished lamely.

"Oh, so the forest magically forced you to hold my hand?"

"Erm… not quite like that."

"Then how?"

And then Phoenix remembered.

"Ever since I was a little kid, I had this dream of walking through a beautiful forest, such as this, with someone I loved, someone I cared about. At the time, that probably translated into talking a walk with my sister, but that's because I was about five. Don't worry," He said quickly, catching Jullianne's weird look, "I'm not some sort of hick who has a thing for my sister. It's just… I dunno, she was the only girl I knew, and somehow the thought of walking through a forest, holding hands with a BOY didn't sound quite as romantic."

"… So, using the logic you've so kindly laid out, you're saying I fall under the category of someone you love?"

"Ummm…"

'Just say it dude… can't hurt anything, can it?'

"… Yeah… sounds about right."

It was now Phoenix's turn to give a weird look. He was expecting a slap, with the complimentary claw marks across his cheek to go with it, but what he got was a change in the color of Jullianne's face. Even though it was completely covered in fur, Phoenix swore he saw her face flush a bright red color.

"… Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"Wha-?" Her voice cracked. The redness grew worse, and she tried again.

"What?"

"The redness in your face."

"Oh, I'm probably just hot, that's all."

Before he could stop them, the words came tumbling out of Phoenix's mouth.

"You most certainly are." He half-muttered, half-spoke.

Dead. Silence. Phoenix swore he all the lil' buggers in the forest had stopped their happy noise-making. Jullianne stopped walking, so Phoenix had to do the same thing.

Jullianne blinked a few times before asking. "What did you just say?"

"Uh… you most certainly are in need of some drink?"

Somehow, Jullianne bought it.

"Do you have anything?"

"… only some whiskey…"

Phoenix had decided to try the "woodsy man" stereotype and brought along a canteen of whiskey just so he could take a "hearty swig" from it now and then. Of course, he had completely forgotten about it… until now.

And it seemed that in her desperate attempt to make her excuse for turning bright red true, Jullianne responded with, "I'll take that."

Phoenix shrugged and handed over the bottle and Jullianne hastily unscrewed the cap and, in her zeal to prove her story, drained the entire thing. Phoenix, who had one eyebrow raised before, had his second eyebrow join the first in alarm.

"Uh… that probably wasn't a good idea…"

Jullianne wiped her mouth and handed back the bottle. "What? I was hot, and that seemed to have-" hic. "… hit the spot."

Phoenix gave her one final worried glance and finished with, "Well… if you say so."

So the pair continued in silence for a while, Jullianne occasionally letting out a quiet hiccup. After about fifteen minutes of walking (or, as in Jullianne's case, zig-zagging) in silence, the Sniper started giggling madly. The worried look arose on Phoenix's face once more.

"Are you alright, Jullianne?"

"Tee hee… you're cute."

Silence. And then…

"… What?"

Jullianne giggled some more, slung her arm around Phoenix's shoulders, and then became suddenly serious.

"I have a secret to tell you."

"… Alright…"

The Viera leaned in real close, put her hand next to his ear, as if some unwanted listener was eavesdropping, and then said, "You're sexy!"

Whatever Phoenix was expecting, it most certainly was NOT that. However, now that Jullianne was drunk, she was either just being goofy… or telling him what she actually felt.

"You think so?"

"Yessum… and I think you're funny too! Tee hee!"

"I think you've had a LITTLE too much to drink."

"Speaking'vedrinking…"

"What did you say?"

Jullianne let out an exasperated sigh.

"Speaking. Of. DRINKING… I'm thirsty!"

"Wah, wah, wah. You drained ALL of my whiskey, so I have nothing to give you. I feel no remorse, either."

Jullianne stopped walking… again. However, this time it wasn't with a look of incredulity, it was with a look of pondering.

"Hmmm… I've got an idea!"

"Oh boy… what is it?"

"Kissy, kissy!" She giggled.

"Huh? What are you-" But Phoenix was cut off when Jullianne threw herself at him and gave him a big and (much to Phoenix's distaste, although he shouldn't be complaining) sloppy kiss. Of course, she HAD hurled herself at him, and so the end result HAD to be…

WHOMP!

… A crash landing. Phoenix's eyes bugged out from the impact.

"Omph! Thanks… not that I really needed to get my back slammed into the forest floor, but oh well."

Jullianne's only response was a string of giggles.

'Man, are the boys gonna have a field day when I tell them about THIS.'

"Here… let's get up. We've got a mission, remember?"

"Hmmhmmmhmmm! Yup!"

"… You don't remember the mission… do you?"

"Of course I do, silly head!"

"Then what is it?"

"To tickle you as much as possible!"

"No… that's not it- HEY! NO! GACK!"

True to her word, Jullianne charged at Phoenix and started to tickle him full throttle. Phoenix thought that thinks couldn't have POSSIBLY gotten weirder… but with the tickling, they had. After fending her off for a few minutes, Jullianne got bored and stopped. A thought suddenly arose in Phoenix's mind: Jullianne drunk. Jullianne not thinking clearly. Jullianne make promise while drunk. Jullianne must keep promise when sober. Ask girlfriend-question.

"Say, Jullianne?"

"Hmmmhmmhmmmmhmm! Yes?"

"You think I'm sexy and funny, right?"

"Yupsedoodles!"

Phoenix paused, blinked, shook his head, and moved on.

"I'm not even gonna ask. Anyway, if you think I'm sexy and funny-"

"And cute!"

"Alright, and cute… do you want to be my girlfriend?"

She froze, and her eyes widened. Suddenly, Phoenix was worried the question had brought Jullianne out of her drunken state. Then she flung her arms around him and squealed with what seemed to be obvious happiness.

"I thought you'd never ask! Oh, this is gonna be fun, fun, fun!"

Before she could get any more worked up, Phoenix put a stern finger on her nose and looked her square in the eye.

"You promise you'll be my girlfriend?"

She gave a bouncy nod and supplemented with a "Mmhmm!"

Phoenix grinned. "Good. Now we can have fun!"

Just at that moment, Jullianne yawned.

"Phoenix? I'm tired… I think I'm gonna take a nap-" And she was out cold.

"… Figures…" Phoenix muttered to himself. Picking up Jullianne the way a Knight in Shining Armor would pick up his Rescued Princess, Phoenix continued on, in search of the flans, even though Jullianne was asleep. Besides, he could wake her up, and she'd probably be sober when he did, so they'd be fine.

And so, with his latest conquest (heck… his ONLY conquest) in his arms, Phoenix set off and searched the entire forest for the flans. No sign of them… OR the wyrms and drakes that Dave had warned of.

"Hey… I've seen this tree before… I'm going in circles… and I'm pretty sure I've been through this forest several times over. That means… There is no mission! So then Dave… just made my job of hooking up with Jullianne a heckuva lot easier. He is DEFINITELY getting brownie points for this one…"

Phoenix decided to start the long walk home, made easier by the lightening of his whiskey canteen… made harder by the fact he needed to carry a full grown Viera.

'This is so cool…'

A/N: I know, I know… that was probably one of the lamest chapter's I have written… and yes… I am leaving it at that. However, next chapter will show the Wrath of Khan- I mean… the Wrath of Jullianne… (any Star Trek fans out there, or are you guys too cool for that?)