High above the vast oceans of Aquas, the Great Fox sat in a low-orbit idle state awaiting her next assignment. The pretty blues and greens of the aquatic planet below refracted against the stainless steel sheen of the warship's stout exterior, only warped by thousands of battle scars accrued during her lifespan. Today, she was quiet; observing the tides and gyres from beyond the atmosphere like a sentinel—the bastion of peace and protection in Lylat.
Star Fox was assigned a trip to Aquas to sniff out a trove of bandits occasionally attacking reconnaissance boats and stealing weapons from the outposts dotting the water. While Krystal and Falco soared above the bountiful seas in their Arwings, Slippy and Fox took to the seas on boat to engage whatever the skies could find. In the end, the Arwings above finished their routes faster, and according to plan, they were to return to the Great Fox and prepare to jump into action should they be needed. Well, most of the bandits were caught within the first few hours of the mission, and as they were assigned a couple of days as per procedure, the rest of the mission would be a pretty dull drag.
At least to Krystal it was.
Her chores aboard Star Fox's dreadnought were completed hours ago, and since there was nary a chance she would be needed again, she set up base in her quarters and took to reading to pass the time. Thankfully, Krystal loved reading in her spare time. The tablet Fox gifted her upon joining the team held billions and billions of words for her to explore. It held novels based around mysteries, intense dramas, heart-wrenching romances, and hilarious comedies all within a few taps of her fingers. Each book she read felt like it was better than the one before it, and she marveled at the creativity some of these authors had.
Today, she was scrolling through a wild adventure novel centered around a dysfunctional band of miscreant bounty hunters all vying for a—
"ACHOO!"
The explosive sneeze rocketed throughout the halls of the Great Fox like a point-blank blast of artillery fire. Krystal jumped at the violent sound, nearly losing her grip on her digital library. She waited in still silence for a few moments, hoping another wasn't too far away. When she thought she was safe, she brought her tablet back to her lap and scrolled back to her place, just a few more paragraphs away from the next—
"ACHOO!"
The tablet flew from her lap and landed at the foot of her bed as the ship's metal walls rattled. Shock turned to concern pretty quickly thereafter, so Krystal decided to leave her bed and investigate. She tossed on her flight jacket, slipped into her boots, and poked her head from her quarters down towards where she heard the noises. She first noticed some lights poking underneath the closed door of the Great Fox's break room towards the end of the crew members' corridor, and as she cautiously approached, she could hear voices beyond the door.
"—wants us to hold around Aquas for another day or so to monitor the situation." Krystal recognized Slippy's voice. It seemed intense, so she paused at the door and listened in. "As of right now, Captain Grey believes we've caught all of the bandits, but some of the stolen weaponry is still not accounted for."
A loud, wet sniffle replied, followed by a nasally, "as long as dey don't put me in da boats again, I'm fine wid a holding paddern." That was Fox's voice. Goodness, he didn't sound well at all. Krystal's expression shifted to a mild worry as she heard him add, "Go ahead and make sure da Arwings are prepped. Mine needs a new wiper afder tuhday."
"Got it. I'll take care of that right now. Don't forget, you still need to update the mission log and send it to—"
"ACHOO!"
The enormous blast startled Krystal, causing her to retract her hands close to her chest. In doing so, she accidentally brushed the keypad beside the doorframe, causing the door to slide into its pocket and reveal her secretive eavesdropping. Both boys looked up from the circular dining table towards Krystal. Thankfully, their auras seemed rather delighted to see her, quelling the self-conscious anxiety she felt almost immediately.
"Hi Krystal!" Slippy beamed.
"Hi Krysdul," Fox pitifully echoed, rubbing his damp sleeve across his nose. While Slippy was dressed neatly and presentably, Fox's flight suit was darkened and damp. His fur seemed relatively dry, but it appeared sickly and matted. His eyes had a noticeable film overtop them, implying he didn't feel like he was fully in control of himself. Judging by his volatile sneezes, her assumption seemed correct.
"Hi boys," Krystal politely replied. Her focus shifted to the fox wiping his nose. "Fox, you don't look well."
"I'm fine," said Fox, sniffing away snot between his words.
"You don't sound well either," Krystal corrected. "And your suit is wet too. You need to get some dry clothes or else you might get sick."
"Nod yed," Fox mouth-breathed. "Bill wants us on stand-by in case more pirades show up."
Krystal shook her head. "Not in your condition he doesn't."
"I told you I'm fine," said Fox, but Krystal wasn't buying it.
She focused on the toad. "Slip, change our availability to emergency only for a little while, okay?"
Fox immediately seemed offended and interjected, "Hey, you can't jus—"
"Fox, look, you're sick," interrupted Krystal, defiant. "Just listen to yourself. You need to take a little break and get some rest so it doesn't get worse."
"So whaddif I godda liddle cold?" Fox scoffed. "I'm still gonna do whad they need me'da do."
"I'm not arguing with you," Krystal stood her ground and beckoned Fox to get up and follow her. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and—"
"I'm okay, Krysdul," pleaded Fox.
"Uh-huh," Krystal kept the sarcasm to a minimum and withheld the devilish smirk. "If you can say my name right, I'll believe you."
Fox's brows furrowed. "Krysdul." He soon realized his plight and attempted to say her name slower to compensate. "Krys…duhl… Krysdul. Krys—I'm not sick! I'm fine!"
"Nope," the vixen smirked. She grabbed Fox's wrist and pulled him along. "Let's go, mister sicky."
Fox wanted to fight back, but he felt too weak and disoriented. Humiliated, Fox's ears pinned back as he looked towards Slippy and groaned, "Bye, Slibby."
Slippy's face donned a gentle, concerned smile. "Feel better soon, Fox."
Krystal dragged the sickly vulpine out of the break room and towards the bathrooms. Fox trudged along as if he were being escorted to the principal's office by the teacher he had just backtalked. But, Krystal was earnest with her intent, and she wanted to make it clear to Fox that she was only wishing the best for him. He may not have seen it that way now, but in the future—once his sickness was manageable—he might understand. Until then, all he could do was pout as Krystal led him to the showers.
"Okay. Take your wet clothes off and take a hot shower. Ten minutes or more."
Fox seemed disrespected to be given such stern commands, but after seeing Krystal's determined, compassionate stare, he couldn't help but oblige. So, Fox lazily peeled himself free from his damp and slimy suit. The showers soon wreaked of stale saltwater and sweat as Fox left the soiled clothes at the entrance to the showers. He was too wrought with pain and illness to even be mildly self-conscious about being nude around Krystal, but it was still rather embarrassing at a fundamental level. Nevertheless, with his tail tucked between his legs, Fox did as he was told and started his hot shower. Steam immediately began filling the tiled walls as the clean, fresh water began to melt the gunk and grime permeating Fox's heavy fur pelt. For a few minutes, Krystal watched as Fox cleaned himself up—more out of motherly concern than anything else.
Once she was convinced Fox would stay under the jets for the time she requested, Krystal walked to Fox's room. There she rummaged through his closet to find him a comfortable change of clothes. Soft underwear, a thick pair of socks, a Star Fox branded sweatshirt, and sweatpants to match. She returned to the showers to see Fox still under the hot water, evidently lost in his thoughts and contemplating the sweet release of death from this overbearing, melodramatic, sadistic mortal coil instead of facing such a humiliating, debilitating inconvenience such as the common cold. He blankly stared at the water running through the grout between the tiles as the mystery of life, the universe, and everything surrounding it started to unravel inside the mushy mass of chewed gum he called his brain. It seemed like time itself stopped and galaxies were birthed and killed in the time Fox spent under the space-time bending shower water. In reality, it was only a few minutes.
Fox finally broke free of his trance after another ten minutes and shut the water off. As water dripped from his pelt, Krystal retrieved a towel and gave it to Fox to dry off. As she did so, she explained, "I'm gonna make you some fresh tea and a nice bowl of soup."
Fox didn't protest. In fact, it sounded rather nice.
Krystal ventured back to the break room and found it empty. With Fox being the only thing on her mind, she got to work on fixing him up a comforting, easy meal. Get the kettle, fill it with water. Let that sit and heat up. Soup cans in the cupboard. Just one would be fine. Open it, empty it into a pot, let that sit next to the kettle. Tea mix, get that ready. Kettle is done, drop the tea mix in and let that brew. Stir the soup. Now she had to wait even longer. So, she decided to check in with Fox.
Quickly, she went back to the bathrooms to see Fox getting dressed. He looked a lot better than he did just a few minutes prior. But, Krystal could still feel his discomfort and hopelessness radiating from him like growing mold. As he readjusted his clothes in the mirror, Krystal came up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Feel a little better?"
Fox weakly nodded. "A little."
Krystal grinned. "You sound a little better."
Fox hummed and just looked back at her through the mirror. Even through the thin film of fog and steam in their reflection, Fox could still plainly make out the tender care present in the vixen's eyes. She wasn't doing this out of duty to her superior or for any sort of selfish merit. This was absolute good intention on the part of the vixen. This was her paying her respects and taking care of someone who meant a lot to her. This was instinctive, natural caregiving in a way Fox hadn't felt since…
"Hungry?" Krystal asked, shaking Fox from his daydream.
"Yeah," he answered on auto-pilot.
"Your food should be ready," she replied. "Come find me in the break room whenever you can, okay?"
"Okay," said Fox. Krystal returned to her meal prep shortly thereafter; turning off the heat and letting the scorching hot soup and tea simmer. She kept a watchful eye on it while waiting for Fox to stop in.
As she waited, she had another idea, and rushed back to her room to retrieve a spare blanket from her closet. She came back and draped the soft blanket over the back of Fox's chair. As she did, she noticed Fox trudge his way in. The poor guy looked sick, sore, and was shivering even through his warm clothes. The shower could only do so much for him. Thankfully, she was prepared to help him further.
Krystal urged Fox to sit down, and as he did, she helped lay the blanket over his shoulders, careful to keep it tight along his body. She then went over to pour him a cup of tea, as well as fill a deep bowl with soup she hoped would warm him up from the inside. As she set both down before Fox, she saw his pupils dilate at the sight. The warm, rich aromas filled Fox's nose and acted as a breath of homely air amongst the artificial oxygen onboard. It didn't take long before he was spooning some of the rich, salty broth into his mouth, disregarding the potentially painful consequences of doing so too soon.
For a while, Krystal just sat opposite Fox and observed the cold-stricken vulpine do his best to fight the sickness. As he got into a rhythm of slurping up spoonfuls of soup, Krystal wandered to a medicine cabinet nearby and looked for some additional aid. Mild pain meds, a standard cold suppressor, and a decongestant would do the trick. She laid the medications out before Fox and insisted, "These will help you feel better."
Fox obliged, and took each pill between sips of the soul-warming soup. Krystal could already tell that the soup had started working. His trembling had stopped, and his eyes seemed much more lively than before. Still, he was sniffling and occasionally coughing, so she hoped the medicine she picked out for him would help. She sat back down opposite Fox and gave the vulpine a warm smile. Fox returned it as best he could—though he was mostly occupied with his meal.
"Krys?"
Her ears perked up. "Yes?"
Fox's eyes glanced towards the kitchen. "There's some crackers in the second drawer up top. Can you get those for me please?"
"Of course," she replied. She got up, found the box of crackers in seconds, then placed them down next to Fox's bowl. "Here."
"Thank you," said Fox, taking a moment to look at Krystal in her eyes once she sat back down. "Thank you for all of this. I really appreciate all you've been doing for me today."
"You're welcome," Krystal replied warmly. "I know you would do the same for all of us if we were in the same situation. It's the least I can do for you."
Fox smiled as he looked down at his soup, absently grabbing a cracker to dip inside. "Well… it's making me feel better, so… that's all that matters."
Krystal continued to keep a watchful set of eyes on Fox as he slowly chipped away at his meal. She observed color returning to Fox's once pale face, and the agony silently written across Fox's expression melted away under the steam from the hot soup. He may have been ill, but at least he could keep food down, as light as it may be. Still, Fox took his time and let himself enjoy the moment as much as his fragile body would let him in the moment. He dare not rush his recovery, because he knew there was a vixen sitting across from him that wouldn't be happy if he tried to stretch his luck.
An hour had to have passed in Fox's disoriented head, and what little soup remained in his bowl had gone cold. When Krystal understood that Fox was done, she got up and retrieved his dirty dishes, then placed them in the sink to clean later. For now, Krystal returned to Fox, and pulled the blanket closer to his neck.
"Are you feeling better?" asked Krystal.
Fox nodded in reply. "Much better," he said. His voice was no longer stuffy or weak. The medicine and hot food seemed to be mixing well in his stomach. Still, Krystal knew that he still didn't feel 100%, and for good reason. There wasn't much Fox could add to his treatment aside from rest… and he knew that's where Krystal's mind had gone next.
As if taking the words out of his mind, Krystal repeated aloud, "I think you should get some sleep."
Fox sighed. "I should, but I really do need to finish the reports to—"
"I'll take care of them," Krystal volunteered.
Fox smiled, but shook his head. "I really should be the one handling them."
"You really should be in bed," Krystal insisted, and Fox noticed that determined twinkle present in her eyes. "I will handle the mission logs. I've seen you do them hundreds of times before. I think I can finish this one for you."
"You sure you can handle all that?" Fox asked, evidently rhetorically.
Krystal nodded. "If it means giving you a few extra hours to rest up and get healthy, I can handle anything."
Fox shrugged. "I guess I can't argue with that."
So with that, Krystal led Fox back to his room. Like before, Krystal took the time to make sure that Fox would be comfortable and get some well-deserved rest. Even as Fox quietly protested the vixen's insistence and parental instincts, he knew he wasn't in a position of power to command otherwise. Krystal, she was a very determined mercenary. Everything she did—no matter how big or how small—received the same amount of attention, dedication, and care. And since it was Fox, he knew that she would take care of him as if he were family. As he thought more about it, she really was the best family he had.
As he was thinking and watching on, Krystal made his bed for him. She knew one of the best ways for a body to naturally fight off an illness was to sweat the bug out. So, she opted to layer an additional heavy blanket over Fox's already weighted comforter. After setting up some mindless television for Fox to fall asleep to, she patted the side of his bed.
"Sit down for a moment."
He did, and as soon as he did, Krystal sat beside him and laid both of her hands over his shoulders. At first, his neck scrunched up at the relatively cold touch, but he soon got used to her tender fingers as she started massaging his tense muscles. For a few minutes, Krystal's gentle, firm hands ran up and down his shoulders, neck, andback; rubbing out tense kinks in his toned frame. Fox couldn't help but sigh lovingly as her dexterous fingers caused tingles to run up and down his spine. Yes, it did hurt at times, but his soreness and general malaise was slowly but surely getting worked out of him by a skilled set of massaging hands.
She pulled back after a bit and said, "Just thought you needed that."
"Thank you, Krystal," he said, climbing into bed and beneath the covers. He let out a relaxed sigh and really nested himself into bed with the help of the vixen. Once he was set, he added, "Thank you for everything."
She giggled and made sure he was tucked in. "Just helping my sick fox feel better," she replied. "Can I get you anything else?"
"I think I'll be okay," said Fox. "I will now because of you."
Krystal smiled, then leaned over to leave a gentle peck on Fox's forehead. "Rest well, okay? Give me a call if you need anything."
"Okay," Fox replied, returning the smile as best he could. And as Krystal walked out and let his door slide shut behind her, Fox let the happy thoughts comfort him and lull him to sleep.
She was the one. She had to be.