Chapter 7: Closure

Krystal awoke in Fox's arms. He slept against her breast, snoring softly. His coat glistened in the morning sun. She ran her fingers between his ears and touched his mind ever so gently. Tranquil dreams floated within it. They made her smile. Krystal submitted to joining Fox back to sleep. Thank goodness for Saturdays.

Fox's rousing soon stirred Krystal awake again. He glanced up with her with his sparkling green eyes and handsome smile. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she greeted with a kiss.

He shifted over the bed to meet her lips better. Fox cupped Krystal's face tenderly. His thumb brushed the bangs from her eyes. Krystal ran her hand against his bare chest. He still retained some of his firm muscle from his working days. She then slipped deep into Fox's mind. It was like a secondary embrace that was far more intimate than how his body held hers. Spirits, she had spent years dreaming of having this exchange with him again.

Hunger gnawed in both their stomachs. Krystal and Fox slipped out from the bed and dressed in the clothes they had discarded across the floor. No sooner did she have her top on, Fox's arms coiled around her middle. She twisted around to gaze into his face. They nuzzled and kissed once more, reassured that there would be many more mornings like this together.

Marcus sat in the living room watching cartoons. He saw Krystal and Fox walk in side by side and immediately ran up to hug his mother. Krystal dropped to one knee to receive him. She squeezed her arms around his shoulders with all her love.

"Marcus," she spoke softly, "your father and I are so sorry for making you worry these past couple of days. We've talked it over and we've agreed to work through our problems together."

Krystal stroked his face as his little tail began to wag. "There are a few things that are going to change, though. First, I'm going to try to spend more time around the house with you. I don't know when that will start, but I'm going to look for a job that lets me come home earlier in the day."

"And I'm going to find one, too, so your mum won't have to work so much," Fox added, kneeling beside them. "That way we'll all get to spend time with each other more often."

Marcus nodded quietly. "The second thing that is going to change is that there will be no more secrets in this family," Krystal sniffed. "From now on, we are all going to be more open and honest with each other. Okay?"

Fox brought Krystal and Marcus both into his arms. "And if we have problems, we are going to talk with each other and work through them together. We are not going to try and fix things by ourselves. That also means listening to each other and respecting how we each think and feel."

"Okay," Marcus whimpered, burying his face into Krystal's shirt. She nuzzled him as she petted his back.

"We love you, Marcus," she told him. "And your father and I love each other very much. We are not going to let anything change that ever again."

Krystal had never been more certain than when she spoke those words to her family.

Fox scrolled through the dusty reaches of his contact list. Staring at the name for a few moments, he pressed the call icon and listened to the dial tone. He tapped the kitchen counter absently, hoping that the number was still current. After a few rings, a high-pitched voice spoke into his ear.

"Hello?"

"Slippy? It's Fox."

"Fox?!" Slippy exclaimed. "Golly, it's been years!"

"It sure has been," Fox smiled sadly.

"Where are you?"

"Little planet called Clement in the Andromeda Galaxy. How are you these days?"

"Doing great. I'm the Director of Engineering here at Space Dynamics now. Amanda's well, too, and she's about to have our fifth kid any day soon."

"That's great news, Slip. Good for you," Fox chuckled. "Hey, I got to keep this brief or my phone bill will blow up. I was wondering if you and the old team want to get together in a few months. Krystal and I are planning on making a trip to Lylat sometime."

"Krystal? You mean our Krystal."

"The one and only."

"So, you guys finally made up?"

Fox grinned. "We did. In the most roundabout way possible."

"How do you mean?"

"We ran into each other on a few jobs after Krystal changed her name. Didn't even recognise her until we had our first date. After that, we got married, had a kid for ten years, and then finally made up."

"Wow… That's some story."

"I'll give you the full version when I see you. That's assuming you're free, of course."

"Sure! I'll talk to Amanda and Peppy and let you know. We can work out the details through email if you want. Oh, yeah! And I can also introduce you to the kids! They've always wanted to meet you."

"I don't do selfies and autographs anymore, but for you guys I'll make an exception," Fox laughed. "I'll text you my email address. I'm going by my mom's last name these days."

"Surprised the media hasn't found you yet, with a cover like that," Slippy joked. "Hey… um… I'll have to ask Peppy to track down Falco. He and I don't talk much these days. Got his own team now, so we're always too busy." Slippy then cleared his throat. "Bit of warning, Fox… After what happened on Titania, and Star Wolf swiping the glory from us, Falco might be a little…"

"Like Falco?" Fox frowned. The only thing sharper than Falco Lombardi's piloting skills was his snide tongue. He could see where this conversation was leading.

"Yeah… He doesn't have a lot of nice things to say about Krystal anymore."

"Yeah, well if he wants to come say hi, he can. But you tell him to watch his mouth. If he says anything bad about Krystal in front of either her, me, or Marcus, I'll punch him in the beak. I don't care who agrees with him."

"Sure," Slippy replied with an uneasy chuckle.

"Hey Slip, I really should get going," Fox said sadly. "I'll get in touch again soon, okay?"

"Looking forward to it. Take care, Fox. Say hi to Krystal for me."

Fox smiled. "Will do, buddy." He then hung up and turned to Krystal watching anxiously on the stool across from him. "Slippy says hi."

"He's always been a sweetheart," Krystal said with a sullen smile. "I hope he's not still hurt by what I did."

"Nah, he sounded pretty forgiving," Fox shook his head. "Falco seems to be a little sore, still. But don't worry about him. I'll deal with that idiot if he starts anything."

Krystal nodded, lowering her gaze. "Is it really alright for me to go see them? The last thing I gave them to remember me by was a stab in the back."

"It'll be fine," Fox wrapped his arms around her. "Save Falco, I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you again. You can make amends and we'll then finally put that part of our lives behind us."

Krystal leaned into him. "I hope so."

"I know so." Fox kissed her hair. "In the meantime, what would you like to do after Marcus's game? We could take him out for ice cream. Or see a movie. Maybe a little spending spree at the mall?"

"Those do sound nice," Krystal purred. "Maybe all three?"

"Good choice. And maybe on the field, Marcus can show you how he plays football like a Cerinian."

Krystal laughed. "Good grief. I might as well teach him some sports that I used to play as a girl."

"Are they much different to the games kids play around here?"

"You'll have to see for yourself," she smirked to him, making Fox pout.

"What happened to no longer keeping secrets?" he arched his brow. "Fine. Keep me in suspense." He left her giggling after him to give Marcus the good news.

Soon after, as they climbed into the car, Fox looked over his shoulder to his family. It would still take time for their dynamic to settle into its new normal; and there were probably going to be times where Fox and Krystal would get on each other's nerves. However, as he gazed upon Krystal's smiling face and she touched his hand, Fox knew in his heart that whatever hurdles arose in their way, they would be ready and able to overcome them together.

Author's note:

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this short story. I'm quite happy with how it's come together. There's an opportunity for me to write a sequel, but I'll give it some more thought as I turn to other works.