Departing for a plane to take them out of the military base was not as simple as a simple farewell from their comrades. While many had considered Sneaky a comrade, the higher ups made sure they were well guarded, all their movements and actions spied on by a nearby sentry. Probably to see if Sneaky was as they suspected, an enemy spy that would take inside information and relay it to the opposing side, which is highly unlikely as they have already presented the tiger general's corpse as proof long ago, but even that seemed to be insufficient.

Sneaky felt nervous in the warship, Flippy had already boarded a plane, probably to go back to happy tree town, his hometown. Sneaky was a bit envious of him, he had a home to go back to, free of suspicion, without prejudice, he wondered if he'll have that in France with Mouse, wherever that is. Mouse's father had insisted on coming with them, claiming to keep a close eye on Sneaky, though he seemed to have a hidden agenda other than securing any vital data from leaking to anybody.

Sneak and Mouse felt restless on the slow warship, being on a ship with nothing to do but wait, the insufferable waiting. So most of the time was spent sleeping in the built-in barracks of the ship, everything was a routine, wake up, eat, talk, sleep, rinse and repeat. Though their allies held merry spirits, they would eventually grow bored and even the most happy-go-lucky atmosphere was bound to grow dull within a week or two.

The day before their arrival to France, they were approached by a soldier, one of the most trusted by Mouse's father. "The lieutenant would like to speak to you in private" said the soldier, Sneaky got up, Mouse tried to follow, but was stopped by the soldier's firm hand.

"Not you soldier, this is a conversation between Sneaky and the lieutenant" said the soldier, Mouse was confused, what could his father want with Sneaky? He'd understand if his father wanted to talk about something, but to have a private talk with Sneaky? That was most unusual.

"Hey Sneaky, I want you to tell me what in la hell he wants from you" whispered Mouse, Sneaky nodded, following the soldier to Mouse's father's quarters, the soldier opened it for him, not intending to come along with him. This must be important if even the one who escorted him here wasn't allowed to hear anything.

Mouse's father had spent his time on his private office, writing missives to send to the military base in France based on recent events. Seeing Sneaky come inside, he looked up, stopping his handwriting and standing up. Sneaky thought that this might be an interrogation just like the one back in their military base and steeled his nerves.

Mouse's father covered all the windows, closing every blind and blocking every window of any sunlight, leaving the room dim. The lieutenant approached Sneaky, Sneaky held his breath ready for whatever his commanding officer had in mind.

"Sorry for what I did back a few weeks son. I had to secure your safety. You're a good man Sneaky, yet enlisting with us, you might as well have asked for a death wish. Don't get me wrong, I was expecting you to leave, find a new life away from the dangers of war. Hahahaha! But to sign up to settle some old scores, you have more balls than most of the cowards we could ever have!" said the lieutenant, Sneaky was actually surprised by all this. He had actually thought that the mouse had some sort of hatred for his kind or something. Despite all this, he suspected there was more to this meeting than being praised in private.

Sneaky cleared his throat, grabbing the lieutenant's attention. "As much as I'm flattered sir, may I ask why you called me here exactly? Surely you didn't call me here to tell me about your impressions" said Sneaky, the lieutenant's features turned from light-hearted to a more serious expression.

"You're right there Sneaky, I didn't call you here just to pull at your heartstrings like a damn schoolgirl does to a virgin" said the lieutenant, Sneaky would've raised an eyebrow if he had any, was he flirting with him or something.

"I called you here because I have something to ask of you, and only you can do…" said the lieutenant, what could Sneaky do that no other experienced person on this ship can do?

"I want you to protect Mouse… Yes, I know he can take care of himself, but… I can't help but worry for the poor boy. He has despised me all his life, loathed me even, my family bloodline has this tradition of joining the military, serving our country and performing feats no other has ever done. I always thought he would thank me one day, I certainly did with my father. But now, I realize that it proved to just distance himself further from me, and I realize it's too late now. But, I know there is one last thing I can do for him. And that is you Sneaky, I know of the friendship that the 3 of you have. But, since I have promised him he can have an independent life, I worry for him. He'll be alone out there, what he needs is someone who'll stand by him, to watch his back that the world might overtake him. And since he trusts you Sneaky, that's why I chose you to be under his probation, by the time you'd both land on French soil, you'll be free of suspicion and you'll both have the chance to start your new lives. This is the last thing I'll do for him, can you promise me you'll do your best Sneaky?" asked the lieutenant, a look of sincere regret and sadness was now plastered onto the old Mouse's face.

So all of this was planned? He had to admit that this was a clever plan but couldn't he have informed them before executing it? Well, there was nothing they could do about it now. "Of that, you have nothing to fear" said Sneaky, he didn't need to be told to protect Mouse, he had been one of his closest friends after all.

The lieutenant's face lit up, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you Sneaky, protect him well" said Mouse's father, a gentle smile akin to that of a father… Until a perverted smile appeared on his face. "So… How often do you two do it?" was the question he would never expect to leave his mouth.

Sneaky backed away, the father in question chuckled at Sneaky's reaction, "So sorry about that. Wonder how I knew? Well, once you came back from your mission, I could smell your scent on my poor boy. Must have taken it like a champ did he?" added Mouse's father, furthering the embarrassing topic that Sneaky was not all too comfortable to talk about.

"Look, er, lieutenant sir, I can explain!" said Sneaky, the incident was a bit lifechanging to him. The mushrooms had clouded their minds with lust that day, and were driven by the impulse to breed. Though, this had allowed him to see the chubby mouse as more than a friend from then on.

"Relax Sneaky, you're not in trouble. Though I do hope that you continue with your… relationship with him. Make him happy" Sneaky felt like he could see his dad in Mouse's father, he never did get the chance to have this kind of talk with his before the tiger army executed him.

Seeing as there was no use to deny it anymore, Sneaky responded with a "Yes sir" giving a salute to the officer.

"Great, then I think we're done here, you may go now Sneaky" said the lieutenant, opening the blinds again and returning to his desk, leaving Sneaky to leave his private quarters.

Mouse saw Sneaky come back from his supposed 'meeting' with his father, Mouse was eager to know what they had discussed.

"So, what did la old man say?" asked Mouse, Sneaky smiled, "Nothing, nothing you need to know about" said Sneaky, playfully being punched in the shoulder by Mouse.

I forgot to mention this but credits to Ameth18 for the request and story idea and Hipsterinaflannel for the title of the story d:

If you want context (and the lemon) on what happened between Sneaky and Mouse Kaboom, here it is s/13092619/8/Happy-Tree-Friends-Oneshots