000

She never noticed anything out of the normal while taking her shower. It was still the same old bathroom with the same old tub. The towels were still in the washroom closet by the sink, the shampoo and soap were still resting on the ledge beneath the faucet. And, humorously enough, the water still came and went with it's warm temperature every few minutes.

She didn't know why she bothered bathing though. It was true that after the past few days she'd began to smell somewhat, but who cared? In her current situation the only living being she'd have to worry about offending was Fox, and she could care less of what the vulpine thought. Nonetheless, after he'd brought her a set of his clothes she'd finally conceded. If nothing else it allowed her to escape her room for a few minutes.

Though, even in the shower she still couldn't get that dream out of her mind. It was constantly causing her to remember the vulpine's loving hold on her body as she fell into him and answered that amazing, perfect, heart-stopping kiss.

It made her feel sick to her stomach every time she replayed it in her head.

She hated him so much for doing all of this to her, yet in her dreams her body had betrayed her mind and acted like it forgave him. But she hadn't and, if things went her way, she never would.

How could I? How could anyone ever forgive him for what he did?

Letting out a sigh, the vixen reached forward and turned the water off, figuring she'd been in here well past twenty minutes. She allowed her fur to drip dry for a few seconds more before finally stepping out of the tub and over to the closet, grabbing a towel and running it over her body. It still felt weird to her to be doing this. Things that she'd once done on the ship before he'd forced her to leave, as if everything was alright. And for a few seconds it would be...until her mind would catch up to her and remind the vixen of all that he'd put her through.

He'd broken her. He'd kidnapped her. They were alone. She hated him.

Nothing was like it used to be.

She frowned at the realization, angry at herself for feeling heartache because of the thought. It annoyed her that she could still feel sad because of all this. It was as if she still felt something for the vulpine she'd once so tirelessly loved. In reality, her body and mind wanted nothing more than to get away from him, thinking that if he was erased from her life then so would be the pain that he'd inflicted, but she knew that would never be the case.

Once again she sighed, dropping the towel to the floor and looking over the clothes she'd sat on the edge of the sink. Of course, Fox hadn't been able to give her anything exactly her size, but they were both close in anatomy. Still, the black jogging pants looked like they would have definitely slipped to the ground had there not been a drawstring. But at least the shirt was one of his smaller, plain white ones.

She reached over for her bra and panties, only beginning to slide them on before the stench hit her and left the vixen wrinkling her nose.

Smells like laying in bed for two days...after that suana of a mission on Sauria.

Thinking it over for a few seconds, she finally went against her better judgment and discarded the two articles of clothing before sliding on the jogging pants.

I'll try to wash them later tonight.

How can you do that? The washroom is in the lower deck, and that area is closed off.

She paused at the thought, realizing what that would mean in the long run, before bowing her head and pulling the drawstring tight on the jogging pants.

That means you'll have to talk to him.

She couldn't help but sneer at the idea as she bent over and commenced to rolling up the legs of the pants until they rested beneath her knees, afterward shaking out the vulpine's shirt and sliding it on over her bra-less chest. Just the thought of having to ask Fox for something, especially concerning this, was enough to make her ears pin down. The objective was to ignore him, to act like he meant nothing, just like he'd done to her when he'd kicked her off the team.

But under these circumstances, because of what he was doing to her now, she knew that eventually she'd have to warm up to him, if only enough to hatefully make requests.

Deciding that was the only choice she had, the vixen grabbed her bra and panties before tossing the bath towel onto the hanging rack. She then glanced over at the sink and frowned yet again at the sight of a sole toothbrush. She knew it was his. Everyone else had packed up and left, just as they should have. Anything and everything that was left on the ship belonged to Fox.

Except me.

She figured she'd have to improvise on the toothbrush situation, but put it off for now. She stepped over to the door and placed a paw on the lockpad, causing it to slide open. She cast a glance towards the lounge, only faintly noticing the gleam of light coming from the side of the room that led from the bridge, but thinking nothing of it. Wherever Fox was, whatever he was doing, she didn't care.

Turning for her room, she tried instead to focus on her laundry problem, not paying any attention towards what was just outside the door in the opposite direction. She hardly had the chance to blink, her head raising just in time to make solid contact with some unseen object which immediately knocked her backwards and left the vixen falling onto her ass. Or, at least, she would have had something not caught her first.

000

It was yet another spur-of-the-moment plans he'd came up with...and the fact that it had worked was beyond belief.

He'd wasted no time in reaching forward and grabbing the vixen's wrist as she fell backwards, clenching it tight with one paw while bringing his other arm around. In one swift movement he slipped the open cuff around her wrist, before quickly doing the same to his own...and only then pulling her up and steadying her on her feet.

Then they were standing there.

Time seemed to come to a stop as each fox tried to comprehend what had just happened. He'd been the one responsible for it, yet even the vulpine himself still wasn't sure of what he'd done. That he'd actually went through with the idea...finding the holocuffs in his closet, waiting for the vixen to leave the bathroom, and then chaining her body to his own...it only seemed to add to the craziness that had become his life.

She hates me. She can't stand being anywhere around me. How was this a good idea?

What else could be done? You couldn't leave her here!

He was unsure of what to do now, merely standing face to face with the vixen. He watched as her gaze ran from their wrists, now almost invisibly connected by the cuffs, until her line of sight met his own. The look on her face seemed to scream confusion and disbelief at the same time and he knew he'd have to explain why he'd done it. It was how she'd react that he was worried about.

This is for us. No matter what she thinks, I'm doing this for the better.

"What did you do?" she finally demanded. Her voice was soft, yet cold and icy, unwavering at all and almost sending a chill down his spine. The vixen jerked her arm back, only to pull against him and close the distance between them both as a result, winning a snarl of anger from her in return.

"We're on Corneria." he finally managed to reply after a few seconds. He did his best to hold her gaze before guiltily looking away, as he'd been doing. "The ship needed refueling and we're low on supplies so...

His voice trailed off. Silence filled the air between them once again as he allowed the vixen to figure it out for herself. He knew she would. There wasn't anything more he needed to say at this point. Once again her gaze returned to the hidden chain around each of their wrists, blankly looking it over as if she was trying to believe that this was really happening to her. Fuck..it killed him to see the look she had in her eyes.

"So you're doing this so I can't try to run away." she finally murmured, her voice still soft, and eerily emotionless. "Is that it?"

Maybe she understands.

"Yes." he spoke back, trying to sound as caring and sorry as possible. "Please understand Krystal-

He should have expected what happened next. She didn't let him finish his sentence, instead jerking her tear-filled gaze up at him, her expression harboring nothing but hate, anger, and heartache as she lunged at him. He could have avoided it any other time...but on this occasion...as she slammed him to the floor...he realized he'd dug his own grave by coupling the two of them together.

"No!" she yelled, raising her free paw and aiming it at his face, "You understand Fox! This isn't what I want!"

His eyes widened in shock as the fist missed his jaw, instead landing on his shoulder. He tried bringing his hand down to roll himself over but intead ended up using that same arm to shield his face from another one of the vixen's blows. Once more he looked up at her, instantly feeling his body go numb at the sight before him. There were so many emotions coating her beautiful face right then. Rage, hate, regret, despair, pain...all of which fueled the tears of anguish that trickled down her cheeks and the punches that she continued to throw at him from above.

It was then that he truly wondered if he was doing what was best for her.

To have gotten Krystal into a state such as this, all because of the things he'd done. Was he really protecting her? Was this really what was best for the sapphire fox? He loved her more than he did himself, even if she thought nothing of it. But did that matter at this point? Was it really possible to fix the damage he'd done?

Should I just let her go?

Time and time again she reached back and tried to strike him...and time and time again he just barely managed to avoid her emotionally fueled attacks.

"How could you do this?" she asked angrily, throwing another punch at him, only to have the vulpine's free paw finally catch it and hold tight. "You're not the Fox I used to know. You're not the Fox that I...

What she was going to say he'd never know, the vixen turning her head and closing her eyes, allowing another line of tears to stream down her face and fall across his own as she continued to crumble before him.

"You know why I'm doing this." he spoke back, trying to sound as firm and caring as he could. "Because I want to protect-

"Bullshit!" she yelled, once again yanking her paw free and reaching back, the vulpine once more narrowly escaping a broken jaw. "You just keep lying to me Fox! That's all you've ever done!"

At this he issued a growl of his own, lunging upward and throwing the vixen onto her back before falling on top of her and pinning her hands over her head. "I have never lied to you!" he retorted, holding her fierce gaze and trying to look past the expression of pain it harbored. "I have always done what I thought was best for you! Even...even if it was wrong."

A pain entered his left wrist and he had to release his grip on the vixen as her claws dug deep, allowing her to once again go on the offensive. Before he could retaliate she'd thrown the vulpine to the side and forced him onto his back, putting her once more atop of him. "And look what you did to me!" she cried, reaching back and slamming her paw into his stomach, causing him to gasp in pain. "Does it look like you did what was best for me?!"

She reached back again and delivered another punch to his stomach, and then another, inflicting pain upon the vulpine that he'd not felt in a long time. But he knew he deserved it. He knew she had a right to do this, to get it out of her system. Even if it killed him. Perhaps that was why he quit struggling then. Perhaps that was why his arms stopped trying to defend himself and why he merely opened his mouth in silent pain, looking up at her as the wrecked vixen continued to fall apart before his very eyes.

"This isn't what was supposed to happen!" she cried, half sobbing, her punches growing weaker by the second. "This was never what I wanted!"

Another punch, then another, each of them now nothing more than effortless taps on the chest as the blue fox exhausted herself. The pain he felt wasn't life threatening. It hurt like hell, but he was almost grateful for it. This was part of her payback and, although he knew he deserved so much more, he was glad that the vixen wasn't the only one hurting from it anymore.

Finally she gave up, falling on top of him and burying her head in his aching chest, forgetting who he was for the moment and letting her emotions get the better of her. Him? He was left him numb and unsure of how to respond. Once again her anger had turned to violence, and then faded into despair, all in a matter of minutes. All because of him. He could hear the vixen sobbing quietly, and it killed him. From his side he could feel her paw brushing against her own, hands still coupled together and having no choice but to rub together.

Say something.

"It's not what I wanted either." he finally spoke, fighting past the pain and bringing his free hand up to her back, only to have her immediately jerk away from his touch.

"Liar." she managed to say, half snarling as she sat up and got off of him as best as she could manage.

"Krystal-

"You love to hurt me Fox." she spoke, sniffling back her tears, "I've figured that out by now."

Never. Not in a million years. How...how could you ever think that about me?

"No that's-

"Shut up." the vixen interrupted coldly, jerking herself into a standing position and forcing him to do the same. "Just shut up. I'm tired of hearing your excuses."

Listen to me! I'm trying to tell you the truth!

"They aren't excuses Krystal, they're-

"Lies."

No. No they aren't!

And finally, it happened.

No sooner had she interrupted him did he step forward, the vulping allowing his own anger to take control as he grabbed her by the shoulders and forcefully slammed her up against the wall. He knew it had hurt her, that much was obvious from the look of shock and disbelief on her face, but he ignored that.

I don't think of you that way!

"You think you're the only one hurting here?!" he snarled, spitting the words with a ferocity she'd never heard before. "You think you were the only one who suffered?"

"F-fox-

"Every day since I forced you to leave has felt like the worst day of my life!" he continued on, keeping a firm hold against the vixen. Their expressions were reversed now. Whereas hers had been filled with anger and frustration before, and his with sadness and shock, they were now switched...but it didn't deter him. "I'm sorry for what I did to you!" he yelled, his words just as sincere as they were rugged, "It was a mistake! I fucked up! I understand that!"

The words just kept coming now, as if his heart had become fed up with playing it slow. Trying to comfort the vixen into believing he was sorry for what he'd done hadn't been working, and perhaps it never would. She wasn't going to have any of that. Every time he tried to get close she'd just get angry and physical, pushing him away and refusing to listen to anything he said.

Now he finally realized he'd have to try a new tactic.

"But I'm willing to try and fix it, can't you see that!?" he went on, only then realizing how much pressure he'd been putting against her before easing off, faintly hearing the vixen's feet hit the ground once more. "I am doing this to protect you." he spoke, tone cold but promising. "You don't belong with Star Wolf. You belong here. With me. And that's where you're going to stay."

At this he stepped back, allowing a bit of breathing space between them as he continued to hold the vixen's gaze. He wasn't sure if it was a good, or bad, thing that the expression she wore still reflected shock from his words. The anger had all but vanished, now replaced with a mix of emotions that all seemed to scream uncertainty because of him. He knew he'd snapped, but he was glad. The way he'd been going about things hadn't been working, but this certainly did. He didn't want to be dominant over her. He didn't want her to feel like she was under his control. But if that's what it would take every now and then to get the point across then...so be it.

"Your old shoes are in the lounge." he finally spoke, breaking the silence between them. "Let's get them on you. We've got a bit of walking ahead of us."

Only now did it look like his words from earlier had started to sink in. And, after issuing his latest order, he half expected the anger and hate to rekindle it's flame within the vixen. She'd just refuse to move. She'd get pissy with him and retaliate against the vulpine for everything he'd just said to her.

But he was wrong.

Instead, her only response came as a small nod. The blue fox bowed her head and stepped alongside the vulpine as they made for the lounge, her left and his right wrist still shackled together. What had just went down might have been for the better, or the worse. For him it was still too early to tell. But for some reason, as he sat down beside the vixen on the couch and watched as she silently slid her shoes on, he didn't feel as worried about her trying to escape anymore.

Something had changed between them.

Something good.

000