Thank you so much for checking out this story. It's been about one year since I played Star Fox Adventures for the first time and joined this friendly community. I know I'm very late to the party, but I'm glad to be a part of things now and I hope I can continue to post fanfics now and again, next to all the fanart I draw on my other profiles.

This fic is not connected to my previous fanfic (Kursed, the Prime Huntress), but it's a story I've been writing off and on over the last few months. It's based on how I perceived Krystal's experience on Sauria, tied back to the wholesome hurt/comfort theme I love so much. I hope you enjoy it! Reviews/critiques are greatly appreciated.

—

Fox couldn't sleep.

His adventure on the dinosaur planet Sauria had just ended, but he couldn't rest no matter how exhausted he was. His quest took him through so many diverse biomes that he felt like he was exploring a solar system, and his head still ached from some of the puzzles he solved in Sauria's temples. Less than a few hours earlier, he was fighting toe-to-toe with the fearsome General Scales, and moments later he was in his trusty Arwing, locked in fierce combat against the tyrannical Andross.

Andross was stronger than ever thanks to the magical power of the Krazoa Spirits, but a returning friend in Falco helped Fox secure a decisive victory. With Andross's final defeat, Sauria was finally saved, and Fox and his team were rewarded with enough credits to jettison them out of financial trouble for months to come. Now that the stress of finances was lifted and team Star Fox was back together, Fox should have been sleeping better than he had in months. But there was one subject that stayed on his mind, no matter what he tried to think about.

Krystal.

He remembered their first meeting, even if it was one-sided. She was stuck motionless in a crystal above Sauria's Krazoa Palace, but he was drawn by her serene beauty even as he worried for her safety. His motivation to finish his quest only grew from then on, and he was thrilled when the last Krazoa Spirit was secured and she was finally freed from her crystalline prison. The first time her brilliant, emerald-green eyes met his gaze caused a foreign heat to rise in his chest, as if the palace's rainy environment suddenly became as hot and dry as a desert.

Their exchange on the Great Fox after Andross's destruction played in Fox's head on repeat. He couldn't stop thinking about the genuine kindness he saw in her beautiful smile, or the mesmerizing sway of her hips as she approached him. Falco and the others poked fun at the blush on Fox's face and his wagging tail that mirrored hers, but the foreign heat in his chest was back again and he was too occupied with the cobalt vixen to think of anything else.

Krystal's search on Sauria concluded with Fox's mission, and he offered to let her stay aboard the Great Fox for a few nights while she figured out what to do next. He hadn't seen her since she disappeared into one of the guest cabins earlier in the evening, but he couldn't get her out of his head. Maybe he could check on her? No, that was ridiculous, it was well past midnight, no normal person would stay up so late. She was probably sound asleep, but Fox didn't want to wait until late morning to see her again.

Fortunately, he did not have to.

His orange ears twitched as he picked up faint footsteps walking down the hall. Falco was always light on his feet, and Slippy was anything but, but these footsteps were a strange blend between them. Peppy always slept like a rock at the bottom of a ravine, so that meant the only possible candidate was…

The tinge of light from the hallway suddenly grew as the door slowly opened, and the shape of a slender vixen entered after peeking carefully through the opened crack.

"Fox?"

Krystal's voice was serene and pleasant, even if it was barely above a whisper.

"Hey, Krystal," Fox responded quietly. "What's wrong?"

He couldn't make out her facial features because of the dim lights behind her, but she shuffled nervously as she approached his bed.

"May… May I sleep with you tonight?" she spoke quietly.

A vivid blush erupted on Fox's face. A familiar heat in his chest flared up so rapidly that he thought his heart might burst out.

"Uh, sure," he responded calmly, even if his mind was racing. He chose to ignore his conscience's hundred questions as he quietly shifted closer to the wall. "It's just a twin bed, though, maybe not great for–"

But Krystal was already making her way onto the small bed with him as he moved. She sat on the open space that Fox left and carefully slid her legs into the available sheets before resting her head on one of the thin pillows that were previously stacked on top of each other.

"Thank you," she whispered again.

"Sure, don't mention it." Fox's voice cracked. His body mostly occupied the empty spot between the edge of the bed and the wall, previously measured so he could make his bed in the morning without having to reach over. His tail dragged on the cold floor, but his broad shoulders kept him suspended above the space like a bridge. He was far less comfortable now, but he didn't dare to disturb the vixen that was only a few inches from him. He could feel the warmth from her fur.

Krystal was in his bed. Krystal was in his bed while he was still in it. He couldn't even close his eyes. He sat still for what felt like half an hour, until he realized his shoulder was slipping off the wall and his makeshift bridge was about to collapse. He tried to lower one leg to the floor so he could readjust himself, but he froze as he felt Krystal shift near him. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling for a moment before looking over at him. Her emerald eyes reflected the dim light from the covered window, just bright enough for Fox to notice her eyebrows raise.

"Oh, Fox! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you had so little space!" She immediately shuffled to the edge of her side. "Please, please come back onto the bed. I didn't mean to take over. I'm sorry, I can go back to the guest cabin."

"It's okay, it's okay!" Fox assured her. "Don't worry, there's plenty of room for both of us." He freed himself from the empty space and laid back on the bed, even if one shoulder was still hanging off the side. He tried his hardest not to let his arm touch hers, but he could feel their fur poking each other. They both laid on their backs, as stiff as statues.

"I'm so sorry," Krystal repeated after a while. "I thought when you said twin bed, you meant it was meant for twins, or two people. I'm still trying to learn customs…"

"I guess Sauria doesn't have beds like these?" Fox asked.

"No, mostly hammocks," she replied. "Or piles of leaves."

"Hammocks can be nice, but I'm not sure about a pile of leaves." He chuckled.

"They're great, if you want your fur to itch in the morning!" She smiled weakly. "The Earthwalkers never had any problem with it, but I don't have scales like they do."

"I noticed," Fox smirked. "You're not from Sauria, right? Why were you there?" He looked over at her.

A pained expression covered Krystal's face as she stared at the ceiling. "I… I was looking for my family."

"Oh…" His ears drooped. "I'm sorry…"

"You don't need to apologize," she said as she shook her head, "it's not your fault. I haven't seen them in a long time."

"How long ago was it? Do you remember where you last saw them?"

"No, I can't remember." She closed her eyes. "I can't remember anything. I know that I was looking for them on Sauria, but everything before that is a haze. I don't even remember when I got there."

"You must have been through a lot," Fox commented. A lump formed in his throat as he saw her lip quiver.

Krystal nodded. "My most vivid memory… is of Krazoa Palace." Her voice lowered and she took quiet breaths between words.

"I remember…" Fox said quietly, but he waited for Krystal to continue. She seemed like she was struggling to speak.

"I was looking for clues about my family. There was a distress signal and I thought it would help my search. I found one of the Krazoa Spirits, and… and…" Her voice was shaking as it trailed off.

Fox quietly nodded as he listened.

"Fox?"

"Yes, Krystal?"

"May I get closer to you? Please?"

"Yes," he answered without thinking. He heard a faint sigh as Krystal shifted in the bed and wrapped her left arm over his chest. Her warmth enveloped his arm as she pressed herself close to him, and he could feel her light breathing near his neck. His emotions were running wild, but he felt the pain in her voice over everything else.

"Oh, Fox, it was horrible." Her voice cracked between quiet sobs. "I was so afraid. When I was in that crystal… I thought I would never get out. No one knew I was up there, and I didn't… I didn't know if anyone could hear my cries for help…"

Fox's heart grew heavy as Krystal grieved. He remembered hearing her telepathic pleas for help on Sauria's surface, but he had never realized how different her experience in Krazoa Palace must have been compared to his. To Fox, Krazoa Palace had been a mysterious but fantastical temple to explore, but to Krystal it had been nothing but a nightmarish prison. He had no idea how long she had been stuck up there, helpless and motionless.

"Krystal, I'm so sorry," he said quietly, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I just wanted to find my family," she whimpered. "But I was trapped in that infernal crystal. I couldn't move… I was slowly dying but I couldn't do anything about it. I thought I was going to die alone, where no one would ever find me…"

Krystal's sobs instilled an intense motivation in Fox's heart. "It's okay," he said as he gently placed his free hand on her shoulder. "The crystal prison was destroyed once all the Spirits were restored to the Palace. That prison can't hold you anymore. You're safe now."

"Fox," she sniffled. "Thank you." She held him tighter. "You saved me from that horrible place. I'm alive because of you…"

"It was because I heard your call for help." Fox assured her. "I found your staff, and it led me to you."

"I'm so grateful." She looked at while her emerald eyes sparkled with tears. "Out of everyone who could have found my staff… It could have been any dinosaur on Sauria. It could have been one of General Scales' hundreds of soldiers. But it was you! You had never been to Sauria before, but you found my staff before anyone else. If you hadn't found it… I… I…"

Krystal lowered her head to cry into Fox's shoulder again, although her sobs seemed more peaceful now, as if her tears came from relief instead of sadness.

"You don't need to worry about that anymore," Fox assured her as he gently stroked the back of her neck. "I'll make sure you're safe."

They laid together quietly for a while. Fox carefully massaged Krystal's back as her crying slowed to a halt and her breathing grew deeper, and his breathing slowed in tandem. Finally, he was beginning to relax. All other stressors were gone; he couldn't focus on anything except for Krystal and the sound of her breathing against his chest.

"I suppose my ancestors were looking out for me," she commented as she looked up at him again. Her voice was cracking less than before. "I may be the last of the Cerinians, and I thought the legacy of Cerinia would end at Krazoa Palace, but since you rescued me…" Her voice trailed off. Fox thought he might have seen blush on her face, but it was too dark in the room to tell for sure.

"Th-thank you for letting me lay with you," she said to break the awkward pause. "I feel safe when I'm with you."

"Of course," Fox said as he smiled. "Keeping people safe is my main goal as part of Star Fox." He tried to give a professional response, but he was struggling to ignore the intimate scenario. His blush hadn't gone away since her first embrace with him.

"When I was in the guest room," she continued, "I felt constricted. Trapped, like I had never left the Palace. I still think about it when I'm alone… but when I'm close to you, I don't feel afraid anymore."

"We can… we can do this as many nights as you need to." Fox replied sheepishly.

"I'd love that." She sighed as she sank deeper into his warm embrace. "This just feels… right."

The words echoed in Fox's head. Winning the Lylat Wars and saving the galaxy from Sauria's catastrophe helped him relax a little, but being next to Krystal made him feel as if he finally found a reason to stop fighting. All his troubles vanished.

Like it was meant to be.

He never thought of himself as a believer in fate, but any more nights with Krystal was bound to convert him.

"Fox?"

Her voice was much quieter now. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure, Krystal," he replied. "Anything."

"Can you promise to never leave me?"

"I promise."

It seemed like an impulsive thing to say, but Fox knew it was a promise he could keep. Something about Krystal was magical; different from anyone he had met before. He would never pass up the chance to rescue Lylat from certain peril, but having Krystal with him gave him a new kind of determination. He wouldn't just fight to keep Lylat safe, he would fight to keep her safe. She gave him a peace that he couldn't find anywhere else in the universe: a sacred peace that he would protect no matter what. He would make sure nothing bad ever happened to her again.

He looked down and noticed Krystal on his chest, gazing at him longingly. Her smile outshined the dim light of the room, and her blush was vivid.

"Krystal?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing is wrong, I just… I need to…" she tried to finish her sentence, but instead she placed her free hand between the pillow and Fox's neck to pull him closer. His racing mind seemed to halt in place as she gently kissed his cheek. He tried to hold back a gasp, but he was too focused on Krystal to care about his own emotions.

"I… need to thank you somehow," she whispered. Before she knew it she was kissing him again, and his breath was taken away a second time. His promise to be with her and keep her safe developed into a deeper desire.

"Thank you so much," she repeated as she pulled away from his cheek, but she kept her arm wrapped around his neck. He continued to embrace her in turn, and stroked the back of her neck.

"My pleasure," he said quickly, although he was hardly paying attention. Everything about Krystal was alluring. She was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen in the universe, but she also emanated a radiant and peaceful aura that was so overwhelming that he was surprised he was still able to breathe around her. Any more kisses and he would not be able to.

He was too entranced with Krystal to notice the goofy smile on his face, but Krystal didn't seem to mind: she was smiling too. He didn't know it yet, but she could read all of his thoughts. The same telepathy she used to call for help on Sauria was used to read every wonderful thing Fox thought about her. She had never felt so secure. She wanted to make sure he understood that, whether it was by more kisses or something more passionate. Fox's mind made it clear that they would be together like this for many nights to come. She couldn't help but smile brighter as she thought about all the time they would be together. Her tail subtly wagged behind her.

"Goodnight, Fox."

"Goodnight, Krystal."

The two foxes fell asleep at the same time, both smiling faintly as they held each other close.

And they enjoyed their best sleep in years.