Fox blocked a strike coming from the left, then another, this time from the right. No matter what he did, he simply could not do anything but defend himself from an onslaught of strikes coming from every direction imaginable. His opponent? A young woman with pink and brown hair, wearing a creamy white suit jacket and black leggings. Neo…

"Neo! Come on, what are you doing!?" Fox shouted while blocking yet another strike from Neo. "What did I do to deserve such a greeting!?" Fox had little time to re-evaluate whether or not he said the wrong thing, considering that Neos onslaught against him increased even more after those words.

And the day started off so well, Fox thought. His team (Coco) did not wake him up early with their shenanigans. He managed to get some peace and quiet in one of Beacons training rooms, where he trained his hand-to-hand skills until mid-day. And yet here he was, trying to not end up completely bruised due to an unexpected assault from his long-lost childhood friend.

Neo and he went way back. Over ten years ago he spent a couple of years living in Vale. With not much else to do at home with his parents, he spent most of his time wandering the streets. That is where he met Neo. She often snuck out of her own home, "To get away from it all." She said at the time. It did not take long for them to become good friends, running around the streets of Vale, causing some minor mischief here and there. She was not happy with Fox needing to return to Vacuo with his parents.

But that can't be it, she would not be so enraged just over that…

"Neo, please, I don't know why you are so angry with me, stop trying to bash my head in and we can talk!" Fox kept shouting while deflecting all of Neos attacks.

Well, at least I will get some combat training done…

Just as Fox thought that, Neo stopped attacking. Instead she took out her scroll and typed something in, only for a mechanical voice to soon be heard from the phone:

"Use your semblance on me."

"I'm sorry, what? Why? We are in a training room, no one is going to overhear us here"

"Just do it. Please." Neo looked at him intensely while typing.

Fox did not have much choice, he wanted to know what was going on, so he extended his telepathic semblance towards Neo, and felt it connect. "Finally…" He heard Neo say in his mind.

"Neo, what is going on? We don't see each other for almost a decade, and then you come out of nowhere and attack me before asking me to use my semblance on you."

"You left me and did not even try to contact me since! How am I supposed to react!? I found out that you were in Vale only recently. Why didn't you look for me? Try to contact me somehow? Anything?" Neo looked sadder with each word.

"I didn't think you were going to be around! It has been ten years Neo. We played together as kids, went our separate ways. That's it! How was I supposed to know that you were waiting for me to come back for some reason?" Fox answered, he was not just going to take these accusations lying down.

"What do you mean "some reason"? Did you… Did you actually forget!?" Neos expression quickly shifted from that one of sadness to barely contained anger.

Fox quickly shifted into a combat stance once again "Forget what?" he asked cautiously.

"The Promise! The one YOU made when you left for Vacuo! The one YOU promised to fulfill no matter what happens and no matter how long it takes!" The diminutive huntress forcefully exclaimed. She lifted her parasol once again.

I… Dammit, I actually cant remember…

"Well then, I will remind you, AFTER I wipe the entire floor of this arena with your face!" Moments later, Fox could already feel Neo closing in.

This time however, he was better prepared. The short fight before they spoke allowed him some insight to how Neo fought. While her attacks were quick, they left a lot of openings as well, it was as if she did not expect anyone to actually hit her back…

Well… Its her loss.

Fox kept blocking until he finally felt an opportunity, he quickly grabbed the parasol with his left hand, immobilizing it, while using his right to strike Neos unguarded face with the blade extending past his elbow. He felt his attack hit and Neo quickly backing away.

"Really Neo? You were talking so much before attacking me, and yet it takes so little to actually stop you? I feel like I'm fighting against a freshman!"

Fox expected another attack. And yet he did not feel anything approaching him. Then, out of nowhere he felt something hard strike his neck from behind. Fox quickly jumped forward and turned around, preparing to intercept another strike. Only to be hit on the back of his knee, causing him to lose balance and kneel down. Neo did not waste this opportunity and used the handle of her parasol to hook his neck and throw him over her. Fox landed hard on his back, only to feel a weight settling on his midsection. It did not take long for parasol strikes to start raining upon him once again.

Out of options, and more than halfway through his Aura, he did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed Neo by the back of her neck in an attempt to headbutt her as a last ditch effort.

Soft….Wait, WHAT!?

Instead of a devastating headbutt, his lack of stamina after such a fight resulted in a result neither of the combatans expected. With their lips locked together. Fox thought about pulling away only to feel Neo keeping him in place, not letting him go for even a second. This goes on for a long time, long enough for Fox to start losing his breath.

"Neo… Please… Air…."

After what felt like an eternity, Neo finally let him go and allowed him to suck in the air greedily.

"Finally, he remembers. Took you long enough. Do you have ANY idea how long I have waited for this kiss?" The look on Neos face could not be described as anything else but "triumphant". "Thankfully, it seems like I managed to knock some sense into you."

Not wanting to go through the experience again, Fox decided that it would be better to pretend that he intended to kiss her. It would be easier that way.

"That you did… Now, can you please get off me?" Fox started wriggling underneath Neo.

"Hmmmmmm." The smile on Neos face did bode well for Fox. " Make me, if you can that is."

Fox tried to move some more, to dislodge Neo, but to no avail. She held him locked well in place, and he had no more strength to pull from after their intense engagement.

"How about this, I lay down on you, you tell me where you have been all of these years, and maybe I will get off you… Eventually." She was having way too much fun with the situation. But it was not like Fox had much choice.

"Alright, but you will tell me why you haven't talked all of this time and where you have been all of these years. Fair is fair, no?" Despite his exhaustion, Fox still had some fight left in him.

"I do not like being fair, but I will make an exception. For you"

This is a story made for the Dessert Oasis week on twitter, organized by Calxiyn.

Day 1 - Prompts - First Kiss / Childhood Friend AU