Klonoa and Guntz walked down the street, their pockets laden with gold coins. They had just completed a new hero assignment, bringing down this infamous bandit who had been terrorising the road between Breezegale and La-Lakoosha. After making short work of him and sending him off to law enforcement tied up good and proper, they'd gotten their reward money and were now heading home. Klonoa was wearing the outfit Guntz had given him, an exact replica of the wolf's own with its red jacket, big boots and leather trousers.

In the past, Guntz had always been sullen and withdrawn, and the two had only rarely exchanged words on assignments. Recently, though, Guntz's mood had seemed much better, and he was more open to keeping conversation with his companion.

"…and that's how Pops found him, or so he says." Guntz said to Klonoa, telling him the story of how his father Batz and his nefarious lover Janga had first met. "Beaten, bruised, practically in a pool of his own blood. It's a wonder he survived at all!"

Klonoa chuckled as he listened to the story. He appreciated the times when Guntz could open up like this. "And your mother didn't mind Batz taking him in?"

Guntz shook his head. "You'd think so, but nah. She was happy to give him a place to stay and get him on his feet. I think they both saw something in him and wanted to turn him into a little pet project, mould him into a proper bounty hunter." He smiled. "Plus, she probably knew there was no way in hell Janga could be a real threat to her while she was around."

Klonoa looked over in wonder. "What was your mother like, then? You don't speak of her often."

Guntz shrugged. "Well, I was still a baby when she died, so I really don't remember her at all. Pops says she was called Magaz, and the way he tells it, she was a real tough cookie like him. Guess that's why they got married, they were like two peas in a pod. I oughta show you one of the pictures we have of her sometime."

Klonoa chuckled, but his eyes took on a slightly sad tone. "It's a shame she died before you could really know her."

Nodding, Guntz flashed Klonoa a smile. "Well, yeah, I guess." He spoke of it in a detached way, saddened by her death, but able to speak with a smile on it as he'd never truly known her. "It was hard for my dad for a while, but he and Janga grew close after her death, and I guess it helped to fill that hole in his heart that she'd left."

That was something else that had changed. Guntz was able to speak of Janga, the man who he'd thought for the longest time had killed his father, with much less hatred and vitriol than before. There was a peace to demeanour that had likely not been there since he had been a kid.

Klonoa smiled. "Funny how love works sometimes, isn't it?"

They walked through Brezegale and stopped near Klonoa's house.

"Well, this is my stop." Klonoa trilled as he smiled at Guntz. "I don't wanna be late for dinner."

Guntz nodded, before going quiet, seeming deep in thought, trying to find the right words to say.

"Listen, Klonoa…"

Klonoa looked at him in interest. "Yeah, Guntz?"

Guntz cleared his throat before continuing. "Well, for what it's worth, I've been enjoying doing these hero assignments with you are my partner. It's been… nice… spending time with you like this."

Klonoa positively beamed, a bit of a fuzzy feeling in his chest, not unlike how he'd been feeling around Guntz for a while now. "Aw, that's so nice of you, Guntz! Well, hopefully we can do another one together soon!"

Guntz nodded with a weak smile as Klonoa bounded towards his house and through the door, the wolf trying to keep his emotions in check. Once the cabbit was out of sight, Guntz lost his nerve and ducked into a nearby alleyway, heart pounding in his chest and his cheeks blushing like crazy.

What was wrong with him?!

The first time he'd laid his eyes on Klonoa, he'd just written him off as a childish upstart not worth the clothes on his back. But spending time with him… going on adventures… growing fonder of the fluffy idiot… had changed that perception.

He remembered catching Klonoa trying on his outfit one morning… how cute it had looked on him… how Guntz had then given him his own to wear so he could see it on him more often…

His head with a flustered mess as he tried to figure out what was going on with him…

What were these feelings he had for Klonoa?

Did he… surely not…

He tried to pull himself together, swallowing hard as he composed himself and stepped out of they alley to make his way to his own house.

Whatever it was, it was clearly eating away at him… and he knew deep down that there was more to his friendship with Klonoa than he perhaps realised…

…

The following day, Klonoa was up at the Claire Moa Temple in La-Lakoosha. His friend Lolo had asked him there to help her with some chores she was doing that day, and Klonoa had jumped at the opportunity, wanting to help out however he could. This time he was in his regular clothes, complete with the blue hat and the big zipper on the front.

As it turned out, the job involved moving around some boxes of supplies in one of the storage buildings. Usually this would be taken care of by some local workers, but they were on strike due to bad pay from some magistrate or another, so it was left to the priestesses to take care of it.

Luckily, none of the boxes were especially heavy, and having two people carry each one to where they needed to go helped immensely. As well as a few other priestesses, Klonoa and Lolo helped carry and move everything that needed moving. They used the time to chat about various topics, such as how they were both getting on, what they were up to, what their plans were, etc.

As Klonoa and Lolo hoisted the last of the boxes up to the free space in the store room, Lolo wiped her brow.

"Well, I think that's the last one!" She turned to one of the other priestesses. "Hortensia, we all done?"

The priestess named Hortensia looked through her clipboard and nodded. She was one of Lolo's roommates, and often acted as a messenger and inventory keeper on chores such as this. "Yeah, I think we're all done here, girls!"

The other priestesses cheered and promptly began heading out of the door to grab some dinner and get some well-deserved sleep.

Before Klonoa could head out with them, he felt a hand tug on his sleeve and he turned around to see Lolo standing there bashfully, a blush on her face.

"Klonoa…" she began. "It was really nice of you to help me out with this job… I really appreciate being able to spend time with you…"

There was that fuzzy feeling in his chest again as Klonoa rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Well, just happy to help out, Lolo! Always happy to help out my friends and spend time with them!"

Lolo smiled. "W-well… it'd be nice to spend some more time together sometime, if that's ok…"

Klonoa grinned. "Of course, Lolo! I'd love to spend more time with you!"

Lolo made a surprised noise, seemingly unable to meet Klonoa's gaze, her blush getting worse before she suddenly buried her face in her hands, her face all hot, and then without warning she rushed out of the room with a hasty "ohgoshlookatthetimeimustbeoffseeyoulaterKlonoa!..."

Klonoa looked back at her quickly vanishing silhouette for a moment before shrugging and moving to head out of the store room himself.

As he left the doorway, he ran into the High Priestess, who had come down to inspect their work.

"Ah, good evening, Klonoa." She said with a smile before peering in. "It seems that you and the other did an impeccable job. Your help is much appreciated."

Klonoa smiled. "Just happy to help, miss High Priestess!"

The High Priestess smiled, before something seemed to occur to her. "Lolo ran past me a moment ago seeming kind of flustered. Did anything happen to upset her?"

Klonoa thought about it for a moment but try as he might he could not place what might cause Lolo to run off like that.

"Dunno. I guess she was tired…"

…

That night, Klonoa slept like a log after a long day of work.

The same could not be said for both Guntz and Lolo, who were lying awake at night, their heads abuzz with activity.

These feelings they both had for Klonoa… just how deep did they run? Were they honest and true? Did he, Claire forbid, feel the same way about them.

Thinking about him, his cute face, long ears, and friendly smile, made their chest tight and their cheeks hot. They couldn't stop thinking about him, their hearts a-flutter, and they ended up in a mental loop as to why this was so.

The truth, though, soon made itself clear to them both.

They cared about him. A lot.

They loved being around him, and spending time with him.

They…

They loved him.

They really loved him…

And they wanted him for their very own…