Hello everyone, it has been a while but I came back to present another story. This is a follow up to my Christmas story back in 2020. Enough of me talking, I let you guys read and I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox; it belongs to Nintendo. OCs are mine.

Meet the wolf

The country sides of Corneria, have one of the most peaceful sceneries on the planet being able to view the beautiful landscapes around showing nature's natural beauty. There were houses scattered around the area each one decorated in their own way as Christmas was getting close with people showing the Christmas spirit. One of these decorated houses is owned by Wolf O'Donnell, former leader of Star Wolf who is now living a retired life doing away with the life of crime for something more peaceful.

A few feet from the house, Sophia O'Donnell, Wolf's daughter, is dragging Marcus McCloud by the arm as he is giving a look of worry and fear, something that he rarely shows while she was a bit happy.

"If this is your idea of wanting to meet with your parents, then you must have a screw loose or something."

"C'mon now what harm can it do, it's just one dinner, a nice talk, and maybe a family get together if possible."

"Easy for you to say, this is your dad we're talking about, not the Aparoid Queen."

"I met your parents when they were at the park following us."

"That's different, they were suspicious of me because of my concern."

"Which you weren't good at hiding." Giving a scary glare that caused Marcus to flinch.

"Okay I'll admit that it was my fault, which I made up to you."

"True, but it wouldn't hurt besides you saying you're never afraid of anything, consider this as overcoming your fears."

Marcus facepalmed his face knowing well the outcome of this. "If this goes wrong you…" his words were cut off when Sophia grabs him by his shirt collar, pulling him close to her as she proceeds to kiss him before separating.

"Better?"

"Yea" he said as he smiled as he pressed his forehead with hers.

"I know you are not keen on this given it's my dad but please try to be cool and not try not to let your fears get the best of you. I do not want to witness a fight or something worse between you and my dad."

"I know this means a lot to you; I will try my best not to lose my cool."

"Thank you." As she turns to walk with Marcus following behind.

They continued to walk up to the house up until they reached the front door but noticed that it was quiet, too quiet. Sophia looked around the house and she noticed that her parents were not outside and seeing through the window she could not see anyone inside.

"I don't see my folks here. I wonder where they are?"

Marcus shrugged. "Maybe they're not here."

"I don't think so. You wait out here while I go get my folks, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'll be back, make sure you don't cause any trouble." As she opens the front door and enters, closing behind her.

Once she is gone, Marcus looks at a chair to his right as he goes over to sit down, "Guess I'm on my own for a bit," as he watches the sun going down from the horizon.

As he was enjoying the view from the outskirts of the countryside, he began to think back on a few things that had happened in his life. It has been 2 years since they have been dating Sophia and while they had their ups and downs things have turned out good. When they first meet Sophia, she kept her identity hidden and Marcus's persistence got them into a lot of trouble back in the academy but these mishaps eventually lead them forming a bond with each other. Now things have gotten better and they couldn't be happier, though meeting her parents was another thing.

As he continued with his thoughts, the sound of a stick breaks, catching his attention as his ears perked up and jumped out of the chair. "Sophia…" he hesitated before continuing, "is that you?"

No response.

"S…Sophia, you there?"

No response.

Concerned he walks over to the back of the house to look, but soon finds no one is there. He sighs in relief, "okay I was just hearing things." Just as he was about to leave, someone came from behind and hit him with a shovel, knocking him to the ground.

Marcus tried to get up but fell back to the ground. "Ow… my… head…" he is soon pushed to the side, rolling on his back as he comes face to face with the one person he was afraid of meeting: Wolf O'Donnell.

"Who are you?! And what are you doing here?!" he shouted at him, scaring Marcus.

"Wait… I don't mean to cause trouble, I…" he is cut off as Wolf grabs him by his shirt collar pulling him up close to his face. "Yea, right like you mean that! You got three seconds to give me a good reason or you're a dead man!"

Just as things were about to get worse, a voice broke the tension, "Dad don't hurt him! He's not an intruder, he's my boyfriend!"

Wolf's head turns to the attention of the voice seeing his daughter and his wife, Evelyn O'Donnell, as they look in shock at the situation in front of them.

"Boyfriend?"

"He was the special guest I told you guys about that was coming over for dinner. Can you please let go of him, you already have him scared enough."

As he was looking at Sophia, he let go of Marcus, making a thud noise as he fell to the ground. "Thanks for the warning" as struggled to get up with Sophia going over to him to help him up. "You alright Marcus?" lifting him up as he struggled a bit. "Yea I'm fine. This was not the first introduction thing I'd imagined would happen."

Wolf's ears perk up when he hears the name, "Marcus?" he turns to the both of them. "As in Marcus McCloud?"

"Yes, but we can discuss this later, for now we need to get him some help first."

Wolf opened his mouth to say something but stopped when his wife was staring at him angrily. "What? How was I supposed to know?" she rolls her eyes at him before walking over to the two.

"I'm sorry for what happened, my husband is protective of us, he meant no harm."

"It's fine Mrs. O'Donnell I understand, given my presence I assume you guys don't have many visitors."

"Don't blame yourself. C'mon let's get you into the house." Sophia said as he helped him into the house with her parents following behind. This was going to be a long day for her given how it started.

So much for starting the day good.

In the living room, Evelyn hands Marcus a small pack of ice, which he uses on the side of his head where he took the hit, while Sophia was next to him giving her dad a deadly glare.

"Again, I'm sorry for what happened."

"It's alright it's not like it's the first time I was wacked in the head with a shovel."

"Since when did you take a hit with a shovel?" asked Sophia.

"Remember that kid at the academy who tried to hit you but I took a blow for you?"

"Oh that, you were defending me back then when many of the cadets weren't fond of me."

"A lot of people weren't fond of you back in the academy, they didn't even know your identity."

"Alright you two, you can tell me that story when we start having dinner." Evelyn says before turning to Wolf, "Honey, I think you owe someone an apology."

"What for?! I thought he was some punk trying to break in, I didn't expect him to be my daughter's boyfriend!"

"But you still hit him and you even threatened him." His wife gave him the death stare.

"Sigh… fine, I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted, you had your reasons."

"Good. Now that everything is settled, I'll get some of the kitchenware and dinner ready, might take about half an hour or so," as Evelyn gets up and turns to head to the kitchen but not before turning to Wolf and Sophia. "And you two better not fight in front of our guest."

"Okay" both said in unison.

Once she went to the kitchen, Wolf sighed in relief as he looked over at Marcus who was still holding the ice pack to his head. It felt weird having the son of his former archrival in his house but he has been in weird situations which isn't surprising, except for the part of Marcus dating his daughter. Wanting some answers he turns to his daughter, "Sweetheart I want to speak to you alone."

Seeing Wolf's face, she can guess what he wanted to talk about. She sighs in annoyance before she turns to Marcus. "I'll be right back."

"Should I be worried?"

"I'll be fine, try to rest, okay?"

"I will."

She kisses him on the forehead before following her dad to the living room to talk. Once out of earshot from Marcus, Wolf begins to speak first, "You never…" but Sophia cuts him off.

"You don't have to be snooping in my personal life all the time, it's none of your concern."

"You are my daughter; it is a concern to me. How many times have I had to protect you from incidents that you kept to yourself?"

"A lot I'm sure but I can take care of myself dad."

"You know they will hurt you in any way you never expect that's why I try my best to look out for you to make sure no one comes to hurt you."

"Not everyone I meet has ill intent, there are good people out there."

"And Marcus? How do you know you can trust him?"

"I get your concern, but he's not a bad guy, he's sweet and caring, he puts the well being of others first before his." She stops and begins to think before asking, "Is it because he's the son of your former rival?"

"That has nothing to do with it!"

"Well then let me ask you this, would you be upset if I have met someone I love?"

"Of course not, unless he was a threat, but either way I would respect and support your decision."

"Even if he was the son of Fox McCloud?"

That sentence made Wolf silent for a moment, that question really hit hard on him but she had a point. She sighed as she rubbed her eyes a bit. "Look I don't want to fight you on this issue, I brought Marcus here to get to know you and mom so you can see him for who he is as a person. Give him a chance, he might surprise you."

With her final say she leaves off back to the living room to check on Marcus. She could tell Wolf was going to say something and soon turns around saying, "And before you ask, his parents know about us, for a year now." before turning around again and leave's, leaving Wolf to ponder in his thoughts.

When he had Sophia, he did everything in his power to make sure that she and his wife were protected because of his criminal past but also from anyone who did not like him, either wanting him dead, in prison or to hurt his family. During his time as a criminal, part of his line of work was no one can be trusted due to each person having their own motives, which played a role in having Sofia and even his wife identities kept hidden along with not becoming friends or acquaintances with anyone in order to protect themselves. But as he also learned during his time, when things got worse or he needed help, he would seek help, receive it or ally with others and the person to do that was his own rival, Fox McCloud. It was people like Fox that made him reevaluate his life and others around him realizing that not everyone is bad, if only a little.

It was the same situation again, like how he trusted Fox during the Aparoid war and even after, maybe he should trust Marcus as well as he was like Fox, a man of pure heart. After thinking for a bit more he decides to head back to the living to check on the two. As he enters, Marcus sees him and sighs, "Oh boy here he comes" saying under his breath.

"I heard that."

"Wait what?! How…."

Sophia chuckles, "He has good hearing so talking behind his back or saying something under your breath, he will catch wind of it."

"Exactly." As he goes to sit on a chair, turning it to face them making eye contact with them. What was seconds felt like minutes as they all were locking eyes wondering who would speak first but after a minute or so, Wolf is the first to speak, "How did you two meet up? I want to know more about your relationship."

The question caused both Marcus and Sophia to look at each other to see how they would answer this question. Soon after a few seconds of silence, Marcus speaks up. "It's a long story" as Wolf positioned himself to listen very close to what he had to say.

"It all started back when I was in the academy. All students were called into the auditorium to hear the president speak and to greet the new cadets that joined the academy. She was among the new cadets. When I saw her, there was something off when the greetings were happening, she just kept walking by not evening greeting anyone, she even gave me the cold shoulder when I tried to talk to her. I guess at the time I didn't know and I assumed she just didn't want to make any friends."

He turned to her daughter as she began to speak, "As he said I didn't want to speak to him or anyone because one, I knew who he was when I saw him and two, if I let someone close, they may have found out who I was. But I guess how I acted has raised some suspicion from everyone to the point he just kept on trying to interact with me."

He then turned back to Marcus with one question in mind: "What made her presence raise your curiosity for you?"

"I guess it was how she interacted with others at the auditorium and in class, especially when we were in the training simulation on flying starfighters. This brought a lot of attention to her but to me I just wanted to be friends with her and get to know her. She was unique."

"I was unique?" as she turns to him.

"Your shyness, quick thinking and attitude made me want to know you more even if you didn't want to."

"Well, that's… wait, what attitude?

"When you lose a match you…" he soon stopped once he realized that she was giving him deadly glare. One thing he never mentions is that she has a bit of an anger issue, something she takes after Wolf. It's even shown more when in a competitive situation like playing games or a training simulation like a battlefield, worse if she loses.

"We're going to have a nice chat later after this is over." She said in a very light anger tone, scaring Marcus to the bone.

"Ahem" both turn to Wolf who was getting their attention and interrupting them in their little quarrel. "Can we get back to the story?" They both nodded in agreement as he turned to Sophia. "I assume you wanted nothing to do from him from the start?"

"Correct, at the time I still followed the rule of keeping my identity hidden and avoiding everyone at all cost, but you know things never worked out."

"I can see why," looking at Marcus, which he looked away out of embarrassment.

"He kept trying to interact with me, it worked from eating lunch together to small talks but not much. Hell, he even helped me out in a few training simulations and defended me from a few punks. Eventually I got fed up and demanded what he wanted from me, but to my surprise, he just wanted to be friends with me, nothing else, but also help me out navigate around the academy. That's when I knew he was someone who I can trust and he can trust me."

He turns to her giving an assuring look. "I never had any malicious intentions. I just wanted to know what was bothering you. Though as I mentioned before, there were some mysteries that still lingered."

"Which you were interested in finding out."

He blushed a bit, "A small part of it. The other big part was that I was smitten by your beauty and personality."

"Of course you were." as she playfully punched him in the arm. Wolf rolled his eyes but he can't deny it was funny that they had these kinds of quirks, just like he and his wife had when they got married.

"It seems that you two got comfortable hanging out with each other."

"We did. We started hanging out a lot whether it be for projects, training, or just going out for some fun time. The more we spent time together, the more our feelings for each other began to grow."

"It wasn't easy at first because she didn't like having many eyes on her because of how she stood out but I can say we managed to make it through a lot and It brought us even closer."

"You're right on that." As she kisses him on the cheek, making him blush as he looks away from her, making her laugh.

Wolf laughed at the scene in front of him but deep in his thoughts something Marcus mentioned caught his attention: "having many eyes on her." Sophia went under a fake last name when she entered the academy: Did some people find out about her? If so, how? How did Marcus find out as well? He needed an answer.

"There is one question I want to ask you."

"Ask away."

"How did you learn about her being an O'Donnell, she kept it well hidden from what I can tell." The couple turned to each other giving a worried look before facing him again.

"Sadly, there is always something or someone making a relationship into a rough patch."

"How so?"

"Well, the thing was, some of the higher ups at the academy knew her identity for what they call 'security reasons' and maybe a few kids had families in the army with connections."

"Not surprising, I had a feeling when I enrolled her, they would have caught on."

He nodded as he continued, "A student blew the whistle at a party and all hell broke loose immediately." As he finished but soon noticed that he could sense Wolf was starting to show signs of anger, even Sophia noticed as well.

"Dad, before you get angry..."

"How could I?! You could have been hurt or worse killed."

"I promise nothing happened to me. Yes, things did get bad but I assure you I'm fine, I was able to fend for myself and even Marcus was there to defend me."

"She told the truth, I made sure nothing happened to her, you have my word."

Wolf looked at him for a moment as he slowly calmed himself down before speaking, "Did anything happen between the two of you after the ousting?"

"Nothing changed. When Marcus learned of my identity, I thought it was over, my life, the friends I made, and my friendship with him," a small tear formed before wiping it away, "but then to my surprise, he wasn't bothered. As a matter of fact, he didn't care that I was an O'Donnell and that was when he confessed his love to me."

He was surprised and even noticed Marcus was blushing a bit from her words.

"In his words he said 'It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, as long as you're the same loving and caring person you are, that's all that matters.' It really warmed my heart and that's when I knew he really was the greatest person I ever met."

Soon Marcus moves closer to her, wiping a tear away that was forming. "You know I would never abandon you. It doesn't matter what everyone thinks or what the world says to you. You're still you."

"Even if it started to affect you?"

"As long as you are happy that's all that matters."

She pulls him into a tight hug, smiling, "Thank you." He hugged her back, smiling, assuring her that he had her back no matter what. "Ahem" both turn to Wolf and soon realize they got off track again. "Sorry" as they separated from each other. This made Wolf chuckle a bit seeing just how well they do care for each other. "Any other issues that came up after this incident?"

"There were a few, nothing too big but we had our moments just like any other couple when they were in a relationship."

"I believe that though I think there must have been some huge pressure when everyone knew your identity."

"You have no idea dad."

"Well, as long as you two are being responsible, then you have my approval." He laughed a bit, having learned what he needed he knew.

Once he said that, it got the couple to smile, Wolf was alright with their relationship and given their story, he trusted them. It was also a huge relief for Marcus knowing that Wolf won't kill him for dating his daughter. Though there was one question he still had in mind, mostly about Sophia.

"I have one question for you if you don't mind?"

"Shoot."

"Why did you keep her identity hidden? From what my father told me, you and your team were pardoned and even seen in a good light when you fought alongside them in the Aparoid war."

The look Wolf gave of sadness and seriousness was enough of an answer for him.

"Kid there are many things I had done in my life as a criminal and even though I redeemed myself, there aren't a lot of people who aren't fond of me, and I made a lot of enemies from the brasses of the army of Corneria to the criminals of the Lylat system."

He took a deep breath before continuing, "After the war, I had retired, not completely, just doing some odd jobs here and there but pretty much my life as a criminal was over. However, that doesn't mean the things from my past were gone, there was that chance they will come back."

Wolf was starting to struggle with his words but he continued.

"Sometime later, when Sophia was five, I was returning home from a small mercenary job when three crooks had entered the house. Thank god my wife and Sophia weren't there at the time because it could have been the worst moment of my life."

"What's even worse, the three criminals I worked with in the past, I made the mistake in trusting them not knowing they had connections to an organized crime that wanted me dead."

A tear was slowly forming but he kept going. "I was jumped when I entered the house, but thankfully I had the upper hand in the situation, killing them in the process. I don't know what it was but, at that moment, I was hit with fear, fear of losing my family."

Soon some tears formed but he fought it off, "Now you understand why I had made her go under a false name, why I never let anyone trust or get close to my family because I know that I can never stop blaming myself if I let something happen to my wife and my daughter. I'd just become lost and alone for the actions I caused."

This gave a shock to the two, for one Sophia had never known of this incident and two Marcus had never expected Wolf to open up like this. In a surprising move, Marcus gets up, walks up to Wolf and gives him a hug, surprising both him and Sophia. Using his telepathy, he spoke in Wolf's mind.

I understand why you made the choices you did and it's nothing to be ashamed of. You truly are a person with a good heart, you cared and protected your family. You truly are the greatest person I meet.

Hearing these words, Wolf hugs him back with a weak smile. Thank you. The moment was interrupted by the sound of Evelyn calling for them. "Dinner is ready."

He separates from Marcus as he takes a breath, wipes away the tears as he looks at the two, "We should go to the kitchen before she starts wondering."

"Yup."

"Agreed."

They all get up and head into the kitchen, Sophia walks behind her dad and she punches him in the arm. "What was that for?"

"I told you he wasn't bad."

"Don't start parading the whole 'I was right' thing alright?"

"I know but I'm still going to do it."

He just rolled his eyes, knowing he would never hear the end of it as he continued walking towards the kitchen. All three entered as Evelyn finished putting the plates on the table turning to them with a smile.

"I see you guys are ready for supper. None of you guys got any arguments?"

"No, we weren't, we were all civil."

"That is good to hear, the last thing I need is for you and your father to start bickering again."

"What do you mean by that?" Marcus asked curiously.

She giggled, "My daughter and husband had a lot of arguments when she was a kid, even in her rebellious phase."

"Please don't start mom, I don't want to remember some embarrassing stories from back then."

"You know he will find out sooner or later, especially if you two decide to get married."

"Married?!" both shouted before looking at each other and turning away as both were blushing mad. Marcus had it worse as Wolf was giving him a stern look which made him scared.

Evelyn was laughing at the scene that was playing out in front of them. "Sorry about that. Anyway, dinner is ready, so you can eat now."

As their blushing died down, the two head to their seats to sit down with Wolf following the same laughing internally of the situation as well. Throughout dinner, the couple began telling Evelyn there the story of how they met as Wolf was deep in his thoughts while listening. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, his daughter was right, Marcus was a good man who went out of his way and risked his own for her even if it wasn't necessary.

He really is like his father.

After finishing dinner, all four were outside of the house with Marcus and Sophia were giving their goodbyes to her parents as they were ready to head back to the city.

"Be back soon sweetheart."

"I promise, I'll come by more frequently."

"Marcus, you're always welcome here."

"Thank you, ma'am."

The couple turn to leave as they head back to their car but as soon as they are close, they are stopped by Wolf as he speaks, "Hey Marcus, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, wondering what his answer was.

Seeing Wolf's face, he peeks into his mind to see what he wants, and smiles. "Sure, I got a minute," as he turns to Sophia, "I'll be right back, it won't be long."

"Don't let him threaten you."

"That's not what I'm going to do" Wolf said to her as he and Marcus both walked to the house out of earshot from Evelyn and Sophia. Once they were in a clear spot he spoke first.

"Look I know that we did not get off on a good start but I just wanted to say thank you for looking out for my daughter. Things have not been easy with my family since I retired from my team and moved her around schools to keep her safe."

"Hey, you do not have to worry about it. I understand that you're doing what's best for her."

"You do?" raising an eyebrow

"My dad was a bit like you. When I was little, he was worried about me and the danger given his status as a hero. Even my mother was the same."

"Sounds like they were over protective."

"It was a new experience for them to be parents so they were overprotective. But as time went on, they got the hang of it and as I grew older they needed to let me make the choices and path on my own with them being there to support me and guide me on the right path. Everything is built on love and trust, without it, everything would fall apart."

"That is true. I guess I was just afraid of what could happen to her even though she can take care of herself. When you came here for the first time, I assumed you had some ulterior motive but now, I realized there is nothing to be afraid of, you're just some nervous kid meeting your girlfriend's father for the first time."

"I'll take that as a compliment, though to be fair I was afraid of meeting you for the first time."

He chuckled before speaking, "You seem to not have been afraid about being in a relationship with her."

"Quite the opposite, while I was happy to be with her, I was scared when we first started not because she was an O'Donnell but because if I was good enough for her and if I can navigate this relationship. While I wasn't bothered what people thought of our relationship, it didn't help that it began to affect me with thoughts of was I hurting her more being with her or if I can be there in her darkest times. It was more of me being fearful that I would hurt her or get in her way that would end up affecting us negatively."

"I didn't know that."

"We did talk about each other's concerns and it was clear that as long as we're honest and trusting about each other, we had nothing to worry about."

Wolf can see that Marcus really understood his reason for protecting Sophia because he was somewhat in the same situation back in the academy. He puts his hand on his shoulder and smiles.

"I guess we both understand what fear is and how it affects us. Here's an advice for you, never let fear take control of you, because it can lead you to make choices that have consequences. Instead, overcome it, because no matter how many times it makes you fall, you'll always get back up."

"Thank you, I will keep that in mind." As he smiles.

"And thank you for taking the time to listen to me and proving me wrong about you."

"Don't sweat it. I'm proud of you for what you are and even if you did have a criminal past, you did change, and became the best role model for her."

Smiling he pulls Marcus into a tight hug and Marcus hugs him back before separating. "Thank you for your kind words. Take care of my daughter."

"I will, I promise" as he gives him a hand shake before turning around to head back to his car.

"If you break her heart, I will break more than just your heart kid," he yelled out in a very menacing voice.

He stops cold on his tracks, "Y… yes, I'll remember that," already sweating, he picks the pace as he speeds walks away while Wolf was laughing at the sight of him being scared to the bone.

This kid's got guts.

Walking back to his car, Marcus notices that Sophia's mother was no longer there and she was leaning on the car waiting for him. As he made it to the car, she gave him the look of wanting answers.

"So, what were you guys talking about?"

"Let's just say that his conversation was his way of saying thank you for taking care of you." He said as he got into the car with her doing the same.

"He didn't threaten you, did he?"

"Nah, he did not," he said smiling at her, trying his best to assure her.

"Yea I don't believe you for one bit." Sophia deadpanned. This made Marcus chuckle a bit before pulling her into a hug, "I'll tell you all about it when we return back to your apartment," as he starts the car.

"Promise?"

"I promise." As he moves close to her and gives her a kiss.

"You want to do some Christmas shopping before we head back to my apartment?"

"Sure, just make sure we go to a place that isn't crowded with too many people doing last minute shopping."

"You know that is going to happen like last time."

"Please don't jinx it."

"Too late" as she kisses him and rests her head on his shoulder.

"This is going to be a long day again," he said to himself. Pulling out of the parking spot and back on the road heading back into the city to do some Christmas shopping. Think back at that conversation with Wolf, he understands his position and is happy that he got to see a whole side of him he never knew. Wolf even gave him the best advice, be in control of fear not the other way around. It will be one of the challenges down the line when he settles with Sophia but is ready for it. All in all, he is looking forward to the future with Sophia one step at a time.

What do you guys think? Leave a review or comment on what you guys think and what I can improve on. Well, that's all folks see you guy's next time. Peace and Merry early Christmas.