Here is another filler chapter before the big climax. I mean this story was supposed to be short fluff, but I felt it needed one more chapter of development before we get to the exciting part.

Thanks to Lord3n for beta reading this chapter. And again to Tony Lupo as well earlier chapters. And thanks to both as well as Naza Sutera for helping me with your input.

Enjoy

"Ready the next round of targets!" Fox's voice sounded from behind Krystal.

Krystal reloaded her pistol and prepared for the next volley.

The targets manifested before her, each a grey outline of a humanoid shape with several target circles in the center. Clearing her head and focusing, she aimed her weapon and pulled the trigger.

In a flurry of blaster bolts, target after target was hit, albeit not every shot made contact. After a few volleys of shots, the targets stopped appearing. Krystal took a brief second to glance at her handiwork: various blaster burn marks shown across the target, on different areas of the body, including a few in the head, most on the torso, and a few strays on the shoulder and leg.

"Alright, that's enough for now." Fox's voice called behind her.

Krystal then took off her virtual reality headset and set down at a nearby table.

Right now, she and the others were in the Great Fox's training room, a larger silver room with a wide open space situated in the back. Just in front of that was a computer console, comprised of a massive flat screen and keyboard, with various buttons coded to different tasks depending on the simulation.

Krystal got out of the 'practice area'; or rather the empty spot they used for training and sparring. As it was, it was their "VR spot".

"That new VR system you bought worked like a charm. Felt real too; sort of." Krystal proclaimed to Fox, who was seated over at the computer consoles proceeding to the "training area".

The male vulpine smirked at her and nodded. "Good to hear we got our money's worth. Hell of a lot less expensive than wasting a bunch of ammo carriages on actual targets." he mused.

He gestured for the vixen to come over, and take the empty seat next to him. Doing so, Krystal looked at the results of the computer monitor. All it took was a glance and the vixen gave a half smile.

"70% accuracy," she noted, surveying the diagrams showcasing the most common hit points on the targets. Most of her shots hit the torso, with a few landing on the shoulder areas. Very few were in the head area though.

"Not bad. You've been getting better over these last few months." Fox noted.

Krystal smirked. "Practice makes perfect as you say. Still, I wish the accuracy were higher." she proclaimed, wistfully.

Slippy shook his head. 'Oh, you are being too hard on yourself. You're getting better; it's hard to hit every target, Krystal. Especially when they are moving. I know it took me a while; combats have never been my thing." The toad mentioned.

Fox nodded in agreement. "You did good, just keep at it and you'll be cleared for use for a blaster," he mentioned.

Krystal nodded. She thought back to when she first started training: Fox mentioned that, going of the standard of the Conerina Defense Force, a soldier had to have, at least, an 80% or higher accuracy rating before being cleared for use of a blaster. You're getting there." he insisted.

The blue vixen did not want to press it further. Perhaps they were right… stuff takes time.

"Well then, what's next? Flight simulator? Sparring match?' She inquired, waiting eagerly for Fox to answer.

To her surprise, however, the vulpine shook his head. "Actually, why don't we cut this short for the afternoon? I am sure Shira probably misses you," he said, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Krystal tilted her head a bit in courtesy. Not wanting to pry into his thoughts and break his privacy, she opted to instead press him.

"It's been only two hours. Peppy has been watching her," she mentioned.

Fox seemed to sweat a bit. "Uh… well…. Maybe it wouldn't hurt ya know? u." he tried, his confidence fading. She caught a glimpse of him glancing down at something on his holo phone, before looking back up at her.

Krystal stared at him bemused. "Uh, is everything okay?"

Fox started blushing a bit. "Ummm… I have something I need to check on, alright? I'll talk to you in a bit." the mercenary leader stated, hastily walking out of the room.

Krystal exchanged a glance with Slippy, who shrugged.

"Strange…" she muttered, before taking her leave to go retrieve Shira.

A bit later in Krystal's room.

Krystal sighed in relief as she lifted Shira off the changing mat laid out on the table and then sat the child on the new blue carpet to play; which had been bought by Fox during their visit to the Apex store. She had finished changing Shira again, which is probably already her least favorite part of this caretaking thing. Now, the child was seeing a simple blue dress and white cloth diaper.

Krystal sighed and placed the wipes and mat back in the drawer in which she was keeping the supplies. As it stood, her room was partially converted to a nursery. The cradle had been removed and the crib they had bought had been constructed with Fox and Slippy's aid and then placed in the right periphery of the room. Near it, in one of the empty drawers built into the room's walls, was where she was keeping bags full of baby supplies such as toys, diapers, and other such necessities, each in a specific plastic bin.

Frankly, the drabness of the room was becoming more blatantly noticeable than ever before, the metallic walls and ceiling serving in stark contrast to the colors of blankets and toys that were near Shira's crib. Krystal partially wondered if she ought to consider decorating now.

While the baby played on the floor, Krystal sat on her bed, looking up tips about taking care of a child online, using the holo pad Fox had gifted her. For the past half hour, she had been scrolling through various parenting sites to get a better grasp on what to do.

One such site she was on was called "Lylatian Mother's Guide to Parenting". Here, she found various tabs detailing a baby's habits, different kinds of needs, and how to meet them. More specifically, how to hold a child properly, what ingredients to place in their milk for the best nutritional value, as well as tips about changing young children, how to deal with tantrums, how often to put them down for a nap, and so on.

All of it, of course, was invaluable to the vixen, seeing as she had effectively become Shira's guardian for the time being at least. She did not expect this would fully prepare her for the task of caring for a toddler Shira's age but it would at least give her a better idea of what to do. Peppy's advice and help certainly were of use, but he was too busy with his other tasks to help her or watch the child for longer parts of the day. The team was already giving her a reprieve from her training to look after Shira.

Krystal looked up from her article for a moment to glance at Shira, playing on the floor with an old toy plane Peppy had given her. In times past, Krystal would never have thought of herself taking on the role of a caretaker. She had always been focused on being a warrior first and foremost for the majority of her life. It was crazy to think of how things could change.

Just several months ago, she was drifting aimlessly in space, blindly pursuing ghosts of her past, without a real lead nor a direction in life.

Yet now here she was: with friends, a place to sort of call home, and a child to take care of and pass on their people's knowledge to; when she was older of course.

What else does she need?

A knock on the door grabbed Krystal's attention.

"You can enter," Krystal stated, glancing up from her article.

The door slid open, revealing Fox, wearing a rather nice-looking blue collared shirt and black pants. Krystal sensed a hint of apprehension in his mood, complimented by the uncertain way he carried himself.

He came into the room and stood a bit away from Shira, being careful not to step on her.

"H-hey, Krystal. I hope I'm nog interrupting."

Fox stated.

"Nope. Just resting articles; child care and all that." Krystal admitted, shaking her head. "So, what can I do for you?"

The male fox looked at her anxiously. "I… wanted to ask something…" he replied, with caution.

Krystal's curiosity was piqued. She dared not ruin the suspense by reading his mind.

"Here goes nothing…" she heard him mutter. "Do you, maybe… want to go with me to dinner tonight?" He asked.

Krystal's eyes lit up in excitement, and a large smile formed on her face. "You mean… like a date?"

Fox nodded, albeit caught off guard.

Krystal shot off the bed and hugged him. "I've been waiting for you to ask me for months." she blurted out, before realizing what she had just said and did. She let go of the vulpine, as Fox stared in bewilderment. She blushed largely, her cheeks nearly purple, thanks to the red from the blush

"Uh… whoops. Did not mean to break my poker face that easily." She joked to herself.

Fox smiled at her. "I… uh… awesome. Perfect." He said, trying to compose himself.

"I have reservations for a place downtown in a few hours. I… mean to ask you sooner but I couldn't figure out a good time between handling Shira and everything with, well… where we found her." He reasoned.

Krystal got he was not wanting to upset her after revisiting her destroyer home world. Now that they had gotten what they needed for Shira and her nightmares were gone, going off her mostly undisturbed slumber the night prior, she was more than in the mood.

"Well, all good. When do we go?"

Fox awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Well, in a few hours. I mean the reservations are good for the whole night."

Krystal laughed playfully.

"Well, consider it a date then." She happily announced, causing Fox to brush.

"It's nice I don't have to keep hiding it anymore." The vixen thought.

"I can be ready in a few minutes…" she uttered, as her gaze drifted to the toddler playing on the floor.

"But Shira, she's not ready for a nap yet. And I read that separating from her too often at this age can be bad for her. And I don't want to burden Peppy again. He's watched her a lot…she added.

Fox, to her report, got the memo.

"Umm… why not just bring her with you?" He suggested.

Krystal blushed. "… yeah, I think I still need it. But thanks for understanding." She smiled at him.

"I'll get dressed and gather her supplies. See you in a few." The vixen asserted, capping the statement with a flirtatious wink.

Fox's face lit up in an intense blush as he stunned out the door, letting it close behind her.

The vixen laughed to herself. "Finally, I can stop holding this side of me back." She thought.

She looked down at her charge on the floor.

"This'll be fun, eh Shira?"

The toddler looked up at her, her innocent gaze locking on the vixen. She gave no indication she knew what the adult meant.

"Oh, right… can't talk." The vixen joked, before heading toward her closet.

"Best make this a night to remember…"

She thought as she went about her routine. Beginning with finding the nicest dress she had.

Within 30 minutes Fox, Krystal, and Shira were already being driven down the Fortuna streets in a black car, courtesy of a hired driver, a Cornerian basset hound, who had brown fur and was wearing a black collared shirt and pants. All three vulpines were sitting in the backseat. Fox was clad in his clothing from before, while Krystal wore a simple grey dress, one of the only ones she had at the moment. It was a gift from Peppy months ago when she joined. She also wore simple gray boots, as her traditional sandals may look out of place in a modern city like this.

To her side, the toddler was seated and strapped in a child's car seat. Krystal had dressed Shira in a blue dress and had given her a simple blue pacifier.

Krystal blushed as she glanced at the male fox to her side. Hardly able to contain her blush, she turned her head and watched the passing cars and buildings, thinking back to the trip out of the Great Fox.

During this, Falco and Slippy were practically cheering Fox, while Peppy was smiling calmly but had handed Krystal the baby supply bag she left in her room, stating how she could " not go anywhere with Shira without." Given how it was full of necessities from diapers to toys and her milk bottle, perhaps the old hare was right.

"Best get used to this." She thought.

After a few minutes, the car came to a halt.

"Here's your stop. " the driver stated.

Krystal and Fox turned their heads out the car window and noted their stop: an upper-class restaurant situated just off the road, with a glowing blue sign on a holographic board named " The Fortunan Signature"

The exterior was of course a lavish durasteel painted white, with tinted blue windows around the sides. Its entrance was a covered walkway with a white arch leading up to the front door.

Fox and Krystal were let out of the car by one of the attendants, Shira resting in Krystal's arms. Waiving off the driver, who was paid digitally through an app on Fox's holo-phone, the foxes proceeded to the door, Krystal taking a second to gawk at the lavish metal and lights illuminating the way forward.

"Seems they spared no expense with this place," she stated.

"Wait until you get inside," replied Fox with a grin.

Fox opened the door for Krystal and followed her shortly after, where they proceeded to the front desk. Krystal took a moment to stare in awe at the place; the interior was a surprisingly open dining area complete with booths, tables, and a bar, each with a white tablecloth set up, along with a candle in the middle of each table. The chairs and cushions on the furniture were all red. The interior walls, floor, and ceiling were composed of lavish white marble. Creatures of all sorts were going about their nights; anything from couples on dates to friends talking, to waiters and bartenders doing their jobs. Species ranged from different types of canines to avians, and even primates, albeit the canines were most common.

In front of the dining room was a simple desk with a gray lemur in a tux. However, it was not the lemur greeter who caught her eye.

Standing just to the side, seated on a bench was the dark grey wolfess from the superstore earlier. She was dressed in a fancy-looking maternity black dress. Seated to the side of her was a black wolf with piercing yellow eyes and a scar across his left eye. Krystal guessed he was her husband; he was dressed in a black dinner jacket.

The blue vixen nudged Fox and waved over to them, which caught Telia and her husband's attention.

Both of the wolves looked up, Telia's eyes lit up in surprise as she saw.

"Krystal, Fox. Fancy meeting you here." The pregnant wolf greeted warmly, tapping her husband to get his attention off the holopad with his reservation, to which the grizzled-looking wolf glanced up. Krystal noted a look of familiarity in his eyes when he glanced at Fox.

"What are the chances?" Krystal replied to Telia, a bit jokingly. Her husband remained quiet, simply looking over the foxes, including Shira.

Telia nudged her husband, who seemed lost in thought as if prompting him to speak. The black wolf still seemed silent. Krystal looked to Fox and noted a look of interest on his face as well.

The two males seemed to survey each other for a solid few seconds.

"Ummm…. Are you two okay?" Krystal inquired, cutting into the awkwardness of the moment.

"Hmm… yes. I'm fine." Fox replied, breaking out of his thoughts. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but have we met before? You look familiar." He noted.

"Yep." the black wolf replied, his voice deep and gravelly. "We fought in the war together," he replied.

This seemed to jog Fox's memory. "Oh, now I recall; you are from Bill Grey's squadron. Fang, right?"

Fang nodded. "Yeah. " he replied, simply. He extended a hand in greeting, to which Fox shook it. He then did the same for Krystal, who contained the child with one arm and reached out to her other to reciprocate.

Telia laughed. "This big lug's a man of few words, Krystal. He's more about action." she joked, to which Krystal thought she caught the faintest hint of a smile on her husband' otherwise stoic muzzle. "Even back when he and I flew together in the CDF, he hardly said anything on the comms," she added with a smile.

Fox nodded. "If I recall, your silence spoke volumes, Fang."

The blue vixen eagerly looked to the black wolf for a response. After a few moments, she was a bit shocked to see his stoic face contort into a smile, followed by a short laugh. "Just prefer to focus on the mission, that's all," he responded.

After the three acquaintances shared a laugh, he turned to Krystal. With a glance at the baby, still sucking on her pacifier and absentmindedly staring around, he looked at the vixen.

"So what's the story with the kid? Telia said it was "complicated." He pressed.

Krystal hesitated a bit, before answering. "Well, that's an accurate description. I'm her guardian for now, we found her recently," she stated.

The wolf seemed content with that, merely nodding in response.

Shortly thereafter, a waitress, a female black cat in typical waitress attire, walked over to the wolves. "Your table is ready sir," she stated. "Sorry about the wait, we don't usually take so long to clean it off."

"It's fine." the pregnant wolf responded looking at the others. " Guess that's our cue; have a good night you two," Telia said, as she and Fang waved the foxes off.

"Have a good night," Fox told them, as he and Krystal proceeded towards the host at the table. As they walked over to the host, Krystal reflected on the wolves for a moment. They had seemed so happy to be with each other, from what little she saw of them; a having a child already and another on the way, going on dates. A bit like what she and Fox were doing now.

She knew it was early, but she had to wonder something.

"Could Fox and I ever be like that?" she asked herself, looking at the child in her arms and then at Fox, all dressed up. "We are not even that far off from those wolves, are we?" she thought, before shaking her head.

"A bit early to think about marriage right?" she reminded herself, pushing the thought away for the moment. "Best take this one step at a time," she affirmed to herself.

She focused again on the grey lemur at the desk, who smiled warmly as he saw the foxes arrive.

"Ah, the famous Fox Mccloud, a pleasure to have you dining with us tonight." the hostess stated, glancing around at the Cerinian foxes. "Ah, and I see you brought your…family?" the lemur woman inquired.

Fox and Krystal shot awkward glances at one another before Fox addressed the hostess. "Not quite there yet… it's complicated. " he murmured. "Umm, is the table ready?" He pressed, shifting the subject.

The hostess pulled out a tablet from her desk and started looking it over.

"Yes, it's ready alright. We were not expecting the little one when you made the reservation but we can accommodate." She noted.

She called over another waiter who was walking nearby, a male foxhound dog in a white and black tux, and gave him directions.

"Right this way." The foxhound requested.

He led them a short way to a nearby table, seated just a short way from the bar. On the way, he grabbed a high chair from close to the bar and brought it over, setting it out for them.

Placing her ward in the high chair, Krystal got situated in her seat while Fox did the same.

The waiter set out menus on the table, before bidding the foxes fair well for the moment to decide on their meal.

"Well… what do you think?" Fox asked, nervously.

Krystal only replied with a massive smile. "I love it, you sure pulled out all the stops here." The adult vixen noted, a cheeky tone evident in her voice.

"If it's for you, I think it's worth it," Fox replied, a blush evident on his face.

"Oh, I've got him now." The vixen thought, cheekily.

"I can't stress enough how excited I am to be here." She confessed.

"You said you had been waiting months; I was surprised to hear the feeling was mutual." He blurted out.

The vixen smiled, in a practically seductive sort of way. Shooting a glance at Shira, who was busy sucking on her pacifier and staring around at the restaurant's decor, she decided to tone down the advances just a bit. Telepathic babies could surely get the wrong idea from Krystal's more… overtly romantic, albeit not sexual, thoughts…, assuming the child subconsciously understood any of it. Which Krystal doubted.

"Better safe than sorry." She decided, rethinking her next move.

"Soooooo….. it's mutual you say?" The vixen prayed.

Fox looked at her. "I… wanted to ask you something like this since I first saved you back on Sauria."

Krystal blushed. "I… don't know what to say." The vixen replied, her blush growing worse, her blue fur nearly turning purple with how red her cheeks were getting.

"Oh, I haven't felt this way in… ever. Are we just gonna get off that easily? Where do I go from here? Did I lose my 'poker face' too fast?" the vixen wondered

She shook the thoughts away. "Screw it. No need to hold back; if he is interested too." she thought.

"Well… I for one am glad to hear it. I know it's our first date but… I've been hoping for this." she admitted.

"Ever since leaving the merchants who raised me to go off on my own, it's been a bit lonely," she confessed. "It means the world just to be here with you… and Shira." Krystal vented.

Fox gave her a look of sympathy and affection.

"Well, I am glad to make it happen," he replied, before glancing at the toddler still sucking on her pacifier.

"If you don't mind me asking, are you going to tell your old caretakers about Shira?"

Krystal shook her head. "I doubt it; I was never very close with any of them. Haven't spoken to them in years," she admitted.

Fox raised a brow at this, and Krystal took note.

"Understand: they were nice enough. They did save me and take care of me in my time of need. But they were not very big on overt affection; it was more about professionalism and business with them. They were mostly teachers more than anything. I appreciate them helping me but frankly, I never felt much connection with them." she admitted

Fox nodded in understanding. "I can relate, sort of. My dad was similar; he was a former member of the CDF before starting Star Fox. " the vulpine admitted.

"What was he like?" Krystal

Fox smiled. "Big on discipline and acting formal, at least most of the time. He was always gone on missions a lot of the time, sadly." Fox noted a bit solemnly. His expression, however, immediately heightened after saying that. "But he had his sillier side; he always lived playing with me at the park and such when I was younger. And got downright sheepish with my mom. No one would ever guess how he was known publicly." Fox stated.

Krystal shared a laugh with Fox before she smiled widely.

"You know, my father was like that too. He was named Randorn, a famous wizard among my people. When it came to training my brother Sabre in using our staff, he was rather serious. He was that way with all his apprentices, even family." She admitted. "When our basic training in how to craft and world magic started, he made sure we acted straight." She stated.

"Sounds a bit stern," Fox noted.

"It was important that we learn to conduct ourselves. But the second the lessons were over, he was the goofiest fellow you could ever meet; I can barely list off the silly stuff he did with his spells to entertainer Sabre and me." Krystal admitted.

"Sounds like my dad when he took me flying in his Arwing; he was a pretty big show off. Did all sorts of stunts." Fox noted.

Both shared a laugh yet again.

"They sound like they would have been friends." Fox proclaimed.

Krystal nodded in agreement, a smile forming on her muzzle. "So maybe we are so different after all. " she jested, as a thought crossed her mind.

"Come to think of it…, while we are on the topic, how exactly did you decide to take up the reins as leader of Star Fox? I get your father did but, was there something else to it?"

Fox shrugged. "Well, it's the family business I guess. I wanted to protect Lylat and I guess her even with Andross." He admitted

"But what else? You're still going at it, even years into a piece time. And Andross is gone for good now." She pointed out.

Fox was silent for a moment. "… I guess I am just good at it? That's all I know. But getting to export the galaxy is pretty cool in itself. Like the Sauria expedition; I was there to save people but I would be lying if I said the experience and sights weren't breathtaking. And I met you through this." He added.

Krystal felt herself blushing like crazy.

"Ever the romantic…" she jested. "But, if you don't mind me asking…" she began, glancing at Shira, "… do you think you'll be doing this this life 'til retirement? Or have you thought of what you might do if work dried up?" She inquired.

The male Fox was silent for a few seconds, his expression shifting to one of contemplation.

"I don't really know. The thought crossed my mind before, back before we got the Sauria job. Truth be told, things are still kind of slow; those security jobs we've been taking are just sort of a means to an end, not really a big ticket." He admitted, with a shrug. "Probably move to a more stable position like security work or a job in the aviation industry. I spent too many years learning Flying to just walk away from this lifestyle; I need to put that training to use if mercenary work dries up." He admitted. "Not sure if the others on the team would follow suit."

Krystal would have been content to leave it at that if not for his next words.

"What about you? "

"Me?" Krystal parroted. She glanced at Shira, who was playing with the toys the vixen set out, and then back to Fox.

"… I don't even know. I mean, the truth is, I haven't had much direction for a while. I was just chasing down leads about my homeworld's fate after leaving my caretakers until the Sauria incident. Andross confirmed he was behind Cerinia's destruction while I was imprisoned… bastard spoke to me telepathically through the Krazoa's power." She stared, with disdain.

"He's gone and I got my answers… I joined up with you after because, frankly, I had nowhere else to go, or ideas about what to do next. And we'll… seeing more of Lylat and spending time with you was enticing…" she confessed flirtatiously, a wry smile on her face. eliciting yet another blush out of Fox. Her smile contorted back to a neutral expression.

"But quite frankly, I have been living your and the team's dime… not that anything's wrong with that. I just don't exactly have any options right now. "

Fox nodded in understanding.

"But if you could do anything, what might you do? And what of Shira?" He pressed.

Krystal thought hard about this. "Honestly… if I had the chance maybe, a life on Corneria or even here. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tempting to just settle down a bit. Adventuring is good and I've enjoyed this life on the team so far but Shira made me question what I really want in the long term. I do know I owe it to Shira and my people's memory to pass on what I know to her when she's old enough " She finished, as a thought dawned on her. "Why do you ask, if you don't mind prying?"

Fox put his hand to his chin. "Well, I guess it's probably no secret that I've been getting cold feet about this. I told you awhile back how desolate things got after the Lylat wars ended; you remember how bad shape the Great Fox was in. Even since Sauria, we've still had a lack of exciting or high-paying jobs; you know that." He reminded her.

Krystal thought back to her months prior as a member of Star Fox. Most of her time was just spent training, with only a few skirmishes with pirates or criminals here and there to spice things up. Hardly exciting beyond a bit of traveling, and the occasional firefight. Even then, said fights were brief. Though she was glad they were simple at least, as the team's lives were threatened, which was just another part of their jobs.

"So, you want to retire?"

Fox shrugged. "Honestly, the more I think about it, a bit. Well, yes and no. I've been at this for years, my father was too before me. It felt si for filling during the Lylat wars when we were playing hero but since then it's felt like I've been meandering. " he confessed. "Peppy's been thinking of trying to rejoin the CDF in an administrative role and Falco's been getting hired. Slippy's fine though." Fox laughed. "So perhaps a change of pace in the future might not be such a bad thing… just running the Great Fox cost almost as much as it's truly worth." He admitted.

Krystal raised a brow. before Fox shook his head.

"Don't overthink it. It's just an idea, I've had those thoughts for years. We'll keep on moving as is for a while at least, it's not as if I can simply drop this life and sell everything. Flying is in my blood." He smiled. "But it's honestly nice to just talk about this a bit, the other night I got a bit demoralized if I was too upfront about this. It's their livelihood too." He pointed out

Krystal nodded in understanding.

By now, the waiter was coming back, as Krystal noticed out of the corner of her eyes. She realized with dread she was so engrossed in the conversation she forgot to decide on her meal.

Before she could glance at the menu, the waiter was already on them. It was a greyhound in a black suit.

"Ready to order?" He asked

Krystal's eyes shot nervously between the menu and the waiter.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh… I forgot to check "she uttered, sheepishly.

Fox quickly scanned his menu, and pointed out some sort of stake, with a picture of things like rococo and seasoning on it.

"One Fortuna special please; it's big enough we can split it."

The waiter seemed content at this before all three adults heard a rumbling sound. They all glanced at the baby, who stared at Krystal expectantly.

"I guess I will feed her. " she said, handing her menu to the waiter, who wrote down the order in his notebook and took the foxes' menus off the table. The waiter then walked off, to which the two foxes exchanged a look.

"Guess that takes care of that." Krystal joked.

Krystal then turned toward the baby. She scooped up Shira from her seat and grabbed a premade bottle of milk from her supply bag, before offering it to the child and helping her drink it. To which Shira happily accepted.

As she adjusted the child on her grasp and helped feed her, she smiled back at Fox.

This would be a grand night indeed.

2 hours later

The rest of the night had gone smoothly, Fox and Krystal were currently seated in the back of a cab, on their way back to the hangar. Shira was asleep; dozing off in her black car seat, a pacifier in her mouth. Their driver was a white male cat, belonging to the same cab service they had used before to get to the restaurant, Drover. He was in a simple black uniform.

The pair of adult foxes were both glancing out the windows at the passing buildings and crevices, all alit with the lights of various cars and street lamps reflecting off their steel surfaces. The passing lights would briefly light up the otherwise darkened backseat of the car as their vehicle drove down the city streets.

So much unspoken between the pair, Krystal felt: like they had a mutual understanding after this night. One she already felt certain would grow over time. It was a kinship between the pair, one she had longed for for perhaps years. Krystal felt as if a million thoughts of joy and ponderings of their future were running through her mind right now; she did not even have to use her telepathy to sense the same was true of Fox at the moment. Unable to contain herself, she shot a glance at Fox and chanced a glance at each other again, both blushing.

"Thank you for tonight Fox; and for all you did for me and Shira," she whispered, planting a brief kiss on his cheek.

The vulpine looked shocked for only a brief moment before he smiled warmly at her. He put an arm over her and she rested her head on his shoulder, no longer caring about concealing her true feelings for him.

"Oh yes." Krystal thought to herself. "Tonight was a grand night indeed."

What was the point of the pregnant lady from the last chapter showing up in this chapter? I don't know, I guess to sort of symbolize what Fox and Krystal could be if they get together ( as in loving spouses in the future and being happy together )