Chapter 35

Encounters and Amorous Problems

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Slippy turned over and groaned at the sound of the alarm clock ringing. He reached his arm out to try and push the snooze button, but it was a bit too far to reach, so he had to muster up the strength to pull himself up from his bed, shake his head and climb out of the covers to move a bit closer if he was gonna be able to press the button.

As soon as pressing the button, he opened his eyes and saw that Peppy was already out of his own bed. Must've snuck out before Slippy's alarm woke him up. Probably didn't want to be there to see him after hearing about him coming out a few days ago. The thought of Peppy feeling uncomfortable around him from finding out about each other's sexualities and the previous times they were too personally close together made him worried. He was hoping that Peppy might reciprocate his feelings for him whenever he'd have the courage to confess, but right now he might want some space between them. He did it yesterday when he was keeping himself busy by discussing with General Pepper about the details of the city's repairs from the Aparoid invasion, while he had to preoccupy himself by either working on maintenance on their flyers, watching some television, or just by heading down to the gym and working on some reps and losing some weight. He was used to that stuff by now, but he wishes that Peppy was there with him. He really enjoyed the old rabbit's company…

Snapping out of his thoughts, the toad hopped out of bed and went to the bathroom for a shower. Minutes later, Slippy pulled out some clothes after drying himself, consisting of a pair of white underwear, black pants, gray tank-top, green hoodie, a pair of white socks and his usual tennis shoes. He grabs his phone and his room key, places them in his pockets, exits the apartment and heads to the elevator.

Entering the elevator, he pushes the lobby button and heads down there. As he was waiting to reach the bottom floor, some jazz elevator music was playing above him, getting him in a thinking mood. He began imagining him and Peppy dancing along to the song and having a good time together, laughing with every swing and step, getting lost in the feeling like there was no tomorrow—it would've been a wonderful moment out of many others that he wishes he could have with the hare.

The elevator's ding snapped the toad out of his train of thought and back into the disappointing reality that is called 'being single'. Sighing, Slippy walked out of the elevator and walked to the dining hall to grab some breakfast. Smelled like toast, eggs, bacon, hash browns, waffles, and freshly-baked muffins. The aroma made him feel overwhelmed with hunger…

He didn't hesitate to grab himself a plate and slab five waffles in a stack and pour some maple syrup on it. He also snagged himself a chocolate chip muffin and poured himself a cup of orange juice to drink before heading to a vacant table. He sat there and began to eat his breakfast all by himself.

He enjoyed having a delicious breakfast like this, but he wished he could enjoy it with Peppy sitting with him. Looking at the vacant seat in front of him, he imagined Peppy sitting there eating waffles as well while smiling at him the entire time. Then, the imaginary Peppy vanished from thin air, and he was gone…

Slippy's head fell down with a sigh, feeling lonely again. He really does wish that Peppy was here…with him…

Wanting to avoid those thoughts, Slippy shook his head and went back to eating his food. As he was eating, he caught a glimpse of the tv hung on the wall and saw the local news talking more about the cleanup from the Aparoid invasion, a few government officials conversing about stuff that he doesn't care much about, some local kids experiment about a type of pen not able to survive in space, just enough to distract him until he finishes his food.

A few minutes later, he drank the last of his orange juice, placed his dirty dishes on the counter for the staff to clean up and went straight out the hotel. He could go to the gym, but it wouldn't feel right without Peppy there right now, so he decided to head out the building and go for a nice walk around the block to see how beautiful today is going to be. He took out his phone and noticed that there were some text messages from the others and pulled them up to read them. (Slippy cursed himself for forgetting to turn his notification bell back on.) He scrolled down and read: "Fox: Hey Slips. I'm heading out with Falco and Wolf. I promised Wolf that I'd help him with some groceries and Falco tagged along, so I'll be gone for a while." "Falco: I'm thinking about dicks right now. Just to let you know." "Krystal: I'm off to the park with my brother to do some catching up."

There was one last message that was left to be read, and it was from… Peppy.

Nervous, Slippy pressed the icon and read:

"Peppy: Slippy? I'll be back in a few hours. Got some work to go over with Pepper, but we'll have a talk later. Promise."

That made Slippy's heart skip. He was feeling glad that Peppy wasn't trying to avoid him, but he was scared of what he wanted to talk with him about later. Just when he was about to go out and enjoy a walk as well…

Just as he was turning the corner, a voice called out to him. "Slippy?"

Slippy jolted his head up and saw someone he wasn't expecting to see: Croakella. His ex-girlfriend.

"C-Croakella!" Slippy said in surprise. He was clearly not expecting to meet up with his ex-girlfriend whom he had to break up with in order to go and join Star Fox and fight Andross. He rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "Um, l-long time no see..!

Seventeen minutes later…

"So, there haven't been many problems since those years out in space after you guys defeated Andross?" Croakella asked.

"No," Slippy replied. "Nothing problematic has come up since Falco left the team. Well, until our adventure near Sauria where Fox met Krystal that is…"

After having quite an awkward reunion, Slippy and Croakella tried to subside the awkwardness by trying to converse with each other; catching up on what's been going on since they've last seen each other, talking about what they've been up to, what job's they're taking, who they've been meeting, what friends they've made, ya know. Regular stuff that people talk about when they're catching up with old friends. Slippy didn't want to mention that he was in love with Peppy as he was afraid of her reacting badly to the news, and he didn't want her to act the same way if he told her about how he recently started to become friends with Star Wolf. It may be best that he keeps her in the dark about that stuff for now.

Croakella tells Slippy that she's gotten a promotion at the Corneria Central Hospital as an official nurse and has graduated from being just a mere intern, and she's been getting full-time at her job and helping out patients in the best ways possible. He congratulated her for her striving success and wished her the best of luck to continue moving up.

Slippy feels calmer now than he did earlier. It's been so long since he's seen Croakella, he wasn't ready to meet up with her again just yet but he isn't complaining now. Right now, he's just glad that they're both patching up their friendship.

"Say," Croakella said in a chirpy tone. "I hope I'm not prying, but are you seeing anyone new by any chance?"

Slippy croaked and panicked. This is what he was afraid of. He darted his eyes in all directions in order to think of something to say so she would become suspicious of him.

"Uh…well," he nervously said, trying to find a clever reply to answer her question. "I'm…not seeing anyone right at the moment, but…I…uh…" He gulped before continuing. "There is s-someone I've been eyeing on for some time now, and they're pretty great! I just…don't have the courage to tell them how I feel right now…"

"Really?" Croakella said with a smile. "That's good news. Who are they?"

He couldn't tell her that it was Peppy, so he said, "I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable with telling who it is right now. Well, not until I'm ready to, so maybe some other time..?"

Croakella's smile went away and she said, "Oh, okay then. I understand. You just want to take things slow and steady, right?"

"Yes," the male toad said. "That's right. I wanna take things slow and steady before I get back into romantic commitment."

"That's nice to hear," she replied with another smile. He smiled back to make him look reassuring.

Suddenly, Croakella's phone dings. She pulls it out and reads the message on the device's screen. She puts the phone away and pulls herself off the bench. "It's my boss. I have to go treat a patient who was injured during the Aparoid invasion. Nothing like what the aliens were doing to people, just some broken bones from getting crushed by debris from one of the buildings."

"Oh, well that's a relief!" Slippy slapped his forehead after hearing what he said. "No, I mean- I'm relieved that they weren't hurt by the Aparoids, but a-a crumbling building sounds much worse in my opinion! You know what I mean?"

"Don't worry about it," she said in a reassuring tone. "It may not have been the Aparoids, but the cause of injury was still critical."

"Right," he chuckled before getting up as well. "So, I'll see you some other time?"

"Sure, maybe we'll go on a double date sometime when you finally confess to the person you love."

"Yeah," Slippy said, without showing how unsure he felt. "Maybe. Well, see ya!"

"Buh-bye!"

They both went their separate ways and Slippy walked alone again. His face turned red and he buried it in his hands in embarrassment and flustery. He was, so, not prepared for that conversation. He's glad that his ex didn't try to bring any more information out of him, but he felt pretty embarrassed for what went on a little bit ago. He took a few deep breaths to try and stay calm. Then, he heard someone in the distance.

"Oh, man. This is so embarrassing," the voice cried out.

It sounded like a woman's voice. Slippy lifted his face up and saw who it was. A pink, tall, slender female toad who wore a yellow bow on her head was ahead of him, and she was picking up what looked like papers that she must've dropped. She looked like she was having a hard time trying to pick them up, so, being the kind soul that he is, he instantly ran up to her.

"Excuse me," he said. The female toad looked up at him and her eyes widened. "Do you want any help?"

It took a few seconds of silence before she replied. "Oh, sure."

Slippy helped pick up the papers for her and handed them over. "Here you go. Be careful now."

"I-I will," she said cheerfully. "Thanks!"

"See, ya!"

Slippy walked past her and waved goodbye to her, while the female toad clutched the folders she was holding, blushing immensely over how cute he was.