(It has been 15 years since I have uploaded a story to . This is a solid attempt at a honest love story. It could not have been done without help from other talented writers and support from others. If this would be my last couple of chapters I write on this website I atleast would like to say I tried to make a good story.
hope you enjoy)
Waiting
"I'M FINE. YOU OK OVER THERE, FOX?"
Time. What is time? Is it just simply a way to keep track of one's life and the events that occur around them? Is it an illusion? Or perhaps an omnipresent force, unable to be changed or altered by anything, always moving forward, until it finally runs out? Who can say for sure? Just another mystery in a universe full of them.
One thing that does remain consistent about time, is that it brings change. This change can be anything. Actions that seemed small and insignificant in the moment can become life-changing decisions, for better or worse. Sometimes…all it takes is a little time to turn something or someone from ordinary, to extraordinary.
There is no greater example of this phenomenon than in the case of emotion. Much like time, emotions are ever-changing, and can get stronger or weaker over time. A simple feeling of dissatisfaction or frustration can become a white-hot furious rage if you let it fester and boil long enough. The tragic loss of someone close to you, while potent and agonizing when first felt, can fade and be forgotten, like a scar or wound. Or in this case, a simple interaction between two people can plant a seed in the heart that grows and blossoms into a strong, powerful feeling of love or desire. All of this, due to the simple passage of time.
This is the story of two people, who shared a meaningful experience, and how that blossomed into a beautiful romance, and all it took was some bravery, and a little bit of waiting.
The Great Fox, mothership of the Starfox team, was floating lazily in orbit above the large blue and green planet of Corneria, the world in which they called home. As they waited for clearance to land at the main cornerian landing dock, the crew were mostly scattered across the ship doing odd activities to pass the time.
In the main hangar was Slippy and Falco, both busy updating software for the group's Arwings, along with general cleaning. Falco was not one for helping, especially when it came to helping Slippy, but after what they went through with the last conflict, the group was ready for a long-awaited vacation, even if it meant being neck deep in busy work for a moment.
Following the Apparoid invasion, the main city was finally rebuilt enough for the citizens of the city to return to their normal routines, give or take a couple of spots still under construction. The General was still hospitalized, but things were progressing as smoothly as they could, which was a good sign.
And now that things have calmed down, Starfox was more than ready to take a couple of weeks away from space and the Great Fox. It almost seemed like years had gone by since they had seen any type of land or water, or anything but the black void of space and stars.
As the two teammates work below, a lone Fox McCloud sat in one of the command chairs on the ship's bridge, gazing at the large, lush planet below them. Finally out of his uniform, he lounges around, in relaxing sweatpants and a worn Star Fox team logo shirt.
As he continues to admire the beauty before him, he lets out a long sigh and slowly leans back in his chair as he raises his hand and rubs his eyes lightly. Finally able to sit and process the events of the past few weeks, it started to dawn on him: He could have easily died fighting and had come close far too many times for his liking.
But there was something else on his mind as well. Never mind almost being blown out of the sky or being killed on the ground, there was something else there and that something, more of, someone had been constantly on his mind ever since he was on Sauria a year or so back.
He tried to push the thoughts out of his mind. Now was a time for relaxing, and thinking about her made his heart go a mile a minute and his stomach twist in knots. But the harder he tried to keep her out, the more prominent the thoughts of her became.
After trying for a few moments to repress his own mind, he finally gave in, and let his imagination wander to her, her beautiful face and body, her loving, sweet personality…how she said his name so softly with that accent…it was like the words came from the mouth of an angel.
He lay back in his chair, overwhelmed by a sense of infatuation so potent, it was like drowning in love. He had felt these feelings for a while, but they were nowhere near this strong. But as good as it felt, he was in complete mental agony, because he knew it would never work.
In a desperate effort to rein his emotions in, he forced himself to give reasons why it would not work, and it would be wrong to try, given his job. The last thing he wanted would be to break her heart if he didn't come back from a mission, or be left with a broken heart himself, should she die. These thoughts were the only thing that staved off the burning desire buried deep down inside of the tan fox, but even this supposed voice of reason was becoming weaker with every passing day he spent in silence.
He sighed again as he opened his eyes once more. He looked back down at the planet and rested his head against his hand.
"I don't know how much longer I can do this…" Fox said to himself in a hushed voice, the images of Krystal suspended and trapped in the glass prison still played in his mind. He felt a sense of relief knowing at least his timing was impeccable to save her. But the look of her frozen in time and the thoughts of "What if I didn't show up in time?" or "What if I failed to save sauria?" somehow still lingered on his mind. But none of that mattered now. Krystal was saved and now she is a big part of the team, that's how Fox had to look at it. Nothing more, nothing less.
However, despite how horrible he felt at admitting it, a small part of himself wished he hadn't met her at all, because then he would at least have been spared the emotional turmoil caused by her appearance in his life. But this thought wasn't one he dwelled on. He knew that denying the heart is a failed battle, and he also knew that, regardless of his more complicated feelings, he liked her being around.
Krystal was attentive and would often help the team however she could and was fully committed to it. Not to mention she was an excellent pilot, especially for someone who, a year ago, didn't know what a ship was or couldn't even speak common Lylat. And another thing was: She had found a home, one that she felt she truly belonged to and she was forever grateful for it.
There was something truly magical about her, and fox wasn't referring to her telepathy or the gold staff she had that could shoot fire, ice, and create shockwaves. Just being in her presence, being able to see her soft teal eyes and soothing voice was enough to comfort anyone, but out of all the people it affected, it held a certain grip over a certain fox.
One question that begged to be answered was: Did she love him back? As much as Fox would like to think he played it cool, there was no way she didn't know he liked her, what with all the teasing by Falco and Slippy, and the way he tongue stopped wanting to work as soon as she said anything to him. But, as obvious as it was, she had yet to show any signs of returning the affection he felt towards her.
Deep down, he wished she would come and tell him she loved him and then their relationship would begin, but this was a pipe dream. He knew he'd have to approach her, tell her how he felt, that he'd have to be the one who risked rejection, mockery, or even worse, friendzoning, not Krystal.
But could he do it? Could he tell her and risk looking like a fool or condemning himself to the cold, lonely world of platonic relationships? Sure, for someone like him, it should be an easy task. He's stared death in the face more times than he could count. He fought and won against mad scientists, tyrannical warlords, and now, metallic parasites; surely, confessing his feelings to a girl he liked should be easy…right?
Unable to sit still with all these daunting thoughts any longer, Fox quickly stood up from his seat and walked over towards the large front facing the window of the bridge. "Who am I kidding?" He thought to himself resignedly. He knew damn well no amount of convincing from himself was going to overturn what his heart wanted. Sooner or later, his longing would overpower his fear and he'd confess, but until then he was going to have to at least try. Try to keep up the facade, keep things professional between them, hold back his feelings at least…just for a little longer.
As Fox lamented his situation in the bridge, A similar struggle was taking place down the halls of the common area and into crew quarters of the large ship. A light was protruding from the only lit room down the hall, and Inside of the small yet cozy room sat Krystal.
She had been packing some of her things for a long time off. Finally, being able to fully relax she found ease knowing that they were going to spend some time to just be by themselves, not having to be on guard or worry about some distant enemy. As she had finished packing, she sat on her bed. She could have joined Sippy and Falco in the hangar, or maybe she could've helped Peppy with some paperwork and money management in the ship's office. Goodness knows he needed to recover from his injuries before doing more work.
But no, her mind could only be set on a couple of things. Her eyes gazed across the room and out to the door in front of hers. A small brass tag on the front of it in black letters read "Fox". She stared blankly at the tag, as memories started to flood her mind.
Much Like Fox, Krystal had been fighting against her own feelings of desire, her protective instincts trying to convince her how it wouldn't work between them, and it was best to just keep being a productive member of the team, and hopefully, those feelings about the man that saved her life would eventually subside.
But, like Fox, the heart knows what it wants, and fighting is farcical, something the young vixen was learning the hard way. She had never been in love before, nor had really talked to anyone who had been about what it felt like. This kind of feeling towards another person was strange and unfamiliar, and yet felt deep and instinctual, like it was engraved into her very DNA.
In times like these, she really missed her parents. She couldn't remember them as they died when she was a baby, but she was certain they would've been able to help her process, or at least prepare to deal with such strong desires. But of course, like with many other aspects about her life, she was going to have to figure this out on her own.
All in all, she had done a good job of keeping her feelings in control, but recently, she had been finding it harder to remain calm around Fox, or keep her thoughts off of him long enough to even go to sleep at night, and now that there weren't going to be any missions to distract them for a while, she had a creeping suspicion it was only going to get worse.
Slowly raising herself from the soft sheets of the bed, she quietly stepped across her room to the door. The large, oversized shirt she was wearing flowed a bit as she walked, Swaying back and forth as she moved, giving small glimpses of her figure from underneath the large top. Her boy shorts hugged her waist tightly as she walked from her room and across the hall making her way to Fox's door, her eyes still looking at the small brass tag that indicated who slept in there.
The thought of Fox sleeping made the vixen's cheeks flush bright red, and as she lifted her hand to the tag, slowly brushing her fingers across it, she thought desperately about wanting to feel that warmth and love from Fox that she had burning so bright for him. But then she closed her eyes, resting her head against the door.
"What am I doing?" she spoke softly to herself, almost laughing at her silly actions. She knew she was running out of time, she knew she had to tell him no matter how nervous she was or how much she feared those feelings wouldn't be reciprocated. "But how to do it?"[ she thought, "I could just say "Screw it" and march up to the bridge and say everything. But that's so risky. Even if he does like me, what if he's so shocked he doesn't even say anything?"
A long sigh escapes the vixen's maw as the thoughts overwhelmed her. Sure, she could have easily used her telepathy to poke around in Fox's head and find out exactly how he felt, but that was incredibly invasive and not fair to him. If anything, she wanted to hear him speak the words she had been wanting to say to him, but was that really fair to him either? After all, it was she who liked him, so she should be the one to say it, right?
Krystal huffed as she moved away from Fox's door and back into her room, closing the door behind her. Just like Fox, she was in complete mental anguish about what to do. She knew she had to do something, but was still too afraid to try anything drastic. Eventually, the light that shone through her doorway was gone, as Krystal had decided to try to take a nap(Which didn't happen). Now, all that remained was a quiet dark hallway and the hum of the large engines of the ship, but the tension still lingered, the tension of two foxes, hopelessly in love with one another, but scared to act.
What would become of these two and their attempts at finding happiness in a cold and dangerous world? Only time would tell. But one thing was for sure: This vacation would be one to remember.