Star Crossed [an old and terrible Star Fox fanfic]

Epilogue - Follow You, Follow Me

The yellowed sands of Papetoon clouded into dust with the winds, as tonight they were particularly intense. It was sunset on the formerly abandoned planet, with a few startup towns having gained recent economic potential in the eyes of the quickly prosperous Cornerian Interplanetary Republic.

It had been precisely two years since its re-foundation, with the death of the Supreme General at the hands of Star Fox. There was an initial struggle with those still persuaded by the General's influence, but this had by now ceased. Government in Corneria, and across the system, was no longer focused on its armed strength. Parliaments at the local and national level made civil decisions, reflecting properly their represented populations. It not only gave the people their power, but also eased the responsibilities of the peacetime defenses, regulated now mainly to training in the event of an interstellar attack. Things, for now, sailed smoothly.

These were thoughts that seemed to lay only in the back of Fox McCloud's mind, as he stepped out of his sand-cruising vehicle, and onto the sands of the planet, trudging to his destination. He still held the role that he found to be the most honorable: the captain of Star Fox, a team comprising of the most talented pilots of the system, being himself, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, Wolf O'Donnell, Miyu Lynx, and Fay Spaniel, the last of whom was a new and highly-requested addition, based on her performance in the Academy and her uncompromising flight style. (What became of Star Wolf was what everybody expected; caught in a group near the criminal haven, assigned their own cell, held for charges deemed fit by the court of law. Pigma was charged with treason, Andrew with conspiracy, and Leon with varied murders. All of them would be going away for a long time.)

What Fox also held, though, was the office of President, and simultaneously that of the highest General. The people were asked who should be assigned to lead the way for the new era; They chose Fox McCloud, the name they knew and trusted most. Whether or not Star Fox was a part of this federal system, and whether or not it would truly last, was still being worked out.

This incoming legacy of Star Fox hung heavy in his mind, as his very purpose was to come here and contemplate upon it. He wore appropriately light but shielding clothing, to withstand the chilled wind and sand, as he kept stepping along. He scoped a green line of trees and bushes on the horizon, and any usual person navigating this desert would have dismissed this as a mirage. This, though, was truly an oasis, one that he knew well enough to recognize.

He checked the map on his phone, to make sure this was indeed the right oasis, but this was mostly unnecessary reassurance. Fox knew that here was the residence of James McCloud, the father that Fox technically shared a name with, but had rarely ever used. He walked past the bushes, and into the greener inner layer of the oasis, where a small, modern-looking yet aged hut lied dormant next to the small lake, the life source of the green patch within the desert.

Opposite the hut was a large statue of the fatherly fox in question, where visitors could read a plaque about him, and how this was also the birthplace of his son. This was to be open to the public soon. Fox sighed, recollecting those days of wonder and innocence, noting how they seemed to have been just yesterday. Now, all was different, and all was surely better... but what he wouldn't give to relive those yesteryears.

"When I was young," Wolf remarked, having followed Fox in through the shrubs, "I thought James was just Pepper's favorite instrument of maintaining his rule. Now," he sighed, "I know what he was really like..."

Fox looked to his boyfriend of two years, and smiled. "Thank you for being here," he nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be? I'm not just gonna hang around home all day. I wanted to see what this was all about," O'Donnell half-seriously replied. He lived with Fox in the roomy central tower of Corneria's hub, where the General had made his residence beforehand. Their relationship elevated Wolf's status from wanderer to sex symbol, central to the gossip of a bachelor captain's affair with his teammate; If luxury didn't define Wolf's life from then on, it was certainly fame that did. Thankfully, this game seemed compatible with his existing attitude, not tainting it as it seemed to with more self-centered ones.

"Do you ever wish none of this happened?" Wolf asked.

"I wish I was still eating a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the back seat of my dad's Arwing," Fox briefly detailed. Wolf opened his mouth to say something about getting as much ice cream as he needed when they got home, but he knew that wasn't at all the point.

"These days go by like nothing," Wolf sighed. "I'll be gone someday, too, and so will you."

"I wish that would never happen. I wish we could both live forever," Fox whined, turning around and holding Wolf's palms in his.

"Pepper arranged to live forever," O'Donnell countered. "I know for sure you don't, deep down."

"I know," the fox sniffled, "and yet I can't help but feel like I need some sort of permanence. There's a sense of it that I think is missing."

Wolf looked deeply into Fox's green eyes. "I need to make sure. Do you REALLY mean that?" he firmly asked.

"Why?" Fox blinked as he asked in return.

Wolf looked up at the emerging stars, and back down at his vulpine lover. "Because I've been waiting for the right moment to ask this, and I think now is exactly that," he explained. He reached into his coat pocket, and knelt, digging out a small box, and holding it up.

"You're not—" Fox suddenly turned, and choked on his own words.

"I know that the McCloud name is one of the most venerated in the system," Wolf explained, sweetness with his every word, "and I know that you bear it proudly. I'm no less proud of my own, and I want to honor my parents by keeping it somehow. But Fox," he shuddered in anticipation, "I love you. I loved you since I first saw you in the Academy, and since I first kissed you. I couldn't help it, and I can't ever help it. I love you, enough to ask this, on this anniversary of two beginnings alike."

"Wolf, I—!" Fox beamed from ear to ear, feeling his own eyes well with tears as he saw the man in front of him.

"James," the wolf slowly said every word as he opened the ring's box, using Fox's real, handed-down name, "will you give me the honor of becoming Wolf O'Donnell-McCloud?"

"Yes," Fox yelped, and collapsed into Wolf's embrace.
"Thank you," Wolf answered. The two knelt in the soft sand, tightly holding each other, and staring into each other's eyes, sharing passionate kisses in between.

They knew they had to get back to their ship before the desert chill, though, so they didn't stay too much longer. Fox held what was now his fiancé's hand, as the two walked back to the cruiser, ready to be taken back to their larger ship, to be securely transported home to Corneria. As Fox got on board, he took a final look to the stars. Many more were starting to appear.

"Trying to pick apart those stars, Jamesy baby?" Wolf teased.

"...Heheh, hey!" Fox replied, embarrassed to be once again called by his real name, closing the door.

"Star Fox, as I know him best," Wolf sweetly observed.

"My name's not Star Fox," Fox replied.

"Alright, James, suit yourself," Wolf teased even further.

"Fox, call me Fox," the vulpine clarified, his blush only deepening.

"Foxy," Wolf yapped, and kissed Fox on the snout.

"Close enough, Wolf," Fox resolved, joking reluctance in his tone as he settled into his now-fiance's arms. "Close enough."

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