; - A Star Fox fanfiction

Rebirth

Fox was gazing at the stars. In his eyes shone the countless worlds, splashed against a black canvas. Two large bands of glowing gas, one gold and one blue, crossed against the sky. Falco couldn't tell if he was smiling or not, but it was the first time he'd seen him this... present, and he loved staring at him anyway. Fox blinked and looked over at Falco, catching him with his gaze fixed on Fox. "What?"

"Oh," Falco smiled, "S'nothin'."

Fox looked back up. "I was just thinking when we could return."

"Return where?" he asked, sitting up and setting his wings on his lap. He followed Fox's gaze, noticing a satellite crossing through the small opening in the clouds.

"To the stars."

"Soon, I bet." He let Fox lean on him, welcoming the familiar scent of his body. "Where would you want to go?"

"Anywhere..." he replied, "Somewhere that's not... here."

"We could always go to Fortuna, or-"

"No," Fox interrupted, "I mean Lylat as a whole. We've been in this system our whole lives and I want to explore. I want out. I feel trapped..."

Falco nodded, unsure what to say. He decided to remain silent, attempting to prompt Fox to speak more, but he didn't say anything. He just blinked, slowly, and stared off into nothing. Falco knew "I'm sorry" wouldn't cut it. It would do nothing, but there was little else to say, so they sat in silence until Fara and Kat arrived with their car, enjoying the warmth of their closeness.

He thought about what will be next... what will become of him and the restless vulpine fidgeting on his chest. Am... am I really cut out for this? I don't know anythin' about bein' a boyfriend... not truly... Dammit what did I get myself into? I shoulda told 'im I was straight. I don' need... He stopped, looking down at Fox's ginger fur, with the adorable little, white Mohawk on his head. His heart beat faster every time he looked at him. He wanted to kiss him at every waking moment, to protect him and carry him through everything. It'd been that way since he'd first saw him in the academy. Of course, back then, he denied it, but it was that attraction that led him to first talk to the arrogant son of the legendary James McCloud when Falco was just... a trashy bird off the streets. Their personalities clashed, violently at times, but they'd always found each other at the end of it all. They were best of friends and now they were more than that. He smiled. Nah... I do need 'im.

A familiar black sports car pulled around the corner, humming quietly. Fox stretched and sat up, sighing. "Please don't let them touch me."

The car pulled to a halt and immediately shut off. Fara and Kat flung open their doors and rushed over, Fara trying to pull Fox into a hug. "Hey hey!" Falco stopped them both, sticking out his wing and pushing the rabid females back, "Personal space, you two. Remember what happened."

"Right. Sorry," Kat apologized. She put her paws together and held them down.

Fara smiled and asked, "We're just happy to see you're alive and... relatively well."

"Relative to what?" Falco asked, "Cancer patients? I didn' know this was the Pain Olympics." His tone was snappier than he intended it to be and he wasn't sure why. He paused at the hurt expressions of the girls and coughed softly. "Sorry. Guess I'm feelin' a bit defensive."

"Understandable. How about we get you two home, yeah?" Kat said, opening the back door for Fox and Falco to slide in. The ride back to the apartment was long and silent. There was little traffic on the streets, but Kat still managed to hit just about every red light on the road. Fox had decided to rest his head in Falco's lap, his legs taking up the rest of the seat. And there he stayed the rest of the drive. By the time they made it home, he had passed out and was fast asleep.