Wolf was not happy.

The lupine was leaning against the wall, staring blankly out the window of his room. This mansion was massive, and incredibly easy to get lost in — not that he'd ever tell anybody that. Nor would he tell anyone that he couldn't help but feel a bit isolated; if it weren't the sheer size of the place, it would be the fact that he didn't have anybody he could call a friend here.

Wolf was lonely.

An unusual feeling for him, to be sure, which was exactly why it needed to be rectified. Of course, it didn't help that everybody had assumed that he, Fox and Falco were lifelong friends (Wolf had been put in a room just down the hall from theirs); apparently no one had actually bothered to learn the history among the three. They simply knew that they came from similar locations; therefore, they must be friends, right?

I wish.

Wolf sighed and stood up, slowly slipping his paws inside the pockets of his flight jumpsuit. He couldn't prevent his mind wandering as his eyes continued to roam the landscape underneath his window. He hadn't yet met Fox or Falco, given that he had just arrived and he hadn't emerged from his room since. Nor did he plan on doing so anytime soon. The last thing he wanted was to come face to face with them after months of chasing each other across half the galaxy.

In fact, he could just imagine how the conversation would go. He'd start by making some snarky remark about saving Fox's ass, something that undoubtedly wouldn't go over well with the vulpine; then Falco would butt in and make some equally snarky remark about Wolf going back to the hellhole from which he was spawned. Wolf would ignore him and continue to verbally battle Fox, who would get caught up in 'decency' and 'morals' and how Wolf seems to be lacking in the two. The three of them would then storm off in a huff: Wolf back to his room, and Fox and Falco to theirs, discussing the situation in low, murmured voices. Wolf would slam the door behind him, lean his back against it, press his paws to his forehead and let himself be consumed in self-loathing.

It's because I'm absolutely and completely in love with him.

He wouldn't be able to resist spouting off against Fox; it was habit, something he did on reflex. Wolf knew why he did it, too: it was his way of defending himself. Wolf dealt with his emotions the only way he knew how, which was to play the villain around Fox. It ensured that Wolf's real feelings would be safeguarded, and that he wasn't vulnerable. Wolf hated feeling vulnerable: he was stronger than that. Vulnerability was for people who wore their hearts on their sleeves and allowed themselves to be swept away in tides of emotion.

And yet whenever he thought of Fox, Wolf immediately felt vulnerable. Why? Because Wolf O'Donnell was in love with Fox McCloud.

Realization of that fact had been slow in coming, but had presented itself full-on during the invasion of the Aparoids. Wolf had been questioning his actions against Fox long before then, but the possibility of the latter dying, when Wolf himself could have done something to prevent it, had eaten away at him until he'd gritted his teeth and come to Fox's aid. Of course, he had covered it by saying that he would be the one to take Fox down himself, but he wasn't sure how convincing he'd been. Panther and Leon had seemed suspicious, at the very least...

And now here he was, separated from his team and just a few rooms away from Fox McCloud himself. Wolf wondered how Fox would react if he was to come face-to-face with him and not be rude, or smart, or make an ass out of himself, but instead be completely honest and open with the vulpine. Wolf snorted: Yeah, that's likely. Fox would probably run. Or think Wolf had gone insane. Perhaps both. Maybe it would be better that way.

An abrupt shattering sound jolted Wolf out of his thoughts, and he suddenly realized what he was seeing. An egg, a large, green-spotted egg, had suddenly been hurled against the wall near his window and had shattered. Wolf started, but there hadn't seemed to be anything inside: it was a hollow shell. Wolf watched the pieces drift lazily down through the air, but before his thoughts could consume him again, another egg shattered against the wall. And another. And then another.

Wolf growled under his breath, turning away from the window and grabbing his room key, shoving it safely inside his cargo pocket. Whoever was out there was going to stop, or Wolf was going to be starting the brawl a little early. It might help the stress if he was unleashing it on some poor, unsuspecting fellow Smasher...

The lupine didn't meet anybody on his walk through the hallway or down the stairs: He caught sight of Peach and Mario in the main foyer, but they seemed to be plenty occupied with each other (the plumber was making Bambi eyes at the fair-skinned princess), and so Wolf simply rolled his eyes and continued walking, banging the double doors open. Sunlight streamed into the mansion, accompanied by the sound of birds twittering, and had Wolf not been so moody he might have paused to enjoy it, if only for a millisecond. It wouldn't do too well for his image if anybody caught him reveling in the smell of the springtime breeze. As it was, Wolf simply let the doors slam shut behind him and descended the steps, rounding the corner to see who it was that had been bothering him.

"All right, what's going on out —" Wolf began, and then noticed what exactly he was addressing. It was a small, green, large-nosed dinosaur, who was leaping into the air and tossing egg after egg at a small target that had been affixed to the wall of the mansion. Wolf sighed. It figured that the target had to be next to his room. Undeterred, the little dinosaur continued to toss his eggs — gathered from a large pile next to him — at the little red target. He hit the center perfectly every time.

"What the hell?" Wolf muttered, slowly coming closer to the little green thing. Presently it noticed him, and paused in its egg throwing to turn its large, innocent eyes on Wolf, tossing an egg back and forth between its hands.

"Who the hell are you?" Wolf asked it. Short and to the point.

The creature dropped its egg and did a little dance, turning around and waving its hands, before finally flapping its arms through the air and chirping, "Yoshi!"

"Yoshi, huh?" Wolf muttered, casting a dark eye at the pile of eggs, then the target on the mansion wall. "Nice."

Yoshi gave him a thumbs up.

"Looks fun," Wolf said, after a moment. "Mind if I give it a try?"

Yoshi nodded and stepped back, and Wolf pulled his blaster out of his pocket, took careful aim, and fired. The blast struck the center of the target, leaving a little burn hole, before ricocheting off and coming back at the two of them. Yoshi gave a screech and ducked, but there was no need: the blast continued above his head and smacked into a tree, sending a branch crashing to the ground.

"Damn," Wolf cursed. "Sorry about that," he said to Yoshi, who was standing up, cautiously. Wolf blinked: He wasn't much one for apologies, especially for something that wasn't technically his fault. "Didn't know that would happen ... whoever designed these things should be more careful."

Yoshi nodded in response, and Wolf pocketed his blaster. "Guess that's enough for today," he said. "What about you?"

Yoshi shook his head, went back to the pile and picked up another egg, hurling it toward the target and hitting the scorch mark perfectly. Wolf watched it shatter, and then another, and another: Yoshi was steadily unleashing a stream of eggs at the target, the pile beside him growing smaller by the second.

"Well, that's just great," Wolf muttered, coming to stand by Yoshi, who didn't break his gaze at the target. "You just don't have a care in the world, do you?" the lupine said, not a tad bitterly. "Just getting that egg to go where it needs to go, that's all that worries you, huh?"

Yoshi blinked, stopped his stream of egg-throwing, and turned to look steadily at Wolf. Wolf shifted his stance: he felt suddenly uncomfortable under the dinosaur's look. Unfazed, Yoshi sat down next to the pile of remaining eggs, gesturing to Wolf to do the same: All right, I'm listening.

Wolf blinked. "What?" he said at last, trying (and failing) to sound casual. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Yoshi shook his head: You're not convincing anybody. His eyes were wide, his gaze sincere. Just talk.

"Damn," Wolf cursed again. The dinosaur was reading him like an open book, and it was amazing how much he could convey without even saying a word. "Fine," Wolf relented, sitting down next to Yoshi. "But you're probably not going to like it."

Yoshi rolled his eyes. I'm sure. He then gave Wolf an innocent smile, his look friendly. Well?

"Oh. Er..." Wolf shifted uncomfortably, but it was clear that Yoshi wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and that he might as well just talk. "It started awhile back... You know Fox McCloud, don't you?"

Yoshi nodded, gesturing toward the mansion, and the upstairs bedroom where Fox was located. I've met him.

"Yeah, well," Wolf muttered, not looking at Yoshi, "the two of us, we ... sort of have a 'history' together..."

"What do you mean Wolf is here?! He's not even supposed to be in the tournament!"

"Calm down, Mr. McCloud," said Princess Peach (who had finally disengaged herself from Mario), sweetly. "Master Hand told us that more participants were needed after so many others backed out following the last competition, and Wolf seemed a good a candidate as any. I mean, really! He fights well, he's a strong leader, and he's determined. The fact that you and he aren't exactly on the same side is a minor detail."

"That's what you think," Fox muttered. He honestly wasn't sure how he felt about Wolf — not after the Aparoids invasion. One thing was for certain, though, he didn't want to have to compete against Wolf. Being on the same team as him, on the other hand, was in a league of complication all its own.

"Is it, now?" asked Peach. "Who knows? Why, this tournament may even be an opportunity for the two of you to get to know each other better. Something may change between you!"

"People like Wolf would never let that sort of thing happen," said Fox shortly, turning to go back to his room. "They're focused on fighting, they're ignorant to the needs of others, and they're emotionless. Wolf and I may respect each other, but let's face it: He'll never want to call me his friend."

"I think you may find that you're wrong, Fox," said Peach, as she watched the vulpine leave.

"Oh, will I?" Fox called back over his shoulder. "The fact is, Wolf hates me more than anybody else in the entire star system. And that," he added, in a very final tone of voice, "will never change."

"So that's it," Wolf said shortly, under the gaze of the wide-eyed Yoshi. "I've spent most of my life on one chase or another through space, I act straight, and I have a crush on the one guy I'm supposed to hate more than anybody else in the entire star system. Any questions?"

Yoshi shook his head, but he looked amused. Maybe it was that aura of innocence that always seemed to radiate from him, but the little dinosaur didn't seem as troubled by this information as Wolf was. Well, of course not, he doesn't have to live it like I do, the lupine thought, but he knew that wasn't really the reason. The question is, what was?

"What are you smirking at?" Wolf finally asked Yoshi, starting to get a little unnerved by his serene gaze. "You can't possibly think this is funny; if you do, I'll have to hurt you."

Yoshi shook his head, still smiling, and got to his feet, holding out a hand. Wolf took it and stood up as well, not the least bit confused. Yoshi then took the lupine's paw and pulled him forward; Wolf, bemused, followed without thinking. Around the corner they went, up the stairs to the mansion, through the main foyer, up the staircase, until at last they reached the level where Wolf and Fox's rooms were located. Wolf caught sight of a swishy brown tail disappearing through the door of Fox's room, and the lupine gulped. That had been a close one...

"Hey, hey, hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, ya little green monster?" Wolf shouted suddenly, but Yoshi didn't respond: He had gotten behind the lupine and was pushing him forward, toward the door of Fox's room. "Oh, no, stop right there," Wolf said, and made to dig his heels into the ground, but Yoshi simply pushed harder, and Wolf surged forward again. The little guy was stronger than he looked. "Okay, we're stopping now," Wolf said, letting a tone of menace slip into his voice, though it was also followed by a tint of urgency. "There is no way I'm going in there."

Yoshi stopped pushing, and Wolf breathed a sigh of relief; then he noticed the dinosaur's look. Could that be a menacing glare? As if to confirm this, Yoshi turned, stuck out his tongue, and it shot across the hall and grabbed an umbrella stand at the far end. It then zoomed towards the two of them and Yoshi swallowed the entire thing in his mouth, holding it there.

Wolf just stared, astonished. That umbrella stand had to be as tall as Yoshi himself, if not even taller. But Yoshi just turned his head, spat out the stand, and then arched his eyebrows at Wolf. That could be you, his gaze said.

"Fine, we're moving," Wolf said, and Yoshi began pushing forward again. "But I'm not going to like it," Wolf added. Yoshi ignored him, and at last they reached the door to Fox's room. Yoshi pushed Wolf up to his full height, then reached past the lupine and knocked cheerfully on the door.

Wolf was, by this time, sweating profusely, and he raised a paw to wipe his forehead. "There's no way — I'm not doing this," he muttered. He turned to bolt for his room — maybe he could get there before Yoshi could react — but at that precise moment the door opened, and Yoshi raised his hands and shoved Wolf's back, hard. The lupine barreled forward, into the room of the very surprised Fox, and Yoshi gave a friendly wink before pulling the door shut.

"Oh, why you little — I'll dismember you!" Wolf shouted, leaping to his feet and running to pull the door back open. It wouldn't budge. "You cheeky bastard, you're holding it from the outside, aren't you?" Wolf growled, rattling the doorknob.

"Yoshi!" came a cheerful voice from behind the door.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Wolf snarled, shaking the doorknob again. It still wouldn't budge. "You're dead, you little snot-nosed—"

"Wolf?" came Fox's voice at last, and the lupine froze, his blood running cold. Slowly Wolf turned around, under the gaze of a very angry Fox, who had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot on the floor. "What do you think you're doing here?"

Wolf's mind was blank. Tell him you're here to watch him make a fool of himself like usual! No! Tell him you're here because you missed him! Right, that'd go over well. Just tell him the truth! That little green freak won't let you out of here until you do!

"Wolf?" Fox asked again, his eyes blazing.

"You have nice eyes," Wolf said without thinking.

Fox blinked, the fierceness leaving his gaze. "What?"

Wolf cursed under his breath. Stupid! "I mean," he said, his tone rougher, "I wanted to be sure I'd get to you before anyone else. I promised that I'd take you down myself; don't you remember?"

Fox snarled, the hatefulness in his eyes returning. "Right, Wolf; that's very mature of you."

"No —" Wolf shook his head abruptly, internally cursing his big mouth; he'd never been this unsure of himself in his life. "That's not what I meant, Fox."

"Oh, it's not?" Fox said, his voice rising. "Well, tell me what you did mean exactly, Wolf, because I'm curious. Because, you see, I thought you were simply here to gloat some more about how you saved my ass back in the invasion, even though we both did some semi-decent fighting, and not just you. Are you going to try and tell me that I'm wrong? That you're here for some other reason? Well, good luck with that, Wolf. I'm tired of your charades, and I'm done convincing myself that you've changed."

It was Wolf's turn for the fierceness to leave him. "What?"

"I thought you'd changed!" shouted Fox again, taking a step forward and jabbing Wolf in the chest with a finger. "I'd hoped you had! Back in the middle of the invasion I saw some spark of decency within you, however small it was, and I'd hoped it was the beginning of something different than whatever you once were! I guess now I was foolish to hope for that, because you're still the same conceited, arrogant ass you've always been! So answer me again, Wolf-sama," Fox said scathingly, and Wolf took a step backward, visibly shaken. "And this time, be honest. Why are you here?"

Wolf opened his mouth, closed it again, twisted his paws together nervously, and tried again to say something: Nothing came out. Fox crossed his arms once more, setting his weight back on one leg, waiting impatiently. Just say something! Wolf shouted at himself, but nothing would come. Do something! Anything's better than standing here like a fool!

"You really don't have anything to say?" Fox asked, a hint of disappointment — perhaps even hurt — in his voice.

Finally Wolf spoke, stepping forward toward the vulpine. "No," he said shortly, and Fox blinked. "But hopefully this says enough."

And he wrapped his arms around Fox and pulled him into a kiss.

Outside the door, Yoshi clenched a fist in silent victory, grinning.

Wolf wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted — it could have been seconds, it could have been days — but he did know that when he finally broke it off, he saw a very shocked and very confused Fox standing in front of him, blinking dazedly.

"There," said Wolf, his voice very quiet. "Now you probably hate me even more."

Fox blinked, and Wolf was stunned to see a seductive grin spreading across the vulpine's face. "You always assume the worst in people..."

And Fox pulled Wolf into the kiss this time, shocking the lupine but making him unbelievably happy at the same time; and the two of them melted into each other's arms and quite gracefully fell on Fox's bed, staying in the embrace all the while.

"You ... certainly have ... a way with words," said Fox, gasping as Wolf gritted his teeth against a very tender spot on the vulpine's neck.

Wolf gave a gruff smile, arching his eyebrow at Fox. "I learned from the best."

Yoshi smirked. No doubt they'd be enjoying each other's company quite thoroughly by now. It might take them awhile to work past all the "history" that they'd had with each other (or at least whatever Wolf had told him), but they'd get there. Love was funny that way: It made things work.

"Hey, Yoshi!" came a voice from down the corridor, and the little dinosaur turned to see Toon Link, waving and gesturing toward the stairs. "You want to get in some more target practice?"

Yoshi nodded cheerfully and started walking, chirping happily to himself. It didn't matter how well this target practice turned out: the one earlier today would always top them all.