Hello, and welcome, to the relationship support for Fox and Falco!

Now, this is meant to be a tie-in for my Star Fox fanfic, Nexus of Lylat, but if you're just looking to read about two of your favorite characters without the extra nonsense going on, you're welcome to read this without it as well. Since I've only got this chapter up and it'll be like that for a little while, it should be fine for now. No promises for the future, though.

Anyway, this short story will help develop Fox's relationship with Falco, as the two get some one-on-one time with each other. It is meant to be separate from the other stories that share this title and the tie-in, but you're welcome to read all of them, if you like. Things will be platonic for now, but I am shipper trash, so I can offer you no promises that it will remain that way.

So, read on and enjoy!

...

[Great Fox Break Room, Present Day, 21:40]

Alone in the sea green painted break room, Falco swigged back the last of his glass of water and plopped back on the maroon sofa. Studying the spotless metal counters, he glanced at the damp rag on the middle of the sink, still filled with a few dishes. He shut his eyes and sank into it.

"Eh, I'll get to it later." He yawned and turned away from it. "Should have bought the automatic dishwashers for this place already."

He focused on the hum of the refrigerator and sat quietly. He groaned and tossed around again, squeezing his eyes shut. Grumbling, Falco threw his head back and covered his face with his arms.

Exasperated, he let them fall off and stared blankly at the cream ceiling. Falco sat back up and reached over to the glass table in front of him, pulling a tablet computer from the drawer below.

Lowered eyes, Falco tapped at the screen and flipped through it, opening his inbox. He glared at the empty mail and closed the window. Opening a new one, he sat quietly looking at the blank search engine.

Tossing the tablet onto the couch cushion, Falco grumbled and folded his arms. He propped his right leg up over his left knee and leaned back, again fixating on the ceiling.

"What kind of a break room doesn't have anything entertaining in here anyway?" Falco waited another minute before getting back up. "Bah, I'll just eat something else."

He stood up and wandered over to the refrigerator, grabbing onto the door. He opened the fridge and watched a light mist emit from it, peeking inside.

"Now…what've we got…?"

Absentmindedly, Falco tapped on the drawer of fruit and opened it up. Gazing at the apples and oranges inside, he picked up a box of berries and studied it, before dropping it back in.

"Eh. Had those earlier." He checked a drawer of vegetables, which had two fresh heads of lettuce on top of a heavy pile of carrots. "Seriously? Peppy just proves stereotypes true." Closing it, his eyes darted around at a few other options before the bird shook his head and closed the fridge.

"Yikes. I can't even mindlessly eat anything in here!" Falco folded his arms and leaned back against the fridge, grumbling. "No mail, not hungry, nothing to do. How am I supposed to relax for the night if I got nothing around here to unwind?"

He watched as the door to the break room slid open. Falco stood back up and stared as Fox stepped inside, with a quick wave. Smirking, Falco leaned back against the refrigerator.

"Hey Falco."

"Fox, thank you for stopping by."

"Getting lonely?"

"Me? Nah, bored." Falco chuckled as Fox rolled his eyes and walked over to the sofa. "We need to buy some more interesting stuff in here, Fox. Some amusement wouldn't kill us, you know."

"That's what you told me about that bar we installed in the free room a few months back," complained Fox as he moved the tablet and sat on the couch. "And we rarely even use that."

"Drinking and piloting is not recommended," mockingly advised Falco. "But hey, it makes the place look nice."

"Sure it does…"

"Hey, you didn't have to listen to me," reminded Falco. "You asked us for suggestions, and that's what I came up with."

"Well, the karaoke nights seemed like a fun idea," relented Fox. "Don't know if we really needed the bar to go with it, but Slippy wanted to increase the lab, Krystal wanted a mediation room, and you got Peppy to agree to the bar, so…I went with it."

"Yeah, crazy old fool actually went along with," laughed Falco as he strolled over. He flopped hard on the other end of the couch to bounce Fox around, earning a glare as a result. "Can't believe he went for it."

"Nostalgia is what helped, I'd imagine."

"Guess so. Reminds him of the good old days." Falco paused and watched Fox quietly, caught up on the deep green uniform that matched his fiery vermillion one. His leader gazed silently across the room, lost in thought. "Hey, Fox, you ok?"

"Hm?" Fox shook his head and turned back to Falco. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"That didn't sound convincing."

"Well, why I don't I try again?" Widening his eyes and beaming broadly, Fox swung his arm across his chest and gave Falco a thumb's up. "Gee Falco, you bet! I'm feeling better than ever!"

Chuckling, Falco rolled his eyes. "Excuse me for caring." He watched Fox laugh and maintained his smirk for a bit, but it faded.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," managed Fox as he slowed his laughter. "That's something you'd normally do, right?"

"I guess, yeah." Fox raised a brow at Falco's empty tone. Falco raised one back and sat up in the seat. "What?"

"Did I offend you? You're suddenly really…quiet, I guess."

"Nah, it's fine." Falco stretched his legs out and yawned. He then rolled his body around, propping his legs up on Fox's lap. "You're just hogging up the comfy seat."

"All the seats feel the same," deadpanned Fox, narrowing his eyes at Falco's legs.

"Exactly."

Sighing, Fox shook his head and leaned back. Grinning, Falco used his foot to tap Fox's arm.

"What's the matter? Isn't this the part where you get annoyed?"

"Falco, if I got aggravated over every bothersome thing you did, I'd be a very stressed pilot."

"Wait, you aren't?" Fox shot Falco another glare. "Just checking."

"You realize that I can shoot you out of the sky faster than you can retaliate, right?"

"Eh, not that fast, and you have to catch me first," taunted Falco. "Besides, who won our race earlier today?"

"And you nearly totaled your Arwing in the process," murmured Fox.

"Nearly nothing, I had it all under control." Falco rested his arms behind his neck. "Slippy's the one that needs to practice piloting again."

"True, he could use a good teacher."

"Aw no, I taught Krystal and that was plenty," declared Falco. "Slippy should know his skills by now."

"Didn't he outlast you in today's dogfight?"

"You all ganged up on me."

"Mm, I believe that still counts."

"Whatever."

With a snort, Fox laughed, and Falco let a smile crawl back onto his beak. He watched as Fox slowly stopped laughing, but mirrored him as Fox frowned.

"Still, could you back it down on the knocks against Slippy?" Fox looked down past Falco's legs, staring at the floor. "He seemed to be pretty fed up with it today."

"From me?" Falco huffed. "Come on, Fox, I'm like this with him all the time! It helps toughen him up against the real jerks out there."

"Maybe, but it's not the best way to go about it," contested Fox. "You could use more positive reinforcement instead. I know you want him to get better, Falco, but he does have a lot of issues to deal with."

"No, he makes a lot of his issues," retorted Falco. "You're the one with a lot of issues that just pop up—"

Snapping his beak shut, Falco winced as he blinked at Fox, who had become rigid and silent. Hurriedly, Falco swung his legs from Fox's and scooted closer.

"Fox, wait, I didn't…" Falco groaned and exhaled, dropping his head. "Look, I'm sorry. That came out wrong, and harsh, which I didn't mean it to." He glanced back up at Fox, who was now watching him. Slowly, Falco placed his wing on Fox's shoulder. "I just know that you've got a lot going on for you, and that you can't really do much about it. It's all just stuff that comes up." Fox remained silent as Falco jolted off of him. "Right, whatever, that's my bad."

"Falco…" The bird whirled back around to Fox. "Look, I…today's just been a little long for me."

"So talk to me about it," offered Falco. "Come on Foxie, how many times have I told you? You've got Peppy, Slippy, and Krystal, but you've also got me. We're here for you whenever you need us." He placed his hand back on Fox's shoulder. "Even if I'm the lousiest option, at least I'm here, right?"

"You're not a lousy option at all, Falco."

"Heh. You don't need to try and soften me up."

"Really, I'm not," assured Fox. "There are times where you've noticed that something has been eating away at me faster than anyone else. You're great to talk to when you stop fooling around and really help someone out, especially me." Fox gazed at Falco and smiled. "It's fun to laugh with you, and you're great at bickering, but I know that you care a lot about everyone here, Falco. And that means a lot to me."

"Hey, if that's what you think," Falco brushed off, "then you got it." His eyes darted away from Fox and around the plain room, but slowly traveled back to his leader, who still watched him. "…So…if you want, I'm right here. How was it, earlier today?"

"My parents' old home?" Fox sighed and lowered his head a bit. "Old." Falco shared a quick chuckle with him, but then raised a brow for Fox to continue. "Everything was really run down, but the place was cozy. Or…I guess it would have been." Fox's shoulders dropped as he sank into the couch's corner, ears lowered. "The crib was still there, like dad used to tell me about. Mom had set it up all on her own for me, and he just couldn't…take it apart…"

Silently, Falco wrapped his arm around Fox's shoulders. They waited quietly for a moment as Fox rubbed around his eyes. "If you need to let out, go ahead," offered Falco. "I won't judge, promise."

"Actually, I'm waiting for them to come, but…I don't know," Fox whispered, attempting to hide his hollowed voice. "I barely got to know her, even though my father always spoke highly of her…whenever he would talk about…back then. Which was rare, understandably…" Fox sighed. "I wish I had gotten to know her."

"She'd be proud of you."

Fox picked his head up at Falco's reassuring comment. Again, they stared quietly at one another. Falco broke it with an abrupt laugh.

"Seriously, let's quit quieting down, huh?" He rolled his eyes and picked his legs up onto the table. "It's getting weird."

"Sorry. I thought it was a comfortable silence," admitted Fox.

"Well…I guess it was that too." He smiled at Fox and patted his shoulder. "Anything else? You got me all night, if you really need it."

"Nah, it's all the same melodrama," decided Fox. "You've heard me out before, and I've already let a lot out over my father. I just don't get to talk about my mother as much, since I knew less about her." Fox sighed. "It's just…Space Dynamics recently uncovered some of her research, and now everything with Vixy McCloud's name is just bubbling back to the surface."

"Yeah, and they're rotten for it," chided Falco. "There's no need for them to make such a big stink over it and let the press have a field day bringing up painful memories for you." Pausing, Falco shook his head and grumbled. "They're all rotten, and you shouldn't be so easy around them for it."

"They're curious." Fox shrugged. "Everyone would be, I suppose. She died over twenty years ago, and they thought her work went with her."

"Don't care," retorted Falco. "They're hurting my buddy over it, and I don't need to see you hurting so much over it."

"It does sting to be reminded of the great mother I never had," agreed Fox. "But, I guess, I'm pretty curious about her myself."

"If you're cool with it, I guess I can be too," determined Falco. "The second you're not though, just let me know."

"I will." Fox folded his arms and turned to meet Falco's gaze. "But what about you? We're sitting here going over everything with me, and you haven't mentioned a thing about yourself."

"What's to talk about?" Falco slipped his arm from behind Fox and dropped it back on his lap.

"Why don't we start with something simple: How are you lately?"

"Same old for me." The bird shrugged. "Still the ace at flying, still make the whole team jealous of my skills, and just waiting on the next big mission."

"That can't cover everything," pestered Fox. "Falco, in all the years I've known you, we've gone over all sorts of issues with me."

"You're most interesting," muttered Falco. "Besides, you help me out sometimes too. You're great to talk with, Foxie. Just like a great leader should be."

"I appreciate the compliment, but you're not getting out of this that easily," pursued Fox. "We hardly ever go over your past, Falco."

"What are you talking about? You met the old squad I worked with," reminded Falco, an edge to his voice. "I had a rough upbringing, got mixed with a gang, ended up meeting you, cleaned myself up, joined Star Fox, and the rest is history." Falco shrugged. "You even met the new team and saw that they've gone straight too. Nothing all that crazy about me, Fox. Not these days, anyway."

"There's more to it than that, isn't there?"

"Nope, you just want there to be more," argued Falco. "There's nothing more to it, and nothing more to me."

"That's definitely a lie. There's more to you than you let on, Falco, and we both know it." Fox shook his head. "I don't understand how you can be so open about hearing all of my problems, and essentially letting me cry on your shoulder, but then close yourself off to my offers to comfort you on your problems."

"Therapists don't share their issues with their patients," mocked Falco.

"This isn't a patient before you, Falco," snapped Fox. "This is your friend."

"Calm down, I was fooling."

"But that's just the trouble: you're back to putting up walls again." Fox shook his head. "Every time I need you, that's fine and we can be close. But when you really need someone, when you could use someone to help pick you up, you pull away."

"Do not!" Falco folded his arms. "Look, I just don't need as much help as everyone else does, ok? I've gotten all my drama sorted out over the years, Fox. That's why I can take the minute to help you work on yours."

"Come on, you really expect me to believe that?" Fox stood up and sighed. "Just, for once, I wish you could trust me, or anyone else on the team, as much we trust you."

"You know that I do."

"Honestly, I question that some days," revealed Fox. "Falco, I'd take a shot for you. And I trust that you'd do everything to help me get back up after that."

"What, you think that I wouldn't do the same for you?"

"No, that's the problem: you would do the same." Fox dropped his shoulders. "What I'm not sure of is if you'd feel as confident in me doing everything that I could to help you get back up."

"Fox, I know that you would."

"On a superficial surface, that's easy to admit to," agreed Fox. "But deep down, do you really know that? Do you really believe in me that much?"

"Absolutely, Fox." Falco shot up from his seat and placed his hands on Fox's shoulders. "Look, I'm not good with the straight forward talk like everyone thinks that I am. Sometimes, I spit out a lot of stupid things, and I'll be the first to admit that." He smirked. "But one thing that I know in my gut is that you're the best teammate and leader that I could ever ask for. Fox, you wouldn't take one shot for me; you'd take a missile to the chest if need be. And I want you to understand that I would not only do the same for you, but I'd trust that you could fine the one way to put all my broken pieces back together, whatever it takes."

Fox blinked as his eyes widened and Falco nodded.

"We both know that I'd do the same for you, and don't you ever doubt that." Falco dropped his arms and sighed, shaking his head. "But, uh…look. You're right, I'm miserable at opening up to you, and you're right that I don't share every last problem that's eating at me with you. That's not because I don't have any faith in you, though. It's because I'm just…afraid to burden anyone else with…me."

"Don't you understand what I'm telling you?" Fox placed his hand on Falco's shoulder. "You don't need to carry that weight alone. Falco, you're never a burden, and I'm here for whatever problems that you run into. You've always been here for me, with everything that I need. Let me be there for you too."

"It's…not always that simple, Fox," admitted Falco. "Sometimes, it's…stuff that you weren't around for. And, to be honest, some of the stuff that I got into, some of the issues that I want to keep buried…I also want to protect you and the others from it." Falco lowered his head and heavily exhaled. "We both know that I didn't have a squeaky clean background, far from it, but there's a lot of times that I messed up in ways that I wish I could punch myself for doing such stupid stuff. It's in the past, so I can't really fix what's already over." He picked his head up and smirked again. "That doesn't mean I can't keep it at bay while I'm with you guys. And I want to help bring you guys forward for the future."

"And we can all carry our own weight with one another's help."

"Yeah, I know. But…I want to make sure of that." Falco sighed. "This team gave me a new purpose, Fox, and it put my skills at piloting and fighting to good use. And that's what's important for handling whatever comes our way."

"True, and I'm glad that we have you, Falco," concurred Fox. "But no matter what you've faced in the past, and no matter what haunts you in the present or the future, know that we're all around to help you, because we know you'd be there to help us. There's no trouble too deep to handle when we're together, and there's no problem too tough for us to solve." Fox reassuringly smiled. "We're all a team, Falco. You can count on us whenever you need."

"Yeah, well, what I need now is some rest," decided Falco, and he yawned. "But sure, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good, and I really hope that you do." Fox made his way for the door and stepped outside. "And Falco?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." Fox smiled. "Even if you think you can't go to anyone else over certain issues, please always know that you can come to me."

"…Sure thing, Fox."

Falco waved to Fox as the latter stepped outside of the room and off to bed, hesitating and lost in thought, before shaking his head and doing the same.

...

And there is the first part to the Falox relationship development! There's a lot more to Falco than he lets on, obviously. Will Fox be able to help him open up more? And how can Falco manage his past with his future? Time will tell!

That's all for now. Feedback would be super great though, so if you've got time, please message or review with comments, questions, or criticism. Thank you for reading!