Falco groaned, tilting his head back a moment before looking forward again. Here he was, stuck at yet another government party, in his formal military outfit, which he liked to call a monkey suit. The alcohol they were giving out wasn't strong enough to make him forget about where he was, forget about all these rich bastards from other planets that wanted to shake his hand and talk to him about how great he did saving their planets. He didn't need to be told. He knew he did one hell of a good job. The ballroom smelt of old people and the band playing was so painfully formal, that it made Falco wonder why his ears weren't bleeding yet.

But alas, there was no getting out of this. Peppy had actually hired people to guard the doors so that he and Fox couldn't run away. Damn that old man for knowing them so well... So he was stuck; stranded in this sea of rich, bad smelling, self-loving old folk, with nothing to do but pray that all this champagne would put him out of his misery soon.

Glancing around, he saw the rest of their team was having fun. Peppy was talking to General Pepper, Krystal was batting her pretty little eyes at some ambassador from Katina. No surprise there. Slippy was grinning like a fool as some people talked to him about something that interested him. Probably mechanics or something like that.

And then there was Fox. All alone and defenseless against the hordes of "important people" that wanted to talk to him about lord knows what. He would smile and nod, maybe laugh here and there, but Falco knew it was all just an act. Fox didn't give two shits about what these people were talking to him about. He could see it in his eyes. Poor guy. Falco had to do something for him; had to get him away from the constant torture that was being chucked in his face.

Then it hit him, and his eyes widened. Falco turned around, looking at a door by the stage. The sign on it read: "Stage", which lead Falco to believe that that's where all the audio and sound stuff was. Grinning, he set down his glass and headed towards it. No one was guarding it, because no one expected what was to come...

Fox sighed when he was finally free from the clutches of the ambassadors. His ears fell as well as his tail. It was only short of a miracle that he had made it this far through the party without pulling his fur out and screaming like a mad man. Made it was the wine he had been drinking all night. That had to be it.

Glancing around the room for some sort of outlet to get rid of his building frustration, he noticed that Falco wasn't there anymore. That couldn't be good. He started around the room, thinking he was just hidden by other people, but he knew that probably wasn't true, since Falco was much taller than a lot of the people here. Plus he was blue. How hard was it to miss a tall blue bird?

When he couldn't find him through the crowd, he went up to one of the guards at the entrance to the ballroom. He still couldn't believe Peppy went to such lengths to keep him and Falco at this stupid party. He asked if they had seen Falco, but they just shook their heads. Figures. With a sigh, Fox turned around and walked back towards the middle of the room. He stopped to stare at the band playing to collect his thoughts. He wasn't sure when he spaced out, but loud music brought him out of it, and it wasn't the band.

Blinking, Fox perked his ears up in surprise. He looked around, watching the lights dim down to almost black. He jumped when bright and colorful lights started moving around the room like the ones in a club. "What the hell...?" he said to himself, tilting his head as he watched the lights danced across the crowd. He saw Peppy and General Pepper were confused too, which told him that this wasn't part of the party. There was only one explanation left...

"Hey!" Fox heard someone shout over the music to him. He turned around to see Falco standing there with a huge and proud grin on his face. He took his hands, "Wanna boogie with me?" he asked, doing a little twist with his body, moving their hands.

Fox blinked in surprise, but then smirked, "How did I know this was your doing?" he asked, allowing himself to be pulled out onto the wooden dance floor.

"Who, me? Pshh! I don't know what chya talkin' about!" Falco brushed off like he was innocent. He pulled his friend back then spun him around by one of his hands.

Fox laughed at this, finally having some fun. He shook his head, grinning wide, "Guess I'll have to keep you around for a while longer!" he shouted to him as he started dancing at him. He couldn't help but laugh again when Falco shot him a dashing grin and wiggled his eye brow at him. Fox shoved him away.

Falco laughed too, "Oh come on! You love me!" Fox put a hand to his chin like he was thinking, making Falco pout at him like a wounded puppy. Fox grinned at this.

"Ok ok! I guess I love you just a little bit," Fox said, putting his fingers together to show a little bit. This made Falco grin again.

They danced together, the world around them fading away. They didn't notice all the weird looks they were getting, or the fact that they were the only people dancing. They didn't notice the sigh and shake of his head that Peppy gave them or the hint of a smile on his face. They only laughed and smiled, only having one another in their world.

Eventually Slippy ran up and joined them, bouncing around as he smiled. He was always so full of energy. Krystal stayed back to take pictures, laughing too.

General Pepper let out a chuckle, folding his arms behind him, "Ah the young folk these days..." he said as he smiled and watched Fox, Falco, and Slippy dance.

Peppy chuckled at this, "You're dating yourself, sir," He told him, looking at him then back at the group, "But I agree. You can't keep those two tamed for long,"

"Don't see why you'd want to," The general said, "They definitely bring life and color wherever they go."

"Ah, that they do," Peppy said in agreement, "That they do..."