Grow Up

Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. I also do not own Queen's Blade that is owned by Hobby Japan. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters.

Summary: Sonic is depressed after Fox calls him out on his childish antics that were clearly misinterpreted at the Flower Festival. Leaving the mansion to mope, Sonic ends up encountering a half-elf named Nowa who understands the pain Sonic is going through and hangs out with him for the entire day to blow off some steam. It's only by hanging out with her that Sonic is able to understand himself and his relationship with Fox better.

Pairing: Fox/Sonic, Pit/Airi, implied Cloud/Corrin and Pit/Laharl

Rated: T (for teen)

Genre: Friendship, Drama, Humor and Romance

Warning: Swearing, sexual themes and unintentional OOC

I have a few ideas for Fox/Sonic that happened earlier in the timeline. The ficlets aren't enough for them, so here's one of them. The more stories concerning these two, the more I hope their implied relationship in other timelines make sense. Enjoy! Also this fic was asked by one of my Smash friends and added some things for him than originally planned in this idea.

The Flower Festival finished and many Smashers became closer than ever. Flowers symbolized many things depending on what flower was given to the other. Of course Fox McCloud found the festival troublesome for many reasons. It should have been a festival to harvest bonds but he noticed that some of the Smashers used it to hook up with one another. He expected it with Mario and Peach of course (but he felt bad for Bowser given his obvious crush), but it was annoying him greatly with how the other Smashers were being rather…crude during the festive dance.

To rewind things, the Flower Festival was supposed to be a relaxing day. Master Hand had said there would be no Smash matches until the festival was over. Fox was always training on his free time, so this should have been a good thing. He would have spent his time sitting next to the tree and watching specific flowers bloom at night. He forgot what they were called, but he remembered how beautiful they were. Fox had intentions of calling Krystal over and watching the flowers bloom, but things didn't go according to plan. The leader of Star Fox got stuck with babysitting Sonic who wanted to avoid going to the festival with Amy Rose. She didn't hear about the festival, so he was safe from being dragged around all over Smashopolis. Sonic was the one that ended up dragging Fox around the entire night, and while they were able to go to Smash Forest to see the flowers bloom in a secluded area, it meant almost interrupting another couple who had same idea and were near the lake area first.

Thinking back on it, Fox was just annoyed that his time with Sonic was ruined because Corrin wanted to show Cloud the night flowers in Smash Forest. Sonic knew about them, but he was having too much time hanging out with Fox that he forgot about the quiet place. Cloud had wanted to get away from everyone and the dragon prince lead him into the forest. Fox and Sonic arrived just when the two had said something to each other and started making out. Not wanting to ruin their moment, Fox pulled Sonic away despite the blue wonder wanting to stay and listen in on their conversation.

It was at this point that Sonic started to act differently around the older Smasher and for good reasons. A festival that brought lovers together meant they stood out from the bunch. While Sonic may have been complaining about Amy the entire time, it didn't mean that he wasn't interested in romance. His interests were simply elsewhere. Fox wasn't even going to give Sonic any funny ideas and had told him to drop the idea of anything happening. The way the red fox worded it only confused Sonic. At first, Sonic wasn't affected by said words, but the more he thought about it, the more irritated he got and it started to show in combat.

A week later, Sonic would explode once the words finally got to him. When he finally confronted Fox about them, it only made the situation worse.

"Sonic, nothing is going to happen unless you change your attitude." Fox told him harshly. "You're always complaining about that Amy girl and how she acts but you don't act any different from her."

"What?! Excuse me?!"

Fox didn't want to cause a scene in the diner, but he wouldn't be surprised if he did. It was still ten in the morning, but not all the Smashers were awake yet. It was a lazy weekend and most Smashers wanted to relax before they started preparing for the next big tournament. Peach had already done her morning chores and left food for everyone, but he expected Zelda to come downstairs soon for her late coffee. If she caught them arguing, he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Look, I'm sorry nothing happened at the Flower Festival but nothing was supposed to happen. You know and I know you wanted something only after you saw what Corrin was doing with Cloud."

Steam started to visibly show up over Sonic's head at the mention of the ex-SOLDIER and dragon prince kissing. Fox noted how Sonic underreacted to two guys kissing, but when your friends with a certain angel who has probably done his fair share of flirting in front of you, you grow immune to events like that.

"Are you insinuating that my actions were in the heat of the moment?!" Sonic questioned him. He stopped trying to keep his voice down seeing how uncomfortable Fox was about it.

"…Yes…because that's the type of person you are Sonic. Until you figure out how to tone down that attitude problem, you'll never grow up…and I can't deal with someone like that…romantically."

Sonic didn't hear that last word. The words that rang in his ears were "attitude problem" and "grow up". In other words, he wasn't being taken seriously in the slightest. The hedgehog opened his mouth to spit insults at the older Smasher, but forced himself to hold his tongue. If he said something, Fox would prove his point…and that irritated the younger Smasher to no end.

"Tch…whatever. I'm gone. If you need me…actually you won't need me anytime soon."

Fox demanded Sonic to stay put, but Sonic had already zipped out of the diner and out of the mansion. By the time Fox walked out of the diner, Sonic was probably at Smashopolis. The Leader of Star Fox growled at Sonic's immaturity and ended up murmuring something snarky under his breath.

Sonic wouldn't hear that though. He was heading to Smashopolis. He needed to go somewhere to blow off some steam. Perhaps the Smash Dome or the Smash Arcade would relieve his stress. Anything would do as long as he didn't have to think about how Fox continued to look down on him despite his obvious attempts to make it obvious that he cared about him.

Care probably wasn't the right word either. Sonic just didn't want to use the terms Amy was known for when addressing his relationship with Fox. It was too complicated for him to think about. They were friends inside and outside of Smash. They teamed up in doubles often and got very far with their teamwork. At times, Sonic might have seen him as an older brother due to his own issues, but at the end of the day, Sonic had developed a crush on Fox during the Brawl years. He didn't bother acting on it since he didn't think he would be allowed to return to Smash, so he would let his feelings die out. His crush ended up blooming into something else that would explain why he was acting childish in the first place. Fox wasn't going to deal with him now that it was more apparent that he had a crush on him, so it was only going to strain their relationship unless he figured out how to either simmer down or get rid of his crush altogether.

Sonic's ears twitched hearing someone ask for help in Smashopolis. He smirked realizing he could distract himself and play hero. He quickly zipped in the direction of the person who needed help and was surprised that it was a pretty priestess who required assistance. She wasn't from around these parts. She looked to be a Japanese priestess with the long white kimono she was wearing. The priestess had long black hair and uncanny white eyes. She carried two swords with her and had a headband that was tied around her forehead. While her eyes didn't convey any emotion, the rest of her face showed distress when the man she was talking to shook his head at whatever she asked him.

"I'm sorry Miss. I did not see a young half-elf with a monkey. Smashopolis is the home to many unique characters, so she wouldn't stand out that much."

"I see…"

"Shall I direct you to a place where I think she might be?"

"No, it's okay. I will be fine."

At this point, Sonic had decided to hop into the conversation.

"Hey! I'm good at finding people! Perhaps I can help!"

The man groaned hearing Sonic's voice. While the blue hedgehog was a helpful individual, Sonic had to remember he wasn't really popular with the people in Smashopolis. There were many salty people who hated how well he placed in tournaments over their favorites so seeing him outside of Smash left them staring at him while trying to hold back their insults. The priestess slowly looked to where Sonic was standing and smiled.

"You will help find my friend?"

"Of course! Just tell me what your friend is like!"

"My friend is a half-elf who has a monkey companion with her. She has yet to get use to the human world as she usually spends time in the forest playing and training all day. She loves nature more than anything and has fought for the forest from the world we came from. Her name is…"

Sonic only needed half of the information to know where to find her. He gave a quick wave before zipping off before she finished. The man was far from pleased with how impatient the blue wonder was being and called him out on his immaturity once Sonic was out of hearing range. The priestess would be confused especially since she noticed his presence was gone as quickly as it appeared.

Sonic knew exactly where the priestess' friend would be. Mention nature once and you were most likely going to be at the Botanical Garden or Smash Forest. The forest was the last place Sonic wanted to be especially after that awkward situation he was in with Fox, but he knew this girl would be hanging out here. He wondered how he would be able to find her. He didn't ask for a description of her. All he had to go by was that she had a monkey companion. If there was a girl jumping through the trees with a monkey, Sonic knew he found his target.

All I need to do is listen for the sound of a tree branch snapping and I found her. Sonic told himself as he went over to a tree and rested against it before closing his eyes. He would be able to focus better.

Most Smashers weren't aware that there were so many living creatures living in the forest. They all made different sounds as they scurried on with their lives. Whether it was the insects or the birds, Sonic would be able to recognize what living organism it was. However, because he closed his eyes, he failed to see that someone was going to attack him. By the time he opened his eyes, he was met with a small figure that was most likely his target. She had long brown hair, amber colored eyes and pointy ears. Everything she wore on her body was orange from her armguards, to her skirt and her outfit with a white cloth that was covering her breasts. The girl had a staff in her hand ready to smack Sonic silly for leaving himself open for an attack.

"What the?!"

Sonic was taken off guard by what the girl did not have on. Despite her forest like outfit that covered her private parts up, when she came down from above in an attempt to attack him, he noticed immediately she wasn't wearing underwear. It was enough to visibly disturb him. If he had slower reflexes, he would have been smacked with her staff for peaking.

"Take this!"

Sonic quickly caught the staff before it smacked him in the face. It did leave him open for the monkey companion to jump off his trainer and latch onto the blue hedgehog.

"Oh come on! Diddy Kong already does this monkey humping enough!"

The monkey blocked Sonic's view by suddenly stretching its body out over his eyes. The girl was able to pull her staff away and smack Sonic in the stomach sending him flying into the tree. The blue hedgehog was dazed when his spines collided with the tree and was seeing stars. The girl ended up giggling as she called her monkey back.

"Oh, he doesn't look dangerous. My bad!"

"Uhhh…the things I do for people sometimes…" Sonic could be heard complaining. "You're…"

Sonic just remembered he didn't get to hear the priestess tell him the name of the person he was looking for. All he knew was he found the person he was looking for. Her pointed ears at least proved she was an elf of some sort (or half-elf according to the description) and she had an annoying monkey companion. She gave him a confused look when he stumbled on his words.

"Me? Oh! I'm Nowa! This little companion is named Lou! We thought you were a dangerous animal here. We heard there were some dangerous monsters in general, but we had to make sure."

Sonic forced himself to stand up annoyed he let that happen. He glared at the monkey who stuck his tongue out at him. It just reminded him so much of Diddy that he just wanted to punch it in the face.

"What's your name?" The young girl asked.

"…The name's Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." The blue wonder introduced with his trademark smirk. "And I was sent to find you by your friend."

Nowa blinked for a moment before Sonic realized that he probably would have to explain what happened before she would even agree to follow a complete stranger. This was going to take some time…

While it was obvious to many that Sonic would get over Fox's scolding in a few hours, the leader of Star Fox was convinced he went too far in berating the younger Smasher. To the other Smashers who might have overheard the fight earlier on this morning, it was just a typical argument between them. However, Fox felt like the words he said were unnecessary and wanted to take them back almost immediately. This meant going to Smashopolis on his own to find the blue wonder even though the chances of finding him were incredibly low. Falco had told him that Sonic will eventually have to return and that should be the moment he would talk to him. Fox was impatient though. He needed to find him now before Sonic really let those words sink in.

"He's a kid Fox. He'll get over it."

That was why they got into a fight in the first place. Sonic didn't want to be seen as some child to Fox. Yes, he was sixteen who wanted to be seen as an adult but still acted like he twelve at times. Fox didn't want to risk being with someone around that age. One wrong move and everything could go to shit.

Falco didn't understand his friend's dilemma and let Fox go to Smashopolis. The bus ride would take one hour and he would have been better off using the Walker portion of the Arwing to get to Smashopolis. He was in a rush to get to his destination, but he wasn't stupid enough to run all the way from the mansion to the metropolis. Only a few Smashers would be able to do that in a few minutes like Sonic or Shulk (when he was in speed form). The pilot would take this time to think about what to say to Sonic once he finally found him.

One hour wasn't enough though. His mind was left blank the entire time and he could only think about what happened during the Flower Festival and how happy he was to spend time with Sonic. As much as he ratted on other couples about PDA, he really…really wanted to hold Sonic's hand, push him against a tree in Smash Forest and…

"…I may be a predator, but that type of predator…" Fox muttered darkly to himself as the Mii announced the stop at the Smash Gourmet. This wasn't where he wanted to be, but it would be a start.

He still hasn't calmed down. That was the problem. When Fox had issues he wanted to talk about, he would go to Peach for that. Fox has learned during the Melee days that besides being a good fighter, she was willing to listen to everyone's woes. Fox went to her a lot when he was complaining about his previous relationship with Krystal and while her advice was helpful, it didn't save their relationship. Fox had to admit that things just weren't meant to be, but he wondered if he disappointed Peach hence why he didn't go to vent to her this time around.

As he was walking down the street, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and ended up crashing into someone completely knocking her over in the process. The swords that were by her side ended up falling out of the hilt and into the street.

"Whoa! Sorry ma'am! I'll help you out!"

"No…it's fine…I'll…"

Fox noticed immediately something was wrong with the girl. She was looking in the wrong direction of where her sword fell despite the swords clearly being in front of her. As he picked them up for her, he caught a glimpse of her expression and noticed why she was failing to see something directly in front of her.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were blind!"

The girl didn't blink her eyes when he said that. She just waited for Fox to help her when he got her and her swords off the ground.

"I am fine. I can sense the presence of others."

Well obviously you didn't notice me. Fox snarked to himself. "How come you're all alone? Don't you have someone helping you out?"

"Yes…I did have a friend, but we somehow got separated. A nice gentleman told me that a man name Sonic would help search for her." The priestess sighed at the thought. "Nowa has already caused so much trouble for the people around her."

Fox blinked at her description before he sighed too for a different reason. Of course Sonic would try to pretend like nothing happened and would help the first person that needed help. That's what he liked about him, but knowing that Sonic had an incentive this time around, it didn't leave a good feeling in Fox's stomach. On top of that, he still left a blind girl behind who didn't seem to be aware that Sonic was a hedgehog.

"Hey, it's not good to be walking around. Let's sit somewhere so you won't risk bumping into someone." Fox began as he started to guide her. He noticed her expression faltered when his arm glazed hers just slightly. "Uh…let's go to the café, so you don't think I'm a weirdo."

"I sense fur…"

"Um…that's probably because I'm Fox McCloud…" Fox introduced awkwardly. "I'm not human…"

"Oh…so your aura is similar to this Sonic person."

"Sort of…but we're not from the same universe obviously."

The priestess paused as if she wanted to say something, but changed her mind. She allowed Fox to take her to a nearby coffee shop so they could sit down and relax. Fox had this nagging feeling that if he was with this Japanese beauty for a few hours, Sonic would eventually return because chances are he wasn't going to find this Nowa person immediately despite being the fastest thing alive.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner. I am Tomoe and I am from the country of Hinomoto."

"Hinomoto? Isn't that just a fancy name for Japan?"

Tomoe tilted her head in confusion. Fox ended up bopping himself lightly on the head remembering that not all eastern like realms called their area "Japan".

"Sorry. I was thinking of someplace else. What brings you and your friend here Tomoe?" Fox asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh…Nowa and I were going to participate in the Flower Festival. However, I was told that the festival was over. Nowa was really upset. We took a wrong turn before reaching Smashopolis. We have heard from some friends who have arrived here with ease that Smashopolis was producing the most beautiful flowers. I may not have been able to see them, but I could feel the life that would radiate from them. Nowa thinks that I am mad at her for not being able to participate. That is not the case. There is always next year. However…now…I am left in this predicament where I admit I have difficulties moving from one place to the other without Nowa to guide me. I am at a loss until this Sonic person finds her."

"I see…"

"Is this Sonic person your friend?"

"I guess you could say that…"

Tomoe noted that Fox was unsure about how to respond to that. It was rude to pry into someone's business but…

"Are you and Sonic not friends?"

"We are but I'm…" Fox growled thinking about what happened at the Flower Festival. If there was an opportunity to vent with someone, it was now especially since she couldn't see Fox's appearance and get creeped out by the information she would be learning. "Okay…we're friends…at least I want us to stay friends. I already had to deal with a painful breakup and I don't want to deal with having another romantic partner again especially someone who is too young."

"How young?"

"There's a huge age gap. I rather not talk about it."

Tomoe didn't know about that, but Fox knew the gap was too big and would turn some heads.

"You can talk to me. No need to be scared."

"Why would I be scared? It's not like any of us Smashers can be arrested for who we date here in the Smash Brothers Realm, but the minute we walk out of it…well…then there's no guarantee."

"Please, tell me what has happened between you two. This Sonic seems like a nice man if he was willing to help me without a second thought."

"That's how Sonic is." Fox told her before he took a deep breath. Trusting a stranger was risky, but he doubted that a blind priestess would be able to do much with this information. "During the Flower Festival, Sonic had dragged me everywhere to get out of my slump. I wanted to fix my relationship with Krystal and had tried to make arrangements. It didn't work out the way I wanted and Sonic had told me he would replace Krystal as my date. I was really…annoyed when he said that. Sonic…does not understand what it means to be dating someone much less falling in love. He's fun loving and carefree. He runs away from people who have obvious crushes on him. He loves everyone equally and will fight until the end for them…and yet…last night, he was willing to let me be a special person in his heart…and I told him no."

There was a long pause afterwards. Tomoe was waiting for Fox to continue and Fox was waiting for Tomoe to make a nasty comment about his actions. When nothing was said between the two, Fox quickly shuffled through the menu that was on the table they were sitting at outside and pretended to ignore Tomoe's soulless stare.

"And how did he react?"

"He was upset. Today we got into a fight about it. I told him to grow up, but he didn't get the memo that I won't date him because of his age. I used the excuse he wasn't mentally grown up to not use the age excuse again."

"How do you feel about this situation?"

"…I want to apologize for being too harsh."

"Is that it?"

Fox groaned knowing why he was so fidgety about this entire situation.

"You don't need to tell me. I can sense strong feelings about your friend. You are just too shy to admit it."

"Shy? I'm obeying the laws of the universe! One wrong move and I will…"

"I understand the age of consent hinders your relationship, and I will not advocate for it." Tomoe began. "However, you must understand that you cannot deny your feelings and tarnish your friendship. If I had to choose between breaking the law and ruining my friendship…I would choose the former." Tomoe frowned thinking about something from her past.

"Huh?! Why? Don't you care what everyone will think of you?"

"I do, and I regret thinking about everyone but myself for that one time." Tomoe started. Her expression darkened as she continued. "I used to have someone who started out as an assassin that wanted to kill me. However, I was able to save her and show her the path of righteousness. We became very close…so close that I…" Tomoe raised her hands and glared at it even though she couldn't see it. "…These hands are stained with the blood of my friend."

Well, this conversation took a dark turn. Fox thought grimly to himself as he listened profusely. "Why did you kill her?"

"My friend wanted to give me an important lesson. In order to obtain something that you desperately desire, you must be willing to sacrifice something of equal importance and face the consequences of your actions whether it is positive or negative. Shizuka…she…" Tomoe obviously didn't want to dip into what she considered her sin and decided to focus on Fox instead. "My situation is not like yours. However, I feel like if you wait too long to be honest with the one you have feelings for…then you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"But I don't have…" Fox knew he was lying to himself, but it sounded better to just deny it and be the "better person". He wasn't really someone of holy morals like some of the other fighters. Fox wondered if Tomoe's blindness was caused due to the loss of her loved one.

"Just try to understand Sonic's side of the story before you do anything rash. The worse you can do is ignore the situation and watch your friendship drift apart. The best outcome though…"

"I'll think about it." Fox interrupted her. He noticed the waiter was finally coming over to end this conversation for now. "Waiter!"

Tomoe kept her stoic expression when Fox called the waiter over. She hoped she got through to the leader of Star Fox. It was wrong to meddle in the affairs of other people, but the last thing she wanted was for others to suffer in terms of failed confessions. Tomoe had already lost her chance with Shizuka and she knew she would never get a chance again…even if Shizuka was still smiling down at her from heaven.

Once Sonic got over Nowa's appearance, it was ridiculously easy to get along with her and because the half-elf was so similar to him, Sonic forgot his original intention of finding her. Nowa allowed Sonic to take his mind off everything that was plaguing him that entire week. When she wasn't training, Nowa preferred to play all day. That was what Sonic wished he could do, but knew he couldn't. The schedule in Smash Brothers was rather strict and if the Smashers wanted to start winning, they needed to practice. Sonic was doing better than expected, but it prevented him from relaxing. He hadn't been able to relax the entire week because he kept thinking about Fox. With Nowa, he was able to go back to being free-spirited if only for a few hours. Nowa had only been in the forest for a short time, but the two were able to traverse the forest and find new areas that Sonic had never seen before. The lake was one of the major locations in the forest, but Sonic wasn't aware of a hidden cave near said lake. The cave connected to many different portions of the forest. Nowa pointed out how one of the smaller tunnels did in fact lead into Smashopolis. Sonic didn't want to know where exactly, but Nowa implied that it lead to a huge white building with a cross. Sonic concluded it was the church and he didn't want to end up there.

There was another cave deeper in the forest that had the rarest jewels inside. Nowa was a collector of the shiny things, and she wanted to take at least one with her before returning home. Sonic had this nagging feeling that if this place was revealed, something terrible would happen, so he decided to keep this pretty gem place to himself…not like anything would beat the Chaos Emeralds in terms of beauty.

The forest in general had a lot of open areas. The entrance and the lake was the easiest to get to, but getting to these other locations without a guide was flat out impossible. Smash Forest was a vast area that Sonic assumed made up one portion of the realm. The mansion was huge especially since it had all the spaceships keeping them. Smashopolis took up a huge section of the realm alone. Then you got the ocean and the forest and that was it. Smash Brothers Realm was like a huge galaxy in the grand scheme of things, but that was beside the point for Sonic. He loved exploring and the Smash Brothers Realm continued to provide new locations for him to visit.

The two would soon start to head back to the entrance of the forest before heading to Smashopolis. Sonic had no intention of leaving until Nowa decided to put some underwear on, but she rejected the offer.

"When I left the world of humans, I took off anything manmade. As the Forest Keeper, it wouldn't be right to have something not made from the forest." The half-elf explained.

"But couldn't you just slap a leaf underneath you and call it a day? What happens if the wind picks up and people look your way? Wouldn't you be ashamed if anyone saw you?"

"Why would I be ashamed? You're naked minus your shoes and gloves."

"Umm…but most Mobians don't wear anything…" Sonic muttered to himself. He shrugged his shoulders realizing he wasn't going to change her mind and he would have to hope the scenario his mind doesn't play out.

"Also, you don't need to be an adult around me. I may be over fifty years old but I still know I can have fun."

Sonic was about to say something until he heard her age. Then he gave her a strange look. His eyes twitched at her real age.

"…So you're almost as old as Shadow…amazing…"

"Well, elves and half-elves age slowly. You have friends who look younger but are old too, right?"

"Well…yeah…I told you about Pit. He looks your age, but he's almost 2500 years old from what Palutena told me. I know that's like twenty-five in human years, but you never know about a person's age until you ask about it." Sonic groaned when he said that. "But once you find out about a person's age…they might just push you away for some stupid reason…"

"Are you mad about your friend again?"

"…Sort of."

"Why? Is it because of the age? It shouldn't be an issue since you can be friends with anyone regardless of age."

"…But according to that bonehead, he believes that age would ruin a relationship…"

Nowa may have been over fifty, but her mindset was still that of a child. She wouldn't be able to grasp the other side of the argument. Therefore, of course she would agree with Sonic that the person he had a crush on was over thinking things.

"Honestly…he never saw it as a problem until he found out…it's like the only way to get his attention is to be an adult…"

"But you're not an adult." Nowa brought up. "You're still young."

"But I want…" Sonic cut himself off. He was starting to sound a little selfish.

"You want this person. It's understandable. We all have our wants and needs."

"Yeah…"

"Again, you're not an adult Sonic. You don't need to force yourself to be one just to please people. When you're with me, you can act however you want. I think this person you like needs to understand that you're you and you can't change overnight."

But if I don't change even a little for Fox, then I'm being selfish. Sonic thought darkly to himself. I'm not really cut out for the adult crap he's always talking about.

"Why do you want to change? Is being an adult really that important? You need to enjoy yourself."

"I do, but Fox won't…take me seriously."

That really has been the problem since the very beginning. Sonic couldn't really get his attention during the Brawl tournament. There was this huge gap between the two only because Fox had been obsessed with maintaining his title as a great fighter. That hasn't changed now, but he mellowed out. Sonic thought that toughening up would change their relationship. Unfortunately, even if they became rivals and friends, the lovers' part felt out of Sonic's reach. Fox just couldn't get over Krystal even when he acted like he was taking their break up well once they were friends again. As a friend, Sonic wanted to help him get over it, but then Sonic started developing feelings beyond a crush.

The Flower Festival confirmed to the hedgehog he wanted Fox as a romantic companion despite swearing off anything as complicated as romance. Sonic couldn't help it. Fox was everything he wished he could be. He was well-liked individual (Sonic was aware he had his haters but it was brought to the surface in the Smash Brothers Realm), a wonderful leader who knew when to retreat when the odds didn't favor him, a courageous soul who was willing to put himself in harm's way to save his comrades…and a wonderful man with a heart of gold. Sonic was a hero in his realm, but he was still flawed. His actions have usually caused things to go from bad to worse, but he was rarely called out on it. If he acted like that in the Lylat System, there would be more consequences. Fox was a reasonable adult that did what needed to be done without acting too out of line. This situation was no different. Sonic wanted to do something risky, and Fox had probably weighed out the consequences and rejected him. Sonic was very disappointed that night because for once, he wanted Fox to act on emotion and not on logic.

If I told Fox I wouldn't mind being his prey, would that turn him off? Sonic asked himself sarcastically.

Nowa gave Sonic a concerned look when he made a weird expression that she couldn't decipher. What else was she supposed to say? Were her words reaching him or was he still going to hold onto the belief that the only way for him to be recognized by Fox was to act like an adult when it was obvious he was incapable of such a feat?

"Hey Sonic…"

"I'll figure something out Nowa. Don't worry. Now, let's get you back to your friend. I think I kept you with me long enough, and all I did was complain about my problems so…" Sonic ended up chuckling nervously as a result of admitting to messing up again.

Sonic may not have known what time it was, but he knew it was getting late. He promised that priestess that he would find and return her friend to her. Nowa has had her fun in the forest, but it was time to leave. Smash Forest was still a dangerous place even if Sonic knew most of the ins and out of said forest. The blue hedgehog offered to take the girl back to Smashopolis on his back. As long as Tomoe was in the same spot as earlier, then it won't be difficult to find her.

He would of course get distracted when he zipped through Smashopolis. Before reaching the original location, the blue hedgehog caught a glimpse of Pit and wanted to stop to say "hi". Nowa was confused on why Sonic would stop before meeting with her friend.

"Hey Pit! You should have told me you had a girlfriend!"

That was enough to catch Pit's attention. The angel captain turned around quickly to where Sonic was standing and snarled at him.

"S-Sonic?! Why are you here?!"

"Pit, I'm capable of being anywhere I want. You're forgetting speed is my middle name."

Pit looked like he wanted to correct him but held his tongue. The girl that was with Pit turned around and glared at the half-elf that was with the blue wonder causing the monkey that was on Nowa's shoulder to nearly fall off in fear of being attacked.

"…Why are you here?"

"I should be asking you that? Why is the mean ghost girl here?"

Sonic was definitely confused. "You two know each other?"

"She tried to kill me one time!" Nowa exclaimed. "She's evil! Wherever she walks, she hurts the forest!"

"How rude…it's not my fault that I am one with the dead."

Sonic couldn't believe that this girl was capable of such things. The girl was dressed up as a maid (and Sonic assumed the maid was another fetish of Pit besides the robot girl). She had long red hair in a twintail fashion. It was difficult to tell what her eye color was. It could have been blue, green or a combination of the two colors. Regardless, she was a very cute if not short girl that did kind of go well with Pit if you ignored the fact she was a demon of some sorts.

"Please don't fight here…" Pit grumbled. "I don't want to get in trouble with Lady Palutena…"

"Well…maybe you should visit your fiancé instead of having me report to you about him."

"But…"

"You have a girlfriend and a fiancé?" Sonic had to ask. "Isn't that…"

"It's complicated Sonic!" The brunette shouted as he rushed over to the blue hedgehog and grabbed him on the shoulder before leaning in. "Please don't tell anyone about Airi! Lady Palutena is going to punish me if she finds out I'm hanging with Airi!"

"Uh…I don't see the problem but…if you're cheating…"

"I'm not! It's complicated! I'll tell you when you're older! Just…let us be alone and continue on your merry way, please! You never saw an angel and a wraith together!"

If Sonic was a jerk, he probably would have told someone about Pit's secret relationship. However, he was good pals with the brunette and only agreed because it was Pit. The light angel hummed knowing that Sonic wouldn't tell anyone and jumped for joy before rushing back to his "date" and continuing the conversation he had before Sonic interrupted him. Nowa was far from pleased.

"I don't like her…" Nowa mumbled.

"Sorry, Pit's a good friend. And she doesn't seem that bad now."

Nowa pouted her lips as she continued to glare at the maid before her. There wasn't anything she could do now. The past was the past and Airi had moved on with her life after the rebellion was a success. Airi may have failed her duties protecting her master, but she had found a new one. That was all she knew about it.

"But…"

"Speaking of friends, it's time to get you back to Tomoe! I'm sure she's worried."

Bringing Tomoe up was a great way to change the subject and not put Sonic on the spot on how he handled things with his friends. Nowa got on back on Sonic's back as he zipped through Smashopolis again.

Sonic and Nowa were in for an earful when they finally made it back to Tomoe. The blue hedgehog did not want to see Fox again after his fight. Yes, Nowa had encouraged him to just talk to him and deal with his problems, but he wasn't ready to do that yet. Sonic was stubborn like that and it was something that he won't be able to get over.

Tomoe couldn't see in front of her, but she was far from pleased. The blind priestess shook her head in disapproval. Nowa's ears drooped at Tomoe's disappointment, but it was nothing compared to what Fox was doing to Sonic.

"What were you thinking?! I told you not to run off and then you go and disappear for the entire day! What if something were to happen to you?!"

"Fox, it's only been half a day. Where do you think I was going to go?"

Fox ignored Sonic's question and continued to pester him. "When I tell you to stay put, please stay put! When you run everywhere after something like that, I can't help but worry about you!"

"But…you're always worrying about something." Sonic told him darkly. "You worry too much."

Nowa wanted to step in for Sonic and wanted to give her input on the solution. While Tomoe couldn't see the expressions that were worn by the two Smashers, she knew not to interfere with their battle. She placed her hand on the half-elf as if telling her not to interfere with their problem.

"Sonic," Tomoe began catching his attention, "thank you for returning Nowa to me. I know she is capable of being on her own, but this is still an unknown place to us. We will stick together until we become familiarized with the place."

"Sorry, the forest just reminded me of home…" Nowa mumbled. "I shouldn't have had left you alone."

"No, it's okay. I was able to have a pleasant conversation with Fox." The raven haired priestess told her young companion before bowing to Fox. "Thank you for the tea."

"Eh, don't mention it. The tab is on me."

At this point, it was best for the two Beautiful Warriors to leave. They needed to find their hotel and check in. Otherwise, they would be in trouble. Nowa and Lou both waved to the two Smashers as the half-elf lead the way for Tomoe leaving Fox and Sonic alone to continue bickering. Originally, Sonic had no problem ignoring Fox since the leader of Star Fox looked like a fool in front of the ladies for lecturing him. Now that the two were alone, Sonic would have a harder time ignoring him.

"…Let's go to the park Sonic." Fox started. "We need to talk."

Sonic hated those four words coming from Fox. It usually meant something bad was going to happen. Since there was no escaping the older mammal, Sonic was forced to comply. He tried to look like a kicked animal when walking by his side, but no one was fooled. Fox and Sonic usually hung out, so when the fox was like this, it was usually Sonic or Falco's fault if the ace pilot decided to hang out with them.

When the two finally reached the park and sat on one of the benches, the two remained silent. Sonic was expecting Fox to yell at him again, but the walk (not run because it would ruin the mood) to the park allowed the two to think about what to say. Sonic already knew why he was upset with Fox. He had vented to Nowa about it for a reason despite being a stranger. If he were to talk to any of the other Smashers about it, they would be concerned for his health. The hedgehog would blame the Flower Festival for his recent mood swing anyway.

"Look Sonic…" Fox began as he cleared his throat. "I didn't want to sound too harsh this morning. I'm sorry."

"Ehh? What did you say this morning?"

"Umm…about growing up."

"Oh! I forgot about what you said! It wasn't important anyway!"

Fox wondered if this was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, Sonic was the type to not think about things too much. On the other hand, this had been plaguing Sonic's mind for a week, so the chances of Sonic lying was high.

"I…see…"

"You worry too much Fox! You're always thinking of the consequences of your actions."

"But…"

"Look…maybe you were right. Maybe I was acting in the moment and not thinking about how you feel…and that is my fault."

So you didn't forget. Fox thought to himself. He noticed that Sonic refused to make eye contact with him when he said that. Fox felt like he didn't need to say the obvious.

"But uh…that doesn't mean what I feel now has changed! I mean sure it was in the moment, but it's not like uh…I'm not good at this sort of thing…"

Well obviously. You're not looking at me and your face is the color of a ladybug now. Fox thought to himself as he chuckled.

"What's so funny?!"

"Sorry…I know I need to hear you out. I haven't been a good friend not hearing what you feel. I know I'm assuming things because of your age, but…"

"Yeah! You always assume things about me Fox! Just because you were my age once doesn't mean you know how I think. You told me how your life was when you were around my age and romance wasn't on your mind at all."

"I don't think it's on yours either and I don't know what would spark it besides seeing everyone else hooking up."

Fox shook his head in annoyance. They were running in circles with each other. They needed to resolve this now before it became a problem later.

"Fox, why can't you be honest with me?" Sonic asked him. "I know you're truthful most of the time, but I would like an honest opinion if I told you again if I liked you."

The leader of Star Fox froze in place. Sonic was putting him on the spot again. Unlike what happened at the Flower Festival, they were in a more public area. There weren't that many people walking around at this time. The sun was setting and the moon was starting to come out. It was almost time for them to head back to the mansion. Fox could use that excuse…or he could be honest with his feelings and just say it like Tomoe suggested.

The lack of a response wasn't encouraging to Sonic in the slightest. A part of him should have known Fox was too stubborn to be direct with him.

"…It was just a "what if" scenario…not really a…"

Fox had looked around for a bit before deciding to throw logic out the window. He took a deep breath and quickly gave his response to Sonic. The response was pulling the younger Smasher toward him for a quick kiss on the cheek. Sonic displayed two emotions at that moment: surprise and annoyance. The latter confused Fox greatly seeing as how the hedgehog was desperate for the older Smasher to show him some sort of affection.

"…Really? Are you still going to treat me like a child?"

"What? That kiss was…"

"You had a relationship with Krystal, but you're not kissing me correctly. You kiss me like Amy! Here, let me show you that I can be like your girl."

Fox was probably offended by that statement. However, his annoyance melted away when Sonic wrapped his slender arms around the red fox and locked lips with him. Everything the pilot tried to avoid was thrown at his face with such a large impact that the age gap didn't matter anymore. Who cares if there might have been people staring at them? Fox wanted to do this. He didn't want to be tempted, but here he was returning the kiss with more passion than he expected. He expected Sonic to be overwhelmed, but he forgot how fired up Sonic could be with things that he put his mind to with the kiss just being another thing he was being passionate about.

"...Was that your first kiss?" Fox had to ask as they finally pulled away. He couldn't help but think how cute the small that appeared on Sonic's face was.

"Hmm…maybe…I might have, but I certainly don't remember." Sonic responded as he stuck his tongue out. "I was good though, right?"

The pair of green eyes stared at each other with no signs of backing down. Fox was not going to admit anything to Sonic, so instead he ended up sitting correctly back on the bench. The fur did a good job hiding his blush in comparison to Sonic who gave a light laugh as he looked toward the sky. The sun was gone at this point and the moon was coming up. It was going to be beautiful night soon.

"I take it you do like me back then?" Sonic asked with a cheeky grin.

"…I rather not say it in public."

Sonic sighed as a response as well as doing his trademark shrug. "Some things never change."

"What changed?"

"Hmm? We're dating now, right?"

"What?! Come on Sonic! Sure we kissed but that doesn't mean…" Fox stopped himself from talking knowing he was digging his grave at this point. Better to just accept this awkward relationship than make a fool of himself any further. He couldn't deny his feelings anymore at this point.

In order for the awkwardness to die down, Fox allowed Sonic to rest on his shoulder. He did this so Sonic would be focused more on gazing at the sky than ask embarrassing questions about their relationship in public. The pilot did his best to hide his satisfaction with Sonic settling down almost immediately after the rash action. That was the type of person Sonic was. To him, they were cool again, and that was all that mattered. Fox would probably go back to worrying about how others would perceive their relationship. He would need to talk to Sonic how they would handle it later, but for now, he enjoyed watching the teen Smasher as he started to doze off.

"Hey Sonic…you can't sleep now. I know you were overexerting yourself all day, but you really can't expect me to carry you back…right?"

Sonic's response was a small snore. The hedgehog had fallen asleep on his shoulder and now was making things more difficult for Fox to move from the bench. It didn't mean that he couldn't do it. It just meant things became more tedious. Fox had to be careful when moving away from Sonic so he wouldn't fall over. Fox would then slowly lift Sonic off the bench and carry him on his back. Sonic was rather light, but his small figure should have given that away.

"You're really more trouble than you're worth." Fox teased lightly knowing Sonic wouldn't hear that. "Well…I guess it shouldn't be a concern now if I'm willing to accept responsibilities for my actions."

Fox had a choice on whether to take the long walk home or wait for the Mii Bus that would take them straight there. It would be risky going to the bus only because people would see him with Sonic. Not once had Fox given Sonic a piggyback ride. He could always tell them that he was feeling generous today, but the gesture would still raise some eyebrows. Fox would rather avoid it while he could. Right now, the main priority was getting the both back to the mansion. Once they returned, Fox would be able to tuck the hedgehog in bed and finally have time to think more on their current situation. At the moment though, Fox would rather enjoy walking with the sleeping hedgehog in tow. It wasn't everyday he saw Sonic in this adorable state after all.

Me: Done with 10000 words.

Li: What's a flower festival?

Me: The spring fic I didn't bother doing in May because that was BayoCorn month for me. Notes!

1. The mention of the Flower Festival stems from a story that was supposed to be written in May. As mentioned above, I dedicated the entire month to Corrin/Bayonetta whether it was posting a chapter concerning them or a story with them in it. The Flowers of Happiness story is Cloud/Corrin centric. I don't know when this type of story will be written. I have difficulties writing Clorrin in comparison to BayoCorn obviously so it will probably be a while. (This is also why there's a story skipped concerning Cloud/Corrin before the Accursed Avatars story).

2. Nowa is Tomoe's companion as of Vanquished Queens. Nowa graduated from being Alleyne's student and was free to do whatever she wanted. Nowa ended up following Tomoe in Hinamoto after she saves her from Dogura. I know it comes off as odd to leave Tomoe alone but Tomoe is established to be able to move on her own except when she gets dazed and suddenly she loses track of where she is like she should.

3. Tomoe is blind because of the Swamp Witch. Even when the Swamp Witch was killed, the curse wasn't lifted off the main cast. We don't know how all the cast members were affected but we clearly see in the Beautiful Warrior OVA series that the Swamp Witch clearly blinded Tomoe. When Vanquished Queens came around, Tomoe is completely blind.

4. Queen's Blade does have a super serious theme that is ignored because of the fanservice. Granted, it's similar to the theme of Full Metal Alchemist with some words added. "In order to obtain something important (such as your dream), you must be willing to sacrifice something of equal importance in order to obtain it and deal with the consequences whether good or bad. Alleyne actually tells Leina this in the series and sure enough, almost the entire cast ends up losing something important to them when Queen's Blade Rebellion comes around.

Leina, Elina and Claudette aren't as close as they were in the original series due to Claudette becoming a tyrant, Elina becoming more insane and Leina vanishing due to the Swamp Witch curse. All Leina wanted was to be like her mother. All Elina wanted was for her sister's approval and all Claudette wanted was her stepfather's approval and a happy family. They lost everything by the end of Rebellion.

Tomoe doesn't win the QB tournament thus her country is still corrupt. She loses Shizuka (in a stupid way) and becomes blind due to the Swamp Witch. She still has to be the one to rebuild her country on her own.

If the Vanquished Queen OVA didn't feature Irma, she would have been crippled for life thanks to Risty. Because Irma did not act in killing Aldra immediately because of following the tournament rules, she can no longer take revenge on the evil Aldra who killed her brother. The new Aldra is simply a housewife who loves everyone and wants to live a peaceful life.

Cattleya wanted to find her husband. In the anime she does and her family is fixed. In the other continuities, she never finds him and continues her journey to look for him, but never returned to her son implying either death or the Vanquished Queen novels imply a slave to the tentacles sent by the Swamp Witch.

The elves get massacred and there are only three elves left in the franchise from what we are told: Nowa, Alleyne and Echidna. Alleyne can no longer leave the forest where everyone was already killed and she can no longer see Nowa because she graduated as her student.

These are some examples. I must remind you not all the cast abided by this rule and I'm mainly referring to the angels and demons because they get away with everything and anything (hence why Nanael and Airi can be running around as if the tournament didn't happen and they get the funny OVA for Vanquished Queens when this OVA franchise is incredibly dark).

5. An FYI, I have yet to post the story of Airi being recruited by Laharl. In some stories, she's dating Pit despite having an obvious crush on Xenolith. Their relationship is supposed to be more professional, but Palutena as shown in Miss Murder disapproves of their relationship due to how dangerous Airi is as shown in ID: Control where she did go through with the plan to revive the Swamp Witch. Airi's introduction in the anime was attacking Nowa which explains the grudge.

That's it. Reviews are appreciated. Ja ne!