I wasn't really much of a dreamer. Whenever I did go to sleep, it was usually mere lapse in memory before I awake again. However, whenever I do dream, it usually meant that there was something I was forgetting. So, for a few days in a row, I had the same dream of me standing in the kitchen late at night. Each time, I had a whole bunch of empty bowls, cups and spoons for measurement, and some flour and some sugar and the like. And each time, I'd ask the same question.

"Now what?"

"Samus, are you okay?"

I opened my eyes to see Zelda looking down at me with an expression of concern. I groaned as I slowly sat up. "Yeah, I'm good," I said, my voice a bit raspy. I cracked my neck before looking at her with half-lidded eyes. "Why you ask?"

"You were talking in your sleep." Zelda took a seat next to me and leaned her shoulder against mine. "You kept on saying 'now what'. Is something on your mind?"

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I was just dreaming. I always do whenever there's something I was forgetting." I stretched my arms outward as I arched my back. "It's probably nothing major."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

It was something major.

It nagged me a little, so, after I washed up and put some clothes, I checked to see if there was anything on the agenda for me. I had no match for the day, and there wasn't a bounty worth taking on – especially since Fox was with Falco and the rest of Star Fox on a mission handed down to them by the Cornerian government. I was a bit disappointed I couldn't come with them, but it would have been hard for me to do so – The Government of Corneria was very selective of who they hired for certain jobs, and while I was sure the crew could've paid me out of what their payment, I didn't want to take chunk of their pay – especially since a good chunk of it usually went to Great Fox repairs and upgrades.

So, resigned to the fact that my day was empty, I went to one of the many dens in the mansion and started watching TV, flipping through channels until I settled on this nature program. I watched it for about twenty minutes before there was a segment about foxes – actual foxes. I internally sighed – it seemed like even a TV channel was trying to poke fun at me. I was just about to change the channel until is showed a fox giving birth. I watched it, because I always found things like that interesting. And then something clicked.

"Fox… giving birth…" I paused for a moment. "Fox giving birth, fox giving… OH SHIT IT'S FOX'S BIRTHDAY TOMORROW!" I groaned as I covered my hands with my face. I was ashamed that I forgot his birthday and even more ashamed that it took a nature documentary for me to remember. "Why am I such a bad friend?" I said into my hands. I lifted my face out of my hands. I didn't want to go out that day, but I had to make a trip. So, I stood up and made my way back to the room.

As I was trying to get ready, grabbing random clothes out my closet, Peach walked in, looking a little annoyed.

"Another day, another loss," she said with a huff of her breath. She took off her crown and tossed it onto her bed. "I just want to get this week over with so I can regroup and…" She stopped talking before she looked at me as I went through my clothes. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," I said as I settled on a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a grey hoodie. As I started to change, I spoke. "…I… may or may not have forgotten that it was Fox's birthday today."

Peach paused. "You forgot? You, of all people forgot? I mean, it happens, but you'd be pretty low on the list of people who'd – "

"Peach," I interrupted quickly as I lay on my bed to quickly put the pair of jeans on. "…I already feel crappy as it is." I zipped and buttoned my pants as I stood up. "Just right now, I'm going to head out and grab something for Fox."

"What are you going to go out and do?" Peach asked.

I paused for a moment as I was halfway taking off my shirt. I thought for a moment, then sighed. "I don't know." I fully took my shirt off and tossed it off to the side. "I'll figure something out." I grabbed the black shirt off of the bed and put it on. "I just have to get out there. There's still plenty of time before he comes back home and…" I trailed off. "…I guess I'll just wing it."

"…Wing it?" Peach repeated. She shook her head. "Yeah, no Sammy. Give me a few minutes and I'll head out with you."

"No, I got this," I insisted. Peach spared me a glare before she walked over to her closet.

"Sweetie, I love you to death. That is why I'm going to come with you before you end up buying the wrong thing – or throwing a tantrum in the middle of a department store."

I scoffed. "Why do you care so much?"

"Because you and Fox are my friends," she responded with a shrug. "I know he means a lot to you, and I'm sure you mean a lot to him. So, I want to help you so could you both have a good time tonight – especially if he's coming off of a mission." I stared at her for some seconds. I wanted to say no. I really did. But, after she said that, how could I? So, instead, I huffed out a breath and nodded. She smiled as she clapped her hands together. "Awesome! I'll be ready soon."

About thirty minutes later, we arrived at the mall. I wanted to get right to it, but Peach insisted we grabbed smoothies from one of the kiosks. Once we did, we walked through the mall, looking at the different stores.

"So, any ideas on what I should get Fox," I asked. Peach took a moment to think as she took a sip of her smoothie.

"Do they sell firearms here?" she inquired.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say… no."

"It was a worth a shot."

"Even if they did, I wouldn't." I eyed another kiosk, which was selling incense.

"How come?"

"Well, what kind of gifts do you hate receiving?"

"Crowns, scepters, formal dresses, luxury carriages…" Peach trailed off before she looked at me. "…I know, I know, those are First World problems."

"No judgement," I assured her. "But why don't you like those gifts?"

"You see, I understand I'm royalty. I'm happy about it, and glad to serve my people. However, at the end of the day, 'Princess' is a title and a duty and it's not entirely who I am. I'd rather not receive something that reminds me of a job that I have to do." She looked at me. "…Is that the reason you don't want to buy Fox a firearm?"

"It is," I said. I finished off my soda before I tossed the cup into the trash can we were passing by. "We – bounty hunters and mercenaries, that is – don't that much of the way of time to just be ourselves. As a matter of fact, Fox told me one of the reasons he loves fighting for SSB is because, within this mansion, he could just be chill."

"Makes sense," Peach said with a nod. She went quiet for a bit as she sipped her smoothie. She then tilted her head. "…Fox is rather well-groomed, isn't he? I rarely, if ever, see him look scruffy or shaggy. Perhaps a little long in the fur from time to time, but that's about it."

"…I… suppose?" I responded, a look of confusion coming over his face. "….Why?"

"I have an idea."

When she told me the gift… I went along with it, because I honestly didn't have a better idea for it, but I wasn't sure that it was the best thing I could get for Fox. Still, I bought it. When I got back to the mansion, I wrapped the gift to the best of my ability. Once that was done, I pulled out my phone and sent Fox a message by text, asking him to meet me in the kitchen at 11 at night. After that, I spent the rest of the day in my bed, going in and out of sleep until my clock read 9:00. I got up, took a shower, brushed my teeth, and got dressed, wearing nothing but a pair of a black t-shirt, a pair of red-orange gym shorts, and a pair of sports sandals.

I went downstairs, gift in hand. I walked into the kitchen and laid the gift on the top of the island. I sat on the stool and waited. I checked the time.

9:30.

As I sat there, I remembered when Fox and I ate ice cream at this very spot, trying to get our minds off of our ruined dinner up in Papetoon. It made me feel a bit better, and I did enjoying have some semblance of a good time. In the back of my mind that night, I was thinking that the only thing that could have made it better was if we had brownies.

An idea popped into my head at that moment. I tried to fight against the urge, but before I could, I was already on my feet, heading over to the pantry. I opened the pantry and looked through it. After a while, I grabbed some flour, baking soda, and vanilla, and some chocolate morsels. After depositing it on the counter, I grabbed eggs out of the fridge and dropped them – gently – next to the dry ingredients. Finally, I grabbed the measuring cups from the cupboards.

With everything gathered, I sighed as I looked at the ingredients.

"Now what?"