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As they walked through the mall, Fox and Krystal looked for Falco and Slippy, but saw no sign of them. Fox didn't want to bother them with the communicator, at least not until they had to leave anyway. He had a more pressing issue on his mind at the moment. He had no idea of where to go next was beyond him, besides, Krystal seemed to stick to him like glue, and she went wherever he wandered. Finally, his stomach gave him an answer.

Its abnormally loud protest drew alarm from some nearby people and completely bewildered Krystal. Of course, once she figured out it's source, she burst out laughing. Her laughter was like music to his ears, but in his current situation he was just embarassed.
"Ohoho, my Gahahahahad!" she said, trying to talk through her laughter, "Fohahaxississ! Wa-wa-was that... yoohoohoou?!"
He scratched the back of his head and blushed, "I... I didn't know my stomach was that loud..." he mumbled, still embarrassed.
Still giggling, she gestured him to follow her, "C-come on... Let's get you some lunch."

Meanwhile……

Falco and Slippy had arrived at the clothing store as well, although they had missed Fox and Krystal by just a few minutes. Although the blue falcon dreaded it, he had to admit, it was necessary and there were some pretty nice threads here.

Slippy came back out of the dressing room with another outfit on. The toad had no sense of style. He was wearing an orange shirt, with red pants and a yellow hat.
“So how do I look this time Falco?” he asked for the billionth time.
“I already told you, Slip. I’m not going to comment on your appearance.”
“Oh come on. Lighten up you feather duster…” Slippy mumbled.
“What was that?!” Falco asked a bit aggressively.
“Nothing.” Slippy replied timidly. “So… really, how do I look?”
Falco sighed, “You look like a nerd, all right?”
Slippy glared at him and went back into the room.
The bird gathered his clothes and got into the room beside Slippy’s where he started to change into his new outfit.
“So… you really think I look like a nerd in this?” Slippy asked from somewhere up above. Falco looked up to see Slippy staring down at him.
The practically naked bird narrowed his eyes and stared at Slippy for a while.
“What?” Slippy asked innocently, either willfully ignoring Falco in his underwear, or somehow unaware of it.
“I’m going to kill you Slippy…”

Fox and Krystal eventually arrived at the food court where Fox eventually decided to get pizza after about 10 minutes while Krystal decided to get a modest salad with some water. As soon as they sat down Fox wolfed down about 4 slices. For almost the entire meal there was an awkward silence that hung over their heads like a suffocating shroud. Fox was leaned back in his chair, not sure of what to do or say, Krystal sat there staring at her salad, eating it slowly. Fox looked around the food court, Falco and Slippy weren't around, and he figured this might be as good a chance as any. He silently took a deep breath trying to summon up his courage. Instead, his heart just beat faster, his palms grew sweaty, and his knees started shaking.
“Hey, uh, Krystal?”
The blue vixen looked up from her salad, relieved that the silence was broken, “Yes Fox?”
“I was wondering, uh, how do I say this? I was wondering if you’d like to… well…”
Could it be? Krystal thought, Is he trying to ask me out?
“Would you like to-?”
“Hey Fox!” a familiar voice called out.

The mood was immediately shattered like brittle glass for both the foxes. Krystal was obviously depressed, while Fox at this point was ticked off. Fox turned and looked for who had called him. Bill was hurrying towards them, with a tray of food.
“Hey Bill.” Fox answered, faking cheerfulness.
“You don’t mind if I sit with you guys right?”
“Not at all.”
The dog sat down with his ears flopping, while Fox held back a very strong urge to throttle him. He sat still for a moment, looking between the two foxes and then asked, “Am I interrupting something?”
“No, not at all.” Krystal answered quickly.
“Yeah, it’s okay.” Fox said right after Krystal.

Bill looked rather hesitant, but eventually settled down and the three of them had a pleasant chat. Since Krystal didn’t know Bill that well, she listened for most of the time. She ran out of water and went to get more after a while.
The two men watched her go.
“She’s a great girl isn’t she?” Bill asked.
“Yep. Hell of a pilot and a fighter too.” Fox answered still staring in Krystal’s direction.
“I’m actually surprised you haven’t asked her out yet. I mean, she’s not exactly my species, but I’d love to have a nice woman with a body like that.”
“Bill, I was just about to ask her out when you shouted my name.”
Bill’s smile faded a bit. “Oh.” He looked a bit nervous, “Sorry ‘bout that Fox. But seriously, what’s taking you so long, bud?”
“Ah, I don’t know Bill.” Fox sighed miserably, slumping over the table. “I just don’t know how she would react if I asked. I mean we’re obviously interested in each other, but it’s just that when I go to ask… I just kinda… break down.”
“Been there.” Bill said, “If there’s one piece of advice I have, it’s this: Don’t wait too long Fox. Eventually, someone else is going to do it before you and then she’s gone.”
“Thanks Bill.”
“No problem.”
“Hey Bill?”
“Yeah?”
“When you sat down with us, I had a very strong urge to throttle you.”
“Shit man, I said I was sorry.”
“I know.”

Krystal came back and they continued their chat for a few more minutes until Fox’s communicator came on. Falco’s voice came through and his face appeared on the screen.
“Yo Fox! You guys ready to head home or what?”
“Yeah, be there in a sec.”
“What cha been doin’? It’s 4 o’clock.”
Fox blinked, they had been here for that long?
“We’ll be there soon, don’t get your feathers in a ruffle.”
“Ha, ha, ha, very funny.”
Fox looked back up to Bill, “Sorry pal, bird brain here’s getting impatient.”
“Hey! I resent that!” Falco’s voice squawked through the communicator.
Fox looked back at the communicator in surprise and hit the end transmission button.
Bill chuckled, “Don’t worry about it, just don’t be a stranger so much.”
“Gotcha.”

The pair left Bill heading towards the car on the other side of the mall. Along the way Krystal kept sneaking glances at Fox and eventually summoned up enough courage to ask.
“Hey Fox?”
“Yeah, Krys?” he glanced her way then just barely avoided another person on a collision course.
She giggled a bit at his frantic action, “Earlier, were you trying to-?”
“Uh… I can explain! Well I-I… I’m kinda, well…”

Krystal seized him by the back of the head and dragged Fox’s face forward so she could kiss him, but immediately let go of him with a squeak when Falco’s face appeared from around the corner. Fox on the other hand hit the ground face-first with a thwump. Falco followed Fox’s downward fall with an expression that showed clear embarrassment. There was a long awkward silence with Krystal blushing and worried over Fox, Fox continuing to lie face down with feelings of confusion and Falco sweatdropping.

“Uh….” Falco started off, “Am I… interrupting something?”
Krystal stammered a bit, “Uh, erm, ah… Fox, you really should watch out for those people throwing stones.”
Fox was silent for a minute and gave a muffled answer still face down on the ground, “Yeah, fshure. Fanks, Rys…”
“I’ll go and try to find those guys throwing rocks at ya Fox.” Falco said taking off from the awkward scene. He was a bit curious about what really happened. All he saw coming around the corner was Krystal dragging Fox towards her and him falling to the ground. He would just have to believe their story for now.

Krystal waited until Falco was out of sight and then dropped quickly down to Fox’s level.
“Are you all right Fox?!”
Fox finally decided to uproot himself and spit out some dirt. “Yeah, I’m all right.”
“I’m so sorry Fox. Really, are you all right?”
He dragged her down to the ground and hugged her tight. “I’m fine Krystal. I’m gonna be all right.”