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Chapter 17: Family

Others who saw Fox the first morning of his return to work with his wife noticed a subtle change in his disposition. He seemed more cheerful and walked with a slight spring in his step. Krystal herself also seemed subtly more assertive and confident in her surroundings. Their love for each other appeared more overt as well. During lunch at the commissary, they sat together side-by-side with their tails tightly wound about each other, and one was often seen feeding a morsel of food to the other. Nobody thought more of it, though. Everyone knew that the McClouds were deeply in love with each other and had become used to their public displays of affection.

It was early that week as they were getting ready for bed that the happily married couple had received a long-anticipated transmission from Aquas. While Krystal was meditating, Fox was at his computer terminal in his office and had read the wedding invitation. Slippy had been put in charge of a research facility set up by his father, Beltino Toad. And now, in a month, he and Amanda would exchange their vows and had invited the McClouds to witness, along with all their close friends. Fox opened his communications system and patched into the interplanetary network. After a few seconds, he was able to establish a subspace link to the Great Falcon.

At the other end, ROB-64 announced. "Incoming transmission from Fox McCloud, Captain."

Falco clacked his beak. He was glancing down at Slippy's wedding invitation on the monitor in his chair . "Foxy sure didn't waste time calling. Put him through, ROB, with encryption protocols."

After a moment, Fox appeared on the bridge holoprojector. "Hey Falco. I take it you got Slippy's invitation?"

"Sure did. Each one of us got the invite; Dash too." He added, giving the primate a thumbs up.

Dash grinned back and nodded.

"So you guys will be able to come?"

Falco hummed and ran his hand over his crest. "Hopefully, but if so, we'll be able to stay only for the ceremony and then have to blast off again."

Fox nodded, knowing what the mercenary life was like. "In the middle of a contract, I take it."

"Yeah. Star Falco and Star Wolf are providing support for a CDF armada here around Venom. Seems that General Scales has turned up with a few Sharpclaw supporters and allied himself with one of the warlords here to stir up trouble. It turns out that they were the ones behinds the attempt on your life, Fox."

Fox whistled. "Well damn. I had been wondering who had been behind those guys threatening Quentin's family." He paused thoughtfully. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones who tried to wipe out Bulldog and Husky Squadrons."

"Hah!!! If that's the case, it sure backfired on them. Damn. I really wish I hadn't missed out on that dogfight."

"Hey! We dogs don't always fight!" Fay mock protested from her station on the bridge while giving a very canine grin.

"Take it easy, girl." Falco laughed. "No pun intended on Bill and his crew."

Fox laughed from his end. "Well, I'll be sending you another two squadrons of Arwings when Krystal and I are done with these trainees in a few weeks, and Rachel Summers and the rest of Husky Squadron are training more, Star Fox style."

"Damn. If this keeps up, you'll be putting me and Wolf O'Donnell out of work!" Falco cawed.

"Ha!" Fox yapped. "That will be the day. If the CDF is sending an armada to Venom and still contracting you and Wolf, there will always be plenty of work for you guys."

"True. Still, we should hopefully be able to get away for a day to make a short detour to Aquas." Falco conceded.

"Well, it looks like you'll be busy for some time. I think Krystal and I will book star liner passage then."

"Sorry we couldn't give you a lift this time." Falco apologized.

"Eh. Don't worry about it, Falco. I was in your seat once. So I know how it goes."

"Right! See you guys in a month, hopefully."

"Yep. Give them hell. Fox McCloud Out."

From his terminal, Fox grinned back just as Falco terminated the call. He called up information on star liners traveling between Corneria and Aquas. Currently, passage to Aquas took seven days, with a return trip taking twelve days since the liner would have to catch up with Corneria on the inbound trajectory. Round trip passage was as low as $900 per couple for a round trip, but he didn't want himself and his wife to be cooped up in small accommodations with little to do and mediocre food. A look through the different choices showed that the Ocean Breeze was by far the nicest, and the price of the cabins aboard reflected that. The lowest priced inside stateroom was $5078 for the two of them and had 18 square meters of floor space, which was three times the size of the bargain fare liner. It still was a good deal smaller than their own bedroom though. A stateroom of the same size with an exterior view was $6418. A larger exterior view stateroom with 23 square meters of floor space went for $9798. "We'd be really splurging with that."

Krystal had by then finished her meditation and had sauntered over to sit on her husband's lap. "I suppose, but it is nice and spacious."

"Yeah. Maybe we should go for it and just...." Fox then frowned. "What am I thinking?! We can afford way more than this." A quick glance at his investments confirmed that he was up to over $48 million and the dividends were coming in faster than he had been spending them in the last few months since they had moved into their mansion.

Krystal giggled. "You were always so frugal, Foxy."

"Yeah well, enough of that. It's time we enjoyed the fruits of all that frugality." Fox moved up the list past the Second Class suites and straight to the highest level First Class accommodation on the Ocean Breeze. "There. The Phoenix Grand Duplex, and only $65,078 for the two of us, and huge, with 209 square meters of floor space split between two levels. We can easily afford that without breaking a sweat....though come to think of it, we wouldn't necessarily spend all our time there. It may be a bit big for just the two of us."

Krystal nodded thoughtfully. Like her husband, this was the first time they were really making use of their wealth. Though her family had been well-to-do, they had not been excessively wealthy like she was now finding herself to be. So the idea of splurging to this level was a new experience for her._ "Well, I don't think we are planning to host some social parties while on this voyage....otherwise, this huge space would be ideal."_

"I agree." _ Fox moved down the list of First Class accommodations. _"Penthouse suite, 70 square meters of floor space and only $32,418." With a flourish, he booked their luxurious passage on the Ocean Breeze and sent the payment. "There! We're all set."

Krystal leaned forward and drew her husband into a slow kiss, sucking on his lower lip. "Then let's go to bed and dream about traveling in luxury."

_ _

*****

Over the next two weeks, they continued to teach the new Arwing candidates each day with the assistance of half of Husky Squadron while the other half worked on training new recruits and giving remedial training on other CDF pilots that needed it. In the evenings and weekends, Fox and Krystal attended college. They took a break from the pottery lessons, but continued the guitar and harp lessons once a week while they attended art classes every other day.

Professor Ashley, though he preferred to be called just Francis, was amazed with the progress the vulpine couple was making. They had progressed from the simple bowl of fruit to more complex geometries. It was towards the end of the second week that something changed. Fox and Krystal were sitting side-by-side behind their respective easels and were drawing their first live model, a female ocelot who lounged in the nude on a divan. Both were sketching out her curves, the details of her markings, her whiskers, and everything they could see that made her unique. It was when they were looking through each other's eyes that they noticed that their drawings were nearly identical.

Krystal put down her charcoal pencil and gazed thoughtfully at her drawing. "Did you notice how it seems like we are just duplicating each other?"

Fox took in his wife's slightly different perspective to add a bit of dimensionality to the model's ears. "Yes, it does seem like we are, though I don't think we could have drawn this well if we were not bonded."

"Without a doubt....I want to try something." Krystal then abandoned her own drawing and moved her chair over until she was sitting right next to her soulmate behind his easel. She immediately began to work with him on the same drawing.

Francis was walking around the classroom, giving suggestions and helping each student. When he reached the McCloud couple, he found himself befuddled at the sight that greeting him. Two sets of hands were moving over the same image, drawing curving lines and smearing edges here and there without conflicting with each other. He at first was going to admonish Krystal for interfering with her husband's drawing, but as he watched, he could tell that they were coordinating their efforts together perfectly.

For the next 30 minutes, he made his rounds and watched his students draw the live model, but kept wandering back to the vulpine couple. Through their combined effort, they had completed their drawing well ahead of the others. Francis examined their work with a critical eye. "This is well done....You've really captured the depth and detail." He turned to gaze at his two students. "I've never seen the like.....How did you two manage to work so well together. It's as if you were reading....each....others...."

Francis stood rooted to the spot, gazing at the exotic, blue-furred vixen. "Telepathy....Of course...."

Krystal smiled back demurely and just shrugged.

It was on their way home from this last art class that Fox noticed a change in his wife's scent. It had been subtle and gradual, and the change could have begun the day before, but he now was sure of it. They were making their way through the tunnel from the garage to their home proper, and as usual taking their clothes off along the way. Fully naked, they dropped their clothes off in the laundry room. Krystal was ahead of him as they made their way up around the main central stairs. Her tail was raised high, and her sent was even more pronounced.

Fox placed a hand on Krystal's lower back. _"Wait...." _ He lowered himself down on one knee and began snuffling under her tail, following the scent to its source, making his wife giggle. With a dawning realization, his heart thudded hard in his chest. His Kurisutaru was in proestrus.

Krystal curled her tail around his head and pressed her nethers against his nose. "That's right, Foxy. In a few days, I'll be in heat and ready for you to knock me up."

In an instant, Krystal squealed in surprise and delight when her husband scooped her up in his arms, raced up the stairs, and carried her to the living room. There, he deposited her on the couch and pounced his vixen, mashing his muzzle against hers in a kiss full of joy mixed with unbridled desire. Already, his mind was thinking ahead to the following week. The moment she was in full estrus, he'd stay home and focus on nothing more than getting his vixen pregnant. He would make love to her as often as he could each day to give her as much of his seed as he could.

Krystal's thoughts were along the same line. The idea that she'd soon become pregnant filled her with joy. Even now, she wanted nothing more than to spread her legs and welcome him into the warmth of her folds where he belonged. She could feel that her lover wanted this and encouraged him to claim her. Her eagerness though changed to confusion when she felt him fight his own desire for her and actually pull away with a shaky breath. "Fox? What's wrong?"

He slid off of her and sat down on the sofa next to her. "Nothing Kurisutaru. In fact, I feel so happy now at the thought of becoming a father and giving you the children we both want." _ His hand reached down to his crotch and cupped his testicles. _"In fact, I want these to be as full as possible when you go into heat."

"Awww" She cupped his cheek and kissed him on the nose. ** "That is so sweet of you to want to save up your essence for me."**

Fox took her hand in his and kissed her finger tips. "How about a nice dinner and then back here for a snuggle before we go to bed?"

"I'd like that," she thought back before standing up with her husband. Together, they prepared a chicken and pasta dinner which they enjoyed together in their usual corner nook. While they ate, Krystal actually refrained from groping her husband under the table like she would usually, a gesture that her lover appreciated given his self-imposed abstinence.

After dinner, they returned to the living room and curled up together to watch the entertainment feed on their large central screen. Neither were paying it all that much attention though as their minds were preoccupied with thoughts of children. Krystal leaned against her soulmate. "Are you hoping for a boy or a girl as your firstborn?"

Fox was gently running his fingers through her hair and paused at his wife's thought. "I...I don't know. I'm just so happy at the thought that we'll finally be starting a family that I hadn't thought about our firstborn's gender."

"Should our children have Cerinian or Lylatian names?" Krystal mentally asked.

"Why not both? You go by both Kurisutaru and Krystal." Fox resumed letting his fingers go through her hair and trace along her diadem to her focusing gem. He recalled a mental conversation months ago when they had first returned to Corneria as an engaged couple and of the female ocelot parking attendant that had such a beautiful name. "If it's a girl, I recall that you really liked the name Ophelia. _ **_I wonder what that would be like in Cerinian...."**

Together, a name came to their minds. "Ofiria."

Fox then thought of possible names for a son. He at first thought of naming him James, after his father, but then one of Kyrstal's memories came to his mind. Among Cerinians, it was a tradition that children would not be named after other relatives but instead be given names unique to them, affirming that each child was distinctive and special. He pondered several names, from Andrew to William, or Andoryu to Uiriamu in Cerinian.

Sensing his indecision, Krystal assured him. "If our firstborn is a boy, I'm confident that a name will come to you at that time."

"You are probably right."

"Of course I'm right, my beloved Fokkusu."

Fox's eyes widened and he turned to gaze at his vixen, hearing his name in Cerinian for the first time. "Fokkusu" he enunciated out loud, and then smiled. "I like it."

They continued to snuggle together for some time, listening to music on the entertainment feed, letting their minds drift to thoughts of nurseries, baby supplies, toys, and even Krystal's upcoming pregnancy. Thoughts of what it would be like for Fox invariably came to the fore, but the tod did his best to not dwell upon it and instead focused on what would come after their first child was born.

When the tenth hour of the evening chimed, both thought together of sleep. After showering together and tending to their needs, and Krystal taking time to meditate, they snuggled together under the red silk sheets. Fox as usual was completely naked. Krystal though chose to wear panties to help contain her musky scent and be less of a temptation to her lover who was determined to temporarily remain chaste until she was in full heat.

The following day, they returned to work as usual, both continuing to train the two new Arwing squadrons that they had been working with over the last few weeks. Others though noticed the change in the couple.

The first incident was in the commissary. Peppy Hare, Vanessa Chambers, and Rachel Summer had joined the McClouds for lunch. They had settled down with their lunch trays next to Fox and Krystal, who they had noticed had brought their own lunch for a change.

Peppy queried, "How go the simulator exercises, Commander?"

Rachel replied, "This new batch of trainees is progressing well, General. We were able to draw out of them some real talent." She turned to Krystal and asked, "So you think they'll be ready to fly out to Meteo this week?"

Krystal and Fox nodded together while the vixen replied, "Oh definitely. We are of a mind to lead them on their first outing tomorrow in fact." She then picked up an oyster shell from the plate she shared with her husband and proceeded to feed it to him.

Peppy's whiskers twitched at seeing the tod slurp up the shellfish meat. "Knowing you, I'd have thought you wouldn't like eating something slimy and raw."

Fox swallowed and licked his lips and then picked up an oyster shell himself. "It's an acquired taste." He then fed it to his wife who sucked the meat up with relish, humming in pleasure while letting it coat her tongue and palette and inhaling its scent. "And Krystal's love of seafood has affected me too."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You two are as lovey as ever, I see. If anything, I'd say it's getting worse."

Fox let out a giddy laugh after swallowing another oyster. "I'd say it was getting even better."

The snow vixen narrowed her eyes and bent forward, leaning closer to Krystal. She inhaled deeply through her twitching nose several times until with a knowing grin, she leaned back and nodded. "I thought so."

Rachel frowned to the three foxes sitting with them at their table. Her keen canine olfactory sense had also picked up the stronger than usual musky scent, but she had attributed it to the fact that she was sitting with three vulpines. "What? Something we are missing?"

Being a lapine, Peppy's own sense of smell was not as sensitive to the finer nuances of vulpine scents, but he still had his suspicions, given Fox and Krystal's recent change in their behavior towards each other. "My guess is that you two will want to take a week off soon."

The husky she-dog looked to her commanding officer, but the general did not elaborate. So Rachel just shrugged and continued eating her meal while they all discussed future plans for upcoming candidates for Arwing flight training. All the while, the McCloud couple continued feeding each other oyster shells and being as affectionate as ever towards each other.

Fox was with each passing day finding his wife's scent even more alluring. Her pheromones were getting stronger, and during evenings, he couldn't help but wallow in her muskiness. It was getting to the point that he didn't want her to bathe and wash away her intoxicating odor. Krystal herself was finding her husband's muskiness enticing. The burning ache in her nethers was growing, and her flesh was starting to swell and ooze profusely. Knowing through their telepathic link that he was still determined to remain chaste and keep storing up his seed to impregnate her, she opted to shower alone each night to not tempt him. Both had also opted to not be naked when alone together in their home.

By the end of the week, the new recruits were progressing well in their flight training. This was their third exercise in the Meteo asteroid field. To Rachel and the other Husky Squadron pilots, the same could not be said of the McClouds. It was a shock to see Fox 1 and Fox 2 fly at less than their best. The vulpine flying duo seemed distracted at times, and Rachel found herself having to take over the training routine while Fox and Krystal nominally observed the exercise.

Rachel guided her Arwing until it was abreast of Krystal's. Over the last few months she had developed a close rapport with the blue-furred vixen. Her behavior and that of her husband's though was mystifying. "Fox 2, come on. Get with the program."

It took a moment for Krystal to register that her friend Rachel was addressing her. "Ohhh.....Mmmm. Yes, reading you five by five, Husky 1."

Krystal seemed now more focused after being chastised by the leader of Husky Squadron and flew off to offer guidance during the training exercise. Her husband though seemed a bit slow on the uptake. Rachel opened a separate channel and signaled her squadron mate, Alex Growly. "Husky 7, keep an eye on Fox 1. Something is off with him. He and his wife could usually fly rings around us, but he seems distracted."

"Yeah, I had noticed that, Husky 1. I'll keep an eye out on him. His wife seems off too."

"Yes, I'll be keeping tabs on Fox 2."

"Roger that."

Several hours later, they were back at the base and were doffing their spacesuits in the pilot's locker room. Rachel was sitting next to Krystal in front of her locker and was slipping her way out of her cooling garment. Krystal had already taken hers off and was undoing the tapes on her diaper. It was at that moment, when her soggy absorbent garment was coming off, that Rachel's eyes watered, her sensitive canine nose assailed by the exceptionally strong sent of a vixen having just come into full heat. "Damn, Girl. I know you foxes are musky, but this is too much!"

Protests were heard from the other side of the lockers where the male pilots were stripping down to their fur. "Shit Fox! Didn't you bathe this morning? You smell like a dozen horny foxes." Rachel heard Sylvester Black complain. It was then that it finally came together in her mind. Their overly affectionate behavior towards each other, eating raw oysters each day, their stronger scent, and the way they seemed distracted. "Oh my stars! Krystal, are you in heat?"

Fox had found it really difficult to focus on his flying that day, and so had his wife. His mating instincts were at war with his flying instincts, and he couldn't wait to get back planetside to be with her. He found himself resenting the odorless, filtered air of his pressure suit. So when he got back to the pilot locker rooms, he rushed to get out of his spacesuit and was down to his absorbent underwear before the others had even taken off their cooling garments.

Sylvester, who was sitting nearby, had just complained about Fox's body odor when everyone in the locker room had heard Rachel's exclamation. A moment later, Krystal's musky aroma hit Fox like a heavy blanket soaked in her scent. Fox now sat in front of his locker with his eyes glazed over while all the male pilots on his side of the locker room stared at the vulpine. Micah Ash, who was sitting closer to Fox, winked to Sylvester. "That's because he is a horny fox. I mean, look at his sheath. He's going to get a hard-on."

Hearing the other huskies around him talk about his imminent arousal snapped Fox to his senses. Quickly grabbing his boxers, he covered himself up before anything embarrassing could happen and continued to dress, all thoughts of bodily hygiene far from his mind. "Guys, Krystal and I will be on leave for a while."

Krystal met him at the exit to the locker room where he wrapped his arms about her hips. His vixen smiled at the joyful glow in his eyes while addressing Rachel. "It's time for us to start a family. Rachel, you're in charge of the all Arwing training."

Husky tails whisked back and forth playfully while several cheered and howled. "Way to go, Girl!" Rachel laughed and waved the vulpine couple off. "You get yourself that bun in your oven."

Fox grinned. "I'll do my best. Let Peppy know for us."

"Will do. See you guys when you come back."

*****

Fox and Krystal could not get home quickly enough. Even the drive home had proven a challenge. The air trapped in their ground car had quickly grown thick with their combined musk as they drove along the highway to their neighborhood, and Fox was finding it exceedingly difficult to concentrate on his driving. By the time they were up their street and coming to the gate, Fox's hands were shaking and he could barely key in the code to open the gate. So he sighed with profound relief when he pulled his ground car up into its garage space and shut down the motor.

That sense of relief was quickly blotted out of his mind when Krystal aggressively leaned over and kissed him forcefully while reaching for his crotch to grope his aching jewels. Through their mind link, he could feel how desperately his wife wanted to be bred. With a force of will, he barely had the strength to push her back and break the kiss. With a shaky breath, he took her hand in his and kissed her fingers. "We've waited this long, Kurisutaru. Let's go upstairs to our bedroom.....This will be the first time I take you while you are in heat, and I want it to be as special as our wedding night."

Even with her mind clouded with the burning need between her legs, Krystal felt her heart swell with the adoration she had for her soulmate. Together, they made their way through the tunnel from the garage to their home's basement, up the stairs, and through their home to their bedroom. There, Fox went straight to her meditation alcove, retrieved a half-dozen scented candles, and returned to set them up around their bedroom, on each night stand and on the dresser facing their bed. After lighting each candle, he then closed the door to the rest of the house and to their bathroom and drew all the curtains shut, plunging their room into penumbral shadows under the flickering glow of the candles.

Krystal sat on the bed with her legs folded under her and watched her lover set the atmosphere for this special moment. She had always thought of her friend Panther Caruso to be a romantic at heart, but in her eyes, the black-furred feline could not measure up to her soulmate, who in this moment outshined Miyu's boyfriend. With the mood set, Fox crawled up on the bed to kneel in front of her. He ran his fingers through her hair and cupped the side of her face. "I love you, my dearest Kurisutaru. I love you with every fiber of my being."

Fox could see and feel how deeply moved his wife was. He ran a finger along her muzzle and wiped the tear that ran down her face. His hands then went to her shirt, which he started to unbutton. Krystal in turn began to disrobe her tod. It was a slow and sensual process. As much as they wanted each other and were driven by their mating instincts, they did not rush this special moment.

Once both were wearing nothing but the fur they were born with, Krystal lay on her back and rested her head on her pillow to make herself comfortable and available, her mind on nothing more than wanting to now become pregnant. Fox though had other plans. They had not bathed since the night before, and he wanted to sink his olfactory sense into the musky scent of his vixen in heat, and let his own aroused male scent inflame her passions.

He climbed upon his supine wife and straddled her with his face in her crotch and his legs on each side of her head. Her tail immediately curled up around his head to further immerse him in her pheromone-laced scent while he bent down and drew his tongue along her swollen slit, savoring the coppery and exceptionally sweet musky fluid oozing from her nethers. Under him, he heard and felt his mate moan against his crotch and squatted down, encircling her head with his own tail to plunge her into his male, musky scent.

Krystal breathed deeply her lover's male scent and drew her tongue over his pucker under his tail, where it was strongest. The room was filled with the sound of licking and snuffling while intimate areas were orally explored. Neither could, nor wanted to, endure a prolonged teasing though. After several months of blissful married life were they joyfully partook of each other's pleasure almost each day, Fox's week of self-enforced abstinence while the fire of need had grown in his wife's sex had left them profoundly pent up. With their muzzles now coated with their partner's musky scent, the flames of their desire for each other had flared up to a conflagration.

Fox could no longer put off quenching his wife's heat, experiencing for the first time ever what it was like to be a vixen in full estrus through his mental bond with her. Rolling off of her, he turned around and knelt between her wide-open legs. He then leaned forward until he was laying his full weight upon her and drew her into a deep muzzle-locking kiss while he lined himself up and plunged his aching erection into her hot depths in one smooth stroke. Both paused in their kiss to savor the shared relief of being fully inside his vixen and being filled by her tod.

Fox then started to undulate his hips, driving himself in and out of Krystal in long smooth strokes while he resumed exploring her muzzle with his tongue. Neither lasted long though, pent up as they were from their week of abstaining from sexual pleasures. Within minutes, Krystal cried out in a climatic release that rushed outward from her sex, down her legs, and through her waist. "I love you, Fokkusu! I love you so much!"

With her inner walls squeezing the base of his length, Fox's knot quickly grew to full size. That wonderful tightness came rushing fast to his loins, and with his vixen's cries of joy filling his ears, Fox added to the chorus. With a week's worth of pent up essence throbbing through his maleness and their climatic pleasures echoing back and forth through their bond, Fox latched his muzzle to his lover's and kept pumping her. Tears of joy were running down the sides of his muzzle. He was getting his dearest wife pregnant. He was going to be a father. They were going to have a family and make the spirits of their parents proud.

Krystal naturally saw these thoughts in her soulmate's mind, thoughts that she herself had. The vulpine she loved above all else was finally giving her the children she had for so long wanted. His love for her radiated like a blazing bonfire that warmed her heart. In the throes of their shared pleasure, she sent her own love surging into his mind. Fox's cries of ecstasy turned to emotional whimpers, feeling himself nearly overwhelmed by the love rushing through him from his telepathic soulmate.

With his last spasm, Fox went limp atop his vixen. Both basked in their shared afterglow. Krystal felt wonderfully content, comforted by her lover's weight on top of her. She wrapped her legs around his hips and her arms around his back, held him in that embrace, and licked him affectionately between the eyes. Fox wiggled atop his wife, rubbing his knot against her sweet spot and started giving her soft kisses around her muzzle and between her eyes.

Eventually, his knot began to shrink, but Fox had no desire to pull out. Both hoped that she was now pregnant, but Fox was determined to do everything he could to ensure that outcome. He made love to his vixen three more times that evening, never once withdrawing from her. Afterwards, both fell asleep, till tied together by his knot. Though Krystal had not meditated before falling asleep, their shared dreams were pleasant and at times erotic.

Krystal awoke the following morning in the gloom of their bedroom. The scented candles were still burning, adding their scents to the odor of vulpine musk. She was delighted to find herself atop her husband, with his maleness still fully embedded inside her. Though the fire of her heat had been somewhat sated, it was far from quenched. All she wanted to do now was make love with him all day. Without further delay, she sat up and started rocking back and forth on his length. The vixen smiled when she saw that he was again going to have another wet dream and continued to ride him while his knot grew, locking them once again together.

As would often happen, Fox once again woke up in mid climax, throbbing his essence deep into his wife. With a heart-felt groan full of appreciation for the vixen who loved him so much, he gripped her hips tightly and thrust up hard into her repeatedly until she reached her peak. His output though was low, having climaxed so many times the evening before and several times again through their slumber in subsequent wet dreams.

Krystal lay back down atop her lover, sharing with him another blissful afterglow. "I think it is very likely that I am pregnant now." she thought to him while kissing his nose. "Thank you, my dear Fokkusu."

"That may be the case, but after I've rested and recharged, I want you on your back again with your legs wide open for me." Fox smiled mischievously. "I want to make sure my dearest wife is well and properly knocked up."

Krystal hummed, delighted with her husband's assertiveness. "Oh yes! Lots of love-making, all day, every day for the rest of the week." They continued kissing and licking each other's muzzles while they were still tied. When Fox's knot finally shrank and his maleness softened, the tod pulled wetly out of his vixen. Both were hungry and went straight to the kitchen. Together, they made themselves several sandwiches layered in a variety of meats and Fox downed three large protein shakes. Having eaten their fill, Fox led his wife back into the bedroom.

They would spend the next six days making love multiple times each day. Between each love-making session, they would rest, often snuggling in the living room in front of their entertainment center. During these periods of recovery, Krystal would gently massage and caress his jewels to bring her lover pleasure and encourage them to produce more sperm. For his part, Fox would frequently be downing protein shakes and eating meaty foods to help himself recharge. Evenings would end with a final round of love-making where they would fall asleep together tied by his knot and share erotic dreams through the night.

Fox's eyes fluttered open on the morning of the seventh day of their mating marathon. He found himself spooning his wife from behind, still buried deep inside her. Looking over her shoulder, he gazed fondly at her smiling countenance. Through his bond with her, he could sense that the fire between her legs had finally been quenched. All that remained was the pleasantly full feeling his maleness was giving her, a feeling that was sent back to him through their shared telepathic link.

Wrapping his arms about her waist, Fox began to slowly drive his maleness in and out of her nethers. At the same time, his hands reached up and gently groped and massaged her firm, shapely breasts. Focusing his attention on her mind, Fox was delighted to see that he was inducing her to have an erotic dream. In that dream, she was on all fours and Fox was taking her from behind while a duplicate Fox was at the other end, humping her muzzle.

Krystal's husband could only chuckle at his wife's vivid erotic fantasy. While still driving himself slowly in and out of his sleeping vixen, he looked around their bedroom. Several sexual toys were strewn about on the bed and each nightstand, and he figured there was maybe a toy or two that had fallen onto the floor.

During the last few days, Fox had used these toys on his wife to alleviate the sexual itch between her legs while he was still recuperating and replenishing his supply of seed. She had even mounted him with her strap-on to massage his prostate. In all cases though, he made sure that he climaxed only when he was buried deep and knotted inside her. Consequently, this had been the longest time she had not orally pleasured him since their wedding day. And given how much she loved to suck on him and drink his essence, Fox was not surprised that she'd be dreaming about it now.

So before his knot could begin to grow, Fox pulled out of her slit and carefully disengaged himself without waking her. Deprived of her husband's support against her back, Krystal slowly rolled onto her back and whimpered needfully. Keeping one hand to massage her breast, Fox reached over to her nightstand and took the dildo sitting there upright. Of all her personal toys, this was the one that was closest in shape and size to his own erect maleness.

Kneeling next to her while still fondling her chest with one hand, Fox slowly drew the dildo's length along her slit, lubricating it with her juices. When it was slick enough, he angled it and slowly drove it fully into her. Focusing his mind on her, he could see that his twin had vanished, with only himself fully buried in her depths. He shifted around the bed until he was kneeling behind her head. While he kept sensuously massing her breast with one hand, his other hand gently stroked her under her chin.

Krystal's muzzle reflexively tilted back under the tender touch. Her lover was grinding his knot against her sweet spot and fondling all the erogenous zones on her chest while caressing her lovingly under her chin. She tilted her head all the way back, wanting nothing more than to fully give herself to her vulpine. When she felt the tip of his maleness against her nose and his musky scent wash over her, Krystal's lips automatically parted to welcome his length into her muzzle.

Fox, upon seeing his twin return in her dream, slowly sank his length into her muzzle. Her lips quickly sealed around his length, and the tod groaned at the exquisite feeling of her suckling mouth and tongue. With his knees carefully positioned on each side of her inverted head, Fox lowered himself down onto his elbows on each side of her waist and took the base of her dildo in one hand. He then began to slowly drive himself in and out of her muzzle while doing the same with her dildo, effectively taking his wife at both ends. Fox then saw another, smaller dildo laying on the bed next to them and smiled at the thought that occurred to him.

_Krystal hummed and eagerly sucked on her husband's length as he humped her muzzle. She had really missed the taste of his essence and the sound and sensation of the pleasure she gave him each time she nursed on his maleness. Her whole body sang with unparalleled pleasure, made all the more intense with him driving himself into her hot, wet slit. She began breathing raggedly through her nose while still keeping her lips tightly sealed around his length. _ In the haze of her erotic dream, the impossibility of her lover taking her at both ends simultaneously did not occur to her.

Now close to her peak, all she could think was that she wanted to be completely filled. When she felt his length also fill her back passage, Krystal howled around her lover's maleness, and awoke in the midst of a powerful orgasm that sent shocks of pleasure through her body while the dildos sank deep into both her front and rear passages.

Fox in that moment held still and howled with her, feeling her intense climax fill his being through his mental bond with his soulmate. Even after months of being married and telepathically linked to his wife, he still found it amazing how a vixen's climax encompassed her entire lower region below the waist and sometimes above when exceptionally strong. With the first rush of climatic pleasure having run its course through his wife, Fox slowly resumed thrusting his length down her muzzle.

Krystal's nethers were still rippling with aftershocks, but she was ecstatic about the wonderful way her husband had awakened her and hummed around her tasty muzzle-full. When Fox pulled back, her hands shot up and grabbed his rump. With a strong grip, she pulled down on her vulpine's posterior, making him ram his length fully down her throat.

Fox rested his head between his wife's splayed legs and groaned. Her tongue, palette, and throat were all flexing around his maleness, intent on milking him of his essence. With some effort, he pulled back against her hands gripping his rump and then let her pull him back deep into her sucking muzzle. When his vixen relented slightly on her grip, Fox started to again slowly piston himself down and out of her throat.

Krystal hummed and slurped around his length as it moved along her tongue, savoring his musky male scent and taste. Her throaty expressions of appreciation around her tod's maleness devolved into panting through her nose when she felt her lover begin to move the two dildos, with one being pulled out while the other was sliding in and then both reversing. With both her vaginal and anal passages being stimulated, Krystal was feeling herself being quickly built up towards another peak and was determined to bring her lover to his apex as well.

Fox's breath was becoming ragged. His wife's muzzle was insistent and he was all too happy to feed her his essence. He lengthened his strokes in and out of her warm, wet, sucking muzzle and did the same with the toys he was using on her. He could feel his climax coming and moved the anal and vaginal toys faster to bring her to her second orgasm at the same time as his.

The toys he was driving in and out of her were making her nethers quiver with an intense erotic pleasure that rippled through her lower regions. She could also feel through their bond that familiar tightness building in his loins and knew he was getting just as close as she was to their shared orgasms. When his growing knot bumped against the end of her muzzle, Krystal released her grip on his rump, wrapped both hands around the swelling flesh, and squeezed hard just as she was again pushed over her peak.

Fox's cries of joy mingled with his vixen's muffled scream as he followed her over the precipice. In the throes of his blissful release, he was grateful that his lover had such a firm grim on his knot, which kept him from instinctively trying to shove his entire length into the warm depths of her maw. Both tod and vixen went rigid in the climatic pleasure echoing back and forth through their bond. The feedback loop of pleasure was made all the more intense by the two dildos buried deep in the vixen while her tod fed her with throb after throb of his essence.

Seized in the paralysis of shared ecstasy, Krystal was barely able to swallow the seed jetting out of the pulsing maleness filling her muzzle, but was determined that she'd not let any dribble out. A long minute later, they were finally released from the grip of their shared climax. She sighed in a content afterglow under the comforting weight of her lover who went limp atop his vixen and rested his chin between her legs, while she continued to languidly suckle on his twitching maleness.

A deep breath of her musky scent confirmed what Fox already knew. His wife's heat had ended. He could sense though that she wanted to continue nursing on his length and was quite happy to feed her a bit longer. Eventually though, he had nothing left to give. He withdrew the two toys from his exhausted vixen and rolled off of her, letting his softening maleness slip out of her muzzle. Twisting around, Fox snuggled with Krystal and gave her a smooch full of adoration while tasting the remnants of his seed in her mouth. He glanced at the chronometer on his nightstand and noted the date. "We should start packing today. We leave on the Ocean Breeze tomorrow."

_"Sounds good to me. I find myself looking forward to this trip." _ Krystal affirmed while keeping her muzzle melded to her lover's in slow kiss, letting her tongue slide against his. It was not a passionate kiss full of hunger and desire. This was a kiss full of contentment, love, and affection. It was a kiss between a happily married couple that reaffirmed their total and absolute devotion to each other, who knew deep down that in seven months they would be blessed with their first child.

*****

As first class passengers on the Ocean Breeze, Fox and Krystal were able to enjoy the perk of having the starline send a limousine to pick them up at their mansion. Their luggage sat waiting in the vestibule of their home while each of them finished getting dressed in semi-formal attire. Fox wore a button-down beige shirt with dark brown pants. A dark green blazer rested on the bed, waiting for him. Krystal was wearing a modest lavender sun dress that flowed down around her figure. Krystal had elected to wear her headband with the ruby focusing gem suspended in the middle of its string of pearls, given to her by her mother the day she came of age. She also wore the three tail bands also given to her by her mother and the necklace with the heart-shaped light blue jewel nestled in its gold setting that was her father's gift to her. Both had just pulled on a matching pair of green leather boots when the comm station lit up.

Fox walked over to the computer station in their private study and activated the communications link with the caller. On the screen appeared a distinguished hound in a black uniform with a chauffeur's cap. "Greetings Mister McCloud, I am Rodney. I am here to take you to Corneria City Spaceport for passage aboard the Ocean Breeze."

Krystal briefly reached out with her mind to the limousine waiting at their gate. Sensing no duplicity, she nodded to her husband. Fox activated the gate, letting the long, luxurious vehicle through. "Thank you, Rodney. We will be waiting for you on the veranda." He then closed the comm, picked up his blazer and slipped it on, and followed his wife out the front door.

Together, the McClouds stood on the veranda with their luggage at their feet. They watched the elongated ground car drive up between the two rows of trees on each side of their long driveway and come to a stop in front of them.

Their chauffeur got out of his vehicle and walked up to them, given the vulpine couple a short, curt bow. "Mister and Missus McCloud, allow me to take your bags."

"Of course," Fox replied and watched while their driver dutifully loaded each of their suitcases into the trunk of the limousine while he and his wife waited next to the passenger door. It was only because of pride that their chauffeur took in serving his distinguished passengers, which he sensed through Krystal's empathy, that allowed Fox to suppress the urge to help load his luggage.

_"I can sense you are not used to being served like this." _ Krystal thought to her soulmate while giving his hand a squeeze to help him stop fidgeting.

"Yeah. It _'__ s different. I've never been on a luxury star liner before either, and we are getting the first class treatment even before we arrive at the spaceport."_

Krystal sent a light burst of her love into her husband's mind._ "You've given so much of yourself to Lylat. I don't think anyone could fault you for letting yourself enjoy the high life and be waited upon. Besides, my dearest pleasure slave deserves to be served on hand and foot too."_

Thoughts of his sexual servitude to his beloved wife sent flutters through his stomach and made his heart skip a beat. He found himself wishing he had packed his slave's collar and some fetters in their bags, but both had agreed to keep this deeply private aspect of their love life hidden inside their hidden dungeon.

In short order, Rodney had finished loading their luggage and was now holding the passenger door open for them, giving the couple a polite bow as they climbed into the luxurious vehicle and sat down on the soft leather seats. A small bottle of wine sat waiting for them in a bucket of ice, between two wine glasses.

Krystal could sense that Rodney was unfazed by the fact that he was picking up the famed retired leader of Star Fox. Her husband took the bottle and poured his wife a glass and one for himself. " __I guess in his line of work, our chauffeur must have picked up quite a few famous passengers," she thought. Together, they sat back and snuggled together, enjoying the high-quality wine while riding comfortably towards Corneria Spaceport.

At the spaceport, they waited with the other first class passengers to go through the security scanners. Ahead of them, Fox and Krystal noticed that Fara Phoenix was just going through the scanner herself, and with her an orange-brown-furred tod with an unusual golden tinge of fur at the top of his head. Krystal then remembered Fara telling her of her new love interest, Kei Reinard.

When Fox saw the memory in his wife's mind, his eyes were naturally drawn to the effeminate tod who shared his mother's family name, and an old regret he had kept deeply buried in his heart began to be replaced with a sense of hope for his former girlfriend. He felt his wife squeeze his hand reassuringly. From that very first time he had bared his soul and mind to her when they had reconciled, Krystal had known he felt like he had let Fara down when he had broken up with her.

Once Fara and Kei were clear of the scanners, Krystal mentally reached out and touched Fara's mind. "Knock knock."

Fara jolted in surprise and came to an abrupt halt. When she turned around and made eye contact with Fox's telepathic wife, she heard Krystal in her head. "Fancy meeting you here. I sense that things are going well between you and your new boyfriend."

Fara placed a hand on her chest. "Oh my stars! You startled me. _"__ _ Fara then heard Krystal's gentle laughter echo in her mind and felt a brief burst of sisterly affection from her Cerinian friend.

Next to her, Kei Reinard looked quizzically at his girlfriend. "Fara? Is everything okay?" He then followed her gaze and saw for the first time the retired leader of the famed Star Fox mercenary team. Next to him he gazed upon Fox's exotic wife, the blue-furred vixen, Krystal.

The McCloud couple waved to them and Fara waved back and then turned to her boyfriend. "We'll meet up with them for dinner once we are aboard. I'll introduce you." She then took Kei by the arm and led them on towards the gate.

Fox and his wife smiled to each other, both looking forward to catching up with Fara and meeting her new boyfriend. Fox's eyes misted ever so slightly when he thought to his wife. " __I' __ve kept this regret so deeply buried in me that you are the only one who knows how bad I felt about letting Fara down when we broke up."

" __Yes, and you were so closed with your emotions back then. She has no idea how much you hurt when you two parted ways, no matter how amicably." Krystal thought back._ _ " __I share your hope when we saw her with her new love interest."

Further hopeful thoughts for their friend Fara were set aside when his turn came up to go through the weapon's scanner. Fox presented his Class 5 concealed weapons permits, issued to him by the Cornerian Military, to the husky security officer in front of them.

Fox then pulled out his compact blaster from its hidden holster inside his blazer, and placed in on the counter. "Hopefully, I'll never need to use this, especially with piracy on the space lanes at an all-time low, but you never know. And given my reputation, if we were ever boarded, they would probably zero in on me."

"Yeah. Makes sense, I guess." The canine officer returned Fox's card and picked up the blaster, inspecting it, verifying that it was a standard blaster with a fully-charged power cell. Fox walked through the weapons scanner to verify he was not carrying any other armaments. Satisfied, the husky returned the weapon to its owner, who quickly slipped it back in his blazer, out of the sight of any prying eyes.

Being next, Krystal placed her collapsed staff on the counter and handed her own Class 5 permit.

The sergeant, unfamiliar with the exotic weapon, called up the registration number associated with Krystal's staff and read the information on it. "Inspected and vetted by Cornerian Security?!"

Krystal shrugged. "They had never seen anything like it, and wanted me to demonstrate what it could do and the security measures I have on it before they gave me my Class 5."

Sensing the canine sergeant's confusion and inability to make the staff do anything, Krystal elaborated further "Only a telepath can activate it."

The canine officer shrugged. "Huh! Well, if the head of Cornerian Security is okay with it, who am I to argue?" He handed Krystal her permit, directed her to walk through the security scanner, and handed her staff back to her once she was through. He gave a polite nod to both McClouds and then focused his attention on the next passenger coming through.

Fox took his wife's hand in his, kissing it, and then laced his fingers with hers and the two walked together towards the gate with the other first class passengers. Inevitably, Krystal's exotic blue fur drew the attention of the other passengers around them, which in turn led to Fox himself being recognized. Reactions from this small well-to-do crowd that they were among varied from reserved, polite smiles and nods to indifference to outright baleful and snobbish. Fox and Krystal took it all in stride, acknowledging the friendly ones and ignoring the rest.

They were soon walking through the enclosed gangway and could see the Ocean Breeze through windows on each side of them. Since its launch five years ago, Fox had seen the star liner on many occasions, but this was the first time he and his wife had seen it up close. At 825 meters in length, the ship was massive. Its white hull gleamed in the sunlight, making the long blue stripe along its sides stand out. Vertical thrusters were stationed on each side at its bow and stern, with massive engines at its aft to propel the ship forward. But its most remarkable feature was the shape of the hull under the ship. It was long, streamlined, with a pointed bow and had a keel running its full length. The Ocean Breeze was a seaworthy spaceship. But given that surface of Aquas was 95% water, it seemed fitting that this space liner should be able to act as an ocean liner as well.

Hundreds of small windows covered the sides along the lower decks far below their gangway, but small was a relative term. Each one was the size of a regular bedroom window on a home, unlike other ships were a passenger's view to the stars was a small circular affair. "Those must be for the exterior staterooms." Krystal thought to him.

Fox nodded. "Third class on this liner looks to be even more posh than first class on other vessels." A few decks below their level, they could see several rows of larger windows, behind which were the second class accommodations. Above them on the top deck and just below it were arrayed large floor to ceiling windows with an atrium over the center of the ship. Foliage could be seen growing from within. Fox felt a burst of excitement from his vixen. This area was the exclusive section of the ship for first class passengers and where they would be spending the next seven days.

They continued up the gangway until they finally reached the entry to the ship for first class passengers, where they were greeted by the cruise director and several hosts, who each welcomed them aboard. Fox and Krystal each smiled back and thanked them, and then went on into the deck's main lobby where they checked in and were given their access keycards.

The interior of the ship was, for a lack of a better word, opulent. Fine solid wood paneling adorned the walls with gold leaf trim along the edges and raised surfaces. Each door had the cabin number etched in a brass plate, and was equally ornate. " __Goodness. You wouldn' __t think you were on a spacecraft with how this is all done up inside." thought Fox.

" __That' __s because you are so used to traveling on the Great Fox or other military ships."

" __That' __s for sure." They then reached their stateroom. Passing his card through the scanner, Fox led his wife into their penthouse suite. " __Oh wow! I could get used to traveling like this regularly."

Fox and Krystal together looked around at the large, luxurious suite that was theirs for a whole week, and another twelve days for their return journey. Deep blue ornate curtains hung across the large, floor to ceiling transparent palladium window that for the moment overlooked Corneria City Spaceport. The walls were a nice pastel color with gold trim in the corners. The furniture was all solid wood of the finest quality in a deep mahogany stain. Beyond the marble floor entry foyer, a thick, plush carpet awaited for them to sink their feet into, which they both did, immediately taking off their boots to leave them at the entrance. A bottle of fine red wine awaited them in an ice bucket on the living room table with a plate of fruit and cheese.

In their bedroom, they found their luggage had all been unpacked. Jackets, shirts, and dresses hung in the closets. Undergarments, shirts, and other clothing were all neatly put away in the dresser drawers. Their personal toiletries were arrayed tidily in the luxury bathroom, complete with marble tub and shower with body jets. " __Not quite as nice as our bathroom at home, but this is really posh." Fox thought. " __Didn' __t expect to have all our things unpacked, though."

At that moment, they heard a chime sounding. Glancing towards the door, Krystal nodded to her husband. " __Someone has come to attend to our needs."

His curiosity piqued, Fox went over to the door and depressed the switch, allowing it to slide open. "Yes?"

A distinguished fox with dark red fur, wearing a neatly pressed black suit with tie and black shoes shined to a mirror finish greeted him with a polite bow. "Greetings Mister McCloud. I'd like to introduce myself. I am Gerald and for your voyage, I will be your butler."

Fox stood there silently for a moment at the unexpected level of service. When he had read that butler service was included for first class passengers at their level, he had expected an android. It was what he was used to at home, with ROB-16, -32, and -48. He quickly recovered though and nodded to the vulpine who would be his and Krystal's personal servant for their journey, letting him enter their penthouse suite. "Thank you for unpacking our things, Gerald."

"Of course, Sir." The tod walked through the room, giving it a cursory inspection to make sure everything was where it should be. He noticed Krystal and nodded to her. "Missus McCloud, is everything to your satisfaction?"

Krystal's smiled in reply. "We've only just arrived, but so far I find everything to be wonderful. Thank you for asking."

"Splendid! If there is anything either you or your husband need, do not hesitate to call upon me, day or night." He walked over to the living room table and indicated the wine bottle, sitting chilled in its bucket of ice. "Shall I pour you both a glass of this fine wine?"

"That would be nice. Thank you, Gerald." Fox replied, sitting down with his wife on the sofa. Krystal though, shook her head, having had already one glass of wine on the limousine ride to the spaceport. "Would you have any non-alcoholic wine?"

Though Gerald was well-schooled in keeping his expressions positive, Krystal could sense that he was slightly miffed at her turning down such a fine vintage that he personally had selected for them. The vixen though was not going to let him feel disappointed. "I think it would be best if I avoided all alcohol for the time being," she explained while taking her husband's hand in hers, "since I am, as of a few days ago, hopefully pregnant with our first child."

Their butler's expression brightened and his whole demeanor went from reserved politeness to exuberant delight upon hearing Krystal's explanation. "Oh, that is wonderful news! I sincerely hope that you are indeed with child, Missus McCloud. I shall endeavor to find for you the finest non-alcoholic beverages and liqueurs." He quickly went to their suite's computer terminal and called up the ship's drink's selection. "Mmm. Yes. This should do nicely." Nodding in satisfaction, he returned to the seated couple. "Missus McCloud, I've made arrangements that your suite's bar be well-stocked with some of our finest non-alcoholic wines and drinks. I've also sent a note to the kitchens at each restaurant to keep such drinks available for you each time you dine out."

Krystal could not help but like their butler who went to such measures to see to their needs. "Thank you, Gerald." Fox grinned at their vulpine servant, impressed with his initiative. Moments later, the door chimed again. Their butler went to answer and returned with another wine bottle in an ice bucket. "Here you are, Missus McCloud. Let me pour you a glass of this fine, non-alcoholic wine." He did so, and then poured a glass of the regular wine for her husband.

Krystal brought the glass up to her lips. When the fine drink coated her tongue and palette, her eyes widened. Fox could feel her astonishment and tasted the drink upon her tongue through their bond. It even had the smell of alcohol. "This....This tastes like the real thing!" She grabbed the bottle and looked at the label and then at their butler.

"I assure you, Missus McCloud. There is no alcohol at all."

"Oh, I have no doubt and know with certainty that you speak the truth, but how is this possible?"

It was Gerald's turn to grin. "It is actually not uncommon that we will have passengers who are also pregnant. So, the cruise line has developed a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks that have the smell and taste of alcohol synthesized in them.

Fox took a sip of his wine and nodded to his vixen, who also tasted the alcoholic drink through their bond. The difference in taste was subtle to the point of being almost indistinguishable. Just then, his communicator chirped. When he glanced at its screen, he read the message left there by Fara.

Kei and I are having dinner in the Verandah Restaurant. We would love to have you join us. Dinner is at 6, an hour after the Ocean Breeze launches.

Fox typed his reply. Sure thing. Looking forward to meeting your new boyfriend.

A moment later, Gerald's personal communicator chirped. He glance at the message he received. "I see that Miss Phoenix's butler has made reservations for her and her partner at the Verandah Restaurant." He quickly typed in a few messages. "And I have taken the liberty to add your names to the reservation."

Fox was once again impressed by their butler's efficiency and ability to make things easy for him and his wife. "Thank you, Gerald. I think Krystal and I will really miss having you around when this trip is over."

The deep red vulpine smiled to himself, feeling very pleased to have made such a positive impression so early on. "You are too kind, Mister McCloud." He then paused and briefly watched the vulpine couple sample some of their fruit and cheese while sipping their wine and could see that he would not be needed for the time being. With a bow, he excuse himself. "I take my leave of you. Please do not hesitate to call upon me if you need anything."

"Thank you, Gerald." Krystal replied. Together with her husband, they continued to sample the different cheeses and feed each other pieces of fruit while enjoying their respective glasses of wine, knowing that this was the beginning of a memorable vacation.

*****

After watching the Cornerian landscape drop below them as the Ocean Breeze ascended into the skies on the beginning of their seven-day voyage to Aquas, Fox and Krystal had made their way to the Verandah Restaurant.

Inside the restaurant, Fara's distinctively long fennec ears stood out, allowing Fox to quickly spot her. She was sitting with her boyfriend at a table with a commanding view of the ship's arboretum below the restaurant and the transparent palladium alloy dome above. They quickly made their way between the many tables and greeted the fennec heiress of the Phoenix Corporate Empire and her effeminate boyfriend.

"Fara, it's so good to see you again." Fox said, leaning down to give her a chaste kiss on the lips.

She returned the brief smooch and grinned up at her former boyfriend. "Likewise, Foxy."

"Hello, my dearest sister." Krystal said in turn. She then went to lean down herself, but instead of given the fennec a sisterly kiss that Fara was at first expecting, she gently laid her hands on each side of the fennec's head and pressed her forehead against Fara's.

Fara Phoenix in the next moment felt Krystal's affection fill her like a gentle stream going through her soul. " __This is how sisters on Cerinia would greet each other after being apart." she heard the telepathic vixen say to her in her mind. Fara uttered a small whine, deeply touched by the intimate mental contact.

Fox's heart was again warmed by the affection his wife and ex-girlfriend had for each other. When Krystal had finished giving Fara her telepathic greeting, he pulled out a chair for his wife like any good gentletod and seated her before taking a seat at the table himself, across from Fara's boyfriend.

Kei Reinard himself looked on in fascination at the interaction between his girlfriend and Krystal McCloud. At one time, the idea of meeting the telepathic vixen would have made him nervous for fear of having his most private thoughts revealed. But like many others in Lylat, he had watched the news feed that covered the Senate debate on telepathy just weeks before. So he did not hesitate when she extended out a hand to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Missus McCloud."

Krystal smiled back at the cute, friendly tod. "Likewise, and please call me 'Krystal'."

"Kei Reinard, but you may call me 'Kei'." He then turned from her and found himself face-to-face with the retired legendary leader of Star Fox. Words of introduction froze on his tongue when he found himself looking at what was almost a mirror image. Fox McCloud had the same piercing green eyes, white muzzle and facial markings, and similarly-shaped ears. Still, there were some differences. Fox had a white blaze atop his head instead of the golden tinge like he had above his own. The biggest difference, though it was subtle, was that Fox McCloud looked very masculine. Even under the blazer he wore, Kei could see that he was more muscular, though still lean.

Similar thoughts also went through Fox McCloud's mind upon finding himself face-to-face with what looked like a more effeminate version of himself. "Wow!" He heard Fara say. "You can really see the resemblance between them."

Both Kei and Fox turned towards Fara at the same time, mirroring their actions. Fox briefly glanced to his wife and saw a memory from her flash through his mind:

Krystal had perked up at the mention of the name of Fara's possible new love interest. "Reinard, you say? That was the clan name of Fox's mother, Vixy."

Fara stroked her chin. "Mmmm. Come to think of it, some of his facial features are vaguely like Fox's, and they both have green eyes too. Maybe when I have the chance, I'll search records to find out if they actually are related."

Fox turned back to Fara. "I'm guessing you found the time to search archival records."

The fennec vixen nodded with a pleased grin. Next to her, Kei asked his girlfriend. "Fara? What's this about?"

"When I told Krystal about you, she reminded me that Fox's mother was named Vixy Reinard. So when I got back from their wedding, I started doing some research into archival records." She turned to her boyfriend with a grin. "Sweety, I'd like to introduce you to Fox McCloud, your third cousin, once removed."

"Whoa! You're serious?" Fox asked.

Still grinning, Fara turned to her previous boyfriend. "It turns out that your mother and Kei here share the same great, great, grand-father, one Vulfred Reinard, who lived about 150 years ago. Vulfred had two sons. Kei here is descendant of the elder son, Vulfrick, while you are descendant of the younger, Vulner Reinard, through your mother."

Fox laughed in delight. "Wow! It seems we are all family here, what with Krystal considering you her sister." He extended a hand to Kei. "Pleased to meet you, Cousin."

With a grin that matched that of his distant relative, Kei shook hands with Fox, "Likewise."

Fox then turned to Fara. "And I guess I should start thinking of you as my sister-in-law."

She laughed in response. "Yeah, I guess I would be."

He smiled at the fennec vixen who he still loved very much, even if his heart belonged completely to his wife and soulmate. "And I'm so happy you found someone too." He glanced to Kei. "The way you two met is so funny and the way you reassured him is so much like you, Fara."

Kei covered his eyes with his hand and groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of that."

"Aww. Come on, Kei. Even if it's funny, you shouldn't be embarrassed. Accidently knocking a drink into a pretty vixen's chest could happen to anybody." His grin to the embarrassed fox then softened upon hearing a thought his wife had, "and I agree with Krystal that it couldn't happen to a better guy than you."

"And what else did Fara tell you about me?" Kei asked, a small voice of worry in his mind that he refused to believe. He knew that his love would never talk about their most private moments with anybody.

Krystal sensed that worry and the guarded thoughts he held that came with that unease. She immediately knew that it was something very private and steered away from it. She did not even allow herself to hear his surface thoughts, having only met him. Krystal though did suspect that it involved both Kei and Fara because of the worried glance Fara had when she made eye contact with the telepathic vixen. " __Don' __t worry Fara. I won' __t intrude. I can sense that you share something very private with Kei, but I will never try to read those thoughts."

She then sent Fara a burst of affection when she felt her relief and gratitude. A moment later, she glanced to Fox when she felt her soulmate probe her mind and smiled at the memory he viewed.

Fox smiled back to his wife and answered Kei. "Only what she told Krystal: that you are quiet and reserved, are a bit shy, that she finds you very sweet and caring, and that you work at Space Dynamics as an accountant."

Kei rolled his eyes. "That sounds like girl talk."

"Well, I guess it was. Krystal was hanging out with Fara, Katt, Miyu, Fay, and Lucy at the time. They were talking about their love interests and boyfriends, and you came up in the conversation."

"Wait! She shared that with you?" Kei asked, looking incredulous. In his mind, girl talk was not for boys to hear.

"Well, yeah. We have no secrets from each other. That comes with our telepathic bond." Fox frowned, unable to find any fault with such a notion. After being married and telepathically bonded to his wife for months, a life without her comforting presence in his mind seemed unnatural to him now.

Fara herself chuckled, aware of how close Krystal and Fox were telepathically. She eyed the vixen and smirked. "I need to remember that whenever I think to confide girl-only things with you."

Fox, briefly acting very feminine, waved his hand with his fingers swinging downwards. "Oh hush girl. I completely understand the female perspective. So my mind will not go into a system crash if you share girly things with Krystal." He took his wife's hand in his and placed it against his head while gazing adoringly into her eyes. "We're in each other's heads all the time now. So I know her every thought and feeling, just as she knows mine."

Kei gaped at his cousin. "You can read minds too?"

Fox shook his head. "No. Only Krystal's, and only because she's linked our minds during our wedding ceremony."

"But that means you never have a private thought from her?" Kei asked, finding it hard to believe that anybody would give up all their privacy so completely.

Still gazing into his soulmate's eyes, Fox answered. "It's actually quite liberating to know that I don't need to keep any secrets from her." He closed his eyes and sighed with the perpetual marital bliss still filling their hearts. "We share a total and absolute trust in each other, and are never alone because we are always together, mind, body, and soul."

Kei took Fara's hand in his and gazed into the eyes of this assertive fennec vixen who had come into his life and accepted him for who he was, even when she found out some of his own secrets. It had prompted him to open himself up fully to her. So he understood his distant cousin on some level. It was truly liberating to not have to keep any secrets from the one he would pledge his life to.

Krystal gave her husband a tender smooch and then turned to Fara. "I can sense that you love Kei very much. So I'm guessing that things have been going very well between you two." She then felt a burst of giddy happiness from Kei and broke into a wide smile, fixing her gaze on the effeminate tod. "Oh wow! I can really feel the happiness in you."

Kei glanced down shyly. "She makes me so incredibly happy. I sometimes find it hard to believe that someone so far above my station would love me and care for me so much. At times, I forget that she's the heiress to the largest corporations in all of Lylat. When we are together, all that I can think of is that I love her so completely." He glanced to Fara and when she nodded, Kei made a startling but not unwelcomed revelation. "So when she asked me to marry her, I accepted. We are now engaged and plan to exchange our vows in six weeks."

It was then that Kei drew their attention to the ring he wore. It was a gold ring into which was embedded a pink diamond encircled by dark blue sapphires. The gold band was thicker than what was typically seen in rings for females, but not as thick as those worn by males. The resulting style was a ring that could be worn by both male and female. Fox and Krystal had noticed Kei wearing this ring earlier, but had not made the connection until now that it was an engagement ring, especially since such rings were usually given to a bride-to-be instead of a husband-to-be. They were not surprise at this reversal of roles given Fara's strong personality and Kei's apparently shy demeanor.

"Oh, that is wonderful!" they exclaimed together. Both were overjoyed at the thought that Fara's relationship with her love interest was progressing to its final step and that she'd attain the same happiness that they had found in each other.

Fara placed her hand on her fiancé's muzzle and drew him into a brief, but deep kiss. "The things I know about him and the trust he's shown me makes me love him all the more. He's shown to me an adorable side of himself that I find precious, and leaves me wanting to make him feel safe and cared for."

The telepathically bonded foxes shared a thought to themselves. "Something private between them that he's trusted her with and she makes him feel safe and cared for..." Their private, hidden dungeon under their bedroom and Fox's submission as his wife's loved sex slave came to their minds. Krystal thought to her husband. "I'm starting to think that you and Kei may have more in common than we thought. It must have something to do with those thoughts they want to keep private." Fox thought back, "If it's anything like what we share, I can respect their desire to keep it secret between them."

Fara went on. "So anyway, you are of course invited to our wedding."

"We'll be there. We wouldn't miss this for anything."

Fara laughed. "You two are doing the double speak again."

Fox grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, we still do when we both want to say out loud what's on our minds."

A distraction to their festive mood presented itself at that moment when their waiter showed up. An impeccable fennec fox, he was in a neatly pressed white shirt, black pants, and an apron just as devoid of wrinkles or blemishes as the rest of his attire. "Hello, I'm Micah, and I'll be your waiter for your meals here at the Verandah Restaurant." After passing out the menus, he went on. "Today's special is grilled maple and rosemary corn fed chicken breast, with roasted potatoes and a wild mushroom ragout."

"Mmmm. That does sound good." Fox commented.

Fara laughed, "With you, anything that includes chicken sounds good."

Micah couldn't help but smile along with them, finding that though most at the table were already quite famous, they still enjoyed the simple things in life, like a good meal, good drink, and good friends. After they had accepted from him their menus, he pointed to the drinks menu already at the end of the table, next to Fox and Kei. "We also have a fine selection of wines to choose from. I can give recommendations on which would pair best with your meal selections, if you wish." He then handed Krystal a separate menu. "And here is your special wine menu, Missus McCloud."

When she gazed down at her choices, she immediately saw that all wines and drinks were non-alcoholic and looked up gratefully, "I see you all got Gerald's note."

"We did indeed." He nodded at the beautiful, exotic vixen.

After everyone had made their dinner selections, Fox, Fara, and Kei decided to order a full bottle of white wine to share while Micah suggest to Krystal a nice rosé for her.

Fara's exceptionally sensitive fennec ears had naturally picked up on the exchange between Krystal and their waiter. "Okay Sis, what's with this special drinks menu that our waiter had for you?"

Fox looked down at his hands, feeling hope bloom in his heart at the likely prospect of his upcoming fatherhood. He felt, though, that this was news that was his wife's right to announce and so remained silent. That quiet smile of happiness did not go unnoticed by Kei though. "Something's up between those two, Fara. Cousin here knows something."

The fennec vixen glanced over to Krystal's husband, and gasped when she saw the tears well up in his eyes while he sat there smiling to himself. "Fox? What's going on?"

He glanced to his soulmate. " __I' __ll leave it up to you to give them the news if you want."

Krystal leaned over and Fox closed his eyes as she tenderly licked away his tears of joy. She then turned to Fara and Kei, but before a word could leave her tongue, Micah returned pushing a cart with two buckets of ice, each with a wine bottle in it. "Here you are. For you, Missus McCloud, this lovely, non-alcoholic rosé wine you selected." He then presented the other bottle to the rest at the table. "And for you fine folks, a nice white wine from Castle Vulpus Vinyards."

They all thanked their waiter and each took a sip of their drink. Fara though would not be distracted any further. "Okay Krystal. Out with it. What's with this avoiding alcohol?"

"It's because I'm....." Krystal began, but paused. Her stomach had started to rumbled and she began to pant.

Fox felt a wave of queasiness rush through him, yet his stomach was quiet, with not a single gurgle. He began to pant himself, unsure of where this feeling was coming from.

"It's because...." Her stomach rumbled again, and she began to swallow repeatedly while panting even more.

The unexplained sense of nausea became more pronounced, and Fox groaned. "What's going..."

"Krystal, are you okay?" Fara asked with a new sense of worry.

Suddenly, Krystal's stomach went into upheaval, and the vixen looked around desperately and seeing the ice bucket, grabbed it and bent over to expel the contents of her stomach.

In that instant, Fox felt his wife's nausea slam into his gut through their bond and grabbed the other ice bucket, feeling like he was also going to lose his lunch. With each heave of her stomach, he groaned and panted, drooling onto the ice cubes, but his stomach remained quiet.

Fara and Kei gaped at the sight, at a loss as to what to say. The commotion did not go unnoticed by others at nearby dinner tables either. Whispers of "Are they sick... I hope it's not contagious... It can't be the food, they haven't been served yet..." could be heard while they beheld the spectacle of Fox and Krystal McCloud apparently emptying their stomachs into ice buckets.

Eventually, the nausea passed, and both Fox and Krystal sighed in relief. Micah had been dutifully standing next to them, waiting for the vixen to finish. When she leaned back and took a deep breath, he promptly took the bucket from her, covering the offending, noisome contents with a lid, and placed a fresh, empty bucket next to her on the cart. "Here you are, Missus McCloud, just in case."

He glanced over to her husband and frowned. "Mister McCloud, are you ill?"

Fox shook his head and also took a deep breath. "I'll be fine now. Thank you." He sat back and frowned while Krystal took a drink of water to rinse out the bile from her muzzle. His wife could not possibly be sick. There could be no opportunity for her to catch some virus or suffer from food poisoning. Their last meal had been at home, and they had both eaten the same food. They had not had contact with anyone for over a week during their marathon love-making session.

Fox and Krystal glanced at each other suddenly as both had the same thought, which they spoke out loud at the same time. "Morning sickness!"

"What? Morning...." Fara gasped. "Oh my stars! You're pregnant!"

Krystal and Fox though did not hear their fennec friend. He reached up with his hand and caressed his pregnant wife's face, gently brushing the tears of joy running down the side of her muzzle while his hope of earlier now detonated into an explosion of utter joy. _" Oh Kurisutaru! You are really and truly pregnant! You are carrying our child!" _

"Yes, my Fokkusu, you are going to be a father. We are going to have a family of our own."

Their meals were soon brought over. At their waiter's suggestion, Krystal substituted her dinner selection for a simple ginger broth to help settle her stomach and ease her morning sickness. In all the nearby tables, the other patrons who had witnessed this exchange had all been whispering excitedly amongst themselves. Within the hour, the news spread throughout Lylat in social media sites that Krystal McCloud was pregnant. Fox though couldn't care less. He drew his vixen into his arms and caressed her, giving her ears soft kisses while she slowly drank her broth. This was a new phase beginning in their lives and the future looked bright for them and their unborn pup.