Authors Note:

Okay, this was just a random drabble that popped into my head one day. It's not the best, and it's kind of pointless. It was just something that I had to jot down. I don't even know why I'm posting this. I don't own Air Gear, but I do own Angel. Anyway… Here we are.

It was another day for Kogurasimaru. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming, the boys were fighting as Angel looked on in exasperation. And then, Agito said something that made Kazu mad-- Angel wasn't sure what it was, but it was something, obviously, that Kazu didn't like. Angel sighed, and spoke in her soft, quiet voice. "Agito, you shouldn't--"

"Shut the hell up. I don't care what you think, you bothersome bitch!"

Normally, Angel would have been angry at being called this, but… There was a strange disappointment in her eyes when he said this. She sighed, and she stood up, grabbing his arm. "Come with me, Agito. I need to talk to you." Agito had been startled, and allowed her to drag him along after her.

They arrived at the park, and she pushed him into the swing, before sitting at the one next to him.

"When I was younger, I used to sit here, and swing, all the time. I thought that if I swung high enough, I could touch a cloud… But, I could never fly high enough. I would swing, and swing… But I could never touch the cloud. And then I realized… I couldn't touch it, because I was afraid to reach. So I reached… I broke my arm that day, but that didn't stop me from coming back. I tried again, and again… And no one was ever there to catch me. I convinced myself that it didn't matter, that I didn't need anyone to catch me… And then, Ikki, Kazu, Bucha, Onigiri, you, and Akito… You all were there, and you caught me. And then I realized that… The cloud I was trying to touch… I wasn't aiming for it, at all. I was trying to touch the sky beyond it-- a sky where all birds fly together… The story you and Ikki always mention-- the one about the frog in the well… Tell it to me, Agito."

Agito, who had listened, surprisingly, narrowed his eyes, and opened his mouth to talk. But then, the soft please passed through his ears, and Akito told him to tell it.

"I'm not any good at telling stories… But, basically, a frog is stuck in a well, and can never touch the sky. He tries and tries, but he can never reach it… He cannot fly. But, he gets saved from the well, one day. That's pretty much it."

Angel was silent for a long moment, and then she asked, softly, "And… Does the frog trust the ones that rescued him?"

Agito paused for a moment, before saying, softly, "No. No he doesn't."

Angel nodded her head, and she bit her lower lip. "You know what I think? I think the frog is afraid." At this, Agito blinked, his eye narrowing to a glare. "He's afraid to trust his rescuers, because he doesn't want to have his heart broken if they put him back in the well. But.. I think the frog should trust them-- I think the frog needs to open his heart to them, and take the good with the bad, because without the bad… He can never understand the good."

Agito opened his mouth to say something scathing… And realized that she was actually on to something with her words. He bit looked down. And then, he looked up when Angel suddenly told him to close his eyes. "Just do it, please." Agito listened… And yelped when he was suddenly pushed, and the swing sent him into the air. His hands tightened on the swing chains, and his eyes snapped open. "Close your eyes, and relax." Agito slowly relaxed, letting the other push him, keeping his eyes closed. And then, he heard her call out, "Let go. Reach for the sky."

"Are you insane?!"

"Just do it, Agito!"

Agito hesitated, but he let go, his eyes still closed, and he reached out… And he felt the wind against his fingers. And then, he felt himself falling. He yelped, and squinched his eyes tighter, expecting to hit the ground… Only to find himself pressed against something soft. He opened his eye, and blinked. Angel was on the ground, beneath him… Holding on to him. Her eyes were closed, and her arms were tight around him. And then, he heard her softly whisper something:

"Don't worry. I will never let you fall. Trust me-- I won't put you in the well, Agito… Or you, Akito. And if anyone does… I'll pull you back out. I will never leave you behind."

And it was then that Agito learned to trust another person.

Three years later, Angel died. She had been practicing alone, wall-riding, when she slipped, and she fell from a height of 500 feet. No one had been there to catch her, and Agito felt betrayed. As he stood by her grave, he muttered, "You promised. You broke your promise." And then, he heard Akito, in his mind, 'Agito… She's finally touching the sky. She can finally grasp those clouds.' Agito blinked, and then he remembered something that Angel had said to him. You have to learn to take the bad with the good-- without the bad, you can't appreciate the good times, or the good memories, properly… And you can never actually trust anyone, which is something that is very, very important.

Agito smiled slightly-- not his usual, maniac smile, or Akito's bright, happy grin. It was a soft, understanding smile. "So, I guess this is one of those times. Thank you, Angel." If anyone else had been there, those words would have shocked them… But the tears would have shocked them even more.

Sometimes, you had to lose someone to truly appreciate the memories that they left behind. That was what she had always tried to tell him… And he understood. He just wished that she knew… And then, he felt the breeze, and he smiled, realizing that she knew. She knew better than anyone else.

She was always there to catch him, even when he didn't know he was falling.

I'll pull you back out. I will never leave you behind.

Somewhere high above them, a teenage girl was looking down, through a well, her hand stretched inside, waiting. She wouldn't leave, until she had those she swore to stick with beside her.