A/N: So, I've written a one-shot about Rio. The summary is self-explanatory, so...enjoy!

The Only One

Carnival was slowly ending. The week had passed, and the hustle and bustle of the festivities was dying down. Many people were still in the partying mood though, and the smiles and laughter that echoed through the streets and forests served to prove that.

But away from the festivities, away from the noise and clamour of the crowds, Blu and Jewel sat together, watching the sun slowly disappear into the horizon. They were perched on the canopy of a huge tree, hidden by a blanket of leaves from the rest of the world.

"What are you thinking about, Blu?" Jewel asked, looking into his eyes, which seemed to be miles away.

"Oh!" Blu said, startled out of his reverie. "It's nothing, Jewel. Just…doing a little reminiscing!" He replied heartily. Jewel laughed, before settling closer to him. Blu let his gaze wander again, to the city; the colourful, vibrant city that stood in stark contrast to quiet Minnesota.

"Wow…" Blu finally said, after almost four full minutes. "This is amazing," he said awestruck, staring at the city of Rio that was laid out before him. The lights were starting to come on all around as the sky darkened, bringing a surprisingly cooling effect with it.

"Yeah. It's beautiful, isn't it?" From up high, everything looks so different. Sure beats being cooped up in a cage, right?"

Blu thought about it a moment.

"Well, yes, it is. But being in a cage isn't all that bad." He turned, his eyes softly gazing at her.

"Why?" she asked, understandably puzzled. "You don't have any freedom, you can't go where you choose, and you probably can't see what we're seeing now."

"Yes, I guess that's true. But Jewel, I had Linda. I had someone who loved and cared for me for 15 years. When you have love, it's great no matter where you are. Like with you," he said, his response completely sincere.

"Hey, amigos!" There was a flutter of wings, and Nico burst through the canopy layer, flying in front of them. Using one wing to balance himself—albeit awkwardly—he used his other wing to straighten the bottle cap he wore as a hat.

"Nico! Nice to see you. What's up?" Blu asked.

"Haven't you heard?" Nico asked. Blu and Jewel exchanged glances.

"Oh, looks like you haven't. Tulio and Linda have opened a book shop right here in Rio!"

"Really?" Blu asked, perking up. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah! It was wicked cool!" Pedro said, popping up behind Blu. He yelped and jumped into Jewel, bowling the two of them over.

"Thanks, Pedro," Jewel groaned from under Blu.

"Huh, what? Anyway, we were on flying through town yesterday when we saw the three of them. They were unloading some heavy boxes filled with books."

"Yeah, and then Tulio dropped one on his foot." Nico added. They both laughed.

"Did you see the look on his face?" Nico sputtered, finding difficulty in completing a sentence.

"So they really are going to open it!" Blu joyously said. Memories of his time with Linda flashed through his head, came in waves. 15 years was worth a lot of memories.

Linda.

"So you're going to visit her?" Pedro asked.

"Yes! Yes, I am!" Blu said, unable to contain his excitement. "Are the two of you coming as well?"

"I don't know. We're more of the music and dance type." Nico said, whistling a short tune.

"We have books about music and dance!"

"Well, if that's the case, then sure, why not?"

"Great!" Blu said, beaming. "And Jewel, you're definitely coming, right?"

"Wait, what? Hold up, Blu, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"What? Why?" He suddenly looked crestfallen.

"Blu, I just don't feel too comfortable around people. Sorry. The three of you can go ahead."

"Hey, that's not in the spirit!" Pedro said.

"Yeah. Come on Jewel, it'll be fun, just like Carnival! Carnival's filled with people too. Besides, you wouldn't want to disappoint your love here." He said, pointing at Blu, who was now putting on the saddest face he could muster.

"Please, Jewel?" He leaned towards her, making her stare into his big brown eyes.

"Okay, okay!" Jewel said, raising her wings in surrender. "I'll go."

"Alright!" Pedro and Nico cheered. "We'll meet you there tomorrow. Don't get lost, you two!" With that, they flew beneath the canopy, disappearing with a rustle of the leaves.

It was quiet again. A breeze was moving in now, and the two macaws' feathers swayed in the wind. Blu was smiling.

"Thanks, Jewel. I promise you won't regret this."

"We'll see," she replied, the edge of her mouth curling into a lopsided grin. "Come on, let's fly." She took off into the sky, Blu following soon after. Still in training, Blu couldn't fly as fast as her, but he still managed to keep pace.

Flying by her side, he grinned, knowing that only a week ago, he couldn't even lift himself a foot off the ground. Now, he was soaring sky high, and it was all thanks to her. This was his chance to repay the favour she did for him.

Jewel…I'll show you that humans can love you.

One night had passed in Rio, and morning had broken. After another night of celebrations, a calm silence had fallen over Rio, as people finally went to bed. There were very few who walked the streets, most of them cleaners clearing up after an insane night of partying. Confetti, discarded drink cans and balloons littered the pavements, and it was a gruesome and arduous task for them to remove all of it before the festivities would start again.

But through the celebrations, Linda and Tulio largely did not participate in them. They were busy settling some issues, such as the sanctuary, Linda, and Fernando's future.

Linda had made no plans to go back to Minnesota after the night at Carnival, after she was finally reunited with Blu and fell in love with Tulio. Now she was helping him run the bird sanctuary. After learning of Fernando's situation, they offered him a job and a place to stay.

He did not refuse.

It was a chance for him to make amends, to heal and care for the birds he once caught for the smugglers. The allowance they gave him was much better than what the smugglers could offer, and he could get a proper education.

As for Linda, although she had agreed to stay in Rio, she felt a little sad at leaving everything she had in Minnesota. Tulio had instantly given her a hand. Using his connections, he managed to ship all of Linda's belongings—including the hundreds of books she owned—from Minnesota and brought them to Rio.

And although it was quite a large dent in his wallet, he bought a house that had empty space downstairs to allow her to set up a new shop. They had finally finished unpacking and arranging the books yesterday, and Tulio had taken the day off to relax and spend it with Linda.

It was 7.15 a.m., and they were both fast asleep in bed. The moment the analogue clock hit 7.16, a loud buzz shattered the silence of the morning. Linda, visibly disturbed, reached out and brought her fist down on the clock, which did not seem to understand what it was supposed to do—be silent.

"Tulio, your clock's busted too…" she groaned from under the covers. Tulio mumbled and stirred, but that was all. Linda sighed in exasperation and tossed the clock across the room, hitting the wall with a thud.

Still the buzzing did not stop.

Linda bolted upright, her eyes burning with anger and annoyance. What she didn't notice was that Blu was perched right above her, and he did not expect her to suddenly sit up. He squawked as Linda's head bumped into his chest, throwing him a foot into the air and landing defeated in her lap.

"What the—Blu! Blu, it's you!" The anger instantly dissipated, and she grabbed him with her arms, holding her precious companion in front of her in disbelief. "Tulio, Tulio! Look, it's Blu! Blu's here!"

"Mmph…" he didn't seem to register her words, or he couldn't be bothered to. Either way, he wasn't budging.

"Ah, whatever." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand, turning her attention back to Blu.

"How've you been, Blu? It's been so long since we've seen each other."

"It's only been a week, Linda." Blu replied as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Ah…Linda…you're choking me…" he squawked.

"Sorry, Blu," Linda said sheepishly. She scratched him under his beak, the spot he loved the most. It sent a warm tingly feeling through his entire body as he felt her gentle touch.

"So…where's Jewel?" she asked, looking around. A sharper, higher pitched squawk sounded above her, and she looked up to see Jewel, perched above the bed.

"Hi Jewel, how're you doing today?" Linda said, looking at her upside down from her position. She reached a hand out towards her, but stopped when she started backing up against the wall.

"It's okay, Jewel. It's Linda. She won't hurt you," Blu reassured. Unconvinced, she flew over to his side, looking at Linda with an unreadable look in her eyes.

"So Blu, why'd the two of you come to visit us?"

Blu squawked and hopped over to the edge of the bed, picking up a book with his beak and setting it in front of Linda.

"Oh, you heard about the book store!" Linda clasped her hands together. Blu nodded, smiling. He passed Linda's spectacles to her, a knowing look in his eye. Linda seemed to get it too, returning the grin.

"Alright, just like old times."

Jewel could only watch in amazement as the two performed a ritual that went so smoothly, like clockwork. From the brushing of teeth (beak, in Blu's case), to the breakfast table, Blu assisted Linda in any way he could, from pushing the button on the toaster, to grabbing the cereal box.

"How did you do all this without flying?" Jewel asked, astonished.

"I'm resourceful," Blu gleefully replied, carrying a cup of coffee in his talons, setting it down on the counter.

"And you've been doing this for how long exactly?"

"I don't know. As long as I can remember, I guess." Without breaking stride, he passed a plate to Linda, who grabbed it just in time to catch the toast that popped out of the toaster.

"That's quite impressive," Jewel remarked.

"Thanks!" He beamed, before turning around. "Hey Linda, I—" he was cut short when a spoon slipped into his mouth, the contents of which he reluctantly swallowed.

"Well, that was probably the fastest time I've ever gotten you to take your vitamins," Linda said happily. The aftertaste caused Blu to cough, and he stuck out his tongue, trying to get rid of the taste.

Jewel laughed, placing a wing around him.

"Aw, my little Blu doesn't like to take his medicine?" she teased.

"N-no! I'm perfectly capable of handling it!" he said, clearly flustered when Linda started giggling at him.

A yawn cut that conversation short, as Tulio sleepily walked into the room, rubbing his sleep-filled eyes. As his eyes cleared, he saw Blu and Jewel. His eyes widened.

"Ah! Ah! Blu! Jewel!" he started making inane sputtering noises, stumbling towards them as if he was in a drunken stupor. But as he approached them, his foot got caught on a toy car left on the floor, and he slipped. His body hit the counter hard, causing it to shake and drop the plate of toast on his head.

"Nice," Jewel remarked.

"Hey, how am I supposed to know he didn't like cars?"

Linda ran to his side, bending over to see how he was.

"Tulio! Are you okay?"

"Never been better!" he said, jumping to his feet and standing upright. "Why are Blu and Jewel here?"

"They came to visit and help us out with the store," she said, smiling.

"That's great!" he walked over to Jewel, crouching down to see her eye to eye.

"Hi, Jewel. How's your wing feeling?"

Blu nudged her, and she looked at Tulio. Slowly, she extended her wing towards him. In her heart, although she still had some doubts, she felt that she could trust him.

Tulio seemed pleased to have gained her trust. He inspected her wing, feeling the feathers and the bone underneath.

"Alright! It's looking good as new!" he declared.

In a distant part of Jewel's memory, something surfaced. Something she had buried long ago. She pushed it aside.

"You've got to thank him, Jewel. He's the one who fixed your wing." Blu said softly.

"Yeah, I guess." She gave him an approving smile, something that really caught Tulio off guard. He'd never seen her smile before in all the times he had interacted with her—which involved a lot of scratching and clawing.

"Okay, I guess we're ready to go?" Linda asked.

"For what? Oh, the bookshop! Right! I'm ready to go!" He stood up straight.

"Um…Tulio?"

"Yes Linda?"

"You've got buttered toast on your head."

The grand opening went better than expected. Rio did not have many bookstores, so the opening of one garnered quite a fair bit of attention. But what really drew the crowds in were the two blue macaws flying about the shop, helping to move stuff around. Children pointed excitedly, others took photos of them, some posting it on the net for the world to see.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Linda said, slightly breathless. People were questioning her about the books that the shelves held. Even with Tulio, Blu, and Jewel's help, they could not keep up with the stream of customers flowing in. In the first hour, they had already sold 20 books.

After the second hour, the crowd slowly petered out, and the bookshop started calming down. Blu took the chance to show Jewel what he did regularly, living with Linda.

"…and I spent most of my time reading. There's plenty of interesting books to read here." He hopped to the nearest shelf and plucked out some books, laying them in front of Jewel.

"You read all these?" Jewel asked.

"Yeah! Linda loved reading. She'd read bedtime stories to me when I was small." He gave a dreamy smile. "And there was the computer, and the tv…Animal Planet was one of my favourites."

"Right." Jewel paused, looking behind Blu. "Hey Blu, there's a piece of paper sticking out of that one." She hopped over and pulled it out, with a little difficulty. The book fell open, and the paper flew out. Jewel smoothed it on the floor and looked at it. After a while, she glanced over at Blu, unable to contain her smirk.

"This is yours, isn't it?"

Blu cocked his head, confused. He looked at the paper. Scribbled on it were some mathematical equations. He recognised what it was and chuckled sheepishly.

The scribbles were those that he wrote when he was attempting to teach himself to fly.

"Here you go, Blu," Linda said, setting two large mugs in front of them. Blu immediately brightened after seeing them.

"Well, Rio's not as cold as Minnesota, but I thought you might like this. I made one for Jewel too." The phone abruptly rang.

"Hold on, guys." she left the room.

"Oh boy, this is what I've been waiting for!" Blu said, inhaling the warm and sweet scent.

"What is it?" Jewel asked, eyeing the mug suspiciously.

"It's one of the best things ever invented by humans. Just try it. Come on!" He willed her. It didn't look like Jewel had any say in the matter, so she brought the mug to her beak and took a sip.

She stopped cold, even though she had just drank something piping hot.

"Jewel, what's wrong?"

"This…this is good!" she exclaimed. She took a longer drink this time.

"Blu!" a voice called out. Blu could have recognised it anywhere.

"Nico!" he said, turning to see his friend. "You're finally here!"

"Oh yeah, we're here. Party's gonna start now, man. Sorry we're late. Pedro got lost trying to find this place."

"Look, I'm pretty sure I saw a place that looked just this, okay?"

"Right…" Nico replied sceptically. "So, what are you two lovebirds doing now?" he asked, turning to Blu.

"Oh, just drinking the quintessential essence of life." He took another sip, part of his beak stained brown by the chocolate.

"Hey, how come we don't get any?" Pedro whined.

"Yeah! Don't be a mean bird, Blu!" Nico followed up, his eyes going big, his mouth quivering.

"Okay, okay. I'll get Linda to make some for you later. Happy?"

"All right Blu!" They cheered.

"Jeez, you guys are so…"

"Brilliant?" Nico offered.

"Not exactly the word I would use."

"So Blu..." Pedro asked, putting a wing around him. "How are things between you and Jewel?"

"Everything's great! She's teaching me how to fly faster, and we finally found a nice tree to stay in."

"I'm not talking about that," Pedro said, smirking.

"Then what are you talking about?" Blu asked, putting the mug to his beak.

"You know, have you two been doing a little…recreating, but with a 'pro' in front."

Blu choked on his marshmallow.

"Whoa, whoa! We've got an emergency here!" Nico yelled, as Blu gasped and wheezed, trying in vain to dislodge the marshmallow.

Nico kicked him in the stomach, and with a pop, the marshmallow flew out.

"Blu, are you okay?" Jewel asked, concerned.

"I'm…fine," he gasped. "Absolutely fine!" he wheezed, blushing slightly at the thought.

"Hey guys," Blu whispered, still gasping. "I er…I don't…I mean, I haven't…"

"You haven't done it yet?" Pedro exclaimed. "No way, man! That's not cool! You've gotta take it to the next level!"

"Isn't this level good enough?" he asked.

"No," they said simultaneously.

"Well, this isn't as easy as just telling her that I love her. This…this is something on a different scale!" he whispered.

"It's just children."

"Have you seen Rafael? He's got grey feathers. That kinda scared me."

"Come on, Blu, why did you come to Rio?" Nico asked, growing impatient.

"I came here to…er…"

"Yes you did, Blu. Now, go and tell her. Take her out to dinner. Be as suave as you possibly can. Remember, the ladies love men to make the first move."

"Um…okay." He gulped, watching Jewel swallow the last of her hot chocolate. "Maybe later."

Pedro and Nico rolled their eyes. Nico pulled Pedro a distance away.

"Hey, I think we need to give him another push."

"Alright. How do you want to do this?"

"I've got an idea…"

"You would have made a good tour guide, Blu," Jewel commented, laughing.

"What? Oh, thanks." He smiled, flying over to a corner of the room. He was looking for a specific book to show Jewel. It was probably one of the best he'd ever read. He scanned the titles on the shelf, but couldn't seem to find it.

"Wow, you looked so cute!" Jewel exclaimed. Blu turned, and saw Jewel browsing through a photo album of himself from 15 years ago till now. In the pictures, a young Linda was doing all the things a mother would do for her baby; feed him with a milk bottle, carry him around, watch him laugh…

"Oh would you look at that?" Blu said nervously. "It's already seven."

"Wow time sure flies. Where did Nico and Pedro go anyway?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen Linda and Tulio either. Did something happen? Maybe we should look for them…"

"Yeah, we should." Blu and Jewel didn't notice this, but the door to the store had closed, and the lights were turned down. The shop was completely empty.

Closing the photo album, they moved towards another room, Blu turned to Jewel slowly. He fought the lump in his throat and spoke.

"Um…Jewel."

"Yeah?"

"I…er…I wanted to show you something."

"Okay…what is it?"

"Just follow me," he said, turning into the dining room. He had prepared a small assortment of fruit he found in the kitchen and arranged it nicely on a table. It was just something he did in 10 minutes, while Jewel was looking through some pictures. He hoped it was enough to make her happy.

But when he walked in, he was stunned.

Everything was different. The table was covered with a white cloth, with a candelabra standing in the middle of it. Two impressive looking bowls of fruit sat on the table. A bottle of wine with two glasses stood next to the fruit bowls. It looked like something out of a restaurant scene.

"Wow…Blu, you did all this?" Jewel said, her eyes brightening. She flew up to the table, getting a closer look at the fruit.

"Um…well, I guess I did…" he said, still stunned, as he joined her up on the table.

"It's amazing. Thank you."

It wasn't what Blu did, but it was what he wanted, so he just went along with it. They started eating. For a while, it was quiet between the two. Then, Blu started hearing voices in his head. They whispered, telling him to say something.

He didn't know what compelled him to do so, but he did it.

"Erm…Jewel?" He said it with a little more firmly, straightening himself.

"Yes, Blu?"

"I…I just wanted to say—" he never finished. Suddenly, music started playing.

"Let me tell you now…all that's on my mind…for a love like yours is oh, so very hard to find…I've looked inside myself…now I'm very sure…there can only be…you for me…I need you more and more…"

Blu's words caught in his throat. The sudden emergence of singing—which he had no idea from where it came—had thrown his mind off its train of thought.

"You're such a hopeless romantic, you know that?" Jewel said, laughing. Blu shuffled uncomfortably. She took a step forward and kissed him, for a long while.

"But that's why I love you." She smiled. Blu couldn't help but smile back.

Their hearts stilled for a moment.

"Blu, can I ask you something?"

"Um…sure."

"Have you ever thought about having children?"

Blu heard it once, but couldn't believe it.

"You want to have children?" he sounded more surprised than anything else.

"Yeah. Just like Rafael."

Blu was stunned. This was the last thing he'd expected her to ask. Although he said nothing now, his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.

"Oh come on, Blu. I'm not deaf, you know. I heard you talking with Nico and Pedro. I know you want to have children."

"You…knew?"

"Yes. It's what you came here to do, isn't it? Saving our species and everything."

"Jewel," Blu interrupted. "You don't need to do this if you don't want to. I mean, I know you like being free and—" Jewel stopped him, placing a wing over his beak.

"Blu, relax." She slowly removed her wing. "I want them too. I would love to have children. With you." She smiled.

Once again Blu was speechless. This time however, a small smile started to form on his face.

"So what do you say, Blu?"

"When I'm close to you…there's a magic in your touch that just comes shining through…want you every day…want you every night…there can only be…you for me…you make it seem so right…"

"Yes. I say yes." With that, they pulled each other close and kissed passionately, feeling the world revolve around them. Nothing could ruin that moment, and nothing ever would.

One floor above, Linda, Tulio, Nico, and Pedro sat huddled together around Tulio's laptop, watching a live feed that was coming through. A small camera had been hidden in the corner of the dining room, allowing the four of them to see exactly what Blu and Jewel were doing.

"All right! It worked!" Nico and Pedro cheered. Tulio tapped Nico on his shoulder.

"So how is it?" he asked. Nico gave him a thumbs up, the best a canary could, anyway.

"Then that means that they want to…" he let it trail. Nico nodded, grinning.

"Yes! We did it!" Linda exclaimed. "That was brilliant, Tulio!"

"Yeah, he really did a great job setting up the whole dinner scene." Pedro remarked. "It really set the mood."

"I think the song made all the difference," Linda said.

"Well, what did I tell you?" Tulio replied. "It's Lionel Richie. It works every time."

The night was never still in Rio. On the streets, sounds of partying and cheering could be heard amongst the bright glow of a multitude of lights. Carnival celebrations continued, even though it was technically over. But Blu and Jewel weren't participating. Tonight, they decided to spend the night alone together.

"Are you sure?" Nico asked. "The Branch could really use some real good dancers, and the two of you really fit the bill."

"No thanks, Nico. Not tonight." Blu said. "What about tomorrow?"

"Alright. Suit yourself. By the way, how was your dinner?" he whispered, making sure Jewel wasn't in the room.

"Nico, I know you and Pedro set me up." Nico tried looking innocent, but it failed miserably.

"But I appreciate it. Thanks." Blu smiled.

"No problem. Alright, you two lovebirds enjoy yourselves. We're off." Pedro declared.

"Party in the Ipanema, baby!" Nico shouted. The two of them took off.

Blu chuckled, watching the two of them go. He flew over to Linda's room, where Jewel was waiting for him.

"Ready to go, Jewel?"

"Yeah."

"Come see us again soon, okay Blu?" Linda said. Blu nodded, doing his fist pump with Linda, feeling a sense of nostalgia as he did so. She gently scratched him one last time under his beak.

"Bye, Jewel. Take care of yourself, okay?" Tulio said. Jewel smiled, and he slowly stroked her affectionately on her head.

With that done, they flew off into the night, back to the forest where they belonged.

"So Jewel, how was everything?" Blu asked mid-flight. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

Jewel laughed.

"I think I'd still prefer the freedom of the forest. But, you were right about something."

"What was it?"

"Wherever you are, it's great, as long as you have love." She turned to him. "But yes, I enjoyed myself a lot with Linda and Tulio. Thanks, Blu."

He smiled at her. She smiled back.

"You…turned me inside out and you showed me…what life was about…only you…the only one who stole my heart away…"

And, just like it always did in Rio De Janeiro, the singing of the forest began.

A/N: And yes, you know what happens next...they go on to have children, while keeping in touch with Linda and Tulio. In fact, they go flying together with them some time in the future.

The song playing is 'The Only One' by Lionel Richie. It's a great song. I wanted to use 'Endless Love' because it's more well known, but the lyrics of 'The Only One' suited the moments better.

Well, that was my first attempt at a Rio fic. If you enjoyed it and would like to see more, you can always leave a review. If you didn't, I would appreciate any constructive criticism you have. Thanks for reading!