It was about time that everyone had left for the evening.

Just how long was the stupid bear going to take it? How he was able to handle himself until the evening, she wasn't sure, but the breegull was grateful (perhaps more than she cared to admit to) when Tooty got ticked off and started to shoo everyone who didn't live in the house out of it. She would have to thank her later – if not just for her, than for Banjo.

Actually, the reason why either of them were ticked was because of Banjo in the first place. He could have easily told them to get out, but he endured them like the good-mannered bear he was. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a problem, but the fact was that it was a problem – the bear was sick, and should've been resting. For the first time in a while, Kazooie's anger was justified.

Now that it was finally just the residences of the house remaining within, and the youngest of them in bed early due to becoming tired of the great number of guests they had that day, Kazooie was left by herself to worry about the big oaf. Well, except for Banjo, of course, since he was still by the door seeing everyone off, smiling that fake smile and waving in a manner that made her wonder if he was using all of his energy to do so. Her suspicions were made true when Banjo let out a rather heavy sigh exactly five seconds after sounds from the other side of the door had ceased. If this had been a normal circumstance, she would have smiled in amusement for being too nice to people. However, the truth of the matter was that this wasn't a normal situation, and she even started to become alarmed when the bear found the strength to catch himself from collapsing and proceeded to just sit on the floor.

She knew that he felt awful, but it wasn't until she was by his side on the floor that she saw true degree of what she already knew. Banjo had said that he wasn't feeling too good, but it was right then and there that she saw that he was feeling awful, and there wasn't really any other way to say it. He wasn't just feeling bad, he looked bad, and the faint chuckle that was leaving his lips wasn't really soothing Kazooie's worries either.

"I overdid it," he said.

That wasn't a question – it was a statement. Banjo had normally asked in the past, but now it was as if he had no more fight left in him to hide it. She wouldn't really blame him for that though – he did spend the last few hours doing just that. Now that it was just him and the one that he would trust with his life, he didn't feel the need to suppress anything. What broke her heart was the fact that not only was the bear pink of a fever, but that he was also lightly tearing up in each eye, as if there was some pain within that couldn't be put into words. Heck, he was even shaking, despite the blue blanket that he had taken the custom of wrapping himself up with was still there.

He'd be alright, he said.

I'll just keep my blanket on, he said.

Then again, Kazooie was just as tired as he was, and was in no mood to actually be mad at him.

"Can you get up?" she asked.

"I can in a minute," Banjo said.

"Yeah, and by then the floor will be warmer than you are," Kazooie said, moving over to Banjo to pick him up into her wings a lot like how Banjo did with his sister whenever she was sick (Tooty told her once it was called 'bridal style'), "Come on you big oaf, time for a nap."

"You don't have to carry me," Banjo remarked, his tone lightly hinting at a whine.

"But it will put my mind at ease if I do," Kazooie backfired, "Besides, I've been able to carry your big behind in the sky – I don't think this is any much different."

She didn't like these circumstances any more than he did, but Kazooie could admit only to herself that Banjo was rather cute when he blushed, as he was right now in embarrassment.

It was a rather unusual thing, but what most weren't aware of until now was the fact that the bear and bird had become more intimate. Sure, it wasn't the easiest thing in the world getting such awkward emotions across, but once they were out there, the bear and bird had decided to keep their newfound relationship as subtle as possible.

Well, at least they tried to keep it subtle. With as small as their community was, eventually such a small world catches on, so it now came to everybody they knew knowing about them. That might have been why everyone came today (Kazooie wasn't paying attention) – she was just too mad at the fact that they were there, bugging her bear that was supposed to have been resting. If he didn't have blanket and/or was drinking tea during the entire visit (in addition to the fact that Banjo was always soothing her worries), Kazooie would have let everyone have it until they were gone.

Nonetheless, they were gone now, and she had now been able to get her bear into bed and put an extra blanket over him. Exactly how, she didn't know, but for some reason, he wasn't snoring, yet it was plain to see that he had fallen asleep, at least to some degree. There was one thing certain though: he wasn't completely there.

This crazy bear was just too good for his own good sometimes.

Now that he was within some level of peace, the breegull allowed herself to sigh in relief. At long last, her bear could once again be selfish and get that sleep he so desperately needed. As strange as it was to let the thought pass her mind, it was actually relieving from time to time to see Banjo become a bit selfish. Not that having a golden heart was a bad thing – in fact, Banjo talked about a few times in the past how doing things for others to be something that actually made him feel better. However, regardless of one's species, there was always this nature of wishing to attend to one's own self. Because he was actually ill, this selfishness was justified, yet here was this golden-hearted bear, putting the wants and needs of others before his own: not just in dating his best friend, but giving what his friends were asking out of him, and that was his time.

Exactly how it was satisfying for Banjo, Kazooie didn't know, but she did understand her bear well enough to know whether or not he was faking anything. Naturally, by his good nature, there were a few occasions were faking was assumed to be necessary, and today was such a day because he was ill. However, with all of his worrying friends gone and back in their homes with their piece of mind, he could actually get to doing what they wanted him to do this whole time, and that was to get better.

Now that she had a better look at him, he seemed relieved to be in bed. He could hide it from everyone else except her, but Banjo did seem to finally have enough as he was laying there. Giving him a sympathetic look, Kazooie leaned down and nuzzled her head with his own, shooting him one last smile before she left…

…or at least in the attempt to do so.

Before she could leave the room, a particular paw had made its way to her wing and grabbed her before she could become out of reach for the bear. Giving her wing a glance, she turned to see that Banjo was, in fact, awake, or at least awake enough to know that his girlfriend was leaving.

"Kazooie."

His voice was soft and gentle, but weak in the degree that told her that it didn't want to be used. Then again, because he used it, there had to be a good reason why he was. Turning herself to face him again, she placed some of her feathers on his forehead, ruffling the fur that was there.

"What's wrong, you big baby?"

"Can you stay with me… please?"

Banjo had been accustom to being so mannered with everyone, but from what Kazooie was able to gather, there was something about that 'please' that seemed… pleading? The bear hardly pleaded, at least in a tone that seemed to imply that his life depended on it. Sure, it technically didn't, but what stood out to Kazooie was the fact that Banjo was serious about what he wanted.

It was a relief that Banjo was being a little selfish, but he didn't have to plead with her about it. Maybe his sickness had something to do it. Giving her bear a rather sympathetic look, Kazooie gave Banjo a gentle smile before carefully flapping her wings, bringing her body up and into the bed next to her sick boyfriend.

Now that she was on the bed, Banjo was now as close enough to her to wrap his furry arms around her body, which he lost no time into doing so. Given the fact that he lost no time into doing so, it finally hit Kazooie that the bear wanted to cuddle.

"Do you want to cuddle?"

Banjo nodded.

Smiling at him, Kazooie ruffled his head fur one more time before covering his body with her wings, replacing her wings from his head with her cheek. Despite the warmth that began to overflow from her cheeks, the breegull allowed herself to smile even more when Banjo made the hug a big more firm, his cheek rubbing ever so gently against her heart. She knew that she loved his warmth, but the kind of heat that was radiating from him was not the normal kind, as it was, indeed, a fever. Nothing that proper home remedies and good old loving couldn't heal.

Now that it was just them within this peaceful silence, Kazooie started to reminisce about the times when she had been horribly sick, and Banjo was the one making a fuss over her. Perhaps love was always like that, or at least mutual love – it drives individuals to treat others that they have been treated by the one they love. They give you that special feeling in your chest, and make you wonder every day how you might be able to make them happy.

Kazooie could selfishly say that she just made her bear happy – she knew this by the smile that was on his face. If he wanted to be alone with her, than she was just fine with that. In fact, there was an unusual warmth flowing from her chest that she could only feel when it involved Banjo in some manner or another. It was one of the many things that told her that she was in love with him, and not the kind of love from friendship that they had since they were little.

That was something else she started to remember – the day she and Banjo meet. It was in Breegull Beach, and she remembered two things: how she felt before she met Banjo and after she met him. Beforehand, she could only admit to herself that she honestly felt alone, and cuddling up against the blue book bag wasn't really helping her situation, as it was an inanimate item that couldn't cuddle back. After Banjo had found her, she couldn't look at the book bag without thinking about Banjo's heartbeat at least once. She remembered it all: the way he gently picked her up, the gentle shushing, and the comforting words to soothe her worries. Kazooie wouldn't have imagined that the same silly bear she found that day would also be the same bear she would fall in love with.

There were inevitable realities that they had to learn before and after falling in love though. For example, even though they didn't have to pay rent, they would still have to deal with the harsh realities of nature. Another reality was that it wasn't always rainbows in the sky and butterflies in your stomach when you were in love. Banjo and Kazooie knew about this long before they even had thoughts of being romantically interested in one another.

With these realities in mind, it took some time for Kazooie to realize that if the owner of such a golden heart wanted to love her, then that was just fine. She just had to do her best to meet him when he needed her the most.

After all, eve golden hearts were capable of hurting.

Artist's Comments

Thank you, once again, for reading another one of my one-shots, which barely hit my minimal standard on word count. Yes, yes, call me picky if you will, but I'm frankly rather tired of one-shots that are no more than one thousand words, so I try not to write fictions so painfully short... well, at least not anymore. Anyone who keeps track of my work knows that I used to do such a thing during my obsession with SunilxPepper, yet I've strayed from that for obvious reasons. Then again, that's not the only thing that I am sick of, but I can't make people like what I like.

I've noticed that on Fanfiction and ArchiveofourOwn, there is absolutely little to no fiction on Banjo and Kazooie as a pairing. I distinctly remember only one or two other fanfiction writers on Fanfiction that writes Bazooie along with me (tsukiryoushi is the name of the author, who wrote See No Evil, and it's sequel See No Evil 2 and girlperson2235's Knowing Me, Knowing You). I can honestly say now that I have a pairing that I ship like FedEx, but there aren't many people out there who ship them along with me. On one hand, I would feel bad if I forced people to like something they really don't like, but on the other end, that hint of loneliness still lingers.

Well, anyway, I'm open for ideas if you have any, it would be great to hear good ones that would take more than one chapter to do.

May God's love, grace, and mercy be with us all.