Notes & Disclaimers:

• Rio is Blue Sky Studios IP.

(Please leave a comment and enjoy!)

Chapter Thirteen: Almost Free

It was a new day. Blu and Jewel slept in the jungle room of the aviary after a long drive from the airport last night. For Jewel, all she could think about was to enjoy another fun and romantic day with her boyfriend, Blu. But for him, it would be more like the opposite.

After a while, the two finally woke up, and smiled seeing each other's faces.

"Morning sweetie." Said Jewel

"Good morning, Jewel." He kissed her cheek, to which she always enjoyed.

"And wow, where did you learn to be such a good kisser?" She smiled asking.

"Oh I don't know. I try I guess."

"Oh come on, for once in your life could you stop being so modest?" She said playfully. They both smiled at each other and couldn't stop.

"Isn't being humble the reason why you love me?"

"Well yeah, but not the only reason. You're strong, heroic, caring, selfless, brave, and very very handsome." Blu always went red when she was this nice to him, but after she said "heroic", Blu turned to see his right wing, and noticed the damped cast.

Seeing it reminded him so much of the painful things that Jewel could've dwelt with. What with almost having a tree fall on her and almost falling hard to the solid ground at the airport. Jewel could have been seriously hurt if Blu didn't save her or if she didn't start flying for the first time. So he blamed himself, and had the horrible thought that she would be more safe if they broke up and left each other alone...for the rest of their lives.

So Blu thought it was now time to start. After looking away from his cast, he brought his head down, and Jewel noticed. "Blu? What's wrong?"

"Jewel. I have to know. Do you really love me?"

"Yeah. Why? Do we have to tell each other that everyday?"

"It's not that. It's just that...you keep calling me a hero, and yet...whenever..." He stopped as he looked upon Jewel's eyes. "Yes?" She asked, but Blu couldn't speak as he was too mesmerized by the way she looked.

"Jewel..."

"Yeah?"

"I love you...with my heart. I feel like I'm never lonely when I'm with you."

"Me too." They were frozen to their eye contact, and slowly moved closer until they kissed each other. They were at the favorite part of their relationship again. So by then, that was how it had been for the next three weeks.

Day after day, Blu and Jewel were spending time together, playing, hugging, and enjoying all the other times with their friends, Eva and Rafael, Tulio and his dad, and sometimes Carlos and Sophia (Eva's parents). The two lovebirds had the best time with each other while they were still in the aviary. Both of them really did have great times, despite Blu always struggling to tell Jewel that they needed to break up, and Jewel never noticed.

Then later on, came the big day. Tulio and his father brought Blu and Jewel out of the jungle room, and made the big announcement.

"Guess what, guys? Today Blu, earlier we discovered that your wing is fully healed, which means we'll remove the cast from you, and tonight we're gonna bring the two of you back home."

Hearing that just made the lovebirds jump up with excitement. Hearing that they finally get to go home, and continue their lives in the real jungle and get ready for their future. And it all started 12 hours later.

"Alright, guys. Are you ready?" Said Tulio, as he and his dad carried Blu and Jewel outside the aviary, and right in front of Carlos and Sophia's tree. They and Eva were also ready to have them back. The two birds nodded, and Blu stood still as he allowed Dr.M to gently remove his bandages. Blu had his eyes shut, and when he opened them, he felt a small breeze going through both of his wings, he then opened them up wide and felt like he could fly immediately. Even though he still couldn't.

So he jumped off of Dr.M's hand, and ran around in excitement, giving Tulio the chance to record Blu so he could email it to Linda, and Jewel smiled from where she stood. Seeing Blu's spirited side after being cooped up for so long, Jewel joined him in the playing while Tulio caught the whole thing on film. Soon, he spoke. "Okay guys, I'm sure your friends can take care of everything from here. So be safe, alright?" They nodded, and he replied, "Great." He lifted Blu up to the hollow, and Jewel just flew up. Then the two humans left, seeing that their two birds were safe with their friends in the jungle now. "Goodbye. But we'll keep an eye on you two just in case, alright?" Then they left, and all gave each other a goodbye wave.

From there, Blu and Jewel were grateful to be home. "It's great to have you back here, Jewel." Said Sophia as she hugged her, and Jewel returned it as Carlos did the same thing. "Thanks guys." Jewel said, and Blu was happy to see that his girlfriend was safe with the birds that she had been calling family for the whole year.

"Jewel, it's great to see that you're here and that you're safe. So if you don't mind, I know my way down, and will be heading back to my nest." Blu said, but Jewel stopped him saying, "Wait. Carlos, can Blu sleep over with me and Eva tonight? Please?" Blu wanted to go back to the nest but then liked the thought of spending one more night with Jewel...before he would break up with her.

"It's alright with me." Sophia said, being the nice mother, and since Carlos had never found anything wrong with Blu. "If it's alright with him, then I'm okay with it. Then in the morning, we can help you get back."

"Oh. Thank you, sir." So then Blu, Jewel, and Eva ran into the bedroom of the hollow and played around more until the sky was getting darker and darker.

As another hour went by, Eva felt tired and already went to sleep. As did Blu and Jewel, but not before talking.

"Thank goodness." Jewel said in head, seeing Eva finally asleep. She smirked as she saw her boyfriend lying on the ground, ready to sleep too, but as she moved up to him, Blu tried to avoid her, giving her a shock.

"Uh...Jewel, what are you doing?" He asked, and she was more than confused at the moment.

"What do you mean? Eva's asleep and I wanna cuddle with you before bed."

"Oh um...I don't know, I mean...is it alright with you if we sleep without doing that?"

"Uh...I don't know what to say. I've never heard you say that before. Are you saying you just don't wanna cuddle tonight?"

"Well..."

"Blu, if there's something wrong just tell me."

She moved closer to him, feeling worried for him. "Please tell me." She begged, and to her surprise, Blu was about to speak but he dropped his head and tears came out.

"Jewel...I can't take it anymore...you see, the issue I'm having is that ever since I saw you fall at the airport, I was afraid you would get hurt because of me. Like that time when the tree almost came to you. So since then, after I saw you fly, I've been struggling to say something that I really didn't wanna say."

"And that is?"

"I thought...maybe you would be safer if I was away from you."

Hearing that just made her gasp and feel terrible. "Are you saying that...you wanna break up with me?"

"I don't want to, I really don't want to. But most importantly, I never wanna see you get hurt because of me. That's a risk that I never want you to live with." Jewel began to tear up herself but then said, "B-B-But I can't live without you. Ever since I was separated from my family, I was afraid I would end up alone forever, that is until I met you. You're so selfless, brave, smart, and completely caring. You're the first boy I ever had a crush on and ever gave me so much hope. I don't wanna be away from you."

Blu felt awful with his feeling, and Jewel continued, "You're saying that I'd be safer without you, but if you do this, all it'll do is make me feel broken. When I'm with you, I'm not alone, I'm not cold, but I am whole. Please don't leave me. Don't leave me." She cuddled and cried onto Blu's chest and kept repeating "Don't leave me" over and over again, and Blu still had tears coming out of him. He didn't want to break up with Jewel, and he never wanted her to get hurt. He didn't know what to do anymore, so all he could do was finally hug her, and eventually their silent sobs began to cease. The feeling of each other's care began to swirl around in their minds and they just sat down hugging each other until Jewel said the one thing that changed Blu's mind. "If you leave me, then just know this, I don't think I'll find another boy that is as selfless and as lovable as you. I love you so much, and I would rather get hurt everyday as long as I'm still with you." Then from that, Jewel kissed him in the beak. Showing how much she loved him, and how she didn't want their relationship to end.

After the kiss, Blu just looked shocked, pulled it together and said. "Okay, I won't leave. For you, I'll stay, and from now on, I'll do whatever I can to protect you and make you happy...I love you so much."

"Thank you, Blu. I really appreciate it, and I love you too. So please, for tonight let me stay with you."

"Your wish is my command." So they smiled seeing how they got their problem fixed, and finally went to sleep. They went to separate beds, but felt like they were still in each other's wings.

But things got even more interesting when they didn't know that the others were listening. Eva heard the whole conversation while she was laying down, and Carlos and Sophia could hear them from the other room as well. The parents were shocked to hear that this meant that Blu and Jewel were a couple.

"Wow."

"I don't know what to do, Sophia."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since Eva was born, and the night we met Jewel, we've both been nothing but caring to them. And after hearing her and Blu talk to each other like that, I don't know what to think of them. I mean, isn't she a little too young for this?"

Sophia was touched to see her mate worried for Jewel. They knew they weren't her real parents but for a whole year they have proven themselves. Sophia walked up and kissed him. "Sweetie, I think she's fine. We've known her for a while, and I think with how much we know of her and Blu, they'll be just fine together. Jewel is mature and Blu is very selfless. I think they're perfect for each other. Plus, don't you remember how young we were when we fell in love?"

Carlos smiled at her. "Yeah. I remember...and I hope you're right. I hope I can trust Blu to take care of her, and I hope, in the future, when Eva's old enough, she'll find something right for her as well." Sophia agreed with him, and encouraged him to not worry as they enjoyed their alone time together.

So things were just fine. Blu and Jewel were staying together, Carlos and Sophia saw how selfless Blu was being, and Blu and Jewel felt more whole than ever.

More Notes & Disclaimers:

What do you think? The next chapters will feel more like spin-off episodes but I hope the story's still going great. Also, I know I can just look up the answer myself, but I just wanna ask, when do macaw chicks leave the nests?