Okay, so no, I'm not dead. I've just had hectic school stuff going on. And a bit of a writing drought. But I still amaned to write this, and i don't mind it which is good. Wow, I honestly don't know exactly what I used to be able to babble on about for so long...

Disclaimer: Nope, Animorphs belongs to K.A.Applegate and Schoolastic (I think)

"I can remember smelling your hair"

I was in human morph, but with less than half-an-hour left. The afternoon had been fun, I guess. I'd been with Rachel. We saw a movie. A short one. But still, even short movies go for at least an hour and a half. This particular one had gone a little bit over time. So here I was, outside the mall, standing awkwardly at the doors waiting for Rachel who'd been ambushed by a school friend asking for homework. Needless to say the 'school-talk' made me a little uncomfortable, not to mention the crowds rushing about in mobs. I needed to get outside. I just hoped Rachel would understand.

Cars rushed past on the road, but they weren't nearly as bad as the people inside. Cars, I could cope with. Even in my meadow I can sometimes hear cars go past. People though, bushwalkers and such, are less common. So they make me uncomfortable.

"Tobias?" I looked up from my sharp analysis of a fence post across the road. I sometimes zone out a bit when I'm thinking.

"Hey, Rachel." She stood beside me, close-ish, I guess.

"Why did you go?"

I shrugged uncomfortably, "I just felt… crowded. And awkward. I never really know what to do in this morph."

Rachel's expression darkened, like a shadow had fallen over her face. "Tobias, this isn't a morph-"

"Look," I cut her off. This conversation was a pretty regular one between us. "Not now. Please, not now. I have about ten minutes left, and that's cutting it closely – can't we just do something, instead of arguing?"

I could tell Rachel was about to argue back, so I just turned and began walking away, leaving her to frown at my back.

I didn't really know where I was going, but I guessed Rachel would follow wherever. Her footsteps echoed behind me as she jogged to catch up.

"Okay," she said, falling into step beside me. "No arguing."

I glanced at her, my eyebrows raised in what I hoped was an incredulous expression. "Really?"

She nodded, her long hair swinging with the movement. "Really."

I smiled.

We walked for a little while in silence, just being with each other, like this, was enough for now.

Five minutes must have passed before either of us spoke again.

"So where are we going?" Rachel asked, curiosity buried in her tone.

"I'm not really sure, I'm just sort of going where me feet take me." I admitted, looking sheepish.

"Well, I know where we could go, and it isn't far from here."

"Where?"

I flinched when she grabbed my hand, but still let her pull me to a stop and spin me around to face her.

Her fingers laced through mine, and she looked down somewhat shyly. I smiled at. I never thought I'd see the day when Rachel was shy, least of all about this. She was always so confident, so sure of what she did. I was usually the shy one, and stupid as it felt to admit.

"So where exactly are we going?" I asked.

Rachel bit her lip, hiding a grin. "It's not far."

"Okay."

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Cautiously, I closed my eyes, feeling very vulnerable in the middle of the sidewalk. What if Visser Three came? What if a controlled passed us and somehow guessed? As a hawk my vision was so relied upon, so key to survival. It felt strange not to have it.

"Come on." Only then did I notice that Rachel had been tugging on my.

Slowly, hoping that I wouldn't fall over, I let her lead me to wherever we were going.

Suddenly we stopped, and I was surprised at how little time we'd been walking for. Literally less than a minute.

"Can I open my eyes now?"

"Nope, not yet."

I panicked for a moment when Rachel released my hand. But she assured me she wasn't going to run away and I calmed down. I couldn't shake the feeling of being like the seeker in an eight-year-old game of hide and seek. And most of my experience of playing that had involved me being deserted. Not exactly what I'd describe as my best memories. But admittedly not my worst either.

"Rachel?"

"I'm just here?" Her voice came near by, but still I wasn't particularly comforted.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"You'll see."

I groaned.

"If your legs are getting tired you can lean agisnt the wall behind you."

I took a few steps back and felt something solid. Haltingly, I relaxed against it, unsure if it would take my weight. It felt solid enough. "Thanks."

"Pleasure." Suddenly she wasn't at all far away. In fact, I could feel her breath tickling my lips.

"Can I open my eyes?"

"Yep."

I opened them. But for all that I saw I might've well have been in a dream. Rachel was in front of me, close in front of me. Her hair was splayed over her shoulders. A teasing smile danced on her lips.

She leant in.

My breath hitched, but she took no notice. Her lips pressed against mine, kissing me softly. All I could do was kiss her back.

Then she kissed me again. And again. It was bliss, really. See, hawks don't kiss. And if someone were to kiss a hawk, it wouldn't like it much. For humans, though, it's notably different.

Rachel was kissing me, which, in itself was amazing. Her hands had fallen to rest around my neck, burrowing slightly into the longer parts of my hair that fell to the back of my neck. I was holding her around the waist, pulling her closer and closer to me until there were no gaps between us.

This had to be one the things I missed about being human. People our age, people like Jake and Cassie, have the wonderful freedom to kiss whenever they want. Sure, they can't do it in front of their parents or anything, but they definitely don't have to worry about two hour time limits. Not like us. Which is why I, somewhat reluctantly, pulled away.

Rachel sighed. She knew I didn't have much time yet. All ready we'd cut it pretty close. I should've demorphed a few minutes ago. But I couldn't, not before saying goodbye.

I let out a deep breath and dropped my head to her shoulder, nuzzling to her neck. Her hair fell around me, completing my bliss. The smell of her shampoo, sweet and fruity, surrounded me. Her silky golden tresses caressed my cheeks. I didn't want to leave.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, wishing I could imprint this moment into my memory forever. What if I could keep this perfect, pristine memory, so that whenever I was in my meadow, cold, wet and miserable, I could re visit and feel what I felt now. If only. I took another deep breath, wishing I could will time into stopping and letting me stay here forever.

It didn't work. Cars still passed on the nearby street, the sound dampened a little in the alley we'd escaped into. I sighed.

Opening my eyes, I placed a light kiss on Rachel's neck, feeling her pulse hammering rapidly beneath my lips. So she did get nervous.

I don't know how I managed to pull away. I don't know how I managed to give her one last kiss on her lips, then turn and crouch in the shadows to demorph. I don't know how she could watch me as I changed from an awkward, gangly teenage boy to a thin, swift hawk. I do know how I flew away though.

Because after I'd demorphed, after I'd left the person, the world that I'd once belonged to, Rachel came over to me and lifted me onto her arm. And just before I tensed myself to push off her shoulder and fly away, a gentle breeze had snuck into the alley. Even my weak, hawk sense of smell could pick up on the sweet smell of fruity shampoo.

Okay, so R&T are a little older in this one, but I wanted to put a kiss in!!