If there was any time that Kazooie hated the snow more than ever, it was right now.

Many factors contributed to the irritation that was running through her veins: the cold slapping under what little protection she had, the snow that was sticking to her feathers, and the almost fruitless attempt to fly in the howling wind. For Kazooie, this meant little in relation to what was going on in her mind. While it was true that Kazooie cared little about the cold, being an avian and finding the weather a little annoying when it effected the wind, what she really cared about was not the cold, but what the cold had swallowed up.

More importantly, it was about who the snow swallowed up.

He had not yet returned from his little expedition. Then again, the snow was not this bad when he left. Kazooie still felt the strings of regret plucking their painful tune when she told herself that she knew the signs, but refused to listen to her gut, like she had grown so accustom to. The honey bear wasn't even completely healthy when he went away, so the purpose of the expedition really didn't matter: she wanted him to stay home and fight this illness off in bed. It would have been typical of her to say no and win the argument, but when Banjo convinced them enough that it wasn't going to take long, she imagined that would be the only unsettling atmosphere. Only until now was she proven wrong because she was treading the snow she feared. In some way, she was hoping that Banjo decided to stay at the cave until the storm died down.

The cave was discovered sometime ago before the battle with Gruntilda the first time. When it was cold, Banjo and Kazooie would make an expedition there every year to collect the fresh snow that would make its way in there. If there was no snow, then they would pick at some of the ice that would have easily been mistaken for lovely diamonds. It was this snow and ice that they agreed to make snow cones every summer. The more Kazooie thought about it, the more she wished that Banjo would stick to tradition and have them go together.

So why would he want to go alone this time, especially being a sick ol' bear?

For some reason, the idea of her sticking around the house to watch over Tooty wasn't enough. It wasn't until an hour into her thinking that Tooty finally spoke her thoughts: she was just worried, and thus shared the same feelings as Kazooie. After a fruitless debate about what Banjo had said to them before, Kazooie admitted to her feelings of worry by pursuing the honey-bear, with Tooty immediately beginning a pot of warm water should anything go wrong.

Kazooie was hoping to the bottom of her heart that the water would only be used for a typical pot of hot chocolate, following thereafter a scowling from both women. All of them knew that Banjo was ill, and it was only a small fever, but this was the cold of the arctic. So why did Banjo want to go alone? Him going alone was more than enough to send worries down her spine, if the cold didn't beat it to it first.

The snow was terribly cold, but her worries were more so as she was doing her best to fly in the dark night. The moon was full, and the snow's wind that had a terrible howl only ten minutes ago began to die down. It was the same kind of wind that Banjo left into the night to. Kazooie concluded that her jitters wouldn't be so bad if Banjo decided to go it during the morning, but no: he had to do it now; something about how the night would keep the snow from melting before he got back. Kazooie was more concerned that it would be Banjo instead of the snow that would be too cold to come back. Since the wind decided to finally die down, not only did Kazooie have better air to fly in, but her bird's eye view would now come into serious handy.

While it was true that Kazooie didn't want him to go out into the night, there was some advantage to the darkness. Beforehand, Tooty had offered him a honey-comb lantern that she instead that her brother take if he was that determined to do this. Kazooie was a little bit amazed that Banjo was willing to meet Tooty's need but take no head to her warning.

It was that same glowing honey-comb that Kazooie was looking for, hoping that her idiot friend would still be there next to it… and hopefully still alive.

No… no she couldn't think about the worst of what might have happened during that twenty minute snow storm ten minutes ago.

The cave… that's what she told herself… just find the cave… It was on the other side of Spiral Mountain, close to where Gruntilda was defeated during the quest of the rescue of Banjo's little sister: the location where the boulder had fallen upon her body when she fell into her first defeat. She could wait on snow cones, but she knew in her heart that it would take longer to cope with any possible regret, should it come because of not being able to rescue her best friend.

She would have swallowed hard when she came to the cave, but she breathed in a terrible gasp as she found the honey-comb light that she was looking for in the calm darkness, but her eyes also met a sight that made a tear fly into the night as she swooped down with great haste. The pile of snow, the brown fur that had snow sticking to it, and the blue book bag that was encumbered with frost: Kazooie would know that book bag from anywhere, even if she didn't see it for a hundred years. She would also recognize her friend that was laying on the cold snow as if there was nothing else to live for. Her suspicions were confirmed all the more as she brushed away whatever excess snow she could get off of him, confirming to both her mind and her heart that it was Banjo, and he didn't look good at all…
And this time, she meant that as a term of endearment.

"Banjo!"

Using the strength of her wings that would normally be used for flying, she turned her friend over onto his back, which became slightly elevated because of the jars of snow that was in the backpack. Leaning down, she turned to see if hearing his heartbeat was possible. The wind was gone, so it was easier to hear the light beating that was too slow for Kazooie's comfort.

Screw the snow: she had an idea, and it was one of the only ideas she felt that would work. As if going to battle Gruntilda once more, she leaped into the blue book bag and popped her heat out once she was comfortable. The jars of snow made the book bag too cold to be comfortable, but she imagined that Banjo felt even worse due to being out here for so long. Flying wasn't a good option, so trotting back to the house was the only suitable alternative without running too much risk of losing Banjo along the way.

If her feet had to be cold by the time they got back, then so be it. In fact, that's what Kazooie was trying to resist when she returned, but that was the last memory Banjo had before falling into the darkness.

As he laid there, remembering nothing but a freezing atmosphere, the only thing that continued to pump to his ears was the beating of his own heart. If he didn't know any better, he would have even assumed that he felt his own pulse. However, that didn't change the fact that everything was cold, and it was the kind of cold that he didn't like. Sadly, it was the kind of cold that would reach down into his heart and give himself a heart-freeze. If the cold wasn't leaving like the way it was right now, perhaps he would have allowed himself to assume that he was dead. Much to his relief, he was beginning to feel the warmth of a crisp spring evening: not too much, but not enough to where he couldn't feel it.

The spring… the light…
Kazooie…

When he last recalled to have touched the light, he remembered the painful feeling in his chest when a cloud of colors began to enter his vision. The more colors he started to tap into, the more his chest started to hurt. Just when it felt as if a boulder was put on his chest, his vision began to come into a sense of clarity that he could understand.

When he knew that his eyes were open, he expected a lot of red to reach his vision, but what he didn't expect was the red to glow, or perhaps lead to his vision realizing that the red he was looking at was actually fire. Blinking about twice, he wondered why his mind was so deep into confusion, let alone why everything was dark and warm. It wasn't until he turned his head again to a small table that he realized what was really happening: he was back at the house.

How in the world did he get here? More importantly, why was his chest so heavy? Above all else, where was Kazooie? The idea of her not being here sent a painful cringe to his already hurting chest, causing the poor bear to close his eyes. No, he didn't want to see the tear that he knew was falling from his face. While everything was hurting in a way, his chest felt the worst, and the beating of his heart even more so.

He would have asked himself why he was back at the house and why he was feeling this way, but he knew why: he knew why everything was hurting in some shape or manner. He was sick, and it dawned on him how he was starting to become a little too obvious to Tooty and Kazooie. If he had to be dragged back into the house, that meant what he had feared the most came to be: someone had to bring him back.

So who brought him back?

From the light that was coming from the kitchen area, it seemed that Tootie was making something, and his groan was a little more quiet than he imagined. If everything hurt, then maybe he was in too much pain to determine anything, and that included the sound of his own voice. A light sigh left his lips as he embraced the warmth and let the blanket make it's full work on him. He wanted to at least sit up and ask Tooty a few questions, but the attempt to sitting up was more fatal than he imagined.

The silence was painfully broken by a series of horrible coughs that were coming from his lungs. If he thought he was in pain before, he was wrong in relation to the pain he was feeling from every cough that was leaving him almost breathless.

Was his illness that bad? He didn't know anymore, and frankly, he didn't care: everything just hurt too much.

A sense of relief came over him when a wing of familiar feathers began to rub his back.

Taking some time to sink it in, he jolted his head up to see if the face would go with the wings. Low and behold, there, over on his side, was Kazooie, holding a serious look that was mixed with her typical seriousness and abnormal concern. By abnormal, that really meant rare, meaning that in a way, her concern was serious, and her green eyes showed that she was fighting to keep something in.

They knew each other long enough to the degree that they really didn't need to say anything to know what the other was thinking. As Kazooie's wing came to a stop, but didn't lift itself off of him, Banjo turned his head away to the other side of the bed, trying to find some comfort in the realization that Kazooie might have used herself as Banjo's pillow: hence why the "pillow" felt different when he woke up. He knew that he shouldn't have gone, but he felt obligated to go: not just out of hope for snow cones later, but another idea that had been making a fine work on his mind.

Kazooie, on the other hand, couldn't figure out why Banjo was being so reckless. By the normal standards, it was her that was the most reckless of the team of two, and it pained Kazooie that she couldn't look at Banjo and just obtain that sudden click like she normally would from the honey-bear. She was only relieved that she could tell Banjo was hiding something, or she would have doubted the quality of their friendship.

She really wanted to blame his stupidity on his sickness, really she did, but there was that aching feeling that there was more going on in Banjo than what he was willing to admit to. She was hoping that something would tell her what was going on in the noggin of the honey bear, but the only thing that seemed to be obviously receptive was the crackling of the fire and the heavy breathing Banjo was suffering through because of his previous coughing fit.

"Are you okay?"

It was a dumb question with an obvious answer, but Kazooie really wanted to break the puzzling silence between them.

"I'll be okay," Banjo replied in a painfully low voice, "I guess I shouldn't have gone out there…"

"We warned you to not go out there, Banjo," Kazooie said, lifting her wing off of Banjo's back so she could look at him square in the eyes, "Do you have any idea how-"

She stopped herself for a minute, and it was for two reasons: one, she realized that she was just making idle chat; and two, there was something in Banjo's eyes that she hadn't seen before. While it was true that Kazooie occasionally scared Banjo here and there (and all out of good fun), there was a kind of fear that she rarely saw out of him, and it was the kind of fearful gaze that kids would give when they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. However, Banjo's paw was surely in no cookie jar, so there must have been another fear that was swelling inside of him.

Why did Banjo have to hide from her?

When her expression became gentle, Banjo had his fair share of confusion.

"Banjo, what's going on?"

The honey bear could do nothing but swallow hard. When he tried to turn his head away, she used her wing to turn his head back to her.

"Banjo, seriously: I've never seen you act like this… ever! Normally, I'm the one scaring you shitless, but this isn't funny payback-"

"-I wasn't trying to scare you."

"That doesn't change the fact that you did scare me. Normally, you're the careful one, so why the sudden change? Banjo, I'm worried about you."

The last sentence seemed to work, because his eyes widened enough to register to her that she hit a nerve. Kazooie was normally the type to hit a nerve on Banjo unless she was serious about something: this situation was such a moment.

However, the moment took a dramatic shift when Banjo's eyes widened more, slamming shut immediately thereafter when another horrible coughing fit began to take place. This time, the coughing fit was so horrible, that the breath Banjo sucked in as a dry wheeze caused Kazooie's heart to stop. Since both wings were on him already, she convinced Banjo to lay back down, turning her gaze to Tooty as she approached the bed with hot chocolate on a small tray. Perhaps Tooty was thinking more ahead than she was since there was also a cup of warm tea that was safe to assume that it was for Banjo.

When Tooty put the tray down on the dresser, she began to walk away from the duo, her mind imagining what could come next. Weither they knew that she knew or not, Tooty had some maturity for a reason, and it was essentially helpful when it came to the arguments that would be similar to this and lead to yelling in between the duo. Yes, occasionally these two would yell at each other, and the first couple of times convinced her to tears, but there was something else that she knew about them too, and understood that it was essential that she not involve herself into the matter.

Kazooie, unlike Tooty, had just about enough.

As the next coughing fit finally came to a settling, despite the painful wheezing that Banjo was executing at the moment, Kazooie flapped her wings into a small flight, but only enough to where she could land on Banjo's stomach. That alone was more than enough to get the bear's attention directly onto the bird.

"Banjo! For goodness sake, please tell me what in the world is-"

Kazooie never finished her demand out of the bear, for the long friendship that they had caused them to read each other. Out of Kazooie came surprise, and it was the fault of what Banjo was giving that caused her to remain surprised.

Banjo was crying.

No, it wasn't from the fact that she had landed on his stomach, or Banjo would have said something sometime ago, or maybe she would have noticed and flown off of him seconds before the matter. After all, the way Banjo said her name was unlike many of the ways that he would normally say her name in the past.

"Kazooie…"

The last time his emotions were in this much of a nervous wreck, it was the time that Kazooie was hit with a spell during the final battle of their first adventure in order to save Tooty. If Banjo had not used his book bag as a parachute as Gruntilda plummeted to her first doom, they may not have been able to survive for the second round against that witch.

Banjo cried that time too, and it wasn't just for anyone: it was for her.

Remembering the warm feeling that went through her when Banjo cried his eyes out of worry for Kazooie, a moment of clarity suddenly clicked on the inside of her, causing her eyes to widen at what might be the motive behind Banjo's strange behavior. She passed the moment as a moment of intense friendship, but there was a possibility that the friendship was so intense, it broke into something more for Banjo.

"… Banjo… no way… are you…?"

She allowed him to look away, realizing that the excessive blushing that Banjo was committing might be for what was going on through her mind. However, every time that Banjo cried like this, it always left a painful sting in her heart. No matter how it effected her, it reminded Kazooie of just how much she really cared for him.

Apparently, he seemed to care about her in a different dimension.

Slowly, she got off of his stomach, and he used that moment to sit up, not willing to look at Kazooie. In the dark atmosphere, it amazed her how Banjo's tears were slightly glowing because of the fire. Yet, despite everything, she was even more amazed that he was willing to cry like this in front of her, no longer willing to hold his feelings back like a defeated puppy.

His eyes closed as her heart started to break.

"… Look, Kazooie… I didn't want it to come out like this. I wanted to go out on my own because there were certain things that I wanted to think through. I guess it didn't turn out that way."

When he opened his eyes a little, there was a haziness that Kazooie didn't like. She wanted to get closer to him, but for the first time in a long time, she wasn't exactly sure what to do.

"Maybe I carry feelings for you, and maybe I'm just imagining things because I'm sick, but let's be honest for a minute: what if something bad were to come out of this?"

"What do you mean? Banjo, you and I have been through a lot of thick and thin situations together: both publicly and personally. How in the world can you just suddenly doubt our friendship like that? And for the record, I sincerely doubt your current state has anything to do with this."

"Kazooie… aside from Tooty, you're the only one I have…"

Now it was Kazooie's turn to swallow hard.

"If these feelings were acted upon… I couldn't bear the thought of losing you."

"Banjo, you wouldn't lose me."

"You're just saying that because it hasn't happened yet. What if we try it out, and it doesn't work? We only have each other, and it would leave us at a very awkward state as friends."

As Banjo turned to look at Kazooie once again, she allowed her eyes to widen a little as paws met wings for the first time during this whole conversation. The honey bear had to close his eyes for a minute, but opened his sapphire eyes once again to look at the emerald pair before him.

"Kazooie… I can't say I really know what this kind of love is… but I've never felt this way about anyone, and that's probably very narrow-minded of me to say so. Just… please understand that I'd rather love you as a friend forever than love you once on romantic terms and lose you forever."

If only Banjo noticed how red he made Kazooie blush under her red feathers, but it began to fade when Banjo looked away again, allowing his hands to slip from her wings. He would have lost all grip, but Kazooie swiftly tightened her grip before the paws left completely, and when Banjo looked at her to see just how serious she was about all of this, she lunged herself at Banjo with enough force to land on his lap, her wings wide open for the warm embrace that she was giving Banjo.

Banjo only needed a minute to sink in the new information, and Kazooie was willing to wait on him, and found herself smiling like an idiot when she felt the arms of her sick friend wrap around her in a complete, firm embrace.

"You worry too much, Banjo."

"And you're stubborn."

"I know, you sick ol' bear… I know."

Artist's Comments:

Part 2 of Banjo-Kazooie's Tears of a Bear: Sick Ol' Bear

Setting: After Banjo-Kazooie, Nuts and Bolts

I really believe that out of this two-shot, this one came out a lot better. If you don't agree with the Bazooie ship, and yet had the bold curiosity to continue to this chapter, I applaud you.

Constructive criticism advised.

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