ENJOY!!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Storm Hawks. That is all.
"Hey, wait!!! Nightjar!!! Slow down!!!"
Aerrow and Piper were running, or rather, being pulled by the wrists by their good friend Nightjar, and trying not to get dragged by her.
"I can't!!!", she peeped excitedly. "This is something I have to show you guys!!!"
"Well, Finn and Junko aren't the ones being forced to run by an Interceptor!", the redhead exclaimed as the special agent slowed down. The said blonde and Wallop caught up with them.
"Aww. Insult me, will you?", she replied, mocking an offended tone. She turned around and led the Storm Hawks into a clearing filled with various animals and a lake from which the creatures drank.
"Where exactly are we?", asked Finn as he surveyed the place, his nose wrinkling at the different odors.
"This is where sick or injured animals that Sis and I save are healed, and where they stay until they're completely heal. I like to call it Aquaria's Veterinarian Zoo", Nightjar replied with pride obvious in her voice.
"You wanted to bring us to a zoo?"
Immediately, a horned tiger nearby roared at him, and the sharpshooter's golden hair, if it could get any spikier, stood on end.
"Talionis!!!", NJ scolded, and the big cat ducked it's head under a paw. "No frightening our visitors! And as for your earlier question, Finn, yeah; got a problem?!"
"That's your horned tiger?", asked Piper as she cautiously took a step closer to it. The wildcat had the ordinary black stripes of any tiger, but the coat was a sandy gold. It was easily larger than an ordinary tiger, a good four yards long, and it had a sickle-shaped horn in the middle of its forehead that stood at a foot long.
"Not my tiger", the gray-haired girl replied, walking over to him to pet his head. "Talionis belongs to no one. He's just here until his leg and back heals." She beckoned the others to come closer and see. Looking carefully, Piper saw bandages around the tiger's left leg, and nasty red gashes on his back.
"Fighting off some Cyclonians that tried to take Aquaria", said Nightjar. "They showed him little mercy." She tenderly ran her fingers along one of his many gashes, then she straightened herself.
"As for you two", she continued, pulling Aerrow and Piper with her. "You two are coming with me."
"What about Big J and I?", asked Finn.
"Oh, you guys can check out the other animals. Just don't do anything stupid like taunting them or harassing them."
"Hey look, Finn!", exclaimed Junko, holding some green creature in his hands. "A Biz! Remember my story about my first friend, Mook. He was a Biz, and…"
"They'll be fine", the redhead leader assured her. Nodding in agreement, the special agent led him and her best friend further into the clearing. This area was shaded with many trees, where birds of every size and color roosted. She placed her thumb and index fingers into her mouth and gave a loud whistle.
"I brought you guys here to introduce you to the zoo's newest inhabitants", she said as two large, colorful birds perched on her outstretched arm. "Radarr, Aerrow, Piper, meet…Aerrow and Piper."
Said people gave her a funny stare.
"They're Emerald Amazonian lovebirds."
"You named them after us?"
"Of course!", she answered cheerily. "For two reasons. One, because they have the same eyes as you guys." The girl motioned to the larger of the emerald green birds; this one had red and dark blue feathers.
"See, this one has green eyes like you, Aerrow. So I named him after you."
On closer inspection, he saw that the bird's eyes mirrored his own; a shining leaf green.
Nightjar let the smaller of the lovebirds climb to the top of her head; this one was similar, except it had orange feathers. "And this one has orange eyes like you, Piper girl. So I named her after you."
Indeed, the bird had eyes that reflected Piper's; a warm carnelian orange.
"What's your second reason?", the redhead asked, cautiously extending his hand to the bird that shared his name.
The Interceptor smiled in response. "They are so much like you guys. These lovebirds need each other to survive."
"We need each other?", the Sky Knight asked. She nodded and smiled, enjoying Piper's blushing reaction.
"You and your strategist slash navigator slash crystal specialist are very important not only to your team, but to each other." She turned to take something from a jar, taking the opportunity to let a big smile spread across her face. Composing herself, she returned to her friends and placed a bit of birdseed into their hands.
"Now just extend your hand with the birdseed to them and open your palms." The red-feathered bird hopped back to his perch, and they followed her directions.
"They'll always eat at the same time", she explained as the birds happily ate. "They inspect the food together, then they eat together." The commanding officer remembered that he liked to go on recon with his strategist, and whatever trouble came to them, they would face it together.
"If one bird is sick, his/her mate goes out alone to get food for him/her, never eating a single bite and self-sacrificing if need be. If one bird dies, his or her mate will not eat as they have no one to eat with, and they starve to death."
The orange-eyed girl did not like this fact. She could not imagine her leader dead, but she swore that if any trouble came to him, she'd be at his side 24/7 until he was better. She looked up into the eyes of the bird that shared her name, and saw agreement of such dedication reflected there.
As the birds ate, Aerrow noticed that the lovebirds were pressed close together.
"They're lovebirds. They stay next to each other for protection and warmth. When two lay together, they can keep warm." Nightjar took the time to savor their growing blushes. "When Sis and I met them, both had injured wings, Piper having scratches along her stomach. We tried to catch them by hand, but Aerrow here got in front of his mate and started squawking and screeching at me. He even bit my finger!" She made a face. "He was only trying to protect her. You're such a softie", she murmured to the emerald bird, nuzzling beaks with him.
She then turned to him. "You'd protect Piper, wouldn't you?"
He flushed scarlet but, in a straight voice, answered, "Yes." With my very life, he silently added.
Aerrow knew that no matter what, even if it meant risking his life or letting some enemy escape, he would protect his tactictionist with his very life, and he would hurt anyone who dared hurt Piper, even if that person was a squad mate.
One of the birds suddenly squawked, and when he looked to see who it was, he found himself looking into leaf green eyes. Tell her!!!, those green orbs seemed to scream. Tell her how you feel!!!
He shook his head, both to ensure that he wasn't imagining things and to silently signal to the other Aerrow that he just couldn't tell the orange-eyed girl exactly how he felt about her. If she didn't return his feelings, it would be so awkward, and thanks to a certain duo that consisted of a Wallop and a vain blonde, he would never forget it. He glared at the feeding lovebird with eyes that could have belonged to the green-eyed monster; he envied him for having so much courage to show and tell his Piper how much he loved and cared for her.
"You guys could learn a few things from your avian counterparts here", the hazel-eyed Sky Knight said, and she swore the commanding officer made a noise that sounded like doubt. "Really. These birds depend on each other for survival, and you both depend on each other for success on missions and being two of the best Sky Knights I have ever seen."
A crash interrupted anything more she had to say, and with a colorful curse muttered, "No doubt it's those idiots."
"Nice tiger!!! NICE TIGER!!!", they heard Finn scream throughout the clearing.
"Yeah, it's them", Piper groaned.
"I'll go see what they did this time." Nightjar got up and started to run, then spun around to say, "Just don't give Aerrow and Piper more than three handfuls of birdseed." She left the pair alone, while her slender legs carried her to where Finn was getting half-mauled by Talionis; Junko began to pry off the large cat.
"Hey Aerrow."
"Yeah?"
"I've been thinking as NJ was talking, and she's right. We are very much like these birds." Piper gazed at him with those breathtaking orange eyes. "Why is she doing this? Why is she comparing us to these…lovebirds?"
"Maybe…", he answered. "Maybe she thinks of us as more than just good friends."
"More?" Her eyes widened a bit.
"The things that these lovebirds do for each other…protect each other, get in trouble together, eat together…"
"But good friends do that, too", the strategist said.
"Yeah", her leader replied, trying to conceal the hurt in his voice. "And even if we could be more than friends, we just don't have the time for each other."
"But you two care about each other, right?"
Piper and Aerrow jumped at the voice. "Nightjar?"
"Yeah, 'tis me. Just got back from tying up Tal and teaching Finn how to take care of his wounds."
"That was…pretty fast", said the redhead, obviously surprised.
"I'm a stealth fighter", she answered. "And Junko did most of the heavy lifting. But back to the whole 'no time for each other' thing." She walked over to her lovebirds and lifted them from their perch.
"There's a third reason why I named these gorgeous creatures after both of you. Can you guess why?"
The two Storm Hawks shook their heads.
"When two people really care about each other, they will, I repeat, they WILL put the other person over everything. We have always been in a fight with Father Time, and hey, who said life was easy? It seems we never have enough time; but if you need that someone, depend very much on that special someone, especially for your wellbeing, that person should have the best you can give her. And that cliché 'We just wouldn't have time for each other' is NOT the best you can give her."
The gray-haired special agent kissed her lovebirds before continuing, "And that, my friends, is the biggest reason why I named these Amazonian lovebirds after you both. By showing you both what could-should be if you two actually came out of hiding and be those brave Storm Hawks anyone can admire, I was hoping you guys would finally get it and just admit your feelings."
Her 'little lesson' left them speechless.
"I'll give you both some privacy." She retreated, leaving them alone.
Aerrow was the first to slowly turn his head to Piper. "It's obvious, isn't it?"
"That you like me?" She turned her carnelian orbs so that they stared deeply into his leaf green.
"That I love you", he answered, moving closer to her. "I always have. I couldn't help it."
She smiled lovingly before pulling him by the hair and laying a chaste kiss to his mouth. Closing his eyes, he cupped the sides of her face and deepened the kiss.
"I love you too", she whispered as she broke away, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her head on his shoulder.
Unknown to them, someone had been watching them, a pair of colorful birds perched on her arm. Another person was with her.
"And THAT, Finn, is a kiss."
The blonde watched with a goofy smile. "I am SO gonna get a lot of mileage out of this."
Nightjar shook her head and watched the lovebirds locked in each other's embrace.
She'd help Aerrow and Piper get their revenge later.
Oh, no, that sucked as well!!!!
My gosh, my leg hurts so much from kicking myself…I don't think I may be able to walk for a while…crap.
The idea for this kiss is mine, ALL MINE. Don't know why I decided to say that.
Read and Review!!! (if you don't think my writing sucks and that I'm such a terrible person for wasting your guys' patience).
10th Kiss: Nothing but the Truth
"Aerrow, my man, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" "Finn, what's this all about?" "Have a thing for Piper, don't ya?"
See ya all soon!!!
Love, (or hate)
Lady Azar
