Heres chapter 6, once again thank you to the people who left reviews on chapter 5.

Hope you enjoy

Chapter 6: My Everything

Blu felt as if his entire life had been leading up to the moment he knew was quickly approaching. Everything he and Jewel had been through, every laugh they had shared, every moment they had spent in each others company, even their arguments which in the end strengthened the bond he now hoped to seal forever, all of this was running through his head as he approached the hollow.

He was tired of running from his feelings. Tired of convincing himself he wasn't enough. Tired of letting his awkwardness stand in the way of what would hopefully be the most important thing his life would ever have, his love for Jewel.

Nothing he had ever experienced in his 15 years of domestication came close to providing as much fulfillment as just a few days with Jewel had. Ever since he had first met her, he had been captivated by her. Everything else in his life that he had previously tried to extract some sort of meaning from, any attempt to find true happiness in his secure yet meaningless life, it all seemed so insignificant now that he had met her. She gave him purpose. There was simply no other way to describe her. She was his everything.

From the very moment they began their adventure together, Blu had longed to be with her. They were so different, yet at the same time so similar. Two birds, polar opposites but both the last of their kind, each searching for a way to put their troubled pasts behind them and start a new chapter of their lives, one marked by hope, one that was filled with happiness and love.

Neither of them could fully explain why they felt the way they did. It seemed so unlikely, but they had each found love in a place where none seemed possible, and in doing so, they both filled a blank space in the other macaw's life, one that neither of them had realized was there.

Blu had been dreading the day when he would have to confess his love for her, but now that it was here, he felt he was as ready as he could ever possibly be. His love for Jewel, the rhythm of his heart, had finally overpowered the doubt that he had in himself.

Blu landed on the lower rim of the entrance to the hollow, and saw what was to him the most beautiful sight in the world. There in front of him was Jewel, who had only moments ago awoken from a deep sleep.

She smiled at him as he approached her, making room next to her on the blanket that Blu had previously carried up to the hollow to keep her comfortable, the plastic of the fake tree serving as a very poor mattress.

Blu sat down next to her and felt her cuddle up against him, a feeling that he loved but still wasn't used too. This time however, his anxiety didn't consume him. The feeling of being so close to her, the look in her eyes that was now present whenever she was with him, it only strengthened his resolve.

Jewel rested her head on his neck, something she had begun to love doing. Whenever she felt any fear, any pain, or had any troubles at all, the free spirited bird found great comfort in the timid, domesticated bird which despite these traits had never once failed to be by her side when she needed him the most.

As he felt her relax in his presence, Blu found the last bit of courage he had been looking for.

"Come with me, Jewel" he said while standing up. "There's... something I want to talk to you about" he said while beckoning her to follow.

Jewel looked at him curiously before smiling and slowly walking over to the entrance where she sat down again and waited for Blu to pick her up. Blu climbed onto her back, grabbing her in his talons. He took flight and began to slowly glide down to the river below, where he carefully placed Jewel before sitting down beside her. Blu was once again staring at his reflection in the water, preparing to speak, when he felt Jewel nudge him.

"So what did you want to talk about, Blu?" she playfully asked him, knowing that with him it could be anything.

Blu turned and looked at her as he spoke, stuttering a bit as he struggled to speak what was on his mind. "I wanted t... to..." he stopped, and looked at Jewel nervously. She could see he was struggling.

Blu looked into her eyes, feeding off of the reassuring look she gave him. He swallowed before starting again. "I wanted to talk about us, Jewel" he said. There was no backing out now.

Jewel looked back at him, realizing what was going on. She felt her heart speed up as she thought about her Blu, the most socially awkward and least confident bird she had ever met, finally working up the courage to tell her how he felt. She knew how hard this was for him, and listened patiently as he began to pour his heart out to her, his words shaky but full of sincerity.

"Before I met you I... I was... nothing." He began, tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke. "I was missing something. Something that despite my years of searching in all the places I could think of, I never was able to find." He paused to gather himself, looking down at the ground. Blu remained in silence for a moment before looking back at her, locking eyes with her.

"That was... that was until I met you, Jewel" he finally breathed, speaking from the heart. Jewel looked at him, tears of her own beginning to form in her eyes. This meant so much to her, more than he would ever know.

"When I first saw you, something happened inside of me" he continued. "Even though we didn't exactly... well... hit it off right away, as we spent that first night chained together I felt... I..." he paused trying to find the right words. He could see a single tear fall from Jewel's eye as she listened, but it this looked much different than the tears she had shed when they first stood in the very spot that they did now. "I felt like I was no longer... alone" he finished. They stood there staring at each other. Blu could feel tears of his own beginning to escape his eyes. So much emotion had been building up inside him, so many feelings he was never able to express that it felt so overwhelming to finally open up to Jewel.

"I felt something I never had before" he continued, slowing gaining confidence as he spoke. "You showed me there was a whole world I had been missing out on. But as we spent the following day together, I began to realize that it wasn't flight, or freedom, or even confidence I was missing. I realized that what I had been searching for was... was you" he said earnestly.

Jewel took a step closer to him, not once breaking eye contact. They could both feel their hearts pounding in their chests. Blu looked at the ground once more and swallowed before reaching out his wings and placing one on either side of her.

"You make me feel so... happy, so fulfilled. Now that I've met you, I... I can't imagine living without you, Jewel. That's why I jumped out of the plane after you. I finally realized that I had found... someone to live for." Blu concluded his speech, staring deeply into her eyes.

They felt so much passion, so much love for each other flowing through them. It was like they were reliving the moment they had spent in the air while falling from the plane all over again.

Blu pulled Jewel towards him slightly, feeling his heart take control, spilling out the last of the pent up feelings it had been storing.

"I want to tell you something that I should have told you a long time ago, something I couldn't quite find the strength to say on our trolley ride together." He spoke slowly, his words carrying more weight than anything he had ever said or done in his entire life.

Jewel looked at him expectantly, her heart beating faster than it ever had before.

Blu closed his eyes, listening to the drumming of his own heart echoing in his head. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, gazing upon his soulmate as she waited for him to utter the words she had waited so long to hear. He was ready.

"I love you, Jewel" Blu finally breathed, feeling all of the stress and doubt that had accumulated over the past few days dissipate as he watched Jewel's face light up, displaying the most overjoyed expression he had ever seen.

For a while she was silent, staring back into his eyes and feeling her heart overflow with passion. Then she pulled Blu the rest of the way to her, and as her chest pressed against his, Blu could feel her heart beating in sync with his own as she finally spoke. "I love you too, Blu" she whispered, before pressing her beak into his. Blu wrapped his wings around her and held her tighter than he ever had before. They closed their eyes as they let their love for each other consume them, both wishing the moment could last forever.

The story isn't over yet, but as its main goal is to explore the emotions of each bird and describe how their love for one another came to be and isn't as much about laying out the timeline of events that occurred between the plane incident and their release into the wild, it would be pointless and would probably subtract from the story's quality to drag it out. There will be two more chapters, after which I believe this story's purpose will have been fulfilled.

Once again thank you for reading, it's been awesome seeing all the positive feedback I've gotten so far and it's made writing this story feel really rewarding. And if you have any criticism, please do not hesitate or share it as there is still writing left to be done on this story and I want to finish it as best as possible.