Top pic credit: lasvation

Ari POV:

The feeling of someone's arms wrapping around me, pulled me out of my slumber.

"Hm?" I muttered groggily, as the warm body next to me snuggled as close to my figure as possible.

"Shh it's me, baby. It's just me." Keigo whispered, shuffling around in the bed to get comfortable.

I felt a dazed, tired smile immediately gracing my face at the sound of his voice.

"Keigo..." I cooed tiredly, letting him spoon me.

He hummed softly, planting a kiss on my temple, as he pulled me closer.

"Can't say I was expecting to come back to my place, and find ya in my bed, little dove. But, I will say it's the best surprise I've had in awhile." He uttered, hooking his leg over my waist.

His words warmed my heart....and woke me up at the same time. Now, I remember where I was. I was at Keigo's apartment, waiting for him to come home. I hadn't seen him in a few days, and I knew he'd be back tonight. I must have fallen asleep, trying to wait up for him.

"Mmm, whaaat? Shit, what time is it? I have curfew back at the dorm." I groaned out groggily, starting to stir around in the bed.

Keigo simply tightened his hold on me, refusing to let me go.

"It's not curfew yet." He mumbled into my hair, the slight pouting tone heard in his voice.

I laughed softly, rolling around in his arms so I could face him.

There he was. Looking right at me with those soft, bedroom eyes. Those blonde locks were messily swept to the side, falling onto the silky sheets of his pillow. The corners of his mouth were turned up into a very soft smile, with his milky skin illuminated by the moonlight that crept in from his window. One of his vermillion wings could be seen jutting out above his body. It was curled close to him, taking a rest from the hard work it probably had to do today.

He seriously looked perfect.

"Hey." He simply said, studying every feature on my face so intricately.

"Hey." I uttered back in amusement, running my hand along his shoulder.

Keigo scooted closer to me, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I really missed you." He stated warmly, his eyes trailing to my lips.

"I missed you too, Keigs."

"And I really want to kiss you."

I giggled at his words, wondering why he took it upon himself to tell me this, rather than just kiss me.

"So kiss me, bird boy. You've kept me waiting long enough." I whispered, watching him already leaning into my face.

The kiss was soft and sweet, with Keigo's lips barely brushing against mine.

I snaked my arm from his shoulder to wrap around his waist, taking it upon myself to deepen our kiss.

I leaned forward, gently pushing my tongue past his lips, tasting that familiar trace of peppermint.

Keigo let out a soft sigh at my actions, opening his mouth a little more for me to explore.

He trailed his hand to my hair, starting to tangle his fingers through it.

I ran my hands up his back, lightly caressing the base of his wings. I felt them gently twitch between my fingers, before he moaned ever so softly.

"Ah...Ari. Come here." He mumbled against my lips, his tone coming out soft and serious.

It was obvious that Keigo wasn't in a joking mood right now. I could tell he was tired. I could tell he just wanted to focus on this moment.

And so did I.

I gently pressed him down to lay flat on his back, climbing on top of him.

He allowed me to, keeping my gaze as he grabbed my sides.

I smiled softly, watching his eyes warm into mine. His wings began moving around behind him, clearly trying to find comfortability.

"Oh....this position probably isn't very comfortable for your wings." I stated, about to climb off him before he stopped me.

"It's fine. I'll get over it, trust me." He chuckled softly, pulling me down to his lips by the back of my neck.

He gently pressed my lips to his, still keeping his kisses soft and slow.

His hands ran along my sides, before resting on my lower back.

Apparently, I was the one who was feeling needy tonight as I felt myself deepening our kiss once more. Keigo went along with it, once again allowing me to take control.

I caressed the side of his cheek-only now noticing the light sheen of sweat that coated it.

Ignoring it for a moment, I ran my hands through his hair, noticing how sweaty his locks were, too.

"Mm, are you hot?" I mumbled, pulling away from the kiss slightly.

Keigo let out a dismissive, breathy laugh...oddly squeezing his eyes shut at my comment to avoid my gaze.

"N-No. C'mon, let's keep going. I-I like where this is going." He whispered unconvincingly, with a slight shake in his voice.

I furrowed my brows in confusion, trying to look at his face once more.

Before I could, Keigo quickly pulled my lips back down to his...smashing them sloppily against his own.

I didn't mind it...but, I couldn't help but wonder about his mood. At first, I just thought he was tired. But, now I'm not so sure that's the whole story. Was he okay? Did he have a bad day? Does he want to talk about it-

Keigo's hands snaked under my shirt, lifting it up from the bottom. His clammy hands gave my bare sides a light squeeze.

"I want you, Ari. I've wanted you for so long." He whispered huskily, gently biting my bottom lip as he began slowly removing my shirt.

I felt a wash of warmth run through me at his tone, quickly putting my inner thoughts on hold as I removed my shirt completely.

"I want you, too." I uttered softly, noticing the way his eyes didn't even trail down my shirtless body. He simply kept my gaze the entire time.

Keigo immediately pulled me back down against his chest, running his hands on my bare back and over my bra.

"Your turn." I smirked, tugging at his shirt lightly.

I figured with his wings, it'd be a bit of a process for him to get it off. But within three seconds, the material was already discarded to the floor.

Biting my lip at his defined abs, I began trailing my hands down his torso, starting to find myself getting turned on by the sight.

However.....once again, I was surprised at how sweaty Keigo's body was. Especially, since it was freezing in here.

The time it took him to get his shirt off gave me the opportunity to look at his face again. He was pale. Sunken. The dark circles under his eyes were thicker than I've ever seen before.

But, what surprised me the most, was that he looked like he was about to cry. His exhausted....bloodshot...eyes were now glossed over, his brows were knit together in apparent distress, and his lips were pressed together from trying to stop the quiver, I assume.

"Keigo. What's wrong?" I stated quietly, placing my hands on his bare chest.

He quickly blinked his eyes rapidly to get rid of the tears, flashing me a weak smile.

"H-Hah, w-what? Nothing's wrong. Now, come here." He whispered, trying to pull me back down for a kiss.

"Don't say nothing. You look like you're about to-"

"W-Well, I'm not about to. I'm fine. P-Please. I'm okay, chicky. I promise. I just had a bad day. I-I just really....I-I just really don't w-wanna talk about it. I just wanna b-be with you." He stuttered out, gently trying to pull me back down to him.

I remained unmoving for a moment, giving him a look of question.

"Are you sure-"

"I just wanna be with you." He reiterated, before sitting up in the bed to meet my lips instead.

His kiss was full of heat and passion, making me decide to drop his strange behavior again. Something was obviously on his mind. But, I don't mind if this is how he wants to handle it. Right now, anyways. Doesn't mean I won't try to make him tell me again, later.

I kissed Keigo again, feeling his arms wrap around my bare waist.

A few moments later, I broke away from his lips starting to kiss his neck.

Ignoring the cold sweat on him, I began sucking the spot I knew would get him turned on. Keigo gripped my back tightly in affirmation...lightly digging his fingers into my skin as he let out a low groan of approval.

His breathing began picking up now, as he pressed me impossibly tighter against him. Like...really tight.

"Ah...a little harder. H-Harder, baby." He whispered, tilting his neck further to the side so I could kiss it deeper.

"Hm, I don't wanna leave a mark-"

"I don't care about marks. It feels so good when you do it. I need this. I need you."

Upon his request I began sucking and biting his neck harder, feeling his breathing shallowing a little more.

His hands were going a little stir crazy, quickly darting from my back, to my sides, to my hair.

I could literally feel his heart pounding abnormally hard from our closeness, as Keigo's breath began to stutter.

My body was starting to become coated in his cold sweat, as I realized...

He was hyperventilating.

I immediately pulled away from his neck to look at him, noticing his eyes were squeezed shut.

I grabbed both sides of his face, gently caressing him as I realized he was having a panic attack.

"Hey-Keigs......Keigo, look at me-" I started saying, before his eyes shot open.

In the next instant, he quickly threw me off his lap turning his body away from me.

"GET DOWN! I-I CAN'T CONTROL-" He yelled out, before red feathers began shooting uncontrollably out of his wings like bullets.

I dove over the edge of the bed, watching Keigo's feathers starting to destroy everything in his room.

"KEIGO! CALM DOWN!" I called out, watching things in his room starting to break one by one.

"Fuck!!! Not again! G-Get out of here, Ari! Just get out!" He cried out, the agonizing sound of his voice making my heart break. I have never heard a voice that sad come from a human being.

It gave me the motivation I needed to brave the battlefield of Keigo's feathers shooting across the room.

I army crawled on the floor, going around the perimeter of the bed to get to his side-

"Ow!" I hissed quietly, upon feeling my arm get cut by one of his feathers.

Ignoring the light trickle of blood that came from my arm, I continued crawling until I reached Keigo's side.

He was hugging his knees to his chest, holding his head in his hands.

After catching a quick break in his feather attack, I scrambled onto the bed quickly prying his hands away from his body so I could get into his lap.

He jumped in surprise, clearly thinking I'd already left the room.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!! I CAN'T CONTROL MY FEATHERS! GET AWAY FROM ME!!" He yelled at me in desperation, roughly trying to peel me away from him so I could take cover.

"You're not going to kill me, Keigo." I stated clearly, easily fighting off his weak wrestles.

Realizing another feather attack was coming on, he quickly smushed me up against his chest to provide me with cover.

Keigo wrapped his arms around me, protectively placing a hand on top of my head.

The quick whipping sound of his feathers filled the room again as Keigo continued to hyperventilate.

"J-Just leave me alone. Just...get away from me." He choked out, only holding me tighter against his body.

He wasn't crying but judging by the small whimpers and sharp breaths that were coming out of his mouth, he was probably close.

"I'm not leaving you. It's okay, Keigo. It's okay." I whispered calmly, lightly running my hand through his drenched hair.

He let out a small sniffle upon hearing my voice, pulling me up and burying his face in my chest.

"I-I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry for everything, Ari. My fault....it's all my fault...." He gasped out, lightly digging his nails into my sides.

I held him comfortingly, running my hands up and down the back of his sweaty neck.

"Shhh. Just relax. Relax. It's not your fault. None of it. You're okay." I cooed softly, as the speed of his shooting feathers began to slow slightly.

Even though his body was stiff as a rock, I could tell he was doing his absolute best to relax. I carefully trailed my hands to his face, gently lifting his head from my chest.

His eyes were squeezed shut, his jaw was locked tight.

"Keigo. Open your eyes." I whispered, gently caressing both sides of his face.

"No."

"Yes, baby. Open your eyes for me. It always helps me when you say it. Now, it's your turn. Please. I want to see you." I pleaded softly, smoothing his hair away from his face.

"N-No."

Keigo's feathers finally came to a halt, even though he still hadn't caught his breath.

"See, Keigs? You stopped your feathers-"

"I-I'm not in control, d-don't you get it? I'm not i-in control...o-of my life. It's just too much. I-It's all too much." He choked out, keeping his eyes squeezed shut.

I lightly shook my head even though he couldn't see, continuing to softly caress his sweaty, pale face.

"Yes you are. You're in control, Keigo. Right now, in this moment. You are in control. You are here. You are safe. You are strong. Now, you just need to open your eyes and focus yourself." I stated slowly, pressing my forehead to his.

It was silent, the only thing being heard were Keigo's choking breaths. I patiently waited, simply continuing to trail soft caresses on his cheeks.

I continued looking at his face....that beautiful face. His brows knit together in concentration as he tried to focus himself, his wavy blonde hair continued to fall into his face no matter how many times I pushed it away. The way he held me tightly against him, seemingly still trying to protect me from something even though he was the one breaking. Keigo. Oh, Keigo. Everything about you...

Everything about you....completes me.

You are my heart, and you deserve to know it. You deserve better than the cards you've been dealt in life.

"Open your eyes, Keigo. Open your eyes, so I can tell you how much I love you." I blurted out quietly, letting the words fall from my mouth so easily. So effortlessly.

Keigo's eyes snapped open halfway at my words, before his gaze quickly found my face.

I looked into his eyes, seeing those golden orbs swimming with so many different, conflicting emotions.

"W-What did you say?" He stuttered dazedly, keeping his focus on my face.

I wrapped my arms tighter around his neck, hearing his breaths starting to slow down. I gently caressed his tangled, sweaty hair, trying to continue soothing him.

He kept my gaze as his body began relaxing now, his panic attack was passing.

His hands slowly came around my waist, clearly eager for me to repeat what I said.

After a few more moments, his breathing had returned to normal and his body was fully relaxed.

He was a sweaty mess, and his room was completely destroyed from his feathers. He looked exhausted and dazed...defeated and broken, as he weakly clung onto me.

They don't deserve you, number two hero. None of them deserve you.

I lightly ran my hands up his back, realizing he had exhausted all of his wing power in a span of about three minutes.

But now, he was ready to hear my words again. The words that came from my heart. My soul.

The words that I didn't realize, until right now...were more true than anything.

"I love you, Keigo. I love you." I whispered, looking right into those light, golden eyes.

He looked at me in blank shock, taking in my words.

I smiled softly, giving him the time to process everything that just happened. Between the panic attack and my love confession, I'm sure he was still trying to gather his thoughts.

"You....you do?" He uttered almost inaudibly, clearly still completely shocked by my words.

I shook my head in affirmation, continuing to lightly stroke his back.

He kept my gaze, lost in thought about my profession. He looked unrecognizably broken, so I couldn't read his look.

But after a few more moments, Keigo's tired face slowly broke out into a smile. It wasn't a big smile, but I could still see that he looked happy.

He let out a soft, breathy chuckle, as his hands trailed up to my face. In the next moment, he leaned in to kiss me.

I kissed him back, noticing the overwhelming passion from this kiss. As soon as his lips hit mine, I couldn't think about anything else but this moment.

I love him. I love him so much. Nothing else matters. Nothing.

I couldn't help but whimper softly against his mouth, feeling my throat tighten at my own sense of overwhelming emotion-or, I guess....this overwhelming sense of love. It was love the whole time, and I didn't realize it until now.

Keigo barely pulled away, still trying to catch his breath from his panic attack.

He kept his hands on my face, with his warm breaths fanning me.

"Ari..." He started off raspily, meeting my gaze.

I remained quiet, simply waiting for him to continue...

And I couldn't help the tears that immediately clouded my eyes, upon hearing his words.

"I love you with all my heart, little dove. You're the one I've been waiting for."

A/N: Next chapter title - Blue Hot Reunion. Boy oh boy, what could this mean...