Arione's POV

As I awoke I was surprised to have arms around me. I slowly turned around to see his sleeping face in front of me. My good friend Tao was laying beside me with the calmest look on his face. It scared me because right at that moment my face was slowly inching closer to his. It was as if a power was over me and right before my lips connected with his realization hit. I knew what boundaries I could cross and others that I couldn't. I refused to mess up a relationship, a friendship that I have spent years forging with him. Acknoledgement of my feelings would have to wait, like always I am determined to control myself, my body and what it craves; and it craves his touch, his smile, each day that passes by I crave the simple pleasure of making him happy. As I move away from him and onto the floor I surround his body in the blanket he wrapped around me. Right as I am leaving I hear some mumbling, "Arione, wait." Tao says sleepily. I stand there frozen because I need to leave. I can't stay any longer because my heart is beating out of my chest and my feelings for him are rising faster than yeast when its left on the counter. "Yeah Tao." I say hesitantly as I turn around to face him. His figure now climbing off of the bed, walking towards me with his six foot frame, my 5'8" body was beginning to feel smaller with each step he took. I was scared that he could read my mind and see what I was thinking if I looked up into his eyes for too long..

Tao's POV

I felt her move and all I could think about was the fact that I didn't want her to leave. I was comfortable like this, holding her and giving her warmth on this cold winter afternoon. But lately Arione has been acting weird. The normal cuddling we would do, her holding me and even putting her arm around my waist whenever were walking has began to stop. Now if I try to hold her she will slowly inch away from me. Now whenever I lay on her bed she refuses to lay down with me. Simple things that a friendship of four years has allowed she now refuses to do. I am confused because I thought that she was okay with being this loving and touchy with me. However it seems like maybe she no longer wants this, wants me to be this close with her. If that is the case than I will stop. It will be difficult but I will discontinue holding her, rubbing her shoulders and protecting her as if she is my lover. I called out her name and asked her to wait; as I walked towards her I felt this pain at the bottom of my stomach that refused to subside. Looking at her face I felt like I just wanted to tell her everything, how I missed the old her, how the new one was cold and irrational as well as ask her what was I doing wrong. "Arione is something wrong?" I said while looking at her flawless face. "No nothing is wrong I just need to.." "Please stop lying to me! I know that something is wrong because your not acting like you usually do." I say cutting her off midsentence. I touch her face gently and for a moment I can feel her shudder at the sensation, she closes her eyes for a split second before controlling her breath. "Please don't do this Tao, not right now, I need to leave." She begins to turn away and all I can do in that moment is yell after her, "Ari is it me?! Am I doing something wrong or making you feel uncomfortable?" I hear her footsteps stop, I walk into the living room of my apartment and she turns around to face me.

Arione's POV

The pain I heard in his voice made my body inmobile. There was no way I could turn my back on him. Especially not now when all he wanted were answers, reassurance and especially love. " No, of course not Tao nothing is wrong with you, you haven't done a single thing. I just have a few of my own feelings that I need to get in order." Tao stepped closer to me, he reached for my hand and the moment I felt his warmth I backed away, refusing to allow him to touch me again. The saddness was evident in his eyes. "Why are you moving away from me?" he said calmly

Tao's POV

I was beginning to feel like maybe by feelings she was talking about the way she felt about me. The way I feel about her and how I want to stay by her side but when I tried to hold her hand she, once again, backed away from my hand. Arione ignored the sensation that I know she was feeling because I felt it too. I couldn't control my emotions at that point, I know it showed in my eyes that I was confused and especiall hurt. "Are you afraid to tell me why your no longer comfortable being physically close to me? The simple things we used to do your refusing now.. Just ~sigh~ let me in a little deeper. Tell me what your feeling so that we can get through this together." I say this with my eyes focused solely on her. At this point she is frozen, unable to speak nor move away from my figure. She allows me to embrace her, my arms wrapping around her slim waist with such ease that its fulfilling. "I..." she beings to say

Arione's POV

Once his arms were around me my body just sunk into the feeling I have been craving. I want to be his, to convey all of the feelings I have for him with ease, to say the words that have been caught in my throat for too long. I let go of him just enough to look into his eyes. Face to face I will realese everything I have been feeling. There is no better moment than now. "I..." I use my right hand to pull his face closer to mines, slowly I gaze at him one last time before connecting our lips together. I seperate his lips by using my tongue in order to make the kiss deeper, with that he beings to lose control and hold me closer. Our lips seperate only for mine to be connected with his neck, softly I kiss his neck making my way down to his collarbone and whisper in his ear, "Tao I am in love with you." I feel free, scared and devestated. I don't know how he will respond to all of this, my first kiss and my only confession will go to him and I can only pray that he understands, that maybe just maybe he loves me to.

Tao's POV

Kissing Arione was the best feeling that I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Her lips were soft and her kiss was so innocent yet passionate. I didn't want to let her go, I honestly just wanted to pull her closer until out bodies molded into each other's but right when I was at my peak, right when I felt my body beginning to want to take it a step further she seperated her lips from mines and then connected them once again to my neck. I sighed with happiness and so much pleasure, with my eyes closed I felt like everything in this moment was better than any dream I have ever had about the two of us sharing our first kiss. Just when I thought things could not get any better the butterflies in my stomach were multiplied by a thousand, my heart sunk with anticipation when she whispered into my ear,"Tao I am in love with you." I looked into her eyes and found a vulnerable, scared and passionate Arione that I never had the chance to experience. I smiled, then holded her close. She felt this way the entire time? "Was this the reason why you were distancing yourself from me? Were you scared, did I worry you too much about how I felt?" With a nervous expression on her face she said, "Yes. I just figured that I would ruin our friendship so I didn't want to say anything. I just wanted to ignore it and try to distance myself from you." Arione's voice was shaky, her breath unstable and her expression was filled with worry. "I love you and I want to always be by your side Arione. You are what I need in my life. I can never seperate myself from you." And with that statement I got down on one knee and asked her, "Will you marry me?" Was I diving in too soon? To be honest, I didn't think so. I didn't need a normal relationship in order to know that she was the one God has allowed me to nurse, heal and fly with, she was the little bird that I have taken a liking to. I owe my everything to her. Her expression was priceless as a smile spread across her face and tears fell out of her eyes.

Tell me if I lie down, will you stay now and let me hold you?

And I owe it all to you my little bird.

8 year's later

Tao's POV

I wake up to my bed shifting. Tiered from work last night I slowly open my eyes to see that the sun still hasn't risen from its slumber, glancing at the clock I notice that its three in the morning. I grogily turn around and get kicked in the face by a few pairs of small feet.

"Daddy I can't go to sleep." my beautiful daughter Truein says. "Me too daddy so mommy said she would make us warm milk and that we can sleep with you guys tonight." Semyung says with the biggest smile on his face. You would think that at the age of 5 and 7 they would at least learn to not kick their sleeping father in the face. "Oh really she's making you guys some warm milk, huh?" As I finished my statement she walked in, with a big t-shirt on and her hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Arione looked beautiful. Smiling at me she mouthed a sorry as she delivered the warm milk. Needless to say the little ones fell asleep quickly within the arms of their parents. "Bae lie down before your neck hurts." Slowly Arione slide down lower on the bed and posiotioned herself comfortably entangled in her son's embrace. "I love you, Arione." I say with my heart beating quickly and butterflies threatening to unleash themselves. Opening her eyelids, Arione's light brown eyes look at my dark black one's, smiling she whispers back, "I love you too Tao, goodnight." Then seals her statement with a kiss. I fall asleep with my entire family surrounding me, engulfed into a love that I know will never fade. The woman I fell so deeply for is the one that will accompany me throughout my entire life. Through ups and downs she will always be there flying next to me, my little bird. The one I owe everything to.