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Chapter Text

Rafael, Nico and Pedro  were taking a relaxing fly through the streets of Rio, after spending the morning seeing to auditions for this year’s Carnival party, It was two months away and everyone was already getting excited; convinced that this year was to be the best ever

 “Guys, this is bad! Carnival is right around the corner, and we have hardly any acts ready! We got a reputation to think about!” Nico complained

 Pedro and Rafael groaned

“Nico man, I love ya bro but we just seen some of the worst performances I ever seen today, we need some down time yo!” the slightly obese bird retorted.

Nico wasn’t about to give up though

“Maybe we just gotta stop looking, cause y’know, once you stop looking’ for something…BAM…!” 

His outburst made his companions jump violently

“There it’ll be!” 

Rfael and Pedro glanced at each other wearily, but before the friends could retort, a series of shouts, crashes and squeal of cars disturbed the trio’s peace. 

Pedro sat up in shock

“What in the name of Hip-Hop, lockin’ and poppin’ was THAT!?” 

Nico, who had hopped over to the edge of the building called out to the other two birds

  “Hey you guys you’ve gotta check this out!”

He  pointed  down and across the street they could clearly see the cause of all the noise. It appeared that a human vehicle had crashed, the police were at the scene, pulling a man from the driver’s side.

 The damage seemed minimal but the man was clearly being arrested, it was then that Rafael noticed what Nico was pointing to; it was a small cage with metal bars sitting in the gutter.

Raf spotted something the others hadn’t

 “Hey there’s a bird in that cage guys, we should help!”

 His friends agreed and took flight along with him.

The trio landed on the pavement, in front of the cage, it was badly damaged, a few of the bars were broken and/ or dented, and lying on its stomach in the bottom of the cage was a small canary with white feathers that weren’t yellow as was usual for a canary, but white, apart from the tips of hr primary feathers which were black

“Hey, you…ok?” Pedro called with concern, when there was no reply

 Nico took a step forward

 “Hello?” he called out through the bars

“H- hey, can ya hear us?” 

This time the unconscious bird stirred with a groan; the voice obviously belonging to a female, a few of the feathers on her head had grown slightly longer and brushed forward like bangs to cover her right eye, the jet black tips matched the tips of her wings. 

She lifted her head and looked between the three strangers fearfully

“Wha- where am I?” the female canary muttered

she did wince loudly however upon realizing that her wing was injured, she grabbed it and held it close to her.

Alarmed by the tears that sprung to the strangers eyes, immediately Nico tried to reassure her

“It’s ok, it’s ok, we won’t hurt you, we just saw you lying here and wanted to make sure you were alright, the cage is pretty beat up and all.” he explained

the female attempted to push herself up  to her feet

“Please, can, can you get me out of here?” the injured female implored

 Pedro swaggered forwards

“Ain’t no thang, girl! We got your back, Imma pop this thing open like a soda can!” the red and white cardinal boasted

Walking half-way around the dented cage, then back and round to the other side, Pedro put his wing tips under his chin in a thinking gesture, leaping forward he grabbed the bars and shook them vigorously, meanwhile Rafael and Nico glanced at each other in confusion

 “Man I don’t see no poppin’ Nico remarked

With a huff of exhaustion Pedro released the bars and landed on the pavement “this thing’s jammed tight!” 

Frustrated, he gave the base of the cage a hard kick, causing one of the bars of the cage to spring loose, smacking the red and grey bird so that he was sent flying through the air with an indignant squawk.

Nico chuckled

 “Theeerrree it is!” he remarked at length, sparing a quick glance at his best friend before fluttering forward, as the the smallest of his group of friends he easily slipped between the bars, holding out his wing for the other canary, seeing her hesitation he offered her a comforting smile 

“It’s ok. Come on.”

She reached out gingerly and took his wing with her own, un-injured one. It was then that Rafi and Nico realized that her feathers weren’t pure white, because they shimmered yellow when she moved in the sunlight, and around her neck was a short chain made of tiny silver beads with a pretty silver star pendant resting against her chest

Once she set foot onto the pavement and brushed herself down a little, careful of her injured wing,, the female bird spoke

 “Thank you so much, I don’t know what would have happened if you guys hadn’t come along!” she declared gratefully.  

Rafael then inquired what the strangers name was, making the female shuffled anxiously

“I’m Noa.” 

(Pronounced ‘Noah’)

Rafael grinned 

 “Well, I’m Rafael but everybody calls me Rafi.” .

 Nico tipped the bottle top he wore on his head like a hat

“Nico” 

 Noa giggled  at the gentlemanly gesture

 “Nice to meet you, Nico” she smiled shyly back at him but Nico had glanced behind him

 “And that’s…ha-ha- ha, that’s Pedro.” he added, using a wing to point out his best friend, who was limping back towards the small group rubbing his rear

“Ow.” He moaned

Rafael called out to him

 “Hey, Pedro, come meet Noa!” 

Pedro recovered quickly and flew over to greet her

 “Yo, what’s up Chiquita , glad you finally outta there!” 

Pedro grinned, forgetting about the pain in his tail end.

Noa chuckled 

 “Thanks, I’m glad to be out.” 

Pedro then added

“Whew it is hot out here, let's find some shade homies” he insisted.

Instead of flying, the group, along with their new companion, walked quickly along the street, maneuvering themselves out the path of humans in order to settle under a fruit stand to get out of the hot mid-afternoon sun, and avoid the attention of the humans gathered at the crash site, and after sneaking a few grapes and some nuts when the stall owner wasn’t looking.

 Rafeal bandaged Noas’ injured wing with a soft leaf soaking in sea water to aid healing and a small twig acted as a splint.

Rafael tossed a grape into the air, catching it in his mouth

“So Noa, are you here for Carnival?” he asked between chews

She furrowed her feathered brow in confusion

“Carnival? Is that like a festival or somethin’?”

 Nico and Pedro however, were shocked that the female hadn’t heard of their beloved Carnival party

Pedro quickly explained

 “Not only that, it’s the biggest, most hip-hoppin-est party in the world!”he broke out into some improvised dance moves and Nico verbally agreed with his friend

 “yeah, in a couple months’ time this place’ll be bumpin, and we always organise the best and biggest party of the year’!” he added.

Noa chuckled, and these two were definitely enthusiastic! 

Nico grinned

“So Noa, how did you end up here?”  he asked

Noas’ expression fell

“Oh uh, well...that human took me away from my home, and put me in that cage to be a pet”

Nico and Rafeal gasped in horror, with the former placing a hand on Pedros head as the Red Cardinal was moonwalking in front of him, Rafael stopped him and turned Pedro to Noas’ direction. Her saddened expression caused Pedro to halt at once.

The  three friends listened to Noa’s story,of being captured in  the wild and kept in a cage for months by a negligent owner, then while traveling the human hadn’t closed the trunk of the car properly, then when he had been driving recklessly and dangerously, the police had pursued him before her owner had crashed, which had caused the cage to be thrown from the car

Nico gave a long whistle once she’d finished

 “…wow, sounds like you’ve had a pretty rough time!  Man, it’s giving me the shivers just thinkin’ about it!” Nico shuddered. 

Pedro agreed

“No kiddin, yo!”

Noa smiled and changed the subject 

 “So tell me more about Carnival!” she asked eagerly 

Nico gestured enthusiastically with both wings 

“Carnival is… the best, everyone comes together to dance and sing and just have fun! Every year is different, bigger, better…Wild-er!” 

An idea hit the yellow canary 

“Ya know what? We should all go to the Branch tonight!? It’s the perfect way for our new girl to get to know everyone, it’ll be awesome!”

Pedro agreed and began to describe the samba club they owned, not noticing Noa’s suddenly nervous look and quieter attitude. Rafael however, noticed the sun starting to set and interrupted

 “Maybe tomorrow would be better guys; Eva will kill me if I’m not back. Plus it looks like Noa’s tired out.” Rafael interrupted, 

Realizing that he was right, Nicos’ face fell but he turned to Noa  in a comforting way

“Oh right, yeah, sorry Noa, you have had kinda a rough day.”

 “By the way, do you have some place to stay?” he asked

Noa shook her head 

 “Well, not exactly. I don’t know anyone in Rio, and I wasn’t expecting to get stuck out here like this.” she smiled sadly and shrugged.

Pedro turned to her

“Well, you know us now right? There’s an empty nest by us, right Nico?” 

Nico caught on quickly

 “hey yeah! It might need some cleaning up but it’s a good size, and right not far from Pedro’s tree, and mine!” Nico added.

Touched by their kindness, Noa smiled

 “That sounds cool, thank you guys! You’ve all been so nice to me” she sighed with a small smile

Pedro puffed out his chest

 “Hey, that’s just us yo” he bragged 

The red cardinal struck a heroic pose and Nico did the same

“Knights in shining armour!” 

making Noa laugh, and Rafael rolled his eyes with a smile.

Given Noas’ injury, Pedro swooped under Noa’s right wing, while Nico went under her left in order to carry her to the empty nest they’d talked about while Rafael bid them goodbye in order to return home to his beloved Eva

As they flew through the darkening sky, every so often they would point out sights to Noa, who wondered at the bright lights in the city below. 

 “Yo, girl, you even eat? you weigh nothing!” Pedro remarked 

Noa flushed

“Oh, well, the human who caught me wasn’t exactly great at keeping a regular feeding schedule” she admitted

Nico and Pedro looked saddened knowing that she had been so mistreated.

By the time the group reached the tree, Noa had fallen asleep

Chapter Text

The next day Noa grumbled in her sleep before opening her eyes, glancing around she saw for the first time that  the nest wasn’t in the best condition; being overgrown with climbing weeds and damp smelling  moss, and with scratchy, hard ground: obviously it hadn’t been used in a while but it was dry, and cool which was all noa could ask for. . 

“Hey-Hey, you’re up!” Nico greeted, landing in the entrance to the hollow, 

Noa jumped slightly 

“oh Nico, hey! Erm, how did I get here? I don’t remember.” 

It was then that  she realized that she wasn’t lying on any scratchy ground but a pile of fresh, hastily placed leaves. 

Nico suddenly looked bashful

 “Well, you kinda fell asleep on the way here. I’m sorry the place isn’t in great shape, but I er, I put down some leaves last night so you could at least have a decent night’s sleep, since it seemed like you needed it.” he explained, hopping into the hollow.

Noa’s eyes widened, still slightly surprised that birds who were still basically strangers would do something so nice for her,  

“Thank you Nico!” Noa said sincerely.

Nico winked 

 “No problem! listen, I gotta run, but I’ll be by to get you later -  we’re goin’ to a party tonight so rest up, baby-bird!” 

He clicked his tongue twice and flew away before even realizing that  Noa was about to protest . 

Noa muttered nervously to herself

“A party…? Oh, erm, g-great…” 

 In an attempt to take her mind off of it, Noa cleaned up a bit, to the best of her ability, with one wing in a splint. She also took Nicos advice and got plenty of rest.

Later that evening Noa followed Pedro and Nico closely as they entered the Branch, the club was already getting heated up, music blasting, light flashing, dancers, singers, dancers…all of it!

 “Wow!” Noa gasped in amazement, at a loss for words, patriates male and female greeted the two owners like old friends. Nico and Pedro easily led Noa through the crowd

 “Hi Nico, Hi Pedro!” A group of pretty Female birds called flirtily

The pair responded in kind,

 “Hey, ladies!”  the group of female swooned, fanning themselves with a wing.

Pedro lent back lazily, addressing Noa and Nico while looking over at the bar, 

 “Ooh, Sorry to love ya and leave ya fella’s but a certain honey is a-waiting’!

Nico rolled his eyes, smiling fondly, while Noa looked confused, but as they watched, a few birds in the crowd parted, revealing a beautiful curvaceous female Cardinal, her red and silver head feathers had been grown exceptionally long and were tied back to make it look like a high ponytail,, and most of her long, head feathers were grey with just few red ones interspersed with them.

Nico crossed  his wings as he watched his friend

“Here we go again” he chuckled

 stepping forward to stand beside him, Noa spoke up

“What’s up?” 

Nico simply smiled at her and gestured towards the bar where Pedro had approached the female Cardinal

 “Z! How have you been?”  he called out, catching the female’s attention, only to have her respond in a bored tone

“Hello Pedro”

undeterred, Pedro continued to talk with the off hand female.

Nico looked at Noa

 “Pedro really likes Z.J ( Zee-Jay) . He's asked her to dance, sing,  go on a date  with him, anything , more times than I can count. But she always turns him down.” Nico explained as Pedro attempted to flirt with Z.

Noa frowned 

“Aw, that’s a shame, Pedro seems really nice.” 

Nico chuckled, to her surprise and retorted

 “Don’t worry. Pedro won’t give up on her just yet.” Nico assured

 As if on cue Z.J sauntered over to the pair, with two other females following either side of her

“Hello Nico.” Z.J greeted, this time in a more friendly tone

“Think you can take your Home-bird back now?” she asked with a sassy tone, grasping Pedro by the scruff of the neck and dropping him in front of his friend

Pedro immediately jumped to his feet, undeterred

 “Ha-ha, girl you got a sense of humour, I like it!” he grinned, 

Z.J scoffed lightly and turned around, but Pedro wasn’t about to give up! 

Strutting forward performing a few break-dance moves, Pedro began to rap 

 “… Take her, take her to the floor, show her, show her how you roll! Drop it Drop it Drop it Low D-Drop it low!” 

The rapping cardinal leant back so far that the top of his head touched the floor.  

Z.J had stopped walking away and  slowly turned back to face him, with a coy smile she looked directly at Pedro, who stopped once he saw that he had gained her attention

 Z.J started to walk back towards Pedro much to his delight and Z.J’s eyes glittered as she stopped a few inches away from Pedro as she began to sing

 “I think it's so cute and I think it's so sweet, how you let your friends encourage you to try and talk to me…” ,

 Z.J moved slightly closer to Pedro, gesturing to Nico and Noa for a moment

 “But let me stop you there, oh, before you speak…”  

Slowly she took a few steps backwards. 

She shot a look at the parakeet D.J and the music suddenly changed and sped up, the female leapt into the air, unfolding her bright crimson wings just before she touched the ground, her two friends joined her, hovering behind but either side of Z.J providing back dancing and vocals 

Z.J - f irst you gonna say you ain't runnin' game; thinkin' I'm believing every word you say, 

Call me beautiful, so original;  telling me I'm not like other girls. 

I was in my zone before you came along,  Now I'm thinking maybe you should go!   

All my ladies, listen up, if that boy ain't giving up, 

Lick your beak and swing your hips. Girl all you gotta say is … My name is 

No, my sign is No, my number is No, You need to let it go You need to let it go…”

  Z.J stopped singing and began to dance instead while her friends took over singing 

‘Need to let it go, Nah to the ah to the no, no, no. 

My name is no, My sign is no, Nah to the ah to the no, no, no.

 This time Z.J sang while her friends danced either side of her

 ‘ Thank you in advance, I don't wanna dance, I don't need your wings all over me.’ 

  At this the back-up dancers spun forward, reaching out their wings to just barely touch Zee-Jay’s wings and body, she made a sweeping gesture with her wings then they spun away again.

Z.J; If I want a man, then I can get a man, but it's never my priority, I was in my zone, before you came along, don't want you to take this personal. 

– Z.J and Back up - 

Blah, blah, blah, I be like nah to the ah to the no, no, no
All my ladies, listen up, If that boy ain't giving up.

 Lick your lips and swing your hips  Girl all you gotta say is; 

My name is no My sign is no My number is no, You need to let it go

 You need to let it go, Need to let it go.

 Nah to the ah to the no, no, no!”

 As they finished the crowd exploded into cheers and applause, after bowing a couple of times the three females sauntered away back to the bar. 

“ Damn .” Nico remarked

Noa agreed with a nod

 “Yup, burn! ” 

Peeling their gaze away from three females they saw Pedro, staring with his beak open as Z.J sat back down at the bar. 

“Yo man, does she have the voice of an Angel or WHAT !?”

 The red and white Cardinal jumped in the air with enthusiasm before barreling back over to Zee-Jay

 “Well, he’s persistent, I’ll give him that!” Noa laughed.

Nico joined in

 “Yeah. So, we're gonna be seeing you up on stage tonight?” he asked cheekily

Noa faltered

“Oh, no I…I’m still kinda tired y’know?” Noa stammered

 Luckily Nico seemed convinced

 “Well ok. Pedro and I got a number comin’ up, so I’ll see ya in a few!” 

A  moment later Nico disappeared, it took a few minutes to eventually yank Pedro away from Zee-Jay.  

Wandering over to the bar Noa ordered a drink when a voice startled her

“Hey, you’re new here huh?” 

Glancing up Noa realized it had been Z.J who spoke

“Y-yeah, I’m Noa.” She clarified, holding out her un-injured  wing in greeting, Z.J shook it gently,

 “Z.J. So you just arrived in Rio, right?” 

Noa nodded with a sheepish expression

“Yeah. It’s a little scary.” Noa admitted

Z.J gave her an understanding look 

 “Well, you couldn’t have made friends with better birds. Nico and Pedro will look out for you. They’re very loyal and always help out their friends; they’re good guys; and that’s a rare thing.” Z.J said sincerely.

 Noa smiled, a moment later Pedro’s loud confidant voice caught the whole clubs attention, he was hovering above the crowd

 “Ok, ok everybody!”

Z.J rolled her eyes

“Speak of the Cardinal” she joked under her breath

Pedro continued his intro

“ We got a newbie here at the club tonight! Give it up for our new girl…No-aa!” 

A spotlight suddenly hit Noa, eliminating her pale yellow feathers, a round of applause followed, causing Noa to blush violently

Nico spoke next,  hovering in the air beside Pedro

 “ok, ok, simmer down everyone, Let’s show Noa some love, here, because I don’t think our new girl knows how to party!” Nico teased offering a friendly wink her way to show he was only joking, landing on stage the canary held his bottle top partly over his eyes, 

“Party in the Ipanema baby…” he crooned, sliding his gaze over to Noa and her heart seemed to stop in her chest under his gaze. 

Nico began to perform ‘I wanna party’ with Pedro offering his usual rapping back up lyrics and break dance moves. Noa watched and listened in amazement with Z.J.

When the song was done Pedro and Nico flew off stage, landing near Z.J and Noa

 “Whoo-hoo! This place is PUMPIN tonight yo!” Pedro shouted, still hyped from the performance.

Z.J retorted with a chuckle

“Pedro this club is always Pumpin’

Nico interrupted

“So what do you think Noa?” he proclaimed proudly, gesturing to the interior of the club

Noa beamed 

 “It was amazing! I had no idea you guys had moves like that!” Noa raved, complementing and talking excitedly about Nico and Pedro’s performance.

 The evening passed in an exciting blur of colour and loud music, but eventually the club closed for the night and everyone made their way home.

 “You guys, that was amazing! I don’t remember the last time I enjoyed myself this much!” Noa rambled happily with Nico and Pedro flying alongside Noa, carrying her back to her nest  once more.

Noa was asleep  as soon as her head hit the cushioned floor.

Noa had been in Rio for about a week now, she had met Pedro and Nico’s other friends, including Eva; Rafael’s wife, and Luiz the bulldog – apart from coming away from that little meet up drenched in dog drool she did think Luiz was sweet. She spent most her time hanging out with Pedro, Nico and Rafael, but she had also found a friend in Z.J Pedro’s crush. She was confident, bubbly and a little tomboyish but kind and friendly and she looked out for Noa like a big sister would. 

One particular night Noa just couldn’t get to sleep, she had been tossing, turning and fidgeting for hours! Getting to her feet she pushed past the leaf hanging in front of the entrance, standing out on the branch outside her hollow. She had been standing out in the cool night air for a few minutes

“…can’t sleep huh?”

Noa jumped slightly at the voice beside her, relaxing upon finding that it was Nico, and replied

 “no, I can’t.  What about you?” she replied

Nico shrugged

“Nope. I decided to go for a fly around to clear my head, thought it might make me sleepy. Then I saw you sitting out here so I wanted to make sure everything was ok.” He explained, sitting down beside Noa

“I’m fine. It’s just weird being in a new place, that's all.” Noa shrugged, gazing up at the dark night sky.

The large full moon casting soft, pale light over the small cluster of trees at the edge of the city which made up Noa’s new home.

 The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, a cluster of clouds slowly drifted to the right, revealing a large, bright full moon

 “Wow. We never had such a beautiful view of the moon back home!” Noa smiled

“The trees grew so tall and so close together you could barely ever see the sky unless you flew above the trees.” Noa explained, with a contented sigh she allowed the cool breeze to wash over her.

Nico once again found himself staring at her beauty, the full moon casting soft wax-y light over her already pale feathers 

“Hey, why don’t we play a game?” he piped up, Noa sent him a confused look 

“a game?” she inquired, unsure if he was serious or not

Nico went on

“Let’s play 20 questions! My friend Blu said humans do it to get to know each other better!” Nico said, unable to spoil his eager, upbeat mood, Noa agreed.

They did, however, agree on ten questions; five each, so that they wouldn’t be up all night.

Noa smiled and nodded to Nico

“You go first so I know how it goes”

Nico agreed, and after a second of thought, asked

“Where did you get the necklace? It’s pretty” he complimented

Noa touched the star pendant gently

 “oh, it was part of the nest where I grew up. My mother gave it to me just before she passed away. “ 

Nico nodded with a sympathetic expression

“I’m sorry. You’re turn” he encouraged

Noa took a moment to think

“How long have you and Pedro been friends?” 

Nico smiled

“Long time,  three years I think”

Noa nodded and Nico took his turn. 

That night, Nico learned, along with where her necklace had come from, that

• Noas favorite colour was green
• She had two sisters and a father
• She hated the taste of Papaya 
• Her name meant ‘to Rest’ because it had taken so much of her energy to hatch from her egg, that Noa had fallen asleep seconds afterwards.
• Her favorite fruit was Cupuaçu, and even knew how to make a juice drink out of it.

 The game lasted until each bird was out of question, then Nico decided to return to his nest while Noa was asleep within seconds. Noa had to admit she had enjoyed herself, and she did learn quite a bit about her new friend. Eventually the pair started to yawn and doze off, so they returned to their nests to get a well-earned sleep.

Chapter Text

Noa groaned, slapping her wing over her eyes and rolling onto her stomach, sunlight was streaming into her cozy hollow and a loud voice called out to her

“Yo! Rise and shine, girl we got work to do!”

Noa grumbled unhappily

“Hm, whoever woke me up better have a death wish!” 

A second, quieter voice added 

“I told ya’ll we shouldn’t wake her!”

Noa sat up groggily, to find that, in the entrance to her hollow, holding the leaf-curtain out of the way, stood Pedro and Z.J, Nico, with Rafael standing behind them looking guilty

 “Sorry Noa…”

Pedro bounced into the nest

“Yo come on we got work to do already, lazy wings!” he repeated impatiently, before he could continue he was interrupted by Nico

“ What …he means is we got to see some more auditions for the Carnival show and we want you to come with us!”  he grinned

Noa yawned

“Sorry guys, I can’t take in information of any kind until I’ve had some food.” Noa warned firmly, bleary eyed and half asleep

 Rafi grinned

“Got ya covered!” he announced,  producing two large ripe strawberries, spinning one on the tip of his wing.

Noa grabbed one and practically swallowed it  whole 

Once she finished, Noa wiped strawberry juice from her beak

“Ah, much better, now... why are you guys here again?” 

Her attitude was suddenly sweet and pleasant once again, while her friends  stared at her with disturbed looks on their faces. 

After a long day of preparing for Carnival, the group had headed out to the Branch to relax and unwind a little. 

Noa and Z.J applauded as  Nico and Pedro finished their performance with a flourish, and the two females whistled and cheered before sitting back against some large, soft cushions in the warmly lit corner of the Branch club, watching everyone else in the club enjoying themselves.

The boys approached Z.J and Noa

 “Hey, Noa you’re gonna perform with Pedro and me at Carnival, right?” Nico chirped excitedly 

Noa froze, but Pedro didn’t seem to notice

 “Yeah, girl I bet you can bust a move right out!” he insisted, jumping up once again breaking out into his own improvised dance moves

“Er, well” Noa stuttered and stammered

Nico however, agreed with his friend

“Yeah Noa, Hey why don’t you show us what you can do?” he requested

Z.J and Pedro quickly joined in 

Noa, wide eyed and terrified felt herself begin to shake

Pedro interrupted suddenly as a thought struck him

“Oh yea! Ya’ll need some tunes!” he realized

He and Nico shared a high five

 “No thing girl, We got your back!” 

Pedro hovered above the crowd

 “Hey-hey everyone! Our girl Noa’s gonna show us what she can do! Ya’ll think she can party like us?” 

The crowd cheered enthusiastically, Pedro and Nico performed a few dance moves before they started singing, 

(Pedro)  It’s my birthday. It's my birthday. I'mma spend my money! It’s my birthday, It’s my birthday, imma spend my dollar!

Nico - Pretty lady, pretty lady, Won’t you let me holler? Holler at you, holler at you won't you be my fantasy? Girl, I got you, girl, I got you, You look like my destiny!”

Z.J harmonized with them, and provided a few backing dance moves of her own and Nico danced closer to Noa, reaching out to her with one wing, Noa glanced around her, the crowd, Nico, Pedro and Z.J all  watched in anticipation…

Noa felt her stomach flip, her mouth go dry….

Pedro and Nico - / Mamacita, mamacita, Señorita ven aquí, ¡Qué Bonita! ¡Qué Bonita…/ 

The pair watched Noa expectantly; Nico’s smile faltered then faded when noticed the tears in her eyes and fearful expression on her face

“Noa? What’s…” 

Before he could continue Pedro leapt forward

 “ Whooo! I’mma go spend some dollars…Go on and scream and holler Put my wings in the air, party like I don’t care… ” 

A slap upside the head from Z.J made him pause

“Man, Z. why the abuse?” he inquired, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head, but Nico and Z.J were looking at Noa with concern

 “Noa what’s wrong?” Z.J asked, taking a step towards the smaller bird

Noa mumbled something under her breath before glancing left and right, hyperventilating and rubbing the top of her left wing nervously with her right, her voice catching in her throat when she tried to speak 

 “What was that, Noa?” Z.J asked

Noa stopped 

“I can’t…” 

 Giving a shuddering sob and closed her eyes

“I-I can’t, I can’t dance and I can’t sing!” she yelled

 Tears spilling from her mint green eyes, seeing her friends shocked expressions she immediately ran, pushing through the crowd until she was outside.

She managed to flutter up to a branch, the blaring music now faint as she wiped her eyes, the night sky was illuminated by the large full moon hanging high in the cloudless sky.

Crying softly into her wings Noa didn’t hear a familiar voice yell her name at first

“Noa!” the voice called again causing Noa to look up just as Nico landed on the branch a few steps away from her

“Noa? Hey, please don’t cry….” He implored gently

Moving tentatively towards her, he came to the entrance of the nest

 “Come on out Noa, please?”

Noa looked up, lower part of her beak wavering as she cried softly

“Nico, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I hope you don’t feel like I lied to you guys…I mean…” 

Nico interrupted her

 “Noa of course we don’t think that! I mean, I didn’t think you wouldn’t want to perform, and...we all just assumed and… that wasn’t right of us. It wasn’t right of me to get all the attention on you like that. I’m really sorry Noa!” Nico insisted, 

Noa could see that he meant every word of it, and forced a small, teary smile which Nico returned and moved to stand close to her

“It doesn’t matter to any of us if you don’t sing or dance, you’re our friend, and we wouldn’t just start hating on you just because of somethin’ like that!” Nico told her.

Noa sniffed lightly

“Thank you Nico, it’s alright, I mean I…I love music! All those times I went with you guys to the club or watched you and Pedro bust out moves against each other…it’s the most fun I’ve ever had in my life,  I love music, I love Samba! I just…can’t sing or dance. I want to…I really do…I just, can’t !” Noa sighed quietly

“I-I can’t explain it very well...not yet.”

  Nico simply offered a gentle smile

“It’s alright, you don’t have to... Don’t cry anymore Noa” he implored, placing a wing on the side of her face

“Nico…” Noa was about to speak when, as she tried to step closer to her friend she tripped over her own feet!

 Readying herself for a collision with hard ground, Noa gasped in surprise when she was twirled effortlessly and dipped back with Nico’s wings on her slim waist, her wings had shot up to his shoulders for balance

“S-Sorry!” she exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment

Nicos’ expression made her heart almost stop and Nico crooned

“No worries baby bird” 

A second later Nico had pressed his beak to hers in a sweet kiss. It lasted only seconds but to Noa it seemed an age, a wonderful eternal age she didn’t want to end. But of course it did.

 Her bright mint green eyes and Nico’s warm chocolate brown ones locked together as they pulled apart and Nico slowly set Noa back upright. 

“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that.” Nico whispered confidently

Noa chuckled but her cheeks were bright red as she blushed

“And you don’t know how happy I am that you did.” she replied, wrapping her wings around his neck as they gazed into each other’s eyes under the moonlight.

Nico brushed his wing tips through the black bangs hanging over her eyes

 “You should go back to the club. Your friends will be wondering where you are” Noa suggested

“I’m right where I wanna be” Nico answered, 

leaning to rest his forehead against hers, this caused Noa to smiled even wider, pressing her forehead to his in response. 

The pair returned to Noas’ nest to talk for a while longer, only to fall asleep together. This was how Rafael, Pedro and Z.J found them when they went looking for them a while later. Nico’s body curled together with Noa’s, wing tips twined together loosely.  The three shared knowing smirks before flying away to leave the two in pieces.

Noa woke alone, at first she worried that Nico had left suddenly during the night, but as she used her wing tips to tidy her messy feathered bangs Nico re-appeared 

“Morning,  beautiful;  Breakfast is served!” the yellow canary greeted cheerfully carrying breakfast for two

 Noa chuckle

 “Nico, breakfast in bed? You didn’t have to!” 

She began to tuck in gratefully even so.

Nico sat beside her

 “Noa a bird as beautiful as you deserves breakfast in bed every day” 

Noa swallowed, and wiped her beak

 “You keep saying that…do you really think I’m beautiful?” Noa asked hesitantly, not noticing that she had missed a smudge of fruit juice on her cheek

 Nico replied happily

“Of course I do.”

He pecked her cheek sweetly, tasting the smudge of juice on her cheek feathers. 

 After Breakfast, with Nico helping Noa because of her wing,  the pair spent the morning together down at the beach; finding some beautiful, clear watered rock pools.

Chapter Text

During the next few weeks Noa and  Nico gradually began spending a lot more time together, Noas' wing had healed so, to strengthen it, they had taken to going for morning and/or evening flights together, it was during one of their evening flights Nico had asked Noa to go on a real date with him.

Noa stood on the edge of the tall building waiting for Nico to show up, ‘He’s going to miss the sunset if he doesn’t hurry” Noa thought, pale mint green eyes scanning the sky above her; despite having spent plenty of time with Nico away from the others, Noa had still  never been more nervous and excited.

 “Hey there baby-bird”  

A familiar smooth voice made her spin around; Nico was standing a few feet away leaning against the concrete wall of the man-made building, his bottle-top hat positioned low over his eyes.

Before Noa could say anything, Nico began to sing

 ” Wasn't really thinking, wasn't looking, Wasn't searching for an answer ”

 Nico moved away from the wall to approach Noa, 

“…In the moonlight when I saw your face… ” he crooned looking into her eyes

The way they glimmered in the evening light made his heart thump harder and louder, he took one of her wings on his own

“Saw you looking at me, saw you peeking Out from under moon beams…” 

Noa gasped as she was spun around but chuckled lightly as Nico held her in his wings

“ Through the palm trees, swaying in the breeze ” 

Nico swayed them both from side to side for a moment before stepping back

 “ I know I'm feeling so much more Than ever before, And so I'm giving more to you Than I thought I could do…” 

Nico grasped both Noa’s wings and squeezed them very gently before releasing them and moving to hover in the air, wings beating quickly as he circled Noa who blushed as she smiled

“Don't know how it happened, Don't know why but you don't really Need a reason,

 when the stars shine, Just to fall in love…

“Made to love each other, made to be together, For a life time, In the sunshine.” 

 Nico gazed at Noa with so much love, almost like adoration, it made her heart race. He grasped both Noas' wings and squeezed them very gently before releasing them and moving to hover in the air, wings beating quickly as he circled Noa who blushed as she smiled.

Before she knew it they were soaring through the air together 

Nico continue to sing

“ flying in the sky I know I'm feeling so much more Than ever before

And so I'm giving more to you Than I thought I could do, oh…” 

Nico wrapped one wing around Noa and she around him as they began to glide downwards through the air

 “ Now I know…”

 This time as Nico sang he was shocked when Noa joined in

//I know love is real, soaring sky high, as the angels try, letting you and I, fly love//

Noa spread her wings, the bandage around her injured one fell away and she fluttered downward.

On the last note the pair landed on the rooftop again, slightly breathless but Noa smiled nonetheless,

 Nico meanwhile, was almost speechless.

“Noa, your voice!” he started, in utter awe.

But Noa’s face to fall as realization dawned on her

 “Oh, did I... oh…oh, no...I’m, I’m sorry…”

 Noa covered her beak with her wings, eyes wide while backing away slightly to Nicos’ concern and confusion

“Noa, hey, hey, what is it?” he asked gently, not wanted her to become more distressed

But she shook her head softly

“I didn’t mean to, to start singing” she said nervously

“I’m sorry!”

Nico took her wings in his, urging her to meet his eyes

 “What are you talking about, your voice is amazing! Why are you sorry, Noa?”

Noa hung her head

“I was always taught never to do that. My father would punish me if I tried to sing. He would give me chores so I wouldn’t join in with the parties and get-togethers back home…” she admitted

Nico frowned

“what? But...and what about your sisters?” he asked tensely

Noa felt tears sting her eyes

“My sisters were allowed; I wasn’t. Daddy said my voice was too much like my mothers and that he didn’t ever want to hear it, because I’m not her. I would never be her…” 

Nico felt his heart ache for his wonderful, beautiful Noa

“Oh, baby, come here”

He wrapped her in a warm hug

“You’re not your momma, Noa, you’re you, and you’ve got the most beautiful singing voice that I want to hear it every day of my life. If your family can't see and appreciate that, that's their loss.”

Noa nuzzled her head against the slope of where his neck and wing met, he returned the action, rubbing his head against her own, Noa sniffled

“I don’t know, Nico...I don’t want to be hurt again…”

Nico pulled back to look at her

“Noa, I won’t ever, never ever, hurt you! You won’t ever be hurt for sharing your gorgeous singing voice when you’re with me. And the same would definitely go for Z.J, Pedro, Rafi and Eva, everyone here loves you. You’re safe with us Noa. I promise…” he insisted. 

Noa smiled through her tears but Nico went on

“I messed up that night at the club; you don’t ever have to sing or do anything you don’t want to do, baby bird. But if you want to sing, dance whatever you want...you do it. And you can do it without being scared of being punished or hurt or anything, I promise. I love you Noa!” 

Noa exhaled softly

“I love you, Nico”

What in the world had she done in her life to deserve someone so kind-hearted and understanding ?

Nico wiped away her tears, and kissed her forehead. He could tell Noa had been genuinely afraid, thinking she had made such a huge mistake, just for singing?  It secretly broke his heart and he vowed that, so long as they were together, she would never have reason to feel that way again.

Chapter Text

Several days later

As usual, the Branch Club was filled with various types of birds in hue array of colours, music filled the room and everyone was having a wonderful time as Nico and Pedro performed

“I just want to live my life, and party

All I want is to be free, and rock my body…

Been around the world, and I want to live my life

In Rio, Rio!

'Cause I Rio-realize…”

By now the entire crowd was joining in, ready, as ever, to  dance and sing the night away 

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

From the front of the stage Nico reached a wing out to Noa, who blushed and took it, finding herself being pulled on stage to dance with him; finally being able to be  honest with him, and herself, had done wonders for her confidence already! 

In the crowd, Pedro danced with Z.J, who only cast him brief but flirtatious glances now and then

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!

Nico swept Noa off of her feet, where she spread her wings mid-air, and as her fluttered up to meet her, she met his eyes intensely

“Laya, Laya, Laya…” she began to croon sweetly; the draft created by the flap of her wings lifted the black feathers that fell over her right eye.

Below, several members of the audience paused and or glanced up, but Noa and Nico only had eyes for each other, landing soundlessly on the stage floor again

“Laya, Laya, Laya, Laya-aaa…”

As she held the final note, Noa rested her forehead to Nicos’ while he beamed proudly, gazing at Noa like she was the only one in the entire club. 

To Noas’ surprise the crowd cheered and whistled in appreciation; her eyes scanned the audience, finding Z.J and Pedro clapping and cheering the loudest. She looked to Nico who shot her a wide grin and a wink, bringing a tear to noas’ eye as she returned his smile.

While Pedro enthusiastically interacted with the crowd, Noa tucked her head under Nicos cheek, feeling him smiling against the top of her head

“Thank you, Nico…” she murmured.

Nico nuzzled her head lovingly 

“No worries, baby.” 

He then pulled away and took her wing, gesturing to the crowd

“Ready to keep this party goin’?”

Noa chuckled, tightening her hold on his wing

“Of course!” she beamed, gasping and laughing in surprise when her boyfriend twirled her under his wing and led her to the dance floor.

  Later that night, with the chirp of crickets, and rustling of leaves around then, Noa sat in entrance of her nest nestled against Nicos’ side for protection against the slight chill in the night air, everything was so calm, quiet and…perfect

“Thank you for  Nico, you’ve no idea what you’ve done for me today.” she whispered

“I guess…all I really needed was…someone to tell me it was ok, that I was ok; to be who I am and that I am allowed to express myself just like anybody else in the world.”

Nico kissed the top of her head

“I should be thanking you. For letting me hear that beautiful voice; and to think you been hiding such amazing talent for me” he joked slightly, nudging her playfully 

Noa chuckled and nuzzled closer against his body

“I love you Nico” she smiled

Nico wrapped a wing around her smaller body, pleased that she was feeling better

“I love you too. Hey Noa…” he started, slightly nervous all of a sudden

When Noa looked up at him he faltered for a moment as her eyes shone in the moonlight

“I been thinking and I know it's pretty soon and all but would you, maybe, think about singing with me during the carnival celebrations?” he asked in a rush.

Noa froze, momentarily stunned

“Nico, I um…well, like you said it’s…kinda soon. But I know how much Carnival means to you, so, if you really want to then…” 

She paused for second 

“I’ll think about it, seriously , think about it.” she promised.

Nicos’ chest puffed up slightly, and he beamed like Carnival, christmas and his birthday had all come early, but he kept himself calm so that he wouldn’t break the calmness of the moment, and simply whispered 

“I wouldn't expect anything more”

He then took her wing in his, kissing the back of it.

Noa felt herself blush shyly

“Nico, you're so sweet. I don't think anyone has treated me as kindly as you have these last few months” she confessed

While Nico continued to smile, he felt his heart sink just a little 

“As honoured as I am that still makes me sad, cause you deserve the world baby” he told her 

“Noa dipped her head slightly in embarrassment, but met his gaze once more 

“I'd rather just have you” she responded quietly 

Nico chuckled and pecked her on the beak 

“Now that is something   ol Nico can deliver on” he grinned charmingly.

Chapter Text

Nico stirred from his sleep, feeling movement beside him, sitting up he rubbed the sleep from his eye

“Noa?” he mumbled tiredly 

Beside him, his girlfriend was lying her side, curled up and wincing, twitching in her sleep; seeing the clear signs of a nightmare he tried to rouse her

“Babe? Hey…come on wake up…Baby?”

He shook her shoulder and finally, Noas’ eyes opened, they were glazed with, not only sleep, but tears

“N-Nico?” she whispered anxiously 

Nicos’ beak had barely twitched into a reassuring smile before Noa flung herself into his wings, which instinctively wrapped around her while Nico murmured to her 

“hey it’s ok, I got you, it ok…” 

Noa sniffled as she cried softly for almost a full minute, with Nico waiting patiently for her to calm down, whispering kind, loving words to her all the while

“Breath baby-bird, it’s ok. Take as long as you want…I got you.”

Finally, Noas’ breathing even out, her shuddering shoulders stilled, and she leant back from Nico, looking limp and tired as she wiped away what remained of her tears

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to wake  you…”

Nico gently moved her wing from her face, with one primary feather he wiped a tear-track from her cheek

“You don’t have to be sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” 

Noa shook her head 

“Can we just go back to sleep? I think I’m ok now” 

Nico frowned with sympathy in his eyes

“You sure?”

Noa insisted that she was, so as she settled back down on the moss and fresh leaves that made up their bed, Nico kissed the side of her head

“I’m here if you need anything, just wake me up - even if you gotta kick me outta bed”

Noa chuckled,closing her eyes when he kissed her head again before Nico too settled back down beside her; almost straight away Nicos’ soft snoring could be heard and Noa giggled quietly to herself before turning fully onto her side, facing away from Nico.

Her smile however, fell as she thought back on her dreams; her father scolding her, her sisters’ spiteful words and laughter at her expense…Then the car crash; the yells over the horrible human who had stolen her away from the only family, the only home she had ever known; however dysfunctional.

She remembered feeling stuck in the cage she’d been forced into after the crash, just before she’d blacked out; feeling like she was never going to be free…almost like a physical representation of the cage her father and sisters’ indifference, and down-right almost hateful attitudes towards her had created for her since her mothers death.

“You don’t deserve the beautiful singing voice you got from your mother”

“Shut up, why did you get such a great singing voice?”

“Mom would be so much prouder of us than you, at least we're beautiful as well as talented”

A single tear rolled down from the corner of Noas’ eye, it continued its path over her beak, down her face to soak into the extra padding of feathers and moss that made up the pillow she rested on.

Hoping to rid her mind of the echos of her past, Noa turned, perhaps more sharply than she intended, and curled up against Nicos back, letting his rhythmic breathing and soothing hum of his heartbeat as he slept, eventually sooth her and eventually, exhausted, she too fell back to sleep.

Daytime was always a quieter time for The Branch club, but still served as an enjoyable hang out for nearby birds; a passing human had dropped a portable radio, which was quickly found and brought in to the club to provide music throughout the daytime in place of the live music and performances which typically played at night, during busier time.

Nico and Pedro were discussing the upcoming Carnival celebrations over in a comfortable booth in the corner, while Noa and Z.J sat at the bar, sipping fruit drinks companionably.

When there was a lull in the conversation, Noa broached a new subject 

“Hey, Z.J?” 

The female Cardinal looked to her

“‘sup?”

Noa went on

“why do you treat Pedro so coldly? I mean, he clearly really likes you, and he’s really sweet, a little…over-confident sometimes but it’s harmless enough. You’ve known each other for a long time, right? I just wondered why you guys haven't, you know…” 

Z.J smirked

“Gotten together? You can say it…” she laughed before sighing, looking over to where the boys were talking animatedly over party plans.

“Like you said, we’ve known each other a long time, we’ve always had this little…flirting thing going on, it’s just…how our friendship has always been.” she shrugged

Noa frowned slightly

“So you…never really took him seriously?”

Unsure if she appreciated the way she’d phrased that, Z.J glared slightly at Noa, who felt herself tense; expecting to be snapped at or yelled at and yet, Z.J sighed in defeat

“I guess not. He was always just a goofy, flirty friend. I guess I never considered the fact that he might be serious about any of it.”

Noa smiled understandingly

"Maybe you should think about it. I mean, underneath the 'goofiness' he's loyal and he's got a good heart." she pointed out.

Z,J, who had been uncertain of Noas' reaction at first, but when Noa showed no sign of judgement, to Z.Js’ relief, with a thoughtful look on her face Z.J picked up her drink

“Thanks, I think you're right; you’re a good friend Noa.”

Noas’ heart soared

“I have two sisters but we were never close; actually their pretty hard to get along with, so it’s amazing for me to have someone to talk to and just…be friends with. That must sound dumb…”

Z.J interrupted her 

“Not at all. Families can be rough, but you know, we do get to choose our family; blood and what other people tell you doesn’t matter” she stated confidently.

This made Noa think on these words, until she glanced over at Pedro and Nico; the former had looked over at them, Z.J in particular, and called over to get their attention

“Hey girls, come over here we need y’alls opinions! 

Smiling Noa got down from the bar stool shed been sitting on, nudged her friend

“Well, maybe you should start.”

Z.J furrowed her brow, her eyes following Noa as she eagerly joined the others; Nico took his girlfriends wing to turn her twice under his wing before pulling her close, pointing out some details in the plans spread across the table before them

The female Cardinal moved her gaze to the male Cardinal bird; there was no denying that Noa was right, Pedro was sweet, gutsy, with a heart almost as big as his love for music…

Pedro lifted a wing, waving more emphatically

“Hey, you too Z, we want to know what you think!” 

Snapping out of her own thoughts, Z.J quickly joined the others.

After perhaps half an hour, and a few tweaks and changes, the plans for Carnival were shaping up to be the best yet, in Nicos’ and Pedros’  not so humble opinions and everyone was excited to see it all come to life in the coming weeks.

That evening, as usual, everyone was at the Branch, enjoying themselves. Nico and Noa were dancing together in the crowd, but had both looked over at the bar where Z.J and Pedro were sitting, deep into, what looked like, an actual conversation; no intentional flirting, no bored, half attentive expressions; instead they were both relaxed, smiling and laughing over drinks.

Nico called out over the loud music

“Hey Noa?” 

His girlfriend turned to him as they dance, giving him her full attention and Nico went on

“What were you and Z.J talking about earlier?” he asked lightly 

Noa smiled slyly

“Just girl talk. Don’t worry about it” 

She pecked his cheek and the pair continued dancing.

A short while later, Pedro approached to address Nico excitedly 

“Hey buddy, looks like we got some new customers!”

The two friends, along with Noa, looked across to where some of the crowd separated to reveal these ‘newcomers’

Noa froze, feeling her stomach sink like a stone in the ocean

“Oh no…” 

Hearing this, and feeling something feel that something in Noas’ demeanour change,  turned to her in concern

“Babe?” 

 Yet Noa was unable to respond as felt her throat close up, and her wings start trembling…

The three birds who had just entered the club consisted of a large male yellow Canary, with a black line of feathers down his back and black feathers framing his face, was flanked left and right by a pair of younger very similar females; the black primary wing and tails feathers stood out in sharp contrast to the rest of their pale yellow feathers. 

All three had striking, and  identical, blue eyes.

It was her family; her father and sisters, here , of all places…

Chapter Text

The young female canary to the right of the larger male tossed her head feathers that had been styled into a high pony-tail with a snooty expression 

“Ugh, seriously, daddy, this place is a hole!” she complained.

The second female to his left looked at him

“Totally, I feel like I’m, like, getting mites or something just standing here” she agreed snootily.

She was almost the identical image of her sister, even her  head feathers were styled the same, but what set her apart was the line of black feathers down her back, fanning  out at the tips of her tail feathers

Their father sighed

“Listen girls, we’ve been travelling for ages, and need some R and R, so just deal with it please.” he said sternly.

“Come on, there’s a bar and decent music.”

At that moment he noticed Noa, who had been approaching warily, her father blinked, looking shocked

“Noa, is that you?” 

Noa shrugged

“Hey dad” she raised her wing in a small, awkward wave, speaking loud enough to be heard over the music..

Her father glanced around

“So this is where you’ve been all this time”

The look on his face, framed by a line of black feathers, made Noa nervous, but when Nico, who had hung back for a moment, flitted her side

“So this is your dad, babe?” he asked with a smile.

Noa looked from Nico to her father, seeing the look on his face had vanished, and was replaced with a look of confusion 

“Babe?” 

Noa swallowed 

“This is Nico, he’s my boyfriend. Nico, this my dad, Hudson, and these are my sisters, that’s Aria, and that’s Adagio.” she added, gesturing to each twin in turn, Adagio being the twin with the line of black feathers down her back, which made her distinguishable from Aria.

Both twins jerked their heads in turn and Nico smiled charmingly, tilting his bottle cap hat

“Ladies”

He turned to Noas father 

“Good to meet you Sir-” 

He offered out his wing to the older canary, Hudson, after narrowing his eyes momentarily, returned the gesture, gripping Nicos wing in a handshake

“Nico. So you’re why my little girls’ been missing so long and why we had to come all the way out here to find her”

Nico, flexing his wing with a barely concealed grimace from Hudsons’ strong grip, chuckled nervously 

“Um, well, I ah, missing?” 

He looked to Noa for help, and she put a hand on his shoulder

“No dad that isn’t it! Nico helped me when I got hurt, found me a place to stay, and he owns this club!” she added with a proud smile.

Hudson seemed to consider Nico before replying 

“Huh, business owner, eh? Good, wouldn’t want my Noa to be saddled with some loser”

Nico laughed awkwardly 

“Um actually sir, my good pal Pedro here-” 

He swept a wing in Pedros’ direction where the Red Cardinal was sitting at the bar with Z.J, both were watching the interaction.

Pedro waved back at Nico, who carried went on

“He and I own The Branch together, Noa often hangs out here with us”

Nico glanced at Noa, seeing that she had averted her eyes, practically hiding her entire face behind her black feathered bangs. 

Adagio and Aria where leaning close together and whispering while looking over at Pedro

“He’s cute!” 

 Noa bristled

“Don’t even think about it, Ria!” she warned, addressing Aria.

Hudson glared her way

“Don’t talk to your sister like that!”

Nico felt Noa flinch, which worried him, so, subtly putting himself more between Noa and her father, he spoke in an uncharacteristically stern tone

“Sir, maybe you’d like to head over to the bar there and Pedro will get you a drink, if you’ve been travelling you guys must be thirsty and we have some of the best juice mixes this side of Rio!” 

There wasn’t much response from Hudson, but Adagio and Aria eagerly started to do just that; apparently eager to get closer to, and talk to Pedro, who quickly went about making them feel welcome and suggested drinks like any good bartender. However, as she watched her father go over to join them. Annoyed at being ‘squeezed out’ by the twins, Z.J left for the dance floor to join some of her friends.

Meanwhile Nico released a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, only was not beside him, but had slipped over to the door to leave. 

Nico quickly followed, finding Noa sitting on the rooftop of The Branch club. Flying up to settle beside her, Nico hesitated before speaking 

“You ok, babybird?”  he queried, using the sweet pet name for his girlfriend.

Noa sighed, sitting with her wings in her lap with tears shining in her eyes

“No, I left home precisely because I couldn’t be around them, I’ve told you how they are…” 

Her voice cracked slightly 

“I’m so happy here with you, Nico…then there’s Pedro and Z.J, I finally have a life of my own, a life that I love, but…!” 

She hesitated and Nico took her wing in his

“But what? It’s ok, Noa, tell me” he urged gently. 

Noa swallowed 

“What if my dad makes me go back? I’ll never see you again, he’ll make me stop singing again; the confidence and happiness I’ve found here with you and the others…I’ll lose that if he makes me go back…” 

Noa was practically sobbing, and, though he was shocked, he wrapped Noa in his wings

“Hey, hey, sh it’s ok babe; I got you.” he soothed. 

After a moment he took her face in order have her meet his eyes

“Listen, I don’t want to lose you either. Even if your daddy wants you to go back with him and  you don’t want to go, you tell him no. You don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to.”

He kissed her forehead sweetly and embrace her

“I won’t let anyone take you away, Noa” he stated

“Even if he tried I’d come lookin’ and I wouldn’t even stop until I found you”

Noa chuckled tearfully and  embraced him tightly

“Thank you” she smiled even though several more tears had rolled down her cheeks.

Nico slowly broke the embrace

“You want to go to my place?” he offered

Noa nodded but paused with a slight frown

“What about the Club?”

Nico shrugged 

“Pedro can handle things for tonight. Wait here while I go tell him we’re going, ok?” 

Noa nodded and watched as Nico fluttered down to the door.

Once she was alone, to distract herself Noa took a breath, feeling the warm breeze ruffling her feathers, the light of the crescent moon glowing in the sky above. With the reappearance of her family, she was on edge, but no nearly as scared as she thought she might have been some weeks ago, and did not doubt that it was because of Nicos reassurance; she was so grateful for Nico and how safe she felt with him and his warm words of comfort had helped to ease her fears somewhat.

Almost a minute passed and Nico reappeared so the two made their way to his nest where they sat watching the night sky 

“Noa”  Nico started after a lull in conversation

“Can I ask…what makes you think your dad will make you go back with him, and how come he said that you’d been ‘missing?” he asked 

Noa sighed, she’d wanted to avoid the subject of her family but there was no escaping it apparently 

“I couldn’t stand living with my dad and sisters any longer. He was harder on me than Ria and Gio. He would yell at me, give me more chores, and he let my sisters bully me; it was just…it was awful. I don’t want to go into all of it, but…it got so bad that I ran away and I didn't stop unitl I got here. But I was careless, got picked up by some humans who put me in a cage, but then you found me” 

Nico had his wing around her shoulders and tucked her head under his chin

“It’s ok don’t say anything you don’t want to. I get it, and I’m sorry he made you feel that way, that you felt you had to run away.”

Noa sniffled a bit 

“Thanks. Can we just…talk about something else now, please?”  she requested.

Nico willingly changed the subject to something much lighter and before long he had Noa smiling and laughing as they sat together, and some time later she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder; noticing this Nico put a light kiss to her head and with a bit of careful shifting and maneuvering he was able to lift Noa and lay her down on the large bed of fresh moss and green leaves, tucking one over the both of them like a blanket, letting Noa huddle closely against his side until he too fell asleep.

The next morning, after breakfast  Noa was flying from Nicos tree to the her own, landing on the branch outside the entrance briefly she went to push the large palm leaf covering it to one side only for a familiar figure to beat her to it

“Hey !” 

Noa cried out in fright, wings fluttering she jumped back in surprise as she was greeted my her sister Adagios’ indigent shout, Aria quickly came into view alongside her

“Do you, like,  mind?” she demanded indigently 

Noa, recovering quickly, replied 

“What are you two doing at my place?” 

The twins sniggered 

“Your boyfriend's bestie, Pascal? Paul?” 

Noa rolled her eyes

“Pedro?” 

Aria went on with a dismissive wave of her wing

“yeah, yeah, well we mentioned we had nowhere to stay, and he said we could, like, totally crash here because this is where you sleep and whatever, but you were probably sleeping at your boyfriend, 'Nickys' nest, so…yeah!” 

Noa's eye twitched

"His name is 'Nico'! Besides, this is my place…you can’t just…”

Adagio smirked at Noa as she cut her off

“Just scram , No-no!”

Noa flinched at the awful nickname

Adagio continued where Aria had left off

“It’s rude to drop by without an invite. Dad found a nest nearby, you wouldn’t want us to tell him you’re being a bad host by not giving us somewhere warm, safe and comfy to stay, would you?" she taunted.

Unwilling to let her sisters see the tears of frustration welling in her eyes, Noa turned and flew away, back to Nicos’ tree.

She landed outside the nest and called out, hoping he hadn’t left yet

“Nico, you still there?” 

Almost immediately Nico popped his head out, bottle cap hat in place

“Hey, back so soon, babybird?” he crooned flirtily.

Noa had to chuckle at his antics but her face fell

“It’s just…Adagio and Aria won’t leave or let me in…”

Nico frowned

“what, how did they know where you live?”

Noa shrugged

“Apparently, Pedro showed them there last night after they told him they had nowhere to stay, and I was here, so...”

Nico rolled his eyes

“That numbskull,” he muttered irritably. 

But Noa shook her head

“No, it isn’t his fault, he doesn’t know I don’t get along with them, he thought he was doing a good thing; don’t be mad at Pedro” she insisted 

Nico agreed, seeing that Pedro really wasn’t to blame, it wasn’t his fault Noas sisters were bullies!

Noa breathed a sigh of relief but it was short lived

“Guess I’ll have to figure out someplace else to live.”

But Nico, with determination in his eyes, met her gaze 

“Babe, there's no need, you can stay with me” he said.

He wasn’t going to let her go homeless, or be forced to find a new nest even further away from his.

Surprised, Noa turned to him with wide eyes

“Really, are you sure? Is there enough space? I don’t want to be an  inconvenience…” 

Nico shook his head, taking her wing in his

“No Inconvenience, babe, there’s plenty of room for both of us. And  you’ll need a place to sleep, and to get some space from your family by the sounds of it.” he added. 

Noa smiled

“Thank you Nico, you’re so sweet”

Nico hopped out to stand on the branch in front of her

“How about breakfast?” he offered

Noa agreed and they flew off, pilfering some berries from a nearby human market stall, sitting in the shade together to eat.

Noa wiped her beak of berry juice and addressed her boyfriend seriously

“I…don’t want him or any of the others to know about my history with my family, Nico, so please don’t say anything, just…say my place is too cramped so I decided to stay with you till they leave, and that I chose to do that, ok?” 

Nico nodded

“Sure, if that’s what you want, but...Noa, they’d never think bad, or less of you for how your family is.” he assured her.

Noa smiled

“I get that, but…I want it just between us for now” she insisted.

Nico accepted this, with some reluctance, and offered her the last berry but when Noa took it from him she carefully split it and gave him half.