Both Gidget and Tiberius stared at each other in silence for what felt like ages. At last, Tiberius broke it as he mumbled, "I... uh... I better get home." He quietly got to his feet and was about to get off the couch. However, Gidget strangely didn't want him to leave yet. Placing a paw on his shoulder, she whispered, "Stay." When his gaze met hers, she stammered, "Could... could you stay? A... a little longer? Please?" For a moment, she feared that he was still going to leave. But her fears were dashed away as the old hawk laid back down.
Grateful, Gidget couldn't stop herself as she moved closer to Tiberius and laid down right next to him, her fur touching his feathers. This caused the hawk's red tail to fan out. Both animals looked back at it. "Ignore it, the thing's got a mind of its own," Tiberius reassured Gidget, glaring at his tail. Gidget laughed quietly at that before resting her head on his shoulder. The old hawk's heart sped up a bit at that but he tried to ignore that as well.
Listening to her friend's beating heart, Gidget looked up at Tiberius and asked, "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't mind the old bird here," Tiberius replied.
"You're not old."
"Gidget, I'm fourteen years old, almost fifteen. I'll probably be dead before ya even know it."
"Well, you don't look a day over seven," Gidget declared. Tiberius blushed at that. He was grateful that his feathers had a red tint to them. However, his tail refused to ignore the compliment and fanned out yet again. Gidget couldn't stop laughing as she watched her friend growl at his own tail. Huffing, the old hawk grumbled, "The stupid thing never listens to me."
"Maybe you should show it a little bit more love," Gidget suggested, running her paw down Tiberius's tail. The old hawk was paralyzed by the touch while his tail slowly began to fold back into place. Shivering slightly, he was completely speechless as Gidget looked into his eyes. The Pomeranian smiled softly at the hawk. Little did she know that she was leaning towards him. He was doing the same thing.
Just then, the clock struck eight. Gidget sighed as Tiberius murmured, "Guess I better get going now." Getting to his feet, he hopped down from the couch. Sitting up, Gidget piped up, "Do you want to hangout tomorrow?" Looking back at her, the old hawk smiled softly as he replied, "Yeah. I'd like that." Gidget's tail wagged as she watched her friend leave. However, he didn't get far as he ended up crashing into a shut window. Jumping down, the Pomeranian opened it for the hawk.
