My first contribution to TWEWY fanbase, and it's full of Beat love! Seriously, he needs more love out here.

Title: Keep To Yo' Beat
Rating: K+
Pairings/Characters: Beat, Ai, BeatxAi
Warnings: Minor OOC Beat
Notes: In "Another Day", Beat and Ai are friends, and I was just wondering how things worked out between Makoto and Ai in the actual game... and then this happened.
Summarry: After all, Beat was the cause –and solution– to most of her problems, anyway.

What was Ai going to do?

She was going in circles; none of her tactics were working. But she couldn't just go over to perfect, beautiful Makoto and say how she felt around him; not in Shibuya of all places. It was embarrassing to her how much she felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, only to be reminded a moment later that she was a schoolgirl with a crush.

It was stupid, really; Makoto was already a rising business man. He couldn't be held down by someone like her. At least, that's what she thought after they went to that Tin-Pin Slam-off and all he could talk about was how to launch some new pin from CAT.

He just wasn't interested in a relationship.

He wasn't interested in her.

And that hurt Ai more than it should have. Mina tried to get her to talk about that night, but she spoke nothing of it; not when her friend had worked so hard to get them together. But who else could she turn to? Who else would understand that she just didn't know what to do…?

…

…!

…Of course.

Beat.

Beat, her friend since childhood, since before Mina. If no one else, she could certainly talk to him. He knew more about matters of the heart than anyone else.

Only… she couldn't talk to him.

Ai could only talk to the place where he died.

How long did she cry over the death of her old friend and his younger sister? Certainly, it was much longer and more depriving of her heath than it should have been. But even so, it didn't feel like either of them were gone… they were there, walking the streets across the scramble, she was sure.

Well, even if Beat couldn't respond, she thought, he could at least listen.

And so she kneeled down on the concrete of the Miyashita Underpass, placing her set of flowers beside the many others that had been there before, dirt seeping into her white knee-highs. She found she didn't care.

"Hey, Beat, it's Ai," She said, more softly than she imagined it would come out. "I wanted to know if I could talk to you, to see if you could help me out… you always were able to help me when I needed it…"

When she received no answer, she continued. "You remember Makoto, right? The guy I like? Well, I went out with him –Mina got us tickets to that Tin-Pin event thing, and, well… I don't know what to do."

She was so preoccupied with sharing her worries to her deceased friend that she didn't hear the rustle of wings behind her.

"I thought I liked him, but… he's not interested. I spent so much time pining after him, and… I don't know what else I can do."

She paused, wiping away her small tears, laughing at her own faultiness.

"I-I'm sorry… here I am, complaining about my love life, when you and Rhyme are…"

She stopped, as did the rustling.

"…It must be hard, Beat."

"Yo' right."

Ai barely had time to respond to the voice when a pair of strong, familiar arms wrapped around her waist, and a chin came to rest on her right shoulder. A mass of reddish pink fur, also vaguely familiar, nuzzled her right cheek, only to retreat behind her a moment later.

"It's hard, bein'… y'know, dead an' all," the voice continued. "But… knowing yo' here, waitin' fo' me, showin' me that ya still need me… it makes trying to come back real worth it."

She turned her head, her tear filled brown eyes catching his kind blue ones. Slowly, she clutched at the hands around her, trying to keep them there so they'd never leave her alone again. "Beat…"

He smiled; it was that same boyish, happy-go-lucky smile that always warmed her heart, and it came closer with each new tear she shed. "Nah, don't call me that. You get to use my real name. Only you."

She leaned back into his warm embrace, eyes slowly closing in preparation of what was coming next. She was hardly even aware of the black wisp-like wings coming from behind him. "Da… Daisukenojo…"

His gaze softened as he stroked her cheek with his thumb, making her heart jump into her throat, and he gave her his first kiss.

It was unlike anything Ai had ever experienced before –it was her first, too, after all, but something about was so nostalgic and sad and lovely it made her cry even more. It wasn't long before she shifted around in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. She felt him grin into the kiss, something that made her smile as well.

The kiss couldn't have lasted more than a minute, but by the time he'd pulled away she was already missing the feeling, her chest heaving and face flushed. With that small, handsome chuckle of his, he wiped away her remaining tears.

"Thank you, Ai."

And she smiled the biggest, happiest smile she could muster, bringing her slender hand up to cover his larger one. "Dai-"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "Ai, listen… I can't stay long." Her eyes widened. "Now, wait, wait, don't gimme that look. Lemme finish."

He paused. "…There's something goin' on behind the scenes, here, in Shibuya. You guys out here can't see it, but I gotta go fit it. An' as soon as I do, I'm comin' back. Me an' Rhyme both. I'm comin' right back to ya."

He blushed for the first time during their whole encounter. "So, uh… If yo' could… y-y'know… wait fer me an'… stuff…"

Anything else he said was lost in a mumble, but he message was clear; she giggled. "Sure thing, Daisukenojo."

The flush stayed on his cheeks, but that made him seem even more beautiful than he had before. The wings on his back, the strange animal, the blush, the very fact that it was Beat of all people… it made him seem like the unlikely prince in a fairy-tale, come to save the princess from the mundane life of royalty. The thought warmed her heart.

Beat circled his arms around her, and she him, neither one wanting to let go, but by that time, he was gone, and all that was left of their moment was the pin in her hand. It was her favorite color –a deep, royal purple, designed with a skull the mirror image of the one on his hat. Behind that skull was a thin, golden heart, much like the one on her favorite necklace, the one he had given her so many years ago.

Clutching the pin in her hand, Ai stood back up, brushing the dirt off her knees and leaving the underpass behind with a new-found confidence for her love-life.

After all, Beat was the cause –and solution– to most of her problems, anyway.