A/N: So here we are, with Chapter Four! Resolving that cliffhanger, ahahahah*is shott*

...

Anyway, some bad news for everyone. Well, not "bad" bad. I know I'm a pretty frequent updater, but for the time period of 10/18/10 to roughly10/28/10 I will not be writing fanfiction. The reason? I'm a scholarship student at a pretty damned expensive college, and I absolutely have to do well in my midterms, which will be in the time period specified above.

TT~TT I'm really afraid... wish me luck?

Disclaimer: I only own the words in my mind...

Chapter Four- Weakness

The frigid current immediately pulled Blue away from his armored attacker, spinning him around and forcing him underwater. He nearly choked in surprise and shock at the temperature, before swimming for the surface. Something whizzed by his face and he felt a sharp, shocking pain directly below his left eye- he turned to face the direction the object had come from and stared directly into the eyesockets of the Darknut.

Blue let out a strangled yell and surfaced, not even pausing to get his bearings before swimming frantically towards the nearest rock protruding from the river's surface. This was not a fight he could ever win, especially not without his sword, and he wasn't stupid enough to stick aro-

Something metallic grabbed his ankle and forcibly pulled him back underwater.

*...*

Vio had just helped Green finish off his Darknut when he heard Red scream. He whipped his head around to stare up at the overlook; when he didn't immediately see Red a bolt of fear jolted through him. He could see the same reaction going through Green, and together they both raced up the slight hill, dreading what they'd find (or wouldn't find…) But to their surprise, and great relief, Red was there laying on his stomach peering over the edge.

"Goddesses, Red, don't scare us like that," Green wheezed, panting with his hands on his knees. "We thought you were getting thrown over the edge or something!"

Vio actually chuckled, the adrenaline rush in his veins subsiding.

Then Red turned, and they both could see the tears falling out of his eyes. "B-Blue," he choked, barely able to breathe, and pointed down to the river below. Vio and Green rushed to the edge and stared, but all they saw… was a deep blue hat slowly swirling in the current below.

*...*

It was as if time had slowed down, space had narrowed to a tiny pinpoint of existence, the only things still left alive were himself and this giant animated piece of metal. The current was actually working in his favor now- it knocked the Darknut off balance every now and then, allowing Blue to catch a much-needed gasp of air above the surface before being yanked back under. The temperature of the water was taking its toll on him now, making him feel numb and woozy, and it was all he could do to just flail his way to the surface.

Luck was with him, though- a sudden sweep of current smashed the Darknut into a large rock, and the metal fingers on his ankle loosened. The two were swept in opposite directions, and Blue used the opportunity to kick his way to the surface once more. He took in a huge breath of air, trying to get his bearings, and slowly began paddling his way over to the closest shore-he didn't even care if he ended up on the opposite side of the river from where the others were, he just wanted to get out of the water and onto dry land.

It seemed like it took forever, but finally Blue collapsed on the grass of the riverbank. His entire body was numb, and he didn't even have the energy to roll over onto his back and move the stone that was poking into his cheek. His wet clothes felt like they weighed a couple hundred pounds, making it hard to breathe and think. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and rest for a little….

What brought him back to consciousness a few hours later was the pain on his cheek. Blue managed to roll over and put a shaking hand up to his face- the area below his left eye was sticky and wet with what didn't feel like water, and when he looked at his fingertips they were stained red. So something had cut his face… His mind was numb, the fact that he was bleeding didn't really register. He was all set to roll over and go back to sleep when a stray thought hit him with the force of a blow-

Red.

How he managed to get up was a mystery to him, but the next thing Blue realized he was slowly and painfully making his way upriver. It hurt to breathe- he must have inhaled some water at some point in the battle. He felt cold, all the way down to his bones, and the still-wet clothing draped all over him wasn't helping.

But none of that mattered.

The only thing that did was making sure Red was safe.

*...*

Green was the first one to see him, slogging his way up toward where they'd stopped for lunch with his head hanging and every step looking like it weighed a ton. "Red! Vio!" He yelled over to where the two sat, Vio rubbing a comforting hand over Red's back while the other still sniffled into his shoulder.

"You see him?" Vio exclaimed as Red looked up with hopeful eyes.

"He's walking up the bank! He looks like he's fine!" Green gave a sigh of relief, and the knot of tension that had been coiled in his chest loosed suddenly.

Red was up and running in a heartbeat, passing the startled Green and sprinting headlong in the direction the boy had been looking. He rounded the corner where the overlook jutted out and-

"BLUE!"

The soaked and pitiful-looking boy slowly looked up, just to stagger backwards as a red-colored missile plowed into him. It took him a moment to realize that it was Red, that he was alright, and that he was hugging Blue so tightly he couldn't breathe. Blue's numbed mind didn't even care if the others were around- he raised his arms (it took more effort than he thought) and draped them around the other boy, resting his chin on top of Red's head. By the goddesses, the boy was so warm… "I'm glad… you're okay," Blue rasped, surprised at how rough his voice sounded.

"Blue~" Red sounded like he was about to start crying again, and without thinking about it, without even realizing he what he was doing he moved back a step, pulled Blue's face down a little-

And kissed him.

Red jumped back almost immediately, flushing a bright pink and bringing both hands up to his mouth, a little frightened as to what Blue's reaction was going to be.

Blue just blinked and put one finger up to his mouth, brain slowly catching up to the fact that Red had just… kissed… him… He flicked a glance at the boy, and for a brief, glorious moment everything that Blue felt about him was present in his eyes.

However, Blue's body had had its toll of abuse for the day, so in the moment that Vio and Green rounded around the corner Blue's eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed forward.

*...*

The first thing he was aware of was the voices.

"-done yet? He looks like he might be waking up."

"Give it a minute to cool, you don't want him to burn his mouth."

There was a hand on his forehead, soft and warm. Red.

"Blue?" It was Green's voice, and Blue felt his eyebrow twitch, an automatic response since nearly every time Green spoke it annoyed him. "Blue, can you hear me?" Blue mentally grinned, vowing not to respond.

"Blu~e," another voice murmured unexpectedly into his ear, and he shot upward, knocking painfully into someone else's forehead.

"Farore!" Green swore, moving backward and rubbing his head. "What was that for?"

"…Ow," Blue stated simply, one hand moving to touch his forehead as well.

"Are you alright, Blue?" Red was suddenly in his line of vision, kneeling over him with an anxious expression.

"…" Blue thought about it for a moment, pursing his lips. "Yeah."

"That's good!" Red gave a huge smile, and suddenly Blue realized just how close they were to each other.

"…Uh…"

Fortunately, the awkward moment was broken by Vio coming over with a steaming bowl of soup. "You must be hungry," the purple-clad boy gave a small grin. "You've been asleep for a full twenty-four hours."

"What?" Blue took a moment to look at his surroundings. They were still by the river-he could hear rushing water, and he shivered. But they'd moved under the trees a little more and set up camp. He was wearing one of Vio's undershirts and Green's spare tunic, and a bunch of other clothes had been packed tightly around him. And his hat was hanging on a tree branch! "What's with all this?" he gestured, taking the bowl from Vio and beginning to eat. He was ravenous, it was true.

"Blue, you were in the freezing water for much longer than could possibly have been healthy for you," Vio sat next to him, legs crossed. "You might have gotten hypothermia, so we took precautions. You're still not out of the water yet- figuratively," he added as Blue snorted at the pun. "It can take a couple of days to see if you'll manifest some symptoms of sickness, so you need to be careful."

Blue snorted again, but didn't comment.

"We'll leave in the morning, if you're up to it," Green said, flopping backward with his own soup bowl.

"Tch. I'll be fine."

*...*

They were still another two days away from the next town when Vio started noticing that Blue's behavior was a little… off. He still yelled at everyone else, especially Shadow and Red, but he was less intense about it; his OCD neatness habit was slowly fading, but Vio doubted that anyone else would notice. It was just the small things…

Blue's reactions to Red were off, too. The boy had become Blue's shadow since he'd saved Red from the Darknut, and instead of blowing up at Red like he usually would, Blue just… ignored him, for the most part. Strange…

But it was the next night, when Blue just pulled his tunic and boots off, dumped them beside his bedroll, and dropped instantly into sleep when Vio started to worry. He went over to Blue, intending to feel the boy's forehead for fever, but when he reached down Blue rolled over and grabbed his hand, glaring. "What do you want?" he growled.

"I want to feel your forehead. You've been acting a little weird…" Vio trailed off, reaching down again. Blue countered with his other hand, glare intensifying.

"Leave me the fuck alone." Vio shook one of his hands free and grabbed Blue's wrist- it was warmer to the touch than it should have been, and he nodded.

"Fine. Goodnight, Blue."

"…Whatever."

*...*

Blue didn't wake up the next morning.

"Vio? Green?" It was Red's panicked voice that alerted them that something was wrong. "Blue won't wake up, and he's really warm!"

Vio swore under his breath, dropping his pack to the ground and heading over to Blue's bedroll. He laid a hand on the boy's forehead, unimpeded this time, and swore again, this time out loud. "He's probably just caught a cold," he murmured out loud. "But with this kind of a fever, he'll need medicine."

"We're still miles away from the next town!" Green paced back and forth a few feet away. "We'll have to split up if we go get some…"

"I'll stay with Blue," Red said immediately. He'd already gone and dunked his hat in the nearby stream and was using it as a cold compress, laying it across Blue's forehead.

"That'll work. Do you think he can do without medication for another two days?" Green asked Vio.

"He's tough… he'll survive." He'd better… Vio thought. No matter how much the teen irritated him… it just wouldn't be right to be without Blue.

"Then we'd better head out now. There's plenty of food, Red, so don't worry about that," Green smiled at the red-clad boy, who gave him a wobbly grin back. "We'll be back before you know it, and Blue'll be fine!"

"Y-yeah!" A little of Red's cheerfulness came back, and he stood up, running to hug the other two. "Be safe, and come back soon!"

With that, Green and Vio shouldered their packs and set out.