After they ate dinner, all four boys just hung out together in the living room. Green had started a fire in the fireplace, and he was seated in a chair relatively close to the hearth. Vio had taken it upon himself to take up the entire couch by laying down flat over it, reading the same book he'd started at the beach.

Red was perched in an armchair across from Green's; since there were no more seats available in the area, Blue just sat down by Red's chair and leaned against his knees. From time to time Red would gently nudge him in the back, and Blue would retaliate by lightly elbowing him. This prompted a soft giggle from Red each time, which in turn made Blue grin slightly.

When their conversation had run dry, Vio nodded his head at Blue. "So, Blue… I bet you took a nice, long bath as soon as you got home, huh?" His tone was lightly teasing, but it was not a matter Blue wanted to be goaded about.

Blue growled softly and glared at him. "Don't even go there, Vio. Just don't go there."

Vio shrugged a little. "Technically speaking, I haven't gone anywhere. I've been on this couch for the past hour."

"Oh yeah? You're gonna be on the floor in a second." Blue made to lunge at Vio, but Red leaned forward and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him hastily back down and sliding his arms around his neck to keep Blue from getting up again.

"Just drop it, Vio," Red said with a hint of warning in his voice. "Blue's had a rough day, okay?"

Vio looked as though he was itching to come back with a witty remark, but he backed down a little under Blue's still-angry gaze. "Whatever," He said simply, returning to his book for the time being.

Green glanced awkwardly between the silent Vio, the glowering Blue, and Red, who was still bent forward with his arms around Blue's neck. "Well, I think I'm going to head to bed," He decided, standing up and stretching. "What do you think; should I douse the fire, or are those embers gonna burn themselves out within ten minutes?"

"They'll be okay, Green," Red nodded. "Vio, how do you have enough light to read that?"

"Ehh…"

"Vio, put the damn book away before you go blind," Blue grumbled, still moody.

"I have reading glasses, Blue."

"Because you're wearing out your eyes trying to read in the dark!"

"Maybe we should all turn in soon," Red said with a nervous chuckle, raising a hand to run it through Blue's hair in an effort to calm him down before he got too angry. It worked; Blue relaxed subconsciously, leaning back against Red's knees again.

"Meh, perhaps…" Vio sat up and marked the page of his book, shutting it and standing. "I suppose I shall. Goodnight to you both." So saying, he turned and left. Now only Red and Blue were left awake in the living room.

Red let out a soft sigh, his hand still moving through Blue's hair in a slow forward and back rhythm. "Ignore Vio, Blue," He said quietly. "You know how he gets at this time of day…"

"Yeah, I know," Blue grunted. "You'd think he'd have the common sense not to piss me off, though."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Red sighed again. After another few moments of silence, Red shyly nudged Blue in the back. "Scoot forward a little, will you?" Blue inched forward obediently; Red slid off the chair to sit behind him, settling down on the floor with an arm and a leg on either side of him. He circled his arms around Blue's middle and sighed, resting his cheek against the back of Blue's shoulder.

Blue started blushing as soon as Red moved, turning a deeper shade of crimson as Red snuggled against him from behind. He sighed and laid his hand over one of Red's, shutting his eyes briefly. This scenario could have gotten awkward in a heartbeat, but with Red there it just didn't seem to matter how it could have been.

Blue leaned his head back and rested it against Red's, subconsciously nuzzling him slightly. Red let out his breath softly, and then whispered, "You're still okay with me helping you out, right?"

"Mm-hm," Blue grunted softly.

"Okay…" Red nuzzled him before standing up, tugging Blue to his feet as well. "Then follow me." He led Blue back upstairs. "Change into something you won't mind if you get water on." As apprehensive as those words made him, Blue followed Red's order, changing into his swimsuit again and an old shirt. Red did the same, picking up his towel as well, and then walked to the door and motioned for Blue to follow.

They crept past the room Green and Vio shared, sneaking down the stairs and slipping out of the cabin. Blue followed Red through the semidarkness, their only real light being the half-moon and the stars, feeling slightly nervous as he saw where their path was leading.

They stopped once they were standing on the beach again, looking out at the dark lake. Blue shifted his weight, muttering, "Don't tell me you're gonna make me go swimming in the dark…"

Red gave a little shrug. "We're not going out too far, Blue, don't worry. It'll be all right- trust me." So saying, he dropped his towel onto the sand and stepped into the lake. He glanced back at Blue. "Blue, come on."

Blue didn't move, still staring nervously at the water. No, there were no fish in the lake bigger than minnows and guppies. But what if there was a snapping turtle or something? What then? "Blue…" Red said softly. He extended a hand to him, only up to his knees in the water. "Come on…"

Blue sighed and took one step into the water, shivering at its icy cold temperature. The chills stayed with him instead of fading, though; an uncomfortable sensation that made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He froze after three steps- he was roughly up to his calves in the lake.

Red advanced towards Blue, taking hold of his hands and tugging him forward gently. "It's all right, Blue," He said in a soft, calm voice. "Don't be afraid." Blue gritted his teeth and set his jaw, ignoring how unsettling the water felt and following Red until they were wading in water up to their knees.

At that point Red stopped, just holding Blue in place lightly. "Are you doing okay?" He asked. "Is this too far?"

Blue shook his head. "N-no, it's okay…" He shuddered slightly, but it wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be. It was just a bit chilly…

"All right, this is good…" Red nodded. He slowly moved to sit down in the lake, the water rising up to the bottom of his ribcage. "Blue, sit with me." He tugged his hands insistently.

Blue inwardly balked, but after a moment of having to stare at Red's pleading gaze, he sighed and reluctantly lowered himself into the water. He shivered involuntarily as the water rose up to his ribs, and his breathing quickened. "No deeper," He muttered.

Red shook his head. "No, Blue, we'll stop right here." He squeezed Blue's hands reassuringly. "We'll just stay here." Blue nodded, and the two lapsed into silence. Red glanced upward into the skies and gasped softly. "Wow, Blue, look at all the stars!"

Blue looked up too; he had to admit, he was impressed. There were almost impossibly many stars studding the night sky like tiny flecks of silver on blue velvet. "It's amazing," Blue said softly. "Are there that many stars at home?"

"I don't know- I don't think so," Red shook his head. "It seems so much more amazing up here…" He returned his focus to Blue. "How many stars do you think there are out there?"

Blue snorted. "Red, I don't think anyone knows for sure."

"No, I suppose not…" He sighed a little. "Are you okay being in the water like this?" He indicated the height to which the water rose- it was about level with the bottom of their ribcages.

Blue shrugged a bit. "Yeah, this is okay, I guess…" He certainly wouldn't have come here on his own, but that was sort of the point. He fidgeted a little. "So, um… What did you want to do tomorrow?"

"Hm…" Red tilted his head back up to look at the darkened skies again. "I sort of wanted to go hiking, if everyone else went with me… I don't know, I just don't want to go alone."

Blue nodded in consideration. "Hiking sounds fun- we could convince Green to come along, I'm pretty sure… Vio might stay behind, you know how he hates pointless walking."

"So, that'd be three of us," Red mused. "That sounds like fun!" He grinned. "Especially if we could get Vio to come along!"

"You sure that'd make it more fun?" Blue snorted.

Red giggled. "C'mon, Blue, give Vio a chance. He can be fun on occasion!"

"But not this occasion, I'm guessing."

"Well…"

Blue chuckled a little and shook his head. "Well, with or without Vio, we can go hiking tomorrow." He shifted a little bit in the water, shivering slightly.

Red noticed him squirm. "I think we've been out here long enough for one night." From the time they'd gotten into the water to the time it took to get to this depth, it had been a total of about 40 minutes. "Shall we head back in?" He asked softly. Blue nodded wordlessly, standing up and extending his hand to Red as well. Red accepted it and allowed Blue to pull him up, both of them wading back to shore.

They dried off and walked back to the cabin, changing back into their pajamas and crawling into bed. As usual, they didn't go right to sleep. Red propped his head up on one hand, gazing over at Blue through the darkness.

"Are you a little bit more comfortable in the water now, Blue?" He asked quietly.

"I dunno… I guess so," Blue shrugged a little bit. He wasn't ready by any means to submerge himself completely, but he was a little better.

"That's good," Red gave a small smile. "Tomorrow night we can go a little deeper until you can go in all the way, okay?"

"All right," Blue conceded with a sigh.

"And the hiking will be good exercise; you can build your stamina a little if you carry more weight…" Red flopped onto his back, thinking. "And if you build more stamina, you can swim farther…"

"I know how stamina works, Red," Blue rubbed the bridge of his nose, hiding a grin. "Just go to bed, 'kay?"

"You're right," Red giggled. "I probably should; even without extra weight, hiking is tough!" He pulled the covers up to his chin and snuggled down. "G'night, Blue!"

"See you tomorrow, Red," Blue sighed and shut his eyes.

.-.-.

.-.-.

End chapter 4! So this is what Red's gonna try to do- lure Blue out a little deeper each night, until he gets comfortable in the water again. :D Wonder how well this will go...?~

As always, R&R very much appreciated! ^u^ Thanks for reading!

~Artimus-Maora