"Wake up, Aelita. It's time to go."

Aelita blinked blearily, sleep still tugging at her eyelids. A cool night breeze brushed across her face, pushing her unruly hair aside. She felt something shift underneath her and some muddled voices around her. She shifted slightly, opening her eyes fully.

Jeremie's face came into focus above her, his eyes locking with hers.

"Come on, Aelita. The movie's over and we're packing up. Do you need help getting to your seat?"

Aelita blinked again, sitting up stiffly and stretching her sore limbs.

"If you could, that'd be wonderful."

Jeremie smiled warmly and helped her off the tailgate and onto her feet. Once standing, she snuggled against Jeremie, relishing his warmth. He chuckled and guided her into the backseat of the van, where she curled up and fell asleep instantly.

Jeremie brushed her lush, pink hair behind her ear and pressed a kiss to her forehead. He glanced over her sleeping form one more time before returning to help the others.

(Break)

The sun slowly crested over the horizon and night gave way to day. Staring out the passenger window and fighting utter boredom, Ulrich sighed, having resigned to being unable to sleep several hours before.

"Where are we going next?"

"Ulrich, I've already answered that question three times."

"I know Yumi, but I'm bored."

Yumi huffed, pushing her raven hair out of her face, "Gatlinburg. Happy?"

"Where's that at?"

Yumi glared at him from the driver's seat. "Ulrich, we're not having this conversation again."

"Then what do you want to talk about?"

Yumi cursed under her breath and laid on the horn as another reckless driver cut her off. "Not now Ulrich! If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to drive and these Americans are absolute lunatics!"

Ulrich shrank back in his seat and resigned once again to looking out the window. This time though, something caught his eye.

"Mammoth Cave?" he mumbled to himself as a highway sign sped by.

"What was that about a cave?"

Ulrich turned around to find his excitable blonde friend perked up in the backseat.

"Mammoth Cave, Odd." Ulrich muttered. He wasn't ready to deal with his friend's endless energy quite yet. And Yumi's bad mood hadn't really helped his.

"What's that?" he inquired, now wide awake.

"How should I know? A big cave maybe?" Ulrich replied, returning to his perch by the window, "Ask Jeremie when he wakes up."

"Ask me what?" Jeremie asked, rubbing his eyes and righting his glasses.

"Nice job guys. You woke him, and just when he was starting to get the proper amount of sleep."

Jeremie glared playfully at Yumi then returned his attention back to Odd. Odd repeated his question. Jeremie's brow furrowed together and his glasses slipped a little ways down his nose.

"I don't think I've ever heard of it. Why do you ask?"

"Ulrich was talking to himself and I heard him say something about a cave. Obviously I was interested."

Ulrich flushed angrily and turned around to glare daggers at his friend.

"I wasn't talking to myself."

Odd brushed him off with a wave of his hand.

"Yeah yeah, you were talking to Yumi but she wasn't talking back. Whatever good buddy."

Ulrich continued to glare at him, a slight blush tingeing his cheeks. Odd answered with a wink and continued, "Anyway, this place sounds like fun and I wanna go. Anyone else up for it?"

Jeremie answered first, his interest piqued, "I am. I think Odd might've actually come up with a good idea."

Ulrich scoffed and turned back around, crossing his arms across his chest.

"There's a first time for everything."

"So that means you'll go?"

"Sure. Why not Odd."

"I think it's a great idea," Aelita chimed in, having listened in on the entire conversation.

"Great!" Odd shouted, "Yumi, set a course for Mammoth Cave!"

"What, don't I get a say in this?" Yumi asked wryly.

"Of course not," Odd replied cheerily, "you're the chauffer. You just go where we tell you."

Yumi chuckled and pulled off at the next exit.

(Break)

An icy breeze greeted them as the gang mounted the small concrete hill. On the other side was a gaping hole in the ground fifty yards across. Twin escalators clinked beside each other, one descending into darkness while the other ascended out of it. Yellow lights glowed inside the cave, just out of sight.

Aelita stared, awestruck by the sight. She could faintly hear water dripping, light and hollow splashes. She subconsciously rubbed her bare arms as the underground air washed over her, suddenly wishing she had brought a jacket despite the sweltering heat outside.

"Let's not spend all day standing here. The real excitement's inside!"

Aelita glanced at Odd, quickly noticing his cut-off T-shirt. From what she could tell, he wasn't even the slightest bit cold, much to her amazement.

Next to him, Ulrich rolled his eyes.

"Lead the way, Oh great adventurer," he said sarcastically.

Aelita took up the rear as Odd led them towards the escalators. Between the twin sets of motorized stairs was a narrow strip of grey steel that ran their entire length. Little rivulets of condensation snaked across the metal plating. Aelita traced their paths with the tip of her finger as the cave entrance slowly swallowed her and her friends. She looked up when she felt her fingers become intertwined with another.

"Having fun?" Jeremie asked softly, rubbing little circles on the back of her hand.

"More than you could possibly imagine," she answered smiling sweetly.

Aelita leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

"This has got to be the best vacation ever," she whispered when she pulled away, leaving her arms wrapped around his neck. As always, her eyes drifted to his piercing blue ones. She could never get tired of staring into them.

"It's barely begun," he responded.

They reluctantly separated as they neared the bottom.

Aelita stepped off the escalator and walked a little ways in. The water dripping was much louder and she could hear voices echoing from inside. A light fog had formed on the edges of the trail leading deeper into the cavern.

"Whaddya think, Princess. Pretty cool huh?"

Aelita stopped her investigation of the cave walls and looked at Odd's expectant face.

"It really is, great idea Odd! Maybe you aren't as dumb as we make you out to be," Aelita finished teasingly with a playful wink.

Odd laughed and gestured deeper into the cave. "Let's see what all Mammoth Cave has to offer."

Aelita started to follow, but stopped and glanced around her. "Where's Jeremie? He was just here."

Odd replied without breaking step and pointed over his shoulder, "Over there checking out some rock. You know, being classic Einstein."

Aelita spotted him hunched over by the cave wall. She called out to Odd and the others that she'd catch up in a minute. Odd waved over his shoulder, "Whatever love birds. Just don't take too long, it's starting to get a little chilly down here."

"So he does get cold," she thought wryly. Aelita rolled her eyes, ignoring the slight blush creeping up her neck, and walked over to Jeremie.

"Whatcha looking at Jeremie," she inquired over his shoulder.

"A speleothem," he answered matter-of-factly, rolling back on his heels to look at her better.

Aelita raised an eyebrow speculatively. "Why don't you just say stalagmite?"

"I… I … It's… I mean…" he stuttered, turning red up to his ears. Aelita giggled and cut him off.

"I'm just playing with you Jer. You know I think your "smart talk" is adorable." She rustled his blonde hair as he turned even redder. "C'mon, I bet there are even more speleothems inside."

Jeremie glared at her, muttering, "Oh shut up."

Aelita giggled again and pecked him on the cheek. "You know I love you."

"Yeah yeah," he said, kissing her back.

He intertwined their fingers and led her after their friends.

(Break)

"Odd get down from there!"

Ulrich rolled his eyes, wondering why Yumi hadn't seen this coming when all he'd been talking about during the hike were the handholds that were everywhere.

"Leave him alone, Yumi. Maybe he'll fall and knock some sense into that head of his."

"Be quiet Ulrich," Yumi admonished, her face turning red with frustration, "ODD! GET DOWN NOW!"

Odd sighed and climbed back down the stony wall. He rolled his eyes and joined Yumi and the others in the center of the cavern. "Alright mom. Happy?"

"I'm just trying to protect you from your own stupidity. If you just…"

The cave lights went black, pitching the gang into complete darkness.

Aelita yelped and clung to the person next to her.

"Hey guys, it's dark," she whispered sheepishly.

"No really, Aelita," Ulrich started sarcastically, "I never would've guessed."

"Sorry," she whispered. She clung on tighter, "Jeremie, I'm scared."

The person she was clinging to started with surprise.

"Huh? Aelita who do you think this is?"

She pulled back in surprise and tried to look through the darkness at the person standing next to her. That's when it struck her that he was wearing a sleeveless shirt. She pulled away completely, thankful that the dark was hiding the deep blush that had formed on her face.

"Sorry Odd," she whispered sheepishly as she started to search blindly for Jeremie.

He chuckled fondly, "It's fine Princess, go find your knight in shining armor."

Aelita blushed an even deeper shade of red, thankful yet again for the darkness.

"Jer, where are you?" Aelita whispered meekly.

"Over here Aelita. Just follow the sound of my voice."

As she walked away, Odd noticed just how much he missed her warmth and soft touch. And scent for that matter. He shook his head, expelling the thoughts. But regardless, the feeling remained.

It was dead silent for an uncomfortably long time. Aelita could here very slight movement in the distance, her mind conjuring up images of grey wolves stalking her in the darkness. Terrified, she buried her face in Jeremie's shirt. Sensing her discomfort, he wrapped his arms around her, whispering consolingly in her ear. After what seemed like an eternity, a park ranger called out, startling everyone.

"Hey! Is everyone alright!"

Ulrich recovered first since he was used to these sorts of things from his many cave excursions with his family in Germany.

"Yeah! How much longer till we can see again?"

"Not long, we've got people on it as we speak."

As if on cue, the lights flickered back to life, bathing the cave in its soft glow yet again.

Odd blinked repeatedly, waiting for his eyes to readjust. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Yumi stood close to Ulrich, his arm draped around her shoulders. Opposite them, sitting on the ground against the wall, was Jeremie and Aelita. She had Jeremie's shirt clenched in one fist and her head buried in his chest. He had both arms wrapped protectively around her.

Odd chuckled to himself, slipping his hands into his pockets, and followed the park ranger out. From what he could tell, this part of the vacation was over. The others quickly followed suit.

(Break)

Yumi glanced up at the night sky through the windshield. As expected, all that stared back was the moon and stars. She forced her eyes back to the road, noting just how empty the highways were at this time of night. Unable to help it, her eyes traveled to the brunette next to her. Her mind wandered back to a time earlier that day, when she had let her frayed nerves and temper get the best of her. Now she had to make things right.

"Are you awake Ulrich?"

The boy in question stirred slightly. He stretched out his legs and turned to face her. He smiled lopsidedly at her.

"I am now."

Yumi rolled her eyes and returned his smile. That was when it struck her just how handsome he was. She felt her insides melt as his warm, chocolate brown eyes met hers. If possible, her smile widened even further.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk to you about something."

He shifted so that he was more upright and stretched his arms over his head. He let out a quiet yawn.

"You can always talk to me, Yumi."

She forced her eyes back to the road, though much preferring his face to the dark asphalt outside. Her smiled faded as she continued.

"I know and you have no idea how much I appreciate that. But I want to apologize about earlier."

Ulrich frowned slightly, his brow creasing, as he tried to remember.

"Apologize for what?"

Yumi sighed slightly. Her pride was beginning to get the best of her but she swallowed it and continued.

"For how I acted earlier in the car. I let my frustration get to me and I let it out on you. It was wrong and I'm sorry."

It was quiet for several moments then, much to Yumi's surprise, Ulrich laughed.

"Yumi, you sound like a child that's about to be punished," he said, laughter still tugging at his voice, "There's no need to apologize. I'm here for you to vent. I'd prefer you to yell at me compared to holding it all in."

Yumi paused for a moment, then looked at the boy next to her.

"You know I love you right."

He blushed brightly and looked down at his lap. "You better, cause I don't know what I'd do without you."

Yumi blushed and glanced over her shoulder at her friends, all of whom were fast asleep. Returning her gaze to the road, she thought, "God this is so much easier when we don't have them all staring at us."