Beast Boy would have slept for hours more, if not for the finger that was poked hard into his stomach.

"Yeeeow!" he cried, sitting up instantly. His head followed the rest of his body slowly, and when it caught up, his vision went blurry and he fell back down again. There was a cry, and voices in a foreign language. The changeling opened his eyes slowly and peered upward.

There were three people hanging over him, staring right back. He wanted to yell in surprise, but all that came out was "Meep?"

One of the faces was a little girl. Her eyes were wide, and she reached toward him with one finger, but was stopped by the woman beside her, who scolded her.

Beast Boy gulped and asked, "Who...are you?"

"Ah, English," said one of them; an elderly man. His Russian accent was very heavy. "Forgive my granddaughter. She finds the color of your skin most curious." The man turned to the girl and muttered something quickly in Russian, making her scowl.

The little girl turned to Beast Boy and said something like "Pra-ste-teh" before she stormed away, looking very annoyed.

"Huh?" The changeling looked to the man quizzically. He smiled and shrugged.

"I told her to apologize. I am Jasha, and this is my daughter." Here he gestured towards his wife, who smiled, stood up, and walked away. The man watched her leave, then turned back to Beast Boy and said, "Now, young one, may I know your name?"

"Er...Beast Boy."

Jasha laughed. "I see! This is a good name for one who can change into a hare."

"Dude..." Beast Boy rubbed his forehead. "Where am I?"

"In a small settlement, halfway up the mountain. My dog found you and your friend buried in a snowdrift during the blizzard. You were very lucky to be found."

"I...what? Mountain? Blizzard? What do you-wait, my friend? Where is he?"

"Slow down, my young friend," Jasha held up his hands. "Your friend is lying just there." He pointed across the room to another bed.

Beast Boy sat up again, this time slowly, to look. Robin was indeed lying in a bed near him, covered in several blankets of wool and fur. His eyes were closed and his skin was very pale, almost blue. He could even see veins popping out from underneath his leader's skin. The changeling grimaced and turned back to the man beside him.

"Is he...okay?" I sure hope all this fur is fake...

"He will survive." Jasha said, though his voice was uncertain. "He is very sick from fever and cold, though. He kept you warm while his own body froze over. I am very surprised that he has not suffered from frostbite. He wore barely anything to keep him warm."

"He...kept me warm?" Beast Boy was confused at what he was hearing.

"Yes. At first I thought it was just your friend, but he was curled around a green hare – you – keeping it warm. When I brought you back to my house, the hare changed into a person with green skin. You have been sleeping for almost two days, but have had moments of consciousness where we can feed you."

Beast Boy's face dropped. "Er...feed me what exactly?"

"Small pieces of roasted ermine."

"R-r-r-r...gah!" Beast Boy turned even greener. "I ate...stoat guts?"

Jasha looked a little annoyed. "We do not have caviar up here, Beast Boy."

"C-c-caviar?" Beast Boy's cheeks bulged and he tried swallowing. "No, I meant...er, never mind. Thanks so much for looking after me...us...both of us. Thanks."

There was a long silence, in which Jasha looked sadly down at Robin's limp body. "It is obvious that you mean a lot to him. In his unconscious mind, he probably thinks you are dead now, and this depression may slow his body's desperation to wake. But...for now," Jasha turned back to Beast Boy. "I will let you rest. You seem very healthy, unlike your poor friend. I will see you later, Beast Boy." He walked out of the room.

Beast Boy looked around. The room was more of a cabin, with log walls and fur decorating most of the floor. His bed was also covered in fur, and he tried to ignore it, telling himself that it wasn't real. If he didn't, he knew he'd get sick. There was a fireplace beyond Robin's bed, so Beast Boy got up, taking one of the woollen blankets with him, and sat next to the warm fire, facing his leader.

He remembered as far as seeing Robin in some sort of arena...after that, his memory was only blurs and vague noises. What had happened since then? Somehow...Robin must have escaped, carrying him, and taken them both back into the wilderness. Now they were up some unknown mountain, and Robin was only half-alive.

For some reason though, he remembered the rage he'd felt before he blacked out. He remembered what he'd heard, about what Robin had 'thought' of him. And yet...the anger was subdued now. He could only feel remorse...even pity for his unconscious leader.

Had Robin really escaped the clutches of the Tellurian aliens, all on his own? Even while he, Beast Boy, was unconscious? It seemed Robin had carried him so far away into the wilderness that they were up a mountain where the alien 'threat' hadn't even been mentioned. And through a blizzard? Wearing nothing but shorts, makeshift shoes and a military jacket?

"Guess they call you the 'Boy Wonder' for a reason," Beast Boy murmured.

The changeling spent a few hours in front of the fire, almost face-to-face with Robin. His leader seemed more like he was comatose than sleeping, and every second was agony for Beast Boy; wondering how and why they had both entered into this situation. Why had Robin decided to rescue them both? Why did Robin even care about him, after he knew what horrible things had been said about him?

That green thing isn't my friend.

And yet, Robin had almost died trying to save him. As the old man had said – Robin had given all of his warmth to Beast Boy, trying to give him that extra chance at staying alive. If they weren't friends, what were they? What could Robin gain from carrying someone who obviously meant nothing to him halfway up a mountain...through a blizzard?

It is obvious that you mean a lot to him.

It didn't make any sense! Beast Boy held his head in his hands and sighed. If only Robin were awake...they could somehow sort this out.

"I knew you didn't like me much," Beast Boy said softly. "But hearing you say that, even if it wasn't face-to-face...it really hurt. I don't even remember what happened after you said that...but dude, if you were prepared to die for me..." he gulped. "I guess what you said couldn't be true after all."

From Robin there was only silence. Beast Boy bit his lip, feeling embarrassed.

"If I'm not your friend, why would you die for me? I'm nothing to you. I couldn't transform against the elements, and I couldn't do anything to help either of us. I was useless and yet...you didn't leave me. Why?"

Nothing but slow, shallow breathing from his unconscious leader. Was there something he was missing? Was Robin really at fault, per se? Beast Boy ransacked his memory from top to bottom, desperate for something to clue him in on Robin's odd choice of actions.

The beast.

He'd completely forgotten. Before their time in the arena, he'd lost his temper with Robin, and transformed. The first time. Had he done something in his uncontrollable rage to make Robin hate him, if only for a little while?

It sounded weird in his head, but it was something to grasp at, so Beast Boy continued to wrestle with his memories.

xxxx

He was miserably sick and weak.

But he was alive.

Robin coughed and rolled onto his side before opening his eyes. Lo and behold, there was the changeling, fast asleep in front of a warm fire. He smiled to himself. They'd both survived! Thank goodness they were safe. It seemed the settlement he had been heading for must have found them buried in the snow.

He could smell his own sweat; he must have recently broken a fever. Not only was he lucky to be alive, he had escaped both frostbite and severe hypothermia. He couldn't help but grin at their incredible luck.

His attempts at sitting up proved futile, so instead he put his hands together over his stomach and began meditating. It was radically different to Raven's style of meditation, where she chanted and kept a firm leash on her emotions. He'd learnt to meditate many, many years ago from an old friend. It basically kept him calm and sped up the healing process in his body.

Half an hour after he woke, an old man and a middle-aged woman entered the room. The woman rushed to his side and placed a cool, wet cloth over his head, whispering rapidly in Russian. The man smiled and sat on a stool next to the fire, ruffling the sleeping changeling's hair as he did.

"You and your green friend here have remarkable healing skills," he said with a Russian accent. "I did not expect you to wake up for a week or more!"

Robin breathed slowly, keeping up his meditation. "We have a job to do," he said, business-like. "We can't be lazy and sleep the days away." Then he remembered his manners. "By the way, thank you, both of you. You saved our lives."

"My pleasure," the man replied, seemingly in a jubilant mood. "To see strangers out here is a rare occurrence these days. It is nice to meet you – I am Jasha."

"Zdravstvujtye," said Robin, with a perfect accent. "I am Robin, and he is-"

"Beast Boy," Jasha smiled. "He woke several hours ago, without sickness."

"Spasibo balshoye," the Boy Wonder breathed in relief.

"Your Russian is most perfect for a yank," Jasha said. "May I ask what you are doing in the northeastern Siberia, since it is clear you are Americans?"

Robin complied, trusting the man without hesitation. "My team and I were in pursuit of an alien spacecraft when we were separated over the ocean. So far, it seems Beast Boy and I are the only ones out here. I am fairly sure the rest of my team made it out alive, though I doubt they realise we are all the way out here."

Jasha raised an eyebrow. "If you were separated over the ocean, why did you not stay by the shore, where your friends would look for you?"

"There were wolves, and I was badly injured. We had to leave the area, and eventually found a railway line. We assumed it would lead us to a town, but ironically it led us right to the aliens' base of operations."

"Ah, the blue soldiers." Jasha's face morphed into a scowl. "They came here three months ago and kidnapped all of the men...well, the ones who weren't as old as me."

Robin perked up a little. "Do you know much about them? Do you know where they took your men, and what they do to them?"

"All I know is that they seem to have unlimited ammunition and take their prisoners a few more miles north, where the trains can't reach. I haven't been there myself. Don't tell me you're thinking of-"

"Throwing in a wrench? Yes, I am." Robin ignored the woman's protests and sat up, making the cloth drop from his forehead. "They don't care what they are doing to these innocent people, and if I'm the only one who can stand up to them, I guess I'll just have to go solo."

"I take it back," Jasha groaned. "You have not healed after all. You are delusional."

"I'm fine," Robin growled, pushing back the covers and standing up. Though at first wobbly, his strength and orientation returned swiftly. The meditation had worked. "Thank you very much for your hospitality, Jasha, but I need to do this."

The old man was spluttering in disbelief. "You are mad! You cannot think that you will succeed – you're alone, unarmed, and still healing. What you need is rest."

"No."

The voice made everyone jump. It was Beast Boy, standing up slowly and scratching his head. He looked up and stared Robin right in the eye.

"No," he repeated. "What you need is me."

Robin smiled at the changeling, glad that the enmity was gone. "Yea," he agreed. "I'll take Beast Boy for some back up."

In one surreal movement, the boys grinned at each other and slapped a high five.

xxxx

HAHAHAHA...sloooow update. Sorry, I'm just drawing a lot. Please review, readers whom I love!