DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters

Please R & R^^

With a soft groan, Rei woke up the next morning. Cold. But he was leaning against something warm, and something else warm was leaning against him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around. With a soft chuckle, he looked at his friends. Yuda was leaning against the wall, Shin sleeping in his arms. Ruka leaned against Shin, with Rei in his arms, and Gai and Goh were leaning against Rei. Well, at least it was a good way to stay warm.

Sighing deeply, he sat up a bit. Gai stirred a little and woke up. "Morning already?" he groaned.

"Seems like it," Rei replied. "We'd better wake the others too."

"Yeah."

No one seemed to be wanting to think about breakfast, since they didn't have anything to eat, so they resumed their journey immediately. The sooner they would get out of here, the sooner they'd be able to find some food. But before that, they'd have to face their first enemy, right in the heart of these ice-caves.

It was getting colder, the closer they got to it. Their breath came out as small clouds by now, making them feel even more cold by looking at it. "I think we're almost there," Shin remarked softly. "Be careful."

Rei unconsciously grabbed hold of Ruka's warm hand. His beloved gave him a short, reassuring glance. Finally, the tunnel ended into a large cave room. Right in the middle, laid a gigantic white and cyan dragon, ice crystals forming on this scales and wings. For a moment, Rei just stared at it, almost hypnotized by the sight of it. As beautiful as it was, though, there was a reason why it was trapped in here. As soon as the dragon caught eye of them, he growled loudly, immediately shooting an ice-beam at them from its mouth.

Jumping away just in time, they all ran as far as they could alongside the wall, towards the exit on the other side. "Yuda, the spell! It'll temporarily paralyze it!" Shin yelled.

Yuda, while running, started casting the spell. Like it knew that the spell would make its dinner escape him, the dragon aimed its beam directly at Yuda now. Expecting the red haired angel to dodge it, they kept running, but Rei saw Shin hesitating and realized his friend was aware of the spell taking its toll on Yuda's body. He'd never be quick enough to dodge.

In a flash, he realized what his friend was planning to do, and realized Shin would never be fast enough to pull that off. "Watch out!" he yelled, making his wings come out and practically throwing himself at Yuda and Shin. His wings gave him just that extra bit of speed to get all three of them away quick enough, though he could feel the deadly cold touching the tips of his wings. Yuda managed to keep casting the spell, making the dragon clumsy enough to allow them to get up to their feet again.

"Hurry!" Goh yelled. Gai, Ruka and he were almost at the exit already. Rei started to withdraw his wings, but saw Yuda trembling visibly. He'd never make it this way.

"Keep casting the spell," he said, grabbing Yuda's and Shin's hand. The dragon seemed almost paralyzed by now, but it was still far from harmless. With all his strength, he flew towards the exit, dragging his friends with him.

Unable to aim anymore, the dragon just started shooting aimlessly, mostly hitting the wall. His beams were getting weak already, but Rei felt a sharp, freezing pain run though his body when the dragon shot right in front of him, barely missing. At the same time, he realized the shooting finally stopped. The spell had finally taken the full effect. Almost dizzy with relieve, Rei flew to the exit and landed, being caught by Ruka.

"Rei!" The silver haired angel looked at him worriedly. "Were you hit? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"N-no. It just missed," he replied shakily, looking back at Shin and Yuda. Yuda looked exhausted, but besides that they were both unharmed. And also looking at him with concern.

"It was too close not to have affected you," Shin said. "It was already weakened, but…"

"I'm fine…" Rei interrupted him, not wanting everyone to worry about him again. "J-just… a little cold." So cold, his entire body felt a bit numb, actually, but that would fade as soon as they got moving again, right? At least, he hoped so. Besides, he couldn't make Yuda heal him right now, his friend was tired enough already. "L-let's just… walk on."

"Are you sure…" Ruka started.

"I'm fine," Rei replied, a bit snappy. "Let's just go before the spell wears off and that dragon will be able to move again."

Reluctantly, Ruka agreed, and they started walking again. It did took some effort to keep up with them, Rei noticed. Somehow, his body seemed slower than usual, and the numbness wasn't fading at all. Instead, it was getting worse. Refusing to worry his friends even more, he kept on walking. So cold. Wasn't I supposed to get warmer, now that they were moving away from that dragon? And why didn't his friends seem to notice anything? Or… was it just him who felt this cold? That dragon's attack… what damage had it done exactly?

Shivering all over his body, but unable to warm himself even a bit, Rei tried to remember about what the book had said about the dragon. He had read it, not Shin, so he couldn't trust on his friend's photographic memory on this. Vaguely, he remembered something about a curse, but… Too cold to think, he gave up. Wait, hadn't Ruka searched for a way to defeat that beast? Then maybe he remembered. But asking would mean worrying them all.

When even his breathing became more difficult, due to the intense cold, he knew he had to be realistic. Better worry them than slowly freeze to death, which would make them feel far worse. A bit clumsily, he grabbed the arm of the person closest to him, as usual Ruka. His angel looked around with a concerned look on his face. "Rei? What's wrong?"

Slightly dizzy, Rei kept holding him. "I'm so cold. I think… that dragon's blow did do something."

"His blow actually hit you?" When Rei nodded quietly, Ruka stood still and turned around so fast, Rei bumped against him. "Don't you remember reading what that could do?"

Rei softly shook his head, leaning into Ruka a bit heavier. He barely noticed the others were standing around him too, until Shin laid a hand on his shoulder. "Y-you're freezing!" the blue-haired angel gasped.

"That dragon's attack, it freezes you from the inside," Ruka told, his voice nearly trembling from pure fear. "Rei, you should have said something immediately!"

"Sorry…" Rei mumbled, feeling close to crying. What it really that bad? And the cold kept getting worse, starting to hurt somewhere really deep inside. "Ouch…" he groaned, closing his eyes. He felt Ruka's arms around him, and also felt him tensing when noticing how terribly cold Rei was.

"Yuda, can you heal him?" Shin asked, his voice trembling.

"Not entirely, just the physical aspect. The magical part has to wear off on its own, but since the dragon was already weakened, Rei should be able to get through that." Rei felt him laying a hand on his shoulder. "Ruka, could you sit down with him, with his back against you?"

Ruka did as he was told, and Rei felt relieved not to have to stand any longer. With his eyes still closed, he slumped against his beloved, feeling Ruka lowering his embrace towards Rei's abdomen. Yuda had to aim his healing powers at the point where Rei had been hit, his chest. He felt someone opening his angel rope a bit, and then felt Yuda's lips. It hurt a but when feeling started to return to his body, but the almost paralyzing, cold numbness stayed. Guess that was the magic part. At least he was able to feel Ruka's warm body against him now, which was more than a bit comforting.

Still scared, but at least a little less, Ruka felt Rei's body getting just cold, instead of the icy, unnatural freezing it had been. Yuda slowly pulled back, his face a bit pale. "That's all I can do," he said softly, trembling a bit.

"Yuda?" Shin asked worriedly, softly touching his angel's shoulder. Ruka saw Yuda's eyes sliding shut. "Shin!" Warned by Ruka, Shin was just in time to kneel behind Yuda and catch him. The red-haired angel didn't respond at all.

"I think the spell and the healing were a bit too much too handle for his body," Shin sighed. "Well, we'd better stay here anyway. The way out of the caves will be at least a few hours, and both Rei and Yuda need rest right now."

"Can't I do anything to help Rei?" Ruka asked, desperate not to be entirely powerless.

"Just hold him," Shin replied. "Most of these type of curses don't actually cause harm themselves, they just prevent the body from working normally. His body is probably unable to warm itself right now, so he'll need external warmth."

"We'll sit close too, right Goh?" Gai immediately offered. Goh nodded in agreement, and they sat down against the wall. Ruka still held Rei tightly in his arms, Gai sat beside him, also having his arms around Rei, and Goh did the same on Rei's other side. Shin sat next to Gai, holding Yuda. The red-haired angel wasn't really in any danger, or any need to be kept warm, but Shin didn't want to let go of him right now. Yuda would never let go of him either, that was for sure.

Right now, his angel looked so beautiful and quiet, his face relaxed, and laying warmly in Shin's arms. Still, there was one thing bugging him. Though no one dared to say it our loud, it was a very realistic chance that not all of them would come back alive, and they couldn't do anything about that, except hoping they would be lucky. But this thing was, what if Yuda or he wouldn't make it? Then they'd never get the chance to get to the point in their relationship, were Ruka and Rei already were. And they'd never get to kiss.

With a shaky sigh, he pulled Yuda closer. The red-haired angel sighed softly, but didn't wake up. Though he knew how much Yuda needed to rest right now, Shin almost wished he'd wake up. He didn't know how it had been for Ruka and Rei, or who had taken the first step, but when Yuda would wake up… Would he dare to kiss him? Or should he wait until Yuda did? But if Yuda was also waiting for him, they'd never get anywhere, right? So…

"Shin?" Gai asked suddenly, making Shin look up startled. "You okay? You're so quiet."

"Sorry. I… was only thinking. Nothing important." Well, nothing of importance to them or their journey, anyway. "Has Rei already warmed up a little?" he asked, to change the subject.

"A little," Ruka replied. "How long do you think he'll stay unconscious?"

"I don't know. Maybe in a few hours, but hopefully a lot sooner."

"I hope he'll wake up soon," Gai said quietly. "It's scary how cold and silent he is."

"He's already a lot less cold than some minutes ago," Goh commented.

After that conversation, it stayed silent for nearly an hour, until Rei finally stirred a bit, weakly moving his head. Immediately, Ruka tightened his grip on him. "Rei? Can you hear me?"

"Hm? Yeah. Just… a bit dizzy," Rei mumbled, blinking a few times, before slowly opening his eyes and looking around. "Yuda? What…" Shin could tell by the look in Rei's eyes that he remembered what had happened. "He had to heal me?"

"Yes. But don't worry, he's all right. Just tired," Shin tried to reassure him.

"I'm so sorry," Rei said softly, lowering his gaze to the ground.

"You nearly died," Ruka said, placing his hand softly on Rei's cheek, forcing his beloved to look at him. "You should worry about yourself, you've been unconscious for almost an hour. How are you feeling?"

"A little cold, still. But otherwise fine," Rei replied quietly. "But… I shouldn't have gotten hurt. Then Yuda wouldn't have had to heal me."

"You got hurt because you came back for Yuda and me. Or else Yuda wouldn't even be able to ever heal someone again," Shin reminded him. "Either way, I do hope Yuda will wake up soon too. Then we can get out of these caves."

"Yeah. It'll be warmer on the other side, right?" Gai asked.

"If our research is right, we should end up in a forest again, with an average temperature," Shin replied.

"And with no dragons," Rei mumbled. "Luckily."

Ruka smiled softly and kissed him on his cheek. Rei's face immediately turned bright red. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"T-thanks," Rei stuttered, a small smile appearing on his beautiful face.

Gai grinned, but surprisingly didn't make a comment on it. "I hope we can find something to eat in that forest," he said instead.

"Me too," Ruka sighed.

Shin didn't comment. Looking silently at Yuda, he saw how tired his angel still looked. He probably would stay asleep for a while. But unlike Rei had been, he didn't really need to lay still or anything. "We could leave now, if we'll carry Yuda. I think I can carry him for some time, but we would have to take turns."

"Won't he mind?" Goh asked.

"I'm sure not," Shin replied. If anything, Yuda would mind if he'd inadvertently force his friends to keep longer in these ice caves than absolutely necessary. Carefully, he lifted his friend onto his back and stood up. Yuda weighed less than he had thought, but it still took him some effort to find his balance. Though the difference wasn't that huge, Yuda was taller than Shin, which made it a little awkward to carry him like this. But it did distract him from what he had been thinking about earlier, which was a good thing. If he thought about it too much, he might lose the courage to finally kiss his beloved.

Watching Ruka and Rei also standing up, Ruka gently helping Rei up, Shin felt a bit envious of them. Before they had left for this quest, that morning in the kitchen, Ruka had said that it wouldn't take long before Yuda and Shin would get to the same point in their relationship. To the point where they actually both knew for sure the other saw it as a relationship too. No doubt Yuda loved him, and of course Shin loved him too, and always would so. But it would be nice to be able to talk and act to each other like Rei and Ruka did.

His friends started walking, and Shin quickly followed, trying to just stop thinking for a while. It wouldn't do him any good to make himself nervous about anything. As long as Yuda wasn't even awake, there was nothing Shin could do anyway. Staring at the ground, he walked after his friends for a while.

"Shin?" Rei suddenly asked softly. The blue-haired angel looked up a bit startled, and realized he hadn't noticed at all that Rei was now walking next to him. His friend looked at him a bit guilty. "I'm sorry you have to carry him now."

"Stop apologizing already," Shin sighed. "It's not your fault. On the contrary, even."

Rei didn't reply. Instead, he lowered his gaze to the ground. "Shin?"

"Yes?" Shin looked at him a bit worried. Rei didn't look back.

"I… I'm so scared about that part we have to go through Hell," he mumbled so quietly, only Shin could hear him. Who knows what we might encounter? Even the books didn't know." His voice was trembling a little.

"We're all worried about that, I'm sure," Shin replied, just a quietly. "But we have each other, and more importantly, Yuda and Ruka need to have us. But… how come you're thinking about that right now?"

"I… I was just thinking… If me, or you, wouldn't make it until there, would Ruka and Yuda manage to survive through that place? That thought just startled me, and I didn't want Ruka to be concerned about me. Knowing him, he'd feel guilty about making me worry, and he would try to make me stop thinking about it. But the danger is real, so I'd rather just talk about it like it is." He smiled softly. "Sorry, that probably came out a bit incoherent."

"I do understand what you mean," Shin sighed. "And you're right, we should definitely be worried about it. Emotionally, it'll probably be the hardest part, but technically, it's not any more dangerous that some other places we'll have to travel through. Best thing we can do is just worry about where we are now, and make sure we get through it to the next place."

Rei shot him a thankful glance. "That's true." He sighed. "Why can't I just think so rationally?"

Shin chuckled. "At least you don't over-think things too much. I often keep worrying about thing because I think what you call 'rational'. You're better at saying exactly what you feel. At least, when you're not too shy to, or just don't want to do so." A bit uncertain he looked at his friend, wondering if Rei wouldn't be offended by that last statement. But his friend just smiled faintly.

"Well, at least we all fill in each other's blanks."

Before Shin could reply, he suddenly felt Yuda stirring a bit. "Ah, Yuda? Are you waking up?"

"Hm? S-Shin?" Slowly, Yuda opened his eyes and realized it actually was his beloved who was carrying him. "Shin! Put me down, you could hurt your back."

"Yuda, I'm not made of glass," Shin replied quietly, but did stop walking and allowed Yuda to climb off his back. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it was just the exhaustion that got a little too much." He looked at Rei, who was looking at the floor a bit uncertain. Yuda understood immediately how Rei must have felt, blaming himself as usual. "Rei? Are you not cold anymore?"

Rei immediately shook his head. "I'm completely okay. Thanks for healing me."

"You thanks for saving me and Shin." The others had stopped walking too, looking at him slightly concerned. "Eh… Shall we walk on?"

"Just say so if you need to rest. Same goes for you, Rei," Ruka said, before they went on. With a sigh, Yuda shot a glance at Rei, which Rei returned, both with the same 'can't they stop worrying?' expression in their eyes. Shin, who was still looking at them, chuckled softly, and Yuda couldn't help but to smile at him. He looked so cute right now.

Discretely, Rei sped up a little until he walked next to Ruka again. Gai and Goh were walking in front of them, leaving Yuda and Shin with some privacy. Now that no one was watching them, Shin suddenly looked a bit nervous. "Something wrong?" Yuda asked softly.

"N-no. Not at all." Almost shyly, Shin lifted up his head to look him in the eyes. "Eh… Yuda?" he asked, almost whispering.

Yuda came a bit closer to him, assuming Shin wanted to ask something he felt unsure about. Before he even realized what his angel did, he felt those warm, soft lips pressed on his, suddenly cutting his breath. Still, he felt no tendency at all to step away. Instead, he quickly looked in front of them to see if no one was paying attention to them. Their friends were all watching in front of them, hoping to finally see the end of this tunnel. Perfect.

Before Shin even had the time to wonder why Yuda had broke their kiss, the red-haired angel placed one of his hands on Shin's cheek and kissed him again, this time slower. He felt his beloved angel shivering slightly, and grabbing the front of his angel rope. Had he scared Shin? No, the frail, blue-haired angel seemed just as passionate and enjoying this as Yuda did. It wasn't until their friends started talking to again, and the chance became big that they would get noticed, that they broke their kiss. Just in time, before Goh looked back at them.

"You two okay? You're so quiet.

Shin was blushing and still trying to catch his breath so unnoticeable as possible, so Yuda replied. "W-We're fine."

Now everyone was looking, but luckily only Ruka and Rei seemed to realize what they had been doing. If Gai would find out, he wouldn't stop teasing them until they were done with this quest. If they were lucky. Since both Shin and Yuda didn't return their looks, their friends returned their gaze at the path in front of them. Suddenly, Gai jumped up a little. "There's light! I think we're almost at the end of the caves.

Suddenly, all attention was focused on where Gai was pointing, and Shin's face finally returned to its original color, just a few shade more red than normal. Indeed, there was the end of the tunnel, finally. As if it was agreed on beforehand, they all ran the last few meters, before standing still to breath in the fresh air of the forest. Unlike the forest on the other side of the caves, there were faint bird sounds here. Though Yuda knew what creatures dwelled here, according to their research, this place felt a lot more normal and lively than the other forest and the ice caves together.

Suddenly, Shin grabbed his hand at leaned into him a bit. "So… we're now officially…"

"A couple. Yes." Yuda whispered back. To Yuda, the relieved, truly happy look on Shin's face, was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.

Wow… this is probably the longest chapter until now O.O' The last part was mainly Shin/Yuda, but they finally are really a couple =3 Seriously though, I don't know how I managed to write this despite all the tests I had to do at school last week. Hm… I don't think I want to know my grades XD

Will update soon^^