Disclaimer:  We do not own Digimon.  We just like writing about them.

A/N:  Many thanks for the nice reviews you guys left for the previous two chapters.

Pandora's Icebox—Chapter three

By Fenris5000—Angelica

            A few hours dragged by, and Tai awoke to a chattering sound.  He opened his eyes and squinted into the darkness.  The fire had gotten pretty low after both he and TK had nodded off.

            "What's that terrible noise?" He grumbled, sitting up, yawning hugely.

            "My teeth." Came the quiet response.

            "Huh?" Tai said, feeling kind of sleepy still.

            "My teeth." Matt repeated from his prone position.  "If you have a problem with it, then I suggest you go find another cave." His teeth continued to chatter.

            Tai ambled over and noticed TK had spread some socks on Matt's forehead that were leaking water down Matt's temples and into his hair.  "Aw cute.  Hey Matt, TK put a pair of snow-filled socks on your head."

            Matt pulled an arm out of the parka and reached up to remove the socks.  "Well the snow is long gone.  And it's making me cold."

            "That's the idea!"

            "Then why do you guys have me all bundled up in TK's parka?"

            Tai pouted, taking the socks.  "Hey, don't ask me, I'm not exactly a doctor."

            Matt nodded, still shivering.  "Well you're not exactly a boy scout either.  Is your fire out or what?  I'm freezing."

            Tai grabbed his stick and started prodding the fire carefully.  "You're lucky you're sick and injured, Ishida, or I'd have to teach you some manners."

            TK's head popped up.  "Hey, are you threatening my big brother?" He asked sleepily, sitting up and stretching.  He eyed his two companions suspiciously.  "Hey, what happened to the fire?"

            "I'll get it going again." Tai said in an annoyed tone.  "Sheesh, some people get all excited about nothing."

            TK reached over and placed his hand on Matt's forehead.  He nodded thoughtfully.  "I think it's getting cooler."

            Matt rolled his eyes.  "Well duh, you put snow on it, I guess it might get cooler."

            TK grabbed the nearby thermos lid and grinned evilly.  "Well since you're awake, you might as well try to get some water down." He had filled the cup before going to sleep, in case Matt awoke and needed some.  He lifted Matt's head and shoulders off the floor and supported him.  "Your forehead is cooler, but your back is still hot and sweaty." He laid his brother back down.

            "The parka is keeping me nice and toasty warm." Matt said, grinning.

            Tai frowned.  He had finally gotten the fire going strong again.  "Hey, I thought you said you were freezing."

            "TK said I'm hot and sweaty." Matt laughed.  "How can I be freezing?" He clutched his ribs, moaning slightly.  "Owww."

            "Easy Matt." TK said soothingly.  "Here, have an energy bar." He had dug a few from the bottom of his bag.

            Matt eyed it with distaste.  He didn't really like them when he was feeling good, why would he want to choke one down while he was feeling sick?  "Maybe later." He said.  He struggled to sit up again, his head was feeling a little bit better after his sleep, but his back was getting sore.  He was probably laying on a rock or something.

            TK helped him up and eased him up against the wall of the cave.  "Come on, just one bite?"

            "I'll have one." Tai stated.  He was suddenly famished.  Maybe if Matt saw Tai munching, he'd change his mind.  "Mmmm.  Raspberry chocolate, my favorite."

            Matt made a face.  He looked at his watch with a sigh.

            TK ripped open the wrapper of one of the remaining bars and broke a small piece off and handed it to his brother.  "Come on Matt, its peanut butter.  You love peanut butter and chocolate." He watched as Matt sniffed it.  "Besides, it's good for you."

            Matt broke it in half.  "I don't have any appetite for it TK, but I am still a little bit thirsty."

            TK jumped up.  "I'll go get you some more water.  I'll be right back." He grabbed the thermos lid and bolted for the cave exit.

            Tai watched as Matt rubbed his eyes.  "You'd better eat it Matt.  TK will have a nervous breakdown if you don't."

            The blond sighed, eyeing the two pieces of tough chocolate.  Just the thought of them made his temples throb.  "Tai, are you finished yours?"

            Tai was still chewing.  "No.  They are kind of chewy." He was running his tongue around his teeth trying to get the gooey nougat out of them.

            "I have a headache Tai.  Do you think all that chewing is really going to help me?"

            Tai frowned.  "Well I don't know.  We just want you to get some food in you.  We're worried about you." He smiled.  "If you really don't want to eat it, I don't care, but TK'll know, and he might not be very impressed."

            TK came back in with a cup full of snow.  He nodded.  "Yeah, what he said." He placed the cup near the flames again.  "It stopped snowing finally." He watched the orange flames lick the cup.  "It's almost daylight, so I think I'll head back to the lodge to see if I can get some help."

            Matt shook his head.  "No way.  If you get lost…" He broke off to start coughing, he grabbed his ribs and his eyes were tightly closed.

            Tai reached for the first aid kit.  "Yummy.  It looks like its time for some more of that tasty cough syrup."

            Matt was still trying to stop coughing.  He glared at Tai through red watering eyes.

            "Here, take this quick." The big haired teen handed the bottle to the finally recovering Matt.  "Drink it before you start up again."

            The blond leaned back, breathing in gasps, accepting the small bottle with a curled lip.

            TK got up.  "Okay, take your medicine and rest easy Matt, I'm going now.  Don't worry; I'll leave a trail.  I won't get lost." He looked at Tai.  "Try not to kill each other while I'm gone, okay?"

            "Right Chief." Tai saluted.  "Here, take my coat.   I don't need it just to stay here and baby-sit." 

            A few minutes later, the two were sitting in a comfortable silence.  Matt was sipping the warmed water and Tai was fumbling around in TK's bag putting the cough medicine away.

            "Tai." Matt said finally, setting the cup down.  "Um, I'd like to apologize for not giving you the whole story and missing your game and all." He shrugged.  "Sometimes I think I would have deserved the crest of selfishness more than the crest of friendship.  I'm really sorry."

            "Hmm." Tai said, coming out of TK's bag with a handful of apples.  "Apology accepted on one condition."

            Matt nodded.  "Okay, name it." He cleared his throat.

            "You have to accept my apology first." Tai said, scratching his head, looking uncomfortable.  "Um, I was a really big first class jerk.  I can't believe I nearly let our friendship go down the toilet on account of a stupid basketball game." He handed Matt one of the apples.  "And I think I've got dibs on the crest of selfishness, Dude."

            The blond shrugged his shoulders, wincing.  "Okay, I humbly accept your apology." He took a bite out of the apple and smiled.

            "Good." Tai replied.  "And I'll er, explain everything to all the other guys.  I um, kind of tarnished your good name." He grinned sheepishly at his best friend and took a huge bite of his apple as well.

            Matt sighed.  "So that's why I was getting all those dirty looks.  I thought Sora and Mimi were mad at me for canceling our trip to the movie on Sunday."

            Tai nearly choked on his apple.  "What?  You guys were going to a movie and didn't invite me?" He spluttered.  "Huh!  Some friend you are!  I can't believe you guys would do that to me."

            "Well Tai, it's kind of hard to go to a movie with you.  If the people sitting behind you aren't asking you to remove your enormous 'hat', you are busy telling us all about the plot of the movie because you looked it's website up on the Internet." Matt stated with a grin.  "Ooh, here comes the good part—Mimi, Sora, you'd better not look!" He continued in a pretty good imitation of Tai's voice.

            "Huh!  I never do that!!" Tai shouted, taking another bite of his apple, only to get a bunch of seeds stuck in his teeth.

            "You do too!"

            "Do not!"

            "Do too!"

*     *     *

            TK leapt off the lead snowmobile the instant it stopped right at the entrance of their cave.  "Come on, they're in here!" He shouted to the ski patrol team that he'd found to help.  He didn't even reach the Chalet; they were out looking for the three boys.  Their dad had called during the night to see how they were doing, and he raised the roof when he found out that the boys had not returned to their room that evening.  Good old Dad.

            He quickly walked into the cave and was met by two very loud, angry voices.  "Matt!  Tai!" TK said smiling as he approached them.

            "And another thing!" Tai yelled, his face was as red as a tomato.  "You were right:  you do deserve the crest of selfishness--and the crest of dishonesty, and the crest of meanness, and the crest of…"

            Matt bristled.  If he was in any pain, it was obvious he couldn't feel it.  "Oh yeah?  Well at least I don't deserve the crest of stupidity, or the crest of REALLY, REALLY bad hair!"

            "Guys!" TK shouted.  "I'm here to rescue you."

            "The crest of deception is all yours!" Tai yelled.

            "Well you've got the crest of jealousy all to yourself you… you… Goggle brain!" Matt spat.

            "Matt!  Tai!  Didn't you hear me?  I've brought the ski patrol." TK said, getting between them.

            Tai's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared in anger.  "Jealous?  Of who?  You?  In your dreams Ishida."

            "Then why are you getting so mad?  You're jealous."

            The ski patrollers came in the stood beside TK.  "Which one is hurt?"

            TK pointed to Matt.  "My brother." Though at the moment he did not look injured.  He was sitting up and yelling just as loudly as Tai.

            "I'm not jealous!" Tai repeated.

            TK rubbed his ear.

            "Should we leave them and come back later?" The lady ski patroller named Leah asked TK with troubled eyes.

            TK shrugged.  "I don't know.  Maybe they'll notice us once we start moving them around and poking at them." He moved over to his brother and felt his forehead.  It still felt too warm, and now his skin was flushed and sweaty.

            "Yes you are!" Matt still had his eyes trained on Tai.

            TK took Matt by the shoulders.  "Matt, snap out of it." He shook him a few times.

            "Owww.  TK, would you quit that?" Matt gently slapped his younger brother away with a frown.  He groaned and leaned back against the wall.  "Oh.  I don't feel so good." He managed before his eyelids drifted shut.

            Tai pouted.  "Am not."

            "Would you quit that?" TK exploded.  "I thought you two had worked his whole mess out."

            Matt's eyes popped back open.  "We had."

            Tai's jaw hung open for a moment.  "Until I found out he, Sora and Mimi were sneaking off to see a movie together behind my back."

            Two other ski patrollers brought in a little metal stretcher and approached Matt cautiously.  They probably figured he'd start yelling at Tai again.

            Matt rolled his eyes.  "It was not behind your back, okay?  Do I get mad when you go with them to the movies?  The whole world doesn't revolve around you, you know." He paused as the ski patrollers lifted him onto the stretcher.  He winced.

            "Well you guys could have asked me to come along.  Maybe I wanted to see it too." Tai whined pathetically.

            "For your information." Matt began as the ski patrollers lifted the stretcher and started taking him out of the cave.  "We were going to see the exact same movie that you took Sora and Kari to last weekend."

            Tai frowned, following them.  "Well why would you guys want to see that movie?  It was dumb."

            Matt sighed.  "Mimi and I hadn't seen it, and Sora missed part of it when she had to go buy YOU another popcorn.  She wanted to see it again, and knew you hated it."

            "Oh." Tai replied softly.

            "You know Tai," TK began.  "Every time you open your mouth, you seem to end up looking like a dork." He grinned, shielding himself with his hands.  "And I mean that in the nicest way possible."

            Tai grunted.  "Okay, okay.  So I'm sorry.  Again.  So sue me already." He watched as the ski patrollers attached the stretcher to a sled on the back of a skidoo.

            "Apology accepted." Matt replied.

            TK sighed.  "Finally.  Now I think I'll have to keep you two apart for the rest of the day so you can't find something else to argue about."

            "No problem there." Leah said with a warm smile.  "I think your brother here is getting a free ride to the nearest hospital."

            "What?" Tai demanded.  "You mean you are going to take him away?  We are having a guys-bonding-weekend-thing here."

            "Tai." Matt said through gritted teeth.  "Just shut up and get on a skidoo."

            "I've got a great idea." Tai said grinning.  "TK and I will meet you at the hospital and we can continue this great weekend."

            Matt smiled.  "You'd do that for me?"

            "Sure." Tai declared.  "Shucks Dude, what are friends for?"

The End.