Author's Note: Weellll, I decided to write this because I have reawakened my love for the Toki no Byoushin arc, and because so many people are writing about Ice and Snow, I decided to write something about Ice and Dark.

Warnings: Mild language, and a SPOILER WARNING! If you have not finished the Toki no Byoushin/Second Hand of Time arc I suggest you not read unless you want some heavy spoilers.

Disclaimer: D. N. Angel © Yukiru Sugisaki with TV Tokyo/Asuka magazine and ADV/TokyoPop.

Frozen

By: Juniichi

I'm... going to do it. Now.

He stood behind a tree, watching as she dragged her finger through a small clear stream. The faint sound a waterfall along with the songs of the birds made the scene perfect for him.

Right... now…

Kyle slowly came out from behind the tree and bit his lip. He tried to flatten his already straight brown hair, in order to impress the girl only a few meters a way from him. He took in a breath and made his way over to the blond girl.

"H-hi, Freedert…"

The girl, Freedert, looked up at Kyle and smiled at him.

"Kyle! How long have you been here? Come on, sit down!"

Freedert beckoned Kyle to sit down on a rock next to her and Kyle promptly kneeled down, looking at the ground not being able to face Freedert. Freedert looked at Kyle questioningly before giggling at the brunette.

Kyle blinked and whipped his head around to look at Freedert. "What is--" Freedert's giggled turned into a laugh as she splashed Kyle with handfuls of water.

"Fre-Freedert!" Kyle sputtered through the water. "Freedert quit it!"

Freedert smiled at Kyle and wrung out her dress of some water that escaped her hands. "Fine, you little whiner," she teased.

Kyle pouted and crossed his arms. Now he had to walk back to his house in wet clothes. Or borrow some clothes from Eliot, but then he would have to endure the other boy's teasing. Freedert giggled again as she looked at Kyle's sour expression, knowing that her childhood friend couldn't really be so mad over a little water.

"It's not funny, Freedert," Kyle whined.

Freedert covered her mouth to suppress more streams of giggles. "No, no, of course it's not. Your right, Kyle."

Kyle sighed and brought his arms down. He watched as Freedert resumed dragging her fingers back and forth through the water.

"…why do you do that?"

"Hm?" Freedert stopped what she was doing and looked Kyle. "Oh, this? It's… nothing. Just something that I do, I guess."

When both had calmed down Kyle glanced at Freedert. She was looking at the water, but to Kyle, she seemed to be looking but not seeing anything. Kyle sat there for a few moments, just watching her. He silently wished that time would stand still, that they could stay like this forever.

"Kyle…"

Kyle snapped his head up from the ground to look at Freedert. Freedert gazed back at him. Once again, Kyle got the feeling that Freedert was looking at him, but she was not seeing him.

"Kyle," she sighed. "I'm… I'm glad you're here."

Kyle couldn't help but smile when she said that. He attentively reached out and put his hand over her hand. He gulped down his few remaining fears about confessing to Freedert.

"Freedert… I'm glad you're here too. And… and I'm glad that you you're happy that I'm here."

Kyle mentally groaned and scolded himself. Stupid, stupid--! Agh! That made no sense at all!

Freedert giggled at the jumble of words that Kyle used and he grinned sheepishly back at her. At least he got Freedert out of that solemn attitude for a moment.

"Thank you, Kyle. It's nice to know that I have such a close friend." Freedert got up for a moment, but then kneeled back down. Kyle looked at Freedert, initially confused. His confusion cleared when Freedert planted a light kiss on his cheek. Kyle just stared straight ahead, while Freedert got up and left rather quickly.

After Freedert was gone Kyle slowly put a hand to the check Freedert kissed. He broke into a grin and started laughing.

Freedert… Freedert kissed me! Freedert kissed me!

He fell onto his back, just laughing and reliving the moment in his mind.

"Sheesh, Kyle, trying to scare off all potential predators? Or is that your natural laugh?"

Kyle opened one eye and looked up at the intrusion. He saw a blond haired boy looked back down at him. He opened both eyes and put on a frown.

"Eliot," he stated flatly.

Eliot rolled his eyes and sat down rather unceremoniously next to where Kyle was lying down. "Ecstatic to see to too, Kyle."

Kyle grinned at his friend and sat upright in an instant. "Yeah, I know how much you wanted to see me, Eliot."

"Oh yeah," Eliot sad sarcastically, again rolling his eyes. "I searched through the whole damn forest just trying to find you."

"Heh, I knew it!" Kyle said at Eliot, falling playfully in his lap and hugging him around the waist. "You love me, don't you?" Eliot roughly pushed Kyle off and Kyle pouted at Eliot, folding his arms across his chest.

"Whatever, Kyle. Have you seen Freedert anywhere?" Eliot questioned, losing his sarcastic tone for a moment.

"Hm? Freedert? Yeah, I was just with a little while ago. I don't know where she went though."

Eliot shrugged and got up off the ground and dusted off his pants and tunic. He turned around to face Kyle.

"Well, if you see her again, tell her I'll be at the village square."

"All right."

Kyle watched Eliot walk away and smiled. He wondered, for a moment, what would happen to Eliot if he and Freedert were together. He laid back down and let his mind wander, thinking about Freedert and how she kissed him earlier today.

That settles it! Tomorrow I'll tell Freedert!

Kyle got up and started off in the direction of his house.

:-:-:-:-:-:

"But Eliot… why you? Why do you have to…?"

"Shh, Freedert. I'm the warlord's son. It's my duty to fight."

"I know but…"

"Don't worry Freedert. I'll be fine."

"Eliot…"

Kyle was crouched behind a group of large bushes. He stared out ahead while listening to the conversation only a few meters away from him. He knew the voices that were speaking, yet he couldn't believe what they were talking about.

"Freedert," he whispered.

It seemed so obvious now. While he was listening the words kept repeating in his mind, he put together clues, and he came with a conclusion. It should have been obvious to him, especially to him, but he didn't see it. He didn't see it until it was too late.

He turned around a fraction and peeked through the hedges.

I shouldn't be doing this. Eliot… Freedert…

I shouldn't do this.

His body ignored his mind's words as he kept looking and listening.

"Can't you talk to your father, Eliot? Make him understand?"

"You know I can't do that Freedert. It's my obligation to fight. I have to do this."

"Eliot…"

Kyle saw them share an embrace. He watched them, just being together. He imagined it was him Freedert was embracing, but he soon transformed into Eliot, and he was lost forever.

Freedert…

:-:-:-:-:-:

He watched, hidden from his two childhood friends as they hugged one last time before Eliot finally mounted his horse and drove off. He watched as Freedert fell to the ground crying. He wanted to go and comfort her, but he was too afraid. What if she rejected him? What if Eliot came back suddenly?

He watched as Freedert prayed to the local god, she would sit there for hours, praying for Eliot's safe return. And when she was gone, Kyle prayed too. He prayed for Eliot's death, that their god would take away his time.

While he prayed he vaguely remembered about how the statue of their god got to the town. He remembered a foreign man by the name of Hikari donated the statue to the town. He was young so he couldn't remember what the stranger looked like, but now he thanked the foreigner for giving them the image of their god.

"Please, take away his time. Make him gone forever."

:-:-:-:-:-:

"Kyle!"

Kyle turned around and saw Freedert running toward him. Kyle tried to avoid Freedert for weeks and this was the first time in a while they talked face to face. He frowned when Freedert came running toward him, but tried to look curious.

"Kyle," Freedert hugged Kyle. "Kyle, he's gone!"

Kyle looked at Freedert and pushed back his hat.

"Freedert, you're not making sense. Who's gone?"

"Eliot!" Freedert sobbed out. "It's Eliot! He died! He died and he was hardly gone for a few weeks! Kyle, Eliot's dead."

Kyle looked at her from shock. Eliot died? He… died. His time…

Kyle pushed away Freedert's crying form and headed to the local church. Freedert looked at Kyle with tears clinging to her eyelashes.

"Kyle…" She called out, just barley enough for him to here. "Kyle, don't go…"

Kyle walked away from her, to give thanks to their god.

:-:-:-:-:-:

"FREEDERT!"

Kyle ran up the aisle to Freedert's body. His eyes widened as he looked down at her body and felt her skin. She was colder than a winter's night. She was dead.

Freedert was gone.

"Freedert… Freedert! FREEDERT!"

He clutched the dead body and wept into her hair. His Freedert was gone. Her time was up, but why? How?

"Please, give him all my time."

"Eliot…" he whispered.

He placed the body on the ground and left the church, before Eliot came back. He didn't want to see Eliot anymore.

"Give her all the time that I have left!"

"Eliot…" he whispered.

He sat in the dark, dipping his quill into the ink and signed his name on the bottom of a blank page. Eliot came back, just like he thought. Then Eliot prayed for Freedert's time, but he should have been the one to give Freedert life. He loved her, more than Eliot ever would. But now Freedert was waiting, waiting for Eliot to come back, waiting for Eliot to rise from the dead.

Kyle would not be the one to give up his time. Not for Eliot.

Freedert would wait forever, just waiting, waiting for someone who would never come to her. He would come for her, but Freedert didn't want him.

All she wanted was Eliot.

Freedert… I'm sorry. I wish I could give Eliot my time, make you happy again. See you smile again.

But I love you.

And Kyle waited too. He sat in the dark and waited for someone who would never come to him.

Juniichi: I always wanted to see the events from Ice and Dark from Kyle's perspective, so that's how this was born. Anyway, I'm such a grammar freak, so if you see anything incorrect don't hesitate to tell me. Constructive criticism is always loved.