—ZN—

Two updates, in two days? How do I do it? laughs happily cough, cough Erm, yeah. Anyway!

Had to, honestly had to… a note to Averon, my dearest twin sister… I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT!!! looks around the cave for something to throw picks up Satoshi's book

(Satoshi) HEY, that's MINE! snatches it back and glares

pouts You're no fun. throws pictures of fluffy, cuddly-looking rabid bunnies at twin half-heartedly Daisuke's mine! … or rather, Wufei's… ish deathly afraid of having the Shenlong Gundam stomp on her as she sleeps heh…

To Heather Christi, I accept your challenge!! laughs maniacally Bring in the rubber duckie brigade!

To Heather Christi again (sorry, different review I'm responding to) pertaining the blunette/blunet thing. Actually, I didn't know brunet was a word (had to look it up), but the dictionary I looked it up in said brunette and brunet were synonymous, and since I'd seen brunette used to describe both males and females, I figured blunet and blunette were the same way… besides, I'm used to typing "nette" and it confuses me to have to change things…

Now that I've had my moments—

(Duo) Get on with it.

glares —on with chapter seven.

Tmp tmp tmp tmp tmp tmp. Man, that scary old house can't be far, even in the dark. I know it was around here… Tmp tmp tmp tmp.

I kept a sharp lookout as I ran. Even in the dark my vision was well, better than other children my age's. I'd been running for about twenty minutes now and I wasn't even winded—part of the training my mother and grandfather had been putting me through. They don't tell me why when I ask them, but I do as they ask anyway. Mum says tomorrow I get to try and crack the safe at the bank—if I can, I get ice cream.

I can't wait.

The tall iron gates loomed ahead, and I skidded to a stop. Boy, they were tall, taller than I remembered. And scarier. The lamp on the street corner was dim; I'd have to get my daddy to fix it next time he came home. I stood on the bottom lining of the gate and tried to reach the latch. A few more inches… I stood on my tiptoes, but it didn't help. If only I was older.

Only one way left. I hopped down off the fence and turned and ran across the street. That girl was back again, I could hear her breathing, see her watching me from around the corner. That was okay, she could wait; I'd be right back.

Pattapattapattapattapatta, fwoom! I jumped and cleared the gate, barely. Wee, this is fun! I'm flying, I'm flying! . . . I'm falling, I'm falling!

I put my feet down underneath me and landed running. Up the walk and to the door, and the girl at the gate was swallowed up by the darkness. That was okay, I needed to concentrate on getting in and out.

The door was unlocked, how easy was that? I stood on my tiptoes and tugged at the door handle until it came open, then ran inside. The floor beneath me was hardwood, and my footsteps echoed eerily. It took a moment, but I remembered my manners and slid off my shoes before continuing.

Fwumpfwumpfwump. Without my shoes, my steps were a lot duller in sound. I ran through the doorway before me and ended up in a humongous entryway. There was a huge stairs in front of me, with a red line going up the middle—carpeting. That would be a nice way to go up. On both sides of the stairs there were closets, really big ones. I couldn't reach the handles on them, so it looked like the only place I had to go was up. So I did.

Thumpthumpthumpthump. Up and up I went, and—there it was! Sitting pretty as you please on the table at the top of the stairs was the girl's bear. Earlier I'd knocked it out of her arms when I missed the ball my friend threw to me, and the ball bounced and the bear went flying over the fence. I was too scared to get the bear earlier—a scary man had come out of the house and got it—but now I wasn't afraid. Now it was dark and the man couldn't see me, and I had my lucky rubber duckie mommy gave me once. It was small and fit in my pocket.

I stood on my tiptoes and jumped and managed to knock the bear off the table. It was brown and fuzzy, fluffy and soft, with a green ribbon tied around its neck. I slid down the banister on the stairs and clutched it to my chest. So soft and silky… maybe I wouldn't have to give it back to her right away… I stroked the top of the bear's head and snuggled my cheek against it. It was so warm and cuddly…

The banister ended and I landed on my bottom with a hard thunk on the floor at the bottom. Then there was a loud crack—

Daisuke jerked awake at the sound. He lay there, panting in the darkness. That dream again… From before they gave me up… But why? What's it all about? More to soothe himself, he kept stroking the silky teddy bear beside him. Wait, a teddy bear? I don't own a bear, that was that girl's…He glanced to the side.

The blunette detective was curled up beside him, head resting on the redhead's chest. Daisuke had had his fingers tangled in Satoshi's hair, mistaking its silky texture for that of the teddy he'd rescued from the Haunted House back when he was a child. For a moment he paused his hand's journey in combing out Satoshi's locks—or tangling them worse, he was doing both—and stared blankly at the blunette's face. What's going on with me?

Another loud crash rent the air and Satoshi's body jumped, tightened around his, and the detective whimpered. It was then Daisuke noticed the glittering the darkness and realized Satoshi hadn't been asleep.

"Don't stop," the detective whispered hoarsely.

"Hiwatari-kun? What is it?" Daisuke started to sit up, thought the better of it, and wrapped his arms around Satoshi lightly. The blunette was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

A harsh laugh sounded from the older boy's throat. "I guess now would not be the best time to state I have a totally irrational phobia of blizzards, would it?" He seemed to be talking more to himself than to Daisuke, but the redhead listened quietly. "Rainstorms I can handle, thunderstorms are better. Snow is lovely, sleet is okay, hail's pushing it, but stick me in a blizzard, and…" He shuddered. "It's stupid, really…"

Daisuke didn't say anything but resumed the stroking motion of his hand through Satoshi's hair and down his back lightly. A sudden thought struck him and he ducked his head close to the other boy's. "Satoshi," he breathed into his ear.

The detective shivered in his arms. "Nani?" he whispered back.

A tired grin spread across Daisuke's face as he sang softly, "Rubber Duckie, you're the one…you make bath time lots of fun…Rubber Duckie, I'm awfully fond of you."

Satoshi stopped shivering and lay there in his arms, blinking. Slowly, "Niwa-kun…? Rubber duckie?" he choked out.

Now Daisuke was giggling, but he managed to sing around it. "Rubber Duckie, joy of joys. When I squeeze you, you make noise. Do you make noise, Hiwatari-kun?" He squeezed the boy in his arms experimentally and was pleased to no end when he got in return a smothered laugh. "That's better! Rubber Duckie, you're my very best friend, it's true!"

"What are you talking about, Niwa-kun?" Slowly Satoshi was forgetting about the raging storm outside and began to enjoy himself.

Daisuke started swinging his hands to the music only he could hear and continued, "Every day when I make my way to the tubby, I find a little fella who's cute and yellow and chubby! Come on, Satoshi, you've got to know part of this song. Every child who has ever watched the show knows it. Sing with me now." He grinned and nudged the detective in the ribs.

Satoshi was laughing too hard to sing along, but he managed somehow to squeak out the backup parts, the doo-doo-doo's and the rub-a-dub-a-dubbies. By the time they finished the song, the both of them were writhing on the pallet with the blankets twisted about them, rolling with laughter and clutching at their sides.

"Rub-a-dub-a-dubby!" Satoshi giggled as they calmed down somewhat. "Where did that come from, Daisuke?" He sighed with contentment and the last of his giggles as he rested his cocked head on the younger boy's chest.

"The middle of the bathtub." He grinned. "Really, it was just to make you smile," Daisuke answered softly. Absently his hands went back to caressing the blunette's hair.

He sighed again and snuggled into the touch. "Hn…"

The laughter subsided until they were quiet, content to be close in the darkness of the cave. The storm raged outside, but as long as Daisuke stroked away the phobia, Satoshi didn't allow himself to think of it. Finally he realized that he was starting to shiver again, this time with cold. He sat up to do something about it.

Suddenly a grating noise echoed through their haven, and there was granddaddy of all eruptions as outside something big shifted. A crash heavy and deep enough shook the entire mountain beneath them, and dust and rock powder sprinkled on them from above. Satoshi leaned over Daisuke, shielding the younger boy's body with his own as the pebbles and dirt came filtering down. Daisuke was reminded of the day before—had it only been the morning before?—when Satoshi had shoved him against the lockers and hid him from sight of the vice principal. He stared up into Satoshi's face.

As quickly as it began, it was over again, and there were no further arguments from the earth. Slowly Satoshi pulled away from over him. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, almost afraid to speak.

"Fine," Daisuke answered just as quietly. "You?"

"Fine." Satoshi sat back on his heels and looked around, but he could see only as well as he could've thirty seconds ago, which was to say not very well. Nothing looked different. He shook the dust from his hair. "I'm going outside to see what that was. I'll be right back."

Briefly Daisuke's hand touched his hair, then he dropped it. "Okay. Be careful."

Satoshi grinned though he knew Daisuke probably couldn't see. "I will be." Cautiously he crawled over the boy and over towards the entrance.

He was halfway through the tunnel leading to the outside world when he had to stop. The tunnel was sealed up the rest of the way by a thick pile of icy snow crystals, frozen together into one lump. They bit into his hands as he tried to shift them. There was no telling how far this pile extended, but even lying flat on his back and pushing against the icy rock he couldn't budge it. They were well and truly caught.

Numbly the detective crawled back into the cavern and towards Daisuke. He stopped as he sat down on the pallet beside the injured boy and pulled his duffel bag into his lap. As he fished around for another candle and his lighter, he heard Daisuke's quiet voice behind him. "How bad is it?"

Do I tell him, or no? Satoshi wondered. "Oh, not too awful," he answered with a forced cheerfulness after a moment. "How are you feeling?"

Daisuke saw right through him. "We're stuck in here, aren't we? That sliding was an avalanche."

"Wh-whatever gave you th-th-that idea?"

"You're stuttering, for one." Daisuke reached around him and rested one hand on Satoshi's. "And you've been turning the flint on that lighter for the past twenty seconds, but all you're doing is making sparks." Gently he squeezed Satoshi's hand. "It'll be all right, Detective, really."

Satoshi nodded, but didn't say anything. Finally he got the lighter to light and lit the wick of the candle, then another, and another, until he had enough light to comfort him. In the flickering candlelight he could see the worry lines creasing Daisuke's milk-pale features, thrown into shock by the ruby of his hair and eyes. Daisuke wasn't worried about being trapped, he realized, he was worried about him. Bravely he tried to smile and was sure he failed miserably when the redhead grimaced.

So he changed the subject. "You didn't answer my other question. How are you feeling?"

"I'll survive," Daisuke said softly. "It's getting cold in here again."

The detective surveyed the damage they'd done to their bedding. The blankets were twisted up into ropes around the redhead's waist, and the bottom pallets had been unfolded and bunched up. As gently as he could, Satoshi straightened the bottom blankets without moving Daisuke, then shook out and draped the top blankets back over him. "Don't worry," he said as he did this, "we'll leave a few of the candles burning. The hot spring in the corner will give off enough oxygen, and there's some kind of venting in here, otherwise there'd be too much steam for us to breathe. So we'll just go back to sleep for a bit. In the morning you can bathe and get bundled up better while I think of a way to get us out of here."

"Okay." Daisuke lay there and watched the detective. Satoshi's hands were shaking horribly from nerves caused by the storm, and his face was turning pink with cold. As he leaned down to tuck the blankets around Daisuke, the redhead grabbed his wrist gently. "Are you going to sleep with me again?" He tried not to blush. "It's getting cold."

For a moment, the blunette searched his eyes in the dim candlelight, then nodded and slid under the sheets himself. Daisuke took both of the older boy's hands between his own and chafed them gently, urging circulation through the veins. He lifted Satoshi's fingertips to his lips and breathed on them, warm moist air. Satoshi could only stare at him as Daisuke began massaging his palms and fingertips.

Uneasily Daisuke looked away. "Well, if I don't get you warmed up, how am I supposed to warm up?" he sniped in answer to the unasked question. "Besides, if I'm going to wake up with your hands on my back again, I don't want them to be blocks of ice."

Satoshi noted Daisuke's need to change the subject and nearly smiled, though he was confused himself. "Go to sleep, Daisuke, I'll be fine."

But as they shifted themselves until they were comfortable, this time Daisuke's body was draped around Satoshi's. The redhead rested his cheek on the top of the blunette's head and sighed contentedly as he felt the other boy's shivers quiet. Slowly the warmth returned to their haven as they slept, and still they stayed locked in that comforting embrace.

—ZN—

Yes, more notes, sorry to bother you once again. The dream Daisuke had in the beginning of this chapter actually occurred in the animes (at least in the Japanese anime), but there it was told from Riku's point of view. She was the little girl to whom the bear belonged. Daisuke jumped the fence (which, I might add, was about ten feet tall) and ran up to the Haunted House, got her bear, and came back within moments, but I decided to make up him finding the bear. Hope you like it.

Hmm, there was something else… Oh yeah! Ha HA, Heather Christi, was that funny enough for the rubber duckie brigade? ebil grin I got the lyrics off a google search, hope they're accurate enough. Normally the only parts to that song I can remember are "rubber duckie, you're the one, you make bath time lots of fun" and that's it. I haven't watched Sesame Street since I was three. . I thought it was cute… looks around didn't you?

cricket, cricket

o.o;; Anybody?

Cricket, Cricket

o.O;; whistles the Rubber Duckie tune and bounces on her heels is anybody out there?

CRICKET, CRICKET

runs off in tears THE EBIL CRICKETS ARE OUT TO GET ME!!!

I HOPE you know, fanfiction is playing hell in formatting this chapter, so it's taking me forever to get it right. Please bear with me!