Chapter 27: Ti Amo-Part 2

Shiho Hahnefuss was crying, and she didn't know why she couldn't stop herself. She knew it was a useless senseless activity that brings nothing but more tears, but there she was, crying. Yzak's gone…

Kelvin Turner sat down beside her, offering her a cup of hot chocolate. She didn't take it, but continued hiding her face from her comrades. They were seated round the common fire, and Shiho had gathered herself onto the couch and had been sobbing silently for the past hour. Kelvin reached a hand to pat her shoulder awkwardly, for she refused to be consoled. "Stop it, he…he said he proud of you as his subordinate…Don't disappoint him now."

"How would you know how he'd feel now that he's probably meat and bone pancake at the bottom of the pit?"

"…At least he has another meat and bone pancake beside him…" He said quietly. Shiho's eyes widened, and she whispered, "Why can't I save him…? Why can't I be the meat and bone pancake who's beside him!" and she lifted her face to glare at Kelvin, who turned away quickly and shrugged. Kelvin may not have an answer, but she knew he had a point. She stood up at this point and declared with such conviction that her comrades were startled, "We have to find him." She took a long and deep breath before continuing, "We failed our task, we couldn't guard him. The least we could do…is to bring him home. Both of them."

The team nodded, and Shiho reached to retrieve a tracking device given to her on her first day of installment. It would tell them the location of Yzak Jule, dead or alive…There was a whirring sound as she switched it on, and the black screen was swiftly painted over by the contour diagram of PLANTs. It zoomed in on December city and finally into the mountain range they were now in. Shiho could feel her heart skip a beat when the view took a dive into the valley and didn't plunge all the way to the bottom but stabilized within a hole on the wall of the cliff.

"A cave?" Kelvin asked, his eyes widening as he was filled with realization…

---

Yzak could feel himself just lying there, sleeping…Was he sleeping? He couldn't really tell, but he knew he felt downright tired, as if some energy drinking monster just sapped every last bit of strength from his body. And if he was sleeping, he had chosen a very uncomfortable place to sleep, for he could vaguely feel that the ground beneath him was harsh and cold.

The ground…? Why would he be sleeping on the ground?

The little mystery puzzled his mind, like a pesty fly that refused to go away. Did he fall off his bed? Or maybe he wasn't at home to begin with…

Yzak…

The voice was soft and belonged to a female, it was oddly familiar and Yzak started to think where he heard it before. It rang in his mind like a bell, probing him to think, urging him to recall. But he didn't want to, he wanted to continue sleeping, he didn't want to wake…but the voice called again, sharper and more insistent this time, Yzak…

Sedna opened her eyes to find someone lying so close beside her, she couldn't move. And she allowed her eyes to focus myopically on a green triangular pattern on a yarn scarf, and realization hit her, it was Yzak's scarf…Her head jerked up in response to the revelation, and hit his chin, "Yzak?" she asked. He was apparently unconscious, and didn't move as Sedna addressed him. His arms were still wrapped about her, as if protecting her from the elements. His long legs pinned hers down, and she felt like his bolster…

She remained silent for a few more minutes, liking the feeling of having him so close beside her; not that she has any way of prying him off. She started examining the surroundings. They were in a cave lined with ice, icicles hung overhead, and fortunately showed no signs of dropping. Some one must have found the place before, for in the center was the remains of a campfire, some kindling still untouched, and a flat top boulder large enough to be a bed occupied one side. At the mouth of the cave was an ice ledge, but she didn't remember hitting that thing, having fallen all the way down from above.

She turned to look at Yzak at this point, remembering the scene where he told her to let go. He wanted to save her… It was an unworthy sacrifice, one he didn't have to make, but it took her breath away. But now she was getting worried, he didn't seem to show any signs of waking, must have suffered concussion or something…She patted his face gently with her right hand, calling "Yzak…Yzak."

"Huh…?" he grunted nonchalantly and Sedna smiled, for he behaved like a child who doesn't want to wake up in the morning.

"…Your mother is here…" she whispered into his ear and his eyes flicked open immediately and looked around, seeing no Ezaria Jule in sight, he pulled Sedna closer and closed his eyes again, as if planning to go back to sleep.

After a few moments, he frowned, and he opened his eyes and studied the ceiling for a brief moment, before allowing his gaze to settle on Sedna.

Sedna looked right back almost defiantly, waiting for his mind to register what was happening. "Boo…" she whispered and Yzak's blushed as he quickly pulled away with a few jerky movements, "Whoa!"

Sedna got up and Yzak stared at her, the look in his eyes told her he was approaching the point of panicking. "I didn't mean…!"

"I know you didn't." She interrupted him, barely holding back a chortle. "What happened?"

He sighed as he pointed at the mouth of the cave, directly at the setting sun. "Eleven o'clock from there is a lucky branch. I caught it as we fell and hung there for about ten minutes…" He recounted. "I was so tired by the time I found that there was a hole here that…I must have just fallen asleep…" Sedna nodded in acknowledgement, and frowned, "Ten minutes…?" She went forward quickly and grabbed his hand so suddenly that she startled him, "Sedna!" She flipped his hand over to examine his palm, which was scratched and bleeding. Swiftly she produced a handkerchief and made to tie up his hand with it, but Yzak grab her wrist and twisted, revealing the gash where the ice edge had cut.

"Gimme that hand." She commanded as she pulled his wrist, he wrenched his hand away and told her, "Take care of yourself first!"

She stared at him, and Yzak stared back stubbornly for the next few seconds, both unwilling to relent. "Trust me." She said as she wrestled his hand from him and bind the cloth about the wounds. He couldn't quite believe it, as a man he could lost to someone as skinny armed as her… But before he could protest further, she drew another hankie out of her breast pocket and this time the photo fell out with it. Yzak swiftly grabbed it before she could and proudly announced, "Let's see what you can use to threaten me with now!"

"I don't need to, it's not as if you can go back to Aprilius now even if you want to." She pointed out as she wrapped the fabric round her hand and Yzak's face fell. A chilly wind blew past and Sedna shivered, "where's your scarf?' Yzak asked, trying to recall the last time he saw it.

"Don't know, but let's just move in for the night."

---

"How are we gonna get to him?" Shiho thought aloud, trying to solve problem number two. Now that they knew his precise location, the only thing left was how to initiate a rescue quickly. Cars and bullets they have in their arsenal, even space crafts, but no automobiles that will take them to the kind of terrain. Especially in a blizzard where cars will likely to be unable to move at all. On top of that, communications are down at the moment…

"We can ask military head quarters for help." Kelvin suggested.

"How far is it?"

"Two hundred miles or so."

"Helpful." Shiho muttered sarcastically, "Really helpful. And by the time we come back with a decent helicopter they would have died in the blizzard."

There was silence after that, for no one seem to be able to find an ideal solution.

"…I have an idea." Yagami, the quiet one muttered.

"Then spill it!" Kelvin exclaimed, "Can't you see that we are hanging on to the edge of our sanity here!"

"Commander won't like it."

"He doesn't have a choice, neither do we." Shiho cried.

"Think, who is in December City, has a whole legion of mobile suits in his pocket and will be willing to help our Commander out."

Shiho thought hard, a friend of Yzak's (whom he won't like) with military power at will… And her eyes widened as the answer surfaced.

"Chairman Zala…"

---

It was dark save for the fire burning merrily at the center of their temporarily shelter, which cast dancing shadows over his features. At the mouth of the cave was the snow storm, the howling wind blowing harshly and relentlessly against the entrance of the cave. She thanked God that she wasn't out there weathering the storm, but one more moment spent in the silent solitary confinement with him and she just might jump out there.

He was silent, which was odd and unnerving. And she guessed he's probably still angry, she stole his photo, made him stay, won him in skiing, and got stuck in a cave, it was enough to make anyone angry. She gazed down longingly at his back…

After waking up in a cave, they made a fire and piled snow at the entrance of the cave as high as they could. Then they went to bed with an empty stomach. She saw Yzak studying both the boulder and the icy floor before wordlessly proceeding to lie down on the floor, leaving her a bed where she'll be at least insulated from cold. She was really grateful, for it was really cold. Her fingers nails are turning white even with the thick gloves. And the air was so frigid it hurt to breath, so she curled up on the boulder to try to get warm, wishing she still had her scarf with her.

Yzak was trying not to look both at her and at the fact that they were gonna spend one night together in one room. He was freezing and wished for nothing more than to snuggle right in beside her on the rock, but he had done enough damage for the day. He didn't tell her, but he was hugging her so tightly then that she could feel her softness pressing against his chest. It was a curious sensation… and he felt like a pervert after that.

They hugged many times, but this was the first time Yzak took so much notice of bodily contact. Perhaps it was the contrast, it was cold but she was warm. He didn't mind touching her, but he needed to know she wanted to be touched. In any case, the safest way will be to keep a distance away from her for a while…

He was tired, hungry and very cold. He rubbed his hands together and breathed warm air into his palms, hoping to bring the sensation back into his gloveless hand, which was oddly numb and painful at the same time. The chill was biting at his bones, and even the ski jacket wasn't thick enough to protect his frame.

Though the fire caused a cushion of warm air to rise up and form a barrier between the two of them and the mouth of the cave, buffering the extreme temperatures that would probably kill them both. It didn't insulate enough cold to make Yzak feel any better.

"Yzak…" Sedna called behind him, causing him to snap out of it.

"Hmm…?"

"I can't sleep."

"And?"

"Why not we chat for a bit?"

Yzak sighed, "About what?"

"Erm…what language did you learn in school?"

"Mother tongue, Italian and French."

"I picked up mother tongue, Chinese and German…do you mind if I ask…" she began gingerly, "About that photo? The one which has three people in it?" Yzak pictured it in his mind's eye, recalling every detail in it. He was four in the picture, his mother and a man with his back facing the camera. And the three of them were like…a family in the picture, taking holiday off in a winter land. Yzak was short then, and dressed in a little red hooded jacket that seemed too big for him and made him stand out against the background. Ezaria looked younger, and the man was the one that puzzled Sedna.

"That man…Is he your father?" she whispered.

"…My mother says he is…but…I don't remember."

"You were like, four."

"I know how old I was…and I can see that he is blonde in the picture. But I just can't recall anything about my f…father." Yzak tried the word out, and it sounded funny coming out from him.

"That means you've never really had a father."

"How many times have you asked me that question?" He replied impatiently.

Sedna giggled, "Alright, let's talk about something else… You cold?"

Yzak scoffed and didn't bother replying, another obvious answer…

"Do you think they would find us?" she asked dreamily, "Miss Hahnefuss seems…very eager to do that."

Yzak knew she was suggesting that there was something between him and Shiho, he didn't know why, but he was angry. "So what, is it your business!" he snapped, turning towards the floor.

"You don't have to be so rude you know… I was gonna offer you half my bed…"

"I don't WANT IT!" he shouted and the statement echoed round the whole cavern. And unbelievably, Yzak heard what sounded like wind chimes jingling overhead. He looked up to find that the roots of the icicles had apparently melted by the heat and the tips came plunging toward him…

Sedna was aghast when she caught sight of the falling daggers and she leaped forward impulsively, ramming into Yzak and pushing him out of harm's way. They rolled for a few more feet before coming to a stop, and she got up and gave him a quick examination just to make sure he wasn't hurt. Throughout her probing and poking, he remained still and allowed her to move him like a rag doll. Sedna could understand why, almost dying once a day is something, two times and it gets a little too close for comfort.

"Are you hurt?" She asked with concern. He shook his head slowly, and uttered as he looked at all the icicles impassively, "Don't think I'm sleeping tonight…"

"No, the rock is nicely situated where there's none."

"So…?"

She took his wrist firmly and led him to boulder, "Our bed."

"OURS…? Hey!" and she shoved him onto it first and lay down after. And she allowed her sleek black hair to be strewn gracefully all over the uneven rock.

"It's warmer, isn't it? No snow." she questioned him, still smiling. Yzak couldn't believe his luck. "…You realize that you're definitely at disadvantage here?" He asked hesitantly with a bemused smile.

"I'm not about to let you camp out under the icicles." She declared absentmindedly, "And I'll personally put a bullet through your torso if you dare do anything funny."

"The hell I would…" He muttered, "…Will you?"

"No." She admitted, "I don't really mind, in fact…" she whispered as she tried to hide a blush. He wasn't about to take her seriously either, but then she reached out to take his injured hand, warming it by rubbing gently.

Then she did something that utterly surprised Yzak, she took his hand and place his fingertips on her collar bone and cupped her hands over it, such that the base of his palm rested on her… He gulped, not knowing how to react except to try to pull his hand away. "Sed…!"

"Don't," she whispered as she closed her eyes, as if preparing to go to sleep, "I want to know that you'll be near, I want you to be there…"

He bit his lip, unable to come up with the resolve to yank his hand away. But with his free hand, he loosened the scarf round his neck and spread it out over himself and her. Covering half of both their faces, "Yzak?" she asked with a small smile, but did not open her eyes.

"I don't have glove and you don't have scarf. Now we are quits."

"Okay…" she whispered, and told him. "I love you, good night…"

Yzak didn't reply as he smiled, and closed his eyes as well…

---

The next morning Sedna could feel some one shaking her body violently, willing her to wake. "Sedna, get up. I have something to show you!"

Sedna opened her eyes to find Yzak's face staring at her and his silver hair messed up. In her half-asleep state she yawned and muttered, "De javu…"

He didn't have the patience for that, as he lifted her off the boulder wholesale and put her down at the entrance of the cave before kneeing down beside her. She rubbed her eyes irritably as she the sun shone into her eyes and she examined the sight before her.

Covering the floor of the valley before them was fresh, new snow a taintless shade of white, and as the sun rise, the sunlight shone down on the valley; causing the whole sheet of newly fallen snow to glimmer alluringly like a bed of tiny jewels. Each and every one uniquely and intricately crafted by Mother Nature.

"It's…beautiful!" Sedna gasped softly, "…and it's the same colour as your hair."

Yzak gave her a look, and ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly. She smiled and whispered into his ear, "It's like a gift for surviving the night…is this what you're trying to show me yesterday?"

He nodded, "You like it?"

"I love it! ... I love you as well, though." She said as she leaned on his shoulder, "How'd you feel about me?" He was startled, and he turned away to look at the scenery as he struggled to reply, "I…"

"It's not hard…just say it." She gazed into his aquamarine eyes and probed gently, encouraging him, giving him resolve to say those three magical words to her…

"Ti amo…" he uttered quietly and Sedna blinked, "Pardon?"

"You don't know? It means I L…"He shouted, but was interrupted this time by a pair of mobile suits flying past, causing snow to fly in all directions. It was a pair of Zakus, and the hatch opened so that Yzak could see the pilot, it was Shiho and Kelvin, who greeted him enthusiastically. "Commander, you're ALIVE! I'm SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!"

He wasn't so happy at the moment…

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Ti Amo…same meaning as ashitalu, as Saran Heyo, as Wo Ai Ni… who still don't know can check the profile. Hee, thanks for all the reviews, you guys are great!