Matthew shivered as they walked further into Solstice; he had never felt this cold before. If only he could let his wings out and curl up into their warmth.

Suddenly, Matthew saw something he thought he would never see.

Snow.

It was so bright, so white, and so pure. He fell in love with it at first sight. His eyes were that of a child's as he ran up to touch the frozen flakes. The boy recoiled at first from the sheer cold but quickly put his hand back and picked up a handful. It was slow to melt in his hand. It was a new and strange feeling but he loved it. "So beautiful." He gasped softly.

As for Kuma, this was new too but he was more like a cat than a child. He would sniff it and then poke it with a talon. Other than that, he wasn't really all that excited by the sudden change in surroundings.

Ivan watched them, blinking in surprise at first before chuckling and walking over to them, smiling in amusement. "I am guessing you have never ventured anywhere with snow before then?"

"No but this is wonderful!" Matthew said happily as he shivered. His attire didn't suit the winter weather at all. The poor boy was starting to freeze in thin knee and elbow length clothing, and worst of all, he had no shoes on.

Ivan smiled a bit more before frowning at the shivering, looking Matthew up and down. "Do you own anything warmer than what you are currently wearing?" He asks, tilting his head before looking down at Matthew's feet. "Or shoes for that matter?"

Matthew frowned and replied with great emphasis on the simple word as a child would. "Nooo."

Ivan frowned at this and took his own bag off his back and set it down in the snow. He crouched down and dug through it before pulling out the big black coat he had been wearing the first day they'd met and held it out to the boy. "Here."

"B-but what about you?"

Ivan gave him a scolding look. "Put it on Matthew." He says firmly. "I am far more used to this weather than you are."

"If you insist..." Matthew replies in a down tone, more because of the scolding look he was being given than anything else. He never liked upsetting anyone.

Ivan nodded and waited for him to take it before putting his bag back on his back. "It is not that cold for me in this region of Solstice. I will be fine without a coat." He says as Matthew slipped on the over-sized coat and took a moment to do up the buttons. "Better?"

"Y-yes. Thank you very much." The boy shifted the coat a little to try and have it sit better on his smaller form.

Ivan then looked down at Matthew's feet and frowned softly. He did not have any extra shoes with him. The man looked down at his own feet before looking back at Matthew's, trying to visually gauge if his boots would be too big for the boy or not.

Matthew caught the other man staring at his feet and it only took him a moment to realize what the other was thinking. "Oh no. You keep your boots. My feet are tough. I'll be fine so long as I don't go running though the snow... As much as I would like to." He giggled.

Ivan looked at him dubiously. "All right, but let us detour to a town about an hour away from where we are going. It is relatively close and we can get you more suitable clothes for this weather as well as some boots."

"Eh? Y-you don't have to do that. I'll be fine, truly."

"Yes, I do. You have not experienced weather this cold before Matthew." Ivan says firmly but patiently. "I know what is needed to survive in Solstice better than you do."

The boy frowned but nodded. "Very well. It appears I have no choice."

Ivan nodded and started walking towards the town with them. When they were nearly there Ivan turned to look at Matthew while they walked. "Just so you are not surprised by the sudden change, I will be acting differently than I have been these last few weeks when we reach the village." He says, warning the boy.

"Huh? Why?" Matthew asked sounding little upset; he and Francis had been working hard to help make Ivan more sociable and easier to warm up to these two months.

"Because there is a certain way that others expect me to act and if I do not act as expected, people will get nosy and obnoxious." The man replies with a frown.

"... So what am I to do?" Matthew pouted in irritation as he crossed his arms.

"Act as you normally would. Also, Kumajiro…" He turned to address the hippogriff. "People here are accustomed to seeing griffins, not hippogriffs, so it is very likely people will look at you oddly or act rudely towards you. Try not to take offense at their actions please."

"Um, actually. If we walk into town they will most likely attack him. Griffins are very well known for taking livestock and most don't understand the difference between the two." Kuma snorted and nodded as if to say it was a stupid idea to even think he would walk into a hostile environment.

"It is not a very large town and as long as he does not get into trouble and stays near me, everything should go fine." Ivan says with a huff. "I would have assumed he would want to stay near you while in unfamiliar territory is all."

"You do not know how fast he truly is, but nevertheless, I shan't make him go if he does not wish to."

Ivan shrugged and continued walking. "All right then. He can stay here or follow us. Let us go get you warm clothes and some shoes and I shall get myself some vodka."

"Vodka...?" Matthew repeated as he followed on after him, while Kuma gave the man a glare and a hiss.

"Alcohol that looks like water but does not freeze."

"Really? Fascinating."

Ivan chuckled. "I suppose. I think it may be a bit strong for you however."

"Oh, I don't really drink. I've never liked the taste or the after affects."

Ivan nodded and then entered the town with Matthew. He held himself more upright and strict, his expression blank. He walked into the tailor and ordered that Matthew be fitted with proper clothing for this weather, setting payment down in front of the owner with just enough extra to make the owner's get Matthew measured quickly before picking out a few already made things and tailoring them to fit the boy properly. Ivan stood there watching, occasionally translating for him.

Matthew blushed for a good deal of the fitting and squeaked a few times as well when the man went over his back but he didn't really say much. Ivan watched in mild amusement at Matthew's reactions while the tailor did his job. After some time Matthew was given a full set of clothes to change into and he was quickly ushered into the back to change. Ivan waited until Matthew returned in his new clothes and nodded his thanks to the tailor, pushing the payment towards the man and gesturing for Matthew to follow him to get shoes.

Matthew felt a little weird with Ivan buying him things and they were nicer than his own too, but he didn't have much money. He mainly did trading in town and Alfred was the one who earned money, which mainly went to his own spoils and the rent.

Ivan soon had Matthew fitted in a new pair of boots and had bought himself vodka and some foods that would last for a little while before they left the town, returning to where they had left Kumajiro.

"Thank you Ivan... For the boots and the clothes. Even if the boots feel really odd." Matthew couldn't stop a hint of blush from showing on his face.

"It is no problem." Ivan relaxed and smiled a bit after they were away from the town. "It would not do any good to have you get frostbite or worse from the cold." He chuckled at the boots comment. "You will get used to them in time."

"I like running without footwear. It feels so constricting like this..." Matthew whined.

Ivan chuckled more. "Yes, but this way you can run around and play in the snow all you want without worrying about getting frostbite or worse."

Matthew's eyes suddenly widened like an owl's and he bolted off the path and started running like mad, yelling with joy as his kicked up the white powder with every stride.

Ivan stared in surprise at his enthusiasm before laughing at the boy's excitement and watching him play in the snow. Matthew then proceeded to drop and roll in it, which only made the man laugh more as he walked over to the boy. "Having fun Matthew?"

"Yes! Oh, Ivan. Thank you for giving me the joy of being in your wonderful country, even just for a moment." He threw his arms up before dropping them in the snow. His smile was so big that it looked painful but Matthew didn't care. He had snow in his hair, down his neck, frost nipping at his cheeks, and his hot breath was visible right before his eyes.

Ivan stared silently in shock, unsure how to answer that for a few moments before settling on sitting down next to him. "Ah, you are welcome. Though I do not see what is so wonderful about it. It can be very cold and unforgiving."

"Every season has its horrors but just look at how beautiful it is!"

Ivan looked around, puzzled. He lay down after a few moments next to Matthew and looked again, trying to see if a change in perspective would alter how he saw his homeland but it didn't and he frowned softly again. "I still do not see what is so special about it. It is always like this."

"That's the thing about what matters to a person. Not everyone is going to think the same, Ivan." The boy smiled brightly as he turned his head to look at him. "To make something special, you just have to believe it's special."

Ivan smiled a bit and nodded slightly in understanding. "Where is Kumajiro? We can get back on track now as soon as he is ready to leave. You can play more in the snow on the way if you would like."

Matthew laughed and then whistled sharply; a moment later a reply was heard. "He's coming, he just hid from sight."

Ivan nodded and stood up, brushing the snow off of himself before offering Matthew a hand up. "If you would like, we can try dancing in the snow when we stop for the night."

"I would like that." The boy took the other's hand. "And might I add that you sound very romantic?" Matthew gave a small smirk.

Ivan arched an eyebrow, looking mildly surprised. "Oh?"

"Yes. I'm sure that would have made many girls swoon. You are getting quite good at wooing."

Ivan smiled a bit. "That is good." He then pulled Matthew to his feet and helped him dust the snow off.

"I-I'm fine, I can shake my own snow off thank you." Matthew blushed slightly at Ivan's excessive touching, though you couldn't tell, as his cheeks were already pink from the cold. Though lately, Matthew noticed that just about any sort of touch between them made his cheeks redden.

Ivan chuckled and pulled his hands back. "Of course. Shall we get back on track to where we are headed then?"

The boy nodded and with that Kumajiro showed up. Matthew loaded their new supplies, since Kuma would have bit Ivan or worse if he'd tried and then they proceeded on with their journey.

)*(

That night they stopped and set up camp. After they ate, Ivan asked Matthew if he still wanted to practice dancing or if he'd rather rest up after his first snow filled day.

Matthew was all tuckered out from running and jumping into every snow bank they passed and he was almost falling asleep as Ivan spoke. It didn't help that his magic was depleted; he need rest soon or it would again become painful to keep his wings in. On the plus side, his stamina was growing as a result of this. "H-huh...?"

Ivan chuckled softly. "We will practice dancing tomorrow. You need sleep Matthew."

"O-oh, sorry, but thank you." Matthew stood up and made his way to the already sleeping Kuma, who seemed to be adjusting to the cold quite well. The boy sluggishly pulled out his blanket and then began to remove his coat, though his fingers fumbled around the buttons numbly.

"It is all right." Ivan says; pulling out his blanket as well before pulling out a spare he had gotten in town. "Here." He tossed the thicker blanket at Matthew. "Use that as well, the nights are very cold here."

"Oh, thank you very much." Matthew caught it easily, a little more awake now with the cold night air nipping at his exposed skin. He laid his own blanket down first to help keep the cold of the ground away before sitting down with the other draping over his lap.

Ivan suddenly noticed something odd and frowned. "Matthew, why did you remove your coat? It can not keep you warm like that."

"O-oh... Well you see I can't sleep with a shirt on."

"Why? You have done it before, haven't you?"

"Ah- I- um, remove them- it under the blanket normally, b-but you've already seen me bare so I removed them before instead of after."

"Oh." Ivan frowned for a few moments before standing up and walking over to Matthew. He covered the boy up in his own blanket as well before going back and laying down by the fireside again without a blanket for himself.

"Wah! I-Ivan! You can't give me your blanket, you need this." Matthew tried not to speak too loud, not wanting to wake his partner.

"I have been in worse conditions Matthew. I will be fine." Ivan says waving it off as he turned to look at him. "You need that more than I do."

"But-"

"Just accept the blanket Matthew. The other option you have would be to share the blanket with me but I feel Kumajiro would not approve of that idea at all." He shrugged. "I will be fine."

The boy laughed somewhat nervously. "Y-yes, that and I've never shared a bed with someone either s-so it would be very strange to me."

Ivan frowned in confusion for a moment or two before he seemed to realize something and the frown disappeared; it was replaced with a slightly amused and knowing look. "Ah, Matthew?"

"Yes...?" He was not sure if Ivan was about to make fun of him or not; it was hard to tell sometimes but the look on Ivan's face still made him worry a little.

"You may not want to use that phrasing." The man says with a smile. "I understand what you meant but I grew up learning that "sharing a bed" with someone, meant that you are ah… mating with them."

Matthew gave a sharp shriek of both surprise and embarrassment. "I-I-I-!"

Ivan chuckled at Matthew's response. "Like I said, I understand what you meant but you may not want to use that phrasing around others lest they misunderstand." He gives a little shrug. "I am not sure if the commoners here use the same phrasing as the nobles and soldiers do but at the palace and in the army at least, that is what "sharing a bed" generally implies. "Bedding" someone also implies the same."

The young man's blush continued to darken as Ivan spoke. Matthew dove under the covers quickly. "I-I-it's getting late, g-good night Ivan."

Ivan laughed softly. "Good night Matthew." He says turning back to face the fire. "I am not making fun of you, I just thought I would inform you what that phrase means around military men and nobles." Ivan paused for a moment before adding. "However that phrase generally is implying such a thing for a man and a woman. That phrase does not generally imply the same for two men."

B-between two males? Matthew thought while still hidden under the covers. That seemed ridiculous, there would be no offspring to come from it. And how would the act of mating play out? It made no sense to him at all. But why was it that the more he thought about it, the more it made him blush? It made him think of Ivan and he wondered if the reason why he showed such little interest in finding love in a female was because he wanted love from a male. Though the one thing that made him scared, that made his heart pound like a drum, was why he was suddenly so interested in the thought of two males engaged in courtship and then proceeding with m- "ARGH! N-No get out of my head!" He shouted suddenly in unbelievable embarrassment and flailed about under the blankets, bringing out his wings so he could further bury himself in the false illusion of blocking out his thoughts.

Ivan jolted, quickly sitting up and turning around to look at Matthew with wide alarmed eyes. "Matthew?!"

The sudden outburst caused the overprotective hippogriff to awaken with a jolt as well. He looked around quickly before spotting where the prince lay, and then seeing that Matthew was curled up at his side. Kumajiro hissed lowly towards Ivan, thinking that Matthew's sudden distressed cry was because of him. The hippogriff then proceeded to curl up around Matthew, equally for protection and comfort.

At Kumajiro's hiss, Ivan held up his hands, fingers splayed to show he didn't mean any harm. "What was that shouting for? Is everything all right?" He asks in a calmer but confused tone.

"I-I'm fine, going to sleep now!" Great... more humiliation.

"Alright…?" Ivan nodded a bit before laying back down. What had that been all about? Whatever it was, Kumajiro clearly thought it was somehow Ivan's fault based off of the hiss he'd been given.

As Matthew wanted, he didn't get the much sleep that night. When he did, his dreams were full of erotic images of Ivan passionately kissing another. He could never see their face so he could not tell if they were female or male and he always awoke with a gasp before it got to mating. But the dreams left Matthew feeling in ways he couldn't believe were possible. It was somewhat frightening to him, though he wondered if all this was just his breeding instincts finally kicking in. It was the right time of the season after all.

)*(

Ivan slept well and woke up the next morning to find a thin layer of snow covering him. He sat up and brushed the snow off of himself before starting up the fire and turning to see if Matthew was up. The boy had yet to awake but was shaking from the new form of cold that was covering him and sinking into his bones.

Ivan stood up and walked over. "Kumajiro." He calls, stopping a safe distance away. "Kumajiro wake up please." He wanted to get closer to check on how Matthew was faring in this weather but he didn't want Kumajiro to wake up in the middle of him checking up on Matthew and lashing out at him.

The bird huffed and shook the snow off of himself, the excess snow falling onto Matthew as Kuma looked lazily over at Ivan.

Ivan crouched down nearby to be more at eye level with the hippogriff. "Kumajiro, I need to check on how Matthew is faring in this weather. Will you allow me to get closer and make sure that he is alright?"

Kuma's ears drew back and his eyes lowered in distrust but he remembered a few nights before of the fight he had with Matthew. So he regrettably gave a small nod. He would be watching him closely. If he did not like the way Ivan approached Matthew, he would attack.

Ivan stood and cautiously walked closer, kneeling down beside Matthew. He didn't touch the boy yet however, looking to Kumajiro to see if he would be allowed to stay this close for the moment.

The top of Matthew's head was just peeking out from under the covers and Kuma only moved his head to watch him more closely. "Kumajiro, may I touch him?" He asks, still looking up at the hippogriff. "I need to make sure he has not gotten too cold and if he has I need to wake him up and get him warm again."

Kuma dropped his head a little before bringing a bird foot up to set on top of his head before brushing it down his face, much like that of a cat grooming themself. He then gave three chirps before shaking his head twice and making his feathers frill up.

Ivan wasn't sure if that was a yes or a no but he'd have to take his chances. He didn't like needing to ask permission or say what he was going to do but it was better to be cautious. Getting himself injured would do Matthew no good if the boy was in need of his help. The man slowly reached out and pulled down the blankets a little so he could see Matthew's face.

Matthew still didn't wake which was very odd for him; he was normally a very light sleeper. This was a great surprise to Kuma and the bird was now deeply worried. Kuma stood up and moved a little so he could get a better look at Matthew. The poor boy's lips were blue and his skin was as pale as the snow around them.

Ivan's eyes widened in alarm. "Kumajiro, I need to wake him up and get him warm so please do not take offense if I treat him roughly or in a way that you do not like." He removed a glove and took Matthew's pulse before gently shaking the boy. "Matthew. Matthew you need to wake up now." This time the boy did wake up but he was slow and sluggish. Kuma was even cawing to call Matthew out of his sleep.

"Matthew?" Ivan asks as the boy's eyes open. "Matthew, I need you to stay awake for me." He says, taking his scarf off and wrapping it around the boy's head like the babushkas wore smaller scarves and then wrapped the extra around Matthew's neck to keep his head warm.

"I-Ivan...?" It wasn't a stutter this time; it was his teeth chattering. "W-what a-are you d-doing?"

"You are freezing Matthew. We need to get you warmed up." He says seriously as he took off his own coat, draping it over the three blankets already covering the boy and leaving himself in just a shirt. "Kumajiro, get his coat from his bag and bring it here."

The hippogriff didn't even bother to think; he just did as asked, jumping towards the bag and then digging in it with his beak. The coat came out with a few short tugs, hopefully without holes in it.

When Kumajiro brought it over, Ivan laid it on top of the boy as well. "Matthew, you need to get warmed up now. The best way to do that given the circumstances is to share body heat, do you understand?" Ivan removed his own shirt as he spoke, baring his torso and all of the scars on it to the cold. "You need to let me under the blankets with you, understand?"

"W-wait..." He said before he closed his eyes and tried to pull his wings inside. It was unusually hard to do so, was it because his body was so numb?

"There is no time to wait Matthew. You need to get warmer now." Ivan frowned when his eyes closed. "Matthew open your eyes, you need to stay awake. And you need to get warmed up as soon as possible." He says in an urgent tone.

"J-just w-wait." He said again as he pulled the blankets around himself tightly and tried to focus on his wings and nothing else. He wasn't about to let all his hard work of making sure Ivan didn't see his wings go to waste.

"No Matthew." Ivan says sternly. "You need to get warmer as soon as possible."

"I-I c-can't f-focus w-with you t-talking! J-just b-be quite f-for o-one m-moment a-and t-then y-you c-can d-do a-anyth-thing y-you w-want t-to m-me!"

Ivan scowled but went quiet, waiting impatiently with pursed lips. If Matthew did not get warm soon it would be very bad for the boy.

Finally! Matthew had to rush to pull his wings in so Ivan wouldn't change his mind and get under on his own. He grunted in pain as they sunk into his body; it only hurt when his was forcing himself or doing it too quickly or when something was wrong. "A-a-alright, I-I'm r-ready…"

"Good." Ivan gently picked Matthew up, carefully moving over to the fireside without jostling the boy too much. There were many careful movements on his part for the next couple of minutes as he removed the boy's shirt while trying not to expose him to the cold.

Matthew would have flinched or moved away from the touch if he had more energy but as it was, he still made an uncomfortable expression as Ivan's hands were all over him.

Once Ivan had the boy's shirt off, he put the thin blanket back on the ground and laid them both down by the fire. Ivan was lying on his back with only a thin blanket between his bare back and the snow, with Matthew lying on top of him, their chests pressed flush against each other and the pile of blankets and coats covering both of them to trap in the heat.

The position was rather embarrassing to the boy. "D-do we h-have to lay l-like t-this?" His teeth chattered as spoke but he could feel Ivan's warmth seeping into his skin slowly.

"Yes." Ivan replies firmly, wrapping his arms around the boy underneath the blankets to keep him warm. "I should be getting you out of the cold but that is obviously not an option right now. The best way to warm you up is to share body heat and that is best done with skin on skin contact." Kuma agreed with a growl and nestled in close to the pair, draping a wing over them to add to the cover.

"I- a-aren't I u-unpleasant?" Matthew asked sadly as he closed his eyes and began to relax into Ivan's offered heat.

"What do you mean?" Ivan sounded a bit confused at the boy's words.

"M-my skin m-must be cold, you're s-o warm..."

"Your skin is cold but not as cold as it could be." He replies calmly. "It just means that you need to get warmed up and this is the best way to do it since we don't have the option of going inside right now."

"S-s-sorry..."

"This is why I said you should wear your coat last night." Ivan chides gently. "If I had not woken up when I did, you could have froze to death."

Matthew grew quiet, shivering every few moments but was drifting off to sleep from the nice feeling of being warmed.

"Matthew, you need to stay awake."

"Mm.."

"Matthew, I'm serious." He says firmly. "Talk to me. You need to stay awake."

"About what?" The guardian mumbles.

"Anything. It does not matter. You just need to stay awake."

"Try to woo me." Matthew stifled his laugh.

Ivan chuckled. "I am not the one that needs to keep talking. Why don't you try to woo me instead?" He couldn't help but smirk a little in amusement at their topic of conversation despite the situation right now.

"Aw, that isn't fair."

"Ignoring my advice about the coat and nearly freezing to death isn't fair either."

"I didn't think i-it would be that cold."

"Why? I said it got very cold and I gave you all of the blankets to use."

"B-but I thought I could handle it." Matthew mumbles.

"... I am unsure whether I consider it very foolish or very brave of you to think that you could handle Solstice weather when you have never even seen snow before yesterday." Ivan replies after a moment of silence. "Perhaps a little bit of both."

Matthew smiled and opened his eyes to look at Ivan for a moment. His voice was nearly a whisper. "I-I got to finally cuddle with you."

Ivan looked somewhere between stunned and amused. "Finally?"

"Mmm... Y-you looked like- l-like a good snuggler."

"A snuggler?" Ivan questions, seeming more surprised and curious than amused now. "How so?"

Mattie shrugged and almost fell asleep once more. "Because you are so big... It's like hiding in Kuma's wings, only with arms."

"I see." Ivan chuckled a little. "Stay awake Matthew. Keep talking. How are you feeling?"

"Cozy and warm."

"Are you numb or hurting anywhere?"

"Numb all over, but my feet and ears are starting to hurt."

"It is good that you are starting to hurt. It means you are warming up enough to regain feeling in those parts." Ivan turned his head towards the hippogriff. "Kumajiro, can you go into one of our bags, pull out a cup, fill it with snow, and set it next to the fire to melt? It will help Matthew warm up if he has something warm to drink."

The bird blinked at Ivan and then stood to attempt at the task. With the bird like hands it made things easier but was still hard to hold such a little object. While Kumajiro was doing that, Ivan turned his attention back to the boy. "Matthew, make sure you stay awake, all right?"

"It's getting harder not to. My hands feel like they're on fire."

"That means you're warming up." He says with a slight smile. "But you have to stay awake, even if you're sleepy."

Kuma then brought over the cup of warm water, doing his best not to spill it as he set it down close to Ivan.

"Thank you." Ivan says with a nod, sticking a hand out from underneath the blankets to grab the cup and pulling it back, holding it to the boy's lips. "Matthew, can you drink some of this? It is just water."

Matthew nodded slightly and then sipped the liquid; quite grateful at the feeling it gave him. It was like the first sip of tea after a rainy day. After it was all gone, he said a small word of thanks and laid his head down on Ivan's shoulder.

Ivan handed the cup back to Kumajiro and asked him to do that same thing again. He then turned his attention back to Matthew. "How are you feeling now Matthew?"

"Better but my skin still stings..."

"What parts of it sting? Is anything still numb?"

"My hands and feet still feel a little numb, but everything but my torso stings."

"That sounds about normal but let me see your hands. I want to make sure you haven't gotten frostbite."

The young man had to wiggle his arms out from under him before Matthew could show Ivan his hands.

Ivan frowned upon seeing the red and white mottled patches of skin on the boy's hands. He tugged his own gloves off, moving slowly so he didn't expose them to the cold air too much as he brought his gloves up and carefully slipped his gloves onto the Matthew's frostbitten hands. It was a bit loose since Ivan's hands were much bigger than Matthew's but they'd have to do. "Keep those on. You have a minor form of frostbite and it will get worse if you keep your hands exposed."

Matthew frowned softly and gave a nod. "Is that bad?" He didn't really know that much on frostbite.

"Frostbite is bad, yes." Ivan says with a knowing look. "Severe frostbite turns skin black and you loose all feeling in the area affected. If fingers or toes become infected due to frostbite, they must be amputated. If severe frostbite goes untreated, fingers and toes may just fall off."

Matthew wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Thanks..."

Ivan chuckles and takes the cup when Kumajiro brought it back filled with more warm water. "We will let you get warm for a few more minutes. Can you drink some more water now?" He held the cup up to the boy's lips again.

"Yes." This time he held the cup as best he could.

Ivan let him help hold the cup but he kept a hand on it as well just in case, putting it aside when the boy was done drinking.

"How much longer do we have to stay like this?"

"We will wait for a few more minutes before we sit you up and get you fully dressed."

"Alright." He sighed and rested his head on the man's shoulder once more.

Ivan let him and after about five minutes, he informed Matthew that he would be sitting up before doing so, slowly to make sure the blankets didn't fall off and expose the boy. The next ten minutes or so was full of Ivan carefully getting Matthew's shirt on without exposing him and then putting a coat on the boy and buttoning it up for him, making sure the boy stayed covered in blankets the whole time. Unfortunately accomplishing this meant Ivan wasn't under any of the blankets while doing this and was exposing his bare scar-covered torso to the frigid air while he took care of the boy.

When sitting up the scarf fell over the boy's eyes but being handled didn't give him the moment to fix it. Matthew smiled; it was sort of funny at the moment.

While Matthew's eyes were covered, Ivan grabbed his own shirt that was lying nearby and slipped it on himself to cover the scars. The shirt was cold as ice but wasn't much different than not having a shirt on at all so it mattered little to him.

The hippogriff pulled the scarf off the boy's eyes moments later. "Thank you Kuma."

Ivan grabbed his own coat and put it on himself but didn't bother buttoning it up as he moved Matthew around so the boy was sitting by the fire in such a way that he was sitting on part of the blankets so he wouldn't be sitting directly in the snow. He then stood up and got the meat from his bag and sat back down next to Matthew and started cooking it.

He smiled at the prince. "Thank you Ivan." Matthew was surprised that he could be helpful for something like this. Looks like he's more than just brawns.

"It is no problem." Ivan replies, continuing to cook the food. As pieces of meat were finished cooking and cooling, they were passed to Matthew and Kumajiro.

"A-are y-you two all right...?" Matthew asks after a few minutes of eating. Kuma gave Matthew a nuzzle and a soft sounding purr.

"We are fine now that you appear to be doing better." Ivan replies, finishing cooking some meat and offering it out to Kumajiro. Kuma practically swallowed it whole before returning to nuzzle the frozen guardian.

Ivan cooked more meat for Matthew and Kumajiro, giving Matthew another cup of warm water every so often to help warm him up. He hadn't eaten anything yet when he offered the last piece of meat to Kumajiro.

"W-why a-am I still cold?" Matthew asked after finishing the next cup. Kuma took another piece though he tried to feed it to the boy.

Ivan turned to look at him. "Because you nearly froze to death last night Matthew. It takes time for you to regain your proper body temperature after something like that." He explains bluntly, grabbing his flask and taking a swig of vodka. "Has the pain worsened any?"

"Y-yes... B-but I think I can handle it."

Ivan nods. "If the pain gets too bad let me know." He says, turning to put more snow in the cup and setting it down by the fire. "You may not like partaking in alcohol but vodka will help lessen the pain."

"I-I prefer to t-take all the p-pain on my own or take herbal medicine." The boy gave a small, weak smile.

Ivan just gave him a look. "Fine. But vodka is the most efficient pain medicine we have with us. It dulls the pain and makes you feel warmer." He paused a moment before going back to a more normal expression. "Are either of you still hungry?"

"W-well, seeing as Kuma here keeps trying to feed me... I don't know. I haven't seen you eat anything yet."

"I will get food for myself after you two have been taken care of." Ivan says. "Just eat. I will be fine."

Kuma snorted at him; the prince knew very well that he could hunt for himself, but Matthew smiled. "Y-you are too kind Ivan."

Ivan arched an eyebrow at Kuma's snort. "I know you can hunt for yourself Kumajiro. I thought you would want to stay by his side until we were sure he was fine which is why I've given you both all of the meat to eat this morning."

"I-Ivan." Matthew said softly as he smiled.

Ivan looked to Matthew. "Yes?"

"C-come closer."

Ivan looked at him questioningly but did as asked and came over, crouching down in front of the boy. "Yes?"

Matthew leaned in and wrapped his arms around Ivan. It wasn't the strongest hug, but it's meaning was the same. He was extremely grateful for all that Ivan was doing.

Ivan blinked in surprise, smiling a bit and returning the hug briefly before pulling back, grabbing the warmed cup of water and putting it in the boy's hands. "Here, drink this and warm up some more while I get myself breakfast and then if you are feeling up to walking we can get started."

"I-I will thank you." He drank the warm water with much gratitude.

Ivan stood up and got himself food from his bag before sitting back down by Matthew and eating. After he finished he paused for a moment in thought and looked in the direction they were headed. "Hm… I do not remember how far away it is from here, but I am fairly certain that there is a hot spring in the direction we are headed. We may reach it today or tomorrow if we are lucky."

"H-hot spring? I would love to take a swim in such waters! I-it would be nice after such a cold morning." Matthew smiled with absolute glee.

Ivan chuckled at the boy's excitement. "Yes. Do you think you are ready to uncover and try standing up now?"

"We shall see." Matthew then began to stand though on shaky legs.

Ivan stood up and helped Matthew stand, offering the boy some support in case his legs weren't quite ready to support his body weight yet.

"Thank you Ivan." It took a moment before his legs could hold him steady.

Ivan nodded, waiting until Matthew was able to keep himself up and steady before letting go. He then gathered up their stuff and packed it all away, setting Matthew's bags next to him so the boy could put them on Kumajiro when he was ready to, knowing the hippogriff most likely wouldn't let Ivan do such a thing.

Kuma remained at Matthew side the entire time and it did take quite a bit to get everything onto Kuma's saddle. Once everything was on the saddle, Ivan put his own pack on his back and turned to Matthew. "Ready?"

"Yes, everything is packed and ready to go. Lead the way."

Ivan nodded and started walking but stayed nearby for the time being until he was sure that Matthew wouldn't trip and fall. "How is the pain?"

"Still here but I will be alright. I appreciate your concern Ivan. I hold it dear."

Ivan nods. "Tonight I recommend keeping your coat on instead of taking it off." He frowns softly. "I am not sure why I allowed you to do such a thing last night. I know better than to let people do such a dangerous thing."

"B-but I can't sleep with it." He frowned.

"And you very nearly died without it." Ivan scolds.

"Then I shall sleep by the fire."

"The fire will not keep exposed skin from getting frostbite Matthew. And if the weather decides to give us wind, the fire will be of no use because it would need constant tending to stay lit."

Matthew huffed; as wonderful this land was, it surely was troublesome to keep his wings hidden. Keeping the coat on would keep his wings away and in time drain him of all power, which would then lead to death if he had no freedom to have them spread.

Ivan walked silently for a few minutes in thought before speaking. "If you still insist on sleeping with your coat off when we stop for the night, then you are welcome to sleep next to me." He offers, not looking at Matthew. "Sleeping next to me by the fire side and sharing body heat should keep us from having a repeat of this morning."

"W-what! N-no I couldn't." He blushed and looked at Ivan in bewilderment. It didn't help that the memories of his dreams were coming back.

Ivan turned his head and just stared at Matthew. "It is either that, or sleep with your coat on Matthew. As much as he would probably like to, Kumajiro can not share body heat with you."

"..." He was trapped, or he could lie. "Fine. I'll try to sleep with my coat on tonight."

Ivan gave him a look that made it obvious that he knew that Matthew had no actual plans to do as he'd just said. He turned to look forward again and continued walking. "Matthew, do not lie to me. I am suggesting things for your own good. If I had not known what to do or if I had not noticed your condition as soon as I did, then there is a very real possibility that you could have died."

"I-I understand..." Matthew didn't know what to do now. Kuma spoke up and suggested that Matthew tell Ivan now but even after all that was going on, Matt couldn't bring himself to do it which just made the bird shake his head at the boy.

)*(

They hadn't reached the hot springs by the time they stopped for the night but Ivan was sure that they would reach them by noon the next day. For now, he set down his bag and started a fire up as Matthew was still trying to figure out what to do. Even after Kuma constantly told him over and over just to show him, Matthew was gritting his teeth the whole time and refusing a point that Kuma couldn't understand.

Ivan cooked them all dinner; after they had eaten he looked over at Matthew. "Would you like to practice dancing tonight?"

"Oh, yes. That sounds good."

Ivan nodded and they started practicing. At some point during their practicing, the man seemed to have remembered a song that had the same basic rhythm as a waltz because he had started to hum it quietly.

Matthew on the other hand was having a hard time paying attention. There were two things on his mind the whole time. What he was going to do about his wings, and his dreams of Ivan passionately kissing an unknown person. He couldn't help it; they were spinning and dancing around the fire, bodies close. All it would take was for one of them to lean in and- Ah! Why is this such a problem!? I never had any troubles with dancing with Ivan before! If only Ivan hadn't brought up the whole male with male mating!

Ivan could tell Matthew was a bit distracted while they were dancing but didn't mention it until Matthew's footing failed and the boy stumbled. Ivan caught him before he could fall and stopped their dancing. "Careful Matthew." He chides gently.

"S-sorry!"

Ivan chuckles softly. "It is all right Matthew. Would you like to continue or shall we stop for tonight?"

"No, let's go on for a bit longer. We need to practice."

Ivan nods. "All right." They continue dancing and he resumes humming a tune for them to dance to. It was a bit more difficult to dance in snow than it was without snow but it was fun nonetheless.

Matthew was a little more focused this time around and Kumajiro was getting ready for bed.

They danced for a bit longer until Ivan decided it was time for them to get some sleep. He lay down by the fire without any blankets, leaving them for the boy to use.

Matthew once again got his bedding together as he did before, though by the fire this time. The young man then proceeded to unbutton his coat while Kuma watched and shook his head in disappointment; they were going to have a recap of his morning or worse. His partner just didn't seem to be learning.

Ivan sighed but let him, closing his eyes and feigning sleep until he was certain Matthew was asleep. When he was positive that Matthew was asleep, he stood up, grabbing the boy's discarded jacket and draping it over his sleeping form for extra warmth watching as Matthew shifted slightly from the slight change in weight, but remained asleep. He was already shivering and trying to hold in the warmth he had while Kuma was asleep around Matthew, trying to block out the cold.

Ivan frowned softly and sighed, taking off his own coat and draping it over the sleeping boy as well. Since his own coat had come from the palace and not a small village, it was better made and was probably two to three times as warm as the one from the village. Ivan then went to his bag and grabbed an extra shirt, putting it on himself over his other one and laying down close to Matthew on his other side to share some of his body warmth with the boy. Ivan would probably have some form of frostbite when he woke up, but he would live. He would rather get frostbite than have Matthew almost die on him again.

Ivan might not have noticed but he had laid on some of Matthew's feathers and a few hours later when the boy turned to move he ended up pulling out a few. Boy did that wake him with a jolt. "O-ow..." Then Matthew noticed all that was laid on top of him and Ivan sleeping next to him. He would have blushed from the proximity if it weren't for the fact Ivan had only a shirt or two on. "I-Ivan..?"

Ivan was a fairly light sleeper so he woke shortly after Matthew called his name, blinking awake tiredly. It wasn't morning yet since it was still dark. "Yes Matthew…?" He asks with a yawn.

"W-what the hell d-do you think you're doing!?" He quickly propped himself up on an elbow before tugging at the blankets. Once he got two pulled up he tossed it over Ivan's possibly cold body. He was still under one so Ivan wouldn't notice his wings but he was close enough to share. "G-get under before you freeze!"

Ivan arched an eyebrow sleepily at being scolded and ordered by the boy but he was too tired to care. "I would have been fine Matthew." He says but gets under the blankets. Once under, he scoots closer and wraps an arm around Matthew, tugging the boy closer so they can share body heat, shocking the boy quite a bit with that gesture. "I'm going back to sleep now Matthew, I suggest that you do the same." He says sleepily before doing just that.

It made Matthew blush but he was more scared that Ivan would find out he had wings and that he had been lying all this time. He was too worried to move but he did try to fall back to sleep like Ivan asked. Just don't let Ivan know about my wings. He prayed before closing his eyes.

Ivan was too tired to notice anything out of the ordinary and just went to sleep with his arm around Matthew, hoping that this would keep the boy from almost dying on him again. Thankfully, Matthew stopped any sort of shivering soon after Ivan's warmth seeped into his body.

Hey guys~! RQ here, LAST week to vote for a new story! No, this does not mean any of the stories right now will stop. We are giving you MORE to read.

So those that haven't voted, tell me which story would you like next? Have a look at our profile page, I set up a poll :3

Poll ends on Aug 18/13

-RQ