Title: Final Scrap

bPairing/Characters: Diego/Sid, Manny/Ellie.

Prompt: #7: Go to Hell.

Rating: PG

Warnings: Slash animal pairing.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Ice Age movies or the characters and settings involved in them. I am merely a humble fan who thinks these two should get to it already!

Summary: "He was getting sick of their fighting. It had been fine when they first met, when it was just mild threats and annoying little jabs at each other. But now…it was starting to shatter his eardrums."

"Go to Hell!"

"I would but then I'd have to spend all of eternity with you when that small heart of yours stops!"

"WHY YOU LITTLE…!"

Manny closed his eyes.

He was getting sick of their fighting. It had been fine when they first met, when it was just mild threats and annoying little jabs at each other. But now…it was starting to shatter his eardrums. Ellie knew this, but was a little more patient with the two. She couldn't count the number of times she had to listen to her possum brothers start a fight. The only difference was that with Crash and Eddy it tended to end almost as soon as it began.

It crushed her heart at times – every argument made her think one, if not both, was going to just pack up and leave forever right then and there. Every foul word and harsh insult made her miss how they used to chase each other around.

But now Diego didn't chase Sid playfully, and Sid didn't even try to walk anywhere near the saber. The quick little relationship they had begun had melted, and any ideas of a closer relationship than that was lost. "We need to do something…" She spoke quietly, resting beside her mate in the snowy bank.

Manny turned to her, knowing she was right. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching as a few white flakes hit the ground, falling from the tree like the leaves used too. It wasn't however long before their mutual silence was interrupted by a very frustrated and very angry sloth walking back to their campground, eyes like slits and arms crossed so tightly that Manny was worried he was going to get stuck that way…again.

"Tell me to go to Hell will ya'…ya' dumb old saber with your dumb teeth err…" His words were harsh whispers under his breath, but were carried along by the wind as they escaped his lips. He didn't even look at the two mammoths as he passed, but they said nothing about it when they saw a wet streak still slipping down his furry face.

"Sid…" Manny said gently when the usually over-excited member of their "pack" sat down before a big tree, back to them, and huffed.

"I'm fine." He stated matter-of-factly, voice letting the other two know that the unspoken topic was over.

"What happened this time, Sid? You have to tell us." Ellie's words and her voice always seemed to sooth any animal deep down into their core. And that's one of the reasons Sid found Ellie a great source of comfort wherever they were, whatever happened. He could hear her feet crunching the snow beneath her as she walked over to him. When her trunk rest on his shoulder, fur tickling his neck, he wanted so desperately to just push it aside.

But this was Ellie. The mother of the group. A fitting title for her, and everyone agreed.

"Same thing that happens every time he offers to go get sticks for the fire with me." The wind chilled him to the bone. Oh, the plus side of being a big ten-ton mammoth with all that fur…

"Well, Sid, why do you let him go with you if all you two do is end up fighting while you're out there?"

"Maybe what you should be asking is why does Diego always offer?" Sid turned his head and stared at Manny for a moment. The other saw something in his eyes he had been starting to see a lot of. Something not Sid, something lost, something broken. Manny hated that look. He was annoyed by Sid almost constantly, but he refused to ever let that look seep deeper into the rest of him and change who he was.

"What…do you mean?" Sid asked, unsure of what he himself made of the question. "He probably just wants to pick a fight and annoy me or something…it always starts out as a nice conversation. But it never ends that way – he makes sure of that." Sid said bitterly.

"So you just think he wants to be around you to argue?" Ellie asked, starting to see a bigger picture in the whole situation. "That doesn't make much sense if he tries to be nice to you before…" She tried to find the right words, "…before your opinions differ."

"So, what? You're saying it's my fault?" He asked quickly.

"Of course not, Sid. I don't think either of you are to blame." She replied honestly, meeting the smaller mammals gaze. Silence circled around them, before Sid turned to her and smiled.

"You really think he wants to be around me?" Ellie smiled and nodded, tusks bouncing up and down. Sid turned to Manny.

"A lot more than you may know." The look in the sloth's eyes changed, slowly, but changed. Like the sun finally rising into the sky, turning the black and grey to blue and white. He felt better with that familiar look coming back to his friend's face, even when soft steps came closer to their resting spot.

Ellie stood up as soon as she saw Diego, head down and shoulders almost slumped. He raised his eyes, and looked around at his companions. Clearing his throat he found only a few things to ask.

"Um…where are Crash and, uh, Eddy?"

"Out causing trouble more than likely." Manny offered up. Ellie gave him a look and nudged his trunk. She sat down beside him, and they both watched as Diego eyed Sid. He slowly made his way over to the other.

"You think it'll all end tonight?" Ellie asked, a small grin on lighting up her face. Manny turned and smiled when he saw Diego nuzzle Sid's cheek, the sloth laughing lightly with surprise and joy .

"I think it'll be a little quieter around here from now on."