Nowaki had spent most of the night taking care of the man. His name was Misaki, he later learned. His hypothermia was severe, but not deadly. It took some time and a lot of care but Misaki was now back to a normal temperature and Nowaki was sure he'd make a full recovery. Now the only thing they could do was wait for Misaki to wake up.

Nowaki headed down the stairs and to the living room where Hiroki was. Hiroki immediately stood up when he saw Nowaki, seeming nervous. "Well?"

"He'll be fine. He managed to bring him in just in time. Any longer and…"

"Well, what's he doing right now?"

"Misaki is sleeping and the other man is watching over him. He refuses to leave him alone, even though I assured him he'd be fine."

Hiroki snorted and sat back down, relaxing a bit, "That's Akihiko for you. He won't leave till Misaki wakes up. And even then I'm sure he'll still be by his side."

Nowaki nodded before taking a seat next to him, "Who is that man, by the way? Another nobel friend?(1)"

"A friend, yeah. He's the Prince of this Kingdom. Akihiko Usami."

Nowaki sputtered, immediately straightening up, "The Prince?"

"Well one of them."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? I-I didn't bow or act proper or even address him as-"

Hiroki put a hand on his shoulder. "Nowaki calm down. Akihiko isn't stuck up when it comes to that kind of crap. Besides, you just saved that boy's life. You could call him a bastard and I'm sure he wouldn't care."

Nowaki hesitated a moment before relaxing back in the couch. "How did you two meet? I know you're a noble and all but-"

Hiroki gave an exaggerated sigh, "It's a…very long story. I don't want to get into it right now but this house," he motioned around them, "Used to be my family's Winter home. It was a vacation home we used during our trips up and down the continent. When Winter hits it is too dangerous to travel so we end up staying here. It isn't too far from the palace but it is hidden behind lots of forest." he shrugged, "Long story short, I ran into Akihiko while we were both hiding from our families. We ended up being very good friends after that."

"How come I never heard of him before?"

"Er, we grew apart once we got older and I didn't travel here as often. This was before I met you, by the way. But we send letters whenever we can."

Nowaki hummed before looking at the stairs, "Then who's Misaki?"

"I don't know him personally. I know Misaki isn't rich or a nobel. He's a commoner from another Kingdom but he is...well, he's a very important person to Akihiko." he looked over at Nowaki, "They're like us."

"Us?" Nowaki asked, surprised, "But if he's a Prince and he's a commoner-"

"Yeah, I know. I said the same thing." he said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, what are they doing here then?"

"That...I have no clue. But whatever happened, it must have been pretty bad." Hiroki frowned and looked at Nowaki, "We'll just have to find out later. After the boy wakes up."

Misaki wasn't sure how long he had been in the freezing cell but he was slowly beginning to lose his grasp on his consciousness. The room felt unstable, as if he was floating through black ink. His shivering had also gotten worse, his whole body feeling like it might just crumble by how hard he shook.

He couldn't even call out for help, knowing that it would be futile really. Who was going to help him? The guards? The King? He thought about Aikawa and Sumi but he shook his head, not wanting them to get into any trouble just because of him. He was going to die here...alone...as a criminal…

Misaki didn't even have the energy to cry, instead he just closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall, letting himself slowly slip into unconsciousness.

He didn't know how long he had been out but the sound of his name being called seemed to bring him out of his sleep. He wished it didn't, though. His body felt stiff and on fire, despite his temperature being below average(2). He heard his name again, closer this time. Slowly, Misaki opened his eyes and saw a hazy version of what looked like Akihiko standing over him. He tried to speak but he could barely form any words. Didn't matter though, he could feel himself being moved around and freed from his restraints. Someone tried to put a blanket around him and he pushed it away weakly. He felt too hot for a blanket, even if he was like ice.

The rest after that was hazy. He could hear other voices but the only one he really knew was Akihiko. He heard yelling, felt himself being jostled a little, then cradled so lovingly...then new voices, panic…

The last thing he remembered was Akihiko saying something before he finally slipped back to sleep...

Misaki slowly opened his eyes, having to blink a few times before he actually registered his surroundings. This wasn't the dungeon, or his room or...anywhere he knew really. Slowly he started to become aware and he noticed how sore his body felt. He wrinkled his nose as he felt a wave of dull pain go through him. Well shit. Misaki was about to sit up when he noticed something was weighing his hand down. He turned to look to his side and his eyes widened when he noticed Akihiko sitting next to him. His eyes were closed but his hand was securely holding his. "U-Usagi?" he asked, his voice dry and weak.

At first he worried that maybe Akihiko wouldn't hear him but without missing a beat his eyes shot open and he straightened up, looking over at him. "Misaki! You're awake." he said, relief in his voice. He got off the chair and kneeled next to his bed. "How are you feeling? Do you need water, more blankets…?"

"Water." Misaki said, coughing a little.

Akihiko let go of his hand to grab what looked like a teapot resting near by. He poured some warm water into a cup before going back to Misaki's side, helping him lift his head up to drink. "Th-Thank you." Misaki said, laying back down on the pillow.

After that, there was a few moments of silence before Akihiko spoke. "Misaki, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Umm…" Misaki frowned, "I...remember being in the dungeon and-" Misaki's eyes widened a bit and he looked up at Akihiko. "Y-You got me out of there. You and...other people...Aikawa, S-Sumi and Haruhiko…"

"We did."

"But you could have gotten caught! Where are they anyways? A-Are they-"

Akihiko sighed and pushed his silver hair back a bit, "Sumi stayed behind to buy us some time. Aikawa and Haruhiko split off to get the guards off our trail. I don't know where they are or what happened to them."

Misaki shook his head, sitting up now, "You shouldn't have done that. You-"

"Misaki if we didn't you would have died!" he said, trying to push Misaki back down but he swatted his hand away.

"It doesn't matter!-"

"It doesn't matter? You're insane if you think I'm not going to let you die. Especially for something that wasn't your fault."

Misaki looked like he wanted to argue but he wasn't sure what to say. He had a lot to say but didn't know where to begin. He opened his mouth before shutting it. He looked away, "I didn't want to cause so much trouble…"

"You didn't. We got you out of there because we all cared about you."

Misaki kept his gaze down, staring at his hands, "...Usagi. I...I didn't…" he frowned, "I didn't mean what...what I said. Back in the cell…" Akihiko's eyes widened but he didn't say anything just yet, "I just didn't want you to get in trouble too. I-I thought it would be better if I-we just-"

"Misaki."

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm-"

"Misaki!" Akihiko said, voice a bit harsh. "Misaki, look at me." he said, this time a bit softer.

Misaki hesitated a moment before he looked up at him, eyes watery. "...I'm so sorry."

Akihiko frowned, feeling a pang in his heart. He reached over and gently cupped his cheek, "Don't be. I'm sorry for not saving you sooner. I let my emotions cloud my judgement. I could have saved you sooner if I just…"

Misaki shook his head, "It's not your fault." he brought a hand up and put it on top of Akihiko's hand, leaning into his touch. "You didn't know."

Akihiko sighed, looking at Misaki tenderly, "Still…" he stopped when he noticed Misaki's slightly annoyed expression and smiled a bit. It only seemed to now just hit him that he had almost lost Misaki. Of course he knew that Misaki's health was weak when he first saw him in the dungeon but the thought of Misaki actually dying…He leaned forward and kissed Misaki, closing his eyes. For once, he didn't push Akihiko away. Instead he felt Misaki's hand tighten around his own as he leaned into the kiss.

There was still a lot they needed to discuss; still a lot of loose ends that need to be tied. They both knew that their lives were going to change drastically and that they could never really go back to the lives they used to live. Not if this relationship was going to work. But at the moment, it wasn't important. Misaki was alive and Akihiko had forgiven him for what he said. And that was enough to create a temporary moment of bliss for the couple in the storm of chaos that surrounded them.

(1)I assume Nowaki wouldn't know Akihiko was the prince just because he comes from another kingdom. Come on, would you know the ruler of another country simply by looks?

(2)Apparently when someone has severe hypothermia sometimes their body gets confused and will feel like they are burning rather than actually being cold. Kind of like when people get ice burns.

((A/N: Hey guys! This one is a bit shorter than most of my chapters though it is mostly due to the fact that I didn't want the story to feel too rushed. Also, on that note, the next chapter will be sort of a filler chapter just to slow down the story a bit (which is ironic considering how wide apart I update haha). I figured this time it would be okay not to leave you on a cliffhanger. There's still a lot that needs to be tied up but luckily we know that Misaki and Akihiko are okay for now! Thank you so much for the comments! I love you guys and I hope you all have a happy 4th of July, if you celebrate it. If not have a nice day!))