The world was made of rain. Ashton struggled through the mud and stone of the forest path, trying his best not to trip and fall. Rain dripped from his hair, trickling down his back and soaking him to the skin. Miserably, he tried to wring some of the water out of his sodden clothes, but without success. The rain was just everywhere, weighing down his clothes and obscuring his vision. /Stupid, stupid, Ashton./ He told himself, pulling his cloak tighter over shivering shoulders. A lock of wet hair fell over his face, but he kept moving in front, too tired to bother pushing it back. This entire lamentable situation could have been avoided, had he not been so stupid. Had he not been slightly drunk in the village tavern, just happening to hear the news that Dias Flac had been contracted to rid the town of some monster that dwelt in the mountains, had he not wanted to play hero, he could have been safe and sound in that same tavern, perhaps warm and dry in a nice soft bed. /If only you had not wanted to follow the handsome swordsman, moron,/ His brain reminded him, and he sneezed again, too tired to fly into a fit, not that there was anyone around to see or care. Some sight he made now, Ashton Anchors, reputable fighter, drowned kitty. He had even managed to lose Dias's trail when the rains had started. /At least there's one good thing about the situation,/ He thought glumly. /Gyorou and Ururun aren't around to make funny remarks about what's happened to me./ But the thought only made him feel more glum about his situation, reminding him of his constant companions who had decided to escape the rains by disappearing. As irritating and nosy as the dragons were, they were a part of him, close friends whose company he had come to depend on. If not their romantic advice. /I took it, right?/ He sighed to himself. /I followed the man I can't stop thinking about, and look where it's got me./ Granted, they had advised him to stay inside the inn while the weather looked bad, regardless of whether or not the lanky swordsman was outside, getting ready to battle monsters. But he had been drunk, and afraid that he would lose Dias after having followed him all the way to the mountains, even parting ways with Claude and the others for a while. He sighed again, heavily, this time stopping to shield his eyes from the downpour so that he could see where he was going. Ever since he had seen the swordsman at the tournament, he hadn't been able to keep from thinking about him. Everything about Dias fascinated Ashton; the way he walked, the way his hair fell over his back when he fought, his deep and sensual voice, even the way he sheathed his sword. He hadn't been able to keep thinking about the swordsman, and so now Ashton was walking in the rain alone, lost and weary. He didn't recognise where he was heading anymore. If anything, the rain seemed to be getting heavier. Ashton stopped for a moment, disorientated and more than a little lost. The trail forked out into two sections at this crossing- one which led back to the village, and one which would take him further up the mountain. By then, he had had enough of trekking lost and alone in the rain, and was more than ready to return to the inn. Only, he couldn't remember which path was the correct one. He regarded the crossroads through bleary eyes. Then he trudged wearily on. ---- Dias lifted rain-sodden locks from his face to better see his way, glad for the warm cloak he wore. In front of him he could see the swordmage- the person he was following now, struggling through the mud and rain of the path, looking more like a kitten caught in the rain than like anything else, he thought. The man had been following him for ages, ever since the tournament where they had met, and why he had eluded Dias. It was true that at the tournament they had met as rivals, and that Dias had done better that he had, but that was still no reason for the man to be following him. Or boy, he corrected himself, as he looked more closely at the rain-sodden figure in front of him. "This is ridiculous," He thought, as the rain pelted down mercilessly. There was no reason for him to be following his stalker, after he had gone to all the trouble of making sure that the boy had lost his trail. No reason at all for him to be out in the rain when he could be at the cave beside a warm fire and resting from his travels. And yet, he couldn't help but feel the slightest pang at leaving the poor thing to struggle all by himself out in the rain, when he was obviously cold and lost. He had been stalked before, and never had he reacted this way to any of his stalkers. Dias paused on the mountain path, divided between following the swordmage and returning to his cave. "The cave's warm and dry, Dias," A voice whispered in his head. "And whatever will you do, following the swordmage? Continue following him until either of you drop from exhaustion? Or confront him and find out why he's been following you? He's obviously in no shape to duel, and where would be the good of that, if it did come to fighting.." The thought trailed off as he watched the swordmage falter in the distance- and then drop, like a stone, onto the cold and mud of the path. Dias cursed and ran forward to check on the fallen boy. His stalker turned out to be a good deal lighter than he had expected; barely concious and too feeble to raise any protest as Dias lifted him up in his arms. His breath came in shuddering sobs that racked his slim chest, and Dias could see that he was sick and needed to get somewhere dry and warm, /immediately/. /Caution be damned.../ ---- (I am modelling their relationship on Mizuki and Sano's. It seems to me that it fits, somehow. Even if a little changed, but the roles are the same. So cuuuuu~te! I love Hanakimi so much, I might even start to use the ideas there for other fics. And the school trip gave me ideas for a DNAngel onzen thing. The one which I already expressed interest in doing, actually, but had no idea how. Nakajo sensei is such a genius.) ---- Ashton opened his eyes slowly, as he always did in mornings. The first thing he noticed was that the feel of his clothes against his bare skin felt different. He was used to sleeping in clothes, as one had to when camping at waysides, or even in pajamas, when he had the luxury of a bed. But the fabric against his skin didn't feel like any of those clothes. Ashton had sensitive skin. The fabric against his skin was soft and warm, thicker than those of the clothes he normally wore. Freer, and less restrictive.. /Less.. restrictive?/ With a start, he realised that he was completely naked. Ashton blushed violently and closed his eyes, clutching the sole blanket that covered him and trying to curl into as small a bundle he could, as if by making himself as small as possible the world would somehow forget him. /idon'twannaknowwhyi'mhereandi'mnakedandidon'tknowhowintheworldigothereandwhatintheworldisgoingon../ After a while, when nothing happened, Ashton cautiously uncurled and opened his eyes. He was met by an unfamiliar sight- bare rock walls and a smooth floor. A small but warm fire was burned a few feet away from where he lay on a straw mattress. /Slowly. Don't panic./ He told himself. /There's no use in panicking and losing your head./ Closing his eyes again, he took a deep breath and tried to banish all his fears. / Where is this? At best, Claude-tachi somehow miraculously came back to save your sorry ass. Or some mountain hermit took you in. He'll probably know about the monster, too, so you could even go searching for the handsome swordsman again.At worst../ /At worst, you could have been saved by some monster who wants to EAT you../ Ashton swallowed again, and told his rapidly protesting heart to /stay still/. The monster theory wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Clutching the blanket around himself as much as for warmth as to preserve his modesty, he wobbled to his feet, taking a few steps away from the bed. It felt strange to be walking without having to compensate for the weight of two demonic dragons on his back. But stranger still was to have to be without their presence. The dragons were probably still sleeping, he told himself, wishing he didn't feel so silly and childish about it all. If Gyorou and Ururun were there, he would probably have been nipped half to death and half smothered by a hail of mixed advice and admonitions. He looked around. The cave was bare of all furniture except the bed he had just left. A pack stood propped up in a corner, looking vaguely familiar. Suddenly dizzy, he clutched at the walls to steady himself. The pack belonged to..to.. /Dias./ As the lanky swordsman appeared right on cue in the opening of the cave, Ashton fell. Instead of the cold hard floor he had been expecting to impact his head, however, he fell straight into something warm, supple, and soft. The single blanket that was his only article of clothing slipped precariously down even as Ashton stared straight up at the man who had caught him. /Dias./ Ashton's heart stopped for a moment. It was the first time he had been so close to Dias, and it felt strangely good. Some of Dias' long blue hair brushed against his bare chest, cool soft silk caressing fevered skin. Ashton stared up into clear blue eyes, his mouth open in shock. Even half covered in snow, the man was warm, and seemed to exude a glow that flowed over Ashton and enveloped him in its warm folds. Then the dizziness came back again, and Ashton stumbled even closer to Dias. The swordsman's eyes narrowed, but he grasped Ashton firmly and helped him hobble to the mattress by the fire. (I stopped here, because it's a really intense moment and somehow I just can't seem to write it right.) ---- That night, in the darkness and silence of the cave.. /This is going nowhere. The boy needs some help. Our help./ /Are you sure?/ The reply was tinged with anxiety and not a little doubt. /You remember what happened the last time we decided to help. Don't you?/ The dragon with round eyes winced at the acid tone of the reply. /Aw, don't be such a priss. Besides, this is different. This is love, that was war./ /And you're an expert on love affairs? Human ones, even? I still remember the time you../ /Hey, cool down. You have to admit that this affair is really going nowhere. If we leave it to the boy or monkboy over there to handle things the way they have been handling things so far, we could wait a thousand years and not see them get any./ /Gyorou, Humans don't live to be a thousand years old./ /Oh. I knew that./ The white dragon was silent for a while. /All the more reason why we should help! They can't possibly wait a thousand years. And it doesn't look like either the boy or tallboy there will do anything./ /We agreed not to interfere in human affairs, Gyorou./ His counterpart answered, thoughtfully. /But I have to say, it doesn't look likely that they'll actually pull their act together anytime soon. Still, what if we botch up again?/ /Don't worry./ Came the confident answer. /I have PERFECT plan.../ ----