Okay, I know I have stories I oughtta update, but I just randomly came up with the idea for this and I figured I might as well write it up as my 'friend' ditched me again today, so I have free-time on my hands. I know some people don't like Dira, Shiego, whatever you want to call the pairing, but personally I love it so I tend to write stuff in that style.

Disclaimer: If I owned Ice Age, I'd probably have friends that didn't expect me to spend my life waiting for them. Yes, I'm still kinda bitter about that. :(

Shira hopped down off the ice ship, letting her paws sink into the warm sand. She was happy that she was on land, but she had doubts nagging at the back of her mind. Should she really have left the crew? Was this really the life she was supposed to lead? She just didn't know anymore. She closed her eyes, but they snapped open again a moment later when Diego called her name.

"Hey Shira, c'mon!" he waved to her from across the beach "The herd wants to find a new home for us all, y'know, like a cave or something!"

Shira's eyes widened. She couldn't help feeling she was throwing herself into this too fast. What if she wasn't supposed to be with the herd? What if-

"Shira!" shouted Sid, waving her over. Panicking, she raced into the woods, random tears suddenly streaming down her face. This left the herd standing there, all but Diego confused. He was more than confused, he was heartbroken.

"Shira," he whispered, but it was so quiet no-one heard "I love you."

The silver sabre raced through the forest, unable to see where she was going because of the tears in her eyes, not that she'd know anyway, this island was completely new to her, after all. She almost trampled a few Hyraxes on the way, but that wasn't on purpose, and she did mumble something that could've been "I'm sorry" as she passed them.

Finally, she reached a large clearing filled with delicate, sweet-scented flowers. She allowed her legs to give way underneath her, collapsing into the soft grass, letting the smell of the flowers surround her entirely. She sobbed into her paws, thinking over everything that had happened in the past few days, from first capturing Manny, Sid, Diego and Granny to being accepted into the herd. An offer she had seemingly declined by running away from them.

Above all, one memory stuck in her head.

"Come with us... come with me."

Six little words. Who knew they could be so powerful? Those six words had changed her life forever, but she had ruined it by fleeing. Just because she wasn't entirely sure, she'd all but thrown their generous offer back in their face... back in his face...

"I'm so stupid," she sighed "I'm such an idiot! I should've just stayed there, but no! I had to be Miss Dramatic, running away and spoiling everything. Probably breaking Diego's heart. Ha, as if. If anything I helped him, I helped him realise what a waste of time it is caring about me."

"Shira," came a voice from behind her. Shira turned around, and was surprised to see the orange sabre she never thought she'd see again.

"Diego?"

He walked towards her. "Caring about you is not a waste of time, you're not stupid and you're not an idiot! I love you."

"I, I," stammered Shira, but she relaxed when Diego nuzzled her "Love you too."

The two sabres stayed there for a moment, just looking into each-other's eyes. Shira found she was lost in the emerald orbs that stared back at her, straight into her soul and into her mind, which she never thought any mammal would understand. These are some of the reason she didn't pull away when he leaned closer to her. And those six little words were still lingering in her mind.

"Come with us... come with me."

Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation stroke across her face, over her closed eyes. Diego continued to lick her face, wiing away the tears that still remained, and stopping the new ones that she didn't realise had formed in her eyes from rolling down her face. He lay down beside her, hugging her close and murmuring sweetly in her ear.

It was around then that she realised how tired she was, and how lonely she had been on the crew. She'd thought they were her family, but now she knew that she'd been deprived of love and care so much in the years she was trapped in that prison. The only reason she had ever broken free was because of Diego, and she needed to tell him how grateful she was.

Now, she could've gone into a mushy speech, and sounded like a lovesick sap, which she had recently decided she was. But instead, she pulled away from him slightly, locked her gaze with his, and kissed him gently. He was stunned for a moment, but soon he pulled her close again and kissed her back, with more passion. They lay there for a while, kissing and purring, wrapping their forelegs around each-other, enjoying the warmth they had both missed for so long.

"Shira..." Diego leaned back for a moment, looking into her sapphire eyes and gaining confidence "I've spent the past years of my life with herbivores, and I haven't seen another sabre that entire time. And then, I met you. And my entire life changed that moment I laid my eyes on you. Now, I know this may seem sudden, but would you please be my mate?"

Shira couldn't believe it. This ruggedly handsome male who had rescued her from a life of piracy had asked her to be his mate, the mother of his cubs when the time came. She wasn't sure what the feeling inside her was, but it was as if she had butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't sure, but she thought this must be what love felt like. She lifted her head and looked into his emerald orbs.

"Of course I will Diego," she tucked her head into his neck "I love you so, so much."

He grinned. "I love you too," he whispered "Now c'mon."

"Where are we going?" she asked, but she didn't care, she would go anywhere with Diego "Back to the herd?"

"Nope," he smirked. She was confused, and he realised this. "You have no idea what time of year it is, do you?"

"No..." she shook her head, then gasped with realisation. Mating season was coming up soon. "Are we going to..."

"Find a cave," Diego finished for her, before getting to his feet. She leapt up beside him, her eyes twinkling like gems. They walked into the forest, searching the surrounding area for a suitable cave.

It took them a while, but soon they found a large, spacious cave, with a big, moss-covered rock at the back of it. Both sabres leapt up onto the rock, testing it out, to see if it was good enough. After deciding it was both practical and comfortable, they settled down beside each-other. Shira snuggled into Diego's fur, relishing the butterfly feeling that reappeared in her stomach.

"Comfy there?" asked Diego tauntingly, licking her forehead. She nodded.

"More than comfy. Absolutely content enough never to move again."

Diego laughed. "Glad you like it, because you're gonna have to get used to my fur."

"Not a problem," Shira smiled "I already want to stay here with you forever."

No more words were needed, but six little ones kept repeating themselves in Shira's mind.

"Come with us... come with me."

She just couldn't understand why those words had stuck in her mind so firmly, why they had been cemented into her brain all of a sudden. She wondered if there was some kind of message that she was supposed to pick up on, some mesage that she was ignoring. Sensing that something was wrong, Diegomanaged to pull Shira away enough to meet her eyes.

"What's up?" he asked "You seem tense."

She sighed. "I just... I can't get those words out of my head."

"What words?" Diego hugged her close, thinking she meant something Gutt had yelled while beating her, which he was sure the rotten monkey had done.

"The words you said to me when we were trying to catch the ship. Come with us, come with me," she explained. Diego blushed, surprised she had actually taken those words to heart as severely as she had.

"Oh, right... yeah..." He kissed her cheek "Hey, Shira?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you take that so seriously? What I said to you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know... I guess you just, touched my heart."

Diego smiled down at her, before pulling her close again. She licked his throat, smirking as she heard him begin to purr. He blushed and tried to act like he hadn't been purring, but it was pretty pointless. She cuddled into his chest, allowing herself to be enveloped in the sense of happiness and pleasure that she got from being so close to him. She finally felt like her life was complete. All thanks to those six little words.

"Come with us... come with me."

So... thoughts?

Thanks for reading and please review! :D