A/N: Hey all! I'm back with this little story. I've been having trouble writing lately so I made this story as a bit of a warm up and practice for some other stuff I'm working on. Plus I really need to do another Marina/Shade story. Enjoy!

I feel too that I must give props to luna1502 and Kyumara for their fantastic pieces of art "Kiss Me" and "Shade et Marina" on DeviantArt that inspired this story.

Silverwing and its characters belong to Kenneth Oppel. I guess the show and animation belongs to Bardel and Teletoon.

Sweet Surrender

"Shit!"

Shade Silverwing cussed as another bolt of lightning ripped through the sky and was followed by a roar of thunder.

He flinched in reflex as his mother would usually give him a good cuff upside the ears for using such inappropriate language. It was at a time like this that he wished his mother was there to remind him of better manners. Shade shook some water from his muzzle but did little as the rain continued to beat down upon him. A harsh, chilly wind blew through the air and threatened to push the little Silverwing down to the forest below.

"Shade! Are you okay!" Came a voice from beside him almost drowned out by the violent weather.

Shade caught a glimpse of bright orange in the corner of his eye, the rain making him squeeze them shut and shake his head once more.

"I'm fine Marina! Quit worrying!" He shouted back, his last words teetering with annoyance. The Brightwing gave him an apologetic look though she doubted he could see it. Marina swopped down next to him and could see Shade struggling to catch his breath, his wing beats becoming slow and tired.

"Shade! We need to stop! We're going to get killed out here!" She cried.

"I told you I'm fine! I don't need to stop!"

"But Shade!"

"Dammnit Marina, I need to find my colony! Goth and Throbb could catch up with us any minute!" He yelled back hoarsely.

"Even Goth and Throbb aren't stupid enough to fly in this storm! You're on your last wings here Shade! Please! I can't go much further myself!"

Shade managed to look at his fellow bat and saw the worry and exhaustion in her face. He looked ahead and saw nothing but rain and lightning and the same thing when he looked back. Letting out an inaudible sigh he agreed.

"Fine! Let's find a place to roost!"

Marina gave him a small smile and flew down to the trees beneath them, Shade following behind closely.

Through the branches of towering Fir trees they flew, trying to find some place warm and dry. There were not many suitable places as many trees were already occupied by squirrels or various sorts of birds. The two bats were careful as not to make their presence known to the forest as there were sure to be some spies for Brutus. All of which made the process that much more difficult.

"Marina…I have to land…" She heard Shade mumble behind her and she turned just in time to see Shade careen towards the ground.

"Shade!"

The Silverwing had sagged to but a few feet of the ground when he stopped flying all together and crashed into the wet ground. Marina dove after him and failed to have such a graceful landing herself. Her claws sank into the mud and she tripped, rolling up just beside her friend.

"Shade! Are you okay!" She asked, grabbing his shoulders. "Yeah…my face broke my fall." He replied with ragged breaths.

Marina couldn't help but smile in relief. She helped him up and the two realized that they were out in the open more than they wanted to be.

"We're way too exposed." Shade grunted, standing up on shaky legs. Marina simply nodded, an eerie feeling of being watched creeping into her brain. But where was there to go?

The two looked around for something, anything that would give them shelter. "What about that?" Shade said, causing Marina to look over.

What Shade was referring to was an old Fir tree that the humans had turned into a stump. It was large and very wide, covered in a thick spongy moss. Marina didn't answer but summoned enough energy to fly over to it. Shade summoned up what little strength he had himself, his wings burning and pushed himself towards the stump. Marina landed on top and crawled over the side looking for an entrance.

"Please let there be something. Please, please oh please. Yes! Shade, over here!"

Shade slowly crawled over to where she was and sighed in relief as a good bat sized knot hole was discovered.

"Ladies first." Shade said with a friendly smile, water dripping off the tip of his mohawk.

"You know, I think I prefer you on the brink of exhaustion. You're too tired to be a dork but not enough to stop being a gentleman." She replied, gently poking his nose. Shade blushed and cleared his throat, looking away. Marina laughed and entered the hole.

Shade touched his nose where Marina had touched him and stared off into space, oblivious to the rain pouring down on him.

"You coming or what?" Marina asked, poking her head out. Shade broke from his trance and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry. Just…making sure we weren't followed." And with that, he followed his Brightwing companion into the stump.

The stump was surprisingly dry and quite roomy. It was just as cold inside but that was a small sacrifice for being dry and sheltered. Marina hung from the wooden makeshift ceiling as Shade rested on the floor, his back against the wall.

Marina watched him take in slow deep breaths and rub his sore shoulders. She frowned as she remembered him snapping at her earlier for suggesting they land. Marina knew that he hadn't meant to be irate but rather was speaking out of pride. She knew that he was sensitive about his size.

Time and time again, Shade would push himself too far to prove that he could manage just as well as any other bat that was bigger. It often put him in states like his current one. Gasping for air and so tired that he can barely crawl. But he had a strong spirit and Marina liked that. It was admirable that he didn't let what others told him keep him down but rather gave him incentive to become much more.

And it was rather cute when he tried so hard to be a tough guy.

She felt her lips being tugged into a smile as she watched him try to knock the water out of his ears. He was rather cute when he was just being himself too. Marina realized that she was staring and quickly turned her head away as to hide her blush.

Marina wouldn't deny it. There was an attraction. Shade may have been small but he was far from bad looking. He was brave, funny and had a heart of gold, even if he did have a rocky start near the beginning of their friendship. But his smile is what Marina loved. It was the first real smile she had received since being banded. If any bat came anywhere near her and saw the band, they wouldn't stay around for a goodbye. But not Shade. He stayed and even saved her life when that orca tried to swallow her.

He was her hero. Even if she could never tell him that.

Marina bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes in frustration. She suddenly felt very stupid. This was something she was trying to avoid.

"Shade is just your friend. That's all he is. That's all you want him to be."

She repeated this over and over in her head, trying to block out the thoughts she was having earlier. She opened her eyes and saw that Shade was staring at her, a tired look and smile on his face. The Brightwing couldn't help but return it.

Marina yawned and wrung the water out of her long blonde hair. Shade had managed to stand up but suddenly leapt out of the way just as the water hit the floor. He looked up and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Sorry. But a girl needs to look good Shade." She said brushing a few bangs out of her face. Shade flew up and hung beside her and shook his head.

"Pfft. What's the point of trying to look good in weather like that?"

"You never know. Maybe a handsome Brightwing will come by and fall head over wing for me." Marina joked.

Shade rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah or maybe he'll take one look at you and fly off in the opposite direction as fast as he can."

"Or maybe that bat you told me about from your colony. Chinook? He sounded cute."

Shade practically fell from his perch as his eyes widened in disgust. "What! Chinook! He's not cute, he's an idiot! There's a difference!"

Marina laughed and shrugged her wings, "Meh. As long as he's big and strong, that's all I care about. Big strong wings make me quiver."

Shade stared at her with an open mouth but quickly sneered and turned away, his face hot with embarrassment and jealousy.

"Oh come on Shade," She said, a smile still on her lips. "I was only joking." But Shade refused to look or even speak to her. Marina's smile faded and she soon became concerned. Had she somehow hurt his feelings? She hadn't meant to.

"Shade? You're not really mad at me…are you?" She asked nervously. Shade could sense the sincerity in her voice and suddenly felt a wave of guilt hit him. He didn't want her to feel bad because he was being a baby.

He never wanted her to feel bad ever.

He turned around with a grin on his muzzle and said, "Me? Mad at you? Never."

She smiled back and the two bats just stared, each looking into the others eyes. There was an awkward silence as the only thing could be heard was the thunder and rain outside. Sensing the awkwardness, the two bats looked away, both trying to hide the crimson colors that appeared on their faces.

"Um…well, we should probably sleep now. We got a long way to go still." Shade mumbled. "Yeah…" Marina agreed.

"I'll see you in a few hours?" He asked.

"I'll be right here." She smiled at him.

They had another short awkward stare but both turned away from one another and settled into sleep.

Shade awoke to the boom of an angry thunder clap.

He rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes and took a peek outside the knothole. The clouds had grown increasingly darker to the point where it almost looked like nightfall. The rain still came down hard, the drops slapping down angrily on the top of the stump. Shade wrapped himself tighter in his wings as he shivered. It was nice to be dry but the stump didn't provide much heat.

He turned away from the dreary scene in front of him, hoping to get his mind off the weather and cold. When he did turn away, he definitely found a view that was a million times better and certainly got his mind off the weather.

Shade gazed at Marina's sleeping form, his eyes wandering from her slender form to her beautiful face. He stared with an almost trance like expression, losing himself in the vision of such a stunning creature before him. A few bangs of her bright yellow hair had fallen in front of her face and Shade reached out with claw to brush them away. He suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly retreated his wing.

"Oh yeah, cause that doesn't make you look like a creep!" His brain screamed at him. If Marina woke up and saw him doing that…well, let's just say it would be the only moment in his life where he would want Goth and Throbb show up.

Shade shook his head, trying to loosen the all too familiar thoughts that were crawling into his brain over the past few months. He closed his eyes trying to force himself to sleep but he found that he was no longer tired. Marina always had that affect on him. Just being this close to her made his whole body feel like it had been struck by the lightning outside. A single smile from her could make him feel like he could take on Brutus and the cannibal bats at the same time.

The Brightwing had become very special to him.

When he first met Marina, he didn't think much of her. In fact, he wasn't too fond of her. She was bossy, annoying and egotistical. She reminded him of a female version of Chinook only smarter. But as time went on, that started to change.

Shade came to find that Marina was not any of those things. She was sweet, kind, understanding, forgiving and had a heart as big as the moon. Marina had taught him so much about not taking things for granted and to accept the good in others, even those that were labeled as his enemy.

He would have been dead a long time ago if he hadn't met her.

Shade let out a sigh and shifted in his perch uncomfortably. Dealing with these feelings was always so frustrating. Mostly because there was no way he could ever tell her how he felt. He cringed at the thought of her staring at him with a gaping maw only to have it twist into a cruel smile and heartbreaking laughter echo throughout his ears.

Telling her would definitely be a bad idea.

"Besides, she'll probably fall over Chinook the moment she meets him. Just like Breeze." Shade mumbled to himself, another unpleasant thought entering his head.

While Shade knew that Marina was only teasing when she was talking about Chinook, the possibility of it happening was real enough. It had happened once before.

A few months before the owls destroyed Tree Haven, Shade had developed a crush on a young bat by the name of Breeze. She was a pretty little thing and Shade found that she was one of the few others that didn't pick on him because of his size. She always said hello to him and they hunted together from time to time. He had fun with her and found himself liking her more and more each time he saw her.

Unfortunately Chinook had to enter the picture.

While hunting Tiger Moths one night, Chinook came out of nowhere and snagged a moth just before Shade could. It had happened once before and it wouldn't be the last time either. As usual, Shade angrily confronted him about it and the bigger bat would merely deny it and proceed to call him names. When Breeze caught up to what was happening, she took one look at Chinook who flashed his trademark smile and that was that.

In that instant, things changed. Breeze would no longer say hello to him and if she did, it was only to ask if he had seen Chinook. She hunted with him now and became his most loyal fan girl, although Chinook didn't seem to care too much as he had just about every other female following him around like he was king of the forest.

Shade had never felt so unwanted in his life. Until he broke the law that is. The young bat gritted his teeth in anger.

"It's not fair!" Shade thought bitterly, "Why does Chinook get away with everything? It was partially his fault that I broke the law! But does he get any backlash for it? No! And when he meets Marina, will he know anything about her or have saved her life? No! But that won't stop her for falling for that big lummox!"

Shade could feel his blood starting to boil as he thought more and more about his bad luck.

"Shade?"

He froze instantly at the sound of the soft voice beside him. He turned around slowly to see a sleepy eyed Marina staring at him. "Are you okay? I felt you tossing and turning."

"Yeah, I just…the thunder woke me up. Sorry I woke you." Shade apologized softly.

"No it's fine. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Marina said giving him one of her many smiles that she had been giving him that day. She turned to go back to sleep as did Shade but he noticed out of the corner of his eye that she was shivering.

"Are you cold Marina?" He asked turning back. He mentally kicked himself after asking. Of course she was. It was freezing.

"I'll be okay. Don't worry yourself." She replied through chattering teeth and pulled her wings tighter around herself.

"You're shaking and I could hear your teeth slamming together from a hundred wing beats away. You need to get warm. We both do."

"Well I'm open to ideas Shade." She replied dryly. "But unless you can turn winter into summer, I think we might be screwed."

Shade frowned as he knew that she was right. If they didn't get some heat in their bodies, they might not last until nightfall. But what could they do? An idea popped into his brain at that moment but it was one that made the Silverwing blush harder than he ever has.

"No way runt. Uh uh. She'll rip you a new one if you try that." His mind tried to reason. But Shade took one look at her and saw that her shivering had intensified. Marina needed to be warm. His thoughts had silenced themselves with one look at her discomfort and he knew what he needed to do. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he made his move.

Marina tried to think of something, anything to get her mind of the cold but found nothing helped. A feeling of fear had started to well up inside her as she thought that they might freeze to death. She didn't want to die this way. She didn't want Shade to die this way. Marina was about to say something to her friend when she felt a wing wrap around her and her body was pulled up against another. She turned her head and came noses to nose with Shade who had an embarrassed look plastered all over his face.

Marina could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks as the two just stared at each other.

"Shade…" Marina practically whispered. "I can't change the seasons but I figured maybe I could get us through tonight at least." Shade managed to squeak out feeling very foolish.

Marina opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Shade's eyes darted from side to side as he started to panic. He quickly let go of the Brightwing and nervously fiddled with his claws.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to…uh…it's just…I thought you were cold and…I figured that…the season's thing…" Shade stammered avoiding her gaze. He was pretty sure that his entire fur color had changed to bright red. Shade turned away and hid his face in his wings. "Oh Nocturna, kill me now."

"Shade."

His ears twitched at the soft angelic coo of her voice that was barely a whisper. He refused to look at her. He couldn't. Shade suddenly felt her wing softly touch his shoulder. Slowly, the small bat turned to face her and saw that she was looking at him with a look that he had never seen her give him before. She gave no smile but there was a shine in her eyes, one that sparked something deep inside Shade. Something he had never felt before.

Marina gently grabbed his wrists and made him open his wings. Shade let her, his body completely obeying her light touch. Once they were open, Marina inched closer to him and pressed herself against his body. Shade shivered but not from the cold and his wings found themselves wrapped around her again.

She nestled her head just below his chin and took a deep inhale of his scent. Shade did the same with her hair and he softly growled in approval. Never had he smelt anything so sweet. Without warning, he felt the warm damp feeling of her tongue caress his mane and up to the side of his neck. His muzzle flashed red but it quickly faded as he found that he was feeling less and less embarrassed.

Marina came to eye level with Shade, that look still on her face. The two stared at each other once more but this time there was no awkwardness. No embarrassed look away. Just the two looking into each others eyes, both wanting the same thing. Slower than a caterpillar crawling along the forest floor, they inched their mouths closer together. Shade stopped at less than an inch away. His brain had fired up again and was questioning what he was about to do but his body silenced it and took over again as he closed that last desirable distance.

And they kissed.

It was a small one at first. Their lips parted for a brief moment then met together again, a little longer this time. It wasn't long before each time they parted, the kisses became longer. Shade tightened his hold on her, her body pressing tighter against his own. Marina moaned softly, muffled by the kiss. Hearing her enjoyment echo through out his ears caused Shade to try something else. Remembering what Marina did earlier, he moved his kisses down to her neck.

Marina's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she let out a heavy gasp and leaned her head back as Shade suckled at her neck hungrily, taking in the sweet taste of her. Her claws dug into his yellow mane which only intensified his affection. He worked his way back up to her lips where upon reaching; Marina practically forced her tongue inside his mouth.

Shade's heart was racing a million miles a second. Never in his life had he experienced such desire and passion. If the world outside were to end at this very moment, he wouldn't care. Right now, his world was Marina.

Marina broke away for a moment, gently licking Shade's lips and taking a playful tug at his bottom one with her teeth. He pulled her back in, pressing his lips against hers hard, their tongues battling for dominance over the other. Shade could feel her claws now move over his chest slowly, the sharp points causing his entire body to tingle. Her claws stayed there and with a heavy push, she broke away from his kiss and embrace.

The two bats hung there, panting.

Marina still kept him at a wing's length away and her head was turned to the side, eyes closed. Shade watched her with a confused look on his face. Why did she stop? Did he do something wrong?

"We…" She breathed, her green eyes opening once more. "We should stop there."

"Why? Did…did I hurt you or something? Did I not do something right?" He asked worriedly.

"No Shade. You did nothing wrong. That was…amazing." She said, her eyes now meeting his. Shade felt himself relax but he was still confused as to why they had stopped.

"I…" Marina began but stopped. She saw the look of worry and confusion in the other bat's eyes that made her heart sink as she chose her next words.

"I like you Shade. I like you a lot. And I would be lying if I said I didn't want to do that." She said. Shade couldn't help but smile. How could he not? He was wrong about everything. Marina did want him. She did return his feelings. He wasn't cursed with such bad luck after all.

"But I can't do this."

Shade's heart practically stopped beating as those words left her mouth. He stared at her, his mouthing opening to say something but nothing came out. He tried again and this time found the words.

"Why?"

Marina let out a sad sigh. This was what she was afraid of. This is why she never tried to show any interest in Shade. She knew this was going to happen.

"Because I think it's best that we just…stay as what we are. Friends." The brighter colored bat finished, looking at him with apologetic eyes. "Oh." Is all Shade said, his voice quiet as a whisper.

"It's not that I don't…I just…" Marina struggled with her words. "I haven't had a friend in so long and then you came along. I don't want to lose that Shade."

Shade merely nodded and mumbled, "Yeah…I understand." Marina felt like crying. This was not what she wanted. Damn her for letting her emotions go crazy like that!

"This…won't change our friendship…will it?" She asked timidly. Shade forced a smile and shook his head.

"No. You're the first real friend I've had in years. I don't want to lose that either."

Marina smiled out of relief and Shade murmured a good night, turning his back to her. She did the same, her face hot with shame. Shade wrapped himself tighter in his wings as the cold had returned, his body no longer pressed against the beautiful female beside him.

Shade closed his eyes tightly as they started to feel damp with potential tears. The rain continued its onslaught on the forest outside and Shade took a peek to scan for any signs of Goth or Throbb. Not that it mattered to him right now.

Goth had threatened to rip Shade's heart out and eat it plenty of times but if he tried it now, he would have found it difficult as Shade was sure it had been broken into a thousand pieces.

A/N: Hmm. That last line seemed a little too emo for my taste. Ah well. Stay tuned for chapter 2! It'll be up in the next day or so. Promise! Cya!