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Xerxes Break doesn’t like the cold.
Winter is pure torture for him. When he comes back from a mission Pandora assigned him, he’s shivering and covering his ears with his sleeves. With a loud whine that is supposed to be ‘Lady Sharon’, he unties his cravat and falls on the bed. He lies like there for a few minutes, and feels like if he could kidnap the person responsible for cold weather, he would.
He can hear the door opening, but he doesn’t get up, burying his face even deeper into the soft, warm blanket. The stuffy clothes are a pain and provide him barely any heat, but Break will not move.
“Welcome back, Break!” Sharon’s cheerful voice is enough to raise his head, however, and he uses the energy to turn his face towards the newcomers. Reim is alongside her, carrying a tray with a teapot and three cups.
“You haven’t undressed yet, Xerxes?” the four-eyes remarks, obviously fussing about how terrible Break’s uniform looks like. It’s stained in mud and wet up to his knees- the weather is truly brutal outside.
“You’re right, I’m not getting any warmer with this,” he makes a face and kicks his boots off, then proceeds to take off his socks with the other foot. He then, almost magically, manages to send them flying onto the armchair nearby. It makes Reim’s features turn sour, but he, upon eyeing Break’s exhausted face, says nothing.
They both approach the bed and set down the tray on a night table nearby. As Reim pours the steaming tea into the cups, Sharon sits down next to Break’s limp body. She carefully, as if still unsure, moves some of his hair strands so they would not cover his right eye. He opens it lazily, and a small grin spreads across his face.
“If you had brought some cakes as well, this would be the perfect way to end such a terrible day,” he sits up and takes the cup from Reim. It’s rosehip tea, just right for such an evening. They would always drink this whenever the cold season came, in order to be prepared for the colds they could catch. Which they inevitably did in the end- little Sharon loved the snow.
“The tea is sweet enough, isn’t it? I put in three teaspoons of sugar into it,” Reim hands Sharon her cup as well, and sips his own. Break blows on it, and takes in the rich flavour of the drink.
“Didn’t we agree on four?” he ponders out loud, but waves Reim off once he tries, once again, to explain why is he trying to cut Break’s sweet tooth habits.
“How was your trip?” it starts off slow, with them chatting about the mission. The maids finally come to add more wood to the fireplace and afterwards leave them all alone for the rest of the evening. Break, who has just finished telling about what they found out in the abandoned mansion, sneezes loudly.
“You might get sick if this continues,” Sharon says, looking concerned. “Shall we go to sleep, now?” she remarks, and Reim nods in agreement. They come closer to each other, slowly getting rid of all the heavy clothes they have to wear for society’s appearances. It’s been years, but they have grown accustomed to each other’s touches. Sharon doesn’t feel at least embarrassed when Break unties all of her ribbons. Reim lets her gentle hands remove his gloves and glasses, smiling softly to himself. Break is more than happy to let Reim free him from the heavy uniform of Pandora.
Whenever they can, the three of them come to be with each other like this- safe, warm, loved. For each, it was what they prized most. Break lies in the middle, while Reim and Sharon curl up by his sides. He can’t help but be happy with such an arrangement once again. Sharon has a habit of resting her hand on his chest, right over his heart. And only then, the black seal that’s etched right under the white fabric of his shirt doesn’t feel as heavy.
Reim pinches his nose, and mumbles something about it being red. He is tired after a hard day of work, and falls asleep quicker than the others. He also has a few habits, one of them being wriggling his toes under Break unconsciously. If they are freezing, it usually results in Break pinching them until Reim jolts awake. He does hate the cold, after all.
Break is the last one to fall asleep, and he has enough time to take in all the little details these precious people of his have. He tries his best to remember the weight of Sharon’s small hand, and tries to see how long does it take for Reim’s toes to find their way under his legs. He doesn’t sleep well, so he chooses to watch his family until sleep finds its way to shut his eyelids as well. It won’t last long, he is sure. But, until everyone rests, he allows himself to etch it into his memory.
His lady and his best friend, they did not have enough time to get to see what his sleeping habits were. They were always the first ones to fall asleep. What they remember, is that Break always lied unusually still while sleeping, almost as if he dreamt of nothing. He would definitely hate the cold floor he’s lying on, if there were at least a fragment of his soul left in the cold body of his. Rigor mortis has not settled into his body yet, and the lack of stiffness makes him look lifelike, almost.
Sharon and Reim, his two beloved siblings, his lovers, the two last lingering sights in his eyes, they lie there too. And, as if they know what is happening, they are both curled up towards him in an unconscious attempt to make him warmer with their bodies.
Xerxes Break always hated the cold, after all.