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“Don't even think about it, Marius!” Elias was holding the man by his jacket hood, his other hand on his own hip.
“Don't get me wrong Elias, I hate to take it from her, but given the fact Dominic’s a stubborn dick, I don’t think I have any other choice! Go sit in the bathroom if you don't want to watch.” Marius said over his shoulder.
“Marius, listen, and you'd better listen close. If you try to take that bed from Monika, I will lock you out. You will be sleeping in the hallway.”
Marius grumbled, furrowing his eyebrows and slapping Elias’s hand to make him let go. He crossed his arms, and after a moment of thinking, he turned and let out a heavy sigh, donning a beaten expression with it.
“You're right,” He averted his eyes, “She works hard, if anyone deserves their own bed it's her.”
“Thank you for being reasonable. Besides, it's… not that bad if we have to share, right? I don't sleep naked or anything…”
“Are you even hearing yourself, Kötz?” Marius chuckled roughly, shaking his head and walking back into the main room, Elias following.
“You wound me, Marius. If anyone should be opposed, it should be me. I've heard you talk in your sleep, and you don't exactly lay still either.”
“Go sleep on Dominic, then.”
“Are you kidding? He's starfished out to prevent anyone from even thinking about sharing his bed.”
“I know that, that's why I said on.”
“Ah, well,” Elias took off his beanie and jacket, flopping down on the bed once he did, “That'd just be uncomfortable. Plus, his bed doesn't have a TV.”
Marius gave an understanding half-nod, tossing Elias the remote before sitting at the foot of the bed, pulling his jacket off over his head and staring at his undershirt for a moment before shrugging and tossing his jacket at his luggage.
Elias tore his eyes from the TV to watch Marius crawl under all three blankets, raising an eyebrow.
“Won't you get hot?”
“It's fine.” Came Marius’ muffled response, nose tucked under the covers and eyes already closed.
Elias shrugged, flicking the light off, “Alright then.”
Marius fell asleep quickly, and even through the layers Elias could hear his occasional snore. He didn't focus on it too much, channel surfing before settling on a shitty game show and slipping under the top blanket. He'd almost drifted off when he got a soft kick to the shin,
“Elias, did… you hear me…?”
“Huh?”
“Ugh… I said… Can you watch something… less… red…” He trailed off, apparently having fallen right back asleep.
‘Weird request.’ Elias thought, but complied, simply turning off the TV and nuzzling into the pillow, quickly joining the man next to him in quiet slumber.
The swishing of limbs against the blanket woke up Elias and after a second he peeked an eye open to see what the commotion was. He couldn't see much, the streetlight outside their window was out, and the few electronics in the room had blue lights too soft to actually illuminate anything.
He cautiously sat up, waving his hand over Marius to make sure there was no one there. He then felt around, his palm eventually finding Marius’ face, which was still half burrowed under the covers. He put a finger under his nose to ensure he was still breathing, allowing himself to relax and take a moment to stretch after doing so.
He returned his palm to Marius’ face to find he was sweating bullets, legs still kicking while his upper body was oddly stiff.
Elias shook his head, gently and consistently petting Marius’ hair, doing his best to soothe him without waking him up and panicking him more.
“Marius,” He whispered, “Marius, it's ok, you're safe. I'm here, Marius, you're ok.”
Elias had heard of Marius’ night terrors, even witnessed him screaming once or twice, but they'd de-escalated since then- or so it seemed. He was no psychological expert but he wasn't sure Marius being half frozen in fear and panting through bared teeth was much better- if anything, he just seemed more scared.
Luckily for him, Marius calmed down with each word Elias repeated, legs slowly coming to a stop and arms unlocking. Pulling the covers down to his chin, Elias could (barely) see he was breathing normally now, jaw relaxed but lips trembling. He used the blanket to wipe a few stray tears from his cheeks, then tucked it at the bottom of the bed, hoping to help cool him down- if even just a bit.
He stroked his hair a few more times as he lay back down, ensuring he was calm before he closed his eyes once more. He had a harder time falling asleep this time, occasionally rolling onto his back to check on Marius, even snapping out of light sleep multiple times to do so.
Monika was up and out of bed just as the sun was rising, brewing a pot of coffee and quietly watching the sunrise through the living room window. The beeping of the coffee machine caused Elias to stir, groaning as he peeked open an eye. He immediately regretted it, tugging his pillow out from under his head and dropping it on his face.
He'd slept for about four hours, but it barely felt like he'd even closed his eyes for more than five minutes. He grunted as he sat up, letting the pillow fall into his lap as he rubbed his eyes. Glancing at Marius caused him to chuckle- his hair was messy, and his arm strewn over his eyes. He wasn’t sure how he'd managed to do that in his sleep, but the thought was overshadowed by how fun of a sight it was.
Eventually he pushed himself out of bed, heading to the bathroom to take his morning leak and splash water on his face. When he was done he stared at himself in the mirror, the dim shadow of bags under his eyes not fully reflecting how heavy they felt. He did his best to blink away the weight, flicking off the light as he walked out of the bathroom and to the living room.
Monika was at the coffee machine, pouring herself a cup. She had a book on the coffee table, TV quietly reporting the weather across from the couch.
Elias stared at the TV quietly for a few moments, then turned to Monika,
“Good morning, Mon.” His voice crackled as he greeted her, clearing his throat as he put a hand to it and sat on the couch.
“Oh, Elias. I didn't know you were awake already. You sound- well… Do you want a cup of coffee?”
“I'm fine, thank you. Don't you remember? Coffee gives me a headache.”
“Ah, yes. You've told me that once or twice before.” She walked back to the couch, cold water in one hand and her coffee in the other. She handed him the water, pulling up her legs to sit cross legged on the couch. She glanced at him as she sipped from her mug.
“Ah, Danke.” He downed the whole thing as quickly as he could, eliciting a hushed giggle from the woman next to him.
“It's not a competition, you know?”
“Hey now, don't laugh; it helps me wake up. Water isn't caffeinated, drinking it slowly just isn't the same.”
Monika simply smirked, turning her attention back to the TV.
The two sat in comfortable silence for a good while, the monotonous news anchor lulling Elias back into a light sleep. Monika noticed rather quickly- taking the glass from his hand but otherwise letting him rest. ‘Chugging his drink sure seemed to help.’ She thought, feeling the corners of her lips involuntarily tugging up.
Unsurprisingly, Dominic was the next to join the two, though Monika suspected he'd been awake for a while. He ignored the coffee pot, pulling his jacket off the coat hanger by the door as he glanced back at the couch,
“Marius isn't awake yet?”
“Doesn't seem so.” Monika replied, eyes still glued on the TV, “Going out for a smoke?”
Dominic nodded, “Maybe a quick walk, too. If Marius isn't awake by the time I get back, I’m elbow-dropping him.”
With that, he slipped out into the corridor. The door shutting jolted Elias awake and he sat up properly, looking at the door and empty coat hanger next to it. He rubbed an eye,
“I should wake up Marius before he gets back.”
“I agree. You have a few minutes, though.”
“Good, I suspect that's how long it's going to take him to actually wake up anyway.” He pulled his leg out from under him, standing again and taking a moment to stretch before heading back off to his room.
It was tempting to get back in bed as soon as he re-entered the room, but the clock displaying 07:15 in neon red reminded him not to. He stood at the foot of the bed for a moment, seeing if Marius would wake up on his own. No dice. He gave a few pats to Marius’s legs as he moved around, stopping once he was by his shoulders. He stared at Marius’s face for a moment, then carefully leaned over him and sloooowly wrapped his arms under his back. In one swift motion, he pulled him out of bed and into his arms, holding him in a hug against his chest.
“Can't you wake me up like a normal person?” Marius grumbled, eyes still closed, and limp feet hovering off the ground.
“I would, if you'd be this calm any other way.”
“You haven't even tried.” Marius peeked open his eyes, his nose bumping against Elias’ shoulder as he loosely wrapped his legs around him, now mumbling, “It's fine, though. This is fine.”
Elias stopped just inside the doorway, crouching to pick up Marius’ jacket before heading off to the bathroom. He started to let go of Marius at the bathroom door, but Marius’ grip didn't falter, pushing his nose further into his shoulder.
“Hey now, don't just cling to me more. I've carried you all the way to the bathroom, it’s time for you to wake up.”
“I don't want to.”
He placed Marius’ jacket on the counter, “Well, that is unfortunate isn't it?”
“Stop being a jerk, you're like Dominic right now.” Marius grumbled, holding him tighter.
“Oh, no, my dear Marius, you've got it all wrong. I've saved you from Dominic, leaving you in bed would have been much worse for you.”
“I’d rather take an elbow to the gut.”
“Than do what? Let me go?” Elias teased.
“You said it, not me.”
Elias flushed lightly, having expected him to vehemently deny it, “Marius, are you still asleep? Don't be silly, really, it's time to get up for the day.”
“You started it, with your ‘my dear Marius’ talk.” His eyes stayed glued shut as he climbed out of Elias’s arms, shutting the door on his quickly reddening face.
Elias stood in the hallway, stunned, before shaking it off and heading back to the living room.
Monika glanced up at him when he sat next to her again, noticing the way he stared blankly through the TV. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, taking another sip of her coffee. Dominic would probably mention it when he got back.
The door swung open only seconds later, as if on queue. Speak of the devil, she thought.
Upon noticing Marius was nowhere to be seen he donned a wolfish grin, quickly shrugging off his jacket and shoes, then bee-lining for Elias and Marius’ shared room. Only moments later there was a squeak of the bed and a disappointed groan that followed shortly, Dominic slinking back into the main room with a pout.
“Elias, you ruin all the fun.” He was purposefully aggressive in the way he sat down next to the other man, who didn't even spare him a glance.
“I think you have a skewed perception of fun.” Elias said, leaning back and uncrossing his leg that rested on the other.
Dominic looked over to frown at him- instead first seeing Monika’s icy glare, her coffee carefully gripped in her hands over the table. He gave her a half-apologetic expression, then noticed the faint pink that still rested on Elias’ face. His smirk from earlier returned,
“Why are you so pink, Elias? Did you have to wrestle him out of bed? You know, it would've been better for the both of us if you'd just left him.”
“Well, no, not quite.” He tried to push down the warmth in his face, but instead achieved the inverse. He tilted his head a bit towards Monika, now staring more intensely at the TV.
“Oh? Then what is it?”
“It's nothing, just the usual- I carried him out of bed.”
“C’mon, he’s not that heavy and you're not that weak. Why are you lying, what happened? Did you slip, maybe drop him?”
“I did not drop him! I’m barely even awake, is this an interrogation?”
“No, of course not, I'm only curious.” Dominic spotted Marius in the hallway before he could think of more to tease Elias with, his grin only growing, “Hey Marius, maybe you could shed some light on what exactly happened.”
Marius ignored him, tired eyes glaring at the three of them, but mostly Dominic, “Make space, you're all hogging the couch.”
“You help me, I help you, hmm?” Dominic proposed.
“Nevermind, it's not worth it talking to you.” He shuffled over to the couch, surprising Elias by simply picking him up, and sitting in his spot.
Elias stumbled to gain his balance, looking down at Marius with a bewildered expression. After a bit of sputtering, he finally found the words to say,
“You ass!”
“You know how I feel about sitting on armchairs,” He yawned, resting his head on the back of the couch and closing his eyes, “Plus, you're smaller, you'd fit better on it anyway.”
“What kind of excuse is that? Plus- just because I'm shorter-”
“Oh, stop whining, would you?” Dominic butt in, though it was evident from the twinkle in his eyes that he found the situation amusing.
“You're not the one who was just forcibly removed from his spot on the couch, now were you?”
“I'm serious, you're ruining Monika’s morning. Just-” He leaned forward, roughly pushing Elias’ side, causing him to topple over straight onto Marius.
Marius jumped at the initial impact, but relaxed quickly, leaning back further into the couch and mumbling something under his breath. Elias huffed roughly, crossing his arms and leaning back onto Marius.
“I'm severely underappreciated around here.”
“Yeah yeah, hush now.” Marius wrapped his arms around Elias, pulling him closer, “Better?”
“I’m-”
“It was rhetorical. Sh.”
Marius started to doze off quickly, Elias looking unamused as he sat still, locked in his arms. Monika glanced over, apparently only now having tuned into what was happening,
“Uhm, do you want me to move to the armchair…?” She moved to stand, but Elias quickly motioned for her to stop,
“Mon, I’d rather all three of us sit on the floor so you could lay across the couch than make you move. You're fine, don't worry about it. Really.”
“If you say so. Just let me know.” The left corner of her lip gently tugged back into a concerned frown, her eyes glancing over Marius’ sleeping features, “Why’s he so tired, today of all days?”
“Nightmare, I assume. Woke me up too.” He pointed to his own eyes as best he could, though Marius’ hold hadn't faltered so it wasn't very easy.
“I see. I guess it's good you got stuck with him, then.”
“I don't see your point but… better me than nobody, right? …I think?”
This seemed to amuse Monika, her expression shifting slightly in the opposite direction, “You're the best of us three to soothe him, Elias, don't be so modest.”
Elias didn't have anything to say in return, eyebrows upturning. In a sense it was true, but not quite.
Yes, they were close friends, but Monika had a natural calming energy to her and Dominic likely had experience in grounding people- despite acting dickish and disinterested. He wasn't sure something as simple as friendship would beat either of those. Well, if he were having a nightmare he'd probably prefer Marius were the one to comfort him. But that was different- unless of course, Marius thought of him as more than simply a close friend… Well, no. That was silly to think, right? A bit self absorbed are we, Elias? Snap out of it. Don't be foolish. Wait- you don't even like him in that way, calm down.
His mind wandered back to what Marius said earlier, just before he wriggled out of his arms and left him with a similar thought. Well… that was just their normal banter, a bit spurred on by early morning exhaustion, naturally. That was the conclusion he came to earlier as well, but did he really completely believe it- did he even want to believe it? Did he really only like Marius as… a friend closer than a close friend? Was that even a thing?
He was dragged out of his thoughts when Marius gave a gentle squeeze to his torso, arms still locked around him,
“Stop tensing, would you?”
“Oh, sorry. I'm… I'll be right back.” He lightly pulled Marius’ hands apart, standing and disappearing down the hallway. He wasn't quite sure where to go to think- the bedroom was Marius’ as well, but the bathroom would make it too obvious that he was troubled by something. Not that many options in a hotel room.
Oh, to hell with it. He decided on the bedroom, locking the door behind him and flopping onto the bed.
Rolling onto his back, he stared at the rays on the ceiling, extending an arm to sweep over the bed. He felt a tingle in his fingers that ran up his arm as he did so, and a frown crept onto his lips. The bed back at base had started to feel a little lonely recently, hadn't it? Despite the fact that he barely got any real sleep last night, the warmth of another person next to him last night brought him more comfort than he'd like to admit.
Get real, Elias. If it were anyone else you'd feel differently, you wouldn't even be thinking about this, and certainly not as often as you do. He’s not just “another person” to you.
His hands felt clammy. Was he really in love with Marius? The thought had crossed his mind before, multiple times, but he'd never given himself ample time to think about it. He hated that he was fighting himself on this, but if it ended up being that he didn't really love Marius… Well, he couldn't risk losing him as a friend. That was assuming Marius loved him back of course, and that he even found out. Maybe the right course of action was to never tell him, even if he did come to the conclusion he loved him.
Could he keep that up, though? What if he truly did love him, could he hide it from him for what could be the rest of his life? Especially with the way they already interacted, would it be enough for them to just be friends, or would he eventually want more? He already felt like he was breaking. Oh god, he really loved him, didn't he?
Back in the living room, Dominic rose an eyebrow,
“Look at that. You scared him off, Marius. Your legs are too bony.”
“Shut up Dom, you're the one who pushed him onto me.”
“You stole his seat.”
“You stole mine.”
“I did no such thing- maybe if you got up before noon, you'd be able to be correct when you claim that, but I know as well as for a fact that you hadn't even seen the couch yet today when I sat down.”
“Sure, but you know I always sit next to Elias on the couch.”
“Would you two knock it off? You're like children…” Monika placed her now-empty mug on the table, glancing to look at them with a deadpan expression.
Dominic and Marius gave each other a look, then Marius stood. He pointed a finger at Dominic, then the spot where he was sitting,
“Don't take that spot.”
“Yep, sure.” He said, already lifting a leg to rest on the empty cushion, “Have fun.”
Marius groaned, rolling his eyes and walking off to the hallway. Monika turned to look at Dominic fully now, lips straight as a line,
“Really?”
Elias sat up when the doorknob jiggled, and then a knock shortly followed. He knew that knock. He lay back down, he definitely did not want to see Marius only seconds after battling with his feelings for him.
“Elias, you'd better be wearing pants.” Marius warned, and a gentle rattle, then a click, could be heard.
“Can I not have a few minutes to myself?”
Marius was in the room now, and he shut the door behind him, “You seemed bothered. Maybe I misinterpreted how you were acting.”
Elias sighed, “No, it's not you.”
“Then what's wrong?” He moved to the foot of the bed, slowly sitting, “You're not usually so closed off from me; you can tell me anything, you know.”
“I'm just… tired today, I guess.” He gave a strained smile, usually he was so good socially, but lying to Marius didn't feel good at all. His stomach twisted further.
“Oh, well, me too.” Marius lay down next to him, head gently pressed against his shoulder, “Are you sure that's it?”
He swallowed the lump in his throat, “Yeah, I'm sure.”
Marius was silent for a moment. He shifted just a bit closer to Elias, raising his hand just barely, palm facing inward.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, Marius really, it's not you. Well, I mean, it is you, but- Ugh, wait, no, not like that.” He turned his head away, but his hand also rose, gently taking Marius’ in his own, “You're fine.”
Whatever happened to never telling him?! Calm down, Elias, you're going to blow it right after figuring everything out!
Marius pondered for a moment, then spoke up hurriedly, “Elias, do you like me?”
Marius could barely believe he actually blurted it out, but situations like these were ones he didn't care to stew on. He didn't have to clarify before Elias answered.
“…Yes. I know in which way you mean, and still the answer is yes.” Well, the cat was out of the bag now. He still didn't glance back at him, “How did you know?”
“It was more wishful thinking than anything.” He said truthfully, further entwining Elias’ fingers in his own.
“Does that mean you like me back?” Elias’ eyes flicked to his right, hoping desperately to hear the right words so he could roll back over and stare straight into Marius’ honey gold ones.
“Yeah.” He met Elias’ gaze as he turned back to face him, a gentle smile on his lips.
“So, what now?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper.
Marius chuckled, “Don't you know you're not supposed to ask that? It's so weird. We just… do what feels right, now. Same as before.”
“Right. In that case,” His gaze drifted to Marius’ lips for a split second, “Can I…”
“Please, do.”
Elias smiled softly, giggling at the way he had to wiggle closer, his lips still upturned as they met Marius’.
He felt the way his heart nearly exploded in his chest with every beat, sizzling out into a million gleeful butterflies that swirled in his stomach. He felt innocently happy like a child, full of pure ecstasy with no room for anything else. He couldn't even think of what he was fussing over before.
He hesitated to break the kiss, following it up with a tender peck on his cheek to compensate for the missing feeling.
Marius scooted as close to Elias as he could, until their noses were side by side and their foreheads nearly touching. He took Elias’ free hand in his, closing his eyes.
“Can we just stay like this for a while?” He whispered, praying he remembered to lock the door. The last thing he needed was Dominic ruining the moment he'd waited months for.
“I’d like that. We can stay for as long as you want to.” He gently pressed his forehead to Marius’, closing his eyes as well.
“Let's stay here forever, then.”
Elias hummed, the idea was incredibly appealing.
The two had started to drift into sleep again when the grumbling of Marius’ stomach snapped them both awake, Marius out of embarrassment and Elias out of surprise.
“I think that means it's breakfast time!” Elias said, pulling back and sitting up.
Dominic's fist pounded on the door only seconds later,
“Damn right it is!” He shouted, “Get your lazy asses out here before we leave you!”
“We're not leaving them, Dominic.” Monika’s voice was muffled, she was walking around in the distance, “Though they are paying, since they've made us wait this long.”
“Mon, you're a genius.” He gave the door a few more whacks, then left.
“He's going to get us kicked out.” Marius commented sourly, hesitant to sit up. He was hungry, but he wasn't sure he preferred food over being alone with Elias. He looked down at his hand that was still in Elias’, realizing he'd probably have to let go. He didn't want to.
“It wouldn't be the first time.” Elias stood, taking the other man to his feet with him. He didn't let go.
Without confronting the issue of holding hands, the two left the room, Elias leading the way and bee-lining for the front door,
“So, where are we going?” He asked.
“I hear there's a good grill only a few blocks from here.” Monika responded, “I thought that might be nice to try. I don't have anything else on mind.”
“Sounds fine to me, better than nothing.” Marius took his scarf off the hook on the back of the door, wrapping it around his neck as Elias pulled him out into the hall, glancing at him as the door shut, “We're in a rush?”
“Of course,” Elias responded, helping him tuck in the end, “We can't have you starving, can we?”
“You just want to spend a bit more time alone with me.”
“And what of it?” He pulled Marius to the side of the door, out of the view of the peephole, and gently kissed his nose.
Marius smiled, leaning forward into it, “Nothing, I’m fine with it. Besides, while they're still doing god-knows-what in there, do you want to know what I’ve just realized?”
“Hm?”
He held up their hands, “We always do this. Hold hands, I mean. I don't think our normal behavior will change much, not in public.”
“Not always, but yeah. Probably not… Do you think that means everyone's thought we've been together before this?”
“Either that, or they think we're weird. To be fair, they probably already thought that about me anyway.”
The two glanced back at the door as they heard Dominic exclaim ‘Scheiße!’ and Monika quickly urge him to ‘calm down!’
Elias decided to give them a minute before checking on them, turning back to Marius, “Well, I think you're wonderful.”
“You're so sappy.” Marius nuzzled his nose into his scarf, trying to hide the fact that his face still flushed anyway.
“You like it.”
Marius responded only by butting his head against his shoulder gently.
He was about to ask if they should check on the other two when the door swung open, Dominic holding his jacket high in the air as he tugged a new shirt on. Monika sighed behind him, pushing him into the hallway so she could close the door behind them. She zippered up her own jacket, motioning for Elias and Marius to lead the way.
“Sorry for the delay. Dominic decided to try and be funny while handling the coffee pot.” She said.
“Hey, if I had actually pulled it off it would've been funny.” Dominic retorted.
“Key word- if. ”
“Whatever.”
Marius lightly snorted, walking off to the elevators. He pressed the call button when they got there, Dominic walking past them and to the stairwell,
“Meet you down there.”
The three watched him go, hearing the thump thump of his footsteps even after the door closed. Monika raised an eyebrow when neither of the two men moved,
“You're not joining him?”
“I'm tired, okay, Mon?” Elias yawned, “See?”
Marius yawned as well, “Me too. Damn you, Elias.”
Monika tried to force back her yawn, but failed, “I shouldn't have asked.”
Elias chuckled, pulling Marius onto the elevator with him right as the doors opened, “Sorry, it just perfectly illustrated my point.”
“Some points are best left unillustrated.” She pressed the ground floor button, leaning her head against the wall and closing her eyes as they descended.
Dominic was waiting for them when the doors opened again, dramatically stretching,
“Took you long enough!”
“Oh, shut up.” Elias rolled his eyes, gently nudging Monika as he walked out and past Dominic.
Walking out into the morning air brought a tingle to Elias’ face, and he felt Marius do the little shake he did when it got too cold too fast.
“Brr.” Elias stopped walking when he realized he wasn't the best one to be leading the group, “Hey, Mon, I have no idea where I'm going.”
“Oh yeah, sorry.” She picked up her pace, now walking next to Elias, “See that far street sign? We turn right there, it's just around the corner.”
Dominic trotted to walk next to Marius while the other two talked, flashing him a grin that he already knew meant trouble,
“You cold?” The bearded man asked.
“Kind of. Why?”
“Just curious. I'm surprised you forgot your gloves.”
“Well, I have pockets, and Elias’ hands are pretty warm.” Marius lifted their arms to show they were still holding hands.
“I guess. Not sure why you'd want to do that though.”
“What? You're just jealous no one wants to hold your hand.”
“Yeah right. You two have the sweatiest mitts ever, and Monika would rip me a new one if I even tried putting my hand near hers. Plus, her hands are so small I'm not sure she even gets any circulation. She'd just sap all the heat from my hands.”
“That's… not quite the point I was making.” He shook his head, “Do you just look for every possible opportunity to make fun of people?”
“Are you just now realizing this?”
“You concern me.”
“I'll take that as a compliment- Woah, hey, watch it!” Dominic exclaimed as Marius quickly shuffled in front of him.
Elias had side-stepped in front of Marius to allow Monika in front of him, and she narrowly avoided the path of a power walking pedestrian who was clearly not paying attention to anyone around them. Upon seeing the true culprit, Dominic started shouting german profanities at them instead.
Monika sighed, watching as they walked off without looking back, then moving to the door of the grill and pulling it open, “Just leave it, Dom. We don't want to get kicked out before we even get inside.”
He growled something, squeezing past Marius and Elias and into the warmth of the building.
The grill was almost completely empty- good news for Dominic, who hated waiting on his days off. Within seconds a waiter was over to lead them to a booth, the rest of his group following loosely.
“I want the window!” Elias and Marius chimed, quickly glaring at each other through squinted eyes.
“We're in a bit of a predicament, aren't we?” Elias said, holding Marius’ hand just a bit tighter.
Marius returned the squeeze, “It would seem so.”
“You can have the window seats, just hurry up, yeah?” Dominic was already tapping his foot.
Marius looked at Monika, eyebrows slightly upturned, “You're cool with this, Mon?”
“Go ahead. Seating arrangements don't affect when breakfast gets here.”
“I changed my mind, actually.” Elias said hurriedly, feeling Marius’ hand begin to let go of his.
“Hooooly shit, it doesn't matter, just sit down so we can order.” Dominic droned, rolling his eyes as dramatically as he could before sliding into one of the booths. Monika sat next to him, slightly amused at the flustered atmosphere emanating from the other two.
Elias pushed Marius down the booth, scooting next to him and turning his attention to the waiter, his usual charisma coming back in a flash as he thanked them for the menus.
He nudged Marius, opening a menu, “You wanna share something?”
“Sure, if you don't mind that I eat it all instead.”
“That's not how sharing works.” Elias frowned, a playful twinkle in his eyes.
“How are you two even going to eat like that?” Dominic asked, nose deep behind his open menu.
“Like what?” Marius raised an eyebrow.
“Your hands are practically glued together. I wouldn't be surprised if your faces are too, in five or so minutes from now.”
“Jealous. You wish you were us.” Elias quickly teased back, barely fast enough to cut off Marius and stop him from sputtering wordlessly.
“Yeah right, I don't need anyone else's germs.”
“Sounds like something someone who's jealous would say.” Monika quietly added.
“Wh-” Dominic donned a surprised expression, his menu slapping onto the table, “What!? Not you too, Monika? Fine, you win! You all win, I'll fuckin’ drop it.”
Monika cocked an eyebrow; so that's how I can stop these silly morning squabbles, she thought. She glanced up from her menu, catching a glimpse of Marius’ flustered eyes before he shrouded them behind the menu. Curious. Maybe I shouldn't have stepped in.