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“Hey, Marius.”
“Yeah?” Marius looked up at Elias’ call, and was immediately pelted in the nose with a snowball. His hands froze on the snowman he was packing, not even bothering to shake the snow off his face as he blinked rapidly a few times, processing what exactly just happened.
Elias softly laughed from his place next to Dominic, who handed him another snowball, “Wanna play?”
“Don't you think you're asking that a bit late, Elias?” Marius still didn't wipe the snow off his face, glancing at Dominic with a look that screamed I’m going to murder you .
Dominic waved him off, the light layer of snow on Marius’ face really not helping him seem serious or intimidating.
“I don't think so; we can still play, can't we?” Elias tossed the snowball between his hands, waiting curiously for an answer, “What'll it be? Hm?”
“You have 30 seconds to prepare, Elias,” Marius said as he finally shook the snow off his face, “No mercy. You're going down.”
“See, I totally needed the head start!” Elias bolted to jump over and behind a bank of snow, using the snow that softened his landing to start making more snowballs.
Dominic slunk back to the building, donning a look that would concern either of the other men if they had seen it. Within seconds he retreated further- not that they noticed- and the door clicked shut behind him.
Marius was taking refuge behind a line of bushes- next to a different snowman he'd previously made and simply kicked over, since he wasn't satisfied with it. Probably because it was built with a lot of slushy snow, which he figured would make a truly great snowball.
Elias was the first to peek over after the 30 seconds, Marius using the opportunity to hurl a snowball at him. He ducked behind the bush as he saw Elias throw one back, looking through the bushes to see his own hit Elias in the shoulder as he turned away.
He laughed loudly, making sure Elias could hear him, “Not the greatest defensive move, Eli! You can do better!”
“I'm warming up, okay?! How did you even see that- are you looking through the bush?!”
“Maybe.”
“Aw, man! Can I relocate?”
“If you want to get pelted with snowballs! No timeouts!”
“Actually, I'm calling a timeout. Close your eyes, the both of you!” Dominic called from the doorway, only his head out of the barely open door.
“No way!” Marius extended his free hand up, flipping Dominic the bird.
“Sorry Dominic, but I don't trust you either. Give us a good reason.”
“I come bearing presents! It'll enhance the game, don't worry, you both want what I'll be giving you.” Dominic shifted in his spot, not keen on having to argue with the two for 15 minutes just to give them something only beneficial to them.
“Hmm, I'm not sure…” Marius didn't have time to say more before Dominic cut him off,
“Just close your fuckin’ eyes!”
“Alright, alright, fine!” Marius put his arm over his eyes, the melting snow on his jacket nothing in comparison to a snowball thrown so hard it could break his nose- which is what he expected from Dominic.
“You too, Elias!” Dominic barked.
“I could use a second to replan, anyway.” He leaned back as he closed his eyes, packing a snowball as he thought.
Marius heard the chunk of something being placed in the snow beside him, immediately curious as to what it was. It almost sounded like a shovel… He reached out to give it a jab, but Dominic slapped his gloved hand away,
“Can't you wait? You're like a kid on Christmas.”
Marius just groaned, putting his hand back in his lap.
Elias, on the other hand, knew what his ‘gift’ was immediately, the telltale whirr followed by mechanical clicking tipping him off instantly.
“Isn't this backwards?” He asked quietly, though a smile still found its way onto his lips.
“It keeps things interesting.”
Dominic trotted back to the door, knocking on it once he was there, “Okay, I’m done, you can open your eyes now!”
Marius recognized the shape of Elias’ shield leaning against the bush right as he opened his eyes, the bright paint heavily contrasting the snow.
“Won't the shield start to rust out here?” He hoisted it up with one arm, surprised by its weight. Apparently the R&D team hadn't figured out a way to make it lighter yet, despite Elias’ constant light-hearted prodding.
“It'll be fine! You're welcome, by the way!” Dominic returned the gesture Marius had so kindly flashed him before.
“Thanks, Dominic!” Elias cheerily called, excited to see the ADS’ in action- if not because they'd help him, then because it was a rare sight for him to see them work in such close proximity.
“Yeah, yeah. You're welcome.” Dominic pulled out a folding chair from inside, setting it up by the door as he took out a cigarette.
Elias returned his attention to Marius, scooping a snowball into his palm, “You ready, Streicher?!”
Marius didn't bother asking what Elias had gotten, figuring he'd find out soon enough- though he already had a pretty good guess. Instead, he simply shot Elias a thumbs up over the bush, opting to watch him rather than attack first.
His instinct was right- Elias’ snowball got zapped out of the air only seconds after he threw it, eliciting a frustrated yell from the man.
“What the hell! This isn't useful to me at all!”
“Just throw slower!” Marius taunted, sending a snowball rather high into the air, somehow managing to keep it just slow enough that it still hit Elias without being shot down.
“Real funny, Marius! I can't do that if I want it to hit you!” Elias glanced back at the last ADS not on cooldown, unsure of how to deal with what was now a hindrance to him.
“Move it closer to the bank, Eli! Just don’t let it detect your snowball, that's the only help I'm giving you!”
Elias narrowly ducked under a snowball as he reached for the last ADS, sighing in defeat as it shot the snowball and went into cooldown. He still picked it up, staring at it quizzically,
“How do I reset it?!”
“Only one hint, Eli! Figure it out!”
Elias let out a distressed groan, deciding he'd just tough it out until the ADS’ came back online. At least he didn't have to worry about them shooting his own projectiles, and this allowed him to pelt Marius with a few snowballs, though he still managed to get hit by one himself.
On Marius’ side, he was starting to regret his bush cover- though it had originally provided him with a good amount of vision and cover, Elias had started to hit it more frequently, and not only was it starting to block his vision, but also fling more snow through and onto his face. He crouch-walked over to the shield, peering through the window at the top. Only half of it was still good for seeing through, the other half caked with snow.
He reached around to brush it off, but instead got hit directly on the back of his hand, stunning him for a moment and causing him to pull his hand back. Elias was a pretty good shot- though he already knew this in general, he wasn't sure how well that translated to snowballs. Apparently, very well, and this caused him to reconsider Elias’ previous shots. Was he actually hitting the bush on purpose, in the hopes to obscure what he could see? In that case, was he actually planning something? What could it be?
He didn't notice Elias sneak off from behind his cover as he pondered for a few seconds.
He suddenly took the shield in his left hand, picking up a snowball with his right. He knew Elias was much more dangerous once he got a plan in motion- he'd strike before he could do that. The shield should work well enough to allow him to do that.
He rushed the bank as quickly as he could, his footing awkward as the shield’s weight was just another variable not working in his favor. He was surprised to not find any resistance- surely Elias had to hear him coming? What was he thinking?
He jumped over the outside corner of the bank, immediately noticing the lack of the other man. He didn't have time to think about where he could be- Elias tackling him from the side and forcing Marius onto his back, trapped under himself and the shield. Marius clumsily felt around to find the shield’s trigger with his thumb, closing his eyes as he pressed down on it.
Elias didn't move off him, and Marius opened his eyes to see him squinting, dazed.
“Ow, that hurt. You win, I'm tired now. Ow.” He blinked dramatically, slowly regaining his vision. At least it’s still bright outside, he thought to himself, that could have been much worse.
“Sorry, are you okay?” He wriggled out from under the shield- the compacted snow making it easier- quickly slipping off both his gloves and gently caressing Elias cheekbone with one hand, just under his right eye.
“I am now.” He hummed, leaning into the touch, “You have healing hands.”
Marius put his other hand in the mirrored spot on his face, gently cradling him, “You're seriously sure you’re okay, though? That shield’s pretty bright, it's even worse the first few times you get flashed by it.”
“I'm more hurt by how dirty you played against me,” Elias pouted, both eyes closed, “You're so mean, I thought you loved me.”
“I do! I don't want to baby you when we compete, what kind of love is that?”
“We weren't really competing.”
“Says the one who started it and lost.”
Elias lightly smiled, cracking open an eye, “Do you want to go sledding?”
Marius smiled back, deciding to ignore the change in subject, “Can we take the shield? I won't tell Elena if you won't.”
“Sure. It could use some durability testing anyway- we really only have to tell her if something goes wrong.”
“Great.” He let his hands fall off Elias’ face as he stood, moving them to his hands and helping hoist him up.
“You should take the Magpies inside first- I’m not coming to get them!” Dominic didn't look up from his phone, cigarette still slowly eating away at itself in his other hand.
“Lazy!” Marius stepped back over the bank, flipping over an ADS as he handed it to Elias, lowering his voice to talk to him, “See this button on the bottom of the handle? That's how you manually rearm it.”
“I never noticed that… Did you just implement it?” Elias took the second ADS as Marius handed it to him, careful in the way that he held the two.
“You don't get to see them up close. They've always been there, just in case. I didn't have to use them in the past, though.”
Marius held the last ads, locking his arm with Elias’ as they walked back to the building. He opened the door and Elias went first, holding it for Marius with his shoe as he glanced back at Dominic for a second.
Not exactly what I meant when I asked for your help on getting to spend time with Elias on Valentine’s day, Marius scowled inwardly, slipping a bill out of his back pocket and discreetly handing it to Dominic, But it did work, so thanks… I guess.