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Drift peeks out the curtains, staring out at the street outside of their apartment. She lets out a sigh of relief.
“Finally stopped snowing” She comments, just loud enough that Viking could hear from across the room.
“Perfect-” the sounds of a pot being set on the stove rings through the quiet apartment “Tea or cocoa?”
Drift blinks a few times, still staring out at the disturbed snow and noting how it almost glitters in the midday sunlight.
“Uh, Cocoa” she answers
Viking makes a noise in response, she can hear him turning the burner on to make them both a mug of the warm drink. Drift watches as a truck drives down the little road in front of their building, with a plow strapped to the front. The plow disturbs the perfect snow layer, revealing the dirty ice that was trapped at the bottom. It reveals, in some places, the bare road underneath. Still discolored by the salt put down days prior. Drift is careful not to lean on the window pane itself, the cold of the glass is uncomfortable at best.
“Plows are out?” Viking asks from the kitchen
“Mhm” Drift responds, finally turning away from the window and towards their kitchen. She fiddles with the zipper on her sweatshirt, moving it up and down the zipper track. It catches in a few familiar places, where the teeth have gotten bent up.
The two sit in relative silence, the only noise coming from the plow passing again on the street, and the sputtering noise of their old gas stove.
Drift glances out back at the window. At the messy snow that covers the cars and street. Just enough to completely cover the grass, other than the tall weeds in the front bushes.
“I want to go out in it” Drift says aloud. The statement is hopeful. Her and Viking have had this conversation a few times. The one who asks changes every time. Usually the other is too worried to go out, or the sun is too close to setting.
The sound of liquid being poured into mugs.
The soft clink as both mugs are set on the counter.
“Its about 11” Viking responds. Notably, he does not reject the idea.
“Step out and back in?” Drift offers.
Viking pauses, she can see him squint as he tries to look through the window. The glare on the glass doing him no favors. She can see him weigh the pros and cons of the action. Neither had gone out in the snow unless absolutely necessary. But it was daylight, and their neighbors would probably also be out to at least clean off their cars. So the deafening silence of fresh snow wouldn’t be as bad.
“Okay..” He finally responds.
Drift smiles, standing up to grab their winter gear from the closet.
She pulls out their matching boots, ones they can never find reason to get different ones to replace despite the memories attached to them. The boots are warm, and at least made with good intentions.
She also pulls out a scarf and hat, as Viking grabs his own set as well. Neither pull out a heavy coat, just sweatshirts.
Viking pauses for just a moment at the door, turning to the counter and decidedly grabbing both mugs of cocoa. Handing one to Drift with a smile.
“Better than lava” He says with a strained chuckle
Drift can’t help but laugh ever so slightly,
“Tastes better too” she takes a sip from the drink, almost burning her tongue in the process. The interaction causes a laugh to bubble out of Viking, a slightly less tense laugh.
The two step out of their apartment, just keys and cocoa in hand. No weapons, even though both of them glance back at the display in their living room for just a moment before locking the door.
Only living on the second floor, the pair descends down the side stair of the building. Reaching the main lobby of their apartment building they can hear the little kids from a few apartments on the main floor bounding down the hall. Ready to go play in the snow, with their exacerbated parents in tow.
The joy emanating from the fellow residents of their apartment building helps ease the tension that both of them carry.
The two finally take a step outside, holding the door open for the excitable children running up behind them. The action makes them both laugh.
The noises of excitement fade as the kids run down the street, still visible from the entrance.
Drift hugs her mug close to her chest, Viking holds his with both hands, keeping it close to his face. He nudges drift with his shoulder, a silent check in to his roommate.
Drift gives him a strained smile but makes no move to go back inside.
They take sips of their drinks, watching people clean off their cars, and shovel the road between the parked cars.
The snow is stained with asphalt. The stark coloring on the snow is comforting, not anything they would experience in the wilderness.
The two stand for a long time under the awning by their apartment entrance, taking in the snowy landscape and all the people milling about in it. The noises of other people are comforting. Despite the tension the two of them hold in their entire bodies, it's a step in the right direction.
The cold is just starting to seep into their hands, as they’ve both finished their drinks.
Drift leans down, setting her cup in the snow as she tentatively scoops some of the fallen snow into her hands. Carefully shaping it into a snowball. She holds it up to her roommate with a careful smile.
“A snowball?” Viking asks.
“A rock free snowball” Drift responds.
The oddity of that makes them both laugh, Viking leaning over and crushing the snowball in Drifts hand with his own. They don’t need rock-centered snowballs anymore. They shouldn’t need them ever again.
“The famously rock free snowballs of the city” He laughs.
Drift joins in his laughter, brushing her hands off on her jacket before standing back up, mug in hand.
“ Lets get back inside”
Viking nods, offering to carry Drifts mug which she hands over.
A shout catched their attention from across the street. The two look over to see a friend of theirs waving excitedly.
The two wave back, continuing their way inside rather than crossing further into the snow. They have had enough of the weather for the day.
The two make their way inside, grateful for the warmth of the lobby before they get up to their apartment. The lobby helped ease both of their stress, making it so they were both almost warmed up before entering their home. An easy luxury they both are thankful for.
Entering the apartment, Viking places the mugs in the sink before pulling off his snow gear. Drift doing the same.
If they both did a double check on the mask on their wall, nobody would know.
Viking pulls off his gear faster, moving to sit near the heater in their living room. His nose still pink from the cold.
“Are you still.. Warm in the snow?” He asks quietly.
Drift’s breathing hitches at the question, losing her balance as she pulls of her boots
“I get cold, just not as fast as you do” she answers.
Viking nods in responds, a gentle smile sitting on his face. Instead of commenting on it further he pats the space next to him on the floor, open blanket in the space.
Drift joins him moments later, settling into the fuzzy blanket she had abandoned earlier that day.
The subtle warmth still leaves Drift with mixed feelings. Some days it's a pleasant reminder of Apo, and how she did still try to care for them even with everything. Other days it is a painful reminder of all that her and Viking had escaped. All that they couldn’t bring their new friends home from.
But for now her and Viking are safe in their warm apartment.
Viking shows her a message from Vintage, a picture of her bright pink hair adorned with snow, with both of them blurry in the background. She must have snapped the picture before they noticed.
The message alongside it reads “How are you two laughing over a snowball, lol”
The roommates share a smile, Noting how nice it is to be in their apartment, with friends close by.