Academy Briefs

Snow Wars

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Okay, so really it was the front yard in December.

It began in the kitchen though, with a chameleon haired, smiling girl perched on a counter, swinging her feet and sipping at a chilled bottle of frappuccino while watching a big, growly bear cook up a mess of scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and toast...

"Sang Baby, eat something with your bottled sugar rush," North growled and pushed a bowl of cut fruit toward me. I rolled my eyes and popped a strawberry in my mouth. The heavy trod of feet worked its way to my ear and I glanced at the hall. Nathan trudged over, swiped the bottle of frappuccino and drank some. I crossed my arms over my chest and shot him a mock glare. He simply grinned and grabbed two more out of the fridge, handing one to me.

It was nice to see Nathan smile. It was nice to see any of the boys smile. They'd been working so hard lately I'd barely seen them, or them each other. The academy was running everyone ragged, emergency missions in the middle of the night, along with the heavy load of missions they kept offering us. I finally decided we needed a break and since no one else spoke up, I did, going to Mr. Blackbourne and asking him to ensure no one, not even Sean, needed to be anywhere for 24 hours starting this morning.

"Morning, Aggele Mou." I giggled as Silas lifted me off the counter for a bear hug I gladly returned. The others trudged in slowly as North finished cooking and set everything on table. They ate in silence.

I chewed on my bottom lip. They never ate in silence. My boys needed a distraction. They needed something...something...fun? A new smell snuck up on me and I glanced out the window, surprised I'd not noticed it earlier. A blanket of sparkly white covered the ground, giving me an idea. I figured at least some of the boys would play along, and maybe they could drag the grumpier ones with them.

"Princess, what's got you so distracted?" Victor's baritone drew my attention back to the table. It appeared the boys where nearly done eating. Perfect.

"It snowed," I said, pointing out the window. "I'm wondering if it's good for making snowmen."

"You got the right idea, Trouble." Gabriel jumped up from his chair. "Let's go build a fuckin' snowman. The best goddamn snowman ever!"

"Hell yeah!" Luke pumped his fist, then jumped up too.

"Table," Kota commanded, stilling them before they could run out the door. In no time, the table was cleared, the dishwasher running, and the counters sparkling. Luke, and Gabriel grabbed my hands and dashed out the door, falling down into the snow, giggling.

"Be careful, you idiots." North growled. "You could have hurt Sang Baby." He held a hand out to help me out of the snow, glaring at Luke and Gabriel. I giggled more, launching myself at him.

"I'm fine, North Star. Come play with me!"

North smiled as he caught me in a hug. It was the first time I'd seen him smile in days. I grabbed a handful of snow, testing it for packability and finding it absolutely perfect. Around me, the sounds of the boys arguing over what they were building reached my ears. Grabbing another handful of snow, I added it to my small ball as I looked around. North still stood at my side, smiling as he watched me pack the snow. Luke and Gabriel seemed to be working on their own individual snow creations. Kota and Nathan were deep in discussion, both gesturing at the snow occasionally. Victor was heading towards Luke and Gabriel, while Silas seemed to be headed our direction.

A black BMW pulled into the driveway. I carefully placed my snowball down, no need to waste my work after all, and ran over the snow, launching myself at Sean as he climbed out the passenger side.