WD: Snowbirds

"I don't see why you're going out for this," Allen said, leaning on the railing above him. Nathan sighed and struggled not to lose his patience.

"Because we all can't afford to live off of our rich Inven. Some of us need the money."

"I told you—"

"And I told you, I'm doing this. It'll probably just be this first winter, but we can't afford not to go out on missions for ten weeks, Allen. This is happening, so kindly shut up about it," Nathan snapped. He pulled on his boots and, without lacing them, strode out. He'd been hoping to leave Allen behind, but that was a vain hope.

Sonya running up and jumping on his back didn't help his mood. "Are you finally ready?" she demanded, positioning herself for a piggyback ride. Nathan sighed. He wouldn't win.

"I just wish you two wouldn't do this!" Allen called after them.

"You could always join us. They always offer missions in the snow," Sonya offered. He shook his head.

"Ah, and here come the snowbirds." Nathan's mood continued to plummet as they walked out into the snow. Emil bounded up, wrapped up like some sort of demented yeti, and Luca followed him at a leisurely pace.

"Someone still hasn't adjusted to the cold?" Nathan asked and Sonya chuckled. She finally slid off and tugged Emil's scarf down so she could properly see his face.

"Can you blame him? It's culture shock."

"It's weather shock."

"G-Good luck," Emil stammered out, tugging on Sonya's hand to recapture her attention. "But I wish you did not."

"How can you two afford to stay here, anyway?" Nathan asked critically. Luca shrugged and didn't offer a response, to his continued annoyance. "Ugh. It's not like we're the only pair headed out, so I wish everyone would just lay off." On cue, Allen caught up to them again, tugging his hat on crooked. "Sara is already out on a mission, and Jack's going out!"

"No he's not," Allen replied.

"Goddamn him, that traitor." Nathan was torn out of his anger at the world by a soft tug on his hand. He looked down in surprise to find Emil. He looked to Sonya, but she shrugged in response. "Yes?"

"You guard her," Emil commanded. Luca covered his laugh with a fake cough. Allen covered his mouth with his hand and looked away, shoulders shaking. "You keep her safe and warm."

"Oh, I'll keep warm with Nathan," Sonya added.

"I do wish I could accompany you two just to see you inevitably holed up in some snow drift, huddling together for warmth," Luca said wistfully. "But they couldn't pay me enough to go out in the winter, and I'm fairly certain my little southerner would die out there."

"Do not die out there!" Emil said at once, panicked. He pulled Sonya over and held her in front of Nathan. As if he needed to know who he was referring to. "You protect her, like good Tego. Toa pardegé mies parvite shachelle. Toa shanai na?" And he looked up at him with big, sad eyes, cheeks flushed from the cold and bottom lip trembling slightly. He was getting better at that.

"Isn't he precious?" Sonya squealed, throwing an arm around him. His blush intensified. "At least someone doesn't want me to go freeze my toes off."

"We've been over this, Sonya," Nathan said flatly. He really didn't want to go over their finances again in public, either.

"Toa shanai pardegé shachelle!" Emil snarled, although his intimidation didn't work as well from under Sonya's arm. Sensing this, he added a savage, "Jero shanai tuay toa—!"

"Calm down," Nathan broke in, getting the gist of what he was trying to convey. "We'll be okay. I'll bring your girl back."

"His girl?" Sonya asked archly.

"Founachek," Emil spat.

"Hey now, I know that one. Luca, keep him away from Maria, he doesn't need to be learning any more vocabulary from her," Allen scolded and crossed his arms. Emil had turned back to Sonya and was shyly brushing snow out of her hair, eyes downcast. Nathan took the time to light a cigarette, figuring they'd be there awhile. "Sonya, when you get back, you'll have to teach Emil how to tolerate the snow."

"I plan on helping with that. How else am I supposed to toss him into the middle of a snowball fight to keep him busy when I want to be alone?" Luca pointed out. Emil frowned but pretended to ignore him.

"Shachelle, be safe," he mumbled, and then quickly pressed his lips against her cheek. Emil let her go and ran back to Luca, hiding behind him in shame, while Allen burst out laughing.

"That was adorable! Oh god, if you two ever get paired for a mission together, you have to take me along!" he gasped out between laughs, actually holding his sides. Emil peeked out from behind his Tego to glare at him.

Sonya didn't like the laughter, either. A snowball made contact with his head, knocking his hat askew again and cutting it short. "Stop teasing him! He's shy, okay, and we don't need hopeless motherly crybabies to make that worse!"

"Aaaand that's our cue to go," Nathan said quickly and grabbed Sonya. He set a brisk pace and she struggled at first to keep up with him, but it looked as if Luca waylaid Allen before he could come retaliate. "Where did you even learn that? Low blow."

"You and Jack," Sonya replied innocently.

"Well, no teasing him about his motherly tendencies. That's our job."

"What about him and Lenore?"

"Go for it. You can go to town with it once we get back from this mission."