Airplanes

Elijah's normally big brow eyes nearly doubled in size, opening his mouth to say something, though he was stopped momentarily by a very, very sharp glare from his mother. Turning to look at her, almost guiltily before he started speaking quickly in Hebrew. They were not very quiet, and the speed of their speech was close to breakneck. After a few quick clips of discussion the sucked in a sharp breath and glared back at her faintly but looked down, whatever rebellion he had mounted had been quelled. Crossing his arms on his knees and hanging his head a bit, Eli gave a little puff of frustration. He knew why, and he understood, but he hardly wanted to live with that spoiled brat, let alone marry him, even if temporarily.
Both Armin and his mother were silent during this exchange, Alicia because she was polite, Armin because he was still in shock and horrified by this revelation.

"You see? Elijah can accept it...and it is only for a short time, until all of this Hitler nonsense is cleared up and he's sent from the governments doors to where he came from. Armin...please, can you at least try and understand?"

Alicia looked at her son again, pleading, but his blue eyes were looking straight through her.

"I'm going out." Was his only response before he turned sharply, pulling boots on at the front door and slamming it as he left, leaving only his malice behind. Now he had to hide too, be careful of what he did and said, and be nice to that Jew boy. Well, it would only be in public.

Elijah rolled his eyes a little bit and sighed, before he murmured a quiet "Excuse me." setting his teacup down and heading back upstairs, stuffing the girls' clothes into his suitcase, frowning at the dresser for a while, as if somehow it was the cause of this mess. With his luck, that stupid boy would have him stoned to death the next time he left the house. He put his suitcase next to the dresser, and flopped down on the bed, asleep before he even knew it.

It was dark by the time Armin came back. He had walked, gone down to the river, had a few smokes, and seen a few people he knew...and although he wasn't okay with things, he wasn't quite so mad about them. His mother was right, after all...even if he didn't see anything for the Jewish people to hide from. Back at home, he looked up at the darkened windows, and like any delinquent teen, made for the wood work that sat against the wall of the house, under his own window, and climbed up it.

Pulling the sill up, he clambered as quietly as he could through the window, as he kept it unlocked for just such emergencies, Armin couldn't see a thing inside, but decided against a light. It would only keep him up longer. Pulling his shoes, socks, and pants off, he lumped them together with his suspenders before feeling abouts for his bed, his shirt and boxers would be his pajamas tonight. Finding the edge of the bed, he maneuvered onto it, about to lay down....

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" He hissed quietly, practically falling over the edge in surprise at the body there. Eli was barely woken up by the weight on the bed and the hiss, taking a few seconds to register it before he just rolled over onto his side, stealing a bit more of the pillow and muttering something in Hebrew. There was enough room, barely, for two people; so long as they stayed on their sides. That and Elijah always had been a very heavy sleeper. Although, he wasn't likely to move for the German boy even if he had been entirely conscious.

Grumbling curses, Armin tried his best not to elbow the other boy and shove him right off the small mattress, instead grabbing the blankets and crawling under them as best he could. He'd never get to sleep now, not with that lump taking up all the pillows...the only good thing about any of this as that he was warm for once. Armin always got so terribly cold while he slept, but if he were lucky, Elijah could take all that cold and in turn the blond could steal whatever heat he could get. It really didn't take him that long to fall asleep, stress making him dozy very fast, and by morning there was nearly enough room for another person on the bed...Armin had snuggled right up against Elijah in the night, a total heat leech of course, one arm snuggly around the other male so as to keep said heat close.

The first thing Eli heard was his mother call from downstairs, and he blearily opened his brown eyes. It wasn't so much as calling as it was yelling at the top of her lungs in Hebrew, but she did that every morning. Moving to sit up, he found himself, somewhat restrained. Blinking at the arms around his waist, he frowned a bit more, looking back at the German boy, and smirking. He couldn't help himself, really. Far too good to be true. Oh, how he would love teasing him about this. Finally reaching over and poking a bit at him, as he said "Hey, Armond or whatever... Mind letting me go? Its time for breakfast."

"Mmph!" Was the only, rather upset little sound that came from Armin as he was poked. He hated being woken up, especially when he was so warm and comfortable. Which was actually rather odd. He was never warm when he woke up....

Eyes blinking open under a furrowed and irritated brow, Armin wasn't quite sure what he was seeing at first. It just...looked like a shirt. "Geh...!" The realization hit him like a brick to the face, and that unintelligable sound was the most clever thing he could come up with as he let go of Elijah and rolled over, shuddering slightly. No way had he been clinging to that kid. "It's Armin..." He growled under his breath, face too flushed and miserable to even think about getting up for breakfast yet, and he rubbed his arms as if he'd been burned. Elijah smirked a bit and then leaned in close, eyes narrowing a bit, though unable to hold back the rather evil smile that he had "Alright, Armin, if you don't wise up and start being nice to me, I'm going to tell all your little friends about it, and your mother." pulling the blankets off and getting out of the bed, raking a hand through his hair and heading out to rumble down the stairs to breakfast, knowing full well his mother would have made something good to eat, just to make up for the horrible state of affairs that were happening.

Blackmail? Ohh that was classy. Armin tensed up as he listened, glowering at the wall. "You think I care if you tell them? Ask my mother, I've always been a clingy sleeper. I don't care who you tell..." But that was completely untrue, and his wavering voice made that obvious. After Elijah had left the room, the blond swung his legs off the bed, ambling to the dresser and putting a new pair of pants on. No way was he going to breakfast, to look at that smug, hook-nosed jerk. He'd never get a bite down.

"Armin! What's taking so long? Get down here!" Too bad though, his mother wasn't going to let him off easy, and dejected, Armin made his way to the kitchen as well, making sure to keep his eyes to the floor. The pair of 'guests' were bickering in Hebrew over something, although it was quiet and didn't hold any nasty tone. His mother finally cuffed him a bit on the back of the head before kissing his forehead and ruffling his brown curls, handed him a plate of cooked potatoes and pushed him off towards the table. He sighed a bit but went along with it, sitting down next to Armin and putting the dish on the center of it, waiting for his mother to come with the juice and eggs.

Sitting in the breakfast nook, Armin shuffled over as best he could as Elijah sat down. It still hadn't set in yet, the fact that he would be actually married to this boy, in a ruse to keep him safe. Married. To a boy. Just thinking about it made him want to laugh, it was so absurd. In his head, it was still just some fantastical joke, not to be taken seriously.

"Armin, stop staring at your knees! We have guests, be nice," his mother rapped a wooden spoon on the table next to the youths hand, and he looked up, startled.

"Ja, mum..."

"Now...things will be complicated around here, but it's not so bad with Armins father still in Germany...Elijah, if you'd like to go out, your welcome to. Just make sure you dress appropriately," and by this she meant a dress, "And make sure there's someone to escort you...though I'm sure Armin would be happy to."

The look Alicia gave her son was severe and gave no room for arguement, so the blond simply glared at her in return. Elijah rolled his eyes faintly but looked something like a kicked puppy at the slightly threatening hand his mother waved at him and the sharp Hebrew words, nothing more than two, but it quelled him again. It was something, he was fairly certain, that was natural to Jewish women, for they were quite, quite scary. He sighed inwardly and started to eat. He had very good manners, and ate as properly as he could manage. Half just so that his mother didn't yell at him, and half to prove to Armin that he was... worthy? He wasn't sure. He just wanted to shove something in that blonds face and make him eat his prejudices instead of eggs.

As he ate breakfast, he considered if there was anywhere he'd want to go. After all, he didn't like the idea of having to go out in a dress, or be in public in a
dress, although it might be a bit of fun if Armin had to cart him around. No one ever said that Elijah wasn't a bit sadistic in his own right. Maybe a game shop or something- Eli did have his marbles with him, not that girls really played marbles, but it wasn't a sport at least, so it would be far more believable that he played marbles... What else did girls do? he tried to think on it but the only other things he could remember girls doing back home was talking and skipping rope, neither things seemed very appealing to him...

Armin fumed quietly as he stabbed at his breakfast. Now he had to play the gentlemanly host, and show Elijah around. Every time his mother said something to him, his life got worse. As he played out scenarios in his head, food forgotten, Armin could just see his friends finding him with that Jew in drag, and making fun of him. Or worse. "Mum, I...I can't go out today. I have to study for a test at school..." Mumbling away, he hoped that would suffice as an excuse.

She took a few moments to study her son, who barely managed to hold up against the scrutinous eye of the blond woman. Finally, she lifted her chin, and returned to making her tea, stating simply "Fine. Then you can stay home, study, and clean out some of your drawers for Elijah to use. I'm sorry about the sleeping situation up there, but we'll get you a cot soon," Alicia smiled over at the brown-haired boy before turning to his mother and making small talk in the bit of Hebrew she knew, leaving Armin out of this circle entirely.

Alienated in his own house, he could only sigh, "May I be excused? I don't have an appetite..." And at his mothers nod the Aryan youth trudged his way back up stairs. After watching the blond go, he ate the rest of his breakfast quietly. Finally excusing himself and rinsing off his plate, he headed upstairs. There was the same feeling, as if the door knob might burn or bite him, but after a moment he sighed at his own cowardice. He shouldn't be afraid, that was just... dumb. Yeah, dumb. Steeling himself, he gave a bit of a knock on the door, and poked his head in, moving into the room almost cautiously, as he asked "Is there a game store here...?" he wasn't sure why, but he didn't really like seeing Armin entirely miserable. And he didn't like the boy making up excuses to not go outside with him either, that was just annoying... He supposed it was a big change for both of them, but at least Eli had gotten a few days warning- at least, about the cross-dressing thing...

Armin was sitting on the edge of his bed, facing the window, and contemplating how much it would hurt to jump out of it. Probably a lot. "Huh...? Oh, yeah, actually. It's a few blocks over, then down a couple...there are some other stores there too, magazines and books and things..." Tone somber as he replied, Armin still couldn't bring himself to face Elijah. At least if the guy had been in drag, he could have woken up thinking he was hugging a girl...oh, the trauma. He'd live, however. "You want to go?"

"Kinda..."

There was a long pause, as Eli waited, taking in a breath before moving over, nibbling at his lower lip. Finally, he let out the breath in a sigh, and offered apologetically

"I'm... sorry about what I said this morning, I wont say anything... This is going to be difficult for both of us in different ways, you know... It'll all be easier if we're just civil to each other."

He wasn't sure how to offer a proverbial olive branch to the German boy, but if he was going to have to depend on him to keep his secret- and what a secret it was - it probably would be better to be nice...

Armin nodded, slowly, but in complete agreement. He'd been civil to Jewish people before anyway, he'd had friends too...so why was he being such a jerk now? Maybe it was just the situation, or what was happening in Germany, but it was silly to get to upset.

"Alright. So long as you keep your secret, and...don't tell anyone about this morning..." The thought still made him flush a bit, but he turned to Elijah now, holding out his hand. "Shake on it, then neither of us can go back on our word."

Eli had always thought that it was silly to say that a handshake could keep someone from saying something, but he smiled anyway and gave Armin's hand a firm shake, before he glanced out the window a bit, and then looked back at him, asking "So... what do you and your friends do for fun around here?"

he had after all left behind all of his own friends, and now everything would be... odd... since he could only go outside as a girl, asking then "Marbles? Dominoes? Cards?" all of those things would be moderately alright for him to play as a girl. Heck, they might even underestimate him and 'go easy' on him. Perhaps he could make a fair bit of money if he convinced them to bet their change...

Hands shook, it wasn't much, but at least it was a small confirmation of trust. "My friends and I...mostly we play soccer, actually, or just walk along the river bank, throw things in...but if it's ugly out, we'll stay in and play cards. Haven't played marbles or anything like that in years...but you see the older folks playing dominoes outside the bodegas, and you can usually join them for a game." Arming stopped talking, looking over at Elijah. "It's really too bad you have to dress like a girl...you look fast. Ever played soccer?"

Eli smirked a bit at the compliment and gave a nod

"Yeah, till they started taking over the fields and stuff and making us stay indoors. I wasn't too bad either... " Watching the Aryan boy for a bit before he just smiled and looked down, waiting a little before giving a slight rumble "Not that I can do much of anything in those stupid girl shoes." glaring at them a bit pointedly as they rested beside the dresser. Plain, brown leather shoes, with inch high, square heels on the bottom of them, which made it amazingly hard to walk in. He was quite convinced that they were instruments of torture.

"Well...they don't do that here. Not yet anyway...but the Jewish boys that were on our team had to go join another one, simply because the others were being too mean..." And he had been mean too, though he wouldn't dare admit to it. It was just something he had done to be accepted - no boy wanted to be label a 'Jew Lover' or worse, be accused of being a mischling, what with Hitler on the rise. Eli looked down to the floor at the mention of the other Jewish boys being secluded. It was something he'd almost grown used to being... normal. His mother constantly reminded him though how it wasn't right. But it was ... frightening to try and stand up to something that wasn't right, especially when there were so many more of them than you.

Following Elijah's gaze to the shoes, Armin stood up and walked over to them. "They don't look so bad..." Without much thought, he stuck one socked foot in a shoe, then the other. "How do I look?" He grinned, trying to walk around in them. They were deceptive, he learned, as he tripped over the edge of a throw rug. He blinked as Armin put on one of the shoes, giving a faint laugh - though not a mean kind of way, just enjoying the blonds sense of humor, which he didn't think really would exist beyond being snarky "Oh, you look lovely." he replied with slight sarcasm. Wincing as he fell, before standing to help him up "Not as easy as it looks like it should be... I fell over at least seven times on the way to the train station. So embarassing, wearing a dress, too."

"Ahh...no kidding. I can't imagine falling down with skirts...you might end up giving everyone a clear view of your drawers," he shook his head at the thought, grinning as Elijah helped him up. Kicking the shoes off, he put them back in their place before looking at his dresser, giving it the once over. If he was going to go through with this, it had to be a commitment. "I'm going to clean out a few of the shelves for you...how many do you think you'll need?" Not that it matter where his own clothing went, for their was a closet, and always boxes for storage. Still, in the back of his mind was a nagging little voice...

"Just the one I guess... I've only got what's in the suitcase..." raking a hand through his hair, waiting some before looking over at him, asking curiously "Do you think your friends would let a girl play soccer?" smirking a bit at him, as he was tempted to try it, after all. He could wear his pair of boy shoes, and if anyone asked questions he'd say he'd borrowed them from Armin.

He watched as Armin opened the top drawer and removed the contents, just some shirts really, and dropped them onto the floor to deal with later. "It's all yours...and they would ask questions. I mean, if you wanted to play a casual game with us at practice, they probably wouldn't mind...but if you were too good, they would get mad, probably suspicious..." The though made the blond nervous. It would be just super to take Elijah out for a game, only to have his cover blown by a bunch of Nazi loving Jew haters. Well, okay, that was exaggerating a bit. But it would be the end of him if anyone found out.

Eli smiled faintly and gave a shrug "Its not like I'd be able to give it my all in a dress anyway... " picking up his suitcase and starting to unpack, putting the dresses and things folded up inside the drawer, before picking up the other boys shirts and putting those in the drawer too, since he hadn't filled it up all the way, managing to get it all to fit.

Armin watched him for a bit, rather surprised when Elijah packed his shirts in the drawer as well. That was...a nice gesture. And it made him uncomfortable suddenly. "Yeah...still, they're not very nice...and they may try and...you know, because they wouldn't know you were you and a guy and all..." trailing off awkwardly, Armin rubbed the back of his head and looked about the room. Forget studying, he wanted to go out again, have a smoke to calm his nerves.

"I'm not too bad at cards, either... I don't know if I ought to even try and meet your friends, you probably don't want to be associated with me." giving him a faint smile, leaning back against the dresser quietly, watching the Aryan for a bit. He didn't seem bad, but Elijah understood how hard it would be for the blond to be nice to any Jews, even if he didn't hate them, just because of the way his friends would react...

Armin turned sharply back to the Jew though at the somewhat scathing comment. "That's not fair! If this were any other time, and you didn't have to hide in a dress, then there would be no problem and you'd meet my friends, and we'd probably be friends. It's not that I don't want to be associated...but I'll get tormented if I am. They'd call me a mischling and kick me off the soccer team...and then who knows what they would do to you!"

Eli waited a bit and then gave a bit of a shrug before he said "I know." looking down some, before he said "Its still the truth though." because, really, it was. He wasn't sure if he should go out or not, he wanted to, maybe at least go to the game shop or something, get a book to entertain himself for a few days. Eyeing the dresser before he said "I'd like to at least go to the game store... or get a book or something, I didn't really get to bring much with me..."

Frustrated, Armin headed towards the door. "Alright, then get dressed and I'll be waiting downstairs to accompany you." Voice formal, he didn't look back or give a nod, nothing before he exited the room. Eli sighed, looking down some and then muttering a bit to himself. He changed, and it took longer than it might have if he'd been a girl all his life, finally coming down the stairs in a plain dress and overcoat, this time wearing a pair of boys shoes since no one would be able to see them anyway.

Waiting until they were a bit away from the house, before Eli said "I'm sorry for saying that. I just... I don't know." giving a little shrug and sighing "Expect you to hate me, I think."

Hands stuffed into his pockets, balled into fists, Armin looked straight ahead as they walked, talking quietly. "I don't hate anyone. Sure, I was mad at first, and didn't want you living here...but I'm an only child. It's always been me and mum, because dad's away so often. You have to understand...it's threatening. And the fact that you're Jewish...well that's just the icing on the cake. The prejudice isn't as bad here as in Germany, but it still exists. You...if you got found out, it could mean the end for my whole family. You're a risk."

There, he had said it. And it was pure truth. Anyone in Germany found harboring Jews was treated just like they were, and stripped of all status and their possessions. Armin didn't want that to happen, nor did anyone.

"...But I don't hate you."

It almost stung, and Eli looked down instead, before he replied quietly "Yeah." not sure what he was responding to, all of it he supposed. It was all rather complicated, for the both of them really. He followed Armin to the game store, glancing at him and then mulling around it a little bit, not touching much of anything- he'd been raised poor, his mother always slapped his hand when he'd taken something off the shelf. But he liked to look anyway. He spent a good amount of time looking at the model airplanes- he'd had a few back home, he rather liked them, putting them together, painting them. They were quite a bit more pricy than he could usually get, he got one normally on a holiday though... He still liked to look at the colorful prints on the boxes though, despite the odd looks from the shopkeeper, as model airplanes weren't exactly girls' toys.

Armin made sure to look around, incase any one he knew was there. Thankfully there was not, and he relaxed a little. Trailing after Elijah, he didn't have much interest in what was there...things that took a lot of time and patience, such as reading and model planes, just didn't do anything for him. Now toy soldiers though, he loved, and had a huge bin full at home. Turning to the boy in drag, Armin watched as he looked so much at all the plane sets, and soon noticed the odd glances Elijah was getting. He couldn't help but grin, leaning in close to whisper, "The shop keep must think you're one strange girl...but you want one of these, right?" He reached up, grabbing one of the flashy little boxes Elijah had been Admiring, and took it over to the counter.

Elijah hadn't noticed the weird glances, there were so many planes here- far more than he'd ever seen before. Then again their game shop back home was much, much smaller, and run by an older woman, so the games weren't quite as exciting, since it had a lot more girl stuff than boy stuff in it. He felt an odd kind of warmth when Armin leaned in close, almost bumping into him as he turned, before his eyes got a bit bigger when he picked up the plane he'd been watching, as he said in a quick, but sharp whisper "I can't afford that!" following after him, looking a bit worried, because he hadn't really meant to stare at the planes, he just really couldn't help himself.

"So? I can...and mum would never forgive me if you came back empty handed," Armin grinned a little, handing over the required bills and getting a few coins in return. Stuffing the coins in his pocket as the shop keep packed the plane, the blond received it carefully before handing it over to Elijah. "There. Besides, you'll need something for fun on days when I'm at school and can't take you outside." With that, Armin's expression had become a little more serious. He'd never thought he be buy things for a girl that wasn't really a girl. "You want to look around anywhere else?"

Eli couldn't do anything but blush, since no one but his parents had ever bought him anything before, especially since a plane was something he normally got for a holiday, not just... for nothing. He held the box quietly for a little while, looking down at it before he gave a little shrug, looking up and replying "Not really... "

There was a long pause, before he looked up, and smiled.

"Thank you... for this." He glanced to the side and offered "We could sit behind the store and you could have a cigarette." After all, Eli didn't really have anything to offer in return, and he'd noticed the smell of cloves on the other boys clothes, it was an easy thing for Elijah to smell, since his father had smoked a pipe, and it wasn't much different.

"Alright...and your welcome, but don't worry about it. Besides, if we're going to be happily wedded, I kind of have to buy you things, don't I?" Grinning at that, Armin headed outside once more, breathing deeply. Eli couldn't help but smile, a bit widely, keeping it from turning into a grin by forcing his lips to stay together; at the comment about having to buy him things. It was only true a little. But the fact that Armin said it made him smile anyway.

"I would like that, actually...I can't smoke around home, mum would hang me. We can go this way, though," waving for Elijah to follow, Armin stepped his way over a few discarded boxed, and into the thin alley that led to the back stretch of all the shops down that road, home to nothing more than garbage,
rats...and...

Smoking teenagers.
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( Note: Holiday doesn't mean Christmas, it means... Holiday... an event in which people recieve gifts and or celebrate some form of festivity. This is also including Birthdays, in my mind.)