Airplanes

Armin stopped short. "Hey! Long time no see!" A tall, skinny boy with reddish hair and pale eyes was seated on a box in the alley already, a couple more boys with him. As they spied Armin, the whole group stood and approached, and Armin felt his heart sink levels in his chest. This was not good. Eli followed him, careful of where he walked, because he hardly wanted to get the dress dirty since his mother always made a big deal about having to do the laundry. Since his eyes were trained on the ground he didn't notice that they weren't alone until he nearly bumped into Armin- and someone called out. Blinking and looking, Eli felt a kind of... sick feeling wash over him, since he hadn't had to deal with anyone else as a 'girl' yet, not really, since his mother had been there.

"Hey, guys, long time is right...what have you been up to?" Armin was trying to smile, trying to look as normal as possible, and at the same time hide 'Elia'. His shoulders were broad...maybe he could manage.

"Ahh, not much. Sucks what with soccer not being in season right now, so me an' the guys get our kicks hollering at the Jewess' down by that Hebrew school...you know the one, Mildorfs." the lankier of the group was the only one talking, very much the leader, and he hadn't noticed Elijah...yet.

"So, what are you doing back here? Come for a smoke?"

"Ahh, yeah, I was thinking about it...but if mum catches me smelling like tobacco again, she might skin me...but I'll see you guys around..." Armin backed up a step, waiting for Eli to follow suit. But his luck was not that good.

"Hey, hey now, don't run off on your old pals just yet...and who's this with you?" The boy was peering over Armin's shoulder now, having seen the corner of a dress when he moved. "You have a girlfriend? And you didn't even introduce us?"

"Daniel, it's not like that..." The blond was failing to find an explanation, and Daniel had already pushed past him. Squished up against the alley wall, he watched in horror as the lanky redhead made a grab for Elijah's sleeve.

"Huh...you're a pretty tall girl. Cute though. You and Armin got to second base yet, huh?" Eyes leering as he tugged the 'girl' closer, Daniel also made a grab for the wrapped box. "And what's this...buying her gifts already?" He smirked. Armin was getting a little furious now, ears red, and he grabbed at Daniels hand, trying to get him to let go of Elijah. "Don't. You have no right to put your mitts on her-”

Girlfriend? Girlfriend?! Well... it wasn't really far from the truth. Well, not, and yet still, entirely wrong. He hadn't even looked up at the boy when he was grabbed- after all, Eli wasn't a girl that got startled when touched, because he'd been in quite a few brawls himself, especially being a Jew coming from Germany.

But when the redhead reached for the wrapped box, his eyes flashed a bit more open, looking up, one arm tightening around it, the other snapping out rather suddenly and hitting the taller redhead somewhere between his nose and his eye, a rather painful spot- but he hadn't exactly been aiming. After hitting him, Eli hopped back a step or two, almost hesitantly before glancing at Armin with surprise, not sure quite what to do, because he didn't know if the redhead would attack him or not- normally they'd already be rolling around in the mud trying to kill each other, but, he was a 'girl' after all. He stayed somewhat out of arms reach, ready to spring and run off- or kick him in the shins... maybe worse, if need be.
To put it simply, that had shocked the hell out of Armin. Apparently it had shocked the hell out of Daniel and his friends as well. "Why you little bi-..." Daniel had staggered back a few steps from getting clocked. He was holding a hand to the hit spot as he walked forwards, glaring.

Armin began to laugh. Right full out laugh. "You got hit my a girl! Jeez Daniel, I thought you had at least a little reflex, but I guess not!" The blond boy was grinning from ear to ear as he stepped in front of Elijah again, blocking Daniels path. "I think you'd better get out of here...she might hit you again." Chuckling still, Armin folded his arms over his chest as the red head looked at him in bewilderment.

"Y...you, you can't just let her hit me!" He exclaimed, face reddening.

"And what are you going to do? Hit her back? Try it and I'll use you as a dishrag," not one to make idle threats, Armin puffed out his chest a bit, definitely a more imposing figure then the lanky male. Daniel just huffed angrily.

"Whatever. You'll still have to pay for this, damned bitch!" Daniel cursed, spitting at Armin's feet before he turned and took off at a jog.

"Huh. That's a helluva' good punch you got there, Elia," Armin turned to Eli, still grinning, "But...we should probably head back. Daniel's good at holding a grudge..."

Eli gave a grin and a little nod, following Armin home. Really fighting was exhilarating, especially the kind of fight where he didn't get hit back at all. Finally, once they were a ways away from the alley, he said quietly "Maybe this whole girl thing isn't too bad."

Eli smirked, glancing a little at Armin and then looking down a little, holding his wrapped box in one arm firmly. God have mercy on any who may try and touch the box.

“Yeah...especially since you can punch like a guy," Armin nudged Elijah gently with his elbow, still smiling. Even as they walked he would chuckle occasionally, thinking of the look on Daniels face as he was socked by a 'girl'.

"But...we'll have to be careful. You can never tell who's in cahoots with who here, as everyone keeps pretty quiet... But, if anything does happen, it'll be when you're with me, and then I know we can take 'em," pulling a packet out of coat pocket, Armin pulled a slim cigarette from it before pulling out a lighter as well. Taking a deep drag, he let the smoke out in a slow, steady stream.

Eli smiled a little bit at that, before he replied "Its not like I'm an entirely defenseless waif." pausing, and then he said "Although I suppose I could always run and leave you to take the beating, like a real girl." glancing around before reaching up to steal the cigarette from his hand quickly, taking a long drag and handing it back to him as they walked, letting the smoke waft out of his nose, giving him an almost impish grin that was... incredibly cute with those giant brown eyes.

Armin shook his head, smiling. "Oh, I'm sure, but I have to defend my woman...and I don't take beatings from nobody..." He had been about to say more, but the stick snatched from his fingers made him pause, and he looked over at Elijah, blinking. The way the brown-haired boy was looking back at him made him flush, and turning away he took a few more quick puffs of the cigarette before letting it fall, crushing it with his toe. They were nearly back at the house anyway, and he doubted either mother would be happy to smell smoke on them. Still...he was almost beginning to like this little act.

With Eli giggling at the comment about having to 'defend his woman', he scampered up the stairs to the house and disappeared inside. When he made it back up to their room, he started to undo the hundreds of buttons on the front of his dress so he could change into normal clothes. He was eager to open up his plane kit and start working- or at least, look at it for a while. He didn't even notice that Armin slowly followed him inside, lagging behind with uncertainty. Why did he feel so...funny? Maybe it was just the smoking.

"Did you two have fun?" Alicias voice came from the kitchen, and the blond kicked off his boots before replying. "Ja, mum, lots of fun!" And he raced up the stairs as well. But he paused at the doorway, looking in at Elijah as he sat with the plane.

"How come you like planes so much?" He asked casually, strolling into the room and taking off his jacket, leaving it slung over the desk chair before he went to seat himself on the bed. Eli blinked up from staring at the picture, having already taken the brown wrapping paper. He smiled a bit and gave a shrug "To be able to fly... get away from everything... Go anywhere... " he waited a bit and asked then "Wouldn't that be wonderful?" smiling up at him
a little, settled on the floor, waiting before he carefully opened up the box, taking out the instructions, carefully smoothing them out over his lap.

It was slowly and steadily occuring to Armin of what a shame it was that Elijah wasn't really a girl, seated on the floor of his room. He sure did make a cute girl, after all. And if that were the case, the Aryan wouldn't have felt nearly as awkward around him...ah, but it
was too much to think about. Armin smiled. "Yeah, that really would be...maybe one day, when it's safer to travel, you'll get to go to new places...maybe own a plane of your own. Now that would be amazing."

Eli smiled a bit at that, looking over at him and nodding "It would be." he replied a bit quietly. He enjoyed Armin's company, something he found to be very surprising. He'd expected Armin to be a spoiled, mean biggot, but he... wasn't at all. In fact he was rather nice. Sweet, even... After watching him for a few seconds, he looked back down at the plane, unable to wash away his now constant smile, and carefully starting to undo the little pieces in order to prepare it to be made and glued together for tomorrow, since they had a bit of time before dinner, and then bed.

It was odd, but every time Elijah returned his gaze, the blond was compelled to look away, and he simply couldn't grasp why. But this time he forced himself not to, and it wasn't long before the brunette started to get the plane pieces ready. Armin was stunned. There were hundreds...and so tiny! "Whoa...how long does it take you to put one of these together?" Sliding off the bed, Armin sat with one knee under his chin, watching Eli's hands as they unsnapped little bits off a larger piece that held them together. It just wasn't feasible to him, that all these little things could make a plane.

Eli gave a shrug "Usually a week to put together and paint it all... It used to take a lot longer, I'd lose pieces, or get them mixed up, when I first started getting them for Christmas... Its not very hard now, I'm betting a bit better, at least." he was focusing on snapping the little bits off and putting them carefully back in the box, as not to lose any. His tongue found its way slightly out the side of his mouth in an incredibly cute pose of concentration and focus that Armin couldn't help staring at.
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Armin was unusually silent now as he watched the process, completely fascinated...though it was only partly because of the plane. There was a deft expertise to how Elijah worked, and the blond only wish he could be that focused. Looking up as he heard Armin's mother trill for them to come down to dinner, Eli set the pieces back down and carefully put the lid back on, setting it on top of the dresser.

Blinking as if from sleep as his mothers voice carried up the stairs, Armin stood quickly and headed out of the room, hopped down the stairs in a hurry, seating himself at the table. Eli, taking his seat next to Armin with a rather charming smile. He seemed bright, and happy, really, which was a rare thing. Although, Elijah was a rather charming boy in his own right. Quick witted, even if vaguely pessimistic at times, he was used to the simple pleasures in life. He didn't say anything about the meeting in the alleyway of course, his mother would have had at least a dozen farm animals for it, and he'd have at least a dozen lumps to correspond with them.

He did however excitedly talk about the model plane that Armin had gotten him, going on about its type and the quality of it, and what colors it was going to be, and where it originated. His mother was rather used to hearing this sort of thing, and while at first she had seemed rather apologetic that Armin had had to buy it for him, she seemed rather pleased that they were getting along far better than they had been the night prior.

Armin could only sit quietly, trying to eat, his ears quite red when Elijah mentioned him buying the plane. His mother simply beamed at him of course, thrilled that her tediously bratty son was actually making a nice, decent friend for once. Still, Armin listened intently to what the other youth was staying, enjoying the animated way he talked about the plane, even if the information held little interest to him. Eating as much as he could manage, feeling hardly an appetite even though he hadn't eaten much that day, instead of getting up immediately, Armin waited for Elijah to finished before being excused, racing up the stairs after him, even if it was only to look at plane parts.

"You really should eat more." he said as they made it back to the room- ah, the Jewish in him, of course.

"Nuh-uh, I don't want to get fat," the blond joked, knowing at his age that everything he ate just disappeared anyway.

Moving to pick up the box, sitting down on the floor and opening it up, unable to keep from smiling, even if just a little, as he resumed picking apart all the little tiny pieces and placing them back in the box. Even the wings came in four separate parts, the body of the plane in five, propellers, joints, little wooden pegs and screws, wheels and axels, it was all rather complicated, and even though Eli really didn't need the directions anymore, he still read them carefully so that the plane turned out well.

As Elijah took his spot on the floor again, Armin lay down on his stomach across the bed, arms hanging down as he watched. Maybe it was just that not a whole lot was going on, or that he had stayed out late the night before, but it wasn't too long before the Aryan was asleep, albeit it fitfully as his leg kicked a few times. Dreaming, most likely. Eli didn't seem to notice, as he was caught up carefully plucking pieces apart.

After it started to get dark, and the brunette felt his eyes start to get heavy, he suppressed a yawn and got up to put his things away. Finally noticing that the blond had fallen asleep. Eli undid his suspenders and pulled off his slacks, since a pair of shorts and a shirt was modest enough to sleep in. Turning off the light before climbing into the bed, lugging the sprawled Armin with him was no simple task. When he finally managed to get the both of them into the small bed, he pulled the blanket over the both of them, and then laid down himself. The only real response to any of it from Armin was the mumbled words, "Cracker eating jump ropes" and then the blond had sighed and curled up. Once Elijah was lying down though, he was a whole different story, and so very much like the night before it took hardly any time at all before Armin had snuggled his way right up to the brunette, arm around him possessively.

When Eli found himself... embraced, it was a bit different. He was surprised at first, almost tense, and he waited a little bit, feeling a loud ringing in his ears. Like the ocean, but... deafening. After a few seconds it faded into a kind of blush, and he forced himself to relax, slowly settling in a bit closer, figuring it was just because he was warm, like last night. Finally managing to fall asleep, he didn't struggle to get out of the embrace, and slept soundly through the night.
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