07

First snow

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"A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship."

- Markus Zusak

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Monday, October 20th, 1973

Oak grove farm

West Virginia

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Mari let out a grunt as she woke up and lazily stretched, Shinji was still fast asleep under the covers a tiny innocent smile on his face. She lay there glaring at the clock on the bedside cabinet, she had awakened a good hour ahead of when they normally would. As she lay there unable to go back to sleep she recalled the last two and a half months, she would not deny there had been fun to be had. Yes, life here was a lot more sedate than perhaps she liked, but it seemed that farm life agreed with Shinji. Mari snuggled against the boy with a contented sigh, one day when their angel war was over they would start a farm of their own over in Japan. Assuming of course there was anything left of the country, that was a more depressing thought. Shinji let out a series of lip-smacking sounds and Mari giggled, he was prodding her with his tool. "I hope that's me your dreaming about, naughty puppy." She whispered. Then there had been the secret agent man Jack Hobbs, he had been truly curious about them and their unique abilities. Jack had spent time and money on them both, taking them to baseball games and the like. Mari had seen more of life in her time here in 1973; than she had seen her entire time post-second impact.

Mari decided that perhaps it was better to get up, besides which she needed to go and freshen up as the saying went. She clambered carefully over Shinji noting the heating was running again, it had been getting progressively colder of late. She tucked the boy back in and stepped up to the window, it was still dark outside but something was a little bit odd. Little white flakes were drifting past the window before her, she pressed her forehead to the cold pane and had to suppress a gasp. White as far as she could see which was truthfully not very far at all, tiptoeing out of the room she made a pit stop at the bathroom before heading downstairs. Here she discovered Sam was up earlier than usual the elder man greeting her, "No need to bother this morning, doubt the animals will come out in this anyway." Mari felt such a strange almost childlike curiosity, "And this would be?" She asked all but bouncing on her heels, Sam looked up momentarily confused. "Snow." He replied as if that explained everything, then he seemed to recall the little details of the future she had given him, namely the fact they came from a place of eternal summer. "Oh, oh ho ho!" The man chortled suddenly excited with her, "when the sun comes up I'll show you two." Mari couldn't stop the excited giggle from escaping her, snow, as in the stuff you only ever read about!

She darted back upstairs and only just stopped herself bouncing onto the bed, sliding beneath the covers again she snuggled into his warmth. Shinji let out a soft sigh and pressed against her, she waited patiently as he gradually roused from his sleep. He lay there for a moment just watching her, "We don't have to be up early today." She sighed into his ear. She grinned as she felt a shiver pass through him, one that had nothing to do with the weather. They lay there wrapped in one another's arms sharing the warmth; until finally the room was lit from outside by daylight. Mari hit the shower returning so that Shinji could take his turn, as she stepped into the room the boy was staring out of the window in wonder. "Awesome right? Till Sam said what it was I didn't realize, snow, we get to see snow!" Shinji shook his head in what seemed like disbelief, "the world lost so many incredible things." She waited until he was out of the room before drying off and dressing, Amanda had made it clear she would prefer them not to see the other naked. She had at least allowed them to room share, but on the provision that any malarky would see one of them banished to the spare room. So no matter how tempting the morning wood might be, she kept her hands strictly to herself.

They met up again downstairs, Amy handing them their winter Garments with a secretive smile on her face. Sam kept hold of an unusually excitable Kali as Shinji finished wrapping his scarf around his neck, then they stepped outside. It was cold, she had felt the cold on her face before but this was a crisper sensation. Shinji peered at the white blanket that had covered the farm; his eyes lit up in wonder at what he was seeing. This was something people before the second impact had taken for granted, perhaps had even found a nuisance to deal with. "Ladies first." Her boyfriend said gesturing and Mari put her foot in the snow, her boot sinking into the white with such a satisfying crunch. "Your turn, come on." She encouraged, grinning as he hesitantly put one foot in front of the other. They both squatted down dipping their woolen gloved hands into the snow, it was oh so cold yet so pristine. Mari began to move forward further into the snow, she was lost in the wonder of the moment, behind her Shinji slowly walked as she spun herself around her arms extended. It was as she was spinning that something hit her on her shoulder, not a hard impact by any means. Glancing down she saw a white circular mark, then her gaze was drawn to the culprit.

Sam stood hands behind his back feigning innocence and Mari grinned, she scooped up a handful of snow and formed it into a ball. Said ball of snow disintegrated off the top of Shinji's bobble hat, "Oh so that's how it's going to be?" Shinji said grinning wickedly, and the battle for Oak grove farm was on. Kali now freed from her restraint darted between the pair yapping as they played, snowballs whizzing back and forth between the two of them. Shinji wiped the snow off his face grinning like a loon, "Nice shot! Now heads up!" Mari squealed in delight as a fresh barrage headed her way, oh but this was so much fun! Sam called them back, the man was smiling broadly and they watched as he began to roll a snowball. The elder man kept going until he had made a snow boulder, he gave them instruction and the slightly puzzled teens did as he asked. Mari stood back as Shinji placed the smallest snow boulder at the top, Amanda stepping in with a bag filled with coal. It was when it became clear that the upper boulder was meant to be a head that they understood, they had made their first snowman. Mari located two branches for arms and Shinji was handed a carrot for the nose, Mari stood back nodding in satisfaction when Shinji pelted her with a snowball again. "You sneak!"

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Friday, December 7th, 1973

Terra Alta

West Virginia

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Jack trudged along next to Amanda doing his best not to end up face-first in the snow, winter had rolled in with what could only be described as intent. Snowploughs were out, and busy already, and Jack was on one of his now more frequent visits to the Shaw's. The potential threat of Capaldi had afforded him these opportunities, though he knew he had to be careful. The idea that the mad mobster might follow him was a constant worry, however, so far Capaldi had been unexpectedly quiet. The two teenagers fascinated him for reasons he couldn't quite put his finger on, was it the time travel thing, or was it the fact that both were insanely strong and resilient? He had seen just how capable they were with guns, both teens had a natural ability at even extreme ranges. Jack imagined just how many criminals he might catch with them helping him, it would be like something from a comic book. Then there was the faith both had placed in him, to protect them from scientific exploitation. A shudder passed down his spine, another thought had occurred to him more than once. 'We would have won in Nam with that kind of strength' Therein lay the crux of the problem, scientists would poke and prod both kids, trying to unlock the secrets to their power. No, he could not in all good conscience do anything that resulted in that outcome. Even if he did, Amanda and Sam would likely gut him for his efforts, the pair had taken more than just a liking to the two kids.

Which was why he found himself plodding round the small-town of Terra Alta arms aching, Sam let out a snort of amusement at his discomfort. Both men were carrying several bags laden with gifts, Amanda had picked up on several things from the teenagers. One was that the seasons had according to the kids, gone for some reason, they came from a world of perpetual summer. The second was that they knew nothing about winter or Christmas. When Sam had mentioned the holiday both kids had been confused, Jack had not missed the sparkle in Amanda's eyes. "I plan to make sure they have the most amazing first Christmas ever," Amanda explained as they trudged, she had dragged them both along to carry the bags. "Long as I don't have to climb on the damn roof Amy, getting a bit old for that routine," Sam grumbled good-naturedly, the woman simply smiled. Jack shook his head in wonder, he hadn't seen her this energetic since Markus had been little. The kid's presence and the effects they were having were worth the trouble of redirecting additional funds, Amy wanted to make their first Christmas something to remember. Jack couldn't argue against that and certainly, Sam knew better than to do so, both men had eyed one another knowingly, this was Amy's show.

Amanda waved as she was greeted by someone she knew, the town decorated and ready for the season. You could feel the energy in everyone you met, children chattering excitedly as parents guided them from shop to shop. "Let's get this stuff back to the car," Amanda announced, and both men followed her lead back to where they'd parked up. "Jack dearie, I'll need you to get the kids away from the farm for a couple of hours." Jack chuckled shaking his head, "don't want them seeing the gifts going in huh?" Amanda tilted her head smirking, the men loaded the car up before Sam turned to look back where they had come from. "There's something I want to get for them, won't take me long." Amanda nodded, and both she and Jack watched Sam's rapidly retreating form. "I swear, if that man buys those two guns, I'm going to kick him up the rear." Jack shook his head, "They're not legal citizens, they can't bear arms or travel for that matter." No sooner had the words left his mouth, when the idea struck him like a thunderbolt. The kids technically didn't exist in any country at all, they would spend all their time till twenty fifteen landlocked here. As he made his way to his Sedan, Jack began to plot out how he might assist the pair in their plight.

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Mari wiped at her brow and then leaned on her shovel, the driveway had been choked with more snow and both she and Shinji had been kept busy. December had rolled in and with it yet another change, the nearby town was all done up with things called Christmas lights. Large fern-like trees were decorated with similar lights, and Mari recalled hearing some kids going on about a Santa Clause. She frowned as she concentrated on her childhood memories, never once could she recall an event such as this. Then again the world had been a very different place after the second impact, perhaps the Santa Clause was some sort of contract? Shinji had been none the wiser than she, however, they had noticed the Shaw's becoming a little excitable, something was going on. Mari's breath steamed in the frigid air and she turned to once more begin clearing the drive. There had been no further incident's involving the cattle, there wouldn't be any repeats. Hobbs had apparently located the parents of the teenagers, and had threatened them with jail and worse if it happened again. Between that and the truck being totalled, the stern FBI man's words had resulted in the desired effect, the mischievous youths would know better than to come sniffing around Oak grove for trouble that was for sure.

There was so much to take in here, so many things that existed now that would be gone in a little over two decades. Mari had realized there was nothing they could do about it, all they could do was make the most of the time they had ahead of them. Hobbs for example had become something of a regular at the farm, checking in on them whenever he had a free weekend. No vans had turned up to take them away, no scientists trying to work out what made them tick. Hobbs had, however, put them through an obstacle course of sorts, which had included discovering just how accurate they were with guns. This had unnerved both the Shaw's, but Shinji and Mari had humoured the FBI agent. Ahead of her Shinji had kept going with his shovel and had reached the road, Mari grimaced and resumed shoveling even as her arms protested at the action. They might be stronger than any human, but they both could still feel fatigued. Shinji was feeling the same discomfort as she was, but was trying to push through that limit. "Your gonna pay for that later," Mari told him, Shinji glanced up wiping sweat from his brow as he did. "Probably, but we need this cleared for when Sam and Amanda get back." Mari chuckled, "They aren't due back for another hour, and we're virtually done. Come on let's take a little break."

Her boyfriend relented, and they headed back into the house, Shinji placing the kettle on the stove as they entered and then grabbing two mugs. Mari sat contemplating their new home, not for the first time and certainly not for the last time she felt a pang of homesickness. She missed her uncle so bad right about now, Mari took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Shinji sat a steaming cup of tea before Mari then took a seat next to her with his own, he rested one hand on hers gently stroking it. She leaned against him closing her eyes and letting the mood wash away, it didn't do to dwell on what she couldn't have. She sensed Shinji stand up and moments later the radio came on, Mari opened her eyes listening to the song that began to play. "When your weary, feeling small." Shinji gently took her hand and drew her onto her feet, his lips met hers as they began to sway in time to the music. "When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all." Mari leaned against him as she listened to the lyrics, "I'm on your side when times get rough." They had listened to their fair share of music since arriving, though she missed some of the more modern tunes from her time, Mari would be the first to admit these older songs had a certain charm.

"You little romantic you." Mari purred in his ear before giving a gentle twirl, Shinji just seemed content with having helped her once again. They sat back down and drank their tea as the music continued to play, Shinji was getting better and better at reading her moods. The song changed and Mari frowned as she listened to the quaint little jingle, "A holly jolly Christmas?" Mari snorted, even Shinji had turned to give the radio an odd look. Mari decided to humor the song her head jigging side to side, "there was that other one yesterday, the one about roasting chestnuts?" Shinji nodded recalling it, "Must be some American thing." He said with a casual shrug. "Maybe our hosts can explain it. Oh, maybe we have to play dress-up?" Mari considered his words, that was something that might be fun. They had done that during that odd little event called Halloween, which had been an interesting and fun little diversion. Shinji had dressed up as a vampire while Mari had chosen a witches outfit, it had been fun with Amy helping them cobble their outfits together. The television that night had been made up of old black and white horror movies, neither teen had been phased by any of it. You didn't face off against giant creatures intent on murdering you, only to hide from a fake giant ant.

Sam and Amy had disappeared this morning leaving instructions for them to clear the drive, it seemed a fair exchange. Amy had been schooling them whenever they had a free moment, most of it about laws and customs in America. Mari would be the first to admit the more they knew the better prepared they would be, in between that they continued to see to the farm. Life had to a certain point become fairly easy to predict, a welcome change from constant threats striking from the shadows, neither SEELE nor the angels could reach them here. She sipped on her tea as the music continued to cycle, now one about Jingle bell rocks. She smirked as Shinji began to hum the catchy little theme, neither teen aware of what was ahead of them. They finished their break and then finished clearing the drive, just in time as a familiar black Sedan pulled into it. Hobbs rolled his window down and looked at them, "keeping you industrious I see?" the pair nodded. "If your done lock up and hop in, gonna take you guys for some downtime." Mari and Shinji glanced at each other, then shrugging they stored their tools away. They made sure the house was fully secured before getting in the car, Mari sat in the front seat, while Shinji hopped in and took the one behind the driver's seat.

This was a practiced set up for them if ever Hobbs should decide to try anything, then they would catch him flat-footed. However, as they headed into town Mari sensed no threat, and as they pulled up outside a bar the man led them in. They were bought soft drinks and the agent taught them how to play pool, it turned out to be a pretty relaxing diversion. An hour passed when trouble reared its head, a group of noisy and already quite intoxicated men staggered in. The eldest had a long scraggly grey beard and a brown cap on his head that looked well worn. The group stopped and eyed the two teens, Mari finding herself stunned at the hostility in their eyes. "What are these Kong's doing in here?" Mari looked at Shinji and then at Hobbs, who or what the heck was a Kong? Jack stepped up hands at his sides, "these kids ain't Vietnamese." He said in a calm and controlled voice, and Mari felt a thrill of realization. Sam had explained it to them, the war was still a touchy topic with some people, especially the ones who'd lost loved ones. To these guys, they both looked suitably foreign, and some folks really couldn't tell the difference between the east Asian blocks. Another one of them leaned forward peering at them with piggy eyes, "Japs then, that's worse! My pappy did time in a Japanese POW camp!"

Mari flicked her gaze toward Shinji and didn't like what she saw, the boy was not remotely afraid of these people, instead, his muscles were tensing up. "I'm warning you guys now, I may be off duty, but I will arrest you if you cause trouble." Hobbs's voice continued to remain calm, pig eyes looked Hobbs up and down the threat going over his intoxicated head. "What, am I offending your little queer boyfriend there, you a filthy paedo?" Mari saw Shinji out of the corner of her eyes, he had adjusted his grip on the pool cue he was holding, eyes narrowed with intent. If someone didn't do something and soon, these guys were in for a world of hurt. Worse, word would get out about how strong they were, and it seemed that Hobbs had become aware of that danger as well. Pig eyes lurched forward and swung a punch at Jack, and Mari watched bemused as he grabbed the man's arm. The overweight and very drunk man landed on his backside with a woof, Mari watched as the drunkard blinked stupidly. "How in the hell'd I get down here?!" His companions stared at him and then started to laugh loudly. Shinji had not moved an inch nor shown any fear, and Mari couldn't help suspect the boy was spoiling for a fight with these people.

"Does anybody else want to cause a problem here?" Hobbs demanded. Unfortunately, these words re-escalated the situation, and while Hobbs was a capable individual he was outnumbered, the bearded man decided he would take a pop. Mari watched what was sure to be a slow-motion car crash, pig eyes had gotten back on his feet and bypassed Hobbs, making a beeline for Shinji. The drunk man swung a punch putting all his weight behind it, only for Shinji to deftly step to one side swatting the man on the backside with his cue as he staggered past. The hit was not done with anything like Shinji's full strength, yet the man let out a yowl of pain all the same as he crashed into the bar headfirst. Eyes from all around the bar snapped to Shinji, the boy was idly twirling his improvised weapon. The entire world seemed to freeze as pig eyes somehow staggered upright once again, Mari waited to see if this would result in another attempted swing. He never got the chance, Shinji flicked the cue back over his shoulder catching the man on the top of his head. This time the drunk stayed down, and Hobbs who had quite clearly had enough set about arresting the group. It seemed that with Shinji's little display of being able to handle himself, the men became much more cooperative. As the police arrived Hobbs disarmed Shinji, directing the boy to a barstool and buying another round of sodas.

Mari sat next to her boyfriend, watching as he slowly let his guard back down again. "My first bar fight and I won." Shinji deadpanned, Mari snorted half in amusement and half out of concern for where his head had been. "Yeah, but you were hoping they wouldn't back off." Shinji flinched guiltily, and Mari let out a sigh wondering what had set the boy off? "Just promise me you'll let an adult deal with the situation next time ok?" Mari fluttered her eyes for extra effect, and Shinji almost choked on his drink. "Ok, I promise." Mari hugged him, knowing he would stand by that promise unless something really dramatic happened. "I dunno about that, he handled that incredibly," Jack said sounding a little too impressed. "But how'd you land that last hit without looking?" Shinji's lips twitched and he pointed, Mari turned and let out a snort of laughter. There was a mirror on the wall facing toward the counter, he had used that to see his mark. Between his reflexes and training, he had reminded Mari what they were both capable of doing. Yet at the same time he had been incredibly restrained, had he gone all out that man would have been dead or hospitalized. "I hit him with the handle end, if I'd used the narrow it would have snapped."

They returned to their game and were able to finish up, Mari narrowly beating the boys out to win. Shinji had turned himself into a little celebrity, one particular barmaid getting a little too flirtatious for Mari's taste. Mari was about to warn the girl off when Shinji, for once sensing the potential conflict guided Mari over to the dartboard. He gently kissed her in a very obvious way, ensuring there would be no more unwanted attention. Jack showed them how to play darts, on this occasion it was Jack who took the win, being more familiar with the game. They spent about another hour there in total, listening to the jukebox and playing games before Jack called time. Stepping outside the bar she took in a breath of the freezing air, and then flicked her gaze sidelong at Shinji, he was oblivious. Grinning she stooped down and gathered her weapon of choice, Mari took a few steps and turning took a snowball in the face. "Wait, what?" Mari spluttered startled, watching as Shinji whistled innocently. "You little sneak!" Mari growled playfully and nailed the boy square on the chin. World war snowball erupted all over again, loud shrill giggling as they both pelted each other as they headed back to the car.

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AN: Ok, so originally this chapter came a bit later than where I am putting it now. As I was writing the other chapters detailing the vulnerability, there was a plot point that just did not make that much sense, in other words, it was happening a bit too quickly. With that understanding, I brought the Christmas-themed Chapters forward. Chapter eleven will feature a time skip to 1981, I could try to write the entire 42 years worth but that would be boring, I simply needed enough development with the Shaws and their two young guests. Chapter twelve is the important one, and from there I will be getting back to planning out where I go from there.