Guns and sheep

As the two walked among the people, mostly being left alone but every now and then someone came to them asking for pictures or autographs. Toivo’s hands were tucked into the pockets of his new winter coat while Voltaire walked by his side, hands also tucked into pockets to stay warm.

“I do understand why you never came to this thing before.” The albino smiled behind the scarf that was hiding his face from nose down. He wasn’t one for large masses of people and from what he knew, neither was Voltaire. “Yeah.. I didn’t really have anyone to go with and going alone didn’t feel exactly a good idea as everyone else is here with someone.” The French man said with a small smile that was hidden behind his own scarf.

They passed a few stalls until Toivo saw a stall with a shooting game. He stopped and after a few steps Voltaire noticed that his partner had stopped only to return to the side of the white haired male. After a moment he turned to the albino with a small smile tugging the corners of his lips. “Do you wa-” “Yes. Which one do you want? I’ll get it for you.” His tone held hidden excitement and his hands had curled into fists in his pockets. He was basically vibrating with excitement. “You don’t ne-” “Shut up. I’m getting you the biggest one.” “Toi-” But Toivo was already walking towards the stall, reaching it with a few long strides.

The shopkeeper greeted Toivo but frowned as Toivo stated that he would be getting the biggest sheep plushie that the stall had. “Are you sure about that, sonny? You need to hit the bullseye five times and you only have 5 shots to go with. “Oh I’m sure.” There was confidence in Toivo’s voice and Voltaire could hear that the man was grinning behind his scarf even though he wasn’t able to see his face. Walking over to his partner Voltaire smiled a little. “Awfully confident, aren’t you Toi?” He chuckled as the shopkeeper set the gun on the table in front of Toivo. Picking the weapon up, he examined it briefly before setting the butt against his shoulder and lining the weapon up. “Out of the way, old man. This will be over quickly.” Toivo smirked behind his scarf that had slipped from his cheek a little bit, revealing the top part of his insert.

The moment the shopkeeper stepped aside, Toivo fired the first shot, hitting the red circle of his first target, knocking it down before reloading the weapon and going for the second target. In less than 15 seconds from the first shot, all 5 targets were down and Toivo placed the weapon back on the counter. The man in the stall was dumbfounded. He hadn’t clearly expected Toivo to be so good with handling the weapon and Voltaire was glad he had his scarf over his mouth, otherwise his smile would have been visible. “You… You…” “In the Finnish conscript service, yes. And as a peacekeeper after that.” Toivo answered with a proud tone in his voice. He would still be a peacekeeper if it wasn’t for the fact that he had been honorably discharged due to his health problems.

After the sheep had been packed to protect it from the falling snow, Voltaire stepped forward and handed the shopkeeper some coins. “Vol-” “I need to win something for you too now.” “Wai-” But before Toivo could finish up the sentence, Voltaire snatched the weapon from the man’s hands and started shooting. He neither was a stranger to weapons so the action didn’t last for too long, the only reason why it lasted longer than with Toivo was that the shopkeeper didn’t get out of the way immediately due to his shock that he had encountered not one, but two people who were excellent with weapons. His time as a bodyguard definitely came in handy when it was about different weapons.

Ten minutes later as the two were walking side by side, laughing and chatting about how the past year had changed them. “Volt, I have a confession to make.” Toivo reached to take Voltaire’s free hand, the one that wasn’t carrying the bag where both of the large sheep plushies had been stuffed, and the other stopped, surprised by the sudden action. “Yes?” He asked, hesitant of what Toivo’s confession would be. Stepping in front of Voltaire, Toivo gently pulled his own frosty scarf down from his face, revealing a soft smile before reaching to pull down Voltaire’s scarf. “I think… I think I’m more in love than I have ever been with anything.” He whispered quietly, his voice nearly being drowned under the squealing children that ran past them. Heat burned Voltaire’s already red cheeks, turning them into a deeper shade of red. He wasn’t used to Toivo confessing his love with words, but there they were, snow falling around them, on them. Gently the white haired male took a hold of Voltaire’s chin, leaned closer and then finally, pressing his lips against his. The kiss was short and sweet but it transferred over all the feelings that Toivo held for Voltaire. Leaving the dark haired male speechless as Toivo gently fixed his scarf back over his mouth before fixing up his own. One thing didn’t happen, and that was Toivo letting go of Voltaire’s hand. It didn’t happen for the rest of their date.