Five Squalls

'You know,' said Armin whimsically, 'I think there's a reason why vampires are stereotyped as being dark and forbidding.'

He paused to take in the sight of the man walking beside him. With his gaunt frame, lank dark hair, and long trench coat, Rex notably looked more vampire-y than he did - even if the current 'trend' for their species changed every decade.

'And the reason isn't you,' Rex replied without looking at him. 'That's what you were going to say next, wasn't it?'

'Well, yes. Because you look and dress like you've been invited to a fancy dress party with a monster theme, while I'm a perfectly normal, approachable, not to mention good-looking person.'

He spoke as if this were a given, and Rex didn't even bother to challenge it. He merely tugged his coat more tightly around himself to ward off the bitter February cold. As they stepped into the park, quite a few people shot them uneasy glances out of the corners of their eyes, some even changing direction to give the two men a wide berth. It wasn't surprising, but it did sour the mood just a little.

'February really is the most... depressing month of the year, isn't it,' said Rex out of the blue, his tone implying that it was a statement of fact and not a question to be answered.

'I don't know about that,' Armin replied. 'It's the last month of winter, technically. So we can all start looking forward to spring now - not that spring is much better...'

Rex gave a soft, derisive snort. 'Spring is just winter but with more rain. Where are we going, by the way?' Armin had dragged him out of their apartment without explaining why they needed to be here, so urgently, in this cold, bare park with its cold, grey lake.

Armin shrugged slightly. 'We're just walking. You looked like you could use some fresh air.'

'The air is so cold it feels like it's searing the insides of my lungs.'

'Well, then, that probably means it's better for you.'

Rex raised his eyes skyward, and continued walking, shoving his hands into his coat pockets for warmth. A few people were milling about near the lake, some with dogs, some with children, others alone. He couldn't help but wonder why so many people wanted to go outside on such a bitter, dreary day.

'Besides,' said Armin, seemingly continuing the discussion from earlier, 'February has Valentine's Day.'

Rex eyed him sideways. 'And that's relevant to us how?'

'It's not. At least not directly - unless you have some secret lover I don't know about. But it'll be fun to watch Anastasia fawning over Sargon even more than usual.'

'Oh, really?' Rex scoffed. 'Do you think she'd be that obvious? The woman is probably clinically insane, but she does attempt to hide her inexplicable feelings for him.'

'Well, she might take Valentine's as an excuse to finally blurt them out. Haven't you noticed how, in previous years, she always seemed to get... edgy? Like she was working so hard to conceal something? I'm betting this year, she'll finally tell him how she feels.'

He grinned, and Rex could only sigh, knowing exactly where this was going.

'Five squalls,' said Armin.

'Fine. You're on,' said the younger man unenthusiastically. 'She won't tell him anything.'

Armin just smirked and bumped his shoulder as they walked, his demeanour thick with misplaced confidence. 'We'll see how you feel in a few days' time.'