Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! (Sean, Cecil)

[Joshua Bernstein]

The sight of three grown men romping in the snow (to the degree achy joints allowed) was probably an odd one to anyone who might be looking. Of course, with the snow thick on the ground many of the neighbors were indoors, shut away from the cold. A few neighborhood children could be heard, but not seen, laughter and yelps echoing down the street, along with the sounds of snowballs slapping into thick coats.

"I feel like I missed out on an integral part of childhood," Josh commented, huffing as he rolled up the bottom of a snowman. Ice flakes stuck to the wool of his mittens from this endeavor, though that was hardly the worst of his problems; as soon as they returned indoors there would be a great deal of clothes coming off so as not to trek melting snow all over the house.

It was no secret that Josh had longed for a yard as a child. The streets of New York City weren't exactly the best for snowmen, particularly once the plows had been through. And although he had at times wandered over to Central Park, it hadn't been nearly as safe then as it was now. Not the safest place for children to choose for snow shenanigans.

The house he now shared with Sean, however, had plenty of backyard, and, now that it was winter, plenty of snow as well. Bailey was off with some of the neighbor children, hopefully enjoying herself. She was probably enjoying herself more than she would be with her foster parents and their friend, even if the three men were playing in the snow.

"Does this look like a stable base for a snowman?" The attorney gestured expansively toward his ball. "Can someone with more expertise in this area give me an opinion?"

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil had missed this far more than he would care to admit to anyone. Having grown up in the Valleys he was used to deep snow that came and refused to go away again, and this season always brought a sense of home to this otherwise completely alien country. Back home along the hills and in the woods the snow would bank up so deep the dogs would get lost under it, and Cecil fondly recalled the days when he and his family would spend hours walking and playing out along the banks of the Ystwyth river before heading back home for soup and a cheesy movie.

Those days were far behind him now and yet here he was rolling a ball of snow around on the ground, watching it get bigger and bigger, all in the cause of making a snowman with two other overgrown children.

Whilst Cecil was a little down that Mephit couldn't be here playing in the snow with them, he could completely understand why and as it wasn't his house he would not contest the gentle request for her to stay behind. He had spent the past hour before heading over to Sean's house romping around the park with her, and when Cecil had left his apartment the Kelpie was exhausted and sound asleep. He could always take her out again later.

Sure Cecil did enjoy the show and spectacle that he put on at work – the professional but playful air that kept the drinks flowing and the till busy – but that was just it. At the end of the day, it was still work. This, however, was something that he had been sorely missing for many years. This was a chance to blow out all the stuffy cobwebs that London and New York had embedded into him. He was playing in the snow with his friends. If that wasn't an early Christmas present, nothing was.

Cecil eyed Josh's starter-snowman with a rusty but knowing eye. “You might want to stuff a bit more under the left side there, where it looks a bit off-set, otherwise it might start leaning over that way. Unless it's supposed to look like it's drunk, in which case it'll be perfect in a day or two!”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

As the oldest of the three men, and one with knee and back pain, Sean moved the most slowly during this snowfest. It had been a while since he had been able to do anything this lighthearted outside of the intimate setting of his and Josh’s bedroom, and he was enjoying the opportunity.

While Josh worked on the base of the snowman, the telepath had been rolling the torso section. He’d also found some sticks that they could use for arms, once they reached that stage of the creative process.

“You didn’t miss very much,” Sean told his partner, as he continued to pack the snow into a medium-sized ball. “You could go skating at Rockefeller Center, which is more than so many other people can do.”

In fact, that had been one of the telepath’s favorite aspects of winter in New York City, as it was an incredible bonding experience with others and with the spirit of the City.

Not that snowmen weren’t fun as well.

To Cecil, he offered a smile, before he remarked, “Our snowmen can be drunk. That would make them realistic for our life experiences.” Certainly for Cecil’s, considering his clientele and his life’s work. Let their snowmen be quirky.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"A drunk snowman!" Josh echoed with a laugh, taking a step backwards and placing both hands on his hips in order to survey his artistry. "This is why you're the creative one."

Creative subjects had been difficult for him in school, and he had largely given up on them as an adult. Unless one counted his roleplay encounters with Sean, but that was private; he certainly wouldn't discuss any of that with Cecil, no matter how good a friend he was.

"Are you done with the body yet?" He queried, directing his attention to his partner. "D'you think our snowman should have love handles? Or perhaps we can find a nice stick for it to hold, I'm sure that cold effects the joints of snowmen as much as it does of us humans."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil chuckled softly, giving a playful shrug of his shoulders as he shoved the giant snowball across the ground again. “Drunk snowmen it is!” Creativity and imagination had always been so very important to Cecil, even though as he had grown up it had evolved from running around the Welsh valleys looking for dragons into... actually, no. He had just lost the tinfoil helmet and replaced it with a foam sword and several dozen other people and renamed it 'LARP' instead. There was still much running around looking for dragons, he just knew that now they were his friends in costumes and that the chances of him finding an actual real, fire-breathing monster were slim to none.

It pained him to know just how long ago and just how far away all of those adventures were, but to him it just made moments like this all the more valuable. He didn't get to let loose his creative side all that much any more, so he fully intended to make the most of it while he could.

Cecil paused in his rolling of the snowball for a moment, catching his breath a bit. It had been a very busy and active day and the weariness was beginning to pull at the edge, and somewhere in the back of his mind he scolded himself for still having not quit smoking. New years resolution. Yeah right. That was what he'd said every year for the past five years or so. “I'm sure it'd affect them more. At least we can go inside to get away from the cold for a bit.” He patted the snowball he had been rolling that would form the base of his own snowman. “Isn't that right, Boris?”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean rolled his eyes affectionately, an action was that rendered meaningless by the hat he wore and the hood pulled over it, obscuring his face. “I’m hardly more creative than you are,” he said to Josh, although he provided no further elaboration or context for his remark. The extent of his partner’s creativity, and the exact circumstances under which such tendencies emerged, were private.

He then chuckled at Josh’s suggestion. “It could use love handles,” he replied, as he brought the large snowball to a halt “Do you want to get started on those while I get the body situated?” Josh wouldn’t be able to add them until after the body was in place, but he could at least get the ball rolling, pun not intended.

Then he turned to look over at Cecil. “If they’re drunk, we should get them some drinks. If we use something with your business name or logo on it, we can advertise.” Not that anyone would take snowmen on the Neville-Bernstein lawn as a serious endorsement, but, as with the rest of today, it was fun to pretend and to make jokes.

“We have time to decide what got them drunk, however. As long as we don’t build them a snow-car, we don’t have to worry about the Snow police pulling them over for breaking the law.”

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Will do," Josh agreed, bending down to begin his task with some difficulty. His coat alone prohibited too much movement, and the objections of his back as he did so didn't help.

Maybe he needed to work on his own love handles.

The comment regarding advertising took his attention off any serious consideration of his weight, however, and he glanced up at the other two men with a grin. "I think that advertising is working already. I'm parched."

To that end he ran his tongue across his lips. They were dry, and beginning to crack. Alcohol might not be as useful as Vaseline, or even chapstick if he could suffer the indignity of using something that looked like a tube of lipstick, but it would certainly make him forget about his chapped lips momentarily.

His gaze cut away from the humans and over to Cecil's snowman as his snowball began to grow beneath the palms of his hands. " What does Boris like to drink?"

[Cecil Wathen]

It felt great to be outside and actively doing something that wasn't jogging or actually going somewhere. Sure this was still proving to be about as effective as many of his workout sessions, but it was also relaxing and joyful and was giving him a much needed break from all the pressures that came along with running a bar.

Giving a soft laugh, Cecil nodded his head. “I'm always up for some free advertising, and I can't think of much better endorsement than such finely crafted snowmen.” Perhaps an over-exaggeration; he knew his own would look wonky at best but hey, it's the thought that counts, right. “Back home loads of people start their own Christmas countdowns from the day they first see the coca-cola lorry adverts, so there must be some proof to the theory that snowmen get products moving.”

Cecil had been one of those people at one point, as had most of his family. It wasn't allowed to be Christmas until one of the adverts had been seen on the TV. That was a much more difficult system to follow over here, so instead he relied on the text messages from Carys letting him know when she had seen one.

Looking over the base that would eventually become Boris, Cecil pondered over the question for a moment. “Hmmm, I think he goes for Sangria. He's a cool kinda guy.”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean continued with his task, rolling the body to a stop and then patting down the snow to make it round and sturdy. When he finished, he stepped back. It was functional, even if it wasn’t the more spherical or perfect snow ball to ever grace this Earth. It would do, and that was what mattered. Then, he stepped out of the way so that Josh would have access to their snowman.

“As soon as we’re finished out here, we can go inside and get something to drink.” Coffee or hot cocoa, perhaps, with something slipped in, although only a bit. They were supposed to be cutting back on their consumption, and they had been doing a good job for these past few months. Snow shouldn’t make a difference.

“Sangria,” the telepath repeated with a chuckle. That was not one of the types of alcohol that Sean kept in overabundance in their home. It was a beverage for when they went to Mexican or Spanish restaurants, or during certain other occasions, but he would roll with it. “I’m sure we can find Boris some of that.” Cecil perhaps more easily than either Sean or Josh could.

“Would Boris prefer a carrot or celery for when he eventually has a face?”

[Joshua Bernstein]

"Sangria?" Josh repeated the answer to his question with a laugh. "Now I want enchiladas."

He rolled his snowball toward Sean's, scrutinizing the base seriously. "How do you get one on top of the other?" He asked, hating that he didn't already know the answer to this question. He really had missed out on a lot by not having a yard. "I never made one of these as a child."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil honestly had no real clue what had made him decide on sangria, but based on the reactions of the other two men it had at least been an amusing choice so him simply smiled and shrugged as he continued rolling and smoothing Boris' body. His was coming on a lot slower than Sean and Josh's, but that was understandable. He was outnumbered. Thankfully his prior experience seemed to be making his job a little easier at least.

“Hmm... Celery, I think. If we're bucking tradition then we might as well go for it.” Out of the corner of his eye Cecil saw Josh rolling his snowball towards Sean's, and since the question seemed to be mainly directed to the psychiatrist Cecil made way with starting on the middle part of his own snowman. He would let them have their moment of snowman making merriment and just busy himself over here out of the way for a little while, if need be.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean rolled his eyes affectionately at his partner’s proclamation. “I’m sure we can arrange for those later as well,” he replied. The three men would need to eat when they finished with their snow projects, and the Mexican restaurant delivered. That was fine, since, aside from brewing hot cocoa, the telepath had not made any concrete meal plans for the rest of the day.

Then, to answer Josh’s question, he turned his head and said, “We’ll need to make a ramp. There should be a wooden plank around here somewhere to aid with that.” Sean gestured vaguely around them, as he was sure that he’d grabbed one from the garage in anticipation of having Cecil over for snowmen.

The telepath then nodded at Cecil’s choice. “Celery it is. They can be unorthodox together.” He was fine with that. Since these were not being built for any sort of snow sculpting competition (not that they would win if they were), it didn’t matter if they flew in the face of tradition. A celery stalk was just as good as a carrot; it would give their snowmen’s faces character.

With that, Sean returned his attention to the base, packing the snow so that it would remain steady once the middle section was atop it.