My brothers try to goad me into beating the shit out of them while Soren wants to shield me from anything and everything. Vyrian showers me with praise and encourages my terrible ideas, but Cai? I think he might actually understand what makes me tick better than any of them, and we’ve spent the least amount of time together.
“What’s that?” Kahl demands, crossing his arms over his chest as he holds onto the last vestiges of his patience.
Yri smiles. “Capture the flag.”
Kinsley claps like a fucking five year old, enthusiastically throwing his support at the idea. “Not just yes, but hell yes!”
Even Kaiden looks intrigued at the concept. “Boundaries?”
“If we’re doing this, let’s go all out.” They turn to me and I start speaking more animatedly, their excitement spreading to me like a living entity. “City limits mark the boundaries, but we can’t go inside any building beyond bathroom breaks or grabbing food to bring back to camp. If you cross paths with someone inside somewhere, it’s a neutral time out.
“Flag needs to be obviously displayed somewhere outside, not half in a bush or some shit. Combat allowed, but no weapons. Game runs until either someone gets their opponent’s flag back to their home base, or ends at nine Sunday night if a draw.”
Kahl looks far more excited than I’ve seen him in ages. “You take the north half of town and we get the south,” he decides. “Home base is too broad, so let’s make it where you need to attach the enemy flag the same place yours is or was. Take a time stamped picture for verification.”
“And you need a picture of your flag there before we start to prove you didn’t move the location, because you’re all filthy cheaters,” I add.
Four matching grins take the place over any denial.
Elias comes back a few minutes later with two pillow cases; one bright orange and the other bright yellow. On each he scribbles a quick skull and crossbones like a couple of pirate flags, passing us the orange one.
“Let’s see if your boyfriends have what it takes, shall we?” he teases.
I roll my eyes to hide the fluttering in my stomach. It’s pretty clear from my constant brush offs of others as well as the fact I spend nearly all of my time with one of them that I’m actively dating them. Still, it’s new, and I’m not out of time yet. I could change my mind in a few weeks, look back on this fondly, and start dating another flight if I want.
We haven’t labeled anything, but Elias pointing it out like that makes it feel more permanent. The thought doesn’t make me balk like I assumed it would, just fills me with the expected nerves.
“Match starts at nine, so you have an hour to get set up, boys,” I reply instead. “Go!”
None of us hesitate, bolting in opposite directions. Soren, Caius, and Vyrian keep pace with me as we weave in-between houses towards the north end of town. Twenty minutes later we slow so that we can start making a game plan.
“You know the town better than anyone,” Yri points out.
My eyes start scanning the area. “But you guys have more real field experience. Would we prefer being backed into a corner so we only have one access point to watch? Low to the ground so it’s quicker to get back to after we have their flag before they can stop us?”
Cai jumps in. “Half of us should stay to guard our flag while the other half try to get theirs. So it needs to be an area that would only take two people to defend easily.”
I’m nodding, knowing they might curse me for it, but have the perfect pace in mind. We arrive at the metal stairs on the side of the tallest building this side of town, starting the six story climb up the fire escape.
I walk over to the antenna on the roof and securely tie our flag, making it incredibly obvious. I gesture for Soren to hold up his phone beside it for a timestamp before snapping a picture on mine, tucking it back in my pocket.
The three of them nod their approval, walking the expanse of the space. “They won’t be able to sneak up on us here with only the fire escape, and it’ll be impossible to stay silent on that,” Yri praises.
I shake my head and point to the rooftop access to the building. “Two. My brothers are dirty rotten cheaters and will try to sneak up from this route, claiming they just thought they couldn’t attack if inside.”
An amused breath slips through Ren’s lips. “Sounds about right.”
“Who wants to stay and who wants to go?” Cai asks and I debate.
“Soren should probably stay since the man was built for defense.” He stands straighter at my words and I smirk. “And Cai seems like the most animated fighter. I’m going to assume Kaiden and Kinsley will be the ones to attack our base, so the two of you are the smartest option to protect our flag.”
Cai dips his head in approval. “Smart; playing to everyone’s strengths. Yri has more patience than us; he’ll do better on recon and retrieval.”
Yri waggles his eyebrows at me. “So that means I get you all to myself.”
His enthusiasm is contagious. “Don’t worry; I’ll get you back to your flight in one piece,” I tease.
Soren checks the time. “Let’s use the last few minutes before the game begins to bring some supplies back here.”
