Moments of Haven Part 138
In the Market
Heero shut and locked the door behind him with a soft exhalation of stress relief. Duo took no such moment for himself, dropping his bag to the floor, jumping from foot to foot as he pulled his shoes off, then hustling off to the kitchen. He grabbed the doorframe as he passed it by to halt his momentum, and propelled himself back to the entrance to grab Heero for a good long smooch.
"Welcome home, teacup," he murmured intimately against Heero's lips. And then he disengaged and hustled back to the kitchen again.
Heero blinked, then called after him amusedly. "So I'm an afterthought now, am I?"
"I wanna see," Duo called back eagerly, sliding into the slippers kept by the back door before working his way outside.
Heero drifted after him and settled in at a spot leaning against the railing of their back porch, watching as Duo scrutinized the dirt they had tilled up before leaving for HQ. Duo paced the perimeter, bent at the waist to more closely inspect the results of their work.
"Hey, it worked!" He looked up with a grin at Heero.
"What, exactly?"
"The weeds. Or the watering worked, which brought out the weeds, just like they said it would." He walked back over to Heero, staying in the yard on the other side of the rail. The porch was raised a couple of steps, but Duo's head still came up above it. There was a strip of tilled dirt at its base, and Duo gave it a good look, too, but discussion with Sanq's master gardener had brought up a few issues and now they were reconsidering planting anything there.
Heero smiled slightly. "It's odd to be excited by weeds. I think we're supposed to be annoyed."
"Pretty crazy, ain't it? I mean, it's only been like a week, hasn't it? They're still small, but they're definitely there. Like they were just waiting for their opportunity."
"We'll have to start weeding. It may take a few passes before we get them all."
"Do you think they're all weeds?"
"What else would they be? Well, actually, I think there might be a clump or two of leftover grass, if that's what you mean. We should probably pull those out, too."
"I mean... That's a thing, isn't it? Needing to know the difference between weeds and legit plants so you don't pull the wrong ones by accident?"
"We haven't planted anything there yet. Therefore, anything there is a weed."
"Almost by definition, huh?" Duo shook his head and decided to come around the railing and up onto the porch so he could stand beside Heero. "That's kinda sucky, isn't it?"
"What is?" Heero asked, automatically pressing against Duo's shoulder briefly as he took his place.
Duo pressed back for a bit longer. "That it's a weed just because someone doesn't want it there. That's enough to make it a weed. I mean, it's just a plant like any other plant. What did it do to earn it the label of weed? Like, is it just not pretty enough?"
Heero thought for a moment before answering. "It's invasive," he offered.
"'Invasive' just means it goes where you don't want it to go," Duo retorted, gesturing out at their yard. "That it's hard to get rid of. Ruins your picture-perfectness. Maybe it's just a survivor. Maybe we ought to be impressed by them instead of trying to get rid of them. After all, they've got just as much a right to be here as anything else."
Heero wasn't quite sure what to say to that, but he knew he should try to figure something out. "Duo..."
"Nah, don't worry," Duo said, running a hand through his bangs with a lopsided smile. "I'm not going to refuse to do the weeding or something. I'm not that far gone. Or maybe I'm just like all the rest of them in the end." There was a pause, and then a self-conscious laugh. "Too bad I never grew like a weed. But anyway... Seems like we've got plenty of daylight left, but we probably oughta throw some stuff in the laundry, restock the fridge, and all the rest of it, huh? Save what's left on the to-do list for later. We just passed through the city, no sense going back there."
"Yeah... it'll be good to move." He made no move to do so, though.
Duo slid a hand up his back, fingers doing a bit of experimental rubbing in the course of their travel. The tension there wasn't particularly unusual for Heero, but having too many strangers in his personal space for too long put him on edge and kept him there. Duo massaged the back of his neck and the base of his scalp to shepherd the long unwinding process along. "Maybe later tonight... we can hit the gym or something."
Heero made a vaguely agreeable sound under Duo's attentions. "I wouldn't mind grabbing a second lunch in a bit. Something light."
"I'd be down for that." Or maybe it would be their first lunch. In-flight meals while crossing time zones were always a bit confusing. They'd have a few more hours than usual before dinner today. Duo would probably be hungry before then, but he likely wouldn't have noticed it unless someone pointed it out. And once pointed out, he probably would have just waited it out. And he thought of weeds surviving in nutrient-poor locations. Heck, their weeds could consider themselves pretty darn lucky to be growing in a patch of dirt and dung, and what did that say about the life of a weed?
"You know... Weeds are just wildflowers that nobody's learned to appreciate yet."
His fingers paused for a few seconds, then started back up again. His lips demanded they touch Heero's skin, and Duo moved them into position to do so. "Hey... let's plant some wildflowers. Like, just throw a bunch of seeds down the hillside or something, see what sticks."
"Hmmm." Heero opened his eyes a bit in order to focus his attention properly on the hillside in question before letting them fall half-shut again. "We'll have to figure out the water situation, but..."
"We have to sort out the water situation anyway. The old dude did say we oughta plant stuff on the slope for erosion control. And he also said we oughta plan for some flowers to attract some bees. Two for the price of one, yeah?"
"He did say that... Though perhaps you should break the habit of calling any man over forty an 'old dude'."
"'Master gardener' sounds too pretentious."
"He's earned the title."
"Yeah, that he has..." He wondered if the old dude was always so forthcoming with all that wisdom he had spouted, or if he'd just been intrigued by these two amateurs, friends of the princess, that had wandered into his territory with all of their questions. "Hey, you know what old dude I really want to meet one day? Pargan. And don't tell me he doesn't qualify as an old dude."
"Pargan?" Heero repeated skeptically.
"Yeah, Pargan. I've heard the stories. He sounds awesome."
"Hmm. I don't think we were ever formally introduced."
"Ha, he probably knows more about you than Relena does, if I believe everything I hear. We should have Relena invite him to our next winter shindig or something. For vacation, I mean, not to work."
"I can't imagine he wouldn't work anyway. A proper butler is never off the clock."
Duo left off his ministrations with a pat to Heero's back. "Do you think all proper butlers are willing and able to chaffeur their mistresses to Antarctica?"
"Perhaps not."
"Totally an awesome old dude."
"You're going to regret this habit once we become 'old dudes' ourselves."
Duo's brain did a double-take. "We're gonna become old dudes one day. Awesome old dudes. Murphy willing." He knocked on the wooden railing just in case. "Now ain't that mindblowing."
"In a few days, you'll be one year closer to becoming an awesome old dude. Congratulations."
"Yes!" He pumped his fist for good measure. "Man, I don't think I'd mind being Pargan when I grow up. I mean, minus the whole following-Relena-around part. You... you wouldn't want to be Pargan when you grow up, would you?"
"I'd prefer to follow you around."
"But then we'd be running circles around each other."
Heero had to stop for a few seconds to think about that one. When he finally figured out Duo's logic, he smiled. And when he caught sight of Duo's self-satisfied smirk, he smiled a little bit more. He glanced quickly to the right -- curtains were shut on that side. To the left, the shutters on the two visible windows were partially open, but he detected no movement inside. A casual inspection over his shoulder revealed nothing obviously out of place, no misplaced glints. The coast was clear for him to gently back Duo up against the wall and kiss him.
Duo's smirk was no less self-satisfied when it was over than before it had begun. He let Heero continue to shield him with his body, but figured it'd be okay for his hand to sneak out of cover to slide up Heero's back and into his hair. "If you go back on alert, you're going to undo all my hard work."
Several fractional expressions bloomed and faded away in succession on Heero's face. His features settled into a look of faint consternation.
Duo made an effort to figure it out, but decided he wasn't getting anywhere without a hint or three. He smoothed a thumb across Heero's brow and down his cheek. "You keep this up, and you'll become an awesome old dude before I do."
Heero's lips parted, like he wanted to say something but didn't know what. The uncertainty turned into a wry tilt to his mouth and he shrugged slightly, not quite enough to dislodge Duo, but turning to go back inside certainly finished the job.
Duo gave him a few seconds head-start before following him inside. Heero was picking up both their bags that had been left by the front door. Duo waited for him to make a move toward his destination before moseying on that way himself. He let Heero finish throwing his lights into the washer before snagging his own pack from where it'd been waiting patiently by Heero's feet to do the job himself. Beside him, Heero took quick stock of what was left in his bag, then stood for a moment, silent but for one drawn breath, taken in quickly as if to provide air for speech, then held, and released in a long, soft sigh. Duo watched as he left, hand absently groping around the bottom of his pack looking for that sock he knew was there. Once Heero was out of sight, he got his attention back on task and started the wash.
He caught up with Heero again in their second bedroom-slash-Heero's-workspace, where Heero was plugging a couple of devices in to charge. Duo leaned against the doorframe and commented, "Come on, it can't be that bad, can it?"
Heero looked up with a slightly puzzled expression, one that persisted for a few seconds before he finally realized Duo wasn't talking about anything that had transpired in the last minute or two. His mouth twisted up in an irritated expression before he shrugged again. "We'll see, won't we?"
Less than encouraging. Duo went to the bathroom, wondering how hard he wanted to push. Heero wasn't just pretending nothing was wrong, and that was really more or less the most important thing. And Duo certainly understood the occasional need to let a thought percolate, an emotion simmer, until it resolved into something solid enough to do something about. But he also knew watched pots didn't boil all that well, and that Heero, well, he could be a pretty intense watcher. Either that water would boil because Heero effing Yuy damn well commanded it, or it would flee for the hills in search of safety. Heero would probably hunt it down in the end, but he'd be a lot more grumpy about it.
When Duo came out, he checked in on Heero, who was sitting back in his chair and staring out the mostly-shuttered window a lot more than he was actually working, probably re-setting their security system now that they were home. Duo decided the guy could do with a dose of reassurance and went over to ruffle Heero's hair. "You keep it up, and you're gonna become an old dude with a permanent headache. Lot less sexy than an awesome old dude. Uh, not that I find old dudes sexy. Well, I mean, I will, once I'm also an old dude. But not right now. Anyway."
Heero appeared a bit perplexed by this, but at least it was better than being perplexed by whatever it was that tying him up at the moment, so whatever. Duo smiled brightly and reached out again to straighten some of the hair he'd mussed.
His hand was snagged by Heero's when it was about done with its task and subjected to a bit of scrutiny. "You're not my personal masseur, Duo."
"...Oooookay." Duo turned the words this way and that, and couldn't see the logic in them.
It didn't seem Heero could either. He offered a rue-filled quirk of the lips and released Duo's hand. "That's all I've got at the moment."
"Huh." Well, Heero's thoughts had been known to skew a bit off-kilter in these in-between times. They operated with brisk professionalism when on the clock, and zen-like clarity when taking their R&R. The transition between the two states wasn't without the occasional hiccup. "I thought it was 'masseuse'?"
"Masculine form."
"Oh." If nothing else, he was coming out of this encounter one vocabulary word smarter. "But if you did have a personal masseur... would it be me?"
Heero obligingly took a moment to think about it. "Are there any odd patient-client ethical issues at play?"
"Nope. Perfectly okay to boff your masseur in this case."
"Then..." The word hung in the air for a second. Heero tilted his head as if he were studying it curiously. Perhaps he was studying the pause, because he really hadn't expected there to be a pause. The answer really ought to have been immediate and obvious. "No. I think that's the point. That isn't... that isn't your job, Duo."
"No...," he answered slowly. "It's a damn sweet hobby, though."
Heero frowned, as if Duo's declaration only complicated the situation inside his head. "But maybe... maybe it should be my responsibility to not require your services so often."
Duo chewed on that for a few breaths. "Well, first of all, it doesn't really matter either way, because I'm going to use the slightest reason I can get to put my hands all over you. But setting that aside for the moment... You are who you are. And that means you, uh, accumulate tension. And, well, I'm happy to help you release it. It's not my damn job. It's just... something I want to do. For you. Well, and me. Not like there aren't a ton of perks to it."
"Perks?" Heero repeated with a whiff of skepticism. "I suppose... But... I don't think you're supposed to have to work so hard for those perks?"
He snorted. "Nothing in life is free, Heero. And anyway..." He allowed himself only a few moments to contemplate the wide array of perks available to him, so as not to get too distracted, and homed in on the obvious ones. "Some people get horny at the drop of a hat. Some people... are on the other end of the spectrum. I'm not particularly devastated by that fact."
Heero did not seem particularly convinced.
"Look, I want what I want, and I'm willing to work for it. The payoff is entirely worth the effort. I don't know what else matters besides that. And seriously, you can't say I don't require any effort to, uh, you know, so we're totally even. I hope."
And at last, a smile without a shadow underlying it. It was more wry than pure, but that was pretty standard, so it was a sign the issue was well on its way out. Heero gathered him close and rested his head upon Duo's chest. "You're worth the effort, Duo."
"Well, so are you, Heero. So are you."
OWARI
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