Moments of Haven Part 84
X'mas AC198 - Part XIII
Wufei was reading the morning paper when Heero and Duo came down the stairs, something in their stony expressions making him stop short of greeting them. Observing them silently over the top of the paper, he watched as they both reached for the kettle, glaring at each other as their hands closed on the handle at the same time. The battle of wills lasted for five seconds before Heero released his grasp on it, being the hand on top of Duo's. The concession lacked his normal grace, and Duo's acceptance of it lacked his normal smirk.
The kettle was filled with naught but the rushing of water from the sink. It fell upon the range with a solid thump, and as the flame beneath was ignited, two former Gundam pilots stared defiantly at each other.
Wufei wisely kept his head down and stayed out of the line of fire, though curiosity did compel him to glance surreptitiously in their direction as the opportunity did arise. Very little changed in the situation, each time he did.
Quatre and Trowa entered the kitchen, quietly continuing a conversation started earlier. Trowa paid scarcely any attention to the matter as he went about fixing himself a bowl of cereal, but Quatre studied them puzzledly before sidling up to Wufei's side. "What are they doing?" he whispered.
"I've no idea," Wufei murmured back.
The kettle began to hiss, and both of them moved into action. Over the large box of instant oatmeal they had brought with them for the gathering, they made icy eye contact, holding it for five tense seconds before they reached in and each snagged themselves a packet of plain-flavored. Duo got to the cabinet first, pulling out a bowl for himself but letting the door fall shut again before Heero could get his own. Heero, however, got him back by jumping the gun and appropriating the kettle before the piercing whistle of an all-out boil was achieved.
The water was poured, the flakes stirred into a porridge's consistency as they moved to opposite sides of the kitchen island, and then began the grim spooning of the sludge into their mouths.
"Mating ritual?" Quatre proposed to Wufei.
"Aren't they past that point already?"
"This idiot!" Duo burst out, gesturing angrily towards Heero with a spoon that was thankfully licked clean. "This idiot doesn't like plain oatmeal!"
Quatre glanced down to both their bowls to confirm the flavor. "Honestly, I don't like plain oatmeal either."
"Me neither!" Noticing that Heero was carrying on without him, he stopped to ingest another spoonful.
Ah, well, that killed Quatre's theory that maybe Duo had been set on teaching Heero the joys of plain oatmeal. "So why are you two eating it?"
Heero grunted softly. "Someone has to eat it."
Duo's nostrils flared, displaying his anger. "But why should it be you!?"
"Because you don't like it!" Heero shot back.
"But you don't like it either!"
In the silence that followed, only the spritely crunching of Trowa's cereal was heard.
Quatre leaned in close to Wufei for another quiet aside. "Are they fighting about... oatmeal?"
Unsure of the answer, Wufei refrained from responding.
"I swear to fucking God, Yuy," Duo hissed suddenly. "You can run off and go get yourself killed to save the lives of a crapload of innocents or something, and I won't say a word!" He paused for a moment to reflect and be honest to himself, though he was no less passionate in his expression. "Okay, I'll say a few words. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let you eat the damn oatmeal all by yourself!"
Heero looked steadily at him, working his jaw -- though whether that was in irritation, or in trying to get the taste of cardboard out of his mouth, that was hard to say. "If I want to eat the plain oatmeal, then you aren't going to stop me."
"You can't eat the damn oatmeal if I eat it first."
Quatre crept over to the box of oatmeal while the two of them were occupied. "Um, you know, there are plenty of flavored packs left in here..."
"I know!" Duo huffed exasperatedly, as if seeking sympathy from the blond. That seemed to be a main point behind their contention.
"Feel free to eat some of it," Heero answered levelly.
Duo smiled sweetly at him, showing just a few too many teeth. "Only if you eat some of it, too, honeybear."
"I'm just fine as I am, thanks."
"Fuck you, Yuy." The pleasant smile was still on his face.
Quatre blinked. Wufei blinked. Even Trowa blinked. Duo had stopped swearing at Heero like that long before the end of their probationary period after the war.
As if the timing was deliberate, they both ate a spoonful of oatmeal and tried to look happy about it, but it wasn't too difficult to tell that it was starting to cool down and congeal. They suffered through it and came out the other side with determined expressions on their faces.
"I don't know why you have to be such an ass about this," Duo said conversationally, the fierce light still in his eyes.
Heero stirred his gruel discreetly, trying to keep it liquid. "I don't know why you think I'm being an ass about this."
"Because you don't. Like. The oatmeal." Each word was dropped carefully and precisely.
"Neither do you," Heero answered in kind. "But you're eating it anyway."
"Only because you're an ass."
His eyes narrowed. "Don't blame this on me, Maxwell. I didn't force you to eat the stuff. I've never forced you to eat the stuff."
"And it's okay that you force yourself to eat the stuff?" Belatedly, Duo remembered to pin the fake smile onto his soft, slow words.
"I'm volunteering, Maxwell. Big difference."
"Well, maybe I don't mind 'volunteering' every so often myself. Ever think of that, asshole?"
Heero was quiet for a handful of seconds, lips pressed together in a tight line, before he answered. "You clearly have stronger preferences than I do, Maxwell. It seems rather obvious that it costs me less to--"
"Don't you pull the numbers argument on me, Yuy," Duo interrupted, still keeping his voice low but forceful. "It's oatmeal. It's fucking oatmeal. I think that far outweighs any calculation you can pull out of your ass."
There was another short silence, and then Heero blinked twice, and responded in a more normal tone of voice. "If it's just oatmeal, Duo... then why are we arguing about it?"
"'Cuz it's not about the oatmeal, you idiot, it's about--!" Duo choked himself off mid-shout and blinked blankly at the countertop for a few seconds. "Oatmeal," he muttered to himself, somewhat incredulously. "It's fucking oatmeal." He hid his face in his hand for a little while before throwing his head back and directing a frustrated sound at the ceiling. "Augh, this is stupid!" Duo reached across the counter, snatched Heero's bowl away from him, and stomped toward the box of instant oatmeal packets.
Quatre hadn't moved away from it since peering within earlier, but he hustled quickly out of the way now and toward the relative safety of Wufei and Trowa at the dining table. They watched as Duo stuck his hand in the box and pulled a packet out. Another frustrated howl was uttered when he noticed he had managed to pull another packet of plain out, and he tossed it aside almost violently for another. Satisfied with his second random selection, this time of maple and brown sugar, he tore the envelope open with a near savage glee, poured half of it into his bowl and half into Heero's, and then went back to the kettle. There was a frown and a moment's hesitation as he judged whether the water was still hot enough, but in the end he deemed it good enough under the circumstances and re-liquidified their breakfast.
His steps still heavy, though not as angry, he returned and plopped Heero's bowl in front of him before sitting this time on the bar stool next to his partner, and together they vigorously stirred their meal until it seemed edible.
"You know," Heero observed mildly, a bit of caution in his voice. "I never thought about mixing them."
Duo snorted, but held his tongue until he could find something better to say than the first response that came to mind. "Maybe it would be better to mix it from now on, then."
Heero tasted his oatmeal carefully. "Hmmm." The temperature was no longer very appetizing, but there was significantly less cardboard to the substance. "Hm. This is good. Honestly? The straight flavored ones have always been a little sweeter than I would have liked."
The next spoonful went into Duo's mouth, and he swallowed it with a meditative deliberation. "But that's not why you ate the plain ones, now is it?"
"No," Heero admitted with a murmur.
"Then if I ever catch you eating unmixed plain again -- minus mitigating circumstances -- then... then..." He took a deep breath, held it, then released it. "Then we are going to start this conversation all over again. Understood?"
"Understood."
The others watched their backs as breakfast continued on in a strange vacuum. The dispute seemed peaceably ended, and yet it didn't seem quite right to start discussing plans for the day, or anything else they might have discussed. Quatre poured himself a bowl of Trowa's cereal and crunched, awkwardly aware of how much noise it made. Trowa had finished his own bowl. Occasionally Wufei's newspaper rustled.
When Duo's bowl was about two-thirds empty, his shoulders shook, and he hastily pushed his breakfast out of the way before thumping his head down on his arms, resting on the table. "Oatmeal," he muttered, still with that vaguely bewildered tone. "Oatmeal."
Heero put his spoon down gently, though it hardly mattered since the oatmeal was solid enough to slow its descent considerably, and slipped an arm around Duo's shoulders. Leaning in close, he tucked his head in next to Duo's and let a few comforting, companionable seconds pass before speaking softly enough for just the two of them to hear. "I know it's not about the oatmeal."
"I know it's just the way you are," Duo sighed.
Quatre leaned over to Trowa and whispered with no little triumph. "See, now they're acting like a couple!"
Muffled laughter came from the kitchen's island.
*****
Wufei was standing on the second level deck when he heard the front door open beneath him. "We're going for a walk!" Duo shouted into the interior of the chalet. There was no invitation in that announcement, and no verbal response that Wufei could hear given as the door shut again.
Playing the part of silent observer, he watched as Duo and Heero strode away from the vacation home. Their steps were steady and sure as they left the immediate area, but they slowed as they hit the tree line. The pair bounced between a careful distance and an intimate proximity several times before they settled into a shoulder-to-shoulder stroll. As they walked, their hands brushed against each other, and eventually Duo made the obvious official by simply taking a hold of Heero's hand and bringing them into tandem. Half a minute a passed, and then he saw Duo separate their hands and break into a sudden run. Half a second later, Heero gave chase, shaking a fist at Duo when his partner turned over his shoulder to throw a teasing expression at him. They quickly passed out of sight beyond the foliage.
Strangely satisfied that things seemed to be back on track, Wufei's attention wandered away to the birds frolicking in the large tree in the yard.
It was a nice day today.
TBC...
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