"It rained today...it's rained for a solid week now, since Annabelle's funeral. There has been no word from Jacob; but then I expected none. As I care for little Samuel, I'm reminded of the way I raised Jacob. Granted, he was older when Eliza passed away. But in many ways, I'm finding an infant much easier to care for than a young, fractious boy. I wonder if I'll feel the same by the time Samuel starts walking.
The dogs seem fascinated by each sound the child makes, and they are constantly beside the crib, standing watch. I suspect that once the boy is older, they'll be his loyal companions, as much as they've been mine. And I'm grateful for the feeling of security they provide, as if I'm less alone in raising the boy..."
--excerpt from the private journal of Ephraim Barton
Smoky Hills Part 31
Chances
Quatre had been rather subdued since his chance encounter with Heero at the library. He hadn't mentioned it to Duo, because he wasn't sure exactly what to say about it. "Hey, Duo--that guy you like? He's an arrogant asshole," just didn't seem like the right approach.
But Heero had come across that way, at least as far as Quatre was concerned. And between worrying that the Japanese man's aloofness meant he was in a relationship with Trowa, and not wanting to discourage Duo from his newfound resolve to give a potential relationship a chance, even if it was with a snooty city slicker--Quatre had been tied up in knots for two days.
"Hey, Q-bean, you totally spaced on me there, man," Duo muttered, peering around the corner of his sorting case at the preoccupied postmaster.
"Hm?"
"I was telling you a joke, and you didn't even blink at the punch line!" Duo accused, stepping closer and putting his hands on his hips. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing. I just--was concentrating on sorting mail."
Duo arched an eyebrow. "That doesn't explain why you've been staring at that one letter for like, five minutes."
Quatre looked down at the handful of letters he'd been sorting, and quickly put one into the slot in front of him. "There. I had to think about that one. It was an old forwarding, and I was trying to remember if we still had information on file."
"Right," came a skeptical drawl. "I'm supposed to believe Mister Photographic Memory forgot one?" He frowned at his boss. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing," Quatre repeated, scowling back. "I'm not allowed to have an off day?"
"You?" Duo asked in shock. "As a matter of fact, no! You never have an off day. You're like the most stable, cheery person I know." His expression shifted to concern. "Y'didn't get bad news from the family or something you're not telling me about, did you?"
"No, Duo," sighed his boss, relaxing a bit, and trying for a soothing tone. "Nothing like that. I'm just--tired, I guess. Lots of mail this week, and those stupid teleconference things--it's just taken a toll."
"Hm, yeah. You were on the phone half the day yesterday," Duo noted, cocking his head to one side. "I dunno why they don't get that out here we haven't got time for that shit. Seriously. You've got mail to sort and customers to wait on, and they expect you to do all those reports and stuff. Crazy."
Quatre smiled wanly. "Yeah, it is," he agreed.
"Well, y'know I'm here for you, right?" Duo said helpfully. "Whatever I can do to help."
"I appreciate that."
Quatre went back to sorting, forcibly pulling his thoughts away from the discouraging direction they'd been taking. If Duo felt so strongly about Heero, then maybe there was something there he'd missed. Maybe the man wasn't the jerk he'd come across as the other evening.
The chime over the door jangled, interrupting his musings, and he looked up to see the clerk from another office holding out an express mail bag. "Late express," she explained apologetically. "It came to our office by mistake."
"Thanks." He took the bag from her and opened it to see what was inside.
"Who's it for?" Duo asked with a sigh. He sometimes had to deviate from his usual path to get an express mail package to a customer before the three o'clock cutoff time.
Quatre looked at the address and couldn't help smirking. "Your favorite customer," he teased.
Duo stuck his head around the case again. "You wanna clarify a bit? I've got a lot of favorites; Mrs. Heinz...Mister Chapman..."
"Heero Yuy," Quatre chimed in with the same sing-song tone of voice, even as he scanned the package "arrived in office."
"What?" Duo yelped, hurrying to look over Quatre's shoulder at the fat envelope. "The Forensic Institute of Sanc?" he read from the return address.
"Must be a report on that skeleton," Quatre guessed.
"Wow. That's quick. It's only been, what--a little over a week? How long do lab tests take, anyway?"
"Darned if I know," Quatre said with a shrug. He gave his roommate a sidelong look. "So--do you want to deliver this? Or should I just write up a notice?"
"I'll take it!" Duo snapped quickly. At his boss' knowing smirk, he tried for a casual shrug. "I mean--it's my job to do that, and now that I know Thor, I'm sure he's no threat. So, I don't mind taking an accountable piece of mail up to the house."
"I'm sure you don't." Quatre smiled beatifically at the brunet.
"Stop looking at me like that!" Duo grumbled.
"Like what?"
"I dunno--like my taking a piece of mail to the door means something."
"It means you'll have a chance to talk to Heero again," Quatre pointed out, hoping it went better than the last time.
Duo shrugged. "Maybe. If he's there, and not out running with his dogs--or digging up more bodies--" He smirked at his own joke. "I s'pose I could find something to talk about that makes me sound less lame."
"I should hope so," Quatre sniffed. "'Have a nice day,' indeed!"
"Don't remind me," Duo lamented. "I'm gonna do what you and Hilde said this time, and just try to be myself and not get all tongue-tied."
Quatre couldn't help the snicker that escaped, and Duo rolled his eyes. "Get your mind out of the gutter, man. I was not thinking anything the least bit suggestive."
"Yes, but now that you have," Quatre teased. "I'll bet there's other ways you'd like to get tongue-tied--with him."
"You're bad," Duo said flatly. "Worse than me, even. And that's saying a lot." He plucked the express piece from his boss' hands and picked up a form to fill out for the signature it would need. "Good thing there aren't too many boxholders today. I should make it up to Barton's before three without having to rearrange my whole route."
"Oh, good for you," Quatre said sweetly. "Then there won't be a lot of time pressure, so you'll have plenty of time in that chat with Yuy to ask him out."
"Don't push it," Duo muttered. "I'll be happy if I can just get through a whole conversation without sounding like an idiot."
He went back to his case, torn between eagerness to see the handsome Japanese man again, and nervousness about the whole thing. But he figured if he could just stop overreacting, maybe he could at least start a casual friendship. And maybe that would lead to another chance to visit the farmhouse and possibly even an opportunity to figure out if Heero was available. Yeah, that was the way to go.
Duo settled back into his normal routine, putting the upcoming meeting to the back of his mind so he could concentrate on his work. And he succeeded, right up to the point where he'd loaded his truck, driven most of his route, and turned onto the road leading up to the Barton farm.
Then the butterflies hit with a vengeance, and Duo swallowed hard to keep from throwing up, reminding himself it was just going to be a friendly visit. He was not going to screw it up.
But when he saw Heero waiting by the mailbox as he drove up, his resolve faltered--at least until he noticed the big wolfhound dutifully standing alongside. Seeing the familiar, whiskery face made him smirk, as he recalled the night he'd brought the dog home.
He took a deep breath, reminding himself that all he had to do was relax and be himself, and donned his most winning smile as the Jeep came to a halt.
"Hey, Thor!" he greeted cheerfully, digging in the box of dog biscuits he kept under his seat and tossing a couple to the dog, who deftly caught them out of mid-air. Then Duo turned his attention to Heero. "Where's Balder today?"
"Up at the house," Heero explained. "Since Trowa's away for a couple of days, I like to leave at least one dog there for--security."
"Makes sense." Duo dug out another bone and threw it to Thor. "Bonus for ya, fuzz-face. Don't tell your brother."
Heero frowned at the dog, and then at the letter carrier. "You'll spoil him."
"That's the idea. Keeps him from wanting to gnaw my leg off when I have to get out to deliver an accountable item."
"He's not a vicious dog. I keep telling you--"
Duo smirked back, in his cheekiest mood. "I know you do, Yuy. But when he starts bringing home human skeletons, you've gotta wonder--"
Instead of protesting his dog's temperament, Heero found himself almost fighting back a smile. "So--word seems to have gotten around pretty fast."
"In this shithole, it would," came the rather bitter response.
"Cops aren't supposed to discuss cases with the general public."
"Dream on, Yuy. Dream on." Duo held out the thick envelope. "Got a package for you to sign for. Ya want this one?"
"That's why I'm out here. Chang called to tell me he'd sent an express package, but I wasn't sure you'd bring it up the driveway," Heero said wryly.
Duo ducked his head rather sheepishly. "Yeah, I would've. I'm not worried about being bitten any more."
"Thor doesn't--"
"I wasn't talking about the dog," Duo quipped smoothly, giving him an impish smirk.
A faint blush crept up Heero's cheeks, but he wrestled it into submission and mustered a smirk of his own. "I don't bite either."
"But you snap," Duo reminded him, holding out the pink slip and pen. "Can I get a signature and still keep all my fingers?"
"This time," Heero said with a shrug, quickly signing his name and waiting for Duo to scan the package and hand it over.
"From the forensic people, huh?" Duo commented, glancing at the return address as if he hadn't already committed it to memory back at the office. "News about your corpse?"
"Information, hopefully," Heero said carefully. "To help with the identification."
"Probably some hiker or hunter who keeled over out there," Duo speculated, glancing around them at the rugged landscape. "Maybe he had a heart attack, or dropped his gun and shot himself."
"Highly unlikely, considering the skeleton was under a tree."
"Seriously?" Duo asked, eyes sparkling with newfound interest. "Y'think it fell on him?" When Heero didn't immediately answer, Duo went on with his musings. "Kinda weird that no one ever went looking for him, though."
"Maybe no one knew where to look. He was on private property--not public land."
"A poacher!" Duo guessed cheerfully.
Heero rolled his eyes. "There was no sign of a gun, Maxwell."
"No wallet or anything?"
"Nothing. Not even clothing."
Duo's mirth faded a little. "So...somebody got naked in the woods and had a tree fall on 'em?"
"No!" Heero said in exasperation. "Someone was murdered and stuffed under a tree!"
The mailman gaped at him. "Ralph didn't say anything about a murder--"
"Officer Kurt shouldn't have said anything at all," Heero said irritably. "To anyone." For that matter, neither should he, Heero reflected, wondering why he was being so chatty with the brash mailman. Maybe it was just the length of time Trowa had been gone, but he couldn't seem to curb his appetite for conversation with Duo.
Aw hell, who was he kidding? He just wanted to keep watching that animated face and listening to Duo's lighthearted banter as long as he could.
"Well, in a small town like this, rumors can't help but spread," Duo shrugged. "And when half the police force is called out to cordon off a section of forest until a big city crime lab crew can get there, it's practically front page news. Folks were bound to find stuff out."
"So exactly what did your Officer Kurt say when he was busy shooting off his mouth?"
"He just said your dinosaur bone ended up being human after all, and that your dog dug up the rest of the skeleton and your friends in the city wanted to treat it like a big deal and analyze the remains." Duo's gaze dropped to the fat envelope in Heero's hand. "So, will that tell you what happened?"
Heero shook his head. "Not likely. Just more details to help with a possible identification."
"Shouldn't they have sent it to the cops?"
"I'm sure they got a copy as well. But the lab people agreed to keep me informed, since the body was found on our property," Heero said carefully. "I expect to be told if they manage a positive i.d. as well--though considering the length of time it must have been out there, it'll be hit and miss."
"Sounds more like a needle in a haystack," Duo pointed out. "I mean, if no one's missed the person--"
The Japanese man's head jerked up, and his gaze intensified. "Good idea," he said without thinking. "Missing persons reports would be the perfect place to start."
Duo snorted. "Yeah. Good luck with that. The person could be missing from anywhere. What if it was someone just passing through?" His brain was kicking into gear by then, and he was beginning to not like where his thoughts were going. "Shit! You think the killer's someone local?"
"There's nothing to indicate that," Heero assured him. "For all we know, the victim could have been abducted far away from here, murdered, and then brought out here to hide." He wasn't happy with that scenario, even as he outlined it. In his mind, the location of the body suggested an impromptu burial in a spot someone knew was secluded, which did indeed suggest a local connection. But there was no point in alarming Duo by saying so.
"How would someone from 'far away' have known where to hide a body?" Duo wondered, way too perceptively for Heero's comfort.
"I don't know," Heero replied noncommittally. "In all honesty, we don't even know for sure there was a murder."
"But you said--"
"I shouldn't have!" Heero blurted. "Any more than Ralph should've shot his mouth off about the find in the first place. At this point in time, all we really know is it's pretty suspicious that a body ended up out there in the middle of nowhere, hidden under a tree. It's technically called a 'suspicious death,' rather than a murder--at least until Chang finds a definite cause."
"Chang?"
"The forensics expert at the Institute."
"Oh yeah. Ralph said you know him."
Heero rolled his eyes. "Does that man repeat every word ever said to him?"
Duo smirked back. "Pretty much. You want a rumor spread around town, you just spill it to Ralph, and it's a done deal."
"That's pathetic."
"Welcome to Smoky Hills." Duo leaned an arm on the door of the Jeep, resting his chin on his hand. "So did you work in the forensic lab, too? You know a lot about this kind of stuff."
Heero thought back to Hilde's comments about Duo and the local cops, and decided he wasn't ready to reveal his former occupation. "I wasn't part of the lab, but I had the privilege of working with Chang a few times. He's a brilliant man."
"He'd have to be, if he can make sense of a bunch of scattered bones," Duo pointed out. "That's gotta be a tough job."
"Very." Heero swallowed and licked his lips, trying to find a way to transition the conversation to a point where he could casually ask Duo if he wanted to go somewhere for coffee. But then Duo smiled at him, and all his carefully-ordered thoughts fled.
"As much fun as it is talking to you," Duo said, his tone both teasing and sincere. "I should get moving again. Got a few more deliveries, and I've gotta make it back before the truck that takes the mail into the city."
"Oh, of course," Heero said quickly. "I'm sorry to keep you--"
Duo's smile widened as he thought how very much he'd like Heero to keep him. "'S okay," he said softly. "Like I said, it's been fun. Kinda nice meeting people who aren't like Trant or Otto, y'know." In his own, subtle way, he seemed to be thanking Heero for not being homophobic.
Heero managed to smile in return. "I agree." He mustered a smidgeon of courage then. "I'll see you again--?"
"Count on it," Duo said, hoping he wasn't pushing his luck as he gave a cheeky wink and put the Jeep into gear. "Bye 'Ro--Thor."
Heero stared after the Jeep for a long moment, letting himself enjoy the warm flush that Duo's wink and farewell had left him with. He'd called him "'Ro," which was a nickname no one but Trowa had ever used. It sounded almost intimate, the way it rolled off Duo's lips, and the Japanese man groaned quietly, closing his eyes.
"Damn it, Thor. Trowa was right. I'm totally hooked, aren't I?"
A wet nose nudged his hand, and he looked down into the liquid brown eyes, catching an anxious look from his constant companion. "You too?"
Thor licked his fingers, reminding Heero he was still clutching the envelope from Wufei, and he adjusted his grip, turning and heading up to the house to look over the contents. At the very least, it might help distract him from daydreaming about a pair of indigo eyes for a few hours.
~*~
Duo couldn't stop grinning the whole way back to the post office, elated by the fact that he'd coaxed both a smirk and a genuine smile out of Heero Yuy. They'd actually joked around a bit--both of them.
It had felt great, being able to study that face and watch the play of emotions in the stormy blue eyes. Duo could easily imagine spending a lot more time at the pleasant occupation, because when Heero Yuy smiled, he was downright gorgeous. And when he loosened up enough to tease a bit, he was excellent company.
"Don't get your hopes too high," Duo told himself, despite his inability to curb his smile. "Just friends," he reminded himself. "For now--just friends."
Quatre knew before Duo had even put the stack of trays down on the counter that things had gone well. He could tell by the bounce in Duo's step and the faint humming of a tune that his friend was in an excellent mood.
"I take it you had no problem delivering the express mail?" he asked, walking back to take the outgoing tray from his employee.
"None at all. Yuy was expecting it, since his buddy at the forensic office called ahead. He met me at the road."
"Met you? How could he have known what time you'd show up?" Quatre wondered.
Duo blinked in surprise. "I--don't know. Maybe because it was guaranteed before three in the afternoon?"
"Yes, but that's a pretty vague timetable. What did he do--stand there all afternoon?"
"Beats me. But when I pulled up, he was walking the dog--made a crack about how he wasn't sure I'd come to the house, because of that time Thor was loose."
"Was he serious?"
"No--that's the thing," Duo said cheerfully. "He was kidding around. We joked about Thor bringing home skeletons, and then we talked about that a little. Did you know they found the bones under a tree? 'Ro said someone was murdered and stuffed there."
"Murdered? Really?"
"Well--he said it wasn't for sure yet. But he seemed to think that's what happened."
"Hey--when did he become ''Ro?'" Quatre asked suddenly, his blue eyes narrowing.
Duo blushed and turned away, using the excuse of putting aside his empty trays. "Seemed like a good nickname," he shrugged. "He didn't seem to mind it."
Quatre chuckled warmly, glad that things seemed to be looking up for Duo. "So--Mister Yuy apparently hung around the mailbox waiting for you the better part of the afternoon, talked to you for what sounds like quite a while, and was okay with you calling him by a pet name, hm? Sounds like you did better than 'have a nice day' this time."
"Yeah, I guess I did," Duo admitted, suddenly recalling the "I'll see you again" near the end of their conversation. Heero had sounded almost eager. "I should've asked for a time and place," he muttered with a fleeting frown.
"What?"
"Oh--he said something along the lines of 'see you again,'" he explained. "Just thinking I should've asked him when and where." He shook his head. "Damn, I'm slow! Why do I always come up with the good lines after the fact?"
"Don't sweat it," Quatre urged. "Obviously you'll run into him again. And when you do, you've got the perfect opening to ask him out." He sighed a bit wistfully. "Too bad I don't have that with Trowa."
"Sure you do. The journals," Duo pointed out. "Call up and volunteer to help him fix the damaged ones."
"I can't just call out of the blue," Quatre demurred.
"Sure you can. Or would you like me to stick a piece of paper in the mailbox with your number on it and a note that you'll be happy to look at his etchings--I mean journals?" Duo winked teasingly at his boss' blush.
"Please, don't," Quatre said flatly. "I'll figure out my own way to approach him--when I'm damned good and ready. Okay?"
"Fair enough," Duo conceded. "You've got some time to work up the nerve anyway. 'Ro said Trowa's away for a couple of days."
"He is?" Quatre asked, looking a bit crestfallen.
"Don't sweat it; I'm sure it's nothing bad, or Heero wouldn't have sounded so calm about it. Maybe Tro's checking in with his surgeon or something." Duo gave a convincing leer. "He could be getting the go-ahead for sex, now that his knee's better."
"Duo!" Quatre blushed in spite of himself, since his mind had been heading down more or less the same road.
His roommate just grinned wickedly, still in way too good a mood to settle down. "Hey, since I'm all done for the day, how 'bout I go home and make us something special for dinner? To celebrate that I got through a conversation without shoving my foot in my mouth."
Quatre laughed. "Sounds good. See you at home later!" He grinned at his roommate's disappearing back, as Duo strode out the back door still humming. Things were definitely looking up.
And when the last hour of the day sped by with few customers, giving him ample time to catch up on paperwork and the mail dispatch, they were better still. At least, they were until the odd phone call.
Quatre answered in the usual manner, with the name of the office, his name, and a polite "How may I help you?"
A soft female voice responded. "I'm looking for some address information."
"What sort of information?"
"I need to know where Heero Yuy lives."
Quatre hesitated, and the girl hurried on.
"You see, I know he's in Smoky Hills, but I don't know the street address."
"I'm--sorry," Quatre said with a puzzled frown. "We can't give out the addresses of our residents."
"What do you mean, you can't? That's ridiculous. You're a post office!"
"Yes, but we don't divulge information about our patrons. That's confidential."
"Well then, how am I supposed to get his address?" came a more petulant query. "He's not in the phone book, and the town hall said there was no property listing for anyone by that name. I know you deliver his mail, so you've just got to know where he lives."
"Even if we do, we can't give out that information."
"But I need it!" she said with a frustrated huff.
"You'll just have to send a letter to his last known address and trust that it will be forwarded to the one in Smoky Hills," Quatre replied diplomatically.
"I've already done that," she grumbled. "In fact, I've sent several that were addressed to Smoky Hills, and they came back refused."
Quatre's eyes widened as he realized he must be talking to the R. Darlian who'd sent the letters Trowa brought in to be returned. "I'm sorry about that," he said carefully. "Perhaps the individual doesn't wish to be contacted. I'm afraid I can't be of much help in that case."
He could almost hear the simmering frustration on the other end of the phone. And when the woman spoke again, her tone was a bit coy. "It's very important that I do reach him, whether he wishes it or not. You see, I work in the permit office in Sanc, and Mister Yuy has put in some applications I need to discuss with him. But he left out his contact information, and I'm having trouble locating him."
Quatre barely refrained from a skeptical snort, thinking it highly unlikely that someone applying for a permit would leave out such vital details. And even if he had, when he got letters from R. Darlian, he'd certainly have accepted them, if she actually was from the permit office. More likely, Quatre thought, she knew someone in that office and had been prying where she had no business.
"I'm terribly sorry," Quatre said unsympathetically. "I really can't divulge any personal address information, except to an officer of the Postal Inspection Service conducting a duly authorized investigation. It's a matter of privacy, ma'am. And protecting our customers has made the Postal Service one of the most trusted agencies in existence." He gave a chilly smile that he knew carried into his voice. "Good day to you."
She hung up even before he did, and he couldn't help a satisfied smirk. More than one person had tried to wheedle private information out of him before, and he'd yet to give in to threats, persuasion, or any attempts at coercion. He took his duties as a Postmaster very seriously.
But he couldn't help wondering what the persistent woman was after.
TBC...
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