I'm glad it's not as cold as it has been... Breathing in the scent of her coffee she gazed out of the window at the rambling backyard. To call it a 'garden' was charitable - the previous occupants of the house had let the place run wild, with nettles and thistles reaching almost as high as the windows. Some plants she would keep, the bramble and elderberry bushes, as well as the holly tree in the darkest corner. The rest would have to be grubbed out. A tough job, but not necessarily as tough as it could be...her new friend had promised to help. She smiled at the memory of that day. He hadn't been exactly what she'd expected. A goofball. Cute, definitely cute, but a goofball... A very genuine and friendly one, however, and she'd enjoyed his company. So when he'd offered to help out with the yard, she'd accepted. Not that she'd told her housemate...

"So what ungodly hour did you plan for us to start? And how warm will I have to wrap up?"

She shook her head and smiled again. "About 10AM. Someone's coming to help."

Erica raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of her own coffee. "I thought we weren't going to hire anyone?"

"We haven't. The man who works at the garden centre volunteered to come help out."

"And you agreed?"

"Why not?"

Erica palmed her face. "You're a danger to yourself and others, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You invited a complete stranger to our house? Someone who could be anyone? For someone so smart, you sure are dumb sometimes."

Murrue bristled. "Dumb?"

"Well, maybe not dumb. Innocent, perhaps. I know you look for the good in everyone, but some people don't have as much as others. What do you know about this man?"

"His name is Mwu. He's very polite, and pretty shy. He works at the store as a favour to his uncle, but he doesn't know anything about plants. He offered to help out if I'd teach him more about them.."

Erica sighed. "You like him."

"Huh?"

"This man. You like him. It's not often you take chances like this - there must be something about him.."

The younger woman scowled and buried her face in her coffee. Her friend had always had a knack of seeing right through her. "That's not it. He was nice enough to offer to help, so I accepted. You fancy moving that bunch of tree roots with just us?"

"Nah, c'mon honey, I know you better than that. This one's got you interested, hasn't he? What does he look like? Is he cute?"

Blushing to her hairline Murrue scuttled away muttering something about getting a shower, her friend's cackling following her from the room. True, Mwu was handsome, the memory of blonde hair and twinkling blue eyes causing a smile whenever she thought of him, and she'd looked forward all week to seeing him again...but it wasn't what Erica thought. He's a nice person, and I think that he'll be a good friend when I know him a little better. But that's all. Really.

"You still haven't told me what he looks like."

She rolled her eyes and took a spoonful of her oatmeal, deciding to ignore the questions. Erica had been saying for a long time she needed to find someone, needed company. And when Murrue had pointed out she already had it, her friend had just smiled. "Not that kind of company. I mean the kind that keeps you warm at night. The kind you can have candlelit dinners with and cuddle up to watch bad movies with.."

"You'll find out when you see him."

"I know, but I want to hear your description."

"Erica, I've only met him once. And we were talking about gardening."

"And for you, that's practically pillow talk. So spill it."

She sighed and palmed her face. "Okay. He's pretty tall, maybe half-a-head taller than me, broad-shouldered, blonde, and has blue eyes. Happy?"

"He sounds nice. Can I flirt with him?"

"He's only here to help with the garden, so no, you can't."

A short while later, while she was washing the breakfast pots, something at the window caught her eye. A red and black motorcycle roaring through the quiet neighbourhood. It was something so unexpected she paused to watch, surprised when it pulled up outside. The rider wore jeans and a blue cable-knit sweater, and pulled a scrap of paper out of their pocket while looking around. After a moment they nodded and pulled off their helmet. And she smiled. His hair was tousled, cheeks ruddy - and as he caught sight of her watching he grinned and winked. To her own annoyance, Murrue blushed. Taking a deep breath she managed to wave, moving to unlock the door and let him in. "Good morning.."

"Good morning, Miss Murrue." He peeked around the kitchen. "You have a nice house.."

"Thank you." Hearing footsteps from the next room she sighed and turned around, raising an eyebrow at Erica's appreciative whistle. "Well, are you happy now?"

"He is cute. I'd say keep him."

Mortified, she hid her face in her hands, wondering how much more her friend would be able to embarrass her today. To his credit, Mwu didn't seem to mind the attention, smiling politely as the older woman looked him up and down.

"So your name's Mwu, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-eight."

"Where do you work?"

"I design and build custom motorcycles for people." Erica squealed in delight and clapped her hands.

"Do you like my friend?"

Murrue whacked her arm. "Erica, stop it!"

Mwu grinned. "She's a very nice person." The young woman blushed again. Donning her boots she grabbed her peacoat from the back of a chair and vanished outside, hoping the cool air would help her focus. Stuffing her hands in her pockets she wandered around the garden, idly kicking at weeds and tufts of grass.

Why does she have to say and do things like that? She knows how much it embarrasses me. I know she thinks I'm too shy, but I'm able to choose people for myself...

"I'm sorry.."

Hearing his voice she sighed, digging in her coat pocket for her wool hat. "You don't need to apologise. She does."

"She knows." Mwu replied softly. "She said she wanted to help, but that she went about it the wrong way. She says she'll let us sort the garden out by ourselves, and that she'll be the one to treat you to ice-cream.."

"Anything to avoid a bit of work.." But she was smiling, looking forward to today a little more. Picking up a spade, she handed it to him. "Shall we get started then, if it's just us two?"

"Certainly, miss."

And it turned out to be as much fun as she'd hoped. The initial polite distance between them had quickly faded to be replaced with an easy friendship, the two of them laughing and joking as though they'd known each other for years. I was right. He will be a good friend. I'm glad.. He'd easily dug out the tree roots, breaking them into smaller pieces to be taken away for recycling, and was now attacking the clump of thistles with gusto. His cheeks were reddened from the work and winter air, and he was grinning broadly. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

"Would you like a drink? I'm setting the kettle going for coffee.."

"Please.."

He stretched out with a contented sigh, shoulder joints popping, and leaned back in the chair before popping the last bite of cookie into his mouth. He'd worked his way through most of the plate before he'd realised and apologised, and had rubbed the back of his neck shyly when she'd laughed. He's really sweet. Like a little kid.. "You know, you can have the last one.."

"N-no, that's okay. You have it. I've eaten too many.."

"Mwu, we have more. If you want the cookie, then eat it."

Rather shamefacedly he did, a slight pink flush to his face, and she did her best to hide her smile. There wasn't much left of the weeding to do, but she still wanted to leave the planting while tomorrow. The rose bushes and spring-blooming bulbs could go out now, but the rest, the seeds for the cornflowers and others, couldn't be sown until March or April. They'd have to go in the cupboard for now, away from the light. Perhaps when the clump of nettles in the far corner was gone, she could take him for ice-cream or something as a thank-you.

"You've worked very hard today."

"It's been fun," he admitted. "Both the work...and the company.." Murrue pinked but smiled, hiding her face in her mug of coffee.

I could say the same thing..

"So they want to come out too?"

Murrue nodded, slipping on the thick gloves she'd worn that morning. The last group of weeds left in the small plot stood green and tall in a shadowy, damp corner under some trees. The leaves had serrated edges, but didn't look that scary - not scary enough to need gloves anyhow. Filled with a sudden urge to impress his companion he caught hold of the nearest plant with both hands, ready to tug it from the earth.

"No, wait!"

But it was too late. As the leaves brushed against his exposed arms and hands sudden intense pain shot over the skin and he swore violently, moving away from the plant so fast he fell backwards onto the lawn. "Owwww..."

"I did try and warn you.." Kneeling on the grass beside him she took his hands in hers, studying his arms. To his alarm, the skin had already turned red, white welts showing up clearly.

"Wha-"

"Nettlerash," she replied, shaking her head with a sigh. "It'll clear up, but it'll hurt for a while. Here, sit down on the bench and I'll get some cream for it.." She vanished back into the house, leaving him to muse over the painful rash and direct annoyed glares at the weeds. Instead of impressing her he'd managed the opposite, and again, he felt like a complete dork. Logically, he knew it wasn't his fault - how was he meant to know nettles stung? - but still...

"Stupid weeds."

"It's your own fault."

"Yeah, but.." He tried to huff but couldn't quite manage it, instead smiling at the feel of her delicate fingers rubbing the calamine lotion into his skin. The touch was gentle, easing the last of the pain he still felt, and he was rather disappointed when she finished. "I guess it was pretty dumb of me.."

"It was, but you weren't to know. Now you sit there and let the lotion do it's work, and I'll take care of those nettles." Mwu watched as she donned the gloves again and picked up a pair of shears, beginning to lop the nettles off halfway down the stems so she could pull them up without getting stung. It was a simple idea, but a clever one, and he got the distinct feeling that he had a lot to learn from her still. She hummed softly as she worked and he grinned. She was so absorbed in her task she seemed to have forgotten he was there, brow furrowed slightly and lips pursed in concentration as she tugged at the roots of the nettles. She'd managed to free a lot of them, but one in particular seemed to be giving her trouble.

"You need some help with that?"

"No, I'm all right.." She stood up and stretched, crinkling her nose in frustration, before attacking the weed again. And he chuckled. She's a stubborn one, isn't she? Getting up he wound his arms around her waist, feeling a surge of ego despite his good intentions at the sudden crimson flush to her cheeks. "Hey!"

"It's all right. You don't have enough weight behind you to pull that thing out, so I'm helping. Don't worry.." She was still red-faced, but nodded, catching hold of the root and pulling, he providing the extra weight needed to free it from the ground. To both their surprise the weed came free easily, causing them to topple over backward onto the grass. Still holding her tightly, staring up at the blue sky, he started laughing. "Guess I was too heavy.."

Murrue giggled. To his delight, she made no effort to escape his hold, settling back with quite a content little sigh. Not wanting to ruin the moment he stayed quiet, breathing in the floral scent from her hair. She murmured quietly after a while, moving as though to sit up. "Am I too heavy?"

"You? Light as a feather. Don't you worry."

"We still kind of need to get up, though.." But her efforts seemed half-hearted at best, and she even sounded disappointed when he sat up, she still held in his lap. Mwu chuckled, more so when she turned to face him with a rather cross expression.

"What's so funny?"

"You are. You can't make your mind up what you want." Before she could respond to that he kissed her, enjoying her muffled squeak. It didn't last long, he pulling away before he forgot himself, but he instantly regretted it when he saw her expression. She was blushing, but didn't look happy, dark eyes downcast, and when he let her go she edged away from him.

"I'm sorry." She nodded but didn't say a word, scuttling inside and leaving him there. And he sighed, shaking his head. Dumbass. You got carried away and pushed too far. He'd grown so used to and comfortable in her presence he'd forgotten how short a time he'd known her. Wanting to make it up to her somehow he picked up her discarded gloves and headed back for the remaining nettle roots.

I've pretty much screwed any chance I had with her - the least I can do is sort out one mess, even if I can't sort out the other. Then I'll leave her be.

A short while later she peeked out of the house - and her heart sank. He'd gone. The only sign that he'd even been there was the neat pile of roots on the grass - the last nettles - and a scribbled note weighed down by the shears.

Thank you. And sorry.

( Random place to leave it, I know, but it was getting too long :sweatdrops:

please read and review! )