Seven Days of Spring Break by ELLE
Sunday | Day Two | Heero Tours the Mountains, Eats Pork, and Gets Caught in the Rain
Heero awoke to sunlight streaming lazily through crisp white curtains, baking him in pleasant warmth. It immediately reminded him of the brief kiss he shared with Duo on the deck under the astral blanket woven across the sky. If only he knew what he was getting himself into when he innocently agreed to accompany Quatre down here. His friend was only trying to be nice – Heero didn't think he was trying to play matchmaker again, not after the last time. Not when there was something like 900 miles of continental US between the two intended targets.
He had a slight headache from dehydration and too much alcohol but nothing a little aspirin wouldn't fix. His room had a shared bathroom that was basically for his use only as Quatre had no other guests and he was pleased to find some aspirin in the medicine cabinet. Already feeling like the day was going his way, he shaved and showered, contemplating what Duo had planned for the day. He said it would be a culture shock. Heero sniggered under his breath as he made his way down the stairs to the kitchen. Duo swore no snake handling, but Heero couldn't help but wonder about Klan meetings.
Quatre was already seated in front of a small spread of waffles, pastries, fruit, and cheeses and he smiled at Heero over his buttered croissant in greeting, kicking his feet childishly against the bar from his high stool.
"Were you comfortable enough last night?" Quatre asked politely, setting down the pastry as Heero fixed himself a glass of water before joining him at the bar. "I'm sorry about the party and all that, I know that couldn't have been much fun for you, not knowing anyone."
Heero shrugged as he selected items for his plate. "It was fine, really, and I was subjected to Duo's commentary most of the time."
Quatre laughed a little and pulled off some of his croissant. "Duo..." He murmured the name thoughtfully as he chewed. "He's something else."
Heero figured that if he was going to tell Quatre about the kiss, now would be the time. But he didn't. So it would be relegated to being just one more secret between them. Just like Milliardo, the man he'd dated for two years but who his best friend didn't even know about. Maybe Duo was secretive like that.
Though it didn't really seem his style, Heero mused, to hide who he was and what he wanted. Duo definitely seemed like a very hands on, take charge and go get it kinda guy. Not exactly the type he was attracted to, despite his obvious handsomeness. Heero usually fell for older, calculating, manipulative men. Quatre had been an attempt to merge the intellectual strategist with a kind-hearted personality – and Quatre crashed and burned before it even hit the runway.
But quickly Heero banished those thoughts to a dark corner of his mind. He wasn't looking for love anyway. Especially not here. Especially not with a man who had no college education or any desire to procure one and who he'd met less than twenty-four hours ago.
"Did he say when he would be over?" Heero inquired of his friend and Quatre shook his head.
"He said morning but for Duo that could be anywhere between four a.m. and noon."
Quatre chuckled. Heero rolled his eyes. He was a stickler for punctuality.
But despite Quatre's warning, today Duo had impeccable timing and just as Heero was finishing his plate a member of the staff was informing Quatre that Duo's guest number had been entered into the gate keypad. They finished quickly and arrived at the front door just in time to see Duo roll up on a sleek black sport bike with Trowa and Wufei – and a woman Heero remembered meeting but couldn't remember the name of sitting behind the Chinese man – on their own motorcycles. Quatre was laughing and shaking his head as Duo hopped off first, beating everyone else up the stairs to greet them.
Heero's cool glare didn't betray how absolutely stunning Duo looked in form fitting black jeans with a trim black leather riding jacket on, hair mused from the helmet tucked under his arm. Red flannel peaked out from under the jacket, a subtle reminder of his Southern roots. He smiled easy and his eyes shone with excitement.
"Today, we're takin' 'Ro on a tour!" he announced enthusiastically, words tumbling out of his mouth much quicker than Heero expected for a Southerner with that clumsy accent. "Spring time is fuckin' gorgeous 'round here anyway. You probably wanna get some jackets, though, ya know, cause it can get chilly. Oh and you remember Trowa, Wufei, and Sally, right 'Ro?" he asked as the others headed up at a more leisurely pace.
Heero nodded, grateful that Duo was thoughtful enough to offer their names before he had to ask for Sally's. He was intrigued by the relationship between the two and they both seemed somewhat out of place but he held back his curiosity. He knew Wufei moved here when he was thirteen and did in fact attend all of high school with the other three guys, but he wasn't sure what Sally's story was other than that she appeared to be Wufei's girlfriend. She also appeared to be a bit older than him and not from around here. Heero couldn't say exactly what it was about her that made her stand out, other than her obvious level of class and lack of accent, but she just didn't hold herself like she belonged. He was sure eventually Duo would tell him.
"Oh, are you sure...?" Quatre asked Duo, carefully taking a peek at Heero to judge his level of comfort.
For his part, Heero had never driven a motorcycle before, nor did he ever intend to. But he had made a little agreement with his grandfather last night as he stared up at the stars that he wouldn't be judgmental. He wouldn't be like his father. He would try and open up and do the things Duo planned for them, even if he thought they were silly or meaningless. His grandfather would've wanted it to be that way.
"Don't be nervous, don't be scared. You are a Yuy – you have the heart of a lion. Live up to your name."
Heero stared at the bikes, then back at Duo, and nodded his consent. Quatre shrugged and went back into the house to get them jackets and Duo was left beaming at him.
"Hey 'Fei – Sal's never been over on Six Gap, has she?" Duo asked and a smile flitted across Trowa's face at the same time Wufei shook his head. If possible, Duo's smile grew wider. "Awesome! I know where we're going then."
"Just be careful, Duo," Sally admonished seriously with a teasing wink. "Wufei's not driven in months and I'm just not sure he can handle it." She jabbed him with a teasing finger as his face clouded darkly at the suggestion that he was somehow inferior to Duo and Trowa.
"I will be fine," he stated with absolute certainty as she laughed, snaking an arm through his and kissing his cheek.
"You're sure all those term papers in women's studies haven't eroded your rugged masculinity...?" she joked with doe eyes gently appraising him.
Wufei just shook his head hotly. Duo and Trowa shared a look and a smile that Heero didn't quite understand.
Quatre returned with heavy jackets and handed one off to Heero with the hope that it fit. Heero shrugged into it as they descended the stairs and Duo clapped him on the back.
"'Ro's with me," Duo announced, grabbing an additional helmet from where it rested on the back of his bike and offering it to Heero. He hesitated. For some reason it hadn't occurred to him that he was going to have to ride bitch to Duo and the idea rankled. Ever since Milliardo left he refused to be degraded or do anything that called into question his masculinity.
He spared a glance for Quatre who was easily accepting a helmet from Trowa and returned a confidence-boosting smile. Well, if Quatre was straight and he didn't mind riding behind another man, it seemed asinine to make a big production out of it. Besides, it's not as if Heero had a motorcycle license.
Resigning himself to his fate, he accepted the helmet cautiously. Duo helped him fit it and Heero swallowed as those oil-stained fingers slid across his neck flirtatiously before withdrawing. He couldn't help but glare back at Duo's amused eyes as he flipped down the visor.
It also foolishly didn't occur to Heero just how close he was going to have to sit next to Duo and what feelings that position would evoke within him. He carefully leaned back as far as possible without looking absolutely ridiculous and rested his hands on his own thighs. Quatre seemed to have no problem sitting right up next to Trowa, a hand resting easily on his friend's hip for support as he adjusted himself on the back of the bike. Heero bit down a hint of old jealousy, knowing there was nothing sexual between the two men but unable to stop his desire for something he wanted but could never have.
"Have you ever been on a bike like this before?" Duo asked, looking over his shoulder, and Heero shook his head. He couldn't see Duo's expression then but once he was facing forward again he quickly grabbed the back of Heero's knees, dragging him forward so that their bodies were flush right up against one another. Heero was shocked and off balance and he reached forward, his hands grabbing the first thing they met – which happened to be Duo's waist.
He swore he heard the sound of laughter but it was cut off by the ignition and they were off with a start. Heero sulked over being tricked but he had a chance to get readjusted as they slowed for the gate to open and turned more carefully onto the main road.
The ride was easy at first and they passed through what Heero assumed had to be 'town' although it was really only a few streets with local shops lined up on them and a station where a train loaded and unloaded tourists. He quickly picked up the feel for riding behind someone and began to lean into the turns with Duo, their bodies working in tandem in a way that was unique and familiar all at the same time.
It was overcast and the weather was surprisingly chilly on the back of the bike but Heero had never minded the cold. And it felt almost like sailing as they breezed easily by fenced pastures and rolling mountain vistas and little dilapidated shacks. And as his eyes floated over the scenery he wondered about Duo. He wondered how many men he'd been with. He wondered what it was like to be gay and so isolated. He wondered if his best friends even knew about his persuasion. They certainly didn't seem put off by it. Maybe Duo really was like Milliardo. Certainly Quatre would've warned him if he knew Duo was gay – right?
Heero was thankful when the road became more aggressive and his focus turned to the changes in Duo's body as he compensated for hills and turns. He rebuked himself, remembering that none of Duo's past mattered because he wasn't trying to build any kind of future with him. He was just trying to get through this week as easily and as open-mindedly as possible.
He had noted they had been ascending for a while when they crested a hill and a breathtaking panorama appeared before them and Duo slowed drastically as they began their descent so that everyone had a moment to appreciate it. Heero had been in the mountains before – after all, Cornell was in upstate New York – but the lovely blue-green cast to these was noticeably different. The sun dappling across them through the clouds was distinctly oceanic.
But just as quickly as he had slowed, Duo tensed suddenly and released a roaring shout that sounded conspicuously like those let loose on roller coasters and he hit the throttle hard. In a mad rush of panic Heero threw his arms around the other man and clung to him as they swerved quickly through the turns, the bike leaning left then right, and Heero could feel the shuddering laughter in Duo's body against his chest and under his fingers even through all their layers of clothing.
Despite himself, Heero found he was smiling and his grip was relaxing as he laid his head against Duo's back, tentatively giving in to the rush and the wonderful out-of-control feeling the speed and the turns provided. Knowing they must've left his friends far behind in their aggressive sprint down the mountain, Heero allowed himself to slip his fingers up under Duo's jacket, feeling the soft flannel and his taunt abs underneath. He shivered as the wind whipped by and he held the other man close to him, pressing their bodies together in a weak moment of exhilaration.
When the road evened out far too soon, Duo laid one hand over Heero's, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tightly. The touch shocked Heero out of his self-indulgence and once Duo's hand was gone his own slid across to Duo's hips before falling back onto his own thighs again. Reluctantly, he sat up a little straighter as he heard Trowa's bike before he saw it. And then Trowa passed Duo, Quatre waving an admonishing finger back at him, causing Duo to playfully flip him the bird.
The sky grew darker as they headed back towards town and Heero could tell they started driving a bit more insistently in order to stay ahead of a storm. They managed to make it to a long, wooden building with the roof painted pink and boasting the name "The Pink Pig." Heero remembered seeing signs for it on the road as they approached but he didn't realize it was their destination.
He guessed it had to be lunch by then, that they had been out for probably three, maybe four hours, but it wasn't until Duo parked the bike and they were climbing off that Heero realized just how hungry he was. Duo was smiling at him gratuitously as Heero pulled off his helmet and swiped at the sweat on his brow with the back of his arm. He lifted a curious eyebrow and Duo reached out and swatted Heero's hair.
"It looks ridiculous!"
Heero scowled and batted away his hand. "You're one to talk," he shot back, Duo's bangs sticking wildly to his forehead and flying off haphazardly with the wind. Duo just pressed his palm to his sweaty forehead and stroked upward so his bangs stood straight up for a moment and laughed. Heero shook his head, admittedly a bit amused. He was used to being surrounded by people who refused to ever have a crooked lapel or a hair out of place.
"Ah, Duo, good choice!" Quatre said happily as he and Trowa converged on them.
"I know how much ya like this place," Duo replied with a pleased grin. Heero looked back at the obnoxious building. He'd been to many crab shacks on the coast in his time but this... It smelled of smoke and sweet and things he couldn't place. But if Quatre liked it, he'd have to trust it.
"It looks like rain though..." The statement was obvious. Quatre scanned the sky nervously as Wufei and Sally joined them.
"I can only hope!" Duo exclaimed as they entered the establishment. "We need the rain for tomorrow's activities."
Heero couldn't fathom anything that specifically required rain the previous day but Quatre looked vaguely suspicious. If Trowa knew he wasn't sharing and Sally was dragging Wufei off to a room behind the hostess' stand filled with trinkets and Americana styled junk and they likely didn't hear Duo at all.
They got a table in the long, almost house-like building and Heero stared at the menu with a bit of confusion, having never been to a place that offered things like pork plates and Brunswick stew and fried chicken livers. But he supposed he didn't really have to order for himself if he didn't want – Duo would probably do it for him. The thought humored him.
Sally and Wufei had just wandered back to the table when the waitress came for the drink order and when Heero ordered water Duo added a sweet tea on for him. He bit down a smirk for his premonitory talents.
"Have any questions, 'Ro?" Duo asked as he slammed shut his own menu as if announcing he was ready to order.
"Have you ever had barbeque like this before?" Quatre inquired and Heero shook his head.
"No, I don't think so."
Trowa, who sat next to Duo and at a diagonal to Heero seemed perplexed. Quatre, who sat to Heero's left, turned to face him.
"They don't really have pit barbeque in the North," he explained. "When Northerners say barbeque what they mean is grilling." Heero's eyes narrowed at Quatre's explanation, as it was news to him as well. Quatre noticed his stare and laughed. "The first few times I was invited to a barbeque on campus I was so disappointed – there was no pork! No sauce!"
"You don't mean just burgers, hot dogs, shish kabobs, things like that?" Heero asked and Duo shook his head vehemently.
"Oh, no, barbeque is in the soul," he explained, his hands gesturing in some full-bodied way that Heero couldn't quite grasp, his voice taking on a deep, appreciative tone. "Barbeque is in the sauce, it's in the pit, it's in the time it takes to roast that meat until it's so tender it falls apart before it even reaches your fuckin' mouth. Barbeque is in the blood and sweat of the man stoking the flames to bring you every delicious morsel. Barbeque is –"
"Don't listen to Maxwell's romantic nonsense," Wufei interjected suddenly much to Duo's frustration. "Barbeque is just a method of cooking dependent entirely on the cook, just as all methods of cooking are. It varies regionally. This is more North Carolina style barbeque than anything. I'm sure in Texas they wouldn't acknowledge it as barbeque either."
"Way to be a killjoy," Duo shot back petulantly but Heero shut his own menu and stared hard at the braided man across from him, getting his attention immediately.
"Well, then, since you know so much about it and I know nothing – you order for me."
Duo's eyes widened in surprise and then his lips jerked up into that signature grin. "Ya mean it?"
Heero shrugged. "Sure." And then he felt Duo's leg press teasingly up against his own for a brief moment and he tried desperately not to blush.
After Duo verified that he did in fact like pork, the waitress ended up coming back with their drinks and to take their order.
"So did Duo confide his mystery plans to you?" Quatre asked of Trowa, who smiled faintly as he received a warning glare from Duo.
"I really can't say if he did or if he didn't," Trowa murmured to Duo's relief and Quatre huffed and turned to Wufei.
"Well, do you know too?"
"Honestly, I do not," Wufei replied sincerely but then Sally made a small sound and all eyes shifted to her guilty looking face.
"You told her?" Quatre accused of Duo while she bit her lip on a smile.
"Don't be mad," she offered. "Wufei wasn't in the room when Duo worked it over with Trowa. But Cathy and I were there and we had to be involved so that we could make our own plans."
"But you took some oath of silence too, huh?" Quatre asked and she laughed.
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Why do I have to be left as ignorant as them?" Wufei asked her, jerking a thumb at Quatre and Heero.
"Should have been there," she shrugged.
"Wait, when did you plan this? Sally and Wufei just got into town yesterday too," Quatre pointed out.
Heero knew that when Quatre wanted to figure something out, every angle was studied, every possible question asked, and that this line of inquiry could last hours without any actual information being procured from his four friends. Heero wondered if Duo designed this whole week just to fuck with Quatre's head.
Duo shrugged and looked abashed. "Mostly this morning."
"But yesterday you said –"
"Well, I did have a few things planned, but I didn't know how bad ya'll needed me 'til I showed up."
"You are so full of yourself, Duo Maxwell," Quatre admonished with a warm smile.
"Guilty as charged," he admitted easily.
They didn't have to wait much longer for their food to arrive despite how packed the place was and Heero stared down at a half rack of ribs and plate of chopped meat with thick brown sauce drizzled over it – plus green beans, which he found an amusingly 'healthy' side option considering the sugary smell of the meat – and a big fluffy roll. Duo had a huge plate of ribs of his own and he immediately ripped off a piece with his fingers to taste, licking the sauce from them in an appreciative and unintentionally carnal way that made Heero feel suddenly uncomfortable. If Duo really intended to eat his entire plate that way, Heero didn't know how he would make it through the next half hour.
He laid his napkin across his lap as a distraction and picked up a speculative forkful of chopped meat – something Duo explained was pulled pork. He felt very far from the coast then, very far from the fresh caught lobster he loved and the smell of salt and his heart ached.
Duo attempted not to watch him expectantly as he tried it and the flavor, while bold and overstated and overly sweet, was not unpleasant. It was surprisingly complimentary to the salty meat and he gave Duo a tentative smile of approval. Duo beamed back and dug into his own food with relief.
But when he caught Heero attempting to eat his own ribs with a fork he felt compelled to get involved.
"No, no, you can't do it like that," he explained, his eyes teasing. "You have to feel the food – let it inta your soul."
Coming from a background where he often used three different types of fork in one meal, the statement seemed particularly outrageous.
"Like this," Duo demonstrated, picking up his own rib and tearing the meat off with his teeth, and Heero was pretty damned sure he was intentionally flirting as he picked at the bone with his fingers, licking at them enthusiastically. Heero's face felt hot – not to mention other parts of him – and he was grateful for Wufei's interruption.
"You can eat your food any way you damn well like," Wufei told Heero with a pointed glare at Duo. Duo just laughed and stuck his tongue out at his friend.
And then there was a deafening crack of thunder and Duo cheered as the lights flickered and rain could be heard pounding on the metal roof above them. Heero clenched his hands tight under the table and it was like that shiny wooden coffin was right there, right in front of him again.
He couldn't do it. He could force his feet forward. He wanted to. He wanted to see her one last time, ask her to hold him but he couldn't. He was too old for that now. And anyway, she was dead.
"It's okay, you don't have to."
The relief he felt at those simple words from his grandfather was overwhelming. He sat down next to Heero then, on that little settee that was in some ironic way just his mother's style – though she would never see it – and he put a big, warm hand on Heero's shoulder. Heero focused on the rain pattering against the window behind them – focused on that so that he wouldn't cry. He was too old to cry. That's what his father had told him. No one wanted to see a grown man cry.
He wanted to be a man, he wanted that so badly. But he didn't feel very much like a man just then.
"She isn't gone, you know."
Then his grandfather's finger was resting on his temple.
"She's here, with you all the time. When you think of her, she'll be there with you. She'll be there to guide you."
One big finger over his little heart, beating in agony although her's no longer did.
"And she's here. When you remember the way she made you feel, she'll be there with you. She'll still be there to love you."
His hands trembled under the table and he fought not to bring them up to his heart, to help remember those words now, offered when he was only eight years old and forced to bury his mother. He wasn't a man then, despite what his father might have said, but he was a man now. And men didn't cry.
But the overlapping memory was too fresh, too recent, of his grandfather's casket being lowered into the ground. Of everyone turning away, turning back to the shelter of their cars as the sky opened up to mimic his grief. And though he was offered an umbrella he refused because he knew that with the rain dripping down his face no one would be able to tell he was crying.
For the first time in the thirteen years since her funeral, he had been thankful for the rain.
He was startled from his thoughts by a foot hooking under his leg and he opened painfully dry eyes to meet Duo's obvious concern. In embarrassment and horror he realized that they were all looking at him, Quatre's hand even rested on his back in an attempt at comfort for an ache so deep it couldn't be reached by anyone other than himself.
"Are you okay?" Duo asked carefully.
Heero swallowed and cleared his throat. "Yeah – sorry. I..."
But he didn't know what to say. Quatre's hand stayed an extra moment before he let it fall. Trowa looked away to allow him some privacy. Duo's foot dropped back to the floor but he kept his leg stretched out so that their calves stayed pressed together. Heero appreciated the furtive contact more than he'd care to admit.
Although Heero tried to drag his thoughts to the conversation around him he found it difficult. He ate mechanically, the food on his plate losing all flavor in spite of itself.
Despite various protests, Quatre picked up the tab and they refit their helmets under the porch overhang before braving the rain.
"We'll probably just head back to my parents," Wufei spoke for him and Sally and so they said their goodbyes and Heero turned darkly to face the elements.
Duo tucked his braid back under his jacket and watched Heero carefully for a moment. Heero felt the eyes on him and met them when he felt ready with a slight nod. He knew the other man couldn't guess what was on his mind, where his dark thoughts lay, but for some reason he felt like Duo understood and that, stupidly, he cared.
The rain soaked them the instant they stepped off the porch but Heero didn't care. He slid easily up next to Duo, desperate for the sympathy and touch of another human being – even if he was just using him selfishly, without his consent, for his own comfort. It wasn't the same, but it had to be enough.
Duo reached back and squeezed his knee tightly for a moment before he started the bike and they sped off through the rain, following Quatre and Trowa back to his house. Although he kept his hands on his own thighs, Heero let himself lay against Duo's back, feeling protected in the onslaught. He closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of Duo moving with a turn, the feeling of him breathing hard, his concentration dedicated solely to the road and their safety in the poor weather. And he was thankful for the distraction because he was afraid if he let himself cry he'd just never stop.
He sat up though as they slowed when they got to the gate and he felt a little more able to cope by the time they got to the top of the driveway, one of the doors of the four car garage waiting open for them to pull into. Heero dismounted and removed his helmet. They all looked a bit like drowned rats.
"We'll have to take showers," Quatre announced.
"You don't mind?" Duo asked and Quatre shook his head.
"No. I've got some stuff you can change into and I'll have Jennifer wash and dry your things if you don't mind staying for a while."
Duo smiled and looked at Heero as he accepted the spare helmet back. "Yeah, that'd be cool, if ya don't mind us hangin' 'round, be nice ta wait 'til it stopped pourin' down the rain." But the way he looked at Heero made him feel like he was asking his permission, not Quatre's.
So Heero shrugged as Quatre reiterated that it was no problem. They started walking to the door that connected the garage to the house by a short hallway but Duo didn't move. Heero looked back to question him and Duo just waved his hand, taking off his jacket and throwing it over the bike.
"Y'all go on – I'll be in ina minute!"
No one questioned him as they walked in together. Quatre was directing Trowa to a shower as Heero made his way up to his room to grab a change of clothes and take a shower of his own, hoping the warm water would wash away the emotional funk he was in. But as he passed by the window he did a double take and pulled back the sheer curtains to see Duo standing in the middle of the driveway, his face upturned, his arms outstretched, letting the rain beat down on him.
Heero stood transfixed, watching the strange man act as though he were in some kind of religious trance, praying to the rain. He wondered at that, what Duo felt when he was standing there, why he was moved to do such a ridiculous thing. When Duo's arms finally dropped and turned around to head into the house, Heero easily caught the reverent smile plastered on his face.