Stuck in the middle of nowhere

Chapter 8

The walk back was uneventful. The sheep were now more willing to coöperate and Heather got used to their presence and was allowed to run free, following Swifts example. However, the glances Heero sometimes shot Duo's way were more then enough to keep his body tingling with the remembrance of that afternoon. You could say that they were going strong, but Heero had a few demands. One: Take it slow (Die Therasias, die!) Two: Not tell anyone. The last one bothered him most, since Heero never really strayed far from home he guessed there would only be a few precious moments to walk hand in hand or kiss... or... grope a bit.

Grinning he looked to the side and shrugged. He walked up towards Heero. It would take them another hour to get back to the ranch, he might as well enjoy it...

Heero looked up briefly and was quite surprised to notice Duo took his hand in his.

'Comfortable with this?'

Heero nodded, squeezing the hand he held. 'Very comfortable.'

'You know... those Things... memories?-'

'Not so comfortable anymore.' Heero said, his voice revealed a mixture of annoyance, fear and shame. He wanted to pull his hand back but Duo just strengthened his grip on it.

'Okay, okay. Ya dun wanna talk about it. That's cool!' he raised his free hand as a sign of surrender.

Too soon they saw the ranch and, thinking that they couldn't handle it, Trowa came running towards them, a stick in his hand to use for guiding the sheep.

Thank god Duo had let go of Heero's hand and distanced himself from him before they were in sight. Otherwise, seeing Trowa running towards them with a stick would be a major threat to his health.

'There's no need Trowa. We can handle it.'

Trowa allowed himself to show a little bit surprise in his one visible eye as he watched the sheep being guided back to their paddock by Swift and Heather.

Bob came out of the house and also made his way towards them. He smiled as he saw the dogs did a perfect job. No biting, just guiding. He gave Duo a friendly pat on the shoulder.

'Your dog is a natural! Maybe you should think about entering the contest for sheep herding with her!' He said with a laugh, but the tone of his voice showed he was serious.

'You think so?'

'Yeah, you know, she IS a German SHEPPHERD afterall. It's in her blood. And she is a nicely sized dog, good condition. She might even stand a chance.'

Duo looked at Heero with a proud smile 'Well Heero, looks like Swift has new competition!'

Heero faked a cocky laugh.

'Well, close the gate, you start with dinner, I'll do some more gardening.' Bob said, walking away towards the vegetable patch while Heero locked the gate and made his way to the house.

'I see you two worked it out.'

Duo turned to look a little shocked at Trowa. Had he seen after all! Oh God...

'Dad told me you and Heero had a fight yesterday. Must have been serious, since Heero left you in the woods to fend for yourself.'

'Oh...' He had to force himself not to sigh in relief. Trowa knew nothing more then heero and he wanted him to know. 'It was just a silly fight.'

'Great, then you can help with cooking dinner.' He patted Duo's shoulder and walked back to the horse stables.

Duo remembered Bob saying that cleaning the table and cooking was a womens job, but he didn't take the comment to heart. Actually, he was quite pleased. The cows were no where in sight. Meaning that WuFei has yet to return.

Trowa wasn't done delivering the horses they sold yet, as the truck was still here and he was coaxing another horse to get in the trailer.

Bob was busy with the vegetables.

Lee was still in bed.

Hmmm... He smirked. He and Heero had the kitchen all for themselves. What to do with that privacy...?

Entering the house, immediately standing in the kitchen he looked at Heero, who had his back turned towards him while he was either still washing his hands or washing vegetables.

He was sure that Heero heard him enter, but he still made an effort of sneaking silently towards him till he was only inches away and could look over his shoulder. He was washing a head of lettuce.

'Hey.' Heero said, confirming that he already knew he was standing right behind him.

'You meanie! I wanted to scare you.'

'Then coming in, opening the door as if you were ripping it out of the frame wasn't such a wise thing to do after all, ne?'

'Ha. Ha. Ha. Are we alone ?'

'Yes...' Heero sounded suspicious. Like he wasn't sure if he should have answered with yes.

'Good.' He wrapped his arms around Heero's waist and rested his head on his shoulder, meaning he had to bend over a bit.

'I thought we were taking it slow?' He said with a smile noticable in his voice.

'Cuddling in the kitchen IS taking it slow!'

Heero slowly turned around in Duo's grip, bringing their faces really close to each other. He looked up seductively and closed his eyes for a moment, like he was feeling an immense pleasure.

Duo knew he was acting, but he wasn't gonna stop the show.

'You know what would really please me?' The half-Japanese boy purred.

Duo just hoped he wasn't drooling all over Heero, that would be a hard thing to explain... talking about hard things...

'No...'

'No? Well... I would really appreciate it if you...'

Yessssss?

'If you'd peel-'

-My clothes off and fuck me right here! A perverted part (the largest part) of his brain hoped.

'-the skin off the potatoes.' Heero said with his usual, slightly monotone voice and he pointed with a long finger at a basket of potatoes, standing near on the kitchen top, a small knife lying next to it.

Duo growled. 'You tease.' He mumbled. He pried his hands off Heero's body and slowly made his way to the other side of the kitchen. Picking up the knife, looking at the basket like it was filled with horse shit. He turned around quickly, pointing at a smirking Heero with the knife. 'You are really cruel...' he turned again and picked up the first potatoe.

'Oh and Duo, be careful not to cut-'

'OUCH!'

'Duo!' Heero quickly made his way towards the Amercan, looking at his hand.

Duo clutched his right indexfinger with his left hand and shot heero a mock angry look. 'You want to kill me or something?'

'Oh Duo, I'm so sorry.' Heero sincerely said, taking Duo's index finger in his hand and before Duo knew it the tip was in his mouth, sucking it gently. All Duo could do was watch dumbfounded and gape. When he recovered, he said with a tease: 'Like the taste of blood now, don't ya?'

That made Heero frown and pull back, he brought Duo's hand up to inspect the finger. 'Duo, I don't see any cut... Where...' Realisation finally dawned to him. 'You... you... Perverted, horny bastard!'

'You DO realise I only like it when you say that, right?'

Heero smacked him and turned to his important task of preparing the meat for dinner. Not talking to Duo for the next thirty minutes, making the braided man wonder if he was really angry with him.

'Heero? Are you mad at me?'

'No!' He sounded surprised like: why would I be?

Relieved Duo returned to his own task, liking the silence between them while they cooked more then he had thought. Just once in a while the sound of the water tap being opened and water running out, or the plop of a potatoe falling in a water filled pan. He smiled as he thought about that he never felt more at home somewhere then now, here.

The silence at the dinner table however, was much less comfortable. Lee had come down for dinner this time, ignoring Bob's protests and Heero's concerned glances. WuFei and trowa hid their concern better, pretending to be strong, cold hearted, cowboys. But that didn't stop Trowa from bending down with lightening speed as soon as his stephmother dropped her fork, to pick it up for her.

'Well done boys.' She said to heero and Duo a proud smile on her face as she took another bite, with a clean fork. 'You two are good cooks. A good team.'

Did she mean anything more with that? Duo stared at her for a while, analysing her like he used to to in the business world when some old bastard wanted to sue him again. He had gotten good at it. But there was something in her eyes he couldn't exactly identify when she first looked at her son and then at him. She suspected something, that was sure.

He now felt even more uncomfortable. He forced himself not to look at Heero so he wouldn't give anything away, but maybe his not looking was only confiming to her as, when Heero was cleaning the table, she sent a strange smirk his way as Heero bend over him to pick up his plate.

'How did the sheepherding go? Did those animals pose a threath?' Bob asked Duo with a laugh.

'No, it was uh... rather uneventful.' Don't look at Heero don't look at Heero, was the mantra that kept repeating itself in his head.

'If you seriously think about entering the contest, you can come along with me tomorrow and we'll get you signed in.'

'At the community centre?'

'Ahuh, I have to go there anyway to make sure the horse selling was done legally!'

'But...' Heero walked back up to the table, while drying a plate in his hands with a faded green cloth, 'They have phones at the community centre.' He gave Duo a strange, sort of scared look.

'Oh yeah! Then you can call you're family! Let them know where you are! But that doesn't mean he has to leave right away. Just tell them you're okay, you can leave after the contest!' Bob said excitedly, obviously not realising what he had triggered.

Duo didn't respond. Did he want to go back? Mandy would kill him if he returned after being missing for so long. She'd say: 'You could've at least been dead!'. That way she had something interesting to talk about at lunch... Wait, did he say: IF he returned? Was he seriously thinking of never returning? It did have an up-side. Never having to face Mandy again. Oh god Mandy. No, he couldn't call back home, Mandy would find out and she would come down here to retrieve both her dogs (him and Heather).

'Uhm, yeah!' He called out, pretending to be excited. He couldn't let these people think his life in the city was pathetic. Which it was.

'You know what, just sleep on it. Staying, going when the next opportunity arrives, which ain't gonna be quick, or leaving tomorrow. You can call a cab and a towtruck for your car to take you to the tankstation and you'll be on your merry way!' With that Bob rose from his seat, took Lee's arm in his and guided her back upstairs.

After the table was cleared again, Bob and Lee went upstairs and with WuFei and trowa were nowhere in sight he followed Heero to the porch and came to sit down next to him on the bench Lee liked to vacate. It was cold, and their exhales could be seen in the air as white puffs, slowly disappearing before a new one took it's place. Though cold, the heavens were clear. No sign of the thick clouds that had darkened the sky and wet the lands in the afternoon.

'You really thinking about leaving?'

'Yeah...' He knew that if he left, he would feel some regret. But he did realise that he'd never fit in here. Heather could maybe, but he still couldn't get used to getting his shoes dirty and going to bed at ten pm. He didn't miss his pathetic life. He DID miss his apartment. His stylish apartment with many floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the bustling city. And he missed his job, come to think of it. He was THIS close to being partner. He looked to the side, at Heero staring at thin air. The perfect solution? He'd go home to his perfect apartment, his perfect job, in his perfect car... with his perfect boyfriend sitting right beside him. But he knew Heero would never leave his family. Never. In some sort of way, he respected that. And he shouldn't expect that things would miraculously work out between them. Relationships can fail. It was no valid reason for staying. The next time Bob would bring him to the comunity centre with it's phone could take a very long time...

'Weeks before, when you asked me if I missed my life in the city... I said no. Because I have no 'life' there. But I do have a job... and an apartment... things that I DO miss. I'm so sorry, I.. I don't want to hurt you... but... this,' he gestured around, 'is not me.'

'... We've only been 'together' for a day. You leaving would hurt... but, it wouldn't break my heart or anything. We ain't that serious and it seems like well never be...' With that and a sigh he rose from his seat. Giving one last glance up above and a sad smile at Duo. 'I understand that you want to go home.' He left, going back inside. Moments later Duo could hear the door to the hallway open and close, so he reckoned heero was going upstairs and will be avoiding him from now on.

The words Heero had said stung a bit. About them not being serious. Though he was right, or wasn't he? It was confusing, being in love, or at least he THOUGHT he was in love with Heero. What was a bit soothing though... was that Heero hadn't sound confident when he said his heart wouldn't break if he left. But he did spoke as if he had seen it coming.

Duo had always said to them that he would leave when the first opportunity arose... And here it was...

Groaning, Duo buried his head in his hair. He should have thought about this more often. But two or three weeks ago he totally forgot about his life 'back then'. And to have it falling down upon him now, all at the same time was... confusing... frustrating!

If he left there was a good chance he'd never be able to convince himself to go back again...

Well... I guess today is official: Crimson-Waterfall-with-a-writerblock-day! ... let's all celebrate...

The next chapter will be up soon, but it'll be short... sorry...

C.W.

Some help would ne nice...