The sun starts to set behind the rocket as Perry rivets sheets of metal onto the rocket frame. Heinz will weld them together to create an airtight seal as soon as he gets back from getting supplies for their mission. Food, water, spark plugs, all the stuff you need to go into space.
(Perry would have gone instead, and let Heinz do the building, except he's Black and mute, and this is the sixties.)
The last few rays of sun are disappearing beyond the horizon, the sky painted every shade of pink and red and orange when Heinz gets back, carrying several bags. Perry stops to wipe the sweat off his brow and waves down to his partner. Heinz waves back, dropping half the bags in the process.
Perry has to laugh- Heinz might be a bit clueless, but he's really rather sweet.
Heinz climbs up the scaffolding to keep working, already chattering away about things he saw in the town they're in.
Apparently, his accent stood out quite a bit, it was almost impossible to find spark plugs, and "come on, you'd think people around here would know what welding even is!"
Perry's all the way on the other side of the rocket, but he makes sympathetic noises and laughs in the right places, and they understand each other just fine. No need for sign- Heinz might joke that they can read each other's mind, but it's almost true.
As it gets dark, Perry winds up holding a flashlight for Heinz more than he rivets, since the glow of the moon provides only barely enough to see by.
By Perry's watch, it's almost midnight by the time they decide to take a break. They sit together on one of the middle levels of the scaffolding, leaning against the rocket and each other, letting the cool(er) night air wash over them. Sweat streams down their faces, heat radiating off their bodies, but there's something that pulls them together.
Ah, love. Who knew he would become such a sap. Peter had made fun of him for weeks after he found out what caused Perry's total reversal in attitude. (And then Peter had fallen in love with his nemesis- which meant it was Perry's turn to dish out innuendos left and right.)
As they watch the moon slowly travel across the sky, Perry realizes something. Three years ago, to the chapter, he and Heinz had watched the stars together. Heinz pointed out constellations to him, and Perry remembered each one. Now, his eyes trace the paths between the stars with ease, connecting every pattern Heinz has shown him since.
No matter where he is, no matter when he is, he can see the stars and remember Heinz. It's comforting to see the same stars his partner sees in the night sky. Even when he has to go halfway across the globe, he can look up for just a moment and see the far off suns that become pinpricks of stars in the Earth's sky.
The stars are beautiful out here, even in the middle of an oddly abandoned junkyard. But that just means no light pollution, nothing interrupting their view.
"I'd suggest that we dance," Heinz says after a long while, "but I'm kinda tired."
Perry nods against Heinz's chest, aware of just how physically demanding the last day has been. He'd be open to dancing too, but he's exhausted. Especially after the poor sleep he got the night before.
In fact, he could probably fall asleep right here, in the warm night with his partner's arms around him. Even on top of scaffolding- but he's slept in stranger places. (You do a lot of weird things in OWCA.) After the week he's had, he'd love to get an uninterrupted nap.
There's just one thing he needs to make sure of. One little thing- barely six inches square, but able to strand them in outer space and time. It's stranded them in worse places, so it's good to check. Just in case.
He lifts his head off of Heinz's chest.There's no self-destruct button on this, right? He signs with a raised eyebrow. It's dark, but the moon is bright enough to see by.
"Of course not!" Heinz exclaims with a gulp, staunchly refusing to meet Perry's eye.
Perry sighs. Of course he did- even if he knows why Heinz does it, it's still not a good idea. It's okay if you put one on, just take it off before we blast off, alright?
"I know, I know." Heinz ducks his head. "I just- I don't want to hurt you. The last time I didn't have one, you got hurt, remember?" His right hand meets Perry's left, then slides up his wrist until titanium fingers meet twisted scars.
Perry nods. They'd only been together for a couple of months- summer had ended, his niece and nephews had gone back to school, but the last days of warmth were still around- when the accident had happened.
They were going through their usual thwarting- some things stay the same- when Perry ran towards the -inator like usual. Before he even got within ten feet of the machine, however, everything exploded into a multicolored fireball.
He hadn't even touched the self-destruct button, hadn't even touched the -inator. He hadn't even been close to it.
It's probably a good thing that he wasn't close by, since the next thing he knew, his vision was full of fire and he turned his back, throwing up his arms to protect himself. A smart move, but something that meant his arms and back were quickly engulfed in searing pain. He might have screamed before he hit the floor.
The next thing he knew, he was woken up by the steady beep of a heart monitor in the hospital, bright lights over him, the strong and sharp scent of antiseptic all around.
When he was able to open his eyes without being blinded, the first thing he noticed was Heinz sitting by his bedside, holding one of his heavily bandaged hands, fast asleep, head resting on Perry's bed.
The nurse that came in to check on him a moment later said that he had been sitting there pretty much since Perry had come in, and had refused to leave. Perry actually teared up at that.
The nurse also explained the extent of his injuries- second and third degree burns down his arms and back, most of them caustic. Two broken ribs, and just to top it all off, a broken left wrist. It was a good thing that he was able to turn in time, the nurse said, otherwise he might not have woken up ever again.
Heinz woke up soon after the nurse left, apparently uninjured except for some very minor burns on his shoulder, talking a mile a minute as soon as he realized Perry was awake. Every other word out of his mouth was an apology- for the scheme, for the fact he lied to Perry's family about what happened ("a boiler explosion", he had said, which is what exactly what Perry would have said), for everything he'd ever done or would ever do in the future.
Perry couldn't sign or write (he's left handed, which happened to be the wrist that got broken), but he's never been one to rely all that much on language. All it took was a meaningful look for Heinz's eyes to soften and his words to slow.
"That wasn't supposed to happen," he said after a long pause. "I never meant to hurt you. I know I made a promise- but I just keep hurting you and-" He pauses at Perry's deadpan look.
"The lab at OWCA did an analysis on the -inator," he finally says. "Major Monogram came in with the results about an hour before you woke up."
Perry raises an eyebrow. Usually they don't do that- although usually, the evil scientists aren't so amicable to participating in after-action investigations.
"One of the chemicals was contaminated, at the factory, and it just chose that moment to react." He bows his head, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful."
Perry had figured that it wasn't his fault- after all, after the Dr. Feelbetter incident, he had kept this promise to only hurt Perry with cartoonish physical violence. And anything that went beyond that was an accident. Perry knows he doesn't mean to hurt, doesn't want to hurt. He's the embodiment of chaos, not true evil.
I forgive you, Perry slowly spelled with his right hand. Wasn't your fault.
"I know, I know. But- I don't want to see you like this ever again." He took a deep breath here, face betraying his inner turmoil.
"So I'm giving up evil. No more -inators," Heinz had promised, tears now streaming down his face. "I can't lose you. Not again."
Perry had been noticing his lack of enthusiasm for true evil ever since the dimension-inator, but hadn't said anything. It wasn't his place to tell Heinz what he should do with his life.
So Heinz gave up evil, both of them mutually walking away from their nemesis-ship. It brought them together, and it's still an important part of their history, but they're done fighting. No more taking over the Tri-State Area, and no more dangerous chemicals.
Obviously, Heinz hadn't stopped inventing, since he designed their entire rocket ship, but he quit trying to do harm with his inventions that day.
It's been a long road for the both of them, breaking habits and learning new things (and therapy, oh god how did they even deal with everything before), but they've stuck together.
Thankfully, that accident hadn't caused anything more permanent than quite a bit of scarring (and an ability to feel when it's about to rain in his wrist), but it's still not nice to remind his partner of the time they almost lost each other, again. Which is why he prefers to stay covered up, most of the time.
At least this time, if they fail, they fail together. No more uncertainty on which one of them is safe.
Perry hugs Heinz close, listening to his heart beat. It's okay that you feel this way, he signs after he pulls away, but is there something different you can put a self-destruct button on? A backup system or something?
Heinz looks towards the ground. "I could try that, it might work."
Perry smiles. Oh good.
They sit in companionable silence for a while longer, eyes on the sky and arms around each other. Heinz intermittently peppers light kisses on his forehead and cheek, sending a warm, comfortable flush into Perry's cheeks.
He'd love to stay like this longer, but they do have to finish their rocket ship if they want any chance of getting to the moon. Heinz gets up first, then Perry, and they continue the backbreaking work of welding and riveting, connecting wires and checking voltages by the light of yellowing flashlights.
They take another break around the time the sun comes up to have breakfast and watch the sunrise.
They should do this more often. Not the building a rocket ship thing, Perry could do without the lifting pound upon pound of sheet metal, but the peaceful skywatching. Danville has so much chaos, it's nice to just take a moment to relax.
Already, the day is getting warm. Perry's glad to be leaving this planet in a few hours, even if the hundreds of bolts to tighten are boring.
Around noon, the rocket is finally done. NASA wishes they had their ability to build so quickly- but they'd probably soil their pants at the lack of safety testing.
Oh well. They're on a tight time frame for the actual getting of the artifact, it's not like they have much choice. They'll just have to hold on tight and hope they get out of the upper atmosphere on solar power.
A long shot to be sure, but so was getting Heinz home after the last dimensional disaster. If anyone can do it, they can. Especially working together. (Such a cliche- but if it's true, then it's not that weird, is it?)
They load everything into the rocket, then strap themselves into their seats facing the sky. Last night they watched the stars- soon, they'll be soaring among them.
Heinz flips switches and twists dials to finish priming the engines, performing a few last minute checks. Perry's stomach churns as the top of the rocket sways a bit in the breeze, although his mind is put at ease when he sees the self-destruct button attached to a backup water reclaimer.
"Three, two, one…" Heinz counts down, and the engines rumble to life beneath them. The rocket lurches forwards a bit, then back again, and finally, they lift off the ground. Perry's limbs feel ten times heavier than usual as he gets pressed back into his seat. Through the window, Earth falls away beneath them. Buildings, then cities become nothing but dots on the planet below.
It's even more breathtaking than he thought.
Heinz smiles at him, the grin a bit creepy thanks to the G-forces acting on his face.
"Houston, we have liftoff."