Chapter Six – Impatience Isn't A Virtue
"Ah. Nya. Dammit."
Arthur's moaning and groaning continued with a few choice words added in for variety. The bushes along the fence rustled and shook as his legs thrashed around outside of them. Joan grinned in amusement and took another sip of her wine. She wasn't going to miss this for the world. So far his attempt to bury the box containing the fake IDs he'd made under the bushes didn't seem to be going very well. That was perfectly fine with Joan. The more trouble he had the more entertainment she got out of it. At the moment it was like dinner and a show. His feet scrambled at the ground as he scooted another few inches into the hedge. Joan choked back a laugh and pressed a loosely closed fist to her lips.
"I can hear you laughing!" Arthur called out from between the leaves.
It came out so muffled that Joan only laughed harder. All of the extra work this little prank of Arthur's had created was worth it for this one moment. She seriously wished she'd thought to bring a camera out with her. Getting a picture of Arthur's ass wriggling around in the dirt and leaves would have been priceless.
"How's it going in there?"
"Ow! Mn. That hurt. These branches can be rather sharp."
"This was your idea. You're not going to get any sympathy from me."
She heard him mutter something that sounded vaguely like "of course not." It only made her smile wider. He was rather cute when he was frustrated like this.
"Do you want to offer a hand?"
Joan's eyebrows lifted in disbelief.
"Oh no. I'm not coming under there. You're on your own."
"I was thinking more along the lines of pulling me out."
Well, that was something she was willing to do. She tossed the rest of her wine back, set the glass off to the side, and grabbed Arthur's ankle. While he tried to worm his way back out Joan pulled. At one point he came incredibly close to kicking her. She slapped lightly at his leg in return.
"Be more careful or you're going to give me a black eye. If that happens you're going to have to figure a way out of there by yourself because I will be going inside after I shove you farther into those bushes."
"Didn't mean it. I'll try to keep my legs still."
It took another few minutes of pulling and pushing before Arthur was finally free. He pushed himself to his feet and tried to brush off the leaves and dirt. When he turned toward her his hair looked like he'd just gotten out of bed in the middle of the forest. Despite his attempts to get clean, there was an adorable smear of dirt across his forehead too. Joan smiled softly at him and tried to brush away the smear with her thumb.
"You have leaves all through your hair."
"Do I?" he asked as he threaded his fingers through this hair. "Better?"
"Better, but you are still a mess."
"But I'm your mess."
He leaned in for a kiss, but Joan quickly covered his face with her hand to stop him.
"That's not going to happen. Not until you're clean."
"I'm not that dirty."
"You're really close to me preventing you from walking into the house," she said softly and dangerously as she tapped a finger against his chest.
"I guess I better go take a shower then," he whispered into her ear.
"Then go."
Before Joan could stop him Arthur leaned in and snuck a quick kiss. She tried to swat at him as he took off toward the house but missed and had to dart after him instead.
O . o . O . o . O
The next few days were quiet on the Hamlin Kids Mission. Joan and Arthur simply enjoyed the little bit of time off together and waited. They still surreptitiously peered out windows to keep up the charade, but otherwise provided no other clues for Carter and Caroline. The box Arthur had buried in the back yard was still there (he'd checked the night before). So far the children hadn't found it, but Joan and Arthur were sitting outside when the kids were out often enough that the box had to be spotted at some point. It was buried directly across the fence from where the kids hid. Arthur had left part of the box uncovered so it would be relatively easy to spot. They would see it eventually, and once they did Joan and Arthur would stay inside so the children had the opportunity to dig it out.
"How long do you think it's going to take?" Arthur asked from the other side of the couch.
He had been reading the paper while Joan had been focused on a book. She didn't bother looking up at him when she answered.
"The riots in Egypt? A few weeks I would think."
"That's not what I was talking about."
Joan paused mid page turn and looked up at him questioningly. When her gaze met his Arthur nodded toward the house next door. She shook her head at him and went back to her book. While she knew what it was he was really talking about now, she had nothing to offer in return and didn't see why he had even bothered to ask. His eyes remained on her though, and she could feel it.
"I don't know, Arthur," she told him after she got tired of him watching her.
"Then guess."
Joan sighed and looked up at him again. Personally she thought the whole issue was unimportant.
"If you're that impatient then go tell them it's there."
"That ruins the fun."
"Then come up with something that doesn't, and leave me in peace while you do it."
"Joan…"
"Arthur."
There was no warning tone in how she said his name. It was simply cool and collected, but if he pressed the next time wouldn't be as nice.
Arthur stood and paced toward the window. He looked outside in silence, though the silence didn't last very long.
"It can't be much longer. I didn't make it very hard to find. We've given them enough reason to hide out in the bushes already. Right?"
Once again Joan sighed and flipped her book over so the armrest would hold her page. He really wasn't listening to her at all.
"Arthur, stop. You're being ridiculous."
"I can't help it, Joan. I'm excited."
"I figured that out a few days ago. Give it time. They could have found it already, and your anal pacing could be keeping them away."
"Maybe. Hopefully."
"What are you going to do when we're done with this?"
"I don't know. What does it matter?"
"You're pretty focused on this."
"Don't worry. When we finish our last few clues we'll be done. I promise."
"I'll hold you to that. I would like my free time back sometime soon. Getting my husband back would be nice too."
