Happily Ever After... Part IV

The handyman's nightmare...

I stood in the doorway and watched Heero swear as he pulled apart the air-conditioning unit for the third time that week. He looked up and pointed the screwdriver at me, "You know you're the mechanical genius in this household, why do I always have to fix this thing?"

I just shrugged, "Hey I'm comfortable, you don't have to fix it you know."

He snorted and then turned back to the unit, wacking it with the end of his screwdriver, "What I don't understand is why it breaks down at all. Nobody else I know has so many problems . . . " He trailed off, his attention once again focused on the wires in front of him and I took the opportunity to disappear into the other room with my book.

I hate air conditioning with a passion previously reserved for Oz and Zechs Marquis.

Our air conditioner breaks down a lot. Drives Heero absolutely crazy. We've gone through three different units and two different providers. You'd think the guy would have caught on by now.

We used to argue about the house temperature a lot. Every summer it was the same thing. I complained it was too cold, he told me I was a freak and to go put socks on. It wasn't until I overheard a conversation between Quatre and Wufei that I came up with my brilliant plan. Passive aggressive. That's the way to go.

I don't always sabotage it, but this week the weather had been fine and I didn't see why we needed to run the thing so much. If I'd wanted to live in the freaking tundra I would have moved to the South Pole.

I swear I'm gonna put in a walk-in freezer one of these days just so Heero can drag a lawn chair in there and hang out. Maybe then he'd keep the rest of the house above fifty degrees.

L2 isn't known for its great temperature control. Actually we'd had two temperatures for the most part. Hot and cold. I didn't mind the hot, hadn't liked the cold. The thing about being hot is you just suck it up and deal with it. Sweat a little. Strip down to the bare minimum. When you're cold, there's hardly any escape. Putting layers on works a little, but for the most part you stay cold.

But I could deal with that. You don't hear me bitch too much about the weather. However, I have been known to rant long and hard about the temperature inside the house. It's the middle of the summer; I shouldn't have to wear socks and long pants.

It's just not right.

So I'd perfected what is known as Tactic Number One. It involved glaring at Heero, pointedly glaring at the air conditioner, clutching my arms and then going outside to sit on the hood of the car in the sun. Heero referred to it as Duo Attempting to Prove a Point By Sulking. Obviously there was a discrepancy in our logic. That's why I had Tactic Number Two.

I put on a sweatshirt.

Tactic Number Three involved me, a toolbox and the Vile Machine itself but Heero didn't know about that one.

From my spot in the kitchen I heard the door on the air-conditioning unit bang shut and then Heero walked in, a satisfied expression on his face. He dropped the toolbox on the table and leaned over to see what I was reading.

"I take it you won your eternal battle against the evils of malfunctioning air conditioners?" I tipped my head back in order to look up at Heero. He nodded and dropped his chin to rest it on my shoulder. "What are you making for dinner?"

It was my turn to snort and I closed my book with a snap. "Ah so that's how it is. Big macho man defeats machine and now demands sustenance from his mate." I pushed my chair back a little, making him remove his chin. "I don't know, what do you want for dinner?"

He shrugged and walked over to the sink to wash his hands. "I don't care."

I rolled my eyes, "Ok, how about chicken?"

"We had that last night."

"And wasn't it delicious?" I stood up and crossed over to stand in front of him, hands on my hips.

He pulled me closer, one hand fiddling with the end of my braid and the other grabbing my ass. "Yes but I don't want it again tonight."

"Fine, fine. Omelets then."

He pulled back a little and looked at me suspiciously, "You're determined to feed me chicken in some form or another aren't you?"

I sniffed, "I'll have you know chicken is an excellent source of protein."

"Duo, it's chicken. Protein's the only thing it's a source of."

"Exactly! So you want omelets, right?"

He just sighed and got the eggs out of the fridge for me.

I was still pissed off about the air conditioner when we went to bed later that night. Heero fell asleep immediately. I tossed and turned but couldn't get comfortable because I was still cold. I'd lie next to Heero with an arm thrown over him to get closer but eventually the arm I was lying on would go numb and I'd have to roll over.

Heero sleeps like the dead. Unless he's having a nightmare, a bomb could go off and he'd sleep through it. I'm happy he's been able to relax enough over the years to get to that state but when I'm cold and uncomfortable I wish he'd wake up so I could bitch about it. I knew he wasn't ignoring me intentionally, the guy was asleep, but a part of me couldn't help but be irritated because it felt like he didn't care.

We had a blanket on the bed but it just didn't seem to keep me warm enough. It was one of those comforter blanket type things you can pick up cheap at the department store. Heero didn't like it because he said it made him too hot. I didn't like it because I didn't think the damn thing worked. Obviously not if I was still cold.

In July. In my bedroom.

I finally got up in disgust and went to use the bathroom. I did my business and then looked in the mirror, pointing a finger at myself. "Why don't you just turn the A/C off?" I shook my head and disagreed with my reflection, "Heero likes it on." My reflection scowled back at me. "You're a dumbass."

I nodded in agreement and hit the light switch.

When I got back to bed, I stood there watching Heero in the dim light. He was reaching his arm out, hand searching the side of the bed where I wasn't. He was still asleep but reaching out for me anyway. Some of my irritation drained away and sighing softly, I climbed back into bed. Immediately he pulled me close, wrapping an arm and leg around me.

He was soft and silky and incredibly warm. I fell asleep.

The next day when I got home Heero was standing in the middle of the living room looking extremely pleased with himself. I arched an eyebrow when he pointed toward the bedroom but let him lead me there anyway.

There was something new on the bed. It looked like a big fluffy pillow that covered the entire bed and Heero pushed me toward it excitedly. "It's a down duvet."

I stared at him puzzled, and he grinned. "It's made of goose feathers! It's light and easy to push aside so I won't get hot and because it's down, heat circulates through the air pockets and keeps you warmer than that synthetic cotton blanket we had before."

He looked at me, positively beaming and I didn't have a smile big enough to offer in return. "Thank you."

He nodded and continued to explain why this particular blanket was much more effective than our old one.

I guess I'd give the guy a reprieve over the air conditioner . . . for a few days anyway.

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