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Mathias in the Garden of Eden

Summary:

Mathias finding love, melting the ice of a stoic character while still preseving their strength. Gonna be fun.
This will end up as a parallel plot my other work "Thanks for picking him up." I intend to jump between the two and weave them together a bit.
Enjoy!

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

A bird flew over head, it's shadow blocking the light for a moment.

"Don't you crap on me!" She yelled up half heartedly, continuing her labourious task.

The sun heavy on her back, and fair skin. Sweat beading into her eyes as she hefted another shovel full of the poor quality dirt. 
 
Third garden patch of the day and she’d have to stop soon to prepare the charcoal and burn the brush. 
 
Everything was looking good and organized though.

Her and George had dug the plots. The dirt would be turned in with the charcoal, leaves, grinds and the vermicompost they had collected. 
 
Once built, School districts for both the Rez, the county and community college agreed to follow a credit/grade reward system for time logged into these community gardens. To the point that their would be elective credits rewarded for different assigned group tasks. She would be talking to the Rez council later to ask their assistance in facilitating and motivating the elderly or and at risk groups in the community to play a role a well.
 
So altogether, yeah. Things were looking good. 
 
 
A shadow loomed over the shallow trench. 
 
George shouldn’t be back for another hour. She looked up in surprise.

“Mathias! Good morning! Quit your stoic lurking and help me with this last two feet would ya?” I point to the extra shovel and pulled him into the trech. “We are almost done with the hard part.”
 
“The hard part will be getting kids to actually work this worthless earth.” He grabs the spade and helps dig. “All that technology… No one will care about this.”
 
“That’s not true. Plenty of incentives, besides I just successfully conscripted my first reservation citizen didn’t I?” Giving him a megawatt smile, my sunburnt skin glowing. “Give it a chance.”
 
“Why are you doing this? What motivates the white girl to help the poor natives? He said with unmasked suspicion.
 
“Hey, cut it out.” I give him a playful shove with my shoulder. “See a need, fill a need... We work a rough job… Some days it feels like Im not changing a damned thing towards the better. Today is not one of those days.” With effort I shove the spade deeply into the soil and heave. “I pick up this pile of dirt and it’s one less pile between me and my goal.”
 
“So your goals are both self serving and altruistic.” He huffed a laugh.
 
“I guess. But most things are both a little bad and a little good. We curb that division with our choices. I could help the community by losing my money at the casino, blindly donating, or pretend I don't care and ignore it all, but this feels more real, has more potential. haha… Literal growth.”
 
“Literal sunburn. A white girl should be more prepared for such work. Or are you trying to turn a Native red.”
 
“Haha I am starting to feel it. I have reapplied twice. It melts off. Geez, I probably look and smell gross… Don't say anything. I’m completely aware.”
 
“Go hydrate. I have this last bit here.” He smiled watching her burnt face gratefully accept help, grabbing drinks from her supply cart.  

Not the kind of red woman he imagined himself falling in love with… But one worth respecting. Yes, he admitted to himself, he could start there.
 
 “So, while I love having the extra Alfa male muscle, what brings you too my humble home.” Gesturing to the dilapidated home with a water bottle and passing the cool drink to him. “You weren’t planning to garden in you uniform, I am supposing.”

“I see... You want me for my body, and to do your dirty work, but I need to be dressed your way. Hmm?”

She laughs long and deeply and he likes the infectious sound.

"Shut up! You know what I meant."

"I do." He laughed with her. "But I came down here to give -" 

“Oh I see how it is! Send me off so you could flirt with the Police chief. I am wounded.” George interupted.

“Aw shut up Georgie! Don’t scare away our helper. My brother is only teasing Mathias.”
She affectionately rubs his shoulder, having watched his stoisicm return like a curtain drop from the intrusion.

“Yeah, yeah… Thanks for lending a hand Chief, we could use it here.” He offers his hand genially to pull help the Cheif from the small trench. “What is up? I had to arm wrestle her to put aside her uniform for a day. Is something official going on?”

“This actually is an courtesy call. Our department has received some heat about you two setting up here and I wanted to stop by and make sure you were aware of it and cautious.”

“Cautious… you mean like threats. Why?”
 
“Well, not everyone see’s your efforts as altruistic, as myself and the council know them to be. This home is recently foreclosed and the family that lived here before has an angry history. I also wanted to come by and see what your security is like. See if you need help in that area.”
 
“Ah, big surprise that the two police departments want to talk security. What will happen, will happen. You two flirt some more while I set up the burn piles.”

“Georgie, this is important we shouldn’t brush off a concern.”

“We won’t, but we are not a threat… Why would we be at risk?” He walks away. “Stop by anytime Mathias, my sister would really like the extra company.” George said while chuckling to himself. 

“Brother of mine, go disappear.” She kicked dirt in his direction. Hiding her embarrassed blush. “Sorry about him, He has been obnoxious since my divorce. It’s like he ignores the fact that I am 10 years older than him.”

“No, he is a good man to help you get settled here when his own family is far away. Perhaps he speaks a little truth, your face is more red than it was a few moments ago.”

“Mathias I have a shovel. I will use it.” laughing again, “Okay. Okay. Seriously now. These threats are they bad.”

 

Mathias sobered over his knowledge. “White people on the Rez, especially Charity workers don’t last very long.” he ran a hand through his long hair and pulled her into the shade. “Time to reapply that sunscreen.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She opened a bottle and worked some on giving her a ghostly white affect. “What sort of heat can I expect.”

“It varies, but none of it is good. I will be honest with you. We have had some pretty bad cases lately. No deaths, but whites on the rez being abducted and cattle branded. I have investigated, but I am out of leads.”

“Jesus, just random people getting picked up and tormented.”

“Not exactly, the targets were people abusing the tribe in some way in each case. That was the motive behind each attack. We have a vigilante problem here, but I am working on it. I just wanted to give you a warning. Hopefully it isn’t warranted.” He reached up, rubbing in a missed spot of lotion on her small pinked ear.
“Thanks… I ah…” He has such handsome eyes, danger. Talking about danger… “Yes, I really appreciate the warning and your muscles. I mean your help with… earlier you know. Your muscles… all very good.”

A popping explosion snapped their attention away.

“Damn it! Damn it! Turn on that hose!” George yelled.

“What the hell happened?”

“I dropped the damn fuel can into the flames. It’s fine! A little water will make it fine. Not an emergency… I just lost my last good can.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Yes. Don’t nit pick… It was just a shock. There was hardly anything in the can.” He says as Mathias turns the water on.

“Thank goodness.” she punches George’s shoulder. “Idiot. You could have gotten hurt.”

“Yes. Yes. I said not to nit pick. It’s fine.” He rubbed at the area, surely it would bruise. “Careful Mathias, she’s a hitter.”

“You are my most annoying brother, George.”

The phone rang, before Mathias could respond to the bickering siblings.

The call was not a good one.

“Going to need you suited up and call Walt.”

“What’s up?”

“Got a body found on sacred land.”

“Brother Mine, You got this covered?”

“Yes. Yes. Go do your saving do.”

“We can ride together? If it doesn’t end up postponed, I can take you to the council meeting.”

“You planned to go?” She asked hopeful.

“Sure. See a need, fill a need right? I want to see things get better too.” He captured a mental imade of her megawatt smile, certain that he would appreciate the memory after whatever nightmare he was on his way to contain.“Hop to it, the crime scene is spoiling.”

“One minute.” She rushes away phone cradled in her shoulder calling Sheriff Longmire as she collects her uniform. “Thanks Mathias!” She yells behind her as she walks inside the change.

“Bro, man to man, if there is some sort of danger… Keep an eye on her. Yeah?” George said while dousing the wild flames.

“Obviously, man to man, it is good of you to help my people. I can respect that.”

“People are people… as Evelyn would say. See a need fill a need.”

“I noticed, kinda unoriginal for a woman named Eve to be building a garden for charity. No?”

“Ha. As it is the rest of us poke at her constantly about it… She’s had enough run in’s with dumbass Adams’ and criminal snakes… Your religion got any better garden stories?”

“Maybe, but let’s not get carried away with the metaphor.”

“Gotcha. You aren’t a poet. Just in case the information is relevant. She likes wild purple lupine, you can just pull it up anywhere, but her favorite flower’s are Daisy’s. She can’t eat dairy, so no fancy chocolate… She wouldn’t complain, but it is something to know.”

Mathias went to tell the man to mind his damned business, but Evelyn ran out. Dressed in her tan Absaroka Sheriff Department uniform shirt and a worn pair of blue jeans.

“Ready to go. Whatcha guys talking about?”

“Gardening advice…” Mathias lied.

“Yeah, he's got a friend interested in sowing wild oats. Was explaining it while we waited for your slow ass to get ready.”

“Always and irritation. I can go through the process with you on the way. Oats are good, but barely is more versatile in my opinion, but it depends on their needs I suppose.”

“Nah, the dudes got his heart set on oats.”

“Whatever… There’s a body and we are talking about some dude farming oats?” She retreated towards the tribal police car.

Mathias glared at George.
“A Definite irritation.”

“Go get em’ Sis! Don't let any inter-depart tension affect your performance.” George yelled out, laughing a deep baritone even as the dust from the speeding Tribal police car slowly settled away.

George dialed his wife’s phone to engage in well earned family gossip as he supervised the burning charcoal pile for his sister’s project.
The family was going to have a field day over this Sexy Chief of Police wanting to sow his wild oats in his sister’s garden. God she deserved someone good. He realized he shouldn’t think about his big sis like this, but… He embraces his role as most irritating.

Notes:

Hey! Hope you enjoyed this.

I discovered that I super enjoyed writing these. I have some editing and perspective things to fix, which I will take my sweet time doing so.... sorry. Just being honest.

If you have a thought or an idea about how a thing should or shouldn't go... drop it in the comments. I will work try to incorperate it.

Fun stuff! Take care! Fan responsibly!

Oddly this was inspired by "The Mummy." I know. I know... I just woke up this weird, there is no excuse.

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