#sometime after he finished gypsy moths

[burtlancster]

they loved dyeing his hair this fuckass awful color in the late 60s/early 70s why is it the brassiest brown known to man slap some toner on there or something it’s too conspicuous a color for blondie

[thiswasinevitableid]

I have another Indruck prompt if you’re still taking them/interested: In Indrid’s absence from Kepler after the tree abomination, and in the wake of losing his powers, Duck finds a Gyspy Moth caterpillar. These moths are a problem in the Monongahela Forest because they cause deforestation, but Duck can’t bring himself to kill it. Instead, he takes it home and raises it from caterpillar to moth. He now has to explain to everyone (including Indrid when he returns) why he has a pet moth.

This turned out to be just what I needed to write today.

Duck spots the caterpillar. It’s a Gypsy Moth, bad news for the trees in his beloved forest.

Whelp, the little fella will have to go.

He picks up a small rock, perfect for squishing. But he can’t bring himself to actually squish it. His soft spot for critters doesn’t usually extend to ones that are pests, and for a moment he’s worried that Minnie’s disconnection means he can’t be tough in literally any way, be it physical or emotional.

Then again, a more likely explanation is that the word “moth” conjures up different images than it used to; a pair of red glasses, a strange face, an utter inability to handle cold. Dried blood on the face, tied up by the Cottonwood.

God, he’d felt like he’d been punched, seeing Indrid with the injuries from whatever scuffle happened with the goatminion.

Indrid is gone, flown away to who-knows-where, a string of “what-ifs” trailing behind him. Duck will never get to know him better, never figure out what the little prick of warmth in his chest whenever he saw the man meant. He hasn’t come back in months, and Duck can’t say he blames him. Kepler didn’t exactly prove safe.

He searches for a few stray leave, piles them on the seat of the jeep. Scoops the caterpillar into his hands and then deposits it on the pile.

“Alright little guy, let’s head home.”

———————————————

It’s a week later and he’s placing leaves into a shoe box for his new pet to munch on.

“There you go, dinner time.”

He’s managed to keep the caterpillar alive, in part because the cat is deeply uninterested by it. The kids book he found at the library has also helped.

Now one else knows about the shoe box or its occupant. Right now, it’s his little secret, and something about that calms him. He can keep this little fella safe, even though the rest of his life is shuddering and shifting under his feet in ways he doesn’t like. His once predictable world gets more fraught by the week. But his friend here will always need leaves, will eventually pupate, will eventually fly. How comforting to know things go on day by day even when disaster is around every corner.

Jesus, he’s waxing poetic about a moth. He really needs to sleep more.

—————————————

The days are consistently warm when his new pet finally pupates. It’s latched to a branch in the aquarium tank Duck found at a garage sale. Something about it being in this stage makes Duck anxious; he can’t see what’s happening, he can’t see if it’s okay and yes he knows, he knows how moth life cycles work and that it will be fine.

He’ll come back to him.

There’s a Pine Guard meeting tonight, and so he drives up to the lodge, more tired than he cares to admit.

The commotion in the lobby doesn’t strike him as odd, he just figures Aubrey is showing off a new trick. He steps up beside Barclay to see who he’s talking to.

Red glasses. And a wide smile that takes on a new depth as he appears.

“Hello, Duck. Nice to see you again.”

———————————————–

It’s movie night, and Duck is hosting. His friends are curled on couches and nestled on pillows on the floor.

Indrid is among them, having used his weeks back in Kepler to grow closer to the Pine Guard, spend more time at the lodge and around his fellow Sylphs.

That Duck has gone to his Winnebago on more than one occasion just because he wanted to see him has not escaped anyone’s notice. Duck is still trying to convince himself it’s solely to hang out with a friend.

“Uh, Duck, why do you have an empty fishtank?”

Everyone’s heads swivel towards where Aubrey is looking.

“I believe it’s not entirely empty.” Indrid says softly, voice suggesting he’s only half-present in the room.

Ned, Dani, and Aubrey crowd around the tank.

“It’s a butterfly cocoon.” Dani points at the purple-brown shape.

“It’s actually a-”

“HOLY SHIT it’s moving!” Aubrey gives a delighted cheer and Duck nudges Ned aside so he can see too.  They stand transfixed as little by little wings and body appear until at last they reveal…

“A moth? Interesting selection, my friend.” Ned peers at it.

“Isn’t that kind invasive or something?” Dani looks at Duck, who shrugs before speaking.

“Yeah, they ain’t good for the forest. But I found one as a caterpillar and just, uh, just, fuck, decided to, uh, hold onto, no. Fuck.”

“It’s a bit drab.” Ned muses.

“I rather like the color.” Indrid murmurs and Duck realizes he’s standing beside him, regarding the moth as it flaps it’s wings to dry them. He looks back at his pet and his breath catches in a way he hopes only Indrid (but ideally not even him) hears. The colors on his little friend are similar to colors he remembers from Indrid’s Sylph form.

“Did you name it?” Aubrey gives a small wave to the moth through the glass.

“Indrid.” It slips out before Duck can stop it; he’d called the moth that in his head. But when it slips out it’s to only him who says it as Indrid’s voice layers beneath his.

“Awwwww.” Aubrey says, giving Duck a look that he knows all too well. His cheeks are burning, and worse Indrid has gone silent.

“Oughta let him get adjusted to havin’ wings and shit. C’mon, let’s start the movie.”

The movie passes uneventfully, but Duck catches Indrid giving him odd looks during it.

And when everyone else departs, the slender, white-haired man remains. When Duck finishes waving goodbye to Aubrey and Dani, he shuts the door and finds Indrid seated in front of the tank.

He sits down next to him.

“You know I’m not really a moth, right?” It’s teasing, but there’s something else going on in his voice.

“Course I do. Just, the day I found him I was missin’ you somethin’ awful.”

“You missed me? Goodness, we’d barely gotten to know each other.”

“That’s just it. I wanted to get to know you better and then there was the tree and the goatman and then whoosh you were gone and I thought I was never-”

“-Going to see you again.” Indrid’s not looking at the tank anymore, his gaze fixed completely on Duck.

“I like you, Indrid, I like you more every day that passes, and apparently I liked you a whole fuckin’ lot before that because I couldn’t kill a fuckin’ moth larvae because whenever I thought the word moth I saw your face.”

Indrid blinks at him, head tilted to one side.

Duck smacks a hand over his eyes, embarrassed by the confession.

“Please tell me there’s a future where I sink into the ground.”

“No” a chilly hand moves his own from his eyes while the other cups his cheek, “but there are many futures where something else happens. If, that is, it’s something you want.” His smile is soft as he strokes Ducks cheek with his thumb.

“Please.” He whispers.

Indrids lips are as cold and as chapped as he expected them to be and he couldn’t be happier, wraps his arms around him and pulls him closer.

“More?” Indrid grins at him when they break apart and Ducks hands shoot up into his hair to pull him into a kiss and down onto the floor.  

“The answer is yes.” He’s panting now, staring down at Duck with delight.

“Can I at least actually ask the damn thing?”

“Sorry, go ahead.”

“Can I take you out sometime?”

The answer comes in yet another kiss, one with far more heat behind it.

“Do you, uh, wanna move this somewhere else. Don’t wanna scandalize the moth.”

“I’m his namesake, I can scandalize him as I please.” Indrid kisses his nose, “but yes, the couch will be far more comfortable.”  He stands up, offers Duck a hand, pulls him into and embrace once he stands and just holds him for a moment. As he does, Duck smiles.

Bringing home that caterpillar is one of the best things he ever did.