Apple of My Eye, Gundam Wing, for 7snogs
Title: Apple of My Eye
Author: Ellie Biel
Fandom: Gundam Wing
Characters/pairing: Heero Yuy/Duo Maxwell
Rating: PG13
Warnings: AU
Word count: 1,314
Notes: Written for the 7snogs theme #4 "sunset"; part 7 in a 7 part series.
Disclaimer: The characters of Gundam Wing to do not belong to me and are used without permission for fun, not profit.
Part 1: Sunny Side Up
Part 2: Two Peas
Part 3: All's Fair in Love, War, and Killing Zombies
Part 4: Giraffe on Fire
Part 5: Pins and Needles
Part 6: Pretty Deep
Although Duo had been at Heero's a few times, for dinner they usually ended up at Duo's apartment where he could guiltlessly make a mess of his kitchen. He was fairly sure that Heero would gladly let him experiment at his apartment - the guy did help with the cleaning up each and every time at Duo’s - but Duo felt more comfortable working with his own gas range. He preferred judging the stovetop burners by the size of the flame rather than a setting on the dial.
Granted, Heero's glossy, smooth surface electric range would be a lot easier to clean afterwards, but since Heero didn't seem to mind scrubbing the grates (and he did a far better job than Duo ever seemed able to) there had been no reason to change the status quo.
Until tonight.
While Heero busied himself preparing dinner - and he'd very clearly informed Duo that although he appreciated the offer, it was his first time cooking for Duo and he'd rather do it himself, just this once - Duo was banished to the living room. Duo understood that desire very well, even if Heero's refusal to tell him just what they were eating had made him insanely curious, and he'd removed his shoes to stretch his legs out on Heero's overstuffed sofa.
Which wasn't a problem, except for the fact that it reminded him of the last time he'd been here, on this very same sofa, when Heero had delivered the line that had kept Duo up most of the night.
He shifted uncomfortably at his unintentional - and more than apt - innuendo.
Play your cards right, Heero had said, and you just might find out. Despite the offhanded, almost joking manner the line had been delivered in, Duo had been unable to stop thinking about it. He and Heero had slept together, but only in the sense of closing their eyes and drifting into a state of semi-unconsciousness while occupying the same piece of furniture. He'd not really given serious thought to anything more than that, too comfortable with how things were between them and too unwilling to introduce something that could upset the apple cart.
He was quite fond of those apples.
What bothered him the most was his inability to ask Heero what he meant. If Heero hadn't meant it the way Duo thought he would, that would make things awkward between them, and if he had meant it that way, what did that mean for the two of them?
Duo wasn't even sure exactly what sort of relationship they had. They spent a lot of time together, and Heero crashed at his place often (and sometimes, although less frequently, the reverse was true) - but then he'd done the same with drinking buddies from the community college he'd attended for two years. He didn't even know if Heero had gone to college or what he did for work - there were so many things about Heero he didn't know and it had never bothered him before. Heero was just Heero and Duo enjoyed spending time with him.
It had been raining the day they'd met in the parking lot of the local movie theater. Duo's car hadn't started and he'd suspected that he'd left his headlights on. While he had jumper cables in his trunk, he still needed a second car with a good battery, and that's when he'd hurried over to the person inserting a key in the lock of a nearby car.
Heero had looked more like a drowned rat than Duo felt, and he'd stared at Duo's face for several seconds. Beneath the hood of his sweatshirt, Duo had blinked back at him, and was just starting to get a little testy when Heero had nodded and opened his car door. While he put his key in the ignition, Duo had run back over to his car to pop the hood, and his teeth were chattering while they connected the cables to the terminals.
He'd been overjoyed when his engine roared to life, and he discovered when he’d climbed out of his car that Heero had already disconnected the clamps from his own battery. While Duo did the same on his car, Heero had stood there, rain streaming from his hair all over his face and neck, making Duo feel a little uncomfortable as he put the cables back in his trunk.
As soon as Duo pulled open the driver’s side door, Heero had asked him if he had any plans or if he might like to stop by this little diner on Belmont Street he frequented that served a decent grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup. The question had caught him off guard, but even though he was eager to get out of the pouring rain, there had been something about Heero that day that had made him think he couldn’t imagine wanting anything more than grilled cheese and tomato soup. He hadn't even known Heero's name until after he'd said yes and they'd driven, in separate cars, to the Belmont.
Despite the warmth of Heero’s apartment, Duo shivered, remembering how cold it had been that day, and he grabbed one of the throw pillows, one with a crudely embroidered but brilliantly colored sunset and something that might have been a horse in a pasture on the front. He pulled it to his chest and wondered if he really needed the details of Heero's life in order to know him.
He smiled as he thought of the eggs in his refrigerator, with its two rows of three each, dead center in the carton, and decided that no, he didn't.
Heero peeked his head out of the kitchen to tell Duo he could come into the kitchen now, and the look on his face was very much like it had been when he'd invited Duo to the Belmont. Duo had almost expected to see grilled cheese sandwiches and steaming cups of tomato soup when he sat down, but instead there was the scent of pepper steak in the air and two wooden bowls at the table. Duo sat down and waited for Heero to do the same before picking up his silverware.
Inside the bowl was a bed of Romaine lettuce, filled with diced celery, bits of fruit, and walnuts. He looked up at Heero and felt a stirring in his gut.
"What's wrong?" The anxiety in Heero's voice was evident. "I can make Caesar instead if you'd prefer that." He got up from his chair abruptly - so abruptly that his elbow upset his bowl and flipped it over on the table.
Duo shook his head and placed a calming hand over Heero’s. "No," he said as he poked his fork into the Waldorf salad strewn over the tablecloth. He chewed it slowly and then grinned, and in return he was rewarded with a warm, relieved smile. "It's great. Really great, Heero."
Heero carefully scooped his salad into the empty bowl and before he could bring it to the garbage to toss it out, Duo took it from him and switched it with his own, gesturing with his fork for Heero to sit.
Heero did.
Duo picked up another forkful of salad, but as he brought it to his mouth he changed his mind. He set down his fork, got to his feet, and went over to Heero's chair where he cupped Heero’s face in his hands and kissed him thoroughly.
Heero looked a little dazed when Duo returned to his seat. "What was that for?"
Duo took a bite of his salad, swallowed, and shrugged one shoulder. It hurt his cheeks to attempt chewing with such a big smile on his face, but he couldn't help it. Heero looked so adorably befuddled that Duo finally took pity on him.
"Let's just say, Heero, that I really, really, like apples."