Warm Thoughts (Fic)
Author: razycrandomgirl
Title: Warm Thoughts
Fandom: Heroes
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Gabriel/Maya AU
Disclaimer: Don’t own them. Just like to play with them sometimes.
Summery: Gabriel thinks about the first time he met Maya.
Warning Unbeta'd ConCri please. R+R ZOMG fluff! :X
For albion1919V Day fic.
Remixed Delivery by sophinisba
The hail came down in stinging splats, stabbing Gabriel in the head and shoulders as he walked down the secluded street. It was bitter cold and he wished he’d worn a hat or hood; something to protect his head from the rain that was freezing in his hair. Hunching his shoulders and pulling his collar up closer around his neck. He quickened his pace to warm his blood and get there sooner.
“There” was ‘Antia’s Casa de Sopa’ a Dominican restaurant he’d been frequenting for about 3 months. For three months he walked into the same door, sit in the same tight corner of the warm, little shop and wait for her. He ordered the coffee not liking the taste but enjoying the smell of it. The whole shop is full of smells that tickle his nose, make his eyes burn, and his mouth water. And that reminds him of her and the first time he saw her.
***
He was sitting alone in his apartment, in Queens, reading, of course. As he thought back he couldn’t quite remember what it was he was reading, only that the pages seemed to flit through his fingers. There was a knock outside his door; loud and abrasive. He looked up from his book to the door, squinting to see though to the other side. He placed his book down and headed toward the door as the knocking continued.
The knocking wasn’t on his door, but the walls where thin enough to make it sound like it was. He drew his ear to the door to listen. There was a woman’s voice calling out in between the raps of her fist against the wood. “Delivery” she called out. Gabriel turned his eye to the peep hole, trying to glimpse the scene as it unfolded. He saw the back of her small form. There was a dark, thick braid that bunched in the hood of her sweatshirt as she tried to balance the huge delivery package and knock on the door at the same time. He put his hand on the doorknob and squeezed.
The girl wavered slightly as she knocked again and this time Gabriel heard giggles coming from the other side. He rolled his eyes as he twisted the knob on the door opening it. The girl turned her head at the sound of creaking hinges. “They’re not going to open the door. Those kids are always playing with the delivery people.”
The girl twisted her body in the direction of his voice, squinting at the door as he barely opened it beyond the length of the security chain. “Hello?” More giggles and whispers erupted behind her as she turned back to the door and he sighed.
“The kids in this building are playing a joke on you. They call delivery places and make fake orders because they think it’s funny.”
She turned back to his door and he watched her shoulders drop as she let out an exasperated sigh, lifting her head to the ceiling. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She let out a string of unfriendly sounding Spanish as she kicked her heel against the door behind her. The dim hallway light caught her face as a couple strands of her hair fell on to it and he tilted his head to the side. He saw her hand turning color with the strain of the bags pull. “D-do you need …”
“What?” she replied sharply snapping her head in his direction.
"Nothing" he slammed the door and pressed his head against it.
He heard movement on the other side of the door as he rested his head against it, the soft wispy sound of plastic wrinkling and then a loud knock that jarred him backward. He stared at the door for a moment then moved to twist the knob again. “Yes?” he asked as the chain slammed against the edge of the door. She jerked a bit but recovered quickly and shoved the bag in his face.
“Look, do you want to buy this, because I can’t go back to work with all this food and nothing for it?”
His mouth fell opened in mock horror at her audacity. “Come on, I’ll even knock off, like, eight dollars and you don’t have to tip me or anything. I just need you to take this and give me something for it. Twenty should be enough.” She was bouncing from one foot to the next and still had the bag shoved in his face.
“I- I don’t have any money” he said quickly and tried to shut the door again but she pressed her hand against it then jammed her foot into the bottom.
“Look man, I’m not a crackhead! … Even though I‘m kinda acting like a crackhead right now but …” she trailed off. She brought the bag down and away from his face readjusting it in her arms and finally looking up at him. “Uh … I just don’t want it to go to waste, you know? It’s really good food!” He caught a whiff of it and realized that it did actually smell good. “It’s ’Casa de Sopa!’ Don’t ask!” she said with a roll of her eyes then continued, “The Dominican place about five blocks from here?” She managed to pull out a menu and slide it though the crack in the door, then hefted the bag up again. “Look man, its twenty dollars for a really good meal and it’s still hot! You can’t beat that with a stick!”
He stared blankly at her and said “I’m allergic.” But his stomach gave away a loud rumble and she smiled up at him shaking her head.
“That’s impossible. No body’s allergic to Dominican food.” There was along pause as she continued to adjust and readjust the bag in her hand. He stared at her from behind her door and she began to fidget again. “Come on man its getting cold!” she almost stomped her foot in her impatience. He stared at her for another moment then pushed hard against the door closing it, knocking her away. She stumbled a bit catching herself at the last minute and scoffed at the closed door. She moved toward it and raised her fist about to knock again, when it suddenly opened.
“Fifteen” he finally said as he reached into his pocket, pulling the bills out of his money clip before he could think again. She stared at him and this time her mouth hung opened in shock. He waved the bills above her head and she snapped out of it, choosing instead to cork her mouth to the side.
“Damn man, you drive a hard bargain.” She said as she snatched the bills out of his hand and shoved the heavy bag into Gabriel’s chest. He made a grunting sound from the force of the exchange. “Nice doing business with ya.” she nodded as he closed the door in her face for the second time. “Enjoy the food!” she yelled at the closed door and turned, folding the bills up and stuffing them into the pocket of her jeans.
“Keep the change!” cried a muffled voice from the other side of the door. She made a face and pulled the bills out her pocket checking to see what he actually gave her. Two twenties made for a nice ten dollar tip, indeed. She stopped in the hallway looking over her should at the door the read “1B”. “The next time you order from us, you can ask for Maya.” She yelled over her shoulder as she disappeared down the stairs.
***
Maya was her name. And he used the address on the menu to find her. Three months he’d been coming there hoping to catch a glimpse of her. Sometimes he’d stop by and they’d told him she just left for the day. And other times he’d show up on her off days and just stayed for the food and atmosphere.
Then there were the days that he’d caught her. Days like today. “Hey Gabriel” she said as she walked up behind him mussing her hand in his once neat hair. She frowned down at her hand as it when it came away wet. He smiled at her as she took the seat across from him shrugging while she shook her head at him. “You’re going to be sick if you don’t start dressing for the weather. I still can’t believe you don’t wear a hat. You need a hat at least.” He drew his fingers over his hair trying to fix that damage she caused.
“Are you having anything today or are you gonna sit here smelling our coffee the whole time?” she smiled at him and he opened his mouth to say something when voices called out to her from behind the counter. She turned her head and yelled back at them in Spanish. He loved to hear her speak the language and didn’t mind the interruption very much. She turned back to him with a sigh, giving him an exaggerated eye roll. “Apparently, talking to you is not part of my job description so …” she tilled her head from side to side and pushed away from the table.
He reached out taking her hand before she could get out of reach, pushing his own chair away, rising; towering over her. “Wait” he said “I want you to have this.” He shoved a small, crinkly cellophane bag into her hand, closing his grip around hers. “Um … Happy Valentines Day.” She looked down at her hand and turned the bag over staring at it. It was filled with tiny Hershey kisses.
“Oh Gabriel …”she frowned up at him “I don’t celebrate Valentines Day.” He felt his heart drop into his stomach. “But I do love Hershey kisses!” She leaned over grabbing his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek. Just then a loud bunch of whoops and banging came from behind the counter as her coworkers made a show of blowing kisses and hugging each other. Maya stomped her foot, waving them away as she yelled at them again in Spanish. When they wouldn’t settle down soon enough for Maya’s liking she took him by the hand and dragged him away from their view. Gabriel could hear them awing in the background.
She looked a little flushed and didn’t let go of his hand even though they stopped moving. “I’m sorry about that” she said “they can be such pendejos.” They looked at each other and she suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist burying her face in his chest, hugging him fiercely. “Thanks for the kisses Gabriel.” He put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away slightly as her motions tickled him. Her grip was tight but she parted to look up at him. He felt a small tug in his back pocket. “Maybe I’ll share some with you later.” She said with a smile. And before he could respond she spun away from him, trotting off behind the counter and disappearing into the back.
There was more heckling behind the door and Maya’s voice rang out cutting it down as he tried to retake his seat. He sat quietly, waiting for the end of her shift so he could walk her home. The coffee in front of him had cooled to an undrinkable temperature, but he sat and brought the cup up to his nose, inhaling deeply. He shifted in his seat feeling a lump of something beneath him. He reached under his bottom and pulled out a thick black knitted hat with a gray, white and black ball on the top. It had been stuck in his pocket when Maya had her arms around him and he hadn’t notice. He opened the brim of the hat and a tiny white note fell out and onto the table. He placed the hat on his leg, fingered the note opened. It read ‘keep your head warm’ in Maya’s hand writing. He could help himself when he started laughing.
Translations:
Casa de Sopa = House of Soup
Pendejo = Dumbass