Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. Whether or not that goal can be reached, we'll see... This is The 365 Project, 27 January.

Second note; there's been some confusion lately regarding the 365 Project and 'missed days' because of situations like the last entry for "Zorro" was 2 January and this entry is 27 January - the 365 Project isn't limited to any one fandom, so if there's a period where it seems like I'm missing days, the stories for those days are in other fandoms. For a better explaination of the 365 Project, feel free to check the updated profile on my author's page.

Disclaimer: Zorro (this version, at least) belongs to New World Entertainment and the Family Channel and is used without permission or intent to profit.

"Melon"
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

Victoria smiled at him and it would have been enough to get him to do anything she wanted if not for the simple fact that she treated him like a brother - a particularly vexing brother, but a brother nonetheless.

"I'm surprised you asked to watch me prepare a simple bowl of fruit, Diego - it hardly seems like something you would be interested in."

Diego shook his head and tried not to let the fact that he would use any excuse to spend time with Victoria that didn't involve black clothes and a mask show on his face, "To the contrary, Victoria, a 'simple bowl of fruit' as you put it seems the sort of dish which even I couldn't ruin and this way I can prepare something for myself if I have to work late at the Guardian after you've closed the Tavern for the night."

"Even if the Tavern is closed, I would still be glad to fix you something simple if you need it late, Diego," Victora answered.

Trying not to focus on the strands of dark hair that had fallen in front of her ear and the desire he felt to tuck it back behind it, Diego managed to answer, "I wouldn't want to disturb you."

Victoria's eyes flashed in frustration, "But you would rather disturb Doctor Hernandez instead?"

Diego chuckled carefully, "I believe I am familiar enough with my accident-prone nature that I can fix most of the cuts I might suffer and not have to disturb the good doctor. Of course, if you'd rather I return to the hacienda and ask Maria for instructions, I can do that as well."

"I don't think it would be fair of me to inflict you on Maria in her kitchen, Diego," Victoria retorted, "At least if you start causing trouble in the tavern kitchen, I can trust that Sergeant Mendoza would be glad to remove you."

"I sincerely promise that I will do nothing to make you wish for me to leave," Diego swore, leaving Victoria to wonder at the strange wording of his promise.

It was about twenty minutes later and already a large bowl now contained slices of avacado, slices of oranges and various other bits of fruit, but Victoria hadn't finished yet, there was still one ingredient left to add.

"Now the..." Victoria paused and looked around, "Diego, have you seen the canteloupe"

"Father has the wagon," Diego answered distractedly through half-closed eyelids, trying not to think of how he'd like to suck clean the fruit juices that had collected Victoria's slender fingers as she had moved the cut fruit from the cutting board into the bowl.

"What?" Victoria frowned at him, "What does your father have to do with a missing canteloupe, Diego?"

"He has the wagon and Esperanza isn't used to carrying two," he answered in that same distracted tone, almost as though he were talking in his sleep, "Unfortunate since I want to wait until we're married before I give you the rest..."

By this point, Victoria wasn't sure whether she should be amused that Diego had drifted off until he was half-asleep or surprised that her old friend was so unknowing of his actions that he had just confessed to wanting to marry her, something she had never considered as a reason for his lack of romantic attention to the senoritas of the pueblo. Two sudden realisations hit Victoria in succession; the first, that Zorro must have been the 'other man' who he had mentioned after Zafira's appearance in Los Angeles as having the heart of the woman he loved, her, it had to be her...

And the second brought a crimson flush to her face, as she thought it out, 'Canteloupe, why would it matter that Don Alejandro has the wagon... it wouldn't for fruit, but if a sleepy Diego was upset that we can't elope because his father has the wagon...'

Victoria felt a sudden mix of shame and embarassment, wondering why she had ever thought of Diego as unromantic; he read books and books had stories of romance; he read poetry and poetry could just as easily include love poems, but everyone stopped paying attention as soon as he started talking about science and experiments... which made her wonder if that wasn't exactly what he was wanting.

All of which added up to one question that Victoria wanted an answer to and she decided to get it in the simplest way possible; softly so as not to wake him, she walked closer to Diego until she was standing next to him and close enough to whisper her question.

"The rest of what, Diego? What are you waiting to give me the rest of?"

Diego moaned and smacked his lips before answering, making Victoria grin slightly, never before having seen the fastidious Don asleep on his feet like this, "The jewelry set."

Victoria's eyes narrowed, "What jewelry, Diego?"

"Mm... Necklace and earrings to go with my mother's ring, Querida..." Diego answered as though it were obvious, causing Victoria to take a step back as her hand went to where she wore Zorro's ring on a chain under her shirt.

'No,' Victoria thought, 'Not Zorro's ring... Diego's ring...'

Not Zorro who made a spectacle and left, but Diego who sat and talked with her when days were slow; not Zorro who forced the Alcalde to repeal taxes and release people jailed unlawfully, but Diego who pointed out what taxes actually helped the Pueblo and found ways to help people pay them when they needed it; not Zorro the mask, but Diego the man, Diego her oldest friend, Diego who loved her, Diego who had proposed to her...

'No', Victoria corrected herself, 'Zorro proposed to me... and then he had the gall to insinuate I'd never love the man!'

Grinning to herself, Victoria turned to finish preparing Diego's bowl of fruit, knowing just how she wanted to handle the situation...

Late that night, as Diego sat in the office of the Guardian looking over articles for possible inclusion in the paper, he found himself snacking on the bowl of fruit that Victoria had prepared for him earlier in the day, complete with a stern lecture against him sleeping in her kitchen again. Diego chuckled to himself, it was a good thing that Victoria didn't know where his mind had went during that lecture, as he had found himself thinking that if she didn't want him sleeping in her kitchen, would she mind him sleeping in her bedroom. Reaching into the bowl and digging down towards the bottom, Diego felt something strange and pulled it out. Upon inspection, it appeared to be the kind of small glass container used for seasonings or spices, the kind with a lid that screwed on. Curiousity piqued, Diego undid the lid and dumped the contents into his clean hand, his jaw dropping in surprise as realised that it was his mother's ring. Unsure of what it meant, he laid the ring carefully on his desk and looked into the jar to see a piece of paper rolled up and stuck in there. Using his fingers, he managed to work it out and set the jar next to the ring so that he could unroll the paper and read what was written on it. As soon as the words penetrated the surprised haze around Diego's brain, he smiled and picked up the ring as he stood, intent on making a visit to the tavern.

After all, the note had said that if he wanted her to have the ring, this time the man had to give it to her and not the mask.

Author's Note: Yes, the "Cantelopue" joke is an old one, but it's still one of my favorites...