Chapter 9
The next day, Heero followed Duo into the hospital toward his uncle's room. The doctor said that Eric could return home that day, but had to stay to a strict regime in order to prevent a second heart attack. He gave Duo a strict diet that Eric had to abide by to lower his cholestral and Duo was more than up to the task of keeping his uncle healthy.
Heero was glad to hear that Eric was doing better. Granted he had only meet the man for almost ten seconds and he was unconcious the whole time, but with how Duo and his family spoke about him, made him sound like a great guy. He was very understanding with Duo and Solo's life choices and accepts them without question. He was the father figure Duo had needed his whole life and a soon-to-be grandfather, something they found out at dinner the night before.
When Duo heard the news from Helen, he nearly spat out his soup.
"Are you serious?!" he asked in shock and glee.
Helen giggled and nodded.
"Yes, we're finally pregnant," she said, smiling happily to Duane.
"Oh my God, that's amazing." Duo got up and hugged his cousin. "When are you due?"
"Oh, not for a few months," said Helen. "Plenty of time to get ready."
The conversation turned to childhood memories, some of which were embarressing to Duo but earned a laugh from the audience. That and combined with the amazing food Duo made, the experience was homey, something Heero had never had. The only person he had familial connection to was Wufei, and even that was only because of years of friendship.
Heero had learned quickly that Duo was a god in the kitchen. The soup was the perfect balance of taste and tecture. He even added leftover chicken from a previous dinner and a cupful of rice. Heero knew he would never be able to recreate what Duo had made. He had no doubt that Duo could tale just two ingredients and serve it seven ways.
Apart from Heero's almost mishap, preparations for dinner went off without a hitch. Watching Duo work in the kitchen was a sight to behold. He barely measured as he cut up vegetables and spices before throwing it in the pot and made rrolls from scratch. His knifework was nearly machine fast and precise. Everything seemed to fade away as Duo worked, like his whole concentration was on cooking the soup and everything around him disappeared.
Heero had been known to get caught up in his work, but not in the way Duo had. The man was really passionate about his food and Heero couldn't understand why he had walked away from it. Even with a couple years out of practice, the man still had the magic touch in the kitchen. It was a shame he threw it away.
Now he stood outside in the hallway waiting for Duo to walk out with Helen and his uncle. Duane had work to do in the brewery and Solo and Lee were manning the grill at the house for a celebratory lunch on Eric's return. Duo had given them strict instructions on what to do and made the salad and side dishes before leaving to the hospital. The man was serious about food, even when he wasn't there to oversee its preperation.
He heard the sounds of a door opening and looked up to see Duo wheel Eric out on a wheelchair. Heero stood up straighter and cleared his throat nervously. He suddenly felt like a boy taking his date to prom and getting the third degree by the dad. He knew he shouldn't. He and Duo were nothing more than acquantances, maybe friends. So why did he feel so nervous?
"Uncle Eric, this is Heero Yuy, the guy I was telling you about," said Duo. "Heero, this is my uncle, Eric Maxwell."
"Duo's told me a lot about you, Father Maxwell," said Heero holding his hand to him. Eric took it with a grin.
"Please, call me Eric," he said. "Only members of my congregation call me 'father', family calls me 'uncle', and friends call me Eric."
"Please to meet you, Eric," said Heero.
"So I hear that we have you to thank for bringing Duo home to us," said Eric as they walked, or in Eric's case, wheeled, down the hallway.
"It was nothing," said Heero. "Just a coincidence."
"Oh my boy, nothing in this world is coincidence. God has a plan for everything. Everything happens for a reason."
"Uncle, I don't think your heart attack was part of God's plan," said Duo.
"Ever a skeptic, Duo," said Eric, "But yes, my heart attack was part of God's plan, just as Mr. Yuy was here. The Lord made sure you'd meet someone who'd get you home when you were needed. That was God's plan."
"Sure it was," said Duo as they left the hospital. "Wait here. I'll get the car."
He left and both men watched as Duo got Helen's SUV that they were borrowing to bring Eric home. When he was out of earshot, Eric turned to Heero.
"He was always a skeptic," said Eric. "Could never believe in something he couldn't see."
"I think he's mellowed out from what I've heard," said Heero. There was a slight pause before Heero spoke again. "I am surprised by one thing."
"And what is that?" asked Eric.
"How can a man of the clothe accept a homosexual so easily? Isn't it against what God teaches you?"
"On the contrary. It emphasizes what God teaches us. God does not make mistakes. He made Duo exactly as he intended. How can I deny my nephew of who he is when God made him as he intended to be? Plus, he's still Duo. It doesn't matter if he loves a man or a woman, he'll always be my nephew."
Heero nodded in understanding. Like Duo, he was a bit skeptical about religion. His logical mind couldn't grasp any of the miracles that pertained in the Bible. When Eric told about his acceptance of Duo, it made more sense than Relena's fashion sense.
"Now, tell me about yourself," said Eric. "Where were you going when you and Duo met?"
"New York," said Heero. "I was going to propose to my girlfriend for Valentine's day."
"And now? Alabama's a long way from New York."
"She's in Paris now. She just called me in France and said she'd be home in a week. I don't know what to do now. I left California to go to her, and yet she wants to be anywhere else but here. What does that say about us or our future?"
"When Duo left on his journey, I wondered if he was doing the right thing and I prayed that he would find whatever it was he was looking for." He turned to Heero. "I believe you're on the same journey. You're looking for something and don't know where to find it, but sometimes what you need has been right under your nose the whole time."
Heero looked at the man in surprise. What could he have meant by that? Did he mean that Heero already knew what he wanted or that he had yet to find it?
A week ago, Heero knew exactly what he wanted. He was going to propose to Relena, get married and have a happy family and be made partner. That had been what he wanted for as long as he could remember. A real family. Maybe he had been on the right track the whole time.
He was shaken out of his thoughts by Duo calling his name.
"Heero? Hey, you with me, man?" he asked. Heero blinked in surprise. He hadn't noticed Duo drive the car up or park it in front of the hospital entrance.
"Sorry, Duo," he said. "I was thinking."
"Looked more like you were torturing your brain," said Duo. "Come on. Let's head back."
Nodding, Heero followed Duo into the car. They drove back to the house to find it a bustle of activity. Everywhere he looked, people were setting up for what looked to be a party. A blonde haired man was talking to a black haired girl with a brown haired man standing next to him. The girl was the first to spot them as they rolled up and Duo got out.
"Duo!" she yelled, running up to Duo and hugged him with a flying leap. Duo laughed as he caught her and spun her around.
"Hilde, it's good to see you again," he said setting her down. He turned to the two men walking up to him with smiles. "Quatre, Trowa, hey."
"It's good to see you again, Duo," said Quatre.
"How was your trip?" asked Trowa.
"Enlightening," said Duo. His arm still around Hilde, turned to Heero and waved him over. "Heero, meet my friends."
Helen took Eric back inside to allow Heero to meet Duo's friends and Heero walked over with a smile.
"Heero, this is Hilde, the closest woman to a girlfriend I'll ever have, and Quatre Winner and his partner, and my sou-chef, Trowa Barton," said Duo. "Guys, this is Heero Yuy."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Heero," said Quatre shaking Heero's hand. "I'm so glad Duo finally found someone after all this time."
"Oh, no, we're not together," said Duo and Heero at the same time. Heero knew he wasn't the only one blushing. Quatre gasped in embarressment.
"Heero gave me a ride here," said Duo. "He's been a great friend and is staying a while to help out."
"Aww, that's so sweet," Hilde cooed grinning at Duo. Duo's face flushed red before looking away. Heero briefly wondered why before turning to Hilde.
"It was the right thing to do," he said. "Duo's become a good friend and I want to make sure he's okay."
"Not a lot of people would do that," said Hilde. "Trust me, I know. I'm a bounty hunter and go after the worst. For someone to do that to a total stranger says something about a person."
"Thanks, Hilde."
"I'm so sorry," said Quatre. "I just assumed..."
"You spoke before thinking again, Quatre," said Trowa with an arm on the small of Quatre's back.
"It's just that I felt something between you two," said Quatre quietly in thought.
"Quatre Winner of Winner Construction?" asked Heero. He knew he had heard of Quatre's name before. When Sinq & Sons heard the Winner Construction was planning to expand to the west coast, the firm immediately started preparing to win over representation of the company, and Heero had been put in charge.
Quatre nodded in surprise.
"Yes," he said.
Shocked, Heero turned to Duo.
"Duo, he's the second richest man in America, next to the Peacecrafts," he said. "He's an heir to an empire."
Duo laughed.
"I know," he said. "And we're school buddies. You know those boys Aunt Sophie accused me of seeing I told you about?"
Heero nodded and Duo pointed to Quatre and Trowa.
"Seriously?!" he said in shock.
Duo nodded.
"I, of course, am from a prosperous family," said Quatre. "I have more sisters than I care for and am the only son in the family, so when I came out was a family scandle. Trowa was the son of one of our construction workers. His father brought him there for a summer job. There was no way in any plausible scenerio where we'd actually meet."
"And we wouldn't have, if you hadn't watched you step on the scaffolding," said Trowa. "Apparently, one of the workers had cut corners and replaced the plywood with a lesser grade material, pocketing the leftover cash himself. We wouldn't have found out if Quatre had been watching his step and nearly fell five stories."
Quatre smiled up at his partner.
"Best day of my life was when he dove ten feet to grab my hand before I became a spot on the pavement," he said.
"How did you become a sou-chef?" asked Heero to Trowa.
"Well, growing up it was just my dad, sister Catherine and me," he said. "My father and sister were great. They did everything they could to give me a good life, but they couldn't cook anything that wasn't frozen or in a can, so I went to the library and copied recipes that didn't look too hard to make as soon as I could reach the stove. I quickly discovered a love for cooking and saved what money I could to go to culinary school."
"And since I was looking for a sou-chef, Quatre introduced us and the rest is history," said Duo. "How have you been, Trowa have you found a new job?"
Trowa and Quatre had identical looks of guilt.
"Uh, no, Duo," said Trowa. "It wasn't the same. I couldn't work with someone else after you left. I cook for Irene's catering business now."
Duo gaped and turned to Quatre who nodded. He turned back to Trowa.
"Oh God, Trowa, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to..."
Trowa waved his hand in dismissal.
"I don't blame you," he said. "You had something to do, and went off to do it. I can't fault you for that. Besides, Quatre's sister has kept me busy with her catering business. Although I do miss working with you."
"I miss working too," said Duo forlornly. Heero could see how much Duo missed cooking, both now and from the night before. Cooking was like breathing to him. Without it, he wasn't the man he was.
They heard a yell and Duo ran over to the grill to save Solo from burning the food, and himself.
TBC
