Chapter Ten: Bemusement and Hesitation

"Good morning, Heero."

As Quatre came into the dayroom that morning, he was surprised to see Heero already at the table. Not because the man was habitually a late sleeper, but because it was a brightly sunny and rather warm Saturday morning. He himself felt insane for being up at seven o'clock when he could be languidly lounging in his bed in the warm sunlight. He silently cursed having to work on Saturdays.

"Good morning, Quatre," Heero replied, taking a drink from the mug in his hand as he skimmed over the newspaper in front of him.

Quatre quirked an eyebrow as he saw the dark liquid in Heero's cup, "I never knew you were a coffee drinker."

Heero shrugged and read along silently, mouthing a few words here and there, as he trailed his finger across the page. "I've picked up some bad habits from a certain someone with an addiction to caffeine."

Quatre chuckled softly, taking a seat in the chair across from Heero. "I take it Duo is a coffee drinker then?"

"Avidly so," Heero murmured as he turned a page and continued reading, his attention elsewhere, "He always tastes of it."

Heero stopped suddenly, his jaw working helplessly as his brain finally caught up with his mouth and realized what he had said. "I…um…that is…" he stumbled over his words, his face flushing furiously.

Quatre grinned wickedly. "My, my, Heero, what happened to all that shyness? You might want to close that mouth, you'll catch flies that way."

Heero glared, raising the newspaper up to hide his face away. "Shut it, Quatre," he growled, "Forget that I said that. That never leaves this room."

"Of course, of course," Quatre replied airily, though it took an effort to fight down his grin, "Scout's honor, I won't tell a soul."

"You were never a Boy Scout."

"That's beside the point."

Heero lowered the paper once more, his countenance no longer threatening but instead quietly serious as he regarded his friend. "I'm sorry. I do trust you, Quatre, and it's my own fault I'm so distracted."

Quatre frowned suddenly with concern, his brow furrowing from the severity of the expression. "Heero? What's wrong? You're not usually so surly in the morning."

Heero sighed, irritably combing his fingers through his hair. "I think I messed up, Quatre."

"With Duo?"

"Yes," his companion grumbled softly, his expression so miserable that Quatre's heart hurt for him.

"Heero, what happened?"

"I might have hinted…more than hinted, that I might feel more for him than affection."

"More than affection?" Aqua eyes widened as they regarded the man across from him. "You mean love?"

"Yes. I…at dinner the other night, I slipped up."

"You told him you loved him?"

"Pretty much."

"Wow," Quatre leaned back in his chair, a rare occasion occurring as he found himself stunned into near-silence, "Wow."

Heero eyed him dubiously. "You said that already."

"And I'll have to say it again. Wow. Well, how did he react afterward?"

"He seemed rather stunned. You walked into the room before he said anything."

"Oh," Quatre winced, "My apologies."

"It's fine. You couldn't have known that I made such an idiot of myself."

"You're not an idiot, Heero, but I do have to ask. Did you mean it?"

Heero groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. "I have no idea. I never meant to say it, it just blurted out. I know I've never felt this way about anyone before, but then again, I don't have much experience."

Quatre reached out and placed his hand over Heero's, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Talk to him, Heero. See what he thinks about the whole situation. He feels strongly for you, anyone can see that. Just take your time and see where it leads you, alright?"

"Okay." Heero smiled softly, gripping his friend's hand gratefully. "Thank you, Quatre."

"Anytime, my friend."

Quatre leaned back in his chair, preparing to turn his attention back to his own breakfast when something on Heero's newspaper page caught his eye. "Classifieds? Looking for something, Heero?"

"Hmm-mm. An apartment."

Quatre frowned. "Why? You know you're welcome here as long as you need."

"I know, and it is not that I don't appreciate your hospitality, Quatre, but I have money put away now from all those odd jobs. I think it is time I found a place of my own."

Quatre considered this for a moment, and then regarded the other man as his mouth curved into a suggestive smile. "Are you sure it's not just because you want more alone time with Duo?"

"Quatre!"

xx

"You can't keep ignoring this, Duo."

Duo scowled in Hilde's direction as he struggled to whip the batter he held in one hand while tending to the soup simmering in a pot before him with the other. "I'm not ignoring it."

"Of course not," Hilde spat back at him, her voice thick with sarcasm, "And the fact that you haven't called the man in three days has nothing to do with it."

"Lay off, Hilde."

"I won't lay off until you get your head out of your ass and face this whole thing like a man."

"Crude as ever, Hilde."

"At least it's effective." Laying her hands against her hips, she squared off against him, stepping into his path as he made his way toward the refrigerator. Glaring at her, he sidestepped around her and made his way to the appliance, opening up the door to pull out several vegetables: carrots, radishes, tomatoes, and a fresh head of lettuce. Kicking the door shut with his food, he proceeded to set the food down on the counter and poured the batter he had been previously mixing into a set of muffin pans.

"Why don't you try accepting what happened, instead of drowning yourself in denial?"

"I'm not in denial."

"Like hell you aren't."

"Damn it, Hilde!" He whirled around, his eyes furious as they locked on her, but Hilde was no pushover, standing her ground firmly as she met his anger with grim stubbornness. He scowled at her for a few moments, and then grumbled under his breath, turning back around to return to his work. "I don't know why I bother telling you anything. You never do anything but nag."

"You might regret it, but I'm glad you told me! Someone has to save you from ruining something that's made you happier than you've been in a long time."

"I'm not ruining anything."

"Duo…" Hilde's face softened as she sighed. "Why do you always have to be so self-destructive?"

"I'm not self-destructive."

"Of course you're not," she quipped dryly.

"Your sarcasm doesn't help matters."

Duo tended to the simmering soup and then turned on the water in the sink, expertly rinsing off the vegetables before pulling out a cutting board from a nearby cabinet. Brandishing a large cutlery knife, he set to work, and the kitchen filled with the steady rhythm of the knife chopping against the cutting board as he sliced through the lettuce, then the tomatoes as the silence stretched out before them.

Hilde came up behind him and rested her hands against his shoulders as she pressed her forehead to his back. The sound of his chopping stopped abruptly and he exhaled harshly.

"Are you that against the idea of someone loving you?"

Duo closed his eyes, leaning into the touch of her fingers gently brushing against his neck, toying with the stray hairs escaping from his braid. "I…it's not that I hate the idea, it's that I have no idea how to react." He paused, his face contorting into an ugly expression as he viciously cursed under his breath.

He turned and slipped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair and Hilde returned his embrace, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He took in a harsh, shuddering breath that caused his body to tremble slightly and she held him all that much tighter.

"I don't understand it, Hilde," he murmured against the crook of her neck, "What the heck is wrong with me?"

She released him, cupping his face in her hands as she tilted his head upward, beckoning him to look at her. He did so, and his eyes were dark, shadowed with some unnamed burden she ached to relieve him of, but she knew it was not her place. She only hoped Duo could learn to let someone in enough to help relieve the pain.

"Honestly, Duo, honey, it's something you'll have to figure out on your own. Just don't push Heero away while you're doing it. Talk to him. Make him understand what you're feeling."

He wordlessly nodded, and she affectionately pressed a light kiss to his cheek. A ghost of his old grin curled his lips, and Duo opened his mouth to speak when he was interrupted by the soft beeping of the oven timer. He separated from her, and went to tend to his creations, slipping on a pair of mitts. The warmly sweet aroma of Duo's infamous apple pie reached her nostrils, and her mouth involuntarily watered as he withdrew the steaming pastry from the oven.

"Who's that for?"

"Heero," he replied nonchalantly as he placed the pie down to cool, replacing it in the still heated oven with his muffin trays, resetting the timer to the new time.

Hilde's eyes widened with interest. "Heero? So you did talk to him?"

"Yeah. He called last night, said he'd be stopping by this morning."

"So you made him a pie?"

Duo grimaced, his face twisting into an irritated expression. "I made one before, but that jerk Trowa ate it all."

"Trowa?" Hilde glared at Duo. "He's in town? Why haven't I seen him?"

Duo looked abashed, "Sorry, guess I've been distracted lately. He's transferred here now. He's been so busy drawing up the plans for his latest job that I've barely seen him."

"Duo," she chided, wagging a finger beneath his nose, "You've got to tell me these things." She grinned slyly. "You know how you can make it up to me?"

Duo eyed her warily, "Do I even want to know?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I think a piece or two of that pie will even things out."

"No way! Trowa struck the same bargain, and the whole pie was gone by the time I woke up this morning."

They continued to bicker back and forth as Duo continued to tend to the soup and prepare the salad mixture, keeping an eye on the cooling pie and occasionally having to rap his spoon over Hilde's knuckles as she made a grab for it. An hour later, he had finished the soup, the salads, and had two-dozen blueberry muffins cooling as he wrapped up the pie for travel.

"Pieeeeeee," Hilde moaned dramatically, drawling out the last note plaintively, "Pieeeeeee."

Duo stuck his tongue out at her in a childish gesture, rapping her over the head with the spoon.

"Ow, Duo! You'll get soup broth in my hair!"

"Don't you two ever grow up?" came an exasperated voice from the kitchen doorway, originating from their shift manager, Otto, as he leaned against the frame and observed them, shaking his head with indulgent amusement.

Duo grinned unabashedly, ducking his head in a greeting nod. "What can we do for you, chief?"

"You can start by not calling me chief, Duo."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, Maxwell," another head appeared in the doorway at Otto's shoulder, "Your boyfriend's waiting out front."

"Alex, you look like hell twice over."

Alex made a face at him, rubbing his fingers tiredly against his temples. "Up yours, Maxwell. Don't talk so loud."

Otto scowled, giving the man behind him a shove back toward the front of the store. "Alex, I thought I told you to open up the café."

"Yeah, I was, chief, but it's like I told you, Duo's boyfriend's waiting for him out front." Otto sighed, rolled his eyes, and found himself not bothering to correct yet another employee for their appointed title.

"Alrighty," Duo chirped cheerfully, "Thanks a lot, Alex." He grabbed the wrapped pie, clapping Alex hard on the shoulder as the two men stepped back to let him through, causing the man to groan loudly and press his hand to his face once more.

"Uh! I told you not to talk so loud!"

Hilde's eyes knitted as she regarded him wryly. "Hung over again, Al?"

"Bite me, Schbeiker."

Otto irritably rubbed his hand over his face, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Why me?" He huffed a heavy sigh, giving his watch a quick appraisal. "Alright, everyone, time to get back to work. Duo, you finish the prep in the kitchen you promised?"

"Yes, sir," Duo replied as he paused, glancing back at them, "Muffins and fresh fruit for breakfast, salad and soup and bread for lunch, the whole shebang."

"You're an angel in the kitchen, Duo, it's such a shame you're a devil the rest of the time."

"Hardy har-har, you're killing me, chief. Well then," he flourished a mock-salute, "I'm off then. Enjoy the day."

"See ya, Duo."

"Call me later, Duo."

"Hope something falls on your head to wipe that grin off your face, Maxwell."

"You're a real ass when you're hung over, you know that, Alex?"

With that final verbal barb Duo made his way out into the empty dining room of the restaurant. He found Heero seated at one of the front tables, casually sipping from a Styrofoam coffee container as his head faced the other direction. He was idly watching the passersby through the front window.

A sudden idea forming in his head, Duo grinned as he strode toward him. "Heero," he whined, staring at the older man forlornly, "How could you?" Watching Heero turn toward him with a pained, questioning look, he winked reassuringly, his eyes dancing with mischief. "After all we meant to each other, you go off and cheat with other coffee!"

Heero stared at him for moment with the expression of one looking at a madman and then he shook his head, his face breaking into an indulgent grin he quickly covered with a mocking sneer. "It's all your fault. Green tea was enough to satisfy me before, and then you came along and messed with my tastes."

"But Heero!" Duo placed a hand over his heart, falling to one knee before his boyfriend. "Think of all the good times we had together over the coffee maker. Say it ain't so, Heero. Tell me you haven't forsaken my special brew for some Starbucks wannabe!"

Heero's lips thinned into a firm frown. "And what about you? Gallivanting around with some mocha?"

"It meant nothing to me, I swear! I'll give it all up if you'll just take me back!"

Heero rolled his eyes and gave the other man a playful shove, unable to hold back a light chortle. "Get up, you clown, you're making a scene. Besides, you know nothing could make you give up coffee."

"You're probably right," Duo said as he rose to his feet, dusting off his jeans, and picked up the pastry he had set aside in his play. "But at least I got a smile and laugh out of you."

"Yes, you did." Heero's face softened into a gentle smile as Duo leaned in and pecked his cheek in a habitual kiss. He reached out to grasp Duo's hand, their fingers tightly entwining. "You don't have to work today?"

"Nope. I got a couple of days off. The chief just had me prepare some simple stuff this morning."

"Ah."

"Well, any idea where you want to go? We could grab some breakfast or something." He glanced at Heero's watch. "It's not even ten yet."

Heero hesitated for a moment and then he smiled wanly. "Somewhere relatively quiet. We need to talk, Duo."

Duo made a face, but he nodded his assent nonetheless. "We do have to do that, don't we?" He sighed, making a grab for his jacket as he led Heero toward the door. "We can go to my place, its closer."

"All right."