Title: Something Sweet ch 2?
Author: WickedGame
Archive: No Rest For The Wicked, FFnet, MediaminerOrg, My LJ
Category: Fluff, romance
Rating (this chapter): PG-13 or T
Pairings: 1+2+1 (or 12 depending on the ML or comm). Other pairings to be revealed as they come along.
Warnings:
Notes: Almost everyone who read the first chapter of this story asked me to continue it, so I will. I would like to note that this chapter follows the May GW Bakery prompt "flowers". "Glykeria" means "sweet" in Greek.
The next day Heero found himself coming into work extraordinarily early to talk to the owner and manager of Le Metro Bistro. Zechs Merquise had taken over the restaurant when the former owner had expressed the desire to retire. The man was a few years older than Heero, with long blonde hair and stunning ice blue eyes.
He was a fair boss, even if he was a bit ambitious. Some in the area food circles said he was quite the up-and-comer when it came to the restaurant biz. He had hired Heero himself after tasting the young chef's roasted duck medallions with pomegranate and fig emulsion. He had declared the dish a masterpiece and it now graced the dinner menu for Le Metro Bistro.
Heero was quite thankful for his job right now, because that job had led him to the bakery across the street and also had led him to one Duo Maxwell.
An unusual smile graced Heero's face at the thought of his date from the previous night. Thoughts of the gorgeous pastry chef had left him grinning almost continuously, which was a strange sight indeed.
That grin was probably why Zechs Merquise was looking at Heero like he had grown a second head when the chef walked into his office.
"Heero, nice to see you so early. Why the smile?" Zechs asked, looking at Heero through stylish reading glasses.
Heero cleared his throat and erased the smile. Without answering his boss' question he got down to business. "May I speak with you for a moment?"
Zechs gestured to a chair in front of his desk and Heero took a seat. "How can I help you, Heero?"
"Someone enlightened me to some facts that I thought I would discuss with you," Heero stated.
"Like…?"
"I found out that some people believe that we do not serve them enough food for the money that we charge. They say the food is good, but that there is just too little of it." Heero contemplated his boss as he spoke. Zechs wore a look of mild interest.
"Really? Who did you say told you this?"
"I didn't say and I won't tell you. It just came up in conversation. He did not even know I worked here when he said it." Heero stood and headed for the office door.
"I will take it under advisement, but remember this Heero: when people go out for French food they expect to be overcharged. We wouldn't want to disappoint them, now would we?"
Heero chuckled as he left the office. He still had a little over an hour before he was expected back at the restaurant to help with prep work and to plan that night's special. He could use that little bit of down time to go and visit someone special.
&&&
Duo blew gently into the tube, making the melted sugar expand slowly into a large, delicate bulb. He turned and turned the tube until the bulb was dry and evenly shaped. It was even harder to blow sugar than it was to blow glass, even if they did use the same method. He set the tube aside until he would be forced to remove the crystalline bulb and put it in its final resting place.
He was working on a three-tiered wedding cake. All three tiers were triple chocolate fudge cake with a raspberry filling. The crystal sugar bulb would be replacing the traditional bride and groom cake topper seeing as it was not a bride and groom that were getting married but a groom and groom.
Duo looked at the rough sketch of what the cake would look like when they were done with it. Without the unique decorations it was just a traditional round cake with white fondant over buttercream frosting. But what had wowed the two grooms was Duo and Hilde's vision for what would decorate the cake. The sugar bulb was going to be hand painted in abstract blue and green designs by Hilde. Duo was going to form edible flowers out of fondant and spun sugar that would all be dyed in blues and greens. The overall effect when finished would be one of serene beauty, like a vivid garden that you could eat. The cake would have real flowers added to it the day of the wedding. The whole cake would be a total sensory experience by the time that they finished with it.
The wedding was two days from now, on Saturday. Duo was nervous as hell. While it was not his first wedding cake it was certainly his most prolific. The wedding in question was the wedding of one Quatre Winner to one Trowa Barton.
Quatre Winner was the owner of several classy and successful restaurants, and Trowa Barton owned a circus that was a hot spot in the nightlife of their city. The two had taken the whole city by storm when they started dating about a year ago, but then they had quickly settled into a quiet and monogamous relationship.
To land the cake and dessert contracts for their wedding was an honor and amounted to great exposure. Anyone who was anyone would be at this wedding, and those people would be eating the Glykeria Bakery's sweet treats.
Besides the wedding cake they were also preparing three different desserts for eight hundred guests. There was a crème brulee lemon curd martini, emascerated berries with crème frache, and some of the bakery's famous chocolate chip cookies (known to be a favorite of both grooms). They had been forced to hire extra temporary help just to make sure everything was done on time.
Duo worked with earphones on to minimize distractions, and he was humming along with the music as he worked intently. That was probably why he did not hear Hilde calling him from the front. Sally, his boss, was finally forced to come over and tap him on the shoulder.
"What?" Duo asked, putting down his food-safe paintbrush.
"You are going to go deaf. Hilde wants you out front." Sally walked back over to her workstation without another word.
"Yes sir!" Duo snapped to attention and stuck out his tongue. He marched toward the door and then changed to a walk as he went out into the lobby.
Duo smiled when he saw the reason Hilde was calling him. There was one hot French chef waiting for him on the other side of the counter.
"Hey Heero." Duo greeted the brunette man with a kiss to the cheek.
"You smell like burnt sugar." Heero commented.
"That is because the evil blown sugar is out to destroy me," Duo rolled his eyes, "What's up?"
"Do you have some time right now?"
"Sure. Hilde, cover for me?" Duo asked as he walked around the counter.
"Do I ever do anything else?" Hilde asked sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.
"You love me and you know it." Duo smiled at her and grabbed two coffee cups with saucers. He filled the porcelain cups up at the brewing station and took them out to a table.
"Busy?" Heero asked, sipping the rich blend of coffee.
"Damn straight. I have this wedding this weekend and I am finishing up the decorations for the cake. I have extra help for the cookies and the other two dessert dishes, but you can never be sure that the help you hire will do the job you pay them to do, especially if they are temp," Duo rubbed his temples and took another sip of coffee.
"What do you say to dinner in," Heero grabbed one of Duo's hands and rubbed his thumb over the soft skin on the back of it, "and maybe a movie?"
"That sounds good. My place or yours?" Duo leaned forward slightly and looked Heero in the eye.
"I have a huge television set, and I live right upstairs from an awesome Italian place." Heero leaned forward so that his face was mere inches from Duo's.
"When do you get off?" Duo asked.
The casual question conjured up many images in Heero's mind, and he forced them out before they took over his brain. "I am working the early dinner shift, so I am off at eight."
"Be right back." Duo disappeared behind the counter and then reappeared with a piece of paper and a pen. "Write down your address and I will meet you there."
Heero wrote down the address, which Duo noted was in a nice part of town, and then handed the paper to Duo. Duo folded the paper and put it into his pocket. Heero contemplated the tired look in Duo's eyes and sighed. "What wedding are you working?"
"Wedding? Oh, that wedding, the one that will be the death of me. It's the Winner-Barton wedding on Saturday. Triple chocolate fudge cake with raspberry filling. Lemon curd crème brulee martinis, emascerated berries with crème frache and chocolate chip cookies. I swear I will be repeating that like a mantra until the day I die now." Duo gulped down coffee and then ran for a refill. When he came back Heero was smiling.
"What?" he asked.
"How would you like to be my date for the Winner-Barton wedding?" Heero asked.
"What do you mean?" Duo wondered.
"My restaurant is doing the food catering for the event," Heero laughed gently at the coincidence.
"Ah heck. We're both working it? Well hell, guess we are dates by default anyway then huh?" Duo stretched in his chair and Heero watched the slim body arch gracefully.
"Sure. Well, I am sure you need to get back to work. So, eight thirty okay?" Heero asked, rising from his chair.
"Yep." Duo grabbed the coffee cups and waved away Heero's money. "Your money is no good here."
With a wink and a smile Duo walked away. Heero smiled stupidly as he walked out the door and across the street back to the bistro. Duo Maxwell was certainly one of the most interesting people he had ever met.
&&&
Duo looked up at the building in front of him and sighed. Of course Heero would live someplace like this. A tall, white, art deco building that was built to house socialites, but now held well-off twenty-somethings that were childless. He walked up to the door and opened it.
Inside the lobby there was a small amount of tasteful furniture on marble flooring, with shiny chrome elevators against the wall. A security guard sat behind a desk on Duo's right, and he nodded as Duo passed.
Heero lived on the fifth floor, and the elevator went fairly fast as it climbed the stories. Duo got out and checked himself over. His jeans were worn, but not scruffy. His red shirt was simple faded cotton, and he left it un-tucked. The top two buttons were undone and the cuffs were rolled up to just under his elbows. His hair was pulled back into his braid, but it was not the severe braid he wore at work but more of a loose braid that softened around his face.
He knocked on the door that said '502' and waited. After a moment the door opened and Heero was standing there in a white t-shirt and worn loose jeans. Duo thought he looked delicious.
"Find the place okay?" Heero asked as he closed the door behind them.
"Yep. Nice building." Duo walked toward the kitchen, since that was more than likely where the food was. Heero followed him, smiling as he watched Duo's ass move inside of his jeans.
"It has a nice view, that's for sure." Heero smirked. Duo turned around and saw where Heero's gaze was riveted and guffawed with laughter. When he was done Heero retrieved plates and started to dish up the Italian food.
"Red or white?" Heero asked, presenting two different types of wine glasses.
"Hmm. White. We have lobster raviolis in white sauce and a tossed salad. Would I be right with that match, Julia Child?" Duo's smirk kept Heero from taking any offense at the remark.
"You're right." Heero replaced the red wine goblets and took down a matched set of white wine glasses, which are slimmer and narrow at the top. He removed a bottle of Pinot Grigio from the wine cooler underneath his counter and popped the cork. Duo hummed to himself as Heero poured, and then helped carry the wine and the plates to the small table in the dining room.
"Romantic dinner for two in your gorgeous apartment…Are you trying to seduce me, Mister Yuy?" Duo joked, raising his glass for a moment.
"Most definitely. To seducing beautiful pastry chefs then?" Heero asked, raising his glass in imitation.
"No, no. To…things that are sweet. Desserts, wine, and you." Duo flashed a flirty smile.
"Oh, I almost forgot, I got you something." Heero disappeared around a corner and then came back around with a bouquet of flowers: lavender roses, to be exact.
"You got me flowers?" Duo asked incredulously.
"You don't like them." Heero accused.
"No! I do like them. It was just unexpected. Thank you."
Duo had never received flowers before in his life, but he didn't tell Heero that. It sounded pathetic, even to his ears.
They chatted amiably over dinner and ended up drinking all the wine.
"Good vintage." Heero commented, and set aside the bottle to remember what it was later.
"Mmm," Duo murmured as he stretched, "Good food too. Thank you. Next time I will have to buy."
"Next time?" Heero asked, clearing the plates.
"Well, you did intend to actually date me, right? Because if you didn't plan to date me then all these naughty thoughts that are running through my head will be for naught." Duo winked and Heero laughed.
"Come on. It's hard enough for me to keep my hands off you as it is." Heero moaned and headed for the living room. Duo followed close behind.
They decided on a comedy and settled down together on the couch to watch it. Not that Duo was seeing much of it. He was sitting on Heero's left, with Heero's left arm slung over his shoulder and tracing delicate patterns on his shoulder through his shirt. He was leaning into Heero, resting his head in the crook of that left arm.
Duo was quite sure that something important was happening in the plot of the film, but he was past caring. He was tired and he was horny. He carefully and quietly slipped a hand up to his own shirt and undid the rest of the buttons, freeing the skin of his shoulder to be touched, not just the cloth covering it.
Heero was in the same predicament. All he wanted to do was touch Duo. He could care less about anything going on around them. He noted that Duo had unbuttoned his shirt, and he slipped his left hand inside to touch the skin of Duo's neck and shoulder.
"Sit in front of me." Heero commanded. Duo did as he was told, and Heero slipped his hands inside the shirt and pushed it off Duo's shoulders. The skin underneath was soft and pale. Heero started to work the shoulders first, trying to erase all the tension he felt in Duo. It worked almost immediately. What he didn't count on was how vocal Duo was from just a massage.
"Oh yeah. Mmmmm! Oh, right there!" Duo cried out in pleasure as he was massaged. Heero could feel what those words were doing to him, and he wondered if Duo even knew how he could make someone feel. He worked his hands further downwards, using considerable force and intuition to coax even more noises from Duo. The unfortunate side effect was that Heero had a rock solid erection by the time he was done.
Duo rose from the ground and turned around. With one fluid motion he suddenly straddled Heero's strong thighs.
"Duo, get off or else you might regret it." Heero explained.
"Stop talking and kiss me." Duo commanded. Heero did not need to be told twice.