Title: Chili Diablo
Fandom: General Hospital
Characters: Tracy Quartermaine
Prompt: #6 Hot
Word Count: 968 words
Rating: PG
Summary: Luke tries to drum up business for the Haunted Star.
Author's Notes: Set June 2006-ish, in that happy little AU where Luke and Tracy actually have something to do on the show. Pure fluff, and an attempt at humor.
Her lips were aching from it. Tracy blew out a bit of heat with her breath, wondering how she'd ever let him talk her into this. "You're insane."
"I'm a genius," Luke Spencer insisted as he dipped the ladle into the pot. "Try it now."
"I'm not eating another bite of that toxic waste," she said, turning away from him as he offered her another taste of his so-called Chili Diablo.
"Toxic, my great Aunt Fanny. There's pure serrano chile gold in here, lady, and you're lucky enough to be in on the ground floor."
"Nobody is going to eat this stuff, Luke. I don't know why you insist on making it." She leaned against the cabinet of the Haunted Star's tiny kitchen, still surprised at why he'd invited her here. It wasn't like he liked her, or wanted to spend time with her. "And you'll probably be sued for poisoning your customers, which means I'll be sued, because as we both know, this place is mine until you pay me back every cent you stole from me."
Luke shot her a dark glare, and continued with his chili. "Listen, Spanky, my infamous Buckaroo Night has never failed to rake in the dough. It's a theme night, just for fun. And there is no Buckaroo Night without Cowboy Luke's Famous Chili Diablo."
Tracy stared at him, uncomprehending. "Do you actually listen to half the things that come out of your mouth?"
He raised a single eyebrow, then tried a different tack. "Okay, I shouldn't have just sprung it on you. Here…" He moved around her, his body pressing against hers in the tight quarters as he went for the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. "Drink this."
She stared at it as if it were a snake. "You are joking, right?"
"Beer and peppers go together, Wife. Now, if you want your precious money, work with me on a money-maker. Take a sip of the beer." His tone brooked no argument, and to both their surprise, Tracy complied. She twisted the cap off and, not seeing a convenient glass handy, proceeded to take a long slug straight from the bottle. "Good stuff, huh?" Luke prompted as Tracy twisted her face in disgust.
"Yeah, pure ambrosia," she croaked.
"Now, taste." He took a spoon and dipped it into the pot, carefully offering it to his wife. She opened her mouth, gingerly accepting the spoon and eating just the smallest portion of chili she could manage. "Well?"
Tracy's eyes closed, her face contorting with the heat of it. Then something miraculous happened. Her eyes opened wide, and a look of utter amazement spread across her face. "Oh, my god!" she exclaimed. "Give me that." She grabbed the bottle of beer and downed another swig. "More." She reached out for the spoonful of chili he offered, her eyes watering, but a look of sheer euphoria on her face as she swallowed. "That is incredible!"
Luke nodded, happy as if he had sense. "I told you."
Tracy shook her head, blowing out hard as the heat had its way with her mouth. "Whoa! That is serious, but I think you're right. I think it'll sell."
"Sell, my butt. Spanky, they'll be lining up for miles to get a taste of this. And quenching that fire with the finest expensive booze we got."
"What if they don't drink?" She was puckering now, her lips still burning with the heat of the peppers.
"Tea-totaling lips shall never touch my Chili Diablo," Luke said in mock offense. "Besides, the hotter the chili, the more they drink. The more they drink, the more they gamble. And the more they gamble, my pretty pink habanera…"
"The more money I make," Tracy finished for him, with special emphasis on the word "I." She was still shaking her head from the heat, but she refused his offer of another sip of beer. "I hate beer."
"Well, there is another way to fight the heat," he said, inching a bit closer to her.
"Water?"
"Hell, no." Luke shook his head fiercely. "Spreads the capsicum around. Water'll only make it worse."
"Oh, my god," she said. "My lips are on fire."
Luke leaned in, pressing his mouth firmly on hers, pulling her into a very different form of heat altogether. "Another wonderful side effect of the chiles, Wife," he murmured against her lips. "It's an aphrodisiac." He kissed her again, slowly this time, pressing forward until her back was against the counter, their bodies flush against each other, temperatures rising by the second.
It was definitely a different kind of heat, and for a moment, he thought Tracy would go for it. They had had their differences, but underneath it all, Luke knew he had a certain chemistry with his wife that required a more physical appreciation. Maybe here, on the Haunted Star, away from the pressures of her family, he might convince her to—
He gasped as a stream of ice cold beer poured over his head. Tracy had reached behind them, effectively ending his pursuit by dousing him with the rest of the beer. He sputtered, shaking his short spiky hair like a wet dog. "Why the hell did you do that?"
She smiled at him with that infuriating, smug grin she reserved for times when she really wanted to piss him off. "It worked," she said sweetly, downing the last sip of beer straight from the bottle. "My lips aren't burning anymore."
Luke glowered, and reached into the pot to pull out a ladle full of chili. "Another bite, Precious?"
"Save it for the paying customers." She leaned forward, kissed him sweetly on the lips, then left him to his own devices, knowing that no matter what, she was never gonna eat another bite of that stuff again.
The End
Written for the 100situations Challenge.