Author's Note: Oof. Writing and I have not been getting along so well for the past three weeks. Luckily I managed to get this one out, even though I swear the world conspired against me at every opportunity. Maybe that's why I'm making more people gang up on Gene. This, like the theme indicates, is almost pure sugar. Hope you enjoy.

Candy

Innocence is often associated with the carefree, the lighthearted, and the sweet. A sweet tooth is one of the most recognized signs of a retained child-like innocence, though the fact that anybody can have one for just about any reason under the stars has made this point all but moot.

------

It was a pleasant day on Sentinel 3, with clear skies and a light breeze. The occasional bird flitted chirpily through the air, far off in the distance and well away from the spaceship launch yard, in spite of the fact that it had been rather slow and quiet there for the past few days. All was peaceful - until the air was rent by a sudden indignant cry.

"What do you mean I have to go pick it up myself!"

"What part of 'You have to go pick it up yourself' do you not understand, Aniki?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe that whole part about Fred having a deal with the delivery guys who take care of that shit?"

Jim, who was currently welding a part of the hull of the Outlaw Star back together, didn't bother to devote his attention to its irate captain. "Fred called while you were sleeping off your hangover. He said the delivery guys have some sort of big deal going down and have a limited number of people to handle Fred's deliveries, so they're only handling the top priorities right now. Since we're local, getting the part we need delivered isn't a priority."

"Tch!" Gene crossed his arms and glared at nothing in particular, since Jim wasn't paying attention to him. "It's still a hassle for me."

"And what have you been doing all day that's so important?" Jim drawled, finishing the welding and finally turning around to face Gene, goggles still in place over his eyes.

"Like I need to answer to you," Gene retorted, looking away.

"Actually," the lone pink version of Gilliam's robots piped up from his place beside Jim, "I believe I have records showing that Gene was asleep for the better part of the day, until approximately--"

"Shut up, you!" Gene yelled, chucking a nearby wrench in the robot's direction.

"Will you just get going?" Jim said, putting his hands on his hips in irritation. "We have to get the ship fixed as soon as possible before our parking debt gets out of control."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Gene grumbled, making his way towards the exit. "If it'll get you off my back then I'll go. But I'm taking your car!" And with that, he took off running.

"What? Hey, no--!" Jim tried to protest, looking horrified; but Gene was already well out of earshot - not that he would have heeded anything the boy could have said. Jim heaved a sigh and sank into a crouch to begin gathering up his tools, grumbling.

"You owe me for this one, Fred…"

------

Gene strode into Fred's office, his mood considerably improved after his reckless drive along the rampant highways. An appealing smirk graced his face, and he made his way up to Fred's rather cluttered desk.

Fred looked up at the intrusion, his face brightening when his eyes locked onto Gene. "You're looking particularly smug today, Gene," he remarked.

"Well a little revenge can improve anyone's mood," the redhead replied, flopping easily into the chair across from Fred. "I hear I'm my own delivery man today."

"Ah, yes," Fred said, shuffling through the many papers that littered his desk. "The spare coil you needed arrived this morning. I'm positively inundated with backlogged deliveries and delay requests. Honestly, I wish my delivery company would give me a little more than a few hours' warning before sending all their people gallivanting off around the galaxy…"

"Maybe if you actually went with a legitimate company and not the looters you've got now, things would be different." Gene crossed his arms over his chest lazily, giving a sage nod as though he were an expert on the subject.

"Hey, they are perfectly capable and honest workers, I'll have you know," Fred replied, frowning slightly as he struggled to find Gene's paperwork. "Just because you can't keep track of your own shipments doesn't mean they stole any of your goods."

"I keep track of everything just fine! Just because you don't want to own up to how you get hold of your rarer items--"

A sudden clatter silenced their argumentative yet comfortable chatter, and they turned as one to find the source of the noise. Apparently during Fred's mad paper shuffling, he had knocked over a fat, gold-colored tin decorated with black, swirling patterns. Its lid had come off, spilling some of its contents on the floor surrounding it. A dozen or so golden-wrapped cubes glittered up invitingly at both men, and Gene blinked curiously down at them.

"What are those?" he asked, looking back over at the man across from him.

"Oh, those are a sample of an imperial confection from one of the nations on New Kaizon. They're made for the royal family, and the daughter of the Emperor has a taste for them…don't know why, they don't really catch my fancy…" Fred replied absently, going back to his paper search.

Gene raised an eyebrow and looked from the candies on the floor and back to Fred. "And what are you doing with something made specifically for a royal family?"

"They were a gift," Fred said, opening a drawer in his desk and rifling through it. "I helped the Emperor out of a tight spot a while back. He's been buying from the Luo family ever since. And now why would someone who caters to the galactic royalty employ 'looters' to make my important deliveries? Aha! Here it is!" Fred waved the elusive paper for Gene to see, but the scarred man's attention was back on the candies. "Gene?"

"Nn," he grunted in reply.

Fred looked utterly bewildered at his companion's behavior, and blinked a few times in silence before his brow creased in apparent worry. "Gene, are you alright?"

Gene gave a start and snapped his eyes back to Fred, the faintest of blushes colouring his cheeks. "Uh…yeah, sorry. I need to fill that out?"

"Yes, it's the standard form…" Fred said. He glanced at the glittering wrapped candies on the floor for a moment before comprehension bloomed across his face. "Ah, Gene! You never told me you had a sweet tooth!"

"I do not," Gene glared, crossing his arms again and pointedly turning his nose up at the confections strewn about the floor.

"Oh, go on," Fred replied with a grin, waving his hand dismissively. "I don't really like them anyway, you can have them if you like."

"Who said anything about wanting them?" Gene huffed.

Fred laughed and got up from his chair, moving around the corner of the desk to the fallen sweets. He plucked one up and stood beside Gene, then took hold of his hand and placed the candy in the middle of his palm. "Go ahead," the merchant said with quiet amusement. "Try one."

Gene appeared to deliberate for half a minute, then finally moved to unwrap the royal candy. Unnerved by Fred's unwavering smile, he turned away and popped it into his mouth quickly. He quickly forgot about the other man, however, when the flavour hit him full force.

At first it was a sweet, fruity flavour, innocent enough. It was a soft, chewy texture, and he worked it around his mouth slowly, enjoying the feel of it on his tongue. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, a layer of spice worked its way to the surface. Gene's eyes widened a bit at the strange combination; it was definitely different to him, but he found it oddly enjoyable. On a whim he decided to go for the gold and bit straight through the easily yielding sweet, for which he was rewarded with what he had to assume was the dried form of the fruit that had flavoured the first layer. He tried in vain to identify the fruit, finally giving up and swallowing the remnants.

"I take it you approve?" Fred's voice snapped Gene back to the present.

The redhead nodded slowly, eyeing the rest of the golden wrappers on the floor. Wordlessly, Fred picked up a second one and handed it over. Gene unwrapped it slowly, taking his time to get a look at what he was eating. It was a deep red, speckled here and there with flecks of gold, and in the shape of a perfect cube. He opened his mouth to make quick work of this second candy, not noticing that Fred had moved.

A few moments later, after Gene had softened the chew nicely in his mouth, leisurely lips pressed to his own preoccupied ones. He had been so intent on his mysterious confection that he hadn't even seen Fred get so close to him, and his lips opened in surprise before he could stop them.

Fred took the opportunity with lightening speed, slipping his tongue past sugar-coated lips. He began a slow swirl around Gene's mouth until he found the candy resting appetizingly upon the redhead's tongue, stealing tastes of both.

Slowly, Fred retreated from the sweet and spiced confines of Gene's mouth, though he refused to take any steps back from the man in his chair. He stared at Gene heatedly, until the redhead remembered to swallow the rest of his candy.

"Watching you enjoy it so much made me want to give it a second chance," Fred purred. "I think I prefer it out of your mouth than out of the wrapper, though."

Gene stared wide-eyed back at the black-haired man for a moment before coming to his senses. He jumped out of the chair, Fred moving smoothly to the side to let him up. After putting some distance between them, Gene began looking everywhere except the other man. "Uh…uh…the, uh…paperwork…" he trailed off lamely.

Fred gave up trying to capture Gene's eyes again, instead turning around and bending down to collect the remaining candies back into their tin. "Don't worry about that, it's only a small part. I've got all your information anyway, I can fill it out myself after you sign it."

Gene stalked over to the desk, nearly ripping the pen off the chain that connected it to the wooden surface. He made a quick scribble that didn't remotely resemble his signature, then began to head towards the door.

"One moment, Gene," Fred said in that voice that was too cheerful to be disobeyed. Gene stopped, but didn't turn around. Fred slowly walked over to him, coming to a deliberate stop in front of the unnerved starship captain.

"You forgot your candy," Fred said brightly, smiling and holding out the tin.

Gene stared at the golden box for a minute before reaching out a hand to snatch it from those of the merchant, then walked around him and out the door. Fred braced for the inevitable slam and subsequent sigh of his own to follow, but they never came. Just as he was wondering what had happened, Gene's gruff voice came quietly from the doorway.

"….Thanks."

Slam!

Fred's mind absently registered the quick retreat of Gene's footsteps, but he remained still, eyes widened. Had Gene just…?

------

"How is he?"

"I don't know what you did to him, Fred, but he's locked himself away all evening. He didn't even come out for dinner!"

"Oh, my; I guess it's a good thing I didn't send him home empty-handed."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry, he's not going hungry quite yet."

"I take it you got what you wanted, then?"

"And infinitely more, James. It went so much better than I could have ever planned."

"You really owe me for this, Fred. He took my car. My car!"

"Don't worry your pretty little head, now. Actually, that was what I wanted to call you about. How do you feel about doubling your rates?"

"….What?"

"Your rates. For the results I'm getting, I'm not rewarding you nearly enough."

"Wha…w-well yeah, that sounds great! What do I have to do?"

"We'll work that out later. For now, consider this a bonus. Ah, I'm afraid I have to get going, James. Do keep an eye on Gene for me, won't you?"

"Of course! Sure thing! Call me whenever you want with your next idea!"

"Of course. Take care."

-click-

Fred gazed around his office, finally free of the mess of paperwork that had bogged him down all day and into the night. He was about to turn out the lights and lock up when a glimmer of gold caught his eye, drawing his gaze to the foot of his desk.

He made his way over, then bent down to pick up the candy he must have missed when he gave the tin to Gene. He had never really had much of a sweet tooth himself, and finding out from Jim the other day that Gene did had been a good stroke of luck indeed.

He fingered the delicate wrapping before pocketing the golden cube, continuing on his way out for the night, content in the notion of having an excuse to go visit Gene tomorrow.