Disclaimer: The characters belong to Sotsu, Sunrise, Bandai Entertainment, I neither claim them nor certainly make any money off them!
Pairing: 6x2
Rating: Lemony in places
Time Setting: Post-series, three years later (minus events in Ground Zero, Blind Target, Endless Waltz as when I started this, I hadn't seen or read about these yet)
Summary: A chance meeting leads to the recovery of a wounded heart.
To Duo's wonder, it was the same restaurant they'd gone to the first day they'd met. [Uh-oh, I didn't look at the calendar... is this some sort of anniversary or something? I don't have anything for him... Shit.]
They handed coats over to the coat check, then Zechs glided in smoothly, his hand to Duo's elbow. "How about that table over there?" he asked the maitre'd.
Duo gaped; the table indicated was in the center of the dining room. The last time they were there, they'd sat in the back, behind a large potted palm.
"An excellent table, Mr. Peacecraft," the maitre'd murmured, bowing. "Please, come this way."
Once they were seated, there was a flurry of waitpersons for a moment, pouring water, spreading napkins, removing extra cutlery. Large menus were placed in their hands, then they were left alone.
Duo couldn't stand it any more. He put his menu down to glare at the back of Zechs's. "Look, I'm not good at remembering this sort of thing. I don't know what the occasion is, what anniversary we're celebrating, sorry. And I don't have a present." The words came out in an abashed rush.
Zechs lowered his menu. "It isn't an anniversary, I don't think." He smiled. "I just wanted to bring you here again. So you can enjoy it a little more fully."
"That's it?"
The blond man cocked his head at him. "Maybe, maybe not... but it's certainly enough. I like this place."
Duo shrugged. "Yeah, they have awesome steaks, all right... eh, okay. I just thought..." He glanced away across the room; due to the hour, tables were filling around them rapidly. "I dunno. Okay, I do love their steaks and I'm hungry as a horse."
"That's my man," Zechs murmured, and picked up his menu again.
Their waiter appeared to take their order. Zechs gestured to Duo to go first. As expected, Duo ordered the biggest steak on the menu with baked potato with all usual condiments. Zechs ordered a grilled salmon fillet with rice pilaf and sauteed vegetables, then ordered a glass of white wine for himself, and a red wine for Duo.
When the menus were taken away, Zechs looked up to see Duo staring at him. "What is it?"
"You're cute when you do that, you know - order for me - but is there some reason you ordered me a different wine?"
"I..." Zechs flushed, remembering that Duo wouldn't know. "Traditionally," he explained quietly, his composure returning, "red wine is paired with heavier meats such as beef or veal, while white is usually paired with chicken or fish. It's a matter of compatibility. Red wine would mask the more delicate flavors of fish, while beef is enhanced by a full-bodied red."
"Interesting," Duo replied, tucking the information away to study at another time. [I'll have to read up on this stuff so I can order wine for him someday!] "You know, it doesn't bother me that you did that... and I just have lots to learn about high cuisine. At least I have someone knowledgeable to show me the ropes." He snickered, thinking that he had his own personal trainer in the finer arts of living.
"You don't mind?" Zechs asked, concerned for his lover's pride. [We must find something in which he can excel beyond me,] he thought worriedly, [so that we don't always have this imbalance between us. He is playing a lot of catch-up right now, not having had formal education.] "You know, if you're really interested, we could find you some cooking classes. I know how to select wines and evaluate produce and appreciate a fine meal, but I don't have the skills to pull off 'high cuisine' myself."
[Cook for Zechs?] Zechs did most of the cooking for them at home, but it was simple fare of the sort a busy man or a soldier might put together, nothing on the order of what this restaurant served. And he had a tendency to overcook food because he also tended to read while he cooked. More than once Duo had come into the house, sniffed the air, then ran to pull something out of the oven before taking a book out of Zechs's hands and announcing that dinner was, er, ready. Zechs's tendency to become absorbed in one thing to the exclusion of all else was something Duo adored in bed... and found to be an endearing failing the rest of the time. Fortunately, not once had a fire started in the kitchen.
And Zechs's choice of wine from his substantial collection in the basement, always made dinner taste wonderful no matter how dry or slightly burnt the food was. "You'd let me cook?" he asked, his mind popping with ideas.
"Of course I'd let you cook," Zechs murmured fondly. "I'd like that."
"Heh, it just gives you more time to read." Duo busied himself spreading butter on a roll. "I'm warning you, though. I like to experiment."
[Uh-oh.] "Then I'll have to provide you with a higher class of cookbooks from which to experiment," Zechs countered, smiling.
Dinner passed with more pleasant conversation. Duo chatted about the classes with the children as well as his studies, while Zechs mostly listened. They got a little playful with dessert, feeding each other a few bites of a rich, flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. After the waiter brought refilled cups of coffee and removed their dessert plates, Zechs reached across the table for Duo's hand.
Amazed at the public touching, Duo brightened up as their fingers twined together. "Oh, man, this has been a really great dinner, Zechs! You know, I think I have a buyer for those transmitters finally, so if I see the guy tomorrow, I will have enough to chip in towards this dinner and give you the rest toward the house or utilities or something."
Zechs held Duo's hand loosely in both of his, watching as he examined the slender but strong and callused fingers. "Dinner is my treat. And thank you, I will use the money toward our utilities."
[Oh-oh, I know that look, I think,] Duo thought, seeing how pensive his lover appeared. [He's preparing to tell me something I'm not going to like. Let me guess - damn, I hate surprises like this. He's going to Earth... yeah, that's it, he's going away for a while. Maybe they need him on C-152 some more, probably for an extended period of time.] He wanted to smack himself. [Of course, that's what the dinner is for... preparing me for a separation. Damn.]
"Duo..." Zechs started to say, but the younger man was waving one hand in negation and taking the other one back.
"You've got to go back to C-152, right?" Duo interrupted, preparing to be brave in the face of his lover's difficult request. "Look, you really didn't have to sugar-coat it for me, Zechs, I'm not a kid. I see what this dinner is all about as plain as day! You've got to go... and I've got to stay and go to school. It's all right - I knew this would happen. And it's okay..."
"I'm not going to C-152 until next week," Zechs broke in, puzzled. "And that's just for a day..."
"No, really, it's all right if you have to be gone for a while - Earth, is it? About time you went there." Duo was on a roll and not to be deterred from his mission of assuring his lover he wasn't going to fall apart if they had to be separated. "I bet Relena wants to see you, huh? And of course the new Peacecraft Foundation office needs to be checked out by its founder."
"Duo..."
"I'll be fine, really!" Duo's gestures had gotten larger and grander, revealing his nervousness. [What if this is really a bad thing? What if he's sick? Or...] He wouldn't let himself think it. He and Zechs were solid and stable together. "Of course I'll cry myself to sleep on your pillow every night you're gone and will starve myself..."
"Duo!" The ice-blue eyes widened in alarm and exasperation.
"Heh, just kidding," Duo replied good-naturedly, then his large blue eyes widened. "So, what is it, Heart? What's wrong? You're not feeding me a fabulous steak for nothing!"
Zechs shook his head, amazed at the fast defense tactics of his little lover. [Bet he's had to scramble a lot... and is always prepared...] "Duo, absolutely nothing is wrong! That's not why I took you out to dinner."
Duo peered narrowly at him, suspicious. [So, what the hell's going on?] "Then why? Come on, I'm dying here!"
The corner of the older man's mouth quirked into a wry half-smile. "Well, don't do that," he replied with a chuckle. "Silly Duo..."
"What?" Duo snarled, impatient.
To his shock, Zechs got out of his chair and down on one knee before him, taking Duo's hand in his. "Duo Maxwell... will you please marry me?"
Duo gasped and looked around hastily. Zechs asked him to marry him in this very public place!! And indeed every eye in the restaurant seemed to be on them, and the place had fallen into dead silence. Duo gulped and looked back at the man looking at him with pale blue eyes filled with nothing but love and hope. "If you're joking about this, you're going to be so very dead, Peacecraft..."
Zechs smirked back. "Well, you're dying and I'll be dead. At least we'll be together."
All Duo could get out was an indignant "Accckkkk!"
"Say yes, Duo," Zechs said warmly, and winked at him.
[Oh, SHIT, he's serious!!] Duo felt like his insides had turned to ice, mush, and warm pudding all at once. [Damn, I so did not see this coming! Shitshitshit!] He didn't know if he was just thrilled or if he was upset because Zechs had just threw him the biggest curve of his life. But rapidly he was past caring. [I mean, I know we talked about this once but... Shit!! He really wants me to marry him!]
"Say something, buddy," a man at the next table said, and several others tittered.
The warm pudding was winning. "YES!" Duo exclaimed joyfully, then leaned down to kiss Zechs when the man reached up for him.
All around them people were clapping. One matronly woman was looking Zechs up and down, then murmured to her female companion, "Do you believe he had to *think* about it? Honestly!"
After the brief but very meaningful kiss, Zechs stood, nodded to the tables around them, then sat down gracefully, a satisfied grin on his face like a cat with a bowl of cream.
"You bastard," Duo hissed across the table in a stage whisper. "You loved doing that!" But he was grinning, thrilled to the seat of his pants.
"I've always done well in public," Zechs replied smoothly, an enigmatic smile on his face. "And I wanted to make this official."
Duo hid behind his coffee cup for a moment, gathering his composure, for Zechs's words had made his heart ache with joy so badly he was afraid he'd start crying. "So, do I get a ring, or what?" he asked abruptly, feeling another ache deep within, down to his toes. He hadn't a thing to give Zechs in return.
"Or what," Zechs smiled, and took out a small box from his tuxedo jacket pocket. He reached over and took Duo's hand, then laid the box in it. "It's a custom in my country to gift the betrothed with something the color of their eyes... as the eyes are the windows to their heart and soul. I hope you like it."
Blinking, Duo glanced down at the box. "M...my eyes? Shit, Zechs..." [Damn, I so don't want to start crying, but... shit! He's just too damn sweet...]
"Open it," he was ordered gently.
Opening the box, Duo found a stone pendant in the shape of a teardrop. It was a vivid, intense blue, shot through with minute veins of gold. "Wow, this is awesome... how did that gold get in there?"
Zechs looked at his fiance with love, his heart full. "Angel, the stone is natural. It's called lapis lazuli. Do you like it?"
Duo rubbed his thumb over it. "It's beautiful." Then he put it back in the box, put the lid back on it, and put it away in his coat pocket. [There's no way in hell or heaven I'd ever be able to give Zechs something like this,] he thought. [Maybe I should give it back...]
He looked up to see Zechs tilting his head at him, looking stunned. "What?"
One white eyebrow was raised in question, then both were narrowed. "Put it on, Duo," Zechs instructed him quietly.
Duo almost whimpered. But he took the box out and removed the pendant on its fine chain. "Zechs, I can't accept this. I don't have anything to give you."
To his wonder, Zechs's eyes turned sultry for a moment. "You've given me more than I can believe, Duo Maxwell. I'm not going to tell you again - put it on."
[I don't know why the hell I love it when he talks to me like that, but I don't give a shit,] Duo thought happily. "Okay," he murmured, slipping the chain over his head and carefully pulling his braid out. Then he settled the stone teardrop on his chest, a few inches below his black bowtie. "Is that all right?" he asked his lover anxiously.
"Perfect," Zechs murmured, then winked at him. "It's meant for you, that much is clear. Looks very sharp. Thanks for wearing it."
"I'll get you for this," Duo muttered, though he was very, very pleased, and certainly ecstatic about being engaged to Zechs Merquise.
"I'm counting on it," Zechs replied, chuckling... understanding exactly what he meant.
Smirking, Duo turned in the direction of the waiter. "Check, please!"
The End (but wait, there's more!)