Title: Untitled Author: MurasakiKaze "Kaze" Pairings: 1+2, 2+1 Warnings: Sap...badly done sap. Un-beta'd. Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and their affiliated characters are property of Sotsu Agency, Sunrise, and Bandai. This work of fiction is written purely for entertainment purposes and will not be used for personal monetary gain. === "Nnto...there's sugar, milk, one egg, vanilla...flour, shortening, salt, backing powder...looks like I have it all." Heero nodded and pulled out the necessary appliances, then settled back to inspect his new battlefield. Mission: Make something for the gathering at Quatre's home. Data: Quatre is having a potluck. Potluck is an event where everyone brings something to sample. His assignment was to bring a dessert that could be easily shared which meant cookies. Quatre had wanted them all to make something. His material to work with was a recipe he had gotten on the Net. Time frame: Three hours until the party. "Chikuso[1]...why is it that I have to cook something? I lived on military rations all my life," Heero groaned. A mission was a mission though and that meant it had to get done. Duo was out shopping for his dish, which meant Heero had a couple hours before the braided boy returned. "I should be able to get this done before he returns..." The thought of Duo laughing at him for wearing a white apron around his waist was too embarrassing. They had agreed to share the apartment just after the war was over. Duo worked during the day and Heero worked at night so it was a perfect arrangement. Less chance for confrontation and less chance for Heero to do something stupid in front of the boy he had come to love (although Duo certainly didn't know that). If they were ever home together, the ex-Wing pilot usually hid in his room with the excuse of having work to do. Some days Heero really hated that cultural trait of shyness. "Thoroughly cream two-thirds cup shortening, three-fourths cup sugar, and one teaspoon vanilla in large bowl." All right, simple mathematical measurements...he could handle that. Heero would only admit it to himself that he had no idea how to cook. He was expected to because of his training, but Dr. J had failed to mention that bit in the manual. Come to think of it...he never had a manual to begin with. The Japanese boy looked down at his mixture and smiled. That hadn't been too hard. There was plenty of batter and everything had been measured and mixed perfectly. "Sasuga, Heero[2]" was what Heero imagined Duo would say had he been there. The American was always full of jokes. "Spread flour out over your surface and coat your rolling pin. Then roll out the batter and cut out the shapes." Easy. At least it was supposed to be easy. "KUSO[3]!! Why won't you stay off the damn roller?!" Heero growled, pulling the batter off the rolling pin for the nth time. He couldn't get the stuff to roll out properly and the recipe said nothing on how to roll out anything. Scowling, he beat it into a ball and started rolling it out again. Once more the insistent cookie mix stuck to the rolling pin and pulled apart. This is rather frustrating, Heero's rational mind thought. STAY FLAT GODDAMN YOU! was Heero's actual thought. Growling yet again, Heero floured the rolling pin and started glaring at the batter ball as if that would make it magically flatten out. The Perfect Soldier could do this, he told himself. Just calm down, take a breath, and attack the problem. You can do this. Following his own instructions Heero calmly started rolling out the dough, making sure to put more flour on the rolling pin every few strokes. After a few more frustrating failures, he finally did it. Using the store bought cookie cutters, he made several egg-shaped and a few rabbit-shaped cookies. He just hoped he didn't have to announce which dish was his. He would have made plain round ones, but the store only carried eggs and rabbits and like hell if he was going to make hearts or birds with hearts and ribbon. Placing the raw cookies on two large baking sheets, he sprinkled them with confectioneries and placed them in the oven. Sighing at a job nearly completed, he brushed his bangs out of his eyes with the back of his hand. It had gotten surprisingly warm in the small kitchen. Duo wasn't due home for a good twenty minutes, which gave him just enough time to finish the batches and put them away. The violet-eyed boy had no idea what Heero was supposed to be making and he wanted to keep it that way. Smiling faintly, Heero mentally patted himself on the back. You did it, Yui. You actually made something. He laughed slightly at his earlier frustration then turned to leave the kitchen. And found himself face to face with Duo Maxwell. "Duo?!" "Hiya, Hee-chan." The American smiled brightly and glanced around the kitchen. "Got hungry while I was gone, eh?" Heero coughed slightly and nodded, slipping the apron off. "So what did you make?" Blink. Make something up, baka! "Soup." Somewhere within Heero's mind, he was banging his head against a wall. "Soup?" Duo had obviously noticed there were no pots visible. "Then...uh...I made something else. I, uh, made okonomiyaki." Hopefully Duo didn't know what that was. "Oh, okay." Heero sighed inwardly. Duo had believed him. "Uh, Heero? You know something's burning right?" "NANI?!" The Japanese ex-pilot whirled around, opened the oven, and found two trays of burnt, inedible cookies. "..." Duo peeked over his shoulder and grinned. "Those don't look like okonomiyaki to me, Heero." "Hn." Downtrodden, Heero pulled the cookies out of the oven and threw them away. He'd have to start over from scratch and there was only one more hour until Quatre's gathering. Sighing, he tied the apron around his waist again and started measuring out new ingredients. "Ne, Heero...want some help?" "No, I don't need any help. I'm the Perfect Soldier. I can do anything. I don't need anyone else's help," is what Heero's mind was thinking. "Hai..." he mumbled. "Oh, all right. I'll just go over--what did you just say?" Duo froze mid-step and blinked unbelieving at the boy before him. "Yes...I'd like you to help me...I'm-I'm terrible at cooking." Duo looked like he was about to make a wisecrack at Heero, but he smiled gently instead. "All right. Let me see the recipe." "Ne, Duo?" "Yeah?" "Can we not tell anyone who made these?" Duo glanced at the cookie cutters and smiled yet again. Heero thought that he might melt right there. "Sure thing, Hee-chan." "I've asked you not to call me that." Duo laughed and moved next to Heero at the counter. The next hour was total bliss in both their minds. Later on at the party everyone said how great the cookies were even though no one confessed to making them. With Quatre's twenty-eight sisters there, it was anyone's guess to which of person made the sweets. Although any observant person would have seen Duo raise his cookie to Heero in a playful half salute. And had Duo kept his eyes on Heero one more second, he would have seen the blush running across the Japanese boy's face. -- "Arigatou...Duo." Duo blinked and looked over at Heero in the hallway leading to their apartment. "What for?" Heero's eyes fell the floor and he swallowed slightly. "Helping me today." "Hey, no problem. What are friends for, right?" Duo grinned and threw his arm around Heero's shoulder. "I saved a couple of those cookies we made. Want some?" "Sure." "Ne, Heero?" Cobalt eyes met Prussian blue and Duo smiled. "You're cute when you're shy." "Na-nani?" A small kiss was planted on Heero's nose and Duo happily ran off to open the door. "Happy Easter, Hee-chan!" "I told you not to call me that!" Heero shot back as Duo disappeared into the doorway. Slowly, he raised a hand to his nose and smiled. "Happy Easter, Duo." ~owari~ [1] Chikuso - dammit. [2] Sasuga, Heero - Just like Heero; as to be expected of Heero. [3] Kuso - dammit, only stronger. Yes, it's mush. No, it has no plot whatsoever. ^_^ Just wanted to make you smile on Easter. Have a great one everybody and sankyuu for reading.