Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Candy Coated Apology ❯ Chapter 1

Candy-Coated Apology

Warnings: shonen-ai

Disclaimers: Gundam Wing characters belong to Mixx Entertainment, Koichi Tokita, the SOTSU Agency, Sunrise, Kodansha and anyone I may have forgotten, not to me. I make no money off of this.

Heero gazed warily at the mess of colors in front of him, leaning back as if he was afraid something might leap out and bite him. He was deep in unfamiliar territory, surrounded by unrecognizable objects, and the fragrances lingering in the air were enough to set him on edge. Smells of...chocolate...mint...fruit...Sugar practically lined the shelves around him, although it was colored and spun into different shapes and forms.

To the Perfect Soldier, candy shops were more unnerving than a base full of Oz mobile suits.

He sighed and went to the counter, grabbed a handful of bags, and began filling each one up with a different type of candy, trying to ignore the cutesy pink and white polka-dots on the paper. Little chocolate bars went in one bag, and he rolled up the top and set it on the counter. It was soon followed by red and white swirled mints, gumdrops in various colors, huge jawbreakers, and chocolate covered peanuts. Then came bags of chewing gum in different flavors, and gummy bears and gummy worms. Fudge cookies and graham cookies and chocolate chip and vanilla. Thick marbled brownies, and after that apple turnovers, peach pastries, and cherry cobblers.

The rest of the customers glanced curiously at him, surprised to see such a stern young man in a candy shop, doubly so that he was dressed in a Preventer's uniform. The only logical conclusion was that he was buying these for his girlfriend...but what a sweet tooth she had! Ignoring their looks, he slid the bags along the counter to the lady behind the register, who smiled in disbelief at the amount of sweets before her.

"Goodness, you're going to need something for your tummy when you're done with all that," she gasped.

"It's not for me," he said softly. "It's for a friend."

"Well," she said, starting to ring up all the bags according to their weight. "Don't be surprised if your friend has a stomachache later on."

A small smile softened Heero's face for just a moment. "He won't. He could eat twice what I have here and it wouldn't bother him." He frowned in concern and looked back, wondering if he'd gotten enough. With a sad sigh, he watched as she finished. It would have to do.

"Forty-eight, fifty."

He paid for everything, then helped her place the bags into three large sacks. Easily holding them in one hand, Heero left the store and headed home.

*****

Duo sat in a hard metal chair, head cradled in his arms, which he'd flung out on the table. He turned and looked out the window, staring at the dismally gray sky. It was only three in the afternoon, but it seemed much later. He had an urge to just give up waiting and go back to bed, but he couldn't muster the energy for that. He didn't feel up to heading into the living room and watching television, and he didn't want to open his mail and see if Sally and Une had another assignment for him. Of course there wouldn't be since he was officially on vacation...

"Stupid Heero..." he muttered. "Stupid Heero...and stupid me...should've known better..." Tears dripped onto his bathrobe, and he wiped them away idly. He looked up at the clock, trying to make out the numbers through his blurry vision. How long had his boyfriend been out?

"Shouldn't have yelled at him," he mentally kicked himself. "Not his fault he's not human...he's not programmed for vacations...he doesn't think about anything but the next mission..." His tears started coming faster. He'd only wanted a week, a nice, quiet week with his boyfriend, without any missions or life-threatening assignments.

Apparently it was too much to ask.

He dried his eyes off with the corners of his sleeves, then pushed his chair back from the table. Heero probably wouldn't be back for the rest of the day or even the rest of the week if he got an assignment while he was out. With a little sigh, he stood. Maybe if he went to sleep early, the vacation would go faster. Besides, he always got lazy when there was nothing to do...yes, definitely going back to bed.

Without a warning knock, the front door opened. Duo looked up, then frowned in confusion. What was Heero doing holding all those pink bags...?

Not saying anything for the moment, Heero locked the door behind himself and went straight to the table, laying each bag down before Duo, who immediately picked up the jumbled scents of candy and sweets. He glanced back and forth between the bags and Heero, a puzzled look on his face.

"Heero?"

The Japanese boy took a deep breath and looked up. "Duo...I..." he meant to say 'I'm sorry,' but instead it came out "...I bought you something."

Intrigued at the thought of a present, Duo cheered up a little. "Oooh...what'd you get?" He barely held himself back as Heero obligingly pulled out several smaller bags and arranged them on the table.

"I...didn't mean to upset you..." Heero began, unused to apologizing. His words came out hesitant and awkward, but he forced himself to say them before Duo could interrupt. "I...knew you wanted a break...but...I didn't feel I could leave the Preventers...even for so short a time..."

Duo's smile faded, but he nodded. "I know...it's all right, Heero...really...I shouldn't have yelled at you..."

Heero shook his head. "No, it isn't all right. I hope...this makes up for it, at least a little..." He opened the first bag and allowed Duo to see the contents.

"Jawbreakers!" the braided boy cried, his disappointment over his vacation briefly displaced by the delightful anticipation of non-nutritional flavored sugar. He grabbed one and popped it in his mouth, savoring it as he surveyed the rest of the bags. "Are all of these jawbreakers?" he asked, practically bouncing in his seat.

Heero allowed himself a quick smile as he shook his head and opened up each bag, revealing colorful confections one by one. Duo's eyes grew big and he froze, too amazed at the sudden smorgasbord to choose another type of candy right then.

"I'm sorry, Duo..." he whispered.

Duo slowly shook his head, and once he regained full control of his body, he stepped closer and put his arms around Heero. "It's okay, Heero. I love you. You didn't need candy to bribe my affections back."

Heero lay his head on Duo's shoulder. "Does that mean I can take them back to the store?"

Duo playfully swatted at his rear, back in his usual good humor. "Absolutely not! I want something sweet to eat for the rest of my vacation!"

"Our vacation."

"Huh?"

"You were right about me needing to relax once in awhile...and since I would rather spend time with you..." Heero held Duo a few inches back so he could look into the startled violet eyes. "I called Une. There's nothing the others can't handle without the two of us...so we're both off for a week."

Duo grinned and wrapped him up in an ecstatic hug. "Oh, Heero! Really?"

Heero nodded. "My mission is to keep you happy this week," he said.

Duo, not missing any opportunity to play with Heero, forced his lover to sit at the table and took his own seat beside him. "Then you better help me eat all this candy before our vacation's up."

Heero looked at the sugar piled up before him and grimaced. "It's your candy, Duo."

Duo smiled and kissed Heero's nose. "I didn't say right now, silly! But...just to help you get started..." He took the belt from his robe and tied it around Heero's eyes, effectively blindfolding him. Then he took a single piece of chocolate out of one bag and held it up to Heero's lips, gently pressing him to open his mouth. As soon as he did, Duo slipped it in. "Don't eat it too fast. Just let it melt on your tongue for awhile."

"Then...you forgive me...?" Heero whispered around the chocolate.

Duo grinned devilishly and kissed his cheek. "For being so mission-minded? Of course. I love you. Besides," he added, popping another gumdrop, "now I have seven whole days to enjoy your lollipop."

"But I didn't buy any lolli--oh..."

The End