"I never said you had to sleep in my bed...I've got extra rooms. I'm not going to invite you to stay and then rape you in your sleep." Romeo paused for a moment. "Not unless you're calling out my name in your sleep and I wake you up enough for you to tell me you really want it..."

Romeo took a deep breath and sighed. The last thing he wanted was to seem pushy about getting closer to Gavin. But he hated seeing the other man suffer and he would be damned by all the gods in existance before he would stand by and let it happen without lifting a finger to prevent it. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, System's "Toxicity" playing in his head. He shook out the sound, trying to concentrate on the conversation at hand.

"If you don't take a place to stay then at the very least you have to promise to let me keep you fed. Even if that means I have to pack you lunches for work like some goddamned 60's housewife then I'll do it." He was starting to get a little sullen, and it showed in his voice, more than his face as he was staring straight out into traffic, making sure they wouldn't wreck with all the crazy people who seemed to be out today.

"I'll figure something out... I usually do... Maybe I could just shut my electricity off..."

Romeo raised his eyebrows at the suggestion. "You shut off the electricity... then your refrigerator goes off and everything in it spoils. You eat anything that spoils you could get stuck going to the hospital and that's an expense you definately can't cover right now..."

He parked the car and shut off the engine, making no move to exit and looking Gavin full on in the eyes. He sighed again, pulling his arms back behind his back to the point where it popped and then leaned up against his window making faces like he was thinking really hard about something.

"I just wish I knew why you won't accept any help... Is it me? Are you afraid to get in debt? Afraid to get too close? I'm not going to get angry at you for money I spent helping you out of a hard time that you can't pay back if you decide you don't want us to work out..." He looked sad for a moment and shifted his weight like he wanted to draw his legs up to his chest but couldn't because of the steering wheel. "Maybe I'd have an easier time understanding if you told me why you won't accept my help. I wouldn't try so hard if I knew you didn't need or want it..."

Gavin stayed silent for a few moments, before closing his eyes again and slowly shaking his head. "I'm terrified of depending on someone... Everyone I've ever depended on has either completely betrayed me or simply vanished from my life. I don't want that to happen with you... And if I get comfortable and life gets easier, I'm scared of having that ripped out from underneath me all over again."

Very quickly, Romeo moved from his spot and slid his arms underneath Gavin's, gripping the back of his shirt with his hands and putting his chest as close to Gavin's regardless of how akward and unfomfortable it was for his midsection to be twisted in such an unnatural position. He set his head in the crook between Gavin's neck and right shoulder and squeezed once tightly before letting go of him almost as quick as he moved to hold him in the first place, his right hand traveling from his back to his forearm. He looked Gavin in the eyes and smiled, squeezing his arm again.

"You're not going to have to worry about me dissapearing. Not unless you want me to. Good lord, Gavin, if I didn't know any better I'd say I was addicted to you..." He laughed a little, his eyes sparkling with the dull light from the street lamps that lined the block. "Now lets get inside so I can finish cooking and we can eat."

He let go of Gavin's arm abruptly and unbuckled so he could get out of the car. Once he was out he moved up to the house, impressive as it was, it looked a little lonely. The cleaning lady would have long since gone home and so there wouldn't be anything in the house to make noise but them and the television. He put the key in the door and turned it opening the door to the feeling of immediate warmpth. The living room had plush lavender carpets and a very soft light blue microfiber couch and loveseat set. There was a big flatscreen TV against the wall and a small coffee table in front of the couch. The floor was spotless. Romeo gestured towards the couch and the remote that was sitting directly in the center of the coffee table.

"Make yourself at home. All the prep work is done, but I didn't want to actually start cooking the stuff until you made it here so it would be nice, hot and fresh when we ate."

"You do know that when the stove refuses to work, it's not below me to eat raw pasta, right?" he asked, arching a brow. "I really wouldn't have minded cold food. You don't have to go out of your way like this..."

"It's not a problem. I honestly really like cooking. I so rarely get a chance to do it for anyone but me and occasionally the cleaning lady that it's probably about as much of a treat for me to cook it as it is for other people to eat it."

Romeo found the brush that he used occasionally and brushed his hair enough so it wouldn't tangle when trying to take it out of the pony-tail he was about to put his hair up in. He grabbed a hair band and twisted it around his raven locks. He found the apron that he wore when he wanted to cook and slipped the top over his head and around his neck, tying it in place behind his back. He pushed up the glasses the he, again, forgot were not there and walked to the open kitchen space. Getting all the freshly chopped ingredients out of the kitchen and setting it on the island where his stove was.

"I hope you like Curry..."

He started to setup the rice cooker with some rice that he washed and set it on to cook while he was making everything else. He placed a little bit of water in the bottom of the wok and sprinkled it with sesame oil. He set the stew meat in the bottom of the pan to start it cooking, then he started taking the chopped vegetables out of their individual Ziploc bags and looked at them for about a minute before turning to Gavin.

"I'm going to make a running list of things I'm planning on putting in here and I want you to tell me if you're allergic to or can't stand any of them, ok? Carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, bell peppers, mini corn, green onion and water chestnuts."

"I'm not allergic to them, and they're food, so I don't really care what it is," Gavin called back, leaning against the back of the couch with his eyes closed. This couch was oddly comfortable...

"Good, I don't want to have to rush you to the hospital because I cooked for you the wrong way..."

Romeo shrugged and got back to his task. If Gavin started complaining he could always tell him it was his fault for pretending like he wasn't a picky eater... maybe he wasn't. He kept stirring the stew meat long enough for it to start turning brown and while it was still lightly pink, added the yellow and green onions for seasoning. He finished cooking the meat, while caramelizing the yellow onions and letting both types flavor the meat, then he added the vegetables one at a time with just a little bit more water and let them cook.

It was starting to smell wondrously delicious, but like all meals, the smell started right at the mid-point of cooking. The vegetables would have to finish cooking before he could add in the curry. He figured that it would be better if it was warm, but he forgot about the time it took to make it all. He decided they could simmer for a little while without being burnt and walked the few paces back out towards the living room so he could figure out something for Gavin to do before he turned into what he was about to eat.

"I just thought you'd like to know that the bathroom is down the hallway, first door on the left, I've got a small library for books and other forms of media behind the second doorway on the right side of the hallway. I don't have a very big collection of books, but there might be something to keep you entertained in there until dinner is ready."

He failed to mention that the first door was the guest bedroom and the second on the left was Romeo's master bedroom, but he figured that if Gavin was curious enough to know where Romeo slept he would ask on his own. There were lots of paintings hanging up over the walls. They were random scenes from the very serene to other dark and arbitrary things. There was only one photo frame. A small 4x6 silver frame in which the photo was turned backwards to only show the paper backing through the glass.

((CRAP! Edited and spell checked... >.>; ))

"I'm fine here," he replied, eyes still closed. "Unless of course, that's a hint for me to get off my ass and leave the room. If that's what you want then just come out and say it." There wasn't a harsh tone to his words or anything, and he seemed very relaxed where he sat.

((You said Gavin's master bedroom instead of Romeo's. XD ))

"That's not it, your ass is just fine on my couch..." Romeo laughed. "I just didn't want you getting bored or anything. Dinner shouldn't take too much longer to cook anyway."

He walked back in the kitchen and stirred the vegetables again. Getting the package of pre-made curry sauce out and breaking it into the little cubes so he could toss them into the beef and veggie mix. He watched the broth slowly bleed into the mixture and, knowing it would be ready rather soon, started getting out dishes and utensils to eat with and setting them on the table that stretched out beyond the living area and kitchen on the opposite side of the house as the rooms. He pulled out two glasses and set them down as well.

"Do you have any preference in your drink?"

"Either carbonated or alcoholic. Other than that, I don't really care," he replied with a sigh, finally opening his eyes.

Romeo grinned and put the regular glasses back up, getting out two champagne glasses. Why sacrifice when you can have the best of both worlds. He pulled open the cabinet doors above his refrigerator and pulled out the bottle of Asti he had in there for special occasions. He wasn't intending on giving Gavin any alcohol at all tonight, but seeing how he was asking for it, he was willing to oblige. He poured the Asti into the glasses and set them down gently at the table before turning the fire off and getting each of the plates servings of rice and curry and sets down some raisins and dried pineapple on the table. It was a small stylish round table that would fit a few more than 2 people, but he still liked it.

"Dinner is ready for you on the table when you feel like getting up...unless you would rather me bring you out a TV tray."

"After you slaved over a hot stove for half an hour?" he teased, getting up and going over to the table. "You seem to think of me as the beer drinking, football watching guy that ignores his girlfriend when she calls him to dinner."

He smirked a little, sitting down. "You'd be half right, if that's what you're thinking."

"Well one would hope that if you're seeing a guy instead of spending time with this girlfriend of yours that you were ignoring her completely. Else we're going to have a lot of fun problems to address down the line."

Romeo smiked back, knowing that he wasn't really being serious about the girlfriend bit. Even if he didn't know for sure he was definately hoping that was the case. It would crush him to find out that Gavin had someone else to devote his attention to. Romeo pulled out his chair and made to sit down before he got back up quickly and pulled down two more glasses for ice water. He forgot that some people thought wine wasn't enough drink.

"My tastes fall to things a bit more refined than beer, I'm afraid. I hope you don't mind it."

"I was using a stereotype as an example," he said with a very slight roll of the eyes. "Oh, I figured you're not really one for beer, just remember, I'm much simpler in my tastes that you are. To me, things like this are fancy. I can live without them, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy them when they're right under my nose."

"Well, I don't know if you've tried this particular brand or not... but it's one of my absolute favorites. It's rather on the sweet side though and it makes your mouth tingle, your nose feel funny and if you drink enough, you start feeling it. Either that or I'm just a lightweight."

Romeo chuckled to himself. Then he picked up the raisins and dried pineapples off the table and tossed a few of each on the top of his dish before looking up at Gavin to gage his reaction.

"I know it looks strange, but when I was younger my father used to do this all the time and I never understood. I asked him one day and he said that it completely changes the taste of the dish...he's right."

Gavin shrugged a little, completely unfazed by Romeo's alteration to the food. "Hey, I'm not one to judge. When I can afford it, my comfort food is a family sized bag of doritos and a half gallon of chocolate ice cream. I like to dip my doritos in chocolate ice cream. I also like putting diced olives in macaroni and cheese. It changed the taste and the texture. I like playing around with that when I get the chance to."

He ate a few bites of Romeo's cooking, then put a few of the raisins and dried pineapple on the side of the plate, scooping a little up onto his fork as he ate another bite. "It definitely changes it. Makes it different, but I think I like it better without."

Romeo let out a slightly surprised laugh. "Reminds me of one of my former flings. He would take french fries and dip them into this chocolate frosty thing from one of the restaurants in his area." He shook his head and smiled. "Though the past is hardly something I want to dredge up at a time like this." He nodded at Gavin about his comment. "I loved this dish long before I discovered that I could add dried fruit to it. But it's not for everyone so I understand."

"I think most kids grow up dipping their fries in ice cream. My older sister taught me that when I was six. I wasn't feeling good and didn't want to eat anything, so she pulled the lid off her milkshake and dipped a fry in it and made me try it. That kinda became our thing after that. When she could drive and I was depressed, she would take me out for fries and a milkshake." He smiled a little, remembering the strong bond he had with his oldest sister.

He ate some more of his food, then drank some more of the champagne. "My older sister is also the one who taught me to play with flavors and textures with food. Whenever our parents went out we'd spend all our time together in the kitchen playing around with food."

"Well, I think the kids at the orphanage were always too frightened to experiment on stuff like that and I never had any family to teach me." Romeo took a sip of his Asti before draining the rest of his glass, his food half eaten, and poured more from the bottle to fill the rest of his glass. "I experimented with things but often with things that were proven good long before I decided to put them together. I watch food network a lot and it gives me a lot of ideas. In fact it was there that I learned how to cut things properly for the first time. You can really hurt yourself and it takes forever if you don't know how to do it. There's a way to do it safe and quick that I've adopted since."

Gavin nodded a little. "I love cooking. My sister is a chef at a restaurant downtown. She knew what she wanted to be back when she was a kid, and she learned all sorts of things and taught them to me. I love cooking, but it's something I don't like to do alone. I feel it's something that should be used to bond with other people, even if one of them is only tasting things, I think it's better with two people." He couldn't help but smile, drinking a little more.

"The meal is delicious, by the way. Thank you for cooking for me."

Romeo smiled back boldly and his face turned the slightest shade of pink when Gavin mentioned bonding through cooking. It was partially the fact that he believed the same things and partially that he couldn't keep his mind from wandering to other topics when he mentioned the last bit about it being better with two people. It was when he was complimented that his face turned the brightest shade of red. Even though he acted completely full of himself most of the time, on the rare occasion that someone did compliment him and mean it, he found himself as embarrassed about it as a person with the lowest self-esteem.

"I'm happy that you enjoyed it. One would think that I had gotten over the habit after all these years, but I used to cook a lot more than who I was serving for because I cooked for all the kids at the orphanage. I was one of their eldest when I showed up. Because I came there at such a...difficult age no one ever seemed to want me as their child. That and they thought I was going to be trouble because of my long hair." He laughed warmly and met Gavin's eyes. "Though I understand what you mean by bonding through cooking though. I feel much the same."

"Mm." He nodded a little. "I'd ask you what happened, but I think I'll wait for you to feel ready to tell me on your own." He offered a small smile, then finished his champagne, and soon, his entire meal.

He did the dishes, refusing to take 'no' for an answer and insisting that the person who cooks shouldn't do the dishes, as the person who eats should show appreciation for the meal by cleaning up after it.

When it was time for him to leave, they both headed towards the door, as Romeo was his ride home. Noticing Romeo stumble, he tried to catch his hand, but instead shifted the falling man's weight in another direction, causing them both to go crashing down to the floor.

Romeo gasped as he fell on top of Gavin..one hand on either side of his chest and his legs on either one of the one of Gavin's that was slightly raised off the floor. He tried to move to get up, but he accidently brushed Gavin's leg with his inner thigh in the process and he froze. He closed his eyes and shivered. He wanted to tell Gavin he was sorry... but he really liked the prediciment they were in even if it wasn't something that was planned.

"I...er... that wasn't supposed to happen." He opened his eyes, took a deep breath and smiled at Gavin, in a half-apologetic look that was accompanied by a lot of red in his cheeks. It was a look that would best be described as sheepish. "I'll move as soon as I can guarentee that I'll move away from instead of closer to you, I promise..."

((Every time I post on this page I see "That's not it, your ass is just fine on my couch..." and it makes me want to laugh for some strange reason. LOL.))