"Hell, no, I am fucking going to finish this," Duo snarled back. "It's been my rusty nail in the foot for too long. It will not win. It will not best me. I WILL do this!"

Quatre sighed and gave Duo a look, "All right, if you insist, but you're bleeding..."

"Then tie me up again," Duo held out the red splotched bandage on his arm. "It's just a flesh wound. I'll live. It's not going to stop me."

Heero won't like this," Quatre replied with a scowl as he wrapped another strip of gauze around Duo's wounded arm. "You may think this is nothing, but you were that close to getting the bullet in the heart instead of the arm."

"Close doesn't make me weird out, Quatre. The guy missed me and I took him down. Now he's cooling his heels in the Preventer Morgue, contemplating the error of his drug smuggling days in hell," Duo growled. "Now, forget about it and tell me what to do next, Quat."

"It's really not that complicated," Quatre groused. "It's all about timing and measurements."

Duo scoffed, "If you hadn't taken that course, you'd be as in the dark as I am."

Quatre blushed and pulled at his shirt collar. "Well, Trowa said that he wanted something simple, not something from an entire cadre of people falling all over themselves to please me. So... I took the course. You should do the same thing."

"And let everyone know how much I stink at it?" Duo retorted. "No way in hell."

"I don't count?" Quatre asked, a little miffed.

"You already know about it," Duo replied. "So does Heero."

Quatre leaned on the counter and regarded Duo's tense, sweating face. "Some people are good at certain things, Duo, and some people aren't. Heero understands that. You don't have to do this."

Duo glared. "Yes, I do. I needed to learn how to open up a bank account, make a budget, make house payments, and get to work on time, too. It's called normal. You should try it sometime."

Quatre laughed. "Normal isn't getting off a dangerous assignment, still dripping blood from a gunshot wound, and trying to cook for one's gay lover."

"For our anniversary," Duo reminded him. "That's what makes it really important that I not burn --"

A timer dinged. "Get it off the burner, Duo," Quatre warned as he straightened.

Duo pulled the pot to him, scalded himself with steam taking off the lid, and hurriedly stirred the white rice while swearing in pain.

Quatre snickered and then started as another timer went off. "The roast is done."

"Don't help," Duo warned as he tried to juggle tasks.

Another ding of a timer sounded.

"Rolls, Duo." Quatre warned as he turned to a small toaster oven.

"I can do this," Duo groaned as he put the lid back on the rice and went after the roast with oven mitts on.

"Bread first," Quatre warned, "or they'll burn."

Duo cursed, closed the oven with a panicked look, tossed off one mitt, and then hurried to the toaster oven.

The rattle of the door announced that Heero was home. "What smells so good?" a tentative voice called. "Did you order out again, Duo?"

"Have a seat!" Duo shouted in a panic.

"I suppose that I should go now," Quatre chuckled.

"Like hell!" Duo exclaimed, "get the damned roast, first!"

"I thought that you wanted to do this alone?" Quatre reminded him.

"No time!" Duo snarled in panic.

With dinner on the table, Quatre long gone, and Heero seated across from him, Duo waited nervously for the verdict. Instead of giving one, though, Heero finished a mouthful of roast, and then fished beside him. He pulled out a very small package and said, "Happy Anniversary, love."

Duo pulled open the package, grinned, and said quickly, "Gym membership. Love ya, Heero."

Heero looked uncertain and then began eating again.

"Well, how's the food, Heero?!" Duo finally asked impatiently.

Heero looked up with a start and then blinked. "Duo, you're bleeding through your shirt. What happened?"

Duo had tried to hide it. The red stain making his red shirt darker, was plain to sight. "Just a crease," he replied impatiently.

Heero was standing and coming around the table, food forgotten. "Let me see it. Did it need a medic, or didn't you bother going to one? Duo, you have to stop acting like we're still under the radar. We can see doctors."

"HOW IS THE FUCKING FOOD, YUY?!" Duo shouted into Heero's face as the man leaned down to start unbuttoning his shirt. "I worked for freakin hours on it, just for you, but you don't seem to get that, you bastard!"

Heero was open mouthed and then he kissed Duo hard and deep. When he broke the kiss, he said, "I loved it, it was wonderful, You did a four star job. I was enjoying it so much, that I didn't even feel like stopping long enough to talk about it. Now, let me see you're fucking arm, because, Duo, you are a hell of a lot more important to me than how well you can cook!"

Duo laughed shakily and then leaned into Heero. "Well, it was my anniversary present..."

Heero held him close and then said gruffly, "Went as well as the gym membership, I guess."

That stung, but Duo pulled Heero in even tighter and said, suddenly realizing it, "You know, our anniversary is about us being together, not about giving things. I think Quatre tried to tell me that, but I was too damned busy trying to do something I'm not really good at."

Heero laughed. "Let's do that... well, after I check your wound."

"Do what?" Duo asked in confusion.

"Get what we both really want," Heero explained, "Each other."

Duo grinned. "It'll be the best present ever."