Chapter Text
Red: one of the primary colors. The first color of the rainbow. The most popular color for flags. The color of love, of blood, of passion. It represented heat and desire, but also violence and alarm. And, most importantly, the color of beautiful, ripe and juicy tomatoes!
Ian set his bowl of tomato salad down and tried to contain his smile. Mickey was already serving himself some mashed potatoes, so Ian sat very straight and waited for his husband to acknowledge his beautiful tomatoes. And kept waiting when Mickey set the mashed potatoes down to grab some chicken. And some gravy. When he finally picked the tomatoes, Ian’s chest puffed up.
Mickey paused with a tomato slice midair, turning it this way and that. This was it! He was going to say something!
When Mickey simply put some slices on his plate without commenting, Ian’s face fell a little.
It was alright. Mickey didn’t know. As long as he liked it, the rest didn’t matter.
Ian watched until Mickey finally got some tomato into his mouth.
Mickey paused, frowning.
“This tomato tastes funny.”
“What?”
“I said this… Ian, what the fuck?”
Mickey stared dumbfounded at Ian, who’d grabbed the bowl of tomato salad and stood, looking angry.
“You don’t deserve my tomatoes!” He turned on his heels and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Mickey staring in shock at the space occupied by his husband merely seconds before.
“What the hell just… Oh, shit! His tomatoes.”
He followed Ian into the kitchen. Ian was leaning against the counter with the bowl in his hand, eating tomatoes with a disgusted look on his face.
Mickey sighed.
“Tastes funny, right?”
Ian swallowed forcibly and shook his head.
“Nope, delicious.”
Mickey suppressed the smile that he knew would only make the situation worse. Ian would never admit that the tomatoes he’d planted himself tasted weird. His husband could be very proud at times. Well, most times, if he was being honest.
“Hm… It must have been the gravy then.”
Ian looked into his eyes and nodded.
“Yep. Must have.”
“Come on, bring the tomatoes back then. I wanna have some more without the gravy.”
Mickey swore he should have been given an Oscar for how well he ate those tomatoes.