


Heart on a Shelf

by emmarae3579



Category: Zorro
Genre: Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-14
Updated: 2012-07-15
Packaged: 2013-06-29 05:15:16
Rating: T
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,061
Publisher: www.fanfiction.net
Story URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8321590/1/
Author URL: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3657055/emmarae3579
Summary: NWZ: Another short reveal story with no plot. Mexico is in charge now, so Diego is ready to get married. How will Victoria take the news?





	1. Chapter 1 - heart on a shelf

Disclaimer: I do not own Zorro, nor do I make any money from writing this story. Dialogue and situations used from the episode are property of ZPI, the rest of the story is my property and cannot be printed or used without my permission.

Author's Note: Here's another short story. One day I'll write one with some plot, but this is another simple look at a different reveal. I like playing with Diego and Victoria. Not all goes smoothly, but you know they live happily ever after. This one will be about 5000 words. Thanks to mjesd2 for the title, and to mjesd2, Mac, and Klingon for looking it over and telling me to post it.

zzz

"Don Diego! What are you doing here so early?"

Diego smiled at Victoria, happy to see the tavern was still empty as he followed her into the kitchen. "I already had business in town so I brought the candles you ordered."

Victoria glanced out the back door to the barely rising sun. "This early?"

Diego shrugged. "I like the quiet of the morning."

Victoria nearly dropped the tray of pastries she'd just pulled out of the oven at the thought of the forever-tired Diego happy to be awake at this hour. Diego rushed over to save the tray and dropped his box of candles. "Then again, maybe I should have stayed in bed if I'm this clumsy," Diego said as he watched the candles scatter.

Diego scolded himself. DeSoto had been on the boat back to Spain last night, he'd made sure of it personally. Los Angeles had a Mexican alcalde now. For the past two weeks he'd been watching and waiting as the revolution finally came to their pueblo. The transition had been peaceful and welcome to the people. With DeSoto gone, Diego had nothing holding him back. Except the fact that Victoria thought him a fool, and he just added more evidence instead of showing up and impressing her somehow.

Her foot reached out to stop a candle from rolling further from the box. "The candles survived, my breakfast would have been ruined," Victoria smiled up at him and Diego was captivated. He shook himself and knelt down to gather the candles back into the box. Maybe he'd just escape and try again later. His hand hurt and he forgot about his audience as he noticed his finger was pink from where he'd caught the hot tray. He stuck his finger in his mouth like a five year old as he tried to think of a way to make her forget his goof. He stood with his back to her to put the box on the counter, but she must have seen.

"Diego let me see your hand."

"It's fine, nothing to worry about." But Diego could refuse her nothing as she stepped close to him to reach behind his back to grab his hand. She pulled him over to the sink and poured cool water over it but Diego didn't feel pain anymore. She examined the pink spot. "See? Just a little pink. I'll live."

Victoria frowned as he skittered away from her. "If you say so. Thanks." She smiled as Diego blushed before she turned back to her hot pastries. "Give me one second and I'll get your receipt."

"Don't worry about it. You're busy and weren't expecting me."

"Diego De la Vega, you're the one who set up my accounting system, don't mess it up. Stand right there."

Thoroughly scolded, Diego leaned against the counter to wait. He glanced around the kitchen after she left. He'd spent a lot of time in here as Zorro waiting to catch a glimpse of her, to gallantly kiss her hand before escaping. So what was he supposed to do now? Tell her outright? Hint at things only Zorro would know? Tell her to go get his mother's ring and drag her to church? So many plans and ideas had come to him over the last several years—especially the last two weeks—but still he hesitated. Victoria was the single most important thing in his life—if he messed it up somehow, he wouldn't get a second chance.

He walked slowly around the kitchen, trying to come to some conclusion which might get him married today. That would be best. But he'd just reminded her of how clumsy Diego was. He had to show her Diego was a good man, a good potential husband. Doubtful he could do that in one day. He'd spent more time around her the past few weeks, coming into the tavern at least once a day. He talked to her instead of hiding from her as he'd always done before. He thought she was warming up to him, but he was still solidly in the friend category.

Absently touching things as he walked, he paused at an empty shelf. Odd. He looked around for real this time and noticed the surrounding shelf and counter was abnormally cluttered. He put a hand on the shelf and it came apart instantly. A broken shelf. Something a husband would fix. He could fix a shelf. Diego grinned as Victoria came back into the kitchen carrying a receipt.

"I think I have some tools in the cart…I could fix this for you. That way you can have your kitchen back in order before you get busy." He smiled at Victoria confidently. He knew she liked order. He would help her and she'd be impressed, just like she was impressed with the new accounting book he'd given her this month. He glanced down at the receipt, warm inside knowing she was using his book even if he'd had to lie about the merchant shipping him two instead of one so she would accept it.

Victoria stammered as she handed him the slip of paper. "I was going to fix it later, I just hadn't gotten to it yet."

"No trouble. I don't have anything else to do."

"You said you had business in the pueblo this morning."

Diego blushed and tried to think of some excuse. Caught lying to her. Maybe he shouldn't come clean today after all. Lord, but he was tired of lying to her. "It won't take long," Diego said sadly as he slunk out of the kitchen to his cart. Now he felt lazy, too. He didn't have any business today. He'd planned to spend the day at the tavern, escaping to The Guardian when he felt he'd overstayed his welcome. He'd started taking a more active role in managing the ranch since Zorro hadn't been needed recently, but most of his time had been spent watching the revolution. And Victoria.

He chose a piece of wood and some tools and went back to the shelf without looking at her. He was rich, but he had little to recommend him. Why would she marry him today? He'd have to spend time making Diego look like husband material before he came clean. It was the only way to make sure she accepted him. That meant spending more time at the ranch. Away from her. She wouldn't want a lazy man who spent all his time sitting around the local drinking hall, even if it was just to be around her.

Diego's mind came back to reality on a sharp jab of pain as he caught his finger. Great. Now he couldn't even fix a shelf, he thought as he heard Victoria's alarm. Did she have to bear witness to everything he did wrong? As Victoria dragged his bleeding hand back to the sink to pour more water on his second self-inflicted injury of the morning, Diego wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

But he could smell her hair standing this close. She was focused on his hand, and probably didn't realize their bodies were almost touching. He did. His mind emptied when she blew on his hand. Her fingers were gentle as she wrapped the towel around it, checking to see that it had stopped bleeding. He was captivated by the small inch of skin visible on her shoulder, but unsatisfied with the view. He wasn't even aware of his hand moving until he'd brushed her hair off her shoulder. Now he could see her neck, the pulse beneath her skin. His finger came up again to clear the few remaining strands obscuring his view, and this time stroked the smooth skin beneath.

Her fingers froze on his hand. She was aware of him now. Her skin turned pink under his fingers and she released his hand. Her body bumped up against his when she tried to step away, but he didn't move away to let her escape. "Diego?"

He liked it when she said his name like that. There was confusion there, but some of the breathlessness she had when she called out to Zorro was there, too. Maybe she could tell who he was standing this close? How nicely their bodies matched up, just like when she was standing next to Zorro? Did he have a scent that called to her even without the mask, just like hers called to him? He let his hand cup her neck because touching her with just one finger wasn't enough, and his other hand came up to cup her cheek.

Fate had stepped in as Diego saw her eyes flare. Destiny. As a man of science, he'd spent so much time trying to orchestrate the perfect way to reveal himself to her. But they were meant to be together, and deep down she knew it, too. Her lips parted as her breathing became shallow. He took the invitation. The padre would be there to marry them five minutes from now, there was no reason to rush.

His lips came down on hers gently, taking his time. He pulled at her bottom lip for just a second before his tongue dipped in to taste her. It had been so long since he'd kissed her, and his body heated as the familiar shock went straight through him. Her hands came up to his chest and for a moment he feared she'd push him away, but she felt it, too. His kiss and his taste would be familiar to her, too. Her hands climbed up to wrap around his neck, and her fingers buried themselves in his hair as he wrapped his arms around her.

Surrounded by her scent, her heat, he took the kiss deeper and encouraged her tongue to play with his. It felt different holding her in his stiff and ruffled caballero suit. Maybe they should take time later…go to the church now so he could take his time with her at his hacienda. Spend time with her as his wife. Without the suit.

He lifted his lips away from hers, instantly missing her taste but willing to wait till later. His hands came up to caress her shoulders and relax the tension he felt there. He had to remember it was probably a big realization for her, and he'd give her time. Now that he knew she knew, he could relax and give her time. Even an hour if she needed it. Women had particular ideas about their weddings after all. He didn't care. He'd move heaven and earth to give her what she wanted, and then she'd come home with him.

But…she didn't exactly look happy. "Victoria?" He moved to place a hand on her cheek again but she moved her face away. Then she stepped away from him. Now her face showed accusation and confusion, not the love he'd anticipated. "What's wrong?" She took another step back from him and put a hand up to her lips. "I know it's a shock but—"

"A shock?"

Diego rubbed at the nervous tingling at the back of his neck. What was happening? "Querida—" He took a step toward her, but she jumped back and wrapped her arms around herself.

Diego felt his heart shatter. He actually felt burning, bleeding pain and imagined if he looked down he'd see blood soaking through his shirt. Sure, their bodies called to each other. But when she realized the ordinary man she'd promised herself to, she wasn't even giving him the chance. Fate? So much for all the romantic poetry he wanted to read to her. Had composed for her. Surely she must realize… But that was it, wasn't it? She did realize. And Diego didn't measure up to the legend.

Diego was happy to encounter no one when he arrived home. The home he'd envisioned sharing with Victoria in the near future. He found himself in the library staring at the liquor he never touched. What was the strongest stuff? Felipe gave him scotch once when he'd been seriously injured. Horrible stuff. He grabbed the whiskey and escaped to the cave. He sat at his desk and stared at the bottle before taking the lid off and sniffing it. Didn't smell too bad. He took two large gulps before the burn made him cough as his body expressed its dislike, telling Diego he should know better.

He looked across the room at the coatrack holding Zorro's clothes. They should be dusty, but Felipe had kept everything clean. They had both missed Zorro, though they knew it was a good thing he hadn't been needed in almost a month. He didn't like alcohol. Drinking wasn't going to make him feel any better. Nothing would, but maybe he could escape for awhile.

He ripped at the confining caballero suit he'd made Diego wear for four years and felt a little calmer when he donned the black satin. Maybe Diego could disappear, since he obviously wasn't going to get married. Zorro could be happy catching bandits and riding Toronado into the sunset until one of the bad guys got lucky and killed him. Sounded much better than sitting in his house full of men and no children waiting around for nothing to happen.

Zzz

Author's Note: If you like it, I hope you review. Also, if you watch TV, tell me what's the raciest show you see on network television so I know what is okay in my teen story (not this one). Even if it's not current, I can look it up. I've gotten some great advice (THANKS!) but I thought I could see what's allowable on television before I gut the M version to post as a T version.

Of course, I'm sure the French probably have hotter stuff on television than the lame stuff the US produces. I can't begin to imagine what's on TV in Senegal and Latvia and Lithuania and… I think about you guys. This site tells us what countries read our stories (anonymous—don't freak). 29 countries read my story A Simple Conversation. Isn't it incredible that a character (Zorro) can be so loved around the world? Everyone's reading the stories in different languages, political quagmires, time zones, economic stations… Do you surf from home or in a café or at school? What's your keyboard look like?

Mostly I worry about the more violent aspects I hear on the news, but it is interesting to learn about other places. I'm so glad I started posting stories and you started reading, and I hope you keep reading. If you want to give a shout-out from your country in a review, all the better! Now when you read this story, you can imagine someone halfway around the world also reading/writing Zorro stories and thinking about you. Sorry to ramble, but I think it's pretty awesome. Also remember you can find me on Facebook!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Woo hoo! 92 Visitors! I love you all!

Zzz

It was near dark when Diego came back to the cave. He spent his time taking excellent care of Toronado. Toronado loved him, didn't care what outfit he wore or what he did. They'd ridden for miles today, leaping ravines and walls and having a grand time. Well, it should have been fun. No one had crossed him, and he'd spent the entire day alone with his stallion. But he was numb, or at least trying to be numb. If he didn't feel anything, he wouldn't feel the rage and the pain ripping him apart.

Hunger had finally intruded, so he'd come home. When Toronado's coat was shiny and clean, the stallion happily munching on fresh oats after a long day, Diego wondered what to do next. He'd taken off his weapons and mask, but still wore the black outfit. He liked it. He didn't want to put his suit back on. He'd go to Santa Barbara and get new clothes made. Something comfortable. Maybe he'd even find a woman.

Diego sighed. It was anger and pain which brought that thought to his mind, but he only wanted to be with Victoria. The thought of never kissing her again, never sharing his life with her as he'd always dreamed… But thinking of finding someone else put a sour taste in his mouth. He walked to the bottle of whiskey and took another drink to get rid of it. Also Victoria's fault. All this time waiting for the woman who promised to wait for him…

He peeked out of the cave and jumped back at what he saw. Victoria was in his home. She was sitting on _his_ couch, reading one of _his_ books. Maybe she'd reconsidered. She might not love Diego, but she knew he was rich. She could sit around doing nothing for the rest of her life as his wife. Diego shook the nasty thought away. He knew that wasn't true. He also knew he wasn't in the right frame of mind to talk to her. He turned back to the cave. He'd hidden out here plenty of times. She'd leave eventually.

He took another drink of whiskey and sat at his desk. He was tired and sweaty. He was dirty because he'd investigated a cave. This was his home. She didn't love him, so why was she here? She was in _his_ home. His bedroom was cooler than the cave. He hadn't been spending time here, so he had nothing to read. Nothing to study or distract himself with. Why should he suffer? He grabbed the bottle of whiskey, pulled the candlestick and stepped into the library.

He heard her gasp of surprise, but didn't stop or turn to look at her. _Yes, Victoria, now you know where the stairs lead_. He heard something fall to the floor and thought about yelling at her to take better care of his books. He sped up when he heard her call his name and start to come after him. Maybe it was immature to run away from her, but it was better this way. He'd either fall at her feet and beg her to marry him for his money or he'd lash out at her until she was bleeding inside like he was.

Focused on escaping her, he ran full speed into his father and knocked the shorter man into a table and onto the floor. Guilt pricked at him, but he immediately blamed that on Victoria as well. He bent to help his father up and focused on _not_ looking at Victoria. He'd already started walking away when he heard his father call his name. He froze, realizing he'd never told his father about his identity. Diego's fist clenched as he looked down at the black outfit he still wore. It was Victoria's fault that Alejandro had to find out this way. Or had Victoria told him? Were they waiting in ambush? Could his day get any worse?

He took a few steps into a smaller sitting room and collapsed into a chair, waiting for the barrage of questions sure to follow. He tipped the whiskey bottle back again, and this time he was able to drink more before the coughing seized him. He fought his father over the bottle for a second, but he didn't really want any more. Still, he should have the right to drink.

"Can't a man drink in his own home?"

"You don't drink," Alejandro said as he set the bottle down on the other side of the room.

He finally glanced sideways at Victoria. "Lots of things I don't do," Diego grumbled. _Won't ever do again,_ he thought silently. Like kiss Victoria. He felt exposed. The angry bravado evaporated as the warmth from the whiskey seeped into his body. He should never have left the cave like this. Zorro should have stayed missing. Dead. Forever. He shifted, pulling at his cape and wrapping it around himself as a child would a security blanket.

"Diego?" Her voice sounded small and wounded, and Diego clenched his fists to keep from softening toward her.

"Son, she's been waiting for you all day. The least you can do is look at her."

Diego stared at his lap, his hands fidgeting within the safety of his cape. If he looked at her, he'd lose it. He dug into his anger to keep the pain at bay. "All day? You wasted your time. Zorro is dead." Diego listened to the clock on the table next to him tick away the seconds. "I'm a real man, not some legend content with just sneaking around. You have to love the rest of me, too. The flesh and blood man who loves books and science but drops a box of candles once in a while. Find someone else if you want stolen kisses and broken promises, an occasional lover you don't have to face in the morning."

"Diego!" Alejandro was shocked at his son's outburst.

Diego didn't hear, intent on making her hurt as much as she hurt him. "Did you expect to find _him_ here? Want your masked lover to whisk you away to his cave and ravish you so you could forget that plain old Diego kissed you this morning?" Diego's eyes crawled scornfully up and down her beautiful body, but he didn't meet her eyes. "Like I said, you're wasting your time. Perhaps you should have spent the day waiting on one of the new Mexican soldiers instead. Maybe one of them could provide you with the dangerous excitement you're missing."

Diego felt the whiskey hit his empty stomach, felt his fingers tremble. Felt the fight drain out of him. He pushed himself out of the chair and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry, Father. I should have been the one to tell you, not her. I'll talk to you later. I'm hungry."

He looked up in shock after his father shoved him violently back into the chair. "Apologize. Now."

"I just did! I would have told you earlier but I didn't know she was planning on coming here, did I?"

"To Victoria!"

"Why?" Diego still resolutely refused to look at her, and Diego bit back tears as he looked up at his father. He'd always thought they'd become closer when Alejandro found out his son was Zorro. Now Diego felt betrayed by both of them. "I told her last year I was afraid she wouldn't love the man behind the mask. Turns out I was right. She had no right to tell you before I had the chance."

"What?"

Diego sunk further in his chair, wrapping his cape around himself again and ignoring Victoria's question. He crossed his arms and legs and he stared intently at his boots.

Alejandro kicked his son's feet. "Now."

Diego wilted under his father's glare. He turned his head toward Victoria, but only looked at her feet. Even her feet were beautiful to him. "I'm sorry I don't measure up to your hero. The ordinary man isn't perfect. Flesh and blood, remember?" He glanced up at his father again. "And I haven't eaten all day so I'm not in the mood to be _friends_ with the woman I love."

Diego watched Alejandro turn to Victoria, and he made his escape. He shouldn't have come home yet. He was still too raw inside. He found some steaks sitting out for dinner and he wrapped one up in a towel. He burned himself grabbing a potato from the fire, but didn't feel it. He tossed some other things into a bag so he could eat for a few days. He needed to think.

He froze and almost dropped the bread he was holding when he turned to see his father standing in his path. He'd already taken a big bite and he worked to swallow the dry bread stuck in his throat as he stood facing his father. He'd disappointed him for four years. Dreams of marriage aside, he still wanted to make his father proud of him. He looked at the floor and waited for his father to speak.

"Running away?"

Diego met his father's eyes. "No. Yes. I…" Diego shoved the bread into the bag with the rest of his stash. "I thought it best if I was alone."

"You're not going anywhere. I didn't raise my son to talk to a lady like that."

Diego winced at the shock, anger, and disappointment in his father's voice. Didn't his father understand that he was bleeding inside? That all his hopes and dreams for the future, everything he'd been fighting for since he returned, was gone? What was left?

"You wanted me to get married. Have children. I wanted that, too. But she looked behind the mask and she doesn't love me. I know you have questions. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I'll be back in a few days."

Alejandro stepped into Diego's path to prevent his escape. "I think you're jumping to conclusions. When did you tell her you are Zorro?" Alejandro's eyes cast down his son's body, still in disbelief.

"This morning. I…she…" Diego ran his fingers through his hair. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing. She just said she needed to talk to you. Insisted on waiting."

"She didn't tell you I was Zorro?"

"Son, neither of us knew until you showed up in those clothes."

The bag of food he held dropped to the floor as his entire body turned to ice. He saw the truth and disbelief in his father's eyes. Diego leaned against the wall and ran his hands over his face. "I've been so preoccupied. I wanted her to love Diego. I didn't know how to tell her. Then this morning… She looked at me like she looked at Zorro. And she smelled so … I kissed her. She kissed me back. Then…" Diego played his mind back over the kiss, trying to look at it objectively. "You're telling me she didn't know I was Zorro until a few minutes ago?"

Alejandro would have laughed if not for the pain in his son's voice. "My guess is she was kissing Diego. Victoria's not a woman who goes around kissing men. She was probably confused. You've never shown interest in her before."

Diego held his father's eyes for a moment before looking back at his feet. "So now I've really messed things up. Those things I said…"

"If you had ruined things for good, I think she would have gone home. She didn't leave."

"She's still here?" Diego looked beyond his father toward the sitting room he'd just escaped. "So what do I do?"

"Beg for forgiveness of course. I left her crying in the garden."

"She was crying?" Diego looked off toward the garden.

Alejandro stepped around the counter to embrace his son. He held him at arm's length, looking down at the outfit which silently shouted at his son's skills. "And I always thought you were so smart." Diego shrugged. "Women always drive men to distraction. We mess up, we apologize, and they forgive us. It doesn't sound like you've talked to her at all. Go talk to her. Be honest." He slapped Diego on the shoulder. "Then give me grandchildren."

Diego smiled weakly, looking off toward the garden again. "You think she can love Diego? Zorro's gone. I was never going to ride again. Today I just… I was so angry. Hurt. I should have stayed and talked to her."

"So go. I am not getting any younger."

"Right, because it's all about your grandchildren."

"Of course it is."

Zzz

"Victoria?" He couldn't see her. He also didn't hear her crying, so he thought that was a good sign.

"You called me Querida this morning." He turned and saw her sitting on a bench by the roses. Moonlight only touched her in a few places, leaving her mostly in the dark shade of the trees.

"I owe you a thousand apologies." He came closer, leaned against a tree and crossed his arms. "I thought you recognized me this morning."

"After four years, not to mention three weeks since I've even seen Zorro, you thought I'd magically recognize you?"

"I haven't been thinking clearly."

"What have you been thinking about?" Victoria finally looked over at him, his body shaded in black and his eyes glittering as he looked at her. "You haven't come to see me. You could have come to talk to me any time. You've always known where I was."

"I wanted to make sure DeSoto was gone. Then… I don't know. I wanted to make sure I didn't mess it up. Make sure I told you in a way that didn't make you hate me. I wanted you to like Diego."

"And after all that thinking and planning, you dress up in black, pop out of the fireplace and walk right past me without even a glance."

Diego kicked at the dirt beneath his feet. "I'm sorry."

"I've always liked you. If you'd told me you were Zorro, I wouldn't have hated you."

"I was afraid."

"Not afraid of kissing me this morning."

Diego looked up at the stars and chuckled. "I've wanted to kiss you every second of every day since I first saw you. I just lost the battle this morning."

"Is that why you're standing so far away from me?"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do right now. I love you. This morning I thought I'd see if you thought it was a good day for a wedding. Now I'm just glad you're still talking to me."

His body tensed when he watched her stand up. She reached into a pocket to pull something out as she walked over to him. She moved so she was in the moonlight and opened her hand, and he saw his mother's ring.

He immediately covered her hand with his, wrapping her fingers around it. "Don't give it back yet. Let me start over. Please. I'm sorry about what I said, about everything." He wrapped her fist in both of his hands and brought it up to his lips to kiss it. "I've been an idiot, but I'll be a good husband. I love you. I'll make it right, whatever you want. I promise."

His heart picked up speed when she stepped closer to him, and once again her scent wrapped around his mind and tangled it into knots. "I didn't know how to reach Zorro, but I was going to give this back to him. I was going to tell you that I liked kissing you. If you wanted to court me, I would give Zorro back his ring. This past month I should have been missing Zorro, waiting for him to come for me. But you've been underfoot, distracting me." Diego grinned. "You surprised me this morning. I didn't know you ever thought about me. I thought I was kissing a different man. It wasn't fair to you, and it wasn't fair to Zorro. You left before I had a chance to think. I ran after you."

"I didn't hear you." Diego took a chance and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Victoria took a step back, but pulled him with her so she could see him in the light. She traced her fingers over his face, recognizing the man she loved. He kissed her fingers when she touched his mouth. "So you weren't horrified at kissing me this morning," Diego whispered as he pulled her closer.

Victoria shook her head, resting her hands on his shoulders.

Diego's lips hovered close to hers. "And now that you know I've been already been courting you for four years…"

"You call that courting me?" Victoria gasped and put her hands on her hips.

Diego grinned, unrepentant now that he had his prize in hand. "You've promised to marry me. I'll hold you to that promise."

"Now why didn't you say that ages ago instead of being such a chicken?"

"I'm saying it now. Tonight's a beautiful night for a wedding. My father's been pestering me for grandchildren for years."

"You think I'm going to marry you tonight?"

"Yes. You accepted Zorro's proposal, and you would have accepted Diego's proposal when you thought we were two people. You love me twice. You can't resist me. Padre Benitez will marry us tonight."

"You sound awful sure of yourself."

"Yes. Turns out running away doesn't suit me. Now I'm not going to let go of you until we get to church. It will be awkward to explain that at confession if you don't marry me tonight."

Victoria blushed and stammered. "Marry me, Querida. Now."

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Victoria's voice was stern even though she put her hands back on his chest.

"I'll spend the rest of our lives making it up to you." Diego brought her closer, and without Diego's clothes like this morning he could feel her body heat through the satin.

"You made me crazy. I thought I loved two men."

"Now you have both men at your beck and call." Diego bent down to kiss her neck and she trembled. "Zorro's job is over. I'm going to be so attentive you won't know what hit you." His hands rested low on her back. "Oh, Querida, the things I want to show you…" He whispered against her lips, and Victoria's fingers threaded through his hair.

Diego's stomach growled and echoed across the silent garden. Victoria laughed and Diego groaned, resting his head on top of hers. "Maybe I should feed you first."

THE END

Zzz

Author's Note: This whole story built cause I wanted an angry Diego. Turns out the dialogue was harder to write than I thought, or I would have posted it all yesterday. I hope you like it. Thanks to mjesd2 for some great lines she let me use. Mac and Klingon also helped me tweak it, so I hope you enjoyed this story. If you did enjoy it, click the review button.

Oh, and no offence to the French LOL. I've just seen some pretty graphic stuff in movies from over there!


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