What Can You See?
by Mephisto Waltz
For: Anna/Lethe3x5. She gave me the pairing, title and a bit of dialogue, and I came up with this for her.
Pairing: 5x3(x5)
Rating: R
Catherine's Soup (worthy of capitalization) was unlike any other. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't just beets and potatoes and rabbit meat boiled in yesterday's dishwater; no, it was a veritable feast swimming in homey broth that tasted damn good with buttered bread and red wine. Had he grown up on Catherine's Soup, Trowa Barton (alias) wouldn't have appreciated the evening's meal as he did, but seeing that he'd grown up on gruel, jerky, and skunky beer, he had two helpings.
"Catherine, can I have yours, too?" he asked politely, noting the circus girl's absent appetite. Two helpings became three, and Trowa enjoyed every bite almost as much as the previous (his enjoyment lessening only because his hunger did).
His companion- however- had barely touched his food. Pilot zero-five's soup was cool and his spoon was probably dizzy from the perpetual stirring. Were this young man less noble, Trowa would've categorized him as 'glum'- but since that was not the case, Trowa settled on morose and was done with it.
"What does she put in here?" said Wufei (alias? Highly dubious.) after Catherine had left. Shrugging, Trowa dipped his hunk of baguette in the soup.
"What can you see?" he replied after swallowing. Frowning, zero-five stared for a long while into the soup, while Trowa sponged the soup up with the bread. Apparently, Wufei didn't like what he saw in the soup, as gaze moved from food to friendly (attempted 'friendly') face. Finding it unnerving to eat under scrutiny, Trowa chewed through the meat slowly and fingered the crusty bread, making a mess on the table. He stared at the bread with a fascination similar to Wufei's- with a childlike morbidity that comes from looking at something with new eyes.
Trowa's small glance up generated a questionable subtext that made Wufei blush. Curiously, zero-three downed another spoonful of Catherine's Soup.
"If you don't like it, I can make you a sandwich," offered Trowa.
"It's not that," replied Wufei, "It's just that I can't trust it so quickly- the surface is obscured with. . .whatever those are. . ."
"Miniature dumplings."
"It doesn't matter- their composition doesn't change the fact there has to be a hidden agenda!" zero-five snapped.
Although he realized they were no longer talking about the meal, Trowa had to smirk and say, "You think the soup and bread are conspiring against you?"
At that, Wufei snorted and stared at the floor. After swiveling the wine around in his mouth to wash it and swallowing the foamy rinse, Trowa rose from his seat and ventured to lean his hip against the table in front of his companion. Taking Wufei's spoon in his left hand, zero-three dipped it into the soup and ate it. Black eyes followed every movement and came to rest on Trowa's mouth.
"No poison in there," whispered Trowa, licking the bit of broth from his bottom lip. Wufei swallowed hard, nodding intently, though his eyes were glazed. Trowa took another spoonful of soup into his mouth and- without really considering the consequences- grabbed the back of Wufei's head and pressed their mouths together, forcing the food between the other boy's sputtering lips.
First Wufei struggled, but by the time Trowa pulled away to let him eat, he quieted. He chewed and swallowed quickly, all the while staring at his companion.
"No poison in there either," Wufei said, placing a tentative finger on Trowa's lip. Trowa shook his head 'no'. "But there is an agenda."
"Never mind that right now," said Trowa, moving the dishes to sit atop the table. He added a smile to the mix to see what would happen. Wufei's internal hummings and hawings were pushed aside as zero-five stood gracefully, putting a hand on Trowa's knee. He fingered the worn and faded denim and carelessly scratched at the tear on the apex of the kneecap.
"What can I see or what do I see?" Wufei said haltingly. " You're. . .I. . ." Instead of following through on the thought, zero-five grabbed zero-three and kissed him hard enough to make an arch out of his back- falling atop him, pressing the bony shoulder blades to the pine slab.
They were as awkward in their affections as one would expect two boys to be- knocking noses and grabbing at inappropriate spots at inappropriate times, which resulted in a bit of a blush-fest. An errant hand turned over Wufei's bowl- a mess they forgot about in their hormonal haze until Trowa sat in it and soaked the seat of his pants through (which ruined the moment entirely). Chuckling, they straightened themselves and cleaned up for Catherine, then went to Trowa's trailer. After rinsing his jeans in the bathroom, Trowa hung them on the line and sat with Wufei on the little veranda. Since he hadn't anything else to wear, he wore only his sweater and his greyed briefs, and the steel steps were cold on his naked thighs.
" 'What do you see'," whispered Trowa, hugging his knees.
"Pardon me?"
"Don't bother right now with what you 'could' see in me or in Catherine or in anyone else offering their friendship. Focus on the face value, not the lingering paranoia. None of us will last this on our own- I'm starting to realize that. So-for now, at least- we need to trust each other, despite agendas."
"I'm not sure I can do that, but I'll remember it and who said it," said Wufei, rubbing Trowa's bare knee and placing a kiss below the jaw, near the earlobe. "Thank you." Wrapping an arm around Trowa's waist, Wufei pulled them closer so their knees and lips could brush. "I like what I do see," he murmured, skimming his hands over Trowa's goose-pimpled thigh. "And. . .I think I like what I can see too."
"Take your time- see as much as you can before making that decision."
Wufei left in the morning to make what he could see what he did see.
Fin?