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“Did you cook all this yourself?”
Viper thinks she’ll have seconds. There’s just something about noodles and stir-fried vegetables and red meat. She’s sure Sage has sauces and ingredients that aren’t as easily attainable in the states, or maybe she’s just never had a real home cooked Chinese meal.
Chili. Garlic. Vinegar. The lamb has some cumin. She picks up another piece.
“Hey, don’t change the subject.” Deadlock laughs in accusation as she points with the chopsticks she is still trying to get the hang of. Viper doesn’t acknowledge it, even when the others around her join in the laughter. Her eyes focus on the surplus of food set in front of them all.
Viper thinks that this must all have been a setup. The friendly atmosphere, the light conversation, the delicious food. It is the perfect setup for her to let her guard down. And now she knows that it will not be a mistake she will make again. But for now, the question has her tongue tied tight enough for her to even attempt to lie.
“Indeed, Viper.” Sage presses a thumb to the red decoration she sticks to her window. Especially with everything going on, she thinks the team needs to participate in festivities whenever they can. Something to lighten their moods, something to remind them of tomorrow. She laughs gently at Deadlock’s assertion as she moves back to the table to join her friends. “Do you like it?”
“It’s good.” The highest of compliments.
“I’m happy to hear.” Sage holds such sweetness in her smile. Comforting, warming and reassuring. She takes her seat and takes a few items to collect on her own plate. Taking small bites of each dish, reaffirming to herself that she did indeed do a good job. “Now, of course I invite you as my friends to celebrate together, but as a new year’s gift I would also be happy to hear what’s going on between you and Chamber.”
There it is again. Viper almost chokes on her current slurp of noodles.
Deadlock was the first to ask. They all know she doesn’t care enough about the balance between team members to risk asking something so volatile to Viper. But Sage knows she still did the math, a small gathering, some of the people Viper feels close with, behind the closed doors of someone’s private room.
“He was in Seattle last week.” Omen finally speaks, his voice rattles next to Viper. “And so were you.”
“Must you speak on my every movement?” The chemist’s mouth is finally empty enough to scold him. But she supposes she is not one to speak, since she holds so much of his own life in her memory.
He shrugs, arms still crossed. “I am merely observing.”
Still she doesn’t offer anything else. And everyone knows not to push any further. Over the years they have all worked together, Viper has not been an easy one to get to know. But the bonds they have created cannot be denied, and trust is at the core of why the team works. Slowly, they get to know each other. The patterns, the habits, the likes and dislikes. Omen knows which colours to use when knitting something new, Sage knows who can take their spice and who can’t, Deadlock doesn’t bother inviting some people for a hike knowing that a rejection will come fast. And Viper makes sure the other team dies instead of theirs.
They all take more food, wanting to make sure all the plates are empty by the end of the night. Omen pours out the tea for everyone, hot and earthy, a perfect pair with the snowy weather they’ve been having on the island.
“You should have Chamber cook for you.” Sage offers as she reaches for a dumpling. “He cooks for the team often enough, a dinner just for the two of you sounds nice.”
Viper’s eyes go wide for a brief moment, before she continues to stuff her face. Cheeks filled with food, hoping that that way she wouldn’t be expected to talk. Her eyes move to each of her colleagues, lingering on each of them for half a second before moving onto the next. They all look at her with intent, even as they slowly chew their food and sip their tea. Except Omen only sits there and waits.
“He has offered me many times.” Omen pitches in.
Viper is aware. He has come to her lab a few times to drop off food, sometimes it is an insistence whenever she confesses that she has barely eaten in the day. It’s good. Butter, wine, French. Not her favourite cuisine, but she does confess that she cannot decline his beef bourguignon.
“Or maybe he already has,” Gradually a smirk spreads across Deadlock’s cheeks, hot tea to her lips but her eyes don’t leave viper. “He cooks well.”
Viper takes more. Eyes to the table and nowhere else. More meat. More vegetables. Maybe a dumpling.
Her silence is enough to give the answer away. And her slightly reddened cheeks don’t help. It is her lack of denial that makes it clear. She could always lie, maybe she can start now that she’s gotten over the initial shock of the audacity.
But it’s Sage. Someone she trusts her whole life with, even when she knows that it’s dangerous. And she’s lied to Omen before, and it never turns out pretty. And Deadlock is a new addition, but Viper enjoys how no-nonsense the woman is. It isn’t repayment for the meal, or an obligation that she feels she needs to compensate for, but it’s all the years they’ve worked together, and her body’s reluctance to lie to people she now calls friend.
Viper manages to keep her composure, only a twitch between her eyebrows is what gives away that something is amiss. Finally she sets her chopsticks down, flat across the top of her bowl, hands on the table as she finishes chewing the last of the food in her mouth.
She opens her mouth, “He is adequate.”
It’s more than they expect her to say. And they all revel in the moment for a few seconds, honesty from someone who keeps all her cards to her chest. And she leaves them with that, a morsel of her soul that they all will take to heart.
An eyebrow raises from Deadlock, “At cooking or …?”
Viper narrows her eyes as soon as the words leave Deadlock’s lips. As Sage hides a chuckle behind the palm of her hand, and Omen begins to connect the dots. Any other time Viper’s stare would make anyone tense their muscles, but they all melt comfortably into the setting of their gathering.
“That’s nice, Viper.” The monk reaches her hand out across the table, taking hold of Viper’s hand, moving the subject along knowing that Sabine would not enjoy lingering too long on it. She wraps two hands around the chemist’s and gives her a squeeze of reassurance. “And he has been treating you well, yes?”
Viper takes a moment to think about it. As if really taking account of the question and weighing all the variables that consist of her relationship. It hasn’t been too long, but a few months have already passed, and maybe it is her mistake for getting too comfortable when she’s around him in public.
But she enjoys the way his hand comforts her laid on the small of her back. The way they spend time together by doing all their work in the same room. The way he makes sure she has the time before he won’t stop kissing her until they make it to bed.
And maybe his idiotic smirk makes her roll her eyes. And maybe she likes it when he listens to her explaining her current theories and gives diligent feedback. And maybe sometimes she’s tempted to break her schedule just a little to spend more time with him.
She nods. Sincere and earnest in her conclusions, “Surprisingly, I have not wanted to stab him just yet.”
“That’s good. It’s good to have someone to keep your spirits up.” Sage offers another smile. A single nod from Viper, an agreement on her part. Sage continues as she lets go of Viper’s hand and takes another piece of tofu. She sits back into her chair before a small smile appears at the edge of her lips, “... And someone to warm your bed.”
Deadlock throws her head back in laughter. The room reverberates with everyone’s amusement, to which Sage takes as a sign to bring out the alcohol. They cheer, clashing their cups for the new year, for their health and for their friendship.
Viper grits through her teeth, “We will not speak on this any further.”
They all nod.
And cheers one last time to Viper’s budding relationship.