The Illusion of Danger

Chapter 49

After getting cleaned up and redressed in near silence, Mordecai brought Rocky out to the dining room and made sure he was comfortable before going to check on their dinner, in silence.
His mind still wasn't set right even after that bit of time to get it all sorted out.

Rocky sat at the table and watched Mordecai walk into the kitchen. He could feel something was wrong in the atmosphere of the apartment. He wished Mordecai would talk to him about it, but figured it'd be best to get dinner in them first. Maybe after he would be more comfortable talking.

The tuxedo returned with two bowls shortly after with the stew he'd made and set one of them in front of Rocky, his eyes still avoiding making direct contact with his partner.
"There's more if you would like it."
He said as he set his own bowl down and returned to the kitchen to grab some of the dinner rolls before sitting down and handing one to Rocky.

Rocky thanked Mordecai both times he had come back with food. He waited for the man to sit down and start eating before he did, not wanting to be rude. His tail swished in thought as he watched Mordecai eat slowly. The tabby was getting rather worried with the silence from his partner.

"Mordecai... are you okay?"
Rocky set his spoon down in his bowl and placed his hand on top of Mordecai's free one.

"I think I'm a bit tired, but other than that, I'm quite fine."
The tuxedo replied, looking at the hand that was set over his own.
"Are you alright?"
He thought that quickly turning the tables was going to take the focus off of him long enough for him to come up with some sort of excuse for himself.

The tabby cocked an eyebrow.
"Pardon me if I don't believe that's why you haven't made eye contact with me for the past hour or so."
He tilted his head down and raised both of his bushy eyebrows.
"Please, Mordecai? You can talk to me. I'm not mad or upset about anything you did earlier."

Mordecai's ears folded and kept his eyes cast downward.
"I understand all of that, yes, and I appreciate the clarification."
He nodded once as he brought his spoon up to his mouth.

Rocky's ears fell back, not satisfied at all with that answer. He decided to let Mordecai eat his dinner in silence if he wasn't going to talk to him now, he would pry it out of him later.

"This is quite delicious Mordecai, thank you for dinner. Even if it does have celery in it..."
He laughed softly, trying to coax a smile out of his partner.

"Of course. If there happen to be any foods you would like to recommend, I would be happy to attempt to recreate them for you."
Mordecai replied. He was aware that most recipes would include things that he couldn't have together, which was something he was willing to accept and work around.

"Well you know I don't mind most foods... as long as I like them. I'll have to think of something... besides pancakes."
Rocky smiled and ate a piece of beef from his bowl.

"So far, your list of foods you will not eat or dislike consists of sweet potatoes and celery. That keeps many doors wide open."
Mordecai said as he ripped a piece of his dinner roll off and dipped it before eating.

"And eggplants and brussel sprouts."
The tabby corrected.

The tuxedo took a mental note of that and nodded in response.
"That still keeps many possibilities available."

Rocky nodded and ate the rest of his dinner quietly. He didn't want to interrupt Mordecai's dinner with prodding questions he didn't feel like answering at the moment. The tuxedo looked fairly miserable.

When Mordecai took the last bite of his food, he looked across at Rocky's bowl to see if he was finished or at least close.
"As I've mentioned, there's more if you'd like. I know how hungry you usually are."
He said as he stood and offered his hand to take the bowl from the tabby.