[wavehawk]

Gawdammit. Had Sweet and Sour Pork for lunch today and this story just popped out of my head. Dammit.

The kitchen had the yellowed-white of buildings built in the Great Leap forward, having served six generations of Chinese, soldiers, civilians, scientists and more. It was like a great hall made for many but only two people were within.

On the one counter, all was quiet as the young man took a spoonful of food into his mouth. Just a hint of sweetness and a slightly sour spice, covering a sliver of crispy pork and white rice.

In front of him was a small girl, waiting on his response.

"So?" The girl asked.

"Okay. It's good."

"And SO?" The girl asked again, visibly annoyed.

"What do you want me to say? It's good."

"Cu," There was a curling of lips that was easily more than a frown, eyes narrowing. "I want your honest opinion as a male, that's all!"

"Yes Ma'am." Cu mock-saluted, then took a deep breath as he rendered the response in chinese style prose:

"The Sweet and Sour Pork is crisp and tangy,
The white rice like clouds
As with the truth discovered by Lao-Tze,
A man can taste--"

A loud WHACK stopped his exaggeration. Cu then realized that wooden ladles were quite painful when applied to your head, regardless the size of girl wielding it.

"Just tell me it needs improvement!" the girl growled, her twin ponytails almost straightening out in fury.

"Representative Fan? I'm a technician, not a taste-tester." Cu frowned, then dug into another serving of the meal. "Is it that important? I said it was good."

"Good, but not special." Fan Lingyin the ponytailed girl, pulled off the messy apron. She originally promised Cu a free meal, on condition that he would give his honest opinion of her cooking. He was one of the few young men on the project that wasn't a high-ranked Party member or a snivelling yes-man. A deep breath compsed her features. "It's not like I had a choice."

Cu stopped. "Food doesn't have to be special to impress somebody."

A cough. "Wh-Who said I was trying to impress somebody?!"

"Women shouldn't underestimate men." Cu finished off the meal. "Thanks for the meal. From now on, I can't think of Sweet and Sour Pork without thinking of you."

For a second, Lingyin wondered whether she was being mocked.

A few seconds more, and she realized Cu was staring at her intently.

"What?" Fan curtly asked. "I'm not cooking another meal just so you cna laugh at me."

"Who's laughing?" Cu said with a matter-of-fact tone. "You're trying to get the attention of a boy, right?"

Lingyin refused to answer, which was answer enough for Cu.

"Like a flower waiting for the bee,
A young lass asks many an approval,
but waits only for the one---"

"Shut up!" Fan slammed her palms on the countertop in rage, but the blush was undeniable. The knowing smirk Cu infuriated her all the more. "I cooked you a meal, be happy with just that!"

"What if I'm not happy with 'just that'?"

"Then you'll have to be enjoy the pain." Lingyin threateningly brought her face close to his, growling. "So, what will you do now, technician Cu?"

"Then maybe," Cu responded by bringing his lips dangerously close to hers. "I should try making your boy jealous."

"Guah." It wasn't a word, not quite a gasp of surprise. Lingyin then realized she was but a half-inch away from kissing this young man she barely knew. Her heart started skipping beats, twice--then quarter time. Blinking, Fan realized it was her own fault---calling Cu out to the kitchen alone, and now confronting him directly. "C--Cu."

He smiled. "Sorry. I like my girls to have more 'surface area' up front."

Lingyin half-sputtered something that wasn't in Japanese or Chinese, yet needed no translation. Cu chortled as he bolted out the door, woks and other kitchen implements chasing him out.