Title: Mouths of Decadence, Part III
Characters: Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder
Rating: PG-13 (language, drinking)
Word Count: 837
Summary: Chris and Eddie talk about Eddie's secret.



While the food was most certainly a welcome thing, sobering up even more was not. Eddie was already ready to drown his thoughts in something else, especially since his wallet was still nowhere to be found. Chris had searched the house and the front yard and called both the cab company as well as the bar. No wallet at all.

If it was just a wallet, it would be no big deal. He would cancel his cards, write off any lost cash, move on with life. But it wasn't just a wallet. Well maybe the exterior of it was, but its contents were not. It had the regular credit cards and drivers license, but it also had his agent id and a few other things he really could not afford to lose.

It wasn't like his job was at stake. Not at all. It was really more that his life was at stake. Because as soon as the agency found out he had lost his wallet, he was as good a dead. Nevermind any of his special abilities or the number of people he had saved before. Putting the agency at risk was enough for any agent to be taken out of the game — permanently.

"Why the long face?" Chris asked, sitting in the chair next to Eddie.

"Um, well, you see..." Eddie's eyes remained focused upon the table, his hair falling to cover his eyes. "There's some things in that wallet that... well I'm a dead man for losing them."

Chris arched an eyebrow, "Eddie, I'm pretty sure anything in the wallet is replaceable. In fact I'll start calling the credit card companies for you."

"It's not that. Not those at all," he replied, venturing a glance at the other man. "There's just some things that the agency won't care too much that I've lost. Things that others could use to ... sabotage the agency."

"Now granted I'm the fondest person of record companies or agencies myself. They generally do fuck things up. But why would anyone go about sabotaging them? That's just silly, Eddie," Chris declared.

"It's not a record company I'm talking about," he replied softly. "A different kind of agency."

Chris looked Eddie up and down twice, "You don't strike me as an escort."

Eddie laughed softly at that. No one had ever thought that of him before either.

"I'm not, Chris. Not at all."

"Ooooookay," Chris eyed him suspiciously. "So if you're not an escort and you're not worried about sabotaging some record guys, what are you worried about?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"Well, uh," he tucked hair behind his ears, eyes meeting Chris's for a moment, "for lack of a better explanation, I'm a secret agent for an unknown governmental agency. They found me out surfing a few years ago and had me undergo quite a few tests. Long story short, I'm telekinetic and I work for the government. Or did until I lost my wallet."

For a long tense moment, Chris stared at Eddie. Neither men blinked, as if it was a weakness to do so.

Finally Chris grinned, shaking his head, "You're full of shit, Eddie."

"No! I'm not. I swear."

"Prove it."

"Well I can't. All my id and shit is in that wallet."

"You said you were telekinetic. Then move something," Chris pointed out, folding his arms across his chest.

"Oh," Eddie muttered, looking around the kitchen.

His eyes settled on a frying pan well out of reach of both men. Motioning to it to draw Chris's attention to the pan, he concentrated on it. Ever so slowly the pan levitated from the stovetop until a good foot was visible between pan and stove. Chris snorted.

He was unimpressed.

"Okay. BFD. You can move things with your mind. That's supposed to impress me?" he declared.

The pan slammed down onto the stovetop. Eddie was speechless. No one had ever been so nonchalant at his 'skill.' No one outside of the agency at least.

"Well what else would you have me do?" he countered.

Chris shrugged, "So if we don't find this wallet, are people in black suits going to come and kill you or something?"

"Probably."

"Can't you just use your powers to think about the wallet and have it come zooming to you from wherever it is?"

Eddie's nose scrunched slightly. He hadn't thought of that at all. While he could move things he couldn't see, he didn't know the limitations of that skill.

"Suppose I can try," he commented.

"Great. You do that. I'm going to go take a shower," he decided, standing.

Nodding, Eddie tried to picture the wallet in his mind.

Chris paused at the doorframe, glancing at the intense Eddie, "You're welcome to join me if you'd like."

A brown wallet slapped to the front porch as Eddie's thoughts were suddenly arrested.

In that very moment, Chris naked and wet filled his mind. And that was more important than finding some silly wallet. Damn the man.