𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙀𝙮𝙚𝙨 [ 𝘼𝙐 𝙕𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙞 ]

Prologue

He left the kitchen with the tray in his gloved hand, practically bumping into his partner, who protested in a low voice as he let him pass, pushing his own tray aside.

Childe apologized in a whisper, as he walked down the short hall and opened the doors with his free hand, stepping into the great room.

The elegance of the place impressed him more and more, Signora did not hesitate to renew the appearance of the restaurant from time to time, investing exaggerated amounts of money into it.

He took a deep breath, it was a Sunday night, and despite the fact that the next day would be a working day, the restaurant had occupied all its tables, even for the next three hours it would be practically impossible to see an empty chair.

He made his way to the table where the order belonged, dodging the seated people and his coworkers. Childe stopped in front of a man, dressed in a black three-piece suit and gold accents. Impeccable. His brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, with a few strands scattered about. He looked at his face, gawking. And how not? The beauty of him was undeniable. His blue orbs met golden ones, making direct eye contact.

Realizing that he had been staring the other way for too long, Childe hastily set the plate of food in front of him. The man smiled, Childe returned the smile, noticing the makeup of the opposite. His eyes were adorned with lines of intense red, how had she not noticed before?
'Enjoy your meal.' Childe withdrew, he had wasted too much time at that table, and he was afraid that the two plates that he had left to deliver were starting to get cold.

It struck two in the morning, the last table had been emptied half an hour ago, but they had to finish picking up everything. It had been a stressful night, too many customers, too little rest time.

Childe ran the back of his hand across his forehead, brushing the strands of hair from his sweaty forehead. He looked out, the streets were still lit, but he doubted there were buses. He would have to walk home. He sighed wearily, leaving the broom in the storeroom and taking off his apron.

"Hey, Childe!" he closed the door and turned, meeting Aether. "You have been a bit distracted today, are you okay?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?" he raised an eyebrow. He thought he had given up as usual, but if Aether told him otherwise, maybe it would be true. After all, the blond paid a lot of attention to every detail.

"You almost bumped into me, and I've seen you stare at a customer. You didn't scare him, right?" the blonde crossed his arms. He could tell that he wasn't angry, rather, he was worried about Childe.

"Well... I guess I need to get some sleep, I haven't been able to sleep for a few days."

"I understand, so I hope you recover," Aether smiled, patting Childe on the shoulder and going back to clearing a table. "In that case, you'd better go home as soon as possible, you've already finished cleaning, right?"