Forbidden Appetite (Rody × Vince)

Observe

Rody reluctantly stepped through the doors of La Gueule de Saturne with an uneasy feeling that he tried to brush off as quickly as possible.

There was an awkwardness in the air when he and Vince locked eyes for the first time, making Rody look away and try to focus on his daily tasks instead.

The day was oddly busy, making it so much more frustrating to Rody when he realized the black ribbon that was tied around his wrist was gone, the waiting customers not giving him the time he needed to look for it as he handed out dishes.

When Rody had just a second, his eyes trailed over the floor, subtly retracing his steps.

Rody gave a little sigh of relief when he found the ribbon close to the wall connecting Vince's office. He crouched down to pick it up yet as he did something new he saw in the corner of his eye made him halt completely.

Rody's eyes widened in horror when he saw a hole carved into the wall, but what frightened him most was that there was a tired eye staring back at him, wide as if surprised to be caught looking before disappearing.

It took everything Rody had not to give an audible reaction, quickly standing and trying the ribbon back around his wrist quickly.

Obviously, the day went hellishly afterwards, the event leaving Rody shaken to the point he messed up a few orders or even forgot to take plates to certain tables.

He should've been worried about losing customers but it was more worrisome to face Vince after hours.

The dreaded moment came where the last customer was sent off, Rody looking nervously at where the small hole in the wall should be.

The bell above the door gave it's last ring as the customers exited, and as if in clockwork, a door opened and closed in the distance, providing rushed footsteps to the front where the kitchen doors were pushed open and Vince emerged.

Rody instinctively stepped back at the sight of Vince taking long strides directly towards him, he was nervous to say the least, maybe appalled would be the best word.

Vince's footsteps seemed so loud even through the clattering of pans and utensils in the kitchen.

Rody's wrist was grasped tightly by slender fingers and dragged out through the kitchen and the back door despite many protests.

"Forget it happened" Vince hissed out, letting go of Rody's wrist, tossing it back to him as if it were a piece of trash.

"What?" Rody barely uttered out, holding his hurting wrist. Everything seemed to well up inside him and it made him even angrier. "Why would you even have a hole in the wall to spy on your customers in the first place?!"

"I don't use it to spy on customers." Vince retorted quickly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"To spy on me then? That's really weird, you know that?" Rody added, taking several steps back until his heels hit the brick wall of the alley.

Vince narrowed his eyes, clearly holding back from saying something. "It's my restaurant, I'll do what I want with it."

Rody shook his head. "You've been so weird lately... You change at the drop of a hat and I'm sick of it."

There was a certain edge to Rody's voice that was new.

"So many secrets, being so defensive over things that seem so insignificant... You can't even open up about anything. I know absolutely nothing about you yet somehow you seem to be able to piece together every part of my life before I tell you." Rody goes on. "To think I told you about Manon and wanted your help. You actually really unsettle me, Vincent."

Vincent was silent, staring at Rody with a slight bit of shock in his usually composed eyes, as if scrambling his inner thoughts around for a hint of what he could possibly respond.

"I'm scared of you." Rody admitted, the words making Vincent freeze on the spot, not being able to do much as he watched Rody walk away from him.

The alley became a mess in just a few moments. Vincent was never good at controlling his impulses and it got worse when facing strong emotions since it was the only way he could vent them.

The dumpster clattered onto the concrete, trash spilling out with each kick Vincent gave the bags that tore open.

The sentence alone was enough to upset him but only two things made it worse.

The first being the betrayal in Rody's voice, the fact he was genuinely disappointed and saddened.

And the second being the absolute disgust in the tone. The way Rody couldn't bear to stay in his presence a second more and the hole in the wall wasn't even the worst of the things he'd done.

Vincent ran a hand through his hair in frustration before walking back inside the kitchen.

"You." Vincent pointed to a random cook who was cleaning the counter surface. "Go clean up out back." He ordered, leaving no room for questioning as he stormed into the freezer, the heavy door creating a reverberating slam when he closed it.

Vincent's hands grasped the edge of a cold counter until his knuckles turned pink. He let go and paced around the room, holding his head in his hands and occasionally pulling on his hair.

An angry scream bounced off the freezer walls before he grabbed a knife, taking to stabbing a slab of meat that had been left beside the saw.

The knife sank into it repeatedly, only stopping when the force of it being pushed down made it get caught in the counter. Vince struggled to pull the knife out and when he finally did, he threw it to the side, letting it bounce off the wall and clatter to the ground.

A punch was given to the drawer beneath the counter as Vincent sank down onto his knees.

Tears sank down his face yet he himself couldn't tell if they were out of sadness or anger.

Vincent looked down at the salty pools his tears made on the floor and suddenly he was only a child, wondering why no one could understand the extreme and strange way he loved.. wondering why after giving everything he could, no one ever chose to stay.