Chef's Kiss

Chapter Three

Rody took a very shaky breath and held onto Vincent like his life depended on it.

"Y-yes...."

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A few minutes later, they were upstairs in Vincent's apartment. "Make yourself at home, okay? You can sit on the couch, I'll be right back." Vincent brought Rody some tea and sat next to him while handing him some tissues. Rody, who had calmed down a bit, drank some of the tea and took another breath, leaning on Vincent's shoulder.

"So, what happened? If you're okay with me asking... take your time, we're in no rush," Vincent said, wrapping an arm around Rody.

After a long moment of silence, Rody began to speak.

"I-I- She- she-" Rody took a deep breath and continued. "She- Manon- she's-"

Vincent immediately understood. Rody didn't have to finish his sentence, as Vincent knew- it wasn't because she was missing for a while, but because it was his fault. He had killed Manon.

After meeting her, she showed passing interest in him, but he wasn't interested. However, when Rody started talking about Manon at work, Vincent realized how much he cared for her. He should've known better than to kill her- he killed him because he thought Rody loved Manon too much while Manon didn't love Rody at all, so he thought it was for the better... definitely not out of jealousy, though. He thought- Rody might've been... happier, somehow? With Manon gone? He didn't know what he was thinking back then, Manon meant the world to Rody, of course it would lead to something like this... Vincent had it coming. Before, he thought of killing Manon as another way of showing- care towards Rody? Affection? This didn't mean he had feelings for Rody, of course, he just... uh.... cared for him! Yeah, it was definitely just that... right? But come on, all Rody ever wanted to talk about was her! It was always Manon this, Manon that, Manon's so pretty, I wonder if Manon will answer me today, I love Manon sooooo much, and so on. It wasn't like Vincent was jealous of Manon or anything! ....Okay, maybe he was a bit jealous. But Rody talked about Manon 24/7, all he cared about was her, so of course he had to be a bit jealous, it was natural! Anyone would be if their- uhm- worker only talked about his girlfriend! That definitely didn't mean he liked Rody or anything like that! 

But Manon didn't even mention Rody once! So he "dated" her for a while so it would be easier to... well, kill her. Seeing how depressed Rody was, though, Vincent immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over him. He did it for Rody, seeing how much he cared for her and how much she didn't... But now, although he didn't necessarily regret it, he instantly felt guilty, knowing he made Rody like this, knowing he completely broke Rody and Rody didn't even know it was him. Vincent knew he couldn't tell Rody, though- he would hate him! Probably never even look at him again. 

"-Gone." Vincent finished the sentence for Rody, and Rody just nodded, tears streaming down his face. 

After a moment, Rody said, "Y-yeah... the police and Manon's parents came to my house yesterday and confirmed the n-news...."

Rody started sobbing again. "T-they couldn't e-even find her b-body, C-Chef... They c-couldn't even b-bury her..."

Vincent felt that pang of guilt again. "Please... call me Vincent..."

Vincent wordlessly pulled Rody into another hug. They both stayed quiet for a few minutes, and Vincent finally broke the silence.

"I'm.... really sorry for your loss, I knew how important she was to you... You always talked about her...." Which was true, as Vincent was literally sorry for Rody's loss since it was his fault.

"T-thank you...." 

They stayed in that position until Rody fell asleep, his head still resting on Vincent's shoulder.

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After that day, Vincent made it his purpose to calm Rody down whenever he had a breakdown, which was.... almost every day. It came to the point where Rody basically went up to Vincent's apartment every day after his shift. Sometimes Rody would just cry into Vincent's shoulder, sometimes they would read a book or watch TV, and other times they would talk for hours. Sometimes, they would just sit there in silence, holding onto each other, and sometimes they would have a snack. Vincent tried his best to help Rody get over Manon's death, and it was working- well, sort of. Vincent was the only reason Rody wanted to keep living, almost like he was dangling off a cliff and Vincent was the only one trying to pull him up. During those weeks, Vincent was the most important person to Rody, as he was always there when he needed him, and was there to help him when no one else wanted to. He was one of the first people to show Rody that he was cared for. They had developed a close friendship, and even Vincent started thinking of Rody as a friend- a best friend, even, instead of just his worker. 

Sometimes they would talk about completely random things- like their childhood dreams and memories or embarrassing moments of their lives- just to cheer Rody up a bit. Sometimes they would talk about Manon. Their memories with her, what they loved about her- most of the time, Rody ending up bursting into tears while Vincent let him cry it out, but now, something was different- crying felt... good. 

Rody realized that he loved Manon, and if she were alive now, she would be a very important person to Rody- but she wasn't really the love of his life. He loved Manon truly and she would always have a special place in his heart, but he didn't love her in that way anymore. Spending so much time with Vincent made Rody realize how much Manon and him didn't share anything in common, and also how many arguments they had. 

One day, Rody believed he would find the person who would become the love of his life, but for now, he would take a break on romances. With Vincent, he felt truly cared for, and a good friend to help him get through this was all he needed at the moment.

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-End of Chapter 3-