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"Here. Take it." A bag carrying a box was thrust into his arms the moment he entered the kitchen.
"Uh...what is it?"
"Cake. A woman gave it to me." Rody had never heard much about women giving men chocolate, letting alone baking a chocolate cake for them, on Valentine's day...but his boss WAS annoyingly attractive enough that he would be willing to buy such a thing. "I can't exactly taste it. You like sweets, right? Take it." Vince wasn't looking at him, instead looking of the chefs with an odd look. The chefs all, in turn, seemed oddly more stressed than usual.
"...I uh..." Well. This was more than a little uncomfortable. For several reasons. "...isn't it kind of...wrong...?"
"Excuse me?"
"W-Well, I mean." Holding the bag in one hand, he scratched the back of his neck and looked to the side. "Your kind of giving me a gift meant that was meant as a confession." Rody let that first one speak for itself, deciding to ignore the way Vince's face darkened at that statement. "Plus...this was...kinda given to you? As a gift. Why would you give me something someone worked hard on for y-"
"If you don't want it, you can throw it awa-"
"Wait! That's not what I meant! It's just...sure you can't taste, but wouldn't at least trying some be better than pawning it off on me?" It just...it wasn't right. The idea that some poor woman worked really hard on this, only to have her work taken for granted and given to Rody like they were just leftovers from a common customer.
"..." Vince stared at him for a long time, his lips seemingly fighting to avoid frowning and brows furrowed. Eventually, he sighed. "No thanks. Just...just throw it away if you don't want it, okay?" Rody couldn't even get out another word before Vince turned around and went to his office, movement slightly slower than usual.
...Rody would never really get Vincent. It's only been two weeks since he resumed working at the bistro, and while he had assumed his relationship with his boss had improved since the other had convinced him to return, the fact of the matter was that he still didn't understand the other man. Why the hell did it feel like he was sulking just because Rody didn't like the idea of him taking a poor woman's work for granted? On Valentine's day, of all days? Seriously. What a fucking prick...I feel bad for the poor woman. She deserves better than to like someone like him...
Vincent could be a good enough guy. Rody knew this by now...but the good points were still far outweighed by the bad. And, as he looked down at the cake he was now apparently stuck with, he gave a sigh and put this situation in the reasons why he was still looking for another job on the downlow. Putting the cake in an area he wouldn't have to worry about for now, he walked back out of the kitchen, getting ready for his work.
"...something's up with Chef."
"I know right? You noticed it to?"
"Hard not to. Actually, he" The waiter gestured to one of the paler coworkers, currently busy stirring a cherry mixture, "came into work early. Tell 'em what you told me."
"No gossiping on the clock!"
"D-Don't yell, dumbass! If Chef hears us, we're all dead!"
"I'm not getting anymore involved, tell 'em yourself, asshole."
"Yeesh. Fine. Apparently, the chef spent the whole night making the perfect cake for that guy. There's like 4 failed cakes in the dumpster."
"Wait, what??"
"Are you serious?" One of the coworkers, this one with tanned skin, perked up, having kept his head down until this moment. "But I thought he said-"
"Right? 'pparently not. It's Rody's birthday though, so that might be why."
"Hah! Of course loverboy's birthday is on Valentine's! He's probably the type who considers it a sign that he needs to love someone or something dumb like that!"
"Considering how much he cried over being dumped in the middle of work? Would not fucking shock me."
"There's no way that prick is that much of a softie."
"Maybe he got embarrassed since it's also Valentine's day?"
"I repeat my previous statement."
"Yeah, especially considering what Rody did not one week after coming back..." Watching Rody wake up a nearly unconscious Vince with banging pots was funny...as was watching the very immediate and extreme consequences of doing so.
"Wait? Isn't he also seeing someone? Why's he wasting Valentine's day making a birthday cake for someone he barely knows."
"Who?"
"Chef Charbonneau. I remember some people talking about him with this one girl not one month ago. What was her name...?"
"Hah! Imagine breaking up with someone as rich as Charbonneau like a month before Valentine's day! What was her name again?"
"Does it matter. If it's been a month since that moment, that means they're probably not together anymore."
"I know, I'm saying-"
...Rody could only make out bits and pieces of what the gossipy chefs were saying. But he had made out enough to realize a few things.
...hm.
...
...
"...I just don't get it..."
A knock on Vincent's door caused him to flinch and snap his head up, resisting the urge to wipe the sleepiness from his eyes. And groan. God, he was almost always sore, but barely getting any sleep because of how long he had slaved over making that he felt was nice enough for Rody was...
...well...it was worth it, honestly. Inspiration practically burst from him during those hours. He just wanted to get it right. Wanted to make sure the man truly liked it. So he experimented, and for the first time in a long time it was actually fun to cook again. Jams of various kinds, even some sour ones, a potential layering involving peanut butter, he briefly even considered a cake that was more savoury than sweet, more akin to the fast food he had, regrettably, found out Rody loves.
...well. Okay he HAD tried that. It...well it looked lovely but while he couldn't taste, he could smell and the smell made him wish he had lost a few other sense as well. He had made a mental note to never involve the use of tomato paste in any dessert ever again.
Still. With Rody none the wiser, he'd at the very least get a pleasant surprise when he got home, and he would even eat it this time, compared to all of the times his cooking had been rebuked (yes, he WAS still angry after finding that out). Just the thought of Rody taking a bite out of the strawberry and raspberry jam cake and melting under the taste was-
"-llo there? Viiince?" Oh. Rody was talking to him right now...shit. He really did need more sleep. Shaking his head slightly, he turned his focus to the man who had likely been trying to get his attention for some time.
"What is it, Rody?"
"I uh...well. I just wanted to let you know before I clock out that I decided to throw away the cake."
...
...
...
"...I see."
"Yeah, I thought over what you said, but...it still bothered me. I know you think it's silly, but I just...don't feel great, being given that when it was meant for someone who wasn't me."
"..."
"...since it...wasn't for me..."
"...well. I told you to do it."
"..."
"Was that all you came here to tell me?"
"W-Well! Um, no. I was going to ask you if you..."
"If...I...?"
"...nah, it's nothing. I just, uh, wanted to let you know, so you'd know why there was a fifth cake in the dumpster!"
"..."
"..."
"If...that's all then, you can go now."
"..."
"..."
"...sure. I'll uh...see you tomorrow, then."
"...goodnight Rody."
"..."
"..."
"...yeah. Night, Vince."