Work Text:
‘I’m going to be so late!'
Simon thought as he sped down the road to the bistro as fast as he could without breaking any laws. Noah, Simon's five-year-old son was strapped in the backseat, clutching onto his bunny plush. It was old and worn down, the bunny's blue button eyes dull and the once white felt was now a faded grey. But Noah loved it, nonetheless. The bunny was from Haruki, Noah's other parent and Simon's best-friend. From an outsider's perspective, they were just two best friends co-parenting a child.
Combing his hand through his thick, dark brown hair, Simon tries to find a parking spot near his work. Unfortunately, he had missed out on the note that said that Noah's Daycare would be shut today for some quick but essential repairs.
Normally that wouldn't be a problem as Haruki or his brother, Tsuyoshi, would usually be home, but today they were both working or at school, which was not good. Dropping of Noah at a relative or friend's house was a no go too. So, Simon had no choice but to bring Noah to the Bistro despite it not being a place suitable for children. Look, it was not a good decision, but Simon had no other option.
Parking the car, he takes his son into his arms, making sure to pick up his backpack too so Noah wouldn't forget it. The little guy had inherited most of his father's looks, like his chestnut-brown hair, deep blue eyes and pale skin, which Simon was happy about. Checking his watch, Simon panicked.
Holy- 50 minutes late. I'm going to be fired.
Walking with his son into the bistro, the waiter is relieved that there were no customers, other days he would have been displeased that there wasn't much to do but not today. Though Rody seemed to not be here either.
Perhaps it must be a slow day. Rody must've gotten a cold from biking out in the rain yesterday too....
His relief was short lived as his eyes met his boss’. Vincent was out of the kitchen, and he was pissed. Simon knew that this could not end well for him.
"SIMON EMILY"
Vincent's voice reverberated throughout the bistro. The chef was seething as he stomped over to Simon, who had flinched at the sheer tone of Vincent's voice. He could feel the other cooks’ eyes on them from the kitchen window as Vincent pulls Simon towards him by his lapels.
"Would you care to explain as to why you're almost an hour late!?"
Vincent was about to go off on his poor waiter, but his attention shifted to the kid next to Simon who was staring up at him with big, wide eyes, no doubt Simon's kid. The man froze.
"... Is that your fucking kid?"
He keeps his voice low as he swore, as to not let Noah hear. His gaze softens as he let's go of Simon's lapels ever so slightly, he's still pissed though.
"Simon, first you were 50 minutes late, and now you brought your kid to work?!"
“I wasn't exactly informed that Noah's daycare was closed today. I would normally ask my best friend to take care of him, but he was at work by the time I had gotten backhomeanditwasthiswholemessofmeringingupeveryoneIknowandGodwhyiseveryonebusytoday?!"
The waiter stopped to take a breath as he finished explaining rather quickly. His slight accent made it hard to decipher what said at the end, but Vincent had gotten used to it. Though it was a little odd to see him so frazzled, considering how calm and collected he usually was. You would think this sort of this behaviour would have come from Rody and not Simon.
"I would have cleared my schedule today, but I didn't know so Noah's here now so please don't be mad!"
...
It felt like hours between them, even though it was only seconds. Vincent's gaze sent chills down Simon's spine, but he tried not to show it, even though it was completely unnerving. To Simon's surprise however, his boss had adverted his attention to his son. Crouching down to size up Noah, who in turn was staring up at him. The kid was holding his dad's hand as he held his bunny plush closer to his chest, seemingly intimidated by Vincent due to the fact he hadn't said anything.
Finally, after a few minutes, his boss spoke. "I trust he's well behaved and polite, yes?"
He nodded, too scared to speak up in the moment. After a few moments Vincent had stood up, muttering something under his breath that neither father nor son could here. Then, he delivered his verdict,
"I will be deducting your week's pay for this incident." He declared, his voice cold and completely serious.
"I'll let your child stay in the bistro, but if he causes a ruckus or breaks something..." Vincent paused, fixing the waiter to the spot with a terrifying look that made his blood run cold.
"All the expenses will be coming out of your future pay checks. Do I make myself clear?"
Vincent tilted his head to the side, his gaze piercing Simon's soul as he waited for him to respond.
A week's pay?! Simon just stared at him, his mouth open as he tried to say something, but he couldn't say anything to his boss, knowing it was useless to argue.
"I understand..." Simon mumbled, it was much better than getting fired he supposed. A thought popped into his head, where was Noah supposed to say. He voiced his concerns with Vincent. He also added that Noah wouldn't be in the way and that everything he needed was in his backpack. (It contained his lunch, water bottle, drawing pad, pencils and extra room for his stuffed rabbit named Rupert.)
Vincent thought about it, he couldn't allow Noah to be in the kitchen, the kid could be a big distraction or be severely hurt. Letting him in the dining area would serve a similar problem, as Noah could distract Simon from his duties and that couldn't be good for the bistro's reputation. The fridge was not an option regardless of who what was in it...
...So that leaves his office, great. He groaned, clearly displeased at the only option left.
"He can stay in my office. I will try to take care of him." Vincent declared, very unhappy with his own decision.
Simon nodded and crouched in front of his son. Gently, Simon told Noah what to do. He didn't have to explain much though as Noah was the type of kid to keep to himself.
"Alright buddy, Dad's got to go to work now. This is my boss Vincent," He gestured to the chef, "Be good and don't touch the stuff in his office, got that?" The kid nodded, turning his attention to Vincent.
Noah walked up to the chef silently. He was waiting for him to lead him to where he would be staying for the day. Vincent is a little surprise that Noah is so silent and well behaved for a five-year-old, but considering that Simon was the same way, it made sense.
Vincent looked over Noah, sizing the five-year-old up. Sighing, he wonders why he agreed to this.
“Hello.” He greeted Noah, patting the child on the head awkwardly. Noah didn’t like when people patted his head, but he didn’t want to seem rude, so he stayed quiet.
“Follow me.” Vincent said, walking to his office. Noah followed him, his shoes making very little noise. He certainly grabbed the cooks’ attention, but they quickly got back to work once Vincent glared at them. They had their questions, but they knew better than to ask.
Vincent’s office was rather cold and dark, much like the man himself. Noah shivered a little as he zipped up his jacket, wanting to get as warm as he could.
Pulling up a chair, the chef gestured for the kid to sit down. As Noah sat down, Vincent had realized that he had nothing to entertain Noah with, having a general dislike for children and not needing to cater to them. The bistro wasn’t for kids after all.
He sighed as he rummaged through a back drawer. To his luck, he found some comic books underneath some old documents. Vincent didn’t question why he had them in the first place.
Clearing his throat to get Noah’s attention, he placed the comic books on the table in front of him.
”Feel free to read through these, but don’t touch anything else, please.” Vincent instructed, tone stern. Noah only nodded in response.
Looking at the comic books, they had slightly interested him but not to the point that he would read them the entire time he was here, much less be entertained for long. Still, the kid felt guilty for not at least trying to read them.
Vincent had stepped out the moment Noah started to read the comics as he needed to check on the kitchen. He assumed it would be fine.
Just as expected, Noah quickly lost interest. some words were too complicated for him to read, let alone comprehend. At least he likes the designs of some of the characters. Swinging his legs, he picked up his backpack and rummaged through it. Finally, he found his crayons and drawing pad. Humming, he started to draw.
By the time Vincent got back, he was half expecting his office to be in total chaos. Instead, he was met with Noah peacefully drawing, a small pile of completed drawings right next to him. To his relief, nothing seemed to be out of place either.
As Vincent approached the table, he noticed the sheer number of drawings that had littered the table. Most if not all of them were quite good considering Noah’s age. Unsurprisingly, many of the drawings featured Noah’s dad. Though a second figure almost always accompanied him.
From the messy scrawl, Vincent could deduce it was Haruki, although it was a little hard to decipher at first due to the fact Noah had a habit of writing his letter ‘a’s and ‘k’s backwards. Distantly, Vincent could remember Simon saying something about co-parenting with his best friend. He continued to observe the kid as he drew.
“I see you have a talent for the arts.” Vincent mused, his tone much softer than before.
A moment passed before Noah said, “…thank you….” His voice was very quiet. So quiet, in fact, that Vincent almost didn’t hear him. The kid continued to happily draw as Vincent looked over him.
As Vincent looked over the drawings, he noticed some things in Noah’s drawings. While the kid was quiet, his drawings did a good job at portraying what Noah was saw or perceived. Some drawings were normal, just drawings of Noah and his dad, there were even a drawing or two of Vincent himself, but that’s not what caught his eye.
No, what caught his eye were the drawings of Simon with his best friend. While it wasn’t odd for kids to occasionally draw people who they were close to, especially in Noah’s case. His father’s best friend was definitely a person who he may consider another parent. On the outside it seemed normal, but there were subtle signs that their relationship was much deeper than the to let on.
Whether on purpose or not, Noah had drawn them with subtle romantic innuendos, like holding hands or small hearts around them. The details by themselves they seemed perfectly fine but with context and reading in between the lines, it was meant to be romantic.
The chef’s interest was piqued. Was his waiter…?
“Is that your father’s best friend?” Vincent’s tone was curious as he inquired about the drawings. In response, Noah had nodded. Now he had nothing against the relationship his employee had, after all it would be hypocritical of him considering… everything. It was just that Vincent hadn’t expected it with Simon.
But considering how the world was right now, it made sense why Simon had hidden his relationship with Haruki, not a lot of people were accepting of them.
Noah looked up at Vincent, squinting his eyes a little as he was trying to think as to why his dad’s boss was so interested in the drawing. But he eventually gave up, not knowing what he had accidentally revealed his dads’ relationship. He was told not to tell anyone as it would be dangerous if it got out to the public.
Vincent simply nodded as he turned away to think about how he should approach the fact to his employee as he knew he should talk to Simon about it soon. Though it would be awkward as being told “are you in a secret homosexual relationship?” would be very awkward and wouldn’t probably be something you’d want to hear at work, let alone from your boss.
Sighing, he glanced at Noah’s drawings once more before walking outside his office, he wasn’t the one to pry into his employees’ personal issues unless it affected their work in any way. Lighting a cigarette in the kitchen, he supervised the chefs. Occasionally, he glanced at Simon who was serving three tables at once.
Simon was busy flitting around from table to table. It was as if the moment he had thought it would be a slow day, an influx of customers suddenly started pouring into the bistro. It seems like luck wasn’t on his side today.
Rody didn’t seem to be sick like he had assumed. Simon had completely forgotten that the guy had an insanely good immune system. He had learned he had just called out of work that day for whatever reason, maybe he wanted to treat his girlfriend? Rody had been talking about it after all.
As much as he likes the other waiter, he was a little too chatty and disorganised for his age (if the untied tie around his neck was any indication). Still, his company and help would have been nice. He didn’t seem to notice how his boss’s gaze had changed, now that he knows.
Vincent’s eyes narrowed as he observed Simon. The young man was darting around the bistro, handling multiple orders at once with precision. He was certainly much more skilled than his other waiter, Rody. The sudden thought of Rody had distracted him momentarily. Much to his surprise, he found himself actually missing his presence. Even if Rody had the habit of constantly asking him questions that were meaningless and definitely shouldn’t be asked at work, Vincent felt less tense in his presence.
But now? Vincent was on edge once more. He was practically a ticking time bomb, and nobody wanted to be the poor soul who set him off accident. Shaking his head, he told himself to focus.
He looked at Simon, still considering how he should approach him with his question. When the last of the customers had left, Vincen had gone up to his employee. He made sure to keep his voice low when talking to Simon.
“Simon, I have to… inquire something.”
The waiter was suddenly worried, had his son done anything to upset Vincent or had done something wrong? Simon knew his boss had quite the temper, so he was a little on edge.
“What is it?” He asked after a few moments of silence as he was cleaning up after the last customer. Simon had turned to face his boss. The waiter was a little concerned as his boss had and unreadable expression before he spoke once more.
“Are you in a same-sex relationship?”
What.
Now Vincent knew he should have worded his question more carefully, but he wasn’t exactly known for his convocation skills regarding delicate matters such as this. Simon, on the other hand, was panicking internally. He was trying to keep his cool but he was probably going to mess up one way or another.
“What?! No! What makes you think I’m in a same sex-relationship with my bestfriend?”
Simon says quickly, his voice lowering as to not give away what the two were talking about. He usually kept his cool, but this was his boss, who was very intimidating towards his employees, Simon included. The poor guy hadn’t even realized he had slipped up and had accidentally outed him and his boyfriend.
Vincent hummed, his suspicions had been confirmed.
“I never said anything about your bestfriend.”
Shit.
Simon was sure he was fucked. Would he be fired? Thoughts like that raced through his mind. The chef, seeing his reaction, just shook his head and sighed.
“It’s fine, I don’t judge Simon. As long as your relationship doesn’t interfere with your work performance, I don’t give two shits.” He added very bluntly, noting his waiter’s shaken demeanor. “I’m just surprised you had kept the relationship under wraps for so long.”
Suddenly, Simon felt much more relieved at Vincent’s words, something he didn’t expect at all. Breathing a sigh of relief, he felt much better about the fact that his boss was fine with his relationship. Though he still had a question on his mind.
“How… How’d you find out? I thought we were careful about it?”
Vincent smirked. “Your little protégé in my office was sketching photos of both of you. He’s quite the artist I must say.” He added. “You may want to get more art supplies for him in the future.”
Simon nodded. “Maybe I should… But I should talk to him about that. It would have been bad if anyone else found out.” He mused aloud, mentally taking a note. He was curious about Noah too, but since Vincent hadn’t said anything negative about him so he thought he was fine.
“You definitely should.” Vincent says as he takes a drag from his cigarette, “Noah seems like a good kid, you and Haruki should be fine.”
After a few moments of awkward silence, the chef withdrew. “Now get back to work, that’s all I needed to know.”
“Alright, but could you refrain from smoking near Noah? He’s very sensitive to smells.” He added. Haruki didn’t like the smell of cigarette smoke either due to his parents so it was best if both Noah and Simon wouldn’t come home smelling like it.
He finished cleaning up the table as new customers came in. Vincent raised an eyebrow at his statement.
“Fair enough.” The chef says as he put out the cigarette in an ashtray and nodded. ‘I’ll keep that in mind. Get back to work.”
The raven-haired man went back to the kitchen, engaging in a heated argument to one of the chefs for quite a bit. Afterwards he stepped into the alleyway, lighting a cigarette he figured Noah should be fine for a few minutes. He assumed he could take care of himself just fine.
As Noah was doodling, he got a little hungry so he had a snack break. Pulling out his lunch box, he looked over his options and decided to have carrot sticks. As he chewed on them, Noah had a look around Vincent’s office. While it was quite bland to the kid, he had spotted what looked like a hole in the wall to his right. Sliding off the chair, Noah tried to see through the hole, but even on his tippy toes, it was quite high up compared to his small stature.
Curiosity had gotten hold of Noah and despite knowing better, he pushed the office chair closest to the door towards the hole in the wall. With wobbly legs, he pulled himself up onto the chair, where he could finally see through it. Looking through the peep hole, Noah could see through to the dining area and saw his dad working.
Satisfied with what he had found, Noah had gone to get off the chair quickly. Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite yet realized that the chair had wheels and could swivel, thus causing him to wobble off balance and fall flat on his face with a thud.
Only a few moments passed before Noah screamed loudly in pain. Sitting up, thick tears streamed down his chubby cheeks. Blood trickled down from his nose as he tried to wipe the blood and tears away with a green sleeve.
Vincent had heard Noah’s scream faintly as he walked back into the kitchen. Oh for fuck’s sake, he thought as he put out his lit cigarette and tossed it into the bin. Simon had also heard him too but couldn’t come instantly due to the fact that he was dealing with 3 tables at once, most of them having very little patience as per usual.
Opening the door, he froze at the sight of Noah crying with a bloddy nose.
“Shi-“ He cut himself off the moment he realised a child was present. With a sigh, he went to go get the medkit he had in one of his drawers before approaching Noah.
“Hey hey, it’s alright. Don’t cry.” He tried to comfort Noah, cringing at his efforts inwardly. He wasn’t made for shit like this.
Sitting the kid straight, he instructed him to breath through his nose. Vincent grabbed a few tissues and held them to Noah’s nose to stop the blood from going everywhere. A few minutes later, Simon had arrived after ushering the last few customers out after they had finished. He felt guilty for not arriving sooner as he scooped his son into his arms, quietly asking if he was alright. The bleeding seemed to have stopped now.
“What happened?” He asked his boss, turning to him. The other staff had cleared out for the day as it was a little pass closing time now.
“I have… no idea.” Vincent admitted with an exhale, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was just relieved that Noah hadn’t broken any bones. “I assume your son stood up on the chair and didn’t realise that it was one with wheels.”
Simon just nodded, Noah had stopped crying now. Though he burried his face in his dad’s shoulder, not letting go of him. As he was collecting Noah’s things and packing them in his bag, he bid his farewells to his boss. Noah waved at Vincent a little as they walked back to the car, his eyes drooping a little from exaustion. It was nearly 9pm afterall.
Noah was asleep in bed, all snuggled up with Rupert. Simon smiled and closed his door.