A/N: 

CHILDREN, WAKE UP! MOTHER HAS (FINALLY) POSTED, ITS DINNERTIMEEE! >:D

I lost motivation for a while and I'm sorry to those who thought I quit the story! I won't quit though, I wouldn't wanna disappoint my readers ;) I honestly had no idea you guys would enjoy this story this much, but I was so happy seeing all your motivating comments, it means the world <3 Thanks for waiting so patiently, I've been going thru a lot these days and I might need to vent lol (which is saying ALOT bc if you know me, I avoid venting unless I REALLY have to-) but I don't wanna disappoint y'all, so here's the chapter you were waiting for!! I tried to make it longer than usual to make up for not writing for a while ^^

(sorry to disappoint, planetdeath,  they can't fuck this chapter... or make out... it's not time yet ;0)

And to think these are only SOME of the silly yet motivating comments I found- If your not on there, dw, I just grabbed the first ones I could see lol- and if you are, then, you just got shouted out :D

YA GURL WOULDN'T WANNA KEEP HER BERRIES WAITING NOW, WOULD SHE? ON WITH THE STORYYYYYYY >:3333

♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡

"Make yourself at home, Rody."

Rody hadn't stayed at Vince's apartment in a while, and he definitely missed it. He missed cuddling on the sofa with Vince after a long day, he missed Vince trying to teach him how to cook without him burning the house down, he missed the lemon tree, and he even missed the ugly bathtub, which is saying a lot.

A few weeks ago, he stayed and sometimes even slept over almost every day after his shift, but after the conflicts between him and Vince, his visits became less common. Vince's apartment was really starting to feel like Rody's own home- he knew his way around perfectly and memorized almost every piece of furniture. He could probably draw the apartment rooms effortlessly by memory if he tried. He'd just gotten so used to the place, and Rody would be lying if he said he didn't miss it, so it wasn't too hard to make himself at home. 

After all, it felt more like home than back at Rody's own apartment, where he felt... well, alone. Vincent was practically a piece of Rody at this point; Rody couldn't picture a life without him. Being next to Vincent was like Rody found his place in life, and he felt safe. He felt that he could trust Vince, and he found home in gaze, which had gotten familiar now. Even if Vince wasn't his and would never be, Rody appreciated the moments after his shift where he spent time alone with Vince, and was truly happy for once. He was more than glad to be able to relive those moments again.

"Thanks Vince, uh.." Rody looked down, his hands gripped tight around something behind his back. He blushed, not knowing how to say this. 'Okay, you got this, just- get this over with-' Rody thought to himself. He took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, and thrusted a  bouquet of flowers into Vince's arms.

Rody, blushing madly, blurted, "Theseareforyouandyoumean- y-you mean alot to meandiwantedtogivethistoyouanduh- I- uhm- h-happy- happyValentinesday!" Rody blushed impossibly harder, embarrassed on how much he stumbled over his words. 'Real smooth, Rody, real smooth,' he thought, cursing to himself. Rody kept his eyes shut, wanting to bury himself deep in a hole and never come out. He didn't want to hear Vince's reaction, what if he-

Rody's thoughts were interrupted with a pair of arm wrapping around him. "Thank you, Rody, I- I really don't know what to say, t-this is- this is so sweet!" Vincent said affectionately while embracing Rody in a hug, slightly stuttering and obviously flustered. It was his turn to blush this time. "And now I feel like I should have prepared something for you..." Vincent muttered, which made Rody laugh.

"It's fine, really, I'm used to it, I'm always the one to give gifts on Valentine's Day, anyways!" Rody tried to fake a smile, although it was way too obvious that something was bothering him.

"Rody, I think I mentioned before how bad you are at lying... you're also not a natural at faking emotions, either." Rody chuckled nervously while sheepishly looking away. "Well, it's really nothing, really! I just- well, I feel like love and affection are pretty much the most important things in the world, and- and I've been pretty deprived of that from my parents when I was younger- like I said, it's not a big deal. I didn't want the people I loved to feel the way I did when my parents made excuses for spending time with me, forgot my birthdays, didn't come to the events I went to, avoided or ignored me, and so on- so I just like giving them everything I can and to shower them with affection... Since Valentine's Day's purpose is to give gifts to your loved ones- I MEAN UH- IDIDN'TMEANTHATILOVEYOUIMEANIJUSTLOVEYOUUHHH- PLATONICALLY-" Rody turned beet red, but managed to continue. 

"So um-" Rody began. "I just wanted to get you something- sorry it isn't much, I would've tried to get you something more meaningful, but I was in a rush... bu-"

"Rody." Vince interrupted him. Rody continued anyways, too lost in his thoughts. "Even so, I always Valentine's Day over my birthday since seeing the people I love happy- I mean, platonically, of course, ahaha... But again, it's nothing, not importa-" 

"Rody." Vincent repeated, a bit more firmly. "Wha- oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize- I was talking too much, wasn't I? My bad, I-" Rody started to say quickly. "Rody, stop apologizing and answer my question, okay?" Vincent sighed, looking up to face Rody. Rody nodded, unaware that he was blushing like crazy and sweating a bit. Rody only turned more red when Vincent's eyes- his beautiful, gorgeous eyes- met his, their gazes locking into each others. Vincent noted, "Rody, you said you value Valentine's Day over your birthday... why'd you mention that?" Rody gulped. "Uh- no reason- anyways-" Rody tried to change the subject, but Vince was quicker. "Is it perhaps your birthday today?" Rody stayed silent. 'Oh God, this is the one thing I didn't want him to find out- I'm just so lucky, aren't I?' Rody grumbled internally. 

"Why didn't you tell me? I could've made you a cake- or some other meal that you like!" Vincent asked. Rody looked away. "Sorry, I-" 

"Rody, is it even possible for you to just not apologize for just one minute?" Rody blushed.

"I'm sor-" Rody stopped himself after getting a look from Vince. "It's not that important anyways..." Rody hesitated for a second, but then managed to maintain his regular expression just as quickly. 'After all, I've always put others before me...' Rody thought. He hadn't even realized he said the last part out loud until Vincent pulled him into another embrace. "V-Vince?" Rody began, immediately flustered. Vincent shushed him and pulled him closer. Rody didn't notice himself, but he found himself hugging Vincent back, holding on like his life depended on it. In that moment, that was all they both needed.

Rody didn't know how long they had hugged, but he didn't want to let this moment go. He didn't want to let Vincent go.

♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡

Vincent couldn't help but feel sorry for the waiter as he felt Rody's arms slide around him, and he could tell Rody was the slightest bit hesitant. Rody probably wasn't used to others taking the first step, being the one to give him the love he deserved. As Rody explained, he was the person always making the first move, offering more love, giving others his everything. As Vincent met Rody's eyes, he suddenly realized just how close their faces were. He could see the perfect details of Rody's face... he could even see tiny brown specks in Rody's eyes, which he could get lost in all day. Vincent's eyes trailed down to Rody's lips... 'No, Vincent, stop fantasizing, don't even think about kissing him!' He lectured himself. Vincent blinked and tried to snap out of it, but his eyes had a mind of their own. Vincent's attention almost immediately focused back to Rody... God, the urge Vincent had to lean in and kiss Rody senseless at that moment was almost irresistible. It took everything in Vincent to hold himself back from smashing his lips onto Rody's. Although... maybe... just maybe- 

Their "moment" was rudely interrupted by an aggressive knock on the door. Vincent, sighing, forced himself to pull away from Rody. "I'll get it," He grumbled, not bothering to hide his disappointment. Vincent walked over to the front door. 

"Hello-" Vincent stopped speaking out of shock, as he saw Manon's mother, fuming with anger, outside his door, with her father right behind her. Vincent blinked, hesitated, and cleared his throat. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Vacher, what brings you her-" Vincent was caught by surprise when Mrs. Vacher lunged at him. She probably would've gotten a good slap or two in Vincent's face if Mr. Vacher hadn't held her back. "Calm down, darling, we don't even know for sure ye-" 

"Well, it's obvious that HE had something to do with it! You! You were the last person she was seen with, YOU had something to do with her death, didn't you? Tell us the truth!" She yelled. "You were her boyfriend, and there was always something that didn't seem right about you! What did you do to her!?" Along with her furious energy, there was something else in Mrs. Vacher's eyes- tears? Mrs. Vacher broke down, sobbing in her husband's arms. "P-please... she was our only daughter, she meant everything to us... you don't happen to know anything about her death, do you?"

 Vincent, still in shock, managed to reply, "Your daughter was a very sweet person, and it was very difficult for me heal from her death. I'm deeply sorry for your loss, and I assure you that I truly did love your daughter. I wouldn't have done anything to her and certainly have nothing to do with her death, I can promise you that." Unlike Rody, Vincent, although he was unprepared for the sudden not-so-friendly visit from Manon's parents, managed to sound very convincing. Every word he spoke sounded like the truth, and it was hard not to believe him. Mr. Vacher, who was now also in tears, said, "So sorry to bother you, Vincent, it's just... we were so devastated when we found out we lost her... We're trying to do everything to figure out how she died..." Mrs. Vacher simply nodded, unable to bring herself to speak. 

"No need to apologize, I understand." Vincent replied. Mr. Vacher nodded and said, "We'll be going now, but please, report anything to us that seem related to our daughter's death, if you come across anything... alright?" Vincent assured them that he'd make sure to do that. 

Sighing, Vincent shut the door as Manon's parents left. As much as he was annoyed, he was also a bit nervous. If people were starting to become suspicious of him... no, it couldn't be... but just to be safe, tomorrow, Vincent decided that he would dispose of anything in the freezer that could serve as evidence that he was the reason for the loss of MarieAnne Vacher. 

♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡

"Vincent? Why were Manon's parent's here?" Rody asked, slightly worried. He really didn't need to be reminded of Manon right now...

"Nothing to worry about, they just had some things to discuss with me about her loss and if I knew anything about it, since she was mostly seen with me... I didn't know anything about it, so I just told them I would report anything suspicious." Vincent explained. Rody, barely audibly, sighed with relief. Manon's parents never really like Rody and saw him as a messy person that didn't have a good name or remarkable achievements, which they weren't exactly wrong- and whenever Rody had conversations with them, they weren't exactly pleasant... So Rody was relieved that he didn't have to speak to them and Vincent had handled it. 

"You probably should head home now, Rody, it's been a busy day, and you need some proper rest for tomorrow." Vincent muttered. Rody nodded, and he headed out the front door. The previous events of the day before Mr. and Mrs. Vacher interrupted came into Rody's memory. Their faces were so close... If Rody had leaned in a bit, maybe just three or four inches, he could've- they could've- nope! That would never happen, ever! Rody forced the image out of his mind. As much as he... As much as he loved Vincent, Vincent probably only saw Rody as a friend.

Although the fact it was painful for Rody to face, that kind of relationship between the Waiter and the Chef wouldn't work out.

♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡ · ♡

Rody stretched. Yawning and still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he forced himself to get up and dragged his feet across the floor to get ready for the day. He checked his watch and realized that he had somehow gotten up early! 'Am I really not going to be late this time? Am I posessed or something?'

Rody hopped onto his horse and was about to pedal off to the bistro when he spotted something in his mailbox out of the corner of his eye. He definitely would've missed it if he hadn't always left his mailbox open so he could see what was inside. Rody hastily walked over to check his mail, and his eyes widened at what was inside. 

'A box and a letter... from Vincent?'

He opened the box to find a lemon cake that looked very appetizing. It looked too delicate to be eaten, and Rody would feel bad eating it, but at the same time, he wanted to eat it. He couldn't just- not eat it! 

Holding onto the cake, Rody opened the letter. "Happy belated birthday- and happy late Valentine's day, Rody! Sorry this was late, I didn't know when your birthday was, but I hope you like this- I didn't know what your favorite flavor of cake was, so I just made my favorite flavor." 

'Of course this was his favorite flavor.' Rody rolled his eyes and smiled to himself. He hadn't realized he'd started blushing.

"Anyways, thank you for the flowers, that was very sweet of you. This really isn't much, but I wanted to do something for you, even if it was something small, because you mean a lot to me, and- actually, this is getting too wholesome. Happy (belated) birthday and Valentines day. Enjoy the cake, Lamoree.

-Love, Vincent Charbonneau."

Rody suddenly realized his face was hot. Could a letter even do that? 

He checked the time. Since Rody was usually always late, skipping breakfast every day had become a common habit for him. However, there was still an hour left until his shift, and he could get to the bistro in less than 30 minutes... 

Rody smiled and looked down at the cake. He was used to skipping breakfast, but maybe today could be an exception.

-End of Chapter Ten-