Work Text:
It was a chilly day today, the snowflakes from the sky were gradually falling onto the pavement in front of Rody ’s apartment complex. The gentle clicking of loose rocks beneath a certain bicycle stopped as the distinct smell of smoke wafted from the balcony.
The auburn male looked up, seeing—
“Vince !” He called out, catching the ebony haired male’s gaze. Waving up at him like a child. Vincent rolled his eyes, flicking his burnt cigarette onto the streets. Letting it sizzle out. Ever since the two became roommates and moved into a new apartment ever since college, this was always their daily routine.
Rody going to his part-time job at the crack of dawn ( At some.. greasy fast food restaurant, wearing tacky, vibrant red uniforms which Vincent… certainly did not want to be a part of. ), Vincent doing god knows what for the whole day straight before finding Rody back outside their shared apartment door because he lost his keys.
It was concerning how disorganised that dull-witted twat was. Just seeing his rooms makes the chef shiver.
“Rody.” He says, already downstairs and letting the other male in. The shimmer and lovestruck look in Rody’s eyes already indicated that something happened.. siiigh. The bouquet that was gripped in the shorter male’s hand was practically crumpled. Poor thing.
“Vince, y’know what month it is??!”
“Février.”
“No– well, yea. But it’s me and Manon ’s 5th monthly anniversary today ! ! !” Oh, huh. Well, that certainly made sense as to why his roommate was bouncing in excitement. It was because of his girlfriend who has him wrapped around her finger, and that visits their apartment sometimes.
“SO! So. So, I want to bake her something in appreciation! Because, y’know how she always bakes stuff for me and—”
Vincent used a stop gesture with his hand, rubbing his temples as he groaned. “Stop , stop. No. Absolutely not. I don’t want my kitchen to be burnt to the ground, again.”
Rody frowned, clasping his hands in a pleading way. The bouquet that was still in his grasp oh-so-accidentally shoved right into the taller male’s face. The scent of roses clashed with the tobacco residue on Vincent’s lips. “PLEASEEE…?? I swear, I’ll pay for any damages! I’ll even get the ingredients myself! Pretty pleaseeee….”
“Rody. You know you can’t afford anything that’s in my kitchen,and you even haven’t gotten your monthly wage yet.” He sighed, pushing the neat..? mostly crumpled flowers away from his face. Vincent himself, had a fine enough job being a chef. So he was the one mostly buying stuff in the house.
The auburn haired male grumbled, “Well, fine. I don’t need your permission. I’ll bake something myself.” He mutters to himself, going back to their well-kept apartment ( thanks to Vincent, obviously. . . ) and neatly placing his bicycle outside of the said apartment’s door. A habit he finally acquired after Manon inquired about it.
Rody confidently went up to the– microwave.. Puffing his chest out, reaching out to it and—
ZAP!
…
“Pff–” Vincent covered his mouth, holding in a snicker at the sight of his roommate cooked to a crisp, almost comedically, blinking owlishly in shock. Happening only when Rody ESPECIALLY wanted to use it. “How impressive.”
Rody slumped over in shame, recovering rather fast from the event. “Uuuughhh…” He turned to face Vincent like a kicked puppy. “Just please, please– PLEASE. Just help me, just this ONCE.” The younger male rolled his eyes, snorting. Not hiding an amused, but subtle smile on his face.
“Fine, sure.”
Ah, yes. The glorious sun, on a cold, yet sunny Wednesday. The icy air, freezing as the wind blew with snowflakes gently flowing through the bustling streets of France, as the leaves fell. The background sound of cars passing by, as the birds chirped. A lone bouquet of red, lovely roses sat near the window of somewhere called home. It was truly a peaceful s—
“No, Rody. You don’t— RODY, PUT THAT FUCKING— No. How the fuck. RODY—”
Nevermind.
Even with Vincent’s help, ( who went to culinary school, for god sake.. ) it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough to preserve their hard work. Examples? Sure.
EXHIBITION A;
Apple pie. ( “Manon would love apple pie! She mentioned it once, I’m sure she’ll love it!” “Alright.” )
—
“So, add flour. Butter as well.”
“Get the apples, we’ll need those.”
“Sugar. Not salt!”
“You.. What do you mean you added POTATO STARCH INSTEAD OF FLOUR??”
… Few hours in, and the two were already going to brawl it out if anything else happens. Rody was already dried to the bone from all the nagging coming out of Vincent’s mouth. The dish they shoved into the oven and prayed to GOD it would work out, was revealed to be utterly charred.
As if it came out of the depths of hell. Oh, the screams of the damned…
Well, that wasn’t surprising, since he had burnt cereal once.
But, Rody did not falter. Not even for a moment. He picked himself back up from the ground, with determination in his eyes. “Vince. Let’s scrap the apple pie. Let’s do something else. Something.. Something that’ll truly make her heart skip a beat!”
The chef groaned. He was going to get a migraine at this rate.
With that, it takes us to exhibition B.
EXHIBITION B;
Cookies!
Chocolate chip ones, to be exact.
…Yeah, it went as horrible as last time. You’d think, after all this, Rody would learn his lesson to NOT get a step close towards anything flammable. Not to mention the dough for the cookies were inconsistent, and when it was baked and was freshly out of the oven. Vincent would have sworn it was MOVING, at some point.
Though, it did kind of taste like mint. Which was a win in Rody’s books.
So, this takes us to exhibit C .
Cake.
Red velvet cake.
Vincent tightened his apron, and readied his wisk. He was going to make this attempt their last. He sat Rody down, and took a deep breath.
“Rody. Listen to me. If we want this to work, follow my steps. Exactly how it's supposed to. Okay-” He, then proceeded to list out EVERYTHING. Every. Single. Thing. Every single detail.
Which, er. Made Rody doze off a bit, if he had to admit.
Vincent sighed, maybe it was best if he did this himself.
After.. hours of hard work, and burnt pans, and not to mention the pixelated mess they’ve created in the kitchen, they did it. They finally did it.
A.. good looking cake. Wow, Vincent never thought he’d see the day.
A red velvet cake topped with buttercream, and tasty toppings. ( In Rody’s opinion. )
It even looked presentable!
The minute they finished their work of art, Rody didn’t hesitate to call Manon, who picked up after the third ring.
“Manon! Manon! ! ! Happy five month anniversary, Mon chaton ! ! !♡” He says, grinning ear to ear as Vincent silently rolled his eyes in the background, which the other male paid no attention to.
“ Hi love! I didn’t know you’d remember, happy five months!♡ ” Manon’s angelic, amazing and honestly the sweetest voice ever, rang out from the receiver.
Rody giggled like a high school teen. “Yeah! So, I was wondering if you wanted to eat some cake for today. . .”
A brief silence made Rody’s heart prick. “ Ah.. sorry Rody, but I’m taking a break from sweets this week..! We can just eat somewhere simple, yes? ”
….
“Yes.. of course, Mon ange!”
Vincent is so sick of them.