#rovince

“Hey Vince? If it’s alright, can i ask..how did you lose your sense of taste? If i remember you lost it when you were younger, right?”

There was a waver in Rody’s voice, afraid that Vince would be offended by the question, refusing to answer. However, quite the opposite happened.

Vince turned to him, a small silence between the two before he continued.

“Well, yes. I lost my taste buds when i was around 10, I suppose. I had gotten ill…I was so sick at that time that my immune system started to weaken, and i ended up with a taste disorder in the end.”

The raven haired continued, a gleam of guilt in his eyes. “I remember my parents, they were so worried when they looked at me, i was weak and i nearly died, actually…Sorry to say this so suddenly I don’t mean to-”

“No no! Not at all! It’s perfectly fine…And if it’s alright, may I ask you another question?” The redhead asked, to which Vince nodded in reply

“…What’s it like? Not being able to taste?”

A puff of smoke came out of Vince’s cigarette, his voice coming soon after

“To be quite frank, It’s plain awful. With every meal, every dish you eat, it tastes like nothing. All you can feel, all you can rely on is the texture of the food. And I can never understand what the food critics say about my food, because I can never taste it.” He whispered, a small blush adorning his cheeks and a thump beating in his heart. He only confessed this to a few people, to which their replies weren’t in the least bit positive. There was something in Vince’s stomach that would toss and turn, hoping Rody wasn’t like those people. It’s been over a year since they’ve met, a year since he began to trust him, little by little. He wouldn’t know what to do if that trust was broken.

They stood in silence. Vince didn’t know what to do, what to say. During all his life he craved for silence. But he hates when Rody has nothing to say, especially in this situation. His throat was dry and there wasn’t anything left to say. All Vince did was look down in shame, avoiding Rody’s gaze.

He didn’t know that the reason for that silence was because all that Rody could do was look at Vince in awe. Vince, an all renowned chef, owner of a michellin star restaurant-

“I know what you’re thinking. Vince interrupted his thoughts “Isn’t it ironic to be a chef who can’t taste? I mean- what kind of moron chose this for his career”

“What?! No! i wasn’t thinking that at all! I think it’s sort of cool, in my opinion” Rody’s olive eyes gazing softly into Rody’s charcoal ones.

“Pfft- yeah right, whenever i confess my story to my colleagues all I get in return are pitiful looks or looks of scrutiny” He scoffed, unbelieving.

“I’m telling the truth Vince. You really are amazing. I mean sure- it is ironic to be a chef and not being able to taste- but isn't that what makes you even greater? You ignored everyone’s judgment and followed your own path…and to think you lost your taste from an illness you nearly died from…I hope you know you deserve everything you’ve worked hard for.”

Vince couldn’t help but gaze up at Rody, sitting straight on the bench, as he observed the blunt waiter shiver from the sudden blow of wind. “It’s a lie” His brain reasoned. Rody’s a friendly guy, of course he’d compliment people easily. But there was a small ounce of hope that the lie wasn’t really a lie at all. That Rody really thinks of Vince that way, despite all his flaws. He wishes to any God out there that every word he spoke was how he really views him. It didn’t matter if other people didn’t view him like that, so long as Rody did

“Right…thank you, Rody” Vince could tell from the sincerity in Rodys eyes, he really did mean it. And he could also tell from the glow on Rody’s face, he’d be in trouble. His face wasn’t glowing in actuality, the moon was a mere crescent and the trees were covering the light. But how is it that Vince could only describe Rody’s face as something from a painting? From his little beauty marks to the freckles adorned on his nose, they all seemed to unsettle the poor chef’s heart.

(A small part of a fanfic im writing on ao3. Idrk if its good i wrote this at like 1 am. I’ll check it later)

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55651204/chapters/141258526