TEXTURE [Dead Plate || RODENT]

Lenses

Vincent didn't close his door after Rody ran out. He must feel really awful now. Rody wasn't aware that he's such a lightweight.

He walks inside, closes the door correctly, and finds Vincent lying on the couch, with his arm before his eyes, breating heavily.

"Vince, you alright?"

"...No..... ...Rody?" He lifts his arm up and tries to sit up, but Rody pushes him back down. "Just go to sleep, alright? I'll take you to your bed. Is it okay if I stay here for a while? I wouldn't want to put my bike at risk in a busy road..."

It feels weird for Rody to treat his chef so softly. Vincent is usually much more strict and organised, but this isn't half bad. It's better, in fact.

Rody widens his shoulders, so he can carry Vincent's long body in as much of a horizontal position as possible. He puts his arms under the curves of his knees and back, and picks him up, like a feather. That's right, he's tasteless, so he must hate food. But that doesn't mean he should starve himself...

Because Rody doesn't know the layout, he walks into two wrong rooms first, before finding the bedroom. He places Vincent on the bed, and lifts his head up to place it on the pillow.

He stands up, sighs, and stares at his boss for a moment, before deciding what to do. He tiptoes away and silently turns the doorknob–

"Thank you... Rody."

He stops and turns around.

Unsure if Vincent said anything, Rody approaches him again, and lies down on the bed on the other side. Just to keep him company. He's staring at the ceiling, not wanting to fall asleep in someone else's bedroom.

"Are you really feeling nauseous? I didn't know wine had such a big effect on you," Rody whispers, not knowing if Vincent is asleep.

"Yeah... not nauseous... Just a headache..." Vincent's voice is frail.

"Would you like some water? It might help."

"Yeah..."

Rody stands up and runs to the bathroom, forgetting to take a glass with him. Secondly, he runs to the kitchen and takes a glass, and thirdly, he goes to the bathroom again. Rody fills the glass with tap water, and slowly walks to the bedroom, watching out to not spill it. All of this took him much longer than he had planned.

When he comes in, Vincent is already sitting up. He waits for Rody to walk up to him and reaches out for the glass, but it almost slips out of his fingers when he hands it to him.

Luckily, Rody was still holding it firmly, and nothing spilled. He keeps Vincent's chin in place and slowly rotates the glass against his lip, pouring the water in his mouth, a little bit at a time.

"Honestly, you shouldn't drink on an empty stomach. What is your diet?"

Vincent pouts. "I just... mix the nutrients in the blender."

Rody's mouth drops. He tries to imagine it, and his eye starts to twitch. "No wonder you hate food..." He places the glass on the nightstand and sits down cross-legged across from him. "I recommend you to eat more solid foods... just for the sake of it." He smiles.

Vincent collapses on his side and closes his eyes. "Eh... you can sleep here, if you don't want to go home tonight. I won't mind."

"Ah! That's... really nice. I'd love that, yes."

Rody lies down next to him again. "Are you feeling any better?"

Vincent turns around to him, and lies comfortably, staring at him. "Not really... but at least you're here..."

Rody blushes at the unexpected statement. He just laughs it off as Vincent rambling under the influence. "Eheheh... that's true."

They stare into each other's eyes for a while, before Rody breaks the silence. "Are you not going to sleep?"

"...What about you?"

"Huh? Oh... I'm not tired, but you had a headache, so..."

Vincent sits up, and starts fidgeting with his eye. Rody, surprised, sits up too, thinking something is wrong. "What are you doing?"

"I should take my eye lenses out first..."

"You wear lenses?"

"Yeah. I have terrible eyesight." He's still trying, but he can't manage it.

Rody shifts closer to him and turns his face to himself. "Let me help." He pulls Vincent's eyelids apart delicately with his thumb and index finger, and uses his other hand to gently squish the lens in the middle,to  take it out of his right eye. Then, he does the same with the other lens. Vincent doesn't even flinch. He trusts Rody fully.

"Eh... Where do I place them?" Rody asks, holding the lenses in front of Vincent.

He's rubbing his eyes with his fists. "Just... Eh, just throw them away. I'll just get new ones tomorrow."

Rody throws the lenses away, charmed by Vincent's friendliness. Maybe getting him drunk wasn't a bad idea at all...

He sits down next to him. "Can you still see like this?"

"...Barely." Vincent lies down horizontally again. "I see much better when it's brighter." He sighs.

"So would you like me to turn the lights on–"

"No. My head will implode if you do that."

"So your headache is still bad..." Rody drops his head so it's on the same height as Vincent's. "Would it be okay if I..."

He places his hand on Vincent's head, and moves his fingertips in a circular motion. It startles Vincent, so he grabs Rody's arm in surprise. After a while, Rody continues again, and Vincent lets him do whatever he's doing, because it helps relieve his headache.

"You have really soft hair, you know..."

"...Thanks. I guess."

Vincent slowly dozes off, and Rody's arm is starting to get tired. He takes it away and stares at Vincent. He starts thinking to himself, and feels like he's getting drowsy.

The two are lying across from each other in bed together. Rody is starting to get cold, so he takes the blanket from under him and Vincent and pulls it over himself, before embracing him. It feels good to have him in his arms, but once he's pulled the cover over Vincent correctly too, he releases him, because he doesn't want to get in trouble.

Rody waits for tomorrow, and tomorrow comes faster than expected. This bed feels like heaven, and he doesn't want to leave it, until Vincent calls him for breakfast.

☂