#btw Vince used yellow carnations and daffodils in his tea/tisane ;)

[ramestice]

Rodent Brainrot

I NEEDED TO WRITE THIS DOWN BEFORE MY BRAIN EXPLODED OMG,,,

Okay so Dead Plate Canon Divergence AU—probably OOC because there's no murder involved— Vincent does not turn Manon into a gourmet meal, he just tells her he's not interested and they part ways. The rest of the game goes on normally; Vincent is still obsessively fixated on Rody while Rody's hung up over Manon. And GET THIS,,,Manon eventually calls Rody back after he keeps insistently calling her every night, and straight up tells him to stop. She tells him to please focus on himself for once, and to stop trying to contact her. She doesn't want to get back together again, she's seriously exhausted by how self-destructive he is. The phone call ends and,,,Rody starts coughing. He spits out the strange lump in his throat and there, in his palm, sits a yellow carnation.

This is where everything falls apart. So he decides that, hey, maybe quitting such a well-paying job after a week just for the sake of winning back his ex was NOT a good idea. So he stays. He sneaks in bundles of yellow whenever he has to take out the trash in his shifts, fixes up his apartment, and he tries to be,,,better. But still holding onto the hope that one day Manon will come back. He ignores the way the mere thought of her makes his lungs feel heavier.

And all the while? Vincent is right there, still uncomfortably observing his every move. But one day, he invites him over to his place. No dinner party to cater, just two cups of tea. Rody remarks at how surprising it is to see his boss drinking anything that isn't red wine or black coffee, but then Vincent says he made the blend himself. Curious, he tries a sip and,,,it's incredible. A light, floral feel and then a citrus-y aftertaste—Vincent did say he liked lemons. He's never been a fan of tea, but there's just something so sincere about it that soothes all of his worries. When was the last time he just sat down with someone, a mug warming both his hands and heart? No worries about how he's acting, what next big thing he must attempt to keep the affection of those around him—of her. So he looks at Vincent and tells him,

"It tastes like love."