Burning Hearts

Chapter One

Rody walked through the doors of his work place, sighing softly as he heard the familiar sounds of chattering, and the smell of baked goods.

Four years ago he worked at La gueule de Saturne, but now he worked at a small bakery, a job he's held up for three years now. Which was quite impressive, considering Rody never managed to hold a job for more than a few months.

He enjoyed his job, even if he was just a cashier who didn't do much. It was still nice.

He could forget about everything that's ever happened to him here, and just- be himself in a way. He didn't have to maintain a false personality to keep reviews up, and he didn't have to act nice to every customer that walked through the doors.

He didn't have to act like he cared, which was relieving when it came to shitty customers.

His boss was similar to him, and would go off on anyone who was a dick. It was refreshing to have a boss who cared for him, in a non-psychopathic and obsessive way.

His boss was a kind man, and quite attractive as well. If he wasn't already seeing someone, Rody may have tried his shot at it with him.
Then again, he didn't want to date anyone. Not after what happened four years ago, when he lost.. Manon.

He was over her at this point, he'd learned to move on. But he did truly believe she was the love of his life.

And, the trauma from the events of what happened made it quite difficult for him to fall in love again.

He didn't want to get hurt again, and he definitely didn't want his lover to die because of him.

He couldn't handle that again.

Rody was suddenly startled, the feeling of a hand on his shoulder scaring him. It was his boss, Lucas.
Lucas was in his early thirties, he had longe blonde hair that he had tied back, his skin was tang, and he had freckles all across his face, his eyes were different colors, blue and green. He was gorgeous.

Rody had a small crush on him, but Lucas was dating Richard, one of Rody's friends. So that ship sunk a long time ago.

"Jesus- you scared me." Rody said, taking a deep breath after the initial panic passed through him.
Lucas chuckled, taking his hand of Rody's shoulder. "My apologies then, I didn't mean to jump you like that. I just wanted to talk to you about something." Lucas said, smiling warmly.

Fuck he was pretty.

"What did you want to talk about?" Rody asked, tilting his head slightly. Had he done something wrong? He'd been doing everything he was asked, and he hadn't cursed at any rude customers lately. Not the Lucas would have cared if he did.

Lucas chuckled, noticing the hint of unease in Rody's voice.
"Nothing bad, I just wanted to let you know I'm hiring a second manager, to help me run things a little easier." He explained, still snickering at Rody's reactions.

"A second manager? Really? Why not just hire someone who already works here?" Rody asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, an old friend of mine reached out, said he needed a job and was wondering if he could work for me." Lucas explained, placing his hands on his hips.
"I said yes, since I've been meaning to hire someone to help me out around here." He added, smiling.

Rody was curious, who could this friend of Lucas's be? Why did he need a job? When was he starting?

"He was in a rather horrible accident a few years ago, it's been hard for him to find work that didn't require a lot of labor. So, I offered him a managing job here." Lucas explained, almost as if he could read Rody's mind. Freaky.

"Really? Is he disabled or something?" Rody asked, tilting his head. He was always a bit too curious when it came to these sorts of things. He couldn't help it.
"In a way, yes. He just gets tired a lot easier, and is in a constant state of discomfort and pain." Lucas explained, his friend got a lot of questions like these, which were obviously overwhelming, so it was just easier if Lucas explained to Rody before he started asking these questions to him.

"Dam, what type of accident was he in for that to happen?" Rody asked, shuddering at the thought of being in constant pain and suffering. That must suck.

"A fire." Lucas said, making Rody freeze.

It was just a coincidence, it didn't mean anything.

"I-i see.. so umm- when is he starting?" Rody asked, shaking his head to get his mind to calm down.

He didn't need to think about that, he didn't need to think about him.

"Tomorrow actually, he just moved back into town, and is still settling in." Lucas explained, yawning.

"Oh, alright then. Can't wait to meet him." Rody said, smiling softly as he uncrossed his arms. It'd be nice to have a new co-worker, since Rody's current ones didn't like him all that much.

Rody got along with his co-workers just fine, but he knew they didn't like him, he could tell by the way they looked at him, and by how they'd whisper his name.

It made him feel insecure, but he just did his best to ignore them. What good was it to be listening to them anyway?

He didn't need those insecurities.

"I'm sure you two will get along just great!" Lucas exclaimed, smiling brightly. Lucas was often a very sweet and bubbly person, but he had quite the dark side if you knew him well enough.

"Yeah, I hope so." Rody said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"I'm going to get to work now, I don't think Sadie can handle the cashier all by herself." He added, Sadie being one of his co-workers who was currently at the cashier taking people's orders and money.

"Alright, let me know if you need anything, Rody." Lucas said, patting Rody's shoulder gently before he walked off.

Rody sighed softly, and walked over to the front counter, getting ready for work.

He was curious about this new manager that would be working there tomorrow, and couldn't wait to meet him.

If only he knew who he'd be working with soon.

A/N

[I know I just finished Cold Soup, but this fic idea has been in my mind since Chapter five, so I couldn't help myself. Anyway, LUCAS RETURNS! YAY!]