Chapter Text
When Saturday finally came, Mike was nearly vibrating with nerves. Three times he had struggled to button his good shirt from how shaky his hands were. He decided to forego the tie this time, it wasn't like they were going to a Michelin starred restaurant and he didn't want to have to struggle with it. Well, that and he didn't want to listen to Abby's teasing about needing her help when he was already so nervous he might cry.
Upon arriving at Sparky's, he saw that he was the only one in the parking lot, save for two cars that almost certainly belonged to the employees. It had been a long while since he had last been inside the diner. He wondered for a moment if that one waiter— Ness, he thought his name was— still worked there. The guy was friendly enough, but he was always sticking his nose into the business of the people dining there. But he always had some "theory" he wanted to share, which was interesting enough to not be annoying. Barely any of them held water, which made his speculation all the more entertaining.
Mike stepped in through the door of the restaurant. A tall, lanky man with an incandescent smile and a waiter's uniform greeted him. On his chest was a name tag that said "Ness." "Hi, Mike was it?" he said. "I haven't seen you in years! What brings you here after so long?"
"Hi, Ness," Mike waved. "I'm meeting a friend. Can we get a booth?"
"Well, you're one of the only people here, so sit wherever you like!" Mike did just that. Ness dropped two menus at the booth before making his way back towards one of the other tables. Mike thumbed through his menu. He knew what he was going to order, he just wanted to make himself look busy while waiting for Vincent.
After a few minutes, Vincent was finally here. He waved at Mike as he went through the door and approached the booth. "Sorry I'm late," he said with an apologetic smile. "I tried taking the bus but got mixed up on the route here."
"Oh, it's fine," Mike said. "I wasn't waiting that long." Vincent sat down across from Mike. He was dressed in a black tee shirt with a light green flannel overtop. It was simple, but green suited him well. The bandage on his cheek was gone, and his shaving was much more even. He cleaned up nicely.
"So," Vincent said. "What do you usually get here?" Mike looked down at the menu. He hadn't been here in quite some time, so he worried that the menu may have changed.
"Oh, uh," he began, flipping through the laminated pages. "I used to get the eggs Benedict a lot. Hope they haven't changed the recipe." Vincent began to flip through his own menu.
"Are the omelettes good here?" he asked. Mike nodded.
"They were, last I was here."
"I think I'll get that, then."
As if on cue, Ness came back over to their table with a notepad in hand and that same practiced smile on his face. "Can I get you two started with some drinks?" he asked, in that perfectly rehearsed customer service voice.
"Oh, just water for me," Vincent said. Mike nodded to say he wanted the same. Ness quickly wrote down their drink orders.
"Alright," he said. "Now, are you ready to order your food or do you need to take another few minutes?"
"I think we're ready," Vincent said. "Could I get a ham and cheese omelette?"
"And could I get the eggs Benedict?" Mike said. Ness wrote down their orders.
"Alrighty," he said in a friendly voice. "Those will be out in a few minutes." He walked off, giving the two some privacy. Mike took the opportunity to say something to Vincent about the waiter.
"That guy will probably come over to start talking to us after he brings us our food," he said. "I don't think he has much better to do, business has always been a bit slow here." Vincent smiled.
"That's fine," he said. "I don't mind. Tell me what you've been up to after all this time! I've missed you." Mike flushed. Vincent missed him. Of course, after all this time, that was expected, but Vincent told him that he missed him! But that wasn't the topic at hand. Be cool, Mike, he told himself. Be cool.
"Well, I uh…" Mike began. "I got a new job. It pays pretty well, all things considered." He chuckled sheepishly. Vincent probably noticed how red his face had gotten. "It's actually part of why Abby and I moved."
"What do you do?" Vincent asked eagerly.
"I'm a mechanic," Mike said with a smile. "I took a vocational class in high school, so I figured I might as well put those skills to use. What about you?"
"I work at the mall," Vincent said. "It doesn't pay much, but the insurance benefits were pretty good, considering…" He vaguely gestured at himself.
"Huh?" Mike said, not getting it. Vincent rolled his eyes, a breathy chuckle escaping his lips.
"My medicine and surgery, Mike," he said, keeping his language deliberately vague. It finally clicked.
"Oh," Mike said, connecting the dots in his head. "Health insurance can pay for that?"
"Not always," Vincent said. "Finding coverage was a hell of a battle. But here I am now." He smiled widely.
"So," Mike said. "When did you start?"
"I started getting my medication about a month after I moved away," Vincent replied. "Part of my savings went towards my first few doses. I had my surgery a year ago."
"Well, you look great," Mike said. He felt his face warm up. "I-I mean, what you've been prescribed is working wonders on you. You looked… good before, but…" He just kept digging himself deeper into this hole. He quietly groaned, covering his flushed face with his hands. "You know what I meant." Vincent laughed and reached across the table. He gently pushed Mike's hands away from his burning face.
"It's fine, Mike," he said with a gentle smile. "I know what you meant. And besides, I think I look a hell of a lot better than I did before. This suits me more than the last time you saw me." Mike couldn't help but agree. Vincent was the happiest he had ever been. And that joy seemed to radiate through all of his mannerisms.
After a few minutes, Ness returned, carrying a tray with the two orders on it. "Well, here we are," he said with a smile. "Eggs Benedict for Mike, and a ham and cheese omelette for… Sorry, what's your name?"
"Oh, it's Vincent," Vincent replied.
"Alright then," Ness said with a carefully plastered smile. "Ham and cheese omelette for Vincent." He set the two plates down in front of them. "Is this the friend you mentioned, Mike?" Mike nodded.
"Yeah," he said. "He and I decided to try and reconnect after a few years of not being in contact."
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Ness said with a smile. "Hope you enjoy your meal at Sparky's." With that, he walked back towards the kitchen.
Vincent smiled. "He seems nice," he said.
"He is, but he's a bit talkative," Mike replied. "Likes to talk about his 'theories.' Guess that's what happens when you have a lot of free time like he does."
"Have any of them been right?"
"The ones that have been right were pretty mundane. The guy really has an overactive imagination." Vincent laughed.
"Well, at least he has something to keep himself entertained." Slowly, he began to pick at his meal. Mike couldn't help but watch him with fascination. A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as they ate in a shared silence. It felt almost intimate.
"Got something you wanna say to him?" A voice pulled Mike out of his staring with a start. Ness was standing besides the two, a large smile on his face. Mike looked up at him, flustered.
"Well, I uh—" was all he could sputter out.
"Is this a date?" Ness asked. This question may be almost accusatory coming from anyone else, but Ness seemed genuinely curious.
"No," Mike said. "Well, actually— Sort of? I'm not sure how to…"
Vincent stepped in. "We're considering it," he said with practiced ease. "Right now we're just… testing the waters."
"Oh," Ness said. "Whatever happened with you and that girl who disappeared?" Mike felt his stomach drop. Ness was almost certainly talking about Vincent before he changed.
"Oh, well um," Mike scrambled for an answer. He knew Vincent wouldn't want to have everything revealed, especially since they were so close to town now. "She uh… she disappeared. Not much else to it." Ness seemed satisfied with that answer.
"You know, I heard some stuff about her," he said. "Apparently, what happened was she didn't just disappear like everyone else thinks. I heard somewhere that she actually just skipped town and then got a sex change and is now living as a man."
How the hell?
Mike looked over at Vincent. He was white as a sheet. His eyes were wide with shock and horror. Mike was just as shocked. How did he know? How the fuck did he know? Ness was oblivious.
"But," he said with a smile. "That's just a theory I heard." With that, he walked away.
"Mike." Vincent said, his voice low and shaky. "We have to leave." Mike simply nodded. Without another word, he took out a bundle of dollar bills and left it on the table. Vincent stood up and quickly left the building, followed by Mike.
"How the hell did he know?" Vincent said shakily. His eyes were burning red and swimming with panicked tears.
"I don't know," Mike said. "He's never right about anything of that caliber." Vincent was trembling, his chest rising and falling rapidly with his breath.
"That means someone else knows," he said. "If this spreads, then…"
"Hey," Mike interrupted softly, taking Vincent's hand. "It won't spread. No one here actually believes half of what Ness says." Vincent's hand burned against his. His heart was pounding so hard and so fast it almost felt as if it were buzzing. "If any other of his 'theories' held water, things would be very different around here." Vincent exhaled shakily.
"Could I come back with you?" he quietly said. "I don't want to ride the bus in this state."
"That's fine," Mike replied. "I was going to offer for you to come back with me anyway." Mike began to guide Vincent to his car. "Why did you take the bus here, anyway?"
"I didn't want anyone reading my license plate," Vincent answered, quite plainly. "Not so close to town. I don't know where Michael is, and for all I know, he could use that to track me down." He was still pretty paranoid, it seemed. That made sense. No one knew where Michael was. He could be stalking them right now. Without another word, Vincent sat opened the passenger side door of Mike's car and stepped inside. Mike sat down next to him.
"Some first date, huh?" Mike laughed grimly.
"I didn't think you'd call this a date," Vincent said.
"Well, I…" Mike flushed. "I dunno. I didn't go into it thinking it was, but…"
"We could call it a date, if you want to," Vincent said. "I get it, if you don't. You've never dated a man before me, have you?" Mike shook his head.
"It's a little different with you," he said. "Considering, I knew you since when I… thought you were a woman, I guess that's the best way to put it." He felt his face heating up even more. "It would be… different for me, if we consider this dating." Vincent smiled.
"But would that be a bad thing?" he asked. Mike shook his head.
"No, it… it wouldn't, Vincent, I just…" Mike quickly said. He sighed. He had always been apprehensive about new experiences, but this was Vincent. He had known him for years now. Not always as "Vincent," but it was still the same man.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Yeah, I would like to try that. Maybe it… Maybe it would be better than when we tried last time." Vincent's face lit up.
"Oh, it will be," he said with a smile, his cheeks flushed pink. "I don't want to have to hide things from you anymore. I want to be open to you, Mike."
Mike felt like his heart was about to jump from his chest. His tongue was as heavy and as unmoving as a piece of lead. Any words that formed in his head failed at his mouth. Instead, he leaned over to Vincent and pressed their lips together.
Vincent's lips were soft, very soft, but the slight scratch of his stubble rubbed against Mike's chin. It was completely different from any other kiss he had experienced before. Hands shaking, he cupped Vincent's cheek.
Before it could go any further, Vincent pulled away. Their faces stayed quite close together for several seconds. They said nothing, the car was silent save for their quiet panting as they shared the same breath.
So it was a date.