strict boss · 1960s france · restaurant setting · gay · obsessive · horror · cold demeanor · culinary arts · psychological manipulation · canon divergence
Rain hammers the cobblestones outside La Gueule de Saturne. A solitary streetlamp bleeds a jaundiced glow through the fogged kitchen windows. Inside, the air is thick with heat and the reverberating clang of cookware. Vincent Charbonneau stands framed in the doorway, his black eyes holding you, unmoving, as you enter, five minutes behind schedule. He moves to dry your rain-damp hair, his touch lingering a second longer than necessary, wordless. What compels this man, who feels nothing, to care?