"So, what are the rules?" asked Oliver as he picked up a red velvet cushion from the bed, but someone knocked on their bedroom door, halting Vinny's response. The boys turned to see a sheepish looking John sticking his head into the room.
John cleared his throat, daring to connect his eyes with his son. "Oliver, can I talk to you?"
"Sure," Oliver said, walking through the room, holding the cushion tightly against his chest. The boys gave each other quick smile before Oliver shut the door behind him.
After their argument, John went to the library to calm down. He couldn't believe he said those hurtful things to Oliver. John suddenly felt overcome with anger and he couldn't hold it back.
Duke had found John shortly after Vinny went to find Oliver. They had a very deep talk about John and his problems. Just as the Vanderwoods thought, John was more affected by the crazy events than what he showed on the surface.
John felt unbelievably bad about shouting at his son. It was wrong of him to snap like he did, and he couldn't wait to apologise and put things right.
Oliver watched his dad lean against the wall and look down in shame.
"I'm so sorry," John said. "Oliver, I can't believe I shouted at you like that." Oliver crossed his arms but stayed silent. "You're right, I should've just talked to you about how I'm feeling."
"Well now's your chance," Oliver said. "Why were you so angry at me?"
"My anger wasn't directed at you, but the truth is... I am feeling left out," John said. "Every time I come home from work, there's always something new going on and I feel like I barely even see you anymore."
Oliver was fidgeting with his hands. He had been spending a lot of time with Vinny, but who could blame him? It was only just under two weeks into their life-changing relationship, so of course, they would be together every second of the day, especially when the bond was getting stronger.
"If you asked me to spend time with you, I would've dropped everything. You know that," Oliver said and the emotion not only leaked in his voice, it also shone dimly in his eyes.
"Son, over this past week, crazy things have happened. we've all been put in a lot of danger and It's getting to me. I'm so sorry I took it out on you. That was completely the wrong thing for me to do."
Oliver watched his feet for a long few seconds. "Did you mean what you said about not being able to talk to me?"
John's heart ached. "Of course not, I didn't mean it. I know I can talk to you about anything."
Oliver felt a bit better, but he still felt bad that his dad was feeling left out. "I forgive you," he said with an approaching smile. "From now on, please just talk to me and if you want to spend time with me, just ask."
John nodded as he stepped closer. "Can we talk later then?" he asked.
"Of course we can," Oliver beamed before pulling his dad into a hug. "I'm sorry that I didn't notice you struggling."
John hugged his son back like they hadn't hugged in years. "I'm your dad. You're not supposed to notice my problems."
"Don't be stupid. From now on, we're going through this together." The thought of his dad going through his issues alone with nobody to talk to wasn't welcome in Oliver's head.
"I love you, Ollie, you know that right?" John said with a hefty pat on his shoulder.
"I know, I love you too."
They hugged again, feeling the weight lift from their backs now that they recovered from their little argument.
"Right, I'll let you get on with whatever's going on in there," John smiled and Oliver could tell he was trying to humour the situation. That was where the Turner family shared their talent.
"Yeah," Oliver chuckled, "don't ask."
"Don't worry, I'll save that for the interrogation later," John chuckled, now feeling his mood significantly lifted.
"Great," Oliver said sarcastically, but he was excited about catching up with his dad.
"I'll see you later." John flashed one last smile and walked down the corridor.
Oliver watched until he was no longer visible. He now understood why his father got so angry. John was keeping everything inside. Usually, they would tell each other if they were feeling a bit down or if something troubled them. Oliver's dad felt like he could no longer do that because Oliver was always with Vinny.
Feeling better, Oliver returned to the bedroom.
Vinny was sitting patiently on the bed when Oliver shut the door behind him. He walked over and they didn't need to say anything about what he shared with his dad, Vinny could feel it in his heart that Oliver was much happier.
"So," Oliver said, still clinging to the pillow. "What are the rules?" Vinny smiled darkly which punctured Oliver's chest with love.
"The rules are..." he said while also picking up a pillow. "There are no rules." Vinny suddenly jumped on the bed and Oliver didn't have the time to blink when Vinny hit him in the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Wha-" Vinny didn't even let his soulmate speak as he hit him again.
Oliver shielded himself and laughed at his clear attempt to win. "Give me a chance!" the human yelled, but Vinny hit him again. Oliver then decided to take back the crown. He reached up and tried to tickle Vinny. As predicted, the vampire fell to the side and scurried away.
"That's not fair."
"There are no rules," Oliver chuckled and stood up.
"Okay rule one, no tickling."
They both laughed at how stupid they were acting, but Oliver ran towards him and hit him hard in the chest. Vinny fell back against the bed and Oliver towered over him, raising his pillow high in the air as Vinny protected his head. Oliver slammed the pillow on his vampire but fell over from his own force.
Vinny actually laughed, which caught his soulmate off guard at such a rare and beautiful sound. "It's nice to know you laugh at my stupidity," Oliver breathed before Vinny hit him in the face once more.
Vinny couldn't help but grin and hit him again. Oliver sat up and pushed Vinny hard, making him fall backwards off the bed. Oliver jumped off after him and hit him back.
Vinny wrapped arms around Oliver's ankles and pulled him until he lost his balance, so Oliver fell right on top of him. Vinny then turned him over and hit him three times in a row. Each time, Oliver barely had enough time to even open his eyes. He was clearly losing the bet.
Oliver tried reaching for his pillow but Vinny picked it up and hit him with them both.
"Oh come on-" Vinny then hit him again before Oliver could speak. "Vinny-" The vampire was obviously not going to give the human even a little bit of hope that he could win.
Oliver laughed and reached up when Vinny was going to hit him again and tickled his stomach. Vinny immediately squirmed and pulled his hands away.
"You just broke the rules!" Vinny said before releasing his soulmate. "That means what exactly?"
Oliver rolled his eyes and sat up. "It means that you won."
"I'm sorry... I didn't hear you," Vinny smirked.
"I don't care, I needed a shower anyway," Oliver said before standing up.
Vinny bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from blushing. "You do," he said, not letting Oliver claim the last laugh.
"Oh thanks," Oliver snorted before wrapping arms around Vinny's waist and pulling their bodies together. "But yes, I really do." They stared at each other and Oliver started to feel Vinny's nerves. "We don't have to if you're not ready."
"A bet's a bet. Though, I am ready." Vinny glanced at Oliver's mouth.
"Remember, you can back out at any time," Oliver said softly before leaning in and kissing him.
Vinny accepted it gratefully. He loved feeling the short and sweet burst of affection.
They then pulled away and headed towards the bathroom. Vinny locked the bathroom door, just in case his parents walked in, which was very likely.
Oliver decided that the best way to settle Vinny's nerves was to start undressing. It would only turn awkward if they made it awkward. He took his hoodie off as Vinny started unbuttoning his waistcoat. His heart was thumping but he was being silly. It was only another males body he would be seeing, though it mattered to the vampire what his soulmate thought of his body.
Oliver took his t-shirt off and threw it in the washing basket as Vinny finished unbuttoning his shirt.
"You better not be one of those people who like the water super hot because our shared shower days will be very short-lived," Oliver chuckled and tugged his trousers off.
Vinny unbuckled his belt. He wasn't shy about keeping his gaze away from Oliver. He knew that if he looked up and Oliver was suddenly naked, he wouldn't know how to react.
"And you better not be one of those people who like the shower really cold," Vinny said and also pulled off his trousers.
At the same time, they took off their underwear and put it in the basket before braving a look. Vinny suddenly felt quite calm. Seeing Oliver with no clothes on was certainly a rewarding sight and he felt himself relax, knowing that from now on, it wouldn't be a problem for either of them.
Oliver smiled warmly before entering the shower. The key tactic was to not make a big fuss, though Vinny could feel his soulmates emotions overflowing his veins.
Vinny shut the glass door and watched as Oliver fiddled with the handles. When the shower turned on, the water was freezing. Oliver gasped and jumped out of the way.
Vinny had to swallow hard to hide a smile. He turned the heat to exactly the right temperature and let the water flow over his body.
"I need to figure that out," Oliver mumbled before watching the water run smoothly over Vinny's bare chest.
"It's better than what I had as a kid," Vinny said and held Oliver's hand and pulled him closer, so he could feel the warmth of the water too. The vampire's confidence was slowly returning.
"What did you have as a kid?" Oliver asked and allowed the water to run through his hair.
"A river." Vinny's childhood days were thousands of years ago. The home he was raised in was a basic wooden hut with animal skins for a bed.
"One day, I'm going to rack your brains about your childhood." Oliver's soulmate had lived through so much amazing history.
Vinny smiled and watched Oliver's gaze wander over to his shower gels and shampoos.
"Why do you have so many?" Oliver asked as a shiver trembled his spine when Vinny's hip brushed past his.
"Because almost every week my mum buys me a new one. I'm not sure why. I think she just likes to find an excuse to use the internet."
Oliver laughed. "You order your stuff online?"
"Yes, but with help of course. The computer things are hard to use."
Oliver choked an ugly laugh that Vinny loved. He adored how out of date the Vanderwoods were with technology.
Vinny then stepped under the shower and let the water run through his hair and down his body. Oliver tried not to think too much about it, but he was extremely attracted to the teen vampire. He had always found Vinny handsome.
Oliver distracted himself by squeezing soap all over Vinny's chest. Vinny watched as his soulmate started running his hands smoothly across Vinny's skin. Oliver rubbed the shower gel all over his muscled torso, stopping just lower than his belly button.
Vinny did the same to Oliver and rubbed shampoo into his hair. Affection swelled inside Oliver when he could feel Vinny's hands running all over his head. Vinny allowed his gaze to wander down Oliver's body. He now felt completely comfortable, being so personal and raw in his presence.
Oliver closed his eyes as Vinny pulled him under the shower so the shampoo ran down his face and filtered through his hair. He felt Vinny's hands trace down his neck and land on his shoulders before he stepped even closer until their bodies touched. Oliver's breath caught in his throat when he felt everything lean against him. He reached out and rested hands on Vinny's waist until he felt another set of lips connecting with his.
Their souls pulsed through each other as Oliver kissed him back. The water was running over their bare skin while they shared the moment their minds had been craving.
Oliver's hair was covering his eyes as he pushed his face further into Vinny's, making the kiss a little deeper.
Vinny wrapped arms around his soulmate's shoulders and concentrated on the warmth and the feel of their incredibly close contact.
Oliver's hands wandered down Vinny's lower back when Vinny tangled his hand in Oliver's wet hair.
Their feelings were oozing out of them. They felt so affectionate and so embedded into each other's hearts.
Oliver then pulled his head back when the water was making it hard to breathe. He wiped the hair from his eyes to see Vinny's brown eyes deep with love.
They smiled at each other, validating the peace and the comfort that was always with them when they were together.
The boys resorted to washing each other again, but left the lower half to their own hands, although Oliver dared to go lower with Vinny when they were kissing.
When they were clean, they stood for a minute in the warm water. Their eyes were no longer timid about gazing casually around each other.
The way Oliver looked at Vinny made the vampire feel very confident and proud of his body. He had no insecurities because he had lived for so long, and he eventually realised that doubting himself in any way would get him nowhere in life. That was one of the reasons why Vinny did what he wanted when he wanted and said what he wanted without caring what people thought of him.
"Are you ready to get out?" Oliver asked, snapping him from his daze.
"Yes." Vinny let Oliver exit first before grabbing a towel.
The air had steamed up and was warm, stopping the boys from shivering.
"Vinny?" Oliver said while pulling on some shorts. His soulmate looked up with one leg in his pyjama bottoms. "I love you."
Vinny gave him a kind smile, knowing Oliver loved it when he smiled like that. "I love you too."
They both knew that from that day forth, their relationship would only continue to grow. It would become more intimate, personal, and passionate when they expressed love through not only words but physical touch that would mean so much.