"We're throwing you both a party!" Madison said with the excitement beaming in her wide smile.
Oliver raised his eyebrows, not expecting the news.
Vinny deepened his frown and glared. "No," he said bluntly, making Oliver turn with begging eyes.
"Why not? Parties are great!" he grinned and Vinny couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.
"Vinny here is the king of all things unsocial," Duke chuckled, not helping his son's mood. "Look, I know you're worried because you think more people will be like Scarlet. Honestly, if they can't accept a family member who has a soulmate of the same gender, then there's really no place for them in this family." Duke spoke the truth. If people were not prepared to accept his son, then he was not prepared to keep in touch.
"I don't want a party," Vinny mumbled.
"Well tough because you're getting one," Madison chuckled, too deep into decoration ideas to care.
"I think you're the first teenager I have ever come across who doesn't like parties." Oliver nudged Vinny, making the sharp-edged vampire soften his gaze, just for a moment.
"You should have seen him at the one we threw when we were waiting for you to show up," Duke said with a dark smirk.
Vinny rolled his eyes and sat back on his seat.
"Yeah, I actually tried avoiding serving your table," Oliver admitted.
"Why?"
"Vinny kinda scared me."
Everyone laughed. "That cold stare would put anyone off," Duke said.
"Leave me alone." Vinny crossed his arms, sinking further into the wood.
"Aw, you're so grumpy," Oliver teased before resting an arm around him.
Vinny's parents loved watching their relationship blossom. Most people would assume their arm would be bitten off, and they would be right, but Oliver was now immune to Vinny's terrifying personality.
Vinny ignored his soulmate and sat up straighter.
Oliver could detect the amusement in his eyes, but to his parents, Vinny was still moody. "So, when are you thinking of having the party?"
"When do you boys want to have it? We called family and friends last night, all of them are free all week and actually very eager to see you both."
Oliver looked at Vinny, who didn't seem interested, though an answer was forcing its way up their throats.
"What about tomorrow?" they said in unison, which never failed to surprise the vampires.
"Tomorrow evening? That sounds like a good idea," Duke said, looking at his wife for validation.
"Okay, we'll call everyone back and invite them. Why don't we start it at eight and finish it when everyone gets too tired, bored or too consumed with alcohol?" Madison grinned.
"Sounds good my dear," Duke said, feeling excited about introducing Oliver to his relatives. "Boy's, come with me please."
Vinny watched his father stand up. "Where are we going?"
"To the kitchen. We need to inform the staff and you need to tell the chefs and waiters what you want to be served. This is your party."
Vinny groaned and dragged himself from the table like his legs were made of stone.
"Alright, don't go crazy with excitement," Oliver smirked. Vinny turned with a glare that made Oliver tilt his head. "Am I going to regret that?"
Vinny stepped forwards and loomed over him with his intimidating stance. "Yes," he said lowly, but Oliver was no stranger to his patronising body language.
"Cute." Oliver gripping his soulmates cheeks. Vinny sighed, knowing Oliver would never be threatened under his frightful gaze, and that was a very good thing.
Vinny softened the fake tension and kissed his soulmate.
"At some point today would be nice," Duke then said and Madison squeezed his arm, just how she always did when they kissed.
"I have a challenge for you," Oliver said. "You have to piggyback me into the kitchen."
Vinny's face remained expressionless. "You just don't want to walk, do you?"
"It's too early for walking."
"Oliver it's 10:30 in the morning."
"So?"
They studied each other. Vinny knew he would give in, how could he resist Oliver's beautiful, pleading eyes. "Fine," he mumbled and turned, so Oliver could climb onto his back.
To Duke and Madison's amusement, Oliver jumped up and wrapped his legs around their son's waist and arms around his shoulders.
"I demand you to go forwards!" Oliver joked, slapping Vinny's chest to annoy him.
"Don't push it," Vinny grumbled and held Oliver's thighs. "This is a pretty easy challenge..."
"Okay you're right, I just can't be bothered to walk," Oliver chuckled before noticing Duke's growing impatience.
"Boys, we have things to do," Duke sighed and motioned for them to follow him.
"It's all Oliver's fault," Vinny said before walking past his dad and through the door.
"You know what, You can piggyback me all day."
"No."
As the boys continued to wind each other up, Madison linked arms with her husband and walked behind them, so they could listen. Duke and Madison found pleasure in the boys' ridiculous humour and their sarcasm. Vinny and Oliver really were the perfect couple.
Vinny enjoyed having his soulmate clinging to him like a monkey. They always felt at their happiest when they were as close as they could get. Vinny clearly didn't care what anyone thought of them as they moved through the busy hallways. He knew his glare would look less scary with Oliver wrapped around him, but it didn't stop the staff from edging around Vinny like they usually did.
Oliver was getting used to the unusual attention. He now received a lot of greetings and friendly smiles. Before he was very good at fading into the background and nobody really paid much attention to him.
"We're here," Vinny said and tried to put his soulmate down.
"No, I told you to piggyback me into the kitchen," Oliver said with a grin when Vinny rolled his eyes.
Vinny then pushed the kitchen door open and entered. The boys were rewarded with second glances. People were amused that a human had successfully wrapped himself around the worlds grumpiest vampire.
Oliver then decided to get off his soulmates back, but he enjoyed bugging him. Oliver was aware that Vinny missed out on pushing boundaries because everyone was too scared of him to joke around.
Vinny straightened out his waistcoat as his parents entered, which slowly silenced the room. Vinny leaned against the worktop and Oliver did the same. Vinny put his arm around his soulmates waist and pulled him very close.
Oliver loved it when he did that.
As Duke started speaking about their party, Vinny glanced around, still shocked that his soulmate had been working in his home for almost a year before he met him.
"Vinny?" Oliver whispered, moving his head close enough for the Vampire to feel the heat against his ear. "What're you thinking about?"
Vinny looked down to Oliver and the simple thought of spending the rest of his life with him made Vinny feel a burst of happiness in his chest, which his soulmate felt too.
"You."
"Oh yeah?" Oliver asked with a grin.
"Yes. I was thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you," he whispered. Since the bond strengthened, the boys were in constant need of making the physical connection, no matter where they were or who they were with.
Oliver smiled as Vinny gave him a simple peck on the lips. The kiss was soft and was like a tiny spark of electricity.
Vinny moved behind Oliver, so the human could rest his back against his chest. Vinny immediately coiled his arms around Oliver's waist and rested his chin on his shoulder.
A member of the staff secretly took a picture. It wasn't discrete enough and the boys noticed.
Oliver knew if he went on social media, there would be so many pictures of them together in the restaurant, in the hallways, and maybe even outside. Oliver didn't mind.
"Hey Vinny?" he whispered again. "Can we go on a date this afternoon?" His heart thumped in his chest, but he knew Vinny would like that idea.
"Of course," Vinny whispered, pressing his lips to Oliver's ear and whispering in a deeper tone, "I would love to."
"Boys? Are you listening?" Duke asked. It was clear that they were only paying attention to each other.
"No," Vinny said bluntly.
"Go and tell the chefs what you want to be served for the event," he said as Madison went to the bar staff to discuss drinks.
Oliver stood up straight and pulled himself from Vinny's grip. They held each other's hand and wandered through the large industrial kitchen.
Oliver was excited about the party, but he was more excited to meet Vinny's family. He didn't think too much about them not accepting him. If he overthought it, then he'd end up not wanting to go.
"Oliver, Master." They were greeted politely by the kitchen staff. Vinny knew they would have to introduce a dominant name for Oliver too. He liked how Charles sometimes called him Master-Oliver.
"So Master," the guy said, a little intimidated by the vampire's glare, but he pressed on. "We can serve the same food from your last event."
"That's a good idea," Oliver said. He could remember serving plates of different cheeses, bread, fruits, dips with vegetable sticks and a lot more. "Just no olives."
Vinny looked at him with a smirk, which surprised the chef. He had never seen anything but a frown.
"No, extra olives," Vinny ordered.
"I guess I don't have to eat them. If you order extra Olives though, I will spend the night throwing them at you."
The chef had never heard anyone speak to the vampire like that.
"Noted." Vinny turned back to the chef. "Yes, extra Olives."
"Fine, well can we have extra tomatoes?" Oliver asked.
"How did you know I didn't like those?" Vinny asked.
"Um hello? Your soul is combined with my soul remember?" Oliver chuckled before intertwining their hands. "And you always avoid them if they're on your plate."
"I see," Vinny said, not realising that Oliver observed him as much as he did. "So, the same food as the last event, plus extra Olives and extra tomatoes."
"Got it," the chef said with a warm smile.
"Thank you," Oliver said before Vinny wandered away, pulling him with him. Oliver didn't question it when Vinny pulled him out of the kitchen. They were supposed to be helping, but Duke and Madison didn't notice them leaving.
"Where are we going?" Oliver asked while their hands swung as they walked.
"To the bedroom for adult activities," Vinny said smoothly, and Oliver almost choked on air. "I'm joking."
"I know but-but don't do that," Oliver stuttered with incredibly flushed cheeks.
"But what if I wasn't joking?"
Oliver eyed him with a nervous chuckle. The mansion suddenly felt very hot. "But you are... aren't you?"