"Come out, let me see," Vinny said while standing outside the bathroom door. He had given Oliver some clothes to wear for the party. Vinny was already dressed to his mother's standards. He stood up straight when the door opened.
Oliver walked out in a white shirt, grey waistcoat, and smart black jeans. "Do I look alright?" he asked, straightening his collar.
Vinny allowed a small smile to curl his lips. "You look very handsome," he said and subconsciously bit his bottom lip.
Oliver glanced him up and down with a shine in his eyes. "Thank you," he said before running a hand down Vinny's velvet patterned waistcoat. "So do you."
Their happiness seeped into every fibre. "I think you should wear something else too," Vinny said before turning and disappearing into the walk-in wardrobe.
Oliver watched with wonder as he heard Vinny rummaging through drawers. The vampire emerged with a red bow-tie in his hands. Oliver grinned as Vinny stood in front of him and lifted his collar. They were close, and Oliver concentrated on the gentle touch of his fingers brushing against his neck.
Vinny straightened Oliver's bow-tie and stood back to gaze at how good his soulmate looked. "Very cute," he marvelled, making Oliver blush.
A knock at the door interrupted their stare. The boys turned to see Duke walking in.
"Was that up to your standards?" Duke asked with a grin. Vinny sighed, but he was happy that his dad finally did what he asked, even if he didn't wait for confirmation to enter. "Wow Oliver, look at you!"
Oliver tried to straighten out his waistcoat again. He wasn't used to wearing such fitting and formal clothes.
"So," Duke then said as Vinny flashed a look that said 'why are you bothering us?'. "The first guests have arrived, and they're eager to see you both."
Oliver's heart performed somersaults. He was nervous.
"Are you ready?" Vinny asked, resting his hands on Oliver's shoulders.
"Yes, I am," he said before his dad appeared by the door. John looked just as smart.
"Oliver, you look great," John beamed.
"Right, let's get going." Duke rubbed his hands together and guided the boys out of the bedroom.
* * * * *
Madison was talking to the first few guests in the hall as the staff waited in the kitchen for more people to arrive. Almost twenty people were at the Vanderwood mansion already.
Oliver grabbed his soulmate's hand as they glided through the kitchen. Vinny squeezed his fingers for reassurance as John and Duke entered first. The lights in the hall were already dimmed, and the music was up. Oliver looked around to see smartly dressed people with drinks in their hand. They all talked happily together. Oliver suddenly felt like an intruder. Only weeks ago, he was a waiter for the Vanderwood's events. Now he was the main attraction.
"Duke!" a guy yelled over the music, bouncing cheerfully up to Vinny's dad. It was Vinny's uncle, the guy who got overly drunk at their last party when Vinny was waiting for his soulmate.
"Justin, hey," Duke said, giving his brother a quick hug.
"So," Justin laid eyes on Oliver. Vinny observed him, knowing how forceful Justin could be. "This is the latecomer?"
"Hi, I'm Oliver," the human said before holding his hand out. Justin shook it rather enthusiastically.
"It's nice to meet you, Oliver. I'm Justin. Duke's brother." Justin didn't care that he was a guy; he just wanted to introduce Oliver to everyone and have someone who would listen to his blabbering conversations. "Can I introduce you to my wife?" he asked before looking to Vinny for his approval. "She's just over there. I'll bring him right back."
Oliver untangled his hand from Vinny's and quickly kissed his cheek. "Don't worry. Could you get us both a drink?"
"I'll be back in a minute," Vinny said, keeping a watchful eye on his uncle. So far, the peace was running rather smoothly. Vinny eventually turned and headed back into the kitchen. The staff were waiting for the go-ahead to start serving when enough people had arrived. When Vinny walked in, they stood up straight and finished their conversations. "Can you start serving now please?"
Everyone nodded their heads and picked up their trays. As someone walked past the master, Vinny grabbed two beers. Larger numbers of people had started to turn up to the part and deep down, Vinny was glad he was getting the support. He thought that maybe there wouldn't be a big turn out and it would be embarrassing for everyone. A lot of people were arriving already, and the party had only just begun.
Vinny made his way back to Oliver and avoided anyone's gaze so that they wouldn't talk to him.
"Speak of the devil," Justin chuckled when Vinny hovered next to Oliver.
"You've gotten yourself a very polite human," Justin's wife, Maria said, watching Vinny stand very close to his soulmate.
"Yes," Vinny mumbled before taking a sip of his beer.
"Are you a little more social when you're drunk?" Oliver asked
Vinny flashed him a sideways glance and nodded. "That's if you can get me drunk," he smirked.
Vinny's family hadn't seen the young vampire talk to anyone that way, especially a human.
"Is that a challenge?"
"Of course."
"Starting now?" Oliver asked, but someone else stepped in the way to say hello.
"Hi boys," a familiar voice boomed.
"Hello Jasper," Oliver smiled, shaking the old vampire's hand while Sorina attempted to hug Vinny.
"So, how are you both after your bond strengthened?" Jasper asked.
"What, their bond strengthened?" Justin chimed in.
"Yes, let me tell you that these boys here have connected their souls by one hundred per cent!" Jasper said with excitement.
Justin and Maria's eyes widened until Oliver could see the whites all around their pupils.
"I didn't think that was possible!" Maria gasped.
"It's true, we were there," Sorina said before Jasper continued to tell them all about it.
Oliver then turned back to Vinny with a smile. "Come on, drink up." He pushed the bottle towards Vinny's mouth. Oliver was blessed with an eye roll. "There are loads of people here," he said after Vinny stood closer, so he didn't have to shout.
"Yes, and at some point, they'll all come and talk to us." Vinny wasn't a socialising kind of vampire. He wished he had greeted everyone at the door as he did with his last party.
"Don't worry," Oliver said, "they'll lose interest eventually."
* * * * *
Two hours later.
Everyone who received an invite turned up, to Madison and Duke's delight. Nobody was rude, mean or purposefully ignored the boys. The guests took turns to meet Oliver properly. They all found Vinny's relationship very heart-warming.
Of course, Jasper rose a stir by telling anyone and everyone about his grandson's special bond. It spread quickly around the guests. Mostly, the vampires wondered why they hadn't heard about it sooner. Sharing a full soul had never been done before.
"Where's your boyfriend?" a drunk Justin asked, trying to grip Vinny's cheeks.
Vinny pulled his head away. A drunk Justin happened at every party. "Somewhere over there," Vinny mumbled as Madison handed him another drink.
"It's from Oliver," she smiled.
Vinny caught his soulmate's eye through the crowd. Oliver grinned wide before turning and talking to some more of his relatives. They were both a little tipsy; Oliver more than him, but it was a party. Why shouldn't Vinny enjoy himself?
"It's nice to see you boys having a good time," Madison smiled before linking arms with her son. Everyone was interested in Oliver, and they all bonded with him straight away. He was an easy person to talk to and loved telling the story of their bond.
Vinny could feel the love every time Oliver spoke about their soul story. Now that he had spotted Oliver, he proceeded to watch him getting lost in conversation.
"Are you going to drink that cider or babysit it all night?" Madison asked, knowing about their challenge.
Vinny scowled, but his gaze never left his soulmate.
* * * * *
A few more drinks later, and Oliver wondered back to his soulmate. As predicted, he was beginning to feel very affectionate, but only for kisses and hugs. "Vinny!" he grinned before wrapping his arms around his vampire and burying his head into the side of his neck.
Vinny had also started to feel the alcohol taking its toll. "Oliver," he said before hugging him back. "Where did you go?" Vinny didn't know why he asked that. He had spent the last hour staring at him.
"Over there somewhere." Oliver pulled his head back and looked around.
People were standing nearby, drinking and chatting happily. There were a few people like Justin, who was very drunk and dancing on the dance floor. A lot of people were like Oliver and Vinny who had only just made it into the drunken category.
"Are you having a good time?" Vinny asked.
"I'm having a great time! Are you?" Oliver casually stroked Vinny's cheek.
"Now that you're here, yes." Vinny leaned close and kissed the human's nose.
People around them were silently awing at their cute nature. Duke and Madison now had to keep their eyes on the boys. They were drunk and very in love.
"I've been here the whole time," Oliver said, making Vinny scoff.
"Not right here," he mumbled.
"Vinny, will you dance with me?" Oliver asked and tried tugging on his arms.
"No. I don't dance."
"Aww come on, please!" Oliver begged and stared with his beautiful green eyes.
Vinny gazed lovingly at his expression. "Dammit." Vinny gave up and allowed Oliver to pull him onto the dance floor. The music was pretty old fashioned, but it was good party music, and it suited how everyone was dressed.
"Wait!" Oliver turned so suddenly; he nearly tripped over his own feet. "I don't think I know how to dance."
Vinny then rested his hands on Oliver's hips and pulled their bodies together. "I'll teach you," he whispered before taking his hand and securely wrapping his other arm around Oliver's back.
Oliver's heart felt like it was having a party of its own. He was dancing with Vinny Vanderwood to old fashioned music at a party that had been thrown for them. Oh, how times have changed.
The boys might not have put much effort into dancing, but Vinny looked incredibly handsome in the eyes of his soulmate. Suddenly, like it was meant to be, a slow song started playing. Vinny lifted his arms and wrapped them around Oliver's shoulders, and their bodies squished together even more. He smiled as they swayed to the music.
Oliver rested his forehead against Vinny's head, cherishing the love pulsing through him.
"See look, you're dancing," Vinny said, barely resisting the urge to kiss him.
"So I am." Oliver almost read Vinny's mind and pushed his face close, planting a long kiss onto his lips.
People around them smiled once more. Some even took pictures.
When he pulled away, Vinny's eyes had glazed over with content. This party was going great, and everyone was enjoying themselves. Even Vinny would admit that he was having a good time.