Oliver ducked behind a statue.
He was careful not to make any noise as he crouched in the snow. His soulmate was stalking him like prey as he peeked around his hiding post.
As soon as Oliver's face was out in the open, a snowball was launched straight at his head.
He fell over but made sure no snow went inside his coat.
Vinny chuckled to himself and casually walked over.
"What're you doing on the floor?" He questioned sarcastically.
"You throw snowballs really hard" Oliver sighed as he stood up and pulled his hat further over his ears.
"Yes but, with the intention that you will dodge them. But you don't" Vinny said.
Oliver watched the snow land on his black hair.
"Oh be quiet, I try" He chuckled before he sniffed back the cold and shivered.
Vinny smiled and suddenly stepped forwards. He wrapped his arms around Oliver and pulled him into his chest.
Oliver could still feel Vinny's strong emotions as he tugged lightly on his coat.
"Why are you so loving today?" He asked.
"I'm not sure," Vinny said. "I just feel like I have to kiss you all the time"
"Well I hope it's permanent" Oliver grinned and leant his whole body against him. "But I do feel the same"
"Good" Vinny then leant in close and kissed his nose. They did have a constant crave to be affectionate with each other. Maybe it has been there since they fully deepened the bond but they just had things going on in their lives that they wouldn't let it through, until now.
He then inspected Oliver's face. His nose was freezing and it was now going a little red from the cold.
"You're cute," They said in unison.
Vinny frowned and crossed his arms.
"You stole that from me"
"No, you stole that from me," Oliver said as he cocked his head to the side. "Thief"
Vinny scoffed and gave Oliver a friendly shove.
"Shut up"
Oliver chuckled and took his hand.
"Can we go inside now, I'm quite cold"
Vinny intertwined their fingers and started walking back towards the mansion.
"Of course"
* * * * *
The warmth of the mansion never failed to make Oliver happy as he took off his coat.
"Oliver," Vinny said as he started making his way through the dining-room. "You're so slow"
His soulmate frowned in confusion.
"Why am I-" But Vinny didn't wait for him to finish as he turned and raced out of the dining-room. "No! That is so not fair" He yelled before dashing after him.
Madison looked at her husband as they shared a little chuckle.
Oliver caught up with his soulmate as they raced down the hall. Staff quickly moved out of their way as the boys sped past.
It only took about a minute until they reached the cloakroom and they both reached it at the same time.
"I don't think I'm the slow one here" Oliver chuckled as they handed Charles their coats.
Vinny rolled his eyes but put an arm around his shoulders.
They then watched as Charles came out of the room and shut the door behind him. He turned to the boys and gave them a warm smile. He loved to see how much their relationship has developed.
"Boy's, how are you this afternoon?"
"We're good," They said in unison. "How're you?"
Charles raised his eyebrows but Duke had told him all about their unique bond.
"I'm very well thank you" He chuckled. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"
Oliver looked to his soulmate but they didn't actually have anything to do.
"We'll be spending some time with John," Vinny said as he glanced at Oliver, who smiled. He thought it would be best for the both of them.
"Ah yes, how is he doing? Is he coping well with the changes?" Charles asked.
"I think it'll take him a few days to get used to it but he's actually doing okay," Oliver said. It was the truth, John would need a little while to adapt to all of this.
"Understandable young Oliver. He'll be right in no time" Charles smiled. "Right, I'll let you get on with your day" He then turned to answer the door.
Vinny leant his head close and kissed Oliver's cheek before they headed back down the corridor.
"Let's go find your dad"
* * * * *
For the rest of the day, Vinny left Oliver with John and returned every hour and a half to give him a quick kiss before leaving again.
John appreciated the time that Oliver was spending with him. They both needed a day to just hang out and do silly things together.
They watched films, played in the music room and got lost together around the mansion.
Oliver loved to spend time with his dad. He knows that every minute is so precious with the people he loves.
It was now almost two in the morning.
Everyone was sleeping, apart from two.
John wandered casually down the hallways and back to his room. He only found out today that he passed the boys bedroom every day to get to his.
As he turned a corner, he almost stepped on Jed who was sitting against the wall, a few meters from the boys bedroom.
He wasn't going to apologise as he thought he was sleeping but Jed was wide awake.
"Sorry, I didn't see you there," John said as the bodyguard stood up.
"It's okay, where are you headed?"
"Just back to my room," He said as he gazed him up and down. Jed is quite mysterious, nobody knows anything about him apart from Oliver because he attacked him with questions about his life. Vinny should also know but he wasn't paying attention at the time. "Do you always stay up this late?"
"Yes, most of the time"
"But you never look tired. And you must wake up early because Vinny does" John said, remembering to keep his voice down because the boys were sleeping in the room just down the hall. "How do you manage it all? You're always with the boys. How do you find time to eat or even rest?" John didn't mean to interrogate him, he was just interested.
Jed took longer to answer that question which did make John a little suspicious.
"I just do," He said simply whilst shrugging. That answer also didn't do it justice.
"Do you mind if I stay and talk for a little while?" John then asked. He was going to do what Oliver did and shower him with questions, but Jed didn't really mind.
"No, not at all," He said as he sat down with John.
* * * * *
Oliver sat at the table with Vinny, Duke, and Madison. John was on his way.
It was seven in the morning and he wasn't enjoying life at this moment. He had his fingers wrapped around a mug of coffee as he struggled to stay awake.
They were having another day out together and this time, John was coming too.
Vinny watched his tired and puffy eyes as he put his arm on the back of Oliver's chair.
"Have you ever been a morning person?" Duke asked him.
"No" Oliver mumbled and took a sip of his drink.
"Bless him" Madison chuckled. They have come to realise that Oliver is the only human in the family which means they have noticed more things about him.
Like his sleeping patterns. Humans require a lot more sleep than Vampires. Also, they get injured so much more easily and they also get addicted to random things such as warm drinks.
Oliver often has drinks such as coffee, tea or hot chocolate. Also, they eat more than Vampires.
It's good for Duke and Madison to be around a human like this so they can study him. It was interesting to see how different vampires and humans really are.
Just then, John entered the room. He looked cheery and happy as everyone apart from Vinny gave him warm smiles.
He sat down next to his son.
"You're such a morning person" He chuckled as Oliver rubbed his eyes and sank further into his chair.
Vinny leant close and kissed his cheek for a long second.
"Did you sleep alright John?" Duke asked.
"Yes, I did thanks. I was up late talking to Jed which is why I slept in until this time" He has been told that he won't sleep for very long now that he's a vampire. "Well, it was more like an interrogation"
Vinny smirked at his soulmate before he spoke.
"Poor Jed. Oliver did the same thing"
Oliver turned with blank eyes but Vinny could see his amusement.
"Did you?" John chuckled, knowing him and his son weren't shy at talking. "It's interesting to learn about his life. Like how he grew up down south and on a farm"
Oliver frowned and looked up to his dad.
"What? He told me he grew up in this city"
It was John's turn to frown.
"Well he told me last night that he grew up on a farm with his mum and dad and they still live in his family home today"
"wait... what?" Oliver said before slowly sitting up. "He told me he grew up in this city with his grandparents because his parents died when he was just a baby"
John and Oliver stared at each other for a second as everyone listened with interest.
Did Jed lie to one of them?
"oh... well, that's strange," John said before sitting back in his chair.
Vinny watched his parents as they gave him the same suspicious look.
Why would Jed make things up about his life?
Why would he lie?
"Anyway, John would you like something warm to eat?" Madison interrupted. She wanted to change the subject. It was a little weird that Jed would tell one person one thing and the other something completely different.
Oliver was too tired to think deeply about it. But he wanted to question Jed again and see if he tells him the same thing.
He liked Jed but thought it was weird for him to do that.
Maybe he was just joking around with Oliver and told John the truth about his life.
Or maybe Jed had more secrets than what the Vanderwood's were led to believe.