Blood on Their Wings

Chapter 2

"I hope it's Oliver who walks through that door," Vinny mumbled. He was sitting on the couch in the dining-room, opposite his parents.

Duke and Madison had been in and out of meetings, attending to the public's demands. Now, they were finally sorted, but still had paperwork to do. Madison rolled her eyes and continued to read her book.

Vinny and Oliver had been playing pranks on each other for the past week. Vinny now thought it was a good time to prank Oliver back after Oliver bleached a love heart into the back of one of Vinny's waistcoats.

Vinny had put some string on the bottom of the door, hoping to trip up his soulmate.

"I think he'll fall for it," Duke said, catching the shimmer of Vinny's wedding ring against the light. He wasn't yet used to him wearing any jewellery. Vinny didn't even wear the family ring.

"Don't pun at me," Vinny grumbled seconds before the door was pulled open and Oliver walked in. He didn't see the string. Just as expected, he tripped over it, falling heavily to the ground.

Vinny could feel that he didn't hurt himself, but it only made it funnier. He had to release a little laugh as Oliver groaned and rolled onto his back.

Jed popped his head into the room, and the staff who passed by acted like they didn't notice. "Are you okay? What did you- oh." Jed spotted Vinny's smirk and looked down to see the thin string pinned at either side of the door frame. He chuckled before leaning down and picking it up to avoid anyone else tripping over.

Jed shook his head with amusement before standing at his usual post, just outside the door. Over time, people started to notice that Jed didn't age. The Vanderwood's made up the story about how they changed him to a Vampire because he was such a good bodyguard and they wanted to keep him. Surprisingly, the story was believable; nobody questioned it.

Oliver laughed at himself and how Vinny would take the time to pin something to the door frame. Where would he find a piece of string? "You're such an idiot," he sighed while sitting up.

Vinny didn't wipe the smirk from his face. "That was funny."

Oliver jumped over the back of the couch and sat extremely close, as usual. "I could have broken my nose; then it would be no laughing matter."

"But you didn't," Vinny said before crossing his arms.

"But I could've," Oliver said, not wanting to let him get the last word in.

"But... you didn't," Vinny said and cupped Oliver's face.

"But I-"

Vinny leaned forwards and silenced him with a kiss. "Shut up."

"You shut up," Oliver grinned.

"You're argumentative."

"Because I nearly broke my face on the floor," Oliver complained.

"So dramatic."

Oliver gave up. He rested his hand on Vinny's thigh before resting his head on his shoulder. "I'm hungry." As you could imagine, the boys have grown very comfortable with each other over the years.

"Shall we go to the restaurant?" Vinny questioned as Duke looked up.

"We're coming," Duke said, and Vinny sighed.

Duke and Madison very rarely made an appearance in the restaurant, but they liked to try the food every now and again to see if it was still up to their standards.

"I'll get my dad," Oliver said and tried to stand, but Vinny pulled him onto his lap. Oliver knew what he wanted. "We'll spend some time together after food. We can go swimming if you like?"

Vinny gazed sweetly at Oliver's face before kissing his nose. "Perfect."

Oliver stole a quick kiss on his lips and finally stood up. "I'll meet you there!" he grinned before turning and rushing out of the dining-room. Oliver now knew his entire way around the mansion. Sometimes, he got a little confused, but he always remembered.

"Do you know where my dad is?" Oliver asked Jed as they walked down the corridor.

"In his bedroom," Jed said. For some reason, Jed always knew where John was.

"Alright. I want to see if he'll have dinner with us."

They were now used to Jed's big secret. It was normal that an angel watched over them. It was strange, to begin with. Now, it was comforting, especially for Duke, Madison, and John to know that the boys were well looked after.

Jed had become a close family friend, and he even spent time with them instead of always doing his job. He messed around in the pool, had deep conversations, spent days out with them. Of course, he still acted like a bodyguard because he was sent to earth for that reason.

When Oliver reached the second floor, they passed a painting of him and Vinny. It always gave Oliver a warm feeling in his chest as he walked past it.

"I'm just grabbing a jumper," he said before stopping outside his and Vinny's bedroom. It looked almost the same. The only difference was the colour of the poster bed. Instead of it being dark wood, it was painted black. All the furniture had been replaced more times than Oliver could count. He and Vinny liked the wooden decor, and Vinny especially liked the gothic aesthetic.

While Oliver rummaged around the walk-in wardrobe, he moved Vinny's waistcoats out of the way to find a hoody. They both still wore the same style of clothing. Vinny was still religious about his shirts and waistcoats while Oliver always wore his Jeans and t-shirts. That was something the public also loved about the couple. The boys were different, yet so similar.

Once Oliver had his jumper on, he continued through the mansion with Jed until he reached his dad's room. He knocked and waited for a response.

"If that's Oliver, I'm not allowed to see you today. It's my annual blood day tomorrow," John shouted through the wood.

"Oh okay, it's fine dad! Do you want anything brought up to you?" Oliver asked. He now understood why he didn't see his dad at breakfast.

"No, no, I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Oliver could see that Jed had tensed. There had been a few past incidents when it was John's annual blood day. Oliver kept forgetting and walking in to talk to him, only for John to almost bite him. Jed had always been there to stop him.

It was strange for John to drink blood every year. The drinking process took him a while to get used to, and he couldn't control it very well.

"We need to go," Jed said, and Oliver nodded.

"See you tomorrow!" Oliver shouted before continuing back down the corridor.

"I wish he would inform me," Jed sighed.

"Yeah me too," Oliver agreed before shrugging. "Oh well, I hope he manages to sleep tonight."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Jed smiled.

"Yeah, I hope so too."