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It was around 9:30 in the evening, on Christmas Eve, 1952. The well-known media stars Vincent and Alastor were eating dinner together in the latter's cabin, a bit of a toast to their friendship they had built between them.
"This is great, Al," Vincent complimented Alastor's meal he'd made for Christmas Eve dinner for the both of them. "It tastes like something my mom would've made when I was a kid!"
"Oh, it was nothing, Vincent. But I'm glad you liked it. I will be honest, it's quite the compliment, coming from someone as.. well off as you."
"It wasn't just nothing, Al - I recognize talent when I see it, or, in this case, taste it. You're a great cook! And you said you prepped the entire thing yourself?" Vincent pried on as he finished the last of what he thought was a roast on his plate. Now, poor Vincent wasn't aware that he'd just become a cannibal, and eating the body of one of him and Alastor's last kills - and Alastor would be sure not to inform him. But regardless, his praise was taken gratefully.
"Mm, well, you're not the first to say that. But I do appreciate it - and it's much better than simply being referred to as a woman, all because of my cooking abilities." Alastor nodded.
"People have done that?" Vincent questioned. "Yes, they have. But, no matter. It seems you're.. quite kinder than them, I can give you that." Alastor added. Vincent stood up and took his and Alastor's plate from the table, in an act that surprised Alastor (though he wouldn't dare show it). To further his bewilderment unintentionally, Vincent brought himself to the sink and cleaned them both, placing them back in the cabinet from with which they came from. If Alastor wasn't a collected sort, his jaw may as well have been on the floor.
"I didn't know you were such a well-mannered man, Vincent. Mayhaps I shouldn't have judged you so critically when we first met." Alastor walked over to him.
Vincent met his hazel eyes behind his black frames, heterochromatic gaze shining in the light, complimented by the loose, unruly strands of hair that sat just over his forehead, sprinkles of grey already decorating his otherwise dark locks. In Alastor's opinion, Vincent was far too young to have already been going grey, but he chalked it up to the latter being stressed. It was a common cause for premature greying. And yet, it made him all the different. A little more mature, a little more detail to add to his overall being.
Alastor wondered why he was thinking like this about his new companion - he was rather sure Vincent didn't feel the same way. (Or, he at least hoped he didn't). "So, Alastor, I've been meaning to ask you," The daze Alastor was in shattered as Vincent spoke again, puffing out his chest, a confident look in his alluring mismatched eyes
"Mm, yes?" Alastor dryly replied, trying not to appear disinterested, though not too interested, keeping his cool. "Would you be so kind as to let me, oh, I don't know.." Vincent trailed off, beating around the bush intentionally to fuck with Alastor a little. "Get to the point, weatherboy." Alastor crossed his arms. "Wanna go on a walk with me? It's snowing, but it doesn't look super cold out. I think it'd be nice, but it's up to you." Vincent offered, a hand on his hip.
"Hmm.. maybe," Alastor pretended to muse on the idea, running a hand through his curly brown locks. Vincent found himself getting hopeful, leaning a little closer. "But, maybe not." Vincent's ever-growing smile fell with those three words. "Oh, c'mon, Alastor. Please?"
"I'm just messing with you, dear, I'd love to~" Alastor found himself genuinely laughing a little at Vincent's original disappointment, the sudden change in his facial expressions were something he found amusing from time to time. Vincent's eyes lit up behind his glasses. "Really..?! Shit, I mean- Nice, I'm glad you glad you feel the same way about that. Ehe..-" Vincent trailed off with an awkward chuckle as he made his way to the door, grabbing his winter coat from the hooks near it, slipping it on over his shoulders and zipping it up.
Vincent turned to look towards Alastor, who had followed behind him and was also putting his coat on. Alastor's coat was notably old. Vincent realized he must have had it for a pretty long time. At least fourteen years. The company that made it, he was pretty sure went out of business in 1936. "Well," Alastor rested his hands on his hips expectantly, breaking Vincent out of his trail of thoughts. "Are we going to get going now? Or am I too distracting for you~?"
"Ah- Yeah, let's get going-" Vincent reached out to the door handle, fingers wrapping around it more gracefully than Alastor would have liked to admit.
As the door opened, the cold instantly rolled over the both of them. The change in temperature was drastic, a huge difference from the comfortable, cozy warmth of Alastor's cabin.
The sudden rush of cold caused Vincent to shiver, and instinctively, he pulled his coat a little tighter around himself. Alastor merely chuckled in quiet amusement. Alastor was, in his opinion, pretty good with the cold. In some cases, when he was drunk, he'd stand outside for long periods of time without a coat, and was perfectly alright - although his friend Mimzy highly discouraged the act, and he hadn't done so in quite a while.
Alastor's attention moved from the man in front of him to the weather outside, and one thing was for sure - it was certainly snowing.
The snow was coming down at a rapid, steady pace. And despite this, high up in the sky, you could still get occasional glimpses of the moon behind the clouds.
Vincent was rather correct - it was a nice night out tonight for a walk, between.. friends? Yes, friends. That was a good word for them. Pals, buddies, hell, even partners in crime worked.
Although, the last one was kind of literal.. a little on the nose, if you will. It was no secret (at least, between him and Vincent) that they were both murderers. It's how they even came to be in each other's company, in the first place.
Alastor found himself dwelling wistfully on the memory, thinking back to just how sloppy Vincent was before he'd taught him better.
He couldn't have been mad, though. It was how he met this interesting man to begin with, and he almost would say to Vincent's face that he enjoyed his company. ..Almost. He got the feeling it wasn't quite time for that sort of vulnerability.
Alastor's attention was then pulled away, back to the man in front of him. It was then, that he realized they'd just been spaced out, staring at each other, for at least two minutes. The both of them had disappeared into their own little mental worlds, completely forgetting what they were even doing in the first place.
Alastor felt his hand being grabbed by Vincent's significantly colder one.
He could have sworn he'd seen a sudden flush come to Vincent's face face as he intertwined their fingers and gently tugged him along. "Uh- c'mon. I mean, the night is definitely young, but I'm starting to freeze out here!" Vincent made a poor attempt at a joke, an awkward smile adorning his face, showing off his chipped tooth and all. Alastor shook his head gently in amusement and followed him. "You aren't wrong, you're definitely cold!" Alastor elbowed him lightly to emphasise his point.
Vincent stumbled a little at the sudden jab, nearly loosing his balance. "H-hey! Be careful..-" He pouted, almost in a child-like manner. Alastor rolled his eyes, "You act rather immature for a man of your status, Vincent." Alastor teased, though he found himself shutting up when Vincent didn't reply, but rather tugged on his arm again as a signal he just wanted to walk right now.
Alastor didn't normally do that sort of thing for people, but with Vincent, you could say he felt.. bad, about bothering him. Vincent relaxed after about a minute had passed, and he realized Alastor didn't mean any harm. His shoulders visibly slumped a little more, unintentionally to display as such. Alastor noticed that he personally wasn't quite being himself tonight. He wondered if Vincent had noticed that every little while, he was bringing himself a little closer to his side. He even wondered if Vincent had noticed whenever he ran his thumb over the back of Vincent's hand and over his knuckles in a futile attempt to warm it a little bit.
He kind of hoped he didn't, but simultaneously hoped that he did.
The two's walk was rather peacefully for the moment. And Vincent did notice whenever Alastor moved a little closer to him - he noticed every little touch of his thumb against the back of his hand - but he didn't acknowledge it, for the fear that Alastor might stop. "Y'know, Alastor," Vincent began, stopping walking and turning to face him. "I've got a little something to show you."
Alastor stopped, and raised an eyebrow. "Hm?"
"Uh, here.. stick your tongue out." Vincent added, his gaze flicking from Alastor's eyes, to his mouth, to his eyes again. "Just- just trust me on this."
"Vincent, what in the world are you on about.." Alastor chuckled, head tilted. But he did as requested, and curiously stuck his tongue out. He felt Vincent's hand gently grasp and then reposition his head slightly before taking it off of his face. Alastor then felt a snowflake land on his tongue, and he heard Vincent giggle softly. "See?"
"Vincent, you are so strange." Alastor shook his head - but he found himself smiling as he looked at him. He was becoming rather fond of this man. "Well, what do you think? Is this a fun activity, or what?" Vincent asked, as he himself stuck his tongue out and caught a few snowflakes. "Hm, I think it's alright.. it's definitely more fun to do it with you." Alastor winked, and smirked in triumph as Vincent's face flushed a little - although it could have simply been a coincidence, since a cool breeze also hit his face at the same time.
They continued to catch snowflakes with each other, until they'd lost track of time, focusing only on each other and their silly activity. It went on for a wonderfully long while, until Vincent's hands found their way to Alastor's hips.
"Alastor.. could you be so kind as to let me have this dance?" He questioned, a soft smile on his face as he began to hum a song, one hand moving from his hip to grab his hand. "I would be honored." Alastor accepted the proposition, hand intertwining with Vincent's. The snow was falling delicately around them, and it felt as though time began to freeze around them as Vincent and Alastor danced with each other. They weren't going fast. It was a slow dance, rather intentionally. A bit like a metaphor for how the relationship between each other was blossoming, the bloom becoming a little bigger every day.
Vincent's eyes were half-lidded as he looked down at Alastor. He looked absolutely perfect. Not even a perfect photo or a painting would do the man justice. The falling snow created a crown in Alastor's hair, the top largely covered by it. He looked so angelic. Vincent swore he'd never seen a person effortlessly look that breathtaking - besides the man he had in his arms.
As their dance came to an end, and they separated from each other's arms, Vincent's hand found its way to Alastor's cheek, cupping it tentatively. "May I?" He asked, the breath catching in his throat as he was wondering if he was perhaps coming on too strong or too fast. Worried he might scare Alastor away, despite it all.
After that, time seemed to truly fully come to a stop entirely. It felt as though the snow had paused falling, and the seconds were no longer passing as Vincent anticipated Alastor's response. Intentionally, Alastor pretending to ponder on it, despite already knowing what his answer would be.
"Hmm.. I don't know." He said, watching as Vincent's face fell. "I'm just kidding! Of course~"
Alastor leaned forward (and upward a little, too.), his lips connecting tenderly with Vincent's.
Much like everything else they'd done that night, their kiss was slow, not rushed.
it was meant to be enjoyed, not fast and rough. enjoyed, not lusted after. Give it a chance to sink in, and mean something. The kiss was supposed to mean a lot, between them. And by all means, it did. The way it carried the unspoken feelings between both the men, who were both ever-so-different, and yet so similar at the same time. Vincent's world felt as though it was starting to spin from the excitement and the anticipation, driving his mind utterly wild - that, and combined with the fact that he was starting to run out of air.
As Vincent and Alastor pulled apart, the latter happening to be panting softly, trying not to draw attention to himself. "..That was wonderful, Vincent." He breathed, looking up at the taller man. "It really was, Alastor," Vincent glanced away for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "Thank you for having me over - you made this night a lot more special than it would have been."
And with that, the two parted ways for the night. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow?" Vincent asked. "Certainly. Merry Christmas, dear." Alastor pecked Vincent on the cheek. "Merry Christmas, Al."