Sunlight parted through the closed blinds; Edward waking in a daze from his midnight nap. He sat up in his chair and looked wildly about.

"Henry?" He felt his back convulse from the stiffness of an improper bed.

It was early morning before the first people got to the office, and the stillness and coolness of the soft morning was fresh in his nose. The bathroom was nearby, and Edward grabbed his supplies he kept on hands to freshen him up during the day or before important meetings with him. The sink was running in the dark tiled bathroom with white fresh pots for bowls. Edward washed his face, stretching his skin in despair.

"Don't do that."

Edward jumped. He didn't realize Henry was in there with him.

Henry walked out of the shadowed corner. "What the hell are you doing in here? I thought vampires don't need the boys room." Edward turned and grabbed the razor and proceeded to shave.

"There's a ball tonight at the Hotel Chantecler." Henry walked up to him at the sink and touched his fingertip to the small divot in Edwards chin.

Henry pulled his hand away with the swish of the bathroom door opening. "Morning, gentlemen," Todd walked into the sink beside Edward and washed-up, self-absorbed. Edward and Henry stared at Todd like he was mere but alien. He rung his hands and dabbed his face before leaving. . .If only he knew that his job resided on Henry initially rejecting Edward's proposal.

Edward looked back at himself in the mirror seeing Henry behind him shadowed by the above-mirror-lighting. He dipped his face into the sink in his home and looked back up at the handsome hue-man in tuxedo black. Henry walked into the pristine marble bathroom and fixed his deepening blonde hair. They both slicked their hair back with sleek gel and had pinkish hues painted on their faces.

"They'll think poorly of us." Edward whispered. He gazed lovingly at Henry's jaw with a sullen frown.

"No, they won't:" Henry licked his fingers to pin back an unruly strand of hair. "Come on, we're going to be late."

"You're just excited because it's your time of night." Edward said without smiling or any emotion on his face. Henry shrugged a nonchalant maybe.

Enshrouded by the moonlights effeminate moan, the castle that Edward noted stood heavy against the starlit background. A long and pristine dark green lawn ran for hundreds of meters before the hotel with a soft gravel road sticking straight out from the yawned opening of the master halls. The whole palace was glowing with the warm candlelight lamps and chandeliers burning from the inside out.

Walking in, Henry reached for the small of Edwards back stepping onto the checkered marble floor. At the top of the steps looking into the ballroom, they stood at the railing and watched as people danced together and conversed with expensive smiles and drinks kissing their wet perspiring lips. They reeked of a cleanliness and education that buried and ate living souls in the form of gossip for a living, and not only but from their parent's funds and their parent's parent's funds and so on.

"My family could never imagine a richness as such." Edward stood wide eyed and gaping.

"This is a free event for those who pay the day pass for the pool. Other than that, everyone else is a member so, yes a richness in money but also class that is more than unimaginable." Henry fixed his coat and floated down the spiraling stairs to the ballroom floor. Edward followed shortly after.

Edward invited a woman sitting next to another at the table filled with an assortment of food and invited the other to dance with Henry. On the floor, Henry and Edward watched each other dancing slowly and freely with other women. The music picked up and everyone started swapping partners. Henry circled around until he had his back to Edward. He shifted his gait and pulled the other woman in a thin black cocktail code so he could watch Edward drop the woman in to a short and sweet dip. They switched again and then a third time before the music changed. Everyone began to pass between each other, grabbing their hands and then reaching for the next until Henry made his way to Edward and lunged for his hand at the last beat and held on tight. People clapped as the tune and thin music faded into nothingness, but Edward and Henry stared into each other's eyes; Edward out of breath.

"Come with me, I want to show you something." Henry said.

He grabbed Edward's shoulder and led him to the big expansive bay windows that overlooked the pool and the garden. They made a right down the hallway to a secluded and dark room separated from the ballroom behind them. Henry pushed Edward softly and closed the door behind him. Outside the large windows, the moon shone through and displayed a perfect rectangle of blue moonlight. Henry noticed Veronica walking in from the other door to the piano that sat in the dark corner of the dance hall. At first, it was quiet, but then the room filled with the sweet lullaby of the ringing piano.

"May I have this dance?" Henry bowed and held out his hand to Edward. He smiled and grabbed hold of Henry's offer.

Henry pulled Edward close to him and started with a simple waltz to Clair de Lune. They rocked back and forth on their feet. Edward looked around as Henry stared into his unfocussed eyes. "What a beautiful and perfect night."

At the chords progressing downwards, Henry pushed Edward out with one hand and brought him back in. He rocked him from his shoulders and led him to the edge of where the moonlight touched and then brought him back spinning as the light notes fluttered across the room. They held onto each other's shoulders as they spun together across the light; their noses were fixed to one another. The fast part came with a deep voice against the soft upper register and together they spun in the faint light. Edward laughed as he began to become dizzy. The piano quieted after, and Henry let go to place Edward on the expansive windowsill. He stepped up as the original theme began to replay but now melancholier and lacking the deeper filler notes. At the resolving note, Henry danced lightly with Edward and brought him close to a firm embrace.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" Edward asked. The music from the main dancehall softly filled the room with a muffled sound.

They let go of each other and sat down at the large window. "Venice, I believe. Ballroom dancing was quite in fashion at the time."

"Stay at my place tonight."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Oh, come on, you heard me." Edward smiled but then dropped it to become more serious. "Come home to my place, I'll show you how good a hostess I can be."

Henry smiled and laughed apologetically, "I can't, Edward: I don't want things to get out of hand."

Edward scrunched his face. "It won't get out of hand, what are you even afraid of?"

Henry gave Edward a look that only made him scowl in fury. "Humans are quite adorable when they're fussy like that." He held back a smile.

"How dare you call me cute!" Edward leapt from the windowsill and out the open window two doors down into the large expansive garden.

Into the night, Henry chased a loving from God he's never once felt before, and now, now he truly felt more alive than when he was once living. Only an hour later, Edward had worn his energy, and to let the night continue, Henry went home with him and acted as guardian over his sleeping willow. He couldn't sleep—he could never sleep despite there not being a lack of trying, yet he dozed off in a dream he felt only once before where he could smell the warmth radiating from Edward's thick neck.

He sighed and nuzzled closer into the crook of his shoulder, memorizing every divot in his muscles. The moon bathed them in a pristine, infantile white, and all was quiet.

Chapter 16

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