Corbin's stone home stood in the belly of a dead-end ally. There was no garden, in its place stood more stone that created a path towards the rest of Venice. The home was surrounded on either side by canals. A faint mist rose from the water and gathered around the place giving it an eerie chill. From a lone street lamp illuminating the cobblestone path, a crow looked down as if judging everyone that passed. There were no other houses around – nothing that proved any indication of life. Ivy crawled up the exterior of the house like tentacles and gathered on the roof which was now a deep green despite the otherwise darkness.

Midnight swarmed around the lord and Kylo as they dismounted the horse-drawn carriage.

Vincent's gaze moved slowly over his angel's purple jacket. The black lace top Kylo wore had ruffled sleeves which plumed out of the cuffs. On Kylo's hands were his black gloves, the ones which had led the lord to him. Vincent brought those gloved hands to his lips and placed a butterfly kiss on them. "Have I told you that you look breathtaking?"

Giving Vincent a smile, Kylo shrugged playfully. "Not in the last hour."

"Then you need to hear it again." Brushing a lock of dark hair over Kylo's shoulders, Vincent uttered, "You are gorgeous."

"I melt when you do that," Kylo's voice was a whisper, his words a private hymn.

Vincent lifted his hand and brushed his knuckles over Kylo's cheek. "Tell you you are divine?"

"Touch me."

A clap of sound, something metallic and shrill, pulled the pair out of their tender moment. Before them, the windows of the house flew open and shone bright with the light of hundreds of candles. There were a handful of people running to lean over a balcony with cymbals in their hands. Music escaped like fleeing birds.

Vincent lifted his gaze and furrowed his brow.

"My lord?" Kylo whispered as he inched towards Vincent. "It sounds like the party is in full swing."

Vincent frowned deeply. He knew by the sound of all that laughter spilling at their feet that Corbin had surely supplied his guests with way too much to drink. It was not that Vincent minded guests drink – not at all, it was that Corbin's guests were always the sort that could never hold their liquor. Bringing his hand to his face, Vincent groaned remembering how he ended up in a corner of the library – among grand authors whose written work was more than just letters – and in the arms of those fine ladies. The trio had been in various forms of undress and utterly, painfully intoxicated.

"Corbin likes starting early," commented Vincent.

"I thought vampires never liked early."

"I do not, my angel. But as soon as the sun has slipped under the line of the horizon, Corbin comes out to play. He once decided he would go into the garden at dusk, though it is not impossible for some of us, it is still a dangerous time. The threat of burning is there if darkness does not come swiftly. The fool wanted to throw breadcrumbs into spiders' webs," Vincent rolled his eyes, "of all the insane things."

Hearing this, Kylo chuckled. "Bread crumbs?"

Vincent looked displeased at his brother's antics as he slowly nodded. "Corbin was eating bread. He told me he wanted to feed the spiders."

"But, vampires do not eat. You do not eat."

"Vampires who are sane do not eat. Corbin..." Vincent paused to tap his temple, "does not always think before he acts. I love him and I always will, but..."

"He's a little bit crazy?"

"I like to use the word eccentric."

Sliding his hand into Vin's, Kylo asked, "What happened?"

"Spiders flick things they will not eat out of their web to keep it clean. Corbin found it hilarious. He was lucky darkness fell like a brick or else he would have burned."

Curiosity poked at Kylo like a naughty child. "What happened to Corbin and the bread he ate?"

The sound of sudden high-pitched laughter was like a scream in Vincent's ear. Briefly, he turned his attention to a woman in a long satin gown running out of the house with another chasing her. The pair was laughing hysterically. Both of the woman's hair was disheveled and the clips once holding it up hung at the edge of their tresses like a man on a noose.

Pursing his lips, Vin waited for them to leave before he replied. "Eating makes a vampire ill, some more than others. Corbin ended up vomiting in the kitchen, all over the floor. It was disguising."

Kylo looked green. "I don't want to know anymore."

"And I'd rather not share anymore right now. Don't get me wrong, he's a wonderful friend. Were it not for him and Marillia I don't know where I'd be." Vincent pulled Kylo close and touched his forehead to his angel's. "And now there is you... my third savior." Pulling back to place a kiss on Kylo's nose, Vin continued, "In due time I will tell you all about Corbin but now, let us go inside and say hello. The quicker we go in, the quicker we can leave." Giving Kylo's hand a squeeze, Vincent let him up the steps and into Corbin's house.