The bar was full that night, packed with the presence of both humans and demons. It wasn't surprising since the work week was over, so the people allowed themselves to have a drink with their buddies and relax. All sorts of chattering filled the air, loud and quiet, cheerful and restrained, drunken and sober. Somewhere a radio was trying to get itself heard by playing mellow music, but almost no one paid any attention to it. A rather musty scent was lingering in the air and the smoke from cigarettes joined it, not really improving the quality of the air. The lights had been sprinkled around the bar in a very jumbled fashion; while some areas were well lit, there were also very dim corners which the shady people tended to prefer.

One of such people was Sin Vulpes. He was sitting alone in a table that was placed to one of the farthest corners from the door and was partly hidden from sight by a column that was standing near. It was his favorite table in this specific bar because he could sit there in peace. He was smoking a cigarette, thus contributing in making the air more stale. A half-full glass of whiskey was resting on the table in front of him; he had been leisurely enjoying his drink. It was his second one. That night he had come to the bar just to relax like so many others and that night he was an ordinary man among them.

Sin Vulpes had been sitting in his dark corner for a good while already and he had seen how people had been coming and going as a quite steady flow over the course of time. Every time he heard the door creak open, he would take a quick glance at its direction; he wanted to stay aware of his surroundings even though he was there taking it easy, it simply was a habit he had learned as a mercenary. He hadn't anticipated that he would see a familiar face in the bar that night, but at some point when the door opened again, he noticed a man with an angelic face coming in. And Sin Vulpes wondered, what were the odds that this man, Ivory, would step inside the same bar where he was at that moment? It was a strange coincidence. But Sin Vulpes felt indifferent as he watched how Ivory walked through the bar to the counter to get a drink.

Ivory had just grabbed a bottle of beer when his gaze wandered to the dim corner table where Sin Vulpes was sitting. Their eyes met and for once Sin Vulpes didn't look away like he usually did with this man; he could feel a weird throb inside of him, something he didn't remember experiencing before. He could only wonder what it was. But Ivory, who always seemed happy to see him, grew a smile on his face and he walked from the counter towards Sin Vulpes' table. Without asking for permission to join him, Ivory just sat down on the chair that was in the opposite direction from where Sin Vulpes was sitting.

“Didn't know you were here!” Ivory exclaimed happily. “Small world, huh? But good to see you! How have you been doing?”

Sin Vulpes inhaled smoke from his cigarette and blew it to the bar's musty air. “Just fine. Been quiet at work lately.”

Ivory was one of those people who knew what Sin Vulpes was doing. He could kill and torture people and still, Ivory was fond of him, wanted to be around him. But why, Sin Vulpes didn't know, especially because he had tried to push him away so many times. Perhaps Ivory could see past that monster, perhaps he saw a person behind all those layers of a cold and ruthless man. He was a persistent one, Sin Vulpes had to admit that.

“Well, the good thing is that at least you'll get to relax a little bit”, Ivory said and shrugged, then took a swig from his beer.

“How about you?” Sin Vulpes asked and right after the words had left his mouth, he wondered why he was suddenly trying to strike a conversation with this man. “What's going on in your life?”

“Eh, nothing much”, Ivory admitted. “Though there's been a weird demand for my artwork, so I've been painting a lot. I don't mind that, of course, I enjoy working and it's nice to get so much money.”

“I see.”

A silence fell between them for a moment. They just listened to the jumble of noises the other people in the bar were making and enjoyed their drinks. At some point Sin Vulpes extinguished his cigarette by pressing it against the ashtray in front of him, smoke still rising from it. Then he just focused on emptying his glass of whiskey.

Suddenly Ivory broke their silence: “You know, I was trying to find some company here for the night, but then I saw you… And I just… It's been a while since the last time we met, so I was genuinely happy to see you.” Ivory was twirling his drink a little, his gaze down. “If you don't mind… Would you like to hang out with me for a bit? Not for long, of course, just a moment.”

He looked so strangely lonely all of a sudden. Ivory was a very social person, it wasn't hard for him at all to find company, whether he was aiming to sleep with them or not. Sin Vulpes felt a sting in his cold heart of stone, being completely bewildered; why was he having such sensations now? He didn't care about anyone, but for a reason he didn't understand, he wanted to be with Ivory for a while, fulfilling his wish.

“Sure, I have a moment”, Sin Vulpes answered and it was like his lips had moved on their own, not caring about his will.

“Thank you”, Ivory said quietly and a tender smile appeared on his angelic face once more.

Sin Vulpes' right hand had been resting on the table and now Ivory moved his hand on top of it. Sin Vulpes didn't reject this gesture like he usually would; Ivory had made many attempts to show affection towards him in the past, but now Sin Vulpes let him have this moment. With his steel grey eyes, Sin Vulpes looked right at Ivory, trying to understand why he was feeling so soft all of a sudden. But no matter how hard he tried to ponder about it, he couldn't grasp the answer. There just was something about Ivory that felt soothing somehow… Has he always been like this? Or hadn't Sin Vulpes just noticed it before?

As if it would magically clear his head, Sin Vulpes gulped the last bits of his whiskey voraciously. He moved his hand that had been resting beneath Ivory's own and he stood up and said: “I'll go get a refill. I'll be back.”

Ivory just nodded as an answer and drank some of his beer. He wasn't left alone for long because Sin Vulpes was soon back with more whiskey. As soon as he sat down, their eyes met again – and he didn't look away this time, either. There was something sparkling in Ivory's lavender eyes… Warmth? Kindness? Understanding? Maybe even love? Such things were unfamiliar to Sin Vulpes, his world consisted of violence and death. Ivory knew this and yet, he could still look at him with such tenderness in his eyes. Sin Vulpes probably wouldn't ever comprehend that.

And there it was again, that strange throb inside his chest… Was it a sign of his heart of stone getting fractured, maybe because something in there wanted to bloom? Could he… Could he have a future together with this man? That didn't sound bad, although it felt odd; he had never been in a serious relationship and even if he did, he would have never thought to be with another man. It seemed like Ivory had managed to sneak into his heart after all.

Sin Vulpes broke their eye contact and then focused on just drinking. Such ridiculous thoughts… Maybe it was just the whiskey that had risen to his head.

“Oh, I like this song!” Ivory suddenly exclaimed and partly turned around to listen to the song that had started to play from the radio. Sin Vulpes didn't care about that, but was happy that his train of thoughts momentarily crashed. Ivory tapped his foot a little to the rhythm of the song and also bobbed his head slightly. He really appeared to enjoy the music.

Meanwhile Sin Vulpes had emptied his glass once again. For a brief moment he pondered whether he should go get another one, but decided that he had been drinking enough – he didn't like to get drunk while out in the public. He started to long for fresh air and he got on his feet again.

“Where are you going?” Ivory asked curiously as he watched his movements.

“Out”, Sin Vulpes simply blurted out while trying to navigate his way out of the dark corner. “You can come with me if you want.”

He hadn't meant to say those last words, they just came out of his mouth on their own. Nonetheless, Ivory seemed to get happy because of them and he quickly emptied his bottle of beer. Swiftly he stood up and hurried to catch up with Sin Vulpes and together they left the musty bar and all the people in it.

It was the month of the dead, so the weather was cold, but it felt even more chilly after Sin Vulpes and Ivory had just stepped out of the warmth of the building; especially Ivory was shivering noticeably. Winter was coming and as a sign of this, a few tiny snowflakes were falling from the black sky, but they were too feeble to form a cover of snow just yet and would melt the next day. It was the miserable time of the year when everything was dark and withered and in need of snow to conceal this ugliness. But the whiteness would come, eventually, the world just had to wait.

Sin Vulpes started to walk away from the bar, taking the lead and Ivory followed him, not far behind. As they were going forward, Sin Vulpes decided to light another cigarette to smoke while they walked. He was leaving behind puffs of smoke as he strolled through the wet streets and they pestered Ivory's nose a little, but he had accepted a long time ago this nasty habit Sin Vulpes had.

The fresh outdoor air seemed to clear Sin Vulpes' head, but the strange thoughts still continued to spin around his mind and he couldn't push them aside, they wanted to be heard now, not later. All he could think about was Ivory and how he wanted to be with him. But part of him was still resisting this idea, he had always been a lone wolf and wanted to stay as one. This led to a conflict inside of him as two different desires fought against each other. Ivory had no idea what kind of mayhem was taking place in Sin Vulpes' mind as they continued to walk together through the streets of Olden Shadow Town.

Sin Vulpes had always felt strong hatred inside of him, he had carried it as long as he could remember. He couldn't recall where its roots were anymore, but it had always been a part of him, burning strongly inside his soul. But somehow, Ivory's presence seemed to tame those flames, giving a more serene feeling. Why was that, Sin Vulpes had no idea. Did he want to have more of that soothing feeling in his life? Or would he rather choose wrath that had no origin?

Suddenly Sin Vulpes stopped and Ivory almost bumped into him. He dropped his cigarette and stomped on it while Ivory was wondering why they were now just standing on the street all of a sudden.

“Sin? Is something wrong?” Ivory inquired quietly.

But the other man just stayed still and silent for a while. Ivory was about to open his mouth again when Sin Vulpes turned around to face him. There was this strange look in his eyes, something Ivory hadn't seen before.

“You have always cared for me, haven't you?” Sin Vulpes muttered with a low voice.

Ivory was a little confused by these words, but provided an answer anyway: “Yes… Ever since I saw you for the first time, I have cared about you. You delivered an impression no other person has ever given me. There is something special about you, I have always known that. You are a masterpiece, Sin.”

And immediately after he had stopped talking, Sin Vulpes had come closer to him and gently pressed his lips against Ivory's own. This really surprised Ivory, he hadn't expected something like this to happen at all, but he answered to the other man's kiss, closing his eyes and hoping that the moment would last forever. It was their first kiss, something he had yearned for so long, and somehow it made this more special that Sin Vulpes had been the one who initiated it. At that moment, Ivory could burst from happiness.

Eventually Sin Vulpes broke their kiss, but still looked intently at Ivory's eyes.

“I'm glad you never gave up on me”, Sin Vulpes said softly.

Ivory couldn't stop from smiling. “I'll never take no for an answer from a guy like you.”

Sin Vulpes sneered a little bit and shook his head. But soon his eyes were fixed at Ivory again. “Would you like to show your place to me?”

“Oh, I've wanted to do that for a long time”, Ivory chuckled and his smile grew even wider. “I'll take you there.”

Ivory reached for his hand and Sin Vulpes didn't deny from him this small indication of affection. Holding hands, walking side by side they began their short journey to Ivory's house. And at the same time, they also took their first steps in a shared life, because finally, Sin Vulpes had surrendered and accepted Ivory's love.