”So, why are we doing this, again?”

Sin had his arms crossed over his chest as he waited for a response from Ivory, having his typical grumpy expression on his face. He wasn't really thrilled with what the shorter man had in mind. Ivory was smiling brightly, shaking the few pieces of clothing he had got somewhere.

“Oh, you know! Erza is having a little party and we are invited!” Ivory chirped enthusiastically. “The theme is zombie apocalypse, and these clothes were given to us!”

Sin didn't know much about this Erza guy. He was someone of Ivory's acquaintances, they probably had met at bar at some point, both looking for company. They hadn't ended up together, however, because Erza was a straight man. They had kept touch, though, and Ivory had even made few pieces of artwork for him. In fact, Ivory had just recently finished a painting for him, that probably being the reason that they had met again, Erza then giving invitations in exchange, or something like that. Sin wasn't looking forward to this occasion, but he knew that even if he was in the side of refusal right now, Ivory would find a way to make him accept the invitation.

“Why do we have to wear these specific clothes?” Sin asked.

Ivory's smile faded a little and he looked confused for a second.

“I don't really know”, he admitted eventually. “Erza gave these to me, so I guess he expects us to use them. Don't worry, you won't look silly! In fact, I think you'll look handsome!”

Sin just groaned, not questioning the matter any further. Without speaking anything, he began to head towards Ivory's bedroom – it was late after all and he had some business to take care of in the morning. Ivory followed him, basically bouncing behind, but despite his energetic movements, he too was tired and would love to get in the bed with the man he loved, cuddling with him until he would fall asleep. In no time, the two men had found their way to the bedroom, seeking for rest. And Ivory's desires were fulfilled.

A couple of days passed by. During those days, Ivory didn't see Sin that much. Being separated from him did hurt his heart a little, and he was quite worried as well. Sin's job was often a dangerous one, but he was also a strong man. Deep in his soul, Ivory knew that his beloved would always make it, no matter what, even if a part of him was anxious. And it turned out to be, as expected, that Sin was completely fine, as he one evening appeared at the door of Ivory's home. Ivory had hugged him, kissed him, and Sin had reluctantly accepted all of this. He just wasn't good at showing affection, but Ivory didn't mind that. The main thing was that now they were together again. Ivory was also delighted, for tomorrow evening they would go to the party, and he really looked forward for that. But today, they would just chill at home.

The next evening arrived. The men were getting prepared, trying out their outfits for the first time. However, there didn't seem to be any issues with them, both Ivory and Sin fit in their clothes.

Ivory had a blue and white cap, with a design of a towing car on it. He was wearing blue overalls, but the upper part of it was tied to his waist, so they served pretty much just as pants. He also had a yellow t-shirt, with a logo on it that had a picture of a weird mechanical thing with teeth, accompanied with a text “Bullshifters”. On his feet, he had a pair of black shoes.

Sin, on the other hand, had a simple suit that consisted of white trousers and a jacket. His jacket was open, revealing a blue undershirt. He also had a belt and a pair of brown shoes.

As Ivory had previously predicted, Sin indeed looked handsome in his suit and Ivory couldn't stop admiring him.

“See, I told you!” the shorter man exclaimed. “You look so, so strikingly good!”

The taller man gave his usual answer: a grunt. Ivory giggled a little bit, then snatched Sin's hand and started to guide him towards the front door of his house, then starting their journey to Erza's place. They stepped into the darkening nightfall, leaving an empty house of art behind.

The evening in Olden Shadow Town was quiet. The sky was veiled by dark clouds and there was some light rain in the air. Just some mild drizzle, nothing heavier than that. But even though the sky was covered in darkness, the lights of the town illuminated the path of those who were still out during such a late hour. Sin and Ivory were walking through the streets, side by side. Sin had his hands in his pockets and a cigarette sticking out of his mouth, and Ivory was clinging onto his arm. A slight puff of smoke was left behind as they kept walking. There was still some distance left for the men to stride, but they didn't mind that. Having a little stroll around the town was a pleasant experience, especially for Ivory. They didn't talk, but that was okay. You don't always have to communicate verbally with your partner to know that your time together is precious. Sometimes, silence is enough. And, in such state, the two men walked forward.

At some point it became apparent that there indeed was some sort of party going on. Sin noticed that some of the people on the streets were heading to the same direction as they were and some of them had visibly strange clothes, such as torn or blood-stained pieces. Zombie apocalypse, huh? It really seemed like that, judging by the way people were dressed.

They had managed to walk close to the downtown area. More and more people joined the odd procession. Soon the people in the streets, as well as Sin and Ivory, got close to the place where Erza was hosting his party. It was a big building, clearly owned by a rich guy, as an average person couldn't afford a place like that. A crowd was sliding inside with a steady pace, loud chattering and laughter filling the air. Sin and Ivory let the biggest wave of people to enter the building before they got inside as well, Sin dropping his cigarette to the ground and stomping on it, extinguishing its life. They climbed the short set of stone stairs to get to the double doors, then slipped through the gaping opening. Now the men found themselves from a dim hallway, where they stayed just for a brief moment. There was another set of double doors ahead that led further in, into a big hall where the party was taking place. So, that's where the men went to.

The hall was very vast room. The sight of it was very impressive, it was like they had entered a completely different world. Bright lights on the ceiling provided illumination for the whole place. The walls were gray and looked very much like concrete and had blood stains, bullet holes and graffiti decorating them. The large windows were boarded up, as if mimicking a safety precaution against zombies. The floor looked like rusted metal, also with few drops of blood here and there. Few animatronic zombies were guarding the corners of the great hall. Mostly the floor was empty for the guests to do freely whatever they wanted, were it having conversations with others or performing clumsy dances. There were some tables resting aside, filled with food and drinks. One side of the hall was occupied by a stage where a band was playing some rock music. All in all, Erza had successfully captured the zombie apocalypse vibes in this party. It had definitely cost a fortune to get all of this done, and Sin had a strong feeling that Erza had used some magic-user's services to make the hall look the way it was now. Doing that, of course, would cost a lot of money. But it was apparent in that point that Erza was a really wealthy person.

Speaking of the host of the party, soon after Sin and Ivory had managed to make it into the hall, Erza appeared somewhere from the mass of people that had filled the room and came to greet them.

“Ivory, my pal!” he yelled in a joyful manner. “Good to see you! And this gentleman here must be Sin, correct?”

He reached out to shake hands with Sin, and Sin reluctantly accepted. He wasn't really thrilled to meet this man, but Erza most likely didn't even notice.

“Dang, you two look good in those clothes I gave you!” Erza exclaimed as his gaze wandered around the costumes of Sin and Ivory. “Well, I hope you have great time! See you!”

With that, before anyone could utter a single word, the host disappeared into the crowd of people, probably to meet and greet other acquaintances.

“He kind of likes to buzz around”, Ivory said, chuckling a little bit. “He enjoys attention.”

Sin didn't answer to him. Meeting Erza had given him a strange feeling. There was more to this man than what was on the surface. Sin wasn't as good at reading souls of other people as demons were, but even he could tell that this man had a great secret. Perhaps not malicious, but still, it was remarkable. However, he let it slide, and began to make his way further into the hall with Ivory, who was tugging him from his arm, ready to experience the party together. Now that they were here, they should get everything out of this opportunity, as this was quite unusual way to spend time with each other, at least to them. Even Sin, who was rather introverted person, wanted to have some good time, for Ivory's sake. From that moment, the great evening started.

In the end, everybody seemed to have a fun night. At least a hundred people had gathered to Erza's zombie party, so it easily got a bit overwhelming for someone like Sin. Most of the time he had been lurking in the corners of the hall, staying away and giving space for other people to do whatever they wanted. He had taken a couple of beers, and actually was holding another one on that moment. He was satisfied with his role as an onlooker, staring at the crowd of people who still had strength to dance, Ivory being one of them. But as the hours passed by, the atmosphere slowly reverted to more relaxed one. The lights had been dimmed. The band wasn't blasting loud music anymore and were now playing some slower ballads. It was perfect for some couples, as they could now have some gentler dances together. Because of this, Ivory made his way through the crowd of people to take his place next to Sin.

“Woo-hoo, it has been a great evening, hasn't it?” Ivory stated cheerfully to his beloved one.

“I suppose so”, Sin replied, taking another sip from his beer.

Ivory smiled at him. He could tell that the taller man had been enjoying the party as well, even though he looked like that he didn't care. Ivory just hoped that he could have made Sin to dance with him, but he knew that such thing would absolutely not happen.

The shorter man leaned on his significant other, letting out a content sigh.

“I'm glad that we came here”, he said.

Sin just shrugged.

They didn't know for how long they stayed like that, being close to each other and watching people have fun. But eventually, the party had to end. Slowly but surely people started to make their leave, Sin and Ivory being one of the last guests that left the building. They began their journey to Ivory's home, having now one more memory to cherish.