A Special Invitation

Alabaster stood on a pedestal as Simon knelt at his feet, a few pins pursed between his lips. He fed them through the fabric at the other man's ankles, carefully marking where he needed to hem up the cloth. It was a minuscule amount that needed altered, considering how precise the tailor was with his measurements, but Simon was willing to play along. He wanted to to keep this visit as professional as possible, of course. In fact, he wanted to keep everything like that between them from now on.

No more surprise visits, no more flirtatious banter and no more messing with the orderliness of Simon Hart's life. In fact, after the cataclysmic event known as Lord Price, the hard working tradesman had fallen back on same philosophy that he lived by before Alabaster Stone had wandered into it. He was to present himself as a business man in service to the public and nothing more.

Social entrapments? Emotional entanglements? Romantic, sweet, little nothings? Those were for people with a lot more time, wealth and connections than he. People who had been born into a good life, always taking for granted the blessings they had been given by the unseen hand of fate. Meanwhile, people like himself were meant to buckle down and do all of the work to keep society at large going and-

"Simon," came the voice from above, yanking him violently out of his own internal rhetoric, "Please talk to me."

Against his better judgement, the tailor glanced up. He really wished he hadn't. The vampire was looking down at him with an expression he had never seen him wear before. One filled with remorse? Regret? Sadness? It was hard to pin down just what it was trying to convey; maybe it was a surly cocktail of all three. But, one thing was certain. It was as clear as crystal that the other man felt bad.

Still, Simon wasn't going to accept some half-assed apology. He had been given enough of those to last an entire lifetime and none of them had ever done him any good. And even if the vampire WAS sincere, there was nothing he could say to change things. The tailor reminded himself that he had to keep a hardened heart when conversing with this man who had become his highest paying customer and nothing more.

"You're a vampire royal," he said, focusing back on his work again and refusing to meet those bluest of blue eyes, "I'm just a lowly tailor. What could we possibly have in common? What is there to talk about?"

That brought a sigh out of the vampire. It was clear how unyielding the other man had become. He wasn't going to make this easy.

'Then again, I wouldn't expect him to. Not after everything that's happened.'

It would be hard to miss the unfathomable amount of gossip floating around the castle these days about The Ode to Maria and how it had fallen on hard times. A lot of people referenced Lord Price Pattimond when they spoke of the shop's downfall; about how all of this had stemmed from the young master being displeased with the service he had been given.

Knowing the truth, it would have been easy to hate that stuck up snob, who acted like an entitled Prince charming. Alabaster DID resent him. He would be lying if he said that he didn't. But, he also knew that at the root of the matter, all of this was his own fault.

He never would have left Simon to such terrible abuse at the hands of that greedy man, of course. But, he should have been more clever about it. He had just been so in the moment and so focused on his goal of keeping the other man out of harm's way, that nothing else mattered. And considering the vulnerable position Price had the tailor in, nothing else made sense, but to charge right in.

His intentions had been pure. But, now the tailor he admired was the one paying for it; paying for his overzealous actions! Something he could only see now that the wheels were put into motion. But, Simon had able to see what was coming all along, hadn't he? He knew what the ruling class could do to a man like him. How they could callously and unfairly tear down everything he had spent his entire life working to build in a mere matter of days. It was a sad state of affairs that he only realized it now, when it was on the verge of being too late.

"I thought about what you said that night."

"Oh?" Simon asked as he busied his hands without much interest, "And?"

"And I realize that you're right. As someone noble born, I'll admit that I couldn't possibly know what you've gone through; the struggle it took for you to get to where you are. I took such a thing for granted."

Just then, the vampire knelt down and took the tailor's hands in his own, shocking him into silence. He knew it was a bit forward of him and perhaps a bit ungentlemanly, but he needed the other man to see that he was being sincere. He needed Simon to stop avoiding him and look him right in the eye, as he spilled his guts.

"And I wish to apologize. I want to make it up to you. Will you allow me to do penance?"

"H-How?" the tailor asked, shifting his gaze off to the side as his cheeks burned, "I mean, how would you make it up to me? How could you possibly do penance?"

At that, Alabaster gave a dazzling smile as the light came back into his eyes.

"It seems that you are deeming me worthy of a second chance. I'm truly grateful. But, as I was saying, the castle is having a gala in a week. I wish to invite you along as my personal guest."

The tailor finally found his commonsense. He yanked his hands away from the other man's, before standing up and turning his back on him. He knew that it was already too late. The vampire's typical overflow of contagious joy could almost be tangibly felt as he sensed that he had a shot at forgiveness. Simon hated that the man knew him so well, in spite of only recently just meeting him.

"Why? So that I can wine and dine the night away with royalty? No thank you. I have rather pressing work to do and no time to play with my betters."

"I know," Alabaster said with a chuckle as he placed his hands on Simon's shoulders from behind, "You're a busy man. But, that's just my point, dear tailor. Do you know what the most commonly asked question at this kind an event is? Who designed your outfit. Imagine if I had you by my side! I could introduce you to so many people, as the marvelous pair of hands behind my ensemble for the evening!"

Simon softened upon hearing this, a sense of guilt welling up in him. He had been prepared to cut Alabaster Stone out of his life, forever. All because of one mistake and misunderstanding. But, now, the vampire was willing to throw open the gates to paradise just for Alabaster to invite him into the world of the elite and to give him a fresh start. He fought the rare tears slowly filling up his emerald-green eyes.

"You could make new contacts," the vampire said hurriedly, as if the tailor was not fully convinced, "Many wealthy, potential, new clients can be met on a beautiful night such as that one. So, what say you, Simon Hart? Will you be my date?"

Even if he hadn't been hard up, this was just too good an opportunity to refuse. Not to mention, how could he reject the vampire when the man was trying ever so desperately to correct the hurt that was done to him? To make things right? He wiped at his eyes with his handkerchief, before turning around to face that hopeful, smiling face.

"Fine. I will allow you to earn my forgiveness. I will accompany you to the gala."

Alabaster reached for his hands again, managing to capture them with a glowing happiness, before the tailor could escape. He sighed, opting to leave them in his care, before glancing off to the side once again to hide his embarrassment as he added with a finality,

"But, don't expect me to dance with you. I'm letting you know now, so that you don't expect it later."

"I am a gentleman, Simon. I would never dream of forcing you to dance with me, if your heart's not in it. So, that's it then! I look forward to earning your forgiveness, dear tailor."

And with that, much to Simon's shock, the vampire leaned forward and placed a kiss on top of one of his hands; an unexpected giddiness bubbled up in the pit of his stomach, as well as a million questions. But, one of them stood out more than most.

'Why does it feels like I've done this before? And why do I not dislike it?'