Author's Note: Here I am again with another Oneshot! This was a little creation I whipped up in math class. I tend to write most everything there since I don't care for what I'm learning. I hope you enjoy my own little made up tale of what could have happened during Damon and Katherine's sort of first meeting. Don't forget to review and let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries nor do I own any of the characters.
Damon felt like he could not breathe the first time he saw Katherine. When she had turned her brown eyes to him he was sure her smile had twitched the slightest bit. It had been something only he was meant to see. But then he blinked and the looked was gone and she was laughing at some joke his brother had told. He had smiled. Her laugh was incredibly infectious. But with that one look everything had changed. With one careful smile the notorious Damon Salvatore's cocky and confident persona melted away. He was smitten, head over heels and he knew it.
It stung all the more the way she hung around Stefan. They shared secret looks and hidden smiles. Casually their hands would touch. Damon took notice of the way Stefan blushed and would quickly look away. Katherine on the other hand would look accomplished and proud. There was something sinister in those looks that drew Damon toward the flame. She was innocent and lovely but she was also cruel. He could only guess how menacing and conniving she was underneath it all. He only caught glimpses of it here and there.
He had been up early that morning the first time they really spoke. His sleep had been restless and eventually he had dressed and stepped outside. The sky had been a light purple and blue. Sunrise would come soon, h realized while settling onto a bench near the garden. He allowed his thoughts to drift though he feared what could become of them. He only stirred when he heard the steady clicking of heels. It was a sound he had not often heard since his mother had died.
"Is there any reason why you are awake so early?" He asked. He noticed the rude tone but chose not to correct it. She had interrupted his thoughts.
"I could not sleep. Like you," She added as an afterthought. "The garden is lovely in the morning. Everything is covered in dew and looks so full of life."
"How often do you come here, Lady Katherine?" He asked while turning to face her for the first time.
"Nearly every day," She replied with a smile. "Sometimes Stefan accompanies me. He seems to have chosen sleep today instead."
Damon's jaw clenched at the mention of his brother's name. St. Stefan struck again. Katherine had smiled at him then. It was a knowing smile and Damon suspected she knew that she had struck a nerve.
"But you are here instead," She insisted while moving to sit next to him. "You could watch the sunrise with me."
"It would be my honor," He replied.
He had sat with her as she stared up at the sky. When the first rays of light could be scene a grin broke out on her face. He found he loved her smile, it was just as infectious as her laugh and he soon found himself grinning right along with her. He did notice when he had stopped watching the sky and instead just chose to stare at her. It occurred when the first trace of light touched her face. It danced upon her cheeks and the squint of her eyes in the sunlight was enough to undo him. It did not help that the sun caught the lighter strands of her hair. All it did was present the urge for him to reach out and stroke her face, but he held back. Instead he clenched his fists until his nails bit into his palms. It angered him to know that once he left there was a possibility that Stefan would have her on his arm. There was a chance that he would not see any of them as well. It frightened him though he would never admit it.
"It's perfectly acceptable for you to feel afraid." He watched her lips move when she had talked. She had a secret smile on her face again. Something amused her and it perplexed him.
"Pardon?" His voice was shaky, he noted.
"To be afraid of war, to be afraid of dying. There have been hundreds of deaths on both sides. If you came back uninjured or returned at all it would be a miracle."
Her voice was so matter of face that it sent him reeling. She had not sugarcoated it the way other women had before her. No, she was frank and dove straight for the point. She spoke what he refused to think. He was no longer looking at her at this realization. Instead his eyes were trained on anything but her. She had cracked his armor and she knew it. He felt more vulnerable than he had in a long time. Not since his mother died. It was a feeling he never wanted to return.
"I apologize. But you and I both know the truth in my words."
Damon could only nod. He still did not want to speak. He could not trust his voice. So he sat silently and stared at the ground below.
"I can see the potential in you though." He could hear the smile in her voice. "I suppose you would fair just fine. Perhaps I will still be here when you return."
Damon felt feminine fingers lift his chin. He stared at her with wide blue eyes that weren't really seeing, but looking past her. He could not believe a thing she was suggesting but her words had a strange affect on him. It did not help that he had caught that she had said when he returned, not if. So those words warmed him but the heat was accompanied with a sudden violent chill. The feeling remained when she pressed her lips to his. The first time he kissed her there were shocks of white heat and red ice. It blistered his lips and numbed them at the same time. He wondered if this was love. He wasn't entirely sure though he surely suspected it was.
In that next instant the delightful pressure was gone. Stefan was calling for Katherine. She seemed more than willing to go to him. She stood and left without glancing back at the fallen Confederate soldier. He decided then if he died during battle maybe that would be okay and he could accept it. But if he returned, well, he'd fight more fiercely than he ever had. It only would drive his force both on the battle field and back at home.
His medal of honor would be her heart.