AN: Hello my lovely readers :D, this is my longest one shot ever, full of fluffy Bamon goodness. It was inspired by the song 'Count on me' by Bruno Mars. It's a really cute song do if you haven't already go listed to it, after reading this of course… or while you read :) Hope you enjoy, and be sure to leave a review.
Warning: This is an AU story so it doesn't exactly follow the story of the books. I apologize right now for any and all mistakes that you find.
Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or any of its characters.
o~O~o
Count on me
If you toss and you turn and you just can't fall asleep
I'll sing a song
beside you
And if you ever forget how much you really mean to me
Everyday I will
remind you
-Bruno Mars
o~O~o
Damon woke with a start; painfully he sucked a huge breath of air into his burning lungs.
He tried to take in his surroundings only to find that he was blind!
Yes it was dark, but that shouldn't make a difference to his vampire sight.
His head was still foggy from sleep, but as he grew more alert his memory of the previous day came rushing back...
The black rose!
He had let his curiosity get the better of him and took a whiff of the roses intoxicating scent.
And then...
Then his lungs began to burn painfully, he was dying and he didn't know how to stop it.
Sage had found him and deposited him in the living area of the boardinghouse, and he was laughing hysterically.
Some friend he was.
Yes, sage was one of the few people in his long existence that could hold the title friend... He may have to reconsider that though, seeing as sage had laughed as he was dying.
"Breathe." sage had said.
He could remember thinking, 'why on earth would I need to breathe?' for it had been centuries since breathing was a necessary thing for him to do.
The burning in his lungs became more intense and his head began to swim; almost as if he was going to faint.
He Faint? Vampires did not faint; and Damon was THE vampire of vampires, so this was doubly true for him.
Only he wasn't sure he was a vampire anymore.
The others had come to see what the ruckus was just as sage had smacked his back hard enough for him to take in an involuntary breath of air that had soothed his burning lungs.
If only he could remember how to do it without being abused.
The others laughed as he struggled on the ground sputtering and choking; well all except for one-his little bird, she had disappeared into the kitchen.
Maybe two if you counted Stefan who was livid.
His brother lunged at him and he took another breath.
He knew how now, he just had to remember that he needed to do this continuously, which seemed like such a chore much to his annoyance.
It would to you too if you had gone without breathing for over five hundred years.
"Damon..."
The soft murmur of his name snapped him back to the present.
He blindly searched the small bedside table for the lamp and switched the light on.
He shrank back covering his eyes from the light until they adjusted to it.
He could see now, but his sight was nothing compared to what it had been as a vampire.
Immediately his eyes fell on what they had been seeking.
His little bird was slouched in a chair near the bed and she was asleep.
The light had caused her to stir a little until she sat up and rubbed her eyes yawning.
He chuckled at this because she reminded him of a kitten, stretching and yawning after a short nap.
Her eyes widened as she realized what was going on.
"Oh my God! I fell asleep! What if you had- had stopped breathing! I am so st-"
She never got to finish her flustered speech, for her lips were stilled by a warm finger that was pressed gently against them.
She looked up into the amused dark eyes that stared into her own.
Now it was SHE who had to remind herself to breath.
When he had gotten up from the bed and came to kneel before her, she hadn't the slightest clue.
He looked into her brown eyes, tired and blood shot from her lack of sleep and for a moment he forgot about his current -and terrible to him- predicament.
She had stayed by his side while he slept just to make sure he remembered to breathe...
She cared, and this revelation caused an unknown feeling to bubble up in his chest.
Without a word he scooped her up out of the uncomfortable chair and set her on the bed.
Even with his poor eyesight he could see the blush that had crept up into her cheeks as he lay beside her.
"You need to rest little bird." he said.
"But-" she tried to protest.
"No buts." he said as he turned the light off and pulled her closer to him.
He hadn't brought her to his bed with any motives, except that he wanted her to rest comfortably.
There was nothing romantic or sexual about his actions, it was a simple act of kindness that had driven him to do this; an innocent action of friendship of the purest kind.
He tensed for a moment when he felt her lips press gently on his temple.
"Good night Damon." she said sleepily.
He smiled contently as her breathing steadied instantly falling asleep.
He soon followed in suit and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
"What do you expect me to do with that-that appalling looking stuff?" Damon asked grumpily.
He eyed the tray piled with an assortment of things that Bonnie had brought in for him.
Despite his grumpy demeanor Bonnie giggled.
"You eat it silly." she replied.
"You expect me to eat that? It doesn't look very appealing."
"Damon you have to eat, you are human now you'll die if you don't."
"I would rather die, it's better than being a weak human." he said sulkily.
A mischievous smile spread across her lips.
"If you don't eat this I will talk your ears off." she threatened.
When he made no move to comply she looked at him pointedly.
"You know that I can." she said.
"Okay, okay. I will eat the food."
He picked up what he supposed was a pastry and took a small bite preparing for the worst.
His eyes widened in surprise as an explosion of flavor enveloped his taste buds.
Bonnie couldn't help the small giggle that escaped her lips at his expression.
He greedily devoured the rest of the pastry and without hesitation picked up another item from the tray, finding that it was equally wonderful in taste.
Bonnie's laughter stopped him from his feasting.
He glared at her.
"What's so funny?" he growled.
"You have something-here, look for yourself."
Bonnie skipped off and brought back a small hand mirror and held it up to him.
To his horror he had managed to get food on his face in his feeding frenzy.
Bonnie's bubbly laughter drifted to his ears once more and he found it was contagious.
The scowl evaporated from his face and was replaced by amusement, his own laughter mingling with hers.
Suddenly his face became serious except the mischievous glint in his onyx eyes.
"So you think this is funny do you?" He asked.
Bonnie shook her head, but she couldn't contain her laughter as she finally answered with a "yes."
Damon picked up another pastry and said with a smirk.
"Then you should find this hilarious."
Before she could react he had smashed the pastry right on her head.
Before they knew it they had become engaged in a full-fledged food war.
Bonnie screamed and giggled and Damon shook with laughter, they were covered head to toe in the sweet remnants of pastries and other food products.
Damon had Bonnie pinned to the floor threatening her with a bottle of chocolate syrup.
She shook with laughter beneath him.
For a moment as he stared into her eyes his gaze became intent stopping her laughter completely.
Had her eyes always had a golden hue to their brown irises?
"You look good enough to eat." Bonnie joked and the intensity was broken.
He laughed and ran a finger down her strawberry covered cheek.
"I must say that you are looking quite delectable yourself red bird." he joked back.
Bonnie's breath caught when he popped his finger into his mouth.
The door burst open; his brother and the humans rushing in, their eyes were wild with panic and worry.
Bonnie and Damon stared at them blankly as their faces quickly changed from worried to confusion to slight amusement.
Realizing what their current positions suggested, Damon quickly removed himself from Bonnie and he could swear that his cheeks were flushed with warmth.
Bonnie's face had definitely become red with blush.
"Oh no, don't let us interrupt. We only came because we heard screaming." Stefan said amused.
"I can see that we were mistaken in our assumptions, so please continue with your... Lunch." he added as they all backed out of the room shutting the door behind them.
The closed door did nothing to mute their snickering.
"I-I'll let you get cleaned up... And then maybe we can go outside for a while." Bonnie said as she stood up.
He nodded and when she left the room to get cleaned up as well he remained seated for a moment longer.
He wasn't sure if he should be grateful for his brothers' interruption or agitated.
Just before the door has burst open he had been thinking about his red birds lips, and he found himself wanting to kiss them, to taste them with his own.
As a vampire he had kissed her in fact he had done so a number of times, but he had never thought of it.
Vampires just didn't think of kissing women, they thought of the blood that flowed beneath the delicate blue veins that were just visible beneath their skin.
Maybe it was a good thing they had been interrupted, he decided.
He got up then and took a hot shower, letting the combination of scolding water and steam calm his nerves.
"How is this supposed to help me learn to be human again?" Damon asked with an arched brow as they approached the thick trunk of the tree.
"You need to learn how to do things without your vampire powers Damon. Besides," she paused and gave him a smile, "its fun."
He froze for a moment.
This was the first real genuine smile she had ever given him, and it was beautiful.
He hadn't really ever seen her smile; then again in the short time he had known her she hadn't really had a reason to either.
She had been through things that could send any sane person straight for the loony bin, add on top of that her visions and trances and it was a wonder that she was still here in front of him.
Despite her small build she had to be one of the strongest people he knew, human or vampire.
He let a slow smile spread across his lips as he stepped up to the trunk of the tree.
Once he was a good distance above the ground Bonnie began to climb up after him.
Of course he grumbled as he climbed up, if he were still a vampire he would have just transformed into a crow and flown up, he had no idea how much more work being a human was until now.
Once he had found a thick enough branch that could hold both of their weight he stopped.
"You did it!" Bonnie exclaimed when she was just a branch below him.
He gave her a satisfactory smile.
"Yes. I suppose I did." he said, and as menial as this task was he was filled with a sort of pride that he had done it without any powers.
Bonnie gripped the branch he was standing on and he grabbed her hand to help her up, and not a second too soon because her foot had slipped off of the branch she stood on.
He gripped the trunk behind him tightly to keep himself balanced as he easily pulled her up.
She was light as a feather, so when he had pulled her up she collided with his chest and immediately freed her hand and steadied her by clutching her firmly against him; his other arm still wrapped around the trunk; the rough bark biting into his fingers.
She clung just as tightly to him her fingers grasping the material of his black shirt.
She looked up at him as he peered down at her, and for a moment they stayed frozen like this and it took them quite some time to realize that the branch had stopped wobbling.
Once they did Bonnie took a step back, so that Damon could let go of the trunk.
"Ouch." he winced.
"What happened?" Bonnie asked in concern.
He held out his finger that had a thick splinter of wood in it.
"I find it ironic that I can still be wounded by wood." he chuckled as he sat down.
"Here let me see." Bonnie said as she sat beside him.
He held out his injured finger to her and she took his hand in both of her small ones.
He watched her intently as she examined it.
"Okay, this is going to hurt for just a bit." she said.
Reflexively he tried to pull his hand back but she tightened her grip on his arm.
"I promise I will be as gentle as I can." she reassured.
He sucked in a deep breath as she gripped the wood with her fingernails, careful to hold his hand steady.
He was so focused on her that he didn't even realize that she had taken it out until she said, "There all better."
She surprised him by placing soft kiss on his sore finger; much in the manner a mother kisses her child's scrapped knee.
Again he felt the urge to kiss her.
Why was she affecting him this way now?
Strangely he hadn't even thought of Elena during their times spent together, and this confused him.
Damn human emotions!He thought bitterly.
Damon was lying awake in his bed trying to sort out all of these overwhelming new emotions when he heard a sob coming from the room next to his; Bonnie's room.
He was instantly on his feet and out of bed.
He had to see if she was alright.
When he entered her room he found her tossing and turning in her sleep, her hair damp from perspiration clung to her forehead.
Her eyes were wet with tears as she mumbled in her sleep.
He was at her side in a moment and tried to shake her gently awake.
When she continued to toss and mumbling grew more frantic he say her up and pulled her into his arms, running a hand through her tangled hair and whispering reassuring words to her until she woke up.
"Damon?" she asked her voice shaky.
"It's okay I'm here. It was just a nightmare."
"Oh, but it was so horrible! The trees- they grabbed me and were pulling. It hurt so bad." she sobbed into his chest.
"It's okay now, I'm here and I won't let anything harm you." he promised.
Once she had calmed down he lay down next to her and held her close to him.
He thought she had fallen asleep, but then she spoke again, her voice was laced with drowsiness.
"What were you like as a human? In Italy I mean."
She let out a big yawn.
His chest vibrated beneath her as he chuckled.
"Well I was of course very handsome, and I was quite the rebel. I drove my father so crazy at times."
"You did?" she mumbled against his chest; an amused smirk spread across his lips as he thought of his father.
"Yes. His face would become so red when he became angry, and his eyes would practically bug out of his head." Damon laughed.
Bonnie tried to picture this and giggled.
Another question popped into her head as she sobered up.
"Did you and Stefan ever get along? I mean before... You know."
"Yes we were quite close once. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if we had never met Katherine."
"You wouldn't be here if you didn't meet her." Bonnie said her voice barely audible as sleep consumed her.
"I suppose your right... And I wouldn't have met you."
"Hmmm..." She murmured.
He knew that she was far too gone to even hear him.
"Good night little bird." He whispered as he placed a gentle kiss to her temple.
Bonnie was surprised at how fast Damon was adjusting to being a human, and she wasn't sure exactly how this made her feel.
She was proud of his progress of course, but she couldn't help the sadness that grew within her as Damon began to excel in the simple little tasks she had given him.
The more he succeeded meant he soon wouldn't have any need for her.
She enjoyed spending time with him and had gotten to know a whole different side of him, so the very thought that one day he might leave her was too painful to even describe.
She tried unsuccessfully to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes.
She turned her head away from him as he stirred the spaghetti sauce in the pan, cursing every time a small amount shot out of the thick boiling liquid and landed on his hands with a burning sting.
He had asked her to teach him how to cook and he was even excelling at that.
He tore his eyes away from the boiling sauce and let his gaze fall to Bonnie.
He didn't need his vampire powers to sense her mood change; in fact he had spent so much time with her lately that he began to pick up small things about her that he had missed when he was a vampire.
Like the way even when she was sad or hurt she would still smile... But he knew that behind her smile was the despair.
They were quite similar in that way, hiding the emotions that would deem them weak in the judgmental eyes of the world; but while she wore a bright smile that never reached her eyes to hide her pain, he chose the mask of nonchalance as his facade.
She hid her pain in a graceful manner and he in a callous one, but just as he saw behind her broken smile she saw through his cold demeanor.
She always had.
He abandoned the hot stove and sat down next to her and watched as her back straightened up.
He knew even with her head turned away from him that she was trying to plaster that smile on her face.
Though her friends had never intended to they had made her ashamed of letting her emotions show.
He knew that she didn't want him to see her tear streaked face so he didn't turn her to face him, nor did he try to coax her into facing him; instead he pulled her into his arms, hugging her to his chest with her back to him.
He felt her tense for a moment at the unexpected embrace, and then as if his touch had burst the dam that held her emotions at bay she began to sob.
Her small body shook against his chest and caused a pang on his heart for his little bird.
It didn't matter if he didn't know the reason for her tears, it only mattered that she was upset and he hated to see her this way.
He held her until her sobs quieted, until her body had stilled in his arms.
He loosened his grip on her when she started to turn in his arms, and when he finally saw her flushed face tear stained and all, his breath caught.
Even as her full lips were curved into a frown, which he couldn't help but notice them, and her big brown eyes glistened with tears that had yet to fall, her sheer beauty hit him with a force that could have rivaled the strongest of winds.
Why hadn't he seen it before?
Why was it that now just looking at her was enough to make his heart hammer in his chest like a caged bird trying to break free from its iron prison?
He felt as the warmth crept into his cheeks as she silently stared up at him, though if anyone ever asked he would profusely deny that he had ever blushed.
"Thank you." she said simply after a moment.
He knew that he should reply, but he was so transfixed on the lips that had spoken that all logic had abandoned him, leaving him in his state of stupor.
His onyx eyes found her warm brown ones and he found that she was looking at him quizzically.
"Wha-" she started to say something or ask something, whichever the case was, he would never know for he had stopped her speech when his lips crashed into hers.
She responded immediately to his tender kiss and as it intensified her small hands had become tangled in his hair.
She melded into him, their hearts racing to the same tune and becoming one.
It had been centuries since he had kissed a woman as a human, but kissing her was something incomparable.
It had awakened something deep within him, making him feel alive.
It didn't matter that he had walked this earth for centuries, because in that moment, the moment that their lips had met, he knew that he had not lived at all.
He didn't want this to ever end, but the burning in his lungs reminded him that they needed air.
Reluctantly he broke the kiss, staring down at her as they both tried to unsuccessfully catch their breath.
Her eyes were wide in surprise, but where only moments before there had been sadness, there was now a happy gleam in her brown irises.
"What... Was... That?" she breathed out, having found her voice first.
"I-I'm not sure." he answered.
He didn't know what had possessed him to just attack her the way he did, but he didn't regret it one bit.
There was no denying it now, no turning back.
He was in love with Bonnie McCullough and he could only hope that she felt the same way for him.
Just the thought of her not returning his love was enough to crush his heart right then and there.
"I love you little bird, I don't know what you feel for me, but I had to tell you. I love you. So much that it hurts even." he said as he pointed to his chest where his heart raced in anticipation.
For a moment she was silent, and her silence was scarier than any beast that roamed in the Dark Dimensions.
He couldn't face her while she was silent so he let his gaze fall to the floor; and just when his hope began to crumple, just when he felt the first tiny crack in his heart, she liftis his head forcing his eyes to meet hers.
"I love you too. I always have." she said softly before placing a kiss in his lips.
Her confession caused overwhelming warmth to bubble up inside his chest, melting any of the ice that had remained around his old heart.
She was his and he was hers.
It was as simple as that; yet it wasn't really simple was it?
For how could such happiness as he felt be called simple?
He knew then that though she had taught him how to live again, how to be human, he could not remain as a human.
Shinichi was still out there and he would need to be at his strongest to protect this girl that he held so dearly in his heart.
He would have to become a vampire again, and though he would miss the smoldering heat that was felt as her warm lips met his warm ones, the way she had caused his heart to hammer in his chest, he would sacrifice these things to ensure that no harm would ever come to her.
He stood up so swiftly in his determination that she had jumped at his sudden movement.
Without a word he began to walk away only to turn back once more to give her his last kiss as a human, and then he left her there to stare after him as he went to find his brother.
When he did find Stefan, it was in the garden and he wasted no time at all before delivering his speech.
"I know that you are angry with me, and that I was wrong to take what was not mine, but you need to turn me." he said.
Stefan was so taken aback by his brothers' honesty that he could only look at him in complete and utter shock.
Not only had he admitted that he had done something wrong, which Damon just didn't do, the plea in his brothers tone and black orbs was just overwhelming.
"Okay." Stefan said when his voice was found.
"Listen to me little brother you WILL turn me, or- what?" Damon's threat had ended in confusion.
"I said okay. I will turn you." Stefan repeated.
This time it was Damon who was in shock.
He had been fully prepared for a fight and Stefan's easy cooperation had thrown him off.
"Okay then. We will do this immediately." Damon said trying to hide the relief that threatened to ring freely in his tone.
They went to the basement and Stefan fed Damon his blood, and when he was sure his brother had had enough to ensure the transition he snapped his brothers' neck.
Killing Damon once had been painful but the second time was even more so.
He and his brother may not have had the close relationship that they should have had in their long past, but that didn't mean that Stefan didn't love his brother any less.
He heard the door open and before he could turn to see who had entered the basement a tortured scream echoed throughout the concrete structure.
"Why Stefan? I know you don't get along but you didn't have to kill him." Bonnie sobbed.
He turned let his green eyes meet his friends tear filled eyes and his features matched hers in a pain filled grimace.
"It's not what you think Bonnie. He wanted to turn."
Understanding filled her eyes then, and she walked over to Damon's limp form.
She brushed the raven colored hair away from her loves forehead and though it pained her to know that it this moment he was dead she was relieved to know that he would come back.
That he would come back to her.
She knew why he had wanted to turn; and she could only hope that when he awoke as a vampire that he would remember his love for her.
"I want to help. I want to give him my blood when he wakes up." she said as she looked up at Stefan.
Her eyes told him that arguing with her would be pointless, rendering him unable to object.
"Okay. I will make sure that he only takes what is needed."
When Damon finally awakened from what felt like a restless sleep, he was aware that he was not alone.
First his eyes went to the other vampire in the room and then to the human that he stood in front of protectively.
She was no ordinary human though, her aura was that of old power.
He could hear her heart beat from where he sat and his throat immediately began to burn with thirst.
An inhuman hiss filled his ears and it took him a moment to realize that the sound had come from his very own lips.
He stood up eyeing the girl with hunger filled eyes.
A feral growl escaped his lips when the other vampire stepped in front of his prey, blocking her from his view.
Before he could take another step towards the two, the girl surprised him.
She stepped around the protective stance of the vampire, reassuring him when he tried to stop her.
How odd, Thought he. That this human had befriended a vampire?
"It's okay Stefan. I believe in him." she spoke clearly, her voice strong and determined.
Her voice... It caused a slight flutter in his chest when it reverberated in his ears, and when she began to come closer to him he felt as if an electrical current had awaken in his veins.
When she was only a foot away he pulled her to him, deeply inhaling her scent and at the first contact with her small body the electrical current had increased.
Though he was intrigued by his body's reaction to the redheaded maiden in his arms, he could not ignore the painful burning of his throat nor the aching in his gums as his canines extended.
He bit into her jugular carefully.
Again he did not know what had driven him to treat this human girl with care.
As soon as her blood entered his system memories began to awake in his mind.
This was his love he drank from; the other half of his soul.
He removed his fangs from her neck and held her steady as she began to sway from the loss of blood.
A faint happy smile played on her lips for she knew that he remembered.
So it was with complete and utter happiness that she accepted the darkness as it swallowed her whole.
Damon caught his love before she fell, a sigh of relief escaping his bloodied lips as he heard her strong heart beat.
When Bonnie woke up she found the newly turned Damon at her side.
"I was beginning to worry." he said.
Before she could utter a word he continued on.
"Why would you risk yourself like that? What if I- if I had lost control?" he just couldn't make himself say 'what if I had killed you.'
Just the thought caused a sharp pain in his chest.
"I knew you wouldn't. I had faith in you Damon." she answered softly taking his hand in hers.
He pulled her to his chest in a tight embrace, this time not for the blood that ran through her veins, but just to hold her.
"I love you." he whispered into her crimson curls.
"As I love you." she replied.
He knew then that no matter what life through at them, no matter what evil they faced, he could always count on her love just as she could count on his.
AN: I hope there weren't too many horrible mistakes. I wanted to upload tonight and its getting a little late, so I admit I should have proof read this more thoroughly. Anyways, what did you think? Did you like it? Hate it? Do you want to set me on fire? (hopefully not the last one lol) leave a review and let me know =)