A/N:Hello, all! So, I was issued a challenge by my dear Honeeym to write a Daroline fic based on the song 'Trading Places,' by Usher. Of course, I could not pass up this opportunity because 1) I love Daroline, & 2) I love Usher, haha. This will be just a one shot taking place after 3x09. Be sure to let me know if you like the idea with a review! & If any of you have any requests for future stories/one shots, don't be shy about sending them my way ;) Alright, I'm done babbling. Enjoy! xo
Trading Places
Caroline sat impatiently in the seat of her parked car, tapping her heel against the brakes, and letting out long sighs as she gazed at the front door to the Boarding House from her seat.
6:05 p.m. She was going to snap.
She told Damon to be ready precisely by 6:00 p.m, but of course, the elder Salvatore took all the pleasure he could in making her wait for him to mosey his ass on out of the house, while he took his sweet time doing whatever Damon things he had to do, before he could be seen in public.
"Seriously?" she muttered to herself, looking at the time again, feeling her undying neurotic tendencies beginning to flare up as she watched the door carefully. "Hurry up," Caroline groaned, as she pressed both of her palms hard on the horn.
The exaggerated blaring sounded off for an uncontested minute before the front door flew open, and Caroline smirked happily. Damon sent her a growl. The only thing Damon hated more than conforming to the general customs of society was excessive noise. And Caroline had always been good about getting her point across, loud and clear.
Mission impossible of getting Damon out of the house was no longer so impossible.
Damon walked over, still sending her an icy stare that she could only laugh at. He was dressed far too nice to be scowling so hard.
That black on black suit he was sporting with the pin striped tie was enough to make her eyes widen a little bit, as he made his way over to the passenger seat. She couldn't stop staring at him, as she attempted to reach over and open his door, but he got to it far too quickly.
When he stepped in, Caroline was surrounded by the heavenly scent of his cologne- she might have fought the itching urge she had to fang out.
She cleared her throat, and turned to face him- his usually electric blue eyes devoid of any life, and his raven black hair messily tossed away from his wrinkled forehead.
He was equally beautiful and broken, all at the very same time.
"You look nice," she mustered, and Damon only looked down at his watch."Okay, I'm just gonna..." she trailed off, as she shifted gears, and pulled out of his driveway.
"Let's just... get this over with, Blondie," he said in a gruff, but uncharacteristically quiet, voice.
The car ride was silent, even with the light sounds of her Britney Spears album playing in the background.
Damon was being a sourpuss- rightfully so, in his opinion.
It had barely been four days since Stefan had gone and saved Klaus, when Damon literally had the life of the hybrid in his hands. He almost killed Klaus, with the stake right to the heart. He almost got his brother back.
But, no. Things were never that easy for Damon, or in general.
Stefan jumped in, like the ever foresaken hero that he was, and pushed Damon off of the crazed serial killer before he could sear him through the heart.
The look in Damon's eyes- the hurt, betrayal-it was uncanny.
Damon fled without even finding out why; he didn't care why Stefan saved Klaus, or what he got for it in return. The Stefan he knew, and loved, was gone, and now- it was because of his own lack of better judgement. It was ultimately because of Stefan's stupid humanity.
And Damon was pissed. All Elena had to say about it was "we'll let him go, then," and he wasn't exactly on board with that.
Yes, he was mad at Stefan, but could he ever let him go? Would he ever be okay without him?
He had a hard time believing it could be true.
Enter Caroline. Freshly dumped, and majorly pissed about being left out of the Kill-Klaus plan, she decided it was her turn to put a fresh spin on this situation. Her idea for getting Damon out of his funk? Taking him out on a date.
Yes, a date.
When Caroline called him to propose the idea, he said 'what the hell are you talking about, Blondie' at least ten times. He swore he should have just said no- but he didn't. And he was still wondering why.
Caroline saw this as a good opportunity for she and Damon to start over. With the younger Salvatore M.I.A, Caroline was deperately in need of a voice of reason. She also saw it as a chance to get his mind off of Stefan. Sure, Elena's "forget your brother" plan may have been more feasible, but Caroline thought her own was just plain better.
The look on Elena's face said it all, when Caroline approached her about the idea. The doppelganger was jealous.
Oh well.
It wasn't like she was courting Damon, or he was sleeping with her, right?
Okay, so maybe she was kind of courting Damon. In her defense, she was feeling very sympathetic towards his plight these days, and watching the way Elena was handling this situation was a bit unnerving, and downright annoying.
Damon needed some love, and he definitely needed care. And with Elena playing this "start-stop-go" game with him, she saw it as the perfect opportunity to open his eyes, and show him there were other people in the world who truly cared about him.
And they didn't have to be doe-eyed, either.
Caroline wanted to show Damon that not only was it unethical the way he and Elena were "sort of" going for each other, but it was also a big waste of time. Especially if he had a blonde bombshell like herself willing to take him off of Elena's unsure hands.
Call it sneaky, call it bravado- whatever. Caroline was just sick and tired of seeing Damon mope. And she had a few ways that she could go about making him mope less. Not to mention, she was so over Tyler- maybe exploring things with Damon, again, wouldn't be so bad.
Caroline pulled up to the valet at the fancy restaurant just outside of Mystic Falls, and Damon let out a long whistle as they stepped out of the car. This place had fountains, decorative lights in the trees, cobblestone walkways, and delightfully sophisticated stones and hedges decorating the entrance.
He wasn't surprised she picked somewhere so nice, but nevertheless, he was impressed.
"You're really breaking bank to put a smile on my face, aren't you?" he asked, as the man who greeted them took her light jacket, and placed it in coatcheck.
Damon couldn't help but rake his eyes over her body once her dress was revealed- a form-fitting black number that rose right about the knees, and scooped right over her shoulders.
Simple, yet, sexy. It gave all new meaning to the phrase little black dress.
Her 6'inch pumps were a rich, red wine tone that matched her nails. Her blonde hair, curled in smooth waves, hung just below her collar bone, against her ivory skin. Her lips were the perfect shade of just-bitten, and her blue eyes were mysteriously smoky.
In all honesty, it was the most gorgeous he had ever seen her. The other patrons noticed, as Caroline garnered a few stares from jealous women, and dozens of looks of appreciation from every man with working eyeballs.
Was he just in the car with this girl for 20 minutes? He shuddered at his stupidity.
"You... don't look half bad yourself, Barbie," he finally softened.
Caroline only smiled, and extended her arm to his elegantly. Damon rolled his eyes and smirked, but hooked his arm through hers easily, as the maitre d led them over to thier table.
"Tonight, we're gonna do things differently, Damon," she winked.
He didn't mind that at all.
Maybe it was the food, maybe it was the booze, Damon couldn't tell, but he reluctantly began to admit to himself that he was having a good time- a great time with Vampire Barbie. Their dinner at the stuffy restaurant turned out to be better than he expected. Caroline had successfully made him laugh on three seperate occasions. Granted, two of them were at her own expense, but still: he couldn't deny how fun she was being.
When she said they were going to "do things differently," he strictly thought that meant Caroline was going to try her best not to get kidnapped for the umpteenth time in a row, or she was going to pardon him from having to save her life, again.
But none of that happened. She didn't get kidnapped, and he didn't have to fend off rabid werewolves, her vampire hating dad, or a delinquient hybrid in her honor.
Tonight, he felt at ease, for the first time in months. And Caroline promised that was only the beginning.
"Where are you taking me?" Damon asked, as Caroline held her hands over his eyes, and guided him into the door, carefully.
"What fun is my surprise if you keep asking what it is, Damon?" she asked, and he sighed.
Caroline finally let go of his eyes, and he opened them to see a grand set up of candles around his living room, beautifully illuminating the area in front of him. He looked to the ground, and gazed at the rose petals peppered across the rug, and his eyes slowly met Caroline's.
"How did you-why-what?" he sputtered, as he glanced around and she shrugged.
"I have a friend- she may have snuck in here and decorated with her witchy juju powers while we were gone," she admitted, and Damon sighed. "Are you mad?" He looked at her incredulously as he placed his hands on his hips, and scrunched his eyebrows. "Don't answer that," Caroline commanded, as she walked over to the bar, and poured two glasses of red wine.
Before he could say a word, Caroline ushered him to the couch, and he had a glass in hand.
"It's better if you don't ask questions," she said, and he sighed, tipping his glass to the air before he placed it to his lips.
Just what the hell was Caroline Forbes up to?
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were seducing me," he finally commented, and Caroline's eyebrow rose, feigning surprise.
"Oh?"
"Don't play dumb, Barbie. For once, I am actually crediting your intelligence," he said, and she smirked. "But why? Why the seduction? You know, if you just want to get me into bed, that's all you need to say," he winked, and Caroline scoffed as she kicked off her heels, and tucked her feet beneath her body.
"It's about more than getting you into bed, Salvatore. Do you really think I'm that shallow?" she asked, and he folded his arms.
"You can be," he grinned and scowled at him. "If I'm wrong, enlighten me then, Blondie. The candles, the roses, it's very... romance novel-ish," he said, and she let out a small laugh.
"I wanted to trade places with you, Damon," she said, and he rose an eyebrow suspiciously.
"You do know that I'm a man, right?"
"Damon," she scolded, and he held his hands up defensively before he let her continue. "I just... I'm a woman, Damon, and us women don't get to do things like this for guys. We're just... we're supposed to sit, and wait, and hope that the guy we're into will notice us if we look pretty enough, and then he'll sweep us off of our feet. We don't get to do the fun stuff like getting you to fall for us... we're just supposed to... wait. And I'm sorry, but this isn't kickball- I'm not waiting until I get chosen for a team," she babbled, and he let out a small laugh. "You're laughing, awesome..."
"Yeah, Blondie. I am laughing... I mean, this entire idea, it's funny," he said, and she folded her arms quietly. "Was this ever about just... cheering me up out of my funk?" he asked, as he moved in closer towards her, making her breath get caught in her throat.
"Yeah, mostly!" she said, and he sent her a doubtful expression. "Some of it," she corrected, and he smirked.
"You're into me, no need to be embarrassed," he boasted and she smiled bashfully.
God, he was such a jerk. And she couldn't get enough of it.
"Yeah, you're right. I... do like you, Damon. Probably more than I should. And I thought that if you saw somebody else cared about you enough to put so much effort into just one night, you might... I don't know..." she trailed off.
"Care about them?" he asked, and she let out a deep sigh.
"I was hoping it didn't seem that cheesy," Caroline said, and he smiled geniunely at her, for what seemed like the millionth time that night.
Maybe he did have too much to drink, afterall.
"It's a little cheesy," he said, and she pouted. "But... endearing all the same. So, thank you, Caroline," he said.
"For what?" she asked, gently taking a sip of her drink.
He turned to face her, and the intensity in his eyes caught her off guard.
"For caring, Caroline. Thank you... for caring. You're annoyingly good at that," he admitted, and she smiled.
And it was true. For every dumb thing that Caroline Forbes did, she made up for it with a bunch of great things in return. This grand gesture just to show Damon that she cared about him while simultaneously fighting for her rights as a woman? It was silly, calculating, and down-right laughable in his opinion.
But it was also real, and sweet. And hot- it was kind of really hot that she was so upfront about what she wanted.
Not like a certain brunette damsel in distress that he knew.
He really didn't want to deal with said damsel anymore, either. It was just getting weird at this point, the way that she treated him. And he couldn't deal with somebody who only wanted to be "Team Damon" when "Team Stefan" was full to capacity.
He was too good looking for that shit, anyway.
Caroline mindlessly took Damon's hand into hers, and ran her thumbs over his fingers. It was a quiet gesture, but a nice one, nonetheless.
He silently polished off his wine, and set it on the table before kicking up his feet. Caroline turned to face him, and looked into his super blue eyes.
"Did you have fun, at least?" she asked in a small voice, and he nodded.
"It was refreshing. What can I say? I haven't been pursued by anyone remotely interesting in a while. That's always a fun game in my book," he said, grabbing her hand a little tighter.
Caroline bit her lip and he immediately found himself hypnotized by the way her teeth tugged at her skin.
And seriously, it didn't help that there was so much goddamn sexual tension in the air. There always was, with Caroline. It seriously amazed how much he still thought about her in that way, after literally a year passing since their supposed "relationship."
In his defense, nobody else had even come close to the explosive chemistry they had, and he sometimes wondered if anyone ever would.
So he took a plunge.
He needed to know if these feelings- in all their annoying and raging prescence- were real, or just a manifestation of his recent distaste for Elena, and her idea of "Stefan Damage Control."
Damon turned to face her, and ran his hand over her porcelain cheek softly, causing Caroline to re-open her tired eyes. He didn't say a word- they just looked at each other, taking in the moment, in all it's cheesy-romance-novel-glory.
He kissed her first, and when he did, something happened.
He felt relaxed, relieved, hot, and needy all at once- never had he experienced all four emotions at once. Maybe it was the cause of having not kissed anyone in a while- since Miss Ten o' clock News, to be exact. Whatever it was, it felt good. It felt good to release the tension he'd been feeling and the aggravation he'd been fighting since this entire Klaus-Stefan debauchery started.
He opened his eyes, and Caroline was staring at him, with a content smirk on her face. He wasn't done with her, just yet.
"I have an idea, Caroline," he propositioned, as he twirled the ends of her blonde waves in his fingertips.
"If it involves me chugging bourbon, while doing a striptease, I might have to decline," she joked, and he scoffed.
"What? That'd be fun," he wiggled his brow and she shook his head. "But no, that is not my request. Mine... might be a little more up your alley, with your recent interest in being a feminist and all," he said, and her eyebrow rose. "Remember that whole... trading places concept you brought up before? I'm kind of intrigued by that," he confessed, and she remained silent as she listened. "How would you feel about being the one in charge, tonight?" he asked, and she let out a hearty laugh.
"That's quite the presumptuous thought, Damon; that we're gonna have sex tonight."
"So, you went through all this trouble not to screw me? I'm offended," he said, holding a hand to his chest, and she laughed. He was so goddamn dramatic. "Look, I'm not gonna beg you or guilt trip you, or anything like that. I just thought I'd kick your slightly lame idea up a notch. Add a little spice to it- let that animal inside of you roar-"
"I get it, Damon," she said with a laugh and he shrugged.
Before he could add any more points to his case, she placed her wine glass down, and pressed her lips to his softly. It caught Damon by surprise, initially, but he slowly went with it as Caroline moved her body closer to his, eventually climbing into his lap.
He raked his hands over her hips, and combed his fingers through her locks as she kissed him wildly. When she pulled away, he reached up for more, but she halted him by the shoulders. He sent her a curious look.
"We're doing this my way, aren't we?" she asked, and a slow grin spread to cheeks.
"Whatever you say, boss."
Caroline drummed fingers across his chest, and slowly unbuttoned his dress shirt, as she placed soft kisses on his lips. She wrapped his tie around her hand, and pulled him in roughly- Damon almost lost it after that.
All previous experiences with Caroline had been amazing, but needless to say, he did most of the leading, talking, commanding, etc. Now that Caroline was taking all of that into his own hands? Well, it was a turn-on, and a complete 180 from the insecure girl who let him push her around, and manipulate her mind in so many ways.
No, right now- she was different; great different. She was strong, and in control. And he dug it.
Caroline pressed her lips to his ear and whispered some things he'd have to be sure not to recount in front of her mother.
How could she be that naughty with such an innocent voice?
It was mindblowing.
Caroline suddenly stopped kissing him, and retreated to her seat on the couch, still grinning at him all the while. Damon suddenly felt flustered.
"Is that it, Blondie? I only get a sneak-peek of your lady tiger side?" he asked, and she let out a laugh as she pursed her lips.
"I'm only just starting," she assured, and he sighed. "Now... take off your clothes," she demanded, and Damon's eyebrow shot up at the bold request.
Oh.
But he happily complied, pulling off his suit jacket, his button-up, his tie, and his pants in a slow rhythm that made Caroline giggle. She used to take her clothes off just as slowly for him, back then, and it drove him crazy.
"Come here," she said simply, and Damon slowly walked back over to her as she pulled her dress down, exposing what might have been the sexiest lace bra and matching pair of boy shorts he'd ever seen.
He was a sucker for cute lingerie. It was just aesthetically pleasing. And any guy who said he "didn't care about that" was a liar, and ruining it for the rest of the male population.
Damon immediately reached forward to touch her, but Caroline sped out of the way of his advance, and instead pushed him down into his seat on the couch. She straddled his lap, and kissed his neck strongly, trailing her lips all along his shoulder.
Her teeth teased his skin, and he shut his eyes, in pure bliss. She aggressively pushed him down even harder, until he was lying flat, and he shivered when she ran her fingers through his hair.
The kisses became longer, harder, more intense as Caroline laid on top of him, with her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her tongue invading his mouth, with each passing moment.
Damon almost sang his praises to the god, or goddess, upstairs when she broke the maddening anticipation, and finally put an end to the waiting game.
The catch? He couldn't utilize his hands, as Caroline held them above his head.
"It's not called 'being in control' for nothing," she winked. He only moaned in response. "Don't you have neighbors, Mr. Salvatore? Don't be so loud," she smirked, firmly placing her hand over his mouth.
He bit her hand the moment it made contact with his lips. She responded by moving faster, and sinking her teeth into his neck. He considered defying her orders, again.
The roughness of her touch combined with the adreneline running through his veins felt like a drug. This 'take control' version of Caroline was hot, and he was fully endorsing it.
"Caroline," he whispered, and she grinned, as she pulled him up to meet her lips, kissing him strongly, and stifling the sounds coming from his mouth.
Caroline wrapped her arms around him tightly, and his fingers dug into her sides as he steadied his breathing.
"If you keep this up, Caroline, I'm never going to let you leave," he warned, when she pulled her lips away long enough for him to speak, as she kissed his from his chest to his chin.
"I don't think that's your choice tonight, Damon," she replied, before grabbing him by the face, and crashing her lips against his again.
He liked not having a choice.
"Wakey, wakey, Blondie," Caroline heard, as her eyes fluttered open, and she moaned as the sunlight peeking through his curtains hit her face, and Damon's eyes met hers.
She stretched in his bed, and pulled the blanket up to her neck and smiled.
The morning after- usually a mixture of awkwardness, faded feelings, and regrets; Caroline was used to it. The morning after was the reason she usually didn't stick around, and she she snuck out, as soon as possible.
The last time she did that, though, Carol Lockwod shot her with vervain darts. So yeah, it was safe to say she decided that sticking around until sunlight was her best bet, these days.
"I'm surprised you haven't kicked me out yet," she marveled, as he massaged his hands over her bare shoulders, and pressed his lips against her ear.
"I'm not so doom and gloom all the time, Barbie. I can be cute and cuddly, too," he whispered.
Caroline smiled at that.
She and Damon had a good night. Really, really good. But he was still Damon, and being cute and cuddly just wasn't his style- so why now?
"You don't like being cute- what's the catch?" she asked, and he nestled his chin in her neck, and hugged around her waist.
He didn't know why he was being "cute." Damon fucking hated being "adorable." He was a vampire, for goodness sakes. But after the "trading places" thing with Caroline last night, he realized he could soften up his edges, from time to time.
"Because I'm a man, Caroline- and we don't get to be cute. We get to be... burly, and strong, and it makes me oh-so emotional, I just wanna scream," he said imitating her voice, and Caroline hit his arm.
"Funny," she replied, and he kissed her hair, before hopping out of bed, clad in only his boxers. "Where are you going?" she asked, sitting up and wrapping the blanket around herself.
"I'm going to make you breakfast," he said, as if she should have known that. "Pancakes and eggs today?" asked, and her eyebrow rose in surprise.
"You've never made me breakfast, Damon."
"And you've never done to me what you did last night. I figure good behavior should be rewarded," he said, and she giggled at that, as he opened his dresser drawer, and tossed her a button-down. "Put this on, and take out the garbage- it's trash day," he said and she grinned.
He didn't know what this meant- Caroline aggressively pursuing him, and him doing nice things, just because he wanted to. But he didn't mind; unlike being with Elena, being with Caroline, in this moment, made him feel good.
He felt wanted- not just needed, and it was honestly a breath of fresh air being around this fireball of a being. She had passion, she had heart, and it was everything he was waiting to feel from Elena, but hadn't.
How did Caroline know exactly what he needed, after all of this time?
Damon's phone buzzed on the night table, and Caroline pulled on his shirt, as he walked over to it, and checked the text message on the screen.
Fun night with Caroline?
He almost laughed as he rolled his eyes, and conjured up a response. His fingers so badly wanted to type "Fuck off, Elena," but he decided that was too mean; even for him. He decided to take the cryptic route.
You mean fun morning?
Damon hit send, then shut off his phone, and turned to face Caroline, who's indigo eyes were gazing at his. She looked incredibly sexy in his shirt, with her ruffled blonde waves.
This is what he wanted- and he didn't care who knew it.
He smiled at her, and she suddenly felt a wave of warmth come over her; that "Damon-smile" solved most things.
He walked back over to her, slowly, and took her face into his hands, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. Caroline pulled him back into bed, and they rolled over, as she landed on top.
She leaned and kissed him softly, and Damon moaned against her lips.
"So, are you ready to enter the world of Chef Damon?" he questioned, and she only smirked at him.
"Soon," she promised, before kissing him again, and he quickly got wrapped up in her intensity, as she bit his lip, and grazed her fingers through his messy hair.
"Race you to the kitchen," she suddenly said, as she hopped up, and began to speed out of the room.
She squealed happily when Damon grabbed her easily, and swung her body over his shoulder, carrying her all the way there.
Damon made her breakfast, and Caroline, as promised, took out the garbage. Damon, in response, made her a list of 'guy things' she 'had' to do around the house, and she kissed him until he shut up.
It was ridiculous, and outrageous. But it was real- and definitely the beginning of something interesting.