Cake
Disclaimer - not my characters, borrowing them with respect for their creators and the amazing people who bring them to life, no infringement intended.
Timing: Season three around episode 11.
They both heard the knock at the door but neither Alaric nor Elena moved from their positions standing in the kitchen in the time it took Damon to breeze through the living room to join them. Alaric was far too focused on trying to pour as much coffee as humanly possible down his throat before work, and Elena had to admit even she wasn't feeling terribly chipper. The whole original-vampire-family saga that seemed to have taken over her life was taking it out of her these days.
"Happy Birthday Mr. Saltzman," Damon declared in his usual mocking tone as he plopped a decadent chocolate cake on the kitchen counter in front of Alaric. Alaric blinked. Elena gaped. "I was going to come around after school but I thought you might have a hot date with Dr. Psycho Killer and I'd hate to miss the opportunity to pay my respects."
"You bought him a cake?... Wait is this homemade?"
"I compelled a cute little bakery assistant to make it for me. She was very wholesome. She asked if I wanted anything written on it but I told her Ric wasn't worth it."
"So you picked up some poor sweet girl then made her bake for you? Do you even eat cake?" In the thirty seconds Elena had jumped from pleasant surprise to annoyance and disappointment.
"Relax, she never even left the shop, they probably paid her overtime for helping out with a special order. I'm still drinking out of the freezer; I'm almost as bad as Stefan back in his bunny eating days. I don't eat bakery assistants anyway, too much sugar, bad for the teeth," Damon grinned.
Elena didn't pause to reflect on her feeling of relief. "Oh my god, Alaric, I'm standing here talking about Damon and it's your birthday and I didn't do anything, I'm so sorry, I should have known."
"Its fine, I wasn't really feeling like celebrating, but seeing as you asked, Meredith is taking me out for a drink at The Grill after work."
"How romantic," Damon sneered, "C'mon it's your birthday, a time to celebrate your aging and the ever fastening approach of your inevitable mortal death. When was the last time you did something different? It's like you're a history teacher or something." Damon rolled his eyes playfully.
"Sorry if my life doesn't seem spontaneous enough for your Damon but I thought trying not to get killed more than strictly necessary was providing enough excitement in my life. But thanks for the advice. Now speaking of life, some of us actually have to work for a living," and with that he put his coffee cup in the sink, slug his satchel over his shoulder and picked up his keys. "Do you need a lift Elena?
"Thanks but Caroline's picking me up. Try to have a great day okay Alaric," Elena tried to sound as warm as possible. Alaric flashed a brief, albeit forced, smile and headed off to work, "Don't forget your cake," Elena reminded him, quickly cutting a slice and stuffing it into a plastic container.
"Thanks."
As the door closed behind Alaric Elena shifted her attention to Damon, "That was a really nice thing you did Damon, thinking of Alaric like that. We don't do enough to look after him around here."
"You know me, all part of my evil plan."
"You say that, but I know it wasn't. When are you going to accept that I know when you're lying and I know the real you Damon, I see through all the wise cracks and sarcasm."
The pause between then was heavy with the implications of that sentence and her tone. Without even consciously thinking about it Elena and Damon had positioned themselves leaning towards each other over the narrow ketch workbench.
"But does anyone ever really know anyone?" Damon asked lightly, and before Elena could counter his diversion Damon loaded a fingertip with rich chocolate gauche frosting and offered it to her. Elena eyed it suspiciously; they were treading dangerously close to that line again; the invisible line between friends and more than friends, which they'd been dancing around for, well for longer than they should have. But Damon had done such a nice thing; he'd changed so much, thinking of others, human others, and making himself a real part of their lives. Her eyes on his, Elena lent closer and ate the cake off his finger, her teeth and soft tongue skidding gently over his skin as she did so.
Damon's low murmur sounded like flirting but it was totally involuntary. A million fantasies were playing out in his head.
A horn sounded outside the house, breaking the pregnant silence. Damon sighed. "That's Caroline, better go," Elena smiled but the disappointment evident on Damon's face stung her. The closer they got, the more she hated to disappoint him.
"Have fun at school," Damon mocked, "I so don't miss that. Though I admit, I do love a debutante in uniform."
"Goodbye Damon, now get out I have to lock up."
"I'll do it, I think we're past the whole worrying if I'm going to snoop through your panties draw stage and I've got all the time in the world. You hurry off to pursue higher learning."
"Thanks," she smiled, for a moment she almost gave him a peck on the cheek, she stopped herself just in time.
"No problem, maybe we can hit The Grill after, we could make fun of Alaric on his date."
"Sure, I'll text you when I know what Caroline and Bonnie are doing but they haven't really been in the hanging out mood lately and I could do with some company."
"It's a date."
Damon regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth but Elena used Caroline's second honk as an excuse to ignore them. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed out the door calling, "I'm coming Caroline!"
Damon perched on a stool, and picked at the cake with a fork. He had no appetite for the dense layers of cake but the gauche icing had a particular appeal as he imagined himself eating it off Elena's finger and tasting it on her lips and tongue.