Hey, merry christmas everyone. This is just a small christmas-oneshot and has nothing to do with my other stories. The idea just popped into my head. Hope you like it. Reviews would be lovely.
My heart`s wish
The founders annual Christmas party, held of course at the Lockwood property, was always a big event. Standing in a quiet corner, greeting the people who passed by, Alaric Saltzman started to think everyone in Mystic Falls was present. He`d seen a lot of his students already, as well as most of his teaching colleagues.
He wondered absently how long it might have taken to decorate the house, the various garlands, shiny ornaments and colourful lights almost blinding him. Carol Lockwood certainly never did things half-heartedly. She also made a point to greet every arriving guest personally and he wondered how she managed to keep her joyful smile throughout the whole evening. She actually enjoyed this, he supposed, although he couldn`t understand why.
The sappy Christmas carols blaring from the speakers, too loud to be considered simple background noise, were grating on his nerves. Almost as much as the many people mingling in the room, talking and laughing too loud, like they were trying to drown out the music.
Upon arriving Alaric had taken a stroll through the house, exchanged some pleasantries with the other council members, complimented Mayor Lockwood on the beautiful party and tasteful decoration and let her talk him into drinking some eggnog, although he despised the taste of it. After a long and rather boring talk with the head of the history department he had finally excused himself and taken to hiding in a quiet corner. From here he could observe the party and watch his friends without being bothered.
He watched Elena and Stefan, dancing and drinking, while Elena showed off the beautiful bracelet her boyfriend had given her for Christmas. She looked radiant and the smile never left her face. He saw Carol flitting through the room like a butterfly, talking to anyone who crossed her path, always smiling and laughing at every stupid joke, like the perfect host she was. Tyler had disappeared upstairs early on, with Caroline and Matt in tow and Ric couldn`t help but wonder at that triangle. Whatever made them happy, he supposed.
He had to stifle a laugh when he spotted Jeremy, who tried to cajole Bonnie under yet another mistletoe, while the young witch protested with a fond smile. He had also seen Jenna arrive with Elijah and while he didn`t fully trust the original yet, he wished his ex-girlfriend only the best. She was still a little mad that he`d kept her in the dark about the whole vampire thing for so long, but they were slowly on their way to becoming friends again. Dating Elijah could be good for her, Ric thought. And it would give the original an incentive to keep his word and protect them from his brother Klaus.
Looking away from the couple, who had started dancing to a slow song, Alaric`s eyes were drawn to a dark figure once more. While he`d been observing all of his friends he had actually spent most of the evening watching a certain dark haired vampire. He just couldn`t help it. Damon looked stunning in his black suit. He was drawing the attention of more than one girl and probably even a few boys in the room and he enjoyed it.
Ric watched him, as he moved through the crowd with his natural grace, flirting with various women, dancing, drinking. A smile was playing about his lips and his blue eyes were twinkling with amusement. The vampire seemed to be having a blast. Alaric watched as he flirted with Elena, who wasn`t immune to his charms either, much to Stefan`s annoyance, before he moved on to another target. Carol was giggling like a school girl when talking to the vampire and there was more than one longing look directed at him.
Ric watched all this from afar and desperately tried to ignore the stab of jealousy he felt, whenever Damon leaned close to whisper in some girl`s ear or when his hands lingered at the waist of a woman too long after a dance had ended. They were friends, nothing more, he reminded himself. To no avail. He tried to look away, but found that he couldn`t. It was simply impossible not to watch.
And then the vampire suddenly met his eyes and Ric prayed he wasn`t blushing. Wasn`t giving away his thoughts. There was a strange glint in the vampire`s eyes when he calmly strolled over. "Never figured you for a wall flower." Ric shrugged. "I don`t really like these parties. I`m just here because it`s expected of me." he admitted. "Yeah, those big bashes are pretty annoying." Damon agreed. The teacher raised a questioning eyebrow. "You certainly looked like you were having fun."
It probably wasn`t a good idea to let the vampire know he`d been watching, but he had a feeling Damon might have noticed anyway. "Maybe I`m good at pretending." Damon murmured. Ric wasn`t sure. He could never tell if the vampire was being honest or if he was only playing a part. He was way too good at hiding his emotions, having perfected this art over decades. He hardly ever allowed the teacher a glimpse behind his mask.
But while Ric wanted to believe he was honest this time, he highly doubted all the flirting and the teasing smiles had just been an act. Damon was a ladies man and he surely wouldn`t go home alone tonight. That thought stung a lot more than it should and it made the teacher turn away. "Whatever. I don`t want to keep you from flirting or socializing or whatever you`re doing." he mumbled, taking a step back, staring at his feet.
Damon didn`t budge and when Ric looked up again there was a wicked smile on his face and a look in his eyes that the teacher didn`t like at all. "What?" he asked, getting defensive, wondering what game the vampire was playing now. "You really have no idea where you`re standing, have you?" Damon drawled. When Ric only frowned at him he raised his eyes to a point above the man´s head. Still frowning Ric looked up as well.
And wished the ground would swallow him up when he saw the mistletoe hanging directly above his head. "I didn`t see that." he ground out and tried to move aside, but suddenly Damon was in front of him and before he had a chance to react the vampire`s lips were on his own. Forgetting where they were, Ric returned the kiss, his hands moving to Damon`s hips almost on instinct. He completely lost himself in the kiss. How long had he fantasized about this?
When he finally pulled away, what felt like hours later, but couldn`t have been more than mere seconds, the vampire`s eyes had darkened to midnight blue and were filled with want. Ric`s heart was beating wildly in his chest and he just couldn`t find any words. No-one had ever looked at him like this before. They just stood there, staring at each other for a long moment. Finally Damon took a step back, turned around and left without a word.
Ric could only stare after his retreating figure, wondering what the hell just happened. It took him a second to shake himself out of the trance and move away from the corner and the offending decoration hanging from the ceiling. He took another stroll around the house, unconsciously looking for Damon, but the vampire had obviously disappeared. Alaric wasn`t sure if he should feel glad or disappointed by that. Still his lips were tingling and his heart was pounding with the memory of the kiss.
Another hour of talking to people who tried their hardest to bore him to death and a glass of punch (which wasn`t really all that better than the eggnog, but Carol insisted) later, he decided it was time to go home. The party was still in full swing when he snuck out through the back door, passing Sheriff Forbes on his way out, who was looking for her daughter. He told her - honestly - that he hadn`t seen Caroline in the last few hours and left quickly, before she could ask for his help in searching.
The streets were nearly empty, so the drive back to his apartment took no time at all. Finally home he breathed a sigh of relief, shrugged out of the uncomfortable jacket (god he hated wearing suits) and threw it onto a chair, only to stop dead in his tracks a second later.
There was a mistletoe hanging from the ceiling in his living room and Ric was a hundred percent sure he hadn`t put it there. Staring at the offending object in bewilderment and slowly inching closer, like he expected it to hop down and bite him any minute, Alaric jumped in shock when suddenly someone spoke up from directly behind him.
"I stole it from the party. Figured they had so much there, they wouldn`t really notice if one went missing." Ric turned around to look at the vampire in surprise. Damon had shed his jacket and tie as well. Clad in a pair of dark pants, the first few buttons of his black shirt undone, he looked even hotter than he had at the party. The teacher felt at a loss for words once more and could only stare as Damon walked around to stand directly underneath the mistletoe.
Again there was this almost wicked glint in his eyes, but Ric could also see something else. A hint of uncertainty, like he wasn`t entirely sure what he was doing. Like he was afraid his plan might backfire. It was this uncertainty that made Ric take a step in his direction. "What are you doing here, Damon?" he asked quietly. Damon fidgeted a little and the teacher thought he saw a flicker of apprehension cross his features. Slowly he started to believe that the vampire was really honest about this.
Damon looked down, but Ric had already seen the hurt in his eyes. "I thought Santa might grant me my heart´s wish this year. He never has before, you know? I guess I was wrong again." The resignation in Damon`s voice finally spurred Ric into action.
He closed the gap between them, lifted Damon´s chin with his fingers and pressed his lips to the vampire`s. Damon responded immediately. He clutched at Ric`s shoulders and deepened the kiss. When they broke apart both were breathing heavily and Ric noticed that he had unconsciously moved them towards his bedroom.
"We`re not under the mistletoe anymore." Damon noted. Ric shrugged. "Do I really need a mistletoe to kiss you?" The vampire grinned and answered the question by pulling him down for another heated kiss. While he manoeuvred them into his bedroom, Ric mused that surprisingly enough, Santa had granted him his heart`s wish this year as well.