"I hate you."
"And so the natural order has now been restored." Damon says to Rose, lacking the usual bite that would accompany such a statement. Rose groans softly and buries her head in one of his pillows, allowing a few tears to fall, but nothing more. She will not let Damon see her cry.
Damon at this moment is sitting on the other side of his bed, but given the size of the damn thing, it feels like there is a giant canyon between them. Neither says anything for a few moments, each too stubborn to admit that they might have made mistakes today.
"I couldn't let you die, Rose."
"It wasn't your choice to make." She isn't angry as she says that, simply stating facts. She doesn't want to argue with him, but she can't just let this go. He knows just how much she hates Elijah, and just how much she fears him, and yet he let her be fed blood by his own hand. She knows that she shouldn't be this angry, but she can't help herself.
"I don't think either of us really had much of a say. Elena was the one who made the deal, and Elijah would have delivered his end of the bargain whether we liked it or not. Just grow up, get over yourself and be thankful that you're not dead." He says coldly, and storms out of the room. Rose shudders as she hears the door slam, and squeezes her eyes shut.
"Damon…" She whispers, and knows that he must have heard her, but no one comes to the door. Elijah left just over an hour ago now, and after the awkward conversation with Elena where she explained the protection deal she had made with Elijah about her friends and family, Elena and Stefan left the room to give the two vampires some privacy. The tension between the two could have been cut with a knife at that point, and neither said anything until Rose had uttered those first words moments ago. He had helped her into his bed and then that had been it.
She was feeling far better than she had in days, but still felt like a sick human rather than her normal self. She was exhausted and the wound in her shoulder still ached, but at least it was better than before.
Her thoughts were still tied to Damon, but with him absent and the possibility of her moving being next to none, she decided to try and get some sleep, letting her eyes gently close, and hoping to go back to the paradise Damon had built for her hours before.
The smell of blood is the first thing that Rose wakes up to, making her open her eyes in a flash. She is ravenous, and her fangs come out without warning, just serving as an indication of how hungry she actually is.
"Wow, someone's thirsty." Says a soft voice from somewhere near her. Rose moves groggily to see none other than Stefan sitting in an armchair beside the bed, smiling warmly. She is surprised to see him there, having had very little interaction with the vampire since she began her stay in the boarding house.
"Stefan?" She asks croakily, her voice feeling like sandpaper. She sits up half-heartedly, feeling much better than she had done before she had fallen asleep. Stefan just smiles at her and offers her a blood bag. Rose thanks him, feeling grateful that he hadn't tried to feed her bambi instead. At least he isn't trying to convert her.
"Don't worry. It's human. It's from Damon's supply." He says kindly, and she raises her eyebrows in surprise that he guessed what she was thinking. The blood is gone within seconds, and Rose is pleasantly surprised to find that he had warmed it up for her. There is obviously more to the other Salvatore brother than meet the eye, she thinks.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He smiles at her, and leans back in the armchair. "It's good to see you are looking better. You had us worried for a moment there." She furrows her brows in confusion.
"Why? I don't mean to be rude, but you don't exactly know me Stefan." She says bluntly, but not trying to sound unkind.
"True, but that doesn't mean I want you dead." He sighs, "Besides, both Elena and Damon would have cared if anything had happened to you, and I don't want that."
"They would be fine." She says softly, relaxing back into the pillows of the bed. "I don't matter. I'm just a pawn in this giant chess game. Easily lost and expendable."
"No, you are far more important than that – although I like your metaphor for our lives. It is worryingly accurate."
"I'm over 500 years old. Philosophical metaphors are in my nature." She smiles, and he laughs with her. He is a nice guy, Rose realises not for the first time that night, and she can see what Elena loves about him. "You and Damon are remarkably similar – do you know that?" Stefan shakes his head.
"I don't think so. Damon and I have not been close since before Katherine. We were inseparable back then, and extraordinarily alike too, but we have both changed a lot since those times." He sighs, and Rose feels sorry for him. Damon IS an arsehole most of the time, but is one ALL of the time around Stefan.
"No, maybe not, but he is changing Stefan. Maybe, in time you will see what I see."
"I hope so. You scared him tonight Rose, and Damon doesn't get scared. He really cares about you." She laughs, but it easily conveys her bitterness and uncertainty about Damon's true feelings.
"He's angry with me."
"No, he was scared for you. He's shutting it off." Stefan reasons, and Rose finds herself hoping he is right.
"We are just friends Stefan." Stefan smiles once more at that, and she can tell he sees right through her. "I'm really sorry, but I think you know it's not me he cares for. Elena may love you, but that doesn't mean Damon doesn't love her."
"I know." Stefan replies, but still smiles at her. It's kind of unnerving, and makes Rose feel self-conscious. She was expecting him to deny any possible feelings between Damon and Elena, not to accept them right in front of her. Rose wonders if Stefan knows that he is still smiling at her creepily? Frankly it's becoming a little disturbing.
"Look, Stefan, thanks for this." She says, placing the glass on the counter, "But I'm going to have a bath, so, if you don't mind…" She indicates that he should leave, by gesturing towards the door. Stefan looks like he is lost in thought, the shadows of the smile still etched on his face.
"Um, yeah. Go ahead! Elena and I are downstairs if you need anything. Take your time!" Rose smirks at him wearily, and once again points towards the door, from which he quickly departs, a little bit embarrassed that he had zoned out on her. As soon as he shuts the door, Rose tiredly flops back down on the bed. It has apparently been a long day for the lot of them, not just herself.
Slowly, and doing little to stop herself from groaning out loud, she heads towards Damon's bathroom, fully intent on washing away all the dirt and grime away from her skin.
She shuts the door and makes sure to lock it – there is no way she wants to be disturbed by Damon right now – and starts to run her bath, making sure to use Damon's expensive bubble bath. She is not entirely sure as to why Damon has any, only presuming that the vampire probably uses it for not entirely innocent purposes. She laughs at that – one thing Damon definitely is not, is innocent.
As she gets herself undressed Rose catches a glimpse of herself in the bathroom mirror and can't help but do a double take. The person staring back at her looks thin and sallow, with huge bags under her eyes. Her skin is unnaturally pale, even for a vampire, and Rose can't help but think she hasn't looked this bad since she was a human. Taking in one deep preparatory gulp of air she turns around to see the damage on her shoulder. It certainly looks much better than it had, but Rose still winces at the now closed cuts. The skin around them is still slightly yellow, just serving as a reminder of the infection that still lies beneath. It feels a little sore, but doesn't bother her too much, which she is glad about. If she has only a year, one measly year, left to live, she is glad she won't have to live every day of that in pain.
Rose sighs at just how messy and complicated it has become, and sinks thankfully into the bathtub. The bathtub itself is large, definitely big enough to fit multiple people inside, and Rose is pretty sure that that is exactly what it has done on multiple occasions. Probably the same reason why Damon owns expensive bubble bath. Rose smiles despite herself. She tries to gather some semblance of anger towards Damon, but it is impossible. He may have gone against her wishes earlier, and may be a philandering womanizer, but she can't help herself when she is around him. He is horrible. Damon really is, but she can't bring herself to hate him, and she really, really should. Rose told him that she doesn't love men who love other women, but she can't help but find herself becoming that woman. So, yes, no matter how hard she tries, she can already feel herself forgiving him, and wanting him to shag her right now in this very bathtub, no matter how crude and a complete 360 on her morals it may seem.
He makes her act this way, stupidly and irrationally, and Rose is pretty sure that he doesn't realise it. She is the older woman in this case, even if she doesn't feel that old at heart, and she would be sans-werewolf bite be far stronger and faster than Damon could ever be. She should be the dominant, strong one, but she is not, and that scares her.
Rose sighs deeply, dunking her whole body under water, not bothering with something as unnecessary to a vampire as breathing, just enjoying the feeling of water surrounding her. She wants it to clear her head, and clear away with it any thoughts (good, bad or naughty) about Damon Salvatore. After a few minuets she realises how futile this is, and resurfaces, involuntarily taking in a big gasp of air.
The bathwater has started to get cold, and Rose realises she must have been in there for far longer than she thought she had been. When you can't tell the time of day without the risk of getting yourself burnt to a crisp, and of course the handy devise that is a watch or phone, it is very difficult to know how much time has passed. Rose feels a thousand times better as she gets out of the bath and lets out the water, wrapping one of Damon's expensive fluffy white towels around her body. She bets that if she were to turn around and look at the bite, it would look better as well, but she has already looked at it today, and she doesn't really want to see the reminder, no matter how distant, of what has happened in the last few days.
As she opens the bathroom door, she is surprised to see that someone – probably Elena – has laid out some clothes for her, and she is immediately very grateful. She owns very little, and is not too sure what has happened to her possessions in the drama of the last few days. Elena is really such a nice girl; Rose can easily see them becoming friends if she sticks around. She sighs quietly; she doesn't want to think about that right now. The decision to stay or go is not one she has worked out yet, and she wants to at least try and discuss it with Damon before she makes up her mind.
As she puts on the clothes that Elena has left out for her, her eye catches something lying beside them on the bed. It is a ring, much like the one she had seen briefly on the other vampire, Caroline's own hand. It is more delicate than Caroline's however, and not at all flashy like the Salvatore brothers, but it suits her perfectly. Rose knows she isn't breathing, and even though it is not exactly something necessary for the un-dead, it still makes her feel lightheaded, and dizzy.
Damon kept his promise. Lying on the bed, is her very own ring, and for the first time in over 500 years, she will actually be able to feel the sun on her skin. It won't be like the dream Damon had conjured for her. It will be real. She won't burn, but will instead be able to walk outside at anytime of day. She'll be able to go anywhere. She'll be able to pretend she's human.
Rose is shaking as she slips it onto her finger. She doesn't know how Damon did it, as she doesn't wear rings, but it is a perfect fit. She just stares at the piece of jewellery on her hand for a moment, not quite sure how to proceed, and not entirely sure she believes it is real.
Then all of a sudden, without warning it happens, and light floods into the room, immediately touching her body. Rose flinches, and scrunches shut her eyes, but there is no need. There isn't the normal smell of burning flesh, nor does she feel the agony of being burned alive. Slowly she opens her eyes, squinting slightly from the light. She can't move, she is glued to the spot. The sunlight feels warm on her face, and it is better than the memory she has been holding in her mind for the last 500 years. Yes there had been times, when she had been in places like Slater's coffee shop, where filters had allowed her to be in the sun, but it wasn't the same. Now this right now, was the real deal, this wasn't an allusion.
"So I guess the Wicked Witch of Mystic Falls, did an alright job after all." Rose turns to look in the shadows by the curtains. Damon stands there holding the cord that let the light into the room. He is giving her a gentle smirk, but there is no malice or anger there. In fact, Rose would say he looked pleased.
"I don't know whether to kiss you, or stake you."
"Most people tend to feel that way about me." He drawls, and Rose rolls her eyes, but doesn't move.
"You could have killed me just then, if Bonnie hadn't done this properly." Now it's Damon's turn to roll his eyes, but he slowly comes forward, his arms crossed.
"No, I would have saved you. You've already almost died on me today; I wouldn't have let it happened again." For once in his life, Damon is actually being sincere, and Rose feels her heart flutter slightly. Yes, today Damon had most certainly proved that he would not let her die.
"Thank you." Her voice is small, almost childlike, and all she can feel in that moment is intense gratitude towards the younger vampire in front of her. She can feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes, and Damon's face suddenly goes from his suave expression to one more accurately resembling panic.
"Oh, no you don't. Please do not cry on me. I'm not Stefan, I don't do the whole, comforting thing…" He looks disgusted as he says the last few words, and Rose wants to laugh, because she knows how wrong he is. After everything he has done for her in the last few days, she knows that what he has just said is so very wrong. Instead she just lets out a small smile, and goes towards him. He looks wary as she steps closer, but doesn't go to move away from her.
Slowly and gently she wraps her arms around his neck, and he gives her a small guarded smile. She smiles back softly, and gives him a gentle kiss on the lips. It is a small gesture, but it conveys everything at that moment. Just how grateful she is, that he did not let her die, and how immeasurably happy she is that he has given her a part of her old life back. She can't say those things out loud; just as much as she knows he won't admit how happy he is that she is not dead. They are both still guarded, but at least they are more honest with each other than with anyone else. Him because he has a role to play, and her because he's all she's got.
"You, Damon Slavatore, are just a big softy."
"Are you sure your head isn't rattled by that bite?" He looks at her sceptically, but doesn't push her away. She laughs lightly and shakes her head. He smirks in a way that Rose can already see where his mind has wandered, and she can't say that she is opposed to his intentions. "I think we may just have to rectify your impression of me." He is on her then. His lips leaving burning hot kisses across her neck, her mouth, her jaw, everywhere where her skin is visible.
"Oh, really?" She mutters, her hands already getting caught in his hair.
"Definitely." He says huskily. Already lost in the task.
They are certainly not careful with each other, even though she is still not completely better. It is not romantic or loving in the slightest; something more resembling anger and passion driving them forward. It is what they both need at that moment, and that is really all that matters. It is need, passion and desire. Desire for each other, and to forget the shitty things that are going on around them.