THE HOT coffee was brewing, the grounds gently infusing with the boiling water to produce one of Earth's most used commodities. Damon was cheerfully whistling 'I Got A Woman' as he waited and thought about last night. That had to be pretty much the best sex he'd ever had. Having a vampire being able to match his strength really pushed it out longer and made it intense, passionate and totally hot. Clearly, 500 years of afterlife had taught her many things. Even Damon who considered himself an experienced lover had had his mind blown.
"You're in a good mood," came a voice from behind him. Damon looked around to see his brother Stefan wearing a smirk. Behind him was his girlfriend Elena who had evidently stayed the night, given as she was wearing Stefan's t-shirt and dressing gown, along with dishevelled hair.
"Well I am, why do you always seem shocked when I'm happy?" Damon replied.
"Because usually when you're happy it's for a selfish and sinister reason," Stefan answered. Their relationship hadn't been good for over a century and he had no reason to believe things would be any different. Damon pulled a face.
"Okay maybe I deserved that," he admitted, "but today I'm happy because I've had one of the best nights of my life."
"Yeah, we heard loud and clear," Elena teased. She looked at Damon with amusement. Damon was thoroughly unabashed. He shrugged and turned his attention to the percolating coffee.
"So who is she?" Stefan asked wearily. Then his face became severe. "Is she dead?"
"Seriously, Stef, I'm upset that you think it's all I do," Damon replied without sounding remotely upset. "No I didn't kill her, or bite her or anything… although technically she isn't actually alive…"
Stefan and Elena shared worried looks, especially given Damon's mischievous look.
"Morning!" Came Serena's cheery voice from the doorway. Damon broke into a wide smile as she approached wearing last night's tight blue dress. Her white blond hair was crumpled in a most adorable way. She smiled at him and noticed the other people stood looking at her. She strode forward and offered her hand.
"Hello, I'm Serena, nice to meet you!" She beamed. Stefan and Elena introduced themselves with confused politeness.
"Coffee, Serena?" Damon offered. Serena tutted comically.
"Damon, my dear, I'm English, it's tea or nothing."
He laughed softly and reached for the kettle. Serena stood by the counter and looked innocently at everyone. Her make-up seemed perfectly intact and she tied her hair up with an elastic from her wrist. Stefan and Elena looked at each other again, not sure how to progress in this conversation.
"So, what brings you here? A holiday?" Elena asked eventually.
"Oh, she's looking for an American dream," Damon chipped in, handing her a cup of tea. Serena rolled her eyes.
"Don't listen to him," she joked. "I've not been to America for a long time, just catching up with friends. Anyway, I kind of got side tracked last night-" Damon sniggered, "-but I'm spending a bit of time here. America, that is, not this kitchen."
"Come on, Serena, what's a bit of time to you? We can go back upstairs and carry on where we left off!" Damon ran a hand through his dark hair. She laughed softly. Stefan looked confused.
"Would you mind explaining a bit about yourself to my slow-witted brother here? He hasn't quite caught on yet."
"Certainly. Well, let me see… I'm also a vampire, quite an old one, and last night I threw Damon into a wall because he thought I was human and tried to bite me."
Stefan actually burst out laughing wildly and Serena snorted into her tea.
"Can't blame a guy for trying," Damon sighed.
"I wish I could've seen that," Stefan admitted after the laughing subsided.
"Thanks for the brotherly concern."
"So, how old are you? If that's not a rude question," Elena added, hazel eyes full of curiousity.
"Not at all. I'm five hundred. Goodness, that makes me sound so old!" Serena considered. Stefan and Elena stared.
"She's a cougar, I was completely seduced!" Damon said gleefully and Serena punched him in the arm.
"I've never met anybody of that age before," Stefan said with awe, "I can't believe you've survived this long."
"Indeed it was hard. Basically from the seventeenth century up to the nineteenth it was an extremely difficult few hundred years. People were much more suspicious and the class system made it… awkward. But the last century or so I've really enjoyed myself." Serena smiled her dazzling smile and took a sip of tea, but Elena saw a flicker of sadness behind her eyes. Clearly those difficult centuries were still painful.
"So your friends here," Elena piped up, sensing this to be a sensitive topic, "are they American or English?"
Serena turned her azure blue eyes towards her and gave the faintest of grateful smiles. "They were English a long time ago. Now they're just normal Americans. Last time I was out here was the 1920s. I met F. Scott Fitzgerald once at a wild party..."
Elena's eyes boggled. "You've got to be kidding."
"What do you think Gatsby's parties were based on?" Serena beamed broadly. "Oh, and I went by the name Daisy back then. I'm not saying he was inspired by me but I like to think it's a bit too coincidental!"
"Oh my God that's awesome!" Elena enthused.
"Yes it's all fascinating," Damon said sarcastically, "but really Serena and I need to return upstairs promptly." He grinned wickedly at her and gestured upstairs.
"Actually I'd better get changed, doing the walk of shame at my age is just plain sad."
"But it's daytime, you can't-" Elena began to exclaim but Stefan put his hand on her arm to silence her. Serena glanced at Stefan's hand and back at Damon's.
"You two clearly can and as such I don't mind saying it to you- I've got a magical mystery sunshine ring, too." She held up her left hand and on her ring finger she had an ornate silver ring; a small, gothic pattern surrounding a blue sapphire. She admired it herself for a moment. "I don't like telling everyone because plenty of people have tried to take it from me. But you guys also have rings so it's ok."
"That ring," Stefan said slowly, staring at it, "it's ancient. Did you have that when you were turned?"
For a moment, Serena caught her breath. She touched the ring gently for a moment then snapped back to her smile. Elena looked at her curiously.
"Not quite. Anyway, I'd best be off. Thanks for the tea. Lovely to meet you all." She smiled politely and turned to retrieve her things from the bedroom. Damon pulled a face of annoyance at Stefan.
"Well great, you've gone and asked questions and pissed her off. Thanks," he muttered and rushed after her. Stefan and Elena looked at each other strangely.
"You seemed to have touched a raw nerve there," Elena said quietly. "Why do you think she acted so weird when you asked about the ring?"
Stefan shrugged and pulled her in for a hug. "I don't know, but I think there's more to it."