A/N: Happy New Year! Here is a full-length chapter to celebrate ;)

Chapter 4

The next week and a half passed in a blur as Damon consulted with Bonnie and laid down plans and contingency plans and alternate contingency plans for the spell to kill Klaus. "Third time's a charm," he muttered to himself as he went over it all in his head one more time. It was going to work; it had to.

Damon's days were busy. The problem was the nights. He lay alone in his bed, staring at the ceiling as his mind buzzed with activity. And when he finally fell asleep, he dreamed of a certain pair of gray eyes and a powerful body having its way with him.

With four days left before the fateful night, Damon found himself driving west and north, retracing his route along back roads and past tiny little towns until he finally pulled into the long, winding drive that led to his destination. Damon had decided that he deserved one last night of fun before probably dying in yet another kamikaze attempt to kill Klaus and save Elena from a lifetime as a living blood bag. But he didn't dare try to take things to the next level with Elena. He wasn't sure how she would react – she had certainly shot him down enough times before – and it still didn't seem right to pursue his brother's girlfriend when Stefan had saved his life yet again. And for some reason, the idea of spending that last night out at a bar that served good bourbon and beautiful women didn't appeal to Damon. Instead, he was driving back roads to the house of a certifiably insane vampire, and he was trying his damndest not to overanalyze that.

This time, unlike the last, he got as far as knocking on the door after pulling his Camaro up in front of the house, and a moment later that door opened to reveal the vampire who had haunted his dreams. Damon stared at Aedan, getting lost in those gray eyes for a long moment. It was Aedan who shifted slightly to break their eye contact. "Damon," he said with a quiet nod. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure." Damon followed the other man inside. He watched as Aedan blurred across the room and poured two drinks. A second later, he was back and handing one to Damon.

The look Aedan gave him was unreadable. "So what brings you back?" the older vampire asked. "Trouble with the spell?"

Damon shook his head and chugged half his drink. This already wasn't going like he had planned. "Not exactly," he said. "We're going through with it in four days."

Aedan nodded. "The lunar eclipse," he said. "Your witch can pull power from the celestial event."

Damon had to give the other man credit for quickly figuring it out. "And we hope the eclipse may limit the power of Klaus's wolf side, since it's tied to the moon and all," he added.

"It makes sense," Aedan said quietly. Damon noticed that the other man's glass was almost empty as well. "So why are you here?"

Damon wondered if he was being deliberately dense. He shrugged and made his pitch. "Call it a condemned man's last request."

Aedan looked at him thoughtfully. "So you don't expect to survive?"

Now Damon was the one whose voice was quiet. "I figure it's long odds," he admitted. "One of these days my luck is going to run out." He poured the rest of his drink down his throat.

Aedan gave him another long look, but this time Damon knew what the other man was thinking. He had just enough time to set down his empty glass before Aedan had closed the distance between them and was kissing him. It was a long, intense kiss, holding nothing back. Their tongues dueled, and their bodies were pressed together as it went on and on. When they finally broke apart, Aedan stared at Damon with dark eyes, and Damon responded with his best flirty little smirk. The older vampire reached down to slip his fingers under the waistband of Damon's jeans. "Come with me," he said roughly. He tugged Damon with him in the direction of the bedroom, and Damon was more than willing to follow.

Aedan released Damon and took a step back as they entered the bedroom. "Take off your clothes," he ordered.

Damon cocked his head at the older vampire, not sure he wanted to be as submissive as he had been the previous time. "How about one of mine and one of yours?" he challenged. He slowly began to unbutton his shirt and led it slide to the floor. Then he flashed across the room to stand right in front of Aedan. His blue eyes glinted with mischief as he began to unbutton the other man's shirt in turn. Damon slipped his hands under the shirt as he did so, running his hands appreciatively over the strong muscles of the other vampire's chest. Aedan's gray eyes were dark with desire by the time Damon let the shirt drop to the floor.

Damon took a step back then, still playing his game. He slowly unbuttoned his own jeans and lowered the zipper. He kicked off his shoes and ever so slowly removed each sock. Then he began to slither out of his jeans, his eyes on the other vampire the whole time. Aedan was watching him intently and hungrily, and Damon knew that look. Now wearing only his underwear, he closed the short distance between them. He ran his hands down Aedan's body again as he knelt in front of him, his fingers deftly unfastening the other man's pants.

Then Damon changed things up. He swiftly jerked both Aedan's pants and underwear down around his ankles, murmuring in appreciation as the other man's hard erection sprang free. Aedan moaned loudly as Damon stroked a hand along his cock, and Damon smiled as he began to tease the other man with his lips and tongue as well as his hand. This, he knew how to do, and he savored the feeling of finally having the upper hand as Aedan's fingers fisted in his hair and the older vampire groaned out his name. When he knew the other vampire was close, he took Aedan's cock fully into his mouth, swallowing the other man's seed as Aedan's orgasm hit.

Damon had barely had time to pull away, however, before Aedan was flinging him onto the bed and kissing him. "Your turn," he murmured when he finally released Damon's mouth. Now he was the one kissing his way down Damon's body as the younger vampire trembled under him. One quick jerk tore Damon's underwear from his body, and Damon just moaned as his cock sprang free of the restrictive fabric. But then Aedan stopped his progress down Damon's body. Instead the older vampire abruptly jerked Damon's hands up above his head and held them there.

Damon just smirked at him. "What are you going to do to me?" he asked as he squirmed lightly against the unbreakable grip of the other man. His body hummed with desire at Aedan's touch.

"Whatever I want," Aedan answered roughly.

Damon squirmed again. "What if I fight?" he asked teasingly.

The glint in Aedan's gray eyes told Damon that he had asked the right question. "I hope you do," the older vampire answered. His grip on Damon's arms loosened just enough that the younger vampire slipped free for a moment, and Damon struggled against the powerful body that had him pinned. He loved that he didn't have to hold back in the slightest with Aedan. He could exert every ounce of his strength without any worry of hurting his companion, and he reveled in the feeling of their two bodies rubbing against each other as they wrestled.

The outcome was a foregone conclusion, of course, and minutes later, Damon found himself on his stomach, Aedan again pinning him and pressing him into the bed. "Are you ready to give in?" he whispered in Damon's ear, his voice rough.

He was kissing and licking at a sensitive spot on Damon's neck, and Damon shuddered with desire again. He felt Aedan's fangs slice into his neck at exactly that spot, and Damon cried out in pleasure. A moment later, his body relaxed in automatic submission to the more powerful vampire, as if Aedan's bite had claimed Damon as his.

It was just a taste this time, however, and Damon felt Aedan's fangs withdrawing a moment later. "Good," the older vampire said quietly, clearly reading Damon's submission. "Now what should I do with you?" When Damon didn't answer immediately, Aedan ran a finger over the already healed bite mark on Damon's neck. "Well?" he asked as Damon shivered helplessly under his touch.

"You should fuck me," Damon muttered. "I want you inside me." He had to force the words out, but the anticipation was almost unbearable. He wanted to feel what Aedan had made him feel before, no matter how weird he felt saying those words.

"Hmmm," Aedan purred in response. He began kissing his way down Damon's back, his lips and hands teasing every inch of Damon's skin. His hard cock rested against Damon's side, and Damon moaned, almost desperate for his lover to get on with it.

The teasing touches went on and on, however, until Damon was quivering under the other vampire's mouth and hands. "Please," he whispered. "Please, Aedan." Damon hated to beg, but all the foreplay was taking too damn long.

As if that was what he had been waiting for, Aedan sat up, giving Damon room to move. "On your hands and knees," he ordered. "And spread your legs."

Damon obeyed, climbing shakily to his hands and knees. Aedan was kneeling behind him, and the other vampire brought his hands to Damon's hips then before stroking smoothly over Damon's ass. "Have I told you that you're gorgeous?" he said quietly.

Damon shook his head, thoroughly unconcerned with that right then, especially since he might be insecure about many things, but his looks weren't one of them. "Aedan," he moaned. "Just get on with it."

"So eager," the other vampire murmured. Damon imagined that there would be a smirk on his face. "So you don't want pretty words right now?" He finally inserted a finger into Damon's ass, and Damon shivered with anticipation.

"No," he muttered. "I just want you." Aedan was lubing him up now, and Damon knew this would make things more comfortable but he really just wanted the other vampire inside of him. His own neglected cock was throbbing almost painfully, and he was more than ready.

"Do you want it dirty and hard and rough?" Aedan asked in a low, gruff voice, and Damon moaned loudly in response. Before he could manage to speak, he felt the tip of Aedan's cock at his entrance, and then the vampire abruptly entered him. It was smooth this time, but it was also fast and deep. Damon cried out at the first taste of the pleasure that he had been anticipating for so long even as Aedan pulled out and immediately slammed back into him, giving him exactly what he wanted. He kept pounding into Damon, hitting his sweet spot every time, and Damon was screaming out the other vampire's name in minutes, his body shaking at the sensations rushing through him.

Then Aedan abruptly jerked Damon up onto his knees, still inside of him. Damon cried out in surprise, and then he moaned helplessly as Aedan began to stroke his cock with long, hard strokes. It felt like only seconds before Damon was coming, tightening around the other vampire as his seed spilled messily under Aedan's expert touch. He felt Aedan pull out and slam back into him again, once, twice, and then Aedan was crying out and Damon felt warm liquid pumping into his body. It was still an unfamiliar sensation, but he decided he definitely liked it.

They both collapsed onto the bed, breathing heavily and bodies slick with sweat and other fluids. Aedan was half on top of Damon, and Damon gave a little mew of protest as the other vampire slid off of him. He heard Aedan chuckle as he felt the older vampire wrap an arm around him, and he sighed in pleasure as he felt his lover's skin against his own again. He lay there quietly then, his body more than sated and his mind oddly content. He could feel his eyes threatening to close in sleep even as he remembered vaguely that he had never planned to stay the night.

•••••

Aedan pulled away for just a moment to grab a towel from the bedside table and clean things up a little. Damon made another little sound that caused Aedan's long dead heart to skip slightly, and he wrapped his arm around Damon again, suddenly not wanting to let go of the younger vampire. He was just waiting for Damon to fall asleep before joining him. It had been a long time since he had spent the night in bed with a lover, but it had been a very, very long time since he had found anyone who affected him like Damon.

"I should go," Damon murmured sleepily, his eyes half closed. "I told Elena I wouldn't be gone long."

Aedan kissed his shoulder lightly. "Stay. What's a few hours?" He pulled Damon closer, enjoying the feeling of Damon's strong body now pliant and relaxed against his own. He didn't want Damon to leave. Damon's mind was completely open to him in that moment, and without thinking, Aedan reached into the younger vampire's mind and pushed him toward sleep.

Damon gave a little purr of contentment and settled deeper into the other vampire's embrace. His eyes slowly closed completely, and minutes later, his breathing evened out as he slept. Aedan felt a surge of guilt that he had just manipulated Damon when his lover had been nothing but open and trusting, but he shunted the guilt aside with an ease born of centuries of practice. Damon had been on the verge of falling asleep anyway, he told himself. And holding Damon then felt so good that he didn't want to think about anything else. Damon showing up on his doorstep twice now was the best surprise he had had in centuries, Aedan thought as he joined the younger vampire in sleep.

•••••

Damon awoke to a dark room, a vague feeling that he was supposed to be somewhere else stirring him to wake. He tensed, confused in that first moment of waking. A heavy arm was draped over his hip, and he could feel a powerful body wrapped around his own, spooning him. Before he had even moved, he heard a deep voice mumble sleepily in his ear. "Relax, Damon. Go back to sleep."

Aedan, his mind thought, and his body relaxed as if on cue. He was warm and comfortable and safe, and most of all, he felt wanted. After 145 years of near-constant loneliness, that alone was enough to cause Damon to burrow contentedly into the hold of the other man, unwilling to give up that feeling even if it would only last the few hours of the night. Minutes later, Damon was slipping back into a deep, peaceful sleep.

•••••

When Damon next woke up, morning light filled the room. Aedan was still holding him, and Damon sighed at the feeling of waking up in someone's arms. "Morning," Aedan whispered as he felt Damon stir. He planted a series of soft kisses along Damon's shoulder. Damon rolled slightly onto his back, and Aedan hovered above him, leaning on his elbow. His gray eyes were soft as he looked down at Damon before bending so that their lips met. His hand trailed slowly down Damon's chest and over his abs, and Damon felt his body arch up slightly off the bed in response to the other man's caress. Then he heard his phone from across the room.

The phone was on vibrate, but in the near-silence of the room, it was still loud to vampire ears. Damon groaned and pulled away from Aedan slightly as the sound of the phone dragged him back to reality. "Fuck," he cursed. Reality didn't have room for a leisurely morning in bed. "That'll be Elena. I was supposed to be back in Mystic Falls by now."

Aedan sighed and rolled away from Damon. "It's been going off all morning," he admitted.

"Shit, why didn't you wake me?" Damon glared at the other vampire.

Aedan shrugged, looking only slightly repentant. "I figured you could use the rest. I did wear you out last night, after all."

"Shut up." Damon sat up. He wasn't as annoyed as he should have been at the other man's arrogance. It was, in fact, kind of familiar, and Damon hadn't entirely lost that blissful feeling of being wanted by someone. He got out of bed and stretched, watching Aedan's reaction out of the corner of his eye and feeling pleased at the slight darkening of desire in the other vampire's gray eyes. Damon was always off balance in this whatever-it-was – exercise in mutual lust? – with Aedan O'Reilly, and although that was part of the appeal, it also left him uncharacteristically unsure of himself.

Smiling slightly at the other man's reaction to his naked body, Damon crossed the room and quickly checked his phone, finding a series of texts and messages from Elena, just as he had expected. He didn't bother to check them, figuring that could wait until he was on his way back to Mystic Falls. His eyes wandered immediately back to where Aedan still lay sprawled on the bed, however, and he wished that he didn't have to run back to Elena and his problems. But he had made promises, to her and to himself.

As Damon hesitated, Aedan moved to get up, and Damon quickly crossed back to the bed. "Stay here," he told the other vampire, grinning to soften his words. "I'm going to take a quick shower, and if you follow me, we both know it won't be quick."

Somewhat to Damon's surprise, Aedan complied and stayed on the bed. He did give Damon a mischievous look, though. "Are you sure quick is what you want?" he asked.

Damon shook his head. "No," he admitted. "But I really do have to go." He hurriedly gathered up his discarded clothes from the night before and headed for the shower before he could change his mind.

•••••

Aedan lay back on the bed and sighed in frustration as Damon disappeared into the bathroom. It was entirely unlike him to just let Damon shower in peace – let alone leave – when he wanted nothing more than to keep the other vampire there all morning and beyond. But he already felt obscurely guilty about manipulating Damon to stay the night so he reluctantly got up and pulled on a pair of sweatpants, trying not to analyze his own actions too much. He had been a vampire a very long time, and he knew that he had long since lost any semblance of a conscience or a sense of fairness. And he could easily overpower Damon, so why wasn't he just taking what he wanted? Especially since he knew perfectly well that Damon would enjoy it.

While Aedan was still puzzling over his own actions, Damon reappeared in the bedroom, fully dressed. His black hair was still soaked, however, and Aedan immediately regretted his decision to pass up shower sex. Damon was even more attractive, if such a thing were possible, with his hair wet and his skin glinting with a few stray drops of water, and Aedan could all too easily imagine how he would look in the shower, ecstasy sweeping over his face.

Damon's voice pulled him back to reality. "Sorry to run out on you," the younger vampire said ruefully. "As you know, I have a diabolical plan to execute, and those things don't run themselves." He grinned crookedly as he began to pull on his shoes.

Aedan shook his head slightly, at a loss for words at the sight of that smile. "Good luck," he said finally.

Damon looked slightly puzzled at that. "Thanks," he said. He turned toward the door and even took a step in that direction before suddenly turning and flashing back to where Aedan stood by the bed. He kissed Aedan lightly, his lips soft and warm, but all too quickly, those lips were gone. Blue eyes met Aedan's gray ones for a long moment. "Maybe I'll see you again some day," Damon said quietly. "After Klaus is dead." And then he was gone from the room.

Fuck, Aedan thought. He realized then that he cared about Damon Salvatore, and how the hell had that happened so quickly when he hadn't cared about anyone in more years than he could count? Worse, he knew that it was almost certain that he never would see Damon again, that the younger vampire would die in just three days as he tried to kill Klaus. He cursed himself for a fool as he sat back down on the bed.