word count: 9,704
Note: This starts directly following the previous chapter!
IX.
Bonnie woke to a tickling sensation making its way across her stomach. A smile curved her lips long before her eyes cracked open to see messy black hair and bright blue eyes. Damon smirked up at her, his mouth peppering kisses across her bare skin. He'd pushed the fabric of her top up to her ribs, his hand wrapped around her side, thumb stroking absently.
Resting his chin on her, he murmured, "Morning."
"Morning." Reaching for him, she stroked her fingers through his sleep-mussed hair. "What happened to 'taking it slowly'?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow.
"This is me taking it slowly." He dipped his face down and pressed a kiss an inch to the right of her belly button. And then, taking his time, moved his mouth to just below her belly button, to press another kiss there. "See? Very, very slow." He winked. "Patience is a virtue."
She bit her lip in an effort to keep her smile from spreading too wide, but she had a feeling she still failed. "Cute. But that doesn't change the fact that we agreed we were going to be careful about this... Our friendship has to come first."
"It does. We'll be incredibly close friends. Bosom buddies." He wiggled his eyebrows and slid up the bed a little, pressing kisses in a line up her body until he reached the very edge of her rolled up shirt, his chin tucked in the valley of her breasts. "It's my favorite kind of buddy."
Bonnie chuckled, shaking her head at him. "You're ridiculous."
"-ly hot. Yes. I know." He turned his eyes upward and sighed; rather dramatically, in her opinion. "It's a curse."
Scrubbing her fingers through his hair, she brought her hand back to his cheek. "Breakfast, and then I was thinking we could do something this morning, just us."
"Like a date?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Are you asking me out, Miss Bennett? Are we going steady?"
"We're going to eat breakfast and then we're going to find something fun to do. Call it whatever you want." She shoved her hand into his face and pushed him off her before rolling off the bed and making her way to the door. When she looked back over her shoulder, Damon had rolled onto his back, arms tucked behind his head.
He grinned at her. "If it's up to me, then I call it a 'date.'"
Rolling her eyes at him, she walked off to the bathroom, letting herself smile as she closed the door behind her. It'd been a long time since she would call herself 'giddy' about something, but this definitely qualified as that. There were butterflies and her heart was racing and heat had spread all over her skin.
As much as she wanted to be cautious about things between her and Damon, to take them slowly and really explore the boundaries before they completely demolished any chance of going back to just being friends, some part of her just wanted to run in, head-first, and enjoy things as they came. But she was supposed to be the smart one, the rational one, so she would take it slowly. They both would.
Day by day, date by date.
…
"Okay, you got everything?" he asked, scrubbing Mina's ears affectionately as he stared up at Bonnie from his crouched position by the cash register.
"Yes. I remembered my lunch this time." She rolled her eyes. "It was one time."
He stood and reached for her, hands squeezing her hips gently. "And you complained the whole ride home that you were starving."
"I was." She shrugged. "And then we ordered take-out and the problem was solved."
"Right, but there wouldn't have been a problem if you'd just brought your lunch." He shook his head before she could argue. "You need to take care of yourself. You have a habit of not doing that. It's history. I can provide witnesses if necessary."
"Amen to that," Naomi said from where she was stocking candles on the shelves.
"Hey! You're supposed to support me, remember?" Bonnie complaining, mouth turned up in a faint smile.
"Only when you're right, honey. But in this case, rare but true, Damon's right. You don't take care of yourself enough. You're a workaholic if I ever met one."
Damon nodded, brows hiked. "See? The great and gorgeous Naomi has spoken."
"Uh-huh. Well, I remembered my lunch, so you can both stop worrying," Bonnie told them.
"Good." Damon bent forward and pecked her lips. "I gotta go. Danny wanted to get breakfast before we see what's on the roster for this afternoon."
"Okay. Say hi to him for me."
"I will." He kissed her one more time and then waved at Naomi as he walked away. "Have a nice day, ladies."
"Bye, Damon," Naomi called after him before stepping out from the shelves, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. "So… You two are looking happy... Spill!"
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "We talked. And, after some confusion about who felt what about who, we realized we were being ridiculous and decided to give a relationship a real try. So… we're dating. I guess." She shrugged. "We're taking it slowly."
"How slowly?"
Bonnie flushed. "We're not sleeping together. We're just trying to feel it out, see if we can make it work without completely destroying any chance of a friendship if it doesn't, you know, work."
Naomi hummed thoughtfully. "It's smart."
"I hear a 'but' coming…" Bonnie sighed, watching her from the corner of her eyes as she fiddled with her log books.
"You're a smart woman, Bonnie. You hand out advice better than any day-time talk show host I know of. But playing it smart doesn't always work when it comes to matters of the heart."
Bonnie chewed her lip uncertainly, her brow furrowed.
"I'm not saying jump into bed with him." Naomi waved her hands, shaking her head. "I'm just saying that sometimes you don't need to think about the logistics of something or how it might fall apart if something goes wrong. Sometimes you just have to let your heart lead you where it wants to go and you hope for the best."
Bonnie's gaze fell downward, her mind wandering thoughtfully.
Naomi reached out, rubbing Bonnie's arm lightly. "But that's just my advice. You know yourself better than I ever will. So you do what feels right for you, all right?"
She smiled thankfully, and watched absently as Naomi moved back toward the shelves, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Naomi was right. Maybe it was good to move slow and feel things out, but how slow should they move? She wanted there to be traction, she wanted them to lead somewhere, and she didn't want to hinder that in any way. But what happened if they didn't work out? Would she even know that within the first few weeks? And what happened if they didn't? Would he move out and they'd just maintain a friendship after that? Or would he stay and they'd continue on as things were? It was hard to imagine, now that she'd been so close to him, not having that again, or having to pretend she didn't want it.
Sighing, she gave her head a shake and looked over at Mina, who had moved to lean against Bonnie's leg. Reaching down, she gave her ears a scratch and decided that she would just have to see how things played out. She couldn't rush them anymore than she could slow them down. And when the time was right, it would progress as it should. She trusted that.
…
"What qualifies as a date?" Bonnie wondered, looking up at him from where her head lay against his thigh. She laid her book down against her chest and raised a curious eyebrow. "I mean, we're together every day. So does it only count if we dress up and go out?"
Damon lowered his own book and furrowed his brow. "I don't know. We've always had a date night, once a week. The rest is just… filler."
"Filler?" She snorted. "That's one way of putting it."
He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"No, please. Explain." She lifted up onto her elbows and turned onto her side to face him.
"It's just… regular life. Work, friends, you've got your dancing, I've got my car. And then there's date night and that's… us." He nodded, short and simple.
Bonnie stared at him searchingly. "So the best part of your week is spending a few hours with me?"
Reaching for her, he tucked her hair behind her ear. "Don't get sappy on me, Bennett. I've just become unnaturally attached to you. No big deal."
Smiling slowly, she reminded him, "You know, we spend most of that filler time together too."
"Mmhmm, I call it pre-dating. It's where I wrack up good points so when our date nights come around, you're especially fond of me."
She laughed, shaking her head.
Damon half-smiled, his expression soft, and he leaned in, kissing her sweetly. When he pulled back, he opened his book and used it to cover his face. "I was just getting to the good part," he said, flipping a page.
Still smiling, Bonnie laid her head back down against his leg and opened her book too. Filler or not, she was enjoying herself.
…
"Where's the girlfriend tonight?" Danny wondered.
"Her and Annette have started this Wednesday night book club that I'm 90 percent sure is just an excuse to drink wine," Damon answered, leaning back into the couch.
"Yeah, I think Carla said something about that. She was going to go, but she's been spending most of her time at her sister's. Don't get me wrong, I love Gina. Wasn't so long ago, me and Carla were living with her, their mom, had the whole family crammed into one house. It was a fire hazard just waiting to happen. Best day of my life was when we got our own place. Anyway, they've been trying to figure out wedding patterns or seating orders or something, I don't know. Last time I went, I suggested putting someone's cousin at the wrong table and it turned into a twenty-minute rant about why they'd kill each other." He sighed, shaking his head. "She put me on food duty though. That I can handle. The little details, which family member hates who, I can't remember any of that."
Damon nodded, picking at the label on his beer. "Bonnie only really had her Grams. She's got a cousin, Lucy, but I don't think they talk too much. Lucy's a traveler; doesn't stick around in one place too long."
"What about you? You got anyone? I know you had your brother, but…"
He shook his head. "Nope," he said, with a pop on the 'p'. "Stefan was the last of my family. Just me and Bon-Bon now."
"Guess it's going to be a pretty small reception when you two get married, hey?"
He snorted, tipping his beer back.
"Who says Bonnie'll take this one on for a lifetime anyway?" Chris wondered, joining them in the living room, bag of chips in hand.
"You kidding. She knows she's stuck with me for life."
Damon half-grinned, his gaze turning off for a moment. He hadn't said as much, but he thought the implication was pretty clear. Then again, Bonnie had been more than a little serious about the whole 'taking it slow' thing. It wasn't that he disagreed, exactly. Their friendship had to come first, he got that. But he also knew what he wanted, and now that he'd had a taste, he knew he wasn't letting her go anytime soon. So maybe it wasn't just about taking it slow, maybe it was about proving that he was in it for the long haul. That he wasn't looking for something easy or temporary, but something long term, something that would last the rest of their undead afterlife.
"You want another beer?" Danny asked, climbing off the couch.
Damon looked down to see his bottle was nearly empty. "Yeah. Sure." He knocked off the last of it and passed it over the back of the couch to Danny as he passed. Shaking off his thoughtful mood, he turned to Chris then. "What's Brandon up to tonight…?"
…
"I can't tell if this is a cheap date, or if it's cute," Damon said, licking a strip off his ice cream cone.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You love ice cream."
"Of course I do. But when you said you were picking our date, I thought it'd be a little more…"
"What?" She looked up at him knowingly. "That I'd be licking ice cream off you."
He smirked. "Is that an option?"
Shaking her head, she told him, "Not when you're putting down my awesome date ideas it's not."
"All right, all right, it's not… terrible." He reached for her hand and twined their fingers, raising it up to press a kiss to her knuckles.
Bonnie sucked in a quick breath and told him, "Your lips are cold."
"Yeah?" He grinned and then leaned in.
Laughing, she tipped her head away, but truthfully, she liked the way he peppered cold kisses over her cheek and down her neck. Arm looped around her waist, he pulled her against his side and then took a bite off the top of her chocolate brownie ice cream cone.
"Hey," she complained. "Thief."
Smiling, he shrugged, and licked his lips clean. "So? Where to next on this date?"
"Mmm… I wanted to take a walk around the park."
"Deal." Squeezing her hip, he walked them in the direction of the park, offering her his ice cream for a bite.
The sun was beginning to set, leaving the air a little cooler and the sky painted a pale purple with streaks of pink. Most of the kids had gone home for supper, leaving behind a pleasant silence, interrupted faintly by the soft chirping of birds. They walked down the cobbled path that circled the park, through tall trees with hanging green branches, robust with life.
"How was work this morning?" Bonnie wondered.
Damon made a face. He'd been called in for a last minute shift that, thankfully, ended early, but still took up more of his Saturday than he wanted it to. As he took in a deep breath, Bonnie rested her head against his shoulder, nodding and humming alongside his story. She liked moments like this, where they shared their days, the good and the bad. It was one of her favorite parts of their friendship, and she appreciated that it was still a comfortable part of their budding relationship.
There was a tension to things now, to the touches that used to be so casual, because now she was aware of where they could lead. Where she wanted them to lead. And knowing that it was something he wanted too made her stomach tighten up. There was still hesitation, still a little uncertainty, but it was mixed so completely with the natural comfort of each other that sometimes she forgot that was what it was at all.
Instead of letting herself worry anymore, she just listened to him, and his exasperation over Danny trying yell jokes at him. Mimicking his best friend, Damon told her, "I really wanted a camouflage shirt… but I couldn't find one!"
Bonnie laughed, in part because she knew Damon played at irritation, while some part of him actually enjoyed Danny's terrible jokes.
…
"I have to go," he murmured against her mouth.
"One more," she breathed, wrapping her arm around his neck and kissing him again.
Damon hummed, his hands sliding from her hips up her back. It wouldn't take much to gather her up, legs wrapped around his waist, and sit her down on the counter. But he had work this morning, no matter how much he wanted to skip it. An amused voice in his head reminded him that work never used to be a priority, especially not one that meant denying a beautiful woman. But work helped pay for their home and their date nights and their life together. So really, in the long run, he was being smart about this.
He didn't feel so smart when he pulled back from Bonnie's pecking lips, especially when her counter was to start kissing down his neck, her fingers dancing at the edges of his jeans, slipping in under his shirt to tease his skin.
Licking his mouth, he took a deep breath and gave his head a shake. "Danny's gonna be here any minute."
She raised her head and grinned at him, wrinkling her nose. "Then I have sixty seconds, at least."
Damon groaned, but didn't stop her as she leaned back in and tugged his shirt down to press kisses along his collar bones.
What was one more minute?
When he finally hopped in Danny's truck, he rolled his eyes at his friends' jeering over all the hickeys he was sporting. "Yeah, yeah, let's get to work," he muttered dismissively. But there was something warm in his chest, keenly aware that this morning was everything he'd wanted, and it felt good to finally have it.
…
Damon flipped his 3D glasses up on top of his head and leaned his seat back a little. "You're sure this is the one with the extra blood and gore?" he asked.
Kayla nodded, tossing a few pieces of popcorn into her mouth before rubbing her buttery, salty fingers on her skirt. Leaned back in her seat, she had her feet up on the dash, crossed at the ankle, her clunky back boots discarded on the floor. "Mmhmm. It's a limited edition screening. Two nights only."
"And they thought they'd put it out here, for any average person to see as they were driving by?" he asked, taking a look around the drive-in theater.
Kayla snorted. "I'm sure the boring people have all their kids hidden away at home. Or they took them to see the new Sponge-Bob movie."
"Is that bitterness I hear, Dark and Angsty?"
She rolled her eyes at him, and threw a piece of popcorn at the side of his head. "Hey, you invited me along, remember?"
"Yes. Because I was hoping you'd be better company. Nobody else likes these movies." He grinned at her, all teeth. "It's a bonding experience."
"Nothing like mass murder to bring people together," she mused.
His mouth turned up. "Exactly. See?"
She scoffed, but half-smiled. "Where's Bonnie tonight?"
"Carla's having another dress fitting. So Bon's getting poked and measured while we get to eat all the junk food we want." He wiggled his eyebrows as he grabbed up the fully loaded hot dog he'd bought at the concession. "So when's this thing start anyway?"
"Ten minutes or so." Kayla looked at him side-long as he ate his hot dog, humming appreciatively with each bite. It took her a little while, but eventually she said, "Thanks. For inviting me."
"Sure." He shrugged a shoulder and swiped a bit of mustard from his lips. "Like I said, Half-Pint. It's good to have someone who likes this stuff as much as I do."
She smiled slowly, ducking her eyes. "I tried to get my dad to watch a few with me, but he just didn't have the stomach for it. He's more of a documentary kind of guy, I guess. And my mom's pretty squeamish. She prefers comedies, light-hearted stuff, you know?"
"Yeah, I know the type."
"I kind of like it though. I mean, I wouldn't go out and hurt someone for kicks or anything. Mostly I just like making fun of all the idiots that run upstairs when someone's in the house or go into the dark woods like there isn't some crazy killer on the loose." She shrugged. "I don't know. It's fun."
"Very." He grabbed up his drink and took a long drag from the straw. "Mocking people is one of my favorite things to do."
Kayla laughed under her breath and grabbed up a handful of popcorn. "Then this is going to be fun."
Damon smirked. "Tons."
…
"Are you awake?" Bonnie whispered.
Damon's lips twitched as he blinked his eyes open slowly. "Mmhmm."
She reached across the space between them and traced her fingers down the side of his face. "Who was your favorite person growing up?"
He hummed, his eyes at half mast, and he said, "My mother."
"Lily?" She dragged her finger around the curve of his chin.
He nodded. "She wasn't like my father. She was… gentle." He licked his lips, his brow furrowed. "Before Stefan, when I was young, I was small, always underfoot… I used to hide in her skirts whenever I heard father's voice. And she let me. Father would always tell her she was being too soft on me. That I needed to grow a backbone. But she didn't care… She just wanted me to feel safe… and loved."
"Did you?" she murmured.
"With her? Yes. Always." He caught her hand and raised her fingers, pressing a kiss to the palm before he brought it down to rest on his chest, atop his heart. "What about you? Hm? Who was Bonnie Bennett's favorite person?"
She smiled, her eyes falling for a moment. "I was always a daddy's girl. I'd do anything for his attention. He worked a lot though, even then. He was in and out all the time, always kissing my forehead and telling me he was sorry, but he'd make it up to me… So I spent a lot of my time at Grams'. I used to resent it, all the time he didn't spend with me. I'd cry in her lap until I fell asleep, and she's just stroke my hair and tell me it'd be okay. Or she'd tap by chin and tell me to buck up, you can't change what's already happened... I'm glad now, that I got that time with her."
The quiet of their bedroom surrounded them then, and Bonnie could feel as he started to drift asleep. She shifted over a little, and leaned across the space to press a kiss to his brow. He made a nose, a quiet huff of air, but sleep swept him away. Resting beside him, she smiled at his moon-lit face, and closed her eyes, lulled by the steady beat of his heart under her hand.
…
For the record, being able to kiss Bonnie Bennett at any time, for any reason, was one of Damon's favorite things to do. He was no longer resigned to the forehead or the cheek —though he still did, because he liked to— but now he also got to enjoy the plush comfort of her mouth. Which, in case anybody was wondering, was phenomenal. He'd had an expectation that he and Bonnie would have great chemistry—all that passionate fighting had to lead somewhere— and, as he was learning, much per usual, he was right.
Bonnie might argue that last point; he was sure she would have a bullet-point list of all the times he'd been wrong. All of which he would roll his eyes at before cutting her off – with a kiss, because he could do that now.
"Damon, are you even listening?"
"Mmhmm. Something about work and beeswax and how you need to make more honey-lemon candles because they're selling out faster than you expected," he said, raising his gaze from her mouth to her eyes. "It's called multi-tasking. I'm an expert."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "At what exactly?"
He grinned, rather goofily she would probably tell him. "Admiring you and listening to you at the same time."
Apparently he was also cheesy.
Bonnie shook her head, but he wasn't surprised when she leaned in to him, pressing quick, teasing pecks against his lips as her fingers ran through his hair. "I still have work to do," she said, a clipboard in her lap and a pen waiting to check off each part of her list.
"Work can wait," he assured, before pushing the clipboard away and pulling her closer, their chests pressed together as he maneuvered her into his lap. "It'll be there… after." He wiggled his eyebrows before ducking down to kiss her neck.
She groaned, but didn't push him back. And he knew, if she really wanted to stop and focus and get her work done, she would put her foot down. But she was enjoying this freedom as much as he was; he could feel it in the way her fingers kept reaching for him in the mornings before work. How she would pull him back in for just one more kiss, Danny honking the horn outside impatiently.
It was still new for them, still in the honeymoon phase some would say, and he wanted to enjoy every part of it. As far as he was concerned, they could stay here, right here, basking in it all.
She tugged on his hair so he would lean back and stared down at him, her eyes half-lidded. Her gaze washed over his face like she was trying to memorize him, like she might wake up and find it was all a dream. He caught her chin between his fingers and tilted it down. "Se questo è un sogno, non ho mai voglia di svegliarsi."
She didn't know what he said and she had no idea how sincerely he meant it. But she tipped her chin down and kissed the tips of his fingers as if she did; delicately teasing her lips over them. And Damon had known love before; fiery and dramatic and altogether consuming. But this… this was something completely different, and he was going to enjoy every second of it.
…
Damon was sweating. His dress shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest, and his damp hair stuck up in every direction. The music the band was playing was almost too loud, but he loved it. He loved the feeling in his chest and the way his cheeks hurt from laughing. Bonnie hadn't let go of his hand since they started dancing, and he twirled her under his arm again, smiling when she grinned up at him. The underside of her hair was sticking to her neck and her face was flushed, much of her make-up already wiped away. But it was perfect.
He couldn't remember enjoying these town events much in the past, but he was growing an affinity for them these last few years. A concert in the middle of town square was right up his alley. He could do with a little more classic rock, but as long as it got Bonnie's hips moving, he was a fan.
Tonight was date night, a ringing endorsement for why he loved nights like these. The concert was raising money for the school, and they'd taken a good chunk out of their jar as donation. They'd eaten corn dogs from a vendor and shared a coke between them before the lure of the music became too much.
It was moments like these, with adrenaline pumping through his veins and Bonnie's fingers twined in his, that he knew dying was the best thing he'd ever done in his life. And he didn't regret it. Oh, he had regrets about his life – he could fill a book series with them – but his afterlife? It was unfolding better than he could have ever anticipated.
Maybe this was the life he was supposed to have, that he was meant to have, if things hadn't gone completely and totally wrong early on. Either way, he had it now, and it was everything. He looked down at Bonnie, her hair bouncing at her shoulders as she jumped in place, singing along dramatically. The music hollowed out in his ears, a distant buzzing, and all there was was her. Her, smiling, her cheeks red, sweat making her skin shine, and he loved her. He loved her so completely, and so entirely, that his heart hurt a little just in knowing it.
He didn't say it though. No, he sang along with her, and he pulled her in close. He kissed her forehead and he held onto her hands a little tighter, and he thanked Sheila Bennett for giving him something he probably didn't deserve, something he could never truly earn, but that he'd gotten anyway. And he was going to hold onto it with every damn part of himself.
…
Say what you want about Gladys, and Damon certainly had, but she could grow some fine tulips. How she managed to bend down and go through the intensive gardening routine she did with her shoulders so stooped and her feet always shuffling, Damon didn't know, but she did. Which resulted in some truly beautiful flowers littering the beds in front of her house.
Damon plucked a particularly bright purple one, humming to himself as he took a sniff of it, and crossed the driveway to the path leading to the front door of his house. Bonnie was at the sink, washing up their lunch dishes, the window open. Damon walked over, resting his arms on the window sill, and smiled at her.
Looking up, she swiped a stray piece of hair from her cheek. "Hey," she said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were working on your car."
"Was. Done now. She's almost ready… Just needs a paint job and then we can take her for a ride." He wiggled his eyebrows.
"If all she needs is paint, can't we take her for a test drive now?"
"No way. I'm not letting anybody see her until she's in pristine condition." He held the tulip out for her and tapped it against her nose. "For you."
Bonnie sniffed it, her mouth turned up at the corners. "Did you steal that from Gladys' garden?"
"Steal. Liberate." He shrugged, twirling it around in his fingers. "What's the difference?"
Shaking her head, she wiped her hands on a dish towel and plucked the flower from him. "It's beautiful."
Stacking his arms on the sill, he beamed up at her, "So are you."
"Yeah?" She tucked the flower behind her ear and leaned forward, pushing off on the sink so they were face to face.
"Yeah." He kissed her, making a dramatic smacking noise as he did. "You done in here? I was gonna take Mina for a walk around the block."
Smiling, she nodded, dropping back to her feet. "Okay." Walking away from the sink, she made her way to the closet to get out Mina's leash and a few bags in case she decided to use some unsuspecting person's lawn as a bathroom. Slipping on her shoes, she walked out the front door and joined him on the path, an eager Mina sitting between them, tail wagging hopefully.
Bonnie leaned down and clipped the leash on. She reached for Damon's hand and they walked down the driveway to the sidewalk, beginning their trek around the block.
"If you hold it until we get back and lay a log on Gladys' lawn, I'll give you a treat, Meen," Damon told her, grinning.
"Damon." Bonnie elbowed him, rolling her eyes.
"Positive reinforcement," he told her.
"Hardly."
"You know, Bon, this just highlights how different our parenting techniques are." He leaned down, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm the fun one."
"You're the 'high-five your kid for getting a police escort home after a party because it means he's cool' one."
"Any kid of mine would be cool."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."
"And you love me for it." He gave her hand a tug and lifted his arm, bringing it around her and hugging her to his side. "Don't you? Huh? I make your life interesting…" He stared down at her with wide, teasing eyes.
Bonnie pursed her lips to hide her smile. "You definitely do that."
He grinned. "You're welcome."
She laughed under her breath, but didn't argue. She did, however, hand him the pick-up bags when, as soon as they got back to their place, Mina went straight to Gladys' lawn and hunkered down.
Instead of being upset, he merely smirked. "That's my girl."
…
"You have flour in your hair," Damon said, grinning as he turned away from the pasta they were making from scratch.
"You have flour on your hands," she cried, leaning out of his reach, laughing as he caught her around the waist and pulled her in, their fronts pressed together.
He reached for a stray curl against her cheek and slowly pushed it back, his fingers teasing over her skin and around the shell of her ear. He stared down at her, the laughter lines around his eyes making her breath catch in her throat. His gaze dropped to her lips briefly, and then met hers once more. "Kissing is slow."
"It starts out that way," she murmured, but didn't stop him as he turned her so her back was to the counter, and lifted her up. She did laugh, however, when a cloud of flour rose up from where she was sitting.
He laughed too, but he didn't seem the least bit worried, his palms cupping her cheeks as he stepped between her knees.
And she knew it was going to make a mess, she knew their pasta might not ever get made, but she leaned in when he did, she met the slant of his lips with her own, and she let herself get a little lost in him.
It stayed slow, that searching, gentle exploration that they'd perfected over the last two months. Her fingers playing at the collar of his shirt, skimming over his neck, reaching up into his hair and holding on tightly.
She remembered what felt like a lifetime ago, when she'd been a teenager and first started dating, when there was that mixture of hesitation and eagerness in every touch. She remembered worrying where her hands would go or if her breath stunk or if she was doing anything right or wrong. And sometimes, this felt like that. It felt so new and she didn't want to screw it up. But, more often than not, it felt better than new. It felt easy in that way that things that have been coming for so long often do.
So when those anxious feelings bubbled up, she just tried to remind herself that Damon had seen her at her worst. He'd seen her in the early morning, when she'd just woken up and looked like the walking dead. He'd seen her sick with the flu, her skin pasty and dry and her nose a raw red color. He'd been there for all of that and, made his jokes, of course, but he stuck around. She'd seen him at his worst too, bloody and savage, angry and vengeful, and, more recently, sick with the flu. There was little they hadn't seen of each other, and not a lot, at least she felt, that would turn her away now.
His hand slid down her back, fingers creeping up under her shirt, and she knew, sooner rather than later, she would have to slow them down, but for now, she would enjoy it. The way his warm, rough fingers danced over her skin and his mouth made its way down her neck. She hadn't realized just how starved she'd been of touch these last few years until having that touch became a possibility again, and now she found she never wanted it to stop.
…
Bonnie leaned back in her wooden lawn chair, a cold beer in hand and her favorite shades covering her eyes. The boys— Damon, Chris, Brandon, and Danny— were all trying to play badminton with an eager Mina running around underfoot, barking when they wouldn't let her catch the elusive birdie.
"They look like they're having fun," Carla snorted, taking up a hot dog from her plate and biting off the end. Seated beside Bonnie, legs crossed underneath her, she'd been happy to relax in the sun rather than spend any more time on her feet.
Danny tripped over Mina, reaching too far and missing the birdie by a few inches. Shoving off the ground, he threw his hands up.
"She's just trying to help." Damon shrugged, kneeling down and whistling for Mina to come to him. He scratched her ears and pressed affectionate kisses all over her face.
"Tell her to help them out then," Danny muttered, grabbing up his badminton racket and dusting grass off himself.
"Don't listen to him, he's just jealous. You would've caught that, wouldn't you, huh?"
Mina's tail wagged excitedly.
Groaning, Danny dropped his head back. "Bonnie, please, call your substitute child. Keep her out of the way; at least until we beat these guys."
"I'm pretty sure you'll lose anyway, but if it's really that important…" She rolled her eyes lightheartedly before clapping her hand down on her thigh. "Come here, Mina, come on…"
Licking Damon's face a little quicker, Mina squirmed her way out of his arms and ran up the deck stairs to Bonnie, laying her head down on her lap and peering up at her, panting happily.
Breaking off a piece of cold hot dog, Bonnie fed it to her and brought Mina around to sit between her legs, her fingers soothingly rubbing over her head as they watched Danny and Damon try to take Chris and Brandon on again, pointlessly. Brandon and Chris were a cohesive unit, seeming to know exactly where the other would move and reacting in sync with one another, putting the other two boys to shame as they continued to bump into each other and try to outdo one another each time they went for the birdie.
"They're like big children," Carla said, but the amusement in her voice was affectionate.
Bonnie nodded. "And sore losers."
"I had that one," Danny complained, frowning.
"You were completely off," Damon argued. "You're supposed to stay on your side; that one was coming at me."
"You've been playing my side the whole time!"
"It's not my fault you're too slow!"
Before the argument could escalate any further, Carla said, "Danny, honey, why don't you throw the steaks on?"
Danny glanced at her, hesitated, then pursed his lips and walked toward the porch, grumbling under his breath. Rolling her eyes, Carla stood, walking toward him, and rubbed his back soothingly.
Damon on the other hand, tossed the racket away and climbed the stairs to take a seat on the deck floor beside Mina. He rested his chin on Bonnie's knee, atop the fabric of her dress, and looked up at her. "He is slow," he pressed.
"Maybe. But you don't really give him much space for improvement."
He snorted.
Reaching for him, she scrubbed her fingers through his hair. "Besides, you're the one who always picks him for your partner."
"I have to. Solidarity."
Bonnie's lips twitched. "Uh-huh."
Patting Mina' head, he turned his face down and pressed a kiss to Bonnie's leg. "Did you remember the steaks I picked up?"
"The ones you reminded me to grab three times because, and I quote, 'Danny always picks the wrong ones. The marbling is all wrong.' Those steaks."
He pressed his teeth down against her knee playfully. "Are you teasing me, Bon-Bon?"
Smiling, she shrugged. "I'm pointing out your more… tenacious qualities."
"You know, it wasn't so long ago, you were the control freak in this relationship."
"I still am. I just think you have a few control issues of your own." She stretched her fingers across his forehead, brushing a few dark strands out of his eyes. "On the bright side, I still find it an adorable quirk."
He grinned. "Well, I am exceptionally adorable."
Wrinkling her nose, she teased, "You have your moments."
"Yeah?" Pushing up, one hand balanced on her knee, he leaned into her, nuzzling his nose against hers. "Just moments?"
Bonnie stared into his eyes, his lips close enough that they were faintly ghosting against hers. "Not sure 'adorable' is one of my top adjectives for you…" she murmured.
He chuckled lowly, mouth curved up in a suggestive smirk. "No? Can I get a list, Miss Bennett?"
"I'm not sure your ego needs any more stroking."
Catching her bottom lip between his teeth, he gave it a tug, released it, and said, "Stroking is exactly what it needs."
A clearing throat caught their attention then and Bonnie's eyes cut to the left to see an amused Chris standing there, eyebrow raised. "You two know you're in public, right?"
"Not sure that's ever stopped him before," Bonnie said, but pressed a kick quick kiss to Damon's mouth. "I should see if Carla needs any help." Sliding out from under him, she stood, smoothing out her dress. "You guys want anything while I'm inside?"
Taking a seat in her empty chair, Damon leaned back and said, "A beer. Please?"
"Same, if you don't mind, Bonnie," Chris told her.
"Sure."
Walking off to the house, Mina nipping at heels, Bonnie let out a shaky breath, her heart beating hard in her chest and her skin still warm. She forced herself not to look back; like Chris said, they were in public, which meant they needed to keep it decent. Even if everything inside her wanted to be very indecent.
…
"All right, wine, fire… Are we missing anything?" Damon wondered, standing in the kitchen, rubbing his hands together as his eyes darted around searchingly.
Sitting on the couch, Bonnie smiled at him. "Just you." She patted the seat beside her and waited.
On the floor by the fire, Mina lay curled up, sleeping.
Damon hit the light switch, leaving the room lit only by the fire, and crossed to her, taking a seat on the couch while she poured them each a glass of red wine.
"Not a bad date," he said, leaning back in the corner of the couch, his arm spread across the back. "I still think we had enough in the jar to go somewhere nice, though."
Shuffling back, Bonnie sidled up next to him, leaning into his side. "This is nice," she insisted, tipping her head back to see him. "I like it when we go out, don't get me wrong. It's a nice treat. But me and you, right here, that's perfect to me."
Damon stared down at her, his eyes gentle. He leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead, and murmured, "Softie."
She laughed, smiling happily, and raised her glass for a sip of wine.
"Mm. You know what we could do?"
"I'm not playing any board games with you," she said, shaking her head.
"Because I always win."
"Because you always cheat."
"Same difference." He shrugged. "But that's not what I meant."
She looked over at him curiously.
Tapping her shoulder, he said, "The book, three shelves up, green spine…"
Handing him her wine glass, she stood from the couch and walked over the bookshelf, examining it. Her fingers walked over a few familiar titles.
"Warmer… warmer... No, colder…"
She moved her hand right and slid it up another shelf, finally stopping on a weathered green spine, the gold writing all but flaked away entirely. She tugged it free and brought it back to him, taking a seat in the comfortable nook she'd carved out against his side. Trading her wine for the book, he placed his own glass aside and thumbed through it, humming thoughtfully here or there.
Bonnie waited, patient as she stared at the flames of the fire flickering in the grate. It was peaceful, nights like these, where everything but each faded away. She remembered sometimes, how awkward it had been in the beginning, when they'd first appeared here and they were forced to get used to constantly being in each other's presence. He'd been so annoying then. Or, at least, she felt like he was. Sometimes she wondered if that was just his personality and she'd only been irritated by it because he was all she had, a constant reminder of what she'd lost and what she wanted back. He was everything but that now. Yes, he still reminded her of home, but not loss, not regret.
In a weird way, dying had brought her exactly what her Grams' had told her it would; peace. From the turmoil of her life, the pressure of being who she was in their small group of friends; a healer and a witch, the weight of the world on shoulders too narrow, too inexperienced, to carry it. The life she had now felt like it was shaped exactly how she wanted it, how she needed it. It wasn't perfect, but it was as close as it could get. And she couldn't imaging wanting anything more than she had.
"All right. You listening?" he asked.
"Hm?" She turned to him, eyeing the book, and nodded. Resting her head back against his shoulder, she smiled gently.
Clearing his throat, he first read it to her in Spanish. Bonnie closed her eyes; she loved it when he spoke in different languages, the fluent way his tongue wrapped around each syllable, his voice a little deeper. His fingers stroked through her hair, tucking it behind her ear, and then gently stroked down her neck.
Letting out a soft sigh, she stretched her head back a little more and let his teasing fingers lull her into relaxation.
When he read the poem again, it was in English.
"I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:
where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep."
She swallowed tightly as his voice fell away, as her heartbeat raised and thudded in her chest. When she opened her eyes, he was staring down at the book, his brow furrowed in thought.
"Damon?"
"Hm."
"You make me happy."
He didn't answer, so she reached for him, catching his chin and turning it so their eyes met. "You make me happy," she reiterated.
He blinked a little quicker, a faint smile upturning the corner of his mouth. "Figure it's only fair, since you make me pretty damn happy too." He tapped the tip of her nose. "When you're not arguing with me."
She scoffed. "That's my default setting."
"Fine," he sighed. "Even that makes me happy…" He shook his head, rubbing his thumb around the curve of her mouth. "It's like a fever I can't shake… Maybe I don't want to."
"Good. I don't want you to either."
His tongue dabbed at his lower lip as he stared down at her searchingly. "I know you're worried this might screw us up somehow… That despite every sign saying different, we're going to end in some messy break up that ruins our friendship… But I don't see that when I look at you." He half-smiled faintly. "I know I'm impulsive and my track record with relationships is… questionable—"
She snorted.
"—but I knew when I got into them that they were gonna hurt. I just convinced myself that the pain was worth it. That love, true love, real, epic love… it has to hurt." He swallowed tightly. "But I was wrong. Because this, whatever this is, it's better. And I know if I make promises, you're going to tell me I can't be sure, I can't know we won't screw up, and maybe you're right. But I know what I see, I know what I want when I look at you, and it's everything."
Swallowing tightly, Bonnie nodded slowly. She leaned up then, drawing him down, and slanted her lips over his. He tasted faintly of red wine, or maybe that was her. Turning to face him better, her glass was discarded and the book was shuffled out of the way, falling to the floor with a thud. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she slid into his lap, fingers sliding through his hair and holding on. Kissing him still felt new, exciting, like little bursts of light going off inside her. It reminded her of her magic, of how it used to rise up under her skin, deep from within, twisting and turning, expanding until it surged out of her. That was what kissing Damon felt like to her. Like fire at her fingertips, simultaneously independent and all hers.
They slid back to the couch, her resting atop him, bodies twisting and pressing together. His hands slipped up under her sweater, warm and callused, dragging across her skin, reaching and caressing. His mouth buried at her neck, sucking and nipping at her skin. She gripped a hand around his shoulders, squeezing and pulling at his shirt. He felt good in the cradle of her hips, heavy and hard.
When she thought of what it would be like with Damon, she'd always imagined it would be a hurricane. Fast and passionate, a struggle for control, power meeting power. But it wasn't like that, not really. It was passionate, yes; that was a given. But it was more than that. Damon was always searching; for an equal, for someone to match him, to meet him where he was rather than raise him up to some impossible standard or lower him to someone he wasn't. He was gentle and searching and always waiting for what he gave to be reciprocated. She wondered sometimes, if that was always how it was, or if it was who he'd grown into. If this was yet another way that he showed he wasn't the man of before who wanted to be consumed by love, but instead the man who wanted to share love.
And she did love him. She hadn't put it into words, but they were there, at the tip of her tongue, waiting for her to exhale, to breathe them into existence.
But they could wait, for now.
Instead, she let herself enjoy this, enjoy them. She leaned into his touch and tried to stop thinking so much. Because being in the moment, experiencing everything he was offering, was so much better than thinking about what if's that may never come to fruition. So maybe making out like teenagers wouldn't change anything, for better or worse, but they liked it, and they wanted it, so they took it.
…
"Hey, there's a spell in here to reanimate dead animals," Bonnie said from where she sat, cross-legged on the floor of the living room, leafing through her grimoire for the nth time.
Damon looked over at her from where he was chopping up vegetables for a salad. He tossed a chunk of cucumber into his mouth and frowned. "I've seen Pet Sematary. That's got bad news written all over it."
Bonnie hummed, scrubbing her fingers over Mina's ears. "Why do you think there's a spell to bring back pets but not people?"
"Because resurrection is bad juju. A pet's soul is probably nothing to a human's." He shrugged and scooped up the veggies to toss in the bowl. Eyes wide, he said, "Besides, haven't you learned enough about bringing people back from the dead?"
"Yes. Probably more than your average witch. But I just find it interesting… Like there's a scale instead of just 'all resurrection is bad.' Animals, yes, dead relatives, no."
"Mm, I doubt it comes highly recommended. Like I said, Pet. Sematary."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Like you wouldn't scour the face of the earth to bring Mina back if something happened to her."
"True. But nothing is. Because Mina's going to live forever. Aren't you? Huh?"
Mina's ears perked up at the change of tone and she rolled herself onto her paws, hurrying over to sit in front of him, tail wagging as he knelt down to pet her.
"Yeah, you're going to live forever. That way mommy doesn't have to get her magic back just to resurrect you… For the record though, I wouldn't shame you if you came back zombified and tried to eat someone's face. We've all been there."
"Damon."
"We need to accept her as she is, Bonnie. Parenting 101."
Scoffing, she raised her grimoire, flipping the page and trying desperately to hide her amusement.
…
It was late, and the stars were bright. Bonnie was more than a little tipsy on a bottle of wine, and she was enjoying every bit of it. So was he. Having her curled up in his lap, his head back and her fingers stroking through his hair gently. He could be content with this, right here, for the rest of his existence.
Once upon a time, he'd wondered how long he could really live. Sure, he was a vampire, which meant, theoretically, he might never die. But given the life he'd lived, he knew it had been a matter of time. Until he pissed off the wrong person, or someone he loved got in too deep and the price he would have to pay to get them out would be his life. It was inevitable. As evidenced by where he currently was. But this… He'd never expected this. He never expected Life: Take Two. Or maybe it was Afterlife: Take One. Regardless, he never expected that after all the turmoil and drama, the angst and the loss, the fear and fighting, that it could all end in real, genuine peace. But here he was, sitting on his porch, with a beautiful, smart, amazing woman resting against him, and the stars twinkling high above.
And he didn't care if it wasn't real. If he'd died and this was just a consolation prize. Because it was better than he'd ever expected for himself. Better than he probably deserved.
Bonnie's lips pressed against his cheek, as if she knew what he was thinking. Sometimes he thought she did, that she could read his mind. But then she'd always been an expert on him, even when he didn't want her to be, even when he hated that she was right. Some days she knew him better than he did.
"Hey."
He looked at her, and reached up to tuck a loose curl of hair off her cheek. "Hey," he said back, his voice quiet, like he thought it might interrupt the atmosphere they'd created.
She tapped his chest and smiled. "I love you, you know?"
He smiled slowly. "Yeah?"
"Mmhmm." She nodded. "I do. I admit it."
He tapped her nose. "Well, thank you for sharing, Miss Bennett, but I think the wine might be coloring your opinion."
"Nope. Just loosening my tongue." She rubbed her fingers down the side of his face. "It's not just in that 'my heart hurts when I think about not having you' way. Although that too. But in all ways… I love you and that smirk you always give me—" She pushed at the corner of his mouth with her thumb, "—and the way you always squint your eyes at me right before you say something rude—" She narrowed her eyes for emphasis, "—and that funny swagger you have when you walk."
His mouth twitched.
And then she let out a little sigh, and she cupped his cheek. "I love you, Damon. You're my best friend. You are. I mean… you're no Caroline or Elena. That history can't be replaced. But we have our own. Our own life and history, not all of it good, but so much of it… So much of it has been amazing. And I think it outweighs it, you know? I think if we put it on a scale, me and you, the good would obliterate the bad."
Damon nodded, his smile fading, and he leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers. "I love you too."
"Yeah? How much do you love me?"
He rubbed his thumbs over the curves of her cheeks. "I love you more than bourbon. And homemade pasta. And all of my original, first edition books. Annd…"
She laughed, a rumbling noise, and socked him in the chest playfully. "I know you love me." Turning her head, she rested it against his shoulder, her hand gently rubbing where she'd smacked him. "You love me more than the stars love the sky."
"You're pretty eloquent for a drunk."
"Shush." She snuggled against him. "It's okay. I won't make fun of you."
"Me? I'm not the one making grand declarations about stars—"
She covered his mouth with her hand and looked up at him. "Am I wrong?"
He stared down at her, his face softening slowly, and he shook his head.
"See?" She leaned up and kissed the back of her hand. "Was that so hard?" Dropping her head back to his shoulder, she let out a huff of a sigh. "I'm sleepy."
He peeled her hand back from his mouth and kissed the tips of her fingers before he brought it down to rest on his chest once more. "Go to sleep then. I'll carry you to bed in a little while."
Humming, she turned her face down against him and breathed in deeply, before finally closing her eyes. She drifted off quickly after that, and he stroked his fingers through her hair, tipping his head up to stare at the sky.
The stars were so bright. Brighter than they'd ever been before.
[Next: Chapter Ten.]
author's note: firstly, i'm so sorry about how long it took me to update this. my muse was so up and down and school was kicking my ass like crazy. but i'm glad to be back to writing this regularly and i really appreciate all of the love and support sent my way regarding this particular story.
secondly, this chapter was originally massive, but i cut it into two parts. which means the next part is finished, and very, very smutty, lol. usually i wait a week to update, but i might post a little earlier since you've had such a long way for this chapter.
thirdly, while their 'i love you's' here were very casual, the topic does pick up next chapter with them being more serious about it. so no worries there.
thank you all so, so much for reading! please try to leave a review; they're my lifeblood!
- lee | fina
