ship: bonnie/damon
genre: romance/family
rating: pg-13/teen
word count: 4,026
prompt: "I swear it was an accident." – absentlyabbie (Tumblr)
summary: Bonnie's home from Whitmore for a weekend alone with Damon, only to find his not-so-dead niece, Sara, is looking for a reunion.

the man I was (is not who I am)
-1/1-

Bonnie's week had been long. Unnaturally and ridiculously long. Which was why she was so glad to be pulling up to the boarding house. Yes, it was late and it had taken a while to get there and yes, she definitely could have used the sleep more than the drive, but she wanted her bed, not the single back at Whitmore. Rubbing her eyes, she climbed from the car, hauling her weekend bag over her shoulder and closing the door behind her. She walked into the quiet house without knocking and, after leaving her bag at the bottom of the stairs, made her way into the kitchen. According to a text from Caroline, Stefan would be busy with her for the weekend, so Bonnie didn't expect to see him anytime soon.

The kitchen was empty; she flipped on the light switch, making her way to the fridge to search for something to drink. She was surprised to find a near full jug of orange juice as well as some fresh fruit in the crisper. Usually, the boys forgot about those things, which meant she had to make a trip to the grocery store to stock up on human food. Taking a swig of orange juice straight from the jug, she eyed the fridge's contents to make sure there was enough for a sandwich. She wanted a shower, first and foremost, and then she planned on coming back down for something to eat. Her stomach grumbled agreeably.

Putting the juice carton back inside, Bonnie licked her lips, closed the door, and started for the stairs. She scooped up her bag and climbed the steps two at a time, swinging around at the top, hand on the banister, before making her way down the hall, humming absently under her breath.

When she threw open the door, she'd been expecting a very specific face. Pale, blue eyed, eyebrows that were entirely too animated. He would probably be reading, prone to getting lost in thick books, or sleeping already, old man that he often was. Instead she found a girl —brown skin and long brown hair— curled up on top of the blankets, a pillow tucked under her head.

Bonnie paused, blinked, and then took a step further into the room. Tipping her head, she raised an eyebrow, and dropped her bag to the floor; her grimoire, tucked beneath the clothes she'd brought, made a thunking noise as it met wood.

The noise must have been louder than she expected, because the girl jarred awake, sucking in a startled gasp.

Blinking sleepily, the girl brushed her hair back from her face, and stared up at Bonnie in confusion. "Uh… hi?"

Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest. "Hi." She tapped a finger against her arm. "Mind telling me what you're doing in my bed?"

The girl looked down, cast her eyes around, and then looked back at her. "Oh! Oh, no, it's not—I mean, I'm not—" She made a distressed noise and sat up, shuffling across the bed so she was sitting on the edge. "I'm sorry. This must look really weird. I… You're Bonnie, right?" Tucking her hair behind her ears, she stood up and held a hand out. "I'm Sarah. Salvatore." Her nose wrinkled. "Well, I didn't grow up Sarah Salvatore, but apparently that's my last name. It's… a long story. Anyway, Damon told me about you."

"His niece," Bonnie said, nodding slowly. "But I thought…"

"That I was dead. Yeah. Apparently Stefan didn't pass the message on to Damon that I didn't die. It was a bit of a shock for him to meet me."

"I bet." The tension in Bonnie's shoulders dissipated quickly, and she reached out, shaking the girl's hand. "Well, it's good to meet you. Even if the situation is awkward, at best."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Sarah offered a faint smile. "Sorry about the bed mix up. I swear it was an accident. I've just been… messed up for the last while. Ever since Enzo told me about my heritage, I guess I just… I needed to meet my supposed family. I spent a few months going over what my parents knew about my biological family, which was next to nothing, and then, well, kind of just showed up on the doorstep. Damon was… shocked, I guess. Anyway, I haven't been sleeping well and he told me I could use one of the rooms. This one just looked comfortable. God, I sound like Goldilocks."

Bonnie snorted. "It's fine. I just… didn't know anyone else was going to be here. Stefan took off for the weekend and I had a busy week at school…"

"Yeah, you're at Whitmore, right?" She smiled, shrugging. "Like I said, Damon mentioned you. He actually talks about you a lot."

"Any idea where he is?" Bonnie wondered, glancing around.

"Oh, um, actually, I thought he was driving out to meet you." Her brow furrowed. "Something about a proper family reunion or…" She shook her head. "I don't know. He just said he'd be back and in the morning we'd get to meet over pancakes."

Bonnie barely tapped down the desire to roll her eyes at that last thing, and instead reached into her pocket for her phone. Hitting her speed dial, she raised it to her ear and waited as it rang.

"Y'ello?" he answered cheerfully.

Her lips twitched. "Hey, where are you right now?"

"I'm… on the road, halfway to you. Why? What's up?"

"Turn around. I'm at the boarding house."

"What? What're you doing there?"

"It was a long week, I was tired, I missed you; take your pick. So I made the obvious choice and I came home."

She could practically feel him grinning on the other side of the phone.

"Imagine my surprise when I found another girl in my bed." She waved at Sarah to reassure her and waited for Damon's response.

"Pretty girl though, right? The Salvatore genes strike again," he boasted nonchalantly.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. Anyway, come home. I'm going to get Sarah set up in a different room, since somebody forgot hospitality means making sure one of these stuffy spare rooms actually has sheets on the bed. And we're not having pancakes tomorrow either."

"Come on, Bon, it's practically a staple by now."

"Nope. French toast, maybe. If you're lucky."

"You're breaking my heart."

"I'm sure." Walking out of the room, Bonnie tucked the phone between her ear and her shoulder and walked down the hall to the linen closet. "So? Finding Sarah at your door must've been a surprise…"

"Yeah, small one. Let's just say Stefan and I really need to have a little chat."

Pulling out fresh linens, Bonnie made her way to one of the brighter bedrooms and pushed open the door, flicking on the light. "Damon, you know what you were like… Without your humanity on, how you felt about what happened in 1994… He might've had his reasons."

"Then, sure. Recently? No."

She sighed, but nodded faintly. "Okay. You're right. You should talk to him. And I do mean talk, not immediately attack."

"So breaking his neck is a no…?"

"I think we both know you'll do it even if I tell you not to," she muttered. "All I'm saying is maybe you should give him a chance to explain his side of things. You never know, he might admit he was wrong to keep it from you for this long."

He let out a long, disagreeable noise, but it was the best she could hope for.

"We'll talk about it more when you get home," she said.

"Fine," he agreed. "Hey, did you eat? I picked up groceries."

She smiled then. "I saw. Very proactive since we didn't technically make plans for me to come out this weekend."

"What can I say, I'm an optimist?"

Bonnie scoffed. "Uh-huh. Well, I'm going to make myself a sandwich just as soon as I'm done getting the spare room ready."

"Good. I'll be home in an hour."

"Okay. Drive safely."

He chuckled under his breath.

"I know." She rolled her eyes. "You're a vampire, you'll survive a crash. Doesn't mean I don't worry. See you soon."

"Love you," he sing-songed.

Smiling despite herself, she nodded. "Love you too."

Hanging up, she tucked her phone back in her pocket and turned toward the bed.

"I'll help," Sarah said from the doorway. She stepped closer, taking up the sheet and unfolding it. "So… Damon never really said… Are you, uh, like him?"

"A vampire?" Bonnie laughed. "No. Actually, I'm a witch." As if to prove a point, she waved a hand and the sheet left Sarah's hand, spreading itself out and tucking in around the edges of the mattress. A cover sheet and blanket followed while the pillows were soon stripped of their old pillow cases and dressed in fresh ones. As she lowered her hands, the bed was perfectly made, not a wrinkle in sight.

Sarah's brows were hiked as she made an impressed noise. "Wow."

Bonnie smiled lightly. "I was just about to make something to eat. Hungry?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, that'd be great."

Nodding, Bonnie walked out of the room, Sarah trailing behind her. "So, you know I go to Whitmore, what do you do?"

"Oh, I'm an art major, at Duke University." At Bonnie's interested expression, she nodded. "Yeah, I just had a few pieces up at an exhibition, actually."

"What kind of art?"

"Uh, all kinds, really. I've been trying to get into photography recently."

"Yeah?" Bonnie nodded. "That's cool. Damon likes art. He'd probably like to see some of your stuff."

"He does?" she asked, her curiosity peaked.

Bonnie smiled gently. "Did you guys get to talk much before he left?"

"Not really." She tucked her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "I feel like I had so many questions and he looked really overwhelmed… I think that's why he went to get you. Back-up." She rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

"He's not the most comfortable person when it comes to emotional family stuff. His history with it isn't… great." She pulled open the fridge and started taking out everything they would need to make a sandwich, handing it to Sarah to put on the island. "He and Stefan have kind of a rocky past, but they've been working on it."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, I kind of got that feeling from what Enzo said."

"Have you met Stefan?" Bonnie wondered, moving to a drawer to pull out a couple of knives.

"Not yet, no. I just sort of showed up. I guess I thought they'd both be here. It wasn't much of a game plan, honestly. I just kind of jumped into it, head first."

She laughed a little. "Another Salvatore trait."

Sarah half-smiled. "What are they like?" she wondered, leaning forward, arms resting on the island counter.

Bonnie thought on it a little. "Well, Stefan's… quiet, brooding, protective, serious, loyal… But he can also be fun and sarcastic and a really good friend. He had plans this weekend, with his girlfriend, Caroline, but I'm sure they'd put them off if they knew you were here." Bonnie stared at her searchingly. "I can call them, ask them to come back."

Sarah shifted her feet for a moment, her brow furrowed thoughtfully. She grabbed up the jar of mayonnaise and a few slices of bread. "It's fine. Maybe I'll just meet Damon this time and, if it goes well, I can meet Stefan next time."

Nodding her head, Bonnie grabbed up a block of cheese and started slicing off a few pieces. "Now Damon… He's reckless and sarcastic, passionate, protective, defensive, loyal, he will make a joke out of anything that is even remotely serious, he's egotistical and smart and way more emotional than he thinks he is… He's also kinder, and he can be gentle and sweet and thoughtful, but only when he doesn't think he's being all of those things. And—"

She stopped when she realized Sarah was staring at her, her mouth quirked up.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just… You sound just like him when he talks about you."

"He said I was stubborn, didn't he?" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "He always says that like it's a bad thing. But you know why I'm so stubborn? Because he's so pigheaded sometimes. Ugh. He just, he gets an idea in his head and he never lets it go. Like a dog with a bone."

Sarah's smile only widened. "Sounds like you guys have a pretty interesting relationship."

She scoffed. "You have no idea."

Tipping her head curiously, she said, "So tell me about it."

Bonnie paused, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Sure." She shrugged. "I want to know about him. And it looks like if I want to know him, I should probably know you too. So… No pressure, I mean, you can say no."

Bonnie gave it some thought as she spread mustard over one slice of bread. "It's kind of complicated. See, vampires and witches are kind of natural enemies…" And so she told her their story. What started as just about her and Damon became so much bigger. She had to explain about Elena, Stefan, Caroline, the history between all of them, the various enemies that blew into town and never really left. Katherine and her history with the Salvatore boys. Some of it, Sarah already knew about; Enzo had loose lips. Some of it was new though. She was careful not to talk too much about certain things; she wasn't going to spill all of Damon's secrets. Those were his to tell. But anything to do with her, she was comfortable sharing. By the time she was done, they'd polished off their sandwiches and a couple cups of tea.

Sarah was getting tired though, Bonnie could see it the strain around her eyes.

"You should get some sleep," she suggested. "Tomorrow's probably going to be pretty busy. I guarantee you Damon will drown you in Salvatore history."

Sarah smiled. "I'm kind of looking forward to it." Still, she pushed off the stool and stretched her back as she stood. As she was moving toward the doorway, she looked back. "Thanks, Bonnie, for talking to me."

"Sure." Collecting the dishes, Bonnie smiled at her. "You're family."

Sarah ducked her head a little, mouth twitching, and walked off down the hall toward the stairs.

Bonnie filled the sink with their dishes and left them to soak in hot, soapy water. She put away the condiments and leftover sandwich fillings, wiped off the counter, and then started cleaning the dishes. She'd just put the last tea cup on the rack and was rinsing out the sink when two arms wrapped around her waist snugly.

"Hey," Damon greeted, his voice low against her ear.

Bonnie relaxed, leaning back against him. "Hey." Tipping her head, she stared up at him searchingly. "You okay?"

He nodded and pressed a kiss to her temple. "Tired."

"Me too." Grabbing up a dish towel, she dried her hands off and then turned her body around to face him better. "Come on… Let's go to bed. I vote we both get a good night's sleep and tomorrow you can sit down to breakfast with your only living relative."

"Sounds good… How do you think she takes her pancakes?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "With strawberries and whip cream fangs."

He chuckled lowly and wrapped his arms around her.

Impatient as ever, he lifted her up and rushed them upstairs to their bedroom, dropping her back down to her feet as the door was kicked closed behind them.

Stretching her arms above her head, Bonnie walked backwards toward the bathroom. "I don't know about you, but I need a shower…"

Damon smirked at her, enjoying the show as she stripped off her clothes, before he joined her, tearing off his shirt and scooping her up as she laughed playfully.

While the bathroom she shared with Caroline and Elena at Whitmore was nothing to scoff at, it lacked a certain luxury that Damon's had, even beyond having the man himself there to share in it. Maybe it was just the space or the familiar comfort it offered, but there was something about being at home that felt better than on campus. She was happy to be back and immersed in school, but she found herself relieved when she had a chance to come home for the weekends.

Sometimes she was still surprised by how much the boarding house had come to mean to her; it wasn't so long ago that it had been a place she wanted to avoid, having every reason to despise its occupants. But since the prison world and coming back, since building this relationship with Damon, she'd never felt more comfortable than she did when they were together. The old halls that echoed with silence now seemed to have life in them again, filled with the very real voices of all the people she cared about. Their lives were still in danger entirely too often and Elena wasn't exactly jumping for joy over the relationship status of her best friend and ex-boyfriend, but, while Bonnie respected that, she also recognized that if she wanted to be happy, she needed to make choices, and right now, she was happiest with Damon, regardless of who else that might hurt. There was no guarantee that they would last or it wouldn't blow up in their faces, but it was worth fighting for.

Damon massaged across her shoulders, rubbing shower gel across her skin as he went. His hands slid lower down her back and around to her stomach as he stepped closer, ducking his head down to press a kiss to her ear. "I missed you…"

Bonnie leaned back against him, covering his hands with her own, soapy bubbles making his skin slippery. "Sarah said you were driving out to get me… She thought you were overwhelmed with everything."

He was quiet for a moment, letting out a faint hum. "Maybe a little… Not every day that the niece I thought I killed shows up on my doorstep." His eyes flashed wide as he wiggled his eyebrows, but she could read the tension around his mouth. "Figured if there was anyone who could understand what that felt like, it was you."

Bonnie grabbed up a loofah and covered it in his favorite, and entirely too expensive, shower gel. She turned around to face him and started scrubbing it over his shoulders and arms and down his chest. "It was different with Abby. She left me… And, honestly, I think she was happier for it. She came back out of obligation, but she never really fit here, with me." She shrugged, but there was still a ball of emotion lodged in her throat when she thought about it.

Damon's hand rubbed up and down her arms soothingly. "Yeah, well, she's an idiot. Really. Leaving you once was dumb enough, but twice? We should probably have her fitted for a straitjacket."

Her mouth twitched before she shook her head. "Anyway, my point was that Sarah wants to know you… And even if this all came out of something really dark and complicated, I think it could be good, for both of you, to have this chance to really talk and air out what happened. You can't bring her parents back, and you can't change her life, but from what I saw, she's pretty happy with her life as it is. She just wants to know more about the family she came from." She tapped his chest. "You can give her that."

He nodded, mouth set in a line. "Yes, but, I don't know if you noticed… I don't exactly have a great track record with family…"

"It's come to my attention," she said wryly. "And I'm not going to argue with you. You're right, you don't. So change it." She stared up at him seriously. "It's your choice. Who you want to be to her, how much you want to share, all of it."

"So selective history is an option…"

"Of course it is. Everything's an option. You can be honest with her and hope for the best, or you can lie. Much like Stefan did with you."

"Ah-hah. See." He smirked. "I knew you'd use that against me."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Pointing out your own logic is not using it against you. I'm merely using examples you can relate to…" She shrugged and stepped back, bringing him with her so he'd stand under the spray, the water washing away the collection of white bubbles across his frame.

Damon grabbed up his shampoo and started scrubbing it into his hair. "All right, so say I'm completely honest with her… She probably already knows what happened with her parents, if Enzo's the one that talked to her. But what if I tell her everything, about everyone… What if she rejects me?"

Staring up at him a long, thoughtful moment, she considered the potential fallout. "Family doesn't promise acceptance. Maybe she does learn about your past, maybe you tell her exactly how things happened with her parents, an unfiltered confession without Enzo's weird grudge against Stefan to color things… And maybe she decides you're not someone she wants in her life. It could happen. And it'll hurt for a while. It'll make you wonder if telling her was the right thing to do. But at least you'll know you were honest, you started off on the right foot, and you put in real effort." She reached up for him, cupping his face gently. "I've seen you at your worst, I know about the things you've done, and I'm here. Because I've seen your growth and I know who you are beyond all of that. I know you have good in you. Maybe she sees that or maybe she doesn't. Either way, it doesn't change that who you are today is not who you were before. What you did matters, just as much as what you're doing. I don't approve of all of your actions, but I'm proud of the man you are today."

He swallowed tightly, before pushing out a grin. "You're getting sappy on me, Bennett."

"Please, you are the biggest sap I know!" she snorted.

"That's character defamation and I won't have it in my own shower!" he declared, dabbing soap on the end of her nose.

Bonnie scrunched up her face and elbowed him lightly.

Damon smiled, ducking his head down to kiss her. "Thank you." He shifted his head under the spray then, and she reached up, running her fingers through his hair to rinse out the shampoo.

The rest of their shower was spent washing up and stealing kisses before finally climbing out. In a towel, she sat atop the counter and brushed her teeth while he stood just to the right of her knee, doing the same. Because it always made her laugh, he pulled his vamp face to brush his fangs in full and Bonnie had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't spit out a gob of toothpaste. He looked ridiculous, and oddly cuter for it.

Teeth brushed and what passed for pajamas on, they made their way to bed.

Bonnie watched affectionately, half-smiling as she rubbed lotion into her skin, while Damon sat up against the headboard, reading an old, faded book, the spine lovingly cracked. His hair was still wet and a bead of water dripped down the side of his neck to trickle down his bare chest.

Climbing in beside him, she shuffled over and rested her head on Damon's shoulder, taking a deep breath and letting it out on a content sigh. This was exactly what she'd been looking forward to and craving all week.

"So what are the chances you remembered to grab whip cream for this pancake breakfast you're making all of us?" she wondered.

Damon grinned down at her, snapped his book closed and put it aside before he turned over and kissed her, laughing happily against her mouth.

It was good to be home.

[End.]

note 1: it was a lot of fun writing sarah, especially bonding with bonnie. also, cute, established, domestic bamon is adorable. so i hope you enjoyed that!

note 2: so, here's the thing. i really appreciate everyone who is reading, but there's been a noticeable decline in reviews. now if that's just a lack of readership, i get it. but my view count is pretty stable and i also know that when a story is updated on the regular, it an be easy not to review because you expect the new chapter to be put up quickly. and i plan to continue updating regularly. all i'm asking is that you try and leave a review. it doesn't need to be anything huge, just let me know you're out there and you're reading. because writing 50 individual oneshots is by no means easy. it takes a lot of time and energy. and as much as i enjoy sharing them all with you, i'd like to hear if you're enjoying them too. so please, if you can, leave a review!

thanks!

- lee | fina