A whole month had passed since Damon and Eva turned back into humans, for the first time in a hundred and seventy-five years. Stefan and Elena had still stayed in the boarding house with them, but they were much more... unboring, as Damon liked to put it. Even Caroline had to admit that Stefan was more likable now that he was a normal, healthy human. But one thing that didn't change, was Damon and Stefan's bickering.

"I'll tell you in a moment. But just think of it little brother. You and Elena, on the perfect little honeymoon, just two more humans in the world of humans. The sooner you go, the sooner you can sing 'Ding Dong, the Corpse Is Dead'!" Damon spoke with a smirk.

He'd never be accepted completely, of course. A bitter smile curved his lips at the idea. He knew better than to hope for that. There would never be a place where he could belong completely, where he could truly be himself. Unless he chose to belong to the shadows. And immediately he felt the presence of that mind again. It glowed at the edge of his consciousness, a golden light, soft and yet vibrant. He turned to look at Eva and found the presence. She was bored of their bickering. She wanted them to get along, but even as humans, they would never go back to being good siblings again.

Evidently, Eva was not alone in the boredom of the brothers bickering. Elena was too, with her arms crossed over her chest, resting against the wall with a bored look in her eyes. Elena... For a moment Stefan felt a rush of pure joy and awe, forgetting everything else. Elena, warm as sunlight, soft as morning, but with a core of steel that could not be broken. She was like fire burning in ice, like the keen edge of a silver dagger. Even when he wasn't looking at her, he was aware of her more than of anything else in the room. Her living presence beat against his skin like sunlight against closed eyelids. When he actually let himself turn to face her, it was a sweet shock to all his senses.

"You win Damon." Stefan caved.

Damon's smirk only grew.

"You two are so stubborn." Eva quipped, scoffing at the two of them before popping a strawberry in her mouth. They were delicious. It had been awhile since she'd had any time of fruit to eat.

Damon walked up behind her and wrapped his lean, muscled arms around her. "You`re quiet. No snappy back talk? Not even a word? I think this is a lesson I should teach you more often."

"Lost in thought." Eva replied.

"And? Find anything intriguing in there?"

"Ha. Ha." Eva rolled her eyes. "Winter is coming. I can feel it, now. It's a weird sensation."

"I wonder what Signore Marino would think of this picture, brother." Stefan wondered.

"Signore Marino has been dust for hundreds of years by now. Which has nothing to do with this picture anymore, brother. Try again." Damon smirked.

"Are you two done trying to one up each other?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow. Then, with a quick glance, she looked over at Eva. "Because Eva has something she wants to tell you gu-"

"Elena!" Eva ran over to her, clapping a hand over her mouth. Both brothers looked at them with their eyebrows raised.

"She's delusional. Human hasn't had much sleep lately.. So... uh- well, we'll just be going. I'll put her stubborn ass to bed."

Eva started to drag Elena toward the stairs, but both brothers blocked her path. Damn.

Stefan pulled Elena out of her grip and took her into another room. This left Eva with Damon.

"I-I..." Eva stuttered.

"Tell me." Damon ordered, his dark eyes focused on her.

"You remember that one night... our '176th anniversary'?"

"How can I forget?" Damon smirked.

"Well... uh... I'm... you're...uh..."

"Spit it out."

"I'm pregnant."

Damon stood still in shock.

"Say something, please." Eva begged. "I was so worried that you wouldn't want to know me once you found out, so I only confided in Elena, which was obviously a mistake."

That brought him out of his shock. "What? Why? Are you kidding me?" He reached out and curled a lock of her hair around his finger. "Surely I've got to be the luckiest guy in the world."

Eva raised an eyebrow at him. "How?"

"Isn't it obvious? I've got my own little piece of Heaven right here."

Oh, that line made her weak in the knees, melting her heart with everything it was worth. How could he be so soft, so sweet? It was unheard of. She wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, burying her face in his chest. Wherever you are, however you got there, if it's good, you're meant to be there either because you earned it or life led you there and you were smart enough to hold on. This was her forever life now. She would cherish it until her last dying breath.

"I know you're freaked, I know you're scared and I know you can come up with a million reasons that you're not ready, all of which will be excuses." Damon began, his breath tickling her shoulder. "But now that I know exactly what's behind those shields you got up...you'll learn, because I'll prove it to you, I'll never hurt you."

Damn this man to hell for those sweet talking words that release from his mouth. She thought.

And then somehow she was in his lap, and he was kissing her. Hadn't meant to do that but...well. She couldn't exactly be sorry about it, because he tasted amazing, and his lips were so soft and his hands were so strong... He leaned back, his eyes half shut, and he was smiling. Damon hardly didn't smile all that much, and it always left her breathless and tingling. There was a secrecy about it like he only ever smiled at her, and it just felt... perfect.