A/N: Trying something a little different today, in more ways than one... For those of you who didn't notice our new rating, consider this your warning: mature content ahead.
There were times when Jeremy showed up at the boardinghouse to find Damon sitting on one of the sofas, an untouched drink in his hand and a fire crackling in the grate. Damon watched the flickering flames and rarely noticed Jeremy's presence until the boy touched him—lightly on the shoulder sometimes, or a hand stroking gently across the top of his head, or soft lips on his jaw.
Damon's mind is elsewhere, that much is obvious. From a distance, he looks relaxed but in reality he is anything but. He is on edge, a muscle in his jaw jumping, his hand clenched too tight around his drink, his other hand curled into a fist. Whatever Damon thinks about on these nights makes him angry.
Jeremy takes the glass from him, downing the drink so it won't go to waste. Damon's eyes flick up towards Jeremy, and they are deadened and sad. It makes Jeremy's blood run cold, every time he sees this expression on Damon's face. He's never asked what's wrong, because he knows it's something he can't fix.
Jeremy laces his fingers with Damon's and pulls the vampire to his feet. He doesn't say anything; he doesn't need to. Jeremy knows better than to look worried; he learned the first time that Damon will only take worry for pity and Damon loathes pity.
They cross the threshold into Damon's obsessively neat bedroom, Damon still tense and faraway. Jeremy tugs him towards the bed. He drops Damon's hand to work at the buttons on his shirt. Another night they would be tearing at clothes, ripping open buttons and yanking down zippers in a frenzied, giddy race. Nights like this are something else entirely.
Jeremy mouths his way across Damon's collarbone, sliding Damon's shirt off his shoulders. Damon's fingers curl around the hem of Jeremy's t-shirt, pulling it up and Jeremy steps back to tug it over his head, dropping it on the floor with Damon's shirt. Damon rests his forehead against Jeremy's shoulder for a moment, his hands skimming down Jeremy's back. Jeremy nudges Damon backwards and he stretches out on the white comforter in just his black jeans. Jeremy yanks his own jeans off, steps out of his boxers and toes out of his socks before joining Damon.
He trails open-mouthed kisses down Damon's chest while his fingers fumble with the buttons on Damon's jeans. He considers, not for the first time, tracking down the person who decided button-flies were a good idea and punching them in the face.
Damon lifts his hips so Jeremy can pull his jeans down, and Jeremy smirks upon discovering Damon is going commando. The jeans join the rest of their clothes in a crumpled puddle on the floor. Jeremy wraps a hand around Damon's stiffening cock, giving it a long, slow stroke and making the vampire hiss, his head dropping back onto the pillows. Jeremy covers Damon's body with his own, and they both lose themselves in warm acres of skin-on-skin.
Jeremy slithers down Damon's body, nibbling and sucking at his hipbone, leaving a mark that Damon probably won't notice for a day or two. Damon reaches, rummaging through the bedside drawer. He passes Jeremy the lube, and his expression switches to something needy and desperate.
Jeremy leans forward, capturing Damon's lips in a kiss he intends to be comforting but ends up just as desperate as Damon's expression. Damon gasps against Jeremy's mouth when the teenager slides a slick finger inside of him. It's not long before Jeremy has added a second, Damon rocking down on Jeremy's hand while his fingers hook to find Damon's prostate. When he does, the vampire tenses around him for a moment, his head flung back and his pupils blown wide, only a small ring of blue around the dark black. Jeremy drags his teeth down the side of Damon's neck.
"Now," Damon hisses. His voice is quiet yet insistent, his eyes pleading with Jeremy.
Jeremy slides back, stroking himself with his lube-slick hand. Damon watches, his hand curling around Jeremy's hip, his thumb stroking slowly back and forth across his hipbone. Jeremy isn't sure why, but something about that action seems the most desperate of all of them.
Jeremy lines himself up, before thrusting into Damon in a slow slide. He braces his hands on either side of Damon's head, and Damon wraps his legs around Jeremy's waist, pulling him in deeper. They stay frozen for a moment, Damon's arms looping around Jeremy, clinging to the feeling of being full and complete and not so fucking broken, while Jeremy can only focus on tight and heat and he thinks he could stay here forever.
But Damon has other ideas, pushing back against Jeremy, attempting to work up a rhythm. Jeremy only rolls his hips slightly, and Damon whines, his legs tightening around Jeremy's waist.
"Please," Damon whispers. His eyes lock with Jeremy's and the teenager can't refuse. He pulls out nearly all the way, before his hips jerk forward again, almost on their own, slamming back into Damon at the right angle to make him see stars. Jeremy sets a punishing pace, and Damon is meeting him, his hands digging into Jeremy's back.
Jeremy can see as Damon starts to come apart. He realizes tonight is going to be one of those nights. If he's being honest with himself, though, he knew that from the moment he saw Damon staring into the fire.
Damon reaches between them, fisting his cock in time with Jeremy's thrusts. He comes with a strangled sob, and Jeremy follows as Damon clenches tight around him. Damon whimpers, clinging tightly to Jeremy, arms around his shoulders, legs around his waist, face buried against his neck. Jeremy's fingers tangle in the soft hair at the base of Damon's neck, stroking soothingly, his lips brushing across Damon's temple. He murmurs his love, and pretends not to notice the tears on his neck.
He wants to ask why there are nights like this, when Damon clings to him like he thinks he's going to fall apart if he lets go. He wants to ask why Damon feels broken and he wants to be able to offer more than a quick fix. But he doesn't need to ask the question. He already knows the answer.
