Author's note: Sorry, I didn't update yesterday. I volunteered for a clinical trial for a Covid19 vaccine and after receiving the injection we had to stay in the clinic to be monitored. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my computer.

Anyway; here's the new chapter. There is a little bit of smut in it. I hope you like it. Please comment, if you do (and also if you don't). Thanks to everyone who's reading.

It had been a particularly grueling week at college – finals were drawing close and Elena had missed a lot of the semester, being so caught up in her own personal drama that she had a lot to catch up on. But thankfully the weekend had finally arrived and Elena was glad to be spending it in Mystic Falls and be able to forget her college woes for a little while. She was stretched out on the plush sofa, head cradled in Damon's lap, feet dangling over the backrest. On the other end of the couch, Bonnie was sitting cross-legged in a heap of DVD cases, trying to decide which ones they were going to watch. They were all waiting for Caroline to arrive. She had promised to be there, but Elena would only relax once her friend actually appeared.

Ever since Caroline had turned her emotions back on, she'd been avoiding all her friends, choosing instead to live out her guilt in solitude. Elena had decided that it was time for her to return and reconnect with her friends. Not giving her much of a choice, she'd ordered her to a girls' night for which Damon generously donated his home. The room behind the library was easily transformed into a home theater and was perfect for cheesy 80s movies and other girly fun.

Bonnie held up two movies, asking Damon to choose.

"That one," he pointed. "You can never go wrong with Molly Ringwald."

Bonnie shrugged, accepting Damon's choice and placing the DVD on the yes pile. Elena lifted her head to see. "Never seen that one," she commented.

Damon stared at her in disdain. "The things that pass for culture in your generation," he said, shaking his head.

"Says the guy who cried during Bodyguard," Bonnie quipped.

Damon threw a cheese puff at her, glaring hard. Bonnie stuck her tongue out at him and went back to studying the DVDs.

"You do sound a little bit like my grandpa," Elena added, a smirk playing on her lips.

Damon's glare turned into a look of deep betrayal. "Remind me again why I love you?"

"The sex?" Bonnie guessed at the same time as Caroline's voice rang out from the entrance.

"She's the only one who can stand your company?"

They all turned towards the front of the room where Caroline hovered in the doorway. A deadly kind of silence followed her biting comment.

"Ouch, Blondie," Damon finally replied.

Caroline looked at her feet and mumbled an apology. She hadn't meant to bring down the mood; it was a poor attempt to revive the old snarky Caroline but it hadn't come out as hoped. The problem was, she still didn't feel comfortable with her friends after the way she behaved when her emotions had been turned off.

"I think that's my cue to leave," Damon said.

"You're not staying?" Bonnie asked, surprised and sounding almost a little disappointed.

"Yeah, you can stay," Elena added but Damon rose from the sofa, making his way to the door.

Caroline remained quiet and avoided his eyes. Not counting the most recent incident from a few seconds ago, things between her and Damon had improved recently, especially after his eulogy for Liz. But she was still nowhere near the comfort level with him as Elena or even Bonnie. Bonnie and Damon had grown very close after their stint in the 1994 world – yet another thing which made Caroline feel left out.

"Relax, Barbie. Go sit down. Your friends missed you," Damon said and surprised her by squeezing her upper arm briefly as he passed her on the way out. Completely stunned by his unexpected kindness, she could do nothing more than to follow his directions and sank down heavily on the sofa between Elena and Bonnie. Both girls stared at her for a few moments before squealing and throwing themselves on top of her. Caroline, grateful for being accepted back into the fold, felt the ice break and laughed. Finally feeling like maybe everything would eventually turn out okay.

"What are we drinking?" she asked when the other two girls finally let go of her. "This is a drinking kind of night, right? Please say yes."

As if on cue, Damon wheeled in a drinks cart loaded with all kinds of spirits, ice, a professional shaker, and every condiment one could think of.

"If you can't go to a cocktail bar, the cocktail bar comes to you," Damon announced. "What'll it be, ladies?"

"Ooh, are you going to wait on us tonight?" Bonnie asked, excited at the prospect – though whether it was at the prospect of Damon playing the waiter or the alcohol itself, Elena wasn't sure.

"Nope," Damon replied. "I'm merely getting you started. The rest is up to you. I'm not staying to watch you mangle perfectly good alcohol with… this," he finished with a nod towards the various fruit, juices, and syrups. "I'll be upstairs, drinking bourbon. Like a real man. Also, I'm hoping this will prevent you from ransacking my wine cellar. It took weeks to restock after Little Gilbert had a go at it."

"You're really not staying?" Elena asked. She smiled at her girlfriends briefly and walked over to him.

"Nope, can't. Those are the rules of girls' night. No boyfriends allowed," he replied.

Elena pouted a little and leaned in for a kiss. Damon kissed her back, short and sweet. Before he left, he cupped her cheek and they stood there for a moment, just smiling at each other. Something was different between them. A kind of shared gentleness that hadn't been there before. Maybe it was because they both knew now what it was like to live without the other. Or maybe it had always been there and Caroline had simply failed to notice before. She had to look away, it felt too intimate for some reason.

"Come up when you're done here," Damon whispered to Elena. It wasn't meant to be heard by anyone else, but Caroline's vampire ears picked up on it.

"Okay."

"You're welcome to stay the night, ladies," he said to Bonnie and Caroline. "I made up a guestroom for you." To Elena, he said, "The blue one on the second floor."

"Thank you," Elena replied.

When they both leaned in for a kiss, Bonnie stretched over the backrest and threw a cushion at them. "Hey," she called out, "audience member here with a question."

Damon reluctantly broke away from the kiss but kept Elena close. "I'm afraid we won't be taking any requests at this point," he said to Bonnie.

"What about requests asking you to please stop?"

"Especially those." Damon smirked in Bonnie's direction. To Elena he said, "Something tells me I'm not welcome here anymore."

"Go," she told him and kissed his cheek. "Love you."

A moment later the door closed behind Damon and Elena rejoined them on the sofa.

"So, what are we watching first?" she asked.

"Breakfast Club," Bonnie announced and went to put the DVD in.

The sun began to rise outside and Elena got up to open the balcony door. When she returned to the bed, she had her head pillowed on Damon's abdomen to better watch the sunrise. She loved the fact that Damon's bed was large enough that she could stretch out across it. She lifted one arm over her shoulder, expecting Damon to take her hand which he did. For a while, everything in the house and outside was silent, every sound suspended in the twilight.

Damon brought Elena's hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss against her knuckles. She turned her head in his direction and smiled softly before continuing to watch the sky light up in shades of gold.

"I never used to like sunrises when I was human."

"Why not?" Damon asked, voice hushed. His fingers began to comb through locks of her hair spread across his body.

"Don't know. My mom loved it. Every time we drove out to the lake house, she would make my dad get up while it was still dark and they'd grab a blanket and sit outside and watch the day break.

"Every once in a while, she'd make me and Jeremy sit outside with her; mostly when my dad stayed behind in town because of work. Jeremy would just doze off while I was bored out of my mind. I could never sit still back then. If I was awake, I was on the move – I was constantly on my phone, or with my friends, or at a party, or planning a party. Sitting still and staring at the sky for an hour? That seemed completely pointless to me. But she just laughed and used to say, 'One day, you'll be watching the new day dawn with someone's arms around you, someone who's special. And you'll understand.' That was usually the point where I rolled my eyes and called her corny."

"And now?" Damon prompted.

Elena shrugged. "I think it was her way of saying to wait for the one person who will make your mind go quiet."

Damon smiled and continued to stroke her hair.

Even though the sun had risen, the temperature outside still had a little bit of bite to it. Elena crawled back under the blanket and cozied up to Damon to share his body warmth.

"You know," she said, "I never used to sleep in the nude before you and I got together."

"Well, I appreciate the easy access," Damon commented with a chuckle and cupped her breast to make his point.

Elena laughed in response and pulled his arm back around herself for added warmth.

"You probably don't even realize, but people usually sleep clothed. There's a whole fashion line devoted to clothes you wear in bed. Normal people call them pajamas."

"Ha-ha," Damon commented dryly. "Contrary to popular belief, I was not born a sex fiend. In actuality I was raised a bit of a prude, it being mid-19th century and my father a devout Catholic, and all."

"Who corrupted you? Oh, wait, was it Katherine?"

"Depends on what you mean by corrupted."

"Well, Katherine wasn't your first, was she?"

"Elena, Katherine wasn't even Stefan's first and I am 8 years older than him. No, it was not Katherine."

"Then who was?"

"Who was what? Who taught me the tricks or who taught me that love and sex are not the same?"

"Who was the first?" Elena enunciated.

"Ah. That would be Mrs Margaret Gardiner."

"Am I supposed to know who that is? Never heard the name before."

"You wouldn't have. Her most distinguished accomplishments were to teach Stefan how to tie his own shoes and button his own shirt and, in her spare time, show 'little' Damon the ropes."

"You did not! Tell me you didn't sleep with Stefan's teacher."

"Strictly speaking she was Stefan's governess, before Daddy Dearest hired a tutor. And I didn't so much sleep with her as she with me. Though I do have to admit that I was a willing if somewhat befuddled participant."

"How old were you?"

"Let's see. So, our father hired the tutor and sacked Mrs Margaret when Stefan turned 8. And it had been going on for about a year before that. So, probably around 15 or 16?"

"For about a year? It happened more than once?!"

Damon shrugged. "Mrs Margaret had a lot of spare time. And it was very convenient since she lived in the servant's quarters downstairs."

"How old was she?"

"Twenty-something? Twenty-eight maybe?"

"Did your parents know?"

"No idea. I did spot my father coming out of her chamber on several occasions. So, if he knew, he certainly didn't care."

"You and your dad slept with the same woman? Ew," Elena commented.

Damon shrugged nonchalantly again. "I slept with your mother," he reminded Elena.

"What!?" Elena exclaimed and immediately relaxed again. "Oh, you mean, Isobel. Yeah, I don't care about that. Though, also, ew."

"So, who did you give your v-card to? I assume Donovan had the privilege?"

"Yep, it was Matt." Elena, warmed up now, rolled away from Damon and stretched out on her side, facing him as she recounted the story. "We'd been going out for a couple of months and even though we were more like best friends than a couple, it felt like the logical next step. Back then I thought, maybe it would finally make things click for me, you know? Because I wasn't really in love with him and I hoped this would do the trick."

"I am exercising remarkable self-restraint right now not to laugh at you at how ridiculous and stupid this reasoning is."

"Yeah, I know that now."

"For my incredible self-control I deserve the full story. So, tell me."

"Nuh-uh. I'm not telling you anything."

"Come on, Gilbert, I need details."

"So you can make fun of Matt?"

"I'm not going to make fun of him," Damon promised. "I'm going to make fun of both of you. Oh god, it did not happen in his junk piece of a truck, was it? Don't tell me you went all teenage cliché."

"No, it wasn't in his truck. It was at his place. His mom was never around, you know. And Vicky – well, she was Vicky. Constantly out somewhere, doing drugs or guys or whatever. Friday night, after school, I went over to his place as planned…"

"You planned it? How romantic."

"Shut up or you're not getting the story."

Damon mimed zipping his mouth shut.

"We were both kind of nervous. I got undressed, well, mostly—" At Damon's questioning look, she amended, "I didn't take my bra off." Damon looked so much like he wanted to say something, the fight going on on his face clearly visible but in the end, he kept quiet, helped by Elena's threatening glare. "As I was saying," Elena continued, "we got undressed. I got on the bed. He did too. He fumbled with the condom a little; I tried to help but it was awkward. Eventually he got it on and then… we… got it on. And that's the story. Told you – not much to tell."

"That's the story?" Damon scoffed. "Was there music? Candlelight? Where's the foreplay, the kissing, the romance?"

"Hey, neither of us knew what the heck we were doing."

"So, no foreplay?"

Elena shrugged. "We kissed."

"Did he at least make sure you were ready?" Elena couldn't tell if it was a smear on Matt's skills or concern for her wellbeing. Almost subconsciously, Damon's hand glided down and between her legs, as if to right a past wrong. A finger slipped between her folds and even though her mind wasn't really in the play right then, wetness started to collect as Damon stroked back and forth. "Did it hurt?" Damon asked her with a furrow between his brows. So, it was concern, Elena amended to herself.

She tried to brush it aside but kept it honest. "A little. Not for long."

Damon nodded, thoughts churning while absentmindedly continuing to stroke her. When she was wet enough, he slipped two fingers inside her. Something inside her belly fluttered and unfurled.

"Did you enjoy it?" Damon asked, slowly stroking her from inside and making warmth spread outwards through her body.

"Matt was very sweet, but it was his first time too. It didn't last very long. Did I come?" Elena asked. "No, I did not. Not for a long time afterwards either. Not until—" Elena fell silent.

"Stefan."

She nodded and stayed silent for fear of having turned things awkward.

"Relax," Damon whispered. "I know you and my brother had sex, Elena."

He grinned and she smiled back. "And yet he never made me sleep naked," she shot back.

"Well, obviously he's an idiot. Just like Donovan." As if to underline his words, his fingers twisted inside her which made Elena bite down on a moan.

"Hey, stop hating on Matt. I'm sure your first performance wasn't your best work."

"That may be but in my defense – in my time, we didn't have the internet. He could have done some research, made sure he knew what he was doing."

Elena shrugged, or tried to, but Damon's ministrations were making it increasingly difficult to think straight. Besides, she couldn't really bring herself to care much for the handful of times she and Matt had gotten intimate when she had known even back then that he was the wrong guy for her.

"I'm sorry your first time wasn't what it should have been," Damon said after a pause in which Elena's breathing had quickened. "If it had been me, I would have spent the night worshipping your body the way it deserves to. I would have told you I loved you until it was the only truth left in the world. I would have used every trick in the book to make you come again and again till you forgot your own name. I would have given you a night nobody else could ever live up to."

"You have," Elena replied breathily. "Repeatedly, if I remember correctly."

Damon grinned wolfishly. "Let's add another one to the list, shall we?"

With that, he pushed her on her back and dove under the duvet. His tongue came into play and Elena was just about to sink into the feeling of it when it disappeared, as did his fingers. "What—" she began.

Damon's head reappeared at the foot of the bed where he leaned over the large wooden chest to rummage through one of the compartments. He returned quickly to her side, slipping under the duvet again and kissing her cheek while his hand mapped its way down her body. A moment later something slightly cool was pushed inside her while another, wider part, pushed against her wet folds. Elena had barely time to wonder what it was when, a second later, the vibrations started.

Her upper body surged up in surprise and he gently pushed her back down, his mouth moving to caress her neck. His hand traveled her body in featherlight touches. Elena tried to speak but what came out was a loud moan.

"Is… that…" she tried again. "Is that… new?"

"Mh-mm," he replied still peppering her neck with tiny gentle kisses. He lifted his head to look at her. She made an effort to keep her eyes open. "I got bored last week and did some online shopping," he explained.

"Again?"

Damon shrugged. "I get bored a lot when you're not here."

"Yeah?"

"Mh-mm," he said again, going back to dotting her neck with kisses.

"What else—" She had to pause for another moan and tried again, "What… What else did you buy?"

"I'll show you later."

His mouth slid to her lips in a sensuous and languorous kiss just as the building pressure inside her released explosively, her vision whiting out completely. Her body was still trembling with seizures when Damon's hand slipped down. The vibrations stopped and a few moments later the toy was gently removed from her body.

"I take it you liked that one?" Damon asked as Elena's combed through his hair and pulled him down to her mouth again.

"I guess we can keep it," she decided with a glance down at the toy in question where Damon had dropped it next to the bed. She cupped his face with both hands. "I love your boredom shopping sprees."

"I know," he smugly replied. "Come on. Shower, before your friends wake up and barge in here." He sat up, throwing the duvet off of both of them.

"I don't think I can stand."

"Okay," Damon amended, "bathtub it is." He stood up and lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the bathroom while Elena laughed.