AUTHOR'S NOTES:
- Here we are, THE FINAL CHAPTER!
- Will include a description of childbirth, may not be 100% accurate!
- Will include underage drinking and use of drinking, this is only for the sake of the story and I DO NOT PROMOTE THIS BEHAVIOUR. I've never been high myself, so these descriptions may not be entirely accurate
- ANSWERING TO COMMENTS: Nice guesses! Some of you got it right...but that person wasn't the only one who caught them
PLAYLIST:
- Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur (Bonnie's present POV)
- I've Been Waiting For You by Amanda Seyfried, from Mamma Mia 2 (Bonnie's flashback)
- We Can Always Come Back to This by Brian Tyree Henry (Damon's present POV)
- 7 years by Lukas Graham (Damon's flashback)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, or the characters
Bonnie practically shoves Damon off of her, shifting to the side to see not only Stefan standing there, but the rest of their friends watching them with somewhat smug expressions; Lila is in Matt's arms, clearly confused at why everyone is gathered around her parents.
"Um...this isn't what it looks like," Bonnie blurts out, and now all of them have disbelieving looks on their faces.
"Really? So you and Damon weren't basically making out with each other?" Tyler asks, crossing his arms with a sly smile.
"Okay, we were just kissing, like a friendly kiss! We're friendly, we're co-parents, that's all," Damon explains, and Bonnie cringes inwardly. Even she wouldn't buy that reasoning if she was in their position.
"Wow, Bonnie, how come I haven't gotten a kiss? I thought we were friends," Stefan says mockingly, and now Damon looks irritated.
"It's a friendly kiss that happens to be reserved only for the father of her child," Damon snaps, and Elena is clearly trying not to laugh, little giggles escaping from her throat.
"Hmm...that almost sounds like dating," Caroline remarks, tapping her chin dramatically.
"No, I wouldn't really say it does-" Bonnie and Damon start speaking at the same time, trying to come up with a good explanation.
"Does that really count as dating? Because I think-"
"-such a loose term anyway, but does not apply-"
"-friends can be affectionate with each other! Look at Drunk Stefan and how he fawns over-"
"-would not jeopardize us or Lila like that-"
"-definitely not dating, though. Not us," Damon finishes, and Bonnie only nods dumbly. She notes that none of them look convinced.
"Okay, you guys are definitely together," Caroline concludes firmly, and the others nod.
"Didn't I tell you, Care? When I saw you guys at the Grille, you were totally holding hands," Tyler points out, and Bonnie feels a little mortified. So much for being subtle.
"-Don't think I didn't notice you dodging my texts, Bonnie! I didn't forget our phone-"
"We know you kissed, Caroline told me and Stef because of our bet-" Elena adds unhelpfully.
"Fine, fine!" Damon exclaims loudly, holding up his hands in defeat. "We're dating. We've been dating for a little over a week now, and we didn't want to say until we reached, I don't know, a month? Also, you guys are extremely nosey."
"No, we're not…!" Caroline trails off, noticing exactly where they're all standing and remembering what they're doing. "Okay, maybe we should move. We're kind of blocking the washrooms."
There's a chorus of agreements, and they all file out of the hallway back to their tables; Bonnie grabs Damon's hand, tugging him closer.
"We're going to need to find some better excuses," she murmurs.
"Cat's already out of the bag, how come?"
"Did you forget that my dad doesn't know? If he catches us, he'll be even less receptive to the idea of a friendly kiss," Bonnie replies, poking Damon's side.
"I forgot about him. We'll just be really careful, we only have three days left here and then we'll be in Atlanta. Home free, and I can kiss you whenever," Damon leers, and Bonnie pecks his cheek.
"Maybe we can use Lila, she could be our shield. He never yells in front of her," Bonnie suggests, noticing that Caroline is standing in front of them, clearly bursting with questions.
"We need to have a little girl talk. Damon, shoo. Go back to your game with Stefan," Caroline says resolutely, her hands on her hips and Elena appears at her side, a shit-eating grin on her face. Damon respectfully walks away, and Bonnie is immediately backed into sitting down at their little table with her two best friends.
"Um, where is Lila…?" Bonnie looks around, noticing that Lila is playing with Matt and Tyler; she relaxes, turning back to Caroline and Elena.
"I can't believe you kept me in the dark for so long!" Caroline rambles, her words spilling out quickly, "You were ignoring my texts about you guys and declining my calls, AND THEN Tyler comes home talking about how you guys were acting all lovey at the Grille! Unbelievable, AND I lost the second bet about you guys dating, Bonnie!"
"You guys started ANOTHER bet about me and Damon?"
"Okay, it was just Caroline, Tyler and Stefan this time. I had nothing to do with it," Elena pipes up. "I'm really happy for you guys, Bon. You guys are already too cute together, and I told you that you guys weren't done yet!"
"Yeah, you guys are cute together, and I'm happy for you too," Caroline admits begrudgingly, "but I'm never getting into a bet again. Also, I expect to be the first one to know when Damon proposes."
"Hey, why not me?" Elena cries.
"Okay, first of all, I think my dad would rank higher. No, Lila would be the first if she wasn't there. Also, there are no plans for marriage. Me and Damon are taking it extremely slow. We both want to make sure Lila stays happy, and to not destroy our relationship. We don't want to rush into any big decisions."
"Bonnie, I swear you're the wisest person I know," Elena replies, shaking her head with a smile. "Well, whatever happens, you guys make the cutest family...just imagine what would have happened if you hadn't come back to Mystic Falls."
"And the only reason you came back is because your dad couldn't get out of work to celebrate Lila's birthday! So crazy," Caroline laughs softly, and Bonnie's eyes flicker over to Damon, catching his gaze.
"Yeah, so crazy," Bonnie echoes, her focus on Damon and the soft look in his eyes as they exchange secretive yet affectionate smiles.
JUNE 2010
Bonnie felt like she was stuck in a never ending loop of pain. Or it felt like she was about to poop. At this point, she couldn't tell the difference between the two. The pain was so intense and it almost felt like she was burning, or more like she was having a million period cramps at the same time. Her face felt slick from all the sweat dripping down her face quickly, gritting her teeth together and clenched her dad and Aunt Emily's hands so tightly that she could feel their bones.
"She's almost out, Bonnie!" her doctor said loudly, and she pushed again, letting the pain overtake her and let out a couple yells; high-pitched wails bounced off the walls of the room, and Bonnie collapsed back onto the delivery table.
"I can't look...I can't…" Bonnie heaved; it was over but now all these conflicting emotions swirled inside of her, growing stronger and stronger. Her baby continued to cry, which only made Bonnie feel even more emotional. "I can't...oh my god...it's too real, I can't…"
Aunt Emily gently wiped her cheeks with a tissue, and Bonnie realized she was crying. She had her head to the side, trying to slow her breathing and listened to the nurses who were currently handling her baby, cleaning off any fluids and checking her baby's health.
"Hey, Bon, you did it," her dad told her, observing her anxiously as she cried, letting her dad smooth out her hair kindly. She was a mom now.
"Congratulations, baby," Aunt Emily squeezed her hand reassuringly, wiping the tears off Bonnie's face and she gave her aunt a watery smile. Every emotion seemed to be battling for dominance, she felt overloaded now that the reality had finally sunk in.
She was responsible for a life, in charge of raising an actual person and she wanted to be a good mom so badly. But could she even do it? She'd only graduated high school a couple weeks ago, she was barely prepared for life. The countless baby books she read now seemed useless at the moment, it felt like they hadn't even come close to preparing her for being a mom. She wanted to give this baby a good and loving home, nothing like the loneliness and confusion she'd known in her childhood. She'd been a constant wreck throughout the pregnancy, and now the moment of truth had finally arrived, was she really prepared to do this? It would no longer be her life, it would be their life. The nurses finally turned around, smiling and one of them carrying a little bundle in their arms. Bonnie shut her eyes for a moment, feeling terrified as she heard them approach and she peeked an eye open, sucking in a sharp breath at the sight of a little face surrounded in a bundle of blankets.
"Here's your daughter, Bonnie," the nurse said, smiling warmly as she passed the bundle over to Bonnie. "You should put her on your chest, get some skin contact."
Bonnie felt like her heart had stopped for a moment, taking her baby gently and letting the nurse wrap the two of them under a couple blankets. Her baby looked so tiny, but so beautiful. How was it possible that she'd given birth to something so lovely, so wonderful? She didn't understand how, but she already loved her daughter; it should be impossible to love someone so quickly, to love a stranger with no name that has only been a part of the world for less than two minutes but it was true.
"She's amazing, Bonnie," Aunt Emily breathed, leaning closer to get a good look at the baby.
"My first grandbaby...you did good, Bon," her dad added, kissing Bonnie's forehead and she grinned widely, her gaze focused on her daughter.
Her daughter blinked blearily, opening her eyes to gaze up at them; the colour was very dark, but it was clear as day that they were blue. Maybe that should've made Bonnie upset, but all she could feel was pure joy and unbridled love. Every fear and doubt had magically vanished in its wake, and she felt like she was in a trance, all her attention captured by her daughter. She felt a few more tears spring to her eyes, rolling down her cheek silently but unlike all the other times, it wasn't out of anguish or despair or anger; only out of pure happiness. Bonnie knew that she would never be alone again.
"Hey baby, it's me, your mom. It's nice to finally meet you."
PRESENT DAY: 2013
Bonnie hums along softly to "Ex-Factor" by Lauryn Hill, folding another one of Lila's shirts and tucks it in a suitcase. Damon is downstairs with Lila, trying to round up some of her toys to take back to Atlanta. It feels so weird to be leaving now, it seems like yesterday she had just arrived but at the same it feels like it's been four months instead of one. Her emotions have been teetering between excitement and sadness, at returning to her home in Atlanta but also leaving her dad and friends behind. There had been no love lost when she first left Mystic Falls, but leaving now actually had her feeling a little reluctant to go. The door opens suddenly, jolting Bonnie out of her thoughts and she looks up to see her dad standing in the room, shutting the door quietly.
"Dad, hey. What's up?" Bonnie asks, folding another shirt and frowns slightly at her dad's weird stance, an accusatory look on his face. "Dad? Is everything okay?"
"I know you and Damon are dating again, Bonnie," he answers sharply, examining Bonnie closely for any sort of reaction. She keeps her face neutral, trying to calm the panic rising and takes a deep breath.
"What makes you think me and Damon are together?" she asks calmly, leaning across the bed to turn off the music.
"Bonnie, I'm not an idiot. I've seen the way you two have been acting lately, and Liz Forbes came up to me yesterday when I was at city hall, mentioning how great it was that Damon and you had patched things up. It's not that hard to put two and two together."
Bonnie takes a deep breath, bracing herself for the incoming conversation. It would be easier to lie, but it's her Dad and the truth has to come out at some point. "Okay, it's true. Me and Damon are back together."
"Bon...what the hell are you thinking? Getting back together? Think about what this could do, what could happen if the two of you crash and burn! Poor Lila will be caught in the middle!"
"Dad, you have every reason to be worried for Lila but me and Damon have agreed that she will never be affected by our relationship. Damon understands what it means to grow up in an unhappy household, he's lived through it. Damon knows these feelings, his father is a deadbeat and his mom died when he was young, he only had Stefan until Stefan and him grew apart. Like how after Grams died, I was alone," Bonnie's dad looks away, clearly uncomfortable but she continues, "You probably already know this, but I was so confused when I was younger. You were unhappy, always distant with me and Mom was gone, I didn't understand why for a long time. Damon and I don't want Lila to feel the way we did when we were growing up, that's one thing I know for certain. We would've never started dating if we thought we were gonna mess things up for her."
"Damon is a good father, but what about you, Bonnie?"
"What do you mean?"
"You deserve better than him, Bonnie. What has Damon done to prove himself to you, to show that he's worthy?" he asks desperately, and Bonnie scoffs.
"Damon doesn't need to earn me, or prove himself. There is no better or worse, it's not about deserving. We are both regular people, who make mistakes just like anyone else. I have just as many flaws as him, hell I've fucked up more than he ever has! Life is not built to be black and white, people don't just fit into one category. I know who Damon is, I see him and I understand him, and in a way I feel like he understands me like no one else does. I know the choices I'm making, I want to be with him and go to Atlanta, start a life there with him by my side."
"Do you love him?"
"No, but I will one day. And when I do, eventually I'll never want to be without him. It won't happen tomorrow, or next week, but it could be in a year or two. We're going slow, we're taking our time. I...I'm not going to make the same mistakes that you and Mom did," Bonnie says softly, watching her dad sigh and rub his face tiredly.
"I'm just worried for you, Bon."
"I know you are. It's going to be okay, though. I don't plan on marrying Damon just because we have Lila, like you and Mom. I know you guys had to get to know each other after you were married, but me and Damon have the rest of our lives to get to know each other," Bonnie tells him earnestly, and her dad sits down on the bed next to her.
"Promise me you won't make the same mistakes that I did?" he smiles sadly, patting her hand.
"I promise. Do you think you could promise me something too?"
"Of course, anything for my daughter."
"Promise me that you'll try to be happy. I know how important work is to you, but it's not everything. You're a great grandpa, and you've done so much to help me and Damon as well. But I want you to find happiness of your own. Create more of a life for yourself, Dad. Take up a hobby, go out with work friends and maybe even try to meet someone. Please, promise me that you'll create more of a life for yourself."
"I'll try for you, Bonnie. But I'm happy as long as you're happy...and if Damon's the one that makes you happy, then I will attempt to be okay with that," he coughs, looking a little begrudging but that's enough for Bonnie.
"He does make me happy, Dad. More than you could ever know."
"Hey, you're awake," Bonnie whispers, and Damon can feel a few butterfly kisses against his skin. Her hand is on his shoulder, tracing circles and he grabs her hand, kissing it softly.
"It's still early...why are you already awake?" he asks, his voice a little rough from sleep.
"Just thinking, that's all. I can't believe we're leaving today, it's kind of crazy."
"Hmm, yeah. I guess it's different this time around."
"Last time I left, I didn't even care. I was so focused on getting out of here, I didn't even stop to think about the memories. It felt too painful. Now it feels hard to go. I know I can't stay, but it's sad. After all, Mystic Falls gave me you."
"Not true. Mystic Falls gave me you, because I was born here first, and when I came back that was when I met you."
"It took us two years to actually date, and for the first year I thought you were an asshole."
"Hush, I came here first so I have seniority."
"Well, I didn't have the time to catch up to you," she grumbles. "You know, my aunt and cousin are very excited to meet you, but they don't mess around. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they had some mini tests in store for you."
"I'll just use my southern hospitality and charm, and I'm sure they'll love me right away. The Bennett family seems to have a certain soft spot for me, look at your dad, we're already best buds," Damon informs her, and she laughs affectionately, patting his chest.
"You know, I'm a little surprised he let us actually sleep in the same bed, but I guess he really wanted his office back."
"Or I'm growing on him. I think I'll win him over soon enough, then me and him can finally go for those romantic walks on the beach and have candlelit dinners together."
"I would pay to see that," Bonnie replies, getting up from bed and pulling open the curtains, letting the sunlight spill through. She turns back towards him, looking at him with all this affection and contentment, practically golden against the rays of the morning sun and it's too much to handle.
"Stop staring at me like that," he blurts out, and she tilts her head to the side, looking a little puzzled. "It's distracting."
"Distracting? I'm sorry for disturbing you, I didn't realize you were in the middle of something important," she points out, a toothy grin on her face and she approaches the edge of the bed. He turns on his side, leaning on his elbow to face her and fixes her with a serious look.
"You are a terrible nuisance, with your pretty face and little smile," he tells her gravely. "And now, I'll have to kiss you to prove it."
"I should warn you, my morning breath can be really unpleasant sometimes."
Damon sighs dramatically, reaching forward to pull her back onto the bed. "That is a chance I'll have to take."
She throws her head back, laughing and he threads a hand through her hair, pulling her in to kiss her. Her mouth is soft and pliant against his, her hand sliding down his backside and he feels her cup his ass.
"Did you just touch my ass?" he asks in surprise, and she giggles but doesn't remove her hand.
"You have a nice behind," she answers cheekily, and kisses him quickly. She gets up from the bed again, walking into her tiny washroom and starts brushing her teeth.
"This is giving me flashbacks to when we would stay the night before, except your dad wasn't home and we didn't have a kid to attend to."
"Those were the days, right?" she teases after spitting up her toothpaste. "Didn't you sneak out of my window one morning, because my dad came home a day early from work?"
"Man, I forgot about that," he finally gets out of bed, looking out her window at the maple tree off to the side. "That sneaking out was stunt worthy, only minor scrapes and bruises."
"All I remember is you falling on your ass when you tried to jump to the ground," Bonnie snorts from the washroom. He rolls his eyes, walking over to the washroom and picks up the mouthwash, taking a little shot of it and starts gargling it in his mouth. "Don't forget that everyone's coming to say goodbye today."
Damon finally spits out the mouthwash. "That is going to take at least an hour. Every single one of you is supremely emotional and all sentimental."
"We get it, not your style, Damon," Bonnie replies, rolling her eyes with a smile.
"Ah, Bon Bon, what would I do without you?" he asks, throwing his hands up in mock exasperation, and she laughs affectionately, pulling him in for another kiss.
JUNE 2010
Damon took another hit from his joint, blowing out the smoke with a smile as Stefan cackled hysterically at the story Damon had just told about hiding their Father's favourite pen. It's really not that funny, but for some reason it's hilarious when you're as high as a kite and your brother is already halfway through his third beer.
Stefan has been spending more time with Damon since school finished for him, and Elena is out of town for some family emergency, their Father is at his branch in Columbia so they're celebrating Damon's birthday by themselves. Damon's pretty sure that Stefan is spending more time with him to make sure he doesn't go off the rails, which should be reason enough to go off the rails, but Damon doesn't really care at this point. He doesn't really mind the company, anyway.
"Damonite, I'm gonna puke soon," Stefan sang, swinging his beer in the air lazily and Damon chortled.
"If you puke on the roof, Father is going to be mad!" Damon replied lightly, shaking a finger at Stefan and taking another hit. "Don't call me Damonite either, it's a lame nickname and nine year old me didn't know what he was thinking."
"Oh no, Damonite is a very cool nickname," Stefan nodded his head solemnly with wide eyes.
"That's just Drunk Stefan talking."
"It is cool!"
"Sometimes I can't believe you're part of this family," Damon blurted out, feeling Stefan watching him curiously. Stoned Damon pretty much lost his filter, everything just comes out with no thought. He no longer had control over what came out of his mouth, and it made him very glad that only Stefan was around. "No one is like you...Father has been a jackass since the beginning of time, and Mom was nice but never really did anything to stop Father's shit."
"Shouldn't that mean I'm like Mom? I'd like to be like her."
"No, because Mom still had an attitude and could be snobby. You're not like that. You and Elena will have the perfect little family, with adorable cherub babies and a white picket fence house."
"Is that bad?"
"No. I just won't be getting that."
"Why?"
"What do you mean why, Stef? Is it so bad that not everyone wants that?"
"I just thought you wanted it, I think you'd be happy living that life," Stefan pointed out, sounding all innocent and curious.
"No, I'm going to be a bachelor for the rest of my life"
"That sounds kind of lonely. Are you sure you want that?"
Damon took another hit, "No. I know I'm going to be alone for the rest of my life, so what's the point in believing otherwise."
"That's not true...you'll have a family, and what was it? Cherry babies or whatever with a house. You can't be alone anyway, you have me, Damonite," Stefan took a swig of his beer, an unfocused smile on his face and Damon rolled his eyes. The only thing worse than letting everything just slip out without a thought was dealing with sentimental Stefan; no, what was worse was that Stefan's words were always genuine, and would go to unneeded lengths to prove it. "Remember when you were twelve, and I accidentally deleted all your progress on Halo?"
"Yes, and then I punched you and tried to give you a wet willy because you always hated those."
"Not the point! You promised me a lifetime of despair...a forever of anger...that can't be right, what was it?"
"An eternity of misery?"
"Yes! An eternity of misery! So you see, we're stuck together for eternity," Stefan hummed happily, getting up on wobbly legs and steadied himself on the slant of the roof. "To an eternity of misery! Cheers, happy birthday!"
"I don't know if I should cheer you to that."
"You have to do the cheers, Damonite!" Stefan whined, holding out his beer bottle insistently and Damon reluctantly tapped his joint against Stefan's beer. "Yay! We'll be alone together forever with my house full of babies!"
"Oh joy," Damon remarked in a deadpan voice, watching with amusement as Stefan began dramatically singing some Bon Jovi song at the top of his lungs. Damon had been pretty sure this was going to be a crap birthday, but an eternity of celebrations like these with Stefan don't seem that bad.
PRESENT DAY: 2013
"Aunt Elena's going to miss you so much," Elena says, hugging Lila tightly and finally lets her go, kissing her cheek. Lila steps away, letting Bonnie's dad quickly scoop her up.
"Me and Lila will be in the car, we'll let you guys say goodbye," he says kindly, walking away to the car. For a moment everyone is frozen, unwilling to actually say goodbye until Caroline rushes forward, throwing her arms around Bonnie fiercely. All Bonnie's friends have come to say goodbye, and Damon suspects that the waterworks are about to begin. He can hear the two girls sniffling loudly, whispering to each other and Caroline's eyes already look a little glassy; Elena approaches him, a melancholic smile on his face and she hugs him gently.
"Take care of each other, okay? I hope you find happiness in Atlanta, you deserve it," Elena murmurs, patting his back slowly.
"I will, as long as you take care of Stefan for me. I need someone to watch his back since I won't be around anymore. "
Elena finally releases Damon, a bittersweet look on her face and she touches his shoulder reassuringly, "You know I will."
Elena steps away to go hug Bonnie and say goodbye, and Damon is faced with the rest of Bonnie's friends, all of them looking particularly fierce and somewhat protective.
"You take care of Bonnie, okay?" Tyler says, his arms crossed as he observes Damon closely.
"I hope you two are happy in Atlanta," Matt adds, managing a minuscule smile for Damon.
"I will...Bonnie is lucky to have you two as her friends," Damon replies carefully, which actually seems to surprise them and they give him a polite nod before moving to say goodbye to Bonnie. Damon sneaks a quick glance at Bonnie, noticing that she's already tearing up a little, and Matt is moving in to hug her with a kind smile. Damon turns back to focus on a waiting Caroline, staring at him pensively with crossed arms.
"We haven't been on the best of terms...ever, really. But, I can see that you're a good dad and that you and Bonnie really care for each other. I hope everything in Atlanta goes well...you'll never hear this from me again, but I'm rooting for you, Salvatore," Caroline admits solemnly, giving him a faint smile.
"That is awfully nice of you to say, Carebear," she rolls her eyes as he smirks, "One day you'll warm up to me, I know it."
"Maybe. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
Caroline has a mischievous twinkle in her eye before walking back to Tyler, and Stefan is standing in her place with a forlorn look and glassy eyes. Damon's about to open his mouth to tell his brother not to be so sentimental; next thing he knows, Stefan is hugging him and Damon is pretty sure Stefan is going to lose it soon.
"I think this is the first time that you're actually leaving and not coming back...even when you were in college, you always came back," Stefan sighs, trying not to sound crestfallen.
"You're not mad that I'm leaving, right?"
"Of course not, I'd go too if I was in your position. It's just that we've always been together, even when we hated each other. I'm gonna miss you, brother."
"I'm gonna miss you too," they finally stop hugging, and Stefan's eyes are definitely looking watery, "If Father gives you any trouble, do not hesitate to call, okay? I'll come back here and help you deal with him however I can."
"I'll be fine, Damon. You won't need to come down...we'll see each other soon, under happy circumstances, I promise," Stefan gives Damon one last sad smile, before walking over to Bonnie. Stefan hugs her gently, whispering something in her ear and she nods tearfully. They break apart, Bonnie telling him something else quietly and Damon saunters over quietly to them, placing a hand on Bonnie's shoulder as Stefan retreats to Elena's waiting arms.
"Are you ready to go, Bon?" Damon asks softly, and she nods reluctantly.
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Damon leads Bonnie to the car, letting her hold onto him like a lifeline; Damon heads for the driver's seat, sliding into the car and Bonnie is next to him in the passenger's seat. Bonnie's dad is in the back with Lila, showing Lila some toys for the car trip and handing her apple slices to eat. Damon turns on the car engine, looking out the car window at everyone's faces; Stefan has his arms around Elena, trying not to look despondent and Elena is waving at them with tear-filled eyes. Matt and Tyler are standing shoulder to shoulder, watching with bittersweet expressions and Caroline has her chin tucked on Tyler's shoulder, tear tracks glittering on her face. Damon shifts the gear into reverse, pulling out of the driveway with a heavy heart as everyone waves at them; Damon raises his hand one last time, and drives away from Bonnie's house. Bonnie's wiping her eyes subtly, staring straight ahead as Damon turns onto the main road.
"Are you okay, mommy?" Lila asks curiously from the back, after a few moments of quiet sniffling from Bonnie.
"I'm fine, baby. Just sad to be leaving your aunts and uncles. I'm going to miss them, that's all," Bonnie takes a deep breath, looking a little more calm. "But I'm happy to go back home with you and Daddy, that I get to see aunt Lucy and aunt Emily again."
"Me too," Lila chirps happily, and Damon grabs Bonnie's hand. He feels her hold up his hand to her cheek, leaning on it gently.
"We're going to be okay," he tells her quietly. He glances at her, noticing that she's smiling brightly at him, her eyes no longer filled with tears but rather affection and it's that special look she seems to reserve for only him. Like he's the only person that matters in the moment, and as if there's no one else around.
"I know we will be," she responds simply, and he gives her a smile before turning his eyes back to the road.
He knows that he's not in love with Bonnie, but that it'll happen one day. Maybe it would take awhile to figure it out, or it would be instantaneous but as soon as he knows, everything will click into place. He'll reach the point of no return, when he can no longer turn back or walk away. Trying to forget her will be torture, everyone else will become ruined for him and he'll never be able to let her go. It definitely won't happen tomorrow, not even next month but sometime in the future, maybe even in a year or so.
For now, they have a nice first date all planned out. They'll leave Lila at home, Bonnie is going to get them chilli dogs from someplace called The Varsity, and lead him around the city with warm smiles and unbridled laughter. He thinks that's a pretty good place for them to start.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
That's it, everyone. While there will be an epilogue, this is where we leave Bonnie and Damon; someone else will be our "narrator" for the epilogue, it's someone who's very much featured in this story (it's not a hard guess, I'm sure you guys will figure it out). The epilogue has really been reworked and modified a million times, it's still a work in progress. At the earliest, the epilogue will be release next friday but I'm happy with it at the moment, so there's no guarantee it will be released then. HOWEVER, THE EPILOGUE WILL BE RELEASED SOMETIME THIS MONTH.
Some of you might be thinking "uh why aren't they in love now" or "wtf so they don't even love each other," which I get since it can be a more satisfying conclusion, but that wasn't the point of this story (and they've been together for less than a month). This story is called "We Can Always Come Back to This" for a reason; the title is based off a great song from the tv show "This Is Us," but the song's meaning is what drives the significance behind it. According to the composer, the song means that life never really ends and we can always come back to the things/people/places we love. It's never really over. Bonnie and Damon found their way back to each other, back to the people that care about them and that's what the story was really about from my perspective; they're going to fall in love someday, but today was not that day.
Thank you all for reading and taking a chance on my story, I'm so grateful for the love and support. It's so great to see that other people are in the same boat as me (shipping bamon lol), especially considering the tvd fandom seems to be filled with mostly dullena shippers. Thank you for the comments, thank you for even reading just one chapter of my fanfic! Feel free to leave a comment, and watch out for the epilogue!