New York, 1979

DS*DS*DS

It was picture perfect late summer afternoon. The heat receded to pleasant warmth, setting sun painted clear blue sky in various shades of orange and yellow and buzzing quieted as crowd of people enjoying the carefree summer day in Central Park thinned out. Felicity and Damon was laid down on the blanket in secluded area, snacking on leftovers from their picnic lunch.

All of this was Damon's idea. They knew each other for only four months now and she was still surprised to see Damon's romantic side. At first Felicity kept Damon at arm's length and only thing they both wanted was to satisfy their physical needs.

They collapsed to the bed the very first night they met. No emotions, no strings were involved, everything was purely physical. Their mutual attraction was undeniable, and it only grew stronger with every passing passion filled night. Usually they both would be bored with their lovers by the time the first rays of sunshine dispelled the darkness of the night. But it didn't happen with them. First night was followed by the second, then by the third and so on.

Their nights would always start at 'Billy's', sometimes they would snack on party goers or have the a drink or two, other times they would foregone this dance and go straight upstairs to Damon's flat and clothes couldn't come flying off fast enough. In the mornings when Damon wake up, Felicity would be gone and her spot in bed already cold.

The same routine was happening for a few weeks, when one morning, just at the break of dawn, Damon was woken up by rustling in the room. He reached for the warm body he was exploring with his hands and mouth just mere hours ago. He wanted to draw her closer and repeat their earlier activities all over again. But his hand hit empty, but still warm sheets. He sat up leaning on his elbows to see woman dressed only in her underwear, sexy lingerie set he had so much fun peeling off of her last night. She was on all fours crawling on the floor searching for something under the table. Her position gave him open view to her backside, sight he appreciated very much.

"Lost something?" he asked, voice filled with amusement. Startled, Felicity hit her head on the table trying to glance at his direction.

"As the matter of fact, yes. Do you remember where my other shoe landed?" Just now he noticed her clutching one of hers knee length leather high heel in one of her hands. Looking around the room he saw what their clothes were scattered all over his bedroom, but her shoe was out of sight. Damon distinctly remembered removing her jacket and blouse near the door and leaving in heap on living room's floor together with his own jacket and booths he kicked off there.

They never made it to the bedroom for the first round. Couple not even got the chance to full undress before succumbing to the throws of passion. After sating their hunger and catching their breath the pair moved from the couch to the bedroom. Where Damon took his time to undress her painfully slowly and explored every inch of her perfect body. After, they both were exhausted and felt asleep in each other arms. But now Felicity was gathering her clothes, preparing to leave and it didn't sit well with Damon.

"Why don't you stay?" He threw it out there. No pressure, just a suggestion.

"You know why." Felicity didn't look at him still searching for her lost shoe.

"Well, I don't. So maybe you could explain me." He sat on the edge of the bed, sheets pooled around his hips, and he snagged Felicity's wrist to pull her closer and stroking his thumbs over her hands trying to soothe her.

"It's not how things work between us." She sounded uncertain as she whispered looking to the ground not wanting to meet his eyes. Sex was easy for her, emotional vulnerability more complicated. She spent centuries hardening her heart and building walls to avoid heartbreak. And now she's very close to giving in to temptation to risk her heart.

"I don't ask for eternal commitment, but you could stay the night from time to time." He snaked his arms around Felicity's waist tugging her to stand between his legs.

Reluctantly she gave him small smile and leaned in for a kiss, which he returned enthusiastically.

In the morning she was still soundly asleep in his arms. Damon smirked looking at head full of blond hair resting on his chest and placed gentle kiss on it. He untangled himself from Felicity's warm, toned body, careful not to wake her up. Pulling up his discarded jeans Damon wandered to the kitchen to gather up the ingredients from the fridge he'll need to make his famous waffles. He piled it up on the counter, turned coffee maker to make a pot of coffee, and started mixing.

Few minutes later he heard soft footsteps coming from the bedroom.

"Mhmmm... Coffee..." Felicity mumbled stepping into the kitchen. She was donned in one his T-shirt which was too big for her and covered her to mid tights, she must have found it in his closet, her hair tousled, and sleep still evident in her dazed eyes. She was dead sexy even just rolled out of bed. But her behavior didn't let him contain the laugh bubbling his in his chest as he passed her hers morning caffeine dose.

"Not the morning person?" He asked, but she just muttered something unintelligible and pressed mug to her lips. She closed her eyes and sighted with pleasure after the first swig.

"I need coffee to fully function in the mornings." She stated obvious. "Coffee is goodness, I can't imagine how I lived before it was invented." Felicity mused to herself.

Damon furrowed his brow in contemplation. "Just how old are you?"

"You know, it's rude to ask about woman's age. Or are you uncomfortable being with an older woman?" Damon noticed what she as usual used humor as defense mechanism to cover for uncomfortable topic so he answered in kind.

"Well who wouldn't want to use me as their personal boy toy?" He waggled his eyebrows to draw the laugh out of her and he succeeded. "But really, how long have you been a vampire?"

She sobered down and looked straight in his eyes trying to decide if she could trust him. She took the first step last night by staying, maybe she could took the second and divulge some of her personal information. She took the deep breath, her eyes glazed over as her mind traveled to the night her life changed forever more.

"I lived so long; sometimes it feels like my human life was just a dream." Her answer was vague but also enlightening.

Damon wasn't sure if he should say something more or not. If he pushed farther she might close off. So instead he put waffles on the plates sprayed some whipped cream and turned to her.

"Waffles?"

That was three months ago and today Damon packed up picnic lunch and dragged Felicity to Central Park for relaxing day out. It was smashing success. They spend day lounging, soaking up the sun, reading and snacking on delicious lunch Damon prepared. Once the sun was setting the couple gathered their things and was ready to leave.

"What would you say to detour for some dinner?"

"Sure." Felicity listened intently to her surroundings. "I hear someone in that way. Want to share?"

Before Damon could answer she speed off to the direction she pointed to. Only thing left for him was to follow after her. Catching up he found her in front of compelled man.

"Dig in." She offered him first bite, before joining in. When she felt they were nearing to dangerously low blood level left in their prey she tapped Damon's arm to stop him before man suffered irreversible blood loss. She wasn't opposed to drinking from the vein, but she highly objected killing. Vampires might be predators, but she chose not to be a monster.

Using compulsion she stared into mans eyes, his gaze dazed, pupils dilated.

"You tripped and fell. Branch scratched your neck." Felicity's voice was calm and hypnotic.

Once that was taken care of, Damon surprised Felicity by shoving her to the nearest tree and kissed her furiously. He could still taste blood on her lips.

"Do you want to go back to my place?" She whispered breathlessly when Damon moved to her neck. "It's just around the corner."

To say that he was surprised by her offer was understatement. Location of her apartment was closely guarded secret, not once over last four months did she invited him over. Damon knew how much her privacy means to Felicity, and how big of the deal was for her to include him to her trust circle.

"Are you sure?" She did not said anything, only nodded and grabbed his head with both her hands to tug him closer to her, crushing her mouth to his for a searing kiss.