Note: Another completed fic getting opened back up by yours truly? Classic.


The last thing Bonnie had planned to do with the rest of her evening after she and Damon spoke on the bench post-wedding debacle, was to face a crowd. Yet, even after the Parkers and their extended family thanked her and swore an oath to her legacy, Bonnie had wanted to go home, drink some blood in a bubbling bath tub and come to terms with the eternity that loomed ahead.

Which meant calling her mother and eventually, them trying again. It meant dealing with these feelings she'd felt lift up off of the dust of some cold, abandoned spaces of her heart and make peace with her lot. It meant conversations. Tedious, tumultuous conversations.

Not forgetting the weird look one of the Parkers had given her when he learned her surname was Bennett. Or when the success of what she (and Matt) had accomplished receded, and everyone did a tally of what had in actual fact gone down. But mostly, the whole eternity thing. Bonnie blinked back into her body. Only a second had passed.

Anyway, there she was. Listening to Elena's whine grow tinny while Bonnie and Stefan locked eyes. He'd gone completely still and silent once it had finally sunk in what Bonnie had done. Elena had taken the ensuing tension following Damon's words to speak first.

Great.

"I'm sorry, Bonnie did what-" Elena gasped, eyes flitting over to her friend standing next to her boyfriend who'd just spewed the single most nonsensical sentence of his life. The brunette vampire scoffed a laugh as the words ran through her head again. Bonnie killed Lily, the heretics and Kai. Oh, and now she's a heretic-ish.

"Bonnie...you killed their mom?" Caroline echoed, horrified eyes sliding over to Matt, "and, what? You just stood and watched?"

"Don't give me that," Matt said his lip curling a little, "you and Elena seem to think the only people who get to decide where the lines are, are either you two or the Salvatore brothers. Bonnie isn't a side-kick, and honestly, her and I got more done today than the rest of you combined in the last while, so I'd start learning how to pronounce the words 'thank you' if you were planning on speaking to me again after this." Stefan's jaw grew even more taught.

Caroline shook her head back at Matt, and opened her mouth to retaliate when Bonnie chimed in.

"He's not wrong," Bonnie shrugged at Caroline, eyes hard as they returned to Stefan. "Remember that time you and Damon flipped a coin to decide whether or it was me and or my mother that died? Or the time my grandmother died because we were trying to help you?" Bonnie crossed her arms. "I know I killed your mother, but, can I apologise for that without being sorry?"

Stefan's eyes were flat as they flitted to Damon's and then back to hers.

Bonnie's new eyes took that moment to fully regard him. Those eyes that told you his exact mood, and expectation from you. The arms, perpetually braced for the impact of whatever came for them next. She looked at him, and felt him look at her. Really look at her. Damon's weight shifted to the balls of his feet, readying himself for anything.

He'd really hoped it would never have come down to him having to choose between Bonnie and Stefan, his only choice was to pull them apart and hope they were still whole. There was no way he was going to let either of them near the other.

"I am though," Bonnie said, taking some steps toward Stefan, green eyes wide, as she swallowed nervously, "I am sorry it was your mother."

He stared at her for some time, to the point that Damon took a few steps forward. "Me too," Stefan said and then sped out of the boarding house and away.

"...Fuck," Bonnie growled into her hand, eyes holding a sheen as they looked up at everyone else in the room.

"He'll come around," Damon said, eyes on her, hoping that she would understand that, and come back to standing closest to him, and Elena's steady glare turned incredulous as she looked over at him.

"I'm sorry...you're what? You're fine?" Elena barked, throwing out a hand. "Bonnie kills your mother, goes on a killing spree with Matt after taking her own life and feeding on him to become a -whatever- and has a huge showdown with Kai in the middle of Jo and Alaric's wedding and you're fine?"

"You're being very dramatic," Bonnie said waving a hand at Elena, "The both of you are," she added in, looking at Caroline for a moment. "Is this because I didn't consult the round table, or because after everything, we're all vampires now?"

"This was never what you wanted," Caroline said before Elena could frame her thoughts. "You know that, I know that."

"Like it was any different for you," Bonnie said, turning her body fully to her blonde friend. "Our lives got sucked into this shit show and we expected to stay the same. Losing you, or what I thought was losing you, in the beginning, when you turned? It was one of the worst days of my life. One of the very many worst days of our lives. And look at you now..." Bonnie reached out for Caroline's hand, "You're one of the reasons I know I can do this."

"I'll help you," Caroline said certainly, taking Bonnie's hands. "You know I'll help you." A sigh. "I'm sorry," Caroline's eyes closed for a moment as she cleared some space between them, "I just never thought this day would come, never mind how it would happen."

"I know," Bonnie brought her into a hug. "I just, I need you," the un-dead witch whispered into the shoulder of her friend.

"You've got me," Caroline pulled her a little tighter, "no matter what, you've got me."

Elena and Damon were having a stand-off when the two separated.

"Is that she was telling you at the wedding?" Elena finally spoke, eyes hard.

Damon frowned, and then realisation hit him. The barn. The wedding. Bonnie on top of him, glowing after drinking from the crook of his neck.

Elena took a mental photograph of his face as whatever occurred to him, occurred to him.

I don't think he hates Bonnie, I actually think he kind of loves her.

Something fell into place as Elena caught Matt's eye as the memory of their conversation surfaced.

"Yes," Bonnie said easily, turning to them. "I had to tell him what I did to Lily. I had to make sure that some kind of plan was in place in case shit hit the fan."

"Yup," Damon's face was still trying to decide what it was expressing. "Bonnie gave me about five seconds notice before I was put on duty to keep you all safe."

"There's something you're not telling me," Elena muttered at the same time Matt spoke to everyone.

"I'm going to go home, it's been a day," He smiled over at Bonnie and she made her way to him. While they embraced he chuckled a bit. "We did it."

She pulled back a little to look him in the eye. Damon watched her while Elena watched him. Caroline debated going after Stefan.

"We did," Bonnie grinned, kissing him on the cheek. "Who would have thought, huh? The two orphans." They shared a laugh.

"Weird," Matt faux-frowned, "could have sworn we were family." Bonnie's smile said 'duh'.

"Come on, let's go," Bonnie curled her arm through his, "It's way past my bed-time."

"I'm going to go find Stefan," Caroline decided, grabbing her purse, and falling in step.

"I'm coming with you," Damon said, bringing them all up short. He rolled his eyes at the attention staying on him. "He's my brother and our mother is dead."

Bonnie swallowed and followed Matt out into the driveway, while Caroline waited for Damon to walk out with her. Elena watched them all leave and stared into the fireplace until the flames went out.


Bonnie walked into her house and felt the emptiness move around her.

She clicked the front door shut and walked slowly to the kitchen where she pulled the fridge open and stared into it.

She'd just accomplished some of the biggest spells she'd ever come across, and she still had enough in her to do it again. Bonnie wondered if she'd ever stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Oh right," she sighed aloud to herself as her eyes came back into focus on the shelves of food in front of her, "You don't eat anymore."

"I mean, you can if you want to," she jumped at the sound of his voice, turning to see him standing at the threshold of the kitchen's back door. She swung the fridge shut.

"Stefan-"

"Sorry, I should have called, I know." Shaking her head, she waved him in. He puts a bag down on the counter and then leans against it, to look over at her.

"They're looking for you," Bonnie said, quickly clicking the door shut. "Caroline and Damon."

"They're overdue a conversation anyway," Stefan said with a half-smile. "Which is why I'm here. We're overdue a conversation, too." Bonnie's eyes flitted to his neck and away again, she really hoped he didn't notice. If he did, he didn't say anything.

"Right," she jerked her head behind her, and led him to her living room. "The welcome to the un-dead-speech."

Bonnie sat down on the couch and chewed on her bottom lip. He settled in next to her, far enough away that they could turn and face each other without their knees touching as they lifted up onto the settee.

She started to notice little things with it just being the two of them in a room. She noticed the sound of the fabric moving around his body as he turned, sighed, or drew up his hands in gesture. Bonnie noticed the tone of his skin, the natural edge to his canine's as he smiled sheepishly at her. Idly, she wondered what he thought about when he wasn't projecting his persona onto everyone around him. Then, she remembered it was none of her business.

"More like the we should be closer than we are because of what we've been through, but we're not, because of what we've been through, conversation," Stefan clarified.

"Ah," Bonnie nodded knowingly. "That one."

"I never expected to see my mother again," he began, "much like I never expected you to ever turn into something like me, or, kill her." He took a deep breath. "All the world has ever done is change and I'm the reason I think things still stay the same. Denial is a pitiful thing on an immortal being. What a waste."

Bonnie wondered what he meant by 'waste', as he made it sound so culminating. There had to be something he didn't regret. She almost asked him.

"Noted," Bonnie said, eyes clouding over with a thousand questions. "No denial."

His eyes lifted to hers and he smiled, a sad, sincere smile.

"Do you know who you are, Bonnie?" Stefan asked after a while.

"If I ever had, maybe I'd have had peace with dying," she said. "Maybe I need more time."

"You deserve all the time in the world," he said, agreeing earnestly, eyes almost changing colour as it held her gaze. "If anyone of us deserve it, it is you."

"I kissed Kai before I killed him," Bonnie said before he could lie to himself some more, "And before that, I drank straight from Damon's neck at the wedding."

"Do you think that changes what I just said?" He asked.

"Shouldn't it?" Bonnie leaned a little forward, "It's not consuming my every second or anything, but my brain is doing this thing where it's mapping out what I want, and how I'm going to get it. It's making it hard to breathe."

Stefan's face turned knowing. "And what do you want now?" Bonnie watched him for a moment, deciding how honest she should be. He gave an encouraging nod.

He watched as her eyes turned dark and veins crawled out from underneath her lids. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. A current swarmed around her, and he felt the static shift the atmosphere between them.

"I want you to take me to the woods and show me how to feed before I try my luck with you." His brows lifted at the last part of the sentence. He wondered what that entailed, and then cleared his throat to regain some semblance of self.

"I brought you some blood bags," Stefan said feebly, watching her lips part, fangs showing. "But if you want to drink from my neck...I, uh...I trust you."

The lights overhead flickered and then turned off. All he could hear was her laboured breathing. "No, you don't." Bonnie whispered. "You just don't care anymore."

"That's not true, Bonnie, I care," Stefan rebutted. In a flash she was on his lap.

"You can add this to the list of things you weren't expecting," Bonnie said, smiling when his hands cupped around her hips, pulling her closer.

"What about Damon?" Stefan asked, mouth open while his breathing went shallow.

"What about Damon?" Bonnie asked.

"Is this what happened between the two of you at the wedding? You needed to feed?" Stefan asked, gasping when she grabbed his neck and pressed her thumb into his windpipe.

"Is it always going to be like this?" Bonnie asked, tilting his head backwards, "Once you think about it, the blood, it just creates a tunnel, and you know the only way out, is to go through someone."

"Always," Stefan wheezed, raising his hand to hers around his neck, loosening the grip a little. "But that doesn't mean you have to do it alone." She pulled her hand out of his when their eyes lingered on each other after he said that.

"I'm not alone," Bonnie said easily, "are you?"

"Do I look alone to you?"

He watched as her skin began to glow, giving off red embers that rose and brought a little light with them.

"What about Elena?" Bonnie asked. "She's already pissed."

"What about Elena?" Stefan echoed, tilting his head at her. "Nothing is going to happen," he said and Bonnie gave him a 'is that so?' kind of look, amusing him. "I don't mind if you feed on me, but I think it's for the best that we don't kiss," Stefan offered.

"I've never wanted to kiss you," Bonnie said with a glint in her eye as she lowered her mouth to his neck.

"So you wanted to kiss Kai, then?" He retorted in a hot whisper, she couldn't help the shudder that went through her as his breath hit her exposed shoulder. Everything was heightened.

"Sometimes you have to give someone what they want, so you can get what you want," Bonnie said, dragging her fang over his pulse. "Your brother taught me that."

Her teeth sank into his neck and they both groaned delicately at the contact. Bonnie's hips rolled forward, and into his lap. Her one hand held him in place by his shoulder, while the other cradled his head as it fell back.

"Pull a little more, with your mouth, not your teeth," he whispered haggardly. He was spinning.

Stefan's hands climbed up the curve of her back and back down again, and then tightened their grip on her hips once more. Bonnie felt the moment his body melted into hers, and she lifted her teeth from his neck and looked down at him.

"I lied," she said simply. "I've kind of thought about kissing you before. I was staring at your back and my body just sort of went: 'what if'. You know?"

"I'd be an idiot to pretend kissing a woman as beautiful as you has never crossed my mind," he allowed himself to admit.

"So mysterious," Bonnie smiled, wiping an index finger across the underside of her lip, as she climbed off of him and stood before him. "Thank you for letting me feed on you. In return, I have an offer for you."

"And what is that?"

Wordlessly, she lifted her hair off of her neck and in a flash she was on her knees in front of him. He cupped her cheek, ready to tell her exactly how idiotic her plan was. Whatever it was.

"How are you supposed to teach me anything about control if you have none?" Bonnie wondered, watching his pupils dilate as his eyes honed in on her neck. She had him there, they both knew that. He just wasn't sure this was the solution. And he was even more unsure he'd be able to resist.

"How is there still magic in you? I can smell it," was all he could say.

"You're asking the wrong person," Bonnie said with a quick shrug, "for someone who dies and comes back all the time you'd think I'd know more about magic, or at the very least necromancy."

"We should look into it," Stefan said, swallowing as veins crept up under his eyes and he leaned in. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Bonnie agreed, head falling back with a satisfied sigh as his teeth bit into her.

He pulled her up, back onto his lap, Bonnie's body enjoying the weightlessness, and drank a little more, a low groan reverberating from his throat into her chest as their breathing panted in rhythm. He took his time moving his mouth away from her neck.

His veins felt like they were transporting magma, his body was singing.

This was the feeling he'd been looking for his entire life.

Bonnie looked down at him.

"Easy, peasy," Stefan said, lifting her up, off of him, before ghosting out of the house.

"That went well," Bonnie said aloud to the empty room. After a long sigh, she looked down at her feet, "...I need a vibrator," she decided.


When Caroline and Damon eventually gave up on finding Stefan, the elder Salvatore returned home, expecting round two with Elena.

Instead, he finds Stefan splayed out on one of the couches in the den, starry-eyed.

"Were you out having sex with strangers?" Damon wondered, announcing himself. Stefan shot upright and observed him quietly as he walked to the cart to pour himself something to drink. "I've never seen you this...un-clenched."

"You never pay enough attention to me to warrant this kind of curiosity, so, what is it that you actually want to talk about?"

"Cocky, too," Damon scoffed in amusement, "I wonder how the squirrel population is doing."

"And how would I know?" Damon's frame froze. Stefan almost laughed, but managed to keep a straight face as Damon stormed over to him to grip his face.

"Who was it?" Damon asked. "Better question: where is the body?"

"I don't know," Stefan tugged free of Damon's hold and pushed past him, "It's not like I put a tracker in her."

"Her? Her-who?" Damon asked again, "Was this about what Bonnie did? With mom? Is that it?"

"I don't think this has anything to do with Lily," Stefan said, pursing his lips, "Bonnie on the other hand-"

"Stefan-"

"Damon," Stefan mocked his voice with a dark chuckle, "Do you honestly think I'd ever lay a hand on her? On Bonnie?"

"Have you met Ripper-You?" Damon asked in return, eyes wild. "Where is she?"

"At home!" Stefan burst, and then inhaled deeply with his eyes closed, opening them again, he looked serene. It was chilling. "Sorry, I'm still working out the kinks."

"Jesus fucking christ," Damon muttered, eyes turning away from his brother as he felt his breaths shorten. "I can't believe you fucking killed her." Was he about to have a panic attack?

"I didn't kill Bonnie," Stefan rolled his eyes, "Do you want me to call her?"

"I'll do you one better," Damon hissed, baring his teeth, but before he could flash away, and to Bonnie's, Stefan grabbed him by the neck and threw him backwards, his body skidding across the wooden floors.

"Checkmate," Stefan grinned wolfishly. "Also, no more letting Bonnie feed on you."

"And you're going to stop me?" Damon huffed, trying to hide the surprise and pain he was in. "How exactly?"

"If I have to, I will," Stefan vowed. "But, I think I'd much rather enjoy what happens next," his eyes lifted up, to where Elena thought she'd been hiding. "You can come out now," he said to her.

Damon clicked his tongue as he flashed upright and looked into Elena's once-again glaring eyes.

"Bonnie fed on you?" Elena asked as Stefan slipped back out, Damon fisting his hands when he realised his brother was probably on his way back to the Bennett home to fuck his best friend against a wall or something. And then kill her, probably. Perfect. Just what he needed. "Was that what the supposed conversation was about?"

"Conversation?" Damon echoed, trying to order his thoughts.

"At the wedding, Damon, jesus!" She threw her hands up and turned away from him, only to spin back with new fire. "Did something happen when you two were gone?"

"Gone," Damon laughed bitterly, "It wasn't a fucking cruise package, Elena!"

"That's not an answer, Damon," she snapped back.


Bonnie was about to call it a night when her phone vibrated.

don't be mad. i'm outside

Walking downstairs, Bonnie rolled her eyes at his silhouette peeking at her through the stained glass of her front door.

"You and Damon get into a fight?" Bonnie asked, opening the door.

"Something like that," Stefan offered vaguely. "Can I come in?"

"Is this a check-in or a sleepover?" Bonnie wondered, closing the door after he crossed over. "Not that it matters..." her voice trailed off as he slipped his jacket off and walked to her living room, without waiting for her.

"After I drank some of your blood, I tossed Damon across the den like he was a mug."

"So, when you said 'something like that', you actually meant yes?" Bonnie asked, brows knitted together in disapproval.

"Doesn't really count as a fight when that was the end of it," Stefan countered.

"Fair enough," Bonnie agreed, moving to stand in front of him, crossing her arms as he slipped his hands into his jean pockets, "Do you think it's a blood thing?"

"It would make sense," he said, "what with you being what you are, and how you became that."

"Classic." Bonnie muttered, un-amused as she turned away from him and became pensive. "So," she looked back at him, "I guess that means no more drinking from me."

"I was actually going to ask if I could...again, sometime," he was just awkward enough to keep her from backing away, "I thought it could maybe send me over the edge, but..." he took a few more steps toward her and his mouth hung open, speechless as his eyes bore into hers, "I've never felt more...here."

Bonnie's eyes bounced as she studied his face. He did look a little different, but that could also be because she wasn't used to them standing this close to each other. That was a her and Damon, thing.

"When you and Damon were arguing," Bonnie decided to stall a bit before answering his question, "Did my name come up?"

"He thought I killed you," Stefan said, pressing his lips into a line.

"Killed me?" Bonnie frowned, "That doesn't make any sense."

"What?" Stefan jut his chin out a little and tilted his head as he looked down at her, casting a shadow over his eyes. "You think killing Lily didn't affect me?" Bonnie's brows rose to meet his tone. They were standing toe to toe.

"Stefan if you wanted me dead, I'd already have killed you for trying," Her eyes were shining but her mouth was hard, she meant it.

"You thought I had a quote-unquote, 'hot back'," Stefan said with a smirk. "I remember now."

"You are different," Bonnie decided, "...I am too."

"I know," Stefan's hands itched at his sides, "I like it."

"Me too," Bonnie murmured, rocking on her heels.

"I've never met anyone like you," Stefan admitted, "I can admit to that."

"It's not too late to make this about Caroline," Bonnie offered with an almost-shrug, "I could see that."

"I'm kind of liking where this is going," Stefan disagreed, putting a finger to his chin, playing pensive.

"This?" Bonnie gestured between them with laughter in her voice, "Damon is going to have a field day."

"Let him," Stefan waved a hand out, "Elena too."

"I don't want a boyfriend," Bonnie held up a finger. "And your brother is my best friend."

"I'm glad you have him," Stefan shrugged, "and I wasn't planning on tying you down," his hand ghosted down her jaw, "Not when you've just started the rest of your life."


"So, you didn't think her drinking from you was a big deal?" Elena echoed.

"She drinks from me all the time," Damon drawled and then his back went ramrod straight, "a reasonable amount, I mean. The normal am-"

"Stop talking," Elena waved him off. "I literally cannot deal with you. And what now? Stefan is letting her drink from him, too?"

"And she's letting him drink from her," Damon's jaw was clenched, "That's the part that should be setting off alarms."

"And why is that?" Elena hissed at what she thought was jealousy with some of her own.

"Did you miss the yelling and the turning me into a bowling ball bit he was doing? Because I'm pretty sure I was the fucking punchline."

"Really, Damon?" Elena threw her hands up, "That's what this is about?"

"Like you weren't already thinking it," Damon spat back, "hiding in the shadows like you're too afraid to ask me what you really want to."

"And what's that?" Elena shot back, brows high.

"The human thing," he spelled out, hands tweaking between them. "The us, growing old, picking each other thing."

"You mean your idea?" Elena asked with narrowed eyes. Damon drew back into himself with an intake of breath, as he tried to steady his temper. "Damon, you're obviously not ready. I get it."

"It's not that I'm not ready," he realised it as he spoke, "It's that I'm not sure it's what I want."

"Again, it was your idea-" Elena interjected.

"It's all you've ever wanted!" Damon snapped. "How then, would it not be what I want?" Elena could only gape back at him with the same incredulousness scrawled all over his features.


Bonnie was adrift in a thousand feelings. Every nerve is Stefan's body was braced for her impact, even so, he knew he wasn't ready.

She'd hardly given her personal life thought long enough to come up with an idea of what she wanted, but then again, this morning, she didn't know that everything she'd wanted that day, she'd end up getting. And being about to kiss Stefan Salvatore after saving everyone she knew and loved from Kai's last nefarious plan, and nipping whatever Lily and the Heretics had planned in the bud was making her feel extraordinary.

"May I?" Stefan was lowering his mouth to hers, and she nodded, breathing in the air around them as he pressed his lips to hers. It felt like a thousand light-bulbs turning on underneath her skin. The kissed popped as their lips parted, before returning to each other. Bonnie lifted up onto the balls of her feet as she pulled his face to hers, while his hands wrapped around her middle.

Their bodies pushed at each other as they kissed, hands touring one another's outline.

"I'm thirsty," Bonnie muttered against his mouth, his bottom lip getting caught between her teeth.

"I think I can help with that," Stefan smiled against her mouth.

Bonnie magicked them into her room without even really phrasing the thought fully in her head, her surprise levelling with Stefan's as he took in their new surroundings. "We need to make a list of your new abilities," he mused.

"Tomorrow," Bonnie said again, kissing the hollow of his throat to ready him for her teeth. "Add that to tomorrow's list."


It had been a week since she'd seen either Elena or Damon.

Bonnie and Stefan had been playing along with the training days out in the woods with Caroline and a grateful Alaric, to get Bonnie acclimated, and she'd been excelling, naturally.

"I think you're ready to come back to Whitmore," Caroline said aloud, as they packed up. "Seriously."

"Maybe," Bonnie hedged, still deciding whether or not she wanted to go back at all. "Not just yet, though."

"Okay," Caroline said with an exaggerated eye-roll, smiling at the normalcy of their exchange. Of course Bonnie was always going to be careful.

"Great work, Bennett," Alaric said with a mock-salute, nodding his head at Stefan and Caroline as well before he turned and walked back to his car. "See you guys at the wedding!"

"Shit, is that this evening?" Bonnie called after him.

"Yes, and you'd better be there!" Alaric shouted back over his shoulder, still walking.

Bonnie's mood soured. That meant finally seeing Damon and Elena. She couldn't stop the groan that bubbled up her throat.

"Gre-e-e-a-t," Bonnie said, shooting a fake smile at Stefan who bit down on his bottom lip to reign in his own amusement.

"Shush now," Caroline half-heartedly scolded, "You four need to get all the bad vibes out into the open, so everyone, and I do mean everyone, can move the fuck on."

"Bad vibes?" Bonnie echoed, holding a hand to her heart, aghast. "Me?"

"You know what I mean, smart-ass," Caroline clucked her tongue before turning her accusing eyes onto Stefan, "you're awfully quiet for someone who has frequent physical altercations with his brother."

"Not for a week, at least," Stefan defended. "Your honour."

"Shut up, get in the car," Caroline said with a sigh, deciding to drop it, "both of you."

"You and Stefan go ahead," Bonnie said looking down at her phone, "Duty calls." She flashed away before even looking up at either of them, or before they could respond.

"Still getting used to that," Caroline muttered, missing the look that passed over Stefan's features.


"You rang?" Bonnie drawled as she hopped up onto her porch where he was waiting for her.

"You didn't pick up," he said, rising slowly, almost robotically to his feet.

"I knew you'd be here," Bonnie informed him, mirroring him when his brows rose.

"That feels like a 'fuck-you'", he observed. Bonnie frowned.

"You're the one who stopped taking my calls," she informed him. "I miss one and you come to yell at me on my doorstep?"

"Who's yelling?" Damon snapped.

"Get inside," Bonnie snapped a forefinger at the door and held his eyes until he walked in ahead of her.

They stared at one another for some time before he spoke.

"You let my brother...who, by the way, is always one panic attack away from a killing spree, not unlike yourself apparently," Bonnie almost smacked him, "drink from you and expected good to come from that?"

"What I do, with my blood, and my time, and my body," Bonnie cleared space between them, "is none of your business."

"None of my business?" Damon echoed, "that's interesting considering you're my best friend and he's my brother."

"And yet this seems to all be about you, you, you," Bonnie hissed, annoyed. "What are you really here to say?"

"He's stronger, Bonnie!" Damon snapped. "He's meaner, he's careless."

"I disagree," Bonnie said, folding her arms as she assumed her usual position in his company: toe to toe. "He's not careless."

"And I'm going to take the word of a fledgling?" Damon scoffed.

"You're the one who wants to be human, so why don't you and Elena concern yourselves with that and leave my name out of your mouth from now on?" Bonnie bit out.

Hurt flashed across Damon's face and Bonnie felt the guilt slice her through like a knife.

"Damon-"

"No, you're right," he said, pulling out of her hold, before she grabbed at him again, "I'm not even sure why I'm here."

"You're here because you love me," Bonnie told him, jerking at the snarl that overtook his face at that.

"Don't tell me what I feel. My brother isn't equipped with what it is going to take to not get addicted to you," Damon swore, his nose almost brushing hers.

"Fine then," Bonnie shrugged, as if to say 'so what?', "are you?"

"W-what is that supposed to mean?" Damon stammered.

"That you have your role in my life, and so does Stefan," she said plainly. "It's really not as complicated as you're wanting it to be."

"I know him, Bonnie," he insisted.

"Like you know me?" She countered.

"I used to," Damon retorted, bitterly. "I feel like up until a week ago you were a sure thing."

"Predictable, judgmental, holier-than-thou, Bonnie," she mocked his voice. "That girl?"

"Don't talk about yourself like that, you were perfect." She didn't even see the compliment, she only felt insulted.

"I was a lost cause," Bonnie disagreed.

"I can't do it!" Damon burst suddenly, "I can't pretend like I'm fine with what's going on, anymore."

"Can you not?" Bonnie snapped, "you're being loud."

"And you're being obtuse, very un-Bonnie of you," he snarked. "How am I supposed to live a human life without my best friend?"

"How is this part of the conversation about me?" Bonnie laughed humourlessly. "Damon," she drew in a breath, "I just got out of vamp-training with Alaric and everyone, and I just- I want a blood-bag or two, and a shower," backing away she sighed sadly, "I can't do this right now, I'll see you at the wedding."

"I'm not done talking to you," Damon flashed to stand in front of her.

"Then you'd better get to the point," Bonnie warned. "I don't want to fight with you Damon, but if it's what you want..."

"Bonnie, I miss you," Damon said, like he'd been saying those four words all along and she'd only just heard him. "Ever since we cleared the air, it's been...strange."

Bonnie frowned. "Damon...I think drinking from you was a mistake."

"Just this last time, or?"

"Yes," Bonnie squared her shoulders, "when I climbed on top of you at the wedding ceremony," they both swallowed at the memory, but for different reasons, "and drank your blood after killing your mother. I shouldn't have done that."

"If you were going to drink blood from anyone, it should be me,"

"Not Caroline?" Bonnie wondered in return. "Blood bags or rabbits? You think it should always be you?"

"I wouldn't ask you to drink from you in return," Damon pointed out.

"Stefan doesn't ask, I offer," Bonnie corrects him and watches his teeth gnash together.

"So you've let him drink from you more than once, then?" Damon asked.

"Like I said Damon," Bonnie patted his cheek and moved to walk around him, "my blood, my time, my body."

"It drives me...insane," Damon breathed quietly, stopping her dead in her tracks.

Bonnie turned slowly, back to him and walked until she could lift his face by his chin.

"What does?" Bonnie asks.

"I don't know why," he says instead. "But it crawls under my skin and I catch alight."

"What does?" Bonnie asks again, and his eyes are boring into hers, with words he doesn't have yet.

"Not having the most of you," he whispered. Bonnie felt her eyes smart as she cupped his face in her hands. Even the feel of his skin under her fingertips was too much, but she swallowed all the distractions down so that she could still find wherever her best friend had run off to without her this time.

Damon was always a million miles ahead without the coordinates to send home. It made him hard to love, but she could never, ever tell him that without destroying him. All he had to know was that someone was looking, that someone cared to bring him home.

"Silly boy," Bonnie laughed in a small whisper as their foreheads fell together. It crossed an Elena-line, but it came to them so naturally that neither of them brought it up. "You mean the world to me."

Damon's hands fell awkwardly on the jut of her hips, before they rose and pulled her fully into the circle of his arms. Bonnie rose to her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She hummed at the contact, happy.

When they pulled apart Damon's mouth pressed to hers; quickly, shyly, and he pulled away before she'd even had time to react.

"I shouldn't ha-" he tried to say, but he was already out of her arms and gone.


Bonnie waved at the familiar faces at the reboot wedding, walking in on Matt's arm.

After she'd decided to buy a new dress for the nuptial re-run, he'd joined her and she got him a matching tie, knowing even a few days prior to the event that it was for the best if she went with her friend instead of someone else.

Stefan had smiled and inclined his head, but said nothing about her arriving with someone who wasn't him or his brother. Damon on the other hand had yet to arrive. Bonnie turned her attention to the ceremony, trying to be as present as possible for this sliver of normality. Elena and Damon arrived a few minutes before the altar-walk began, and Caroline clicked her tongue at them accordingly.

At the reception, a teary-eyed Alaric thanked Bonnie again for intervening, avoiding what he and everyone else was sure, would have been an entirely different outcome. The room raised a glass for her, and Jo mouthed 'thank-you' when their eyes met and Bonnie blew her a kiss.

Matt pulled Bonnie up to make their way to the dance floor as soon as the first dance was out of the way. Tyler and Liv joined them, getting welcomed by Bonnie's open arms. Caroline laughed and clapped, hurrying to her feet to join them. Stefan rolled his eyes as they waved him over.

Elena felt the distance she'd noticed growing in her periphery rise up as the younger Salvatore did, shimmying over to their friends to join them in their terrible dancing.

"He never dances," she muttered, more to herself.

"And Bonnie never dies," Damon said with more edge in his voice than he'd intended, standing to his feet and leaving the venue entirely. Elena didn't even look behind her, after him. Her eyes went back to her friends, and she watched them dance a little while, feeling so suddenly and sincerely sad.


"I've got her," Stefan nodded at Matt, who had his hands full of Caroline.

"These two haven't gotten this out of hand since we were in school," Matt chortled. "I'm surprised after everything, they still have this kind of drinking in them."

"I'll take it," Stefan said with a smile, "it's the most normal we've all been in a while."

"True that," Matt said, smiling at Caroline who's eyes were coming into focus. "We're going home."

"Awesome," she breathed against his face and leaned into him.

"Later, Stefan." Stefan watched them get into Matt's truck and drive off before he looked down at Bonnie, playing drunk in his arms, giving her a little shake so she'd know they were alone. Bonnie popped up and then settled onto her feet as her eyes did a quick survey before they set on him.

"How was I?" Bonnie asked, eyes wild with adventure.

"Oscar-worthy," Stefan commended, taking her hand, and leading them to his car.

Bonnie danced a little as she walked, genuinely in the best mood she'd been in, in months.

"I like seeing you happy," Stefan says to her as they reach his car, he doesn't open the door for her, but walks them both over to it, until she's pressed between the metal frame and him. "And seeing you now makes me realise how rare it is, your happiness."

"How rare it was," Bonnie corrected him, lifting her arms to wrap around his neck. "It's going to be different from now on."

"Right as always," Stefan said with a smile in the corner of his mouth.

"You want to kiss me," Bonnie said, tilting her head up at him.

"Oh? You read minds now?" Stefan asked, "should we get the list out?"

"Don't start, especially not when I'm onto you," Bonnie said, lifting onto the balls of her feet so that she could line her body up against his as their mouths drew closer.

"Did you say into or onto?" Stefan teased, and his fingers pressed into the fabric of her dress by her waist.

Instead of answering, she took his face in her hand by his chin and dragged her fang over the seam of his bottom lip, until blood drew free. Biting into her own bottom lip she wasted no time sealing her mouth over his, and they took turns sucking at the other's bottom lip.

By the time they'd healed up, they were trapped in a heated kiss, mouths swelling and molding anew with every contact.

Bonnie's mouth fell open as Stefan's mouth kissed trails over her skin, patterning her neck with a dizzying electricity. A sound fell from her lips that cemented what she'd known already but was struggling to admit.

Stefan pulled away from her, but held her close as he steadied his breathing.

"I want to set something on fire," Bonnie breathed against his mouth.

"I volunteer," Stefan laughed in return.

"Never," she vowed, "Not that face."

"Ooh, I knew it," Stefan said, triumphant as he grinned down at her, pulling her close.

"So, this is just inevitable, then?" A new voice called out to them from behind the nearby trees.

Both Bonnie and Stefan spun, hyper-alert at the intrusion.

"You know," the voice went on, familiarity creeping in in tandem with their mounting dread. "This is like a Quetsiyah, Silas thing, I think, maybe. Who knows at this point?"

The figure stepped into the clearing and both of their faces twisted in what she found to be a comical confusion.

"That's right, bitches," Katherine said with a smirk, "I'm back."


A/N: Little bit of this, little bit of that, and just about 7K words to tide everyone over until I'm back from the hiatus. Which reminds me, I'm now on hiatus.

Hope you're all safe and well xo