I know, I know, I KNOW I am terrible, but I'm BACK! I also REFUSE to leave this fic unfinished. So please sit back and enjoy…this is for you.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
After agreeing that they would no longer discuss Bonnie's relationship with Marcel, Bonnie and Damon entered Cup of Life with tense expressions. The conversation resumed discussing New York City, the upcoming reopening of Revel and the grand opening of the new lounge on the waterfront. It was a superficial conversation—one that they had not engaged in…ever, if Bonnie thought about it long enough. The conversations they'd engaged in since the moment that they laid eyes on each other in the coffee shop almost a year ago always contained something underneath…a kindling of a flame, unspoken familiarity and an easiness. Now? They sat across from each other speaking as if they were work colleagues catching up on the weekend and current events. Bonnie knew why their friendship had taken this turn and as she watched Damon speak about how Stefan sent another invoice for him to approve for new furniture, she found herself feeling forlorn and she only had herself to blame.
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An hour later, the large mahogany wood luxury apartment door opened and immediately began to close causing Damon to stick his foot in the opening, "Oh come on Brother, let me in," he sung pushing the door open allowing Sandy to barrel inside, moving from room to room wagging her tail excitedly exploring every inch of the apartment with her nose leading the way on the plush carpet.
Once she was finished, Stefan gaped at Sandy hopping up on his sofa and turned his irritated gaze to Damon, "You know that I have rules in my apartment and that means no pets," Stefan clipped eyeing the dog who was curled up in the corner of his grey sofa.
Waving his hand in nonchalance, "Sandy has better manners than some of the women I'm sure you've brought in here," Damon remarked plopping down next to Sandy casually caressing her head.
Walking over and snatching a bottled water from his stainless-steel refrigerator, Stefan turned to eye his older brother while taking a seat on a stool at the breakfast bar, "So what brings you here? Am I your first visit now that you're back?"
"No, I went to the coffee shop first," Damon diverted his eyes to Sandy who had her eyes closed clearly appreciating his touch.
Stefan nodded with a smile, "Of course you did, it's Saturday. Was Bonnie happy to see you?"
Damon studied the palm of his right hand for a moment, "I thought she would be and she appeared to be for a few moments—until she told me that she was ready to give that basketball coach guy a real chance to apply for the position of boyfriend or something like that."
Stefan nodded in understanding, "And let me guess that turned your conversation into something different than you expected during your welcome home coffee date?"
Damon gave his younger brother a thumbs up, "I just brought up that I didn't think that our Saturday meetings would continue. I told her that I doubted Marcel would be fine with it considering our history with each other—I know if I were in his position, I wouldn't be."
Stefan looked over at his brother and saw something in his eyes, "So you are thinking about ending your friendship with Bonnie?"
Damon shrugged, "When I questioned her, she blew up. It was completely over the top, actually. I was trying to get her to see how Marcel would feel," Damon stood up and began to pace the room while Sandy glared at him for abandoning her, before he went on, "she doesn't want to discuss her and Marcel at all, so the rest of our time together was…different and it just wasn't like it used to be," Damon answered dejectedly plopping back down on the couch.
"Well, I could have told you that this would happen, but…" Stefan started before taking in the sadness in his brother's eyes, "but I think you and Bonnie are fighting against the inevitable."
"What are you talking about? She made a choice, and that choice is to have me as a friend and that guy as the boyfriend."
"Did she make a choice or did you make it for her? You say it yourself constantly, you're friends. You say it to me constantly and while, I know you two took a detour…it seemed like you wanted to keep everything the same," Stefan argued.
Damon's eyes bugged out, "Annnnnd she made it clear that she didn't want a relationship with anyone and here comes the announcement that she's with that other guy," Damon eyes glowed with the fire he'd been keeping at bay, "and I understand that being just friends means that she will date other people and she's been dating other people since we've been friends, but the fact that she shut the door on that part of her life and decided she wanted to explore a relationship with this Marcel guy…" Damon stopped and then lowered his voice in defeat, "it says something."
"Well what do you want to do about it?" Stefan asked finally.
"There's not much to do about it," Damon breathed out, "missed chances and all of that."
"You know what, I think we need a Salvatore Brother Night Out."
Damon looked over at his brother and raised an eyebrow, "A Salvatore Brother Night Out, huh?"
Stefan nodded slowly with a grin.
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The ball hurdled out of the tube and flew towards the helmet clad Stefan as he waited on the pitch clutching his Marucci CAT8 Black Baseball Bat and swung as the bat connected with the ball and soared at least 100 feet away, "Not bad!" Damon clapped as he put on his own batting gloves, "I see you still have it somewhat."
The brothers had gathered at one of the batting cages not far from their childhood home for hitting balls and drinking beers, as they'd done for many years of their life when things became too intense.
"Yeah well, it's definitely better than it was a couple of years ago," Stefan moved to the side as Damon took his place on the mound.
Damon waited for the ball to shoot out of the hole and swung the bat, connecting with the ball and sending it careening through the air landing some 80 feet away, "Well I'm still not as good as you Little Brother, but passable," Damon nodded as they walked over to the benches and removed the beers from the cooler that they brought along.
"We used to do this every Sunday morning for as long as I can remember until I left for college," Stefan took a swig of his beer.
"Yeah, Giuseppe was never big on golf surprisingly, so this was the father-son time. He cultivated your talent in baseball and talked my head off about real estate developing. I guess he was determined to set us on certain paths," Damon drank his beer, "you the baseball star and me, his protégé that would get the Salvatore name on a dozen buildings in Mystic Falls."
"And instead, you headed to New York City and left it all behind."
"And he never forgave me for it," Damon finished his beer.
Stefan looked over at Damon, "I think you really sell your relationship with our father short Damon. I think you two are much more alike than you would ever want to admit. That is why he chose you to be his successor. He let me believe in my baseball dreams, he brought us here and what did he do…spend his time telling you about the business while I hit balls and he yelled out 'Good job!' once in awhile. Damon, you were the one that he took under his wing and believe it or not, you are very similar to him in the way you handle business," Stefan smiled as Damon scoffed, "look at Bliss Bar, it's a success in a city where many bars fail. You handle the finances at Revel and undoubtedly our new place and you will keep us afloat. You are probably more like Giuseppe than you would like to admit. You're an excellent businessman Damon and that's what I am sure our father is most proud of. You listened to him just a little bit."
Damon nodded allowing himself to contemplate Stefan's words for a few moments, "Yeah, maybe you're right," he stood up, "but I still regret not being there to say goodbye though," Damon remarked quietly picking up his bat and heading over to the mound.
Stefan frowned as he took a swig of his beer.
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"The website traffic has increased by over 125% over the last week since the billboards started advertising the reopening and the opening of the waterfront lounge," Jane, one of Bonnie's advisors reported from across the conference table the following Monday afternoon.
A grin spread across Bonnie's face, "We have one more week to go and I definitely feel like the excitement is building. Revel's reopening is guaranteed to be one of the biggest events in the city—how are we doing with RSVPs on the website?" Bonnie turned to Raj, one of the other advisors on the account.
"We are nearly at 100% capacity for RSVPs and of course, we will be able to take a small number of walk ups," Raj answered with a slight grin.
"Good. Jane, please make sure that the finalized menu is sent to Stefan by end of business today, we need to get him to sign off," Bonnie gathered up her laptop and her notepad as Jane gave her a thumbs up, "and Raj, please check in with Charley to make sure that the portraits for Revel will be ready to hang on the walls by Friday."
"Yup, sending an email right now," Raj said clicking the keys on his laptop.
Bonnie nodded before turning on her heels and leaving Jane and Raj to finish up their tasks. The nervous fluttering in her stomach started as she realized in the middle of the meeting that her first major PR assignment was slowly winding down and she could be proud of all the work she and her team did.
The reopening of Revel and the new lounge were destined to put her on the track for a promotion before the end of the year and the excitement that coursed through her entire body made a gigantic smile spread across her face.
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After a day of interviewing and sampling food menus for the lounge's resident chef position, Damon stood on the deck of the newest lounge and looked at the rectangular shaped fountain with small fire pits in the center lined down the middle of the fountain with black couches surrounding the incredibly ornate and expensive display, "How much did this cost, Stefan?" he sighed.
Cracking a smile, Stefan replied, "Oh come on Damon, I am still within budget."
Sneering Damon answered, "Barely, I haven't reviewed the final numbers for the Grand Opening party yet or the reopening of Revel," Damon widened his eyes at his brother who smirked back at him.
"Trust me, I informed Bonnie that we have a budget and that you would have another heart attack if we went over it," Stefan winked.
"Nice."
"Hey, if we can't joke about it at this point, what exactly was the point of it all?" Stefan bumped Damon's shoulder.
"Such a kind brother," Damon quipped looking out at the water and the sailboats bobbing up and down around the dock, "we are doing pretty good, aren't we?" he turned to look at his younger brother.
"If Giuseppe could see us now," Stefan shook his head.
"He would be quite upset that we took some of his money and opened night clubs," Damon chuckled.
"Oh no doubt, but I think a part of him would accept it because we are working together and I'm pretty sure that's all he ever wanted from us. Building the Salvatore name, I mean…we still have his real estate properties…"
"Our real estate properties," Damon corrected Stefan who rolled his eyes, "but we are doing good by the Salvatore name."
"Mom probably would not agree though."
Damon snickered, "Yes, I'm pretty sure once we are finished with the opening and reopening, she will start her campaign again to find us wives."
"I'm pretty sure the guest list she turned over to me for the events consisted of potential candidates to be the newest Mrs. Salvatores."
"And you can feel free to have every name on the list," Damon answered.
"You are so charitable," Stefan teased.
"Always," Damon answered.
"Let's go in, the final chef candidate should be ready to give us a sampling of his skills," Stefan touched Damon's shoulder as they walked off of the deck.
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Bonnie sat at the bar at Ladini Brothers Italian Restaurant in downtown Mystic Falls, sipping on a glass of Pinot Noir reviewing her task list on her phone. Elena would be at the hospital overnight and the idea of having dinner alone in front of the television didn't exactly excite her. Marcel was in Detroit tying up loose ends, so having some Bonnie time wasn't such a bad idea.
"Bonnie…Bonnie…is that you!?" a familiar high-pitched voice called to her causing her fingers to freeze around the goblet of her wine glass mid raise to her mouth.
Turning slowly, Bonnie saw Caroline heading over to her wearing a wide smile and she found herself mimicking the manic smile the blond wore, "Bonnie…oh my god, it is so good to see you!" Caroline brought her into a tight hug.
"Yes, so good to see you as well," Bonnie answered glancing around praying that Enzo wasn't also in tow.
"I was just meeting with Antonio about the wedding rehearsal dinner that we're having here next month," Caroline shrugged, "umm…are you waiting for someone, can I sit down for a few moments and have a talk with you?"
Bonnie controlled every facial muscle as Caroline stood beside her with a small smile, "Sure you can, we can have some more wine because…" Bonnie downed the rest of the burgundy wine in her glass, "I'm all done."
Caroline smiled while taking a seat in the high-top chair, she ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and the bartender filled both of their glasses, "Soo…the wedding is next month huh?" Bonnie asked breaking the silence, while quickly peeling of the band-aid.
"Yes, the 16th. I'm sorry, we initially wanted a huge wedding, but it's turned into a smaller affair and we had to reduce the guest list and…"
Bonnie gently touched the blond's hand, "It's fine. Trust me. I understand about these things, guest lists get slashed, and I am aware that the ex-girlfriend to the groom may not make the list," Bonnie took a sip of her wine as Caroline grimaced.
Caroline bit her bottom lip for a few moments and then took a large gulp of her wine, "Bonnie, Enzo and I did not start seeing each other until you two were over. I would never do anything like that. We weren't best friends, but we were friends, and I would never do something like that to you or anyone," Caroline rushed to say barely taking a breath, "and I don't want it to be weird between us because I think you are a good person Bonnie and I did like at the very least being one of the people in your life who would catch drinks with you and Elena once in awhile…"
As soon as Caroline finished speaking, Bonnie felt guilty. Caroline was always considered a 'fringe friend'. If there was a birthday party or celebration of some kind, she was on the guest list and after the breakup and the news of her relationship with Enzo came about—Caroline and Enzo hadn't made any lists, "Caroline…"
"I know it's weird. I do," Caroline went on.
"But it's not," Bonnie answered turning to face Caroline full on, "it's not weird and maybe that is the weird part," Bonnie stated, "I have to admit, I was surprised to see you two at the game a couple of months ago and seeing the engagement ring did send a shock to my system but before I saw the engagement ring and things got weird…I saw you two and thinking back, you two looked so perfect together. You were in sync and the smiles on your faces? You looked happy. Enzo looked happier than he'd been with me towards the end, and I accept that."
"Bonnie…"
Bonnie took Caroline's hand in hers, "I am happy for you and Enzo; I don't want you to think I'm not. We're grown. This isn't college anymore, relationships change, and we all grow."
Bonnie watched as Caroline's eyes filled with tears, "So will you be open to being the friends again who meet for brunch occasionally and maybe attend milestone birthday parties?" she asked timidly.
Bonnie smiled, "I think we can do that."
"That's great Bonnie!" Caroline hugged her tightly before picking up her glass of wine and holding it out for Bonnie to clink hers with.
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After finishing the wine and going through at least two pasta dishes, Caroline headed home to Enzo and Bonnie sat at the bar finishing her Tiramisu. Her mind drifted to the conversation with Caroline. She meant every word that she said. Enzo and Caroline with their lovey dovey and coupley interactions with each other showed anyone within a few feet of them that they were the perfect people for each other, and Bonnie knew that she hadn't felt like that about Enzo in pretty much a year before they called it quits.
A year of not being in love any more with the man she slept next to every night drifted by and she refused to end the relationship until she found herself tempted to kiss another man on a work trip to Los Angeles. She confessed to Enzo and he immediately forgave her for the mere thought of thinking about kissing another man and it was at that moment that she realized she didn't want his forgiveness…she didn't care about his forgiveness.
If Bonnie thought hard enough, she knew she stayed in her relationship because she enjoyed the familiarity. He could look at her, hear the inflection of her voice during a conversation and he just knew something was wrong. He knew her favorite food, her favorite movie, her favorite tv show…but the passion was gone. The fire that kept them in the relationship had extinguished long before. She felt safe and secure in that relationship…and after ending things with Enzo, she promised herself that she would never just seek out safe and secure in a relationship—she needed to feel the fire. She finished the last bite of her Tiramisu and her phone lit up with Marcel's face filling the screen. Looking down, Bonnie turned to the last of her glass of wine and downed it allowing the call to go to voicemail.
Sighing, she realized that Marcel left a voice message and a sinking feeling settled in her stomach—the talk she needed to have with Marcel would have to wait until she hadn't spent 2 hours drinking wine. Sliding off of her chair, she headed outside while ordering a rideshare.
Five minutes later, the black sedan pulled to a stop in front of her and Bonnie slid into the backseat closing her eyes as the sounds of the evening slow jams on the radio filled the car.
"Fun night?" the older brown skinned woman driving the sedan asked pulling away from the curb.
"Oh yeah, spent half of it with my ex-boyfriend's fiancée," Bonnie stated with her eyes still closed.
"What? That sounds interesting," the older woman chuckled.
"You have no idea…" Bonnie mumbled with her eyes still closed.
The woman laughed while Bonnie settled into the cool leather seats. The music on the radio switched from a Maxwell song to one of the latest releases from Jazmine Sullivan, when the sound of tires screeching sliced through Jazmine's voice, her driver screamed and the sound of glass shattering caused Bonnie's eyes to fly open momentarily before pain and darkness met her.
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"We just got the final guest list for the reopening next week and we're looking at about 175 guests," Stefan reviewed the guest list on his laptop sitting across from Damon at the bar at the new lounge.
Damon nodded impressed, "Not bad, we're going to be filled to capacity."
"I see that Tanner declined his invite," Stefan observed.
Damon shrugged, "He's in California on business over the next month."
"But Mom included Sabine on her guest list."
"So," Damon focused on his own laptop screen without meeting Stefan's eyes.
"Are you sure she's accepted the fact that you two are in the past?"
Damon tore his eyes away from his laptop, "It doesn't matter. I accepted it. Also, she tends to be on good behavior whenever our mother is around. She has enough sense to know that her little games won't work very well in front of her."
"Let's hope so," Stefan commented as his phone buzzed on the marble counter, "hmm…it's Elena."
"Tell me you're not still flirting around with her," Damon sighed.
Stefan winked as he answered the phone, "Hello Dr. Gilbert," Stefan flirted as Damon rolled his eyes turning back to his screen, "umm Damon? He's right here," Damon's turned to look at Stefan with questioning eyes as Stefan's eyebrows furrowed as he listened to Elena, "…wait…what's wrong?"
Damon sat up straighter trying to hear as Stefan put his phone on speaker, "Hey Elena, it's me and Damon, go ahead," Stefan looked at Damon.
"I wouldn't call, but it's an emergency," Elena replied breathlessly.
Damon's body went cold, "What happened?"
"Bonnie's been in a car accident," Elena responded.
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"How do you feel?" Elena grimaced entering the emergency pod where Bonnie was sitting up in the bed.
"Like I was thrown around a car," Bonnie remarked tiredly.
Elena grabbed some gloves from the container by the door, "Well I came in to give you some sutures for that nasty cut you got above your right eye," she grimaced, "the ER is a mad house and I'm sorry that they only put gauze and tape on…"
"I know, I saw all the cars that ran into each other at the light. The idiot t-boned us, causing our car to spin at least 3 times while 2 other cars ran into us and causing us to flip on our side. How's the driver of my Lyft?" Bonnie asked as Elena took a seat on the stool and moved closer to Bonnie.
"Well…she has a broken arm and leg, some cuts and bruises, but she will be ok. You two were lucky," Elena stated as she cleaned the wound while Bonnie gritted her teeth, "but we have people going up to surgery, there's a lot of injuries and I have to stay here or I would take you home."
"Just call me a cab or my other best friend Caroline," Bonnie quipped.
"What? And this is going to pinch a little" Elena raised an eyebrow as she stood up to start suturing.
"Owww," Bonnie whined as she felt the plastic enter her skin, "and it's a long story about Caroline."
"I'm sure and you can tell me when you don't have a slight concussion," Elena continued to work, "but I'm not calling you a cab, I made another phone call because you need someone to watch you tonight to make sure you are ok."
Bonnie gripped Elena's wrist stopping her from continuing the suture, "Wait who did you call?" she asked fearing she already knew the answer.
Elena gave Bonnie a crooked smile, "Well…"
"Bon," Damon called from the doorway exasperated.
Bonnie looked towards the door seeing Damon's wild eyes and noticed his entire body was tense as he gripped the door frame, Bonnie turned to look at Elena, "Oh I see," she sighed at Elena who gave her an innocent look.
So I had to reread this fic from the beginning to get my mojo back when it came to this plot and what better way to kick it off with one of the best tropes out here.
Oddly Bonnie's talk with Caroline gave her some clarity and made her realize that she is starting to repeat old habits. The accident and the rest of night will lead to some very interesting conversations between Bonnie, Damon and Marcel.
Please show your like/love. I appreciate all of the messages that people have sent to me over the last year (OMG…I am so very terrible), but your messages and comments definitely helped me rediscover my love for Bamon and their dynamic. This is for you!