Thank you for all of your support for COC. I decided that I left you hanging a little without a glimpse into Damon spending time with the Bennetts and what, if anything, happens with Stefan and Bianca following that night. So here is my holiday gift to you…
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Wednesday, December 22nd
The black Camaro traveled through the snow-covered road on I-95 through Delaware with Led Zeppelin blaring from the speakers as it made its way towards Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for 4 days of Holiday Cheer with the Bennetts. Now that Bonnie and Damon cemented their relationship, she strongly encouraged him to spend the holidays with her family (it may or may have not included her wearing a blue lacy ensemble that had him speaking in tongues). Bonnie told him that it was time for him to formerly meet her father and mother and Christmas was the perfect time for it.
For some reason, he had some misgivings about meeting Bonnie's father. When he did receive introductions to fathers of his girlfriends, it never went well. They usually took one look at him and decide that he wanted to do all kinds of naughty things to their daughters and they were usually right. So he brought back up…Stefan. Their mother had taken off to Paris for the holiday and Stefan made sure to mope around and tell him how he would be spending the holiday at the lounges mostly and he would be happy to come to Philadelphia with him. Something about Stefan's eagerness about visiting the Bennetts made him suspicious but he didn't have time to dwell on his brother's ulterior motives.
"So give me the cliff notes on Bonnie's parents?" Stefan asked.
"Teachers…her father teaches high school calculus, and her mother teaches creative writing at one of the small liberal arts colleges in the area."
Stefan nodded, "And will her grandmother be in attendance?"
Damon cracked a smile, "I imagine so and she will have no problem letting us all know about our sexual energy."
Stefan chuckled, "And what about uh…Bianca?"
Damon glanced over at his younger brother out of the corner of his eye, "She will be there as far as I know. Is there a reason why you care?"
Stefan shrugged, "Well you and Bonnie will undoubtedly be on top of each other the entire time, I will need someone to show me around town."
Damon took a moment to observe his brother's demeanor, "Do you and Bianca have something going on?"
Stefan scrunched up his face, "What no…no…why would you think that? We will be in laws pretty soon, that would be weird."
Damon raised an eyebrow, "Uh, huh," he replied turning back to the road.
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"Dad, are we out of bourbon?!" Bonnie called staring through the glass doors of the liquor cabinet in the dining room.
"Out of bourbon?" Rudy appeared from his home office off of the dining room removing his reading glasses, "since when do I buy bourbon?"
Bonnie sighed, "I need to go get some then," she replied heading towards the foyer of the large single home where the Bennetts resided.
"Why? No one drinks that stuff…" Rudy looked at her confused until his daughter narrowed her eyes, "oh of course, Ole Blue Eyes does," he rolled his eyes, "I don't see why we must twist ourselves into pretzels to accommodate him. Enzo never requested special alcohol when he came over for the holidays."
"He would keep his favorite tequila in the trunk of his car," Bonnie slid on her red puffy coat and started slipping on her black snow boots.
"Yes, like a respectable guest," Rudy pointed at Bonnie.
"Dad, Damon is a good man, and you will see. He's coming here and he will already have to deal with Grams, can you please be kind? And if he has bourbon, he will be able to deal with Grams a little easier…" Bonnie then smiled at Rudy, "hey, maybe if you had a shot of bourbon you could deal with her easily too," she smirked.
"I need to be of clear mind to ask your boyfriend the appropriate questions," Rudy answered without a hint of humor.
Rolling her eyes, Bonnie pulled her matching red hat over her long dark tresses, "Fine, would you like anything from the Wine and Spirit store?"
"A huge bottle of rum…huge!" Rudy spread his hands wide.
Bonnie shook her head grabbing her purse from a hook and opened the door leading towards the garage.
"Rudy, you promised to be easy on Damon," Abby walked into the living room carrying a box of Christmas ornaments for the presently bare 6'2" tree.
"I will be easy on him, but I don't understand why we have to make all of these accommodations for this man. What do we really know about him Abigail? Our daughter was working for him…"
"She was not working for him," Abby cut him off, "she was representing him and coordinating the opening of his lounges. She works for the PR firm," Abby corrected him.
"Right, well we don't know much about him and now we have to make sure that he's comfortable when he comes here…annnnnndddd he's bringing his own guest! Who does that?!" Rudy widened his eyes.
Abby chuckled at her husband's theatrics, "It's his brother. He has a small family; did you expect him to leave his brother alone for Christmas?"
"He could have stayed with him," Rudy mumbled.
Abby gasped, "Rudy! Come on, Bonnie loves Damon and you need to stop. You need to be on your best behavior because if you make Bonnie feel uncomfortable by treating her boyfriend badly, you will not have a good Christmas or New Year or Valentine's Day or Birthday…get the picture?" she narrowed her eyes just as his twin daughters would do frequently to him, "now we have to go to the market and get some more egg nog for tonight."
Blowing out air, Rudy sighed, "Fine. Fine. I will treat him like I treat all guests. Give me a moment and I will meet you at the car, Bonnie took the RX," he shrugged heading towards his office.
Abby looked up towards the ceiling, "Please let us make it through this holiday unscathed."
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Later that morning, Bianca cracked one eye open and sat up in bed looking around for a few moments bringing herself back to the present. She'd arrived in Philadelphia at 2am due to delayed flights and when she trudged into the house after taking a ride share from the airport, she just wanted to be left alone—which her family allowed to happen.
She glanced around at the pale pink walls surrounding her and felt the warmness and homey feeling of her childhood bedroom. She slid off the edge of the full-sized bed and stretched. Padding into the adjoining the bathroom that she shared with Bonnie, she turned on the water to brush her teeth and quickly wash her face.
Taking in the silence around her, she hoped at the very least that house would remain quiet—she hated being home sometimes, especially with Bonnie. Their parents were already morning people and when Bonnie was home, she added to the noise by talking in the morning.
Trudging back into her bedroom sitting down on the bed, she checked her phone opening one text message from Bonnie asking if she wanted anything from the Wine and Spirit store, she quickly texted a bottle of Sangria and quickly put the phone down on her nightstand before dropping back on the bed.
She stared up at the ceiling for a few moments. Bonnie told her that Damon was coming, and she hoped beyond hope that he left his brother in Mystic Falls. It wasn't that she didn't like Stefan. She liked him. He was attractive, smart, funny and had one of the best bodies that she ever laid eyes on—or she thought he did, her memory was still vague about 'the night that shall never be mentioned'.
On most days, she could put that night out of her mind. When she was on dates and when she was at work, but when Bonnie mentioned Stefan during casual conversation—thoughts, pieces of memories always drifted in. The little she did remember about that night was that she was definitely a receiver as opposed to a giver and there was one thing that she did remember about Stefan very vividly and every time she remembered it she had to cross her legs to try to control the feeling that made her want a repeat performance. "Nope Bianca, let it go…now," she whispered to herself as the doorbell rang breaking the silence around her.
"Mom, Dad!" she called from her room as the doorbell rang again, "of course," she grumbled heading out of her room and down the stairs towards the front door.
Stepping on the lower stairs, she could see the outline of a male figure at the door, "Lovely, they would all leave. How did they know that I would even be awake to let Damon in?" she mumbled stalking over to the door and throwing it open to the tall, brunette male with light brown eyes staring back at her with a surprised look, "What are you doing here?" she snapped.
Stefan smirked, "Hello to you too Bianca," he answered.
Her eyes drifted to Damon parked in front of the house removing his bag from the trunk of his car with his phone to his ear.
"Stefan, what are you doing here?" she whispered matching his gaze.
"Celebrating Christmas with my brother and his girlfriend's family," he replied simply.
Bianca narrowed her eyes, "Is that the only reason why you're here?"
Stefan smiled back at her, "Would there be another reason?" he teased.
"No," she answered quickly.
"Ok so can I come in or…"
Bianca tried to ignore the way her heart beat sped up at the way he looked at her from head to toe and then she realized that the cami top and shorts she had on probably displayed a little too much than she would have preferred, along with the fact that the cold air from the outside drifting up and causing parts of her body to make themselves known, "Come in, I have to go upstairs and get dressed anyway," she turned away suddenly and headed towards the stairs taking them almost two at a time.
Stefan watched Bianca disappear up the stairs and licked his lips, "Was that Bianca?" Damon asked walking up beside him.
"It was," Stefan answered.
"Huh…well…Bonnie just called me, she's at the store—she will be back in a few," Damon replied as he followed Stefan in the house.
"Right," Stefan stated looking towards the stairs where Bianca had disappeared.
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Damon and Stefan didn't know what to do in the Bennett house without Bonnie and Bianca upstairs, so they took to standing up looking at the various family pictures in the living room. There were dozens of the twins together and separately. The Bennetts seemed like a close and loving family and Damon hoped that he could make a good impression on Rudy and Abby. This was his first test and he wouldn't fail.
As he and Stefan focused on the college graduation pictures of Bonnie and Bianca, the garage door lifted signaling that someone was back. Damon straightened up causing Stefan to look over at his older brother who seemed anxious.
There were a few moments before sets of footsteps sounded and a door a couple feet from the front door opened to reveal Rudy, his eyes scanned the Salvatore brothers for a few moments as his mouth set in a straight line as he clutched his shopping bags.
"Rudy, please let me help you with those bags," Damon rushed over with his hands outstretched.
Rudy moved the market cloth bags away from Damon's outstretched hands, "How about you help my wife and daughter," he replied walking away from Damon and heading towards the kitchen.
"Oook," Damon breathed out and then he caught a glimpse of Abby who smiled warmly at him.
"Hi Damon," she greeted him.
"Hi Abby, may I help you with your bags?" he asked.
"Oh thank you Damon!" she chirped handing him the three bags and heading towards the kitchen greeting Stefan on her way.
As the garage door rolled down, Damon saw her turn to him with a grin on her face, "Stefan…" Damon replied turning around briefly thrusting Abby's bags in Stefan's hands, "here take these."
Stefan shook his head before following the path to the kitchen as Damon walked down the three steps towards the garage to meet Bonnie taking the two bags from her, "Hi," he smiled down at her.
"Hi," she beamed.
He placed the bags down on the ground and brought his hands to her cheeks, "I missed you," he whispered.
"It's only been two days," she laughed.
"Exactly," he grinned before bringing her into a kiss and immediately she opened her mouth allowing his tongue entry. Immediately he felt the lower portion of his body respond—he and Bonnie spent every night with each other and over the last couple of days, he'd been without her and…well his body reacted quickly to touching her again.
"Excuse me," a deep voice called out from behind them.
Bonnie instantly jumped away from Damon leaving his lips pursed and his eyes closed until he opened them and turned to see Rudy glaring at him from the doorway, "I thought you two would like to meet us in the living room so that we can discuss sleeping arrangements…I will give you a minute," Rudy retorted turning around and closing the door.
"Sleeping arrangements?" Damon raised an eyebrow, "wait…I'm not sleeping in your room?"
Bonnie shifted on her feet avoiding eye contact with him, "Umm…how about we get the rest of the bags out of the SUV," she turned on her heels.
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Stefan sat in the large living room chair holding on to a glass of water that Abby had provided him before Rudy stomped into the living room and asked to speak to her in the kitchen. He figured Rudy's mood turned because of whatever he witnessed in the garage—which meant it could be anything where Damon and Bonnie were concerned. He sipped his water with a smirk on his face as he caught a glimpse of Bianca walking down the stairs dressed in a long-sleeved t-shirt with Lucy from Charlie Brown dressed like a Christmas elf and tight jeans. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and she looked over at him hesitating on the bottom steps, "I don't bite," Stefan called out to her.
"Stefan," she whispered as she felt him slowly suck on her sensitive nub, the memory attacked her quickly as the words left his lips.
Bianca shook her head to rid herself of the memory, "I know," she replied looking over at him and continuing down the stairs, "where is everyone?" she looked around.
"Well Bonnie and Damon are in the garage gathering up shopping bags and your father is in the kitchen with your mother after witnessing Bonnie and Damon gathering up shopping bags," Stefan smirked.
Bianca nodded, "Ahh…which means my mother is trying to calm my dad from having a stroke."
"With my brother and your sister, he probably witnessed something…"
"He witnessed nothing too risqué, thank you very much Stefan," Bonnie walked into the living room carrying a bag with Damon behind carrying four more.
"Of course not, you two are known for keeping your hands to yourself," Bianca snorted.
"Oh, Bonnie and Damon, yes…good…," Abby walked into the living room with Rudy following, "I guess we can discuss the most important aspect of the next couple of days-where everyone will sleep. We thought that since we have so much extra space that everyone should have their own room," Abby grinned widely.
Bonnie and Bianca exchanged looks. They were well aware of what Abby's crazed grin meant. It meant she had lost an argument or that she had conceded, or she was doing something against her will—which meant, their father had thrown a tantrum.
"Yes," Rudy smiled, "there are 5 bedrooms upstairs, of course 3 are occupied because of our bedroom and the girls' bedrooms. Sheila will be here tomorrow, so that leaves one bedroom upstairs—and we thought it would be best for Stefan to stay there. You will have to excuse me, it's a little small but I'm sure you won't mind."
Bonnie narrowed her eyes at her father as Bianca's eyes grew wide as Rudy continued, "And Damon, since my daughter wanted you to be extra comfortable here…we have a fully furnished basement. It's has a full ensuite bathroom and bedroom. You would have your own space and I'm sure you will be very comfortable there."
"Daddy…" Bonnie began.
"Bonnie, maybe you should show Damon to his room or mini apartment, if you will," Abby beamed.
"And Bianca, please show Stefan to the guest room," Rudy replied.
Bianca's eyes widened as Bonnie narrowed her eyes at her father before grabbing Damon's hand and pulling him towards the door leading towards the basement without another word.
"Bianca…" Abby gestured towards Stefan.
"Right, right," Bianca nodded, "come on Stefan, I will show you to your room."
"Thank you," Stefan picked up his bag and followed Bianca up the stairs.
Abby turned to Rudy, "I hope you are pleased with yourself," she replied.
Rudy smiled widely, "Absolutely, I won't have Ole Blue Eyes upstairs with Bonnie sneaking across the hall every five minutes."
"You know that our daughters are grown women," Abby answered.
"Not in this house they aren't," Ruby stated as he followed Abby towards the kitchen carrying the bags of liquor that Damon brought in.
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"Your father banished me to the basement," Damon shook his head with a smile on his face, "smart."
"It's something," Bonnie stated opening the door to the small apartment space and stepping inside. Damon walked inside and he had to admit he was impressed. There was a full living room with a couch and loveseat, large flat screen television and a king-sized bed. Through another door, he could see a full bathroom complete with a sunken tub and a glass door shower.
"Wow," he breathed out.
"Yeah, this was a summer project that my father undertook with his older brother about 4 years ago. He usually banishes my Grams down here during her long stays and other family members he doesn't exactly want to run into in the morning."
"I see."
"And he probably thinks that if you are down here, you won't sneak into my room as easily at night," she gave Damon a slight smile.
"That's definitely a smart deduction," Damon nodded looking around.
"But…" Bonnie turned to him, "who's to say that we can't find other ways to be together…" she licked her lips taking his hand and leading him towards the full bathroom as his smile grew following her through the door.
"Bon, what are you doing?" he asked as she closed the door behind them, "your dad is going to kill me, if he comes down here and catches us," he mumbled in between Bonnie's planting kisses on his neck.
Breaking their kisses, she turned around and locked the door, "My dad won't come down here because he knows he may walk in on something. Besides, I want to spend some time with you because I missed you too," she replied pulling him closer to her.
"Did you?" he looked down caressing her cheek.
"Yes, I did," she whispered bringing his head down to kiss her and within moments deepening the kiss.
In a blink of an eye, Damon had Bonnie's t-shirt over her head and dropped it onto the floor with his hands going to her jeans and unbuttoning them, sliding them down her legs in a flurry, "This room doesn't carry sound," she whispered in his ear in between kisses.
"Good," he replied lifting her up to sit on the counter.
Bonnie held onto him as he undid his belt and lowered his pants to the floor. Within seconds he was inside of her, and she gasped while he filled her completely, "I missed you so much," she whimpered in his ear.
His hand drifted down and caressed her for a moment causing her to close her eyes as she moaned, "I can tell," he stated capturing her lips in a heated kiss.
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"So the room's not exactly tiny, but it's definitely not the largest in the house," Bianca explained as Stefan followed her up the staircase.
"Well, I only plan on sleeping in there, soo as long as there's a bed—I will be fine," Stefan commented following her down the hallway.
"Yeah well, this room is directly across from mine and Bonnie's is next to mine, so if you need anything just knock on either of our doors," she shrugged.
"I may have a better chance knocking on yours," Stefan answered.
Bianca looked over her shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow which immediately caused him to hold up his hands in innocence, "Only because I think your father's plan to keep Bonnie and Damon separated won't work."
Bianca chuckled, "Probably not, but he was proud of himself…so we will let him have the victory."
Stefan laughed as Bianca opened the door to a bedroom. The room wasn't exactly small, but it was smaller than what he was used to. The room contained a queen-sized bed, a chest of drawers and a flat screen television. Simple, "So this is your cozy room for a few days," Bianca gestured around, "the bathroom is next door, you will have it to yourself until Grams comes and when she comes she will probably use the adjoining bathroom that me and Bonnie share."
Stefan nodded.
"Do you need anything right now?" she asked looking around.
"I think I do," he stared at her.
"What a towel, washcloth?" she inquired.
"A conversation about what happened a couple of months ago," he suggested raising his eyebrow wearing a flirtatious smile.
Bianca felt her hand reach for the doorknob, "What happened a couple of months ago?"
Stefan chuckled lightly, "Bianca…"
She rolled her eyes, "I thought we all decided that we would not speak about what happened that night again."
Stefan nodded, "Because you see, while some things may be hard to remember—there are other aspects of that night that I just can't forget," he moved closer to her while she backed away from him and into the wall opposite the chest of drawers.
"Oh," she swallowed allowing her eyes to meet his.
"Yes," he moved closer noticing her breaths increase, "for instance, how your skin felt," he gently touched her arm with his fingertips leaving goosebumps in the wake of his touch.
"How can you be so sure it was my skin?" Bianca countered, "there was someone else in that bed with us."
"Was there?" Stefan raised his eyebrow.
Bianca shook her head and laughed as if the spell was broken in that very instant, "You almost had me," her eyes turned into slits looking up at him, "denying the existence of Elena in that bed definitely tells me that you are full of shit. If you need something Stefan, let me know," she replied gently pushing him away from her and heading towards the door of the bedroom opening it and closing it quickly behind her.
Stefan stood staring at the closed door in disbelief, "Wow," he replied—unsure if he had been rejected or challenged.
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Later that evening, Bianca found her sister in the bathroom brushing her teeth hours after a tense dinner and a viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where everyone tried to pretend that it wasn't uncomfortable with their father watching Bonnie and Damon with suspicious eyes.
"Well this is already shaping up to be a wonderful Christmas holiday," Bianca quipped spreading her face cleanser across her smooth skin.
Bonnie snickered, "It's fine. Dad will be Dad and tomorrow, he will relax."
"So, Damon's fine being banished to the basement?" Bianca asked turning on the faucet testing the water with her fingers.
"Nooo, but he will get used to it," Bonnie answered.
"I'm sure he will with you sneaking down there in the middle of the night no doubt," Bianca snorted.
Bonnie rinsed her mouth and went for her facial products turning to Bianca, "Oh Bee, are you upset that you didn't invite one of your playthings to Christmas?" she teased.
Bianca remembered the feel of Stefan's fingertips on her skin and swore that those damn goosebumps reappeared, "I am currently in between friends and even if I weren't, I wouldn't subject them to Daddy's over the top hovering. I like freedom," she sniffed.
Bonnie rubbed her cleansing cream on her face, "Right," she snorted before rinsing her face while Bianca massaged her moisturizer onto her face with a petulant look.
Thursday, December 23rd
Smooth, soft hands slowly caressed her leg taking their time moving up her legs causing her to bite down on her lip, "You like that?" his baritone whispered in her ear with his lips lightly touching the delicate skin of her ear.
Opening her eyes, she met his brown ones staring down at her with a sexy smile, "Yes," she breathed out as one of his hands moved between her thighs that automatically separated as soon as he touched her. She swallowed hard as his hand slowly moved the thin fabric to the side and one of his fingers slowly caressed her center causing her to moan quietly.
"I think you definitely do," he stated studying her eyes for a few moments before kissing her softly on the neck.
She closed her eyes breathing deeply as he sucked her neck gently, "Bianca…" he whispered in her ear.
"Yes."
"Bianca…"
"Yes," she nearly panted as he quickened his touches.
"Bianca, Grams is here!" Bonnie's voice suddenly cut through the air.
Bianca's eyes flew open and she found herself alone in her room, "Bianca, get up…you know she wants us downstairs for breakfast!" Bonnie called through the door.
"I'm up," Bianca called in a strangled voice.
"Good," Bonnie answered before she began walking away from the door.
Bianca sighed looking towards her bag on the floor—there was no way she had any time to get one of her toys and…nope…not with her family downstairs waiting for her. She slid out of bed and trudged over to the door to the adjoining the bathroom when there was a light knock on her bedroom door, "Bonnie, I will be downstairs after my shower!" she called over her shoulders.
"Umm…it's me," Stefan mumbled on the other side causing her to freeze mid step, "your mother said I could ask you to help me."
Bianca stood in front of her bathroom door staring wide eyed at her closed bedroom door.
"Bianca, I just need some help—it won't take long," Stefan called through the door.
Someone is definitely working against me, she mumbled heading over to her bedroom door and flinging it open to Stefan standing in the hallway with a towel wrapped around his waist. Her eyes refused to look below his neck and he spoke, "Umm…I forgot my toothbrush and your mother said that you could show me where you keep extras," he looked past her as if he was avoiding looking away from her face.
"Of course," she swept past him heading to the hallway linen closet and retrieving a brand new toothbrush from a pack and handed it to him.
"Thank you," he replied clutching it in his hand.
Bianca nodded as she headed to her bedroom door and closed it behind her. She immediately turned to put her head on the door, "Get a grip on yourself," she whispered, "you don't act like this over any man, especially not Stefan Salvatore. Get it together Bianca Bennett," she ordered.
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"So Damon, how did you sleep?" Abby asked filling up Damon's coffee cup downstairs in the dining room.
Damon managed a smile, "Pretty good. The bed is pretty comfortable down there and after the long drive yesterday, I was able to fall asleep pretty quickly." He figured it was best not to mention that he was able to damn near fall into a coma after the blow job Bonnie had given him when she snuck down at around 2am.
"Good, I was hoping that it wouldn't be too weird with you being down their alone," Rudy entered the dining room taking a seat with his cup of coffee wearing a pleased look in his face.
"Rudy, please tell me that you didn't separate Bonnie and Damon," Sheila spoke up with a roll of her eyes.
"Sheila…" Rudy warned.
Sheila scoffed, "What are they teens? And if you think they won't find a way to…"
"Wow Grams! How was your ride from the airport?" Bonnie interrupted the conversation bringing in a plate filled with pork bacon, sausage and Canadian bacon.
"It was fine, I gave my driver some advice on how to make sure that his wife fully enjoys the items he purchased from a lingerie store…while some may believe that it's tacky to buy lingerie for your partner, I think it can be very personal and tantalizing if presented correctly," Sheila replied taking a sip of her coffee.
"Well thank you for that tidbit," Rudy replied as Abby brought in a plate of pancakes piled high, "can I get something out of the kitchen, Abby? Your mother is providing way too much excitement for me."
"The potatoes and the eggs," Abby gave him a sympathetic pat on the arm as he disappeared into the kitchen.
"Abigail, your husband really should loosen up," Sheila snorted.
"And you need to stop teasing him Mom," Abby commented as she went back into the kitchen.
Sheila chuckled as she turned her cat like brown eyes on Bonnie and Damon seated to the right of her. Bonnie braced herself as Damon smiled taking a sip of his coffee. He had to admit; besides Bonnie, Sheila was his favorite member of the Bennett family. "So you two?" she leaned back in her chair with her arm resting on the chair top, "I know for sure that Rudy's little plan is not stopping you two from continuing your new relationship bonding, it's all over your faces."
"Grams, please its breakfast time," Bonnie blushed sipping her orange juice.
"Oh Damon doesn't mind, do you Damon?" Sheila smiled slyly.
"No, but I think Bonnie does…but we can talk later if you want," Damon leaned closer to Sheila with a grin.
"Finally! Someone who appreciates my knowledge!" Sheila clapped her hands together, "but I am delighted to see that smile on Bonnie's face, I feel the relaxed nature in you both now that you stopped being so silly and admitted that you two are in synch and that your energies are essentially one."
"And the fact that you somehow profited it from it, is not too bad is it Grams?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
Sheila shrugged, "I needed some new shoes and you two were easy to read," she replied as Bianca entered the dining room with a halfhearted wave and then seconds later Stefan followed, "and speaking of easy to read, what's going on here?" Sheila leaned forward as Bianca and Stefan took seats across from Bonnie and Damon causing the couple to both raise eyebrows.
"Grams, it's entirely too early for sexual readings," Bianca mumbled.
"Good Morning, Sheila," Stefan greeted the older woman across the table.
Sheila smiled at Stefan and then focused her gaze on Bianca pouring orange juice, "Good Morning, …I'm glad you're in a better mood than my darling granddaughter."
"Good Morning Grams," Bianca painted a smile on her face.
"Clearly you should have brought someone to Christmas with you, perhaps you would have the pep in your step that Bonnie has if you were getting some peni…"
"Grams, I am very much satisfied in that department, thank you," Bianca cut her off.
"Ok, alright…who's ready to eat breakfast!" Rudy announced entering the dining room holding two bowls.
Bianca focused on her plate. She refused to acknowledge Bonnie staring at her from across the table, Damon wearing a very suspicious smirk and Stefan softly laughing beside her. Why did she ever come home!?
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After a lovely breakfast with Sheila asking subtle questions to draw information out of Bianca and to a lesser degree Stefan, the Salvatore brothers went to the basement to check out the small apartment where Damon been banished to (and to get away from the Bennett women and Rudy, who seemed to spread his suspicion also to Stefan). "That was interesting," Damon chuckled as he plopped down on the couch.
"That's one way to put it."
Damon studied his brother for a few moments with his arms crossed and his eyes focused on Stefan's face, "Is something going on that you're not telling me. Did you want to come here for another reason, a reason that name begins with a B and ends with an A?"
Stefan shook his head, "I'm here to be a buffer between you and Bonnie's father who looks like he would murder you if he could get away with it."
Damon scoffed, "He's warming up to me."
"He almost stabbed your hand with a fork when you reached for a pancake," Stefan deadpanned.
"Yes, my hand and not my heart…progress."
Stefan chuckled, "I am here because I didn't want to spend Christmas in Mystic Falls and I have to admit, it's been rather entertaining here already. Sheila alone will keep me entertained. She makes Rudy, Bonnie and Bianca uncomfortable and it's definitely a sight to behold."
"Yeah, she has a way with words," Damon chuckled.
"So are you looking forward to playing chauffer for Rudy today while you go to pick up the pies and cakes that Abby talked about at breakfast?" Stefan asked sitting on the couch.
"Me? You're coming too unless you want to hang out at the mall with the women. Besides, part of your job as a buffer is to be on my side when Rudy starts to lay into me."
"Of course, but you know he's only like that because he knows your relationship with Bonnie is real and it's going to last."
Damon smiled, "It's going to last," he reiterated.
"I've never seen you so content meeting the parents of any woman you've dated before. I know that what you and Bonnie have is different for you. I know that you love her."
"I can't see my life without her in it," Damon replied
"Sooo…are you also using this trip as a way to soften Rudy towards you so that you can get his permission to ask Bonnie to become Mrs. Damon Salvatore?" Stefan asked.
Damon felt his heart clench at the mere mention of Bonnie being Mrs. Damon Salvatore. It made a lump form in his throat, and he felt the room get hot, "Umm…well…that may be part of the plan, but we have to see how this goes. Her father? I'm not sure he likes me enough just yet to actually agree to me marrying his daughter."
"He will agree," Stefan replied confidently, "he may give you a hard time, but I think he notices the smile that you put on Bonnie's face and because of that smile…he hates you, but he also has no other choice but to love you because he loves Bonnie."
Damon nodded, "Thank you for the pep talk."
"That's why I'm here," Stefan answered.
"Right," Damon replied thoughtfully, "but there is something else at work here Little Brother and don't think I won't figure it out."
Stefan shook his head with a smile, "There is nothing else at work here."
Damon nodded slowly as Stefan realized that although he may have thought there was more initially, Bianca had made it abundantly clear that she was not interested in him.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
While Abby and Shelia lost themselves in an athletic apparel store, Bonnie and Bianca found themselves on a bench in the mall waiting and eating macaroons, "I can't believe that we decided to come here on one of the busiest days," Bianca stole one of the cookie and cream macaroons biting into the dessert and moaning in contentment.
"Well carrying a bunch of gifts on the plane would have been a bit much, plus I needed to get Stefan a gift—I wasn't sure if he was actually coming," Bonnie replied nibbling on her caramel macaroon.
"Why did he come?" Bianca asked turning to her sister.
"Because in case you haven't noticed, Damon needs more back up than just me…" Bonnie then cut her eyes at Bianca, "and I can't rely on you and Grams to have his back the way he needs against Dad."
Bianca rolled her eyes turning away from Bonnie.
"But what is your problem with Stefan all of a sudden, you two used to be somewhat comrades against me and Damon before."
"Nothing, I don't have a problem with Stefan," Bianca sat back against the bench.
Bonnie studied her sister sitting next to her eating her macaroon and then she broke out into a smile, "You have a crush on Stefan," Bonnie pointed in Bianca's face.
"What, no I don't," Bianca recoiling away from Bonnie and wrinkling her nose.
Bonnie's smile grew, "You do and if I can get past the weirdness of it, you definitely have a crush and you don't know what to do with it—so you're resorting to playing the immature teenager role," Bonnie replied almost giddily, "oooh, I haven't seen you like this in years."
"I do not have a crush, Bonnie."
Bonnie eyes wore suspicion all over them, "Something is different, did you two sleep together? Did he sleep with Elena and you are jealous or something…"
Bianca scoffed, "You have lost your mind."
Bonnie studied Bianca's movements and how she wouldn't exactly meet her eyes, "Something is going on and I'm going to figure it out."
"How about you concern yourself with keeping our father from murdering your boyfriend in his sleep," Bianca retorted.
"Dad doesn't hate Damon, I know that and you know that," Bonnie sat back looking at the shoppers bustle by, "he just feels like he has to play a role so that Damon knows that someone will be here to murder him if he hurts me."
Bianca laughed, "Meanwhile we know that would be either me or Grams, Dad wouldn't hurt a fly. But Daddy is scared, we all know that."
"Scared?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow.
Bianca met her eyes, "The way you look at Damon, everyone can see it. I know Grams makes it seem all about sex, but you look at Damon like he makes you feel…I almost can't put it into words…he makes you feel like you are the only person in the room, in this world. The admiration and love that you have in your eyes for him…it's sweet, it's cute and it's sickening," she rolled her eyes, "and Dad sees it. You know that he still sees us as his little girls and having a man come in and take those stars that used to be in our eyes for him…it has to hurt a little."
Bonnie nibbled on her macaroon, "Hmm."
"So have you decided where we're taking the Salvatore Brothers tonight to get out of the house?"
"I was thinking Yan's," Bonnie answered.
"Good drinks and food, I approve. I think a few of people from high school will be hanging out too," Bianca nodded.
"Well, it will be nice to get away from the house for awhile and let loose."
"Definitely," Bianca agreed and she could possibly find someone else to distract her from the way Stefan made her feel.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Rudy pulled in front of a storefront bakery where a line stretched the length of the block, "Never fails," he mumbled turning off the car.
"Wow, I guess this bakery is popular huh?" Damon observed the people bundled up in coats and gloves standing in line.
"Best sweet potato pie cheesecake in all of Philly," Rudy replied.
"No dessert can be that good," Damon quipped as Rudy's head swiveled to look at him as if he had insulted his mother and Stefan chortled in the backseat of the SUV.
Rudy leveled his gaze at Damon, "This bakery has been around for 50 years, I worked here when I was a teenager…it is that good," Rudy damn near growled at the man next to him.
Damon stared without making another sound.
"Should I go wait in line?" Stefan offered, "you two can stay in and get to know each other a little more."
"No that's o…" Rudy began but Stefan was out of the car before he could finish.
"Well," Rudy replied looking over at Damon, "I guess your brother made that exit for a reason, so do you want to talk to me about something?"
"I know you hate me…"
Rudy shook his head, "Hate you? I don't hate you. I don't know you."
Damon nodded, "That's fair."
"I know that my daughter likes you a lot and you two are close…but that doesn't mean we're friends or have to be friends."
Damon took a deep breath, "I understand that you don't know me and I know that this is the first time that we spending any significant time together. I get that this is…different," he began, "but I have to tell you something, I love Bonnie."
He watched as Rudy's eyes expanded, but he said nothing, "I'm sure you know all the reasons why, not only is she completely gorgeous, but Bonnie has an incredible mind. She's a PR genius. From the moment I met Bonnie…I knew there was something there. I wanted to be her friend in that moment and if she wanted to stay friends, I would have done that because she is just that special to me," Damon finished taking a deep breath.
Rudy looked at him for a few beats without speaking, "You done?"
Damon rubbed his hands on his thighs, "Yes, I'm done."
"Good. Bonnie is an intelligent young woman. I trust her. I trust her judgment and while, I've given you a hard time—I knew no one would give you a harder time than Bonnie, Bianca and my mother-in-law, so if you've passed their tests, I know you're a good man. The only thing I have to say is that you treat my daughter with the utmost respect and you won't have any problems from me," Rudy stuck out his hand.
Damon eagerly shook Rudy's hand with a smile, "Thank you, I appreciate that and I do love Bonnie. The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt her."
"Ok…right…" Rudy looked out of the window, "your brother looks like he's trying to get our attention, so we need to get out there."
"Right," Damon reaching for his door handle pausing when he felt Rudy's hand on his arm.
"Just one thing…please tone down the eyes when my daughter walks into a room please," Rudy grimaced.
Damon smiled and nodded slowly—he was just grateful that he didn't have to dodge any more hateful glances from Bonnie's father. Maybe this wouldn't be that bad of a Christmas holiday.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Bianca watched as Bonnie introduced Damon to some of their former high school classmates in the middle of the dance floor of Yan's, a neighborhood gastropub which served a little of everything. Her sister was clutching tightly onto her Mistletoe Martini and she could tell by the wide smile on her face, the laughter and the way she touched Damon's chest multiple times that Bonnie was just a tad bit tipsy. For her part, Bianca had made small talk with a few classmates and dodged a few of the guys that she had dated in high school who were happy to tell her how they caught a few Detroit Devil games and loved seeing her dance…so original…so nauseating, she thought sipping her Mistletoe Martini at a small table in the corner.
"Looks like Bonnie's having a great time and my brother is smiling pretty big trying to keep her upright," Stefan chuckled taking a seat next to her.
Bianca sipped her drink, "Looks like you were able to get away from Liza and Rachel," she snorted looking at two of her brunette classmates who were former cheerleaders.
"Yeah, they were interesting. They were concerned as to whether I would attend the Christmas parade tomorrow," he furrowed his brow.
Bianca sniffed sipping her drink.
Stefan looked over and studied Bianca who stared out at the dance floor where Bonnie dragged Damon to the center of and he was currently twirling around, "My sister is so happy," she said quietly.
"They both are," Stefan added.
Bianca stared out at the dance floor, "Do you know when we were born, Bonnie wasn't breathing for 30 seconds," she began, "and although my parents never made it obvious, they really doted on her for years when we were younger. I think that's when I realized that I needed to be bigger than her to get attention from them. Bigger, louder but nonchalant. The rebel," she stated quietly while sipping her martini, "never settling down, having a fun career, being everything, Bonnie wasn't. I wanted their attention. I craved it and my plan worked. I moved to the forefront and Bonnie took her place slightly behind me. But she was always the happier one, the silent and comfortable one. The one who always had a man devoted to her…because she's so easy to love."
Stefan turned his gaze completely on Bianca sitting beside him who had a twinkle in her eye, "And I kept moving because I never wanted to lose the fire within me that would ultimately be dimmed in a relationship."
"Bianca, no matter what, you could never dull your fire" Stefan replied.
She turned to him suddenly examining his gaze for a few beats, "That night," she started, "the night that we…you, me and Elena got carried away, did you think about it before hand or did it just happen?" she asked focusing her gaze completely on him. Her green eyes burned through him, and he found himself shifting in his seat.
Stefan wasn't expecting her to ask him so quickly and to be so forward about it—but he should have known better, this was Bianca, "I won't lie…the thought crossed my mind at least once that night. I wouldn't be a man if it didn't."
"So you thought about having a threesome with me and Elena?" she clarified with her eyes fixated on his.
Stefan shrugged as he took a sip of his drink.
"So that night, you were cognizant that it was both me and Elena in the bed with you?" she questioned further.
"Yes," Stefan answered.
She scoffed downing her drink, "So I was right."
"Right?"
"Last night when you touched my arm and acted as if I was the only one in that bed with you, it was a line…it was a way to what? Have a repeat performance?" she raised an eyebrow.
"What…no…"
"But you clearly remember that there was someone else in that bed."
"Bianca, I…I don't know what to say," Stefan shook his head completely confused.
She closed her eyes for a few moments and then opened them again, "Stefan, I may like to have fun. I may give off an attitude that I go with what feels good and you did feel good that night, your touch the other night felt extremely good—but I'm not some good time girl that you want to use to satisfy some weird fantasy you may have about Bonnie and her relationship with your brother. That night happened, we agreed that it was a one-time thing and you come here for Christmas and it's like you want to pick up where we left off and you're using tired lines to do it. Guess what, I'm not that easy," she popped up from her seat and stomped away from the table joining one of the guys Stefan noticed hanging off of her earlier on the dance floor. She quickly plastered a smile as she moved her body in synch with the lucky guy who was all too willing to be the recipient of Bianca's pressed up against his.
Stefan took a long swig of his beer and watched Bianca. Maybe he was handling this all wrong…
So I wanted this to be a one shot but I realized that the amount of days to cover lends itself to a two-shot, soooo that's what we will have here.
Damon and Rudy came to an understanding which is perfect. I think Rudy torturing Damon was absolutely amusing, but will he turn his on Stefan soon?
Bianca is a riddle. Does she have feelings for Stefan? Does she want to be more than a notch on his bedpost? or Are her insecurities that she have long buried coming to the surface and Stefan is the recipient of her working through those insecurities? In the same vein, what does Stefan want? Is Bianca part of a fantasy that he is? Is she someone that he is genuinely attracted to? What happens next? Hint: Bianca's walls start to come down after some quality with Stefan.