75 Years

"Go inside dear. I need to talk to him for a little bit." Gertie said.

The young girl got up from the bench, walking towards the door to the restaurant. Elena stopped to share a look with Damon before she went inside, hesitantly.

Then Damon walked over and took her place on the bench next to Gertie.

"So you want a chance at love? Follow that star? Dream the impossible dream?" Damon said sardonically, looking off at the bustling streets instead of at the sympathetic gaze his wife was giving him.

"Yes." She stated.

There was more silence.

"You do realize there won't be a long honeymoon, right? He's dead and you, my darling wife, are just getting closer to a more permanent version-"

"After the wedding, Steven is going to turn me."

Damon pursed his lips so tightly his jaw should have cracked from the pressure.

"Really?" He asked, rhetorically and with an over-dramatic surprise that only added to his bitter sarcasm. He didn't wait for her to answer, crossing his arms, "Because I seem to remember making that same offer after baby number three. You told me you were happier as a human."

"Yes Damon, I was happier to grow old and live my remaining days knowing I was your wife, more than I would've been immortal. But now, my breasts may be six inches lower than they were over 70 years ago, but I'll be happy to wear a bra for eternity and be married to Steven." Another pause, then Gertie continued, "Damon, I love him. He's a little young, even at 100 years old but I love him. He's not afraid to be affectionate with me, he loves to dance as much as I do, and he's good to my children. What's more, he loves me back in the same way I love him."

Gertie asked, "Damon, do you love me?"

Damon scoffed, "Are you serious?"

"Do you love me?"

Damon snuck a glance at her, "Seriously, Gertie? Now?"

"Well?"

He looked away again, standing up to place, while Gertie sat firmly and watched him. "You want a love confession? Is that it? You came all this way with a new husband and that damned high and mighty assertion you have, just to make me say it?"

Gertie shook her head, "No, Damon, I'm just asking you a question. Do you love me?"

A humorless laugh left Damon's throat as he looked up at the sky in frustration. "Almost 75 years now. SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS! I came when you called, looked after your children, and sent you Christmas cards and letters-After 75 years, why are you worried about this now? When you're cashing out and ending it all? What could it possibly matter?!"

A little tear pooled in the corner of Gertie's eye, the size of it amplified by her thick glasses. "Damon, I never wanted to ask you before. The closet I got was asking why you never fed from me. You told me it was because I was Your Gertie. You stayed for our children, and sometimes you came around just for me. Even when I stopped having them, you wanted to see me. It was little moments like that which made me think we'd learn to love each other, the way I always wanted to love and be loved by you. But it's 75 years later, as you said, and it's time for us both to face the question: Do we love each other?"

Damon's eyes were finally focused on her. They were still angry though, making his icy blues look fierce and vicious. They didn't scare Gertie one bit, something Damon knew would happen even while he was trying to intimidate her. The corner of his mouth twitched, uncomfortably, and he hissed out, "I'm your husband, aren't I?!"

Gertie nodded in agreement, "That's true. But do you love me, my husband? Do you love me, the way you love me the way you love Katherine?"

Still with a clenched jaw, Damon's eyes grew less vicious as a sudden pang of remembrance came over him.

"Do you love me like you love that sweet girl inside? The one who knows you so well she came out here to scold me?" Gertie asked, smiling.

There was no jealousy in that smile. It was knowing and patient. It was the kind of smile a friend gives to another in public, when their friend declares they feel "fine" despite the friend knowing their tells for when that is specifically not the case.

His face couldn't help but soften. As usual, Gertie was too close of a companion to take anything he said aloud at face value. She was making him face it. Face her.

"No Gertie, I don't love you like that." Damon admitted, kneeling in front of her, "I thought I could. Every time I came to you, I knew that we had some better moments than I'd had with Katherine. It just didn't feel like enough, and I thought it would be better to be apart half the time. Instead of… Just sitting in that feeling of uncertainty. We were always happy to see each other after a long time, and some distance. But for 75 years, I've enjoyed talking to you. You've been my best friend. I've never wanted to hurt you, that's why I married you! I just wanted to protect you, let you live the way you deserve to live, independent and free." His voice cracked a little before he caught himself, "I know I didn't always appreciate you, and I wasn't the typical husband, but-If that's not love, Gertie, what else could it be?"

He had a little tear that matched her own, but Gertie wiped it away for him. She knew how he felt about tears. She didn't need to see them roll down his cheeks to understand his sincerity.

Gertie pulled him up to sit beside her, wrapping her arms around him. Without hesitation Damon did the same, settling into the natural feeling of the friendly hug.

"It is." She assured, "And I know that I love you too. Just the same and I always will."

Damon held her closer, his heart simultaneously aching and feeling soothed from her words. "It doesn't change a thing does it? You still want to marry him?"

Gertie shook her head, Damon felt the movement in his shoulder. "No. But that's the beauty isn't it? Have we ever had to love each other as husband and wife to be as close as we are? That piece of paper and those rings don't define our relationship. They don't fit. You and I have always been ahead of our time."

Damon smirked a little, "We certainly have."

Gertie pulled away, grabbing one of Damon's hands, "But even so, after 75 years, isn't nice to finally say it to each other?"

Not a smirk this time from Damon, only a friendly squeeze of her hand back and a genuine smile, "I suppose it is. After 75 years."

A/N: Don't go away yet! Gertie and Damon have just 1 more chapter before this story is complete. Stay tuned for when I'm finally able to finish and release it.

In the meantime, I'm picking up two different stories I've been working on for a while.

One is a reboot of a TVD story involving Damon as a caretaker for a spunky little girl whose parents were murdered by vampires.

It's called The Bloody Beginnings of Katy Weston. Check it out and leave a review, they help keep the creative juices flowing.

s/13044997/1/The-Bloody-Beginnings-of-Katy-Weston

For my fellow Once Upon A Time fans out there who also like Peter Pan (the original and the TV show versions of the character), I've also got one about a girl named Jane and her dysfunctional family who end up on Neverland together as Pan's new game. It's set a couple years before the show's beginning, so it won't feature Emma or Henry just yet. It's meant to be something of a Neverland spin-off, as that is where 95% of the story will be taking place.

It's called Trying To Fly, here's the link and this is one story that I particularly need more reviews for. I'm trying a different format and some subversive characterizations, and I have absolutely NO idea how it's working for readers.

s/13265210/1/Trying-To-Fly

Thank you all and stay tuned for the final chapter and wedding of Gertie Salvatore!