A/N: This story is set after 5x22. No copyright infringement intended. I don't own the characters. They are merely written in my own light, OOC. This is an AU. I must edit these chapters, again, so updating may be a week out for each chapter. Thank you!
Oblivion Chapter 9: Anarchic
Cont'd… from Chapter 8:
Bonnie's eyes shut, her arms dropped, and she began her downward spiral. Damon vampire sped to her; he hit the ground, skidding across dirt, sharp, pebbled rocks, shoveling up her head before it contacted the hard earth. He took her protectively up in his arms.
"Are you fucking crazy! You could've killed yourself!" he scolded sharply, his voice brittle with sentiment.
"Why?" Bonnie asked faintly, her eyes barely open. "Elena needs you," she susurrated.
"I've made a lot of bad choices, but staying here with you, will probably prove to be the best choice I've ever made." He swept her hair out of her eye and smirked.
Bonnie reciprocated his mawkishness; a tear escaped her eye. She swallowed, mustering up her strength, and then spoke, "We take care of Gardenia first, then we go home—together. I promise," she avowed.
"You got it," he happily grunted.
"Oh," Zinnia gushed with happiness.
Damon helped Bonnie to stand. He dusted the dirt from her clothing. She was in awe of how attentive he was to her. He fully stood. He took her hands into his and dazed down at her with a starry-eyed look.
"I can't believe you came back for me," she said, astounded.
"You're my best friend," he replied simply.
She dropped a miserable look at the ground. "Yeah, a friend."
He studied her for a moment. "Hey, did I say something wrong?" He gave her a skeptical observe.
"No. No. Not at all." She laughed it off and turned to walk away.
Zinnia and Tupac looked incredulously at each other, seeing the writing on the wall.
"Bonnie, wait." He jogged after her. He took her by the wrist and directed her attention back to him.
"We're best friends, right?" His eyes narrowed, his expression reflecting as if he would go to pieces if she didn't respond with the right answer.
She surveyed his unnerved face and then hardened her expression. "How can we be best friends, Damon? We barely know each other," she paused. "Since I've known you, all you've been is nasty, and cruel to me."
Damon snorted in frustration, a disbelieving look scurried across his handsome mug. "I can't believe you feel this way after all that we've been through together since our time here." He huffed and gave her an inflamed glare. "…and what about that amazing kiss we shared not thirty minutes ago?" he complained loudly. "You can't tell me that you don't feel something for me. You can't tell me you don't care about me!"
She indignantly crossed her arms and jut out a hip. "The kiss was… the kiss was-," she fumbled for words.
"Nosh," Tupac spoke in an alarming voice, compelling Bonnie and Damon to end their heated discussion.
They followed Tupac's sights up the wall, to see a foreboding figure standing on the barrier. Horror cloaked their faces.
"Oh, my… God," Bonnie uttered, horrified.
They cautiously and wearily watched the manic, standing on the wall, waiting for what he would do next.
The entity jumped down from the wall, landing on his feet with great poise. Damon instinctively guarded Bonnie. "Is that a vampire?" she questioned hysterically, her eyes as wide as mushrooms as she clutched Damon—her knight in shining armor ever so tightly.
"They're coming!" the guard yelled as he and fellow guards fired off their arrows in defense of the city.
Damon zoomed to the enemy to take him out. The vampire stopped him dead in his tracks with a grab of his hand, bending it back until he heard the snap of his wrist. The blood sucker evilly smirked. Horror dashed across Damon's face, astounded by the creature's power. He grunted in agony. The monster wrapped his colossal hand around his throat, snuffing out the sound of his voice as he lifted him up into the air.
The enemy impelled Damon's chest with his fingers and wrapped his digits around his heart. He opted to leisurely kill his victim. Watching his foe suffer gave this vampire much pleasure. Damon's life flashed before his eyes. Suddenly there was a loud thud. He opened his eyes to realize that the loud clunk he heard was his body hitting the ground.
He looked before him to find ashes and a quickly distinguishing blaze. Bonnie had vanquished the creature, saving his life, yet again, in their short time on new Earth.
"Thank you." He gave her a beatific and grateful look. Her eyes glassed over at the sight of him, but there was no time for her to pine away over how beautiful he was. The enemy had now breached the wall.
"You can thank me later," she blurted, as she helped him to his feet. They rose to an upright position to see the streets running with the blood of the towns' people and Zinnia and Tupac fighting for their very lives.
More vampires leapt over the gate but Damon was no match for these creatures. Luckily Zinnia and Monkey Man were—as they fought furiously to keep the mad bloodsuckers from hurting the others.
Bonnie, seeing how overwhelmed her animal and Zinnia were, closed her eyes and quickly began performing the same spell she did the night before. She was still weak from carrying out the incantation from earlier, but she was still successful. The sun burst through the midnight sky like fire burning through paper, killing the vampires inside and outside the gate instantly.
Turning back the hours on the clock was no easy invocation. Bonnie passed out right in the middle of her enchantment. Night slid over day like a shade as she dropped. Damon sped to her, catching her in his arms.
"Bonnie," he gasped and then quickly checked for a pulse, it was faint. He bit into his wrist and then pushed it with determination into her mouth. She sucked the blood from his wrist and begin to whimper. He picked her up bridal style before looking around to see if Zinnia, Tupac, and his animal friend were okay.
"Go! Take her home! We'll be okay," Zinnia demanded.
"Who were they?" Damon asked breathlessly.
"Some of my men," Tupac answered in a trembling voice, devastated.
"Cheyenne?" Damon questioned in horror.
"We can't worry about that now. Take your woman home. Meet me in the morning at the town hall," Tupac said.
Damon gave a worried nod. He stared at Tupac for a few moments more and then took Bonnie home.
Once inside their little hut, he laid Bonnie down in bed, tripping on table pieces, and broken glass along the way. He grabbed a piece of cloth from the shelf, dipped it in to a pail of cold water, and then wrung out the excess water. He walked back over to a passed out Bonnie and kneeled over her, giving her an extremely worried and loving gape.
He dabbed the blood away from her upper lip and then folded the cloth to dab her forehead with the clean side of the cool, wet fabric.
He feathered his fingers lightly down her face. Now more than ever he knew he had made the right decision in staying. He was proud of Bonnie for seeing the bigger picture and for thinking about people who actually needed her help, unlike Elena who loved nothing more than making every situation in life all about herself.
Damon pushed Elena out of his mind and put his focus back on Bonnie. They kissed. He now wished that he wasn't so intoxicated during their passionate make out. Their entire moment seemed like a wet dream, and it felt good feeling her warm tongue rotating around his. He couldn't stop smiling like an idiot as he looked down at her.
"You need me, and I need you. I'm proud of you, Bonnie," he whispered through an angelic smile as he continued to stroke her cheek tenderly with the back of his fingers.
He combed his fingers through her dark, brown tresses before kissing her on the forehead. He closed his eyes, letting his lips remain against her warm skin. He pulled away from her, gradually, and then propped his head up on his hand so that he could watch her as she slept. He chuckled softly. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he felt prouder of himself than he did right now.
Even with the horrible thing that just happened to the town, all Damon could think about was Bonnie.
( ~ )
Tupac and Zinnia looked around at the ashes of their fallen men. Tupac hoped that Cheyenne made it somehow. He left with two hundred of his men but the one he was most heartbroken about was his friend. He could live knowing that their defenses were no more, but he could not bear the thought of losing his best friend —the man whom was his the brother he never had.
Tupac's thoughts soon left him when he noticed the Podigies standing in the middle of the road. Never in his life had he seen one of the creatures up close. His father and other elders had told him that they were dangerous animals, but this one appeared to be docile compared to the ones he had seen out in the wild.
"I can't believe the creature helped us," Tupac said, still carefully watching the animal.
"Yes. He fought quite remarkably," Zinnia added.
"…and so did you." Tupac smiled at his wife.
The animal grunted, putting the couple's attention back on him.
"Thank you," Tupac said contritely.
Monkey Man gave the couple a quick regard and then took off down the road that led to Bonnie's and Damon's hut.
"Damon said Cheyenne's name. Did he die? Will he come back as a vampire like me? Do you think he's okay?" Zinnia asked apprehensively, worry in her tone.
"No, he was alive when I left him. His orders were to bring the men home once night time fell, but this is what happened instead," Tupac explained gloomily.
"Maybe the men who couldn't handle being a vampire tried to attack the others. I'm sure Cheyenne is okay because this wasn't even half of the cavalry that attacked us," Zinnia noticed.
"Yeah, maybe you're right," Tupac replied, a vague look in his eyes.
"Someone's approaching," the guard yelled from the wall. "It's the rest of the men!"
"Open the gate!" Tupac bellowed enthusiastically and then hauled ass to the gate in the hopes that he would see his friend.
He waited for the large stone doors to open. The gate was finally open and there Cheyenne was, sitting high up on his horse, his clothes torn and dirty, his face bloody, but he was alive.
"You made it," Tupac exhaled, relieved to see his friend. "What happened?"
"Most of the men crawled out of their shallow graves once turning. The menacing look in their eyes and those long teeth will hunt my dreams," he mumbled distractedly, his eyes glazed over with fear. "They killed most of our injured. We had no choice but to defend ourselves; luckily, some of the newly turned vampires stood with us against the others." He rested.
"Seeing that they were outnumbered, they ran. We were sure that they would come back here. We tried to get home as soon as possible, but during our journey back, a weird storm appeared; the sun emerged. We lost more men when that happened," Cheyenne explained as he looked around the square, seeing the devastation that was left behind after the vampires attacked the city.
"Looks like everything turned out okay despite the fact that we weren't here. What happened?" He inquired with a squint of his eyes, dumbfounded by the towns' good fortune.
"Bonnie is what happened. Her powers are unimaginable. She saved the town for a second time," Tupac enlightened, amazed.
"Let us hope she sticks around for a while," Cheyenne gave a sad grin. "Can the men return home to their families?"
"No, not if they've been turned. They have to sleep in the town hall. We've covered all the windows and there's plenty of cots," Tupac advised.
"Why can't they go home to their families? They have proving themselves. They want to be with their love ones." Cheyenne grew angry at Tupac's demands.
"I understand your frustration Cheyenne, but we can't take that chance. We need to know for certain that they can control their thirst for blood." Tupac puffed out his chest, becoming sterner with his commands.
Cheyenne pressed his lips angrily together and then exhaled abruptly. "Where is Chogan?"
"We don't know. He's nowhere to be found," Tupac clarified.
"Oh, and one more thing Cheyenne. The vampires will need human blood to fully transition or they will die. If they do not want their new way of life, so be it. It's their choice."
Their eyes locked in a strict intent look. Cheyenne then gave a displeased nod and spun quickly around to leave.
"Cheyenne." Tupac called. Cheyenne turned around, bitterness crinkling his brow.
"Yes," he answered austerely.
"I'm glad you're home brother." Compassion blazed in Tupac's eyes. Cheyenne vexation dissipated upon his friend's kind words.
"…and I'm glad to be home brother." Cheyenne gave an adoring grin and then left, but this time more enthused about obeying his current orders from Tupac.
Tupac watched his friend until he disappeared into the crowd; he then turned his sights back to Zinnia. He instantly smiled once laying eyes on her. She always brought out the softer side of him.
"See, I told you everything would be okay." Zinnia gave a knowing and brash grin.
"Yeah you did. We make a good team you and me."
"We got Bonnie and Damon together. Most of our men have returned. It's really a good day." Zinnia beamed.
"Yes. It was a good day indeed. Were we really going to watch Bonnie and Damon have sex?" Tupac asked one brow strongly cocked in mystification.
"I was. I don't know about you," Zinnia said sassily.
"Woman, you are so mischievous." Tupac gave a hearty hackle.
"The outlanders may know sexual tricks that we have yet to discover." Zinnia winked, and Tupac burst into a fit of laughter.
::::::
Damon woke up with a smile on his face. The sun was barely up in the sky, and even though he had slept for only a few hours, he still felt fully rested and invigorated.
Things were looking up for Damon. He finally kissed Bonnie. He and Tupac were growing closer, and he had the most kick ass pet.
He was living a life that wasn't filled with revenge, chasing after a woman, or stealing his brother's girl. He had no aspirations other than being happy and wooing Bonnie –if she wanted him, too. His focused shifted back to Bonnie and her well being once he felt her moving about the bed.
She looked adorable, provoking him to caress her face, again. He leaned into her and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
You wanted to make love to me Bennett, he thought and smiled outwardly. Damon felt like his chances of being with Bonnie had increased tremendously. There were no longer zero chances of him and Bonnie starting a relationship; his chances were now one in a million, and he'd gladly take those odds.
After gawking at Bonnie for another several minutes, he decided to fetch them some water for a shower. He put on his jeans and shoes and left their little hut with a spring in his steps. He almost jumped through his skin when his animal came charging him from out of nowhere as joyfully wandered down the trail.
"Monkey man, what the hell?" He grimaced, tightly clutching his chest as he gathered his composure.
The animal stuck his tongue out at Damon, spitting on him in the process.
"You don't like the name. I knew it." He smirked cockily. "How about I give you a new name, and you don't spit on me this time."
Monkey Man licked his tongue out, spitting on Damon, again. He wiped the spittle from his cheek and frowned.
"I'm done with you. You big lug. Now stay here and watch Bonnie," he chided and then ran off to procure the water for their showers.
Damon was back with the water for their washes in no time. He wanted to take a shower first and then clean the house before Bonnie awoke, but when he returned, she was already awake. The moment he saw her, he wanted to mention their kiss, but Damon, the eternal gentleman that he always was with Bonnie, wanted her to approach him about their kiss, first.
"Good morning." He raced her a smoldering glance. He stood in front of Bonnie for the longest, making sure she got a good look at his rock hard, sweaty pecks.
Bonnie lifted her vision to see a ray of sunshine, standing before her. Her eyes burned fanatically with desire for him. Damon presented a wickedly handsome serpentine grin, recognizing that her desirous eyes were burning for him.
"Morning," she greeted sheepishly.
"How did you sleep?"
"Pretty good. I have a little headache though," she divulged, gluing her eyes back into their sockets.
Damon swaggered sexily over to her, still wearing his steamy, glittery smirk. He sat down on the bed, his eyes staring into Bonnie's green mesmerizing orbs. He really wanted to wait for her to initiate the conversation about their kiss, but he was busting at the seams with eagerness. He was anxious to know what she thought and how she felt about their splendid smacker.
His hands were all over her during their heated moment. His tongue had practically married hers. He tasted the sweetness of her breath, felt its warmth, and now he wanted more.
He slowly raised his hand to her face and then lightly traced the outline of her cheekbone. Bonnie sat completely still, not saying a word, but her heartbeat gave her away.
"Do you want my blood?" he asked, in a soothing, sultry voice.
"No. I'll be okay. A glass of water will make it better," she stammered for words. Once her feet hit the floor, she scanned the mess strewn about the house. "This place is a pigsty. Who broke the table?" she was at the tip of going mental.
"Uh," he stuttered with thought. "Zinnia and Tupac." His headlights went bright with mortification.
Her knee sharply extended, her arms crossed together in a snap as she took on a reprimanding stance. "You're going to clean up this mess," she demanded, glaring.
"Sure." Damon rolled his eyes skyward and jumped to his feet. He walked swiftly passed Bonnie, his hand accidentally brushed up against her bottom as he passed by her.
Bonnie blushed and rapidly blinked her eyes, flabbergasted by his hand touching her rump. She pivoted around, her gaze dipped down to his buns of steel. He had a great ass.
She loudly cleared the lump in her throat, collected her self-respect. "Do you mind filling the pail so that I can take a shower?"
"Sure thing," he agreed as he whirled around, broken table pieces in hand. He got rid of the rubbish and then went to the bathroom to prepare her shower.
Instead of her waiting outside the bathroom for him to fill the bucket for her shower, she came inside with him. She dipped some of the warm water from the pail in to a granite bowl, sitting on the sink, and then washed her face. She then brushed her teeth whilst ogling over Damon's derriere out the corner of her eye.
"Alright. Your shower is ready," he informed, still fiddling around with the tub.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." He grabbed the buckets and left.
Bonnie's rubbernecking of his ass continued until the closing bathroom door obscured her licentious eyeballing.
Whilst she was in the shower, Damon cleaned up his mess. He was meticulous with his task of tidying up the place as he loved nothing more than a pristine home. There were clothes strode everywhere, broken glass, turned over furniture, table pieces covering the surface, but Damon managed to clear away any evidence of its disarray. His last chore ended with him, loading up baskets with their dirty clothes and folding and putting away the clean ones.
He laid back on the bed, feeling good with himself because of his good deed. His lips arched proudly into his cheek as if a scheming thought had entered his brain. He started taking off his clothes and then wrapped a throw around his waist. He sprawled out across the bed once more, spreading his legs wide, and stretching out his arms. He decided to wait on Bonnie in his most inappropriate attire.
"Damon!" Bonnie shouted out for him.
"Yeah!"
"I forgot my clothes! I need a towel to dry off with, too! Will you bring them to me?"
"Sure." He grabbed everything she requested and then rapped softly on the bathroom door.
Bonnie cracked the door, her eyes meeting Damon's immediately.
"Thank you," she said shyly. She was nervous, and Damon enjoyed every minute of her apprehensive fidgeting. He handed her one thing at a time. He longed to feel the touch of her skin. His loin would twitch every time her soft hand would rub up against his. Yes—this is how far Damon's desperation had come that mere hand caressing was a major turn on for him.
"Thanks." Bonnie cut her eyes bashfully up at him as she tried taking her underwear from his hand. She lightly pulled, and Damon tugged back.
"Damon please," she said seriously.
He lost his smile and then freed her underwear. Bonnie closed the door once she had possession of her panties. Damon stood at the entrance, thwarted, and then knocked on the door.
"Yes," Bonnie answered from behind the door.
"Uh, I'll give you some time alone. I need to see Tupac anyway. I'll see you later," he advised disappointedly.
"Wait! You can't leave." Bonnie yanked the door open.
"You really want me to stay?" he asked, in a serious, truncated throaty voice, his brow sharply bowed and piqued with skepticism.
"Yeah. I thought maybe we could do our laundry together, or maybe we could go to the market and pick out dinner for tonight."
"What, like boyfriend and girlfriend?" he flirted as he leaned against the frame of the door, his beefy pecks right in her face.
"Noo," she drawled. "We'll go as friends," she corrected stringently.
Damon realized that she was going to avoid what happened between them at all cost. He was fine with that -for now.
Bonnie hurried out of the wash room fully dressed in her amazon like attire. She stopped in front of Damon and struck a slight pose in front of him, hoping that he would complement her. She didn't know why. She wasn't wearing anything new. She was wearing the same style of clothing as days passed, but she wanted Damon Salvatore to notice her all the same.
"You look beautiful," he bequeathed her with a flattering grin.
"Thank you." Bonnie smiled back; she then noticed the house was clean. "You cleaned up, it looks nice." She nodded with admiration.
"Well, you told me to clean up the place." He gave a cutesy laugh. "I did make the mess so it was only befitting that I clean it up," he added.
A stubborn calm shortly ensued, as they remained rooted to one spot, star struck like two lovebirds as their eyes enthusiastically took in each other's beauty.
"Bonnie, about last night-," Damon breathed, gathering up the nerves. You can do it Damon; mention the kiss, he thought to himself.
"Yes. I wanted to speak to you about that. I know how hard it was for you to stay behind for me. I know how much you love Elena. I know you'll never love anyone as much as you love her. You two are perfect for each other," Bonnie illuminated, exaggeratingly as well, and she totally omitted what happened between them.
Damon gave her an incredulous eyeball and slightly shook his head at her absurd statement. "Uh, yeah- whatever." He rolled his eyes at her and then went to the bathroom to take his shower. He slammed the door shut behind him, so hard that the hut faintly trembled.
Bonnie's face puckered in confusion. She gave a little hum as she tapped her feet against the floor and drummed a finger on her forearm, still trying to figure out why Damon had dismissed her comments so rudely. "Oh, well," she said and then went to lay down on the bed with no urgency in her movements at all.
Ten minutes later, Bonnie was still patiently waiting on the bed for Damon to finish with his shower. She watched the washroom with an intensive gaze as she swung her feet in the air, her chin propped up on her hands.
She wondered if the wonderful scent of the soap and oils drifting from the washroom did the same when she took her shower. She looked at the room all dreamy eyed. She couldn't wait to get a whiff of Damon's skin.
Damon finally emerged, his hair wet, and nothing but a short throw tied around his waist. Bonnie sat up quickly on the bed, her bottom rested comfortably on the heels of her feet, her face childlike. The makeshift towel tied around his waist was thin enough for her to see the outline of his cock.
She was quite impressed, so much so that her gaze never left that spot. She unconsciously licked her lips. Damon smirked. He didn't miss a thing. He opened the small wardrobe chest and pulled out an outfit given to him by Tupac to wear to the fest. He removed the throw right in front of Bonnie.
"Sss, omigod." Bonnie's eyes widened and her mouth went ajar. She looked left. She looked right, and then she looked straight at his manhood and froze. Damon put his hand on his hips, still giving her a conceited leer.
"Oh shit." She finally looked away, and Damon chuckled.
"This is not funny," she bitched.
"Oh Bonnie it's merely a penis. All men have one. I'm sure you got a good look at baby Gilbert's," he said smugly.
"You're huge," she mouthed, but she could not hide that comment from a man who could hear a bat pissing on a cotton ball.
"What was that?" he said mockingly as he walked over to her, outfit in hand. He laid his clothes out on the bed. He smiled at Bonnie all the while as he slipped into his pants.
Bonnie's lower region pulsed and moistened with a wonderful agony as beads of sweat formed on her forehead. "Are you hot? It's really hot in here." She fanned herself, keeping her sights everywhere but on the hunk of man, standing not two inches from her.
"Feels nice to me," he stated and then grabbed his top, which was a vest with lace ups. He put the top on and then ran his fingers through his wet hair before trying to secure his garment.
"Bon Bon, help me tie this," he pleaded, frowning up at his garment as he fumbled with the laces.
She turned around slowly. Not only did Damon's vest need to be tied but so did his bottoms.
Her eyes traveled to his treasure trial down to his curly, raven, haired bush, which peeked out from his dark brown pants.
"You…you…you forgot to tie up your pants," she stuttered nervously.
"You've seen me naked. I have nothing to hide," he said incredulously.
Bonnie grabbed the laces of his vest and began tying them, ignoring his comment.
Damon watched her hands as she worked. He then turned his loving peepers to her heart shaped face, his eyes made love to her luscious lips, and her slanted, emerald orbs.
"You have beautiful eyes Bonnie," he complemented romantically.
"Thank you," she said, speaking softly, never losing sight of what she was doing.
Once carefully watching Bonnie tie his vest, Damon figured out how to tie his pants. He tied them in a blink and then straightened his top, neatening his dapper appearance.
"How do I look?" He backed away from Bonnie so she could get a good look at him.
"Turn around," she directed coolly, her voice more sensual and deeper than normal. Damon was made up well. He looked good in jeans and any type of pants really. He had a great ass and Bonnie noticed as she nibbled on her bottom lip. "You look and smell amazing," she flattered.
"Thank you and you smell and look amazing, too." He gave her a wanton glance; another short stroppy muzzle fell between them.
"You ready to go?" she inquired.
"Yup." He grabbed their baskets of clothes and Bonnie opened the door for him.
"It's Monkey man!" She gleamed and the animal went crazy at seeing her.
"You know, I think he was really worried about you." Damon presented a genuine smile.
"Yes he was. I love him," she said sweetly, caressing the back of the primate's head.
"Why don't you spit on her like you spit on me," Damon taunted impishly.
"No way, Monkey Man would never do that. Would you?" she bragged.
The animal stuck out his tongue, spitting on Bonnie as it did Damon, and then gave its colossal silly grin.
"Guah! Monkey Man!" she quipped loudly.
"He doesn't like the name, Monkey man. Let's give him a name he likes."
"He does like that name. Don't you?" she babbled.
Monkey Man stuck his tongue out at Bonnie and shook his head.
"Great." she rolled her eyes sideways. "What name do you have for him?" she sassed, giving her thigh an incredulous whack due to the absurd circumstance she found herself dealing with.
"Mmm, Kick Ass," Damon blurted without any thought at all.
Monkey Man protested.
"Ah ha!" Bonnie gloated.
"I got it. George of the jungle," Damon rattled off another recommendation.
"Really." Bonnie folded her arms and shook her head at his silly suggestion.
"You like George?" Damon asked the creature.
Monkey Man jumped up and down and beat his chest. He was pleased.
"What!" Bonnie shouted.
"Yeah, high five!" Damon held up a hand in offering to the creature.
George—formally known as Monkey Man swatted Damon affectionately across the back instead, causing him to trip on his own feet, and hit the dirt.
"Damn it! Now I'm dirty!" he nagged. He got up off the ground, brushing off the dirt, twisting his face all up with agitation. Bonnie could not help but fall all over herself, laughing.
"Ha. Ha. Real funny Bennett," he said sarcastically, still brushing dirt off his clothes.
They finally said goodbye to their pet and then headed off towards the town square; they strolled up the pathway to the market place. As soon as they entered the town square, an elderly woman handed them a bouquet of gardenias.
"Here, for you. Put one in your beautiful wife's hair."
"Uh, he's not my—he's… he's-," Bonnie's voice plunged to a quiet thought as she slowly turned her gaze up to an adorable faced Damon. The sight of him took her breathe away.
Damon took the flowers and gave her a gracious half bow and a thank you. He broke the stem of one flower and then placed it into Bonnie's hair.
"What the hell. We're living a married life anyway," Damon said innocently after placing the flower into her hair. Bonnie was pleasantly, floored by his remark as she looked at him with bright, wide eyes.
"Aww, you are so beautiful child. I've never seen a lovelier couple?" The woman gushed.
"Thank you," they said in unison and then smiled caringly at each other.
Damon wished that the woman's words could be truer.
They soon left the woman and began walking through the town square. Damon tried to hold Bonnie's hand several times but she pulled away. He had no idea if this was intentional or not, but—they never made the connection.
Damon was saddened that Bonnie would not bring up the kiss. Her lack of enthusiasm for their intimate moment made him feel cheap and it made him feel like he was nothing, and more importantly—it angered him because he could not believe that Bonnie Bennett could make him feel this way. He wondered when did he give her this much power to control how he felt.
What he felt for Bonnie was way beyond a brother and sister kind of love, and even though they were now the best of friends, the things he wanted to do with her wasn't something he wanted to do with any friend that was in his life currently.
He wanted to make a life with her. He never thought or felt this way when he was with Elena. He felt like he could rule the world with his perfect vampire princess –but with Bonnie, he wanted so much more. He wanted a family, a relationship with his brother, and the white house with the white picket fence.
He purged the thoughts from his mind as they walked through the market place for dinner and other little things for their home.
They ate pastries, and she talked tons about inconsequential things, and he did laugh at some of the stuff she babbled on about to be polite and to keep from going straight up nuclear at her unwavering stubbornness. His incessant gorging of the wonderful pastries helped to keep his foot inserted firmly in his mouth.
The people in town were grateful to Bonnie and Damon. They loaded their baskets up with whatever their hearts desired.
Bonnie convinced a very unenthused and preoccupied Damon to stop and take in a show, no matter how rudimentary it was. Bonnie was all giggles and smiles at seeing the jugglers, swordsman, and acrobats performing.
Damon managed to find some affection for her in this moment. His adoration provoking him once again to take her hand. He intertwined his fingers around hers, but she snatched away, yet again. Damon was finally faced with the horrible realization that Bonnie was intentionally pushing him away. She wasn't going to acknowledge their kiss, and she was never going to give him a chance (he believed). He was crushed.
Damon glared at her and then abruptly walked off. He made sure that Bonnie saw his anger and him walk away.
"Damon," she timidly called out to him, but he didn't look back.
Bonnie watched him until he stopped in front of one of the booths. She knew she had to make it right with him or things between them would be awkward. Them not seeing eye to eye would ruin their friendship, and she didn't want that.
She slowly walked up to him. "Damon," she said mousy, reaching her hand up to place it on his shoulder.
"What," he spat rudely as he fiddled and looked over the jewelry, sitting on the counter.
"I'm sorry. I'm confused. I'm afraid."
"You like me Bonnie, and I like you. What's the problem?" he huffed with annoyance.
She sharply exhaled. "Uh, I don't know. You were about to abandon me for Elena," she reminded.
A wounded look painted Damon's face as he was taken back into time—to that very moment when he was about to leave Bonnie.
"Okay, I see your point, but in my defense, she was going to kill herself, because of me," he enunciated with profound sadness and penitence.
"She still has a hold over you Damon."
"…and where does Jeremy fit in to all of this. Don't you love him?"
"I mean…well, yeah," Bonnie said unsurely.
"You don't. Be honest with yourself. Yes, I love Elena, but I'm not in love with her; she's not the one for me, and you're not in love with baby Gilbert," he disputed wholeheartedly.
Bonnie breathed deeply as she was now forced to confront the truth about hers and Jeremy's relationship. Something about those words, leaving Damon's lips stunned her. She never thought that he would see or acknowledge the truth about his relationship with Elena, but he did, yet here she was, still dancing around her true feelings for him.
"If opening that portal had not wounded me, you'd be back in Mystic Falls, with her. You two would be trying to find a way to work things out. I don't want to be second choice. Not anymore. I want to come first. I want a guy to love me so much that he stops everything to see about me. I want him to love me so much that he'd risk it all—for me," Bonnie explained passionately, her eyes shimmering with her sad tears.
"No matter what I do or say, you'll always make up excuses for why we can't be together. I chose to stay here with you because I wanted to protect you, above all else."
"Damon, I love what we have. I don't want to mess things up between us by becoming romantically involved. I want you to be my friend. Please," Bonnie elucidated, her voice cracking with emotions.
"Okay. If that's what you want." Damon gave in (but not really). He looked at Bonnie with a powerful and penetrative gaze. Good things come to those who wait, he thought, his jaw profusely clenching.
"It's what I want," she replied hesitantly.
"Well, may I still buy my friend a gift?" He changed the subject.
"How much is this?" Damon held a necklace up to the woman in the stand.
"For you, nothing?"
"No, I want to pay for this. It's not a gift if I don't pay."
"Five gold shillings."
"You don't have any shillings," Bonnie reminded with a laugh.
"Well, I will. Tupac gave me a job. I'm the captain of his guards, so now." Damon waggled his brow boastfully.
"May I start a tab?" he snickered, and the woman nodded.
"What do you think of this one?" Damon showed the piece of jewelry to Bonnie. It was a leather necklet with three sapphires braided in to the necklace.
"Aw, I love this!" Bonnie gushed over the jewelry.
Damon lifted the necklace over her head and secured it to her neck.
"It's beautiful Damon," she said touching and inspecting the jewels.
"Ah great, Tupac's calling me," he said waving at the man who was standing far off in the distance. Tupac went back inside the building, and Damon looked back down at Bonnie. "I need to speak with him about a few things anyway. I'll meet you at home to help you put the groceries away, and then will go wash the clothes and work on your magic. Cool?"
Bonnie gave a nod in approval.
"Here. I'll take these things with me," he said gathering up their baskets and bags of goods. "Now you have enough hands to rack up on some more free things for the house." He winked and gave her a little cunning smirk, and without conscious thought, he leaned down and quick kissed Bonnie on the lips. He tried pulling away but she grabbed him by his top and pulled him back in for another kiss.
They looked at each other, astonished.
"I... I—better go check on the uh… the uh," Bonnie faltered for a good excuse and then took off when she found herself at a loss for words.
Damon blushed at a quickly fleeing Bonnie.
( ~ )
"Damon!" Tupac bellowed. "Look at you! You look like a true Gardenian."
"Yeah, I do look pretty dashing if I may say so myself." Damon ran a hand conceitedly over his vest, grinning. He then turned his attention to the candlelit town hall, seeing all the vampires cramped up in their small temporary quarters.
"Wow. More of your mean returned than I had imagined would." Damon widened his eyes in astonishment as he looked around the great hall.
"The Gods have given us another chance. We are truly blessed," Tupac spoke, gratification expelling from his voice.
"I guess so," Damon replied abstractedly with a squint of his eyes, still beholding his surroundings. "What did you want to speak to me about?" He walked over to the table and sat casually down on the table next to Tupac.
"I wanted you to accompany me on a rescue and recovery mission, but since my men have returned, I guess I don't need you anymore." Tupac laughed.
"Oh, okay. Well what about work? I need some money," Damon reminded.
"Oh, so it's about the money," Tupac mocked spiritedly.
"Well, I can't pamper Bonnie if I don't have money."
"Oh, yes, the woman. We need to keep them happy, don't we? We pay the captain of the guard ten silver shillings a day."
"Silver? Shit. I need five gold shillings right now," Damon puckered his face, offended by the man's offering.
Tupac let out an overstated chortle. "I'll give you two-hundred gold shillings now. That should help you and Bonnie get a decent life established. It doesn't nearly pay for all the wonderful things you and Bonnie have done for me and my people, but I hope it helps." Tupac smiled.
"Thanks, and I'm sure it will." Damon returned his politeness before spotting Tupac's basket of fruit. "Are you still eating this crap?" He chuckled as he picked up a verdant fruit from out of the basket, and then took a bite.
"Zinnia wants another baby. I told her about the condition of being a vampire and she asked me to bring her some home. Now, hands off." Tupac pulled the basket towards him.
"I kind of like this green slimy shit," Damon said, grabbing another one.
"Well, it won't work for you. You're a nonbeliever," Tupac said, pushing the basket from his grasp.
"…and it won't work for you because it's fruit, and your wife is a vampire." Damon chuckled, again at how absurd his friend was being as she grabbed the basket and pulled it closer to him.
"I saw you and Bonnie at the market, today. You looked happy. When is the wedding?"
Damon rolled his eyes as he gobbled up the first piece of fruit. "It's not happening. She wants to be friends. She thinks I'm still in love with Elena," he said with an eye roll.
"Well, can you blame her? You were about to leave her here—alone, in an unknown world for a woman who may or may have not killed herself when you should have said a quick prayer for your friend back home and asked the Gods to spare her life," Tupac advised.
"Look, old habits are hard to break. I've been chasing behind this woman for the last two years without so much as a glimmer of hope of getting her, and while running in behind what I thought could have been the best thing for me, I fell in love with her best friend instead. Shit happens," Damon self-acknowledged without giving his words any thought.
"Ah ha, so you are in love with Bonnie."
"No. No. I mean, yeah. Maybe. Did I say that?" Damon thinned his eyes to crinkles, confused.
"Last night, you knew Bonnie was hurting. You came back to her, and you never looked back at that portal. You chose her without a doubt. You chose her," Tupac enunciated.
"No. I chose the woman who needed me the most. Bonnie is a hero. She needs a man with muscle. She's precious cargo. I can't leave her behind. I need to know she's safe. I can't do that if she's not near me. You don't meet someone like Bonnie and walk away. Once you get into her good graces it's hard to get back in them if you mess up. I can't risk losing that." Damon mindlessly ate a second piece of fruit and then another.
"Why are my balls tingling?" Damon cupped, scratched, and massaged himself. Tupac laughed.
"That's the verdant. It's working."
"Jesus Christ. Shut the verdant up," Damon digressed as he took his fourth, tiny verdant fruit from the basket.
"No, now tell me more about Bonnie. What else do you like about her?"
"She's brave, even though she's afraid. She'll risk her life for the ones she loves. If you cross her, she'll let you know in the most honorable way, but once you're her friend, there's nothing she won't do for you. She's loyal. She's beautiful. She can be so serious, but the little girl in her is always ready to come out, and I want to see more of that. She deserves to be happy." Damon looked at Tupac and lightly chuckled as another pleasant and fleeting reflection entered his brain.
"She does this adorable thing where she communicates with her eyes. When she hated me, I knew that she did, because she would stare at me with those judgmental little eyes, but when she saw me differently, there were no need for words. Her eyes told me everything." Damon dazed all starry-eyed out at the blank spaces in the room, a goofy grin on his face.
He continued to gobble up more of the fruit.
Tupac was rendered speechless by Damon's description of Bonnie. "You're in love with her, man. You've got to tell her."
"I will, but not now. When the time is right, I will. I respect her decision, and right now, she wants my friendship, so that's what I'll be, a friend."
"You're making the right call."
"Thanks." Damon reached down into Tupac's basket for another piece of fruit to discover that all of it was gone. "Oops." He jiggled his brow at Tupac.
"I cannot believe." Tupac dramatically paused. "I can't believe I sat here and watched you eat all of my verdant." He glowered.
Damon zipped him a grin and then vampire zoomed out of the hall.
"Asshole," Tupac hissed.
After Damon spoke with Tupac, he went straight home to help Bonnie put their groceries away.
He wasn't invested in helping her with magic back in Mystic Falls because he was solely wrapped up in Elena and her inability to be a vampire. Here was yet another moment Damon realized how different he and Elena were.
He finally made it home. He scratched the back of his head curiously while standing in the doorway, wondering why Bonnie wasn't back home. He then rushed down to the market; next, the trading post, still not finding her.
Luckily, he ran into Zinnia. For some reason, Tupac and his wife always seemed to know where everyone in their parish was at any given moment of the day.
Hm, she's down at the creek. By herself? Why didn't she wait for me? he questioned in thought.
Down at the creek, Bonnie was practicing her magic. She did as her Grams had instructed her to do on the night, she took down Silas, but with all that was going on with the village, and her budding feelings for Damon, it left her in emotional peril.
Bonnie opened her eyes. She looked at the water, hoping the rolling waves, and the sound of the stream would ease her mind and calm her emotions. She began to chant once more in hopes that she could block out the sun in an extended amount of time without hemorrhaging from the brain and getting weak.
The black veins began to pulse in her face as she whispered her magical mantra. The clouds in the sky blackened and rolled quickly in front of the sun.
Damon halted in his tracks and looked up at the sky. He immediately knew what the witch was doing. Considering all the hell Bonnie had gotten herself into while in Mystic Falls, and her almost fatal incident here on the new world, he wasn't risking her being alone, again.
He raced down to the brook. In no time flat, he was under the rock facing. His worried blue eyes landed on Bonnie who was standing yards away from the stream.
Blood dripped from her nose. She slowly opened her eyes and wiped away the few droplets sitting on her upper lip. She still hadn't realized that Damon was there. She was too caught up in the fact that she had failed, yet again.
Damon walked slowly over to an unsuspecting Bonnie. He towered over her with his arms folded over his chest, his legs apart, and a reprimanding look on his face.
Bonnie curled her lip happily into her cheek, realizing Damon was there.
The sunrays were soon blaring down upon them once more.
"What do you want, vampire?" She smiled slyly.
"You've been caught red-handed, little witch." He contributed a sexy smirk.
"I thought you wanted me to practice on controlling my powers?"
"I do, Bonnie, but only when I'm around." He twisted his lip in frustration.
"Well, if you're going to help me, help me," she said seriously, turning her sights upon him.
"Alright, let's do this." Bonnie and Damon sat down across from each other, cross-legged.
"…so, you are able to hide the sun for about ten minutes before your…," Damon gestured to his nose, a concerned look on his face.
"Before my fragile and weak body fails me. You can say it," she said, ashamed.
"Bonnie." Damon took her by the hand and looked deep into her eyes. "You don't need to be embarrassed. Try to concentrate solely on the spell. Pull your strength from the living things around you," he advised in a loving and nurturing voice, regarding her with spectacular and caring eyes.
"That's great advice Damon. Thank you." She returned his consideration.
"A witch I use to sleep around with named Bree loved preparing her spells in the woods. I was pretty taken by her wild and crazy chanting. She would call on the earth and the gods. It was some shit like that," Damon explained animatedly and then chortled as he reflected on the past.
Bonnie smiled and giggled genuinely at his doting story. "Okay, here goes." She exhaled, closing her eyes. She rested her hands on her knees, turning her palms towards the heavens.
She thought about the incantation and what Damon had told her, but she couldn't shake his presence. Here he was, again, supporting her.
Damon made Bonnie feel things in a profound and provocative way. Her magic never felt so powerful, and her emotions never felt so tempestuous and alive than when around him.
Damon watched as she chanted. Stars floated in his eyes as he observed how magnificent she was. He was happy to see the witch –it had been too long. He hated seeing Bonnie be the anchor. It was stupid how circumstances and life altering events had made Bonnie a mere form of her strong, beautiful, and egotistical witchy self.
He was suddenly glad that he could finally be here for her, especially after all she had done to make sure that all their friends were safe, time, and time again.
Damon blinked quickly, freeing himself of his thoughts, and put his concentration solely back on her.
Bonnie had successfully covered the sun. Damon waited patiently for her magic to fail her, which he hoped to God that it wouldn't, but sadly, he would be disappointed. He watched as a droplet of blood crept down over her lip.
"Bonnie," Damon alerted softly, but she didn't stop.
"Bonnie," he called, again, in a more stern voice, but still she didn't stop.
"I can do this," she replied surely in between her chants.
"You need to stop, little witch; let's think about this," he suggested gently, but Bonnie kept going.
This was the Bonnie Bennett that Damon admired the most—her unwavering stubbornness and determination to succeed no matter what.
Bonnie kept going and her nose bled more profusely as she drudged on, but oddly, Damon didn't call to her again, and she wondered why. She continued to chant despite the absence of his voice and the fact that she felt extremely weak and lightheaded.
Bonnie gasped loudly as she felt a pain that she couldn't ignore. The pain was that of large incisors stabbing her flesh. Are we being attacked? She began to panic.
Bonnie's eyes popped open, and she gave her assailant a full concentration of her powers.
Damon gripped his head, trying to squeeze out the pain as his eyes rolled back into his head. He fell to his knees as blood begin to pour from his ears and eyes.
"Bonnie," he cried out, using all the strength that he could muster as her supreme power was now turned on him.