Track #7 - Stone

So much on my mind, I think I think too much

Read between these lines, unspoken weight of words

Stefan finally showed up at Bonnie's several hours later while she and Damon were making tacos.

Bonnie ran to the door while Damon was browning the meat.

She surprised Stefan when she threw open the door, yelling "This is a judgement free house, Salvatore! It's my safe space and if you can't get with that then you are not welcome. Understood?"

"Don't listen to her, Stef!" Damon hollered out from the kitchen. "She's just mad she's got the palate of a ten year old!"

"NO judging! Not my crap taste in food or men," she pointed a stern finger right in Stefan's face. Stefan figured there was a fifty-fifty chance she was being serious.

"Hey, I heard that! Rude," Damon appeared right behind her. He popped a kiss on her neck and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You're supposed to be nice to me now," he fake whispered in her ear.

Bonnie rolled her eyes, smiling sweetly, and said to Stefan, "Dammit, I keep forgetting that part. Come on in, Stefan."

Stefan's eyebrows looked like they may have have taken up permanent residence in his hairline, but he entered the house with an amused grin on his face.

"No judging from me. I promise," Stefan agreed.

Damon passed the spatula off to Bonnie and she returned to the kitchen where she cranked her music up, trying to give the guys a little privacy.

Damon led his younger brother into the living room.

"So," he said, turning to face Stefan. "Give it to me straight, what's the damage?"

"The damage?"

"Yes, Stefan, the damage. How badly have I ruined a ten year friendship?"

"Why are you asking me and not Bonnie?"

"Because, Bonnie's in a weird place right now where she's happy to avoid thinking about how much friends are mad at her, and I've been keeping her distracted with sex and food. Your turn."

"Okay, thanks for that tidbit that I didn't need to know," Stefan rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger trying to dislodge the mental image of his brother and Bonnie.

"I mean, it's great sex," Damon added with a self satisfied smirk. "Terrible food though, she actually makes tacos with those shells from a box. Ugh." He shuddered.

"What am I doing here? You couldn't give me TMI over the phone?"

"No, I couldn't. Because I need at least one person to understand that this isn't me using Bonnie for sex or compelling her. Or trying to piss off Elena," Damon's eyes were pleading with Stefan. "I need you to believe that this is real and that it's not the end of the world for Bonnie Bennett to be dating me."

Stefan took a moment before he spoke. He thought of all the times he had seen Bonnie and Damon together over the last few months. He had to admit that they seemed closer, they were certainly working together more and even hanging out. Damon had blown him off a couple times to meet up with Bonnie, claiming he was helping the witch with a project. Stefan hadn't realized their relationship had grown past friendship, though he had suspected that his brother was involved with someone new. He just didn't figure it would be Bonnie.

"I thought Bonnie hated you," Stefan remarked aloud.

"She never hated me…" Damon scoffed but even he couldn't pull off that one. "Okay, well she hasn't hated me for a while now."

"Oh, yeah? And how did you manage that?"

Damon fed him his devilish smile, "Come now, brother. You know as well I do that the Salvatore charm can be devastating." But Stefan wasn't buying it. "Honestly, I don't really know how it happened. One day we were mortal enemies and the next frenemies, and then we were just cool and then it was hot and now it's real. And I like her Stefan." Damon shrugged like he didn't know what to do about any of it.

Stefan hadn't seen his brother look this...unguarded in almost and a century and a half. He was obviously concerned about Bonnie but he still had this air about him that wasn't what Stefan was used to seeing: selfish, smug, diabolical, homicidal…

Stefan could see it in his face that he genuinely cared for Bonnie.

"Okay, I believe that you aren't trying to hurt Bonnie."

"Yes!" Damon gave a small fist pump of victory.

"But what does any of this have to do with me?" Stefan asked.

"Well, now you have to help me convince your girlfriend and Blondie Bear to believe me, too."

"Oh, no. No way. I don't want to be in the middle of this."

"No fair, you're supposed to take my side, you're my brother!"

"You yelled at Elena."

Damon sighed, "She need to be yelled at, she was talking crazy."

"Why don't you try talking to her again, without calling her crazy this time, maybe."

"They aren't going to listen to me, yesterday they wanted to kill me!"

"Most days I want to kill you, too," Stefan pointed out.

"That's just it, this isn't about me! It's about the woman that I -" Damon faltered, "the woman that I am starting a relationship with, fighting with both of her best friends. Now, tell me, is that what Bonnie deserves after all she's done to help us? Hmm?"

Stefan hated that Damon was laying on the guilt so thick, but he did have a point. If it was within his power to help Bonnie out, he did owe it to her to do so.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I just need you to talk to them and tell them about this," Damon gestured toward the kitchen. "About how you believe us and respect it. They trust you, they'll listen."

"Fine. I'll see what I can do. But I can tell you now, Caroline doesn't want to hear it. And Elena is convinced that Bonnie needs an exorcism."

"An exor-? Look, Bonnie is fine, more than fine, she is happy with me. And they would see that if they cared to look. Can you just make a case for me? I need to you you have my back here," Damon felt like he was begging and he didn't do begging very well. Stefan grabbed Damon's wrists and twisted, breaking his sudden hold on Stefan's shirt.

"I already said I would do it."

Damon inhaled and breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well, okay then. Good."

"Great," Stefan griped. He wasn't much in the mood to tell Elena she was wrong.

"Now that's settled, you're staying for dinner."

"That's really not necessary."

"Oh, but it is. If I have to eat her food, then so do you." Damon's grin turned devious.

"This is the thanks I get for helping you?" He was amused to see this side of his older brother.

"Don't worry, the food sucks but the company is fantastic."

..

Stefan spent the rest of the evening observing the way Bonnie and Damon behaved together. He noticed the way Bonnie smiled everytime Damon touched her and that Damon touched her whenever he could. He wasn't even being obvious about it, in fact he seemed to be restraining himself, but his hands still found a way to caress her shoulder, knee, arm, literally anything that was in his reach.

And Bonnie was no better. She went out of her way to lean into his space, not to crowd him, just enough to tease him before she leaned away again.

And the way they laughed together even while poking fun at each other. That part he was familiar with, but he kept thinking back to last night and how they each jumped to defend the other.

By the time Stefan left the house, he had not a single doubt that Damon was as smitten as a schoolboy and Bonnie was right there with him.

Now he just had to explain that to Elena and Caroline.

…

"Hey… Are you awake?"

…."No."

"Guess what?"

….. "What?"

"I want to take you out on a date."

"M'kay, now go to sleep."

"That's it, that's all the excitement I get?"

"It's...," Bonnie peeked at her alarm clock, "3 AM. That's all the excitement I got."

"Ha, bet I can get you excited."

That woke her up. "Why are you taking me on a date?" She finally rolled over to her back and Damon slipped between her legs.

"That's what dating people do, they date. Each other."

Bonnie squirmed as Damon kissed a trail down her chest and stomach to her thighs.

"I know that, but why are you doing it?"

Damon's head popped back above the covers. "I'm sorry, did you want someone else to ask you out?"

"No, I just mean, you don't have to keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Distracting me with sex and relationship milestones," she laughed. "Like, I'm just curious, is there some kind of checklist that you're working through or what?"

"Hey! I'm not trying to distract you!" He exclaimed, boldy lying through his teeth as he sat back on his knees.

"Babe, you totally are. And don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely enjoying it, I am!" Bonnie pushed up on her elbows and rested on her left hand. "I think it's adorable what you're doing for me, and I am grateful for the distraction. But I'm not some little girl that's gonna breakdown just because my friends are being bitchy. I can handle it."

"You shouldn't have to handle anything."

"But I can."

"No, I'm saying, if they had found out that you were secretly dating anybody else, say the quarterback or the student council President, or even some mysterious college guy, there wouldn't be a problem. You guys would be gushing over how cute and smart and funny or tall he is and not be pitted against each other."

Bonnie smiled slightly, "Considering Caroline is SGA president I think we'd be having a whole other kind of argument."

"You know what I mean."

"Yes, I do. And it is not your fault," Bonnie sat up and cupped his face between her palms. "Nor is it your responsibility to fix it. Either we will figure it out or… we won't," she shrugged sadly. "I'm just saying this isn't on you."

"It feels like it is," Damon admitted.

Bonnie gasped, "Babe, that's because you feel guilty," she flung her arms out and addressed an imaginary crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is a miracle! Damon Salvatore feels!"

"Would you hush! I've got a reputation to uphold!"

"Mm-hmm, yeah right. This is all I need, right here. You and me."

Damon pulled her up closer to straddle his lap.

"And what if it gives me great pleasure to ply you with sex and relationship milestones? What if that makes me the happiest I've been in I don't know how long?"

Bonnie caught a shiver when his voice dipped low and sexy like that. "Well, I guess that's just something I'll learn to live with," she grinned into his lips, kissing him softly into the night.

But time comes to rest when you are by my side, it blurs..

…

Later that evening, after an extremely well planned and executed date, Damon drove them back to his house.

They'd had dinner at the Grille, followed by a movie at the cineplex and then ice cream cones and a walk around the town square.

They were still sitting and making out in the front of his car when Bonnie chuckled out, "That was a lovely date, Damon. Thank you for the ice cream."

"Okay, why do you keep laughing like that?" Damon demanded.

"I'm not laughing, I swear!" Bonnie giggled again.

"Just spit it out, you hated the date, didn't you?" Damon couldn't blame her. It wasn't exactly his best work, but it was short notice and it wasn't like the town had that much to offer.

"No! It was the best date I have ever been on, Damon."

"Then what aren't you saying?" Damon insisted, watching her avoid his eyes.

"It's nothing… I had fun, I promise!" Bonnie vowed.

"But?"

"You're not gonna let this go?"

"Not now."

"You really want to know?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

"Okay, fine," she sighed. "It was a very lovely date and I did have fun...but that wasn't the first time I've been on that exact same date…"

Damon paused a moment to process that. "That exact same date?"

"It's kinda like the standard Mystic Falls first date," she shrugged.

"And how many times have you been on that date?"

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and thought back on all the guys she had been out with in the last couple years. As she counted back in her head, Damon sat in disbelief of how the night had turned out.

"Like, maybe seven or eight times," She squinted trying to think if she had missed one.

"Seven or eight times!" He exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something?!"

"I was having fun… and I don't know. I guess I was waiting for the good part," Bonnie winced at how that sounded.

"The good part?" Damon huffed a sardonic laughed. "Wow," he climbed from the car. "I can't believe I got scooped by seven or eight other guys."

Bonnie scrambled out after him, "No! At least two of them do-over dates with the same guy!"

"That doesn't help, Bonnie!"

"I'm sorry, but you asked!"

"I shouldn't have asked."

"No, I shouldn't have said anything."

He opened his front door for her, saying, "No, I'm glad you did. It's good to know that I've got to bring my A game from now on. No shortcuts."

"Hey, you are already better than every other guy I've ever been out with, do you hear me? You're the only one that has ever finished that date with me in his house and ready to do whatever it takes to thank him for taking me out," Bonnie popped the button on his jeans and pushed her hand down his pants.

"That may be the case but-"

"But nothing," Bonnie silenced him with her lips over his and her hand wrapped around his dick.

Damon moved them out of the entryway and to the next room, before Bonnie dropped to her knees.

"You can't thank me for a date you've been on before," Damon gasped as Bonnie's tongue circled him.

"I can do what I want," Bonnie stood to her feet and pushed him back to the couch, "remember?"

"I am vividly aware of that fact," he grunted as he plopped down.

"Then shut up and let me do it."

"Yes ma'am."

Bonnie had him in her mouth for all of thirty seconds when the front door burst open, and Caroline stormed in with Elena close behind her.

"No!" Damon groaned out loud. "Get ouuut!"

"Oh my god!" Elena covered her eyes.

"Ew, I can't unsee that," Caroline clenched her eyes closed. "Bonnie, we need to talk."

Bonnie tried to fix Damon's pants but he smacked her hands away before she accidently caught him in the zipper, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Elena told me you used your magic on her. Bonnie you're not in your right mind, Damon is doing something you, and you can't trust him!"

"Caroline's right, Bonnie. You can't trust him."

"I thought Stefan was going to talk to you, explain things," Damon stood up.

"Oh, you mean make a case for his brothers defense. We've heard it all before, Damon!" Caroline stopped him. "You've changed? You're not a bad guy? You only want what's best for her? Bullshit! Because if you wanted what was best for her you'd know it wasn't you."

"How the hell do you know what's best for me?" Bonnie demanded.

"We're your best friends Bonnie, we are trying to help you," Elena said, trying to play peacekeeper.

"She doesn't need your help," said Damon. He was done with the theatrics and drama and explaining himself. "She's got me. And if you two wanna stand there all holier than thou and judge her for who she wants to be with then screw you. That's on you, it's not our problem."

Bonnie looked up at Damon and at that moment she knew it. She knew she loved him then. He took the words right out of her mouth.

"We're done answering to you, and I'm done with you coming to me with this shit," she looked them both in the eye and her voice dropped dangerously low as she stepped right up to Caroline and then Elena. "It's not a phase or some rebellious streak or Damon compelling me. This is me. And when you finally pull your heads out of each other's ass and decide to be happy for me, then you know where to find me."

Bonnie pushed her way between them both and stalked out of the house.

Damon gave Elena a cold smile, "Or don't. Trust, we're fine either way. And I'll be taking good care of all of Bonnie's needs."

He followed her from the house and slammed the door behind him.

And I will follow where this takes me

And my tomorrows long to be unknown

In a world uncertain, say you'll be my stone...

...

After that night it was just him and Bonnie for a while.

She went to school like always, but she came home to Damon now instead of an empty house.

And like he had told Elena and Caroline he was taking good care of her.

Damon took her grocery shopping and made her get more than frozen dinners and cereal. He stopped letting her cook by herself and started showing her recipes he had picked up or they learned new ones together.

He helped her with her magic, letting her try out spells on him, helping her research and translate things.

She helped him hunt, picking out people in bars to snatch, eat, and erase. She made up the cover stories that Damon compelled them to believe. They worked well together.

They weren't hiding anything anymore. Bonnie was very open about her relationship with everyone left in her life; Stefan, Alaric, Matt. Though Matt was a bit skeptical at first, all it took was seeing Bonnie smile when Damon kissed her and he was sold. He, of course, threatened to stake Damon if he hurt her in anyway, but he knew Bonnie could take care of herself, she always had.

Somehow, even Esther Mikaelson weighed in on the matter, telling Bonnie he was an abomination. That conversation didn't last long.

They fought each other daily, but it never lasted and by night they were making up again.

And some things they didn't have to fight about.

Like the day Damon told Bonnie he bought tickets to a ballet in DC and she said she couldn't go because she didn't have anything that nice to wear. For that one he showed up at her door and demanded to take her shopping immediately.

He pulled his wallet out and told her, "Here, you can take the Black one, the Gold one, hell take the Blue one too." He shoved his credit cards into her hand. "Because if you ever tell me again that you don't have something, we're gonna have a problem."

Bonnie was shocked to find him so serious about it, his stony face held not even a hint of humor or sarcasm.

"You are knowingly and willfully handing over multiple credit cards to me? And taking me to the mall? With the intent to let me get whatever I want?" She needed to clarify before she actually went through with it.

Damon sighed. "What, are you going to tell me how much of caveman I'm being for wanting to buy you nice things? I like nice things, I like seeing you in nice things. Things you wear specifically with me in mind. I am a hundred and seventy years old and I have money to spend and I want to spend it on my girlfriend. Is that alright with you?"

Bonnie took a moment to gather her thoughts before she took a deep breath and said, "Can we… Can we pretend that I argued with you for like half an hour about how inappropriate it is for you to want to dress me like a doll?" Bonnie launched herself up into his arms, catching him off guard. "Cause I swear to god, I am a feminist, but that was sexy as hell."

Damon smiled, relieved that she wasn't going to fight him on this. "I won't tell a soul how quickly you caved to your Pretty Woman fantasies."

She didn't let them leave for another two hours.

Change in every wind

The sands of time don't know our name

Oh nothing's sure, but surely as we stand

I promise I will stay the same...

Damon knew he was in love after he spent six hours with her in a shopping mall. He didn't care at all, just kept watching the smile on her face as he agreed to get her anything she liked.

He slipped away to buy her something special at the jewelry store. He was really going all out, playing up the Richard Gere role to her Julia Roberts.

Two days later he drove her DC for the show and presented her with a ruby choker dripping in diamonds. She could hardly take her eyes off of it long enough to let him put it on her.

"Damon, this is way too much," she tried to argue.

"No, it's not. It's beautiful, you're beautiful," he claimed quite simply.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," he grinned and swiped a stray tear from her cheek. "Now, let's go watch some dancing."

"Do you even like ballet?" she asked as he opened the car door for her.

"I can appreciate the art form," he rolled his eyes.

Bonnie laughed, "So, that's a 'no' then."

"Look, I'm willing to keep an open mind. I know you like ballet, so that's all that matters," he said casually.

Bonnie hid a smile. It still surprised her when he did that; when he noticed the small things that she didn't have to tell him or he remembered something she mentioned ages ago. He may not think it was a big deal for him to sit and watch a three-hour ballet just because she liked it, but it was a big deal to her. Everything he did was a big deal to her. It was the first time anyone did anything with her being the sole benefactor and it was a rush for her.

The rush for Damon was watching that smile she tried to hide. That smile that said he had scored major points and she was happy but didn't want to hear him brag about it. It never worked, he always rubbed it in later just how awesome a boyfriend he made.

It surprised him just how easy it was to earn that smile. Some nights he had to work for it, but more often than not he'd look up and she'd be beaming at him for just telling her how beautiful she was or what a genius she was. Like she was surprised. They were effortless together, they just fit, they made sense.

That evening after the show, Damon drove them to the same hotel they went to to crash Amos' party. He had booked a beautiful room, stocked it with flowers and champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.

The elevator ride to the fifteenth floor was even better this go round and Bonnie wasn't sending him away this time.

The look on Bonnie's face when he opened the door, told him he had done very good.

"Damon, this is beautiful," she said taking in the bouquets of red roses that covered every table in the room.

"You like it?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin over her shoulder.

"I love it," she replied.

"Does it blow dinner, movie, ice cream out of the water?"

"Yes! You have eviscerated the dinner, movie, ice cream date!" She turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck.

She stared up into the eyes of the man she loved and opened her mouth to speak, but Damon stopped her. "Don't do it! You're about to get all sentimental and gushy. Just gimme a minute. Go light some candles." In a heartbeat he was gone, leaving her standing there with nothing but a breeze.

"I don't get sentimental and gushy, thank you very much," Bonnie scoffed. She found a small white votive candle in a glass dish on the low coffee table and with a quickly whispered incendia she lit it and found another and lit it too. She looked around and found a candle on the floor and another two feet from it and another. He had left a trail of candles for her to follow.

"Incendia," she said with a smile and they lit all at once. She followed the candlelit path to the balcony and found him waiting for her with a grin on his face.

"What is this?" she asked suspiciously looking around at a dozen more bouquets of roses and candles everywhere.

"This Bonnie Bennett, is where I tell you that I am in love with you."

Tears sprang to her eyes and fell immediately and she swiped them away.

"This is where I tell you that you are the woman of my dreams, the woman that made a man out of me a hundred and fifty years after the fact."

Bonnie's heart was pounding in her ears and she stepped forward so she could hear him better.

"This is where I tell you that you have me. I am here for you. I know you feel like everyone in your life has abandoned you, but not me. You are stuck with me, Miss Bennett," he finished.

Oh steady me, be my source of gravity

While my world's unraveling

Say you'll never change

Bonnie walked the last couple feet to him and wrapped her fingers around the lapels of his jacket and pulled him in to kiss him. "I love you."

"Good, cause that could've gone another way," he laughed.

"Gah, you are so cute when you're being all epic and romantic."

"Well, even I have my moments," he said with a shrug.

"You sure do, Mr. Salvatore."

When all is shaken, be my safety

In a world uncertain, say you'll be my stone

….