I'm ready to start the conquest of spaces
Expanding between you and me
Come with the night the science of fighting
The forces of gravity
Conquest of Spaces – Woodkid
Stefan only waited until his presence would make a difference. A day worth of confusion building to something he could never instigate. He couldn't blame his brother for wanting to look under control, but he also couldn't deny the tiny delight of being needed by someone who was usually so strong.
So he lay in his bed resisting sleep as long as possible, waiting for some cacophony from Damon's room.
He expected a bang, what he got was a whimper.
"Stefan?"
The whisper slipped down the hall like smoke. The tentative questions fought for dominance but it didn't really matter. All the answers were yes.
When the moment came, Stefan wondered if he would scramble out of his bed, eager and strong, or if he'd be slow and build anticipation with another illusion of control. He swallowed hard and gripped the edge of his blanket. "Yeah?"
"Please."
The plaintive call wasn't a question at all, but as it turned out, Stefan's body replied on its own. He moved out of bed and into the hall. With steady steps, he found himself inside his brother's room, leaning down, falling down, being tugged down against Damon's chest.
The skin on skin contact was instantly electric. He hadn't forgotten his brother slept naked, but he didn't think Damon would stay that way when he asked Stefan to come. At least Stefan could have worn more than boxers.
Maybe Damon expected Stefan to leave him to his pain.
His brother didn't seem to be bothered by the fact his dick was pressed against Stefan's hip as he wound his arms around Stefan. If he didn't care, Stefan wouldn't either. He tightened an arm around Damon's waist hoping to give whatever ease he could offer. They fit pretty perfectly like that, pulled hard against each other.
Nothing else mattered as his eyelids fell heavy.
Tucked under his brother's arms, with his ear over Damon's beating heart had been a comfort Stefan hadn't had since he was a child, and a memory he suspected Damon never held onto at all.
"Sleep now, brother." Stefan whispered, running his fingers in circles against the small of Damon's back, "I'll be here in the morning."
The following morning, Stefan waited until Damon woke up. The synapses in his brain couldn't start firing properly until he got some coffee, but he wasn't in a rush to get going. Damon lay next to him, draped against his arm, hand crossed over Stefan's chest and knee bent over Stefan's thigh. His breath was steady against Stefan's chest with the hint of lips rubbing against his skin. His big brother looked so much younger when he was sleeping. Stefan watched carefully, keeping an eye on the distance between his embarrassingly straining dick and Damon's hand.
Eventually Damon rolled over, severing the contact. He took a breath so deep Stefan could practically feel the air change. Damon lay there for the span of a few heartbeats before he rose off the bed without looking back over his shoulder.
"Morning," came out sleepy and casual, like he hadn't been so desperate for another body against him the night before that he took the comfort from his little brother.
Of course they wouldn't talk about it. Stefan averted his eyes from his brother's bare ass, again, as Damon walked away from him. The semi hardness he caught a glimpse of made him feel a lot better about the twitching erection he had tenting against his shorts. He exhaled quietly, trying to talk his dick down before Damon came back from the bathroom. After a second thought, he decided to get out of there while he had the chance for it to go unnoticed.
As he walked away, he heard the shuffle of fabric, and then Damon was standing in the doorway adjusting low-slung pants. Stefan stopped, eyebrows raised.
"Tonight," Damon started, meeting his eyes without looking ashamed or pleading or any of the things Stefan thought there should be at least a hint of, "I'll wear something more appropriate."
The question didn't need to be asked for Stefan to agree. He couldn't be sure why he felt as relieved as he did. Damon still needed him and they both knew it.
Stefan swallowed the lump in his throat, nodding briefly before he left.
That night, Damon came in stumbling from the bar, but Stefan wasn't in the parlor. He wasn't in the kitchen, or the study. He wasn't sitting by the fireplace writing in his journal, or in his room playing his guitar.
Damon gave up, furious at the hope that had tried bubbling up. He dragged himself up to his room, struggling with his door handle. Stefan hadn't meant he'd be there again. He couldn't have. Damon knew better than to believe Stefan would actually—
Damon froze at the foot of his bed.
Stefan was partially curled up on top of the blankets, t-shirt rucked up over his stomach, and legs crossed in some baggy sweatpants with a book balanced on his knee. He sheepishly looked up as Damon just stood there. Silently he placed a bookmark between the pages of whatever he was reading and set it to the side as his toes dug into the comforter.
Damon watched the movement in a trance. His little brother was in his bed, acting like he belonged there, like this had been what he wanted. Like that was so simple. Damon moved forward while pulling his clothes off quickly, stripping down to his boxer briefs. He remembered, vaguely, about saying something that morning about appropriate clothing, but Stefan was wearing plenty so Damon figured that was good enough.
They sat side by side, looking at each other with a wariness Damon expected, but instantly disliked. He lay back instead, with one arm under his head and patted the pillow beside him.
Stefan smirked softly flicking the light off beside him and sliding under the covers.
The darkness was more comfortable. Damon relaxed easier in the shadows, where moonlight through the windows didn't quite reach the bed. The small amount of light that filtered in shone in Stefan's eyes. He wanted to reach out and touch the stars he saw reflected there. Damon wasn't sure if they were supposed to be pretending they weren't staring so intently at each other.
After a few minutes, the inches of space between them felt maddeningly distant. Damon shuffled forward and spread his arm over Stefan's chest.
With a relieved sigh, his little brother put an arm behind his back, and pulled him closer.
Damon tucked his face against Stefan's neck and fell asleep.
