One Scary Dude… But With Nice Hair

A short funny missing Damon/Alaric scene from 2x14 'Crying Wolf'; set in between Damon's confrontation with Elijah at the Lockwood tea party and him and Alaric at the boarding house nursing his wound and drinks and discussing Elijah's nice hair. Written mostly from Alaric's POV.

Alaric's eyes traveled over the crowd gathered at the Lockwood mansion without taking in much. His gaze was focused on Damon who was right now leading Elijah into a secluded room, possibly the late Mayor's study. Ric was about to follow the two vampires when John Gilbert stepped in his way.

Damn, he really hated this guy.

Like usual John was talking big, threatening to expose Alaric's lies to Jenna and claiming the ring back at the same time, but Alaric managed to be his cool unimpressed self until John stalked away again.

Alaric let out a deep breath.

Sure, the lying to Jenna was something that had been weighing on his conscience for a long time. Ric knew that sooner or later Jenna would catch up on it and would feel betrayed and then Ric would have to come up with something to make her forgive him… to make her understand…

Ric knew he should be thinking about some strategy to soften the blow once it came. Something better than his lame 'I was grading papers' excuse. But right now he couldn't. Thinking strategy would have to wait until later.

Right now Alaric's sole concern was what was going on behind the closed doors of the study. Damon had said he only wanted to talk to Elijah, probe the Original for some information on his agenda, but…

Well, the thing was… Over the course of the last few months Ric had come to know Damon quite well and he'd learned first-hand that what the vampire said and what he did were usually two completely different things.

Ric wouldn't put it past Damon to do something really stupid, like trying to kill Elijah right here, right now, with all of Mystic Falls's citizens having a tea party next door.

That was exactly the kind of thing Damon would do.

Ric let out another low sigh and walked over to the study. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Jenna talking to Carol Lockwood and Ric sent a small smile towards them. When he focused back on the study the door suddenly opened and Elijah stepped out.

He looked impeccable and calm as always, and also just as alive, or undead, as before. Not a hair on his head seemed out of place and his suit didn't have even the smallest of wrinkles.

So whatever had happened in there, Alaric deduced, it hadn't had the slightest impact on the Original.

But what about Damon?

Ric waited for the other vampire to come out after Elijah and when several seconds passed with no Damon emerging, he grew suspicious and – to his own surprise, or not so much – concerned.

Without a second thought Ric stepped into Elijah's path.

"Where's Damon?"

Eyes as cold as ice bore into him and Ric had trouble not to crumble under the assessing stare. Seconds passed and very slowly the thought crept up on him that maybe confronting the oldest and scariest vampire known to him heads-on wasn't one of the best ideas. But nevertheless, Ric held Elijah's gaze, chin up and not blinking. And eventually Elijah's lips formed a small smile.

"No need to worry," his voice dripped with superiority. "He will be out shortly. He just needs to clean himself up a bit. Humans tend to react so strongly to the sight of blood and it would be a shame to disturb this nice social gathering that way, wouldn't it?"

Blood?

Some of his concern must have shown on Ric's face because Elijah stepped closer and briefly touched Ric's shoulder in a gesture of mock-comfort.

"I merely gave him a warning, so… He will survive, for now," the smooth voice caused a shiver to run down Ric's spine. Or was it the hand on his shoulder that did it? Alaric didn't know for sure. All he knew was that this guy had class. And he was way out of his league. And out of Damon's as well. All of them combined wouldn't possibly stand a chance against Elijah.

Hopefully Damon had come to the same conclusion.

Alaric gulped down the sudden lump in his throat and tried to form some words but Elijah had already moved away again. With a slight bow and a toss of his hair he gestured for Ric to enter the study.

"Go ahead, I'm sure Damon will appreciate the help of a friend."

"Ugh, okay," Ric mumbled and without a second glance squeezed past Elijah. He opened the door to the study and cautiously entered, not sure what he would find.

Inside the curtains were almost all drawn and the room was lulled in dim silence.

"Damon?"

Alaric's eyes needed a moment to adjust to the darkness and so it took him a few seconds to locate the vampire.

Damon was seated in the office chair behind the massive desk. He was slumped forward, head nearly lowered onto the table top, and he was pressing something to the left side of his neck.

Stepping closer Ric recognized it as a formerly white and now thoroughly bloodied handkerchief.

"You alright, Damon?"

Damon lifted his head and, still pressing the cloth to his neck, he hissed: "Does it look like I'm alright, Ric?"

Ric was at his side in a heartbeat. He tried to pry the handkerchief from Damon's fingers and the vampire let out another pained hiss when fresh blood began to ooze out of a deep hole in his neck.

Ric frowned at the blood now coating his hand as well. "What happened?"

"Elijah and I had a nice little chat and…"

"No," Ric cut him off and leaned down to examine the wound further. "I mean, why isn't it healing?" He fisted a hand in Damon's hair and tilted his head to the side. "What did he stab you with?"

"A pencil," Damon growled and jerked his head out of Alaric's grip.

"Damn it, Damon. Hold still, I just wanna…"

"Play Florence Nightingale? Doesn't suit you, Ric." Damon tried to stand up but Ric pushed him into the chair again.

"Yeah, well," he shrugged, "bleeding all over Mayor Lockwood's desk doesn't suit you either and yet you're doing just that, so… do me a favor and shut up, Damon. You need to get out of here and, well, as Elijah pointed out to me earlier, you walking out bleeding like a stabbed pig would draw the kind of attention that we don't need right now. So, hold still and give me access to your neck."

Damon wiggled his eyebrows at him. "Rehearsing lines for when you become a vampire, Ric? I didn't know you felt that way…"

"Huh?"

"Hold still and give me access to your neck?" Damon sarcastically repeated Ric's earlier words. "Trust me, that line has never worked before."

"Shut up, Damon!" Ric shook his head, exasperated, but noticed that Damon had made no move to stand again. So he took a closer look at Damon's neck and prodded a finger at the hole's edges.

Damon let out a sharp hiss when fresh pain stabbed through his throat.

"Looks like a splinter is stuck in there, otherwise it would have closed already, right?"

Damon rolled his eyes to mask his pain. "Yeah, you're a genius, Ric. Now get it out!"

"How?"

Ric took a quick look around the desk, searching for a sharp enough object. Perhaps the letter opener? He reached out but Damon beat him to it. With a dark glare the vampire handed it over, hilt forward.

"Careful now, Ric!"

Alaric didn't bother with a reply but grabbed Damon by his shoulders and spun him around with the chair until the sunlight steaming in hit Damon's neck at the right angle. Letter opener in his right he stepped closer until he stood directly in front of Damon. Or rather, stood half over him really.

Legs on both sides of the vampire's knees Ric bent down and with his left hand tilted Damon's face to the side.

A low chuckle from Damon had Ric's eyes leave the wound to throw a questioning glare at Damon's face instead.

"Let's hope Jenna doesn't choose this moment to come in here looking for you," Damon smirked. "Wouldn't want to give her the wrong impression now, would we?"

For a second Ric wasn't sure what Damon was hinting at but then he realized what his position, towering over Damon like this, one hand on his shoulder and their knees touching, would insinuate to anyone walking in right now.

Ric shook his head but didn't move away. "That would really make my day," he chuckled. "God knows I get enough crap already for hanging out with you. And not just from Jenna."

"Really?" Damon's eyebrows shot up. "Who else thinks we're having hot gay sex on a regular basis?"

Alaric had been about to prod at Damon's wound but now he straightened up again and stared down at him in shock. "What do you mean, who else? Who is thinking that we're…? You're kidding, right? Nobody in their right mind could think that!"

He leaned back down and cautiously inserted the sharp letter opener into the hole in Damon's neck. Fresh blood gushed out and ran down the blade till it reached Ric's fingers.

"If you say so, Ric!" Damon smirked but it came out strained due to the pain in his neck. "I guess Stefan and Elena and Carol Lockwood and every member of the Council are out of their right mind then? Works for meeee-ow!"

"Meow?" Alaric took a step backwards and grinned down. "Damon, I swear, if you start purring like a kitten now…"

"Fuck you!" Damon slumped back in his seat and closed his eyes. "That hurt!"

"Sorry," Ric shrugged, not feeling sorry at all. "By the way, the splinter's out, so… you're welcome." He looked down at the bloodied letter opener in his hand and with a careless shrug stuffed it into his pocket. Better the Lockwoods thought it had been stolen than to leave it here looking like this, right?

He wiped his hands on the inside of his jacket and then threw a look at Damon. The vampire had wiped away the blood on his neck and was now cautiously touching his sore throat. Alaric noticed the wound had already closed again.

"Good as new," Ric commented on his work.

"Let's hope so," Damon grumbled and slowly stood up from the chair. He turned his head this way and that, satisfied when it hurt only a bit.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Ric nodded towards the door.

"Gladly!" Damon replied and suited up to him. Ric opened the door and together they made their way through the crowd. Ric stopped briefly, telling Jenna another white lie as to why he was leaving without her, while Damon looked among the people for Andy. When he couldn't spot her anywhere he casually shrugged it off and made his way to the entrance.

Once outside Damon inhaled the fresh air and decided he'd just as well get home on his own. He didn't need a babysitter, did he?

He'd made it two steps down the stairs when Ric showed up by his side.

"Come on, I'll drive you home."

"Thanks, Ric," Damon's voice dripped with sarcasm, "but I think I can manage on my own!"

"I know you can, Damon. But I'd rather see you home than stay here having to listen to every last female in there gushing about the charming Elijah and his perfect manners and nice hair!"

Damon's eyebrows climbed up: "They think Elijah has nice hair?"

"Among other things, yeah," Ric sighed and fell in step beside Damon.

"Women," Damon scoffed and flinched when his throat hurt and he had to cough. "God, I need a drink!"

Ric let out a low chuckle. "See, and that's why I hang out with you."

"Now I'm hurt, Ric!" Damon threw back a mock-hurt look. "And here I thought it was my charming personality that you couldn't get enough of!"

Ric entered his car and waited for Damon to plop into the passenger seat before he answered: "Leave the charming personality to Elijah, Damon. After all, he has the nice hair to go with it."

"Are you saying my hair isn't nice?"

Alaric turned his head to throw a look first at Damon's outraged face and then up to his tousled dark hair. The vampire had nice hair, that much Ric had to admit. But he'd rather be stabbed with a hot poker than to say it out loud. Damon was already too full of himself; it wouldn't do to further fuel his vanity after all.

So Ric simply started the car. "Buckle up, Damon. There's a bottle of Scotch waiting for us at your house."

Damon smirked and without another word let the seatbelt click into its place. Then he leaned back in his seat and watched the world pass by. Maybe, he thought, this day wouldn't be a complete bust. After all, drinking with Ric had long since become one of his favorite pastimes.

Not that he'd ever admit to that, mind you. Just like Ric would never admit that he rather liked Damon's hair.

The End