Damon didn't no why he smiled, but it felt good to smile again after so long. Damon promised Stefan an eternity of misery, but when he saw his brother forever dead, he knew that his fate was sealed. The same thing he had promised Stefan was the one thing he was going to have to face himself.
Man did it suck, and this was only the beginning.
He didn't know why, or even how, he ended up on the doorstep of his supposed-to-be arch nemesis's house.
He's supposed to hater her with a burning passion, right? I mean, she killed Elena, almost killed Matt, tortured him, and messed with all their minds for the hell of it. So, why was he here again?
Damon rang the doorbell, and waited a little too patiently for the door to open. He still didn't even know why he was here. He should be home, grieving for the loss of his brother that is still fresh in his memory.
The door opened revealing a very domesticated looking Rebekah. He found himself taking in every inch of her perfect figure. The way the daylight shined in her ocean blue eyes. The curls she put in her hair, and the subtle hint of mascara she wore.
"Damon?" Rebekah said genuinely surprised. "What are you doing here?"
Damon leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed and shrugged, "Ever since…" he trailed off. "Ever since…you know, I've been holed up in the Boarding House drinking myself into oblivion. I needed to get out of the house, and then your parting words from yesterday registered to me."
Rebekah smiled softly, "I would invite you in for a drink, but I don't think alcohol is the best thing for you. In fact, I think you could benefit yourself by attending an AA meeting or two."
Damon surprised himself by laughing and said, "Wouldn't do any good. I'd probably kill the people their on the spot." Rebekah chuckled.
"I don't doubt it," Rebekah joked half-heartedly.
"So, since you won't invite me in for a drink, why don't we go out for dinner?" Dammon asked.
Rebekah beamed, "Let's go."
They arrived at the restaurant in under five minutes due to Damon's reckless vampire driving. Damon took her out to a little Italian restaurant far enough out of town for them to get a slight piece of mind. When they sat down, they were immediately asked if they wanted to try their wine or any alcohol on the menu, to which Rebekah hastily declined knowing Damon was going to accept, and she believed alcohol was the last thing he needed.
The waitress quickly took their orders, and quickly moved on to her other tables.
"I've always had a weird fetish for Italians," Rebekah said randomly, starting conversation.
"They've always had the best blood, in my opinion," Damon agreed.
Rebekah shook her head, "I mean, the men I've always fallen for have been Italian. Stefan, Alex, that boy in the village I loved before I turned."
Damon stared at her, hanging onto ever word. "What was Klaus like before he turned?" he asked randomly, but genuinely curious. They've spent so long fighting him that it's hard to think he was once a human with a beating heart. They all were.
She was caught off guard by the question, but answered anyway, "He was…desperate for approval. He always looked up to Elijah. Taught Kol everything he knew. Scared off every boy in the village that dared to look my way." Rebekah paused catching memories from a thousand years back surfacing again. Good memories, when they were a family. She continued, "My brother lived in fear. Fear of our father, but mostly fear of being alone, which is why we all ended up daggered and in coffins. It's my brother's impulse and fear that drives him to the brink of insanity."
"Your family has a sick twisted notion of love," Damon commented, meaning every single word.
Rebekah nodded in complete agreement, "True. Very true, actually. We may be dysfunctional bickering lunatics, but we stick together as one." Then whispered, "Always and forever."
"I don't know how you did it," Damon said after a moment. She looked at him waiting for him to continue. He elaborated, "I don't know how you managed to stick by Klaus' side for a thousand years."
"Honestly, neither do I," Rebekah said chuckling. Although, deep down, she knew exactly why. Family above all. Or at least it was like till Caroline Forbes came into the picture. Then it quickly turns into Caroline Forbes above family. Cause, you know, she's the one who's been there for him the past thousand years, the one who loved him through everything, even when their other siblings didn't. But, whatever…
"One brother has always been enough for me," Damon joked holding up one finger to emphasize his point. He cleared his throat and looked down at the table, feeling a wave of depression with the remembrance that his only family is gone.
Rebekah, noticing his expression, decided to change the topic. "Do, you're never this nice. At least to me. What are you playing at, Damon?"
Damon shrugged, brushing off her lack of trust, and said, "I'm not playing at anything, Rebekah. You're just the only person who came over for Stefan." He gulped at mentioning his little brother.
"Yes, well, I noticed you weren't leaving the house, so I wanted to check and make sure you weren't suicidal," Rebekah said jokingly, but then added seriously, "I did love him. Don't let Niklaus fool you. He thought of Stefan as a brother, he's taking this hard as well."
"He's so not invited to the funeral," Damon said chuckling and shaking his head once horizontally.
"Wouldn't matter anyway. He's just crash it," Rebekah joined in chuckling.
Their waitress came back to the table with their orders, but walked away quickly.
"I killed Elena," Rebekah tested randomly, but with good reason. She refused to be made a fool by the moral self-righteous Mystic Falls gang any longer.
Damon nodded his head, "And I don't love Elena."
"You did," Rebekah pointed out. "And I killed her. You mean to tell me that you don't care for her in the slightest?"
"Of course I do, Rebekah But what's done is done. It's not like she minds being a vampire now," Damon responded.
"Ah, yes. The worldwide famous humanity switch. Happens to the best of us," Rebekah said with a shrug.
"And the worst," Damon added.
"And the worst," Rebekah agreed, taking a bite of her lasagna. They ate together in comfortable silence for a few moments when Rebekah asked, "What was it like? Growing up in your family."
Damon looked at her then focused more on his food. "My father hated me. My brother was my best friend, but then along came Katherine. My relationship with my brother changed after that," he answered carefully then added quietly, "But I never stopped caring." Rebekah nodded her head understanding the words that he didn't say. They may have been betrayed by family time and time again, but they never stopped loving and caring about them. No matter what happens, their still family. Damon cleared his throat then asked, "What about you? Your turn to share."
Rebekah smiled softly, but eventually answered, "My father doted on me. He always told me that he waited many moons for a precious baby girl to hold. My mother taught me basic spells, but never let me get too experienced with magic. Elijah taught me how to wield a sword without letting my father know cause it wasn't proper for a girl, but he wanted me to know how to defend myself against any danger." She paused, and smiled fondly at the memories. The memories that weren't tainted. The days when she was as happy as could be.
The days when she was human…
Noticing the wistful smile on Rebekah's face, he pressed on waiting for her to continue. "And?" He was surprised at how much he wanted the story to continue.
Rebekah wondered why Damon wanted to know more, but continued anyway, I always watched the sunset with Finn. It was our favorite part of each day. Finn may have been suicidal as a vampire, but he wasn't born that way. He may not have been my favorite brother, but still. He was my brother, it still hurt to lose him. Besides, he only ever showed his distaste for vampirism towards Elijah and Klaus." She paused and though of Kol. His death still fresh in her mind. The way Stefan charmingly distracted her, and then broke the news when they returned home. She didn't know which hurt more: Kol's death, or Stefan's millionth betrayal.
"Then there's Kol,"Rebekah continued getting lost in her past thoughts. "He taught me how to have fun. As a human and vampire. He was ridiculously mischievous, which caused him to butt heads with our father. A lot. One day I asked him why he did what he did. I told him it was ridiculous to face father's wrath out of pure boredom. He said that it was a small price to pay for the things he's done. What he's learned. He told me that he hoped one dayI would take that stick out of my ass and live a little. It's worth it. Kol was all about adventure." Once she finished talking about Kol, she felt tears prickling her eyes, threatening to fall. She pushed them back, and finished the last of her food. Damon was finishing up as well.
"I know there's more," Damon stated wondering to himself why he even cared. He shouldn't. This is Rebekah for God's sakes!
Rebekah softly sighed and replied, "And then there's Niklaus. The bastard child. I remember he was the person I took my first steps towards, his name was the first word I ever spoke. He constantly remind me of that whenever he can," she rolled her eyes slightly then continued, "It's a big misconception that I've been the one to never leave Klaus' side, and while that's true, it's more the other way around. When Elijah, Kol, and Finn all fled at different times to different regions of the world, we never did. We stuck together."
"He stored you in a box," Damon pointed out incredulously.
"True, but like I said, he does everything on his impulse and fear. I was going to leave him, and he didn't want to lose me. I don't agree with it, but I understand it," Rebekah shot back.
"Man, if my brother daggered me and stored me away for 90 years-"
"Don't kid yourself, Damon," Rebekah interrupted knowingly. "You would still love him regardless."
Damon chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, I would," he admitted.
Rebekah smiled more to herself than anything knowing that he fully for where she was going in regards to her brother and family. At least someone did.
Even if that 'someone' is Damon Salvatore.
The waitress came back with their check, which Damon insisted he'd pay. He can be very persistent when he wants to be, and 'he always gets what he wants,' as he told Rebekah when she said that he was about as stubborn as she was.
He drove her home, and watched as she retreated into her home, closing the door behind her. He smiled as he drove the way home. He felt like he needed to smile more.