OK. Not two chapters! Would you believe three? Thanks for reading. More reviews please!
Stefan didn't look up as Damon re-entered the cavernous room. His younger brother sat slumped on the floor, back against the couch, knees bent, head in hands. Damon approached slowly, carefully, as one would advance on a wounded animal. He knew that his brother was aware of his presence. Stefan continued to cry, tears streaming down his face unimpeded. Damon, for once, was at a loss.
He sat down beside Stefan. Cast his mind back to the time they had both been human. He had loved his younger brother. Looked out for him. Protected him. Had fun with him. And then along came Katherine. Femme fatale. She had played them perfectly, appealing to his base nature and Damon's sensitivities. Turned them. Drove them apart. Created years of hatred, loneliness, mindless drifting and suffering. From which the brothers had finally begun to recover. Until she reappeared.
And now, as immortals, another love triangle had been created. Inadvertently. But one that, once again, threatened to pull the brothers apart. Damon wasn't sure that he and Stefan could survive another rift. Another woman coming between them.
He placed his arm around Stefan's shoulders and pulled. Stefan came easily, leaning into Damon's solid frame. Sighing, Stefan rested his head on Damon's shoulder. His tears gradually abated. The two remained still, hypnotized by the flames, lost in their own dark thoughts.
Moving slightly, Stefan nuzzled Damon's neck. The affectionate gesture momentarily caught Damon off guard. He laughed, responded by turning his own head to place a kiss on Stefan's forehead. Left his lips pressed on the cool flesh. Reaching up, he began to stroke his brother's hair, gently, lightly. Damon was consumed by a desire to comfort his brother, to make his pain disappear. He didn't want Stefan becoming bitter, angry. The way he, Damon, had responded to rejection from the woman he loved. He knew that Elena would come back to Stefan. She always did. Always would. But right now, Stefan didn't know that. His world had ended. And Damon wanted to make it right.
This felt so good. Being with his brother. His older brother. Who for so long had either avoided him or hated him to his face. Either way, Stefan had missed him. Needed him. The fingers in his hair became more insistent. The pressure increased. There was urgency in Damon's touch that hadn't been there earlier. Stefan responded. Lifted his head. Moved to come face to face with Damon. Studied the vampire before him. Those beautiful features. Normally arranged in a studied expression of mockery, disdain. But now the mask was stripped. Damon's eyes were soft. Open, vulnerable. Those blue pools were watching Stefan with curiosity, affection and something else. Something that Stefan felt himself responding to.
With no forethought, he leaned in and kissed Damon on the lips. Softly at first. Hesitantly. Unsure of what he was doing, what he was thinking. After all, this was Damon. Crazy. Wild. Unpredictable Damon. His older brother. Who had hated him for so long. Who he, Stefan, had continued to love throughout the years. Despite everything. And now he had crossed a line. A line that couldn't be erased, undrawn. Continued to kiss Damon- unable, unwilling to break contact with those lips-with the man he had spent decades sparring with, avoiding. And it had come down to this. This moment in time. This kiss that would shape the remainder of their eternity together.
Felt his brother pull back. Opened his eyes. The other vampire's fangs were evident as Damon hissed, retracting his lips. His eyes were no longer human. Stefan gasped as Damon wrapped his hands around Stefan's throat and squeezed.