Title: Eternity
Authors: Ayumie and CrowX
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Damon/Stefan
Word count: 5230
Warnings: Incest, slash and some violence and kinky scenes
Summary: Damon had promised his brother an 'eternity full of misery'. But will Damon be able to fulfill this promise or is the bond between him and Stefan too strong? They will meet again and again throughout time and places, experiencing good and bad times while challenging each other. Incest, slash, mature themes.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Many thanks to my great beta reader dysprositos, who has to endure more snow while I enjoyed the first spring week-end.
Thanks for all the wonderful reviews, I replied, but not to the guest, so thank you Nutty, tvd, Nat, Jenny, Mery, Katherine xX and Hana-chan. The story is finished and I really try to update more often, but it has to be okayed by my co-author, and so it all takes some time, sorry. Since we wrote it two years ago, Klaus won't make an appearance. Pity, I know. But I hope you still will like it :-).
..
ETERNITY
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Chapter 7
.
Damon wasn't really surprised when he missed his brother over the next five years. But he never went looking for him, since he hoped that they would indeed meet on All Hallows Eve. And he also wondered whether Stefan would finally believe that his behavior during their last weeks together had been genuine.
In the meantime, Damon once more traveled a lot, this time going to more exotic places like Africa, Australia and Asia.
When the day of their reunion approached, Damon went back to Mystic Falls. He was surprised to see so many of their newly expanded family living in the big house. They were wary of him, but honored the agreement they had made decades ago and let him in. He was surprised to hear that Stefan had also been there, right after the turn of the century. Damon went to their shared room to settle in and he mostly stayed there, enjoying the sense of belonging.
xxXXxx
By now, the new Boarding House was a familiar sight. Ever since his first visit, Stefan tried to drop in at least once a year and as a result his relatives had started to be a little more at ease around him. He had also started to store his things in the room Damon had claimed for them, filling it with mementos until it felt like a home. But now, the light was burning. His brother was already waiting.
Stefan's little nieces and nephews greeted him enthusiastically – he always took care to bring them presents. That night he didn't spend much time with his relatives, only exchanging greetings before going up into his room. Stefan hesitated at the door. Finally, he pushed it open and warily stepped into the room.
"Damon."
xxXXxx
Damon frowned. That sounded quite hostile.
"Hello to you, too, Stefan. It's good to see you. How are you? Isn't that how you're supposed to greet a brother after five years?"
He looked Stefan up and down. This time around, his brother looked well. Obviously he had drunk his fill from the animals in the surrounding woods. He was dressed all right, if a little bit out of fashion. But the most obvious change was his presence. Stefan didn't broadcast misery and depression anymore, he looked overall contented, but also doubtful and suspicious.
"I don't know what I have done this time, or rather the last time, for you to be this way?"
Damon managed to look pouting and hurt.
xxXXxx
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Stefan brought his luggage to the closet and started to unpack.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I was being churlish. You've never been anything but a loving brother to me and there is no reason whatsoever to doubt your motives. Do tell me all your news. What kind of people have you been killing lately?"
Perhaps this wasn't the best way to start this visit, so after a moment Stefan relented a bit.
"I am here, am I not? Just like you asked."
xxXXxx
Damon's frown deepened. This wasn't at all the reunion he had imagined.
"I don't understand your hostility. Last time I went away just like you wished. I held up my end of the agreement."
He stood up and paced the room. This was annoying. Damon was quickly losing all his patience and his voice rose.
"And I told you that I don't even kill that much. Mostly I just compel them to forget in order to keep a low profile. Furthermore, I suggested this meeting since I thought you would like to see me after five years. It was nothing but a time and place to see each other again. God, Stefan, you're paranoid."
Damon stormed out of the room, passing worried relatives on his way out.
xxXXxx
Stefan was utterly bewildered as Damon left him behind. What had Damon been expecting? Hugs and kisses? Perhaps it had something to do with the reason behind his kindness the last time. He just didn't understand his brother, never had since they had been turned.
Well, it didn't matter. For now, it was important to calm their relatives. He could hear their worried voices even through the closed door. And tomorrow he would try to find out whether he could really leave without any recriminations.
He wasn't being paranoid, Stefan told himself. Damon had proved time and again that he wasn't to be trusted. For years and years, Stefan had tried so hard to fix their relationship only to be met with scorn and indifference. Damon hated him.
A few hours later, he went to bed.
xxXXxx
Damon was running through the forest to calm himself. He was surprised at his own behavior but Stefan's words had actually hurt him. He could shut away any emotions except those revolving around his brother.
With his speed, it wasn't hard to run to the next town. He went to a brothel there and had a little blood feast with three girls. Not wanting to be discovered by the still-suspicious people of Mystic Falls, he let them live and compelled them to forget.
Damon thought about going to the tomb, but decided that it was too painful standing outside without being able to help. It would have to wait for another few decades.
Feeling much better, he made his way back to the Salvatore Boarding House. Everybody was already asleep, even Stefan. Quietly Damon crawled into bed with him. In his sleep, he didn't realize that he was cuddling his brother.
xxXXxx
Stefan was fast asleep by the time Damon joined him in bed. Unaware of what he was doing, he immediately turned towards his brother, drawn in by Damon's warmth and scent.
They woke in the gray light of dawn, still curled around each other and undeniably aroused. Stefan couldn't resist the temptation to burrow closer still and nuzzle at his brother's neck. He missed Damon terribly, missed him even when they were together. And he was tired of being strong.
Acting on impulse, Stefan lifted his head.
"What if I were to feed on humans? Would that make a difference? Would you stop hating me, then?"
xxXXxx
Just when Damon thought that they would engage in pleasant activities Stefan was throwing him off with that loaded question. He couldn't rein in his immediate response: laughter.
"You, Stefan, drinking human blood? I will only believe this when I see it."
Chuckling, he looked over to Stefan, indulging in that particular fantasy.
"We could both hunt side by side, sharing everything in our lives. Ah, I can remember the dreams we used to share quite well."
Stefan was looking disturbed, so Damon answered truthfully, not able to hold back his angry outbreak.
"Well, you would be much stronger and you wouldn't have to kill, you know? And why do you believe that is the reason I resent you? Did you forget about your betrayal of Katherine? And then forcing me into this life, but abandoning me with your stupid diet and moral thoughts? Of course it would make a difference if you'd just feed like a normal vampire would!"
xxXXxx
Disappointed, Stefan looked down. That didn't sound promising. Well, what had he been expecting? It had been a stupid, spur of the moment idea anyway. Only, it had been more than three years since he had last had some human blood and although his body was able to tolerate his diet for longer and longer periods as he got older, there were always times when it needed stronger food. For the last few months, the thought of feeding on a human had never been far from Stefan's mind.
Sighing, Stefan got out of bed. In his current state, it probably wasn't a good idea to be around Damon.
"Forget it. I didn't mean anything by it. How long are you planning to stay?"
xxXXxx
Scowling Damon decided that this wasn't how the morning was supposed to go. He got up and stood behind Stefan, pressing against him, holding him by the hips. Lips all but brushing his brother's ear, he whispered suggestively:
"Maybe you asked me because you need something stronger? Maybe you want to feel the vein giving in beneath your sharp fangs? Maybe it's just the taste you can't forget?"
With a calculating grin, Damon brought his own wrist to his mouth, biting it. Instantly the rich smell of blood filled the room. He offered his arm to Stefan, still holding him tight.
"Do you want this for the time being? It's from three lovely girls, given in pleasure. And don't worry your pretty little head; they are still alive, if quite exhausted."
xxXXxx
Damon's blood was delicious, rich and sweet, but at the same time not nearly enough. Stefan wanted something warmer, fresher. When he dropped his brother's wrist and turned to face him, he knew that there was something dark and aggressive in his eyes.
"You are such a bastard."
He was pulling Damon closer though, tilting his head for as kiss even as his fingers twisted into that messy hair. Stefan's fangs were still out and the kiss quickly turned bloody, too.
xxXXxx
Growling, Damon sucked those tainted lips, enjoying the taste of Stefan's blood more because of the fact that it was his brother's than because of the actual stale taste. The strange, powerful look on Stefan's face was surprising, but it suited his brother well. It was like déjà vu from the dreams.
"Don't go around insulting your own mother, Stefan, even if you hardly knew her," he admonished. He wanted to bite his brother, wanted to be as rough as possible and he wanted Stefan to do the same. His clawed at Stefan's clothes, tearing them away from that strong body.
"Show me what you've got," he challenged and bit into his brother's neck.
xxXXxx
Stefan swallowed a scream as his brother's fangs pierced his skin. They'd have to be quiet – their relatives were downstairs, and he wasn't sure how keen human ears were. Digging his nails into Damon's back, he pushed him back towards the bed, black spots dancing in front of his eyes as more and more blood was stolen from him.
Panting, Stefan groped down to rub their cocks together. This was going to be the first time in their new room and it had to be rough.
"Why don't you just fuck me?"
xxXXxx
Damon groaned loudly, not caring who could hear them.
"When you ask me so nicely, why should I deny you?"
They rolled around, rubbing their naked bodies against each other. Damon used his still-bloody wrist to slick his fingers, pushing inside his brother roughly. After adding two more fingers, he deemed Stefan prepared enough. He quickly decided how to take him and climbed over his brother to pull those strong legs up and around his waist.
"Bite me, brother, and I'll fuck you," he said and sank his fangs into the other side of Stefan's neck.
xxXXxx
As that greedy mouth once more descended on his neck, Stefan whimpered. Damon was taking too much too quickly – he didn't have a choice. Mouth burning with need, Stefan struck. At least this would muffle the sounds. When Damon drove himself inside, Stefan's mouth was too full of blood to scream.
It was rougher than a human would be able to take, relentless thrusts that made Stefan's body clench and shudder. They were locked together in every way possible, so close Stefan wasn't sure he could tell even their thoughts apart. The hunger in him might as well be Damon's – as might be the wild pleasure he felt.
It didn't take long until Stefan's whole body seized and his seed splashed warm between their bellies.
xxXXxx
Groaning, Damon pushed into that pliant body, enjoying the double sensation of fucking and feeding. It was faster and rougher than anything he had experienced for ages. He thrust with abandon, stroking his brother's hard cock at the same time.
"Oh God, brother, you feel so good, taste so good," he panted between thrusts against that pale neck, licking the spilled blood.
They both came one after the other, like a chain reaction. Damon cried out and rode out his orgasm as long as he could. They collapsed on the bed in tangled limbs, Damon still inside his brother. Exhausted, Damon rolled around and hugged Stefan close, falling nearly instantly asleep after mumbling:
"I love your rough side, brother.
xxXXxx
Stefan was so drained, he actually hurt a bit. There was a jittery feeling in his stomach and he had to bite his lip to keep from rousing Damon. He waited until his brother had gone to sleep before sliding out of bed. He had to feed. He'd go and hunt ... something.
By the time Stefan returned, it was dark. His steps were sure and brisk and he dismissed the worried questions of his relatives with a few cold words. Once he reached their room, Stefan ignored Damon and pulled off his bloodstained shirt. He had been sloppy, over-exited. It wouldn't happen again.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Stefan knew that he was supposed to feel bad – that he would feel bad, distraught over what he had done. Right now, he didn't feel much of anything, though. Not anymore.
xxXXxx
When Damon woke up the next day, his brother was already gone. Lazily he explored the house and endured his relatives' questions and stories. In one corner of his mind, he liked to listen to them and to connect with them again, but the bigger part of him was scoffing at all this sentimentality.
He didn't see Stefan until nightfall and then it was a big surprise. Even though something about Stefan's behavior seemed off, Damon was more flabbergasted when he saw and smelled the blood on his brother – and it was human.
"Did you help in some accident, or is there actually a vampire inside of you?" he asked more curiously than snidely.
He approached his undressing brother and licked some of the spilled droplets off that muscled chest.
"Mhm, tastes like a middle-aged drunk."
He was looking at his brother with new eyes. This was something he could understand.
xxXXxx
"I was hungry. I fed. There's nothing more to it. Hey, do you want to go out tonight? This place is boring."
Stefan leaned back against Damon, enjoying the feeling of that mouth on his body. He was restless though. Perhaps they ought to get out of here altogether. Mystic Falls was no longer their home, why pretend otherwise?
"So what have you been doing all day?"
Abandoning his own clothes, Stefan went to sift through Damon's things. He pulled out one of his brother's shirts, beautiful linen that had clearly never been worn.
xxXXxx
Damon threw his head back and laughed heartily. He clapped his brother's shoulder, and threw some tight pants he just recently bought at Stefan.
"Wear those; they are going to show off your fine ass. I haven't done much today, bonded with our relatives, listening to their life stories… This place is indeed boring, of course I want to go out. Just a few miles away there's a good bar with a lot of scantily dressed girls."
After Stefan was dressed appropriately, even Damon was satisfied. They jumped out of the window, not wanting to face the humans in the house and ran to the aforementioned bar. Damon ordered some whiskey for them.
"So, ready to have some fun?" he asked and gestured for some girls to come to their table.
xxXXxx
Disdaining the glass of whiskey Damon had poured for him, Stefan went straight for the bottle. He knew that he mustn't let himself think. Smiling at the girl who sidled up to him, Stefan turned his full attention to her. She was pretty enough and smelled really good. Soon he had her giggling, pressing against him. He didn't even have to compel her to get her to take him to one of the private rooms upstairs. Stefan barely noticed that Damon followed with his own prey.
Once Stefan sank his fangs into that soft skin it was over quite soon. He let the body drop and leaned back on the bed, lazily watching his brother feed.
"They don't last for long, do they?"
xxXXxx
Laughing Damon finished his girl and this time he drank until the last drop.
"No, but it feels so good, doesn't it? When their life flees and its power flows in your veins."
He threw the body onto the floor to join that of the other girl and jumped his brother.
"I've never seen you feed. It's extremely sexy." He kissed the bloody lips, and sank onto his knees to open Stefan's trousers. Taking out the hardening cock, he started to lick it.
"I want you fast and dirty," he moaned and pushed his trousers down, baring his ass.
xxXXxx
They did it just as Damon had wanted, on a rumpled bed with sheets that badly needed washing, with their clothes still partly on and two bodies on the floor beside them. Afterward, Stefan smoothed his clothes and hair and smiled.
"Come on, let's get going."
Downstairs, people were still carousing, drinking, gambling, and having a good time. On their way out through the saloon, Stefan compelled a girl to follow them. At Damon's questioning glance, he shrugged.
"We'll want a snack tomorrow. She won't be any trouble, will you, dear? She'll just sit quietly until we call her."
xxXXxx
Damon's jaw was in danger of falling to the ground. This wasn't the brother he had known the past sixty years. Slowly, a bad feeling was forming in the back of his mind. But he pushed it aside, because he enjoyed the wild side of Stefan far too much.
"Good idea, Stef, but we should stay in this town. It's better if we don't mix this with the human Salvatores."
He went to the best hotel in town, compelling the staff to forget about them and the girl. It was late and Damon was feeling satisfied in every way possible. He pulled Stefan onto the bed with him and settled down to sleep.
"It's so much fun with you, Stef, I wouldn't have believed it."
xxXXxx
Stefan slept fitfully for a few hours. His dreams were dark, confused, and around five in the morning he got up. Since he had none of his books with him, he broke into one of the neighboring rooms and stole a newspaper.
Pulling the girl onto his lap, Stefan made her read to him, the dull texts rendered more amusing by her frequent mistakes and stumbling pronunciation. All too soon that lost its appeal, though, and he told her to strip instead.
Stefan pulled the girl back against him and nuzzled at her neck and breasts. He didn't really bite yet, wasn't hungry, but relished the possibility that he might anyway. The girl obeyed immediately when Stefan told her to use her mouth on him. Closing his eyes, he lay back, barely noticing that Damon was stirring on the bed.
xxXXxx
Quiet moaning greeted Damon as he awoke. He opened his eyes and the sight was breathtaking: his brother lying on the bed with spread legs and the girl sucking him while he ordered her around with a deep voice.
Damon hardened immediately.
"Mhm, little brother, this has to be the perfect way to wake up. Mind if I join you?
Without waiting for an answer he bent down to kiss his brother while his hands found their way down to where the girl was sucking. He grabbed her chin and moved her over to his thigh.
"Now do us both," he commanded, staring into her eyes. She complied, sucking him while pleasuring Stefan with her hands.
"Do you want to share her blood as well? Wouldn't it be nice to drain her while we're both thrusting inside of her?"
xxXXxx
Damon's suggestion cut Stefan's growl of protest short. The girl had a talented mouth and he had been looking forward to coming in it, but this sounded even better. It was a bit of a struggle to get them into position, the girl pliant but uninspired, moving awkwardly between them. Damon held his eyes as they both buried themselves in that warm body.
The girl whimpered, but didn't fight even as their fangs pierced her neck. Stefan thrust frantically, barely remembering to check his strength. They fucked and fed until they were spent and the girl had collapsed between them. Stefan swayed for a moment, so caught up in the sensations he actually felt dizzy.
xxXXxx
It was just like the dream they had shared ages ago. They were both buried inside of the compelled girl with Damon pushing from behind while his brother was echoing his movements in the front. Groaning harshly, Damon bent forward to kiss his brother before biting into that luscious young neck. Stefan did the same at the other side.
It was intense, the heady smell of his brother mixed with the rich taste of the girl and the feeling of his brother's cock rub against him in the girl's body. With a growl, Damon spilled his seed inside of her, feeling Stefan doing the same. Damon threw the still warm but drained body to the side and caught his swaying brother in his arms, kissing his bloody lips.
"Brother, I love you like this," he exclaimed drunkenly, not remembering having ever felt this good.
xxXXxx
Stefan had overindulged. There was so much blood in his system he felt vaguely nauseated, energized and disoriented at once. For a moment, it seemed like Damon's words ought to mean something to him. Stefan shrugged it off, the smile he turned on his brother harsh and brittle.
"It's fun, isn't it? So do you want to sleep some more? I'll have them heat water for a bath."
They spent the next weeks in much the same manner, hunting and playing, generally terrorizing the area. Stefan never slowed down, they hadn't returned to the Salvatore house, hadn't even fetched his clothes and journal. There was no need to write anything down – he'd remember the things he'd done whether he wanted to or not.
xxXXxx
The following weeks were the best in Damon's unlife so far. But the bad feeling kept getting worse when Damon realized that the brother he'd known for so long was gone. Briefly, he wondered if his brother had felt the same regarding him.
It would have been fine, though Damon felt slightly disturbed by the ferociousness Stefan was exhibiting during their hunts and by the cruelty with which he was playing with the victims. In some instances, Damon even finished them off more quickly than his brother had wanted to. He couldn't fight with his brother, as Stefan was as strong as he was as himself by now.
They had stayed mostly in the towns surrounding Mystic Falls and gradually rumors were spreading among the frightened population. Newspapers were printing articles about the various animal attacks and the disappearances. When the first rumors about demons, monsters and vampires reached Damon's ears, he decided to talk to Stefan.
"Stefan, we have to leave town! The people are getting suspicious and it won't be long until they start hunting us. Remember Mystic Falls. If anybody gets their hands on vervain, we can't compel them anymore. Let's go to some big town, it's more fun there anyway."
xxXXxx
Stefan was lounging comfortably on the bed, leafing through some newspapers and laughing at the stories about their exploits. The things people would believe. At Damon's words, he looked up and raised an eyebrow.
"Why would we let some stupid humans influence our behavior? I'm not ready to quit here yet. We'll be careful, and if anyone comes at us, we kill them. Of course, if you're scared, you're free to leave..."
Damon was staring at him with the slightly stunned expression he had been wearing a lot for the last few weeks. Sighing, Stefan turned back to the newspaper, already wondering what they would be writing tomorrow.
xxXXxx
Of course, Damon couldn't let his brother get away with a comment like that, so he stayed. And he would never leave Stefan alone in a situation like this, which was slowly but surely turning into a mess. The townspeople didn't suspect the two upstanding young men walking around in the sunlight, but every night there were more searches and hunts by a mob of people, carrying weapons of all sorts. Damon thought it was ridiculous, like some sort of Middle Age witch-hunt.
But he could well remember Mystic Falls and apparently, the people did too. In the daylight, Damon was looking around, making sure that no vervain was growing in the area and checked out the stores.
Then one evening, things turned worse. Damon and Stefan had hunted down a couple of unfortunate travelers arriving late in the town and after feeding and killing the two men they were on their way back to the hotel with one compelled woman in tow. But then they heard the shouts of a crowd of hunters as they found the corpses.
"Hurry, they've just been killed. The demons should be around here. Search!"
xxXXxx
Damon was tugging at his arm, whispering urgently, trying to pull Stefan away. Stefan ignored him, though. He didn't want to give up the girl and at the same time, the mob was calling to him. Some part of him was urging Stefan to step forward and make himself known, to attack and maybe kill them all. Maybe they would kill him...
Shaking his brother off, Stefan took a step forward. In the same second, shots rang through the woods. They couldn't have spotted them, were firing blind, but all the same several bullets struck home. Stefan gave a startled gasps, the shock of wood piercing flesh enough to fell him on the spot. It hurt too badly to move, to even think.
xxXXxx
Damon clenched his teeth when his foolish brother strutted over to the hunters. Was he suicidal? Damon barely held back a scream when, just before his eyes, Stefan was shot. With wooden bullets nonetheless. His brother dropped to the ground and Damon knelt beside him, frantically searching for the bullets and pulling them out.
"Damn you, brother, are you out of your mind?" he hissed, not wanting to alarm the hunters. He lifted his brother into his arms, carrying him as fast as possible out of the woods. He heard the hunters getting distracted when they found the woman alive and used it to get away.
Not knowing where it was safe, Damon decided to go back to their relatives' house. Even though the bullets were out of Stefan's chest and the wounds were nearly healed already, Stefan wasn't responding. Damon had had enough and ran back to Mystic Falls, carrying his brother.
xxXXxx
The guilt was crippling. Stefan's mind kept replaying the things they had done in lurid details, the suffering of their victims and his own pleasure. He barely realized that they were back at the Salvatore house.
Damon must have brought him here, Damon, who was right next to him, who was looking at him with something like worry in his eyes. For a moment, Stefan wavered. He wanted nothing so much as he wanted to ask to be hugged and comforted. Instead, he forced himself to sit up.
The next few days were going to be hell. He needed help. He needed a friend. Lexi had said that she was going to spend the winter in New York. Stefan took a deep breath.
"I'm leaving tomorrow."
xxXXxx
Damon stopped cleaning them up. He threw the bloodied towel down and grabbed his brother's shoulders, shaking him.
"What the hell is wrong with you? And don't dare to blame me this time."
He let go and started to pace up and down the room, completely enraged.
"This time it is entirely on your shoulders. I just proposed to meet with you this time, I didn't tell you to drink human blood, and I have never been this … this … cruel while playing with a victim. And then you didn't listen to me when the hunters almost found us."
Damon faced Stefan.
"And now you want to run? That's great. That's really great. You always run. I don't understand you, brother."
xxXXxx
Stefan didn't say anything. He had neither the will nor the energy to defend himself. Of course, Damon didn't understand. Stefan knew well enough that it had been him, the monster that he was, that had gained the upper hand and done this. He had been weak. Perhaps it would have been better if he had died.
Gritting his teeth, Stefan lay back down and curled into a tight ball. In the future, he'd have to be stronger. He couldn't change what had happened in the past, but he could try that much harder.
Tomorrow he would start. He would run most of the way to New York, Stefan decided, start to get the blood out of his system and keep his body too tired to rebel. And Damon ... Damon was angry with him again.
xxXXxx
Stefan was shutting him out, turning his back on him. It hurt. For the first time in his life, Damon didn't know what to do. He didn't know what Stefan wanted. The rage was leaving him as abruptly as it had come and, sighing, he crawled into bed. Hesitating slightly, his need to reassure himself that his brother was still there won out. Carefully he hugged Stefan from behind, noticing how his brother tensed at the contact.
"Just sleep, you idiot," he said, trying to cover up his worry about Stefan. He buried his face in Stefan's neck, with the foreboding that upon waking his brother would probably be gone.
"Every other year I will come back to Mystic Falls."
He didn't explain what he meant, knowing that Stefan would understand that the Salvatores' home would always be a way for them to contact each other. Breathing in his brother's scent Damon fell asleep, exhausted by the day's events.
xxXXxx
Not knowing what Damon intended, Stefan tensed as his brother approached him. But miraculously no violence followed. Damon hugged him, pressed against him in a way that felt suspiciously like comfort. After a moment, he turned and cuddled closer. He felt like crying.
The next morning, he left without saying goodbye. It was better that way. The last weeks had been his brother's dream come true but they had also been Stefan's worst nightmare. It was time to start over again.
xxXXxx
As expected, Damon was alone when he woke up. Since there wasn't anything left for him in Mystic Falls, Damon went away, too. He felt hollow, not knowing what to do with his brother's situation, so he began to work towards his goal of freeing Katherine.
Visiting a lot of witches, Damon started to gain a deeper understanding of their craft, even though he wasn't able to do any magic himself except for his vampire powers, which were developing nicely.
After a couple of years, Damon journeyed throughout Europe again, but never stayed longer than a few weeks in any one place.
.
TBC