Title: Eternity
Authors: Ayumie and CrowX
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Damon/Stefan
Word count: 5878
Warnings: Incest, slash and some violence and kinky scenes
Summary: Damon had promised his brother an 'eternity 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: I wouldn't have uploaded so fast if not for the amazing dysprositos, my wonderful beta reader! Thanks!
..
ETERNITY
.
Chapter 10
.
Damon shrugged carelessly. Of course it would be more convenient, and he told Stefan so. But then he had a different idea. After staying in New Orleans for most of the last five years, he was ready for another city.
"I have another suggestion. Why don't we pack our belongings and I fly us somewhere else? Wherever you want. Maybe somewhere you haven't been yet? Mexico? With stopovers for fuel, we could fly everywhere."
He stood up and approached Stefan with a swagger to his steps. With light, seductive touches Damon tried to persuade his brother. Cupping those small, firm buttocks he pressed himself against Stefan's slim body.
xoXox
Stefan couldn't help but chuckle at his brother's exaggerated swagger. The thought of traveling with Damon was at once deeply appealing and frightening.
"Are you going to be an adventurer now? I have to admit, I never thought you the type to go off into the jungle."
Moving into his brother's embrace, Stefan let himself relax a bit. His hands started to wander too, pushing beneath Damon's shirt. Humming happily, he leaned up to kiss his brother. They would explore the world together after all.
"Or were you thinking along the lines of expensive resorts?"
xoXox
Damon leaned into the caress, his hands brushing over every part of his brother's body and wandering under his shirt to trace the spine.
Smirking, he whispered into Stefan's ear: "You know me too well after all, Stef. Though I wouldn't mind going somewhere other than expensive hotels. As long as I can land the plane somewhere, which wouldn't be possible in a jungle."
Helping his brother out of his shirt, Damon pushed him against the wall. Right now, he wanted it hard and fast. Tugging at both their trousers, he pushed them down to reveal their erections. Grabbing the lube from his pocket, Damon hurried to slick himself up. Before he pushed inside, he grabbed Stefan's legs, positioning them around his hips.
"Let's just fly away tomorrow and land somewhere after a few hours, then it'll be a surprise. What about that?"
xoXox
The breath was torn out of Stefan as his brother roughly turned him to the wall and pushed into him. He arched his back sharply, struggling to adjust to the intrusion. Damon's mouth was moving over Stefan's neck, clearly hungry for his taste. It was only a matter of seconds before those sharp fangs came out and broke his skin.
Stefan's hand dropped down to stroke himself. The pleasure was so sharp it was all but painful. Pressing his eyes shut, Stefan felt the roughness of the wall, the strength of Damon's limbs against him. This was what it would be like from now on. Stefan had to bite his lips to keep from begging for more, for his brother to touch him, and almost immediately Damon moved up to claim his mouth in a bloody kiss. Stefan shuddered and came, his cry swallowed by that greedy mouth.
xoXox
Grabbing those slim hips hard, Damon thrust as fast as possible, relishing the fact that, as a vampire, his brother could take it. The taste of Stefan's blood on his tongue and the clenching around his cock brought him over the edge fast with an animalistic scream.
When it was over, Damon held them both in this position for a few more minutes. Panting harshly, he rested his face next to his brother's. He withdrew carefully and put Stefan down on his feet.
Somehow, he felt a need to be tender after the brutal sex, and he steered his brother to the bathroom to clean him with a soft washcloth.
"Are you all right?"
xoXox
Stefan staggered a bit as his feet were once more expected to bear his weight. He shuddered to think what sex like that would do to a human. Damon was leading the way to the bathroom and Stefan followed obediently. Even the hands that cleaned him were gentle and for a moment he was tempted to ask what had gotten into his brother. In response to Damon's earlier suggestion, he nodded.
"Yes, let's do that. Should I pack lightly?"
It did feel like an adventure. Usually Stefan liked to make plans, liked to know where he was going and what he was going to do once he got there.
Just taking Damon's plane and ending up God knew where wasn't something he had ever imagined.
xoXox
They went to bed after Damon told his brother to just take all the things he had with him.
The next day, Damon decided to pay since he couldn't quite compel the hotel manager to forget 5 years of habitation. But it wasn't as if Damon was short of money anyway.
They met at Stefan's hotel and took a cab to the air field. Damon made the necessary preparation. They loaded the plane with their luggage and Damon fussed over Stefan in the co-pilot seat, showing him what instruments were important and how to close the complicated seatbelts.
They started, and Damon couldn't help but cry out in excitement when the plane took flight. For the next few hours they flew southwest, enjoying the sight of the passing landscape beneath them. When Damon saw that his fuel would only last one more hour, he told Stefan to look out for a bigger city.
"There, we'll land and see where we are."
xoXox
For the larger part of the five hour flight, Stefan clutched the edges of his seat. He wondered if a plane crash could kill a vampire – if there was a fire, it probably could. Not wanting to upset his brother, Stefan didn't voice any of these thoughts, though.
They were near a city called San Fernando. It had been getting warmer with every passing hour and Stefan rather enjoyed the strong Mexican sun on his skin. Instinctively touching his ring, he smiled as Damon climbed out of the plane.
"Thank you for taking me here. So do we need to find fuel now? And perhaps some tequila? Since we are already in Mexico...
xoXox
Sensing that his brother wasn't as comfortable with flying as himself, Damon made small-talk during the flight, smirking sometimes when his brother's face was looking paler than usual after an air pocket.
Damon had found a small unused field outside the city and decided to park his plane there, hiding it inside a small forest.
"No, once we're in the city I'll just have to buy some. For now let's see what it's going to be."
They took the things they needed and walked into the city. At the outskirts, Damon spotted a small Mexican bar and pointed it out to Stefan.
"There. You get your tequila. Mhm, with lemon and salt. Let's see how many shots you can take…"
xoXox
All but giddy with the irresponsibility of it all, Stefan laughed out loud. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that none of this was a good idea, but it felt great not to tell Damon no all the time.
"Oh, I'm sure I'll manage to keep up with you. As you said, I am all grown up now."
His brother's appreciative chuckle was all the reward Stefan needed. Grinning, he turned on his heel and headed straight for the bar.
Ignoring the stares of the locals, the two vampires got shot glasses and a bottle of tequila. They sat down at a corner table and put the bottle between them.
xoXox
Damon was quite impressed by how much liquor his brother was able to hold. After emptying the whole bottle however, they had to look for a hotel.
San Fernando was quite nice, and they stayed there for few weeks before flying to the next town. They continued in this pattern and Damon noticed that his brother was getting more comfortable in his plane. Even though he didn't really care, he did observe that Stefan was always a little cautious.
They never talked about their feeding habits, ignoring the subject altogether, though Damon made some concessions and didn't kill anybody. But this was only to keep Stefan from running away again. Damon enjoyed their time together; it was the longest they had ever spent after their turning.
Over the course of the next ten months they visited Monterrey, Puebla, Merida and many other cities in Mexico in the same manner, until they decided to stay in New York for a bit.
xoXox
Stefan hadn't been to New York since his last visit with Lexi more than 15 years ago and the city had changed almost beyond recognition. Gone were the last horse-drawn carriages and gas lamps – even the meanest buildings were awash with electric light.
The clubs were like nothing Stefan could have imagined. One arm firmly around his shoulder, Damon steered him from one smoke-filled room to another, pushing drinks and girls at him, slowly accelerating the action.
Every night it was something else: new music, new people, some pleasure so new there was no law against it yet, but God forbid society should find out about it. Stefan was going to have to say no soon, before his brother dragged him to an all out orgy. Or whatever passed for one these days.
xoXox
New York was the perfect place for Damon, who felt right at home in the various nightclubs. The new music from the big bands, the new exciting style of the women, the illegal atmosphere of various alcoholic mixed drinks, pipes filled with substances stronger than tobacco presented by nearly naked girls, it was just what he enjoyed immensely.
He was surprised by how his brother went with him each evening, but always seemed ready to bolt whenever he saw something scandalous. The first time they went to a club with people on stage pleasuring themselves, Damon had to grip Stefan's shoulder to hold him there, watching the show.
From then on, Damon tried to find even more liberal clubs, wanting to appease the voyeuristic and exhibitionist side of himself. Then one evening his contacts paid off and he got notice of the perfect place where the audience themselves engaged in an unlimited orgy.
xoXox
Stefan froze even as Damon pushed him through the door. Nothing could have prepared him for this – how on earth did his brother find these places? The scene that unfolded in front of Stefan's shocked eyes was nothing but full-scale debauchery. Stefan shivered as he watched a couple kiss wildly, all but writhing on a low couch. Briefly closing his eyes, he tried to muster some measure of calm.
"What exactly are we doing here?"
Already a few people had turned to look at them, their eyes bright, covetous. They were human, nothing to be frightened of, but their attention still made Stefan deeply uncomfortable. For a moment he was tempted to run, but Damon's hand on his back was implacable, slowly but steadily guiding him forward.
xoXox
Damon smirked slightly, almost preening at the attention they got from all the others. This was just what he wanted, being watched as he claimed his brother for the world to see. A quick glance, however, showed him that Stefan was less than thrilled.
When they reached a less crowded room with a big couch at the far end, Damon pulled Stefan towards it, sitting close next to him. He leaned forwards and began to murmur seductive words into his brother's ear.
"Forget about the other people for a while, they don't matter. Just imagine me, stripping naked for you to see, pleasuring you. Imagine taking me on that very couch, with all the other people watching with envy in their faces. Just think about showing everybody that you own me, claim me for everyone to see."
xoXox
The images Damon's suggestion painted in his mind was enough to make Stefan whimper. None of that had anything to do with what he really wanted, though. Stefan stubbornly shook his head.
"That's your thing, Damon. I'm not like that."
He couldn't help but glance around, though. The smell of arousal was all but overwhelming. The sounds of pleasure were all around him. Damon's hand was resting on Stefan's thigh, stroking in slow circles, not letting him go. To his embarrassment, Stefan felt himself grow hard.
"Seriously, Damon, here? It just doesn't seem right."
Not that this would mean anything to his brother, who was even now lifting his hand to run an inquisitive thumb over Stefan's lips. By now people were really staring and Stefan instinctively shifted closer to his brother, never mind that there would be no help from that direction.
xoXox
Trailing his fingers over Stefan's cheek, Damon noticed how his brother was getting aroused despite his protests. A glance around the room proved that they were like a magnet, pulling the onlookers under a spell.
Damon pushed one finger inside Stefan's mouth while his other hand drifted closer to his brother's crotch, stroking lightly over the erection he found there.
"Just try it, Stef; you'll see it's not as bad as you fear. You get to have the upper hand after all, dominating me. I want to feel you filling me up, showing everyone around how much of a slut I am for you."
Damon dropped to his knees in front of Stefan, opening the trousers to take his cock out. He began to suck on the tip, stroking the length until he heard the first moan.
xoXox
It was hard to believe that this was actually happening. Damon was nuzzling at his neck, was pulling out his erection in a room full of people. Stefan groaned helplessly, swallowing hard as he heard the gasps all around them.
"Don't..."
But he didn't – couldn't – push Damon's hand away. Stefan had a strong feeling that any attempt to leave would result in an ugly fight. He had been trying so hard to get along with Damon, to show his goodwill and support. And he had thought that things were getting better between then, that perhaps they had achieved some measure of understanding. Now he wasn't so sure.
Damon was pulling both their clothes off. Some of the people were drawing closer, eager for a better view.
xoXox
With deliberate slow movements, Damon began to divest Stefan of his shirt, pulling his trousers off, too. He stood up and touched himself, taking off his clothes one after another like the female dancers he had seen, moving sensuously to the quiet music from the main room.
He turned to show off to the audience, enjoying their attention on them. Right now there were quite a few-nearly 15 people-standing around them at a respectful distance, all of them in various states of undress, some of them touching each other. He smirked and heard how their hearts fluttered, heard the blood pumping all around him. It would be difficult to resist the temptation.
He returned his attention to his brother. Pushing him back on the wide couch he kissed him deeply while stroking his cock.
"Focus on me, brother. Do you want to punish me for bringing you here? Do you want to fuck me hard? Do it, then…"
xoXox
Briefly closing his eyes, Stefan tried to forget about their surroundings. The smells were harder to shut out, lust and a sick thrill of anticipation mixed with Damon's malice. If he was going to do this he needed-
"A drink. I need a drink."
Almost instantly somebody offered him a bottle and, without even checking what it contained, Stefan drank down about half of its contents. The liquid burned down his throat and for a moment he hesitated. Then he leaned forward and started to pull off Damon's underwear with brisk business-like movements. Taking his brother by his word, he immediately pushed two fingers into that snug hole.
"You're not a slut for me. You're just a slut."
For all his pretty words, Stefan had little doubt that if he wasn't there, Damon would have simply found some other fool to give him what he wanted.
xoXox
Moaning out loud, Damon immediately pushed onto those fingers, impaling himself. The audience around them was groaning and he heard other noises, showing that the real party had started. Apparently the people had heard that they were brothers, and he overheard them whispering how sinfully erotic they were.
He wasn't hurt at all by his brother's harsh words because of his lack of emotions. Shrugging, he replied with a sultry voice.
"I know I have no shame whatsoever, but being here with you, Stefan, makes it so wonderfully special."
Damon turned around and pulled Stefan down to him, kissing him deeply. The slow movements drove him crazy and he whimpered impatiently, trying to touch himself.
xoXox
Breaking the kiss, Stefan emptied the bottle and tossed it aside. The alcohol was running through his veins, dulling his senses. He needed to get this over with soon, before he lost that.
"Special ... that's one word for it."
Watching Damon's needy display with something like amusement, he kept his distance. He wondered whether any of this was for him.
"Let's just fuck."
Pulling his brother into position in front of him, Stefan slicked himself with some oil he found on the table beside them. He pushed in with one rough slide, eyes squeezed shut at how good this felt in spite of everything else.
xoXox
The callous edge of his brother turned Damon on as much as the feeling of being watched. The people were coming closer to the couch, but Damon didn't care. In this room it was watching only, as far as he'd heard. At least for the couples on the couches.
He cried out when Stefan pushed inside forcefully, but pushed back eagerly. Each thrust produced a wanton sigh from him, and he didn't have to act much. Stefan knew exactly how to touch him in order to make him come. Trying to prevent it for a while longer, Damon pulled away to change position.
"Take me again, brother, want to feel you deep inside."
He lay on his back on the couch, spreading his legs wide to welcome Stefan's erection once again, while stroking his own lazily. His gaze shifted over the people who were fucking each other with abandon. Just one guy stood out, his eyes fixed on Stefan's ass. Damon growled at him in warning.
"Back off!"
xoXox
Stefan went along with the change of position, eagerly pressing back against his brother. At least this way he was able to hide his face against Damon's shoulder. He was far too tense for his own comfort – it wouldn't take much at all for his face to start changing. There were so many people all around them, so close, so watchful. There'd be a panic.
In fact, when one of the men in the audience kept pulling closer and Damon growled with anger, Stefan felt perilously close to panic himself. He desperately tried to keep up a steady rhythm, to stop thinking and concentrate on the physical side of it all.
The human wasn't listening to Damon's warning, kept moving until he was close enough to touch.
xoXox
With loud groans, Damon took the strong thrusts, relishing in Stefan's dominance. He stroked himself and was nearly over the edge when he noticed that the man behind his brother was still approaching and lifting his hands to touch.
"Last warning, do not touch my brother. You're in the wrong room," he hissed, barely suppressing his vampire face.
Stefan was burying his face in Damon's neck, and Damon knew that Stefan didn't want anyone in here to touch him. The guy hesitated and stopped, and Damon concentrated on his brother again, thinking he had made his point. Stefan was hitting his prostate with every move, and Damon arched sensuously, his legs clenching around Stefan's waist.
He looked up and saw the many faces watching with lust in their eyes, and Damon moaned loudly, stroking himself to the finish. With a scream he came, throwing his head back to bump in the couch.
xoXox
As always, Damon's orgasm was enough to drive Stefan over the edge as well. He once more buried himself deeply in that strong body, biting back on any sounds he might have made. Almost immediately, the sounds and smells of the people around them came flooding back. It was too much, and Stefan wondered if there was any way to get out of there without attracting further attention. Would these people never stop staring...?
"God, you're beautiful..."
Stefan flinched as suddenly a strange hand started to stroke the small of his back. It looked like he'd have to use compulsion to get rid of that one, only his fangs were threatening to drop and he could feel his eyes bleeding red.
xoXox
Coming down from the high of his orgasm, Damon felt his brother flinch as an unfamiliar voice spoke to them. He looked past Stefan's annoyed face, which was on the edge of change, and saw that the man he'd warned two times already was touching his brother. Damon's patience was gone and he jumped the man like a flash, throwing him against the wall and grabbing his throat to hold him up.
"I warned you, not only once, but twice, and yet you didn't listen. No one's allowed to touch my brother without permission from us."
The people in the room were noticing what was happening and backed off, some hurrying to the other rooms, but Damon didn't care. His eyes turned crimson dark and his fangs ached to bite. There was nothing to hold him back and he struck like the predator he was. Only dimly aware of the screaming in the room and of Stefan's voice, Damon sucked the hot blood still tasting of pleasure, until he heard the heartbeat slow down and stop.
xoXox
Before Stefan had a chance to process what was happening, he was thrust aside and Damon was attacking. At first no one seemed to know what to make of this, but soon it was painfully obvious what was happening.
"Damon, no!"
Many people were running out of the room, but a few men moved towards his brother to pull him off their companion. Before Damon could turn on them Stefan threw himself to his feet and at his brother.
"Damon, stop it! Use compulsion for God's sake! Don't hurt anyone else – please!"
His words didn't seem to be doing any good. Damon was struggling to get past him, his blood-filled eyes glittering with malice, and he was so strong. Stefan could tell the exact moment his brother lost all patience. A second later, he was tossed casually through the room. He hit the wall with a dull thud.
xoXox
Damon let the body fall down when two other men approached him. His brother was talking to him, but Damon couldn't understand anything with the blood rushing in his ears. In his rage only one thing counted and that was to kill the offenders. He didn't notice how he threw his brother aside and charged at the two men, snapping their necks with little effort.
By now there were screams all around and everybody had left this room. Crouching over the men, Damon took their blood too. After all, it would be such a waste to leave it. Only then did he notice his brother's crumpled form in the far corner of the room. He rushed to his side, helping him up.
"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't realize that it was you. Maybe we better get going."
Damon hurried over to their clothes and threw some in Stefan's direction while he dressed himself.
xoXox
Stefan wordlessly grabbed his clothes and hurriedly pulled his pants on. They needed to get out of the building fast, before anything else happened. The first hallway was deserted, and although they did run into several people soon after, all of them were too panicked to recognize them as the threat they were fleeing from. They made it to the exit without any further incident.
Pressing his lips tightly together, Stefan got into Damon's car. He had only recently learned to drive and didn't want to test his skill in what might very well turn into a car chase. Contrary to his earlier aggression, Damon now seemed almost cheerful, satisfied with his own actions and the blood still smeared around his mouth. There wasn't anything to say. Stefan turned to the window as they hurtled through the nightly city.
xoXox
The main streets at this time of the night were quite deserted and Damon could speed as much as he wanted. He loved these new means of transportation and hummed a song he had heard in the club. The exhibitionist sex and the blood charged with lust and panic had stimulated his mood, but a glance at his brother made it clear that Stefan was feeling the opposite.
"So do you want to go back to the hotel? It is quite late after all."
He licked his lips, tasting the dried blood. Stefan wasn't saying anything, and Damon sighed exaggeratedly.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me that it wasn't even a little bit exciting. But we could do something quiet tomorrow. I haven't been to the Metropolitan Opera in ages."
xoXox
Stefan wanted to tell Damon that there had been no need to kill those men, to ask what he had expected to happen after he had brought them to that place in order to have sex in front of a room full strangers. Surely it couldn't have come as a surprise that someone had wanted to join in. He held his tongue, though.
The sick feeling in his stomach intensified as Stefan realized that he was spending a lot of time not saying things to his brother in order to keep the peace. Suddenly, he felt the overwhelming urge to talk to someone, anyone, who would at least try to understand him.
"Let's just go back to the hotel."
xoXox
They went to their suite and Damon didn't know what to do to dispel the unnerving silence. They got ready for bed, but Stefan turned his back to him, without wanting to snuggle like they usually did. Sighing again, Damon shrugged and went to sleep. Surely his brother would come around soon.
The next morning, he woke up late as usual. Normally he would hear his brother's presence, but this day it was very quiet. After a shower, Damon went to the lounge to have some scotch while he waited for his brother to calm down. Reading the newspaper, he chuckled at the heavily censored report of their exploits. They wrote about a shooting in a varieté instead of the scandalous truth. Smirking, Damon delved into various other newspapers and was surprised when hours later he still hadn't heard from Stefan.
xoXox
In the morning, Stefan quietly got dressed and left the hotel. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do, but he couldn't fathom pretending everything was good between him and Damon right now. Aimlessly wandering through the city, Stefan tried to make up his mind what to do.
By the time he was back at the hotel, Stefan had come to a decision. He would stop pretending. From now on he would speak his mind, consequences be damned. Damon was sitting in the lobby, smiling to himself as he read a newspaper. Stefan sat down at his table and ordered a coffee. Finally he turned to his brother.
"I am lonely."
xoXox
Damon looked up in surprise and frowned. He didn't understand his brother at all.
"Why? We've spent so much time together, how can you be lonely?"
He looked back at the article and thought that maybe it was because of that.
"Look, Stef, I know that you didn't want to go there yesterday and I didn't realize what would happen. It wasn't one of my better ideas."
He couldn't bring himself to apologize and it wouldn't be sincere anyway. He didn't feel sorry at all, just annoyed that things hadn't worked out the way he'd wanted them to.
xoXox
"I didn't say that I was alone. I'm lonely. There's a difference."
Stefan paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to proceed. With a soft sigh, he forced himself not to look at the newspaper.
"Do you feel that we talk to each other? Really talk? About things that matter?"
But even as he said the words, Stefan could see that his brother didn't get it. Steeling himself, he blundered on.
"Aren't there a lot of things you just can't imagine talking to me about? Sometimes it feels like I am trying so hard not to make you angry, I am not even myself anymore."
xoXox
Damon sighed again, a habit he had lately became accustomed to in the presence of his brother. He put down the newspaper and gave Stefan his undivided attention.
"Of course there are things I can't talk to you about. And I think that's the same for you, too. It's our feeding habits. For me and every other vampire, it is normal to drink human blood, to hunt people. For you that's bad and wrong. We could talk about it until the end of time and still not agree."
He took another gulp of his scotch and held it out to his brother.
"And I can take everything you throw at me. So go ahead, talk. I can rein in my anger. If you remember, my emotions aren't exactly there anyway."
xoXox
The look in Damon's eyes was far from reassuring. He clearly didn't like where this conversation was heading, was probably worrying that Stefan would blame him for what had happened the other night. In a way, Stefan did.
"I don't want to go to that kind of club again. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't spring any more surprises on me. I realize that being with me curtails your ... fun but I had hoped that this – us – would be enough. I'd hoped that given time we might go back to the way we used to be."
After all, time was all they had. Still not quite able to believe that he had bared his heart this way, Stefan made himself look at his brother as he waited for his answer.
xoXox
Damon shook his head slightly. He rarely thought back to the time when they had been humans.
"I have to burst your happy bubble, Stefan, but I am not that person anymore. How many years has it been? Sixty! The Damon you knew died in 1864. And what I am right now is exactly what Katherine was. Can't you remember her favorite motto, 'No rules'? She would be shocked to see you like this."
He swallowed nearly half the glass of scotch. He himself had almost forgotten that this was just a stopgap until he freed her. Of course Stefan didn't know that and Damon would never tell him. Just another 90 years and then Damon would have his happy ending.
"I'll respect your wishes; I won't take you to those clubs anymore. But otherwise – I don't know. I like how I am, and see no need to change back to the weakling I was back then. I love the hunt, the feeding and the thrill."
xoXox
Katherine. Stefan could count the times that name had been spoken between them on one hand and always had it resulted in disaster. This time, however, Stefan refused to back down.
"Katherine? Are you serious? How can you want to be like her? Just look at what she did to us. And I'm not talking about her turning us – Katherine broke us, Damon. She took everything that was good between us and destroyed it."
Almost immediately Stefan knew that he had gone too far, but desperation gave him courage. Squaring his shoulders, he continued.
"Feeding habits aside, Katherine is just about the worst role-model I can think of."
xoXox
Damon stood up, not caring that there were other people in the room. His voice got louder as he hissed:
"How can you talk like that? You loved her, too. But now I see that you never deserved her. She couldn't decide then, but right now it wouldn't be hard for her. Obviously she would choose me. You're a pathetic excuse for a vampire. Haven't you learned anything from her?"
Nearly shouting, he crowded his brother.
"Maybe she didn't do it for you, but she showed me how to hunt, how to feed, how to enjoy the mayhem and I was still human! I loved her how she was; I kissed her bloody lips after helping her lure the prey. That's the human Damon you miss? You don't know me, brother; you haven't known me for a much longer time than you think."
xoXox
Fighting down the hurt Damon's words caused him, Stefan stood to face his brother. At least he was now able to keep his expression calm.
"You're right. You are not the brother I loved. And I didn't deserve to be turned into a vampire. The creature you are now would certainly do Katherine proud."
Ignoring the stares of the spectators around them, Stefan pulled out of Damon's grasp and slowly started towards their room. There were a few things he needed from it and then he would be free to leave.
Since his previous efforts obviously hadn't meant anything to Damon, he might as well go. With his hopes dashed, Stefan didn't think that he'd be able to bear the company of the thing his brother had turned into much longer.
xoXox
Damon watched his brother leave with barely any emotion, having buried his anger immediately. It would take decades, but then he would free Katherine and Stefan would be out of the picture. Their time together had been nice, but even so, he was relieved to go hunting in his usual style without the disapproving and accusatory glances from Stefan.
Shrugging, he turned back to his newspaper and got engrossed in a big article about the rebuilding of Europe after the Great War. Maybe he should leave too. Damon found the new Europe intriguing. Deciding to fly, even if it would take weeks with many stops, he went out to get everything ready. When he returned late at night, their room was empty and Stefan's things were gone.
xoXox
Taking some time to regain a sense of equilibrium, Stefan slowly moved westwards, knowing that the quiet of the thinly settled plains was just what he needed right now. He'd find Lexi once he reached the coast, but for now he was just as happy to postpone the inevitable talk for a little.
In the end, they met in Los Angeles. As always when they got together, Stefan soon couldn't remember how he had ever got on without her. Lexi never failed to cheer him up and soon the two of them were embarking on new adventures. He didn't even miss Damon ... much. As the years went by, sometimes Stefan didn't think about his brother for days at a time.
.
TBC