A/N: This is another fluffy, fun chapter, but we are moving toward a semblance of a plot (if anyone is wondering). I hope you like it, and reviews are love.

Chapter 7

The next morning, Damon and Becca were eating breakfast (or rather mostly drinking breakfast, although Damon had stolen some grapes from the humans again) when Elijah joined them with a nod. He poured himself a cup of coffee.

Becca put her hand on Damon's arm, and his eyebrows arched. Something was up. "Damon, Elijah needs me to go with him to talk to our brother and sister."

"Why?"

"They are having problems integrating into this world. Elijah thinks I can help."

Elijah intervened smoothly. "Rebecca has done by far the best job of becoming acclimated to the twenty-first century."

Becca rubbed Damon's arm lightly. "It is because of Damon, you know," she told Elijah.

Elijah nodded. "Indeed. And you have been alive again longer as well, and you had a purpose when you were awakened."

Damon couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten that it was Becca's coffin that Klaus had placed in the same packing crate as Elijah's so that it had been their two bodies that he and Elena and Bonnie had recovered. He already couldn't imagine his life without Becca in it. But he wasn't about to say that. He went with his usual cockiness instead. "Maybe I'm the one who should talk to your siblings?"

Elijah tilted his head at him. "They are frustrated with the lack of deference in modern American society." His voice was dry.

Damon flinched a little at that. "Or, maybe I'm not the best person to talk to them." He knew perfectly well that he was really, really bad at deference, although it didn't have much to do with the era they lived in. He had been bad at deference as a human, too.

Now Elijah looked amused. "Agreed."

Becca gave Damon a quick kiss. "It should only take a few days. Elijah will be leaving on Friday after the new witch arrives, and I will join him next week."

Damon tilted his head, looking at her hopefully. "Are you staying over the weekend to be my date to the latest decade dance? Because I really don't want to be a chaperone without a date again." He gave her what he thought of as his best adorable pout.

Becca's fingers snuck into his hair, toying with it in a way that made Damon want to drag her right back up to his bedroom. "Yes, I did not forget the dance, although I do not have a dress yet. Caroline hasn't mentioned going shopping . . ."

Damon grinned. "You're supposed to wear something era-appropriate. I think it's intended to be educational, and of course, this being Mystic Falls, they go completely over the top with it. Anyway, the branch of the family that took care of the house for most of the past hundred years seems to have shared Stefan's pack-rat genes, so I'm sure we have some options in the attic." He thought that Becca could even make the seventies look good.

•••••

That night Damon and Becca were meeting Alaric and the witch, Amaya, at the Grill after dinner. If Ric was showing her around Mystic Falls, he had to show her the Grill, after all, and with everything going on, Damon and Becca hadn't been there all week. So they arrived to find Ric and Amaya just finishing their dinner and pulled up chairs to join them. Damon stole a french fry from Ric's plate. He only spared Amaya's pickle because he had just met the woman. He considered that admirable restraint.

And he was even going to try to make small talk. "So what do you think of Mystic Falls so far?" he asked the witch. Amaya Patterson was a stunningly beautiful African-American woman who looked to be in her late twenties, and he found himself thinking that she might be a good match for Ric after all. Maybe Elijah was onto something with his matchmaking.

"It's very small." Damon heard a bit of dismay in the witch's voice.

"But there's never a dull moment." Ric raised his eyebrows at Damon's words, so Damon felt the need to elaborate. "Well, there are some dull moments, but they're punctuated with lots of life-and-death crises."

Now Ric rolled his eyes. "Damon, I think you should shut up now."

Damon thought he was going to be saved from further failed attempts at polite conversation by the arrival of Caroline Forbes. But after a few minutes of Caroline quizzing Amaya, Damon found himself drawn back into conversation with Ric and the witch as Caroline and Becca spoke quietly at the end of the table. He tried his best not to listen in even though he caught his own name a couple of times. It was downright disgusting how civil he was feeling lately, he thought, as he listened to an actually quite amusing story of one of Amaya's magical mishaps as a teenager.

As the story came to an end, Becca tugged on his arm. "We need to take your picture, Damon."

He shook his head. "Nope."

Caroline focused in on him. "Come on, Damon. If you two are dating, she needs to have pictures of you on her phone. Otherwise it's completely unbelievable."

Damon looked at the two female vampires, puzzled. "Who are we trying to convince? I don't do pictures. I'm going to be this sexy forever. It wouldn't be fair to all the other guys who have to compete." In truth, he avoided pictures because they could too easily come back to haunt him years or decades down the road.

Becca looked at him pleadingly. "Just a couple?"

He never could resist those eyes. "Fine." But Damon felt more in the spirit as Becca snuggled up against him in the booth, and he wrapped his arms around her. He knew his smile was a real one.

Caroline squealed after the very first picture. "That's it! You two are so photogenic." Becca slid away from Damon slightly to look at the small screen of the phone, and he suddenly decided he wouldn't mind more pictures after all.

Becca's voice was filled with excitement. "It's so quick and easy, and it looks real." She turned to Damon. "Do you want to see?" He remembered that she had no experience with photography, let alone smart phones, until recently. He supposed that this was one of the elements of modern life that he was supposed to be teaching her about, and he loved the way her eyes and face lit up with enthusiasm at every new thing she discovered.

Amaya had apparently noticed Becca's excitement, too. "You've never had your picture taken before?" Damon wondered if Ric or Elijah had filled the witch in on Becca's relatively recent resurrection. He hoped someone had, or she must be really confused right now.

Becca shook her head. "No. I have had my portrait painted by smitten young artists before, but this is much better. Sitting for a portrait is so dull, and it takes forever." Damon felt unaccountably jealous of the artists that she had mentioned. He reminded himself that they were long dead. He guessed that Becca had sensed his little spurt of jealousy because she turned her attention back to him and smiled broadly. "Look at us."

She slipped back over next to Damon, her leg pressing against his, and he smiled at the image on the screen. He was far more interested in the stunning woman in his arms than in his own image (he wasn't actually as narcissistic as he pretended to be). He whispered his reaction in her ear. "You're beautiful." Becca squeezed his knee and smiled in a way that he knew was only for him.

Of course, Caroline interrupted the moment. "Do you want a copy, Damon? Becca can send it to you."

Becca turned to Caroline, more excitement in her voice. "I can do that?"

Damon, meanwhile, was contemplating the offer. He didn't collect photographs or mementos or anything from his long life. There hadn't been much that he wanted to remember, after all. But he suddenly thought that he would make an exception in this case. For her. "Yeah, send it to me." His voice was just a tiny bit husky, and he hoped that no one noticed.

Becca turned and gave him a searching look followed by a quick kiss, and he guessed she sensed something of his emotions through the bond between them. Then she slid back over to sit closer to Caroline so they could both see the small screen. "Show me how."

Damon was a bit lost in thought for the next few minutes, until Caroline abruptly stood up. "Sorry I have to go. Elena wants to talk tonight." The blond vampire smiled at all of them apologetically. "It was really nice to talk to you, Amaya."

The witch smiled back. "Likewise, Caroline."

Ric turned to Amaya after Caroline had left. "Now that we're down to four, do you play pool?"

She looked a bit apprehensive. "I haven't since college, but I'll give it a shot."

Ric smiled reassuringly at her. "No pressure. We just need to keep Damon distracted so he doesn't open his mouth too much. Now let's see if we can beat these two."

Damon snorted as they headed for the table. "Not a chance."

Sure enough, Damon and Becca made short work of Ric and Amaya for the first two games. Then they switched up the teams, and Damon and Amaya won the next two as Damon sank one difficult shot after another. After Damon coolly buried the eight ball to close out the second game, Ric winced at the prospect of buying his fourth round of drinks, and Becca moved to stand by Amaya. "Time for – what do you call it? – girls against boys." She gave Damon a challenging look.

He laughed. "You're on. You girls are going down."

Amaya looked at Becca doubtfully. "He's really good."

Becca smiled at the taller woman and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "Do not worry. I have a plan, and we are going to win."

They racked the balls as Ric came back with beers for himself and Amaya and glasses of bourbon for the two vampires. Damon watched as Becca broke, sinking two stripes, but he was more interested in his stunning vampire girlfriend than the game. He would never admit it to anyone, but he kind of loved how powerful she was. Damon didn't exactly have a problem with people messing with him – he was pretty bad ass himself – but he loved that if any werewolves wanted to torture him or any witches wanted to give him aneurysms, Becca would kill them for it. And he just plain had a thing for strong women, after all (one of the few things he could thank Katherine for).

As Damon shifted a couple of steps to admire Becca's ass as she leaned over the table for a shot, he wondered idly what her plan to beat him was. This seemed like a good night to go undefeated, he decided, and there was no way he and Ric should lose to the two women.

Finally it was Damon's turn – he had let Ric go first for their team since he didn't want to win too quickly – and he sank four balls in quick succession. The next shot was going to be more difficult, however, and Damon studied it carefully from all angles while trying not to look like he was doing so.

As Damon lined up his shot, Becca winked at Amaya before sauntering over to stand beside Damon. "How about a kiss for good luck?"

Damon grinned. "You know I won't turn that down." He stood up, and Becca stretched up to pull his head down to hers. She pressed her body into his, and her mouth claimed his for a long, deep kiss. She was doing something new, different, and completely distracting with her tongue, and she had slipped her hand between them to touch him in a way that was even more distracting. Damon forgot entirely about the pool game as he focused on the woman in his arms and the way his body was going haywire at her touch.

•••••

Ric finally turned away from the two vampires to smile ruefully at Amaya. That was the kind of kiss that shouldn't be allowed in public, and he found himself a bit uncomfortably aroused at the sight. Even his human ears picked up a low moan of desire from Damon as Becca kept them pressed together for far too long. Finally, gasping breaths told Ric that it was safe to turn his eyes back to his friends, and he saw that Damon's eyes were glassy, his pupils blown. Ric couldn't exactly blame his friend, but he knew right then that Damon was going to miss his next shot. He watched Damon's eyes follow Becca as she moved away to the other side of the table, hips swaying seductively. Damon finally shook his head a little and bent over again to take his shot. Becca chose that moment to lean over from across the table, and Ric watched Damon's eyes flicker up to the cleavage that his girlfriend had just exposed and he winced silently. Sure enough, Damon's shot missed badly.

Becca's turn was next, and Ric shook his head at her smile of victory as she slapped Damon lightly on the ass, drawing a glare from the other vampire. Sure enough, Becca sank her team's remaining three stripes and the black eight ball for the win. She and Amaya shared a high-five.

Ric almost had to smile as he turned to Damon. "Well, you missed, so you can buy this round of drinks."

"Shit." Damon grabbed Becca's arm. "You're coming with me." He had a mock predatory look that Becca answered with a faux-innocent look of her own.

Ric turned to the beautiful witch next to him as the two vampires headed for the bar. "So have you ever hung out with vampires before?"

She shook her head. "They seem so human." Ric was happy to see that she looked more amused than scandalized. Damon and Becca could be a lot to handle. Hell, Damon alone could be a lot to handle.

"Yeah, most of the time. Until they don't." He continued ruefully. "For some reason, they're my friends, though."

Amaya smiled. "I can see why. They are pretty fun, if a bit . . . crazy."

Ric laughed softly at that, and Amaya gave him a look that clearly said "what?" Ric tried to explain. "I was thinking that Damon would probably be happy with that characterization." Amaya laughed too at that, and Ric thought that this witch just might make it in Mystic Falls.

Just then, Damon and Becca reappeared, without any drinks. "Uh, Damon . . ." Ric started, then he noticed that now it was Becca who looked dazed and Damon who had a look of triumph.

"We're gonna go." Damon's blue eyes flashed with mischief. "Ric, can you give Amaya a ride back to the boarding house?"

Ric shook his head in amusement yet again. "Sure."

Damon nodded at the witch. "It's been a pleasure. The door will be unlocked."

Amaya smiled at them both. "Thanks for the games."

•••••

Damon's shirt was half off as Becca pushed him through the door of the boarding house, and he was focused on how he could get hers off without tearing it. She had told him that he wasn't allowed to tear any more of her clothes, and even his promise to buy her new ones had not satisfied her. She said that he was dating the wrong vampire if that's what he wanted because nobody except Caroline liked shopping that much. So he needed to get her shirt off in some civilized fashion, but it seemed awfully complicated just then because she kept distracting him with her lips and her hands.

He paused when he heard someone clear her throat. "Please tell me that you two are going to make it upstairs." Speaking of shopping devils, it was Caroline.

Damon separated himself from Becca ever so slightly. He saw that Elena and Caroline were sitting in the parlor. Elena was wide-eyed and Vampire Barbie looked amused. Damon felt a bit embarrassed that he hadn't sensed them – he was usually a lot more aware of his surroundings than that – but a glance at Becca's blush told him that she hadn't noticed their audience either, and he decided to feel satisfied about capturing her attention that thoroughly. He covered his chagrin with his usual cockiness. "You girls aren't enjoying the show? You could learn something." He decided to pass on the expected foursome joke since his relationship with Becca was still pretty new, and he wasn't sure how she would take it.

Trust Elena to change the subject to something serious. "Were you at the Grill with Ric and the new witch?"

Damon rolled his eyes. Shouldn't it be obvious that he didn't want to talk right now? He was kind of in the middle of something. He kept his answer as short as possible. "Yep."

It didn't work. "What do you think of her?"

"She seems nice, not too judgy. She needs to work on her pool game."

Elena stared at him and he could see an admonishment on the tip of her tongue, but Becca spoke first. "You were the one who lost to her the last game." Dark eyes sparkled with mischief as Damon turned back to the woman at his side. He was ready to forget all about their audience again at the sight of her slightly mussed hair and swollen lips, and as if he wasn't already turned on enough, he could feel her matching desire through the bond between them.

He was pleased that he kept his voice under control. "Because you cheated."

"What rule did I break? And since when do you believe in following the rules?" Becca grinned at him, and Damon smiled back. She had a point. She tilted her head slightly toward the staircase. "Race you upstairs."

His grin widened. "You're on." She was gone before he could even think about saying good night to Elena and Caroline, and Damon had no choice but to flash up the stairs after her. He heard Caroline's laugh following them.