Damon stared pensively out over the edge of the balcony, a bottle of amber liquid clutched in his pale hand, half-full and with a faint smudge of crimson near the top.
The night wind was blowing through his ebony locks and biting at his exposed skin; the burn of alcohol was in his throat and the taste of blood still lingered on his tongue, all as potent as ever before.
He hadn't thought he'd ever get to feel any of these things again. After he'd gotten trapped on the Other Side and that blinding white light had swallowed him up, he hadn't expected to feel anything ever again. But he'd been proven wrong; he was feeling things-and he'd never appreciated it more.
But it wasn't the same as before. He didn't feel any remorse at the taste of blood in his mouth-or for the activities that had lead to it being there. He didn't feel any desire to talk to his brother, or to go to Elena, or an urge to know the real reason why they hadn't been there when he'd first woken up after being resurrected.
What he did feel, though, he thought as he took another drought from the bottle of bourbon, was an immense gratitude toward Enzo for bringing him back-and a drive to know the real reason why he had done so.
The sound of the sliding glass door opening behind him interrupted his thoughts, and, as if summoned by them, Enzo's accented voice punctuated the air.
"I never pegged you as the introspective type, Damon," he commented flippantly; but, just like earlier, there was a forcedness to his words, like he was trying hard to act casual.
Damon set the bottle in his hand down and turned around to face the other vampire before responding.
"You didn't answer my question earlier," he said softly, azure orbs boring holes into Enzo's dark hazel ones. "Why did you bring me back, Enzo? You hated me when you died, so why would you want me back?"
The faint smile that had been building on Enzo's lips vanished, and he looked down, bottom lip catching between his teeth. Damon clearly wasn't in the mood for their usual trading of barbs and wisecrack; he wanted a real answer.
"I did hate you," the younger vampire admitted, taking a deep breath. "But I didn't want to. And, when I found out that you died in order to save me and everyone else from being destroyed along with the Other Side, I couldn't anymore. I had no one while you were gone, and I couldn't stand it. Whatever went on between us before, you were still the most important person in my life, and I couldn't live another second of my eternity without you." It was hard, baring so much of himself out loud, but Enzo knew Damon deserved the truth.
Damon stared at him for a long while after that, his expression unreadable. He hadn't heard Enzo speak with that much emotion since he'd confessed to being the one responsible for Maggie's murder. Enzo had said something similar then, saying that he didn't want to hate Damon, because if he did, then he would have nothing left. Ironically, that had been right before Enzo had died. Now, being the one who'd brought Damon back, obviously, he didn't hate him anymore; but there was still another question on Damon's mind.
"And what I did to Maggie, you're not angry at me for that anymore?"
Enzo swallowed. "I can't pretend that it doesn't still hurt, knowing that you were the one who killed her," he declared in a slightly strained voice. He forced himself to look up again and meet Damon's gaze before finishing. "But even so, I don't want you dead. I can't live with you dead-and I don't want to."
Sometime during his speech, Enzo had unconsciously moved closer to Damon; they were nearly nose-to-nose now, and all of Enzo's focus was on gauging on Damon's reaction.
The elder vampire pressed his lips together tightly. He and Enzo had never really been ones to talk about their feelings-not like this. The one time they had been when Enzo had been trying to kill him for leaving him trapped in Augustine.
This time wasn't like that at all.
Damon tilted his head, lifting one of his midnight-coloured eyebrows.
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he queried after an extended pause, eyes searching Enzo's face like he might find his answers there.
The younger vampire inhaled sharply, spreading his palms. He'd run out of words. He'd said everything he could, except what he really meant. He couldn't say that, though-not right then-which left him with only one option he could think of.
Throwing caution to the wind, Enzo leaned forward, and, closing what little distance between remained between him and Damon, pressed his mouth to the elder vampire's.
He was fully prepared for Damon to push him away-in fact, he was expecting it. What he wasn't prepared for was Damon to not only reciprocate, but back him against the sliding glass door and take complete control.
To say Enzo was surprised would be an understatement. Though he'd wanted to kiss Damon for longer than he could remember, he'd never thought that Damon would kiss him back; the Damon he remembered from 3 months ago never would have, not as wrapped up in Elena as he had been.
He knew he shouldn't be letting this happen; but now that he had started, he didn't want to stop. And Damon's lips were so soft that he just couldn't.
When Damon's tongue pushed into his mouth, he didn't fight it; he just sucked it further inside, moaning as it slid almost to the back of his throat.
A hiss left his lips when one of Damon's hands pulled lightly at his hair, tugging his head back so he could get even deeper, while the other hand reached around him for the handle of the door.
Enzo almost fell over when Damon got the door open and began walking him backwards into the room and toward the bed, his once again free hand pushing at Enzo's jacket.
Taking the hint, Enzo shrugged the gray material off, tossing it to the side before tugging on the front of Damon's shirt.
Damon took off his own jacket, then momentarily breaking their kiss to pull his shirt over his head before reaching for the hem of Enzo's. Enzo lifted his arms so he could remove it, too, letting his hands and eyes rove over Damon's newly bared torso once it was out of the way
The feeling of Damon's naked skin against his own was like nothing he'd ever felt before; every nerve in his body was in overdrive and waves of heat were rushing through his body. And it only got more intense when Damon's hands clamped down his hips, dragging him forward so he could slot their mouths together again.
"Damon," he groaned when he felt their, still-clothed erections grind against one another, nails digging into Damon's shoulders in an effort to ground himself-a wasted one.
His world spun on its axis when Damon bit into his bottom lip hard enough to break the skin, tongue coming out to lap at the blood that pooled on the surface. It shouldn't have been so erotic, but because it was Damon, Enzo couldn't help but let out another groan, his hands slipping lower, skimming down Damon's abdomen before reaching for his belt buckle.
Damon practically growled against Enzo's lips as the younger vampire opened his fly and he did the same, stripping them both of their pants-and boxers-in record time.
Enzo grunted as Damon ran a tantalizing hand over his lower stomach before breaking their kiss again to push Enzo onto the bed. He went willingly, of course, and Damon crawled on top of him, moving his mouth to Enzo's neck.
He grazed kisses up Enzo's jawline, drawing more hisses from his friend's mouth, stopping just below his ear. "What do you want, Enzo?" he asked, his voice so low, so dark that it was hardly recognizable, and it sent shivers down Enzo's spine.
He arched up off the bed, Damon's hot breath making goosebumps rise on his neck. "I want you to fuck me," he breathed honestly, his accent thick with lust and unconcealed desperation.
He cried out when Damon suddenly pushed inside him with no warning or preparation of any sort. It hurt, but not enough to make him change his mind or make Damon stop. He wanted this too badly, and he was a vampire-he could handle a little pain.
And the pain didn't last long anyways; once Damon started moving, rutting into him with steadily increasing speed and still devouring his mouth, it was drowned out by the pleasure and elation. Enzo threw his head back, and Damon took advantage of his exposed throat, fangs coming out to scrape against it.
Shockwaves raced up Enzo's spine with every thrust, bringing the heat in his stomach higher and higher, and he couldn't stay still. He began to rock his hips, meeting Damon's every movement and pulling him deeper, urging him to give him more.
His eyes practically rolled back in his head when Damon struck that spot inside of him that made him see stars, and he bit into Damon's lip to muffle his exclamation, feeling Damon chuckle huskily as he did so.
"Fuck," he panted raggedly against Damon's mouth, jerking as Damon slammed against his prostate over and over again, bringing him rapidly closer and closer to the edge.
His mouth shifted, dragging over the side of Damon's face and the curve of his jaw, and Damon let out a groan of his own, his head arcing back and his movements speeding up even more.
The heat kept building until Enzo was gasping into Damon's ear, and Damon turned his head, so their mouths met again, this time in a rougher, messier kiss. Enzo wrapped a leg around Damon's waist, scratching red lines into Damon's back as he kissed him harder.
His body jolted again as Damon's hand moved in between them and wrapped around his dripping length, beginning to stroke him in tandem with the rhythm of his hips. He was so close, though, that it only took three or four before the heat in his stomach reached its peak, and he came hard, spilling over Damon's fingers and groaning the elder's name into his mouth.
At the same time, he clenched hard around Damon, prompting the elder's own orgasm, and Damon hissed, thrusts becoming more forceful and erratic as he rode out every last drop.
Once he was completely spent, they broke apart, Damon gradually stilling between his thighs. Enzo slumped back against the pillows, letting out a strangled breath as Damon pulled out and rolled off of him.
He didn't really know what to do, then; his mind was still hazy, still caught in the post-orgasm fog. He really hadn't thought Damon would let things go this far-but now that they had…well, he was too addled to think about it anymore tonight, so he let his eyes slip shut, resolving to analyze it more in the morning.
Damon watched Enzo fall asleep beside him, shifting slightly beneath the sheets. This was not what he'd thought would happen when he asked Enzo why he'd brought him back; the thought that Enzo might still want this, after everything Damon had done, had never crossed his mind.
Yet, just like earlier, he didn't really feel as much shock as he probably should; in the moment when Enzo had kissed him, he'd felt only desire-and now, looking at the other vampire's slumbering form, he felt only a mix of satiation and what seemed almost like contentment.
And, as he allowed himself to drift off as well, Elena didn't enter his thoughts at all.
The morning sun blazing through the uncovered window was what woke Enzo the next day, and he blinked slowly, shielding his eyes from the bright light as he stirred.
For a brief instant, he couldn't remember how he'd ended up in bed without any clothes on; then, he looked over and, finding Damon lying next to him in a similar state, it all came rushing back.
Kisses like fire the taste of his own blood mingling with alcohol as he was crushed against the glass. He'd dreamed about this so many times but there had always been something in the way of it becoming reality.
Enzo bit hit bottom lip. He hadn't planned for this to happen; ending up in bed with Damon had never been the plan. He'd just wanted his only friend back; he'd never even considered trying to sleep with him.
Okay, that was a lie. He had thought about trying to sleep with Damon before, but he hadn't intended on doing so-at least, not until Damon had asked him why he'd brought him back and he hadn't known how else to explain it to him. Not to mention the fact that the only thing that had been stopping him before had been that Damon had a girlfriend-but, considering what she had been doing-or rather, not doing-while Damon had been rotting in oblivion, she didn't really deserve him.
So, Enzo had kissed him and that was how this had happened.
He could still taste Damon's lips on his, and he didn't know how to feel about it. Part of him was ecstatic that he had finally gotten the thing he wanted most from Damon-but the other, more rational, part wondered how Damon was going to react to it.
Something didn't quite add up about how this had happened. They'd both had a bit to drink the previous night, it was true; but it took a lot to make a vampire drunk and neither of them had had anywhere near enough alcohol to reach that point, so it hadn't been the alcohol that had made Damon let things go that far. It was…something else.
Beside him, Damon began to stir, and, dreading what he might say, Enzo swung his legs over the other side of the bed and began to collect his clothes. He didn't think he could take it if he turned out to be reading too much into this and Damon told him he was just a distraction-or, even worse, a mistake. He needed to leave before Damon got a chance to break him like that again.
As he was pulling on his jeans, he heard the sounds of Damon turning over in the bed, and saw those unearthly azure eyes opening out of the corner of his own.
"Where are you off to?" the elder vampire asked, voice hoarse and rough with sleep.
Enzo had to force himself not to meet Damon's gaze and just kept pulling on his clothes. He knew if he looked at Damon, it would only weaken his resolve and he wouldn't be able to make himself walk away.
"To let you get dressed before you leave," he replied in as even a tone as he could muster, eyes fixed firmly on his hands as he fastened his zipper. "We don't need to talk about last night. I know I was only a distraction until you could get back to Elena." He tried hard to keep the bitterness out of his voice at that last part.
The last thing he expected was for Damon to appear in front of him, still completely naked and with the obvious intention of stopping him from leaving.
"What makes you think that?" the blacknette questioned, cocking his head to the side like a curious child.
His words made Enzo look up; he hadn't thought Damon would challenge his assumption.
"Because you love her, and she's the one you really want to get back to," he stated blandly, forcing his gaze to remain above Damon's neckline.
The elder, though, didn't seem to mind if Enzo's gaze wandered and he didn't even bother to try and cover himself up.
"That was true," he conceded slowly; then, a sly smirk formed on his lips as he added, "But she wasn't the one who brought be back, and I do believe I still have some gratitude to express for that."
Enzo wanted that to mean that Damon wasn't planning on going back to Elena at all; but he didn't want to get his hopes up. And, if gratitude for his resurrection was the only reason Damon was staying with him, then he figured he should explain that he couldn't take all the credit.
"I did have some help, you know," he admitted, contrasting Damon's slightly playful tone with a completely serious one.
Again, contrary to Enzo's expectations, his words only seemed to encourage the other vampire.
"Well, they'll just have to make do with a gift basket or something, because this thanks is only for you."
Enzo couldn't fight as Damon gripped the back of his head and crushed their mouths together-nor he could stop himself from responding instantly, abandoning his efforts at putting his clothes back on and clutching at Damon's shoulders to pull him closer.
His mind whirled when Damon pushed him back toward the bed, following him down while his tongue traced the seam of Enzo's lips. This was not how Enzo thought this morning would go, and he knew it was definitely not how Damon would have previously handled this situation.
Even as he parted his lips to Damon's insistent tongue, he found himself thinking: this was not the same Damon who had died. Something had changed while he'd been dead; seemingly the part that cared about Elena, the part that had kept him from feeding on humans, had been lost or something, because the Damon from before would never have been doing this.
Enzo knew Stefan and Elena wouldn't be happy about that, and that made him like it even more: not only did this Damon seem to want him, but anything that made Stefan unhappy was perfect to him. So, instead of questioning it, he turned his mind off and let himself enjoy it.
After all, it was what he'd always wanted.
that actually kind of seems like it could be the end of the fic doesn't it? it might be. i have a plan for this to go further but...