Chapter 6 TDT

Damon was walking around the woods following Stefan's blood trail when he smelled it, flesh cooking. He narrowed his eyes and took a large sniff, then panicked as he realised what it was. He blurred forward faster than he had ever moved before and found Stefan alight on the ground. He dove on top of him trying to cover him from the rays of sun but his jacket caught fire in the process too and he screamed as he felt fire lick his skin. He frantically rolled both of them into the lake, dousing the flames as he tried to react quickly. Stefan's ring! Where was Stefan's ring?! The water was icy cold and he blinked hard trying to get his brain to work amidst the shock of the temperature as Stefan lay under him with no life in his limbs. Then he saw it shining in the mud and he grabbed it fiercely and forced it onto what was left of Stefan's fingers. Stefan's whole face was barely anything but a black mask of tissue now. He looked like a burnt up corpse left over from a house fire. Damon lifted him and rose up to leave the water again as he breathed and coughed. He hated being under water, whether he could breathe or not. There seemed to be something so unnatural about being able to breathe under water. He carefully lay Stefan's body out of the water as he climbed up after him and reached down to rouse him.

"Stefan?" He touched his face carefully as Stefan's skin tried to heal. Stefan was out. No way would he wake up without blood and lots of it. Damon looked around, scanning the forest for an animal. All of the noise Damon had made as he screamed had no doubt scared them all away. He stood up and sniffed the air searching for anything, even a rabbit. He could sense that there were some smaller animals nearby. He looked down at Stefan warily, unsure whether he should leave him at all but he had to get him some blood. He dashed into the woods like lightning, trying not to stray too far away from Stefan's charred remains and managed to catch a mountain lion as it was prowling for its breakfast. The cat didn't come down without a fight but he managed to break its neck without too much injury to himself. He wasn't used to his meals having claws or sharp teeth and he was surprised at how difficult it had been to kill the thing. He carried it back pleased with himself and knelt down next to Stefan as he tore into its throat and placed its neck to Stefan's mouth. Stefan's lips opened slightly and allowed the blood to pour in. Stefan's skin very gradually began to appear less corpse like and hideous, but it was slow. God animal blood really was a poor substitute.

After a few minutes Stefan opened his eyes and made a sobbing sound. He was in pain. Damon moved the animal from his mouth and called to him. Stefan looked up at him in pain. Stefan choked.

"How badly does it hurt?" Damon asked gently and Stefan closed his eyes. "I'm going to get you a human." Damon decided and moved to stand when Stefan choked again desperately and rasped through his burnt vocal chords weakly.

"No!"

"Stefan look at yourself! You need it!" Damon hissed at him incredulously and Stefan shook his head slowly and sobbed in agony as the movement caused his whole body to alight with pain. "You stupid idiot Stefan!" Damon growled angrily and Stefan closed his eyes again. Damon stood up and huffed angrily. He would need another larger animal. Maybe a deer…maybe the blood of a deer would…

"No more death." Stefan whispered, bringing Damon out of his thoughts. "We are death enough."

"What are you babbling about?" Damon exhaled.

"I won't spread my death anymore. Everything is so beautiful and I tar it." Damon huffed again and stared down at him. Was Stefan hallucinating? Had he finally lost his mind? He leaned down and lifted Stefan into his arms as Stefan cried in pain.

"You don't get to die yet Stefan. You forced me into having to live forever so I'm going to make sure you damn well do too!" Damon growled and walked as fast as he could back to his car. Stefan passed out in his arms and Damon lay him gently into the seat as he climbed into the Camaro and sped back to the boarding house. He'd have to force Stefan to drink. He wasn't going to heal properly otherwise and they had problems he was going to needs Stefan's help with. It hadn't taken him long to realise how stupid he had been not to realise that she hadn't been Elena. Elena would never run off and leave them fighting. That girl was so hair-brained and in love with Stefan she would have attempted to break them up and probably got hurt in the process. Someday he believed she would and it would be their fault. Always fighting, always trying to hurt each other…it was an exhausting cycle that Damon enjoyed up until recently. Up until they had began to connect again. Up until Damon had started to feel again.

Stefan stirred in his arms and began to sob from the pain of healing so slowly and Damon carried him up to his bed and lay him down gently. He blurred down to his room and pulled a canvas aside from the wall to access a safe behind it. He punched in his code and retrieved a bag of A positive from the unit inside. He'd taken great care to find a safe with a temperature regulator inside for keeping blood at the right temperature. He knew a simple barrage of locks on the fridge wouldn't suffice to keep Stefan out. He began to walk back towards Stefan's room when he heard Stefan cry in agony and fear. His dumb ass brother and his latest cry for help. He stopped and closed his eyes, affected by the sound. Tears began to form in his eyes and he tried to shake them away. He had caused this pain. Elena was right. He shouldn't have encouraged Stefan to lean on him so much, but now that he had he couldn't just leave Stefan to sort himself out cold turkey. Stefan had proven time and time again that he couldn't do cold turkey. He needed help.

"Damon!" Stefan cried and Damon rushed in again with the bag in his hands. Stefan saw it and began to cry harder.

"I can't, please!" Stefan begged. "Please Damon." Damon swallowed. He knew what Stefan was asking. He looked down at the bag in his hands and made a sound of confliction. Stefan just didn't understand how hard this was. He didn't know how sensual, how confusing it was. He looked to Stefan in torment and Stefan curled into himself.

"I'll mix it for you…" Damon began, trying to think of a way out of this and Stefan sobbed into his pillow silently. He looked so desperate. There was nothing more painful than fire and Stefan was healing so slowly that it must be as though he was still aflame and burning. "Stefan?" Damon croaked, his voice loosing its calm but Stefan didn't move and started to shiver noticeably. Damon groaned in panic and frustration and ripped the top of the bag open, quickly drinking it as fast as he could. He almost vomited he tried to swallow so quickly, so he calmed his pace and concentrated on draining it methodically. He had fed well today, sipping from his blood filled brandy glass all day, so he felt strong, but if he was going to do this he wanted to ensure he wouldn't become weak enough to lose his wits. He finished the bag and wiped his mouth with his arm, when he caught some of the burnt material on this forearm. He groaned as he inspected it and took it off. His jacket was ruined by the fire. He climbed on to Stefan's bed and tried to pull Stefan over him. Stefan was clearly in a lot of pain and his joints were stiffening. Moving was difficult so Damon had to be gentle as he pulled him into his lap and held him, placing his wrist to Stefan's mouth.

"Drink brother." He advised and Stefan opened his eyes in surprise and bit without hesitation. Damon groaned a little at the sharpness and ferocity of Stefan's feeding and he lay his head back against the headboard as he tried not to tense up. Stefan pulled his mouth away and drew in some deep breaths as though he was waiting for his stomach to catch up with him and Damon urged him to continue as he watched Stefan's body become a little healthier looking. He watched in amazement as Stefan's skin visible began to clear and regenerate. Drinking second hand human blood must still work after all, it was healing him! Damon reached down with his other hand and touched Stefan's shoulder, inspecting it in awe and Stefan sighed under his touch. Stefan pulled away from his wrist again and dropped Damon's arm as he breathed. His lungs were still healing obviously because it sounded as though he was asthmatic. Stefan slowly pushed himself up to sit as he tried to calm his breathing down and Damon sat up with him, supporting his back.

Stefan turned round suddenly to stare at him and pushed him back into the headboard again gently.

"I need some more." Stefan breathed and Damon nodded, flushing slightly as he relaxed. Stefan turned over and leaned over him. He wanted Damon's neck and Damon could tell. He just wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Damon's pupils dilated as Stefan leaned in and put his lips to Damon's throat. He opened his mouth to suggest his wrist again but Stefan leaned into him with his whole body as though he couldn't support himself and bit down. Damon closed his eyes and tried not to struggle. He held Stefan around his waist to support him as Stefan brought his arms around him and squeezed. Stefan made sighing sounds of relief and pleasure that tickled Damon's neck hair and set them standing on end. This was one of the miseries of this equation. Sounds like that were an automatic turn on and Damon groaned a little and bit his lip as he felt a little ripple of desire coarse through him. Stefan melted against him, beginning to stroke him tenderly as though to soothe him and thank him and Damon let out a puff of air. Stefan pulled back stiffly with a pained expression on his face.

"Please, I need more." He said and Damon closed his eyes as he sweated from the act of keeping his body under control. Stefan looked down at Damon's groin and made a sound of urgency. "Please Damon…" Stefan knew this was the point when Damon would want him to stop as Damon was hard and aching inside of his jeans. Damon clenched his jaw and squeezed his eyes closed, not responding and Stefan took that as silent permission and leaned carefully back into his neck again.

"Uhhh…" Damon sounded and bit his lip in annoyance. God there was nothing like this feeling and he couldn't ignore it however hard he might try. Stefan's skin still wasn't back to normal and Damon knew it was going to take more feeding. Could he do this for much longer? He could feel his pulse in his groin and his jeans were squashing him now. He reached down and squeezed through the denim to try and relieve some of the ache and Stefan moved to accommodate the movement. Stefan licked over the wound and bit a fresh one and Damon tilted his head back and couldn't suppress a gasp of pleasure.

"Stefan, I can't…" He panted and Stefan pulled back looking at him anxiously and weakly. "I can't do this much longer."

"Let me help you." Stefan whispered sincerely and Damon shook his head and groaned as his manhood throbbed. Stefan whimpered and looked down at his body still black and charred in places and he choked in horror and fear. Damon's heart squeezed as Stefan realised the full extent of the damage to his body. Stefan looked at him in desperation and Damon exhaled.

"Ok, I'll try. Stefan I might need to…" Damon began and Stefan gave him a look of understanding and opened the button on Damon's jeans, unzipping his fly for him in contemplation of Damon's meaning as Damon gasped in surprise. Stefan didn't touch him though, he wanted to let him know that he knew what Damon needed to do and he was ok with it so he merely moved back into his neck and bit down again as Damon began to pant again. Damon reached down and pulled his member out, stroking it. He couldn't believe he was actually doing this but he couldn't argue with his body any longer. He began to stroke the tender flesh there up and down, up and down, tighter and with more pressure as Stefan sucked, stroked his back and moaned as his body healed.

"Uhhhh…" Damon tilted his head back again and Stefan moved around to the front of his throat and bit there so that Damon had to move right back and lie down fully onto the pillow bearing his throat. The pulsing of his blood as Stefan suckled and the pressure of his body pressed against him made Damon lose his wits as he feared and he moaned and pumped himself with more ardour.

"Uhhhh, uuhhh…" He began to moan as he sped up towards his release and Stefan began to moan with him as though egged on by his arousal, until they were both moaning and moving against each other, Damon in rapture and Stefan intoxicated.

"I'm going to…" Damon panted and Stefan understood and bit down harder as Damon's whole body erupted against him. Stefan kept his fangs in, holding Damon to him tightly as he enjoyed Damon's pleasure and excitement. Damon panted and deflated back into the bed relieved, allowing Stefan to feed on and caress him with love and appreciation. Damon closed his eyes and sighed, drifting into a peaceful snooze filled with pleasure and comfort. The feel of Stefan's suckling at his skin, a gentle caress of worship that made him feel safe and cherished.

Damon was unsure how long he slept for but when he woke up he was hungry but happy. He opened his eyes groggily and looked around. His orientation felt weird and for a moment he didn't know where he was. He looked beside him and saw Stefan laying asleep next to him, face covered in dried blood. He relaxed and looked Stefan over. His body still had some healing to do but he was much improved. Damon had better get some more blood for him. He reached down remembering that he'd touched himself and was embarrassed to note that his manhood was still on display. He carefully tucked himself back into his jeans, but it took some effort. He felt weak and hungry. Stefan must have fed on him while he slept too. He struggled to lift himself up into a seated position so he rolled onto his side. He must have made a grunt of effort as Stefan opened his eyes.

"Hey." Stefan said.

"Hey." Damon replied. "How do you feel?"

"Horrible."

"Serves you right." Damon said with a hint of anger in his voice as he tried and failed to sit up again. Stefan sat up and tried to help him.

"I'm sorry I don't know when I stopped. Are you weak?"

"I'm fine." Damon said but he didn't look fine. Stefan cupped his jaw and Damon flinched a little in surprise. Stefan had never touched him like this before.

"I'll get you some blood." Stefan said as he got out of the bed shakily and edged his way along it towards the door. Damon sighed when he realised he had locked the blood away to prevent Stefan from getting to it. If he told him the code to the safe then it would render it useless.

"Stefan, you don't know where it is."

"So tell me. I won't drink it, it's for you." Stefan stated and Damon grunted and hung his head in defeat. "You need it Damon, tell me where it is."

"I don't trust you." Damon groaned and Stefan huffed.

"So…what, you're just going to lie there like that rather than let me retrieve it for you?" Damon groaned and lay back down as his head spun. Stefan sighed and came back to lie back down on the bed beside him.

"What a pair we are." Stefan grunted and Damon closed his eyes feeling lightheaded and sleepy again. He made a sound of hunger and sighed and Stefan looked over at him thinking.

"This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't needed so much of your blood." Stefan mused. "Just tell me where it is brother."

"No." Damon whispered. Stefan felt himself grow annoyed at him and he made another split second decision. He bit into his wrist and placed it to Damon's mouth. Damon's eyes popped open wide in surprise and his mouth opened involuntarily as Stefan's blood poured into his mouth. He tried not to accept the blood, not to swallow it but he couldn't, it was automatic. He held Stefan's wrist and began to suck. He'd take a little to make himself strong enough to get up and feed properly. As he drank gratefully he felt Stefan tense.

"Uhhhh…" Stefan gasped and tensed again. "Oh my god…" Stefan drooled and Damon opened his eyes and let Stefan retrieve his hand as Stefan flushed and panted, looking at him in shock and surprise. Damon sat up with a little more ease and looked to Stefan again as Stefan stared at him wide eyed. Neither spoke for a minute as Stefan calmed himself.

"I had no idea." He said apologetically. "Every time…you felt…like that?" Damon nodded, blushing a little as he cleared his throat and zipped up his jeans to give himself something to do to deviate from Stefan's stare of amazement.

"The joys of blood sharing brother." Damon tried to lighten the mood but Stefan lay back still looking shocked and stared up at the ceiling. Damon gave a small chuckle and moved to stand up. He felt a little better – vampire blood wasn't so bad for helping regenerate a little it seemed. He was genuinely surprised by that. He made his way slowly to his room and retrieved a fresh blood bag from the safe. He opened it and began to drink thirsty. So now Stefan knew. Damon actually felt relieved about it. Perhaps now Stefan would stop stroking him when he was feeding and stop offering to touch him. He finished off the bag and wondered what his next course of action should be. Clearly Stefan still wasn't completely healed. That meant that he would have to feed him again. He blew a breath out and grimaced at the thought. It was getting a little too easy for him to talk himself into believing that it was okay to climax with Stefan present. It was creepy. He heard a glass break in Stefan's room and blurred down the hall to him.

He rounded the corner into his room to see Stefan trying to get out of the bed again. He was so unsteady he had knocked a glass on his nightstand over in the attempt to rise.

"Stefan lie down for god sake!"

"I need to hunt." Stefan said tiredly and Damon came around to the side of the bed and held him steady as Stefan winced.

"You can hardly stand brother. I think Bambi is going to be a little too fast for you today. Sit down."

Stefan sat down as instructed and Damon was surprised at that. Stefan usually never did what he suggested. Stefan looked up at him wide eyed and child-like. It pulled at Damon's brotherly sense of duty.

"You can't hunt. You haven't healed yet. Besides, animals will take forever to heal you."

"I can't keep drinking from you." Stefan sighed.

"Why not?"

"Because of how it feels." Stefan shook his head slowly, still trying to recover from the knowledge of just how erotic being fed on was in reality. Damon swallowed and tightened his jaw.

"Like you said before, it's not like you want me Stefan. I'm your brother. It's just a consequence of feeding."

"It's more than that though." Stefan whined in distress. "I enjoy it too much, especially when you do." He flushed in embarrassment and shame and avoided Damon's eyes as he spoke. Damon went a little rigid before him but didn't say anything. "It makes me feel like I'm cheating." He bowed his head.

"Cheating?" Damon croaked filled with discomfort at where the conversation was heading.

"On Elena. I used to feel like I wanted to feed on her because I longed for her so much, but now…" Damon inhaled sharply as Stefan paused. "…I just want to feed from you." Stefan looked up at him as Damon's eyes widened. "I know I can't hurt you and you understand how much I need this. You get it. I feel like I can have my life back if I can do this with you. My life with her…" Then Stefan remembered what had made him take his ring off in the first place and he stopped mid sentence and hardened slightly. Damon noticed the change in his expression and took a step back.

"There's something I have to tell you brother." Damon said nervously and Stefan pulled a tight expression. "Katherine's in town."

"What?!" Stefan gasped and suddenly all the pieces clicked in his mind as he realised with great relief that it had been Katherine kissing Damon. He smiled in relief and took a deep breath as Damon clenched his jaw.

"It wasn't her." Stefan sighed happily and opened his eyes to see Damon's hurt but tight expression. "You thought it was her though didn't you? You didn't know." Stefan accused.

"She kissed me." Damon said emphatically and Stefan felt anger begin to boil inside of him again.

"You didn't stop her!" Stefan hissed and Damon's face changed to one of stone before him. Stefan flinched as it happened and he lost his sense of anger completely as he realised how close Damon was to the edge. He could easily go back into himself and become the monster that Stefan had been fearing and living with for months now, instead of the brother he was seeing come back to him gradually.

"Why change the habit of a lifetime huh?" Damon hissed back at him and Stefan took a deep breath.

"Why is she here?"

"To screw us over again, why else?" Damon was mad still and Stefan sighed tiredly.

"We can't let her do this to us again."

"What do you suggest dear brother?"

"We have to stay united against her. Show her she can't break us anymore." Stefan looked into his eyes and saw a hint of emotion behind them as Damon thawed slightly.

"There's nothing here to break Stefan." Damon said flatly and Stefan looked up at him sadly.

They were just beginning to connect again, beginning to become what they had been so long ago and now she could ruin everything. For a long time Stefan had wanted to be as far away from Damon as possible, but these past few months had reminded him of how much Damon felt and persecuted himself for. Behind his steely façade there really was the brother he remembered and he desperately wanted him back.

"I'm not going to fight with you anymore." Stefan said quietly and lay back down with effort. Damon stayed stock still for a few minutes as Stefan closed his eyes and tried to rest.

"I kissed Elena, Stefan."

"Because you feel something for her. Because you actually care and I'm not going to let her destroy that part of you that is willing to feel something again." Stefan said still resting with his eyes closed as Damon blinked at him. Damon was speechless. After a few minutes of silence Stefan looked over at him.

"She's here for a reason. We need to find out what." Damon nodded absent mindedly. "Damon…" Stefan began, unsure how to ask this time. They'd just had another huge argument that didn't lend itself to allowing the intimacy of blood sharing, but he needed it badly. He let his silent request hang in the air as Damon clenched his jaw again and sighed.

"Please brother." Stefan invited and Damon begrudgingly sat down next to him and offered him his wrist. Stefan sat up stiffly and took his hand, biting into his wrist as Damon closed his eyes and sighed.