"Ric!?" Damon spat, half in disbelief, half in rage. "Ric hurt you?"
"Well, his dark, council-member-slaying alter ego was the one who attacked me," she pointed out reasonably.
"I'm gonna kill him," he stated decisively. Both his hand were tugging at his hair in frustration. Water rolled down his forehead and into his eyes but he didn't notice. He was too distracted by the fact that his best friend had gone after his girlfriend. He knew Ric's bad side was dark but he cared for Addie, he looked out for her. Damon imagined that his feelings would still exist in his dark, alter ego and would protect Addie from Ric.
"You're not going to kill your best friend."
Damon nodded, becoming even more convinced the more he thought about it and maintained, "I'm gonna kill him. This is the second time he's tried to kill you. He's not getting a third attempt."
"It wasn't Ala-"
"I don't care what personality he had, Addison! In fact, if it was the psychotic one, that means Bonnie's little herbs and magic aren't helping. If Alaric can't control who he is, he's more likely to go after you again, which gives me all the more reason to kill him!" he exclaimed furiously, his voice bouncing off the bathroom walls. The more he dwelled on it, the less sense it made. Either Ric was never his friend or he had absolutely no control over himself when he went dark. Either way he had to go down.
She had expected Damon to be upset. She had expected him to be livid at Alaric. She'd even anticipated him threatening to kill Alaric. The truth was that he was just caught off guard and in shock. His natural reaction would be to harm anyone that had hurt her. Once he cooled off enough to think about the situation rationally, he'd realize it wasn't Alaric's fault. Addie blatantly admired the way beads of water rolled down the well defined muscles of his chest and abs, eventually absorbing into his sodden jeans, noting, "This is so far from a normal relationship."
Floored by this comment and sudden jump in topic, Damon floundered for a response. What was he supposed to do? Ignore the bombshell that his best friend tried to kill his girlfriend again? Not be pissed off at her for giving the stakes to Klaus? Not be pissed off at her for getting herself into a situation that Alaric had the opportunity to attack her? Wait; he was blaming that part on Klaus manipulating her. Was he supposed to acknowledge her comment and discuss all the abnormal factors of their relationship? Having no idea what the right reaction was, he decided to force her hand.
"What are you doing?" she asked warily when he stepped closer to her and began undoing the button and fly on his jeans.
Damon shrugged innocently as he tugged down the zipper, "You told me to take a shower. I can't very well do that with my pants on. Oh, and I'm not talking to you."
Addie's brows furrowed as she tried to figure out what the hell he was up to. Again, she took him by surprise by not immediately bolting from the shower. Unsure of what it was going to take to get her out or to simply tell him whatever the hell she expected him to do, he proceeded to lower his jeans. It was slightly difficult as they stuck to him and his boxers kept trying pulling down. Removing those was his Hail Mary; if that did get Addie out of the shower, he was really screwed.
"And you're actually being serious," she muttered in awe, surprised when his boxers were revealed. Drench, she wasn't sure if they were really navy or black, either way, they did much as the jeans had and clung to him. The tile over his left shoulder suddenly became very fascinating. What was he doing? It wasn't unusual for Damon to strip down to his boxers in front of her but that was different; his boxers weren't usually so tight and revealing. Realizing what he was doing Addie scoffed in disgust and frustration, "We're not far from normal; we're screwed up."
If Damon wanted to intimidate her out of a shower he lured her into she wasn't going to argue with him. Why he couldn't just use his words like a normal person, she didn't understand. Addie got out, not being particularly gentle in closing the stall's door. The frosted glass softly rattled in the frame. If he was going to act like a child, so could she.
She tugged uncomfortably at the sodden shirt sticking to her skin; wet clothes were one of her biggest pet peeves. They were all clingy and rubbed against the skin unnaturally. She'd been stupid to follow Damon into a shower. Why had she followed Damon into a shower? She knew why; it was very aggravating how expressive his face could be. Even if he could, Damon would never need to compel her. Very conscious of how she dripped onto the bath mat, she darted to Damon's dresser and grabbed two towels from the bottom drawer. It was such an odd place to keep towels. She wrapped one around her hair like a turban. She held the other one away from her to keep it from getting wet as she went back into the bathroom.
"You stay in there," Addie needlessly called to Damon over the sounds of water running. She didn't doubt he would spend a good half hour in the shower brooding. He did his deep thinking over a good bottle of bourbon or in the shower. He'd knocked back the bourbon she'd brought up without a blink, it was likely that he'd think in the shower. Far be it from her to understand why he picked one of the two. She stripped off all her wet clothes and dropped them into the bathtub. They'd deal with them later. Jeremy's shirt she was just going to have to throw away. There was no way that much blood was coming out. Plus it was ripped.
Addie wrapped the fluffy ivory towel tightly around herself and went back to Damon's dresser. When she had been staying with Damon, the better part of her wardrobe had been at his house. Slowly her things had moved back home, though. There was a change of clothes left but that would just make it easier for him to insist she go home. While she could understand Damon wanting his space, she didn't necessarily think he should be left with his own thoughts for too long. He might actually convince himself on an impulsive whim to kill Alaric. Or drink until it seemed liked the best idea in the world. It already seemed semi-rational to him. Addie wasn't going to let Damon kill his best friend for something he wasn't really responsible for.
Quickly she dried herself and pulled on one of his soft, black v-neck tees and his lucky boxers which were a silky black material with patterned with yellow smiley faces. They were her favorite pair, mostly because they were very un-Damon. Addie then worked on drying her hair to the best of her ability with just the towel. She ducked into the bathroom to grab a hairbrush, and as she expected, Damon didn't notice. As she raked through her hair, she saw the flashing notification light from her phone that she had tossed on Damon's bed. Curious, she checked to see what it was about.
Bonnie: The Originals aren't linked. I had to unlink them. Klaus threatened to hurt Jeremy if I didn't. He knows where he is.
Addie felt her heart drop to her stomach. Damon's words about Klaus killing Jeremy because he didn't get his way came rushing back to her. She knew shipping him off to Denver without any protection was stupid. Still, Damon had happily gone behind her back and compelled him away because it was what Elena wanted.
Addie scrolled through her contacts until she found who she wanted and pressed the phone to her ear.
"Hey, Ad!" her brother greeted brightly. "What's up?"
Tears of relief formed as she heard his voice, heard that he was alright. Klaus hadn't killed him to make a point. Not wanting to lie but not wanting to ruin his happiness in one breath Addie admitted, "I ruined your shirt. I got blood on it. I was being stupid and got myself cut. I'm sorry."
"Calm down," Jeremy laughed. "It's just a shirt…. Unless you mean my autographed Frank Beamer Virginia Tech Football Jersey. In that case, run." His voice was low and menacing as he said the last word.
"Eww," she said with revulsion. "If I'm wearing a jersey it's the Baltimore Ravens or no one."
"Pro ball and college ball are two separate things. There's the knee-down, the game clock, th-"
Smiling, Addie couldn't help shaking her head in exasperation. He tried to tell her the differences a thousand times. Bluntly she interrupted him, "I don't care how they differ! I just like to watch the Ravens."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Hey, did you need something? I'm actually heading out with some friends right now."
She would have sworn her eyebrow met her hairline. The brother she knew was a loner. He didn't hang out with people. They hung out with each other; it was part of what made them so close. Though, she hadn't exactly been the best sister since getting involved with Damon. Plus, Jeremy was halfway across the country. He would obviously need to make new friends.
"Um, no. I just hadn't heard your voice since you left. We only text. I was starting to remember you with a very thick, Russian accent," she joked, trying to keep the situation light hearted. She'd let Elena teardown his happiness again by telling him about Klaus.
"Aww," Jeremy cooed mockingly, "I miss you too. Listen, I really gotta head out but I'll catch you later. Bye, Ad."
"Bu-," Addie cut herself off as the line went quiet. As she tossed herself onto the bed she grumbled, "My own brother hung up on me. I can't believe he hung up on me."
After a few moments of contemplation, Addie decided that she was going to let Elena come up with some new way of protecting Jeremy from Klaus. Playing the hero was not fun, she reflected, mindlessly rubbing at the elbow Alaric had injured. Ugh. She couldn't justify saving Damon and not her brother. But Jeremy wasn't in immediate danger, as Damon had been. Klaus had made a threat. Past tense! Yes, she was worried about her brother but why did it have to be her problem? Saving Damon had already been her problem. Escaping from a crazy Alaric had already been her problem. Couldn't she just go back to worry about everyone else tomorrow? It had been a long day. And she still had to put up with whatever mood Damon was in.
Addir: Text Elena about Jeremy.
She knew she was a bad sister for not jumping into immediate action to try and rescue her brother. However, he sounded fine when she talked to him. He didn't sound like he was in imminent danger. That wasn't the only problem. If Bonnie had unlinked the Originals, that meant killing one of them did not mean killing all of them. With only Stefan's stake and Alaric's they only had two weapons to take down five Originals. Damon was not going to be happy about that. Addie wasn't going to be the one to tell him about that little problem, though. He was already made enough at her for trading away the stakes.
Momentarily allowing herself to act exactly how she wanted, regardless of whether it was appropriate or not, Addie buried her face in the and pounded her fist and feet against the mattress in a mini-tantrum. Her life was so much simpler when there wasn't hybrids, witches, vampires and every other awful thing. She just didn't want to deal with all the magic and drama.
Addie flopped onto her back and stared up at Damon's ceiling. It would be so easy to cover the smooth ceiling in glow-in-the-dark stars. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Meditation had never been her thing but her mind was too cluttered. Klaus. Jeremy. Damon.
Damon stayed in the shower until the water ran cool. He knew Addie hadn't left. He'd been straining to hear the sounds of her leaving. Why couldn't she understand that he didn't want to talk to her? He didn't want to see her. He didn't want to be around her. She had betrayed him.
His feelings for her hand not changed; he loved her to the end of the universe and back and would do anything for her but he just needed some space. She had passed ten stakes over to Klaus. Sure, he only needed one to kill the Originals but that wasn't the point. As much as he wanted to be the one to ram a stake through Klaus' heart, he'd settle for anyone taking the shot. It was simple math; more people armed meant more people who could kill Klaus or his siblings. He just wanted to keep Addie safe. The girl had handed over 83% of their weapons to the enemy for no damn reason!
He eyed her warily, stretched out on his bed. If he wasn't so pissed off at her he might appreciate her back in his clothes, particularly his lucky boxers. The first time he ever let her borrow them, he never would have imagined that she would end up wearing them more often than he did. Their whole relationship was something he never imagined. Damon snatched the blood bags and the bottle of bourbon she had brought up earlier off the bed as he went to his dresser. He didn't want to start examining their relationship. He'd just return to a love struck idiot when all he wanted to be was Damon, the selfish, angry bastard. He dropped the blood bags on the dressers, knowing he should probably drink one. Finishing off the bourbon in one swig was a lot more appealing, however.
The sudden sound of crashing waves made Addie inhale in surprise. She hadn't even heard Damon get out of the shower as she'd been too lost in her thoughts. A towel was slung low around his hips and the muscles of his back flexed and glided just beneath the skin in a powerful way as he poured a drink from the decanter he kept in the top drawer. He finished that and poured another. And another after that. The bottle of bourbon was also empty. While he had probably consumed next to nothing compared to his usual alcohol intake when he was in a foul mood, it was definitely the most she had seen him drink in a long time.
"So, you turning on the sound machine suggests you're going to stop acting like a petulant child and actually talk to me like a mature adult?" Addie observed smartly. He made no acknowledgement of hearing her. His back received a very icy glare. "At this point I'd settle for yelling. Though, you're probably just going to leave the room to avoid dealing with me."
Damon pulled out a random pair of boxers without much thought.
"Damon!" exclaimed Addie, her hand quickly covering her eyes. Guiltily, she ever-so-slightly squinted through the crack between her fingers. Her brows furrowed as she frowned; she didn't get it. What was the big deal about a butt? Damon's was toned and probably firm, just like the rest of him. It really was nothing special. In a gossip session, long before Addie was dating him, Caroline, Bonnie and Elena all had said Damon had a great ass. Addie truly didn't get the appeal. Actually, as she peeked Addie wondered why butts were considered private beyond the fact that it was covered by underwear because it only made sense to make underwear that went all the way around so that it covered what mattered.
Whoops. Damon's intention hadn't been to make Addie uncomfortable when he dropped his towel. There were certain realms of uncomfortable he felt comfortable pushing her into, like little steps beyond how far they'd gone. He'd taken a jump across that line without meaning to. An apology was at his lips when he remembered he wasn't talking to her. The right thing would have been to apologize but he was in a mood to be petty. She could get over it or leave. It wasn't like he hadn't put on a pair of boxers right away and he highly doubted it would cause their relationship to end.
Damon took his glass of scotch and went to bed. He propped up the pillows against the headboard and leaned back against them. He stared into his drink intensely as he recalled when she had run out of the boarding house the night after he drugged her and the long silence that followed. It wasn't the drugging that had screwed things up, it was his stupid mouth saying something about not dealing with her. He was only breaking his vow of silence just for her peace of mind.
"Remember when you asked me what happens when I get tired of dealing with you?" he prompted, his voice sounding flat and hollow. "I told you I'm lucky I get to do that. I said dealing with you is something I thoroughly enjoy doing except when you're doing something that puts your life in danger. You, not once, but repeatedly put yourself in danger today. I function on you driving me ten types of crazy. This...what you've done, is beyond that. I don't know how to deal with it or you."
"Now you know how I feel every time you go off on some crazy, suicidal mission, which is, oh," Addie paused, pretending to contemplate, "every other day."
"I'm not talking to you," Damon remarked scornfully as he took a sip of scotch. He'd had just enough to take the edge off the worst of his anger. She had been so careless. Addie was scary smart but she had made an extremely stupid move. It wasn't just the fact that she put herself in danger and allowed Klaus to be a continuous threat to her but she knew how much killing Klaus had meant to him. He had been working for eternity to bring Klaus down and just when Damon had finally gotten the upper hand, Addie betrayed him.
As she lay on her back, Addie's eyes shifted from the ceiling to Damon's face. It was a blank, unreadable mask. "You know, you keep saying you're not talking to me but then you end up talking to me. Then you repeat that you're not talking to me," she pointed out with bitter humor. When Damon continued to ignore her for another five minutes she suggested, "We could just skip this stage where you act like a whiney child and get to the yelling part."
"I'm too perturbed to yell at you," Damon grumbled into his glass.
Her lips twitched into a frown. That wasn't a good sign. He was being a bit ridiculous, though. Cheekily she retorted, "You talked to me again." His eyes were cold as the drifted down to meet hers. Addie huffed in frustration, "You're being a real selfish bastard. If the situations were reversed and I was the one being chained up and tortured, you would have traded the stakes!"
"No," he admitted incredulously. How could she possibly believe that? "No, I wouldn't. I'd kill any Original as soon as I could and that would result in Rebekah dying, which would mean I could save you from her. Two birds, one stone. It's simple logic, which you claim to be all about. So I'm sitting here wondering how the fuck you reasoned that handing over the stakes was the smart, logical thing to do!" Damon exclaimed, his voice increasing in volume as he went on. Perhaps he wasn't too vexed to yell, not that he had quite reached that level yet. Afterall, he had turned on the sound machine because he didn't want Stefan to hear them fighting.
"You would let me be Rebekah's chew toy for the next six months or however long it took you to come up with the perfect execution plan? You would let me go through all that pain before you'd hand over the stakes to Klaus?" Addie asked challengingly. Though he acted tough, Damon was really a tender hearted romantic. He just wasn't very good at the romance part of it all. Her eyebrows knitted together as she realized they were going to have two fights going at once again. The fighting with Damon was exhausting; they couldn't even agree on celebrating a small victory. Given how sour Addie's mood was turning, she was beginning to appreciate that they both simply made it to the end of the day alive. If only she could make Damon see that. "Saving your ass from whatever the hell Rebekah had planned for you was smart and logical. Klaus said she was bleeding the vervain from you. You could have been forced into doing anything."
"I wouldn't wait around. I'd go straight in for the kill,"Damon bristled defensively. "I had them thoroughly convinced that the vervain was out of my system when I practically ripped my hands off because Klaus ordered me to leave. Rebekah would have compelled me to do whatever she wanted but I would be able to resist. She wouldn't be expecting that. There would have been another opening to stake them."
"If you did either one of those, you'd be careless and reckless and you'd ultimately get yourself killed," she retorted all-knowingly.
"I would not," he retorted scornfully. He tugged on a lock of dark red hair twisted around his finger just hard enough to let her know he didn't appreciate what she had said. Quickly he began to stroke the fine strands along her hairline gently to let her know he wasn't truly mad, at least about the comment
"You so would," argued Addie as her head moved to press into the curve of his hip. "Your plans are downright suicidal when you don't think. You let your emotions control you."
"Says the girl who handed over the ultimate weapon to the ultimate bastard for some other dumb bastard. To use your words:pot," he poked her in the nose and then pointed at himself, "kettle, black."
She scoffed dramatically in disgust, "Other than the part about you both being pompous bastards -"
Sharply he cut in, "I never said pompous."
"I know; I was just pointing out the obvious," Addie said innocently, smiling sweetly. "As I was saying, I was completely rational in handing over the stakes. I didn't take Stefan's. I didn't trade away everything." She was going to mention that they still had Alaric's, as well, but the tiniest part of her could help but be surprised that he had flipped out into into a homicidal, revenge-driven maniac. She couldn't help but be proud of how rational he was being about Alaric attacking her. He'd just had that one outburst; they hadn't even really argued about her role in the event. It was probably best to let that topic stay where it had landed. Realizing how harsh her words had sounded, she quickly added, "Of course I would have traded them all away if that's what I had to do to get you back."
Damon nodded in finality and quickly raised his glass in a victory salute. "Thank you for making my point for me. You are very capable of making a very dumb choice based solely on emotions."
How did this get all twisted around? He was the impulsive, reckless one. She was cautious and overly analytical. They balanced each other out. His yin to her yang. How did he get to win? How did he get to be upset with her for saving him?
"I don't believe you wouldn't trade all off the stakes in exchange for me if you knew Klaus had me hostage," Addie said resolutely. She had faith Damon's love would overtake his pride if it came down to it.
As he sipped on his scotch Damon drawled, "You're wrong."
"You wouldn't risk him hurting me before you had a chance to kill him," she argued. He was going to admit the truth one way or another.
"We've established that Klaus isn't interested in killing you."
"Ohhh," Addie elongated dramatically as she sat up and turned to face Damon with wide, mocking eyes. Her brain wanted to explode at just how ridiculous he was being. Appalled, she clarified, "So now that it suits your argument, we agree that Klaus isn't interested in harming me at the moment, yes?"
Damon's lips pursed into a thin line. He couldn't see where Addie was headed but he had a feeling by the smug look on her face that it didn't bode well for him. The safest response seemed to be no response.
"If Klaus isn't trying to hurt me, I didn't put myself into any danger when I decided to make a deal with him. You don't get to be mad at me for that, then."
"He might not be trying to hurt you right now," he snapped harshly, quickly correcting, "but your welfare definitely isn't a concern for him. He didn't care that your life was put at risk trying to get the stakes. Not to mention, he still wants you for some unknown reason and purpose in the future. That reason could be to kill you. You should be staying away from him not playing Let's Make a Deal."
"The point is that I wasn't in immediate danger because 'we've established that Klaus isn't interested in killing' me," Addie said, doing her best impression of him as she repeated his words.
His glass clinked as he set it down on the nightstand. Damon crossed his arms and grimaced, "Fine. Addie, you're always in danger when Klaus is involved. I don't fancy the idea of you being left with him for half a second; obviously, I don't like the idea of you being his hostage. Is that what you want to hear?"
She gave a noncommittal shrug but her smug grin told him how she really felt. Haughtily she probed, "So, you'd trade the stakes so Klaus wouldn't keep me hostage."
"I wouldn't-"
"The longer you hesitate the longer I'm his hostage and the longer I'm in danger," she reminded him in a singsong voice.
A muscle in Damon's jaw twitched as his teeth ground together. His hand trembled in frustration as he ran it through his drying hair. He softly growled, "Just because I'd trade the stakes for you doesn't make you swapping them for me acceptable."
"Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me?" Addie demanded in exasperation. How could he be so stupid?
"No, I'm not!" he snapped angrily, eyeing her wearily as she moved closer towards him. "Now we-"
Addie's mouth pressed firmly over his, her hand roughly fisted into his dark hair, holding him too her. Taking advantage of Damon's surprise, she slipped her tongue between his parted lips. Something, whether it was frustration or a desperation to make her point, made Addie feel emboldened. Instead of trying to ignore the fact that she had a tongue ring, like usual, she made a point of running the top of it along the roof of Damon's mouth. He growled into the kiss, catching the top and bottom of the barbell between his teeth as Addie tried to retreat to her own mouth. Naked aggression, frustrated passion, pure rare erupted from Damon and into the kiss as he took control. Addie tried to fight back against him but that was difficult when he literally had her stuck in place. The taste of black cherry, orange and apricot lingered under the toffee element off his scotch but it was all mixed with the familiar taste of simple alcohol that she had grown to associate with him.
Addie let Damon's arm around her waist guide him to her, pulling him closer until she placed a knee on either side of his hip, straddling him. Her hands wandered freely over his silk skin, over the swell of his arms, pressing into the solid muscles of his chest, tracing the defining lines of his abs. She heard his breathing hitch as she traced a nail through the fine patch of hair that led from just below his navel to the top of his boxers.
Damon groaned desperately as his hands slipped under the band of the boxers she wore and over hot, satiny skin. Unable to resist, he gently squeezed at the globes filling his palms. Addie jerked back, fighting for air. Damon quickly relocated his hands to the small of her back, a guilty look on his face. He was confused to find her smiling. Even more baffling was when she pressed a reassuring kiss to his cheek before breaking into a fit of giggles. Blankly he stated, "I don't get it."
That made Addie giggle harder. Through her laughter she managed, "I don't get it either. That's the issue."
"What issue?"
"I don't understand the appeal of the buttocks," she explained, trying to sound extremely serious but failing miserably.
"Oh my god," Damon muttered as he leaned back against the headboard and looked up at the ceiling. He dragged a hand over his face as he was assaulted with terrible thoughts, each one worse than the last.
It was sobering to see and feel Damon's guards go up. She hadn't meant to offend or upset him. Though, his frustration was back in full force. She asked slightly defensively, "What?"
"It's a primal, animalistic thing, just like attraction to breast, hips and a small waist. They are all indicators that a woman is fertile. Perky and round was a good indicator in caveman days that she was young enough to bear children," he answered, hoping that would be enough to satisfy her curiousity.
That made sense for why guys were attracted but it still didn't explain why her sister and friends thought her boyfriend had a nice posterior. That hadn't been what she'd been asking about and he knew it, though. She frowned disapprovingly at him, "I meant what's wrong?"
Bitterly he answered, "The fact that you have to ask that is one of the many, many things wrong. You were right; we are screwed up."
"That's alright," Addie said quick and quiet. She felt her heart begin to race. She could see a defeated glint in his eye but mostly his expression was guarded. "I'll take screwed up over nothing."
"Do you know what it says about us that you break out laughing in the middle of making out because I felt your ass?" he remarked dryly. He was having a difficult time deciding if he was going to be more insulted by the slight it was to his makeout skills or if he was going to be more cerebral about it and consider what it said about Addie's maturity and their relationship. One was just stupid and not true, which made being upset about it a general nuisance and frustrating while the other made him challenge his morals.
Her face turned as red as her hair as she mumbled, "That's not why I laughed. I mean, it's not the first time you've done it."
"No but last time I distinctly remember you wearing some nice feeling boyshorts," Damon nodded. "Yeah, I definitely would have remembered grabbing your bare ass."
"No. No, that didn't bother me," Addie insisted sheepishly. "I… ugh," she groaned, burying her face in her hands in embarrassment.
His cool fingers delicately wrapped around her wrist as he tried to pull her hands away. Concerned he asked gently, "What? What did I do? You know I don't want to do anything if you're not ok talking about it"
She snorted humorlessly and muttered into her palms, "That's why it's called spying and not ogling."
"What are you talking about?"
Addie used one hand to covered her scarlet face and the other to gesture towards Damon's dresser as she explained, "When you were changing."
"Oh! You peaked," Damon chuckled in understanding. He didn't notice sitting up a little straighter or holding his shoulders back; he might have been a little please that he made her curious enough to look. "So? What you'd think?"
"I already told you," she grumbled, scowling at him through her eyelashes as she kept her head down. "I don't get the appeal. It's toned and firm, just like the rest of you. It supports you when you sit. At least your upper body muscles are involved in cuddling and what not; I have to say they have a greater appeal factor."
"I'm not hearing a bad so I'm gonna take that," he decided smugly.
"You're impossible. It's no wonder your ego is so huge."
Knowing that their relationship was as about as functional as it ever got, Damon allowed himself to revert to being angry, as he had been before Addie had so artfully tried to distract him. He strictly informed her, "I'm still pissed at you for giving away the stakes."
"I didn't give-"
"Trading them away. Whatever you want to call it. I'm still pissed at you about it."
"And you're not going to talk to me," Addie mimicked.
Damon shook his head. "No, that's rather pointless. You're too persistent."
Actually, he was just really bad at giving the silent treatment but Addie wasn't going to get nitpicky about how he conceded defeat. Realizing she was still straddling him, she went to move but his hand were still in the small of her back, pressing for her to stay where she was. She wasn't exactly sure what she wanted if he was upset with her.
"I know what you're thinking; I'm a hypocrite for being mad."
While the thought had crossed her mind for half a second, it wasn't what she was actively thinking about. However, if Damon could realize he was being ridiculous all on his own, she would be happy to watch. She raised her eyebrows, suggesting he continue.
"If I traded the stakes in exchange for you, you wouldn't be mad at me. In fact, I think you were a little upset when I said I wouldn't trade them back right away. I should just be grateful that you're more concerned about me than you are with seeking revenge on Klaus," he reasoned out, sounding like a reprimanded school boy.
"Yes, you should," Addie agreed gently, wrapping an arm around his neck. "So why can't you just be happy?"
"I'm trying, Ads," Damon lamented in exasperation. "Me not making you leave or going to another room, me talking to you even though I don't want to, me biting my tongue about what you did - for the most part, this is me trying not to be pissed off at you. This whole situation is very unusual for me."
Addie bit the inside of her lip to keep her face neutral instead of showing how she was annoyed. "Why is it so difficult? Why is it unusual?"
"What you did today, you put your life in danger for me. You put me before getting revenge on Klaus. You put me before everything. I'm not use to that," he admitted quietly, his sky blue eyes wide.
"Well, of course I did. That's what it means to love someone," she said gently, still not seeing the big deal.
"I know. I've just never had someone truly love me like you do. I've always had something selfish. I got to do whatever was necessary to protect the person I cared for without worrying about how they would feel because they didn't put me first. Katherine, Elena and Stefan definitely never put there life in danger for me so I've never known what it's like to be put first. It's a guilty feeling. I don't like it," Damon explained. The backs of his fingers grazed her cheek as he brought his forehead to rest against hers.
Addie's lips twitched as she said, "Guess you get why I didn't want you taking on those suicidal missions, even if you were putting me first."
"You mean something along the lines of 'what's the point in living if this person gets killed over me?' Yes, which means now I have to figure out how to protect you and myself at the same time, which is so much more complicated." he sighed contemplatively.
That might be a tad melodramatic but if it made Damon start giving mind to his own safety, it worked for her. Tersely she remarked, "You make being loved by me sound so awful."
Damon's eyebrows furrowed and his lips pulled into a frown as he studied her in confusion. He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and gave her a soft, chaste kiss and said, "That's the furthest thing from the truth. To know that you feel just as strongly as I do is…. It makes me concerned for you because I know how far I would go to make you happy and to keep you safe. I don't want you going to those lengths for me, and yet you did. While it makes me uncomfortable because of how much I love you, there's this selfish part of me that just can't help but feel elated knowing you return my feelings. I mean, I knew you loved me, I just didn't realize it was in the same way that I love you."
"You mean desperate and pathetic?" Addie inquired innocently, trying to lighten the mood. Yes, she loved him but he was making a big deal out of nothing. She hadn't really put her life in danger when dealing with Klaus. She didn't know she'd be facing danger when she tried to get the stake from Alaric, and she wasn't sure if she'd have still faced him to try and get the stake, told Klaus Alaric had it and she didn't know if he was sane, or if she would have lied about the number of stakes. Klaus seemed to have believed her easily enough when she hadn't included Stefan's.
One side of his mouth lifted into a smile as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "All love is desperate and pathetic. Not all love is 'the star to every wandering bark,/ whose worth's unknown.' You are my North star on a pitch black night guiding me home. Nothing and no one will ever compare to you. I love you, Ads."
Damon leaned in for a kiss but Addie pulled away, her lips twisted into a teasing grin. "You're impossible," she reprimanded. The playfulness in her tone almost completely masked the faint trace of annoyance. "You're moodier than me, and I happen to be an extremely moody person."
"So it's ok for you to be temperamental but not me?" he challenged.
"No," Addie exaggerated, as if that were the obvious answer. "At least I try to not be so mercurial. You seem to make a game of it and don whatever mood you see fitting."
"Love, you drive me ten types of crazy with your… Addie-ness. It's a miracle that I'm only capricious with you."
"Yes, I really should be throwing you a parade for not having killed me. If I was anyone else you would have," she smirked, rolling her eyes. She knew she wasn't the easiest person to put up with but Damon somehow managed to do better than simply tolerate her; he loved her. Of course she wasn't blind to the fact that he could be difficult to be with at times. They both had to make sacrifices.
"Well, I've never wanted to do that. It's other areas I've had to exercise self-control," he said provocatively. Addie squealed in surprised, her legs and arms automatically wrapping around Damon as he used his speed to move them so Addie was on her back, her head resting against a pillow.
"No vamp -" she started to whine before gasping. It felt like bubbles were forming in her stomaching and making their way out her body in giggles as Damon dragged a fingernail on each side of her bare waist. Once he had her attention he added more fingers, making the giggles come faster and harder. In between breaths she stammered, "S-st-stop it!" His fingers danced mirthlessly across her lower stomach."Please!"
Damon squeezed at her side, causing Addie to bare her neck to him. She had turned red as she struggled to catch her breath; he wondered just how far down that blush went. He hummed in mock consideration as he let his five o'clock shadow tickle the flushed, sensitive skin. He pinched at either side of her waist and her chest arched up into his as she squeaked. He gave a dark chuckle and nipped at her earlobe. He eased up on the tickling as he decided, "I don't think so. It's definitely been a long day and you have definitely driven me to a new level of crazy. My self-control just isn't as impeccable as usual."
Addie hesitated, biting her lip. Now she realized why damon had stopped his assault; to give her a chance to back out. Was that what she wanted? Her fingers glided across his skin as she tried to get him back. When she reached the hem of his boxers she pouted, "It's not fair that you're not ticklish."
"I've never claimed to play fair," Damon grinned deviously.
Her fingers dug into the back of his neck, where his soft, dark locks curled against the skin as Damon gave her a hard kiss. His fingers gently stroked at her side, making her giggle. He took advantage of this and deepened the kiss. She was torn between laughing and moaning as he bit at her bottom lip. He snickered as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, softly nibbling where her neck and shoulder met. A sharp tug to his hair made him groan but he didn't pull away as she was holding him to her still. Damon's fingers had resumed frantically moving between her lower ribs and the hem of the boxers she wore, occasionally he would move to her lower abs and that brought on a new level of torture.
Addie screwed her eyes shut as she tried to make out the sensation overload. Tickling always felt like a can of fizzy pop exploding inside of her and her laughter was the bubbles overflowing. It was such a contrast to the ecstasy he was creating with his lip, teeth, and tongue working at her neck. Both left her gasping for air and left a fluttering feeling in her chest. Addie tried to form a coherent thought but it was useless; Damon had complete control over her.
While he expected her to whimper, gasp, moan and wiggle incessantly, Damon quickly ceased his ministrations when she gave a soft, strangled cry. She smiled, gulping down air as she tighten her arms and legs, pulling him closer to her. While he had complete control, he had enough control of himself to stop at even the slightest hesitation displayed on her part.
She raked her nails down his back; he managed to contain his groan to a grunt and a bite of his lip. He still wasn't sure if something was wrong. Using his hair, Addie pulled him in for a rough kiss, pleading, "Don't stop."
It was only a moment before Damon took control back, biting at her lower lip until she shuddered, nipping at the corner of her mouth, kissing along her jawbone to suck at the pulse point at her throat, swallowing her racing heartbeat. From the way her waist burned, just like her neck under his cool lips, he was betting that her entire upper body was flushed from a mixture of arousal and laughing. He gave light, teasing strokes as he slowwly rucked up her shirt. He went slow in case she wanted to stop him but Addie only giggled softly and arched her stomach up to meet his. He stop moving her shirt when he reached her breast but for the first time, he let his fingers wander further up her sides. She stopped laughing. Apparently she wasn't ticklish there. That was good to know but Damon decided he needed to be really certain. His fingers brushed the sides of her breast as his fingers ghosted the area repeatedly.
"Breathe," he reminded as he tended to a spot just below her ear. Addie let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding with a nervous titter. Damon rested his hands on stomach, a safe-zone, and played with the sun and moon that dangled from her bellybutton piercing as he checked, "You okay? You want me to stop?"
Addie hesitated, "That's a lot easier to give a monosyllabic answer to when the questions are both answered with the same way. I feel like a monosyllabic response is much more appropriate to the situation than a long complex answer."
Damon chuckled, "I love you. That's still not an answer; it just tells me the answer to one is 'yes' and the other is 'no.' I still need to know what goes with what to know how to proceed."
While Damon hadn't thought it possible, Addie turned even redder and mumbled, "I already told you not to stop."
That worked for him. Damon rested his forehead against hers and pressed a lingering kiss to her mouth. Her lips parted under his, and suddenly everything was all sweet, dark het and Addie's lips brushing over his, first teasing, then harder. He groaned softly as his hands followed the curves of her hips to under his lucky boxers. Screw it. He was done trying to deny the truth. He respected Addie as her own individual person with her own mind as he had respected no other woman; but he was still extremely selfish. He was possessive of his girlfriend; the sight of her in his clothes was arousing. Knowing she wore only his clothes was his undoing.
His fingers traced the curve of her hips and the dip of her waist with the perfect amount of pressure to make her squirm and whimper beneath him without laughing. His own breathing grew ragged as she pushed her hips into his. He tried to keep Addie's lips on his, he didn't want her distracted, but a sharp tug to his hair told him she wasn't giving up until she got what she wanted: his neck. He succumbed when she bit sharply. Damon growled, pressing their bodies more firmly together. Where their skin met it was like ice and fire. Whether she was becoming more confident or more comfortable with him, he wasn't sure but she seemed to be begging to understanding that he was a vampire and wouldn't be hurt.
As she took his earlobe between her teeth, he became very convinced that it was important that he find out if the top of her stomach was as ticklish as the lower part. Goosebumps prickled Addie's skin as he ghosted over it but she didn't laugh. His fingers dipped under where his shirt stopped, skimming the bottoms of her breast. Addie inhaled sharply and Damon froze. When she let out a shallow breath, he continued brushing the skin as soft as silk. While the top of her stomach and upper sides weren't ticklish on their own, he had to double check that they weren't ticklish if touched at the same time.
His thumbs cupped her breath as his fingers traced around to the sides. Addie whimpered wantonly. Damon was touching her but not really. He never truly touched her breast; his fingers were just stroking, teasing were they swelled out. Damon smirked when she buried her face into the crook of his neck and moaned, digging her nails into his back.
Innocently he asked, "Something wrong?"
"No," she whined. It wasn't fair. Damon was supposed to be the one with the one track mind; she was supposed to be teasing him.
His hands occupied, Damon used his chin to encourage Addie to look at him. Through dark lashes eyes dark with lust and desire peered up at him. She felt heat coiling in her stomach as he gave her a carnal smile. Their lips crashed together with a force that sent a shock of pleasure-pain through her. It was a hard, hot driving kiss, a nip at his lower lip and the battle of tongues and teeth, both of them pressing as hard as they could to get close. Addie rolled her hips into his.
Damon let out a strangled groan. God, she was hot, so hot. And just in his boxers. Though he pressed himself back into her, he gently stroked at the edges of her breast, reminding himself to not get distracted. That was difficult with Addie grinding against him. The smell of her arousal was heady. Her hands left his skin ablaze everywhere she touched. It took Addie trying to wiggle her hips lower over his and create a whole new level of friction for him to realize things were going too far. Without warning his hands shot to her arms, his fingers taunting her ruthlessly.
It might have been the loudest sound in the world right in his ear but the hilarity of Addie's shrill shriek of of surprise was worth the momentary discomfort. "Damon!"
Damon laughed so hard that he made no sound. Scowling, she pushed him off her and he easily toppled over onto his back. There wasn't a break in his silent laughter until there was a pounding at the door seconds later.
"Oh, my god. That was priceless," chuckled Damon as he made to answer the door. Sharply he said, "What?"
"What?" Elena snapped. "I heard my sister screaming bloody murder!"
Addie groaned and pulled the blanket over her face; the last thing she wanted was Elena getting involved in what had just been happening. Or anything else between her and Damon.
Damon made an obvious point of waiting for Elena to elaborate. "Is that all? You automatically assume I hurt her or something? I would never do that! She's perfectly fine."
"No, the fact that she cried out after hurting you crossed my mind. I mean, really it's a surprise that one of you hasn't already killed the other," Elena admitted.
"Nope, we just scream when we're perfectly fine. Bye-bye, now," he retorted snidely, making to close the door.
"While I have you," Elena interjected, pushing on the door to keep it open, "there's something you should know about Klaus."
"No, there isn't. There is nothing about the Originals that can't wait until tomorrow. This is my time with my girl. They don't get to interrupt that. Neither do you. Good night," Damon insisted, closing the door in her face.
As Damon returned to bed, Addie gave a mocking gasp, "Elena might have needed to tell you Klaus was dead!"
"He'll still be dead tomorrow."
"She might have had a foolproof way to kill him!"
"It will likely still work tomorrow. If it's a one night only kind of deal, I'll just find another way to kill him."
She exhaled dramatically and stared up at the ceiling. Stretched out next to her, Damon prodded her in the side, making her squirm and swat at his hand. Sternly she warned, "Don't be a tease and start things you don't intend to finish."
"Sorry. Why are you all smiley?"
"You put me before your Klaus obsession," she said in a small voice, her face a shade of crimson.
Damon felt his gut wrenching in guilt. Addie never should have felt like he put Klaus before her. The fact that he'd put her face definitely shouldn't surprise or embarrass her so much into blushing. He shrugged nonchalantly and said coolly, "Yeah, well, I have this really smart girlfriend who reminded me that my priorities weren't exactly in the right order. I've done a little reevaluating since then"
"Sounds like a special girl."
"You are," Damon grinned. His lips brushed softly against hers as his fingers trailed along her jaw.
Intertwining her fingers with his, Addie whispered, "I have to admit that I'm surprised."
He chuckled, "You were very surprised."
"I'm not talking about you being a teasing bastard," she grumbled, almost pouting. "I'm just… Based on everything that's gone on, I didn't expect to end up making out with you."
"You expected me to be more pissed off," he finished for her, nodding in understanding. "I'm angry, Addie, but the only anger I feel I can rationalize towards you without feeling like a hypocrite involves Ric."
Sheepishly, Addie admitted, "Yeah, I kinda expected you to be in a maniacal rage over him."
"I had two major problems: my girlfriend and her involvement with Klaus and my psychotic, serial killing best friend. If I chose to be upset over both, I knew I'd do some things you'd never forgive me for. So I picked the problem more important to me. Alaric is an issue for another day," Damon explained.
While Addie view this as a positive sign, a sign that Damon would be extremely reasonable about Alaric, it was really a lie he did not feel guilty telling. He had worked out his anger issues with Alaric in the shower. It sucked but he was going to have to kill his best friend. There were no second thoughts or feelings of guilt associated with his decision. He'd miss his friend but he was a threat to his girlfriend. Any threat to Addie would be eliminated. He would kill Alaric.
A/N: Here's a little fluff piece because we all know our favorite couple needs a break, even if just for a little bit. Sorry it's a little short but this is where it felt like the natural break would be or the next chapter wouldn't be up for six weeks. And for those of you asking and wondering, this is as smutty as Damon and Addie are getting in Hostage Control.
Thank you guys so much for your reviews and comments! They make my day so much brighter and definitely inspire me to keep writing, which means faster chapters ;)
P.S. it's about that time of year when I start looking at new projects. How many of you would like to see this story continue into season four in Resist Control? Brief summary - a sire bond like we've never seen involving four people for the first arc, second arc we figure out just what makes Addie so unique when it comes to vampires, third arc is still a bit of a toss up but we know why Klaus is trying to actively use her - if he still can. Or I could end it here with either a happy, unknown or tragic ending... I'd really like your guy's feed backs. Even if you're not done reading, stop and take a second to respond to this lol. This is for you guys so I want to know what y'all want.