Damon clearly was madly in love with Bonnie. Emphasis on the mad because he was about to face the ultimate fire breathing dragon, the final boss of all final bosses.

Okay, maybe he was being a little dramatic, Caroline wasn't that bad…mostly.

After his first restful sleep in a long time, he'd received a call from her saying that she had opened Bonnie's mail, to which he helpfully interjected was a federal crime, and she'd seen what he'd done with the deed. She told him he better get his butt to their dorm right now, Bonnie wasn't there, if he wanted a chance in hell in getting back with her best friend. He hadn't asked anything more, he'd just quickly said yes and had gotten ready to got meet up with her.

He was about to knock on the door when it flew open and he was grabbed inside.

"You. Are. An. Idiot."

"Did you just call me here to insult me? I thought we were becoming friendly-er." He mocked.

"Oh there is a lot I called you for but first. I need to make sure we're on the same page here. You love Bonnie, you're in love with her and she is the one for you and you know that, right?"

"Wha- Of course!? Why do you think I've been making an ass out of myself for the last two weeks? To let Bonnie know we're still besties?"

"Okay, don't bit my head off I just wanna make sure, because the Elena of it all could be a complicating factor."

"As far as I'm concerned there is no Elena factor." The snark had gone out of his voice and his tone was dismissive, with a touch of irritation. "I'm tired of people thinking I have some kind of pavlov response to her and that what I feel for Bonnie is not important or stronger than anything I've ever felt for Elena. I won't deny that I had feelings for her but a lot of it was both of us being lost in a delusion and using each other to justify it. I love Bonnie, I choose Bonnie, it will always be Bonnie." Caroline looked relieved, if a little sheepish to have brought Elena up. And Damon couldn't completely blame her, as annoyed as he was with it. He was aware that his track record involved being obsessed with Katherine for more than 150 years and then directing his focus on her doppelgänger. Still, he grumbled internally, let a guy move on in peace.

"Right," she said awkwardly "well, good. Now let's figure out how you stop being so freaking ineffective in getting Bonnie back because you are both clueless and it's giving me heartburn. She still doesn't even truly believe that you're absolutely in love with her and she's it for you"

"You're a vampire, you can't get heartburn." He deadpanned.

"So not the point," she huffed, "the point is you two need to get it together. And since you're the more self aware one, I'm starting with you." He sighed, this was going to take a while, he could feel it. He gestured for her to go on.

"Okay, first things first, you're going to send Bonnie a message asking her to talk. I've already been working her up to talking to to you anyway so she should be a bit more open to it."

He took his phone out and sent Bonnie some messages, with some addendums from Caroline, asking her to meet up. He could see each individual paragraph had been read except the last one. That made him a little nervous but he would wait.

"Okay, while we wait for her to answer, let's get to the second part. You need to explain exactly what happened with Elena because that's really what started all of this. Then, you are going to tell her, without frills or dramatic that you are and always have been serious about your relationship."

"I can do that." He said without hesitation and then frowned, "What do you mean dramatic and frills?"

"I mean, none of that crazy, intense eyed shit I've seen you pull before. I know it's been better with Bonnie and you've been less obsessed with proving yourself but Bonnie doesn't react well to being emotionally overwhelmed. When you tell her how you feel, don't make her feel like you expect something in return or even any reaction at all. Let her know you just want her to understand how you feel and to have the right idea about what you want out of a relationship with her. Let her feel that it will go at the pace she is comfortable with and you are here for her, with her. Avoid being too grand or intense about your declaration, okay. Being with Jeremy was all drama and I think she wants something more grounded. You being sure and steady about your feelings, that will convince her way more to really look at whatever potential you guys have." He was a little disgruntled. Yes, he could be more subtle and subdued in his love language, and in fact did express some of his deepest forms of affection on the down low, but he did have trouble not being overbearing. Granted, he toned it down with Bonnie because would literally light his ass up if he got too much but still…he groaned.

"Okay, got it. No 'intense' declarations. What else, Professor?"

"We have to talk about the whole deed thing. Get it changed so the place is in both of your names and bring her key with you when you guys meet. Give it back to her and let her know that it's a space for you both. Just like your relationship should be carried by both of you. There is a difference between putting the ball in her court and making her the referee, it should all be give and take. I know you want to take care of her and give her everything she needs but one of those needs is knowing how to take care of you. Actually, I'm pretty sure that's one of the reasons she didn't feel like you guys were really serious because you kind of continued to treat her like you had when she first got back and needed that coddling and extra care. From her end, and I'm just guessing here, it might have looked like there was this void in your life and because you've more of less functioned with having this one person you pour your whole self into, you just transferred what you would have done with Elena onto her because you were already obsessively taking care of her anyway." She sighed, but it was laced with sympathy, "Damon, I know you love to take care of her, and in some way, it's a point of pride that she'll let you care for her and spoil her and indulge her when she's so freely giving of herself to others but you guys need to be equals. And her being giving and generous is not a bad thing. Yes, we abused it and we should never have, but it doesn't mean it's a bad thing, and it doesn't mean she is ignoring her own needs. It only became a problem because we didn't appreciate and return the favour. And you know that's not a problem with you. So have more faith in yourself, more importantly, have more faith in her." Damon truly had seen it all, Caroline was giving him a pep talk. And even though he wanted to pretend it was unneeded, he really, really needed to hear those words.

"You're right. Thank you Caroline." His voice was thick with what he still did not have the guts to say outloud. She looked a little shocked to hear his gratitude so plainly expressed. He cleared his throat and continued, aa little embarrassed but well, while they were at it he might as well just say it all "Bonnie is lucky to have you as a friend, and I'm happy she has you to count on." She flushed a little with pride. Lately, the quickest way to Caroline's good graces was mentioning what a good friend she was to Bonnie. She replied modestly

"Well, I do what I can. She's my best friend and she deserves all the happiness in the world and for whatever reason, I believe you're a key piece of that." She tried to downplay the sincerity of her words but it was obvious she meant it. This was odd, him and Caroline might just be becoming friends-ish? He nodded. "Anyway, that's pretty much my whole spiel. Now, skedaddle. I'm planning a date with Stefan."

He said nothing to that and headed to the door. As he was about to leave, he turned and said "And by the way, Bonnie isn't the only one lucky to have you in her life. Stefan is a lucky guy and I can't thank you enough for making my baby bro happy." It was said in complete earnestness. Caroline turned towards him, shocked for a moment, and then beamed wordlessly. He smiled back and went out. He needed to restock his blood supplies and maybe get some flowers or something.

Later, as he got out of the shower, his phone alerted him of a new message.

Bonnie ️ :

Hey!

Sorry I didn't reply sooner.

I ran into Elena and Jeremy

and we all had dinner with

Matt and Tyler.

Anyway, yeah we should talk.

Meet me tomorrow at like 11

in front of the town barrier.

Hey, It's okay. Hope you had a good time.

Of course, I'll be there.

See you tomorrow.

Love you.

He grimaced, was the 'love you' too much? Caroline did say to be less…intense. But that was how he felt and he couldn't take the text back anyway so he'd just see how she would reply. He looked at the screen, the 'typing' dots appearing again:

See you tomorrow.

He would take it. At least she would talk to him. Now all he could do was wait.

They met the next day at the border of the town. He had arrived a little earlier, he was nervous and wanted to take some deep breaths before their talk.

She'd arrived in that cute tiny car of hers at 11 on the dot. He stood straighter, getting off the hood of his car. She had slowly gotten out and when they eyes met, they both smiled. It was almost automatic. Amidst the messiness of the past two weeks, it hadn't hit him how much time he was used to them spending together, and how unsettling it was not to see each other. He was certainly feeling relief at finally seeing her face to face. Maybe it was just his wishful thinking, but it seemed like she was too.

"Hi" she said, and god was it good to hear her voice.

"Hi" he replied simply. Not sure who should get started proper, not sure how.

"Um, so this might be a little weird but" she stepped closer and "can I? Do something to your daylight ring?"

"O-okay, sure. Anything!" This was going in a weird direction he hadn't predicted.

"Thanks." She took his hand is hers, and whispered some words, he couldn't tell what language it was though, and the ring glowed just for second. She smiled, looking satisfied. And pulled at his hand to urge him past her car. "Come on, I have found a way to be able to preserve magic while in the town limits." He didn't know if it was because he was so happy to have physical contact again that he'd follow her anywhere or if it was blind trust but he ket himself be pulled…and released a gasp when he went past the part where he had clearly remembered reliving his death and this time, nothing of the sort happened.

"Bonnie you did it!" He enthused, and they wore matching grin as they realised what a feat she had just accomplished. In his joy- and pride, he picked her up and swung her around.

"Damon! Put me down" She laughed. After he let her on she caught her breath, she said "Come on, let's go to Grams', I made us brunch."

She got into her car and he followed her, still marvelling at the fact that he could.

They arrived at Sheila's house, and got in. He helped Bonnie with what little there was left to set up. She had planned a little picnic in the green house, on a cute little garden table was an assortment of salty and sweet, and each of the plates had the vampire pancakes he loved to make, just to see her mouth twitch and a little humoured eye-roll. He was…Bonnie had taken steps to make this welcoming for him. Whatever she thought he had to tell her, she was willing to hear him out and wanted him to be at ease while he explained himself. She was taking care of him in a small way. He felt his heart swell. God, he loved her so much, and every little thing she did made him love her even more.

"Come on, the pancakes are getting cold. I know you're very high maintenance when it comes to pancakes." She jokes, breaking him out of his emotional contemplation.

"Well you know Bonnie, if a man can't get decent pancakes, what has the world come to?" She snickered and gestured him to take a seat as she did the same.

"Damon" she started right away "I want to hear you out completely. I have let everyone else explain themselves and I owe it to both of us to let you tell me what you've been needing to tell me." She looked sincere, and a little apologetic. He swallowed thickly.

"Can we just enjoy this first? Unless you have somewhere to be soon. Just for a little, I wanna have a good time like we haven't had a while." He pleaded. Her face softened and she nodded.

"Of course." She brightened up, "Let's enjoy this. What do you want to talk about?"

"Well, first witchy, I need to know how the hell you managed this" he gestured to indicate him being able to come into town "and the parameters of it. Like, I guess I need to have my ring on for it to work but I'm intrigued." That was clearly the right place to start because she nodded enthusiastically.

"Actually, I got this idea from one of the grimoires my mom gave me. It's amazing, Damon, and not just for this-" She went on, talking animatedly as he listened fondly to her nerdily ramble about magic. They spent the rest of the meal catching up, not just on the past two weeks, but on the time before that, when the distance had started to form and it was only now they were realising how much they had missed each other's presence.

They finished eating, cleaned up, which took up some time because they kept messing around. It was like they were delaying the serious talk, worried about its outcome.

They finally settled down to talk. Damon cleared his throat to talk.

"Well, I guess I should start then." He sighed deeply, "I'm not really where to start to be honest."

"Um, that's okay, why don't you start with what was going on the night I got back and why you were so angry at me when I told you I was okay with you and Elena getting back together? And why you acted like being my friend was an insult?"

"Sure, the first two are pretty straightforward, so I'll start with those."

"That's fine, whatever works better for you."

"Okay. Well, I guess I should start with what you walked in on. While you have been spending time with your mom, I have been helping Elena with getting her memories back. We had a few sessions, with me giving her more details of events that I was part of that her new memories omitted, she was getting frustrated, and so I was to be honest and then one day she kissed me. I didn't kiss her back and told her I wasn't comfortable continuing to help her if it was creating some kind of misunderstanding on her part. She obviously was embarrassed, and I was feeling sympathy for that. We didn't talk until the night you got back and she caught me as I was getting back from Alaric's, I assumed to apologize, and I told her I would have to tell you what happened because it wasn't right to hide it from you. She looked so mortified, I just gave her a hug to let her know it was okay, and you walked in. She left and when I was about to explain what happened, you said what you said, and, I lost it. I'm not proud of it but I lost it." Their eyes met, his still carrying some of the fire that had ignited them during their argument. She let out a short breath that was almost a gasp.

"I'm so sorry about assuming what you wanted Damon. I understand that it must have been so frustrating for you. I should have let you explain yourself. I should ha-" he cut her off.

"You should have believed and trusted that I loved you enough to be respectful of our relationship, even if you were right about me wanting to go back to Elena."

"I know, I'm sorry about that. I did trust you, that's why I was disappointed and got mad when I thought you were trying bullshit me."

"But the real issue Bonnie is that you didn't believe me when I told you I loved you in the first place!" He said, his voice a little loud, tinted with anger and a little resentment. "Even if you trusted me to not go behind your back, you still expected me to leave you behind at some point. You didn't take any of the hundreds, thousands of times I told you I loved you, that you were the one for me and I wanted to spend the rest of whatever time we had together with you. How was I supposed to react when you offered just friendship to replace what I had with you. Or I guess it's more like what I thought I had with you."

"I'm so sorry." Bonnie whispered, eyes shining with yet to be shed tears.

"I just…" he took a deep calming breath "I don't understand. I don't understand why you thought that I was just keeping you around because? I don't know, you thought I just needed quick relief? Or was lonely? Or what?" She stayed silent, looking contrite.

"Bonnie, I am not even really blaming you, but I'm real confused here. Even if you started the relationship thinking it was just that, how did you stay with me for almost a year thinking one day I would just up and leave you. I mean, what did you feel for me that made you start the relationship then?" She looked troubled, he continued, "Because, honestly, yeah I didn't always have a clue that I was in love with you. We were always in each others' space anyway and while we didn't cross a certain line until we were officially dating, in some ways even when we were friends, it was already the most intimate relationship I had ever had. I don't even know when I fell in love with you. I just looked at you one day and realized that I didn't just want to see you happy, safe and loved. I wanted to be the one doing that for you. I wanted to be the one to meet all your needs. I wanted to kiss you, be with you in closer, more intimate way, I wanted to be yours and for you to be mine. That's why I kissed you in that ferris wheel, because I couldn't keep those feelings in anymore. I tried to fight it, I didn't want to lose what we had but I also couldn't stop myself from wanting more." He paused, maybe expecting her to say something? He himself didn't know. When she stayed mum, he continued, "But now, I'm wondering, and I never thought about it since I was overwhelmed by my own feelings, why did you kiss me back? Did you think this was just some extension of our established relationship at the time? I need to know where your head was at."

"I-" she swallowed thickly, prompted by the direct probe into her rationale, "I honestly can't give you a straight answer. I was still so shaken and unsteady at that time, and you were my anchor in the storm. I kind of, this sounds really bad, but I kinda went along with it because, it felt good. You felt good and getting your affection and attention in that way made me happy. It was more in the plus column of my life and I needed some of that. I just didn't think any deeper than it was probably also what you needed after you came back and your girlfriend erased you from her mind. And when I finally fully resurfaced from the trauma, we were good, I was happy, you seemed happy and I thought, well even if it isn't going to last, it is nice, and I'll just enjoy it while it lasts." She looked very contrite. "I'm so sorry, I'm just now realizing that I was basically using you. I assumed that since the break from Elena wasn't clean, it wasn't resolved, that you were finding comfort in our relationship until it did get resolved. And you've been intimate with your female friends before without it getting too serious so it didn't seem that weird to be . If I had known your feelings were so much deeper, I would have been much more careful, and more thoughtful."

"I'm kinda glad about that actually." She looked surprised and he explained, "Well, first of all, I'm glad you did something because it was good for your sake instead of denying yourself. And if you might not have dated me out of concern for my heart, I'm glad you did because at least you know what dating me is like. Now that you have all the facts though, I want you to think about dating me seriously." She looked slightly panic at that. He added "This is not an ultimatum Bonnie. I know I acted like an ass when you proposed to stay friends afterwards, but I love you too much to not have you in my life. And I would hope that you never doubt I love you, even if it's in a different way than you understood."

"I love you too. I'm not really sure if it's in the way you want me to, but I need you to know that I love you Damon. You're my best friend and I can't, don't want to, imagine my life without you in it. I just-" she stopped hesitantly "I need to rethink us a little. I hope that's okay?" He nodded, wanting to reassure her.

"I understand this will take some using to on your side. Whether you can return my feelings or not, this wasn't what you thought you were signing up for. So take some time to really consider this." She seemed to want to object, he was sure she didn't want to leave him twisting in the wind. "No, I really mean it, I don't mind waiting for you, I love you and I want you to have come to terms with everything when you make your final decision." She nodded. "And whatever time you need is whatever time you need. You don't have any sort of deadline. A day, a week, a month…" She raised her eyebrow at that, "Okay, I'm not going to lie I'd really rather you didn't take a month but if it's what you need, I don't mind. Okay?"

"Okay" she replied.

"Okay" he echoed, looking around awkwardly, he should probably leave now right? Give her space and all that? As he turned, making to leave she called out.

"Damon?" She said in a small voice, "I know you want to give me time but… would you stay a little longer with me." She looked hesitant, as if she was asking too much, but added, almost whispering as if she was making a confession "I really missed you."

His heart swelled a little and he smiled adoringly, as he moved towards her, caressing her cheek once they got close "Of course, there is no where else I'd rather be."

She fell into his arms, initiating a deep hug. He hugged her back tightly, sighing with happiness from having her back in his arms, he said "I really missed you too" as he took deep breath saturated with her scent.

They stayed like this for a while before moving to settle on the couch. She was so still and silent, her breath and heart so calm and regular, he thought she fell asleep. He marvelled in having her trust in him so completely, and let his thoughts wander into hopeful musings. She then interrupted his thoughts with a question.

"Damon," she said softly, voice muffled by his chest as they kept hugging, "thank you for explaining yourself to me. And, again, I am sorry for not taking your feelings and our relationship seriously. But even before this whole thing, I could feel there was a little distance from you and honestly, only the fact that I thought you were getting back with Elena was explaining that."

He was startled, he hadn't realised she had somehow picked up on some of his rising issues.

"The truth is? I was nervous about you spending so much more time with your mom."

"What?" Clearly, that was not what Bonnie had expected. "What does my mom have to do with this?"

"Well, I guess saying that is simplifying it a little bit. Let's just say that it was the catalyst?" He said tentatively. "For the restlessness I've been feeling sort of turning into a bigger worry? It had been going so well with us, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. You kept reassuring me I was just fine as I was, so I would relax but then I would think of another way I could be lacking, of another way that could at some point give you a reason to be dissatisfied with our relationship," realising that she might find a way to take this on to her, he hurried to assure her, "and there was nothing you could have done to make me feel adequate Bonnie, that was all on me. I was having some trouble breaking these real unhealthy habits I have formed so long ago. Before even Katherine if I'm being honest."

Bonnie looked up at him, frowning sadly and cupped his face tenderly.

"Damon, I know you just said it's not about what I say, but I know who you are, I've always known who you are and I've come to love who you are. You don't need to change, for me or anybody. You've never needed to, you just needed to be true to who you really are. You know that, right?"

Even though he had vowed already that his growth was for himself and not to somehow "earn" Bonnie, these words loosened the last knot in his stomach he wasn't aware was still there. She was right, it was about just being himself, not whatever version he thought he should be. He was so lucky to have Bonnie in his life.

"I know. Bonnie."

They spent a few hours just being in the same space, her reading a grimoire and him lazily browsing through recipes online. He went back to their apartment once the sky started to get darker, after giving her the key which she accepted at least for the time being. After he left, she realised this had been the happiest half day she'd spent in the last two weeks.

"Bonnie, you know you're in love with Damon right?" Caroline's tone conveyed so obviously her exasperation. Damon had gone home a few hours ago, leaving her with a feeling of longing. Once she made space for missing him, she could feel how much emptier the space felt in his absence. Caroline had called her once she and Stefan got back fro their date.

"Yes, Caroline, I love him, I have never denied that. To him or anybody."

"Bonnie. Sheila. Bennett." She hissed aggressively, Bonnie was suddenly very glad she was behind the town barrier, because she could tell Caroline would like nothing best than to physically shake her meaning into her. "You are not listening to me. You. Are. In. Love. With. Damon. As in, romantically, in love. As in, want to spend the rest of your days together forever, in love. As in want to have his creepily intense blue eyed babies, in love. And yes, the last bit isn't possible but what I'm saying - the point is, you're in love with him. You have been for a while and he has been head over heels in love with you for a very long time so put us all out of our misery and get with your man already. You really think your reaction to everything and your relief that he didn't actually cheat on you is just about trust in general and not your feelings for him in particular? Come on!"

"I-"

"Okay. Let's do some exercise here. Removing Elena from the equation, because there is no way that would be not only be awful but just weird at this point, imagine Damon moving on to someone else and being happy with that person, what do you feel?"

Bonnie thought about it. Imagined Damon flipping pancakes and serving them to some nameless, faceless girl she couldn't even properly visualise, then imagined overhearing his secret little laughs he let out when they were snakily whispering back and forth, cracking each other up, but it was with another girl. Or him humming someone else to sleep during thunderstorms. Or him kissing her softly and thoroughly, like he had all the time in the world and what savour every instant he had with her, holding her so preciously like he did with Bonnie. She hated it. She felt so sad about it. She felt envious of that hypothetical girl, felt sad because she knew that Damon belonged with her. Oh God.

"Oh my god, Caroline. I'm in love with Damon."

"Finally!", the blonde responded "You guys have been driving me up the wall. It was so obvious and I couldn't take it anymore!"

"Thank you Care" Bonnie replied amused but with a soft voice, her friend truly was amazing, as she was filled with fondness for the hyper vampire. "You're the best friend anyone could ask for." Caroline squealed in happiness, which she then tried hard to mask with teasing.

"And don't you forget it! And now get off the phone and go get your guy and put him out of his misery so he can release my boyfriend and I can finally have some nice couple time. I swear we've been spending way too much time focusing on you two idiots." She huffed in jest, clearly happy to have gotten through to her friend and Bonnie knew she was probably elated to be recognised as the awesome friend she was. For all the progress she had made, Care still sometimes needed reassurance within her relationships. That was why she and Stefan worked so well, he was infinitely patient with her and actually much preferred having a girlfriend he needed to reassure of his genuine love every so often over one who took his affections for granted. "Ooh, I need to go lingerie shopping! Anyway, toodles Bon. Let me know how everything goes. Love you and I'm proud of you, mwah." She hung up.

Bonnie was carefully going over what she and Damon had talked about, what she and Elena had talked about before that, and the conversation she just had with Caroline. From what she gathered, Bonnie was basically the last person on earth to realise Damon was in love with her. Like, really in love with her. She was still a little bit stunned. How much has been going past her notice if she didn't realise what everyone seemed to think was a given. She felt a little shaky, and she took a deep breath. What was even more unsettling was that she also might be the last person to realise she was in love with Damon. Well, except Damon maybe, but he'd already thought they were mutually in love, and only her reaction to the misunderstanding had derailed that thought. She bit her lip, deep in thought. She was actually surprised how little it changed how she felt to realise she was in love with Damon. She couldn't believe she was so blind for so long. Now that she thought about it, what the hell did she think her feelings for Damon were? She certainly didn't feel about him the way she felt about Caroline! Like she'd told Damon, the fact that their bond was forged in that hellhole, and she clung to him so desperately after getting back, she didn't have the emotional tools to really figure out how she really felt. And she was woman enough to admit that once she was more present and evaluated their relationship, she anticipated their eventual break up by cutting herself off emotionally first. Because she had been so out of it that not only did she miss her own feelings, she definitely did not get the correct read on Damon's. She felt bad about that, in fact, she felt downright shitty. She hadn't taken his actions seriously, had basically decided she knew better than he did what he wanted and needed for himself. It hurt her to think she could do something that hurtful to someone she loved. She was so glad, and lucky, he was giving her a second chance. A second chance to fully explore and experience a loving relationship where she was secure in her position in the relationship, in her partner's commitment. Just thinking about him, about being with him for however long they had together, going on adventures, building a life together filled her heart with warmth.

Wow, she was in love with Damon Salvatore. And she was going to let him know as soon as possible. She didn't want to leave him hanging any longer than she had. She quickly grabbed her keys and headed for her car.

"Hey" She greeted him at the door timidly, hesitation setting in now she realised how suddenly she had rushed over.

"Hey!"

"Can I come in?"

"Of course! Come on in."

"Alright." She followed him inside, full of trepidation. Could he tell how jittery she was?

"Okay" she started as they reached their open kitchen and he headed to get her something to drink. "I'll just get this out right now because I feel like I'm about to burst!" She looked up into his eyes, she wanted to make sure he could see the truth in her eyes, feel the reality of her feelings for him.

"Damon, I love you." She confessed, "I'm in love with you. I want to be with you forever too, I want to spend time together doing nothing, or doing all those super cliché couple-y things you clearly love even if you pretend not to. You've been so good to me, and I wanna be good to you too." She inhaled quickly before continuing, "I didn't realise how much I needed to have you in my life until you were already huge part of it. These months stuck in that afterlife…Even from the beginning I knew you were one of the best people to be there with, because even if we didn't necessarily get along, we got each other. And even in life, you've always been the one to help me, save me. You were my saving grace during those months there. Then we started getting to really know each other, you opened up, and so did I and before I knew it, you were my best friend and someone I couldn't imagine not seeing everyday. You-" her voice shook a little from remembering the painful experience, "you have no idea what it cost me to send you back without me. I had no idea at the time. I was just doing what I always did for my friends, helping them even if it killed me. But once you were gone, I wasn't just feeling lonely- I got used to loneliness as a child- I missed you. And the entire time I was there, I knew you would come to save me. I held on, because of the hope and faith I had in you." She lowered her eyes in guilt, "You've proven so many times that I can trust you and believe you and still, I didn't give you the trust you deserved and earned a long time ago. I love you so much and I have no idea when I fell in love with you. I think I just ignored it because if I faced my feelings for you and then we were over, I wouldn't be able to be strong, or stoic like I was with Jeremy. I would be devastated, and I wouldn't be able to just stay your friend, even if I pretended to. I couldn't feel this way because otherwise, the end of us would be me losing you either way. I could not bear that. And now that I know how I love you, I can't imagine not wanting to be with you, and I know you want to be with me too, and I feel terrible because I don't know what I would do if I had felt like this for so long and then you just…left me or told me it was never like that for you. Just thinking about it breaks my heart and I did that to you and I know I probably don't deserve this chance but I'm being selfish and taking it because you offered it. But I swear, I will never take you for granted ever again. I'll never take us for granted and I'll be a better communicator, I'll be more active and I'll fully appreciate your love and devotion to me because it's the most precious gift and- I love you. I've loved you before I realized what love really truly is and all I want is to share with this amazing feeling with you." She finally stopped, almost out of breath for going on for so long. Actually, she felt a little embarrassed because it sort of became this stream of consciousness and she was not sure she could even say exactly what she said again. All she had planned during the drive to the apartment had flown out of her head and she had just been swept by her emotions.

Done with her spiel, she looked up at him again, expectantly while he stared at her, looking a little dazed. When the silence kept on for about 30-45 other seconds, she started to get a little apprehensive. She shifted a little nervously, wondering why he was so silent. Oh, she couldn't take it anymore!

"Damon?" She called his name, shaking him out of his daze.

"Uh- uh huh?" He looked at her

"Will you please say something?"

He blinked. "Uh, yeah, um, sorry. It's just that I wasn't expecting you to decide so quickly, or so favourably if I'm honest."

"Oh. Would you prefer if I came back in a month?" She teased, amusement crinkling her eyes as she held back her laughter. "Because I can come ba-" He moved too quick for her to see him coming and suddenly he was kissing her. Her eyes widened in surprise but she then closed them as she responded, and melted into the kiss. When they broke away, she giggled a little and said "So I guess now is pretty good." She could feel his hold tightening around her waist.

"Now is perfect." He rested his forehead on hers, a small smile on his face. "Now is perfect" he repeated. She softened, feeling the most earnest fondness rise for him. He made her so happy, she couldn't believe she had been foolish enough to think she would be fine with losing this connection

"Thank you." She said suddenly, he looked surprised, she elaborated, "Thank you for giving me the chance to restart our relationship properly. And thank you for giving me time to think about it, not rushing me. Guess I didn't need much time though. You must be a catch." She teased again, trying to lighten the atmosphere. He stayed earnest though, and surprised her with his response. "Thank you, Bonnie. You have no idea how loving you has changed me. Made me better. Helped me grow. I have lived so long trying to be someone else, when you gave me space to be who I really I am, I was able to really look inside and be my best self. And when I realised who I am, what I want, that's when I also realised I was in love with you." He caressed her cheek, his hand was warm and she nuzzled it, soaking in his affection. Her throat tightened with emotions, so many different emotions. First was love; now that the floodgates had been opened, her love for him was almost stifling. Almost, because instead of it being a weight on her chest, it filled her in a way that made her feel weightless. The second was gratitude, she wished she could express exactly how she was so grateful for him, he wasn't the only one who grew from their relationship, he had made her grow too. She snuggled closer yet to him, she was so happy, she wanted him to see the amazing person he is.

"You helped me a lot too you know. I hope you know you are amazing. You always let me know you were there, I felt protected but not coddled even though everyone else treated me with kids glove after I got back. And you always call out my more unhealthy tendencies without making me feel judged or guilty or pathetic. And even if you won't admit it, you are very serious and earnest and when we talk I really feel listened to and if it weren't for you, I would never have reached out to my mom, or secured my magic in a way that it can't be taken away from me. Even for silly things like where to go for break, you always encourage me to value what I want, even if I can't always get exactly it or how I want it, at least you helped me get used to being a person who has self drive again. It's been so many long years of awfulness, it felt like like wanting was just setting myself up for disappointment. At first it was big, general things like happiness or a sense of safety that disappeared once I lost Grams, and then it just devolved into the smallest of things. I was so tired, I was on autopilot most of the time, driven by fear and guilt. You didn't just save me, Damon, you brought me back to life." She hoped her emphasis made her meaning clear, it was confusing, even to her in a way, but she hoped he'd get it.

"You give me too much credit, From the moment I met you, you were almost glowing with the fire inside of you. It could never truly go out, it just needed a little kindling." HIs earnest expression turned mischievous, "Although, please don't set me on fire when I inevitably piss you off? I gotta look good enough to be your boy toy once you get to your milf stage." He said lasciviously.

Bonnie burst out laughing at the ridiculous mood change, she couldn't help it, it was so Damon, it was so them. Damon teased further affecting a scandalised tone as he gasped "Wait, technically you're already being a cougar since I am forever 19. This whole time I should have been worried about my virtue being stolen. You witch!" That made her shake with even more laughter. "Oh, you find my robbed innocence funny huh. Do you know one of the ways they punished witches?" Damon said dangerously. Bonnie took a step back, he wouldn't. Right? "TICKLE TORTURE" he targeted her ribs which were ridiculously sensitive, sending her into squeals of laughter. She then escaped by zapping him slightly running away in a fit of giggles. He chased her around while laughing maniacally.

They kept this up for much longer than was reasonable for two grown adults but it was the last release of tension they had needed. Finally, they collapsed on the couch, smiling from ear to ear like fools and settled down. He took her hand to lead her on to his lap, and once she was settled in, he brought it his mouth, kissing it with the utmost love and tenderness. She returned the gesture and they just stayed there, gazing into each other, full of love and contentment. He looked so serene, so happy, and carefree, her heart gave a joyful squeeze. She prayed it would stay like this forever.

-The End-