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Elena was sitting at Damon's kitchen table, slowly sipping some of the best coffee she had ever tasted. The beans were freshly ground, and the smell was heavenly. The taste was even better, nutty, and not too bitter. She needed this coffee to get through the day.
The previous night, she had been almost forced to recount every detail of her and Damon's budding relationship. At least the non-supernatural aspects, the parts she could share with Caroline and Tyler. Poor Tyler had looked rather uncomfortable at some parts, Caroline was always thorough with a new boy cross-examination. Elena had to give her credit though, Caroline bit her tongue at least a dozen times more than she usually would. She'd like to think Caroline was on her best behaviour because she'd evolved into a mature friend. Unfortunately, she'd surmised it was far more probable that Caroline was still trying to not share her many, many insecurities with Tyler yet. She only made a few foot-in-mouth comments, and each time she actually apologised.
They'd been about to start a third Twilight movie, making a marathon of it, when Damon and Bree returned. Bree was obviously worse for wear, steadied by Damon as he supported her up the stairs. He returned shortly after, propping himself on the arm of the sofa beside her to watch the film. Bonnie was already dozing on the armchair, Caroline and Tyler paying more attention to each other's mouths on the other end of the sofa.
She didn't remember much more of the film, dozing off not long after he returned. They'd just slept last night when they'd finally made it to bed, wrapped up in each other. It felt like home, tucking her head onto his chest, listening to each breath.
Taking another sip of the delicious caffeine she so desperately craved, she looked up to see him in the doorway; one elbow propped against the frame, his hand in his hair as he watched her. He'd pulled a pair of black jeans on, but no shirt. As her eyes drifted down, she couldn't help but notice he hadn't fastened the jeans either.
God, did he have to make mornings so damn difficult?
Inhaling the scent of her coffee to focus her senses away from the glorious sight of a half-naked Damon, she waited for him to make a move.
Unfortunately, he chose to just stare her down. Dammit, she could feel her cheeks reddening and her pulse quickening even as she tried to focus on her taste buds instead.
"Damn it Damon, will you please stop?" She refused to look at him, knowing his face would be so incredibly, ridiculously smug.
"Stop what? I'm just standing in my kitchen." He responded, calmly, sliding one hand into the pocket of his jeans, causing them to slip further down his hips. She was pretty sure that if she hadn't just taken a sip, she would be drooling.
"The eye thing, the muscles thing, the whole hot thing, just, just the thing. Just stop it. I have to go to school!" Realising she was tripping over her words just at the sight of him, she slammed her cup down, grabbed her bag off the back of the chair and tried to storm out.
He was a pretty damn effective barricade though.
Trying to shove against him was never going to work, she knew from experience he was immovable to her. Instead, she stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, her lips pursed.
He looked down at her, at her lips before licking his own bottom lip.
She forced an eye roll, a display of how little effect he was having on her; despite the fact she could feel her desire for him growing. The urge to pull him over to the counter was increasing with every frustrating moment, but she really didn't want to be late for school; especially as she'd have to explain it to Caroline.
Damon merely chuckled at her eye roll, stepping aside to let her through.
"Want a lift?" He asked, as she walked down the hall. She could almost feel the heat of his vision on her ass.
Smiling to herself, she turned back to look over her shoulder, letting a seductive smirk light up her face, "What else would you be good for?"
Pretending to look offended, Damon followed her, grabbing a shirt on his way out. They made it out of the house a few minutes later, which Elena felt was surely a minor miracle.
X-x-x-x
It was only half a mile out of town when he saw her car and pulled up. He needed to deliver the vervain grenades to Liz, a sign of his commitment to finding the new vamp in town.
It wasn't Isobel, he actually believed she was being sincere when she refuted blame. The likelihood it was Stefan was slim; the body was nowhere near mutilated enough. He'd already double checked with Anna. That left Katherine, or a stranger.
For some reason, he had his money on a stranger. Katherine was always a clean eater; blood could be awfully hard to get out of expensive linens and she'd valued her fashionable dresses too much to spill. Perhaps the fast fashion of this century had changed that, but he suspected that Katherine Pierce did not let herself ever look anything but impeccable.
If the vampire, whoever it was, kept killing then the council would be on another manhunt. He'd managed to subdue them this time by pointing out that what they knew of vampires suggested they mostly passed through, that unless more people were harmed the vampire had probably gone already. Plus, all the council and their families were already taking and wearing vervain.
Now he just had to hope that actually was the case. He couldn't afford a manhunt with Katherine in town. The bitch was too crafty, and he wasn't sure what she wanted.
The only reason he'd dared to leave Elena at school was the presence of Anna, Bonnie and Alaric; all fully aware of the situation. He'd even made them recite Elena's exact outfit, including her vervain jewellery, before letting her out of his sight. He suspected she'd be mad as hell about it later, but he didn't care much.
He'd rather be known as the overprotective dick than the guy who lost the love of his life.
Cutting the engine and stepping out, he waved at Liz. She was drinking a coffee as she leant against her car. He popped the trunk and retrieved his tray.
Carrying the weapons that could cause him so much pain over to the sheriff, he scanned their surroundings. The road wasn't particularly busy, ever, but they could easily be overseen. Why couldn't they have just done this at the grill or the station?
"You know, Liz, you didn't have to drive all the way out here just to get me on my own. You could have just asked." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively as he grinned at her, walking over to her trunk.
She came over to join him, opening up the car for him to place the container inside, retrieving one grenade as he did so. She inspected the device carefully.
"So, this is filled with vervain? It'll burn them?" She questioned.
Damon nodded, "I'm assured it will melt any exposed skin very quickly." He really had to focus on not shuddering at the thought.
She nodded, turning away and resting back on the car beside him. She sighed, staring off to the horizon.
Damon took the opening she offered, "You know, Liz, you can tell me anything."
She nodded, about to open her lips then shook her head. Okay, so this was something big.
"Liz, trust me." He waited for her to turn, letting his eyes catch hers. He was genuinely worried about her stressing like this, out of all the council members Liz was the one he hated lying to the most. If she hadn't spent most of her life being indoctrinated into the ways of the vampire hunters, he'd have been sure she would accept him.
She nodded, the worry spilling from her eyes.
"The autopsy came through. The victim was killed during the day, Damon. They'd been bitten behind that dumpster and left there with no sign of being moved- but in broad daylight! How had they been out in the daylight?" Her shoulders released the tension she'd held as she shared the reason for them being out of sight.
He schooled his face into a look of confusion, frustration, "I've never heard of a vampire out in the day." He spoke.
Inside his brain was whirring. Katherine, Isobel, Stefan and Anna were all day walkers, they did have a chance to be the killer but he was sure it was someone new. What were the chances a random vampire had daylight jewellery?
He'd met a handful of vampires who could walk in the sun during his time, but most were linked to the big hubs of vampirism; only certain witch lines held the spell and the power to produce daylight rings. New Orleans had a hub of day walkers, as did London, Venice and he'd heard of other places. Here in Mystic Falls though?
Surely it was too much of a coincidence. Perhaps it was Katherine?
"I don't want to alarm anybody until, we're sure; the coroner is doing some further tests." He nodded at her sensible choices, but also to calm her. Her frown was deepening.
"That's sensible, people might panic." He said, his voice calm to keep her steady, "I'm sure it will be a mistake."
"I hope so," she said, staring out at the horizon again. "It's hard enough worrying about Caroline in the evening. I can't stop her going out in the dark, however much I try. She's a teenager, she'd hate me. But knowing they could be out in the day? How can we ever protect them?"
He reached for her hand and squeezed it, causing her to jump slightly at the contact. He smiled, glumly.
"They've got vervain Liz, and we've got these bad boys," he gestured to the grenades. "Nobody will hurt Caroline."
If they did, they'd have him to deal with. Seeing Liz worry over her, he felt guilty and protective. He may have hurt this town when he first arrived, but he'd be damned if he didn't protect it now.
X-x-x-x
Stefan was dancing, spinning around the ballroom that he hadn't seen in over a century. All the familiar faces were there, faces that haunted him even now. He'd either killed those people or been at least partly responsible for their deaths. The few that he couldn't take blame for were still dead, faces of the past.
It was years, decades, since he'd dreamed of this dance. The Founder's ball. She was resplendent, in blue and white with a neckline fashionable in the cities. Katherine was always impeccably dressed, perfect in every way.
Before, when he'd dreamt this dream he'd felt pain, loss. He was guilty for her death, he thought. Even realising she had betrayed him herself; compelled him to not fear her and lied to him about her nature and her blood, even knowing that he felt guilt for her death.
Now he knew she was alive, that he had held her without knowing it.
Her clothes morphed as they danced, Elena was now there in a blue gown. Fashionable for this century, not the last. Her hair coiffed and her makeup done, there were imperfections there. A strand of hair astray from the others, a smudge on her lipstick. Her imperfections were perfections, her energy pure and beautiful as she danced.
She was whisked out his arms as the dance changed, a new partner was demanded. He could only watch as Damon took her in his arms, held her as they twirled. Not once did she look back, she just stared up at his brother with a look of adoration.
He woke with a start, to feel her in his arms. She was on top of the covers whilst he was under, but her head was on his chest, her hair mere inches from his nose. The smell of her conditioner was unmistakable. He inhaled, relaxing for a moment as his eyes opened. His bedroom in Mystic Falls was always a place of comfort; the one spot in the world he could feel content. The history he had collected over decades was gathered here, a place for him to reflect, remember.
Why was she here? He'd been in Seattle; he'd come back determined to rescue her just to find out she loved his brother. His heart throbbed at the memory of her face, of the way she looked at Damon just as she had in the dream. The happiness he felt for his brother, the hope he felt that Damon may actually act remotely human and considerate for once in his long life, those joyful emotions were still miniscule in comparison to the huge hole he felt at her loss.
Just like with Katherine, he only had himself to blame.
But then, why was she here now? Elena had seemed so adamant she was acting of her own free will; her vervain necklace still prominently displayed between her collar bones. The gift he had given her. Had it been a lie, had she escaped now and run to him, to his bed?
No, he had to accept that Elena wouldn't do that.
The hope he had held for a moment sunk like lead in his intestines as he realised who was curled up on his chest. As he tensed, she moved- fast as a flash- off the bed and into the corner defensively.
"Took you long enough," she smirked at him. "I honestly hoped you'd figure it out sooner."
"Katherine." His urge was to ignore her, to go about his day as if she wasn't even in his room. Unfortunately, from what he remembered of Katherine Pierce she lived for attention, not giving it to her was asking for trouble.
"It was too easy to get inside your head, Stefan. Have you completely forsaken your nature?" Katherine asked, her defences lowered now she could tell he wasn't going to attack. Instead, she began to wander his room, inspecting each of his possessions in turn.
He rolled his eyes, of course she'd have an opinion about his feeding habits; if she had her way there'd be no humanity left in the vampire species.
"Why are you here, Katherine?" He asked, letting the annoyance he felt roll off his tongue in a bitter question.
"I wanted to see you." She said, a sweetness in his voice that he remembered, longingly. He quenched that thought quickly. She'd betrayed him, lied to him and then hidden from him for too long. He'd mourned her.
He raised an eyebrow at her, "You could have knocked."
"Where's the fun in that? Besides, I'm avoiding your brother." She rolled her eyes, "He's such a drama queen."
He nodded, turning the corners of his mouth down. He couldn't deny that, but it was also Katherine's way of changing the subject.
"Why are you in town, Katherine?"
"You." She responded quickly, looking him straight in the eyes.
"Wrong answer. You see, Katherine, I was in Seattle for months. Months by myself, where you could have found me. I wasn't exactly hiding. I was even in the phonebook! Instead, you chose to come back to this town, asking about a magical device that kills vampires."
She folded her arms, her smile looked as if she was proud of him, "My, my, Stefan. You have me all figured out."
"How did you escape the tomb, Katherine?" He asked. That's all that had been on his mind for hours. She'd escaped, survived, and not found him. How had she managed? Did she have another human under her thrall, like them?
"I made a deal with one of the townspeople," she said, basically confirming his suspicions. "You almost ruined my plan, Stefan."
That stuck in his throat, the decades of guilt about her death. The torture of missing her, wanting her whilst hating her. Hating her for lying to him, deceiving him, but missing her so sorely he could scarcely breathe. He'd killed half the town in revenge for the loss of her.
He sped to her, closing her in against the wall. Looking down at her large, brown eyes- her makeup for this century as perfect as it had been in the last- he couldn't separate one emotion from the other. There was so much anger, anger at her for causing so much suffering, so much pain and so much death. There was relief that she was actually alive, and there was sorrow that she'd stayed hidden from him.
"Why now? Why do I only know you survived now.?" He whispered, leaning into her. His eyes drifted all over her face, taking in every perfect feature.
"It wasn't safe." She whispered, just as softly.
Then, she was gone.
He couldn't tell you why his heart ached at the sight of the open balcony doors, the breeze rushing in from her sudden departure. He hoped it was curiosity, a desire to find her reasoning for returning and interfering with Mystic Falls. If it was anything else, he was a doomed man.
X-x-x-x
He was there in his Camaro when she left school. As always, he looked delicious; even with shades hiding his ridiculously blue eyes. She'd hoped he wouldn't come, that she could ride back with Ric, Jeremy and Anna and she could actually have a normal day.
She needed time to do her homework, catch up on her favourite TV shows and just crash out. All things you couldn't do whilst around Damon Salvatore, especially when he looked like that- his t-shirt was incredibly tight fitting today.
Biting her lip, she approached him.
"Hey. I was hoping to head straight home, get some work done." He nodded, opening the door for her.
"Sure thing. Do you need to pick up anything from Jenna's on the way?" His tone was casual, like he wasn't asking anything out of the ordinary.
She froze. He'd said she'd be staying with him, sure, but she thought he meant for the night. They'd sorted things out with Stefan, sort of. He wasn't actively trying to kill Damon, anyway.
"What's wrong, 'Lena?" He asked.
She must have been silent too long, staring out the window in contemplation for as she turned to him his brow was creased with worry, his eyebrows drawn tightly together.
"I just, I didn't realise I'd be staying at your place so long." She paused, seeing the flash of rejection across his eyes, "I love it, of course I do, I just really want to pig out on cheap snacks as I do my homework and listen to trashy music."
His eyes did light up at that thought, at least.
"You'll be safer with me." He said, turning the music up, effectively ending the conversation.
Elena was just glad he had taken the turn towards Jenna's.
She didn't speak a word to him as they pulled up and she got out of the car and into the house. She could hear him following behind, but she didn't particularly care, flicking the door closed behind her- causing him to catch it. It wasn't like it could hurt him.
Stomping upstairs to her room, she flung herself onto the window seat feeling ever bit the petulant toddler.
Once again, he was standing in the doorway looking all kinds of hot. How did he do that?
"You know, I might be showing my age here, but I thought conversations involved words. Is that not what you young-un's are doing these days?" He asked, one eyebrow arched.
Trust him to somehow make her feel even younger. Wasn't it him who'd turned the radio up in the first place?
She rolled her eyes at him. Hard.
"Hypocrite," she muttered under her breath.
Then, she resumed her position staring out of the window. Out of the corner of her eye she could sense him moving to her desk, looking through her shelves. She had to turn to watch. He wouldn't find it would he?
He noticed her flinch, his eyes running over her clenched fists before he turned to see what she was looking at. Pulling the leather-bound book from the shelf he grinned, massively.
Letting it flop open, he looked down. His eyes scanned the page.
Inside, she was fuming. She wanted to scream at him, rip the diary from his hands and yell at him for hours for invasion of privacy. Instead, she was frozen, terrified of what page he had found, what he was reading.
"Dear Diary, my complete asshole vampire boyfriend wants to stop his bitch from hell ex from killing me, and it's interfering with my Cheetos addiction. I don't know what to do!" He read in a high pitch, a poor impression of her.
She frowned at him; her mouth set in stone refusing to crack. He spun the diary around, revealing a blank page- the last page.
"Relax, Elena. I wouldn't do that." He said, setting the diary back down. "Now, fancy telling me why your eyes are shooting daggers at me?"
He spoke softly as he lifted her legs, sitting on the window seat beside her and letting her legs rest over his own.
She sighed, he wasn't going to give this up, "There's always a reason for me to be protected, Damon. Since I met you, there's been half a dozen reasons. What if I stay with you to be safe and I just never come back? Once we know what Katherine wants, what's to say there won't be another vampire?"
He nodded in understanding, stroking her foot absent-mindedly. "Then you stay. What's so wrong with that?"
"It's terrifying, Damon. I wasn't sure I was even ready to be with you and now you want me to effectively move in? I'm still 17, Damon! I'm not ready to live with my boyfriend." She sighed.
He grinned wickedly, "So I'm definitely your boyfriend now?"
She nodded, "You're my asshole vampire boyfriend." She couldn't help but smile back at him as his eyes lit up and he grinned.
He thought pensively for a moment, then whispered. "I can't lose you, 'Lena."
"I know." She said, and she did. She could feel the intensity with which he loved her in every touch, every look. At the lake house he'd shown her that devotion in a way that had sent fireworks through her.
"Then let me protect you." He was begging, his eyes imploring her.
"You can. Here." She met his gaze, keeping hers resolute. As he looked away, she leant forward, cupping his face in her hand.
"I just need to be human for now, Damon, to actually live my life. Please, don't take that away from me yet." At that he nodded, taking the hand off her face and pressing a kiss into her palm.
x-x-x-x
He was sitting back on his bar stool. Leaving the house with Ric had almost killed him, but Elena had insisted that he go. He was apparently hovering.
"You know," Ric said, tilting his newly filled glass to him in thanks, "I never thought you'd be so easily whipped."
Damon sneered at him.
"Yeah, yeah, play the hardass. I've seen the truth." He chuckled to himself.
Damon took a big gulp, ignoring him.
The entire football team was in the grill tonight, celebrating something or other. A few older brothers were amongst them, the mayor was there too- apparently footing the bill. Damon's eyebrows furrowed as he noticed someone with Tyler Lockwood.
"Who's that?" He asked Ric, gesturing to what looked like Tyler's older sibling.
"Damned if I know." Ric responded.
"Mason Lockwood." Bree said, reappearing behind the bar after she'd collected a tray of glasses to put away. "He's the mayor's brother. He came back to town a day or two ago, apparently. He's dreamy, don't you think?"
Both men simultaneously pulled a face of disgust before turning back to once again look at the new Lockwood. Damon tilted his head as he tried to see what Bree saw.
"Maybe she likes men that spend too much time in the gym?" Alaric said.
"That guy spends at least an hour making his hair look like he woke up like that, I'm not sure how he has time left for the gym" Damon commented.
"Jackass." They both added together, before turning back to the bar.
"I'm not whipped, Ric. I'm worried about her." He admitted to the man who was slowly becoming more of a friend than an enemy. They'd certainly not tried to kill each other for a while.
"Do you really think Katherine will come after her?" Ric asked.
"I can't imagine she handles competition well. Katherine loves to be the centre of attention." He responded. Even if Katherine's reason for being here was completely unrelated to Elena, he suspected that she'd introduce herself shortly. Especially if Stefan stuck around.
"Plus," he added, "I'm 80% certain there's a new vampire in town. One with some pretty fancy jewellery." He wiggled his ring in Alaric's direction, emphasising his point.
"If there is, can I kill them?" Alaric responded with a smirk, lifting his sleeve to reveal a hidden mechanism of spring-loaded stakes.
"Once we know why they're here." Damon said, taking a sip. Then, he clicked. "Wait, dude, why the hell are you wearing that tonight. Was that for me?"
His eyes were wide, a hand on his heart in mock shock and rejection. Truthfully though, he was worried he'd let his guard down around a guy with that kind of weaponry.
"Mostly in case Katherine showed up, but whilst we're on the subject… What are your intentions with Elena?" Alaric was using his serious voice.
Damon rolled his eyes and finished his drink. Raising from the stool as he slammed the empty tumbler down just a bit too hard.
"Damon." Alaric warned. Damon was about to spin around and hit him, he was pissed off enough at being called whipped and now Alaric was trying to have the protective step-uncle talk with him. He wasn't in the mood, and he wanted to get back to his girl.
Luckily, before he actually could follow through, Alaric stood and pointed over at the group of footballers. They were arm-wrestling in one of the booths, and Mason Lockwood was easily decimating every single one of them.
The idiot was probably on steroids, Damon thought to himself, but he was annoyed and grumpy and no grown man should be humiliating teenage boys and taking quite so much glee in it. Well, at least not when they had such ridiculous hair.
Pushing his way through the crowd, he pulled a hundred out of his wallet and placed it on the table.
"My turn."
Mason gestured for him to sit. The guy put up a good fight, Damon had to admit, but he was no match for a vampire. He gave him a few minutes, then pushed- expecting to win instantly.
Instead, he felt resistance. Too much resistance.
If he forced himself to win this, he'd be revealing his superhuman strength. Was Mason Lockwood the mystery vampire? As Damon's hand was smashed into the desk he studied his opponent's face for clues but found none.
x-x-x-x