PROMPT: "[insert name], there's nobody here."

- ADDT NOTES: post-s6 AU in the distant-ish future.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries or the characters, I make no money from this.

Damon jumps awake, startled by a vivid nightmare when lithe fingers comb through his hair, an ethereal face smiling down at him. "Bad dream?"

"The usual," he whispers, "always about you."

"You're okay now," Bonnie murmurs soothingly with a warm smile, the one that's only ever reserved for him. "I'm here, I've got you."

"Stay with me?"

"Always."

"You need a shave," Bonnie remarks, one hand brushing down the side of Damon's jaw.

"You're not a fan of the stubble? I don't think I look that bad," Damon smiles as he speeds down the highway, the sun setting ahead and casting a pink glow.

"I like you better clean-shaven. It suits you, not this weird patchy beard you're trying to grow."

"Hey, it's not patchy! I can grow a beard!"

"Sure, just not a very good one."

"So maybe the Salvatores weren't gifted with the ability to grow good facial hair. But who's gonna stop me, hmm?"

Bonnie smiles, glancing at the signs passing by. "Where are we going? Home?"

"No," Damon can't get rid of the bitter taste in his mouth. "home is gone. I don't have that anymore."

"You could. You didn't have to leave town, you don't have to shut everyone out. Why bother trying to outrun this? You can't. You can't even give me up."

"Maybe I'm being foolish, but I don't care," Damon replies harshly, his grip tightening on the steering wheel. "I'll run for the rest of my life if it means you're not with me ever again."

Damon's phone rings, shaking them out of their conversation and he picks it up to answer, Bonnie's seat now empty.

"Mmm, the water feels nice," Bonnie hums, moving her legs around in the water. "It's way too hot today...not that you'd know."

"I always liked the hot weather. Besides, you always looked better in a dress...or in any kind of revealing clothes, actually."

Bonnie swats his arm with a laugh. "Don't you ever stop being so...you? It feels like every time you meet someone new, you're already making bedroom eyes at them. You even charm old grannies."

"Well, when you're irresistible like me, it's a natural talent."

Bonnie laughs again. It's a beautiful sound, one that Damon can never get enough of. He always tried to coax it out of her, let it brighten his day and make her eyes light up, watch the age lines disappear. Too bad it's just a poor copy now, just a shoddy figment of his imagination.

"I miss you," Damon admits, and Bonnie's eyes soften.

"I know."

"I should've saved you."

"What did you need to save me from?"

"Death."

"Damon. It was my choice. I never would've forgiven you if you even tried to turn me, especially considering I was eighty-nine."

"But you'd be alive."

"You'd lose me."

"Either way, you'd be alive. Everything wouldn't hurt so bad."

Bonnie turns to face Damon, looking gentle yet firm. "I wanted this. I didn't want to live forever, you knew this, and you respected my choice in the end. That's all that matters."

"Yeah? And what matters now, huh? Nothing. I threw away everything...all because of you."

"Everyone thinks I'm crazy," Damon comments dazedly, setting down his phone and takes a seat on a patio chair.

"Of course they do," Bonnie snorts, an amused smile on her face, her flowery pink dress spread out around her, "even I think so. It's a common fact by now."

"Apparently I've been worse than usual."

"I don't know. Maybe."

"That's a first. It almost sounds like you're disagreeing with everyone else."

"Hey, I'm being honest," Bonnie laughs, "If I thought you were being more of a dick than usual, I'd tell you, you know I would."

"That's what I love about you."

"You're only telling me this now?"

Damon avoids her gaze, lowering his eyes in shame, guilt, disappointment. "Didn't realize what I had until it was gone. I wish I said it more, though. I should've told you before, should've said it everyday, pointed out every little thing that makes me love you."

"What do you think would've changed, had you told me?"

"I don't know. Maybe everything."

They're both quiet for a moment, taking in this information; only the sound of the spring breeze and birds chirping fills the air.

"I guess we'll never know," Bonnie remarks sadly, "or it'll be a long time coming until you get your answer."

"Some days, I think it would be so easy to remove this ring from my finger and just walk into the sunlight," Damon twists his daylight ring on his finger, lost in thought. "But then you come in, telling me it's wrong, that life still has some good left for me. I think it's bullshit...but I still listen anyway. When it comes to you, it's like time slows down and suddenly I have everything to consider. Maybe that's why I never told you I love you."

"You were afraid of getting hurt," Bonnie gets up, walking over to Damon and bends down in front of him, reaching a hand forward. Light fingers caress Damon's cheek, tracing over the curves and sharp lines. "but look at you now, Damon. You're still not healing, and keeping me around isn't helping."

"It's better than you being gone forever," he admits numbly, watching her closely. "I thought you said I was the normal amount of crazy, so what does it matter if I'm not moving on?"

"There's a difference," Bonnie points out gently, "You are crazy, you've always been but this time, the only person who's in pain is you. No one else is caught in the crossfire, but keeping me around is going to destroy you. You need to let go someday."

"When I figure out a way to move forward, to stop loving you, I'll let you know," Damon snaps frustratedly, "Even now, you still nag me. Always bugging me, getting me to do what's right, what's good for me. Don't you know any other way?"

Bonnie shrugs. "If I did, then maybe I'd be following that strategy right now, but this is all I got."

"Damon?" Stefan steps out onto the patio, and Damon looks up at his brother; he can hear Caroline moving around in the kitchen, putting away groceries. "Who are you talking to?"

"Bonnie," he answers simply, ignoring Stefan's sigh and pained look. "She's nagging me, as per usual."

"Damon, there's nobody here. You need to stop this, you know it. It's been two years since Bonnie passed away, these...hallucinations aren't doing you any good."

"Stefan's right," Bonnie nods, facing Damon with a pleading expression. "You need to move on, you can't live like this. Stop imagining me, I don't want this for you."

"They'll stop when I stop missing you, Bon," Damon snaps, ignoring Stefan's tentatively exasperated response and continues talking to Bonnie, "so, good luck. We're pretty much stuck together until the day I die."

Welcome, old and new readers! I've decided to start this prompt/oneshot fanfiction as a bit of a writing exercise for myself, all bamon-featured. Some will be angsty, sad, toxic, romantic, whatever. Reviews are appreciated!