Damon wakes up to the smell of fresh coffee and something else... Bacon, eggs, and her homemade peach and cream muffins. He pinches himself to make sure he isn't dreaming.
Seeing Elena making breakfast in his apartment with Onyx keeping her company is a sight for sore eyes.
This, he could get used to...
After spending a leisurely breakfast together, he walks her to her car, not letting her leave without a nuzzle.
"I had a nice time, thank you, Damon."
"The pleasure is all mine," he leans forward to press their lips together for a quick kiss. He then opens her car door so she can slide in.
"Bye," she waves as she drives off. He doesn't go inside till he can no longer see her car.
He bought a tiny harness for Onyx and although she fights, he manages to get it on her and takes her outside to meander around a little bit. He laughs when she bats a fly that buzzes around her head. She nuzzles and bites at the fresh grass. The little cat has been a godsend to him.
Feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket, he pulls it out. "Dad?"
"Hello, Damon. I'm in the neighborhood, do you care if I stop by?"
"No, of course not, I'll go inside and make a pot of coffee."
"Where are you?"
"Taking Onyx for a walk. She seems to be enjoying herself."
"That's your cat, am I right?"
"Yep, she's black with a tiny spot of white on her lower belly."
"I'll be there in about 15 minutes, you can introduce me," Giuseppe chuckles.
"See ya soon," Damon clicks off the phone. He lets Onyx explore for a few more minutes before picking her up and taking her into the house. After refilling her food and giving her fresh water, he starts a pot of coffee and waits for his dad to arrive.
Hearing a rap on his door, Damon opens it and steps aside to let the older Salvatore in.
"You have a nice apartment, Damon," Giuseppe mentions, his eyes floating around the room. "So that's Onyx?" he points at the cat already asleep on the couch. He walks over to have a look, gently running his index finger over her head.
"I found her delivering mail one day, she was all alone just like me so I brought her home. There's no judgment, only love..." he muses more to himself than his dad.
Giuseppe hears a little melancholy in his son's voice. "How about that cup of coffee?"
"Have a seat," Damon extends his arm to his small dining set. After pouring his dad a cup, he pulls a water bottle out of the fridge for himself since he already had coffee with Elena earlier.
"I stopped by to see if you'd come over for supper one night this week..."
"Dad, I don't know if that's the best idea," Damon picks at his tablecloth.
"I'm not a fool, son. I know very well what you meant by no judgment. I can't take sides, I love all three of my children but I will admit that Stefan and Katherine could have used a little more tact."
"A little more tact? Kat more or less called Elena a gold digger. I should have expected it, she's always thought that. But then they take my house and don't give her any compensation for it. Did they even help her move? That was my home too, I had memories... I know a lot of them were bad but a lot of them were good too. They disrespect her, they disrespect me. I will be the first to admit that I made some really bad choices, I own my mistakes but I won't have them treat her like a bug they can squash under their heels."
"I understand why you're upset, Damon. And if you agree to come, you have my word that they'll keep their opinions to themselves. You're my son and I don't want you to feel unwelcome in your childhood home."
"Why did you go to see Elena? Yeah, I know about that," he adds when he catches his dad's eyes widen for a brief moment.
"I went to her place to ask her to give you a chance. She has your heart, Damon. I saw that the first time I saw the two of you together. Did I think she was a little young at the time? Yes, I did but I never believed her to be something or someone less than we are."
Damon stares at him for several seconds before snapping out of it. "It would've been nice if she had known that," he zings his father.
"I told you, Damon, why we didn't go out of our way to see her. In retrospect, it was a poor choice," he pauses for a moment and then his eyes light up. "Why don't you bring her with you to supper, I mean? I'll get back to you with what day works for your mom."
"I haven't decided if I'm going to come yet," Damon gets up to refill his dad's cup, he leans against the counter instead of sitting back down.
"I'm asking you to come as a favor to me and your mother. Elijah will be there too."
"Fine, if Elena will agree to accompany me and if you promise to make them treat her with the respect she deserves, I'll be there."
"You have my word," a smile forms on Giuseppe's face. He picks up his cup to take another swallow. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, shoot."
"How are your AA meetings going?"
"I still go, usually twice a week," he tries to keep his tone even, to hide the fact that his heart is about to jump out of his chest recalling this purgatory. "I don't want to talk about it," he pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights up, taking a long pull from it.
Giuseppe knows better than to push his son so he drops the subject, he startles and laughs heartily when Onyx surprises him by jumping on the table in front of him.
With the mood infinitely lighter, Damon laughs along and reaches for his phone to snap a picture of his dad snuggling with his cat.
Elena arrives home feeling not exactly happy. She knows the chance of her being around tomorrow for his mail delivery is virtually nil, but it still sucks.
She misses him and their life together.
She's fully aware she must give him as much space as he needs and that she could chase him away if she's impatient but the truth is, she feels lonely and lost without him.
Curiously enough, it wasn't problematic when he was gone, she went to school, went out with her friends, and took it one day at a time, but now that he's back... it feels like he's slipping a little farther away every time they say goodbye.
Armed with a pot of coffee, she sits down to grade a decent pile of papers, she can't postpone it anymore. Before she knows it, hours have ticked by. When the shadows pass through the room to move to the other side of the house, she stretches her aching back and decides she's had enough for today. She'll finish up before her first class tomorrow morning.
Feeling restless, she walks through the kitchen and into the garden. Strange how empty the house feels now, after spending just one night with Damon and his cat. It wasn't planned, they merely fell asleep next to each other, even fully immersed in sleep, she didn't want to move or wake up to the reality of saying goodbye.
Worse yet, what if it isn't reality and the time she's spending with him is nothing more than a beautiful, peaceful dream?
In the morning, when the first rays of the sun began creeping across the carpet and onto the covers, she woke up in Damon's bed, having no idea how she ended up there. She got up and tiptoed into the living room where much to her surprise, she found Damon sleeping soundly on the couch and Onyx looking at her expectantly. It reminded her of their time together. Rarely did she wake up before Damon and it was even more rare for her to surprise him with breakfast.
So she did just that. Luckily she found a cat in for Onyx, she's sure she won the little creature over by treating him to an early meal and then made breakfast that she used to, bacon, eggs, and his favorite homemade peach muffins. Luckily he had everything she needed to mix them up. Not surprisingly, she wasn't quite done when Damon caught a whiff, sniffing as the aroma hit his nose, and before she could count to three, he was in the kitchen.
Running purely on instinct, Damon wrapped his arms around her from behind and brushed his lips along her neck...
She shivers at the memory. Elena's certain that Damon was just half awake when he did that, because right afterward he stepped back, mumbled a 'morning', and quickly left to shower. During breakfast, however... he was chatty and shining and looked so alive!
Sitting in the backyard it takes her a few moments to rouse from the memory.
With the back of her hand, she wipes off a lone tear that escapes the corner of her eye.
Damon's in a sour mood. Ever since yesterday, he's been contemplating whether or not to ask Elena to accompany him into the lion's den and has yet to make up his mind. Despite his dad's reassurances, he isn't positive that his parents can keep Stefan and especially Katherine in check. He's pretty sure they can't.
On top of everything else, he didn't catch a glimpse of Elena today. He didn't expect it, she told him she had classes, but still, it was disappointing. How in the world did he make it through almost two years without her? He only just saw her yesterday morning and he misses her so damn much his heart aches. The ache of longing to be with her echoes through the very marrow of his bones.
He still has a few hours before the AA meeting, just thinking about it leaves a bad taste in his mouth. He's tempted to skip it, one time shouldn't be a problem, still...
Sighing, he gets up, earning an annoyed look from Onyx, and goes to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He feels restless, taking a look around to consider what he might do to distract himself from other thoughts, unpleasant ones like how whiskey tastes so much better than the water he's been sipping without actually being thirsty. Maybe he should chug some orange juice instead. That, too is always on hand but then he'll consider how it would taste with a little vodka in it. He'd have no trouble speaking at all with a belly full. The bad mood and difficulty functioning would be just... gone.
He won't do that. Not now anyway but it doesn't mean the thoughts aren't there, always ready to pop up in a moment of weakness.
He shortly considers taking Onyx for a walk, it was fun yesterday. He made the mistake of coming home, he should have gone straight to the gym for a quality workout. Standing in the middle of the room, he's about to wake the kitten and then it hits him. He can just call Elena, she should be home by now. He doesn't have to miss her.
She takes the call at the third ring and he thinks she sounds kind of excited.
"Damon..."
"Elena," he returns, "hope you aren't busy, I'm just..." How can he explain why he's calling her? "I have a little time before I have to leave for the meeting..."
"I'm glad you called, I missed you.."
She missed him.
Her simple statement makes his heart tick up a beat. It's the most natural thing to say and it's the truth.
"I missed you, too. I can't believe I was able to stay away for that long and now a few hours alone and I'm miserable."
This truth is out of his mouth before he can give it a thought.
"Really? That's good...," The happiness in her tone is palpable, even though she tries to turn it into some light teasing. "At least I know I'll see you again soon."
"I was wondering if you'd come with me to a family dinner on Wednesday?"
The hesitant silence seems to drag when it's just a few seconds.
"If you want me to...?"
"Very much so. But... don't do it just for me, okay? No pressure."
"Okay."
Damon waits to see if she's going to add anything but she doesn't.
"Okay, does that mean yes or no...?"
"Yes, of course, I'll go along. It's one of those things..."
"What things...?"
"Things that one accepts when binding their lives to someone else's. Their family becomes yours and you have to live with it." Her tone is light and Damon's in awe of her capacity for generosity and acceptance.
"Okay.., I'll confirm it tomorrow and let you know what time I'll pick you up?"
"Sure." He can hear she's still smiling and he'd happily run to her right now but he can't. He has to deal with tonight...
"Gotta go," he hopes his voice isn't shaking.
"K...," It feels inappropriate to wish him a nice evening. Something's telling her it won't be easy for him. "See you on Wednesday."
"Enjoy your evening, Elena."
"I will," she adds quickly, unwilling to end the call just yet. Stalling. "Bonnie's coming for dinner."
"Good," Damon smiles, although he already feels melancholy.
"Bye." She finally ends the call.
Damon, determined, grabs his keys and quickly leaves the house.
Enzo waves at the last customer, a new guy who recently started coming regularly, when the door opens once again, and Damon storms inside. He immediately knows tonight's meeting didn't go very well.
Well, who would have guessed?
"Hey buddy, you okay?"
"Not really...," Damon mumbles heading straight for the lockers. Enzo follows, keeping a respectful distance.
"Wanna have a round or two?"
Damon doesn't answer slipping past him on the way to the gym. Once Enzo takes his place opposite him on the mat, his upset friend attacks.
Enzo keeps his distance, dodging Damon's lunges, he doesn't want to beat the crap out of him, again, instead, he goes for a good and exhausting workout. His friend needs to calm down.
A swift kick into his opponent's solar plexus is the perfect way to get things moving. Damon quickly follows it with a soft knee to the temple, knocking Enzo completely off balance. Then he moves in for a grapple to end the tussle.
Damon is certain of his victory as he pulls Enzo's arm towards him until he gasps loudly "Watch closely!" There is zero resistance and his arm moves like butter, but with a little flick frees itself from Damon's grasp. His feet clasp against his hips, tugging him away ever so slightly and then easing off as soon as he resists.
Before Damon can protest, Enzo flips him over his head and springs upon him, trapping his hands behind the small of his back and his opponent's full weight lumbers over his chest, focusing through his knee. Damon is choked for space, for breath, for moves to make.
After about a half hour of grappling, Damon finally stays lying on the mat, breathing heavily, gesturing with his hand he's had enough.
He's nowhere near okay, though.
"Okay. Take a shower and then we'll talk."
He's already on the way to shower himself but Damon's scanty 'no' holds him in his steps.
"No?"
"I just... don't want to talk about it. About anything, really."
Enzo turns back and plops right on the mat next to his friend. "Talk to me, Damon, the shower can wait."
Damon looks at him incredulously. "I said I don't want to t..."
"I have time," Enzo lets him know with amusement that he doesn't feel. This is important.
"If I say it out loud, it'll sound insane."
"Try me," Enzo insists.
Damon finally sits tiredly, leans his elbows against his knees, and lets his head hang between his legs. Tonight he learned that he's no more than a number in the statistics of alcoholics, that it doesn't matter why he originally fell and slipped back into it again and again, and that he should cut the crap and start talking about it. Not only that, he's been made to feel that he is alone in this, no one will fight his battles.
Even with that realization, he can't deny that there are plenty of brothers and sisters that are available for him to ask for help. He should stop denying and start dealing with the fact he's one of them. There's no one else who can help him because none of the people around him truly understands what he's going through.
"Do you want to run away and get wasted now?" An elderly lady kind enough to enlighten him took him aside. "Deal with it. Fight it. You'll have to fight this battle over and over and over again."
He tells his friend some of it but Enzo's experienced enough to guess the rest.
"The lady, her name's Sheila told me I suck and the people I lean on, nonalcoholics, won't help me. Am I supposed to spill my guts to these strangers and cut off my wife? My family? But then I realized she was right, I can't even sit through a meeting without having my heart practically beat out of my chest. I tell myself that I've made peace. I did it, and I quit but I can't tell my story out loud. I can't do this, Enzo, I'm not good enough..."
I'm not good enough for her.
"Of course, you can do it, Damon. You told me and it wasn't very long time ago that I was also a stranger to you. A fellow drunk. I..."
"Doesn't matter, Enzo. You're a friend now and I didn't open up to you till now."
Enzo can tell Damon's not open to any placating. He needs to let it out and not do anything stupid in the process.
"She doesn't even know I'm having problems," the frustration rolls off him in waves.
"Why?" Enzo asks curiously. "Why haven't you told her?"
"I... I guess... the truth is I don't want to scare her..." he answers uncertainly. "We're supposed to go to my parents on Wednesday, I have to call it off."
"What? Why would you do that?" Enzo suspects Damon's just about to start burning bridges, he must stop him before he does something he'll regret.
"Because. I can't pull her into my mess. She must be safe, she's better off without me."
"Okay, buddy," Enzo stands up. "You're upset. Let's order a pizza and have an iced tea. You can make life decisions tomorrow."
Damon looks up at him but the spark isn't there. "I'm not hungry, Enzo... and the tea... no, it won't do..." He lays down, throwing his arm over his face.
"Don't go anywhere," Enzo stresses, "I'll be right back."
Damon doesn't react and Enzo retreats to the office. He has to think quickly. He's sure he can keep Damon from falling off the wagon tonight but it pains him seeing his friend so sad and broken. Besides, what happens tomorrow when he won't be able to keep a sharp eye on him?
He needs help.
Someone who cares about Damon more than himself.
He's sure he must have the phone number somewhere.
Elena locks up the car and hurries to the door.
"Elena, slow down," Bonnie checks her friend out of habit, she knows Elena won't stop until she reaches him. She mentally sighs. It's always been like that when it came to Damon.
"Sorry Bonnie, no can do," Elena pushes the bell and waits, of course, the gym is closed now. "You should have let me drop you off at your place."
"No way in hell I'd let you drive yourself when you're this upset," Bonnie counters with her mouth set in a hard line.
And so they wait till Enzo opens the door.
"Hello, ladies," he greets with his rich deep voice, giving them both a charming smile. His eyes are serious though and Elena's heart painfully squeezes expecting some bad news. She just wishes he'd spill already. When she got Enzo's message, Come to the gym if you can, Damon needs you, Damon needs you, it took her just five minutes to explain the situation to Bonnie before she was sitting in the car ready to take off.
"Come inside," he adds and steps aside to let them through. "Hey," he stops Elena once he closes the door behind them. "Sorry for freaking you out, Damon came here after his AA meeting, he seems down, I figured you'd want to help?"
"Of course, thank you for calling me." To his surprise, she gives him a short hug. "Where is he?"
"He's in the gym. Go, see for yourself."
Elena slips inside before the two can even blink.
"She's scared," Bonnie lets herself be heard next to him. "I'm Bonnie," she offers him her hand.
"Lorenzo St John, my friends call me Enzo."
"Okay then," Bonnie smiles. "Lead the way, I'm pretty sure they don't want us eavesdropping right now."
Elena carefully sits next to Damon, waiting for him to notice her. After a while she lays her hand on his back, immediately catching his attention. He turns his head and his eyes widen.
"Elena...?"
"Yeah, it's me...," she gives him a small reassuring smile. "Sorry for interrupting your training session, Enzo thought maybe I should join you..."
He looks... happy? And in awe, but then frustration once again rears its ugly head.
"You shouldn't be here..."
She studies his face and to her relief, she can see he hasn't closed himself off to her yet.
"Listen, Damon. I came here to tell you, I need you to know, that whatever you're going through you don't have to do this alone. I'm here."
Massive thanks to everyone for your wonderful reviews, follows, and favorites. DE fans are the best fans.
Chapter title: At Your Side by The Corrs.
Have a lovely day and we'll see you soon.