kimkey prompted: "maybe Stefan be avoiding dropping or Damon so in order to get his attention Damon purposely embarrasses the younger?" combined with their other one "Damon being concerned that Stefan's spending too much time with Matt and Tyler and not letting himself be Little?"
After a few months of living under the same roof as his brother again, Damon has picked up on the Little space clues. It starts with pouting and whining versus being able to talk out frustrations. Stefan is naturally independent but in an older space is willing to admit he needs help. As he nears that younger area, he becomes stubborn and insistent on doing things on his own. There's the physical aspects. Recoiling from his big brother's touch. Holding his head or complaining of migraines. Vampires don't face ailments outside a few occurrences: witchcraft, vervain and avoiding little spaces.
Stefan is getting better at dropping, but there are times he fights it. One particular week, Damon witnesses all the signs. The first comes when they're headed out to The Grill for dinner. Damon holds out Stefan's leather jacket. His little brother snatches it away.
"I got it," he grumbles.
"Just trying to help."
"I'm not 2, I can dress myself."
Later on, while actually at the restaurant, he gets ketchup on his face. Damon leans over to wipe it, only to have Stefan whine and smack his hand away. The older brother gives him a warning glance. Stefan mumbles an apology but insists on doing it himself.
He insists on sleeping in his own bed and won't let Damon tuck him in. Offers for bubble baths and snuggles are scoffed at. Stefan pours all of his bottles into glasses, refusing to be fed. A near tantrum ensues when Damon reminds him of his curfew one evening.
"I don't need you to tell me this stuff!" Stefan whines, stomping his feet. "Stop treating me like a baby."
Damon hums, holding back a lecture. If he wants his brother to drop, he needs to continue treating him like a toddler. Parents are meant to ignore less than desirable behaviors.
"Just trying to be helpful, Stef," he says, instead. "I know you're a big boy."
Stefan's pout decreases. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Where am I dropping you off again?"
"Tyler's. We're just going to watch the game."
Damon bites his tongue. Stefan's spent a lot of time with the guys as of late, which Damon attributes to him fighting his younger space. He must admit Matt isn't terrible and often encourages Stefan and Elena to be themselves. Yet, he's still a teenage boy who doesn't have many chances to have fun given his crazy home life. When given the opportunity, he's going to act like a regular kid his age and forget what Stefan truly is. Tyler's need to escape his own cold and frigid upbringing means he's focused on partying. They're not the best influences.
Still, he has to pick his battles. Banning Stefan from ever seeing the two would equal rebellion and more secrets. So, he monitors them as best he can. Normally, the girls are there which makes Damon feel better.
"Are Elena and Bonnie going?"
Stefan shakes his head as he looks for his shoes. "Bonnie hates football and Elena's grounded."
Damon raises a brow. "Grounded?"
"She hasn't been doing her homework or something. I don't remember."
Stefan's pout returns as he searches the entry way. He begins stomping his foot and holding his head. Damon steps forward and opens the bench, pulling out his baby brother's sneakers. Stefan snatches them away and sits down, sliding them on his feet.
"I would've found them eventually."
Damon pats his head. "Sure you would've, Bunny Boy."
"I hate when you call me that."
"Why do you think I insist on it?"
Stefan rolls his eyes and follows him out to the car. The ride to the Lockwood's is mostly quiet with the younger brother fiddling with his phone. He's rising further into his older space, which is only going to make the crashing harder. Damon sighs, staring forward at the road. If something doesn't change, there's a rough weekend ahead.
He pulls into the driveway the mansion. Stefan climbs out of the car without so much of a thank you, heading for the lawn where Matt and Tyler are tossing around a football. Damon stares at them for a moment, making sure they aren't going to play. The trio heads for the front door. Damon debates his next move. Stefan could potentially hate him for this.
"Fuck it," he mumbles.
Let his brother hate him. It's not his job to be well liked.
Damon rolls down the window just as the boys reach the front door. "Bye Bunny Boy, have fun. DayDay loves you."
Stefan's face turns bright red. If looks could kill, Damon would be in hell right about now. He smirks and pulls out of the driveway, hearing Tyler Lockwood's laugh for the next 5 blocks along with his brother making apologies and excuses. Damon shakes his head. It'll be worth it in the long run.
Damon plots out part two of the plan when Stefan never texts him with a time to pick him up. Curfew is still 2 hours off, but an early bedtime may do his little brother a world of good. He packs up the messenger bag usually reserved for when Stefan is in space and they have to go out, climbing back into his car. Damon drives back out to the Lockwood's just as the sun begins to set over the horizon.
The boys are on the front lawn, playing football beneath fairy lights strung in the garden. Damon's jaw locks. He's told Stefan before that he's not allowed to play any sports with these boys. It's also something he's talked to Matt and Tyler about alone, along with their parents. His little stunt on the school's field with Tanner should've been enough.
It's time his brother stopped fighting his need to drop and his friends remembered they weren't dealing with a fellow caretaker.
Just as he gets out of the car, Tyler throws the ball directly at his little brother. Stefan misses and it pins him in the shoulder, causing him to stumble back a bit. Damon vamps over, grabbing him by his waist.
"You alright, Bunny Boy?"
Stefan's blush returns. He wiggles in his brother's grip but Damon remains firm.
"I told you not to play big boy games, you could get hurt." He turns Stefan around to inspect him. "We don't need you getting more booboos."
Stefan squirms. "Damon," he whines. "You're embarrassing me."
Another sign his brother is dropping. If he was truly big, Stefan would try to fight him and likely be able to get out of his grip. It makes Damon more confident to keep up the act. In the background, Tyler is snickering. Guilt fills Matt's face as he nudges his best friend. Damon can hear him whisper something about "Stefan could've gotten hurt".
"Oh, someone's getting cranky. I think you need a baba then go night night." Damon lifts Stefan into his arms. He wiggles as he's placed on his big brother's hip. "Shhh, it's okay. Look, I brought you bunny."
Damon reaches into his bag and takes it out, handing it to Stefan. His brother reluctantly holds it close. Damon looks back at the teenagers. Tyler's tough bravado melts a bit under his firm glance. Matt straightens out, speaking before Damon can.
"Sorry, we forgot about your rule."
Damon rubs Stefan's back. His brother is bright red by this point, hiding his face in his bunny. "Next time, keep it to age appropriate activities, yes?"
"Yes, sir," Matt says.
Tyler is silent until he's elbowed in the ribs. "Yeah, um, sorry, Damon. We uh, he's normally fine when we play."
Damon tilts his head. "Normally?"
"Well, yeah."
"You know my baby brother isn't supposed to get hurt. I'm not sure how your parents would feel if he dropped while under your watch and you weren't following the rules."
Tyler looks away. Damon would never actually snitch to Carol and especially not Richard. As much as he may dislike the little wolf and sees right past the asshole bravado, he is not going to set up a kid to undergo what he did in his own childhood. Tyler is relatively harmless in the long run. In time, he'll learn what Damon did: being tough only gets you so far in life. At least Tyler has Matt and Bonnie to help straighten his ass out.
He urns his attention back to his blushing brother. "Let's get you home," he coos. "You look so tired."
Damon bounces Stefan in his arms as he walks back to the car. He settles him into the back and pulls the seatbelt over him. Stefan's pouting, his thumb already in his mouth. Damon can see parts of the big boy still in his eyes, but that'll disappear soon enough.
"Mean," Stefan mumbles.
Damon presses a kiss to his forehead and gets up front. Stefan whines the whole way home, kicking his legs and moaning about unfair his big brother is. Outside a small smirk, Damon ignores him. His baby brother is hungry and tired. That'd make any baby cranky.
He pulls in front of the boarding house and takes Stefan from the back, the bunny still firmly tucked under his arm and thumb in mouth. Damon carries him inside and heads straight for the kitchen. He grabs a bottle and bib, tying the latter around his neck. Damon heads upstairs to the master bedroom and settles against the pillows, pre-arranged for feeding. He holds Stefan in the crook of his arm.
"Let's get that yucky thumb out of your mouth," Damon coos, gently pulling it out and wrinkling his nose at all the drool. He sticks the bottle into his mouth, smiling as his brother instantly begins sucking. "There, isn't that better?"
Stefan hesitates then nods. Damon smiles, stroking his cheek. He gazes down at him, lovingly though a bit of firmness in his eyes. There's still another few moments to sink something into Big Boy Stefan's brain.
"You will never put this off for this long," he says softly. Realistically, there's a part of every Little that tries to hold off space for a bit, that's healthy. The lengths Stefan has gone to, this week and in the past, proves he does not have the same luxury. Damon cannot compel him, but he can get his point in through these methods. "Or I will repeat this process again."
Stefan slowly nods, sucking on his bottle. Damon smiles and rocks him a little.
"That's my good boy," he whispers. "You finish that baba and then we can have a splashy bath."