November 2009
Damon knows it's a lazy guardian moment, but they eat at The Grill once a week. It gets him out of cooking and Stefan really likes it. Usually he can con him into getting at least a little something that's healthy. Tonight, he compromised on sweet potato fries over onion rings. Damon considers that a small miracle.
"So, ya know how we're closed in a couple of weeks for Veteran's Day?" Stefan asks as he takes a bite of his turkey burger.
"Yup. You have any big plans?"
"No. But that weekend, the school has something fun planned."
"What? Some kind of party?"
"No. A camping trip." Damon arches a brow. Stefan grins. "We'd leave Saturday and come back on Monday morning."
"Two nights in the woods?" Damon asks, a frown forming on his face.
"Well, yeah. But we used to go camping with Dad all the time. I'll be fine."
"Yeah, you will. Because you're not going."
Stefan's mouth drops open. Damon shakes his head and adds more steak sauce to his sirloin.
"Day, everyone in my class is going. It's all the 8th graders."
"I'm sure not everyone will go."
"All my friends will," Stefan argues.
"Your friends are not my concern. You are. There's no way I'm letting you out of my sight for 3 days. Especially when you're going into the woods. Do you know all the things that could be out there?"
"It's not a full moon," Stefan grumbles, pushing the tomato off his burger.
Damon keeps his own voice down. "That doesn't change that vampires could be lurking. 150 students, vulnerable, in tents? Yeah, that's a perfect recipe. Have you never seen a horror movie?"
Stefan rolls his eyes. "No, because you won't let me."
Damon tries not to soften his resolve at that. He barely lets Stefan watch anything PG-13.
"Regardless. Even without supernatural beings, I am not about to send you off into the woods alone with other teenagers."
"We wouldn't be alone. There's chaperones! Including teachers and parents. Ms. Donovan is going."
Damon makes a face. "She's back in town?"
Stefan shrugs. "I guess. Matt says she's trying."
"Well, regardless, Kelly Donovan doesn't give me much hope."
"What about all the teachers going?"
"We barely know these people, Stefan. You've been at the school for 2 months."
Stefan huffs and folds his arms over his chest. Damon observes him for a minute.
"I could chaperone."
"No!" Stefan's fork clangs on the table. A few patrons look over. Stefan's cheeks burn and refuses to make eye contact. His voice is lower once they return to their food. "You can't."
"You just said Kelly Donovan is."
"Yes, but she's not an overprotective parent. She won't be fussing over us."
"I wouldn't fuss over your friends ," Damon says with a shrug.
"Yeah, but you would me. The last thing I need is you trying to shove another sweater over my head or calling me "Bunny Boy". Or God, trying to tuck me into my sleeping bag." Stefan shakes his head. "No. I just want to be a regular teenager for one night."
Damon tries to picture a night away from Stefan. They haven't been since he saved him. Even if they don't spend every minute together, at the end of the day, Stefan is tucked into his bed. Damon can watch him sleep, make sure he's still breathing. He'll protect his baby brother from any scary monster they dares come close.
How is he supposed to do that if Stefan is in the woods?
"Stef, odds are, your phone wouldn't work out at the campsites. If something happened, you wouldn't be able to get in contact with me."
"Nothing is going to happen." Stefan's voice borderlines a whine.
"I don't just mean you getting hurt. What if you're homesick? Or have a nightmare?" Damon shakes his head. "No, you're not ready."
"I am."
"If you want, I'll take you camping another time. When it's warmer. Like you said, we used to go all the time with Dad." Damon grins. "It'll be like old times. Except now we won't have dad trying to pressure us to hunt. We could roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories."
Stefan doesn't smile. He keeps his arms folded over his chest and eyes on his plate. A pout falls across his lips.
"Don't want to go with you," he mumbles. The words are like a knife to Damon's gut. "I want to go with my friends."
Damon draws a deep breath. He shakes his head.
"Sorry, kiddo. The answer's no."
Stefan whispers something that prior to Damon's transition, he wouldn't be able to hear. He's almost certain his brother forgot he can, or else he wouldn't have said it.
"Of course, warden."
Damon chooses to ignore that as he goes back to his steak.
Stefan's silent treatments are nothing new. They started when he was 6 and Damon couldn't go to one of his peewee football games because of a college tour. He learned it from Lily. While Giuseppe yelled and hit to express disappointment, their mother went mute. No expression. Not even a flinch of acknowledgment. It was as if whichever child she was cross with didn't exist at all.
The youngest member of the family wasn't as great at the last part but the quiet is something he mastered.
Damon goes about his life as usual. He talks to Stefan, even if he won't respond. The first time, it was only 3 hours before he gave in. The ultimate record is 4 days but that was a year back when Damon refused to dump Katherine. And part of that came from the brothers living in separate houses.
The morning after their dinner, Stefan hangs the permission slip on the fridge with a martini magnet. Damon ignores it. His brother will come to him eventually.
As the sun rises on the second day without a word, Damon settles on the balcony that overlooks the sprawling property. His phone is sandwiched between his shoulder and ear while Enzo's deep, accented voice rings through.
"Where ya heading now?" Damon asks.
"Seattle. I got a tip on a newbie that's on the brink of being caught."
"How many bodies?"
"20 confirmed." Damon expels a low hiss. "They're terrible about covering their tracks. Yet, they try to put the bodies back together. Says there's some hope."
"You seem to find that in the strangest places."
"Well, if I hadn't, you wouldn't still be alive."
Damon grins. "That's right."
"It sounds a little quiet there. Stefan still asleep?"
"Probably. But even when he's awake these days, he's not talking to me."
"Why?"
"He's mad I won't let him go camping with his school. It'd be 3 days in the woods." Damon scoffs. "Yeah, nuh uh. No way."
Enzo is quiet for a moment. Damon almost doesn't notice as he watches Crow get some much needed fresh air.
"He's not my brother. I also don't have one, so maybe I'm wrong. But I don't see why he can't go," Enzo says.
Damon rolls his eyes. "I just said it. 3 days in the woods. Minimal contact, if any at all. I almost considered it but he doesn't want me chaperoning."
"Ah, so your pride is hurt."
"No. It has nothing to do with me and everything to do with his safety. What if there's vampires that I haven't scoped out? That's the perfect feeding ground."
"The odds of them striking with so many around is so low, nearly impossible."
"But not completely. Besides, there's more. What if he got hurt?"
"They'd bring him back to you."
"I can still prevent it happening at all."
"Like you can when he goes out with his friends or to school?"
Damon purses his lips.
"He could have a nightmare, Enzo. No, he's not ready."
"He's not? Or you're not."
"Alright, I think I'm going to hang up now."
"You can be upset with me all you want, tesoro . It doesn't change that you are understandably protective and maybe a touch possessive of Stefan."
"He's been through hell this past year. He needs protecting."
"He also needs to be a teenager. Even if you're not ready."
"I didn't say I'm…"
"Damon. Are you really going to lie to me?"
Damon inhales then slowly exhales. He shakes his head, even though Enzo can't see him.
"We haven't spent a night apart since I saved him."
"You knew it was bound to happen."
"No, it wasn't."
"Oh? What about college?"
"I'll just live in his dorm."
Enzo snorts. "Oh, he'll love that. His overprotective big brother tucking him in every night and escorting him to frat parties." Damon sticks out his tongue. "I understand why you want to protect him, Damon. But it's not fair to Stefan. He's trying to show he's ready. And he can only do that if you let him."
Damon chews on his lip and drums his fingers against his sweatpants. The thought of being without Stefan for one night sends an ache to the pit of his stomach.
"It's selfish but I need him with me, Enzo. I don't know how I'd cope for 2 whole nights. All I'd do is worry about him."
"You said that about him going to school too. And you still sent him."
"Legally I have to."
"You could've homeschooled. But you made the right choice, the selfless one, to let that bambino go off on his own."
Damon shrugs. "That's 7 hours."
"It was a start. Maybe 3 days is too much right now. But, surely, there's a compromise somewhere."
"Don't call me Shirley," Damon mutters with a sly, half hearted smirk.
Enzo huffs. "Still don't get that one."
"You will one day." He pauses. "I'll think about it. Thanks, Enzo."
"Anytime. And hey, if you do let Stefan go, maybe you'll get a reward."
Damon arches a brow. "Oh?"
"Your favorite Italian vamp in your bed for the night."
Damon clicks his tongue, his smirk only growing. "Well, I certainly do have a lot to consider."
"What's this?"
Those are the first words Damon's heard leave his brother's mouth in 3 days. Stefan stairs at the balled up material wrapped in a bow on the center of his bed.
"A sleeping bag," Damon says. "Your old one has Peter Rabbit all over it. And while I don't find an issue with that, I figured you might. Plus, your gargantuan legs have grown since we last used it. Doubt you'd fit."
Stefan eyes the olive green gift for a moment before looking up at him. "I told you I don't want to go camping with you."
"Oh, I'm not going. You are. With your class."
Stefan's sass melts. His brows knit together as his lips fall into a frown. "I thought you said no."
"I did. And I'm still not agreeing to the whole thing. However, I asked around. Quite a few students are only going for the first night for various reasons. You can be among that group."
"Really?" Hope brightens Stefan's eyes. "The whole night? Without you there?"
"You'll have to try to call me if you can. And if you're scared, you can tell your teachers and they'll find a way to contact me."
"But I can go?"
Damon nods.
"Yeah, Bunny Boy. You can go."
Stefan leaps off the bed and throws his arms around his big brother's neck. Damon lifts him up so he's holding him on his hip. Stefan pulls away a little with a smile.
"Thank you."
Damon nods. He pushes back some of Stefan's hair. "I know you thought I was being mean. The truth is, Stef, I'm sure you're ready. It's me who's nervous."
"I kinda figured."
"I've kept you close these past 5 months." Damon strokes his cheek with his thumb. "All I want is to keep you safe. But I also know that means allowing you to have fun when you can."
Stefan bites his lip. "2 nights did seem like a lot. I don't know if I was ready for that."
"Oh, really, huh?" Damon tilts his head.
Stefan nods. "Yeah. But I think I can handle 1." He plays with his brother's necklace. "I can come home if I want?"
"Absolutely. And there's nothing wrong with that. You're trying something new. That's a very big deal. But I'm proud of you, Bunny Boy."
"Really? Even when you thought it was a bad idea?"
"Yes. Because you proved to be more mature than me in taking this step of independence."
Stefan smirks. "Does that make me the big brother?"
"Nice try." Damon tickles his side. Stefan screeches, pushing his hand away. "You're still my baby brother."
"I don't think I'd like to be the older one. Doesn't seem as fun."
"Then you better stay as little as possible."
Damon presses several kisses to the right side of his face.
Stefan gathers around the campfire with Elena, Matt, Tyler and Caroline. He's bundled up in 3 hoodies. The top one is borrowed from Damon, gray with fleece lining. The sleeves are rolled up a bit as he roasts a marshmallow.
Damon doesn't focus in on what they're talking about from his spot in the tree. He just watches intently as his brother laughs and jokes around with his friends. He's stuffing himself with far too much sugar.
There is a bit of apprehension in his face but it's short lived. At one point, he does pull out his phone and sends a text. Damon's vibrates in his pocket a few minutes later, the signal taking a minute to kick in.
Love you. 3
Damon grins. He quickly responds before climbing down from the tree and disappearing from the woods. He'll probably return after Enzo falls asleep, just to make sure Stefan isn't having any nightmares. But for now, he's content that his brother is safe while Stefan gets to feel as though he's gained a bit of independence.
