Stefan is one month away from being 16 in this chapter, his friends are all either 17 or are nearly 17. Damon, forever 23.

October 3rd, 2012

"You're seriously mad about this?!" Stefan snaps.

His footsteps stomp through the entryway. Damon quickly jumps back into the kitchen. He discreetly pokes his head around the corner. Stefan has his phone sandwiched between his ear and shoulder as he kicks off his boots. He throws his jacket onto the rack and his keys go in the dish above. Damon can also make out Elena's voice through the speaker. Usually, he doesn't eavesdrop, but he has seen his brother this upset in awhile.

"You and Matt need to work out your crap!"

"So now it's my fault he's having a stupid tantrum?"

"We dated for 2 years, Stefan," Elena's voice calms a little. "Then I started dating his best friend. Do you really blame him?"

"I apologized about 20 times. How many more do you want me to? Because it seems he's only mad at me and not you."

"It's easier for him to be mad at you."

"Even Tyler told him to get a grip. So, why is it wrong when I do?"

"You're not Tyler!"

Damon sighs as he slips back into the kitchen.

This has been a recurring argument since Elena and Stefan went public. The two expected Matt would be upset. They couldn't have predicted just how nuclear he'd go. It resulted in a physical fight between him and Stefan that Tyler of all people had to break up. Damon was ready to murder the bus boy but Stefan insisted he let it go, especially as Matt walked away after throwing the first punch. That Salvatore pride blew up within the younger teen and he chased after him. Both apologized, but Matt still hasn't let it go.

Damon will always be on his brother's side. He's his number one priority. But outside the physical violence, he really can't blame Matt. Of course Elena made the right choice to dump him if she didn't see a future. But Stefan and Matt have potentially been the closest of the group for the past 3 years, maybe a close second to him and Bonnie. Damon has disapproved of this relationship from the beginning for many reasons. One of the bigger ones was this situation. No girl is worth your best friend.

Alas, Stefan and Elena are forever bonded after the events on the Wickery Bridge last spring. Trying to stop this would just be fruitless and frustrating.

"I can't do this anymore, Elena."

There's a small scoff. "Whatever, Stefan."

The line goes dead. There's a small slam followed by a slew of curse words that reasonably should lead to Stefan getting his mouth washed out with soap, but Damon pretends not to hear it.

Stefan stomps up the stairs. A moment later, his door slams shut. Another thing Damon has lectured him about over the years. Yet, he also lets it go.

Damon gives it a few minutes. They're long and torturous. All he wants to do is comfort his brother. If he goes up there too soon, Stefan will push him away. They're finally getting past The Terrible Summer. Damon doesn't want to go back there.

Eventually, he heads upstairs. Damon nearly opens the door then remembers. He knocks on the door.

"Stef?"

There's a brief pause. Stefan's voice comes out muffled.

"Come in, I guess."

Damon hides a sigh of relief and pushes the door open. Stefan's face down into the pillows. Damon slowly walks over.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Stefan kicks his leg. "Being a teenager sucks," he mumbles.

Damon smiles, letting out a soft aw . "It does, doesn't it?" He sits beside his head.

"Maybe you had something on this never growing up business."

Damon runs his fingers through his baby brother's curls. "Maybe I'm always right."

Stefan rolls over. Damon's smile fades when he sees the pout on his face. Stefan's cheeks are stained with tears, eyes blood shot.

"Oh, Bunny," Damon whispers, running his thumb across a fresh tear. For once in the past few months, his brother doesn't rebuke the nickname.

"I hate this," Stefan whispers. "I hate fighting with Elena. I…I miss Matt."

Damon nods. "I know, bub."

A soft sob escapes Stefan's lips. Damon pushes hair out of his eyes. "I was so dumb."

"Hey, hey, don't talk about my baby brother that way," Damon lightly chastises. "You aren't dumb."

"Yes, I am. I thought I could have both. Elena and Matt. But now, everything is so messed up. Matt is mad at me, Elena is feeling guilty and I just…God, why does everything have to be so complicated?"

Damon shakes his head. "I wish I knew. That's just a part of growing up."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, it does."

Damon wipes away his tears before slowly rubbing his cheeks. He leans down to press a kiss to Stefan's forehead. Before his lips can brush against the skin, his baby brother's arms latch around his neck. Damon expels a soft oh . On instinct, he pulls him onto his lap and cuddles him close. Stefan rests his head on his shoulder.

Damon can't remember the last time they cuddled like this. As it was, they went the entire summer with very minimal hugs. Looking back, maybe in the days following the Wickery Bridge incident were when Stefan snuggled up with him. After that was the big upset followed by a summer of low communication.

As much as Damon hates that Stefan is so sad, he can't help but feel relieved to have this back

For a good 30 minutes, all Damon does is rock his baby brother. He presses kisses to his face and coos about how sorry he is that he's so hurt. Stefan remains with his head on his shoulder. Eventually, his thumb enters his mouth. It takes everything Damon has not to cry.

It's as if the drama never happened. Stefan is just his baby brother again. Nothing outside the walls of these boarding house walls matter.

Eventually, the thumb drops. Damon grabs a tissue to wipe away some of the drool that comes with it. He gives Stefan a small smile.

"A little better?"

Stefan sniffles then nods. "Yeah," he whispers. "I…I don't think I realized how much I needed this. How much I missed it."

"You know you can always come give me a cuddle, buddy."

"Things have been rough between us lately."

Damon nods. "I know. But we're getting past all that, hm? And maybe things won't be the same as they were before. But that doesn't mean this has to change."

"I'm not too old?"

"Never too old." Damon tweaks his nose. "I love you, Stef."

"I love you too, Day." He shifts a bit so he's sitting up more. "Thanks."

"Anytime." Damon goes back to fussing with his bangs. "What are the chances you'll keep this hair longer?"

"I have an appointment with the barber tomorrow." Damon makes a face. Stefan chuckles. "The days of that horrible haircut have been over for over a year."

"I happened to love that haircut."

"You would, it made me look about 7."

Damon hears a familiar car pull into the driveway. He almost expects it to be Elena's MKZ. Instead, it's a very old used truck.

"Uh, Stef? I think you may have a visitor."

Stefan climbs off his lap and walks over to the window. He peers down. His brows furrow.

"What's he doing here?"

"Why don't you go ask?"

Damon follows Stefan downstairs. His younger brother opens the door before the bell has a chance to ring. Matt stands there wearing his letterman jacket, hands stuffed in his pockets. For the first time in 2 months, Damon doesn't see anger in those blue eyes. He's biting his lip and dragging his faded Keds against the mat. Stefan tilts his head.

"What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, you think we could go for a drive?"

Stefan bites his own lip. "Am I going to come back from it?"

Matt chuckles. "Yeah, man." He looks over his shoulder to the older Salvatore brother. "Can Stefan come out?"

"You promise he'll come back from it?"

"If I was going to kill him, do you think I'd take him out with your knowledge?"

The quarterback makes a good point.

Stefan turns to face his brother. "Please?"

Damon sighs but gives a small nod. "Not too long. You have that French test tomorrow and need to study."

"Won't take that long," Matt promises.

"Alright."

Stefan slides on his boots and grabs his jacket before following Matt out to his truck. Damon watches from the doorway. He hopes more than anything when Stefan returns, fences have been mended.

But if not, his lap is always free.

HarryMalfoy09 prompted "Stefan just come home from highschool one day after fighting with Elena or something and Damon knowing by the look on his face that he had a bad day and showering him with affection and attention, even holding him while he cries out of frustration over not understanding teenage girls."

I promise we will get context to what happened over the summer between these two along with what exactly happened with Stefan Elena. I don't know exactly what their future holds. I want this to mainly be a Defan fic, of course, with some eventual Denzo (platonic) Stenzo. Elena will definitely not be Stefan's only girlfriend, not even his first. So, we'll see what the future holds for him. I promise, Stelena or any Stefan romance won't take over the fic. This is still a story about brothers.

Next time, we'll get a look at how Stefan fell in love with football. So, we'll get some Little!Stefan again.

As always, let me know what you think and feel free to leave prompts! Whether it be for the past, present or future.