[fic] Gravity Hurts (5/9)
Title: Gravity Hurts (5/9)
Author: badboy_fangirl
Characters/Pairings: Damon POV; Jeremy + Damon (+ Alaric); Damon/Elena, Stefan/Elena, Jeremy/Bonnie; Stefan, Elena, and Caroline are on hand this round.
Word Count: ~2300
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 (for language)
Spoilers: Everything through S3.
Summary: A bromance for the ages.
Author's notes: This fic is derived from this thread of discussion with shipperjunkie.
Previous Chapters: [1] | [2] | [3] | [4]
As Damon rounds the final turn to Caroline's house, he sees Stefan's car parked out front. He can't imagine that either his brother or Elena decided today was a day for an outing, so something must be wrong.
A moment of panicked worry is superceded by just a smidge of glee as he shuts the Camaro's engine off and focuses his hearing on the two vampires inside Liz's quaint little house. Because there are only two, the third one is somewhere else so these two can gossip about her. She wouldn't do that! Caroline's voice rings with disbelief, and a long-suffering sigh billows out of Stefan. I saw it with my own eyes, Caroline. It was...really weird. Catching them, was like, I don't know. Almost as bad as when Elena tried to tell me about making out with Damon. Just...bad. Just, not my Elena.
Damon's interest is instantly peaked by whatever bad behavior Elena has engaged in, if for nothing else than the perverse pleasure of annoying Stefan (that never got old, even when he thought he didn't have the dumbest brother in Virginia, but of course Stefan had ruined that by letting Elena drown). He wonders who Stefan caught Elena doing what with exactly. He can guess it was a dinner prospect, not a sexcapade, since, well, he remembers. In the beginning, all you want is blood, and you don't think you'll ever want anything else ever again.
And besides, Elena was only sexually illicit with the older Salvatore. Damon snorts at himself. He could rail about how Stefan's Elena is the exact same Elena who made out with him-against a pillar, her tongue wicked and delicious, her hands works of art across his shoulders and over his cheeks-because that's how it always works. Girls love Stefan, but for a good time, they call Damon. It's only Stefan who doesn't know that part of them, or he very conveniently looks away when they're visible.
Damon likes to think Elena only shows it to him, but he doesn't know for sure.
He skips up onto Caroline's porch and knocks superficially before letting himself in. They're standing in the living room, separated by the coffee table, all serious looks, Stefan with his arms folded over his chest and Caroline all but wringing her hands.
"Who'd Elena kill?" he asks glibly, knowing that they'd be a lot more freaked out if that were actually the case. Maybe a reality check will bring them down from their high horses.
Caroline's mouth opens automatically, but then she snaps it shut and looks to Stefan. Damon waits, just staring at his brother. It's not like he can't just go find Elena and find out what the hell happened, but he wants them to tell him. He wants their agony, not Elena's guilt. He wants Stefan's agony. He doesn't really care about Blondie. That's when he remembers why he came there, so he says, "Bonnie's working on a spell to permanently disable Klaus, and she's immovable, so I suggest you back off and give her all the time she needs so she doesn't kill all of us just to shut you up."
Caroline huffs, momentarily forgetting Elena's sin, but Stefan finally answers the original question. "I found Elena feeding...on Matt Donovan."
Damon's surprised at that, but he covers it quickly with a smirk. "The Quarterback? Well, I suppose he's tasty, all healthy, athletic blood. But she didn't kill him? Just fed?"
Stefan nods stiffly, but he's still obviously not okay with it. So Damon presses it further. "Like she lost control, fed on him, and you pulled her off so she didn't kill him, or she was feeding on him because they were fucking?"
Caroline gasps loudly and exclaims, "They weren't fucking! Oh, my God, Damon. Could you be any more gross? I'm sure she just compelled him to let her do it."
Damon snorts. "Right, because Elena would be all up on compulsion less than two weeks after turning. And like she'd have to compel the busboy. I'm sure he'd do anything for her, especially after getting her killed."
"That wasn't Matt's fault!" Caroline shouts.
Damon narrows his eyes at her and then swings his gaze around to Stefan. "Oh, don't worry, I know whose fault it is."
Stefan flinches a little under the remark, but presses on. "She was just feeding on him. It wasn't the first time, either, I just happened to catch them this time. Elena and I fought, and she left the Boarding House. I came here to get Caroline to go look for her. I thought maybe she went home."
Damon pulls out his phone. "I'll call Jeremy, he's at the house."
"He's at the house alone?!" Caroline shrieks, and then she's out the door so fast it makes Damon's hair flutter.
Facing his brother, he hears Caroline's car door slam and the engine start up. "Should I follow her to make sure everything's okay?" He says it with just the right tone, as though he just wants to take care of everything, but really it's because he knows his brother's thought process right now. He doesn't want to be the one to correct Elena, even though it's the worst thing he can think of her doing, minus actually killing someone. Which is bound to happen sooner or later, anyway. Typical Stefan martyr stuff. Annoying as hell, by the way.
"She might hurt Jeremy," Stefan says.
Damon snorts again. "She won't hurt her brother," he says, never more certain of anything.
"Damon, I killed our father, remember?"
This time Damon laughs outright. "Yeah, I remember. But he was already bleeding, and he was a douche who deserved to die. If Elena fed on Matt without hurting him, she won't kill Jeremy. Even if she feeds on him."
He turns around to follow Caroline out the door and back to the Gilbert house. "Damon?" Stefan calls.
"What?" he demands, looking over his shoulder.
"Just...help her, okay?"
Damon nods, because there aren't words that can be uttered now.
Caroline stands glaring at him as Jeremy and Elena go up the stairs to Jeremy's bedroom. "You're disgusting, you know. As completely arousing as this is... Ugh, so gross."
Damon laughs, and bites his tongue so as not to remind her of when she liked arousing him. There's no reason to make her feel worse, Elena did a pretty good job of that herself. He really loves it when the Petrova fire comes out because it does turn him on. Everything about Elena does something for him, but that part, the part that she guards so carefully? That's his favorite.
"Let's go outside, Blondie, give the kids a chance to talk," he says, grabbing Caroline's arm and dragging her out on the front porch.
She jerks out of his grasp and says petulantly, "Quit calling me 'Blondie,' I don't like it."
She walks across the porch and sits down on the top step. Her shoulders droop and all the nasty things he could spew at her seem to melt off his tongue. He's obviously spending too much time with Jeremy because he's going soft. He says nothing, but sits beside her, and the silence stretches.
Finally Caroline says, "Jeremy's telling Elena that you should help her with her vampire transition."
"Quit eavesdropping," he says, giving her a look.
"Did you compel Jeremy to say that?" she demands, though her voice has lost all of the shrill shoutiness of earlier.
"No," Damon responds pointedly. "Believe it or not, Jeremy came up with that one all on his own after my baby bro let his sister drown. I didn't have to say a word."
Caroline leans forward, wrapping her arms around her knees tightly. She stares out into the setting sun and sighs forlornly. "I hate to even say this, but I think he's right." She glances over at him, and Damon can't help the shock that must be all over his face. "You know my loyalty lies with Stefan, for a lot of reasons, but..." She shakes her head. "He doesn't know what to do with Elena the vampire. He wanted Elena the human, and now he's up shit creek without a paddle." She pauses, obviously thinking, before she adds, "When he helped me, he wasn't emotionally involved. He was my friend, sure, but we got close because he helped me. I don't think he really liked me when I human anyway. He related to me better once I was a vampire. I don't see that happening with him and Elena."
Damon watches her as she turns her eyes back to the house across the street. She says softly, "You don't want her drinking from Matt anymore than Stefan does, do you? That's a private thing, Damon. If you do that with someone..." She glances over at him again. "You either make them forget you did it, or they're willing for a whole different set of reasons. She can't use Matt like that."
"No," Damon says in agreement. "And I bet she won't, now that everyone knows about it. It was her dirty little secret. You know Elena, she always has to have one, but once it comes out, it's the end of the line."
Caroline studies him and then one of her eyebrows quirk. "That's not what happened with you. You weren't her dirty little secret; you were the secret she was keeping from herself."
The sudden turn of the conversation displaces Damon. He's sitting perfectly still, but he feels like he's reeling and trying to plaster a smirk in place doesn't seem to work. His mouth can't make any shapes other than a small O of surprise. Finally he finds himself uttering, "What?"
"I hate you, you know," Caroline says. "I want to always hate you for what you did to me, but if I hate you, I might make Elena miss the boat. Damn it!" She jumps to her feet and skitters down the steps so she's standing on the sidewalk. Spinning around she pins him with a stare. "You have to teach her what she needs to know, not how to be a Damon-esque vampire, do you understand me? And if she falls in love with you, you have to treat her like gold. And you have to not rub it in Stefan's face."
Damon stands up too for no reason other than what she's saying doesn't compute. He didn't come out here to get Caroline's blessing, and he certainly doesn't need it or want it.
Right?
(Jeremy is totally ruining him. Why do the Gilberts have so much influence over him?)
Caroline moves so she's standing right in front of him and she grabs his hand. "Give me your word, Damon."
Like that means anything, he wants to scoff. Instead, the words, "I promise," fall out of his mouth.
There is something seriously wrong with him, obviously.
The door opens and Elena comes out on the porch. "There you guys are," she says, looking at them and their joined hands oddly. "What's going on?"
Caroline flashes a giant smile and then rushes over to hug Elena. "I have to go," she says. "I need to go apologize to Bonnie. I haven't been being a very good friend to either of you. So, I need to fix that. You," she says, pulling back to look into Elena's face, "you stay here with Damon and Jeremy. Maybe a break from Stefan is a good idea, yeah?" she says gently.
Elena swallows and nods her head almost imperceptibly. "Thanks, Care," she whispers, and they hug again.
Damon rolls his eyes, because if this is going to be the requirement for him to help Elena, it's not going to go well. He doesn't do comfort hugs. Shirtless hugs? Yeah, but they all know Elena's not gonna go for that. Caroline gives him a fierce stare as she passes him to go to her car, as if trying to re-communicate everything that has just been said, and then he's just standing there, alone with Elena.
Neither of them moves or says a word for at least a whole minute.
Then, at the same moment, they both turn awkwardly toward each other, and Damon finds he'd like to hug her. Like, he would really like to close the distance between them and take her in his arms, and make it all better.
His problem is he doesn't do platitudes and he's never tried to pretend things are anything other than what they are, but in that split second, he realizes giving her comfort is neither of those things. It's, like, the desire of his heart. Just to make her feel better, if only for a short while.
So, he takes two steps, and when there's only a foot of space left, he opens his arms. He doesn't even have to say anything because she launches herself against his chest and completes the thought herself. As her head finds a spot to rest in the cove of his shoulder and neck, her arms surround him, under his jacket. She holds on tightly, and Damon thinks maybe this is the best moment of his life.
He wraps his arms around her and presses his mouth to her ear. He doesn't say, It's gonna be okay or Don't worry. Instead he says, "I'm here," and he means it. He couldn't leave if he wanted to, and he doesn't really want to. He never did.
Elena sniffs, and he wonders if she's crying. He doesn't look to see, but when she says, "I know," he finds that the world is spinning just as it should, tears or no tears.
...chapter six...
Author: badboy_fangirl
Characters/Pairings: Damon POV; Jeremy + Damon (+ Alaric); Damon/Elena, Stefan/Elena, Jeremy/Bonnie; Stefan, Elena, and Caroline are on hand this round.
Word Count: ~2300
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 (for language)
Spoilers: Everything through S3.
Summary: A bromance for the ages.
Author's notes: This fic is derived from this thread of discussion with shipperjunkie.
Previous Chapters: [1] | [2] | [3] | [4]
As Damon rounds the final turn to Caroline's house, he sees Stefan's car parked out front. He can't imagine that either his brother or Elena decided today was a day for an outing, so something must be wrong.
A moment of panicked worry is superceded by just a smidge of glee as he shuts the Camaro's engine off and focuses his hearing on the two vampires inside Liz's quaint little house. Because there are only two, the third one is somewhere else so these two can gossip about her. She wouldn't do that! Caroline's voice rings with disbelief, and a long-suffering sigh billows out of Stefan. I saw it with my own eyes, Caroline. It was...really weird. Catching them, was like, I don't know. Almost as bad as when Elena tried to tell me about making out with Damon. Just...bad. Just, not my Elena.
Damon's interest is instantly peaked by whatever bad behavior Elena has engaged in, if for nothing else than the perverse pleasure of annoying Stefan (that never got old, even when he thought he didn't have the dumbest brother in Virginia, but of course Stefan had ruined that by letting Elena drown). He wonders who Stefan caught Elena doing what with exactly. He can guess it was a dinner prospect, not a sexcapade, since, well, he remembers. In the beginning, all you want is blood, and you don't think you'll ever want anything else ever again.
And besides, Elena was only sexually illicit with the older Salvatore. Damon snorts at himself. He could rail about how Stefan's Elena is the exact same Elena who made out with him-against a pillar, her tongue wicked and delicious, her hands works of art across his shoulders and over his cheeks-because that's how it always works. Girls love Stefan, but for a good time, they call Damon. It's only Stefan who doesn't know that part of them, or he very conveniently looks away when they're visible.
Damon likes to think Elena only shows it to him, but he doesn't know for sure.
He skips up onto Caroline's porch and knocks superficially before letting himself in. They're standing in the living room, separated by the coffee table, all serious looks, Stefan with his arms folded over his chest and Caroline all but wringing her hands.
"Who'd Elena kill?" he asks glibly, knowing that they'd be a lot more freaked out if that were actually the case. Maybe a reality check will bring them down from their high horses.
Caroline's mouth opens automatically, but then she snaps it shut and looks to Stefan. Damon waits, just staring at his brother. It's not like he can't just go find Elena and find out what the hell happened, but he wants them to tell him. He wants their agony, not Elena's guilt. He wants Stefan's agony. He doesn't really care about Blondie. That's when he remembers why he came there, so he says, "Bonnie's working on a spell to permanently disable Klaus, and she's immovable, so I suggest you back off and give her all the time she needs so she doesn't kill all of us just to shut you up."
Caroline huffs, momentarily forgetting Elena's sin, but Stefan finally answers the original question. "I found Elena feeding...on Matt Donovan."
Damon's surprised at that, but he covers it quickly with a smirk. "The Quarterback? Well, I suppose he's tasty, all healthy, athletic blood. But she didn't kill him? Just fed?"
Stefan nods stiffly, but he's still obviously not okay with it. So Damon presses it further. "Like she lost control, fed on him, and you pulled her off so she didn't kill him, or she was feeding on him because they were fucking?"
Caroline gasps loudly and exclaims, "They weren't fucking! Oh, my God, Damon. Could you be any more gross? I'm sure she just compelled him to let her do it."
Damon snorts. "Right, because Elena would be all up on compulsion less than two weeks after turning. And like she'd have to compel the busboy. I'm sure he'd do anything for her, especially after getting her killed."
"That wasn't Matt's fault!" Caroline shouts.
Damon narrows his eyes at her and then swings his gaze around to Stefan. "Oh, don't worry, I know whose fault it is."
Stefan flinches a little under the remark, but presses on. "She was just feeding on him. It wasn't the first time, either, I just happened to catch them this time. Elena and I fought, and she left the Boarding House. I came here to get Caroline to go look for her. I thought maybe she went home."
Damon pulls out his phone. "I'll call Jeremy, he's at the house."
"He's at the house alone?!" Caroline shrieks, and then she's out the door so fast it makes Damon's hair flutter.
Facing his brother, he hears Caroline's car door slam and the engine start up. "Should I follow her to make sure everything's okay?" He says it with just the right tone, as though he just wants to take care of everything, but really it's because he knows his brother's thought process right now. He doesn't want to be the one to correct Elena, even though it's the worst thing he can think of her doing, minus actually killing someone. Which is bound to happen sooner or later, anyway. Typical Stefan martyr stuff. Annoying as hell, by the way.
"She might hurt Jeremy," Stefan says.
Damon snorts again. "She won't hurt her brother," he says, never more certain of anything.
"Damon, I killed our father, remember?"
This time Damon laughs outright. "Yeah, I remember. But he was already bleeding, and he was a douche who deserved to die. If Elena fed on Matt without hurting him, she won't kill Jeremy. Even if she feeds on him."
He turns around to follow Caroline out the door and back to the Gilbert house. "Damon?" Stefan calls.
"What?" he demands, looking over his shoulder.
"Just...help her, okay?"
Damon nods, because there aren't words that can be uttered now.
Caroline stands glaring at him as Jeremy and Elena go up the stairs to Jeremy's bedroom. "You're disgusting, you know. As completely arousing as this is... Ugh, so gross."
Damon laughs, and bites his tongue so as not to remind her of when she liked arousing him. There's no reason to make her feel worse, Elena did a pretty good job of that herself. He really loves it when the Petrova fire comes out because it does turn him on. Everything about Elena does something for him, but that part, the part that she guards so carefully? That's his favorite.
"Let's go outside, Blondie, give the kids a chance to talk," he says, grabbing Caroline's arm and dragging her out on the front porch.
She jerks out of his grasp and says petulantly, "Quit calling me 'Blondie,' I don't like it."
She walks across the porch and sits down on the top step. Her shoulders droop and all the nasty things he could spew at her seem to melt off his tongue. He's obviously spending too much time with Jeremy because he's going soft. He says nothing, but sits beside her, and the silence stretches.
Finally Caroline says, "Jeremy's telling Elena that you should help her with her vampire transition."
"Quit eavesdropping," he says, giving her a look.
"Did you compel Jeremy to say that?" she demands, though her voice has lost all of the shrill shoutiness of earlier.
"No," Damon responds pointedly. "Believe it or not, Jeremy came up with that one all on his own after my baby bro let his sister drown. I didn't have to say a word."
Caroline leans forward, wrapping her arms around her knees tightly. She stares out into the setting sun and sighs forlornly. "I hate to even say this, but I think he's right." She glances over at him, and Damon can't help the shock that must be all over his face. "You know my loyalty lies with Stefan, for a lot of reasons, but..." She shakes her head. "He doesn't know what to do with Elena the vampire. He wanted Elena the human, and now he's up shit creek without a paddle." She pauses, obviously thinking, before she adds, "When he helped me, he wasn't emotionally involved. He was my friend, sure, but we got close because he helped me. I don't think he really liked me when I human anyway. He related to me better once I was a vampire. I don't see that happening with him and Elena."
Damon watches her as she turns her eyes back to the house across the street. She says softly, "You don't want her drinking from Matt anymore than Stefan does, do you? That's a private thing, Damon. If you do that with someone..." She glances over at him again. "You either make them forget you did it, or they're willing for a whole different set of reasons. She can't use Matt like that."
"No," Damon says in agreement. "And I bet she won't, now that everyone knows about it. It was her dirty little secret. You know Elena, she always has to have one, but once it comes out, it's the end of the line."
Caroline studies him and then one of her eyebrows quirk. "That's not what happened with you. You weren't her dirty little secret; you were the secret she was keeping from herself."
The sudden turn of the conversation displaces Damon. He's sitting perfectly still, but he feels like he's reeling and trying to plaster a smirk in place doesn't seem to work. His mouth can't make any shapes other than a small O of surprise. Finally he finds himself uttering, "What?"
"I hate you, you know," Caroline says. "I want to always hate you for what you did to me, but if I hate you, I might make Elena miss the boat. Damn it!" She jumps to her feet and skitters down the steps so she's standing on the sidewalk. Spinning around she pins him with a stare. "You have to teach her what she needs to know, not how to be a Damon-esque vampire, do you understand me? And if she falls in love with you, you have to treat her like gold. And you have to not rub it in Stefan's face."
Damon stands up too for no reason other than what she's saying doesn't compute. He didn't come out here to get Caroline's blessing, and he certainly doesn't need it or want it.
Right?
(Jeremy is totally ruining him. Why do the Gilberts have so much influence over him?)
Caroline moves so she's standing right in front of him and she grabs his hand. "Give me your word, Damon."
Like that means anything, he wants to scoff. Instead, the words, "I promise," fall out of his mouth.
There is something seriously wrong with him, obviously.
The door opens and Elena comes out on the porch. "There you guys are," she says, looking at them and their joined hands oddly. "What's going on?"
Caroline flashes a giant smile and then rushes over to hug Elena. "I have to go," she says. "I need to go apologize to Bonnie. I haven't been being a very good friend to either of you. So, I need to fix that. You," she says, pulling back to look into Elena's face, "you stay here with Damon and Jeremy. Maybe a break from Stefan is a good idea, yeah?" she says gently.
Elena swallows and nods her head almost imperceptibly. "Thanks, Care," she whispers, and they hug again.
Damon rolls his eyes, because if this is going to be the requirement for him to help Elena, it's not going to go well. He doesn't do comfort hugs. Shirtless hugs? Yeah, but they all know Elena's not gonna go for that. Caroline gives him a fierce stare as she passes him to go to her car, as if trying to re-communicate everything that has just been said, and then he's just standing there, alone with Elena.
Neither of them moves or says a word for at least a whole minute.
Then, at the same moment, they both turn awkwardly toward each other, and Damon finds he'd like to hug her. Like, he would really like to close the distance between them and take her in his arms, and make it all better.
His problem is he doesn't do platitudes and he's never tried to pretend things are anything other than what they are, but in that split second, he realizes giving her comfort is neither of those things. It's, like, the desire of his heart. Just to make her feel better, if only for a short while.
So, he takes two steps, and when there's only a foot of space left, he opens his arms. He doesn't even have to say anything because she launches herself against his chest and completes the thought herself. As her head finds a spot to rest in the cove of his shoulder and neck, her arms surround him, under his jacket. She holds on tightly, and Damon thinks maybe this is the best moment of his life.
He wraps his arms around her and presses his mouth to her ear. He doesn't say, It's gonna be okay or Don't worry. Instead he says, "I'm here," and he means it. He couldn't leave if he wanted to, and he doesn't really want to. He never did.
Elena sniffs, and he wonders if she's crying. He doesn't look to see, but when she says, "I know," he finds that the world is spinning just as it should, tears or no tears.
...chapter six...