til eternity - t - bonnie/damon - chapter one [b]
title: you know I will adore you ('til eternity)
category: the vampire diaries
genre: friendship/romance/drama/humor
ship: damon/bonnie
rating: explicit/nc-17
word count: 7,954
summary: "Run all you want, but it won't change anything, Bonnie. It doesn't matter what world we're in, you'll always be my wife." After being sucked up into what they assumed would be oblivion, Damon and Bonnie soon find themselves in an idyllic little town where they're free to find peace. Which is exactly what they have for fifteen years, until reality comes calling to bring them home.
[return.]
DAY FIVE
Damon was not a fan of early mornings. He didn't mind them so much before, when a bag of blood could wipe away any lingering exhaustion, but these days, he was just as susceptible to sleep as any human, and a bag of blood wouldn't do him any favors. Contrary to popular belief, or at least Bonnie's, he didn't mind work. He even liked it on some level, being useful, having no serious worries hanging over his head, it was oddly peaceful. It was just the waking up in the morning part he didn't like so much. Having a routine helped; a quick shower and making breakfast usually put him in a pretty good mood. Especially if whatever he made for breakfast ticked Bonnie off. Wasn't his fault if she was so easy to annoy, or that he enjoyed it so much.
Regardless, after walking down the path to the waiting truck at the curb, he let out a long yawn and pulled the door open. There was no time for him to greet Danny before his co-worker said, "So these two fish are in a tank, right? First fish looks at the other and says, 'How do you drive this thing?'" With a snort, he slapped his hand down on the steering wheel, shaking his head with amusement.
Damon blinked at him, let out a long-suffering sigh, and took a seat in the truck, closing the door behind him. "That might be your worst one yet."
"You say that every day," Danny dismissed cheerfully.
"And every day your jokes get worse."
"Part of my charm, I guess." He pulled the truck out onto the road and started for work. It was quiet for all of thirty seconds, before he said, "You want to hear a pizza joke?" Before Damon could reply that no, he seriously did not, Danny jumped ahead to say, "Nah, never mind, it's super cheesy."
Hell. He was definitely in hell. And yet… His mouth ticked up at the corner. Raising an eyebrow, he turned to Danny, "How do you kill a vegetarian vampire?"
Danny grinned. "How?"
"You steak it in the heart."
If there was one good thing about Danny, it was that he always laughed at Damon's jokes. Even the terrible ones. Even the ones he regretted making, which he currently did, because that was terrible.
ONE WEEK
"Damon!"
He winced at the shrill level of her voice and leaned over from the island to peer down the hallway. "Yes, honey?" he called out mockingly.
Stomping out of the bathroom, she glared at him, her eyes narrowed and her mouth pinched. "You left the toilet seat up… Again."
He shrugged one shoulder. "Whoops."
Bonnie's hand curled up into a fist. "Tell me, how long have you and Elena been sharing space, huh? In all that time did she just not house train you?"
Damon rolled his eyes. "Common mistake. I'll work on it."
Bonnie huffed a breath out through her clenched teeth.
He tipped his head knowingly. "You're trying to make my brain pop, aren't you?" He snapped his fingers. "Too bad your witchy juju didn't transfer over here with you, huh?"
Stomping her foot, she whirled around and made her way back to the bedroom.
"Love you too, Bon-Bon!" he called after her, before chuckling to himself and returning his attention to the food in front of him. He was ninety percent sure that vampcakes weren't going to win him any favors, but he rather liked her all worked up anyway.
TWO WEEKS
Bonnie sat in the corner of the couch, her legs up under her and a magazine in her lap. As she turned the page, she answered, "No."
Damon rolled his eyes. "What do you mean no? It's the only car we have."
"It's the only car I have. You carpool," she replied.
"To work!" he exclaimed, his eyes wide with incredulity. "I'm not going to work, I'm going to the store. To get food for my lunch tomorrow. For work."
She shrugged. "Should've thought of that when I was going grocery shopping. I asked you if you wanted something."
He pursed his lips at her. "No… you said 'I'm going shopping, don't do anything stupid.'"
She smirked up at him then, flipping a page in her magazine. "It was implied."
Damon sighed. "I'll be a half hour, tops. I'm not going to crash your car." Mockingly, he added, "I know I only have a century's worth of driving experience under my belt, but I think I can manage."
Bonnie shook her head. "No dice."
"Fine." He scowled at her as he sat on the coffee table, staring at her thoughtfully, before he finally offered an insincere smile. "Bonnie, plague of my current existence, will you please drive me to the grocery store…" He batted his eyes at her dramatically.
She stared at him a long moment, happy to make him wait, and then offered a half-smile. "Sure, Damon, bane of my every existence, I'd be happy to." Standing from the couch, she moved toward the front door, slipping on a comfortable pair of sandals. "Besides, we both know you always get the wrong yogurt and then complain about it non-stop anyway."
He frowned after her, following her out the door. "The packaging is the same. It's deceptive."
"Uh-huh." Amused, she twirled her keys around her finger and walked to the car.
"And I noticed you didn't pick up whipped cream, which I need, for-"
"You're not making pancakes," she told him.
"Vampcakes," he corrected, smugly. "And it's not my fault if you have no sense of humor."
Bonnie sighed, a headache forming at her temples. "It wasn't funny the first time, it's not funny now."
Damon put his seat belt on and clapped his hands. "Fine. I'll make waffles."
"Will there be fangs on these waffles?"
"You know, for a woman who wakes up to a freshly made breakfast every morning, you're being awfully picky…"
Pulling out of the driveway, she said, "Maybe it's the cook."
"Rude."
Her mouth twitched with a smile. At least until he started fiddling with the radio. Briefly, she wondered if there was a way to block the classic rock station. Then again, his air-guitaring could just be worth it…
ONE MONTH
Her shop was something of a Godsend. While she thought she'd be overwhelmed, as soon as she stepped inside, everything felt right in her world. The old wood shelves were, according to one of her employees, built by Damon himself. Though she had no proof of that, seeing as it must have happened before they appeared. The previous Damon and Bonnie (if there even was such a thing, because she was still pretty sure it was just a pre-made world with a pre-built life rather than real people they'd replaced), had been together nearly three years. As long as they had actually known each other. Naomi, who worked at the shop five days a week and occasionally on weekends, was fifteen years Bonnie's senior, with two children, but treated Bonnie with the deference an employer and friend deserved. Naomi seemed to love working for and with Bonnie and took great pride in being there as soon as the doors opened and until they closed.
Each area of the store was sectioned off with homemade wood signs that hung on thin silver chains from the ceiling. There was remedies for anything from headaches to the common flu, foot odor to mild pain, all tucked against one wall. Vitamins and supplements filled a six-shelf cabinet beside it, which she had specially shipped in every few weeks. The candles were their best sellers; she'd never seen so many scents before. Naomi mentioned that they often got together on the weekends and made the candles together, with much of the stock taking up space in Bonnie's office at home. In another aisle, there were lotions, body sprays, lip balms, deodorants, shampoos and conditioners, all of which were organic. And finally, there was a small stand near the front that sold homemade jams and jellies, made by a local woman that delivered to Bonnie every Sunday afternoon. After three months, Bonnie was happy to see that her store ran smoothly, welcoming a nice crowd each day. They were open Monday through Friday and closed every afternoon at five-thirty, which was about the time Damon showed up, dropped off by Danny to join her on the ride home.
From 9 am to 5:30 pm, Bonnie found herself in a space that she had grown to consider hers. The house was perfect; it was beautiful and comfortable and homey. She wouldn't have picked Damon to be her roommate, but it could be worse. Here, though, she felt like she was in her element. Some of the herbs were hand-picked and Bonnie was happy to traipse around the woods and find them with either Naomi or her much younger employee, Kayla. A girl still in high school with a special affection for all things wiccan. During the week, the employees cycled through on which days and shifts they worked, but Bonnie was always there. She did her own inventory and kept a record of sales that she went over each night. The store brought in a comfortable amount of money, it seemed most of the people in town were happy to look for a natural remedy instead of what the pharmacy had to offer. She wondered, of course, if that was just a construct of this world, that they would make a little more than enough to maintain that comfortable life. It seemed very little ever really went wrong in town, the complete opposite of Mystic Falls. In many ways, Bonnie appreciated that. She never felt the overwhelming urge to find a way to help everyone. Instead, she directed people to what was on the shelves, she told them how to relieve stress or pain and what ointment would do what when put where.
It was calming and easy and, as soon as she stepped through the doors, she felt a wave of relief ease over her. It smelled like honey and sage, the old wood floors stained to a nice shine, the shelves all hand crafted and the labels all of her own making. She imagined Grams would love it. She would happily spend her days there with Bonnie, sipping sweet tea as she gossiped about what was going on around town and asked her how things were in her life. She missed her Grams. She missed a lot of people, but none more than her Grams. And she wondered, more often than not, if she was proud of her, happy for her, if she'd given her this town and this store as her way of making up for all that she'd given up or lost. It wasn't perfect, not really. If it was, she would have Caroline and Elena, Matt and Jeremy, and even Tyler there with her. But it was, in many ways, a peaceful life, one that she probably never would have had if she'd lived. So for that, she was grateful.
The bell rung above the door and Bonnie grinned, happily greeting her next customer.
THREE MONTHS
"Where are you going?" she asked, looking up as he walked through the living room, leather jacket on. "And why do you smell so good?"
Damon smirked back at her. "Thank you for noticing. Although, for the record, I always smell good."
Bonnie rolled her eyes and stood from the couch, readjusting her shirt as it rode up her sides. "Damon…"
"Relax, mom, I'm going to Sadie's Pub. Danny asked me if I wanted to get a drink, and since somebody never leaves the house to do anything fun…"
"I do things," she argued, frowning.
"Yeah, Bonnie, you work." He pulled his boots on as he watched her chew on her lip, leaning against the side of the couch. With a sigh, he said, "Didn't Naomi ask you if you wanna go bowling tonight?"
"Yeah, but…" She trailed off, her brow furrowed.
"So go." He reached back and grabbed her jacket off the coat rack, holding it out for her. "Go. Have fun. Try smiling…" He tapped her nose and told her, mock-sternly, "Make friends, not frowns."
Her lips twitched and she glanced away for a moment. "I'm not very good… at bowling."
"Doesn't matter if you're good. You just gotta out-bowl the other guy." Circling her, he put her jacket over her shoulders and left his hands there, squeezing lightly. "Worse comes to worst, cheat. It's what I do."
Bonnie shook her head, smiling despite herself, and tucked her arms through the sleeves of her jacket. "Thank you. I think."
A honk outside alerted them Danny was there to pick him up then. Circling around her, Damon gave her a wink as he walked to the door. "Have fun tonight," he said, before he walked outside to meet his friend.
She watched him go for a moment, keenly aware that this was a step. A somewhat monumental step toward moving on, moving forward. She didn't like to think Damon was right, ever, but he had a point. She went to work and she came home; she'd become somewhat of a hermit. And maybe that was because she missed her friends, her real friends, or maybe it was because she was unwilling to admit that things were different and they might just stay that way. But the time for burying her head in the sand was up. Maybe this wouldn't last, this little idyllic town with its perfect life all laid out for them. And maybe it would. Either way, she was going bowling. Because she did deserve a night off. She rarely got those, alive or dead. It was time to change that.
SIX MONTHS
To say Bonnie and Damon got along famously would be a bold-faced lie. They fought. Regularly. Often about stupid, insignificant things. It was just in their nature. And, to be honest, she was almost completely sure that half the time he disagreed with her just for fun, not because he sincerely disagreed, and probably because he liked driving her nuts. There were some days that she honestly wished she'd died with just about anybody else. But, and she was loathe to admit it, more often than not, she was actually glad it was Damon that transferred over to this world with her. So far, from scouring the small town they lived in, she couldn't find anyone else she knew. When they tried calling anybody back home, either the number didn't exist or somebody they didn't know picked up. This world was completely disconnected from theirs, and Bonnie had no idea what to make of that. So, she did what Damon did, she went with the flow.
They had built up a sort of schedule over the time they'd been there. They were getting comfortable, and she wasn't sure what to make of that. She still missed home like a giant, gaping hole in her chest, but there were some days that she didn't even think of it, didn't think of the fact that the world they were in wasn't theirs. She opened her store with a smile, she greeted customers, learned their names and their stories, and she went home each night, sharing dinner with Damon, doing the dishes before they sat on the couch, each reading a book or a magazine as they relaxed. And that clawing panic, that flinch she expected whenever the phone rang or someone knocked at the door, expecting the worst, expecting Klaus or doppelgangers or any level of evil to come wreak havoc, began to dwindle as nothing but normal, average life started to take over.
She went to sleep each night, with Damon beside her, hogging half the bed, and stopped wondering if tomorrow would be different.
But some nights, the nostalgia, the homesickness, swept her up, and she lost herself in wondering if they missed her, if they were trying to get them back, if they'd simply accepted they were gone and had moved on. She wasn't sure which she wanted.
In the darkness of their bedroom, she couldn't help herself from whispering. She knew he was awake; she could always tell when he'd fallen asleep. He didn't snore, but his body relaxed incrementally until, finally, his whole weight seemed to sink into the bed, a giant, unmoveable rock beside her. It was oddly comforting; he was steady, he was familiar, he was always there. "I miss home," she said, her voice so quiet she was sure he couldn't hear her, despite the lack of space between them.
He didn't answer right away, and she wondered if he even would. But then, quiet as could be, he said, "Me too."
That was new. Usually he pretended he didn't care, that he'd completely and totally accepted that home was gone. It annoyed her most of the time, that he was so blasé about everything. Maybe it was the darkness that let him admit it, that let him be honest with her.
She turned over onto her side, her cheek atop one of her hands. "You don't look it. You seem… content."
He mimicked her, turning over to face her, and gave a heavy sigh. "What can I say, I've gotten good at adapting to things like this over the years."
Her eyes washed over his face for a moment, faintly lit by a shaft of moonlight. "What do you miss the most?" She raised a finger. "And don't say sex."
His mouth ticked up at the corner. "Mostly bourbon."
"You can get bourbon here." Now that she thought about it, however, he never seemed to. Wine, beer, sure, but never his favorite drink.
"Sure, just not with Ric or Stefan there to drink it with me…" His mouth pressed into a firm line. "I miss them. All of them. Even Little Gilbert, as annoying as he usuallyis…"
Her eyes fell for a moment, teeth digging into her lip.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but… what's wrong?" he wondered.
She offered a sad smile as her eyes burned with tears. "I want them to be happy." She let out a watery laugh. "I want them to move on and be okay and, I don't know, hopefully get out of Mystic Falls or away from whatever's always chasing them. I just- I don't- It's selfish, I know it is, but I don't want them to forget me." Her mouth wobbled. "I miss them, I'm always going to miss them, and I don't know where we are or how long we'll be here or if one day, I'll turn around and Caroline will be walking down the street but she won't know who I am. I don't know any of that. But I remember what Elena's hugs feel like and I remember how much Caroline always made me laugh and I remember how Jeremy smells, and I just… I don't want to forget that, I never do. I just want them to remember me too."
He reached for her, not quite hesitantly, but slowly all the same, and he brushed his hand down the side of her face, his knuckles dragging down her cheek before his fingers pushed her hair back. He rubbed his thumb under her eye to swipe at a stray tear and she watched a muscle tick in his cheek as he ground his teeth a little. "They're not going to forget you." She opened her mouth, but he wouldn't give her a chance to argue. "I've been around a long time. The people that really matter, the people you love, you don't forget them. You still miss them, twenty, thirty, a hundred years later, you just… you get used to missing them. And eventually it doesn't hurt as much not to have them right there beside you. But you don't forget. Stefan, Caroline, Elena, they'll, hopefully, outlive us by… centuries. And even then, they're gonna remember you just like you do them." He swallowed tightly and shook his head. "You're not the forgettable type."
Bonnie gazed up at him, taking his words to heart. He could just be saying it to get her to stop crying, but if that were the case, he probably would've gone a much more sarcastic route. Maybe it was all the time they were spending together or maybe it was something else. But in order to bring a little more levity back, she dried her tears and said, "You're going soft over here, Damon. Not one snarky insult in there at all."
His mouth ticked up. "I'm human now, which means I can use the 'tired as hell' card." He turned over onto his back and readjusted his head as he tucked his arm behind it. "You good?"
"Yeah." She followed his example and turned back over, staring up at the ceiling. "You know… If you wanted to leave… If you wanted to get your own apartment or something, have space, I wouldn't blame you."
He was quiet for a long moment before he asked, "You trying to get rid of me?"
"No," she answered sincerely. "It's just… It's like you said. We might be here for…ever. And if we are, if this is what the afterlife is going to be like, I… I won't hold it against you if you wanted to see what it had to offer." She sighed, closing her eyes. "I'm just… I know I just broke down on your shoulder and I know I kind of rely on you to be my normality here, because you're the only one who knows what this all feels like, who remembers them, who misses them, but… I don't want you to feel obligated to stay, you know? I… You don't owe me anything."
He hummed non-committally and, after a few tense seconds told her, "I'm not looking to trade in our cozy setup for a bachelor pad anytime soon, if that's what you're hinting at… I'm good where I am. So if you want out, say the word, but until then…"
She nodded slightly and then, in a soft but sincere whisper, said, "I'm good too."
He nodded. "Good."
A few minutes passed then, until the words built up in her throat to a degree that couldn't be ignored. "Damon?"
"Hm?"
"You're not forgettable either… You know that right?"
When he didn't answer, not even with a sarcastic quip, she thought about pursuing it, but, as time passed, she wasn't quite sure what to say or how to comfort him. So she bit the inside of her cheek and focused on the pain there instead.
Nothing more was said and Bonnie closed her eyes, waiting, as she did most nights, to feel his body slowly become more and more relaxed. When she knew he was asleep, she turned her head to look at him. They didn't always get along, he took extra-long showers just to annoy her; he always made whip cream faces on her pancakes, often with fangs; he called her every annoying pet name in the book just because he knew it bugged her; he always left the toothpaste cap off; he used up her shampoo and never replaced it; his taste in music was questionable; he very rarely recognized the boundaries of personal space; and he was arrogant, sarcastic, and borderline crazy at times. But… she was glad she had him. He might not always be her favorite person, but he definitely had his moments.
[Next: Chapter Two.]
author's note: So this was originally a oneshot, but it became so long I had to break it up into chapters. I wanted to establish a friendship between them before it leaks into romance and before they're, eventually, returned to 'life' with their friends and family. Also, their banter is really fun to write, so it was actually entertaining to delve into the early days of their time 'away.' I hope you enjoyed this and I plan to have the next chapter up soon. I did add a few nods to what was going on in the show, but since I started this before season six began, I didn't want to change it all to fit in with canon.
Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a review, especially since this is my first time writing Bamon, as I"m usually a Steroline writer.
- Lee | Fina