til eternity - t - bonnie/damon - chapter three [b]
title: you know I will adore you ('til eternity)
category: the vampire diaries
genre: friendship/romance/drama/humor
ship: damon/bonnie
chapter rating: teen/pg-13
overall rating: explicit/nc-17
word count: 8,125
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.]
…
"We're not going to another horror movie." Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "Haven't we had enough of that in our lives?"
"Call it nostalgia." Damon shrugged. "Anyway, I'm not going to another Nicholas Sparks movie. And nothing with Channing Tatum either. Unless it's another Jump Street sequel, then I might be persuaded. Maybe. On a good day."
She rolled her eyes. "Way to narrow things down, Damon. What about a comedy, huh?" She pointed to one of the posters hanging outside of the theater, behind glass and lit up with blinking lights. "That one looks funny."
Damon raised a skeptical eyebrow at the poster. "What's with you and Tom Hanks?"
Sighing, she tossed her hands up. "Who doesn't love Tom Hanks?"
"Me. I don't love Tom Hanks."
"Now you're just arguing to argue." As the line moved forward, Bonnie dug around in her purse for her wallet. "Either pick something that doesn't involve murder, or we're seeing that movie."
Sighing, long, loud, and overdramatically, Damon turned his attention up the list of movies listed above the theater entrance, lit up brightly atop the blue and pink lights flashing beneath it. He wasn't seeing anything he liked and his lips pursed. "Why didn't we check what was playing before we left?"
"Because you're impatient," she answered simply. "I barely had time to shower before you shoved me out the door."
"Now who's exaggerating?" He looked down at her, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I-"
"Bonnie?"
She paused, turning her head and searching out the voice.
Kayla popped into sight then and waved a hand, half-smiling a little awkwardly. She walked toward them, tucking her hands in her leather jacket, her boots making a noticeable clomp. "Hey." She looked between her boss and Damon before asking, "I'm not interrupting date night, am I?"
Bonnie shook her head. "No, no, it's fine."
"Yes. You are," Damon said, amused when Bonnie elbowed him. "What're you doing out, emo lite? Isn't it past your bedtime?" he teased.
Kayla rolled her eyes. "It's not that late, and my curfew's eleven. I've got plenty of time." She turned back to Bonnie to ask, "What're you going to see?"
"Well, Damon wanted to see Blood Ripper 7, but we're probably going to see the new Tom Hanks movie instead."
Kayla lit up then. She fairly hopped where she stood, reaching up to tuck her curly hair behind her ears as she grinned up at him. "No way, you're a Ripper fan? I love that series! I have the first six, plus the book series it's based on. My favorite's the fourth one; I have the Super Blood Extended Edition."
Damon blinked down at her and then turned to Bonnie. "See? Even she appreciates a good horror movie."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "We're not going to it. If you wanna watch all that blood and gore stuff, you can happily go without me. I want popcorn, Swedish fish, and Tom Hanks. In that order."
Damon sighed. "Spoilsport."
"Actually, I have a bootleg of it, if you wanna borrow it. I haven't watched it yet, so I can't guarantee quality, but…" Kayla trailed off, shrugging.
He quirked a curious eyebrow. "Really?"
"Sure." She shrugged. "I usually can't get in to see it when it opens. I used to have a friend who worked here that would sneak me into R-rated movies, but he quit, so now I have to suffer like every other kid my age…"
Damon's mouth quirked. "You know, you can get in if you have a parent with you."
She snorted. "Like my parents would. I can't remember the last time we ever went to a movie together," she muttered, glaring down the street and shifting her feet uncomfortably.
Damon turned his eyes to the side and Bonnie caught him looking. He raised an eyebrow in silent communication and she pursed her lips back at him. He raised the other eyebrow and tilted his head in Kayla's direction. She raised her chin and put a hand to her hip. Damon sighed, to which Bonnie sighed, her shoulders deflating, and then he grinned triumphantly. Bonnie rolled her eyes.
"Kayla, would you like to see Blood Ripper 7 with us?" Bonnie wondered, looking over at the girl curiously.
"What? Really?" She perked up hopefully.
Bonnie nodded, offering a faint smile. "Sure, if you don't mind me hiding my eyes every time something gross happens."
"No, that's totally cool! I mean…" She reorganized her face so she didn't look quite so eager. "I guess it'd be fun, if you don't mind me interrupting your date."
"Oh, I'm sure I can watch Tom Hanks another night." She looked up at Damon sternly. "Can't I?"
He grinned. "Sure. Date Night Take Two. In the meantime, I'll buy you some popcorn and Swedish fish."
As the line moved forward, he hung a friendly arm around Kayla's shoulders, his other arm around Bonnie's waist, and ushered them toward the ticket booth. "Who's ready for a bloody good night?"
Despite herself, Bonnie smiled at his enthusiasm, and especially at how excited Kayla looked. While it wasn't her first choice of movie, it was nice to see them both looking so animated. She could put up with a little over-the-top blood and gore for that.
…
He was singing again. Bonnie couldn't remember when exactly that became normal, but at some point she got used to finding Damon in the kitchen, shirtless and singing along to whatever music period had caught his attention that month while he cooked up breakfast for them. It was Aerosmith this morning, and Damon was very enthusiastically singing along to 'Crazy,' which seemed rather apt in her opinion.
While he moved around the kitchen, hips rocking and lips moving along with the lyrics, Bonnie smiled, leaning in the hallway as she watched him give himself over to the music. His hair was still mussed from sleep and his pajama pants were slung low on his hips. She purposely kept quiet so he wouldn't notice her, letting the song play through before she stepped out, crossing the floor in her slippers, letting them shuffle on the floor.
He looked over, a smile playing at his lips.
"Look who's finally up..."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I slept in a little."
"Late night, sweet potato?" he teased, flipping the bacon.
"Hey, it's Saturday, I can sleep in if I want to."
"True, it's just rare to see you actually do it."
"I know, I'm dull and boring and I work too much." She moved to take a seat on the stool in front of the island, but he shook his and hummed negatively. "What?" She frowned.
"Work too much, yes, absolutely. But the other stuff…?" He shook his head. "Not so much."
Before she could ask him what put him in such a good mood, Damon tossed his spatula down on the counter and circled the island.
"C'mere."
As the CD switched and a new song started to play, he took up her hand and pulled her close. Drawing her arms up and around his neck, he dropped his hands to her hips and started moving them around the floor in a circle. Bonnie looked up at him curiously, recognizing the tune as another Aerosmith song. Damon didn't sing along this time, his lips didn't even move, but he stared back intently as they danced.
I kept the right ones out,
And let the wrong ones in,
Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins…
He reached up to tuck her hair back behind her ear, his thumb stroking her cheek lightly.
Bonnie smiled gently. As the song went on, she turned her head and rested her cheek against his chest. Damon kept his arm around her, his free hand sliding down her hair to rest at her shoulder. She split her attention between the steady beat of his heart and the music in the background. They moved comfortably, in sync with each other, like she knew which way he would step before he did. His hand against her back was a comfortable weight, familiar and wanted. She wasn't sure what brought on this mood, but she liked it. So, she nuzzled her nose against him contently and moved around the floor, happily wrapped up in his arms. And when the song ended and they parted, she simply smiled and took her seat at the island while he returned to making their breakfast.
"Y'know, I partied with Aerosmith a few times," he told her.
"Yeah?" she asked, perching her chin on her hands. "Tell me about it…"
"All right, first, picture it… It was 1977…"
Bonnie grinned as he got lost in his memories, happy to share them with her.
…
Bonnie blamed it on a distinct lack of sleep. She'd had her head buried in her office, going over supplies, when her bladder decided to interrupt her. Without thinking, she'd simply walked into the bathroom, giving no attention to the fact that the door was closed at the time. In her defense, she'd gone into her office in the morning and hadn't noticed how much time had passed. In fact, she hadn't realized Damon was home; he'd left that morning to hang out with Chris and watch a football game or something. She honestly hadn't been paying that much attention, too busy going over her stock list and prepping for what would be a busy day with Naomi; they'd be spending much of Sunday making candles it looked like. Especially cinnamon; they were running really low on those.
So when she stepped through the door, she was more than a little surprised to see Damon in the tub. It wasn't the first time he'd called her into the bathroom when he was submerged in bubbles, usually to tell her about his day, completely ignoring the fact that he was naked. The man had no shame. But this time was different. Because this time, there were no bubbles, just lightly scented water, a scattering of candles (cinnamon, of course), and a glass of bourbon sitting on the floor within reach. Lastly, and most importantly, there was Damon, whose hand was noticeably wrapped around his-
"Oh my God!" She froze on spot, her eyes down, focused entirely too clearly on what he was doing. What he hadn't stopped doing, despite her standing there.
She should have turned around, walked away, done anything but keep staring, but that was exactly what she did. Stared.
"Did you want a picture for your scrapbook?" he quipped, an eyebrow raised.
Her eyes raised abruptly, centered on his amused face, and then swiftly turned up toward the ceiling. "I-I didn't know! I didn't mean to… I am so sorry." Embarrassment flooded through her and her heart hammered irregularly.
Bonnie wasn't looking, so she didn't see him shrug, but she was pretty sure the way the water sloshed against the walls of the tub were telling her that was what he'd done. Either that or his hand had sped up and- wait, no. She wasn't thinking of that. She wasn't thinking about that at all.
"No big deal. Everybody does it."
She shifted her feet uncomfortably. "Yes, but not everybody has someone walk in on them while they're… doing it."
He chuckled lowly. "No need to sound so uptight, Bon-Bon. It's not like I haven't seen that pink vibrator you have in your sock drawer. If I had my other hand, I'd clap. The size was impressive."
Bonnie could feel her cheeks heat up. "Damon!"
"Considering the topic, I'd hope you'd say my name a little differently. Maybe make it more breathy. Or just longer. Really stretch it out…"
"Oh my God," she muttered under her breath.
"Just 'Damon' is fine."
Annoyed, she looked down long enough to glare and then turned on her heel, quickly leaving the bathroom and slamming the door behind her. "And stay out of my sock drawer!" she yelled, stomping down the hallway.
While she didn't hear it, she was sure he was laughing at her. She went in search of a bottle of wine in hopes that it might help dull the very explicit image permanently seared into her brain. Ugh. She was never going to live this down.
…
"You know what we should have added to these popcorn strings?" Bonnie asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor by the fire, a throw blanket tucked around her lower half. A collection of miscellaneous Christmas decorations surrounded them while mugs of hot chocolate and spiced egg nog rested on the brick ledge in front of the fireplace.
"Cranberries?" Annette said knowingly.
"Exactly." She shook her head, disappointed. "I never remember those."
"Lucky for you…" Annette reached over and pulled her bag closer to her. She unpacked a few of Jasper's toys before she reached the bag of dried cranberries on the bottom. "I think of everything."
Bonnie grinned, reaching to take the bag from her outstretched hand. "The shop's going to look great this year. Naomi lent me this fake snow she had from last year and I found this awesome manger and wise men set-up the other day. I was thinking we'd stretch these out over the tops of the shelves, what do you think?"
"Sounds lovely. I might just make a few extra of these for my tree at home, too."
Taking a look around her own house, Bonnie nodded. "I should too. This place needs some holiday cheer."
A honk horned outside then, grabbing their attention.
Bonnie glanced toward the front door and then tipped her head back to shout, "Damon! The guys are here!"
He didn't answer, but, thirty seconds later, Damon came down the hallway, still pulling his winter jacket on.
Bonnie lifted up from the floor, giving a little shiver as the cool air touched her despite her wool pants and oversized sweater. She made her way over to him and gave him a perusal from head to toe; he had his snow pants on, making his legs look abnormally thick. "You have your gloves?" she wondered.
He pulled them from his jacket pocket to show her. "Check."
"Did you put on those wool socks I got you? Your feet got cold last time." She reached up to readjust the scarf around his neck and tucked the collar of his coat around him.
Damon pulled on his gloves and nodded. "Yeah, I remembered."
"And your hat too. It's that or ear muffs."
He rolled his eyes and plucked a hat out from his other pocket. "Are you done mothering me yet?" he asked, but his mouth turned up at the corner all the same.
"Not quite." She tipped her head toward the kitchen. "I made you hot chocolate to take with you."
He perked up. "Is it-?"
"Grams' recipe? Yes."
His grin widened. "Have I mentioned lately that you're the best?"
She snorted. "Even when I nag?"
"Especially when you nag."
She shrugged, smiling. "Never hurts to hear it again."
Damon nodded knowingly and then ducked down to press a sloppy kiss to her cheek. "You and Annette have fun. And stay warm. Don't let the fire die down. The electricity's been spotty since the storm."
"Okay."
"I'll be back in a few hours." He pulled his hat on over his hair and adjusted it for comfort. "Do me a favor and stay off the roads. Danny said there were already a few accidents."
"We'll be busy with the decorations anyway," she assured. "We've got plenty to eat, so we shouldn't need to go anywhere."
"Good." At another honk outside, he said, "I gotta go." He pressed another kiss to her cheek. "Be good."
"Stay warm!" she called after him as he walked toward the front door, grabbing up his thermos of hot chocolate and his snow shovel as he went.
He waved back at her before he shut the door and started down the snow filled yard to the truck out front, joining Danny, Chris, Peter and Brandon in a joint effort to try and clear up some of the streets and driveways in the neighborhood.
Bonnie started back toward the living room and retook her seat on the floor, grabbing up the ends of her blanket and pulling them back around her. She smiled to herself, feeling rather content, and picked up her own hot chocolate for a sip.
"So when's he going to put a ring on it?" Annette wondered.
Bonnie choked.
…
It snuck up on him, how easy it was to be with her. How comfortable he could be in this oddly domestic little life they had carved out together. But he liked it. He liked waking up in the morning and seeing her beside him. He liked making her breakfast and dinner and the way she leaned into the kiss goodbye he pressed to her cheek each morning. He liked how she still gave him that exasperated look when he did something or said something she didn't agree with. He liked that she still fought with him in the mornings to have the first shower, sometimes racing him to the bathroom. And the way she wrinkled up her nose and pursed her mouth when he made her vampcakes. He liked knowing that he had her to come home to, every night. It made sense, he guessed. He'd spent so much of his life chasing the idea of belonging with someone, of being loved so completely that he wouldn't be left behind. The most unstable person in any room and all he'd ever wanted was stability. Acceptance. Love.
Bonnie didn't always agree with him. If anything, she disagreed just because it was him. But she was dependable and she cared and she was loyal to a fault. A very big fault. The kind that usually resulted in her death. Only now, there was none of that. No more vampires or doppelgangers or witches. Just normal, boring, small town life, and it was… idyllic. Sure, he'd always been more attracted to the booming city landscape, but that fit his predatory lifestyle at the time. Now he was a nine-to-fiver that brought home a paycheck and cooked elaborate dinners for the wife. Okay, so she wasn't technically his wife, or even his girlfriend, but she was… his. In a way. It wasn't romantic. He wasn't in love with her. But… he loved her. He cared about her. He checked every window and door before he went to sleep at night and he worried sometimes, what little he could do in his very human body if they ever did run into a problem. And yeah, that brought up the question of could they die if they were already dead? Of course, he didn't feel too eager to test that out. All he knew was that Bonnie was his. His friend, his stability, his familiarity, his home.
And sometimes, even if he didn't like to think about it, she felt like a lot more than that…
She'd fallen asleep on the couch again; in the middle of reading Jane Eyre, she'd just sort of drifted off. Her feet were in his lap. How he got into the habit of rubbing her feet, he had no idea. He was sure his brother would take great pleasure in making fun of him for it too, but, fortunately (or unfortunately, depending), Stefan wasn't there to see him turn into a bit of a pushover when it came to his smart-alecky former-witch.
So her feet were in his lap, tucked up close to his stomach when the fire began to die down and a faint chill filled the room. He snuck a hand in under her ankles and lifted them as he slid out from under her. He took his time then, checking each of the windows, locking the doors, turning off the lights. Finally, with the fire put out, he made his way back to her. He carefully took the plaid blanket off of her and folded it over the back of the couch before he slid her book from beneath her hand, marked it, and put it on the end table for her to read tomorrow. Tucking his arms under her, he easily lifted her up from the couch. Her head fall back against his shoulder and she shifted a little, but stayed asleep. She was such a tiny little thing; light as a feather, even without his vampire strength. Maneuvering around the furniture, he started down the hall toward their bedroom. The double-doors leading into their room were left open and the crisp smell of potpourri and clean linens met his nose. He laid her down gently on her side of the bed and folded the blanket up and around her. She let out a soft hum and stuck one of her feet out from beneath the blanket, just like always. His mouth ticked up, amused. For a moment, he just stared down at her, content and safe. It'd been a long time since he felt that way, or since he felt like the people he cared about were that way.
Despite always thinking they were all each other had, he knew he had friends here. If he had to pick out his best friends, at least on this plain, it was Danny and Chris. They were good guys. Easy going and always up for hanging out, getting a few drinks, or shooting a game of pool. He had a good routine and he'd made nice with a few people around the neighborhood. He was friendly with all of Bonnie's employees at the shop too; Kayla was a good kid and he liked flirting with Naomi since it always amused her and made her pat his cheek like he was adorable. So he had friends, and he had a life, and, truth be told, if he wanted to, he could move out and date and build up a life all his own. He just… wasn't ready to. Or maybe he didn't want to. It wasn't just because Bonnie was the only link he had to his life. It wasn't because she was the only person he knew that remembered their friends and family, or knew exactly who he was. It wasn't for any other reason than because she was her.
He would miss her if they weren't together every day.
Hell, he spent half of his work day thinking about what he was going to make her for dinner, what he would surprise her with next, which foods and flavors she would love and which would take her by surprise, what stories from his 160+ years of life he would tell her. He always had a skip in his step when Danny dropped him off in front of the shop, not because his day was over, but because he got to see Bonnie.
He knew it was dangerous territory to be treading on. He knew that it could blow up in his face. And he knew that he wasn't completely over Elena. He wasn't entirely sure he ever would be. But he also knew that Bonnie made him happy. Even when she made him crazy. And maybe, one day, he might explore that. For now though, he was content. So he tucked the blanket in around her shoulders and he climbed in on his side of the bed, and he fell asleep, smiling about the bacon and eggs he was going to make for her in the morning, and how he could use a couple hashed browns to make fangs on the bacon smile.
[Next: Chapter Four.]
author's note: so, we're starting to see the shift moving beyond friendship here, which I'm really excited about. it's still going to be a while before that romantic end evolves because I do think they're still in a stage where they're not ready for that, but it's interesting to see more intimate moments play out as they grow together. I was also really glad I got to explore a little more of Damon's feelings, because I think he's the type to cover up what's going on in his head until it just kind of boils over.
thank you all so, so much for reviewing. It's really keeping me motivated and I'm enjoying the different reactions. You're not going to find out why Caroline popped up for a bit yet, but she will make another appearance soon, as well as another mystery that pops up and causes some questions.
please leave a review; they're very appreciated!
thanks for reading!
- lee | fina