til eternity - t - bonnie/damon - chapter four [a]
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: 8,319
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.
faceclaim: c a s t
previous: chapter one, chapter two, chapter three,
you know I will adore you ('til eternity)
-novel-
IV.
THREE YEARS
Bonnie liked the mornings best.
The nights had their advantages; it was always nice to relax on the couch, a glass of wine in reach and her feet in Damon's lap, not so subtly asking for him to rub them. He always did. Oh, he sighed and complained that she took advantage of his 'kind disposition' but he always went ahead and massaged them.
Still, it was the mornings she loved.
Damon could be a heavy sleeper. Enough that she wondered if it was only his previously sensitive vampire hearing that made sure he woke up before. Or maybe he was just more comfortable here, aware that he was safe so he didn't startle at any small sound. These days, unless it was a weekend, waking him up meant the scent of coffee and shaking his shoulder until he finally gave up and opened his eyes. They had an alarm but he could sleep right through it, every single time.
All things considered, he looked abnormally sweet when he slept. Of course, that didn't stop her from leaping on the bed and yelling "Wake up! Wake up!" She grinned as he startled so bad he nearly fell off the bed.
Retaliation was to be expected, so she wasn't completely surprised when he knocked her leg out from beneath her and pinned her to the bed, awake but tired. He all but growled, "Was that strictly necessary?"
She didn't like to admit that sometimes she did it just for that reaction. For the way he felt on top of her, the weight of him, the look in his sleepy blue eyes. She convinced herself she just felt lonely sometimes, that it was okay to miss those things. It'd been three years since she had that kind of intimacy, it made sense that she would latch onto what she and Damon had. It was the closest thing she had.
Putting it out of her mind, she offered a smug grin. "You've got work in an hour. I distinctly remember you saying you'd make me breakfast, but there's a noticeable lack of eggs frying."
He huffed, rolling his eyes, and then hauled himself off of her to stumble off to the bathroom for a quick shower. "Better be coffee made, little witch!" he called back.
She bit her lip for a moment, listening to the snap of the bathroom door closing as she lay in their bed, the scent of him still invading every breath. Giving her head a shake, she rolled herself out of bed and made her way down the hall to the kitchen. She got the coffee pot going and she grabbed out each of their favorite mugs before she walked to the dining room table and unfolded the newspaper. When he walked out a few minutes later, his hair still wet and dripping, she watched him as he put together their breakfast, turning the radio on to hum to. Life returned to normal. He sat across from her as he put a plate down of scrambled eggs and sausage, a slice of buttered toast and a jar of her favourite jam in reach. She put a sugar cube into his coffee and handed him the newspaper before she focused on her meal.
Conversation flowed comfortably. "Where are you and Danny working today?"
"We're finishing up that garage Andy Wilson wanted built. If he leaves us alone long enough anyway. Guy doesn't know what a hammer looks like, but he keeps trying to give me tips on how to do my job better." He snorted, rolling his eyes, and stole her half-eaten toast, finishing it for her since he knew she wouldn't. "What about you? Who's coming in today?"
"Naomi's day off. Her daughter has a dentist appointment. Brandon's going to help load up inventory, so he'll be by in an hour or so. Annette's running the store this morning; she's trying to get a few extra hours in."
He hummed, nodding. "Kayla's in school?"
"She says she is. But I know she's been skipping a lot lately." Bonnie frowned, sipping her coffee. "She's a smart girl, but…"
"Troubled?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "I don't know. She works hard. I like having her at the store. But her parents mentioned a few times that if she doesn't get her grades up, they won't let her keep working for me."
"Could be good, motivate her to go to school when she realizes she won't be allowed to come back."
"She's got a good head for it. She helped me with a few different recipes. She must've worked with this stuff when she was…" She trailed off.
"Alive?"
She sighed. "I try not to think about it too much, but I can't help it."
He shrugged. "I get it. Sometimes I see Naomi with her kids and I wonder how it happened… if they're even hers."
Bonnie stared at him over the table. "Do you think we're lucky? Knowing what we do?"
He stared back a long moment and then folded the paper up and put it aside. "We have each other, we're lucky that way. But knowing… I don't know. A gift as much as a curse probably."
Their eyes stayed on each other until a honk from outside broke the moment.
Damon blinked a few times, as if to pull him out of his serious haze, and then widened his eyes and stood from the table. "Work beckons." He stood from the table, grabbing his jacket off the back and pulling it on.
"Don't forget your lunch," she reminded.
"Yes, mom," he teased. Before she could argue, he ducked down, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Chicken parm tonight. I'll see you at six."
She nodded.
"Have a good day," he called, taking his lunch and waving it at her as he walked out the door.
"You too!" she shouted back, staring at the closed door a moment before smiling to herself.
She really loved the mornings.
…
Damon frowned, staring at shelf upon shelf of tampons. Vaguely, he listened to the tinny music coming in over the speakers; the pharmacy was pretty much dead. There were only three people working, and he was half sure the stock boy in aisle six had fallen asleep on the job. Digging around in the pocket of his jacket, Damon grabbed out his phone and hit one on his speed dial; it rang twice.
"Let me guess, you can't remember which brand I said to get," Bonnie answered knowingly.
"Maybe. Kind of." He rolled his eyes. "Look, I wasn't expecting there to be so many. I know there's flowers on the box, 'cause I've seen them in the cupboard, but just about every damn box has flowers on them…" He tossed a frustrated hand up. "And then there's something about plastic or cardboard and… why am I doing this? Can we go over that again?"
The noise she made was pure exasperation. "Because, Damon, the Red Sea is currently destroying my insides. If you care about me at all, you'll get me a mountain of chocolate along with this small, tiny, infinitesimal little task I'm asking of you. And then you'll come home and rub my feet and tell me I look pretty even though I look, and feel, like crap."
Damon pursed his lips, but nodded absently. "Yeah, fine, all of that. Just as soon as you tell me which one of these boxes I'm getting. And how many. Seriously, what's with the variety?"
"Does it matter?" she sighed.
"Not really." He shrugged. "Okay. Brand? And what kind of chocolate? Chop, chop." He snapped his fingers despite knowing she couldn't see him.
Ten minutes later, Damon walked out of the pharmacy, whistling to himself, a bag with tampons, three different kinds of chocolate, and a bottle of Midol in hand.
When he got home, Bonnie was laid up on the couch, heating pad on her stomach. She gave him a pitiful pout and he half-grinned, rolling his eyes at her. "My, my, Miss Bennett, have I mentioned how ravishing you look tonight?"
Her lips quirked up at the corners. "Very cute."
"I know I am and so are you." Closing the door behind him, Damon kicked his shoes off and tossed his keys in the general direction of the dish on the counter. "You want a back rub?" he asked, bringing the bag with him to the couch.
She brightened, sitting up properly. "And then a foot rub too? Pleeease…"
"You're pushing it," he said, taking a seat on the couch beside her.
Damon watched, amused, as she dug around in the bag, happily plucking a Caramilk bar and hugging it to her chest as she gave a happy sigh. "You're the best."
"You wanna repeat that?" he asked, cupping a hand behind his ear. "I don't get to hear it nearly enough."
She rolled her eyes at him and then turned herself away from him, looking back at him over her shoulder. "Wasn't I promised a back rub?"
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "The things I do for you…"
Bonnie grinned. "Hey, if you're good, I'll share my chocolate with you."
"Who said all that chocolate was yours?"
Narrowing her eyes at him, she gathered the bag up into her lap. "No take-backs!"
He chuckled under his breath. "All right, fine. Keep your chocolate." He took her hips in hand and readjusted her so he could start massaging her back. "Just don't expect this to become a monthly thing…"
Bonnie snorted knowingly.
It definitely became a monthly thing.
…
The delivery guy was flirting with her. He was cute too; tall, broad-shouldered, classically handsome, with a crooked smile that always made her grin in reply. Every few weeks, he arrived with a new batch of supplies for her store and had her sign off on them before he wheeled them into her home office.
"You're early," Bonnie said, scribbling her signature down at the bottom. "I wasn't expecting you for another hour." Which was why she was still in her pajamas, her hair unbrushed, and her face noticeably lacking in make-up. Not that she dressed up for him or anything… Okay, fine, maybe a little bit. It was just nice was all, that little bit of attention he gave her.
"Yeah, sorry, we had someone cancel their usual order, so you got bumped up," Carl explained.
Bonnie shrugged. "It's fine. Just haven't had time to get ready." She wrinkled her nose.
He gave her a thorough look-over and offered that crooked grin. "I wouldn't worry about it." He leaned in to say in a jokingly conspiratorial voice, "Trust me, you pull the 'just rolled out of bed' thing off."
Bonnie blushed a little, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "Well, um, thank you. I think."
"What are we thanking who for?" Damon piped up then, suddenly appearing by her side.
"Oh. Uh… Nothing." She turned to look at him, motioning in front of her. "Carl was just telling me he's early… What time's Danny going to be here?"
"Soon." Damon kept his eyes on Carl for a long moment and then asked, "You need help unloading that, or…?"
Carl jumped a little, glanced down at the boxes stacked on top of the dolly at this side, and shook his head. "Uh, no, that's fine, sorry. I should get these unloaded. I have a few other people to see this morning."
Damon stepped back out of the doorway and watched through narrowed eyes as Carl wheeled the dolly down the hall toward the office. Turning to Bonnie, he said, "He sure looks familiar with our house."
Bonnie pursed her lips at him. "He should, he's been stopping by every few weeks for three years now."
"And you just let him in, to wander around and touch things?"
"Damon, he walks to the office, stacks the boxes, and leaves. He's not hanging out to touch anything."
He arched his brows at her meaningfully. "Are you sure you don't want him to?"
Putting her hands on her hips, she demanded, "What's that supposed to mean?'
He frowned at her, letting out an annoyed breath, and then turned to walk back into the kitchen, grabbing up his mug of coffee to occupy his mouth with. Following after him, she stared at his back, reaching over to poke his shoulder irritably. "You can't just drop a snarky comment and then leave me in the dark."
Tapping his fingers on the counter, he turned around to face her. "You were flirting with him," he said, voice dripping with accusation.
Her mouth fell open. "I was not!"
"Oh, delivery-guy, I feel so exposed, you seeing me in my cute pajamas without any make up on, you must find me just hideous," he said, mimicking her, terribly, in a high-pitched voice.
"I didn't say that! And I don't sound like that," she told him, shaking her head.
"Close enough," he muttered, finishing off his coffee before he moved to the fridge, reaching inside and grabbing out his lunch.
Bonnie glared at the back of his head as he went through his lunch to make sure he had everything. The squeaking of the dolly briefly caught her attention as Carl came back out of the office.
"All right, that's all of it. I'll, uh, see you next month, Bonnie," Carl told her, waving his clipboard in farewell.
"Yes, thank you, Carl, have a good delivery day." She followed him to the door so she could close it behind him and raised her hand to wave as he made his way down the hill to his truck parked on the road.
"Thanks Carl," Damon said, mimicking her voice again. "Sure you don't want to call him back, see if he can put all those delivery-guy muscles to work?"
Bonnie inhaled deeply and let it out in a heavy breath. "I'm going to do you a favor and pretend this whole, weird, jealousy thing never happened." She threw her hands up and turned on her heel to leave.
"Jealous… Hey, I am not jealous of some lame delivery guy!" he called after her. "I have nothing to be jealous about!"
She rolled her eyes, not bothering to reply.
"Bonnie!"
Arms crossed over her chest, she looked back at him, only to find him standing awkwardly in the kitchen, his brow furrowed and his mouth set in a line.
"I…" He ground his teeth. "I don't like it. This is our home. I don't… I don't want to share it." The look on his face said a lot more than that, but he didn't give voice to those things. The "Or you" went unsaid.
Bonnie stared back at him, her anger of before evaporating as she stared at the conflicted but serious expression on his face. Her lips parted, to say what she had no idea, and then a horn honked outside.
Damon offered a tilted grin then. "That's my ride." He grabbed up his lunch and started for the door. "I'll see you tonight… I was thinking we might have lasagna… Sheila's recipe."
She relaxed then and smiled back. "Okay." As he reached for the door, she said quickly, "Damon."
He looked back.
She stared at him searchingly. "I would never…" She trailed off, chewing at her lip, and then said, "I respect our home. I… I love our home."
He kept his eyes locked on her for a few long seconds before he nodded. "Okay."
"Okay."
The horn honked again and he finally pulled the door open. "Have a good day at work."
"You too."
As he walked out the door, Bonnie watched him go, a heavy pressure in her chest that she wasn't quite sure she knew how to label. Swallowing the urge down, she instead put her focus on her newly delivery inventory. Sometimes denial was a good friend.
…
"Ferris wheel!" she cheered happily, taking his hand and yanking him forward, demanding he follow her.
They'd been at the carnival for at least an hour and Damon was more than ready to pack it in and go home. But Bonnie had been waiting for the line at the ferris wheel to die down since they'd gotten there and now it seemed it was at a tolerable length. They'd already been on just about every other ride the fair had to offer and they'd played enough games for him to learn he was much better when he had his vampire skills. Bonnie, on the other hand, had won him not one but two different teddy bears, and was more than a little smug about it. If he didn't know better, he would think she'd worked her witchy juju on the games, but she was still powers free, just like him, which probably made it all the more impressive.
Bouncing in place when they reached the front of the line, Bonnie tugged on the sleeve of his shirt so he would hand over the tickets for them to climb onto the ride. Despite himself, he was grinning at her enthusiasm and joined her in the little rocking seat, an arm tucked behind her as they started to rise.
They were halfway up when he noticed how tightly she was gripping the bar. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Are you scared?"
"Not… a lot…" she answered awkwardly.
"You've been looking forward to this ride ever since you heard the fair was coming to town," he reminded.
"It's a good kind of scared," she defended. "You get that swooping in your stomach because you're so high up and it's… exhilarating and terrifying and weirdly fun. I don't know." She shrugged, leaning back, her shoulder pressed to his. "It's pretty up here and it feels a little like being suspended, you know. Floating, out of reach, not quite safe, but not totally unsafe either."
He watched her face as she talked and nodded a little. "Yeah… I get it."
She looked back at him, her mouth turned up at the corners.
She was beautiful, lit up by the lights of the ferris wheel, blinking and dancing all over her. Her hair had grown out and she'd pulled it up in a half pony tail, a few wisps having fallen out from all the rides they'd been on. Her eyes seemed brighter than usual, warm with excitement and joy.
"You got your camera?" he wondered.
"Always," she said happily, reaching for her bag and pulling out the old Polaroid camera to hand to him.
He turned a little in his seat and aimed it at her. She smiled readily, but then he purposely rocked their seat, grinning as panic hit her face suddenly, which was when he pressed down on the button.
"Damon!" she exclaimed, shoving his shoulder.
"Authenticity matters," he defended, handing her the camera while he waved the picture.
Bonnie rolled her eyes, but leaned over into him, her chin on his chest as she watched the picture, waiting to see how it looked.
The ferris wheel started to move again, filled up, slowly taking its full spin around. Bonnie turned her face to take in the fair grounds and far beyond, to the town square and the spattering of shops, hers included. Damon wrapped his arm around her and she leaned into him, head falling back to his shoulder. He tucked the picture of her into the pocket of his shirt and just enjoyed the ride. When they paused at the top, her hand reached for his, hanging over her shoulder, and she folded their fingers together. On top of the world, when his stomach swooped, he knew it had nothing to with how high up he was and everything to do with her. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he dug out a few more tickets, and when the ride stopped at the bottom, he paid for another go around. He could happily do it, again and again, just like this, for the rest of his afterlife.
…
"Kayla?"
The younger girl startled at her name and turned around abruptly to see Bonnie leaving the line-up of the bustling café, her wallet in hand. She stared at Kayla, her brow furrowed, and double-checked the time on her watch. "Shouldn't you be in school?"
Swallowing tightly, Kayla sat back and sighed, slumping in her chair. She let her long hair fall over her face as she stared down at the tabletop in front of her.
Bonnie frowned knowingly and then nodded. "I think we need to talk."
Kayla bit her lip and shook her head. "Don't fire me. Please. I love working at the shop."
Taking a seat across from her, Bonnie sighed. "I don't want to fire you. But your parents have called me more than a few times. They're worried about your grades slipping, and so am I. School goes by a lot faster than you think. You have to start planning for your future now. I know it sucks and school's not fun, but… There's life after high school, trust me."
She nodded slightly. "I know. It's just… hard. I don't really have any friends and I always feel off, you know? Like I don't belong there… The only place I feel like I fit is in the shop."
"Well, what can we do to change that? Would it make it easier to do your homework at the shop, let you focus? Because you can use my office…"
Kayla shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know."
"Then let's try that. As for actual school… I can't do much about that. But you do have to go."
She sighed, long and heavy, but nodded. "I guess."
Standing from her seat, Bonnie said, "Come on, I'll give you a ride in. I'll even let you pick the radio station."
Half-smiling, Kayla nodded, standing from her seat and pulling her backpack onto her shoulder.
As they walked outside to the car, Kayla reached for the handle, but paused. "Hey Bonnie?"
"Yeah?" she said, looking at her over the roof of the car.
"Thank you," she said, soft and sincere.
Bonnie smiled at her. "Any time."
…
"Do you miss it?"
Bonnie looked up from the candles she had spread out over the table in front of her, labels laid out and pen poised to write their names. "Miss what?" she wondered.
Damon stared at her from his perch on the couch, his feet up on the coffee table like she hated. "Your little witchy powers… All these candles, and you have to light them like normal people."
Her mouth turned up at the corners. "I plan on selling them, not lighting them."
Damon rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean…" He tossed his book to the cushion beside him and pushed up from the couch, making his way over to take a seat in the chair across from her, picking up the odd candle to give it a sniff before putting it back down.
"Hey," she complained, grabbing up the pear and putting it back with the others instead of the lemon and sage he'd put it with. "You did that on purpose."
"Guilty," he admitted freely, smirking.
Bonnie shook her head, focusing on her labels once more. "Yes. I do miss it," she finally told him. "I miss what it felt like and how… connected I felt to things. I miss feeling unique in a way. But I don't miss all the bad stuff that came along with it."
"Hmm." He watched her, his hands stacked on the table. "Aren't you going to ask me?"
Her mouth twitched. "No. I already know you miss your powers. You complain all the time that it takes too long to get places and that compulsion made your life so much easier."
He nodded in a rather exaggerated fashion. "Yeah, that's true. Minor inconveniences, but annoying all the same. Still… there are perks to being human."
She raised an eyebrow curiously, handing him a few labels and a pen. "Like?"
He took them from her and dramatically wrote a few labels out. His calligraphy was much better than hers. "Food tastes better when you're human. When you're a vampire, the only thing that's really good is blood. Everything else you just kind of get used to, do it more out of habit or to keep up appearances. Speaking of, there aren't any unexpected cravings for B-positive, so I don't end up attacking my coworkers when I get a little hungry. Normal smell and hearing, both a positive and a negative. All these candles don't completely blow my brain up, but I also can't listen in on what the neighbors are doing just for kicks... Trade off, I guess."
Bonnie smiled. "Anything else?"
He hummed, turning his head up thoughtfully. "Well, I'm already dead, so the whole mortal/immortal pro/con thing is off the table…"
"Which means you're aging, too." She peered at him. "What are you, biologically, like… twenty-nine, now?"
"About that, yeah."
Her eyes lit up. "We should have a birthday party."
"What? No." He shook his head. "No. No way. Strangers all over the place, having to play nice, you know I don't like those things." He gave a dramatic shudder. "This is my sanctuary, Bonnie."
"Who said it has to be here? We could rent out a table at one of your favorite restaurants or something. Invite your workers and everyone from the shop and, ooh, Tom and Leslie too!" She bounced a little in her seat. "Come on, it'll be great! We never get to celebrate those things. I think we got so used to some big catastrophe happening that we never really enjoyed the little things, the important things… So? When is it? I'll start planning now and have everything ready. Seriously, I'll pull a Caroline and go full party-planner on it, you won't have to deal with one detail."
He stared at her a long moment and then dropped his gaze to the labels. "Yeah, uh, if that's what you wanna do, sure… It's June 28th. You wanna get technical, I'll be 177."
"Well, I'm not sure how well that'll go over with everyone else, but I'm sure I'll find a way to wiggle in your real age." She stared at him, his brow furrowed, and his attention set on the labels in front of him. "What? What's wrong?"
He shook his head. "Nothing."
"No. I know that face. Something's bugging you."
"Nothing's bugging me. I'm just tired."
"Damon, you had a three hour nap today… Seriously, you slept in until noon, had a bowl of cereal, read your book for a while, and then just fell asleep."
"It was a busy week." He pushed up from his chair and moved into the kitchen. "I'm making tea, you wanna cup?"
"I want you to talk to me." Leaving the table, she followed after him. "Is this about your birthday? I know I got a little worked up, but if you really don't want to have a party, it's fine. We don't have to. We can order in dinner, I'll make dessert, a cake or a cupcake or something, and we can just hang out here, open a bottle of wine, and reminisce about 177 years of debauchery and fun…" She watched him, her back against the island counter, as he worked at making their tea, carefully avoiding eye contact. "Damon…"
He finally stopped, pressing his hands to the edge of the counter, and let out a long, heavy breath. When he turned to her, his eyes danced over her face, serious and focused and searching for… something. "This is what I like."
"What?"
"About being human." He stepped toward her, close enough that she had to tip her head a little to see him. "I like how much people care. That a birthday is important even though I've had 177 of them already. I like that there are people out there that find it significant and I like that you want to celebrate it, like it's actually worth celebrating despite two years of mistakes and screw ups that you probably never should have forgiven me for…
"And in a weird way, I even like that I look older than I did the day we got here. Because when you have nothing to lose, no end in sight, it's really easy to forget what's important and to get reckless and stupid and to make so many bad choices. But here, I don't do that… or at least, not as often. I still push my luck with you, mostly because it's fun and you're cute when you're angry, and I like it when you call me on my bullshit. But mostly, I'm just a human, toeing the line, and getting older, and it's… awesome and scary and I woke up this morning and I swear, I thought I saw a grey hair. It was a trick of the light, but still…"
He swallowed, staring down at her. "We can have the party, and we can invite our friends, and I'll even smile when they sing a really awful, off-key rendition of 'Happy Birthday.' But at the end of the day, when it's just you and me, that's when I'm happiest. Because I'm human, and you're human, and we're… human together."
Bonnie swallowed tightly, her lips parting, though she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say.
"Too sentimental?" he asked, grabbing up his bravado like a shield. "I should've just distracted you with tea or-"
He didn't get a chance to finish as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, her face buried against his chest.
He went still, his arms slowly reaching up to wrap around her.
"Don't get used to it," she murmured. "I'm not going to hug you every time you have a little breakthrough coming to grips with your humanity." She turned her head, her cheek pressed to him. "But just so we're clear… You did a lot of things, things I don't agree with, or approve of, things I wish we could change… But I've forgiven you for some of that. We still need to talk about it, eventually. I know why you did some of it and I still don't think it was all worth it, but… You're my friend, Damon. You matter to me. Your life matters. So you will smile when we sing to you and when we eat cake and give you presents and when we celebrate having you in our lives. All right?"
He stroked a hand down the back of her head, settling it on the nape of her neck, and gave it a gentle, affectionate squeeze. When he leaned back, he reached down and tapped her nose. "All right."
She smiled up at him lightly. "I'll take that tea now…" As she let him go, she moved back around to the table. "And I still expect you to help me with these labels."
He rolled his eyes, sighing long and loud. "The things I do for you, Bonnie Bennett."
She grinned back at him over her shoulder and he smiled back, small but sincere.
It was enough.
[continue.]