til eternity - t - bonnie/damon - chapter six [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: 9,202
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.]
…
"What if I jumped the gun?" Danny wondered, pacing from one end of the garage to the other.
"You didn't," Damon dismissed.
Danny shook his head. "We haven't been together that long."
"Five years is a while," he corrected.
"You and Bonnie have been together longer. What? Six and a half, just about seven. You're not married."
Damon's grip loosened on the wrench and he scraped his knuckles over the engine of his car. "Me and Bonnie are different," he said, leaning up out of the car, grabbing a rag to wipe at his hands.
"Yeah, 'cause Bonnie never pressures you to get married," he snorted. "You're lucky."
Raising an eyebrow, Damon reminded him, "You're the one that brought up marriage. Carla brought up babies. Totally different."
"Bonnie didn't bring up either. What's with that?"
He sighed. "This isn't about me and Bonnie. It's about you. Besides, if you want relationship advice, you should ask Chris; him and Brandon have the healthiest relationship I've ever seen. It's disgusting how healthy they are."
"Chris is busy, so you're my best option right now," Danny said dismissively. "Look, you and Bonnie are going strong, right?"
He nodded. "Strong as ever."
"And you plan on sticking around, right? I mean…" He glanced at the door leading into the house, even though Bonnie was out for lunch with Naomi. "You're in it for the long haul."
Damon blinked at him. "Oh. Yeah, no. She's stuck with me for life," he said simply, shrugging.
"Right. So… When did you know?" he asked seriously, looking at him with wide eyes. "When'd you look at her and know she was it?"
Damon's eyes narrowed. "What are you asking me, exactly?"
"There had to be other girlfriends, right? Before Bonnie?"
Damon nodded slowly.
"So how'd you know she was different? That she was gonna be the one you stuck with?"
He pursed his lips, dropping his gaze down to his hands, still dark with grease. It wasn't like in the last few years he hadn't thought about it. The chances of him going home were slim to none, so he had to wonder about his future. Bonnie had told him, more than once, he could always walk away, try making a real life, meet someone, fall in love, the whole shebang, and she wouldn't hold it against him. But the idea of leaving Bonnie always stopped him.
He looked at Danny and said, "First girl I fell in love with, Katherine Pierce… Girl epitomized seduction. She was gorgeous, free spirit, hated following rules, and I… I was a rebel. Always did the opposite of what I should. I fell hard and quick, figured she was it, she was everything. We'd run off, rule the world, never look back… Turns out, she never loved me. She was, however, in love with my brother."
Danny winced sympathetically.
"Yeah, not the best relationship. But, even better, the second girl I fell in love with… Drum roll please…" He shook his head. "My brother's girlfriend. Not the same one, mind you."
"Same brother?"
"Same brother, different girl. Though, remarkably similar in looks," he mused, smirking to himself. "Elena Gilbert. Sweet, caring, down to earth, always trying to find the best in me…" He nodded. "And she did, kind of, for a while. I had a habit of trying to remind her of the worst of me, probably because I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and for her to leave me in the dust… It was a complicated relationship from the start. She was still in love with my brother for a while, I kind of stole her from him, and then things were just up and down. Always wondering if she'd change her mind, go back to him, or if one day she'd wake up, realize I was never who she wanted to be with…" His jaw ticked, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "But I still figured I hit the jackpot with her. All the good things I wanted to see in Katherine, I did see in Elena."
"So what happened?" Danny wondered.
"Ah, well… She died." Fine, so he died, but same difference. "Yeah, it was… a car crash. Drove right through a restaurant we used to frequent. Place blew up. It was pretty crazy."
"Wow." Danny's eyes widened, brows hiked. "So how'd you meet Bonnie?"
His mouth turned up then. "I'd known Bonnie for a while. She was one of Elena's best friends. They grew up together. We, uh, we just kind of gravitated to each other after everything went down… Leaned on each other, I guess. It was kind of like we were the only two people in the world. And things just kind of… grew from there."
Nodding thoughtfully, Danny said, "So what made you fall for her?"
Licking his lips, he let out a faint laugh. "What's not to love about her? She's fierce, smart, beautiful, the most stubborn person I've ever met… She's loyal and funny and she never lets me get away with anything. Which, usually annoying but… Just part of her charm." He blinked a few times, smiling to himself. "You know, when I met Bonnie, she hated me. Good reason too, wasn't the best guy then. Still kind of reeling after Katherine and I took it out on everyone around me… But she came through for me a lot, got me out of a lot of scrapes. Could even say she saved my life a time or two… Still didn't like me, but, she always came through. Dependable, that's Bonnie. Dependable and… self-righteous and judgmental and sacrificial and loving and…" He let out a heavy breath. "Irreplaceable."
"Wow." Danny grinned then. "And I thought I was whipped."
With a snort, Damon rolled his eyes, pushing off his car. "The point is… Bonnie was everything I wanted, and never knew I wanted, in my life. She's not perfect, she talks in her sleep and she hates admitting she's wrong and she gives me the silent treatment when I bug her too much. Which, now that I think about it, you think I'd appreciate, because naggy-Bonnie is no fun. But… I don't know. I start to miss her voice after a while." He hummed. "Anyway, she's the only person I can see myself bugging for the rest of my life. Even when we're eighty and she keeps trying to roll her wheel chair away from mine, I'm gonna be right there, rolling after her…" He grinned. "What about you? Where's Carla going to be?"
Leaning back against the tool bench, Danny let out a laugh. "Surrounded by our grandkids, probably."
Nodding, Damon said, "Yeah. I can see that."
A few beats passed before Danny asked, "Beer?"
Damon nodded as he turned back to focus on his car. The discussion was officially closed, but that didn't leave a few things lingering in Damon's head, like how he could see that image of him and Bonnie, old and wrinkled, wheel chair bound and bickering for the rest of their days. He smiled at the thought. That worked just fine for him.
…
The dance club was busy; a lot of the town, young and old, came out to indulge. It was 90's night and Damon was in his prime, jumping around, his nostalgia on overload. Bonnie knew most of the songs from her childhood, and was happy to shout the lyrics as she danced. The energy flowed through them, rattling their bones, adrenaline flowing and sweat collecting.
Bonnie was laughing, her head tipped back. The music was so loud, she couldn't hear herself thinking, which was exactly how she liked it. The best part of dancing was losing herself. She caught Damon's fingers, always reaching for and finding her, and let him twirl her around, under his arm and around his body before she was back in front of him. His hands were on her hips, twisting her side to side, before reaching up, fingers crawling up her back. He dipped her low, her leg kicking up for balance. When she came back up, she was smiling, resting against his front, her heart beating hard in her chest.
Damon grinned down at her, his hair wild and his eyes bright. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, sleeves rolled up, and he was just as lost to the music as she was. Her arms reached up, hands curled around his shoulders, while they swayed, coming down a little even as the beat raged on, the tempo quick.
Her sweat damp cheek fell to his chest, her eyes at half-mast. They moved around in a circle, one of his palms making soothing circles over the small of her back. His chin landed atop her head and they let the world fade from around them, the music nothing but a dull roar. There was only them, their feet moving together just an inch at a time, their heartbeats falling in sync, and every part of them pressed together.
Eventually, when the energy dipped low enough, they would separate, shake it off and get back to dancing, but for now, they held on to each other, and found a moment of peace.
…
"Annie?" Bonnie called, lifting a top up in askance. "What about this color?"
Annette looked over from where she stood in front of a mirror, checking out her latest outfit. She squinted in Bonnie's direction, tipped her head, and then nodded. "It's good. It'll bring out your eyes."
"Not for me. For you," Bonnie corrected. "We're shopping for you, remember? I have more than enough clothes at home. Seriously, my closet is bursting."
"Walk-in or no?"
"No." Bonnie shook her head, fingering through a few more tops, discarding three before pausing on a fourth. "If it was, it'd probably enable me even more. Anyway, you're the one who wanted shopping therapy. What's up?"
"Nothing. I just… I don't know. Sometimes I need a break from being a mom and a wife." Her voice became muffled as she moved back into the dressing room, exchanging her current outfit for a nice sun dress. "Don't get me wrong… I love my family. I just need some time off sometimes. A reboot. You know?"
"Sure." Bonnie took her armful of clothes with her and made her way over to the dressing room. "If you ever need a day off, just let me know. We can invite Naomi out next time too, maybe even Carla if she's up for it. Make a ladies night. We haven't had one in a while." Her eyes lit up. "We should make dinner, watch movies, give each other facials. Since I'm the only one without kids, we can do it at my place."
Coming out of the dressing room, Annette grinned at her. "I'd love that."
"Great." Bonnie gave her a look over then and nodded. "This one's going in the Must Buy pile."
Annette smoothed her hands down the dress and moved to the mirror, nodding happily. "Agreed." Giving a little twirl, she made her way back to the dressing room. She grabbed a few tops from Bonnie, but held up the one she'd showed off earlier. "Do me a favor and try this one though. I wasn't kidding. It'll really bring out your eyes."
Bonnie took it and shrugged. "Fine. But I'm adding you to my enabler's list."
Laughing, Annette disappeared behind the curtain. "I can live with that."
…
"What about this one?" Bonnie asked, holding up a book for him to see.
Damon muttered, "Hold on," before giving his sauce a stir and putting the lid back on. He peered over at her, standing on a small step-ladder, barefoot and in her favorite ratty pajama pants. She held a book in her hand, the title of which was hidden, but the general color and width of it familiar. "No, we're keeping that one, I like it."
Exasperated, she sighed at him, putting it back on the shelf. "So far you've donated exactly two books, Damon. It's a book drive, the point is to make sure other people get to enjoy them too."
"Well, they can enjoy something else. I can't help it if our collection is perfect," he defended, shrugging as he wiped his hands down on a dish towel and walked into the living room to join her.
"There has to be something we can get rid of… Something you don't like…" She perused the shelves, her brow furrowed thoughtfully. "You know, the more we get rid of, the more space we make to buy more."
"We already got rid of two. That means we can pick up two more."
She rolled her eyes. "Both of those books were gifts. Peter got us one last year for Christmas, and Naomi got the other."
"Yes, I don't know how I'll survive without 'How to Know When a Women Isn't Interested in You.'"
Her lips quirked up in amusement. "Naomi knows her audience… It was a gag gift. Your own fault for hitting on her all the time."
"I do it out of love," he said, leaning against her side, his head resting near her shoulder. The added height advantage of the step ladder didn't make her all that taller than him, but it was enough. "Love for how exasperated she gets. Now that I think about it, it's probably because it's how you used to look at me."
Bonnie snorted. "I still look exasperated with you."
"Yes, but you willnever get rid of me. So it's like a free pass to annoy you." He reached an arm around her, his hand on her hip, and turned her a little. "Grab that yellow one… No, two over… Other direction."
"That's not yellow, that's green," she told him, grabbing it down.
"Looks like pea soup," he pointed out, "which is yellow."
"It's a greenish yellow."
Sighing, he said, "Hand it here."
"Why? Is it going in the box?"
"No. Absolutely not. Are you kidding?" He took the book from her hand and waved it at her. "Some of the greatest Italian poetry ever written is in here. I'm not letting anybody else get their dirty paws on it."
Frowning down at him, she said, "You're supposed to be helping me."
"I am." Lifting her right up off the step ladder, he brought her over to the couch and dropped her down onto it. "You worked very hard today, why don't I read you a little something?"
Bonnie gave him her patented look of exasperation, which only made Damon grin.
"C'mon…" he cajoled. "A little poetry, some dinner, and we'll tackle the book drive again after."
"Promise?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Cross my heart," he said, doing exactly that with his finger.
"Fine." She crossed her arms over her chest and settled more comfortably into the corner of the couch. "I'm listening. Regale me…"
Damon thumbed through a few pages, in search of one of his favorites, he hummed, discarding a few, until eventually he found Dante Alighier's "Love and the Gentle Heart."
He read it first to her in flawless Italian, his mouth forming each word slowly, letting them drip from his tongue with reverence. He glanced up from time to time, watching the way her eyes fell to half-mast and her lips parted, letting his voice and his words, unknown to her, flow over her. He paused at the end, watched as she sighed, her shoulders slumping with something like bliss.
And then read it again, this time in English:
"Love and the gentle heart are one thing,
just as the poet says in his verse,
each from the other one as well divorced
as reason from the mind's reasoning.
Nature craves love, and then creates love king,
and makes the heart a palace where he'll stay,
perhaps a shorter or a longer day,
breathing quietly, gently slumbering.
Then beauty in a virtuous woman's face
makes the eyes yearn, and strikes the heart,
so that the eyes' desire is reborn again,
and often, rooting there with a longing, stays,
Until love, at last, out of its dreaming starts.
A woman is moved likewise by a virtuous man."
When Bonnie finally opened her eyes, she stared at him a long moment, and then gave a small nod. "That one stays."
He smiled slowly. "Good. I have a few more in here I think you'd like." He closed the book and placed it on the end table before he stood from the couch to return to the kitchen and check on his pasta sauce.
Bonnie lingered, before eventually pushing back off the couch and moving to the bookshelves once more. This time she was a lot more careful about picking which books should stay or go. He noticed she purposely skipped over anything in another language and his mouth turned up at the corners. Apparently she liked it when he spoke Italian; he'd have to keep that in mind.
…
"Kayla Durante," the announcer read, standing atop the stage.
In her blue graduation gown and cap, Kayla climbed the stairs to shake the hand of her principal and accept her high school diploma.
In the crowd, Bonnie stood, clapping and cheering loudly alongside Damon, who gave a piercing whistle, Naomi, Brandon, Annette and Peter. Bonnie spotted Kayla's parents a few rows down, clapping proudly along with them.
"Do you have the camera?" Bonnie asked.
Damon nodded beside her, digging the Polaroid camera out of his pocket.
"Come on." Squeezing past the others sitting beside them, they made their way down the aisle.
Kayla, after shaking the hands of her teachers, made her way around the many seats holding graduates and paused in front of Damon and Bonnie, flushed and beaming excitedly.
Bonnie gleefully handed her a bouquet of roses and a teddy bear holding a sign that read 'Congratulations!'
Holding the camera up, Damon nodded his chin at her. "Show me some teeth, Half-Pint."
She rolled her eyes, but complied, grinning lopsidedly as he snapped a picture and then handed it to Bonnie to shake out.
"One more," he said, holding the camera up.
"I have to go sit down," she said, laughing.
"In a sec. Hold up your diploma."
She sighed, but raised it up, her flowers and bear resting in her other arm, and mugged for the camera, crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out just before the flash.
"Well, see, now you ruined the moment," Damon complained.
Groaning, Kayla shook her head. "I have to go sit down. I'm holding up the line."
"Okay, okay, we'll get more later," Bonnie decided waving her hands. Still, she was grinning so wide her cheeks hurt. "I'm so proud of you!"
Kayla flushed, her eyes falling. "I know. Thanks, Bon." She rolled her eyes and added, "You too, Damon."
"Don't get sappy, Kid. It's not our style," he said, before swinging an arm around Bonnie, who was blinking back tears. He winked at Kayla before she made her way back to take her seat by her fellow graduates.
Damon led Bonnie back to their seats, rubbing her arm. "You okay, Little Bird?"
She sniffled, nodding. "I'm just so happy for her. She tried so hard."
He chuckled under his breath and kissed her temple. "I know."
Taking their seats once more, he kept his arm around her through the rest of the ceremony. When it was over, they took a ton more pictures with each of them hugging Kayla happily and offered to take her out for lunch since her parents had a congratulatory dinner planned for later.
Bonnie, feeling like a proud mother, reached out and took Kayla's hand as they crossed the parking lot in a large group.
"Are you proud of yourself?" she wondered.
Kayla nodded. "Yeah. I am."
"Good. You should be. You worked your butt off to get your grades up and you never let anything get in your way." Bonnie squeezed her hand. "I'm proud of you, Kayla."
Blinking back the sting of tears, Kayla smiled. "You know, I'm not sure I could've done it without you."
Shaking her head, Bonnie released her hand to wrap her arm around her in a side hug. "You're a lot smarter and stronger than you think. And you are going to do amazing things… I can feel it."
"Yeah?"
Bonnie looked her in the eye and said, "You're a dragon, remember?"
Smiling tearfully, Kayla nodded. "I am, aren't I?"
"You are."
…
"What's this?" Bonnie asked, her brow furrowed as she stepped through the front door. She dropped her keys in the dish and shrugged her coat off, kicking her shoes behind her. "I thought we were doing soup and sandwiches tonight."
The table was dressed in unlit candles, the good wine glasses were out, and Damon had even rolled fabric napkins by the cutlery.
She paused. "Did I miss an anniversary or something?" she worried.
He grinned back at her. "No. I just felt like doing something nice."
Raising an eyebrow at him, she walked around the island slowly. "Okay…" she said slowly. "You're sure I didn't forget something. I know it's not your birthday…"
He laughed under his breath. "What? I can't make you dinner?" He walked into the kitchen, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Food's not ready yet. You can take a shower, meet me back out here."
Bonnie was still skeptical, but shrugged, moving past the table and down the hallway to the bathroom. After closing the shop a little later than usual and getting Damon's text that he would meet her at home, she was expecting a low key night. Not that she wasn't happy with him going out of his way, she just wasn't sure of the 'why.'
After her shower, she dressed in her bathrobe and made her way to their bedroom, still dabbing her face dry with a towel. Seeing as he was dressed up in a black button up and pressed black pants, Bonnie decided to look through her closet for something nice to wear. She found a red wine dress that reached mid-thigh, with spaghetti straps, beside one of her favourite sweater dresses and pulled it out. The material wasn't tight but loose and floaty. She'd bought it on a shopping trip with Annette but hadn't had a chance to wear it yet. Laying it out on her bed, she went through her routine, drying her hair and tying it up, rubbing her favorite lotion into her skin, and dabbing perfume to various places. She skimmed into her dress and made her way out to the kitchen, leaving her feet bare in favor of comfort.
Damon was just lighting the candles, looking up as she stepped out of the mouth of the hallway. For a second, she felt her breath catch in her throat. The candlelight lit up his face, warming hollows and enhancing certain angles. She wasn't unaware of how handsome he was; she'd often thought how unfair it was that a man as dark as he could be was so unnaturally beautiful. Maybe it was the last few years, but some part of her had just gotten used to it. Seeing his face on a daily basis, seeing him at both his best and worst, it had a way of enhancing a person's personality beyond their looks. But there were moments, startling in their simplicity, where she looked at him and was reminded that he could take her breath away without even really trying.
"Hungry?" he asked her, mouth curving up on one side.
She nodded, breaking out of the spell, and even laughed at herself under her breath. She stepped further into the room, moving to her side of the table, smiling as he held her seat out and tucked her in as she sat.
"I made a little of all your favorite dishes," he told her, sitting down across from her and giving his napkin a snap to unfold it before laying it in his lap. He raised the lids off a few bowls and dishes, steam flowing out of each of them.
Her mouth watered as she took in each one; he wasn't kidding when he said it was all of her favorites. There was a little bit of everything she could ever remember telling him was his 'best dish yet.' She said it a lot too, since his cooking had made a bit of an addict out of her. Damon dished it out between them, licking his fingers as a little pasta sauce spilled onto his hand.
"How long've you been cooking?" she wondered.
He half-grinned, shrugging. "I took a half-day. Came home and got it started a little after you went to work."
Bonnie looked up at him, her brows hiked. "Why?"
He stared at her a long moment. "Just showing my appreciation," he said quietly.
She gazed at him a while longer, a warmth spreading through her chest, and when he broke his gaze away and tried to focus more on the food, she reached across the table, putting her hand over his. He skin was smooth and warm, and his finger unfurled as his hand turned over so hers rested against his palm. His thumbs rubbed across her knuckles, back and forth gently.
"Is that what the last few months have been about?" she wondered.
"Hm?" he said, purposely keeping his eyes on the baked salmon and zucchini he was placing on her plate, beside the steamed green beans.
"Damon," she said, raising an eyebrow. "It's hard not to notice how much attention you've been paying me lately. The extra date nights, taking me to the art exhibit, our late night walks around town, how you keep trying to get me to sleep in…" She watched him curiously. "You know I don't expect you to change, right? I was insecure, I know that. When the grimoire showed up, I made assumptions, about both of us. And I put that on you, instead of just talking to you like a normal person. All I'm trying to say is that it's not all on you. I have a part in it too. I should've trusted you more. After everything we've been through. I've seen you grow. I know you're not who you were. I just..." She chewed her lip, her gaze falling to the table.
"You what?" he prompted, squeezing her fingers encouragingly.
"I… I couldn't imagine you wanting to stay here, not when getting home… getting back to Elena and… everyone. I just… I tried to think of a scenario where you would pick this over that and it never made sense. Everything you've ever done, everything I knew about you, it always had one outcome, and that was taken from you. I wanted to give it back to you. I wanted so badly to give you what you wanted, what you deserved, and I thought, if I just tried hard enough, I could."
"What do you think I want?" he wondered.
Bonnie raised her eyes then, and found him staring back at her, his eyes soft, searching her face. She blamed the candles for still making him look so distractingly, hauntingly, beautiful. "Home," she murmured.
"We have a home. This is our home," he reminded, raising a finger to motion around them. "Might not be what we grew up in or what we were used to, but we made it a home. You and me."
She swallowed thickly then, her heart feeling like it was climbing up her throat. "It is. And I love it," she assured. "But there are still things missing here that can't be replaced… Like Stefan… Elena…" She trailed off. "I know you miss them. Even if you're happy here, I know you wish you could have them too."
"I think the emphasis there would be on 'too.' As in, additionally." He shook his head. "I'm not going to lie and say I don't miss them, but… Everything we do, everything we want, comes at a price. We paid ours. We had that life, we lived it, and it's over. What we have now, I don't want to spend it regretting things. I spent too much of my life wondering 'what if,' being angry at my brother for choices he made that I would've made too if I was in his shoes." He screwed up his face, smiling faintly. "I'm tired of wishing things were different and putting all my chips on something that's probably never going to happen." He sighed, rubbing his thumb over her wrist. "I can't force you be happy. In the end, being happy, being okay with all of this, letting that life go, it's up to you."
"Is that what you're doing? Are you letting go of going home?" she wondered, peering at him thoughtfully.
"I…" He licked his lips, his tongue dragging slowly. "I'm accepting that home is different now. Not better or worse, just different."
Nodding slowly, Bonnie offered a smile. "Okay."
He stared into her eyes searchingly, gave her hand one last squeeze, and said, "Okay. Now. Eat up." She brought her hands back to her side, taking up her cutlery, and watched as he finished dishing out her food, his expression bright and his shoulders seeming to have been relieved of an unseen weight.
Putting her attention back on her food, she hummed appreciatively. "Everything looks amazing."
"Yeah, wait until you see dessert." He winked at her, smirking, and Bonnie felt her a thread of heat run through her.
She frowned for a moment, her brow furrowed. It wasn't the first time he'd winked at her; not even close. But it felt different. It felt charged, somehow, and she wasn't sure why.
"Bon?"
"Hm? Yeah. Sorry, what?" she said, giving her head a shake.
"You can't be in a food coma already, you haven't touched anything yet," he teased. "Pass me the wine."
Smiling, she did just that. "I'm just hungry," she defended, more to herself than him. Taking a deep breath, she decided to forget all about it and instead focus on the delicious meal in front of her. "Are we going to say thanks or anything?"
After pouring them each a glass of wine, Damon raised his, "To us. And everything we have ahead of us."
Bonnie raised her glass in cheers, gently knocking it against his.
Hear, hear.
[Next: Chapter Seven.]
author's note: i'm so, so sorry this is so late. I originally planned this for monday, and then i thought wednesday would happen, but i have a lot of essays and tests to study for right now, so i didn't get a chance to edit this until tonight.
okay, so, the romance in this chapter was seen more through physical touch, and through damon's talk with danny. this is him beginning to understand that his feelings for bonnie, what he has with her, can be amazing on a whole other level. which is why you can see bonnie slowly starting to notice something coming from him and why he's even more physically affectionate with her. i see damon as more action orientated than vocal, so a lot of what he wants gets shown through little touches and how he's always got some part of him touching her. with bonnie, she's starting to notice the tension and she's questioning what she feels. the ending of this chapter is also really important because this signifies damon truly closing the door on not only going home but on elena. the previous chapter was more of him recognizing that he wouldn't sacrifice bonnie to get home to elena, but this is him realizing that by accepting that going back is no longer an option, he has to let her go too. i like to think his conversation with danny had a lot to do with him fleshing his feelings out on that end and, as he and bonnie grow together, he's realizing that his relationship with her is much healthier than those he's had in the past. the next chapter will explore more of the tension between them now that bonnie's becoming aware and damon's let go. so i hope you're eager for that!
i do have a question, because a few people have made mention of this. i'd like to know exactly how many are reading this and hoping for bamon to have kids. because, the way i'm planning on writing it, that's not exactly in the cards. however, there may be a loophole to that, so i need to know if that's something you'd really want or not. i'm good with writing it either way, but i want to take a tally to get an idea of whether or not that's the route we're going.
thank you all so much for reading, i really appreciate all of your feedback and how much you're enjoying the story. it really keeps my passion for it going.
please leave a review!
- lee | fina