ric-a-thon 1.7 Parent Teacher Conferences
Author: kachera
Story Title: Holding On
Character/Relationships: Alaric Saltzman/Damon Salvatore, Alaric Saltzman/Jenna Sommers
Rating: Teen. No explicit sexual content. Some language and cut-away sex scenes (sorry… this part didn't go porny)
Warnings: None mostly. This piece is however the first part of a larger story I haven't finished yet. So technically it’s a WIP, but I think it can stand on its own here.
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries and its characters do not belong to me. This story is for fun, not profit.
Thanks: To my main encouragers, and editors, and supporters alittleblue and saltwriting. You guys rock!
Summary: Alaric needs to make a choice, and Damon tries to help.
Ric was at his desk trying unsuccessfully to prepare for that night's parent teacher conferences, when he found himself wishing he didn't have a day job. Not that he didn't like teaching; it was just that he literally didn't have the time for it. Not to do it right anyway. With the rate at which the bad guys kept showing up, finding the time and motivation for things like writing lesson plans and evaluating student achievement just seemed absurd. It was both sad and lucky that his students hardly noticed as they were so rarely in class - he really worried about their chances if they ever made it out of Mystic Falls. But beyond all that, recently his biggest distraction from work had not come from his supernatural hunting sideline; it had come from his personal life.
Alaric had just started dating Jenna, but he was also falling in bed with Damon on a semi-regular basis. The fact that he was essentially seeing two people at the same time wasn’t the problem, because despite the unbelievably screwed up history they both had to him through Isobel, Ric found that between the two of them he was getting what he needed. They complemented his split lifestyle of teacher by day and vampire hunter by night. Further he and Jenna hadn’t talked about being exclusive yet, so he wasn’t breaking any rules there, and Damon certainly had no objections to Alaric sleeping with other people.
No, the problem with his personal life, and the reason it had recently started to be more stressful than he liked, was that Jenna had started pushing Ric for answers. Answers he really couldn’t give without filling her in on a whole range of topics that he didn’t want her to ever know about. Yes, Elena had asked him to keep quiet about it, but he also wanted to protect Jenna from the darker truths for his own reasons, mainly that he needed her to keep her dreams of a happy future intact. For Alaric, if Jenna was able to believe in that kind of future, then maybe he could pretend it was possible for himself too. The stranger his world became, the more he clung to the hope of a normal future for someone if not himself. He hated keeping secrets from her, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be the one to show her the world was a much scarier place than she’d ever dreamed.
---------------
The wall he’d maintained between his two lives had started to crumble the night Ric made an off-handed comment to Damon that he hated keeping so many secrets from Jenna. Damon hadn’t said anything that night, but a couple days later he’d offered his solution.
They were downing a few shots at the boarding house, having just survived another bad guy’s attempt at killing Elena, and Ric had chosen to linger. Following what was now an almost regular routine, Damon had read Ric’s mood and moved into his space after the second drink was downed and pressed him back into the cushions. Ric hadn’t bothered trying to suppress the needy groan that slipped out of his throat as he fisted his hands in Damon’s shirt and shifted his legs a little to better press their bodies together when Damon leaned in to capture his mouth. On nights like these they were need, and want, and sensation. Ric’s focus narrowed to the here and now, reaffirming that he’d made it through another fight, sharpened by the very present edge of fear that came from never forgetting what Damon was. To his credit, Damon seemed to fully understand what Alaric wanted and was more than willing to play his part. Ric sometimes wondered if Damon had always been that way, or if he’d learned to read other people as a vampire, using it to his advantage. One of these days he’d have to ask.
It was after that, when they were lying satisfied at the foot of the couch that Damon had brought it up.
“You know you could just tell her.”
Alaric was usually pretty good at following Damon’s semi-rational topic changes, but this one had him stumped. “Tell who what?”
“Jenna. You’d simplify so many things for yourself if you just told Jenna what was going on.”
Alaric had tilted his head as he looked over at Damon. “Are you serious? Tell her about you? Vampires? That half the damn town knows what going on, but chooses to keep the other half in the dark?”
“Well you could tell her all that, yes, but I was thinking about just starting small. Tell her that your sex life is a little more varied than she knows.” Damon shot Ric a smirk. “That little tidbit should be enough to keep her distracted for a good long while, and I’d be happy to help you clear up any misunderstandings with a hands-on demonstration or two.” He’d waggled his eyebrows for added effect. “Plus if you got her off vervain, I could just wipe out any inconvenient memories.”
Alaric coughed as he tried to sputter and inhale at the same time. “You can’t… no, Damon. You cannot think that a threesome is the answer to my problems. Or that she would even… no!” The idea was ridiculous.
Damon laughed and got to his feet, trailing one hand through Ric’s tousled hair as he stepped away. “You’d be surprised how many things can be improved with a threesome. Just think about it, and feel free to show yourself out. I need a shower. I’ll talk to you later.”
Ric wasn’t sure how long he sat and thought about Damon’s words before he’d gathered his clothes and made his way back to his place. It was a horrible suggestion. It would mean pulling Jenna right up next to the other half of Ric’s world - the half he needed her protected from. She was sunshine and laughter and all the best parts of being human, and there was no way Alaric wanted her anywhere near the other realities which Damon personified. Even the knowledge that Damon wasn’t likely to kill her (and really? What did it say about his life that ‘wasn’t likely to kill’ was an acceptable risk?), that he would instead likely give her one of the best nights of her life, didn’t change the fact that it would mean combining his two lives more tightly together, and that was something he’d been exhaustively working to keep separate. He just wasn’t sure how much longer he could pull that off.
---
Getting together with Jenna had been so classically normal. From their first meeting, Alaric had been drawn to her. She was fun, and smart, and knew how to tease Alaric away from his worries and into the moment. Jenna’s world centered on family, and grad school, and work, and Alaric wanted, desperately needed, to stay grounded in all of that. She was full of laughter, and needed to cut loose for her own reasons, which kept things wonderfully interesting. She reminded him that there was more in the world than just danger, and monsters, and death. She reminded him that his life had once looked like that too, and he didn’t want to let it go. Alaric needed her light to balance the darkness he worried would one day eat him whole.
On their third official date, Alaric had offered to cook for Jenna at his apartment, since they hadn’t yet had a chance to simply talk without interruption. Alaric wasn’t a great cook, but he did like experimenting with flavors. He’d even told her up front that there would be no guarantees that what he made would be any good, but Jenna had accepted the offer with a smile, glibly promising not to judge if she had to resort to ordering take-out to save the evening.
She was such a contrast to Isobel. As Alaric had chopped vegetables, Jenna had entertained him with stories of her escapades before moving back to Mystic Falls, and their conversation had flowed easily. Jenna was quick to laugh at herself, and spoke freely about her past and the things she was working on. He’d briefly found himself wishing he’d met her before Isobel, only to quickly shake that thought off. His past was what had brought him here, and it couldn’t be changed.
“Some days I feel like I’ve stepped into someone else’s life. Since when am I the one confiscating pot from minors under my care? It wasn’t that long ago that I was the one hiding it.”
Alaric couldn’t stop the surprised laugh that burst out. “I’m pretty sure one act of confiscation does not eliminate all of your cool cred. They’re good kids.”
Jenna smiled wryly. “Yeah… they are. I’d do pretty much anything for them you know?” She was slowly turning her wine glass, her face serious. “I’m just not sure I know how.”
“You're too hard on yourself. In my limited experience, I don’t think parents ever get it figured out. Teaching is easier. I get to send them home once school is out.”
Jenna met his eyes and smiled. “True,” Her smile twisted as she deliberately lightened the conversation, “but you also get to deal with them in larger groups. Packs of rabid teenagers, and you’re always outnumbered.”
Alaric conceded to that with a laugh. He set the veggies aside, and checked the clock before sliding the fish into the oven and setting the rice to simmer. He wiped his hands off and stepped around the counter to share the couch with her, bringing his own wine glass along. “So since you’re clearly a responsible adult... what did you *do* with the pot you took from Jeremy?”
“Ric!” She laughed and shoved at his leg with her foot. Alaric just held her gaze and waited, a knowing smile lifting his lips. Jenna blushed, before taking a breath and owning up. “Well, I couldn’t just throw it away. I might still have it tucked away somewhere.”
Ric let the laugh he’d been holding back slip out and leaned back more fully into the cushions. “I promise not to rat you out.” He allowed the pause to build before he leaned closer. “If you share.”
Jenna howled out a laugh and bit her lower lip, squinting her eyes in suspicion. “Alright. You drive a hard bargain, but you have a deal.” They toasted their glasses and Ric met Jenna’s lips for a kiss loving the way she slid herself around and fitted her back into his chest, trailing the fingers of her free hand along his forearm.
Dinner had turned out well, but the hours afterward spent in the bedroom proved they fit together in other ways as well. When the time eventually came for Jenna to return to the Gilbert house, Alaric walked her out and stole one last kiss before she got into her car. He smiled as she drove off, and the warm feeling stuck with him all through the night.
---
In contrast things with Damon had just sort of *happened* one night. They’d been on a hunt and had gone in fast, counting on surprise to give them the edge, but Ric had fumbled his first stake when the vamp he’d been engaged with had turned unexpectedly. He’d had his second stake out but was slower with his left hand and had been forced to shove it into the jaws of the vamp lunging for his throat instead of his heart. The move had gained him a few seconds, but left him grappling with the guy, and out of weapons - never a winning position for a human. As he was trying to think up a new solution he’d heard Damon call his name, and looked over just in time to catch the stake Damon tossed his way. Alaric used it to kill the vamp that had him cornered and when he looked back, Damon was taking his gore-coated hand out of the chest of another vamp. The whole thing had happened quickly, and the close call had Alaric’s blood pumping and breathing hard.
When Damon had reached down to help Alaric out from under the body of the vampire he’d just killed, he’d had what should have been a frightening look on his face. If Ric had been asked to define it, he’d have said that Damon’s smirk in that moment had been made up of 40% exhilaration, 30% serial killer, and 30% lust. That Ric hadn’t turned away Damon’s bloody hand, had instead used it to pull himself up and into Damon’s space was likely the kind of thing that kept therapists in business, but that night Ric hadn’t been interested in being cautious. He knew what Damon was, had seen the killer just below the surface, and instead of backing away he’d been drawn closer. Damon had simply raised a brow in response a small flicker of interest tilting the percentage breakdown of his expression further over to lust. So Ric had leaned in to take a kiss like it was the only answer. He’d slipped his hand into Damon’s hair and pulled them together. There had been just a moment of hesitation on Damon’s part before he’d reacted in kind and slid his palms down Alaric’s body as he kissed back, all lips and tongue and experience.
After what had felt like time enough for the world to burn down around them, Ric broke off to gasp in more air. Damon had chuckled and mouthed his way under Ric’s jaw and along his throat.
“No biting. Not what I’m after here.” The words had spilled out before Ric knew he’d be saying them. It seemed Alaric’s brain was still functioning despite the assault on his senses.
“Ah, Ric, but that’s half the fun.” Damon had murmured against his skin, blunt teeth nipping before he swiped his tongue up the side of his next to Ric’s ear. “Still… care to define what exactly you’re after? “
Alaric realized they had two dead bodies at their feet, blood all over their clothes and hair, and that despite those facts he was still painfully hard in his jeans. Instead of answering right away he’d grabbed Damon by the hips and ground against him, confirming that Damon was just as interested as he’d seemed.
“Getting off to start. Then cleaning up this mess.” Admitting what he wanted knowing full well how messed up it was hadn’t felt like falling off a cliff at all. More like finally settling pieces into place. Damon was admittedly one third crazy, but apparently Ric trusted him in this, wanted him in this.
Damon had simply nodded. “I like your priorities.”
After that first time they’d just sort of kept at it. Damon, for all his many faults, was a friend that Alaric didn’t have to hide anything from. He understood Ric’s need to just lose himself in a good hard fuck now and again, and could recognize and acknowledge Alaric’s darker drives. On the days when killing or being killed focused front and center, Ric sought out Damon to push him, ground him, and remind him that playing with fire didn’t always get him burned. On those days he needed proof that he could slip into that other world and still come out intact on the other side. Damon was happy to assist, and the situation suited them both. They weren’t many tender moments between them, but there was a bone-deep understanding, and a companionship that filled the void they each held inside.
---------------
Alaric was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of voices in the hallway. A glance at the clock told him he needed to pull himself together and refocus. He was meeting Mr. Kirkland in ten minutes, and he absolutely could not remember anything pertinent about his son. Alaric winced as he allowed himself a moment to acknowledge what a truly awful teacher he’d been to these kids (killing vampires and stopping evil supernatural schemes that threatened their lives not withstanding), and found himself half wishing for a quick and painless death rather than go through the whole thing. He was fairly sure Damon would accommodate the request if he gave him a call. Instead, he squared his shoulders and got ready to be Mr. Saltzman, history teacher. He comforted himself with the knowledge that the parents in Mystic Falls seemed completely incapable of noticing what their kids were up to anyway, so the chances of them really wanting details on school performance was slim.
After over two hours and several disturbingly half-hearted discussions with parents Alaric was ready to call Damon for that quick and painless death he’d contemplated earlier. The only reason he refrained was that his next session was meeting with Jenna. Since he was more than familiar with her two particular charges, and he and Jenna discussed Elena and Jeremy’s progress frequently enough outside of school, this meeting was really just an excuse to give Alaric a break in his evening.
As Jenna walked in, Alaric pushed back from his desk and leaned into the back of his chair. “Thank God. Please tell me all the other parents have left and I can go home.”
“Sorry Ric, no such luck. But I did bring you a fresh cup of coffee.” Jenna handed the coffee over then shifted up and back to sit on the edge of his desk.
“At this point I’ll take whatever I can get.” Ric took a grateful sip and smiled tiredly. Wanting a distraction he pressed, “So, how is your evening going? It has to be better than mine.”
“Oh, you know, all glamour and excitement in my life.” She swung her feet. “I did wrangle Jeremy into spending time with his family instead of burying himself in his earphones and computer for an hour after dinner. I think that deserves some sort of recognition.”
Ric huffed out a chuckle. “I’ll check into whether or not they give out medals for that sort of thing.”
“So, Mr. Saltzman, any chance you’d be willing to make out like high school kids until your next appointment?”
Alaric grinned. “Oh really? Is that what you have in mind?” He set the coffee down and was just about to scoot his chair up and close the distance between them, when he saw a figure move across the classroom door’s window and some instinct told him to freeze instead.
Sure enough, a second later the door swung open and Damon sauntered in like he owned the place. Alaric’s sense of dread flared into life.
“Damon. Pretty sure we weren’t scheduled to talk about Stefan tonight.” Ric tried to put as much warning into his tone as he could, but Damon was wearing an expression of determined innocence that Alaric knew wouldn’t bode well. Jenna had jumped at the interruption, acting like she’d been caught doing more than just sitting on Ric’s desk. Not that it mattered, considering Alaric was fairly certain Damon was about to force them into a conversation he really wasn’t ready to have.
“Ric.” Damon nodded his greeting, jaw set in a fake smile. “No, I’m not here to talk about Stefan. I actually have a question for Jenna.”
“I’m pretty sure any other time would be better.” Alaric could hear the hint of desperation in his tone. He knew deep down that he’d already lost this particular battle, but he couldn’t stop himself from trying to deflect it a little longer. He caught sight of Jenna looking between him and Damon as she tried to sort out what was going on underneath their words, before she simply dove in with her customary open and forward style.
“You have a question for me? Is it about Elena?”
“No, something else entirely.” Damon had stepped up to join them at the desk before he turned just slightly to face Jenna, casually putting a hand on the back of Ric’s chair. ”And this seemed like the perfect time to ask, seeing how the three of us so rarely have a chance to chat.” It was like a train wreck Alaric could not only not look away from, but was absolutely certain was about to run him over.
Jenna stared at Damon’s hand, then shifted to meet Alaric’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what she read in the look he returned, but the sharp intake of breath she took told him she’d come up with at least one theory and his chance to clear things up was quickly expiring.
“Jenna, give me a chance to explain, since Damon’s sense of timing is *unbelievably* awful.” He quickly shot a glare at Damon, which only garnered a wink in response. He turned back to Jenna and caught her hand in his, deciding the only way to get through this would be to try and ignore Damon entirely. She didn’t pull away, but he could feel the tension in her body. “I… shit. I’m not really sure where to start.”
“It’s not complicated.” Damon interrupted. “I think just asking Jenna how she feels about…” Damon started, and Alaric jumped back in cutting him off.
“Damon! Enough.” He let out a slow breath and ran his thumb over Jenna’s hand in a soothing gesture. “Jenna, there are a few things you don’t know about me.” Alaric paused again, still panicking about being in this conversation at all.
“I really enjoy dating you, and I don’t want that to end, but you should know that…” He stalled out once more and caught a look from Damon that left no doubt he’d break in if Alaric didn’t step up. “My sex life is a little more varied than you know.”
Alaric was mortified. It was like his mouth had wandered off due to his brain’s ineptitude and just started parroting old phrases. He couldn’t believe he’d just used Damon’s crappy line. Jenna was still sitting stock still, but she did raise one brow at that admission proving she was at least listening. In a desperate attempt to regain control of his words Alaric pressed on. “Damon and I have been seeing each other for a little while.” That at least sounded a little more like him, though Jenna didn’t react at all to that revelation and Alaric was starting to become concerned with her relative lack of response. He frowned in concern. “Jenna?”
She continued to stare at him, before muttering a disappointed “Oh, Ric” under her breath. She looked like she was purposefully controlling her breathing - in and out, in a measured tempo. “So this is your secret? That you’ve been seeing Damon while you’ve been dating me?”
Alaric nodded. At least it was partly true. “Yes. I wanted you to know so that you didn’t feel like I was going behind your back. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.” There. The half-truth was out there, and whatever happened next Jenna would at least have a say in it which made him feel better.
That good feeling quickly withered, when Jenna turned to look directly at Damon. “So what was it you wanted to ask me?” Leave it to Jenna to take in the new revelation that Alaric was essentially bi-sexual and still stay focused on the deeper issue. Alaric glanced over to try and gauge what angle Damon would take, and silently hoped it would be one he could actually live with.
Damon met Jenna’s look head-on and Alaric could tell he approved of the way she’d chosen to deal directly with him. “I’m very good with sharing. I want to know how you feel about it.” Alaric relaxed just a little as Damon seemed to be playing nice for once, despite how he’d started the conversation.
Jenna seemed to be trying to figure out what angle Damon playing, still visibly working to stay calm. “What do you mean by sharing?” Her tone was mostly flat, controlled, but there was an edge of steel that had started to show through.
Damon’s smile widened. “That’s really up to you. We could continue as we were, but I’m also open to seeing what would happen if we… combined forces.” And there it was. Alaric’s nightmare laid out.
Jenna was still looking at Damon with suspicion. “If you’ll recall I’ve dated many yous. I don’t trust yous.”
Damon merely shrugged. “I’m not asking you to date me. I’m asking if you’d be interested in sleeping with me and Ric together. I, for one, think it could be fantastic.”
Jenna shot Damon a withering look that would have killed a lesser man, then dismissed him entirely as she turned back to Ric, eyes focused and jaw tight. “And you? What do you think about this plan?”
Ric winced, hating the anger he could feel simmering just below the surface of Jenna’s skin. “I said no.” At that Jenna pulled her hand free of his, doubt and accusation clearly communicated in her look. “It wasn’t like he and I talked about it at length! I didn’t even want to bring it up, it’s just you wanted to know what was going on, and I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Well having Damon walk in on parent teacher night and propose a threesome was a *great* approach. Be sure to use that again next time.” Jenna’s sarcasm stung, and Alaric’s frustration was quickly morphing into anger at Damon. Jenna pushed herself off the desk, and was brushing past Damon to leave, when Alaric finally got himself organized enough to jump out of his chair and catch Jenna’s arm before she could walk out.
“Jenna, please. I had no idea that Damon would pull this tonight. I am so sorry about how this played out.” He released her arm as she turned to look at him, and spread his hands in surrender. “I’ve totally fucked up, and I am very, very sorry about that. Will you at least let me call you later?”
He watched as Jenna huffed out a breath, considering. “I’m mad, and I think you’re an idiot for trusting a guy like Damon,” Alaric held his breath and tipped his head in acknowledgement at that last part, before she continued. “But I will still talk to you. Call when you’re done here tonight.”
Alaric dropped his head in relief, nodding. “More than fair. I’ll call you later.”
After the door closed behind Jenna, Alaric rounded on Damon. “You utter asshole.” Damon didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. Of course he didn’t.
“I’ve done you a favor, Ric. The card has been played, so now you can stop worrying about it, and start dealing with it.” He moved to step around Alaric and leave, but paused, turning back to lay a hand on Alaric’s upper arm. His expression had shifted, more serious and perhaps just a little sad, which Alaric couldn’t understand at all. “I really am fine with you continuing to see Jenna. Be happy, live the picket fence dream. But it *is* a dream. Sooner or later you’ll figure that out.”
Alaric shrugged Damon’s hand off, still angry, and shook his head in denial. He didn’t have any more words. Damon left the classroom without any more comments, and Alaric realized he still had to meet with parents, he still had to carry on with his job as if his life hadn’t just imploded. He returned to his chair unable to marshal his thoughts, and willed himself to just go numb. He picked up the cup Jenna had brought him and took a sip. The coffee seemed cold, its flavor more bitter than before, and he slowly placed it back on the desk. He would talk with Jenna later, try and fix this somehow, but Damon’s parting words still echoed in his head. Dream or not, he had to try.
Story Title: Holding On
Character/Relationships: Alaric Saltzman/Damon Salvatore, Alaric Saltzman/Jenna Sommers
Rating: Teen. No explicit sexual content. Some language and cut-away sex scenes (sorry… this part didn't go porny)
Warnings: None mostly. This piece is however the first part of a larger story I haven't finished yet. So technically it’s a WIP, but I think it can stand on its own here.
Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries and its characters do not belong to me. This story is for fun, not profit.
Thanks: To my main encouragers, and editors, and supporters alittleblue and saltwriting. You guys rock!
Summary: Alaric needs to make a choice, and Damon tries to help.
Ric was at his desk trying unsuccessfully to prepare for that night's parent teacher conferences, when he found himself wishing he didn't have a day job. Not that he didn't like teaching; it was just that he literally didn't have the time for it. Not to do it right anyway. With the rate at which the bad guys kept showing up, finding the time and motivation for things like writing lesson plans and evaluating student achievement just seemed absurd. It was both sad and lucky that his students hardly noticed as they were so rarely in class - he really worried about their chances if they ever made it out of Mystic Falls. But beyond all that, recently his biggest distraction from work had not come from his supernatural hunting sideline; it had come from his personal life.
Alaric had just started dating Jenna, but he was also falling in bed with Damon on a semi-regular basis. The fact that he was essentially seeing two people at the same time wasn’t the problem, because despite the unbelievably screwed up history they both had to him through Isobel, Ric found that between the two of them he was getting what he needed. They complemented his split lifestyle of teacher by day and vampire hunter by night. Further he and Jenna hadn’t talked about being exclusive yet, so he wasn’t breaking any rules there, and Damon certainly had no objections to Alaric sleeping with other people.
No, the problem with his personal life, and the reason it had recently started to be more stressful than he liked, was that Jenna had started pushing Ric for answers. Answers he really couldn’t give without filling her in on a whole range of topics that he didn’t want her to ever know about. Yes, Elena had asked him to keep quiet about it, but he also wanted to protect Jenna from the darker truths for his own reasons, mainly that he needed her to keep her dreams of a happy future intact. For Alaric, if Jenna was able to believe in that kind of future, then maybe he could pretend it was possible for himself too. The stranger his world became, the more he clung to the hope of a normal future for someone if not himself. He hated keeping secrets from her, but he just couldn’t bring himself to be the one to show her the world was a much scarier place than she’d ever dreamed.
---------------
The wall he’d maintained between his two lives had started to crumble the night Ric made an off-handed comment to Damon that he hated keeping so many secrets from Jenna. Damon hadn’t said anything that night, but a couple days later he’d offered his solution.
They were downing a few shots at the boarding house, having just survived another bad guy’s attempt at killing Elena, and Ric had chosen to linger. Following what was now an almost regular routine, Damon had read Ric’s mood and moved into his space after the second drink was downed and pressed him back into the cushions. Ric hadn’t bothered trying to suppress the needy groan that slipped out of his throat as he fisted his hands in Damon’s shirt and shifted his legs a little to better press their bodies together when Damon leaned in to capture his mouth. On nights like these they were need, and want, and sensation. Ric’s focus narrowed to the here and now, reaffirming that he’d made it through another fight, sharpened by the very present edge of fear that came from never forgetting what Damon was. To his credit, Damon seemed to fully understand what Alaric wanted and was more than willing to play his part. Ric sometimes wondered if Damon had always been that way, or if he’d learned to read other people as a vampire, using it to his advantage. One of these days he’d have to ask.
It was after that, when they were lying satisfied at the foot of the couch that Damon had brought it up.
“You know you could just tell her.”
Alaric was usually pretty good at following Damon’s semi-rational topic changes, but this one had him stumped. “Tell who what?”
“Jenna. You’d simplify so many things for yourself if you just told Jenna what was going on.”
Alaric had tilted his head as he looked over at Damon. “Are you serious? Tell her about you? Vampires? That half the damn town knows what going on, but chooses to keep the other half in the dark?”
“Well you could tell her all that, yes, but I was thinking about just starting small. Tell her that your sex life is a little more varied than she knows.” Damon shot Ric a smirk. “That little tidbit should be enough to keep her distracted for a good long while, and I’d be happy to help you clear up any misunderstandings with a hands-on demonstration or two.” He’d waggled his eyebrows for added effect. “Plus if you got her off vervain, I could just wipe out any inconvenient memories.”
Alaric coughed as he tried to sputter and inhale at the same time. “You can’t… no, Damon. You cannot think that a threesome is the answer to my problems. Or that she would even… no!” The idea was ridiculous.
Damon laughed and got to his feet, trailing one hand through Ric’s tousled hair as he stepped away. “You’d be surprised how many things can be improved with a threesome. Just think about it, and feel free to show yourself out. I need a shower. I’ll talk to you later.”
Ric wasn’t sure how long he sat and thought about Damon’s words before he’d gathered his clothes and made his way back to his place. It was a horrible suggestion. It would mean pulling Jenna right up next to the other half of Ric’s world - the half he needed her protected from. She was sunshine and laughter and all the best parts of being human, and there was no way Alaric wanted her anywhere near the other realities which Damon personified. Even the knowledge that Damon wasn’t likely to kill her (and really? What did it say about his life that ‘wasn’t likely to kill’ was an acceptable risk?), that he would instead likely give her one of the best nights of her life, didn’t change the fact that it would mean combining his two lives more tightly together, and that was something he’d been exhaustively working to keep separate. He just wasn’t sure how much longer he could pull that off.
---
Getting together with Jenna had been so classically normal. From their first meeting, Alaric had been drawn to her. She was fun, and smart, and knew how to tease Alaric away from his worries and into the moment. Jenna’s world centered on family, and grad school, and work, and Alaric wanted, desperately needed, to stay grounded in all of that. She was full of laughter, and needed to cut loose for her own reasons, which kept things wonderfully interesting. She reminded him that there was more in the world than just danger, and monsters, and death. She reminded him that his life had once looked like that too, and he didn’t want to let it go. Alaric needed her light to balance the darkness he worried would one day eat him whole.
On their third official date, Alaric had offered to cook for Jenna at his apartment, since they hadn’t yet had a chance to simply talk without interruption. Alaric wasn’t a great cook, but he did like experimenting with flavors. He’d even told her up front that there would be no guarantees that what he made would be any good, but Jenna had accepted the offer with a smile, glibly promising not to judge if she had to resort to ordering take-out to save the evening.
She was such a contrast to Isobel. As Alaric had chopped vegetables, Jenna had entertained him with stories of her escapades before moving back to Mystic Falls, and their conversation had flowed easily. Jenna was quick to laugh at herself, and spoke freely about her past and the things she was working on. He’d briefly found himself wishing he’d met her before Isobel, only to quickly shake that thought off. His past was what had brought him here, and it couldn’t be changed.
“Some days I feel like I’ve stepped into someone else’s life. Since when am I the one confiscating pot from minors under my care? It wasn’t that long ago that I was the one hiding it.”
Alaric couldn’t stop the surprised laugh that burst out. “I’m pretty sure one act of confiscation does not eliminate all of your cool cred. They’re good kids.”
Jenna smiled wryly. “Yeah… they are. I’d do pretty much anything for them you know?” She was slowly turning her wine glass, her face serious. “I’m just not sure I know how.”
“You're too hard on yourself. In my limited experience, I don’t think parents ever get it figured out. Teaching is easier. I get to send them home once school is out.”
Jenna met his eyes and smiled. “True,” Her smile twisted as she deliberately lightened the conversation, “but you also get to deal with them in larger groups. Packs of rabid teenagers, and you’re always outnumbered.”
Alaric conceded to that with a laugh. He set the veggies aside, and checked the clock before sliding the fish into the oven and setting the rice to simmer. He wiped his hands off and stepped around the counter to share the couch with her, bringing his own wine glass along. “So since you’re clearly a responsible adult... what did you *do* with the pot you took from Jeremy?”
“Ric!” She laughed and shoved at his leg with her foot. Alaric just held her gaze and waited, a knowing smile lifting his lips. Jenna blushed, before taking a breath and owning up. “Well, I couldn’t just throw it away. I might still have it tucked away somewhere.”
Ric let the laugh he’d been holding back slip out and leaned back more fully into the cushions. “I promise not to rat you out.” He allowed the pause to build before he leaned closer. “If you share.”
Jenna howled out a laugh and bit her lower lip, squinting her eyes in suspicion. “Alright. You drive a hard bargain, but you have a deal.” They toasted their glasses and Ric met Jenna’s lips for a kiss loving the way she slid herself around and fitted her back into his chest, trailing the fingers of her free hand along his forearm.
Dinner had turned out well, but the hours afterward spent in the bedroom proved they fit together in other ways as well. When the time eventually came for Jenna to return to the Gilbert house, Alaric walked her out and stole one last kiss before she got into her car. He smiled as she drove off, and the warm feeling stuck with him all through the night.
---
In contrast things with Damon had just sort of *happened* one night. They’d been on a hunt and had gone in fast, counting on surprise to give them the edge, but Ric had fumbled his first stake when the vamp he’d been engaged with had turned unexpectedly. He’d had his second stake out but was slower with his left hand and had been forced to shove it into the jaws of the vamp lunging for his throat instead of his heart. The move had gained him a few seconds, but left him grappling with the guy, and out of weapons - never a winning position for a human. As he was trying to think up a new solution he’d heard Damon call his name, and looked over just in time to catch the stake Damon tossed his way. Alaric used it to kill the vamp that had him cornered and when he looked back, Damon was taking his gore-coated hand out of the chest of another vamp. The whole thing had happened quickly, and the close call had Alaric’s blood pumping and breathing hard.
When Damon had reached down to help Alaric out from under the body of the vampire he’d just killed, he’d had what should have been a frightening look on his face. If Ric had been asked to define it, he’d have said that Damon’s smirk in that moment had been made up of 40% exhilaration, 30% serial killer, and 30% lust. That Ric hadn’t turned away Damon’s bloody hand, had instead used it to pull himself up and into Damon’s space was likely the kind of thing that kept therapists in business, but that night Ric hadn’t been interested in being cautious. He knew what Damon was, had seen the killer just below the surface, and instead of backing away he’d been drawn closer. Damon had simply raised a brow in response a small flicker of interest tilting the percentage breakdown of his expression further over to lust. So Ric had leaned in to take a kiss like it was the only answer. He’d slipped his hand into Damon’s hair and pulled them together. There had been just a moment of hesitation on Damon’s part before he’d reacted in kind and slid his palms down Alaric’s body as he kissed back, all lips and tongue and experience.
After what had felt like time enough for the world to burn down around them, Ric broke off to gasp in more air. Damon had chuckled and mouthed his way under Ric’s jaw and along his throat.
“No biting. Not what I’m after here.” The words had spilled out before Ric knew he’d be saying them. It seemed Alaric’s brain was still functioning despite the assault on his senses.
“Ah, Ric, but that’s half the fun.” Damon had murmured against his skin, blunt teeth nipping before he swiped his tongue up the side of his next to Ric’s ear. “Still… care to define what exactly you’re after? “
Alaric realized they had two dead bodies at their feet, blood all over their clothes and hair, and that despite those facts he was still painfully hard in his jeans. Instead of answering right away he’d grabbed Damon by the hips and ground against him, confirming that Damon was just as interested as he’d seemed.
“Getting off to start. Then cleaning up this mess.” Admitting what he wanted knowing full well how messed up it was hadn’t felt like falling off a cliff at all. More like finally settling pieces into place. Damon was admittedly one third crazy, but apparently Ric trusted him in this, wanted him in this.
Damon had simply nodded. “I like your priorities.”
After that first time they’d just sort of kept at it. Damon, for all his many faults, was a friend that Alaric didn’t have to hide anything from. He understood Ric’s need to just lose himself in a good hard fuck now and again, and could recognize and acknowledge Alaric’s darker drives. On the days when killing or being killed focused front and center, Ric sought out Damon to push him, ground him, and remind him that playing with fire didn’t always get him burned. On those days he needed proof that he could slip into that other world and still come out intact on the other side. Damon was happy to assist, and the situation suited them both. They weren’t many tender moments between them, but there was a bone-deep understanding, and a companionship that filled the void they each held inside.
---------------
Alaric was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of voices in the hallway. A glance at the clock told him he needed to pull himself together and refocus. He was meeting Mr. Kirkland in ten minutes, and he absolutely could not remember anything pertinent about his son. Alaric winced as he allowed himself a moment to acknowledge what a truly awful teacher he’d been to these kids (killing vampires and stopping evil supernatural schemes that threatened their lives not withstanding), and found himself half wishing for a quick and painless death rather than go through the whole thing. He was fairly sure Damon would accommodate the request if he gave him a call. Instead, he squared his shoulders and got ready to be Mr. Saltzman, history teacher. He comforted himself with the knowledge that the parents in Mystic Falls seemed completely incapable of noticing what their kids were up to anyway, so the chances of them really wanting details on school performance was slim.
After over two hours and several disturbingly half-hearted discussions with parents Alaric was ready to call Damon for that quick and painless death he’d contemplated earlier. The only reason he refrained was that his next session was meeting with Jenna. Since he was more than familiar with her two particular charges, and he and Jenna discussed Elena and Jeremy’s progress frequently enough outside of school, this meeting was really just an excuse to give Alaric a break in his evening.
As Jenna walked in, Alaric pushed back from his desk and leaned into the back of his chair. “Thank God. Please tell me all the other parents have left and I can go home.”
“Sorry Ric, no such luck. But I did bring you a fresh cup of coffee.” Jenna handed the coffee over then shifted up and back to sit on the edge of his desk.
“At this point I’ll take whatever I can get.” Ric took a grateful sip and smiled tiredly. Wanting a distraction he pressed, “So, how is your evening going? It has to be better than mine.”
“Oh, you know, all glamour and excitement in my life.” She swung her feet. “I did wrangle Jeremy into spending time with his family instead of burying himself in his earphones and computer for an hour after dinner. I think that deserves some sort of recognition.”
Ric huffed out a chuckle. “I’ll check into whether or not they give out medals for that sort of thing.”
“So, Mr. Saltzman, any chance you’d be willing to make out like high school kids until your next appointment?”
Alaric grinned. “Oh really? Is that what you have in mind?” He set the coffee down and was just about to scoot his chair up and close the distance between them, when he saw a figure move across the classroom door’s window and some instinct told him to freeze instead.
Sure enough, a second later the door swung open and Damon sauntered in like he owned the place. Alaric’s sense of dread flared into life.
“Damon. Pretty sure we weren’t scheduled to talk about Stefan tonight.” Ric tried to put as much warning into his tone as he could, but Damon was wearing an expression of determined innocence that Alaric knew wouldn’t bode well. Jenna had jumped at the interruption, acting like she’d been caught doing more than just sitting on Ric’s desk. Not that it mattered, considering Alaric was fairly certain Damon was about to force them into a conversation he really wasn’t ready to have.
“Ric.” Damon nodded his greeting, jaw set in a fake smile. “No, I’m not here to talk about Stefan. I actually have a question for Jenna.”
“I’m pretty sure any other time would be better.” Alaric could hear the hint of desperation in his tone. He knew deep down that he’d already lost this particular battle, but he couldn’t stop himself from trying to deflect it a little longer. He caught sight of Jenna looking between him and Damon as she tried to sort out what was going on underneath their words, before she simply dove in with her customary open and forward style.
“You have a question for me? Is it about Elena?”
“No, something else entirely.” Damon had stepped up to join them at the desk before he turned just slightly to face Jenna, casually putting a hand on the back of Ric’s chair. ”And this seemed like the perfect time to ask, seeing how the three of us so rarely have a chance to chat.” It was like a train wreck Alaric could not only not look away from, but was absolutely certain was about to run him over.
Jenna stared at Damon’s hand, then shifted to meet Alaric’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what she read in the look he returned, but the sharp intake of breath she took told him she’d come up with at least one theory and his chance to clear things up was quickly expiring.
“Jenna, give me a chance to explain, since Damon’s sense of timing is *unbelievably* awful.” He quickly shot a glare at Damon, which only garnered a wink in response. He turned back to Jenna and caught her hand in his, deciding the only way to get through this would be to try and ignore Damon entirely. She didn’t pull away, but he could feel the tension in her body. “I… shit. I’m not really sure where to start.”
“It’s not complicated.” Damon interrupted. “I think just asking Jenna how she feels about…” Damon started, and Alaric jumped back in cutting him off.
“Damon! Enough.” He let out a slow breath and ran his thumb over Jenna’s hand in a soothing gesture. “Jenna, there are a few things you don’t know about me.” Alaric paused again, still panicking about being in this conversation at all.
“I really enjoy dating you, and I don’t want that to end, but you should know that…” He stalled out once more and caught a look from Damon that left no doubt he’d break in if Alaric didn’t step up. “My sex life is a little more varied than you know.”
Alaric was mortified. It was like his mouth had wandered off due to his brain’s ineptitude and just started parroting old phrases. He couldn’t believe he’d just used Damon’s crappy line. Jenna was still sitting stock still, but she did raise one brow at that admission proving she was at least listening. In a desperate attempt to regain control of his words Alaric pressed on. “Damon and I have been seeing each other for a little while.” That at least sounded a little more like him, though Jenna didn’t react at all to that revelation and Alaric was starting to become concerned with her relative lack of response. He frowned in concern. “Jenna?”
She continued to stare at him, before muttering a disappointed “Oh, Ric” under her breath. She looked like she was purposefully controlling her breathing - in and out, in a measured tempo. “So this is your secret? That you’ve been seeing Damon while you’ve been dating me?”
Alaric nodded. At least it was partly true. “Yes. I wanted you to know so that you didn’t feel like I was going behind your back. I just didn’t know how to bring it up.” There. The half-truth was out there, and whatever happened next Jenna would at least have a say in it which made him feel better.
That good feeling quickly withered, when Jenna turned to look directly at Damon. “So what was it you wanted to ask me?” Leave it to Jenna to take in the new revelation that Alaric was essentially bi-sexual and still stay focused on the deeper issue. Alaric glanced over to try and gauge what angle Damon would take, and silently hoped it would be one he could actually live with.
Damon met Jenna’s look head-on and Alaric could tell he approved of the way she’d chosen to deal directly with him. “I’m very good with sharing. I want to know how you feel about it.” Alaric relaxed just a little as Damon seemed to be playing nice for once, despite how he’d started the conversation.
Jenna seemed to be trying to figure out what angle Damon playing, still visibly working to stay calm. “What do you mean by sharing?” Her tone was mostly flat, controlled, but there was an edge of steel that had started to show through.
Damon’s smile widened. “That’s really up to you. We could continue as we were, but I’m also open to seeing what would happen if we… combined forces.” And there it was. Alaric’s nightmare laid out.
Jenna was still looking at Damon with suspicion. “If you’ll recall I’ve dated many yous. I don’t trust yous.”
Damon merely shrugged. “I’m not asking you to date me. I’m asking if you’d be interested in sleeping with me and Ric together. I, for one, think it could be fantastic.”
Jenna shot Damon a withering look that would have killed a lesser man, then dismissed him entirely as she turned back to Ric, eyes focused and jaw tight. “And you? What do you think about this plan?”
Ric winced, hating the anger he could feel simmering just below the surface of Jenna’s skin. “I said no.” At that Jenna pulled her hand free of his, doubt and accusation clearly communicated in her look. “It wasn’t like he and I talked about it at length! I didn’t even want to bring it up, it’s just you wanted to know what was going on, and I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“Well having Damon walk in on parent teacher night and propose a threesome was a *great* approach. Be sure to use that again next time.” Jenna’s sarcasm stung, and Alaric’s frustration was quickly morphing into anger at Damon. Jenna pushed herself off the desk, and was brushing past Damon to leave, when Alaric finally got himself organized enough to jump out of his chair and catch Jenna’s arm before she could walk out.
“Jenna, please. I had no idea that Damon would pull this tonight. I am so sorry about how this played out.” He released her arm as she turned to look at him, and spread his hands in surrender. “I’ve totally fucked up, and I am very, very sorry about that. Will you at least let me call you later?”
He watched as Jenna huffed out a breath, considering. “I’m mad, and I think you’re an idiot for trusting a guy like Damon,” Alaric held his breath and tipped his head in acknowledgement at that last part, before she continued. “But I will still talk to you. Call when you’re done here tonight.”
Alaric dropped his head in relief, nodding. “More than fair. I’ll call you later.”
After the door closed behind Jenna, Alaric rounded on Damon. “You utter asshole.” Damon didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed. Of course he didn’t.
“I’ve done you a favor, Ric. The card has been played, so now you can stop worrying about it, and start dealing with it.” He moved to step around Alaric and leave, but paused, turning back to lay a hand on Alaric’s upper arm. His expression had shifted, more serious and perhaps just a little sad, which Alaric couldn’t understand at all. “I really am fine with you continuing to see Jenna. Be happy, live the picket fence dream. But it *is* a dream. Sooner or later you’ll figure that out.”
Alaric shrugged Damon’s hand off, still angry, and shook his head in denial. He didn’t have any more words. Damon left the classroom without any more comments, and Alaric realized he still had to meet with parents, he still had to carry on with his job as if his life hadn’t just imploded. He returned to his chair unable to marshal his thoughts, and willed himself to just go numb. He picked up the cup Jenna had brought him and took a sip. The coffee seemed cold, its flavor more bitter than before, and he slowly placed it back on the desk. He would talk with Jenna later, try and fix this somehow, but Damon’s parting words still echoed in his head. Dream or not, he had to try.