Lassie is Dead (3b/3)
Some time later Alaric awoke. He opened his eyes and stiffened in shock. Damon’s face hovered inches above his own, the vampires eyes blue. Damon didn’t move, just stared at him. Alaric stared back, not wanting to provoke another attack by trying to get away. Damon leaned in a little and sniffed at him. Then he leaned even closer and pressed his lips to Alaric’s neck where he had bitten earlier. He’s tasting me, Alaric realized, wondering if his blood was familiar now.
Damon moved back up to stare again, this time his head cocked to one side. Then his eyes narrowed with a look of deep concentration. Nothing happened for a few moments then Alaric gasped at the sudden explosion of heat in his groin. He bucked his hips up against Damon, he wanted him, needed him, he had to have him. He became painfully hard, trapped inside his jeans. Alaric pulled Damon’s body down to press against his own, rubbing against him fervently.
Damon pressed his lips against Rick’s, then moved to nuzzle against his neck. This time when the bite came Rick screamed in pleasure not pain and it was the hot, red explosions of orgasm he saw as he slipped again into oblivion.
When Alaric next opened his eyes the lights were on in the lounge. He was still lying on the floor. Looking up he saw Stefan watching him. The vampire looked disconcerted and Alaric was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he had come drying in his pants and that Stefan could almost certainly smell it.
“Um..shower?” asked Alaric his cheeks burning.
Stefan nodded, quickly stepping out of his way. “I’ll leave some clothes on the bed,” he replied, quashing forever Alaric’s last tiny hope that he hadn’t realized what had happened.
When he was clean again Alaric returned downstairs, knowing that he had to speak with Stefan even if they would both rather have avoided it. He found him carrying crates into the house.
“Could you give me a hand?” asked Stefan putting his box down. “The van is parked in the garage.”
Alaric followed Stefan outside and was shocked to see a refrigerated van with a medical company logo on the side where Stefan’s car had once been.
“You stole a van,” goggled Alaric. “You stole a van!”
Stefan looked sheepish. “I needed it to transport the blood,” he replied defensively. “I’ll send them an anonymous donation to cover the costs.”
Alaric shook his head, bemused. “I guess those long term investments must pay off,” he teased as he grabbed a crate from the back of the van.
Once they had filled every refrigerator and freezer in the house (of which there were many). Stefan and Alaric sat down at the kitchen table, Stefan offered Alaric a beer, one of a number of bottles that had been removed from the fridge to make more room for blood. Alaric opened the bottle and took a long drink before he began to speak.
“Where’s Damon?” he asked.
“Back in the basement,” replied Stefan. “He must have gone back down there after, well.” he trailed off.
Alaric felt his cheeks heating again, he covered his embarrassment by taking another drink.
“Can I ask what happened while I was gone?” Stefan asked.
“Well I waited around for a while,” began Alaric and damn, but this was going to be one of the most awkward conversations he had ever had. He took another swallow of beer. “Then sometime in the afternoon Damon appeared out of nowhere and bit me. Killed me again.” He took another drink, then reached to open a second bottle. “Then when I woke up he was right there staring at me. His eyes were back to normal but I still don’t think he was himself. It looked like he was trying to remember if he knew me and then,” Alaric broke off.
“And then,” Stefan prompted.
Alaric scowled, it seemed Stefan wasn’t going to let him get away with a simple ‘dot dot dot’ ending. “And then he rolled me with his mind,” he said, exasperated. “He stared at me and then I wanted him, really, really badly and everything felt really, really good. Now is that all or do you need more detail?” he snapped.
“I’m sorry,” Stefan apologized. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“But you did,” retorted Alaric.
“I needed to know,” Stefan defended himself. “The fact that Damon used compulsion, it’s a good sign. A sign that he’s recovering.”
Alaric took another swig of his beer. “I think I’d have preferred getting bitten the other way,” he announced. “It’s less embarrassing for one, and no one makes me like it.”
Stefan shook his head. “Don’t take it the wrong way,” he advised. “Damon was trying to make it good for you. He might have been as subtle as a brick but it would have been meant to be a nice gesture.”
“How do you know that?” demanded Alaric. “How can you say he was being nice to me? Why wouldn’t it have been just another violation, a way to keep me from fighting back?”
“Because Damon likes you,” Stefan replied. “I think he was remembering that.”
“We’re friends,” replied Alaric. “I still don’t see..”
Stefan shook his head. “No, Damon likes you, likes you,” he corrected him.
“Can I get that in grown up English,” Rick asked. “Just so we’re clear.”
“He’s attracted to you,” confirmed Stefan. “Sexually,” he added just in case he hadn’t been clear enough. “Hadn’t you noticed that he was always around you, sitting together, sharing rooms?”
“I hadn’t thought about it,” Rick admitted, taking another mouthful of beer. “I guess I assumed that you and Elena would stick together and that left Damon with me.”
Stefan shook his head, “So you didn’t even catch that he cheated on the coin toss to share a room with you?”
Alaric froze in shock. His mind was churning, recalling all the little things Damon had said and done over the last few days. He wasn’t sure whether to feel elated or terrified. “I need a drink,” he realized.
Stefan chuckled. “You have one,” he pointed out. “But I guess you mean something stronger.”
They moved back into the lounge where Stefan poured Alaric a glass of whisky before sitting down.
“How long have you known?” Alaric asked him after taking a sip.
“Not long,” admitted Stefan. “I only stared thinking about it when Elena told me Damon had stopped flirting with her. Damon is pretty hard to figure out most of the time, you have to ignore what he says and look at what he does.”
“And what he’s been doing was going out of his way to spend time with me,” Rick realized. “Would he ever have told me?”
Stefan shrugged. “Hard to tell. He would only have told you if he knew for sure you liked him back. Maybe not even then. He’s funny like that. He’ll sleep with anyone who catches his eye but he won’t admit to having feelings for someone.”
Alaric leaned back in his chair taking another swallow of scotch. “What do I do now?” he asked.
“That’s up to you,” Stefan advised him, his expression serious. “You know normally I would warn you away from my brother, but you already know that he’s bad news. And I guess with your ring he can’t kill you in a fit of spite, or at least if he does you can walk away afterwards.” He wiped a hand across his face. “I’m beat,” he admitted. “I need to sleep. Are you planning on staying or going?”
Alaric stood up, then wobbled a little. “I think I’ve drunk a little too much to drive,” he admitted.
“We have plenty of spare rooms,” offered Stefan, smiling slightly. “Help yourself.”
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For once Alaric’s emotional turmoil didn’t stop him sleeping. His body had clearly decided enough was enough and fell into a deep, uninterrupted slumber. If he had any dreams, he didn’t remember them. He woke up feeling refreshed and relaxed, stretching out his arms and legs he considered whether he would enjoy a lie in.
A flicker of movement in the corner of the room caught Alaric’s eye and he tensed as he saw Damon. The vampire sat in the corner of the room staring at him again. He couldn’t tell if Damon was back to normal, but he didn’t think so - his face was a blank, impossible to read. It was only the reassuring blue of his eyes that stopped Alaric from trying to bolt. After last night’s revelation Alaric wanted to see how this would play out. Slowly the vampire got to his feet and stalked over to the bed.
Sitting down next to Alaric, Damon paused, watching him. Hesitantly the vampire reached out with a finger and touched it to Alaric’s lips. When Alaric didn’t protest, Damon increased the pressure slightly, sliding his finger into Alaric’s mouth. Still unsure what exactly Damon was playing at Alaric curled his tongue around the invader. Damon grinned and made a rumbling sound that seemed to indicate either pleasure or encouragement. Alaric tentatively sucked on the finger and Damon’s grin widened.
Damon swung his legs onto the bed to lie beside Alaric, removing his finger he quickly replaced it with his lips, kissing Alaric tenderly, again and again. Alaric hadn’t been kissed either so determinedly or so chastely since he was in his teens and kissing was all he was allowed to do. It was turning him on so much, but his body was used to getting more. He opened his mouth to deepen the kiss but Damon pulled away with a dark look. No tongue, realized Alaric, no wonder Damon didn’t want to let him in.
“Sorry,” Alaric apologized, not sure if Damon understood him. Damon stared for a moment before leaning back in and continuing to kiss him. This time he rolled further on top of Alaric and slid a hand under the sheet to grip at Alaric’s weeping cock. Alaric moaned, delirious to finally have some attention where he needed it. Encouraged Damon moved further, straddling Alaric’s legs as he pumped him slowly.
Alaric reached out to Damon, feeling the length of his cock, stroking him through his trousers. Damon pressed into his touch, but then firmly moved his hand away.
“What do you want?” asked Alaric puzzled. Damon shook his head slightly. Alaric didn’t know whether that meant, I’m not telling you or I can’t tell you or I don’t want anything. Damon solved the problem by taking Alaric’s hands and pressing them to the mattress. Alaric nodded. “No touching, I understand.” Damon smiled, moving his hand back onto Alaric’s cock, watching him as he gasped and squirmed with the each stroke of his hand.
Pressing down against him, Damon leaned in once more to nuzzle at Alaric’s neck, nipping gently at his shoulder. Lost in his desire Alaric felt no fear this time, instead he arched his neck in encouragement, giving the vampire more room. He was surprised when the bite didn’t come. Instead Damon pumped him faster, twisting his wrist in the upstroke, making Alric gasp A`flick of Damon’s thumb across the sensitive head and Alaric was coming, jets of white covering both men’s bellies.
Damon lay on top of Alaric as the teacher caught his breath. When Alaric wrapped his arms around him, Damon kissed him once again but then pulled away. He left the room without a sound leaving Alaric to puzzle out what exactly had happened. Why would Damon give him pleasure and not take anything in return? Alaric wondered if that was the closest Damon ever came to an apology.
When Alaric came downstairs later he was faced with proof that Damon definitely wasn’t himself. The kitchen was littered with empty blood bags - a clear sign that Damon had been hungry this morning. Stefan stood near the window, his expression a startling mix of hope and unease as Damon hugged him.
Alaric raised an eyebrow at Stefan, who shrugged in response, mouthing ‘no idea’ in response to any question Alaric may have asked. Damon turned his head to look at Alaric, then held out a hand towards him. Hesitantly Alaric reached out to take his hand and Damon drew him in behind him so that he was sandwiched between Alaric and Stefan.
Alaric looked at Stefan bemused, Stefan returned his look. The situation struck Alaric as terribly amusing and before long he was biting his cheek so as not to laugh. It wasn’t entirely successful and he began to shiver with half-suppressed giggles. It was at this point Damon wriggled out from between them and left the room without a backwards glance, headed for the basement. As soon as he had left the room, Alaric gave up on trying to control himself and let out a peal of laughter. His knees weakened and he sat down, leaning against the kitchen units. Stefan joined him, laughing until tears ran down his cheeks followed by more tears of a different nature.
Alaric kept quiet and pretended not to see Stefan crying, letting him have some space. He knew the vampire was under a lot of stress over Damon’s condition, they both were. And Stefan was suddenly torn between having a brother who liked him again after 150 years of hatred and having a brother who was well. He was also dealing with his own realizations that he cared for Damon a lot more than he had believed. Then they were both worried about how Damon would react if he got back to normal, it wouldn’t be unusual for him to react angrily to his loss of dignity.
When Stefan had caught his breath and wiped his eyes Alaric looked over at him. “Well that was weird,” he said, breaking the ice. “What was all that hugging about?”
Stefan shook his head. “I haven’t a clue,” he admitted. “Damon came down, ate all the blood I gave him, then hugged me. Then you came down.”
“Maybe he remembers you,” said Alaric.
“Yeah, because Damon hugs me all the time normally,” said Stefan sadly.
Alaric considered this. “Maybe it’s instinct,” he said. “You’re giving him food, maybe he thinks you’re his mummy.”
Stefan snorted. “God forbid,” he averred. “It’s bad enough being his brother.”
Alaric smiled. “Well whatever is going on at least he’s improving, he’s not behaving like an animal he’s just...not quite Damon.”
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Days and nights passed quickly. Alaric fell into a weird routine of sleeping, eating and babysitting the increasingly adventurous vampire. Damon had quickly made a game of pouncing on Alaric whenever he least expected it and Alaric was running out of clean clothes, borrowing odds and ends from the brother’s wardrobes. The one time he had tried to return to his apartment Damon had latched onto him like a limpet, refusing to let him out of the door much to Stefan’s amusement.
Elena had rang Stefan a few times to say Bonnie was improving now the drugs were out of her system, although she was still traumatized, and that they should be coming home soon. Stefan immediately tried to ban her from visiting the house until Damon was better. Alaric didn’t quite hear Elena’s response to the coddling but it certainly made Stefan wince. Nevertheless, Stefan held firm.
Damon was still not himself. More tactile, horribly silent and strangely hesitant when it came to Alaric. Damon’s advances never went beyond kissing and touching and Alaric certainly wasn’t going to take it further until Damon was back to normal. Rick soon realized that if he initiated things with Damon the vampire would most likely end up biting but when Damon pounced on him he didn’t bite. It was as if Damon took his interest as permission. Despite his earlier encounters Alaric had started to appreciate what the vampire could do to him.
Alaric missed him. Even though he was there physically he missed the banter, the dry humor. He even found himself missing the insults. It seemed Stefan was the same as he confided to Alaric that he was regretting all the times he had wished for his brother to shut up. Much as he was enjoying the new friendlier Damon, he just wasn’t the same.
It was almost a relief when Alaric came down the stairs one afternoon to find the brothers in a standoff. Stefan was reaching towards Damon while he growled warningly and pushed his younger brother away. The broken furniture surrounding them hinted that they had been going at it for a while.
“What’s going on?” asked Alaric.
“I’m trying to look in his mouth,” Stefan replied. “I want to see if he’s healing but he won’t let me see.” He edged forwards again only for Damon to slap his hands away.
“I don’t think he likes the idea,” said Alaric.
“Well it’s for his own good. He doesn’t have to like it he just has to do it.” replied Stefan, staring at his brother before lunging for him, only for Damon to sidestep and run behind Rick.
“Don’t think you can hide behind him,” threatened Stefan.
Damon peeked his head round Alaric’s shoulder and growled in response. Stefan took a step forward.
“Wait,” said Alaric, holding up his hands. “Is there anything you can do for him if he isn’t healing?”
“Not really,” replied Stefan thoughtfully.
“Then you don’t really need to see do you?”
“I suppose not,” agreed Stefan. “But we’ll have to find out sometime.” He pulled a splinter of wood from his sleeve. “I’m going to see Elena before somebody ends up getting staked.” he announced. “He’s all yours, Rick.”
Damon circled around Alaric as Stefan passed, keeping the teacher’s body between him and his brother. When he heard the sound of Stefan’s car pulling away Damon relaxed into Alaric, placing a kiss on the back of his neck.
“Yeah, you’d better thank me,” joked Alaric. “I never signed up to be your bodyguard.”
Damon kissed his neck twice more, then pressed his body into him, hinting that there were other things that Alaric had signed up for. Alaric turned to face him and smiled. “Upstairs?” he suggested.
Damon smiled before sweeping Alaric off his feet and carrying him upstairs, bridal style.
“Hey,” Alaric protested. “Put me down. I’m not your wife!”
Damon arched an eyebrow at him and continued on, clearly not intending to put him down.
“Fine, whatever. I’m the bride of Dracula.”
Damon carried Alaric into his bedroom laying him down on the bed. Climbing on top Damon began unbuttoning Rick’s shirt.
“In a hurry today?” asked Alaric, even as he began pulling off Damon’s t-shirt. Damon smiled in response, gripping Alaric’s shirt with both hands and pulling it open sending buttons flying.
“Hey that was my...” began Alaric, only to stop his protest as Damon leaned down to kiss and nip along his ribs. Damon moved upwards to nuzzle at his neck, then nip at his jaw before licking along the curl of his ear. Alaric gasped in shock, then curled his hand into Damon’s hair. He rolled them over roughly, sitting on top of Damon.
“Show me,” he demanded.
Damon smiled impishly before sticking out his tongue. Alaric heaved a sigh of relief before getting annoyed.
“How long?”
“Not long,” replied Damon, his voice rusty from lack of use. “A day or two, perhaps.”
“And you thought you’d hide it from me? We’ve been so worried about you.”
“I know,” replied Damon softly. It’s just..” he paused trying to find the right words. “It was nice. Not being me for a while. Not having to fight with everyone.”
Alaric’s expression softened at Damon’s admission. He bent down to kiss him. “You know you don’t have to fight all the time. Not with me.”
Damon grinned wickedly. “Oh, yes. I have much better things to do with you,” he purred.
“And what makes you think I’d let you?” asked Alaric still smiling. “You let me think you might be permanently maimed. You’ve got a lot of sucking up to do.”
“Sucking up? I like how your mind works,” smirked Damon, his eyes twinkling. He grasped Alaric’s arms and turned them back over so he was on top. “You know now that my repertoire isn’t limited by pretence I have plans for you,” he whispered in Alaric’s ear.
Alaric shivered. “And what would those be?” he gasped.
“I’m going to suck you and fuck you and bite you, and get you so hot and horny you can’t even remember your name, even while you’re screaming mine,” promised Damon, pressing in against him. “Unless you have some objection to that?” he arched an eyebrow questioningly.
Alaric shook his head, a bolt of lust surging through him. “Bring it on,” he challenged.