Damon Braddock (damonslostlove) wrote in btvsal, @ 2009-12-15 11:34:00 |
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Entry tags: | bella mcconnell, place: la, plot: future problems, ~damon braddock |
Making the Hard Decisions
Who: Bella & Future!Damon
Where: Their home
When: A couple hours before dawn, Tuesday (Dec. 15th, 2018)
The Slayer was far from asleep. Tucked into her bed - their bed - beside Damon, her body warm between silken sheets topped off with a thick, fluffy duvet, she should have been out for the night. Or the remainder of it, at least. The clock on her nightstand told her in its eerie, icy blue glow that there was still an hour or so before sunrise. The room, however, was pitch black, in part due to the heavy drapes covering her windows and the doors that led to the balcony. They weren't just decorative, but ensured she wouldn't be waking up next to a pile of dust.
Tossing a little, Bella sighed, hit her pillow, and tried to find another position that might lull her to sleep. But the sleeping arrangements weren't the problem. She simply had too much on her mind. In her mind's eye, that man's card was burning a hole in the side of her purse. Sighing again, she opened her eyes.
"Damon," she whispered, the sound almost comically loud in the silence of the room. "Are you awake?" Her back was pressed up against his side and she peeked over her shoulder to check whether or not his eyes were open. "Baby?"
Damon drifted awake at the sound of Bella's whisper and he moved around on his side, an arm curving around her midsection to pull her closer. He sighed sleepily, nuzzling the juction where her neck and shoulder met, "...I am now." The vampire teased, already beginning to drift off again.
She couldn't help herself. She smiled when he nuzzled her neck and laughed when it tickled just a bit. He had the ability to distract her so easily. But what was on her mind was important. Maybe. "Are you really awake?" she asked, snuggling closer to him beneath the covers. How could she be anything but blissfully happy right now? Stupid...stalker guy.
"No," Was Damon's eventual response, his voice soft and heavy with sleep. The vampire had shifted slightly so that his forehead was pressed comfortably into the crook of her neck, his breath hot across her backside. After another silent moment, Damon finally asked with another sigh, "...Is it being required of me to be awake?" Because, really...the vampire was sleepy. He wanted to sleep.
Bella seemed to think about it for a while weighing the pros and cons of him being awake versus the alternative. "No...." She didn't sound very sure of that answer, but she also figured it was quite possible he'd already dozed off again. Just having his arm around her made her feel better, but she knew she wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. When she spoke again, her voice was even more quiet, almost as if she were talking to herself. But then, maybe she didn't really want him to hear her. "What would you do if I had to go back?"
At first it didn't seem like the vampire was going to answer. Maybe he had drifted off to sleep again until finally he murmured, "...Hope to whatever gods are listening that you find me again." His lips found the curve of her shoulder and his hand dragging along the skin of her arm. That is exactly what Damon would do. He would hope, he would pray that Bella found him again because even after her "death," she had returned to him. If she disappeared again...he could only hold on to the thought of her possible return.
Her breath caught in her throat at the press of his lips to her skin and she closed her eyes momentarily. "What if I don't wanna go back? What if I choose to stay?" A beat passed and then she added, "But what if something bad happens if I don't go back?"
"Like what?" Damon murmured, his fingers absently tracing an unknown design into her skin before lifting his hand to comb his fingers through her hair. Fully awake now, the vampire shifted so that his pillow and arm propped himself up, and he watched Bella's profile in the darkness. A smile curved on his lips before he moved yet again to press his cheek to hers, shifting just a tad so that his lips brushed against her skin.
"Oh, I dunno...." She breathed out and tilted her head just a bit to brush her cheek against his. "You know. The usual. End of the world type stuff." She was trying to be flippant about it, make it sound not as serious as Lindsey had, but...it was serious and it was seriously keeping her up at night. Just as he'd wanted.
"If your help is needed, then you should go," Damon replied, his fingers continuing to comb through Bella's hair. The vampire then shifted to his stomach, pushing himself up to his hands and knees and bracing one hand on the other side of the Slayer against the bed. Leaning over her to study her gaze, Damon added, "I mean...it's your duty to help those you can...right?"
She didn't want to look at him when he asked questions like that. So, even when he leaned over her, she remained curled up on her side for a moment before rolling over onto her back to look up at him. "What about you?" Reaching up, she trailed her fingers lightly down his cheek. "I don't want to leave you. And...it's not even fair, because I'll still have you. It's just...." Confusing. Very. She closed her eyes and turned to press her cheek against the cool side of her pillow. "If I go back...we both know what could happen."
The vampire leaned down a bit to murmur against her lips before kissing them, "Could...happen." Damon broke the kiss to add, "There's still a chance that Lucian won't turn you." He kissed her several more times, slowly, softly before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her with him as he rolled onto his back.
"Did happen," she pointed out, just before he silenced her with a kiss. All things considered, it was probably the best way to get her to shut up. And although her gaze was dubious when he argued there was still the possibility that Luke wouldn't turn her...she didn't say anything. Whining playfully as he lifted her against him, Bella settled down comfortably against his chest and huffed. "But what if it's not necessary? What if...what if everything would be just fine without me?"
Damon's fingers absently trailed back and forth across the curve of Bella's shoulder, wondering where this was coming from. That she had to discuss this at...he lifted his head to check the clock...a very early hour (or late, however you wanted to look at it). Scrubbing a hand across his face and tucking his arm under his head, the vampire finally asked out loud what he'd been thinking, "Bella, did someone say something to you? I mean...where is this coming from?"
Stretching out atop him, the Slayer sighed and rested her forehead against the center of his chest, her dark hair hiding her face. "Maybe." She was reluctant to give him the details, already knowing what he'd say because he'd already said it. And it wasn't what she wanted to hear. Her voice was muffled, her breath warm against his skin. "Some guy...ambushed me in your parking lot the other day."
"Some guy..." The vampire furrowed his brows a tad and then he asked, "Did he hurt you?" Damon shifted, gently lifting her head so he could see her face, "What did he want?"
"Did he hurt me?" Bella echoed with a laugh. That seemed rather ridiculous, though she knew he only asked because he cared. "No." She shook her head thoughtfully as she met his gaze. "He wants me to go back. Says...I do something to help stop, you know, the apocalypse or whatever. Which...you know...maybe he's just a crazy old guy." Who knew her name. Things about her. Yeah.
"Bella!" He said with a laugh, like it was an obvious choice, "If this guy is saying you help them, then you're supposed to go back."
"No, I'm supposed to be here," she argued. "Aren't I? Isn't this where I belong?" Her amber eyes pleaded with him to say yes. She knew, though. He'd tell her to go back because it was the right thing to do. She was awake at night because she knew...it was the right thing. It was...her job. Even if that meant leaving him. Leaving this. Their future together.
Erin: The vampire sighed, smoothing back her hair and continued quietly, "Sweetcheeks...Its your duty. And, honestly, if you woke me up to talk about this...then I think you've already made your decision." Damon shifted to kiss her and whispered, "It's the right thing to do."
"You'd let me go so easily?" With a heartfelt sigh, she buried her face in the crook of his neck and groaned. "For the good of the world, I know. I know." Had she made up her mind? Maybe he was right. Maybe it was the only choice she had. "It's not fair, though," she mumbled against his skin.
Damon rolled to his side, scooting down in the bed so he was eye level with Bella. Pressing his hands to her cheeks, he kissed her several times, smiling softly at her when he broke the last kiss. The vampire's voice was soft as he spoke, "Technically, I'm not giving you up. You'll be with me again. Just..." He shrugged, "Not now." His words were brave sounding and mostly true. Although, it wasn't so easy to say them. While he despaired at never seeing or being with his Bella again after her death so many years ago, the very fact that she returned to him in this time...meant that almost anything was possible. She's return to him...now...again.
Bella wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that this was just a momentary lapse into doubt. She wanted to believe that she could change the way her future would go - that Luke would never have the chance to turn her, that Damon would never have to grieve for her, that Skylar would never have to face the reality of killing her own daughter. Those were things she couldn't let happen, and if going back was unavoidable...then she'd have to make sure she got to Luke before he got to her. End of story. "I love you," she told him, her throat tightening as she spoke the words. "Then. Now. Forever."
"I know." The vampire paused to kiss her again, "Because I will love you forever." After a long, comforting silence fell between them a mischievious grin formed on Damon's lips and he asked, "...Can I go back to sleep now?"
With a tiny gasp of feigned outrage, the Slayer pushed him onto his back again and followed him, her thighs straddling his waist. That's what he got for scooting so far down in the bed. "Are you sure sleep is necessary? You're immortal. You'll have plenty of time for sleep once I'm gone." The kiss she pressed to his lips soothed any sting in that statement. "And I can think of a few things that feel even better...."
The vampire laughed, playfully capturing her hands when she pushed him back, pinning them lightly against her sides, "Yes, I need sleep as much as the--" Damon didn't get to finish as Bella kissed him, his hands slowly lighting go of hers to wrap around her torso. With a move of his hip, Bella was suddenly on her back and Damon broke the kiss, his breath hot against the corner of her mouth as he asked, "Really...like what?" He then chuckled, his lips dragging along the line of her jaw.
If she'd been the dominant type, sleeping with Damon could have become a series of flips, pins, and tactical maneuvers, but Bella? Well, she was perfectly happy when he got all...aggressive. Not that she could really call the chuckling vampire "aggressive" - but physically, she'd let him dominate her anytime. She rocked her hips and her body moved beneath his, the flat plane of her stomach pressing against his, the soft skin of her inner thighs grazing the outer line of his body as she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Mmm. Scrabble, maybe. I really...really...love that feeling when I win."
Scrabble...wasn't really what Damon had in mind, but the idea came from so far afield that the vampire couldn't help but burst into laughter at the suggestion. He wound up on his back next to Bella, great big guffaws coming from the usually restrained man.
Bella yelped when he fell over onto his back and turned, propping herself up on her elbow to watch him, a pout on her lips. "Ugh!" She pushed him, groaned as she flopped onto her back, but that didn't seem to stop his laughter. "You...so...suck."
Just as Damon's laughter was finally about to die, her last words triggered another round of giggles. When he could, Damon gasped, "Suck! SO the wrong choice of words..." And then, like a lightswitch, the vampire stopped his laughter, rolling to his side, his expression dark, before he moved to his hands and knees, crawling over her.
"Really? I thought it was...apropos. There's a seven letter word for you." Her tone bordered on snippy, but only because she was still pouting. She didn't even give in so easily when his body moved above hers again. In fact, she had half a mind to cross her arms, firmly (if wordlessly) stating that she was off-limits until he found a way to make it up to her, but...well...her determination was weak when it cam to holding any grudge against him. Instead, her fingers ran through his hair, curled around the back of his head, and pulled him down to her. Her lips hovered a hair's breadth from his, but instead of kissing him, her tongue darted out to trace the curve of his lower lip.
Damon chuckled again, more at the fact that it seemed that neither of them could stay irritated or mad at the other for long. Like he'd thought before...The Slayer and the vampire were each other's weakness and it was entirely possibly that one of them couldn't deny the other anything. His lips parted under hers and Damon's eyes fluttered closed, arms wrapping around her as he slowly rolled onto his back again.
Sliding her body against his as he rolled them over, Bella broke away from the kiss only when oxygen became a necessity. Her forehead resting against his, she breathed him in, her fingertips caressing his face even as her hair spilled down around them. "Make love to me," she whispered against his lips, just before kissing him again.
Being who he was with Bella, it was quite possible that Damon would give her the world if she asked for it. There was really no denying her anything and the vampire gave in to her whispered demand.