missed your kiss again

ELENA SIGHS, LOOKING OUT AT THE BLUR OF TREES THAT HADN'T SEEMED TO CHANGE FOR THE PAST FEW HOURS. Beside her, Damon mindlessly taps his fingers against the steering wheel, looking innocuous as ever, like he isn't driving her over state lines after saving her from a car accident that apparently wasn't an accident. Sighing again, she looks at him. "So, where's my car?"

"I pulled it off on the side of the road. I don't think anyone will bother it."

Elena bites the inside of her cheek at the nonchalance in his voice. "What about that man in the road? Was he a," Her voice trails off, the underlying question easily answered.

"From what I could tell, yeah," Damon nods, his piercing eyes scanning the road.

"You didn't know him?"

Damon scoffs. "If I've never met him, I wouldn't know him. I mean, it's not like we all hang out at the vamp bar and grill."

The tires of his car squeal on the asphalt as he parks alongside the curb outside of Bree's Bar, shifting his car into park in a swift movement.

Elena looks around confusedly, her eyes reading the sign-out front. "Where are we? You brought me to a bar?" She opens the passenger door, looking over the top of the car at the vampire. "Damon, I'm not old enough, they're not gonna let me in."

"Sure they will," He snaps his fingers at her, urging her to hurry up.

Biting a sigh, Elena slams the car door shut and carries after the vampire.

Damon walks into the bar, with a smirk, barely paying attention to the human trailing after him like a lost puppy. He smacks his hands together, his smirk widening to a grin when he meets the bartender's gaze.

"No. No, it can't be," The bartender grins wide, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Damon?"

She hoists herself onto the bar and swings her legs over, dropping to the ground before Damon with a grin to match his. She looks him up and down, not bothering to hide her leering. "My honey pie," With a small laugh she grabs his cheeks and kisses him, making Elena exclaim silently to herself, watching with morbid interest as Damon laughs and kisses her back just as eagerly.

──────

"Listen up everybody," Bree grabs the bottle of vodka, holding it in the air as she gathers everyone's attention. "Here's to the man who broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness! Drink up."

Damon takes Elena's shot from in front of her before she can reach for it and throws it back alongside his own, smirking smugly when she glares at the side of his face.

Bree grimaces at the bitter taste of the vodka but fixes a curious look on the girl beside Damon. "So, how'd he rope you in?"

"I'm not roped in, actually, I was dating his–"

"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped," Bree interrupts, giving the girl a knowing look. "Either way, just enjoy the ride."

Elena sighs and shrugs, unable to disagree with the woman's words. "So, how did you two meet?"

The woman chuckles. "College,"

Elena looks at Damon in disbelief as he takes another shot. "You went to college?"

"I've been on a college campus, yes,"

"About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman. I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, which made me love him even more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."

Damon leans over, feigning secrecy. "She's a witch."

Elena looks at Bree with wide eyes, but the woman simply nods. "Changed my world."

"I rocked your world."

Bree chuckles, grabbing another shot. "He is good in the sack, isn't he? But mostly, he's just a walkaway-joe," She slams the empty shot glass down on the table, her bitterness as strong as the vodka.

Elena glances at Damon, seeing him silently agree with her insult with a deprecating smile. The witch faces them again with a knowing, resigned look in her eyes. "So, what is it that you want?"

──────

"I'm just saying, when will we get an Elena-free day again?" Athena flutters her lashes, rolling her gaze to Stefan's tense posture beside her in the driver's seat. "I'm sure Damon won't do anything bad, we should just wait to hear from him again instead of actively hunting them down."

Stefan raises a dark eyebrow at her, taking his eyes off the road momentarily. "Are you saying you trust Damon not to kill Elena?"

"I never said that, I said he wouldn't do anything bad. Killing her isn't a bad thing."

"Athena," Stefan warns, giving her a brief, scolding look that she rolls her eyes at.

She sits up in the passenger seat as they round the block, nearing Bonnie's grandma's house. "Well, why do you care what Damon does to her? Aren't you the one that broke up with her?"

Stefan heaves a sigh, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel nervously. "Just because I broke up with her doesn't mean I won't feel bad if my brother kills her because he's childish and irresponsible."

"You are infuriatingly empathetic,"

"Well, it's either infuriating sympathy, or," He trails off, nodding to himself. "Let's just say that everyone will prefer me like this."

Athena narrows her eyes at the vampire, tucking a strand of wavy brown hair behind her ears. "I'm gonna get your tragic backstory one day, you know that, right?"

Stefan chuckles, parking the car right outside Sheila Bennett's house. "You have fun with that."

The teenager rolls her eyes, pushes the passenger door open, and steps out of the vehicle. She straightens the brown jacket on her shoulders, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she leads Stefan up to the front door.

Athena raises her fist to knock on the door, and the duo barely has to wait a second before the door swings open, revealing the older woman standing there with a smile.

It takes a moment, but Sheila's face fills with recognition and she grins at Athena, who mirrors it. "Athena, I wasn't expecting you. Who's your friend?"

"We were looking for Bonnie, and her dad said she was here," Athena steps to the side, allowing Stefan to offer his hand to the witch who takes it with ease, only to look at him warily when their skin meets.

"She was. Not anymore."

"Do you know where she went?" Stefan questions, dark eyebrows furrowing on his head.

Sheila stands, unwavering. "No, but you do,"

Stefan starts, eyes widening a bit. "I'm sorry?"

"I told her, face down her fear. And I'm sensing now that you know exactly why she was scared," Sheila steps forward, inches away from stepping out of the door. "You know what I am. And yet you offered me your hand, which means you wanted me to see that I can trust you."

"Can you?"

"I trust you'll keep her safe," Sheila evades his question, her crypticness making Athena mentally roll her eyes. "You'd better be on your way, then. I'm not going to invite you in, I'm sure you understand why."

Sheila steps back inside the doorway, shutting the door gently, leaving the two on the porch together.

Athena sighs, throwing her head back. "Is every Bennett useless? Because that was pointless."

"No, it wasn't," Stefan shakes his head, heading back down the stairs to the sidewalk.

Athena hurries after him confusedly. "I'm sorry, did she say something to you that I missed? We still don't know where the hell Bonnie is."

"I know where she is, let's go," He gestures to the car and Athena stops in her tracks, but groans as Stefan silently motions for her to hurry.

"You're being so vague! Just tell me things!"

──────

"Let's just say that I'm descended from Katherine," Elena's defeated tone falls quiet in the noisy bar, and Stefan glances at her while he chews on a fry. "Does that make me part vampire?"

"Vampires can't procreate," He swallows, smirking at the girl. "But we love to try."

Elena rolls her eyes and Damon cedes his taunting with a swig of beer. "No, if you were related, it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned." He shakes his head, his idea sounding insane in his head.

"Did Stefan think that he could use me to replace her?"

"Kinda creepy if you ask me," Damon mocks his brother, but shrugs. "But he's clearly come to his senses."

Elena nearly flinches at the dig but hides it with a frown as she eyes the vampire. "How can you even eat if, you know, technically, you're–"

"Dead?" He stage whispers, glancing around the bar. "It's not such a bad word. And as long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."

"This nice act," Elena muses. "Is any of it real?"

Damon hums, grabbing his burger off his plate. "Of course not, Elena. I'm a mean, evil vampire whose sole mission in life is to make humans miserable. And trust me, I'm well on my way." He winks at her and takes a bite out of his burger, nodding gratefully when Bree replaces his flat beer with a fresh one.

Elena swallows harshly and orders a beer of her own, wanting more than anything to be away from the cynical man beside her.

──────

"This is ridiculous. I'm so not dressed for a hike in the woods, seriously," Athena groans, stepping cautiously over a pile of mud on the forest floor. "I would've at least worn a darker-colored shoe to avoid stains."

Stefan glances at her over his shoulder, laughing to himself at the disgust on her face. "Do you own a pair of shoes that don't have at least a four-inch heel on them?"

"For your information, Stefan, yes, I just choose not to wear them because I have this thing called taste."

"Oh," He feigns knowingness, hiding his grin from her as he faces forward again. "Right. That makes total sense."

"I can tell that you're mocking me, and I just want you to know that I will stab you with one of these heels."

Stefan's shoulders shake with laughter, but he sobers up as they come into the clearing with the church ruins. His eyes quickly fall to the hole where the ground caved in, and he motions for Athena to stop where she's standing on an old concrete step. "Stay there, I don't want you to fall in any sinkholes."

Athena goes to argue but stops when she realizes it would just prolong their stay in the woods. "Fine, just make it quick. If I see a bear, I'm out of here."

She wrapped herself up in the oversized jacket she'd worn, watching as Stefan disappeared in a blur to save Bonnie. In the blink of an eye, she sees Stefan steady Bonnie on her feet and she hurries over to them, saddling herself beside Stefan with a slight shiver.

"You can open your eyes now."

Bonnie opens her brown eyes, turning to face Stefan. Her eyes widen when she sees Athena standing beside him, but for once she has nothing to say about the girl's presence. She crosses her arms over her chest, tearing her gaze back to the vampire.

"How did you know where I was?"

"Grams told us what you were doing," Athena says, glancing around the dark forest. "We were just lucky that Stefan knew about the tomb."

Bonnie nods, gratitude shining in her eyes. "I heard them. Down there, behind the door. Are they in pain?"

Athena's eyebrows furrow, her mind recalling countless conversations with Damon about the tomb vampires, and how Katherine had been trapped down there for decades. She feels Stefan stiffen up beside her and she slides her hand down, intertwining their fingers together in an action that makes him lean further into her warmth.

"In the beginning, yes. But not anymore," Stefan finally answers the young witch's question, oblivious to the way she watches him and Athena. "They've starved to the point of desiccation."

"But," She bites out, fear filling her eyes. "If they have blood, they'll–"

"That's not gonna happen, Bonnie. They can't get out. Emily saw to that when she had you destroy the crystal. You're safe."

Bonnie nods silently, and Athena sighs at the tears filling her eyes.

"Can we get out of the woods, now? I swear to god, there's things crawling on my legs and I'm craving a panini from Charlie's." The brunette flicks her hair over her shoulder, pulling Stefan along with her away from the tomb. She looks over her shoulder at Bonnie, carefully keeping her tone neutral. "Dinner on me?"

Bonnie is unable to hide her shock, but at Stefan's hopeful look, she silently nods and follows after the two, grateful that they are oblivious to her watery eyes and wide grin as she goes.

──────

Elena groans as the car engine rumbles, echoing through the dark roads as they head back to Mystic Falls.

"I told you you shouldn't have taken that last shot," Damon looks at the teenager, smugness radiating off him.

"Not now, please," She rubs her forehead. "I'm going to have a hangover from hell."

"I'm sure you've suffered worse."

Elena sighs. "I could do without the backhanded comments, you know. You could always just say what your problem is."

"Sweetheart, I don't think you want to know what my problem is."

"I'm sure I do," She sits up, facing him as they cruise down the road. "What is it? Is it because I look like Katherine? Is it because of Stefan?"

He scoffs a laugh, almost disbelieving. "You know, she said that you don't care about what you did, but I didn't realize it was this bad."

"What? Who said that?"

He gives her a look out of the corner of his eye, grateful the darkness hides the way his hands clench around the steering wheel. "You know, you're only sixteen or seventeen and you've been through so much, you know? In most cases, losing your parents humbles you, it makes you realize that life is precious and you just have to live your life while you still have it. For humans, at least."

Elena sits back against the leather seat, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just don't understand how you can be so bitter that you use what little life you have as a human to make someone who's just as unfortunate as you are as miserable as possible. What did Athena ever do to you to make you hate her so much? Genuinely, I'm asking."

Elena feels anger flare in her but she pushes it away and glances out of the window. "You like Athena, you're her friend. There's no point in me saying anything because you'll still pick her side."

"Oh, so you do have a guilty conscience,"

He nods to himself, not missing the confused look on Elena's face. "Well, you wouldn't doubt me picking your side if you thought what you were doing to Athena was right, would you? But you know that it's wrong, so you aren't going to tell me because you want me to like you, even just a little bit."

"I–"

"You know, maybe you are related to Katherine, Elena. I thought I'd never meet someone as selfish and vindictive as she was, but then I met you and you proved me wrong. Congrats, Elena."

He huffed a laugh, feeling the tension seep in the car, completely unaware of the way the girl watched him, hurt shining in her eyes.

──────

Stefan closes the car door with a sigh, and Athena watches him closely as he pulls out into the darkened street dimly lit with streetlights and the houses that lined it. "What did Grams say?"

"She, uh, she reminded me of what will happen if anyone finds out about me. It wasn't so pretty the first time around."

Nervously, she bites the inside of her cheek and tears her eyes away from him to look out the window. "Are you thinking of leaving again?"

There's a heavy pause in the car before Stefan speaks, slowing to a stop at the end of the street to land his wandering gaze on Athena's profile. Gently, he reaches for her and tucks his finger beneath her chin, turning her head to face him.

Athena's lips part slightly as her brown eyes meet his green ones, and Stefan shakes his head at her. "I'm not leaving, Athena. Never again."

The brunette blinks back her emotions, choosing to revel in the way her skin buzzes at his contact. "I don't want you to stay if your life is in danger," She whispers, afraid to break through whatever had settled between them. "I'd rather you be far away if it meant you were safe."

He shakes his head again, stubbornly. "I don't care what happens to me, Athena. I just know that I'm not leaving you again. I don't break promises."

Athena inhales sharply, watching as Stefan leans towards her, his eyes searching hers. Slowly, she starts to lean in too, and she watches as his eyes fall to her gloss-stained lips.

Right as she feels the barely-there brush of his lips on hers, a loud honk erupts through the chilled night air and they tear apart in surprise. Stefan quickly continues driving, his chest heaving with breaths that Athena herself is struggling to take.

Athena glances at Stefan out of the corner of her eye and smiles to herself as she looks back out the window.

The vampire steals a secretive glance at the brunette beside him, and relishes in the way his heart pounds in his chest, making him feel alive.

────── 

author's note; repeat after me: bonnie bennett redemption arc. this is a long ass chapter but I wanted to finish the entire episode instead of dragging it out,, also sorry not sorry about the ending... y'all thought I was gonna let them kiss already? (I'm so funny - liz from the future)

originally published; 11.16.20. 

edited: 11.28.23.

- liz