━━━━ chapter one.
MYSTIC FOREST,

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

            MYSTIC FALLS HAD ENDURED ONLY THE beginning of the hell Klaus Mikaelson would bring. He had gotten what he wanted——he broke the curse or at least thought he did. But two Mystic Falls residents had died in the process, Jenna Sommers and John Gilbert with the addition of a wolf named Jules and Klaus' own witch, Greta Martin.

Elena and Jeremy Gilbert had to mourn, not one but two more parental figures within a year. Alaric Saltzman had lost his girlfriend and, once again, Klaus and Elijah Mikaelson had disappeared.

The funeral that was currently taking place was absolutely gut wrenching. None of them deserved this. Two kids were left grieving again. Everyone watched as Elena laid a rose on both Jenna and John's burials before placing two in front of her parents' headstone.

As moments passed, Damon walked off and stood quietly with his back turned toward everyone. This was it. Those were the only words playing over and over in his head because it was true. This was it. There was no cure.

He twisted his ring, staring across the cemetery as he began to think. And he just stood, thinking about his both of his little brothers, Stefan, who'd only ever see him as the bad guy, and Rocco, whose mind he probably never even crosses, but also about the girl he loved even though he knew he shouldn't, who'd just suffered the unfathomable.

This was it.

"We're going to head back to the house."

Damon was too in thought and didn't even hear his brother, Stefan, approach however he still acknowledged his presence without turning to face him, "I think I'll skip the coffee and tea cakes."

"Damon, she needs us right now." Stefan told him. He watched Damon stand as still as a statue. Once he realized his brother wasn't giving in, he added. "All of us."

Damon's eyes trailed around the cemetery where he'd soon been if they didn't torch his corpse. "And then what's the plan, Stefan? The curse is broken." His eyes darkened and his tone became bitter. "How does one go about killing an all-powerful wolf vamp and his two-faced older brother?"

Stefan sighed, "I have no idea."

Turning quickly on his heel, Damon faced his younger brother, "We need to get an idea. Fast."

"I'm not going to let Elena lose anybody else." Stefan stated. And he meant it. He couldn't let the girl he loved lose anyone else. He couldn't bare to see her go through that pain again. But even more he couldn't stand not being able to do anything about it.

"I wouldn't make any promises brother."

Stefan furrowed his brows, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Tyler Lockwood bit me."

Damon slowly rolled up his shirt sleeve, showing off the already infected bite, "It's actually more of a nip, really, but there it is."

Stefan walked closer to him, examining the bite with wide eyes. He looked up at Damon, internally asking himself 'how could he let this happen.' But nothing that night happened according to plan. "We'll find something. A cure."

"There's no cure, Stefan."

"We kept Elena human, right? We found the way when there was no way." he continued to convince his older brother, though he could see Damon was already giving up. "Hey. I will do this."

"You wanna do something for me?" Damon held a stern poker face, "Keep this from Elena and Roc. Last thing they need is another grave to mourn." He patted Stefan's arm, before walking away, leaving his brother alone in panic.

Stefan watched his brother walk away. The thoughts running through his mind frightened him. He had to find a cure. This was his brother and no matter the many things they went through or fought about, he wasn't about to let him die. And he especially wasn't about to let him die without his older brother knowing about it.

Whether or not, Rocco chose to react, he still was their brother and he deserved to be in the loop.

Stefan took a deep breath, pulling out his phone, dialing the number of his estranged brother, Rocco Salvatore.

Giuseppe Rocco Salvatore was always the ghost of the family—— he was there but he wasn't. He was never the black sheep but he was always the middle man between his both brothers and his parents. He was a weapon they used against each other but easily disposed of when he wasn't needed or useful anymore.

Stefan lifted the phone to his ear as it began to ring. Though he was surprised the number remained the same after all of these years, he ignored the bitter thought. His nails dug into the skin on his palms and he let out a sigh of relief when the ringing stopped.

"Little brother," Rocco's voice shot through like their father's favorite wine——— velvety and rich, instantly reminding him of home. "You caught me at a... bad time. This better be good."

"I need your help, Roc."

A giggle escaped a redheads lips as she danced around Rocco's penthouse with a bottle of champagne in her hand. Her name was Trixie or Trina—— the Salvatore didn't remember and didn't really care to. He just watched as she danced around with a grin.

It always amazed him how clueless humans were, how clueless he used to be to not know what crept in the shadows. Here he was, a vampire, watching his prey and she was too oblivious to even know it.

However, he never drank from anyone without consent. Consent was always important to him. Humans weren't toys and didn't deserve to have their minds played with for the simple pleasures of a ravaged vampire.

She looked up, realizing he had had his eyes on her for a while. So, she smirked before setting down the bottle, continuing to dance, running one hand through her hair and the other down her body. And his eyes remained on her.

He was so focused on her that he didn't even notice his best friend, Vivian, enter the room until the redhead turned her attention toward her. The girl turned her attention back toward to Rocco before making her way over to him. Without saying a word, she took his hand into hers, guiding him up the stairs. Rocco smirked and winked at Vivian who shuddered in disgust.

As soon as they made it to the room, Rocco spun her around, pushing her body against the now closed door. His hands trailed down to her waist as she slammed their lips together. Moans escaped both their lips as the kiss deepened. She pulled away, catching her breath for a moment, "I'm Taylor, by the way."

Rocco rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah.."

He reconnected their lips, pushing her onto his bed which flooded with navy satin sheets. Yes, he had a preference. She ripped open his black button-up shirt, planting soft kisses down his chest, keeping her eyes on his.

Rocco let out a moan before flipping their positions, doing the same to her. She bit her lip, feeling the warmth of his mouth on her abdomen. However, a muffled noise shot through the air. Ringing.

The man rolled his eyes once more when he heard his phone begin ringing. He debated on letting it ring before finally fetching it from his pocket.

Reading the caller id, he held the phone up to his ear as Taylor began to take the lead. "Little brother," Her eyes remained on his as she slowly began to unbutton his jeans. "You caught me at a...bad time. This better be good."

"I need your help, Roc."

He took a deep breath as the girl gave him a devious grin, "Like I said—"

"It's Damon." Stefan answered anyway, cutting him off, "He's dying."

Rocco paused, slowly pulling himself away from the redhead, ignoring her complaints. "What do you mean dying? How is that even possible?"

"I need you, Roc." He could hear the defeat in Stefan's tone and internally flinched. "He needs you. Can you just get here, please?"

Rocco's brotherly instinct kicked in and he was already out of the door. "I'm on my way."

The Salvatore boy was sat in his car, foot almost touching the gas, before Vivian appeared beside him, wiping blood from her bottom lip, "What, so now you're at your brothers' beck and call?"

"Exactly, my brother," Rocco stated, looking over to her, "And if he's dying, I'm gonna be there."

"I'm just saying—"

"No." He affirmed harsher than he meant. "You don't get a say. Not about this."

After all of the stories he'd told her about his childhood and the war between his brothers, Vivian always felt protective of him. But they were still his brothers, his real family, so she nodded. "Okay, but I'm coming with you. To Mystic Forest we go. Together."

Rocco threw his car in gear with a genuine smile. He and Vivian had been friends for almost three decades and he was grateful. "Thank you. But it's Mystic Falls not Forest." He told her, pulling out onto the street.

"Whatever." Vivian chuckled, lightly punching his shoulder. "You know, I love you, right?"

"Yeah." He threw her a glance before turning his head back to the road. "I love you, too."

"So, you also know I'll kill your brothers if they treat you badly?"

"Yeah, I know."

Without her, Roc wasn't even sure he would have even made it this far as a vampire. He'd been alone for so long, he had forgotten what it felt like to have someone care so much about you and your wellbeing.

After a few hours, the two drove, passing the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign. Rocco rolled his eyes, gripping the wheel tighter. One phone call and he was back in the place that ruined his life. The place that held the moments that haunted him. But Vivian had never actually been to Mystic Falls so for her, it was a nice change of scenery.

Almost thirty minutes later, they pulled up to a large brown house, the infamous Salvatore Boarding House. As they exited the car, Rocco scanned the house with his eyes, ignoring the weird feeling in his chest.

Here he was. No turning back now.

When Rocco entered the house, it was dead silent. Too silent. Something seemed off. His dark brows furrowed and feet glided against the shiny floor until his steps were padded from the rug. With how quiet it was, a sharp noise like a penny hitting the ground rang which grasped his attention.

As he glanced across the room, his eyes focused on his older brother standing in front of the large window, his ring at his feet and his skin burning to a crisp.

Rocco ran toward him, pushing him from the light as he pushed and held him against the wall. "What the hell are you doing?"

Damon's eyes widened once he saw who had a grip on him. "Roc?"

Rocco let go of Damon and stared down at him as his eyes remained wide. It started. He was dying. He had to be. Damon was absolutely positive he was dying because he was already hallucinating like Rose had done. There was no way Rocco was standing in the Salvatore Boarding house right now.

Especially after being gone for so long. Sixty-eight years to be exact.

"Hello, big brother."

Damon reached out and tapped Roc's shoulder to see if he was actually there. "Rocco." His eyes were glossy and a small smile took up residence on his lips before pulling his younger brother into a hug. "Roc." he repeated.

Rocco slowly but surely and tightly wrapped his arms around his brother, feeling many feelings at once.

Too many.

It wasn't that he hadn't seen them in years because he'd always known where they were, he checked up on them from time to time despite them ever knowing it. It was the fact that he didn't think about how much they needed the face to face interaction.

It was the fact that he'd forgotten how bright his brother's eyes were up close and how much shorter Damon was compared to him. The fact that his brother had never before held onto him as tightly as he did now.

"Are you two done?"

Roc shook his head and rolled his eyes as Damon pulled away from him and looked up. "Damon, meet Vivian, my obviously rude friend."

"Yeah, hi," Vivian replied. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Oh, I have an idea," Roc stated , sarcastically. "How about you go find it?" He smiled when she lifted her middle finger before turning back toward his brother. Once Vivian was out of the room, he hit Damon back. "What the hell? You were just gonna kill yourself?"

Damon rolled his eyes, before walking into the parlor for a drink. "I'm already dying, I was just speeding up the process."

"That's what I don't get." Rocco told him as he sat on the arm of the couch. "How? It's not possible. I thought-"

"There's things you don't know, Roc." Damon told him, taking a sip from his glass. "You've been gone a long time."

Rocco stared up at Damon with squinted eyes. He could detect the bitterness in his brother's tone, but he chose to ignore it. Now wasn't the time to argue about their past. "What happened, D?"

"A werewolf happened."

authors note;

- i swear viv and roc love each other, they've just been around each other too long 😭

- stefan and rocco reunion next chapter!!! 😖