❝damned if i do, damned if i don't❞ 

"SO, I TOLD THE AUNT THAT VAMPIRES WERE REAL."

Damon looks up from the book he had spread open on the counter, eyes wide in shock. Everyone silences immediately and looks to Klaus, standing in Alaric's body with a small, cocky smirk on his face.

"Why on earth would you do that?"

"Well, I realized that Rose actually had a good idea," He winks at the woman, and his smirk widens when he sees Elijah's hand tighten where it's wrapped around her waist. 

"Yes, try not to sound so surprised," The woman drawled, giving him a lame glare as he continued to speak. 

"Since the lovely Caroline isn't our sacrificial lamb anymore, we had to find a vampire somehow. Why not use Jenna? It makes total sense."

Katherine wipes a hand down her face, ignoring the slight tremble in her fingers as she sits in a room full of Originals. "You're going to kill Jenna, and isolate Elena so she's got no choice but to die in the sacrifice."

"Got it in one, Katherine," He laughs at the doppelgänger who avoids his eye actively. "She wasn't enthusiastic about it, shockingly. It's too bad that your brother showed up, I would've brought her with me and got all of that mess out of the way."

Damon sighs at the mention of his brother, who's become a bigger pest than thought possible these last few days. "What do I need to do?"

"A little threatening here and there never hurt anybody," Klaus shrugs. "Just remind him who he's up against, and if he's got any common sense he'll back off."

Damon shares a look with Rosemary, who gives him a subtle nod in reassurance. "We'll go find him."

Klaus waves them off, already approaching Katherine with a dangerous smirk. Damon almost thinks to ward him off, but then he reminds himself that if Klaus was going to do anything truly harmful, he'd have done it already. And really, it's not like Katherine hasn't been able to hold her own against the Originals thus far. 

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He and Rosemary stroll down the sidewalk in town, their hands folded together down at their sides.

"Where do you think Stefan is?"

He sighs, giving her a slight shake of his head. "I have no clue. But there's limited real estate around here, so we're starting at the bar."

"Are we starting at the bar because you think Stefan's there, or because you want a drink?"

"Both. But that's besides the point." She laughs as he opens the door to the bar for her.

They head straight for the bar, taking the two empty seats next to one another. Damon gestures for the bartender to bring them two drinks, and he rests his arm across the back of Rosemary's chair as they wait.

"Is this our first date in this century?" Rosemary turns to him, her lips pulling into a wide grin as Damon faces her with a content smile.

"You know, I think it is."

"Does that mean you're paying? I'd hate to be with a man that isn't chivalrous."

"I'll have you know that I am a proper gentleman," He scoffs, feigning offense, and it makes her laugh lightly, the sound making his face brighten. "I don't even kiss on the first date."

She laughs at that, placing a hand on his knee to balance herself on the seat. She leans forward, still laughing as she presses their lips together. "Mr. Salvatore, I think you are lying to me." 

"I might be lying just a bit, Mrs. Salvatore." Damon laughs into the kiss as well, his hand sliding up her neck, resting right at the base of her scalp. She kisses him once, then twice, and then stays against his side, propping her head on his shoulder as the bartender sets their drinks in front of them.

They drink in silence, content to sit with one another as humans move about them in their own bubbles, ever oblivious to the dangerous creatures sitting amongst them.

Rosemary hums lowly, craning her neck up to meet Damon's suddenly concerned gaze. "What is it?"

"There's a woman standing over there, watching me."

His gaze darts up, and immediately lands on the irritatingly familiar face. He groans quietly and looks back at Rosemary. "That's Andie. She's got a thing for me, I guess."

"Does she know you're married?"

"Yeah," He sighs, shaking his head as the woman starts to walk over to them. "I've turned her down like four times now, she's one of Jenna's friends— Hey, Andie." He smiles fakely as she stands behind their seats, hurt obvious in her eyes.

"Damon," She sniffs, her eyes darting to the brunette in his arms. "Is this your wife?"

Rosemary lifts her head off his shoulder, turning to face the woman completely. Her grin is blinding, and it takes Andie off guard. "It's a pleasure to meet you, but I'm afraid I don't have any clue who you are. Damon's never mentioned an Andie before."

Damon hides his smile with a cough and turns back around for his drink to try to stifle his laughter.

"Oh, that's–" Andie swallows roughly. "We have a mutual friend, we don't really know one another."

"What a shame." Rosemary's smile dwindles, and Andie sees the irritated glint in the intimidating woman's eyes that makes her shy away.

Andie quickly excuses herself before she embarrasses herself any further, and Rosemary watches her leave the bar with a smirk.

She hops down from the seat she was perched on, making Damon look at her confusedly. "Where are you going?"

"To apologize." Rosemary shrugs innocently and hurries out of the bar after Andie, leaving Damon to rush after them both.

"Ro? What are you doing?"

She ignores him, and cuts Andie off before she can walk any further. "Andie, hey, I just wanted to apologize. I acted childish in there, and it was unnecessary."

Andie waves her off, flushing under the woman's rapt attention. "It's really no problem, I should've left it alone when he turned me down the first time."

Rosemary sighs, eyeing Damon, who's standing a few feet away. "It's in the past right?"

"Of course."

"Great." Rosemary grins, and Andie excuses herself, only to be stopped by a hand wrapping itself around her bicep. "While I have you here," She stares into the woman's eyes, her smile falling as she watches her pupils dilate. "Have you talked to Jenna today?"

Andie nods dazedly. "She called to tell me she and Alaric are fighting, she said something about Stefan arguing with her— I don't, I was on my way to bring her lunch."

Rosemary sighs, rolling her eyes. She drags Andie down the alleyway they're in front of, pulling her out of the eye of the public.

"Rosemary?"

"Sorry, Andie, but we can't have you becoming a problem."

Rosemary lurches forward and digs her fangs into Andie's neck, holding a hand over the human's mouth as she feeds. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Damon rush towards them, pushing them further into the alley, away from wandering eyes.

Rosemary pulls away and lets Andie fall to the ground limply, and wipes her mouth off with the back of her hand. She sighs, her chest heaving at the taste of fresh blood on her sensitive taste buds. Her eyes meet Damon's, and she sees a fire behind them she's missed.

She grins wickedly, revealing blood stained teeth, and Damon grabs her and pulls her to him in a kiss that's all passion. There's no softness to it, and it makes her heart pound with excitement. She runs her fingers through his hair as he pulls away, licking the remnants of blood off her lips as he does so.

Black veins crawl up his eyes, and she watches the deep red melt into blue, her heart melting with them.

"Damon?"

Rosemary stiffens at the voice from behind them, and shares a panicked look with her husband.

She heaves a sigh and turns around, still leaning against Damon as she faces her old friend. "Hello, Stefan."

The hero-haired vampire stumbles as he walks towards his brother, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Rosemary? You're– what?"

Damon wraps a hand around her waist as Stefan steps closer, pulling her protectively towards him as he gives his brother a sarcastic smile. "Well, isn't this a lovely reunion?"

"Damon, did you– have you known about this the entire time?"

"No." Rosemary answers before Damon can, her face cemented into a flat, uninterested look. "He only found out a few weeks ago."

Stefan's eyes shift from Rosemary to Damon, betrayal shining in them. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Damon scoffs. "Why would I tell you? She's not on you're side, Stefan, you're outnumbered. Face it. You might as well give up the good fight now, and let Elena die with some dignity." 

Stefan's eyes harden in a split second. "I'm not letting you kill Elena."

"You don't have to let us do anything, Stefan." Rosemary gives him an incredulous look, threat seeping into her tone. "Elena's going to die, no matter what. Your brother is just trying to look out for you. If you don't wise up, you'll end up dead alongside her,"

"Rosemary, you can't possibly be okay with Klaus killing Elena. She's innocent, she hasn't done anything." Stefan's voice is thick with emotion and Rosemary tries to feel bad, she feels like she should, at least, but there's no part of him that's the Stefan she once considered family. He's just as lovesick as he was in 1864, and she'd ended up dead because of it then. She refuses to let it come to that again. 

Rosemary sighs, eyeing him with distant pity. "I'm sorry, Stefan. But it's her over me, and I'm choosing me. I won't let another doppelgänger ruin my life. And if it means I have to kill you, too, then I will."

Stefan shakes his head, tears fogging his hunter green eyes as he backs away from the two people he once loved entirely. His older brother, who he once idolized, and Rosemary, his best friend through all of his struggles. Neither of the people looking back at him were who they once were.

"I'm not going to let Elena die," Stefan hardens his voice, uncaring if it's a facade of determination or not. "Even if it means I die."

Rosemary shakes her head. "Then you're just as naive as you were in 1864."

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author's note; there's a lot going on here

edited and published; 1.14.23.

- liz !