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1.
Sometimes, vampire hearing was quite annoying. The solution to this -Damon found- was bourbon. These days that was his solution to most things. It was quite effective. Especially right now.
Having your brother’s new girlfriend looking like an exact replica of the woman who ruined your life, the woman you and your brother had both loved, was bad enough. Falling completely in love with said girlfriend was worse.
But what might be worse than both of those terrible little events in his life, was this.
Elena and Stefan were currently upstairs rolling around in bed. Loudly rolling around in bed.
This had started about half an hour ago, when Sefan and Elena had come home from one of their little high school dates. Apparently the date had gone well. Well enough for Stefan to bring Elena back to the boarding house.
The boarding house that they’d thought was empty.
Damon had actually been reading in the basement. He had needed some time away from everyone and everything to do with this godforsaken town that he regretted coming back too. That’s when he heard it.
It started small. A tinkling giggle that made Damon hate himself for how much he loved it.
It came from straight above him. The happy couple must have been falling over each other in the living room.
Damon rolled his eyes and went back to his book.
Soon, he heard them moving. He could tell they were heading upstairs. Only then, when he heard Stefan's door click shut did he realize that he was going to be able to completely hear everything that would occur next.
Stefan was practically a virgin, at least he had been ever since their deaths. They’d never come to this bridge before.
Damon knew he should leave but he felt a little paralyzed. Mostly, he stuck around to make fun of his brother. Maybe embarrass the couple a little. Silently, he left the basement and curled up in the living room. He grabbed the bottle of bourbon on the way.
It occurred to him that he was probably on the same couch they’d just been.
He poured himself a drink and opened his book back up. He wasn’t actively listening but he was ideally coming up with ways to tease when they came back down later.
It wasn’t until he started hearing moans -Elena’s moans- that he realized he was in trouble.
He quickly poured himself another drink and took it down fast. The next time he heard a pretty moan, he took a swig from the bottle.
He went to set the bottle down in his lap after taking yet another and realised he was rock hard in his jeans. He dug his fingers into his palm and brought the bottle back to his lips.
Then he heard it. One final high pretty moan. This time not just a noise. This time it’s a name.
“Stefan.”
Damon was out the door in a heartbeat, with the bottle still in his hand.
2.
Over the course of the next few months, Damon constantly overheard many things he’d rather not. Anything from Stefan and Elena’s teenage experiments to the Bonnie/Caroline/Elena three way fights.
Tonight was another overheard fight, but this time between the happy couple.
Somewhere in the whole mess of things, Stefan and Elena had found the time to have a good little classic spat.
It was about Matt.
Stefan was jealous. Of all things he could be, Stefan was jealous. Damon couldn’t believe it. Stefan had the best woman in the world and he was jealous of a football player.
Elena was frantically explaining that she’d ended things a long time ago and she didn’t care that he still had feelings for her. Stefan really wasn’t getting it.
“Turn him down.” Stefan demanded.
“I already did.” She half shouted at him.
“Well, do it again.” He shouted back.
Damon was vaguely aware that Matt had made another declaration of love recently but he hadn’t really been focused on it. He was a little preoccupied with his other plans. The tomb. Katherine. The girl that he could bring back. The girl he could actually have. He’d had her before Stefan. He could have her again.
It didn’t matter that all thoughts of Katherine went completely out the window whenever he saw Elena.
“What can I do to convince you that I don’t have feelings for Matt?”
That was Elena. Damon really hoped she wouldn’t stop crying.
“This isn’t even about Matt. You love me? Right? I know a lot has happened since we got together but you love me right?”
Damon rolled his eyes at his brother.
“Yes. Of course I love you.” Elena defended herself.
“You don’t love anyone else?” Stefan demanded.
“No. I already told you I don’t love Matt.”
“I don’t mean Matt.”
Damon's ears pricked up.
Elena scoffed. “Who else?”
“Who do you think?” Silence again. Elena was going to make him say it. And say it he did, “Damon.”
“I don’t love him. I’m not Katherine.”
Damon laid back into his chair and started really listening. There was silence for a while. Damon imagined Stefan and Elena were staring each other down.
“What can I do to prove to you that I only love you, Stefan?” Elena’s voice moved as she spoke. He heard light footsteps. She must be walking towards him.
“What can I do?” She repeated.
Another moment of silence passed before Damon heard the rustle of clothing and lips meeting lips.
He chuckled to himself.
Sympathy sex. Oldest trick in the book. Elena had a manipulative streak Damon could appreciate. He knew Stefan couldn’t see it and definitely couldn’t appreciate it, but he could.
He grabbed today's newspaper and settled into a chair at the dining room table.
The now familiar cacophony of moans and groans started up again.
This time Damon felt a lot less guilty over eavesdropping. It was his name being brought up that got Stefan laid.
His brother should be appreciative.
3.
When Stefan and Elena had started getting smutty tonight, Damon hadn’t expected it. Stefan had massively fucked up today. He was out, drinking human blood, and lying to Elena about it. He’d missed her dance for God’s sake.
Damon had stepped in. Damon had been there for her.
Granted, things had gotten worse after that, but Damon was still the one that was there.
But Elena was in Stefan’s bed.
They were both a little drunk. Damon could smell it. He was more than a little drunk himself.
They seemed subdued tonight. They were obviously having sex, but Elena was quiet and calmer than usual.
Damon wished for the millionth time that he read her mind.
He wondered if this was genuinely caring. He wondered if this was an apology of sorts. He wondered who was apologizing to who. Stefan had the lying to apologize for. Elena- Did Elena have anything to apologize for?
Did she feel guilty about the dance?
‘
Did she feel the same way he did?
Had it felt like that to her?
Had it felt like pure passion? A fire burning between both of them that could never be put out? Had it been the most beautiful moment of her life, the way it had been for Damon?
He doubted it.
He couldn’t do it tonight.
He couldn’t stay and listen. He couldn’t perv. It felt like cutting over an already healed wound. He couldn’t be in this house. He couldn’t even be in Mystic Falls.
He ran. He made it half the state away before stopping. He dragged himself into a little bar somewhere off the I-95. He drank. A lot.
He met some pretty girl. One of the many nameless brunette pretty girls he’d met in his life. One of the many unrecallable nights in his long, long life.
He didn’t compel her. They were both too drunk for that. He never liked that anyways. He never forced his girls into sleeping with him. Just forced them to let him drink from them.
That might be worse.
He didn’t drink from this girl either, just spent the night at her place.
Her moans sounded nothing like Elena’s. Her hair was the wrong shade of brown. She didn’t have that beautiful smile.
After, he let her fall asleep curled up in his arms. He imagined Elena was in the exact same position at the exact same time, just in a different room with a different brother.
As soon as she was out, he left.
He walked slowly all the way back to Mystic Falls.
It felt like penance.
4.
Isobel was a nasty piece of work. And that little comment? Saying Damon was in love with Elena? Dick move.
They hadn’t talked about it. No combination of the three of them wanted to have that conversation. They were all just going to go home. The night with Isobel had ended peacefully and now they can all go their separate ways, right?
“STEFAN.”
Apparently not.
Stefan and Elena were upstairs. Were the ever anywhere else?
They were both loud tonight. Loud enough that the bourbon wasn’t doing anything to dull Damon’s senses.
They knew he was here. They’d driven back together.
That had been an awkward car ride.
This was worse though.
Damon knew Elena was doing it on purpose. She was saying his name on purpose. She was being loud on purpose. She was faking those moans on purpose.
She was pissing Damon off on purpose.
He couldn’t take it, but this time he didn’t run.
If Elena wanted to play, he’d play.
He slunk upstairs silently. He was always better at moving in the shadows than his brother was.
The door was open. Damon didn’t want to see. He didn’t want to hear. He just couldn’t resist.
Stefan’s bed was up against the far wall, right across from the door. God, could he be any more on display?
Damon couldn't actually see anything, thanks to a combination of tangled up sheets and Elena being on top.
He caught a glimpse of her, just a seconds long look, as he walked by.
She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. She was radiating anger and bliss. Her skin practically glowed. Some of it was the fact that there was actual hot blood in her veins but most of it was just Elena.
Pure magic. She gleamed with it.
One glimpse wasn’t enough, but it was all he could get tonight.
Damon took a deep breath and turned down the hall towards his own room. He didn’t look back but if he had, he would have seen Elena look into the hallway over her shoulder.
***
Damon had figured that with all the day's events, nothing else could possibly happen tonight. Boy was he wrong. He cursed himself even thinking like that.
Stefan and Elena were done not long after he holed up in his room.
He figured they were both asleep right now. He was keeping himself awake through a nice mix of John Keats poems and his trusty old bourbon.
He wondered ideally if he should switch it up and try a new liquor sometime.
He knew he was deluding himself.
Then, he heard it.
Light footsteps down the hallway. Definitely Elena. Definitely heading in his direction.
They stopped right outside his door.
There was a pause before Damon got up. He slowly walked across the room, waiting for her knock.
When it didn’t come, he opened the door himself.
“So you can hear me?” Elena asked.
Damon realized the trap she’d laid an instant too late.
Elena ducked under his arm and walked into the room.
“Yes. Vampire senses are heightened. You know that.” Damon replied, shutting the door quietly.
“You can hear me every time I’m here?” Elena asked.
“Pretty much. Drink?” He offered.
She shook her head. “And you’ve been listening.”
“Was that a question?” Damon asked.
“No.” Elena replied simply.
They both sat down. Damon on the edge of his bed, Elena leaning against his dresser across from him.
“I’m sorry-” Damon started. He did genuinely feel guilty for listening in.
Elena cut him off. “Why?”
Damon took a drink. “You know why.”
“So Isobel was right?” Elena asked.
“Yes.”
The answer hung heavy in the air for a moment.
“I shouldn’t be here.” Elena moved quickly towards the door.
“Why?” Damon asked, throwing her own question back in her face.
“You know why.”
With that she was gone. She went right back down the hall and right back into Stefan’s arms.
Damon went right back to his bottle.
5.
Damon wondered just how much breakup sex two people can have before it stops being breakup sex.
Twice? Three times? Ten? And if one party doesn’t know it’s breakup sex? Fifty times?
Every time Stefan and Elena had gotten busy since that night with Isobel had been breakup sex. It was just the world's longest breakup. Stefan had to know by now.
Elena was upstairs sucking his dick right now. She never did that.
He had to know.
Damon had sworn to himself that nothing would happen with Elena. Not until they were broken up. Not until they were free from Klaus. Not until everything was settled.
He wasn’t going to let things happen with Elena the way it happened with Katherine.
But by God, he wasn’t letting nothing happen either.
He turned up the flirting.
Elena had made sure he could hear her with Stefan. Half the block could.
Damon had a fling with a girl he met at the grille.
Elena tried not to be jealous.
Damon flirted with Caroline and Bonnie.
Elena didn’t hide her anger with that one.
Elena was done hiding. Damon had seen the change in her over the past few months. She was coming into herself. She was much stronger that Klaus, or Stefan, gave her credit for.
She was going to make an amazing vampire.
No.
He couldn’t think like that. Not yet.
Not when he could hear wet noises from down the hall.
He wasn’t bothered by it anymore.
He knew what would happen. He knew it was only a matter of time.
He knew they would be together.
He laid down in his bed, blocked out the noise, and dreamed of her.
He dreamed of her covered in sunlight, walking through a forest. The forest behind the boarding house, where he spent so much time chasing Katherine.
This was different. This didn’t feel like a chase. It wasn’t a game. It was just love. Love tinted with massive amounts of jealousy and pain, but still love.
It was only when he heard the birds chirping in the dream did Damon realize that he didn’t hear her. He couldn’t hear her heartbeat.
He looked up at her and realized she was no longer human. In his dream he approached her slowly to confirm his suspicion. He held out a hand to her to touch her; to feel the blood running underneath her skin.
Instead, she grasped his hand and pulled him in. She brought it up to her mouth, as if to gently press a kiss to his wrist. Then, she bit him.
He’d never blood shared with anyone but he knew how intimate it would feel. The deep, close bond; the overwhelming passion.
He smoothed his hand over her hair as she drank her fill and for a moment, with the same blood coursing in both their veins, they were one.
+1.
It was later, much later, after Elena turned. After the dissolution of the sire bond. After things had settled, that Damon realized he’d never have to overhear Stefan and Elena ever again.
It had started on a normal, calm day with the two of them doing normal, calm dates.
Damon got it now, why Elena craved such normalcy when she was with Stefan. It was nice.
They’d gone out to see a movie.
Damon couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually go out and sat in a movie theater. He guessed after a while he decided it was too exhausting trying to keep up with pop culture.
After the movie, they’d gone back to the house and he’d made them sandwiches for a midnight dinner.
Elena was perched up on the counter, half eating and half teasing Damon about his brooding persona.
She had a smidge of sauce on the side of her mouth and Damon took the opportunity to stand between her legs and get right up into her space to wipe it off. She didn’t seem to mind. She really didn’t seem to mind when she wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him as hard as she could.
Damon scooped her up and sped them upstairs and threw her on the bed.
They’d done this before but every single time felt like the first. It was all so novel, to actually have her in his arms and be able to fully show her how much he loved her.
And show her he did. Multiples times a night. With his mouth. With his hands, With his dick. In all positions.
Soon, Damon had them both naked and Elena’s pretty moans were filling the air.
Damon was eating her out - fully engrossed in his task, fully working on making Elena scream - when he heard the soft thump downstairs.
Definitely Stefan. Probably just back from hunting some innocent bunnies.
Damon continued. He’d overheard things he didn't want too. Now it was Stefan’s turn.
And God, did Stefan overhear.
Much more than Damon ever had.