The first day of the rest of your life (For Elena and Ric)

[prodigalsavior]

Damon was torn on whether any of them should be going to the stupid Founder's Party. There were far too many of them and, honestly, nothing good came of them. But Elena did need to get out, to get on with life or whatever. Damon wasn't sure what that would look like, but he felt like he needed to help her figure that out.

Maybe part of it was the thrill of deciding something--anything--with Ric, even if they hadn't told anyone, hadn't discussed when to tell anyone, or how or...whatever. It didn't matter right now. Elena was hurting and, if he was honest, so was he. Whatever else...Stefan was his brother and he loved him and watching all he'd accomplished fall apart again hurt. No Lexi to pull him back this time, either. She was the only one who ever had, but thanks to him, she wouldn't be fixing things this time.

It seemed like Stefan didn't want to be fixed.

Damon would be damned--more damned?--if he let his brother take Elena down with him.

Which was why he was letting himself into her house and putting coffee on, and starting to bang pots around to figure out what they should make to go to the party.

Comments

[thisismybar]

It surprised Ric, a little. Enough for him to tilt his head a bit, brush a thumb over Damon's cheek and be quiet for a moment. "I hope so...." He wanted to say Damon had been good for him, too, but he had to stop and think and he was maybe not completely sure about for, but. "You've been amazingly good to me...."

[prodigalsavior]

Damon shrugged a little, damn sure he hadn't been good for Ric, probably wouldn't ever be, but that was just what he was. Good to? He could do that. "It's not like it's hard," he murmured, leaning into the touch.

[thisismybar]

Ric was still just a little sure that, overall, not much had been good for him in a while, but that was because he was just stopping his life from skidding out of control and trying to... draw some lines around his life, separate Damon out of the general chaos and turn them into then. The shrug bothered him, though. He leaned in and kissed Damon, a little tentative. "Maybe not for you... but you're really good at caring about people."

[prodigalsavior]

Damon returned the kiss, but there was still a faintly wry, maybe a little bitter, tug around his eyes. "You're the first one to say so."

Most people just called him obsessed or figured he was working an angle.

[thisismybar]

"I think," he said, slowly. "That most of this town is biased as fuck about you, and if you got out more, now, that you'd find a whole lot of people who are very ready to be crazy about you."

[prodigalsavior]

Damon gave him a doubting look. "I doubt that, but thank you for saying it."

[thisismybar]

"...Have I ever told you a polite lie? Ever?"

[prodigalsavior]

"No. But your believing it doesn't make it true, either."

[thisismybar]

Ric stared at Damon for a long moment. "We have to get you out of here...."

[prodigalsavior]

Damon stared back, confusion flickering, before he shrugged. "It won't change anything."

He'd put up with it since he was human. Believing anything different would take some time.

[thisismybar]

"Plan a vacation with me, anyway." Somewhere no one knew Stefan, ideally. Or Damon hadn't been, while waiting for Katherine. Just... away.

[prodigalsavior]

Damon gave him a sideways look. "A vacation? Now?"

[thisismybar]

"Probably not a great time to disappear, but... maybe start making plans."

[prodigalsavior]

"I guess it doesn't hurt to plan things," he allowed.

[thisismybar]

"Good," he said, quiet and concerned. "Can we use your money?" There was a tease in there, but also a real question. He was racking his brain and... well, they'd get further if they weren't doing it on his salary. He'd never suggest it for himself, or just a vacation, but to get Damon out of here for a week or two? Yeah. He'd eat his pride.

[prodigalsavior]

"Of course," Damon said with a bit of a smile. "When's your next break?"

[thisismybar]

Ric brushed his thumb over the line of Damon's jaw. "I'll have to look at a calendar to get dates, but I'm never more than a couple of days off. You have anywhere particular you want to go, but haven't been?"

[prodigalsavior]

He considered for a moment. "I haven't been to DC or Baltimore in a while. And not to New York since the 70s..."

[thisismybar]

"Can you think of anywhere you've never been?"

[prodigalsavior]

"That I want to go?" Damon arched an eyebrow. "Not really..."

He'd never been to either pole, or Siberia. He didn't really want to, either.

[thisismybar]

"...Can you think of somewhere you enjoy that you haven't been in fifty years? Or barring that the place you want to go, but haven't been in the longest?"

[prodigalsavior]

New Orleans came immediately to mind, and he immediately tossed it aside. It was apparently even more loaded than he'd thought when he just thought Charlotte was there.

"...I'll think about it?"

[thisismybar]

"Okay." He kissed Damon on the forehead. "Let me know what you come up with, when you come up with something?"

[prodigalsavior]

Damon smiled a little. "Is there anywhere you want to go?"

[thisismybar]

"My goal here's to get you out of Mystic Falls and spend some time with you... If you don't have anything you want, maybe back to Charleston?"