Chapter Text
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.” Damon claps his hands loud enough to wake Kai up. “We have Bonnie’s magic—check. Now what’s next?”
“I’ll tell you what you need, but I want to have a conversation with Bonnie first,” Kai says.
Damon shrugs and opens his arms. “Speak your hearts desire.”
“Alone. Warlock to witch,” Kai clarifies.
“Hell no. You tried to kill me. Who’s to say you won’t try something with her?”
Kai gestures to his binds. “I’m strapped in. Don’t you want to get back to Edith and Stephan?” Damon glares at him. Kai grimaces. “I’m sorry. I meant Ella and Stefano.”
“Ok,” Bonnie agrees. “Give us the list of items first.”
After Kai lists the items, Damon pulls Bonnie over to the side. “I don’t want to leave you here alone with him,” Damon says to Bonnie.
“He’s locked up and I have my magic, remember? He can’t hurt me.” Bonnie pushes Damon towards the door. “You’d be faster at collecting items on the list anyway.”
Kai calls out after Damon. “I’ll take good care of her,” Kai reassures.
Damon comes closer to Kai after that remark. “If you harm one hair on her annoying witchy head, you’re dead.”
“Promises, promises.”
“Aww that was so sweet. Why’d you have to ruin it by calling me annoying?”
Once Damon leaves, Bonnie sits across from Kai. Kai narrows his eyes at her. “You can relax, Bonnie. I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve had a million chances.”
And yet Kai would hurt Damon which would have hurt Bonnie. There’s no point in hiding what Damon meant to Bonnie as Kai already knows considering he used Damon as a way to get her magic back. “You already did once. I’m not giving you another chance.”
“Ah,” Kai nods, understanding that she’s referring to Damon. “You needed motivation. Not surprising that it was Damon since he’s the only other person here. But also surprising since you two have so much bad blood.” Kai’s jaw ticks at the talk about Damon, that gnat, that blemish. “So…when did you come into your powers?”
Bonnie crosses her arms and lets out a small chuckle. “Oh what—You didn’t eavesdrop on that?”
“I gotta sleep even if you and Damon spend nights talking to each other.”
Bonnie’s cheeks redden and she clears her throat. “I was a late bloomer to my magic, but I started coming into my psychic side when I was a teenager and then when I started college. What about you?”
“You’re eager to know so much about me.”
“You know a lot about me and Damon so I think it’s only fair if you are just as transparent with us.” Even out the playing field.
Kai smirks. “Only fair, right?” Kai sits up. “I was…I was…well, my father always said I was unique. I came into my power very very early. Maybe around 8. I was powerful.Maybe too much for my own good. It scared people.”
Bonnie glances down. “Yeah. I know what that’s like.”
“You’ve used expression magic.”
“You’ve told me how you lost your magic but you never said anything about how you ended up in here,” Bonnie says.
Kai tries to deflect the conversation by throwing a fire starter into the mix. “So your friends didn’t notice you were missing for that long?” Kai wonders.
“Why did the spirits take away your magic?”
“I was saving someone,” Kai admits.
“Who?”
“My mother.” Kai glances down. “It didn’t work obviously.”
“How is that obvious?”
“Well, a mother would never let her son get locked up in here.” Kai glances up at Bonnie. “But, hey, at least I can say my mother loved me. Don’t know if I can say the same thing about yours—“
Bonnie glances up sharply. “Don’t talk about my mother—“
“Sorry, I forget that I shouldn’t say the first thing that comes to mind.”
“You’ll figure it out soon enough once we get out of here.”
“And you want to go back? Really?”
“My friends and family of course.”
“Well, you seem short on family. Your glammy—“
“Grams—“
“You have mommy and daddy issues.”
“Why are you trying to get a rise out of me?”
“Because, Bonnie, spirit magic isn’t going to be enough to get us out of here,” Kai says. “I know you know that. To get out of here, you’ll have to get in touch with the darkest parts of yourself. Your anger. Your betrayal, your hurt.”
“You don’t know me well enough to do that—“
“But, I do know you Bonnie,” Kai says. “I know that you’re loyal and fiercely protective of those you love. I know you love but that love isn’t reciprocated. That’s how you got here, isn’t it? Through sacrifice? And where did that get you? Are you even angry?"
“I’m angry…”
“Are you? Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then show me.”
“You aren’t worth the seconds it would take to burn you to a crisp.”
The next thing Bonnie feels is Damon whizzing past her to kick Kai’s chair down. A chair that was on fire. “What’d you say to her to make her kebab you, huh?”
Bonnie shudders and notices the burgeoning burns on Kai. Bonnie's eyes widen as she remembers the same fire and raged that rushed through her all those years ago...when her father was screaming for her to stop her fire in the police station. Bonnie rushes out the room through the front door.
“Hey, anger motivates her magic, right? I was just trying to be helpful—" Kai starts.
Damon is about to respond when he looks around to see that Bonnie is gone. “Bon!” He calls out. Damon turns to glare at Kai. “Sit down, shut up, or die. Those are you options. I suggest you go with the third one and I pick your poison.” Damon shoves Kai so his chair falls on the other side.
Damon finds Bonnie outside in the backyard, finding her pacing around back and forth. Bonnie doesn’t turn around, but he hears her soft voice say, “I’m sorry about that, I lost control—“
“Bon, it’s ok. So what if you fried him a little bit…again—“
“NO! It’s not,” Bonnie raises her voice. “It’s not okay,” she repeats again in a lower voice. Damon's smirk falls off his face as his eyes narrow at the sight of her trembling hands. He walks towards her slowly. Ever so gently, Damon steadies Bonnie’s shaking hands with his own. Damon's touch alone breaks down Bonnie's facade and she shuts her eyes as though she block out whatever pain she's harboring. "The last time I used magic--that kind of magic--I got carried away. I almost killed people. And I almost died." She shakes her head and glances at him with glossy eyes. "No. I did die."
“That was expression magic though. That wasn’t you.”
Bonnie chuckles. “It was me. I gave into some of my darkest impulses which left me vulnerable to Shane—“
“He manipulated you, Bonnie.”
“Yeah, I know. But I’m still scared. I know it’s stupid, but what if I'm not strong enough for whatever Kai needs me for and expression magic is the only way out?"
Damon shrugs. "We’re going to train. I’m Sylvester Stallone and you’re Rocky."
Bonnie laughs. "You are not Stallone."
"Ok, maybe not. Then this is fight club."
Bonnie playfully punches Damon's chest. "First rule of fight club is to never talk about fight club."
Damon smiles. "Look, expression magic isn’t bad. You just didn’t know how to control it. Just because something has the capability to do bad doesn’t mean it’s gonna be all bad."
"It’s scary—to have all that power and I was so hurt and angry."
"You forgave Elena when she didn’t have her humanity on. So why can’t you forgive yourself?"
Bonnie shrugs. "I guess I just expected more for myself. I’ve always been the calm and collected one."
"Those ones are the most dangerous. I guess that’s the difference between me and you: I give into my worst impulses while you try to not feel anything." Damon sighs. "Can I let you in on a little secret?"
Bonnie playfully rolls her eyes. “Go ahead.”
"When we first met, you intimidated me. And that was before you did your witchy juju on me. And it was because you stood up to me. If you can do that, I have faith you can do this. I think you are strong enough, but if you think you need to be stronger, I meant what I said: I'll help you get there until you believe in yourself again.” Damon smiles at her. "And I admire anyone whose nose bleeds more than a kid on the playground look graceful."
"Did my nose really bleed that much?" Bonnie laughs. Bonnie tears up at that and wraps her arms around him. “Thank you,” she whispers as she tucks her cheek onto his chest. “I thought you’d poke fun at me or something.”
“Hey, I’m not that childish. Once we’re out, you’re fair game.”
“I would expect nothing else.”
"And oh--" Damon pulls out of their embrace. He grabs Bonnie's chin, gently tilting her face up so he could examine it. "And see--you haven't even gotten a nose bleed and it's still morning. So, from where I'm standing, you're doing pretty damn good. And whatever you can't do, we'll do it together.”
However, Damon does not pull his hand away from her chin like she expected him to. Damon’s eyes darken at the same moment Bonnie takes a big gulp as she realizes how close they are to each other. Which is starting to become more and more common.
As soon as Bonnie’s tongue darts out to wet her lips, Damon has this sudden flare of jealously. Instead, his hand drifts up from her chin to stroke her lips. In the second before he does, he thinks to himself why would she ever go for an ugly wretch like himself. But, that vapid thought does nothing to make him inch away from her gravitating pull that he’s been resisting for as long as he could remember.
Before Damon can close the gap between them, Bonnie rushes forward first. Doing something that just for herself for the first time. God, she hoped it wouldn’t be the last time. That once they returned to the real world, she’d have the courage to go for what she wants again. That she won’t let time slip by her again. That she could have a choice and that choice would treasure her in return. For something or someone she coveted just to be. Devoted just to her. For a moment, she thought she saw that feeling reflected in Damon’s eyes which gave her this moment of courage.
And there it was. Her lips were on his. Damon’s hand dragged away from her lips and grasped her cheeks, pulling Bonnie closer to him than it was possible. His tongue dashed out to taste her lips as her own had done seconds before. Bonnie’s hands weave themselves through Damon’s hair.
Before they know it, Bonnie’s legs are hoisted up on Damon’s waist. They are tumbling back towards the back of the house. Damon cushions the back of Bonnie's head as he presses her against the concrete wall. Finally, Damon pulls his away but not for long as he trails soft, lingering kisses from her lips to her throat. Damon is nipping at her neck while muttering,“why’d it take us this long to do this?” He says as he finally looks up into her eyes.
“I…” Bonnie can’t think with the way Damon’s hand is gripping her thigh. “Don’t…know.” She grips the back of his head. What she meant to say is that she doesn't know what this is. When Damon's lips find hers again, she knows that he understands what she meant. She didn't have to say anything nor did he.