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22 December
Alaric was switching through the tv channels, seconds away from falling asleep, when someone knocked on his door. He paused, frowning in the direction of the door. He wasn’t expecting any visitors today. Only few people even knew where he lived. Officially, at least. He could readily guess that his address was common knowledge in a small town like Mystic Falls. But that still didn’t mean that he got many visitors. Quite the contrary. He wondered if he could get away with just not opening the door, pretending he wasn’t home. But whoever was at his door knocked again. Louder and more insistently this time.
With a sigh Alaric switched off the tv, dropped the remote and got up to open the door. And then he stood there, blinking at his visitor.
“What do you want?”
“Why so hostile?”
“What do you want?”
“To visit a friend in the neighbourhood?”
“We’re not friends. And you don’t live in my neighbourhood.”
Damon grabbed his chest dramatically. “Ouch, that hurt, Ric. After all we’ve been through together…”
“I don’t have time for your games.”
“Yes, you’re obviously very busy.”
Alaric snorted. “You have five seconds to tell me what you want. Then I’m closing the door.”
“Aren’t you going to ask me in?”
“No. What do you want?”
“Fine.” Damon gave in with a pout. “I’ve got a lead on the tomb vampires. Possibly. Are you up for a road trip?”
“No.”
“Come on, Ric. It’ll be fun.”
“Like last time? I’ve already told you I’m out.”
“It’s not about Isobel. Not at all. We’re talking about the tomb vampires and John Gilbert’s evil plans.”
“Why do you come to me with this?” Alaric wanted to know.
“I need a partner and we’re a good team.”
“What about your brother?”
“Stefan just got over his latest ripper phase. I need someone I can trust. Someone who can hold his own in a fight.”
Despite everything Alaric felt strangely flattered that Damon viewed him as someone who could hold his own in a fight. Coming from Damon Salvatore that had to be high praise. But then he cursed himself for feeling flattered. He should stay the hell away from the damn vampire. Damon spelled trouble.
“Sorry, you’ve got to find someone else.”
“Come on, Ric!” Damon whined. “It’s not like you’ve got anything better to do.”
Alaric frowned. “How would you know?”
“It’s the Christmas holidays. And Jenna dumped you.”
“How…”
“Elena told Stefan.” Damon said with a shrug.
Just great. His break-up was the talk of the town already. For a second he wondered what people might be saying, but then he decided that he didn’t really want to know. The fact that Jenna had dumped him didn’t even hurt. She’d only hurt his pride, if he was quite honest. Which probably said a lot about the seriousness of their relationship. They hadn’t even been dating long. Maybe it had been too early for him. He’d only just decided to let Isobel go after all.
“What’s it going to be?” Damon asked. “Do you really want to spend the holidays all alone, watching the crappy tv programme? Attending Mrs. Lockwood’s Christmas gala and getting cornered by the annoying parents of your equally annoying students? Or wouldn’t you rather just forget the whole Christmas shit and go vampire hunting with me?”
The thought of spending Christmas alone in Mystic Falls didn’t sound very appealing. The whole Christmas stuff was annoying him more and more each year and as usual the people of Mystic Falls used the chance for lots of parties and other festivities. The Christmas party in the founder’s hall was just the tip of the iceberg. But was vampire hunting with Damon really a good alternative?
“Give me ten minutes to pack.”
Damon grinned. “I’m waiting downstairs.”
And just like that he was gone and Ric wondered what the hell he was getting into. Had he completely lost his mind now? Damon had killed him not so long ago, for fuck’s sake! On the other hand… Ric had attacked him first. The vampire had actually only defended himself. And they had worked really well together twice now. The last time it had even been Ric’s idea. He’d gone to Damon after finding that address in Grove Hill, without even thinking about it. It had just seemed logical. In the end he tried to console himself with the thought that anything would be better than spending Christmas alone.
Damon was waiting in his blue Camaro and insisted that he’d be the one driving this time. Ric didn’t mind. He didn’t like driving long distances and he guessed it would be a longer distance they’d be driving. He put his two bags into the trunk, noting Damon’s raised eyebrows.
“One contains weapons.” Alaric explained.
“So you’re not going to insist we don’t kill anyone this time?”
“I like being prepared.”
“And that’s why you’re my partner.”
“Just drive.”
Damon grinned and started the engine. They passed the market place, with its colourful decorations, stands and fairy lights and saw lots of stressed out people hurrying along to get their last minute shopping done. The radio was playing eighties rock songs, which was a lot better than the Christmas carols Ric had had to endure all week.
“Where exactly are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
“Damon..”
“It’s an adventure, Ric. Just go with the flow.”
Alaric snorted in amusement. “Do I have a choice?”
“Nope. It’s too late to back out.”
Alaric leaned back in his seat and watched the scenery fly by. There hadn’t been much snow yet and the streets were clean, which Damon used to drive way too fast. Ric didn’t even mind. They didn’t talk much, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable. Damon seemed to be one of those people you could just enjoy the silence with. After a while they reached Winchester, where Damon finally parked the car and got out.
“The tomb vampires are here?” Alaric asked, looking around cautiously. He couldn’t see anything suspicious at first glance.
“Probably not anymore.” Damon mumbled and started walking.
Alaric hurried to catch up to him. “What do you mean, not anymore?”
“They probably already moved on. At least my… friend said so. But I thought it would be better to make sure.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Any idea where they might be hiding if they’re still here?”
“Not really.”
In the end they just walked around aimlessly for a while. At least that’s what it felt like to Ric. If Damon had a plan he didn’t feel the need to share. After walking around for about an hour they finally entered a bar and grimaced in unison. Christmas carols were blaring from the speakers and the decoration made Ric’s eyes water. There were blinking fairy lights and colourful garlands wherever he looked. In the corner stood a Christmas tree and the tables were decorated with funny little Santa figurines or snowmen. It was really overwhelming. Damon talked to the barkeeper for a moment, got them each a glass of bourbon and soon they were off again.
“They’re not here anymore.”
Alaric had no idea how he could tell, but decided to trust Damon this once. They got back into the car and continued their journey. When evening dawned Damon parked in front of a nice motel. Alaric didn’t know where exactly they were right now. He’d only noticed that they had left Virginia and were now somewhere in Pennsylvania. The motel was decorated for Christmas as well, but at least a bit less obnoxious than the bar.
Damon got them a double room, causing Ric to frown at him.
“They’re pretty booked.” Damon claimed. “And I guess it would be safer if we stuck together.”
“You think the tomb vampires could be here somewhere?”
“They passed through here, that’s for sure. Maybe a few decided to stay.”
“Guess we should scout the area then.”
“Dinner first.” Damon decided.
Alaric noticed only now how hungry he was, so he agreed. For a second he wondered if Damon might have meant something different when he said dinner. He had no desire to watch the vampire feeding on some unsuspecting victim. But thankfully Damon led him to a diner just around the corner. It was pretty packed and very loud, but thankfully not too badly decorated. At the table next to theirs sat a few kids dressed as Christmas elves, who obviously worked at the nearby shopping centre and kept complaining about the children they had to wrangle all day.
Damon paid for their food and brushed Ric’s protest off. “The trip was my idea and I’m loaded. You can pay me back otherwise.”
“How?”
“We’ll see.” was the cryptic answer.
Alaric didn’t want to owe Damon anything, but his salary wasn’t exactly high and he hadn’t planned on spending money on a trip this month, so he dropped the subject for now.
Once they’d left the diner, Damon let him know that he had to take care of something. Ric guessed that something had to do with blood, so he didn’t inquire further. He went back to the motel on his own, while the vampire disappeared into the night. Ric kept glancing around nervously, on alert in case some of the tomb vampires were lurking nearby. But he only met normal people.
When he finally reached the motel and saw a man in a Santa costume he didn’t think anything by it at first. The guy probably worked at the shopping centre, just like those kids back at the diner. Ric had almost passed him when he noticed the girl. She couldn’t be older than twelve and the way the fake Santa was looming above her had alarm bells going off in Ric’s head. He crept closer, careful not to make a noise and reached the pair just in time to see Santa baring his fangs, ready to sink them into the girls exposed neck.
He acted without thinking. In two strides he was next to the vampire. He grabbed his shoulder, whirled him around and punched him in the chest, ejecting the hidden stake in his sleeve, which went right into the fake Santa’s heart. The vampire didn’t have time to react. With a surprised look in his eyes he dropped to the ground, dead.
For a second Alaric just stared down at him. The whole thing had happened so fast that his mind only now caught up with what he’d done. Suddenly a piercing scream ripped him from his trance. The little girl was looking at him with wide, frightened eyes. Still screaming she stumbled backwards.
Ric took a step towards her, his hands outstretched. “You don’t need to be scared. He can’t hurt you now.”
The girl didn’t even listen. She whirled around and fled in a panic. And Ric suddenly realized how the whole scene must have looked to her. The vampire had surely compelled her. And the compulsion had most likely been broken the moment Ric had killed him. Now she thought she’d witnessed a murder. Oh fuck! Alaric rushed after her. He had to catch her before she could tell someone or even call the police. She didn’t have much of a head start, but just as he started chasing her, she reached the end of the street and ran into a man. A tense second later Alaric realized that it was Damon she had run into.
Damon reacted immediately. He grabbed the girl and compelled her. “Calm down. This didn’t happen. You were never here. And now go.”
The girl ran away and Ric fell against the wall with a relieved sigh. “That was close. Thanks.”
“I leave you alone for five minutes…” Damon joked.
“That wasn’t planned.”
“Yeah, that much was obvious.”
They went back to the dead vampire. Damon looked down at the corpse and then back up at Ric with a grin.
“Wow, you hate Christmas even more than I do.”
“I don’t hate Christmas.” Ric protested. He was just annoyed by the whole thing. That was all.
“You just staked Santa. If that’s not a statement.”
“I staked a vampire, who dressed up as Santa to get at kids.”
“Whatever you say…”
“Was he in the tomb?” Alaric tried to change the subject.
“Santa? I don’t think so. I would’ve noticed the red coat.”
“Damon!”
“Alaric.”
“Could you stop joking around for a minute and take a look at the guy? Maybe he’s one of the tomb vampires.”
Damon rolled his eyes, but bent down and looked at the dead vampire. For about two seconds. “Nope, doesn’t look familiar.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Okay. So I guess it’s coincidence.”
“Hmm.”
Ric wasn’t sure whether to be glad about that or not. On one hand they were only here because of the tomb vampires. On the other hand that one vampire had been more than enough for his liking. Luckily he’d been prepared. He swore to himself to always carry a weapon with him during this road trip.
“I guess we should get rid of him.” Damon mused.
“Guess you’re right.”
They put the corpse into the trunk and buried the vampire in a nearby wood. Ric really didn’t get why he had to dig the grave. The ground was frozen solid, which made it really hard and Damon was a lot stronger than him. But Damon only shrugged and claimed since Ric had staked the vampire it was also his job to get rid of the body. Great logic.
It was already late at night when they finally made it back to the motel. Alaric took a quick shower and fell into bed. He noticed that Damon kept watching him from the other side of the room, but tried his best to ignore it. He didn’t want to have a discussion right now. And he really didn’t want to know what went on in Damon’s head.
***
23 December
Alaric awoke late next morning, surprised that Damon hadn’t woken him. The vampire was already showered and dressed so Ric hurried to get ready as well. They left the motel and had breakfast at the diner from last night. A guy a few tables over was complaining that the Santa from the shopping centre hadn’t shown up to work today. He’d disappeared without a word and hadn’t even given back his costume. Luckily they had a spare one. A spare costume that is. Unfortunately no spare Santa, so the poor boss of the shopping centre had to take over himself.
Damon grinned at Ric, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.
“Shut up.” Ric grumbled.
“I didn’t say a word.”
Of course Ric pitied the poor man who had to step in as Santa, but he didn’t regret his actions from last night. No Santa was still better than one who snacked on the kids.
After breakfast they got into the car and continued their journey. Their next stop was a Baltimore suburb, though Damon decided pretty quickly that the tomb vampires weren’t here either. Alaric asked how he could tell, but only got a shrug in response. Since Damon wasn’t volunteering any more information, they drove on. Around noon they reached Bayonne, New Jersey, where they had lunch at a fancy restaurant and took a quick tour through the neighbourhood before moving on again.
To Alaric’s great surprise they weren’t so quiet today, but actually kept chatting most of the time. At first they stuck to harmless topics, but after some time Damon asked about Ric’s family and why he hadn’t gone home over the holidays. Alaric told him that he’d fought with his parents, who had never accepted his marriage with Isobel. After Isobel’s disappearance it had only gotten worse. His mother had at least tried to pretend she felt sorry. Ric’s father however had openly told him he should be glad to be rid of her.
“I sometimes talk to my mom on the phone, but we don’t really keep in touch.” he admitted. And that was okay. He’d come to terms with it long ago. But he still didn’t want to talk about it anymore, so he turned the tables on Damon and asked him about his parents. He wasn’t really expecting an answer. Especially not an honest one.
But Damon surprised him by talking about his childhood openly. Guiseppe had always been strict and brutal, prone to bouts of anger. He’d often taken his anger out on Damon or Damon’s mother. Only Stefan had been an exception. Alaric also learned that Damon’s mother had died when he’d been seventeen.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” he murmured.
Damon shrugged. “That was ages ago. And… she wasn’t exactly the most loving mother.”
“You didn’t get along?”
“Not really. She… she could never really handle me, I think. I was too much of a hot head. A real problem child. Unlike saint Stefan. Our parents both adored him from day one. I was the black sheep. I could never do anything right. No matter what happened, I was always the one getting punished. Though I actually preferred it when father doled out the punishment. It usually meant a beating. Mother on the other hand… she was more into psychological torture.”
Alaric shuddered. That explained so much about Damon. He actually felt bad for the vampire. Ric hadn’t always had it easy with his parents either, but compared to the Salvatores they seemed a picture book family. He knew however that Damond idnt want his pity. It was a real surprise that he’d told him so much about his childhood. Ric didn’t want to overdo it, so he changed the subject. Damon didn’t comment, but he seemed relieved.
Their final stop for the day was Albany. Alaric knew that there were a lot of interesting sights, but thanks to the holidays most of them were either closed or totally overrun with people. At least he could look at some interesting buildings while they strolled around the town. They had dinner at another fancy restaurant with no Christmas decoration (much to Ric’s relief) und found a nice motel for the night close by. Once they’d settled in their double room, Damon started dragging him through various clubs and bars. Ric didn’t know if they were even still on the tomb vampire’s trail, but right now he didn’t actually care. The bourbon was good and he hadn’t had this much fun in ages. Okay, maybe he was also getting a little tipsy.
They left the last bar and practically stumbled right into the next one. There was quite a crowd, but Damon managed to secure them a spot at the bar. Alaric looked around the room and grimaced when he spotted a group of five young men, all dressed up as Santa. Of course Damon had spied them as well. He leaned over with a grin.
“Would you rather leave or do you think you can hold back today?”
“Very funny.”
“I’m just saying…”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on staking someone today.”
“If you say so.”
Ric actually felt the strong urge to at least punch the five Santas after just a few minutes. It was easy to see (and hear) that they were more than a bit drunk. They kept making lots of noise and started singing Christmas carols every now and then. Very loudly and very off-key. Strangely enough no-one besides Damon and Ric seemed to mind.
“Maybe we should head back to the motel.” Alaric suggested when one of the Santas broke into a loud rendition of Jingle Bells for the third time.
Damon snorted. “Guess you’re right.”
He waved to the barmaid, a tall blonde in a very short dress, which was so tight that her breasts nearly busted out of the top. She came sashaying over, but seemed more interested in Alaric than in the money Damon was trying to shove her way. She blinked her fake lashes and leaned over the bar, making Alaric fear her breasts would jump out of the top and smack him in the face any moment.
“Anything else I can do for you, honey?”
“No, thanks. My friend wanted to pay for our drinks.”
Damon watched the scene in amusement, but thankfully kept from commenting. He simply slammed a few bills down at the bar and told the pouty blonde to keep the rest. Ric got up from his barstool, turned around and nearly collided with one of the fake Santas, who was standing there with a grumpy look on his face.
“Keep your hands off her!” he ordered, pointing vaguely at the blonde barmaid. “She’s my girlfriend.”
“You can keep her.” Ric said drily.
The guy didn’t seem to have heard him. “My girlfriend.” he repeated.
“Your girlfriend hit on my friend, not the other way around.” Damon chimed in. “Guess she’s not happy with you.”
“Damon.” Ric said warningly, but of course he was ignored.
“Whassat supposed to mean?!” the guy shouted.
“That you’re obviously not satisfying her, dick!”
Alaric could foresee the punch, but wasn’t fast enough to stop it. Of course he didn’t need to. Damon blocked the punch easily and sent the guy sprawling in a heap on the floor. Unfortunately the other four Santas took that as their cue to join the fray. And even though he hadn’t started the fight, Ric felt compelled to help Damon. A bar brawl really hadn’t been on his list of things to do during the holidays, but there was nothing for it.
It soon turned out that five drunk Santas were no match for Damon and Alaric. Ric ended up with a split lip, but aside from that the five Santas were lying on the floor within minutes, while Damon and Ric were still standing. The barmaid suddenly wasn’t so into Ric anymore and threatened to call the cops if they didn’t leave right now.
“I guess we should both better stay away from Santas from now on, what do you think?” Alaric asked as they walked back to the motel.
Damon looked at him sideways and they both started laughing.
“I must say… I haven’t had this much fun during the holidays in ages.” Damon commented.
“Me too.”
They might not have gotten any closer to finding the tomb vampires, but the last two days had been pretty good, Ric realized with some surprise. Damon and he were a good team and he really had a lot of fun on this road trip. That shuld probably worry him, but right now he was just tipsy enough to shrug it off. He stumbled into the room behind Damon, kicked off his shoes and flinched in shock when Damon suddenly stood right in front of him.
With surprising gentleness the vampire touched Ric’s split lip. “Should I help with that?”
“Huh?”
“A few drops of my blood and you’re as good as new.”
And fuck, he was obviously drunker than he’d thought, because for one, mad moment Ric actually thought about saying yes. Damon’s eyes were hypnotic and his close proximity did funny things to Ric. To drink from him sounded… tempting. But then his rational thought gained the upper hand again and he quickly shook his head.
“No, thanks.”
“You sure?” Damon prodded.
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
Damon turned away and Ric instantly missed his closeness. He quickly shook off the thought. He’d clearly drunk too much. It had been a crazy night. And yet it took him a lot longer to fall asleep this time, because once again he could feel Damon watching him in the darkness.
***
24 December
When Alaric got up next morning he noticed that it had started snowing during the night. A thick sheet of white covered everything. Just in time for Christmas. Since the streets were slippery and packed with even more cars than the past couple of days, driving took a lot longer today. Not even Damon could speed in this weather and with the cluttered highways. A fact he kept lamenting loudly. Around noon they reached Concord, New Hampshire, the final destination of their journey, as Damon explained.
“That means the tomb vampires are here?” Alaric asked, instantly alert.
“Hm… probably.”
“Do you know where exactly?”
“We should check in.” Damon changed the subject. Subtle like a sledgehammer.
Alaric was about to protest that Damon still owed him an answer and that it was about damn time he started sharing knowledge, when he finally got a good look at the building in front of them. Instantly all thoughts of complaining were forgotten. The house was huge and made of red brick. It looked more like a castle, with its small towers and turrets.
Damon grinned. “Welcome to the Centennial hotel.”
“We’re staying here?”
“Yep. Get our bags. I’ll check us in.”
By the time Alaric entered the hotel with their bags, Damon had already cleared things up at the reception desk. Ric stopped next to him just in time to hear the girl behind the counter say “And this is the key to the Governor’s Suite. Have a nice stay.”
Damon took the key and led Ric upstairs to their suite. It was obvious that he knew his way around. The Governor’s Suite was large and had a little living room with couch and flatscreen tv, a seating area with a pretty view, a bathroom and a bedroom. With just one bed, as Alaric noticed with a frown.
“There’s just one bed.”
“Your observational skills are astounding, Ric.”
“Damon…”
“Relax. That’s a pull out sleep sofa out there.”
“Oh. Okay.”
They freshened up before heading into town, where they had lunch and then spent some time strolling around and looking at shops. Alaric had to admit that it looked very picturesque, with the small shops, the snow and even the Christmas decoration, which was mostly rather tasteful. The only exception was a huge, inflatable Santa figure, which had made both of them grin. Alaric feared that would be his default reaction to seeing anything Santa related from now on.
The street was pretty crowded with Families with kids, last-minute-shoppers and tourists. Alaric kept looking around, trying to spot anything unusual which might hint to the presence of vampires. Damon had claimed the tomb vampires were here somewhere, after all. And there was no shortage of potential victims. But no matter how much he stared, he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Aside from the fact that Damon obviously had no desire to look for tomb vampires. He kept strolling around like a tourist and showed more interest in the shops than the people around them. Alaric was slowly starting to suspect that Damon had been playing for a fool all this time.
After a while they ended up at a cosy bar, where they sipped bourbon and watched the other patrons. Alaric wondered if he should confront Damon with his suspicion, but then decided to wait until they were back at the hotel. There was a high possibility that it would end with them shouting at each other and he’d rather do that in the relative privacy of their suite. For the moment he enjoyed his drink and listened to Damon, who kept up a running commentary, snarking about the other patrons. It was actually quite funny.
A lot less funny was the fact that the barmaid kept flirting with Damon. And that Damon flirted shamelessly back. Ric didn’t even know why it bothered him so much. The woman wasn’t even his type. Still his mood kept getting worse by the minute. A tiny voice in the back of his head whispered that he knew exactly why it bothered him so much, but Ric decided to ignore it.
When Damon finally decided that it was time to head back, he sighed in relief. They left the bar and trudged through the snow in silence. Alaric could practically feel Damon looking at him. After a few minutes he gave up and met his eyes. Damon grinned and started playing with something in his hands. With an eye-roll Ric took the bait, asking what he had there.
“Oh that? A little present from Tracey.”
“Tracey?”
“The nice barmaid. Weren’t you paying attention?”
“Not really.” Ric said with a shrug. He couldn’t care less about her name.
Damon smirked. “They give those cute little stars to their regulars. It gets them a free drink during the holidays And since I was so nice, she gave me one as well. So I have a reason to come back. Although… I actually hadn’t planned on it. Or should we go back tomorrow, Ric? What do you think?”
Alaric knew that it was completely irrational. He didn’t even know why he did it. It wasn’t a conscious decidiosn. More like a reflex. He ripped the tiny metal star out of Damon’s hands and chucked it away. Unfortunately he didn’t look where he was throwing it. And he also threw it with a bit more force than completely necessary. The star sailed through the air and hit the inflatable Santa. Right between the eyes. The edges were obviously a bit sharper than they looked, because there was a strange, popping sound and Santa started deflating.
Ric stared at the deflating figure for a second, before looking at Damon again. Damon seemed just as surprised at him. But then his mouth started twitching and seconds later he was laughing uncontrollably.
“That was an accident.” Ric said stupidly.
Still laughing Damon grabbed his arm, pulling him along. “Come on, before they notice.”
Ric looked around in shock, but thankfully no-one seemed to have noticed that he’d been the one to kill Santa.
“Okay, I’m not letting you near anything that looks even remotely like Santa from now on.” Damon decided.
“That was an accident.” Ric said again.
“One time’s an accident. But two dead Santas?”
“That’s not even a real Santa. It doesn’t count.”
“Whatever you say.”
Damon had way too much fun with this. But his laughter was contagious and soon Alaric had to grin as well. The whole thing was just too absurd. First the vampire dressed up as Santa,, then the bar brawl and now this. Maybe Damon was right and they should better stay away from Santas from now on, before someone innocent got hurt.
Only when they were back in the room did Alaric remember his earlier decision to confront Damon. He glanced at the vampire, who was lounging in a chair, his feet propped up on the table, looking completely relaxed. As if they were here on holiday and not on the hunt for evil vampires. Which only intensified Ric’s suspicion. He sat down on the couch.
“There was never any trace to the tomb vampires, was there?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Damon. Tell me the truth. There wasn’t, right?”
“Not… really.”
“And why are we here?”
Damon shrugged. Really helpful. For a moment they just stared at each other. Ric didn’t know what to make of the hwole thing.
With a sigh he leaned back. “Please tell me why you made up this story to lure me here.”
“You wouldn’t have come otherwise.”
“What?”
“I wanted to get out of Mystic Falls. Save myself that whole Christmas crap.” Damon mumbled. “And we had fun, didn’t we?”
“Guess we did. You still could’ve told me the truth.”
“Would you have come?”
“I don’t know. Was it really that important to you that I come with you?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have gone to all that trouble otherwise.”
Alaric actually felt a bit flattered that Damon had gone to so much trouble. Whatever that said about him.
“You didn’t want to attend Mrs. Lockwood’s Christmas party at the town hall either.” Damon claimed.
“True.”
“See? Me neither. And I didn’t want to spend Christmas with the Gilberts either.”
“Really? Or was it that the Gilberts didn’t want to spend Christmas with you?”
“Elena invited me.”
“And you said no? That would have been a great opportunity to hit on her, wouldn’t it?” Alaric asked snidely.
“Probably. But kicking Stefan is no fun when he’s already down. And right now he’s totally down.”
Alaric blinked in surprise.
“Are you telling me you only flirt with Elena to rile up your brother?”
“Of course. Why else?”
“I thought you liked her.”
Damon snorted. “Please! Elena is so… naïve and innocent. Definitely not my taste.”
“So you’re still hung up on Katherine.”
“No, Ric. Not even I’m masochist enough to keep chasing after a woman who only ever viewed me as a plaything.”
“Didn’t sound like it the other day. I thought you’d decided to keep going until the 200 year mark.”
“That was a joke. I’m so done with Katherine.” Damon claimed. “In fact I’ve decided to swear off women in general. For the next… hundred years or so.”
“You’re telling me you’re going to live celibate for the next hundred years?” Alaric asked in disbelief.
“I’ve never said that.”
“You just said you’re swearing off women.”
“Exactly. Women, Ric. Only women.”
“Oh. You mean… oh!”
It took a few seconds until it clicked. When it did Ric had to swallow hard and his heart started beating unnaturally fast. Of course the fucking vampire noticed. Damon sat up straighter and cocked his head.
“Interesting reaction there, Ric.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“No?” Damon got up and took a seat right next to him on the couch. Looked up at him with those big, blue eyes, licking his lips demonstratevily. “Really?”
Ric knew that it was a trap. He knew exactly what the fucking vampire wanted. And yet he couldn’t help but give in. Because if he was quite honest with himself, he had to admit that he wanted it, too. Damon was offering himself up quite blatantly. Why not take him up on it?
Without sparing another thought for the consequences, Ric closed the distance between them and kissed Damon.
***
27 December
Alaric leaned against the wall, staring out of the window while he sipped his coffee, lost in thought. About twenty minutes ago Damon had dropped him off at his flat and driven home. Ric hadn’t even managed to unpack his bag yet. He’d only made coffee. His thoughts were too scattered. The roadtrip already felt surreal.
They had spent another day at the Centennial hotel in Concord, though they’d barely made it out of bed. Nedless to say that the pull out sleep sofa hadn’t been used. Okay, they had used it once to be fair, but not for sleeping.
Alaric had declined Damon’s offer of making a short detour to Boston and visiting his parents. They hadn’t liked Isobel. He didn’t even want to imagine what they’d make of Damon. And it wasn’t like he and Damon were … Well, he actually had no idea what exactly they even were. Friends with benefits? Were they friends? Was it maybe actually more? Ric had no idea and no wish to find out just now.
The drive back to Mystic Falls had been strangely uneventful. Aside from the fact that all of a sudden they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. But as soon as they’d reached Mystic Falls, Damon had somehow closed off. He’d dropped Ric off and not even asked if he could come up. Alaric just didn’t get the damn vampire. The tragic thing was that he wanted to. Very much.
With a sigh he put his empty cup down and turned towards the bathroom. Maybe a hot shower would help to clear his thoughts. He’d barely taken a step when a knock at the door made him freeze in his tracks. Automatically he smiled, rushing over to open the door.
Damon was leaning against the doorjamb, a bottle of bourbon dangling from his hand.
“Stefan was home. With Elena. He looked at me like a four-year-old who’d just been told that Santa doesn’t exist. And Elena started lecturing me about the importance of Christmas and that you need to spend the holidays with family. Told me how disappointed she was in me for just leaving and…”
“Damon.”
“What?”
“Come in.”
For a second Damon seemed totally caught off guard. Then a real smile slid over his face and he practically skipped over the threshold, waving the bottle in Ric’s direction.
“I thought we could have a drink and hit the road again. What do you say, Ric?”
“I’ve got a better idea.”
Alaric pressed Damon against the nearest wall, kissing him passionately.
“If you can get someone from the Grill to deliver us food, we could hide in here until new years.”
Damon grinned. “Deal.”