... REDO

6

Damon had just enough time to swing by the bank on his way to meet Ric and Elena. He hated teaching Elena. It just got too close for comfort. She was still chasing Stefan and he didn't see that changing, but he was falling deeper and deeper all the time and he didn't know how to stop it. Especially when she kept leaning on him so much. He got that she didn't have anyone else besides him and Ric, and he was Stefan's brother so a direct line to the man she loved, but she /knew/ how Damon felt about her. That should have been enough for her to have at least that little bit of mercy to give some space, but no. She was clinging and he didn't have the heart to push her away. He didn't even have the chance to redirect his feelings for her either since there wasn't anyone else in his life that he could try to redirect them to.

When he got home after their sparring session though, he realized that maybe he did have someone to redirect them to, after all. Bonnie had already sent him the spells he requested. Another measure of her trust in him that she would send them before being paid. Like she trusted him to fork over the money regardless. Or she was just that gullible that she'd believe anything from anyone, but no. She had never shown signs of being gullible. She was one of the most practical people he'd met. Which was likely why they had regularly bumped heads before she started to understand him and saw the horrors of the supernatural world for herself. Trying to put his actions into a frame of reference she understood to a human perspective wouldn't work very well.

As he went to get his printer set up and get the spells printed and put in his own grimoire type book, he thought about how she seemed to accept him. Good and bad. Like she didn't need him to prove anything. Didn't need him to change in order to care like Elena did. She wasn't trying to push him. But it was early still. Aside from that apology talk, they'd run into each other in town for small talk a few times, had some fun at a party, and had one sparring session. There was still plenty of time for her to turn on him, and he was already a mess over Elena. Adding someone else to that mix was a bad idea unless he could be sure.

Bonnie showed up for sparring the next morning at nine sharp, despite not thinking she would need it much longer. At least not on the human level. It had dawned on her that selling her family magic would point a huge target at her back and broadcast in a neon sign that she'd lost her magic. She needed to be able to protect herself sooner rather than later, so she was going to be looking to turn in the next few days. Doing it over the summer would be helpful too since she would be able to adjust without having to worry about school and she was absolutely going to graduate this time at least. College would have to see what happened, but she was going to graduate high school. Still, this time was as much about spending time with Damon as it was actually learning to fight so she would push through. Maybe even talk him into a few drinks and some conversation after this time.

Once she got there and was warmed up, Damon decided to test her a bit. See if she would even be receptive of any feelings if he let himself have them. "Okay, so now that we have an idea of your limits we can get into the real teaching. First thing you need to know about fighting vampires is how to reach the heart."

"I'm guessing that's not as self-explanatory as it seems?" Bonnie asked with a tilt of her head. It wasn't something she ever had to worry about in the future, having had much better ways to fight a vampire than staking them.

"Good guess," Damon chuckled and grabbed her hand placing it in the center of his chest. "Feel that? That's the sternum. Solid plate of bone." Bonnie was trying to school her reactions, but it was almost like he was making this sensual on purpose and it just reminded her of their almost kiss in the future and how badly she wanted that, especially as she met his eyes and her breath hitched. Damon spun her back to him and pressed his fingers up under her ribcage. "Under the ribs here...that's your way to a vampire's heart," he breathed into her ear, hearing her heart racing. He didn't smell fear from her either which was a decent indication of what she was thinking. He'd gotten his test, but he wasn't going any farther than that right now so he needed to lighten the mood and kill the sexual tension in the air, so he moved his hand down a big over her side and it worked.

Bonnie twisted away from him with a squeal as he tickled her, dropping an elbow to his side in the same motion. She needed the same thing. Release from the 'moment' they were having and starting the sparring session was as good a way as any. And paying him back for tickling her. He laughed and jumped right in, going back and forth for a little while before he stopped it and started walking her through forms. She was much less exhausted when they finished and he invited her inside where he handed her two briefcases. "What's this?" she asked curiously before opening them.

"One is the money I owe you for the spells," Damon told her. "The other is a basic vampire hunting kit. Now you're a long way from being able to take on a vampire, but if you get attacked and don't have a choice, it could come in handy." He worried about her selling all her spells and basically broadcasting the fact that she was defenseless. "Your first call should be to me though if at all possible."

"And would you come?" she asked softly, meeting his eyes.

"Probably," Damon told her. If he wasn't busy with something more important. The fact that saving her life had jumped very near the top of his priorities wasn't something she needed to know right now.

"Good enough for me. Thank you, Damon," she said gratefully.

"Drink?" he offered, wondering if she planned to hang out for a bit.

"Please," she nodded and then took the offered drink with a smile.

"How's the selling of the spells going? Any other takers yet?" Damon asked casually, making conversation.

"You'd be surprised. Only a trickle so far, but since it's only been a day and a half even that much is surprising," Bonne told him. He'd been about half her sales so far and she was already approaching the million-dollar mark. She planned to stop by the bank today and get it started investing. While she'd never paid a /lot/ of attention to such things in the future, she knew enough to know what companies would be gold mines for the next twenty-five years. She had that long to learn enough about investments to keep going and that would be plenty of time. She even had a story ready should someone ask. Her grandmother had a lot of valuable collectibles that she was selling after her death last year.

Bonnie and Damon chatted for a little while longer and she stuck to her one drink before she headed out. She would stop by the grill for lunch first before driving into the city. She wasn't using her Mystic Falls bank account for all this. Too much gossip and too many questions would be asked. The money was still sitting in her paypal for the moment until she got the new account set up and it transferred over. It ended up taking her the rest of the day to get all that settled and the investments set. In that time, she realized just how little she knew about the subject, but thankfully they were willing to help her out. The companies she wanted shares in were enough to get that far. She was thinking seriously about studying financial management in college though.

Maybe she could even set up an investment firm for vampires who needed their money to last forever. Or maybe there weren't a lot of vampires with money. To her knowledge, the only vampires that really mingled among humans were the few with daylight rings. But with that spell becoming common knowledge there might be more. She wondered if it would increase vampire deaths due to them being able to move more freely or decrease them since they would be better able to be functioning members of society. Either way, it was out of her hands now. That done, she would turn her attention towards convincing Caroline to turn her. That would be for after her session with Damon tomorrow though.

She was determined that Damon have no part in her turning, even knowing about it in advance. Not because she didn't want his opinion or anything, but because she knew how everyone always jumped to conclusions and blamed him for everything so she wanted his hands to stay completely clean in this. There would be people not very happy about it, after all. Elena in particular, which she got. Vampirism wasn't for everyone, and Elena hated it. That didn't mean that Bonnie would. She honestly couldn't say whether she would enjoy it or not. She knew that there was a lot that she wouldn't understand until she was in the position herself. It was still her decision to make though, and if it ended up that, her mistake to make.