Love (𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕒𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝔻𝕚𝕒𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝔽𝕒𝕟 𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟)

Chapter 6

Author's Note: It says AU but I don't think I've mentioned this won't completely follow the storyline of TVD. It will definitely have similar plot points and certain things will still be canon.

~*~

It'd been a full month of Love being in Damon's care, and she didn't have any complaints. Not that she would complain either way. He was more attentive than Ric had ever been. He didn't leave her alone in the house for hours at a time and he didn't get frustrated with her for the things Ric usually found annoying. He'd even remembered that macaroni and cheese was her favorite and they had it for dinner almost every day for the first week of her staying with him.

"When can we go bother Elena and Jeremy?" She whined from her spot by the fireplace. She didn't even bother using one of the fancy chairs by it, she'd brought one of the fluffy blankets over and settled in it right in the corner of it. Close enough to feel that beautiful warmth, but far enough at the corner she wouldn't set herself ablaze.

"Am I not good enough for you, Love? That's really rude." He playfully chided. He was comfortable, as always. Sitting with his legs crossed at the ankle, book in one hand and glass of expensive bourbon in the other while the fireplace burned.

She freed herself from the warmth of her blanket and corner to tiptoe her way over to him. She plopped down beside him, instinctively curling her body into his side. Damon allowed her of course, wrapping an arm around her so she felt he circled her completely. He set his book aside, using the hand it once occupied to settle atop her head. Using the tips of his fingers to lightly massage at her scalp, being extra careful of her curls since her hair was loose today.

"Not like that." She lightly grumbled, tanned cheeks tinted pink.

She was always affectionate with dependents, it wasn't always reciprocated though. Alaric, for example, would let her do whatever she wanted. He had some boundaries though. Like he was uncomfortable if she wanted to sit with him while he showered, even if she swore she wouldn't look. He didn't like to be woken up too early, that was an early boundary set. Finally, when she hugged him or tried to steal his warmth, he didn't usually hug back. Sometimes, if he thought she were asleep, he'd wrap his arm around her, but that was as far as he went.

Damon, however, could be just as affectionate as she was. He hugged her back every time, gave her head pats randomly sometimes and always welcomed a good warmth session as she called it now because of him. He called her sweet names, sweeter than the name she already had. Things like Sweetie, Honey, Darling even. Sometimes she knew it was joking, but sometimes it wasn't. She enjoyed that. Because Damon didn't treat her entirely like a child.

"Well, what do you mean then, hm?" He pried, resting his chin on top of her head to stare into the fire as he waited for her response. The time he'd been spending with her was very... human for him. Sometimes they'd go to the grill, he'd introduce her to town folk and he'd teach her a thing or two about the town and its people. Some days, they stayed inside watching movies that Elena suggested or listening to songs that Stefan suggested that Love learn. Even Stefan had warmed up to his older brother having a tail everywhere he went. The whole time, he didn't stress about vampire ordeals that involved Elena and his brother. He wasn't even curious anymore. Elena and Stefan both recognized how fragile Love was to Damon, and tried to keep him out of their risky adventures. He appreciated it more than they knew.

"Well, because last time, Jeremy said that he was gonna teach me how to play black cops." She explained, brows furrowing at the odd named game Jeremy had mentioned last time they'd visited.

"What the fuck is that?"

"It's a game, I think. I don't know, man. That's why I wanna learn." She stressed, poking at his side and making him cackle. He set his drink down on the table beside them and grabbed his phone instead, passing it to her.