Their Raven

Chapter 28

The Mikealson mansion was too quiet.

Damon leaned against the marble countertop in the kitchen, sipping coffee he didn't need. The lights above cast a soft glow, but it felt too clean, too polished for the chaos running through his head. The only sound was the faint crackling of fire in the grand room.

Then, soft footsteps behind him.

"You're brooding," Elijah said mildly, stepping in like a shadow of silk. He looked every inch the regal Original—tie loosened but posture precise, eyes watching Damon like a study in progress.

"I'm not brooding," Damon muttered, not turning around. "I'm reflecting. Very sophisticated."

"Of course," Elijah said smoothly, moving to pour himself a glass of bourbon. "Reflection, then. Shall we discuss what you were reflecting on?"

"How it's weirdly quiet in here when usually one of you is trying to out-alpha the other," Damon said, then glanced at him. "Or maybe you're just lulling me into a false sense of security."

"Would that work?" Elijah asked.

Damon smirked. "Probably."

Before Elijah could respond, Kol appeared in the doorway, barefoot and shirt half-buttoned, as if the concept of effort offended him.

"Well, don't mind me," he said with a yawn, "Just came for a nightcap and found two tall glasses of tension waiting instead."

Damon rolled his eyes. "You really never shut up, do you?"

Kol crossed the room slowly, deliberately. "Only when someone manages to shut me up. Interested in trying, sweetheart?"

"Keep dreaming," Damon replied dryly. He stepped away from the counter, brushing past Kol. But Kol's fingers grazed Damon's wrist as he passed—a touch light as silk, but electrifying.

Damon stopped.

Klaus walked in then, as if summoned by the shift in energy. He paused in the doorway, his eyes immediately going to Damon, then to Kol's hand still hovering near his.

Kol stepped back casually, no guilt in sight.

Klaus's gaze stayed fixed on Damon, lingering just a second too long. "Everything alright?"

Damon raised an eyebrow. "Oh, don't you start"

"I merely asked a question."

"You're brooding now," Kol said, pointing at Klaus like it was a crime. "That makes three broody vampires and one dangerously charming one. What a boyband we make."

Klaus ignored him and Elijah rolled his eyes. "Have you slept?"

"No," Damon admitted. "Now really in the mood after, you know, being hunted by mystery bad guy with stalker energy."

Klaus stepped closer, voice lower. "Then you'll rest now. You're safe here."

Damon scoffed. "Said every villain before they locked someone in a tower."

Kol grinned. "We could arrange that if it'd turn you on."

"Kol," Elijah sighed.

But Damon didn't snap back this time. His expression softened, just for a second. "You guys are weirdly comforting. That's the most terrifying part of all this."

Klaus titled his head. "Because we care?"

"Because I think I'm starting to care back."

The admission hung in the air, raw and unguarded.

Elijah looked at Damon with something close to pride. Kol looked like he was about to make a joke but didn't. And Klaus—Klaus stepped forward and reached out, gently brushing Damon's hair back behind his ear.

Damon didn't move.

"You should rest," Klaus murmured.

Damon looked up at him, heart suddenly louder in his ear.

"You're hovering," he said, voice softer than his usual sarcasm.

"I'm watching over you."

There was a long pause. Damon licked his lips without thinking.

Kol noticed. Elijah definitely noticed. And Klaus's gaze dropped for the briefest second.

The tension snapped taut.

But no one acted. No one crossed that final line.

Kol broke the moment by dropping onto the nearest couch. "I vote Damon stays in the mansion tonight. Preferably in someone's bed. We can draw lots if it makes things fair."

Elijah sat down across from him. "He's staying. But we won't reduce it to a game."

"I never said I wouldn't cheat," Kol said, throwing Damon a wink.

Damon exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. "You guys are ridiculous."

"And yet here you are," Klaus said, offering him a glass this time.

Damon took it.

They all sat in the dim-lit living room for a while, the fire cracking, no more words needed. Klaus sat closest, their legs brushing now and then. Kol was across the room, watching Damon like he was learning the shape of him. Elijah observed quietly, sipping his own drink, the gears in his mind ever-turning.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Damon didn't want to leave.

The storm hadn't broken yet, but he could feel it coming. Still, for now... he was warm. Wanted. A little terrified by what he was starting to feel for each of them.

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So new chapter, what you think?
Question, do you want smut? And who should Damon be with first?