brothers weakness | salvatore

iv.

chapter iv .
silent cofessions

          i knew the brothers and i needed to talk at some point, but as soon as we stepped into the room, everything else seemed to have faded away. they clung to me on the bed, and i didn't even have a chance to speak as they settled into the night, leaving the day's events behind. it was almost as if we had picked up right where we left off, or at least where i had left them. the regret of having distanced myself from them lingered like a shadow, a reminder of what I had made them feel. 

that morning, i awoke to the sound of stefan's soft breathing, but the weight of the unspoken still hung in the air. damon was nowehere to be seen; his side of the bed already cold to the touch. 

i slid out from under the covers, gently prying stefans arms from my body. quietly, i made my way out of the room and noticed damons door slightly ajar. i trailed towards it, opening the door without a knock, and there damon stood, a glass of bourbon in his hand, looking out the window with a cold stare. 

"damon," i muttered; he turned at the sound of my voice breaking the still air, "morning sleeping beauty," a smirk playing on his lips 

i ignored his comment momentarily, flashing him a quick look, "we need to talk, you know." damon leaned back, crossing his arms. "everything's fine," he muttered. i shook my head with a scoff, "you know it's not fine." 

"look it's not my fault you decided to ghost us," he shot back, "you can't just waltz back in and expect everything to be rainbows and butterflies." 

"that's what it was yesterday, wasn't it? rainbows and butterflies." i seethed; his words hurt. he knew that, yet he seemed unapologetic as his glare only intensified. "look, i know i messed it all up damon. but you have to believe that i didn't mean for that to happen, i would never want to hurt you in that way." 

he sighed, running a hand through his hair, frustration evident in his features. he wanted to say something so badly yet he didn't seem to have the words for it. he dropped the glass of bourbon onto the coffee table, the clink echoing in the tense silence. "you should've thought about that before you left.." i opened my mouth to say something, but damon beat me to it "you think it didn't hurt stefan when you left us? you think it didn't hurt me?" his words hung heavy in the air, the vulnerability beneath his bravado shining through. 

"i thought i was protecting you both... i wasn't in my right mind when i was with you two, i was fucked up. i could feel the way i was dragging you both down with me and i thought i was doing everyone a favor by distancing myself. i... i realized i was wrong all along." i paused, "i really fucking missed you damon." a quiet plea, a silent confession. damon's expression softened, a flicker of something unrecognizable flashing in his eyes before our moment was cut off by the sound of stefans erratic heartbeat upstairs. with a simple glance, we both sped towards the room. stefan was turned away from the door, clutching a pillow like a lifeline. the muffled whimpers escaping his lips pierced through the growing tension in the room.. was damon tense? most definetly not, i was the tensest out of the both of us. 

memories rushed back suddely- he'd had nightmares like this when we were kids, but i thought they had faded with time, yet clearly, i was wrong. without a second thought, i pushed damon aside, urgency propelling me to stefan's side. "stefan?" i whispered, my tone soft and my touch gentle, "it's okay. im here- we're right here." i corrected myself, another whimper broke free from his lips, and i felt a pang of helplessness. i ran my fingers through his hair, feeling the dampness of sweat beneath my touch, while the other cradled his cheek. 

damon watched intently, his gaze softening ever so slightly as he took in the scene. there was a tenderness in his eyes contrasted sharply with the earlier anger. i could sense he was grappling with the conversation we just had, his heart torn between frustration and concern for his brother. 

stefan's body trembled under my hands, and instinctively i shuffled closer to his side, holdi'g his face firmly with my hands. "is he okay?" damon's voice broke through the erratic breathing, "its just a nightmare, he's okay. you're okay" i whispered the last part at stefan, and suddenly he jolted awake, sitting up with a gasp. his forehead was glistening with sweat and his eyes were frantic as they searched the room, for what, im not sure. 

"stefan, hey.." i brought his gaze back towards me, "it's just me, its el." i soothed, "see? damon's here too. you're present" i brought his attention over to damon for a second before his eyes were back on me again. "breathe." i eased my hand to his chest, walking him through deep breathing. 

the bed beside stefan shifted as damon sat down on his other side, "we've got you, brother." damon placed a heavy hand on stefan's shoulder as his breathing began to steady. "you were having a bad dream, stef" i mumbled, cradling his face softly,

"why didn't you tell me you had night terrors, stefan?" damon questioned from beside us. "it wasn't a big deal, i just didn't want you to have to worry about it." 

"well this seems like a big deal to me." damon retorted, his words softening slightly, "and i'm always going to worry about you. you're my little brother, stefan." he paused, taking a glance at me before looking back at stefan, determination suddenly flashing in his eyes "you and ellie are my only family now, and i will never stop worrying about you both. i care." you had a feeling that last part was sent at you. you could tell stefan knew as well because he glanced at you as well before speaking, "i care too. a lot." he replied; tears stung at my eyes as i swiftly wrapped my arms around them, bringing them into a bruising hug. 

damon placed a reassuring hand on stefans shoulder as we separated, his gaze holding mine for a second before my stomach growled and the mood suddenly turned light. laughter echoed in the room. "breakfast time," I replied simply before pulling them off the bed and out the door.

a message from the author.
this genuinely took an embarrassingly long amount of time to edit (the whole day.)