Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries do not belong to me. They belong to L.J Smith and the CW

GROUNDED

Damon sipped from his glass as he waited for Stefan to come home. He glanced at the clock one more time. It was past midnight, and Stefan was still not home. He chuckled lightly to himself as he did a little math on how long it had been since that mattered, since he had actually bothered what time Stefan came home. Alaric's words replayed in his head.

"You're late"

"I had to make sure Jeremy was in bed and Elena was safe before I left. And I had to drop Matt over at Tyler's. They need to work on some project together. This is Mystic Falls. Anything can happen. And I was not about to take any chances"

"This parenting thing suits you. You're such a worrywart"

"Caring about Elena and Jeremy and Matt does not make me a worrywart. It's my job. I'm their legal guardian. Something you should probably start learning"

"Me? Pfft. Stefan's a big boy. He can take care of himself"

"He's seventeen Damon. He needs rules and a firm hand'

"You know he's not really seventeen. And he's a vampire. He'll survive"

"Yeah? You going to tell me he's one sixty something and old enough to make his own choices? Damon, either you've been ignoring the fact that you need to take care of your little brother or you're very naïve. And I know you're not naïve. Caroline's a vampire too but Sheriff Forbes still makes rules and expects them to be followed. And Mason doesn't give Tyler so much leeway either. Even Elijah makes sure Kol and Rebekah follow rules, and they are older than Stefan in every way. Stefan is the only one in their little gang who doesn't have to answer to anybody. You know that they don't grow up or mature or anything. They are dead Damon. Almost every biological process in their bodies freezes. They are stuck as teenagers. Sullen teenagers with raging hormones and you think if you make excuses that Stefan's not really seventeen he'll suddenly grow up and become responsible? Do you even know where he is right now?" he paused to rummage through his bag and dropped a piece of paper in front of Damon. "That is Stefan's history paper. I was doing some grading while I waited for Elena and Jeremy to fall asleep. A B is not bad but for someone like Stefan who has practically lived through the history we do in class, it's a terrible grade. His facts were correct but the essay was written in a very haphazard and lazy manner and it is very similar to what Tyler Lockwood and Matt Donovan wrote - I intend to talk to Matt and Tyler about that. Now this assignment was supposed to be done over a period of three days, and looking at the seemingly rushed way it was written I'd say they waited until the very last minute to start writing. And that is not the behavior of a grown up mature person. It's time to view Stefan as he really is Damon; a teenager who desperately needs rules. You need to start being your brother's guardian Damon. You're all he's got" he ended, chugging down some whisky

Damon had not had the stomach for any alcohol after that so they had cut it short and he had come home. He called Stefan seven times without an answer and now he was waiting for him on the couch, his history paper beside him. He read the paper a fourth time before he heard Stefan's Porsche; the new modern one he bought him a few weeks ago, not the vintage one he couldn't seem to part from though it was also red. He smiled fondly when he remembered Stefan's reaction when he received the car. He had hugged Damon. Damon remembered vividly because it was the first time in a long time Stefan had instigated a hug. And after a little dance around the house he jumped into the car and went for a joyride. Damon wondered how he had missed all this. Those were typical teenage boy reactions to a new car. He had treated Stefan as a responsible and mature adult for so long he completely overlooked the small signs that showed his little brother was as mature as the next teenager.

He wiped the smile off his face and adopted a stern look as Stefan opened the door. It wouldn't do for Stefan to see him smile as he tried to reprimand him.

"Where have you been?"

Stefan's head jerked up from where he had been texting on his phone to look at Damon. He cocked his head to the side quizzically.

"What?"

"I asked where you've been Stefan. It's almost three am and you are just coming in. And I'm glad to see your phone's okay. Wanna tell me why you've been ignoring my calls?"

Stefan was so shocked by the authoritative way Damon was behaving towards him he just gaped at his brother as his mind tried to come up with an answer to his questions.

"While you think of an answer, I want you to take a look at your history assignment and explain to me why it is so shoddily written when you practically lived through it" Damon continued, handing Stefan his history paper.

Stefan winced at the red B plastered on the page. History was his favorite subject. It was the one subject that was constant whenever he had to restart high school and he always made an A.

Damon stood up from the couch and held out his hands. "Give me your phone and your car keys"

Stefan looked at him incredulously. "Why? What is wrong with your phone and your car?"

"Nothing. Hand them over"

"I'm not giving you my phone or car keys for no reason. What the hell is wrong with you? You're acting strange. And since when did you care about my school work? Did you piss off another witch?"

"Stefan, I'm not going to ask again. Phone and car keys. Now" Damon asked calmly, hands still held out. "And watch your language. No swearing"

Stefan shook his head and took a wary step back. He didn't want to admit but this Damon scared the crap out of him. He bore an uncanny resemblance to the Damon he knew as a human and during the first few years of their vampire lives. And that Damon was …

"W-what is going on Damon?"

"You're grounded" Damon answered simply. "Now give me your phone and car keys"

Stefan looked at him wide eyed. "Grounded? W-what? You can't ground me. I'm…"

"An adult? Right. That is why in your sane adult mind you decided to stay out into the early hours of morning when you have to go to school in just a few hours" Damon walked over to Stefan and took the phone out of his shocked hands. It was only when he put his hands into his pocket to dig out the keys to the Porsche that Stefan snapped out of it.

"Wait" he struggled. "Y-you can't. It's insane and... Why are you doing this? It never bothered you before. Ok, I get it. I won't stay out late anymore. But… Wait. Please. You can't take the car. How will I get to school?"

"I'll drive you. Or you get a lift from one of your friends" Damon said, succeeding in getting the keys. He turned to look at a surprised Stefan. "We're doing things differently now. I'm your guardian; legal or otherwise. I always will be till I'm dead and I don't see that happening anytime soon. I'm in charge so get used to it. No computer unless it's for school work and no iPods or anything electronic. I already have your laptop. And no more drinking in public. It's late. Get some sleep. You have school in a few hours" Damon said dismissively

Stefan still stood frozen in place. He couldn't believe what had just happened. In little more than five minutes his independence had been taken and he had been grounded by Damon. It was as if he as dreaming. He looked at Damon, wondering, hoping he was joking.

Damon raised his eyebrows at him. "You want me to restrict you to your room?" he asked ominously. Stefan shook his head and moved dazedly towards the stairs. "And Stefan," Damon's voice stopped him in his tracks. "No jumping out the window to meet your friends, and no more lying and disobedience. You know how that will be handled"

Stefan's eyes turned as large as saucers and he blurred quickly up to his room. He changed into some sweats and curled under the covers. This was no dream. It was really happening. Damon had grounded him. He was supposed to be the go-to guy (Caroline's term, not his) when the others had to go round their parents' or guardian's rules because Damon didn't care and now he was… Ugh, Caroline would have a field day with this news. And that not-so-subtle threat about lying and disobedience made Stefan shudder. He, Mr. Independent, Stefan Salvatore was grounded.

How was this even possible?