A/N: Spoilers for season four, episode three, 'The Rager.' So, I swear I wrote this right after I watched the episode and I just never got around to typing it up. Anyway, that's why some of it may seem weird and where-have-you-been-all-season-girl. It's because I wrote it a while ago and wanted to stick to that. Anyway, thanks for reading and leave me some feedback.
"He was talking to Jeremy, Damon!" Elena's voice was thick with emotion as she paced before the older vampire. She'd gone to him the second the school day had ended. He stood waiting behind the school. They'd waited until almost everyone was gone from the lot in the back of the school. She meant to ask him why his shirt was bloody—she could smell it all over him—but her current problems commanded all of her attention.
"I'm working on it, Elena." Damon said dangerously, speaking of the troublesome hunter currently in their midst. But so far he was proving slipperier than expected. Damon was going to make sure that douchebag never got close to Elena.
She was still fuming, still ranting, still sweeping back and forth on the concrete in front of him. "I'll kill him!" She raved, her fangs making an appearance.
Damon glanced around. He didn't see anyone, but school hadn't ended all that long ago. "Calm down, Elena. Do you really think fanging out at the school—the very place you last saw the hunter—is the best idea right now?"
But she wasn't listening. "And do you have any idea what Rebekah did to me today?" She growled. She wanted to kill them both, her and the hunter. Maybe she could have the hunter kill Rebekah, and then Elena could deal with the hunter. Better, maybe she could get Rebekah to kill him, and Elena could have the pleasure of killing that pretentious blonde all to herself. She grinned, which was more of a bearing of her fangs.
"Elena!" Damon snapped. "Calm down."
Elena took a deep breath, about to yell back, when a sense of calmness descended upon her. It started in her stomach, soothing the hungry, worried knots until it traveled up to her head, cooling her flushed face. Her fangs disappeared. "What did you do to me?" She demanded, trying to be angry, but failing. "Are you compelling me?"
"Sort of—I've never tried it before, but my blood did—" he stopped as her eyes widened with the realization.
"A sire bond?" She asked incredulously.
"More like a connection…with minor benefits."
"Minor?" Elena gasped, her mouth open.
"If you fought it at all, you'd see it's not very strong." Damon explained.
Elena resisted her artificial calm and relaxed when some of her previous uneasiness leaked back into her stomach. "You're right. It's like a suggestion that I want to follow, not a compulsion." Elena held onto it for a little while, knowing she could probably use the level headedness that came with it. "What are we going to do about the hunter?" She asked calmly, rationally.
"We are not going to do anything, Elena. He hasn't figured out you're a vampire yet. I'm going to keep it that way."
"But two against one—" Elena started to argue.
He cut her off with a 'sshh.' He looked behind her and saw nothing, but knew the hunter was watching from somewhere. Perhaps he'd returned to his little trailer and saw the mess Damon had made.
Damon pulled something from his pocket, making sure Elena stood between him and where he believed the hunter was hiding among the trees.
"What's that?" Elena asked, curious. Then she saw what it was and her voice rose. "Why do you have vervain?" She choked out.
It sizzled as Damon crumbled it in his fingers, searing his skin. His face changed at the pain. "I always carry an emergency stash." He explained, but it wasn't an answer that satisfied Elena.
"Why-?" She was shocked into silence by his next actions. He rubbed the mixture of crushed leaves all over his mouth, making sure to coat his teeth, his fangs. His gums began to bleed. "Oh my god, Damon!" She exclaimed, scooting closer to him.
"No matter what happens, don't lose control," he whispered. Elena didn't have time to answer before he sank his fangs deep into her neck. She cried out, her hands flying to his hair to try and pull him off.
But those actions soon stopped and she began to press him closer. The vervain burned as his thoroughly coated fangs pierced deeper and deeper. But with each pull of his mouth she felt like he was sucking pleasure through her entire body, pulling it up and out of her like a ripple that ended with her cries. She moaned, throwing her body closer to his, desperate for more pleasurepain. "Damon!" She exclaimed and her eyes opened as he continued to suck. If it weren't for the pain, she wouldn't be able to think for the pleasure. As it was she could hardly think.
Damon felt the same. The bite had been amazing—he hadn't needed to hold back because she was a vampire. And her blood was heavenly. He couldn't say what felt better—her body, thrashing against his, not fighting, or her blood, pumping out of her throat, just for him. The blood was laced with vervain, becoming tainted as it passed through his mouth. It burned as it went down his throat, but he didn't know if he'd have the will to even stop.
"Damon!" He heard her cry out again, only this time it was a warning. He moved to the side just as an arrow sliced through his chest. He pushed Elena away, not wanting her to get hurt. She fell to the ground, her mouth parted and her hand covering her wounded neck. Perfect, Damon thought.
Damon took off, speeding into the woods.
The hunter took off after him, his bow in his hand.
Connor came back to her a few minutes later, after he'd lost Damon. He found her in the same spot, still panting. He kneeled beside her. When he tried to move her hand she flinched away, but slowly lowered it after a moment. Connor barely brushed it with his fingertips. The bite was bad, but she'd live.
Elena was still panting when the hunter came back. She was trying to figure out what had just happened and trying desperately not to let the bloodlust change over her face. When he reached for her neck, she had a brief moment of panic, but then she realized that the wound hadn't healed yet because of the vervain. Her neck wouldn't show any sign of advanced healing. Not yet, anyway. She moved her hand, starting to understand Damon's plan.
Damon had doubled back, of course, and watched from a safe distance to make sure he didn't hurt Elena. He gave a smile as he saw how smoothly this was going. He licked a splatter of Elena's blood from the corner of his mouth. It had quite the kick when mixed with vervain.
"You're Elena, right? Jeremy's sister?" Connor asked her, somewhat gently. But she'd seen this man shoot Tyler and knew it was he who had stabbed April. This was an act, nothing but a lie.
She scrambled to her feet before he could offer her a hand. "He-he bit me," she said, playing confused and ditzy.
He bought it, hook, line, and sinker. "Does he bite you a lot, Elena?" Connor asked.
Elena screwed up her face. "I-I'm not sure."
"He's got you pretty confused," Connor said. "You should stay away from him."
Elena nodded absently, trying to keep her face a mask of confusion and blankness.
"Can I ask you something?" Connor said, but didn't wait for her to answer. He asked it despite what her response would have been. "What do you see?" He held out his arm.
Elena tensed, thinking he might touch her, but he only held out his arm. "Your arm?" She asked, not faking the confusion this time.
"What's on it?" He clarified.
"Skin?" Elena quipped with the perfect dumb high school girl answer. She honestly didn't know what he'd been getting at.
He seemed to sigh a little. "So you aren't like Jeremy." He said softly to himself as he turned away.
Elena pretended not to hear, but her desire to rip his throat out at that moment was incredible. "How do you know my brother?" Elena asked.
"What?" Connor turned back around swiftly, suspicion in his eyes.
How could I be so stupid? "Before you asked if I was Jeremy's sister. I was just wondering how you knew him."
Connor smiled easily. "Jeremy's a special kid. I hope to get to know him better."
Elena's control almost slipped. It was hard for her not to take that as a threat. She kept it together by leaning on Damon's borrowed calm. She forced herself to smile. "Yeah, he is."
"Do you know where I might find Damon?" Connor asked, ready to get back on the hunt.
"You could try the grill." Elena answered and named a place she knew he'd already seen Damon.
He nodded and said thanks before leaving.
Elena sighed with relief when he was out of sight and turned to go home herself.
Damon was beside her in an instant. Elena narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you like my plan?" He grinned. She walked silently and he followed beside her. "It's pretty brilliant, really. Now, he'll never suspect you, you being a young, naïve vampire plaything. All we have to do is keep a bandage on your neck for the next few weeks. Easy and fun." He wiggled his eyebrows and plucked at a hole in his shirt.
"For you maybe," Elena griped and fingered her gory neck. It hadn't healed yet—the vervain really was a good idea—so blood was still slowly trickling down from the wound.
Damon stopped her and looked at her neck with concern. "We should get you cleaned up." He ripped off an unsullied strip of cloth from his shirt and was about to dab at her neck when he hesitated. "All that blood, going to waste…" His blue eyes darkened as they stayed transfixed on her neck.
Elena nodded, giving a silent answer to his unvoiced plea. He leaned in and she gasped when she felt his warm, soft tongue gently lap at her neck. She unsteadily sucked in air and one hand drifted to the back of his neck to hold onto him. She let her eyes close in pleasure at the feel of him exploring the crevices of her neck—not just the wound—to get all the blood, she was sure. The gash began to heal as Damon licked away all traces of vervain. She wondered if his tongue was burning.
He continued to lick her delicious neck until long after the wound had closed and not a drop of blood remained. Even more delicious was the fact that she was letting him. He sucked at tender, newly healed flesh and she moaned, leaning into him, her fingers grasping his hair. Damon continued his gentle assault on her neck for as long as he could, knowing he'd never be in the same situation again.