Don't Look At Me

Everyone is hurting, and that sucks. But I’m sick of seeing shit about how Alaric is responsible for Damon not making it back.

You know, Bonnie and Ric are a lot alike. They both go into a fray when they should maybe put themselves first from time to time. They’re both victims of circumstance. But that’s irrelevant here.

Alaric chuckled, shook his head. “Yeah, you’ve said that, but I call bullshit.” Sort of funny, the way they both kept saying the same thing. Maybe they just deserved each other. 

There was always a look on Damon’s face when he thought about the desert. Alaric knew the look well, now. He snagged an onion ring, dipping it in some odd tomato chutney, and stuffed it in his mouth. “Course, MREs come with those little bags of candy. Can’t top that.”

"Yeah," Damon said, leaning his head against his hand and grinning a little sheepishly. "Yeah, I kind of figured you would." Which was good, he thought. He didn't know why he kept saying that shit. He guessed maybe he was trying to give Alaric every out he could, before he got in too far. But who the hell was he kidding? 

They were already in way too deep.

"Yeah, I promise. Good food, food quality sleep… I don’t envy you. I’m not so old that I can’t remember what this was like," he said, grinning. "But I’m serious - you can’t burn out. So, fine, study, don’t sleep - but this weekend, I will be your cruise director."

He let his hand find Damon’s cold cheek, angled it for a kiss.

"Summer," he said, as he pulled away, rubbing Damon’s hands warm. "In the summer, we’ll get a proper break - I’ll take a couple of weeks off, we’ll go somewhere where it really, really counts as summer. Drink stupid colored cocktails with fruit floating in them. Rest." He sat back against the seat again, drumming his fingers on the table. 

The waitress brought their food, anad Alaric thanked her, reaching for the hot sauce.

"Have I ever told you I don't deserve you?" Damon said, smiling into the chaste kiss and smiling that much wider when Alaric warmed his hands. He didn't know why he was so cold natured. He grew up in Virginia; they had winters there. It wasn't like he'd never been in snow before. It was just...after Afghanistan...

He mentally shook his head. He had enough on his plate without stirring that up. Thinking about the summer was easier, better. A summer with Alaric, someplace warm. Although he really couldn't imagine Alaric drinking stupid colored cocktails. It seemed so far away.

He knew better than to argue, which didn’t mean he didn’t want to. He supposed he’d done the same thing, back in his first year. “This weekend,” he said. “You’d better be prepared for some serious sitting around, relaxing, getting fed and… random handjobs at odd intervals.”

He grinned at a waitress. “Two cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings. Amphetamines, if you’ve got them? And a couple of cokes, someone needs all the caffeine he can get. Thanks, love.” 

Damon didn't bother trying to bite back a laugh. "Promise?" he said. Although, he might have to see what he could do about haggling up those handjobs to something a little more interactive. Assuming he was conscious, which he was kind of doubting. Normally, he would argue - it was just in his nature - but the thought of curling up on Alaric's couch or in his bed or, hell, on that rug in his floor with one of his big ass sweatshirts and some scotch, sounded like a vast improvement on his week so far.

He leaned closer into him when Alaric placed their orders Alaric was just so damn warm, and his hands were like heaters over Damon's own. God, it was like someone had taken a list of all the things Damon could ever ask for, and shoved them into a college history professor.

"My next question is - why are you asleep in the library?" the woman chuckled, sliding into the seat opposite.

"You’re underdressed," he said, not unkindly. Damon really needed to get the hang of this temperature. Not the desert. He gave a quick, reassuring squeeze, grateful he’d thought to leave the heat on in the loft.

"Yeah, well," Damon said, picking up his coffee after a waitress refilled it, "I'm officially a college kid. Underdressed is practically a way of life." He flashed Alaric a smile, and tried to keep it looking lively as he could. He really didn't mean for Alaric to worry about him. He wasn't even used to having people to worry about him.