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A Fine Line	By : Neverwood Category: S through Z > Vampire Diaries Views: 11830 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, if I did there would have definitely been some vampcest. I don't make money from this, I just write what my perverted muse tells me to.

Chapter List
- 1-A Fine Line
- 1
Stefan sat in his car in the driveway to the Salvatore boarding house. The sun was setting and pretty soon even the ring Stefan had stuck in his right pocket wouldn't be able to protect him. He didn't know why he kept pushing Damon. He knew what would happen. Actually, that probably was why. Because as much fun as pissing Damon off was, it was nothing compared to the aftermath. Stefan stared as the sun dipped below the horizon, and gulped as its dying light faded away. He knew Damon was in the boarding house. He had heard him earlier, muttering about Stefan. Talking about what he would do to Stefan when he got back. He didn't know if Damon had meant for him to hear it, but he had. And it made him equal parts nervous and excited.
As the minutes ticked by, confusion came over Stefan. His brother had been waiting for revenge for hours. Damon was a lot of things, but patient wasn't one of them. The more time that passed without him being hauled out of the car by two angry hands and a snarling face, the more nervous Stefan became. Whatever was going to happen was going to be bigger than normal. He wondered if stealing Damon's daylight ring had been over the line. Especially considering all the little things he'd been doing lately. Putting toothpaste in Damon's shampoo. Putting shampoo in Damon's toothpaste. The classic itching powder in the underwear prank. Then the laxative brownies. Then changing his ringtone to Taylor Swift. Each harmless...mostly, and after each one Damon had gotten his sweet revenge. But the daylight ring...that might actually put Damon in danger. Not that Stefan had left anything to chance. He'd literally been just outside the house all day, listening for Damon and any trouble he might be in. But other than a couple of times when Damon got clumsy and stepped into sunlight, which Stefan discovered by the sizzle and hiss, there hadn't really been any negative effects. Now that he was really thinking about it, though, he doubted Damon would see it that way. Like a harmless prank. Oh, yes, Stefan was very nervous.

   Deciding to face the ominous music sooner rather than later, Stefan got out of the car and went inside the house. The house was quiet. Too quiet. Perhaps Damon had left, Stefan thought, but that didn't make sense. He had heard Damon savoring his plans of revenge. There's no way he would-

   "Oomph!" Stefan yelled as he flew across the room. His body falling broke a table and a couple of china pieces. He laid sprawled on the floor, half-reclining on the wreckage. His brother was standing in the moonlight being let in by a window, and Stefan couldn't remember the last time he had seen him so angry. His vampire features had come out fully, and although Stefan was afraid, he also felt a frisson of heat travel down his spine. He knew Damon would be able to tell. Damon could always tell. He was practically telepathic.

   "Oh, little brother." Damon said. Although the words had been said before in an intimate whisper, now they were a harsh warning. The two sides of his unpredictable brother. Who was looking at Stefan like he didn't know whether to kiss him or kill him. He hoped it would be the former, but with Damon you never knew.

   "Damon, I-" Speaking was a mistake, Stefan realized immediately. Because about a half a second later, his throat was being held tightly in his brother's hand. Damon was holding his face a breath away. From this distance Stefan could now see the emotions roiling in his brother's eyes. Damon tightened his hold, and Stefan began to gasp for air. He put his hand on Damon's, but didn't bother to put real strength behind it. He would never win against Damon, and they both knew it. In a battle of wits Stefan had the advantage, but he had no hopes in a contest of brute strength. Black began to seep into his vision, and Stefan wondered if Damon was going to let go. Damon kissed Stefan on the forehead, and whispered in his ear,

   "Sleep, Stefan. You're going to need it."

   Kiss and kill. That was new. Stefan barely had time to formulate the thought before he fell into darkness.

*******
Stefan awoke in stages. Passing out from lack of oxygen rather than falling asleep made it more difficult for him to become fully aware of his situation. Slowly things began to formulate in his mind. He noticed first that he was in one of the rooms below the boarding house, which he and Damon had transformed into a dungeon. He realized he was cold, and slowly felt that he was naked. He also realized that his arms were aching because he was suspended upright. Cuffs at his wrists and ankles kept him in place, while the height of the chains connecting him to the ceiling were just high enough where he couldn't flatten his feet to the ground. Instead he had to ease the pressure on his arms and shoulders by standing on the balls of his feet. Also, he couldn't see much in the darkness around him. The only light source was the small ceiling lamp directly above him, a spotlight illuminating his vulnerability while deliberately keeping his eyes from adjusting enough to see what was around him. He was essentially spread eagle, suspended from the ceiling with no hope of escape. He groaned a little as the more he woke up the more his arms hurt. How long had he been strung up? And where was Damon? As if on cue, a throat cleared behind him. Stefan tried to turn his head around far enough to see, but his position didn't allow much movement. He could hardly see past his straining biceps.

   "Thank you so much for gracing us with your attention." Damon muttered darkly. Stefan groaned again. To the untrained ear Damon would sound cordial, if a little cold. Maybe a little sarcastic. But Stefan knew better. Damon Salvatore was pissed. Choking Stefan hadn't alleviated any of his fury as Stefan had hoped it might. The only difference Stefan could percieve was that he was less frenzied, more in control. That wasn't necessarily a good thing.

   "You know," Damon said, interrupting Stefan's musings, "I spent all day perfecting my plan for you. One of the things I thought most about was whether to display my tools in front of you. All of them, not just the ones I would use. To make you wonder, to make you...nervous." Damon had been a few feet away, but that last word was whispered into Stefan's ear. "But then I changed my mind." Damon said, his breath on Stefan's ear and neck, warmth against cold. "You see, I have given you a great deal of new experiences since our last reconciliation. Even ones that I bet you had never even dreamt of. So now, even if you can't see it, your mind will conjure images of what I may have in store for you. Who knows? Maybe it'll give you ideas for me to try on you in the future. For now, though..."

   Damon disppeared for a second before reappearing in front of Stefan. Stefan looked hungrily at him. The entire reason Stefan had started this one-sided pranking war was because Damon hadn't seemed interested lately. Stefan had rode it out at first, but he had begun to feel neglected. And, although he would never admit it, Stefan had begun to worry about his and Damon's relationship. Damon was, and always had been, a sexual being. But lately Damon had been distant, and seemingly completely uninterested in sex. Even the little retributions from Stefan's pranks hadn't been sexual.

   Stefan's attention went to the items Damon was waving in his face. A blindfold, a ball gag, and earplugs. "However, we have never fully experimented with sensory deprivation." This was said while Damon tied the blindfold around Stefan's head. "I've blindfolded you, gagged you, sometimes both." The blindfold was adjusted to guarantee Stefan could not see anything before the ball gag was placed in his mouth. He bit down obediently while Damon adjusted the straps for it. "But you were never completely unaware of what was going on." The straps secureded to Damon's satisfaction, Stefan now was bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Soon he wouldn't be able to hear either. He started to pant a little as he realized exactly what that meant.

   "You will have no idea what is coming." Damon said gleefully. "If I were going to hit your ass with my belt, you would have no warning. If I were going to deep throat you, you would have no idea until I did it. But enough talk. Now is the time for action."

   Stefan's world was silenced. He could see nothing, say nothing, and hear nothing. His nervousness, which had been soothed by his brother's voice despite the rage in it, came back tenfold. His only reassurance was the fact that he still had a safeword. As soon as Damon introduced him to ball gags, they had to find a way for Stefan to let Damon know if he went too far. So Damon came up with a smart but ridiculous idea. He put a squeaker in the ball gag. Every time Stefan bit down harshly and quickly, the ball gag would make a squeaking sound, much like a dog's chew toy. If Stefan did that three times in a row, Damon would stop everything he was doing. Stefan knew that no matter how mad Damon got, he would honor the safeword. Unfortunately, that was the only thing Stefan knew he wouldn't do.

   Stefan had no idea how much time had passed, but it seemed an awful long time to just be grabbing toys. Or tools, as Damon had called them, which worried Stefan. When the first touch came, Stefan jumped. It was Damon rubbing and pinching his nipples. He felt something on Damon's fingers, fluid but thick. A gel of some type, Stefan deduced. He began to get aroused by Damon's attentions to his nipples. The gel was creating an icy-hot feeling, which only added to Stefan's experience. He whined when Damon stopped touching him, but the whine was cut off by a small scream as Damon placed the first nipple clamp. Another small scream came directly after when Damon clamped Stefan's other nipple. The pleasure/pain of both the gel and the clamps made Stefan writhe in his bonds. He felt Damon rubbing his back, calming him. He did so, conditioned many times to associate certain touches with certain feelings.

   When he was calm enough, Damon went away again. Stefan wasn't sure what was going to be worse, the pain or the waiting. He knew there would be pain, probably more than he'd ever felt at Damon's hands. Stefan wondered why he had ever thought aggravating someone as devious as his brother was a good idea. His musings were cut short by a swift hit to his backside. Stefan yelled, more in surprise because the hit had been softer than Stefan would have expected. Damon spanked him again, and again, and again. The hits were increasing in speed and force. Stefan began to whimper, then cry out. When Damon started to use his vampire strength, Stefan began to cry. The spanking stopped, and Damon rubbed the heat into Stefan's butt. He sighed in relief that it was over. An eternity passed, though in reality it was only a minute before Damon returned. Stefan, whose tears had begun to subside as soon as Damon had stopped spanking him, renewed his crying as he felt Damon going at his cheeks again. He was using some king of instrument, but what it was Stefan couldn't guess. It had the size of a paddle, but the texture was off. He could tell there were two sides because every few hits Damon would flip it over. One side was softer, like fabric, and the other was rough, like sandpaper. Stefan cried harder as Damon continued. Finally, the hits stopped again. Damon didn't rub him this time, and Stefan was grateful. It would have added to the pain rather than soothed it. He prayed Damon was done with the spanking part. He began to hope as he felt Damon remove on of the ear plugs.

   "This next part is going to hurt. Bad." Stefan whined loudly, and Damon shushed him before continuing. "You're going to want to move away, but if you do you might hurt yourself, more than I intend to. You have. To stay. Still."

   Stefan nodded weakly. He wished Damon would leave the ear plug out, but of course Damon replaced it as soon as he was done speaking. Stefan tensed up as he was plunged back into the world of his mind, fearing an even greater pain that Damon was going to unleash on him. The first strike made Stefan scream. Damon had never used a cane on him before, but Stefan still recognized it immediately. Another strike. Another. Another. Stefan thought it couldn't get worse, but then Damon ran out of room and the hits began to cross over each other. Stefan had to use all the self-control Damon had taught him to not move. Damon had been right, he wanted to. Desperately. Every cell in his body was screaming at him to. But Damon was more important, and Damon had said to stay still.
   Eventually the strikes stopped. Stefan didn't dare hope for a reprieve this time. Even though no new pain was added, he still continued to sob. Damon removed the ear plugs, this time permanently.

   "That was the hardest part. For both of us." Stefan began to relax. "But I'm not done yet." Stefan whined into the gag, pleading as best he could for mercy. But it was too much to ask. He had gone too far. He could faintly hear Damon's bare feet walking a short distance away, then coming back. Damon surprised him by taking his cock, which had softened during the attack on his bottom, and sucked it back to hardness. Stefan moaned loudly, instantly going from idle to desperate. The pain he was still experiencing both from his butt and from his still-clamped nipples only drove him to greater heights. Damon barely got off of him in time to stop Stefan's release. Stefan whined again, louder, more insistently. Damon waited a few moments before smearing gel on Stefan's cock and balls. Stefan jerked into the movement of his brother's hands, so reminiscent of something erotic but so clinical in the moment. Damon slid a metal cockring onto Stefan, the gel making it easier to slip the small circle over his hardness. The gel was the same as the one on his nipples, because the same cooling/heating effect was begining to work on his cock and balls, and it seemed to Stefan that the feeling was just this side of pain. He heard Damon walk away again, and return. Damon stood behind Stefan, and Stefan was surprised when Damon unlocked his left ankle. He held it so that the leg was bent in half at the knee, with Stefan's foot being level with his thigh.

   "Don't thank me yet." Damon said darkly in response to Stefan's mumbled words. "You're going to want to move away again. Be still." Stefan's leg twitched away from Damon instinctively. Damon responded by dropping something and smacking Stefan on his burning ass. Stefan gave a small scream, but didn't otherwise react. He didn't think Damon would give him much time to go into a still state of mind. Sure enough, as soon as he had smacked Stefan, Damon bent over and grabbed whatever it was he had dropped. He rubbed it across the sole of Stefan's foot, and Stefan groaned as he realized what was about to happen. Damon was holding a a thin rod, like a smaller version of the cane but much thinner. Like the spanking before it, the hits with the stick started slower and further apart. It seemed to Stefan that it took much less time for Damon to pick up the speed, and in no time Stefan was yelling out as his foot was flicked with the stick over and over. If he hadn't been wearing a cockring, Stefan's cock would've been instantly soft. Stefan felt no relief when Damon locked his foot back in the cuff. The pressure of his weight made the lingering pain that much worse. He hopped from foot to foot, until Damon whacked his ass with the stick. Stefan howled as the pain from his ass, which had faded to a background sensation, flared to life again. He got the unspoken message, though, and he stopped moving. Be still, Stefan repeated to himself. Be still.

   Stefan had known that the other foot would receive the same treatment, but knowing ahead of time didn't make the reality any easier. Again, the flicks went from a soft sting to a biting pain in what seemed to Stefan to be seconds. He began to cry again as both the pain in his right foot began to increase while at the same time the consistent pressure of blood in his cock with no relief made that part of him begin to ache as well. His body was now radiating pain from his feet, genitals, nipples, arms, and ass. When Damon finally stopped hiting his foot and returned it to the floor, the intensified pain in his newly whipped foot made his knees buckle, which made his arms hurt even more, which made Stefan scream. He shakily came to his feet, and despite the intense agony he was able to remain standing. Damon rubbed his back, and Stefan felt the tension drain from his body. He was a little worried that without the stress he might pass out, but of course Damon would never allow that to happen. Damon came behind his little brother and wrapped his arms around him.

   "It's almost over." Damon said. Stefan sobbed pitifully as he realized his torment was not yet complete. "Remember, if it's too much, use the safeword. Do it for me now so I know you remember." Stefan wasn't sure he had the energy, but he had to follow Damon's orders. He bit down hard on the ball three times, though there was a good space in between each bite. Luckily, the ball almost never squeaked on accident. Stefan would have to deliberately cause the sound, which of course Damon would pay attention to. Damon walked away, and Stefan had to stop himself from crying out for him to stay. But of course Damon came back. Stefan heard a strange sound, a squelching noise. Damon gently parted Stefan's cheeks, but despite his care a strong burning sensation raced through Stefan's butt. He cried out, as this pain was sharper than if Damon had just touched him. Whatever was on his hands was burning Stefan's skin.

   "I know what you're thinking, and it's not vervain." Damon said. Stefan had been thinking that, and he was mystified yet again at Damon's ability to read his mind. "But it will sure as hell hurt." Damon's finger circled Stefan's hole, and Stefan was caught yet again on the sharp edge of both great pain and incredible pleasure. The finger eased inside Stefan's hole, quickly followed by a second and third. Stefan, though loosened by his brother's frequent attentions, was beginning to strain. Damon inserted a fourth finger, and Stefan's hole began to burn as it was stretched more than normal, the sensation more intense due to the strange, burning liquid. Stefan began to yell as he felt Damon slowly inserting his hand, a little too quickly. He wasn't giving Stefan enough time to adjust. Stefan briefly contemplated safewording, but he knew how badly that would affect Damon and resigned himself. It wasn't the worst thing he'd been through, even just this session, and he would definitely not end it when it could bring Damon out of whatever funk he had been in. Damon's hand was reaching the thickest part, and Stefan screamed into the gag as he felt as if he were being split apart. Damon's hand disappeared into Stefan's ass with a plop, and both brothers sighed with relief.

   "I'm still pissed at you." Damon said, so soft that Stefan wasn't sure if it was directed at him or if his brother was talking to himself. "But damn if I don't wish we had tried this for the first time under different cirumstances."

   The comment brought tears to Stefan's eyes. He hadn't meant to hurt Damon. He had only meant to bring them closer. But he had hurt Damon anyway. By defying him, by not trusting him. Stefan had gone against everything he and Damon stood for, and the thought brought tears to his eyes. He took Damon's hand deeper into his ass. When Damon's arm was buried to the elbow it seemed he had bottomed out. Damon took a deep breath in, and roughly yanked his arm out. Stefan yelped and groaned at the strange sensation of being abruptly voided, but it was quickly replaced with the feeling of cold plastic being shoved just as abruptly into him. Stefan knew which dildo this was. The menacing, black monster dildo. The one he had been too afraid to try out, even on his own. He had been afraid that he couldn't stretch enough. Of course, compared to Damon's arm, the thing was easy to take. Not that the fake cock was that much smaller, but Damon's fisting had loosened him up enough to take it. Tears came yet again to Stefan's eyes at Damon's tenderness in preparing him. Almost as if in retaltion, Damon chose that moment to smack Stefan on the ass again. His hand was still covered in that liquid, and Stefan screamed as the awful burning came back again, stronger this time. He barely registered that Damon had walked away again, but his attention recentered when Damon came back and grabbed his jaw, making sure that Stefan was focused on him.

   "There is one last thing, and then we're done." Damon said. Stefan was both relieved that his ordeal was almost over, and also nervous. Had Damon saved the worst for last?

   "This will not be the most painful thing I've put you through, but it will be the most exhausting. Regardless, you will have to endure it. Understood?"

   Stefan nodded weakly. He was already exhausted, but he would keep going through everything for Damon. Obviously satisfied with his answer, Damon walked till he was behind Stefan. Stefan tensed, hoping and praying that Damon would leave his ass alone.

   "Relax." Damon admonished. Stefan did his best, though he didn't completely succeed. Damon reached down, and revealed a fact that Stefan had somehow missed. The monster cock was a vibrator. Stefan moaned loudly, the stimulation almost overwhleming him. Damon began to trail his fingers over Stefan's body, down his back, up his spine, over and over again. Once Stefan had relaxed completely, Damon's hand went away and instead a sharp pain lanced across his back. Damon had often joked about whipping Stefan, but Stefan had never taken him seriously. It seemed to Stefan that that had been a grievous error in judgment. In all honesty, Stefan knew he should have known better. When it came to sex, there was nothing Damon wouldn't try at least once. The whip was only struck once before Damon once again began to caress him. Stefan groaned and begged Damon to stop from behind the gag. His brother was making Stefan's body fire on all cylinders. Multiple parts of his body were in pain, but his most errogenous areas were also giving him pleasure. The gel on his nipples and erection had dried, causing a teasing amount of friction as well as a maddening itching sensation. Stefan's body was a live wire, a mass of electric sensations. Damon would lull Stefan into relaxation with his soft caresses, and when Stefan had stopped expecting it Damon would deliver one single whip. Meanwhile, Stefan was almost on the verge of cumming just from the sensation overload. It seemed that every part of his body was sending a message to his brain, and even with vampire speed his brain could not keep up. Stefan could no longer think, he could only feel.

   After what seemed like an eternity Damon finally stopped caressing and whipping him. Stefan had no idea how long this last stage had lasted or how many times Damon had whipped him. Damon didn't turn off the vibrator, take it out, undo the clamps, or anything like that. He simply undid Stefan's restraints, and poor Stefan didn't have the strength to stand without them. His muscles, tense for so long, screamed in protest as Damon gently laid him on the ground. He removed Stefan's blindfold, then the ball gag. Stefan worked his jaw slightly as he stared at Damon. His brother was looking at him like a starving man would a feast. So much hunger, so much want, that even as exhausted as he was Stefan couldn't help a whole-body shiver. Damon grinned at him before assuming what Stefan called his Dom face. Very serious, very intense, but most of all, very Damon. He grabbed Stefan by the hair, and much to Stefan's surprise he still reacted to the relatively small pain that caused. Damon, who had only been wearing leather pants, had at some point undone them enough for his hard cock to stand proud and unencumbered by pesky clothes. Stefan's mouth watered instintively, and he was ridiculously happy at the prospect of having his brother's cock in his mouth.

   "Last thing. I swear." Damon said, and Stefan was surprised at the panting lust in his brother's voice. Before then he had sounded completely in control. Stefan guessed Damon had deliberately kept his voice that way as a further sign of his dominance over Stefan. He hadn't needed to. Stefan knew who he belonged to. Damon unexpectedly jerked forward, impatient as always. Stefan hummed happily as Damon's cock was shoved into his mouth. He opened up his throat like Damon had taught him to do and took his brother's entire length. Damon growled loudly, the sound increasing Stefan's own flaming lust. His brother was not gentle in any way, and Stefan didn't want him to be. Right then, Stefan wanted Damon to be as rough as possible. He relished Damon's punishing rhythym, and when Damon released Stefan swallowed it all happily. Damon stayed that way a while, leaning over Stefan's head and panting. Stefan began to whine as his body continued to operate at full capacity. Damon snapped into action, turning off the vibrator and removing it. Carefully removing the nipple clamps. Once the immediate concerns were taken care of, Damon carried a limp and very tired Stefan to their room. There he tended to Stefan, rinsing away the gels and liquids. He treated the wounds that still remained, which Stefan sleepily made a note to ask about. He needed to talk to Damon about a lot of things. Damon finished tending him and cleaned up himself. He waited till Damon came back to bed before he began. But Damon, seeing Stefan's intentions, placed his finger against Stefan's lips. "Sleep." Damon whispered. He leaned over his little brother and gave him the softest of kisses. Stefan moaned as the electricity that had laid dormant during Damon's aftercare came flooding back. Damon smiled, but returned to his position of big spoon behind Stefan. "We'll talk in the morning." Damon said sleepily. Stefan felt Damon's arms hold him securely, but not tightly, and felt his brother's foot rest against his own. He drew comfort from that small habit, and with his brother's comforting scent surrounding him, he drifted off to sleep.
.........

Stefan awoke the next morning feeling infinitely better. His body was only a little sore, and the tension he had been feeling due to the distance between Damon and him was gone. He panicked at first when he felt that Damon was no longer beside him, but relaxed as he heard his brother rummaging around in the kitchen. Stefan took a quick shower before going downstairs to face his brother. Damon continued cooking breakfast even though Stefan knew he had heard him coming. The familiar nervousness began to creep up on Stefan. Surely after last night Damon would forgive him. But Damon was nothing if not unpredictable. It was what made him so fun to be with, in bed and out. Stefan watched Damon silently, trying to assess what Damon was thinking. But as usual, Damon's mind was a place only Damon was familiar with. Athough Stefan knew him better than anyone, Damon's thoughts were still a mystery to him. Stefan waited patiently while Damon finished cooking. Damon made two plates and brought them over to the island counter Stefan was sitting at. Although he wanted nothing more than to talk to Damon, Stefan could tell his brother wasn't quite ready. So he ate, and was surprised yet again that Damon Salvatore, who had been banned from the kitchen in their childhood home, had somehow learned how to cook. Eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, gravy. All made to perfection. Stefan had planned on washing the dishes, but Damon beat him to it. That bothered Stefan too. Damon almost always had Stefan do the dishes. Not because he thought of Stefan as inferior or because he wanted to boss Stefan around. Damon just hated doing dishes, while Stefan had never minded. It was an unspoken agreement between them. Except Damon was doing the dishes.

   "Stop." It was the first thing Damon had said to him that morning, and its lack of warning made Stefan jump. He looked at Damon, confusion evident on his own face. "You look like you're being sent to your own execution. Whatever you're thinking, stop."

   Stefan's mind settled, but didn't calm. It still ran rampant with stress. About Damon. About their relationship. About the uncertain future. He heard Damon sigh before his big brother walked - or rather, strode - over to him and put his hand on the back of Stefan's head. "If you don't wipe that doomsday look off your face, I am going to grab you by the back of the neck and shake you like a ragdoll. Now, stop."

   Grabbing the back of the neck, another trigger Damon had taught him. Not a closed-fist grab, like the one their father had used on puppies. Damon's hands would almost go into the universal 'talking'shape, but with the top of Stefan's spine in between fingers and thumb. A little bit of pressure, and Stefan's entire being would go blank. He would no longer think, feel, or speak. For as long as Damon's hand held him, he would simply exist. Damon knew how special that was to Stefan, and had never used it as punishment. Even last night, Damon's hand had gone nowhere near that special spot. But Damon would use it if he felt that Stefan was spiralling into a negative thought pattern. Stefan had a habit of running away with his thoughts, and in cases where the thoughts were negative, it could lead to an overwhelming amount of stress. Stefan had indeed been in the beginning stages of that train of thought. But Damon's voice, Damon's face, even Damon's smell kept him from losing control. Damon was his shelter from the storm. Which was why Stefan was terrified of losing him.

   "Now," Damon said, seeing Stefan right himself, "I think it's time you and I revisited our 'honesty is the best policy' policy." Stefan nodded, but said nothing. Damon stared into his eyes, almost as if he were staring into Stefan's soul, before he continued. "We agreed to never lie to each other. But Stefan, this won't work unless we can talk to each other openly. You know that."

   Stefan hung his head. Yes, he did know that. He also knew what Damon wasn't saying: that when they had made the rule about honesty, although it was never spoken aloud, they were also agreeing to be able to talk to each other. Stefan knew, but he hadn't been able to talk to Damon. His feelings were too raw, too real. They made him vulnerable, more vulnerable even than a confession of love, of which he and Damon had shared many times. Still, Stefan hadn't felt like he could talk to Damon about what was on his mind. He needed to, though. And now, Damon was no longer giving him the choice.

   "I..." Stefan began, clearing his throat when his voice came out softer than he intended, "I...I was scared."

   "Of what, baby?" Damon said. It was the only true endearment Damon ever used, and he used it sparingly. To hear it, especially in such a soft, non-Damon tone of voice, gave Stefan hope. Maybe things weren't as dire as he had imagined.

   "We hadn't done anything new in a while. And you just...you didn't seem...I thought you didn't want me anymore."

   Damon's eyes blew open in shock before narrowing into icy blue slits. "Stefan Salvatore." Damon said, enunciating every syllable. Stefan felt a thrill go through him. "You know damn well that I have wanted you for a very long time. If I was going to get bored with you, don't you think it would hve happened by now?"

   "I know you, Damon." Stefan said. His newfound hope gave him the strength to voice his thoughts with confidence, and not a little bit of emotion. "When things get too easy, you get bored. You need the thrill of the chase. And I...well, I haven't made any secret of the fact that you've had me at your beck and call since we were human. I was afraid that, after all this time, you had decided to find something new and exciting...with someone else."

   Damon huffed, looking very annoyed with Stefan's logic, understandable as it was. "Listen. I don't do...this very well. You know that. I'm not a mushy guy. I'm more show than tell."

   "I know that, Damon, but lately you haven't been doing either."

   Damon's eyes narrowed again as he caught on to what Stefan was saying. "You think...I've been ignoring you?"

   Stefan blushed at his brother's incredulous tone. "Well, I mean...you never kiss, or want to talk, or-"

   "Because I've been busy, Stefan." Damon said. "Did it ever cross your mind that maybe I wasn't in a good head space? That I didn't want to take my stress out on you? That's what I want to do sometimes, Stefan. When someone is messing with me and driving me crazy, I want to use you as an outlet. A body to hurt and a hole to fill. I never, ever touch you when I'm like that because you deserve better than that. And lately, I've been in that mood a lot. So, yes, it probably did seem like I was ignoring you. But I was doing it for you, not to you. Get it?"

   Stefan nodded his head, and he couldn't help the light sheen of tears that came to his eyes. His brother had done everything out of love. Damon's heart belonged to him, and him alone. He'd forgotten that somehow. He'd let fear and doubt blind him to the truth. Just like Stefan belonged to Damon, Damon was his.

   "Guess a century and a half hasn't been enough practice for communication." Stefan said, giving a small breathy laugh.

   Damon grinned at him. "Good news, brother. We have eternity to figure it out."

   And the two brothers sealed that promise with a kiss.
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A Fine Line