â I love you is a good thing to say if you can mean it. â (You pick the verse)
this meme imma reblog soon â @thefunsalvatorebrotherÂ
Damon felt warmer than Alaric had imagined, sprawled across his body. Maybe that was stupid. Vampiresâ bodies operated pretty much like humansâ bodies did, after all. He was cool, but he wasnât cold. Alaric had shaken hands with people who seemed colder.
They were sticky. That was definitely inevitable.
Alaricâs hand moved over Damonâs back. Neat muscle and vertebrae that seemed so vulnerable beneath his fingertips. How many years had he imagined this, and told himself no? Bad idea, Ric. Canât fall for vampires. Donât fuck them. Donât want them, donât even be friends, and yet, despite their faults and their fights and every fucking other thing, Damon was the best friend Alaric had ever had. He turned his head enough to brush his lips over Damonâs temple.
âYouâve got two modes,â Damon grumbled, against Alaricâs chest.
Alaric snickered. âIâve heard that before.â He moved his arm, collecting Damon more securely against his body. âEating and hungry? Sleeping and⊠canât even remember that one. Might have been âsleeping and glaringâ, I donât know.â
Damonâs arm snaked over Alaricâs body. âTalking too much, and saying nothing,â he clarified, and Alaric nodded.
âI never know what to say.â His voice sounded rough. Damon was silent and still for so long that Alaric knew he could only be waiting. He took Damonâs hand, brought it to his lips, kissed his knuckles. âIâve wanted this for longer than I know how to admit.â
Damon shrugged, but Alaric knew him too well to mistake it for genuine nonchalance. He swallowed, and stared at the ceiling, gentle water stains, Liz Forbesâs profile, if he let himself be an imaginative sap; just a wriggling line, otherwise.
âI donât wanna be that guy.â
Damonâs leg snaked between Alaricâs knees. âI hate to break it to you, but if there is a clichĂ© that you actually fit, I havenât heard of it. What? History nerd-boxer? Vampire-slaying single dad? Please. Maybe thereâs a whole Goonies Growed Up stereotype I missed.â
Alaric laughed, this time: a rich, honest laugh, and turned his head again, until he could see Damonâs face. The laugh became a smile: a rich, honest smile.
âI didnât mean that. I just⊠It feels wrong to say something profound after⊠I mean. Isnât that what gets people into trouble? If I tell you I love you now, while weâre here, all hormones and⊠splatter. Is that⊠is that the wrong time? Wrong thing to say?â
Damon failed to remain deadpan. But he looked contemplative, and he was Damon.
ââI love youâ is a good thing to say, if you can mean it,â he said.
Alaric leaned in, and kissed him, warm and thorough.
âI love you,â he said. âAnd I mean it. I donât know whatâŠâ
He fell silent as Damon pinched his lips closed.
âThatâll do,â Damon said. âTime to be quiet. Enjoy the moment.â He settled in to sleep, though theyâd regret not taking a quick shower when they woke up in a few hours. Alaric pulled the blanket up.
Moments before he drifted off, Alaric heard it. Quiet enough so he knew he probably wasnât supposed to.
âI love you, too. I love you. I love you, goodnight. Shut up. Youâre not that guy.â