why is it you always get to sit in the shade

[blackstarred]

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[somanyadjectives]

[Stefan smiles at her.]

It means they have a healthy respect for your work.

["And a lot of reasons why we'd prefer not to become a part of it," Scarlett teases, but as she does, the door opens across the room.

Looking a little rain soaked, Melanie Hamilton steps out of the weather, hair slicked back from her face and her jacket covered in rain. She shakes out the tails as she scans the room, looking for her companions, and her eyes fall on Damon first.

A smile curls across her features, and she slowly starts to make her way closer, not drawing too much attention to herself just yet.]

[unforgivably]

( "Scarlett O'Hara respects me, I don't know how I feel about that. ...I'm just going to go with honored." And she'll leave it at that.

With Buffy and the O'Hara's making nice, Damon's gaze wanders the long, crowded bar and falls on an old friend. One he thought was out of town. Melanie doesn't need to draw attention, she commands it. Her smile has waned as the years piled on, an eternal optimism now a comfortable realism that Damon also respects.

Downing his drink, he excuses himself and moves around the table meeting Melanie halfway. )

Melanie Hamilton.

[indurare]

Damon Salvatore.

[She smiles as she stops in front of him. It always is a pleasure to see him, even if their lives have only gotten more complicated as time went on.]

It's been too long.

[unforgivably]

( Never less, always more. Though his life is as uncomplicated as it's been since his tumultuous breakup with Elena and recovery from that. )

Always. How ( have the last few decades been? ) was London?

[indurare]

Oh, the usual. Very damp, very proper.

[She loves her family, but they always seem to want to be rid of her sooner rather than later.]

Nothing too interesting. What brings you to Scotland?

[unforgivably]

My brother. His girlfriend. The wedding they both swear they don't want. ( He talks out of the side of his mouth, the kind he always does when his wry sarcasm kicks in. With his closest, his guard does come down a minute later. Like so. ) And, my name ended up on a universal hunter's hit list. There's nothing like fallout to send you literally to the Scottish hills.

[indurare]

[Her brow furrows at that last part, concern coloring her features. While there is time and distance between when they've seen each other last, Damon is still important to her. He's always been important to her, in ways she has trouble articulating, and she doesn't want him to come to any harm.]

Are you alright?

[unforgivably]

I'll survive Stefan's heart eyes.

( He knows what she means. )

I'm good. There was a minute there where I got up close and personal with a hunter duo's car trunk. But, here I am.

[indurare]

[Her hand coming up to brush against his cheek gently. She runs her thumb over his cheekbone, a brief bit of connection and a familiar gesture over their long friendship. It's almost as though to ensure for herself that he's actually there, or that he's in one piece.

Then her face melts into a warm smile.]

Well, I'm glad you're here in one piece. And we should have a drink.

[unforgivably]

( It is timeless, and it's like it's the early 1900's all over again, or the bloody 90's (literal, in Damon's case). It takes him to seven parallel instances, and reminds him he used to actually feel something, even if he could never work up his nerve for something deep or meaningful. There were moments. Twinges. Tries. But nothing until Elena. Not after Katherine. )

I have a drink. You need to catch up.

[indurare]

[She smirks, singling the bartender to get herself a glass of wine.]

Oh, don't you worry. I'll catch up soon enough.

[She eyes the other companions at their table, taking in the details.]

Stefan seems happy.

[Which is a rare occurrence in all the years she's known him.]

[unforgivably]

Might last.

( He feigns interest, burying the happiness he does feel that maybe his brother has finally grasped his own. (With no help from Damon, for the record. But also no interference.) He really should get points. )

He is. He's found it.

( Post Katherine, post Elena, post Valerie. Post. )

[indurare]

Good for him.

[She smirks.]

Only took him what? A couple centuries? Doesn't bode well for the rest of us, does it?

[Of all of them, Stefan was always the one who was running back towards humanity, as though it held the answers he was looking for.]

Though I suppose Scarlett and Rhett technically have it, they just occasionally like to forget they do.

[unforgivably]

And fight like they don't.

( Whatever. )

Stefan's happy. I let him be. How great of a big brother am I?

( Enough about their brotherly bond. He wants to talk about her family's happiness. )

I hear Wesley's in the Pacific Northwest. Seeking out Gemini holdouts?

( The longer they don't talk about Damon, the longer they don't have to. )

[indurare]

He's a mixologist now.

[She seems more pleased about it than Scarlett does.]

He's actually quite good at it. And he's enjoying the gloom of the northwest, God only knows why.

[unforgivably]

He's young. Gloom is more appealing in your first hundred years of being a vampire.

( Mixology... well, he could sling a good drink, always could. Mostly, he poured neat. But, he had to put his energy into something. And so, the Mystic Grill became his and Elena's former dream turned Damon's -- distraction. )

When did people stop calling themselves bartenders?

[indurare]

Oh, they still exist. It just depends on how high scale the place you're working is.

[And Wes likes the high scale establishments. At least for now.]

[unforgivably]

I seem to remember you calling the Mystic Grille... fond?

( Or, something equally Southern and maybe backhanded? )

[indurare]

I think the word I used was "quaint."

[And it's not entirely backhanded, but ... her friends are rich and bougie. They generally expect a certain caliber.]

Generally more of a bartender vibe, but I think Wes would work there anyway.

[But that might be more about fondness for the owner than the caliber of guests.]

[persistingly]

As if Wes would do anything we ask of him.

( Speaking of 'quaint', this moment was, but good old Rhett likes to interrupt. )

Or, anything we believe could be for his own good. He has had quite the rebellious streak.

( "Funny, I avoided the northwest during my rebellion," Damon says. "Mostly." )

[indurare]

He's in his seventies now. I think it's past rebellion.

[It's not as though he's a teenager, Rhett. It's be serious now.]

He's an adult. As much as I'm sure he appreciates your advice, he's going to make his own choices.

[persistingly]

And you trust and believe in them.

( While he and Scarlet judge from afar. Or, maybe he is the lone judge. (He is a king when it comes to judgment.) He is also set in his ways.

"I always get a kick out of vampires keeping up with the times. What's your most-used emoji?" Damon asks, hands clasped, fingers pointing. )

Nothing better or more timeless than a middle finger, Damon.

[indurare]

You're going to have to trust him sometime.

[As much as she knows what Rhett and Scarlett have been through when it comes to children, and what Wes has been through that time they almost lost him, Wes isn't a child and they can't continue to treat him as one.

And sometimes, she tired of playing the mediator between all three of them.]

Otherwise he will only stay away longer.

[unforgivably]

Staying away isn't always the wrong thing. But, look who's talking.

( Damon Salvatore. )

He probably misses you, even if it's deep deep down. And he always returns, right? Planes go both ways. Only took me over a year to join my brother over the rainbow.

[indurare]

I think he would love it if you visited him, honestly. So long as you called in advance, of course.

[Surprising Wes would likely lead to things they don't want to see.]

But Damon's right. He'll be back eventually. He just needs some space.