Yeah, but, at the same time, an ancient vampire hunter was awakened. I thought I had lost her ( Elena ) forever, anyway, and -- yeah. I do that. I'm the selfish brother. Damon. Wonderful to be trapped with you.
( Wes wasn't there. Those months were crazy. And they only got crazier. And he just couldn't do it anymore. )
Don't get me wrong, Stefan has done his fair share of Grr-Arg-ing. We've both had our good, our bad, our nonconsensual, dubious things - but, push comes to bite and it's me. I accept it. I even grew as a person. Really grew. Won over someone who hated me for years. Growth. And then, she wakes up. We save the day, Bonnie just - in a snap, realizes what has to be done ( Don't get him started on that deus ex machina. ) - and she's awake. And alive. And breathing. But, there is no street to dance in or rain to kiss in and -- everything I pushed and lived for --
( She was Elena. And being Elena, meant that everything wasn't happy ever after. He was still Damon. And maybe he fucked it up. Maybe they weren't meant to be. Human Elena belonged with - well, if not Stefan, Dean, eventually. And vampire Elena -- the one he planned his life with. )
You know we had it all planned out. She takes the cure, I take the cure from her.
It wasn't the same. That fantasy, that future. She woke up different. She had different ideas. And if I was honest with myself, before the coma -- I wanted it, I wanted it all and then after...
( He doesn't actually know. They didn't discuss the cure right away. Not for a few weeks because she had to adjust, she had friends, Jeremy came back. She learned about Matt. )
She was convinced I didn't want it and shouldn't need it. I shouldn't take the cure for her.
[He turns to shift to face him more, trying to see if he can thread this needle.]
I know that sometimes we do things for the people we love, so taking them out of the equation means that the question ultimately doesn't matter. But did you want the human life you actually planned? If it were Stefan making you that same offer, would you take it? Going back to being human brothers in a human life with human wants and problems?
[Because as much as the brothers bicker, he knows at the end of the day it's the two of them. Just like at the end of the day, Scarlett, Rhett and Melanie are a unit.]
This isn't about Stefan.( He's going to snatch the bottle back, now, because why does it always have to circle back to Stefan? It'll always be Stefan. This is about him and Elena. ) Stefan wasn't even a factor. Even when he was on one of his no-humanity benders, ( as everything is. ) and right before that, we were talking about a future. Seriously talking. I was all in. Ready. She took the cure and I was going to be right behind her. And then Kai ruined Alaric's wedding, killed an entire coven and put my girlfriend into a coma. Then, connected her to my best friend, Bonnie. So, as long as Bonnie lived - Elena would sleep. His genius revenge. The cure, Elena, it was always the light at the end of the tunnel.
[It always comes back to Stefan because that's how these relationships work when you're vampires. One day, Elena will be dead, but fraternal vampires are forever.
Wes relents some, before glancing back towards the door.]
And then when she woke up, things had changed.
[As things often do with the passage of time.]
That must have sucked. That something you were waiting on and hoping for didn't pan out as you had hoped.
( But, this is now about Elena and not about him. He doesn't want to think about that first week. The first month. The explosive argument. The needle behind his eye at all times, why is it on Elena to keep Damon a good person. )
Of course it sucked. I lost my humanity. Worked for the Devil himself, clawed back every inch of who I am, saved the town from the Devil's Rejects who really should've just gone into therapy. And then - She tried. At first. With everything. It was an adjustment. But, she was human. And she had human emotions. And human dreams. And human grief. It wasn't a never, but it wasn't a now.
[Wes drums his fingers against his leg, consider options, knowing that this is in some ways the confessional he signed up for when he became a bartender. But as much as he can listen, a therapist he is not.
But it doesn't feel like the story's done, so he sticks his foot in the door that Damon opened, intending to return to the topic of therapy in a minute.]
And now she's with someone else? I think I heard Stefan mention something about a Winchester?
Now. Not then. She didn't just turn around and marry a Winchester. She left. Transferred schools. Came back a brand new girl. Became a doctor. We had ( the town ) a peaceful few years not including residual Salvatore School, Mikaelson, and founding family BS, but for us - Mystic Falls grew up. And then Stefan came back for graduation, got stabbed, and Elena ran into her old ... ( a beat. ) family friend. Turned Winchester.
( In the definition that he used it, he was always a Winchester. Just follow. Another swig of the bottle before he sets it down on something between them.
Climbing up onto the one fridge, he inspects the ceiling, tries to see if he sees any cracks of light from the top, before jumping down and tracing the bottom with his eyes. (17 Investigation) )
[Wes watches him get up and walk away, trying to figure out if now is the right time to spring the question.]
Damon, have you ever considered -
[Before he can get to the point, though, Damon's attention is dragged to the something on the floor that gives away what lies in wait. Drag marks that pull towards him. He's found the location of the door! Now just figure out how to open it.]
( Success. As he -- inspects the space he's found. But not to leave his pseudo-therapist hanging... )
This is a door. ( And then. He drops his gaze down center, knowing the question that's coming. Maybe. But he needs to hear it. So he turns back. ) Considered what.
[Wes pauses, debating for a moment if he should push it off until they're out of here, or take advantage of Damon feeling open to conversation. He decides best to strike while the iron is hot.]
Have you ever considered therapy? I think you might really benefit from it.
[In the past, the question has been met with a scoff. Scarlett waves off that she's fine until she's disassociating and Rhett has his quiet confessionals with Melanie. He doesn't know how Melanie copes, but she's always been the most well-balanced among them.]
( He's heard whispers of it. Vampire therapists. Either humans, witches, or vampires who do just that. He had a friend that also compelled a therapist. That feels like a need for therapy altogether. Like its' own cry for help.
He turns back to the "doorway," letting the question and comment sink in. )
That how you survived being a Butler-O'Hara?
( Okay. What's in front of him by the drag marks. )
[He steps forward, starting to scan the door to see any kind of exit.]
I couldn't afford it until I was much older, but it's helpful. To talk to someone who's objective. One's that handle vampire stuff are hard to find, but I could give you a couple names. And worse comes to worse, there's always Cami O'Connell.
[Cami is not ideal, given how close she is to the Mikaelsons, but she spent a lot of her professional life building credibility in treating the supernatural community and holding up her end of the doctor-patient confidentiality promise.]
If she could handle Klaus, she can probably deal with your century and change of romantic baggage.
( His eyes narrow. Cami. He wasn't at graduation, he was hosting his murder party, but he's heard of her through the grapevine. Part of Klaus' redemption tour. Miss him with that, he doesn't do daughter drama.
Or, maybe that's just the bitterness of being Damon Salvatore. )
Imagine listening to Klaus' centuries and change of paranoid runaway delusion. I don't know if I could match it.
[But he leaves it there, moving up to the wall and poking around (14). Between the two of them, they keep nudging and poking until Wes' hand lands on one of the nearby bottles and hears a click-click-click as he pulls it forward.
The wall groans, before beginning to drag slowly to the side.]
( He's just being snarky. He's happy there's a way out, at least.
Hand on the wine rack wall, though, he purses his lips. )
For someone who basically gave me the cold shoulder by the car, you've were an awfully good listener. Before we go once more unto the breach, tell me, can I trust you or should I be walking with one eye open?
I don't want you dead, Damon. I just don't like what you did to my boyfriend.
[He's been a vampire long enough that he can separate the two.]
And you are important to people that I care about. So no, I'm not going to stab you in the back. Besides, I'm a bartender. Listening is kind of in the job description.
What I did to your boyfriend? What is this, Sweet Valley High?
( Also )
What did I do to your boyfriend?
( He's not Stefan caliber of counting his sins, but he knows what he's done generally. He knows what can't be traced back. He knows the randoms. And he knows the prominent kills. And unless Matt Donovan had some kind of secret gay tryst with a Seattle bartender, he's coming up empty. )
You killed him and turned him into a vampire against his will and then got Klaus to compel him into being a double agent for you. I know he didn't start on the right side of things, but that didn't make what you did okay.
[He takes a deep breath.]
All of the control he learned came from Klaus compelling him so once it was broken he had to start over from the beginning. And he's still dealing with all that came with it. So forgive me if I'm a little more sympathetic to his side of things right now.
[That being said.]
At the same time, you and Melanie have your thing, however ill-defined it may be right now, and I want her to be happy. But she's already dealt with a guy being unable to move on from someone else when she was human. If you plan to define this more, she deserves to have you let go of Elena first.
( So, this is a recent sin. His boyfriend? Damon wouldn't have called boyfriend, but he supposes everyone gets to be modern. Maybe killing him helped him. Like Caroline. He discovered his inner Lancelot.
Except, the Klaus part. That was dirty. They needed a trump card. He's not going to apologize for that part. Killing him was rash. He'll give him that.
Also, Damon didn't ask for any of the extra commentary. He actually doesn't care what Wes thinks. He listens. He "owes" him.
Sad he doesn't remember the guy's name, though. "Sad."
And he says Damon's the one who needs therapy. )
Yeah, I - wouldn't have called that. Sorry for uh - taking away his choice. Having him compelled. Making him a double agent. Couldn't have been... easy. Safe. Really, him.
( He makes a face, mouth going slack. Very "my bad." )
I know. Still just - processing. He didn't really scream boyfriendly.
( He completely remembers this conversation a few hours ago and joking about resentment with Melanie. He actually gives this guy a hand for listening to him go on and on. Maybe he is... selfish. )
Anyway. We get out of this, round everybody up, I'll personally call your main squeeze and apologize until the cows come home. I'll even put on my sincere face.
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everyonelives2025-03-12 08:39 pm
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( Wes wasn't there. Those months were crazy. And they only got crazier. And he just couldn't do it anymore. )
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I'm not saying what you went through wasn't hard. I'm sure it was.
[A pauses as he edges around the point.]
It just seems like you fall back on that a lot. Calling yourself "selfish" or the "bad" to avoid actually dealing with anything.
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( She was Elena. And being Elena, meant that everything wasn't happy ever after. He was still Damon. And maybe he fucked it up. Maybe they weren't meant to be. Human Elena belonged with - well, if not Stefan, Dean, eventually. And vampire Elena -- the one he planned his life with. )
You know we had it all planned out. She takes the cure, I take the cure from her.
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Things didn't work out?
[It's more of a prompt to keep him talking than anything else. To see if he can maybe reach the conclusion on his own.]
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( He doesn't actually know. They didn't discuss the cure right away. Not for a few weeks because she had to adjust, she had friends, Jeremy came back. She learned about Matt. )
She was convinced I didn't want it and shouldn't need it. I shouldn't take the cure for her.
no subject
[He turns to shift to face him more, trying to see if he can thread this needle.]
I know that sometimes we do things for the people we love, so taking them out of the equation means that the question ultimately doesn't matter. But did you want the human life you actually planned? If it were Stefan making you that same offer, would you take it? Going back to being human brothers in a human life with human wants and problems?
[Because as much as the brothers bicker, he knows at the end of the day it's the two of them. Just like at the end of the day, Scarlett, Rhett and Melanie are a unit.]
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Wes relents some, before glancing back towards the door.]
And then when she woke up, things had changed.
[As things often do with the passage of time.]
That must have sucked. That something you were waiting on and hoping for didn't pan out as you had hoped.
no subject
( But, this is now about Elena and not about him. He doesn't want to think about that first week. The first month. The explosive argument. The needle behind his eye at all times, why is it on Elena to keep Damon a good person. )
Of course it sucked. I lost my humanity. Worked for the Devil himself, clawed back every inch of who I am, saved the town from the Devil's Rejects who really should've just gone into therapy. And then - She tried. At first. With everything. It was an adjustment. But, she was human. And she had human emotions. And human dreams. And human grief. It wasn't a never, but it wasn't a now.
no subject
But it doesn't feel like the story's done, so he sticks his foot in the door that Damon opened, intending to return to the topic of therapy in a minute.]
And now she's with someone else? I think I heard Stefan mention something about a Winchester?
no subject
( In the definition that he used it, he was always a Winchester. Just follow. Another swig of the bottle before he sets it down on something between them.
Climbing up onto the one fridge, he inspects the ceiling, tries to see if he sees any cracks of light from the top, before jumping down and tracing the bottom with his eyes. (17 Investigation) )
no subject
Damon, have you ever considered -
[Before he can get to the point, though, Damon's attention is dragged to the something on the floor that gives away what lies in wait. Drag marks that pull towards him. He's found the location of the door! Now just figure out how to open it.]
no subject
This is a door. ( And then. He drops his gaze down center, knowing the question that's coming. Maybe. But he needs to hear it. So he turns back. ) Considered what.
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Have you ever considered therapy? I think you might really benefit from it.
[In the past, the question has been met with a scoff. Scarlett waves off that she's fine until she's disassociating and Rhett has his quiet confessionals with Melanie. He doesn't know how Melanie copes, but she's always been the most well-balanced among them.]
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He turns back to the "doorway," letting the question and comment sink in. )
That how you survived being a Butler-O'Hara?
( Okay. What's in front of him by the drag marks. )
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[He steps forward, starting to scan the door to see any kind of exit.]
I couldn't afford it until I was much older, but it's helpful. To talk to someone who's objective. One's that handle vampire stuff are hard to find, but I could give you a couple names. And worse comes to worse, there's always Cami O'Connell.
[Cami is not ideal, given how close she is to the Mikaelsons, but she spent a lot of her professional life building credibility in treating the supernatural community and holding up her end of the doctor-patient confidentiality promise.]
If she could handle Klaus, she can probably deal with your century and change of romantic baggage.
no subject
Or, maybe that's just the bitterness of being Damon Salvatore. )
Imagine listening to Klaus' centuries and change of paranoid runaway delusion. I don't know if I could match it.
( 11 for Investigation )
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[But he leaves it there, moving up to the wall and poking around (14). Between the two of them, they keep nudging and poking until Wes' hand lands on one of the nearby bottles and hears a click-click-click as he pulls it forward.
The wall groans, before beginning to drag slowly to the side.]
Guess I found it?
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( He's just being snarky. He's happy there's a way out, at least.
Hand on the wine rack wall, though, he purses his lips. )
For someone who basically gave me the cold shoulder by the car, you've were an awfully good listener. Before we go once more unto the breach, tell me, can I trust you or should I be walking with one eye open?
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[He's been a vampire long enough that he can separate the two.]
And you are important to people that I care about. So no, I'm not going to stab you in the back. Besides, I'm a bartender. Listening is kind of in the job description.
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( Also )
What did I do to your boyfriend?
( He's not Stefan caliber of counting his sins, but he knows what he's done generally. He knows what can't be traced back. He knows the randoms. And he knows the prominent kills. And unless Matt Donovan had some kind of secret gay tryst with a Seattle bartender, he's coming up empty. )
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[He takes a deep breath.]
All of the control he learned came from Klaus compelling him so once it was broken he had to start over from the beginning. And he's still dealing with all that came with it. So forgive me if I'm a little more sympathetic to his side of things right now.
[That being said.]
At the same time, you and Melanie have your thing, however ill-defined it may be right now, and I want her to be happy. But she's already dealt with a guy being unable to move on from someone else when she was human. If you plan to define this more, she deserves to have you let go of Elena first.
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Except, the Klaus part. That was dirty. They needed a trump card. He's not going to apologize for that part. Killing him was rash. He'll give him that.
Also, Damon didn't ask for any of the extra commentary. He actually doesn't care what Wes thinks. He listens. He "owes" him.
Sad he doesn't remember the guy's name, though. "Sad."
And he says Damon's the one who needs therapy. )
Yeah, I - wouldn't have called that. Sorry for uh - taking away his choice. Having him compelled. Making him a double agent. Couldn't have been... easy. Safe. Really, him.
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[He tries not to sound frustrated by the fact that he can't remember a conversation they had a few hours ago.]
And I'm not the one you need to apologize to.
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I know. Still just - processing. He didn't really scream boyfriendly.
( He completely remembers this conversation a few hours ago and joking about resentment with Melanie. He actually gives this guy a hand for listening to him go on and on. Maybe he is... selfish. )
Anyway. We get out of this, round everybody up, I'll personally call your main squeeze and apologize until the cows come home. I'll even put on my sincere face.
(no subject)