Vampire Diaries Once bitten,

**Set just after the beginning of Shadows Souls slightly au, Bamon eventually. please review x**

Chapter One

The city usually buzzing with a polluted orangey light was dark, strangely dark by her apartment. The lights spreading out as far as the eye could see (and Damon's eyes could see pretty far) were like stars and the buildings stood out from the night as condensed smoke. He perched in crow form on the intricate slick black railing at the penthouse floor of the building opposite. Watching, waiting she came out in bare feet four-inch heels dangling from one hand. Her bare pale skin pimpling up in the midnight cold in a tight silk emerald cocktail dress, cutting halfway across her slim stocking thighs her hair ebony, was chin length and wavy, diamonds hanging in chandeliers glistened in her ears and around the column of her moony throat. In short, Damon thought she had not aged a day sweep the dress down to the street perm her hair and she would be exactly as he left her aged twenty-one. In between her crimson lips, she held the filter of a cigarette. She dragged it out and breathed out a ring within a ring of smoke. Let the ash fly in a gritty cloud over the edge and watched it fall. Her eyes flashed up for a moment met Damon's and he froze but they slid off him like butter. Then with a flick of the wrist, she tossed the cigarette butt to the terracotta patio and walked inside.

Damon took flight immediately and landed on another slanted rooftop dropping into human form as he did so in a graceful pounce. Standing his feet apart nothing but the witching hour above him, he breathed in slowly feeling the tender burn in his throat ever so slightly clenching his fists listening to the whispering from below black hair dripping down in a braid to her waist, large brown eyes, and mid-brown skin. A nineteen-year-old, an Emily, a Jane Austen enthusiast blah blah blah. He was no Mr. Darcy but even his idiot brother could seduce this girl… could have whatever. Nice, predictable, a sweet soul her blood sang with the constant hum of power in the air. Yet and yet, how easy would it be to swoop back toss himself over the railing and bend her over. The clash of green dress against the enormous lilac eyes compelling, fucking compelling.

He came back to the dingy hotel room the next dusk. Charmed his way around the bored blonde receptionist and strolled easily along the corridors. Meredith was on the prowl stalking along the dusty carpet dressed a little bit like a cat burglar. Black jeans, ballet flats and roll neck sweater her ponytail swishing. Bonnie was a glittering mass on red-gold hair on the white-grey pillow, illuminated by the remnants of sunset creeping through the hole where the cheap curtain rings had snapped letting the cheap material dangle. So tempting to reach over and touch it, entangle the mass in between his fingers. His eyes found Elena bent over her diary scribbling away she looked up as the door shut behind him for a moment frantic her eyes wide. She thinks I am Stefan, Damon thought. Just for a moment, she cannot help hoping.

"Where have you been?" Meredith snapped grinding to a halt.

Damon rocked back on his heels grinning his arms folded across his chest. "I've found her."

"Madame Brodsky?" Elena asked her voice louder than necessary.

"Better," He bared his teeth, a flash of blinding charm. "Her daughter,"

"But I thought you said she was the only one who could," Elena began standing up and flicking her hair over her shoulder,

Damon waved his hand dismissively through the air. "I said, I said I say things the entire time."

The covers rustled back and he was met with three glares. From Meredith's (scary) Elena's (agonized) and Bonnie's (angry kitten) He was not sure whether to laugh or stand up straight and explain himself.

"Ok, well maybe what I should have said is Madame Brodsky is the only one who will be able to locate her daughter who is fact the only one who can get us to the Dark Dimension. However, considering the factors: the likelihood of actually finding Colette, the likelihood of her telling me where her daughter is and the likelihood of said daughter helping us. I thought our chances were fairly slim, in fact" He finished hands on his hips tutting gently. "I was hoping you would have come up by plan B by now." All three girls immediately echoed the unfairness of this.

"You just let us come all the way to New York without even knowing if-"

He cut Meredith off in mid-flow with a blinding smile "I've found her now." He crooned, "Haven't I sweetheart."

Colour washed through Meredith's features until she looked like she might be about to explode.

Quiet and dark, but this time confirmation it was not in his imagination when Bonnie said, "It's so silent here,"

_Silent, _Damon thought good word Redbird. Of course, it was not literally but there was an certain stillness about the place. Bonnie shivered and looked to the sky. "There is something about…" She broke off and reached over to squeeze Meredith's hand. He turned to Elena wondering if she could feel it too, but she had no time for feelings she was steeling herself, gritting her teeth.

"Let's go."

The glass elevator took them smoothly he watched their reflections in the watery glass. He had never seen her look this way. The agonizing cry of desperation was more akin to Bonnie when they discovered that the gate in the deserts of Arizona was a dead-end, but it had come from Elena's mouth. Since then her eyes the lovely gold-flecked lapis lazuli eyes had taken on a half frantic, half glazed over look. The clothes she was wearing right now baggy jeans and crumpled sweater looked foreign on her and her hair scrapped back and standing up at on ends was hardly billowing gold. Jesus, Damon thought she needs my brother like oxygen. How could he forget that love could kill? A shiver ran down his spine. Best not to think about that _she_ would know if he was thinking about it. He had not really told them about Marianna and had been surprised about the lack of protest even though they were following him blind. He supposed Elena had something to do with that if they said go they went.

"Maybe I should warn you." He said as an afterthought the elevator stopped with a ding. "She has tried to kill me precisely eighteen times."

"I don't even know her name." Meredith said "But I'm starting to like her already."

Damon raised his fist and knocked three times. He took a step back "Ladies first?"


End file.

Vampire Diaries, Angst, Romance