come back...be here

[unforgivably]

Who: Damon Salvatore, You.
Where: Around town.
When: Saturday, May 13th.
What: After missing this call, Damon closes the shop for the day and unsuccessfully searches for his brother.
Warnings: None. Yet?

the delicate beginning rush ❦ lagomarcino's

[ The Saturday morning rush is in full force, Damon not stopping for pleasantries as he moves through the confectionary to the sandwiches in the back, eyeing the people taking in their innocent brunches. Fake memories fueled him coming here first. Any fight he and Stefan had ended here, sharing something sweet. They hashed out their business arrangement here. They hashed out their side business arrangement. Passing the counter, he peers toward the back.

He even ducks into the men's bathroom, stopping himself from calling Stefan's name.

As the door swings closed, he spots someone familiar, approaching them. ] Have you seen my brother today? ]

the feeling you can know so much ❦ between the pines

[ He ducks into Between the Pines, first to see if Stefan has sought solace from his 'wife,' and selfishly to see if he shared what he knew with her. Damon is achingly aware of the days as they pass. Elena's memory should return any day now, and maybe a part of him selfishly wants this, a reason to not confront his brother. Something to distract him until his brother is ready to talk to him, to discuss what he knows now.

However he knows. ] Stefan? [ He waits a beat before calling out. ] Elena?

[ Phone in his hand again, he finds Stefan's voicemail. As emotionless as he sounds, he thinks Stefan would take more glee in retelling a letter he wrote to Bonnie, maybe as his way of telling him he's caught up. But, Damon can't be sure. ]

without knowing anything at all ❦ wayward pines academy

[ He searches through his memories of living here, trying to think of somewhere else Stefan might be.

It's probably futile, but he tries the school.

The handle is broken easily as he lets himself in the side door. He finds himself stopping, looking at pictures of he and his brother in one of the glass cases. He checks Stefan's small office, sinking into his brother's chair. He tries him again, getting Stefan's voicemail. He sees if Emma, or any other teachers he knows are in the locked school he assumes they might have a key to. He half expects to come upon a Breakfast Club, but that would be the wrong decade wouldn't it?

Never one to shy away from an opportunity, he finds himself in the main office, specifically in one of the filing cabinets. They won't mind if he borrows his family's permanent records, right? Any more clues that could point to why they're all here, why everything is eerily similar but off. ]

and now that I can't put this down ❦ tequila mockingbird

[ He's a professional.

Drowning his sorrows at his partial place of work isn't his style, and seeing they live in a town with more than one bar, now, he decides to park himself here at the bar, of course. Forget tables, or booths. He's finished with this day and this town. His brother isn't speaking to him, because of a reason he couldn't have prevented but also not one he could've presented either. So, he drinks. He buys drinks for the people he knows, and if they're nice enough the stranger who sits next to him.

He's just over the edge when he decides on something. Something he'd done with Katherine early on in this town. Technically, he could even lie about the lie and not be lying. Considering. ] It's an old game, tell me if you've heard it. Two truths. And a lie. You pick the lie, I drink. I fool you, you drink. And so on.

[ He liked the layers of this one, the false pretenses and 'false' truths. ]

if i had known what i'd known now, i never would have played so nonchalant ❦ chez salvatore

[ He ends the night dancing in the living room to records he picked up at the record store at some point, and some they'd already had. 90's classic rock. He pours, he drinks. He gives a good look around the house he shares. He reads those permanent records, learning more about their school reputations. He leaves them strewn across the counter.

Eventually, one can find him on their roof with a bottle of Wayward Pines' finest, Pearl Jam blasting underneath. He opened the windows so he'd be able to listen. ]

*let me know if none of these work for you, or if you have a better idea. assume he checks the entire town, really, or you can always see him on the street. or, even at the shop before he gets the call.

Comments

[unforgivably]

Well, you're not a lesbian [ he starts, studying her. ] but, I can't see you married. So you're not divorced. Foster care system. That must've been [ He brings the glass back to his lips, looking up at one of the TV's. ] fought.

[sheriffing]

My parents thought it was my best chance. [ at least until they retconned the idea that her parents cared that much, but what Emma doesn't know won't hurt her. she shrugs.]

At the time, I guess it was.

[unforgivably]

[ The most bittersweet of retcons. Possibly the most bitter. ] But, you don't think so now?

[sheriffing]

You try growing up believing you were abandoned on the side of the road.

[ that was all August, it's not her parents fault. but it's not an easy thing to live with.]

Your turn.

[unforgivably]

I fought in the Civil War. I fought the law and the law won. I believe in the right to paaaaartay

[sheriffing]

You're partying right now. The second one?

[ technically Emma fought the law and the law won. and yeah, she just picked the second one.]

[unforgivably]

I don't lose. [ Not against law enforcement anyway. Oops, another piece to the Damon puzzle. ]

[sheriffing]

[ everyone loses once in a while, Damon. even the savior knocking back her drink for the hell of it.]

Were you a good soldier?

[unforgivably]

I was a deserter.

[ And he didn't know her nearly well enough (fake or real) to give her the real story behind that. ]

I went AWOL when AWOL wasn't even a thing.

[sheriffing]

Let me guess, you made it a thing so you could say you did it first.

[ or that'll be how he explains it, anyway.]

I've punched a princess. I've stolen from a pirate. I've fought a giant.

[unforgivably]

[ he smirks. ]

No. I just -- couldn't handle the front lines.

[ And he'll leave it at that. This one's even harder because he could see her doing all of this. He takes a shot in the dark. ]

We may be in Freaksville, USA but even Freaksville is light on giants. How big was he, though? You use a slingshot to take Shaq out?

[sheriffing]

You think I'd need a slingshot?

[ she's mildly offended, Damon, come on.]

[unforgivably]

Not for the princess you punched.

[sheriffing]

I punched a queen.

[ she had it coming. ]

[unforgivably]

So, then you stole from the pirate's wench?

[ Maybe?

Whatever, he downs what's in his glass anyway. ]

[sheriffing]

I've stolen from a pirate. I've fought a giant. But I haven't punched a princess yet.

[ don't worry, she's already calling the bartender over.]

[unforgivably]

Really. A giant. I'm going to call you Jack from now on. Or, David. [ Depends on the day, probably. ] I - need a minute to think of something not involving death. [ He leans his head back, thinking. ] I've been in prison. I've kidnapped. I've napped.

[sheriffing]

Jack is dead. David is my father's name. [ not two truths and a lie, just two truths this time.]

Seriously, that much death?

[unforgivably]

What can I say. It comes with the territory. [ That territory he hasn't exactly mapped out for her. ] Come on. Maybe I ever nap. Or, I've avoided being behind bars. Maybe all of my misdeeds are momentary. What is it, Emma?

[sheriffing]

If you don't lose, I assume you don't serve time, either.

[ but Emma does, so she'll drink for the hell of it.]

[unforgivably]

I feel like you're twisting this into never have I ever. Do you blame your incarceration on the foster care system?

[sheriffing]

I didn't drink because I served time, I drank because you're buying.

[ but she looks up, irritated, because - ]

I blame my incarceration on my ex.

[unforgivably]

The one you didn't marry.

[ He keeps track. ]

[sheriffing]

Henry's father.

[ now put two and two together and you'll understand why Henry has two mothers.]

[unforgivably]

[ He does, slowly. She went to jail. ] Henry has two months because you gave him up for adoption.