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“Home sweet home,” Alaric voices as he welcomes Damon inside after having floated through the door and waited for Damon to take his time unlocking it.
“Pictures, hunting equipment, favourite clo-” Damon lists off.
“Don't need the favourite clothes,” Alaric reminds as he cuts the vampire off. “I'm stuck with these.” He gestures to his ghostly body.
“Like I said, we're gonna materialise you again, and when we do I don't wanna hear you go on about how you no longer have your favourite stuff.” Damon moves away from Alaric, to the man's room and straight to his wardrobe.
Alaric doesn't need to tell him which are his favourite things, Damon moves purposefully through the room as he grabs a few pieces of clothing. “Anything else you wanna take?” Damon asks as he stops by the bed where he's placed the clothes in a folded pile.
“If you're taking my favourite things for a future hope, then you should take that red pair of underwear you got me for my birthday.”
Damons nods. “Do you also wanna take the sex toys?”
“What sex toys? They're all at your place, aren't they? Did you bring any here?” With each question Alaric gets more riled up.
“Chillax babe, ours are all at mine. I was just wondering if you had any which you hadn't yet shared with me,” Damon teases.
Alaric rolls his eyes and pointedly moves away from Damon. “Backpack,” he says gesturing to the bag hanging behind the bedroom's door.
Damon acknowledges him but first moves to the bedside table to grab the underwear Alaric had talked about.
“While you're there you might as well open the second drawer.”
“Hmm,” Damon responds as he does so after grabbing what he had intended from the first drawer.
“Feel beneath it,” Alaric instructs. “The envelope is cello-taped to it.”
“Smart place.”
“Not exactly.”
“Hmm,” Damon sounds as he brings the envelope into view. He turns towards Alaric, leg nudging the drawer closed and makes to open the envelope.
“Don't open it now, later, back at yours.”
“Ours,” Damon corrects powerfully. “Now you really gotta move in with me.” Damon flickers his eyes to the envelope again which is bound to contain pictures of himself naked and then grabs the pile of clothes from the bed before making his way to the backpack. “Also, you really gotta believe that you’re coming back because I just missed a huge opportunity to tease you about wanking to pictures of me naked when you had me naked in your hands whenever you wanted, and that’s not fair.”
Damon walks around Alaric rather than through him which he is thankful for – the one time at the beginning was enough to feel the chill despite how his body already runs cold – and places the things in his hands inside the bag.
“Hunting equipment,” he announces as he takes the bag off the peg and opens the door once more to walk back out, staying on task.
What follows for the first two minutes of the next half hour of Damon being told to go to every nook and cranny of Alaric's house is a hiss and an ouch at a sting of pain caused by Damon touching a couple of things laced with vervain.
“I think you're enjoying it.” Alaric teases.
Damon glares and complains, “You could tell me–”
Alaric interrupts him with a solution, “You could use a piece of cloth.”
Damon grumbles and goes back to the backpack where he takes out the pair of Alaric's red underwear to spite him and makes a show of wrapping it around his hand before he inclines his head so Alaric will follow him. He knows where a lot of the equipment is, but Alaric will have to add where the rest of the hidden spots are if they don't want to spend their whole day here.
“I think we're done,” Alaric finally proclaims.
Damon arches an eyebrow in question.
“Yeah, that's all,” the ghost confirms. “We can back to our home and you can tease me all about those pictures.”
Damon melts and wishes desperately that he could touch Alaric right now, but there’s no point in getting maudlin right now. “What else am I taking?” he asks to give Alaric another chance at considering if he’s forgetting anything without making it explicit.
“Clothes, pictures, hunting equipment, the odd memento you picked up while getting the weapons.” Alaric lists off. “That's all.”
“Nothing else?” he can’t help the intonation this time.
“Nope.”
“Are you sure?” Damon checks with furrowed eyebrows and a disbelieving tone.
“Is there something you're thinking of?” Alaric acts completely unaware of what Damon may be suggesting.
“Seeing as you don't seem to wanna share...” Damon trails off.
Alaric gulps and demandingly utters, “What?”
“Your books.”
That clearly surprises Alaric, his expression naked and uncontrolled. “How do you know about that?” he whispers with barely contained anxiety.
“Although I've never actively seen you writing, I have heard it many a time.” Alaric exhales in relief even though he’s a ghost and doesn’t need to breathe, and Damon continues, “Tapping away on your phone and your laptop, scratching words on paper.” Damon inhales. “You're quite careful but Stefan likes his diaries and I've gotten used to the sound of him writing on them over the years.”
“Which you've read,” Alaric supplies with a judgmental tone.
“I've never read any of yours,” Damon assures, and then adds, “Nor gone looking for them.”
“It clearly shows by your lack of knowledge.”
“Hm?”
“They're not diaries,” Alaric informs.
“Then what are they?” Damon asks with a smile.
“Pieces of writing,” Alaric responds simply.
“You're being very elusive,” Damon complains.
Alaric swallows but doesn't let forth any further information.
“Sounds like porn,” Damon very briefly teases but more keen to get them moving on he goes on with a serious tone, “Look, the question is simple. Do you want me to take them with the promise of me never reading what you've written without your explicit permission, of which you must be in a clear conscious state to give, or do you want your sister to find them?”
“She probably won't even look inside the books.”
“Don't you want to keep what you've written? For future use?”
“I can't write anymore.”
Damon growls and glares, and although his voice is certain he also makes sure it’s soft and positive, “You will be able to write again one day. Just like you'll be able to wear your favourite clothes again. You don't have to lose anything you really want to keep.”
Alaric sighs and gives in. “In that case, could you also grab the memory stick please?”
“Which is where?” Damon asks already turning in the general direction that Alaric's gaze had glanced at even as he awaits for further instruction. He promises to himself that he’ll tread slowly, although he knows he wants to find out what Alaric writes about right now, he wants to keep Alaric’s trust more. And if it’s porn, it’s likely porn, their love and trust will need to be nourished so it can be appreciated. Of course he wants Alaric back in his human body right now, but Damon is a vampire, he knows this will take some time, and he’s not about to give up on them, not even if it takes decades of him feeling only his own comfort.
Yes, ok, he can see himself having a moment of doubt but truth of the matter is that comfort is not just physical. Alaric will be his side, with his words and his presence, and that will be enough until Damon can also feel his warmth and touch.