Whatever It Takes {Two | Alaric Saltzman}

Fade Into You

As morning light flooded into their apartment, Abigail and Alaric blinked awake. They were scarcely covered by the bedspread, neither of them bothered by the late November air that seeped through the cracks of the old building. The birds that chirped outside sang a song just for them, providing the only sound that could be heard.

She ran her hands down his hairy chest, paying special attention to his scar. It was still pink, the skin barely mended. She wondered if it was numb, if it was sore, if it tingled, and even though she had held onto the words Rose spoke in her final moments, that vampires never forgot what it was to be human, she couldn't remember what it felt like to have a new scar. So, with the lightest of touch, her fingers climbed up his shoulder, around his neck, and into his hair.

There wasn't space between them now, but their lips still hadn't met. There was something about that feeling. Anticipation. They'd spent a long time with it, maybe not enough, and it was almost as exciting as then. But the feeling that came after it, that was something neither of them could pretend not to know.

Slowly, or with the exact right timing, he kissed her. Once, twice, three times; she lost count. And if he had even started, he did too once she pressed her body against his. His arms wrapped around her, finding their resting place as he silently asked for more.

"You guys should probably invest in a place with a bedroom door."

Alaric groaned, throwing the thick book on his bedside table into the doorway at Damon. "Get out!"

"And go where?"

Abigail pulled the duvet all the way up to her chin. "Literally anywhere else!"

"But I brought you overpriced coffee..." He held out a paper cup with a red lid. "One cream, too much sugar. Just how you like it."

Alaric sat up against the headboard. "Where is mine?"

"Well, I'm not bribing you."

Abigail stood up, wrapping the soft material around her body. She took the coffee from him in a quick movement that would have resulted in a spill if it had been executed by the other person in the room. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "And why are you bribing me?"

"Because I need Ric to come on a trip with me." He looked down at his watch. "Like now."

"It's Thanksgiving!"

"Thanksgiving is the worst holiday of the year for so many reasons." He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes just as she had narrowed hers. "All of which you know."

"They've been planning this for weeks, Damon," Alaric said. "We can't miss it."

"Really? Even if I know how to get Bonnie back?"

Abigail stepped into Elena's dorm room with a smile that would not fade. "I put the turkey and the cranberry sauce in their labeled places downstairs, hope you don't mind. What did I miss?"

Elena looked up at her with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm going to tell Liam I'm a vampire."

"If you want to tell him the truth, I'll support you." She moved to stand next to Caroline. "However-"

"Not you too."

"You can't just do it because Damon is back."

"Fine. I'll think about it." She stood up. "But he's digging around trying to figure out how the girl dressed up as Lady Whitmore even made it out of the cornfield. So, I don't know what to do."

"We will figure it out right after I ask Abigail where Alaric is." Caroline took the same step Abigail did when she moved from Elena's side to hers. "He can't miss Friendsgiving. I mean, Matt and Jeremy are already cleaning up the whole Tripp mess and my mom has to work. We're already low on friends as it is."