darker_london | Take me (Damon, Julian)

Damon was in horrendous pain. His wings had burned in the explosion at Amaris' house, and there was nothing really that could be done for him beyond drugs. Which he was wary about anyway, considering Julian's situation. But he knew himself as well, and he knew that he could very easily develop a problem with addiction. Just as easily as the usually level-headed Julian had.

Julian, for his part, hadn't left Damon's side except when Damon made him attend classes. Aislinn was right there with them, sleeping in a little makeshift playpen bed at night and crawling all over the room during the day. Damon was grateful for Julian's presence. He had never been hurt like this before in his life. It was terrifying.

Damon turned his head to the side to smile at Julian who was feeding Aislinn some hard cereal. "Mmm, she likes it."

Julian chuckled. "Yeah, she's nuts for these...whatever they ares. Cereal kernels? Baby kibble? Well whatever it is, she loves it."

Damon didn't laugh, but he shuddered his wings a little. They lay drooped over the sides of the bed, burned and broken. They ached with a supernatural pain, and there was no way to bandage them. While they ached, he couldn't simply disappear them and make the pain disappear too. It remained no matter what. So he kept them out. "It's cute."

"You should eat too, you know," Julian said, looking at him with worry. "I already went through this with Dad. I'm not watching someone else waste away."

"Not wasting," Damon mumbled. "Just hurts."

Julian sighed and he stood then, scooping Aislinn up in his arms. "Come on, Baby. Let's go in the playpen. Daddy need to talk to Damon. Here you go, wheeeeee!" Julian swung her around, making her 'land' in the playpen. Before she could cry because she was being abandoned, he handed her her stuffed lizard and kissed her head. Aislinn laughed and shook the lizard around in the air and Julian knew it was safe to turn away.

"Damon, I can't stand this." Julian walked to the edge of Damon's bed and he frowned down at the boy he loved. "I hate watching you in pain. And your wings..." Julian sighed and he closed his eyes. "You need my help."

"I am not sucking your soul," Damon growled, staring right into Julian's gaze when he finally opened his eyes again. "I'm not."

"Damon this...this is going to take forever to heal. And you might...you might not fly again, like Lucian said. And frankly I'm itching for a hit just watching you suffer..."

Damon hesitated then. He hadn't thought of that. It made sense though. Julian hadn't turned to drugs because he was bored, he had started down that path because he was in terrible pain. Because of a tragic accident he had been involved in which had resulted in several broken bones, internal injuries, and...a fire. "Julian-"

"That wasn't fair," Julian interrupted him. "I'm sorry. That really wasn't fair. God, listen to the junkie peer pressuring you." Julian groaned and he ran his fingers through his hair. "Damon, I'm sorry. You're being stronger than I have ever been."

There was silence in the room for thirty seconds while Julian stared at his knees, and then Damon spoke in a soft, embarrassed voice. "I...I don't want to be strong anymore."

Julian lifted his eyes to meet Damon's again, and he slowly raised his eyebrows. "O...okay. Now I don't know what to do, because if I let you am I enabling, but if I don't am I leaving you to suffer..." Julian groaned. Addictions were fucked up. "Damon." Julian reached his hand out and he took Damon's in his carefully because he didn't want to hurt his boyfriend. "I don't want you to stay in pain. I trust you. You decide. You decide what to do."

Damon could take his soul now. He could feel it, swirling around temptingly. Even though Julian was an ex-(mostly) junkie, he was a good person. His soul was nice and tasty, and Damon let his eyes fall closed from the need. He remembered how angry Julian had been that first time Damon had taken his soul. He had yanked it clean of Julian's body without asking and when Julian had awoken, he had screamed and railed against Damon after an entire day of the silent treatment.

It was the hardest decision he had made in a very long time. "I can't," Damon whispered, closing his eyes against the horror of his own pain. "I just can't."

Julian felt love and sympathy flood through him in equal measure. "Damon. I love you."

Damon opened his eyes and he acknowledged the pride in Julian's own. "And I love you." And he did. And that was that. He would suffer and get better the way he was meant to. He could do it with Julian by his side.