I admit that I have a few guilty pleasures. Mocking Justin Beiber, watching the Jersey shore, and watching The Vampire Diaries. Please enjoy this little diddly. It's been festering in my head for a week.

"Hello, Little Bird."

Bonnie didn't give Damon the satisfaction of being shocked. She wasn't, not anymore. She could feel him there, waiting for her. His energy wild and dark and crackling with power. She could easily pick him out of every other person in town if she even just barely concentrated at all. She just clinched the towel closer to her chest and sighed.

"I didn't invite you in Damon."

He flashed her a blindly white grin and she immediately knew that he heard the heavy annoyance in her tone. He knew that he was getting under her skin. He lapped up the frustration he felt rolling off of her. He hovered close before slowly looking down at the fluffy purple towel and the tan thighs and smooth legs falling under its wide hem before turning his smug face back up to her.

"Your father invited me in."

Now she felt her annoyance rise to its peak. She let one of her eyebrows lift on her face. She had warded her house against all enemies. Even if her father had invited him in he should have burst into flame the second he crossed the threshold.

Damon laughed, "I knew that there was a witch in Mystic Falls before you could even read a palm. I took precautions."

Getting himself invited in before she cast her magic he was now seen as a friend and not as the soulless evil bloodsucker he was. She tried her hardest not to seethe at Damon. She really tried but she was exhausted. Another vampire from the crypt had come out of the woodworks and had created a huge mess in the town. They were only able to bring him down with the help of Stefan and her magic. Though Damon only intervened when the vamp had tried to snap at her and Elena after Stefan had been thrown through a tree. Elena was probably helping him pull the splinters from his back right now. And all she wanted to do was take a blissfully hot shower and to lie down in her warm, warm bed. A storm of a headache had been swirling and building as she cast and it felt like it was finally going to start crashing down.

"Damon, I don't care how you got in. I just care that you leave."

She rubbed the back of her free hand across her eyes. The pressure was slowly building to a raging pound. When she opened her eyes again it was to a cool midnight blue stare. He looked almost disappointed. Bonnie knew that Damon loved a good fight. He had slammed her against some walls before and she had sent fire to gnaw at his mind. She just didn't have any fight left in her tonight.

Where's that spark? That fire? That HATRED?

He was disappointed in his little witch. No spells. No yelling. No cursing at the very sight of him. He felt something very strange pull at him again. Worry. It was a strange feeling - that sinking of his gut. He hadn't felt that in... centuries. It was one of the long buried things Elena had drug up. Like jealousy and something that resembled compassion. He chose to ignore the compassion one though in favor of selfishness. He liked that one a WHOLE lot. But what brought him here tonight was the weird worry thing. After what he saw tonight he was concerned about his Little Bird.

"Now, now don't get all withcy."

He smirked at her as she glared at him. Her look faltered and she screwed her eyes shut. He watched as she sat on her bed to cradle her head in one hand. The fluffy lilac towel rode up a little higher on those ridiculously tasty looking bronze legs. He had noticed her attire and couldn't help but make his presence known though he knew that she was aware he was there. The little minx was almost as good at sensing vampires and supernatural creatures as he was at sensing fear. But right know all he could sense from her was the bitter smell of annoyance and the bland scent of exhaustion. He knelt in front of her pulling her hand away from her head.

"Damon."

Her voice was soft but held a stony warning. And he knew what that little glint in her eyes could do to him. But he loved to play with fire. He was quite known for it.

"Bonnie."

He smirked up at her stern frown and quickly slipped his gift on her finger, the whole reason for his late night meeting with the young, powerful witch. She started to say his name in annoyance but as she gazed down at the oblong onyx stone wrapped in spun silver it turned into surprise. A sound that Damon liked.

"Is this what I think it is?"

The vampire shook his head. It was a protection ring like the one Jeremy had inherited but more slender and sleek, to fit her delicate hand.

"How did you get this? Why are you giving this to me?"

He felt a smirk reach his lips, the corner of his mouth half quirked, a smile that was hardly ever achieved by anyone but her.

He smiled at her, "A witch owed me a dept and she thought I might need another one of these things."

He used his thumb to nudge the ring that allowed him to walk in the sun.

He pursed his lips as he tried to answer her second question.

"And I'm giving it to you because I think it'll look lovely on those crafty little fingers of yours."

Bonnie fought the urge to grind her teeth. Everything, EVERYTHING, was a game to Damon Salvatore. And she was damn tired of it and of him. She pulled the ring off of her hand and thrust it back at him.

"You just want me to wear it so later on when I try to kill you can try and kill me right back!"

Suddenly his eyes were inches from her face, his body hovering close to hers. His hand was wrapped gently around her wrist, not letting her move away from him. She could easily feel the anger rolling off of him now.

"I am giving this to you because I am tired of seeing you hurt yourself."

Bonnie sucked in a sharp breath. How did he know? Using her powers took a toll on her but it was nothing she couldn't handle. The headaches were just a pain in the ass much like the pissed off vampire in front of her. And suddenly she realized why he was pissed. He was being honest. As honest as he could get. He was waving a white flag and she threw it, literally, back into his face. She felt guilt drop into the pit of her stomach. Rationally she knew that she couldn't trust Damon, but somewhere inside of her was telling her that it was okay. She was pulled from her musings when his cool hand cupped her face, his thumb brushing over her upper lip lightly.

"You could have easily torched that vamp today. I've seen you do it at least a half a dozen times, hell, you did it to me once."

He smirked at her and she tried to smirk back but his eyes entranced her. She watched as they followed the line on her cheek that his thumb was caressing, down to the dip in her upper lip. The same spot that she quickly wiped away blood before anyone saw.

"But I could smell the blood, your blood. I thought that he had hurt you."

Bonnie's eyes widened even more. She thought that he was going after Elena. She just happened to be right there with her. He chuckled a little shocking her further.

"Is it so hard to believe that I want you safe? I won't let anything hurt my Little Bird."

She pulled back a little forcing him to drop her cheek. It was too much, he was too much. She took in a shaky breath, steeling her resolve.

"Damon."

He hushed her by slipping the ring back on her right ring finger.

His dark eyes found hers, "Not even herself. I'm going to have a talk with Stefan. Tell him to back off on all the magical stuff for a while."

Now her annoyed Damon came out as an exasperated Damon.

His grin grew. He enjoyed hearing his own name. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"Thank you." In more ways than one. It was true that Stefan and Elena were both asking for her help more and more frequently. And she was just coming into her powers. It was exhausting. The nose bleed that she received today and the mind splitting migraine was a sign of that exhaustion. Not to mention almost getting her and her best friend's head ripped off by a pissed vampire because she couldn't hold the sealing spell she cast against him because of her severe exhaustion.

"How's that pretty little head?"

She felt nothing but a slight ache. The pain receding almost ten fold.

"Much better."

She closed her eyes and tried to make sense of the caring Damon but found that her delayed exhaustion was quickly catching up to her. Her eyes were feeling heavier with each passing second. Suddenly Damon's cool, smooth lips were brushing against the back of her hand.

"Sleep well Bonnie."

She turned quickly around to find nothing but the open window. And she was pretty sure that the gentle breeze had nothing to do with the chills racing over her body.