Must I Bargain?

Disclaimer: The Vampire Diaries does not belong to me.

A/N Damon was shot and was dying of werewolf venom. And then he was cured. Klaus was in town. We have to assume Klaus cured Damon. Did he ask for anything in return? Was there a bargain of sorts? Was it a bit sexual? Not quite canon, obviously.

Damon stood in the house, looking in the mirror. He pulled aside the neck of his dark t-shirt and eyed the wound. It wasn't healing and he knew it would not. In fact, it was spreading. He had been shot and there had been werewolf venom on the bullet. But later, he had been shot several times while at the quarry with the Hunter. Ric had come and saved the day by killing the Hunter and taking the "cure" from him. Now he, Damon, was very ill and could barely stand. He would die soon unless he got the cure, either by taking the immortality cure, which he refused to do, or by getting blood from Klaus, who was in New Orleans. So death loomed nearby.

He hurt and he knew it would get worse. Earlier he could get around and pretend he was not going to die, but he was just kidding himself. The time was close at hand. He hated to think he was going to die this way. It had been almost two years since the last time he was poisoned. For a hundred and sixty-something years he had not known that werewolves existed and now in two years time, he had been poisoned twice.

Elena had been with him as the end approached that other time. She had seen him at his most vulnerable, at his weakest, at his most pathetic when he had given up all pretense of being brave. And then Katherine had come, bringing him a couple of ounces of Klaus' blood, the cure for his condition. Such a relief.

But the price had been high. For a whole summer his younger brother had been forced to travel with Klaus, forced to resort to being the Ripper, forced to do whatever Klaus wanted. Stefan had made the bargain in order to save his brother and Damon knew it.

This time Stefan couldn't do that because Klaus was down in New Orleans. Even if Stefan or Damon phoned him and begged him to get on a plane and come help him, there was no reason that Klaus would do it and no guarantee that it would be in time if Klaus didn't do it right away. Caroline had called, but she had not actually talked to Klaus.

This dying was very inconvenient. Today was the day of the high school graduation. Elena, Caroline and Bonnie, not to mention Stefan, had actually received their diplomas. How many times had Stefan done that? Fifteen, twenty times? Damon had only attended a few of those ceremonies. Way too often, he and his younger brother had been at odds and nowhere near each other in location. Or he hadn't cared enough to attend. This time he had cared, but he had been too sick to attend.

If nothing else, one thing had been accomplished today. The immortal being Silas had been turned to stone by Bonnie. Now, all they had to do was dispose of the rough "statue". The plan was to put it in a metal box and drop it down into the water-filled quarry that was not many miles away. Maybe it would break into pieces or dissolve in the water and the remains of Silas would be gone forever.

Damon knew he had the strength to do the job. He had rented a pickup truck and found an old metal box, some sort of safe, but not one that had heavy, thick walls. After all, he had to be able to heft the thing with a stone statue inside. The job would probably have to be done by Stefan later. In the meantime, Silas wasn't going anywhere.

Lexi and Ric were with him in the house, hanging around, drinking, trying not to look depressed that he was dying. They had given up harassing him about using the immortality cure to save his life. His argument was that Elena eventually would want it and he was determined that it be available for her, even at the cost of his own life.

He asked Ric to help him outside to the back patio. This was his last afternoon and he wanted to see the sun sink into the west. Ric took hold of his arm to steady him and walked him outside and to a chair. It was a nice late spring day, still warm and sunny. Wearily, with drink in hand, he sat down. As Ric moved to take a seat, Damon indicated that he wanted a few minutes alone. The older man nodded and went indoors.

Damon looked out at the back yard, an expanse of lawn, shrubs and plants that would soon bloom. There was a two-tier fountain out there, but the water was not on. Would Stefan remember to have maintenance done on the fountain before turning it on for the summer? Probably not.

For two years now he had been in Mystic Falls while his brother and the beloved Elena worked their way through their junior and senior years of high school. Considering all the time they had missed from school due to problems with vampires, werewolves and witches, it was a miracle that they were graduating at all.

They had lost a lot of friends along the way, plus some family members. Bonnie's grandmother was gone and her mother was now a vampire. Matt Donovan's sister was gone, a dead vampire. Caroline's father was gone. Her boyfriend Tyler Lockwood was a hybrid and on the run from Klaus. Tyler certainly would not be standing up on the stage to receive his diploma. His mother, had Klaus not murdered her, would be disappointed that her son did not graduate. Alaric had died, a personal loss for him, Damon. Best buddy ever. It was wonderful that he was here now, if only briefly.

And then there was Elena. She had lost every member of her family, her adoptive parents, her biological parents, her Aunt Jenna, her legal guardian Alaric and worst of all, her half-brother Jeremy. Jeremy's death, along with Elena's becoming a vampire, had been the last straw, sending the girl into a terrible spin. Damon knew he was partly to blame for Elena's problems, but there was nothing to be gained by dwelling on that.

He didn't know if Elena loved him or not. She herself didn't know. Not having her love was as painful as his wounds. He closed his eyes and thought of the one night they had spent together in his bed, loving each other, having his hands all over her, actually finally having sex with her. It had been great. He had been so damned happy. Then he had found out it was probably just the sire bond that he hadn't even known existed between them. What a cruel turn of events.

As the westering sun beat down on him and warmed his chilled body, he thought he heard someone coming around the house. He opened his eyes and looked, sustaining a bit of a shock when he saw that it was Klaus Mikaelson dressed in a suit! If he hadn't known that Silas was now stone, he would have feared that the man he saw was really Silas. No, it was Klaus! He had his own way of walking, his own amused smirk on his face. The sun shown off his dark blond hair and glinted off the golden stubble on his jaw.

Damon set his drink aside, stood up unsteadily and moved a step or two toward him, trying to be ready for anything. That was a laugh. He could barely stand. He doubted he could do anything against the hybrid. Did he dare to hope Klaus was actually there to help him?

"Klaus. I thought you were in New Orleans."

"I was. I had an invitation to Caroline's graduation. I couldn't miss seeing her, although I wasn't seated in the audience."

"So, your attraction to Caroline is strong enough to have you make the trip. I get the impression she doesn't care for you near as much."

"I am ever hopeful. I know she loves that traitor Tyler. My graduation gift to her is to let Tyler come back. They can have each other. But some day…"

"That's generous of you. What brings you here to my house?"

"You want me to leave?" Klaus asked, moving closer and studying Damon's ashen face and seeing the slight trembling.

"No! I need your blood, Klaus. I've been wounded by bullets dipped in werewolf venom." He didn't even have to pull the neck of his shirt aside due to the fact that the infection was spreading up his neck. He knew Klaus could see his condition.

"Oh dear. How careless of you."

"I know. Stupid me. What do you say, Klaus? Will you help me again?"

"What is in it for me?"

"My heartfelt thanks, I guess. And Stefan's. Even Caroline's. We have defeated Silas, you know. That's a plus, isn't it? I know you hate Silas."

"Miss Bennett defeated Silas, not you. Caroline told me."

"What the hell do you want, Klaus? Must I bargain for your blood?" A wave of pain and nausea moved through him. He swallowed hard and refused to vomit the alcohol he had consumed.

"Let me think, mate. What might I want from you?"

"Don't take too long. I don't think I have a long time left. I'm about ready to collapse here. I'm starting to sweat. You know we vampires don't normally sweat unless we are really very sick, like dying."

"Are you in much pain?"

"More than I would like and it's getting worse. I'm hoping Stefan or Elena will come home. Ric is here in the house. I won't have to die alone." He shivered and considered sitting back down. He needed to sit back down. However, sitting down would give Klaus the advantage of looking down on him. As long as he was standing, he felt they were equal. He worked hard to keep upright.

He held a steady gaze on the hybrid and saw Klaus look him over from his head to his feet and back up half-way, briefly stopping at his crotch. Klaus then smirked and looked him in the eyes.

"Back in Chicago you came to me and proposed that I take you as my traveling mate and let Stefan go," Klaus said. "You said you were more fun than Stefan."

"I am. Or I would be if I weren't dying. I'm a fun guy. Good with jokes and a good drinking buddy. I'm no Ripper, you understand, but I've tortured and killed my share."

"I'm afraid that is not what I mean." Klaus lifted an eye brow at him and gave him a crooked smile.

"Uh huh," Damon said, knowing what Klaus meant. "If you insist, if that's the bargain price, then yes, I can do that, too. Whatever. Like I said, I can be a fun guy. But I need your blood first."

Klaus looked at him for a long moment, studying him and thinking. Then he removed his suit jacket and laid it on the arm of one of the chairs. He pulled up the right sleeve of his dress shirt and moved toward Damon.

Damon wasn't sure what the next move would be. He felt relief in that he was sure now that Klaus was going to give him some blood. Whatever else happened, he would deal with it. He couldn't refuse Klaus and win, so the smart thing to do would be to get the blood and keep his word about the other. It was not that big a deal to him.

He suspected that Ric was watching from the back door or kitchen window. He didn't want Ric to interfere and he supposed that he would not unless he collapsed or Klaus struck him or something. Lexi couldn't come outside, so she could not help if needed and he didn't think Stefan and Elena had arrived home yet.

Klaus walked close to Damon, took hold of his nearest arm and held him still while he moved behind the younger man. Damon didn't move as Klaus slipped his arms around him and drew their bodied tight against each other. They were about the same height and Damon could feel the hybrid's breath against the back of his neck. He could feel something else against the seat of his jeans, while Klaus' left hand slid down the front of Damon's body to a position just above his belt, pressing him firmly backward. He didn't care; he need the support. All that really mattered was the bare arm across his chest, also holding him up and so temptingly close to his mouth.

Apparently satisfied with things as they stood, Klaus moved his right wrist up in front of Damon's mouth. It took only a second for Damon to let down his fangs and use his trembling hands to hold the offered wrist. He bit into the flesh and tasted the blood as it spurted from the punctured artery into his mouth. Instantly he knew that the blood, straight from the hybrid's body, had quite a kick to it.

Both Damon and Klaus knew that feeding directly from someone, be it vampire or human, was a sexual experience to a certain extent, which was why vampires tended to bite during or immediately after intercourse. Feedback through the bite could cause considerable pleasure to the bitten, as long as the vampire was not being vicious about it and the bitten was not frightened or angry. Because of this, Damon felt more than just the relief of taking the blood and Klaus felt more than just having someone drink from his wrist. They continued in this unique joining until Klaus pulled his wrist out of Damon's grasp. He held Damon close with his left arm and licked any residual blood from his wrist.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it, love?" he asked in Damon's ear.

"All right. I'll admit it was good, Klaus. Thank you for coming here and sharing your blood," Damon said and he meant it as he licked his own lips and wiped away a trickle of blood on his chin. He was leaning back against the hybrid's strong body, feeling the strength returning to his own body and the pain of the poison receding. When Klaus suddenly released him and stepped away, he had to quickly regain his balance.

Klaus picked up his coat and held it over his arm. He grinned at Damon and said, "That is all I want from you, mate. Perhaps in the future you may do something helpful for me." With a nod of his head, he walked off toward the side of the house.

Damon watched him go with mixed feelings. He couldn't deny that what he had just experienced with Klaus had been sexual and satisfying. It was also a great relief to him to know he was cured of the vile poison. He heard the back door open and he didn't care that Ric had watched what had happened. He turned and grinned at his friend.

"Looks like I'm going to live. Everything I thought I was losing, is not lost. Life goes on."

"Let's drink to that, pal," Ric said, grinning back.

A/N Hope you liked this little story.