AN: As usual, sorry about the wait. But, I have my longest chapter ever up for you today. Thanks to DarkAngel942 for the idea. Enjoy it!

Damon POV:

They pulled into the parking lot at the mall. Soon, the girls were out of the car, leaving Damon and Stefan. May and Elena had, evidently, decided to get a head start. That, or they'd just forgotten about the brothers in their excitement. Damon was betting on the second one. Still, this left him to get Stefan out of the car. He turned to his brother, glaring.

"Okay, here's the deal. I'm taking you out of the stupid thing. You spit on me again and you'll stay there all day. Kapish?" Stefan nodded at him and Damon smiled.

"Good." He got out of the car and opened the back door. It took a minute, but he finally figured out how to unbuckle his brother. Damon lifted Stefan and shut the door, but Stefan had other plans. He began to squirm. It got to the point where Damon almost dropped him. So, he was forced to set his squirming little brother on the ground.

"I wanna walk." Stefan told him seriously. Damon couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine, just be careful. If you get run over by a car, Elena'll kill me." Stefan frowned and started forward. They had to cross a small section of road to get from the parking garage to the mall. Stefan took one look at the cars zooming by and grabbed Damon's hand, startling him. He looked down at his younger brother. It was a strange feeling, but Damon realized that if his brother hadn't grabbed his hand, he'd probably get run over. So, he walked Stefan across the small stretch of road, grimacing all the while.

Finally, they reached the other side and Stefan let go, racing into the mall. Damon sighed and followed. What was going on with his brother?

Stefan POV:

Stefan was filled with energy. Sure, the cars had been a little scary, but he'd had Damon to protect him. As long as his brother was there, everything was fine. Right now, though, he wanted to find Elena. He stopped by an escalator and looked around for her golden blond hair. He didn't see much, but he wasn't very tall, so it was to be expected. Then, Damon caught up to him.

"Jeez, Stefan, slow down! Where are you going, anyway?" Damon asked, clearly annoyed. Stefan looked up at him apologetically.

"Where'd Elena go?" He frowned. He couldn't see her. Had she abandoned him?

"Elena's shopping and-" But Damon's answer was cut off when his phone began to ring. Damon answered it.

"Where'd you two run off to?" Damon asked. Stefan could only assume that it was May or Elena. There were a few "yes"s and "no"s. Suddenly, there was a much louder one.

"No way! I'm not some kind of babysitter!" Damon yelled into the phone. Stefan looked at the floor. He knew it. He was a burden. His eyes filled with tears and he wiped them away quickly. But, when he did, more came. Soon, he couldn't hold them in anymore. Stefan began to cry silently, hoping and praying that Damon wouldn't notice. He could hear his brother, still arguing on the phone.

"Ugh, fine. Yeah, yeah. I'll go. Where is it?" He heard. Stefan was trying hard to get himself under control before Damon got off the phone. It proved to be harder than he'd originally thought. Soon, he was sobbing, no longer silent.

"Crap! I have to go. Yes, that's Stefan. Love you too." Damon hung up and turned on Stefan, annoyed again. Stefan could only cry harder. It was his fault that Damon was mad.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Damon asked him, clearly attempting to be gentle. Stefan sniffled and turned away. Damon only walked around and picked him up.

"Come on, Stefan. I can't help you if you don't tell me."

"Sorry." Stefan choked out. He really was. He hadn't meant to ruin Damon's day. Now, he was stuck being a babysitter for his baby brother. Stefan cringed at his own thoughts.

"Sorry for what? What did you do?" Damon seemed confused. Stefan didn't understand why he wasn't getting it.

"Sorry for being a burden." Stefan couldn't look his brother in the face.

"Seriously, Stefan? That's what you're crying about? It was my fault. And, you're not a burden. Can't you go one day without feeling guilty about something? I think you've taken sensitive to a whole new level." His brother laughed and Stefan sniffled. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Stefan. Just calm down."

Stefan did calm down. His brother's voice was somehow soothing. He felt himself relax in Damon's arms. And then they were walking. Stefan didn't know where they were headed, but he didn't care. All he knew was that he was with Damon. As long as he stayed with his brother, he'd be fine.

Damon POV:

Damon was still a bit agitated, but he was trying not to show it so he wouldn't upset Stefan further. His brother was truly the biggest wimp he'd ever met. But, Stefan was his wimp. As he carried him through the crowded mall, he wondered how he'd gotten himself into this particular situation. If he'd just gotten Stefan out of the car a little faster… Maybe, he would be shopping with the girls. Frankly, that was better than the punishment he'd received. He was supposed to take Stefan to some play area. Oh God, drive a stake through my heart. Damon truly dreaded reaching the damned place. He'd end up sitting doing nothing and Stefan would be bored because he would be smarter than all of the other children. He figured he may be able to get out of it pretty quickly.

Damon recalled May's directions. "It's next to Victoria Secret. Look it up on the map thing! What are you, helpless?" He'd been tempted to reply with a "yes", but that wouldn't look very good. So, he'd just listened to her. Now, he was looking at the map and wondering why on Earth a children's play area would be next to Victoria Secret of all places. He shifted Stefan and then had an idea.

"Hey, Stefan, let's play a game. Whoever finds Victoria Secret first wins!" He told his brother. Damon watched as Stefan immediately focused his attention on the map. He smiled. Let his brother do the work. That was how it always was. And then, Stefan was pointing excitedly at a block on the map.

"I found it! I win!" He giggled. Damon chuckled. His brother's baby laugh was infectious. As much as he hated to admit it, Stefan was actually…cute. Damon decided that he sounded like a woman, thinking about how cute Stefan was. So, he derailed that particular train of thought and began to walk in the right direction. Stefan looked a little confused.

"Damon, why are we going to Victoria Secret? That's a girly store…" Damon laughed again.

"We're not going to Victoria Secret. We're going next to Victoria Secret."

"What's there?"

"You'll see, Stefan."

"Is it a surprise?" Damon had to laugh at this one.

"You could say so. I must warn you, though. Don't get too excited."

They continued to walk until the play area was in sight. Stefan froze in Damon's arms. He smirked. Well, he'd warned his brother. But, then Stefan unfroze and had a strange look on his face. It was like he wanted to go to the little play area, but he was too embarrassed to actually do it.

"You know, you can go if you want to. I don't care. I'll just sit on this bench over here…" Damon told Stefan. He was being a good brother for once, encouraging Stefan. He watched his brother run happily towards the playground-like area. It was strange, but this was almost like a second chance. He hadn't gotten it right the first time, so why not now?

Flashback

Damon was playing in the garden. Well, he was playing with the dirt in the garden. He was a boy, so he didn't care much for flowers. He had decided earlier that day to make the biggest mud pie he'd ever created. Now, he was gathering dirt in a small bucket so he could take it to the nearby creek and turn it into mud. For some reason, mud pies were quite amusing. Besides, after you made it, you got to destroy it. That was Damon's favorite part.

As he gathered his dirt, Stefan came out of the house. He was only four years old and Damon still hated him. The brother's didn't talk much except for the exchanging of insults. But, today, Stefan toddled over to Damon. He sighed. He had his whole day planned out. He had no time to deal with his younger brother. As Stefan got closer, Damon saw a flicker of something in the boy's eyes. Suddenly, he was yelling.

"Damon! Father told you not to play in the dirt anymore. You're never going to be a gentleman if you can't even keep yourself clean!" Stefan mimicked their father. He was always doing that, trying to make himself feel important.

"I'm going to tell on you!" Stefan yelled at him. Damon's face turned bright red. It wasn't fair! Why couldn't he have one day in peace. He didn't feel like dealing with Stefan or his father today, so he grabbed his brother. The smaller boy started kicking and screaming, but no one was around to hear them. Damon quickly made his way to the linen closet and deposited Stefan, closing and locking the door behind him. It was a little funny, listening to him pound on the door. Whistling, Damon made his way back outside to make his mud pies.

That Evening

Damon walked out of his bedroom. He was clean and ready for dinner. His father hadn't even noticed he'd been gone all day. Damon was feeling quite pleased with himself. But, as he entered the dining room, he realized Stefan wasn't there. His brother was always there before he was. Damon wondered where the little brat had gotten off to. Maybe St. Stefan would get in trouble today, instead of himself. But, it was simply too much to hope for, so Damon put it out of his mind.

Suddenly, his father burst into the room, carrying a sobbing Stefan. Damon immediately understood what had happened. Stefan had finally been rescued from the linen closet. Unfortunately, the whole exercise had been pointless because Father had found out about everything anyway. Well, at least it had been entertaining.

"Damon Lucio Salvatore what is wrong with you? How could you do such a thing to your own brother? You disgust me!" His father spat at him and he cringed. He'd never been this angry before. Sure, he'd hit Damon, but never spat at him. He felt as if he'd reached a whole new level of low. His father would never accept him. Even as he thought this, Giuseppe was grabbing his son and dragging him, by the hair, to his bedroom. He threw Damon to the ground.

"Now, sit in there and think about what you've done! And, no dinner tonight."

End Flashback

Damon sighed. That had been a bad day for both brothers. As he sat on the bench, reminiscing, a man made his way over and took a seat next to him. Damon looked up as the guy sat down. He looked nice enough, average height, sandy brown hair, and a bit of a beard. Damon decided the man was harmless and went back to his thoughts. He was interrupted, though, when the man made an attempt at conversation.

"So, are you a father, too?" The man asked. Damon almost choked. Father? No! As spontaneous as his decision to give May children had been, he hadn't really thought it through. And, when he did, it didn't seem as great as he'd originally thought. Nine months of an irritable May, topped off by May in considerable amounts of pain. Damon wasn't sure he could handle it. Fatherhood freaked him out a little bit.

"Oh, no. Definitely not. Little brother." Damon replied shortly. He wasn't in the mood for a conversation.

"Oh, I see. My son is the one on the slide." Damon nodded politely. He didn't really care about the man's son. But, he felt obliged to look. As he looked up, however, he spotted a completely different scene than the one he'd been expecting. He had expected to see a bunch of kids playing together. What he saw was a bunch of kids in a tight circle, surrounding his brother. Apparently, a game had begun. They were pushing Stefan around inside of the circle. Damon recognized this. He'd been tormented with a similar game when he was a child. Immediately, Damon stood up, ready for a fight.

"Excuse me." He told the man politely. He made his way over to the circle of tormentors. Stefan was sobbing as he was shoved from boy to boy. None of them were girls, Damon noticed. Well, girls were more docile than boys. They were too busy playing with their dolls to harass a poor little kid.

"Is there a problem?" He asked menacingly. Immediately, a boy looked up at him and smiled.

"Oh no, sir. We're just playing." He said. Damon sneered. The boy was lying, of course. The others were still pushing, though. He decided not to start a fight, though. Fighting with a little kid wouldn't end well.

"That's not what it looks like. If I were you, I'd let my little brother alone before I kick your ass." He smiled at the boy. Immediately, the child ran off. Now, there was still the matter of the rest of them. Damon was getting pretty agitated. They were still pushing his brother, not ready to end their stupid game.

"You know, I remember a game like this when I was little. The kids who played it were all snot-nosed little brats. Your friend was smart. He got out of here while he could. I suggest you all follow his example." When the boys didn't move, Damon growled and bared his fangs. They scattered, some crying, the rest running back to their parents. Damon laughed and turned to his brother. Stefan didn't seem to think it was as funny as Damon did. He didn't look too happy.

"Hey, are you okay, Stefan?" Damon kneeled down to look Stefan in the face. Obviously, his brother was a little embarrassed that Damon had had to fight his battle. Damon didn't mind. He liked fighting battles.

"My knee hurts." Stefan whimpered. Damon looked at his knee and, sure enough, there was a small scratch. It was bleeding a little bit. Damon tried to ignore the blood and tend to Stefan, but it was difficult. It smelled so good and it was so close to him. He frowned. He needed to get Stefan a band-aid. Or, at least something to cover up the scratch. Little kids always thought that band-aids made everything better.

Damon heard footsteps and whirled. But, he had nothing to worry about. It was only the man from the bench. He had a little boy, about Stefan's age, in tow. Damon smiled. Maybe it had been a good thing that the man had decided to join him on the lonely bench.

"Would you like a band-aid? I always keep some with me. Marco falls down a lot." The man smiled at him. "I'm Leonardo, by the way. I didn't introduce myself before." Damon was a little shocked. The man barely knew him and he was willing to help? Well, he would take it. And, both of them had very Italian names. Leonardo and Marco? Well, Damon supposed, we are in Italy.

"Er, thanks." Damon wasn't very good at thanking people, but he did his best. The man had helped him more than he would ever know. "I'm Damon and this is my brother, Stefan." He introduced himself and his brother. Immediately, Stefan said hello to the man. Damon smirked. He was even polite as a little kid. The other boy, Marco, began to inch toward Stefan. Damon hid a laugh with a cough. He assumed that Marco thought Stefan was his own age and would like to play. Well, Stefan had shown some odd tendencies. Maybe he would play with the other boy.

"Hi. Do you wanna play on the slide? It's my favorite." The little boy smiled at Stefan. Damon saw Stefan looking at him hopefully. He chuckled.

"Go for it. I'll be here." He watched Stefan and Marco run off before returning to the bench. He decided that, this time, he would keep a closer eye on his brother. He noticed Leonardo returning to the bench, too. Damon sighed. Sure, he was thankful that the man had had a band-aid, but he really didn't want to spend too much time with him.

"So, your little brother and my son seem to be enjoying each other's company." Leonardo said. After that, the two men fell into an awkwardly polite conversation. Damon glanced up periodically to make sure Stefan was alright. Quickly, he grew bored. He began to hope that May and Elena would finish soon.

A Bit Later

"-birthday party. It's so hard being a father." Leo was saying (he had given Damon permission to call him "Leo"). Damon was barely paying attention, but perked up pretty quickly when his phone began to ring.

"Excuse me." He told the man, picking up his phone and moving away from the bench.

"Hello, May." Damon smiled.

"Hey, we finished with the shopping. Can you meet us at the Gap?" She replied.

"I thought you said you finished the shopping…" Damon was growing uneasy.

"Well, we finished our shopping. Now, we need to do Stefan's shopping. What, did you think we were going to buy things for him without knowing his size?"

"I don't know. You're women. You're good at that sort of thing."

"I'm not really sure how to take that… So, I'm going to ignore it." She laughed. "Please come up here. Elena's already picked out a few things, but we need Stefan to try them on."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. You know, you just saved me from the most boring conversation I've ever had."

"I'm so glad. I love you and I'll see you in a few minutes." She hung up. Damon grinned and told Leo goodbye. He went over to the slide to find Stefan.

Stefan was not on the slide. After a bit of a panic attack, Damon found him on a jungle gym a few feet away. He watched the two boys for a few moments, fascinated. They were playing a very strange game, yelling things to each other and toddling around on their short little legs. Damon wondered how they'd even gotten onto the jungle gym. He supposed it didn't matter. Damon realized that they were playing Cops and Robbers. He smiled for about a minute before remembering that they had to go. It was weirdly entertaining, watching his brother play.

"Stefan, we've got to go. The girls need you in the Gap."

"Five more minutes?" Stefan asked. Damon shook his head.

"Nope. I told May we were on our way. You can play later." Damon didn't like to make his brother upset, but he didn't like making May upset either. He lifted Stefan from the jungle gym and walked out of the play area. He laughed a little when he noticed Stefan waving at Marco. He really was something else.

AN: I completely made up Damon's middle name. I thought it was ironic because Lucio means light in Italian. XD In the next chapter, things are going to get a bit more intense. I finally know where I'm going with this story :) REVIEW!