You know in my mind, Stefan is like a little boy always in need of a hug and Damon, the overprotective older brother. I love me some fluff! XD

Sorry guys, for leaving this story for so long. True-true, I had no idea what to do with it (actually, I still don't know where it's heading...). Anyway, I came back to it because I recently got back to watching VD. Yeah, I abandoned the series too after Season 2. So while I catch up, I'll try to think of stories to fold around these two brothers...so that it still follows the canon to some extent but the main point is, I just want a strong relationship between both of them. Let me know in the comment about what you think of this little chapter! xoxo

CHAPTER 7

It was nighttime. Stefan was sprawled on his bed. Books and papers were in a mess in front of him. He was writing on a pad and trying to concentrate very hard on finishing his essay. Stefan had never actually bothered with homework, he would usually compel whichever teacher who gave him any to forget about it and spare him the burden; however occasionally, he felt the need to do it just to keep up the pretence and cultivate the sense that he was really having a normal life. Furthermore, he quite liked literature so he didn't really mind completing the work for Mr. Davis, his English teacher. Stefan liked books and thus, he had a huge collection of classics stacked in the vast library of the Salvatore boarding house. Many of the books were the original first copies and several of them had even actually gone out of print. He took great care of the books and never let anyone borrow any of them, if he didn't trust the person who was asking for his permission. Quite a number of the books were gifts from other people – most of them were from his older brother, other friends and family when he was human, and a few were given by Lexi.

The sudden remembrance of his mentor and oldest friend caused Stefan to stop writing and his chest was instantly constricted with emotion. He hadn't gotten over Lexi's death in the space of two days since it happened. Of course, he had had a long talk with Damon after his older brother had taken care of him the day he almost killed himself. Damon made him vow several times that he wouldn't attempt anything like that ever again until he was absolutely convinced that Stefan had realised his mistake and did not lie when he promised. They spent the whole evening talking about their feelings, Katherine's mysterious appearance and the aftermath of Lexi's death. His older brother kept telling him that he was very sorry especially for his recent involvement in his friend's death.

When the talk ended, both of them had felt forgiven and Stefan had accepted the fact that Lexi was gone and though he hated what happened to her, his older brother was the only person he had gotten left, the only family he had had for a long time, and he loved him too much to put the blame for Lexi's murder on him.

Stefan could hear footsteps entering his room and having known who it was, he quickly composed himself. A second later, someone jumped on to his bed and a set of arms tackled him from behind, locking Stefan in a head grip.

'Ow, Damon!' Stefan cried, annoyed. His older brother just laughed and tousled his already messy hair. He let go of him when Stefan huffed disapprovingly.

'What are you doing?'

'School work.'

Stefan moved into a sitting position while Damon continued to lie there watching his little brother with a slight crooked smile on his face. Stefan was pleased at the attention. They just enjoyed each other's company for several minutes without speaking to each other.

Stefan continued writing to finish the essay he'd been working on for the better part of an hour and Damon, who was bored, would sometimes use his hand to pinch his brother's ear or nose or tickle him on his sides.

Stefan tried his best to ignore the annoying distractions but after some time, he gave up. Fixing a glare at his older brother, he told him, 'Damn it hell Damon, would you stop?' He threw the pen at Damon.

Damon stopped what he was doing and returned his brother's glare with a stern but playful gaze of his own, his eyes were like blue fires dancing in intensity. 'Watch your words, Stefan James Salvatore.'

They remained staring at each other until Stefan dropped his eyes and laughed softly. He spent another couple of minutes on his essay while Damon lapsed into silence. When he was finally satisfied with his work, he gathered his school stuff and put them in the bag which he later threw carelessly on to the floor near the foot of his bed.

'Come here, little brother.' Damon pulled Stefan to his side. They were spread diagonally across the bed and for a few moments, both of them just lay there staring up at the ceiling.

'Stefan, we need to talk about Elena.'

'What about her?'

'Well, you know Katherine is here and she has a plan. I'd love to bet otherwise but knowing her, Katherine must have found out about Elena. The human could be in danger.'

Stefan swallowed hard. He knew it would come to this. Wherever Katherine went to, death and danger would follow. He felt a strong protective instinct toward his human friend and he wasn't going to let Katherine harm her. Damon was looking at him with a concerned expression on his face.

'What should we do? We can't let Katherine hurt her.' Nervousness was evident in Stefan's voice.

'We'll keep her safe.'

'We have to keep her safe.' Stefan affirmed, with a slight desperate tone in his voice. Damon's light blue eyes fixed on Stefan's troubled sea green. Without a word, he made a promise and Stefan understood that he would do anything to keep Elena away from any danger.

'I think it's time to tell her what we really are. Sooner or later, Katherine will find her and she will know about vampires. At least if she knows now, we can offer her some protection.'

'How do you intend to protect her?' Stefan asked.

'We can tell her a bit about the vampire stuff; vervain, wooden stake and all that. The most important thing is we have to tell her who Katherine really is and how absolutely lethal she can be.'

'Damon, please do what you can.' It was a long time ago his little brother had begged him to do something. Damon was touched.

'Don't worry. I'll handle it.'

'I'll ask Elena to drop by our house after school tomorrow and both of us are going to explain to her about,' Stefan made a wide gesture with his hand, 'all this.'

'I actually think that you should get her to invite us for dinner tomorrow night. I got some stuff to do in the afternoon and I can't leave you alone. You need supervision.'

Stefan threw his older brother a look. He remembered the promise he made to Damon before, though.

'What stuff, Damon?'

'All in due time, little brother. So, can you do what I ask?'

'Sure. I'll get her to do it.' Stefan paused for a while before he resumed speaking.

'I, of course, have no problem getting invited to have dinner at her house but I'm not sure about you though. I already told her a bunch of stories about us and last time I checked, she believes you are a selfish, terrible and totally evil older brother.'

Stefan tried to maintain a straight face but his brother's unsure expression—plus his mouth was hanging slightly open—caused him to giggle.

'Oh, you are laughing at me now, kid?' Damon grabbed his little brother who immediately turned away from him, and prodded him mercilessly. Stefan continued to laugh as he tried in futility to get out of his brother's arms and then, they were both laughing hysterically. After his little brother had seemed to genuinely beg Damon to release him a couple of times, Damon ended his little torture and brought Stefan around to face him.

'That'll teach you not to badmouth your older brother behind his back again, do you hear me?' Damon said in a playful tone as he held Stefan still in his arms. He cupped his little brother's cheek and stared deep into his eyes, their faces mere inches from each other. Stefan's mouth curled into an innocent boyish grin and his green eyes were bright and alive as he locked gaze with Damon.

'Ask Elena if she could have us for dinner tomorrow night, all right?'

'Both of us?' Stefan asked, still grinning.

'Yesssss. Both of us.' Damon couldn't help but smile, too. He pulled back a little and kissed the top of Stefan's head. The older vampire then turned around and got up from the bed. He ruffled Stefan's hair once more before saying goodnight and walking out of the room.