AN: For the fic-exchange over on LJ! Enjoy!

Prompt: Damon/Stefan: No slash. Before Katherine. Preferably during their childhood. I kind of ran with it!

Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Vampire Diaries'.

Damon Salvatore stared at the clean, white ceiling above him. October 31st, 1848. A truly normal date to anyone. Anyone but him. Today was his birthday. His eighth birthday to be exact. It was something he should have been looking forward to. After all, birthdays were associated with social gatherings with family and friends, presents, special dinners, cakes and birthday wishes. And for the first seven years of his life, they had been. But that was before his mother had disappeared. The maids told him she was needed in heaven but he was confused, didn't they have enough angels? Did he not need her more? Even his little brother, Stefan, of just under one year of age needed her. How could she have been taken away from them so easily?

Damon missed her desperately. He missed her warmth, her tinkling laugh, her bedtime stories of princes and princesses, her squeezing embraces but, most of all, he missed her smile. The tender, full-toothed smile that had him beaming with pride because it was often him who had put it there. He still remembered when she had last smiled at him like that.

It was a sunny day in mid-September and he was sitting with his mother on the grass of their estate. Her fingers were running through his hair mindlessly as he rested his ear against her prominent bump where his little brother or sister was growing; almost fully grown according to his mother and she had told him that he would be able to meet the baby soon. He talked to the baby, telling it stories of all of the things they would do together. He had looked up then and seen that dazzling smile painted on her face. It was enough to have him mirroring her expression. It wasn't hard; he had her crystalline blue eyes, her dark curls, her rosy cheeks and her sparkling teeth. She used to tell him that he was her reflection and she couldn't have wished for a better mirror image. He would grin at her then, as she stroked his jaw, the only thing he had gained from his father.

Yes, Damon remembered that smile but it was tainted. Tainted by the painful smile he had last seen on her face; the last smile she would ever wear. He never understood what had happened, one minute his mother was telling him to look after his newly born brother and the next, her chest was heaving with harsh gasps and he was being shuffled from the room. That was the last time he saw her; he still remembered that last glimpse through the doorway, her blue eyes without hope as her face contorted in pain.

Since then, he had watched as his father hardened. The man who once looked at him like he was his pride and joy, now couldn't bear the sight of him. His father's green eyes were cold, never once lightening even at Damon's best joke. Even when Damon was on his best behaviour, his father's face remained impassive. Soon though, he stopped trying. His brother received all of the attention as he grew through his first year. Damon had resented him at first, Stefan had stolen both his mother and his father away from him and Damon couldn't help the jealousy that rose within him. But then, one day, he had been looking into the white bassinet, staring down at his brother in contempt. He had made a move to leave when something grabbed onto his finger, squeezing it with surprising strength. He turned to see his brother gazing up at him happily as he hugged Damon's finger to his chest and gurgled quietly. Damon had remained there, entranced by the newborn until Stefan had drifted off to sleep, releasing his vice-like grip on Damon's finger.

Damon had smiled then, the first real smile that had touched his lips since his mother had been taken away by the angels. He knew then, at that very moment, that he would fulfil his mother's last wish.

Damon crept from his bed, his little feet making almost inaudible steps across the wooden floor. He scraped at his door until his fingers touched the cool metal of the doorknob. With practised ease, he turned it slowly, wincing slightly when a low creak sounded as he pulled the door open. His little, raven-haired head poked out of the doorway slowly - cautiously - and his blue eyes darted around the expansive hallway. Noticing no movement, he sneaked out of the confinements of his room, a shiver passing through his body when the coldness of the morning air wrapped around his pyjama-clad form. He tottered down the hallway, skipping over the floorboards he knew, from previous experience, would make a sound with even the slightest pressure.

A smile found its way onto his face when he reached the white, slightly ajar door. He slid through the gap in the doorway, his eyes immediately focusing in on the crib in the corner of the room.

"Hi, Steffie," he whispered, gripping onto the white bars of the crib as he tried to maintain his balance on raised tip-toes.

Stefan's green eyes were hazy with sleep, a yawn causing his jaw to stretch so much so that Damon thought he would break it. Damon chuckled slowly, watching as his brother made little grabby hands for him. Stefan - not pleased that Damon had denied his request of being lifted - rolled over onto his stomach, something Damon never failed to be amazed by. He still remembered the first time his little brother had done that at just four months old.

They were lounging on a blanket on the grass of their garden, the maids all fawning over the green-eyed baby as Damon pulled grass stalks from the soil mindlessly. His eyes were concentrated on his destruction, not interested in the cooing women -Stefan wasn't as interesting as they were making him out to be. At least, Damon thought he was more interesting than a baby, all Stefan did was lie there and look cute.

Damon's head lifted upon hearing the awe-filled gasps, his blue eyes honed in on the form of his baby brother and he watched as Stefan rocked from side to side. He found himself crawling towards were Stefan lay, joining in with the maids as they offered encouragement and bribes to the baby that he could, no doubt, not understand at all. His heart thudded in his chest, a wide grin curling at his lips when Stefan toppled, rolling off of his back and onto his stomach. Damon cheered and Stefan giggled happily as the smiles of the women filled his vision. The little baby soon became disinterested and turned his head to, what could already be determined to be, his favourite person -his brother.

Stefan reached for him, his forehead puckering and his lips pouting when he failed to make contact with his older brother. A soft whimper fell from his mouth and Damon wasted no time in scooping his little brother up into his small arms. His arms struggled with the weight as he tried to support Stefan, frowning when his little brother continued to struggle in his arms.

"What's wrong?" Damon cooed, moving to sit cross-legged on the blanket as he held Stefan up, his hands underneath the baby's armpits as his little feet rested on Damon's calves. Stefan quieted, his green eyes wide and earnest as he stretched out his arms. Damon moved closer, enabling Stefan's chubby, little hands to make purchase with his cheeks. The maids watched on happily as the raven-haired boy laughed and his little brother gave him a toothless smile in return. The maids shared a fond look; it had been a long time since they had seen Master Damon smile, too long. After the death of his mother, he had retreated into a shell of his former self but it seemed that the newest addition to the Salvatore clan was successfully pulling him out of his depression.

"Steffie," the nickname rolled easily off Damon's tongue as he leaned his head back from Stefan's grasp. He sighed in defeat when Stefan's lower lip began to wobble and knew that the tears were soon to follow. He tilted his head towards his little brother, wincing slightly when Stefan's hands immediately grasped onto his raven locks and tugged.

"When your hair grows," Damon mused, meeting his little brother's emerald eyes that were twinkling with amusement. "I'm going to get you back for all of this hair tugging."

Damon grinned, hearing the maids laugh as he pulled Stefan closer to his chest. The younger sibling went easily, burrowing his head into the crook of Damon's neck as his arms clutched at the white linen of his brother's shirt. Damon closed his eyes briefly, inhaling his brother's natural baby scent and basking in the warmth of the love that was practically radiating from Stefan's body.

"What?" Damon chuckled. "Not going to wish your favourite person in the whole, wide world a happy birthday?"

He rolled his eyes when Stefan simply gurgled; he was still waiting for his little brother's first word. Stefan would reach his first milestone, his first birthday, on November 5th but Damon was hoping that his little brother would give him the gift of his first word. It had yet to happen but he didn't give up hope, even when the maids told him that Stefan might not utter his first word for another six months.

Stefan smiled up at him, a few milk-white teeth poking out from his gums as he made unintelligible noises that Damon had come to understand meant that he was happy. At least, he thought Stefan was happy. He wasn't sad that's for sure, everyone would know if Stefan was unhappy. Damon often wondered about the size of his little brother's lungs. The sandy-blonde haired baby crawled towards the edge of the crib, his face intense as he grasped onto the white, metal poles and hoisted himself up from his mattress. His legs wobbled slightly but Damon reached between the bars of the crib and placed a steadying hand on his back.

Stefan whimpered when he wasn't able to embrace his brother and, ignoring Damon's attempts at trying to hush him, he let out a loud cry. Damon panicked, his ears listening out for any signs of the maids rousing from their beds. If they caught him, he would be scolded for disturbing Stefan's sleep but if his father did... He didn't even want to think of the consequences. He reached inside of the crib, lifting Stefan from his bed before cradling him in his arms.

"You're getting heavy," Damon huffed, smiling softly when his brother wrapped his arms around his neck. He tip-toed across the room and settled into the rocking chair in the corner - the one he used to sit in with his mother when he was little. He hugged Stefan to his chest, gently rocking them back and forth in a soothing motion. He knew he was doing it right when Stefan's eyelids drooped but his little brother was stubborn and refused to go back to sleep.

"You want to stay up for my birthday, huh?" Damon questioned; he wasn't sure why, it wasn't like Stefan would reply. "I'm glad I have someone to celebrate it with. Father has probably forgotten and, even if the maids haven't, they won't anger him by giving me gifts or treats."

He sighed, brushing his hand tenderly across the wispy blonde hair on his brother's forehead. "I hope he'll be nicer to you. He wasn't always like this. Back when Mother," he paused, taking a deep breath; it still hurt to think of her, let alone talk about her. "When she was here, he was kinder but I think he's angry now. He's mad at the angels for taking her away and I think I remind him of her too much. It's a good thing you look a lot like him then, I guess."

Damon wiped away the stray tear that fell from his icy, blue eye though he couldn't help the silent sobs that heaved his chest. It was his first birthday without his mother, she had been the most important person in his life until Stefan came along; he treasured them both, the memory of one and the form of the other. He tried to calm himself, knowing that Stefan would pick up on his emotions and become distraught. He took deep breaths and sniffled quietly. His eyes found his brother once more, Stefan's green eyes looking up at him curiously.

His hand reached up to touch Damon's face but before the raven-haired boy could lean down to grant his brother's wish, he was frozen in place.

"Dam-my."

Damon let out a startled laugh, scooping Stefan up into his arms so they could look into each other's eyes. "That's right," Damon praised, "I'm Damon. Can you say Damon?"

Stefan opened his mouth, little mumbles reverberating from his throat before he finally wrapped his tongue around the word. "Dam," there was a slight pause as his brow furrowed, "...on."

Damon grinned, kissing Stefan's forehead quickly before crushing him to his chest, his heart filling with love at the sound of Stefan's excited giggles. "I told Mother I would protect you and I will. We're brothers."

The raven-haired boy pulled back form the embrace, looking down onto his sibling's face as he uttered his promise, "Forever."

My first time writing Defan, so please tell me what you think! Amy

Twitter: _amygerrard

LJ: amygerrard