Crystalised

***This story is going to be just for you Damonfan123! Here's Dalaric so I expect Defan in return!***

"Hey Ric!"

It was always that same voice, every day before school started. Every single day. It was a routine they had started a few months ago and had for some reason kept going, vampire and hunter bonding. Did that make much sense? That a supposed vampire hunter's best friend was a vampire himself? And not an overly kind one at that? Perhaps not, but Damon was his best friend, and he loved hearing that bright greeting early in the morning, always sneaking up behind him and making him jump a bit. Damon loved doing that, scaring Ric when he was still half asleep, unpacking his papers in the classroom before the students got there. He would hide in the closet, behind the desk, anywhere really, eagerly awaiting that moment when Alaric would yelp or flinch, whipping around with a crazed look in his eye. That was Damon's cue to leap out, either using his supernatural speed to get behind Ric before he saw and grab him from behind or to just slump on the wall arrogantly, choking back laughter. Other times the laughter would just burst forth, loud guffaws until Ric was joining him, laughing at his own stupidity.

These little meetings served to motivate the teacher through the rest of the day listening to bratty high school kids who thought they were tough shit, him knowing in the back of his head that most of them would end up being Mystic Fall's losers and drunken lowlifes. Damon would usually offer to teach them a lesson when they were sharing drinks together, alcohol making him bouncy and ready to fight. That was one thing about Damon; whenever Ric drank he grew more somber and platonic, easing back into his chair, eyes drooping slightly. But when Damon drank, he became as hyper as Ric's students, creating master schemes to get into Elena's pants or piss off his brother. This always made Alaric laugh, seeing Damon's wild drunken behavior. They balanced each other out quite nicely.

When he heard Damon's morning ritual of "Hey Ric!" while pouncing on him from behind, the teacher let out a quick grunt, eyes going wide as they always did. He had to admit that he sometimes exaggerated his reaction a little just for the sake of hearing his best friend's laugh, that genuine and heartfelt laugh. It was so rare, it made it all the more special when Ric drew it out of him.

"Gotcha!" Damon smirked, pressing his canines against Ric's neck, growling fiercely.

"Get the hell off me, Damon!" Ric shouted, pushing the vampire away. The cool fingers left his hips and Damon fell back, snorting hysterically.

"Get's me every time." He chuckled, watching Alaric's annoyed face. And Damon continued to laugh, knowing Ric would come around. And of course he did, his face finally melting into a contagious smile as he began to laugh too, grinning at the mere sight of his friend standing before him. Damon just made his mornings so much more tolerable.

He couldn't help but note how impeccable Damon looked, dressed in dark jeans and a dark blue button-down, the color serving to highlight his pale eyes. How could they be so pale yet so electric at the same time? This was often what Ric thought about during their drinking sessions: Damon's eyes. They drew him in, and in such a stupor he was easily sidetracked. His hair was artfully mussed, an imitation of bedhead that made the strands look oh-so-soft. Alaric often had the urge to reach out his fingers and just touch Damon's hair. He wondered what it would feel like. And of course, his lips were curled into that irresistible smile, crooked and to one side, his head cocked as he gazed right back at Ric.

How the hell did he look so good in the morning? Ric knew that he looked like shit in the morning, having barely enough time to brush his teeth and throw on a t-shirt. How early did Damon get up? Maybe he never went to sleep. Vampires were creatures of the night… but he knew Damon slept. Maybe he just got up early so he would look nice for Ric. This idea was mildly satisfying, but he shook it off knowing that Damon somehow always looked beautiful.

"Hey you big scaredy-cat!" Damon teased, slapping him on the back. "I thought you'd be used to it by now."

"Did you ever think I'm just humoring you?" Ric asked, raising his eyebrows at Damon's shocked expression. Then it melded back to cool confidence.

"Nah. You're not that skilled." Alaric just laughed again, motioning for Damon to sit at one of the desks. Instead he slipped around the teacher, brushing their hands together before plopping down at the large desk up front, placing his feet on it, leaning back casually in the chair, the perfect image of ease and cockiness.

"Damon…" Ric whined, gesturing to the feet on his papers. "Feet off."

"Ah come on! Let loose a little. Have a little fun. I know I did last night…mmm that girl was good." Damon smacked his lips together and licked them, peeking up to see Ric's reaction.

Instead of acting horrified, as he knew he should, he was entranced by Damon's tongue and lips, watching their movements with growing intensity. Oh God, what was wrong with him? Snap out of it! Snap out of it!

Damon was looking at him curiously. "You okay Ric?" He asked with a note of sincere concern. Ric dropped his eyes, embarrassed, muttering a 'yes' and smiling weakly back at the vampire before him.

"You didn't kill her did you?" He questioned, knowing it was the logical next step. This is what Damon had expected him to say first, perhaps with more urgency, but Alaric was fairly certain Damon hadn't killed anyone last night.

"Tempting, but no."

"Exactly what I thought, Damon. If you actually killed someone, you wouldn't come in here to brag about it to me. I don't want to talk about this anymore anyway so find a new topic."

"What about you coming to live with me?" Damon asked.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ric said sarcastically.

"I'm being dead serious. We still haven't caught that new vampire and someone was attacked a few days ago in a town right outside of Mystic Falls. And before you say anything, it wasn't me. He's a sneaky little fellow, that one, and I don't want anyone getting hurt."

"It wasn't even in Mystic Falls Damon! And I'm a hunter. I can fend for myself. I don't need a babysitter." Alaric protested, crossing his arms in front of his chest, glaring down at Damon's angelic face.

"I don't really care what you think Ric. This vampire is a real threat and I- I can't lose anyone else. I… I care about you." Damon said softly, his cheeks turning a bit crimson at this confession. Alaric was touched, knowing how hard it was for Damon to admit his feelings, and was moved to consent with only a few more protests and groans.

A few days later he was settled in the boardinghouse with Stefan and Damon, using the guest bedroom upstairs. The situation was… odd… to say the least. He had escalated from just being friends with vampires to living with them for God's sakes. And Damon wasn't making it easy what with all the blood bags and occasional girls littering the house. He never killed anyone, but it was against Alaric's basic nature to let Damon feed from a live human while he was in the adjoining room, sometimes even sitting right there watching. He thought maybe Damon did it on purpose, fed right in front of him, moaning and slurping, looking up occasionally to smirk at Ric's shocked face. Sometimes he was angry, but sometimes he was intrigued watching Damon lose himself in the ecstasy of the blood, thinking that if he forgot that this was a poor innocent human and Damon a killing monster, that the action was rather beautiful and sensuous.

When Damon saw this look he would smile and make his act even more dramatic, arching his shoulders into it and shuddering as the warm liquid coated his throat. He would let it smear around his face so that upon pulling away he could run his tongue around the contours of his lips, sucking each finger one at a time. Alaric wasn't sure why he did this, though it was becoming strangely enjoyable to watch.

Then one day he was heading to the shower after an intense run, one which Damon had tried to dissuade him from taking, claiming the vamp was still at large, but he insisted and pushed past his friend to open the door and head out. He had been cooped up too long and had to stretch his legs. Also, he had been feeling really weird lately. Every time he looked at Damon he couldn't help but stare at his beauty, and long to rake his fingers over the firm flesh, or whatever it was vampires had in place of flesh.

If this wasn't disturbing enough, Ric began to mentally undress him, picture Damon, his best friend, without a shirt, heck, without pants too. He was just so damn sexy, so irresistible. What would it be like to kiss him, to brush their lips together for the briefest of seconds… he could pretend it was an accident, run into him and somehow force their lips together… what the hell was he thinking? This was wrong, just plain wrong… and yet it seemed right, so right.

He needed to get his shit straight. Stupid vampires and their seductive crap. Just run you idiot and stop fantasizing about kissing your best friend. Run!

And that's how he had made it to the shower that day, sweaty and frustrated, grumbling about that pretty black haired creature living a mere two rooms down from him, sucking him into a whirlwind of feelings he wasn't prepared for.

….

He loved to play with Alaric Saltzman, anger him with excessive feeding and creep up on him when he was at his most vulnerable. For some reason Damon especially enjoyed bringing a beautiful woman into the room where he sat, feeding from her as sexily as possible. And yet the man had no response. Except perhaps for disapproval at Damon's feeding habits. It was infuriating!

And then the shower incident had occurred.

A wonderfully sweaty Alaric appeared literally out of nowhere, grumbling about something or other, before colliding with a nearly naked Damon right at the door to enter the bathroom. Damon smelled the scent of his best friend right away and leaned down to sniff him instinctually. Alaric smelled delicious. Amazingly delicious. Mouth-wateringly delicious. The sweat only served to intensify the aroma, and Damon held Ric's shoulders steady, keeping him from falling, before leaning into his neck and breathing him in.

"Ric, you smell simply delicious today, you know that?" Damon moaned into his ear, his lips brushing the lobe, his hot breath hitting Alaric's skin with a tingling sensation. He was painfully aware of their bodies pressed against each other, of his near nudity. And before he knew it Alaric had gripped his face and pressed their lips together.

Hold up.

Was Alaric Saltzman kissing him? Like, really kissing him? Immediately Damon pushed him off, staring at the man with incredulity. He slowly put his fingers to his lips, looking to Ric for some sort of explanation. And then suddenly he burst into cackles, pointing to Damon's astounded face, now twisted in anger.

"Now I got you!" He said triumphantly. "You should've seen your face, it was priceless!"

Damon finally forced a grin, nodding at him, exchanging a few words before turning on his heel and leaving the room. He heard the shower start and leaned on the wall in relief. He once again put his fingers to his lips, tracing the places where Alaric's mouth had been.

That was the moment he finally realized he was in love with his best friend.

…

Dammit dammit dammit!

Had he seriously just kissed Damon Salvatore? Mistake…. Very bad mistake…

He had tried desperately to laugh it off, acting as if it was all a joke, but he was afraid his eyes told all: that kiss was fucking awesome!

Making it to the shower he slumped down in defeat. Damon would never want him in this way. It was unnatural and he didn't want to ruin their friendship. But still…

This was the first moment Alaric really knew how much he loved and wanted Damon Salvatore.