A Twisted Reflection

Summary: Damon talks to Alaric after his 'dark side' is revealed
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the whole of the series up to the end of season three; some violence
Author's Note: The relationship between Damon and Alaric is one of my favourites in The Vampire Diaries, with the other one being the one between Tyler and Caroline. I also like the Originals, so there might be quite a few fics focusing on these sets of characters

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"Thought you could do with a drink."

Alaric glanced up and towards the doorway at the sound of the voice, making eye contact with Damon, who was holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand. "You sure you trust me around you?"

"Hey, I'm still one up on you." Damon stepped into the room and crossed over the floor, sitting next to Alaric. "So?" He held out the bottle.

Alaric looked at him. "You only have one bottle?"

"It's not like I'm worried about catching anything from you." Damon nudged Alaric's hand with the bottle. "It'll make you feel better."

"I'm not sure anything could do that." Alaric took the bottle from his friend and drank, feeling the whiskey burn down his throat. At least it was the good stuff.

"So do I get to meet Mr. Hyde?"

"Funny." Alaric handed the bottle back to Damon. "I guess this must be how you feel." Maybe it was the buzz from the alcohol making him talk about a subject that had been taboo so far. More likely, though, was the simple fact that Alaric knew which of Damon's buttons to push.

"I don't have an evil alter ego," Damon replied.

Alaric just looked at him. "You know what I mean."

Damon gave him a slightly manic grin. "I don't think either of us is drunk enough for this conversation."

Alaric shook his head as Damon gave his own words back to him, but said nothing as, after taking a swallow, Damon passed the bottle back to him. It wasn't until he took another gulp that he spoke. "You probably have a good alter ego."

"Keep talking like that and I'll have to prove you wrong."

"Why don't you?" Alaric asked impulsively. "Let's be honest. He's not going to just come out and tell you what you want to know. You've had no problem doing the hard thing to get what you want before. That stake's still out there and while it is, you're all in danger." Even as Alaric spoke, though, he knew his words would fall onto deaf ears.

He didn't know exactly when it had happened, but at some point, Alaric had gone from wanting to kill Damon to being his best friend. And though Damon would never admit out loud - and possibly not even to himself - he did feel the same. Alaric knew that.

The trouble was, so did his alter ego.

"I'm not going to do that."

"What if it's the only way to get the stake?" Alaric asked. "I know you pretend not to care, but at some point, you have to think about your brother. Elena. Are you willing to leave them in danger at the hands of my dark side?"

Damon tugged the bottle away from Alaric and sniffed it before taking another large swallow. "I think I need to be at the stage you are."

"Getting drunk isn't going to change anything."

"It'll make me feel better."

Alaric wanted to pull the bottle out of Damon's hands. Since he wasn't sure if the urge was his own or belonged to his alter ego, he didn't do anything. He knew he could easily make Damon angry, but if he was honest with himself, he didn't particularly want to make Damon angry enough to lose control. "So what are you planning to do? Get me drunk enough to pass out and hope he comes out?"

Damon shrugged. "It was the best suggestion anyone came up with."

"Not the best one, I'm sure."

"It's the one I'm sticking with."

Alaric held out his hand for the bottle and Damon handed it back to him. He took a swig and then shook the bottle slightly. "I think we need another one."

"Already covered." Damon shot out of the room at super speed and returned with two more bottles of whiskey, one of which he handed to Alaric. He took a long swallow from his bottle and leaned his head back. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Alaric couldn't make out any slurring in Damon's voice, but that didn't necessarily mean the vampire wasn't drunk. "So when I want you to hurt me, you won't?"

"You don't want me to hurt you."

"I want you to find out where the stake is."

A strange look came over Damon's face and he slowly set the bottle down, well away from him. He then reached over and took the other bottle out of Alaric's hand, setting it down next to his own.

"Hey, I was drinking that," Alaric protested mildly.

"I thought you wanted me to persuade Mr. Hyde to throw in the towel."

"And how did you intend to do that without torturing me?"

Damon didn't say anything, but he moved and Alaric suddenly found himself across the vampire's knees, his arms and legs resting on the cold floor. He wasn't sure exactly how it had happened, but he immediately started trying to push against Damon's arm that felt like an iron weight across his back. "Let me up, or I'll stake you!" he threatened.

"That's not happening any time soon."

Alaric opened his mouth to respond, but then jerked as he felt a sharp pain in the centre of his backside. "Hey!"

Damon didn't make any response and Alaric felt another, harder swat land just below the first. He lay still, hardly able to believe this was happening. He knew that Damon - Stefan, too - were from a time when this had probably been a fairly usual occurrence, but he'd never once thought this would happen to him.

By the time Damon had covered his entire backside with the stinging swats in one complete circuit, the shock wore off and Alaric tried to squirm free of Damon's grasp, frustrated when he realised he wasn't going anywhere. "Do you really think this is going to bring him out?!"

Damon didn't respond for a moment as he addressed a few sharp swats to Alaric's sit spots, making him struggle even more. "I think I'm not going to let you throw yourself away because of events out of your control."

The response was so uncharacteristic of Damon that Alaric was once again shocked into stillness - though that didn't last long. He was no longer trying to get away, however, merely shifting in response to the hard, sharp swats.

It made him feel particularly childish, though.

Damon didn't speak and just continued the hard, sharp swats. Alaric was horrified to feel his eyes beginning to grow damp. When was the last time he'd cried? He couldn't even remember anymore.

Alaric's entire world shrank to the sensations of being over Damon's lap with the vampire swatting all over his backside, going right down to his thighs. Just when it seemed like he succeeded in blinking back the tears, a particularly sharp swat would land where he didn't expect it, leaving him unable to escape inside his own head.

It didn't seem to matter that Alaric was wearing trousers. Damon's hard hand landed over and over, not giving Alaric a chance to fully absorb the pain of one swat before another one landed.

Knowing how close he was to breaking down, Alaric redoubled his efforts to get away, even trying to kick Damon - not that he thought it would do any good. In any case, Damon just pulled him against his stomach and began landing harder swats at a much faster pace.

The first sob felt almost torn from Alaric's throat. With one came more, until he was crying over Damon's lap, no longer trying to get away.

It took a while for the tears to slow and then stop. When they did, Alaric couldn't do anything apart from lie there, his throat and head aching from the force of his tears. He became aware that Damon's hand was on his back, rubbing in a gentle, almost soothing way.

Finally, Alaric pushed himself up, sitting gingerly on the hard floor next to Damon once more. "I could really use another drink."

Damon picked up both bottles once more. "I know."

The End