get your words out { 2022 } yahtzee tracking

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Running Score: 260 (8/8)
Word Count: 36,156

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SET #4: COMBO (3 OF A KIND)

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i knew that she'd be mine | buffyverse/tvdverse | 2,042

[iluvroadrunner6]

[Prompt]

There’s a new girl in the school.

Usually Matt doesn’t pay much attention to these things, nor does he care, but given what he’s just learned about Mystic Falls, he can’t help but look on her with a healthy amount of suspicion. This doesn’t help matters when the principal pulls him to the side and asks him to show the new girl around. He knows he needs to figure out whether she really is just the new girl or if there’s more to her than that.

How do you go about figuring out someone is a vampire? What did the Sheriff tell him?

Vervain and sunlight—though that seems to be hit or miss. Vervain is likely his best bet. He just has to figure out how to slip it to her. He waits by the front door of the high school, scanning for familiar faces until he hears:

“Matt?”

He turns and, for a moment, is flabbergasted. For all the things he expected about the situation, the last thing he expected was for her to be cute. Petite and blond, she smiles up at him, half-expectantly. Trying to be friendly, but hoping she had the right person. She pauses and extends her hand when he says nothing.

“I’m Buffy. The new girl?”

“Right. Sorry.” Eventually, he snaps out of it and shakes her hand. “I’m Matt. Welcome to Mystic Falls.”

“Thanks,” she grins, before pulling her hand back to her chest. “I’m kind of old hat at the new school game, but it’s been a while since I’ve been to a town this small.”

“Yeah, we definitely are that.” He turns and gestures for her to follow him. “So, where did you come from?” A beat. “Move from. Where did you move from?”

She laughs. “LA, mostly? California.”

“Oh, wow. Then this place must be tiny.”

“It’s not so bad,” she shrugs, before looking up and eyeing the numbers on the lockers. “My locker number is six-fifteen.”

“Ah, you’re down this way.” He points to one hallway before leading the way. “And I would wait until you’ve been here for a few months before you say that.”

“Hey, if I’ve heard nothing else, it’s that small town kids know how to party.”

He laughs. “That we know how to do. You are right.” He raises an eyebrow. “Are you angling to go to one?”

“Probably a good way to make friends, right?” she shrugs. “And the sooner I do that, the sooner I’m the weird new thing and more a part of the furniture.”

“I get that.” They stop at locker six-fifteen, and he shifts to lean against the closed one next to it as she opens it. “There’s usually one down at the Old Mill, first weekend of school. Probably would be your best bet.”

“Weekends at the Old Mill, got it.” She smiles back at him. “Sounds like fun.” After dropping off her belongings, she consults her schedule. “Seems like next up is history.”

“Ahh, then this is where we part ways. I’m heading off to chem.” He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “But maybe we could meet up for lunch? I can tell you more about the good hang outs.”

“That would be great,” she nods with a smile. “I’ll meet you at the cafeteria?”

Matt smiles. “See you there.” He drops her off at history, and as the door closes, he sees Caroline down the hall, watching them both with a slightly sour expression on her face. But as they’re not together anymore and she’s dating his best friend, how Caroline feels about things isn’t really his problem.

* * * * *

He slips some vervain in her soda at lunch, hoping the sharpness of the Coke will cover up the taste of vervain. When she drinks it, she makes a face, and a comment about it going flat, but there’s no smoke, no coughing, no weakness.

Not a vampire.

He then asks her if she wants to go to the party together. It appears he needs some new friends, anyway. And he likes her smile a lot when she says yes.

* * * * *

The Old Mill party is like most Old Mill parties—kegs and liquor scattered about the bonfire while teenagers get increasingly more intoxicated in the middle of the woods, fully convinced that they’re completely safe from harm. Matt can’t think the same way anymore, but Buffy is a welcome distraction, and he’s happy to introduce her to some members of the football team and cheerleading squad.

Eventually the crowd cycles, and they find their way in front of Caroline and Bonnie, who Buffy greets with a friendly smile.

“Hey. I’m Buffy. I’m new.” She extends a hand to both of them, but while Caroline is defensive and ignores it, Bonnie leans forward to shake her hand.

“Bonnie. And this is Caroline. Matt says you used to cheer?” Caroline seems almost disappointed when Bonnie relaxes and starts having an actual conversation with her, and he can’t figure out why. Probably because he doesn’t know enough about witches.

“Oh yeah, way long ago. My pep skills are probably a little rusty.”

Matt smirks. “If this conversation is going to devolve into cheer talk, I’m going to get us more drinks.” He glances to Buffy. “Beer?”

“Sure,” she nods, and Bonnie holds up a finger for one as well. Caroline huffs.

“I’ll come help you.”

He makes a face because he already doesn’t like where this conversation is going, but he doesn’t fight her. “Thanks,” he says flatly, before leaving Bonnie and Buffy to chat. Caroline waits until they’re firmly across the party before she takes his arm.

“So, you’re just hanging out with the new girl?”

“Yeah,” he replies sharply. “Is there a problem with that?”

“Maybe. You remember that the last time we got a new student at school, they were a vampire, right?”

“Yeah. A vampire who killed my sister and covered it up for months. I remember.” Matt looks back at her. “I already tested her with vervain. She’s clean. And she’s not wearing any lapis lazuli, and even Bonnie shook her hand with no sign of trouble. I don’t know about you, but I think that counts as passing the test.”

“So? That doesn’t mean you have to hang out with her—”

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t?” He raises an eyebrow. “Are you just saying that I’m not allowed to make any new friends now? Because right now my old ones aren’t looking that great.”

Caroline looks like he smacked her. “Ouch, Matt.”

Matt shrugs. “I just don’t understand why you’re allowed to make new friends and determine who’s safe and I’m not.”

At that, her hurt face softens and she nods. “You’re right. That’s fair. If you think she’s safe, then…I trust you.” She reaches over and places a hand on his arm. “I’m just trying to protect you.”

“I know.” Matt softens slightly as well, before filling one cup and handing them off to her. “But your mom trained me on all the signs to look for. Just…trust me? Please?”

Caroline nods as she takes the second cup from him. “Okay. I trust you.”

“Good. Now let’s just enjoy the party.”

* * * * *

This party ends where most parties often do, at the Grille. Buffy orders herself a large plate of greasy fries and some water, hoping to sober up a bit before she goes home to her mom. At this point she’s mostly been rambling about her family—mom, dad out of the picture, sister Dawn. It’s so similar to his own situation, except her sister is alive and her mom actually gives a shit.

It must be nice to have that kind of family. But at least they can bond about their absentee dad.

He goes to get them refills on their water glasses from the bar, and he feels a firm hand grip his arm. Suddenly, Damon is far too close, and he leans in to whisper in his ear. “Mind if I talk to you for a second?”

“I have nothing to say to you,” he replies, and the grip on his arm tightens to the point of pain. Matt grimaces before glancing back at him with a glare. “Fine.”

“Good.” Damon turns and escorts him out of the Grille and into the alley nearby, where they’ll have some privacy. He turns and shoves him against the wall, looking at him with that oddly uncomfortable Damon look, eyes wide and unnerving. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“When you assaulted me and dragged me out here? Getting a glass of water for my date.” Matt rolls his eyes. “Last I checked, that wasn’t illegal.”

“It is if we don’t know who or what she is. New people don’t just show up in Mystic Falls, you know.”

Matt rolls his eyes. “I already told Caroline this—I tested her with vervain, and she wasn’t wearing any daylight jewelry.”

“Yeah, well, Caroline is a little too willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I’m not.” He takes a step in, pushing her finger into his chest and not stopping until Matt’s back is against the wall. “Now, I want you to be a good little boy and abandon your date so I can vet her properly, and until then stay—”

“Hey!” Both men turn to see Buffy standing at the mouth of the alley. She stalks closer, immediately putting herself between Matt and Damon despite being the shortest of the three. “Leave him alone.”

Damon raises an eyebrow, but he turns and faces her, eyes meeting hers in a way that Matt knows is for compulsion. “Why don’t you forget him and leave town? Pretend you never walked into this one horse town if you know what’s good for you. Don’t worry about Matt. I’m sure he’ll do just fine without you.”

Matt can feel the rage boiling in his chest, as the glazed expression crosses Buffy’s face, and she turns to leave. She doesn’t say a word, taking herself to the mouth of the alley again as she follows Damon’s instructions. Matt grits his teeth before shoving the other men back from him.

“You didn’t have to do that. She was no one.”

“No one is no one,” Damon points out, turning to block Buffy’s exiting form from view. “At least not until I determine that they’re no one. Do you really think I’m going to let you bring someone around Ele—”

Suddenly Damon freezes. A hacking cough rises from his chest and blood spurts between his lips. Whoever’s assaulting him lands a kick to the back of his knees and he drops to the ground, and before Matt can do anything about it, Damon’s neck snaps and he drops to the ground, revealing the knife in his back.

When Matt tears himself away from Damon, he looks up to see Buffy still standing there. She holds up her hands when he jerks away in shock. “Don’t worry. He’s not dead.”

“I know that,” he replies, dumbstruck. “But when he wakes up, he’s going to be pissed.”

“Wait—you know about vampires?” Buffy blinks, confused.

“Yeah. So do you.” That much is obvious. “…He compelled you. Are you on vervain?”

“No. I can’t be compelled. It’s a really long sto—” Her eyes widen, and then she smiles. “That’s why my soda tasted weird the day we met. You slipped me vervain.”

“Yeah. You’re not a vampire, but you can’t be compelled?”

“As I said, long story.” She glances down at Damon. “Just…help me get him somewhere, and I’ll explain on the way?”

Matt looks down at the vampire at his feet, and while he doesn’t know what she’s going to do to him, he thinks that the person who ruined his sister’s life should get the chance to suffer, just a little. He nods, shifting to brace some of Damon’s weight as they get him up.

“Before we do this though—what are you?” Because she has to be something, right?

Buffy takes a deep breath and braces Damon on the opposite side with a nod. “I’m a vampire Slayer.”

you took the blue out of the sky | buffyverse/tvdverse | 1,878

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[Prompt]

There’s a lot Buffy really likes about Mystic Falls—a lot of the east coast, really. The homey little hovels, the cozy woods and quiet villages—they all have a warmth and welcoming air to them, she appreciates. It’s only when you get closer and look at what’s really happening under the surface that you see the cracks in the façade.

Like vampires. These little towns have so may vampires.

“Take a left up here.”

She points to the turn in question and Matt obediently follows, making the left before glancing back at her again. She trussed up “Damon,” as Matt calls him, in the bed of Matt’s truck, chained, muzzled and covered in canvas just in case he wakes up before they get there. Usually broken necks take a long time to heal, but if someone gets their neck broken often—and she senses Damon might—they might heal a little faster, so better safe than sorry.

Matt swallows hard. “So. Vampire Slayer?”

“Right. Explanation time.” It’s always the thing she finds the hardest to explain, really. What she is tends towards the long and complicated, and she doesn’t want to alienate him. But she owes him one, so she starts from the beginning. “A long time ago, when the Originals were first made and started terrorizing their way through the world—you know about the Originals, right? The first vampires?”

Matt nods, grimacing. “I’ve met a couple.”

Her eyes widen. “And you lived?”

His face falls slightly. “I wasn’t what they wanted.”

“Right.” Only not right, that means someone he cared about did die. “I’m sorry.”

He’s silent at first, before shaking his head. “You were saying. About the Originals?”

“Right. So vampires go against nature and the Originals, being the first and being neigh unkillable even more so. But witches can only do so much, so while the spirits were trying to force compliance out of the Original Witch—”

“Original Witch?”

“Not the first witch. The witch of the Original family. The one who turned them into vampires.”

“Got it.”

“Other witches knew they needed to have a more proactive course of action, especially when they started turning other humans into vampires. So they took their preferred prey of choice—” She gestures to herself. “—and turned them into magical sleeper agents. Stronger, faster, unable to be compelled, and trained with the tools to take them out.”

“So you’re still supernatural?”

“Kinda?” Buffy shrugs. “We’re all magical constructs in the end. Even things like werewolves have an origin in magic somewhere. Anyway. It’s a chain of power passing. When one of us dies, the next one is awakened, and so on and so forth. But there are Slayers all over the world trying to fly under the radar.” She pauses and then points to the right. “Up here on the right. Just pull in on the dirt driveway.”

Matt nods before doing as asked, turning into the space and pulling up to the abandoned warehouse where she and her team have been making camp. Faith sits on the second floor and Buffy can see the way she tenses at the unfamiliar car, but Buffy climbs out quickly, giving her a wave.

“Give us a hand?”

Then an eyebrow arches as Faith slips through the window and lets herself fall to the ground. She lands easily and strides closer, giving Matt a once over as he climbs out of the truck. “Bring us a new friend?”

“This is Matt. He goes to school with me. Be nice.” Faith grins, showing that she intends to do no such thing, and Buffy rolls her eyes. “Matt, Faith. Take everything she says with a hefty grain of salt.”

“Hey, now. I don’t exaggerate that much.”

“You exaggerate enough.” Kendra’s soft Caribbean accent trills as she appears in the doorway, looking annoyed—whether it’s because Buffy brought an outsider into the situation or Faith and Buffy’s general banter is unclear. Probably a little of both. Still, she’s polite as she extends a hand to the newcomer. “Kendra.”

“Matt,” he shakes her hand firmly. “So—are you all Slayers?”

“Yep,” Faith grins. “What are you?”

There’s an awkward pause as he swallows. “Human.”

“Huh. That’s a break from B’s usual type.”

Matt looks confused as Buffy rolls her eyes again. “Enough about Matt. I brought you guys an actual present.”

She leads the way to the back of the truck and reaches for the canvas blanket, pulling it back to reveal the trussed-up vampire underneath. His bright blue eyes are open and Matt is right—he looks pissed—but he’s not going anywhere but into their personal vampire holding cell, so she’s not too concerned about it.

“Damn. Why do they always have to be hot?” Faith comments, shaking her head, and both Buffy and Kendra give her a look. “What? It’s true.”

Kendra crosses her arms in front of her chest. “Who is he?”

“Damon Salvatore,” Matt supplies helpfully, still lingering by the driver’s seat and Faith’s eyes go even wider.

“No shit?” Faith inches closer, getting a better look at him. “Is his brother in town, too?”

“Stefan, yeah,” Matt nods. “But he’s…it’s a long story that I only know part of.”

“Whatever you don’t know, I’m willing to bet that he knows the rest.” Kendra jumps up onto the bed and reaches for the chains. “Let’s get him inside and find out.”

* * * * *

Once they get him inside, Buffy snaps his neck again so that when they get him in their magical, witch-blessed holding cell and unchains him without worrying about him pulling a fast one. When Damon is settled, Matt fills them in on the parts of the story that he’s aware of, and as he says, it’s not much. He knows Stefan disappeared shortly after the funeral of his girlfriend’s aunt. He’s been gone all summer, and apparently was with Klaus, the Original hybrid. There are a few alarming parts of the story that Kendra catches hold of, always being the one of the trio that’s a bit more book sharp than the rest, paying attention to the details.

“He turned your friend into a hybrid?” she frowns, and Matt nods. “He must have broken the curse.”

“What curse?”

“The Sun and Moon curse. Originally thought to be a curse that would free the wolves from the moon or the vampires from the sun, depending on who broke it first, it never was that. It was a curse placed on Klaus specifically, binding his werewolf side. He would have needed a doppelgänger for that, though.”

“Yeah,” Matt swallows awkwardly. “My friend Elena is the doppelgänger.”

“Shit.” Faith shakes her head compassionately. “And I thought our gig sucked sometimes.”

“So the curse is broken,” Kendra shifts and leans back in her seat. “And the Ripper of Monterey went with him, but he’s here now doing what, exactly?”

“Whatever Klaus tells him to.” The four of them all turn at the sound of Damon’s voice. He still looks pissed, but it sounds like he’s almost concerned about what would happen to his brother if they went too far into this conversation with just Matt. “Klaus is compelling him.”

“The whole time?” Buffy asks, and from Damon’s stony silence, the answer to that seems to be no. “When did he compel him?”

“At the gym, when Klaus was trying to turn Tyler.”

“So not even a week ago. Which means all the bodies that he and Klaus were dropping over the summer, all the werewolf packs he tore through—he did that of his own free will.”

“He’s a ripper.”

“And it’s not his first time at the ripper rodeo. So unless you’ve got some clearly interesting reason that he went on a murder spree…”

“He did it to save me.” Buffy raises her eyebrows at that, unsure what to believe, and Damon sighs. “A werewolf bit me. Klaus’ blood is the cure, and he would only give it to Stefan if he went full ripper.”

“And as much as that lovely brief story might have worked on the people who actually care about you, I don’t.” Buffy tips her head to the side. “You really shouldn’t have tried to compel me. I didn’t even know what you were until you did.”

Damon glares daggers at her. “What are you? Witches? Werewolves?”

“Vampire Slayers.”

“Bullshit. They’re just myths.”

“Unfortunately, all the people who think that are myth-taken.” Buffy grins, and while Faith laughs and Kendra rolls her eyes at the pun, a flicker of a smile crosses Matt’s face and she smiles even wider. Damon seems less than impressed.

“Doesn’t matter. When I get out of here? I’m going to kill all of you.”

“That’s a witch-blessed cage, designed to keep vampires in,” Faith points out. “And last I checked, there were three of us, one of you. So temper your expectations there, buddy.”

Damon grits his teeth before looking at each of them. “What do you want?”

“We want Klaus, and the rest of his family,” Kendra replies simply. “We want your brother off the chessboard. We want people? To stop dying.”

“You realize the hypocrisy of the fact that you’re going to do that by killing a bunch of people, right?”

“People who are murderers.” Buffy points out.

“Eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

“At least we’re trying to do something about it.” Buffy gets to her feet, before looking over at Matt. “C’mon. I’ll walk you out. I think everything here is going to be a while.”

Matt watches her with a grim expression before nodding and getting to his feet. “Let’s go.”

* * * * *

“There are people who are going to be looking for him.”

“I know,” Buffy sighs. Likely people that Matt cares about, and she doesn’t want to get him into trouble with his friends. “Look, you don’t have to lie to them. If they want to know about Damon, you can tell them to come talk to me.”

Matt seems almost relieved at that, before nodding in agreement. “I appreciate that. But you realize that telling some of these people might make things get a little messy.”

“I can handle messy. I’ll be okay.” They reach the driver’s side of the truck and she smiles. “I really had a great time tonight. Until the vampire interference, anyway.”

Matt’s face softens into a smile and she feels her heart flutter a bit. He really is cute, and she hates she got him in the middle of this. “Yeah. I did too.”

“I’d get it if you wanted to keep your distance.”

“No!” It explodes from him a little too sharply, and she blinks in surprise, but eventually it fades to a smile as he laughs awkwardly. “Sorry, I mean, no. I’m good at staying friends.” He rubs a hand against the back of his neck. “It was nice to have someone really stick up for me for a change.”

“Happy to do it,” she smiles before he opens the door and climbs inside. “See you at school on Monday?”

He nods. “Yeah. See you then.” And with that, he drives off into the night, leaving the Slayers to their vampire captive.

but it's not enough | buffyverse/tvdverse | 2,066

[iluvroadrunner6]

[Prompt]

Elena catches on about the lack of Damon quickly.

He shouldn’t be surprised. She and Damon have gotten close for reasons that Matt doesn’t understand, but it’s her life, and he can’t stop her. He just wished sometimes that their friendship meant enough that Elena would stand up for him occasionally. He’s at his locker when she approaches him, books held tight against her chest as she waits for him to acknowledge her.

“Hey, Elena.” He closes the door to the locker before turning to face her. “What’s up?”

“Have you seen Damon? Caroline said that he was going to the Grille looking for you, and I haven’t heard from him all weekend. Did he get there?”

Buffy said that he didn’t have to lie, and he certainly didn’t want to lie to Elena. But the idea of telling her the truth when she’s only going to launch a rescue mission that he doesn’t think she should. Still, probably better to get this out of the way now and not keep secrets.

“Yeah, he did. Where he threatened me, threaten my friend and compel her to leave town and never come back.” Because maybe starting with the behavior might make things easier for her to understand. “Considering she can’t be compelled and doesn’t like it when vampires try, though, she took it a little personal.”

Elena’s eyes widen and he can see the panic about to start and he holds up his hands.

“He’s fine, Elena. Buffy and her team just needed some information out of him so they’ve…got him on house arrest.”

“Okay, but what do Buffy and her ‘team’ have to do with anything? Team of what?”

“Of vampire Slayers.”

They both turn to see Buffy standing behind Matt, probably just coming over to say hello and stumbling into that conversation instead. Elena doesn’t like that even more than she likes the first part.

“You just left Damon, a vampire, with a bunch of so-called vampire Slayers? How did you know they wouldn’t kill him?”

Buffy holds up her hands for a moment, trying to get between the two, almost as though she senses that one of them might say something they can’t take back. “He’s fine, Elena. Maybe a little ornery, but we’re not torturing him or anything—”

“Oh, because that’s such a low bar to meet after kidnapping.” Elena looks over at Matt, and he can see that she’s hurt by this. “Matt, what’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?” Something in his patience snaps and he’s had enough. “Damon berates me constantly. He manipulated Caroline for months and almost killed her. He killed my sister. He’s killed so many people and you keep defending them, both of them, like they have done nothing wrong and aren’t dangerous people to be around. You’re pissed at me for wanting to get him under control. What’s wrong with you, Elena?”

Elena recoils like he slapped her. He seems to do a lot of that lately without meaning to. Then her eyes fall to the floor and he thinks that she just might be about to acknowledge that he’s right about the Salvatores when —

“What’s this about my brother and vampire Slayers?”

Buffy arches an eyebrow, turning to face Stefan with an appraising look. He doesn’t think she’ll start a fight with a vampire in the middle of a hallway, but if provoked, she’ll definitely finish it. “Hi. I’m Buffy. We haven’t been properly introduced, but I’m thinking you’re Stefan.”

“Buffy. Wow. I didn’t think there were Buffy’s anymore.” Stefan looks amused, and Matt isn’t sure if that’s good or bad. At least for this version of Stefan, anyway. “So tell me, Buffy, why did you decide to kidnap my brother? Just for fun, or is there something you want?”

Buffy takes a step closer, meeting his challenge head on. “I took your brother for information about the other vampires in town. Just trying to get the lay of the land.”

“Well, given that you’ve had him for a couple of days now, it’s probably time you give him back.”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m not going to do that. Because I can connect Damon to at least a dozen deaths between the time he came to town and now, never mind what I’ve connected to you. So until I get everything I’m looking for, Damon stays right where he is.”

“What are you going to do with him when you’re done?”

Buffy glances over at Elena, who asked, and her face softens. Matt almost reads something like understanding in her expression, for this girl who loves and is loved by vampires. But what she says isn’t comforting.

“That depends on Damon.” She shrugs. “But with a body count like his, there’d have to be a really exemplary case for letting him go.”

Stefan reaches out and takes Elena by the arm, preparing to drag her further down the hallway. Elena lets him take her and when she looks at Matt, he sees the pleading in her expression. To not have her lose someone she loves in the worst way all over again. He doesn’t have any reassurance for her, however, and by the time she’s gone, Buffy nudges him gently.

“I’m sorry to put you in the middle of that.”

“Don’t be,” he sighs. “I don’t think you’re wrong.” He closes the door to his locker and turns his attention to the surrounding school. Frustration churns in his stomach as he grits his teeth and then turns back to Buffy. “Do you want to get out of here?”

Buffy blinks, surprised, before the bell rings. “Before we go to the classes part?”

Matt shrugs. “I just…don’t really want to be here right now.”

Buffy nods slowly, before turning to follow his lead. “Yeah. Then let’s go.”

* * * * *

He drives them out to the trail, head for the path to the falls and breathes in the piney scent of the trees. This is one of Elena’s favorite places, he knows that, but he just needs to be the place where everyone will least expect him to be. Buffy falls into step next to him without a word, following his path up to the waterfalls, until they reach the overlook where there’s a place to sit. He settles on the bench and she goes to sit next to him, before finally breaking the silence.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t even know how to talk about it,” he admits, before glancing back to here. “Elena and I have known each other since we were babies. She was my first love. I know her better than I know anyone, and sometimes it feels like I can’t recognize her anymore.”

Buffy nods. “People change, sometimes. Because they have to, not necessarily because they want to.”

“And she’s lost a lot in the last year or so. Both her adopted and bio parents, her aunt, friends. She was in love with Stefan until he just left her, and I know that she’s clinging on to both him and Damon because she loves them, and she’s worried that there will be nothing left if she doesn’t save them, somehow. But—”

“You don’t think they’re good for her, either.” Buffy looks up at him with a smile. “I know what it’s like to care a little too much about people that aren’t good for you. People who are dangerous. Sometimes, it’s not really something you can control, and it’s hard to dig yourself out of. That’s the first step, getting yourself out. After that, you can try to make better choices, but that doesn’t mean that losing them won’t be hard.”

Matt nods, before glancing over at her with a sly smile. “So, am I a terrible choice or an attempt at a better choice?”

Buffy laughs, before shrugging. “Currently leaning more towards the latter, but we’re still figuring each other out, I think.”

“But so far, so good?”

“Definitely firmly planted in the good category.”

Matt nods as he turns his eyes back to the water again. “Good to know.”

They sit in silence for a moment, taking in the water's silence, when footsteps sound on the path nearby. They both turn towards the sound and find Elena standing there, and she holds her hands up in understanding. “It’s just me. No Stefan. Truce?”

Matt’s face softens. “I’m not angry with you, Elena. I get it.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have the right to be angry.” Elena takes a deep breath before glancing over to Buffy. “And I’m sorry that we’re meeting this way. Usually I make a much better impression.”

Buffy offers her a small smile in return. “Being worried about a friend isn’t a bad way to meet. Trust me, I’ve had worse meetings.”

Elena nods before moving closer, sitting on the opposite side of Matt on the bench. “I get why you feel that way about Damon. Sometimes I wish I still could because it would make everything so much easier. And I know that he’s done terrible things to all of us. I just—if you kill Damon, I don’t know what Stefan will do. He’s the only thing keeping him somewhat balanced.”

“We’re not planning on killing him. Not right now,” Buffy admits. “Our priority is something a lot bigger.” Elena’s brow furrows and Buffy sighs. “We’re here for the Originals.”

“All of them?”

“Every one.” Buffy glances around. “Are you sure your guard dog isn’t around?”

Elena swallows before shaking her head. “I think I lost him, but you can never be sure.”

“Then better safe than sorry. But we’re here for Klaus and Elijah. Not small potatoes vampires, though the Ripper of Monterey, Mexico, isn’t exactly small potatoes.” She holds up her hands. “Point being, Damon isn’t dying soon. But he was an opportune distraction.”

Matt’s eyes widen. “Because if they think you’re here for the Salvatores, they don’t think you’d be prepared for the Originals.”

“Originals can’t be killed,” Elena points out. “What are you going to do? Dagger them all?”

Buffy licks her lips, glancing over her shoulder and shaking her head. “Now isn’t really the time or place. But trust me. We have a good plan. Or are building one?”

Elena exhales slowly, before nodding. “If Matt trusts you, I trust you. Just know that…Damon will not be nice when he gets out of wherever you’re holding him.”

“I can handle Mr. Nice Guy.” Buffy nods. “But are you okay with the Stefan of it all?”

Elena shrugs. “Not really? But…it’s what I have to deal with until we break Klaus’ compulsion. And he can’t be daggered.”

“I can look into it too. A humanity-less Stefan isn’t necessarily a controllable thing. We’d rather have the one that can be reasoned with.” Buffy smiles. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Thank you,” Elena sighs. “And I’m glad you were there to protect Matt. I know I haven’t been doing a great job of that lately—”

Matt lifts an arm and wraps it around her shoulders. “It’s okay, Elena.” Granted, it’s not okay, her feeling like she has to protect everyone and it constantly slipping through her fingers, but they’re okay. That matters. “We’re okay, alright? I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I think it’s already too late for that.” Elena takes a breath, returning his hug for a moment before pulling away. “But I’m interrupting your date. I should go.” Simultaneously, but he and Buffy went to protest that this isn’t a date, and Elena grins, before turning to walk away. “Sure, it’s not.”

As she disappears over the top of the hill, Matt turns to her with a confused look. “Is this a date?”

Buffy shrugs. “Do you want it to be a date?”

“I wouldn’t hate it if it was a date?”

She laughs. “That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.”

Matt nods, because she’s not wrong. “Then how about we make plans for an actual date? Is that a happy medium?”

“Plans sounds perfect,” she nods, before inching closer to rest her head against his shoulders. “What do you do for dates in Mystic Falls?”

Matt shrugs. “Get burgers at the Grille and try not to die?”

Buffy laughs again, before nodding. “Yeah, that sounds about right for most of mine, too.”

Re: but it's not enough | buffyverse/tvdverse | 2,066

[jedi_of_urth]

I see a lot of potential in this little AU and am enjoying it so far. I don't know if you have plans for more, but I'm interested.

Re: but it's not enough | buffyverse/tvdverse | 2,066

[iluvroadrunner6]

Thank you! No plans for more at the moment, but I'll never say never.