Archive of Our Own ^beta

1. Captain Damon Salvatore

"Captain, we have a problem."

Damon threw back his bourbon and barely felt the burn in the back of his throat. His eyes traveled over to his pilot, who was deftly trying to keep them in the air, but who was not the one who'd spoken.

"There's always a problem," Damon dismissed over the comms and he saw Jeremy roll his eyes next to him.

The voice was snippy when it returned through their communication speakers again. "Damon! We're going to crash if we don't get the Mystic Falls out of orbit in thirty seconds, which means we either land or float around for the next decade waiting for someone not-Alliance to come and get us."

Damon's head lolled to the side and stare at Jeremy. "Your sister is a piece of work."

Damon's pilot only shrugged. "Elena's always right."

The Captain of the Mystic Falls, an old Firefly space craft, sighed and dropped his legs from the controls. "Fly us down, Jere-bear."

Jeremy swore loudly and creatively. "I told you not to call me that!"

Damon only smirked as he walked out of the cockpit with a sly wave. He ducked out of the room and walked down the metal steps and crossed the catwalk until he got to the engine room, where Elena Gilbert was covered in grease and was neck deep in the Mystic Falls mechanic insides.

"Boo."

Elena jumped and spun around, glaring. "Damon! Did you tell Jeremy to land this thing?"

Damon held up a finger, "First, it's Captain; and second, I did in fact tell Jeremy. Not that he couldn't hear your piercing voice over the comms himself." He smirked, self-satisfied.

"The day I call you Captain without laughing first will be the day I die," Elena arched one thin, dark eyebrow, daring him to say something. Damon licked his lips.

"All I'm hearing is that one day you will, so therefore I will hold out hope," Damon smirked and disappeared before she could throw a wrench at him.

"Damon," And there was his first mate, Alaric Saltzman, at his elbow. "What's going on?"

"Our beautiful ship has decided to go down, but never to fear, our semi-competent pilot will get us down safely," Damon explained.

"This is the second time this month," Alaric snapped, "When are you going to stop being cheap and just get new parts?"

"When the Mystic Falls refuses to get back up again and when the Original Ass on Persphone decides to give us a fair price to said parts," Damon said and Rick wasn't sure if he was teasing or being serious. He clapped on a hand on Alaric's shoulder. "Now, get ready to get off ship and be planet-side so we can negotiate with said Original ass." Damon left Rick and headed towards the kitchen, where he found Caroline Forbes, the registered Companion that was riding with them.

"Miss Forbes," Damon's grin was all teeth.

"Captain," Caroline sniffed haughtily.

"Damon!"

Damon rolled his eyes and turned to look at Stefan who was quickly striding towards them from the infirmary. "What, now, brother?"

"I need to restock in there;" Stefan said grimly, "That fight with the last dealers cleaned us out of too many antibiotics and bandages. We could also you some other things too."

Damon frowned, serious perhaps for the first time that week. "Then do it." His grin was back in a place a moment later though, almost as if it hadn't left. "I can't have any of my crew dying on me, now can I? Where's our resident voo-doo witch doctor? Shouldn't she be blessing the place with some magical spells right about now?"

"I'm not a voodoo witch doctor, I'm just a witch," Bonnie Bennett strode onto the main deck, meeting Stefan and Damon. Caroline had disappeared back into her shuttle. "If you'd like a demonstration, I'm sure there's something nonlethal I can try out on you." She wiggled her fingers threateningly and Damon always winced. Stefan only smirked.

"And I don't do charms or whatever the hell it was you just said," Bonnie continued, "And to clarify, I'm not on your crew, so you can't just command me to do magic like I'm some kind of pet. I'm paying for passage to Persphone, where I will depart your," Here, she scrunched her nose, "'delightful' company and reunite with my grandmother."

Damon frowned. "But you could be on my crew . . . I imagine magic is pretty useful up against some of those who are rather unfriendly to smugglers. . ."

"No," Bonnie said flatly and they hit a sudden bout of turbulence.

"Grab onto something!" Damon snapped loudly over the sudden noise, "It's going to be bumpy ride!"

---

2. Damon the Super Brother

Damon sat stiffly in front of the Captain of the Mystic Falls (and cocky much, aren't they, with that name?) a surly expression plastered across his face. Next to him was a restless Stefan, who was murmuring something quiet and unintelligible under his breath. On the Captain's left hand side was his first mate; neither were looking very pleased.

"You snuck your mad arse brother on board and then brought the Alliance on our heads, endangering my crew, my family," Captain Klaus Mikaelson snapped, "so you need to explain to me why I shouldn't just shove the both of you into the airlock right now, mate."

"Two by two, blue hands reaching for me," Stefan muttered and wringed his hands fretfully.

"Shut him up before I have someone make him shut up," Captain Mikaelson growled and Damon's eyes narrowed.

"You heard the man, Stef, quiet down," Damon said lowly, and remarkably, Stefan did. Damon's eyes were settled on the first mate, a man a little older than the Captain. He had dark hair and was in as fancy clothing as one could get as being a high class smuggler. His face was blank of any emotions besides blatant curiosity.

"Darkness chasing you," Stefan suddenly said, gaze locked onto the Captain's. "Big bad wolf always chasing you, never letting go. Plays cat and mouse with the half breed and pretends to let you lead. But he lies, always lies."

Both the Captain and first mate's faces registered surprise and Damon angrily pinched his brother's side. "Stefan," He hissed.

"What nonsense are you speaking now?" Klaus snapped and then turned to Damon, "What does he mean?"

"I don't really feel like playing translator to the man who threatened to kill me," Damon shrugged with a smirk that took a grand effort into putting in place.

Klaus pulled out a pistol and leveled it at Stefan's head. "Tell me what's going on in your head case brother's brain unless you want to see it splattered on my shiny new desk."

"Klaus," The first mate murmured, but Klaus only growled at him.

Damon felt his lip curl but he relented. But only for Stefan's sake. "Okay, dick. Obviously someone's after you and has been for a while. Probably plays games with you all the time, messes with your head just because he can. Any of this ringing a bell?"

Klaus pulled the safety off the gun and Damon tensed further. "How does he know about our Father?"

"He doesn't!" Damon snapped angrily. He felt anxiety seeping from him.

Stefan pressed his palms into his ears. "Too many voices. Loudloudloud." He turned accusing green eyes onto Damon. "Brought us here. Time to go. Big bad wolf is coming. Soon. Soon."

"What. Is. He. Talking about?" Klaus roared, "How does he know about our Father!?"

The first mate slid between the ensuing fight and graciously said, "What Niklaus means is that no one outside of our family knows about Mikael, and we would appreciate if you would tell us where you got your information."

"Look," Damon snapped, "I don't know. I. Don't. Know. I rescued my genius brother from the Alliance, which is why they followed us here, and I found out they did something to his brain. He's . . . not Stefan anymore." And damn did he need a drink for admitting that out loud.

"He sounds a bit like a reader to me," Another accented voice said and the three men turned their heads to see a beautiful blonde bombshell standing in the doorway.

"Those don't exist," Klaus scoffed, but he appeared slightly interested.

"Of course they do," Blonde said easily, "and if he is, it solves your problem as to what use they'll be to us; we can use the reader to do jobs and to stay ahead of Mikael. I'm sure Tall Dark and Handsome is good with something too. If not, he'll be a pretty decoration for the hull."

Damon arched a brow at her at the compliment to his self, but felt a growing fire of protectiveness in his belly at the mention of using Stefan. "No one's using my little brother for whatever illegal shit you do on this ship."

"I'm still not convinced that one's a reader," Klaus leaned forwards, eyes hungry, "but if he is, I want him here." His sharp blue eyes slid over Damon. "His presence is of little consequence to me."

Stefan's eyes flashed with something of his old self. "Damon. Damon stays. Damon stays and protects. Always here. Always comes." The lucidity drained away. "Two by two, the blue hands reaching towards me. Big bad blue always knows . . ."

"Sounds like we have two new crew members," Blondie drawled.

"And I'm sure Kol and Finn will be delighted," The first mate murmured sardonically, and then his eyes cut to a still tense Damon. "Welcome to the Mystic Falls, Mister Salvatore. My name's Elijah."

---

3. Damon the Super Brother Take Two

Damon was used to coming in second in everything to Stefan; his little brother the genius. He was smart beyond Damon's comprehension; girls flocked to him; he was kind; their father favored him; and yet he still somehow thought that Damon was the best thing since sliced bread.

Then he'd gone to the Academy and his letters and had slowed and turned into gibberish and code. And despite Stefan being his favorite, Giuseppe wouldn't hear a word against the Alliance, so Damon had to plan and rescue Stefan by himself. When he'd gotten his brother back, he'd been . . . different. Without sugar coating it, which Damon didn't like to do anyway, Stefan was flat out crazy, gone around the bend, and everything. And they were wanted by the Alliance, the very people who'd hurt Stefan.

So they ran and found the Firefly ship, the Mystic Falls, Captained by the beautiful Elena Gilbert. Her first mate was her best friend, Bonnie Bennett; her pilot was her brother; her mechanic was her other best friend, Caroline; and their doctor was an ex-boyfriend called Matt Donovan. They weren't particularly welcoming, but when Damon provided his expertise on weapons and combat, they excepted him and Stefan on their ship.

Most days, things ran smoothly, but other days . . .

"Stefan, put down the gun," Damon murmured soothingly. The crew was gathered in the cargo area and was organized in a rough circle with Stefan in the epicenter, examining a silver pistol in his hands with curious eyes and deft fingers. "Stefan."

"Dose him or something," Jeremy hissed to Matt.

"I can't get close enough," Matt snapped back tensely.

"He doesn't understand," Damon growled at them both.

"He doesn't comprehend," Stefan agreed and his eyes darted to Damon. Damon used his distraction to swoop in and snap up the gun and put the safety back on.

"Who left their damn gun out?" Damon asked a minute later, barely repressed anger in his tone. "The safety was off and Stefan has never touched a gun before, so I know he didn't do it."

There were denials all around and Matt tried to step forwards to dose Stefan. The younger man's eyes snapped up. "Tired. Tired of being second." He cocked his head to the side. "Love hurts. Painful." He winced and pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes.

"Stefan?" Damon inquired, worried.

"Just get him to your bunk and keep him there," Elena commanded sharply, "I don't want to see this happen again or you're both off the ship. The rest of you – with me. We have a job." She led her crew out, leaving Damon and Stefan to themselves. Matt shot Stefan a wary glance over his shoulder was he left, his blue eyes guarded.

"Oh, Stefan," Damon muttered and gently grabbed his brother's wrist.

Stefan only hummed before reverting back inside his own mind, and whatever horrors that lingered there.

---

4. A Chance Encounter

People often thought that Damon, being the Captain of a ship that does less than legal transactions, would at least attempt to stay off the radar. Of course, those were the people who didn't know Damon personally; those who did know him would laugh in anyone's face if they brought it up.

So he was one of the most prominent figures at the bar that evening on Persphone while his best friend and first mate, Alaric, kept an eye on the ship, and the rest of his crew was running around the town, completing their own errands. Stefan would be likely to come and retrieve his drunken brother within the hour.

Until then –

"I know you," Damon squinted at the man next to him. "From – from – from somewhere."

Captain Mal Reynolds tipped an imaginary hat. "I expect you do, Capt'n Salvatore. Have a nice night." He disappeared into the crowd, and if Damon would make the effort, he would see the other Captain leaving with a large gun toting man and a tough dark skinned woman.

But he didn't, so he couldn't.

---

5. The Beginning

"I don't know . . ."

"Come on, Stef, it has character!"

The younger Salvatore brother squinted at the old Firefly sitting on the 'ship docking port. "It looks like it's more likely to sink than to fly." It was rusted and just looked . . . worn down. Tired.

"Which is why you'll be piloting it," Damon slapped Stefan on the back, "I don't trust anyone else to do it and keep her in the air."

"You're just trying to make me guilty about saying no, so now you're complimenting me," Stefan said dryly.

"Yes," Damon agreed easily and with a smirk, "But it's working." He wiggled his brows.

Stefan squinted at the old space ship again. "She'll need a lot of work," He trailed off doubtfully. "I don't know if there's a mechanic willing to take this on . . ."

Damon waved a hand and said, "I'm sure your bestie Lexi will love a chance to snark at me all day and fix this hunk of junk." Stefan supposed he couldn't really be picky; being smugglers of priceless artifacts, they could really use the hidden nooks that Fireflies were known to have. And unfortunately, Fireflies were rare finds these days . . .

"How much is it?"

---

+ 1. Dreams Can Feel Like Reality

Stefan dreams in his watery prison constantly; some dreams have Silas and his enemies from the past hundred and sixty-three years, but more often than not it is Damon that takes center stage.

He dreams of what the future will look like in five hundred years; he can see his friends and family and the stars and other universes. He's a doctor and a pilot and more than once is crazy. But Damon is always there with him. The dreams are so real . . .

But then he wakes up and sucks in more water, drowning and dying over again. Suffering quietly beneath the surface of the quarry.

And then

The

Misery

Just

Continues

On

And

On

.

.

.