rehandle | saltburnt inbox 2.0

[ A nod that Stefan isn't looking at him to see. Stephen doesn't know vampires, but he does know medicine and the needs of a body after extreme trauma. Sleep is a crucial part of any recovery, it's no real worry that Damon's still taken by it. ]

If he needs any attention once he's conscious, you can call me.

[ He doesn't practice anymore, but he still has the knowledge. It feels only right to offer. ]

( Stefan finally faces Stephen. He can't keep staring at his sleeping brother, the brother that will probably hate him. He's used to being hated. He deserves it all over again. )

If he does, I will. ( at least it feels like stephen doesn't feel he's owed anything. he doesn't think damon will need anything else. except protection and therapy. ) Do you know people in this house? From before?

Two. [ And it's complicated, because one of those two he hasn't confessed to knowing yet. Only one of them knows him. ] Professional acquaintances. Nothing like this.

He was gone. ( He says it plainly, stepping closer, lowering his voice. Explaining himself, justifying. He doesn't need to. He doesn't owe Stephen the explanation, but maybe he owes himself. ) I lost him three months ago. And then he showed up here. Like me. From over two years ago.

( and he couldn't watch him die all over again. )

He doesn't know.

[ He understands it. If he'd had a second chance to save his sister, he'd have done anything. He can't blame him the secrecy either. He's keeping secrets from people he barely knows. ]

Perhaps that's for the best.

[ Without knowing for certain how this place interacts with time outside of it, sharing futures becomes a risky kind of prophesying. ]

He doesn't know a lot. He thinks his girlfriend is mine. He still worries for her. ( bluntly, he lets it all go. ) I always saw it, how far he would go for her. Eventually, I'll drive her into his arms.

( technically. )

Do you think things will turn out the same for him? That we're from the same... I don't even know what to call it.

[ It's a lot of information to be trusted with, but he's aware that this isn't really about trust. This is stress, an outpouring of held truths, and in the end it's Stefan's good luck that he's stumbled into the right person to keep these kinds of secrets.

The right person to ask that question, too, though he doesn't have anything reassuring to say. ]

I don't know. The multiverse is close to infinite, and we really have no idea what this is yet.

[ Damon might go home changed. He might jump back into his timeline in an entirely different universe. They might both go home remembering nothing and wait for history to repeat itself. They might never leave here at all. Stephen's bedside manner has never been great - and he's never had to practice breaking news in the family room. ]

( Stress, an outlet. Someone impartial to listen - and if he judges, who cares. It's not Katherine, that's for sure. )

The multiverse. That's a little out of my depth.

( But he sounds sure. Versed, even, and he gives him a probing look. Share more about what you know. It might make him feel better, or intensify his headache. He should eat. )

Then you're in out of your depth.

[ Which isn't a comforting thought either, but it's what he's got to offer. The multiverse is a background fact of their lives here even more than most places. He's failing to take the cue not because he didn't pick up on it, but because he doesn't know what good the telling will do while he's grappling with new family trauma. ]

But so are the rest of us, so you're not alone.

[ There, a silver lining. Stephen's knowledge of the multiverse hasn't helped him at all. ]

You should get some rest.

( Damon will get enough.

One day, he won't carry the guilt of letting his brother down. One day he won't live with the consequences of his actons

He agrees, head bobbing a few too many times as his gaze settles back on his brother behind Stephen. His look says thank you, but words escape him. He'll check in again soon.

(But not like himself, apparently.)

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