Hayley

[thisismybar]

Ric was... happy. Being able to sleep with Hayley -and really just sleep, god knew the sex wasn't lacking- even with Damon acting as a guard dog, had been good for him. No new bodies turning up, not missing chunks of time, those were pretty good, too. They weren't quite enough for him to let his guard completely down, but he didn't think there was going to be a whole lot of sleeping going on tonight, anyway.

And if there was, well, tonight Hayley would be even more equipped to play guard dog and take care of him. Elijah's reassurance helped keep that one metaphorical and mildly amusing.

He dumped the last load of camping gear onto the ground, and looked up at the sky to check the weather. "I don't think we're going to have to worry about being rained on tonight, but we should probably set up the tent." Who knew what tomorrow would bring,and it would be easier to relax somewhere enclosed. And limit bugs.

Comments

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley arched an eyebrow. "It was his suggestion, not mine, so not sure that can qualify as mean. I was just pointing out sex in the tent didn't have to be painful..."

Damon nodded easily enough. "I can hear you from my room, you realize. That doesn't mean it's the same as stretching out in the window seat in Hayley's room..."

[thisismybar]

"I'm not sure I can not qualify it as mean, no matter who suggested it...." He frowned. "Come to think of it, it might be more mean because he suggested it. Damon's odd, you'll get used to it." Maybe. To Damon he said: "I know. And I'm just pointing out that we're not incapable of some restraint or leaving the tent."

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley frowned, but shrugged.

Damon gave him a quizzical look. "I never said you weren't. Just figured you might want some privacy. If you want me to sleep with you, that's all you have to say."

[thisismybar]

It was that hyper-careful not to exclude Damon thing that was going on with Ric. He took a piece of bacon and ate it before he answered, with a sheepish shrug. "What I want is to know you're not being kicked to the metaphorical or literal dog house."

[littlewolf_girl]

Damon appreciated the care, a lot, but shook his head at Ric. "I think if I am along on a camping trip with you two, at all, that having my own tent so you have at least the illusion of privacy isn't a hardship." He smirked a bit. "And maybe I will invite Elijah. See about getting him out of his ties."

[thisismybar]

"Get him out of his ties and I'm betting he finds something else to do with them." Not that a tie was going to hold any kind of vampire, but Ric was... Well, Ric was never not going to worry about Damon, or not tease him. He adored Hayley, more every day, but he already loved Damon.

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley laughed and tried not to imagine how pretty that would be, as Damon blinked. Then he grinned a little. "Well, he does strike me as someone who likes to be in control."

As Damon kind of liked someone taking control, that worked pretty well.

[thisismybar]

The little grin relaxed Ric a lot, because it sounded like Damon was starting to relax about it. He counted that a good thing. Elijah was still in for a ticked off Ric if things went south, but... the better Damon felt, the better he felt. "Yeah," he agreed. "To the degree that he's got good hair, because he's terrified it into submission." Teasing!

[littlewolf_girl]

Damon snickered. "I dare you to say that to him...."

[thisismybar]

Ric didn't miss a beat. "Deal."

He'd stuck a knife in the guy's back in a fit of exasperation, in the middle of a diner party.

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley gave him a concerned look. "Please don't get your heart ripped out? That would suck."

[thisismybar]

Ric grinned at her. "Don't worry. If he was going to rip my heart out, I've given him better reason than being a smart ass... For that matter, if he was going to rip my heart out, I'd be too worried about Damon going out with him to be cracking jokes about sex and being tied up."

[littlewolf_girl]

"Well, that's something," Hayley said, a little ruefully. Standing up, she stretched. "I'm going to go down to the stream and wash up."

[thisismybar]

Ric looked at her as she stretched, then back to Damon, then back to her. Clearly indecisive. "...Want company?"

[littlewolf_girl]

Damon looked amused at the indecisive and leaned back more where he was sitting.

Hayley flashed Ric a little smile. "If you want, sure."

[thisismybar]

Ric was still pretty indecisive, but after a moment the smile got him. "We'll be back."

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley wasn't sure whether to be amused or insulted by the indecisive, but she went with amused, especially when Damon fished a marshmallow out of the bag. "Don't hurry on my account," he informed them with a smirk.

Hayley grinned a little and moved to the tent to snag a fresh set of clothes, then smirked back at Damon. "Don't worry..."

[thisismybar]

Ric stayed quiet while she got her clothes, making a slightly uncomfortable face at Damon. When she came back, he offered her his hand. He waited until they were a little away to say anything, even though he was perfectly aware that Damon, with his hearing, could still hear them. "I feel like I should thank you for not killing me...."

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley gave him a slightly surprised look, fingers tightening on his. Confusion flickered across her face. "Why?"

[thisismybar]

He frowned a little, but only thoughtfully and only trying to put feeling into words. "Because I'm as worried about making sure Damon is okay, as I am about you. "

[littlewolf_girl]

"Ric...he's your best friend." She smiled and gave him a bit of a shrug. "This has been fast and intense and I know you care about me, but...he's your best friend. It's okay. I get it."

In theory. She hadn't really had a lot of close friends but Ty in a while.

[thisismybar]

"I think I'm so busy trying to keep things honest and making sure no one feels like they're being left out that I'm turning it into an issue for myself. Just promise you'll say something, if you need to...."

It looked to Ric like she and Damon might get there. That was a pretty good feeling, actually.

[littlewolf_girl]

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Um, yeah. I really think you are. I mean...he gave me a place to live. He bought food for a kitchen I'm pretty sure hasn't housed it for ages. He's your best friend--I'm fine with that, and...he seems okay with me, now, so the only person stressing is you."

Hayley wasn't certain about the actual friend thing, just because...neither of them were good at that, but. Maybe. Signs seemed positive.

[thisismybar]

"The reason I'm stressing it now," he said, mildly, "is because you nearly ate him last night. Not a bad thing, definitely reenforced that you liked me and wanted to protect me, but still just a little unsettling, Hayley."

[littlewolf_girl]

Hayley stopped abruptly, as her look shuttered, closing down. "That had nothing to do with liking him or not, or any conscious, human desire to hurt him. It was instinct and surprise. It'd be like starving him for a week, then slicing someone's wrist and holding it under his nose. No way he doesn't bite. If I'd known he was coming, been prepared, and he hadn't just appeared, I wouldn't have attacked him."

She still probably wouldn't have liked the whole situation, though, honestly.