Disclaimer: I do not own TVD.


Some twisted, bleeding, blinding love..

There's this throbbing, pounding feeling in her head, and this churning, twisting sensation in her stomach. Her limbs feel limp, strength-less by her side. She isn't even sure if she can move them. Her eyelids seem heavy, the back of her eyes burning with the light that she can feel on them. Her throat feels clogged, the corner of her mouth tastes like dried blood. She forces herself to open her eyes and stare ahead. Her vision is blurry; she cannot focus on a single thing in front of her. She forces the words out, "Where am I?" Her feeble voice rings in what seems to be an empty room.

The response she gets is a sigh of relief from her left side, followed by a grunt. "You're in my room." It doesn't take her long to recognize Damon's voice. But she still can't remember what happened, why she is here.

And then it all rushes back to her all of a sudden. Two days back, she had lost all her vervain. It was highly suspicious, almost intentional. Stefan had been worried, and he had decided to take Alaric with him and get some more vervain from outside the town. She had stopped by in his house to say goodbye and ask them to be careful. She had stayed a little while longer, listening to Damon "be careful"s and "call me if you need me"s. She had nodded and gone back home, only to realize the next morning that she had forgotten her diary back there. The thought of leaving her diary, her secrets, with Damon made her sick to the stomach. It terrified her and thrilled her in a weird kind of way. She had come here to take it back. It had been where she had left it, untouched. She had a feeling that Damon wouldn't invade her privacy, and she's really grateful for that.

After that, he had turned on the TV and invited her to join him while he made fun of the host of the show. He had been drinking scotch and not blood, and she had been grateful for his consideration. Seeing the person next to you drinking human blood can be terrifying, even when that person is someone you trust. She had shrugged, made herself something to eat- a sandwich or a toast maybe, she isn't so sure anymore- and sat down on the couch beside him, laughing her heart out as he targeted his sarcasm at the poor oblivious host.

She should have known this happy, peaceful moment in her life wouldn't last for long.

The next thing she knew was that something was holding her by her throat and hurling her to the wall. Her eyes closed in the pain and a shrill cry escaped her lips. She should have seen this coming; without the vervain, she's completely defenseless. But something burned in her. This couldn't be Damon, he couldn't be doing this to her, he would never hurt her. This had to be someone else… she forced her eyes open again.

To see Katherine. With a sly grin on her face and an evil glint in her eyes.

Her heart was on over-drive, trying to get herself away from her grasp. She struggled to free herself, to push Katherine away, but her will power was no match for Katherine's super vampire strength. She was truly defenseless. She felt shivers run down her spine, as she trembled in fear. If only Stefan was here, if only she could….

The sound of Katherine's cry broke her out of her thought. She felt her throat freed and her body at liberty too. That's when she stared with horror, as Damon fought Katherine to protect her.

Damon was fighting the woman he loved to protect her? Even in the darkest hour of despair, something was swelling in her heart, and the sudden trauma and shock were all over-whelming her. Even Elena Gilbert can't take too much. She felt her eyelids droop and her world blur….

And now she is here. Alive. In his room. He is alive too. Which gives her a vague idea about the outcome of his battle with Katherine. She will ask about the details later. Right now, she needs to get up. She quickly assesses herself for injuries, and finds none. Now that the shock has worn away, she finds that she is able to move.

She gets up from the bed and stares at her left, at Damon.

The sight brings back all her fear-anxiety-trauma-helplessness. On the floor, is Damon, sitting and bleeding, with blood oozing out of cuts all over his face, his arms, his chest, his legs. There's a tiny pool of blood on the floor. He can barely hold off his cries and groans.

"Damon!" She quickly panics, quickly calms down, and quickly sits down beside him. Her eyes burn with unshed tears. Villain as he is in the eyes of everyone else, to her, he is her friend, a man turned insane by love. She can't bear to see him in so much pain. "Are you alright?"

"Sure", he grunts, waving his hand to dismiss her, only causing him more pain. She can clearly see that he isn't alright. Maybe it was stupid to ask the question. But her brain can't come up with more. Must be the post-traumatic stress.

"Are you alright?" he asks, in a genuine tone of concern.

She quickly brushes all these thoughts off and thinks of her next step. "I'm fine. You stay here. I'll get the blood bags."

"No use", he lets out a bitter chuckle, followed by a cough. It scares her. "She took them with her. Not a single drop is left." His eyes look broken, like he is staring off at a distance at some far some place. She wonders if he is thinking about how the woman he loved is trying to get him killed. His eyes remind her of broken hopes and dreams, of death. It scares her some more.

She doesn't even think about the fact that Katherine is still out there somewhere. Right now, all she can see is Damon. "Can you hunt?"

"Sure", he lets out another sad chuckle, followed by more cough. "If I can manage to get up. Maybe in a few days? Oh and I'll also throw a party."

It's amazing that he can still manage to be sarcastic. This is worse than she thought. "You are hurt badly. You need blood." She states the obvious, and then the not-so-obvious, shocking decision. "Drink from me."

For a moment, he looks like he doubts his ears. He stares at her, trying to understand. When her face stays resolute, he stares at her like she's crazy. "You can't be serious!"

"Can you ever see me joking about things like this?" she snaps, shaking her head and silencing him before he can speak any more. Never in her life did she think about letting Damon drink from her. But desperate times call for desperate measures. She would hate herself forever if he dies, especially for her.

He still shakes his head. "No, I can't."

"Why not?" she challenges. And it's kind of hard to believe that this is the guy who killed people at the drop of a hat. Why can't he drink from her then? Did his morals take birth now, of all times?

"Stefan won't like this. He will think I compelled you." He challenges back, holding her gaze. Even in face of imminent doom, they are still playing this tug of war.

"Stefan will understand." She says firmly, with conviction in her voice. And before he can retort, she adds. "And Stefan doesn't decide what I do. I do. I know this is what I should do now. This is what I want to do, Damon."

He can feel his resistance growing weaker and weaker as he feels his blood depleting. He finally states the actual reason for his reluctance. "I don't want to hurt you, Elena." His voice is low, almost a whisper now, and his eyes are scanning the floor.

She cups his cheeks and forces him to look at her. If the situation was different, they would have both flinched from how close their faces were. "I trust you, Damon", she says, for what she thinks is probably the first time. "I know you won't hurt me."

There's not more he can say after that. All he can do is sigh, nod his head and comply. He gently runs his hand through her hair, soothing her. She never imagined Damon could be this calming. Or maybe she did and see never realized…. Either way, her eyes close in anticipation, and a sense of safety over-whelms her.

With Stefan, she knew he loved her, she knew he would never hurt her. But a small part of her was always afraid- what if he lost control again?

With Damon, there's not a slightest trace of fear. He has spent years curbing his hunger, conquering his blood lust. And he cares about her, a lot. She knows that if she asks him to stop any second, he would. Maybe that is what gave her the courage to get going, to let him drink from her?

She had been lost in her reverie when she suddenly feels his sharp fangs pierce through her throat. It happens too quickly, in just one second. A sharp stinging that made her breath hitch.

And then it's just contentment. Contentment from the fact that she was saving his life after he saved hers. And contentment from the way it made her feel. She has never felt this connected, this completed, this whole. By giving, she was taking in so much more….

This continued for about six minutes, which she didn't bother to keep track of. She just lost herself in the feelings and the comfort.

He pulls back from her and looks at her face in alarm. "Are you alright?"

Her nod is followed by a soft smile. "Are you feeling better?"

He nods, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. "Yes. I'm alive. Well, for the time being. My little brother is probably going to kill me when he comes back. If I don't kick his ass before that, that is."

She laughs. Now he sounds more like Damon. And now everything feels alright.

He smiles in return, and squeezes her hand again. "Thanks, Elena." He says sincerely, meaning every word.

"Thanks Damon", she replies. "You saved my life from Katherine. I don't understand…. Why?"

He just stares at her face, his eyes narrowed in on her eyes.

And she thinks she gets the answer. She has probably known this for a long time now. She sighs, and leans forward, resting her head on his shoulder. She's feeling a bit dizzy now, after this loss of blood, and doesn't want to get up, doesn't feel the need to get up and run away. She doesn't feel the need to say anything either, their unspoken words echo much louder through their hearts.

He raises a hand up and caresses the wounds on her neck, the wounds he made because she wanted. It soothes her somehow. This must be some twisted, bleeding, blinding love. She just relaxes and tries to revel in this moment, enjoy it while it lasts.

After all, she knows a happy, peaceful moment won't last long in her life.


A/N: I am addicted to this fandom, and I just can't stop writing for TVD. LOL. I hope you enjoyed reading this and it wasn't a torture. I am sorry for any loopholes, or any errors. Please review! All comments, suggestions and criticisms are welcome. Thank you :)