The First Night

(Damon's POV)

I got the girl. After so many years of pining and yearning like a love-struck version of my old self, I finally got her to admit the things that she had been suppressing for years. The true feelings that I knew she had kept secret in a tiny, miniscule corner of her heart. Still...even though I knew that there would have to come a day when she finally let go of her self-righteousness and admit to me that she loved me, I thought I would have to wait a hell of a lot longer than I really did.

Close to three years isn't so bad I guess. Other people—or vampires—have had to wait longer, I guess. The first time I really knew that I was falling for her, wasn't during our first official dance together, though that was a personal, unexpected highlight of my year.

It was the first time I snuck into her room to watch her sleep like the stalker I am. She was lying on her back in her bed, something that I could identify with since I'm a back—sleeper myself, and her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling with each slow breath she took.

She reminded me of Katherine in the looks, sure, but in most other ways, she was about as distant from that manipulative slut as it was possible to be. I screwed up plenty along the way with her, but ever since that damn sire bond ended, it was as if she had turned herself over to me, to her feelings that she was finally ready to act upon.

I'm not sure how long we stood there sucking each others faces after she professed her love for me. It might have been a couple hours, a few days. Hell, even a few weeks, but all I know that I had never felt so content in my one hundred plus years on this earth. Her body, which had always been a thing of beauty, seemed to mold against mine with the utmost perfection as her arms snaked themselves around my neck, drawing me in closer, and I sure as hell didn't resist the movements.

When we finally broke apart to get some air, I glanced toward the clock on the mantle. I was close—it was almost nine, and as far as I knew, we had been engaged in our kisses for awhile. It didn't matter, though. Time and everything that stood around it, disappeared the instant we were together.

We could have been doing what we were doing for a hundred years, and I wouldn't notice the difference, because I finally had the girl. I finally got her realize the love I harbored for her, and even though it scared me senseless to open up that part of myself again after Katherine, I was ready, and I knew that she was, too.

"That was-" she stopped herself at the last minute, obviously catching herself before she made a Damon-like remark, which I would have loved, but knew that she would be embarrassed at.

"Amazing?" I supplied, my voice lowering to the soft, gentle tone that was only reserved for one person.

"Yes," she breathed, slightly out of breath. "And beautiful."

"Beautiful?" I arched one eyebrow in a sincere show of surprise. "I never thought I'd hear that word tied into a sentence about me."

Us.

Not when every single soul on the planet seemed to be against Elena and I being happy together. It was as if those people, my brother included, and her so-called "best friends" just wanted to see her live out a lie with someone that she didn't really love like she was supposed to.

"It was beautiful," she insisted, lowering those puppy dog eyes of hers as she took both my hands into her tiny ones, as she leaned her body closer to mine. "It was perfect, Damon."

"Elena," I said, pulling back, because that part of me that was so used to being hurt by her, and her never-ending feelings for my brother, had to be sure that this was the real deal this time, and not some momentary thrill that she would regret later. "I hate to put a halt to all this, but are you sure?"

"Sure about what?" she asked, pulling one eyebrow up in a complete show of confusion.

"About this," I said, gesturing around the room at the cheesy lit fire that I had thought to light at the last minute, and the Vanilla scented candles that conveniently been burning when she had come in. "About us?"

She shook her head, like she was honestly confused as to why I would be questioning her motives in that instant. It was pathetic, but I needed to make sure before I completely lost myself in this impossible dream that had snowballed into a reality far beyond my wildest expectations.

"Yes," she said firmly, her brown eyes meeting my blue with an intensity that even I was taken aback about. "I have never been so sure about anything in my entire life."

"Well, in that case," I said, my lips turning upward into a hopeful pout, as they captured hers in a kiss once again. We seriously couldn't keep our hands off each other, and why should we? We were both immortal beings, who had our entire lives to be all domestic and have two point five kids, adopted of course, and a lawn and all that boring stuff.

Right now, it was all about reveling in the reality that she was mine, and she had chosen me. Finally.

"I finally let my heart do the talking," she gasped between kisses, the intensity surprising even her, who had been known to do some pretty hot and heavy love-making herself.

"And not that brainy head of yours?" I teased, pulling back so I could allow her to finish her speech.

"Very funny," she said, throwing me her signature 'annoyed as hell' look. "I was letting my head do the talking," she continued, as she moved some of her hair from around her gorgeous face. "Stefan was the safe option, but I kept ignoring what I was feeling for you-"

"And you finally got tired of the charade?"

"I did," she confirmed. "I'm not going to be someone I'm not. I'll always love Stefan," she said softly, either ignoring the soft wince I made when she mentioned my baby bro like that, "but I love you, Damon."

"I love you, too-"

And just like that, our blissful, carefree time was up. The door to the boarding house slammed open with such a seemingly earth-shattering bang that it momentarily caught us both off guard.

Instead of it being a worldwide crisis or some hybrids creating more havoc for us to sort through, it was only Donovan...and Jeremy. Last I knew, the door to the other side that had allowed people from the dead to come back, had been closed. Lexi, Jeremy and so many others had been forced back to their positions, but apparently not him.

"Jeremy?" Elena said, stepping foreword one half an inch, as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing as being true. "I thought that-"

"I know," baby Gilbert said, "but I'm back."

"For good," Matt supplied.

"But—but how?"

"Bonnie did a spell," Jeremy said carefully, "and it worked."

Of course. Bennett witch always saves the day, but in this case, I actually owed her one thanks to the fact that my girl looked like unicorns and fairies existed all over again, as she gave out a hell of a high squeal and threw her arms around her brother.

"Oh, Jer," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I thought you were gone."

"I know. I did, too."

"Where's Bonnie now?" I asked, venturing to ask since no one had bothered to broach that topic yet. If she was the hero who had miraculously managed to revive Elena's brother, I owed her a high-five, and maybe something more.

"She's...she's not here. She had to go on a road trip."

"Now?" I asked incredulously.

Not that witches made a lick of sense to begin with, but her suddenly flaking right after resurrecting Jeremy, seemed more than a little fishy to me.

"It was an emergency. Her father needed her."

"Oh, okay," Elena said, a slight frown crease appearing between her eyebrows as she stepped back from her brother finally. "When did she say she was going to be back?"

"I don't know when."

"Okay."

"Well," I said, finally breaking the uncomfortable ice that had settled over us. "Pick a room, Gilbert."

Not that I minded having another house guest when the place was so enormous, but it would have been nice to have had that time with just Elena and me, and not her ever nosy little brother.

"Sure," he finally said.

"Was he acting different?" Elena asked, once the sounds of his footsteps had disappeared from our ears.

"Completely."

The first night was even better that the first evening. After Elena had finished fawning over baby Gilbert, she found me in my room—our room—and instantly bounced her way onto the bed, blankets and carefully arranged pillows flying all over the place, as she laid her head on my chest, breathing deeply, contentedly as her eyes fluttered shut.

"Why are you so happy?" I whispered, as my finger traced careful lines across her full lips.

"Because I'm here," she said, opening her eyes to capture mine. "And because Jeremy's okay."

"I'm glad," I said.

"It worries me about Bonnie, though. Why wouldn't she at least tell me that she was going away? I could have helped her pack, I could have been there if something was really wrong with her father."

Typical Elena. Taking on the problems of the world that didn't even concern her. It was an endearing quality, and one that always made me question the sanity in being with her, but her compassion had always been her Achilles heel, and the one thing that had kept her from me for so long.

"Elena," I said firmly. "Bonnie is fine. She's a big girl, she can handle her crap just fine."

"I know but-"

"Nope," I interrupted. "No buts."

"Damon-"

"Don't 'Damon' me," I retorted. "Just be for one second without worrying about anything else. This is finally our time."

"I know it is. Did you talk to Stefan?"

"I did, and he fully supports our relationship, Elena."

While Stefan hadn't exactly been glowing about hearing us makeout in the other room, he had been surprisingly diplomatic about it, and had even given us his blessing, something I never thought I would hear come from his mouth.

"He does?"

"Yep."

"Good. I have to talk to him, though, try to make him understand."

"He's gone, Elena. He left town a few hours ago."

"He did?"

"Yeah."

That was always part of the pact we had made with each other. If she chose one of us, the other one would go and leave the other to be happy. Not that I wanted him gone, I didn't, but if he couldn't stand to see us be happy with each other, then it was probably best.

"Okay," she finally said, after a few seconds of silently internalizing the bombshell I had dropped on her. "I'll find him later."

"Okay."

"I love you, Damon."

"Hmm. I know. I love you, too."

This is a one-shot series that covers their summer before she goes off to college, and some other moments in between. Hopefully this will hold me (and my readers) over during this torturous hiatus, and if there's any one-shot in particular that you would like to see, just let me know.

Reviews are my favorite!