This was written for the A2A Exchange on LJ for a prompt written by Carol (scarlett2112). I hope you like it.
Prompt: Damon and Elena are married, on the verge of divorce. They visited with their parents, trying to act civil but knowing their marriage is over, they leave to go home a few days before Christmas. They have car trouble in a tiny remote town surrounded by mountains. Because the car parts needed for their car repair have to be shipped in, they're stuck in the town for several days. The town goes all out for the holiday, Christmas pageant, decorations, Christmas trees galore, you name it. The town's people take Damon and Elena under their wing so to speak. Somehow amidst the magic of this little town and the magic of Christmas, they realize that they still love each other too much to give up
I hope you all have a merry Christmas and enjoy the time with your loved ones. And of course let me know what you think.
"Let's just go home. I'm about ready for this holiday to be over." I said
"I couldn't agree more." He replied coolly. Pretending for the past couple days had been agony, and it was time to get back to your regularly scheduled avoidance and coolness. Our marriage was over, it's just neither of us have come right out and said it. We both know it but haven't said anything. It's like we're afraid to end something that has been going on for so many years. I got into the passenger side of the car and waved to my parents who were standing at the window. It was hard leaving them, but I wasn't sure how long I could keep this façade up. We spent the two days prior to this with Damon's parents, then two with mine. It was how we spent every Christmas. We then spent Christmas day at home in our apartment alone. We used to love it like that, but now we didn't even speak. It started months ago with the miscarriage. He couldn't help but blame me, even when the doctor said it wasn't anyone's fault. He insisted that he didn't blame me, but I could feel it. He was cut off and cool with me and eventually we just completely stopped. We stopped being in love, we stopped communicating. When the sex stopped, that's when I knew it was over. We now went to bed without talking, then woke up silently. Silence was actually the lesser of two evils, the yelling was so much worse.
About five miles out of a little town called Stone Creek, the Camaro started shaking, so Damon pulled over to the side of the road and put on the hazard lights. He got out and popped the hood, cursing when smoke came billowing out from underneath. I wasn't a mechanic by any means but even I know that was very bad.
"Motherfucker." He hissed under his breath when he got back in the driver's side. I didn't know what I could say, he definitely didn't want to hear anything from me. He was in the type of mood that made me want to avoid him like the plague. The only problem with that was we were only inches apart in a cramped car with nowhere to go.
"I think we need to call a tow truck." I suggested hoping he didn't lash out at me.
"Thank you Captain Obvious." He said grabbing his phone. When he turned it on he cursed again. "Of course, no fucking signal. We aren't even that far out of fucking town."
"There was a service station a couple miles back that way. We can walk to see if they have a phone we can use." I suggested, twisting my wedding band around my finger. I wasn't scared of him, I just didn't want to fight when we had no way of getting away from each other.
"Whatever." He said getting out of the car. He put the hood back down and locked the car, then we started walking back in the direction of the service station.
We walked in silence until we came to the station. It wasn't busy at all so we went to the elderly guy at the counter.
"Hello there, can I help you with something?" He asked politely.
"Our car broke down a couple miles down the road. Any chance we can call for a tow truck?" I asked him and he grinned.
"You're in luck, I am the Stone Creek towing company. I'll bring it here and give ya'll a ride into town." He told me and I smiled at him.
"Thank you so much. We're not planning on hanging around, we just need to get it fixed." I told him.
"We'll do what we can." He promised as he grabbed a set of keys from a peg and motioned for us to follow him. He unlocked the door to a rusty old tow truck and I got in the middle so Damon could get in on the other side. I sat closer to Damon than I did the driver.
"Thank you for this. It's so close to Christmas, I'm just glad we found you." I said to him.
"Oh it's no problem. Places like this get their reputations because of people helping others. I'm just doing my duty in the whole scheme of things." He told me and I smiled.
"Well thank you anyway." I said. Damon was still silently fuming beside me, so I opted to just continue talking to the driver. At least he wasn't openly hostile to me. When we came to the Camaro, the driver got out and hooked up the car.
"Such a pretty car." He said when he got back in. I smiled but Damon didn't respond. I knew he just wanted to get home. Pretending to be even a partly happy couple was exhausting.
"It's my husbands. His pride and joy." I told him and he grinned.
"It's his pride and joy only because you haven't had a baby yet. Material objects lose importance when there is another mouth to feed." He told us and I frowned and looked down. I didn't like talking about children after the one I lost. It was when things started going to hell for us.
"I'm not sure that's in the cards for us." I finally answered and he shook his head.
"God will give you a child when it's time for you to have one. I have no doubt about that. Now let's get you back to my shop so I can look at this beauty of a car." He told us. He seemed to understand that I didn't want to talk anymore and started driving down the snow covered roads. This was just a terrific start to Christmas for us. At the rate this was going, Damon and I would never want to celebrate the holiday again. The only silver lining was meeting the nicest man on the planet.
Back at the shop, he put the car in the garage and grabbed a different set of keys.
"I'll take you into town and call when the car is ready. Can I get your number?" He asked.
"You can have mine. Make it quick, we need to get home." Damon said jotting his number down on a piece of paper.
"I'll do what I can. My name is Ralph. What can I call the two of you?" He asked.
"I'm Elena Salvatore and this is my husband Damon." I introduced us. He shook my hand then Damon's before leaving us to another rusty truck. This one an old blue F-150 with more rust than actual paint. As we drove into town I wondered why the service station was so far out, but I didn't ask. It wasn't important.
"How long do you think the car will take?" I asked making conversation.
"If we have the parts I can have it done by tomorrow afternoon. If we don't have the parts, it's a matter of getting them here. I'll get it done as quickly as I can for you." He promised.
"Thank you. I don't want to be a problem." I said and he smiled and shook his head.
"You are no problem my dear." He promised as he parked beside a bed and breakfast. "Now go on in there and talk to Miss Margaret. She'll get you set up in a room, tell her Ralph sent you."
"Okay, thank you so much for this." I said as Damon jumped out of the truck.
"Not a problem. You should come out and about while you're here. If there is anything Stone Creek does right, it's Christmas. There is stuff going on all week." He told me and I nodded. I could enjoy myself while I was waiting. It would stay calm that much longer we were gone from home. Maybe this breakdown was a blessing in disguise. We walked inside and an elderly lady greeted us from the front desk.
"Hello there, can I help you?" She asked, her drawl and her upbeat tone making me like her immediately.
"Hi, I'm supposed to find a Miss Margaret." I said and she beamed.
"That would be me, how can I help you dear?" She asked. Damon stood behind me not speaking. I knew he was angry so I would let him calm down before I tried to speak to him.
"I was sent here by Ralph, he said you would set us up with a room. Our car broke down and we need a place to stay until its back up and running." I said to her and she grinned.
"That Ralph is such a trouble maker. But of course I will give you a room. For how many days?" She asked and I was stumped.
"I'm not sure. Let's go one for now, and I'll let you know tomorrow. It's just until our car is repaired." I told her and she smiled. When looked at her computer and asked us for our information. I gave her our names and phone number before pulling my credit card out of my wallet. She tsked me and told me to put it back.
"It's my good deed for the season. Stay with us as long as you need." She told me and I smiled.
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"If Ralph told you to mention him, that means he took a liking to you and wants you to be comfortable and happy here. He also wanted me to give you a discount, meaning a free room. No one disagrees with my man." She said with a sparkle in her eye. She gave me a room key and Damon and I walked up the stairs.
"Well this is going to be fun." Damon muttered when we were in our floral printed room.
"They're being nice, giving us this room for free." I reminded him.
"I know that. I just want to go home. You know this means we have to pretend again." He said.
"We can just avoid each other. It's what we do every other day." I said before grabbing my purse and walking out of our room. Miss Margaret was much more pleasant to hang out with than my husband was.
The next day I came into the room to find Damon cursing.
"What?" I demanded.
"They have to order the damn part in. We're going to be here for at least a week now." He hissed.
"It's not going to be that bad. There are things we can do. We were invited to all the activities the town has on the go this week." I told him.
"What kind of activities can a town like this have?" He demanded.
"There's a snow man making contest tomorrow night. A town wide snow ball fight the night after. Saturday there is a town wide turkey dinner and Margaret invited us. The huge tree in the town square is being decorated tonight. There's a Christmas pageant and concert tonight before the tree decorating. It could be fun, spending Christmas here." I told him.
"Not likely." He spat.
"Try to enjoy yourself. We'll deal with us when we get home. I'm thinking maybe it's time to consult a lawyer with the way things are going." I said.
"Maybe it is." He agreed.
"So can we please pretend for a few more days before reality has to set in?" I asked and he sighed. "Please Damon"
"Fine, we'll pretend for a few more days." He decided and I gave him a smile.
That evening we met Margaret and Ralph at the giant tree in the town square.
"You made it. I sure am glad to see the two of you. Look Ralph its Elena and Damon." She said grinning.
"I see that. It's good the two of you made it out. A Stone Creek Christmas is something you just have to experience." He said. I tightened my jacket around me and pulled my gloved hands inside my jacket. For some reason it was much colder here than it was anywhere else I'd been.
"Come sit with us." Margaret said going to the front row of seating at the amphitheater where the pageant and concert was happening.
"Are you sure? Locals should have the front row, don't you think?" I asked and she shook her head.
"Nah, the guests should have the good seats. Take a seat." She ordered and Damon and I sat down. There was a distance between Damon and me, even pretending not everything could be fixed. The concert was really good, it was a mixture of classic Christmas carols and more modern songs. The concert segued straight into the pageant. It was well done, a showing of the nativity scene that every city and town did in some capacity. I had to admit this was the best one I've ever seen. They actually had a real baby, playing baby Jesus. It was impeccable.
"That was really good." I said to Margaret as I clapped along with everyone else.
"They've been working on it for months. Come it's time to decorate the tree." She said standing up and waiting for Damon and me.
"I think I'll go get hot cocoa." Damon said. It didn't surprise me, he had never been really into decorating. He only did it for me in the early days of our relationship. He didn't have to pretend to enjoy it anymore.
"I think I'll go with him." Ralph decided as he walked after Damon.
"I can't put my finger on it, but there is something off between the two of you." Margaret noted when we were rifling through a bin of decorations.
"What do you mean?" I asked having found a beautiful crystal angel to hang from the tree.
"You two aren't like any happily married couple I've ever seen. It's like you're pretending." She said slowly.
"It's true. We've been having problems for months now and we've both just given up." I told her quietly.
"Problems can always be resolved. Do you think Ralph and I made fifty years without wondering if it was worth it a time or two? We've had our fair share of problems and times where we were certain that it wasn't going to work out. What makes you think that it's over for you and Damon?" She asked and I shrugged.
"Things happened and didn't happen. We're just not meant to be." I told her sadly. I loved him, I just couldn't be the only one trying.
"Elena, no matter what happened, you can get past it if both of you want to." She told me and I shook my head.
"I just don't think we both want to. I wanted to for the longest time, but it's been months of barely speaking. When I lost the baby, it changed things." I told her.
"Ah so that's what happened. I knew it had to be something big for the two of you to just give up. Did you try again?" She asked.
"For a while but I never got pregnant again. Then it felt like he started blaming me. It's better this way." I told her and she shook her head.
"It's never better like that. Maybe this little town still has enough magic enough in it to repair you and him." She suggested.
"I doubt it. He's made it pretty clear that he's not open for reconciliation." I told her and she shook her head.
"Men try to be strong, and if they think it's something that you want, they'll make you think it was their idea. He probably thinks you want the end too so he's trying to get through it. Believe me when I say that he'll regret losing you in the long run." She told me and I smiled at her. I just wished I could believe her.
"Thanks Margaret." I said and she nudged me with her hip and sent me over to the tree to put the ornament on. As I helped decorate the tree I could feel Damon's eyes on me from time to time. Part of me wondered if Margaret sent Ralph after Damon to try to talk some sense into him. It would almost make sense considering how Damon has been looking at me different since he came back with the cocoa. I looked around the town square and marvelled at how beautiful it was. The buildings had a beautiful background of mountains in the distance. It was completely idyllic.
The next morning when we got up things were slightly different between us. It wasn't like anything overly tangible changed, it's just like we looked at each other differently.
"Ah good you're up. Come it's time for the snowman contest." Margaret said and I smiled and followed her with Damon right behind me. He caught up so he was right beside me and his hand brushed mine every couple seconds. There was a large crowd in the park and it looked like people were separating into groups of three. "Now we're short a couple people, so you have to compete."
"I haven't built a snowman in eons." I said shaking my head.
"Come on, it could be fun." Damon shot in and I stared at him.
"Alright." I said with a smile.
"Good, you're teaming up with Ethan. This way we don't have to give one team an unfair advantage." She said and we walked over to the little boy who was standing on his own. He seemed to be between eight and nine.
"Have you two ever built a snow man before?" He demanded us.
"A long time ago." I answered.
"I used to kick ass at snowman building. We've got this competition in the bag." Damon declared and I smiled again. He was getting into this and I was happy. Maybe there was still hope after all. Each team had thirty minutes to build a snowman. Damon and Ethan started rolling the balls, while they sent me to find things to decorate him with. By the time I came back they had three perfectly sized balls formed and sitting on top of one another. I returned with an old felt hat, two sticks, a carrot and a pile of small pebbles for the buttons, eyes and mouth.
"Perfect." Ethan declared as we started putting it together. The judges were Ralph and Margaret so I liked our chances.
"That is one good looking snowman." I declared.
"Are you guys coming to the snowball fight? They rescheduled it for today after the contest. It's supposed to storm tomorrow." Ethan asked.
"I'm in if Elena is." Damon decided.
"I'm in." I was definitely in if Damon wanted to do it. I wanted to keep him in this good mood. All I wanted now was for the divorce declaration to be off the table. It may have been me to bring up the lawyers, but he was the one who agreed. I wanted him to disagree and he didn't. That was what hurt the most.
When we were declared the winners, we gave the trophy to Ethan who was excited to get to put it on his shelf of trophies at home. He was clearly used to winning.
"Every man for themselves. The snowball fight starts now." Margaret shouted just before flinging a snowball at Ralph. He laughed loudly before chasing her down.
"I guess we're starting." I said as Ethan ran away. Damon was gathering snow in his hand and I started running away. For the next hour we threw snow around, somewhere in that time I lost track of Damon. I looked behind me and around me all the time, trying to scout him. He'd targeted me as his primary target and I was starting to get cold. I crept around a snow bank still watching my back for him to make an appearance.
"Damon?" I asked carefully. He never answered and I hoped that meant he wasn't around me. I could hear all sorts of laughing around me as I walked. I felt a snowball hit my back so I spun around to see Ethan with a grin on his face.
"I got you." He said before running around.
"Damon? I know you're around. I can feel you." I called out walking into the open trees. Just when I was about to decide that my senses were playing tricks on me, I was tackled into the untouched snow. It was deep with the snowfall last night.
"Got you." He said and I smiled when I saw Damon straddling me. His legs were on either side of my hips, we were closer than we've been in months.
"So you did. So the question is, what are you going to do with me?" I asked.
"I'm not sure. I do want to try something." He said leaning down. He kept bending until his lips were covering mine. He kept the kiss brief and broke it not long after he started it.
"I missed that." I sighed.
"Me too. This is going to seem like a strange question, but do you believe in magic?" He asked me and I looked at him.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Ralph told me that maybe this town is magic and maybe it'll fix us. I want to know if you think that is possible. All I know is I think I might still be in love with you. It certainly feels like it right now." He said and I held back tears.
"I think this town is magical too. Margaret told me the same thing. I think I'm still in love with you too." I admitted.
"I don't think we should give up yet. It's too early, we should give us another shot." He said and I nodded in agreement.
"I think that would be best. We have too much to just give up now." I told him.
"I'm glad we're at an agreement. Do you want me to get off of you now?" He asked cheekily.
"I can think of far worse positions to be in." I told him and he leaned down to kiss me again. He kissed me deeper this time until a snowball hit Damon's back and sprayed over me. He jumped up to see Margaret and Ralph standing there smirking.
"Now we're glad that you two made up, it's not safe to make out on a battlefield. You never know who'll take advantage of the situation." She said and we laughed. Damon jumped to his feet and pulled me up with him.
"Let's get them." He declared.
After the snowball fight, Damon and I went back to our room to change out of our wet clothes. We were more than ready to rediscover each other, so after a shower to remove the chill from our bodies we climbed into bed together.
"I want to make love to you again." He said and I rolled onto my side.
"Who's stopping you?" I asked.
"We don't have protection with us." He stated.
"I don't know about you, but I wouldn't object to getting pregnant." I told him.
"I wouldn't either." He decided after a beat. He kissed me and trailed his hand down my body, caressing each dip and curve. I rolled so I was on top of him, taking him by surprise. We were already naked so it wouldn't take long for us to be joined in the way we were both desperate for. His tongue played in my mouth while his hands roamed all over my back, down to my ass and back up again. I was grinding on him, his cock sliding between my nether lips but never entering me. When he had enough of being on the bottom, he rolled us. My hands roamed his back, as he never stopped kissing me. He was so hard between us so I took my hand and wrapped my hand around his erection as he ducked his head to take one pebbled nipple into his mouth. He was worshipping me and I missed this. Damon Salvatore was nothing if not absolutely incredible in bed. He always took perfect care of me. He switched to the other rigid peak while his hand cupped my most private area. He slid one finger inside me and started moving it. He always made sure to bring me to orgasm at least once before he ever even slid inside me. I continued to rub his throbbing cock as he thrust his finger inside me.
"I'm so close." I whimpered when he suddenly started rubbing my clit as well. I released his cock knowing he wouldn't let me go off until I stopped being bad. He didn't want to come until I was at least two orgasms down.
"Please." I whimpered and he finally sent me over the edge. I trembled as he continued playing with me until I came back down.
"Are you ready?" He asked and I nodded eagerly. He quickly replaced his finger with his cock and slid inside me, filling me perfectly. He was far larger than what I was ever used to before him. I couldn't remember any other man when he was with me. It was how it was from the time I first was with him. He moved against me expertly. He knew exactly what to do to make me soar. My legs were bent giving him more room to move, but he still wasn't close enough. I wrapped my arms and legs around him, making it impossible for him to move as much. His thrusts were shallow now but it was the closeness I needed.
"Shit, you feel so tight. I nearly forgot how good this felt." He whispered in my ear and I kissed his neck in response. Every inch of me was wrapped around him and it was how I needed it. It was only a few thrusts later that my orgasm washed over me. My climax took him with me and we both fell into the abyss together.
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Saturday evening we finally got out of bed and got dressed. We spent all of Friday night and Saturday morning rediscovering each other. I knew that Margaret would come looking for us if we weren't at the dinner.
"Ready?" Damon asked and I nodded. I took his hand and we walked downstairs and out into the cold. The town was so small, everything was in walking distance. The hall that the dinner was being held in was right next door to the bed and breakfast. When we walked in, Margaret and Ralph immediately found us.
"We were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to see the two of you again." Ralph said but Margaret slapped his arm.
"Leave them alone, they were making up for lost time. We're just happy to see a couple so happy together." She said and we smiled.
"We are happy. Thank you for everything you've done for us." I said to her and she brushed it off and smiled.
"It's no problem dear. We knew you were still in love with each other. It wasn't hard to see. Now come and sit down and enjoy a fresh turkey dinner. It has all the fixings and it's going to make you want to come back here every year." She told us.
"I already want to come back here every year." I told her and she beamed.
"Well for sure you're always welcome." She decided as we all sat down at the same table. I couldn't believe that this little town took us in like it did when we needed them. I would have to remember to thank the Camaro for dying where it did. If it hadn't, we would never have ended up here and met such amazing people. Some things happened for a reason and this was definitely one of those things. Thanks to Stone Creek everything was back to the way it should be.
"Merry Christmas, you two. I hope everything works out for you in the New Year." Margaret murmured once we all had our food.
"Merry Christmas. This definitely won't be the last time you see us." I told her.
"We'll definitely be back next year." Damon added on. We were getting one more chance to be the couple that we were meant to be, and there was no way I was going to screw it up this time. There weren't too many times when you got a second chance at life, but this was one of distance. the wnstaris all of Friday night and Saturday morning rediscovering eac