A/N: This is my very first TVD fic. I freakin' LOVE this show, and I LOVE Delena! I'm posting this as a one-shot for now, but I may continue, depending on the response I get. I have an idea for at least one more chapter I could do, and who knows how inspired I'll get after that. ;-)

So, read, comment, and we'll see what happens! Thanks everyone! :-D

Oh, also, this story takes place just after episode 2x10, "The Sacrifice".

I don't own TVD.

"Promise me. No matter what happens, you'll protect her."

"Promise."

This is how Elena came to find herself as a guest at the Salvatore boarding house for the weekend. Jenna and Alaric had taken a romantic getaway to the Gilbert lake house, and Jeremy was away on a class trip to D.C. With Elijah on the loose, motives unknown, and the threat of Klaus looming, Damon and Stefan were not willing to take any chances. So, upon their insistence, Elena agreed to stay at the brothers' home, where Damon could protect her. Bonnie was attempting to track down Lucy, to see if she could help free Stefan from the tomb. It was a stressful time for Elena, to say the least.

It was late, and Elena was tired, but too wound up to sleep. She had taken up residence in one of the guest bedrooms, not wanting to sleep in Stefan's room without him. Too many memories...

She decided to take a hot shower to soothe her nerves and clear her mind. Damon had retired to his bedroom about an hour earlier, to do... well, who knows what, really. Maybe he's reading 'Gone With the Wind', she thought to herself with a sarcastic chuckle. She undressed and slipped under the warm stream, willing her cares to slide down the drain with the water...

Damon lifted his eyes from his book and cocked his head to the side when he heard the water come on. He couldn't believe she was still up at this hour. He set the book down on his nightstand with a groan. He may as well have not read it at all, as scattered as his concentration had been. He'd managed to read the same sentence over and over, and the irony did not escape him: "No, I don't think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how."

He ran his hand through his hair and groaned again. He thought of that night, not very long ago at all, when he had finally confessed his love to Elena. How he had longed to close the short distance between them and claim her lips with his own. She hadn't said a word, but the look in her eyes told him she wouldn't have stopped him. Not this time. But he made himself do the noble thing, the right thing, and when he had finished pouring every ounce of his heart into her hands, he looked into her beautiful eyes and took it all away.

He had thought it would bring him closure, this forgotten confession. He thought that if he just said it, out loud; if she just heard it once, he would be free. He had unburdened himself... so why did he feel worse than ever? Admitting it aloud hadn't freed him- it had bound him to her more than ever. Before he had spoken the words; before they had left his lips, he could still deny it to himself. He wasn't a fool, of course- he knew the truth. But he could tuck it away into the deepest, darkest corner, and keep it under lock and key. Now that the words had taken form and volume, however, the truth could no longer be contained. She wouldn't remember, but he could never forget...

Still, he'd tried to bury it; pretend and deny to anyone who dared to address it. Stefan and Rose had both tried, but he was a vault. Then, when Elena had run off half-cocked, on her kamikaze mission to sacrifice herself, it had been Damon to the rescue, of course. It was always Damon. He would always save her. Not that she was grateful when he showed up! She even tried to take a swing at him, but he was tired of the abuse his face always took from her hand. He caught her fist in mid-air, and leaned in close to deliver the warning, "Don't ever do that again." He had meant it to be threatening. He wanted her to take him seriously for once. But when he was there, mere inches from her face, the heat rolled off of her in waves, and he lost himself in her for a moment. Her eyes. Her lips. And it wasn't one-sided. He could hear her heart pounding. He could smell her scent- so strong he could almost taste it. He saw her eyes glance down at his mouth, (as they had many times before) and he felt her breath as she let out a small gasp. He held onto the moment for a beat or two longer, and then he backed away. Another second and he would have not been able to resist anymore.

Elena stepped from the shower and wrapped herself in the bathrobe hanging from the door. After twisting her hair into the towel, she reached out and cleared the fog from the mirror. Showers were always therapeutic for her; the place where she did most of her thinking. This time had been no exception. She stared at herself in the mirror, recalling where her thoughts had taken her...

She had been thinking of the past few weeks. With everything that had been happening, there hadn't been time to process any of it. The craziness of the Masquerade Ball and the spell that had linked her to Katherine. Katherine ending up in the tomb. Rose and Trevor kidnapping her, meeting Elijah, Damon killing Elijah, finding out Elijah was not so dead after all, Stefan saving Jeremy but getting himself trapped in the tomb... her head was spinning just recalling it all. Still, there was something she felt like she was missing. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it was like an itch she couldn't scratch. A piece of the puzzle that wouldn't quite fit into place. Something vitally important. Something to do with Damon...

As the sound of the water ceased, Damon suddenly came to an abrupt and terrifying conclusion- it would never be over. Not like this. He realized why his confession hadn't freed him the way he thought it would; why Elena was still in his every thought and dream- because he had never allowed her to answer. He hadn't given her the chance to tell him how she felt about it. He stood to his feet. He needed closure. As he made his way to Elena's room, he knew exactly what needed to be done. If he was ever going to have any peace, this was the only way.

He entered her room, lit only by a single bedside lamp. Her clothes were laid out, waiting for her on the bed. He could heard the sounds of her brushing her teeth in the bathroom. And there, on the dresser, was the exact thing he'd been so desperately hoping to see- her vervain necklace. His chest felt as if it would burst at the sight of it. This was it. He would finally, finally know the truth. But would the truth set him free? Or would it enslave him forever?

Warm light bathed the room as Elena opened the door, wearing only a bathrobe. Her hair was still damp and her skin was flushed from the heat of the shower. Damon swallowed hard. She had never looked more beautiful.

"Damon," she said, surprise evident on her face, "what are you doing here?"

Damon knew if he waited another second, he'd lose his nerve. So he stepped towards Elena, held her shoulders gently, looked into her eyes and said, "Please don't move." As his eyes dilated, he spoke softly to her. "I need you to tell me, Elena," Damon began, "how you really feel about me. The whole truth. Hold nothing back, please." Even though she would have no choice but to comply, he still felt the need to say please. He reached out to stroke her cheek. There would be no demands, only a quiet plea for the truth.

She looked dazed for a moment, as if she didn't understand the question. Then she seemed to clear the cobwebs, and began to speak. "How I feel about you..." she said, "is a complicated thing. From the moment I met you, I was attracted to you, but that's no surprise. Lots of girls are. You know that. I was happy with Stefan, but still, whenever you were around, I would have to mentally slap myself to keep from thinking things I shouldn't about you. I told myself it was just your looks. That it was the 'grass is always greener' syndrome. That it would fade. And that worked... for a while. Then I got to know you. It's been a rocky road for you and I, as you well know. There were times when I thought I truly hated you. Some of the things you've done..." She shook her head, remembering. "But even then, I always came back to you. Always forgave you, no matter how heinous the crime. That should have told me something. Why couldn't I stay away from you? You've saved my life and I've saved yours, more than once. In more ways than one. You just... get me. In a way that Stefan doesn't, in a way that even I can't explain. You know me. And I know you, Damon."

Damon swallowed, and took an unnecessary breath as her eyes burned into his. He walked her over to the bed and they sat together, side-by-side, yet angled towards each other. "What do you mean when you say you know me, Elena?" Damon asked, trembling slightly. He was a little afraid to hear what she thought she "knew" of him.

"I know your heart, and I know your soul, Damon," she replied. "And yes, you do have both, no matter what you try to make everyone believe." She smirked a little at this, and he couldn't help but return the gesture.

"I see the man you were, before Katherine stole your innocence. I see the man you are now, and the man you so desperately want to become, even though you will deny it, because the thought of failing at that haunts you so much, that you refuse to even accept that it might be possible."

Damon was shaking now, deep emotions threatening to overtake him. Elena reached out and took his hands in hers to still them. "But I believe in you, Damon. I know that you can be the better man. You may not be able to be human, but you can reclaim your humanity."

This was getting to be too much for Damon. Elena was sharing much more than he had expected to hear, but she still hadn't given the answer he needed to hear the most. He brushed away unshed tears from his eyes, and stared at her. "But... do you love me?" he asked, barely above a whisper, and then cast his eyes downward. He couldn't look at her if the answer was no.

Elena reached out and touched his face so gently, as if he were the fragile one. In this moment, he was. "Look at me, Damon," Elena said softly. A tear spilled onto Elena's hand as she stroked his cheek. "Please?" she asked. He lifted his head, and her heart ached as she saw his beautiful blue eyes shining with tears. In that moment, everything she had been holding back the entire time she had known him came bursting forth. She grabbed his face with both her hands and brought their mouths together, kissing him without restraint. Her heart was flying as she finally allowed herself to do what she'd wanted to so many times before. Damon's eyes widened in shock, but he wasted no time in returning the passionate kiss. His hands tangled in her hair as he explored her mouth. And oh, but the taste of her was exquisite! He moaned aloud at the feel of her sweet tongue against his. She slipped her hands under his shirt to feel what she had seen, but never allowed herself to touch. He felt so warm and smooth under her fingers. She could feel every muscle defined on his perfect body. He shuddered with pleasure at her touch, but suddenly remembered- He gently pulled away from her and said breathlessly, "You never answered my question."

She looked at his face, so full of concern, and she had to laugh. "You silly boy! That was my answer!" she replied. "Of course I love you! Isn't it obvious? I've known it all along, but I could never admit it to myself."

"Why? Why couldn't you admit it to yourself?" asked Damon. "Because of... Stefan?" It stung to say his name. He knew what a betrayal he was committing right now.

"No," Elena replied, "can't you see? It had nothing to do with Stefan. It was always about me."

"I'm afraid you lost me, Elena," Damon said, confused.

"If I were to admit to myself that I loved you, what kind of person would that make me? The kind of person who was attracted to darkness. To danger. To death. With Stefan, it was easier to pretend. He tries so hard to be human, to play the role. And he's become quite good at it over the years. When I'm with him, I can almost forget what he is. I can almost have normal. And that's what I wanted Damon. After my parents died, I felt as though nothing would ever be right again. Stefan gave me back my life. Well, as much of it as he could. Things were good for a while... But then all of this madness happened- well, you know, you were there- and it just keeps coming. And I just realized tonight, while I was in the shower... it's never going to stop. My life is never going to be normal, Damon. So, do I want to keep pretending? Keep playing it safe? Or do I want to live? I mean, devil-may-care, follow-my-heart, love-passionately, LIVING. Once I answered that question, there was only one path left for me to take- the one that led straight to you. And I was about to come and tell you that, but then you showed up here in my room..." Elena trailed off.

Damon started the kissing this time, and it was passionate and intense and full of all the LIFE he could give her. After a few minutes, he broke away, and stared intently into her eyes. Not compelling her this time, but simply because he wanted to. He reached down to untie her robe, but she stilled his hands with hers. "I have one more thing I need to tell you before we go any further," she said, blushing.

He stroked the warmth that painted her cheeks, and smiled. "And what might that be?"

She looked at him, a half-smile stretching across her face. "You didn't compel me tonight. I've been drinking vervain since the day after you and Stefan rescued me from Elijah."

Damon was reeling. "Then everything you just said was-"

"One hundred percent me, unfiltered," she smiled. "And I was coming to tell you anyway, but then you came to me and well, this just seemed like it would be more fun. And I was right! Look at the look on your face!" she shouted with glee.

"You naughty little thing!" Damon crowed. "You will pay for that!"

He pounced on her and she squealed with delight. He kissed her ferociously and enjoyed it one hundred times more, because now he knew for certain that it was REAL.