"Damon, I'm so sorry."
Before I knew what I was doing the words were out of my mouth and my body was no longer pulled close to Stefan's unusually uncomfortable embrace. Without giving myself time to think about what I was doing I had walked up to the still figure, standing heartbroken and alone in the flickering torch lights. My arms had wrapped themselves around his still body. For a long moment I didn't think that he would welcome the comfort I was offering, or maybe my touch would push his emotions too far and he would hurt me. But for some reason I wasn't afraid of the latter thought. All that I could think now was that I have to help him. Somehow, I have to make his hurting stop, even if I got hurt in the process.
Then, when I was just about to give up, when I had almost begun to believe that maybe he was so heartbroken, his ability to love so far gone, that he could not accept any comfort, not even from me, his strong arms lifted around me and pulled me close. He turned his eyes to meet mine and I saw the wall that he had put up to protect himself. His eyes were black. They had always been dark, but the usual glint, that little sparkle that could melt the coldest of hearts, was gone. He had hidden what made him Damon in order to keep his emotions from showing. He was to proud to show how much he was hurting, but I could see that he could not keep it up much longer. The pain of finding out the truth about Katherine was so overwhelming that soon that wall would come crumbling down and he would loose all control.
"I'm right here," I whispered.
And at that moment, he let the wall crash down. He held me tightly, as if I were the only thing left in this world that was of any importance to him and if he let me go, if he lost me too, he wouldn't be able to go on. I rested my head on his chest and felt the intake of every unnecessary breath. He didn't have to continue breathing, but it was as if he was trying to keep himself under control. I continued to hold him, silently offering him my strength. After what seemed like an eternity, though it had to have been only a few seconds, he relaxed and rested his cheek on top of my head, still clinging on to me. I don't know how long we stayed this way. It could have been only seconds, but a year could have just as easily passed without our knowing. I wasn't thinking about anything other than him. His scent. The way it felt to lay my head against his worn leather jacket. How standing there in his arms somehow, felt… right. I was supposed to be comforting him, helping him deal with the pain of what Katherine had done to him. But my thoughts had turned from that to thinking about how the torch lights, which had seemed so foreboding and terrifying merely moments before, now seemed beautiful and romantic. And how I never wanted this moment to end. I never wanted to step out of this embrace.
But eventually I felt him take a deep breath, steadying himself. He held me tighter for a quick second, and then the warmth from his body was gone, but he laid one hand on my shoulder as he gently leaned closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead. In that moment, I realized that I never wanted anything more than this. This man standing in front of me. I looked up at him, his eyes were filled with pain still, but now there was something more. I wasn't sure what I was seeing in his eyes. It was not the usual spark, but at least there was some form of emotion showing through now. Even if I didn't know what exactly he was feeling, I hoped that that it was the realization that I was here for him, that I cared about him in a way that neither of us had realized until tonight. That I might love him.
"I might love Damon," that thought was going over and over in my head as I pulled my gaze from his and turned around.
And saw Stefan staring at the two of us.