First Kiss
A/N: Flash-forward – to the next episode "Heart of Darkness" based on the promo. Of course this is probably a poor imitation of the real thing, but this goes out to all the delena fans waiting with baited breath for 3 x 19. I hope we aren't disappointed!
Disclaimer: I have no claim to The Vampire Diaries or its characters. Huge respect to LJ Smith, Julie Plec, Kevin Williamson, The CW and the many many people who go into making this series.
"Stefan thinks that I have feelings for you," the words were a midpoint between an accusation and a confession. Elena didn't know which side of the seesaw her emotions were going to come down on. Unconsciously that was what had brought her here, to him. Stefan hadn't been able to give her answers, not really, just questions, only she could really know how she felt and she had to see him to know.
Hope and fear flew across Damon's face simultaneously. He radiated vulnerability. "Do you?" The words were as soft and bruised as his ego. He didn't know if he could survive another rejection from her.
She looked into his crystalline eyes and she couldn't lie. She realised then she'd come here to lie to him and herself. She'd come here angry and ready to lie and let go and go back to Stefan, but she couldn't. Because expecting these feelings to go away because she hadn't wanted them, hadn't asked for them, was unrealistic, even Stefan didn't expect her to blink and make it all go away.
Damon saw her pain; saw how conflicted she was, and knew that the one thing Elena wanted more than anything was to not be Katherine. He hugged her, pulling her close and whispered into her hair, "You're not Katherine Elena, it's okay, it's fine. This has been going on for a while; you're just a little late to the party."
"Have I been lying to myself? I need to know what's really between us," she pulled away and looked up at him. "You've been such a friend to me, though everything that's happened with Klaus and Stefan. But it's more than that isn't it?"
"You tell me Elena," Damon answered softly and lent towards her as if he was about to kiss her. He stopped an inch from her mouth, longing filling every fibre of his being.
Her body responded, she had always had a chemical reaction to Damon's presence, but when Elena examined her feelings this was more than lust clouding her mind, she didn't want to hurt him, she wanted to give him what he wanted. And there underneath all the talk about Stefan and Damon, their feelings, their needs, their relationship, was the simple truth, she wanted this. She wanted to kiss him and be loved by him and not hate herself for it. A dozen voices, jibes from Katherine, Isobel, Caroline, Bonnie, even Stefan and Damon themselves, about this bizarre love triangle all flashed through her mind, each of those comments has pushed a wedge between her and Damon, making her more determined not to repeat Katherine's mistakes, but here she was just a girl, waiting to be kissed, wanting to kiss the man she loved.
So she did.