Authors Note: Here lies (fill in your name) prepare yourself for a roller coaster of emotions. We just want to take the time to thank you all for reading this one shot. We enjoy your pain and we thank you for adding more tears to our collection. Now that that's all been said on with the show...
-Morganuke
2/5 /2072
My Dearest Friend,
This will be my final entry to you, and yes you'll see that the writing in the entry has changed. You might recognize it, and if you guessed Damon you are correct. I'm a fail and old woman now whose handshakes when she writes and i wanted you to be able to read this because this is my goodbye.
When we first lost you we all handed our grief differently but I didn't just hold grief, I held guilt. You sacrificed your own life for me when I should have been the one to suffer at the hands of Kai. If it wasn't for my stubbornness and need for revenge Kai never would have been so consumed and destroyed everything in his wake. In my eyes I was the reason for Alaric losing his future and for Damon losing the love of his life. Of course everyone around me tried to see past that but it was all I saw. It drove me to do something reckless. I'm not going into graphic details because even as I speak Damon is glaring at me from the chair beside my bed. I tried to end my life because I saw it as the only solution and I thought by dying you'd come back and all would be well but I was mistaken. I woke up coddled by everyone except for Damon because he showed no sympathy and yelled at me. Called me selfish of all things and when I shot back why he answered with "because she saw your life to be worth it. She knew the sacrifices you had given and for once she wanted to be the one to make the sacrifice for you. She wanted you to get the life she knew you rightfully deserved and if she woke up to the reality of you killing yourself for her she would have been burdened with that guilt for the rest of her life."Damon told me to not make your sacrifice meaningless and I didn't. I want you to know that I got the life I deserved. The life you wanted me to have and there aren't enough words that can come close to thanking you for that. There is so much that I want to tell you. Most of it will be found in past entries, but anything else I'm sure Damon, Caroline, and Stefan will fill you in on. Even my husband, children and grandkids can help fill the blanks.
It pains me to say this but I think it's time for me to end this entry. I'm tired and I think it's high time for me to get some sleep and for you to wake. My last dying wish was asked to Damon. I told him not to be here for when I pass because I want him to be where he belongs and that's with you.
Even with all the time that has gone by you are still my best friend and my sister. You always will be. With all the impossible that we have seen I'd like to believe that we will cross paths again and when we do I will embrace you. This isn't goodbye, it's simply see you soon. Though I hope it's not too soon because I want you to get everything that you gave to me. Happiness and a long fulfilled life.
I love you Elena
-BG
"Are you ready for this?"
"Ready to spend the next sixty years of my life without you in it, who's ever going to be ready for that?"
No one could ever be ready to say goodbye to the love of their lives. Even if they had been given notice, they still wouldn't have been prepared, because minutes, hours, days, weeks or even months, the pain of goodbye still would have been difficult as ever.
If Damon Salvatore had thought saying goodbye on the road they had met on had been difficult he had been sadly mistaken. At least in Elena's head Damon had been given the chance to speak to her and hold her, but once he had returned the present he had been greeted to her coffin before him. Blue hues opening and for a moment it had taken him a second to realize his surroundings. The cold reality crashing against him, because no longer was he standing on the road and sharing a dance with the love of his life where it all began, but instead standing in a dark crypt preparing himself to say goodbye. Maybe the universe and the rest of the world had shared a good laugh, because there had been a cruel irony to this. Last time he had been in here with Elena it had been him saying goodbye to her before being thrown into the prison world.
Looking down at the slumbering angel before him he struggles with what's about to come next, goodbye. Perhaps if she had passed this would have been easier in a sense, because at least she would have moved on. This case was different though because technically she wasn't dead, her heart still beating beautifully as ever proving that. She's alive, but trapped, and there's nothing he can do to change that.
Even if he prolongs it and his brother is forced to drag him out kicking and screaming it changes nothing. Eventually he's going to have to find the last remaining strength he possesses to carry himself out of here. To seal up the woman he loves in order to protect her because of this damn curse and a blessing cure running through her veins. During this sixty years of solitude give or take a few years it's going to be spent away from his soul-mate, and the woman he had planned a future with. He won't have the luxury of visiting her, and he'll only know her image from pictures, dreams, and memories.
Each second of every dreadful day he will relive their love story and remind himself of the love that awaits him, and each second of every day he will continue to carry Elena Gilbert in his heart.
For sixty years he did exactly that…..
"Are you ready for this?"
The soft voice snapping Damon from past thoughts and returning to the present as defeated blues focus their attention on the older woman in bed. "Can you ask me that in sixty years" he questions offering a weak smile. Flicking his attention down towards the journal, glancing at the last entry he had written for Bonnie before closing it shut.
"Damon" she scolds with a slight shake of her head "you've been waiting for this day for years now. Counting down to it and I might be old in age, mind not all there, but I still remember."
For a second his gaze drops to the floor, because he can't deny it and as cruel as it was each time Bonnie added another year to her age he'd mentally check it off. It wasn't like he had verbally said 'one year closer to death' that motto people used to tease their loved ones, because death was far from joyous, but for Damon as awful as it was it brought him closer and closer to what he wanted, Elena. "I know" flicking his cobalt hues back at her still having trouble processing that this is Bonnie Bennett the Witch that used to give him witchy migraines now getting ready to shake hands with the Grim Reaper himself. "Never in those thoughts did I think about saying goodbye to you" he confesses.
"Goodbyes are never easy, Damon, but you should be a pro at it now because you said the hardest goodbye to the woman you love more than life itself" she points out.
"Good point" smirking slightly, but the smirk never reaching his eyes. "I shouldn't be celebrating this. I should be mourning like everyone else" his gaze casts towards the door were her loved ones were in waiting.
"You very well should be celebrating" pausing for a moment as she falls into a coughing fit, trying to catch her breath. Seeing the concern in Damon's eyes she raises her hand up signaling that she's fine "water" she requests.
This, this is what he had meant when he said he couldn't celebrate, because seeing her in pain there was nothing he found joyous about it. Seeing her struggling to breathe or her very hands shaking was not something that he found reason to enjoy. Reaching for the cup of water on the table he shifts over and gingerly lifts it to her lips. Feeling her frail hands close over his own using them to assist her in taking a much needed sip. Nodding her head she draws back causing Damon to set the cup of water back onto the table and waiting for her to continue were she left off.
"Thank you" settling more against the pillows of the hospital bed before lifting her gaze back to meet Damon's "if there was one thing I learned it's that we celebrate death, because it brings us home, and reunites us with the ones lost." Immediately her Grams coming to mind "I lived a happy and fulfilled life my husband, children and grandkids are proof of that….Elena and you gave that to me." Falling silent for a moment allowing her the chance to recover because a simple task such as speaking now takes so much out of her. "You guys both put your lives on hold for me. You both sacrificed everything you had built together for me" tears welling in her eyes as she rapidly blinks them away. "You've spent far too long apart and it's time that you begin again. Soon the woman you love will finally be within your reach, and everything you two planned and dreamed up now can come true." Offering him a warm smile "so yes Damon you should be celebrating….there's only one thing that I ask of you both."
"What might that be" he curiously asks as he arches his brow.
"Be happy"
The warmth and tenderness in her tone causing Damon to finally allow a hint of a smile to play on his lips before it turns into a frown. "I'm scared" he confesses "so much has happened while she's been sleeping…so much has changed with the world alone and her loved ones and I'm going to have to be the one who greets her to all of them." Sucking in an un-needed breath "at least for me I've watched change progress slowly…prepared myself, but this is just going to be a current coming towards her, and crashing against her."Damon's tone clearly showcasing he was worried about this as his voice falls just above a whisper "what if I'm not enough?"
"Oh hush now child" she scolds him "she's going to be scared Damon" because who wouldn't be "and it's going to take her quite some time to adjust, but she's Elena and" her lips pursing together "what is that you two always said about each other….about surviving?"
Still to this day he found it odd when Bonnie Bennett reprimanded him, scolded him and used well grandma names on him. Years and years ago he had been much older than her and though he had years on her his physical appearance never showed it. "That we survive" he simply states.
"Exactly" mustering enough strength so she can clap her hands together "you survive and you're going to survive this….you two just need to be patient with each other, find a place to meet in the middle and just be there for each other." Reaching out she places her aged hands over his "promise me that."
Blue meeting a faded shade of jade placing his other hand gently atop hers "I promise."
Bonnie placing her other hand over his "good" giving it a light pat before her gaze glances over towards the heart monitor machine "now it's time for you to go."
Following where her gaze is as his lands on the heart monitor on the other side of her. Medicine and technology had certainly advanced over the years like everyone had predicted. This still a machine that read the heartbeat from patches attached to points of the patient's chest and side. The monitor not only giving the heart rate but also the exact time that the individual would be passing. In Damon's eyes he found it slightly morbid, but times had changed, and he had to accept it. Gaze locked on the countdown screen knowing that she still had a bit more time which he knew she wanted to use to say goodbye to the rest of her loved ones. "Yeah" remaining seated in the chair as his gaze slowly shifts back over towards the elderly woman nestled in bed.
"Get up" half demanding, tone firm "you have somewhere you need to be" this time saying it a little more gently.
Eyeing her for a moment before complying as he rises from his spot awkwardly standing at her side goodbyes really are never easy. Mouth opening to say something else, but what? Maybe to apologize for all those years he had been a grade A asshole towards her? To thank her for the sacrifices she had made for him and his loved ones?
As if she can read him she lifts her finger "not another word."
Not wanting to argue with her on the matter he nods his head. Grabbing his jacket that had been draped over the chair beside her bed and turning on his heel as he makes his way towards the door.
"Damon"
Bonnie summoning his name drawing his attention back to her "yes?"
"Goodbye"
This was it. Once he left this room Bonnie Bennett would be gone and nothing but a memory. A girl he had once viewed as a nuisance and someone who he had used to obtain what he desired costing her someone she loved. Not even having a love and hate relationship with her, because she had just hated him and deemed him to be a monster who couldn't be redeemed. Somewhere in-between they had been able to see past their views on each other and focus on the common goal of keeping Elena safe. Through that he watched her grow up before his very eyes from a girl reluctant and refusing to accept her destiny to someone who had become a force to be reckoned with. In a way he had learned to appreciate her and when they found themselves trapped in 1994 somehow not only were they able to tolerate each other, but find friendship. Their relationship had been rocky, especially after his saying goodbye to Elena, because for so long he had resented the witch, but somewhere along the way he had been able to see past it, because he knew Elena wouldn't hold that against her. That's when his views had changed, and when he had accepted her more into his life, not just for himself, but Elena. Even without Elena he had still been shaped to be the better man because of her. With years passed Damon had watched Bonnie get everything that Elena wanted her to have, and within those years he watched her come closer and closer to death which was why he was now here.
"Goodbye Witchy" tossing out a nickname he hadn't used on her in years, and he watches the smile that graces her lips the second she catches it. Offering her his own smile before finally pushing himself to turn away, heading towards the door to make his exit, and this time not looking back.
Now out of the room he's met by the line of loved ones waiting to say their goodbyes. Each of them filing into the room only two left as they remain in the hallway. Moving towards his brother who is embracing a tear struck Caroline that's nothing new he amusingly thinks to himself. "Hey" he softly greets them.
Stefan the first to speak up "hey" he says back "you alright" noticing that his brother seems to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Maybe before that question would have made him react differently, but after his conversation with Bonnie he felt more relaxed "yeah" nodding his head "actually I am, and though I would stay I have to be someplace else."
"Of course" Stefan knowing exactly where his brother needed to be "we'll meet you two back at the Boarding House" not missing the hint of a smile that tugs on Damon's lips at the mention of 'two.'
"Yeah you will" giving Stefan a clap on the back "we'll see you there"
Both brothers turning in opposite directions, Stefan's arm remaining laced around Caroline as he begins leading them towards Bonnie's room but comes to a half as she turns around and calls for Damon.
About to allow his feet to carry him towards the rotating doors so he can make his exit but stopping at hearing Caroline calling his name. Somewhat frustrated that he's being held back but knowing that this is an emotional time for everyone. Swiftly spinning around as his inquisitive hues meet hers "yeah?"
Sniffling as she draws back from Stefan's chest "give her a really big hug for me."
"Of course" his tone gentle as ever, offering her a soft smile and before anyone can say anything else or keep him from leaving he makes a beeline towards the exit. Stepping outside his gaze casts up towards the night sky catching sight of the stars glistening and taking notice that they seem to have an extra shine to them tonight.
Reaching into his pocket he fishes out his set of keys, walking down the line of cars finding himself relieved that they had yet to get them to fly, because that would have been quite the adjustment for Elena.
Thankfully that advancement had yet to be accomplished, but then again Damon hadn't been all that surprised seeing as from the sixties to the time of Elena falling into slumber the cars were still similar with design and functions. The only advancement during those years had been the cars had been more electric, and now cars were smaller, lighter and more durable. Hybrids could be seen anywhere you went and instead of going to the gas station to get gas individuals would go to the stations and have their dead battery swapped out, replaced with a new one and fresh one. All vehicles now used a standard size battery that could be swapped so they could go on their way and every parking lot came equipped with outlets on the meters so that people could plug their cars in.
Finally coming to his car he can't help but smile at it because even with all the years passed, advancements on automobiles and people including his own loved ones switching out Damon had remained true to his love. Still in his possession his baby blue 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible and call him the sentimental type but he couldn't part with it because of how much he loves it and the memories that came along with it. Most of those memories containing Elena like how a road-trip were she deemed he had 'kidnapped' her had turned into them both getting to see sides of the other they hadn't seen before. How Damon had done something on that trip that he hadn't done in years like laugh, because he had actually enjoyed the company around him. How Elena who had only viewed him as the bad brother ended up saving his life and making sure he didn't forget it, and how he had silently made a vow to himself to never harm or allow harm to come to her. From two strangers sharing the road together to two people madly in love with each other and facing death as he crashed his car straight into the Grill. Unplugging the cord from his car, the line zipping back and aligning itself for the next person that came by. Though Damon hadn't changed his car he made sure to keep it up to date, because he refused to let it go. In a way this car had been his way of holding onto Elena, and he was more than thankful for that.
Moving towards the driver's side he slips the key into the lock, turning it as the lock of his door pops up. Swinging the door open he slips inside, making himself comfortable and closing the door behind him. Not wasting a beat inserting the key into the ignition finding that he can't keep the pleased smirk away at the sound of his baby purring to life. "Let's go get our girl" patting the dash and then skillfully backing out of the parking space, heading out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
Thankful that this is Mystic Falls and the road is practically empty giving him the chance to somewhat fall into the led foot category "alright" licking his lips nervously. Soon he'd be reuniting with Elena and as thrilled as he was he also found himself terrified. Swearing that if he was human his heart would be beating a mile a minute soon sticking to the promise he had made her. Trying to brush off the nerves and focus on the moment her gorgeous hazel orbs open to meet his.
"I think you've over slept…guess true loves kiss is a myth" mentally smacking himself in the head "so are you well rested" groaning as he tosses his head back against the head of his seat. "Hi" he simply states, shaking his head "hello" his grip on the steering wheel increasing as he tries to rehearse what will be the first words out of his mouth.
Realizing that this practice speech is only increasing his anxiety he decides to stop all together, and let the greeting be natural. It takes him a second to notice that he's reached his destination somewhat surprised that he had even made it considering he had been so swept up in thoughts. Killing the engine of the car he parks it in the clearing knowing that he'll have to walk a little ways. Glancing at his wrist watch he sees that he still has some time before Bonnie passes and Elena wakes.
Eleven twenty three displaying on the screen of his watch "eleven fifty nine" he whispers wondering if it had been a supernatural coincidence that she'd be passing right before midnight. Settling back into the chair his fingers drumming nervously against the dash and his gaze locked on the woods before him. Less than a second later he turns his attention back to the time growling in irritation because it's still eleven twenty three okay I waited sixty years to have my girl back I can wait a few moments more, but if I keep glancing back and forth time is going to drag on I need a distraction. Reasoning with himself as he glances around his car "aha" reaching behind him and pulling a brown leather-bound journal from the back seat.
"Reading material" the pad of his thumb running along the cover of the journal "alright" one thing about Damon's entries was the fact that he never read them. He'd sit down, write and have a conversation with the journal as if Elena was seated beside him, once he'd finish his entry he'd close it up and hide it away. Reading what he wrote in his eyes was revisiting the pain, and that was something that even he didn't have the strength to do. Writing alone had been difficult, but it gave him the ability to open up without having to second guess himself and worry about judgment. In truth Damon had never even considered writing in a journal but Caroline had changed his mind.
You don't want to open up to us and that's fine, but at least in this you can. If not for you than do it for her
'Her' that single word alone which had caused him to try to be more accepting of the suggestion Caroline had made, and after the internal debate he had back and forth with himself he had decided to finally give in. Even with Elena gone he had still chosen her in every way. Caroline had been the only one aware of his journals because he had sucked up his pride and thanked her for what she had given him. Turning his attention back to the journal he hesitantly flips it open as his gaze falls upon the first entry.
Dear Elena,
I hate you. Let me rephrase that. I hate that I love you, because loving you made me be the better man, and for that I am now without you. I once told you that I will always choose you, and the man who had told you that had been selfish, putting you and him first. That man had made choices that resulted in you hating him, but he had accepted it because even with you hating him you were still alive. I would have chosen you, because I will always choose you, and in a way I did choose you. I would have been able to live with you hating me, because you'd still be here, and that would have been enough. What I wouldn't have been able to live with is you hating yourself, because of the guilt you'd allow yourself to feel over my choice. Days, weeks, months and years could pass and you'd still feel Bonnie's death fresh as ever, and I didn't want you to hate yourself, because it's impossible to hate you.
Everyone here is getting by. They are taking it one day at a time, and pushing on so that they can live their lives, but not me. My life is in pretty much an eternal slumber, sealed away in a crypt, and because of it I find no reason to live.
They're judging me I know that they are. I know that they think me considering you to be my life is considered weakness, but I don't see it like that at all. I see it as my greatest strength, I see you as my greatest strength, because the man that I am now is here because of you. Without you Elena I'm weak. Everyone is getting on with life, and I can't even manage to 'get'. I can't even find reason to get up in the morning, because each time I look at your side of the bed for a small split second I think you're going to be there, and the second realization strikes my world shatters, along with me.
I wasn't selfish this time Elena, but you were. You're selfish for telling me and expecting me to live my life. How can you even ask me that? I said it once, and I'll say it again.
You are my life Elena
For a moment after reading over the entry he had felt the fresh pain of her absence. As if he had been reliving just losing her all over again, and he had to remind himself that soon he'd be reuniting her with her. Each new sentence conveyed his suffering, and how numb he was without her, and that had only been entry one. Since it had been the first entry you'd assume that this passage had been the most difficult, but it wasn't, because without Elena everything had been hard, and the next entries showcased just that.
Dear Elena,
Since losing you I've pretty much isolated myself from the rest. Remained locked away and drowning myself in alcohol in hopes to drink until the pain goes away, but it doesn't work. Today I finally had reason to step outside into the world when Baby Bro greeted me to the fact that Bonnie had tried to kill herself. Apparently she's not 'fine' like she had led everyone to believe. Good Ole Officer Donovan had stumbled upon her and she had gone onto say how she was trying to fix things, and make them better.
I was enraged and that rage was enough to pull me out of 'my' room and over to Blondie's house where she had been residing. Perhaps she had wanted me to coddle her? Instead I had called her selfish, and immediately we started arguing back and forth. She had agreed what she had done had been stupid, but she couldn't grasp how it was selfish, and I enlightened her.
For a fraction of a selfish second I humored the thought of her dying, but then I thought of you and something in me snapped. Told her how incredibly selfish she was, because if you had awoken early, and were greeted to the fact that she had killed herself you, you'd never be able to forgive yourself. That when you wake you want to be greeted to she had lived the happy life you knew she deserved. I told her to honor your sacrifice, and not make it for nothing.
Even with you gone Elena I am fighting for you, I will always fight for you.
If he didn't know any better he would have assumed this was Stefan's ramblings considering they were quite doom and gloomy, but they were his own. This was an exception though because if Damon was allowed to crumble losing the love of his life was sure one hell of a good reason. Most of his entries had been deemed as depressed central seeing as they had been written by a man with a hole in his heart, but some of them also had a sense of hope. Flipping a couple of pages until he finds the one he had been searching for.
Dear Elena,
They say time heals all wounds, but I suppose I'm that rare case, because my wounds are still fresh as ever since your absence. Caroline gave me advice (again) and yeah I'm shocked that I once against listened to Blondie Forbes. Anyways, she suggested that I go or do something that would make me feel closer to you. Do you know where I am right now? Any guesses, alright, fine I'll tell you.
I'm at our 'spot' where you had taken me to watch the meteor shower which resulted in rain, lots and lots of rain. Yet even underneath the downfall our lips remained fused as ever as we promised each other forever. I remember how when I first returned from the other side each time I thought about that special moment I'd feel a deep ache in my heart, because you weren't able to share the meaning of that memory with me, and now, now it's a different feeling. Now it's not just an ache in my heart, it's my entire heart shattering and this feeling of numbness overwhelming me. We promised each other forever, and sixty years might as well be forever. Every moment spent with you I found myself wishing for time to stop, because I wanted to cherish everyday with you, every second, and now I find myself wishing for time to finally speed up, because then this pain would be bearable. You'd be in my arms again, where you belong.
The moment you wake up Lena I want to marry you, I don't want to take time anymore, because during that time it might take you away from me again, and this time I won't have the strength to fight. You are my strength, I want to call you my wife, and have the honor of you calling me your husband. I promised you a future, and the second those gorgeous eyes that I have been missing open; I will deliver you exactly that.
You can't see me now, but I'm smiling.
It's starting to rain
That moment had come glancing at his watch to see the love of his life was closer to opening her eyes soon. Gingerly he closes the journal and places it back into the back seat. Reaching over he grabs his jacket, removing his keys from out of the ignition and pushing his door open. One foot, and then the other boot clad foot making contact with the earth beneath him as he steps onto the ground. Putting his jacket on, closing the door behind him he remains still for a moment I know vampires don't need to necessarily breathe, but breathe finally pushing himself to move as he allows his feet to carry him towards the direction of the woods. Moving deeper and deeper inside into the woods with his destination already set. Feet acting as if on autopilot because they know exactly where to take him. Part of Damon actually surprised he's moving at all because he swears he can feel the ground shaking before him that's your legs you idiot realizing with each new step he takes he can feel his dead heart beating out of his chest.
Salvatore
The name causing a rush of emotions to course through him as his eyes land on the crypt standing before him and he takes notice that the inscription of their last name is somewhat faded because of the long years it has been standing there. This hadn't just been used as a place to preserve Elena, because looking at that last name was a silent promise that she'd one day take that name instilling hope in him, and that 'one' day was now within his reach.
It took everything in Damon not to claw at the damn entrance of the crypt, but it would have been a wasted effort, because try as he might it wouldn't have budged.
Upon my passing the seal will break
Recalling Bonnie's instructions now realizing that this was the second time he stood patiently waiting for the seal to be broken to reunite with his love, but this time it would be different, because this time he had someone waiting for him, and this time it was real.
Any second now and the chime on his phone proving that, reaching into his jeans pocket, retrieving his phone and being greeted to the two words displayed before him "she's gone'. Not bothering to reply back to Stefan he shoves his phone back into his pocket. Casting his gaze up towards the starry night "bye Bon, Bon" he whispers into the night before his attention instantly falls back towards the crypt.
Maybe he had expected it to be instant but after a few seconds of nothing happening he was starting to second guess Bonnie. As if on cue a sudden wind picks up around him as the leaves surround him "okay…okay sorry" feeling that Bonnie's spirit is scolding him for his lack of faith in his Witchy friend.
This goes on for a few moments and then just like that every movement and noise in this cemetery ceases to exist. The only sound that Damon picks up on is the seal being broken as he watches in awe the entrance opening up. All he wants to do is process this for a second and catch his bearings, but his heart doesn't allow him to do so and the next thing he knows his feet act on their own accord. Stepping into the threshold of the crypt baby blues zero in the center of the room. Almost every part of the crypt covered in darkness, candles that had been lit faded and flowers that had once been living past the definition of dead, but there was one section of the room that had light shed. Flicking his attention towards the small window directly above the coffin and noticing how the moon was illuminating it almost as if silently saying 'here she is.'
Hesitantly he approaches the coffin and immediately he is hit with the final time that he had been here. "Last time I was here I was preparing myself for goodbye" grasping the oak lid he gently lifts it open "this time I'm getting ready to say hello."
Peering inside the coffin Damon now realized nothing would have prepared him for this moment of his eyes now lying on Elena's slumbering form. All of these years he had been waiting for this moment. All of these years he was burdened with the pain of living his life without his life, and all of these years he had been forced to watch others he loves have the happiness he and Elena deserved, but now his moment was here. Sixty years of sorrow crashing straight against him trying to hold his emotions back wanting to be strong for her and not overwhelm her from his breakdown, and he's able to hold it back, but that doesn't stop the escaped sob from slipping past his lips.
Everything else in this crypt had changed, but not Elena because she's still perfect as ever. Years had passed and she remained perfectly in-tact and untainted. Her face was still rosy, features soft as ever that he couldn't help himself from running the pad of his thumb delicately across her cheek. Relishing in the smoothness of her skin beneath his finger, his gaze flicking over towards her lips still inviting as ever. Lips oh those lips that had the ability to draw out sounds that Damon hadn't even known he was capable of doing until Elena, and lips that he had longed to kiss. Taking in her slumbering form and if he hadn't heard the beautiful sound of her heartbeat he would have felt uneasy at her complete stillness.
There was so much that Damon was looking forward to upon her awakening like finally being able to draw her into his arms or capture her lips with his own and marvel how perfectly they molded together. The number one though was when her eyes would finally open and meet his, because he knew that second it happened it only would confirm this was real.
During his time here as he let the sound of Elena's matching heartbeat soothe him, but now it wasn't continuously steady. Instead of the same thump, thump it was increasing and he wondered if she was aware of what was happening at this moment in time. Had she been trapped in darkness now realizing it was time for her to return? "Elena" he gently coos on instinct reaching inside of the coffin and taking her hand in his hoping that even in her dream like state she can feel his touch "I'm right here beautiful." The increase in her heart rate causing Damon to run his thumb lovingly along each of her knuckles "come back to the light baby…come find me….I'm right here." Interlacing his fingers with hers as he lifts their interlocked fingers to his lips and presses a chaste kiss to the back of her hand "open your eyes Elena."
Maybe she heard him or maybe it had just been a coincidence but the sight that he was welcomed to he deemed as the most breath taking of things. Elena's eyes fluttering open as a beautiful shade of hazel meets a relieved pair of blue hues. Confusion, fear and then realization mirroring in Elena's orbs as she finally sets her focus on Damon, and it's in this single moment looking into Elena's eyes when he realizes the lost man he was without her has finally been found. A soft smile that's only been reserved for her now displaying on his lips which causes his once diminished eyes to finally light up.
"Welcome back, my Sleeping Beauty"
Memories are a double-edged sword and for the past however many years, it's where she's been trapped. They've been her solace, flickering with life and illuminating the darkness, wrapping her in cherished moments of love.
She sits with her brother, smoking her first few hits of marijuana as they bond over the hardships of their lives and their ability to survive it all. She gossips with her two best friends during one of their last sleepovers, surrounded by a sea of pillows, endless giggles and support. She sits in the car with Ric, finally inviting him into her family, which he accepts. She stands on Wickery Bridge as Matt tells her it's okay to let the girl she was go, that's she doing much better than she thinks, and that she's an amazing friend. She sits by the fireplace with Stefan as they discuss their love, the beauty of it and its inevitable conclusion as strictly friends because her love for his brother grew into something she never imagined. Something wild and invigorating. Something enchanting that changed her world and the views she had of it.
And it's that brother whose memories she revisits the most. Right from their first encounter on the street where he told her everything she was looking for in life, everything he ended up becoming for her, straight to the final goodbye on that very street where they danced through the progression of their love because words were too difficult and goodbyes too tangible.
She revisits them all, reliving each detail so she can feel how they came together, slowly, inch by agonizing inch, and then crack apart only to find their way back to each other. Just like their understanding, it's something she knows as fact – they always find their back to each other.
It's why she replays their declarations the most. More precisely, the future they promised each other, over and over, changing as they did, but with one constant – the two of them together. It's what has kept her strong; she's waiting for that reunion. As long as she has to. He'd said that he'd always choose her and even after all of this time, she knows that he'll stay true to his word.
But the problem with memories is that's precisely what they are: memories. They're constant, and unchanging. The people she's left behind are repeating previous words, never forming new lines or declarations. That's occurring as the world continues on, without her, while she's left tumbling repeatedly through bittersweet moments from a life she once lived.
So as Damon's voice breaks through the haze, she's sure it's another memory. One she hasn't revisited in far too long since it's unfamiliar.
"I'm right here, beautiful."
The words are melodic, with the deep rumble of bass that sends her heart into a frenzy.
"Come back to the light baby…come find me….I'm right here." His fingers lace with hers, and she feels the burn of his lips against the back of her hand. The words and the action are different. She doesn't remember this memory, which means…
She fights to crack her lids, fights to pull in a deep breath. Neither happen. All she can see is the darkness, consuming her, keeping her from the other side. The one that brings him back to her.
"Open your eyes, Elena."
With one wild rush of energy, she uses all of her strength to do just that. Oxygen sweeps into her lungs, filling her with life, and as the scenery comes into focus, her eyes hone in on the only important site in the dark crypt – Damon.
His midnight hair still sticks out in random chunks around his ears, the edges of his face are as sharp and defined as ever and there's a smile on his familiar plump lips. But what have her immediate focus are the sky blue eyes, twinkling in anticipation. They're locked on hers, blazing an endless stream of adoration. She feels the rush of this moment constrict around her heart, squeezing it tightly, wrapping her in what she's missed so much. They say an image is worth a thousand words, but with him directly in front of her, she can't form a single one. She's speechless.
"Welcome back, my Sleeping Beauty."
"Damon," she finally whispers in awe. It comes out as a croak, but as her arms reach out and pull him against her, he laughs his relief. She's missed that laugh.
She's missed everything.
As his hard chest vibrates against the soft swell of hers, she takes a deep breath, letting his scent saturate her lungs – rich and masculine – so she can prove that this is real. She notices he does the same. Her fingers skim the expanse of his back, re-familiarizing herself with the feel of him and before she's through, he pulls back to ask, "Did you get enough beauty sleep?"
His brows flick towards his hairline, and his lips twist in amusement. It makes her want to cry because that humor she loves so much only assures her that her Damon is still the same. "I think I'm good for the next twenty years."
His fingers are softly stroking the back of her hand now, his others skimming her cheeks and threading through her hair. It's like he can't get enough, but she doesn't mind. She craves it.
Every touch has another nerve ending sparking to life since memories can't do this contact justice. The jolt beneath his fingertips is what shakes the dust away, making her certain that he's not a figment of her imagination anymore. He's actually connecting with her again in the way that she's longed for. She's actually alive.
Which also means…
"Bonnie?" she questions, momentarily pulled from the euphoria of this moment by the reality of what's become of her best friend.
"Lived a great life and passed peacefully," he answers with a somber nod of his head. "She wanted you to know that."
The relief she feels is palpable. Her best friend sacrificed so much to keep her alive that the circumstances that led to roles finally reversing never consumed her with bitterness. It was her time to return the favor. She's just grateful that Bonnie was able to live the life she deserved.
That life becomes even more apparent when Damon says, "You have a few nieces and nephews eagerly waiting to meet you."
"Jeremy?" she gasps when the realization dawns. Tears brim her eyes as emotions rip through her once again. She'd always hoped the two would find their way back to each other eventually and the fact that they had only reaffirms the decision she made to put her life on hold so they could live theirs.
"Yep. The kid came back a few years after you…" Damon stops, swallowing as if even the words cause him physical pain now.
Seeing his distress, she reaches out to him again, placating his agony with the brush of her fingers along his jaw. "It's okay. Everything is okay." She understands what he's been through, has felt it herself. But while she's lived their memories, he's been creating new ones without her. Leaving him behind was her only regret and now that she's back, she can finally heal the wounds she left in her wake.
"It is now," he replies as his fingers thread through her satin stands. "God, I've missed you, Elena. Every day passed so damn slowly."
His touch trembles against her, emphasizing his words. It has her questioning, "Did you live?"
He nods again. "I did what you asked. I waited, not so patiently, for 22,278 days and I didn't waste a second after I stopped sulking."
She breathes a sigh of relief. Once again she's grateful – this time it's that he made it through for her. Looking at him now, knowing what he's been through and realizing the years it's been since she first fell into her slumber, she admires his strength. He's changed so much from the vampire she first met and she couldn't be prouder of the version he's become.
"I'm glad that you did and I've missed you too. So much." She leans forward so her lips can brush against his, igniting her, bringing her back to life. This is what she's been waiting for. She's missed the others, but without Damon, she's been a hollow version of herself. Now she's complete.
His lips mold to hers, seaming them together like the twin flames they are. After decades apart, they somehow burn brighter than ever. At the mere contact, she feels him everywhere - against her lips, under her skin, around her bones, and inside of her soul. It's still not enough. Not after all of this time.
With the stroke of his tongue, she feels herself falling into him. And although his fingers trail their way down her back and onto her subtle curves, causing her body to hum in anticipation of reuniting with him that way, she knows they have plenty of time. Their world is a puzzle to her now and she's eager to fill in the missing pieces. That has to come first.
Sensing her shift like he once used to, Damon is the first to pull back. It's slow and the yearning shines from his eyes, but his needs come second to hers. She'll forever be his top priority.
"Later," he declares through his signature smirk. It lands between her legs that way it has so many times in the past. It makes her giggle.
"Later," she promises.
Content with that answer, he succumbs, "Okay. Are you ready to get out of this death box?"
"Apparently I've been waiting sixty years for this."
"You're not the only one." He lowers his hand into hers and despite the years her body has been cramped in this tiny space, her limbs feel fluid, not stiff. Her muscles are relaxed and strong and the motions of her body as she crawls over the top of the coffin are effortless.
Magic is a mystical thing.
When she's made it over the top, Damon cups her arms and lifts her easily to the floor. She settles with ease. His hand doesn't leave the small of her back, offering support in case she stumbles, which she appreciates. But as she shifts her weight from her left foot to her right, she realizes she doesn't need it. She's perfect, almost as if she never slipped into a magical coma at all.
Glancing up at Damon, she admits, "I thought it would feel different."
His brows knit in confusion. "What?"
"Standing. Being back here. Seeing you," she supplies with a baffled shake of her head. "I thought it would take some adjusting, but it feels-"
"Natural?"
She returns his knowing little smile. "Yeah."
He shrugs. "Because it is. You were always meant to be here." She hears the with me he doesn't speak out loud before he adds, "Fate just likes to be a pain in the ass sometimes."
It does. They know that all too well. Fate has thrown them nearly every obstacle imaginable – doppelgänger destinies, misunderstandings, prison worlds, sixty years and everything in between – but they've conquered them all. There's nothing they're not built to endure anymore.
Still, she can feel his distress rising again, built up from the years they've spent apart. He's trying his best to hide it, but just like him, she's always been able to read him like a magazine. She needs to ease it. Incapable of resisting, she wraps her hands around his lean frame, pulling his chest against her cheek. She wants to feel his heart – the one that beats solely for her. Always. "Thank you for waiting for me."
He kisses the crown of her head and teases, "You thought I wouldn't?"
"No," she assures. "I always knew you'd be here waiting for me." That trust in him came long before she even understood that it was the foundation for their indestructible relationship. Now it's just one of the trillion reasons she's ecstatic she's finally found her way back to it.
"Good." He pulls back slightly and cups her face in the palms of his hands. "There's nothing that can keep me from you."
It's the devotion that sets her blood on fire, the same devotion she reflects. "Let's hope that's never tested again." She smiles before his lips descend on hers again. The action is soft and delectable and steals the breath from her lungs. Everything she has belongs to this man and she proves that with each caress of their tongues, each press of her lips - each beat of her heart.
She knows he hears it because as he finally breaks the kiss and pulls back, he's smirking. "It better not be. I have a life planned for us now and I'm ready to live it." His hand slides down her side to capture hers, threading their fingers together. "We just need to get out of this depressing crypt first."
He leads her through the threshold and out into the night. It's beautiful. Stars are punched throughout the black canopy, illuminating the world she's seeing again with fresh eyes. It has her thinking about the others she left behind in it.
"How is everyone else?"
"They're good and eager to see you. But can I be selfish with you for a little while first?"
Considering he's spent the past sixty odd years acting as the patron saint for selflessness, she figures he's earned it. Besides, spending more time alone with him is an enticing offer she can't pass on. So she leans her head against his shoulder and says, "Sure."
"I'll fill you in on everything as we drive."
"And where are we going exactly?" she pries, feeling the bubbles of excitement exploding in her tummy.
"It's a surprise." He twists his head to wink at her. "Don't want to spoil all of the fun."
She opens her mouth to respond, but the words get caught in her throat when a familiar cobalt Camaro suddenly appears in the distance. She can't help it; her jaw drops at the sight.
"How?" she asks.
"She's had some upgrades over the years." He shrugs as though maintaining a classic car for over a century is an easy feat. "You know me, once something is mine, I have a hard time giving it up."
She smiles at his underlying meaning and gives his hand a quick squeeze. "Thank goodness for that."
He opens the passenger side door so she can slide in. Within a second, he's flashed to the other side and claimed his spot in the driver's seat. It's when his eyes flick over to her and the mischievous little sparkle they possess has her heart hammering in his chest. "Besides, this baby holds too many memories to let it go."
She can think of one memory in particular they've never had the chance to create and it has her eyes shifting to the back seat. "We'll have to make more in the future."
Cottoning on, Damon licks his lips and purrs, "Later."
"Later," she repeats through her smile.
He chuckles, filling the entire car with the sweet sound before he turns the key. To her surprise, the deep rumble she'd been expecting doesn't come as the car swells to life. Instead, it's quiet. When she turns her baffled expression to Damon, he grins back at her. "There's been a few advancements in technology since you left."
She nods, biting her lip at that fact. "I guess there's a lot I need to catch up on."
"Good thing you've got me for that."
And he's right. As they head through the (not-so) familiar streets of Mystic Falls, Damon handles both the changes in scenery and in their friend's lives like a pro. He points out buildings and statues, explaining how they came about and the importance they've held as years progressed. And throughout, he supplies the details she's most desperate to hear.
He fills her in on the life Ric lived, the love he eventually found, and the ancestral line he left behind. He details the evolution of Matt's career in the police force and how it eventually led him to Chicago, Illinois once their tiny home town finally stopped being a hell mouth for unwanted occupants. He explains that Jeremy is only two miles away in the Mystic Falls retirement home and that a visit is already scheduled for tomorrow.
But it's the two that have taken residence in the Salvatore Boarding House that leaves her confused.
"If Stefan and Caroline are living there now and you aren't, then where are you staying?"
"Patience," he teases. "Everything will make sense in a few more seconds."
Playing into his game, she shuts her mouth and glances out the window. It's when the nostalgia hits her. Everything has changed, but there's something about the street that feels oddly familiar. If she had paid attention to the street name when they turned onto it, maybe this feeling would make more sense.
It isn't until they pull in front of a white two-story colonial home that she's understands why.
It's her childhood house, but that's impossible since she burned it down. It's one of the moments she regrets the deepest - flipping the switch and setting flame to a place that held her youth, her transformation into the woman she is now, even the start of her and Damon's love story.
The tears prick the back of her eyes at seeing this very house that once held so much for her. Somehow she knows it's not another mind trick, but she has to ask anyway. She needs to know that what she's seeing is really there.
"Are you messing with my mind right now?" she questions, still unable to look at Damon. Her eyes are transfixed on the steps that lead to the porch he first truly kissed her, on the porch swing where he spoke about needing a reminder of her to get him through the prison world, on the door she opened and let him into her life – the one that leads to a thousand memories beyond it.
He doesn't answer, causing her to twist back around to him. What she finds is anxious excitement swimming in his eyes as he confirms, "Not this time."
The liquid she's been fighting off breaches the edge in a single tear that slips down her cheek. It's followed by another as the wave of emotions crashes through her. She thought waking and seeing him for the first time since her dream world would bring her the most happiness, but this, well, it's pretty good competition.
She's bursting with it.
Damon reaches over the center console to wipe the tears with the pads of his thumbs and when he speaks, his voice is so soft, so gentle. "You like it?"
A hundred words swirl through her head, but all she can do is nod. Nothing she says right now will be worthy of this act he's done for her. It's too special, too monumental.
"Then let's check it out." He swipes the last tear from her cheek before throwing open his door and flashing to reach for hers. With the help of his hand, she emerges onto the grass that resulted in a multitude of stains as a child when she played tag with Jeremy in the front yard. Life had been so innocent back then, and although nothing about her life is innocent anymore, that's what this place still represents to her – innocence, and hope.
Their steps are in sync, same way everything seems to be with them, as they head towards the front porch. Her breath catches in her throat as her heel hits the first step, then the second, and once again as she lands on the wooden boards of the porch. It's familiar and comforting and surreal, all meshed together in a euphoric bliss. She's taking it all in, soaking up the architectural details Damon replicated perfectly and it's a miracle she's not a hysterical mess again.
Her hands are shaking at her side as the memories assault her in the most magnificent of ways. And when she takes two steps forward, she breathes, "I can't believe you did this for me."
She stops at the door, right at the very spot he once promised her that they'd make new memories together since she'd impulsively erased the precious ones that brought her so much pain. It's suddenly dawning on her now that they can – here.
Before she can open the door, he twists her around so her lilac dress swoops against her legs. Then, as if he's been storing the words, he declares, "I'm not gonna stand here and pretend life without you was easy. It wasn't and you have over 1,000 diary entries to read proving just that. But I did what you asked: I lived my life; I smiled through the pain and got my ass out of bed almost every morning. However, I needed something to keep me going, something to give me purpose again, and this was it since it made me feel closer to you. I was reliving our past but also building our future."
He pauses, sweeping his eyes around the front porch she still holds so dear before he hones those mesmerizing blues back onto her. "You and I have had one hell of a life. It's consumed us." He smirks at her before continuing, "We had passion, adventure, and even a little danger. But we've endured enough and I'm ready to settle down with you, Elena. I want the quiet, I want the serenity, I want two kids playing in the backyard without fear as we grow old together and I want that in a home that holds your childhood memories."
She takes a deep breath, letting his words settle in. Although she's just found her way back into this world, this house is a representation that to Damon, she never really left. He's carried her with him in every choice he's made, in every thought he's crafted of their future.
This home is where that rests.
"Before everything happened, I bought a loft," he offers, reading her silence as uncertainty. "It's over a bar and it's near the hospital if that's the life you still want."
"It's not," she insists, resulting in a content smile that lights his entire face. "I want this life too. When I created that future, this one wasn't a possibility and I never thought it would be again. Thanks to you, it is." Her hand reaches to his jaw, cupping his cheek as gratification gleams from her chocolate eyes. "Our friends are here, our family is here. This is where we belong."
"I belong wherever you are," he nearly whispers. It's a delicate confession loaded with astounding significance.
Her fingers lower to grip his shirt, the same way his declaration is gripping her heart. "And that's here," she says, leaning forward to place a quick thank you kiss on his mouth. "I hope you know I'm not leaving this place for days."
"Except to see Jeremy tomorrow," he corrects with a cocked brow.
"Except then."
"Before you decide to bunker down, you might want to see inside first," he suggests.
Her lips curve into a frown. "That opportunity was stolen from us last time."
He reaches beneath her chin, twisting her attention to the oak door as he twists the knob. "I guess it's a good thing the house is solid this time."
The door swings open, not creaking like it once did. She remembers him fixing the porch swing back in the prison world and should have known then that he'd be a perfectionist with the construction. But as she steps inside, she never imagined he'd be a perfectionist with every little detail. Not a single thing is out of place. The dark wood trim and baseboards, the white bead board in the kitchen, even the paint colors are exactly how she remembers them. It's like stepping 65 years into the past. This house isn't a recreation, it's the very one she grew up in – with one slight difference.
"Where's the furniture?"
Damon shuts the door behind them, sealing them in their new home. She's made it halfway to the kitchen at this point and as soon as the question leaves her lips, she feels the heat of him against her back.
"I figured we'd shop for it together. If this is going to be our house, I want to it to represent the future, not the past." He shrugs. "Besides, I've lived in a house filled with Lily's taste for over a century now. I figured it was time for another woman to influence my interior design."
She twists around so she can look him in the eye and wraps her arms around his neck. "I would have trusted your decisions."
"I did buy one piece of furniture," he says, leaning down so his breath hits her lips. It's warm and inviting. "Wanna see it?"
"Definitely."
Before she can blink, she's swept into his arms and raced up the stairs. Air gusts through her hair, sending strands whipping against her face. She giggles the entire three seconds it takes to reach her room. And when her feet hit the cherry floorboards, she notices the nook she's caught him sitting in so many times in the past. She also notices the one piece of furniture Damon took it upon himself to purchase ahead of time.
Narrowing her eyes, she turns to him and playfully scolds, "An air mattress?"
"Don't give me those judgy eyes," he retorts with a sinful smirk. "It's someplace to sleep tonight. You took that naughty little step all on your own."
She takes a single step so she's in his space, inhaling his exhales. "Or perhaps I just know the man I love."
His hands land on her waistline, confining her, supporting her. "I love you too, Elena. I did sixty years ago and I will sixty from now."
Standing in this house, feeling his touch and hearing his words, she knows he does. A long time ago she feared being loved by this vampire. He was unconventional, reckless, consuming. She knew succumbing to her desires had the potential of scorching her insides in such a way that she'd never recover. And she hasn't.
But she doesn't regret a single thing that's led them here. All she feels is fortunate. She's captivated by him and her heart is eternally chained to his because of the way he loves (the way she was once so terrified of reciprocating) – passionately, deeply, genuinely. It's the type of love that leads to a stellar life, one they finally have the opportunity to live.
And thanks to him, it gets to happen in the place that first sparked that love. It's only fitting that at some point it will end here with them.
She glances up into his swirling pools of affection, feeling an array of emotions from love to gratitude to respect to wonder, as she says, "Thank you for everything. And for bringing this place back to me."
His fingertips dip into her waist, clinging to her like a lifeline. "I just wanted someplace for you to be happy."
"Anywhere with you fits that criteria, but you're right; I think we'll be most happy here." She leans in and brushes her lips against his, feeling the familiar crackle of electricity pass through them. "This is where all of our memories - past and future - lay."
When his lips sink into hers and his tongue sweeps into her mouth, she feels that familiar fire licking through her blood. A part of her wonders if that sensational rush he brings will ever dissipate, but somehow she knows it won't. Some wildfires are too ardent to stifle.
"Wanna make a new one?" he asks when her breathing picks up and her heart pounds a relentless rhythm in her chest. She's known they were headed here; he's known too. Their fusion was inevitable, only a matter of counting down the time. And since they've spent the past sixty years counting down, she figures she's finished with countdowns. She's ready to live.
"Now?" she questions with a knowing little smirk she's adapted from him.
He tosses her onto the air mattress and returns it from above. "Now."
A Few Years Later
"Are you ready for this, Mr. Salvatore?"
"Ready to spend the rest of my human life with you, Mrs. Salvatore?" His fingers lift to skim the curve of her neck, delicate and with purpose. "I've spent every moment leading up to it waiting for this." A smile twists his impeccable lips. Not the smirk that she was once so familiar with – the one burying decades of torment and shattered hope. But an actual smile – one that's alight with the splendor of what they've become and the promise of what lays in their future. It's breathtaking. "I've dreamed about this."
She taps his nose and fails to hide her amusement. "You could have just said yes."
"You're getting feisty in your old age," he quips, snapping his hand out to grab her finger and lower it to her waist. And with his mouth a hairline from hers, he purrs, "I like it."
She laughs as his lips press against hers and he loses himself in the sound. He'd been skeptical at first about delaying taking the cure, but she'd insisted on waiting until they were the same age. She liked the symbolism of aging through life together and he's never really been able to deny her anything. Besides, he didn't care. The important thing was aging through life with her by his side and now he finally gets to do just that.
When he frees her delectable lips, she releases another giggle and he counters, "If I'm old, then so are you."
"We will be, eventually." She bites her bottom lip in doubt, knowing that bodies change. Beauty deteriorates and although she's confident in the everlasting love they share, she's still not as confident in the everlasting sustainability of her appearance. Already, she's noticed a few wrinkles around the corners of her eyes.
"You'll still be the most beautiful thing on this earth," he professes, knowing exactly where her mind has drifted. Both of them are going to age, both are going to wither through the decades, but she has and will always be his one constant. "Nothing's ever going to change that."
She offers him a soft, uncertain smile and asks him something she did so long ago.
"Promise?"
Their words leading up to it may have been different, but the proclamation will forever be the same.
"I promise."
Satisfied, she lifts her wrist to his lips, feeling the tips of his fangs against the smooth surface of her skin. "Then I'm ready too."
"Here's to our forever," he says before he sinks down, dipping his fangs just below the surface and delicately into her vein. The cure flows from her body into his, over his tongue, hitting him like a shot of adrenaline. It's a thousand tiny pricks through his veins.
He's never felt more alive.