"I remember."

Two words. Two simple words that tore through him, ripping his guts and putting a halt to his lungs.

He knew it was coming. The memories would return, and when they did he knew she'd want to talk.

But he didn't.

So instead of trying to think of some half-arsed witty comment that would more than likely earn him a slap across the face and make her remember why she hadn't chosen him (they never did, did they?), he poured himself a drink from the bottle of bourbon that he only saved for the bitter sweet days of a melancholy nature. He sat down facing away from her. He'd made all the effort in the past few weeks to see her as little as possible, let her and Stefan struggle through her transition, whilst he packed up and got ready to move on. All it takes is a few words to break a heart, shatter it in a most blissfully painful way.

"Don't ignore me, Damon. I'm five feet away from you. I know you can hear me."

Hear her. Smell her. Feel her.

"What do you want, Elena?" The remark had a bit too much of a bite, but he didn't care. That's what he told himself. "Why are you here?"

He still hadn't brought himself to look at her. His eyes stared at the fire, it took him all of his control not to turn around and gaze into the orbs he loved so well. He wouldn't look at her. He couldn't look at her.

"We need to talk. I-"

Her voice was shaking, he could hear her apprehension. He didn't even have to ask to know that she was nervous about to speaking to him. Ha, can't even confront a man after you destroy him? Nice one, Elena. That was wrong, it wasn't her fault, but her coming here had just added salt to his wounds.

He cut her off; "You're already said all that needs to be said".

She could see his clenched jaw illuminated by the orange-yellow glare of the flames. A month ago she would've marched over there and been able to comfort him, give him what he needed. Been a friend, or lover, or whatever the hell they were. Past tense. She hated seeing him trying to mask his vulnerability behind a façade that he'd had a great deal of experience in putting on. She hated him not even looking at her, as though he didn't acknowledge her presence. She hated seeing how it was all because of her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"It wasn't necessary."

Something inside her flipped. Her emotions blew up, and all sense of civility seemed to have left her mind just as those words left his mouth.

"Not necessary? Not necessary? You're leaving Damon! I need you right now and you're leaving me?"

This was why he didn't want to see her. There was too much damn emotion that he never should have even felt in the first place. Of course it wasn't going to end well, he could already see the ending to this epic as it was just beginning the climax. Without thinking, he whipped his head round and takes 3 steps forward. It had gone from awkward to tense in a split second as he invaded her space. It made her go dizzy as she felt the electrifying air around him. She hadn't felt that since she was human.

But as he looked at her for the first time since she'd woken up, all the bitter things he'd wanted to say refused to be voiced. It was a full scale haze of heated passion now, words that had been unlocked now tumbling out with force greater than Neptune's sea.

"What the hell do you want me to tell you Elena? That I need to go? I can't be here anymore. I can't just walk around and drown my sorrows until the last bottle runs out! And I'm damn sure that I can't stay around you, when whatever we could've had was killed with a phone call"

"NO. Whatever we could've had was killed when you compelled me to forget you. You're moping around here, when you knew that I'd remember. You could've come to me and things might have changed. You told me that you loved me Damon. And then you decided that I shouldn't have been able to remember that? " Tears were now rolling down her cheeks, whether out of despair or anger, she couldn't be sure. "And when we met, the first time, you acted as selfish as you always did and erased every damn trace of you. Who are you to decide my life for me Damon?"

Damon stumbled back, the bitter bourbon glass long abandoned. "Ding ding ding we have a winner! I'm a selfish dick who only thinks about himself, seeing the girl he loves nearly kill herself every five seconds and he be the one to save her, only to be told he'd done it wrong; who has saved everyone in this town's lives, yet they still despise him; who let his own brother get the girl, to be the one she'd say goodbye to, that she'd choose in the end. Yes, thank you, Elena, you're pretty damn accurate."

Pausing for a breath he didn't even require, he broke eye contact and stumbled backwards. He wondered how much longer they could do this before it truly broke him. He'd erased those memories because it was better for her. Everything he did was for her, why couldn't she just see that? He was willing to give her all that he could, even though he knew all along she'd choose Stefan.

She didn't even know what was making her say all of this. The time since her transition was hard, but she was a lot happier now she was with Stefan again, there was no denying that. However, all along Damon clawed his way back into her heart, refusing to leave. She studied him. His eyes were tired, his face taught and his hands running through his hair in exhaustion.

"What happened to you Damon?" But Elena already knew the answer.

He'd given up.

"Like I said, Elena, I can't do this any more. I'm leaving tonight, even if it may be the hardest thing I do. Before you ask, I don't know where I'm going, or for how long. Maybe in a century or two we'll be able to see each other again."

"Yeah, maybe." It was happening. It was really happening, He was leaving her, with a gaping hole where her heart used to be, and she'd never felt worse.

He pulled her into an embrace, they both wrapped on for fear of letting go. She could feel the wetness of his cheek, he'd been weeping too.

Damon leaned down and kissed her forehead, reminding them of that night.

Her mind was screaming at her – DO SOMETHING! MAKE HIM STAY! However her mouth was too dry, her lips locked in an unbreakable bond. The man who had always been there for her, who had turned her life upside down and drove her crazy, the man she loved was going, and she could do nothing to stop him.

He let go, understanding that if he held on any longer, then he'd never be able to release her.

"Goodbye, Elena."

This thing has been wriggling at me since I watched 'The Departed', and I know it's not too great, but I'm just glad to have got it down. Reading it, it took a very different turn to how I was planning (I had this great kiss lined up!). I'm thinking about doing a multi-chapter sequel? Depends if I have time I guess.

Thanks for reading!