Okay, so I know this isn't very long. Sorry. But I was eager to get it posted, and more will follow!

I plan on this being a collection of one-shots, following DE's human life.

Not that the finale wasn't great, but I feel the need to do our endgame justice.

Hope you enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: If I owned the Vampire Diaries, the finale would have been a two hour DE reunion fest. It wasn't, so clearly, I don't.

Dear Diary,

Today will be different. Today I will smile. It will be genuine, because today is the day that I get to live again.

This life will be good; beautiful. But not without heartbreak.

In death comes peace, but pain is the cost of living. Like love it's how we know we're alive.

And life goes on…

Elena Gilbert sat down her pen and looked back over the drying ink.

The weight of a journal in her hand was familiar and she cherished the feel of the pages beneath her fingers.

Writing had always been such a useful outlet for her that it seemed silly to stop the habit now.

Because yesterday, seeing as it was just past midnight, she had gotten her life back.

There was so much to catch up on, she knew; journals to read, stories to hear, people to meet, and one of her best friends to mourn.

But she had the time.

An entire lifetime to do so.

She knew that Stefan wouldn't want her to waste a single moment of it dwelling on what might have gone differently, and she owed him more than that.

She would grieve; moving on was impossible without it, but then she would be okay.

And she would make sure Caroline was too.

And Damon.

A smile pulled at her lips as she looked over at the bed where the love of her life was sleeping, his dark hair brushed back from his forehead.

It had been a long day for everyone and honoring Stefan's life and sacrifice had taken precedence.

However, after the funeral, Damon had brought her back here, to the house, while the others found solace in each other.

So many emotions were coursing through them both, Elena hadn't been sure where to begin.

But Damon's lips had found hers before words became necessary.

The kiss was warmth and longing and everything that assured her she was home.

Finally, home.

But there was also sadness, and desperation in his touch.

As someone who had lost her brother before, and quite literally lost her mind over it, she could understand.

At least this time, she was there to ease his pain.

"Damon…" she pulled away slightly, grabbing his face, "Hey, look at me."

When those screaming blue eyes settled on hers, she stroked his face, "I'm so sorry."

He leaned forward so their foreheads touched, "I'm just…." his voice broke slightly, "I'm just glad you're here."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, inhaling so that everything about him surrounded her, "Me too."

Then they were kissing again and he picked her up in his arms, walking toward the bed, where they spent the next three hours making up for lost time.

Elena closed her diary, turned off the lamp she'd been using, and stood in the darkness.

She tugged the ends of the shirt she'd "borrowed" from Damon down to her thighs before crossing the familiar path back to the bed.

She soaked in every brush of the fabric against her skin, the coolness of the wooden floor on her feet, and the soft stroke of the blankets as she crawled beneath them.

Damon stirred as she settled against his body.

"Elena?" his gravelly voice called for her.

She reached over as his hands began searching for her, "I'm right here."

"Don't leave," he begged, pulling her against him, "Don't-"

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, "Damon, I'm right here."

As if her words reassured him, the frantic-ness of his body eased and his muscles relaxed back into the mattress.

"Sorry," he muttered, "This human thing is gonna take some getting used to. I can't see a damn thing."

She chuckled softly, "You're right. It's going to take some time...this is all going to take some time. But we have it, Damon. Years and years of time."

Silence followed her statement, but she knew him well enough to know that he just needed a minute to work out what he wanted to say.

Eventually, he did speak, "It was supposed to be me, Elena. I was supposed to die. Not him."

Elena blinked, then nodded sadly, "I know. Somehow, he found a way to say goodbye to me. He told me what you were planning on doing. And why he couldn't let you."

"I'm sorry," he breathed, "I wanted to be there when you woke up. I wanted to have this...this life with you. But I didn't want him to die for it."

"I didn't either," she admitted, "But we can't change the way it happened. All we can do is make the best of what we've been given...what Stefan wanted for us."

Her eyes had adjusted enough now that she could see the outline of Damon's face, and knew his stare was piercing into hers.

"We're going to see him again one day," she told him, her hand drifting up to cup his cheek, "And you're going to tell him about your long, human life. Every minute of it that you lived and were happy, because that's all he wanted for you. He wanted you to have the chance to live; the chance you were denied before. He told me you were the better man. The right one."

Damon breathed slowly, though his words were still shaky, "What if he was wrong? What if I'm not...if I can't…"

She smiled sadly at the familiarity that was the stubborn set of his jaw.

Somehow these worries, the slight insecurities and fears that he hardly ever let show, were reassuring to her.

Stefan made his amends and he would find peace.

Damon still needed the time his brother had bought him to reach that point, and she would make sure he got there.

"Damon Salvatore," she shifted their bodies so that she was slightly above him, "I want you to listen to me, and listen good..."

When the corners of his mouth curved a little, she continued, "You are a good man. You deserve to be happy and to be loved. You deserve this second chance at a human life. And one day, you're going to believe that. I promise."

He smirk a little, though it wasn't quite wide enough to touched his eyes, "There's that Gilbert optimism I've been missing."

Elena smiled and leaned down, capturing his lips in a sealing kiss.

Things weren't perfect and they might never be.

But she wasn't going to take a single day for granted and together, she and Damon would make a life for themselves.

Despite everything they'd had to overcome to get to this point, this is where they'd ended up, and it was just a breath away from all that they'd wanted.

They would be happy, with their friends and family, and whatever else the future might hold.

Because they would have the time to figure it out.

A whole lifetime.

"I love you, Damon," she murmured against his skin as his body found its way over her own and settled into the cradle of her hips, "Always."

The same shimmer of hope that flashed in his eyes, when he first saw her again outside the tomb, filled his gaze now and it burned through her being, right to her soul.

"I love you," he returned, placing a firm kiss on her mouth, "Forever."

"Forever," she agreed.

However long that might be.

At least it would be with him.

Okay guys, so that was the start of my interpretations of their life together.

Hope you liked it.

I plan on doing more with important scenes like the engagement, wedding, med-school, kids, etc, but if there is anything that you guys would like to see, let me know.

Just add your request in a review and I'll do my best to make it happen.

Also, for those of you who follow my other stories, I'm going to do my absolute best to update Ode tomorrow :)

Goodnight!