Sometimes he stays the night with her. Damon never has to tell her why, and she never asks; she just knows. He wants to make sure she is safe. He doesn't want to be alone. He doesn't want to be there and watch Stefan move farther away from the brother Damon used to know. There isn't a singular reason, and somewhere inside herself, she understands each and every one, for she feels them too.
It is never spoken of between them. In the morning, sometimes he won't even be there. Most of the time, however, he is.
Elena often opens her eyes to see his face. Sometimes he's still sleeping; sometimes he's watching her, waiting for her to wake up. (She does not point out the similarity between him and Edward Cullen then—like Caroline, no doubt, would—because she knew long ago how little they had in common.) She smiles and whispers, "Good morning," sleepily to him.
He cooks her breakfast sometimes. "It is the most important meal of the day," he reminds her often in that teasing tone of his, a spatula in his hand. She loves that he treats it so casually—like it's not a big deal that they spend most nights in the same bed—even when she knows it means so much more to them both.
What Elena loves most is the nights. There are nights she opens her bedroom door to find him snooping in her things; others, she falls asleep alone, but wakes in the night to find him beside her.
Whatever the case, she finds that she breathes easier when Damon's sleeping beside her. She feels safer…stronger.
And sometimes, when she is certain he is unaware of her, she finds she watches him sleep, holding his hand tightly in hers.