Summary: Stefan is out of town attending to an unspecified issue in Europe (sufficiently far away for fun to be possible) and has left Elena under the protection of his older, hotter sibling, Damon. How inspired of him.
AN: I know this plot arrangment doesn't scream originality. My excuse is that the reason everyone else has done it is because nothing fun can happen between Damon and Elena (or at all) if Stefan isn't way out of the picture. This is set after Miss Mystic Falls, so they've danced and been to Georgia, minus any interfering plot twists. In other words, Isobel hasn't spouted Damon's secret (i insist it was the truth) and Katherine hasn't ruined everything. ALSO I don't own any of the characters mentioned or the fictional world they live in. Can you imagine owning the male lead? I think my mind would implode. And that would be a sad day for everyone... with the possible exception of me.
CHAPTER ONE
Elena woke to the feeling of not the soft Egyptian cotton sheets she'd expected, but a piece of now crinkled paper beneath her palm. She opened her eyes and reluctantly proceeded to read what appeared to be a note from Stefan, saying that he had to sort something out in Europe and would be gone for a week. It was the last part that bothered her the most. "I hope you will stay at the boarding house for your safety while I am gone and allow Damon to look out for you." She groaned and rolled over, nearly knocking over a beautifully presented tray of what appeared to be breakfast in bed. Underneath the knife and fork she discovered another note, this time from Damon.
A little birdie told me you have a weakness for a fry up.
Gone to get my own breakfast, back around ten.
Bon appetite.
Your new babysitter, Damon
Elena couldn't help but think it was uncharacteristically sweet that Damon had taken the time to make her breakfast. She ate enthusiastically and jumped in the shower, only to return to find her bed (Stefan's bed) occupied once more by the person she least wanted to see when fresh from the shower. It's the lack of clothes, she told herself, not the lack of makeup.
"Elena. I must say, towel suits you." he said with that God forsaken smirk on his face and chuckling as she scowled at him, "So, since you've so eagerly made yourself at home, is it safe to assume you'll be spending the night?"
"Yes, in Stefan's bed."
"In the boyfriend's bed? Kinky."
"Eugh, alone!" she corrected, exasperated.
"For now." he replied with teasing confidence, "So what are we doing today?"
"We? We are doing nothing, I am going to the mall with Bonnie and Caroline."
"Fine," he said, slightly disappointed, "be back by seven."
"Who gave you the power to enforce curfew's?"
"Your boyfriend, Saint Stefan, it would seem." he got up from the bed taking the tray with him. Just as he was walking through the door frame Elena called,
"Wait! Thank you for breakfast, it was delicious." She stood up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, before turning quickly, grabbing some clothes and quickly retreating to the en suite bathroom once more.
Touching his cheek where her lips had been, "You ain't seen nothing yet." He said to the empty room, smiling as he turned out of the room.
Elena arrived back at the boarding house right on time and to the glorious smell of what appeared to be every Italian food under the sun. She decided to go into the dining room to investigate where she found Damon, complete with tux, bowtie and clean shaven smirk standing in front of a feast fit for royalty laid out at one end of the majestic mahogany table. His expression nearly made her heart stop and, conscious of the fact that her jaw may actually be on the floor, she tried to collect her face, instead attempting to redirect her focus to the food laid out but with little success. She couldn't stop her eyes from roaming his figure from his Armani clad feet all the way to his face. When their eyes met she flushed, mortified to be caught eye-fucking her potential brother in law. She really wanted to care. Honestly. Now, trying to remember everything she'd learnt from infancy in order to say something clever she stood powerless, and completely speechless.
"Wow, Damon. This is…" ..really articulate? she scolded herself.
"Indescribable, apparantly." he drawled, clearly proud of himself.
"That's one way of putting it. This must've taken all afternoon!"
"Vampire speed is good for cooking, among other things," he winked. Oh God, I bet it is. Ah shut up, Elena. "You better be hungry." he warned, playfully.
"Even if I wasn't starved I couldn't say no to all this." She admitted, and, if she was not mistaken, a smile started to appear at the corners of his mouth, but he quickly tried to contain it.
"Well, have a seat, kitten." He said pulling out a chair for her.
"Excuse me?" she responded, surprise written all over her face, "Did you just call me kitten?"Oh my God, I love it, she thought, sitting down. Damon quickly realised his mistake of revealing her secret nickname and, glad that she couldn't see his face, briskly walked round to the other side of the table taking his own seat.
"I'd call you tiger, but you have to earn it." Satisfied with his cover he watched Elena roll her eyes, draping her napkin over her lap and unabashedly salivating at the sight before her. The food, she reassured herself, the food not him. He smirked as if reading her thoughts and she flushed once again.
"I am about to impart a small portion of my extensive wisdom upon you, Elena, so listen up." he said as she looked up, curious, "When around someone who relentlessly lusts after human blood, it would perhaps be wise to keep said blood in your cheeks to a minimum." he warned. She looked down at her lap, his comment only serving to further flush her face. He laughed at her obvious discomfort, "You have nothing to worry about, kitten. I'm just messing with you." There is it again, she thought, struggling to keep her face indifferent. Must. Act. Not. Pleased. Watching him begin to eat she took this as her cue to tuck in. Upon her first mouthful, Elena didn't have enough warning to suppress the satisfied sound that radiated from her throat. "You're making it very hard not to justify your nickname, Elena. I never new I had the power to make a woman purr just by making them dinner. Then again they do say the way to a person's heart is through their stomach."
"That was not a purr!" she scowled, "Just good manners. You know, manners? For example, when a person tries to stroke another's already oversized ego?"
"I can think of better oversized things for you to stroke." he replied, chuckling slightly as she choked on her drink.
"Bite me." She growled, slamming her glass down onto the table, completely and purposefully aware of her choice of words.
"Flirt." He smirked, taking another sip of his wine.
AN: Remember: Reviews = Love = Speedy updates.
