A/N Ok, guys, I'm a bit nervous as it's my first TVD fic and of course it's Delena =) I've only recently started (and finished :D) watching TVD, so it's double pleasure (and challenge as well) to publish this story.

The scene wouldn't leave my head for several days so I couldn't but write it. I'm pretty sure it's not the first fic dealing with this moment, and it may very well be not really original, but given the number of fans it's hard to come up with anything really new at the moment. So, as a part of me being terribly anxious to see 3x10, my view on the morning after Elena failed to chase Damon out of her room&bed in 3x08.

Disclaimer: I not own TVD, which is good, coz there are people so much better at it than me))

Dedication: To all the awesome authors whose works I read (I always try to let you know my opinion reviewing, but sometimes I fail to review), because it's you guys who had my unbiased mind go Delena =)

Elena woke up, feeling blissfully rested. She hadn't slept so well in weeks, always haunted by nightmares and thoughts about Stefan. She had spent hours, lying awake and having that inner battle. She'd arrived at several important conclusions. Although she was ready to forgive Stefan for what he'd done under compulsion, she would never be able to treat him the same way again. She wouldn't be able to trust him completely with her life – not with the memory of his mad, hungry stare in her head.

Damon had also done a lot of things she couldn't accept, but… Elena mentally scolded herself. She knew that inner monologue by heart. Her readiness to forgive Damon was overwhelming, and she realized she wasn't even able to be mad at his actions anymore, not to mention himself. He'd grown very caring lately, more caring than she could bear, more caring than she'd ever imagined. She wasn't sure why, but lately her thoughts of Stefan had been leading to thinking of Damon – as if her guilt wasn't enough yet.

That was when Elena realized why she was so comfortable: her left cheek and the palm of her right hand were resting on the chest of the above-named vampire. She recalled the previous night, when he'd refused to be affected by any hints and had actually forced Elena into sleeping by his side.

"Who are you trying to deceive, yourself?" Elena thought grimly. "If you had wanted him away, you would've told him so and he would've done whatever just to please you" She tried to ignore the tickling feeling down her spine at the thought.

She recalled finding Damon in the same position some time ago – then she'd jumped up, screamed and kept all the proprieties accepted for a woman waking up beside someone else than her boyfriend. This time around, however, she wasn't in a mood for putting up a show. She shifted her head to find him awake, and tried hard not to find it sweet that he hadn't moved just so as not to wake her up.

"Morning" she whispered.

"Hi" Damon answered, watching her with incredible intensity. She understood at once that he wasn't sure what her reaction would be. After all, she couldn't blame him. Elena didn't know what to do and what to say. She thought it had to be awkward, but it didn't feel awkward. It felt right just the way it was. The next move, however, was a difficult one. She wasn't sure what to do not to ruin the moment.

"Not to ruin the moment?" she thought angrily. "What moment, Elena? This is Damon Salvatore, your friend, helping you out so that you wouldn't feel lonely and scared at night"

Now, that sounded awkward.

"Are you ready to get up? Big day ahead" said Damon, sparing her the necessity to start a conversation on her own.

"Yeah" she sighed, still sleepy, and did her best to look casual as she sat up, leaving reluctantly his chest that had felt so perfect under her…

Elena had to scold herself again. Her thoughts seemed to live their own life that morning.

"I want to ask you something, though. If you don't mind. You are free not to answer"

Elena wasn't sure she could afford even to hear his question. Damon's questions were always dangerous, leading her to unexpected discoveries that he could understand even if she wouldn't tell him. Again, what could she say? "Sorry, Damon, I'm afraid your questions will have me in dangerous waters in mere seconds?"

"Sure, go ahead" she tried to smile, turning to face him. He'd already sat up, too, and the next moment he was sitting beside Elena. She'd expected this and wasn't frightened.

"About me staying"

Elena tensed right away and Damon felt it, even though she tried to conceal it.

"Yes?"

"Did you feel uncomfortable?" he asked, looking at the young woman with those incredibly blue eyes that already made her incapable of lying. She'd lied to him before, but now she couldn't make herself lie to him.

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking away nervously.

"You didn't exactly invite me last night" he said, making her even more nervous with his eye thing.

"As you say, you need only one invitation" Elena tried to laugh the matter off. He didn't buy it.

"Did it bother you that I stayed?" Damon paraphrased the question, making it even more dubious. Elena looked in his eyes. That was a big mistake – his piercing gaze hypnotized her, leaving her not a single chance to hide something from him.

"No and yes" she said, her voice breathless – that fact didn't please her much.

"Which means..?" he insisted, and she wondered if he'd forgotten his previous decision not to push her.

"No, because… I slept better than I had for weeks, Damon. I always feel very safe with you. I don't know why, maybe it's experience, or maybe just the realization that you would protect me with your life, but I've never had a better feeling of security"

She felt that she was able to surprise him. He was frowning, like he always did when he was paying a lot of attention, and his gaze now made her feel more than secure. It made her feel loved, and she couldn't but relish the feeling.

"I'm far from being the safest person in the world for you, Elena"

"And yet you appear to be this very person" she smiled, letting Damon see the sincerity in her eyes. She wanted him to smile as well. She wanted to see if this confession that he dragged out of her was affecting him in the same way it had already affected her.

"And why yes?" asked Damon.

Elena bit her bottom lip. This part of the answer was even more difficult to admit, but she was sure he already knew anyway.

"Because I'm very… aware… of your presence" she said, giving up. "When you are close, or… even in the same room, I can always feel it. And it would be a lie to say it doesn't bother me"

Damon's gaze instantly softened, and his hands caressed her hair with such tenderness she thought she would faint.

"Don't be afraid" he murmured, bringing her closer. "You don't have any obligation to me".

Elena was unable to avert her eyes from his lips, and when he moved closer, she thought he would kiss her. She wanted him to kiss her, she suddenly realized, feeling herself melt under his hands.

Those hands, however, held her head in place, preventing her from leaning in. Instead, he kissed her forehead, and then traced his lips over her face, brushing them against her skin ever so slightly, until he reached the pulse point on her neck, where he placed another kiss.

Elena found herself incapable of movement, enthralled like a bird facing a snake. Or like a butterfly being pulled to the hottest fire and losing the struggle to stay away from it.

"I must go home, shower, change and check on the martyr" Damon smirked in his usual way only for a brief moment and then again turned serious. "Do you want a ride later? I can return" he said, and Elena had to fight the urge to reach out and touch his face.

"No, thanks… It's okay" she smiled. "I'll see you there"

"Sure"

Before she had time to blink, she felt air rush past her and she was alone.

The day with all its challenges which were way too many to handle was just starting. It had to be frightening, perhaps even terrifying, the way it looked now. And yet, Elena couldn't help smiling. She would have time for guilt and analyzing her actions later. For the moment she decided to enjoy the certainty she'd gained from Damon. No matter what, she knew he'd never let her down.

"We'll make it through Homecoming" she said as if to herself. "At least because we have to see what comes next".

A/N: Reviews make my day, so please, press that cute little button and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!