It's what he does with his eyebrows and how his eyes are bluer than blue.
How he drinks scotch like it's blood, drinks blood right from the source, but still fights to keep her alive.
It's his leather jacket and smirks, how he makes himself at home in her kitchen when he decides to cook.
It's his love for his brother and how he's willing to sacrifice everything for him, even his own happiness.
It's his dry humor and deflective personality, and how the only times he's ever serious is when something bad is happening.
It's definitely when he decides to parade around the house shirtless or wrapped in a towel, his body still damp from the shower and his hair curling at the ends on the back of his neck.
It's when he invades her personal space, his breath hot against her skin, and his eyes doing that eye-thing he does.
It's how he took her away from everything, his mock horror when he found out she didn't eat pickles, and letting her have beer and do shots and be reckless for a little while.
It's how he makes fun of her, of himself, and of the disastrous situations they find themselves in.
It's how and when he comes to her rescue, over and over again, never expecting anything and making sure she's always okay.
It's when he puts himself in the line of fire to keep those she loves from getting hurt, to keep her from suffering any more than she already has.
It's when he goes off the deep end but always ends up making his way back to her, to them.
It's the way he lets her be herself and have fun, and how he always knows how to make her laugh.
It's also his special way to screw everything up when he gets angry, but a more special one to make it all up to her later.
It's how he takes some of the weight off her shoulders when it gets to be too much, and shares her happiness in those rare moments they're caught off guard and everything is right in their world.
It's when he leaves red roses for her in random places, and how she gets a smile on her face every time she comes across them.
It's especially when he makes her pancakes for breakfast, orders pizza for dinner every Friday night, and runs his fingers through her hair until she falls asleep.
But not so much when he appears on her bedroom out of nowhere and scares the crap out of her, and how he laughs and keeps laughing until she has to shut him up.
It's how he trusts her when he trusts no one.
How he accepts her help when he's too damn proud to ask for it.
How he loves her unconditionally, and not because she reminds him of someone he knew, but because of the person she is.
And how he would absolutely most certainly give it all up if it meant she would be safer or happier without him in her life.
It's because of the little things, the grand gestures, and the too many reasons to count that Elena disentangles herself from Damon's hold of her on the bed and props on one elbow, her hair falling over her own shoulder to his, and stares at those sky blue eyes.
"You do know that watching people while they're trying to sleep is creepy, right?" Damon smirks one of her favorite smirks back at her. "And that you have actually condemned me for the exact same thing in the past?"
"I love you," she tells him.
Because she does. Because she doesn't feel like she says it enough times for him to believe how head over heels in love she is. Because he needs to hear it. Because after all they've been through sometimes saying those three little words is all they have, and it's all that makes everything okay again.
Damon runs his fingers through her hair, tucking it behind her ear, and kisses her. Slow. Passionately. Like she's all he has ever wanted and needed and like they have all the time in the world to be them. To be together.
He bites her lower lip and runs his tongue over it, giving her a final peck before settling back down into bed and smiling up at her. Not a smirk, but a full on toothy smile complete with eye crinkles and the softest look Elena has ever seen in her life on his face. He keeps looking at her for a little while more, until he grabs her by the back of the neck and forces her head back down to his chest, holding on to her like before she decided to say anything. He buries his nose in her hair and makes a sound in the back of his throat that no one could mistake for anything other than pure satisfaction.
"I love you, too," he finally says. "I've loved you from the moment I laid my eyes on you, and I'll love you until someone decides to stick a stake through my heart. Maybe I'll love you even after that."