A/N

A small one shot about Damon and Elena. This takes place after Season Two.

Enjoy!

Elena woke up from her restless sleep. She looked up at the ceiling. The small trays of light from the outside gave the bedroom a scarier look than it already had. She tried closing her eyes again and get back to sleep, but it was impossible.

Elena got out of bed. She walked around the top floor, seeing things she hadn't noticed before. There were some dents in the walls, some the wallpaper couldn't cover up anymore. Elena imagined what caused them. A vivid image of the two Salvatore brothers fighting around the house came to her mind. That seemed about right.

When Elena got to the living room, her heart skipped a beat. Damon was sitting by the fireplace. His back was turned to her but she could tell it was him. He was sitting in one of those large ancient chairs that seemed to breed freely in the Boarding House. Elena got closer, trying to remain as silent as possible so as not to disturb him.

"Your ninja skills aren't as impressive as you think, Elena" he said. Elena could imagine the smile on his lips.

Relaxing, Elena went back to walking normally and got closer. When she got next to him, she sat down on the floor, bringing her knees to her chest.

Damon watched her closely. The fire reflected on her hair and eyes made her look even more beautiful. He sighed.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"No" she said looking up at him. "You?"

"Me neither. Have a lot on my mind.."

"Like what?"

Damon showed the ghost of a smile. He couldn't tell her she was the cause of his countless sleepless nights and overuse of self-thought. He wouldn't tell her that she haunted his dreams and mind every minute of the day. He wouldn't tell her how much it pained him to know he would never have her.

So he simply shrugged. "It's not important"

Elena kept looking at him, her eyes like huge flashlights into his soul. Damon felt almost exposed but couldn't look away.

"You know…" she started, turning around and kneeling in front of him. "You could really earn a lot by opening up to someone. Not everything is a threat and bottling up all those feelings inside you isn't health."

Damon smirked and leaned towards her. "Are you worried about me?"

Elena took note of the proximity between them but kept her stance. "I am Damon. I'm afraid someday you might snap and lose control of it all. I don't want to see you hurt".

"And who do you suppose I should talk to?"

Elena placed her hand on his knee. The contact made him shiver, but she didn't notice.

"Me" she stated as if it was something obvious. "We're friends, Damon"

Damon chuckled. "You? It can't be you Elena.."

"Why not?"

Damon kneeled down in front of her taking her hands and clenching them to his chest. Elena's heartbeat accelerated as her hands made contact with his body. He noticed this.

"It can't be you because you are the reason I'm like this!"

Elena opened her mouth to protest but Damon cut her off.

"You, Elena, are the reason why my thoughts are always a mess. I can reason when you're next to me but I also can't reason when you're away. I can't sleep at night knowing that you're in the arms of another man, a man who is my brother. I can't go back to the way I used to be because you shaped me into someone I never longed to be but am thanks to you and because of that I can't stand the fact…can't stand the fact that I love you".

Damon's eyes were burning, not from the fire but from the emotions he had just let out. Elena was speechless. Her mind was processing what Damon had said but she couldn't reason. Her mouth hanged open, but no words came out.

Seeing this, Damon smiled. It was a sad smile; he knew she couldn't handle it. He reached out behind her neck, preparing to remove her vervain necklace and make her forget what he had just said. But her hands on his stopped him.

Damon looked at her. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, which nearly broke his heart. She took his hands and dropped them in her lap. Then, with her own hands, she cupped his face.

"I don't want to forget this".

Tears were streaming down Elena's face, but she was smiling. Damon reached out and wiped away some of them. He leaned down, bringing his face closer to hers.

"You have to, Elena. I don't deserve you, Stefan does. You're better off not knowing this, believe me."

Elena started shaking her head. Tears kept falling.

"Yes, Elena please"

Damon's hands were shaking and his eyes were unfocused. "You have to forget this"

"No" Elena pleaded. "I won't forget you saying that you loved me, Damon. I can't forget it. My life has been filled with drama ever since my parents died, I almost can't handle it at all. Jenna is gone, Jeremy keeps pushing me aside, I can't handle school, and Stefan has been missing for weeks. Please, Damon, don't make me forget this".

She leaned closer to Damon and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and then she hugged him.

"Please, Damon, let me remember this. If I don't, I won't be able to tell you the truth"

"What truth?"

Damon detached himself from Elena in order to look at her.

"That I love you too" she said.

At that moment, the world could have exploded around Damon that he wouldn't have noticed. He smiled genuinely for the first time in days and hugged her tightly. Elena returned the hug and they stood like this for a while.

Damon's hand moved from her back to her head, while his other arm wrapped around her waist protectively. He moved his head, bringing his mouth to her neck. He could feel her heartbeat and the blood that flowed beneath her soft skin. Damon placed a soft kiss on the nape of her neck and felt her shiver lightly. He smiled.

He moved up her neck. Leaving a trail of soft kisses as he went along. When he saw her face he noticed she was flushed and relished in the feeling of having Elena in his arms. Without giving her time to open her eyes, he kissed her.

It was soft at first and it came as a shock to Elena, but as she got over it, the kiss became more passionate. Damon brought his tongue to touch her lips and she opened her mouth willingly, their tongues massaging each other.

Damon brought his hands to her waist and lifted her onto his lap, pulling her as close as possible.

"I love you, Elena" he whispered into her mouth. "I love you"

Elena was finding it hard to reason with Damon's hands all over her upper body and his mouth whispering sweet nothings to her hear but managed to breathe out "I love you, Damon".

Damon chuckled at her stage of euphoria and continued kissing her passionately.

"Let's go upstairs" he said, trying hard to remain focused.

"Yes". Was the only coherent thing Elena managed to say.

Damon lifted himself up, still carrying Elena in his arms – who was now straddling him and unconsciously grinding against him.

"You have to stop doing that, Elena. Otherwise we won't make it to the bedroom" he managed to choke out.

Elena smiled and started planting soft kisses along his jawline. She brought her mouth closer to his hear and whispered seductively. "Then you better hurry up"

Damon grunted and hurried up the stairs. Closing his bedroom door behind him.