Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries
AN: thank you TheCleanWriter for the correction. I ship them hard too! That and I generally dislike Stefan.
Eyes. That's all he was. Her background protector: not the one who got the thanks for saving her, but the one who got suspicious glances. What reason did he have to be her protector? He got to watch her as she learned about his world and he protected her from the darkness his world cast. He loved her too much to be with her because if he had her heart she would be in danger. He brought danger with him: his past was drenched in blood she didn't need to know about. But she would look at him with such trust and absolute faith that it would crush his resolve to stay away.
He knew, though, that she would never be his. He knew that her heart would always belong to his brother. Stefan was always the one who got to play hero, the one who had earned her heart. Stefan was always there at the right time: just in time for her to see him save the day. To see Stefan make all the right choices, but when she was away, he saw Stefan make all the wrong ones. Stefan was weak, but he'd never let her see that. Stefan had dragged her into this life of danger because he couldn't be without her. Damon, however, was painfully strong. He stayed away, knowing he would put her in danger. Damon knew he would be bad for her, just like she was for him. She was strong, and she never gave a thought to herself. She would sacrifice herself for the ones she loved in a heartbeat, and that killed Damon. She didn't know how important she was. How important to him she truly was. So he would, of course, have to save her, therefore saving the day. But her eyes would open and she'd see Stefan there and he would be the hero. And Damon would be forgotten. And Stefan wouldn't correct them, because he needed Elena because he was weak. But then his phone would buzz and it would be her, thanking him for saving her, again. And he would act confused, because Stefan had saved the day. Had he not? And she would laugh like she knew something he didn't before her voice would become soft, and she would say thank you in a way that made his heart squeeze painfully. And he would fall silent and she would hang up without a goodbye and he would look around at the things surrounding him and everything would seem so new. So wonderfully new in a world where he was the hero and the sun shone brighter and she would smile at him and, for once, things didn't seem so dark. But then he'd realize she was smiling at Stefan and it would be back to watching from a distance, nothing more than eyes. Her secret guardian, her background protector, her forgotten hero.