This is for petrova39 aka Mrs. Salvatore39 for her prompt for the LJ A2A Holiday fic exchange. This was such a fun prompt to write, and I hope I did it justice. It challenged me quite a bit which was great.
Prompt: -vamp Elena is not feeling in the Christmas mood with most of the people she loves gone. people that are dead in canon are dead, but Stefan left with Klaus to look for the cure, Bonnie is at college with Prof. Evil, Jeremy went back to Chicago to visit friends and so on. Damon is all that's left and he's been distant cuz he's pissed she refuses to confront her feelings. anyways, she literally steals Christmas like the Grinch (what with her new speed and strength moving trees and presents shouldn't be too much to handle) until he catches her; perhaps all tangled up in lights or some such none sense.
-I'm looking for a little fun, a little depth, a little smut (okay, maybe a lot) but ultimately Damon showing her that Christmas can still mean something without everyone there.
Perhaps it was because she was bored. Maybe it was because she had an eternity of these days ahead of her. Could it possibly be because she was abandoned by everyone on this once joyous night? Or was it maybe because her heart was two sizes too small after transitioning into a vampire. If that was the reason behind it, she was more like the Grinch than she ever imagined. Not wanting to believe that for a second; not taking into consideration her current activities; she chose to believe it was because she was abandoned by everyone she cared about. Jeremy was on a plane heading to Denver to visit with some friends; which was good. It really was good that Jeremy was spending Christmas like a normal person. Caroline and Tyler were giving their relationship another try away from all the drama and danger Mystic Falls had to offer them, which was also good. Elena truly didn't want to see two of her friends heartbroken over each other. Bonnie was spending Christmas, trying to get her powers back with Professor Shane; a man that Elena was not yet sure whether she trusted or not. But Bonnie adamant that he was good, and he was helping her so Elena was incapable of arguing with her friend. Damon was another story completely. He was merely avoiding her and Elena understood his reasons. He wanted things from her that she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to give him. She had called him over and over again, trying to see if he would be willing to hang out with her, but no answer. Elena mused that her current activities were totally his fault.
Elena vamp sped to the town square and stared at the massive tree standing in the center. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation as she pondered how to get the huge tree in her possession. Suddenly remembering her super vampire strength, she picked up the tree and started running with it. It was very awkward to carry and run with but at vampire speed she got to her house in record time. She dropped the tree in the backyard and left again. If she couldn't have a happy Christmas then no one else could either. She only wished she could take all the decorations from all the houses, but alas as a vampire she couldn't' get inside. It sort of put a damper on her plans a little bit.
She paused outside the Grill and seen lights on the roof. She leaped on the roof and started pulling the lights up and wrapping them in a coil by her feet. Damon had been following her for the past half hour as she stole items and dropped them in her backyard. He couldn't decide if he was horrified at her actions or amused, they were a pretty close tie. He didn't understand what she was doing but he intended on finding out.
"Elena! " He called seeing her on the roof of the Grill. His voice caused her to lose her balance and she fell off the roof. Somewhere along the way she had gotten her foot stuck in the lights and she fell until the lights became tight, suspending her in the air upside down.
"What are you doing?" He asked tilting his head to the side.
"What does it look like I was doing?" She hissed as she tried to free herself from her snare.
"It looked like you were attempting to steal Christmas." He told her.
"Exactly." She muttered trying desperately to free herself.
"Why?" He asked confused. He had his arms crossed across his chest and he watched her try to free herself.
"I don't know, will you help me down?" She asked annoyed.
"Do you plan on telling me why you're acting all Grinch-like?" He asked.
"It's none of your business. You're the one who abandoned me." She whined.
"I abandoned you? Wow!" He shook his head.
"Yes, you abandoned me. Now help me down." She insisted.
"I'm not helping you down unless you put everything back where you got it Grinchy." He told her.
"Fine, I'll put it all back. Just untangle me please. I'm worried the cord is going to snap soon." She fretted.
"I'm sure you're fine besides even if you did fall, you wouldn't die. You're a vampire, a fall like that wouldn't kill you. Hell it wouldn't kill a human either." Damon scoffed.
"Just help me. Now." She insisted.
"Fine." He acquiesced. He loosened the knot her foot was locked in and she fell through landing on the snow covered ground.
"Now get back up there and put the lights back where you found them." He ordered.
"You could help." She muttered.
"Why should I? I'm not the one who decided to re-enact "How the Grinch stole Christmas" on Christmas Eve." Damon muttered.
"Stubborn jackass vampire." Elena muttered as she jumped onto the roof and started putting the lights where she had found them. Once that was done she jumped back down and glared at Damon.
"Now get the other stuff you stole."He commanded.
He followed her around as she put everything she stole back where she found it. Once she was finished it didn't even look like anyone had touched it.
"Very good." He muttered.
"Care to tell me why you've been avoiding me?" She asked clearly still annoyed with him.
"You know exactly why. Care to tell me why you were trying to steal Christmas?" He asked.
"Maybe my heart is two sizes too small." She suggested.
"I'm sure that's not it." He decided.
"Fine, I was abandoned by everyone this Christmas. Jeremy is gone, Tyler and Caroline are gone, Stefan is gone with Klaus of all people. Bonnie is with the professor and you've just been downright ignoring me. Of course I'm going to turn to something drastic for attention." She hissed.
"Stealing Christmas is very drastic. Do you even care about what the people would have thought when they came home to find all the lights gone from the top of their house or those huge plastic reindeer missing?" He asked.
"I didn't really care." She sighed.
"I can see that, the Elena I remember would have cared about those people." Damon told her.
"I'm not that Elena anymore. I'm different." She told him stubbornly.
"How many places did you steal from?" He asked.
"Well I stole the tree here, the reindeer from a couple houses, all the lights from every house on my street, and I started the lights here before you scared me." She told him.
"I've been following you for a while." He told her.
"How did I not notice you?" She asked.
"I can be very stealthy if I want to and you were otherwise occupied by ruining Christmas for countless kids." He answered.
"I couldn't get into the houses." She sighed.
"That's good." He told her.
"What am I supposed to do now?" She asked.
"You can come back to the boarding house with me and have a few drinks. It's better than leaving you out here all alone and letting you get more ideas on how to ruin Christmas for everyone." He suggested.
"Okay." She answered. She climbed into the passenger seat of his car and he drove them to the boarding house.
When they got there he immediately poured them both a large glass of his favourite bourbon.
"Sit. We are going to talk." He ordered, pressing the glass into her hand.
"What's there to talk about?" She asked.
"Well clearly there's a lot to talk about. You seem to think that just because I decide that I want to take a night off from this stupid unrequited love issue we've got, that you can just go off the rails. You can try to steal Christmas in a sad attempt to get some attention." He stated coolly.
"You think that's what this was? Me demanding attention from you? I'm not quite that desperate Damon." Elena yelled, outraged at his accusation.
"Oh aren't you?" He asked rhetorically.
"No I'm not, I've never been desperate for your attention, or anything from you. You on the other hand are desperate for me that you're willing to go to any lengths to get me." She shouted.
"You know what? Fine, I'm just done then. I'll stop trying if that's what you want. Next time someone wants to kill you, I'll just sit back instead of doing everything in my power to make sure you survive." Damon hissed.
"Damon..." She started realizing the hole she dug herself into.
"You can leave. Go finish stealing Christmas or whatever it is that you want to do." He stated coldly, while pointing to the door.
"No." She muttered stubbornly.
"Elena, leave. You are not welcome here anymore. You've got your wish, I'll stop fighting." He decided, taking a long drink of his bourbon.
"I'm not leaving Damon. I don't want to lose your friendship along with everything else I've lost." She whispered.
"Friendship will never work between us. I can't just be your friend, I have to be more." He stated.
"I know." Elena sighed.
"So either you finally come clean, or you leave me alone." He stated, completely sick of waiting around for her.
"You can't ask me to make a choice like that on the spot!" Elena exclaimed.
"I don't have a choice Elena, I need closure from this." He shouted back.
"What do you want to hear? Do you want me to say that I love you? If you do, I can't do that. Do you want me to tell you I want to give us a try? What do you want?" She demanded.
"I want you to be honest for once without thinking about my feelings or Stefan's. I want you to tell me the truth about what you feel. I think I'm entitled to that at the very least." He stated.
"You want the truth? I don't know what the truth is Damon. All these feelings or lack thereof that I say I have get mixed up with whatever feelings I really do have and I don't know what I feel." She argued.
"That is the worst excuse I have ever heard. You know what you feel, so just tell me." He demanded shaking his head.
"I have some pretty intense feelings for you, I always have. I just don't know what they mean." She admitted.
"That's a bit more truthful." He acquiesced.
"It's the entire truth. I couldn't say I love you even if I wanted to because that's not what I feel. I'm insanely attracted to you, I want you desperately but I don't know if I love you." She explained.
"I don't need to hear that you love me. I can wait for that, I'm just sick of you completely avoiding everything you feel. If you could even just admit that you feel something, I'd be happy." He admitted.
"The problem is that if I admit if I'll have to do something about it. I'm only functional around you when I'm able to hide what I feel. I'll lose all my control if I admit it." She stated worried.
"Then let it go Elena. Even if all I get is one night with you, it's still better than none at all. At least with one night with you I would know what I've been missing." He prompted.
"But we both know one night will never be enough." She replied still uncertain.
"It won't be, but don't we owe it to ourselves to at least give it a shot? Stefan is out of the picture for the first time, and you already admitted that you feel something for me, even if it is just lust." He asked.
"It's not just lust, I know that much. I just don't know how far these feelings go." She told him.
"You owe it to yourself to give it a shot. You never know it could be the best decision you've ever made." He told her.
"Or it could be the worst." She added on.
"Either way." He shrugged.
"We both know that if we sleep together that it'll never be enough. We have this insane attraction to one another. It's safer to just not do it and keep our distance." Elena shook her head. She knew without a doubt that if she went to bed with him she would never want to leave that bed.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing." Damon argued
."I'm afraid of losing what we already have. If this doesn't work out, I don't want to lose your friendship too." Elena confessed.
"You can't ruin it more than it already is." Damon retorted.
"Damon..." Elena started uncertainly.
"Okay, it comes down to one question. Do you want me? If not then this conversation ends, if you do then this conversation ends and I take you upstairs to my bed and make love to you. It's entirely up to you." He told her.
"You already know that I want you." She whispered.
"You just need to make a decision." He told her taking a final sip of his drink.
"I want it more than you even know, but I'm terrified at the same time." She admitted.
"What terrifies you?" He asked.
"What if I somehow start feeling even more for you than I do for Stefan? I was used to how I was when I was in love with Stefan, but what if I fall harder for you? I won't know how to deal with that." She whispered.
"Just jump in. You'll never know unless you give it a shot. I want this more than you will ever know and I think we've discussed every possible aspect of this conversation. There's nothing left to say about it." Damon stated standing up.
"What if we make a mistake?" She worried.
"Even if it is a mistake, which it won't be, at least we will have tried." He said shaking his head
"I want you too much to say no to you right now." Elena decided.
"Then don't." He prompted. She took a deep breath and stood up. He could see how nervous she was. He took her hand and pulled her in close.
"This will be perfect." He promised her. She nodded her head and he tilted her chin up so he could kiss her. The moment his lips touched hers, she lost all inhibitions and worries and started kissing him back in a way she had never kissed someone before. Her hands threaded through his hair, holding his face close to hers, and her tongue thoroughly explored his mouth. He lifted her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.
He carried her up the stairs and once they were in his room he dropped her on the bed. She bounced for a few seconds and watched transfixed as he unbuttoned his shirt and dropping it to the floor. Elena sat up and pulled her t shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. He quickly removed his jeans, she mimicked the action and tossed her jeans to the floor. He hooked his fingers in the side of her panties, and heard her sudden intake of breath.
"It's okay, I'll take care of you." He promised her. She lifted her hips allowing him to pull the scrap of fabric from her body. He then quickly covered her body with his own and slowly guided his erection to her core. She sighed loudly when he buried himself to the hilt inside her.
"So good..." She sighed. "So tight..." He breathed as he started thrusting. He slowly picked up his pace until she was practically screaming out his name in ecstasy. Taking him by surprise she flipped them over and started riding him hard. She rolled her hips and plunged down on him. His hands rested on her hips guiding her movements. She took a hold of his hands and brought them up to her breasts, knowing exactly what she wanted he started squeezing and kneading the pliant flesh, rolling her nipples between thumb and forefinger. She threw her head back in pleasure as she started moving herself along his shaft quicker than before.
"Fuck..." She called when he hit a particularly sensitive spot inside her. She didn't know how he did it but he somehow managed to remain stoic throughout. She switched up her angle and took him inside again causing him to hiss.
"Elena... shit." He moaned. Nearing her inevitable end she picked up her pace, riding his quicker than before.
"So close, so close." She chanted over and over again as she fought to reach that blissful feeling. Damon felt his release gather and shoot up his erection ready to explode.
"Come with me." She begged. When he exploded, it sent her off and she collapsed over him as his hips continued to pump into hers.
"That was so good." Elena breathed, lying in her post coital bubble.
"I always knew it would be." He replied lying flat on his back but not touching her.
"I'm sorry." She stated out of the blue.
"For what?" He wondered, completely bewildered in that moment she would have something to apologize for.
" A lot of things." She decided not sure where to start.
"Like?" He probed.
"I'm sorry for denying you all these years. I'm sorry for attempting to steal Christmas." She started.
"Well to be honest it was kind of entertaining watching you go all Grinch-like on Mystic Falls." He laughed.
"It probably was, I don't know what came over me. I've never done something like that before." She replied covering her face with her hands.
"Heightened emotions Elena. Remember you're a vampire now." He reminded her.
"Am I always going to go for the most extreme reaction to an emotion?" She asked worried.
"You can try to control it, you don't have to try to steal whichever holiday it is whenever someone leaves you alone.." He joked.
"Then don't leave me alone." She hinted.
"If this is how we're going to spend those holidays, then I won't be going anywhere." He told her rolling onto his side so he could look at her.
"Damon... I still don't know what to say about us." She started.
"Then don't say anything. I can handle this, the feelings will come eventually. I know they exist, now you just have to realize it too." He told her brushing some hair out of her face.
"I know I feel something, I just can't identify it yet." She confessed.
"Here is what I suggest, let's just be. We don't need to make it into something it's not right now. You don't have to rush it." He told her.
"So you're okay if I don't know what I feel? I needed this Damon, and I don't want to lose it now that I've had it." She asked.
"Yes, I'm fairly confident that you will come to terms with everything eventually." He told her.
"Okay." She agreed.
"Now I don't know about you, but now that I have you I can't get enough of you." He whispered suggestively.
"What are you suggesting?" She asked raising her eyebrows.
"I think you know what I'm suggesting." He murmured seductively. She nodded and he rolled back on top of her. He kissed her before slipping inside her for the second time that night.