Title: Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe
Author: Alysia
Category: AU/AH/Elejah
Summary: Elena and Elijah finally confront their feelings for one another.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to TVD or TO.
Author's Note: This is just another short holiday piece, one chapter. I found it sitting on my computer and decided to crank it out.

"Thank you for helping Kol plan this," Bonnie said, approaching her friend.

"Of course," Elena excused. "Honestly, it looks better than I thought it would. When Kol mentioned the Christmas theme, I was hesitant, but he was insistent." Between the twinkling Christmas lights, tree, strands of garland and red and green decorations, the house looked wonderful.

"It does look great," her friend admitted, also taking in the scene around them.

Try as she might, Elena Gilbert found her gaze betraying her. It wasn't as if she wanted to watch Elijah Mikaelson flirt with Hayley Marshall, but she wasn't able to ignore it. Despite all the distractions that the room provided, she found her attention constantly drawn towards his direction. She watched him with a frown on her face as she watched him chuckle with his companion. And when Hayley placed her hand on his arm, Elena stiffened.

"You okay, 'Lena?"

Forcing herself to focus on the person pulling her from the source of her unhappy thoughts, she placed a neutral expression on her face. "I am. I just ate something that doesn't…" Hayley had yet to remove her hand from Elijah's person, "quite agree with me."

"If you're sure…" Bonnie Bennett said, not believing the lie that passed through her friend's lips. The Benetts and the Gilberts were long family friends, so the two girls had grown up together, she knew Elena better than anyone, and she knew when her friend was lying.

"Of course," Elena denied. "What else would it be?"

Bonnie looked towards the direction that had initially captured Elena's interest.

Knowing that Bonnie was going to call her on her lie, she shook her head. "Please don't, Bonnie. Not right now. I just…let me wallow in my self-pity and you can judge me tomorrow." She wouldn't be able to deal with the foreign feeling that welled up inside of her whenever she looked in Elijah and Hayley's direction and deal with her friend's 'I told you so.' "I need some air."

Not really satisfied with the outcome of their conversation, Bonnie nodded slowly. She certainly wouldn't make a spectacle.

"Really, I will be okay," Elena said softly. "Just…enjoy your party. I know that Kol worked really hard on planning this for you." She'd helped, quite a bit actually, but it had been Kol's idea. He'd wanted to do something to surprise his girlfriend for her birthday, hence the party, three weeks early. Without another word to her friend, she made her way through the throng of people and moved out to the patio. The night air was crisp, but it was a nice sensation after feeling so stifled in the crowded living room.

"I told you it wouldn't last."

The cocky voice broke through her thoughts and Elena groaned in exasperation. "Damon…" He was the last thing she needed at that moment.

"I told you that he was using you and it was nothing more than a bit of fun for him, but you didn't believe me."

She shook her head. "What are you doing here? Bonnie hates you."

"I'm my brother's 'plus one.'"

"Stefan must be pleased," she snarked.

Stepping closer to her, he exhaled a sigh. "Now that we've each had our dalliances, it's time to pick back up where we were before."

Her eyes widened, she wasn't sure if it was his words or the way he spoke them, maybe it was a blend of the two; but she certainly hadn't been expecting it. "You've got to be kidding me."

"We're good together, Elena. You know that, I know that, and our parents know that."

She shook her head. "I know no such thing," she denied. Maybe once upon a time she might had agreed with him, but that time had come and gone a long time ago. After a shit day at work, she'd gone over to his apartment after leaving work early one day. Instead of the comfort she'd expected from him, she found him fucking an old 'friend' of his. After throwing the nearest thing she had at her disposal, an old bookend, at him, she ended things and returned home.

It wasn't too long after that, that she'd taken up with Elijah. Having met the slightly older man through Bonnie and Kol, she hadn't thought anything of him at the time. She'd been involved with someone, and Elijah hadn't bothered to hide his playboy tendencies. However, when she'd run into him again, they returned to his apartment and she'd had sex with him. It was the first time she'd ever had a one-night stand, and it was just what she'd needed at the time. A week later she'd run into him at a bar, and it happened again. And then they ran into one another at a work function where they returned to his apartment once again.

It had been that third time that led to calling him and making an arrangement. She enjoyed their nights together without all the emotional ties. Elijah, for his part agreed with her. When she asked if they could meet up at least once a week, he'd been all too happy to agree to the arrangement. For three months, she'd continued on the affair, content with their situation. And then one night, he'd had to beg off their night together for a work thing. When she and Bonnie met up for dinner, Elena found him at the same restaurant with a tall and beautiful blonde. She watched them flirt and leave the restaurant together, their intentions clear to anyone who'd watched them. When her stomach dropped, it was the first time that Elena suspected her feelings about the situation and him had changed drastically. Instead of contacting him the next week, she'd avoided him for the following two.

He had been the one to track her down and she confessed that she'd seen him that night with the woman and that she even though there wasn't anything substantial in their arrangement, it left her feeling confused and she'd needed to sort out her feelings. Elijah had seemed to understand that and put a stop to their arrangement. They still saw one another on various occasions but they hadn't fallen into bed since.

"Elena, what I did was wrong. I…they hindsight is 20/20. I didn't realize what I had before I lost it."

Damon seemed sincere in his tone and words, but she felt nothing. "And if I hadn't happened upon that scene, would you have told me? Would you have carried on? I know that Rose has been a part of your life much longer than you had me believe, was that the first time?"

"Until that afternoon, it was the first time that I had ever stepped out on you. There wasn't anyone else."

"But you and her became a thing after…" When he appeared guilty, she rolled her eyes. "My friend is dating your brother, I know what you've been up to, Damon." She shook her head. "I know that you've managed well enough since then so I obviously don't mean as much to you as you would have me believe."

"I…do you really think that Rose is the kind of person someone marries?"

With a quirk of her lips, she shook her head once again. "To tell you the truth, I don't care what kind of person she is, or you, for that matter. No one made you invite her over, no one made you have sex with her, no one made you continue to do it. That was all you. Things ended between us the minute you crossed that line with her. I got over you, Damon. And I will never give you the opportunity to do that to me again."

"But I wouldn't. I love you, Elena, I…I truly am sorry for what happened. I never should have-"

"No," she interrupted, "you shouldn't have. But you did, oh, and tacking on a declaration of love to an 'I-told-you-so' is hardly going to earn you points." She let out a weary sigh. She'd gone outside to get some fresh air, but Damon had killed that appeal. Mentally, she weighed her options. Continue to stand outside with him or head back in the house and watch Elijah flirt some more?

Before another word was spoken between the pair, they were interrupted when the sliding door opened, announcing another presence. Elena was thankful for the interruption…until she took notice of who it was.

"There you are, Elena," Elijah announced. "I was hoping that we could…" He trailed off, taking notice of her companion. "Am I interrupting?"

Elena could only shake her head in negative when it appeared that Damon was getting ready to open his mouth. "No, Damon and I are finished," she replied, turning to look at her ex-boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. "Aren't we?" Without another word, she turned her back on him and moved towards the balcony. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she silently willed for all of her strength.

She had yet to really sit down and talk with Elijah. In the time since they'd ended their arrangement, neither had willingly sought the other out. She supposed that she should have once she finished sorting through her feelings, but she didn't think she could handle a rejection from him. She hadn't meant to fall for him, but somewhere along the way, she had. But as far as she knew, Elijah hadn't changed. He hadn't wanted to settle down and it was one thing he made sure she was aware of when they began meeting on a weekly basis. On a conscious level, she knew that. She'd understood it, but when they were together… Elijah possessed the ability to make her forget all of the little things. It was easy to feel as if she was the most important person in his world, and she reveled in those moments. It was as if a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown on her when she watched him leave the restaurant with that woman. Her stomach had been knotted up and her heart hurt.

"You've been avoiding me tonight," Elijah observed, her voice coming from a position close behind her.

Elena shrugged. "It wasn't my intention." It really hadn't. However, she wasn't eager to greet him, only to be ignored by him in favor of a potential bed partner. It had been bad enough seeing Elijah and Hayley flirt from across the room.

Was that jealousy he detected in her voice? He wanted to call her out on it, but he didn't think it would be the wisest move. Instead, he settled for the obvious choice. "I've missed you," he admitted in a quiet tone.

His words hit her hard and she closed her eyes against the fresh wave of pain that enveloped her. Had he? He certainly hadn't acted like it. He hadn't bothered to fight her when she asked to their arrangement. Instead, he'd appeared as unmoved as ever. In the few times that they'd seen one another since then, he'd neither sought her out or avoided her…he just was there.

"Elena, what happened?"

She could only shake her head.

"It's been long enough, hasn't it?" He spoke again, wanting to force a reaction from her. When she remained unmoved, her tried again. "How long are you going to punish me?"

His inquiry spurred her into action. Spinning around, she looked at him with her hands on her hips. "Punish you? This isn't about punishing you, it never was."

"Then what was it?"

"I started falling in love you, damn it!" She exploded. As soon as the words were out, she covered her mouth, shocked that she'd finally told him. She turned away from once again. Removing her hands from her mouth, her shoulders dropped.

"Elena?"

"I didn't…I know how you feel about relationships, I didn't plan on it," she confessed. "Hell, until I saw you with that woman, I hadn't even realized that I had feelings for you. And then watching you leave the restaurant with her…" Elena shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts.

"Why didn't you say anything then?"

"And what would you have said if I had? You warned me at the beginning of our…arrangement, told me how you felt about relationships. I knew I couldn't have handled the rejection from you. Instead, I thought it would be easier to just end things before it got worse. I couldn't just ignore my feelings, but I couldn't go on with no strings attached." During their dalliances, she hadn't dated or even considered anyone else, but she'd been unsure about him. It was something that she'd just resigned herself not to ask or think about; and it suited her just fine, until that night.

"You aren't the only one that developed feelings, Elena."

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting in response, but that certainly hadn't been it. Spinning around, she found him standing where he was before, however, he was holding his arm up over their heads. In his hand was a sprig of mistletoe.

"What?"

"I started falling for you too," he admitted. "The night that you saw me with that woman? It really was just a dinner arrangement. I took her to dinner. I suppose there was a bit of friendly flirting." He'd been told he was a notorious flirt, it seemed to come naturally to him. "But that's all it was. I walked her out of the restaurant, helped her to her car and that was it." He didn't dare mention that he'd been invited to join her for a nightcap. He hadn't gone and there was no point in telling Elena something that could potentially upset her. In the end, Diedre signed a contract with his company, which was what his father was pushing for, and there'd been no hard feelings from the beautiful blonde for not taking her up on her offer.

"So, what's the mistletoe for?" Elena asked.

"Well, I didn't know how you'd react if I just kissed you," he admitted. "I figured that if you suddenly felt the desire to deck me, I could use this and remind you that it is a tradition."

"But you haven't even kissed me yet…"

"Shame on me…" Leaning over, he placed a soft, lingering kiss on her lips, but he didn't dare push it further. His arm dropped from above them and he pulled away. Her eyes were still closed and the corner of his lips pulled up in a smile.

"So…I have feelings for you and feel the same way, and we spent months apart from each other…"

"We don't have to be any longer," Elijah suggested. "I would really love to make things official between us." They had the physical aspect of things down, they just needed to work on the emotional side.

"I'm sorry I pulled away from you," she apologized in a soft voice. "Forgive me?"

He shook his head. "There's nothing to forgive. You needed it…maybe we both needed it to put things in perspective?"

She nodded along with his words. Stepping up to him, she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I've missed you too." His arms settled around her small, appealing body.

"I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me tomorrow night?" Elijah asked.

"I'd like that," she replied. Tilting her head up towards him, she kissed him.

"I know it's a few days early, but, Merry Christmas, Elena."

"Merry Christmas, Elijah."