A/N: This is just a little Damon/Elena one shot that I came up with earlier today. It's based on the events of "Homecoming". I won't give too much away but I tweaked some details which will you'll hopefully pick up on as you read it. My own version of the Damon/Elena scenes the episode already provided us with. I don't know about you guys, but the hiatus is killing me! Anyways, let me know what you think!

The adrenaline was pumping through her veins like tidal waves, her eyes flickering to the grandfather clock every few minutes. The warmth of the flames from the fireplace illuminated her worried expression, her brown eyes glistening with unshed anxiety. Her palms were sweaty and her heart was racing, her fingers running through her hair nervously every five minutes or so.

She tried to slow her breathing by taking deep breaths, but then she would forget how to exhale. Her mind kept racing, running over everything that could go wrong. Her stomach was in knots, and her heart was aching out of fear.

"You're gonna give yourself a heart attack," his velvet smooth voice said. she looked up to meet his gaze, his ocean blue eyes blazing with conviction as he smirked at her before sitting down beside her on the couch. She calmed down slightly, offering him the smallest of smiles before she began wringing her hands on her lap.

He rolled his eyes and acted instinctively, his hands imprisoning her soft ones beneath his, a warm smile on his face as he looked her in the eye. Her already uneven breath hitched in her throat as she gazed at him, unwilling and unable to look away.

Their eyes are dancing as they look at one another. His heart is aching inside of his chest with the way that she looked at him. Sometimes one look from her was enough to either drag him back of throw him over the edge. Sometimes he thought that she was staring right into his soul – and that thought made him feel naked and vulnerable.

"Elena," he says tentatively, his voice low and full of concern. She doesn't say anything, she simply nods. Her eyes are stinging with hot tears of anxiety that threaten to spill over, so she just continues staring at him. "What are you gonna do while I'm gone?" he asks suddenly, his voice teasing as he tries to lighten the mood for her.

Those eight words that fell from his mouth were enough to turn her inside out. The question itself made her think back to a night that she was both scared to remember but absolutely paralyzed with fear of forgetting – the night that she almost lost half of her heart. The night that the man she'd fought so hard to hate, almost died in her arms. The man that had turned her world upside down threatened to leave her forever.

"I'm so sorry, Elena. I've done so many things to hurt you."

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"I know you love Stefan, and it will always be Stefan. But I love you. You should know that."

"I do."

"You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me."

"I like you now. Just the way you are."

She shot up from the couch and began pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace, anxiety evident in every step that she took. She was hanging by a thread, his presence being the only thing keeping her sane. "I'm sorry," he retracts.

She folds her arms across her chest and nods in acknowledgment, her long brown hair falling haphazardly around her shoulders as she takes a deep breath, a weak smile on her face. "I know," she acknowledges. "I'm just scared, you know? There are so many things that could go wrong with this plan. And I don't like the idea of getting Katherine involved," she spits out bitterly.

He listened intently as she voiced her concerned and fought the urge to laugh at the sheer foolishness of the latter mentioned. "It's for your own safety," he tells her for the umpteenth time. "I don't like the idea anymore than you do but I like it better than having you in the line of fire. You're right, there are too many things that could go wrong with this plan and thankfully, by bringing the bitch in, your safety isn't one of them."

"I can take care of myself, Damon…" she argues bitterly, a scowl forming on her features. He chuckles lightly and nods in agreement, a smirk on his face. "Don't laugh at me," she warns him. "I've been training, with you! If you don't think I can handle this then that's kind of an insult on your part, isn't it? So…I should be there," she tries.

"I've been around a long time, Elena. Reverse psychology isn't gonna work on me," he warns. "Although I'll give you two points for ingenuity, pouty."

"I'm serious. I can help, Damon. Let me help," she begs him. He shakes his head fiercely, growing more annoyed with this phenomenal human he's lucky to even have in his life. He can tell that she's growing angrier as well, her fists balling up underneath her arms. "Why not?" she questions, not quite admitting defeat but not backing down.

"I already told you – I don't want you to have any part of this when it all goes down. I can't have you near Katherine or Klaus or Mikael or…"

"Stefan," she finishes, her expression void of emotion. "You don't have to protect me, I can handle myself."

"I thought you would've gotten it by now," he teases – although the emotion in his voice is borderline fearful. "I'll always protect you," he tells her earnestly. "I can't have you anywhere near any of this because I'll be too distracted by you. I can't have you around, not because you'll screw things up, but because…" he pauses, vulnerability reflecting in his ocean blue eyes.

"Because…" she prompts, her brown eyes wide with curiosity. Elena watches as a silent war rages behind his eyes. She knows that he is trying to decipher the right choice of words – the words that'll sting the least, but have the most impact.

She lets out a gasp of surprise when he is suddenly in front of her. Hs fingers gently thread themselves through her hair until his palms are cradling her face gently, their eyes dancing once again. He takes a deep breath as he leans forward, his forehead resting against hers. She's tempted to close her eyes and inhale his musky scent, but she's afraid that if she closes her eyes for even a second – he'll disappear.

So Elena's gaze locks with his as he looks at her, his blue eyes earnest as he silently pleads with her. "Because," he says tentatively. "You're my weakness," Damon admits. She swallows back the tears that are now on the brink of spilling over and she fights them back. "But I need to be strong, Elena. I need to be strong enough to fight a losing battle, okay? So I need you to stay here, out of harms way."

"Promise me you'll come back to me," she says quietly – her eyes wide with desperation. He nods, silently accepting her promise. Suddenly, her hands are on either side of his neck, holding his forehead against hers. They stay like that for a few minutes, standing toe to toe, emotionally naked as they try and offer each other the slightest bit of comfort.

Suddenly, the clock behind Elena chimes 11:00pm, signaling Damon's departure. Much to her chagrin, a small whimper falls from her lips as he pulls away, leaving Elena immediately reeling from the loss of contact. "You promise me that you won't do anything stupid," he warns her.

She fights the urge to roll her eyes and she nods, silver liquid that she recognizes as tears now clinging to her long eyelashes as she watches him throw her one last look of goodbye before leaving. "Besafe," she whispers to the empty room before collapsing to the wooden floor, allowing her feelings of anxiety and despair wash over her.

Her legs weren't carrying her fast enough. Her lungs were threatening to explode inside her chest while her heart was threatening to break free of her rib cage. Her adrenaline was coursing through her veins faster than her heart pumped blood through her entire body.

She ignored the guests as she ran through the crowd, anxious to get to the house before it was too late. She can just imagine getting there too late – seeing his body, torn up, bloodied – his malicious laughter emanating throughout the empty room the showdown would occur in.

She knew this was a bad idea, but she didn't anticipate the reality of losing her life. "Damon!" she yells, bursting through the front door of the Lockwood mansion, completely ignoring the growls of infuriated hybrids she just ran past.

It all happened so fast – one minute, he was a millimeter away from ending Klaus' life and the next, Stefan had tackled his older brother to the ground.

Klaus took the opportunity to take the stake that was in Damon's hands as he drove it through his father's heart. Everyone watched with shocked eyes as the original father burst into flames. Her breath was shaky and ragged as her eyes swam with hot tears. She acted instinctively, rushing forward to Stefan and Damon.

Suddenly, both boys were on their feet, their crouches dangerous and instinctive as they began to dance around her shaking frame, like a predator stalking its prey. "You've really screwed up this time, Katherine…" Damon snarled, his lips pulling back to reveal his fangs.

Elena's eyes widened out of fear, the tears now falling down her face as she looked between the brothers she'd die for, when the harsh realization hit her. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice was caught in her throat. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move. She was paralyzed.

"Well this is interesting; I've never seen this before…" Klaus' voice echoed from behind her shaking frame as she stood there, unable to move any bone in her body. She could feel his hand on her shoulder and she wanted to crawl out of her skin. "I never thought I'd see the day where the doppelganger would save the big bad wolf. I'm assuming Katerina got to you?" he questioned, his voice low as his lips were next to her ear.

As if every puzzle piece fell into place, Damon's eyes widened with realization as he looked between Klaus and Elena, his tight grip on her skin as she whimpered softly. He doesn't understand how he didn't see it before – he was so blinded by anger that he failed to recognize the warmth of her chocolate brown eyes to the inevitable cold of her vampire double's.

"Elena?" he barely choked out. He didn't know whether to be angry with her or thankful that she's even alive. He was torn between ripping Klaus' head off for laying a finger on her or ripping her head off for saving Klaus' life.

"Thank you, Katerina. For delivering my message – you are now free to go," Klaus deadpanned. Damon's eyes flickered to the figure that loomed in the shadows as she blinked back the compulsion. His thoughts and anger were interrupted by Klaus' hand as he stroked the long brown hair that belonged to Elena. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, Elena…" he cooed in her ear, a smirk on his lips.

"What's going on?" Stefan questioned tentatively, his hands extended as he cautiously put himself between his raging brother and the original vampire who had the girl he loved in his hands.

"Hybrids," Klaus began in a sing song voice. "Are very loyal creatures, did you know?" she watched as Damon's ocean blue eyes narrowed in confusion, although the anger never faded from his features. "And if you give them an order – to kill someone if they try to harm you, they will rip your body into shreds without thinking twice about it."

"What the hell does that have to do with –" Damon began angrily, before his gaze locked with hers and suddenly it all made sense. He tilted his head to the side, the expression in his eyes and on his face contorting from anger to sadness and regret, his heart beginning to ache inside of his chest. "Elena, you didn't…" he said quietly, his voice barely a whisper.

"If there was any question about her loyalty to the Salvatore's before, it should all be cleared up now…" Klaus sang before thrusting Elena's weak frame into the hard body of Damon. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her as he stepped protectively in front of him, his chest heaving as the anger boiled beneath his skin.

"I should let my hybrids know I wont' be needing their hit man services," he deadpanned. "Oh, and one more thing? The next time either of you try to kill me; I won't be so quick to hand out second chances or human lifelines. I'll always be one step ahead of all of you – you might want to remember that."

Silence enveloped them as they drove home. There was tension that tainted the air they breathed as they sped down the familiar roads back to the Boarding House, the night breeze blowing on her face, as she stared up at the moon as it hung in the night sky.

If it wasn't for the fact that he slammed the car door, she probably wouldn't have even noticed that they were in the safety of the driveway. She took a deep breath and unbuckled hers seatbelt, reluctantly freeing herself from the safe confinements of the car.

Her movements were mechanical as she walked up the familiar walk way of the boarding house, her eyelids drooping with exhaustion and her lips tainted with unspoken apologies. She could feel the heat of the house envelope her once she shut the front door behind her. She let out a shaky breath as she folded her arms across her chest, gingerly stepping into the living room.

She watched as he angrily poured himself a tumbler of whiskey, downing it without even wincing. Apparently he needed a stronger buzz as he threw the glass into the fireplace, his hands gripping the liquor bottle tightly.

Her heart was racing inside her chest as they stood in uncomfortable silence. Naturally, she was the one to break through the barrier of sound as she took a tentative step forward, her voice low and gentle as she nervously ran her fingers through her hair. "We'll survive this," she whispers tentatively.

She quickly regrets her words as suddenly the liquor bottle is thrown into the fire place and he has blurred both of them across the room. Her back is against the wall, her breathing labored as he looks at her, his blue eyes blazing with anger. He has her trapped, his palms on both sides of her head while her body is imprisoned between his own and the wall.

He wonders why she isn't afraid of him – she should be. He's angry. No, he's furious at her. He hates her so much right now but she isn't showing him the slightest bit of fear. He doesn't understand this creature – this girl, as she looks at him with her big doe eyes, silently pleading with him to be the better man. It all drives him crazy.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you that lying is a sin?" he questioned, his voice low and bitter. She swallows back the tears that she's been fighting since she left the house in the first place.

"We'll survive this," she repeats. "We always survive."

He notices how she keeps saying we: we'll survive this, we always survive.

"This could've all been over tonight, Elena. I had him right where I wanted him and everything would've been fine!" he nearly shouts. His hot, angry breath is on her face but she stands there, suffering in silence as he takes out his anger on her.

"You would have been dead," she says evenly.

"It would've been over, Elena. Klaus would've been dead! I had him! I had Klaus!" Damon shouts angrily, relinquishing his palms from the wall as he stands a foot away from her, shouting at the top of his lungs in her face. He's just so furious with her.

"You would have been dead," Elena repeats.

"I've been dead before, I got over it!" he says sarcastically. She tilts her head, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she glares at him angrily. "What?" he spits out, curious as to why she would be mad at him at a time like this. She doesn't get to be mad – he didn't do anything wrong.

"You don't get it do you?" she questions, her voice growing stronger as the anger builds up inside of her.

"Get what, Elena? That for the first time, this was in my control and it could've been over but, what? You just love being the damsel in distress?" he questions. He immediately regrets his words once he realizes the impact. She staggers backwards, obviously hurt by his words but she doesn't back down.

She never backs down.

It's the thing he both loves and hates about her in equal measure.

Elena takes a step forward, her hands now on his chest as she shoves at him furiously. The tears she was holding back are now falling down her face as she keeps pushing at him. She hits him as hard as she can because she's just so angry. She's tired, and she's angry, and she hates him, and she almost lost him, and she's just tired.

"If you had of killed Klaus, his hybrids would have ripped you to shreds," she emphasizes angrily as she keeps hitting his chest with her balled up fists. "You can be mad at me all you want, but if having Klaus alive means that you're here too? Then I hope he lives forever. And you know what?" she spits out angrily. "Don't expect me to apologize, because I'm not sorry. I'd make the same choice again if I had to."

"Why?" Damon chokes out. He doesn't know why he asks, but it was on the tip of his tongue and it fell from his mouth before he could stop it. He's almost afraid of her answer, unsure of whether or not he can stay angry at her. She's already worn him down too much, she always does.

"Because you're my weakness," she whispered, the softest of smiles on her lips. Damon stands in amazement as Elena's hands fall to her sides, exhaustion replacing her anger. He watches as she sucks in a deep breath, blinking back the rest of her tears behind the eyes that have seen so much pain.

"Because you almost died in my arms," she continues. "Because as much as I hate Klaus, I care about you more. And because as much as I hate you sometimes," Elena shrugs her shoulders, exhaustion on her face. "I can't lose you," she whispers.

Damon stands there and remains silent, evidently stunned by her revelation. He genuinely thinks that this girl will be the death of him. He shakes his head and looks at her, his eyes on the brink of incredulous and amazed. "You promised you wouldn't do anything stupid," Damon reminds her. She fights the urge to laugh as she just nervously tucks a piece of hair behind her ear before meeting his gaze, their eyes locking into place as they stared at each other, completely mesmerized.

"You promised you'd come back to me," she challenges. They remain silent after that until she can't take it anymore and throws herself into his embrace. Her face is buried in his t-shirt clad chest, her arms wound around his waist as she's just so thankful that she got there in time. Her salty tears are ruining his shirt but he doesn't care. He just instinctively wraps his arms around her shoulders and kisses her forehead.

So consumed by her sobs of relief, she almost doesn't hear what he says next.

"I'll always come back to you."

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