a/n: summer is almost upon us. Where I live, we only get a few good beautiful weeks of sun, which for a girl that spent a lot of time at the beach as a child is still a shock. A request came to me a few weeks ago and I didn't jump right on it, but now I think I should, especially after the doom and gloom finale we just went through. This may seem a little…awkward or out place but I needed some nice and sweet Delena to keep me from freaking out more than I already am. Hope that, at least for a little while, this helps you guys forget about all the drama.
This is clearly set before the ending of Season Three. Let's put it somewhere after 3x19 (the hotel kiss) and before 3x20 (where Ric is turned) for lack of a better place.
Dedicated to Angelfan984 (for needing a little sunshine in her life too- I know I said I changed it a bit, but you ended up being right about the whole 'beach house' thing. Good choice my dear.)
TRUST
Damon took an unneeded deep breath and pushed open Elena's bedroom door. He could hear the steady beats of her heart and took relief in the fact that she was asleep. Slowly and carefully he moved around her dark room, taking care not to bump her dresser or let the right closet door squeak as he pulled her suitcase from its place in the back. She could not wake up, not yet. He moved quickly, packing basically anything he could get his hands on, and probably more than she needed. The trip wasn't open-ended, no they could never leave Mystic Falls for long with the condition it was in, but they did need to get out of town for a few beats. Even he needed a freaking break. When her bag was packed and he'd tossed her hairbrush in as an afterthought, he rushed everything down to the Camaro and checked the time. It was a little past midnight. If they left now, and she didn't argue he could get them there by sunrise. With a glance at his car he debated whether running them both there would be faster and decided against it.
Road trips were for bonding, and if there was anything they needed after the night at the hotel, it was that. She'd been distant since the second they got home, and he was quite tired of it. She might like playing tug of war with his heart, with Stefan's but he couldn't deal with this charade much longer. He knew that she didn't want to be like Katherine, but she was doing an awfully good job at being something she hated. One day it was him, the next it was Stefan and then back and forth. If she wouldn't make the choice, he would make it for her. Step one was getting her out of town, that he'd proven time and time again. Step two, was getting time alone. Also a tried and true test. If he could just combine the two and have no drama follow or find them, he might actually have a shot at making this work. In a second he was back upstairs, gently folding the blanket back from her and slipping his arm beneath her leg, the other under her shoulders.
She grumbled in her sleep, curling against his chest. "Damon?"
"Shhh." He whispered, soothing her and praying that she wouldn't wake up. "Everything's alright. Go back to sleep."
"Where are you taking me?" she gave a big yawn but didn't open her eyes.
"Upstairs, you fell asleep on the couch." The lie was quick, almost to easy as if he was used to lying to her.
"Okay." She mumbled sleepily and secured her hand in a tight fist on the front of his leather jacket. He'd carried her like this before, saved her life almost too many times to count, stood over her and prayed that she would survive another day so she could admit she was in love with him. It was time that Damon Salvatore stopped standing around and did something about it.
He carried her down the stairs slowly, careful not to move her around too much. When he set her in the lowered passenger seat she gave a little sigh and shivered. He pulled his jacket off and laid it over her. Her upper body was covered but her long, pale legs still stuck out from the tiny pink, plaid shorts she'd worn to bed. He crouched down next to the side of the car and brushed her hair back from her face. "Sleep Elena." He murmured.
"Stay, please." She whispered, settling into the makeshift bed.
He thanked his lucky stars the last few weeks had tired her out so much that she needed her rest. The world could have been falling down around them and she wouldn't have woken up. "I'm not going anywhere." He promised and gently closed the door.
But we are.
When Elena finally woke up, she did so slowly. The smell of Damon was all around her and she hugged his jacket tighter. He smelled like spice and danger. Really he smelled like the cologne Caroline had gotten him for Christmas, but to her that was Damon. Danger and spice; the dark unknown and burning heat. As more of her senses opened up to her surroundings she heard the low roar of the engine, and the smooth hum of Damon's throat as he did his best to resist singing along with the radio. She felt the now familiar curve of the seat and the warmth of the morning sun on her face. Then suddenly the car was stopping and the engine cut out. She stayed perfectly still, not moving, not breathing…hoping that he wouldn't realize she was awake. Of course, he did.
"Good morning Elena."
Very slowly, she sat up and looked around. Her eyes took in the site of beautiful crystal blue water, the tempting soft sand of a beach she remembered from her childhood and a very deserted campground. The middle of the week and the early season had left her and Jeremy's favorite camping spot empty. She hadn't come back here since she was fifteen, when Matt and Caroline had convinced her that staying with friends for the summer was cooler than hanging out with her parents. Knowing now, she wished she'd spent every minute with them she wasted. "Where are we?"
"You know where we are." Damon smiled and lifted his coat from her, folding it, then tossing it in the back seat. She glanced back, seeing her suitcase and Damon's black overnight bag. "Jeremy told me how much you loved the beach."
"Oh he did huh?" Elena watched Damon get out of the car, thinking it was rather impossible for Jeremy to have told Damon anything when he'd swore never to speak to the vampire again after practically taking his big sister against the cement wall of a dirty, rent by the hour, motel.
Damon shut the door behind him, and then leaned back in through the open window, a dangerous smirk on his lips. "Alright, I read about it in your diary."
Elena's eyes lowered to slits and she scrambled out of the car, her face already flushing with anger and embarrassment. "You read my diary?"
Damon stepped back, his hands up in front of him as a sign of surrender. He shook his head, unable to hold back the smile but managing to repress the laughter. "No, no I just wanted to see if that would get you out of the car."
Elena let out a sound between a scream and growl and marched over to him, slapping him for good measure. "You kidnapped me!"
Damon gawked, almost convincing her with his 'innocent' face. "Hardly. You were practically awake the whole time."
"Liar." Elena huffed and turned away, knowing it was pointless to ask him to take her home. It would be a waste of time and a waste of breath. Whatever Damon was up to, he wasn't going to give up until he got what he wanted.
The thought made her shiver, but she said nothing else. It was until she heard the trunk slam that she turned around. In his hand, Damon held the keys she knew would open the door to the beach house just a few feet from where they were parked. A short wooden dock led from the sand to the door and she wondered if he'd bought it just for this trip or if it belonged to one of the many Salvatore's after him.. "What?"
"You think I'm gonna sleep in there?"
"Would you rather stay in the car again?"
Her eyes darted back to the passenger seat and a twinge of pain in her side shouted its disapproval. "No, I guess not."
"One night with me isn't going to kill you Elena." He shook his head, almost as if he was disappointed in her and marched out to the line where the parking lot turned to sand. He went to the edge of the dock and looked back at her. "Aren't you going to come with me?"
Elena crossed her arms over her chest and moved over to the car, leaning against it. "No."
The smirk left her face as all the breath left her body. She was suddenly being pushed back against the car, Damon's cool hands holding her shoulders tight. The hot metal of the Camaro's body stung her bare skin, but she didn't dare protest. Damon's eyes were on fire, burning her far worse than the light blue metal. She almost smiled, realizing his eyes and the car were the same color at the moment, but she didn't. He looked to furious at her, and maybe even a little hurt. "I am doing this for you Elena. Don't you see that?"
She looked around for good measure. "You kidnapped me Damon. You lied to me."
"I thought you trusted me." His tone had lost an edge of its anger and now she could really hear the hurt behind it.
"I do." She reached up her hand to press her palm against his face. The sun was beating down on both of them now, warming their skin.
She let their eyes connect, feeling the moment stretch and fold around them like a perfect cocoon. She'd felt this feeling before, knew what it meant. If she wanted to kiss Damon, she could. There was no one around to stop her, no one to get in the way…and her eyes drifted to his lips, recalling what it felt like to be kissed by him, to have those lips attack her neck. Damon seemed to sense what she was thinking and his fingers tightened on her instinctively, anyway to keep her in place since her first choice was to always run from him. "Elena." He breathed her name, hoping it would call her attention back up to his face, but it only broke the spell and she shook her head, letting her hand drop.
"I trust you Damon, I just wish that you didn't always make it so hard for me to."
The sun was still beating down on them, but Damon felt a invisible cool wind. "Give me this one day to prove to you there is something more to this thing between us. Let me prove to you that we could still be..us..even without all the vampires and werewolves."
"It will never be without vampires." She said softly, looking up at him.
He stiffened and his eyes turned a little hard, but he didn't pull away. She'd said that to make him angry, but it only made him more stubborn to have his way. "I can't change what I am Elena, and if I remember correctly, you said you like me just the way I am."
He had her there, and even though it had been a deathbed admission, it had still be a truthful one. She'd wondered what 1864 Damon would have been like, but she wouldn't risk losing her Damon to find out. He had won, and they both knew it, so she decided to change the subject, knowing that the real fight wasn't over yet. "I'm going to change, and then I'm going to swim." She grabbed their bags and dropped his at his feet as she walked past him, hoping that he was glaring at her. She wasn't going to make this easy on him. When they were in the beach house and he'd showed her the only 'convenient' bedroom, he went outside to the grill. Everything was made of a light oak wood and she found herself quite liking the look of things, not that she would admit it to him out loud. The front of the house was the bedroom and a large glass window showed her the entire porch, most of the ocean and even a bit of the could smell the breakfast he was making her and cursed the growling in her stomach.
Elena wanted to ignore him, but even as she dug through her suitcase of belongings, she couldn't help glancing up through the window. About halfway through cooking Damon had removed his shirt and hung it over the porch. Elena stood slowly, as she tried to get a better view. Hell, she even licked her lips he looked so good, but then Damon stopped and looked back at her, flashing a grin when he caught her staring. She looked away quickly, diving her upper body back out of sight as she looked for something to change into. She wasn't going to enjoy this little adventure, but she certainly didn't want to wear her pajamas for the remainder of it.
With relief she found the bottoms to her bikini beneath a winter sweater. Damon really hadn't been paying attention at all when he'd thrown half the contents of her room in willy-nilly last night. Her top was wrapped around a set of jeans and she wrestled with the strings for a good five minutes before it was freed. Just as she held up the two pieces of clothing in victory she looked back to see that Damon had finished their breakfast. "Impressed?" he asked, sounding smug as he carried two plates back into the room. The smells tempted and teased her and she found herself stepping forward.
"Perhaps." She shrugged, feigning nonchalance and grabbed the corner of flowery fabric she knew was a sundress. It came out of the tangle of clothes with minimal fight, but she still glowered at him. "You could have at least looked at what you were packing me."
Damon walked right past her and set a plate down on the nightstand she'd already set her brush on. "I was in a bit of a hurry."
"Yeah, to make sure you got me in the car before I woke up. I'm surprised you didn't try to compel me into being more cooperative."
Their standoff hadn't been violent, but it was intense and finally he gave in, dropping his gaze and stepping back. Damon said nothing, only turned away from her and set his plate down on the dresser, his own food untouched. She stayed still for a moment longer, looking after him as he walked down the dock to the shore. Elena let out the breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and then she went to the bathroom. When she was safely inside, she leaned against the sink; her palm pressed to her chest as if that would settle her erratic heart. What was it about Damon that made her entire body just explode? Her traitorous mind wondered what it would feel like for him to really make her body explode, but she shook the thought away.
As she tugged her pajamas off and folded them, she heard the familiar sound of a splash. Quickly, she pulled on her suit and tied the strings of her top up around her neck. She waited a beat, deciding whether or not to throw on the dress, even though she would have to eventually take it off before going in the water. Damon had never seen her like this, but he had seen Katherine far more naked. Was it the same though? Does he still see her when he looks at me? Elena pushed back the thought and walked out of the small house, the dress clutched firmly in her hand. She looked around for Damon, hanging her dress on the porch like he'd done with his shirt. She called his name loudly, walking slowly toward the shore, but there was no answer other than two towels he must have laid out for them.
The car was still there so he hadn't abandoned her. With a sigh she stepped the first inch into the water, letting the tiny waves lap at her toes. As children, she had always done this while Jeremy had gone catapulting into the ocean like a bat out of hell. The sun was almost fully in the sky now, the water fairly warm from the rays and she stepped in further. Little by little she waded in until she was up to her hips, then she looked around to see if anyone was watching and dove in fully. She nearly sighed at the familiar, comforting feeling of being surrounded by water. She'd know people that were terrified of water and while she could sympathize with it, she could never understand it. To her, water was an escape, it was protection, it was freedom. Her mother used to say that she was a mermaid in a past life.
In the ocean she felt weightless, careless, like nothing could touch her...
A sense of calm had just settled upon her as she floated just beneath the surface, looking up into the sky when two strong arms wrapped around her and drug her in against the body they belonged to. She knew it was Damon, knew that it couldn't be anyone else but she shrieked and fought him off anyway. Instincts and all her training had taught her no less. "It's okay." He murmured in her ear, holding her tight. "It's just me."
"I know." She glared, turning herself around in his arms to push at his chest. "That's why I was hitting so hard."
He laughed and linked his arms around her waist, settling his forehead against hers. She couldn't feel the bottom of the seabed with her toes anymore, but Damon must have because they were stationary in the water. "Close your eyes."
"What?" she stiffened and tried to pull away but his grip was vice-like.
"You said you trusted me. Close your eyes."
Elena looked at him for a moment before returning them back to the prior position. She could smell the salt in the air, the lingering scent of his shampoo even as the ends of his hair dripped down his neck. She followed one drop down, over his chest until it met back with the water. She wouldn't look any lower, she couldn't look any lower. Taking a deep breath of it all, she closed her eyes and waited, and waited…and kept waiting. Part of her had been expecting him to dunk her in the water, to kiss her…something, but he just kept holding her and slowly letting them float in a circle. When she peeked one eye open she found that both of his were closed and a wonderful look of calm was painted on his usually hard features. If she thought he was beautiful before, this took her breath away. Damon, calm and relaxed in the sunlight was one of the most incredible things she'd ever seen.
"Damon?" she whispered, letting herself drift closer to him. "What are we doing?"
"Feel that?" he asked, and I stilled. I listened, I waited…and then I felt it. I felt the warm calm settle over me, even more comforting then what I'd felt in the water.
"Mhmm." I nodded, noticing my arms had gone around his neck tighter than before, that my fingertips were playing with the ends of his damn hair.
"That is what it would feel like for us to be together. Complete control over ourselves, freedom to be whatever we want, whenever we want, the weightlessness of not having any worries, to solitude of protection. No one can touch us here, no harm can come to us…and it's not just because we are in the middle of nowhere on an empty beach." He opened his eyes then, looking at her- no, looking into her. "It's because we are together. Things have been so crazy since we met, beyond crazy. There hasn't really been a minute for us to just stop and think about what we really need. I've taken the time Elena, and I know I need you."
She could tell her voice was going to waver before she even opened her mouth. "Damon, I-"
"No." he shook his head and pressed a light kiss to her lips. "No more denial. Either you feel it or you don't Elena. Only the truth, please."
Elena closed her eyes again, knowing that he was watching her, knowing that he was waiting for her. She gave herself a second, felt the comfort of his presence again and let it surround her heart. Slowly, brick by brick the feeling broke down the wall she'd built to protect herself. She'd loved her parents, and they had died. She'd loved Aunt Jenna, and she'd been murdered. She'd loved Stefan, and he had abandoned her. Whether it was subconscious or not, she'd taught herself to believe that if she loved someone openly, they would either be hurt or taken away from her. This was Damon though, Damon who had stayed with her through everything, Damon that had sworn he'd never leave her. Was it really fair to either of them to keep him at arm's length based on fear and what if's?
This time when Elena looked at him, he knew he had finally gotten the answer he needed from her. She opened her mouth, but he only shook his head and kissed her. Their grips tightened on the other as she wrapped her legs around him. Damon swallowed the gasp she let out when she realize he was naked beneath the water. It wasn't a shock, but it was a pleasant surprise and her quickly growing lust had her pressing the lower halves of their bodies together in hopes that she would feel…more. Damon chuckled and deepened the kiss, his fingers tickling up her spine until he found the tie of her bikini top. With a quick tug it was loose and he was moving down a few inches to release the other set of strings. Elena clung tighter to him, pressing her chest against his, suddenly shy in the bright morning light.
"Here?" she half demanded, half pleaded.
He looked around, smiling. "There is no one here, besides if there was I would hear them." He tapped his ear as if to remind her of his super human abilities and she relaxed a little.
"I guess I'm just…scared."
"There is nothing to be scared about." He whispered soothingly, leaning forward to kiss the side of her neck. "I've never seen anything as beautiful as you."
"That's not true." She said pointedly, feeling his fingers creeping up the front of her stomach, doing their best to reach her top so he could pull it away.
He pulled back, just enough to see her but close enough that their faces were still touching. "I love you Elena, and not just because you look like her. You are strong and beautiful and amazing. You make me see myself the way I've never dared to look. You make me want to be the better man, you make me need to be the better man."
No one had ever said anything that sweet to her before and she felt her upper body relaxing just enough for him to lean back and admire the new flesh he'd worked so hard to get bare. She watched him as he took in the first sights of her, seeing the pleased wonder in his eyes. Then he'd locked the sparkling blue behind his lids and bent to lick circles around her nipples. The faint morning air blew over them, a bit cooler in the water and set her wet skin to goosebumbs. She shivered in his arms and he held her tighter, making sure that she was secure before he walked them out of the water. Normally when she left the ocean she felt a sense of loss, a sense of weight but the comforting feeling Damon had been talking about, had been trying to get her to fully tap into stayed with her. He laid her down on one of the towels he'd set out and gently laid himself over, careful to keep most of his weight.
Elena wanted to feel him though, all of him. It made it more real this way, and she tightened her hold on him. In response, Damon rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. She could feel the sand sticking to her wet skin and she couldn't help giggling. "I never thought as a child that I would be back here one day having sex on the beach."
He grinned and pulled her in for a kiss. "I never quite liked those drinks; this however is living up to a few expectations."
Elena couldn't believe how free, how alive she felt and she held onto that feeling as Damon removed the final piece of clothing that was keeping them apart. Two quick tugs on the strings at her side and the bottoms were gone a moment later. "Did you ever imagine us like this?" she asked quietly, leaning down to kiss down the middle of his chest.
His fingers tangled in her hair, guiding her back up to his lips. He tasted salty from the water, but when they kissed he was just her Damon. "I've imagined us a thousand different ways." He admitted, smoothing both of his hands down her arms, then securing them around her hips. "Are you ready?"
She nodded, letting him lift her and slowly lower her down over him. Their bodies hummed as they joined, her walls constricting around him as they both adjusted to the sensation of what it felt like to finally be together, to be one. She fisted her hands in the sand on either side of his head, looking for some kind of grip, but found none. Damon caught her mouth with his and she collapsed over him, her first moan disappearing into the kiss as he started to move with her. Elena couldn't breathe, she couldn't think, and at first she could barely move. Then the lust kicked in and her desperation for more took over. She sat up, not caring that he was looking at her. She just closed her eyes and moved with him, doing her best to keep up with his nearing inhuman pace. Damon could tell that she was falling behind so he slowed a bit, desperate for them the reach the final line together.
When her low moans began to turn to shallow screams, he gripped her hips harder and flipped them over. The warm sun had dried most of her back, but he knew that they were going to be cleaning sand from their bodies for weeks. With a fast pull, he dragged the towel with them, making her a bit more comfortable as she latched her hands around his biceps. She was glad for something to hold on to and used his strength to propel her movements back up to match his speed. He watched her head tilt back, her near porcelain skin glow in the sun and then he was drinking her and she was screaming for him not to stop. All at once he was stuck in a slow motion world where every single little sensation was erupting in his body. He felt each muscle contract inside him, around him; each scrape of her nail as she dug into him. He heard each moan, each breath, each curse; the beat of her heart as it exploded, telling him she was cumming. He pulled out, almost entirely and then thrust back into her amazed at the possessive tightness she had for him.
It was all too surreal and when he finally followed her over the edge of pleasure, it was her cries of love that comforted him, not just the simple sacrifice of her body. They lay still like that for a while, half in the sand, half in the towel. Their eyes were locked together, their bodies locked together. The world still spun, they both knew it but this moment belonged to them and they were going to milk it for all it was worth. He listened to her heart again, judging by the steadily slowing rhythm that she was starting to relax again. Now that he'd shown her the feeling, he knew it would be impossible for her not to find it again. "Come with me?" he whispered, pulling her naked body up.
She wrapped the towel around her, standing slowly on shaky legs. "I guess I'm not quite recovered yet." She blushed and he tilted her chin up to kiss her.
"What to do you say we go have a shower and get some of this sand off. Then we can do whatever you want."
She grinned, tugging him closer to deepen the kiss. "Whatever I want?"
Before he could answer she had taken off running down the beach and up onto the dock. He gave her a suitable head start, knowing he would beat her to the door no matter what. When Elena reached the open doorway, she felt good. Like she'd finally beat him at something today, but then she was met with the hard muscled wall of his body and he was looking down at her with an evil smirk. "I thought you weren't recovered yet."
She shrugged and slipped under his arm, letting the towel drop and making a show of walking towards the bathroom. "Come find out if I am or not."
He let out a playful growl, rushing forward and picking her up off her feet. When Elena caught her breath again they were under the hot spray and his hands were all over her body. She let him turn her around so her back was to him. Having his hands on her, having him wash the sand from her skin was incredible. She leaned into his touch, gasping when his hands slid under her ass and between her legs. She jumped a little as his finger brushed against her still swollen clit and then dipped inside her. The tired her body had felt from round one quickly disappeared and her need went into overdrive. "Do you ever imagine us like this?" he asked, his voice low and almost dark in her ear.
She shivered even though she felt like she was on fire, turning her face so she could kiss him. He used his free hand to secure both her arms above her head, holding her in place against the glass wall of the shower. "I've imagined us a thousand different ways." She echoed, gliding her body against his now that they were both slick and sand free again.
"I guess we'll have to work through the list together then." He nipped at her ear, bringing the lobe between his teeth.
She murmured her agreement as he slid into her, their bodies more aware of the feeling of being joined, but no less shocked or pleased by it. He gripped her hips tightly, knowing she would keep her hands against the wall for balance. Her moans of pleasure echoed wonderfully against the tiled walls of the shower and this time when she came, she did it screaming his name. He carried her to the bed, covering their still naked bodies with the sheet. It was barely even afternoon yet, but they needed the rest. As soon as his arm slid around her, they were both asleep. Tomorrow when they got back home and the world started falling down again, she would about the scary things that plagued her nightmares almost every night, but she knew that having Damon beside her would mean the first deep sleep in a while. The feeling surrounded her once more as she drifted off, finally a word coming to her for it. Peace. Love.
Now she knew what it felt like to be loved by Damon Salvatore.
a/n:as I said up at the beginning, this was just to bring some brightness into how everyone is feeling with 3x22.I hope it made you smile at least once. I apologize for the length, didn't mean for it to go on that long. Now I have to go and enjoy the sunshine I've got while it lasts.