Elena's eyes opened, adjusting to the room- more specifically the bedroom- around her. Her sleepy gaze landed on the source of her desires. Damon's face, dimly lit by the frost-infused morning, held an expression of complete contentment. His lips were turned up ever so slightly in reaction to whatever fraction of dream or thought that was dancing behind his closed lids. She loved to watch him sleep. Just then, Damon's eyelids fluttered open to reveal his baby blues, now gazing back at Elena. "Morning already?" Damon said, taking in every inch of Elena in his view. Elena was on top of Damon in a flash, mimicking his famous smirk as best she could. "Why, are you still sleepy?" She teased as her fingertips slowly traced his bare arms. "Not at all," Damon responded, soaking up the burning desire Elena's touch left on his skin. He reached up, entangling his fingers in Elena's hair and pulling her to him with a force that let her know exactly what he wanted. Elena's mouth met Damon's, colliding with desperate force. Damon's experienced hands worked their way down the shirt Elena was wearing, unbuttoning it with a certain ease. Halfway down, Elena stopped him, taking matters into her own hands and ripping the shirt the rest of the way off. Between kisses, Damon scolded Elena light-heartedly. "That was my favorite shirt, you know." Elena paused and cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? Would you like me to take some time and fix it?"
Damon sat up, Elena still in his lap, and cupped her neck. His lips neared her ear. "It looks better on the floor," he whispered. He smiled against her neck, beginning to lick and kiss it- bite it almost too gently. Unable to contain herself any longer, Elena pushed Damon back down. Her hands roamed all over Damon, searching for the spots that really got his attention. Her fingers ran along the rim of his boxers. She pressed herself against him with a savage desperation. Damon flipped Elena over, smothering her with sultry kisses. Just as he was about to take things further, he felt Elena pause. Looking up, he was confused by the expression on her face. "Did I do something wrong?" Damon asked, puzzled. "Damon," she said, eyes widening, "What is today?" "Tuesday…" Damon said, returning to his previous intentions. Elena sat up, gently pushing Damon away, eyes brightening in realization. "No, Damon. The date. It's the 25th. December 25th. Damon, it's Christmas!"
Elena sped through the bedroom, looking for articles of clothing that weren't totally destroyed. She settled for a pair of plaid boxers and a loose, red V-neck shirt. Damon sighed, his pent up desires remaining unfulfilled. He cleared his throat. "We were kind of in the middle of something, Elena." Elena tugged Damon out of bed, giggling in excitement. "Come on Damon, it's our first Christmas together. I want to see you open your presents. I wanna open my presents!" "There's one present, right here in this room, waiting to be unwrapped. But apparently you've forgotten all about it," Damon murmured tugging slightly at his boxers. It was no use. Elena was already downstairs, ripping through the house in a fit of happiness. He couldn't help but be a little amused by her vibrant enthusiasm. Damon raced downstairs, caching up with Elena just before she reached the parlor. "Not so fast, tiger," Damon said, picking Elena up and sitting her on the couch. "There's a certain something I want you to open first."
"Sounds like you two are in a good mood this morning," a familiar voice called from the doorway. Stefan was leaning against the doorway, a slight smirk on his face. Damon was the first to react. "Merry Christmas, brother." Stefan nodded. "Merry Christmas, Damon." Elena smiled, trying not to let things turn awkward. Being with Damon around Stefan was still something of a struggle. "Merry Christmas, Stefan." Elena said, sounding a little too cheerful. Stefan nodded. Another voice sounded from the direction of the kitchen. "Stefan, I burned the waffles again!" Elena knew the owner of that voice. She knew it quite well. She tried to keep her jaw from dropping. "Don't worry about it," Stefan called, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "We can eat after the presents are opened." Blonde hair whipped through the hallway, coming to a halt next to Stefan. "Caroline-?" It came out as more of a question, Elena realized afterward. Caroline was leaning against Stefan, clad in one of his shirts and a pair of his boxers. How ironic.
Caroline zipped over to Elena, hugging her fiercely. "Merry Christmas!" Caroline paused, looking at Elena. Assessing the situation, she laughed and flashed her famous half smile. Her way of smoothing things over. Elena smiled back- a genuine smile. She could handle this. She truly was happy that Stefan was moving on, even if it was with Caroline. "Merry Christmas, Caroline." Damon cut in. "Well now that everyone's here, why don't we get started?" Elena's attention turned back to her previous source of excitement. She nodded her head vigorously in almost childish anticipation. "Elena, I want you to open something first. It's not under the tree. Actually, I had Caroline keep an eye on it last night." Elena looked at Damon, unable to hide her slight agitation over being kept in the dark about Caroline's little sleepover. But she knew Damon was just trying to keep things as tension and awkward-free as possible. This was new for all of them. Caroline squealed in delight. "Oh, you're going to love it! More than that, you're going to adore it! It's so cute and I just couldn't believe it when Damon brought it in Elena it's so-" Stefan came to stand behind Caroline, grasping her shoulders softly. "Slow down, Car'. You made it through a whole night without spilling. Let's not ruin the surprise now. " Caroline blushed slightly as Stefan's lips brushed her cheek. Damon nodded at Caroline, signaling to her to retrieve Elena's gift. "It's all you."
Caroline disappeared with vamp speed, returning with a sizeable red box topped with green ribbon. Elena noticed with bewilderment that there were holes in the top of the box. She looked to Damon for consent before ripping into the present. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. With a yawn, a tiny blonde fur ball looked up at her with chocolate eyes that matched her own. The little retriever had a red silk bow around its neck. Elena picked the puppy up, holding it close. "She's all yours," Damon said, smiling at Elena's reaction. He could never get enough of her infectious happiness. The fact that he was the one to put the smile on her face made things even better. Elena cuddled her new pet, face beaming. "Damon, I love it! What's its name?" Damon met Elena's gaze with a certain innocent and genuine level of contentment. "That's for you to decide."