Title: Blood Relatives 1/12
Author: EdieZee
Rating: PG-13, possibly R later
Based on: TV series
Relationships: Damon/Elena
Disclaimers: I do not own anything. Sadly...
Summary: What if Stefan wasn't the only "family" that Damon had?

Note 1: Even though I was quite happy to see them get together at the end of the last episode, I was actually hoping that he would make her work for it a little more. So in my story, I will make that happen.

Note 2: I will completely ignore the implication that Elena is sired because that's a bunch of BS that cheapens the relationship they've been building since day one. On the other hand, it did finally inspire me to start writing this story, so maybe it's not all bad…

Note 3: This story was inspired by two different conversations. The first one was in season one where Stefan asks Damon where he will go when he leaves, and he says "London, maybe; see some friends." Stefan says he doesn't have any friends, and Damon sarcastically responds, "You're right, Stefan, I only have you." The other conversation was when Alaric was dying and he told Elena that taking care of her and Jeremy "has been the closest I've ever come to the life I've always wanted."

Damon opened the door, and a rush of almost-fear flowed through him when he saw Elena standing there. He was painfully aware of Stefan behind him, and the awkward tension in the room multiplied exponentially.

The meaningful glances that he had shared with Elena for the entire duration of the Miss Mystic Falls pageant had been…exhilarating, to say the least. But they had also filled him with a twinge of guilt that he didn't want to admit to feeling. Hearing her say that she and Stefan had broken up because of him was something he had hoped for but never expected to hear. Now that it was actually said – that it was actually real – he didn't know how to react. He may have hated Stefan for…well, since he died, but now he couldn't help but hate the fact that a woman was once again going to come between them.

It hurt to see Stefan hurt.

As if through a fog, Damon vaguely heard Stefan say something about crashing somewhere else for the night. He closed the door behind him and went through the motions of getting Elena a drink. He didn't really come fully back to his senses until she was in his arms and they were dancing in front of the fire. His body tingled wherever it came into contact with hers, and he knew it was only a matter of time until they were kissing. His stomach twisted in anticipation of that moment, and he quickly moistened his lips with his tongue.

And at that moment, his mind flashed back to the sight of Elena and Stefan arguing at the pageant. Seeing the anger and tension between them should have made him happy, since it only served to reinforce the idea that they were no longer together. But he knew better than anyone that you couldn't be that angry with someone unless you loved them.

Elena loved Stefan.

Sure, she may have finally admitted to having feelings for him too, but a part of Damon was still waiting for her to change her mind again, to say that it would "always be Stefan." It was likely only a matter of time until that happened, and Damon didn't know if he would be able to handle hearing that again.

And he certainly wouldn't be able to handle it if it came after … whatever this dance might lead to.

Elena was looking at him with hungry, expectant eyes. Damon stepped back from her, dragging his hands away from her body. It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. Her eyes were now confused, questioning, a little hurt.

Damon cleared his throat and avoided her eyes. Swallowing heavily, he somehow found the spark of honor that Stefan was so absolutely sure Damon didn't possess. He couldn't believe the words that were about to come out of his mouth, but he knew that he had to say them: for Elena, so she didn't have to feel guilty about eventually breaking his heart when she went back to Stefan; for Stefan, so he didn't have to watch Damon with the woman he loved; and of course, for himself, so that he didn't have to go through the heartache of once again being the second choice.

"I'm sorry, Elena, I can't do this."

"I…I don't understand."

"Believe me when I say, I don't understand it either. I never knew I had it in me to take the high road," Damon let out a soft chuckle, disgusted with himself that, after an eternity of giving in to his every impulse, this was the one that he was able to resist. "But I can't do this."

Elena stepped back, shaking her head as she tried to come to terms with what he was saying. "But…but…I thought you loved me."

Damon grimaced. "I do. I always will."

Elena stared at him in shock, and Damon felt like he was being scrutinized under a microscope. With the help of many years of practice, he schooled his expression to not give anything away.

"Liar!"

Damon's head moved backward sharply as if he had been slapped. If this was the response he got for trying to be honorable, that proved that his usual selfish behavior was worth it.

"I'm not lying…"

"You've never loved me. You've just been playing games with me. With Stefan."

Damon scoffed, before walking over to get himself a drink. His heart shattered at her words, and a part of him wanted to rush over to her and show her just how wrong she was. But he knew his heart would hurt a lot more if he gave in now, only to be tossed aside again later. Maybe it was even better this way; if she hated him, she would no longer tempt him into taking what she was offering.

"Believe what you want," he said softly, taking his glass with him as he left the room.

Damon avoided Stefan and Elena for the next couple of days, even though Stefan tried on more than one occasion to find out what had happened. Damon just counted his blessings that Elena hadn't gone running back to Stefan immediately. He was sure that it would happen sooner or later, but as far as he was concerned, the later the better. He wanted time to deal with the fact that he had thrown away his chance at being with her before having to deal with seeing them together again.

Drowning his sorrows with alcohol at the Grill, Damon once again tossed around the idea of leaving town. For good, this time. It would be the perfect time: Elena was a vampire now and no longer needed constant protection; he and Stefan may not be the Brady Bunch, but their shaky brotherly relationship hadn't been completely destroyed yet; Alaric was gone…

And yet…he still couldn't bring himself to leave. As messed up as it was, this was the closest he had come to having a real family in a long time.

Not since…

He quickly took another drink in an effort to push out those thoughts. Now was not the time to think about the last time he had felt loved and needed and wanted.

Damon was aware of Elena the second she walked into the Grill, but fortunately she had been avoiding him just as much as he had been avoiding her. He knew that she knew he was there, but she sat at a table with Bonnie and studiously ignored him. He could use his vampire hearing to listen to their conversation, but he didn't know if it was a conversation he wanted to hear.

He played with the glass in his hand, resisting the urge to throw it across the room.

Elena wondered if Bonnie could tell that she wasn't paying complete attention to their conversation. She went through the motions, responding when it was her turn to respond, but a part of her was focused completely on the leather-clad back hunched over the bar. A maelstrom of emotions swirled inside of her. She was so angry with him she could barely think about anything else. She wanted to believe that she was right and that he had just been playing games. She also wanted to believe that she was wrong and that he really did love her. She was just so confused about what had happened.

But most of all, she still felt the love that had caused all this to happen in the first place. She wanted to be near him so badly it hurt, but she also couldn't bear the thought of him rejecting her again.

And a part of her felt guilty when she realized that that was how she had made him feel for so long, every time she had rejected him.

Bonnie cleared her throat, and Elena jumped in her seat, a blush of embarrassment rushing to her cheeks. She had apparently become too engrossed with her thoughts of Damon to pretend that she was still listening to Bonnie.

"Why don't you go talk to him?"

Elena shook her head and took a sip of her soda. Bonnie gave her a pointed look, sighed, and resumed complaining about the work that Caroline was making her do for the upcoming decade dance. "You'd think that she would realize we have more important things to worry about than a stupid dance!" Bonnie grumbled.

Elena smiled slightly. "I would have agreed with you before I…you know. But now I think that maybe Caroline has the right idea about that kind of thing. We have to keep doing things like that, or really, what's the point?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I guess you're right. But if I have to have one more conversation about what kind of streamers to get, I cannot be held responsible for my actions."

Elena started to laugh, but it died on her lips when she noticed something unusual. Her attention was drawn to a beautiful young woman standing in the entryway of the Grill. The woman was staring toward the bar – more specifically at Damon – with an unreadable expression on her face. A spark of jealousy shot through Elena as she watched the woman start walking purposely toward Damon. Elena clenched her hands tightly as the woman stepped up next to him and touched his shoulder.

And her heart broke as she saw Damon turn toward the woman with an expression that was part shock, part joy. With her vampire hearing, she heard Damon say a name. Gretchen. The two of them embraced, but Elena didn't see what happened after that because she had rushed out of the room without a single word of explanation to Bonnie.