I promised I'm going to write something longer with more chapters, but I had to write this oneshot before I'm moving on to that plan. I had a dream with Ian last night and it had such an effect on me that I can't think about anything else but that dream. And then, add that article with Julie Plec in the EW (or just this part: „The April 28 episode is called "The Last Day," because it takes place in the hours leading up to the full moon, which means it could be Elena's (Nina Dobrev) last day alive.") had given me the idea of writing this story. It's simple, but reviews are more than appreciated. (: The title is coming from the song of OneRepublic.

Damon was sitting on the porch of the Salvatore mansion. The sun painted everything in the thousand nuances of orange and red, and it felt like a dream. But not for Damon, and not for Mystic Falls.

Although not many people had known about the vampires and even less had known which day it was for the vampires, but Damon and the trusted circle around him knew that this day is doomed. Maybe they are, too.

Damon held a glass of scotch in his right hand, and was staring at the sky that reflected the colours of the sunset. Everything seemed beautifully clear and fresh, but Damon wasn't in the mood to appreciate the wonders of the nature at the moment. He felt too empty to admire or respect anything. But he was worried somewhere deep inside, and he wasn't really sure what was going to happen in the future.

He sipped a bit from his drink when he heard the steps from right behind him. The door of the porch slowly opened, and he didn't even have to turn around to recognize who it was. The smell, the ease of the steps, the silent breath from the person's mouth was too familiar. The chair next to Damon's was empty for one more second, than his new company sat down and a new sigh filled the air.

'Hey,' she said silently, and he could feel her glance on himself.

'Hey,' he answered, and sipped again from the bourbon. Damon knew where she was all day. She spent every free hour with Stefan, and he couldn't blame her. It was expected after all.

'It's really beautiful,' she said, almost whispering, and Damon nodded. He knew she was talking about the sunset. And yes, it was beautiful, but Damon'd have prefered the idea to tell her that she was way more beautiful.

'Indeed.'

'Is it okay?' she asked silently, and Damon finally looked at her with his eyebrows in the middle of his forehead.

'What?'

'To be afraid.'

Their eyes locked and Damon swallowed hard. She seemed so confident, so strong and unstoppable that he truly believed she wouldn't stop until everything is collapsed. She'd fight until she can. But then again, there was this side of her, the vulnerable side that Damon wanted to protect no matter what he has to do.

'It's not an advantage, but yes, it's okay. Even if you don't have to be afraid of anything,' he shrugged like it was this easy, but what he was supposed to say? Maybe that "yes, the chance is great that you're not gonna see a sunset again, so watch it carefully"? No, he had to make her feel like it's not a big deal, even if they both knew how big it was actually. He had to make her feel like they are capable of anything, like in Peter Pan. All you have to do is believe, and there comes the fairy dust.

'You sound sure,' she established, and she tore her glance from Damon just to watch the sky again for a little while. Maybe she was really worried that she was not going to see it again. To see the lights, to see the colours of the sky. She tried to burn everything into her memory, and Damon felt the tension inside of her.

'We couldn't reach anything tonight if I wasn't sure,' he said, constantly staring at her, even without her knowing. 'What are you thinking about?'

She slowly let out a light smile and Damon knew her thoughts were far away from there. Maybe she was far away, too.

'I'm thinking about my parents,' she answered. 'Not John or Isobel,' she quickly added, and Damon chuckled silently.

'What a surprise.'

'Are they proud of me?' she asked, and turned her head in the direction of Damon. He wanted to tell her something smart but he could only staring at her until she started to laugh, and looked down into her lap instead. 'Sorry, you're probably not the one to answer this.'

'I'm sure they are proud of you,' he told finally, and cleaned his throat. 'You're a strong woman. Maybe you tried to give up too early, but you have the power to fight your weaker side. You're stronger than you think.'

Touched by his words, she rose her head and slowly smiled at Damon again.

'I know you'd do anything to protect me,' she started silently, and brushed her hair from her face. 'That's why I have to be honest with you.'

Damon didn't really understand what was her point, but he didn't interrupt. Maybe he felt it's not going to be something he'd like to hear, but curiosity was greater than his common sense, so he stayed still and held her glance without a blink.

'I spent the day with Stefan and we were talking about everything. About the vampires, about us, about the sacrifice ritual, Klaus, Elijah, Bonnie... And you.'

She took a break to see the expression on his face. There was no emotion or sign of any at all, so she decided to continue and not stop until she told her what was important.

'You were right, Damon. No matter what you do, no matter what is my response to that, but there's something between the two of us. I don't want to deny it anymore, because there's a chance I won't have to if I die in the sac -'

'Stop,' Damon said suddenly, and closed his eyes for a second, then he looked up at her again. 'You're not going to die. If there wasn't a chance that this is going to happen, you wouldn't say things like that. You won't die, Elena. I'm not going to let that happen.'

He stood up but she did the same, and walked right in front of him. He tried not to look at her, but he couldn't play it for long. Her dark brown eyes were screaming for attention, and when they got that Damon felt like he lost in the middle of nowhere. His heart was beating fast, and her presence was supposed to calm him down. It didn't work well.

'What if something will happen that's not expected? What if I will die, Damon? Tell me, what will you do?' she asked and touched his arm, but Damon shook his head passionately and started to stare at her chest.

'No. You won't die.'

'Damon,' she continued silently, and she felt the tears that filled her eyes in a second. It won't take long for them to roll down on her face.

'You won't die!' he shouted angrily and desperately. It was the problem. That this whole thing was doomed, and he couldn't do anything. He can sacrifice himself gladly but it won't solve anything. It was too hard to take on Klaus. And the hope, only the hope made them try and not give up, nothing else. Nothing was certain, and it made him crazy.

'If I'm going to die tonight, I want you to know that I felt everything, Damon,' she catched his glance, although she didn't see too much because of her tears. 'Maybe I gave the most of my heart to Stefan, but with the remained little pieces... I loved you all along.'

'And what am I supposed to do with that?' he asked on a trembling voice, and tried to calm himself down but it was useless. He felt he was shaking, even if he didn't want to. He wanted to seem like he was strong enough in this situation, but he started to believe he was nothing strong, only stupid. 'You told me you loved me. And now? I guess you think that is what I was waiting for.'

'No,' she whispered, and wiped her tears from her face. 'I can't give you that, even if I wanted to. You suffered too much because of me, and you're still here to protect me. I can't do anything to reciprocate that.'

'Then what do you want?' he asked again. It'd have been an understatement to say he was surprised about the thing that happened. He was shocked.

She leant over to him and kissed him gently. The only kiss they shared was followed by a tragedy, and he never liked to relive that moment. But this kiss was totally different. It had everything that he dreamed of, except the tears and the shaking that they both had in their bodies. One of her arms hugged his neck tightly, as her fingers dug into his hair, and she tried to pull him as close as it was possible. He slowly returned the kiss and let his tongue slip into her mouth as he wrapped his arms around her waist. It was the best feeling in the world.

But like everything, it was over in a minute, when she slowly pulled away and was looking at him gasping for air. She still hugged him, and his hands still rested on her waist, but they didn't say anything for a while. Then, he could feel that Stefan was looking at them from the house, but what surprised him was the fact that Elena felt it too. He was positive about it. And still, she didn't pull away absolutely.

'You're the better man now, Damon,' she whispered, and she gently caressed his nape, which just made him shiver over again. 'If I wasn't in love with Stefan -'

'But you are,' he interrupted, but the anger and desperate had disappeared from his voice, and he leant his forehead against her just to close his eyes and take a deep breath. 'And you deserve him.'

'Maybe,' she whispered, and closed her eyes too. 'Maybe.'