A/N: this is my 2nd fic for the 6th annual D/E holiday exchange! all the reviews for "Wherefore Art Thou, Romeo" were so sweet and made me smile. Hope you guys enjoy this one too!

PROMPT (by seethegoodinyou)

It's up to Elena to choose the perfect tree for this year's Gilbert family Christmas, so she heads to the best place in Mystic Falls-the Salvatores' tree farm. She's prepared to hunt down the tree and cut it herself, but she soon discovers it's a bigger job than she'd planned on. Enter Damon, who she secretly has a thing for but has never been brave enough to act on it. As he helps her wrangle a tree, will she finally muster up the courage to reveal her feelings there in the middle of the woods?

"Tyler, come on, you can't do this to me," Elena hurried after him through the snow frantically, "Aunt Jenna is gonna kill me!"

"Gilbert, it's the 24th of December, you can't honestly think there would be any trees left anywhere on Lockwood land, did you? I mean…" He paused to raise an eyebrow at her in clear judgement, "We were sold out weeks ago."

"I've just been so busy, and Jenna and Jeremy have been out of town—but they're coming back tonight—and it was my job to get the tree and do the decorating—well mostly because I insisted I didn't need any help and…" She pursed her lips in annoyance when she realized Tyler had long ago stopped listening to her rambling.

"Huh?" His eyeballs finally drew back to hers, though he appeared quite distracted by something behind her. "What were you saying?"

Elena huffed out a breath, which came out in a puff of cold air that clouded the distance between them. She glanced over her shoulder just in time to see a familiar bounce of blonde curls making its way down Main Street, multiple shopping bags in tow. "For heaven's sakes," Elena barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes, "Just ask her out already!"

"Huh?" Tyler said again, his eyes now following Caroline's movements down the street. "Uh, listen Gilbert, I gotta go."

"Right," Elena responded dryly, "Thanks for all your invaluable help." She stared after him as he briskly crossed the street. "I guess it doesn't matter that I'm gonna be kicked out of my family tree on Christmas!" she called after him, scowling when all he did was laugh in response.

She had just turned around to despondently make her way back home, when she bumped into a very warm, solid, somebody. "Whoa," the person grabbed her elbow to steady her as she slipped a little on the icy ground, "You alright?"

"Oh god, sorry!" Elena flipped her long hair out of her face in frustration and her gaze landed on the spilled hot cocoa that was strewn across the ground. "Shit, is that yours?"

She finally looked up and met a pair of friendly brown eyes. "No worries," the guy gave her a little grin, "It's kind of my fault, anyway."

Elena frowned in confusion, "Oh?"

"Well I don't make a habit of eavesdropping," he said, holding both hands up in defense, "But I couldn't help overhearing your little Christmas tree problem, and I think I can help."

Her frown deepened, "How?"

"Allow me to introduce myself," he said with a flourish, holding out his hand. "Stefan Salvatore."

Elena shook his hand then, realization dawning on her. "The Salvatore Tree Farm," she nodded slowly, "On the outskirts of town."

"It's a bit of a drive," he admitted, "But hey, if you're desperate…"

.

"Bit of a drive?" Elena repeated nearly 45 minutes later, shivering as Stefan halfheartedly banged on the heater of the pickup truck he was driving. "I didn't even realize Mystic Falls stretched this far."

"It's right on the edge of land that is still considered part of the town," he explained, his breath coming out in wisps of cold air. "But yeah, no one really comes out here." He glanced at her as she wrapped her arms more tightly around herself, "Sorry again about the broken heater. I keep meaning to get that fixed."

"Oh no," Elena replied, her teeth chattering slightly, "It's all good."

He shot her an apologetic grin, "On the bright side, we have plenty of hot chocolate down at the boarding house."

"Boarding house?"

"My Uncle Zach owns the house, and the land behind it," Stefan answered, "My brother and I just help out when we can."

"Damon?"

Stefan glanced at her again, now looking surprised. "You know my brother?"

"Ah," Elena could feel a flush heating the back of her neck. "No, not exactly." The truck made a turn and now bounced along a bumpy terrain. "We went to school together," she amended, "I mean, before he graduated." She chewed on the bottom of her lip, "I thought he left town."

"He came back about 6 months ago," Stefan replied, bringing the car to a stop outside an enormous house. Elena gaped up at it as she jumped down from the car, her boots crunching in the snow. "And I'm just in town for the holidays."

"Where do you live?" Elena asked curiously, following him up the stairs onto the porch. "I haven't seen you at Mystic High before."

"Louisiana," he responded, waving her into the house. "With my fiancé, Rebekah." He turned to look at Elena as she wiped her feet on the rug before stepping inside. "You can take a seat, I'll get you that hot cocoa."

Elena opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment her cell phone beeped with a text and her eyes widened in horror.

FROM JEREMY: driving back now, will be there in a few hours.

"Shit," she leapt up from the sofa, "My aunt and my brother are on their way back now and they're going to flip if the tree isn't set up by the time they get here." She neasrly sprinted over to the door, "Thanks, but raincheck on that hot chocolate. Mind pointing me in the direction of the tree farm?"

"It's around back, you have to walk a bit though," Stefan looked slightly concerned, "Elena, you look half frozen to death. You should really—"

"I'm good," she zipped her jacket up further and tightened the scarf around her neck. "So," she began conversationally, "Do you have an ax I can borrow?"

Stefan's eyebrows shot straight into his hairline at her request. "Damon is back there helping customers, he'll cut down whichever tree you want."

"No, no," Elena replied quickly, doing her best not to let panic infuse her voice. "I can do it myself," she insisted with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, "My family and I always cut it down ourselves."

Stefan didn't look convinced. "Alright," he said reluctantly, "I'll walk you down there and get you one of the axes from the shed."

She nodded her thanks and followed him through the back door, into the wide expanse of white snow. "Wow," Elena murmured despite herself, "It's really pretty back here."

"I can't stand the stuff myself," Stefan said to her over his shoulder, his heavy boots kicking a pathway through the snow so that she could easily follow. "But Damon is hoping we get snowed in for Christmas." They reached the shed and he pulled out a key to unlock it. "Damon and I are polar opposites," he went on when Elena caught up to him. "Sometimes I think we're not related."

Elena grinned, "I feel that way about Jer sometimes, too."

Stefan disappeared into the shed and brought out an ax a few seconds later. "Here you go," he handed it to her, though he still looked dubious. "Are you sure you don't want help?"

"I'm sure," she tightened her grip on the ax, unwilling to admit that it was a bit heavier than she had bargained for. "So I just have to walk down there?"

Stefan nodded, pointing into the distance where she could see a large wooden sign and several people walking around. "Let Damon know if you need anything, he should be around there somewhere."

"Thanks," Elena swung the ax over her shoulder and headed into the tree farm. Fingers crossed she didn't run into any more Salvatores today.

.

It only took five minutes to trek down to the actual farm, but there were so many rows of trees that it wasn't till a good 30 minutes later that Elena finally found it. The tree that was the perfect size for their home and would fit all the ornaments they had accumulated over the years.

Elena placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the tree with a smile. Now all she had to do was cut it down and drag it back to the boarding house; Stefan had already volunteered to drive her back to town in his truck, since he had to pick up his fiancé from the train station later.

"Alright," she muttered to herself, picking up the ax and taking a swing at the base of the tree.

It made a little chip in the wood.

Undeterred, she raised her arms again and made another swing at the tree, over and over until her arms became sore. After what felt like ages, she looked up in dismay at the tree that was still standing tall.

"Ahem."

Elena jumped, instinctively grabbing the ax and holding it in front of herself like a shield. Damon Salvatore was standing a few feet away from her, looking slightly amused. "Oh," she lowered her arms, feeling her ears burn. "Hi."

The amusement dropped from his face and he frowned, "You look familiar."

She offered him a tight smile, acutely aware of the sweat beading along her forehead and the tangled mess her hair had become in the past twenty minutes. "We went to school together," she cleared her throat, "I'm Elena."

His expression cleared, "Elena Gilbert."

She started, surprised (and secretly pleased) that he knew her full name. "Your brother tells me you recently moved back to town," she said, speaking slowly so that he wouldn't hear how embarrassingly out of breath she was. "How does it feel to be back in small town, Virginia?"

Damon shrugged, taking a few steps towards her. "It's home," he replied simply, his eyes darting between the ax she now held loosely in her fingers and the dent she'd barely made in the tree. "You seem pretty determined to cut this tree down on your own."

Elena opened her mouth and then closed it, wondering how to best not offend him. "I usually do this with my family," she said finally, "I guess I didn't realize how long it would take on my own."

He stepped a little closer, his hands in his pockets as he stared up at the tree. "Far be it for me to impede on family traditions," he said, his eyes crinkling in a way that sent her heart beating just a little bit faster. "But this kinda is, you know, my job. So if you need a helping hand..."

Elena chewed on her bottom lip. Her feet had long ago become numb with cold, and she could no longer move her fingers. "I can finish it on my own," she announced, "I'm halfway there already."

Damon raised a single eyebrow, eyeing the tree doubtfully. "Just so you know," he said to her, looking somewhere off into the sky, "Me offering to help isn't some indirect way of suggesting you need a white knight to come rescue you from all this manly work or anything like that." He finally lowered his gaze to look at her, and grinned, "I can tell you're not exactly a damsel in distress."

She blinked, her mind finally catching up to the fact that her crush of two years, Damon freaking Salvatore was standing in front of her and having an actual conversation with her. He'd already been a junior when she had entered high school, so she'd only been able to crush on him from afar for two years before he'd graduated and left town. But she'd never quite forgotten the thrill those blue eyes gave her when they passed in the hallways, or the stupid butterflies that would erupt whenever she saw him flash his signature smirk at someone (never her of course...but yet, he had known who she was...)

His smile had faded at her stillness, "Elena?"

She jumped, startled out of her thoughts. "Sorry," she said quickly, her cheeks flushing. "Yeah, I think I could use the help," she held out the ax, trying to ignore the jolt through her veins as his fingertips brushed hers.

Damon's eyes focused on her face for an instant before he grabbed the ax and walked over to the tree. "I didn't mean to offend."

"You didn't, I'm just..." Elena trailed off before blurting out, "How do you know who I am?"

He paused, his muscles rippling under his form-fitting jacket as he turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"You knew my last name," she reminded him hesitantly, "But we weren't even in the same year."

"Oh come on, Elena," he chuckled, "I made it my business to know the name of every pretty girl at that school." Her cheeks flushed again, and this time Damon watched her, an odd expression that she couldn't quite read on his face.

Then he abruptly turned around and continued expertly chopping down her chosen pine tree. She couldn't think of anything to say, so she leaned against a nearby tree and watched in silence. He finished the job much faster than she would have, and carefully laid her tree down onto the snow covered ground. When he glanced up at her, she straightened. "Thanks," she said begrudgingly, "I think I would've been here all day if I tried to do that myself."

"You were getting along pretty well," Damon responded diplomatically, quirking his mouth at her in a half grin that sent her insides fluttering. It wasn't quite the cocky smirk he'd worn in high school, but it was pretty close.

Elena didn't realize he'd been staring at her expectantly until the silence stretched on for a beat too long. "Huh?" she said, belatedly realizing she sounded like none other than that lovestruck fool Tyler Lockwood. "Sorry," she smiled sheepishly, "Did you say something?"

Damon was giving her that look again; the one she couldn't decipher. It held a touch of amusement, but also something else. "I asked you where you parked," he said, giving her a pointed glance as she shivered. "Unless you want to stay out in this cold all day and catch hypothermia."

"Stefan is driving me back," she started, but trailed off when she saw Damon's expression darken. "So...we can put the tree in his truck..."

"Excellent," Damon muttered under his breath, "I assume he parked way out in the front of the house?"

"Yes," Elena suddenly realized what a hassle that would be. "I'll go tell him I'm done picking a tree," she said hastily, "I'll be right back."

She pushed herself off the tree and stumbled into the snow as her numb legs nearly gave out. Damon was suddenly beside her, holding onto her arm. She looked up to thank him, and drew her breath in sharply at how close he was. Closer than she'd expected. His blue eyes looked down at her in concern, "You okay?" He hauled her into an upright position, though he kept an arm around her waist so she could rest her weight on him. "Come on, let's get you warmed up back at the boarding house."

"I'm okay," Elena stammered, though in reality she had never felt more ice cold in her life. It felt like the chill had permeated into her bones. Damon either wasn't listening or pretended not to hear her as he began leading them back down the pathway she'd come from. Even though she quickly regained feeling in her legs, she kept close to Damon's side. It felt nice, his arm around her. Like it belonged there.

"Here we go," Damon let them into the house and led her into the living room, his arm still firmly around her waist. Even when she sank down gratefully in front of an armchair by the fireplace, he kept a hand on the small of her back. "Can I get you something to drink?" He nodded his head towards several bottles of liquor in the corner, but she shook her head. "Hot chocolate then?"

"Sure," Elena closed her eyes, letting the heat from the flames warm her face. "That sounds really nice."

He came back within a few minutes, holding two steaming mugs. "Hope you like marshmallows," he said to her with a wink, "Because we've got them in spades."

"Thanks," she said gratefully, warming her hands around the mug and blowing on it lightly before taking a sip. "Mmm," she murmured, her eyes closing blissfully. "Damn, this is really good, like maybe the best hot cocoa I've ever had."

When Damon didn't respond, she opened her eyes to find him sitting across from her. He was staring straight at her this time, and she finally realized what expression he was looking at her with.

Desire.

The realization shocked her to her core and her lips parted unconsciously. She didn't miss the way his gaze instantly dropped to her mouth, or the way his pupils dilated as they stared at each other. "I didn't know the name of every pretty girl in school," he said in a low voice that heated her blood. "I knew your name." Elena watched as he slowly put down his untouched mug of hot chocolate. She did the same, and mirrored his actions as he got to his feet. Her heart was beating erratically as her brain struggled to catch up to what was happening.

"All this time," the words slipped out, "I thought..." He stopped several inches from her, but close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. Close enough that she lost all sense of rational thought.

"Thought what?" Damon murmured, his eyelids half closed. He had inched even closer without her realizing, and their foreheads brushed against each other.

"That...that I was..." Elena licked her bottom lip. "That it was one sided," she mumbled, opening her eyes to see Damon draw back. He looked shocked.

"You liked me?" He asked incredulously, his eyes scanning her face as though he didn't believe her. "Well, damn," he said, pulling her flush against him so that she could feel every part of his body against hers. His breath tickled her ear, "I believe I made you a promise about warming you up." She shivered and finally saw it— the cocky Damon smirk. "Still cold?" he asked innocently, his hands running down her back and eliciting another shiver.

"A little," Elena murmured as his lips hovered above hers, "Can you think of any way to—" His lips closed over hers, stealing her breath away. She gasped into his mouth and felt him grin before deepening the kiss. She melted into his arms as warmth spread from her core to every part of her body, the cold and snow becoming nothing more than a distant memory. She didn't know how long they stood there; it could've been minutes or it could've been an hour. All she knew was that she never wanted it to stop.

When he pulled back for air, she felt a little glimmer of pride when she saw how uneven his breathing was. She'd done that to him. "I've wanted to do that for so long," he admitted, opening his eyes to look at her. They were bluer than she'd ever seen them.

"Me too," she whispered back, staring up at him. Damn, but she could get lost in those eyes. Behind them, the grandfather clock chimed and she jumped. "Oh my god, the tree! I totally forgot!"

.

In the end, they were able to get the tree back to her house and decorated just in time for Jenna and Jeremy to come home. In fact, she'd just finished putting up the star when she heard a car pull into the driveway.

"Should I leave?" Damon glanced at her uncertainly, and she caught a rare glimpse of vulnerability that had her heart melting.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said briskly, reaching out to hold his hand, "My aunt knows all about you."

Damon grinned at that, "Spent your teen years fantasizing about me, huh?"

"No one said anything about fantasizing," Elena muttered, elbowing him in the ribs.

He only chuckled and drew her close, brushing a kiss onto her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Elena Gilbert."

She relaxed, turning to look at him. She could hear her aunt and Jeremy exclaiming over the decorations they'd managed to do on the outside of the house. "Thanks for helping me pull this off," she said, gesturing to the glittering decorations around them. Red and green lights danced across his face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed herself up on her tip toes to give him a kiss, "Merry Christmas, Damon."

happy holidays everyone! xoxo