Elena was having the time of her life and she hadn't even gotten off the plane yet. She and Damon hadn't stopped talking once since boarding the plane, covering the spectrum of topics from marriage, ugly people, international affairs, and the finer points of successfully stalking people. Half the time their conversation would have made no sense to anybody listening, and that was part of what made it so special. They could talk for hours about nothing, laugh about nothing, and carry on an entirely separate conversation just through their eyes.
"Oh, Damon, I missed this so much," Elena finally said, mentioning his earlier absence for the first time. "Seriously, you can't ever go anywhere, you're my best friend."
He smiled gently. "I missed you, too. Stefan, however, eh…"
She giggled for the thousandth time. "How pissed do you think he'll be when he finds out about this?"
"Well, that depends on how many times you are naked in the next week," Damon replied, left eyebrow raised.
"I figure that'll be once a day, or do I have to shower clothed just in case?" she wondered, putting her hand to her chin thoughtfully.
"Oh definitely, I think that's your safest bet," Damon agreed with a laugh.
"But seriously though, do you think he'll be hurt? I mean it's not like before…"
Damon's face grew just a hint serious. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I mean… you know… me and you are just friends. You aren't trying to steal me away anymore. Stefan knows he can trust you."
Well then he's more foolish than I thought, Damon thought to himself. He was silent for a moment before he asked a question he instantly regretted. "He still doesn't know, does he?"
Elena shrank away a little bit. She'd forced herself to nearly forget what he was referring to, and now Damon was bringing it up. "No, I never told him. There wasn't really a point in telling him."
"Of course, because it was nothing, right?" Damon couldn't hide the sarcasm, and just the slightest bit of hurt, in his voice.
Elena bit her lip. "Stop it. You're going to make me regret doing this with you."
Damon angled away from her in his seat and crossed his arms. It would be one thing if Elena had simply chosen Stefan. That was her choice to make. But to choose him and then live in denial of what she had done with Damon when Stefan was in the Dark Dimension, well, that made Elena a coward in Damon's eyes. And the real Elena that he knew was no coward. She was also too much of an untamed bolt of lightning to settle for the role of wife of a bunny killer. Everything about the life she was choosing was all wrong for the true spirit of Elena.
Elena, meanwhile, was fighting off a meltdown. She thought they had gotten past this. She made her choice, and Damon said he accepted it. So why couldn't he just leave it alone? He knew she didn't want her past mistakes ever mentioned again. Was he still just as in love with her as before? Could she trust him on this trip or had she just made another huge mistake?
Her mind was in overdrive when Damon broke the silence. "I'm sorry. It just takes a vampire's pride a little longer to heal than most, I suppose."
She sighed. "It's fine. I'm sorry too. I just don't want to think about anything this week, I just want to…"
"Get wasted and do stupid things," Damon finished for her with a smirk.
"Yes!" she squeaked, slowly finding her way back to fun mode.
"Okay. All serious conversation ends here. Nothing but frivolity and irresponsibility from here on out," Damon announced. And he intended to honor that statement, but that was where his honor ended. He knew he wasn't here to play drinking buddy. As much as Elena loved him as a "best friend", once she said "I do", that would be the last she saw of Damon. He didn't want to tell her that. But as close as they were, he thought, she should know that he wasn't going to stick around for that. She had never been just a friend. From the first time he'd laid eyes on her, she had been the farthest thing from "just" anything. And this was Damon's last ditch effort to try to sway Elena from marrying his brother. If he failed, then he would let them live in peace, and never see either of them again. But if there was any chance… anything still there… then this was the week that he would take advantage of that.
When the plane landed, Damon fetched the rental car - a stunning black Porsche - and they headed to the most expensive hotel on the Vegas strip. Elena was pressed up against the passenger window like a child, dazzled by the city lights and squeaking in joy. Damon laughed heartily at her, though her childlike innocence and wonder was one of the things he loved most about her. She had been through so much, and seen so much, yet all it took was a glittery tall building to send her right back to the Elena she used to be. He hadn't ever met that particular Elena, but he relished the few glimpses that she gave him.
The "oohs" and "ahhs" peaked when they arrived at the ridiculously extravagant hotel where, true to her delightfully immature mood, Elena made it a point to touch everything while Damon checked them in. Against his better judgment, he booked two separate rooms for each of them. He knew she'd throw a fit if he tried to only book one, and while that usually wouldn't deter him, he figured it best to pick his battles.
When they got to their rooms, Elena burst into hers and jumped cannonball style into the huge canopy bed. Damon stood outside the door and smiled. This woman was going to be the death of him. "Ready to get started on our amazing adventure of drunken idiocy?"
"Oh yeah, but after that plane ride this bed just feels so good," she moaned, stretching out her limbs.
"Does it? Maybe I should join you and see for myself," he replied, eyebrows waggling.
"Nah, I'm sure yours is just as comfy," she smirked back.
"Ouch. Gosh, Elena, I have feelings, you know," he replied, doing his best imitation of a choked up Stefan. "Delicate, vulnerable feelings!"
She tossed a pillow at him. "Okay, let's go. Where to?"
"Well, that depends. Are you in the mood for gambling, dancing, or getting hitched by a fat guy in a white jumpsuit?"
"Hmm… gambling sounds pretty irresponsible!"
Damon smirked. "Casino it is."
