Thank you guys for your continued support. This is a short chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it!

"We should never cheat ourselves out of happiness." It's a random statement that's placed out in the open but it's not shocking. They've been in each others company long and frequently enough now that it's quite normal for such a statement to be made. He's studying a worn leather bound book while she lays against the cushioned seat across from his desk, staring at the ceiling. How the roles have reversed. They've come to establish a mutual, silent understanding of each other, easily discussing their personal ideologies, pain and the trifle things they normally never acknowledge or mention in cryptic, complex verses and intensely wise exchanges. It's strange how they get on well and comfortably, not at all what they would have imagined had circumstances been different. However, like both have come to know, circumstances often force people to strip bare their defenses and lay down their soul, if it means someone else knowing them for the time being as they spend their last moments.

"Why do you say that? Perhaps we cheat ourselves out of 'our' happiness for the sake of another ..maybe someone we know or feel deserves it more."

"Yes but what if it's your only chance? Do we simply give it up and feed off of theirs? It's never the same."

"When you've lived in the shadows long enough, it becomes all you know Bon. It's the fault of humanity, some always sacrifice until there's nothing left." She feels as if the comment has hit a little too close to home for him and she stays quiet for a moment. It's like a missing piece of an intricate puzzle fitting into a spot that answered so many questions. It all made sense now. All his life, Damon Salvatore had been sacrificing his happiness and very existence for his younger brother. He had given up the woman he loved greatly time and time again for the sake of his sibling and although he never spoke about their relationship, she sensed a great deal of love towards the younger Salvatore. She had spied a silver framed portrait of the boys when they were quite young on Damon's desk and had spied him more than once brushing his fingers over it, his eyes hooded and far away. He was a protector she had come to learn and he fought that streak in him; struggled to contain the natural inclination to step in and do the right thing. He was also short tempered, as she had seen him one too many time roughen up a guy or two for their ill-mannered behavior towards those of the other gender. If she remembered clearly, she had witnessed him in action once or twice, outside of the Mystic Grill. He never talked about his "glorious gentlemanly ways" as she likes to tease him but he does convey his hatred towards the mistreatment of women. She finds her respect for him growing immensely as she continues to be in his company and surprisingly, they genuinely enjoy each others presence.

There's continued silence for a long time and a quick scan towards the couch would have Damon thinking that she's asleep, but her eyes stay distant and her body stays still. It takes her a few moments to revive her confidence, long enough for her to formulate a proper execution of what it is that she wants to ask him next.

"What's it like?" As he lifts his head and cocks a brow at her to elaborate, she turns her head towards him.

"What's it like to love her?" She watches as he stiffens for a moment, studying her face, her eyes and perhaps listen to the beating of her heart. She sighs when he remains quiet and closes her beautiful emerald green eyes, preventing him from getting drowned in their liquid warmth.

"I'm sorry. I will never know what it's like...I thought...that perhaps you would be willing to tell me."

"It's like breathing and drowning at the same time. With Katherine everything was a frenzy and impassioned addiction. The way she walked, the way she smiled, the way she talked, the way she dressed. Everything. It's like everything about her draws you in and keeps a hold on you. But I've come to realize that that's not what love's about, it was merely the aura of a vampire, established to draw you in and drain you from the inside out. We all have it, there was nothing special about her." He watches her, still laying there with her eyes closed and wonders what she's thinking, just what was it that when on in the tiny witch's head.

"And Elena?" It doesn't shock him as much when she broaches this question and smiling, he indulges her.

"I simply feel in love with her features, so much like the original, it sent my mind reeling. It's another thing about being a vampire, the heightened emotional senses, the connection you get from your creator and the attachment you develop. Stefan and I were like dogs to Katherine, jumping at her every whim and plead. Even after learning about her betrayal, her bitterness, I couldn't help but be drawn in. Elena is a lot like her great grandmother in that way. At first I thought she was the woman I had believed I loved a long time ago, but tainted mirrors have a tendency to reveal themselves over time and again I realized that she was just a face; a symbol of something that hadn't truly belonged to me and something that kept haunting me time and again."

"I'm so sorry Damon" she whispers and his brows furrow.

"What for?"

"Everything."

It isn't a word that carries a lot of substance, but when Bonnie states it in the way she does, it knocks the wind out of him. She's too young to understand. It had always been his defense, but suddenly she opens her eyes and in them he finds a mirror to his inner turmoil. In them he finds solace...