Damon looks at Elena from the corner of his eye for the thousand time this morning. Since when 'we're ok' is synonym to 'we're dating'?! Not that he's complaining or anything, he's euphoric but also confused. So confused.
"You want something with the pancakes?" he asks her, flipping one of the fluffy yummies out of the pan and onto the tower of a dozen or so pancakes.
"Do we have butter?" Damon answers with a 'nope' and she tsks. "Maple syrup?"
"Think so. Let me check." He leaves the plate in front of Elena and starts opening cabinets and drawers in search of the sticky goodness. "Aha!" he takes it and presents it to her with a flourish. She giggles as she opens it and pours some.
"Goof." She whispers, but he hears her anyway and flicks her in the forehead.
They stay in the table until Elena finishes her breakfast and he a blood bag. Then they move to the sofa; they play some board games –which Elena wins to all of them because Damon's too distracted with her smile– and then they settle to watch a movie, of Damon's choice this time.
"Deadpool?" Elena looks at him funny. He doesn't know if it's for the movie or for his exited face. "Never heard of it before. Sounds bloody. Deadpool…" He stares at her for a total of five seconds before he covers his eyes with a hand and takes a couple of deep breaths.
"Ok. First of all, if you weren't who you are, you would be dead to me." She blinks at him and he sighs. "Second, bloody is a word too gentle to describe this movie." He smirks at her and presses play.
As the credits roll down, Damon looks at the body that's cuddled in his chest. She had rested her head on his shoulder five minutes into the movie and they had slowly maneuvered themselves into the position they were now: Damon stretched across the couch and Elena on top of him; her head on his chest and his arm around her waist. Her eyes are wide as she slowly cranes her head up to look at him. He raises a brow.
"Can we watch it again?"
He can't help it, he laughs.
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"Damon?" he raises his head and looks at her, setting the knife aside and turning to face her as he sees the worried look on her face.
She fiddles with the hem of the button up she's wearing today –a black one– and he's instantly at her side. After spending nearly a month alone with her, he's picked up on all the unconscious movements she does depending on her mood and the fact that she's picking at her clothes is not a good sign. When the first thing she does when he's close enough is hug him, he knows he's right in his assumption.
"What's wrong?" he combs her hair with his fingers and she buries her face in his neck.
"We're going back in two days."
Ah… so that's what all this is about.
They –and 'they' actually means 'he'– had decided to go back in two days. Their food had ran out five days ago and Elena had been eating what game Damon was able to catch in the woods and he had finished his last blood bag this morning. She had said that he could drink from her and then heal her, but he shot her down. If her diet consisted only in meat she could get sick soon and he couldn't drink from her forever.
"I know you don't like it, 'Lena, but we have to go back someday." She whines but draws comfort in his embrace and the nickname. He'd come up with it one day that she'd been asking for another Disney movie and it had stuck. Now it was something that represented that everything was ok.
"Can't we go shopping for food? You said there was a town nearby."
"Yes, but that was when I still had blood to drink and now I don't. I can drink form you for a couple of days but that's not going to hold forever. And…" he hooks a finger beneath her chin so she's looking at him. "you can't hide forever. You have to face your fears or they'll overcome you." A shiver runs down her spine and her lips wobbles.
"But what if he–"
"Stefan won't do anything! Just because I can't solve all your problems doesn't mean you have to face them alone." He kisses her forehead before giving her a sweet and long kiss. "I'll be with you, ok? I won't leave your side." She takes a deep breath before nodding. "Good, we'll have to go shopping for something first, though."
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The two days go by in a blur and sooner than Elena expected, they were already loading her duffle and his bags in the trunk of the Camaro. Damon had said they would be leaving in an hour, and that was an hour ago. That meant they were leaving. The house is locked, the key hidden; time to face the music.
"Elena." She looks up from her seat in the front steps. He's couched in front her, a little smile on his lips as he cups her cheek in his hand. "You're gonna be fine. I won't let him get near you, ok?" she breathes deep and holds it for a second before letting it go slowly. She nods and he helps her up before leading her to the car. "We have to make a couple of stops first, though." He winks when she shots him a suspicious glance.
"What are you planning, Salvatore?" he gives her an innocent smile and a kiss on the cheek.
"Don't worry, you'll love it." That stated, he opens the door for her and waits until she's buckled to go to his own side and start the car.
A few minutes later they are out of the barrier and going down the snow free road. It had started to melt the same day they'd run out of food, and it had been a blessing and a curse for Elena. It was good because that meant she wouldn't starve, but it also meant that there wasn't a excuse to stay anymore, and that was bad. Her hands twitch in their place in her lap, desperately wishing Damon would take one and intertwine it with his but knowing he has to keep them on the wheel. However, her boyfriend sees the unconscious motion and takes her hand.
"Here, put it on top of mine." He settles his hand on the gearshift and she gives him a little smile when she lays hers lightly on his. He gives her one last look from the corner of his eye before turning completely to the road.
They keep talking, sometimes the chatter fading into a comfortable silence. Elena's hand stays on his all the way until they make a detour in Richmond to buy Elena some clothes –she'd been wearing sweats and one of his grey shirts– and a couple of other things he deems necessary before making their way to Mystic Falls.
When they finally arrive to Elena's House –she's not quite ready to go to the Boarding House yet– it's mid afternoon and they collapse in the couch as soon as they have their luggage inside.
"I was thinking…"
"Never a good sign." Retorts Damon, earning himself a light slap in the arm.
"I was thinking that if all this had coincided with my period, you would've been so screwed." She giggle at his face, a look between realization and relief. That is, until he grins a little.
"Well, not as much as you think. I have feminine hygiene stored and I could've gone to buy some ice cream if you asked." She looks at him funny for a second.
"Why would you have tampons?"
"Well, you see… sometimes when I go there, instead of using blood bags I take somebody with me. And if it's a woman and there's an emergency better to be prepared." She frowns at him, clearly not pleased. "Won't do it again. Promised." He raises his pinkie and she groans.
"When are you going to forget about that?" she whines mortified, hiding her face in his chest.
"Never. And you told Liz I was comfy, so if I'm getting teased so are you." His arm sneaks around her waist and he presses a kiss to her forehead. "Wanna take a nap before I make dinner?" she looks at him and shakes her head.
"Nah, I would like to read a bit, if you don't mind. I'm kinda gonna ignore you, after all." She bites her lip and he frees it with his thumb.
"It's alright. I'll read something myself. Do you have The Call of the Wild?" she smiles, remembering that it's his favorite and nods.
They spend the rest of the afternoon in silence, Elena seated in the couch and Damon stretched on his back, his head nestled comfortably on Elena's lap. When it's time, Damon gets up and starts with dinner. Tonight they're having something simple, just grilled cheese and a salad. When Damon brings the plates and the bowl of salad Elena already has the table set.
"Wow…" mutters Elena after the first bite. "What did you put in this?" Damon smirks.
"It's a secret recipe of a friend I had. You know the witch that put the barrier?" She nods and takes another bite. "It was from her family." She looks up, alarmed.
"You stole it?!" she doesn't know what she expects as an answer, but his laughter sure wasn't.
"No, no, I didn't steal it. She gave it to me, we did an exchange of sorts. I gave her a Salvatore recipe and she gave me one of hers."
She nods and they finish eating. When they're done, they clean the kitchen and go upstairs to her room. They have some quality time together (you know what I mean XD) and they fall asleep in each other's arms; Elena on her side and Damon behind her, spooning her.
Ok, people, here you go. I'm sorry if somebody wanted lemon, but I'm not good at those. This is coming to an end, only one more chapter; maybe epilogue if you beg *evil laugh*. Hope you're liking it! Kisses!
