Title: When Fear Is No Longer An Option
Summary: Elena isn't used to being afraid. She's been groomed in Tritopia to face her fears and attack when in danger. But when she comes face to face with two mysterious strangers she realizes the Segnour never prepared her for this type of fear. The fear of coming face to face with your destiny.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.
"Elena!" A frantic voice called above her. "Wake up! Why isn't she waking up?"
"Don't look at me." A female voice Elena had never heard answered.
Elena was certain she was in heaven. The voice. The dreamlike voice of her creature surrounded her. But why was it so frantic and scared? Her creature wasn't like that. He creature was self-assured and strong. Her creature would wake her up with a searing kiss and they could skip off together. Heaven seemed to get him all wrong. Unless this wasn't heaven, but hell. And she was forced to endure the sound of her creature, the man and vampire she loved, and yet never see his handsome face.
It was Damon's safety that was her last breath, and yet she felt air filling up her lungs and a fresh wave of smells along with it. Confusion didn't even begin to cover it as her eyes jolted open and she took in the circular room now covered with blood and random body parts. She sat up, her body aching with the movement, and took in her surroundings. Her eyes finally landed on the angelic face of her love.
"Damon." She spoke. It wasn't a question or a statement. It was the sound of coming home and Damon smiled in return. "What's going on? Shouldn't I be dead?"
Elena's eyes scanned the room once again. Katherine was holding what appeared to be a bag of blood to Stefan's lips and soothing his hair. A grouchy Caroline was removing small wooden bullets from her skin and sending death glares in Katherine's direction. She didn't seem to be alone in that, for Elijah was off in the corner watching Katherine with similar eyes. Alaric was checking all the bodies, or what was left of them. It was more blood than flesh.
Damon reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind Elena's ear. "My tiny human, you are dead."
"So is this hell or heaven?" Elena asked, accepting her fate.
He shook his head. "Neither. You're… transitioning."
"To a vampire? But how?" Then it hit her. Her last human memory with Damon. He had given her his blood to heal the bite marks on her body in a way to protect her from Caroline and Stefan. Now his blood was coursing through her body preparing it for the choice she would have to make. "Your blood," Elena answered.
"It seems you have a bit of a decision to make." Damon shrugged in an effort to seem nonchalant.
It was then that Elena took notice of the dark skinned woman standing above her, staring at her with judgey little eyes. "Who are you?"
"Elena," Damon responded, "this is Bonnie Bennett. She's the witch responsible for all the dead Originals."
"You killed them all?"
She nodded. "You're lucky Damon was able to get a hold of me so quickly. You should know better than helping the vampires undo the curse Nature bestowed on them."
With an air of authority, she turned on her heel and left the couple. She walked towards Jeremy and Jenna who were in a far off corner, holding a crossbow and wooden stakes. Jeremy stared daggers in her direction as he took a protective stance. It was then that Elena noticed the tiny girl crouched behind him. Elena looked towards Damon with questioning eyes.
"She's a little hard to handle."
"Ya think?" Elena deadpanned. "So, who's the girl?"
Damon followed her gaze. "Oh, that's Anna. She's a guard for the Originals. Your brother seems to have taken a liking to her. Guess falling for monsters runs in your family." Damon smirked.
Elena's voice fell to a whisper. "She's a vampire."
"Who can still hear you, no matter how low you drop your voice."
She blushed. "Right."
There was a lull in the conversation as Elena's eyes wondered back towards the vampire love mishap. It seemed her best friend had fallen for the other brother. Elena wondered how much else she had missed. Why exactly was Katherine so concerned with Stefan when she had the opportunity to escape with Elijah, the only Original who had been spared from Bonnie's wrath.
"Guess your little act of martyrdom was a little foolish." Damon spoke, breaking her revere.
"You wouldn't have let me go." Elena pointed out.
"You're right. And if we're going to be together forever you need to learn to trust me."
Elena couldn't help the smile that broke across her face. "Forever, huh?"
"If you choose."
Damon stood and held out his hand. Elena took it, enjoying the sparks that passed at the touch. She noticed the smile tugging at his lips and in turn placed her head on his shoulder. It wasn't until she was standing upright that she felt the brightness of the lights above and the headache caused by the bombardment of sounds against her eardrums. Her eyes squinted and her hands lifted to cover her ears.
"What's wrong with me?" Elena groaned.
Her creature placed a protective arm around her and tugged her small, fragile body against his. Elena was facing his chest, focusing on the scent of him, and letting Damon envelope all of her senses. Damon kissed the top of her head and Elena couldn't help but smile a mumble a thank you against the fabric of his shirt.
Together they left the room, shutting the door behind them. Elena immediately felt better as the only sound now was her breathing. She lifted her head from Damon's chest and smiled. His hands cupped her face and he leaned down and pressed the most gentle of kisses against her lips. Elena grew hungry and immediately deepened the kiss, letting her tongue brush against his lips as she awaited entrance. He gave her entrance and they melted into each other.
"I love you, Elena." He whispered against her lips.
She smiled. "I love you, too."
"Waking up and finding you gone and then storming in here to see nine Originals munching on you… I felt my heart break for the first time in over a century. I almost lost it."
Elena gripped the fabric of his shirt in her tiny hand. "I won't leave you again. I'll turn."
"Elena, don't feel like you need to do this for me. Stefan forced me into this life and I hated him for a long time because of it. You need to choose this life for you." He paused and then smirked. "Even if I am the added bonus."
In her mind, Elena was weighing the options. She had gone through life with a sole purpose, never knowing any better. But now, with Damon in her life, she wasn't just going through the motions; she was living. She felt love and passion and laughter. No longer was she the teacher's pet or the girl with the dead parents. Fate had pushed her into Damon's arms and she wasn't about to walk away from them now that they had eternity in front of them. So what if she had to technically die in order to finally be able to live? This was what her destiny called for and she wasn't afraid to walk towards it. Especially after everything they had been through.
"I chose eternity… with you." Elena smiled at the emotion crossing Damon's face. "I haven't felt this alive since my parents died. I'm not ready to give up on it yet."
The moment the words left her lips, Damon grabbed her waist and pulled Elena against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he moved them so her body pressed against a nearby wall. Their lips met in a fiery kiss, as they let their bodies express the want and love they felt for each other. Elena gasped for air as Damon left a trail of open mouthed kisses down her neck, collarbone, and along her heaving chest.
She ran her fingers through his raven black hair and pulled him closer to her, wanting no space between them now that everything was laid out bare before them. Her fingers slipped under the fabric of his shirt, feeling along his taught muscles. They got lost in each other: in being one.
All the pain, confusion and heartbreak of their lives had been leading to this moment. The moment when they would choose each other. The moment when nothing stood between them. No obstacles. No death threats. They had each other and the pure undeniable whirlwind love that they held for each other. Fate had made them wait for the moment when it handed them something so precious and rare.
As their eyes met, Elena knew she would never need anything else. Damon loved her in a way that wasn't humanly possible. And that was why she had to become like him, to be capable of accepting that fierce of a love. She had forever to show him she deserved his love and prove that she would love him with everything she had.
"So, how do we make this official?" Elena asked as Damon licked the length of her neck.
"Go back to my place. Get in bed. Not have you disappear in the morning so I can show you the wonders of morning sex."
Elena giggled in his arms. "I meant to make me like you."
"Oh." Damon unlatched his lips from her neck. "That… You have to drink human blood."
The mention of blood caused Elena to focus on the sound of three pumping beats in the next room. The smell of the aroma caused Elena to walk away from Damon before she knew what she was doing. Then she stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oh, my." She whispered.
"We'll teach you to control it. You won't be like Stefan."
With trusting eyes, she looked in the eyes of her beloved. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Back at the Salvatore mansion, Elena sat on the bench in the dungeon with Damon holding a mug of blood nearby. The humans were all safely upstairs with Anna guarding them. Caroline and Stefan, who had made up, were standing near the staircase. The smell of blood absorbed Elena's senses. She was hungry and weak and she knew the dark liquid would be the only thing to rid her of both feelings.
After a brief argument between Katherine, Elijah and Caroline at the Capital, the group had left. Katherine said goodbye and Elijah apologized for his families actions. Together they vanished into… happiness? Who knew? Elena certainly didn't. All she knew was it took Stefan a lot of groveling to finally get back in Caroline's good graces. He promised to kill off the Lockwoods—who, it had turned out, were responsible for the wolf attacks Caroline and Elena had suffered from. That made Caroline laugh and soon they were discussing their next dinner date.
Elena had asked her family to go seek shelter elsewhere, since it was certain they couldn't return to Tritopia. At least, not for a while. But they had insisted to stick together. That was what had earned them a spot safely upstairs while Elena was forced to turn in a cold, dark room. Damon had assured her it would be temporary and so she had trusted him. After all, she didn't want to be responsible for her family's death.
"Ready?" Damon asked.
Elena nodded. Her eyes were focused on the mug and on the smell coming from it. She wanted it. Craved it.
"Slow, small sips. You hear me?" Damon demanded.
She liked the side of Damon. The one that came with the promise of a spanking or at least rough handling. Preferably naked. Since when had Elena become such a masochist and a nymphomaniac? Apparently, it came hand in hand with transitioning into a vampire. With eager eyes she looked up and nodded again. "Please, Damon. I'm so thirsty." She clawed at her throat, putting a visual to her message.
Damon inched the mug in her direction and Elena held out her hands. Once she gripped it, she brought it slowly to her mouth and took a sip of the crimson liquid and instantly felt her body ignite like a livewire. Pain filled her gums as she felt her incisors jut out into sharp fangs. She groaned and reached up to her face as she felt the veins forming underneath her eyes.
Her creature looked on with hunger filled eyes. Elena was certain it had more to do with her then the delicious liquid currently beside her. She reached for the cup again and took another measured sip. The life of her family depended on her quick grasp of control. But with Damon looking at her like that and causing a feeling to build deep in her belly she was losing it. But she wasn't crazed for blood. No. She was crazed for Damon.
The mug fell from her hands and spilled on the floor as she used her new speed and strength to race towards Damon and push him hard against the stone wall. The fabric was ripped from his body in seconds as her mouth assaulted his. Once he was free of clothing, she gripped him in her palm and worked him over.
"I need you." She breathed, hotly against his skin. "Send them away."
Damon gulped. "Stef. Care….. A little privacy."
Elena heard the faint chuckle of her friend before their retreating footsteps followed. She was on her knees immediately, enveloping him all at once into her mouth.
"Fangs." Damon stuttered. "Watch… the… fangs."
She licked along his length. "I wouldn't dream of harming this."
Her tongue swirled around his tip and she pleasured him with her mouth. When his hips began moving Elena knew he was close. Suddenly, Damon gripped a handful of her hair and pulled her off him. Then he turned her away from him and Elena was forced to brace herself against the stone wall. He entered her from behind and Elena moaned as he filled her.
Damon moved inside her as Elena's hands clawed at the wall, leaving marks. He was so close after feeling her mouth on him that he reach around and began to work her little bundle of nerves. Elena began to feel that tell-tale feeling low in her abdomen that told her she was close and sure enough she began pulsating around him. With one last thrust Damon emptied inside her.
Elena quickly removed him from her and spun around to sink her fangs into his neck. Damon responded in kind, biting into her shoulder. Thousands of emotions meshed together as Elena's body filled with a sense of gratification similar to the pleasure experienced from her romp seconds before. Their blood mixed together, strengthening their bond. Elena gripped Damon's hips, pulling him closer.
Heat waves surged through her body, as Damon wrapped a free hand around her waist. His hardness rubbed against her already sensitive areas before they released one another. A pleasure-filled moan escaped her blood covered lips as she stared into the eyes of her love, her creature.
Elena inched towards Damon and rested her head against the crook of his neck. Their bite marks had already healed and all that was left of their moment was the torn clothes and the blood smearing their lips. She steadied her breathing and whispered against his skin, "Well, that was certainly a new experience."
He pulled away and Elena caught sight of his cocky smirk. "There's plenty knew experiences I have planned for you, kitten. And most of them involve no clothes necessary."
A smile ghosted Elena's lips. "Hope you have quite the list. We do have all of eternity."
Damon pushed her against the wall once again. This time to cross off another new experience on his list.
