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.

Ten years later…

"Are you nervous?" Damon asked as they walked through the familiar forest.

Elena shook her head, a smile ghosting her lips. "How could I be nervous when I finally returning home?"

Home. The word just filled her up with anticipation. Once Elena had reigned in her urges to feed, they had to return to Tritopia and clean up the mess. Damon and Alaric gathered the council and once figuring out that it was the Lockwoods who were the real danger in the woods, they brought Mystic Falls back to Tritopia. It was no longer a society fueled by fear and destined to fight. Now it was a place of opportunity where its children could grow and learn the way of the world Tritopia had hidden them from. Growth was our new motto.

Jenna and Alaric helped teach as best they could from what the Salvatore's brothers books allowed them to learn. They were soon married and expecting and now had a handsome son named Benjamin. Jeremy stayed with Elena to travel with the Salvatore brothers. Anna joined them and Elena slowly watched as the two slightly weird people fell more and more in love.

With Caroline by Stefan's side, he was slowly gaining control over his ripper tendencies. He was nowhere near perfect but they had forever to help him. It was Caroline and Stefan's faith in each other that made them fall in love. Elena no longer feared the misunderstood Salvatore brother. Jeremy was even allowed to be around him now, without Elena's hovering presence.

After the fight, Katherine and Elijah didn't hang around long. With the Original family no longer longing for Katherine's pain, the two had an endless road ahead of them and they wanted to get on it as soon as possible. They said their quick goodbyes and disappeared without turning back.

Damon… now where did Elena begin with Damon? With the worry of his brother's life no longer hanging over head, Damon began to loosen up and worry less. That seductive voice that lured Elena in from the very beginning returned and she couldn't be more excited. In the first few months of Elena's new life, not much of their time was spent apart from each other. Not that she was complaining. Each time with Damon brought on a new level of eroticism and she had no qualms about when that climbing would stop.

They came to the clearing that not so long ago was the entrance where Elena first entered that fateful night on her eighteenth birthday. Damon reached over and took her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over hers. She knew they were thinking the same thing. Elena smiled and waved and some of the villagers she remembered, trying not to draw attention to herself. Sure, it had only been ten years but someone could notice that she hadn't aged a day since they last saw her.

"Everybody's jealous."

Elena turned towards Damon with her brow furrowed. "Why?"

A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. "Because they wish they were holding hands with the most beautiful girl in town. Not everybody can pull off this look."

"Oh, this old thing?" Elena asked as she gestured to the signature outfit that he had torn off her time and time again.

They finally arrived at what was once her house. It was the place where Elena had grown up in and shared memories with her family and friends. Now she entered it with the love of her life. Well, her undead life. She lifted her free hand to knock on the door and within moments Jenna's smiling face appeared.

"Elena! Damon!" She enveloped them each in a warm hug. "Thank you so much for coming! Benjamin will be happy to see you both."

Together they crossed the threshold and were swarmed by their love ones. Everyone had already beaten them here since they had taken too long getting ready. Well, if that's what people wanted to think. It wasn't until Elena caught sight of Benjamin that she released Damon's hand and wrapped both arms around the tiny little man.

The day was spent surrounded by family and love and laughter. Elena caught up on all the new things happening in Mystic Falls since she ran from it years ago. They were slowly developing new clothing and Alaric was helping the council make contact with the surrounding towns. Jenna announced she was expecting and once again the room erupted with cheers. One by one the people in Elena's life left the party until finally it was their turn.

And tonight, with Caroline taking Stefan on another bloodlust lesson, they had the mansion all to themselves.

As soon as they entered the parlor, Damon's hands wrapped around Elena's waist as he pressed against her front. Elena could feel his hardness through his jeans as his eyes narrowed seductively. His hand latched onto her neck as he playful whispered, "I love being stronger than you."

Elena knew that he was but with her feeble resistance she flashed out of his hold and over to the bar on the other side of the room. Her finger wiggled back and forth as a smug smile played on her lips. In a teasing voice she said, "Nobody likes a bragger, Damon."

She then poured herself a glass of bourbon and down the contents in a nanosecond. He was against her back in an instant, hand roaming slowly over her body. One of his hands drifted beneath the fabric of her top as the other slid between her thighs. Involuntarily her eyes closed and an unnecessary breath escaped from her lips.

"But you do," he whispered, his breath brushing lightly against the skin of her ear. Elena could feel his smirk through her closed lids and was powerless against the wonder that was his fingers that had pushed away her panties and were now working between her legs.

"When did I get this easy?" Elena breathed out as he played masterfully against her clit, causing her legs to buckle.

His hold held her up as he chuckled against her neck. In a breathy voice, he replied, "Since my voice called to you in the forest. Your life was boring and passionless before you met me."

Then her back was on the sofa and Damon's hands had moved to rest on both sides of her. Elena couldn't help but groan at the fact that he was no longer touching her. She was in full needing mode now and she couldn't pretend to resist any longer. Elena needed to feel him all over her.

Damon must've knew it because soon he was looking down at her with a conceited smirk that made her so completely turned on. He tisked and then teased, "Say you love me."

Elena rolled her eyes at his command and leaned forward, letting her breath fan his face. "I love you." Then she demanded, "Now stop teasing me," as her hands latched onto the sides of his face.

He chuckled and whispered, "But you make it so easy," before capturing my lips with his. Then the talking ceased as his tongue slid into her mouth; circling and stroking hers. All exploring was done because he knew every inch of her body. He had long since discovered and claimed all of her, knowing exactly all those special spots that made her insides cry out with pleasure.

And that was what he was doing as his lips pressed roughly against her own and her legs wrapped their way around his waist. He built up her longing to an almost unbearable level when his lips broke the kiss and Elena felt themselves move to a new position.

Elena's uniform was ripped to shreds and thrown to the ground as her legs straddled Damon's. Her body was humming in anticipation as she began to lower herself onto him, finding his pants long gone. But before she could, Damon had pressed them up against a wall as he spread her legs and placed each one on a separate shoulder.

His face inched forward and his tongue slid between her folds. He worked magic on her and he did it masterfully and if she wasn't already lifted form the ground, she would've been sure she was floating. Just as she felt herself climbing over that wonderful climax, he moved them to another location. Her apparent moaning had become too much to endure for Damon because her legs now straddled his on the sofa as she slid onto his length.

Damon entered her smoothly as his hands gripped her hips. She began grinding on top of him loving how with each motion, he slid seamlessly against her inner walls. Elena leaned forward and let her lips devour his. She inhaled him in, loving the way his scent filled her lungs and heightened her desire. Damon's hands moved over her body, soothing every part of her.

They were all over her; tangling themselves into the strands of her chestnut hair, sliding down her back, and massaging her bare breast. Damon was everywhere, on and in every surface of her body and still, she found, she couldn't get enough of him.

His moves were precise; they moved together as if they were designed for one another. When she picked up the pace, he sped right up with her; jerking her hips back and forth, up and down, every which way they would go to keep the pleasure building. And it did, rapidly.

As a vampire, her body was practically indestructible. It possessed the capability of bending, stretching, and twisting whichever way was required, but still, when Elena's breaths turned into moans and finally into a repetition of his name and she reached that point, Elena seemed to shatter like glass. And like always, he broke with her.

Elena shivered and shook as she collapsed on top of him. She took deep breaths, more out of familiarity then need, and relaxed her head against his shoulder. She let her lids drift closed, feeling content for the moment in remaining intertwined simply like this, only to have Damon's lips connect with her neck.

The kisses started out innocently enough, just sweet pecks along the lower curve that met with her shoulders, but then she felt his fangs scrape her neck and soon she was raring to go for round two. Elena felt Damon's satisfied smirk against her skin as he mused, "Good, because I'm not nearly finished with you yet," before her hair was whizzing by and they landed on the floor missionary style.

And for just a brief second before they picked up where they left off, Damon gazed down at her with a familiar worshiping look in his eyes. His fingertips slid across her forehead removing a strand of her hair that was blocking his view of her face. "I love you, Elena," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she breathed. And they continued into their little moment of forever. Somehow facing her destiny and putting her fears behind her had put her exactly where she wanted to be.

A/N: Well, that's the end of it :) I hope you enjoyed this little adventure into AU Delena. It was very difficult for me and I enjoyed your word of encouragement. They helped more than you know. Hopefully, I'll be able to think up another Delena adventure since I just love these two so much. The ending was short and sweet and I hope you like. Thank you so much for reading! x