A/N: Ok. Stop. Right now. I know that you have your internet open (unless you're on your smartphone, in which case, do this later). Open a new tab/window. Go to youtube. Find the song 'Better Man' by James Morrison. Now, when you review (because you are all AWESOME!), tell me what you think about it. :)

I'm sorry for the delay; I got distracted by... wait for it... a Stelena fic. I know, I know, what the hell is that? Actually, the document was titled 'StelenaWTF' until I finally gave it the title The Cautionary Tale of Unconditional Love. Check it out if you have a minute.

Shameless self-promotion: Twitter - SweetWillowTree

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.

Elena woke slowly the next morning, a foreign warmth enveloping her body. As she stretched out, she noted the weight of an arm slung over her waist, the fluttering of deep, slow breaths against the back of her neck. Her eyes opened, and she hazily began to remember the emotional roller coaster that was the previous evening. She had been so very worried about Jeremy, and then Damon had shown up, and that always threw her for a spin. And he fixed it, insomuch as he was able to, and now...

Now he was pressing feather-light kisses to her shoulder, and the hand that had previously been splayed across her belly was now inching upward, along her tank top, to cup her breast. She held her breath, waiting for his next move, and a moment later, his thumb glided across her nipple, causing her to gasp almost inaudibly.

"I guess that being felt up is infinitely better than an alarm clock," she croaked as his thumb continued to ghost over the now-hardened nub. "But I'm not sure how I feel about the creepy factor."

"Do you want me to stop?" he rumbled against her spine, his words an echo of what she had said to him at the club a week before.

"Not at all," she breathed back, leaning against him and turning her head to meet his eyes. "Thank you. For last night."

He winked at her. "The ladies usually only say that when I put out."

She suddenly felt awkward. Why was it that she could share a bed with him, but couldn't give in to her own, rather insistent, desires? She knew why, but she was starting to truly resent herself for creating this frustrating situation. And she began to feel guilty for dragging Damon into it as well.

"I know that you probably want to -" He interrupted her with a finger on her mouth.

"I want you," he insisted, eyes blazing. "Whatever you choose to give, I'll take. And, if I'm not very much mistaken, you want me too..." She blushed, and nodded a little. "So the way I see it, we're building up to what will be mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex."

The increasingly tense atmosphere which always accompanied any discussion about their romantic situation shattered as Elena laughed out loud, although she did nod in agreement. Damon smiled mischievously and leaned into to kiss her, but she put her hand up to block him.

"I haven't brushed my teeth yet!" she protested.

"No problem," he mumbled, trying to dodge her hand. "My equally bad morning breath will cancel yours out."

She gave a little shriek of mock-disgust as he continued trying to kiss her until she finally rolled him off of her and escaped the bed entirely, tugging down her shorts self-consciously as she made her way to the door.

He sighed dramatically. "Fine, leave me here. I know when you're just using me as a bed warmer."

"Come on," she drawled back. "I just spent the past eight hours under your arm, sometimes your leg, and for that wonderful five minute period, your entire body."

He painted an innocent expression on his face. "I have no recollection of that."

"Well I remember waking up unable to breathe, and you smirking as I tried to shove you off, so – Oh yeah, mail!"

She stooped to pick up the long forgotten envelopes from the floor, flipping through them as Damon climbed out of the bed and snooped over her shoulder.

"Boring, boring, boring," she muttered until she reached an envelope addressed to her in handwriting. "Oh crap!"

"What?" he yawned, stretching out so when she turned to face him, she was met with a flawless expanse of skin stretched over rippling muscles.

"Um," she exhaled, trying to remember what she was talking about. "Oh, uh, yeah, I'd bought my tickets for my high school reunion dance a few months ago. I was going to go with Bonnie, but we both forgot and she said she's going out of town to visit her grandmother in Massachusetts."

"And..."

"And I have no one else to -" She met his eyes, and his eyebrows rose suggestively. "Oh. Well, I guess... If you wanted to come, but it won't be much fun." He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. "And no, we cannot throw olives at people, or slip shots of tequila into their drinks, which ended really badly last time, if you remember. And we can't -"

"When is it?" he asked, with a tone as though he was placating a small child, although she knew that he was buzzing with excitement at being invited to one of her events.

"A couple of weeks."

"Alright then, I guess if you absolutely need me to be there..." She rolled her eyes, and he grinned. "But I get to pick out your dress this time."

"No," she blurted a little too fast. "I know you, and I know that you'll pick out something either way too expensive, or the size of a tea cozy just to entertain yourself."

"I will not," he mumbled, grabbing her mail and tossing it on the bed beside them before ushering her back to the door. "We'll go together, but I want a say. And I'm fairly certain that I've fantasized about you enough to know what you would look good in."

She cocked an eyebrow. "You're disgusting."

"And yet..." He drifted off, reaching for the doorknob.

Elena slammed her hand against the door, and looked up at him, all traces of levity and amusement gone for the moment.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"The reunion? Yeah, it'll be great!"

"No," she answered slowly, gravely. "About Jeremy moving in. He could get into trouble, and you're already responsible for so many people."

He reached up to cup her cheek and smiled sadly at her. "I had a brother. Or, rather, I have a brother, but he isn't..." He shook his head. "Anyways, he got into some tough stuff, and I completely missed it. I didn't even see it happen before it was too late, and by then he had done so much that I couldn't bring myself to help him. So it isn't entirely selfless; there's a bit of personal motivation and vicariousness going on here too."

"What happened to him? Your brother?" Elena breathed after a moment.

"I, uh..." He pulled away then, turning back toward the door. "I don't really want to talk about it right now, if that's okay with you."

She reached over and grabbed his hand. "I get that. But if you ever want to, I'll listen."

He nodded one last time, still facing the door, before finally opening it.

Up to that point, with all of the almost-honesty, and the cute wake up, and the general lightheartedness of it all, Elena had forgotten something vitally important. In between Damon offering to help Jeremy, and them sleeping intertwined all night, and her new awareness of the existence of his brother, she had forgotten that, beyond her bedroom door, Damon didn't belong to her.

When the couple emerged into the hallway, Rose was walking by to meet Caroline at the top of the stairs. The two women eyed Elena and Damon amusedly, and shared a poorly hidden high-five before descending the staircase.

And just like that, a weight set in upon Elena's shoulders that she hadn't noticed before. She scanned Damon's face as he gripped her hand and they walked together down for breakfast, but there was no sign at all that he felt anything similar to what she was feeling in that moment.

And for the first time, it hurt.

"Here, try this one on!" Caroline squealed, causing Elena to wince inside the change room, and dodge the dress that was tossed over the door.

She heard Damon groan. "The agreement was that I get to pick out what she's wearing. You've been doing all the choosing, Care."

"Well I have better taste than you, so too bad," was the snippy response.

Elena sighed and opened the door, standing awkwardly in front of her two housemates.

"Caroline," she began, smoothing out the skirt of the dress, "This is the exact same thing that you wore that night that we went out with Tyler."

She kept her eyes on the blonde, trying to ignore the way Damon's gaze raked her body.

"Yeah," the other woman answered casually. "And you said that you loved it."

"Not long enough," Damon pointed out, now scowling. "Elena's legs are longer than yours, Caroline. And I don't want some guy ogling her in a short skirt."

"You know," Elena said exasperatedly, leaning against the door way and crossing her arms, "I'm standing right here. You can just tell me what you don't like about it, since I'm the one who will be wearing it."

A smirk tugged at Damon's lips, and he stood, slowly advancing on her like a hunter with his prey. It wasn't until he was a breath away that she noticed he had a dress in his hand.

"Try this one: Better neckline, longer skirt," he said in a low voice before winking at her.

She felt a flush warm her body from head to toe, and, not for the first time that day, regretted allowing Caroline to accompany the pair of them on their shopping trip. She and Damon were going to a movie premiere later on in the week, and she had yet to choose a dress.

And Elena didn't even want to think about the unpleasant feeling in her belly whenever she thought about Caroline and Damon going out.

With that in mind, her eyes slid over to where the other woman was examining dresses on a rack, and with a sudden mischievousness, grabbed Damon by his suit jacket and tugged him into the room with her.

"Mmm... Hot," he murmured against her lips before capturing them in a kiss.

"Like this isn't exactly what you had in mind when you suggested shopping," she breathed in response, gasping when his hands slid up under her skirt and cupped her ass.

He didn't answer, simply kissed her harder when her hands grabbed his hair. His fingertips were dancing along the edge of her panties, and she could just imagine him tugging them down, her stepping out of them as his pants hit the floor and they...

"How about this one?" Caroline yelled, interrupting Elena's thought process and causing Damon to yank his hands back, even though the door was closed and no one could see them.

The brunette let out a long breath and raked her shaking hands through her hair. She eyed the black and silver dress with so much frustration, she was surprised it didn't explode. Damon grabbed it and handed it to her, a finger held to his lips telling her to keep quiet.

"And where did Damon go? Did he get bored already?"

Elena couldn't help but let out a giggle as her boyfriend rolled his eyes.

"We've already been in this shop for almost an hour; I wouldn't be surprised if he went for a walk or something."

With a conspiratorial grin, Damon nodded and moved to embrace her once more, kissing along her neck. She sighed contentedly.

"What was that? Is something wrong?" Caroline asked.

"No," Elena grunted suddenly, trying to grab Damon's wrists as he made to grope under her skirt again, "Just tired."

"Oh... Well, pick a dress already then!" And with a final little bang on the door, they heard Caroline's shoes click as she made her way to the front to pay for her purchases.

"Mmm..." Damon moaned, moving back up to her lips, "And now that she's gone..."

"No!" Elena exclaimed, trying to keep quiet as he, yet again, made to sneak his hands under her skirt. "No... No... No... We actually do have to get back to work, and she's waiting right -" She slapped his chest. "Out." Slap. "Side." Slap.

With his hands still on her thighs, he pouted against her lips. "You suck."

She breathed out a light laugh and brought her hands up to his chest. "You have no idea." And with a final wink, she pushed him back.

Damon's jaw had dropped open at her suggestive quip, although he now looked distinctly uncomfortable, and was trying desperately to adjust his pants.

"This one," he rasped, tossing his red dress at her. "I like this one. Now hurry up before I say, 'Screw it', and take you right here in this dressing room."

She rolled her eyes at him, and he left her alone.

Once Elena had paid for the red dress, or, rather, instructed the sales associate to put it on Mr. Salvatore's account, she and Caroline glanced around the store, perplexed as to where the man himself had gotten off to. They slowly made their way outside, still glancing around, trying to find a mop of barely-coiffed black hair above the crowd.

"Ladies!" They both spun in the direction of the voice, only to see Damon striding towards them with two ice cream cones.

"Damon!" Caroline whined as he drew nearer. "I'm on a diet!"

"I know," he responded proudly, handing her a cone. "It's fat-free, somehow." He frowned, pondering that particular paradox as he handed Elena hers.

"What's this for?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I get the feeling that you're both annoyed with me."

"Well," Caroline began, licking a drop from the side of the cone, "I'm annoyed with you because you wouldn't agree with any of my dresses. And I'm pretty sure Elena's annoyed because you molested her in the change room."

Damon's eyebrows skyrocketed and he glanced over at the reporter, who was choking on her ice cream.

"What?" Caroline asked, eyes bouncing between her two companions. "Damon suddenly disappeared and Elena's voice went up an octave. I'm not stupid."

The latter flushed a deep red colour, only speaking again when the lawyer leaned over her shoulder and took a mouthful of ice cream.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. "You should have gotten your own!"

"But it tastes so much better when it's yours..." He drifted off with a lascivious wink.

Caroline sighed. "You two are so cute it actually hurts, did you know that?"

"I am not cute," Damon huffed, "I'm hot. There's a difference. And before either of you rip that statement to shreds, I'm taking this taxi back to work. Jerry's around the corner with the car."

And with a final suggestive lick from Elena's ice cream, he was gone.

The two women walked on in silence for a whole fifteen seconds before Caroline spoke.

"Are you two having sex yet?"

"Oh my God, Caroline!" Elena exclaimed, but was saved from having to answer by her phone ringing. "Hello?" she answered, sighing.

"Hey, Elena, it's Ric. Damon's dodging my calls; can I talk to him?"

"He isn't dodging your calls," she giggled, "He said that he forgot his cell at the office, but I'm pretty sure he did it on purpose. He's on his way back to you in any case, so wait about ten more minutes."

Alaric thanked her and she hung up, only to notice Caroline watching her, a frustrated expression on her face.

"You know," the blonde began, "You two share a bed, you share a freaking phone, and you share ice cream, but you can't share bodily fluids? What's the big deal, just jump him already!"

"It is a big deal, Care!" Elena almost yelled, slapping a hand over her mouth, and looking over her shoulder to see if anyone had noticed. Then she caught Caroline's concerned gaze. "Look, my last relationship went really badly. Like, unimaginably badly, and I'm just not ready to be like that, all in, with someone again." She felt unwanted tears burn behind her eyes, and the other woman stepped forward to pull her into a tight hug. "I'm trying, I really am. And I just care about him too much, and I don't want him to get bored with me, but I just can't yet."

"It's okay," Caroline cooed. "I'm sorry; I get it. It's complicated. It's just..." She pulled back, blue eyes meeting brown. "If you were ever going to put your trust in anyone, it's him. He'd do anything to protect the people that he cares about, and right now, he cares about you more than anyone." She lowered her voice, a gleam in her eye. "Even more than Jessica, and that's saying something."

A few days later, the same two women were once again standing next to each other, only this time, it was in the hallway of the penthouse, in front of what was now Jeremy's room, eyeing the parade of sweaty men saunter by as they deposited boxes just inside the threshold and shuffled back out.

"I don't see why you two can't help," Damon complained, earning a supportive nod from Tyler behind him.

Caroline held up her hands, showing of her nails. "Elena and I just got manicures. And besides, we're interior decorating!"

"It's already decorated," Tyler grumbled, dropping the box unceremoniously and turning back to the hall where Caroline wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, hard.

Elena watched with amusement as the man froze for a moment, eyed Damon, shrugged almost imperceptibly, and placed his hands lightly on his ("Are you guys official now? Boyfriend, girlfriend?") whatever's waist.

"Do I get a reward too?" Damon breathed in her ear, causing her to jump.

"Hm... I don't know," she turned to face him, "You are awfully sweaty..."

He rolled his eyes and made to move past her, but she shot an arm out, grabbing him by his t-shirt collar and pulled him in for a searing kiss of her own. His tongue slid along her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth, accepting him eagerly, forgetting where she was, and who was there...

"Gross."

The two couples leapt apart to meet Jeremy and Alaric's irritated eyes.

"Is this what I'm gonna have to live with now?" the younger man asked no one in particular, his trademark half-smirk tugging at his lips. "Everyone just making out all over the place?"

"At least Damon and Elena have learned the concept of a bedroom," Caroline tossed off, releasing Tyler and stepping toward her own room. "Anyways, we need to get ready for that premiere thing, or we'll be late."

Damon let out an aggrieved sigh, placed another light kiss on Elena's lips, and then followed the blonde.

"Well I'm outta here," Tyler stated, waving at the remaining three and making his way to the stairs.

"That was the end of it, right Jer?" Alaric asked. When the other man nodded, he continued. "Then I'm calling it a day too. See you guys at the reunion this weekend, right? Jenna's bringing me."

Much like Damon had done, he tried to look unenthusiastic, but the siblings could tell that he was vibrating with joy at the thought of spending more time with the eldest Gilbert.

"So what's wrong with you?" Jeremy asked his sister.

"Nothing," she answered a little too quickly, shaking her head.

"Yeah, right," he said sarcastically. "You visibly deflated as soon as Damon left."

He moved into his room, and Elena followed, flopping down on her back on the bed.

"I'm just causing myself problems. When he and I are together, it's great. But then the rest of the world floods back in, and I remember that he isn't mine."

She was surprised when Jeremy answered her with a bark of laughter.

"You clearly have never heard him talk about you. The past hour or so, trooping up and down... Jesus, Elena, you have him whipped six ways from Sunday."

"I really don't think that's entirely true," she sighed, sitting up and looking at her hands.

"Fine then, think what you want. But why isn't Tyler as upset as you? He's obviously nuts about Caroline, right?" She nodded. "So don't worry so much about it. It's nothing."

"Yeah, well," she rose and drifted toward the door, "Everyone keeps saying that, but it isn't making me feel any better."

Hours later, Elena found herself in bed, curled up, trying desperately to sleep away her frustration. And not just emotional frustration either; her thoughts kept drifting to a very impure place, with a very naked Damon, and a very aroused her. And that process just made her more and more upset. She understood the whole arrangement, but she couldn't help herself from caring about him more and more, while he didn't seem to take any notice. He still lived his life the way he always had, just sliding Elena in where Andie had once fit.

In her depressed state of mind, she didn't think of how he'd invited Jeremy to move in, for her peace of mind. Or how he stopped by her office for lunch whenever he could. Or how he had completely forgone sleeping with anyone else. Or...

There was a soft click as her door opened, and the sound of someone trying to tiptoe into darkened room.

"Elena," Damon whispered, "Are you awake?"

She didn't answer, choosing instead to feign sleep, forcing her breaths to come out evenly. She heard Damon sigh, and the bed dipped behind her. She listened as he pulled off his shoes, stood up and shucked his jacket, slid off his tie, unbuttoned and removed his dress shirt, and dropped his pants. She knew that he was tossing the whole of the suit into a pile on the floor, not concerned with wrinkles or the like, and she found herself repressing a smile at the thought.

The bed dipped again, a small burst of cold air causing goose bumps on her arm when Damon slid under the covers with her. Then his arm wrapped around her waist, and he nuzzled into her neck, and let out a long, slow breath.

"I'm so glad you're asleep," he whispered, "Because I would never say this if you were awake; but I'm so glad I have you to come home to now."

And with that, he pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder, and drifted off to sleep, leaving Elena to wonder, smiling, if everyone else had been right after all.