Author: HollyGolightly1985
Rating: M for language, adult situations and possible violence
Summary: Set 8 years after the events of 2x08. Elena, having started a new life in New York, is begrudgingly pulled back to Mystic Falls to support the union of two loved ones. D/E Pairing.
Disclaimer: I obviously own nothing. If I did EVERY episode would be full of Delena fluff!
A/N: I am soooo terribly sorry that this update is so long overdue. I know you all probably don't care or want to hear it but wedding planning has really been bogging me down. My advice to any soon to be brides or grooms is to simply elope. This wedding stuff is for the birds I say! Thanks to those of you that have reviewed and added this story to their alerts/favs. You guys are my driving force! Special thanks to Babi (PLEASE go read her stuff! Her work is so emotionally charged), gseemann, lateVMlover (your review had me dancing around the room), LoveEpicLove (she writes simply AMAZING stories. I'm one of her biggest fans! She probably doesn't know just how awesome I think she is ;), bluestriker666, Rosesareforever. Thank you all for reviewing. I genuinely appreciate it. It means more to me than you probably know!
Previously
"Dougie!"
Elena whipped her head around searching for the source of the disembodied voice. Looking behind her shoulder she was shocked to see the man standing several yards behind them. Her shock soon turned to excitement and she took off like a bullet.
Damon watched in confusion as Elena ran at full speed to the man behind them. He was less than amused and more annoyed when Elena shrieked as she jumped up and wrapped her legs around the man's torso gripping on to him tightly.
"Aaron!" He heard Elena squeal excitedly.
Oh fucking fantastic! Damon fumed silently as he watched the display before him. This is not good.
Chapter 11: Green Eyed Monster
"Aaron," Elena screamed with excitement, "What are you doing here?"
"What? You're not excited to see me?" The tall, handsome man pulled back from the embrace to look into Elena's face.
"Of course I am. How could I not be? I'm just surprised to see you here is all," Elena disentangled herself from Aaron and took a few steps back to get a better look at him.
Aaron reached for her hands and spun her into a mini circle, examining the damage from the day's earlier paint war. "Please tell me you're not giving up musical theater in pursuit of starting your own variation on 'The Blue Man Group'?"
"Ha ha," she glared at him while pulling her hands back and setting them on her hips. "No I was painting with Damon earlier," Elena turned and smiled in Damon's direction before turning back around, "and things got a little messy."
"I'll say," Aaron let out a low whistle as he came to stand behind her to examine the distinct hand prints on her bottom.
Turning away quickly with a fierce blush, Elena took the few steps to close the gap between herself and Damon. "Damon, I'd like you to meet my friend Aaron Peters. Aaron, this is Damon Salvatore. "
"It's nice to finally meet you," Aaron stuck his hand out in a friendly gesture. Damon stared at his offending limb with a certain amount of disdain before shaking his hand with a little too much vigor.
With a tight smirk that was a little mocking Damon replied tersely, "Likewise." Pulling his hand back he crossed them over his chest in a definite, defensive manner.
Picking up on the quickly growing tension, Elena cleared her throat before turning her attention back to Aaron, "So, honestly, what brings you to these neck of the woods Aaron?"
"I missed my best friend. Do I need another reason?" Aaron slung an arm around her shoulder and placed a quick peck on the crown of her head. "Plus, I figure what better way than to dig up some dirt on your sordid past than by asking the ones who knew you way back when."
"You've got enough dirt on me already Aaron," she whined as she shoved him away from her side. "I'm not allowing you to get more ammunition!"
"Somebody's grumpy this afternoon," Aaron laughed. "Would you be a little more cheery if say I brought you something?"
"A gift?" Elena eyed him suspiciously before subconsciously taking on Damon's stance.
"Yes. It's something edible."
"Is there any other kind of gift?" she scoffed at the mere idea.
"No. I might mention that I had to stop in Washington, DC to pick it up…" he trailed off letting her assume the rest of that statement.
"No, you didn't! Did you?" Elena bit her lower lip in anticipation as she bounced up and down lightly on the balls of her feet.
"I most certainly did," Aaron turned and headed back to retrieve the treat from his car.
"What is it?" Damon, who had been silent till this point asked curiously, if not a little annoyed. He was miffed that Aaron had just showed up out of the blue which seemed to have effectively brightened Elena's day. It had taken him several days to get back in her good graces which still bothered him. He was jealous that he couldn't put that brilliant smile on her face without a little effort. Or that he didn't have inside jokes with her like this Aaron character clearly did.
"It's chocolate from Biagio's! This place is amazing Damon. They have over 400 different chocolate bars from thirty three different chocolatiers all over the world. I'm determined to try at least half of them before I die."
Damon cringed at the last half of that statement as he was reminded just how ephemeral human life was. Shaking it off he smiled softly at her, "How many have you tried?"
"Aaron and I have sampled close to 30 now. That has, of course, been over the last few years."
"Make that 35," Aaron smiled as he held out the small bag to her. Elena snatched up the bag quickly to examine the goods within.
"Vosges Haut Chocolate Bacon Bar?" Elena cringed at the offensive delight. "Really, Aaron? You know I hate bacon. Particularly apple wood. I'm sorry but meat should never have a sweet taste to it." She shuddered as she placed the bar back into the small bag.
"Where's your sense of adventure Lena? You're the one who made me promise we'd try all of the different bars, no matter how disgusting. Remember?" Aaron laughed.
"Yeah, yeah. When have you ever listened to what I've said in the past?"
"Come on, Miss Pissy Pants, let's get some food in you. You won't be so crabby when your glucose levels come back up. Is there anywhere decent around here for a mid day snack?" Aaron glanced around and took a moment to soak up his settings.
"Yeah, The Grill is really the only place to go around here," Elena offered.
"Lead the way."
"Actually, Damon and I were just headed in here to get some more paint," she jabbed her thumb backwards pointing to the hardware store. "Seeing as we wasted most of it."
"Come on, let me buy you lunch," Aaron whined. "You too Damon, I insist."
Elena bit her lower lip out of nervous habit before turning to gauge Damon's reaction. She scanned his face for any sign of disapproval or hesitance but saw none. He was the picture of perfect, stoic composer. From the years she'd known him she had gleaned that this face usually was put in place to hide what he was truly feeling.
"Yes, let's go," Damon smirked. "We can finish the painting another time."
"Are you sure?" Elena whispered. She really hated to throw a wrench into their plans for the day. Aaron's showing up in Mystic Falls had thrown her for a loop. She had been looking forward to spending the rest of the day with Damon, alone. In that she had been hoping to establish a sense of normalcy between them. The normalcy that once came so easily to both of them.
"Yes," Damon's quick and dismissive one word answer clued her into the fact that he was not at all happy about the situation.
"Perfect. We can discuss all of Elena's most embarrassing stories while we eat," he turned and followed the couple down the sidewalk in the direction of the restaurant.
"Do not feed the animals!" Elena narrowed her eyes and forced a finger into the center of his chest.
Entering The Grill they gazed around the restaurant in search of an empty table or booth to accommodate their small party. "Look, we can sit with Bonnie and Jer," Elena smiled and headed over to the couple's booth. "Hey, lovebirds. Mind if we join you?"
"Not at all. Slide right in," Bonnie rose from her side of the booth and slid in next to Jeremy.
"Bonnie and Jeremy, this is my dear friend Aaron, whom I have mentioned many times over. Aaron, this is my younger brother Jeremy and his fiancée/my best friend for twenty four years," Elena made the necessary introductions.
"A pleasure and might I add congratulations," Aaron beamed as he slid in next to Bonnie and Jeremy. Elena breathed a sigh of relief as she slid in after Damon on their side of the booth.
"Thank you," Bonnie blushed.
"So, you'd be the one to ask all the really juicy and embarrassing stories about Dougie's younger years then?" Aaron wagged his brows at Elena.
"Let it go Aaron! I have no secrets or embarrassing stories to hide," Elena crossed her arms in a challenging manner.
"Oh how I beg to differ Dougie!" Aaron scoffed.
"I have to ask," Bonnie interrupted with a light laugh. "What's with the funny moniker?"
"Ah, a prime example of an embarrassing Elena story," Aaron straightened up in his seat and leaned forward to begin his tale. "It's senior year and we're on spring break which, coincidentally, also happens to fall in the time frame of Lena's birthday. Since it was her 21st birthday I let her decide where we would go on break. Where does she decide to go? Tijuana. Of all the exotic and exciting places we could have gone to she wanted to go to TJ. I begged her to let me take her to Las Vegas but she had her mind set on TJ."
"Yeah, she's stubborn when she's set her mind on something," Bonnie chimed in.
"Like a dog with a bone," Damon smirked.
"You're so not helping," she reached for the glass of water the waitress set in front of her before taking a large, refreshing gulp. Turning she gave Damon a secret smile and a quick wink.
"Back to the story," Aaron cleared his throat to get the attention back onto himself. "So we're in TJ, aimlessly wondering the Zona Rio district where we happen across this bar, Rodeo Sante Fe. Lena was absolutely dying to have her first legal drink so we went in. Let me tell you, they don't call this place Rodeo Sante Fe for nothing. This place had a real live rodeo inside along with a mechanical bull." With that, Aaron's smirked tripled in size and was aimed in Elena's direction.
"Please, I can't think of my sister astride a mechanical bull," Jeremy made a show of placing his hands over his ears, clamping his eyes shut and shaking the thoughts away.
"God, but I can," Damon muttered lowly so that only Elena could hear. Her face went beet red at that remark as she took another cooling drink from her water.
"Trust me, it was the furthest thing from sexy," Aaron smiled apologetically at Jeremy. "She didn't ride the bull until well past ten shots. Back to the nickname part of the story. So after about shot five Elena started to let loose and decided to cut a rug on the dance floor-"
"Shut it Peters!" Elena shot him her best death glare.
Unperturbed by her threat Aaron carried on, "And on the bar. It was all very 'Coyote Ugly' of her. Sans the grace of course. Although I must say, she shakes her hips like a thirty five year old cougar on the prowl when she has the mind for it. Which is exactly what she was doing when this troop of older, Hispanic males introduced themselves to her. They were all completely smitten. They were buying her shots, appetizers and calling her 'Miss Lena'. Somehow, and I'm still not clear how, Elena decided to teach these gentlemen how to 'Dougie'. You should have seen her. I know I'll never forget the sight of her atop that bar with the white vaquero hat she made me buy her. She was just shaking her hips like nobody's business while teaching these guys how to 'Dougie'. They were the ones who encouraged her to ride the bull. I think you lasted, what, thirty seconds on that thing?"
"Forty!" Elena corrected with a laugh. She had forgotten how much fun that trip had been.
"Amazing you lasted that long with how wasted you were. So we didn't end up leaving the bar until it closed which was at five a.m.! The entire two and a half hour drive back to Los Angeles Lena would not stop singing that damn song. It was 'Aaron! Teach me how to Dougie, teach me-teach me how to Dougie. Teach me how to Dougie, teach me-teach me how to Dougie!' She was relentless and piss drunk. We didn't get back to the abandoned dorms till around eight thirty and she was still singing that song as I dragged her drunk ass across the quad. I forced this stubborn girl to drink bottle after bottle of water. I had to sober her up just so she'd stop singing that damn song."
"Thank God you did. I probably would have ended up with alcohol poisoning if it weren't for you pouring all of that water down my gullet. I hated you so much at the time," Elena shivered at the idea of being that drunk and hung over.
"I distinctly recall you saying that," Aaron chuckled and continued in his Elena voice, "Aaron, I hate you and all your stupid guts that fill the inside of your body cavity. As soon as the room stops spinning I'm going to donkey punch you right in the back of your big, stupid head and round house kick you in your nutsack!"
The group was in hysterics at this point. "Oh Jesus, Elena!" Jeremy said between fits of laughter. "You're very distinct and precise when you're drunk."
"I just channeled Chuck Norris," Elena laughed warmly.
"Great story, man," Jeremy leaned over and patted Aaron's shoulder. "Got any more?"
"A ton," Aaron smiled conspiratorially.
"I'll be right back," Elena slid to stand up from the booth. "Bonnie, ladies room?" Elena shot her a trademark 'Girl talk' look before motioning towards the restroom.
"Sure, I'll help you clean up a bit," Bonnie laughed as she slid out of the booth to join her best friend.
"You be good while I'm gone," Elena pointed an accusing finger in Aaron's direction.
"I make no promises," Aaron held his hands up in a defensive manner.
"Jerk!" Elena exclaimed as Bonnie dragged her off in the direction of the restrooms.
As soon as the entered the bathroom Bonnie turned to Elena. "What's up?" she asked as she wet a paper towel and went to work on Elena's face. "You clearly wanted to talk. Spill Gilbert."
"I kissed Damon and have been dying to tell you ever since we walked in," the words were tumbling out faster than Elena's brain could process. She found in best in these situations to let verbal vomit be her guiding light.
"So? It really was only a matter of time, Elena. I mean really, painting? That's code for 'Come over so I can do naughty things with you that would put The Kama Sutra to shame'," Bonnie raised a perfectly arched brow at her best friend.
"You have quite the dirty mind Bonnie Bennett! Does my brother know? You know what? Scratch that, I don't want to know," Elena shivered in disgust. "What do I do now, Bonnie?"
"What do you mean? You carry on Elena. A kiss is not the end of the world. I assume you stopped him after that kiss right?"
"Yes, but it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do," Elena groaned in frustration.
"So why'd you stop then?"
"Bonnie, I can't just leap blindly into that sort of relationship with Damon. We need to work on building that foundation that we once had."
"That's such bullshit," Bonnie shook her head as she scrubbed vigorously at a particularly stubborn spot on Elena's cheek.
"Ow Bonnie! Please do not go all Howard Hughes on my face! It's clean. I might need that side of my face if I have any hope of not scaring little children or unless I decided to take on the role of 'The Phantom'," Elena pouted while nursing her burning cheek.
"Why does everything have to be so complicated with you Elena? You tend to see the world not only in black and white but with shades of grey. Don't get me wrong, I love you for it. However, sometimes things are simply black and white. There's no overlap," Bonnie sighed as she scrubbed the last spot off the back of Elena's neck. "You like him and clearly he likes you. So what's the problem?"
"The problem is that I can't get that deep with Damon. It frightens me. He's just so intense in everything he does. I'm afraid of losing myself in that intensity. I am dedicated to restoring our friendship as I feel I owe it to him for skipping out on him like I did. However, he's got to earn some of my trust too. I don't need to tell you for the hundredth time how much it hurt to hear his admission that night. I really resent him for trying to take something so special away from me. Aside from the whole mind control thing, I'm just upset that he thought I couldn't deal with something of that magnitude. To have something so wonderfully intense within your grasp ripped away from you without a chance to claim it is awful."
"Well clearly you couldn't deal with it, Elena. You stuck your tail between your legs and took off like a bat out of Hell. So there's no need to beat that dead horse."
"I was confused Bonnie. I genuinely thought leaving would be in the best interest for all parties involved. How could I stay here and sort my feelings out for the two Salvatore brothers with their presence hovering over me? I refused to be like Katherine and play games with the two of them. They both deserved better than that. I had every intention of returning before I actually did. It was just so easy to stay away from the problem though. Out of sight, out of mind, you know?" Elena groaned and slumped against the wall. "I can see that returning now only delayed the inevitable. I'm such a chicken shit."
"No, Elena. You were a chicken shit before. You were also very young to have to deal with that kind of intense decision. You're older and wiser now. Now put on your big girl panties and deal with the damage that you've both done," with that Bonnie forced Elena out of the bathroom and back to their booth.
Elena stopped short as she heard the familiar tunes of "Time Warp" drifting from the table. Elena cursed, "Bastard. What did I tell you about feeding the animals?"
"Grease was your first show, huh?" Damon raised a brow at Elena with a shake of his head.
"Aaron!" Elena whined as she plopped back in the booth. Aaron was currently showing the two men, and now Bonnie, video footage of Elena off of his phone.
"What?" Aaron asked innocently. "You were a great Magenta. Except for, wait for," Aaron pointed at the phone. "Bam!" Aaron exclaimed, "Elena rolls her ankle and almost loses it. Classic Lena move!"
"You're such an ass!" Elena huffed. "You swore you'd never tell anyone about that show. I despise you."
"Nonsense, you love me," Aaron scrunched up his nose in a taunting manner. "Besides, you're among friends. It's not like I told them about how you were the understudy for Janet. Oh wait, I just did!"
Elena dipped a fry in ketchup and hurled it at Aaron's head, "Asshat!"
"Please, tell me you have footage of that," Bonnie begged.
"Absolutely. I have the whole show on my laptop. I'd love to show it to you some time. Maybe later this week," Aaron offered a polite smile while sipping his cola.
"Which reminds me," Elena interrupted "How long are you in town for? I'm still suspicious of your just randomly showing up here."
"I'm not sure how long," Aaron answered honestly, "I just really needed to get out of the city for a bit. See my girl."
"What's wrong, Aaron?" Elena reached across the table and clasped her hands around his folded ones in a comforting gesture.
"Jamie broke up with me," Aaron ran a hand through his hair as he exhaled slowly.
"Oh Aaron, I'm so sorry. What happened?" Elena asked nonplussed.
"Let's not bring the mood down. We can talk about that later maybe?" Aaron asked tentatively.
"Yeah, absolutely. We'll have a movie night," Elena offered brightly.
"That'd be nice," Aaron offered a small smile. "I'm staying at the bed and breakfast a few blocks away."
Damon's jaw set at the mention of Elena and Aaron spending the evening alone. He was annoyed with the fact that it had been his own intention to spend some quality time alone with her that day. That was, of course, until Aaron had come along to ruin his plans. Damon had been patient for the last eight years. He was done playing games. He clearly needed to lay it all out on the line for her. On the flip side he was reticent to do so since Elena had been the one wanting them to take things slowly. He understood that they needed to work to get back to where they had once been. However, Damon was anything but a patient man. He'd waited eight years to be so close to her again. Soon Damon decided. Shaking himself out of his reverie he tried to focus in on the conversation at hand.
"We would absolutely love for you to come to the wedding," Bonnie insisted.
"I would truly hate to impose," Aaron turned to face Bonnie.
"Too late," Damon muttered under his breath while taking a discreet sip from his drink. Elena heard though and shot him a quizzical look.
"Nonsense," Bonnie assured Aaron. "It's no imposition at all. Honestly."
"Only if you're sure."
"Great," Elena added nervously. She could feel the tension rolling off of Damon in giant waves. She wasn't sure what was up with him but she was anxious to find out.
"Great," Aaron echoed.
"Super," Damon added sarcastically. "Well I hate to leave this lovely reunion but I've got to get going. I've got a lot of cleaning up to do."
"Let me help you," Elena slid out of the booth to let him pass. "It's partially my fault."
"Don't worry about it," he responded curtly. He turned to Aaron and gave a small nod, "Nice meeting you." The manner in which Damon spoke those words was very contradictory. Which did not go unnoticed by most of the table. Jeremy was always the clueless one though as he pondered the menu.
"I'll walk with you," Elena smiled and turned to follow Damon. Stepping out into the bright sunlight Elena turned to Damon, "Are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Damon crossed his arms across his chest and leaned up against the side of the building.
"You seem awfully tense. Especially around Aaron. Do you have a problem with him or something?"
"Why should I? He's the perfect gentleman, clearly."
"Damon, are you-," Elena hesitated before carrying on, "Are you jealous of Aaron?"
"Why would I be?"
"I don't know. You tell me," she raised an eyebrow challenging him. Seeing that he wasn't going to bite Elena took a deep breath before starting in again, "Look Damon. I've already told you that Aaron and I are best friends. That's it. There's nothing more going on there, I swear. I've also told you that I'm committed to working on our friendship. I thought that much was clear earlier this afternoon." Elena flushed a lovely, deep shade of red.
"Oh, crystal clear," Damon's amused smirk only further serviced to deepen the flush.
"Good, glad that's settled," Elena replied haughtily. "Are you sure you don't need any help with clean up? I know our plans kind of got side railed by Aaron's arrival. I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine," Damon straightened up from the wall and took a few steps closer to Elena. "Thank you for your help today. As fleeting as it was I still appreciate it."
"Yeah, yeah, sure," she laughed. "I'll send you the dry cleaning bill, by the way."
"Noted," Damon closed the gap between them and pulled her into a warm hug. Pulling back slightly he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead, lingering slightly to revel in her warmth. Elena was instantly reminded of his similar action eight years ago. She drew in a shaky breath, trying to push the memory into the recesses of her mind. With his arms still encircling her Damon pulled back slightly and peered down into her face. She was blushing once more. He loved how she looked with whine stained cheeks like that. She was perfect.
"So, I guess I'll see you later, then?" Elena bit her lower lip. The action was completely subconscious but it hit a nerve in Damon that shot straight down to his pelvis.
"Yes," Damon spoke gruffly as he pulled away hesitantly, "you will."
"I look forward to it. Bye," Elena smiled shyly before turning and heading back inside. With that smile still plastered on her face she made her way back over to her friend's booth. Aaron and Bonnie were engaged in conversation while Jeremy was making busy work of shoveling French fries into his gullet.
"So how long were you and Jamie together?"
"A little over two years," Aaron said dejectedly.
"You're better off without him," Elena squeezed into their side of the booth and planted a big, sloppy kiss on Aaron's cheek. Aaron cringed and made a show of shoving her out of the booth.
"I know it's been a while Elena but you know I don't swing that way. Even if I did I wouldn't be with someone as neurotic as you," Aaron laughed.
"That's because you hate competition, you whiny diva," Elena stuck her tongue out at him.
So I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the lovely LoveEpicLove who sniffed out Aaron's sexuality last chapter. Fine work ;) And again, go read her work! Pronto! I hope this chapter was worth the loooonnngggg wait. I'm truly sorry for the wait. I'll be out of town the next few days (going to Disneyland!) but hope to have another chapter up next week.
A/N: In my mind's eye I picture Aaron to look like Eric Winter from "The Ugly Truth". However, you are the reader and may imagine him to look like whomever you so choose. That's the great thing about fiction! Also, these places that Aaron and Elena have visited are real places. I am DYING to hit that chocolate store! The closest thing I've got is Ghirardelli Square in S.F. about 2 hours away. Oh, how I suffer ;)
OH, Also...Who else LOVED Caroline singing "Eternal Flame"? I instantly thought of my earlier chapter in which Elena, Damon and Maddie were listening to The Bangles and squealed like a crazy fan girl. ALSO, HOORAY for Jeremy/Bonnie. At least one of my pairings is coming to fruition.
Please take a moment to leave a comment! I would greatly appreciate it and so would the muse monkey. Especially since I have a loongg 7 hour drive tomorrow morning and would like something to keep me awake ;)
