Coming Home Chapter 11: Feather Pillows

This chapter is fluff atop fluff atop almost smut. You're welcome. =)

Reviews? On with the show...

The next morning I woke to Elena on the far side of the bed curled in a ball. She was shaking like a leaf. Since vampires couldn't get cold, it had to be from fear.
"Lena? You okay?" I whispered, not wanting to startle her. I got no response. I scooted closer, gently wrapped my arm around her, and turned her to face me. She was still asleep, but she was sobbing. I wiped away the tears as best as I could and gently shook her to wake her up.
Her eyes fluttered open and as she discovered where she was, she burst into sobs again as she wrapped her arms around me and clung to me like Jeremy had the night before. Where the hell had this come from? All I could do was lay there and hold her as she lost herself in her sobs.
When she finally stopped sobbing and was reduced to sniffles, I wiped her tears from her cheeks as I spoke.
"Lena, what's going on? I haven't seen you this upset since...yeah."
"It's j-just th-this dream I- I keep having. It's memories from before I came back. I'm sorry you saw this. I feel like an idiot."
"Do not ever apologize for crying, Elena. How long have these dreams been happening?"
"We'll I had them every single night for the past 5 years but they suddenly stopped about 6 months ago. They just started back up within, oh, the past week? Stress, I suppose."
I nodded as I took in this information and swept a lock of hair from her face.
"What happens in them? What are you remembering that is so terrible? Is it-"
"They're memories from Atlanta. Um, some things happened a few years after I left. Things that would devastate certain people if they were revealed."
"Elena...tell me."
" I-I can't, not right now. Not here. Just...I can't. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, but before this whole fiasco is over, you are going to tell me everything. Okay?"
She nodded and gave me one of her perfect smiles as she reached up to place her lips on mine. Mornings were never going to be the same, were they? Waking up to this every day seemed like the perfect way to spend eternity. I happily gave in to her advances and we made out like two high schoolers for what felt like eternity.
Then Katherine burst into the room, entirely ruining our moment.

As I tried to get Damon to forget all about what he'd just seen, using my lips of course, I heard footsteps approaching just as the door to our bedroom burst open and a very...interesting looking Katherine appeared at the foot of our bed, practically doing flips from excitement.
"OH MY GOD GUYS! Elena, I gotta talk to you NOW!" She squealed. Katherine actually squealed. This was huge. I hopped out of bed and followed her out into the hallway. It was nice to see someone all bent out of shape from happiness for a change rather than as the result of the latest tragedy.
"Ok Kat, spill. I was very warm and happy and you came in all flippity. I would like to return to my warm happy place ASAP."
"Sorry, lovely. But this was way too huge to keep to myself and since everyone else is asleep...yeah. Anyways, Elijah proposed to me this morning."
My eyes had to look like two planets in that moment. Never did I think that those two would actually work it all out and end up engaged, yet here we were.
"Holy Christ, Kat! That's awesome!" This time I squealed as I embraced my identical, 500 year senior, sister. Squeals rung out from us both as we hopped around squealing before she pulled away to show me the ring.
"That has got to be the oldest, largest stone I have ever seen. Only an original..." I smirked and sighed.
"Only MY original." She winked and waved as she flitted back to her room to tell Elijah all about our little exchange. Crazy girl.
I decided that she had the right idea as a smile emerged on my face and I entered my own bedroom again, knowing Damon heard every bit. When I reached the bed, I heard his soft snores. Maybe he hadn't heard any of it after all. I sat on the bed and just watched him sleep for a few minutes. He looked so harmless and at peace. If I wasn't one, and I didn't know him, I'd think he was just an unfairly handsome human sleeping. But I knew what he was capable of. I knew the horrible things he'd done, but I knew the amazing man he was too. The way he'd always sacrificed for the people he cared about, whether he admitted it or not.
The way he'd always chosen me. How he did everything he could to protect me and keep me from the fate he had before him. And when it wasn't enough and I became a vampire, he still loved me and protected me as he did when I was a human. Even when I'd shut it off, he stayed. Stefan had been my first love, and he always would have a special place in my heart, but Damon. Damon was the love of my existence. As long as I existed, he would protect me, love me, and above all put up with me in a way that only Damon Salvatore could. I had loved Damon since the first time we met (that I remembered as a human) in the foyer of the same mansion we were in now. It just took losing my life to admit it to myself, and losing my humanity for him to really believe me.
There he lay, snoring softly. Why had I stayed away for so long?
I crawled under the covers next to him, snuggled against the heat of his body, and wrapped myself around him. He stirred only long enough to wrap himself around me too before we both fell asleep again. The world's problems could wait for a few more hours...

When I woke up again, the sun was streaking in through the windows on either side of the bed. I could hear Elena's soft snoring as I felt her breath brush against my chest. She smelled like roses and honey. No other person in the history of time had that smell. I'd dreamt of it for over a decade now and to wake up with it in my nostrils was a blessing I wasn't sure I'd ever experience again. She shifted against me and rolled onto her back. No tears this time. In that moment I wished she was human again, just so I could see what was playing in that beautifully stubborn mind of hers.
There was always vervain...kidding of course! Well, mostly.
It was then that I realized how quiet the Salvatore boarding house was today. Now I hate to be pessimistic, but silence in Falls Church typically means all hell is going to break loose before sunset. Ugh.
I heard Jeremy pad into Stefan and Care's bedroom and then his squeals as he no doubt pounced on them and was promptly tickled, likely by my baby brother.
Kat and Elijah were having a conversation in the kitchen. She sounded happier than usual. Oh God, had she killed someone again?
Matt's overly loud snores could have easily been heard by a human, so obviously they were like a jet engine to my ears. I heard a groan from Bonnie then a grunt from Matt before his snoring stopped. Good girl, witchy.
Rebecca was talking to Klaus in the library, trying to get information from him and comforting him, saying that it would all be okay. What was with these women acting all sentimental? Had witchy's pregnancy hormones transferred to them all?
Alaric and Tyler were in Klaus' bedroom with Meredith, still trying to figure out what the hell happened.
It sounded to me like everything was being handled without me or Elena. I was more than okay with that. Never before had she and I just been allowed to do this; to just be lazy, lay in bed together and rest. It was fantastic. I turned on the TV on the opposite wall from the bed and watched CNN while Elena wrapped herself around me again. The rest of the world seemed to be still standing, so that was always good, right?

I woke up in Damon's arms and felt the sun coming in from the windows. That was one of the things about being a vampire I still couldn't get used to, knowing when the sun was up. I groaned, not wanting to move and certainly not wanting to get up and face the traumas outside of this bedroom. I decided to do an inventory of the chaos.
Let's see...Bonnie was in the bathroom taking a shower, or puking and trying to be considerate to all the vampires in the house.
Matt was snoring loudly, as usual. I need to remember to get him something for that, like a pillow to put over his face.
Tyler and Rebecca were talking to Klaus about what to do from here. Well, that was progress.
Stefan and Caroline were. Oh God. Never mind.
Jeremy was playing in his room with Ric while Meredith slept in her and Alaric's room. Poor woman.
Elijah and Katherine were watching a movie in the theatre.
All seemed well in Casa de Salvatore. A sigh of relief escaped my lips, warranting a chuckle from Damon. I glared up at him in mock horror.
"How dare you find humor in my relief?" I exclaimed, a smirk spreading across my lips.
"I would never, princess." He replied, returning my smirk with one of his own. Good god I was in deep with this man.

Anderson Cooper had just gone off when I felt Elena shift next to me. Knowing she was likely trying to not have to move a muscle, I let her scan the house for any pressing issues. When she realized that there were none, her sigh was one of the cutest, sexiest things I'd ever heard. Only Elena Gilbert could turn a man on with a sigh of relief. Good grief.
Things only got worse as I watched her reaction to my uncontrollable chuckle. Her mock anger was even cuter than her sigh. Why did I have to chuckle? This was quickly turning into torture, for me at least. I looked down at her and smirked as I replied to her adorable remark.
I ran my fingers through her hair and smiled to myself as her eyes flitted closed at the sensation. She always had enjoyed having her hair played with. She succumbed to the feeling of having my fingers run through her hair and laid her head back down on my chest as her breathing deepened and she slipped into a state of utter relaxation.
"What the hell are you watching?" She managed to mumble. "Uh, now I don't know." It was CNN but apparently the channel changed...
I found the remote and changed the channel to an old movie channel and relaxed myself as Gone with the Wind began.

"Damon, can we do this more often?" I timidly asked as I fought the urge to just pass out again. Gone with the Wind was one of my favorite movies and I didn't want to sleep through a minute of it. Especially when I was watching it in the arms of a Civil War veteran. Haha.
"I think it should be required that we do this much more often, princess." He replied. I looked at the clock and realized it was only noon. The thought of spending the rest of the day like this was too appealing to turn down.
"Do you happen to have plans today?"
"Actually, yes." I frowned at his response until he continued. "I was planning to lay here for the rest of time with this amazing woman."
"You don't say, I planned to lay here for the rest of time too. Comfy bed and all, what more could a girl ask for?" I teased.
"Guess I'll have to tell her to not come then." He smirked and I slapped his arm. "Oh, never mind. There's my girl." He smiled his brilliant smile and my whole universe got a little brighter. I snuggled further into his arms and went back to watching the movie, all the while absently tracing patterns on his chest.

It was good to see Elena being a smartass again. Before she took off on me, I wasn't sure any of us would see that Elena again. At least not the one that didn't mean what she said.
Gone with the Wind's credits began scrolling down the plasma tv screen. "You know, 'Lena, much as I don't want to budge, we both need to eat."
" I don't know, becoming desiccated like this would be pretty cool." She smirked up at me. "But I have to agree with you, love. I'll go-"
I was already out the door and running to grab blood bags from the basement before I could even hear the rest of that sentence. Part of the rush was from not wanting to be away from her. Another part was not wanting to be seen and dragged into the day's dramatics. I actually almost managed it.
Little Jeremy was in the upstairs hallway when I came back upstairs. When I saw him just standing there, I approached him and asked what was up.
"Oh, hey Unkie Damon. I was just thinking, I guess. I know who did this to April."
I was about to turn and go when what he said hit me.
"You know? Why haven't you told anyone, buddy?"
"Seriously? Who's going to listen to a kid?" He raised his eyebrows as he awaited my response.
"Gotcha. Well I will. So spill it."
He took a deep breath. "Okay. There was this girl I saw outside my window the other day. She looked really angry and like she knew Tyler and Klaus. She was watching them talk out on the patio out back. Suddenly she wasn't there anymore. Then I saw her again the night April...you know. It was her. It had to be."
"Wow, Jer. I think you are right. Thank you for telling me. I'm gonna go tell your mom and dad, ok? Everything is going to be fine."
"Okay. I'll go play now." He turned and left in the direction of his bedroom.
I rushed downstairs and found Caroline and Stefan in the kitchen.
"Guys, your kiddo is a miracle. He just told me who did this to April."
"Well we always knew he was amazing. Wait, what?" Stefan said, literally gawking at me.
"Yeah. He told me. I'm entirely willing to spill, but I need you two to help me with this plan I have for Wednesday. You agree, I spill, okay?" Of course they agreed after I told them what my plans were.
"Okay, so here's what he told me..."

What the hell was taking Damon so long? I felt abandoned. Reluctantly, I crept from the bed to the door and cracked it open. No signs of life. Hmm...
I walked down the hall and found Jeremy in his room playing with Alaric.
"Seen a vampire, about yay high, black hair, blue eyes?" I asked.
"Nope." Ric answered.
"Yeah. He's downstairs talking to mommy and daddy about what I told him." Jeremy spit out at an almost inhuman speed.
"We'll, thanks...Jer." I smiled to myself as I turned and left the room, proud that I'd been able to say that word without losing it.
When I reached the kitchen, I could tell that Damon was giving a speech and the words April, Klaus, and Tyler were involved. So Jeremy knew what happened. I had to know too. I entered the kitchen and snuck behind Damon, as I was about to pounce, he spun around and swept me off my feet, causing me to squeak. He set me down, wrapped his warm arms around me, and continued.
"So anyway, she had to be the one to do it. It all makes sense if you toss her into the equation. Right?"
Stefan and Caroline both nodded, twin looks of disbelief on their faces. Care was the first to speak. "So you're telling me that she's back from New Orleans? Why wouldn't she have gone after Re- oh. Cause she's and original. Huh. It does all make sense now. Damn."
"So what the hell do we do now?" Stefan asked, obviously frustrated.
"Well, while you boys figure that out, I'm going to go smother my son in kisses for his brilliance." Caroline called out as she sped out the door and toward her son's room.
"Stef, I'd tell the others and let them help. I'm indisposed for the rest of the day. Sorry, baby bro." Damon shrugged and then took my hand as he exited the room, dragged my very willing form back to our room. A huge smile broke across my face at the gesture. He was as eager to get back to where we left off a I was. We were like teenagers...virgin teenagers. Not having sex but still being intimate. I didn't know we were capable of such control. I liked it.
As we entered the bedroom, I grabbed one of the blood bags from his hands and proceeded to drink the whole thing, filling my need immediately. It was remarkable how little blood vampires survived on. I'd be set for another day now. Damon mirrored my actions and then surprised me, grabbing the bag in my hand, tossing both into the trash in the corner without looking. The next thing I knew, I was pinned against the wall by his pelvis.
So much for not having sex, I thought as his mouth consumed mine.

I'd been such a good boy all day and dammit, she was just too fucking beautiful to resist. My inner badass was pouting. After I finished my blood bag, I let myself lose control. I pinned her against the wall and devoured her lips like I'd longed to all that time in that bed. Her response was immediate and our tongues were soon exploring one another's mouths.
I tore my lips from hers to begin exploring her familiar body instead. I trailed kisses down one side of her neck, beginning behind her ear, eliciting a moan from her lips, as I expected. I continued my voyage across her collar bone and up the other side of her neck, ending in another feather-light kiss behind her other ear. She clutched me to her with that. I returned to her lips, gently biting her lower lip and causing a gasp to escape her. I took her hands, intertwining them with mine and pinning them against the wall above her.
At this point she was writhing against me, and I was very glad we had shut the door behind us.
Poor Jeremy, if he walked in on this...he'd be either scarred, or educated. Knowing the kid, probably the latter.
"Damon, please..." she moaned against my lips, rocking her hips against mine.
"Oh Elena, I'm just getting started..."

This was not in my plans for how the afternoon would be going, but I couldn't possibly complain. Only Damon could elicit from my body the things he was right now. My body involuntarily writhed against his, knowing the pleasure that awaited us both. We'd both been in control of ourselves all day, but now it was a battle of who would give in first. Guess it would be me, it usually was. Again, totally not sorry.
I begged him and he responded with that smartass remark. So that's how this would be going. Alright, game on, Salvatore.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, ramping up the writhing. Immediately I could sense his level of arousal heighten. His member pressed against me right where I needed him and the material of our pajamas standing in the way of release was enough to almost drive me mad. I couldn't even try to fix that situation, he had me pinned, my hands above my head, and he was older than me, therefore stronger. Damn it. The moans I'd been able to keep in were getting harder and harder to contain.
To distract myself from his torture, I took my lips on an exploration of their own. I nibbled on his ear lobes, eliciting a groan from him as he continued his assault on my upper body. I kissed his neck and let my lips travels over hips shoulders, behind his ears, and onto his face until our lips met again. We both let out a moan this time and I wasn't so sure he wouldn't be the one to cave first.
This was, by far, my favorite game. Ever.
He began grinding against me, and I quickly matched him, thrust for thrust. We were both consumed by the other and neither of us wanted to be the one to cave and make that move toward more comfortable arrangements nearby.
"Fuck Elena, cave already." He grunted, resting his forehead against mine, not letting up on his torture below a bit.
"Not a chance, Salvatore." I grinned evilly. My eyes met his and all at once, we both stopped torturing the other. My legs slid down his as he released my hands. I cupped his face in my hands, never unlocking our eyes.
Damon Salvatore was crying. I wasn't even sure he knew it, but there were tears streaming down his face. I'd never seen him cry before. He must have been taken aback by my expression since he froze when I did. Maybe he knew he was crying after all.
Christ, what was going on?
Gently, I wiped the tears from his cheeks with the pads of my thumbs; a gesture he'd performed on me too many times to count. Slowly, almost painfully so, I leaned in and pressed the gentlest of kisses on each of his cheeks where moments ago tears lay before kissing his lips with the same gentleness. I felt the tears stream down his cheeks again as he returned my kiss with one of his own with a gentleness I knew he possessed but had never used to kiss me with before. I felt tears sting at the backs of my own eyes at the immense amount of love and emotion that lay behind the kiss we were sharing in this moment.
I pulled back, and looked at him, waiting for him to look at me again. He stared down at my hands which had come to rest on his bare chest. I guess I'd have to drag whatever this was out of him.
"Hey, look at me..." I said, lifting my hand and gently pulling his face up until he looked me in the eye, tears swimming in his.
"I just..." His voice broke. "I really can't- I mean, I don't know how-. Fuck. 'Lena, I just, I never get the girl. You know that. And...and I just can't imagine- I've never."
"Damon Salvatore, look at me. Do I look like I'm about to run? There is nowhere else in the universe I would rather be than anywhere with you by my side. Got it? I'm not running anymore. I'm here. You got the girl. I. Love. You." As I said those three words, the tears that were swimming in his eyes before, finally fell down his cheeks. I kissed each of them as they streamed. He pulled me against him.
"I'm sorry. I've just waited so long to hear that...from you. I'll never understand what you see in me, but I'll always be grateful that you see it. I love you too." He whispered against my ear. I pulled back and rested my forehead against his, looking into his eyes.
"I don't deserve you or your love." He finally said. "You do, and I plan to make you believe that one day." I replied.
"You saved me all those years ago; it's time I returned the favor," I smiled at him. "now, kindly allow me to remove myself from this wall."
"Not a chance, Gilbert." He smirked at me, the brightness back in his eyes. Oh shit.

"Damon...let's think before we do something we regret..." I warned. It was futile.

A squeal escaped my lips as I was tackled to the floor by the god-looking man who had my heart. It's hard to remember the next hour due to the lack of oxygen. That was both a drawback and an advantage to vampirism. Tickle fights could continue endlessly when neither party needed air. We didn't have sex that day, but I don't think I've ever felt more intimate with him than I did that day.