A/N: Hey everyone! So, this chapter is going to be about something that fans have been speculating about for a couple of weeks now – that Delena are supposedly going to have sex in next week's episode ;) Thus, I decided I simply have to write something about it. Enjoy!

Word: Flame
Set: 4x07

Chapter Thirteen: Flame

Hearing that Stefan and Elena had broken up made Damon very confused. After all, Elena had made her choice that she was going to be with Stefan forever just a few short weeks ago, yet just as suddenly they were no longer together? He didn't know what to make of it, but seeing as they had broken up quite a few times now he didn't want to believe anything.

Anyway, just because they were broken up didn't mean anything regarding him and Elena. It could, but again, he didn't want to hope. He'd hoped that Elena would have chosen him, but she didn't, so he wasn't really ready to dive back into it with her again. He'd need quite a bit of convincing on her part to prove that she really, truly wanted to be with him - and not just because she wanted to get over his brother. He wasn't some rebound guy.

Pounding the last of his bourbon, Damon looked over himself in his mirror one last time. Today was the day of the annual Miss Mystic Falls pageant - the very same one that only a year ago had Damon falling in love with Elena. She wasn't entered this time but was still going, which naturally meant that he wasn't far behind.

She kept looking at him during the pageant. He didn't know why, but it was very distracting. Just when he thought he could pretend to admire the girls in their pretty dresses, he felt her gaze on him. It was not only distracting, but confusing. As was Stefan's comment earlier: "Let's not pretend that this isn't the happiest day of your life." Sure he was happy that they had broken up, but why would that make it the happiest day of his life? What was his little brother not telling him?

As he was looking for some sort of alcohol inside the building, he found himself by the stairs that Elena had walked down, looking terrified and embarrassed and her boyfriend not waiting for her at the foot of them. That was when everything had changed. He'd made the snap decision to step in for Stefan, and had then had to watch as Elena looked deeply gratified. He always knew she was beautiful - after all, she was Katherine's doppelganger - but seeing her walk towards him completely messed with his head and without realising it, he fell for her. Sure, he didn't know he was in love with her for a very long time, but thinking back on it he knew that that was when it happened. Of course it just got worse and worse as he danced with her and held her close for the very first time.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Damon finally spotted a table that had champagne or something on it. It wouldn't help him to get drunk as fast as his bourbon would, but it was still good enough. He drank a glass quickly, before heading back towards where all the people were.

That was, until he heard her speak his name.

Looking up, he saw Elena, looking just as beautiful as ever, walking down the stairs towards him. He had a sudden sense of déjà vu, and had to blink to dispel the image of her at the previous Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

"We need to talk." She said simply. No emotions in her voice, no emotions in her eyes. He had no idea what she wanted to talk to him about, but it sounded important.

Frowning, he followed her up the stairs and into a room where she closed the door behind them.

"We're not breaking up, are we?" Damon asked sarcastically, hinting at his knowledge of her own breakup.

Elena rolled her eyes, ignoring his comment.

When she didn't say anything, Damon asked, "So...why are we in here?"

"It's private. I don't want other people hearing and seeing what I'm about to tell you," Elena blushed. She blushed. Damon was just getting more and more confused by the minute.

"Why?"

Elena paused for a long time, considering her words.

"Elena...?" Damon really did not know what was going on. He was so confused.

"Sorry." Elena replied sheepishly. "Okay. Here goes."

Here goes what? "What is going on?"

Elena moved closer to him until she was directly in front of him. He sucked in his breath. Just yesterday she had been staring at him with this exact same look, and it was terrifying. She'd also been holding his hand, like now, as she reached out for it.

He'd only seen that look once before, on his mother. It was a look of what he suspected was adoration...but surely it couldn't be, right?

"Damon," Elena began, once again thinking about her choice of words. She seemed to be trying very hard to say the right thing, but he still had no idea what was going on. "As you may well know, Stefan and I broke up yesterday."

"I did know that." He hated how his voice came out. "What does that have to do with me?"

"Everything. It has everything to do with you. You need to know why we broke up, Damon, so you'll understand." Elena took a deep breath. "We broke up, not only because things just weren't working anymore, but also because both he and I have noticed a change in me. It's been developing for a long time, but only really came into fruition when I turned into a vampire." She looked at him more intently now. "Ever since I've become a vampire, you have been helping me and taking care of me - you also saved me yesterday when I wanted to die. I don't thank you enough for anything you do, but one reason for that is because I know I don't have to. You'll always be here for me, something that I know in my heart that nobody else will."

Well, you've got that right. "So...bffs forever?"

Elena laughed and shook her head, her smile reaching her eyes and making them twinkle. She looked so happy, like she'd come to some huge realisation that he was still in the dark about.

"No, silly. I was actually hoping for something more than that," she paused, watching to see if he understood what she meant. When he didn't respond in any way, she continued. "I broke up with Stefan because something has changed between you and me, Damon...something that I don't have with Stefan, something that was magnified intensely when I turned into a vampire. My feelings for you, while pretty strong while I was human, are even stronger now."

He heard the words, but his mind wasn't connecting, his heart wasn't believing. He desperately wanted to believe her, he really did, but he was Damon. He'd been hurt far too many times before.

"What I'm trying to say is that I broke up with Stefan because...I want to be with you, Damon. I want to explore my feelings for you, and I want to make our relationship stronger than it already is."

Damon blinked. The words registered in his head, and his heart swelled. She doesn't love me, but she could love me. Soon. And she wants to be with me...

In all of two seconds Damon had her pushed back against the door and was kissing her. She responded enthusiastically, a small smile on her lips that drove him crazy.

Pulling away from him for a second, she asked: "So, is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes Elena," Damon sighed, resting his forehead against hers. His heart still hadn't calmed itself, and he now doubted if it ever would. Elena sighed happily as well, the smile still on her lips, which drew Damon's attention.

He really didn't want to mess up Elena's pretty little outfit, but soon that thought was forgotten as they kissed and sighed and moaned wordlessly. Kissing each other had become an art form, something that they both were determined to master.

When they needed to breathe, even then they did not leave each other's embrace. Damon would kiss every inch of her face and her neck while Elena whispered to him everything that she adored about him (or tried to, given her state of breathlessness).

It was like a dream.

A very, very happy dream. That evening, they had retreated to the boarding house where they had danced together (something which Damon felt was absolutely necessary - it celebrated one year of, well, him loving her really, but she didn't need to know that). They were so close, and stayed close for the rest of the night.

They weren't sure how it had happened, but they had ended up in Damon's room, on his bed, with various pieces of clothing being discarded as one by one they became naked. It hadn't meant to happen, but with both of them in their own little world it wasn't surprising. They'd been a bubble of sexual tension for a very long time, and now that they were alone together they finally were able to explore it. To love each other. To worship each other. To cherish each other.

By the end of the night, they knew each other more than they had ever before, and found that they were content to hold each other silently by the fireplace, reflecting on the day's events, and watching the flames flicker back and forth.

A/N: Sigh. My own writing gave me feels, guys. I'm not okay right now. This has to be my favourite chapter yet :')

To think we will actually see something sort of like this next week. Obviously I've gone a bit over the top, but that's okay because no matter what - Elena is going to tell Damon how she feels, which will lead to sex by the end of the episode.

I can't.

Goodbye, and I will see you in a few days. Au revoir, and leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter too!