(another!) Author's Note: I acknowledge that I totally ripped off Edward Cullen's wedding ring from Breaking Dawn with the "secret" rubies inside, but I thought it was a neat little idea that would fit in well with this part of the story. As always, I very much enjoy reading your awesome reviews – a big thank you and lots of smiles!
They kissed on her bed for what seemed like hours, long, leisurely kisses - Damon kept trailing his mouth under Elena's jaw line to her neck, which she didn't quite understand.
"Why do you do that?" she asked him, adding, "Not that I'm complaining," and then sucking in her breath as he nipped her earlobe. He shrugged, working his way back over her cheek and kissing her lips.
"The neck is a special place for a vampire," he explained to her, rolling onto his back and taking her with him; she ended up straddling his waist as she listened to his answer. "It's kind of like a trust thing – you're trusting me not to rip your throat out when I kiss you there."
Elena felt her eyes widen slightly at that statement and its casual delivery, and Damon rolled his eyes and groaned, reaching up and grabbing her and bringing her down to him.
"Elena, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out like that," he told her, voice full of remorse. She shook her head against his shoulder, feeling his arms tighten around her and one hand stroke her back.
"No, it's alright…I know you wouldn't hurt me," she answered. He pushed her shoulders back slightly so her face hovered above his; he had a very serious look on his face, which was kind of rare.
"I would never, Elena," he stated firmly, thumb tracing her cheekbone as he stared into her eyes; her response was to lower her head and then they were kissing again…eventually, shirts were peeled off and jeans were discarded, so they lay only in their underwear half-under the comforter. They were both shy, it seemed, because they were very careful about where they put their hands – Damon made sure not to touch her breasts or anything else, mainly skimming her arms or back and being very careful to keep his lower body away from her, and Elena kept her hands for the most part on his shoulders or chest. Eventually, Damon lifted his mouth from hers and said in a serious tone of voice, "Elena, we don't have to do anything tonight, you know. I've waited one hundred and fifty years for you – I think I can wait a little longer." He flashed her a grin. "Not too long, you understand, though – sometime this century would be good."
Elena smiled slightly at him as she thought there are so many sides to Damon Salvatore. Out loud, she said, "No, Damon, I…I need this. I need to be with somebody who loves me. This feels – right." As the words left her mouth, she realized how true they were. She could lay there half-naked with him in her bed, snuggled right up close to each other, and not freak out and not stiffen up and not feel ashamed….in fact, now that she thought about it, that had never happened with Damon, except the morning after the major weirdness with Stefan went down, and that hadn't been really about him anyway, she had just been out of sorts. He lifted a shoulder briefly, kissing the tip of her nose.
"If you're sure," he replied, and she nodded before lifting her mouth up again for another kiss. As their mouths met, his hands made their way around to her back and deftly unsnapped her bra; hers trailed down his waist, fingers hooking into the band of his underwear and slowly pulling them down; he finished the job. His eyes wandered over her body, and she noticed he paid special attention to where he had healed Frederick's nasty bitemark over her right breast, but he didn't say anything, only bent his head to kiss the area gently before his lips trailed lower and Elena closed her eyes…his fingertips meandered over her stomach and down towards her panties, the last barrier separating their bodies, and as they grazed the flimsy cloth he stopped. She opened her eyes to find that his were centimeters away from hers, boring into her soul.
"Are you sure?" he breathed, and she kissed him, which he seemed to take as an affirmative answer, for he slid them down; Elena brought her legs up so he could take them completely off, and just like that they were completely uncovered, bare to the other's inquisitive touches and their hands wandered all over for a very long time, as if they were brand new not only to each other but the entire act of love….Damon eventually claimed Elena for his own, though he hesitated at the last, positioned over her slender body with her legs wrapped around his hips. She smiled radiantly at him, her hands on his back urging him forward, and he surrendered to her love, in that moment feeling clean and new and good, like none of the brutal and heartless acts he had committed in the past had happened at all.
Later, as they lay with limbs entwined and hearts full, he kissed the top of her head and quipped, "That was worth waiting a century and a half for."
Elena smacked him playfully, her head resting on his muscular chest. "I can hear you smiling," she told him, and felt him chuckle, his hand tightening on her hip.
"So what if I am…I feel pretty damn happy," Damon replied. "Elena, I've wanted you for a long freaking time; this is like Christmas morning for me."
She rose up on one elbow, looking into his eyes, which lasered into hers with complete sincerity. His eyebrow quirked up at her serious expression, and he lifted her body onto his so she draped over him like a blanket; his hands anchored her to him at her waist as he spoke, choosing his words carefully.
"I've done a lot of bad things, Elena, and I've been with a lot of women," he told her, and when she ducked her head one of his hands flashed up to tilt her face back to his. "But I wish I could turn the clock back to 1864 and erase all that to live out a normal human life with you, no Katherine, no vampires, just a happy seventy or so years with you at my side."
She didn't speak, just gazed at him, her heart so full she thought it might burst. He lifted her up a little so he could kiss her thoroughly.
"You are my first real love…and my last," he whispered against her mouth before kissing her for a second time, and then they were lost to each other once again…
Damon left when the clock struck seven, feeble winter sunlight struggling to overcome the occasional snow showers. As he dressed in the middle of the room lightning-fast, a strange look appeared on his face and he reached into his interior jacket pocket, withdrawing a small white box and returning to Elena's bed, where she lay warm and cozy under the comforter. As he sat down on the side of the bed she sat up against the headboard, wondering what was going on. Before she could say anything, though, he spoke, eyes lowering to the box he held.
"When you were taken and we weren't sure where you were…I wanted to make sure that never happened again," he explained, cerulean eyes flashing back up to hers. "I had this made for you…an old, old witch – no, she's really old, like ninety or so," he said quickly, raising an eyebrow at the objection he saw on her face. "Anyway, she cast a homing spell on it so I'll always be able to find you…"
Damon opened the lid; nestled in dark velvet lay a silver ring with an oval-shaped red gem in the center. He took it out, holding it in his fingers, where it looked impossibly small and delicate.
"It's a ruby; I have to wear one too, see?" He took a second box out of his pocket and opened it up to reveal a wider silver band. Curiously she tilted her head at it; no rubies to be seen, until he showed her the inside held a secret channel of square-cut rubies that would lie against his skin.
His gaze then focused on her necklace, and out of long habit her fingers crept up to it. He nodded as if this affirmed something, eyes locking back on hers.
"I won't ask you to take that off," he told her. "What was between you and Stefan was real, no matter how broody and martyr-like he is; there's no denying it and no wishing it away. And he gave that to you to protect you; you should wear it for that reason as well." She nodded thoughtfully and he held out the ring to her. "But I want you to wear this, too." Suddenly something passed over his face so quickly Elena couldn't catch it. "I mean, please," he amended.
Elena smiled briefly at him before extending her hand to him; he took it, lowering his gaze as he slid the ring up her finger, the corner of his mouth tugging up slightly as he did so; belatedly she realized she had held out her left hand. He looked back up, still holding her hand, and flashed a blinding grin at her before swooping in for a kiss.
"I'll see you later," he said, hand leaving hers to caress her cheek. "I love you, Elena."
She smiled at him, totally understanding his earlier statement about it feeling like Christmas morning. "I love you, too."
Then he was gone, disappearing out her window as if he hadn't even been there in the first place…only the ring on her finger proving that he had been, that last night hadn't been some wonderful dream but a real, life changing, incredible event…Elena collapsed onto her soft pillows, a ridiculously happy smile on her face, feeling like a brand-new person, like anything was possible.
All because Damon loved her.
Eventually she rose and showered, dressing in jeans and layering a dark green V-neck long-sleeved tee over a white one. She did so in front of the mirror, and her gaze caught on the necklace Stefan had given her roughly a million years and another Elena ago. She hesitated before touching it gently. Should I take it off? she thought to herself, staring at its innocuous reflection as it lay against her skin. But Damon did have a point; there's no denying that I was with Stefan, and it was a present given not only in love, but to protect me as well… Her mind shoved away all thoughts of Stefan, and in the end she left it on as she went down to breakfast.
The rest of the weekend was spent with Damon at the boarding house, with the exception of a pre-scheduled shopping trip with Bonnie on Sunday, but Elena came right back to Damon, who was waiting for her at the boarding house. He took her back to her house at about eight Sunday night so she could get ready for school the next day, kissing her for a long time before she climbed out of the massive Hummer, promising to come to her room later that evening.
Elena was still blushing slightly when she entered the house, waving to Jenna before she headed up the stairs, but Jenna called for her to come into the family room. Elena did so, sitting on the couch next to her aunt, noticing that Merry was over and she and Jeremy were watching the first Transformers and having snacks, separated from the couch by a huge area rug and coffee table.
"Elena…" Jenna started to say, then trailed off, a very strange look on her face, as if she knew what she wanted to say but wasn't sure how to go about it. Elena raised an eyebrow at Jenna, who took a deep breath and tried again. "Elena…are you with Damon now? What about Stefan?"
Elena's eyes widened slightly and it was her aunt's turn to blush, but she had a stubborn look on her face and Elena knew that Jenna wanted answers. She shrugged, looking down for a second.
"Aunt Jenna…I don't think Stefan's coming back," Elena said quietly, picking at the couch's upholstery. "He's staying where he is, and Damon…Damon loves me," she confessed, lifting her gaze back up to her aunt, who looked a little stunned. "And, Aunt Jenna, I love him." When Jenna said nothing, Elena rushed to continue. "I am so happy with him, Aunt Jenna! I've never felt like this before…it's like I'm looking at everything through brand-new eyes. I – " she stopped talking for a moment, as the truth hit her, "I don't think I ever felt like this about Stefan…I think I wanted to be in love with him, so I thought I was, but I wasn't really."
Elena fell silent, feeling a little shaken by this revelation, and Jenna nodded slowly, smiling at her niece.
"Elena, that's all I want, for you to be happy…if this is what you want, then who am I to say anything?" She held out her arms for a hug and Elena went into them, feeling a little bittersweet as she said a mental goodbye to what she thought had been love for Stefan, but still feeling ecstatic over her newfound love with Damon.
Wrapped up in Aunt Jenna's support and love, Elena never noticed Meredith's eyes narrow slightly as she listened to their conversation from across the room.