AN: As a way of thanking all of you for the amazing reviews I've received since now, in this chapter I put another sexy Delena scene all for you ;) I'll be honest with you, I'm really starting to enjoy writing little smutty pieces XD

Thank you all soooooo much for all the follows and favorites, it really means a lot to me to see how many of you enjoy reading this story. When you take a little time to leave me a review, I'm all the more happier!

Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 26 – Back To Reality

I love you also means I love you more than anyone loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that no one loves you, or has loved you, or will love you, and also, I love you in a way that I love no one else, and never have loved anyone else, and never will love anyone else.

- Jonathan Safran Foer -

The first thing Elena heard when she woke up was the distant chirping of birds. For the longest moment, she kept her eyes closed to bask in the tranquil air of the early morning. She felt the rays of the sun hitting her face; she hadn't thought about closing the blinds the night before, she'd been otherwise preoccupied. The fact that the early morning light had woken her up did not disturb her too much, though. Her body was pleasantly relaxed, thoroughly sated after the night she had had.

The slight shifting of the mattress reminded her sleepy mind of the other occupant of the bed. She smiled with her eyes closed when she felt the warm, hard body behind her. Damon was currently spooning her, his left arm wound possessively around her waist while his other arm was somewhere under her pillow. Her back was plastered to his chest, something that made her move slightly with the gentle up and down of his breathing.

She burrowed deeper in his embrace and slipped a hand underneath her pillow to latch onto his. She felt the hint of a morning wood pressing against her lower back and, for a moment, she took into serious consideration the idea of turning around and waking him up for another romp in the sheets. In the end, she let him sleep deciding that he had earned his rest. She hadn't been joking the night before when she had told him that she was going to wake him up for another round. That other round, however, had quickly turned into round three. She had been about to start round four when Damon had just collapsed beside her, falling asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

She felt giddy when she thought about the night before. Her patience had been more than rewarded. She had also been pleasantly surprised by Damon; while there was still a bit of insecurity in his movements and his eyes searched hers for approval every once in a while, he had risen up to every challenge she had thrown his way. He was eager to experiment and more than once, he had turned the tables on her to let her know that he had no intention of standing idly by while she remained the one in control.

With a happy sigh, she slowly turned around careful not to wake him up. When she had settled in his arms once again, she opened her eyes. She needed a moment to get used to the morning light – her eyes stinging a bit – but when she did, she was greeted by what was becoming her favorite sight. Damon was peacefully asleep beside her, his lips parted and letting out small puffs of air every time he breathed out. His hair was sticking out in every direction, a direct byproduct of her fingers running through it every chance she got.

She drank in his features, the milk-white skin and the impossibly long eyelashes that hid the most beautiful sky-blue eyes she had ever seen. The golden rays of the first morning gave him an ethereal quality, making him appear otherworldly like never before. She always thought of him as human but there, in their little sanctuary, she finally realized that he was a lot less human than she had first believed. For all intent and purposes, he appeared to be just like any other man. He was so much more than that, though. The things he could do, the power that was inside of him, those things made him stand a step above everyone else in her eyes.

He is like the sun.

The thought came unbidden to her, yet it was oddly fitting. Everything gravitated around him; her, the Originals, Stefan, Jäger and even Alaric in his own way. He had brought all of them together, whether they liked it or not and, should he choose to, he could turn things around the way he wanted. He was simply too good and innocent to realize the kind of power he held over others, a power he had never wanted and that he didn't abuse. She loved him all the more for his gentle nature and for the kindness he showed others without thinking about what he could gain from them.

Yes, he was really like the sun. Maybe he would feel emasculated should she decided to share her epiphany with him, but there really was no other way to describe him. It defined perfectly well the way she felt when near him; like those times when you've left your hand in a sunbeam without realizing it. What she felt was the kind of warmth that spread inside of her slowly, fed by the love they shared. She snorted lightly at her own thoughts. She had never been so corny in her own mind, yet he managed to pull out of her these kind of thoughts.

She leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. His lips barely moved under her own but she didn't mind. She left a trail of barely there kisses across his cheek and along his jaw, covering every patch of skin she could reach from her place in his arms. She brought her right hand to his hip and stroked his side while slowly moving her lips to his neck. Damon let out a deep sigh and rolled onto his back, giving Elena plenty of space to kiss. She took a moment to look at him, her hand stroking the soft skin of his chest. The sheets were barely covering him and at the sight of his body bare in front of her eyes, she knew she couldn't wait anymore.

She sat up and straddled his hips, placing her hands flat on his lower stomach to support herself. She gave an experimental roll of her hips and felt him grow against her thigh. A subtle moan from the back of Damon's throat alerted her that he was approaching that state between sleep and wakefulness. She bent down and placed a kiss in the center of his chest while her right hand rose and scratched lightly against his nipple, something she'd learned he rather enjoyed.

She felt him twitch lightly underneath her and she started to move lower, kissing every inch of his lean body. With the tip of her tongue, Elena traced the defined lines of his abs. Just to bring him a little closer to consciousness for what was to come next, she bit down on his left hip; hard enough to walk along the thin line separating pain and pleasure, but not enough to break his skin. She had not had the time to ask him his opinion on bites during sex and, until she knew it was something he wouldn't mind, she would not dare try it.

Another moan, louder this time, tumbled down his lips. She saw his hands twitch as if they wanted to grab onto something, his hips barely moving under her touch, and she smiled. She glanced down and bit her lip. He was practically erect now, exactly the way she wanted him. In a fluid movement, she took him in her mouth, settling the palms of her hands against his inner thighs. As soon as her mouth enveloped him, she heard his breath hitch as his whole body tensed. He soon relaxed when she set a slow rhythm that his hips immediately followed.

When she looked up at his face, she saw his eyes were barely open. He was looking at her intently, the blue of his eyes darkened by sleep and lust. She smiled without letting him go and scratched his inner thighs in a movement that had his eyes roll to the back of his head, a deep groan rumbling in his chest. The fingers of his left hand tangled in her hair, holding onto her for dear life, while his right one – still under her pillow – clenched the pillow case in a death-like grip.

"Elena," he groaned, his voice deep and husky and sleepy.

She doubled her efforts, using her hands to help her cover what her mouth couldn't. She enjoyed having this kind of power over him. In this position, she was the one in control, she was the one who decided whether to give him the pleasure he was craving or to drag things on for however long she wanted to. When she knew he was about to reach his peak, she let him slid out of her mouth with a wet plop. He let out a disgruntled whine when she stopped right when things were getting interesting.

Elena crawled up his body, her legs on either sides of his hips, and slid slowly over him. She released a pleased sighed when she felt him completely inside of her. She planted her hands on his chest and started to move. She kept a slow pace wanting to enjoy the moment as long as possible. Damon grabbed her hips and helped her in her movements, his eyes locking onto hers. He was more alert now, but still in that confused state right after waking up.

At a certain point, he squeezed her hips and Elena, understanding his silent request for control, let him role them over. He settled on top of her, his forehead pressed against hers. He started thrusting into her, keeping the same pace she had set favoring slow and deep thrusts to a much more forceful rhythm.

"You're crushing me like this," she smiled against his lips.

Damon hummed against her and with a little bit of maneuvering, planted a hand beside her head and heaved himself up enough to stop crushing her without having separate their foreheads. He did all of this without missing a beat, his hips still moving against hers in a slow but steady rhythm. His free hand slid down her body to cup her backside and press her firmly against him in time with his thrusts.

"Roll your hips a bit," she whimpered against him mouth.

He followed her instructions and the next thrust had her seeing stars when he brushed against her in just the right way. He swallowed her moan by planting his lips on hers in a sloppy kiss. She ran her fingers through his hair and angled his head slightly to the side, deepening their already passionate kiss. When he pulled back, she bit his lower lip before soothing the spot with a swipe of her tongue. He looked her deep in the eye and his hips started moving more forcefully against hers, his thrusts becoming harder and harder.

He squeezed his eyes shut and his mouth parted, his heavy pants mixing with hers. He was holding on waiting for her to reach her climax. She started answering to his thrusts with an enthusiasm that matched his and, in less than a minute, she clenched around him. Her free hand scratched at his back, mindful of her strength, and her mouth opened in a soft moan. He thrust once, twice more before shuddering above her. When the last of his shudders were gone, he pulled out and collapsed on top of her, resting is head on her chest.

"Am I crushing you?" he murmured against her skin.

She answered while still catching her breath, "Don't you dare move."

He nodded against her and kissed the side of her breast before settling down. In a matter of seconds, he dozed off. She knew that it wouldn't be long before he'd wake up again – permanently this time – so she let him rest over her. She stroked his hair with one hand and his back with the other, relishing in the feeling of him blanketing her. It was comforting being enveloped in his warmth, his breath tickling her skin. She decided then and there that if every bout of lazy morning sex ended like that, she was going to wake him up at the crack of dawn more often.

While stroking his soft black hair, Elena started to sort through her thoughts. Soon both of them would have to go downstairs and rejoin Stefan and Caroline to decide what to do next. She had to talk to Damon about it but, in her opinion, there was nothing more to do in his parents' house. He'd wanted to see where he had been born to learn more about his past and decide about his future, and he'd done it. He had not been clear on what had happened during his sleep – he'd said something about his mother and Klaus – but from what she had gathered, he'd had some kind of epiphany.

She made a mental note to ask for details when he woke up, her curiosity was killing her. More importantly, she had seen the look of anger and pain when he'd mentioned Klaus and she wanted to know what had been the cause of it. She never liked to see him in pain and, if she could, she was glad to help him sort through his feelings.

She wondered what would happen from now on. Her purpose – back when everything had begun – had been to find a way to stop Klaus. When she thought about that mission now, she realized that things were so much more complicated than before. She couldn't do anything to the Originals without hurting Damon. As much as he was angry with them now, she knew Damon still loved them. No matter what happened, he would always love his family and there was no way to change that.

The only solution was to find a peaceful way to solve their problem, but could that be done? Was it possible to bury the hatchet and speak of peace after everything that had happened? She knew that Caroline believed in it – Damon had told her of their little conversation before their journey – and that Stefan had always wanted to find a way to avoid violence. Elena had always firmly believed that, in the end, the only possible choice would have been to fight against Klaus, probably dying while trying to find his weak spot.

Damon nuzzled against her chest, making her look down at him. She kept on stroking his hair with as much love as she had. Everything was so different now. In the last couple of months – strange how it felt like an eternity had passed since that day when Klaus had hired her – her entire life had changed. Now that she had Damon, her plans had inevitably been altered. Could she abandon her mission of defeating Klaus after everything he had done? It surprised her to realize that she could. For Damon, she could stop looking for vengeance and dedicate herself to the life the two of them could have. It would be hard, but for him she could do that.

Things wouldn't be so simple for all the others who had been hurt by the Hybrid, though. Was it fair to ask people who had lost friends, families and lovers to just forget about everything and let Klaus walk free, unpunished? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that they had a giant mess to fix, one way or another. She was giving herself and headache just thinking about it, she could only imagine what would happen when they would sit down and discuss their plans.

"You're going to hurt yourself if you keep on thinking about things this hard."

Damon's voice reached her ears, interrupting her musings. She felt him stretch on top of her, his joints popping satisfyingly. He turned his head toward her and rested his chin in the center of her chest, his eyes focusing on her. A slow grin started to spread on his face while he purred appreciatively thanks to her fingers scratching at his scalp.

"Good morning," she told him with a smile.

He leaned forward and kissed her soundly, "It is a good morning."

He moved next to her, resting on his side and pulling her close to him. She mirrored his stance and the two of them stared at each other. They spent countless minutes just kissing, enjoying one another's presence, the rest of the world far away from them. Damon had never felt so happy in his entire life. Two months ago, he would have never thought that one day he would wake up next to the woman of his life after making love all night.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked her when they finally separated.

She shrugged her shoulders, her hands moving over every patch of skin she could find, "The future, what we should do now and things like that."

He nodded at her, "And what should we do now?" he asked her.

"Well," she drew out, tracing his lips with a finger. "I thought that maybe it's time for you to tell me exactly what happened in your dream. You mentioned seeing your mother and Klaus and I wondered what did you see," she told him, looking at him intently to gauge his reaction.

He stared back at her with clear eyes, his expression completely open to her, "You just need to ask, Elena," he told her honestly. "I don't want to hide anything from you."

His words touched her, "What did you see?" she asked him in a whisper.

And so he told her. He described the moment he had seen his mother seated at the table, their conversation on the sofa. He told her what his mother had explained to him in regards to his true nature and the fact that maybe he would live far longer than a normal human would. Her expression darkened when he mentioned that his children would be able to use magic, giving birth to a new bloodline. However, she managed to hide her sadness before he could take notice.

When he reached the part where he'd seen the way Klaus had behaved the day of his birth, she looked at him with a sympathetic expression. She could see that even saying out loud the words was hurting him; she didn't even want to think about how he must be feeling inside. He told her of the absolute lack of emotions in Klaus's eyes when he had lowered his gaze to the baby in his arms; of Elijah's indifference to what his brother was doing. She could see that he still found it hard to even think about those things. When he reached the end of his tale, he looked at her in silence.

She knew he was waiting for her to say something so she started with the easiest point to approach, "How was your mother like?"

He looked at her wide eyed, surprised by her question, "You've already seen her."

Elena rolled her eyes, "That was a picture, it doesn't count. I'm asking for your impressions," she told him.

He took a moment before answering, "She was…beautiful and so young. It's strange to think that I'm actually older than her, now. She was kind and the way she looked at me was familiar," he said. "She had the same look in her eyes that Rebekah has when she looks at me," he murmured.

She threw him a little smile, "As much as I don't like her brothers, Rebekah seemed a great woman to me," she said. "No matter what happens, she is and always will be your mother."

Damon nodded at her words. A moment later, though, he furrowed his brows, a pensive look descending on his features. Elena could imagine what he was thinking. No doubts, he had realized that he could no longer postpone the confrontation with his family.

"I need to go back to them," he said, confirming her thoughts. "I need to look at them knowing what I know now, and decide what to do."

"Yes, you do," she told him simply.

She could see fear in his eyes; fear of what could happen once he'll be reunited with his family after all this time, of what could be his future once he would have taken his decision, whatever it may be. There was also resolution in his clear blue eyes. He knew that there was simply nothing else he could do, that he had to face the reality of his situation and deal with it in the best way possible. She wished she could help, but this was something he had to do on his own, just like everyone else in this world.

"There's something else I didn't tell you," he said unexpectedly.

She raised an eyebrow, "What is it?" she encouraged him.

"Remember when I told you that Klaus killed the other woman who helped my mother?" he asked her. At her nod, he went on. "Well, my mother showed me what happened after the ritual. At a certain point, that woman stood up and just walked out of the door like nothing had ever happened."

Elena was sure she had misunderstood what he had just said. He'd told her that Klaus had killed that woman so how was it possible for her to stand up and walk away? Elena had seen a lot of weird stuff in her life, but the only way for someone to be killed and walk away was becoming a vampire. From what Damon had told her, the woman had merely been killed. Furthermore, why would either Elijah or Klaus make her drink vampire blood? It simply made no sense.

"So what you're telling me," she started. "Is that that woman came back to life?" she asked with a skeptical expression.

"Not exactly," he told her. "My mother said that someone possessed that body and that someone is extremely dangerous and I'm supposed to stop her."

Elena mulled over his words. She had heard before of witches who were capable of possessing someone else's body. Generally, only those who dabbled into dark magic could do something like that. Possessing a body was the vilest thing a witch could do, especially when most possessions took place when the original owner of the body was still alive. She didn't want to imagine what it must be like to be a prisoner inside your own body. She knew one thing, though, and it was that to be able to possess someone's body you had to be a very powerful witch.

"Did your mother tell you who that woman was?" she wanted to know.

Damon nodded, "She said that she's already given me all the clues I need to figure it out."

Elena wracked her brain in search for any of those clues, "You mean the symbol she showed you in your dream," she stated. He nodded in agreement. "Did you figure out what it was?"

"Not yet," he looked dejected. "I know I've already seen it, I just can't figure out where. It's like the answer is just out of my reach. It's frustrating."

She didn't say anything. He was the only one who could figure it out, she had no way of helping him do that.

"You'll figure it out, Damon," she spoke, sure of herself. "We have something else we have to discuss," at his confused expression, she pressed on. "Your mother said that you'll be able to pass your magic to your children."

He understood immediately what she was alluding at and he didn't like it. He knew what she was afraid of but he did not see where the problem was. As far as he was concerned, Elena was part of his life and would continue to be the most important person in his eyes. He knew she was it for him and he did not intend on letting her go.

"What about it?" he asked her, impassible.

Elena sighed, her eyes sad, "Damon, don't pretend to not understand," she told him.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I do understand, Elena. I just don't see the problem," when the sadness in her eyes didn't disappear, he continued. "Listen, I get it that you can't have children and I don't care about it. You are mine and I am yours, period. Do you think I'm just going to let go the most amazing thing in my life because I'm supposed to father the new line of magic-wielding kids? That's not going to happen," he told her resolutely.

Elena huffed at his words, "You can't go around saying things like that, Damon. You have a duty that goes far beyond me or anyone else."

He cupped her cheek and forced her to look at him, "I know what I have to do and that I can't run from this responsibility. What I also know, though, is that nature won't let me die without first being sure that I actually created a new bloodline, otherwise its efforts would have been for nothing."

Elena did not look too convinced, though she was listening intently.

"That means that I have all the time in the world to figure out how to have kids without losing you in the process," there was nothing but determination in his voice. "We're going to deal with all the craziness in our life and then we're going to pack our things and we'll leave. You'll show me all the places you've been to and then we'll find the ones you've never seen and we'll visit them together. We'll be together."

She found herself wanting to believe to every word that came out of his mouth, "Damon…"

"Do you trust me?" he interrupted her.

"Of course I do," she answered without hesitation.

"Then trust me to figure this out," he told her.

Elena smiled with watery eyes and leaned forward. She kissed him sweetly, absorbing his words and determination and locking them in her heart. She figured she was allowed to let herself dream that the future Damon had described her could be possible. She knew she would have to let him go one day, whether he understood that or not. Today, however, they were together and they were happy. That was all that mattered in her eyes.

Damon knew that she still wasn't completely convinced but he let it go. Maybe it was naïve of him to think that he could have it all, but he didn't care. He believed in every word he'd said and he'd meant it when he'd said that, if it was the last thing he'd do, he would find a way for them to be together. To hell with nature and all those things. The only one he truly needed at the end of the day was Elena. As long as she was with him, he knew he was going to be alright.

He tried to let her feel all those things in the kiss they shared and maybe he managed to do it, because when Elena leaned back she beamed at him.

They settled down – Elena with her head resting on his chest – and just basked in each other's presence. Damon stroked her long brown hair while she played with his ring. She traced the carved D at the center of it, moving then to finger the design around it.

"Do you think this is the family crest of the Salvatore coven?" she asked him at a certain point.

He looked down at his hand, opening his fingers to observe the ring, "Why do you ask?"

He felt her shrug against him, "I just thought that, being a coven and all, the Salvatores had a particular family crest. Maybe that's why your mom wanted you and your brother to have those rings."

As soon as those words left her mouth, Damon suddenly remembered where he'd seen the symbol her mother had shown him.

"Oh," he said, his voice completely calm.

Elena leaned on her elbow to look at him with a curious expression. He turned to look at her with a smile, "The symbol I saw in my dreams is the Mikaelson family crest," he said simply.

"That's it?" she asked incredulously. "We still don't know who that woman was," she pointed out.

"Who cares?" he told her, surprising her. "Now we know she is a member of the Mikaelson family which means that Klaus and the others might know her. That means that we were right in our plans; we have to go back."

Elena shook her head in disbelief at the way he was handling the news.

"See?" he went on. "I'm completely useless without you, Elena."

Before she could say anything, he pulled her down to kiss her deeply, silencing her words. The two didn't stop even when someone knocked on the door of their bedroom.

"Hey guys," Stefan's voice came through the wooden door. "Alaric called. Seems like we have to move."

Elena broke the kiss and looked at the wonderful man under her, "Back to reality."

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