Oh my god, so I finally got this written! lol
You guys have waited forever, so I'll shut up and let you read! See you at the bottom :)
Elena wanted to tug down on the edge of her leather skirt, but Rebekah's hand was firmly wrapped around her own, dragging her through an alignment of cars and loud voices.
It was hard to hear anything over the music that was playing even louder, and Elena's heart was banging against her ribcage in perfect timing to the bass.
"Bekah, this is insane!" she yelled to her friend, who flashed a brilliant smile over her shoulder.
For weeks now, the blonde had been trying to convince Elena to come with her to some races her brother owned.
She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but a scene straight out of the Fast and Furious franchise wasn't exactly it.
All around her were beautiful rides, with even more beautiful owners, and the smell of sweat, gasoline, and exhaust overwhelmed her nostrils.
"I figured you'd enjoy it!" Rebekah was smirking now, having finally come to a stop, along an unofficial sideline for the latest race.
"Your brother owns the entire circuit?"
Rebekah nodded, squeezing her hand, "My father first, when it was a simple street race, but when Elijah took over, it grew into all this!"
The cars at the starting line revved their engines, and goosebumps erupted across Elena's skin.
The announcer overhead began the countdown while a dark girl in a neon colored bikini top raised a flag.
They were off as soon as it dropped, and Elena screamed right along with the rest of the crowd as the roar of the transmissions vibrated through her body.
"There's big money in the wins," Rebekah moved close to her ear, fabric of her short dress brushing against Elena's side, "But mostly everyone come for the party and to watch the competitions. There's even a betting pool, if you're ever looking for quick cash."
"Or a quick way to clean out your wallet," Elena laughed, and the blonde shrugged, "It's all about choosing the right competitor."
The cars were out of sight now, and some of the crowd had dispersed to watch the full race before they would make their turn around.
In the distance, Elena saw another gathering, with lights over something that resembled a boxing ring.
"What's that, over there?" she asked, gripping onto Rebekah's arm now.
Her friend followed her line of sight, squinting her eyes slightly, "Oh! That's the fighting ring! Come on, you'll want to see this!"
Elena giggled as she dragged her once more through the throngs of people, until they were standing among the rest of the viewers near the ring.
She had been right before, about it being almost like boxing, except the men inside the ring didn't have on any gloves or any other means of protection from what she could see.
"Are...are they-"
"It's another competition," Rebekah assured her, with a slight roll of the eyes, "Leave it up to a bunch of boys to beat the shit out of each other for money."
With a smirk, Elena stared up at the men, watching as they expertly moved around each other, avoiding fists and kicks as they did so, ducking at what seemed like the last second, then coming back for more.
She could hardly breathe, the air catching in her throat as she anticipated the eventual collisions.
This was crazy! So enticingly insane…
One of the fighters, she soon noticed, was clearly better trained, dodging a bit faster, hitting a bit harder, and the way he moved...it was like a dance, calculated and measured, his body honed on his opponent, skin glistening under the lights.
He turned as they danced, and Elena caught sight of a beautiful tattoo covering the length of his back.
Black wings, like that of a raven, or a crow.
She was staring at it when the man threw the final punch, knocking his partner to the floor of the ring.
She cheered along with the rest, and watched as he lifted his arms into the sky as the crowd began to chant "Crow, crow, crow, crow…"
He was beautiful, Elena couldn't help but notice, now that he was standing still enough for her to really look at him.
Dark hair falling damply across his forehead, captivating baby blue eyes, a smirk that spoke of sin, and a body that was clearly in shape for this...sport.
"Damon Salvatore," Rebekah murmured, catching Elena's attention; she'd almost forgotten her friend was standing next to her, "Aka, the Crow. He hasn't lost a fight yet."
Elena watched as the man reffing handed something to Damon, aka the Crow, and when he lifted his arms again, there was a ring on his finger, and a lighter in his other hand.
The onlookers went wild, and Elena stared intently as Damon brought the two objects together, then kneeled by his opponent.
The man yelled out when Damon pressed the ring to his skin, and Elena realized that he was branding him.
When it was over, the victor stood, and once again punched his hands into the air, seeming to soak up the glory that the crowd shouted out at him, his title still the chant on all their lips.
Then, in the middle of it all, Damon's eyes found hers and paused there.
She wasn't sure what she read in all that fiery blue, or what passed between them in that moment, but something about his stare sent a shiver down her spine and made her heart race faster than it already was.
With another devilish smirk, he winked at her, and Elena smiled, unaware that this was the turning point; her life forever altered.
Elena rode with Caroline in Alaric's SUV, and hoped that the night turned out the way they planned.
If it did, it was all over.
She and Damon were free.
Memories haunted her of the night she first met him, that first fight, that first race...it was burned into her skull and would be forever.
It was impossible to imagine that this was where they'd end up.
She held her stomach protectively, making a silent promise that this time would be different.
They would win, tonight.
They would be free.
Fuck.
Damon had forgotten just how good Klaus had been, before he'd stepped out of the scene.
Each hit the King managed to land, which were a few more than Damon liked to admit, send pain ricocheting through his body, remind him that he wasn't as young as he used to be.
Thankfully, neither was Klaus, and Damon had been competing more recently, giving him a slight benefit.
Still, they stayed evenly matched, the crowd around them having grown immensely since the beginning of the fight, everyone watching and waiting to see who would fall.
"This was stupid of you, Crow," Klaus muttered, after dodging another swing, "You honestly think I'll allow you a victory over me?"
Damon jumped back as the King lunged, barely missing his fist, "It'll be hard to allow anything when you're knocked out," he spat.
"I never took you for petty, Damon. We had a deal."
"That was before," he growled, shoving Klaus away, "before you killed Lily. Before you threatened Elena!"
"Tid for tat," Klaus grinned, swinging again, catching one of Damon's ribs.
Damon ignored the pain in favor of a counter attack, managing to knock Klaus's feet out from under him.
They both went down, tumbling for the upper hand.
"You're finished, Crow," Klaus was spitting blood as he finally managed to pin Damon under him, "Just like your mother. And when I'm through with you, I'll take care of that little bird of yours, too."
Anger fueled movement to Damon's muscles, and he brought his head up sharply, colliding into Klaus's with blinding pain.
He blocked most of it as he rolled them, landing a solid hit to Klaus's side, giving him the advantage he needed as the King paused to suck in air.
He reared back and swung again, but Klaus managed to lift an arm, catching the force of the blow.
"You won't touch her!" Damon bellowed, drawing back again, this time making contact, "You won't hurt any of us, ever again."
On his last swing, Klaus caught his fist, throwing him off as he drove his own hand into Damon's side.
With a hiss, Damon flinched away, allowing Klaus to get out from his hold.
He scrambled along with the man, until they were standing once more, but before either could move, the sound of sirens filled the air and a panic ran through the crowd as they dispersed, fleeing.
This was it.
Klaus's face froze with revelation, and he turned to the edge of the ring, but Damon reached him first, dragging him back.
"We aren't done yet," he snapped, throwing Klaus back to the center.
The King's eyes flashed with hatred, and he lunged.
Damon met his tackle head on, and they both tumbled until they fell over the ring's side.
Hitting the ground hurt like a mother fucker, but they were both past caring at this point as they drove their fist, connecting with any part of the other they could reach.
Damon reached inside himself, to the pure rage that usually terrified him, and used it as fuel, tuning out everything else.
He hated the man he was pinning beneath him, hated him like he'd never hated anything.
Everything they had lost; everything they had to lose...it was all down to this.
Elena, Stefan, the others...god, they were all counting on him.
Counting on him to finish this, here and now; to end it so they could finally move on with their lives.
His fist drove down, harder than they ever had, slickening with blood, both his and the King's.
Klaus was shouting, but Damon couldn't hear him.
He couldn't hear anything; couldn't feel anything; couldn't even see anything except the man beneath him.
Until Klaus moved his arm around Damon's side, and something broke through his tunneled focus.
Pain, worse than any brought on by the previous blows, ripped through his back and when he pulled away, he noticed something gleaming in Klaus's hand.
Before his brain could catch up to his vision, though, he was being pulled away.
As if in slow motion, uniformed men were surrounding him and his body was slammed into the ground, his hands being drawn behind his back.
"Damon!" his name was the first thing to break through the hazed silence, and with it, all the noise came rushing back.
Sirens, yelling, cars squealing as circuit members escaped.
And again, his name, "Damon!"
As he was lifted up, hands now cuffed, he turned his head to the sound and found her.
Elena, being held firmly by the detective who was struggling to keep his grip on her arm.
Damon nodded to the man, who released her then, and it took less than a second for her body to slam against his own, her arms wrapping around his neck, "Damon, oh god."
"It's okay, baby," he spoke into her hair, breathing her in, "It's over. It's over, Hum."
She clung to him all the way to the police cruiser where they loaded him into the back.
The scene was so achingly familiar that Damon couldn't meet her eyes this time.
Except, this was the plan.
And as much as it reminded him of the previous arrest that took him away from her for years, this time was different.
However, it didn't make it any easier.
Elena was choking back tears the entire way to the precinct, which felt eternally longer than the trip to the circuit location.
Alaric had whispered words of reassurance the whole way, but watching Damon being loaded into the cruiser had done a number on her heart.
Last time he had…
She shook the thought from her head.
This had all gone as they'd planned. This is what was supposed to happen.
Well, everything except the way Damon had been plummeting Klaus.
Elena had seen it on his face and wondered if he would have stopped, had the police not intervened.
There was a part of her that wanted to believe that Damon, for all his faults, was not actually capable of killing someone, but then she thought of Klaus and everything the man had done, and part of her regretted that he hadn't.
But at least now, if Klaus took the bait, this was the end of it all.
They just had to get through the next few hours.
The time went by in a blur, most of which, she was kept waiting outside of the interview rooms, where they had hauled Damon after taking Klaus to a cell to wait for his turn.
She had been offered coffee, water, and other comforts, but she turned them all down, anxious to see her husband.
Stefan and Enzo showed up shortly after, assuring her that the majority of the others had gotten away and that the police didn't seem to be trying to hunt them down.
She thanked them and told them what she could about where things were at.
Damon was in the back room with Alaric, to keep up pretenses.
They knew Klaus had someone on the inside, so the detective had agreed to keep Damon's involvement on a need to know basis, with only himself and the Captain knowing the whole truth.
Hopefully, the King would buy the charade.
"It'll work out," Stefan told her, sitting next to Caroline, but reaching over to grab Elena's hand, "Klaus will flip to save himself."
"Maybe," she muttered.
Stefan sighed, "He's selfish, Elena. And he knows that Damon knows enough to really fuck him over. He'll talk, so don't worry. And you should get some water, or maybe some crackers or-"
"I'm not hungry," she told him, "I just want to see Damon."
Enzo stood from his seat and walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her neck, "Breathe, love. Our boy is handling this, and you've got the little one to think about."
Elena closed her eyes and told herself that he was right.
There was no need in stressing out right now, despite the fact that every part of her body was fighting off a panic attack.
If this didn't work…
She gripped Enzo's arms, burying her face into the curl of his bicep, until a throat cleared nearby.
She looked up to see Alaric.
"Where is he?" she demanded, standing up, "We had an agreement, Detective. You promised."
"And I kept my word," he assured her, "Mikaelson is being taken back now for questioning, and when I run at him, I'm going to let on just how much I know. He'll know he's facing jail time; so we'll get the information we need from him."
"And Damon?" she pressed.
"We took him back to the cells," he reached over, touching her shoulder, "Just to keep up the right impression. But I can take you back to see him."
Elena nodded and let him walk her through the room.
The cells in the back were mostly empty, and Alaric lead her to the farthest one, which was completely abandoned, sav the one lone figure leaning against the bars.
"Damon!" she called out and he turned, looking exhausted, but smiling nonetheless.
"I can give you some time while I question Klaus," Alaric said, moving to unlock the cell door, "But you'll need to stay back here, out of sight, if we want to keep up the charade."
They nodded as the door was pulled open and Elena flew inside, eager to just feel him.
Damon's arms wrapped around her, crushing her against his chest and she inhaled deeply, finally relaxing.
"You're okay?"
"Fresh as a daisy," he smiled, and she shook her head at him, "Don't joke, please."
"Sorry," He leaned back, lifting her chin to meet her gaze, "You okay?"
She nodded, blinking back her relieved tears, "I am now."
Alaric paused hesitantly as they embraced again, "You need anything before I leave? Water, a new shirt, first aid kit? Looks like you got quite a bit of blood on that one.
Elena raked her eyes over Damon's body, and Alaric was right, he looked worse for wear.
"I'm good," Damon told the man, "Just go get that bastard."
Alaric nodded and finally, left them alone.
"Come here," he addressed her now, pulling her over to the barely padded bench seat so they could sit down.
She snuggled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder, "That was terrifying. When they put you in that car, Damon…it felt like-"
"I know," he assured her, kissing the top of her head, "I felt it, too. But we're together, Hummingbird. We're here, together. This isn't like last time."
She reached for his hand and interlaced their fingers, "We're so close, baby. I'm so scared that something's going to ruin it. Klaus is so resourceful; what if he manages to get out of this somehow?"
"He won't," Damon assured her, "At the very least, he'll be charged for the circuit involvement. He owns the damn thing, and they know that. Then there's the drugs he had me run. They have the delivery, the car that was totalled, and my testimony on the matter. At minimum that should get him at least a dime."
The words were comforting, and Elena took a few breaths as she processed them.
The past few months had been such a whirlwind around them, everything cultivating to this.
And now that it was on the edge of being over, she was overwhelmed.
Damon moved, crouching in front of her, his breathing hitched, "I'm sorry, Elena. I'll be saying it for the rest of my life, but I'm so fucking sorry for all of this."
Elena reached forward, taking his face in her hands, "It's over now. That's all that matters."
He nodded, and she kissed him, before he pulled away to drop his hands to her stomach.
His gaze followed as he ran his palm over the fabric of her shirt, back and forth, with a tenderness in his eyes so vastly different than the absolute murderous rage he'd held in them less than an hour ago.
"We're gonna do better this time," he said, to her or the baby, she wasn't sure, but when he looked up at her his eyes were wet and he was taking shallow breaths.
"I love you."
She smiled, pulling his hand into her own, "I love you, too."
He kissed her again, and this time, he stood, bringing her with him, so that his arms could wrap around her body.
She kissed him hard. Like she might never get the chance to do it again.
Then he pulled away, almost panting, "Elena…"
A smirk teased her lips, "Good to know I can still leave you breathless."
He didn't laugh, or even smile.
Instead, his eyebrows drew together, and his face scrunched as if in pain, "Babe...something's not…"
Elena jumped as Damon fell forward, staggering.
"Damon?!" she clutched his arms, "What's wrong?'
He grimaced, dragging in air with labored breaths, "Not right...something's not...fuck."
He stumbled again, this time sliding down her body, hitting his knees.
"Back," he choked out, "Hum, my back-"
Panicked, Elena leaned around him, surprised to see a good amount of blood soaking the lower part of his shirt.
She ripped the thing away, and flinched at what she found.
His back was covered in a thin layer of blood, leaking from a cut just below his ribs, and the area was swollen and bruised.
She had enough training to know what that meant. Likely a punctured organ; internal bleeding.
"Dizzy," Damon gasped, his knuckles turning white with how tight he was holding her, "Hard...to..."
Then his grip loosened, his body going slack as he crumbled, and Elena screamed out.
I know. I know. I KNOW. lol
Still, you should review ;)