Author's note: It's after midnight and I'm in a hotel room, on a weekend getaway to France. That's how much I wanted to give you a new chapter to read before I go offline for the rest of the weekend. Enjoy. And if you wanted to leave a comment, you'd totally make my week!
The days after the wedding were spent in such a flurry of activity, Elena could barely remember every thing that happened. First and foremost, there was of course lots of packing and planning involved – though Damon cautioned Elena not to overpack, claiming he knew all the best shops in Rome, Paris and pretty much all of Europe.
"How much shopping do you plan to do while we travel?" Elena asked, eyeing his mostly empty suitcase.
"Lots."
"Am I going to see anything else of Europe, aside from the inside of every brand retail store?"
"Sure," Damon replied and added with a smirk, "I'll take you to a museum every once in a while. Wouldn't want you to get bored."
"I can't wait," Elena sardonically replied.
Damon stepped close and into her personal space. As Elena took a step back in surprise, he continued walking her back until she hit the wall of the bedroom. "I can't wait to walk the cobbled streets of Bruges with you. Or hike the Carpathian Mountains with you. Or go skiing in the Swiss Alps with you. Or to have you all to myself, every day, every night. No distractions. No one to share you with."
He was so close, Elena's eyes almost crossed looking up at him. She stared at his soft lips captively, suddenly wanting nothing more than to kiss him.
"You'll get so sick of me," Damon continued.
Elena interrupted him with a kiss. "Never," she breathed against his mouth.
To avoid lengthy discussions and fights, Elena opted to be vague on how long she and Damon planned to be gone. She only let her friends know that they hadn't set a return date yet, knowing full well that her friends would interpret it as a summer long vacation that might run into fall. She knew that none of them even suspected that their plans ran beyond just the summer break. She would figure out how to tell Bonnie and Caroline and Matt and everyone else once they were on the road.
In a completely uncharacteristic move, Damon actually did tell Stefan that he should not expect them back so soon. Stefan took the news in stride, wishing them a good time and demanding only that they stay in touch which both, Elena and Damon, gladly promised.
It would have been a joyous time overall, were it not for the news that Alaric chose to share with them all the day after the wedding. Surprising everyone, he disclosed his and Jo's plans to not only move away from Virginia but, worse, claimed that for security reasons he could not share the location of their new home with any of his friends.
Elena was sad to hear that, but she understood. Ric was going to be a father and his main priority was to make sure his family felt safe. Virginia was home, but it was also a magnet for all things supernatural. Elena would miss him, but at least they'd be able to talk on the phone.
Damon took it particularly hard. After a heated argument where he and Ric came to blows, Damon now refused to talk to his former best friend, choosing instead to focus his entire energy on planning his and Elena's trip – or escape, as Stefan had put it.
It was pure coincidence that Damon and Elena left for Europe the same day that Alaric and Jo left for their new life. Elena hugged Ric and then Jo, wishing them both all the best and shedding a few tears, knowing that she probably wasn't going to see either of them again soon. She really had hoped to be part of Ric's kids' lives but it seemed like it wasn't meant to be. She still held out hope that it wouldn't turn out to be a permanent thing.
Damon stoically kept his distance, only acknowledging his friend's departure with a nod as he stood under the awning of the Salvatore house. A few hours after Ric and Jo had driven off, Elena and Damon climbed into the back of Caroline's car – she and Stefan were driving them to the airport. Elena put a hand on Damon's neck, stroking back and forth. She knew he was sad and disappointed, though he tried not to show it. Damon lifted his head and glanced at her with a grateful smile. He rested a hand on her knee, squeezing gently. Halfway to their destination, Damon laid down his head on Elena's shoulder and kissed her neck once.
"He needs to feel in control of his life right now," Elena quietly said.
"I know," Damon replied. "He's just being an idiot."
"He's going to be a father. Don't judge him before you've walked a mile in his shoes."
"The first lesson our kids learn is not going to be how to run away from your problems," Damon contradicted.
Elena stayed quiet. He didn't need to know how her heart leapt in her chest every time he so casually mentioned their future kids. Nevertheless, she couldn't suppress the happy smile that stole onto her face.
17 months later
Damon walked into the main room overlooking the Canal Grande and greeted Bonnie and Elena who were having breakfast near the balconette; it was too cold to have it outside. "Ah, my two favorite women in the world."
He leaned down to place a kiss on the top of her head. "Bon-Bon."
"Morning, Damon." Bonnie raised an eyebrow at his antics and returned Elena's answering grin.
Damon turned his attention to Elena and kissed her lips. "Mmh, morning," he murmured against her mouth and kissed her again.
"PDA much?" Bonnie teased him.
"On the contrary," Damon replied. "Not enough." He leaned in for another kiss, but Elena pushed him away with a laugh.
Winter in Venice meant smaller hordes of tourists but were still large enough to allow Elena and Damon plenty of feeding sources while going completely unnoticed. Bonnie didn't approve, but so far, she hadn't protested too much. It was, however, only her first week of the three of them vacationing together, so who knew what was still to come.
After deciding to take a break from life and go on a 'farewell vampire life' tour, Damon and Elena had left for Europe almost 18 months ago now. They had started in the North, traveling through Iceland and Norway, spending months visiting Belgium and the Netherlands before going on an extended tour of France.
After a side trip to Portugal and Spain, they had arrived in Italy not quite a month ago. The first few weeks had been spent in Sicily, exploring and researching the roots of the Salvatore family tree and celebrating their fourth anniversary.
When Elena suggested that Bonnie start her Christmas break a few weeks early and spend part of it with them in Italy, Damon didn't mind in the least. He had kind of been missing his friend anyway. Bonnie had taken very little convincing. And so, a week ago, they all had met up in Venice. It was a two-week all expenses paid trip for Bonnie and the last European stop for Damon and Elena who were planning to travel to Africa next. They had vague plans to meet up with Stefan in Egypt who, despite serving in the war, still hadn't managed to see the pyramids. After a year and a half on the road, Damon had to admit that he kind of, quite possibly, from time to time, missed his little brother. And judging by Stefan's swift agreement when Damon had first brought up the idea, he badly needed some time away from home where Lily continued to give him a bad time, moaning, complaining and plotting to return her band of followers from the prison world.
Damon pulled up a chair and sat down between the two women, reaching for the pot of coffee. Before he could take a first sip, his phone rang. He groaned out his displeasure but got up to answer it. "It's Ric," he announced to the room before picking up the call. "Hey, buddy, what kind of apocalypse is it this time?"
"Why do you assume it's something bad?" Alaric returned with a laugh.
"Experience. Also, isn't it like three o'clock in the morning in your part of the world?"
"The joys of being a father of not quite one-year-olds. Speaking of which, I'm actually calling to invite you and Elena to the girls' first birthday party."
Damon was quiet for the longest time, stunned into speechlessness. "I must have misheard you."
"Come on, Damon. We're having an indoor barbecue and Jo and I thought it would be nice to invite everybody for a casual get-together."
"You do realize that Elena and I are in Europe right now?"
"Yes."
"And you want us to come back for a birthday party?"
"In case that wasn't clear," Alaric explained with strained patience, "the birthday party is sort of just an excuse to get the family back together."
"No, I think I got that. What I didn't get is: When exactly did we become friends again?"
"Come on, man. I've been a dad for almost a year and you haven't even met my kids yet."
Damon heroically, if he said so himself, refrained from commenting on who's fault that was. When it became obvious that Damon had nothing to say, Ric continued, "I want you to meet my kids," he said plaintively.
"I thought you hated me."
In an effort to protect his family, Alaric and Jo had moved shortly after the wedding, not telling anyone where they had gone. Damon had taken it personally that Ric didn't trust him with that information and for the first year or so had even refused to take his calls. Eventually Alaric had stopped trying. It was after an intervention coordinated by Jo and Elena that the two formerly best friends had started speaking to each other again. And shortly after that Ric and Jo had moved back to Virginia.
Damon could hear Alaric sigh on the other end of the line. "I did. I don't know if you've noticed, but people who love you have the annoying tendency to forgive you."
Damon grinned despite himself. While Ric prattled on about the plans for the party, Damon glanced back at Elena. She acted as though she was engrossed in a conversation with Bonnie, but Damon could see that her smile had slipped a little. Damon frowned.
"So, you'll be there?"
"Let me talk to Elena first," Damon replied. He hung up soon after and returned to the breakfast table, but didn't sit back down. Instead, he studied Elena, a look of worry on his face. She tried to smile at him, but it was obvious that the mood had changed.
Bonnie glanced in confusion between Damon and Elena. She tried to lift the spirits and said, "Care to weigh me in? Not everyone here has vampire hearing, or have you forgotten?"
She tried to laugh, but her joke fell flat. Elena tried to at least smile at her while Damon didn't bother at all. Bonnie sent a questioning look in Damon's direction. It was obvious that there was something going on that she wasn't in on and she didn't know what to do about it.
Damon smiled tersely and nodded an 'I've got this' in her direction. Still not one hundred percent certain, she nevertheless took the cue and excused herself to her bedroom, leaving Damon and Elena alone.
While Damon stood there, contemplating on the best course of action, Elena spoke up.
"So, how is everyone? Can you imagine Alaric as a dad?"
"Too well actually. Must be the teacher gene," Damon replied, absentmindedly. He grabbed a strawberry and popped it into his mouth, watching Elena carefully. "You done with breakfast?" he asked.
Elena, though confused at the sudden change of topic, nodded.
"Good," Damon said. "Come take a shower with me."
"Uhmm," Elena began but before she could come up with a reason why she couldn't or why they shouldn't, Damon intercepted her protests. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up from her chair. "Yeah, you want to," he said with a deliberately lascivious smile, "come on."
When Elena was completely relaxed while Damon massaged shampoo into her locks, he quietly said, "You know you're allowed to change your mind, right?"
"What?"
"You want to go back home. You want to go back to college. I know you study your textbooks all the time and I know Jo's been emailing you her old lecture notes. I also know your study buddies have been sending you all reading assignments and you've kept up with the course load online."
"It's never been a secret."
"And yet you didn't tell me."
Elena sighed in defeat. "I am going back to college eventually and I am going to make up all the exams that I've missed. I just didn't want to get behind too much."
"I know and it's okay. You'll go to med school. You'll be a doctor. And you'll save the world. That's the plan."
Elena chuckled and Damon maneuvered her under the shower spray to rinse her hair. When he was done, he continued, "You want what they have. Ric and Jo. You want kids, a home, a normal, human life."
"Yeah, and we'll have that. In about two years."
"But you want it now. And I just wanted to remind you that you can have it now."
"We agreed on three years, Damon. And it's not even been one and a half."
"I know we did. But it's not set in stone. This past year? Has been amazing! But I would have been happy with five months and you wanted five years because I think you thought that's what I wanted."
"You love being a vampire and I wanted you to have enough time to enjoy being one. You can never go back to it once you take the cure," she reminded Damon and turned around to face him.
"I know. But I just want you, Elena. Preferably happy; preferably with me; preferably forever. For however long that turns out to be."
Elena thought for a minute. As wonderful as the past almost 18 months have been, she would trade it all in a heartbeat for a house and a family of her own in Mystic Falls or wherever it was that she and Damon would end up. "Okay then," she quietly agreed. "Let's go home and start the rest of our lives."
Damon grinned at her. "Let's. But can we have sex first?"