Chapter 24

With time quickly slipping by, there was very little going on outside of Damon and Elena's bubble. They had two days left together. That was nowhere near enough time to prepare for being alone and adjusting back to a normal, dull life with no distractions to look forward to.

Elena tried not to focus on it, but vulnerability was inevitable in this situation. She allowed herself to get lost in Damon and what they had, but reality was always there, just waiting around the corner. It was impossible to foresee what that reality meant for the two of them.

There was a lot of murky water surrounding the concept of what they were to each other. From hate to passion to whatever this was, Elena struggled to get a clear view of what they were doing, but it felt right.

The thirst, the want, it never subsided with Damon, and not just in the physical sense. There was something there that made Elena anticipate the end of the day, even if it meant cosying up on the sofa beside Damon and watching tv like an old couple. You could sense a glimmer of novelty in the monotony of their everyday life, and that created an odd illusion of safety and comfort.

It represented something that Elena had craved since her parents tragically passed away; an anchor that she could always grasp onto. Now, this stability was being snatched away, once again. Reconsidering the previous choices that led to this place, there was a probability it wasn't so smart to get this involved. But there was always a risk, wasn't there?

"What's this?" Elena's curiously studied the plane tickets that Damon just handed to her.

It was late at night, and they were already in bed, when Damon suddenly remembered that he had something to give to her.

"Your birthday gift." He lounged across the bed; head propped up on his hand. "Well, a part of it."

"I thought we already had this conversation." Elena frowned. "We went out for a nice dinner and that was supposed to be my birthday gift."

Clearly, there was no convincing Damon to back down when it came to Elena's birthday. He wanted to go all out and celebrate, which undoubtedly was sweet, but it was something that Elena still needed to get used to.

"No, you talked nonsense and I went along with it because you're too stubborn to reason with. So, I did this my way and now you have no choice but to accept it." He explained with a smug expression.

"I could just refuse to go."

His mouth stretched into a lazy grin. "Except you won't, because you'll miss seeing this stupid face."

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "So, now you're blackmailing me?"

"That depends, is it working?"

"I will miss seeing your stupid face." Elena mumbled, giving in. "When are these for?"

"Friday to Monday, three weeks away. I'd book them earlier, but I'll be at some conferences for the first two weekends there."

Reality began sinking in; two weeks sounded like a lot, and even though they'd gone much longer than that without seeing each other, it seemed unfathomable.

"What's the other part of my gift?" Elena alluded to his earlier statement.

"You'll find out in Los Angeles, baby." Damon winked and leaned in to kiss her.

Elena couldn't wipe the smile off her face once they pulled away. She was still unable to comprehend that any of this was happening. Damon was actively trying to bridge the gap, make time just for the two of them, even when out of state. That meant something, right? Maybe it shouldn't be so surprising, but it was.

He truly was an enigma.

"I would not have pegged you for the spoiling type."

"I never had anyone to spoil before." He traced his fingers down the side of her body.

"I think you're forgetting someone."

"It wasn't like that with Rose." Damon negated with a shrug. "I was a dick, and a very crappy boyfriend."

"What's it like with us?" She wondered out loud.

The bomb had been dropped, and Elena's heart was racing.

This could change the course of everything.

"Like we're together, and you're my girlfriend.." His eyes found hers. "How would you feel about that?"

"Are you telling me that you want us to be an actual couple?"

"Very much so."

She stilled for a moment, brows furrowing. "So, you would be my boyfriend and we'd hold hands and everything?"

"Something like that." Damon chuckled, but shortly grew nervous when Elena remained silent. "Unless you don't want that?"

"I do." She said firmly, clutching the covers to her chest. "It's just surreal."

"Us being together?"

"Well, yeah. I never imagined that things would get serious between us."

She felt the weight of Damon's gaze studying her, as he grabbed one of her hands and took into his.

"I knew I'd get under your skin sooner or later."

"How presumptuous of you." She stroked over his thumb, suppressing a smile. "But I haven't said yes."

"Mhm, do you need some convincing?" He whispered, dropping a kiss to her bare shoulder.

A tingling sensation followed where his lips made contact.

"I guess you can try, but I can't make any promises." She giggled, suddenly finding herself trapped under Damon's body.

His arms rested on either side of Elena, and his face hovered mere inches away. From this perspective the view was dreamy; the bulging biceps, chiselled chest and a good peak of what was hiding underneath the covers.

"Your body says otherwise."

"You're misinterpreting the signals."

Damon smirked, placing a butterfly kiss to Elena's neck. "Your pulse is racing." His lips strategically moved down the valley between her breasts. "Your heart is about to break out of your rib cage." She swallowed a moan when his tongue darted out and circled her erect nipple, whilst his hand fondled the other breast.

His gaze briefly dropped, shamelessly roaming down Elena's body. "You have goose bumps all over your skin."

The palm of his hand slid down Elena's toned abdomen, and she watched avidly as Damon slipped one finger into her slickness. "You're all ready for me, baby." He said hoarsely.

"Damon," she gasped with pleasure.

"And that's my name on your lips." He grinned, satisfied with the results, and slowly added another finger.

"You're just proving that I'm horny." Elena added breathlessly, assembling the strength to focus on what they were talking about in the first place.

Despite the efforts, her hips brazenly rolled back and forth in tune with the movements of his hand; Damon had her right where he wanted.

"Not just for anyone, for me." He pressed his thumb to Elena's bundle of nerves and watched as her eyes clouded with lust.

"Fuck, Damon.." Elena sucked in a sharp breath.

The topic of their conversion had slipped to the back of her mind once and for all. Her body was like a piece of origami in Damon's hands, it answered to his every command.

"Yeah baby?" He asked innocently and pulled out his fingers.

"I want you." She practically pleaded, hating the sudden emptiness that now filled her.

"To?"

Elena frowned with impatience. "To fuck me." She dragged Damon down on top of her and attacked his mouth.

He eagerly returned the kiss, whilst placing himself in position. "Elena?" She heard him mutter incoherently.

"Hm?"

"Say you're mine." He ordered in a raspy voice as the tip of his penis teased her swollen entrance.

Elena grinned against his lips. "I'm yours."

"Again."

Opening her eyes and pulling away, she stared up at Damon, mind less hazy. "I'm yours." She gently stroked the side of his face.

Damon smiled, and keeping their eyes locked, he finally entered her in one swift motion.

"Lena?"

"Yeah?" She mumbled sleepily with her head resting on Damon's chest.

"Are you sleeping?" Damon lowered his voice.

"I'm trying." Elena giggled softly. "What's up?" She fought to keep her eyes open.

"Sorry, I couldn't fall asleep."

"Everything okay?"

His palm rested against her bare back. "You never really answered my question."

"Which one?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"I already told you that I'm yours." She blushed.

"You were in a lustful haze; you would have said anything." He chuckled. "So, now that you're not trying to get laid, do you still want to be with me?"

"You saw right through me, huh?" She laughed. "Yes, I do. I want to be your girlfriend, Damon."

His expression softened, and he almost looked relieved. "I want that too."

"Well, then I guess it's settled." She pecked his lips, allowing them to linger for a moment. "Can we go to sleep now, boyfriend?"

Damon nodded and switched off the bedside lamp. "Night, girlfriend."

"Last day?" Vicky asked as Damon made an appearance in the office on Friday morning.

"Sadly, yes." Damon stopped by her desk. "Missing me already?" He chuckled.

"Ha-ha, you wish." She lifted her gaze from the computer screen. "I'll still be saving your ass every day, just from afar. Like a virtual assistant."

"Keep up the snarky comments and I'll drag you down to Los Angeles with me."

"You wouldn't dare." She gasped. "I'm a cat mum, I have responsibilities."

"Oh, you don't want to try me." Damon teased with a grin.

This was usually how their interactions went down, not wasting any time on pleasantries. They bounced off each other easily, which is probably why they got along so well. Vicky was the best assistant that Damon ever had, she wasn't intimidated by his straight forwardness and didn't walk on eggshells around him. The fact that she did not find him attractive probably helped.

"I have a favour to ask." Damon continued, but lowered his voice a little.

"Will I be getting paid for it?"

"And here I thought we were friends." He rolled his eyes. "Elena will be starting an internship in the marketing department on Monday. You can't tell her that I told you any of this, so act like you don't know. But I would appreciate it if you could grab lunch with her or something? Show her the ropes."

The good news arrived yesterday, when Elena received a call from HR who congratulated her on the interview and offered her the internship. Despite the initial resistance, Elena was all giddy and couldn't contain the excitement, so she happily accepted.

This made it even harder for Damon to leave, he wanted to be there on the first day. Of course, even if he didn't have to leave for Los Angeles, Elena would never allow him to act like they were a couple in the work settings. It would be a different level of torture to be around her, but not to be able to touch her.

A couple. Saying it like that made it oddly surreal, but in a good way, like he couldn't believe that any of this was happening to him. Damon couldn't remember the last time that he felt this happy in his life, if ever.

"I don't know what your Elena looks like."

"You have met before." He rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone in search of a photo. "Here, engrave this to your memory."

He took it when they went out for dinner to celebrate Elena's birthday. The red dress was an absolute killer, fitting her body like a glove. She had a bold, red lip to match the outfit and the long brown locks cascaded down her bare shoulders.

Damon had to capture the moment. Naturally, he couldn't stop himself from tearing the piece of material off her body as soon as they went back to his place. But that didn't stop him from admiring how beautiful Elena looked wearing it.

At that moment, it dawned on Damon that this was the first photo of Elena in his collection, and he didn't want it to be the last one. Suddenly, his mind drew a canvas of all the trips that they could go on and the moments that the camera could capture; like their first road trip through the country or their first hiking adventure.

There was no denying it anymore; Damon was head over heels for the girl.

"She's too pretty for you." Vicky remarked casually. "Just to make sure that we're on the same page; you want me to hunt down your girlfriend, pretend that I don't know who she is, but become friends with her and make sure that none of those psychos that are obsessed with you get to her?"

"Precisely." Damon confirmed, glad for the mutual understanding.

"Got it." She nodded, without asking any further questions. "By the way, that's kind of sweet of you."

"Is that a compliment coming out of your mouth?"

"Don't mistake my kindness for weakness." She quipped and returned to work.

"Thanks Vic."

Later during the day, Giuseppe showed up unannounced in Damon's office, with what appeared to be an unclear mission.

In a normal relationship between a father and son, this would be when the father comes over to wish his son good luck and offers his help for the future, but this was far from that. The Salvatore men were anything but ordinary, and their relationships were inherently complicated and messy.

"Ready for the move?" Giuseppe posed the question, pouring himself a glass of water.

"I shipped my stuff to the rental place earlier this week, the flight is tonight, so I'm as ready as I can be." Damon confirmed dryly, his mind still occupied with the things that he had to wrap up at work. "Did you bring Stefan up to speed with everything? I'll need him to step in as soon as Monday rolls over."

"He's been briefed, but I'd rather keep tabs on things, so I'll be coming in on a part time basis until you get back."

"Sounds good." Damon was more than relieved to hear that.

"So," Giuseppe cleared his throat. "I saw the monthly company round-up."

"And?" His brow arched.

"They included the list of new employees, and a familiar name caught my attention." He elaborated, the reason for his visit becoming clearer. "Elena Gilbert, the girl that you brought to Italy."

"Yeah, what about Elena?" Damon grew defensive.

"You didn't tell me that the two of you were dating."

"Is that what it said on the round-up?" Irony laced Damon's tone.

"It's not hard to put two and two together."

"What's your point, dad?" He blew out a sigh.

"If Elena is your girlfriend and you're serious about her, then I'd like to meet her."

That was suspicious.

"What for? You're obviously not going to be cordial about it. I know that you want me to get back with Rose."

"I would have preferred for you to work things out with Rose, but that's not going to happen, is it?" He asked rhetorically.

"How do you know Elena's name?" Damon challenged with a stern gaze.

The whole thing stunk of Rose and whatever sick plan she had in mind, but to get Giuseppe involved? That was a low blow.

"What do you mean?"

"I never told you what her name was, so who did?" He pressed tenaciously. "Let me guess, it was Rose."

Giuseppe fidgeted in his seat, appearing puzzled. "She might have mentioned it, but that's irrelevant. I'm certainly not here because of that."

"Then why are you here? It's not like us to chit chat about our personal affairs. I don't even know if you realised that I haven't come round the house in over six months."

"You always kept me at arms lengths distance, that was your decision, not mine."

The room temperature dropped a couple degrees.

"If you think that it had nothing to do with you and how you behaved after mum passed, then we really don't have anything to talk about."

Lily's death was not something that was ever discussed; her death sealed all of their paths in many ways, but the most significant was how it ruined the relationship that they once had. Giuseppe transformed from a loving, supportive parental figure to a shell of the person that he once was.

Grieving was a process, and it irreversibly changed people, but as a father, Giuseppe should have been there for his sons. That's something that Damon could never forgive. How could there be any talk of forgiveness, if Giuseppe himself never asked for it, nor did he recognise his own part in any of it.

"I know that I made mistakes, I'm not perfect." Giuseppe responded critically. "You're my son, Damon. I want what's best for you. If you're happy with that girl, then I'd like to get to know her. That's all that I came here for."

He stood up, straightening his jacket. "Call me if you need anything when you're in Los Angeles."

"Thanks." Damon managed to add before Giuseppe left the room.

That was as candid as it ever got between them, and Damon had an urge to continue the conversation and properly pull out the dirty laundry. But this was also some form of progress, at least that's what Damon chose to believe.

Introducing Elena to that messed up world was definitely too much to ask of her; Damon wanted to protect her from the entire world, including his botched family. A dinner in the lion's den would be an unnecessary stressor, maybe even capable of making Elena run for the hills.

But Giuseppe did pose a valid theory; Damon was serious about Elena.

"Guess this is it then.." Elena said nervously when they reached the security gates.

The JFK airport was bursting at the seams; every person had someplace to be, some hurried to the gates, others sipped on their beverages at the cafe, checking the time every now and then. The chaos was palpable, but right in this moment, for Elena and Damon the time stood still.

"I promise this is temporary, I'll be back in no time." Damon murmured, tenderly stroking her face. "And you'll visit me in three weeks, yeah?"

Elena nodded, fighting the tears from flooding her eyes. "Call me, when you land?"

"As soon as I get a signal." He wrapped his arms around Elena's body, resting his chin on her head. "Try to get some sleep tonight, you've got a big week ahead of you."

Elena instinctively closed her eyes, submerging in the smell of Damon's cologne. How would she manage without his touch for that long? The thought was paralysing. She wanted to savour the moment, lock it away and never let go.

"I'll miss you." She looked up at him.

"I miss you already." Damon smiled ever so softly and cupped her face before lacing her lips with a kiss.

He wanted to screw the flight, his work and just take Elena back home, where they could spend another night where everything revolved around the two of them, with the outside world fading into the background. But for now, that was not an option.

Reluctantly, they slowly pulled away.

"I gotta go, Lena." He whispered just as his flight was being called out.

"I know." Elena let go of his hand. "Have a safe flight."

That came out wrong. She wanted to say something else.

The words were on the tip of Elena's tongue, but then she realised that she had never said them before, not to Damon. When their eyes locked one last time, Elena could swear that he felt it too, but maybe that was just delusion, it had to; it was much too soon.

"And you drive home safe, okay? No fender benders."

Elena smiled, and his lips found hers again.

"See you in three weeks." She promised, taking a step back.

"See you in three weeks."

And then Elena watched as Damon walked away, suitcase in hand, making his way through the security gates. He turned around to give her a small wave before disappearing around the corner.

Not too long ago, all that they had were fake kisses, fake affection, and a silly rouse that never went very far. But right now, Elena knew the true extent of her feelings for Damon, and there was nothing fake about them.

"Knock, knock." Bonnie's voice beamed through the room, as she leaned against the door frame with a bucket of popcorn in her hands. "How do you feel about watching a horror movie?"

Elena's eyes were red and puffy from crying. The flood of tears spilled just as she had left the airport and continued throughout the drive back home. Two hours later, it still felt like she could cry some more.

"Sure." She grumbled out of bed and brought along a box of tissues.

"You okay?" Bonnie squeezed her arm comfortingly.

They sat down on the sofa in front of the tv and settled under a warm blanket with some snacks laid out on the coffee table.

"Yeah, I just didn't think that it was going to be this hard."

"Here, hot cocoa, just how you like it." Bonnie handed Elena a mug, the cocoa was topped off with whipped cream and mini marshmallows.

"You're seriously the best."

"I know." She chuckled. "It was a good idea for you to do the internship, you'll be distracted and before you know it Damon will be back."

"Yeah, I know. I guess it just doesn't help that he'll be there with his ex-girlfriend…"

There it was. The insecurity that Elena fought so hard to bury somewhere deep down, yet it continued to plague her, planting ridiculous ideas into her head.

"Do you not trust him?"

"I don't trust Rose." Elena countered quietly.

"That doesn't matter, if you chose to be with him, then you need to trust that he won't let himself be tempted."

"Ah, you're making an awful lot of sense today." Elena mumbled, embarrassed for being so juvenile about it. "I can't believe that I'm about to say this, but I'm actually in love with Damon Salvatore."

"I thought you knew that by now?" Bonnie teased. "And no one blames you, we've all seen him."

"I knew that I had feelings for him, but it just hit me today that I was in love." She smiled, thinking back to the blissful moment. "I woke up in the morning and had this sense of belonging, like everything was how it was supposed to be. For the first time since my parents died."

"Oh Elena," Bonnie pulled her into a hug. "I'm so happy for you. And I promise, if he ever does anything to hurt you, I'll kick his ass so hard."

"Think Jeremy might join you in on that one." Elena laughed.

"Have you told him already?"

"No, but I will, soon."

Their relationship was official, there was no point in trying to hide it. Damon wasn't some dirty secret or a plan in the works. They took a step forward together, and Elena was going to head in with all that she had. Jeremy would just learn to trust Damon, and hopefully they'd be on friendly terms.

"Oh, that will be fun."

"Tell me about it."

A/N: Hello guys! I wanted to say a MASSIVE thank you for flooding the last chapter with reviews and showing your support after I mentioned that I felt the interest in the story was starting to decline. I was so happy to see that so many of you are reading this, and enjoying it. I do understand that my updates were far from consistent for some time, but I've been sticking to one update per week for the last month or so, and I promise to continue with that. So, thank you for being so amazing.

As for the story - it's not all rainbows from this point on, I've got ideas and everything planned out, so please trust the process. I'm enjoying writing things at this pace, it might seem slow for some of you, but it feels right to Delena! I'm loving writing their scenes, so much fun. Any thoughts on the chapter? Let me know! I'd love to read what you think.

Take care, and see you soon! :) Kaya xx