Hello! Given that it's Sunday, it's safe to say that college is already driving me crazy and that the updates will come just in the weekends from now on.

Nonetheless, thank you guys so much for all the support. I had no idea this would end up getting such amazing feedback, but it's been a hell of an encouragement, and I'm really, really happy for it, so thank you.

And I promise I will answer the reviews soon, I just wanted to post it before midnight ;)

Now, let's get to the chapter, shall we?

I hope you like it!

Chapter 14: Burning the Pandora

ELENA POV

If I've ever had any barriers keeping me from slipping underneath Damon Salvarote, they all started to blur and fade the moment he began to talk.

I couldn't think properly.

And the more I tried to search for the reasons why I shouldn't be doing this, the more I realized there wasn't a single one left, not anymore. What I found, instead, was Damon gazing at me with wonder. His ocean eyes had always held a sparkle of something that played in the shadows, frozen in an almost-moment that never let its fire burn. But as he spoke, the hidden meaning with all that it truly entitles was coming to surface in full force.

I believe he saw the same in my eyes that night when we shared our first kiss, yet my panic had hammered louder. But, today, after listening to the most beautiful speech he had ever made, I couldn't even begin to think about being too soon. I completely lost the power to analyze further. And I think my eyes started to reflect that same brightness too.

Every bit of me was simply basking in the warm glow of being cherished, loved and cared for with an intensity that shook me to the bone. And when I gave myself to him, I gave myself entirely. I drank in the sight of his closed eyes, wanting nothing more than to take the fear of his features.

With kindness, I touched his sharpened jawline, letting my fingers caress his perfect pale skin, thinking about how he could be easily painted in a masterpiece as well. And I wanted to commit every detail of this moment to memory because I knew our love would outlive even the oldest artworks in the Louvre. I positioned his head in the exact way I needed him to be, and his eyes opened at the same time he seemed to relax beneath my touch.

His eyes were filled with a thousand variations of fear, and of every emotion he should be feeling after confessing his love for me, trepidation was not one of them. But there was a glimpse of that burning fire there too, mixed between his brightest blue, and that emotion I had seen so clearly during his speech was the one I wanted to reach.

— Elena. — He whispered, with so much need and adoration that my only possible reaction was to kiss him.

At first, it was just a brush. But as soon as his lips touched mine, reconnecting the two of us for the second time, I gave us everything — the falling, the flying, the drowning, the overflowing.

Time stopped.

Damon slipped his tongue inside, tasting, slavoring me; as I did the same, feeling him as much as I could. He didn't taste like peppermint, strawberry, or anything cheesy like that. His only flavor was Damon, the undeniable bittersweetness of Damon that can't be described as anything else and that you will never recognize unless you get a sample yourself — which you won't, because he's the only one available and he's all mine.

However, it didn't last nearly enough. Because when he held my face in his hands it wasn't to deepen the kiss, it was to stop it.

He already had a kiss-swollen mouth, which means I must have really sucked him like a woman finding water in the desert after so long, though, in reality, it had only been a minute. And if for a split of second his uncertainty had been replaced by love and desire, now all of those previous emotions were back, substantially more vivid than before. While that fire, the one he had allowed it to burn for this brief minute, he was fighting to hold it.

— Elena. — He breathed, letting his forehead fall on mine, and I've never loved my name more. His thumb touched my cheeks, my chin, my probably equal swollen lips. — What are you doing?

Did he really need a PowerPoint presentation about the art of kissing now? It was easy: two licks pucker and magic happens. Well, at least with us it does.

I drifted apart half an inch and rolled my eyes. — What does it look like I'm doing? I'm kissing you.

Damon laughed, looking so deep into my eyes I wouldn't be surprised if he could reach my soul. But, then again, if he was actually able to, then the next words would never have left his mouth. He shook his head. — Does this mean I didn't lose you forever?

God, has he been this scared?

It's no wonder it felt like we were dancing to a never ending song since we last kissed. I kept waiting for him to do it again, but he seemed to take the whole "the next move needs to be yours" way too seriously. I stared at him, bewildered, trying to comprehend the real profoundness of his hesitancy.

His hands fell from my face.

He looked… Devastated. Hopeless. As if my silence had given him the answer.

Almost as instantly, I took his hands in mine, making sure that my voice would come out as steady as possible. — Damon, you could never lose me, ok? Never. I'm actually a little offended that you might think there was even the slightest possibility that I could go on without having you in my life anymore.

Damon relaxed a little. I held his face in my hands, gazing into his lost eyes. All I wanted to do was kiss those perfect lips again, but I couldn't risk confusing him even more than he already seemed to be. So I smiled and whispered lovingly. — Do you wanna know how I feel?

He nodded, shyly. I let my fingers travel through his cheekbones, sliding softly to stroke the tip of black-raven hair close to his ear, then gently caressing his earlobe and enjoying the sensation of his skin beneath my fingertips…

— Damon, I love you. — I said. He melted, sighing in relief, his eyes softening with warmth. I retracted the path my fingers had traced to hold each side of his face again, brushing my thumbs on his Adam apples, and giving him no other choice but to look at me as I spoke. — I'm in love with you, too.

And he really was too scared.

Because, even then, he still needed to ask to be sure. — Are you?

— Do you really think I would have kissed you if I wasn't? — I asked, kindly teasing him, but he just shrugged. I sighed. — Ok, listen. I know we're both fools when it comes to this part of our relationship. But, you've known me long enough to know that I would never kiss a guy after listening to such a speech, if I wasn't head over heels in love with him too. Especially if that guy is you.

And the smile he gave me was so wide and so bright, so happy, I had to curse myself for not letting it make its appearance earlier. All I needed to do was to say it back for him to look this much at peace? Really?

— I love you, Damon. — I repeated. — I love—

And before the words could even leave my mouth, he was holding my face fiercely and kissing me again. Very eagerly, very hungry, entirely different from the previous slow-slavoring one. It's addictive, and his tongue moves so expertly, with such a flaming passion, that I needed all the resistance I could find to pull away. It was just so easy to get lost in the act of conjoining myself to him.

Between the slippery of our mixed tongues and the slickening sound of our touching lips, I managed to say. – Damon, you need to… — More slip and slick and more twisted salivas. — Let me… — He literally sucked my tongue, leaving us both breathless, before, finally, drifting apart. — Finish.

— Sorry. — He said, the smirk on his lips telling me he didn't regret any of it. And, to be honest, I don't have any complaints either, he is that good. — I've been dying to kiss you for so long, to really kiss you. It's hard not to when… — And I shut him up by pulling him back to me.

Oh, we are never getting out of here, because I don't think I can't stop kissing him either.

This time, he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me in place, while my hands moved to touch his back, above the signature black-leather jacket he was wearing, to caress his covered shoulders, to ruffle his midnight hair…

Sure, I already knew pretty much every part of his body because we've always been incredibly touchy with each other, but I've never touched him, not like this. And with his mouth on mine and with the heat of his body pressed against me, I'm discovering that I just can't get enough of him. Damon makes me want to merge myself with him, and it's… It's the best feeling I've ever experienced.

Apparently, he still had more self control than I did, because he was the one who pulled his tongue backwards, giving me three smacked close-mouthed kisses that made me giggle.

His hands ran through my tangled hair to fix it, and he took a deep, deep breath before flashing me a lopsided smile. — You're everything I dreamt of, Lainey. I'm so glad I impulsively poured my heart out to you like it was doomsday.

— Ok, loverboy. But can you give me the chance to talk too? — I teased, with a matching grin painted on my face, I'm sure of that.

He narrowed his eyes. — Loverboy, huh? Guess that bad boy nickname was replaced.

— I can give you a thousand new nicknames, Damon, and it won't ever change the fact that you will always be my bad boy.

His smile grew bigger. — Yours.

— Will you let me do my own love confession or not?

He nodded. — Go on, tell me how much you love me.

I rolled my eyes, dramatically letting go of his embrace to take a few steps away, walking to the opposite direction from where he was standing. Just because I needed to test my freewill, yes, but also to play with him a little.

And how ridiculous it is that we managed to stop in front of the Eiffel Tower? I don't think either of us noticed earlier, when Damon started to guide us to the closest benches, that they happened to be green ones located in this exact stop, right at the most romantic landscape of Paris.

Yeah, we invented the whole concept of slow burning. But, honestly, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world, because it led us here, to this moment, and this is beyond perfect.

— Like I didn't know you wanted me to chase you. — Damon said, running the short distance I had put between us. And, to make it even more silly, he closed his arms around me and buried his face in my neck, exhaling as his nose nuzzled on me.

My whole body melted with his touch. It wasn't a completely new reaction to him, but, at the same time, it was a whole new thing too. Because giving in to Damon like I've always craved felt heavenly. — I'm so in love with you. — He whispered, next to my ear. — And it feels so good to say it.

I swear I'm going to be turned into a love-liquid form by the end of the night if he keeps saying things like that. — I would've known how it feels if you let me speak.

He chuckled. But, instead of answering me or giving me what I was asking, he rounded me until my breasts were pressed against his front and my hands were resting in his chest. And he looked at me, just as in love as he said he was, he looked at me, smirked and kissed me. Again.

And it was also different this time.

It was slow, but not the tasting-slow type, it was a very gentle, very tender tongue-love-making kiss. It was the one that tasted like forever, that promised you all the eternal things and warmed everything inside you until it reached your heart.

Damon kissed me this sweetly. And I guess he just knew when my knees were going to give out because he held me closely to him, his arms firmly around my waist, supporting me so I wouldn't fall. Well, he stopped this fall, at least. As for the other? It was impossible to prevent and it had already hit the deepest pit, flying me to the higher sky. Because I had fallen so deeply in love with him too.

He moaned. And it felt insanely good to know I could so easily make him shiver as he had the power to do it with me. That is, until I realized he was distracting me again. — Oh, Damon. — I breathed in his mouth. — You need to let go of me just a little.

Damon smiled against my lips. — Can't do.

And he wasn't kidding. The longing of his kiss lasted ages. But it just felt so deliciously amazing for me to break it. If Damon being the perfect guy for me had previously ruined all my other attempts at relationships, even before I even knew I loved him romantically, then I'm sure his kissing skills just ruined every other mouth for me as well. Nor that I would ever want another, he is the right one for me, he has always been.

And that's why he needed to let me say it!

Damn it.

Thanks to all the Gods that still seemed to have some mercy towards me, he pulled back. Clearly annoyed that he had to do so, but he did. Then, he grinned beautifully and said, — Alright, you have five minutes. I can't hold myself for more than that.

I smiled, shaking my head back and forth. — I don't think I'm capable of making such an epic speech as the one you did. — He gave a smug smirk. And I quickly stepped ahead of whatever cocky comeback he was going to throw back at me. — But I saw the fear radding off in you in waves when you were pouring out your heart for me, as you so poetically said it.

This instantly made him swallow the lump on his throat, so I cupped his face. — And I don't want to see that fear in your eyes ever again. Because you're more to me too, Damon, you're so much more than my nakama, soulmate, or twin flame best friend. — I admitted, quoting all the titles he had ever used to describe us. — You're the love of my life. And I don't care how utterly cheesy all of this sounds, because it is true and I need you to know that. I don't think anyone could ever match me the way you do. You're like… — And, again, that boy just couldn't help himself.

— Your own personal brand of heroin? — He suggested, with a teasing smile.

My eyes widened momentarily and I bursted out in laughter until my stomach started to complain. And I couldn't even be mad at him for ruining my speech because it just felt so good to laugh this freely.

— See? This is exactly what I'm trying to say. — I shook my head to a smiling Damon who was arching an eyebrow at me, asking with his gesture if what I meant to say was that he was my human version of Edward Cullen. — No. — I told him pointedly, and he laughed too. — Damon, no one can make me laugh like you do. And I'm not just happy when I'm with you, I'm alive, It's… — I looked at him in amazement. — It meant the world to me when we met, because you became my whole world, and it means so much more now that I want to give you mine.

He smiled, letting his fingers stroke my cheeks lightly. I relaxed immediately, sighing in peace. — I wish I knew the exact moment I fell in love with you. Or the exact reason. But, the truth is that even though I remember when I first knew I loved you, it wasn't just one thing. Damon, with you, it was everything too, the smallest things to the big ones. From the first nickname to every night you came to check on me when it was raining. It was when you held me at the times my brother was nearly killing himself because of the grief and because of the drugs. It was every time you danced those 80s ballads you hate just to make me happy. It was the sleepovers on our rooftops. It was everything, all things.

— God, I love you. — He said, leaning to kiss me again, but I stopped him, placing a finger on his lips.

He pouted. — Let me finish, please. — I asked, kissing him lovingly because he was just too damn adorable, but making an effort to do it as quickly as I could. He nodded, and I closed my hands around his neck. — I first knew I loved you the night we danced in the rain. — And if he ever intended to do anything else to distract me, I knew I had his full attention now. — Surprisingly, it wasn't the dance itself… Well, it was that too, but eating that crappy dinner, delivered from iFood, in one of the newly bought booths of the bar-restaurant you were going to open on the next day, with only candles lighting the place… I don't know. I knew I was your best friend and that I was there because you wanted to share one of the most important moments of your life with me. But, even if the Grill is yours, it felt like one of the most important moments of my life too. I know it's stupid, I know it's silly, but everything felt so right. And you were so beautiful—

— It was yours too. — He said without hesitation. — Lainey, once you walked into my life, it was like there wasn't room for anything else but you, so it's not stupid or silly that you felt like it was your moment too, because it was. I mean, I certainly didn't make you taste the whole menu for the opening just because I trusted your cooking skills. — I smiled, smacking his chest playfully. He looked me in the eye and sucked on his breath. — But, you know, what you're saying… That was years ago, we were still in college.

I smiled, nodding in confirmation. — I know. But I didn't know what it was, not for real, not until very recently. — He frowned, waiting for me to continue. — The night we dropped Adam in the orphanage, after that afternoon with ice cream in the park. I was in your arms, just like now, — I squeezed him a little, my hands around his waist. He squeezed me back. — We were talking about piles of good and bad things.

— And I told you that you are my entire pile of good things. — He completed, and my heart fluttered just the same as I heard him saying it again.

I nodded. — I don't know, maybe it was the hormones. Or how my uterus was screaming because of Adam's cuteness, and you just happened to be there. — He raised an eyebrow, and it didn't even occur to me what my subconscious feelings were indirectly implying, about the spider-boy of our lives. — But, for this one moment, you were more than my best friend. You were simply the boy I was falling for, a really good-looking one, saying the sweetest things and I loved you. — I smiled, looking into his eyes. — I loved you in the "I want to be held by him" kind of way.

— Well… I, for instance, don't five a fuck about how utterly cheesy it sounds. Because I want to hold you forever, Lainey. — Damon half-whispered, passionately holding my face in his hands.

But instead of kissing him in response, I just hugged him tightly, resting my head in his chest and letting him hold me. — I love you. — I said, feeling his smile as he supported his chin on the top of my head. — And it does feel good to say it.

He laughed. — Told ya.

— It took us a while, didn't it?

Damon pulled back so I could see the mockery expression in his face. — A while? Five years, Elena, five years.

I laughed, too, shrugging innocently. — Well, it was worth it.

He smiled widely. — It was. — And he kissed me again.

It's safe to say that my expectations of coming back to the apartment to spend some quality time with my brother didn't get fulfilled. Because at the moment Damon decided to blurt out his love for me, I can assure you there was no room left for anything else but him either.

Maybe it's a bit selfish, given that with our busy lives in New York and Jeremy's college schedule here in France, we will probably only get to see each other at Christmas. If, that is, I somehow manage to convince him to go to Italy with us. Lilian has been trying to convince me to spend the holiday with her for some time now and I was really looking forward to it. Without mentioning the trip with the Originals; how we will make it happen with all the chaos that's been going on is beyond me, but…

Oh.

Christmas. With Lilian. Damon's mother. My adopted Mama. And, nonetheless, the woman who has been trying to step me up with her son since day one. If she was that much excited with the idea of us getting together when she deduced that was the real reason why I was moving in with him, I can't even begin to imagine how she will react to this.

I mean, assuming we are together now. I know we just kissed, but he also swore I had branded his soul with my name on it, and I've literally said he's the love of my life. The "being together" is sort of implied, isn't it?

— What is it? — Damon asked me softly.

We were both lying in one of the green benches next to Eiffel Tower; his back against the iron-arm, one of his legs at the corner of it, with me in the middle, and his other leg stretched lazily to outside the bench, his black boots touching the floor. And the hat that I had bought for him was resting on my belly.

— It's nothing. — I lied. Because this is not the kind of conversation we should be having today, no matter how many sweet nothings had been exchanged.

But, this is Damon. So, of course I should've known he wouldn't buy it. — Come on, Lainey. I can see that you're nervous about something.

And I'm me, and I should've known I would keep overthinking until it has all been said.

— I wouldn't say nervous. — I trailed off, knowing that my heated cheeks were betraying me. — It's just… I was thinking… — I cleared my throat. — I mean, about what we… If we… — But I just signed, incapable of verbalizing without dying of embarrassment in the process.

Damon got it, though. And he didn't hesitate to give me an answer. — Yes, we're together. — He laughed softly. — Somehow, I think we always were. But if you wanna know if it means I'm yours after tonight, then no, because I've been yours ever since the day we met. I guess it just means I'm now allowed to let the world know that you're mine too.

— Everyone already knows. — I told him, just as softly, because it is true. The whole universe must know we have something by now. I smiled. — Everyone always knew, except for the two of us.

— The difference is that everyone only teased me about it. — He argued.

I propped myself up on my elbow, wanting to see his face. — Everyone who?

Damon's arms tightened around my body and he exhaled a long sigh. — Literally everyone. — He saw my confused expression and let out a hearty laugh. — Lainey, all of our friends know. Bonnie, Caroline, the Mikaelsons, Enzo, Ric… — He sucked his breath, letting me know that it really was a long list that included all of our friends. — I mean, I tried not to be too obvious, but, at some point, it was just pointless to deny that my eyes sparkled whenever you came to the room.

— How I didn't notice? — I shook my head, trying to process what he was saying.

He laughed again. — I have no idea. — And making sure to be extra gentle with the whole caressing touches, his fingers brushed on my exposed arms. — And I know it took you a while because you're scared. But, Elena, you don't need to be. I had my fears, too, but about how our friendship would never be the same if you realized what you truly meant to me and you didn't feel the same. — He kissed the top of my head, gently stroking my hair and putting a strand of fallen hair behind my ear. — But, against all odds, I didn't lose you, and you do feel the same. And it won't ruin anything, I promise.

— I know it won't. — I said, to reassure him, but, at the same time, realizing just now that I actually thought so. If I ever believed it otherwise I was nuts, because this, us, crossing all the lines, it's the best thing that has ever happened to me and there's no way something this right could turn out badly.

And now that my hidden box is opened— Hell, I probably just burned the whole Pandora tonight. But it was mainly to find out that the only secret that was kept inside was the materialization of the red thread of fate that had always connected us. Because this is how much right we are to each other.

Damon looked for any trace of doubt in my eyes, and when he didn't find any, he flashed that 250 kilowatt smile that it will certainly be permanently locked in his face from now on. — I love you.

I smiled back, lifting myself just enough to reach his lips. — I love you, too. — And, of course, he deepened the kiss without thinking twice.

And, of course, it wouldn't be us if his cell phone didn't start to ring like crazy in the middle of our make-out session. Damon groaned, not minding to hide his irritation, and clearly trying to ignore the call; but when the buzzing didn't stop, he sighed and kissed me one last time before sliding the device from the front pocket of his jeans.

His brows furrowed immediately, and I knew it was from work right away. — It's, uh, It's my emergency line.

— Take it. — I told him with a reassuring smile. I had lost count of how many times work had gotten in the way of my plants too, and, mostly, when it happened, it was a life or death situation so I really did understand.

Damon nodded. — Hello. Oh, Adam. Is everything- Easy, buddy, easy… — His eyes searched for mine, and he looked just as surprised as I felt.

I knew he had given his contact to Adam before getting on the plane to Paris with me and Jenna. But we were both hoping the boy wouldn't need to call, because if someone as independent as Adam was admitting that he needed help, then it meant the difficult part of his treatment had started sooner than we predicted. And this wasn't good.

I made a move to stand up, to give him more privacy, but Damon just placed his hand on mine and steadied me by his side. I smiled, taking the black hat in my hands and staring at it as I thought about our earlier conversation involving my Halloween plans for the kid in question.

— Ok, listen… If it's hard for you to breathe while you're inside your room, just go outside. To the backyards of the orphanage, it doesn't matter, just… Walk to any place where you can look at the sky and try to inhale and exhale that same way we've been practicing when you get there… Yeah, that's right.

My mind conjured the image of a scared little boy, pushing himself out of the safety of his blankets, to follow the instructions of his therapist and go to the stars in an attempt of easing his anxiety. And, for the first time this evening, I felt my heart tightening in a discomforting way.

I think I get why Damon was so worried about him a few nights ago. Not that I wasn't, but even though I had spent some time with him too, Damon is the one who's been guiding Adam through all of this; and, honestly, now I'm feeling just as powerless for not being able to hold his tiny hand or to not comfort him with words that are not being filtered by the phone.

Adam secured a safe place in my heart at the moment he showed up at the New York Presbyterian that afternoon. And I still think those gray eyes were his ticket. But I would be lying if I said I didn't care for him more strongly than I ever allowed myself to, with any of my other patients, and given that I have such a huge soft spot for children, that says something.

After a while, Damon started talking with Adam about random stuff, and I knew the crisis had passed and he was just distracting him with easier topics. He looked over at me with a smile and said his goodbyes to the boy. — Yeap, I will tell her you said "hi". Take care, Adam. I will see you next week. And, please, call me if you need anything. Ok. Bye, spider-boy.

— Was it too bad? — I asked once he had blocked the phone and the call was over. I came closer to him again and snuggled myself in his arms.

— It was. — He sighed, placing his hands around my shoulders and pulling me even tightly to his chest. — It was the first time he spoke about what happened the night his father killed his mother. It was a memory he was sort of blocking until now, but he had a nightmare and… — He trailed off.

I moved a little bit to stare into his eyes; they had acquired that sad look that always comes to him whenever he's dealing with a patient he likes too much, or more specifically, whenever Adam has a bad day. I kissed him softly, and he sighed into my mouth, leaning his forehead against the side of mine.

— He's going to get better. — I said, to comfort him, yes, but also because I did believe in the kid too. — It will be hard, we both know that. But he's strong and he will get there.

Damon nodded. — I know. — Then, he pulled back to look at me with a devilish smirk playing in the corner of his lips. — But, since we're a thing now, you can always help me feel better.

I smiled. — Yeah?

He rubbed his nose on mine. — Mm-hm.

I held his face to kiss him properly this time. — Like this?

His smile touched my lips and he pulled me to his lap. But instead of ambushing me with a breathtaking kiss, he just stroked my hair, ghosting his fingers on it. — I love you, Elena Gilbert.

— And you can't stop saying, can you? — I teased, giggling, like I wasn't enjoying every second of it as well. And then, at last, he answered by kissing me for the thousandth time tonight, and trust me when I say it's not even close to making up for five years of longing.

In spite of how sweet Damon has been with me the entire evening, when we finally decided to head back to the apartment, I've come to discover that he wasn't at all joking when he said he couldn't stop himself from kissing me. That boy didn't seem to be able to let go of me for anything else in the universe.

I'm serious. He didn't stop touching me, not even when I was opening the front door. Or, as I was trying to open, because a task as simple as looking for the right keys can become incredibly difficult when your best friend has his arms wrapped around you and his mouth is working on your neck. And I had barely closed the damn thing, and he already had pinned me against the white wood of the door, tracing paths of hot open-mouthed kisses along my jawline.

— Damon. — I tried to protest, because even though everyone seemed to be sleeping, there was no way we were going all the way tonight when we were stuck on the living room pull-out couch and my aunt and my brother were in the corridor next door.

But I wasn't doing a very good job in making a point because my fingers instinctively tangled on his hair and I gave him full access to my mouth as soon as his tongue asked me to. He pressed his body so roughly on mine that I was sure he was going to take right here and then, but, once again, he surprised me by pulling back at the second I felt the bulge on his pants and let out a low moan.

— Sorry. — And this time he did sound like he meant it, even if our breathless states were enough proof that there was nothing about our steamy kisses that I wasn't enjoying just as much.

I shook my head. — I want you, Damon. Trust me, I do. — I assured him, bringing our lips together to kiss his worries away. I sighed. — But that's not the way I want my family to find out about us and—

— And it is too soon. — He completed it.

But as the words left his mouth I knew they weren't true. I wanted to take my time with him, and because this was Damon, I secretly wanted to be special too, but if we were alone here, there was no doubt it was going to happen tonight and I wouldn't have any regrets about it.

— There is no such thing as too soon for us. — I told him sincerely, and it felt amazing not to have any barriers between us. I liked to be able to talk about anything with him again, including this.

Damon smiled. And I knew he heard everything I hadn't verbalized.

I guess I've always known that if we ever became something else, we wouldn't be the kind to take things slow. There was no reason for it. I knew he was it for me, and he had said with every word that I meant the same to him as well. Sure, there were some things we will need to figure out as we go, but as for what our relationship would be, we were both on the same page on that.

— But I still can't kiss every square of your body until we wake all of your brother's neighbors… — Damon said, voicing the limits I had silently drawn to cover the rest of our trip. But making sure to lick his lips and look purposely to mine just to test my resolve. — Or can I?

I raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to suck dry too visibly. — No, you can't. — He pouted, and I rolled my eyes. — Unless you want to horrify my family members as well. — And he had that look on his face that said it didn't seem such a bad idea, so I immediately patted his chest, shrugging it off. — I'm sorry, bad boy, it's not gonna happen.

He sighed, dramatically. — Fine. Can I at least sleep shirtless?

I gasped. — Of course not! You can't tempt like that!

— Can you sleep shirtless? — He tried.

— Damon!

He laughed, gesturing to the couch. — Come on, let's get some rest then. — His hand slid to intertwine with mine, and I kissed him one more time before letting him guide me.

It was only then that we noticed a light coming from the kitchen. Damon turned around to take me there instead and we found my brother, sleeping with his head laid on the notebook's keyboard, unconsciously tipping a bunch of random letters in the opened file in the Google Docs.

Damon laughed quietly and I let go of his hand. — Go take the blankets, I'm gonna make this one get into bed.

He nodded, giving me a smack kiss on the cheek and I watched him disappear to the living room. God, I love him too much for my own good, but that delicious butt sure is a bonus.

— Jer. — I called my brother. And, when he didn't answer, I shook his shoulder gently.

He woke up in one sudden movement, completely lost and looking around confused. — What.

I smiled, ruffling his messy fringe. — You should go to bed. — I told him, smiling kindly, and then pointed to the notebook. — And probably erase the things you wrote while you were sleeping. Later.

Jeremy looked at the screen and widened his eyes at the whole page of nonsense. — Oh god.

— Jer, you don't need to study this hard just because we're taking too much of your time this weekend.

His hand touched his neck, massaging it, as he felt the discomfort of sleeping in such an awful position. — Actually, it's Damon who distracts me. You know how I only get too glued to the video game when I'm playing with him.

Yeah, and I know all about his distracting techniques.

Thankfully, Damon was sleepy when we went to the pull-out-couch. We talked about everything and nothing at all, from Adam to our college days. We kissed, a lot. Until he started to yawn and I pulled him into my lap to hum a Queen's song while my fingers ran through his raven locks, massaging his scalp.

And I know it's something we do all the time, but like everything else, tonight felt different. — Why are you looking at me like that? — I asked quietly. He looked so peaceful like I've never seen him before.

— Because you're beautiful. — He said with a goofy boxy smile that made my chest hurt so painfully good, warming me from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. — You're beautiful. And you're mine, finally. And I'm crazy about you. Ape-shit crazy about you. — He shrugged. — I'm happy, Lainey.

And he did have "happiness" written all over his face, and it looked so good on him. I grinned, feeling just as happy, and just as ridiculously in love with him too. — I love you, too, loverboy.

Damon laughed, beaming even wider. — Best trip ever, huh?

— Yeah. — I leaned in, holding his face to kiss him, which, given the upside down position his head was in, it turned out to be more like laughing against each other's mouth than actually kissing it.

And I knew then that the difference between past and future for me would always be defined by before and after today. Damon had been the first honest to god turning point in my life. And, after tonight, everything will be different between us too… Although, in spite of all the fears I used to have regarding this, us… I also knew we would still be the same we've always been.

We would always be the same.

The same, just a lot happier.

Yeah, Damon is right.

Best trip ever.

Oh, they are just so happy. I can't believe I'm about to ruin everything *evil laugh*

I'm kidding, I promised there was some drama coming, but don't you worry 'cause it won't disturb their love bubble so much. Because, in spite of me wanting to shake things up a bit, this was supposed to be a very light fluff story from the very beginning.

As always, thank you for reading.

Have a wonderful week, people!