Title: Eternity wouldn't be so bad!
Here you go Delena-Lovers, another one-shot. Please do show some love and support and write down your reviews for me to know what I'm missing and if you'll like my stories.
Do check out my other stories : 1. Misery Loves Company 2. I found something to live for 3. The Things He Felt While He Was Gone (will update this soon) 4. The First Time I Knew
Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Vampire Diaries. Shows, books, characters. I am just a writer who happens to love Damon and Elena and likes to add a little to their story.
This one shot takes place after episode 18 of season 6.
The day was long and tiring for everyone. Lily had finally nursed back Stefan's humanity but Caroline was still missing and a dreaded nightmare to anyone who came across her. The game that Stefan and Caroline were playing ended, their ploy to lose control and enjoy their off-switch selves was curbed, but the atmosphere around was somber and sad.
Stefan realized and was hit by everything he did in the last few days but was somehow in a better space than the previous time. He wasn't back to plotting revenge schemes, frankly because he couldn't be angry with Caroline.
He considered himself responsible for what they both did and vowed to draw the real Caroline out of her off-mode and cold shell.
Damon had found Stefan wandering the campus of Whitmore College, as expected, sulking and brooding but there was something more to it this time. Acceptance? It was strange to see his little brother relaxed after a Ripper spiel that was so grueling and harsh.
Damon was on full supervision mode, expecting Stefan to spiral a little, beat himself up over all the lost lives due to his lack of control and agitated impulses, but Stefan was more relaxed with the acceptance of the past few days than sulky. They both kept walking the streets, Damon, on alert mode, while Stefan looked like he was in deep thought.
Damon couldn't take the itch in his body anymore and finally asked, "Ok what's your deal? I really didn't know mother's love was so magical and ran so deep that you are back in one flip!"
"What's your problem? You're the one who brought her back! Wasn't this what you wanted?" Stefan inquired unfazed and still seemingly in his thoughts.
"Well, ya and you have no idea of the entire ordeal that I went through to get you back but this is just….absurd!"
They had stopped by now and Stefan looked up at the stars once before he replied, "Absurd?"
"I am not used to this relaxed Stefan version of you, I don't think I can ever be! You are my broody brother who guilt-trips himself even when things are not going wrong because of him! Right now, you seem full on the acceptance mode of grief! Last time, it took you months to get back to us after you were over your revenge fantasies with Klaus and back from insane-angry Stefan, to the sane Stefan, everyone fawns over! So what's happening? Because I am clearly missing some details!"
Damon turned around and took some exasperated steps ahead, he had a long day and all he wanted to do was to go back home to Elena, but he knew his brother needed him so he stayed back.
To his surprise, Stefan was calmer than him and he found it particularly annoying. This is not what he signed up for!
"You, brought our mother back."
It was not a question that Stefan asked, merely stated and Damon turned around and stared at him to elaborate with risen eyebrows. "The woman we thought, we lost and could never see again. Our mother. The parent who actually cherished us and loved us and gave a damn if we existed or not!"
Damon was instantly filled with heaviness and guilt that was starting to weigh heavy on him now. He had lied. Lily had lied. She may have once been the person who cared for them, but now…. they were strangers to her, she didn't love them anymore and it suddenly occurred to Damon that maybe since Stefan was back to his sane self, he wouldn't flip his switch back knowing that the mother that they still love, couldn't care less about them.
It was one of the reasons, Damon was so eager for the day to finally end but he knew he was going back to an empty room since Elena was staying back at Whitmore so what does it matter!
"Stef", Damon was interrupted as Stefan spoke once again and to his surprised, closed the distance between them and hugged him, "thank you brother. Thank you, for bringing me back, thank you for bringing our mother back, we could….we could be a family again, get to know each other…I am sure mother might be excited to know all about us…" his speech was growing frantic and excited and Damon knew better than to give unnecessary, false hopes to his brother so he stopped him and with a calming hand on his shoulder and began talking, "Stefan, I am glad that you are back and that you are happy about it, who would've thought!" He muttered the last part before continuing, "but, our mother…well, let's just say… we don't pile on her with family reunions just yet…"
Stefan was frowning and looked confused at Damon's words trying to comprehend all the possible meanings after them… or the one that he already knew, the one possibility that he so badly wanted to deny, maybe, maybe what he saw, was true then!
"You know…she's had a long journey, oscillating between dimensions, you know how it is!" Damon continued with practiced nonchalance to not be direct with him but he knew he was failing miserably.
All he hoped for was that Stefan would grasp the hidden meaning and not put any hopes of reconciliation with Lily and possibly, let it go.
"She's exhausted from all the traveling and her orthodox mind is reeling with the new and fancy things she is seeing around her. Why don't we shelve the family reunion for now and focus on getting Barbie back?"
Stefan wasn't blind to the hidden sadness lurking behind his brother's eyes and knew at once what he was so disastrously trying to disguise. The words he knew that were weighing heavy on Damon, he didn't want to share their burden with Stefan just yet.
He let it go and relieved his brother from his sad attempts of hiding the truth and hugged him briefly again before they started their way back to Mystic Falls. He knew what it was now, it was etched on Damon's face but he didn't push it.
Their mother didn't love them anymore, if anything, there was something for her in the bargain for bringing him back.
They got out of the car and headed into the house. Damon's fears were quelled by now and he had no qualms about Stefan, so he thought he could finally relax.
Just as they stepped in his ears picked up some sounds coming from upstairs. He stiffened for a moment preparing for a possible attack but soon enough relaxed when his nose caught familiar scents.
He could recognize those anywhere and no matter how groggy or tired he'd be, he would pick it up in a crowd full of people. It was her. She was here. He smiled faintly before realizing that he had stopped abruptly close to the pillars towards the entrance of the boardinghouse.
He strained his ears some more and listened more closely. Papers rustling. Books being opened and shut. Some scribbling. Oh, she was studying, possibly for the upcoming tests.
Damon smiled to himself with relief as he got his sweet end to a horrible day!
Damon cleared his throat rather patently and said, "So, if your ripper-self has retreated deep back again, you wouldn't mind if I retreat to my girl, do you?"
Damon didn't even wait for Stefan's reply and continued quickly, "thought so. Goodnight brother, keep up the Zen energy!"
Stefan who was finally out of his reverie and processed what Damon had said spoke up, "wait," to which Damon groaned rather conspicuously and climbed down the stairs he had already taken, "now what?"
"Elena's here?" Stefan strained his ears and realized, "Oh, I… didn't sense her…"
"Shame on you brother, after all the blood binging and prowling for days, you are ever the weak vampire! Anyhow, I am too tired right now to mock you anymore so…. Sweet dreams!"
"Ya, I was just going to bed myself…" he turned around to an empty room and then mused more to himself, "with a book from the library." Stefan shook his head and sighed deeply at his brother's impatience to greet Elena.
He could very well relate to the feeling and couldn't help but envy them a little bit as he made his way to the library.
Damon had sped up to his room but under full discretion and stood quietly, leaning against the door-frame and admiring Elena looking like a love-sick fool. He would never admit it but there was something about being in love that would shove his bad-ass persona aside and he'd become totally sappy and the worst part, he was secretly okay with it.
He stood there smiling for a few moments before he rushed into her lap and planted his face against her stomach, in the rapid process, also managed to relieve himself of his jacket and shirt.
Elena was leaning against the head-board, legs stretched in front of her and was thoroughly startled by Damon but smiled as she realized it was him.
"What's with all the vampire senses, is it a mass-bunk?" Damon mused against her belly and Elena squirmed a little because his mouth was tickling her as he talked.
"What?" Elena asked a bit perplexed. "Oh, nothing. Hey, by the way. I thought you were staying back at Whitmore." "Ya, I was going to, but then, I got all the study material I needed and I just… I, didn't wanna go back to my dorm tonight."
Damon knew that even though Elena was truly happy for Jo and Alaric, she would never get over the fact that she can't have a life like that. There is going to be nothing normal about her life and no matter how much she tries to hold onto her humanity, she was different, a vampire, and forever.
Damon felt the guilt seep in as he had the cure, he had a chance to talk to her but he chickened out and Elena was still in the dark about the possibility of her having a normal human life.
He pushed those thoughts away again and snuggled deeper into her stomach. Elena was now threading her fingers through his hair and he wanted to enjoy it. He knew, these moments with her, were numbered now that he had the cure but he wanted to escape those thoughts.
"Stefan came back too? With you?" Elena asked him and Damon talked about their little escapade at Whitmore. "You should've called me… could've come along."
He yawned and was losing his fight to sleep but was holding on to listen to her voice and relish in the feel of her hands.
"I thought you left immediately after and I didn't even know then, that… I wanted to come home. How come it took you guys longer though?" "Oh we were ambushed by the Fell cousins on our way. Their car broke down and Stefan, ever the gentleman! Insisted on fixing it up for them! What is with him and his auto mechanic tendencies! If I didn't know better, I'd say it was passed on to him, not unlike the Ripper gene. Oh and they both were hitting on Stefan… I said they could enjoy this version of him right now before he becomes one exposed to gamma rays and we would have to deploy an agent to soothe him down again! Of course they thought I was joking so both started laughing, Ashley even playfully nudged me before Amy started boasting about her Law school…" Damon mumbled these words as he wrapped his arm around her waist and got more comfortable.
Elena couldn't even begin to comprehend the hurt one can experience if a parent denies any love for their own children. Lily didn't just abandon her children in 1864, she gave a repeat of the same, just polite enough to inform before actually doing the deed.
She knew Damon must be in pain but he was too proud to admit that. She wanted to be there for him tonight and also help brainstorm ideas to bring Caroline back.
"After the day we had, I just wanted to be here… with you." Damon turned his head slightly to look up at her and returned her content smile. "Ya well, even though I share the sentiment, I really don't think I'm the best person you should plan Jo's baby shower with".
Elena chuckled softly at that and for a rogue moment even contemplated on how the baby shower turn out if Damon was in fact in the planning committee.
"Ya… see, that's why I need the old Caroline back… soonish!" "Don't worry, Stefan was in deep thought all the way. I am sure he was contemplating on various ways we can get our perky, event-planning blonde back."
"Well, that's good. You okay?" Damon mumbled some unintelligible words to her in reply and she couldn't help but tease, "Are we back to you inventing secret love languages I know nothing about or is it your foggy, sleep-deprived brain that is functioning on the mental capacity of a toddler?"
Damon bit her belly lightly, right where his mouth was planted and Elena shook with silent laughter while Damon enunciated his words again.
"Did Jo provide any more useful intel on our possible new enemies?" Damon asked with as much coherence he could muster but he was too far gone.
Elena rambled on about how there was limited information on the heretics and went on to her tests and practicals and what the professors expected of the interns. "…and then there are these snobs who expect us to know… Damon?" She looked down from the book in her hand and continued sifting her fingers through his hair. He was asleep and looked peaceful. 'Mission accomplished!' Elena thought to herself.
Elena enjoyed these moments with him always.
Quiet and peaceful.
She couldn't remember the time she used the exact same words due to her self-inflicted amnesia but she had a strong feeling that it must have been during the time when she was with Damon… before, he was gone.
She was in love with Damon again and had no doubt about the fact that he was her forever. Eternity seemed pretty bleak a concept to ponder upon if he wouldn't be by her side. She could finally grasp on her decision to forget about her love for Damon because there was no road ahead of her, where Damon wasn't there to share the journey with her.
She was madly in love with him and couldn't contemplate a life without the man sleeping so peacefully in her arms. The monster that she made him out to be in her mind was still there but alongside the very staunch awareness, that it was in fact, a lie.
There were no residual doubts that she did forgive him, he changed and he changed for her and he deserves the second chance. She pitied his mother. Lily was going to be suffering a terrible loss if she doesn't get to know her son again, if she can't love him!
She kept thinking to herself while tracing the lines of his face and staring down with a wide grin on her face. Her books temporarily forgotten, today was over and she was happy; she could only think about that.
Maybe Eternity wouldn't be so bad after all!
Stefan who finally managed to rummage through the very large library to find a book to fall asleep, headed towards his room. His mind was running through all the possibilities of his changed demeanor to the after-effects of a ripper-binge.
He was guilty, sad for the loss of lives he caused but still, more… observing… of everything he felt, than actually feeling it and drowning in that overpowering guilt.
What was so different now? Why was he so 'Zen', as Damon rightly put it? He counted all the things that he lost the last time, when Klaus compelled him to turn his switch, as much as he didn't want to accept it, he probably lost all his friends and Elena too.
He didn't come back all at once and mend his relationships like he should've, Elena and he drifted apart a lot more because he pushed her away, he pushed love away, being blindsided by his rage and wanting to one-up Klaus. He wouldn't let that happen again. He has a chance again, at love, at a relationship that could be the light of his life, a wonderful girl who could be his life and this time, he wasn't willing to let that slip away.
He knew what he needed to do to get Caroline back. What he was unsure about, was, if she wanted him back?
He stopped by the threshold of Damon and Elena's room and looked inside. He didn't mean to pry but couldn't help but look through the door that Damon carelessly left open and smiled a little to himself at the content expression on Elena's face.
She was still, very carefully tracing the lines of Damon's face, occasionally, stroking his hair with a half-open book in her other hand and a restful Damon, surrendered and peaceful on her lap.
"If that is what you are going to draw as a diagram, I am pretty sure it'll end up being the most interesting paper your professors might have had to assess!" Stefan spoke in a teasing voice and Elena looked up, still unable to wipe the satisfied grin of her face and said, "if I were as accomplished an artist as my brother and I could draw his face on my exam paper, I am pretty sure I would pass with an A, provided, I exchange his number with my professor!"
They both chuckled briefly at that and stared somberly at each other for a few moments before Elena spoke, "So, you okay? You seem ok…"
"Why is that such a bad thing? Damon asked me the same. Seriously, I am fine, better than I should be, but ya…"
"Hey I'm not complaining, we could really use… fine… right now!" Elena added with a smile.
"What have you done to my brother Elena? I mean seriously, you've domesticated the nocturnal beast! Trust me, if you don't make it as a doctor, I am pretty sure there'd be a long list of Vampires who need some taming!" Elena laughed a little at that and said, "It's nothing I have done. I think its love!" she added the last part as an afterthought more to herself with a small smile. "I would agree." Stefan added with a smile.
He was now gazing at an empty space in the room somewhere near the foot of their bed and said, "It is love… that I lost last time. I know how heavy the losses weighed on me. I am not about to repeat the same mistakes again. My Ripper self often robs me of the life I try so hard to build, I can't let that happen again!" he stood quietly for a while before he added, "do you remember our conversation when I blew out your plan of staying oblivious to the fact that you loved Damon and told you that we love Damon, because he pushed us to accept the darkest parts of ourselves?" Elena was listening attentively but was perplexed as to why Stefan changed the direction of the conversation so abruptly, "ya…"
"I think right now, I know what I have to do, what needs to be done instead of delving on the past few days, I need to curb my losses. I am a Vampire and I have this nasty self that takes over me and I lose control, but it's not something to be ashamed of, it's who I am and all I need to do is keep that part of me at bay and in control. Damon… taught me that, somehow!"
Elena didn't exactly know how to react. She remembered and knows how well and in control Damon was as a Vampire. When he loses his fight, it's because of his lack of impulse control that is magnified with Vampirism. He doesn't try to hide it but… he channels it someplace else. Love, maybe?
"Stefan, about… Care… do you know how we'll bring her back? I mean she knows your mom's back and has possibly returned your humanity…." Elena didn't want to talk about the other things when they had a problem looming over that asked for their utmost attention.
"Ya… ya, I guess, I know what to do. Let's sleep on it and we'll talk about it tomorrow. It's been a long day!" Stefan muttered the last part giving his sleeping brother a brief glance and was about to make his way to his room when something Elena said, caught his attention.
"…he tell you?" Elena bit her lip and added again, suddenly skeptical… if Stefan knew? If she should be the one to tell him? Stefan frowned in confusion and Elena relented with a deep sigh and added glancing at Damon once again, "Did he tell you everything about Lily?"
"That she was alive for a 150 years and was stuck in a prison-world like his, yes. That she has lost all her feelings for her only two sons and is possibly sticking around so we can give her what she wants out of this bargain? No. Or at least, he tried, very poorly not to!"
Elena's gaze turned pensive, a look Stefan was too familiar with… Elena being Elena, feeling bad and hurt over other people's losses but he cut her off before she could try and console him, "its fine Elena, a 150 years is probably a long time to care. What?" Stefan asked at her amused look. Elena shook herself a little and said, "that's actually what Damon said too!"
Elena couldn't believe how similar the brothers could be at times when they were trying to deflect from pain. "Ya, well, he definitely lied." "And you aren't?" "If you are worried that I might flip my switch back because the mother I still possibly love and cherish doesn't reciprocate my feelings, then you can relax. I don't want to… I never wanted to, in the first place!"
Elena raised her eyebrows at him to draw out the truth but Stefan deflected again and asked, "So, what did Lily say to him? That she doesn't love us… doesn't care for us…?"
"To quote Damon, 'she was her overly proper self but, ya that was the gist of it'" they both smiled before Stefan finally left waving the book at her and mumbling a good-night.
They all needed the next few hours before they could get back to work. Elena, however went back to studying since she reckoned, she'd have little time after and decided against going to sleep, all the while reading and stroking Damon's hair and alternating between making notes and turning pages.
Hey guys, I hope you loved the story and I will be writing and updating more soon. Thank you Scarlett2112 for all her stories and encouragement. She completed 150 stories recently and I think that is an amazing feat!
Also, please review and favorite as you'll like it. I love to know what my readers think of my work and it is a great motivation to continue.
Thankyou,
Nera here!