"Damon, I I-"
"I know," He looks at me sympathetically with one hand on the wheel, "I know."
He revs the engine and we are off, past the Mystic Falls welcome sign. Water begins to choke me almost instantly. I can hear Damon curse and then he's grabbing my hand, bracing himself for what is about to come next. Everything turns black and I'm back in his family crypt.
"Elena, he's here, you can say goodbye now," Bonnie's eyes are glassy as she walks away. It hits me that Damon is dead, and he's not coming back. No, no this can't be real. This can't be happening. But it is. My sobs are deafening and never ending. He's gone. He's really gone and he's not coming back. The only man who can help me isn't here and he never will be, how am I supposed to survive this?
"Damon! Please, please don't leave me. Please come back to me!" I choke out over and over again. The pain has no intention of letting go of it's tight grip on me.
"Elena!" Damon is shaking me. His eyes are panicked, and he's still in his underthings.
"Elena, I'm right here, everything is okay I'm right here," he says softly while grabbing my face. He brushes the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs.
"I'm here," he murmurs softly while sliding next to me in bed. He pulls me against him firmly. My face is buried in his chest and I'm still shedding tears. He kisses my forehead and rubs my back gently while I cry against him. Eventually his familiar scent and soothing words calm me down.
"Are you okay?" he asks me eventually.
"I am now. Thank you," I whisper, my nose clogged with snot and my voice slightly hoarse.
He shifts the slightest bit beneath me.
"Please don't leave me," I whisper.
"Shh, I'm not leaving. I'm staying right here tonight," he gets comfortable and then he pulls me against him. He kisses my forehead sweetly and we fall asleep in each other's arms.
Just before sleep pulls me in, and I hear him mumble, "I can see why I fell for you Elena."
I wake up and light is streaming through the windows. Damon is still wrapped around me peacefully. I flutter my eyes open and he's staring at me.
"Good morning," I smile stretching.
"You sleep okay?" He asks concerned.
"Yes, thanks to you. I'm sorry if you felt like you were obliged to stay. I won't ask you again."
"Elena, you're no bother. It's been a long time since I've slept in a woman's bed and that was all. It was nice. Refreshing even," his icy blue orbs drink me in. His hair is messy and he's propped his head up on his arm and he's looking at me while twirling my hair with his fingers.
"Damon?" I speak his name as a question.
"Yes Elena?"
"Does it bother you, to comfort me crying about your own death? Is that strange for you? Because if it is I'm truly sorry."
"Is it strange? Absolutely. Do I mind? Not at all Elena. Grieving is the price of loving. And it is extraordinary to know that I was loved this much. All the while, I never deserved it. So no, it doesn't bother me that you grieve our lost love while I hold you. It bothers me that I don't share it with you. That I don't know what it's like to fall in love with you, kiss you, be with you and the Damon that you know does. Elena, I am so sorry you are going through this. As honorable it is to be a martyr, just know that if I had known that we wouldn't be together after, I wouldn't have done it. I know you know everything about me, and I don't know the first thing about you. But, I do know that I must have loved you so deeply. So fiercely, and I owe it to that love and to you to be here for you, every single night if that is what it takes. Partly because you are different. Pure in heart and partly because I know if we are truly soulmates, then I am right where I am meant to be. With you."
My heart is throbbing, my Damon is right under the surface. My lips burn to be crushed to his. I waited and waited for him and now that he is in front of me, I can't bring myself to do it. I want him to make his own choices. I want him to have a say in the choice of whether he loves me or not and right now, he needs time. I'm willing to give him that, after all, he gave me my time.