Here's the totally cheesy wedding chapter ;)
There was a knock on the door as Elena heard Caroline ask, "Elena? Are you ready?"
Elena looked into the floor length antique mirror that matched the rest of the feminine furniture in the room, examining her appearance. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun that hung at the nape of her neck while stray curls framed her face. Her makeup was heavier than normal, but still kept mostly neutral with darker eyes and nude lipstick. Sparkling diamond earrings adorned her ears, peeking out between her hair and glimmering in the sunlight pouring in through the window when she moved. Then her eyes moved to her dress as she smoothed the material down over her hips to ensure that there were no wrinkles.
It was all pure white, and covered in lace from head to toe. The neckline was high, covering her entire chest and buttoning behind her neck to leave her entire back open. Her arms were covered in lacy sleeves and the dress fit her like a second skin until it reached her knees, where it draped to the floor in flowing material and extended behind her in a short train.
Today was the day, and she couldn't have been more ready.
"Yeah, I'm decent Care." Elena called back to her before turning back to her reflection. Even she had to admit she looked stunning, and Damon wasn't going to know what hit him.
The door opened and as soon as Caroline saw her, she gasped and her eyes grew watery.
Elena glared at her, "If you make me cry and ruin my makeup, so help me Caroline I will force a chastity belt on you to stop you from hooking up with the best man!"
The blonde giggled, dabbing the corners of her eyes with a tissue, "We're not even hooking up! I told you, we're just friends."
Elena smirked, "Friends don't have that much sexual tension between them."
She huffed, "Stefan is…well, I really like him, okay? And we're good as friends. Why should I ruin that by trying something more?"
Narrowing her eyes at her best friend, Elena said, "If I really need to answer that, then you're not as smart as I thought."
"Thanks." She sneered, walking closer to stand next to her. Almost instantly, her scowl gave way to a grin and she practically whispered, "You're getting married, Elena."
Elena laughed, the reality of it still shocking her, "I know."
"And oh my god, look at you! That dress!"
"I know!" Elena repeated, swallowing the lump in her throat and blinking back tears. They had found the dress in a vintage boutique while spending spring break in Florida. They were all supposed to be partying their asses off on the girls only trip, but instead they ended up making a pit stop in the little store when Elena saw the dress displayed in the window.
She still remembered the call she got from Damon as soon as the charge went through on his credit card. He was on the verge of having a heart attack at the price, not because he couldn't afford it, but because he couldn't believe a dress could cost that much. When she had answered his call, his first question was if she had just bought a Mercedes or if he had to kill somebody for stealing his credit card and splurging on a speedboat.
It was worth every penny though to see herself in the mirror now.
Once she got the dress, that pretty much set the rest of the planning in motion. She chose a theme around the dress, therefore decorations, and her bridesmaids dresses perfectly complimented it. Caroline and Bonnie were dressed in matching knee length deep purple dresses that were fairly plain so they didn't distract from her dress. The guys' suits were simple as well, black with a white undershirt. Stefan and Jeremy's suits were completed with pocket squares that matched the girls' dresses, but Damon's was just white.
She hadn't seen him yet today, not since a couple days ago as per Caroline's insistence on a traditional wedding despite it being a wedding of two vampires. She actually hadn't seen him since her bachelorette party and his bachelor party.
Fall break happened to line up perfectly with the season Elena wanted to have the wedding in, so the wedding was the weekend before fall break, and they'd be spending the entire week on their honeymoon. They'd be back Sunday night, right in time for class Monday.
Caroline, Bonnie, Megan, and a few other friends from college took her into Richmond for her bachelorette party last night, which wasn't nearly as eventful as she was sure it could have been. No strip clubs, no heavy drinking, no sloppy hookups with strangers. They spent the evening on the town, barhopping and stopping inside of clubs to dance and have a few drinks. Then once they got back to Bonnie's house, where they were all crashing, they had started all of the fun games involving penis shaped paraphernalia. Candy, necklaces, pin-the-penis-on-the-hunk—you name it. If it existed, Elena was convinced that Caroline found it.
Because really, she was the only one bold enough to buy it all in the first place. Even if all of the girls got a kick out of it.
For Damon's bachelor party, he went to a strip club with the guys. Nothing had shocked him as much as when Elena was perfectly fine with that. In her eyes, the thought of Damon cheating on her was laughable. It was downright impossible, hell, his dick didn't even work for other women.
She would know—she once came home from school to surprise him for the weekend when he wasn't expecting her, and she caught him trying to jack off to porn but failing to get it up. When she asked why he was even bothering if he wasn't turned on, he told her that he was bored and figured it was a better option than doing nothing.
So when he was dreading asking her if he could go to the strip club for his bachelor party and she outright laughed her compliance, his surprise was just as laughable.
The one thing she wasn't too happy about was that her brother was now old enough to get into the strip club. Not that that would have stopped them from compelling the bouncers anyway, but he was still her baby brother. The image of some gross stripper giving him a lap dance wasn't at the top of her list of things to see before she dies.
At least she didn't actually see it.
But speaking of her brother…
Elena asked Caroline, "Where's Bonnie?"
A nervous look crossed the blonde's features, and she bit her lower lip. Elena shot her a glare, daring her to withhold whatever it was and Caroline caved, "Okay, don't freak out, but her dress doesn't fit. It's too big, so we called the seamstress from the place in town and she's with her now trying to bring it in without making it look awful."
"Is it going to be ready in time? Caroline, we have an entire backyard filled with people waiting for this wedding in ten minutes!"
Caroline gave her a look, "This is why I didn't want to tell you! The seamstress promised she could get it done in time, and as long as none of the pictures feature the back of her dress, nothing will look out of place."
Elena let out a breath, "Okay, I guess that's fine, I mean, why would we have pictures with your backs?"
Smiling, she agreed, "See? No need to stress!" Reaching for the bottle of champagne, Caroline refilled Elena's glass that she had been sipping while getting ready and said, "Now drink this, because that's not all."
She didn't need to be told twice, and Elena gulped down the bubbly alcohol before grimacing, "How bad is it?"
"Um…" Caroline looked up at the ceiling, trying to find the right wording, "Definitely not 'cancel the wedding' bad, but not great. So it turns out, Jeremy was trying to keep up with Stefan and Damon at the club last night in drinks, and—"
"Stefan and Damon are vampires! How the hell could he think he could ever keep up? What about Enzo? Surely he tried to talk some sense into him!"
Enzo was a vampire that Damon had known since the fifties, but lost touch with. Apparently their history together wasn't very pretty, involving imprisonment for years while being tested on since they were vampires. That little tidbit of information was discovered shortly after the spring semester started when Elena became friendly with her microbiology professor.
Whitmore college seemed to have a lot more vampire hating secrets than it led on, including a hidden dungeon that resembled the one in the boarding house, except there were several different cells for multiple vampires. Augustine members, a secret society of scientists that researched vampire healing powers and tried to mimic them in humans, captured vampires and tortured them while doing this 'research.'
Damon had repressed the memory by shutting off his humanity when he finally escaped with Enzo, and that's why they lost touch.
The news had opened up a door to his past that Elena was almost afraid to explore. Being tortured for years, experimented on, starved, and put on display like some kind of animal had to have caused some lasting damage, and it broke her heart. Hell, he had to turn off his humanity because of it, hence why Lexi had been trying to turn it back on in the seventies.
He met back up with Enzo by sheer coincidence. Over the summer, they had decided to spend a week in New York on vacation to really experience the city properly this time. They were hanging out in one of the many underground vampire clubs when Enzo walked in. Within minutes the two of them were acting like best friends.
Elena could only imagine the kind of bonding that occurred between captives, and it was nice to see Damon with a true friend.
Ever since then, Enzo had been hanging around Mystic Falls now that he had somewhere he was wanted. He was a really great guy, and fiercely loyal, which was one reason she imagined Damon liked him.
Well that, and now every time Damon wanted to go on a killing spree, Enzo was all for it.
Damon really only binged on rare occasions, like when he and Elena got into gigantic arguments or if someone pissed him off past the point of return.
It wasn't Elena's favorite part about him; far from it actually. She had always pushed him to be a better man, even when he hated her for it at times. But in the end, that's what she did. She brought out the good in him, the human part of him. She made him want to be a man worth her time, and the only occasions on which he slipped up were when he was pushed past his breaking point.
One of their biggest fights actually happened shortly before the semester started.
Now that Jeremy had graduated high school and was going to Whitmore for graphic design, nobody really lived in Mystic Falls anymore that couldn't leave. So naturally, Damon and Elena signed a lease on an apartment right on the edge of campus.
Liam, her friend that was going to be a doctor, asked her to hang out the first night they were moving in. Figuring she should get her fill on fun before the first day of classes, Elena went out while Damon stayed behind to finish unpacking, upon his insistence.
One thing led to another, and Liam ended up wasted and unable to even tell Elena where he lived so she could safely get him back. With no other option, she brought him back to their place only to find that Damon had gone out. He left a note saying that Stefan had some kind of emergency. Elena had put Liam to bed on the couch, and she went to the only bedroom in their small apartment to crash. In the morning, Liam had woken confused and disoriented and Elena let him use their shower. Damon hadn't come home yet, but just when she was about to call him he walked in the door.
It just so happened that it was at the same time Liam walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. She hadn't thought anything of it, until Damon's accusatory gaze darted between the two of them and she realized all she was wearing was a black t-shirt that easily could have been his and her panties.
He stormed out without another word and refused to talk to her for a day. Then when he did finally cool down, Elena was too pissed to even talk to him. She had thought that he didn't trust her, and she kicked him out of the apartment for a week because just the sight of him broke her. It wasn't until she heard from Caroline that Liz reported several 'animal attacks' thanks to Damon and Enzo that her anger diminished.
It wasn't easy, but finally after a few days of talking—well, more like screaming, they were able to work things out.
So as much as Elena liked Enzo, he wasn't really the best influence on her fiancé.
Caroline snorted a laugh, "Because Enzo was going to be the voice of reason."
Elena rolled her eyes, "So what's the damage?"
"Jeremy has been barfing all morning and looks like death, which is kind of hard to do at a vampire wedding."
Groaning, Elena asked, "What about vampire blood? Wouldn't that make him better?"
Caroline opened her mouth to argue, but promptly shut it, "Actually, that's not a half bad idea. Want me to go do that right now?"
Their heads spun at the sound of another voice in the room, "Do what right now?"
Bonnie stood there looking curious, and Caroline answered, "Give Jeremy some of my blood to make him stop barfing all over the place."
Bonnie grimaced, "Normally I'd be against the idea, but in this case, I don't think he's going to make it to the wedding if you don't do something."
"Do it!" Elena yelled. "He's supposed to be walking me down the aisle, Caroline!"
"Okay, okay!" She squealed, scurrying out of the room.
Bonnie smirked, "A little harsh, don't you think?"
Elena raised a brow, "You try having the man that's supposed to walk you down the aisle at the wedding of your dreams vomiting everywhere."
"Fair enough." She teased, walking closer. "Hot dress, by the way."
Elena giggled, "You think?"
She grinned, "Yeah, give me a little twirl or something for the full effect."
Smiling giddily, Elena spun around and held out her hands, "What do you think?"
"I think all that's missing is your veil."
The mood sobering just a little, Elena nodded, "I wanted to wait until the last minute so I didn't ruin it. Is it time now?"
Bonne smiled sympathetically, "Yeah. She'd be so happy for you, Elena."
"Thanks." She said softly, fighting back any tears that threatened to fall.
Walking over to the box on the bed, Elena brushed her fingers over the thin white material with lace lining the edges. It was her mother's from her wedding, and by sheer luck it ended up matching her dress.
Bonnie picked it up and as she positioned it in Elena's hair, Elena asked, "So your dress is fixed?"
She nodded, "No need to worry, it's a perfect fit now. Just a few safety pins and new seams in the back."
"Good." She breathed in relief. Bonnie settled the veil around her, and Elena had to suppress even more tears.
"No crying!" Bonnie chastised lightly. "You've got a very nervous groom waiting for you downstairs, and you being late because we had to redo your makeup isn't going to help!"
"He's nervous?" Elena asked shyly.
Bonnie laughed a little, "It's almost two o'clock and he hasn't called me 'Witchy,' 'Sabrina,' or 'Judgy' once."
The corner of Elena's mouth tugged up into a smile, and she said, "Then we better not keep him waiting any longer."
She grinned, "Come on, everyone's waiting downstairs."
Elena followed her other best friend down the stairs of the boarding house, finding Caroline and Jeremy waiting in the parlor. Her brother didn't seem sick, and as she marched up to him, she growled, "Hungover for my wedding? Seriously, Jeremy, what the hell were you thinking!?"
He rolled his eyes, "I'm not hungover! At least not anymore…"
She narrowed her eyes, "You're lucky this is the best day of my life, or else you'd probably be missing a vital organ by now."
"It wasn't that big of a deal!" He defended.
"And what would have happened if you puked on my dress!? I would have skinned you alive!" She hissed.
"Retract the claws, Elena!" Caroline screeched as music began playing in the background. "Now put on a happy face before those doors open and everyone sees you!"
Elena groaned and practically stomped her foot, but as soon as Caroline shoved a bouquet in her hands she forgot all about it. The flowers were white lilies and had the same dark purple as Bonnie and Caroline's dresses spotted through them. She could already imagine doing the bouquet toss, and maybe purposely throwing it to Bonnie just to give Jeremy the hint, not that they were anywhere near ready for marriage like Damon and Elena were.
The back door opened, and Caroline and Bonnie filed outside one behind the other to the tune of the music. Then when it was Elena's turn, she hooked her arm through Jeremy's, their argument completely forgotten, and he whispered to her, "You look amazing, Sis. Thanks for letting me walk you down the aisle."
She gave him an incredulous look, "Like I'd have anyone else do it."
And then the time for talking was over, as they took their first step outside.
The backyard of the Salvatore boarding house had been completely transformed into a place she barely recognized. White folding chairs draped in shimmering silver fabric were lined up on either side of the aisle. There weren't many, just enough for their close friends and family. After a lot of deliberation, they decided that they had to invite all of their friends from college, meaning they had to keep the whole vampire secret throughout the evening.
A white carpet was rolled over the grass to cover the aisle and it led up to the altar. Her eyes instantly settled on Damon in his breathtaking suit and tie. His hair was the same as always, if not a little neater than usual, but that could also be due to the haircut he got mere days ago. He was watching her like his life depended on it, his eyes glued to her figure as she and Jeremy slowly walked down the aisle. She couldn't get there fast enough.
Stefan stood off to his side, dressed in a suit nearly identical to his, and across from him Bonnie and Caroline stood waiting. She chose both of them as her maids of honor, so there were no hurt feelings. Besides, it was such a small wedding small labels like that weren't really important.
A white wedding arch was set up behind them, decorated in the same flowers as her bouquet and the minister stood beneath it.
It was all very simple, but perfect, nonetheless.
Beneath the biggest oak tree in the yard was where they had set up tables and a dance floor for the reception. With a late October wedding, all of the leaves on the tree and the surrounding forest were brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Crystals hung from the tree in ropes, draped across the branches and dangling down above the area. The table centerpieces consisted of a glass jar with a candle inside of it and flowers arranged around them. The table cloths were a plain cream color, and the chairs were wrapped in a big silver bow. Tiny lights were strung from the branches above, and soon they would be lighting up the night as they celebrated their marriage.
But right now, the real light in everyone's eyes was walking down the aisle, practically glowing from her happiness. She emanated beauty like no other, and it was no secret to the male population either.
But after today, they'd never have to guess if she was single or not. They'd never have to guess if Damon was single or not, because they all knew he wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes either.
The pair of them really did make a stunning couple, and when they would exchange rings in a few short minutes nobody would ever dare question their relationship.
Damon couldn't tear his eyes away from his girl, dressed in all white, walking towards him down the aisle he never imagined would exist.
God, he couldn't wait to marry her.
Jeremy removed her arm from his and taking her hand, he placed it into Damon's while giving him a wink. It was all Damon could do to stop from rolling his eyes.
Instead he placed all of his attention back onto Elena, who was now standing in front of him with her fingers laced through his. She beamed at him so brightly he was sure he'd need to wear sunglasses for the rest of the day to let his eyes recover, and in response he smirked a little and shot her a wink.
That only made her blush.
Winking at her always pulled the color to her cheeks.
The minister began speaking about the sanctity of marriage, the meaning behind it, blah, blah, blah—what they shared was so much more than just love, because they were vampires. Their emotions were heightened. No human could ever understand the depth and intensity of their feelings, and this whole wedding was more about the human title of being husband and wife than anything else.
Because when it came down to it, to any vampires, they were mates. Meant to be together. Twin flames. Their souls were intertwined into one. One was the perfect compliment to the other.
No human could ever understand that on the level they did.
The minister then asked for them to exchange rings and vows, which they chose to write themselves.
Damon would allow this one moment for his façade to slip to the world, revealing his true self both to Elena and their guests, because he didn't want anyone to ever doubt how much he loved her. He wanted the thought of questioning their relationship to sound downright absurd, and if pouring out his heart and soul to her in front of everyone they knew was the only way to do it, he wouldn't hesitate.
Turning around to retrieve the ring from Stefan, Damon lifted her left hand and began, "Elena, you are, hands down, the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have spent years in this world trying to convince myself that I could do everything on my own. That I was perfectly happy with that, even. The only thing in my life that held any meaning was my brother, and back then, even that was debatable. But when I met you, you showed me what it was like to really be happy. You taught me what true love was, and how it meant being selfless. You brought my brother and I back together, you never failed to give me a chance to show you that I was worth your time, and I've never been more excited in my entire life to get to call someone my wife."
Her eyes were expectedly watering, and she mouthed 'I love you' to which he just smirked.
Sliding the ring onto her finger, he continued, "With this ring, I vow to you my eternal love, faith, and loyalty. You will never know what loneliness feels like, and you will never question the authenticity of my emotions. I vow to always be honest, and do everything I can to make you smile, even in your darkest moments. You make me a good person, and I'm not complete without you in my life. Lastly, I vow to give you everything you've ever wanted in life, and even if it seems impossible, I will find a way."
The last few words of his declaration were barely a whisper, one that held more promises than Elena knew. She reached up with her right hand to brush away a tear, figuring it was okay to let a few stray ones fall now. Not that she really had a choice in the matter.
Elena then turned to Caroline for Damon's ring, and she sniffed a little before starting, "Damon, the kind of love that you showed me can exist is far too profound for me to ever put into words. At times, you've risked everything just to keep me out of harm's way. You've even let me hate you for it, because the only thing that mattered to you was my safety. And that's the kind of selflessness that I always knew was in you, even when everyone else was determined to prove that you weren't good enough. Beneath the sarcasm that I begrudgingly admit I love, is a man that has been hurt repeatedly throughout his life. When you chose to let me in and show me your love, it opened a door I was scared to go through. I knew how impassioned you were, how sexy and intense, and to know that a man like you could love a girl like me scared the hell out of me. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but when that fear transformed before my eyes into a thrilling, passionate love, that was when I knew that I had nothing to be afraid of. I let my guard down and you came flooding in, and I have never looked back since."
She slid the ring on his finger, then brought her gaze back up to his only to get burned with the intensity of his eyes. His whole body, really, was unlike anything she had ever felt before, and knowing that she was the one that was able to mend his heart and bring out who he really is was something she would cherish forever.
Blinking back some more tears, she continued, "I take this ring and vow to you nothing but love. There will be times that we fight, maybe even for weeks at a time, but I will do so knowing that we will get through them. I vow to let you be yourself, and not try to change you into someone you're not. I fell in love with the impulsive, witty, and fierce man that would walk to the ends of the earth and then jump off if he thought it was what was best for me. I vow to love you, cherish you, and always be with you, as long as we're both still walking this earth."
Without another second's hesitation, the minister announced, "I now pronounce you man and wife, you—"
Before he got to the whole 'kiss the bride' part, they beat him to the punch. Damon wrapped his arms around her lower back and lifted her into the air as they shared their first kiss as husband and wife.
Cheers erupted around them as party poppers went off, showering everyone in rainbow confetti. Reluctantly, Damon lowered her back to the ground and gave her lips a few more quick kisses, which she happily returned while they both smiled until their faces hurt.
They then turned to face their guests, Elena taking her bouquet back from a teary Bonnie, and they walked back down the aisle and into the house. Caroline linked her arm through Stefan's as they followed the newlyweds, and Bonnie did the same with Jeremy.
After regrouping in the house, they all made their way to the makeshift 'reception' that was just those few tables set up with another that had some food. More for the humans than anyone else, and it was all very casual. Wooden floor panels were laid out across the grass to provide a surface for dancing as opposed to the soft ground.
Caroline was instantly directing everyone for the next event—pictures. The photographer had been hired to take candids of the entire night, but they of course needed some posed photos that included the wedding party.
After that, everyone had some time to grab food and talk to the bride and groom, even though all either of them could think about was fast forwarding to the honeymoon.
A little while later, music began playing over the speakers positioned around the area, and Elena recognized it as the song she chose for their first dance.
All I Need, by Within Temptation.
She figured it was suiting for their first dance as husband and wife to be to the same song that they first danced to at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. That was when she first felt how sexy Damon was. When he saved her from being completely humiliated by not having a partner, she saw him as more than just her boyfriend's cocky older brother. Of course she wanted to remind him of that dance, which is why she had told him that he'd know what song she chose for their first dance when it played.
And now, it was overly obvious.
His eyes sought out hers as she abandoned her conversation with Stefan and he ignored whatever Liz had been saying to him. She grinned smugly as he shook his head in amusement.
He knew the significance of the song, and as he reached out his hand to take Elena's he pulled her into his chest and smirked, "Feeling nostalgic?"
She wrapped an arm around his neck and settled into his arms while he began leading her back and forth to the slow beat. Forget the whole 'traditional' dance that they had to do back then, they were married now. Any and all touching was perfectly fine in the public eye.
"For the time when my ex-boyfriend went on a ripper binge and abandoned me at a dance?" She teased, keeping her voice low so no humans would overhear. "Surprisingly, yes."
"But only because you got the have my hot body pressed up against yours, right?" He joked, flaring his eyes at her.
"For about thirty seconds." She reminded him. "The rest of it we weren't allowed to touch at all."
He leaned in to press his cheek against the side of her head and hummed, "Mm, but weren't those thirty seconds just…"
She waited for him to finish, if he was even going to, and when he didn't, she moved her head so she could look at him.
"Like we were the only ones that existed." She finished for him, and he smiled as he dropped his forehead to hers.
"Yeah." He practically whispered. "Exactly."
They danced to the music for a few more long moments, so absorbed in each other that they didn't even notice everyone else pairing up to join them.
"I love you." Elena said softly, tangling her fingers in the shorter hair at the base of his neck.
Damon blew out a quiet laugh, surprising her, and when she looked into his eyes for an explanation, she got the best one she could ever find.
His eyes were watering, and a few tears had slipped down his cheeks.
If there was a place higher than cloud nine, that's where Elena was. No, she was even above that, because the only other time she had seen Damon cry was when he had compelled her to forget about it.
And this time, they were happy tears.
She moved her hands to his cheeks and used her thumbs to brush them away. She then grinned, "Later tonight, when we're all alone—"
He cut her off, "Elena, I swear to god if you finish that sentence I'm not going to be able to stop myself from throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you to the nearest surface."
"Fine, fine." She laughed. "I guess now you'll just have to keep guessing what I was going to say. So many dirty thoughts, some that we haven't even tried yet…"
"Elena…" He said in a warning tone just as their song ended and faded into the next one.
She ignored him, and continued, "Or maybe I was going to say something different, something about all the things that our future holds." He raised a brow and she smirked, "Yeah, no. I was going to say something dirty."
"Evil little minx." He playfully nipped her lips and she giggled.
Everyone continued dancing for a while, until it was time to cut the cake.
With both of their hands on the knife, they sliced into the bottom tier of the simple white cake and put some on a fork to feed to each other.
Damon didn't dare smear it all over her face like he wanted; she was wearing a dress that cost more than a car. He didn't want to risk ruining it when he damn well knew she'd want to keep the dress forever.
A little while later Elena did the bouquet toss, and as hard as she tried to throw it to Bonnie, Caroline was the one that caught it.
Who knows? Maybe she'll be the next one to get hitched after all.
Elena had wanted to do the garter toss too, but as soon as she brought it up with Damon he flat out refused to let anyone see her bare legs while he pulled it off with his teeth. Honestly, she couldn't blame him. If she had to watch his teeth nipping her skin that close to the space between her legs, she couldn't promise that she wouldn't have taken him right then and there, guests be damned.
There was more dancing after that, where the bride and groom were able to be separated long enough for everyone else to have their shot at a dance with them.
Jeremy demanded at least one dance with his sister while Caroline insisted on dancing with Damon when he'd really just rather sit down. Both her and Bonnie had really warmed up to him after so much time was spent living a normal life. There were no more life or death decisions, and when Damon wasn't so easily volunteering to be the bad guy, they got to know the real him. Or at least enough of that man not to hate his guts.
As Jeremy and Elena began dancing to the music, she said, "I tried to make sure Bonnie caught the bouquet, you know."
His eyes widened, "I'm eighteen!"
She shrugged, "And I'm twenty one. With a life like ours, you can never be too hesitant to make major decisions."
He rolled his eyes, "Well that's not going to happen for a long time. Bonnie and I are still human. Well, sort of…I mean neither of us are immortal. I think we're going to shoot for a normal human life together."
"Good." Elena said forcefully. "You should want that. You and her are probably the only ones with a real shot at having a normal life, and you should go for it with everything you've got."
"You can still have a normal life too, you know. Just a vampire's definition of normal."
She laughed, "Whatever that is, I think that's what we're living right now."
Jeremy smiled at her, the sight of his sister so happy a welcome one after everything they've been through. "Congrats on getting hitched, by the way. Mom and Dad probably would have hated Damon at first, but I guess we all did. They would have come around, and they would be proud of you today."
"Thanks, Jer." She said softly. Her parents had been on her mind all day, and now that Damon was officially her husband, she figured she owed them another visit to the cemetery with him.
The rest of the reception didn't last long.
There was a little bit more dancing, talking, and what felt like thousands of congratulations before finally the limo arrived to take the happy couple to the airport.
Everyone lit sparklers and created an aisle down the driveway leading to the door, where the driver was standing with a smile. Their bags were already in the trunk, and Damon gave Elena a hand inside before sliding in beside her. The driver closed the door, and for the first time since they got married they had each other alone.
And they took full advantage of the fact.
Elena was in his lap with his tongue down her throat before the driver even shut the door all the way, her hands messing up his hair while his landed on the curve of her ass.
It was only when the car started moving and Elena tumbled out of his lap and back in her seat, having lost her balance, that they separated.
Breathlessly, Damon asked, "Well Mrs. Salvatore, are you ready for Hawaii?"
She grinned mischievously, "I think the real question is, is Hawaii ready for us?"