I'm Stronger Than You
Elena had to smile at the memory of the last time Damon stared her over like this, even if it had been a lifetime ago. "I told you, Damon, I remember what I learned from Rick and Stefan's been working with me."
"So you think dodging a few arrows and breaking cinder blocks makes you ready to take down Katherine Pierce?" Damon all but mocked. "Congratulations. You're exactly as strong as any vampire older than a month. Katherine is 500 years old, Elena."
"I am not useless, Damon," Elena challenged, "I need to do this."
"I never said that." Damon argued and softened, "Elena, you have more determination than pretty much anyone I've met. But, you're not the first person to go on a revenge mission against Katherine Pierce. Trust me on this. I do get it. I'm just saying Stefan is too nice to be a good measure of how ready you are."
"Then what is?"
A smile played against Damon's lips. "You're think you're ready. Alright, show me."
Elena ran to knock Damon back, but ended up running into the wall when he dodged her. Damon tried not to laugh as he walked over. "You still haven't learned to remember to anticipate. Katherine's a master at that, so better remember fast."
He'd barely finished the sentence before Elena threw an uppercut that collided with his jaw, knocking him back. Damon threw an elbow to her stomach with enough force to sting. She didn't let it distract her, though. He'd grant that she was faster at matching punches than he'd expected, but he still landed more than she did. She returned a punch to his stomach that he blocked.
"You're too obvious about where you're planning to attack. You can't help but give it away at the last second, but don't look at me or where you're aiming. Look at my shoulders and be aware of your surroundings to know where you need to be."
Damon aimed for her hip, but threw a right hook that she narrowly avoided. Elena picked up on the instruction quickly enough. He actually had to start paying attention at what she was throwing. She managed to surprise him, but jumping up to land on his shoulders, squeezing her legs around his neck with a mischievous smile as she played with his hair.
"You know, when you decide to mix it up, you're pretty good," he conceded, but easily managed to toss her off him. In narrowly avoiding her follow up kick, he'd left his head exposed. Still, though, Elena underestimated her strength. The punch had been well placed, but it wasn't enough to knock him off balance. She threw another punch hard to his head that he blocked, catching her wrist and throwing her across the room, breaking a chair.
Elena blinked back a few tears and took a few breaths, holding her side and not moving for a minute. Damon darted across the room, suddenly concerned. "Elena, I'm-" he was cut off as Elena had kicked out one her legs to flip Damon over and grabbed one of the makeshift chair stakes, holding it over his heart. She wiped away the fake tears with a smile, "And you still haven't learned to fall for manipulation."
Damon chuckled, almost impressed as they helped each other up. "I never said I was perfect. I've been terribly unsuccessful against that bitch my entire life." Damon waved the stake in his hand. "My point is I'm still stronger than you, Elena. And Katherine's even stronger, not to mention a much better manipulator."
"I can beat her, Damon." Elena protested.
"Prove it," Damon challenged, slamming Elena against the floor hard enough to knock the wind out her, one foot on her arm, the other pressing against her throat as he held her stake over her heart.
Elena was gasping for breath, meeting his gaze with pleading eyes. "Damon—I—"
He was tempted to let her up, let her know she'd be fine. But, Elena wasn't really an idiot. He may be stronger, but Elena was right that that would be Katherine's move. Instead, he simply moved position to take his foot off of her throat and was on top of her, pinning both her outspread arms with each of his knees. Elena met his gaze, sweat glistening off his face and hair unkempt. She stretched up to kiss him. Smiling, Damon allowed himself to lean in and return the kiss, letting the moment last. But, then he did pull back, chuckling, and not having released her arms. "You're not going to be able to seduce Katherine that way. And my point remains. Try and get out."
Elena squirmed beneath him, glaring at him while being torn between just how damn hot he looked and frustrated that he was proving him right when it came to the whole point of this exercise. Because, try as hard as she could to buck him off, she couldn't budge.
"Come on, Elena," he encouraged, "You can do better than that."
She realized she was being too obvious. Intentionally or not, Damon had left her legs free. She curled her legs up to kick him in the chest, surprised when he only let out a grunt. "Oh, come on!" She protested.
Damon looked sympathetic for a minute. "Nice try. And if your first plan doesn't work, because it invariably never does, are you just gonna give up?"
Elena relaxed and stopped fighting for a moment. For the briefest moment, Damon hesitated and she used the millisecond of lighter pressure to kick her legs around him and flip him over. She had to admit, it wasn't as easy as she'd thought it would be.
"Not bad," Damon granted, staring up at her.
Elena took the compliment for a minute, before letting off and just lying next to Damon on the floor, taking his hand. "You're right."
He played with her fingers. "Mm. About what?"
"I'm not strong enough to beat Katherine." Elena shook her head. "But, Damon, I can't just let her win. She's destroyed my life."
"I know," he replied gently, stroking her hair back from her face and kissing her again, "Believe me, I know. And I never said anything about letting her win. I just said you need to be smarter about it. You're not without your own strengths, Elena, and if you let me and Stefan help, then maybe we have a real shot."