AN- This is the end guys. Thank you so much for all your support. The reviews, the favorites had me smiling for days. Please do review and let me know if it suited your fancy.
The alcohol burns down his throat…
You would think that a century and more of drinking it every day would have scotch taste like water to him, but no…He enjoys this….This bitterness that settles in his stomach whenever he has had too much.
Today is one such day…
He shouldn't be bothered. Hasn't he known that this day would come?
Hell, hasn't he spent every waking hour not spent getting to know Elena better, trying to get Stefan back?
He takes another swig of the alcohol and lets it blaze down…
For all the love he feels for her he would always hate Elena for bringing out the emo side in him…Sometimes he doesn't know if he's any better than the douche bag he has come to grow so fond of.
Apparently both Jeremy and him have a knack for falling for the wrong women…He of course makes it a specialty for all of his brother's girlfriends.
"We'll have to stop playing house from now onwards Elena," is therefore the first thing he says when she enters through the door.
Two months, thirteen days and say nine hours she has been here, sharing space, a home, a domesticity with Damon.
Heck, she even has groceries in her hand for tonight's dinner…
And this is how he plans to throw it at her.
Just when she is finally getting a hang of it all.
"Stefan's coming back." It isn't a question but he answers her never the less, "tomorrow," he takes another swig of his drink before continuing, "your BFF and others finally know what to do."
She nods quietly and unsurely places her things on the couch, noticing how his eyes harden as they follow her movement.
She has been meaning to go see Stefan for quite some time now…But hasn't…
The weekly news from Damon about his well being somehow being enough for her…
She closes her eyes tiredly…What fills her now is absolute shame. Has she changed? Doesn't she care enough? True, Stefan hadn't wanted her to come to the tomb but he knows as well as she does that if she had wanted she would have…
How is that that the more time she spent away from Stefan made her realize that she could be without him?
It doesn't even have anything to do with Damon…She's more than relieved to hear that Stefan's coming back, she still loves him, probably always would, somehow she just doesn't need him anymore…
"I'll go pack my stuff then." She informs Damon because surely he doesn't expect her to live here with both of them...
"Don't bother." He tells her, "I'll find a place for myself." What he really wants to do is skip town and never return but he can't…Not till she's safe anyway, maybe not even after that.
Plus, Stefan and he have somehow let some water under the bridge, he wants to see if they could possibly rebuild it more…It could never be same, never… but he thinks he's finally ready to give it a try.
And for that he would have to escape the hold Elena has steadily been increasing over him…These last two months cementing that he never would.
"You're leaving?" she blurts out, "Don't!"
He looks at her darkly, shades of anger clouding his eyes suddenly, "Why Elena? So that I can play witness to your reunion sex with baby brother?" He narrows his eyes at her, "sorry, not my kink."
"I didn't mean…" She stops. What was it that she could say any way?
"I'll leave when he comes back." She finally tells him, "Jenna has been going out of her mind."
Closing her eyes once in resignation, she turns to make her way back to her room…Any thoughts of a quiet dinner with Damon forgotten.
In an instant he's in front of her.
"Tell me Elena; what would you do if I told Stefan about our little kiss the other night."
And screw the twisted pleasure he feels at the widening of her eyes; she doesn't think he would dare.
"You wouldn't" she spits out at him.
"Try me." He quips, leaning into her as she reels in the smell of alcohol on his breath.
He's drunk to the core…It's such a stark reminder of the night he killed Jeremy that she can't help but feel a little nervous.
"It was nothing." She tells him, "I was unwell; upset...we were…" she looks at him squarely, determinedly, "it was nothing." She repeats.
"So let's make it something." He trails a harsh hand up her thigh as he brings his mouth close to her ear, "I could take you right here, right now Elena…" she hisses in a breath as his hand moves higher, "And you would not be able to stop me."
He's right… Oh! God he's right. He really could take her right here, right now, probably on the floor; against the wall and she would do nothing to stop him…
He was right. She has been lying to Stefan, to him and most importantly to herself.
His other hand bunch up the material of her shirt and he trails fingers against her stomach, his mouth trailing a path against her neck…
She gasps as he nips lightly at a spot, the sound from her own mouth returning her back to what's happening, what he is doing and what she's letting him do.
Her boyfriend, his brother is returning the next day and this is how she plans to spend the night waiting for him?
Hadn't she promised herself that she would never become Katherine? Hadn't the time spent at the Salvatore house told her enough about the bond the brothers had once shared… To not be the one to shatter it for once and for all…
It's with great effort and sanity she thinks she still has in her that she averts her mouth when he lowers his face to kiss her…
He stills, his hands spontaneously stopping their ministrations as he straitens to look up at her.
"Always Stefan. Isn't it?" He asks her, his voice soft.
She doesn't answer him because she doesn't believe it's the truth anymore.
But giving in into this craziness, this passion is not her; it's not even him…
"I'm going to go."
He doesn't stop her.
Bonnie comes to visit her the next morning.
Damon has long gone, unwilling to give her a chance to talk about last night…
She's grateful.
But her friend understands and even though she may never approve, she never the less understands.
It's when she's saying her good bye that Bonnie places a comforting hand on Elena's shoulder and says, "I'll keep them safe." She promises, "I'll keep both of them safe."
Elena cries herself to sleep as she waits for them to return.
And finally, when it's almost dawn and she hasn't realized that she has spent over twelve hours rooted to one corner of the couch that they do return.
Stefan followed by Damon.
She takes a tentative step towards them, unsure of what she's about to do.
Her eyes fall on Damon's…They are impassive, dispassionate.
Stefan's however are brimming with joy.
She has never planned to ever make a decision, a choice, but in this moment she realizes that she never can anyway…Damon's already made them for her.
Stefan hugs her tightly and she compiles, her eyes closing as she buries her face in his chest…
Damon remains quiet, unflinchingly watching the scene unfold in front of him.
Every time that he has ever had to watch Elena fall into Stefan's arms he has been aware of her watching him from across his brother's shoulder.
This time however she does not look up.
He walks out without disturbing them.
AN- Yeah, well. I guess, this is not what us Delena fans were hoping for but I had always planned to end it something like this. However, I have a companion piece to this in mind…Probably a two chapter which will be from both the brother's POV. Stefan's got to realize that Elena isn't the same anymore. That one will definitely end a Delena! So let me know if you would like to see a possible different ending to this. Before that however, I'll have a lighter, slightly fluffy one shot.
Also remember that there's a reason that I didn't bring up Elijah into this…One, I wanted it to be Damon's efforts with the witches which gets Stefan out plus it would help me get Katherine out along with Stefan so that I can use her in the plot of the companion piece I might do.
Do review...