This chapter is ridiculously long, and I hope it makes up for the long wait! This one is more EE centric and probably the only chapter 100% on them, everything that happens here needed to happen all in one chapter, and the chapter after this will be focused on Damon/Caroline/Stefan. I hope you enjoy and I really hope this makes up for the horrid last chapter :)

Chapter Nine
It's Just Us Now

Elena put her pen down onto the floor where she sat in the study adjoining Elijah's bedroom. She could hear him, he was stirring slightly in his sleep.
Sleep.
Oh how she missed it, even a vampire needed to sleep at some point. It was clear that even Elijah, who had been dead for the past twenty years could drift into slumber, even he could allow it to take over.
For a moment, she worried about him, the spell that had been cast was powerful so she couldn't help but be concerned that these were after effects.

She could check on him, just to make sure he is all right. The idea was tempting but she figured that leaving him alone would be best.
Time passed slowly as she sat against the wall surrounded by the darkness and her mind began to drift. She was alone. The feeling was not just in the words on a page anymore it seemed. Damon and Caroline left her, she was told some vampires remained hidden in the house out of fear of another attack, but no one had surfaced since they arrived (and to be honest, even if they had come out, Elena had never even bothered to learn their names so it wouldn't have made a difference.)

The vampire shook her head, frustrated with her own subconscious and brushed off her jeans as she stood since the room had a layer of dust formed on the paneling, and used the wall as a guide. She could see well enough in the dark, but she hadn't fed in too long, so she was beginning to feel groggy. Back before she turned, it would take even longer to feel the effects from lack of feeding for other vampires, now though, the vampires were not able to feed as often as necessary, making them much more vulnerable to their emotions, starvation and fatigue.
Later she told herself, she would feed another time.

The office was adjoined to Elijah's bedroom, separated by a simple wooden door which Elena always made a point to keep locked (even though it wouldn't do any good in a house full of vampires and witches running about). Lightly, she clicked it open and took a step into his room.
She could see him clearly, laying on his back with the sheet gently wrapped around his body and she could smell the gentle scent of ivory soap coming through the room from the bathroom, out the window that was open only an inch.

"I could use some air, I'm feeling a tad…dead."

She smiled at the thought while she approached as quietly as she could, wishing she were able to levitate slightly off of the ground.
Elijah, as deadly as he was at full strength, looked incredibly peaceful with his arm wedged under the pillow above his head.
Just as she had twenty years ago, Elena couldn't help but examine his bare chest, this time feeling much more free to look rather than shy away as she had done before. She wondered how many scars he would have, had he remained human. Chances are, he had no idea, or didn't have any in the first place. Elijah was hardly one to scuff his shoes, even when he needed to lift a finger to maintain order. Elena, on the other hand, made it her personal life goal to get in the middle of a fight, but she could tell you exactly where she would have one, and why, the more recent being from Amelia, which would belong right over her ribcage, where the stake missed her heart.
However, now Elijah (just like herself) looked untouched in appearance, but Elena couldn't help but realize that the Original wasn't tainted by the past twenty years. He was a fresh new presence with no recollection of being trapped in between two warring sides.

He was the pure one now, he was her escape.

Slowly, she lowered herself onto the mattress and watched him, his clear, peaceful aura relaxed even her, the monster torn between the hardened warrior and fearful girl inside of her. For once, she was near someone who wasn't worried about the witches, hadn't seen the death and destruction from both sides.

This was what she needed. Even if she was tentative, her wrists trembled as she balanced herself on the bed when the sudden relaxed feeling washed over her once more from the last man she cared for before all of this started.

Gently and unsure if she was doing the right thing, Elena lowered her head against his chest, using her hand to keep a small amount of space between the touch of her face and his skin. At first, he stirred, his arm sliding out from under the pillow to rest comfortably around her in his sleep, instinctually pulling her closer like she was a blanket. The younger vampire froze in concern, thinking he was waking up, but instead sighed with a new found ease, and closed her eyes to listen to the silence. For the first time in twenty years, she couldn't hear her own panicked thoughts and concerns, there was nobody hovering in her ear, telling her to worry or any reason to panic. Not now.
Finally, she was at peace, and with that peace of mind, sleep found her.

Elena hadn't intended on staying in Elijah's home for as long as she was. It had already been three days, but of course he hadn't complained. Instead he would tell her how it was a pleasant change to have company and she was always welcome. He was too polite to be rude and they were friends after all, they had been for so many years. He was one of her most trusted friends besides Bonnie and Caroline of course. He was always her "outsider's perspective" on everything on the inside of her circle and they (mostly her) would talk over coffee at least once a week, no matter where he was.
That was why it hurt her to see him leave for good.

"You never told me why you left."

Today, the weather was disagreeable. Bouts of rain pounded the glass to the window of the den, then the sun would come out for a peak, leaving dried splotches on the pane so Elena, dressed in pink yoga pants and a black t-shirt spent the early morning curled up on the couch with a book, waiting for Elijah. He, as promised, had been helping her, showing her how to fend for herself. It was a strange agreement on his end (even more so for her to ask, as she barely witnessed him so much as lift a finger besides once in a blue moon) but he obliged daily, working with her on the simpler defensive moves all while they caught up on both their uneventful pasts.

"You never asked Elena." He replied carefully choosing each word as he always did, "I thought it wouldn't matter." His reply was dry; his back turned towards her as he watched the clouds roll by, moving on for the next surge of rain.

"Why wouldn't it matter?" she returned, not looking up from the book she was reading (really more thumbing through).

"I figured you had your own things to deal with, I wasn't the most integral part of your life if you forgot…" he barely turned back to her as he spoke, but the words sliced through her like butter.

"You are avoiding my question." She stated bluntly, her voice becoming rougher with frustration as she eyed him through her lashes.

"You're right, I am." This time he turned to face her, "And I don't know if I intend to answer."

He was so smug, which only made Elena's blood boil even more, she deserved an answer even if he felt like being difficult. Rolling her eyes at him, Elena crossed her legs under her body and closed her book, crossing her arms with a defiant stare. "All right fine, have it your way."

"I usually do." He teased (although he was very serious) and Elena only scrunched her nose in response.

"I'm serious Elijah." She droned, "I missed our coffee breaks." She had never admitted it out loud since when he left her friends practically threw a party in the streets with the newer goal to get rid of Klaus and Rebekah any way they could-with Damon leading the charge.
The Original chuckled heartily, crossing to the other side of the room, closest to the doorway.

"I left…I left because I had nothing holding me in Mystic Falls."

Suddenly, the tone became more dark than necessary, and Elena felt a world of emotions crash around her, if even for a moment. She had thought that after all of the years they had known each other, they became much closer than that. After all, how many friendships start out with not-so-idle threats, then fierce negotiations and trusting a stranger to allow her to die at her own terms?
None that Elena could think of, but from that, they grew silently closer until she turned, and it wasn't long after her transition, that their friendship really began to flourish. He was her safety net whenever she needed one the most. He was her escape.

"What about me?" she squeaked out through thinned lips, feeling a new level of shy, something she never felt towards the Original before, but it was a question that she had to ask. It was clear that besides Rebekah, Elena was most affected by Elijah's abrupt departure, so being told he had "no reason to stay" hurt.

"You had your hands full with Damon, and I am no fool to see that he did not appreciate our friendship." He seemed reserved to admit his logic, but Elena could understand. Elijah always held a strong, confident front when it came to the Salvatore, but she knew that he found Damon's behavior frustrating. He had better things to do than be bothered by the behavior of a "younger" vampire however that didn't mean Damon made any effort to keep his emotions low key.

"But I still…I needed you Elijah." She still did, in a strange masochistic way, a way that while being around Elijah was comfortably numbing; it was equally as heart wrenching.
He was her safe haven.

"Yes well, Elena, we all feel that we need things that we fear we can never have."

But he could. She was always there for him when he needed her, just as he had been for her. "What would you do if you could though?" the words spilled out, without anything to stop it. She was testing the waters, allowing her feet to dip in. He was much more important to her than she led on, she wasn't being polite when she told him that she needed him. She really did, just as she always did. In a way, they were co-dependent on each other and the thought (or memory) of being without him seemed surreal, and not in a good way. Things were right in front of her, just as they always had. She just chose to avoid hurting those closest to her, ignoring anything that could have meant more than a friendship.

"The option has never been mine unfortunately." He responded softly, his eyes drifting to another place and time, as they always did.

"And if it was?"

Maybe Elijah had misunderstood her at first, but the second time around, it was as if he was struck by lightning, each memory of their late night strolls, talks over coffee and now –the present- it was as if time had frozen between them. Now, his attention had snapped back to her, shock- not surprise-, and a perplexing gaze was focused on her, but he softened with a smile but said nothing as he turned to exit the room.

The slightest stir jarred Elena from her sleep, but she was too afraid to move, her body remained lifeless hoping she was still dreaming. This was the first time that she had slept in a week, and when she remembered whom she had fallen asleep with she continued to hope she had been dreaming, she didn't want to face him in this awkward situation.
Elijah had rolled onto his side, somehow still sleeping (Elena had expected to have woken him up when she got in the bed,), she still wondered if he was all right but even in his sleep he looked much better than he had earlier. A shower and change of clothes (or lack thereof in this case) really had done well for his appearance, and even his features seemed at peace instead of the former distraught, almost frightened and confused stares she received earlier. Elena wasn't convinced though, she refused to believe that this sleepiness was normal even though she couldn't deny being able to find comfort against him, even if the lost time hadn't ended well between them. It was his current presence alone that she felt safe.
Shifting her legs , Elena hadn't realized she was wrapped tight in a blanket now, which was something she knew she hadn't done, so Elijah was awake.
"You talk in your sleep" it was as if he were answering her thoughts, digging into her mind as she slept. She knew vampires could "dream walk" in a sense by controlling the visions, had he given those to her? "I had almost forgotten."

Even after spending so much time with him in the past, the younger vampire always forgot just how much he knew about her. She was bare to him, but never vulnerable. In fact, his knowledge of her allowed Elena to use him as her shield and sword since they both would easily work against each other's weaknesses, it had helped a lot while he was teaching her.

"How long have you been up?" she grumbled as he pulled away to look at her. She was convinced he was awake for longer than he let on, and now he was covering that thought by pretending this was new. Elijah stared at her, trying to read her expression, but over the years if there was one thing that his counterpart had learned, it was how to keep her emotions hidden.

With a dry tone, he replied "Long enough," and moved to sit up while sliding her head against the pillow. She was feeling thoroughly empty, since she remembered that they had nothing to offer each other this time around.

"Do you feel okay? You were asleep for a while."
Elijah nodded while pushing his legs off of the bed, his feet hitting the floor quietly. He was always so quiet, everything about him relied on stealth after all. It made for less of a mess.

"I'm all right. Only so many things that I can feel at the moment however." He didn't want to talk it seemed, and his sense of finality in his tone made Elena's skin chill, she had been in that place before, the last time she saw him.

Elena's head crashed against the hardwood floor with a crack, and she could feel the split of her cranium just where the ponytail was holding high. It was strange being a vampire, pain was different and sometimes more euphoric than ever before without the fear of death looming over each cut and scrape.

"Stop being so distracted Elena." Elijah's voice was not worried, he knew she would heal (in fact, she already had, the sticky sensation where the bone mended was not something easily forgotten), "You are too slow."

He didn't even reach out a hand to help her to her feet, but she hopped up anyway, turning to where she landed to see the bloody impression on the floor. Her blood, but she felt nothing.

"I'm not distracted," Elena lied, pulling down her black sweatshirt. In truth, she was irked. It had been almost a week since she had subtly hinted her feelings for him, the realization of how much she missed him when he left had brought out something unexpected in her, like a postulating wound ready to burst but when it did it was left open by Elijah to burn.

"There is no use in lying to me Elena," he stepped back against the opposite wall, putting more distance between himself and his mock opponent. "What is on your mind?"
Patting her fist into her open palm, Elena shook her head, her ponytail was beginning to become loose from the dried blood that had formed, but she didn't notice, or care.

"Nothing." She tapped her toes onto the floor before appearing in front of the Original, "Can we just continue please?"

He barely nodded before grabbing her rough by the shoulders and moved to switch their positions, shoving her roughly against the wall, but this time she was prepared and pushed him away to slam him against that same wall even harder, hoping to leave a mark.

"See?" he laughed as his eyes teased her, lightly pushing her away. "Not that hard now is it?"

He was mocking her now and it drove her insane. It was like his own way of casual flirting (though the thought of Elijah flirting was one big joke, he was always so serious so the "art of courting", as she was sure he would call it, would be rare) and in return she would only improve. Maybe that was his intent, to piss her off enough to try for the upper hand.

"Funny." She repined, allowing him to situate him own t-shirt that he wore. "Maybe you are the one who is distracted."

It was a joke of course. Elijah Mikaelson never got distracted (even thinking about it seemed foreign) but he did fumble as it seemed.

Elena didn't see it happen, like a whirlwind of power sweeping her off of her feet, and not in a romantic way, Elena was back on the ground. The sudden force, and the way she fell, broke her back for a moment. She couldn't be sure though since the bones mended back together as if they were magnetized by each other, just as the two bodies crashed together.
She gasped from the sudden sharp pain as it traveled right to the base of her skull, but there was a pressure on her chest that nearly collapsed her lung.

"You could be dead right now."

Elijah would always be stronger than her, that she knew, so it was no surprise that he could overpower her so easily by simply pressing her against the ground. She was sure even if they were both human she would have no chance, but she would fight like hell.

"But I'm not." She kept humble even in her sarcasm, she had her hand pressed flat against the Original's chest, the place his heart lie not beating and he was only inches away from her, but had he been a "normal" vampire she could have killed him, ripped his heart right from his chest. And he knew it, and with that realization, Elijah shifted over her, his leg brushing lightly against the exposed skin where her pants had ridden up from the crash, but it was in only a moment she needed to take advantage of his lack of concentration to grab him by the throat to rapidly switch their positions.

Simultaneously and both breathing heavily, his breath was hot against her lips (a feeling Elena never understood, vampires didn't need to breathe) which were dangerously close to hers, barely an inch away from each other and Elena could only feel the tension rising. She needed to break it, before it –he-broke her.

"I think I won." She said with a sly smile, "Three touch right? Isn't that the game?" They had been playing this for days, and each time Elijah dominated over her while trying to teach her at the same time so she didn't hide her pride.

This time, she was proud, but Elijah only let out that usual cocky laugh he would get when she was being foolish.

"What's so funny?" She tilted her head, her ponytail falling by the side of his face, barely brushing his cheek.

"It's whoever gets to three first Elena."

Another blur of Elena's vision, sharp and sudden was rough as she was spun around again trying to fight off her opponent (her mentor) off, but he held her wrists tight to the floor. Pretty soon if her body continued slamming into the floor, there would be a hole going right into the basement.

"You cheated!" she growled, unable to overpower him as he lowered his head to her ear.

"No, you ignore the rules to fit your advantage." The irony was fitting, Elijah was always fond of bending the rules to his need, using anything in his path as he once did to her. But now, he was so close to her and Elena could feel her throat tighten, unable to speak from her own anticipation. Her emotions were skyrocketing through her pores (since sweat didn't escape) his closeness was dangerously poisonous to her and she had no words to explain it all in her mind. There was no reasoning besides pure emotion now.
It had to be the vampire in her, and her constant desire to have control, it was what drove her to Elijah since day one, and why he was driving her insane right now. He just took her control away, which was the reason she was fighting against him so frivolously.

"I do not." She grunted, struggling against him, using her legs to wrap around his waist which only brought him closer. She could still control him, even if he was practically breaking her wrists. "You could let me go."

"I could, but it is refreshing to see you squirm."

She allowed her body to fall limp as her head rolled to the side so she could stare into the shadow of his face as he turned slightly to see her as well. A new air came between them after a brief moment of silence, he wasn't letting her go.

"Thank you." She partially mouthed the words, knowing he could hear her just fine, and with them, the atmosphere of the room began to change.

"For what?" he asked after brief reservation as if trying to determine what she was thanking him for and still wasn't sure.

"For not slamming the door in my face when I showed up in the middle of the night." Elena could feel Elijah's grip loosen just enough so she could flex her joints, but he knew she wouldn't fight him at this moment. He knew, so he took advantage of her lapsed security, weakened by his presence. But to keep her strong front, she refused to move her legs, equally as domineering but on the other half, but also wouldn't move his wrists as long as she didn't move either.

"Why would you think I could turn you away Elena?" he smoothed over as his lips grazed hers while he spoke. Alarmingly close with no sense of person space (when had she lost hers as well?), the brushing feeling caused her to part her own lips in surprise, it was as if they nearly kissed, taking the air right from her lungs even though ironically it was his sister that committed that act, with no fault to him. He moved again to look directly into her dilated brown eyes, still not releasing her wrists but Elena could feel the familiar sensation of his thumb sliding gently to her upward facing palm with his eyes darted over her features rapidly in question, as if asking for permission.

"Why not?" she tried to dig her head deeper into the floor, but it was impossible, "You said yourself that you had nothing keeping you in Mystic Falls." Now that he was above her again, she couldn't prevent her eyes from looking up at him, but zeroing in on his bottom lip, which he had pulled in slightly , something he always did when in a tempting challenge.
Tempting? Challenge?
She would take what she could get.

Any onlooker would find this compromising position questionable, and fear for Elena's life. After all, a man who was holding her on the ground by her wrists above her head, having himself placed between her legs looked more dangerous than it really was.
What they didn't see were the stares, the woman using her legs to manipulate him slightly closer against him, while more interesting thoughts pounded into her mind.

"Are you driving this conversation in a direction I should know about?" he questioned, a glimpse of perseverance in his eyes only making Elena more uneasy. He was too tantalizingly close and she was trapped, both physically and emotionally in this moment but nothing was changing, even the slight dull pain of his hands on her bone, now held together by one while his other –more dominant-hand was placed close to her hip for balance.

"No." she replied innocently, her doe eyes looking up to him.

"We talked about your habit of lying Elena," he was stern, yet soft, leaning closer to his "trainee" could smell his very specific-possibly exotic-cologne. Of course it was so slight (tasteful, even for a vampire) that even with her vampire senses she would have missed it.

Maybe that was just the way he smelled.

"I don't lie." She teased, lifting her head off of the floor just enough to touch right under the bridge of his nose. She expected him to move away, her entire reasoning for making the move as a way to see how close she could get, but he only loosened his grip at the contact, but still held on curiously.

Elena Gilbert could be a powerful force as well if (and when) she wanted to be, and here there was no structure. They were both two forces caught up in each other and without any "real" foreplay, she knew that sometimes you just have to dive in and take what you wanted.

She caught his lips with her own, pushing as close as she could, and expected him to pull away this time and chide her for getting distracted; but instead, she felt the pressure build so naturally, so evenly as if it worked to compliment the other side. He matched her lips, following her movements now and placed his free hand on her hip bone, his other still holding her wrists-his own way of fighting for control- .

For a moment, to her own distress, he pulled away just enough so his lips were still against hers, perpetually the romantic (an idea Elena always had, but never confirmed).

"Are you trying to distract me?" Each movement of his lips tingling her own nearly causing her to pinch them with her teeth, her frustration was only growing. Apparently, bringing out the fight in the vampire brought out much more.

"No, I don't think so." She smiled, he legs still wrapped tightly around his waist, gripping him with her knees like riding a horse, but the eldest vampire to walk to the earth, while beautiful and majestic in his own way like a stallion, was much more lethal when disturbed. She used that grip to regain her ground, switching positions again, taking a turn to lace her fingers into his. They had danced before, so this comfort wasn't foreign and in her current predicament it was enjoyable since all of her senses were in overdrive now.

Elijah parted his lips to protest, but Elena only caught them just in time, focusing a light tug on his bottom lip again forcing him to sigh into her. Everything about him was tormenting and now that she knew what his kiss tasted like, she wasn't sure he would be able to stop. It was purely driven animalistic passion now, the Elena he used to know was broken, but now she was mended-and decisive- and she wanted him.

Her tongue ran over his teeth, begging for him as she pressed her body closer against his. This acceptance, allowing her to use him as she always would, was what she needed and even as she tightened her grip on his hands, feeling him give into her this time, just as she gave into him.
Elena lowered her lips to his neck, traveling slowly down over his adam's apple (the tempting apple from the snake? The symbolism was uncanny) but she continued down to the base of his throat to the blood pounding in his veins. She wanted to taste it, taste him and went to nip playfully and released his hands to be fair in an attempt to contain his focus elsewhere, but instead she found her back against the wall behind her, a distraught, but not angry Elijah holding her off of the floor as her legs were still wrapped around his waist.

"Well Elena…" he growled tastefully into the crease of her neck, "You aren't doing a very good job."
He didn't stop her, or ask why she wanted him. If he knew, it didn't matter; none of it mattered as strangely as it was. She didn't care if he was using her, it wasn't important.

She wanted this.

Holding her up against the wall, Elena's hands moved to his back to feel each muscle flexed through the cotton of his shirt, nearly cutting through the fabric. She wanted to see it, she needed to relish in him.

"Maybe I'm not trying." She gasped as the Original smiled into her, the air pressing onto her skin to make him shiver, he didn't need to kiss her, the air alone was exciting her in a way she never felt before.
She was caught in the moment, her nails digging into his neck now, pulling her body higher against the wall as she forced him in for another kiss, looking into his eyes and for a moment she could have sworn his eyes had blackened, something she had never seen from the Original vampire.

Vampires didn't sweat, their bodies were like flesh coated metal, cold and stiff, except now. The skin of her arms tugged on the back of his shoulders, sliding as their tongues dances "properly" around each other while his hand moved up her shirt, gently caressing her skin. Usually he was prim and proper, his suit pressed and never with a wrinkle, stone faced and frozen. In this moment he was out of his usual attire, a different man, but Elena wasn't complaining. She could only imagine, as she pulled his shirt over his head (a feat quite difficult when balancing with her legs around his waist) how much more difficult it would have been had he been wearing a suit.

Now, holding her pinned against the wall, off of her feet he wasn't just the man she wondered of, but the beast inside had clawed itself out using her as his target like a succubus draining the life of her (his) prey. But she had no life to give until she was empty, no heartbeat, no essence, so he could have her for as long as he needed.

"Elijah-" she let out a moan as his hand moved up the front of her shirt while her own ran though her own hair in lost ecstasy , giving him each part of her she could as the tie keeping the strands back were tossed carelessly to the side.

He could have her down bare in hardly a second's time, but while moving passionately and recklessly, he still took his time with her figure, allowing his fingers to scale the contours of her body to move across the skin like it told a story.

"Elena" he returned ravenously, gripping her face with one hand as if trying to control her, when really he was turning into the persistent one, but there was no protest coming from her.
His breath was a hot rush on her lips as she smiled, accomplished. "What do you want?"

She laughed.
It was so like him to question himself or others and it may have taken a few minutes, but after the surge of emotions and purely driven sexual tension, she had him back.

"You" she replied, kissing him again, "Always you."

His hand was still under her shirt, twisting the skin of her hip but used his arm to push the cloth up, making it easier for her to take it off, allowing her bare skin to stick against the wall which was now hot from their friction. Elena could feel his growing attraction against her as he pushed harder, taking in each inch of free skin with his lips that he could reach as his hand moved under the waist of her drawstring pants, touching her right where it mattered most and she groaned as her body molded against his hand forcing her feet to the ground where she melted into his lips.

His fingers moved inside of her, and she heard him laugh, pleasured by how ready for him she already was, waiting for him, nearly steaming as she tugged at his face, the sense of euphoria overcoming her.

She could overpower him in this weakened state, but she too was defenseless against him. He could play her like a tune to a fiddle, and the moans and muttered curses could be it's…horribly written song, but Elena only grew in impatience, and had his sweatpants down to his ankles, leaving him exposed. He knew what she wanted, they were both burning for it, and that burn wasn't about to subside with the cooling breeze coming through the room.

He was faster than she had anticipated when she realized she was only in her underwear, hardly feeling her feet lifted off the ground to enable him to toss her pants to the other side of the room. It was strange, seeing Elijah like this, but not discomforting, but with her of all people yet she was gladly accepting the advancement and showed just that as she moved her hand to his boxers, wrapping her fingers around his length as his own were busy tending to her needs (each and every one of them) until lifting her off her feet once again, his hands gripping her thighs to pull off the pair of underwear she was wearing (which she would now never wear again due to his force) and shifted her over him so he could enter her now pulsating insides, kissing her to catch the moan from her lips. Even as her skin ground roughly against the wall, scratches surely being left down her spine a she could feel the skin mending together again while Elijah thrust slowly into her, using the wall and her body for balance.

She wasn't bothered by his pressure, more like proverbial waves of the ocean pounding onto the shore, lessening as he would pull out, only leaving her to beg ruthlessly for more and to utter curse words as he gave in, again and again. He had her right on the edge of her climax, dancing around the pulsating feeling she refused to believe he couldn't feel as strongly as she did.

The motions could have gone on for hours, her body continuously begging for more, her brain seemingly connected to her mouth as she screamed his name when she reached her climax under Elijah's demand, each muscle twitching relentlessly and contorting in ways she didn't imagine even as a vampire shoved against a wall by someone much stronger than her. Elijah released, filling her with a low groan as well, kissing her hard on the mouth, as their breaths shifting between each other like two angry bulls ready to strike. But they weren't about to strike, they were in the passion of a battle between sexes, and if you asked Elena-Elijah won.

"Wow." Was all she could say, placing her forehead against his, and he was still inside of her with a triumphant smirk, like a cat that just caught it's prey while she was nearly panting like a dog (in contrast to the cat)

"Bed?" he questioned as she kissed him again, his breathing also labored. Even vampires, as it seemed could get excited enough to have shortness of breath and Elena simply nodded, locking his lips with hers as he pulled (more like pried) her off the wall to bring her into the next room before she could say anything else (vampire speed was useful on many occasions) to his bedroom and allowed her to fall on the mattress so he could place himself on top of her, running his fingers through her now knotted hair.

He slipped out of her, rolling to the side so Elena could turn into his body and grinned weakly before kissing him again. She could finally see the outside darkness, with no moon shining in with nothing more than the dark blanket above them and not a sound from the wildlife outside. Even they were shrouded in darkness with nothing more than their heightened senses to guide them.

She wasn't sure what to do now, should she… thank him? That would be ridiculous, after all they weren't together (although now she wasn't sure what was happening) and she was never sure of how Elijah saw her anyway he has used her to further his goals, befriended her, and became an ally but this was new territory for them both, but at the moment it was irrelevant.

"Okay." She sighed, responding to a question that he never asked, "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Elena had fallen asleep after that, expecting a new day- a new start, but the next morning when she woke up hoping to start off with Elijah, she found when she got out of bed that there was no sign of him anywhere.
He was gone.
She waited a half hour, each minute a new worry running through her mind, wondering if he had changed his choices? Had he realized he made a mistake and left the house to cut ties completely?

She never gave him the chance to explain, and left to head back home to Mystic Falls-if that was even her home anymore.

Looking back on it in the present, it was a foolish thing to do, but she felt betrayed, tossed to the side as if she were nothing.
He hurt her…

"Elena?" Elijah brought her attention back to his unwavering gaze, "Are you all right?"

His concern was deafening to her ears with the now resurfaced anger and frustration.

"You left." She stated bluntly as if she didn't care, staring at him only while she swung her feet off of the bed.

"I did?" he countered, he was in his closet now, shifting through his clothing as if to make sure it was all accounted for.

"You did."

"That's funny, because I remember it quite differently." He wouldn't look at her as he chose a dress shirt, dark red in color, "But right now that is unimportant."

In shock and desperation, Elena's emotions took over again, "Well it is to me. I woke up the next morning after what happened and you were gone Elijah!" she kept her voice low to contain her own disheveled emotions.

"Elena I-" he was caught off guard, turning to her sharply "I went out for forty-five minutes to take care of something, you woke up…or so I thought considering we had a conversation when I told you I would be back. I come home to see you were gone. Why do you think I returned to Mystic Falls?"

Shaking her head in disbelief, she only became more enraged.

"If that is what really happened" she began carefully, "then I would find that important to bring up. So tell me…if that isn't what you classify as important Elijah, what is then?" she tried to never raise her voice, or be angry with the Original, but he was trying her patience. She had allowed this to build up for twenty years and he was shooing it like she was a fly.

"You, Elena. You are more important. You are breaking down the center, wearing yourself down. You are too strong for this and that is much more important to me than rehashing the past."

She was breaking, as if it were happening right in front of him not that the damage hadn't already been done so pressing the issue wouldn't do either of them any good.

"Don't worry about me." Her voice was drifting in the air as she watched him button his shirt.

"I would, but you weren't in my bed because you were happy." He turned to grab a pair of pants and then moved to face her again, his presence was close…but not close enough. "You haven't slept?"

It was a rhetorical question, and had this been anyone else she would have gotten angry, yelled, stormed off, maybe even slammed a door or two, but this was Elijah, and he didn't have time for that.

"No, not until now."
There was no use in lying.

"I am sorry Elena." He apologized, but she didn't know why he was sorry, unless there was an underlying meaning that she was missing out on.

"Why?"

"Everything that is happening, most which I still don't understand. I am sorry you have to go through this, and I am sorry if you feel alone."

She cocked her head to the side in response, distress clouding her vision, she wasn't sure what to say, but after much deliberation she spoke softly, "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"No, it wasn't. But that is not your fault." He was slipping on his pair of pants on now, and Elena kept her eyes to the ground.

Nobody had told her that it wasn't her fault before, instead the time was spent pushing the blame on others, but something about Elijah made all of that not matter anymore as if was the band-aid.

"Elena…"he was standing before her now, "If you continue to pity yourself how will you ever move on?" he kept a cold front ahead of him even if he was physically close. "I don't want to see you get stuck in a similar cycle as I did or even Stefan and Damon. You are better than us, stronger and I shouldn't have to say this to you."

Straightening her back, Elena brushed herself off with a smile, this time it could be real. "You're right." She stood to meet his gaze, a new feeling of power taking over. "Thank you Elijah. I guess I needed that."
And again, and again…and again. Elena knew it was going to be a long road, whether it be rebuilding her potential for her relationship with Elijah (had there been one she wasn't positive), straightening out her own mind or rebuild her town, her home. She had to figure out what to do next.

She would work out everything else later.

It may be a while until I get the next chapter up, this one took a lot longer than I expected and I have my other two stories to work on, but I say in about two weeks I will have the next chapter up but I will aim for sooner :)

I hope you enjoyed and please review 3