Damon ran after Stefan without hesitation. Something inside of him wondered if he should feel any apprehension, but he found himself just not caring anymore. What would Stefan have to say anyway? Congratulate him on finally making the right decision? Rub it in his face that he had won? Or more likely, pity him. He didn't need that.
But curiosity took over, and Damon followed willingly enough. Stefan stopped suddenly, and Damon slowed down next to him. He looked around in awe, memories washing over him. They were at the quarry, the same place where they waited in transition to die. Where Stefan had damned him to an eternity of emptiness. Until Elena, his head added wryly. He blocked out that voice and turned to look expectantly at Stefan.
He was sitting by the water, arms spread out to support behind him in a relaxing position. He had a strangely peaceful look on his face as he gazed out at the water. For a minute, the dark sky seemed to flash light blue, the foliage grew more wild, and Stefan's hair seemed longer, his clothes of another time. He blinked, and it was gone. He plopped down next to Stefan. They sat like that for a while, like they had so many years ago, just enjoying the cool night air and the comfortable, and admittedly rare, silence. The water was placid, clearly mirroring the many stars above.
Finally, when the crescent moon had reached its apex and was climbing back down the sky, Stefan turned to Damon. "I'm sorry." Damon opened his mouth, but Stefan was continuing on. "For turning you. I just wanted my brother with me." Damon couldn't think of a single damned thing to say. He had spent his whole existence torturing Stefan, doing everything in his power to make him miserable. Destroying every shred of happiness he had gained. He was in love with his girlfriend for god's sakes. And here he was…apologizing. Damon suddenly felt tired, tired of everything. "You're my big brother, Damon. I need you." Stefan looked down, biting his lip. "I remember when I was a little, and I used to copy everything you did." He gave a watery laugh. "You weren't just my brother, or my role model. You were my best friend. And I wouldn't have survived eternity without you. I guess I could thank Katherine for that."
Damon wanted to say something, anything. But his mouth wasn't working.
"Damon…" Stefan looked up at him, his expression sad. "You deserve to be happy. I want you to be happy."
Damon shook his head, slowly, sadly. "No. Stefan…no. I tortured you. I killed. I made your life miserable. If there's anything I deserve, it's to be dead." His voice was thick with emotion.
"I'm not blind, Damon. Just ignorant. You're in love with Elena." He let that hang in the stagnant air for a second; let it echo through the empty woods. Damon made no move to deny or reinforce his statement. He only stiffened slightly, something Stefan wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't known his brother so well. "I've tried so hard to ignore what was right in front of me, but it's impossible. I didn't want history repeating itself. But it doesn't have to."
"It's not. I'm stepping away, so you two can have your rainbows and lollipop fairytale ending." He got up, angry, but Stefan was holding him back, preventing him from running to the comforting shadows. He tried to pull away, but his grip was like iron.
"No. Damon, you said you were the selfish one, but that's not true. I am. I can't let you sacrifice the only happiness you ever had in so long." He let go of Damon's arm, and he didn't try to run this time.
"Well I'm sorry the martyr position is already taken." Damon said, too tired and shocked to put much sarcasm in his voice. He had a feeling he knew where Stefan was going, and he could not let him do that.
"Elena…she changed you. I can see that. She brings out a side in you that no one else can see. So…I'm stepping back."Damon's mouth popped open and his eyes darted back and forth. Stefan gave a small smile, his eyes hard with determination.
"No. No. Stefan, I won't…"
"I've made up my mind." Stefan said.
"Stefan. Will you stop being such a damn idiot? Elena loves you. Not me. Never me. Why the hell would you give that up? Did you hit your head or something? Are you drunk?"
That smile never left Stefan's face. "I'm perfectly sane thank you." He said. And then he laughed. Laughed. Suddenly he was flying, and landed with a large splash inside the freezing water. He surfaced, sputtering. "What the hell?" he asked.
"There. You sober now?" Damon asked, looking worriedly at him. But Stefan laughed again, and Damon knew it didn't work.
"Damon. I'm not drunk." He walked out of the water, wringing out his soaked clothes. "Look, Damon. You're finally feeling something because of Elena, and I'm not going to let that slip away."
"But you love her." Damon said, still bewildered.
"Yes. But you love her more, enough to give her up. You want her to be happy, but I don't think she would be with me. I want her, but you need her."
"There's just one problem with your messed up logic. She hates me."
Stefan's mouth quirked. "I don't think she ever did. She tries, I know she does, but she can't. She forgave you for killing her brother last night, Damon. How is that hate?" He sighed quietly.
Damon's head jerked up. "She did?" he asked, hopeful.
Stefan just nodded. "There's something between you two, something I can't ignore anymore. She feels something for you; you just need to be patient. You know how stubborn she can be. So I'm stepping back."
"I can't let you do this Stefan." There was a time when he would've jumped on this idea, would've rejoiced. But now, all he felt was horror.
"I'll do whatever I want." He said defiantly.
Damon sighed. "You're making a big mistake Stefan." He said warningly.
"No, I don't think I am." Stefan said. His eyes were clear, his usually brooding forehead straightened out.
As Damon looked at him, he felt something crack and break off. "I'm sorry." He said finally, thoughtfully. "I was wrong. For making your life this hell. And you're my little brother, Stef." He ruffled his wet hair. "I should have stayed away from Elena. Hell, I should have stayed away from you. But I couldn't. I needed you too and…" He sighed and swallowed hard. "God, this pouring your soul out thing hurts."
Stefan chuckled. "And…"
"And… I don't think I could've lived without you either." He looked down, embarrassed. But even as he said the words, he felt something changing inside of him. Something building inside him. Suddenly, he felt warm arms wrap around him, and with a shock, he realized Stefan was hugging him.
He was hugging him.
Something finally broke inside of him, and he felt tears leaking out of his eyes. His shoulder felt wet, and he knew that Stefan was crying too. They stood like that for a while, both sobbing silently in the white moonlight. The sun slowly rose in the east, lazily lighting up the water. The brothers broke apart. Stefan looked at Damon, and Damon smiled. Not a smirk, but a smile. The one that reaches your eyes and lights up your face. He felt light, as if a big heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Fuck, he felt happy. Free. Stefan smiled too, and there wasn't a trace of brooding in him.
Then, an earthquake rocked the ground. Damon suddenly felt like he was fire. His soul felt like it was being ripped from his body. The pain was deafening and his vision went black. A white light blinded him, chasing away the black. The white faded away gradually, along with the painful fire. Feeling rushed back into his body, flooding all the way to his toes. He blinked, feeling impossibly heavy, but the light remained, making him squint. He wanted to rub his eyes, but he found he couldn't move his arms. He closed his eyes hard, and when he opened them, found himself staring at the light blue sky. He tried to sit up, but didn't have the strength. Instead, he warily lifted his arm in front of his face. Something seemed different, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
He breathed in slowly, and felt a plethora of scents tickle his nose. He could hear Stefan's slow breathing next to him. Stefan. Damon rolled his head to the side, and saw something that made him gasp. It was Stefan, not himself, but Stefan, in his own body. Which meant…
With a sudden burst of energy Damon flew towards the water. He bent down, and waited as the picture formed. He raised a wary hand and brought it to his face. The reflection mimicked. "Beautiful…" he muttered, smiling.
"Cocky much?" Stefan asked. Damon sighed in relief. It was nice hearing his voice talking for once, not his own.
"I'm wet." Damon said.
"That's your own fault." Stefan laughed.
"You tell anyone about this and you're dead little brother." Damon said, still smiling.
"Mmm, looks like I got some blackmail. The great Damon Salvatore cried." Stefan said with a laugh.
"Oh yeah, well…"
"Damon!" The brothers turned towards the desperate voice. "Damon damn it, answer me!"
Stefan looked at Damon, his green eyes sparkling. "Go to her."
Damon suddenly felt nervous. "I…I can't…"
"I'll talk to her first." Stefan said, clapping him on the back. And with that, he was gone, leaving a horrified Damon.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Damon?" Elena asked excitedly, her eyes hopeful.
Stefan sighed slowly. "No. It's Stefan. We switched back."
Elena looked incredulous. "You did? How?"
"I guess some brotherly redemption was all it took." Stefan said sadly.
Elena just nodded, not pressing for details.
"Elena, I…"
"Stefan, I…"
They both said it at the same time and chuckled awkwardly.
"You first." Stefan offered with a smile.
She didn't return it. "I learned some things during your switch. And I…" she trailed off nervously.
"You can't stay with me any longer." Stefan finished.
Elena blushed. "Yes. How'd you know?"
"I learned a couple things too." He supplied. "We just don't work anymore."
Elena grabbed his hands and looked at him sadly. "Somewhere along the way we changed. I'm not that girl anymore, broken and needing to be fixed."
Stefan nodded. "I'll always love you Elena. It just won't ever be enough."
"You're too good for me Stefan." She whispered and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. Stefan savored the touch. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed.
"I think it's the other way around." He said, dropping a kiss on her head before releasing her. "Now go to Damon. He needs you." He waited for her to deny it or ignore it, but she just nodded.
"I know." She said.
XXXXXXXXXX
After some time of anxious waiting, Stefan came out of the clearing, Elena next to him, looking somber. When she saw Damon, her eyes lit up.
Elena suddenly rushed forward, capturing him in a giant hug, cutting off any words behind his tongue. There's something between you two, something I can't ignore anymore. She feels something for you; you just need to be patient. You know how stubborn she is.
"Elena…" he warned, but she only hugged him tighter, burying her face in his shoulder. It shouldn't feel this perfect, this right. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her, but he couldn't. In the corner of his eye he spotted Stefan at the edge of the clearing, hands in his pockets, watching him. He gave Damon a solemn nod and a small smile. Then, he walked slowly away, disappearing in the forest.
"Don't leave me." Elena was muttering into his clothes.
Damon blinked in surprise. "I'm not leaving you Elena."
She looked up, watery eyes searching him. "You're not?"
"What would make you think that?"
She looked down and unhooked her arms from him. He immediately felt cold. "You said…you said goodbye."
"I could never leave you." Damon said truthfully, and Elena looked shocked, and a little relieved. "How did you find me?" He asked, quickly changing the subject.
Elena looked up, eyes thoughtful. "I don't really know." She said. "I thought about you all night long, and…I realized I couldn't lose you. So I went outside and I felt…this is going to sound really cheesy…like there was a string pulling me towards you. A string from my heart." She looked like she wanted to say more, but Damon interrupted her.
"What did you want to tell me?" he whispered, throat dry.
Elena immediately looked conflicted. "I…I don't know. Just that…that what we have….it's more than friendship. And I don't want to ignore that anymore. But…I'm just so confused, and… I don't know!" Damon wanted to kiss away her pain, to hold her tight and tell her everything would be fine. But it wasn't his decision to make.
"Stefan broke up with me." She said quietly. A rush of emotions flooded through Damon. He really did it.
"Elena…I'm sorry."
"Don't be. We both wanted it. We just don't fit anymore."
"Oh." He said simply, stupidly. His mind wasn't working again.
They stared at each other, the smiles fading away as the tension between them sparked. Elena's eyes flicked to his lips.
Looking back, Damon would never be sure which one of them moved first. But their lips were upon each other, moving in a passionate rhythm. Elena moaned as fireworks exploded and sparks flew. Fire seemed to heat up everything, and she couldn't think of anything that wasn't Damon. It was perfect. They drew apart, smiled, and leaned in again for more. The second kiss was slower than the second, less desperate. Elena's knees buckled when their tongues touched, and would have collapsed if Damon hadn't been holding her so tightly, his hand stroking her hair ever so slightly, sending shivers throughout her.
They pulled apart again, and Elena wondered how she could've ever stayed away from this. She couldn't even conjure up any regret that she kissed him, even though she just broke up with Stefan. She knew that nothing would be slow with Damon.
"But we work, don't we? In some sort of messed up way." She was smiling now, and Damon felt his lips quirk in response.
"Definitely messed up." He agreed, his mouth now widening in an involuntary smile.
And in the bright light of the rising sun, they leaned in for another kiss, both finally feeling whole again.
XXXXXXXXXX
Well, I wish I could end it there, but we can't just leave poor Stefan hanging like that, can we? Well, I can't anyway. And yeah, I do think that if he really sees something between Damon and Elena, he'll back off, just because he's awesome like that. ;)
I wasn't really going to have them kiss this chapter, as it seemed kind of fast, but the new eppy kind of depressed me. Poor Rose. That dream sequence was absolutely heartbreakingly beautiful though. And that last scene with Damon… no words.
But…I don't know if its because I'm extremely slow or something, but where the heck was the "it's okay to love them both?" Don't tell me they decided to take that out. That's just cruel.
Anyway, please review! I'm kinda scared I bored you with my big brother redemption thing. Sorry, it was essential to the story. Next chapter's the last! :'(