Thank you all so so so much for your beautiful reviews. You are all so sweet.
This is a hefty chapter, but the words just flowed out of me. It was really easy to write. We're winding down the story now, so things are gonna start falling into place for our two favorite people.
September 2006:
"Would you ever marry me?" Damon asked suddenly. They were laying tangled in the sheets on his bed.
"What?" Elena asked surprised. She pushed herself up on her elbows to look at him.
"I'm not asking you to marry me, Elena, so you can wipe that shocked expression off your face," he chuckled as his lips formed his usual smirk. "I was just asking if you would ever consider it."
Elena seemed to relax at that, and snuggled herself back into his side, her head on his chest.
She let the images take her away. Her in all white, Damon in a tuxedo, standing at the end of the isle in a small chapel. There would only be a small gathering of close friends. They would smile at each other, Damon's eyes would shimmer with unshed tears.
She pictured them down the road, what their kids would look like. How many they would have. Where they would live. And then she had her answer.
"Yeah," she sighed softly, enjoying the pictures her mind was conjuring up, "I think I would."
Damon laid still beneath her and she suddenly wondered if she had done something wrong.
"Would you consider it?" She asked quietly after a few long moments of heavy silence. She was suddenly feeling self-conscious. What if he didn't feel the same? Did she totally freak him out?
Finally he moved so he was laying propped up on his side, his head resting on his elbow facing her. She mimicked his position and allowed herself to get lost in the soft look in his eyes.
He smiled at her slightly.
"Yeah, I would," he said softly.
His answer set her heart a flutter. So she did the only thing she could think of and closed the distance between their lips. She reveled in the feeling of his soft lips pressing firmly against hers. She pulled back and saw his eyes were darkened with lust.
He moved so his body lay against hers and kissed her again, running his hand through her hair and holding her head in place. His tongue ran gently across the seam of her lips and she opened her mouth to welcome him in.
Their tongues dueled in a sultry dance as Damon rolled her underneath him. She could feel him everywhere, his skin on her skin, his tongue on her tongue, his scent filled her nose, and he was all she could see behind her eyelids. Her hands frantically grazed across his skin, trying to touch as much as possible.
He pulled back from her mouth and she opened her eyes to see pure adoration in his gaze. They laid like that for several long moments, just absorbed in each other and basking in their love.
Present Day:
"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Caroline whined. Her voice even carried over the crowded airport. They stood right outside security to say goodbye.
"Caroline, you know the answer to that," Elena said, "Damon's getting married in an hour and I don't want to be here for it. I just need to go home and move on with my life."
"You know he was lying when he said all that, don't you?" Caroline asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You don't know that, but I just can't do this anymore. If he's ok lying to me and to himself, then fine. I can't spend the rest of my life waiting for him to snap out of it," Elena sighed, running her hands through her hair.
She had spent the better part of two days trying to decided if this was a fight she wanted to keep fighting. It wasn't. She wasn't a quitter, but there was only so much pain her heart could take. Now she just had to go back home, spend some time to herself and move on with her life. And she was ok with that. This part of her life had to be over.
So she steeled herself, picked up her bag, and stretched an arm around her best friend.
"Thank you so much, Caroline," Elena said.
Caroline's arms wrapped around her and squeezed her tight before letting her go and stepping away. Tears were brimming her eyes and Elena felt her eyes sting in return.
"Take care of yourself and please come visit me," Caroline gave her a watery smile that Elena returned.
"I will," she said as she turned and walked down the security line. She made it through quickly, she gathered her things and made her way to her terminal.
She sat alone in a corner in her gate when she finally let herself feel what she'd been blocking out for two days. Tears streamed silently down her face as she confronted Damon's rejection. She looked at her clock, 41 minutes until Damon would be married and out of her life forever.
It should've been her. The thought that she'd never let herself acknowledge was on blast in her mind.
It could've been her. If she never ran five years ago, she would've married him without a doubt in her mind. Even now, five years later, she could still see herself happily married to him. She should've gone to Damon after she spoke with Giuseppe that fateful morning. Damon would've helped her, Stefan would've helped her.
A soft sob escaped her mouth and here, in the crowded airport, she had never felt so alone.
There he stood, at the altar. The church was giant and extravagant, just like Katherine wanted. He saw all their family, friends, and people who pretended to be either just to be at the "Wedding of the Year". His tie felt too tight, the large cathedral felt like it was closing in on him. He glanced at Stefan who was talking to one of the other groomsmen.
He thought back to how he got to this point. He thought about his relationship with Katherine and how right it felt. How all the encouragement from his father helped push him toward Katherine. His father would be beaming if he were here. Damon just knew it. But he wasn't. He was no longer here to encourage the relationship Damon was in and suddenly it didn't feel right. Everything felt different now that there was no reinforcement keeping him there. And there he stood wondering if their whole relationship flourished because of his father.
He always knew that answer. Yes. Yes it did. It wasn't until that moment that he allowed himself to consider that. But before he had time to consider what that meant, the doors in the back opened and the music began. He forced all thoughts out of his mind as he stared down the isle.
Slowly, the bridesmaids made their way down the isle. He felt like they were moving in slow motion. What felt like hours later, though it was minutes, he saw the little flower girl emerge and playfully make her way down the isle.
Finally he saw the bundle of white at the end of the isle. Slowly she started to move toward him and he felt the anxiety creep up his chest. His hands were sweaty and he felt a weight settle over his lungs. Air was thick and sticky in his airways. He felt like he was drowning.
Then it was like everything happened in slow motion. As he stared at the bride coming down the isle he realized the longing in his heart had wished it was Elena coming toward him. It was like that moment when a coin is flipped, and as the coin turns end-over-end in mid air, only then does the person realize what they want, what they are wishing the coin lands on. Heads or tails? Katherine or Elena?
That moment was the coin. Slowly, it turned end-over-end just as Katherine made her way down the isle. Only in that moment did he truly realize what he'd been lying to himself about. Who he wanted. He didn't need that coin to land, or Katherine to meet him at the alter to know. He wanted Elena. He'd always wanted Elena. It was why he'd lashed out at her so passionately, why he finally realized that Katherine wasn't what he wanted. It was who his father wanted, Damon only wanted his father's approval. He wanted it so badly that after he died Damon was already so convinced that he loved her.
Fate was a heartless bitch.
Just as his father passed, Elena entered his life again. He knew she'd never successfully leave it either. He would have to force her out. Only then did he find that it was a mistake. His father was dead. He'd never be there to cheer him on and encourage him that marrying Katherine was the right thing. Damon finally understood that it was a good thing. Katherine was never the right choice, yet he'd never realize that if his father was still alive.
Maybe fate wasn't so heartless after all.
His mind snapped back to the present and Katherine was nearing him now. She looked beautiful, but his mind only wanted to see Elena in all white, in a small church, only surrounded by people they loved.
Katherine's expectant glaze faltered as she took in Damon's face. It was like he was seeing someone else standing before him.
She stepped closer to him and his heart had chosen. It had chosen five years ago and never let go. He just never let himself hold onto that hope that they'd have a chance. He was an idiot. He let her go. He made her go.
"I'm so sorry," his broken whisper left his lips and he saw the recognition in Katherine's eyes. Her eyes flooded with tears that she furiously tried to blink back.
"It's her, isn't it," she whispered, it wasn't a question. A lone tear broke through and fell down her cheek. He softly brushed it away with the pad of his thumb before he nodded. His eyes full of tears as well. He didn't want to hurt her. He truly did love her, but it was a love built on a rocky foundation. A foundation of false adoration and his desperate longing for his father's approval.
When he looked into her eyes he saw himself as a young boy doing anything and everything to feel his father's love after watching his mother pass away. He didn't want to be that boy. He needed to let him go.
"I'm sorry," he whispered one last time before he turned and practically ran out the side door. He could hear the surprised gasps of the audience, it only fueled him to move faster, he needed to escape the sound. He needed to see Elena.
"Damon!" He heard his name being called. He barely registered it was his brother's voice when he felt a hand on his arm turning him around.
"What happened in there?" Stefan asked, obviously still shocked. They stared at each other in silence as Caroline ran to catch up with him.
"Where is she?" Damon ignored his brother and turned to Caroline.
"At the airport," Caroline answered without hesitation. She knew exactly what was happening before Katherine even approached the alter. Caroline had seen everything written so plainly on his face.
"When does she leave?" He asked quickly, checking his watch.
"In about a half hour," Caroline said sadly, "You'll never make it in time."
"I have to try," he said desperately. Stefan and Caroline just nodded as they followed him to the street and into Damon's car that was outside waiting. Damon slid into the drivers seat as Caroline jumped into the passenger seat and Stefan in the back.
They drove in silence, neither Caroline nor Stefan wanting to distract Damon from his crazed driving.
It seemed like it took ages, but he made it to the airport in record time. Twenty minutes. Elena's plane would leave any moment. He pulled up to the curb and didn't even turn his car off before jumping out and running inside. He frantically studied the departures board before his eyes landed on one plane departing for Virginia. As soon as he saw which gate she'd be leaving from, he took off running.
He ran into security, trying his best not to lash out at the TSA. He quickly stepped out of his shoes, emptied his pockets and waited his turn to go through the metal detector.
He made it through and found her gate on the screens. He took off running like a mad man down the terminal, shouting her name the whole way. He glanced at every gate number as he passed it until he finally found hers. His heart sank as he noticed the door to board was closed.
"You have to stop that plane!" He yelled at the attendants at the boarding desk.
"Sir, that plane is already gone. It just pulled onto the runway. I'm sorry," the lady spoke calmly, looking more than a little afraid of the panting man in a tux in front of her.
"Please, you have to get it back here. I don't care how, it just needs to come back," he practically begged. He could feel his eyes stinging slightly, but he refused to give up yet.
"There is nothing I can do, I'm sorry. The plane has already taken off."
Damon sat at his favorite bar, drowning himself in whiskey and regret. It was the first time all day that he had a chance to truly reflect on what happened that day.
He'd left Katherine at the altar. For him, that was the easiest decision of his life, even if it took him ages to actually see that. He couldn't commit to her knowing that his love belonged to someone else. She didn't deserve that. He liked to think he deserved to be with someone he loved with whole being.
He stared off into the amber liquid in his glass as he thought about his mad dash through JFK airport. People had looked at him like he was crazy, some may have even recognized him as that guy from the tabloids.
He groaned. The tabloids were going to have a heyday with him. Ditching the daughter of one of the most powerful families in the nation, then running wild through the airport calling someone else's name.
Elena's name.
Elena.
The name resonated in his head all day. She was gone. He didn't even get a chance to stop her.
"I thought I'd find you here," he turned to the sound of his brother's voice, still wearing his tuxedo, but the tie hung loose around his neck and the sleeves of his white dress shirt were rolled up.
"Hello, brother," Damon deadpanned. He was just so tired. His emotions had been through the ringer.
Stefan sat down and ordered a drink. It arrived quickly and they just sat in silence. One waiting for the other to speak first.
"What am I going to do now?" Damon asked quietly, not even looking up from the bar.
Stefan sighed, trying to come up with the right words to comfort his brother.
"As I see it, you can do one of two things. You can get up, shower, and get on a plane and go after her, or you can get up, shower, and move on with your life hoping that one day it all won't hurt so much," Stefan said, looking at the broken man next to him. His heart hurt for his brother.
"You're saying I can't just stay here until I'm piss drunk?" Damon joked dryly.
Stefan gave a humorless chuckle.
"Damon, if you want her, you need to be a man and tell her. You hurt her the other day and now you need to fix it. If that's what you want," Stefan said.
Damon processed what his brother was saying. He was right, he was always right. He stood abruptly and dropped enough money to cover his drinks and Stefan's.
"It's what I want."
There was only so long that Damon could be an idiot. But I hope I did ok kind of explaining just why he wanted to be with Katherine. But there is only so long you can be in a relationship that was built because of someone else.
I hope you liked it! Send me a review and let me know what you thought!