"Damon," Elena breathed out feeling his head just laying against her chest and going up and down slowly as she took in each breath. "Are you okay?" Her fingers were lazily tangling in his hair at the base of his neck.
He didn't answer her right away and just breathed in and out deeply with his eyes closed. There was a long silence between them and Elena just left him to relax against her. She could feel that he needed her so badly right then. She knew he must be feeling extremely overwhelmed with everything that was happening. She leaned her head down and kissed him gently on the top of his head, smoothing the jet black strands with her fingers. She heard a sigh from him and felt him nuzzle his head in deeper against her chest. The pads of his fingers were resting on her bare stomach too she could tell by the slight coldness of them on her skin and she loved how he could not get enough of the sound and feel of their babies heartbeat.
Damon had shut his eyes the second he had leaned against her. He was so, so tired. Right now he just longed for his bed, his room and to disappear in there with Elena and his babies and hide from the world. They had been trying to hide, but very obviously had not been safe enough. He wished vampire powers came with invisibility and he could just walk her out of there, past the Original without him having any idea. He knew Elijah's witches were too far away to cloak her and they needed her blood too to do that. But there was no getting her out of the cabin to them without Klaus knowing.
Even if he was busy with Caroline like he had been before all tied up in his SUV when she went after his blood, Damon knew he had other helpers around. Elijah had told him that he had been trailed as he made his way around the lake and they had not tried to hurt him but had likely been instructed to keep a perimeter.
How the hell could he get his family safe? He felt a tremendous burden on his heart that the safety of his precious children was at risk. He was their father. It was his job to protect them from everything and anything that could harm them. They hadn't even been born yet and they were already being threatened.
He knew he should tell Elena all that he was thinking. They were in this together, forever. She must be feeling scared too, knowing what Klaus wanted with their babies. He drew in a deep breath and lifted his head from the comfort of her body, so warm, so full of her scent that soothed him like nothing else in the whole damn world.
"I'm scared Elena," he whispered into the air between them, his jaw clenched, his eyes wide. "I don't want to be, but I am. I'm Damon fucking Salvatore and I thought I wasn't scared of anything." He sat up more, to look in her eyes as his hands went to frame her face. "But I'm terrified of losing you and our babies. And I hate admitting that to you when you are depending on me to be strong." Her hands went up to grip his, squeezing them reassuringly.
He drew in another deep breath, his throat tight, his face etched in worry. "I've never in my insanely long life, come across something that I couldn't kill." He looked deep in her eyes, seeing so much worry in them as he stroked her cheek, before shutting his own eyes and leaning his head against hers.
His eyes were closed as he swallowed hard, his hands gripping her hair at the sides of her head as his mind raced. "I know what I have to do in order to protect you, all of you. I have to find a way to kill him."
"Then you will. You are strong Damon. You have no idea how strong." Elena peered back at him seeing the fear in his eyes when he opened them again. "I mean it honey. I know you don't remember this but when Klaus had compelled you to bring me to him you fought it so hard."
He hung his head, remembering her being outside and in Klaus's arms before he tried to race her back in the cabin. "No Elena, you were already safe when Stefan got you to the cabin. You would have totally stayed there if it wasn't for me. I put you at risk again!"
"No Damon, you fought like hell to keep me safe. You have no idea how strong you were. You stopped yourself from hurting me upstairs and put your arms around me. You started kissing me. You heard me when I said I loved you then already. And you wanted to protect me from Klaus."
Elena gripped his chin, forcing his head up when he kept looking away from her. "Look at me baby." She waited till his eyes reluctantly found hers again. "You are strong enough to protect us, all of us. I believe in you, Damon. You stopped yourself from handing me over. You had me inches from the doorway and you whirled us around and kept me against the wall beside the door. Away from Klaus. You even yelled at yourself out loud to not do it."
She took a deep breath, her eyes locked on his and she was happy to see he didn't look away. "I was so scared and had seen that you had stabbed Stefan to keep him from stopping you. But when you kept me away from Klaus you were fighting yourself. You had me pressed against you, your whole body practically around me and as scared as I was, I knew I was safe with you. You were fighting the compulsion!"
Damon furrowed his brows wanting to believe her. That sounded like he had been fighting for her. He wished he remembered. "Then how did you still end up outside? I obviously didn't fight hard enough."
She put her finger to his lips. "Yes you did, Damon. You stabbed yourself in both legs and even stabbed your hand when you told me you could feel that your hands were shaking, needing to throw me outside to Klaus. You collapsed against me and cried on my lap, you were so scared you would hurt me."
He loved the feeling of her finger on his lips and he had a hard time concentrating on what she was saying when he felt her tug just slightly at his bottom lip. She probably didn't even realize she did it but every touch from her felt incredible and he ran his hands down her back and squeezed her hips gently. But he focused his eyes back on her, hearing her say how much he had fought to keep her safe.
Elena closed her eyes a moment likely reacting to his touch before she opened them and spoke again, even more insistently. "You did protect me. You fought it so much. It was Katherine that threw me outside. It all happened so fast but she did it. She stabbed you and grabbed me."
Damon felt his blood boiling again. Katherine. Again? Fucking bitch had been at the heart of everything that went wrong. He hated her so much. He growled under his breath. "I wish I had never met her Elena. She deserves to die! I'm so sorry for all the pain she has caused you. I know you weren't yet but you could have already been pregnant when she threw you out there to Klaus!"
Elena wrapped her arms around him again and pulled him into a hug. Everything just felt better when she could hold him, feel him against her and soak in his strength. She was scared too. She was scared that she would not be able to keep her children, their children safe. "I know. I know Damon. But I don't blame you for her. If it wasn't for her I would never have met and fallen so crazy in love with you."
She saw him smile a bit at that and she buried her face in his embrace again. "But I'm scared too baby," she mumbled into his neck, her head just resting on his shoulder. She closed her eyes and didn't release her hold on his neck. She felt his arms come around her back again and rub up and down and she knew he was trying to calm her down when he already felt so afraid.
She was glad he was sharing with her how he felt too. They needed to get through this together. She rubbed her neck, feeling itchy there but not sure why. Had more pregnancy symptoms started already? She had no idea what to expect.
She sat back up, looking tearfully in his eyes. "Klaus said he was going to burn the cabin down if I didn't come out. He already has Bonnie and Tyler. Stefan is dying and I can't stand to see him like that, I still care about him. Caroline loves the vampire wanting to take me away from you. And God knows who else Klaus could hurt with more werewolf venom!"
He was shaking his head trying to calm her down, his hands running up and down her arms, before she might faint again. Now it was his turn to try to encourage her that they could make it through this, just as she had done for him a few minutes ago. He knew stress was not good for the babies, and he needed to get her to relax. But she put up her hand, shaking her head back at him that she was not done.
"You almost died in the tomb Damon." She sniffled, her hands caressing his face, as she looked at him with tears running down her cheeks. "Stefan was going to kill you to stop that monster from raping me in front of both of you! Stefan would have died too if it wasn't for Ric showing up just then. I have never felt so sick and so scared in my life than I did then."
"Baby, that's all over. Why are you bringing it up now. That psychotic wolf is dead. I promise." Damon cupped her face in his hands, his eyes so sad for her pain and her fear. She had been through so fucking much in such a short time and it was tearing him apart that she was so scared.
"I know he is dead. I do know. But that wasn't enough and now we should be so happy that I am pregnant with your children and instead all I am is terrified of losing all three of you! And the thing I can't change is how people I love are being destroyed because of me!"
He was still shaking his head in disagreement and she stared at him, her look daring him to make her believe otherwise. "It is all because of me Damon. Jeremy, my baby brother...is a vampire, because Klaus used him to find me. He can never go back. Never be human again," she choked up as she spoke but forced herself to keep going.
"You can't say I'm wrong. Stefan is dying because I looked at him and reminded him that he should help Katherine when the wolf had her. That he was a rescuer and he shouldn't just stay back and let her die! And Bonnie almost got a concussion, you almost died when Klaus blew up your car and then later he practically forced your heart out the front of your body!"
Tears were flowing freely down her face now as she ached inside remembering how scared she had been for him. "I wanted to go to you, to save you so badly! I want to be happy for the babies, for us. That I discovered how much I love you baby. But it's too much Damon, just too much." She held her hand to her mouth and choked on a sob, her head down.
"Hey, hey," Damon's voice was like velvet, smooth and soothing. He tilted her face up to his. "I'm so sorry about everything sweetness. Shit, you have been through so much and you don't deserve any of this. None of the people that love you do. Stefan chose to save Kat, and we both know that that is the kind of person he is. You didn't force it on him I promise you. And Bonnie too wanted to help you and knew the risk of coming after such a powerful vampire." He ran his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her. "About Jeremy, I am so, so sorry. I should have protected him more, or seen what Katherine was doing calling him."
She shook her head, sniffling. "No Damon, there was so much going on. You were protecting me from Katherine, and risking your life with taking out Elijah, and everything with Caroline and Stefan dying. Its not your fault that he died." She held his face in her own hands just as he had done to her barely a minute ago.
"He saved me Elena. I owed him." He saw her looked curiously at him. "Back in the storm, when Klaus lit the gasoline to blow up my car, I was trapped. Really trapped baby." He felt her fingers grip his shoulders as he spoke. "I had been impaled by a steel piece of the car literally through my carotid artery, and it had drained me of a lot of blood. The wound had healed but I couldn't push myself off the metal."
"Oh my God," Elena whimpered, her grip on him tighter hardly believing what had happened.
"I'm okay. All healed. See?" He pulled his shirt down where the gash would be, showing her his smooth, clear skin and she ran her hand over it and bent to kiss him there. He shuddered at the sensation of her lips on his skin, taking a few deeper breaths. "M mm, feels so good, but really hard to concentrate when you do that Elena." He waited for her to lift her head so he could finish telling her what happened.
"Jeremy was the reason I survived. He fed me his blood. Me, the vampire that has been such an ass to him, snapped his neck, threatened him, belittled him and bullied him. He saved my life Elena. So I promise you I will look out for him. I will help him adjust to being a vampire. Hell, I'll teach him how to feed from animals if you want, to honor Stefan. But I won't let him get hurt."
He saw her smile slightly at that. It sounded weird for him to hear himself say it that he would actually advocate for the chipmunk diet. He smiled back at her. "I know I was horrible with Vicky and even Caroline turning and you were probably expecting me say the same thing about Jeremy. But you are wrong. I will help him, no matter what baby. You have my word he won't end up like Stefan, addicted to human blood, a ripper. I'll teach him moderation."
"And as for me. You are not to blame for anything that happened to me. I will never stop putting myself in front of you to keep you safe. Whatever comes at you has to go through me."
"But I don't want anything to happen to you Damon! I love you SO much. I would not know how to go on without you. The babies and I need you. Don't you dare ever think we don't. If I ever lost you I would search the world for you, baby. You are it for me, forever."
Damon leaned in and kissed her tenderly on the lips, his expression serious. He turned her slightly and pushed her down on the couch, leaning over her, his body hard and strong against all her curves. "You are it for me too angel, forever. You will never lose me. I still can't believe it." Damon's voice was soft, almost like he was talking to himself.
"What? What can't you believe?" Elena questioned him, looking up at him, studying his face for any clue to what he was thinking.
His eyes fell back down to hers as he gazed lovingly at her, his lips spreading into a smile. "Our babies," he whispered, his blue eyes shining with awe. It felt like a dream that he was so madly in love and Elena was actually pregnant with his children. He never believed that could be a reality for him especially after he turned into a vampire.
She saw the same beautiful smile that she had seen when she had asked him about his face before. When he had said he was happy. She ran her hands down his cheeks and behind his ears to bury them in his dark hair, pulling his head closer to her. "I know Damon. I can hardly believe it either." Their lips were a breath away and he bent down to devour her with his mouth. She melted into his embrace, his arms bent keeping his weight off her, his hands running through her hair as their mouths met hungrily.
She moaned as they kissed, her hips thrusting up slightly. In his presence the fear was gone, the dread of what was to come dissipated into nothing as she lay in his arms. She giggled as his lips trailed down her jaw and nibbled at the hollow of her throat. Her hands went up, running up and down the muscles in his arms and then down lower to find his skin under the hem of her dad's shirt.
He kissed lower down her chest, badly wanting less clothes but at the same time not knowing how close danger could be or how quick they would have to run if Klaus indeed followed through on his threat. Damon, teased her, with his hand caressing her breast on top of her clothes making her head fall back as she moaned his name.
"I know baby, it feels like forever since I had you upstairs in my arms. You feel so damn good." He teased her nipple gently through her shirt and saw her eyelashes flutter. Elena's nails dug into his back where she had found his bare skin to play with. He kissed down the valley between her breasts and lifted up her shirt till her whole belly was exposed.
He looked back up at her. She was watching him, eyes shining with love for him. His mouth curved into such a loving smile up at her as he nuzzled her stomach with his nose and kissed all over it.
The sight of Damon kissing her belly, his eyes just lighting up with pride was amazing to see. Elena wished she had a camera for the look he had in his eyes as he watched her as he kissed all over her stomach tenderly. Then he lay his head down and she smoothed his hair back so she could still see his eyes. The brilliant blueness of them was so gorgeous framed by his dark hair. She blinked and thought she saw a tear in the corner of his eye.
"I hope one of them has your incredible blue eyes, and your black hair," she whispered to him. "Can you imagine how beautiful a little girl or boy would be with your eyes and that shiny, jet black hair.
He beamed at her kissing and licking more on her belly, "I'm sure they would look amazing. But I hope they have your hair and your chocolate brown eyes."
Her skin tasted incredible and he could hardly believe how amazing it felt to feel the little heartbeats under his lips. He could literally feel his children that close to him.
"But I'm sure if they look so much like you, I will never be able to say no to them Elena. I would be a puddle of mush when they looked at me with those eyes, your eyes. I could just picture our strong willed little toddler tossing her chestnut hair in the air, glaring at me because I didn't let her have another cookie."
Elena laughed at the image Damon had made up, longing for the kind of time when life with all of them would be just so normal. "And just you wait honey. Then I could see her brother with your hair and eyes just grab that last cookie and run away with your heart melting smirk back at us. And who would be a puddle of mush then? I would never be able to say no to a mini Damon. I would be wrapped around his tiny, little finger."
Damon lay his head back down again on her bare stomach, realizing that his childrens little hearts beating strongly, was just as soothing as when he was laying against his love's chest. He closed his eyes and just traced lazy circles around her sides and up higher and higher under her shirt. He looked back up at her after a few minutes of them just peacefully laying there and he could not seem to stop smiling. "I know this is all happening so fast but I want you know Elena that I am committed to you and our children, like 1000%. I will never let you go through any of it alone."
Elena was smiling so broadly back at him amazed at everything they were talking about. She could not believe how lucky she was.
"You guys hear that? Daddy is in it for the long haul." He grinned up at her before kissing her stomach again and caressing her skin with his thumbs. "I can't wait to meet you." Damon whispered and felt tears pooling at his dark lashes. He blinked as his vision got blurry, letting the few tears slip down his cheeks. "You have no idea how much of miracle you both are to me. I had let go of the hope of having a family so long ago." He straightened up more, his lips still barely a breath away from her skin, his eyes darting up to hers.
Elena was mesmerized by the sight of the man she loved. The strong, cocky, sarcastic, Damon Salvatore talking to her bare belly as he stroked and kissed it. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life and she felt tears slipping down her cheeks too, just in awe of the beauty of him. Her smile was radiant as she gazed down at him and she stroked his hair from his eyes to not miss the expressions she was seeing on his face.
He grinned teasingly back at her and then looked down again. "I think mommy might just be falling even more in love with me, watching me talk to you." He saw her nod silently, her tears sliding down her cheeks. "I love her so, so very much. You guys never have to worry about us. You will so, so loved." His tone grew serious as he thought of everything that was happening. He clenched his jaw, as he spoke. "I promise you I will protect you both and your mommy so that nothing can ever hurt you, my little angels."
He smiled rememebering what Elena had shared with him that morning. "Did you know your mommy had a dream last night about you and me, before we even knew about you? She dreamed that I was rocking one of you against me, while we danced by the firelight at the mansion. You were all curled up on my chest as I held you." He saw Elena's tears flowing more now too and he sniffled seeing some of his tears dripping onto her belly. "We will have that. We will. That peace and quiet, dancing with mommy by the fire. Just you wait."
He could sense the mood darken knowing what they were up against before freedom and safety could be a reality and he tried to keep it light. The smiles and the joy he had seen on his fiances' face had been amazing to behold and he wanted her smile to never fade. He kissed her belly once more. "So you guys take care of each other till we can see you and I will take care of your mom."
He heard a slight sob and he hoped it was all happy tears "I'm serious Elena," he lifted his head and focused his eyes on hers. "I will be there for whatever you need. Doctor's appointments, late night cravings." He kissed all over her stomach again in between each thing he listed. "Helping you back and forth to the bathroom when you feel sick, shopping for maternity clothes when yours don't fit, picking names, decorating the nursery, baby supply shopping, including those cute little tiny socks that would barely fit on my finger. Oh and making sure you aren't on your feet too much, lifting anything that's too heavy for you. Ooh and full body massages..." He growled all sexy at her and licked down her belly, his tongue warm on her skin.
She whimpered again as he kissed lower and she felt him start to unsnap her jeans. "God Damon that all sounds like a dream come true. How do you know so much about babies?" She could hardly focus on his words, feeling his tongue on the top of her underwear, and she could not keep her eyes off of him kissing her.
"Oh, I don't know much. I've heard and seen couples over the years. But we should definitely read lots of pregnancy books, and birthing and newborn care ones. Oh and don't forget I'll cook for you. I'll handle any and all meat and cheeses, fish, or pasta so you don't have to deal with it." His lips kissed lower as he spoke, placing feather like kisses on her lacy underwear and he nearly growled again at how aroused she was. It had been hours since he had had her last and he could feel his own body reacting too.
Elena was loving the conversation till he started mentioning food. And then her stomach clenched and she leapt up running for the bathroom. She leaned over and threw up, her stomach squeezing in waves making her more dizzy. Once she was resting her head on the coolness of the porcelain she heard him in the doorway.
"I would have carried you here sweetie. I'm sorry you feel so icky. I'm such an idiot for even mentioning food in front of you. I'm so sorry." Damon hung his head, leaning against the door feeling so stupid that he caused her to puke again. "Have you eaten anything today? Tried anything?"
She lifted her head, and was about to reply when another rush of nausea hit her and she gagged again. He was by her side right away, rubbing her back. "No, I haven't eaten anything yet but I'm scared nothing will stay down. I was feeling so good in your arms Damon, but even then I felt like I was starting to get dizzy." She just lay her head back down, waiting for the room to stop spinning and closed her eyes. She heard him blur away and she lay her head back down and he was back in a few minutes.
"Well here is some ice water, its something to drink at least. I'd suggest bourbon cause that helps me when I'm not feeling good, but its not ideal for this situation."
She playfully glared at him, "Umm you think? I think daddy needs to read up more in the baby books we don't even have yet," she teased him. "Water is fine." She stood up taking the glass from him and swallowed a few sips. She felt pretty dizzy still and felt his hand around her waist steadying her as she tipped a bit backwards.
"Do you want to lay down more? I can carry you up back to Jeremy's bed if Elijah hasn't put him there." He was not sure what to do or what she needed. It could be a very long 9 months of guessing.
"I'm hungry but my stomach feels better. Can we just stand or walk around? I feel stiff and we have laid down a lot lately." Elena really wasn't sure what she wanted. She realized neither of them were talking about what Klaus was planning. Like they were pretending none of that existed.
He zipped to the kitchen, digging in the cupboards and she leaned on the couch and zipped up her jeans and straightened her top. He was back quickly. "Here, have a just a couple crackers and then I promise I'll stop pushing you to eat and just hold you."
He saw Elijah's phone on the table and picked it up. "Just a second," he mumbled by her ear, kissing her and then blurred away again.
Elena had no idea what was going on. Taking one of the crackers in her mouth she chewed it up and was finished all three by the time he came back to her with a smile.
He flicked a few buttons and laid the phone back down on the table. Beautiful relaxing music drifted through the air.
I'm dying to catch my breath,
Oh why don't I ever learn?
I've lost all my trust,
though I've surely tried,
to turn it around.
"Oh my, Damon that is the song from the Miss Mystic Dance!" Elena smiled up at him and he walked them to a more open area of the living room. He had zoomed around and tidied up the wood and bloody clothes and anything that didn't belong there while she was still in the bathroom. He reached his hand out to her and bowed his head, like a gentleman, his eyes twinkling as he bit his bottom lip.
"You remember how you told me how much you'd love to dance with me again?" Ocean blue was locked on rich brown. He saw her nod at him smiling.
"Well then my angel," he said as he kissed her hand. "Would the lady like to dance?"
Can you still see,
the heart of me?
All my agony fades away,
when you hold me in your embrace.
She nodded smiling, and stepped into his arms laying her head on his shoulder. It felt so right, so perfect as he held her close, his arms tight around her as they swayed gently to the music. Elena just closed her eyes and melted into him. She was home.
She thought she knew what love was before him. She thought what she had with Matt was love, built on friendship and then with Stefan such intense feelings so fast when she was still grieving the loss of her parents and was so broken.
But none of that was truly what she needed. They were there for her in those times of her life to discover if there was more to her friendship with Matt or to help her live to push forward from her aching losses with Stefan.
Don't tear me down,
for all I need.
Make my heart a better place.
Give me something I can believe.
Don't tear me down…
You've opened a door now,
don't let it close.
But this right here, dancing with Damon, feeling his cheek against her head, his arms around her, she knew this was truly where she belonged. He was her everything. He had been her friend first too, but unlike Matt he wasn't shy about who he was, he didn't apologize for being himself. She had dug underneath his masks and seen how loving and tender and emotional he could be. She saw how much he had loved her since the moment he saw her, how much he treasured her, how much pain he endured to protect her, how devoted he was, and how he could be silly and goofy and they could laugh and giggle and it felt like they had been together for years already. Even how he had been able to share with her deeply about his feelings. Seeing him cry had been incredible too, knowing he felt safe enough to be real with her.
Everything else just disappeared around them as they held each other and swayed back and forth.
Elena pulled back from him wanting them to reenact their first dance. She lifted her hands up waiting for him to do the same. He seemed to see right away what she wanted and lifted an eyebrow in amusement at how she wanted to dance.
Their palms were barely an inch apart as they walked slowly in a circle, just like at the pageant.
I'm here on the edge again,
I wish I could let it go.
I know that I'm only one step away,
from turning it around.
Elena wiggled her eyebrows sexily at him as she kept her hands from touching his. They had not had this kind of connection, back when they danced like that then. It had been the first time she saw deep in his eyes. The first time she really saw him, and not the vampire brother of her boyfriend.
She saw Damon. She saw his tentative smiles at her, his endlessly deep blue eyes locked on hers so intensely.
Damon was watching, enraptured by her, loving how happy and carefree she was with him. He was so glad he had decided to do this. She looked incredibly beautiful, her brown eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun, her hair flowing down her back, her smile at him was so sexy and made him so hungry to be closer to her.
His hands ached to touch her as he was playing along, enjoying the simple intimacy of the near touch. The near touch was so overrated. He wiggled his eyebrows back at her, teasing, flirting, just being his sexy, cocky self with his fiance. He heard a giggle from her and blew her a kiss, pouting his lips out giving her his best sultry smolder.
She had him wrapped around her little finger, just like his children soon would too. He could not believe how much his life had changed in a few days.
Can you still see
the heart of me?
All my agony fades away,
when you hold me
in your embrace.
As the last part of the verse ended he pulled her back into his arms, his one arm around her waist, and the other tangling his fingers with hers in the air between them, kissing the back of her hand. She was his now and he never wanted to let her go. This dance could not have been more perfect.
Damon stepped forward, leading her around the room, just as he had that bright sunny day on the Lockwood's patio. He remembered how absolutely breathtaking she looked in that deep blue, silky, smooth gown that hugged her curves so perfectly. She looked like an angel that had left heaven and was gliding around on earth like it was the most natural thing in the world.
But she also looked so, so hot that it was so hard for Damon to just let her go after the dance and not lead her to a dark secluded corner of the house and kiss her till she didn't remember anyone but him.
Elena was stepping seamlessly after him, around and around and she was so surprised she did not feel nauseous at all and could focus all her attention on him. She wished she could see him in a fancy suit again. She wished she was as in love with him then already as she was now. They had wasted so much time. She looked deep in his eyes as they danced, not wanting to miss a moment more of their future together.
Damon pulled her closer till their bodies were flush against each other again and he leaned his head against hers. He opened his mouth and Elena could hardly believe it, but he started singing to her! His hands were cradling her face, stroking her cheeks as it felt like he whispered the lyrics right to her soul.
"Can't tear me down,
you're all I need,
You make my heart a better place.
You give me something I can believe.
Won't tear it down,
what's left of me,
You make my heart a better place,
His voice sounded unbelievable and she noticed he changed the lyrics just to suite them and she was awestruck at the look in his eyes. His heart was so open, his feelings, his vulnerability to her, everything was the most beautiful thing to behold, and she wished they could keep dancing forever.
Damon caressed her face as he let the lyrics show her how much he loved her. He had been so lost before her, so in the dark of what love really was. And now that he had found it he wanted to capture every moment; like fireflies in a jar and keep the memory shining forever. He kept singing, softly, his voice flooded with emotion at all he was feeling and did his best to convey it through the words of the song.
"I tried many times,
but nothing was real,
You make it fade away,
Won't break me down…
I know in my heart,
that this is for real.
You save me from my fear.
Can't tear it down…"
Elena grabbed his face in her hands, they had stopped dancing and were barely moving, just molded to each others bodies. His hands had fallen to her waist, as she felt his fingers under her shirt squeezing her hips, pulling her in more against him.
She opened her mouth and sang back to him. It felt right in the moment. She had never had a moment like this with any other guy she was with and to be totally honest it felt so out of character for Damon and her as well. But she just felt SO moved by his love and she wanted to show him too how very much he meant to her.
"Can't tear us down,
you're all I need.
You make my heart a better place...
Hold me so close,
you're all I need.
You make my heart a better place,
your love gives me something I can believe."
Damon had tears in his eyes as he watched his love sing to him. He felt like this could not possibly be real. Someone truly loved him so much. He had never believed he was worthy of this kind of adoration. Elena was changing him, making him feel things he had never felt before.
As he stood there, his head still against hers, seeing so deeply in her eyes, he could not help but be overflowing with so many feelings. He wanted to give her the world. He wanted to dance like this when they were married 20 years with their kids all grown up.
He wanted to be her everything, like she was his. His heart was bursting with joy. Actual joy. Something he thought was not possible in the real world, full of vampires, witches and monsters. But standing there with her, feeling their babies strong heartbeat between them, seeing the undying love for him in her eyes...he felt complete.
She completed him, as cheesy and cliché as that sounded. She was that part of him he had been looking for, for decades and tried to fill with drinking, his obsession with Katherine, his animosity with his brother, his desire to challenge and piss off anyone who dared cross him. There was always a piece of him missing and god damn it he had found it and his heart soared with pure joy.
He quieted his thoughts to keep listening to her as she sang. She was changing the words so beautifully and so smoothly they sounded like they had always belonged that way.
She tilted his head down, her eyes still locked on his, her lips right there in front of his as she sang the last part.
"You're healing now,
What's left of me,
You make my heart a better place,
You make my heart a better place..."
And he pulled her closer, fusing their lips as the song ended, exploring every inch of her warm and open mouth as his fingers buried themselves in her hair, holding her head to his. She was panting in his arms and he held her up not sure if she would faint again. They lazily kissed like that, Damon wishing he could take her away from everything. He wanted nothing but her and his babies and to keep them safe.
It was like they both realized at the same moment the danger still coming for them, threatening to rip them apart and she pulled back looking in his eyes, her own full of fear, fear of losing this, losing him and all they had together. "Damon?" she whimpered and then before he could respond she buried her head in his shoulder, holding him so tightly around the waist, feeling his skin warm against her fingers.
Damon knew what she was thinking. He nodded to her, trying to smile. "I know," he whispered. He held her head against him and kissed her hair, wrapping his arms around her. "I know, baby." And he closed his eyes tight as they just stood there holding each other, wishing time could just stand still.
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Its the calm before the storm...
Song from Season 1. Miss Mystic Falls- All I Need by Within Temptation