A/N: After this long struggle, here it is, the last chapter. It's shorter than the previous ones, but quantity doesn't always mean quality. Thanks for sticking with the story and putting up with my awfully long breaks. Studying and writing aren't good friends. ;)

Special thanks: of course, to CreepingMuse, a great friend and beta reader who saved me from a lot of linguistic, stylistic and logical mistakes, encouraged me when I couldn't get the sounding right, listened to me whine and helped a lot to shape this story. And even for the theme song for this chapter. ;) You're great.

"And the heart is hard to translate,

It has a language of its own,

It talks in tongues and quiet sighs and prayers and proclamations…"

~ Florence and the Machine, "All This and Heaven Too" ~

"What is it that you feel for me, Elena?"

Elena shook her head, opening her mouth and closing it again. This time she really had to answer Damon's question. Her answer would define everything, she realized. If she lied, Damon would know, he always knew. And it would be the last straw – he wouldn't forgive her any more. Damon could stand a lot of things, but he had pride. She'd lose him. and would have to spend forever making up for it, hoping that one day he would give her another chance.

Elena gasped. She had never been more terrified in her life. Damon, who had been staring at her expectantly, pulled back a little to look her in the eye. "Hey, what is it? You okay?"

No, she wasn't. The thought of losing him was too horrible. That was what Elena wasn't ready for. To lose, because of her own stupidity, that incredible man, who loved her more than anything and anyone in the world.

She only needed to tell him the truth.

But saying it was difficult. What was the truth, anyway? How could she even begin to define what she felt for him? It wasn't love, no. Couldn't be. She knew love: it was safe and easy, rarely painful, it made her feel comfortable. It had absolutely nothing to do with this dire need to give her whole self to another person and take everything he could give her, to kill for him, die for him, live for him. The human language didn't have a right word for what she felt. It was all too much. He was too much.

Kissing, on the other hand, was a whole lot easier. It was an instinct, a natural desire to get closer.

Elena put her left hand on his cheek, her right hand ended up on the back of his neck to hold him in place. Keeping eye contact as long as possible, Elena pulled closer. Damon wasn't moving, he was only holding her gaze, still tense, but somewhat hopeful.

She kissed cheek, the corner of his mouth, and finally brushed her lips against his. She expected Damon to take the lead, but he didn't respond to her touch, and Elena planted a tender, lingering kiss on his lips before she pulled back and looked him in the eye again.

"That's not an answer," said Damon in a harsh voice, fists clenched, eyes wild. Elena knew he wasn't mad at her, though. His breathing and heartbeat gave it all away. He was simply trying to restrain himself.

Well, sooner or later she would have to put up with scantiness of her vocabulary.

It wasn't easy for Damon to behave like that when Elena was so vulnerable. He hated himself for pressing the issue, for putting her through what she undoubtedly considered an ordeal – an honest conversation about her feelings. But now that everything was different, he couldn't be there for her unless he knew. He couldn't stand all the looks, touches and kisses if they didn't mean anything.

"Everything's so overwhelming now," said Elena. "I don't know how to live like this…to feel like this. It's so scary."

Damon nodded. Oh, he knew exactly what she was talking about. If Elena's feelings were at least half as strong as his, they probably frightened the hell out of her. She wasn't ready for that, couldn't be. It was impossible to be prepared for that intensity. He remembered his first days as a vampire – he didn't even want to think of the pathetic mess he had been back then, with Katherine gone and his love for her intensified so much he couldn't see straight most of the time.

"Will it always be so intense?" asked Elena, and he smiled.

"Yes. But soon it won't be scary."

She smiled, too. "Can you wait until then? Please."

Damon wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean. Wait? But if Elena asked for that, it meant there was something to wait for. Or that Gilbert just decided to fuck with his head, like always.

"You know how much I care about you-" she went on, and he interrupted her. He hated that "care about you" line, because seriously, what did that even mean? She cared about everyone she had ever met; she was Elena, for heaven's sake.

"Wait for what, Elena?"

"For me to tell you exactly what you want to hear."

She didn't say "I love you." Didn't promise "It will always be you, Damon." But it was something like a beginning. Damon didn't even have the power to hate the flutter in his stomach, because it was already more than he had ever really allowed himself to hope for. Yes, hope was a bitch. It made him wish for things he couldn't have, believe in things that couldn't happen, but at the moment he didn't care. But now it wasn't just hope. It was confidence. This time everything was different.

Elena was staring at him in wonder, and he couldn't get what was wrong with his face until he realized he was smiling now, too.

"And what do we do now?"

Elena's smile grew wider. Damon loved it when she was like that – the smile lit up her whole face, making her look like there hadn't been vampires, witches, curses and doppelgangers in her life, like she hadn't suffered in one year more than anyone deserved in their entire life. Here she was, happy just to be with him. It made Damon feel powerful.

"Well…" Elena looked away for a moment, pretending to be deeply in thought. "How about a kiss first-"

She didn't have a chance to continue because Damon took her up on her offer and for a few minutes the conversation had to wait. He just couldn't and didn't need to exercise his restraint anymore. Kissing Elena was…different. Sure, he had kissed hundreds of women, but while some of those moments had been good, there had never been anything even remotely so right. There had never been this incredible connection, and it had nothing to do with his blood flowing in Elena's system – he'd felt it even the first time on her porch.

Damon hadn't given her a chance to really answer his question, and that was what made him stop. Elena pressing her body against his and letting out contented noises didn't help him at all. He pulled back a little to look at her and grasped her shoulders, holding her in place.

"Now that we're done with the first part, you were gonna tell me what comes next," reminded Damon, chuckling when she pouted. Elena licked her lips, looking a little nervous, and inhaled deeply.

"I suggest we try," she said, looking at Damon warily, as if fearing his reaction. "Try to carry on despite…everything. Try to figure out if we are good together, if it works."

"I know it will," he caressed Elena's skin with his thumbs, and she smiled, looking positively relieved. "I love you. I would do anything to make you happy, and if that's not enough…" Damon shook his head. He was afraid of finishing the sentence.

Elena moved closer, but instead of kissing him, she encircled his neck with her arms and pressed her face to his shoulder. Damon's hands slid down to her waist, holding her.

He was starting to get used to that.

"It's more than enough," she said softly. Damon sighed contentedly. For now, that was the most important thing.

A/N: And that's been "Can't Let You Fall Apart." Thanks for reading. Reviews would make my day, so…will you? ;)