"Do you know what time it is?" Elena asked. She and Damon were curled up on Damon's bed; she was tucked under Damon's arm. They hadn't done anything except kiss and hold each other all night. Now, they were staring into each other's eyes, and much to Damon's happiness, Elena was looking at him with inexplicable love.

"Nope. I've been a little preoccupied." Damon smiled and pecked Elena on the lips. At the gesture, she smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist. She closed the distance between their lips again, this time kissing him longer and deeper. As the kiss progressed, Elena felt her heart beat quicken, but she was somehow still calm. Feeling his body pressed against her was both exhilarating and comforting.

Damon broke from her lips and began kissing down her jawline, down her neck to her clavicle. Elena giggled and then when she felt Damon's hand sneak up under her shirt and stroke her bare stomach, her giggles caught in her throat and turned to moans. His callused fingers drew lazy circles on her navel and Elena's breathing quickened. It was obvious what he wanted and all she wanted was to let him have her, but her morals caught up to her.

"Damon, no, stop," She demanded. Damon's hands immediately froze and he pulled away to look at her. Reflected in his eyes was worry and disappointment. He thought Elena was going back on her decision.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm still with Stefan," Elena declared. Damon's face twisted into an upset look and he rolled off the bed.

"It's always going to be Stefan, isn't it?" Damon asked. Elena heard both sadness and anger brimming in his voice, two things that Elena had fantasized she would permanently remove from his life.

"No!" Elena insisted, standing up and rushing over to him. She grabbed him by the forearm and looked him straight in the eyes, "I still choose you, Damon! I just…as of this moment, I am still technically Stefan's girlfriend. I'm just asking that we hold off from that until I've ended it with your brother."

Understanding replaced the pain in Damon's eyes.

"Oh," Damon said, feeling a little embarrassed by his insecurities making him jump to such conclusions, "You really have to work on clear communication skills, Elena. When are you going to end it with him?"

"I don't know," Elena responded. This was not the response Damon was expecting and he furrowed his brow in confusion. Reading the look, Elena said, "Damon, we just got him back from Klaus. The only reason he didn't flip his switch is because he was waiting 'til he came back to me. He stuck around solely for my love…I need to make sure he's going to be okay before I break this to him."

"I don't think you're giving him enough credit. He's stronger than he seems," Damon responded. He could've silently agreed with her, but he wasn't that brother. He was the brother that challenged her. Plus, he didn't see the logic behind her reasoning.

"I know you probably think I'm a little insane by saying that," Elena began and Damon nodded in agreement. Elena smiled at him and jokingly rolled her eyes, "But nonetheless, I just want to be sure he's going to be okay."

"Elena Gilbert…so selfless and loving. I don't deserve you," Damon brushed his hand across her cheekbone and she smiled. She stepped closer to him and draped her arms over his shoulders.

"You deserve to be happy. We both deserve to be happy. We just somehow ended up finding happiness in each other." Elena rested her head against Damon's chest and exhaled in his grip, "Just give me until the Mikaelson ball. I'll tell him after that."

Damon wanted to have her right then and there, but listening to the request from the girl he loves and feeling her head resting gently against his chest made him realize that he'd do whatever she wanted of him.

"Fine," Damon conceded. After all, the ball was only two days away. "But it's going to be damn hard watching you with him…it always has, but it will be harder now, knowing where your heart lies."

"I won't do anything with him. Only the bare minimum to keep up appearances, I promise." Elena whispered reassuringly to Damon. He ran his fingers through her hair and held her head closely against his chest.

"I'm still skeptical about that ball, I think it's incredibly stupid to blindly attend without any consideration," Damon argued. He kissed the top of Elena's head, "We've all pissed off enough Originals to last a lifetime."

"You and Stefan have. And sure, there was that one time when I planned with their mother to kill all of them, but eh, they're old, they're evolved enough to forgive."

"I doubt it," Damon scoffed, "Nonetheless, I'm not going to let you out of my sight."

"Good," Elena responded; she pressed her palm against his heart and closed her eyes.

"Ya know what, Elena?" Damon whispered against her hair.

"What?"

"Now that you've come to terms with your feelings…" Damon began, releasing his hand from her hair and running it down her spine slowly. She shivered against his touch, "…and you want me, but you know you can't have me…" Damon slipped his hand into her back pocket and leaned down to where his lips were touching her ear. He placed his other hand under her shirt and on to the bare skin of her torso. His touch was cold, but it ignited a fire within her, "…you're only going to want me more."

His final whisper was soft enough so only she could hear and the air he blew out to say the words tickled her neck. She shivered, desiring nothing but him. Damon felt her react, but to prove his point, he pulled away. Elena felt cold with the sudden distance.

She grabbed her phone off the bed and cleared her throat. The screen read 7:00 am.

"Oh, damn," Elena spoke worriedly, "Stefan will be up soon." She bent down and picked up her shoes from the floor. When she stood back up Damon caught her by the waist and kissed her slowly, softly, and sweetly. When he pulled away, Elena stumbled forward, dumbfounded by the man standing before her. She loved how their kisses could switch from hyper passionate to tenderly loving, and how both forms sent her over the edge.

"Mmm," Elena moaned with her eyes still closed and a pleased smile planted on her face, "I have school today, so I'll see you afterwards?"

"Ditch," Damon requested.

"Damon…" Elena said, "I would really like to graduate."

"It's one day. C'mon, you're anti-rebellion attitude is cute, but damn annoying."

"I am rebellious!" Elena insisted, playfully slapping Damon's chest. Damon raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Would an 'anti-rebellious' person be doing this?" Elena leaned forward and kissed Damon long and passionately. She entwined her fingers in his hair and inhaled deeply, loving the way his scent overwhelmed her. Damon broke the kiss.

"Now there's no way I'm letting you go." Damon said.

"Fine," Elena gave in, figuring that spending the day sneaking around with Damon would be considerably more fun than Trig class. "But I have to make sure Stefan isn't suspicious."

"Whatever you got to do, as long as you come back to me," Damon said. Elena had never seen this side of Damon before, the side that was so happy and fulfilled that everything he said was so boyfriend-esk. Whoever said that Damon wasn't boyfriend material was seriously wrong. She found herself wondering if the Damon in front of her was more similar to 1800s Damon. He was still his arrogant, hot, impulsive, exhilarating self, but he seemed to no longer be constantly sad or broken.

Elena was a little surprised that Damon hadn't insisted on rubbing her newly accepted affections for him in Stefan's face. It was obvious that now that he had her, there was no longer anything he needed to prove.

"Oh right," Elena remembered back to her earlier conversation with Stefan. She face-palmed, "Stefan was going to force me to go hunting with him afterschool."

"Ouch. 'Force' is such a strong word."

"But it's true. I'd really rather not…" Elena paused, "Anyway you could get me out of that?"

"I will do everything within my power to save you from the squirrels. They are dangerous when they feel threatened." Damon said. Elena smiled and laughed at his joke.

"Thank you, my hero!" Elena joked and Damon smiled at her because even though she was joking, he could hear some sincerity in her voice. She pecked him on the lips and walked out of his room.

Damon watched as she went, and for the first time since he his death, he felt satisfaction because he was loved by none other than Elena Gilbert.

A/N: So, I've seen the finale. And I am still crying. I was mourning which is why I didn't post this chapter immediately. I hope you enjoyed this. This chapter was super fluffy because I think everyone needs some Delena fluff at the moment. Unfortunately, our love birds don't have an only-fluff road to walk down in this fic because after all, it's never easy for Delena.

Review please!