Chapter 29: Breakthrough
Damon
The sunlight sneaked through the blinds in her room and landed on her bedcovers in stripes. He had been studying the patterns since the sun first came up a couple of hours ago. Before that, he spent the night trying but failing to fall asleep. Instead, he killed the time trying to guess what the different dark shapes in the room were. He actually got quite a lot of them right even though he had never been in her room before.
It was so her. It was not spacious but it was colorful and homey with the mismatched furniture and all the little mementos and picture frames. She had a bookcase next to the window that was stuffed to the brim with books. A little dresser that also made for a vanity was facing her bed and her three-door closet occupied the last wall to the right of her bed. The bed was not that big at all but it was big enough for them both to lie in it comfortably. Just like they were now and they had some space to spare because Elena was using him as a pillow and the rest of her body was halfway on top of his.
He let his thoughts drift to the night before.
He was kissing her, touching her and she seemed as desperate to have him as he was to have her. His hands were everywhere at the same time and still it was not enough. He needed more.
He took his hands to the hem of her T-shirt and started tugging it upwards while looking at her to make sure she really wanted this.
The look on her face took his breath away. Her eyes were heavy lidded, her cheeks were flushed and her lips were a deep shade of red. They were slightly parted and well-kissed.
"Yes," she whispered between pants.
He did not wait for her to tell him twice as he grabbed the shirt and pulled it off, leaving her half naked and glorious in a lacy white bra.
He could not believe his luck. He did not understand how this angel trusted him so fully that she let him have her like this.
He realized that he had been staring and when he looked into her eyes, he saw this glimmer of insecurity that he wanted to chase away immediately. He kissed her again with even more fervor than before. Then he started his mission of kissing every inch of bare skin, revealing more and repeating the process.
He had never been like this with any other woman. He wanted to savor every moment, commit every piece of her to memory because he was certain that this would never happen again. He got her once and he wasted it. Now he was lucky enough to get her again and he was not going to waste a second of it. There was no way he would get this lucky a third time. That was why he had never actively tried to prolong the act as much as possible like he wanted to now. Not even with Kat.
Katherine… No…
No, no, no…
He could not do this. Not to her. She did not deserve this. She only ever did everything to help him and he could not do this to her.
It was getting too intense too fast and he could not. But he did not want to hurt her feelings either.
He returned back to her mouth and gave her a light kiss on the lips before pulling away.
"What…what's wrong?" She asked and the rejected tone in her voice killed him.
She sat up in the bed and he took her hand. Looking deep into her eyes, he implored her to understand.
"I can't do this, it's too soon." It was a half lie because it was never going to happen but he did not want to hurt her and it worked.
Her eyes looked understanding as she squeezed his hand. "Why don't we just press pause for now and take it slow?" She suggested and he could not believe that he was making a girl say this to him, that he was relieved by hearing it.
He nodded and managed a tightlipped smile before he let go of her hand and made to leave the bed.
"Where are you going?" She asked when he grabbed her discarded shirt from the floor and gave it back to her.
"Well, I thought I should probably get going," he said pointing behind his shoulders.
"Stay… we're not going to do anything but you can stay…" Her eyes looked huge. "… I mean if you want to," she backtracked.
That was it though. There was no choice for him when she asked like this. He took his boots off and joined her under the covers.
She was wearing her shirt again but the striking smile she gave him made him want to regret his decision and resume where he had left off.
Now he was more than glad for the two layers of clothing separating them. She was resting her head on his chest with her arm slung around his waist. His own hand was stroking her spine and it all felt so natural that he never even questioned it.
Other thoughts were swarming in his head though and most of them led to the same thing. He had to leave. He had to leave right now or he would never be able to again.
This whole thing was scaring him. Like, were they together now? How would he now, he had only had one girlfriend before and he was definitely not going to repeat that experience. He was not even supposed to be in this situation. He put himself here when he decided to come into her room the night before. But he was not thinking clearly. His mind was too dazed and focused on that one thing that she had been denying him all day.
He used to think this was all a physical thing. Like, Elena was really hot and he was a hot-blooded straight male. Of course he would want her, but no. Last night he felt things, things that scared the crap out of him. He realized now that he had been feeling it for a while now but he had not acknowledged it yet.
What it was, he had no idea but it was strong. Stronger than anything he had ever felt in his life. It was too strong and if he ever let go, let himself surrender to it, he knew that he would be swept away into a merciless whirlwind he had no idea if he could ever survive.
That was why he had to leave right now before it was too late.
He untangled himself carefully, making sure she would not wake up and then he grabbed his boots and tiptoed to the door.
He was trying to close the door behind him as quietly as possible when he heard a sound from the kitchen. He turned around, startled and saw a girl standing in the kitchen with her back to him. She had chocolate colored skin and her hair was cut in a short bob. That must be Bonnie, he thought.
"It's Damon, right?" She asked, still facing the counter.
"Yeah," he said apprehensively. He had not met her before but Elena had told him plenty about her and from what he had gathered, she was very protective of both her friends.
"I'm making coffee, would you like some?" She asked but her tone told him he did not actually have a choice.
"Sure," he said and put down his boots before he took a seat on one of the tall stools behind the kitchen island.
Bonnie kept making her coffee in silence and for a while, the only sounds were coming from the coffee machine and the closing and opening of cabinets as she rummaged around.
When the coffee was done, she filled two mugs with the steaming liquid and finally turned around to face him.
She put one of the mugs in front of him and took a swig from her own mug as she took a seat on the opposite side of the kitchen island. She did not even ask if he liked cream or sugar. It was a good thing he did not.
She raised her eyes to his and suddenly, he was thankful for the stretch of wood separating them.
"You were going to sneak out on her," she said matter-of-factly and he felt a nagging urge to defend himself.
"It was't like that…" he started but she held up her hand.
"Spare me the excuses. They are insulting to my intelligence and we both know they won't change the facts."
She shut him up effectively. He had no idea what to say so he kept quiet. She nodded approvingly and took another swig of her tar-black coffee.
"Elena is a very compassionate person. She's the kind of person who would try to help a wounded tiger with no regard whatsoever for her own safety. She's been hurt before and it took her a long time to get where she is now. I was there for most of her struggle. I watched her mend herself piece after piece until she was not that broken person I first met. I know you're wondering why I'm telling you all of this and I know she would probably hate me telling you this but I'm looking out for her."
She took a deep breath and pointed her index finger at him. "You need to know that although she lost her parents, she still has people looking out for her."
He heard the warning in her tone loud and clear and he took a swig from his coffee to mask his reaction.
Out of a sudden, her gaze softened a bit as she drank the last drops in her mug.
"She likes you. Don't make her regret it," she said sliding down from her seat and placing her mug in the sink before she left for her room, leaving him sitting there partly in shock and mostly uncomfortable but also a tiny bit impressed. She was a scary thing for her size.
He kept thinking about what she had said. He was that tiger she was talking about and Elena could not help herself but help him but he was wounded and any minute, he would lash out and hurt her. Hell, he had already demonstrated that more than once, all the more reason why he should leave now and never return.
But then if he left now, she would get hurt. He could not do that to her. Not again. A voice in his head told him it was for her own good. It was for the best. But he had promised himself not to do anything to hurt her and so on. He kept thinking in circles that never led to any decision.
That was how she found him, sitting with his empty mug, having a fight with himself over whether to leave or not.
"'morning," she said with sleep still in her voice, startling him out of his now irrelevant thoughts.
"Good morning." He smiled looking her over. Her usually pristine hair was a mess and her slouchy clothes hung haphazardly over her slender figure. She was a vision and something jumped in his chest when she returned his smile with one of her own dazzling ones.
Elena
She woke up and found her bed empty. She looked to the floor next to the bed and did not find his boots where he had left them the day before.
Her heart was heavy with disappointment and she felt the corners of her eyes burn. He left her. She scared him off. God, why did she keep jumping him? It should not be this hard to take her own advice and keep being friends only. She had kept her distance from romantic relationships for years. Why was it so hard to do the same with him?
She needed coffee. Her brain was definitely not awake enough for those thoughts. She sighed and got out of bed, not even bothering to look at herself in the mirror before she sleepily left her room.
Her heart made a little summersault when her eyes fell on him sitting right there by the kitchen island staring at an empty mug.
"'morning."
He seemed to get startled at the sound of her voice but he returned her greeting and gave her a dizzying smile, she could not help but return.
God, how could he look this gorgeous so early in the morning?
She had to talk to him. They had to address what happened yesterday so things did not get too awkward between them. Her head jumped to images of last night and to what they almost did. She felt her cheeks start to burn and judging by the look on his face, he knew perfectly well what she was thinking.
"So, guess who I met this morning?" He said and she was thankful for the distraction. He read her so well.
"You met Bonnie?" She said excitedly.
"Jep."
"How did that go?"
"Perfectly fine."
"Really?"
"Jep."
"Why do I get the impression that you're not telling me everything?"
He started to say something but then changed his mind and sent her a look.
"She threatened you, didn't she?"
He showed her a tiny space between his index finger and his thumb. "Just a tiny bit."
"Oh My God, I'm so sorry. She's just very protective of us. I think she probably did the same thing to Stefan," she rambled.
"Elena, it's okay. She's just looking out for you. I respect that."
She smiled and cleared her throat. They really had to talk.
She didn't finish the thought before he got up and started pulling on his boots that he had left next to his chair.
"So, I should really be going now," he said once he was done.
She had to talk to him, clear things up.
"Okay, I'll walk down with you," she heard herself say.
They were on the sidewalk just outside of her building, waiting for his driver. He was looking at her with those blue eyes of his and an expression she could not read. They stayed silent for just a moment.
"Thank you for the weekend, Elena," he said.
"Any time," she said and she did not realize the double meaning until she had said it but somehow, she did not regret saying it.
Their eyes connected and the air around them trickled. Before she knew it, she was staring at his lips that were getting closer until they were right in front of hers. She moved the last inch to press her lips against his in the softest of kisses.
When he pulled away she vaguely registered the car pulling up to the curb.
"Talk to you later," he said huskily and she could only nod in response.
He got into the car and a minute later it was gone around the corner, leaving her on her sidewalk in a daze.
Stefan
He had just gotten home from an amazing weekend with Caroline and the first place he went was his brother's. Caroline told him that his brother spent the weekend with Elena and if not for his complete trust in Caroline, he would not have believed her.
He got there before Damon and was waiting for him in his living room when he walked in.
"Please make yourself at home," Damon said once he saw him standing there by the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"Already did, thank you," he replied.
Damon laughed and headed for the wet bar to pour himself a drink. Well, he was still day-drinking so he was his brother alright.
"How was your weekend with Cinderella?" Damon asked and Stefan was shocked back to questioning the identity of the man standing in front of him. Damon never asked him about his weekend.
Stefan played it cool though. "Great, Caroline's amazing and the place was perfect," he said and then he added casually; "I heard you had quite the weekend too."
"Yeah?" Damon said and took a seat on the couch with his tumbler in his hand.
Stefan was shamelessly fishing and Damon was probably on to him but he did not care. "Caroline told me you spent it with Elena," he added.
"News travel fast, huh?" Damon said and took a sip from his drink.
A moment went by in silence but Stefan could not hold off anymore.
"You like her, don't you?"
Damon was starting to care about stuff again and Stefan noticed the change. Right after he found out that Damon was not home yet, Stefan checked his not-so-secret bourbon stash under the couch cushion and he was pretty sure it was untouched.
Damon did not answer but Stefan noticed the twitch to his left brow and he had a hard time hiding a knowing smile. He liked her alright.
Stefan wanted to say something to let him know he was happy for him and that it was great to see him finally moving on but knowing his brother, he would probably throw him out like he had done so many times before. He did not want to push his luck so he thought he should probably just leave.
"Okay then. I'll see you later," he said, moving to leave.
"She reminds me of mom."
He had only taken two steps before he froze in the middle of the third. He could not believe his ears. Damon was staring ahead but he had this look that told him he was in fact talking to him. Stefan did not say anything though in fear of him shutting off again and he moved quietly to sit down on the opposite couch. He did not have to wait long for his brother to continue.
"She has this spirit… she's so full of life and her heart is so big that she can probably fit all 6 billion humans on this earth in it. She cares so much and she has this smile that can make you forget everything and you'd do anything just to be able to see it again."
Stefan was stunned. This was the longest stretch of words, Damon had spoken to him in ages and the sheer honesty of it just blew him away. He had underestimated his brother's feelings for Elena. This sounded so much more than just liking and he was not sure if that was a good thing anymore.
"Does she cook well too?" He asked and he did not expect the reaction he got.
Damon started laughing. "She has no idea what to do in a kitchen," he said.
"Damn, what happened to women? Caroline nearly burned the kitchen trying to make scrambled eggs, the other day," Stefan said with a smile in his voice.
They shared a look and started laughing at the extraordinary girls with the nonexistent kitchen skills. Mostly though, Stefan was just happy that he was sharing this moment with his brother.
After a long stretch of companionable silence Damon looked at him with a serious expression.
"What?"
He suddenly had a bad feeling. Damon seemed to be trying to decide whether to tell him something and that did not bode well.
"I found Tanner," he finally said.
"What? The guy who was spying on you? Where?"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I made him talk," he said and finished his drink.
"Well, what did he say?"
"It's Mason Northwood."
Shit. Of course it was.
Elena
She could not believe her own ears.
She was on the phone with Mr. Michelson's assistant who had just told her that she had gotten the job at The Hour. She did not even know how she ended the conversation in her haste to tell the girls.
They were just as happy for her as she was for herself and they all had a little screaming-like-little-girls session. She had to call Damon and tell him too and Jenna of course. God, she was just so happy.
She was about to dial Jenna's number when Bonnie called her to the living room.
"Elena, you should come see this."
She walked out of her room and found Bonnie next to the living room window holding the curtains half open and sneaking annoyed looks outside.
"What's going on?"
"You need to see for yourself," she said and held the curtain for her to go look.
She saw people.
Lots and lots of people, mostly holding cameras with long lenses that were pointed directly at her.
AN: WOW I miss you guys so much.
First and foremost; thank you very, very much for the incredible response to my last chapter. I hope you had an amazing time during the holidays and may the year 2015 bring us many more beautiful Delena moments.
I apologize for the long wait but with the holidays and my exams right afterwards, my head was too blocked to pour out anything worth your time.
Now my muse is thankfully back and I finished this chapter plus I wrote a new AU Delena one-shot as a bonus that I can't wait for you to read. Its called "The Monster in Me" and I hope you like it.
It's great to be back.
Love,
Mydarksid975
ps. One of you requested a Defan bonding moment. Hope you liked this chapter ;)