Fic: Not the Same
Title: Not the Same
Author: Guardianangel_x
Rating: G
Summary: Damon Salvatore now knows the difference between love and obsession.
Warnings: None...except that I wrote this in 6 minutes, lol.
Disclaimer: Clearly, I don't own any of this. I just like to pretend I do and play with the characters.
A/N: So, I hardcore wrote this in six minutes- just a little plot bunny that refused to go away. A total drabble, but comments are love so hit me up!!! :-D
It comes down to two seemingly similar, yet completely contradicting, ideas. The line between them is beyond fine, and yet it is also as vast as an ocean; some think that to feel one is to feel them both, but Damon can tell you from experience that this is a lie. Damon once confused obsession with love, thought that love was blind devotion and unrelenting fixation. Thought that love meant being whatever a certain person needed, whatever Katherine needed, and stopping at nothing to obtain her love in return. Once upon a time, Damon would have done anything for Katherine under the influence of what he thought was love; Damon would have turned the world upside down to simply make her acknowledge him.
Damon doesn’t confuse obsession with love anymore; he knows now that what he felt for Katherine was nothing short of a pathetic, pitiable fixation. Damon has no idea how he confused obsession with love; how he could have ever confused what he felt for Katherine with what he feels for Elena. He now knows there is no comparison; obsession is petty and trivial and love, his love for Elena, is vital and essential- it is a part of him. But it is also heartbreaking and painful and raw. That is the difference, that is what separates obsession and love.
Damon would do anything for Elena, if she would let him, but he is not concerned with making her fall in love with him- it is so much more than that. He loves her and with that love comes the unyielding desire to protect her, to be truthful to her, to never disappoint her and, above all else, make her happy. Damon, regardless of what happens to him, must make Elena happy. He knows that he could never do this, not really- he will never make her smile like Stefan does; but Damon knows what the difference between love and obsession is now, and he knows what he must do. Obsession is constrictive and binding and selfish; love, well, love is everything but. Damon loves Elena, and because of that love he will do everything in his power to make her happy. He will protect her, he will protect her family, and then he will leave.