[fic] I'm Gonna Burn For You, You're Gonna Melt For Me (2/4)
Title: I'm Gonna Burn For You, You're Gonna Melt For Me (2/4)
Author: badboy_fangirl
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Elena POV, Damon/Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Tyler
Category: Angst, Romance
Word Count: ~2900
Summary: Trust breeds trust, Elena once said. Will honesty breed honesty?
Spoilers: Picks up the morning after the events of 2x12 "The Descent" with speculation beyond that. (Not based on spoiler reading.)
Warnings: none
Show/Bookverse: Show
Author's Notes: Part One is here
His hands are cold against her cheeks, but his lips aren't, and his mouth is scorchingly hot when it opens over hers. She doesn't even think about it, her lips just part and Damon's tongue dives inside, stroking hers and glancing off the roof of her mouth. He makes a thorough sweep, then retreats, and she finds herself leaning into him, trying to extend the contact, make it last, and when she pushes her tongue forward, breaching the barrier of his teeth, he makes this sound--something that curls her toes and makes her heart pound in her chest.
She's kissing Damon Salvatore, and she shouldn't be. She really shouldn't be liking it so much, either, but the last two days have been insane, so maybe a moment where she has apparently lost her mind is not totally unwarranted. Okay, so she's had a lot of insane days since she met the Salvatore brothers, but for some reason the whole thing with Rose has really spun her around.
She'd always known Damon hid his feelings, but this had been the first time he'd really shown her while he was completely sober. This time, when she hugged him and he didn't hug her back, she could feel his chest trembling against hers. That night in the cemetery he'd been as hard as the stone gravemarkers surrounding them, but in the great room at the Boarding House, he'd been so different. He'd been heartbreaking.
His cell starts ringing, so their lips slip apart. She knows before he even pulls the phone from his pocket who it is. Who else could it possibly be when she's kissing someone who is not her boyfriend?
"Yes, Stefan?" Damon purrs into the phone. The smirk hovers on his lips, but never quite forms, and the intensity in his eyes makes her want to run, far and wide. Run from what's been there for so long, from what she hasn't wanted to acknowledge, from what she hasn't wanted to deal with. She scrubs hastily at the tears on her face and takes a step backward, but his arm snaps out and his fingers snag her wrist.
(Forcing Damon to face his feelings has done strange things to her own emotions.)
He listens to his brother, whose indistinct voice she can hear, but the way he looks at her lets her know where his focus really is.
How many times has she had the argument with herself: Why the hell do you care what Damon does? He killed Jeremy. He's killed so many people, he's done so many things that are just wrong. The problem is every time she starts to lecture herself, she remembers him in Slater's apartment, standing protectively in front of her, ready to lay himself out for her, right there, with no thought for his own self-preservation.
That's something she's known about Stefan, and has mostly taken for granted because she knows how much he loves her, and how much she loves him. It is mutual and completely the nature of their relationship to protect one another. He would die before he'd let harm come to her, and she has learned she would as well.
But seeing Damon--Damon standing there ready to be the sacrifice that she wanted to be--it had changed everything. Or maybe it had changed before that, on the stairs of that old abandoned house where they first fought Elijah. Or maybe it had changed the day she woke up and realized she'd forgiven him for Jeremy without even remembering exactly why. How had her anger burned away to leave nothing but concern for him?
Rose had come into their lives, and she shouldn't have mattered, but somehow she did. No matter what, Elena would always have the image of him carrying Rose away from the high school, and she would always remember the way he'd held her in the middle of that giant bed. (She'd been told to leave several times, so when she finally did, it was because she realized he needed the privacy.) And of course, she'd never forget his face when he emerged from the room an hour later and said, "It's done," in a tone of voice that scared her as much as when he wouldn't leave the tomb the night they hadn't found Katherine.
Maybe it had all started when he held her face in his hands and told her to lie about this, or when he'd stayed with her in the basement after they locked Stefan in there, or when they danced together at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.
Damon's like me. He wants to care, but when he does, he runs away from it.
So much of what Rose said in those last few minutes she spent with her echoes in Elena's mind. She thinks of all the times Damon hasn't run from her, and it makes her question everything.
(I killed someone last night.)
Perhaps it started when Katherine hadn't been in the tomb. Or while they had been in Atlanta. (I wanted it to be real.) Or...maybe it had started the first time she'd ever seen him in the entrance of the Boarding House, and she'd felt inexplicably frightened, but she hadn't run.
If she hadn't run when she first learned the truth, it's really unlikely she'll run now. Even though now, it's far more dangerous than it's ever been before. His grip tightens around her wrist as though he can read all of that on her face, and he pulls her closer so there are mere inches between their bodies. He says into the phone, "We're on our way."
Disconnecting the call, he says, "Stefan and Tyler found Caroline, we need to go." But then he just stands there and looks at her and Elena feels this longing in the pit of her stomach. She wants to hug him again--only not hug, but hold him and bury her face in his throat and feel his hands in her hair, and along her back, and under her chin, tipping her face up to his. She wants his mouth on hers, and that feeling of possession, the thing that has pulled men and women together since time began--she wants to know it with him.
It's strange when you have a series of thoughts and images run through your mind and you know the person whose eyes you're staring into shares all of them, with no words, with no outward indication.
His hand slides away from her wrist slowly, and he steps away from her to start back toward the car. She trots after him, and tries to focus on the matter at hand by asking, "Where's Caroline?"
"Jules has her, so we're going to have to kick a little werewolf ass to get her back."
"You're helping Caroline again," she says, grinning a little, unable to not point out the obvious.
"Yeah, well, we're going to have a discussion later about that kiss, too, Missy. So don't think only one of us has to tell the truth here."
He opens the car door for her and their eyes meet as she stands on the other side. "Damon--"
"Not now. There's not time, and I can't be distracted. Remember how when we went to get Stefan from Pearl's, and you didn't do what I told you--you didn't stay in the car?"
Elena nods.
"And remember when I came to get you in Richmond and I told you I'd break your arm if you tried to give yourself up to Klaus's minions?"
Elena nods again, frowning at where his train of thought is leading them.
"Swear to me, upon pain of broken limbs, that you will not get out of this car once we get to where we're going. If you won't swear it--I'll just put you in the trunk right now."
"Damon!"
"I'm serious. Swear it." He tilts his head and his eyebrows go up. "Swear. It," he repeats, and he does that thing with his eyes that would compel her if she weren't wearing vervain.
"Okay, okay! I swear it." He just stares at her and she reaches up to put her hand over his on the top of the car door. "I promise you, Damon. I won't get out of the car."
"Okay, then. Let's roll."
*
Elena is hidden in a copse of trees, sitting in Damon's car. She can't see anything, so she has no idea if the rescue effort's going well, or if Tyler Lockwood will be dead when all is said and done. She asked Damon not to kill him before he got out of the car, but he wouldn't promise anything, and they didn't have time to argue since Stefan was waiting somewhere for him. His eyes had lingered on her lips for five glorious seconds and she thought he might kiss her again, but he didn't, and she told herself she wasn't disappointed.
You never forget what it's like. To be human. It haunts me.
Rose's words are haunting Elena. It haunts her because it explains so much about Damon, and as much as she thinks she already understands about him (he's not angry, he's hurt; there's a difference), she really fears understanding any more deeply. Every layer she delves into makes the feeling in her chest for him increase until it seems to shove out everything else, until she feels angry towards Stefan in a way she never has before.
(Until she feels angry at herself, and every other person who doesn't get it when they look at Damon.)
In the past when she learned things that the brothers slowly and separately revealed to her about their relationship, she'd almost always sided with Stefan. Even in the circumstances where Stefan was obviously in the wrong, because she knew the pain it caused him to have ever have inflicted pain upon anyone, but especially his brother.
See, Stefan loves Damon so much. There had been many moments when she'd seen the older brother through his younger brother's eyes, and it had slowly helped shape her view of Damon. Stefan fought so hard against loving Damon, because loving Damon was not easy in any way. But at the end of the day, it still came down to the simple fact that he could not turn away, and he would never be able to.
And somewhere along the way, Elena realizes she too had adopted that stance. But it isn't in a sibling-induced way, though she tried very hard to emphasize the fact to both Damon and herself, that their friendship is what made her care, and made her reach out to him, and made her want him to deal with the emotions broiling inside him.
But friendship isn't the only reason she'd gone back to the Boarding House the night before. She thought maybe she could breach the gap on some of the things Rose had said, but she quickly figured out it was all too soon. He wasn't ready--she feared he never would be.
But she can't let it go, she knows that. She knows she won't let it go, even if it means she has to deal with things she's managed, up till now, to avoid.
She nearly jumps out of her skin when the driver's door handle rattles and she lunges across to unlock the door. Tyler, Caroline and Stefan all clamber into the back seat and Damon shoves the seat back and slides into the front seat. He spares her a brief glance and then starts the car.
As they drive away, the sounds that fill the car are Caroline's whimpering sobs and Tyler's hushed, "I'm so sorry, Care, I'm so sorry," and Stefan's crooning whispers.
Elena reaches over and puts her hand on Damon's shoulder. His left hand leaves the steering wheel to pat and squeeze her fingers quickly. "They're okay," he says quietly, but then he guns the car and they race back to the Boarding House as darkness falls.
*
Once they're inside the house, Damon and Stefan go to town playing good cop/bad cop with Tyler and Elena takes Caroline to Stefan's room. She helps her dig out wooden bullets and toothpicks from various places in her body and she can't help but cry right along with her friend.
Caroline has been tortured, but the reality is it could have been so much worse. This is of course what Elena has been trying to avoid altogether, anyone she loves dying. Anyone she loves being hurt.
Once Caroline's body is free of all wooden objects, Elena helps her get into the shower and clean up. Stefan comes to find them a bit later and tells them he thinks he got through to Tyler, though it's hard to tell.
"Damon threatened him enough, and I let him get as scary as he wanted--hoping," he says, shaking his head. Elena can tell he's not sure if it was the right way to handle it, but part of her also hopes that Damon put the fear of God into Tyler.
The fear of Damon is probably very similar, since she's felt that fear before but she doesn't really believe in God, so you know. Subjective. Hopefully Tyler's experience tonight will be enough to convince him not to be anti-vampire.
Caroline emerges from the bathroom wearing some of Stefan's clothes and Elena notices his face softens as he takes in her appearance. Caroline's bottom lip trembles, but she steels herself, not breaking down in front of him the way she had with Elena.
"You want me to take you home?" he asks, and Caroline nods.
He gives Elena a small smile, and his hand reaches out to squeeze her arm. "You'll be here when I get back?" he asks.
She nods and he leans in to kiss her. At the last second she turns her head so that his lips graze her cheek. "Be careful," she whispers.
She watches his arm surround Caroline's shoulders as they leave the room. "You like my sweats?" he asks. Caroline releases a soggy little laugh and he goes on, "Well, you can keep them."
Elena listens as their footsteps fade down the hallway, and she contemplates following them. That's what she should do, go back downstairs and wait with Damon while he drinks. Wait for Stefan to come back.
Wait until she has to try to look her boyfriend in the eye and tell him she thinks she might have something going on with his brother.
Instead, she sits down on the sofa on the far wall and hides. (It's not really hiding since Damon can find her easily enough, and soon he shows up, his deliberate steps warning of his arrival before she sees him.)
He comes around the corner and when their eyes meet, they both say at the same time, "Stefan took Caroline home."
Then Damon laughs; he seems nervous, and Elena finds that endearing. She stands up to be on equal ground with him. He takes a step towards her and she does the same, and then they both sort of hesitate, and she realizes he's waiting for her to lead. It surprises her so much, because Damon never waits, or considers anything, so she's at a loss.
When he reaches for her, she goes willingly into his arms but as he drops his mouth to hers, she slides a hand between their faces. His eyebrows quirk and his grip on her waist tightens. She moves the hand over his lips to his cheek and lifts her other hand to the other side of his face. Gently, she runs her fingers over his skin, skimming down over his jaw to the sides of his neck. As she does that he shudders slightly and then she stretches herself up so that her chin can fit into the cove of his shoulder and neck. She just hugs him, like she had the night before, her arms tight around his shoulders.
She remembers more of Rose's words, So much time wasted. I just wish I hadn't been so afraid. This is what Damon is afraid of. Closeness. Caring. If she just lets him kiss her, he can pretend that they have intimacy, and though Elena really wants to kiss him, she knows if she's going to do this--if she's going to go there with Damon, it's about so much more than that.
It takes him a minute, but he finally responds, his arms surrounding her torso, pressing her body fully against his from shoulder to knee. When he drops his face down into her neck, Elena feels tears sting her eyes.
They stay like that for a long time, until she feels that their breathing has synchronized. Damon's lips brush her earlobe and he murmurs against her ear, "So, you do realize our biggest problem is not Stefan, then?"
She pulls back to look into his face and asks, "Do you realize that?"
He smirks. "I'm Damon, you're Elena. There is no need for Stefan to be involved for everyone to know that that equation is not going to work well."
"I don't know what any of this means for me, yet, Damon. You're going to have...to be un-Damon-like while I figure it out."
His expression gets serious and he nods. "Alright," he says agreeably. "As long as you understand that this is not about you saving me. Okay?"
Elena nods and steps back from him; he lets her go without a fight. "Oh, yeah. I know that."
She pauses, and makes sure his eyes are on hers when she finishes with, "It's about you saving yourself."
...part three...
Author: badboy_fangirl
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Elena POV, Damon/Elena, Stefan, Caroline, Tyler
Category: Angst, Romance
Word Count: ~2900
Summary: Trust breeds trust, Elena once said. Will honesty breed honesty?
Spoilers: Picks up the morning after the events of 2x12 "The Descent" with speculation beyond that. (Not based on spoiler reading.)
Warnings: none
Show/Bookverse: Show
Author's Notes: Part One is here
His hands are cold against her cheeks, but his lips aren't, and his mouth is scorchingly hot when it opens over hers. She doesn't even think about it, her lips just part and Damon's tongue dives inside, stroking hers and glancing off the roof of her mouth. He makes a thorough sweep, then retreats, and she finds herself leaning into him, trying to extend the contact, make it last, and when she pushes her tongue forward, breaching the barrier of his teeth, he makes this sound--something that curls her toes and makes her heart pound in her chest.
She's kissing Damon Salvatore, and she shouldn't be. She really shouldn't be liking it so much, either, but the last two days have been insane, so maybe a moment where she has apparently lost her mind is not totally unwarranted. Okay, so she's had a lot of insane days since she met the Salvatore brothers, but for some reason the whole thing with Rose has really spun her around.
She'd always known Damon hid his feelings, but this had been the first time he'd really shown her while he was completely sober. This time, when she hugged him and he didn't hug her back, she could feel his chest trembling against hers. That night in the cemetery he'd been as hard as the stone gravemarkers surrounding them, but in the great room at the Boarding House, he'd been so different. He'd been heartbreaking.
His cell starts ringing, so their lips slip apart. She knows before he even pulls the phone from his pocket who it is. Who else could it possibly be when she's kissing someone who is not her boyfriend?
"Yes, Stefan?" Damon purrs into the phone. The smirk hovers on his lips, but never quite forms, and the intensity in his eyes makes her want to run, far and wide. Run from what's been there for so long, from what she hasn't wanted to acknowledge, from what she hasn't wanted to deal with. She scrubs hastily at the tears on her face and takes a step backward, but his arm snaps out and his fingers snag her wrist.
(Forcing Damon to face his feelings has done strange things to her own emotions.)
He listens to his brother, whose indistinct voice she can hear, but the way he looks at her lets her know where his focus really is.
How many times has she had the argument with herself: Why the hell do you care what Damon does? He killed Jeremy. He's killed so many people, he's done so many things that are just wrong. The problem is every time she starts to lecture herself, she remembers him in Slater's apartment, standing protectively in front of her, ready to lay himself out for her, right there, with no thought for his own self-preservation.
That's something she's known about Stefan, and has mostly taken for granted because she knows how much he loves her, and how much she loves him. It is mutual and completely the nature of their relationship to protect one another. He would die before he'd let harm come to her, and she has learned she would as well.
But seeing Damon--Damon standing there ready to be the sacrifice that she wanted to be--it had changed everything. Or maybe it had changed before that, on the stairs of that old abandoned house where they first fought Elijah. Or maybe it had changed the day she woke up and realized she'd forgiven him for Jeremy without even remembering exactly why. How had her anger burned away to leave nothing but concern for him?
Rose had come into their lives, and she shouldn't have mattered, but somehow she did. No matter what, Elena would always have the image of him carrying Rose away from the high school, and she would always remember the way he'd held her in the middle of that giant bed. (She'd been told to leave several times, so when she finally did, it was because she realized he needed the privacy.) And of course, she'd never forget his face when he emerged from the room an hour later and said, "It's done," in a tone of voice that scared her as much as when he wouldn't leave the tomb the night they hadn't found Katherine.
Maybe it had all started when he held her face in his hands and told her to lie about this, or when he'd stayed with her in the basement after they locked Stefan in there, or when they danced together at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.
Damon's like me. He wants to care, but when he does, he runs away from it.
So much of what Rose said in those last few minutes she spent with her echoes in Elena's mind. She thinks of all the times Damon hasn't run from her, and it makes her question everything.
(I killed someone last night.)
Perhaps it started when Katherine hadn't been in the tomb. Or while they had been in Atlanta. (I wanted it to be real.) Or...maybe it had started the first time she'd ever seen him in the entrance of the Boarding House, and she'd felt inexplicably frightened, but she hadn't run.
If she hadn't run when she first learned the truth, it's really unlikely she'll run now. Even though now, it's far more dangerous than it's ever been before. His grip tightens around her wrist as though he can read all of that on her face, and he pulls her closer so there are mere inches between their bodies. He says into the phone, "We're on our way."
Disconnecting the call, he says, "Stefan and Tyler found Caroline, we need to go." But then he just stands there and looks at her and Elena feels this longing in the pit of her stomach. She wants to hug him again--only not hug, but hold him and bury her face in his throat and feel his hands in her hair, and along her back, and under her chin, tipping her face up to his. She wants his mouth on hers, and that feeling of possession, the thing that has pulled men and women together since time began--she wants to know it with him.
It's strange when you have a series of thoughts and images run through your mind and you know the person whose eyes you're staring into shares all of them, with no words, with no outward indication.
His hand slides away from her wrist slowly, and he steps away from her to start back toward the car. She trots after him, and tries to focus on the matter at hand by asking, "Where's Caroline?"
"Jules has her, so we're going to have to kick a little werewolf ass to get her back."
"You're helping Caroline again," she says, grinning a little, unable to not point out the obvious.
"Yeah, well, we're going to have a discussion later about that kiss, too, Missy. So don't think only one of us has to tell the truth here."
He opens the car door for her and their eyes meet as she stands on the other side. "Damon--"
"Not now. There's not time, and I can't be distracted. Remember how when we went to get Stefan from Pearl's, and you didn't do what I told you--you didn't stay in the car?"
Elena nods.
"And remember when I came to get you in Richmond and I told you I'd break your arm if you tried to give yourself up to Klaus's minions?"
Elena nods again, frowning at where his train of thought is leading them.
"Swear to me, upon pain of broken limbs, that you will not get out of this car once we get to where we're going. If you won't swear it--I'll just put you in the trunk right now."
"Damon!"
"I'm serious. Swear it." He tilts his head and his eyebrows go up. "Swear. It," he repeats, and he does that thing with his eyes that would compel her if she weren't wearing vervain.
"Okay, okay! I swear it." He just stares at her and she reaches up to put her hand over his on the top of the car door. "I promise you, Damon. I won't get out of the car."
"Okay, then. Let's roll."
*
Elena is hidden in a copse of trees, sitting in Damon's car. She can't see anything, so she has no idea if the rescue effort's going well, or if Tyler Lockwood will be dead when all is said and done. She asked Damon not to kill him before he got out of the car, but he wouldn't promise anything, and they didn't have time to argue since Stefan was waiting somewhere for him. His eyes had lingered on her lips for five glorious seconds and she thought he might kiss her again, but he didn't, and she told herself she wasn't disappointed.
You never forget what it's like. To be human. It haunts me.
Rose's words are haunting Elena. It haunts her because it explains so much about Damon, and as much as she thinks she already understands about him (he's not angry, he's hurt; there's a difference), she really fears understanding any more deeply. Every layer she delves into makes the feeling in her chest for him increase until it seems to shove out everything else, until she feels angry towards Stefan in a way she never has before.
(Until she feels angry at herself, and every other person who doesn't get it when they look at Damon.)
In the past when she learned things that the brothers slowly and separately revealed to her about their relationship, she'd almost always sided with Stefan. Even in the circumstances where Stefan was obviously in the wrong, because she knew the pain it caused him to have ever have inflicted pain upon anyone, but especially his brother.
See, Stefan loves Damon so much. There had been many moments when she'd seen the older brother through his younger brother's eyes, and it had slowly helped shape her view of Damon. Stefan fought so hard against loving Damon, because loving Damon was not easy in any way. But at the end of the day, it still came down to the simple fact that he could not turn away, and he would never be able to.
And somewhere along the way, Elena realizes she too had adopted that stance. But it isn't in a sibling-induced way, though she tried very hard to emphasize the fact to both Damon and herself, that their friendship is what made her care, and made her reach out to him, and made her want him to deal with the emotions broiling inside him.
But friendship isn't the only reason she'd gone back to the Boarding House the night before. She thought maybe she could breach the gap on some of the things Rose had said, but she quickly figured out it was all too soon. He wasn't ready--she feared he never would be.
But she can't let it go, she knows that. She knows she won't let it go, even if it means she has to deal with things she's managed, up till now, to avoid.
She nearly jumps out of her skin when the driver's door handle rattles and she lunges across to unlock the door. Tyler, Caroline and Stefan all clamber into the back seat and Damon shoves the seat back and slides into the front seat. He spares her a brief glance and then starts the car.
As they drive away, the sounds that fill the car are Caroline's whimpering sobs and Tyler's hushed, "I'm so sorry, Care, I'm so sorry," and Stefan's crooning whispers.
Elena reaches over and puts her hand on Damon's shoulder. His left hand leaves the steering wheel to pat and squeeze her fingers quickly. "They're okay," he says quietly, but then he guns the car and they race back to the Boarding House as darkness falls.
*
Once they're inside the house, Damon and Stefan go to town playing good cop/bad cop with Tyler and Elena takes Caroline to Stefan's room. She helps her dig out wooden bullets and toothpicks from various places in her body and she can't help but cry right along with her friend.
Caroline has been tortured, but the reality is it could have been so much worse. This is of course what Elena has been trying to avoid altogether, anyone she loves dying. Anyone she loves being hurt.
Once Caroline's body is free of all wooden objects, Elena helps her get into the shower and clean up. Stefan comes to find them a bit later and tells them he thinks he got through to Tyler, though it's hard to tell.
"Damon threatened him enough, and I let him get as scary as he wanted--hoping," he says, shaking his head. Elena can tell he's not sure if it was the right way to handle it, but part of her also hopes that Damon put the fear of God into Tyler.
The fear of Damon is probably very similar, since she's felt that fear before but she doesn't really believe in God, so you know. Subjective. Hopefully Tyler's experience tonight will be enough to convince him not to be anti-vampire.
Caroline emerges from the bathroom wearing some of Stefan's clothes and Elena notices his face softens as he takes in her appearance. Caroline's bottom lip trembles, but she steels herself, not breaking down in front of him the way she had with Elena.
"You want me to take you home?" he asks, and Caroline nods.
He gives Elena a small smile, and his hand reaches out to squeeze her arm. "You'll be here when I get back?" he asks.
She nods and he leans in to kiss her. At the last second she turns her head so that his lips graze her cheek. "Be careful," she whispers.
She watches his arm surround Caroline's shoulders as they leave the room. "You like my sweats?" he asks. Caroline releases a soggy little laugh and he goes on, "Well, you can keep them."
Elena listens as their footsteps fade down the hallway, and she contemplates following them. That's what she should do, go back downstairs and wait with Damon while he drinks. Wait for Stefan to come back.
Wait until she has to try to look her boyfriend in the eye and tell him she thinks she might have something going on with his brother.
Instead, she sits down on the sofa on the far wall and hides. (It's not really hiding since Damon can find her easily enough, and soon he shows up, his deliberate steps warning of his arrival before she sees him.)
He comes around the corner and when their eyes meet, they both say at the same time, "Stefan took Caroline home."
Then Damon laughs; he seems nervous, and Elena finds that endearing. She stands up to be on equal ground with him. He takes a step towards her and she does the same, and then they both sort of hesitate, and she realizes he's waiting for her to lead. It surprises her so much, because Damon never waits, or considers anything, so she's at a loss.
When he reaches for her, she goes willingly into his arms but as he drops his mouth to hers, she slides a hand between their faces. His eyebrows quirk and his grip on her waist tightens. She moves the hand over his lips to his cheek and lifts her other hand to the other side of his face. Gently, she runs her fingers over his skin, skimming down over his jaw to the sides of his neck. As she does that he shudders slightly and then she stretches herself up so that her chin can fit into the cove of his shoulder and neck. She just hugs him, like she had the night before, her arms tight around his shoulders.
She remembers more of Rose's words, So much time wasted. I just wish I hadn't been so afraid. This is what Damon is afraid of. Closeness. Caring. If she just lets him kiss her, he can pretend that they have intimacy, and though Elena really wants to kiss him, she knows if she's going to do this--if she's going to go there with Damon, it's about so much more than that.
It takes him a minute, but he finally responds, his arms surrounding her torso, pressing her body fully against his from shoulder to knee. When he drops his face down into her neck, Elena feels tears sting her eyes.
They stay like that for a long time, until she feels that their breathing has synchronized. Damon's lips brush her earlobe and he murmurs against her ear, "So, you do realize our biggest problem is not Stefan, then?"
She pulls back to look into his face and asks, "Do you realize that?"
He smirks. "I'm Damon, you're Elena. There is no need for Stefan to be involved for everyone to know that that equation is not going to work well."
"I don't know what any of this means for me, yet, Damon. You're going to have...to be un-Damon-like while I figure it out."
His expression gets serious and he nods. "Alright," he says agreeably. "As long as you understand that this is not about you saving me. Okay?"
Elena nods and steps back from him; he lets her go without a fight. "Oh, yeah. I know that."
She pauses, and makes sure his eyes are on hers when she finishes with, "It's about you saving yourself."
...part three...