"You're different, something has changed." Elena pulled back from the hug, something akin to loss in her eyes.

"I've… been seeing someone. I have a relationship with someone."

"I didn't expect you to be a saint Damon. I told you as much. Do you want me to explain the crazy situation to the girl; that your girlfriend is back from the dead? It may be hard for her to take in. But I've been asleep for a long time and I've missed you.. missed being with you…" She ran suggestive fingers over his pectoral muscled then up over his chest.

Damon took a step back, moving far enough that her empty hands dropped down to her sides.

"She understands 'Mystic Falls Trippy' better than you could expect. I've been seeing Bonnie, Elena."

Confusion marred the face that launched a thousand wooden stakes.

"Bonnie? As in My Bonnie, Bonnie Bennett?"

He nodded his head in affirmation, words escaping the normal witty silver tongue.

"Are you saying you love her and not me?"

She wore the 'world ending expression,' one Bonnie once wore when she thought he was leaving her to bleed out on a floor filled with destroyed wedding rabble. He rushed to console her, pinched her shoulders in a more friendly than lovelorn gesture.

"I love you Elena. I'll always love you. But I don't want to be with you, I can't be with you. We talk about how bad we are for each other and vow that we will stop, stop being together but always bounce back to each other and its always more destructive than the last time. You cave to me and I do BAD things. You make excuses for me and I LIKE it. But it's not healthy and it's not good for either of us. I need someone who can stand up to me. I need someone who can stand beside me, not behind me. I need Bonnie. I love Bonnie. I don't want to hurt you Elena. This is just how it is. Obsession and great sex and shared past aren't enough. I never dreamed I'd say that to you. By no means are you not amazing and enough for someone. But that someone is no longer me. I've grown more in the last years I've had with Bonnie than I did my whole life as a vampire.

"But Damon we had a plan to be human together. Grow old together."

"I don't want to grow old Elena. I don't want to lose myself. When I'm with you I'm not me, I'm what you want me to be. When I'm with Bonnie I'm not who I am either, I'm who I want to be. I'm better than me."

The rest of what happened was very much a blur. Elena offered plaintive terse and mopey sighs, balled about how he and Bonnie could do this. Damon said they hadn't been thinking about her, they had been thinking about living. They talked for three hours sitting side by side on the closed lid of the coffin. When the talk petered out all that was left was resolve.

Elena decided what was best for her was to live a life supernatural free. She went to seek out the vervain necklace that had once been her constant companion and asked Stefan to reshape her memories. It began with him, she decided it should end with him. All that was left to do was to make one last phone call.

Bonnie's number went straight to voicemail.

"I really wish you had answered. I really needed to talk to my best friend. You really are you know." Long pause of silence. "I wanted to tell you I don't understand but I accept you and Damon." Breathless wisps of bemused laughter. "Bonnie and Damon, who'd have thought? Look Bon I'm not going to be the same. When Stefan takes some of my memories he's going to implant that we have all grown apart. Jeremy agreed to it because it for my own safety. I want to be happy but I don't know what that is right now. Maybe I'll get a shot at a normal happy life. Never thought I could see normal again. Heh. Anyway I keep talking because I don't want to say goodbye. I made Stefan promise to implant that whenever I see white feathers I will for some reason think fondly of you. Just know that somewhere inside past the hurt and the memory wipe that you are still like my sister.

-/-

Bonnie wanted to run away. It wasn't her style but since this awkward thing with Damon started all she had wanted to do was run. Face death time and time again, sure. Stare down an Original out for blood, no problem. Be the Anchor and experience extreme pain to be able to protect the people she loves, just another day. Explain that she was in love with one cocky, snide, sexy pain in the butt ancient vampire? Run for the flippin' hills! No one and nothing could make her bleed the way he could.

She had packed in a daze, no destination in mind. It wasn't surprising that she would end up at her grams'. Besides being in Damon's arms at the Salvatore estate, it was the most comfortable place.

It was times like now she wished the wise Bennett witch was there to talk to. She probably would have thrown a fit that her granddaughter had gotten so mixed up with a vampire.

She didn't unpack, simply lounged on the couch and stared off into space before falling asleep. An hour passed, then three more before she began making real plans. She wasn't running from something, she was running to it. Her life had been on hold, in a lovely limbo that was spider weave strings connecting her to Damon. It was time to move forward, it would just be by herself. Care was happy with Stefan, Matt had the love of law. Damon had Elena.

Bonnie was going to take the world.

If anyone asked she would smile and say she's fine. She had a ton of practice at that. At least she had time with Damon that would have blown the mind of the person she was a few years ago. She couldn't fault him for going back to Elena, he'd never lied, never said they had always, never promised her anything, let alone forever.

Turning on her phone she found eight missed calls. One from Elena one from Caroline one from Matt and the other five from Damon. There were an inordinate amount of text messages. She ignored every attempt of contact. Damon even called in the middle of the phone call she was making to set her plans into motion.

Meanwhile one very pissed off vampire was railing at Caroline, swearing she knew where his brunette vixen was. She of course did not, as Bonnie had not responded to her call or texts. Stefan threatened to snap his brothers neck if he didn't calm down.

Elena had taken off for her new life. Bonnie was missing and Damon felt like someone dropped a cinderblock on his heart. Worry made him vicious.

"Trust me Damon, I'm happy that I don't have to burry you in a plot of land for hurting Bonnie. But as you know, her phone is off and she hasn't called me yet. She's somewhere safe, probably talking it out in a place she feels close to her Grams. "

"I already checked the cemetery." Epiphany hit and he was out the door without a goodbye.

-/-

It wouldn't be permanent; she would just stay long enough for her heart to mend. Or more so, long enough to perfect her brave face, the one she use to slide on before Damon shattered it.

Setting her suit case on the front porch she left the door open to go gather a few more things and blow out the candles in the parlor room. One last candle set lit by the front door casting its soft luminescence on the leather jacket wearing vampire that leaned against the frame.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"Going somewhere?" His voice dripped with barely leashed fury.

When she spoke, the words were snappish and too loud as she was trying to speak over the blood rushing noisily through her ears. "You didn't answer my question."

"And you didn't answer mine!" He snarled.

"I don't have time for this." She grouched at him.

"You're going to make time." His arms crossed firmly over his chest. "So are you coming out or am I coming in?"

A quick wave of her hand brought him slamming into the force field of the open doorway.

"I know you like to play rough Bonnie but that was a bit unnecessary." He growled at her while dusting himself off.

"I'm not inviting you in."

"Then I'll be here all night and all day until you talk to me." He sounded crabby and adamant.

A beat of silence. "You're serious aren't you?"

"Come on out Bon Bon. Come see how serious I am."

Damon was impressed; she hadn't separated his head from his body. She looked manic. All the blood rushing up to stain her cheeks, eyes flashing fiery emerald green, back lit by the candle behind her giving her an ethereal avenging angel appearance and the look on her face said she wanted to rip his heart out and eat it in front of him. She was gorgeous. He was hard. Damn, he was smitten. When he came out after the long talk with Elena and she hadn't been there a little voice began to taunt him. When he tried to call her and she didn't answer, the internal voice turned to agitation, several calls later and a trip to her empty house agitation turned into panic. Vampire Barbie without answers and nearly as worried as he and the panicked gnawing added blind fury to the poison cocktail crawling up from his gut to his chest, right over his heart.

"You know, the old me would just burn the house down. You would have to come out at some point right?" A saucy smile pulled up his sensual lips.

"This is ridiculous." She charged out of the house and grabbed both bags on her way to the car. It took five steps before he was in front of her.

"Why are you here and not smothering Elena?" She side stepped him and began cramming a suit case in the car.

"I see you didn't listen to a single message that was left. You know as my best friend you should be exultant, not on your way out of town." He plucked the suitcase from her nerveless fingers.

"I am happy for you Damon, for both of you really. We can celebrate when I come back and things aren't…weird." She gave the suitcase a tug; it didn't budge from his grasp.

"So you were coming back then?" His tone was layered with disbelief and curiosity. "How long Bonnie? How long were you going to ignore me, us, the things that happened between us?" Apparently he was angry and Bonnie wondered what right he had to be mad, she was doing them all a favor.

"Give." She spoke to him like he was a bad puppy not dropping a toy but in his hand the suitcase remained.

"I need to go Damon they are expecting me."

"Well 'they' are going to have to wait. You aren't going anywhere you are needed here. Elena…"

"Will be just fine WITHOUT ME!" She made to stomp passed him back to the open door of the house; he grabbed her arm and super sped them to the wall beside the door jam. Bodies pressed from pelvis to chest, faces only inches apart as they panted and stared at each other.

"She will, but I won't."

Someone blasted a car horn on the way by.

"Maybe you better come in, we should not be out here for everyone to stare at and I really need to finish getting ready. I'm supposed to be on the road."

His fingers slip into the chocolaty curls of her hair, gently holding her head when she tries to move away.

"You're not supposed to be anywhere but with me." His eyes pierce her soul and make her ache.

"I somehow think your girlfriend won't like that idea."

"I don't know let's ask. Bonnie would you mind if I keep you?" The sensuality gleamed out from halogen orbs but something in Bonnie fought the lurch that responded to his painful teasing.

She slammed both open palms hard into his chest. He stumbled back just enough for her to duck past his arms and head into the house.

"This is not a joke. I deserve better than for you to play with my feelings." He had her pined to the wall in an instant once again, this time the candle shone brightly over the couple.

"No more witchy tricks Bon Bon. If you leave I'll only follow you. We need to talk and after we do if you still want to leave I won't stop you."

"Fine but can we sit on the couch." She arched up to get away which brought her even more flush to him.

"Nooo" He drawled, "I'm pretty happy right here, besides you are less likely to scramble away if I have you right here." His hands tangled once more in the tresses before massaging her tender scalp.

"Tell me why you're leaving."

"You know why."

"Tell me anyway."

"Damon…" "Bonnie tell me."

When her eyes glistened it about broke him.

"Because I fell in love with my best friend." She whispered, eyes staring pasted his right shoulder. "Because I want him to be happy but I can't stay and see him with someone who isn't me." Her eyes turned to him and the fierce Bonnie was back. "I can't stay and watch you be happy without me yet."

She was unexpectantly thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Wha…What are you doing?!"

He paused long enough to blow out the candle and close the door. He spun so she was facing it.

"Lock the door."

"Damon!"

"Lock the door Bonnie! If I'm going to bare my heart I'm doing it on my turf with a bottle of 23 year old Evan Williams within close reach."

Slightly shell shocked and secretly hopeful she complied. His boots clunked on the wooden porch as he gave her perky bottom a solid swat which made her squeal and flail.

In a blink they were alone at the Boarding house and he set her on 'her' end of the couch. He crouched down in front of her, fireplace lit and casting soft rays behind him.

For a long moment the only sound was the crackle of the flame eating away at the logs. He cupped her face, palm pressed gently to her apple cheek.

"I'm not going to let you go. Because I can't and I don't want to. Because you're a stubborn pain in the…Because I need someone to keep me sane. Because I need to protect someone who can protect herself. Because I need someone to watch trashy nineties moves with and get texts from at two AM with inane questions. Because we are the best ass kicking team the world has ever seen. Because it's nice not having to share the affections of the woman I care about with Stefan. I'm selfish and I'm greedy and I don't want to share you. Because I love you. Always you. You are now and have been for some time my only choice Bonnie Bennett. I love Elena and I want to see her happy. But I also want to be happy. The only way I can be completely happy is with you."

Bonnie said nothing. She only blinked at him like he lost his mind.

"I'm sorry if you thought I would put Elena before you. I should have told you sooner. And I'm sorry if you thought that ever hearing this confession would be so farfetched that it would come with music swelling, a candle lit dinner and some overly choreographed ball room dance. It's just me the eternal stud, bad ass vampire with a temper and a bad attitude who's still becoming a better man because you made me want to be. I promise Bonn.."

"Shut up Damon." Bonnie kissed her vampire into silence.

Damon laughingly moaned into Bonnie's mouth as he tugged her off the couch. She curled around him like second nature. He carried her half way up the stairs before she broke the kiss long enough to ask what was so funny.

"I finally love someone who's good for me and she's going to stay mine always." Stark sincerity coated every word. "Because I'm hers."

The last fluid thought Bonnie had was to light the elemental candles surrounding the bedroom before Damon's love wiped all thought but him out of her head.

And Bonnie burnt all thought but her out of his.

***Hope the story end was appeasing to you guys/gals. I wanted Elena to come back because I wanted him to truly choose Bonnie. He can't do that if the doppelganger slumbers and the promise of her is always out there painted perfect, stripped of all wrongs, beautiful and just within reach. In other words - the preverbal flawless nonexistent fairytale. When I started writing this story I put a time clock on myself. I wanted it completed before the show came back so the writers couldn't stomp their muddy boots all over my muse. I made it.. if just barely. Thanks for coming along for the ride. I appreciate all of you.