A/N: So yeah…I'm a terrible person. I'm extremely sorry for the delay. This is the final chapter. I wrote some of this about 1-2 years ago, but I was never really satisfied with it. I'm posting this now because I just felt so shitty and guilty for leaving this incomplete. Thanks for sticking around and all the encouraging words. Really big thanks to Kat, for pushing me to finish this, and just for being awesome at reviewing everything I write.

"I had a chat with Elena this afternoon," Stefan starts. Damon raises an eyebrow at this.

"Did you now? I thought you were giving her the silent treatment."

"I was. But the silent treatment tends to imply that you're still angry at the person."

"And you're not angry at Elena?"

"It just seems pointless now to put effort into ignoring her or being angry at her. I mean, it's been a couple of weeks now."

"So you guys are friends again?"

"No. I mean… I don't know if we can be friends again. At least so soon," Stefan sighs. "I loved her…That was what made it so devastating when I heard about you two."

"I probably shouldn't have-"

"It's alright. You know, I partially blame myself," Stefan admits. "I knew you and Elena were close. I knew you loved her. I knew she had feelings for you. So I wasn't completely blindsided by the admission that you two had acted on those feelings once Elena and me had broken up."

"But you still took it badly," Damon says.

"Yes, but what hurt was that she didn't tell me she was with you…that she came to me when she thought she had made a mistake," Stefan replies. "I could understand it if she had owned up to it. I don't understand why she had to deny it…deny you," Stefan emphasizes the last two words.

"What's done is done. Let's just move on."

There is a long pause, and Damon starts to get up to leave when his brother interrupts his movements.

"She wants to be with you," Stefan says suddenly.

"What are you talking about?"

"We talked about you," Stefan says. Damon doesn't look too pleased about this. "And she didn't say it, but she wants to be with you."

"That's just it. She doesn't say anything. You'd still be her first choice," Damon spits out.

"She made love to you and then she came to me. I was already her second choice a while ago. It's clear to me that her feelings have changed. Sometime after our break-up, we grew apart and we weren't the same. You were there for her when I couldn't be."

"Exactly. She wouldn't feel anything for me if we didn't have to pretend that you were done with her."

"No, Damon. Let's not beat around the bush. She always felt something for you. She was just able to act on those feelings once I was off with Klaus."

"Did she approach you?" Damon asks, annoyed, ignoring Stefan's remark.

"She wanted to ask about you," Stefan tries to assuage. "She's worried about you. She cares about you."

"She's got a funny way of showing it," Damon mumbles.

"She loves you," Stefan sighs.

"She loves you," Damon retorts.

"Not now. Not in the way I want her to…" Stefan admits, shaking his head. Stefan takes in a deep breath, and Damon feels a twinge of sympathy for him.

"You know," Stefan starts, "I think I'll always love her."

Damon stares at him hesitantly, slightly uncomfortable during Stefan's pause.

"But now everything between us seems like such a long time ago. It's like I fell in love with a different person."

"Tell me about it," Damon rolls his eyes, changing the mood almost instantly.

"It's funny. I think we fell in love with different sides of Elena. I thought I had fallen in love with this simple, naïve girl, just trying to find some sense of normalcy after her parents' death. You fell in love with this intensely loyal, headstrong girl, always willing to fight for everyone else but never for herself," Stefan observes.

"You know what's even more hilarious? That we both thought Elena was the exact opposite of Katherine when we first met her," Damon scoffs.

"Elena's no longer the girl I saved from the bridge. She's grown up and I helped her through a tough time, but maybe that's all I supposed to do," Stefan sighs.

"What are you trying to say?"

"That she's still the girl you fell in love with," Stefan starts slowly. "She was always that girl, even before her parents' death. Despite what happened a couple of weeks ago…she's still loyal and headstrong. That's probably why she's in this mess. She felt like she was betraying me."

"Are you serious right now Stefan?" Damon asks in disbelief. "Are you defending her? Telling me to forgive Elena? When you're not even going to attempt to be friends with her?"

"I'm not saying you should do anything. And I never said I was not going to ever be friends with her," Stefan denies. "But you've done some pretty awful things yourself."

"Oh, so now we're gonna examine my flaws?" Damon cuts him off, visibly upset.

"We both have benefitted from second chances, Damon," Stefan says calmly. "Maybe…maybe Elena should get one, too? Eventually?"

Damon just stares at his brother with his eyebrows knit together.

"We were just talking with Katherine a couple of weeks ago," Stefan points out when Damon doesn't say anything.

"We had to use her," Damon responds slowly, "We needed her help with Klaus."

"You were obsessed with her once. You would go cross-country to find her. And do you remember when she told you the truth that she didn't love you?" Stefan asks. He pauses and Stefan can practically see Damon replay the events following Katherine's devastating rejection. "Maybe we aren't friends with Katherine per say, but we can certainly tolerate her and have a conversation with her. Maybe you haven't forgiven her, but you haven't shut her out of your life. You gave her a chance. I'm asking you to give Elena another chance. For your sake."

There's another long silence and Damon looks pensive, as if he is genuinely considering his words.

"Look Damon, I told her that she should talk to you. Tell you how she really feels. If the two of you want to be together, I'm not going to stand in your way this time. As confusing and painful as this whole situation is for me, I can tell that her heart isn't with me anymore. I know that she brings out the best in you and if the two of you could just stop making everything so difficult, I think you two could be good together. Besides, there's been enough pain and animosity among the three of us. Maybe it's about time we all just start anew."

When Damon hears the front door open slowly, he knows that it's Elena coming to talk to him.

A few moments later, when he sees her kneel down in front of him, with a regretful and pained look etched over her features, he doesn't have to ask to know that she's finally ready to listen.

And when he gives an almost imperceptible nod, she doesn't have to say anything to understand that he's ready to give her a chance.

"What do you want to say to me?" Elena starts. He smiles a bit and looks away from her, immediately knowing that this conversation will be different. Regardless of what happens, it's not about her. It's not about how sorry she is, or how she can fix everything.

This talk isn't going to resolve everything, but she's going to make sure that it's not going to harm their already fragile relationship either.

"What you did to me…to both me and my brother…" He breaks off his statement and purses his lips slightly as he drums his fingers lightly on the rim of his glass. "You wrote me off like I was a mistake. And then you basically stabbed me in the chest, twisted the knife a few times and drove it in even deeper. I know why you're here, and my answer is still no. I can forgive…but I can't forget. Not yet at least."

"I know I made some mistakes, but I thought maybe we could try to make it work between us. I love you, Damon, and as much as I try to will it away, I can't. You asked me to think about what my feelings were for you and I have. I've been doing that for weeks now. You're all I think about. Not Stefan. You," Elena confesses.

"I can't have you thinking that we could "maybe" work though," he tells her.

"I just don't want to promise you anything," Elena explains.

"You mean you don't want to promise me you won't think about Stefan from time to time?"

"No," Elena says firmly. "I mean I don't want you to think I'm perfect, that what we have will be perfect. I don't want to promise you forever."

"I never asked for forever, Elena. It was always about today, tonight, right now."

"But that meant tomorrow, next month, next year. Damon, I couldn't – I can't do that to you. You say you don't want forever, but you want a lifetime with me. I'm-I'm not ready for that."

"I know." Damon looks down at the liquor in his tumbler. "I think I've known for a while now. You'll never be ready for me. You'll never be ready for us. Ready for something that takes you by surprise, sweeps you off your feet and holds your breath hostage in mid-air."

"That's not-" Elena starts.

"You went back to Stefan. Even before tonight, you went to talk to him about me. He'll always be your first love. He'll always be the person you turn to," he goes on, his voice breaking. She practically sees his heart twisting at the thought. "I can't change that no matter what I do. I thought that we could be something great…that your love for Stefan could change." A brief moment of anger flashes in his steely eyes before it disappears. "But it didn't," he finishes flatly.

"We can be something great, Damon," Elena insists, taking his hands. "I don't know when it happened, but I fell for you. I love you, Damon, and I know you love me, too," Elena says softer now. "I know I messed up, but it shouldn't be complicated. We don't have to make this so complicated."

"Love…it isn't enough. My love isn't enough. Not when it will always be him for you. I need to accept that."

"You don't need to. Because it's not Stefan," Elena stresses. "It hasn't been Stefan for a while now. Things change, Damon. People change. And you and me…we've changed."

"Please don't-"

"Tell me you don't love me and I'll walk away," she cuts him off this time. "I'll walk away right now. I won't bother you ever again."

"Elena…"

"You can't, Damon. I know you can't," she pleads. She feels like she's on the verge of hysteria, and even though she told herself that she wouldn't let her emotions get the best of her tonight, things never seem to work out the way she plans whenever it involves Damon. She waits for his response because she needs to hear his explanation. She needs to hear him say that he doesn't love her. In some ways, it would make everything so much easier.

"Elena, I do love you," he begins slowly. He looks her in the eye and she sees something in him that she can't quite put her finger on. It's something halfway between honesty and heartbreak.

It suddenly hits her.

"This was never about Stefan, was it?" she asks quietly. There's a drawn-out pause.

"No," he admits honestly.

"Tell me," she nudges gently. "Help me understand." She looks at him, patiently waiting for an answer.

"Love can be blinding at first," Damon begins slowly. "You see what you want to see, who you want to see. It becomes an obsession. And it fucking hurts because you just want it so badly. You'd do anything to have it, to make it work. You want them to feel what you feel." Elena bites her lip knowing that his statement is a reflection of his own feelings…of their own relationship.

"But then the blinds come off and it hurts even more because sometimes that means seeing the person you love love someone else. Because you want them to be happy. You'd give anything to make them happy," Damon admits. She looks away from him with a mixture of guilt and sadness knowing that she is the one who caused all of this pain and anguish.

"But a person can only tolerate so much. You just get so tired of dealing with the pain," he goes on. He pauses for a second to let it sink in for her. "I'll risk my life for you…but I won't go through that pain and misery again just to be with you anymore," he sighs. "Sometimes, you have to know when the time is right to step back. This is one of those times."

Elena sits there silently, resigned. "You're not going to change your mind, are you?" Elena sighs.

"No," Damon states, shaking his head. He brings himself closer to the edge of his seat and looks her straight in the eye with honesty and gentleness. "It doesn't mean I'll feel like this forever, but I just can't be with you right now."

"I know you don't really want this."

"What I want is different from what I need," he says. "I thought I needed you…that I needed us-"

"I need you, Damon," Elena reassures.

"I don't." It's unexpected and abrasive and curt, and it stabs her right in the chest. "Not now," he adds softly. He pauses and he looks torn. She doesn't know if it's because he regrets the first part or the second.

"You told me once that I deserved love, and I didn't believe you at the time. But I think I do now and I deserve better than what you've put me through. You took advantage of me. Of my love for you. You can't just pretend that it doesn't all add up."

His words hit her hard, and after what seems like the tenth time he reiterates it, she finally sees it. It finally gets through to her that this isn't about sleeping with his brother, the only family he has left. It isn't about her going back to the one person who has been with Damon his entire life through thick and thin.

Damon didn't want her because of who she had become. What she had put him through after all these years. It was her that was the problem.

You can't just pretend that it doesn't all add up. Elena closes her eyes as her surroundings blur from the tears forming up in her eyes. So much time passed with her thinking that both brothers would always be there for her. And it is with this realization that she finds herself fully understanding why she was being rejected. She did this to him. She did this to them. She was selfish for so long. Never giving; always taking.

She wasn't – isn't – good enough.

"I can't. I'm sorry, Elena." He looks at her with weary eyes, but she can tell it's just as painful for him to say it as it is for her to hear it.

Minutes pass without a word between them, and Damon twitches a bit uncomfortably, unsure if he should leave her to her own thoughts.

"You're right," she sighs audibly, finding her voice at last. She takes his hands into her own and gazes into his eyes. There's a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, and for a brief moment, she wonders if he wants to change his mind. But it's gone almost instantly and she can't read him again. It's in this little action that she understands why he needs to do this for himself. Why he needs to do this for them. She doesn't want uncertainty between them. She doesn't want him to tip-toe around his emotions in front of her. She doesn't want him to put on some mask to please her. She doesn't want him to be afraid of feeling anything. She wants all of Damon.

And it's because of this that she knows that she's about to say the right thing. Do the right thing.

"You don't deserve what I've put you through or what I've done to you. You do deserve better. You deserve someone better than me." She smiles weakly, and bows her head down. "In time, I know you'll find someone better."

She accepts his rejection at last as she gets up and turns towards the door. Just as she grasps the doorknob, she turns back slowly to him. He doesn't turn around to see her eyes start to fill with tears again, but he can feel her shaking just the same.

"I'll be better," she whispers.

He doesn't have to look back to know that it's a promise.

A/N2: I hope this wasn't too much of a disappointment given how long it's taken to get to this point. I had originally ended this on a much, much crueler note, but I decided against it. Time away from this made me gain some perspective and made me less "anti-Elena," if you will. There was just too much love there for Damon or Elena to give up on their the idea of them so easily IMO. But there was also too much pain to let everything slide in just a few weeks time. I know some of you wanted to see the outright happy ending, but I can assure you that this was my idea of a happy ending for them. Let me know if you disagree or your thoughts on the ending or whatever. Again, thanks to everyone who read this or reviewed this. The response from you guys have been overwhelming! I really hope you all enjoyed this :)

As for my activity here, I actually stopped watching TVD a couple of seasons ago and I don't think I'll be going back to it anymore quite honestly. So I don't believe I'll be posting anything TVD-related anymore. Can't say for sure, but it's very unlikely. So farewell TVD fandom. You guys have been so welcoming, supportive and all-around awesome. I can't stress this enough. Thank you.