A/N: This is an idea that came to me the other day and has been screaming to be written. The initial plan is for it to be nothing more than some pure SMUT, inspired by some of my fave authors on here, because we all need our dose of nekkid Damon on a regular basis. However, I might be tempted to turn it into something more if people like it.

A/N2: I don't own anything, which is why I want to cry. LOL

A/N3: This is set in the future because I still think that at 17 or 18, Elena is a bit too young to be able to handle Damon properly so I came up with this idea. Hope you all like. Oh and reviews are good for my soul so if I know what you think about it then the inspiration will flow more easily and I'll be able to update faster :D…

Elena changed gears, pressing the accelerator down, pushing her SUV to breakneck speed down the roads leading to Mystic Falls. She had the stereo turned up almost to the max, with AC/DC's Highway to Hell blaring out. God, she loved this feeling. Driving at high speeds to classic rock. How she had changed.

She thought back to the events of seven years ago, when she had been so innocent. Only 18 and so in love with Stefan that she couldn't see the forest for the trees. She sighed. How things had changed. Even if she was still on the hit list and Klaus was still looking for her, she no longer cowered in Stefan's shadow. She had learned to take care of herself. While she might not have the speed or strength of a vampire… yet, she amended, she was still a force to be reckoned with.

After searching for Stefan for six months and finally getting him away from Klaus, she had come to a decision. She needed to get away from everything. The death of her birth parents and Jenna being turned had only added to her need to get away. She needed to get her life under control. She realized she couldn't live the rest of her life in the shadows, hiding behind Stefan or Damon every time some deranged vampire decided to come after her. They wouldn't always be there and she couldn't live like a bird in a cage anymore.

So, she had talked to Stefan and, after a lot of convincing and eventually threatening to leave him for good, she had left for college. On her own. Only she hadn't gone to a college close by, knowing she wouldn't have a chance to get away from the Salvatore brothers if she was too close. So, she had gone to England. She had been lucky that her grades had been good enough to get her a scholarship to Oxford and that's where she had been for the past seven years.

Only Jeremy and Aunt Jenna had known where she was and even though she had known Stefan could have compelled them to tell him where she was, she knew he would respect her wishes to stay away. However, just being at Oxford didn't mean that she had also cut all ties to the supernatural world. Hell, her best friend was a vampire, so it was a bit difficult to do. And Caroline visited her often. In fact, they had been living together for the past few years, while Elena finished her master's degree.

She had also made some great friends while at Oxford and, among them, was another vampire. In fact, he was actually an Original, though not related to Klaus. It seems they hadn't known the whole story all those years ago. Apparently, Klaus' family weren't the only Originals.

Adam had initially wanted more than just friendship, especially when he discovered she knew what he was and accepted him without a qualm. But she just couldn't do it. She really wasn't interested in getting romantically involved with another vampire, especially when feelings of guilt assailed her every time she thought of Stefan. So, they had become great friends and it had been the best move of her life.

He took her under his wing and taught her. He taught her how to defend herself. He would train with her until she would collapse from exhaustion, until her knuckles were scraped raw, until she was good enough to take him on. Even though she could never hope to compare with their strength and speed, Adam had taught her to use everything she had in her arsenal, including her looks, to surprise them and get the job done.

Adam had given her so much more than the ability to defend herself. He had given her self-confidence and faith in herself. She was no longer the naïve girl who waited for her knight in shining armor to come and rescue her. And it had bled into other areas of her life. When she wanted something, she took it. And that's why she was going back to Mystic Falls. She was going to finally take something she had wanted for a very long time but had been too afraid to admit it to herself. Those days were gone.

She saw the sign welcoming her to Mystic Falls and her heart began to pound. She was going to finally see him again, after all these years.

Elena parked in front of her Aunt's house and took a deep breath. She was home and it felt good. She swung the door open and swung one booted foot out just as someone pulled open the door to the house and squealed her name.

"Elena!" she heard her Aunt Jenna shout as she ran towards her. She started to laugh as Jenna enfolded her in a hug, squeezing so hard she thought her ribs would break.

"Aunt Jenna, it's so good to see you," she said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around the other woman.

"Cut the aunt crap. It makes me feel old," the other woman mumbled as she held her. "I've missed you so much."

"Well, I'm home now," Elena said with a smile. Jenna took a step back and looked her over.

"Yes you are. You seem so different," Jenna said as she inspected her niece, who was wearing a pair of low slung boot cut jeans over biker boots and a tank top with "Live Free or Die" emblazoned across the front. She didn't seem as fragile as the old Elena, Jenna thought to herself. She didn't know whether it was the fact that her body had filled out a little more and her body seemed to have more muscle tone, or whether it was the confidence she exuded, but Elena was definitely different. The time away had done her good.

"In a good way or a bad way?" Elena teased.

"Oh, definitely good," Jenna was quick to reassure her. "Come on, everyone's dying to see you!" Jenna exclaimed.

"Hang on, let me get my stuff," Elena said as she grabbed her leather jacket off the back seat and shrugged it on.

"I'm definitely liking the new look," Jenna said with a smile. "Don't worry, there's enough men in there to do the heavy lifting."

"Nah, it's ok," Elena said, popping the back door of her SUV open. She grabbed her bags, slinging one over her shoulder.

She followed Jenna up to the porch and saw her brother standing just inside the doorway, a grin on his face.

"Elena!" he shouted and enfolded her in a hug.

"Damn, Jer, you've filled out," she said with a laugh as she drew back and studied her brother. He had definitely become a man, his lanky frame having filled out. "You been working out, or what?"

"Look who's talking," her brother answered, looking her over.

"Touche," she replied with a smirk.

"Jer, grab Elena's bags and take them up to her room," Jenna said to Jeremy and then turned to her niece. "Everyone's dying to see you but if you want to freshen up first, they can all wait."

"It's ok Jenna, I've really missed everyone and I can't wait to see them," Elena said with a smile thinking of Alaric, Bonnie and the Salvatore brothers. Well, one brother more than the other, but she had time.

She shrugged her jacket off and walked towards the kitchen, where Jenna and everyone else was waiting for her. Apparently even Matt and Tyler had come to welcome her back.

As she walked into the kitchen she heard another squeal, this time from Bonnie who lunged for her. "Elena! I can't believe you're back. You look amazing. Girl, how could you stay away for so long? Are you back for good?" Bonnie wouldn't stop talking and Elena laughed, putting her hands up after extricating herself from her friend's hug.

"Whoa, Bonnie! Slow down. I missed you, too," she said with a wink as the other girl blushed.

"Hello, Elena," said a grave voice that belonged to Stefan. His eyes lit up at seeing her and he enfolded her in another hug. Damn, she was going to end up dying from suffocation. "It's so good to see you," he whispered to her as he held her tightly. "God, I've missed you so damn much."

She smiled, "I missed you too, Stefan." When he stepped back to kiss her, she turned her head slightly so he missed her lips and ended up kissing her on the cheek. Luckily, it seemed he hadn't noticed the move and she covered it up by greeting the others in the room. Unfortunately, the one she was interested most didn't seem to be there. Where was Damon?

"Elena," said a voice from behind her and she swung around to see him leaning on the doorframe, holding a glass of amber liquid, his characteristic smirk gracing his features. She answered with a smirk of her own. "Damon."

Damn, it was so good to see him. And he looked just as edible as ever. Down, Elena, she chastised herself. She would do well to remember that all the vampires in the room could easily pick up the fact that her heart had skipped a beat at seeing him. She first needed to sort things out with Stefan.

Damon had been watching her from the moment she had pulled up in front of the house. Fuck, he had missed her so much. And she looked bloody amazing. His heart would have jumped out of his chest, had it still been beating, when he saw her. He had been hit with a sudden wave of lust that was so powerful he nearly cracked his glass so he had taken a moment to compose himself before greeting her. He didn't need everyone seeing the hard on he was sporting.

But then he had walked in the kitchen and seen her in Stefan's arms, whispering to each other and his heart had sank. He didn't know why. After all, he and Elena had never had anything other than friendship. But a small part of him had hoped that she had come back for him not for his brother. What a dick he had been. He never learned his lesson and now, here he was, watching as the love of his life was whispering sweet nothings to another man. His brother, no less.

He steeled himself, pushing back all his emotions into that deep, dark place that had allowed him to survive for so long.

"Damon." She had replied. That was all she could say to him? After all these years? But then she sauntered over to him and he nearly fell over. She had definitely changed. This was no longer a girl but a woman. A woman who exuded confidence and he had never seen anything so sexy in his long, long life. Suddenly, the doorframe was the only thing that was holding him up, though he would never admit it.

When she stood in front of, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, "Don't I get a hug?" she asked, almost sweetly. He almost groaned at her words and slipped his arms around her. He wanted to yank her into his arms and never let her go but he had to control himself. Stefan was there and even though their relationship was still rocky, he didn't really want to stake his brother if he attacked him accusing him of all sorts of crap later on. His control almost snapped when she pulled herself against him tightly, her breasts crushed against his chest, her muscles rippling under her skin.

Christ, he was so in love with her that he was reading more into their hug than was really there. He was a fucking masochist.

God, he felt so good, Elena thought to herself. It was all she could do not to throw herself at him and kiss him senseless. If it was possible, Damon was even hotter than she remembered him. It should be fucking illegal for anyone to be that damn hot. She heard someone clear their throat and realized it was Stefan. She reluctantly pulled out of Damon's arms and sat down on a chair as she was bombarded with questions about what she had been doing all this time.

Stefan took the seat next to hers and took her hand in his. She was tempted to pull away but she didn't want to hurt Stefan. She needed to talk to him and explain that they wouldn't be picking up where they had left off. She still loved him but not the way he wanted her to. She had changed so much and had finally admitted to herself that Stefan was wrong for her and she was wrong for him. At least, the woman she was today was definitely not what Stefan needed.

He needed a girl to protect and coddle and she might have been innocent and weak seven years ago but too much had changed. Where Stefan had always protected her, Damon had been the one to always push her. Even though he used to drive her insane, in hindsight she realized that he didn't see her as a porcelain doll that needed to be kept in a glass cabinet, safe from the world. He had always accepted her as she was and she really hoped that he still cared or at least still wanted her. She could work with that.

After a few hours, she turned to Stefan. "Can we talk?" she asked, with a small smile. Even if it was her first night back, she really didn't want him living under the delusion that they would be getting back together. She cared about him and didn't want to lead him on. It might hurt him later, when he realized who she had really chosen, but she refused to live the rest of her life with someone who didn't make her heart and body sizzle. Adam had taught her that and helped her figure out what she really wanted. And a life in a lukewarm relationship that was based on guilt was definitely not it.

"Of course. Upstairs?" he asked. She nodded.

Damon couldn't stay and watch them sneak off to make up for lost time. If he heard their moans he was liable to rip his little brother's head off. He had to get out of there now.

"I'm heading out," he said curtly.

"So soon," Jenna asked. She had grown fond of Damon, even though the man still had serious issues. But she had started to really like his sense of humor, no matter how morbid it was, and she knew he had a sweet side, even though he did his damndest to hide it. Plus, she had a seriously new perspective of what he had to deal with as a vampire. Birds of a feather and all that crap.

"Yeah, I want to check up on some leads regarding Klaus' whereabouts and I'm feeling a bit hungry as well. I thought I'd go gourmet, in celebration of Elena's return," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Damon," Elena said in a warning tone. The last thing she wanted was Damon going back to his old ways and having the council up in arms so soon. She wanted to sort out her personal life first. Then she'd deal with Klaus and everything else.

"Elena," Damon replied sarcastically.

"No dead bodies or I'll stake you myself," she retorted with a cocked eyebrow, a warning gleam in her eyes. Damon laughed. He didn't know whether to be angry that she thought so little of him or be turned on by her threat. Little Elena had definitely grown up. He decided to cover it up with his usual snarkiness. Nothing like falling back into old habits.

"Stake me? You'd be dead before you even found a piece of wood," he responded, softening his threat with a wink. Surprisingly, instead of the glare he was expecting, Elena laughed. Damn, when had her laugh become so sexy. It was husky and had him thinking of what sounds she'd make when she orgasmed. He was almost tempted to hang around to sate his curiosity but he wasn't that much of a masochist. A little voice in his head laughed at him.

"Try me," she said, the challenge clear in her eyes and his temperature ratcheted up a few more degrees.

"Down children," he heard Alaric say and Elena turned back to Stefan, throwing him a good-bye over her shoulder. He had been well and truly dismissed and he didn't fucking like it. He was out of there before anyone realized what had happened.

"I'm so sorry Stefan," Elena said, as she looked at her ex-boyfriend's fallen face. To be honest, a part of her was starting to get slightly irritated. Had he always been this broody and depressing? A little voice answered with an affirmative in her head. You just didn't want to see it.

"But why, Elena?" he whispered.

"Stefan, I've changed. I'm not a 17 year old girl any more. And I'm not what you need."

"But I love you!" he exclaimed.

"No Stefan, you love who you think I am but I'm not that person. I never was. I'm not perfect and I'm certainly not what you need," she responded. She was trying to save him more heartache but she was a few seconds away from telling him that she simply didn't have the patience to deal with him. She didn't want a man who treated her as if she was going to break at any second or as if she was a naïve little twit, which Stefan often did, even if he didn't realize it. She no longer wanted to live in a cocoon, safe, but hiding from life at the same time. She wanted passion and excitement, and Stefan was not the one who could give her that.

"Let's talk about this another time. I mean, you just got back. Let me change your mind," he tried.

"Stefan, I've been thinking about this for a long time and you aren't going to change my mind. I still care deeply about you but…"

"See," he exclaimed, grasping at straws.

"Only as a friend," she continued, ignoring his outburst.

"So, that's it then," he asked, dejectedly.

"Unfortunately, yes. I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. He nodded and disappeared. She had certainly made the right decision. A part of her had thought he might fight for her but he had given up so quickly she was now convinced she had made the right decision, even if Damon hadn't been in the picture.

She sighed and went downstairs to talk to Jenna. A little girl talk was just what she needed. Then, tomorrow, she could start her new life. Hopefully, with Damon in it as much more than just a friend.