First, I need to apologize to all of you that actually liked this story and wanted to see how it ends. I`m a horrible person, I suck at endings and I most certainly suck at writing. To be honest, I wasn`t even planning on finishing it. It`s been a very long time since I sat down and wrote a word and it has become too hard for me to do so. But I did my best here, given the limited spare time I`ve got and I hope it reads well. If you like it, let me know :)

Just a side note- I`m not tackling the Stefan/Elena break up or what might`ve happened between them. I`m not interested in them and this story is about Damon and Elena only. I`ll leave the rest to your imagination.

As usual, I own nothing.

Kat, this is for you. I hope you like it :)

"It was a long time ago; I have almost forgotten my dream. But it was there then, in front of me, bright like the sun."

Langston Hughes

"Run, Elena, run"

My whole being screams and tells me that I should listen to him but my legs seem to have frozen and I can`t will them to move an inch.

The air slowly turns into a golden, heavy liquid in which my lifeless body stands inert, unable to move and alone, so alone.

I search the stranger` eyes for any sign of recognition; I find none. There is nothing even remotely human left in them; those are the eyes of a predator.

A murderer with no regard for human life.

I shut my eyes closed but even behind my closed lids I can still see the eyes- gleaming in the dark with some strange light irradiating them from within.

I can feel the scream building up in my throat and I choke on it, for I have ceased to breathe and screaming requires breath.

My mind vaguely registers Damon`s presence somewhere nearby and I absentmindedly wonder if he`s angry at me.

I wasn`t supposed to be here. I was supposed to wait for him in the hotel and I already regret my decision to follow. I wish he`d tie me up in that room to prevent me from leaving it but it`s too late now; the horrific image that unfolds before me is already seared in my mind and is going to haunt me forever.

I should`ve never left that room.

The air gets thicker with frost and I can almost feel it`s murky, inky taste settling in my mouth, piling up my throat, threatening to suffocate me.

My body has gone into stupor and I feel the chills creeping up my spine; I feel cold, frozen even, down to the marrow of my bones.

My body might`ve been dead at that moment but my head feels pretty much alive and buzzing with thoughts like little caged animals, bouncing off each other in their panic.

I can hear Klaus`s maniacal laugh somewhere close but I don`t pay much attention as I stand transfixed, mesmerised by the view in front of me.

Stefan`s face.

His features are twisted in a horrible grimace but what grabs my attention the most is the blood; smeared all over his face, dripping off of his chin and falling on the ground with soft thuds.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

"Run, Elena, run." The voice tells me again and I know that I should listen to it at once and will my heavy legs to move and never look back but my will has left me and there is nothing, nothing I can do to make them move.

Beat, my heart, beat.

This is when the scream starts and it shutters me. My lungs burn with the strain of thousands of knives cutting through them and the sound bounces off the walls until I am completely and utterly awake. It usually takes a minute or two before the wails stop and reality settles quietly back in.

I sit bolt upright in my bed and cover my ears as if to protect them from the high pitched shriek until I manage to calm my laboured breathing.

I become aware of hands stroking my hair and a voice, murmuring soothing nonsense. Two heavy arms wrap around my torso and I am pulled in a tight embrace.

Then I remember and I sigh in relief. That was then. And this is now.

And Damon`s here.

His presence feels like warm sun rays after a violent storm, bathing me in its warmth and a sense of security envelops me.

I turn to face him; the room is heavy with darkness, except for the faint moonlight coming through the window which makes his face look like carved stone with the contrast of its paleness. He is beautiful and he takes my breath away.

He hasn`t left my side ever since we came back from that horrendous road trip, not for a single moment. But that`s all that there is, really.

We eat together and we sleep together. We don't talk about him anymore. His face only reappears in my night terrors to prey on me but I`m learning to deal with it and Damon`s helping me too. He doesn`t say it but I know this is the real reason for him still being here.

He wants to take care of me, if only I would allow him to. And I wanted to allow him but I needed time. I think we both needed time to weigh the crushing reality of our lives.

Our days got lost in the hundred shades of boredom; a dark time that we might never be able to make up for. There`s apathy, there`s feigned nonchalance.

But I`m done with all of this.

"You know, I can take it all away" he offers. Not for the first time since I have turned into a nightmare having, wailing mess.

"I want to remember," I tell him quietly.

He gives me the look again but I remain adamant. We`ve been through this before.

"You`re just being stubborn" He shrugs as if he were indifferent and shifts his body so he can face me.

He probably wouldn't understand it and I don`t care to explain but I need my nightmares and my memories even if this means not being able to sleep normally, ever again. I know Damon can make life much easier for me if he erased the memories and I can go back to being the old Elena and the thought terrifies me.

Because, where I lost, I gained. Maybe even more than I can even begin to comprehend but all I know is, I need to remember. Every single step of the journey that has brought us both here today and if this means putting up with the nightmares every night, well…I`ll take my chances. Perhaps someday the nightmares will cease in the comfort of Damon`s arms. Perhaps, his presence in my life should be enough to keep me grounded.

Damon remains silent but he`s mostly silent these days. I have the strangest sensation, as if he`s waiting for something. We are two waves on the verge of collision but the emptiness between us prevents us from becoming one.

He is a foreign land to me now, which secrets I may never uncover unless I find my way back to him.

I need him and I need to show him exactly how much.

"Kiss me" I say silently, my voice on the point of breaking with emotion.

I draws a sharp breath in surprise; never before I`ve actually asked him to kiss me.

Something in the close proximity of our bodies' charges and the tension is almost palpable.

My body starts humming, relishing his closeness, greatly pleased at the contact. My heart, tired of being lonely, tired of resisting him thumps dully in my ribcage in anticipation.

I lose track of the time; whether hours or just minutes pass before he pulls me closer to himself and starts kissing me; fervent kisses that linger on my forehead, my lids, cheeks and chin, then moves further down my throat, leaving little traces of fire on my skin and a low moan escapes me. I have longed for his touch for so long that now it`s almost foreign to me. Everything I feel is magnified by thousands; waves of desire and need for him wash all over her body in tune with his lips; there is no going back for me.

"Damon" a low whisper on my lips.

And again and again in soft moans as I bury my fingers in the soft, dark hair. His name feels so right, it has always meant to be there.

Damon.

A hushed sigh, almost inaudible in the night; a heartbeat of a heart, no longer beating.

A silent prayer on my lips.

Damon.

And quietly, I love you.

A brief pause.

"Finally," I can barely hear him sigh in the darkness but I feel his smile on my skin. "Finally," he repeats and leans to take my lips once again. There is a difference in the way he kisses me now; his lips are soft and gentle, almost reverent. There is no trace left of his previous passion and I feel a twinge of sadness for I have deprived both of us of something this necessary, for so long. It came easy, natural as breathing; it shouldn't have been that hard to tell him long time ago. But I didn't want him to think that I`m using him as a rebound.

My feelings for him had nothing to do with Stefan.

But Damon has been patient. He must`ve known it all along.

Determined to make it up to both of us for all the time we`ve lost, I cup his face and I drink him in. His lips are sweet and gentle; my pulse grows erratic under his response. I trace my hands over the smooth chest, caressing every sinew, admiring the potency of the muscles underneath the cool skin; I am entranced by him.

I savour the feeling.

Mine.

"Yes, my love. Finally"

I bask in this moment of sheer perfection because for the first time in my life I feel that complete. My whole world is narrowed down to this man and the fundamental need I have for him.

I missed you so much.

And just like that, all of a sudden, everything is lost to me.

Everything but Damon.

Our past and our present- it`s all gone. All thoughts and reason - gone.

We succumb to only feeling and touching, devouring each other, and oh, we`re so greedy.

Mine, all mine.

There are only hands and lips and skin now but I couldn`t ask for nothing more because they`re his hands and his lips and his skin. He slips his hand under my nightie and frees me from it. We plaster our bodies together, seeking more and more of our bare flesh. The sweetest sensations of all that is his body covering mine and my back arches violently in response to his lips.

Hands trembling, caressing, exploring.

Heath flushing through me, coursing, cascading.

"Show me," he breathes in my ear," show me how much you love me."

Our tongues meet, reunited once again, tasting, dancing, consuming each other.

Where do I even begin?

I kiss everywhere; his lips and face, before I move to his neck and shoulders, kissing and biting my way down his smooth body, to where he is already hard and waiting for me.

I stop for a moment and risk a glance at him; he is watching my every move with the expression of utter concentration and devotion on his face.

He looks perfect beneath me.

I bite slightly the tip of his head and I`m rewarded with a groan from him. My hand strokes him gently as my tongue dances along his length, tasting him, driving him crazy before I take him in full into my mouth. He draws a hissing breath as I suck him deeper, almost choking on his size and he buries his hands in my hair, urging me to move. I suck and lick and bite until his groans grow louder and I feel him getting close before I release the grip of my mouth and crawl back to straddle him. I am wet and ready for him, but he`s in no hurry; I am spun around as he starts traveling all over my body, kissing, exploring. His lips finally arrive at the inner side of my thighs and linger there, tongue swirling around but avoiding the place I want him to touch most.

I am whimpering now; ready to beg to give me what I want as his tongue reaches its final destination and starts licking slowly the wet centre of my heated core, his hands holding a firm but gentle grip on my hips.

"Damon! ..." I pant frantically, hands clutching at the sheets. My voice is urgent, willing him to give me what I crave but he is in no hurry and takes his time to kiss his way back to my lips, savouring every inch of skin. It feels like ages before I finally feel his steel erection pressed at my entrance and he slowly guides himself in me. I can`t help but moan loud as our lips meet. He starts moving, dictating our pace; I feel him plastered deep into me, filling me to the very core of my being as he thrusts harder and harder. His scorching eyes hold my gaze and for a moment there, I feel like falling into them and drowning into their blackness.

My head falls backwards to expose my throat and I tug his head in silent invitation.

I feel the piercing as he bites and the waves of my orgasm wash over me. His mind slips into mine and I am aware of the invasion; his physical body catches me in his embrace with gentle strokes, evoking sweet shivers all the way down my spine, while his mind slowly drags me into his whirlpool of emotions. In this moment we are completely one; a unison of body, mind and soul. A kaleidoscope of colours that makes my head spin and almost faint, swallowed by the bottomless blue that is predominant- him. There is no point in resisting, so I give in. It astounds me with its force and my body is taken to an entirely new journey; a vortex of feelings, pleasure and emotions and I drag him with myself; he follows with a growl as he releases himself deep and hard into me.

He withdraws from my throat and places a soft kiss over the mark before he bites his own wrist and offers it to me.

And I take it, because all of this belongs to me. I sink my blunt teeth into the skin of my beloved and I drink until I feel its healing powers circulating in my bloodstream.

"I love you," he tells me simply and those words echo into my soul.

"I know," I reply quietly, "I love you too. Tonight... hold me. Don`t let go of me."

"Never." He breathes in my lips.

We both still for a moment; happy and not entirely sated, but we know- the night is ours.

As all nights will be.

The Dawn comes and sneaks into the room to see Elena and Damon for what they truly are; their bare souls, caught up in each other`s hold, their bodies glistening as silver serpents in their dance of love. Twin flames, two parts of the same soul, burning in their fiery passion until all is left are ashes.

And the Dawn liked what it saw, thinking that those two had finally found each other.

As they always will.

~end~