It was the little moments that got to Damon. Long before any of the Original vampires business, before he even discovered the truth about Katherine, Damon had begun to notice things about Elena. Small, insignificant things like how she chewed on her lower lip when she was concentrating, how her smile was just the tiniest bit lop-sided, how she always wore dark colors. But most of all, he noticed how she looked at Stefan.

Katherine never looked at him that way.

The more time he spent with his brother's girlfriend, the more those little things began piling up. Elena was all warmth and compassion and kindness. She loved selflessly and went to extreme lengths to protect everyone she cared about, including him. That deal she made with Elijah still made him feel a little nauseous. Damon had made a lot of mistakes in his life, many of them relating to Katherine and Elena, but the one he regretted most was feeding Elena his blood. He may have been trying to save her out of a desperate and selfish attempt to keep her alive, but he didn't take her feelings into consideration. Had he not been on the brink of death, Elena might never have forgiven him, and that's something that haunts him every day.

By the time Damon finally kissed Elena, he knew, without absolute certainty, that she would love him someday. He couldn't explain it, but everything clicked into place. He and Elena were right together. She awakened that humanity that he had long suppressed and he, in turn, made her live. The overflowing of emotion that Damon felt when Elena kissed him back that night on the porch was something that he could have never imagined. No poet or writer, no matter how great, could ever put into words the love, the gratitude, and sense of rightness that overcame him as he kissed the woman he loved, she that had made him human again.

But it was that humanity, that compassion that Elena had awoken in him that made him realize that although they would be together one day, that time had not yet come. Stefan would be his priority. Elena loved Stefan, maybe not like she did before, but she still loved him. And so did Damon. Not because Stefan had sacrificed himself for Damon or because he felt obligated to, but because Stefan was his brother and that was really all that mattered. One day, he and Elena would be together, but that could wait. Elena didn't love him yet. But she would, and when she did, Damon would be right there waiting for her. For now, Damon would concentrate on rescuing Stefan from himself, getting Klaus and his band of merry Originals out of Mystic Falls, and keeping Elena safe, and maybe repair his relationship with Stefan while he was at it. He had a lot of work cut out for him, but it was all worth it. In the end, Stefan and Elena (and maybe Alaric) were all he had, but really, he couldn't ask for more.