Prompt by arwen01. Written for the Holiday Exchange which just ended on LiveJournal. For a complete list of stories, check the link on my profile.

(Now they can tell our hearts are heavy
You can tell it's in our voice
This will give them all of reason now
And we won't a choice
As hopeless as it may have been
The love still moving through my hands
I am building and making a beautiful thing)

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.

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It feels like I can't even remember my life before Elena even though I met her as a senior in high school and she had been a sophomore. I don't have a problem saying I was an ass in high school because I was. Good looking, good grades, varsity athlete... I could've had any girl that I wanted and I did mostly.

Of course, the only girl that I ever found myself jerking off to in my room however ended up being my little brother's girlfriend. I remember the first time I found her wandering in my house. I had wanted her right there right then and that's never happened to me before. When I say that I wanted her, I mean to say that I wanted to keep her and make sure she'd never leave my sight.

Then the worst thing in the world happened... Stefan came home, they kissed and he took her upstairs.

And that's how it had been for years. At least I had gone off to college before them, but they had dated all through their high school years. I don't know, somehow it was worse coming home with these feeling of longing and seeing Elena grow into her curves as she matured over the years.

As like with most young romance, the two love birds eventually broke up. Stefan, the bastard, had cheated on her. He did it with her slutty cousin - Katherine - who happens to be my age and someone I had a bit of a fling with in high school. It's all a bit incestous, isn't? Like the clueless fool I am, I had thought I'd finally get my chance at Elena, but after Stefan's betrayal she responded by taking off to study at Stanford. That's in California, by the way, as in the other side of the county!

There had been a whole year in my life where we didn't even speak to each other. Then one day, she started talking to me online and eventually we started talking on the phone. By the time Elena had graduated college, she confessed that California wasn't really her scene and how she had decided to teach at our almamater.

So what did I do? I packed up my fancy office in Richmond and moved back to Mystic Falls as well. In hindsight I realize this hasn't been the best career move. Actually, it was a horrible career move. I've gone from planning the next great skyscraper to designing standard issue track homes as if we still lived in the 50s. At the time I had thought as an architect that I could make anything dull interesting, but that's not been the case. It doesn't matter how much pep I put into my step... I'm going out of my mind in boredom.

Yet I won't leave this tiny town.

Why?

Elena, of course. The damn thorn in my side.

Somewhere between being hopelessly in love with her, my love has been corrupted a little. Okay, a lot. I hate her. Sometimes I think about ripping out her throat. I hate how she doesn't see it. Is she really so naive to think that I actually want to live here? I went from being on the lists of America's emerging talent in design to nothing, to crap work.

I hate her because she's the only girl that's ever crawled under my skin and set up a home there. I just can't get her out of my system. To make matters worse - like they needed to be any worse - my dick is infatuated with her to the point where no substitutes work. When I, Damon fucking Salvatore, started having troubles in bed... I just knew that it was time to change the dynamic of our relationship.

Maybe Elena will never see me as anything other than her ex-boyfriend's older brother. Maybe she's thinking of joining the Catholic church (the girl never dates). Fuck. Whatever her reasons might be for not seeing me that way, the way that I need her to see me... I swear: I will settle this! Tonight is the night. If Elena won't ever have me then I'll just have to find a way to move on (yeah right).

I nearly jump like a girl when the doorbell rings. Okay. Calm as a cucumber, I begin to chant in my head as I walk to answer the door.

"Hi, Damon." Elena greets in her normal, sweet yet unaffected voice.

I make a nod at her, making the motion to let her into my home. I can't trust my own voice. She looks amazing and she's carrying something that smells mouthwatering in her hands.

Cool as a cucumber.

"What's that?" I ask finally.

"Oh just some extra treats from the home economics class." She explains casually. "I had to sub for Caroline again."

Dumbass, she didn't bake for you. Why would she bake for you, I chide myself mentally.

"That's nice." I reply trying my best to keep up a mask of indifference.

"Damon... You already decorated." Elena blurts out in awe. "It looks beautiful, really."

Fuck. That's right. The plan, back to the plan. I had invited Elena under the ruse that she would help me decorate for my Christmas party tomorrow. This morning that had sounded like a good excuse to steal her for a few uninterrupted hours. But then at work when I didn't have any new projects to work on I sorta just snapped and decided to cut the bullshit.

"Yeah... I started earlier and just couldn't stop." I explain, which is actually the truth.

"Oh." Elena's lips make a perfect circle. Those lips! They're killing me with her barely there tinted chapstick. "You did a really good job." She continues.

"Do you want to take off your coat?" I blurt out.

"Umm, it looks like you're done here." She says shuffling her feet.

Fuck her!

"Do you have someplace else to be?" I grit out.

"No." She answers slowly.

"Good because I made you dinner." I say as if I didn't want to do it as if it were some chore.

Now she looks apologetic. "... You didn't have to do that, Damon..."

"I knew you were coming over and figure you'd be hungry after work." I explain reasonably.

Elena looks genuinely surprised.

I just stare at her until she says something.

"Dinner sounds nice." She smirks, putting down the tray of cookies on my bar's counter and takes off her coat.

I suddenly feel jealous of all her students. They get to see her in all these cute, but simple dresses. I've known Elena long to know that she's a jeans and shirt kinda girl, but she does dress nice for work every day.

I grab her coat and proceed to hang it up in the hall's closet. When I come back, she's smiling at me like she's hiding a big secret.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing..." She smiles again, this time giggling. "It's just I had forgotten that about you. How everything always has to be in it's right place."

"Are you making fun of me?" I pout. I can't help that I'm OCD and it doesn't actually impede on my life enough to see a doctor about it. Actually I think being OCD makes me a better architect, attention to detail and what not.

"No, No." She sobers up, obviously feeling like a terrible human being. "It's kinda... Cute actually."

I raise a single brow in reaction. Cute? That's a start, I guess.

"Do you want some wine while I bring everything out?" I ask, tilting my head at her.

"Sure... But just one." She replies. "I do have to drive home."

No, you don't, I reply in my head as I pour her wine.

Elena moans at the first taste of red that I give her. Girl, you kill me.

"Damon?"

Oh shit, did she say something? "Hmm?"

"I asked where did you get this?" She asks looking very happy. "This is the best wine I've ever had!"

"My grandma sent it to me." I answer and shrug. Mama Salvatore lives in Italy and she's got the hook up with the best of the best wineries; not at all anything unexpected.

Elena takes a seat on the island of the kitchen which would irk me if it were anyone but her. She watches me closely as I hustle around trying to get everything out of the oven for her. Her legs are swinging up and down a little, I notice out of the corner of my eye. Damn girl, all it takes you is one glass of wine to loosen you up a little. Mental note made.

"Damon, that smells delicious." Elena coos in a sweet little voice that makes me shiver. If this were a perfect world, she'd always be talking to me in that particular voice.

"We're going to eat in the dining room." I announce as I leave her in the kitchen for a moment while I run off to set things up.

It looks perfect, almost, I think as I adjust her placemat. It was slightly crooked. I look around the room and realize that maybe some candles and a fire would set the mood better. I quickly light up the the room in the most literal sense.

When I return to the kitchen, I instantly notice that Elena has helped herself to another glass. She blushes as if she's been caught with my cookie jar.

"Be my guest." I practically purr.

She sets the glass down and stares at me. I feel a little silly now standing her with a fucking apron around my waist. I promptly take it off. I'm about to tell her that dinner is served, but she cuts me off.

"I brought you something, I mean, something besides the cookies." Elena confesses.

You didn't have to bring me anything, all that I want is you, I reply in my head. I raise a brow waiting for her to continue.

She bites her lip. Is she flirting with me? My heart is racing in excitement, god, why am I such a pathetic hopeless romantic?

Elena walks up to me very slowly. There's a certain decisiveness to her steps. It actually makes me freak out a little because I've never seen Elena like this before.

Elena comes to stand so there's only a few inches between us. I can perfectly take in her unique scent of lilies.

She pulls her hand from behind her back and raises it up between us.

Mistletoe.

She's holding mistletoe.

She's holding mistletoe between us.

I'm too stunned.

She pecks me. She fucking pecked me on the lips and I didn't even react.

Let's rewind. This girl that I've always loved just kissed me out of the blue. This is the first time in the history of our relationship that she's showed any interest in me at all.

Then what does she do? She just walks away and goes into my dining room like that just didn't happen.

Is she toying me? Is this a game to her? Does she kiss every boy she knows and I secretly don't know about it?

"Wow, this looks..." Her eyes are wide as she stands by her seat at the table. She's clearly taking in the whole room.

"I haven't been in here since before you remodeled this room." She explains as if she has to.

"You're always welcome here." I say honestly and she's doesn't meet my eyes. Instead she takes a seat at the table.

"I love the fireplace." She says softly, nearly in a whisper. "I always wanted a fireplace."

Elena lives in a shitty little apartment. I hate her apartment. It's a disgrace to design. This is why she should just move in with me.

"I was talking to Mrs. Lockwood the other day and she was telling me about the renovations that you were making to the Mayor's house." She stammers. "The new fireplace..."

No. No. No. I do not want to talk about my work right now, so I simply nod.

I frown as I see that one of the candles isn't burning anymore. I promptly stand up to relight it. When I sit down I can feel Elena gaze, so I turn to her to see what's up.

"I like the candles." She says softly.

I study her closely because I'm starting to doubt myself. I'm delusional. I'm losing my fucking mind. No. She's not looking at me that way.

"It almost feels like we're on a date." She says in an even softer tone.

Original prompt by dunedesert/arwen01: All human, Damon is the bad boy and an architect and Elena is the good girl, teacher, Stefan's ex, both in their mid twenties. The only thing they have in common is that they are good friends for years and though they're constantly teasing each other and there is a certain chemistry between them, everyone warns her to stay away from him. Damon asks her for a favor, to help him decorate the house for his Christmas party. She agrees to come over but she is surprised to see the house already being decorated and Damon making a dinner for her. Fine meal, fireplace, wine, mistletoe, kiss. Damon takes her to his bedroom, and a very passionate lovemaking, at the end admitting their mutual feelings. I don't mind the kink but I think for their first time it should be rather about skillful lovemaking.

Wow, that was hard to write. Um, I hope I didn't butcher it. Nervous. I wrote this super quick because I wanted it done by January 5th, but that didn't work out... I have to still edit the rest of it, but I'm too exhausted at the moment. Hope You'll Still Be Good & Review!

A/N2: THE EPISODE (though I wish it had been Elena doing you know what): OKAY, I HAD TO POST THIS EVEN IF IT'S INCOMPLETE: my last for the fic exchange. By the way, every author wrote something, nobody flaked on me. How amazing is that?

Playlist:
Relient K - Which To Bury, Us Or The Hatch
Justin Timberlake - Until the end of time
Innerpartysystem - The Lovers Dancing (lyrics, title, etc, this song PUSHED me to finish this!)

This our time baby! Delena 2012.