Hey, all. This idea has been consuming me for days, and I really want it to be a one-shot just so I don't get sucked into another story when I have so many waiting on my other stories already. With my luck, this will end up being a few more chapters than I hope to anticipate. Anyway, this is my first Vampire Diaries fanfic, so bear with me. I only hope I can portray Damon in the proper light—which he so greatly deserves.

I, Sapphire Midnight, hold zero rights to Vampire Diaries.

Nothing's Ever Easy

Chapter One:

A Breath

Every day for the past three months the simple white card with its elegant design and thick matte paper taunted her. She knew the feel of the paper—the intricate calligraphy betraying her with its extravagance and beauty. She remembered the feeling of complete and agonizing heartbreak the first moment Elena realized what it was she was holding.

An invitation. To a wedding.

Stefan's wedding.

She had almost been sick when she read Katherine's name next to his. Elena had dropped the invitation, ran to the bathroom, and proceeded to dry-heave as tears streamed down her face. It had been hard enough, saying goodbye to her first love. Stefan's leaving her hadn't been what ruined her, though. It was the knowledge that, while he was dating her, he had been in love with someone who looked so much like Elena it was uncanny. It had been sickening for her to find out Stefan dated her because she reminded him of his first love. Devastating.

He had tried to deny it. There was a point in time Elena even believed he might have actually fallen for her after all the heartbreak that had been caused when Katherine and Elena met for the first time.

Then the unimaginable happened. Katherine told Stefan she loved him—had always loved him. Elena didn't know the details of everything that happened between them until Stefan was breaking up with her. He had taken his time about it, stringing her along and prolonging a pain Elena didn't believe she'd ever be able to live through again if she experienced it for a second time. There had been baggage. Things Stefan had never told her despite dating her for two years. His ex-girlfriend cheating on him with his brother. Elena hadn't even known Stefan had a brother. Then there was the fact that Elena was a stand-in for the woman he once loved.

Bitterness was not becoming.

It was a known fact Katherine and Elena were nothing alike as far as their personalities were concerned. Deep down, Elena knew Stefan couldn't have confused her for Katherine all this time. It hurt knowing how the two women painfully resembled one another, however. It hurt coming to terms with the fact that the only reason Stefan had been interested and curious about her was because of her resemblance to another woman.

She'd had a year and a half to cope, if that's what one called it. How did one cope when heart-broken anyway? She ate daily. Went about her routine. She still exercised, and made time for her friends.

The truth was, ever since Stefan was out of the picture Elena was able to focus on family and friends more than she ever had before. Exercise was her new best friend. She threw herself into it day after day just to numb the pain and have something to strive towards. She didn't know if she was running toward something new, or away from the demons of her past, but she knew the anger and heartbreak and frustration always felt a little bit weaker after she exhausted herself. Then, miraculously, she'd feel more energetic for the rest of her day. She'd never been more fit, and her energy and health helped her feel as though she could conquer anything.

So why was she here, visibly shaking as she clutched the wedding invitation in her had and stared with panic and trepidation up at the great Cathedral before her? Why, when she was looking her best and forcefully tried to calm her nerves and paste a fake, cheery smile on her face as she took her seat inside did she want to run to the bathroom and heave?

Stefan wasn't hers. Was never hers. He'd been Katherine's the whole time, even when neither of them had been able to realize it. She was happy for him, in some detached and selfless part of her heart that still cared for him despite everything that happened between them. She didn't love him anymore. Not the way she used to. She had been blind when in love with him. He had been the only part of her world that mattered. Friends and family had drifted to the background when Stefan had been around. It wasn't until she was single again that she was able to re-kindle her relationships with friends and family. Now her bond with those in her life had never been stronger. She felt loved and whole once again, even though Stefan was no longer with her.

But there was still something missing. There was still an aching emptiness in her life Stefan had once been able to fill. Those she cared about in her life formed an unbreakable chain around her. Its center still felt empty, however. There was a vulnerability inside of her that was new and untested. Elena hadn't been able to date for the past year and a half. She only recently was able to come to terms with her feelings and try to move on. She hadn't wanted to date someone else when her heart still belonged to Stefan.

Then the wedding invitation arrived, and Elena knew she had to let that pain and hurt be with her one final time. She couldn't pine over Stefan. It wasn't healthy, and she wasn't happy. Coming to their wedding was a way for Elena to start a new page in her new diary. A diary about her life without Stefan being in her every waking thoughts. She would watch the procession in a new light. She would close this chapter of her life and move on.

Finally move on.

As far as weddings went, it was as quiet and white and steady as them all. It passed Elena by in a blur. Before she knew it Stefan had kissed his new bride, and Elena was actually quite happy she had zoned out and hadn't really been paying attention to a kiss that might—once again—break her heart into tiny shards of glass that would spread down to pierce her lungs and cause her stomach to release its contents.

It was done. Stefan was a married man. Elena hadn't really talked to him much within the past year and a half, but now she knew she'd be able to look forward without looking back.

Making her way to the wedding ceremony taking place in an extravagant hotel lobby after, Elena realized she'd have to offer her congratulations to the bride and groom. Feeling decidedly strong and determined, Elena moved to do just that.

Only she was interrupted at every turn. There were so many people here—it had been a rather large wedding. Everyone had the same idea, and the crowd and pictures being taken proved it would be a long time in coming before Elena would finally be able to approach the bride and groom. Deciding she wasn't chickening out or delaying the inevitable, Elena made her way to the free bar. At this point, she reasoned she deserved a small drink as long as she stayed in control enough by the time she finally reached Stefan and his new wife.

Elena never hesitated. Upon reaching the bar she noticed another man was already there with a glass of what appeared to be some type of scotch. Asking for a shot, Elena downed it without hesitation, then slammed it down with a light gasp before asking for another.

Piercing blue eyes turned to her, a dark eyebrow lifting in silent question before a rather mirthless tilt of his lips edged up in one corner. He lifted his drink, releasing her from his pale stare as he tilted his glass and watched the amber liquid as it gleamed with reflected light.

"You must be Elena."

Turning her confused, dark gaze to the man next to her, Elena briefly gave the man a once-over, as if trying to place him and failing miserably. He was somewhat under dressed for a wedding party, but his black pants looked expensive and his white, button-down shirt had once been crisp despite its wrinkled appearance. The fact that he had no coat or tie did not go unnoticed, but what really caught her attention was the fact that his shirt was barely buttoned. Toned, sleek skin met her gaze and Elena thought him to be more under dressed than she first surmised even as her gaze darted an extra peek at his fine muscles before trying in vain to keep her eyes away.

"Why do you say that?"

Downing another shot, Elena began to wonder who this guy was. His dark hair complemented his pale eyes and face nicely. She couldn't help the small shiver that raked over her as those electric eyes of his spliced over in her direction once more. He gave her a look.

"Everyone else here is playing their merry little part, aren't they? Congratulating the nuptials of Stefan and Katherine and pretending to be busy-bodies as they snap photos they probably won't ever look at again, because it's not their wedding. It's Stefan's."

Raising her own brows this time, Elena turned more fully to the man beside her. Confusion marred her expression for a brief moment—then it all came to her and she couldn't help but feel shocked and amazed as she attempted to make the connection.

"You're Damon."

A lightly amused snort. "I take it baby brother didn't talk about me much?"

Suddenly uneasy, Elena shifted in her seat.

Her hesitance was noted, however, and Damon made a rather large show of rolling his eyes before leaning towards her to whisper conspiratorially.

"Don't worry. Brother Dearest and I have never been that close."

Which must have been a complete and utter lie, Elena thought, while noticing the brief flash of pain she remarkably witnessed in his eyes.

"Yeah, well, don't take it too harshly. Apparently there are a lot of things Stefan failed to mention while dating me."

She meant to say the truth in a way that would make him feel better. She hadn't wanted her words to come out sounding so harsh and bitter on her tongue. Flushing, Elena stiffened at the following silence. She didn't want to talk about this. Not here. Not at his wedding. She most certainly didn't want anyone's pity or disgust in response to anything she might have to say.

Instead, Damon surprised her. Taking a slow sip of his scotch, he swirled the amber liquid slightly before setting his drink down and turning to her, capturing her with his riveting stare.

"Want to talk about it?"

Scoffing, Elena found it hard-pressed not to laugh. Talk about it? To Stefan's brother? No, not really. But then she remembered Damon had been in love with Katherine too, back then. Maybe he still was. The flat denial died on her lips as Elena became lost in her thoughts. Maybe she wasn't the only one hurting here today. Maybe Damon had gone through the very same heartbreak she was going through.

"No, not really." Her words were softer than she thought they would be to a stranger who was seemingly trying to butt into her personal life. "Not here, on their wedding day."

He seemed to accept that, and turned back to his drink. He took a healthy swallow and polished it all off, then pulled a bottle from somewhere and poured himself another. At Elena's expression Damon sent her the over-done eye-roll again.

"Relax. I brought it. Besides, I'm paying for all the booze these party-grubbers ingest, so cut me some slack."

Pressing her lips together, Elena found she was actually hard-pressed not to laugh. A strangled noise must have escaped, because his questioning eyes were once again on hers and suddenly the corner of his lips turned up into a sly, sexy grin.

"Why, Elena. Was that a laugh I heard? I didn't know you cared."

Shaking her head and returning his eye-roll, Elena relinquished and gave Damon a small shove as another laugh escaped her.

"You know, you don't really fit the image I had painted of you when I finally heard about you. Admit it. Paying for the alcohol was your way of showing them you cared by helping them out with the wedding. What else did you do for them, Damon? Hand-craft and send out all the invitations?"

She was teasing him. There was a definite sparkle in her eyes, but Damon only hunched his shoulders at her playful words and scowled down at his drink.

"Of course not. I know squat when it comes to invitations." He grinned suddenly, releasing his glass and holding his larger hands up for Elena to see. He even wriggled his fingers. "You see? I'm all fingers and no thumbs."

At Elena's unimpressed expression Damon blinked, then looked down at his hands again.

"Oh. Right." He flipped her hands around so she could only see the backs of them, then tucked his thumbs in and away from view.

"You see?"

"I'm not buying it, Damon. You wanted to help them, so you did. I don't know if you did it for Stefan or for Katherine, but-"

"Stefan."

The word was harsh and bitten off, a dark scowl crossing Damon's features. Elena gasped lightly, somewhat taken aback at his tone.

"What?"

"I said, I did it for Stefan. I didn't do it for her. Besides," a bitter smirk twisted his once-sexy and teasing lips, "I knew I'd be getting wasted tonight, so it's only fitting I foot the bill."

Shaking her head, Elena leaned back and really looked at the man beside her.

Stefan's brother.

The man she never before met.

"I don't believe you." She shook her head slowly. This was just sad.

Damon's hands wrapped around his cool glass, fingers tightening for a moment as he tensed, then forced a light shrug.

"Don't care."

This time it was Elena's turn to lean in and whisper.

"I don't think you're as big of an ass as I've been led to believe. Whatever rumors have been going around, they certainly don't tell the whole story. You don't hate Stefan. You love him."

It was said point blank. When Damon mechanically turned to look at her, there wasn't anything in his bland expression that would give an ounce of what he was thinking or feeling away.

"You done?"

Elena nearly growled with frustration. "Don't you see, Damon? At least you have a relationship with your brother that you can fix."

Again with that flat look.

"You think it's easy, Elena? While Stefan may be my brother, he still took from me the one woman I had ever loved."

Biting along the inside of her lip, Elena nodded. It made sense. "So you hate him, then. Or wish you did."

"If I hated him it sure as hell would be a lot easier."

"Nothing's ever easy, Damon." A sigh. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that."

"Yeah, well. Stefan and I have forgiven each other for a lot of shit we've done. Even if you asked, I would never be able to tell you all of the ways we've ruined each other over the past—couple of years."

Another light smile, and Elena realized she was finally beginning to feel somewhat better while talking with Damon. It was a unique feeling.

"Don't you mean, decades, Damon?" Elena leaned over to him and whispered it against his ear before losing her playful smile and leaning away again. "Stefan told me what you are. It's no big secret. Not with me, anyway."

The shocked expression on Damon's face was almost too funny to laugh at. He looked utterly flabbergasted that she knew.

"But Stefan never...?"

"Bit me? No. He always had too much control for that."

A rather large snort was Damon's response to that, and Elena's body stiffened.

"Control? Please. Stefan's a baby as far as our kind is concerned." Pale eyes assessed her after a moment, and Elena felt the air whoosh out of her lungs at the soft look in his eyes as he met her gaze. "He did love you, though, Elena. Must have, to tell you our secret."

She felt as if she'd been sucker-punched. Blood roared in her ears and her face rapidly lost all color. With a gasp and a small curse, Damon was immediately next to her, a strong hand braced up against her back as he bent over her in concern. Elena tried to push his hands away but he wouldn't budge, and tears began to prick at the corners of her eyes.

"Elena. I'm sorry—I—"

"Dammit, Damon! You really are an ass!"

"I know. I'm an ass. Okay? I'm sorry. I—"

"You what? Like to kick a girl when she'd down? Dang it, Damon." With a light sniff, Elena tried to gently wipe away the moisture gathered under her eyes before she ruined her mascara and everyone knew she had been crying at a wedding. Stefan's wedding. "I can't believe you."

"I know. I just thought..."

"What? What did you 'just think,' Damon? That I was fine? That I wasn't already trying to hold myself together?" She heaved a sigh, finally succeeding in pushing Damon far enough away that she felt she could finally breathe again. "Here's a piece of news for you, Damon. I thought you'd heard, but maybe not, so let me say it like it is. Stefan and I dated, yes. I found out he was keeping things from me, yes. We promised to never keep things from each other again, and he lied. He didn't just keep the fact that he was a vampire from me in the beginning, but I later found out he had only showed an interest in me because I look like her, not to mention he never told me about his past history after Katherine randomly showed up one day. He never mentioned you, either, Damon. So yeah. He kept parts of himself from me, and in the meantime I had loved him. It kind of screws with a girl's head, okay? So just... keep the snide comments and pity to yourself, okay?"

Damon listened to her tirade in complete silence. His expression darkened more and more as her story continued, and by the time she was done he wanted to create a few gaping holes in the side of the building. Miraculously, he refrained.

"I didn't mean to make any snide comments, E-le-na." He enunciated, and Elena felt a pang in her chest when she realized he was right. She was too vulnerable right now to argue with him. She didn't want to do this right now, and turned pleading eyes to Damon's in which he ignored, stepping closer to her and invading her personal space. "And as for pity, get over it."

Gasping, Elena's dark eyes widened in shocked disbelief as her watering gaze focused on his tall form towering over her frame.

"He didn't deserve you, Elena. He never deserved you from the moment the two of you met. Don't let my brother have such a hold over you. You're better than that." His lip curled, and the anger in his too-blue stare was directed at Stefan as his glare flitted in his baby brother's direction for a second.

Grabbing Elena's shoulders, Damon's serious gaze sought and captured hers as he shook her lightly to keep her concentration strictly on his imposing form. "You probably only told me all that because everyone felt it important to stick their nose in my business—which means you know about my past with Katherine. She wasn't worth agonizing over, Elena. Yes, I wasted more of my existence pining over her than I've been alive. Yes, part of me really wants to tear her throat out. Still. Not worth it. So you see? Stop caring about someone who doesn't deserve it."

Throat constricting, Elena inhaled a shaky breath of air as some deep and tumultuous part of her stilled. She stared up at Damon as if hearing the words for the first time, even though Ric and Jeremy and Jenna and her friends had been trying to get her to see this for so long. The awed part of her trembled and slipped, leaving her with the pained anguish she had become accustomed to of late. Her lower lip trembled even as her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"How, Damon? I don't even know where to start." Her composure was crumbling again, and suddenly she found herself wrapped in Stefan's brother's arms. She stiffened for a brief moment, but Damon only held her protectively and whispered soft murmurs of comfort in her ear. Relaxing finally, Elena gripped Damon tightly and tried with all her strength not to cry.

"I need to feel something, Damon. How do you even feel anything anymore?" Her words were jumbled and weak, and muffled from where she tucked her face into the crook of his neck. Damon rocked her gently as he held her, and Elena had to admit it was the most cherished she had felt in a very long time.

"That's where I am the last person you want to seek advice from, Elena." His words were now murmured against her hair, and she thought she briefly felt a kiss being placed gently along the side of her head. "That's where I get my reputation. I'm 'dangerous.' I take 'risks.' Sleep around." A light shrug, as if his words held no importance to him. Pulling away slightly, Elena saw his smile was some-what self-depreciating, but he was trying to force the smile none-the-less. For her. "You don't want my advice, Elena."

Frowning, Elena refused to believe that. "You already gave me your advice. You told me I need to get over Stefan. I thought I had finally. He's married now. Knowing I shouldn't care anymore doesn't make the insecurities go away, or wash away the pain from the memories of us being together. I tell myself I don't love him and sometimes I wonder whether its finally true, or if I'm fooling myself. Other days I'm perfectly fine. Happy even. But coming here..."

Running a hand through her hair, Elena pulled out of Damon's arms and averted her gaze.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come. Now I have to talk to them and-"

"Screw them."

She froze, then blinked. "Excuse me?"

Damon was once again leaning over her, lips nearing the sensitive skin of her ear and neck. "I said: screw them. They don't deserve to see you suffer. You came, you partook in mindless revelry, you conqu-"

A sudden gleam lit his eyes, and a positively sinful smirk spread across those delightful lips of his. Gulping, Elena found she trusted that look not one bit. Even if it turned her legs to jelly and caused her insides to simmer and burn.

"What?" There was trepidation in her tone, which caused Damon's smirk to grow.

Suddenly Damon was walking around her full circle, causing Elena's confusion and suspicion to mount.

"Damon?"

There was warning in her tone, which he promptly ignored.

"You want to forget, Elena? You want to get over baby Stefan?"

The slight mocking of his tone did nothing to quell the butterflies on the rise in Elena's stomach. Damon's second slow circuit around her found Elena's feet moving with him so her eyes remained locked on his face and the assessing look in his dangerous gaze. The next time Damon leaned in to whisper something in Elena's ear, his warm lips brushed repeatedly against her skin, sending shiver upon shiver to rake over her form. Strong arms closed around her small waist as he pulled her flush against him, ensuring she had no method in which to escape.

"Sleep with me, Elena."

"What?" She gasped, squirming in his embrace even as her insides melted all the more at his words. Wide brown eyes flitted up to his as she tried to assess just how serious Stefan's brother was.

"Sleep with me," He reiterated, his tone deepening and sending electric currents over every inch of her skin. His nose moved forward to nuzzle against her ear, blunt teeth closing over the lobe and causing Elena's eyes to widen as her pupils dilated and she gasped.

Stefan had never been able to stay near her neck for too long. It provided too much temptation. He constantly hid his face from her when they had made love. Their positions had never been overly romantic. They had always been improvising.

Nibbling her lower lip, Elena wasn't even aware she was contemplating the offer until she felt a trail of open-mouthed kisses line the column of her neck. Arms tightening around him, Elena felt liquid heat narrow straight down to her belly as something inside of her responded to his touch. A gasp escaped, and she had to bite back a moan.

This was crazy.

She was already burning for more of Damon's touch.

And wasn't she, only moments before, comparing everything Damon did to Stefan?

Grim determination settled over her. It wouldn't ever be fair to anyone she wanted to enter a serious relationship with if she was constantly comparing the man to Stefan. To a vampire. Damon admitted to his one-night stands already. What could it hurt?

The vulnerable, tentative heat within her that was finally beginning to flame up once again reminded her how desperately she had been yearning to simply feel something again. To touch. To be held. Even if just for one night.

She would be in the arms of someone who understood. There wouldn't be any expectations, just carnal pleasure and a way for Elena to finally force herself to move on.

And Damon was as opposite of Stefan as Elena was to Katherine. He'd already proven that by both word and deed.

"What do you say, Elena? You ready to take a risk?"

The feel of teeth lightly scraping against the side of her neck caused goosebumps to rise up along her flesh, her heart picking up speed. A low groan reverberated against her sensitive skin before Damon's heated tongue flicked lightly over her flesh. When he pulled away his eyes seemed somehow bluer now than they did before.

"Okay."

It seemed her agreement took a moment or two longer than it should have to finally penetrate. When it did, Damon's sexy smile split across his face and was only for her. Her pulled her against him, hands splayed over her hips, and gave her an idea of what he thought of her agreement as she stayed pressed against him. Elena flushed from the obvious amount of heat in his gaze.

"I'll go get us a room."

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