( it's a completely illogical statement, really. there's no way for Damon to be able to make that promise - even outside of the station, back home, anything could happen. he can't really promise that he'll always come back, no one can know that for sure.
but Damon says it, and Elena believes him.
it's the worst possible timing, but her eyes focus on Damon's and almost instantly all Elena can think about is the last time they were this close. the hotel room had been...complicated. or not complicated, not really, just intense, and it had kind of scared her a little. what if Damon hadn't pulled back? what if Stefan hadn't arrived the very next day? the 'what if's are enough to make her head spin, and now is the last time she wants to be thinking like that.
she's relieved that he's here, that he's safe. they've grown a lot closer since being on the station -- and Stefan, he couldn't lose his brother like that. it's relief, nothing more. it can't be anything more.
and yet he's barely a foot from her, she's still wrapped around him, she's got his hand in hers, and for a moment the only thing that is on her mind is the fact that not even a week earlier she was inches, moments away from kissing him. she's thinking about it again now, intense relief intermingled with...whatever it is that she's feeling, being this close to him. it'd be so easy to just close the gap...
so Elena steps back. she's holding his hand still, tight, but she has to put a bit more physical distance between the two of them, and fast. now this, this is complicated. )
You better. ( she says, and smiles, and it's not exactly strained but it's certainly more difficult than it should be. ) I can't do this without you, Damon.
( of all the things damon has ever thought possible, this moment, this precise situation, has never been one of them. he knows what he's in for in life, has made his peace with it — second best, always. making the hard decisions so the good people don't have to get their hands dirty, and accepting the ire that comes with that. being relied on and despised by turns, because they know when they need him but hate that they do, because he refuses to wallow in the guilt they think is the most important part of being good. he is a part of the group and also apart from it, a cherished friend who can't be dealt with in front of others because then they'll know. all of this, he understands and accepts.
nowhere in this understanding did he make room for the realization that elena wants him.
he can feel it, focused in on her as he is. she still hasn't taken sam's shielding lessons, so she broadcasts her emotions to anyone not specifically closing themselves off from her, and in this moment, damon is the least guarded he's ever been. if he weren't, maybe he wouldn't have felt it. if she'd taken those lessons, maybe she'd be shielding now — or maybe she'd be just as overwhelmed and unguarded as he is. in the end, it doesn't matter. he's unguarded, she has no shields, and so he feels it: elena gilbert wants to kiss him.
before he can really process the thought, she's stepped away, and the spell ends. for a moment, he just stares at her, but eventually he smiles and drops his arm from around her waist. her hand he holds, just as tightly as she's holding his. wanting to kiss him isn't the same as wanting him. if she really wanted to switch brothers, she'd do it. that she hasn't says all that needs to be said.
still, it's a comfort. bittersweet, but still. )
You're stronger than you think, Elena. You'd do fine.
( really, she should be breaking contact entirely. the last thing Elena ever thought she'd be having to worry about in hivemind space horror of all places is some kind of relationship drama, and yet here she is. you can (all but forcibly) remove the girl from high school, but you can't take the high school out of the girl, apparently. it feels stupid, honestly, to be caught up in something as normal as this when their lives have so rapidly become the exact opposite of normal. Stefan is human, Damon's a friend hahahahahahha, and Elena has some kind of freezing power.
there shouldn't be time to get caught up in a love triangle, but somehow that's exactly what's happening.
so she should let go of his hand, but she doesn't. there's more space now, she's stepped back once more just to really feel like she's 'doing the right thing', but she can't make herself let go of his hand yet. she brings them down from her face, but she's still clutching it between them like a lifeline. )
Well, I don't want to find out how strong that is. ( her shoulders hunch, a little gesture that's supposed to be a shrug following as her gaze drops to the floor. ) I don't want to lose anyone else. I don't want to lose you.
( and to think, she doesn't even know how bad it's going to get in mystic falls. )
( she doesn't know, but damon does. he's seen elena at some of her darkest periods, when it seemed the entire world was out to destroy her, to take the things she loved and rip them from her as traumatically as possible. their home universe has never been kind to elena gilbert, and it's not hard to imagine that this one, and whatever new ones the nest forces them to visit, will be no different.
it just makes him more determined to keep his promise. now that stefan is human, damon is the last person she has who can't die in something as simple and mortal as a car accident. he's the last person she has who can promise to come back and have a chance of keeping that promise, and nothing will make him break it. more than that, he'll do whatever he has to to keep the other people elena loves alive. any friends she makes on the station, on the planets they visit, stefan — none of them will die if he can help it.
elena's put more space between them, but damon closes it, dropping her hand only to pull her into another hug. it's not the best — hugs are not something he does — but he couldn't see her standing like that without doing something. )
You're going to regret saying that one day, you know, ( he says, voice light with somewhat-forced levity. ) One day you'll want me gone and I'll point to this conversation.
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but Damon says it, and Elena believes him.
it's the worst possible timing, but her eyes focus on Damon's and almost instantly all Elena can think about is the last time they were this close. the hotel room had been...complicated. or not complicated, not really, just intense, and it had kind of scared her a little. what if Damon hadn't pulled back? what if Stefan hadn't arrived the very next day? the 'what if's are enough to make her head spin, and now is the last time she wants to be thinking like that.
she's relieved that he's here, that he's safe. they've grown a lot closer since being on the station -- and Stefan, he couldn't lose his brother like that. it's relief, nothing more. it can't be anything more.
and yet he's barely a foot from her, she's still wrapped around him, she's got his hand in hers, and for a moment the only thing that is on her mind is the fact that not even a week earlier she was inches, moments away from kissing him. she's thinking about it again now, intense relief intermingled with...whatever it is that she's feeling, being this close to him. it'd be so easy to just close the gap...
so Elena steps back. she's holding his hand still, tight, but she has to put a bit more physical distance between the two of them, and fast. now this, this is complicated. )
You better. ( she says, and smiles, and it's not exactly strained but it's certainly more difficult than it should be. ) I can't do this without you, Damon.
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nowhere in this understanding did he make room for the realization that elena wants him.
he can feel it, focused in on her as he is. she still hasn't taken sam's shielding lessons, so she broadcasts her emotions to anyone not specifically closing themselves off from her, and in this moment, damon is the least guarded he's ever been. if he weren't, maybe he wouldn't have felt it. if she'd taken those lessons, maybe she'd be shielding now — or maybe she'd be just as overwhelmed and unguarded as he is. in the end, it doesn't matter. he's unguarded, she has no shields, and so he feels it: elena gilbert wants to kiss him.
before he can really process the thought, she's stepped away, and the spell ends. for a moment, he just stares at her, but eventually he smiles and drops his arm from around her waist. her hand he holds, just as tightly as she's holding his. wanting to kiss him isn't the same as wanting him. if she really wanted to switch brothers, she'd do it. that she hasn't says all that needs to be said.
still, it's a comfort. bittersweet, but still. )
You're stronger than you think, Elena. You'd do fine.
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hahahahahahha, and Elena has some kind of freezing power.there shouldn't be time to get caught up in a love triangle, but somehow that's exactly what's happening.
so she should let go of his hand, but she doesn't. there's more space now, she's stepped back once more just to really feel like she's 'doing the right thing', but she can't make herself let go of his hand yet. she brings them down from her face, but she's still clutching it between them like a lifeline. )
Well, I don't want to find out how strong that is. ( her shoulders hunch, a little gesture that's supposed to be a shrug following as her gaze drops to the floor. ) I don't want to lose anyone else. I don't want to lose you.
( and to think, she doesn't even know how bad it's going to get in mystic falls. )
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it just makes him more determined to keep his promise. now that stefan is human, damon is the last person she has who can't die in something as simple and mortal as a car accident. he's the last person she has who can promise to come back and have a chance of keeping that promise, and nothing will make him break it. more than that, he'll do whatever he has to to keep the other people elena loves alive. any friends she makes on the station, on the planets they visit, stefan — none of them will die if he can help it.
elena's put more space between them, but damon closes it, dropping her hand only to pull her into another hug. it's not the best — hugs are not something he does — but he couldn't see her standing like that without doing something. )
You're going to regret saying that one day, you know, ( he says, voice light with somewhat-forced levity. ) One day you'll want me gone and I'll point to this conversation.