Secret Santa (PART 4)
PART 4
Chapter 1: How the Grinch (Elena) Stole Christmas
A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! I am participating in the D/E xmas fic exchange on LJ again this year (hosted by BadBoysAreBest). I've signed up to write five prompts this year, and they will all be posted here (as well as on LJ at the tvdmixing community page). Enjoy!
Prompt #1 (by petrova39): "Vamp Elena is not feeling very Christmas-y what with most of the people she loves gone...Damon is all that's left and he's been distant...she literally steals Christmas like the Grinch...ultimately Damon showing her that Christmas can mean something without everyone there."
HOW THE GRINCH (AKA ELENA) STOLE CHRISTMAS
'So maybe I went a little overboard. A little off the deep end.
But, I mean, it's understandable, right? After everything I've been through that a normal 18 year old-hell, age doesn't even matter here-NO ONE should have to go through what I've been through.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, I was trying to defend my actions. But, that being said, I shouldn't have to defend myself! Anyone else in my position would've done a lot worse than what I'm doing now. Someone like, say, Klaus or Kol-but I'm not them. I will never be like them.'
Elena paused for a second, studying the neat, rounded letters she had written in the diary spread on her lap. She glanced out the window to her left, the darkening sky already creating a reflection of her room in the glass. She peered, oddly mesmerized, at the backward script from her diary reflected in the window.
She didn't know how long she sat there, but when she came to her senses, darkness had completely fallen outdoors-carpeting Mystic Falls in the black velvety night that vampires, like herself, should consider their stomping ground.
Her pen pressed back into the paper again, her handwriting becoming less neat and more of a scrawl as she hurried to finish.
'What I chose to do instead might seem a little childish, maybe a little stupid. But that's only to someone who hasn't walked in my shoes. And trust me, if there was a spell that Bonnie could do to hand my life over to someone else, I would do it in a heartbeat. '
Elena tilted her head, her eyes narrowing at her subconscious use of that word-heartbeat. She snorted lightly to herself. After someone found out what her nightly activities for the past week had been, they would come to the conclusion that perhaps she didn't have a heart either.
She glanced through her window again, her hand flying over her diary at a supernatural pace as she finished her thoughts for the day. Then she carelessly tossed it onto her bed as she sped to her closet and pulled a black hoodie on over her dark jeans.
The house was empty since Jeremy had gone off to Denver to spend the holidays with a friend that had invited him over for the week-okay, so maybe Elena had used Klaus' affection for Caroline to convince him to track down Kol and force him to compel Jeremy's friend to invite him over-but she was just being a good sister. Why would Jeremy want to spend his Christmas in Mystic Falls in a huge house with no one to celebrate with, anyway?
Empty house or not, Elena still cracked her window open and jumped noiselessly to the ground instead of using the front door. Hey, she was a vampire now-she might as well use her new abilities for something, right?
As she walked quickly down her street, she let her eyes dart back and forth between the houses for what she was looking for. The remaining few sentences from her diary echoed in the back of her mind as she spied twinkling lights in the distance.
'The truth is, I don't think I'll ever be a creature of the night. Not the way that Stefan and Damon were when they first turned. Not the way that Klaus is-and I don't trust for a second that he's turned over this new humanity leaf for Caroline. People like that don't change. I'll never be what anyone wants me to be.
If I'm honest with myself, I don't see how anyone can even be happy in Mystic Falls right now. No wonder everyone hightailed it out of here for the holidays. I'm not really upset about Stefan leaving, not as upset as I thought I would be anyway. He and Klaus are out trekking around the world for another Hunter to use-no way am I letting them slowly whittle away at Jeremy's humanity. He's given up enough because of me. I'm not going to be reason he stops being human.
I thought Caroline would stick around, but she and her mom left to go visit some relatives. And Bonnie is on a spiritual retreat with that professor she's been spending so much time with-I know, I know, I shouldn't judge. I mean, he is helping her, at least, it seems that way. But there's just something about him that I don't trust. I know Damon agrees with me.'
Elena foot slipped a little on the tree as Damon's accusing gaze flashed in her mind's eye, but she quickly caught her balance. He was the only one left in Mystic Falls that she would even want to spend all her newfound free time with, but he had been keeping himself at a distance. Maybe out of respect to her fresh breakup with Stefan-or maybe...some other reason.
Clenching her jaw at the sudden onset of frustration that coursed through her veins (she was never going to get used to this whole heightened emotions thing), Elena reached out and snatched the glowing snowman from the second floor balcony of the house she had clambered onto.
She pursed her lips when she peered down onto the lawn below and found Santa's whole freakin' sleigh and reindeer set happily twinkling away. Still clutching the snowman in her arms, Elena leapt down to the ground and freed the power cord before easily lifting the whole sleigh and disappearing into the woods behind the house. Once she was hidden, she vengefully kicked apart the snowman and then moved on to Santa, taking special care to stomp her heel into his stupid puffed up cheeks.
When she was done, she crossed her arms in grim satisfaction and looked down at her handiwork. Good, Elena thought stubbornly, turning her back on the scene and speeding away before anyone could see her. Once she was back on the main street, she slowed her pace, though she still walked faster than would be considered strictly human. The rest of the houses held no decorations, since Elena had already "visited" most of them. Her feet carried her instead down to the center of town, which was fairly empty due to the late hour. All the shops were closed for the night, but Elena ignored the Christmas lights in the store windows.
Her gaze had landed on the cluster of small trees in the town square, where new multi-colored lights clung festively to the branches, lighting up the Green in a myriad of colors. Elena glared at the sight, then strode over to the first tree and snatched at the string of lights, becoming annoyed when they didn't immediately fall into her hands. She nimbly leapt up to a higher branch, attempting to find the beginning (or end) of the string and somehow only becoming entangled in the lights herself. "Ugh!" she grumbled in disgust, writhing in the wires until her foot slipped on the edge of a branch and she hurtled towards the ground.
Her mouth opened in an instinctive scream, but the sound never even left her lips as she found herself in a pair of strong and familiar arms. Elena turned her head sheepishly to meet Damon's amused gaze. "Don't," she warned as she got to her feet, "Don't say a word."
"Okay," he said simply, watching as she struggled with the lights that stayed persistently wrapped around her frame. "I'll just stand here and enjoy the show."
She huffed after a second, using an enormous amount of effort to keep from stomping her foot like a petulant child. "Fine," she said begrudgingly, holding her arms out in front of her, "Help."
"Oh, I don't know," Damon shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets as he studied her nonchalantly. "I think I'm giving up the whole saving damsels in distress thing. New year and all that. Gotta have a resolution." He smiled at her innocently, "What's your resolution, Elena?"
"Damon..."
"I found this, by the way," he interrupted her, reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket and producing a small, red, circular object. Elena frowned at it; something about it looked oddly familiar. "Rudolph's nose," Damon said in answer to her unasked question. "From the reindeer set that you attacked with your uncalled-for tantrum."
Elena stopped fiddling with the lights, her eyes widening in surprise. "What? You were following me?"
"With good reason," he retorted, his mouth falling into his trademarked sneer. "Look at you."
"I'm not...this isn't..." She sputtered for a few seconds before throwing caution to the winds and curling her hands into fists, "It isn't fair, alright? IT'S NOT FAIR."
Instead of telling her to be quiet, Damon merely folded his hands and nodded at her to continue. "Why not?" he asked her calmly, "What's not fair?"
"That everyone-these people-they think it's okay to...to act like..." Elena's shoulders deflated, and the next thing she knew, her arms were being freed from their restraints. She looked up to see Damon effortlessly break the wires apart, and they both looked down to see the lights fall to the ground at their feet. "Thank you," she said in a small voice, "For helping me. I know you didn't want to." When he didn't reply, she glanced up to meet his gaze. "I made you break your resolution."
A ghost of a smile flitted across his face as he began backing away, "Hey, there's always next year. I've got an eternity of them, after all." Elena opened her mouth to stop him from leaving, but his next words stopped her cold. "Besides, if there's one girl that could get me to break all the rules, it's got to be you, right?" Damon's expression remained stoic this time as he turned around and sped away into the night, leaving her staring after him in dismay.
Then she crouched down to pick up the broken lights, the frayed wires dragging against the ground as she stood back up and looked into the distance at the direction that Damon had gone. She could feel tears pricking in the corner of her eyelids and she tilted her head up towards the night sky to still them.
"Thinking of taking up stargazing? I did that once," a familiar voice said matter-of-factly from behind her. "It was during my intellectual phase. I could give you some tips, if you'd like."
Elena whirled around, unable to believe what she was hearing. "It is you," she gaped at the person before her, "You're really here?"
"Niklaus has enlisted my help to find another Hunter," Elijah informed her, and although he gave her a smile, she could see the weariness that lay beneath it. "And he's decided now that he needs Rebekah as well. Of course he's sent me to undagger her, since she'll likely stake him herself if he's the first face she sees when she wakes."
"Oh," Elena tried to return the smile, though she wasn't sure she had succeeded. "So you're part of the mounting effort to find me the cure." She nodded to herself, "Because I'm broken, just like these stupid lights." She let them fall to the ground, "And I need to be fixed."
"No," Elijah refuted immediately, coming forward and taking her hands within is. "Not at all, Elena. Who's put these ridiculous ideas into your head? Stefan? Damon?" He suddenly looked around, as if expecting to see one of the Salvatores at her shoulder. "Where is Damon? He's still in town, isn't he? I know he wouldn't leave..."
'Where were you, Damon?'
'I shouldn't have left. I promise you I will never leave you again.'
Elena nodded slowly, "You're right. Damon stayed. He didn't...he didn't leave like everyone else did."
Elijah met her gaze, a knowing look momentarily flashing in his eyes. "Cure or no cure, Elena, you're strong. You always have been." He held his hand out and briefly clasped her hand, "Make the most of the new year, Elena."
"Thank you," she gave him a genuine smile this time, "I will."
Damon swung open the door, looking resigned when he saw her standing on his doorstep. "There's no decorations here, little Miss Grinch," he snarked, "Try the next block over."
Elena took a deep breath, willing herself not to lose her resolve. "We need to talk."
"Nothing worth hearing has ever followed those words."
She reached out and grabbed his wrist to stop him from turning away, "Can I come in?" He didn't answer, though he stepped aside and waved her in. "Elijah's back in town," she told him as he shut the door behind her. "He came to pick up Rebekah."
"Klaus too scared to face sister dearest?" Damon asked with a grin, "I don't blame him. Talk about scary Barbie."
"Or maybe it's just his way of getting his family together for the holidays," Elena said listlessly, watching as Damon poured her a shot of whiskey. "You know I don't drink that stuff."
"It's New Year's Eve," Damon bumped her shoulder as he took a seat next to her, "Live a little."
"I am living," she deadpanned, "I've become the good-girl-turned-criminal. That's me, living life on the edge."
He shook his head, "You're not a criminal, Elena."
"I stole things," she insisted, "I destroyed people's personal property. And I felt no remorse for any of it." Her hand tightened around the glass she was holding, "I didn't feel anything."
"That's not true," Damon looked at her closely, "You did feel something. Or else you wouldn't be here, trying to talk about it."
"I don't want to talk about IT," Elena frowned, "I came here to talk to you."
"Yeah? About what?"
She straightened indignantly at his skeptical tone. "About why I broke up with Stefan," she snapped, a little too loudly. Maybe that alcohol had gone straight to her head. "About how Stefan is always leaving, how everyone has always left." Elena got to her feet then, so that she could look down at him. "But you..." her voice softened, "You didn't leave. You're always there for me, even when I don't ask you to be. Even when I push you away, when I make it impossible for you to be around me, you still...you've never given up on me."
"You know why," Damon's voice was rough, "Don't-"
"I know what I did to those decorations was stupid," she interrupted, "And it was mean-spirited and childish. But I was bitter, and I didn't think that people deserved to..." She sighed, putting down her empty glass. "I was wrong," she admitted, "About a lot of things."
He didn't bat an eyelid, "You're going to need to be a little more specific, Elena."
"The choices I made, the way I treated you, all of it...I'm-" Her voice broke, "I'm sorry, Damon."
He bent his head slightly, acknowledging her sentiments. "I know you are."
Elena glanced at the clock and then stretched her arm out to him silently. When he looked at her in puzzlement, she gave him a tentative smile. "It's almost midnight," she explained, "I want to start the New Year off right." He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, and she heard his sharp intake of breath when she rested her head on his shoulder. "With you," she murmured into his ear as he wrapped his arms around her so that her body molded against his. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, just enjoying each other's embrace.
Soon though, she heard a bell tolling in the distance. Before she could react, Damon had suddenly tightened his grip around her and blurred them both across the length of the floor until they were standing at the entrance to the room. "You said you wanted to start the year off right," he told her when she looked at him in bewilderment. He subtly glanced upwards, and she followed his gaze to the mistletoe hanging above them.
Elena grinned in spite of herself as she looked back at Damon. "I wouldn't have it any other way," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes and nestling both her hands into his hair to lower his head towards hers as she brushed her lips against his in a light kiss. The thrill of anticipation building within her, she let their second kiss deepen until she could feel the room begin to spin as the they slipped into superspeed mode as though it was second nature.
She heard a rip as his fingers dug into her shirt in his haste to get it off. Elena didn't even blink as she tore the buttons off his shirt to reciprocate, and she breathed in a gust of unnecessary air as she ran her hands across his skin with something akin to wonderment. "Damon..." she sighed into his mouth as he covered her lips with his own again, this time his fingers slipping into the waistband of her jeans. A second later he had pushed her onto the sofa and she dutifully lifted her legs so that he could pull her jeans off, leaving her olive skin glowing in the firelight.
"Red's a good color on you," Damon's eyes had darkened with lust, his voice becoming heavy in a way that had Elena reaching out to pull him forward. He carefully held himself above her, still looking unsure even as she instantly wrapped her legs around his waist, purposefully pressing her core against his obvious arousal. "Elena," he began, but she shook her head, reaching between them to rid them both of the final pieces of fabric keeping them apart.
"It's a New Year," she told him, arching her hips towards him in askance. "I want this," she mumbled against his lips as they kissed again, her nails digging into his back as he slid into her and she broke their kiss, her lips forming a perfect 'O' as her head fell back against the armrest.
"You okay?" Damon asked her in a tight voice, and she was startled to see the emotion burning in his eyes. Elena could feel the passion radiating off him in waves and she nodded, letting him set a slow and steady pace, at complete odds with their earlier rendezvous around the living room. No sooner had this thought crossed her mind, however, than did Damon suddenly speed up, somehow flipping them over in the process so that she was left straddling him. "I like a woman who knows what she wants," he smirked up at her, gesturing for her to continue.
She hesitantly began moving, closing her eyes as she felt his fingers press into her hips. She found her rhythm and opened her eyes to see Damon smiling up at her. "What?" she teased, bending her head forward so that strands of her hair fell forward and strayed across his chest. "I've never seen that look on your face before."
"What look?" Damon let out a guttural groan as Elena shifted the angle of her hips so that he slid in even deeper. "I just wish...that we could spend the rest of the year doing this."
"Who says we can't?" Elena waited till he had raised himself on his elbows before lowering her head and kissing him hungrily, pouring every emotion that she had ever felt for him into the kiss. "I love you," she blurted out when she pulled back and saw the dazed look on his face, "And I want to be with you, and..." Her mouth opened and closed as she felt her orgasm fast approaching. "And, Damon Salvatore, I choose you." Then they both fell over the edge together, gasping out each other's names as fireworks lit up the sky in the night behind them.
*for people following my "Through The Looking Glass" fic, I promise it will be updated soon! I want to get these holiday fics out first though ;) be sure to review, xoxo.
Chapter 2: Miracle on Salvatore Boulevard
Prompt #2 (by biba_ca): "I actually want Elena to spend Christmas with Katherine (or at least a part of it). Katherine does something or takes Elena some place to teach her an important lesson...[when] Katherine leaves, Elena remains behind confronted with a decision. Of course she decides to call Damon..."
MIRACLE ON SALVATORE BLVD.
Elena picked up a frame sitting on her dresser, sighing as she looked at the happy couple in the photo. It seemed like so long ago that she and Stefan had shared that time together, looking so carefree and innocent. Now when they were in the same room, the only thing between them was baggage.
Lots and lots of emotional baggage.
At this rate, she didn't see how things could ever go back to the way they used to be between them. And honestly, she didn't know if she had the energy to care anymore. Taking one last look at the picture, she reluctantly opened one of her drawers and slid it in, face down.
"Ouch. I wonder what Stefan would think of that."
It wasn't possible.
Elena stared into her mirror, taking in the reflection of the person standing behind her. Try as she might, the double vision of herself didn't disappear and she was forced to come to an unsettling conclusion.
"Great!" Elena threw up her hands in annoyance as she turned around to face the new arrival who was most certainly a figment of her imagination, "Now I'm having hallucinations again. As if my week wasn't bad enough already!"
Katherine placed a hand on her hip as she stood in the doorway, surveying Elena as one would study a rather peculiar object. "Hate to disappoint, sweetie," she stepped more fully into the room, this time flashing her trademark grin. "Did you miss me?"
"No," Elena answered through gritted teeth, "And I haven't killed any more Hunters either, so you can just go away!"
"Hunters?" Katherine looked puzzled, "You killed a Hunter? But then you would have awful hallucin-oh." She tilted her head, curious. "I was one of your hallucinations? What did I say?"
Elena narrowed her eyes, taking a hesitant step forward. "It's really you? You're really here?"
Katherine blurred forward abruptly, slamming Elena against the wall, a hand wrapped around her throat. "Proof enough?"
"Somehow that move doesn't hold as much weight now that I don't actually need air to breathe," Elena remarked dryly, shoving Katherine away with a burst of her newly enhanced strength. "But I see you already knew that," she added, when Katherine didn't look the least bit surprised.
"Yes, I've heard the rumors of your demise," Katherine ran her fingers along some of the trinkets sitting on Elena's bedside table. "How does it feel?"
"To be a vampire?" Elena struggled to answer the question for a second before deciding on the truth. "Overwhelming."
"Hmm," Katherine walked over to the dresser and pulled the frame of Elena and Stefan back out. "Another breakup, I presume. What is this, like the tenth one?"
"Very funny."
"I wasn't trying to be."
Elena swallowed, her eyes flickering away from her doppelganger's insistent gaze. "This time it's the real deal. We've…it's not like it was before. I'm not who he wants me to be. I'm not someone he can love."
Katherine scoffed, leaving the picture lying face-up on the dresser. "Don't be ridiculous, Elena. That poor, deluded boy loves you more than life itself. Bit pathetic, really."
"You haven't been here," Elena responded, crossing her arms as she stared Katherine down accusingly. "You don't know what it's been like. A lot of things have changed."
"Don't be naïve, Elena. Just because I haven't been here in the flesh doesn't mean that I haven't been keeping up." When Elena merely raised an inquiring eyebrow, Katherine smirked. "Shall I prove it to you? One, Klaus is still around because you're all a bunch of fools who think you're going to outsmart him, yet you have failed. Repeatedly, I might add."
"He's our bloodline-"
"There are other ways of putting someone out of their misery," Katherine sneered back, "Speaking of which, that lovesick fool deserves what's coming to him. What is he even doing in Mystic Falls, anyway? Kol and Elijah didn't bother to stick around."
"Have you seen them?" Elena asked, momentarily distracted. "Do they…"
"Yes, they both know that you're a vampire now," Katherine said dismissively, "I daresay Klaus will pull them both into one of his plans to find the cure soon enough."
"You know about the cure? I thought it was a secret," Elena frowned, "Isn't it?"
"Yes, but I ran into Stefan on my way into town and he told me what he and Klaus have been up to. " She waggled her eyebrows at Elena, "So tell me. Did he take off on this little adventure before or after the breakup?"
"After," Elena scowled, "Though it's none of your business. Why are you even here?"
Katherine was silent for a moment. "I have something I want to show you," she announced suddenly, "Come with me."
Elena automatically complied but stopped herself at the last second. "Wait, where are we going?"
"The boarding house."
"But-"
"Don't worry, Damon isn't there. Come on." She shot Elena a mischievous look, "Race you there."
"I won," Katherine grinned as she arrived at the Salvatore front door a mere millisecond before Elena. "But hey, who can blame you for not wanting to disturb the status quo?"
"Oh shut up," Elena rolled her eyes, though her words held no venom. She was too curious about what they were doing here to really be annoyed at Katherine. "Are you sure no one is home?"
"Positive," she nudged open the door and gestured for Elena to follow her into the basement, apparently noticing the latter's wary expression at the last second. "Jeez, Elena, what do you think I'm going to do to you down there? It's Christmas, even I'm not heartless enough to hide a stake behind my back."
"You sound like Klaus," Elena grumbled under her breath, though she nevertheless followed behind Katherine hesitantly. "What did you want to show me? I've been down here a million times."
"Yes, but I doubt you've ever seen these," Katherine led her to a darkened area towards the back, where a pile of boxes sat collecting dust. Elena had never paid them much attention before, due in no small part to the cobwebs strung around them. She wrinkled her nose as Katherine crouched down and picked one box out with particular care and blew the dust off the lid. "Don't be scared of a couple spiders, Elena."
"I'm not," she retorted, taking a seat on the ground next to her sometimes-nemesis. "Okay, what am I looking at?"
"Stefan's diaries."
Whatever Elena had been expecting, it hadn't been that. She stared at the small collection of bound journals, clearly dating back to the early 1900s or maybe even the late 1800s. "How did you know these were here?"
"Because I put them here myself," Katherine stated matter-of-factly, "Here, look at this one."
Elena took the book that Katherine handed to her, but didn't open it. "I feel like we're invading his privacy. Maybe this isn't a good idea."
"Read it," she insisted, "You need to know. It's from his last year as a human."
1864-
There's something about her. Katherine Pierce. I know my brother has taken a liking to her, too. I love my brother, and normally I would yield to his wishes. But I'm drawn to Katherine in a way that I haven't been to any other woman before. I know father does not approve of her, but I can't be bothered with his attitude now. I think I am falling for her.
There was more after that, but Elena didn't continue reading. She glanced up at Katherine, who was looking at her with a knowing smile. "What?"
"Did you feel anything just now?"
"Pity?" Elena shot back evenly, "Because he was willing to give up his brother and father for you, and all you've ever done is ruin his life."
"Now that's not entirely true. I loved him," she paused before correcting herself, "I love him. Always have, always will."
"Was that the whole lesson in today's little adventure? That you think you love him more than..." Elena trailed off, pursing her lips when Katherine shot her a triumphant look. "I never denied that I stopped loving Stefan. I still care about him. He's been the one constant in my life, something to hold onto in all this mess. But just because I care for him, doesn't mean that I'm still in love with him. That girl that was head over heels, that considered him the love of her life...she's gone, Katherine."
Her doppelganger was already shaking her head. "Your love for him-or mine for that matter-isn't the reason I brought you here today. There's something else I want you to read. Here."
"Another journal? Don't tell me Damon was a writer, too."
"Hardly. This is another one of Stefan's. Same year."
1864-
Damon and I aren't on the best of terms right now. He's upset with me for pursuing Katherine. He told me he thinks he loves her. I believe him. I've never seen him so devoted and enthralled with one woman before. Am I supposed to back off to spare his feelings? The thing is, I have fallen for her too. But Damon has been so vocal of how our brotherhood is so important to him. I guess the important question is whether he values it more or less than Katherine Pierce...
Elena's heart clenched painfully at Stefan's confession. She had often tried to imagine what it had been like back in 1864, both brothers obsessed with a girl who played them to her advantage. The bits and pieces of history she had pieced together in the short time she'd known the Salvatores hadn't painted a pretty picture. And here was the very proof of the destruction that Katherine had caused: the beginnings of the brothers parting ways over their mutual love for a Petrova doppelganger.
"That was the moment I knew," Katherine spoke suddenly into the silence*, causing Elena to jump.
"Knew what?"
"That was the moment I realized I loved them both." She got to her feet, "And this is my gift to you, Elena. You see how it all started. You see what they were like, how they felt, what they meant to each other."
Elena stood up as well, confused. "I don't understand. What was the point of all this? To show me that they were both in love with you? I already knew that, Katherine."
"No," she shook her head with a smile, "But I'm sure you'll figure it out. Merry Christmas, Elena." With those final words, she sped away, leaving Elena standing alone.
"It's not often that I'm summoned to my own house," Damon called out sarcastically as he arrived, peering into the living room to find Elena waiting for him. "What's wrong? You look awfully solemn."
Elena crossed then uncrossed her legs, fiddling her hands together nervously. "I, ah..." she cleared her throat, "I had a visit today from someone...unexpected."
"Let me guess, our favorite Original decided to swing through Mystic Falls for Christmas?"
"No," she responded slowly, "It was Katherine."
To say that Damon looked shocked would've been an understatement. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Are you sure? You weren't...dreaming?"
"Trust me, it wasn't a dream and it wasn't a hallucination," Elena said firmly, "This was the real thing. She was here."
"Well, then I'm guessing she wanted something. What is it? Is she in trouble again? Well, tell her that we have enough problems to worry about without-"
"We talked," Elena interrupted, "And I...learned some things." She hesitated, her brow furrowing. "Katherine might be vindictive and manipulative, but she isn't completely heartless. At least...well, she sees things. Stuff that other people might not notice."
Damon walked towards her, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Elena, you're not making any sense. What did Katherine say to you?"
"I realized...well, I'm not much different from her, am I? I still came in between your relationship with Stefan, I still fell for both of you, I did everything that Katherine did. Maybe even worse."
He blinked once, and Elena realized her inadvertent confession. "What did you say?"
She took a deep breath, more out of habit than necessity. "It's true," she said, her voice becoming quiet. "I fell for you, Damon. I kept trying to convince myself that I only cared about you as a friend, or because you were Stefan's brother and he cared about you, so that meant that I should, too. But it's more than that...it's always been more than that."
Damon didn't say anything, but he let his hands fall from her shoulders. She instantly missed the warmth of his touch, but chose not to comment on it. "I know it's not fair what I did. I wanted to keep you both in my life, and I did tell you the truth that day. That I can't ever unfall for Stefan. He was my first love, and you can't just move on from that. Like Katherine...she still loves you both, just in different ways."
"Elena..."
"No," she whispered, holding her hand out to still his words. "I need to say this before I lose my nerve." She gave a shaky laugh, turning away from him so that the intensity of those blue eyes couldn't see right through her. "I don't know when I fell in love with you, Damon. But I did and I don't want this to ruin what you have with your brother, and I don't want-" She broke off, abruptly spinning around and grabbing a fistful of Damon's shirt to pull him forward so that his body collided against hers just as her mouth closed over his heatedly. He responded almost immediately, his hands going first to her shoulders then to her face, cradling it in a surprisingly sweet gesture.
When Elena pulled back slightly, he rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. "I love you," he breathed, "So much." His hands were running up and down her back now, and she shivered when she felt the cool metal from his ring slide against her spine. She buried her head into his chest, pressing her lips into the thin material of his shirt before moving up to his neck, placing tiny kisses against his throat.
He swallowed once, hard. "You're playing with fire, Elena."
"Fire consumes, burns bright," she murmured, her tongue flicking over his earlobe as she slid her hands underneath his shirt to pull it off. He complied by raising his arms, only staring at her in wonderment when she let her simple black dress drop to the floor. "Consume me."
The next thing she knew, her back had hit the opposite wall, directly next to the roaring fireplace. His mouth moved against hers, his hands roaming every inch of her newly uncovered skin until she could feel heat burning within her, her very core on fire. "Damon," she groaned, frantically trying to find something (anything) to hold onto when his fingers slipped into her underwear, pulling it down her legs as he knelt down in front of her.
The sight of him spreading her legs apart was too much, and she let out a cry as she clenched her hands into his hair, gasping out loud when she felt his tongue lap at her wet folds. She said his name again, not caring that she sounded desperate, "Damon. Stop."
Before he could even shoot her a bewildered look, he suddenly found himself on his back with Elena straddling him. She looked breathless and wild, uninhibited. It was a freeing look for her, and he grinned as she nearly ripped his jeans in her haste to get them off. "I thought you wanted to stop," he began to tease her, but his words died in his throat when she let his erection spring free and immediately impaled herself onto him, letting out another gasp as he filled her completely. "Oh god," her hands fisted into thin air before coming to rest on his chest, directly above his heart.
"Not stop," she eventually bit out, and he realized she was finally responding to his earlier statement. "I just needed you to be inside me."
Her words had a profound reaction on his body, and his hips involuntarily bucked upwards in response. He clutched onto her waist as she finally began to rock her hips experimentally, before vamp-speed took over her body as her baser instincts sought release. Damon matched her speed until her breathing changed, becoming erratic.
He flipped them over, enjoying the way her eyes flew open wide as he began slamming into her. Her nails dug into his back, and the unexpected sense of pain mingled with pleasure was enough to send him over the edge, just as she cried out his name as well, her orgasm rocking her body. He let her ride it out, bringing his lips to meet hers again. The euphoric high didn't fade as their kisses changed from languid and drugging to more forceful and driven. Elena's legs wrapped around his hips, and she let out a pleased moan when she felt his arousal within seconds, "Ready already?"
"That's the great thing about vamp sex," Damon lifted his head to smirk at her, "You're always ready."
*the dialogue between Katherine and Elena ("this is my gift to you") was specially requested by biba_ca. Hope you enjoyed it! Three more prompts to go ;)
Chapter 3: The Year Without a Santa Klaus
Prompt #3 (by angelus2hot):"It's Mystic Falls annual Christmas Celebration at the Hospital. But of course they've hit a snag. The person who usually dresses up as Santa Claus (for the children) isn't there...because of miscommunication [with] the Sheriff and the rest of the town...[everyone thinks] Damon Salvatore has offered to be Santa...To make him feel better about the situation, Elena promises to sit on Santa's lap..."
THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA KLAUS
"This is a complete disaster!" Carol Lockwood fairly screeched into the phone, apparently forgetting that the person on the other end of the line had enhanced hearing. Caroline winced, holding the phone slightly away from her ear. She opened her mouth to stutter out an explanation, but Mrs. Lockwood wasn't having any of it. "I am mayor of this town, and this has been a tradition for as long as I can remember! What will the people think? That I couldn't even pull off this SIMPLE annual event!?"
"I'm sure they'll understand-"
"And as my intern, I expected you to make sure everything went off without a hitch, Caroline. Or was I wrong to extend this offer to you? I mean, if you don't want my recommendation letter to help you get into college next year…"
"No, no," Caroline squeaked in panic, "I promise, I'll think of something! Trust me, there will be a Santa at the hospital today. One way or another."
"There better," Mrs. Lockwood threatened, "Or you are fired. Think of how that will look on your resume."
Click.
"Bitch," Caroline seethed as she hung up her own phone in frustration. She loved Tyler and everything, but seriously, couldn't his mom be a little more understanding? Some things were just out of their control-such as the Santa they hired every Christmas Eve to visit the children's ward at the local hospital suddenly coming down with a severe case of the flu. Obviously they couldn't let him into the hospital if he was sick, especially not near the children. Caroline hadn't thought that finding another Santa would be a big deal, but apparently ALL of the Santas from the agency they used had already been booked for weeks (if not months) ahead of time.
After going through another ten failed phone calls, Caroline was beginning to get desperate. "Hey Matt," she chirped, "What are you up to today?"
He yawned loudly, and she could hear him drop something in the background. "Damn it," he swore under his breath. "Huh? Just getting ready to go into work. Why?"
"Work?" Caroline repeated dismally, "Are you sure you have to go in? Can't you take the day off? It's Christmas Eve and-"
"And we're already down an employee since Jeremy is out in Denver for the week," Matt interrupted, "So, no, I can't take the day off." His voice became curious, "Why?"
"Never mind," she sighed, her mind already whirling with other possibilities. "I'll talk to you later," she promised, pressing the end button before finding another name in her list of contacts.
It only rang once before a smooth voice answered, "And to what do I owe this lovely little phone call to? Don't tell me your merry band of misfits is using you as a distraction technique as they embark on yet another ill-advised attempt on my life? Because it would seriously put a damper on my holidays if I had to kill you lot."
"Klaus," Caroline greeted, taking special care to infuse just the right amount of sugary sweetness into her voice. "I, um...how are you?"
"I'll be better once you let me take you out on a second date," he replied pleasantly, though she could hear the teasing tone behind the words. "How can I help you, Caroline?"
She spoke quickly, explaining the situation. "I'm desperate here, Klaus," she begged, "If you do this for me, then I will totally go on another date with you, okay? Do we have a deal?"
Klaus was silent for a second. "You have no idea how persuasive you can be, love. But..." And he really did sound disappointed when he continued, "I'm unfortunately a bit tied up at the moment. Stefan and I are out trying to track down more information on the cure. We won't be back in Mystic Falls till next week."
"Next week!?"
"I am sorry," he added, for once sounding genuine. "I daresay you would've gotten a kick out of the whole Santa Klaus thing-what? Oh, hold on one second. Your BFF would like to speak to you."
"Don't call me that," Stefan grumbled before taking over the conversation. "Hey Care."
"Hey," she heaved a sigh, "I didn't know you weren't going to be here for Christmas."
"If it helps, Damon is still around. You could try giving him a call if you're really desperate."
Caroline considered for a moment. "You're right," she decided, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Thanks, Stefan. I'll call him right now."
Damon rolled over in bed, groaning at the sunlight streaming through his window. A faint buzzing reached his ears and he sleepily stretched out an arm, slapping his hand against his bedside table until his fingers closed around the offending object. He blearily looked at the name flashing across his screen ("Blondie") and seriously considered throwing his phone across the room, but in the end his conscience won out and he raised the phone to his ear with a pointed, "What?"
"Good morning!"
"What's so good about it?" Damon buried his head into his pillow, his voice becoming muffled. "What do you want? Is Lockwood in trouble again?"
"No," she sounded indignant for a second, but quickly brushed it off. "I'm calling because I need your help."
"What else is new?"
Caroline huffed, "God, could you be less, like, annoying, for just one-"
"Sorry, but did you want me to do you a favor or not? Because insulting me probably isn't the best way to get what you want."
She took a deep breath, "No, you're right. I'm sorry. I've just had it up to here with Mrs. Lockwood and this has been a really stressful day already and if I didn't need that recommendation letter then I would seriously tell her to go to hell but that wouldn't be very nice because then those poor kids would never get their Santa Claus and I would just feel awful-"
"CARE!"
"What?"
"What," he enunciated, "Do. You. Want."
Five minutes later, she concluded with, "And now every other Santa is already booked, and everyone else I've called is either busy or out of town, and I don't know what to do! Mrs. Lockwood gave me a list like a million things long to get done by tonight and I can't spend my whole day looking for someone to be Santa..." Her voice became weary as her shoulders slumped forward. "I'm trying to keep everything together, I really am."
"Hey," Damon's voice became sharp, "Enough with the pity party, Caroline. Are you really going to let Carol Lockwood, of all people, walk all over you?"
"No?"
"What was that?" he demanded, "I couldn't hear you."
"No," Caroline straightened, making her words more forceful. "And I'm not going to let her get to me either. She wants to break me? Well, I'm going to prove to her that she chose the wrong Forbes to mess with!"
"You do that," Damon rolled his eyes, "And don't worry about the Santa situation. I'll take care of it."
"Really?" Caroline squealed, "You're the best, Damon. Thank you so much!"
"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively, "Just remember this moment the next time you want to blame me for something. You owe me one, Barbie."
"Five hundred dollars," Damon announced to the stragglers sitting in The Grill, "Come on, I know that none of you have lives if you're sitting by yourselves at the bar on Christmas Eve. All you gotta do is put on the red suit for two hours, three hours max, and talk to a bunch of kids at the hospital. And this $500 will be all yours...any takers?"
A few people looked over at him, but then they went back to ignoring him.
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath. "Alright, alright," he pulled another $100 from his wallet and held it up. "Make that six hundred dollars. Who wants it now?"
Silence.
Matt, who was bartending, shrugged at him helplessly. "Sorry, man. I don't think you're gonna have any luck in here."
"Ugh, you people disgust me," Damon spun on his heel and strode out the door, pausing only to yell over his shoulder, "You lazy asses are what's wrong with the human race these days!
He glanced at his watch when his cell phone rang for umpteenth time that hour. "Caroline," he greeted as he got into his car, "What's up?"
"What's up?" she hissed, "What's up?"
"Now I want you to stay calm-"
"Santa is supposed to be here in less than a half hour! AND I DON'T SEE ONE."
"You'll get your Santa," Damon snapped, "Let me handle it."
Twenty-five minutes later, however, he was sitting by himself in the hospital parking lot and he was forced to conclude that perhaps he hadn't handled it. Damon mentally prepared himself for the wrath of Barbie as he reluctantly made his way up to the children's ward of the hospital. Good thing he was already dead, because he was pretty sure that Caroline wasn't the only one who would kill him for the lack of a Santa. He could see Mrs. Lockwood standing at the end of the hall, her smile growing tighter and tighter as he approached.
Before he had taken a few more steps, however, he found his path suddenly blocked by a beaming Sheriff Forbes. "Oh thank goodness you're finally here!" she grabbed him by the elbow and began leading him in the opposite direction towards (if he wasn't mistaken) a broom closet. "Caroline left everything you'll need in there. She was about to have a fit when you didn't show up, but I told her that you always come through, even if it's at the last minute." She laughed with obvious relief, "And now Caroline won't get fired from her internship. Thank you so much, Damon. You're a real lifesaver."
"What? No, see, I didn't-" Damon began to protest, but he was herded into the broom closet before he could get another word in edgewise. "Great," he muttered to himself as he fumbled for a light switch.
Then he saw the Santa suit hanging on the back of the door.
Waiting for him.
"Oh I don't think so," he swore, and was about to storm back into the hallway when his cell phone rang. Without looking at the caller ID, he hissed, "Caroline, if this is you then I swear I'm going to-"
"Damon."
He came to a halt, confused, "Elena?"
"Caroline told me what you agreed to do for all those kids," she gushed, "I'm so proud of you, Damon. I always knew you could be a better man, a good person. Look at you, doing the right thing." She smiled, and he could practically see the joyous look on her face. "When I heard what you were doing, it made me..." she paused, her voice becoming soft, "It made me fall for you even more."
Great.
Damon sighed, resting his head against the door. "I'll do this," he said eventually, "But I'm going to need something in return."
"I'll make it up to you," Elena promised him, her voice becoming seductive, "Just you wait."
And wait he did, for THREE long hours. If he was honest with himself, though, he didn't really mind being Santa for all those kids. The ones that looked at him in awe and wonder-the ones that didn't know any of the horrible things he'd done in the past and only saw the world through un-judgemental eyes.
Yeah, he didn't mind one bit.
He even found himself enjoying the whole thing, a fact that he was sure Caroline had picked up on. Every time he looked over at her (she was being Santa's helper), she would flash him a knowing smile.
"Alright, everyone," she finally called after three hours, "Santa has to get back to the North Pole now so that he can get his sleigh ready for tonight. How about we sing him a song before he leaves?"
"Oh," Damon scratched his neck uncomfortably, "That's really not necess-"
Caroline ignored him completely. "On three! One, two..."
'You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.'
Barbie so owed him one.
Damon let his eyes wander the crowd and did a double take when his gaze landed on a familiar face standing in the back of the room. Elena winked at him as she sang along, 'He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice...'
He adjusted his beard, glad that no one could see the smirk growing on his face. He couldn't wait to see what Elena had in store for him. A few minutes later, Caroline led the kids out of the room and he was left with just Elena. She grinned at him as she slowly sashayed around the room, closing all the blinds on the windows and locking the door before turning around to face him. "You know," she teased, unbuttoning her coat and letting it fall to the ground, "I thought we should match."
Damon's mouth dropped open as he took in her slutty Santa's Helper outfit, "Where did you get that?"
"I was going to surprise you on Christmas with it," she admitted, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink. "But when I heard you were dressing up as Santa today, I figured I could put the outfit to much better use today...wouldn't you agree?"
He nodded dumbly, reaching up to pull the scratchy beard off his face. "Don't you want to tell Santa what you want for Christmas?"
Elena giggled as she sat down on his lap, wrapping both her arms around his neck. "Dear Santa," she mused thoughtfully, "For Christmas, I really want..." She stopped suddenly, the expression on her face sobering. "I'd really like the courage to tell this one guy in my life that I've fallen in love with him."
Damon tensed, not having expected those words to come out of her mouth. She tightened her grip around him, as if scared he was going to run off. "I love you, Damon Salvatore. I think I have for a while now." She looked at him hesitantly, "It might've taken me some time to admit it to myself, but I'm done trying to pretend those feelings aren't there. Because they are and-"
He raised a finger to her lips, intending to stop her from talking so that he could process everything she was saying. Sure, they had turned up the level of flirting ever since she had broken up with Stefan, but she hadn't come forward with her feelings yet. Not till now, that is.
To his extreme shock, Elena's tongue darted out and slid along the length of his finger sensually before her mouth closed over the tip of his finger and she sucked on it. Hard.
He felt his arousal skyrocket immediately, and he let his hand tangle in her hair as he brought her closer. This kiss was different from their other ones. This time it felt like they were heading towards something more; like they had a purpose, a pre-existing destination in mind. Elena moaned into his mouth as he ran his hand up her leg and underneath her fluffy Santa miniskirt.
He tore his mouth away from hers to mumble against her lips, "No underwear. Kinky."
"I thought you might appreciate that," Elena nipped at his lip, then wrapped both legs around his waist, letting out a squeal when he abruptly stood up and blurred forward, slamming her against the nearest wall. She used the heels of her boots to nudge down the waistband of the red suit and he kicked the velvety pants off without a second thought. Before he could set to work on ridding Elena of some of her clothes, she had already ripped open the belt from the top half of his Santa suit, pushing the jacket slightly off his shoulders.
Damon groaned as she tightened her legs around his hips, pressing her heated center against his now throbbing arousal. "Elena," he gasped out as his tip nudged her entrance, "Are you sure you want-"
"Yes," she threw her head back when he entered her in one swift move, his control tethering on the edge already. "Oh my god," she breathed, her walls expanding and contracting as they struggled to adjust to his size. Damon took advantage of her momentary lapse in attention to tear off the rest of her outfit, letting her breasts spill out of their constraints. His mouth closed over her right breast and he sucked on it lightly, smirking to himself when her hips immediately bucked against his, seeking friction.
Elena's eyes were closed as he began slowly moving within her, and her fingers dug into his shoulders when he picked up the pace. Her mouth opened in pleasure and he suddenly found himself on the floor, wondering when she had taken charge of the situation. She began to ride him, and he watched her in awe, more turned on than he'd ever been in his life. "You're amazing," he found himself saying, "God, Elena, I love you so much."
Her eyes widened in surprise when he blurred into a sitting position so that her breasts pressed into his chest, and he raised his head to kiss her soundly. She stilled her hips for a moment, and he instantly flipped them over mid-kiss. He began thrusting into her with renewed vigor, enjoying the sounds she made in the back of her throat as she writhed under him. "I love you, too," she whispered suddenly, her back arching off the ground, "Damon, I'm so close."
"I know, baby," he murmured in her ear, "Come for me, Elena."
That was enough for her, and she cried out his name as she came. Hearing his name spill out of her lips in the throes of passion had him following her over the edge, but she kept her legs wrapped around his waist, wanting to keep him as close as possible. He chuckled before giving her a lazy kiss, "I gotta say, when Caroline woke me up this morning, I had no idea my day would turn out so well."
"Hmm," Elena mumbled, returning his kiss languidly. "I never thought a guy in a Santa suit would be such a turn-on."
"Oh it all depends on the guy under the suit," Damon told her seriously, "Take me, for example...I'd look good in anything."
She smirked up at him, flipping them over so that she was straddling him again. "Maybe so," she agreed, bending forward and biting his lip teasingly. "But I think I like you best when you're not wearing anything at all."
"Funny," Damon ripped the remaining skirt off her body, "I could say the same for you."
Chapter 1: How the Grinch (Elena) Stole Christmas
A/N: Happy Holidays everyone! I am participating in the D/E xmas fic exchange on LJ again this year (hosted by BadBoysAreBest). I've signed up to write five prompts this year, and they will all be posted here (as well as on LJ at the tvdmixing community page). Enjoy!
Prompt #1 (by petrova39): "Vamp Elena is not feeling very Christmas-y what with most of the people she loves gone...Damon is all that's left and he's been distant...she literally steals Christmas like the Grinch...ultimately Damon showing her that Christmas can mean something without everyone there."
HOW THE GRINCH (AKA ELENA) STOLE CHRISTMAS
'So maybe I went a little overboard. A little off the deep end.
But, I mean, it's understandable, right? After everything I've been through that a normal 18 year old-hell, age doesn't even matter here-NO ONE should have to go through what I've been through.
What was I saying? Oh yeah, I was trying to defend my actions. But, that being said, I shouldn't have to defend myself! Anyone else in my position would've done a lot worse than what I'm doing now. Someone like, say, Klaus or Kol-but I'm not them. I will never be like them.'
Elena paused for a second, studying the neat, rounded letters she had written in the diary spread on her lap. She glanced out the window to her left, the darkening sky already creating a reflection of her room in the glass. She peered, oddly mesmerized, at the backward script from her diary reflected in the window.
She didn't know how long she sat there, but when she came to her senses, darkness had completely fallen outdoors-carpeting Mystic Falls in the black velvety night that vampires, like herself, should consider their stomping ground.
Her pen pressed back into the paper again, her handwriting becoming less neat and more of a scrawl as she hurried to finish.
'What I chose to do instead might seem a little childish, maybe a little stupid. But that's only to someone who hasn't walked in my shoes. And trust me, if there was a spell that Bonnie could do to hand my life over to someone else, I would do it in a heartbeat. '
Elena tilted her head, her eyes narrowing at her subconscious use of that word-heartbeat. She snorted lightly to herself. After someone found out what her nightly activities for the past week had been, they would come to the conclusion that perhaps she didn't have a heart either.
She glanced through her window again, her hand flying over her diary at a supernatural pace as she finished her thoughts for the day. Then she carelessly tossed it onto her bed as she sped to her closet and pulled a black hoodie on over her dark jeans.
The house was empty since Jeremy had gone off to Denver to spend the holidays with a friend that had invited him over for the week-okay, so maybe Elena had used Klaus' affection for Caroline to convince him to track down Kol and force him to compel Jeremy's friend to invite him over-but she was just being a good sister. Why would Jeremy want to spend his Christmas in Mystic Falls in a huge house with no one to celebrate with, anyway?
Empty house or not, Elena still cracked her window open and jumped noiselessly to the ground instead of using the front door. Hey, she was a vampire now-she might as well use her new abilities for something, right?
As she walked quickly down her street, she let her eyes dart back and forth between the houses for what she was looking for. The remaining few sentences from her diary echoed in the back of her mind as she spied twinkling lights in the distance.
'The truth is, I don't think I'll ever be a creature of the night. Not the way that Stefan and Damon were when they first turned. Not the way that Klaus is-and I don't trust for a second that he's turned over this new humanity leaf for Caroline. People like that don't change. I'll never be what anyone wants me to be.
If I'm honest with myself, I don't see how anyone can even be happy in Mystic Falls right now. No wonder everyone hightailed it out of here for the holidays. I'm not really upset about Stefan leaving, not as upset as I thought I would be anyway. He and Klaus are out trekking around the world for another Hunter to use-no way am I letting them slowly whittle away at Jeremy's humanity. He's given up enough because of me. I'm not going to be reason he stops being human.
I thought Caroline would stick around, but she and her mom left to go visit some relatives. And Bonnie is on a spiritual retreat with that professor she's been spending so much time with-I know, I know, I shouldn't judge. I mean, he is helping her, at least, it seems that way. But there's just something about him that I don't trust. I know Damon agrees with me.'
Elena foot slipped a little on the tree as Damon's accusing gaze flashed in her mind's eye, but she quickly caught her balance. He was the only one left in Mystic Falls that she would even want to spend all her newfound free time with, but he had been keeping himself at a distance. Maybe out of respect to her fresh breakup with Stefan-or maybe...some other reason.
Clenching her jaw at the sudden onset of frustration that coursed through her veins (she was never going to get used to this whole heightened emotions thing), Elena reached out and snatched the glowing snowman from the second floor balcony of the house she had clambered onto.
She pursed her lips when she peered down onto the lawn below and found Santa's whole freakin' sleigh and reindeer set happily twinkling away. Still clutching the snowman in her arms, Elena leapt down to the ground and freed the power cord before easily lifting the whole sleigh and disappearing into the woods behind the house. Once she was hidden, she vengefully kicked apart the snowman and then moved on to Santa, taking special care to stomp her heel into his stupid puffed up cheeks.
When she was done, she crossed her arms in grim satisfaction and looked down at her handiwork. Good, Elena thought stubbornly, turning her back on the scene and speeding away before anyone could see her. Once she was back on the main street, she slowed her pace, though she still walked faster than would be considered strictly human. The rest of the houses held no decorations, since Elena had already "visited" most of them. Her feet carried her instead down to the center of town, which was fairly empty due to the late hour. All the shops were closed for the night, but Elena ignored the Christmas lights in the store windows.
Her gaze had landed on the cluster of small trees in the town square, where new multi-colored lights clung festively to the branches, lighting up the Green in a myriad of colors. Elena glared at the sight, then strode over to the first tree and snatched at the string of lights, becoming annoyed when they didn't immediately fall into her hands. She nimbly leapt up to a higher branch, attempting to find the beginning (or end) of the string and somehow only becoming entangled in the lights herself. "Ugh!" she grumbled in disgust, writhing in the wires until her foot slipped on the edge of a branch and she hurtled towards the ground.
Her mouth opened in an instinctive scream, but the sound never even left her lips as she found herself in a pair of strong and familiar arms. Elena turned her head sheepishly to meet Damon's amused gaze. "Don't," she warned as she got to her feet, "Don't say a word."
"Okay," he said simply, watching as she struggled with the lights that stayed persistently wrapped around her frame. "I'll just stand here and enjoy the show."
She huffed after a second, using an enormous amount of effort to keep from stomping her foot like a petulant child. "Fine," she said begrudgingly, holding her arms out in front of her, "Help."
"Oh, I don't know," Damon shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets as he studied her nonchalantly. "I think I'm giving up the whole saving damsels in distress thing. New year and all that. Gotta have a resolution." He smiled at her innocently, "What's your resolution, Elena?"
"Damon..."
"I found this, by the way," he interrupted her, reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket and producing a small, red, circular object. Elena frowned at it; something about it looked oddly familiar. "Rudolph's nose," Damon said in answer to her unasked question. "From the reindeer set that you attacked with your uncalled-for tantrum."
Elena stopped fiddling with the lights, her eyes widening in surprise. "What? You were following me?"
"With good reason," he retorted, his mouth falling into his trademarked sneer. "Look at you."
"I'm not...this isn't..." She sputtered for a few seconds before throwing caution to the winds and curling her hands into fists, "It isn't fair, alright? IT'S NOT FAIR."
Instead of telling her to be quiet, Damon merely folded his hands and nodded at her to continue. "Why not?" he asked her calmly, "What's not fair?"
"That everyone-these people-they think it's okay to...to act like..." Elena's shoulders deflated, and the next thing she knew, her arms were being freed from their restraints. She looked up to see Damon effortlessly break the wires apart, and they both looked down to see the lights fall to the ground at their feet. "Thank you," she said in a small voice, "For helping me. I know you didn't want to." When he didn't reply, she glanced up to meet his gaze. "I made you break your resolution."
A ghost of a smile flitted across his face as he began backing away, "Hey, there's always next year. I've got an eternity of them, after all." Elena opened her mouth to stop him from leaving, but his next words stopped her cold. "Besides, if there's one girl that could get me to break all the rules, it's got to be you, right?" Damon's expression remained stoic this time as he turned around and sped away into the night, leaving her staring after him in dismay.
Then she crouched down to pick up the broken lights, the frayed wires dragging against the ground as she stood back up and looked into the distance at the direction that Damon had gone. She could feel tears pricking in the corner of her eyelids and she tilted her head up towards the night sky to still them.
"Thinking of taking up stargazing? I did that once," a familiar voice said matter-of-factly from behind her. "It was during my intellectual phase. I could give you some tips, if you'd like."
Elena whirled around, unable to believe what she was hearing. "It is you," she gaped at the person before her, "You're really here?"
"Niklaus has enlisted my help to find another Hunter," Elijah informed her, and although he gave her a smile, she could see the weariness that lay beneath it. "And he's decided now that he needs Rebekah as well. Of course he's sent me to undagger her, since she'll likely stake him herself if he's the first face she sees when she wakes."
"Oh," Elena tried to return the smile, though she wasn't sure she had succeeded. "So you're part of the mounting effort to find me the cure." She nodded to herself, "Because I'm broken, just like these stupid lights." She let them fall to the ground, "And I need to be fixed."
"No," Elijah refuted immediately, coming forward and taking her hands within is. "Not at all, Elena. Who's put these ridiculous ideas into your head? Stefan? Damon?" He suddenly looked around, as if expecting to see one of the Salvatores at her shoulder. "Where is Damon? He's still in town, isn't he? I know he wouldn't leave..."
'Where were you, Damon?'
'I shouldn't have left. I promise you I will never leave you again.'
Elena nodded slowly, "You're right. Damon stayed. He didn't...he didn't leave like everyone else did."
Elijah met her gaze, a knowing look momentarily flashing in his eyes. "Cure or no cure, Elena, you're strong. You always have been." He held his hand out and briefly clasped her hand, "Make the most of the new year, Elena."
"Thank you," she gave him a genuine smile this time, "I will."
Damon swung open the door, looking resigned when he saw her standing on his doorstep. "There's no decorations here, little Miss Grinch," he snarked, "Try the next block over."
Elena took a deep breath, willing herself not to lose her resolve. "We need to talk."
"Nothing worth hearing has ever followed those words."
She reached out and grabbed his wrist to stop him from turning away, "Can I come in?" He didn't answer, though he stepped aside and waved her in. "Elijah's back in town," she told him as he shut the door behind her. "He came to pick up Rebekah."
"Klaus too scared to face sister dearest?" Damon asked with a grin, "I don't blame him. Talk about scary Barbie."
"Or maybe it's just his way of getting his family together for the holidays," Elena said listlessly, watching as Damon poured her a shot of whiskey. "You know I don't drink that stuff."
"It's New Year's Eve," Damon bumped her shoulder as he took a seat next to her, "Live a little."
"I am living," she deadpanned, "I've become the good-girl-turned-criminal. That's me, living life on the edge."
He shook his head, "You're not a criminal, Elena."
"I stole things," she insisted, "I destroyed people's personal property. And I felt no remorse for any of it." Her hand tightened around the glass she was holding, "I didn't feel anything."
"That's not true," Damon looked at her closely, "You did feel something. Or else you wouldn't be here, trying to talk about it."
"I don't want to talk about IT," Elena frowned, "I came here to talk to you."
"Yeah? About what?"
She straightened indignantly at his skeptical tone. "About why I broke up with Stefan," she snapped, a little too loudly. Maybe that alcohol had gone straight to her head. "About how Stefan is always leaving, how everyone has always left." Elena got to her feet then, so that she could look down at him. "But you..." her voice softened, "You didn't leave. You're always there for me, even when I don't ask you to be. Even when I push you away, when I make it impossible for you to be around me, you still...you've never given up on me."
"You know why," Damon's voice was rough, "Don't-"
"I know what I did to those decorations was stupid," she interrupted, "And it was mean-spirited and childish. But I was bitter, and I didn't think that people deserved to..." She sighed, putting down her empty glass. "I was wrong," she admitted, "About a lot of things."
He didn't bat an eyelid, "You're going to need to be a little more specific, Elena."
"The choices I made, the way I treated you, all of it...I'm-" Her voice broke, "I'm sorry, Damon."
He bent his head slightly, acknowledging her sentiments. "I know you are."
Elena glanced at the clock and then stretched her arm out to him silently. When he looked at her in puzzlement, she gave him a tentative smile. "It's almost midnight," she explained, "I want to start the New Year off right." He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, and she heard his sharp intake of breath when she rested her head on his shoulder. "With you," she murmured into his ear as he wrapped his arms around her so that her body molded against his. She didn't know how long they stayed like that, just enjoying each other's embrace.
Soon though, she heard a bell tolling in the distance. Before she could react, Damon had suddenly tightened his grip around her and blurred them both across the length of the floor until they were standing at the entrance to the room. "You said you wanted to start the year off right," he told her when she looked at him in bewilderment. He subtly glanced upwards, and she followed his gaze to the mistletoe hanging above them.
Elena grinned in spite of herself as she looked back at Damon. "I wouldn't have it any other way," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes and nestling both her hands into his hair to lower his head towards hers as she brushed her lips against his in a light kiss. The thrill of anticipation building within her, she let their second kiss deepen until she could feel the room begin to spin as the they slipped into superspeed mode as though it was second nature.
She heard a rip as his fingers dug into her shirt in his haste to get it off. Elena didn't even blink as she tore the buttons off his shirt to reciprocate, and she breathed in a gust of unnecessary air as she ran her hands across his skin with something akin to wonderment. "Damon..." she sighed into his mouth as he covered her lips with his own again, this time his fingers slipping into the waistband of her jeans. A second later he had pushed her onto the sofa and she dutifully lifted her legs so that he could pull her jeans off, leaving her olive skin glowing in the firelight.
"Red's a good color on you," Damon's eyes had darkened with lust, his voice becoming heavy in a way that had Elena reaching out to pull him forward. He carefully held himself above her, still looking unsure even as she instantly wrapped her legs around his waist, purposefully pressing her core against his obvious arousal. "Elena," he began, but she shook her head, reaching between them to rid them both of the final pieces of fabric keeping them apart.
"It's a New Year," she told him, arching her hips towards him in askance. "I want this," she mumbled against his lips as they kissed again, her nails digging into his back as he slid into her and she broke their kiss, her lips forming a perfect 'O' as her head fell back against the armrest.
"You okay?" Damon asked her in a tight voice, and she was startled to see the emotion burning in his eyes. Elena could feel the passion radiating off him in waves and she nodded, letting him set a slow and steady pace, at complete odds with their earlier rendezvous around the living room. No sooner had this thought crossed her mind, however, than did Damon suddenly speed up, somehow flipping them over in the process so that she was left straddling him. "I like a woman who knows what she wants," he smirked up at her, gesturing for her to continue.
She hesitantly began moving, closing her eyes as she felt his fingers press into her hips. She found her rhythm and opened her eyes to see Damon smiling up at her. "What?" she teased, bending her head forward so that strands of her hair fell forward and strayed across his chest. "I've never seen that look on your face before."
"What look?" Damon let out a guttural groan as Elena shifted the angle of her hips so that he slid in even deeper. "I just wish...that we could spend the rest of the year doing this."
"Who says we can't?" Elena waited till he had raised himself on his elbows before lowering her head and kissing him hungrily, pouring every emotion that she had ever felt for him into the kiss. "I love you," she blurted out when she pulled back and saw the dazed look on his face, "And I want to be with you, and..." Her mouth opened and closed as she felt her orgasm fast approaching. "And, Damon Salvatore, I choose you." Then they both fell over the edge together, gasping out each other's names as fireworks lit up the sky in the night behind them.
*for people following my "Through The Looking Glass" fic, I promise it will be updated soon! I want to get these holiday fics out first though ;) be sure to review, xoxo.
Chapter 2: Miracle on Salvatore Boulevard
Prompt #2 (by biba_ca): "I actually want Elena to spend Christmas with Katherine (or at least a part of it). Katherine does something or takes Elena some place to teach her an important lesson...[when] Katherine leaves, Elena remains behind confronted with a decision. Of course she decides to call Damon..."
MIRACLE ON SALVATORE BLVD.
Elena picked up a frame sitting on her dresser, sighing as she looked at the happy couple in the photo. It seemed like so long ago that she and Stefan had shared that time together, looking so carefree and innocent. Now when they were in the same room, the only thing between them was baggage.
Lots and lots of emotional baggage.
At this rate, she didn't see how things could ever go back to the way they used to be between them. And honestly, she didn't know if she had the energy to care anymore. Taking one last look at the picture, she reluctantly opened one of her drawers and slid it in, face down.
"Ouch. I wonder what Stefan would think of that."
It wasn't possible.
Elena stared into her mirror, taking in the reflection of the person standing behind her. Try as she might, the double vision of herself didn't disappear and she was forced to come to an unsettling conclusion.
"Great!" Elena threw up her hands in annoyance as she turned around to face the new arrival who was most certainly a figment of her imagination, "Now I'm having hallucinations again. As if my week wasn't bad enough already!"
Katherine placed a hand on her hip as she stood in the doorway, surveying Elena as one would study a rather peculiar object. "Hate to disappoint, sweetie," she stepped more fully into the room, this time flashing her trademark grin. "Did you miss me?"
"No," Elena answered through gritted teeth, "And I haven't killed any more Hunters either, so you can just go away!"
"Hunters?" Katherine looked puzzled, "You killed a Hunter? But then you would have awful hallucin-oh." She tilted her head, curious. "I was one of your hallucinations? What did I say?"
Elena narrowed her eyes, taking a hesitant step forward. "It's really you? You're really here?"
Katherine blurred forward abruptly, slamming Elena against the wall, a hand wrapped around her throat. "Proof enough?"
"Somehow that move doesn't hold as much weight now that I don't actually need air to breathe," Elena remarked dryly, shoving Katherine away with a burst of her newly enhanced strength. "But I see you already knew that," she added, when Katherine didn't look the least bit surprised.
"Yes, I've heard the rumors of your demise," Katherine ran her fingers along some of the trinkets sitting on Elena's bedside table. "How does it feel?"
"To be a vampire?" Elena struggled to answer the question for a second before deciding on the truth. "Overwhelming."
"Hmm," Katherine walked over to the dresser and pulled the frame of Elena and Stefan back out. "Another breakup, I presume. What is this, like the tenth one?"
"Very funny."
"I wasn't trying to be."
Elena swallowed, her eyes flickering away from her doppelganger's insistent gaze. "This time it's the real deal. We've…it's not like it was before. I'm not who he wants me to be. I'm not someone he can love."
Katherine scoffed, leaving the picture lying face-up on the dresser. "Don't be ridiculous, Elena. That poor, deluded boy loves you more than life itself. Bit pathetic, really."
"You haven't been here," Elena responded, crossing her arms as she stared Katherine down accusingly. "You don't know what it's been like. A lot of things have changed."
"Don't be naïve, Elena. Just because I haven't been here in the flesh doesn't mean that I haven't been keeping up." When Elena merely raised an inquiring eyebrow, Katherine smirked. "Shall I prove it to you? One, Klaus is still around because you're all a bunch of fools who think you're going to outsmart him, yet you have failed. Repeatedly, I might add."
"He's our bloodline-"
"There are other ways of putting someone out of their misery," Katherine sneered back, "Speaking of which, that lovesick fool deserves what's coming to him. What is he even doing in Mystic Falls, anyway? Kol and Elijah didn't bother to stick around."
"Have you seen them?" Elena asked, momentarily distracted. "Do they…"
"Yes, they both know that you're a vampire now," Katherine said dismissively, "I daresay Klaus will pull them both into one of his plans to find the cure soon enough."
"You know about the cure? I thought it was a secret," Elena frowned, "Isn't it?"
"Yes, but I ran into Stefan on my way into town and he told me what he and Klaus have been up to. " She waggled her eyebrows at Elena, "So tell me. Did he take off on this little adventure before or after the breakup?"
"After," Elena scowled, "Though it's none of your business. Why are you even here?"
Katherine was silent for a moment. "I have something I want to show you," she announced suddenly, "Come with me."
Elena automatically complied but stopped herself at the last second. "Wait, where are we going?"
"The boarding house."
"But-"
"Don't worry, Damon isn't there. Come on." She shot Elena a mischievous look, "Race you there."
"I won," Katherine grinned as she arrived at the Salvatore front door a mere millisecond before Elena. "But hey, who can blame you for not wanting to disturb the status quo?"
"Oh shut up," Elena rolled her eyes, though her words held no venom. She was too curious about what they were doing here to really be annoyed at Katherine. "Are you sure no one is home?"
"Positive," she nudged open the door and gestured for Elena to follow her into the basement, apparently noticing the latter's wary expression at the last second. "Jeez, Elena, what do you think I'm going to do to you down there? It's Christmas, even I'm not heartless enough to hide a stake behind my back."
"You sound like Klaus," Elena grumbled under her breath, though she nevertheless followed behind Katherine hesitantly. "What did you want to show me? I've been down here a million times."
"Yes, but I doubt you've ever seen these," Katherine led her to a darkened area towards the back, where a pile of boxes sat collecting dust. Elena had never paid them much attention before, due in no small part to the cobwebs strung around them. She wrinkled her nose as Katherine crouched down and picked one box out with particular care and blew the dust off the lid. "Don't be scared of a couple spiders, Elena."
"I'm not," she retorted, taking a seat on the ground next to her sometimes-nemesis. "Okay, what am I looking at?"
"Stefan's diaries."
Whatever Elena had been expecting, it hadn't been that. She stared at the small collection of bound journals, clearly dating back to the early 1900s or maybe even the late 1800s. "How did you know these were here?"
"Because I put them here myself," Katherine stated matter-of-factly, "Here, look at this one."
Elena took the book that Katherine handed to her, but didn't open it. "I feel like we're invading his privacy. Maybe this isn't a good idea."
"Read it," she insisted, "You need to know. It's from his last year as a human."
1864-
There's something about her. Katherine Pierce. I know my brother has taken a liking to her, too. I love my brother, and normally I would yield to his wishes. But I'm drawn to Katherine in a way that I haven't been to any other woman before. I know father does not approve of her, but I can't be bothered with his attitude now. I think I am falling for her.
There was more after that, but Elena didn't continue reading. She glanced up at Katherine, who was looking at her with a knowing smile. "What?"
"Did you feel anything just now?"
"Pity?" Elena shot back evenly, "Because he was willing to give up his brother and father for you, and all you've ever done is ruin his life."
"Now that's not entirely true. I loved him," she paused before correcting herself, "I love him. Always have, always will."
"Was that the whole lesson in today's little adventure? That you think you love him more than..." Elena trailed off, pursing her lips when Katherine shot her a triumphant look. "I never denied that I stopped loving Stefan. I still care about him. He's been the one constant in my life, something to hold onto in all this mess. But just because I care for him, doesn't mean that I'm still in love with him. That girl that was head over heels, that considered him the love of her life...she's gone, Katherine."
Her doppelganger was already shaking her head. "Your love for him-or mine for that matter-isn't the reason I brought you here today. There's something else I want you to read. Here."
"Another journal? Don't tell me Damon was a writer, too."
"Hardly. This is another one of Stefan's. Same year."
1864-
Damon and I aren't on the best of terms right now. He's upset with me for pursuing Katherine. He told me he thinks he loves her. I believe him. I've never seen him so devoted and enthralled with one woman before. Am I supposed to back off to spare his feelings? The thing is, I have fallen for her too. But Damon has been so vocal of how our brotherhood is so important to him. I guess the important question is whether he values it more or less than Katherine Pierce...
Elena's heart clenched painfully at Stefan's confession. She had often tried to imagine what it had been like back in 1864, both brothers obsessed with a girl who played them to her advantage. The bits and pieces of history she had pieced together in the short time she'd known the Salvatores hadn't painted a pretty picture. And here was the very proof of the destruction that Katherine had caused: the beginnings of the brothers parting ways over their mutual love for a Petrova doppelganger.
"That was the moment I knew," Katherine spoke suddenly into the silence*, causing Elena to jump.
"Knew what?"
"That was the moment I realized I loved them both." She got to her feet, "And this is my gift to you, Elena. You see how it all started. You see what they were like, how they felt, what they meant to each other."
Elena stood up as well, confused. "I don't understand. What was the point of all this? To show me that they were both in love with you? I already knew that, Katherine."
"No," she shook her head with a smile, "But I'm sure you'll figure it out. Merry Christmas, Elena." With those final words, she sped away, leaving Elena standing alone.
"It's not often that I'm summoned to my own house," Damon called out sarcastically as he arrived, peering into the living room to find Elena waiting for him. "What's wrong? You look awfully solemn."
Elena crossed then uncrossed her legs, fiddling her hands together nervously. "I, ah..." she cleared her throat, "I had a visit today from someone...unexpected."
"Let me guess, our favorite Original decided to swing through Mystic Falls for Christmas?"
"No," she responded slowly, "It was Katherine."
To say that Damon looked shocked would've been an understatement. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Are you sure? You weren't...dreaming?"
"Trust me, it wasn't a dream and it wasn't a hallucination," Elena said firmly, "This was the real thing. She was here."
"Well, then I'm guessing she wanted something. What is it? Is she in trouble again? Well, tell her that we have enough problems to worry about without-"
"We talked," Elena interrupted, "And I...learned some things." She hesitated, her brow furrowing. "Katherine might be vindictive and manipulative, but she isn't completely heartless. At least...well, she sees things. Stuff that other people might not notice."
Damon walked towards her, laying his hands on her shoulders. "Elena, you're not making any sense. What did Katherine say to you?"
"I realized...well, I'm not much different from her, am I? I still came in between your relationship with Stefan, I still fell for both of you, I did everything that Katherine did. Maybe even worse."
He blinked once, and Elena realized her inadvertent confession. "What did you say?"
She took a deep breath, more out of habit than necessity. "It's true," she said, her voice becoming quiet. "I fell for you, Damon. I kept trying to convince myself that I only cared about you as a friend, or because you were Stefan's brother and he cared about you, so that meant that I should, too. But it's more than that...it's always been more than that."
Damon didn't say anything, but he let his hands fall from her shoulders. She instantly missed the warmth of his touch, but chose not to comment on it. "I know it's not fair what I did. I wanted to keep you both in my life, and I did tell you the truth that day. That I can't ever unfall for Stefan. He was my first love, and you can't just move on from that. Like Katherine...she still loves you both, just in different ways."
"Elena..."
"No," she whispered, holding her hand out to still his words. "I need to say this before I lose my nerve." She gave a shaky laugh, turning away from him so that the intensity of those blue eyes couldn't see right through her. "I don't know when I fell in love with you, Damon. But I did and I don't want this to ruin what you have with your brother, and I don't want-" She broke off, abruptly spinning around and grabbing a fistful of Damon's shirt to pull him forward so that his body collided against hers just as her mouth closed over his heatedly. He responded almost immediately, his hands going first to her shoulders then to her face, cradling it in a surprisingly sweet gesture.
When Elena pulled back slightly, he rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. "I love you," he breathed, "So much." His hands were running up and down her back now, and she shivered when she felt the cool metal from his ring slide against her spine. She buried her head into his chest, pressing her lips into the thin material of his shirt before moving up to his neck, placing tiny kisses against his throat.
He swallowed once, hard. "You're playing with fire, Elena."
"Fire consumes, burns bright," she murmured, her tongue flicking over his earlobe as she slid her hands underneath his shirt to pull it off. He complied by raising his arms, only staring at her in wonderment when she let her simple black dress drop to the floor. "Consume me."
The next thing she knew, her back had hit the opposite wall, directly next to the roaring fireplace. His mouth moved against hers, his hands roaming every inch of her newly uncovered skin until she could feel heat burning within her, her very core on fire. "Damon," she groaned, frantically trying to find something (anything) to hold onto when his fingers slipped into her underwear, pulling it down her legs as he knelt down in front of her.
The sight of him spreading her legs apart was too much, and she let out a cry as she clenched her hands into his hair, gasping out loud when she felt his tongue lap at her wet folds. She said his name again, not caring that she sounded desperate, "Damon. Stop."
Before he could even shoot her a bewildered look, he suddenly found himself on his back with Elena straddling him. She looked breathless and wild, uninhibited. It was a freeing look for her, and he grinned as she nearly ripped his jeans in her haste to get them off. "I thought you wanted to stop," he began to tease her, but his words died in his throat when she let his erection spring free and immediately impaled herself onto him, letting out another gasp as he filled her completely. "Oh god," her hands fisted into thin air before coming to rest on his chest, directly above his heart.
"Not stop," she eventually bit out, and he realized she was finally responding to his earlier statement. "I just needed you to be inside me."
Her words had a profound reaction on his body, and his hips involuntarily bucked upwards in response. He clutched onto her waist as she finally began to rock her hips experimentally, before vamp-speed took over her body as her baser instincts sought release. Damon matched her speed until her breathing changed, becoming erratic.
He flipped them over, enjoying the way her eyes flew open wide as he began slamming into her. Her nails dug into his back, and the unexpected sense of pain mingled with pleasure was enough to send him over the edge, just as she cried out his name as well, her orgasm rocking her body. He let her ride it out, bringing his lips to meet hers again. The euphoric high didn't fade as their kisses changed from languid and drugging to more forceful and driven. Elena's legs wrapped around his hips, and she let out a pleased moan when she felt his arousal within seconds, "Ready already?"
"That's the great thing about vamp sex," Damon lifted his head to smirk at her, "You're always ready."
*the dialogue between Katherine and Elena ("this is my gift to you") was specially requested by biba_ca. Hope you enjoyed it! Three more prompts to go ;)
Chapter 3: The Year Without a Santa Klaus
Prompt #3 (by angelus2hot):"It's Mystic Falls annual Christmas Celebration at the Hospital. But of course they've hit a snag. The person who usually dresses up as Santa Claus (for the children) isn't there...because of miscommunication [with] the Sheriff and the rest of the town...[everyone thinks] Damon Salvatore has offered to be Santa...To make him feel better about the situation, Elena promises to sit on Santa's lap..."
THE YEAR WITHOUT A SANTA KLAUS
"This is a complete disaster!" Carol Lockwood fairly screeched into the phone, apparently forgetting that the person on the other end of the line had enhanced hearing. Caroline winced, holding the phone slightly away from her ear. She opened her mouth to stutter out an explanation, but Mrs. Lockwood wasn't having any of it. "I am mayor of this town, and this has been a tradition for as long as I can remember! What will the people think? That I couldn't even pull off this SIMPLE annual event!?"
"I'm sure they'll understand-"
"And as my intern, I expected you to make sure everything went off without a hitch, Caroline. Or was I wrong to extend this offer to you? I mean, if you don't want my recommendation letter to help you get into college next year…"
"No, no," Caroline squeaked in panic, "I promise, I'll think of something! Trust me, there will be a Santa at the hospital today. One way or another."
"There better," Mrs. Lockwood threatened, "Or you are fired. Think of how that will look on your resume."
Click.
"Bitch," Caroline seethed as she hung up her own phone in frustration. She loved Tyler and everything, but seriously, couldn't his mom be a little more understanding? Some things were just out of their control-such as the Santa they hired every Christmas Eve to visit the children's ward at the local hospital suddenly coming down with a severe case of the flu. Obviously they couldn't let him into the hospital if he was sick, especially not near the children. Caroline hadn't thought that finding another Santa would be a big deal, but apparently ALL of the Santas from the agency they used had already been booked for weeks (if not months) ahead of time.
After going through another ten failed phone calls, Caroline was beginning to get desperate. "Hey Matt," she chirped, "What are you up to today?"
He yawned loudly, and she could hear him drop something in the background. "Damn it," he swore under his breath. "Huh? Just getting ready to go into work. Why?"
"Work?" Caroline repeated dismally, "Are you sure you have to go in? Can't you take the day off? It's Christmas Eve and-"
"And we're already down an employee since Jeremy is out in Denver for the week," Matt interrupted, "So, no, I can't take the day off." His voice became curious, "Why?"
"Never mind," she sighed, her mind already whirling with other possibilities. "I'll talk to you later," she promised, pressing the end button before finding another name in her list of contacts.
It only rang once before a smooth voice answered, "And to what do I owe this lovely little phone call to? Don't tell me your merry band of misfits is using you as a distraction technique as they embark on yet another ill-advised attempt on my life? Because it would seriously put a damper on my holidays if I had to kill you lot."
"Klaus," Caroline greeted, taking special care to infuse just the right amount of sugary sweetness into her voice. "I, um...how are you?"
"I'll be better once you let me take you out on a second date," he replied pleasantly, though she could hear the teasing tone behind the words. "How can I help you, Caroline?"
She spoke quickly, explaining the situation. "I'm desperate here, Klaus," she begged, "If you do this for me, then I will totally go on another date with you, okay? Do we have a deal?"
Klaus was silent for a second. "You have no idea how persuasive you can be, love. But..." And he really did sound disappointed when he continued, "I'm unfortunately a bit tied up at the moment. Stefan and I are out trying to track down more information on the cure. We won't be back in Mystic Falls till next week."
"Next week!?"
"I am sorry," he added, for once sounding genuine. "I daresay you would've gotten a kick out of the whole Santa Klaus thing-what? Oh, hold on one second. Your BFF would like to speak to you."
"Don't call me that," Stefan grumbled before taking over the conversation. "Hey Care."
"Hey," she heaved a sigh, "I didn't know you weren't going to be here for Christmas."
"If it helps, Damon is still around. You could try giving him a call if you're really desperate."
Caroline considered for a moment. "You're right," she decided, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Thanks, Stefan. I'll call him right now."
Damon rolled over in bed, groaning at the sunlight streaming through his window. A faint buzzing reached his ears and he sleepily stretched out an arm, slapping his hand against his bedside table until his fingers closed around the offending object. He blearily looked at the name flashing across his screen ("Blondie") and seriously considered throwing his phone across the room, but in the end his conscience won out and he raised the phone to his ear with a pointed, "What?"
"Good morning!"
"What's so good about it?" Damon buried his head into his pillow, his voice becoming muffled. "What do you want? Is Lockwood in trouble again?"
"No," she sounded indignant for a second, but quickly brushed it off. "I'm calling because I need your help."
"What else is new?"
Caroline huffed, "God, could you be less, like, annoying, for just one-"
"Sorry, but did you want me to do you a favor or not? Because insulting me probably isn't the best way to get what you want."
She took a deep breath, "No, you're right. I'm sorry. I've just had it up to here with Mrs. Lockwood and this has been a really stressful day already and if I didn't need that recommendation letter then I would seriously tell her to go to hell but that wouldn't be very nice because then those poor kids would never get their Santa Claus and I would just feel awful-"
"CARE!"
"What?"
"What," he enunciated, "Do. You. Want."
Five minutes later, she concluded with, "And now every other Santa is already booked, and everyone else I've called is either busy or out of town, and I don't know what to do! Mrs. Lockwood gave me a list like a million things long to get done by tonight and I can't spend my whole day looking for someone to be Santa..." Her voice became weary as her shoulders slumped forward. "I'm trying to keep everything together, I really am."
"Hey," Damon's voice became sharp, "Enough with the pity party, Caroline. Are you really going to let Carol Lockwood, of all people, walk all over you?"
"No?"
"What was that?" he demanded, "I couldn't hear you."
"No," Caroline straightened, making her words more forceful. "And I'm not going to let her get to me either. She wants to break me? Well, I'm going to prove to her that she chose the wrong Forbes to mess with!"
"You do that," Damon rolled his eyes, "And don't worry about the Santa situation. I'll take care of it."
"Really?" Caroline squealed, "You're the best, Damon. Thank you so much!"
"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively, "Just remember this moment the next time you want to blame me for something. You owe me one, Barbie."
"Five hundred dollars," Damon announced to the stragglers sitting in The Grill, "Come on, I know that none of you have lives if you're sitting by yourselves at the bar on Christmas Eve. All you gotta do is put on the red suit for two hours, three hours max, and talk to a bunch of kids at the hospital. And this $500 will be all yours...any takers?"
A few people looked over at him, but then they went back to ignoring him.
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath. "Alright, alright," he pulled another $100 from his wallet and held it up. "Make that six hundred dollars. Who wants it now?"
Silence.
Matt, who was bartending, shrugged at him helplessly. "Sorry, man. I don't think you're gonna have any luck in here."
"Ugh, you people disgust me," Damon spun on his heel and strode out the door, pausing only to yell over his shoulder, "You lazy asses are what's wrong with the human race these days!
He glanced at his watch when his cell phone rang for umpteenth time that hour. "Caroline," he greeted as he got into his car, "What's up?"
"What's up?" she hissed, "What's up?"
"Now I want you to stay calm-"
"Santa is supposed to be here in less than a half hour! AND I DON'T SEE ONE."
"You'll get your Santa," Damon snapped, "Let me handle it."
Twenty-five minutes later, however, he was sitting by himself in the hospital parking lot and he was forced to conclude that perhaps he hadn't handled it. Damon mentally prepared himself for the wrath of Barbie as he reluctantly made his way up to the children's ward of the hospital. Good thing he was already dead, because he was pretty sure that Caroline wasn't the only one who would kill him for the lack of a Santa. He could see Mrs. Lockwood standing at the end of the hall, her smile growing tighter and tighter as he approached.
Before he had taken a few more steps, however, he found his path suddenly blocked by a beaming Sheriff Forbes. "Oh thank goodness you're finally here!" she grabbed him by the elbow and began leading him in the opposite direction towards (if he wasn't mistaken) a broom closet. "Caroline left everything you'll need in there. She was about to have a fit when you didn't show up, but I told her that you always come through, even if it's at the last minute." She laughed with obvious relief, "And now Caroline won't get fired from her internship. Thank you so much, Damon. You're a real lifesaver."
"What? No, see, I didn't-" Damon began to protest, but he was herded into the broom closet before he could get another word in edgewise. "Great," he muttered to himself as he fumbled for a light switch.
Then he saw the Santa suit hanging on the back of the door.
Waiting for him.
"Oh I don't think so," he swore, and was about to storm back into the hallway when his cell phone rang. Without looking at the caller ID, he hissed, "Caroline, if this is you then I swear I'm going to-"
"Damon."
He came to a halt, confused, "Elena?"
"Caroline told me what you agreed to do for all those kids," she gushed, "I'm so proud of you, Damon. I always knew you could be a better man, a good person. Look at you, doing the right thing." She smiled, and he could practically see the joyous look on her face. "When I heard what you were doing, it made me..." she paused, her voice becoming soft, "It made me fall for you even more."
Great.
Damon sighed, resting his head against the door. "I'll do this," he said eventually, "But I'm going to need something in return."
"I'll make it up to you," Elena promised him, her voice becoming seductive, "Just you wait."
And wait he did, for THREE long hours. If he was honest with himself, though, he didn't really mind being Santa for all those kids. The ones that looked at him in awe and wonder-the ones that didn't know any of the horrible things he'd done in the past and only saw the world through un-judgemental eyes.
Yeah, he didn't mind one bit.
He even found himself enjoying the whole thing, a fact that he was sure Caroline had picked up on. Every time he looked over at her (she was being Santa's helper), she would flash him a knowing smile.
"Alright, everyone," she finally called after three hours, "Santa has to get back to the North Pole now so that he can get his sleigh ready for tonight. How about we sing him a song before he leaves?"
"Oh," Damon scratched his neck uncomfortably, "That's really not necess-"
Caroline ignored him completely. "On three! One, two..."
'You better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I'm telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.'
Barbie so owed him one.
Damon let his eyes wander the crowd and did a double take when his gaze landed on a familiar face standing in the back of the room. Elena winked at him as she sang along, 'He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty or nice...'
He adjusted his beard, glad that no one could see the smirk growing on his face. He couldn't wait to see what Elena had in store for him. A few minutes later, Caroline led the kids out of the room and he was left with just Elena. She grinned at him as she slowly sashayed around the room, closing all the blinds on the windows and locking the door before turning around to face him. "You know," she teased, unbuttoning her coat and letting it fall to the ground, "I thought we should match."
Damon's mouth dropped open as he took in her slutty Santa's Helper outfit, "Where did you get that?"
"I was going to surprise you on Christmas with it," she admitted, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink. "But when I heard you were dressing up as Santa today, I figured I could put the outfit to much better use today...wouldn't you agree?"
He nodded dumbly, reaching up to pull the scratchy beard off his face. "Don't you want to tell Santa what you want for Christmas?"
Elena giggled as she sat down on his lap, wrapping both her arms around his neck. "Dear Santa," she mused thoughtfully, "For Christmas, I really want..." She stopped suddenly, the expression on her face sobering. "I'd really like the courage to tell this one guy in my life that I've fallen in love with him."
Damon tensed, not having expected those words to come out of her mouth. She tightened her grip around him, as if scared he was going to run off. "I love you, Damon Salvatore. I think I have for a while now." She looked at him hesitantly, "It might've taken me some time to admit it to myself, but I'm done trying to pretend those feelings aren't there. Because they are and-"
He raised a finger to her lips, intending to stop her from talking so that he could process everything she was saying. Sure, they had turned up the level of flirting ever since she had broken up with Stefan, but she hadn't come forward with her feelings yet. Not till now, that is.
To his extreme shock, Elena's tongue darted out and slid along the length of his finger sensually before her mouth closed over the tip of his finger and she sucked on it. Hard.
He felt his arousal skyrocket immediately, and he let his hand tangle in her hair as he brought her closer. This kiss was different from their other ones. This time it felt like they were heading towards something more; like they had a purpose, a pre-existing destination in mind. Elena moaned into his mouth as he ran his hand up her leg and underneath her fluffy Santa miniskirt.
He tore his mouth away from hers to mumble against her lips, "No underwear. Kinky."
"I thought you might appreciate that," Elena nipped at his lip, then wrapped both legs around his waist, letting out a squeal when he abruptly stood up and blurred forward, slamming her against the nearest wall. She used the heels of her boots to nudge down the waistband of the red suit and he kicked the velvety pants off without a second thought. Before he could set to work on ridding Elena of some of her clothes, she had already ripped open the belt from the top half of his Santa suit, pushing the jacket slightly off his shoulders.
Damon groaned as she tightened her legs around his hips, pressing her heated center against his now throbbing arousal. "Elena," he gasped out as his tip nudged her entrance, "Are you sure you want-"
"Yes," she threw her head back when he entered her in one swift move, his control tethering on the edge already. "Oh my god," she breathed, her walls expanding and contracting as they struggled to adjust to his size. Damon took advantage of her momentary lapse in attention to tear off the rest of her outfit, letting her breasts spill out of their constraints. His mouth closed over her right breast and he sucked on it lightly, smirking to himself when her hips immediately bucked against his, seeking friction.
Elena's eyes were closed as he began slowly moving within her, and her fingers dug into his shoulders when he picked up the pace. Her mouth opened in pleasure and he suddenly found himself on the floor, wondering when she had taken charge of the situation. She began to ride him, and he watched her in awe, more turned on than he'd ever been in his life. "You're amazing," he found himself saying, "God, Elena, I love you so much."
Her eyes widened in surprise when he blurred into a sitting position so that her breasts pressed into his chest, and he raised his head to kiss her soundly. She stilled her hips for a moment, and he instantly flipped them over mid-kiss. He began thrusting into her with renewed vigor, enjoying the sounds she made in the back of her throat as she writhed under him. "I love you, too," she whispered suddenly, her back arching off the ground, "Damon, I'm so close."
"I know, baby," he murmured in her ear, "Come for me, Elena."
That was enough for her, and she cried out his name as she came. Hearing his name spill out of her lips in the throes of passion had him following her over the edge, but she kept her legs wrapped around his waist, wanting to keep him as close as possible. He chuckled before giving her a lazy kiss, "I gotta say, when Caroline woke me up this morning, I had no idea my day would turn out so well."
"Hmm," Elena mumbled, returning his kiss languidly. "I never thought a guy in a Santa suit would be such a turn-on."
"Oh it all depends on the guy under the suit," Damon told her seriously, "Take me, for example...I'd look good in anything."
She smirked up at him, flipping them over so that she was straddling him again. "Maybe so," she agreed, bending forward and biting his lip teasingly. "But I think I like you best when you're not wearing anything at all."
"Funny," Damon ripped the remaining skirt off her body, "I could say the same for you."