The One Who Saved Me

Chapter 44: Future with him

3 years had passed and life had certainly been different since Damon became human again. Stefan evicted Katherine since finding out that she's the one behind Caroline's college troubles. Caroline and Elena had been studying more and they had the chance to actually graduate from their college course. Following in her father's footsteps, Elena became a medical intern, working at Whitmore Hospital. Meanwhile, Damon was too busy reminiscing.

For the first time in over 149 years, seeing blood in a blood bag made him sick. Just seeing the red liquid made his stomach turn.

Seeing as Elena was currently taking her final exam, Damon decided to clean out all the blood bags in his room. He grabbed a box, placing every single unused blood bag inside, labelling it STEFAN'S STASH.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Damon Salvatore was giving away his unused blood bags." Stefan smiled as he walked into the room.

"I'm human now brother. Looking at the blood makes me feel sick. Wow. I never thought I'd ever say that." Damon laughed, handing the box to Stefan.

"I think you made the right choice, Damon. I mean, you've defied all odds with Elena and that's gotta count for something." Stefan sat on Damon's bed as Damon pulled out a red box, opening it up to see it empty. He remembered why he had this box. His daylight ring came in this box when Stefan gave it to him.

"Guess I won't need this anymore..." Damon sighed as he looked down at his daylight ring, removing it from his finger. Placing it into the box, he threw it toward Stefan, who caught it.

"I need you to put that box in the best hiding spot you can think of. I don't care where you put it. I just- I never want to see it again. It'll remind me of my darkest periods of life." Damon requested, Stefan smiling.

"Hey, what's that?" Stefan noticed a navy velvet box sitting beneath a few items of clothing. Pulling it out, Damon opened it to see an engagement ring.

"It's an engagement ring." Damon spoke, feeling somewhat bittersweet.

"Why do you have it?" Stefan asked, confused.

"Because, believe it or not at one point, I considered spending the rest of my immortal life married to Katherine." Damon scoffed, Stefan sighing.

"What are you going to do with it now? I mean, Katherine's out of the picture, at least, as out of the picture as she can be." Stefan mentioned.

"I'm going to propose to Elena." Damon admitted.

"What, today?" Stefan was shocked by Damon's admittance.

"Yes. She has her final exam today. I'm going to take her out for dinner and then I am going to propose." Damon confirmed his plan, and now that he knew what the rest of his day was looking like, he had started planning.

Seeing how passionate Damon was, Stefan messaged Caroline just to warn her.

Knowing what Damon's plan was, Caroline nervously, but excitedly told Elena that Damon wanted to take her out on a simple date.

"A date? Why?" Elena asked, confused.

"He just wants to remind you how much he loves you." Caroline was partially lying.

"Well, considering I've just finished my final college exam, I'm looking forward to the date." Elena smiled, Caroline getting excited.

The day had gone well for Damon. His plans for the perfect date were being arranged. Stefan helped out, considering Damon would break something if he didn't. Caroline and Bonnie focused on getting Elena ready for her epic date.

As the day went along, Damon got more nervous. Every passing moment made him regret the idea of proposing. What if Elena said no? He would have taken the cure and lived the rest of his life without Elena. Damon was glad that even though he was no longer a vampire, his love for bourbon was still a thing. As if his nervous couldn't get any worse, the doorbell rang, Elena walking through the door in her fanciest dress, provided by Caroline.

She was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the couches and coffee tables had been moved away from the fireplace, and a picnic blanket had been set near the fireplace.

"M'lady." Damon smiled as Elena placed a soft kiss on his cheek. The night went along smoothly, Damon's hand playing around with the velvet box that Elena had no idea about.

"Damon, is everything okay? You've been a little quiet since our date started." Elena asked, confused.

"Elena...I- I spent 145 years pining after a woman who never really loved me. Then I met you and my life changed. I regretted turning you into a vampire, but my heart started beating again when you became a human again." Damon brought the velvet box out into Elena's eye view, her eyes beginning to swell with tears.

"When I became human again, it wasn't just for myself. It was for us. I never want to spend a day without you. I took the cure because the idea of living without you made my heart hurt. Elena Gilbert, I never want to spend another day of my human life without you. Will you marry me?" Damon looked deeply into Elena's eyes as he opened the box, revealing the ring.

"Yes." Elena smiled as she kissed him passionately. He placed the diamond ring on her finger, unable to believe that Elena would become his wife.