A/N: Once again, I owe everyone an apology for taking so long to get this posted, but here is the new chapter, and maybe it will be cathartic for you if your reaction to last episode was at all similar to mine. Also, fakeituntilyoumakeit has made two really cool banners inspired by this story, so check them out at the polyvore website if you want a visual for Damon and Aedan.
Chapter 16
Damon watched as Elena fidgeted slightly as Aedan left the room. His head was still a little foggy from being pulled out of a deep sleep, but something was definitely up. He needed a minute to sort out the meanings behind that kiss, but he knew he wasn't going to get it with Elena standing there impatiently. He was a bit amused by how surprised she looked at watching him kiss Aedan, although he could smell that she was slightly aroused, too. Interesting, but not really surprising. He knew Elena was attracted to him, and he knew that she would never act on it, not really.
Elena interrupted Damon's thoughts. "Thank you for coming after me," she said. "And Stefan." She sounded slightly awkward.
Damon smirked. "You know I'll save you anytime," he said with a suggestive lift of his eyebrows. "But that's not what you wanted to talk to me about, Elena." He waited, wondering what could possibly be so important that she had woken him up and asked Aedan to leave.
Elena glanced toward the door like she wasn't sure if Aedan was really gone yet. After another brief awkward silence, she said, "I've been thinking about things a lot, since you left. I really missed you, and I was afraid that you were never coming back and it made me realize some stuff. And then you almost died today. . . ." She paused, and her huge brown eyes met his. "I want to explore what we have together, Damon," she said.
Damon stared blankly at her. Apparently he had missed quite a bit while he was semi-conscious with wooden bullets in him. He hadn't expected the conversation to take that turn. But Aedan had, he realized suddenly, and that was why the older vampire had left to give them privacy. And why Aedan had kissed him like that in front of Elena. And probably why he been acting weird earlier, too. Shit. "Look, Elena," Damon began uncertainly.
Elena must have sensed his uncertainty because she interrupted him to plow on. "You've been saying all along that there's something between us, Damon," she said. "And I get that now. I understood it while you were gone. I want to figure out what that something is. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I'm ready." Her brown eyes were sincere and open, her full, pink lips parted slightly as she waited for his response. She looked hopeful but also confident, like she knew that Damon would choose her. Of course, he had once told her exactly that.
Damon shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, still a bit stunned. Of course he was tempted. He had wanted to hear Elena say exactly those words for a long time, but he knew that if he said yes, he would lose Aedan. Aedan was both smarter and stronger than him – he would move on as Damon had been unable to do with his hopeless love for Katherine. Damon would lose him, and that was too high a price to pay. "It's too late, Elena," he finally said. "I'm with someone else now."
Elena just nodded. "With Aedan," she supplied, sounding skeptical.
"Yes." Damon thought about the way Aedan had had his back since the hybrids had kidnapped Stefan and Elena. No one had ever come through for him like that before. Damon didn't trust people because they let him down almost every time, but Aedan had never let him down. And it wasn't just that. He thought about their "first date" and the days he had spent at Aedan's house, about sex in the shower just an hour or two ago and that kiss just minutes ago. He felt a small smile on his face.
Unfortunately, the smile might have given Elena the wrong idea. She narrowed her eyes. "Come on, Damon. I know you're just teasing. This is all about trying to hurt me, make me jealous."
