12 Days of Christmas

Prologue

Hi everyone! This is a cute little Christmas-idea I had, being quarantined and all. This is going to consist of 13 small chapters, with a new one uploaded every day. Hope you enjoy! 

"Do you realize this is the first Christmas we're gonna get to spend together?" Elena asked. She and Damon were cuddling on the couch together, after he had talked her into taking a break from all her studying. Getting through the years of college she needed before she could apply to med school was taking a lot of time out of their days and Damon enjoyed when they had time to actually sit and talk.

"We've known each other for years, Elena, we've had Christmases," Damon said, stroking her hair gently.

"But we've never actually celebrated Christmas... I mean, no gifts, no tree, no anything," Elena said, looking at the marks her highlighter had left on her fingers. She seemed to always have them somewhere lately, since she spent most of her time buried in books.

"If it makes you feel any better, there hasn't been trees or gifts or anything in any Christmas I've had since my mother died," Damon said, shrugging as if it was nothing. Elena sat up and turned towards him.

"You mean to tell me that you and Stefan never got a tree? Wrapped presents? Baked cookies?" she asked in shock. She could see the reaction in his face instantly and regretted her words.

"Not after our mom died..." he said, looking away from her.
"I'm sorry, Damon, I didn't mean..."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it," he said, getting up from the couch. He had been surprisingly open with her about his feelings about his brother dying, but sometimes he would just shut himself away. Elena hadn't bothered him too much about it, since she knew it was a touchy subject. She watched him stand in front of the lit fireplace with his back turned to her.

"Well, it's settled then. This year, we're doing all of the Christmas things," she said, getting up and hugging him from behind, "it'll be fun."