Vampies in Love

6. Damon Gets Freaked

"You still love her, don't you?" Elijah asked softly from behind Damon. They were currently walking down an empty city street in the early hours of the morning.

Damon didn't slow down. In fact, he wanted to run from this conversation as quickly as possible. "Who?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Katerina."

Damon looked over his shoulder. "Do you?" Elijah just raised his eyebrows.

"The feelings I had for Katerina were short-lived. You, however, were actively involved with her for several years," Damon heard Elijah's footsteps slow and stop. "It's an honest question, Damon."

Damon stopped and turned to face Elijah. He could tell Elijah wanted a serious answer. "I mean, I do still feel something for her. I was in love with her when I turned. Those feelings don't go away easily," Well, Damon tried his best.

Damon looked for any reaction in Elijah's face, and he found absolutely nothing.

"Very well," Elijah said and continued walking.

Damon figured there was something he wasn't saying. He'd done that a lot, too, so he'd learned to recognize when others were doing it.

"Why'd you ask?" Damon asked.

"Always one for subtly, Damon," Elijah waited for Damon to catch up. "I just wanted to know where your priorities lie."

"Are you sure you're not trying to figure out how well you can seduce me?" Damon said. He was uncomfortable, so he did what he always does when he's uncomfortable: he makes everyone else uncomfortable with his weird joking.

"Maybe I am," Elijah said, then winked at Damon.

Who does this guy think he is?, Damon thought. He could feel something he wasn't ready to address happening in his chest. Then he thought, Fuck this guy. Then, Fuck.

~~~~~~~~

"Why did you kidnap Elena?" Damon asked a couple of nights after his chat with Stefan. His back was against Elijah's chest, and Elijah was propped up on the wall behind the bed.

"Many people assume that I'm a good person to speak with if they wish to speak to Klaus," Elijah rested his chin on the top of Damon's head. "Rose and Trevor took Elena in order to get on Klaus's good side."

"But why would Klaus have a need for her?"

"Elena is a doppelganger, which Klaus needs in order to break a curse."

Damon paused, unsure if he should asked his next question. Being someone who does not like to be kept in the dark, he asked. "Were you planning on handing her over?"

Elijah scoffed. "Klaus has made his choice regarding his family loyalties. I have no desire to help him achieve anything," He paused. "No, I was not going to hand her over. I was actually going to keep her safe from Klaus."

"That's good."

Damon felt Elijah gently twine their fingers together. "You care for her, don't you?" He asked quietly.

Damon looked at their hands and tightened his grip. "I do, just not the way you're thinking," Damon may have been starting to develop deeper feelings for Elena before, but now that he remembered having Elijah in his life, he had no intentions of pursuing them. He was happy with his love life as it was, and he liked having Elena as a friend. He didn't want to mess anything up with what amounted to no more than a crush.

"Maybe one day I could properly be introduced?" Elijah ask, but Damon knew what he was really asking. Elijah was never one to push, but he would occasionally give hints that he wished for Damon to take the next step in a certain direction. A direction that scared Damon endlessly.

"Maybe," Damon said noncommittedly. He would admit to himself that his life would be incredibly easy if he could have Elijah around all the time, but he was just terrified of the change it would bring.

~~~~~~~~

A few days passed, Klaus arrived in Mystic Falls, and everything went to shit. At least, for Damon it did. Elijah kept his word, as he always did, and used his warlocks and his own strength to keep Elena out of harm's way. However, with his estranged brother in town, Elijah was on edge. Damon couldn't blame him. He and Stefan had had their downs in their relationship, but Damon could tell that the prospect of killing Klaus was taking its toll on Elijah. Monster or not, they were family.

Now, Damon was in the midst of fighting alongside Stefan in order to free Caroline from a pack of angry wolves. Things were going downhill for the two brothers very quickly. Stefan was surrounded by three wolves, and Damon had one trying to rip his head off.

Just when Damon thought he was done for, one of the warlocks walked into the area, and all of the wolves fell to the ground in pain. Damon nudged the one behind him with his shoe. Unconscious.

Stefan seemed just as relieved as he was to be alive, and he could see that Tyler had gotten Caroline free. The warlock, whose name Damon had never bothered to remember, stood in front of the two brothers who were still trying to catch their breaths. Stephen seemed surprised at the events that had just unfolded.

"Why did you help us?" he asked.

The warlock tilted his head as if the answer were obvious. "Elijah asked me to protect you," He said. It wouldn't have meant anything more to anyone if he hadn't been looking Damon square in the eye while saying it.

Damon's heart sped up, hoping Stefan wouldn't notice the statement's true meaning. He felt as though the warlock had just about announced that Elijah and Damon were canoodling.

"Well, tell him we said thanks," Damon said, hoping to steer this interaction in a less treasonous direction.

"You can tell him yourself." Damon could hear the smirk on the man's face. He knew. How did he know? Elijah must have told him, which was fine, but why did this guy think he could out him like this?

Damon was panicking and failing miserably at hiding it. So he did what he does best. He averted.

"Sorry, but I don't take order from witchy woos," He said. Then, he turned around and walked back in the direction of town. He hoped Stefan would stay behind to deal with Caroline. He didn't need his nosey brother following him right now. There was something he needed to do.