“You’re mad at me and you have the right to be.”

Mad was an understatement. She was furious.

She’s about to launch into a tirade about how he’s a jerk and a grade A asshole and rip him to shreds. This is not the first time, nor does she think this will be the last. And she’s wondering why she puts up with it at all, why she’s even here. Why did she ever think this thing between them would even work.

“I’m just not used to not getting what I want.”

Of course he’s not. He usually just snaps his fingers and his hybrids and loyal witch lackeys would be tripping over themselves to get him whatever he wants. But she’s made it clear to him that she won’t be, can’t be bought, compelled or manipulated in any other way to do his bidding. And right now she’s going to demonstrate that fact. She gives him her sassiest attitude, puts on her best bitch face. Ready to let him know just how angry she really is.

“And what do you want?”

The lyrics to Rolling Stones is at the tip of her tongue, a ready retort for whatever his reply is. Except she ends up swallowing them.

“You, “He answers easily, like it was the simplest answer in the entire world.

Her self-righteous rage starts to ebb away with his confession. He doesn’t say it like he does with all his other lines. The ones that he somehow manages to say smoothly despite the amount of cheesiness. No, he says this with utter candidness.

He looks almost bashful and embarrassed. His eyes quickly averting from hers. His hands forming into fists at his side like he’s bracing himself for her rejection already.  

“Is it strange that I should want to be with you today?”

She scoffs and tries to hold on to her previous anger, but she can’t. She can see him chastising himself for revealing so much when she still kept her cards so close to the chest.

“It’s just Valentine’s day. It’s not even a real holiday,” she protests. “And for your information I was talking to Matt because he was helping me with your stupid present.”

His eyes light up then. “You got me a present?”

“Well it is Valentine’s day,” she mutters sheepishly under her breath, realizing that she was contradicting her earlier statement. He always made her lose her head. “But that’s not the point! You were mean and possessive and-“

And she doesn’t get to finish her sentence because he had raised his hand to her face, caressing her cheek. He leans forward, his lips pressing gently against hers. It was easier when he is rough and demanding. She knows how to deal with that. Return his fire with her own. But she’s at loss when he’s being soft and sweet. And it’s that gentleness, that utterly human characteristic of his that melts her anger despite her reluctance to forgive him.

He pulls back, his thumbs brushing the corner of her lips.

“Your company would’ve been gift enough.”

(Requested by miley—rays)

Elena Gilbert had always had a deep rooted prejudice against the hybrid monster that was called Klaus. And when she learned about his interest in her friend, she was the first to protest. Despite all the things Caroline said to try and persuade her otherwise she was convinced that he was a monster.

Klaus simply did not know how to love. Perhaps he cares for his family, but even then that should be taken with a grain of salt. And if the way he treated his family was any indication, surely he was incapable of loving anybody else. It was just not possible.

So when he actually showed up when Caroline called, she was surprised.

“You came.”

Caroline pulled away from her embrace and she reluctantly let her. The blonde’s words were choked out, her voice raw from her sobbing. She watched as Caroline went to him, keeping her eyes trained on Klaus in case he tried anything, though she didn’t know what.

It was the expression on his face that struck her most. He had eyes only for Caroline and Elena had never seen him so gentle. His face softened for her like it would for no one else. And when Caroline pulled him into her embrace, he let her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and let her bury her face into the crook of his neck, stain his jacket with her tears.

“Don’t you know by now, love?”

Elena always thought Klaus’s little pet names to be obnoxious, but somehow with Caroline it sounded… well it sounded romantic. And not just romantic. It was epic. Like a promise of undying love and eternal worship and all that. She was stunned to say the least.

“I’ll always come when you call.”

Caroline broke into sobs again and held him closer. He brought his hand up to her hair and rocked her slowly, making soft shushing noises to soothe her. For all intents and purposes Elena did not exist for the two of them. They were in their own world.

And that’s the moment Elena realized that she was wrong.

“You’re testing my patience, Damon.”

Once again, the elder Salvatore is a thorn in his side. His little vampire was waiting for him and he knows how she gets when she has to wait.

“Yeah, well mine is wearing thin itself. You’re not exactly on my cuddle list.”

Even with his hands around the other vampire’s throat, Damon continues to as caustic as ever.

“But I’m here for a reason.”

“Oh yes? Why don’t you enlighten me then?”

“Caroline.”

He grits his teeth. He doesn’t like the sound of her name on another man’s lips. Especially when that man was Damon Salvatore. Their history together has not escaped his attention, nor the fact that he is her maker.

“What about her?” he snarls.

“She’s not safe with you.”

He snorts and tightens his grip in reply. Damon chokes and coughs, but remains otherwise impervious.

“You might think you can protect her, but you can’t. You have too many enemies. And they won’t think twice about using her to get to you. If you really care about her at all… You’d leave.”

He hates it when Damon actually makes sense.

Love has always been a vampire’s greatest weakness and she was his. Even if he refuses to admit it aloud. But whether or not he has voiced the sentiment, the truth of the matter remains the same.

He has been tempting fate and it is only a matter of time before everything falls to pieces.

“You can kick and scream about it all you want. You know I’m right.” 

He swallows and releases his chokehold on the Salvatore.

“Tell her I left because I was bored. That I got sick of this one pony town. Tell her that I don’t want to be found. And don’t tell her… don’t tell her that I said good-bye.”

Damon can read between the lines. Good-bye’s can easily be misheard as I love you’s.