Forever; The Devil's Angel

“Damon,” Elena stood up as she saw Damon descending the stairs, swaying his whiskey bottle, “How are you doing?” she asked.

Damon stopped at the last step, “Better,” he said and saw a warm and happy smile creeping up on her face and just to rile her up, he shrugged and added, “I mean, I’ve been worse.”

Stefan shook his head at Elena as she took the bait and much to Damon’s satisfaction frowned, her eyes darkening a little.

“I’ll leave you two for a little quality time,” Stefan said pointing between them as he came to stand beside Elena and kissed her temple, knowing Elena needed it, as a chance to apologize, to sympathize.

Damon smiled at Stefan’s honesty and the fact that he didn’t fake an important meeting to attend out of blue. He went to sit on the couch and Elena offered him a plate of food which he took graciously. He was starving.

“I heard you with Stefan,” she admitted sheepishly.

Damon’s eyes snapped to her. Not a very good way of bonding, he thought but kept his eyes on her as she made a sorry face. “Let me guess?” he raised his eye brows and pointed to the plate, “Bribe for an apology?” he looked at her pointedly and she gave him a small smile with a nod accompanying it.

“Why am I not surprised?” he shook his head but a smile made its way to his lips.

“I…” Elena started but Damon cut her off. “You don’t have to answer that. It was a rhetorical question,” he shrugged knowing well she wasn’t going to answer his rhetorical question.

“I know, Damon,” she rolled her eyes, “I was just going to say that,” she took a deep breath as he waited, “I’m not only sorry for eavesdropping…but also for other things as well,” she said not knowing what to expect from him, her beat getting fast as he waited for his response.

“What other things?” he asked confused. None of what happened was her fault and she wasn’t exactly just sympathizing, that he could tell. It was nobody’s fault actually, not his, not Mia’s, not anybody else’s except the memory taking part. That was the only thing that angered him, upset him because Mia had no right to do that, to take away a part of him even if she was a part herself.

“For everything I’m responsible for,” she said in a small voice, “For getting between you and Stefan, for leading you on for years, for being indecisive and selfish and…for taking your brother away from you. It was rude and selfish…”

Damon opened his mouth to say something but Elena held up her finger to stop him, “I need to say this, Damon because,” she swallowed hard, “because we’ve been through so much together and you’ve always been there for me and now…” her voice wavered slightly, “I want to be there for you.”

“Uh…I’m fine, Elena” he said trying to process her words. What was with everyone and confessions and opening up today? The day was getting way too sentimental for him.

“And I know that you’re lying,” she leaned forward on her couch, “but that’s what I want to change between us. I need us to trust each other again and…be friends,” she said, “I want to be your Lexi, Damon,” she reached for his hand and squeezed it, “Your Rose…and your Alaric,” she looked at him hopefully but he was agape, surprised.

Seeing the disbelief on his face she continued, “I know I can never do them any justice or fill their absence but Damon, I can try. I can try,” she said in a single breath as her voice broke and she sniffled, “I can try to be a friend to you. A good friend.”

Damon blinked twice. He knew that. He knew that she couldn’t fill up the holes created by their absence but he could use a friend. She and Bonnie had been worried about him. He knew about Bonnie by the number of messages she left for him. He didn’t know why but she felt guilty for everything somehow and wanted to atone for her mistakes.

Damon gave her a small nod and squeezed back her hand. Elena smiled as she pulled back and took her place on the couch again, a deep sense of satisfaction residing in her. She felt hopeful for a moment. Maybe, they will make it through this.

Damon sat there, thoughts that haunted him surfacing into his mind. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed deeply as he readied himself to ask questions he wasn’t sure about. After all, she was the one who proposed them being friends.

"What happened after I...you know, after I died? What made her decide?" He finally asked. This question...he wanted the answer to but he didn't want it at the same time. Somehow, he knew it would make things harder. There were always some things like that, where after getting the answer, you think that ignorance was really a bliss.

"Are you su..." Elena looked at him with her eyes wet and Damon gave her a single nod. "I need to know," he said but he wasn't sure. He didn't think he would ever be.

"She was presented with a choice again," Elena answered, "But it included you along with the redemption for Ariel, Samantha and Cam," he shrugged, "she was told that you could live if she left."

Damon swallowed hard, his food forgotten as he drew in a shaky breath, "She didn't want to leave," he said because he knew. She told him that herself.

"Death was easy for her, Damon but she knew that your sacrifice would be meaningless if she choose it. Believe me she wanted to die. I don't know who wouldn't but...she made the right choice," Elena smiled sadly, "She told the archangel that she chose you and your wellbeing and not the Heavens. She chose you, Damon," she said, her voice breaking.

"I wanted her to be safe and happy," Damon said, his eyes unfocused as he recalled their conversation.

"I know," she drew in a shaky breath, "She knew it," Elena said as a tear escaped her eye. It wasn't just because she knew the feeling of loss and how good Mia and Damon were for each other but she cried because Mia was a good friend to her too and she also missed her.

"I saw her," he said as Elena looked at him, surprise and shock written all over her face, "But I...I couldn't remember her that time. She was in Italy...with Cam and she...she wasn't happy at all. They had no shine, no happiness," he shrugged to himself, "you know, her eyes and...I couldn't remember her,” he told her, all the moments before left his memories returned pinching him. It was now just the aching and lost him and no Mia.

"What was she doing there? What did she say?" Elena asked.

"Nothing. She just watched me...and I probably did the same."

"How did you...how did you remember, Damon?" Elena asked the question that had been bugging her and Stefan for days.

Damon took a deep breath before answering, "I put a...remembrance spell on me but... it didn't work."

"That's the spell that exhausted you," Elena stated, her body tense as realization hit her, "The one that had Aaron worried and he sent you home."
Damon shrugged casually, "The memory block was so strong. It took a lot from me to break it but I had to see the object of the blocking to truly complete it. I didn't know that at the time but one look at Maya was all it took to activate the spell," he put his plate on the table beside him and stood up as he rubbed his hands on his jeans, "which reminds me. What was Maya doing there and I know she was Maya, the evil bitch and not Mia?"

"Didn't look like the evil bitch when you were dancing?" Stefan questioned appearing from behind them, his hands in his pockets and leaned against the couch Elena was sitting in.

Damon pointed to his head and raised his eyebrow, "Memory problem, Stef," he said as a way of explanation.

"But Maya wasn't the object that your memories blocked. It was Mia," Elena stated.

"Well, nothing is written in stones, Elena," Damon said, "There are so many loopholes in spells and magic with the look alike thingies," he wriggled his fingers.

"We have to know what Katherine is doing back in town and what made her decide that showing Maya was safe now?" Stefan said, glancing from Elena to Damon.

"She's always been a bad news," Damon sighed and Elena noticed that the pain was etched so permanently on his face and his voice that after sometime they had become immune to it to an extent that it looked a part of him and they forgot the pain he was in, the things that he was feeling.
"Umm...ok. I need to go," Damon said suddenly surprising them both.

"What? Where?" Stefan asked almost immediately.

"Somewhere, Stefan. You don't have to keep an eye on me," he rolled his eyes, "It's hilarious to watch you like that," he shrugged, "It's always has been."

"Like what?" Elena asked.

"Like he's walking on eggshells, scared that I'll explode," he smirked which brought the hint of old Damon back for just a second before it vanished again, "I'll be fine. I'm fine," he assured them both as with a forced smile he left the room. He had a lot of work to do. He had read almost all the grimoire that he had. He needed a little practice now, along with some elements required for magic.

He knew she was an angel and he knew she would never come visit unless there was something very wrong with the world and he knew exactly what kind of wrong did the world want because no matter what he said or thought, he never wanted...needed someone as much as he craved for Mia and after everything that they had been through she had to be by his side and he knew exactly what to do.

He had to bring her back and this time, for good.