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Elena stretched luxuriously in the satin sheets of her and her husband’s king size bed. Last night had been one of those nights of all-consuming passion Damon had promised her back when they had first met. She reached over to give him a nuzzle and realized his side of the bed was empty. She momentarily pouted, but her indignation was quickly assuaged as the smell of bacon began to waft into the room. Of course. How like Damon to make her breakfast for their anniversary!
Elena slipped back into the silk nightgown that had been unceremoniously ripped off several hours ago and wrapped a wispy robe over it. With a brief glance in the mirror and a quick combing of her shoulder-length hair, she made her way downstairs.
If someone had told her three years ago that she would be living in an almost exact replica of her family home with her former-vampire-now-human husband, she would have told them they were crazier than Qetsiyah. .. But then again, Elena’s life had always veered toward the weird and unlikely. Take, for example, the sight in front of her: Damon Salvatore, the picture of domesticity, frying bacon and pouring batter onto the griddle.
Damon had never been the greatest cook, but his time stuck in limbo with Bonnie had kindled in him a desire to learn. When Elena had gone back to school to become a doctor, she hadn’t had time for anything but her studies. So he had embraced the role of chef wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, exuberance didn’t make up for talent, but he tried his hardest, which was all Elena cared about.
Damon looked up from his pancakes. “Good morning, Sweetheart.”
Elena’s smile was effusive. “Happy 2nd Anniversary!”
“I was going to bring my lady breakfast in bed, but she’s no longer there.”
“I can go back to bed if that helps,” she teased.
“Oh, no. Now that you’re here, I’m not letting you out of my sight again.” Damon flashed his lopsided grin that made her stomach flop. He tried to set his spatula on the side of the griddle, but it clattered to the tile floor. “Whoops.”
Elena and he rushed to grab it at the same time and bumped heads on the way down. “Ow,” Elena cried, rubbing her cranium.
Damon growled, his blue eyes sparking. “I didn’t use to be this clumsy.”
“It’s okay,” Elena quickly said. She snatched up the spatula and tossed it in the sink.
Damon banged around a kitchen drawer until he located another one and then resumed turning his flapjacks. After several minutes, his tranquility had returned. “Did I tell you? I think I’ve perfected my flip.” He was as giddy as a schoolboy with a frog in his pocket. “It’s been years since I could toss a pancake like my vampire self. Observe.” He flipped a pancake into the air. He and Elena counted the revolutions as gravity pulled it back towards the ground. At the last second, he held out the griddle to catch the rotating pancake and...missed his mark. The pancake landed on the floor with a SPLAT.
A muscle twitching in his jaw, Damon stared at the fallen flapjack. Both of them didn’t move or say a word. Finally, Elena scooped up the smushed pancake. Damon managed to voice what was on both of their minds, “I used to have faster reflexes, too.”
“You could’ve missed that even if you were a vampire,” Elena consoled him, noting his mounting frustration.
Damon ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stand straight up. “Let’s face it, Elena! I’m not half the man I used to be. Scratch that, I’m not the vampire I used to be. I’m a pathetic, clumsy human.”
“So what?” she challenged.
“So plenty. Nothing I do is nearly as good as it was.”
Thinking of their previous evening’s exploits, Elena began to simper. “That’s not true.” She wrapped her arms around him and whispered into his ear, “I can think of a few things you still excel at.”
A blush crept along Damon’s chiseled cheeks. “Ok, fine, I’m a great lover.” He stepped out of her embrace. “But I’ve got no job, I’ve got to actually exercise now to keep this gorgeous figure, and I can’t even flip flipping flapjacks. Being a human sucks.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Why not?” he demanded. “It’s true.”
Elena studied her husband as he tossed bacon and pancakes onto plates. “Listen, being a human is hard for everyone, and there are always things that we wish we could do better. But it doesn’t mean we give up on living.”
Damon sighed and rolled his eyes. “I’m not tired of living, Elena. I’m tired of my body not doing what my brain wants it to. I’m tired of not having a purpose now that I’m no longer a vampire.
“I knew when I became human things would be different, even difficult. I didn’t realize how difficult.”
“Change isn’t that difficult,” argued Elena.
“Change is annoyingly difficult.” He slapped the plates onto the kitchen table in emphasis.
Elena sunk into a chair, temporarily defeated. They picked at their food in silence, the tension between them simmering like magma in an active volcano. Elena could fill tears pricking her eyes, and she willed herself not to cry. Between bites of food, Damon looked furtively at his wife.
“Geez, I’m a loser,” he said suddenly. “We’re supposed to be celebrating our anniversary, and I’ve turned it into another pity party.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”
Elena kept a tight grip on his hand. “See? Not all change is bad. You would have never apologized to me if you were still a vampire.”
He fixed her with a withering glare. Then he chuckled. “Touche.”
Elena was warming to her theme. “Also, we’re married now, and we’re living in a new house that you spent months building. These are all positive changes.”
Damon nodded, cracking a smile. “Absolutely true.”
Elena took a deep breath and pressed on. “And having a baby is a good thing…”
Damon’s smile froze.
“...So not all change is bad,” she finished lamely.
“A baby?” Damon whispered.
Elena flushed, bit her lip, and looked down at her plate. “Uh huh.”
His clasp on her hand tightened. “I’m going to be a father?”
“Uh huh.” There was dead silence. She hazarded a glance at his face and saw Damon beaming from ear to ear.
“This is amazing!” he gushed. “I’m going to be the best stay-at-home dad ever! Ric will have nothing on my parenting skills.” He leaned in and grazed her lips with a kiss. “Thank you, Elena, for giving my human life purpose. Happy Anniversary, Babe!”
Elena smiled in return, and this time she was not afraid to let the tears flow. “Happy Anniversary.”