If Elena loses Damon from this moment onward, that's on Damon.
Whatever he has been through and wherever he has gone, it does not excuse his behavior toward them, certainly not to Elena after everything they've been through. If their friendship crashes and burns, it will be on Damon because he is the one setting fire to it. And she does; she knows that Ethan was coming back to her and a rift picked him up before he could ever make it to her house, allowing her to think he'd just been gone forever. She knows that now. She knows he would've never said goodbye to her if he could've helped it; like she wouldn't have said goodbye, either.
She nods against him, her forehead brushing lightly with his at the action. "I know," she whispers against him, cupping the back of his head as she brings him closer to her. Her eyes burn with that regret, the time that they have lost, the timing that made it all so impossibly hard. The truth sits in her bones, along with the promise he is making her, and Elena sees that he means it. He will do whatever he can to keep it, and her chest eases all the more for it.
Elena's hands linger on the sides of his face as she looks at him. "I love you," she says. She says it very seriously. She thinks she might need to say it again to emphasize the important part. "I love you, Ethan."
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Whatever he has been through and wherever he has gone, it does not excuse his behavior toward them, certainly not to Elena after everything they've been through. If their friendship crashes and burns, it will be on Damon because he is the one setting fire to it. And she does; she knows that Ethan was coming back to her and a rift picked him up before he could ever make it to her house, allowing her to think he'd just been gone forever. She knows that now. She knows he would've never said goodbye to her if he could've helped it; like she wouldn't have said goodbye, either.
She nods against him, her forehead brushing lightly with his at the action. "I know," she whispers against him, cupping the back of his head as she brings him closer to her. Her eyes burn with that regret, the time that they have lost, the timing that made it all so impossibly hard. The truth sits in her bones, along with the promise he is making her, and Elena sees that he means it. He will do whatever he can to keep it, and her chest eases all the more for it.
Elena's hands linger on the sides of his face as she looks at him. "I love you," she says. She says it very seriously. She thinks she might need to say it again to emphasize the important part. "I love you, Ethan."