Dedication: To slytherinswench

One

Humans were amusing creatures. So delicate. So frivolous. So expendable. They were, however, fairly consistent when it came to certain associations between his kind and the night. Damon had heard it thousands of times in drippy dramas and risque romances. Actors with their blazing white incisors meticulously glued in their mouths used it as their mantra. We rule the night.

High above the hustle and bustle of youthful activity, Damon's own incisors settle for the night when there was an entire world to command? A true king reigned any domain he wished, merely by applying his will.

Damon's kingdom had no form and no boundaries. It was anything he wished it to be, and he ruled it with an iron fist. He was a conqueror. A warrior. A being who could take control or walk away as he chose. That was the definition of power. That was a king.

In his more idle moments, Damon would wonder why his little brother failed to realize that fact. Human rules no longer applied to them. They were not bound by anything or anyone, except Saint Stefan's conscience. Of course, even if Stefan somehow miraculously grasped reality, he would never know what to do with it. Just as well. Damon was quite content holding all the power for himself.

He tilted his head, eyes catching on a certain curtain of blond hair. There was one slight exception to the rule.

Elena.

A queen in her own right. She had taken command of this small human population with little effort. She was a manipulator. A strategist. She had a mind that could see all of the angles and never failed to choose the path most beneficial to herself. The others blindly fell into line behind her. She was a hunter among sheep. His equal in every way but one. Her humanity still allowed occasional displays of softness when in contact with three of those sheep.

One sheep in particular, of the male variety, the typical blond hair and blue eyes of this region was staring soulfully at her. Damon's dark brow rose, his lips thinning. Instead of reprimanding the obvious regard, Elena reached out and casually brushed her fingers against the boy's. A sign of camaraderie, if Damon recalled his human days correctly. An intimacy.

Just as Damon's nails began to dig into the tree's bark, the contact ended. Elena breezed by as if it had never happened, leaving the blond fool to stare after her longingly. A fraction of a second later, he followed, looking ready to do battle in Elena's honor. Exactly like a sheep, Damon suddenly realized.

Incredible. A small and insignificant touch, a mere brush, and the human was ready to die for her.

A deep, warm chuckle of satisfaction escaped Damon, his point proven once again before his very eyes. Elena was a queen, inspiring loyalty and absolute fidelity from lesser creatures. Damon's equal in every way.

Every way but one.

End

AN: Thank you for reading. It's my first attempt at the Vampire Diaries, written in response to a drabble challenge. Here's the prompt:

500 words

Vampire Diaries

Damon/Elena

prompt: a casual brush of fingers

Hope you enjoyed it!

-Avari20