Elena and Damon

The relationship between the cured vampire/human doppelgänger, Elena Gilbert and the cured vampire/human, Damon Salvatore, is a complicated, but a popular and powerful romantic pairing, and a significant relationship in the series.
Though initially started on antagonistic terms, their relationship develops throughout the series. He was the narcissistic evil vampire, who came to town to seek revenge on his younger brother, who Elena happened to develop an interest in. When everyone had written Damon off as a bad guy who couldn't be redeemed, Elena, who was unafraid of him and willing to call him on his crap, saw something in him that hinted he wasn't entirely evil. And so there marked the start of a tentative friendship. Over the seasons, their bond continues to grow, from becoming allies to friends, to best friends and, ultimately, lovers. He's always saving her from danger and she's saving him from his dark self, they both care deeply for each other, regardless of any obstacles that may come in their way.
They both love each other with a passion that consumes them. For him, she is the best thing that has ever happened to him in his life. For Elena, Damon is the one that defines her and believes him to be her soulmate.
They are known as "Delena" by fans.
==Overview==
Damon came back to Mystic Falls with the sole purpose of bringing back Katherine Pierce, the vampire with whom he had fallen in love with as a human in 1864. However, after realizing that Katherine had secretly escaped the tomb but hadn't cared enough about him to find him, he resented her. He begins to fall for his younger brother Stefan's girlfriend, also Katherine's doppelgänger, Elena. His love for Elena makes him want to protect his birthtown instead of destroying it, as was his original purpose when he arrived. They form a rocky friendship.
Elena constantly forgives Damon from doing horrible things to her, such as killing her younger brother Jeremy (although he came back to life) or feeding her vampire blood (essentially ending her human life). Elena has admitted she sees the good in Damon and believes he's worth saving. Elena begins to reciprocate Damon's feelings for her, though continues to love Stefan.
Their friendship deepens, leading to them becoming best friends. Elena cares whether Damon lives or dies, and even when she chooses Stefan over him, Damon continues to still be there for her when she needs somebody and feels she can't turn to Stefan about it. Damon has never lied to her and would always tell her the truth, although he has admitted that he will lie to her if it saves her life.
After becoming a vampire, Elena breaks up with Stefan as her feelings for Damon had become too strong for her to ignore. Elena and Damon sleep together after she admits to her feelings. It's discovered that because Elena had feelings for Damon when she was human and it was his blood which turned her, a sire bond has been created between them. Damon begins to doubt her feelings for him and believes they are solely built on the sire bond. After being compelled by Rebekah to tell the truth, Elena reveals that she is no longer in love with Stefan and is instead in love with Damon. She later confesses this to him, stating that it's the most real thing she's ever felt. After Jeremy dies, Damon uses the sire bond to get Elena to turn her emotions off, knowing that the pain would be too much for her. She loses all feelings she has for him as a result, but continues a relationship with him solely for manipulation, later telling him her feelings were all due to the sire bond. Damon's willing to do anything to get her emotions back, including torturing her and killing Matt (although he was brought back to life), which eventually proved successful.
Elena later chooses between Damon and Stefan for the second time, this time choosing Damon, since she had fallen out of love with Stefan. She confirms her love for Damon during a heartfelt confession from them both, and they kiss. Damon's later proud as he says to Alaric, "I got the girl."
Their relationship lasts the whole summer and briefly becomes long distance when she begins attending college. After realizing how he's changing her, he decides to break up with her, causing her great heartbreak. Stefan makes Damon realize how stupid he was acting and he decides to try and win her back. However, when he finally tells her, he's unaware that Katherine has taken over Elena's body when she rejects him. This sends him off the deep end and he becomes guilty when he finds out the truth. After he tells her the truth, they mutually decide to end their relationship as they realize they have too much control over each other. However they end up sleeping together. But after that, Elena tells Damon that he has to let her go until they can figure things out.
As Markos, the Travelers' leader finally makes his appearance, Elena and Stefan begin to have visions of a life that they would never have. Damon is hurt by this but Elena lets him know that the universe doesn't control anything and that her and Damon are real, not those visions. She tries to be friends with him but he refuses and they try to avoid one another which turns out to be impossible. After getting kidnapped by Markos, nearly dying and with a little encouragement from Stefan she tells Damon that she thought she would never see him again and couldn't think of a worse way to die and so they both rekindle their relationship. In the finale of Season Five, in order to bring Stefan back from the Other Side, Damon and Elena go on a suicide mission. However, when the resurrection spell starts, Damon is unable to come back from the Other Side. Knowing that the Other Side is disintegrating and there is no other way for Damon to return, Elena breaks down completely. A ghost Damon confesses to her that she is the greatest thing that ever happened to him and the fact that he will die knowing he was loved by Elena Gilbert is the epitome of a fulfilled life. Damon says I love you and leaves while Elena continues to cry and pleas with him to return to her.
Months after Damon's death, Elena desperately mourns him. During that time, Elena had been using a witch drug that allowed her to hallucinate Damon as she does not want to believe that he's dead. Unable to go on with the memory of Damon, Elena has Alaric erase every good memory she has of him and doesn't remember loving him until she finally learns the truth from Stefan. After Damon's return from death, Elena tries to avoid him but changes her mind and decides that she wants her memories of him back. However, Alaric becomes human because of crossing the anti magic border and is unable to give Elena her memories. At first, Elena tries to move on but then realizes she can't seem to shake her feelings for Damon. They both decide to make new memories and start their relationship anew. As they started to bond, Elena began to see the good side of Damon as he worked hard to bring Bonnie back from the Prison World. 
During their new relationship, Elena continued to fall for Damon and eventually got back together with him after the death of Liz, which made her feel that life was too short, wanting to live her life to the fullest with him. During the growing love between the two, Bonnie managed to escaped the Prison World and give Damon the cure which Damon planned to get before. As time went by, he still hadn't told Elena about the cure and started to question his future together with Elena. Eventually, his mother who was revealed to still be alive and was stuck in a prison world, stole the cure from Damon and put it in a place that Elena would find it. Damon and Elena talked about why he hid the cure from her because he didn't want to lose her and eventually chose to take the cure with her. Elena not wanting Damon to decide so quickly and resent her one day, knowing how much he loves being a vampire, asks for Stefan's help, to show Damon a brutal human life with Elena. After watching an elderly couple, Damon made his final decision to take the cure. He would give up his vampire status to marry Elena and be the father or their children. As soon as Alaric and Jo's wedding took place, Kai killed Jo and attacked everyone, putting Elena into a coma. Kai revealed that he linked Elena and Bonnie together. As long as Bonnie lives, Elena won't wake from her sleep; so until Bonnie dies, Elena will wake. Damon made the selfless choice of saving Bonnie's life, making Elena proud of him. They shared their final moments together with a dance and a kiss. 
Eventually, Bonnie is able to break Elena's sleeping curse and she wakes up and reunites with Damon. Years later they marry and live a long and happy life. When they die, they find peace and reunite with their respective families.
==Early History==
Damon first met Elena the night her parents died. She met Damon in the middle of the road, and at first, he mistook her for Katherine. They started talking and even flirted a little. He told her that she wanted a love that consumed her, a love that was passionate, and a love that was a little dangerous. And then he told her that he wanted her to have everything she wanted. After their moonlit conversation, Elena's parents had arrived and Damon compelled her to forget it ever happened. They were later reunited in The Night of the Comet, but she didn't remember him. This also explains the reason how Damon knew who Elena was when they met in the Salvatore Boarding House. Elena admitted in The Departed, that if she had met Damon first, things might have gone different between them and she would have chosen him over Stefan. This memory resurfaces after Elena transitioned into a vampire in Growing Pains.
==Throughout The Vampire Diaries Series==
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|-|Season 1=
|-|Season 2= 
|-|Season 3=
|-|Season 4=
|-|Season 5=
|-|Season 6=
|-|Season 8=
In I Was Feeling Epic, Bonnie is able to break Elena's sleeping curse. Elena wakes and reunites with Damon. Years later they marry and live a long and happy life. When they eventually die, they find peace and reunite with their respective families.
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==Dating Timeline==
==Novels==
*In the novel series Damon and Elena end up together.
**Damon is Elena's true destiny:"Well done, Elena. Here is a small souvenir (the music box Damon had given her; The Hunters: Moonsong, Chapter 34) Novel quotes of your past life, as a token of our regard. Enjoy your humanity—you've earned it. I hope you find your true destiny." — Mylea in The Salvation: Unmasked, Chapter 31.
**Damon is also Elena's home:"This is it, Elena realized, stopping stock-still in front of him and staring dumbly up into his face. This is who I'm meant to be with. My destiny caught up with me after all."Hello, Elena." Damon's mouth twisted into its telltale smirk, and Elena knew she was home." — Elena and Damon in The Salvation: Unmasked, Chapter 33.
==Trivia==
*Joshua Butler, one of the directors, said, "Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert: Ship of the century? Hell yeah. #Delena will live in our hearts until the end of time." https://twitter.com/TheJoshuaButler/status/596509673517240320
*Paul Wesley, who plays Stefan said, "She (Elena) and Damon are such a thing right now — even I'm rooting for them." Vulture 
*Chris Wood, who plays Kai is Team Delena.TV Fanatic
*Candice Accola, who plays Caroline, prefers Delena over Stelena.Candice Accola on Twitter
*Leslie-Anne Huff, who plays Rayna Cruz, said "I have to go with the fans, and from the temperature I've taken from the fans, Delena is it!" when asked about her opinion on Stelena vs Delena.http://telltaletv.com/2016/04/the-vampire-diaries-leslie-anne-huff-talks-rayna-cruz-and-powerful-women-exclusive-interview/
*They are mentioned in Lizzie's wish reality in There's a World Where Your Dreams Came True, as well as their children. One of which was mentioned by name, Stefanie Salvatore, in Lizzie's second wish reality. Both of these wish realities have ultimately been reset.
*In Do All Malivore Monsters Provide This Level of Emotional Insight?, Josie Saltzman and Milton Greasley are temporarily living with them in their rebuilt home to attend Mystic Falls High School.
==Media==
===Soundtrack===
<tabber>
|-|Season 1=
* Temptation - Moby (Damon caresses Elena while she sleeps, Friday Night Bites)
* The Weight of Us - Sanders Bohlke (Damon offers to take away Jeremy's bad memories of Vicki, Haunted)
* Cosmic Love – Florence + The Machine (Elena wakes up after her car crash and finds herself with Damon, heading to Georgia, Bloodlines)
* All I Need - Within Temptation (Damon and Elena's first dance at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, Miss Mystic Falls)
* It Is What It Is - Lifehouse (Elena tells Damon to not make her regret their friendship, Founder's Day)
* Bloodstream - Stateless(Damon kisses Katherine, thinking it's Elena, Founder's Day)
|-|Season 2=
* Come Home - One Republic feat. Sara Bareillies (Elena rejects Damon The Return)
* Ashes And Wine - A Fine Frenzy (Elena tells Damon he has lost her forever Bad Moon Rising)
* I Was Wrong - Sleepstar(Damon tells Elena he loves her for the first time and compels her to forget. Rose)
* No Way Out - Rie Sinclair and Mike Suby (Damon stops Elena from entering the Tomb, The Sacrifice)
* Last Kiss - Trent Dabbs (Damon and Elena dance at the 60's Decade Dance The Last Dance) 
* I Should Go - Levi Kreis (Elena says 'goodbye' to Damon as he's dying, As I Lay Dying)
|-|Season 3=
* Make It Without You - Andrew Belle (Damon presents Elena with her vervain necklace on her 18th birthday, The Birthday)
*I Just Came to Say Hello - Martin Solveig & Dragonette (Damon escorts Elena through her party The Birthday)
* Distance - Christina Perri (Elena wakes up with Damon in her bed. The End of the Affair) 
* We Don't Eat - James Vincent McMorrow (Damon and Elena bed scene Ordinary People)
* Echo - Jason Walker (Damon wants Elena to remember the feelings she's beginning to develop once Stefan is back, The Hybrid)
* Torch Song – Shady Band(Damon takes Elena from the hospital and carries her home, The Reckoning)
*Holding On Letting Go Ross Copperman (Their first real kiss, on her porch, The New Deal)
*Punching In A Dream - The Naked and Famous (The morning after their first kiss, Our Town)
* Devotion - Hurts (Damon watches Elena entering The Mikaelson's Ball, Dangerous Liaisons)
* Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran (Damon and Elena share a dance at the Mikaelson Ball, Dangerous Liaisons)
* Poison & Wine - The Civil Wars (Damon ignores Elena's call and her apology, All My Children) 
* Never Let Me Go - Florence & The Machine (What happens in Denver, Stays in Denver!, Heart of Darkness)
* When The Light Dies Out – Christel Alsos (Rose talks to Jeremy about Damon and Elena, Heart of Darkness)
|-|Season 4=
* Twice - Little Dragon (Elena remembers Damon's love confession, Growing Pains)
* Feel So Close - Calvin Harris (Damon and Elena dirty dance at a Whitmore frat party, The Five)
*The Thread Of The Thing - Fay Wolf (Damon takes the high and annoying road, We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes)
*Little Deschutes - Laura Veirs (Damon and Elena exchange longing looks during the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, My Brother's Keeper)
* Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran (Damon and Elena dance and sleep together for the first time, My Brother's Keeper) 
* Eyes on Fire - Blue Foundation (Damon and Elena's Morning After, We'll Always Have Bourbon Street)
* Speechless - Morning Parade (Damon tries to let go of Elena after learning of the sire bond, We'll Always Have Bourbon Street)
* Covering Your Tracks - Amy Stroup (the morning after, O Come, All Ye Faithful)
* Oblivion - Bastille - (Damon sends Elena home, O Come, All Ye Faithful)
* New York - Snow Patrol (Elena tells Damon that she loves him over the phone, After School Special)
* Anymore Of This - Mindy Smith & Matthew Perryman Jones (Elena tells Damon that he prefers her this way, Bring It On)
* Belong - The Cary Brothers (Elena confesses that she loves Damon and she's not going to apologize for it, Graduation) 
|-|Season 5=
* Unbelievers - Vampire Weekend (An overview of Damon and Elena's passionate summer together, I Know What You Did Last Summer)
* Royals - Lorde (Elena gives Damon a goodbye kiss as she leaves for College in I Know What You Did Last Summer)
* Run Away - Cary Brothers (Elena calls Damon, I Know What You Did Last Summer)
* Don't Deserve You - Plumb (Elena promises to always love Damon, True Lies)
* Satellite Call - Sarah Bareilles (Damon declares that Elena is his life, Original Sin)
* Love Don't Die - The Fray (Damon and Elena's post break-up blues, 500 Years of Solitude) 
* Fire Breather - Laurel (Damon and Elena break up then sleep together, While You Were Sleeping)
*Do I Wanna Know? - Artic Monkeys (Damon and Elena walk through the high school hallway, Rescue Me)
* Far from Yesterday - Amy Stroup (Damon lets Elena go back to Whitmore, Rescue Me) 
*Outro - M83 (Damon tells Elena that he can't be her friend, Resident Evil)
*Chemical - Kerli (Damon kisses Elena, What Lies Beneath)
*Love Is Just a Way to Die - I Am Strikes (Damon promises to make it back to Elena, Home)
* Be Alright - Lucy Rose (Damon says goodbye to Elena as she begs him to come back to her, Home)
* Wings - Birdy (Elena and the others watch as Jeremy screams for Bonnie, Damon and Bonnie fade away into the mysterious white light, Home)
|-|Season 6=
* Light A Fire - Rachel Taylor (Elena tries to let go of Damon, I'll Remember)
* Salvation - Gabrielle Aplin (Elena packs all her memories of Damon in a box, Yellow Ledbetter)
* Sleeping At Last - All Through The Night (Elena reveals the moment that she fell in love with Damon, Yellow Ledbetter)
* The Power of Love - Gabrielle Aplin (Elena opens her Damon "memory box" and she learns of her previous feelings for him, Black Hole Sun)
* Unbreakable - Jamie Scott (Damon and Elena see each other for the first time since Damon's death, The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get)
* Belong - The Cary Brothers (Damon and Elena dance at the Whitmore Homecoming Ball, Do You Remember the First Time?) 
* The Hardest Part - Nina Nesbitt (Elena and Damon stand at the edge of Mystic Falls in the hope of triggering her memories, Do You Remember the First Time?)
* Concrete Angel - Christina Novelli (Damon lets Elena go, Do You Remember the First Time?)
* Another Love - Tom Odell (The iconic rain kiss, Do You Remember the First Time?)
*When You Fall in Love - Andrew Ripp (Elena hold's Damon's hand as she asks him to help her bring Bonnie back, Fade Into You)
* Compass - Zella Day (Damon and Elena decide to make new memories, I Alone)
* This Good Night Is Still Everywhere - Dustin Kensrue (Elena watches Damon sleep, Christmas Through Your Eyes) 
* The Other Side - French for Rabbits (Damon takes wood splinters out Elena's heart, and makes a catch with Damon and starts laughing and then they hold hands, Woke Up With a Monster)
*Always Take You Back- Night Terrors of 1927 (Damon and Elena kiss at the hospital, Prayer For the Dying)
* Time - Mikky Ekko (Damon and Elena sleep together after they agree to leave the past behind them, The Day I Tried To Live) 
*Your Mine (The Chase) - Meiko (Damon and Elena kiss passionately in The Salvatore kitchen, A Bird in a Gilded Cage)
*When You Sleep - Mary Lambert (Elena tells Damon that she was jealous of Jo's pregnancy, I Never Could Love Like That)
*To the Wonder - Aqualung (feat. Kina Grannis) (Damon tells Elena that he is taking the cure and that he will always love her, I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime)
*What If Love - RHODES (Elena makes Damon promise that he will live his life and not shut down, I'm Thinking Of You All The While)
*Hunger - Ross Copperman (Damon and Elena share their last dance, and final kiss, I'm Thinking Of You All The While)
|-|Season 7=
*Malmo I Mitt Hjarta — Sarah MacDougall (Damon writes to Elena, I Carry Your Heart With Me)
*Silhouette — Aquilo (Damon hears Elena's voice coming from The Armory Vault, Gods and Monsters)
|-|Season 8=
*The Wreck Of Our Hearts - Sleeping Wolf (Damon dreams about first meeting Elena, Hello, Brother)
*She Used to be Mine - Sara Bareilles (Damon remembers Elena at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch) 
*Hold On - Chord Overstreet (Elena and Damon are reunited, I Was Feeling Epic)
*Take on the World — You Me At Six (Elena walks off hand-in-hand with Damon, I Was Feeling Epic)
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===Videos===
The vampire diaries 1x02 Damon and Elena
Damon & Elena Dance - TVD 1x19
Vampire Diaries Season 2 Episode 22 2x22 Damon's and Elena's Kiss Scene Delena Love
Damon & Elena - 3x05 In Hospital I Will Never Leave You Again
Delena Bedroom Scene 3x08
TVD Season3 3x09 Damon Elena-He is gone this time"Then we let him Go We will survive this ok
3x10 Damon kissed Elena The Vampire Diaries
4x04 Damon & Elena dancing scene The Vampire Diaries 
The Vampire Diaries 5x12 Damon Elena Moment
Damon and Elena 5x20 End scene and kiss
Damon e Elena 6x17 Kiss scene (HD)
The Vampire Diaries 8x16 - End Ending Damon and Elena human together HD
===Gallery===
<tabber>
|-|Season 1=
|-|Season 2=
|-|Season 3=
|-|Season 4=
|-|Season 5=
|-|Season 6=
|-|Season 8=
</tabber>
==References==
==See also==
Category:Relationships
Category:The Vampire Diaries (series)
Category:The Vampire Diaries Relationships
Category:Friendly Relationship
Category:Romantic Relationship
Category:Family Relationship