Elena/Elijah

Elena/Elijah is a minor pairing in The Vampire Diaries (TV) fandom.
==Canon==
They first meet when Rose kidnaps Elena in order to gain their freedom by handing her over to Elijah for the intention of using her as a sacrifice.
They later make a deal to help each other destroy their common enemy, Elijah's brother, Klaus. During this time, Elena's actions and her willingness to put herself in harm's way to protect the people she loves earn her Elijah's respect and admiration. He sees a lot of the qualities he values in people in her. Despite both their betrayals to each other, they always choose to trust each other. They both care about each other as friends. They later reunite when Elena poses as Katherine, who was supposed to be meeting Elijah, and they share their first and only kiss.
==Fandom==
Due to almost instant popularity of Elijah and their peculiar dynamic, the ship became a very popular pairing among fans who didn't ship Elena with either of the Salvatore brothers.
The pairing was quite popular in season 2 and 3 of TVD but has lost some of its popularity over the years.
It's also an extremely popular background pairing in Klaroline fics.
 Common Tropes and Storylines
* Doppelgängers: Elijah's previous relationships with Elena's doppelgangers have led in introspective fics where Elijah focuses on how Elena differs from her twins. There are also works where Elena pretends to be Katherine, to trick Elijah, but she generally isn't successful. Some works can be alternate first meetings, where Elijah is intrigued by an Elena Gilbert who hasn't met him yet, because she looks like his former love. Even within All Human AUs, tropes such as mistaken identity and Elena impersonating Katherine can occur. 
* Time Travel: Works can involve Elena traveling back in time to meet a human Elijah, or Elijah traveling to the future and meeting Elena for the first time.
* Soulmates: There are some Soulmate AU works in this pairing. Other fics portray these two as destined to be together, and in some cases their romance was prophesied. 
* Episode Related Fics: Works set during or after the episode Dangerous Liaisons are common. In some works Elena has a change of heart and tells Elijah about Esther's plan. In works set after this episode, Elena may be overcome with guilt and work with Elijah to save him and his siblings.
* Vampire Elena: in many fics, Elijah helps a newly turned Elena adjust to vampire life. In fics featuring No Humanity Elena, Elijah often helps Elena turn her humanity back on.
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfic===
* The Five Times Elena Saves Elijah from Floozies, and the One Time She Doesn’t. by samanthabreathes, All Elena wanted to do was get a cup a coffee, and maybe a muffin. She hadn't expected opportunity to rear her mischievous head, but, as the saying goes: 'when opportunity knocks, you had better answer.'
* Propositions by giraffelove92, Elena has a proposition. A truce of sorts, one in which everyone wins - everyone except her. But perhaps the Mikaelsons aren't so bad after all - tolerable, at least, and maybe even likable - and Elijah turns out to be excellent company.
* a catalog of non-definitive acts by hear me roar(magisterequitum), over the decades, they trade letters. sometimes they say little, sometimes they say too much. they all add up. 
* The Original Wife by Elejah88, AU After 3x14 - Elena gets sent to the past looking for a way to stop Esther, who is once again trying to kill her children. What happens when she returns...will she have the answer?
===Fanart===
*I can't let him die by itdoesntstopthepain
*Elena and Elijah by Torrey Mcallen
===Fanvids===
* Give me love by lady586
* Elijah & Elena ► I need your Love... by MissMoriarty
* Elena & Elijah & Katherine(TVD) Adagio by Katerina RORONOA
===Meta===
* Top Five Elijah/Elena Scenes (Meta & Gifspam) by wheatear
==Archives and Communities==
* Elena/Elijah works on AO3
* Elena and Elijah works on FFN
* elijahandelena blog on Tumblr
* elejah blog on Tumblr
==Other Fannish Resources==
* Elena and Elijah on The Vampire Diaries Wiki
* elijah x elena tag on Tumblr
* elena and elijah tag on Tumblr
==References==
Category:Vampire Diaries Relationships
Category:Het Pairings