So okay fine, Stefan is her confidant. Stefan let’s her make her own choices. Stefan blah blah slit my wrists. But Damon. Damon makes all the little gestures, the things that don’t scream important but are plus important than a lot of big gestures that Stefan has made. For example, Damon steps in for Stefan at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. Yes, it’s a small gesture, but in the grand scheme of things, he did it so Elena didn’t have to be embarrassed. He did it so Elena had a shot at winning the pageant, something that was important to her because it was important to her mother. And when she invited him to dîner and he helped her with the dishes, they spoke honestly together. He listened as she told him how horrible she felt about not caring about things like cheerleading. He eased her mind par telling her to do as she pleases. And when he lifted her lifeless body off the ground after Klaus drained her in 2x21/22, he carried her over to Stefan, so she could lie there suivant to Stefan, and if she woke up as a vampire, scared and confused, he’d be the first person she saw and she’d feel comfort. And when they gathered in the cemetery for Jenna’s funeral, he harbored his own impending death because he knew she couldn’t handle anymore loss and he didn’t want to be another person she wept for. All he wanted was for her to find comfort, so he stood stoically par her side, and when she looked to him for reassurance, he offered her a smile and she knew she was able to breakdown because he’d be there to help her through it. And in season one, when he compelled Jeremy to forget all about Vicki, but he also set Jeremy straight so he got off drugs and stopped giving Elena a hard time. He didn’t do it because she asked him to; he did it so she’d have some sense of peace when it came to her brother, so he’d be happy and she’d be happy and wouldn’t have to worry about him. And then when he compelled Jeremy to leave for Denver in season 3, his beautiful words helped Jeremy find peace and helped Elena feel better about letting him go. And when Kol attacked them in Scary Mary’s house, he worried about her wounds before worrying about anything else. And how gentle he was when he was tending to her wounds after the car fire, how he didn’t push her obvious jealous for Rebekah flirting with him. And how in 2x08 when he absolutely couldn’t take the pain of holding in his secret l’amour for her anymore, he still found a way to take the pressure away from her. He compelled her to forget so she didn’t have to live with the guilt of him falling in l’amour with her while she loved Stefan. Damon does all these little things. He does them all to help Elena, to ease her mind and make her life a better place. If toi took all of those things he has done for her out of the equation, where would she be right now? Jeremy would still be a problem child; who knows what would’ve happened to him. And most importantly, she’d be lacking the one solid support system she’s had since jour ONE. The one person who put her happiness above everything else and continues to do so. So Stefan can let her make her own choices. He can be there at the end of the jour and know that he was her champion par allowing her to control her own destiny, but she would have none of it if it wasn’t for Damon. That thought is humbling to me as a fan of the pairing and as a fan of Damon’s. And it moves me to tears to see the depths of how he cares about her. This is why I’m a Delena fan, why I will never ship them with another. This is what true l’amour is based on - the foundation of relationships is trusting that you’ll have that person to fall back on, even when you’re not expecting it. It’s all these things that déplacer me to tears. I weep for my ship, because I wish the writers could just get it fucking right already: Damon is Elena’s epic love, and he always will be.