She and Stefan had walked a rocky path together. Try as they might, they could not hang on to what gave them a foundation. With all the lies that sprouted like wildfires, how could they hope to have a steady love? Granted Damon was a wildcard on most days, at the end of it, Elena trusted him far more than she honestly ever had Stefan. He was always honest with her, and she had found a much easier time to be the same with him.
She couldn't sulk over the things she didn't do right before the sire bond. Elena didn't want to regret her choices or where they got her, but that girl was gone. She couldn't hide in the warmth of Stefan's semi-conditional love anymore. It was okay to love them both, Katherine was right, so long as the way she loved them individually held a distinct difference. Elena did hope she could salvage a strong friendship with Stefan, the sound of it had encouraged her after their talk on the island, and she hoped that would eventually ease any tension between the brothers of it.
If it didn't, Elena would worry about what that meant later. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their already rocky relationship. Family always came first, she understood that just as well as Damon did.
"I won't let you sabotage it," Elena said insistently, a smile on her face. "And I'm happy that you don't. Mostly.. I'm just happy we can be happy at all right now," for however long it would last. She tried not to think negatively about this, but the fact was that their lives were in a constant state off fluctuation. Who knew what tomorrow could bring?
At least they would face it together.
"We'll be okay," she voiced as a reassurance to them both. They would be, because they always survived.