AN: ok, so here goes. first of all, i do not own any of these characters.
second, i feel i should make it clear, that canon i do not support Delena in any way, although i am aware that it will happen sooner or later. but i love Stefan, and apparently i like to see him unhappy because of that love. *shrugs* i also do not like Bonnie/Jeremy as a couple. but both couples worked for the purposes of this story. (purposes, which are limited solely to torturing Stefan. i do not know why i do it, honestly.)
third. this is unbetaed and just something that came to mind. i'm not really all that proud of it. i don't know, if inspiration strikes, one day i might continue it. (though i highly doubt it.)
that's it. drop me a line if you feel like it ^^
In a medieval-themed bar in the middle of Florence sits a beautiful blond girl and sips on a scotch on the rocks. The bartender had been confused why she had seemed so very amused when he asked her for an ID, but she still gave one – Carolina Cacciatorri, it said, 23 years old. There was no way he could have known it was a fake, masterfully done by someone who had been specializing in that sort of services for the bigger part of the time there even have been IDs. There was no way he could have known that the girl was actually born more than 40 years ago. There was no way he could have known she was originally American; her Italian was perfect. There was no way he could have known that Caroline Forbes is anything but a human girl.
Caroline likes to change names and IDs when a few years pass. It entertains her, even though she could just compel anyone who asked her for her age or legal documents or anything. She likes coming up with new names. She guesses that in a hundred more years or so she would even be able to use Angelina Jolie and no one would look twice at it.
She looks around the bar and smiles; nothing's changed. She knows he likes it, because in a way it lets him forget how much time has passed. The walls are all brick, the tables are heavy wood. There are cheesy axes and rusty swords hanging on the walls. It is in no way vintage medieval, but it has been owned by the same family for over 35 years so nothing but the bartender changes.
She has been coming here every year, on the same day, for 13 years. The first time it had been totally by accident.
The whole horrific torture they had all been through for 10 years was over, Klaus was as permanently dead as possible, his shriveled body locked in a stone coffin – just in case. Elijah's was in a similar coffin, but two continents over. It had taken 20 witches, 15 werewolfs and 30 vampires on their side; barely half survived. Of those she cared about? By some miracle only Alaric had died. Not that it hadn't been horrible and not like she hadn't cried for him for two straight days, but he had fought alongside them till the very end, and she thinks it was not a bad way to die, overall.
He saw that they won and when she rushed over to him he was just kind of leaning against a forest tree that witnessed the final battle, panting for breath and trying his best to ignore the gaping hole in his side. They both new vampire blood could only do so much and he had maybe a minute left. He smiled at her, barely but he did, and when she saw the tears in her eyes he whispered
"It's over, Caroline, we won, Caroline. I'm very proud of you."
She didn't know if he even remembered that he gave her an A in senior year and if maybe that was a little part of what he was proud about. Maybe that seemed silly and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. But the words meant the world to her. She hugged him like he was made of glass, felt Damon approach from behind her. She saw them share an understating look, and Damon mouthed a 'thank you' to him with as much sincerity and gratitude as she had ever seen him produce.
She thinks his funeral was beautiful. No one really cried. They were all too relieved. For her it was a farewell to Alaric, but also to her whole life up to that point; human high school, high school as a vampire, 10 years of nothing but pain and anguish as they battled Evil impersonated. From then on she was free.
They all scattered. Of course, they kept in touch, never a week passed without at least a phone call being exchanged. But Bonnie and Jeremy had somehow managed to salvage a relationship, and Elena was in love and vampire, and it had been nearly 8 years for her and Damon already, so it wasn't something Caroline had to deal with by that point. So she had hugged them all and hopped on the first plane to Europe.
7 months she spent in going around Europe; Spain, Germany, England, France, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, everywhere. She reveled in the variety, in the change, in all the opportunities vampirism presented her with that she was finally coming round to being able to enjoy.
But it was Italy she fell in love with. Currently in Florence, she found a bar she hadn't visited so she went in – medieval theme. It was Saturday night, so it was fairly full. She was backing away from the bar, drink raised high so that no one would spill it bumping into her. Bump into her someone did.
"Oh, sorry, sorry."
"Mi scuso." Smooth voice, deep, familiar. She whips around.
"Stefan!" she shrieks, she admits it.
"C-Caroline?" they both can't believe their eyes.
Caroline, ever the one to adapt to change better than anyone you know, completely stops caring about her drink and throws her hands around his neck, actually making him stumble backwards. She clutches, doesn't let go, whispers 'Stefan' and 'Oh my god' and 'I can't believe it' and 'I'm so happy to see you' into his shirt. And Stefan actually tears up. After a good few minutes she finally dislodges herself and Stefan smiles at her, really, happily smiles, so she does the only thing her brain seems to be able to perform at the moment – beams at him her hugest smile and starts crying through it. He gently leads her to a table, tells her he'll get them drinks and they'll talk.
They talk about everything. Of course, Caroline is fully aware of Stefan's double agent status for the most of the last 5 years. Damon had told them all about their meetings, the information Stefan fed them, the constant mortal danger he was in. But now she gets the details, and he gets the full story from their side, and the bar needs to close at 3 AM, so they go to his apartment and just talk and talk and talk for the whole night.
They exhaust battles and move on to everything else. Stefan knew about Alaric, but didn't attend the funeral. He ducks his head as she tells him about the white flowers everywhere, and the general feeling of relief, and that it was just very peaceful and nice.
"That's good, I'm glad, that's nice." He says.
She tells him about Bonnie and Jeremy, about Tyler and his werewolf wife, about Matt who she checks up on, even though he moved on a long time ago, really moved on from her and all the craziness and Mystic Falls and that she's happy, genuinely happy for him.
Stefan listens, he's interested, he asks questions. He is just as he always was, just as she remembers him, even though she hasn't seen him in about 10 years. But he is not the same, not really. The haunted, guilty look he used to have back then is grown in its intensity tenfold. When he smiles it isn't the same smile. When he laughs it's like he isn't sure if he's supposed to, if he's allowed to.
And of course she too has changed, she isn't that bubbly loud cheerleader she once was, she too carries the weight of the things she had to do. But she figured out a long time ago that if you don't focus on the positive, especially when, in the big picture, things really are good for all of them right now, you might as well take off the nifty little indigo blue ring and face the sunrise.
So she takes the initiative, because that's who she is, and tells him about everything, but very carefully never about anything personal about Elena, or Damon and certainly never anything about Elena and Damon together. He knows, she knows he does, but she is damn sure she doesn't want to add any more to his misery.
But, quite unsurprisingly, he wants to know.
"You can talk about her, too, you know. About them" he says when she is sipping on one of the many beers he took out of his fridge when they arrived. "I won't break down or anything. It won't come as a shock to me. It didn't come as a shock when he told me, so…"
"And yet they are 'he' and 'she' and 'them'." She looks knowingly at him. He smiles.
"Really, tell me. I want to know, Caroline. I loved Elena. I still love her. And her being happy is the most important thing to me. Same goes for my brother. Are they happy, Caroline?"
He has this pleading look on his face and she is pretty sure she can't say 'no' to him even if he didn't, so she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.
"Well, you know… " she puffs out, a little frustrated. Yeah, he asked. Doesn't mean she's comfortable with it. "I don't think they did anything too wrong. I'm sorry!"
"There's absolutely no need. Please go on."
"Well, for about a year and a half they threw all that they had, I mean we all did, you know, but now I'm talking about the two of them, they threw all of themselves in searching for you, for a way to kill Klaus, in the problems, in general. But you know how Damon was, always there for her, always protecting her, and he also needed support, 'cause, you know him, he isn't as invincible as he would like to be. I really think after a year they kind of held to each other as a link to you. And then she started developing feelings, and his were always there, I think, and they tried to hide it from me and Bonnie, but we knew and…" she takes a deep breath and then rushes out "and you know, it had then been nearly 2 years, and you were really nowhere to be found, and there seemed to be no end in sight, and definitely no you coming back in the near future, and me and Bonnie could just really see he really loved her, you know? And so we told them that we didn't mind."
She looks guilty so Stefan hugs her and whispers into her hair "I'm glad you did that."
"So, after that, it was all very, very hard, and honestly, I'm glad she had someone to lean on."
"Yeah, I am too. And I do know how much he loved her even then, and so I wasn't really all that mad when he told me. I mean, I kind of suspected it anyway."
"Well, to answer your original question – yes, I think she's very happy. In the whole time they have been together I don't think he's screwed up majorly once, which – a parade, anyone? I'm just saying - and he didn't pressure her into anything, least of all becoming a vampire, but I'm guessing you figured that. And now, well, and I really wish this wouldn't hurt you to hear, even though I know it will, but you won't admit it, because you really are 'Saint Stefan'" she smiles cheekily at him, "but I think you should know that she does still love you, but I feel it has morphed into the same way that Damon loves you, or even the way you love your first love, but not really the way you love your one love anymore."
Stefan gulps.
"I'm really, really sorry."
"Yeah, no, I know, and I am happy for them, I really am. It's just not the most pleasant of things to hear, you know."
"Yeah" she nods.
A silence stretches, but it's not uncomfortable, Caroline doesn't think so. She has a little flash-back of her high school days when she couldn't and wouldn't stand any amount of silence between friends. Now, she kind of likes it.
After that Caroline had made him promise that they would keep in touch and Stefan had agreed, albeit admitting that it is a little hard for him. So she suggested they start slow – the next year, same day, same bar, or whatever is in its place.
He came the next year and one after that, but not the one after that and so it went. After a few years they start meeting not only on that day, but the arrangement remains and she guesses it's their little tradition now.
Still, he doesn't come every year.
Her phone buzzes.
"Ciao!" she says brightly and after a second a blue ray extends from the phone and projects a hologram of Bonnie, still small and thin, but with more than a few wrinkles on her face, and hair neatly died close to her natural color. Elena and Caroline, and even Damon had offered multiple times – Jeremy and Bonnie had firmly decided to remain human. Caroline can hear over the speaker little Grayson and Sheila shrieking and running around. Caroline gets why they refused eternal youth.
"Caroline! How are you, honey? Where are you these days?" Bonnie's voice and smile feel like home to the blond.
"I'm fine, Bon, I'm perfect. I'm in Florence. It's the 14th of April, you know."
"Oh, yes, God, I can't believe I didn't put it together!"
"You have stuff to think about. How are my itty bitty God-children?" she smiles into her scotch. She really loves those kids.
"They're fine, working my last nerve, as per usual since they were born." Bonnie smiles this huge smile that Caroline has never seen on anyone who doesn't have kids. She calls it the 'parent smile'. The hologram projection of her phone shifts and the little ones appear, shouting over each other "Is that Caroline, mommy!" and "Caro, I love you, will you bring me a present?"
She laughs. She really, really gets why Jeremy and Bonnie didn't want their hearts to stop. They turned out to be amazing parents.
"Ask them have I ever not brought them presents!"
Bonnie laughs too "OK, we're leaving Caroline alone now, because she's seeing a friend. Say 'bye, Caroline'. "
"Bye, Caroline" the little ones echo together and Bonnie turns off the loud-speaker.
"You'll tell him we say 'hi', right?" she asks quietly.
Stefan had been to their house once, specifically when he made sure that the kids weren't there. He saw pictures, and they talked, but he felt he still might be not stable enough to be around the little ones' untainted young blood. They all knew that he had been on the cruelest diet possible during his 9 years of Klaus-hostage-ing. So they agreed that if he isn't 1000% sure, that that's not sure enough.
"Of course I will, Bonnie. He knows you don't love him less for making sure your kids are safe."
Caroline is their link to Stefan now. She is closest to him and the only one of them who sees him regularly. Damon was still the one is still the one who knows him best, but the two of them had come to a mutual understanding that it would be too weird and uncomfortable for both of them. In the 13 years since the war was over he had seen Bonnie and Jeremy once, and Damon and Elena three times. So Caroline is their messenger on all things Stefan and his source of information on all of them.
The first few years she understood but had continuously tried to convince him that it'd get better, he'd be confident in his restraint and they would all be able to see each other. But with the passing of the years she witnessed that he remained unsure and rightfully so. He had slip ups. Not often, but he did. And despite how much she cherished his friendship and preserved the hope that one day they'll bring the old gang as much back together as possible, she too held priority of Bonnie and Jeremy's and, most importantly, their kids' safety. That wasn't something any of them were willing to risk.
So Stefan hears about the kids from her and she knows he loves them as much as she does.
"Yeah, I know. Well, call me when you're in the States. Love you." Bonnie gives a little wave and the line disconnects.
Caroline sighes. She wonderes if they ever will be all together. Unlike her, Stefan, Damon and Elena, Bonnie and Jeremy don't have all the time in the world.
She hopes they will. She imagines just one night of dinner, and talking, and laughing, and maybe a little crying, both joyous and maybe for Alaric, but ultimately it would be a good night, with all of her friends.
She hopes.
He doesn't show up that year.