"Tell me about your tattoo," she whispered.
Stefan shivered as her hot breath danced across his overheated skin as they lay tangled in the sheets of their bed. She began to trace the overly petaled black rose that has always had a residence on his right shoulder, "I've always wondered about its backstory."
Stefan slowly rolled to his side and gathered Elena in his arms. He kissed her forehead before looking into her eyes and sighing.
"Why do you want to know about that ugly old thing?" he laughed as he rolled onto his back again, leaving her propped up on her arm. She stared at him intently.
"You know," she began, sitting up and crossing her arms, "I'm a vampire now. I can sit here for as long as I need in order for you to spill about that tattoo."
He didn't move.
"Stefan," she pleaded, drawing her fingers up his exposed stomach.
He closed his eyes.
"Stefan!" she whined louder, scratching her nails lightly against his ribcage. She felt him tremble below her touch.
He was hers.
Or so she thought.
Suddenly, he flipped himself over and buried his head into his pillow.
"Elena, I don't want to," he whined into the pillow. She rolled her eyes before calmly beginning to massage him back. She leaned down and pressed her lips against his ear, letting her breath tickle him.
"Please?" she breathed before kissing the hollow beneath his ear. It was his weak spot and she knew it.
A small moan rippled from the back of his throat.
"Okay fine," he sighed, not moving from his spot in the pillow.
A triumphant smile breaking across Elena's face as she heard him take a deep breath before beginning.
"I got it when I was in Chicago sometime in the 1940s," he began, his voice muffled by the pillow, "I had just come off of my most recent ripper spree and I could barely look in the mirror without seeing the blood and the names and the faces. And of course the second I crossed the Illinois state line, Lexi was on my scent, finding me in some beat down motel in the middle of Ohio. I believe I made her stand outside my door for 45 minutes before I watched the door fly off its hinges because she had become so angry."
Stefan laughed, remembering the insane look on her face when the door opened. Elena began to rub his back, a smile on her face at the memory of Lexi. This was the first time they had talked about her since Damon staked her.
Suddenly, he felt the ancient ache of loss pulling at his stilled heart and all good feelings were gone. He looked up at Elena as he was over come with emotions.
An encouraging smile spread across her face, urging him to continue.
"It's okay, baby," she assured him as he nodded.
He sat up and reached for her hand before immering himself in the memory again.
"I remember her marching up to me, fangs baring, and telling me that if I ever made her wait like that again, she would make ripper detox look like a day at the spa. God that girl really knew how to piss me off, but she never left my side. She watched me as I dried out, the burn of dry veins driving me to the brink of insanity. She was there when I would remember them, the victim. She would wrap her arms around me as I verbally berated myself, and tell me to shut up because whatever I was saying was not nearly as important as what she was about to tell me. She would look at me and tell me to bottle up that pain, that utter devastation. She told me to save that guilt and use it when I felt myself going off the rails. I was to remember this moment, the moment when I hit rock bottom, so that when I wanted to give myself over to the blood again, I would remember where it leads.
"She put me through three months of ripper detox in three weeks. I was not allowed to leave that hotel room without her supervision. No blood, no food, no anything but the pain of my guilt. Because 'only once you let yourself hurt can you begin to let yourself love,' she would tell me.
"The, one day, I woke up…..and she wasn't there. She left a note telling me that she needed food and she'd be back in an hour.
"There was a knock at the door and without thinking I answered it, dying for any connection to the outside world. I swung open the door and there stood this lovely little brunette, no older than 20, holding fresh towels and a newspaper. She smiled up at me and offered me the objects, oblivious to the fact that I was just staring at her. When I realized that this was not acceptable, I smiled and took the towels and the newspaper. Our hands brushed and for the first time in who knows how long, I had no desire to drink. I simply wished her a good day and shut the door. Lexi was so proud, having set the whole thing up of course, that she deemed me ready for society. I was released from her care and allowed to continue on to Mystic Falls, my original destination.
"But when I looked in the mirror I still saw a monster who had affected so many people and yet remained so intact. There was nothing on my body, no wounds, no scars, nothing to show the world that I was just as damaged. That those poor souls put up more of a fight than they'll ever know, and won. So the night before I left, Lexi told me to write the number of victims I'd collected over the years down on a piece of paper. She then took me to a tattoo shop, threw the piece of paper at the artist and told him that I wanted a rose with exactly that many petals. To be honest I don't think the guy wanted to do it, but it was Lexi and she could be pretty persuasive.
"When it was finished, the guy asked me if I wanted it colored. I remember shaking my head and explaining to him that it was in memory of lost souls who have passed on to another life and that black roses are the symbol for death. He rolled his eyes, mumbling a 'whatever', and giving me my total. Lexi paid. She said it was my very very early birthday present and to not say another word. When we left that dingy old motel in the morning, we hugged for about 10 minutes before parting. I glanced down at my tattoo, completely healed thanks to my being a vampire and all, and smiled in reverence. Suddenly, a piece of crumpled up paper hit the back of my head, disturbing my moment of silence. I turned to see Lexi blowing me a kiss and screaming, 'I mean it, Salvatore!' before taking off in the opposite direction. Laughing, I un crumpled the paper, reveling Lexi's scribble handwriting:
'I don't wanna hear that you've added another petal, but if you do, don't let it consume you. We all make mistakes, but they always lead us to something better if we learn from them. Learn from the mistakes, Stefan, and you'll find your true happiness. Oh and freaking call me sometime, would you! I'm your best friend, for God sake!
xo always, Lexi'
"I've added a few more petals, not counting Klaus's victims, but I read that letter every time I feel it begin to consume me. Then I look at you," he said, admiration hanging off every syllable. His eyes found hers as he continued, "I look at you and I can't help but be happy that I've made the decisions I've made, because they lead me to you. I wouldn't trade that for anything."
He kissed the top of her head before tucking it under his chin, "And that's it. That's the story of the mysterious tattoo."
"I love you so much," she whispered. He felt her lips press into the delicate skin of his collarbone, "thank you for telling me."
"Anything for you, doll," he whispered kissing the top of her head once again.
"Maybe I'll get a new tattoo," he mused, pulling back to look in her eyes, "one just for you."
She perked up, excitement shining in her eyes.
"Really?" she asked eagerly.
He nodded before kissing her full on the mouth. She giggled as he began to pepper light kisses all over her face and neck.
"I'd like that," she whispered into his ear, before grazing his lobe lightly and informing him that tattoos were actually a turn on for her.
She smiled as he flipped her over, a small groan escaping his lips.
"Well then," he began, letting his fangs show a bit as he ascended up her now outstretched body, "I have to get one now."
She let her own fangs show, red pooling at the bottom of her eyes, "Oh really? You'd do that for me?"
He kissed her lightly before pressing his lips to her forehead, fangs gone; only reverence and utter devotion remaining in his once red eyes. He watched as she transformed before him into the Elena he fell in love with all those years ago.
A small smile lit up her features, passing from her to him as he too began to grin.
God he loved her.
"Anything for you, Elena Gilbert-Salvatore," he whispered before pressing his lips to hers, "Absolutely anything."