Caroline opened the door, surprised to see Stefan at her dorm holding her Thanksgiving doggie bag in his hands.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked him. Her face was soft, hiding a smile. Ostensibly, she was still mad at him – still hated him – and she didn't want to give away her relief to see him again.
"I talked to Elena. She told me about your Friendsgiving disaster. I still had these leftovers in my fridge and thought I'd bring them back to you two so you can have your own little Bestfriendsgiving. I checked, there's definitely enough for two in this box." He smiled at her – of course Caroline had out done herself again.
"Thanks. This was… thoughtful."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Caroline," he said, handing her the leftovers. Stefan turned to leave.
"Wait," Caroline started, catching Stefan off guard. He looked back at her, hopeful.
"Elena's working shifts at the hospital all week. In fact, she's there right now. These leftovers will go bad by the time she has time to enjoy them with me." She paused. "Do you want to come in? We can have… Exfriendsgiving." She smiled shyly. "Besides, the leftovers were for you." She caught herself. "Not that this wasn't very thoughtful, Stefan." She looked down at the floor, expecting more rejection from him.
"That sounds nice." Stefan entered Caroline's dorm with a smile. He took the box of leftovers from her hands, motioning for her to sit down. Caroline sat on the couch, straightening the coffee table at its feet, as Stefan prepared them each a plate.
Seating himself next to Caroline on the couch, Stefan placed both plates on the coffee table. He lifted his fork to eat and Caroline stopped him.
"Wait. You didn't say what you're thankful for this year."
Stefan dropped his fork lightly on his plate, looked at Caroline and spoke softly. "This year, I'm thankful to have Damon back. This year I'm thankful for the possibility of getting Bonnie back." He stopped. Caroline looked satisfied with his thanks, not expecting much from him, but Stefan wasn't finished. "I'm thankful for a lot but I'm also hopeful – hopeful that I'll soon get you back."
"You have me," she said cautiously.
Stefan's eyed her lips thoughtfully. His right hand moved to her cheek. His thumb caressed her skin. He wasn't surprised to look back up at Caroline's eyes and see that she'd averted her gaze but was surprised that she hadn't moved away, was surprised at her words previous to his bold move. He gently lifted her chin to catch her gaze once again and wordlessly asked for her permission.
Caroline took Stefan's face in her hands and kissed him.