The sun was just beginning to disappear over the swaying tops of the oak trees that created a fence around the large meadow where the wedding reception was taking place. The soft rustling of blowing spring leaves, the warm, familiar hum of wedding chit chat and the gentle sounds of soft 80s music filled the darkening air. A few couples littered the makeshift dance floor assembled atop the grass. Alaric held his new bride close, hands on the back of her head that rested on his shoulder as they swayed to the music. The curve of her stomach and their child within nestled safely between them. Stefan watched the couple with a smile. He envied Alaric's new found humanity and happiness, but he would never begrudge him this second chance at life after what he'd been through.
Stefan sipped champagne from a plastic flute as his eyes roamed back over to Caroline again, the thought of humanity and happiness immediately bringing her to the forefront of his mind. Not that she ever really left. The last rays of sunlight danced across her golden hair and sparkled on her white teeth as she laughed with Matt and Bonnie at a table that suddenly seemed entirely too far away.
Things were returning to normal. The new normal anyway. They hadn't discussed the humanity-free week that they'd shared. And he didn't really want to. Was afraid to. He'd taken the entire situation as a warning sign that he shouldn't mess with the status quo. She was his amazing, beautiful, kind best friend, and he should be glad that he had that much. But his eyes betrayed him, being unable to stay off of her for more than a few seconds at a time.
A gust of wind blew through the field, rattling plastic stemware, sending napkins floating and tablecloths waving. A collective gasp from the crowd was followed by light laughter. Stefan watched as Caroline, laughing, smoothed her dress back over her thighs and ran a hand through her wind blown hair. She looked around at the chaos caused by the wind, only to catch Stefan's eyes. He smiled, so happy to be seen by her. She smiled brightly back before turning back to the plate of cake in front of her, pushing crumbs around with her fork. She was happy again, at long last. And Stefan couldn't help but experience it. The bright lure of Caroline Forbes happiness.
Stefan, unable to resist any longer, placed his champagne on the table, ran his hands down his suit jacket to push out any wrinkles and then made his way toward Caroline. Although she heard and smelled him coming, she had the decency to act surprised when he appeared next to her, hand extended. She smiled playfully and waited for him to speak, expectantly.
"May I have this dance?" he asked, cursing himself for the formality and hoping that it at least came off as charming.
Bonnie tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her knowing smile. Stefan nodded in greeting at their recently returned friend, also taking note of the way that his brother kept glancing at her protectively over Elena's shoulder as they danced.
"I thought you'd never ask," Caroline said faux demurely, snapping his attention back to her in heartbeat.
She slipped her hand into his and he wrapped it up in his own, lifting her from her seat and leading her to the dance floor. Her wedge heels clicked on the polyurethane dance floor. An 80s power ballad was just going off, much to Stefan's relief and was replaced with "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel. Stefan smiled as Caroline wrapped her bare arms around his neck, the ease and comfort of the gesture making him feel like maybe they weren't as drifted from where they were previously going as he felt like they were. He snaked his own arms around her waist, pulling her tight against him. Warmth spread through him where her body was now pressed against his.
Another gust of wind blew through, this time mostly ignored by the thinning crowd. The sun had taken it's final leave and was replaced with light from yellow bulbs strung from trees and tents, that now swung in the breeze. The air brought with it the warm smell of approaching summer, like the remnants of bonfires and cut grass. He watched as Caroline closed her eyes breathed it in, her hair now fluttering rebelliously across her freckle-kissed nose and cheeks. Her eyes opened lazily and met his as he reached out to drag one finger lightly across her cheek, pulling the hair away from her face. He used the pad of his thumb to brush a final strand from where it had stuck to her bottom lip, he fixated on her lips for a second longer than necessary before looking back to her sparkling eyes.
Stefan almost thought he could feel her heart pounding between their joined bodies. Or maybe it was his. Or, it was no ones since they were both dead. It can be a hard thing to remember when you feel suddenly so alive.
He realized that she had begun humming along with the song and he felt something stirring in him. Her beautiful voice had been his awakening and undoing before, and it was poised to do it again. She giggled as she saw the look on his face as he watched her humming along.
"I love this song," she said, "My mom used to listen to it all the time when I was a little girl. I'd always make up dance routines and sing along with her favorite songs and put on a show for her." Her eyes fixed on a swinging light bulb as she smiled a small reminiscent smile.
Stefan watched her, glad that she was finally starting to enjoy her memories of her mother without the accompaniment of crushing despair. She opened her pretty lips and began to quietly sing along.
"I don't care what consequence it brings
I have been a fool for lesser things
I want you so bad
I think you ought to know that
I intend to hold you for
The longest time "
Her eyes met his and then fell shyly, as if only hearing what she had just sang. Stefan's heart was swelling at an alarming rate. The weight of the words combined with the beauty of her voice, and the feel of her in his arms in the warm late Spring air. He gripped the back of her dress lightly as if to hold onto his own sanity. Tears prickled at his eyes and words were popping around in his mouth, begging to be set free. He buried his face in her shoulder.
Sensing his change, Caroline pulled back slightly to look at him.
"What's wrong, Stefan?" she asked, trying to look at his face.
"My singing isn't that bad, is it?" she teased, smiling beautifully. Her breath tickled his face. Champagne and vanilla frosting. His mouth watered to taste her.
"No, it's the opposite, actually," he said, running a shaky hand across his eyes, "It's beautiful, it's….earth-moving."
Caroline looked at him, confused but in-tune with the serious shift of mood.
"What's wrong, Stefan?" she asked again, stepping back to continue dancing with him.
Stefan swallowed the shuddering breath he felt the need to release.
"I'm about to mess everything up again," he admitted, whispering the heavy words against her hair, rubbing his thumb back and forth across the satin of the back of her dress.
"How so?" she asked, nervously. Alarmed, but curious. Her comforting eagerness enough to spur Stefan onward.
"By falling in love with you," he said, the words whooshing out of their own volition. His hands were suddenly holding the sides of her face gently, but with intensity that made Caroline's breath catch in her throat.
She regained her composure immediately, knowing that her own unraveling would push him away. He was afraid of changing her, of leaving a mark on her. As if the simple act of him being in love with her was enough to taint her. It would likely take years to undo that way of thinking. Luckily for him, she had years to give. Decades. Centuries.
"Is that all, Stefan?" she said with a smile, clenching her own hands tighter behind his back to pull herself close to him, "I thought we were were talking about new information here. Not something everyone already knows. How could that mess anything up?"
Stefan was flooded with relief at her playful, casual acceptance of what he felt was a devastating secret that was begging to be released. He hugged her tightly and barely contained his joyous laughter.
"What do you mean you knew?" he pulled back and asked, with fake indignation.
"I mean, you've got a lousy poker face, Stefan," she teased.
"Shut up," he said, surprising her, then pressing his lips against hers suddenly. Her eyes flew open in shock, before fluttering closed again, melting into the stolen kiss.
She opened her eyes slowly when he finally pulled away. He greeted her with a sweet smile.
"That's my line, you know," she said, hugging him tightly around the waist. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and they danced and hugged to the next song, neither of them paying attention to anything anymore except the sound of their breathing and the connection of their bodies. That was until the lights above their heads began to flicker and they realized that everyone was staring at them.
"Hey!" came Jo's voice, mock annoyed, "Do you guys mind not upstaging the bride? Get your own wedding!"
Stefan and Caroline looked up to see that the light was now pointed at them like a spotlight, like they were the prom king and queen in a teen movie.
"Bonnie!" Caroline accused, her head whipping around to her very guilty friend.
Bonnie giggled devilishly before returning the lights back to normal.
Caroline looked back to Stefan, embarrassed. He was holding back laughter.
"Get me out of here," Caroline said, tugging on Stefan's tie.
"You don't have to ask me twice," Stefan said, suggestively, following behind Caroline obediently across the grass and toward his car.
"Shut up!" she called back to him.
"Hey!" he scolded.
Their laughter rang out through the air, over the dampened sounds of the wedding party. The sound of Stefan closing the car door for a brilliantly beaming Caroline sounding to him like the beginning of a brand new and even better story than he'd ever known.