Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries TV show. That honor goes to Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson.
Hello, my lovely readers. This is a requested one-shot from an Anon on Tumblr. Merry belated Christmas! On with the show…
Kiss Me Under the Mistletoe:
Christmas was the one time of year that the Mystic Falls Gang tried to let go of the regular in-fighting or general chaos and to get into the holiday spirit. Of course this did not always work when someone decided to go on a killing spree or an enemy couldn't take that one, little day of the year off. But this year, the gang was really making an effort. Or at least some of them were…
"Stefan, come help me hang the mistletoe!" Damon shouted for his brother's assistance. He hung, precariously, from the bannister of the Lockwood's spiral staircase, sans ladder.
"Damon, if you used your brain, you might not have to ask for help," Stefan called up to his brother, who rolled his eyes, hanging by one arm, his fingers slipping.
"Come on, Stef," Damon moaned. "Caroline was due here about an hour ago and Ric is so focused on being a daddy that he's useless. Bonnie's helping with some charity crap. Enzo's AWOL. And who the hell knows what Donavon is up to this year, probably trying to get killed by one of the Heretics. That leaves you, little brother," Damon finished before dropping to a crouch on the floor and then straightening up with a satisfied smirk.
"Why don't you go make some eggnog and I'll work on getting us some help?" Stefan suggested, grabbing Damon by the shoulders and turning his brother toward the kitchen, pushing him in that direction.
"Fine. Fine! I see where this is going. You want me out of the way so you can sit around and sulk. Go right ahead. Go back to your brooding about Mommy Dearest and I will be making eggnog and drinking it, all by my lonesome," Damon called over his shoulder as he strode away.
Stefan ran a hand through his hair before he pulled out his phone. He began to send off a series of texts to various members of their group. They needed to loosen up a bit this season. He couldn't believe that he was the one who would be hosting the annual gathering. That was usually Caroline's place to shine, but he knew she had enough to cope with right now.
Looking around the house, he realized that it really did not say "Christmas." "Okay, now what do I do?" he wondered aloud, frowning.
"You could try not brooding so much," Valerie whispered into his ear and Stefan grinned, turning to the strawberry blonde at his side.
"Yeah. I guess I could start there. Want to help me decorate the house while Damon drinks us out of all the liquor?" Stefan inquired.
Valerie seemed to be amused by this proposition. "Does this mean that I'm invited to the celebration?" she asked, cocking her head to the side and smiling at Stefan.
"Yes. That would mean that you would definitely be invited to the party. You can help me host," Stefan replied, clapping his hands together. "Now, we've got to see if there are decorations still in this house. There was a nasty death in the family one Christmas and the previous owner might have tossed all the decorations," he told Valerie as they headed up the spiral staircase.
"Really? What happened?" Valerie asked, her eyebrows knitting together.
"Well, it's a long story. But the short version is that one of our old enemies, who is sometimes one of our friends, Klaus, drowned our city's mayor, Carol Lockwood, after a Christmas party. After that her son, Tyler, came into ownership of the house. Then he took off and left it to Matt. That's why I think that Tyler might have chucked the decorations, since they would just be a reminder."
"That's horrible. Poor man," Valerie shuddered at the thought. She had been through some horrific things and done some horrific things herself, but that did not mean that she did not pity this stranger. "I would rid myself of reminders. However, as you and I know, you cannot outrun your past. Sometimes we must face that which hurts us the most."
Stefan grew silent, looking at Valerie and thinking about their shared loss. Reaching out, he took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go. They were standing in front of the door to the Lockwood attic and Stefan opened it, allowing Valerie to walk ahead of him. "They certainly do have quite a collection here," Valerie said, absently, as she walked along a row of boxes. Everything was labeled and assembled in order. "Apparently your former mayor was quite organized."
"No," Stefan let out a chuckle, scanning the names on each box. "This would be Caroline's work," he informed Valerie who looked confused. "She and Tyler dated for a long time. They were together when he lost his mother and she probably had too much time on her hands so she decided to clean up, up here."
"Oh. Well… that was… thoughtful of her," Valerie trailed off while looking around at the boxes. "I don't see anything that says 'Christmas decorations' or anything of that sort on it. I think we may have to go out and find some on our own," she finished.
"Looks like," Stefan replied. "I wonder if we can pry Damon away from the eggnog long enough to get him to be helpful."
"Probably not. But I can do a cloaking spell on the alcohol so that he will feel compelled to go with us," Valerie suggested with a wicked grin.
"Nice. I like that idea," Stefan let out a laugh. For a moment he felt odd because he didn't laugh that much anymore. There hadn't been too many funny moments lately. No, there was more pain than anything.
Valerie opened the door to the attic and led Stefan down the stairs, around a corner, down the hall and into the kitchen where Damon was dancing around with an iPod shuffling through Christmas songs while he drank the eggnog he had just made. "Want some?" he offered Valerie and Stefan, holding out a dripping ladle. "Oops."
"No. And neither do you," Valerie said, whispering in Latin, she smiled when Damon looked confused as he stood, staring at the empty space that his hand was wrapped around.
"Unfair! I was drinking that," Damon snapped.
"Now, you're leaving and helping us find Christmas decorations," Stefan retorted, patting his big brother on the shoulder before pulling him away from the kitchen counter.
"You guys suck," Damon snapped at the two while Stefan and Valerie half-pushed, half-hauled him to and through the front door. "I just want to drink and you're ruining my celebration. Not to mention the part where all you need to celebrate Christmas is booze and mistletoe. Hell, I bought all the mistletoe in one store!"
"What about the tree?" Stefan cried.
"And the lights?" Valerie added.
"And the Gingerbread house?" Stefan continued.
"Don't forget the Carolers," Valerie interjected. "We can compel some humans so that we will have live music."
"Ugh! How lame are the two of you? Save me from that kind of Christmas. Soon you'll be bringing Tiny Tim home and then an entire village of little elves will take up residence. No, no way! Not living in a house with twenty-five kids. You know what they'll do. They'll be like the Whos and I'll be the Grinch. I'm out of here!" Damon tried to scramble away but Stefan and Valerie caught him.
"Damon, calm down. It's one day," Stefan reassured his brother who eyed him skeptically. "And we will keep it low-key."
"Who are the Whos?" Valerie asked.
"Food," Damon retorted. "Now, let's get this nightmare over with."
For the next two hours Damon complained while Valerie and Stefan picked out a tree, lights, new ornaments and food and compelled some carolers along the way. "You're both insane," Damon snarled while he took a seat at the foot of the Lockwood staircase and narrowly avoided having lights wrapped around him while Valerie strung them along the bannister.
"Stop being a Grinch, Damon," Valerie called as she sped back down the stairs and helped Stefan right the ridiculously large tree in the foyer.
"That thing is an eyesore!" Damon cried, unhappily, staring up at the tree that nearly touched the ceiling. "And, as an environmentalist, I disapprove of cutting down a tree of such magnificence in its prime."
"Since when do you care about the environment?" Stefan called while climbing up the tree to attach the little angel that Valerie said looked like Lily.
"Mom was no angel," Damon muttered, sneering up at the angel.
"She saved your life. Our lives," Valerie corrected herself, glaring at Damon who shook his head.
"She put us in that situation because she could not live without her precious Julien," Damon snapped back, getting to his feet and coming to stand in front of the pissed off Heretic.
"Come on. Time out," Stefan cried, coming to stand between the two. "Valerie, why don't you set the gingerbread house on a plate while Damon and I have a little talk?"
Valerie glared at Damon before she turned and left the room. "I don't know what it is with you and hanging onto this idea of our mother being such a sweet, little angel that we have to have her hanging over our heads tonight," Damon snarled, sitting back down.
"She was our mother. She screwed up, but so have we. Over and over again. We made mistakes and hurt people we loved. All I'm asking for is one night, Damon, just one night, where you can forgive her," Stefan argued.
"She took Elena from me, Stefan. I have to spend years without her. I could be human right now. I could be married. Elena could be pregnant. But, no, no, Mom had to ruin it for both of us. Thanks to her, my idea of a perfect Christmas is shattered. Okay? So, no, I don't want to see her hanging over my head all frickin' night long, if you don't mind!" Damon yelled before he stomped up the stairs.
Stefan sighed and shook his head before taking a seat at the base of stairs. Maybe pushing his brother during his first Christmas without Elena was wrong. Shaking his head, he only looked up when Valerie came around the corner. "Hey, want to help me get the rest of this decorating done?" he asked.
"Actually, I think I have a chore to take care of. I promise to be back within the hour," Valerie said and then she stepped out the door.
Sighing, Stefan felt defeated as he looked up at the top of the tree. Would anyone notice if there was nothing at the top? he wondered, shaking his head. He began to look through the sacks of the ornaments that he and Valerie had gathered, then he had an idea. Grabbing his jacket, he left the house and hurried out to the garage to "borrow" Damon's car.
It wasn't long before Stefan returned to the house to find that Valerie had returned and Damon was helping her hang a wreath on the front door. "Hey, it looks like you two made up," Stefan called to them. He felt happy until he noticed that Damon's lips were red and so were Valerie's.
"Yeah. We decided to get in the spirit of the holiday to let it go, over drinks," Damon explained while Stefan felt dread.
"You didn't kill anyone while I was gone, did you?" Stefan feared that he would walk into the house to find the carolers massacred.
"Naw, we had some blood bags and eggnog. I guess we'll have to mark the ones for the humans and the ones for the non-humans," Damon quipped, relieving Stefan of the box he was carrying. "What's all this crap?" he asked, looking into the box.
"Ornaments that I took from Elena and Jeremy's and Bonnie's and Matt's old houses. I couldn't get into our house but I thought it would be appropriate to make our tree reflect their old traditions," Stefan explained. He was shocked when Damon began to smile when he pulled out a bulb with a picture of a five year old Elena on it.
"Thanks, brother," Damon said quietly. "Wait a minute? Did you take my car?" he shouted as Stefan headed back to get more boxes. He ignored Damon's snarl of outrage.
"Whatever," Damon muttered before going back into the house.
Soon the tree was decorated and Stefan, Damon and Valerie went off to their rooms to dress. Valerie was the first to come out in a long red dress, that was form fitting and made Stefan's throat clench when he saw her. "Whoa!" he uttered.
"Whoa? Is that good or bad?" Valerie asked, looking at Stefan when Damon came out.
"That's a 'You look amazing and I have no words for how to express that fact and thank you, Damon, for finding this dress for me. You're welcome, Valerie, glad to be of service,'" Damon said, straightening his tie. "Now, who is ready to put Caroline to shame as the people who will have hosted the best party in years?" he cheered, grabbing Stefan and Valerie and pulling them toward the staircase.
Minutes later the doorbell rang and Valerie opened it with Stefan at her side. Damon was flirting with one of the carolers when their guests began to come in. "Merry Christmas," Alaric greeted Stefan awkwardly while Caroline came in, carrying presents for the hosts.
"I brought liquor I can't drink!" Caroline enthused and hugged Stefan and then Valerie.
"I'll take that," Damon called, appearing by Valerie's side and taking the bottle of wine that Caroline was offering. "Thanks, Blondie. Want some gingerbread?"
Caroline followed Damon to the dining room to eat when Bonnie appeared with Matt. "Hey, guys. Sorry, we're like… oh, only ten minutes late. Is Enzo here?" she asked, looking around for the British vampire.
Stefan didn't miss the way that Matt's face closed off when Bonnie mentioned Enzo. "Nope. Haven't seen him all day," Stefan offered.
Bonnie looked confused. "That's weird. He's been following me around for weeks now. And then he just up and disappears."
"Maybe he's grieving for Lily," Valerie reminded the witch who narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth.
"You know Caroline's in the kitchen with Damon and I would not leave those two alone together for too long. Damon's going to say something Damon-like and then Caroline's going to try to kill him…" Stefan smiled when Bonnie hurried off to check on her two best friends.
"So, Matt, what have you been up to lately?" Stefan questioned Matt who had been avoiding making eye contact.
"Nothing much. Trying to keep the heretics from killings half the town," Matt replied with a tight smile, his look aimed at Valerie.
"Who wants to dance?" Damon yelled, drunkenly careening through the guests and nearly knocking the tree over. "Sorry, didn't see you standing there," he patted the tree before making his way over to Stefan and then turning to Valerie. "Bygones," he said, holding out his hand.
Stefan's eyes widened when his brother took Valerie's hand and escorted her from the foyer. They began to dance in front of the carolers. Shifting from one foot to another, Stefan felt irritable as Damon twirled Valerie and she laughed at something he said before pointing up at the top of the tree.
At the top of the tree was an angel. Only this was not the one they had put up earlier. This was a new one, handcrafted and made to look like Elena. Damon stared up at the ornament for a long time and then he looked down at Valerie. Stefan had not seen his brother look at anyone with that depth of affection in a long time. Rather than making him feel pleased, a tiny part of him resented the looks that his brother and his ex were exchanging. There was something natural about the way they acted toward each other.
"Hey, Stefan," Damon called, waving for Stefan to come closer. Rolling his eyes, Stefan headed to his brother. Just when he was a foot away, Damon held up a hand for him to stop. "Switch with me," Damon cried.
"I'm not dancing with anyone," Stefan protested when Damon spun Valerie into his arms and Damon grabbed Caroline, yanking her into an embrace.
"Hey, little brother!" Damon called again when Stefan thought he was finally going to shut up.
"What?" Stefan snapped, looking at Valerie, who looked up.
"Mistletoe," Valerie whispered at the same time that Damon made the same announcement, several octaves louder. She looked up at Stefan, her cheeks flushing. "You don't have to kiss me. It's a silly tradition," Valerie said, quietly
Looking at the mistletoe and then at the other people in the room, Stefan thought about what to do while Caroline watched with a forced smile as her hands wandered to her growing middle. Damon was chanting. "Kiss, kiss, kiss," and was joined by people who didn't know any of them. Bonnie, Alaric and Matt did not seem to know how to respond to the situation.
Finally, Stefan looked down at Valerie. "I've always been a traditional guy," he said before pulling her closer and pressing his lips to hers. He had thought that after all these years it would not feel the same as the first time he had kissed her. He was wrong. Stefan did not know how long he was kissing Valerie under the mistletoe. All he knew was that by the time he came up for air, Caroline and Alaric had disappeared and Damon was clapping loudly.
"Merry Christmas, Stefan," Valerie whispered.
"Merry Christmas, Valerie," Stefan replied before ducking his head down and capturing her lips again. Maybe it was the holidays and he was feeling sentimental but he could not stop kissing this girl. Somewhere, deep down, Stefan knew he would never stop kissing her, every Christmas, under the mistletoe.
Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.
Peace,
J