Twelve years.
That's how long she'd been asleep.
She had visitors every day at first, and then one-by-one, they all eventually stopped coming. Not because they no longer cared, but because they grew to accept the loss. Even Damon managed to stay away once he realized that she had meant it when she told him not to waste his life and to enjoy himself.
Bonnie also may have helped him in that regard, but that's a story for another time.
Twelve years doesn't seem like it would be very long for a vampire who's lived over almost two-hundred years, but it always felt like an eternity when waiting for the one they love.
Stefan thought to himself constantly what it even mattered if he loved her still. Did she love him? Certainly. But she hadn't been in love with him since she first turned.
Even so, Stefan was the only one who never tired of seeing her. He stopped by at the same time every day to read to her and to tell her about his day. Damon would join him occasionally, but as was mentioned, he soon decided that while he loved her, they were just too different. He listened to Stefan tell her his stories and knew that it was time to let go. He wouldn't hold her back from the life she wanted.
He finally understood.
Sometimes, Stefan would run out of things to talk about when he went alone, and this was one of those days.
He sat along side her coffin in a rusty, old chair, slightly leaning against it as he racked his brain for something to say.
"This rain is pretty crazy, huh?"
Idiot.
They had years of memories and that's all he could think of?
"Um…" he paused, closing his eyes.
Why was this so hard? Every other day the words came so easily, but today… there was nothing. What if….
No.
He couldn't go into her head. He hadn't done that since the day they said their goodbyes.
"I'll see you soon," she had said.
Would she want to see him, after all this time? He was afraid of the answer.
Stefan sighed. "You know, Elena… I've missed you much more than I ever thought I could miss anyone. That's not a surprise, though, is it?"
He quietly laughed to himself.
"I've told you how Caroline and me… how we were together, for a little while. Well, we both kind of came to an agreement that there was something lacking. Something that she found in Tyler, and I-" he stopped himself, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I found in you."
"I know I'm probably a huge dick for unloading all of this on you right now, but I, uh, just can't shake my feelings for you. And I'm not sure I've ever shaken them."
Stefan hung his head, wringing his hands.
"What I'm saying is… that you need to wake up, because I can't do this without you."
It was quiet for a moment until his phone began to ring. It was Damon.
Of course.
He answered. "What is it now?"
"Sound a little more excited, brother. We just-" "You mean I found it!" Bonnie interjected.
Stefan could practically hear Damon rolling his eyes. "Yeah, anyways, Bonnie thinks she found the spell to undo whatever Kai did that linked her and Elena together."
"Wow, that's, like, super convenient." His voice conveyed anything but nervousness though Stefan could hardly contain himself.
If all I had to do was give an embarrassing speech, that would've been great to know ages ago. Literally.
"So, what do we do?" he asked, eyeing the coffin as he rose to his feet.
"Well, I guess what she's doing right now. Which is?"
There were several voices in the background. Stefan assumed that Caroline and Tyler were also there.
Suddenly, a loud, heavy gasp reached Stefan's ears. But it had come from behind him.
He didn't even want to turn around.
"Stefan?" Her voice was soft, just like he'd remembered. God, he sighed. He hadn't heard her voice in so long.
He slowly moved to face her, lowering the phone as he did so.
She looked exactly the same, but he could tell that behind her eyes, there lied something different.
"Stefan," she said again, this time stepping towards him. She stumbled a bit and he reached out to help steady her.
"Elena, are you… okay?"
She smiled. Her eyes glistened as she stared up at him.
"I'm okay," she said, nodding. "I'm more than okay."
Stefan furrowed his brows. "Why are you crying?"
She raised her hand to his face, tilting her head like she does.
"Because," she managed to say between tear-filled laughter. "I wanted it to be you."