'Could I have a moment, love?'
Caroline's hand stopped on the door jamb just as she had been about to enter her home.
Rolling her eyes she turned to look at the hybrid who had just spoken behind her.
'No.' She replied harshly, 'Whatever it is, I don't want to know, I don't want to hear...just go away.'
He sighed heavily and narrowed his eyes at her from where he stood at the bottom of the few steps that led to her house's porch.
'I just need to ask you a question, this...'
'Didn't you hear me say no?!'
'And don't you know by now that I don't take no for an answer?' He retorted.
She gritted her teeth in anger. 'Fine! Let's get it over with...what is it you want to know?' She crossed her arms and tilted her head sideways.
He took one step up. 'I want you to tell me...what your feelings are for me.'
'Excuse me? Is this some kind of a lame joke...cause it's not funny.'
'I'm serious, Caroline.'
'Are you drunk?' She asked with a deep frown.
He took another step up. 'Just answer me.'
'Okay. I loathe you.' She smiled wryly at him. 'Happy now? You can go.'
'Are you sure that's the truth?' He asked as he now stood on the porch with her.
'Positive.'
He narrowed his eyes. 'So if I compel you, and ask you again, you will say the same thing?'
'What?!' She took a step backwards, frowning at him. 'Why...why would you do that?!'
He took a step closer to her. 'I need a true answer, Caroline.'
'I gave you a true answer.'
'Then what are you afraid of?' He asked softly, closing in on her personal space.
'What's going on?' She asked, her eyes widened as she felt her back press to the door.
'I'm a very patient man, sweetheart, but I'm reaching my limit...'
'No!' She pushed him away with a hand on his chest as his face came closer to hers, but of course he didn't budge. 'Why are you doing this?'
'I ask the questions here.'
She kept her hand on his chest, keeping him just at arm's length. 'If you do this, I'll never forgive you.' She hissed at him.
He smirked. 'You already have a long list of things you'll never forgive me for...so I'll think I'll take my chances and just add this one to it too.'
'Wait, please!' She closed her eyes, 'Okay, okay, I'll give you a real...honest answer, you don't need to compel me to get it.'
He narrowed his eyes on her again, considering her words.
'If...if you don't believe me...you can still compel me afterwards.' Her eyes pleaded with his.
He looked at her for a long silent moment, holding her gaze with his own and then nodded once. 'Okay.'
She gasped in surprise that he had accepted. Then she frowned again, 'Can you tell me why you're doing this?!'
'Maybe later.'
She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. 'You still won't like my answer you know?'
His lips lifted slightly at one side, 'I'm a big man, I'm sure I can take it.'
She huffed angrily at him and then sighed loudly. 'Can we sit down at least?' She asked motioning to the steps with her hand.
He nodded and walked down three steps before sitting down, his back resting on the wooden railings and turned to look her way.
She followed him and sat down on the first step, her booted feet next to him. Then she put her elbows on her knees and stole a glance at his face.
He looked back at her, a patient look in his eyes.
She let out a nervous chuckle as she stared at her fingers entwined together in front of her. 'I don't...I...I really...' She shook her head and rubbed her forehead, then put her hair behind her ears and stole another glance at him.
He was still regarding her with the same look on his face. 'Would it be better if I asked questions?'
An angry retort seemed ready on her lips but she seemed to think better of it. She looked straight ahead as she reluctantly gave a small nod.
The railings creaked against his weight as he settled himself more comfortably.
'Your first thought when you see me.' He asked.
'Oh oh, here comes trouble.' She immediately replied.
His dimples appeared on his cheeks but he raised his eyebrows at her.
'Okay...I guess...I dread meeting you but...it's also...kind of...exciting.' She said the last word almost indaudibly.
He frowned at her so she added 'It's like...an adrenaline rush cause I know that something bad could come down but it's a...thrill anyway.'
'So I...scare and excite you at the same time?'
She gave a small shrug. 'Something like that.'
'Are you saying you're afraid of me?'
She glanced at him and looked away again. 'No...'
'Bloody right, you're not! You hold your own against me all the time. You're never afraid to speak your mind, always badly I might add, to everything I say or do...like right now, you had barely registered my presence when you lashed out at me.'
'That's because fighting with you is...safe ground.' Again she chuckled nervously, confusion written in her eyes.
His back straightened at that. 'Did you really just say that fighting with me is safe?'
'Safer then...'
'Than what?'
'Other things.'
'What other things?'
'You know...other things.'
'No, I don't or I wouldn't be asking you.' He replied impatiently.
'Fine! It's safer than just talking to you or, or spending time with you like normal people cause, I don't know...my God why are you doing this to me?!' She lowered her head resting her forehead in her hands.
'You mean like we did on our date?'
She nodded a couple times, against her open palms.
'You liked spending that day with me?' His tone for the first time sounded slightly insecure.
She closed her eyes.'Yeah...' She admitted with a sigh.
'But of course you...hate that you did.' He took a deep breath, and looked at the deserted, dark road in front of the house. 'You hate that you...like me.'
'I hate all the horrible things you've done!' She replied angrily, for the first time looking straight in his eyes. 'You've killed and hurt people I love...you drive them away, you threaten them...'
'We've all done terrible things.' He murmured under his breath.
'Yes, we did. I know that.' She agreed as she looked away again, 'as I also know that there is more than just evil in you. I know there's more and I see it...'
She put her legs up one step and put arms around them hugging herself, resting her chin on her knees.
'I see it...I see it in the way...you always look out for me, you protect me. I see it...when you open up and reveal things like the hummingbird story...I see it in your paintings...in the pain in your eyes when you looked at your brother's corpse...or even just now, when I asked you not to compel me and you...didn't...I see you trying...and I know you do it for me...' She took a ragged breath inside, 'I also know that we...share...a...a kind of...connection, cause it's like you can...read me and know things about me better than people who's known me all my life...and for some reason it's the same for me with you...'
'And what does that tell you?' He asked in a hoarse voice.
'It doesn't matter,' she replied firmly, still not looking at him, 'it's not enough to...cause there's still everything else, everything you've done and I won't ignore it...I can't! I don't know if I'll ever, how I could ever...'
She lowered her face as she realised that tears had started to drop down her cheeks.
There was complete silence for a long moment. Him looking at her, her hiding her face.
Gently his fingers moved away a strand of her hair behind her ear, 'It's okay, Caroline...'
Her head tilted up and she looked straight in his eyes, her own glistening, 'It's soo isn't!'
He smiled softly at her. 'It is...cause now I know what I've got to do. I got my answer.'
'Really? Good for you, since I'm not even sure of what I just told you?'
His smile widened.
She dried her eyes with both hands, frowning at him.
'I had a decision to take and I...needed to see you before I did...you gave me what I wanted.'
'And what's that?!'
'Hope.' He gave a small chuckle at her incredulous look.
'Hope for what?'
'Hope...to wait for you.' He said softly.
Her eyes almost popped out of her head, 'What?!'
'But you...need time...lots of it.' He said with a quiet tone as he got up and dusted his trousers, 'And luckily for me, I can give you that, cause we both have an unlimited amount of it so...'
She frowned heavily at him. 'So...'
'So...I leave Mystic Falls tonight.' He said looking straight in her eyes.
'Yeah, right, I heard that before.'
He smiled at her again and something in his face told her he meant it. Her lips parted in surprise as she stared back at him.
'There's a...situation in New Orleans that requires my attention, so I'll be staying there for a while...a long while.'
Again she just stared at him as if she didn't understand what he was telling her.
He went down the rest of the steps and then turned to look back at her.
'Good bye, Caroline.' Her name was like a sigh on his lips as he seemed to study her face with a sad look in his eyes. 'Hell...I'm gonna miss you, love.'
When he was met again with silence, he lowered his gaze to the ground and sighed a word '...Time.'
He turned and took a couple of steps away from her when she shouted,
'So that's it?! You come here! Make me...tell you things and now you're...you're just LEAVING?!'
He turned back to look at her and found her on her feet where she had been sitting looking down at him. Her hands balled in fists and her eyes large in her face while she took small gasps of air. 'What...what about Silas, you can't just...'
'Stefan will protect you...and he'll know where to find me.'
'Well you...' She shook her head at him obviously struggling for words. 'Well, I'm surely not gonna miss you!' She said defiantly even as her shoulders sagged in a little and her eyes filled up with tears once again.
He smiled up at her. 'I know you won't.' He gave her one last long look and turned away to leave once more.
'So what does this mean huh?!' She shouted out again, her tone almost desperate. 'That I'm to believe that if I...if I...should come to you in century or two, you'll be, you'll be there waiting for me?!'
'Yes, I will.' He said quietly as he turned to look at her again.
'Oh come on...' She scoffed at him as the first tears started falling, 'you won't even...remember my name...'
He slowly shook his head at her, his eyes probing in hers. 'You really have no idea what you...' He stopped and took a heavy, deep breath inside. 'Forgetting you, Caroline Forbes, the beautiful, brave, strong, Miss Mystic Falls, is...just not possible.' He smiled at her one last time as unshed tears formed unbidden in his eyes. He turned and started walking away.
'Wait!'
'You know, Caroline, I could start to believe you don't-' He turned as he spoke to find her flying straight in his arms. Her arms went around his neck and her lips fused hardly to his.
For a millisecond shock stopped him from responding to her kiss but a heartbeat later his arms wound around her waist, holding her tightly to him as he returned her kiss with all that he had inside him. Want, desire, need. All surged together as he hungrily explored her mouth with his own. She kissed him back just as passionately, opening her mouth over his, their breaths, tears and tongues mingling. It was a desperate kiss, full of pent up emotions, frustration and hidden feelings.
When slowly, relectantly, they broke apart, he pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closed, their noses touching before letting her go.
He sighed softly as he looked in her beautiful eyes. 'So what was that? A consolation prize or a goodbye kiss?'
'Neither,' she whispered, 'just something I've been wanting to do for some time now.'
Obvious surprise for her confession sprang in his eyes and his head tilted side ways as he looked at her.
She smiled shyly, shaking her head slightly, 'Are you sure you didn't compel me anyway?'
His lips tilted up in a full smile, his dimples deep groves in his cheeks.
His hand went up to caress her face, his thumb gently stroking away tears from her cheekbone. 'So...see you in a century or two?' He asked, his eyes shining in hers.
Her eyebrows raised slightly up.
'Or more?' He breathed.
'...Or less.' She replied almost inaudibly.
He pulled her to him, engulfing her in a hug, his cheek pressed to hers as he just breathed her in. 'Be safe, sweetheart.' He whispered in her ear.
And then he was gone.
Gone from Mystic Falls.
Gone from her life.
Gone.