AN: This takes place sometime after 2.22. Thank you so much for the reviews/comments on everything so far- I really appreciated it! 2nd AN: Edited to deal with some grammar/word issues that I missed earlier (editing/writing + lack of sleep= bad editing!)
The first night was awkward as hell. Neither Stefan or Elena were fully prepared to let the other out of sight, but their usual intimacy couldn't be reclaimed, not just yet. They lay in Stefan's bed, just looking at each other, unable to believe that this was real and actually happening. Elena constantly touched Stefan, reassuring herself that he was there and this wasn't a hallucination; Stefan kept an arm wrapped tightly around her waist. Yet they were still a tad uneasy around each other, especially in words, stumbling over stories and phrases and not feeling as close as before. Which, granted, was totally rational and expected and hell, normal, but weird and awkward as hell for them.
Around two Elena fell asleep, but Stefan remained awake. Still too jumpy and jittery to sleep, he pulled Elena closer, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo. Moments like these had kept him going, moments like these were why he had fought to get back, why he had forced himself off of human blood and hunting people rather than simply take off his ring and step into the sunlight. Just getting to listen to Elena breathing and making that funny whistling noise from time to time seemed like the best thing in the world to Stefan.
In her sleep Elena draped her legs over his and tugged on his shirt, and Stefan smiled for what seemed like the first time in forever.
"Did you sleep at all?" Elena asked in the morning, propping herself up on her elbow and looking down at him.
"Not really," he confessed. His head ached, from lack of blood or lack of sleep or lack of Elena; eating probably should happen soon, but he really didn't want to get out of bed if it meant letting go of Elena. By now her hip probably had a permanent imprint of his hand.
Elena ran her fingers through his hair, tugging it back into a respectable yet still rumpled look. "You don't have to do anything today," she told him softly, "Not if you don't want to."
Her statement was so different from what Stefan's life has been like recently- following Klaus' orders, his own thirst, then his own regimented withdrawal- that he gave her a slightly surprised look. "Really?"
"If you just want to rest here, or if you, I don't know, want to go off surfing or whatever. Whatever you want to do," Elena said. "As long as I'm with you, okay?"
More than okay. It's a comforting thought, staying in his room where everything was safe and familiar. Staying in Elena's arms, resting against her, maybe pulling a book out to read (Klaus had not been a big fan of reading, although he had gotten a kick out of terrorizing poor librarians). Still, he could hear Damon downstairs, talking on the phone; Stefan didn't resent Damon for the past months, really, but being around Damon was something he'd like to avoid for the time being. It made things simpler. Easier.
He glanced up at Elena and stroked her cheek. "I think I want to get out of the house, at least for a little while. With you."
"Okay," Elena replied, grabbing his hands and pulling it close. "Is there someplace you'd like to go? The Grill or the bookstore or... Build-A-Bear?"
He made a face at the last one and she laughed softly. "Okay, not there. But you never know- someday you might just wake up with the urge to make me an adorable stuffed animal."
"Someday," he murmured.
"Seriously, where to? I'll be your chauffeur."
"Somewhere quiet. Somewhere without people."
She smiled. "I think I know a place."
The walk through the woods was surprisingly nice, considering the number of times they'd been in peril there. They kept their arms linked tightly around each other; both needed constant reassuring that the other wasn't going anywhere; it was comforting as well, staying close. On the way over Stefan kept looking around, getting reacquainted with the general Mystic Falls area, as well as getting used to the utter delight of not having to adhere to Klaus' plans or his own thirst. It felt a bit like waking up from a horrible nightmare, of being brought back to life.
"Here we are," Elena said suddenly, coming to a stop by a small waterfall. "It's not quite as beautiful as the place where you took me-"
"It's lovely," Stefan replied, squeezing her hand. "Very secluded."
"Kind of the point," Elena settled on the ground and pulled Stefan down next to her. "You know how we first met I was Gloomy Graveyard Girl?"
Stefan curled against her to listen.
"I guess now I'm Weeping Waterfall Woman," Elena sighed. "After... everything, I just needed a place where I could, you know, be alone, journal, cry or whatever. It's quiet. It's peaceful. No one knows to look for me here."
"No one?"
"No one."
Stefan wasn't sure how to feel about that; on the one hand, yes, she more than deserved some alone time and space. Yet he still felt like she needed to be protected and sheltered. A place like this, so distant, could be the perfect spot for a kidnapping or a crime scene or-
"I know what you're thinking," Elena murmured to him. "You don't have to worry about me."
"I know."
"But you still will."
"I'm sorry."
"I worry about you too," Elena leaned against a tree and looked at him. "I worry that you don't eat enough, that animal blood isn't- won't be enough. I worry that even with Klaus out of the picture someone- something- will come for you or hurt you or... I worry that I hold you back."
At Stefan's questioning look Elena sighed and elaborated. "That I make you too serious, stop you from having fun. Like all those stories with Lexi, it sounds like you two had so much fun together."
"What, we've never had fun?" Stefan teased, but he understood what she was saying. So much of their time together had been spent in Crisis Mode- finding out the whole vampire thing/Damon/Katherine/Tomb Vampires/blood crisis/Katherine/werewolves/Katherine/Originals/Curses/Damon/Katherine- that it seemed overwhelming, that it overpowered most of their time together.
"Oh, we've had fun," Elena smiled. "You're different around me."
"Mmm."
"Your smile changes, your laugh. Just the way you look at me..." Elena trailed off, her cheeks flushing. "Which, trust me, I like, but sometimes I wonder if you feel like you always have to be on your guard with me, like you can never relax."
Stefan gently grabbed her hand and laced his fingers with hers. "I used to feel that way all the time, that I always had to watch how I acted around you in case I scared your or... but that was in the beginning."
"I noticed," Elena squeezed his hand. "And now? I noticed yesterday..."
He shrugged and pursed his lips. "Now I can't relax around you or anyone. It will... it will be awhile."
That wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she accepted it.
The day was quiet, peaceful, and growing less awkward by the minute. They talked softly for a while, more information about their respective past few months, telling stories from their pasts, both familiar and unfamiliar. After awhile they both pulled books out, content to read besides each other. Stefan curled up on the ground, resting his head in Elena's lap while she nestled her hand in his hair, tugging on fistfuls of it.
He fell asleep eventually, resting in Elena's lap. Elena smiled when she realized, hugging him closer and lightly kissing his cheek. He had changed- the shadows under his eyes had deepened, he hesitated when speaking or moving. It would take time for things to return to normal (whatever that was) and for him to recover. Time, probably lots of it. But he would recover. She would recover.
She stroked his cheek, trailing her fingers along his jaw, smiling at how his nose twitched. She felt she could spend the whole day just watching him.
In the late afternoon, she woke Stefan up gently with kisses, light ones that brought a smile to his face even as he burrowed his face into her lap, reluctant to open his eyes. Only after Elena somehow managed to twist around to kiss his lips did he move, shifting them so she lay on top of him. They hadn't kissed, really kissed, since his return, and the first made them both breathless and startled.
It also made them eager for more.
Stefan whisked them back to his house, and they nearly broke the door coming through. As they stumbled up the stairs, lips locked and arms embraced, they passed Damon and didn't even notice as he jumped aside to avoid being slammed into. To Damon they resembled a bizarre blur of tangled limbs; he stomped to the living room for a desperately needed drink and even more desperately needed headphones.
Inside Stefan's room, though, they slowed down- or rather, Stefan slowed down. Elena had already stripped him of most of his clothing while he had barely started on his shirt.
"Stefan?" Elena asked, trailing her hands down his chest, circling them to his back.
Glancing shyly at her, he asked, "Is this- are we-?"
She stopped him with a kiss. "I love you."
Suddenly his arms were around her. "I love you."
Her clothing shortly joined his on the floor.
That night wasn't awkward at all.