Maybe he had made the decision the morning when he saw her stretch her limbs and yawn, with her eyes still closed, on his bed. Or when she rolled and turned to him unconsciously seconds later, not wanting to wake up just yet. Or maybe he had decided it a while ago, throughout the process of falling in love with her. The only thing he knew is that he wanted to do it. He needed to marry her.
Caroline sighed, half asleep. He had been watching her for hours now, leaning on his side and facing her. He could not keep his eyes off her. Stefan stroked her cheek with his thumb softly, with a little smile on his face. She got closer to him in response, burying her face in his neck.
He let out a long breath; the thought of her living there, with him, making him so stupidly happy. It had only been one week, yes, but he had been feeling over the moon since she spent the first night in the house as her new official residence. She was living with him. And she had turned the house into the warmest place with her presence and essence.
Caroline, as if she could hear his thoughts, grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt with her fingers, getting even closer to him and interlacing their legs. His smile got wider and he took her hand. He stared at it intently, stroking her fingers delicately, and picturing a ring in the specific finger.
His heart raced and he got nervous, excited, expectant. He lowered his gaze when he felt that he was being observed, and his eyes met Caroline's. Stefan cleared his throat and pursed his lips before giving her a 'good morning' smile. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
"What?" he replied a little bit too quickly.
She raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, don't tell me" she said dramatically. He could not help but chuckle.
"I was just thinking that…" Stefan caressed her arm down soothingly, staring into her eyes. "Maybe it's time you bring some of your stuff home. And, you know, I'm pretty sure you'll want to do some… restructuring and remodeling, so maybe-"
"I'm so glad you finally brought it up" she said, putting her hand under the pillow, looking for something. Stefan frowned, confused, when she pulled out a list. "Here" she basically put the piece of paper in his hands. "I made a list."
Stefan took a look and read the title of the list. Things To Do. He looked at her again and sighed.
"You were dying to show me this, weren't you?"
"I know it looks like a very, very long list, but-"
"Caroline, you wrote things even on the corners of the paper."
She giggled and he could not help but smile. Caroline cupped his neck and gave him a quick kiss.
"I promise I won't be too demanding. I'll even let you take your time."
"Oh, thank you, so considerate" he said. She laughed and took the list.
"We could start with some of the furniture. Since it's Saturday and I don't work, we can go shopping and-"
"Um, do you mind going with Bonnie?"
She looked up from the list.
"I have some things to do."
"But we have to choose, together."
"Caroline, we both know you'll chose for the both of us."
Caroline rolled her eyes, knowing it was true.
"Buy everything you want, I'll be okay with it."
"Really?" she asked excited. He nodded, looking at her tenderly. "Okay" she said, giving him a kiss on the chin before starting to get out of bed. He did not release her hand until she did.
"So" he swallowed. "Where do you think you'll go?"
"Probably to the outskirts. There are some good furniture stores there" she said from the bathroom. "I'm going to call Bonnie. It'll be good for her to take some fresh air."
Stefan smiled to himself. Picking the best of rings for Caroline Forbes was not going to be an easy task without her being involved in the decision. And most importantly, without her finding out.