Chop Chop!

Elena knew that she was dreaming. It was obvious by the dream-like glow that surrounded everything around her. She was leaning up against a tree next to a crystal lake. The sun was streaming down on her and warmed her skin. She laid her head back to take in the warmth when she heard the approach of someone. Opening her eyes into slits, she saw that it was Stefan but he didn't seem to notice her being there. She called out to him but he seemed to not hear her. Elena rose from her seat to follow him as he walked toward the edge of the woods. She continued to call after him but it made no difference. The faster she ran to catch up with him, the faster he ran away from her. Suddenly, her foot caught on a root and she began to fall forward in slow motion. Just as she was about to smack her head on a rock, she jolted awake, disoriented as to where she was.

After a moment to calm her racing heart, she realized she was in Stefan's bed and let out a sigh. She turned to snuggle closer to her man only to find his side of the bed empty. She sat upright and looked to see if he was sitting at his desk. But, he was nowhere to be found. Slipping out of bed in one of Stefan's T-shirts, she walked over to the desk which oddly had the light on. Looking at the stacks of paper, one in particular caught her eye. It was a drawing of her but she was sleeping in it. She could make out the details on the shirt she was currently wearing in the picture. I didn't know he drew…and drew so well. This is absolutely beautiful! He must have drawn it earlier, she thought to herself, smiling at her position in the picture.

Hearing a muffled clatter of pans from the kitchen, she went to investigate. Rounding the corner to the kitchen, she found who she was looking for. Stefan, in boxers, was chopping veggies on the kitchen island. Elena always enjoyed watching him cook no matter what it was so she kept her presence a secret just a little bit longer. Walking up to the island, he looked up at her and smiled.

"Hey," he said, still grinning.

"Hey," she replied, returning the smile.

"I didn't wake you, did I?" he asked watching her to see if there was anything hidden in her repsonse.

"No, I was looking over your drawing when I heard the noise."

He immediately looked down at his work, appearing embarrassed. "You weren't supposed to see it. I wasn't done with it yet. I was gonna finish it when I was…"

Elena cut him off by placing a finger to his lips. He looked back up at her.

"It was beautiful!" she said in a whisper.

Relief washed over his face. "Well it doesn't compare to the real thing but…"

Now it was Elena's turn to look down, embarrassed. Stefan set down his knife and leaned across the counter to kiss her.

Her face still a little red, she whispered, "Thank you." After pausing she asked, "So what are we making?"

Resuming chopping, he replied, "Well, I am just preparing veggies for omelets," emphasizing the I.

"Can I help?"

"You want to help?" he questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

"Then get your butt over here then!"

Skipping around the island, she came to stand by her man. He set down his knife and gestured for her to take his place. He then stood behind her with his hands on top of hers, guiding them gently. Without even getting through one pepper, Stefan moved his hands up and down her arms and started kissing her neck.

Sticking out her butt to nudge him as his hands were nearing hers, she said in between giggles, "Hey! Quit that! I'm working here!"

"Hmm…" was his only reply as he began to tickle her.

"We're not going to get much done if you continue that!" she exclaimed, completely distracted from her work.

"Oh…we have plenty of veggies," he replied turning her to face him and catching her in a kiss.

The debate on the number of veggies was immediately put on hold as he placed her on top of the counter and continued kissing her, her legs wrapped around his waist

However, this didn't last long either as their stomachs both growled very audibly. They broke out into laughter, holding each other to keep from falling over.

After whipping up a couple of omelets, they sat across from each other without saying a word. Each gave little smirks as they ate and did things to get the other to laugh. Soon, they were playing with their food more than eating it. When they had finally had enough, they both cleaned up the mess that was made. Both would intentionally bump into the other or reach over the other which caused giggles to erupt and the clean up to take twice as long as it should have.

Finally finished, Stefan pulled Elena to him and looked into her eyes.

"So what would you like to do today, Ms. Gilbert?" he requested.

Pretending to think real hard first, she then replied, "Let's go swimming!"

"Well then we better get going! Chop, chop little missy!" he replied as he chased her upstairs to get changed for the lake.