It's been four months since Liz passed away. It was hard at first. Caroline shut herself off from everyone the first few days, but then she slowly let him back in. Stefan was the only one she had wanted for weeks. He held her when she cried and laughed with her when she let herself forget. He helped her get through the worst time of her life. They had shared moments of near kisses, but one of them always pulled away in fear of rejection.
Now, Stefan ran his fingers nervously through his hair. In his 168 years he couldn't remember a time when he was this anxious and he knew it was silly. Everyone already considered them to be dating, he just needed to make it official. He grabbed the bouquet of flowers off his dresser and headed to Caroline's room.
He stood outside of her door, which was only two doors down from his room, for what felt like hours. He put his hand to the door and pulled it away more times than he could count. Knocking was such a simple thing, but Stefan couldn't bring himself to do it. Finally, he took a deep breath and gathered up the courage.
A few second later the blonde opened her door, "Hey, Stefan. You didn't have to knock."
"Yeah, I did. I thought it would make this a little more official." he pulled the flowers out from behind his back and handed them to her.
"And what is this?" she asked with a smile.
"Would you like to have dinner here with me tonight? I know it's not much of a first date, but we have the house to ourselves and I thought I could cook and-"
She cut him off, "Yes."
Stefan couldn't hide the smile that was growing bigger on his face. He knew he had been worried about nothing. "I'd say I'll come pick you up, but…"
"I'll be ready at seven." Caroline said with a twinkle in her eye.
It was six fifty and the butterflies in her stomach were multiplying. She spun around in her blue dress, his favorite color. She could smell the dinner Stefan was making them and she couldn't help but smile. The thought of him in the kitchen cooking for her felt so human. She took another spin around the room and almost fell over when she noticed Stefan watching her from the doorway.
She could feel herself blushing, "How long have you been standing there?"
"Not long." he answered, but the smile on his face said he had seen at least three of her spins. "You look beautiful." he added eyes on her.
"You don't look so bad yourself."
He reached out his hand and she took it. "I hope you're hungry." he said leading her to the dining room.
He had switched out the big table for a small intimate one. He had candles lit and wine poured into glasses. He even pulled out her chair. The food tasted as amazing as it looked. Dinner was filled with laughs and smiles. When it was over Stefan put the plates in the sink. He went back over to Caroline, who looked a little sad.
"Are you okay?" he asked hoping he didn't so something wrong.
"I just, don't want this night to end. That's all." she answered honestly.
"Who said it's over?" he took her hand again and pulled her up. "Come on."
She followed him out the backyard where a blanket was sprawled out on the ground. They laid down facing the sky.
"I thought we could look at the stars for awhile. I used to do it all the time with my mom." Stefan said.
Caroline reached out for his hand. She was happy that he was so willing to share these moments with her. Moments he once shared with someone so important to him. She turned her head to face him. After a few minutes he half sat up and she did the same.
"Caroline Forbes," his nervous smile reappeared on his face, "will you be my girlfriend?"
"I thought you'd never ask." her smile taking over her face.
He replied by bring his lips to hers. His hand cupped her cheek. The kiss was soft and sweet, the exact first kiss she'd imagined having with Stefan. It was short, but perfect. They looked into each others eyes and knew this was forever.