Title: Valentine's Day 2015
Author: Alysia
Category: All human, Elejah one-shot.
Summary: Elena and Elijah have been close friends for years. Both have (at different times) wanted more. What happens when Elijah finally tells her about his feelings?
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters familiar to TVD or TO.
Author's note: I apologize that the title isn't original, but I've always had difficulty choosing titles. This is also a first for me. It's all human, no vampires, there isn't even a mention of them. Oh, and there may be a little Hayley bashing. However, if you all are as ardent Elejah fans as me, then you won't mind.

"Okay, darling, it's time for bed," Elena said, walking into her daughter's room. "Daddy and I are going out, but your favorite uncle is here to watch you."

The young girl looked at her mother's appearance. "You look like a princess, mommy," she giggled.

Elena held out a hand to help her daughter from the floor. "Let's hope daddy thinks so too," she replied with a smile.

"Because you're going out, does that mean you won't have time to tell me a story?" The young girl asked after her mother settled her down for bed.

"Not tonight, sweetling," she denied softly, hating that she was breaking a ritual. Unless her daughter ended up falling asleep before her designated bedtime, she told her a story; whether it was one she made up or one that she read out of one of Annalise's books.

"Just a short one?" The young girl asked. When her mother's face softened, she added to it. "Please?"

Knowing that her daughter was playing her, she sighed at her inability to deny her. "Fine, but just a short one." Claiming a seat on the edge of the bed she began her tale. "Once upon a time there was a young woman that grew to fall in love with her best friend…"

She stared at her companion, completely stumped. His presence was always a welcome addition to her house. However, the words he'd spoken, things she'd wished to hear for years, were a total surprise.

Paying no mind to the expression on her face, he continued on; afraid that if he didn't get it all out then, he never would. "I haven't always loved you." He wished he could have claimed that he had though. "But I do…now…so very much." His heart was pounding out of his chest. So many times he'd envisioned the conversation, but every single time he'd thought of it, she'd be bursting with joy. But as he stared at the woman that owned his heart, he realized that she was nowhere near that.

For so long, she'd dreamt of hearing those words…or something close to them. But not then…not after the events of that evening… Elena Gilbert pursed her lips before she shook her head sadly. "You can't say that to me. Not now," she confessed sadly, though the words that she most desired to say, were on the tip of her tongue.

His brows furrowed together. "What's changed?" He knew that she'd had a boyfriend, it was the main reason that pushed him into action.

"He proposed," she breathed.

His gaze immediately traveled to the bare fingers of her hands. "You aren't wearing a ring…" Who proposed without a ring?

"We're going shopping tomorrow," she explained with a pointed tone in her voice, as if anticipating his thoughts.

"Wow…I…I didn't realize that it was so serious," he tried to smile for her, but it fell flat.

"Well, it was," she shrugged. From the moment that she'd met Stefan Salvatore, she'd known that he was the sort of guy that one married. And honestly, after the way her love life looked up until then, it was the one reason why she'd agreed to go out with him in the first place. "He sort of just blurted it out during dinner…"

"Oh…"

She replied with a thin smile. "I couldn't wait for you to notice me, Elijah," Elena confessed. "Years…you had years to open your eyes and notice me." First and foremost, she'd been his friend, but she'd never hidden her true feelings for him. It had been a delicate subject between them. Where she didn't mention it, he never had either. She'd always been polite to the women that he'd introduced to her, but she'd hardly gone out of her way to invite any of them out for a girl's night.

He nodded in confirmation. "I…I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize it."

She wanted to say that she agreed with his statement, but the words refused to fuse together. "Christ, Elijah, I was there. I stood by watching you. My heart broke every time you introduced me to one of your girls. Celeste…Katherine…Hayley…I was there for all of it."

He shook his head while he stepped closer to her. "I'm sorry that it…that I was so blind." Emotion clogged his throat and he found himself unable to say what he wanted to. "I was…I was so busy chasing love that I never realized that it was right in front of me."

She licked her lips. With a defeated sigh, she offered him a sad smile. "He's a good man, Elijah. And for the first time, or so it feels, he puts me first." Unlike Elijah, she knew where she stood with Stefan. She'd always known.

Stefan wasn't good enough for Elena. He'd held that thought from the moment Elena introduced him. "So you're…going to marry the first guy that asks?"

"No," she denied then. "I'm going to marry him because I love him."

"Elena, marriage is a big deal. You may love him, but is he really the one you want to spend the rest of your life with?" He knew his words sounded condescending. "Do me a favor, close your eyes."

She offered him a skeptical look in response.

Shaking his head, he tried again. "Seriously, close your eyes." He waited for her to follow his instructions. "It's ten years down the road. Can you really imagine waking up next to him?"

She forced her eyes open and responded with a deep frown framing her mouth. Really? That was where he was going with that?

"You don't want to rush into anything that you may one day regret," he cautioned.

"I hardly think I'm rushing into anything," she denied. She and Stefan had been dating for eight months. "Besides that, how many times have you been married, Elijah?"

How dare he stand across from her and accuse her of acting rashly! She wasn't the one that offered her heart to every Tom, Dick and Harry that she'd come across. Elijah had once been her closest friend, and while she knew it wasn't always the case whenever one of them was involved with someone else, they always found their way back to one another. She'd always been there to nurse him through whatever broken heart he was left with when his relationship was left in shambles.

"Once."

It was one word, but it pulled her to a complete stop. Any further thoughts that she had were immediately lost. "What?" How? How could she not have known? "We've known each other all these years and you never told me?" An irrational jealousy seized her thoughts then. He'd been married? He'd promised himself to someone for forever? Obviously, it hadn't worked out since it was the first time she'd heard about it…but the intent was there.

"It isn't exactly a crowning achievement for me. It must have been one of the shortest marriages in history…right up there with Britney Spears' drunken experience." He sighed with a shake of his head. "Celeste and I stupidly rushed into an elopement. A day later, her father had it annulled…not even a day…hours later," he corrected. "What should have been my only marriage turned into a nightmare."

He'd married Celeste?! Celeste…of all people?! How could she not have known? Why had he not said anything…ever? They'd met Celeste their first day of college, and Elena had barely kept a polite accordance with the woman. But Elijah…it was as if he'd fallen head first in love with her. "You…and Celeste?!"

He wasn't proud of it. He never had been. Not only had Celeste deserved more, but so had he. And it wasn't until years later that he realized the stupidity of their decision. Yes, he'd loved Celeste, but they never would have lasted. "That's why I caution you. You need to be absolutely sure about this."

"Up until about three minutes ago, I thought I was absolutely sure," she bit out through gritted teeth.

Inwardly, he was pleased with her confession. It meant that she was second guessing her decision. The situation wasn't as dire as he'd immediately thought. However, he played it safe and chose not to show his confidence about it. "And if I was able to shake your thoughts on Stefan's proposal in such a short amount of time, it is obviously something that warrants a second thought."

She blinked once, unable to believe he'd said that. Walking past him, she reached the door and tore it open. "I think you need to leave," she ordered in a deceptively calm voice.

"Elena…"

She shook her head. "No. You have no right to come here and say…any of this." Not only had he thrown her world off, but then to have been so smug… She couldn't deal with it, him, not then.

"I haven't always been an arrogant ass," Caroline began, using a mocking voice. "But I am now, a huge one."

Elena shook her head. As soon as she had Elijah had parted ways earlier in the night, she'd immediately retreated to her best friend's and roommate's room where she explained the conversation; verbatim. "It's not funny," she denied.

"Oh, I beg to differ," the blonde denied.

"Do you have any idea how long I yearned to hear those words?" Elena replied sharply.

The usually fun loving blonde offered her a stern look in response. "Look, Elijah had his chance, Elena. He acted as if you never even existed in college. You pined after him for years." For years, she'd stood by her friend, drying her tears and soothing her when she could. "You have Stefan now."

"Yes, he's sweet and loyal. And I know that he loves me," Elena sighed, throwing herself down into the nearest chair to her.

Caroline snorted in amusement. "You sound like you're describing a dog."

"Well, he certainly doesn't look like one," Elena immediately denied.

"No, he doesn't," her best friend agreed. "I'm telling you, Elena, you better not screw this up." It wasn't the first time that Elena had second guessed herself because of something that Elijah said or did. "Men like Stefan don't show up every day."

"I hope you aren't trying to imply that you think I'll leave Stefan." She wouldn't…she couldn't. Like Caroline, he'd seen her struggle for her feelings for Elijah. And while they'd initially started off as friends, Stefan had been patient and understanding about her emotions.

"I'm not implying anything. I'm saying it, Elena," Caroline replied without an ounce of remorse in her voice. She'd watched her friend turn down one opportunity after another with seemingly great men because of Elijah. "I love you, and I want to be happy." And happiness was possible with Stefan! "But the timing as never been right between you and Elijah. First him wanting you and then year later, you falling for him… Maybe there's a reason why the timing was never on?" That was the only explanation for it. "Maybe the tow of you are only destined to be friends?" She asked.

Elijah had a thing for her? When?! And why was she the last to know about it? "When did he ever have feelings for me?" It certainly couldn't have been in the last six years, she would have known.

Caroline rolled her eyes as if she was dealing with a complete idiot. "High school," she answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Elena frowned. "High school?! He had feelings for me in high school?" How had she not known? Why had Elijah not said something back then? "He could have had me…if only he'd said something…"

Caroline once again snorted in amusement. "You didn't even know he existed! It's not your fault that you went through puberty later than most girls our age," she shrugged.

"But…I didn't know," Elena denied weakly.

"And you know that he only started dating Katherine senior year in high school because she looked like you, right?"

Elena frowned at the mention of her cousin. Aside from Elijah's bombshell earlier that night, it hadn't been Celeste that she'd had the biggest problem with. It had been her cousin. From the moment that she'd introduced the pair, she'd been green with jealousy as Katherine went out of her way to get her claws in Elijah.

As if unaware of the bombshell she'd dropped, Caroline continued on. "I'm telling you, there's a reason why it never worked between the two of you."

"I…"

"Look, I like Elijah too. He's a pretty awesome guy. Compared to most of the men out there, he's amazing. But the two of you have been dancing around one another for years." And there must have been a reason for it.

"It just seems so unfair," Elena denied. "After all this time…he finally gives me notice and I'm unavailable." She grabbed a decorative pillow, holding it over her face, she screamed her frustration into it. "Shouldn't we just give in and try?" She asked, setting the pillow back down beside her; putting her feelings into words for the first time since Elijah had left her that night. "What if in twenty years down the road, I kick myself for not taking the opportunity when I had a chance?"

"Oh, and you think that Stefan will be understanding about that when you ask him for time to double check your feelings for Elijah?" Caroline replied with an arched eyebrow. "Stefan comes from good stock, Elena. He has been patient with you and let you set the course the way you wanted, and he never complained."

She understood that, she did…honestly. She couldn't have asked for a better man than Stefan. But Elijah… It was as if her conversation with Caroline had done little to reaffirm her feelings on the night's earlier occurrence. Not for the first time, she was beginning to think that she'd made a mistake in accepting Stefan's proposal. Caroline's revelations offered her an almost vindication and she found herself thinking things she hadn't allowed herself to since her first year of college. "Aren't you supposed to be my friend?"

"Of course I am. But I can't tell you want to hear, not in this particular instance. You've already turned Elijah down. What good is changing your mind now? What happens when you say something to Elijah, but he's moved on? Because we both know that he will. Elijah doesn't do 'alone.' And Stefan isn't going to wait forever, Elena. You could do much worse than him."

But she couldn't shake the feeling that she could also do better… Elijah managed to invoke feelings that she'd never experienced before. Even through their most intense, most passionate moments, whatever she shared with Stefan fell short. "If you like Stefan so much, you get together with him and ride off into the sunset."

"I would love to, but he doesn't even know I exist," Caroline muttered. "Elena, there is nothing you could possibly say right now that would get me to agree to this stupid idea of yours."

The brunette shook her head. "No. And I don't know why I'm bothering to speak to you about this. It isn't as if I need your approval for anything."

"Because you know that what you're thinking is wrong," Caroline told her flatly. "Because you know that despite knowing ahead of time that you are insanely close to hurting Stefan and breaking off your relationship with him, that it isn't completely holding you back and you're looking for me to agree with you. And I won't do it."

"Elena…come on in," Stefan said, opening his door for her.

She shook her head. "That's not necessary. I won't be staying long," Elena explained with a firm tone of voice.

He sighed in response and his shoulders dropped. "You changed your mind, haven't you?" There was no accusation in his voice.

She bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. I…I can't marry you. For one glorious moment I thought I could."

"You can marry me," his voice broke. "You just don't want to." What had happened in the course of two hours? "Where's this coming from? Why?"

"Elijah came over tonight."

He fisted his hands. "Of course he did," he muttered darkly. He'd never felt comfortable about Elena's friendship with Elijah. The two of them were simply too close for comfort.

"He told me that he loves me."

"And I'm not enough," he surmised, jumping to conclusions.

She immediately shook her head to stop his thoughts. "No," she denied. "That isn't it. Stefan, I do love you, and I know that we could be happy together."

"So…what?" What was the issue then? She'd already admitted that they could work together.

"Because I shouldn't be entertaining the thought of another man when I'm engaged," she whispered, ashamed of her feelings. "Because despite whatever relationship I share with Elijah, I shouldn't have these thoughts if I am as in love with the man I'm going to marry as I should be."

"And this is…your way of asking me to wait for you?" Because he wouldn't do it.

She shook her head. "I would never ask that of you." She would never insult him in such a way. "But I need to know. I don't want to regret not knowing how things could have worked out."

"I won't ask you again. If you're serious about going to him, you might as well forget about me."

Elena replied with a grave nod. "And I'm sorry that I'm hurting you like this." Because she knew what it felt like to love someone who didn't return the sentiment. "Would you have rather I cheated on you?"

"I'd have rather preferred it if my fiancé wasn't in love with another man," he sneered then, unable to help himself.

His words stung her, but she did her best to hide it. Stefan had a right for his anger, she just wasn't used to having it directed at her. "It isn't as if I chose to love him," she whispered, wanting him to know that she hadn't anticipated on changing her mind within hours.

He shook his head. "But you're choosing him now, over me." It didn't matter how she spun it; she was choosing someone other than him. "For your sake, I hope you don't come to regret this decision," Stefan added before quietly shutting the door behind him.

"Me too," she breathed to herself.

"Elena?" Elijah greeted, not expecting her. After leaving her house under the circumstances that he had, he didn't think he'd been seeing her for days.

"We need to speak," she said. Hearing the sound of rustling coming from inside his house, she frowned. "Is this a bad time?"

"Not at all." He had nothing to hide from her. Opening his door wider, he invites her in.

As soon as she moved past him, Elena gave pause as to viewing the person responsible for the noise she'd heard. Hours after confessing his feelings for her, he invites another woman over?!

"You remember Hayley, right?" He asked, feeling uncomfortable in that moment. The look on Elena's face was one of betrayal.

"Of course," she answered tightly. She offered the other woman a thin smile, but made no further move to greet her.

"Hi, Elena," Hayley greeted cautiously, never having felt comfortable in the other woman's presence. "How are you?" Her question was nothing more than a polite inquiry.

"Good." It wasn't as if Hayley cared if she was well or not.

"Good," Hayley nodded. "Well, I'm off," she excused herself, feeling uncomfortable over the tension that Elena's presence brought. "Thank you for the conversation, Elijah."

Elena waited as Elijah followed his former lover out the door. Cautiously stepping further into the room, she spotted two glasses of wine, but other than that, there were no signs to give away exactly what transpired between the two. When she heard him shuffle back into the room, she spun around to face him. Her eyes sparked in mixture of annoyance and jealousy. "Hayley Marshall? Really? Please tell me you didn't fall for whatever sob story she told you," she hissed.

He'd known that Elena had never really liked Hayley, but he'd never seen her react in such a way. "Elena…"

"I mean it, Elijah," her eyes flashed once again.

"Elena…" He tried again.

His plea fell on deaf ears. "There are two kinds of people in the world. There are those that have nothing but bad luck, that can't control the problems that arise in their lives. And then there are those that create their own issues; the latter in which Hayley belongs to."

"She's pregnant, Elena," he divulged then. "And Tyler wasn't exactly thrilled when she told him." Despite the fact that his relationship with her hadn't worked out, they had remained friends. And he would support Hayley.

"Yeah?" She asked all too casually. "Well, if I was stupid enough to tie myself to Hayley for the rest of my life, I wouldn't be thrilled either."

He knew then that if he said something in support of the other woman, he would live to regret it. He didn't understand Elena's hostility, he never had. It wasn't as if Hayley had given him an ultimatum to choose between them…and he certainly hoped that Elena wouldn't. "Did you have something you wanted to discuss, or would you like to continue to vent about Hayley?"

His inquiry killed the hot air she'd been feeling. Exhaling a deep breath she sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I just…old habits die hard I guess," she attempted to excuse.

He offered her a small smile in reply.

"I actually had a reason for coming over here tonight."

"Yes, I assumed as much," his tone didn't give anything away.

"I had an interesting conversation with Caroline earlier. And I learned something…"

"Am I to guess what that is?" He asked when she trailed off in a seemingly dramatic way.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that you had a crush on me in high school?" She asked, deciding to just go for it.

"Because during that time in your life, I was nothing more than Elijah Mikaelson, your friend. You didn't even know I existed in a romantic sense," he answered with a shrug.

"I didn't know anyone existed," she denied.

He nodded along with her. "And I never harbored any resentment towards you about it. You were happy with your school work and remaining friends and I didn't think that telling you was important enough to disrupt that."

"But it didn't last…" She finished. "Your feelings for me…"

"I moved on, yes. I was content enough to have you in my life as my friend." He would have rather had her in that role than having chased her off by initiating a romantic entanglement and it not working out. "When I realized that you had no particular affection for me, it was easy to."

"And what about college?" Elena asked, putting her feelings for him during that time, out there. While he'd never mentioned it, he must have known how she felt.

"By then you'd become such an important part of my life, I didn't want to dare risk our friendship in the chances that a relationship between us wouldn't work out."

She had to admit that it was understandable, it was part of the reason why she'd never spoke to him of her feelings. "So then what changed?" Elena asked.

He sighed, shaking his head sadly. "I couldn't stand by and watch your relationship with Stefan progress any further," he admitted in a quiet voice. The irony didn't escape him. For more than four years, she harbored feelings. She'd witnessed all of his relationships since then, but she had never said anything.

She nearly snorted upon hearing his reasoning. "But it was okay for me to watch you with all of your girlfriends?"

"I didn't say it made sense," he replied. "All I know, is that the idea of you spending the rest of your life with someone other than me, drives me crazy," his eyes focused on her. "I…somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you." Moving closer to her, he framed her face in his hands. "Don't marry him, Elena. Give me a chance. Give us a chance," he breathed.

"What if things don't work out?" She asked, hating that such doubts plagued her.

"It's you and me, Elena. It's always been you and me." He hadn't known it at the time, and it wasn't until the night that his relationship with Hayley ended that it was mentioned to him. Hayley had said that there'd been three of them in their relationship, her, him and Elena. Even if Elena hadn't been there physically, she'd been there. And upon reflection, he realized it was true. "How could they not work out? You know me better than anyone." Just as well as he knew her. "I will do my very best to ensure that you never regret giving me a chance."

She shook her head, as if doubting the idea. Elijah was one of the most important people in her life, he had been since they first met. Could she really jeopardize that? What if things didn't work between them? She couldn't lose him

Taking advantage of their silence; he pulled her against him, crashing his lips against hers. When she didn't immediately respond, his lips held firm. Pouring every emotion into the kiss, he refused to give up.

She went rigid in his embrace, not expecting his action. Gathering her wits, she gasped against his mouth. And as if using the situation to his advantage, he thrust his tongue into her mouth; attempting to coax her into responding.

Her tongue finally met his and he wasn't sure who moaned first, but it was long overdue. She submitted willingly, melting into his embrace. And as long as she was responsive, he was ready and willing. When he finally broke contact with her, the two of them were breathing heavily.

"I know you felt that," he heaved.

"Ready to go, Elena?"

Elena turned her attention to her husband and Annalise frowned at the interruption. "But the story isn't over!"

"Mommy will save the rest for tomorrow night," he denied, leaning down and placing a kiss on his daughter's forehead.

Annalise pouted as she turned back to her mother. "But you didn't finish," she said again.

"Well, what do you think happened?" Elena inquired softly.

"It was about you and daddy, wasn't it?" The young girl asked.

Elena only smiled in response.

"I think that they lived happily ever after," Annalise said closing her eyes.

"Maybe so. Goodnight, darling," Elena said, kissing her on her cheek before joining her husband at the bedroom door. Switching off the light, they closed the door softly behind them.

"She loves your stories," Elijah voiced, reaching for her hand and placing a kiss on the back of it.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to brush up on your story telling skills," she gently replied.

"But why subject her to a mediocre performance when you're here?"

"Because when the baby comes, I won't have as much free time," she denied. Elena watched for his reaction. She knew he wouldn't be upset by her revelation, but they hadn't discussed having more children. As much as they loved Annalise, she'd been a surprise. She'd come along before they even got married.

"Baby?" He breathed, looking at her in awe.

She nodded. "I still need to go to the doctor, but I'm anticipating a September delivery."

"A baby," he murmured, staring at her stomach, as if searching for any physical signs.

"That is okay, right?" She asked. "You're happy?"

"Happy?" He was beyond happy. "I'd have three more with you." The last time they discussed enlarging their family count, it had been three years earlier when Annalise had just turned two. However, their struggles with potty-training kept them from giving in. Since then, neither had mentioned the subject, but he couldn't say he was upset. "If they're anything like Anna, I'd have half a dozen more."

"I don't think I could handle seven children," she laughed off. "But I wouldn't mind one or two more. Maybe a son, a mirror image of his father…"

"Hmmm, and here I was hoping for another girl with your hair," Elijah shared. "You know, a true love story never ends," he tacked on after a beat. "Happy Valentine's Day, Elena."

"Happy Valentine's Day," she repeated, leaning in and kissing him.

The End