Title: Forever
Author: EenaAngel
Rating: Pg-13, for language.
Disclaimer: LJ Smith owns all TVD characters.
Spoilers: None really, maybe general season one spoilers.
Summary: "You and I made a promise. Forever. Two years is not forever."
A/N: Gah! This was supposed to be a drabble, but now is a ficlet. Future-fic, in response to the Bamon Drabble Party at bubbly_fics LJ: .com/bubbly_?thread=258010#t258522
Prompt: 'Now that we're here, it's so far away
All the struggle we thought was in vain
All the mistakes, one life contained
They all finally start to go away
Now that we're here, it's so far away
And I feel like I can face the day
I can forgive, and I'm not ashamed
To be the person that I am today' (So far Away by Staind)
~O~O~O~
She leaves him in New York, speeding away in such a rush that she takes nothing with her. It's okay, because she's got cash from her Grams and she doesn't need him for anything. It's stupidity that made her join him in the first place; the kind of stupidity brought on by grief, despair, and fear.
She goes (predictably) home. She makes no plans to stay; it's gone too far for her to stay. She peeks in on the people she loves, who have, somehow, moved on without her. Her father seems older, but there's a new light in his eyes. He has a new girlfriend, it's a long time in the making, and hopefully that makes up for some of the hurt in his life.
Caroline is as she always is; perky, blonde, and lovable. The blonde isn't as wide-eyed and innocent as she was just ten years past; some of it has tempered out with age. The rest of it was lost a while back, in that hellish seventeenth year. But Caroline carries on, twenty-six, happily married, and obviously pregnant. She looks at her former friend and sees a handsome young boy, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and spoiled rotten. He'll be named Matthew, after his father, and he'll run this town much like his mother.
Jeremy is long gone from town, but Jenna remains. Alaric has stayed with her, but it does little to comfort the woman. She knows there is nothing she can do for Jenna, and it makes her weep. She leaves Mystic Falls, wiping away tears and nursing a wounded heart.
Los Angeles is first, and the city is beautiful in spite of its many faults. She spends months hopping from beach to beach, soaking up sunshine that will no longer tint her skin. She picks up surfboarding, because that's what you do in Los Angeles. There's serenity to be found, sitting all by one's self in the middle of the ocean. It gives her time to think, to reflect, to finally hear her own voice again.
She leaves because she doesn't want him to find her. Four months is pushing it and she can feel him coming. She's on a plane before he can touch down in California. She goes to Vancouver, Canada, because she's never been to Canada (and more importantly, she's never been there with him). There's more nature there than she's seen before. The forests that cover the region remind her of home at times, but it's different. Everything's so green and calm, yet it's never quiet. The mountains are breathtaking and she spends the winter months skiing and snowboarding. It's a quick two months, because he's found her out, but she loves it. She thinks one day she'll return.
She's in Europe in two days and that's when the chase really begins. She hops from country to country, leading him in a chase around the Continent for near three years. Then she fakes left and races for China. She thinks it's a big enough country for herself to lose herself in, and she manages a three month respite this time. It's almost a miracle; he's getting faster and faster as time goes on. She goes from village to village, travelling the Chinese countryside with one eye looking behind her at all times.
She slides up into Russia next, hoping to have more luck there. But he knows the place better than she does and he gets very close to her in Moscow. But she's not above using her magic to run away; still, she cuts it close. Her wild escape leads her to the Middle East and she hides in Jerusalem for a month. It's strange being in a holy place, being what she is now. She ponders becoming religious for a while, but it's not real for her anymore. It's the focus on the immortal soul that does it for her; she's no longer sure she has one to send to heaven.
She departs the Holy City feeling alone and abnormal. She runs for the deserts of African, stalking across the sands of Egypt to find the pyramids on her own. It amuses her to be able to come to these places now; she used to dream of seeing these wonders when she was younger. It's not as rewarding now, because she can take in its size and majesty, but it's human. Things that were once flawless now held cracks all too visible to her eye. Their timelessness reminds her of her own eternity and she imagines herself being just like them one day; a preserved relic of a time long past.
Her travels through Africa are longer than any others. Five years she spends, walking from place to place, seeing so much of humanity that sometimes her head hurts. She emerges from Africa in tattered, dirty clothes and such a filthy countenance that it takes her a couple of cleaning to return her to her former state. Five years of dirt is stubborn in coming off, but she peals back the layers and starts anew, feeling more herself than she has in years.
It's almost a decade after the fact, but she's in France when he finally tracks her down. She's sitting by herself in a little café downtown Paris. It's nearly closing time, sunset having been hours ago. She's sipping at a cup of tea, lightly nipping at a croissant and pretending to read a book when she's really listening and watching all the humans around her. She likes to come to Paris in summertime, if only because it's honeymoon season and there are so many newlyweds here. They're all so full of love and promise that it makes her nostalgic. She thinks of another couple, one that had wanted to come here. They never made it, but she sees echoes of them everywhere she turns in this city. Ten years ago, hell even five years ago, that would have been enough to make her leave. But she thinks she can appreciate it now, remember with fondness instead of pain.
He's in the seat next to her before she gets even a glimmer of his presence. His hand clamps down on her wrist and squeezes hard. She jerks slightly and looks at him with slight fear. He looks just like he did that last day in New York, and yet so different. His blue eyes are like ice and his jaw twitches just ever so slightly. She never would have seen that twitch fifteen years ago, but her eyes rarely miss a thing now.
"Forever," he says. "You and I made a promise. Forever. Two years is not forever."
"How did you-"
He raises a hand, a pendant dangling from his fingertips. "Found one in Romania-she's almost as powerful as you."
She places her tea back on the table, not bothering to try and free her hand. "Two years was long enough," she finally replies.
"You promised," he repeats. "You promised her and I promised him. We swore to them, while they were . . ."
She blinks back tears and shakes her head. "They didn't see how it would end," she mutters. "They wouldn't have asked it if they knew-"
"Knew what?" he leans in close and his voice drops to a deadly whisper. "What changed?"
Anger courses through her. "You know exactly why," she spits back at him. "How the hell did you think I wouldn't notice?"
His eyes flicker, the ice melting for a second. "I have to feed, so do you," he grumbles, fingers flexing along her wrist while the grip remained tight.
"And who do you look for when you feed?" she rolls her eyes. "You honestly didn't think I would notice? Long brown hair, large brown eyes, pale skin, heart-shaped face-you want me to go on?"
His grip tightens for a second, hard enough to crush a human hand. "It's not a good enough reason," he growls.
"How would you feel if I kept looking for Stefan in every face?" she asks with venom. "And the worst is, I don't really know who it really is. Is it Elena, or is it Katherine? Who do you go looking for every night?"
"No one!" he snaps at her. "No one, because they're all dead. But I've spent the last ten years chasing your stubborn ass all across the whole fucking planet! Doesn't that tell you anything?"
"That you've got territorial issues?" she arches a brow at him. "It's not a surprise."
"Shit! Stop it Bonnie! What do you want from me? I promised forever-to her and to you. That's all I can do-it's more than I've ever done for anybody."
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?"
"I haven't slept properly in ten years! I've been looking, searching, and missing you by this much for ten years! And it's over, because I'm not chasing you anymore. You're not leaving my side, for the rest of forever."
Her upper lip curls in derision. "You can't keep me if I want to go," she says.
"Maybe, but you're not getting it," he looks at her and his whole face softens. Blue eyes run over her face and it's almost like a caress of fingers. She fidgets and looks away, because she doesn't want emotions clouding her judgement. Cold fingers brush her chin and turn her head back. He cups her cheek and traces a thumb lazily over her cheeks.
"You don't understand," he starts again. "I'll only need to keep you for six months. Six months and you'll see-you won't want to go."
She snorts, because she doesn't know if he's sincere or if it's just his over-inflated ego speaking yet again. His face goes hard again and his eyes flash dangerously. "I mean it. One day without you was too hard-you can't even think of what I've been through the past decade. Six months, and I'll prove it. You owe it to her and to me-let me try."
She doesn't want to do this again. She doesn't want to start something that's bound to hurt her again. But he's right and it's so much harder to resist him when she's looking him right in the face. She closes her eyes and tries to calm herself. Six months is nothing, especially when you have an eternity to go.
She says nothing, but nods once. His fingers slide along her wrist and his hold turns gentle as he brings her hand up to his mouth. He places a quick, but reverent, kiss on her knuckles and she has to fight the tears from coming. He straightens and tugs her hand lightly. She slides over, leaving her seat to settle herself on his lap. She presses her forehead against his, her hand going up so her fingers can tangle themselves in his silky black hair.
"Don't make me regret this," she whispers against his lips. He nods and wraps his arms around her. He kisses her once, softly on the lips, and then gets to his feet. He takes her by the hand and starts to walk down the road.
She follows.
~O~O~O~