A/N: Here it is! The Winter/Christmas Break chapter that was requested. It was nice to write about something happy again! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story. It was amazing to write!

Elena smiled brightly as his truck came to a stop. She looked around, seeing a small log cabin surrounded by nothing but white. She loved the snow and could barely contain her excitement since Mystic Falls hadn't seen any yet this year. Stefan shut the truck off and smiled at her. He was a total genius. She was already in love with the place and she hadn't even set foot outside of the truck. "Come on, let's go look inside" he said, opening the door of his truck and jumping out. She did the same, the cold air instantly hitting her face. She wrapped her scarf around her and shut the door.

Stefan grabbed her larger bag and they made their way to the front door. He got the lock open and followed her inside. Elena stopped in awe at the sight before her. The entire one bedroom cabin was decorated for Christmas, complete with a Christmas tree. Although they would be back home in time for Christmas, she still liked the idea of having a tree where she was vacationing. "So" Stefan said, walking up behind her and placing his arms around her. "What do you think?" he asked, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Elena smiled brightly as she turned to face him. "I think you spoil me" she told him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Stefan returned her smile as he leaned in. "I do. I do spoil you" he mumbled against her lips before capturing them for a proper kiss. Elena eagerly kissed him back while his hands began inching underneath her shirt.

"Mmm" she said, breaking the kiss and pushing on his chest lightly. "Hold that thought" she grinned, moving away from him. He turned around and watched her open the door. "I want to go out and play in the snow first!" she said excitedly, running out of the cabin and off into the wooded area.

Stefan grabbed his gloves and ran after her, shutting the door on his way out. He looked around the whiteness and saw no one. "Elena?" he called. She didn't answer. A moment of worry overcame him; the thought of anything happening to her terrifying him.

But as a ball of snow came into contact with the back of his neck, running down his jacket, he knew she was perfectly safe. Well, not from his revenge. He heard her erupt into a fit of giggles as he turned around, trying to get the remaining snow out of his jacket. "I know you are going to retaliate" she told him, a smile still on her face. He always did. "But that was so worth it."

Stefan scowled at her. "You're lucky I love you" he told her, walking in her direction.

Elena thought about running, but maybe sucking up to him would keep him from shoving snow down her jacket. "I'm sorry" she said, walking towards him with her arms out for a peace-offering hug. Stefan accepted her hug, momentarily forgetting about what she had done. "Wanna go inside and I'll make it up to you?" she asked suggestively. He liked the sound of that.

"Yeah" he answered. She felt his arm go under her legs as he picked her up. Only to her horror, he was not going toward the cabin. He was heading farther out into the woods. "Stefan!" she said, eyeing the snow bank that he was walking towards. "Stefan, no!" she begged. But he kept walking, all the way until he plopped her into the snow and watched her sink. Snow went up her jacket and down her pants. "Stefan!" she yelled, attempting to stand in all that snow.

He chuckled at her predicament. "Rule number one" he said, grabbing on to her and pulling her out. "I always get revenge" he grinned.

It was her turn to scowl at him now. "Now I need a hot shower" she stated.

"Perfect. Me too" he smiled. He grabbed her and pulled her close to him. "I can even help you get these wet clothes off" he said.

Elena couldn't help but smile as his lips brushed against hers. "Okay" she murmured.

With that, Stefan grabbed her hand and led her back inside. Their clothes left a trail to the bathroom, but neither seemed to mind. No one else was there to care, so why should they?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Day two and Stefan was already dreading having to leave the following night. They had done absolutely nothing but spend time with one another. In bed. On the couch. In the shower. And Stefan's new favorite spot – the hot tub. He thought they would want at least five minutes alone, but she followed him everywhere and he followed her right back. Her hands were either in his or in his pockets. His hands were constantly touching her in some way, never seeming to get enough of her.

And here they were again, sitting in the large chair in front of the fire, wrapped in a blanket. Elena had her head resting on his shoulder, contemplating sleep. Stefan had his arms securely around her. He had been waiting all day, both excited and terrified by her reaction. But it was the perfect moment. "I have something for you" he said softly.

She turned her head to look up at him and smiled. "It's not Christmas yet" she reminded him just as quietly.

Stefan smiled at her. "This isn't a Christmas present" he told her. He had already bought her some ridiculously expensive pair of boots months ago. He could have cared less about what he had to pay for them. It was what he had had to go through to get them. The mall at 5 AM with a bunch of crazy women all wanting the same boots. Of course they were limited in quantity. Because the store had wanted to make his life miserable. The women shoved him, yelled at him, and ripped boxes of shoes out of his hands. It was a miracle that he had made it out alive. But in the end, he had gotten the boots that he knew she really wanted, but that she would never have bought for herself.

"So what kind of present is it then?" she asked curiously, sitting up and readjusting herself in his lap.

Stefan reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and pulled out the small red velvet box. Elena looked at the box and then back at him and then back at the box again, her mouth falling open slightly. "Open it" he encouraged, handing it to her. Elena took it and slowly opened the box to reveal a white gold round and princess cut diamond ring. "It's a promise ring" he told her when she couldn't speak.

Elena looked up at him. "I know what it is" she told him, looking back down at the ring. "I just … I … Stefan, this is … this is beautiful" she said, finally spitting the words out.

Stefan took the box from her trembling fingers and took the ring out. He grabbed her left hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger. He looked up at her and smiled. "It fits perfectly." Elena nodded as she admired the sparkling ring on her finger. "Do you like it?" he asked cautiously. Because he could always take it back and get her something she wanted. If she even wanted a ring at all.

"No, I don't like it Stefan" she told him. "I love it" she said confidently. She looked back up at him and met his eyes.

"I love you Elena" he told her. "And I wanted something to show you and everyone else that I want to be with you, to marry you, to live the rest of my life with you" he explained. Elena didn't care if she was crying now. It was bound to happen when you were dating the most romantic guy on the planet. "I can't promise you what your future will look like, but I can promise you that it will include me."

"I love you Stefan. And I can't wait to see what our future holds" she said, allowing the silent tears to continue to fall. Stefan cupped her face with his hands and wiped away at the tears with his thumbs. He stared at her for a long moment, realizing how incredibly lucky he was. Then he leaned down and kissed her passionately. When his hands moved away from her face and trailed slowly down to the hem of her shirt, she broke the kiss with a smile. "Let's take this to the bedroom" she suggested, biting on the bottom of his lip playfully.

Stefan kissed her again while at the same time, standing up with her. Elena laughed lightly as he placed her legs around his waist and walked with her the short distance to the bedroom. He placed her on the bed, hovering over her as he kissed her. Their hands quickly went to work on removing each other's clothing.

Elena sat up, helping Stefan get her sweater off. She smiled up at him as he tossed the sweater onto the floor. Elena lifted her arms up as Stefan pulled her shirt up over her head next. Stefan's shirt came off soon after. He laid her back down, moving over her and kissing his way along her neck, missing the close contact. Elena sighed, running her hands along his back while kissing his shoulder.

It was the perfect way to spend the evening- in the middle of the mountains with Stefan as close as possible. "I love you" he whispered when he had kissed his way up to her ear.

Elena pulled his head back up to hers so she could kiss him. "Love you too" she said breathlessly, in-between their kisses.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Sometime later, Elena lay in Stefan's arms, staring into the mostly dark room. The only light was a few small candles that she had gotten up to light. The flames made shadows along the wall which she thought added to their romantic evening. Just when she thought he had fallen asleep, she felt him place a slow, lazy kiss on her forehead. "Do you want dinner?" he asked, maneuvering on top of her once again and kissing her. "Or do you want to do more of this?" he asked, continuing to kiss her.

Elena laughed as she felt his fingers move across her stomach. She squirmed under him. "That tickles" she told him. Stefan smiled against her cheek, moving his hands behind her back to where he knew she was less ticklish. "I actually want to go outside and walk in the snow. I saw some trails" she said.

Stefan groaned. "We can't be naked if we go outside" he reminded her. It was cold out there. He kissed her shoulder in an attempt to change her mind. But Elena had her mind set. She slipped out from under him and got out of bed, looking for her clothes. "Elena" he whined, collapsing on the bed.

"Come on Stefan, I want to go outside for a little bit" she said, grabbing her jacket, hat, and gloves. Seeing that he was not moving, she got back on the bed with him and kissed his cheek. "Please?" she asked.

From the time that Stefan and Elena had officially started dating, it was crystal clear that he could not say no to her and she knew it. A quick trip to the mall to pick up a new outfit often turned into Elena wanting to go into every store and look around, resulting in Stefan lugging around ten shopping bags as he followed after her. But he kind of liked it. He was finally important to someone else. More importantly, he had someone in his life who was important to him.

Stefan sighed. "Okay" he said, sitting up and getting out of bed. Elena quickly turned away from him. It was one thing to be in bed with him naked. It still made her blush to see him naked elsewhere. "Nothing you haven't seen before" he reminded. Elena blushed again and quickly left the room.

He found her staring out the window, watching the snow fall. "The snow is really coming down now" she said. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Think we will get stuck here?" she asked, turning her head to look up at him.

"They keep the roads clear" Stefan told her, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. He then grabbed her hand and led her toward the door. "We can't be late for Christmas" he said, opening the door and walking out with her. As soon as he shut the door, he grabbed her hand again and walked with her.

"You're still coming over Christmas morning, right?" she asked him, swinging her hand with his.

Stefan grinned. "Don't worry, I'll get you your Christmas present" he told her.

Elena bumped into him playfully. "That's not what I meant!" she told him. "It's just really important to me that we spend our first Christmas together" she admitted, wondering if she sounded too obsessed yet.

He tugged her closer to him. "I'll be there" he promised.

"Good" she said, feeling the excitement already. It was going to be hard celebrating Christmas without her parents. She needed Stefan there with her and her family. They wanted him there too. Elena brushed her hand against a tree branch and watched the snow fall off. "So you're spending Christmas Eve with Damon then?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head. "He'll be out of town" Stefan told her. Stefan wasn't sure where he was going or when he would be back. Not much had changed between them, but they were fighting less. Stefan decided that it was because he was being less confrontational towards Damon. Stefan also decided that it was because of Elena. She was the best distraction.

Elena decided that he couldn't spend the night before Christmas by himself. "Then it's settled. I will stay over on Christmas Eve" she said. "And we can wake up and go to my house."

"You don't have to do that" he told her. He was used to spending Christmas by himself.

"I want to" Elena told him, squeezing his hand.

He stopped them and turned to face her. "You are amazing, Elena. I don't know what I would do without you" he told her.

Elena felt herself blush. "You were doing fine without me before" she reminded him.

Stefan smiled sadly and shook his head. "I was taking it day by day, trying to make it" he said, seriousness coloring his voice. "But now, with you, I'm thinking about the future, and every day I wake up, I know it will be a good day, because I will get to see you."

"You are my reason for getting up most days" she admitted, thinking about how sometimes she wanted to stay in bed and think about all the bad things that had happened in her life recently.

Stefan pulled her close, moving close to her ear. "I'll always give you a reason to get up" he whispered.

Elena pulled away from him and smiled, her eyes becoming blurry from tears that threatened to spill. "I know" she smiled, nodding her head. "Thank you for this weekend. Just what I needed."

"Thank you for being here with me" he told her in return. He tugged on her hand and they began walking again.

They were silent for some time, the only sounds were the snow brunching beneath their boots and tree branches snapping. It was peaceful, but she felt the need to talk. "Do you think our parents would be happy, about us?" she asked, continuing to walk next to him. They hadn't talked very much about their parents lately and with it being the holidays, it made Elena think a lot more about them.

Stefan smiled softly. "I think they would want us to be happy" he told her. "Are you happy?" he asked her.

Elena smiled at the thought of the new ring on her finger, just under her glove. "Very. You?" she asked.

Stefan squeezed her hand. "Extremely" he replied. Elena scowled and yanked her hand away from him. "What?" he asked.

"You're doing it again" she accused, crossing her arms. He looked at her, pretending to be confused, though he knew what he was doing. Elena decided to clarify for him. "You're trying to one up me, again!"

Stefan smiled even more. "Am I?" he asked. She wasn't amused and he decided if he wanted to stay happy, he had better give in. "You're right. I'm sorry" he said. She still scowled at him, but her face was softening. "Don't be mad" he told her, grabbing her face with his hands. Stefan pulled her close and kissed her. "I'll make it up to you tonight" he whispered.

Elena couldn't help but smile. He had that effect on her, no matter how mad she was. "I look forward to it" she told him, grabbing his jacket and pulling him back in to kiss her. "I just might have a little something for you too when we get back" she said as soon as she pulled away from him.

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" he smiled. "Like what?" he asked her.

Elena shrugged. "It might involve something red and silky with very, very little material" she hinted, walking away from him. She failed at suppressing a smile, knowing that she had just made his night by hinting at what she might be wearing for him when they went to bed.

She heard fast footsteps crunching in the snow and then a strong pair of arms wrap around her. "Tell me more about this silky red thing you plan on showing me tonight" he said, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"You'll have to wait and see" she told him. "But I think you will love it" she added.

Stefan kissed her cheek and rested his head against hers. "You drive me insane" he sighed, trying to visually picture her in that little red silky thing.

Elena hugged his arms tighter around her. "I've been driving you insane since we were kids. I don't think that will ever change."

"I hope it won't" he told her, receiving her cue and holding her tighter. "Because that's what makes me love you even more" he smiled. He held her for a few minutes, both enjoying the falling snow and the snow-covered landscape surrounding them. He knew exactly what his parents would have said about his relationship with Elena. "My dad would have sat me down and told me I had better treat you right, because losing you would be one of the hardest things that could happen to me" he said quietly. "And my mom would have said, "It took you two long enough. Now when is the wedding?" he told her, smiling at the thought.

Elena nodded, a sad smile appearing as she agreed. "My dad would have taken you aside and told you how much I meant to him and how he wouldn't hesitate to hurt you if you hurt me" Elena said, taking her turn at guessing what her parents would have done. "Mom would have cried and then hugged us. Then she would have probably called everyone in Mystic Falls, making the announcement that we were finally together" she finished.

Stefan turned her around and brought her into a proper hug. "That's exactly what they would have done" he assured her, hugging her tighter. It was no secret that their parents always knew that they would end up together sooner or later. "If only we had listened to them sooner" he said.

"If only" Elena sighed. She looked up at him and smiled, trying to shake the sad feeling she had. Her parents had been so right about Stefan. He may not have been perfect, but he was perfect enough for her. "I love you, so much, Stefan Salvatore" she said happily.

He smiled. "I love you too, so much, Elena Gilbert" he told her. He would be a liar to say he didn't think about her with his last name. All in good time, he told himself. All in good time. "Come on, let's go back. It's getting cold out here" he told her.

Elena nodded, accepting his hand and walking back towards the cabin with him. She was truly excited about something for the first time since the accident. She was excited about her future with Stefan. Whatever happened, it was going to be epic.

END.