AUTHOR'S NOTE: I felt like I could punch out a couple more chapters to show Reese in her new lifestyle but I feel like characters struggling with their blood lust or characters having complete control early on has been done so many times already. So since this is a happy fic, I decided to skip over the grim details of her control and what not in favor of some Stefan/Reese time. Hope you don't mind.
Epilogue
One Year and a Few Days Later
Given that her first New Year celebration was just days after her transformation, Reese's second celebration was just as hard as the first. Reese had the best vampire teachers she could ask for but some things were just harder for others to grasp. The first celebration found Stefan dragging Reese far off into the woods, further away from town square where fireworks were being fired up into the sky every couple of minutes. Though Reese had only spent a few days on blood bags, he used that night to make her hunt animals based off of their scent and heartbeat.
After that particular night, Stefan and Caroline dragged her a few towns over and taught her to compel. Since they had lived in Mystic Falls for quite some time, they all felt guilty just thinking about using their stomping grounds as Reese's playground. So after driving a few hours, they found a seedy club and waited around the darkened allies for an unsuspecting jerk or an oblivious drunk to fall into their clutches. Though Stefan and Caroline felt a bit guilty, they managed to hold it together a few nights and let Reese mess with a few minds before teaching her the proper technique to feed.
Needless to say, after Reese's near draining of a couple of humans, Stefan called in Damon.
Damon's training was a lot harsher than Stefan and Caroline's but Reese took what she got. After she had gotten over the haze of blood lust, she cried for hours at nearly having drained a man dry. Damon taught her some defensive moves, more compulsion tricks to make sure she didn't leave any loopholes, and managed to get her to pay attention to the heart's thumping when feeding. He even showed her how alcohol curbs the cravings.
Surprisingly, all went well until Summer rolled back around and Liam came to stay.
Reese had been doing good with sticking to blood bags and going out once a month with Damon to feed straight from the vein. When Liam settled back into his Summer home, Reese made sure to never feed when he was around. He was stoked to see that Stefan had gotten her some magic jewelry so that they could continue to hang out around the pool while Reese annoyed him with singing her favorite songs.
They were outside more than usual but Liam never questioned it. He'd take whatever time he could to spend with his aunt since he almost lost her once. It was one of those days that they were sitting outside by the pool with Stefan and Caroline. The sun was nearly gone but there was enough light so that Liam could tell something was terribly wrong. His aunt was paler than usual and the entire time, Caroline kept shoving chips and popcorn at her. Stefan had tried to take her off to the side but she pushed him away and told him she was fine.
It happened when Liam was running around the pool that he slipped and fell right in front them, landing on his side and busting his elbow wide open. He hissed in pain, quickly sitting up to check the damage when he heard a weird hissing sound and found Stefan holding his aunt by the waist. His aunt who had her fangs bared at him as she struggled to get out of Stefan's grasp.
Caroline was there in the next instant, panicking as she pulled her hand back and slapped Reese across the face. "Snap out of it!", she had yelled. When Reese came to, she immediately started bawling when she caught Liam's tear-filled eyes and heard his erratically beating heart. She allowed Stefan to blur them away as Caroline helped clean Liam's wound and clean up any blood that was left outside.
When Liam finally calmed down, he contacted Reese to tell her that he was fine and she could come back. The phone conversation lasted several hours with Reese apologizing over and over, and ended with Reese staying with the Forbes while Stefan moved in with Liam for the rest of Summer. She couldn't afford another mishap.
So instead of chilling with his aunt, the rest of Liam's summer was spent with Skype dates with Reese who was only down the street. Caroline and Stefan supervised visits with him when Reese taught him how to read tarot cards and let him read up on what power he was to come into when he was ready.
Liam was soon sent back to Texas and Reese was ready to have more training so she didn't lose control. Thanksgiving was spent with the Forbes yet again and Halloween was the first boring one she ever had since she didn't trust herself around humans. Christmas gifts were purchased and shipped to Texas for Liam and Chris, and the second New Year was spent with Stefan edging Reese closer and closer to town square. She still couldn't stand the loud noises but she didn't flinch as bad whenever the firecrackers exploded in air.
Throughout her entire time of being a vampire, she only met with Bonnie and Matt a handful of time because since they were human, she didn't want her friends to be a temptation to her and they easily agreed to texting or calling. The only relationship that hadn't changed much was between Reese and Elena. While both vampires still despised each other, both females kept quiet for the sake of their boyfriends.
"One full year of being a vampire." Stefan teased. "Whatever shall we do?"
Reese rolled her eyes, smirking as she drank in the scenery of Times Square. "I don't know, you tell me. You're the one who dragged me all the way to New York."
Stefan laughed and threw an arm around her shoulders. "Hey, you deserve it. Even though your control still needs a bit of work, I thought I'd surprise you with a visit to the most populated place I knew."
Ever since the incident with Liam, Damon was back on control duty since he was the more experienced one and taught Reese to hold it together. The most she could do now was keep her fangs in check and run away if blood spilled. So far, she hadn't had a slip-up.
"You just wanna make sure I can hold it together."
"Yeah, well, you're doing a good job." Stefan smirked. "No fangs, no veins, and no irrational anger as of yet."
"And it's all thanks to the merry band of misfit vampires of Mystic Falls."
"You're hilarious, really." Stefan dead-panned. "Now hurry and pick something for us to do."
Reese giggled before whining. "I don't know what to do!" She whined. "This is my first time here, you pick!"
Stefan took a moment to think about all their choices as they weaved in and out of the crowd. "We could be like every other tourists and hit up sidewalk food joints."
"Please." Reese scoffed. "I'd rather eat the vendor."
"Bar it is!" Stefan amended with a snort. "Time to curb the craving."
"Mhm." Reese hummed as Stefan herded her to the nearest bar.
..
..
..
The bar that Stefan found them was probably the shadiest place Reese had ever been. She had just followed her ever-trusting boyfriend as he weaved them in and out of the people milling around before leading her down a seedy, wet alley way. There was a neon sign above a doorway that read Bobby's Tavern that they barely noticed given the time of day.
Shrugging at one another, the two entered what was probably the most rank smelling place they'd ever set foot in but it was what was to be expected given where they found it. Pushing aside the smell of sweat, B.O, and vomit- the two vampires settled down at the graffiti and sticker covered bar that was towards the middle of the right side wall.
Tacky christmas lights outline a partial mirror wall and shelves where all the liquor sits on display, and a heavily tattooed and pierced female bartender walks up the down the bar to take orders, give out drinks, and listen to anyone she deems worthy of her time.
There's a stage towards the back of the place where a few people are setting up amps possibly getting ready for the night and a guy passed out on a pool table but all Stefan and Reese are worried about is getting some alcohol in Reese's system to get her mind off of blood. The two vampires are seated a few bar stools down from two other men but other than that, there's no-one else in the place.
The bartender is serving one of two men when she catches sight of her new customers and frowns when she takes in how young they look.
"Please let me take care of this one." Reese pleads under her breath. Stefan catches her eye, a smirk slowly firming as he nods his consent.
When the bartender walks over to them, she places her hands flat against the bar-top and cocks a perfectly plucked and pierced eyebrow at them. "Just because we're hidden down an alley doesn't mean I don't card people."
Reese wolfishly grinned as she leaned forward across the bar-top in front of the bartender. Catching her eye, she makes her pupils dilate. "And just because I'm craving some good tequila, I'm not going to rip your throat out but I will tell you to loosen up and give me whatever we want. You know we're not underage."
"You're not underage." She repeats back. When Reese doesn't say anything more and settles back down, the bartender shakes her head a bit before plastering on an easy grin. "A bottle of our finest tequila coming up!"
Stefan snorts in amusement as soon as the bartender has her back turned and Reese nudges his shoulder with hers. "Shutup. You love me." She smiles.
..
..
..
Night time quickly falls and with the night comes in the night crowd for Bobby's Tavern. The bartender has had a skip in her step ever since Reese compelled her and she lazily grins at everyone who sits at her bar. The pool table is getting some play time and a few guys from some garage band are tuning their equipment, getting ready to play.
The crowd is gathering near the bar, the establishment getting warmer by the minute by everyone pressing together and Stefan starts to worry when everyone's heart seems to be beating in synchronization. If he can hear them loud and clear, he knows Reese can hear them loud and clear. He keeps a smirk plastered on his face so he doesn't set Reese on edge and from the corner of his eye, he sees her sweat starting to bead at her hairline. She quickly downs her shot, breathes in deeply from her mouth, and turns to face him.
"I'm going to head to the bathroom. Don't let anyone take my seat."
She's grinning for his sake but Stefan knows what she's going through. "You sure you want to go alone?"
Her grin falters but she nods anyway. "Yeah. I have to take off the training wheels someday."
Stefan doesn't deny her so she leans in quickly, pecking him on the corner of his mouth before flouncing away and pushing herself between the thrumming bodies. The hallway leading to the bathrooms have people grouped together in groups of three or four but Reese doesn't care about any of their shady business at the moment. She makes it to the women's bathroom which is just as graffiti littered and covered in stickers as the bar and bypasses the stalls to make it to the sinks.
Her throat is burning and she can feel gums aching as she keeps her fangs in check. She hasn't had any blood since the morning and her hunger is tired of being ignored and drowned in alcohol. Gripping the porcelain sink in her hands, Reese breathes in deeply from her mouth and lets it out slowly through her nostrils.
"Hey, are you okay?" a voice startles her from her breathing and when she looks up, she's faced with a slender female with streaks of green, pink, and blue in her hair choppy chest length hair. The girl is pale, dark eye makeup making her eyes doe-like and her clothes give off a punk vibe.
Reese settles her gaze on the girl, her senses on high alert and mutely nods. The mystery girl doesn't buy the lie and Reese knows she's in trouble the second she feels her eyes pulse and her fangs lengthen for a quick second in her mouth. The moment the girl's eyes widen, Reese mentally swears before she has the girl pinned to the wall in one of the empty stalls with her hand muffling her screams. "Don't scream." She immediately compels her. "Don't fight me."
The girl falls silent and Reese lets her hand fall away as the girl settles down. She sighs in relief, thanking every one of her lucky stars that no-one else is in the bathroom. She takes a moment to think about compelling the girl to forget their meeting in the bathroom and running back to Stefan but the burning sensation in her throat hits her again.
The second her thirst hits her, her eyes change and her fangs are back in place. She can hear the quickening of the girl's heart and doesn't think twice about yanking the girl's head to the side and sinking her fangs in. The girl flinches but doesn't move away and Reese has a split second of guilt before the blood has every nerve ending in her body singing with pleasure. She takes just enough blood so that her throat isn't burning anymore but when she pulls away, her fangs don't recede and she has second thoughts about diving right back in taking more.
Luckily, girls giggling and stumbling into the bathroom snaps her out of her blood haze and Reese takes a moment to clean the bite mark she created. She and the girl she just fed from stand there, Reese waiting out the other girls so they can leave and when they do, she breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay, so like, I'm really sorry about feeding off you without your consent but I was really hungry and well, at least I didn't kill you." She says exasperatedly. When the human blood bag just blinks at her, Reese rolls her eyes. "I don't even know why I apologized. It's not like you're going to remember this." She locks eyes with the girl and allows her pupils to dilate. "You're going to forget about the last three minutes. You walked in here, thought you were going to be sick, and I held your hair back. You're going to walk out of this bathroom and go back to whoever you came with. If they ask questions about you looking sick, go along with it, head home, and get some rest."
Reese then steps back from the girl, opening the stall door when the girl blinks and comes out of it. "W-what's going on?"
"You don't remember?" Reese frowns as she plays along with her plan. "I think you were about to be sick and you kind of rushed into the stall without knocking." She bits her bottom lip in false embarrassment.
The girl takes in their shared stall before blushing herself. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" She squeaks. "I- I don't know what I was thinking."
"It's okay." Reese waves her off. "Happens to the best of us." She and the girl walk out of the stall, the girl making a be-line for the sinks as Reese heads for the door.
It doesn't take Reese long to make her way back to the open space of Bobby's Tavern and it takes even less time for Reese to narrow her gaze at the blonde hussy in a leather black skirt and slinky belly shirt sitting a little too close to her boyfriend. With her mood already in the dumps from feeding on the girl in the bathroom, her mood turns even more sour and when her eyes pulse funny once again, only this time it's in anger and not in hunger. Stefan was kindly making small talk with the female but the female was grinning a little too flirtatiously and deviously for Reese's liking.
A hiss escaped from her lips before she could even stop it but it was enough to catch Stefan's attention anyway. His smile dimly faltered and he looked like he was a second away from running to Reese's side but as soon as Reese's vampire visage slipped away, he settled back into his stool.
Reese's lips then tilted upward in a playful smirk and Stefan knew trouble was on it's way.
The hussy was mid-laugh when Reese squeezed between them, grabbing Stefan's unfinished drink and downing it on one go. She grinned, winked at Stefan, and whooped when the bartender slid her another drink.
"Excuse you." The blonde scowled. "You're interrupting my friend and I."
Reese feigned innocence as she sipped her newest drink, her head swiveling back and forth between Stefan and the blonde. "Oh, I'm sorry. I hadn't realized my boyfriend and I were meeting any friends here." The blonde's scowl faltered as Reese turned to Stefan and threw in a hey, babe.
Stefan knows he should stop this, he really should, but the blonde jumps right back in as she slinks off her stool to stand. "Well your boyfriend didn't seem like he was here with anyone. Maybe he was looking for a little unattached fun." She crosses her arm over her chest, pushing her breasts tighter together and cocks a smug eyebrow at Reese.
"Please. Please, stop." Reese turns to fully face her and laughs right in her face. "You're giving desperate women a bad name."
The people around them who are in hearing distance catch their words, majority of them stopping to watch the two females go back and forth. They're staring each other down, the blonde with a sneer on her face and Reese challenging her with a raised eyebrow. The tension is so thick that they finally catch the attention of the laid-back bartender.
"Ladies.. ladies. Let's calm down an-"
"Shutup, you deranged hippie!" Reese snaps at her the same time that the blonde says, "Fuck off."
The blonde's tone towards the bartender sets Reese off for some strange reason and the moment she swings her hand back, Stefan catches her wrist and tugs her back. The blonde who saw Reese swinging back looks outraged and before anyone could stop her, she swings her own hand back and slaps Reese across the face. The sounding slap gains a few oohhs from the crowd and before Stefan and Reese can come out of their shocked stupor, a fist is suddenly slamming into the side of the blondes face.
Reese then realizes that the pummeling fist is connected to the arm of the girl she fed on in the bathroom, the girl who winks encouragingly at Reese in support before all hell breaks loose there at the bar and Stefan quickly drags Reese away from the scene.
The second they get outside, the damp air hitting their skin, Stefan lets go of Reese and rounds on her with a curious gaze. He continues to stare at her as she squirms under his gaze and the commotion is still on going inside the bar. A few people trickle out of the tavern, laughing at the fight that just seems to be getting bigger and bigger, and Stefan finally breaks. "What was that in there?"
"Completely not my fault." She blurts and avoids making eye contact. "You know our emotions are amped up so you knew jealousy was going to get the best of me."
Stefan lips twitch. "Understandable." He concedes. "But what was up with the deranged hippie comment and then snapping when that girl told the same bartender to fuck off? And who was the one that threw the punch?"
Reese nervously chuckles as she finally meets his gaze. "I actually liked that bartender and deranged hippie was the meanest thing I could think of without actually being harsh." She shrugs. "And that girl was, maybe, the same girl I snacked off of and then compelled to believe that the reason we were in the same stall together was because she barged in on me thinking she was sick but I still stayed there to hold her hair back so that was probably her way of paying me back for being nice."
The silence that follows seems like forever when Stefan suddenly throws his head back and laughs. "You are seriously.. not normal." He continues to laugh.
"Yeah, whatever." Reese snorts. "You still love me."
"That I do." Stefan's eyes crinkle in amusement, eyes lighting up in the dim light. "Now come on," He steps closer to her, throwing an arm around her shoulders and tugging her closer to him. "Lets go somewhere that you can't start a bar fight."
..
..
..
Reese was thankful that Stefan hadn't brought up her impromptu feeding session back in the bar and followed her boyfriend as she skipped around him and annoyed him to tell her where he was taking her. Stefan had only chuckled, smiled the entire time with his hands deep into his pockets, and denied her requests of knowing where they were headed.
After a good fifteen minutes of walking along the streets of New York City, Stefan dragged Reese down yet another darkened alley.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Reese teased him. "I'm getting a feeling you have a thing for dark scary places."
"Ha. Ha." Stefan rolled his eyes. "We're almost there."
"If you say so." Reese sing-songed.
They continued to walk through the alley only to re-emerge into a brightly lit up street that looked like the streets of Las Vegas. Not that Reese would know what the streets of Las Vegas looked like because she hadn't been but she's seen TV and those Hangover movies that she'd be willing to reenact with Caroline and Bonnie one of these days.
Reese took a moment to catalog the late-night cafes, music stores, and even a book store for future reference or maybe a last minute visit before they left when she caught sight of a tattoo parlour. She suddenly had a longing for another tattoo, her hand drifting to her throat where one of her magical markings used to be, and searched for the street names to come back at a later date.
She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, her eyes being trained on the tattoo shop that was named Ashes to Ashes, that she hadn't realized she stepped into the street. She only realized a second later when a hand gripped her shoulder, pulling her back into a solid chest just as a taxi zoomed by honking it's horn at her.
"Just because you're a vampire doesn't mean that a hit like that would be pleasant."
"Very funny." Reese dead-panned once her breathing evened out. She took a step forward, only to turn to face Stefan who was smirking at her.
"Come on." He held out one of his hands for her. "I know some people around here."
Reese took Stefan's hand without complaint, grinning as she entwined their fingers and jogged across the street while avoiding any oncoming taxis. She laughed as they got honked at, was tempted to flip them off but before she could, Stefan headed towards the glass doors of Ashes to Ashes.
"What are we-"
"You're getting a tattoo." He cut her off. "Getting tattooed is different for vampires and since you're a fan of them, I figured I'd introduce you to one of the only vampire tattoo places to exist."
Reese beamed, pulling Stefan to a stop as she planted an unexpected kiss to his lips. "Best. Boyfriend. Ever."
"I try. Now lets go. Ramon has you scheduled for right about now."
The vampire duo entered the vampire establishment that looked like every other tattoo shop. The walls were dark, covered in original paintings and drawings in every type of artistic element. Small tables that sat in front of the glass windows held magazines and binders to help clients get an idea of what they wanted their tattoo to look like, and a wall to the right was littered with sketches of every tattoo that had been done in the establishment. Off to the left was a glass counter, jewelry for piercings and cleaning supplies on display as a heavily tattooed woman sat behind the counter looking bored. She was deathly pale- Reese couldn't tell if it was makeup or not- and from the skin that was on display, Reese could see that she was pretty much tattooed from the neck down. Black painted lips pursed in interest as she eyed Stefan and Reese, her eyes lighting up in recognition a second later.
"Stefan Salvatore." She grinned. "Long time no see. What has it been.. twenty three years?"
"Hey, Amelia." He smiled in a friendly manner. "I can't believe you're still working here."
"Eh." She shrugged. "Ramon would miss me if I left." Stefan chuckled and Reese cleared her throat, Amelia's eyes sliding over to her. "And who do we have here?"
"Reese Emerson." She introduced herself. "Stefan's girlfriend."
Amelia cocked an eyebrow as Reese stated her title proudly but grinned easily at the fellow vampire. "Oh, honey. There's no need for the jealousy. Stefan has a 'p' where I prefer the 'v'."
Understanding rolled through Reese and once again, she was hit with a bit of guilt. "Sorry. I'm still a little wired from a bar fight."
"Yes, one that she started because someone was coming on to me." Stefan snorted. "You should've seen it."
"Maybe next time." Amelia laughed. "Ramon is waiting in the back with the stencil ready to be placed and inked."
"Yeah, definitely." Stefan agreed. "Maybe next time it won't take more than twenty years to come back."
"I'm holding you to that!" She called out as Stefan led Reese down one of the hallways. "And you better bring Reese with you! She seems like she likes to cause a little mayhem."
Reese giggled as Stefan mumbled about never should have let them meet and entered a room that had mirrors for walls. A table stood against one wall, one where a client could lay down and a reclining chair sat in the middle. There was a middle-aged man, salt and pepper hair sitting at a desk at the back wall smiling at them.
"Ramon." Stefan greeted. "You ready?"
"Of course." The man answered with a bit of a spanish accent. "It's quite a simple tattoo. Shouldn't take more than thirty minutes."
Stefan introduced the two quickly, Reese immediately sensing that Ramon was human as Stefan filled her in how Ramon stumbled upon vampires when he was a teenager and kept the secret ever since. He met Amelia not long after when he entered New York to become a professional tattoo artist and Amelia's boss had immediately hired him. Ramon was the only human working there.
Reese had smiled through the short tale, only taking a seat when Ramon gestured for her to. Stefan had procured a rolling stool from seemingly out of nowhere and Ramon rolled up to Reese on his own stool.
"Okay, so, Stefan filled me in that you're a new a vampire." Ramon spoke. "I think I should fill you in that this is going to hurt worse than a normal tattoo would."
"And why is that?" Reese asked. "I've gotten tattoos before and it wasn't all that bad."
Ramon nodded with a small smile and took the time to explain. "Yes, well, since you're a vampire now.. your body is going push out any ink that is needled in. It won't stick."
"Okay." Reese drawled. "So you have a special ink then?"
"I do." Ramon grinned. "The ink I use is laced with powered vervain. I'm guessing you know what vervain is?" At Reese's nod, he continued. "Yes, well, while this is going to sting, it isn't going to be harmful. All the vervain will do, in this case, will keep your tattoo from fully healing. It'll heal just like it would if you were human but the vervain keeps the ink from leaking out."
"It'll sting probably for a month or so but afterward, it's fine." Stefan piped up. "I got my tattoo after I was vampire, that's how I knew of this place." Reese breathed a sigh that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in and settled into the chair.
"Well now that learning hour is over, what am I getting?" She asked him.
Stefan smirked but wouldn't say. "Close your eyes. I sent the picture to Ramon before we came so it'd be a surprise." Reese rolled her eyes before closing them and felt her chair recline backwards. Eyes flying open, she held Stefan's gaze until he told her what the hell was going on. "It's for easier access to the placement."
"And where exactly is the placement?" She cocked an eyebrow at him.
Stefan leaned forward in his chair, his hand coming up so his fingers danced along her throat. "Right here."
Reese didn't object, instead choosing to close her eyes with a small smile. "Here, is this to your liking?" She heard Ramon ask.
Stefan took the piece of paper, grinning down at it. "Yeah, just make the lines a little thicker and color this one in yellow." He pointed to a specific part of the tattoo.
"And the other?"
"Fill it in black." Stefan answered.
Reese wondered what they talking about but the swiping down of the base of her throat had all thoughts flying out the window. She felt the paper being pressed down briefly until it was lifted off and then the sound of the tattoo gun hammered her sensitive hearing. She tried to focus on the flow of the needle to try and picture what was being inked into her skin but she lost focus as the stinging started to hurt more and more.
The tattoo process didn't take that long and soon enough, she was feeling water being sprayed on her and then being wiped away even though her throat was very sensitive and stinging like a bitch.
"Okay. All done." Ramon said. "Go and take a look."
Reese didn't bother sparing a look at Stefan as she eagerly climbed out of her chair and up to one of the mirrored walls. What she saw at the base of throat had her eyes tearing up. The crescent moon was colored in yellow with a black star sitting just on the inside of it's points.
It was her crest.
The Emerson family crest.
She had been so focused on the tattoo that she hadn't realized when Ramon left the room or that Stefan had crept up behind her, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Magic will always be a part of you." He murmured. "And I know how fond you were of your markings and then how sad you were to see them go so I figured we'd give you one again."
Reese gave him a watery chuckle, turning around and wrapping her arms around Stefan's neck so he'd lean down and lean his forehead against hers. "You jerk, you had me scared. I thought the tattoo was going to be something that I'd hate and have to lie to you and say that I liked it!"
Stefan smirked and pressed a quick chaste kiss to her lips. "You love me." He threw her words from earlier back at her.
"Mhm." She hummed. "That I do." She smiled and connected their lips once more.
End.
Sort of.
I'm not opposed to writing ONE-SHOT side stories about this. Like, I'm already thinking about writing a short one-shot where Liam's all grown up, coming into his powers, and getting markings of his own.. but I don't know yet. I'm currently back in the 'Teen Wolf' fandom again so we'll see how things work out. Currently, Chapter One of my newest Teen Wolf fic (Domino) is already posted. Check it out and tell me what you think, please! :)
