Elena stirred at the feeling of the bed shifting next to her, and her smile at the thought of her partner returning to bed deepened when she felt his arm move around her waist. She mewled a soft noise of arousal from sleep as she turned over, her eyes still glued shut from being asleep, and she hummed, "Morning, baby."
She heard him stifle an oddly girlish sounding laugh before a voice that definitely wasn't his mocked, "Morning, baby…"
Elena's eyes flew open to the sight of Bonnie lying next to her in bed, her arm around her waist, and then she heard a popping noise followed by Caroline shouting, "HAPPY ENGAGEMENT ELENA!"
Confetti rained down over the bed as Elena laughed and pushed herself to a seated position to watch her two best friends fawn over her engagement. Bonnie grinned widely, "Holy shit, Elena, has it hit you yet that you're getting married?"
"To Damon, no less!?" Caroline added cheerily, her smile as bright as her blonde hair.
She laughed, "It's been a week, guys. I have plenty of time for it to hit me."
And what a week it had been. Christmas day had been the best holiday Elena had ever had. The night that Damon had proposed had been spent making love on the floor in front of the fireplace because neither of them could muster up the desire to flash upstairs to the bedroom, and by the time they had finished rolling around beneath a blanket, they were too tired to do anything but pass out in each other's arms. The next morning had been spent in pretty much the same way, including one hell of a naked breakfast. They exchanged personal gifts by themselves as opposed to waiting until everyone gathered later, that way everything was all the more intimate. Elena had bought Damon a couple bottles of his favorite bourbon and some replacements for the wine she had stolen over the years.
Turns out, it was kind of hard to buy a gift for someone that already has everything. Well, that, and it was Damon. He had to be the hardest person to shop for, ever. Aside from the sexy Santa lingerie she dressed in for him, the only other thing she could think to get him was some more designer clothes to make up for all of the shirts she'd ripped off of him over the past year or so.
He said he was more than happy with what she got him, but she knew next year she'd have to find something better.
Since his proposal was his gift to her, the only thing he gave her on Christmas morning was some of her favorite chocolates from Italy that he bought her for her birthday over the summer.
They spent that morning laying around, watching Christmas movies and drinking hot chocolate laced with blood—not the most appealing sounding drink, but to a vampire, mixing blood and chocolate was infinitely delicious. By the time the afternoon rolled around, they managed to peel themselves away from each other long enough to get dressed and head to Elena's house to meet up with everyone else, who had all been in on their impending engagement. It all went by in a blur of congratulations and enthusing about a wedding Elena hadn't even thought of yet.
They next few days between Christmas and New Years were spent holed up in the boarding house. They were engaged, and they wanted to make sure they celebrated properly, after all. And for two vampires with insatiable libidos and nearly infinite stamina, that celebratory period lasted days rather than hours.
New Years came and went with a bang, quite literally, as they didn't just kiss to start off the new year, but they had drunk sex in a closet at another one of Elena's friend's parties near Whitmore. Fireworks were going off in the backyard and noise makers were squealing as the clock struck midnight, but the only thing they could focus on was each other.
That was the night before last, and now it seemed her best friends finally decided to crash her lockdown with Damon to pull her back into the land of the living.
Caroline jumped onto the bed with her and Bonnie and beamed, "God, I'm so jealous! I always thought I was going to be the first out of us three to get married!"
"So did we." Elena and Bonnie said at the same time, causing them to all laugh loudly.
Elena then started, "So, what's with the wake up call? I can only assume this means you plan to steal me away to plan the wedding all day, right?"
Bonnie tucked a strand of her newly short brown hair behind her ear and shrugged a little, "Maybe a tiny bit."
Caroline added, "You have to start planning it at some point, Elena, so why not now? Damon mentioned this morning that he didn't want a long engagement, so we've got work to do!"
"He did?" Elena asked, kind of surprised. Well, she wasn't really surprised, but she just hadn't expected Damon to voice any of his opinions about the wedding to anyone other than her, or maybe Stefan.
Caroline smirked knowingly, "Well, I may have had to do a little torture of my own to get him to confess a little about what he wanted the wedding to be."
Elena laughed, "I don't even want to know what that means."
Bonnie rolled her eyes, "All you need to know is that we will be helping you plan this wedding every step of the way, even if we have to melt some brains and use vervain."
"How kind!" Elena mock swooned, placing the back of her hand on her forehead.
"Shut up!" Caroline giggled. "As much as it pains me to say this, Damon deserves to have the perfect wedding too, so we have to take into account his opinions. Otherwise I might just make him wear a cream colored suit, which I know he'd hate."
Shaking her head, Elena asked, "So what's on the agenda for today?"
Bonnie answered her, pulling a book out of the bag Caroline had brought, "Remember this?"
Elena's eyes widened when she saw the scrapbook with the words "Our Dream Weddings' written across the front in sparkly letter stickers. "Oh my god!" She squealed excitedly. "You still have this!?"
She grabbed the book and flipped it open, landing somewhere in Caroline's section. When they were in the sixth grade, they had planned out their perfect weddings down to every last flower arrangement. Granted, now Elena didn't want anything that she wanted back then, like to ride down the aisle on a unicorn or to have a six foot tall chocolate fountain, but it was the gesture that mattered.
Caroline flipped the book to one of Elena's pages and said, "I know we probably won't be using any of the stuff we planned back then, but when I told my mom you were engaged she pulled this out of the closet for us to look at. I figured it would be a good laugh, if nothing else."
"It's perfect!" Elena smiled sweetly. She held out her arms for them to hug her and as they did, she added, "You two are the best, seriously."
"We know." Bonnie said smugly, pulling away. "Now, go get dressed, and not in anything complicated! We're going wedding dress shopping."
Elena's face lit up at the idea and she flashed out of bed and into clothes before either of them could blink, "Ready!"
Her two friends shared a look before they all went downstairs to pile into Caroline's car. The boutique they were going to was an hour away but Caroline claimed it was worth it, because it was the biggest one in all of Virginia. At least they had a long car ride to talk about every other detail of the wedding Elena wanted, and Caroline didn't hesitate to write everything down, even while driving.
"I still can't believe my brother's getting married." Stefan mused from the passenger seat of Damon's Camaro. "I mean, even when we were human I never imagined you getting married. I think this is actually the first time I've ever pictured it."
Damon smirked, "Well, you can hardly blame me. I mean, when we were human, if I wasn't at a brothel I was trying to steal the innocence of the local girls."
Stefan snorted, "They all melted at your feet, too. It was kind of hilarious, actually."
He shook his head and bit back a laugh, "Century and a half later, and nothing's changed."
"Well, I wouldn't say nothing." Stefan pointed out. "You're down to one woman."
A genuine smile creeping across his face, Damon said more to himself, "And what a woman she is…"
Stefan took a moment to really look at his brother. To see the love-struck, dopey grin on his face and the way his eyes looked down away from the road as he thought of Elena. He couldn't blame him either, because he of all people knew what it was like to love and be loved by Elena Gilbert. But then again, maybe he really didn't know what it was like, because he didn't think their love even came close to what his ex-girlfriend and his brother had.
But most importantly, that was okay.
He was over Elena now, for good. She was his epic love, and always would be, but his feelings had moved on just as hers had. He wasn't happy about it, at first. He didn't want to lose Elena, only to have to watch her gallivant around his house with his brother. But as time passed, and he only saw their relationship grow stronger, he began to realize that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
Because once he accepted that they were over, he got his brother back.
Elena awakened a part of Damon that Stefan thought was long dead. His human side. The side of him that was a brother, a mother's son, a friend, a boyfriend—or rather, fiancé, and an all around good person. And that side of him was what brought them back together from decades of hatred and anger. He actually had a brother again, and that was the best gift of all.
So maybe Elena became someone that he loved more than anything. She didn't necessarily come into his life to be his soulmate. She came into his life to bring him back together with his brother.
And because of that, he was okay with seeing them so in love. He wanted his brother to be happy, especially after all the misery life dealt him, and if Elena made him happy, then Stefan was the last person that would stand in his way.
"She is." Stefan agreed, smiling slightly to himself. "Which I guess is why you're marrying her."
Damon raised a brow, "Jealous that I get to have a wedding before you?"
He laughed, "No, Damon, just surprised. A good surprised, but surprised."
Damon paused for a moment before saying, "You know I gave her Mom's ring, right?"
Stefan looked at him incredulously, "You think I didn't realize she was wearing it when I saw her? We spent so much time listening to her tell us bedtime stories while holding her hands that I had every last groove memorized. I thought she had been buried with it on, to be honest."
"Nope." Damon stated. "I was seventeen when she got sick, therefore Giuseppe had been looking to marry me off soon. Of course, that was before I went on my rebel streak, but Mom gave it to me to give to the girl I loved. Told me not to waste it on someone who wouldn't make me happy."
There hadn't been many times in his life that Damon had left Stefan speechless, but this was one of them. To think that the man next to him once promised to make his life a living hell was now sharing that he saved their mother's engagement ring for 150 years because he was waiting for the right girl to come along.
"What about Katherine?" Stefan asked curiously. "You never thought of giving it to her?"
Damon snorted, as if the thought was ludicrous, "Have you ever met Katherine, brother? She wasn't marriage material, even back when I loved her. She was the kind of girl that you fuck and follow to the ends of the earth for the ride of your life. I never even thought of giving it to her. But Elena…the first time I thought about the ring was when I told her I loved her, then compelled it away. I didn't actually try to look for it until she transitioned and we got together."
A beat of silence passed before Stefan said, "You know, I never even thought about marriage once I died. Not even with Elena, really…I just didn't think it had a point, you know?"
"Then you clearly never even brought it up." Damon said matter of factly. "If you would have seen the look on Elena's face whenever anyone talks about marriage…anyone could tell how much she wants it. She's the most human vampire there is, Steffie. And I plan on making sure she gets everything she wants that's in the realm of possibilities."
Again, Stefan couldn't help but notice how different his brother was now. Definitely not an irredeemable monster, that was for sure.
They pulled up outside of the Grill and headed inside towards the bar. They were on a silent agreement that that was enough brotherly bonding for the day, so all that was left to do was drink and tease each other like true brothers.
And drink they did.
Two bottles of bourbon in, the room was slightly spinning and the filter between their brains and mouths no longer existed.
"I mean, what the hell was that?" Damon slurred, sloppily motioning towards the curvy blonde bartender that Stefan just denied the advances of. "She's hot, what's the hold up? Don't tell me you're pledging abstinence now, brother, because I'd say you're far too late for the whole 'virgin 'til marriage' thing."
Stefan made a face before swallowing what was left of his drink, "If anyone's too late for that, it's you."
Damon smirked, about to agree, before realizing that Stefan was trying to change the subject. "Ah-ah, no deflecting. I bet this has something to do with another, slightly less curvy blonde bombshell, doesn't it?"
"What are you talking about?" Stefan waved him off.
He slowly replied, "I'm talking about crazy, bossy, and the spitting image of Barbie. Come on, Stef, spill. Don't tell me you're just friends either!"
"But we are!" He argued unconvincingly. The bartender dropped off another bottle of bourbon for them to share and Stefan ripped open the top, pouring a healthy amount in both of their glasses.
Damon rolled his eyes, "Fine, then tell me what you want it to be. I've seen the way you look at her, like there's something beneath her clothes you just can't wait to get your hands on. I've been there, done that, and let me just say that it's not as bad as you'd think for an insecure teenager."
Stefan glared at him, "That was when she was human. She's different as a vampire and you know it."
"Yeah, now she's like an insecure crack head." Damon mumbled under his breath, but Stefan caught it anyways.
"You're just pissed you had to compel her into sleeping with you." Stefan said snidely.
"Hey!" Damon defended angrily. "I did not compel her into having sex with me. I'm a lot of things, but a rapist isn't one of them. All I did was compel her not to be afraid of my vampire side and let me feed from her. Perfectly harmless."
Stefan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, 'harmless'…I can't imagine the kind of psychological damage incurred just from sleeping with you, let alone all of the compulsion that fried her brain. Was there really any surprise she was insecure?"
Smirking widely, Damon said, "Congrats, brother. You just told me all I needed to know about how much you want Caroline. And while she's definitely not my cup of tea, if you're both into it, so be it. Hell, bring her into the family for all I care. Give Elena a sister through marriage."
"Okay, now you're getting ahead of yourself. We haven't even kissed yet." Stefan admitted, not realizing what he was saying until the words were already spilling out.
"Yet." Damon repeated. "As in, you want it to happen and it will one day, but you being the noble gentleman, are trying to figure out how to do so as opposed to just going in for the kill like any other guy would do."
Stefan rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. So I want her, big deal. If it's meant to be, it'll happen. In the mean time, you just focus on your wedding."
"What do you think I'm doing right now?" Damon asked incredulously, holding his hands out. "I'm just trying to make sure there's no sloppy sex at my wedding between anyone but me and my future wife."
"Pleasant." Stefan joked, interrupting him.
Damon snickered then said, "So as long as you can promise that my best man and Elena's maid of honor won't be hooking up in any closets or coatrooms, I think it'll all go swimmingly."
Fighting a smile at the not so subtle way Damon was asking him to be his best man, Stefan feigned innocence, "Well, I wouldn't put it past Jeremy to pull Bonnie aside. The kid knows how to get in trouble, that's for sure."
Groaning, Damon asked, "Are you really going to make me say it?"
"Say what?" He smirked.
Damon shot him a glare before sighing dramatically, "Will you be my best man?"
"Of course." Stefan grinned, clapping a hand on Damon's shoulder. "Besides, if I didn't do it, who would?"
Sending him another dirty look, Damon grumbled, "There's headstone in the cemetery looking a lot more appealing than you right now, but somehow I don't think dragging around a big rock with my friend's birthday carved into it incorrectly will go over well with the bride."
"Not to mention how sad it would be."
"Dick."
"Hi, we have an appointment today under the name Gilbert." Caroline greeted the front desk worker of the boutique—or warehouse would have been more accurate. It was seriously huge, with ceilings so high that Elena had to use her vampire sight to see the murals painted on it. Greek columns—or maybe they were roman, decorated the all cream and gold colored décor, and as the receptionist guided the three girls back through the halls towards their appointment, Elena marveled at the racks upon racks of wedding dresses surrounding them.
For the first time, she wondered what kind of dress Damon would want to see her in. She had her own visions for the wedding, of course, and she was sure he'd be happy with whatever she chose, but he should have a say in some things, right? He'd probably want her in a more fitted dress, but nothing that revealed too much. Would he like lace or satin? Gems and crystals or beading? Strapless or halter?
Luckily Elena wasn't left to panic over her own thoughts much longer as a woman approached them and introduced herself as Kristen, explaining that she'd be helping them out today.
"So what kind of dress were you thinking about today?" She asked Elena after she told her she was the bride.
Elena relayed everything she thought would be perfect to the woman, figuring that when she found the dress, she'd know. "I was thinking something more fitted, no giant puffy princess dresses or anything like that. And maybe lacy, with a little bit of sparkle? I have no idea what my fiancé would want to see me in so just try everything, I guess."
"Any budget we should keep in mind?" She asked in response.
Elena smiled, thinking how lucky she was to have a rich fiancé, "Nope."
Kristen smiled warmly, "Alright, if you'll come with me I'll pull some dresses for you to try on."
Elena followed her to a private room where she changed out of her clothes and into a silk robe they had waiting. She wasn't there long before Kristen returned with several dresses for her to try on.
She walked back out to where Caroline and Bonnie were waiting, each of them with a glass of champagne in their hand thanks to Caroline's compulsion. They gushed over the dress from the second they spotted her walking out, and Elena couldn't help but beam at the simple fact that she was trying on dresses for her wedding.
Stepping up onto the platform, she smoothed the ruched fabric down over her abdomen as Kristen adjusted the mermaid skirt so it flared out properly. She looked at her two friends in the mirror, "What do you think? And don't hold back either."
Bonnie smiled, "It's pretty, Elena."
Caroline agreed, "Yeah, but I don't think it's you. I mean, you mentioned an outdoor wedding in the fall, and this just screams cathedral."
Elena tilted her head to the side as she contemplated the dress before nodding, "This is definitely not the right one. I don't like all of the ruching, I don't think it flatters me that well."
"Okay, no problem. Let's head back and get you in something else."
Elena snagged the glass of champagne that the girls had waiting for her before following Kristen back to the room. This time when she returned, she saw Caroline and Bonnie scarfing down some wedding cake samples and couldn't help but laugh. "Aren't I the one that's supposed to be trying all the cake?" She asked teasingly as she stepped up onto the platform once again.
"Sorry!" Caroline mumbled, covering her mouthful of chocolate cake with her hand. She swallowed then enthused, "Oh my god, that dress is gorgeous!"
Elena laughed, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a beaded mermaid dress with a plunging neckline and open back, and the bottom skirt was chiffon with glitter embedded throughout.
"I knew you would like this. You picked it out, didn't you?"
Caroline smiled guiltily, "Hey, just because I'm not getting married doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through you!"
Bonnie rolled her eyes, "It is gorgeous, Elena, but again, it's Caroline's style. Besides, you look like you can barely move in it."
"A small price to pay for the sake of fashion!" Caroline chimed in.
Kristen then informed them that she was going to go look for some more dresses, then promptly left.
Elena stepped down from the platform very carefully, unintentionally proving Bonnie's point when she could hardly move her legs enough to walk. She sat down in the open chair and grabbed a small plate of cake samples to try, saying, "Care, I can also see my nipples popping out if I move a certain way because I can't wear a bra with this dress. It's a no."
She huffed, "Fine, fine. This would be so much easier if you had an idea of what you wanted your wedding to be though."
Elena shrugged, "That's your fault, not mine. You bombarded me with a surprise wedding dress shopping spree before I even started thinking about planning the wedding."
"Well you have to have some kind of idea, right?" Bonnie asked. "It's not like you never considered marrying Damon before he proposed."
"No, but I kind of imagined the whole saying 'I do' part more than what everything around us looked like, you know? We're not really a typical couple, but this wedding will be one human thing that we get to do together." Elena explained.
"Well why can't you do human things together?" Caroline blurted out, not quite understanding that it wasn't so much they won't do them, but physically can't.
Luckily Bonnie understood and said, "I think she meant things that are exclusive to humans and those that are alive."
Elena agreed, "Like growing old, and having kids. I mean, I guess the more the idea settles, the happier I am that I won't grow old, wrinkly, and ugly, and I'll get to spend a literal forever with Damon, but kids…I always wanted kids."
"That doesn't mean you can't still have them." Caroline pointed out gently. "They may not biologically be yours, but you can adopt. I don't know much about ethics, but I'm pretty sure a kid would be better off having two loving vampires raising them than they would staying an orphan in the foster system."
She nodded, "I know, and honestly, we'll probably end up doing that at some point in our lives. I have never really talked to Damon about children, because it wasn't an option for us. So if he tells me he doesn't want kids, it's not a big deal, we just won't adopt. I always wanted to be pregnant though, but it's just something I have to learn to live without. It's really not that big of a deal."
Except all of them knew that it was a big deal, at least to Elena. She would be devastated if she never got to be a mother, and may god have mercy on Damon's soul if he ever denied Elena children, because Caroline and Bonnie would hunt him down and castrate him faster than he could blink.
However, today was supposed to be a happy one, so they both let it go and Elena followed Kristen back into the room to try on more dresses.
Maybe in time, children really wouldn't be such a big deal to her.
When she returned, she was in an all lace strapless mermaid with a gem studded belt wrapped around her waist. They were getting closer; she knew that just by the way she was almost glowing in the mirror, but it still wasn't quite right. Something was missing still, but she had confidence that she'd find the perfect dress, even if it wasn't today.
After all, they still had nine or ten months until they reached the season in which their Elena wanted their wedding in.