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Klaus and Caroline were simply enjoying each other's company in his bedroom in an alternation of kissing, cuddling, and flattering –Klaus was doing the flattering.

They felt good; they felt very good. They felt as though they were shielded from the rest of the world, as though there was nothing that could touch them in that moment: It was just the two of them.

Right now, right here, in his arms, Caroline couldn't even remember what made her so uncertain, because it now seemed so obvious. This definitely felt right. This felt like home… And no matter what happened, no matter the outcome, Caroline knew she would never regret this moment, or the decision that led to it.

Klaus was literally living out a dream, his most cherished dream. He had her… He finally had her: The woman he had waited her for all his life; the woman who had made his thousand years of solitude, of angry despondency, of great unknown despair, worth it.

Caroline lightly pulled away from his embrace so she could see his face. He gazed back at her in wonder as though she was the most striking work of art he had ever been honored to contemplate. "You are so beautiful, Caroline." He told her honestly.

A shy smile spread across her features. "Thank you." She said lowering her head.

Klaus chuckled, amused by her ridiculous and unsuccessful attempt at hiding her now rosy cheeks from him. "You're even prettier when you blush."

"Stop it, you're embarrassing me." She said in a small voice turning even redder in the face.

He chuckled once more but complied and didn't say more.

This was exactly what she was talking to Elena about earlier: Klaus had this way of making her feel good about herself. He had this way of making her feel beautiful, desired, worthy, and so special… And the craziest part was it wasn't even exaggerated; it was completely natural: he just found her beautiful and felt the constant need to let her know. It was endearing. He was endearing.

She raised her head to look at him. "So are you, you know?" she told him.

"So am I what?" Klaus asked.

"Beautiful." Caroline responded.

He raised an eyebrow at her and made a face. "Did you just call me beautiful?" he made sure amusement perceptible in his tone of voice.

"Uh-huh." She confirmed and they both laughed. "You are very handsome, Klaus." She told him more seriously a few seconds later.

Klaus never had any particular doubts concerning his charm; all it took was a mirror to see who he was. But hearing Caroline tell him he was handsome, beautiful…, and seeing her sincerity reflect in his eyes…, there were no words to describe how that made him feel in his heart of hearts.

Klaus smiled at the blonde: she was stunning, in the truest sense of the word. No matter what she said, he knew he would never really be worthy of her, and he knew he would never ever be able to thank her enough for giving him a chance, for giving him –for the first time of his life –this chance at feeling, at caring… at loving; but he was definitely spending the rest of his days trying.

Caroline gazed back at Klaus lovingly; she could honestly stare into his gorgeous deep cyan eyes forever. She raised her head towards him and pressed her lips against his tenderly. He, of course, kissed her back immediately, and the kiss lasted several seconds before Caroline pulled away. She reattached her lips to his and gave him a lingering kiss.

He stroked her hair as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. "I don't want to break the mood, but you never told me what prompted you to change your mind." Klaus mused.

The blonde raised her head from his neck and shrugged. "You remember our last encounter a couple of days before I left?" she asked.

"Mmmhh." Was all Klaus said. He was really interested by what this change of situation was owed to.

"You said certain things that day." She told him, and then looked down at the space with them. She wasn't sure answering honestly to his question was the best way to deal with this, but… she didn't want to lie to him. "Some words sort of stood out and… whether I was aware of it or not, my mind registered them." She said uncertainly. "Like when you said you'd never let me go again." She let out in an almost inaudible voice. "It stung!" She said and waited for a few seconds to pass before looking up at him to gauge his reaction.

Caroline immediately saw in his demeanor that Klaus was closing up to her and that her words hurt him. "Klaus." She asked for a more vocal response.

"So being with me forever is you're worst nightmare ever?" was all he said. He clearly wasn't even waiting for an answer; it was clear in his attitude that he thought he already knew it.

"I didn't say that. Don't make me say what I didn't say." She defended. He looked away with a blasé air. "I was scared, Klaus. You can't blame me for that: I'm a sensible person, Klaus; I don't walk into a path with no way out. I easily feel oppressed." She justified herself.

Now, this, Klaus hadn't seen coming. He would have bet on everything… -except on that. He thought she knew him better than that. Did she really think that low of him? How could she even think for a single second that he would ever hold her captive or whatever? Okay, it was true that he had a pretty dark past; and his track record as far as letting the people he cared about go wasn't exactly playing in his favor… But hadn't he always put her before everything? Hadn't he always respected her wishes even when it tore him apart? She had to know by now that he'd never take her free-will away, not from her. If she ever wanted to leave his side, as heartrending as it would be for him, he would let her…, or at least he hoped he would.

"I shouldn't have told you that." He heard her say in the midst of his train of thoughts.

His eyes snapped at her. "Of course you were right to!" He said his eyes widened in astonishment. "Don't you ever lie to me, Caroline! No matter how upset you think I'll be." Klaus forbade. "Your honesty is one of the qualities I appreciate the most about you, Caroline. Don't ever lie to me." He told her. "I trust you with telling me the truth. Always." He added making sure she got his point.

Caroline nodded indicating that she understood.

"Good." Klaus nodded too before looking away.

"Are you upset with me?" she asked him in a small voice a couple of seconds later. The last thing she wanted was to have brought back not so old insecurities in Klaus. She still wasn't sure where this was going, or even where she wanted it to go, but she truly cared about Klaus and she wanted him to know that. She was with him, and had no intention to leave anytime soon.

He turned to look at her. "I spent all day without kissing you." He paused. "I can't afford to be upset with you, right now." He told her quietly. He raised the corners of his mouth in a smile and Caroline responded with a large grin.

She brought her hand to his nape and pulled him to her. She gave him a warm kiss and Klaus, as always, immediately responded pulling her body flush against him. Their lips separated but they kept their faces close to each other and brushed his nose against her. "So what changed?" he questioned.

He reckoned it was better to deal with it all at once so they could move in to the funny part with no worries.

"Well, for starters, I realized what the real issue was." She said. "Actually, it was Elena, but whatever. Then, I thought about it and I realized that up until now, you've always put my desires before everything including your own, so…I have no reason to think that's ever gonna change." She explained under Klaus' intent gaze. "Besides, I assume you will do your best to make me never want to leave, right?" she asked playfully nudging him in the shoulder.

Klaus decided to ignore the last part. "Elena?" he asked.

"Yes. She's good at psycho-analyzing."

'Especially when's she's not concerned.' Caroline thought to herself. "She made me realize that it was normal for me to be afraid, but I shouldn't let it get the better of me." She answered.

"The doppelganger – defended me?" he asked his brows knit together, skeptical.

Caroline gave Klaus a look. "You know I don't like it when you call her like that."

Klaus merely rolled her eyes.

"Let's not exaggerate." The blonde said. "She certainly didn't defend you. She just… helped me see things clearer. And it wasn't for you, it was for me: I'm her best friend and she loves me; she just wants me to be happy… with whomever." She explained. "And I guess I made it pretty clear when I was talking to her how happy you made me." She mused shyly. She lifted her gaze to find Klaus smiling down on her. This man would make her invent new shades of pink someday. "Don't look at me like that." She said her voice marked me with embarrassment, before she briefly covered his face with her hand lightheartedly. "But I have to say, I thought she would be more judgmental." Caroline admitted. Huh. Judgmental was an understatement: Caroline was totally prepared for Elena to ask her if she had fucking lost her mind. Instead, the raven haired woman turned out to be extremely comprehensive and of very good advice!

"So do I owe Elena a thank you?" he asked making a grimace and rolling his eyes as he uttered Caroline's friend's name.

She raised a brow at his surprising question. First, his surprise gathering at the Grill –which was still a stupid idea in her book –and now considering thanking Elena…whom she knew he hated. Wow… she really was making a good job with him.

"Well, you don't owe her a thank you." She said shrugging. "But I'm sure she would appreciate it if you acknowledged her… implicit support." She supposed.

"Mmmhh." He hummed and brought his face closer to hers in order to kiss her, but she unexpectedly moved her head away. He frowned and she half-grinned half-giggled at her successful tease. She covered his lips with her own and cupped his face as they deepened the kiss. Twenty-four hours without kissing her had really been too much.

It was a kiss unlike any other they had shared until then. It was a mixture of passion and tenderness, of roughness and softness. It was a kiss full of felicity and promises for the road ahead. Caroline was pouring all her feelings for him into that kiss trying to show him to what extent she cared about him; yet, she was the one who was the most affected by the kiss. She never thought she could ever react to somebody like this, much less to Klaus: he made her heart flutter and cry at the same time.

Klaus ran his tongue along her upper lip asking for access, which she readily granted him and welcomed his tongue inside her mouth. Klaus started to run his left hand on the soft skin of her exposed thighs eliciting delicious moans from the blonde. At his caress, Caroline felt as though every nerve on her body was being lit on her fire. He literally kindled her being.

Klaus' feelings for Caroline were simply ineffable. What this woman made him feel was beyond his own comprehension: he felt so terribly and inexorably attracted to her… It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was like a wave of emotions surrounded him whenever he was around her and he was threatened to get overwhelmed by it. He didn't know what stunned him the most: her power over his body… or over his heart.

Caroline pulled away letting out a raw moan and pressed her forehead against his. "As much as I'm enjoying this, I'm gonna have to go." She announced.

"Excuse me?" he asked moving his head backwards so he could see her well.

"I have to go help Bonnie with the organization of the Masquerade Ball." She explained in an apologetic tone.

"I thought the ball was at the end of July?" Klaus protested.

"And so?" the blonde raised her eyebrows at him. "A ball doesn't just throw itself!" she exclaimed sounding irritated. "You have to take care of the decor, order floral arrangements and make the table settings, order..." she enumerated making gestures with her hands.

Knowing she could go on and on like this for the next couple of hours, Klaus decided to cut her off while he still could and kissed her keeping her from talking. Caught off guard, Caroline stopped in her gesture and raised her eyebrows, her eyes closed, however.

Klaus released her and she slowly opened her eyes appearing dizzy. "You love this new way of shutting me up, don't you?" she remarked.

"I love it!" he confirmed in a joyful voice making Caroline giggle.

She cupped his face and pressed her lips softly against his. She slid her tongue into his mouth and they both moaned in the kiss. "Okay, I guess Bonnie and the Masquerade Ball can wait until tomorrow." The blonde succumbed.

"There you go." Klaus approved causing her to giggle once again.

When was even the last time she laughed so much?! She reattached her lips to Klaus' perfect ones getting tangled up in yet another languorous, passionate kiss and got on top of him as he sank further into the bed, his right hand resting on her left hip.

/

Bonnie was at the Lockwood mansion trying to get things together for the upcoming Charity Masquerade Ball. She still didn't know why she had consented to organize this event; this was supposed to be Caroline's job, but her father had insisted and a lot, and she found the mayor of the town could be quite convincing.

"Bonnie, how many balloons should we order?" One of the girls on spot asked her.

She turned to her. "Uh… I don't know." She hesitated. "Where are those girls?!" she exclaimed impatiently stamping. "Where is Caroline?" she thought to herself out loud.

She looked back to Emily, whom was silent and waiting for her answer. She heaved a sigh. "I don't know. Make it ninety." She told her.

Emily nodded and walked away.

"Bonnie, we have a problem with the food." Andrea informed her.

"What problem?" Bonnie inquired.

"The caterer we usually work with isn't working currently."

"Then, go someplace else." She said focusing back on what she was doing before being interrupted: working on the seating arrangements.

"Where?" Andrea asked.

"I don't knoooww." The witch responded, irritated.

Andrea merely raised her brows before walking away.

Bonnie sighed and turned to head someplace else when she almost bumped into someone.

"Ha!" She let out a scream of fright before she realized it was Jeremy and brought a hand to her thumping heart. "Are you trying to kill me?" she asked, still under the shock.

"No, how would I live without you?" Jeremy answered half-jokingly.

She shot him a knowing look and rolled her eyes playfully before looking down. It was in those moments that she was grateful for her dark complexion: she was the only one to know when she was blushing.

"I know you're blushing." Jeremy said charmingly, light amusement in his voice, contradicting her current thoughts.

"Shut up!" she told him playfully trying and failing to hide her embarrassment. "What are you even doing here?" she inquired looking back up at him and crossing her arms.

"Elena couldn't make it, so she sent me in her place." He explained.

Bonnie fought back a chuckle. "You can't do what Elena would have done." She asserted and Jeremy opened his mouth and brought his hand to his chest in faked offense. "Why couldn't she make it?" the witch inquired.

"I don't know." Jeremy answered. "I was persuaded the second she brought up your name, so I wasn't really listening after that." He told her in a small confiding tone.

She raised her brows at his words and then looked away, a timid tightlipped smile on her face. She sincerely hoped this would only be a one-time thing because she had no idea if she would be able to stay strong in front of Jeremy's charm if she had to deal with it six hours a day two days in a row; and she couldn't get back together with him for now…, not more than she could get together with Kol: she needed to figure out where she stood with herself first and she still had to resolve the ambivalence of her feelings for both of these men.

"So how can I be of service?" Jeremy asked interrupting her confused thoughts.

"Huh?" she said coming back to the present moment. "Oh uh, like I said, it's nice of you to have come, but your presence here is pointless: you'll get impatient in less than two hours." She stated in a certain voice.

"Try me." He challenged her. "Come on, make the most of me!" He prompted her. "I'm all yours." Jeremy said and Bonnie didn't miss the double meaning of his words. She gave him a knowing look and rolled her eyes.

"Just go help Madison with the flower bunches." She told him summoning a false irritated voice.

Jeremy chuckled and then started to walk away but stopped halfway to ask her. "Can we do diner later?"

"We can." She answered. "…maybe." She added. "If you behave well and get some work done, we'll see." She specified.

"Then I better get to work." Jeremy concluded.

"You better!" She agreed.

/

When Elena descended the stairs and stepped into the living room, she was surprised to find her lately volatile boyfriend on the couch. She walked to him and wrapped her arms around his torso from behind. "Hey there." She said in the shell of his ear.

"Hey." Stefan replied nonchalantly.

"I missed you this morning." She told him. Indeed, when she woke up this morning, Elena immediately missed the warmth that normally emanated from Stefan in the bed; and when she went downstairs to look for him, Damon informed him that he had already left, what was weird since he never left without kissing her good morning, and on the rare occasions that he did, he always left a note or sent her a text message on her phone.

He didn't reply, but she noticed him smile faintly in her peripheral vision. This was weird: he always reciprocated when she said stuff like that; usually, he was the one saying stuff like that.

"Where were you?" she inquired keeping her hands around his torso.

"Nowhere." Stefan answered vaguely. "I just needed to clear my head." He told Elena and she nodded.

She cupped his face and turned his head to him before lowering her lips to his and kissing him. It was a soft, very tender kiss, a kiss of reassurance and full of affection. Surprising Elena, Stefan responded to the kiss fully and even brought his hand backwards and slid it through her raven hair. His other hand went to her left rib and he pulled her down on him over the couch. They kissed languorously for a moment before pulling away.

Elena pressed a soft kiss along Stefan's jawline and then another upon his forehead. "Are we okay?" she asked him guardedly all of a sudden.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be?" he responded.

Elena shrugged. "Because since Damon has been back, we never really talked about it." She answered.

Stefan shrugged lightly.

"Nothing else to say?" The raven haired woman pushed.

"What do you want me to say?" Stefan asked back nonchalantly.

Elena shrugged getting irritated once again. "I don't want you to say anything specific, Stefan. I want you to talk to me." She told him.

He stared into her brown eyes, and then looked down at the small space between their bodies. He heaved an annoyed inward sigh: Stefan knew where this was going, and he wasn't willing for that ride.

"Do we have to talk about this?" he asked her vaguely. He knew that she knew what he was talking about.

"I'm afraid that we do, Stefan." She answered moving her head. She wasn't any more enthusiastic at the thought of having this conversation than he seemed to be, but she knew it was a discussion they had to have. "You said it yourself: we can't avoid the elephant in the room eternally. At some point, we're gonna have to kill him; I think we've reached that point." She stated.

"I feel like you're straying from me, Stefan." The raven haired woman said sadly. "And I don't like it." She commented. "…at all." she added.

He merely stared at her without responding.

"What has gotten into you, Stefan?" she asked him shaking her head.

He looked away and heaved a sigh before looking back to her and responding: "Damon! Damon has gotten into me." He told her. "And I a certain way, he's gotten into you too!"

Elena's eyes widened and her mouth practically dropped open at her boyfriend's words. "Ok…" She got off his lap to sit relatively far from him on the couch.

His words really hurt her, but she did a very good job at keeping just to what extent off her facial expression. He had never spoken to her that way, never insinuated things so out of place; she guessed he had kept it concealed in him for too long…

Stefan mentally slapped himself for his inappropriate words and lack of judgment. What had gotten into him indeed? He felt like he had been sheltering a sea of emotions inside him, which was suddenly threatening to overflow and carry away everything on its passage. "I apologize. I didn't mean that." Stefan told Elena contritely.

"Is that all you see when you look at me now?" she mused. She shrugged while staring at the emptiness. "Damon's ex-girlfriend?" she inquired looking back at her boyfriend.

He took her right hand and kissed it before holding it between his two hands. "When I look at you, I see the love of my life." He told her truthfully. "That's what I've always seen; that's what I'll always see." He assured her and noticed tears well up in her eyes.

He raised his left hand covering her right hand and caressed her left cheekbone with his thumb gently. The raven haired woman anxiously waited for him to finish. He removed his hand from her face and brought it back on her hand. "Unfortunately…" he started and paused and looked away second thinking if he should go ahead and get it out. "…mostly lately, I also see the love of my brother's life." He confessed.

Elena nodded slowly and repeatedly. "And what can I do to change that?" she asked Stefan. He looked up at her and conveyed everything that he was feeling in that one regard: he didn't know –probably nothing.

"Stefan." She removed her hand from his and moved closer to him on the couch. She cupped his face and looked him dead in the eyes as she spoke: "I love you. I am in love with you. I want you. I am with you." She merely reminded him because she knew he knew all that already; but Caroline was right: he needed reassurance. "Everything is perfectly clear between Damon and me: there is no ambiguity; he knows where I stand. He knows what I for feel and for whom I feel it…" She assured him. "He may not be completely over me; he may still have feelings, but he will get over it, and over me." She told him.

"How do you know that?" he asked her, dubious.

"I don't." She answered. "But I have to believe that he will." She said to Stefan. "And regardless of whether he does or does not, it shouldn't influence what goes on between you and me."

Elena got even closer to Stefan if it was possible. "You and I share something special, Stefan… something rare. What we have is the most important thing in my life and I know that it's the most important thing in your life." She told him truthfully. "So please don't let Damon or my past with him ruin this for us." She asked him. "Because that's what exactly what is, Stefan: past." She said before she kissed him at the corner of his lips. "You, you are my present; and my future."

Stefan heaved a sigh and looked down letting all she just said sink in. There was no ambiguity: she loved him; she was with him, and Damon was going to have to come to terms with that. "Okay." He ended up nodding. "I will try to let it go, alright? I'll do my best." He said to her.

She smiled at him and then pecked him softly before cuddling back next to him in his protecting arms, a place she had always been able to find refugee and where she knew she always would: her safe haven.

/

Klaus and Caroline were seated on one of the secondary living room's couch. She was on his lap; he had his right hand under her top at the hollow of her rib, and they were kissing. That's all they ever did lately, much to his siblings' irritation; they could hardly keep their hands off each other: they were completely and absolutely drunk in their affection.

They finally pulled away, breathless. "Have you ever been told that you're a glorious kisser?" Klaus asked her teasingly and she giggled.

She went back in her head to that moment ages ago –yet, it had only been a bit more than seven years –when he infiltrated Tyler's body and mischievously took advantage of her talents as a kisser. She flushed at the memory. She probably gave him the slap of his life that day. Who would have thought they would end up here? She coddled up in his arms willingly enjoying his kisses.

If someone would have told her seven years ago that she would someday be in this position, she would have most certainly had them interned.

"Well, there was this once guy who once did tell me…" she said. "But then again, he was a jerk so I'm not sure that counts…?" she opposed playfully.

"No, it doesn't." Klaus said shaking his head and briefly closing his eyes.

She grinned at him.

"Well, you are a glorious kisser." He complimented her explicitly.

"You're not too bad yourself." She replied.

Klaus chuckled. "Thank you."

She smiled at him and held his face as she went for another kiss.

"Oh my goodness, would you just stop?!" Rebekah exclaimed to the couple as she entered the room and found them kissing… AGAIN! "Is that all you ever do?" she rhetorically asked. "We might as well literally attach you to the hip." She said in a voice through which her irritation perfectly shown.

Her embarrassment induced a tint of pink to invade Caroline's cheeks. "I'm sorry, Rebekah." She apologized and attempted to get off Klaus' lap. However, the latter decided against it and pulled her back to him before she could get up.

"What on earth are you sorry for?" he asked her disbelievingly. She had no reason to apologize to his sister.

"Yes, Nik, why would she apologize to me?" The other blonde questioned ironically. "It's not as if this was my home too and I was therefore entitled to a minimum of respect." She commented sardonically.

"Rebekah, I…" Caroline started with the intention of apologizing again but Kol cut her off from down the stairs.

"Let the lovebirds be, Rebekah! They have waited long enough for this." Kol chided his little sister. "You two lovebirds enjoy!" He addressed the pair earning a rare genuine smile from his big brother.

Caroline was smiling at Kol too when she caught Rebekah eying them down scornfully, whom turned her head when she realized she had gotten caught. She creased her brows in incomprehension. "Rebekah is there a problem here?" she asked.

"No, why would there be a problem?" Rebekah asked back not looking her in the eyes however.

"I don't know. I'm asking you." Caroline replied.

Rebekah turned to face her. "Do you have something to reproach yourself?" she questioned.

The two brothers exchanged a confused and concerned look. Caroline frowned. "No." She answered pointedly.

The other blonde didn't reply anything: she merely kept staring at Caroline an undecipherable glint in her blue eyes. Caroline's confusion only grew at that look. Was she missing something here?

"Can your attitude, Rebekah." Klaus advised in a rather calm tone but that did nothing to hide the warning that lay underneath. "I can do with your mood swings, so can Elijah and Kol; but Caroline doesn't have to."

"It's okay." Caroline asked Klaus. His being protective over her certainly wouldn't appease Rebekah's mood.

"No, it's not." The hybrid stated. It was out of question that Rebekah or anyone else for that matter talked to Caroline so disrespectfully and even less so in his presence.

Rebekah's jaw tightened at Klaus' words, and her other's brother lack of support caused her some hurt. She looked away angrily before storming out of the room with a huff.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked her.

She turned around heatedly. "Away! Can I?!" she rhetorically asked and didn't wait for an answer slamming the entrance's door five seconds later.

"Okay." Caroline said. "What just happened?!" she asked the two men, utterly confused.

Kol just looked away raising his eyebrows.

"Don't worry." Klaus told her.

"She's probably having her period." Kol outdid.

"What was that about?!" The blonde asked absolutely not reassured. "Have I done something wrong?" she inquired. Maybe they knew something she didn't.

"Don't worry, love." Klaus told her again. "She's whimsical; she'll get over herself." He assured her.

Caroline wrinkled her nose and gave him a skeptical look.

"It happens every now and then." Kol said to her in a failed attempt to reassure her too.

"You boys could try and be nicer to her. She is your sister." She reminded.

"Okay, sweet Caroline, I adore you, alright? But we have been dealing with that woman for a millennium, alright? If we got worried every time her hormones are over the place… we would have lost our minds a long time ago!" Kol told her pointedly.

"She'll be fine, Caroline." Klaus said with a blasé air.

She looked at him from the corner of the eye clearly unconvinced.

/

On Stefan's initiative, Elena and him had gone to dine at a fancy restaurant to spend some quality time with each other and… just kind of go back to the start. The relationship had undergone a period of slight uncertainty lately; they had been under a lot of pressure, and… he wanted to put all that behind them in order to move forward on more positive notes.

They were on the terrace which he had reserved exclusively for them.

"This dinner was a great idea. Thank you." Elena acknowledged to Stefan. "We needed this." She added putting her hand over Stefan's.

He smiled thinly but genuinely at her. "My pleasure." He replied. "As long as you're happy that's all that matters."

"I am happy." She said to happy. "You make me happy." She emphasized.

"That makes me happy." He told her leaning his head forward.

She gazed at him lovingly, her eyes reflecting her affections for him and mirroring the genuine smile on her lips. She looked down at her plate and attempted to retrieve her hand from Stefan's to keep on eating but he retained it causing her to look up at him confusedly.

"I hadn't planned to do this like this." Stefan started and laughed with what seemed to be jumpiness. "I, I was going to wait until your birthday, and do it in a more… private setting." He ended taking in their surroundings. "But I just… I can't wait any longer." He told her and put one knee to the ground while still holding her hand.

Elena swallowed hardly. 'Oh my goodness is this happening?'

"I love you, Elena." He said to her gazing softly onto her brown eyes. "You are the love of my life. You are the one I've searched forever. You are everything I dreamed of and more. You are… the greatest blessing. You are my heaven." He declared truthfully and watched as Elena's eyes brimmed with tears. "You keep saying that I make you happy, but I can't even put into words how happy you make me… how blessed I feel because of your presence in my life. And I want to give that back to you: I want to make you… the center of my universe. I want to spend the rest of my life making each day more special than the one before." He paused and reached out in his pocket for a black jewel-case.

Elena's breathing considerably slowed down.

He opened it revealing the ring and Elena gasped feeling like her heart would explode out of her chest: it was the most beautiful piece of jewelry Elena had ever seen. It resembled her mother's engagement ring a lot, yet, it had its specificities: it had a slender platinum band with a single round diamond.

"Elena… Marie… Gilbert, will you please marry me?" Stefan asked his eyes shining with hundreds of different emotions, the prevailing one being love.

Special thanks to ThespianReveur who left me the sweetest message. You're an angel, love! Thank you so much.

Also, update on my Kalijah dilemma: I took every opinion I got into consideration and I've decided to go for the Kalijah fanfic.

More details next chapter. I will post a prologue on my Tumblr this week or next week.

XOXO