Ahh, home, let me come home

Home is wherever I'm with you

-Home, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Elena had pictured the most awkward family get-together, ever, a hundred times over. Somehow, the silence was worse than all of them,she thought as she shifted on the couch facing her guests.

Stefan had arrived first, with a guest. Tyler, he'd introduced himself as. Then came Caroline, with a guest of her own, named Lexi. Those two really thought alike.

But so far the extra presence did nothing to break the ice and Elena found she didn't know how to start. Did she ask how their lives had been going so she could remind them of rehab and past mistakes? No, probably not. And it's not like she could just start talking about how they'd finally been able to get their lives together after their errant siblings had been out of their lives.

She almost started mentioning the unusual summer weather they'd been having.

In the end, it was Lexi and Tyler who saved their "reunion" by stirring up polite conversation, allowing Damon and Elena to learn about their siblings since the 3-year separation without resorting to an interrogation. Elena felt incredibly grateful and proud of her sister and Stefan for finding such great friends. They'd always been survivors, even if they claimed Elena and Damon were so much better at it.

It started when Tyler asked Caroline if she had a job—not judgmentally, like he would look down at her if she said 'no'—just politely.

Caroline nodded. "I actually work in a department store, Macy's. It's not exactly what I plan to do with my life, but it's nice for now."

"What do you want to do?"

Caroline smiled when Tyler seemed genuinely interested. "Well, I'm taking night and online classes at a local technical college and I want to be a physical therapist."

"Oh, that's really cool. Maybe you could do me."

He looked around when everyone just looked at him and if he was a man prone to blushing, he would have. He didn't mean for the second sentence to come out as a come-on. He couldn't even remember the last time he'd even talked to a girl who wasn't just some drunk bimbo at the bar. He laughed nervously. "I mean, I always get a Charlie horse in my right calf when I run."

Caroline was blushing. "Well, thanks, maybe once I have more experience. What do you do?"

Great, he'd creeped her out. "I work in a bar."

She was impressed. "That must be pretty hard."

"Well, honestly, even though I'm his sponsor, Stefan helps me out a lot."

Elena was surprised to hear that Stefan even had a sponsor, but at the news, a little bubble of happiness started to grow inside her.

Once the conversation started flowing, admittedly without the aid of either her or Damon, Elena decided that they should have snacks for this. She turned to the small kitchen area of their small apartment and asked Damon to help her carry the tray.

He got the hint and they talked quietly as she arranged the cheese and crackers. "This was the right decision. I'm glad they're here," she whispered and he nodded.

"Still..." he prompted.

She understood. "Still, I'm not sure where we stand. Before we tell them the news, how about I get my sister alone and you get Stefan?"

He nodded. It seemed fair, although he wasn't sure he could talk to his brother just yet. But even so, his anger almost seemed to be melting away, like he couldn't hold it to his chest anymore. Not when he could see the face of his little brother, looking so much more like that little boy without the anger.

They were in agreement and they brought the snacks and drinks all of ten feet to the 'dining area.'

Caroline laughed when she saw the arrangement of neatly organized cheese, crackers, and meats. "How domestic of you." It was the first time she'd addressed her sister since the shaky hello and her mouth dropped open a bit and her eyes widened, as if she was afraid she'd suddenly said the wrong thing. "Not that that's - I mean it's good." She hastily tried to correct herself. "I'm happy for you, really." She looked like she wanted to sink into the carpet.

"Thank you," Elena said warmly as she smiled at her sister. It was the first she'd seen of the old girl, really. This polite creature on her best behavior was so unlike her. She hadn't even cussed once.

Caroline smiled back and it was the first time that night she didn't feel quite as stressed out by seeing her sister, the former bane of her existence (even though it happened that Caroline was the – hopefully, former – bane of hers).

Stefan revealed he was an office temp, jumping from place to place, which concerned Elena a little. It didn't seem very stable.

Lexi was the quickest of them all, declaring she was a lawyer and saying nothing more. Elena got the feeling she didn't want to talk about it.

Damon and Elena were finally joining the conversation as it seemed like it was their turn to share their jobs and aspirations. "Well, I work at, you guessed it!" He produced one of the soda cans, its colorful pattern distinctive. "Come get your sugary cavities, kids." He rolled his eyes. "I'm in marketing. It's," he shrugged. "The hours are better than my last job. And one day soon I might just get promoted to a moderately decent paying position."

"Yes, it's them you have to thank for our complimentary beverages this evening." Elena laughed.

"What about you, Elena?" Caroline asked.

"Well, I'm still in school, a sophomore at the local community college now. And I work part-time at the coffee shop down the street."

Caroline was happy to hear her sister was getting an education. Before she'd become so wrapped up in herself, that's what she wanted for her sister. And she was glad she was also enrolled. She didn't want to be some deadbeat sister.

Elena had never been a normal girl, but she assumed the party was going well, despite the fact she was pretty sure most gatherings of young adults usually involved alcohol or other substances.

"I could really use a smoke, do you mind if I—" Lexi spoke up and nodded to the balcony.

"Go right ahead."

The new apartment Elena and Damon had for themselves was smaller, probably because they only needed one room, but infinitely nicer. It even had a balcony. Lexi and Stefan found themselves on that balcony when they escaped the others for a bit. She'd told them she needed a smoke, and Stefan had followed. Tyler shot him a look. He knew his friend didn't smoke.

The view was pretty nice. The seventh floor balcony overlooked a wooded park in the center and various buildings on either side.

"I thought you were smoking?" He asked her after a while and she hadn't pulled out a cigarette.

She pulled out something slim and black. "I have this," she said, looking at it with distaste. She could have stayed in the apartment if she wanted to puff on it because all it did was emit water vapor or something. But it didn't really do shit for her. And she was trying to quit. She stowed it back in her bag. "Truth was, I just needed a break from the family reunion. I mean, I can't even handle my own family. I don't know how Caroline talked me into this."

"I'm not sure how I managed to get here myself." Stefan didn't seemed offended by her balcony escape.

'I'm glad though," she said softly, looking at him from the corner of her eyes and letting him know with her words that she maybe liked meeting him.

The silence was comfortable and lasted for a few minutes as they watched people walk through the park, feed the pigeons, although there were signs that clearly enough—even from their distance—warned against it.

She suddenly gave him a sly look and laughed unexpectedly.

"What?" He asked her, laughing as well, although he didn't know why. He was starting to learn Lexi was just kind of like that. She was the kind of person you get caught up in.

"You are one sexy temp," she told him.

Stefan wasn't expecting it and he laughed, taking it partially as a joke.

"Seriously," Lexi insisted. "The office girls must hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave."

He gave her an unstoppable smile. "You're funny. That's good." He liked her. He couldn't remember the last person who'd made him laugh.

"No really, I could probably get you a job at the firm where I work."

He paused. "I don't think you should," he finally said. He could see surprise on her face, and he hoped at least, the slightest hint of disappointment. "Because I'm not sure how well interoffice romance works and I really wanna ask you out."

Lexi looked down, but even that couldn't hide her grin. "A little presumptuous of you, don't you think?" But she liked his boldness, and she moved closer so that their shoulders were bumping as they talked.

"Well, I figured a lawyer might appreciate the straightforward approach," he said, smiling down at her.

He was cute when he smiled. Lexi tried to look anywhere but at his face, but of course she kept coming back to it. And he was right. She did appreciate it.

Back in the apartment, Caroline invited Elena to see a pair of shoes she'd just gotten. It was a ruse, of course. Oh the shoes were real enough, but Elena really just wanted to talk to her sister alone. Okay, maybe she wanted to show her the shoes, too.

"Here they are," Elena said happily as she produced a pair of shoes still in the box from the small closet. They were blood red heels, not ridiculously high, but probably still high enough to be a pain to walk in.

Caroline complimented them, but she was unnerved that she didn't even know her sister cared about shoes. Seemed there were a lot of things she missed when she was being an idiot. She peeked into her sister's closet and managed to draw out the conversation, talking about things like how they didn't understand why peplum tops were in style.

"But we both rock the look," Caroline said, "because we are some total hotties."

Elena laughed, because she was pretty sure she was serious and her confidence was comforting. "I'm glad you came." She'd finally gotten up the courage to talk about her feelings. Wasn't this supposed to be easier among women?

"I'm-thank you. I mean, I'm glad you invited me here. I was scared, but I thought—" Caroline didn't seem to know what to say. Maybe if her sister had been angrier – angry at all, really – she could've found the words. "What I mean to say is that I am so sorry, Elena." She grabbed her sister by the shoulders. "I was scared to come because I thought you would be angry, and the worst part is that I deserve it."

Elena looked away. "I am angry, Caroline. And I definitely won't be accepting drinks from you anytime soon." Her sister blanched. "But you're my sister." She looked at the taller girl and picked up a strand of her hair. She loved that hair. "I want you in my life, even if it isn't always easy or comfortable."

She started to cry. "I love you, and I am so, so sorry." She pulled her into a hug.

Instead of saying anything, Elena just returned the embrace and maybe cried a little bit, too.

Elena was pleased that some things did not need to be said. For a long time she'd wondered if Caroline still blamed her for the ruin of her relationship with Damon, if she would expect an apology from Elena. Because if she had, Elena would have never given it. Even if she felt some guilt, which, surprisingly, she didn't, Elena would never apologize for loving Damon. For being able to spend the rest of her life with him.

Coming out of the small bedroom, Caroline crashed into Tyler, who'd been walking near the door. Her mouth dropped as her eyes dripped to his chest. "Oh, I am so sorry."

"That is probably going to stain," Damon piped in, almost apologetically, from across the room.

"There's some stain remover in the basement. Maybe if you got that on the stain right away…?" Elena said with pity in her voice.

"It's fine, really." Tyler said, trying to appease the blonde who was now swiping uselessly at his wet shirt with her bare hand, but he was actually kind of peeved he'd worn one of his nicest shirts to this place when they probably wouldn't have cared if he'd worn raggedly flannel.

"I insist," Caroline said shrilly as she tugged him out the apartment door.

Elena knew better than to argue with her sister when that tone was present in her voice. So she didn't mention that Tyler was a grownup who could take care of himself, that Caroline hadn't even been to the apartment before and that she wouldn't have any more knowledge of the basement laundry room than he did. But it looked like Tyler had yet to learn that sometimes there was no arguing with her sister, because he was currently trying to dissuade her, even as she lead him out the door.

It took them embarrassingly long to find the laundry room, and it was mostly due to Caroline. They walked around the entire seventh floor before they found the elevator and it was a big building. Tyler had suggested the stairs, but Caroline had been adamant. They got to the basement and he suggested they go left, but she went right. And kept going right until they'd reached the end of the hallway of supply closets. His shirt was already pretty dry by now. They started back the way they came and Tyler wondered how on Earth he'd ended up with this silly woman. Oh right, fucking Stefan.

She stepped into the laundry room and gave him a perky smile. "I told you I'd find it."

Tyler only gave her a disbelieving look.

Her hands found the hem of his shirt and started to lift. His brain fogged for a moment and his body reacted with what must have been muscle memory before he remembered she'd made it her mission to help him remove the stain.

He fought irritation as he struggled against her hands to take off his own shirt. He was about to berate her for treating him like he was five when her lips were on his. She shoved him against a dryer built into the wall and moved her hands and mouth over him like she'd been waiting a long time to do just that. And to someone as impatient as Caroline, maybe those ten minutes really were a long time to wait.

Tyler had a feeling it had been too long for them both. For some people, hooking up was too close to what you'd been addicted to in the first place, too connected to it. And it was hard to touch or want someone else when you didn't even want to be in your own body.

The washing machines were the perfect height and the room was deserted, only a few spinning in the entire room. He guessed not many people did laundry on a Saturday night. He picked her up and set her on one of the currently working units, feeling her ass as he did so.

"This isn't," he tried to speak, to be reasonable, but he couldn't find words to deny what he so desperately wanted.

"Pill," she told him, continuing to peck at him and slide her hands across all of his flesh that she could access. "Mmm clean." She moaned against his neck. "You clean?"

He nodded, and she went on. If possible, she became more feverish. He found he could hardly think beyond what those lips were currently doing, let alone cultivate a reasonable reaction to this.

Tyler wasn't sure how this had started, but it felt decided. Like the thing he had to do was bury his hands in her hair, or bite at her neck while she begged for more. He helped her fling various pieces of clothing behind them.

It wasn't hard and fast, but it was quick. He tested her to make sure she was ready and then he'd wasted no time. He rocked into her in time with the tumbling of the machines around them.

Caroline had always been shamefully easy. He was hardly in her before she was shaking more than the warm washing machine gently rocking under her ass. She cried out happily as she came, the smell of detergent, soda, and Tyler in her mind.

Tyler had been trying very hard to contain himself, thinking he would need to last far longer. But she tightened around him and it was…the. Best. Possible. Thing. He shuddered as he came inside her, looking down at her. Her hair was shining and she looked so beautiful underneath the ugly fluorescent lights in the laundry room.

Caroline clung to his shoulders, loving his warmth in the cold room, while she tried to recover enough to begin covering up. It didn't take as long as she wished. "Oh, my god," she stated.

Tyler nuzzled her neck, his naked chest pressing against hers once more. "I know."

Caroline felt a tug of annoyance. That had not been the 'ohmygod' of after-sex bliss, it had been the 'ohmygodwhatamajormistakeIjustmade.' Couldn't he even tell the difference? Caroline pushed him off. "What the hell?"

His brows flew up and his look of shock was almost comical. It was quite endearing. "What?" He asked. This woman's emotions were giving him whiplash.

"How dare you take advantage of me when I'm at my family reunion and all emotional."

He followed her to where she was trying to collect her clothes where they'd thrown them in their haste. "You practically attacked me." He accused.

"Yeah," she sneered. "Because I was emotional."

He opened his mouth to argue, but somehow nothing came out. He shut his mouth, still speechless.

Caroline turned to him, her shirt clutched to her chest, and looked at him expectantly, like she wanted him to say something. Then she threw her shirt aside and threw herself in his arms, her mouth finding his and moving like she'd been deprived for years.

He knew, he knew he shouldn't involve himself with someone so like himself, a reformed addict, obviously unstable. But damn if his arms didn't catch her and hold her close.

Lexi noticed the way Elena seemed to be glancing at her boyfriend and his brother. How it almost seemed like she was tiptoeing around them. She also noticed that Caroline and Tyler had been gone way too long to just be applying stain remover, or even throwing it in a washer, but no one seemed to be mentioning it. She guessed that was only polite. She rolled her eyes. It was about time. She'd never met such a sexually starved woman and she'd never understood why Caroline had denied herself for so long.

She figured the brothers would want time to talk alone, so Lexi asked to see the pair of shoes Caroline had mentioned seeing earlier.

Elena's eyes lit up, and whether it was from realizing Lexi was helping out, finally getting the boys alone, or just getting to show her shoes off again, Lexi found she liked Elena a lot. Liked how simple it was to make her happy, how clearly her emotions showed on her face. As a lawyer, that quality was sorely lacking in a lot of the people she met in her life. Caroline was the same way, an open book.

They went into the room, closing the door behind them.

Stefan seemed to understand why he was now alone with his brother and he sighed.

They were standing close, and looking at him, all Damon wanted was his little brother back. He wanted to forget what Stefan had done, forgive and forget. And he wished he was strong enough to do that.

He drew back his fist and slammed it into Stefan's face.

His brother dropped like a sack of bricks and made no move to get up. Damon knew it had been a hard punch, much worse than what he had done to Elena. He'd probably have a black eye. Already, the older brother felt much better.

He kneeled and put a hand on Stefan's shoulder. His brother's green eyes looked at him with understanding and…hope? Damon wondered if it would survive what he said next. "I've had years to come to terms with, with everything. And now? Now we're good."

He helped his brother from the floor and squared up with him, hands going to his brother's shoulders again. "But you should know that I am my father's son. I've tried to deny it, but it's just true. And I've also had years to regret that night in the hospital." Damon was referring to the day he'd let Stefan go.

"I deserve worse." Stefan voice was raspy.

"Not for me to decide," he said curtly. "All I can say is that I'm over it, mostly. And you belong with family, with me." His voice had gone soft and his eyes a little watery. "But if you ever touch Elena again, or even look at her kinda strange, I'm going to kill you."

Stefan's heart skipped a beat at Damon's last sentence. He'd never seen his brother's eyes so icy, had never heard his voice so dark. He'd never seemed more like their father than in that moment, and Stefan wondered how much it hurt Damon to admit that last sentence. But he had no doubt he meant every threat. He nodded.

Damon patted his brother on the back and gave him a wry smile. "Good." He walked away.

"What happened?" Lexi demanded, seeing his face as she walked out of Elena's room.

"Damon and I made up." He winced as Lexi probed his fast-swelling eye.

"You and your brother have a weird relationship," she understated and Stefan couldn't help but grin. Funny. Funny was good.

He noticed that Elena had glanced from Damon stalking away to Stefan holding his face with an expression of pain, and then back to her boyfriend. She followed Damon.

And Stefan realized that she would always follow Damon. Maybe that was how it should be. In the battle with his demons, Stefan had never really considered that Damon had his own. But it made sense. Damon had been older than Stefan, could remember more because of that and had lived through more abuse. Damon needed Elena to follow him. Maybe more than Stefan thought he'd needed her all those years ago.

Caroline chose that moment to return, with Tyler in tow. He looked a bit frazzled. No one mentioned the mussed hair, or Tyler's new shirt, curtesy of the lost and found bin.

The couple of the evening had been talking about something near the kitchen area, too quiet to hear anything except faint whispers, but they must have decided something, because the next thing their guests knew, they were both standing before them. "We have an announcement." Elena took Damon's hand. He looked tense, but Elena just looked happy. Happy that her family was together. "I'm pregnant."

The party hadn't lasted so long after that. It was late and they were all ready to leave after the strange, emotional party. Especially Lexi and Tyler, Elena suspected. They'd been like witnesses, held by bonds of friendship to withstand the awkward evening with the small family.

Their reactions had been varied. Well, not so varied, she supposed. They'd all been shocked or stunned. Lexi and Tyler didn't look too emotionally invested in it, but they did look like they knew what it could mean to their friends. Caroline had practically squealed when she got over the initial surprise. She'd treated Elena with kid gloves the rest of the evening. Stefan seemed sincerely happy, but he stayed quiet.

Probably because of what had happened earlier with Damon. She hadn't really expected Damon to react so violently, but she had a feeling it settled something for Damon. Gave him closure or something. And even if that meant pain for Stefan, she couldn't help that a small part of her was happy for Damon.

Elena was glad they were leaving, not because she was particularly tired of their company, but because she just wanted to be alone. Alone with the love of her life. She glanced at Damon where he was tidying up the room of the small mess the party had left and she smiled. She returned to the goodbyes of her guests, all of them wishing her well.

She didn't say anything, but she definitely noticed. Her guests weren't leaving with the people they came with. She wasn't sure that was a smart idea, but for right now they looked happy. And that's all she wanted for everybody.