She's up before he is, another night in her head felt familiar in a good way. It takes him a moment to notice that she's not next to him when he wakes up. His hand searches the cold side of the bed for a moment before he opens his eyes. Elena's brushing her hair, and he gives her a sleepy smile before he commits to waking up fully.
"Good morning." He says. It's not going to be a completely good day, but there will be good moments.
"The funeral's today." She reminds him and he nods.
"It's so weird to do this. I went decades without being able to tell how I looked." She tells him as she checks her lipstick. She sees him head to the bathroom as she thinks about the shoes Rebekah packed.
They both hear her stomach growl and she frowns for a moment.
"You need to eat, Elena." He reminds her gently.
"I'll see what they have for breakfast." She tells him and he shakes his head.
"You need blood." He corrects. Her smile disappears.
"I'm not sure I can do that alone." She admits. She only had a year or two to be a vampire before this happened, and she needs someone to make sure she doesn't drain someone.
"Klaus packed blood bags." He tells her and she nods.
"I'll go see Klaus and Caroline then." She understands what he doesn't say, feeding in a town with a large witch population is not a good idea.
She's surprised when Elena knocks on their door alone, and Klaus asks where Elijah is.
"He's taking a shower and I need breakfast." She tells them simply as she walks in.
"How are you doing with the bloodlust and food in general?" Caroline asks and Elena waves it off.
She doesn't really have a problem with it, but Elijah had to remind her to eat. Klaus and Caroline frown at that, but Klaus is the first one to move and give her a blood bag.
It's just enough of a difference to throw her off, just like everything else it seems. The packaging changed, just like everything else.
"Here's how you drink from it." Klaus says and demonstrates it to her. She thanks him before she starts.
Elijah knocks on the door as Elena is about to leave.
"The funeral's going to start soon." Caroline says as she puts in her earrings.
Elijah acknowledges that and Elena walks out of the room before Klaus does. Klaus locks the door as they make their way to remind their friends.
Her hand finds Elijah's as they walk and when they're in the backseat, she smells the familiar scent of his cologne.
"It's going to be okay." Caroline says as her voice hints at shaking.
Klaus holds one of her hands tightly and doesn't say anything else. She squeezes his hand tightly and he squeezes her hand back gently. The amount of force she's using doesn't hurt him. Not that he'd tell her that her hand hurt him even if she did.
Caroline did a lovely job with Freya and the other witches, and she keeps her composure as she walks. Elena takes his arm, he lets her. She can have anything she wants from him. She already has his heart, she might as well take everything else.
It's warm in the sun as people begin to speak but Elena just feels cold. Bonnie had wanted an outdoor funeral, had insisted upon it despite Caroline's best arguments.
They listen, and Elijah supplies her with tissues as the tears begin to run, she flexes her fingers a few times as a reminder that Elijah's there. She can't imagine going alone, funerals have always been hard for her. The feeling that seeps into her bones will come, the cold loneliness always sneaks in somehow. Words are spoken, and Elena tries to pay attention to them but she tunes more than one speaker out on accident.
Caroline speaks, and Elena focuses on her breathing. Then everyone moves and Bonnie's coffin is lowered into the ground. Elena stands there alone, watching as others move away, they do have other things to do.
No one else's life stopped because someone died. She closes her eyes.
"Goodbye Bonnie. I'll miss you." She whispers, and for a moment, she's sure Bonnie's there, she feels completely warm for a moment. She opens her eyes to see that it's just the sun, and Elijah looks at her with blatant concern.
"The others are going to a restaurant." He says and she wonders how long she stood alone, waiting and how long he waited for her.
"I'm not hungry." She says. It looks like something pulled at the corner of his mouth when she looks at his face, and he tells her that he knows.
They go anyway.
Lunch is just talking and Elena eats for appearances, really she feels like the hole Bonnie left is bleeding, but it's starting to heal over again. It's going to take time, Elijah whispers as he leans close to her. She appreciates the reminder.
Caroline tells everyone that they should meet again soon, the table is filled with familiar faces that haven't seen each other in years.
They manage to come to an agreement to meet again in New Orleans in a month. Elijah looks at her and she nods. She wants to go, needs to leave.
Elijah and Elena say their goodbyes at lunch, and Caroline looks confused but doesn't leave the table.
She convinces him that they should drive to Mystic Falls before the next morning. She leaves notes for everyone, apologizing and explaining her quick exit.
She's got something to do.
It's not a date, she jokes as he walks with her, into the ice cream place.
"Of course not." He replies and she feels a thousand times lighter than she did while they were mourning. A few hours of thought had helped her.
They stare at the flavors a little too long and the people working there have no idea, they just think they're just an old couple that loves ice cream.
They're partially right, Elena thinks.