He seized both Elena’s hands, whirled her around once as if she weighed nothing, picked her up, and kissed her.
And kissed her.
And Kissed her until Elena felt her soul dripping off her fingertips.”
“This was the best feeling in the world, the knowledge that she and Stefan were together, and she made Stefan promise her over and over that he would not ever leave her on another quest again, no matter how briefly, no matter the cause.
By now, Elena could not even focus on what she had been worried about before. She and Stefan had always found heaven in each other’s arms. They were meant to be together forever. Nothing else mattered now that she was home.
“Home” was where she and Stefan were together.”
“She’d been born to love Stefan. She knew that. Once he’d been willing to marry her. Well, since then, she had been a vampire, a spirit and a new incarnation dropped from the sky, and she would hope that one day he would be willing to marry that new Elena too.
“Yes. That was Stefan. Her love, but not her lover.. willing to love her chastely from now until the end of her days..
The end.. of her days?..
“Elena” Stefan said quietly. “Could you ask me to come in? You have to invite me in if you want to —to talk—”
Invite him in? He was already in — inside her heart. She told the Guardians that everyone would have to accept Stefan as her boyfriend of almost a year.”
“Stefan looked down at her and then took her in his arms. “I’m not as good at you” he said.
“If you are happy, that’s all I want, after that prison. O can live; I can die.. peacefully”
“If we’re happy,” Elena corrected.
“I won’t tempt the gods. I’ll settle for you”
“No, you can’t! Don’t you see? If you disappeared again, I’d worry and fret and follow you. To Hell if I had to”
“I’ll take you with me wherever I go,” Stefan said hastily. “If you’ll take me with you”
Elena relaxed slightly. That would do, for now. As long as Stefan was with her she could stand anything.”
“Since I saw you, I loved you —- but it was the wrong kind of love. See how long it took me to figure that out?” Elena whispered into the hollow of his throat
“Since I first saw you, I loved you — but I didn’t know who you really were. You were like a ghost in a dream. But you put my straight pretty quickly” Stefan said, glad that he could brag about her.
“And we’ve survived everything. They say long-distance relationships can be pretty difficult” he added, laughed and the stopped, and she could feel all his faculties fixed on her suddenly, breath stopping so he could hear her better.”
“She herself was concentrating on one single feeling, somewhere in the center of this storm they’d called up. This kind of exchange of blood— she was sure as she could be — this was the old way, the way that two vampires can share blood and love and their souls.
She was being drawn into Stefan’s mind. She felt his soul, pure and unconstrained, swirling around her with a thousand different emotions, tears from his past, joy from the present, all open without a trace of shield from her.
She felt her own soul lift to meet his, herself unshielded and unafraid. Stefan had long ago seen any selfishness, vanity, over-ambition in her — and forgiven it. He’d seen all of her and loved all of her, even the bad parts.
And so she saw him, as darkness as tender as rest, as gentle as evensong, wrapping black protective wings around her…
Stefan .. I..
Love.. I know”
“Right here, right here… please?” she begged him. She didn’t want to have to seduce him into it, but she would if he forced her to. She would wash her hands into pristine cleanliness and change into a long, clinging night-gown, and stroke his stubborn canines in between kisses, and touch them with her tongue tip gently, just at the base where they wouldn’t cut her as they responded and grew. And by then he would be dizzy, he would be out of control, and he would be hers completely.
All right, all right! Stefan thought to her. Mercy.
“I don’t want to give you mercy. I don’t want you to let me go,” she said, holding her arms out to him, and heard her own voice soft and tender and yearning. “I want you to hold me and keep me forever, and I want to hold you and keep you forever”
Stefan’s face had changed. He looked at her with the look he’d worn when she had come to visit him in an outfit —- very unlike the grubby one she wore now — and he’d said, bewildered, “All this…. for me?”
There had been razor wire between them now. Now there was nothing to separate them and Elena could see how much Stefan wanted to come to her. She reached a little farther and then Stefan came into the circle of her arms and held her tightly but with infinite care not to use enough strength to hurt her. When he relaxed and leaned hos forehead against hers, Elena realized that she would never be tired or sad or frightened without being able to think of this feeling and it would uphold her for the rest of her life.
At last they sank down together on the sheets comforting each other in equal measure; exchanging sweet, warm kisses. With each kiss, Elena felt the outside world and all its horrors drift farther and farther away. How would anything be wrong when she herself felt that heaven was near?
Every kiss brought her closer to paradise, and she knew Stefan felt the same way. They were so happy together that Elena knew that soon the entire universe would echo with their own joy, which overflowed like pure light and transformed everything it touched”
“With that light in his face, Stefan looked… too good.
He seized both Elena’s hands, whirled her around once as if she weighed nothing, picked her up, and kissed her.
And kissed her.
And Kissed her until Elena felt her soul dripping off her fingertips.”
"And when she finally fell asleep in Stefan’s arms, it was hours after midnight"
"Stefan,” Elena managed to at last to whisper.
“I know. she’s weaker than i am and you don’t want to see me kill her. That’s why she’s still alive, love. it’s the only reason.” As elena lifted half-frightened eyes to him, stefan added in a voice only she could hear. Of course , there are some things about me you don’ know, Elena. Things i’d hoped you never have to see. Knowing you —- loving you —- made me almost forget about them."
"But you don’t have to change me into — you know,” she began whispering again. “A sip or two of this and i can be with you forever. Forever and —for— forever — Stefan—” she stopped, trying to get her breath and her mental balance.
his hand closed over hers on the cap. “Elena”
“I’m not crying. it’s because i’m happy. Forever and ever, Stefan we can be together, just… just us two.. forever”
“Elena, love” his hand kept hers from twisting open the bottle.
“It—isn’t what you want?”
With his other arm, stefan pulled her tightly to him. Her head fell forward onto his shoulder and he rested his chin on her hair. “It’s what i want more than anything. I’m… dazed, i guess. I have been ever since —-” he stopped and tried again. “If we have all the time in the world, we have tomorrow” he said in a voice muffled by hair."
