driftfleet | mingle with the commoners or something

Is that so?

[He laughs, partially at how adorable she sounds when she's looking at him like that but also at how natural this feels. He's been wanting this kind of closeness for a long, long time. Without thinking, he bridges that (little) distance and presses his lips against hers.

Alesci shouldn't know how to do this like it's second-nature, but Stefan can't help it. She's home, and well - what better way to let her know?]

[Alex kisses back for a few seconds, entranced by the warmth of his skin and how gentle he is, how soft and safe. His hand on her waist and his nose against hers... It's peaceful, and soothing, and she feels like she's breathing in a cloud. It makes her head foggy, and her heartbeat seems to slow as she tips her head to get a better angle-

Then, in an instant, the world goes sideways.

Her hand goes tense on his shoulder, and she stops the kiss with a ragged, sharp breath. She isn't sure what broke the bubble for her, what set off the alarm through the haze of bliss, but all at once the warmth in her chest runs cold and sharp. It's horror and guilt and loathing, all mixing in her veins, and for a few moments she can't even move. She just looks down at Stefan's collar, still clutching his shoulder like it's a last lifeline.]

Stef... ?

[Her voice pulls him back to reality.

He pulls back a little, scanning her eyes for - for that guilt and horror written as clear as day. It doesn't hit him then, not as he furrows his brow in confusion. This is what boyfriends & girlfriends do. They go on dates, they snuggle, and they most definitely kiss each other from time to time.

He had kissed Elena and Katherine and--and those are most definitely not the people Alesci has ever dated. Stefan swallows a breath as the realization finally hits him.

"You're sure you're okay with the fact that I can't really love you like most boyfriends? Even kissing - sometimes, that's a bit more than I can do."

Shit.

Shitshitshit, he'd--- he recoils back, pulling her hand off his shoulder with unnatural speed.]

Alex, I-- [He takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. The effort's failing.] I am so sorry.

[Alex wants to step back, but all that's behind her is the counter. She clutches at it with cold hands, trying to stop the panic that's swelling in her stomach.

It's my fault, it's my fault, it's my fault.]

No. No, it's-

[She pictures an attic bedroom, an old army uniform. A man from another time, with another life. And she feels sick with sadness, all at once.]

It's not your fault. You wouldn't have-

[You wouldn't have done that if you were just Alesci. If he were the boy she loves, with his poetry and his tea and his ridiculously gentle smile...

She can't tear her eyes away from the floor, tracing the bolts in the metal grates. Her heart is pounding in her ears.]

No, it's completely my fault.

[I - he - I wouldn't have cared, Stefan has to remind himself as he places his hands on his hips and stares down at the ground. At one point, long before faith mattered, he wouldn't have cared.

Back home, he had people to share the pain of Echoes with, because they knew. They knew how irreversible they were, and how bit by bit, your old self vanished to make way for the life you used to live. Stefan's not sure which terrifies him more: learning more about Salvatore, or losing the pieces of Alesci that matter the most.]

I should've-- I should've told you, I got a ton of memories back after calibrations.

[Some less good than others. But eventually, those memories - and the traits associated with them - were going to take a toll on him. Guess he shouldn't have tried to delay the inevitable.]

But I didn't and I - I'm so, so sorry.

[I got a ton of memories back. He's already changing, then. That brooding boy with blood on his hands has already started to return. This isn't a fluke occurrence - it's a symptom of a spreading disease, and one day those memories might kill the part of him she knows.

Her eyes sting, and she looks down at the floor.]

And what good would telling me have done? Should I have stayed away from you, or something? Because if you don't want me around while you're going through this, just say it.

What? No. That's the last thing I want.

[Honesty is the best policy, Mom had told him when he was little, and Stefan believed in it wholeheartedly. If he kept the lines of communication open, and did everything in his power to tell her what was going on with him.... then it might make this whole thing easier.]

I should've told you because I'm [turning back into him] gaining all these pieces back, and - and I don't want to be alone while I'm figuring out which ones I should keep and which ones I should throw away.

[Or if he should even throw them out to begin with.]

[Alex is silent for a few moments, trying to figure out what to even say. How many parts of Stef's personality has she fallen in love with that actually came from his past self? If they could be separated, which one would she recognize more?

Her eyes still cast low, Alex reaches out and loops one of her fingers around one of his.]

I trust you. And we're going to do this together. We just... Whoever you are in the end, I'm gonna still be in love with him. I just don't want to put any pressure on you to stay a certain way.

Thank you. I don't know how much I'll change. Just that I will. Everyone did, back home. [Had he mentioned that part yet - that he wasn't alone in the memory game? Stefan can't remember, but Alex deserves to know everything.]

If you don't [love me anymore]... it's okay. I know Salvatore wasn't the greatest guy to be around.

[Understatement of the century. Elena was a brave and compassionate girl, to handle him as long as she did. Stefan lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, staring down at their hands.]

[No, nope, they aren't even going there. She laces her fingers around his, quickly and firmly.]

I'm going to. I'm always going to.

[He lets out a nervous laugh.] Don't go making promises you can't keep.

[But right now, he'll take that answer for what it is: a sign that they'll work through all of his muddled memories together, rather than leaving her in the dark.]

I love you more than anything, and I don't want it to change. ["Except it could."] So we'll get through this together as long as we can.

I'll keep it as long as I can.

[She wants to pull him into a big hug, but she knows he's probably antsy about contact right now, and with good reason. Instead, she just keeps their hands linked, and moves an inch or two closer.]

And if I could keep it for the rest of my life, I would.

[That's an even bigger promise than her insisting on how much she'd still love him. She's seen the old Stefan - and she wants that? She wants that guy with every inch of her being?

She's either brave or stupid, and right now, he doesn't want to dwell on either possibility. So he lets out a sigh of relief.]

In that case.... Thank you, Alex.

["I hope you don't have to break it anytime soon."]

[Every single inch. She laces her fingers through his, and looks down at her feet.]

Thank you.

[Huh? He laughs, a little nervously] For what? I didn't do anything this time.

Just... being yourself, and trusting me with all of this, and everything.

You're my witch. There's nothing I'd keep from you, not any longer than I had to.

[That's the real difference between Salvatore and Alesci: secrets are Salvatore's lifeblood, but the bane of Alesci's existence. As long as he can keep communication open, he will.]

[She smiles gently, and leans her head against him.]

And that goes both ways, mister. You're my vampire.

mingle with the commoners or something

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

kalshjd i thought it was your turn on this one oops

NO WORRIES it happens

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject