Saints and Sinners
November 19, 2012
November 19, 2012
Elena is very aware of the atmosphere in the kitchen. Jenna sips her coffee at the sink, her back straight and tense. Alaric hurries about, coming in and out of room, muttering nonsense. Jeremy, as always, is at Bonnie’s. She slurps the milk from her bowl, wincing at how loud and obnoxious the noise is, and relaxes when a knock comes at the door.
But when she opens it Damon smiles that sarcastic grin at her, steps swiftly past her into the foyer. “Has Stefan been by?” he asks, fondling a plastic plant.
Elena rolls her eyes and sulks back into the kitchen with Damon following close behind. She tosses her bowl carelessly into the sink and Jenna barely raises a brow. After a minute of staring the woman down, Elena huffs a sigh and heads upstairs where she busies herself with organization.
“Something on your mind?” Damon asks, plopping onto her messy bed.
“I haven’t seen Stefan for a couple of days, Alaric and Jenna are acting weird and Caroline has been avoiding me like I have the plague.” She slams the lid of her jewelry box, and though she knows it’s possible she still startles when Damon is suddenly grasping her elbow.
“Hey, are you alright?” he murmurs, steering her towards the bed.
“I thought you don’t care? I thought caring is for humans. You’re above that, remember? You turned that off centuries ago.”
“That doesn’t mean someone or something never comes along to flip the switch off.”
His words hang heavily in the silence between them, coating the floors and fogging the windows. They’re foreign feelings spoken out loud, and neither of them quite knows what to do about it. Luckily for them the ever absent Jeremy pops his head into the room, eyeing the pair before speaking.
“Stefan is downstairs outside. He said he has to talk to you?”
“Thanks Jer.” Elena mutters, hurrying from the room.
When they connect eyes over the threshold that’s all it takes and she is burying herself into his arms, inhaling his scent. They hold each other for a while, and for the moment she forgets she was angry he left without a word in the first place.
“I’m sorry,” he begins and she pulls away quickly, putting space between them. “I had to go take care of something, I had to see people.”
“Are you going to tell me anymore than that?” Her voice is surprisingly calm, and she realizes that she just doesn’t care anymore if he keeps secrets from her. Why should she?
“No, and you know I hate keeping things from you but I just can’t tell you.”
“It’s okay, Stefan.” Her smile is slow forming but it lights up her face when it’s full bloom. “It’s alright.”
They pass Damon going down as they go up, but she doesn’t have room in her heart to ache for the lonely boy today. She has her own problems and love to take account of, to care about.
Elena is very aware of the atmosphere in the kitchen. Jenna sips her coffee at the sink, her back straight and tense. Alaric hurries about, coming in and out of room, muttering nonsense. Jeremy, as always, is at Bonnie’s. She slurps the milk from her bowl, wincing at how loud and obnoxious the noise is, and relaxes when a knock comes at the door.
But when she opens it Damon smiles that sarcastic grin at her, steps swiftly past her into the foyer. “Has Stefan been by?” he asks, fondling a plastic plant.
Elena rolls her eyes and sulks back into the kitchen with Damon following close behind. She tosses her bowl carelessly into the sink and Jenna barely raises a brow. After a minute of staring the woman down, Elena huffs a sigh and heads upstairs where she busies herself with organization.
“Something on your mind?” Damon asks, plopping onto her messy bed.
“I haven’t seen Stefan for a couple of days, Alaric and Jenna are acting weird and Caroline has been avoiding me like I have the plague.” She slams the lid of her jewelry box, and though she knows it’s possible she still startles when Damon is suddenly grasping her elbow.
“Hey, are you alright?” he murmurs, steering her towards the bed.
“I thought you don’t care? I thought caring is for humans. You’re above that, remember? You turned that off centuries ago.”
“That doesn’t mean someone or something never comes along to flip the switch off.”
His words hang heavily in the silence between them, coating the floors and fogging the windows. They’re foreign feelings spoken out loud, and neither of them quite knows what to do about it. Luckily for them the ever absent Jeremy pops his head into the room, eyeing the pair before speaking.
“Stefan is downstairs outside. He said he has to talk to you?”
“Thanks Jer.” Elena mutters, hurrying from the room.
When they connect eyes over the threshold that’s all it takes and she is burying herself into his arms, inhaling his scent. They hold each other for a while, and for the moment she forgets she was angry he left without a word in the first place.
“I’m sorry,” he begins and she pulls away quickly, putting space between them. “I had to go take care of something, I had to see people.”
“Are you going to tell me anymore than that?” Her voice is surprisingly calm, and she realizes that she just doesn’t care anymore if he keeps secrets from her. Why should she?
“No, and you know I hate keeping things from you but I just can’t tell you.”
“It’s okay, Stefan.” Her smile is slow forming but it lights up her face when it’s full bloom. “It’s alright.”
They pass Damon going down as they go up, but she doesn’t have room in her heart to ache for the lonely boy today. She has her own problems and love to take account of, to care about.
♠ ♠ ♠
Short but it needed to happen.