Barely A Memory

Chapter 22

It would make everything easier if this link created a void in Stefan's heart. Even then, that terrified her more than the idea of leaving ever had.

Instead of telling him this, she simply said that she loved him. Over and over again. Between what felt like a thousand desperate kisses. His fingers through her hair was easily the realest thing she'd ever felt in her life. Once she pulled away, Elena ran her fingers along his face, over his lips, trying to commit it all to memory. Breathing heavily, she looked in his eyes once again. "No matter what happens, these past few months since you came back... They've been the best."

They both laughed at Elena's lack of a better word. Stefan softly used the pad of his thumb to wipe away one of her tears, though a new one quickly took its place. "Thanks for letting me fall in love with you again."

"I fell in love with you again, too," she said, gazing up at him. "I fell in love with all the new parts of you." Her shoulders now violently wracked with sobs and he kissed her to try and settle her. But she tasted his salty tears on her lips, too.

He was the one to pull away, his hands cupping her face. "When we get out of this and wake up tomorrow still in love with each other, we're going to have a serious argument about you breaking the link, okay?" he nearly promised, eyes boring into hers. Elena could only nod, weakly laughing at his attempt to lighten the mood and be positive. If only he knew...

"We will," she said, shaking so much that he had to hold her in place.

"The make-up sex will be fantastic."

"It'll be fantastic," she repeated back through her tears. His attempts at comforting her seemed to only bring her closer to hysteria, but she didn't have the nerve to tell him why.

He pulled her as close to him as humanly possible. His cheek was against hers, lips warm against her ear. She heard his heavy breathing, too; he was trying not to cry, but clearly failing at this point. "And as soon as this is all over, I'm going to pick you up over my shoulder and carry you all the way to Vegas and we're going to get married right away."

Oh, god. Her heart was breaking. "Okay," she stuttered out. Say something, Elena. Say something! They both knew these were empty promises. The future seemed too vast now, so horribly vast...

If only this moment could last into eternity. If only this night could stay night and not fade to morning. They just needed this moment right here, with her arms around his torso and his hands on the small of her back. "I will always love you," she swore, no matter how untrue those words could have turned out to be.

"You are everything to me, 'Lena," he breathed into her hair, making her entire body shiver in the best –and worst—of ways. When he tilted his head back to kiss her again, it truly felt like he was trying to take the oxygen from her lungs, extract the soul from her body and hold onto it perpetually. And she was okay with that. More than okay. After what felt like eternity, they pulled away, breathing heavily. "Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow," he started, eyes still closed, lips still craving her kiss once again, "but we have to live tonight like it's our last."

Elena couldn't help but agree, her lips crashing against his once again. Forget tomorrow, forget leaving, forget it all. They had now and that was all that mattered. She needed this. He needed this. They needed this. And she would grow to regret this night, for it would haunt her every dream in the years to come, but now, in this moment, it didn't matter too much. All that mattered was his hands on her hips and his clumsy steps guiding them to the foot of his bed. All that mattered was the way he pressed her body to the mattress like he was trying to imprint her into it. All that mattered was Elena and Stefan. Stefan and Elena. All thoughts of a terrifying tomorrow were irrelevant.