must have done something right
"SO, THIS WAS YOUR HUMBLE ABODE IN THE 20S?"
Stefan looked up at Athena in shock, not expecting her to have followed him to his old apartment after they left the bar. He didn't particularly want to return to Mystic Falls, but he knew that they had no choice, and he'd ultimately rather be anywhere than Chicago right now.
Besides, Klaus wouldn't stop until Elena was dead, and the faster that happened, the faster Stefan could return to his version of normalcy.
Clearing his throat, he tears his eyes away from Athena as she steps into the dusty apartment, her hands in the pockets of her pink romper. "Yeah, I, uh, don't remember a lot but,"
Athena pulled her hands out of her pockets, picking at the chipped nail polish on her nails belatedly. Smiling wryly, the goddess huffed a small laugh. "This is awkward, and it shouldn't be. I mean, all the times I pictured seeing you again this wasn't really one of them,"
Stefan sat back in the old, creaky chair and heaved a sigh, meeting her eyes reluctantly. "I don't know what you want me to say, Athena,"
"Maybe that you missed me," She shrugs dramatically, clapping her hands against her thighs. "That you love me, and if you're feeling generous, maybe even a kiss. Maybe you could ask me what the hell happened to me over these past three months, instead of not even making eye contact with me."
"You shouldn't–" He cuts himself off, frustration washing over his face. "You shouldn't want that from me anymore. I messed everything up, you shouldn't just forgive me."
"I never said that I forgive you, Stefan," She stepped towards him, dark eyes a shade of defensiveness that made them nearly black. "I'm just trying to give you the chance to make things right, and you're ignoring me. Do you understand how stupid that is?"
Standing, Stefan swung his arm out, gesturing to the derelict apartment he once inhabited. "How could you still want to be with me after everything I've done? Not just to you, but to everybody. I'm a ripper, Athena, I don't know how to stop. I don't know how to stop being like this,"
"Stefan, don't,"
"That closet in there?" He pointed to a small alcove, green eyes hard and full of hurt. "There are hundreds upon hundreds of names written on the walls because I relived my kills over and over. When I couldn't remember anything else, I'd go stand in that closet and look at that list, and I'd think of how good it felt to kill those people,"
He scoffs, the noise unsteady through his emotion. "I broke your heart, Athena. You can't tell me I didn't. You were supposed to be able to trust me implicitly, and you couldn't, because I kept doing the wrong thing. I left you when you needed me most. And I– I want to do all of those things. I want to tell you that I missed you more than anything, because I have, and I still love you more than I ever thought possible. I want to know what happened to you because all it took was one look at you to see that you aren't okay, but I can't, Athena. I can't do this to you again, because living these past three months knowing that I screwed everything up with you almost killed me."
"Don't do that," She pointed an accusatory finger at him, gritting her teeth. "Don't try to make me hate you, Stefan. It won't work. I've tried. I tried to be mad at you, I tried to hate you, I tried to make you the bad guy, but I can't,"
Swallowing around the lump in her throat, Athena shakes her head, looking up at him hopelessly. "You made bad choices, news flash; all of us do! Have you ever had a conversation with your brother? Or what about the psychotic hybrid you've been running around with for the past three months? You have got to stop beating yourself up over things you have long since made up for, Stefan."
She inhales shakily, vision blurring as tears build in her eyes. "Every bad decision you have made has been made better with a good one, ten times over. You have spent the past ninety years making up for this," She gestures around the apartment. "For the person you once were. And maybe you don't think that you're any different than that guy, but I know that you are. You may be a monster in your story, but you have never been one in mine. The person you're describing doesn't exist anymore, Stefan. You need to let him go,"
Stefan looks at her, eyes shining. "Athena,"
She stops him, unwilling to hear his self-deprecation. "Every single one of your decisions, good or bad, has led you here. It led you to me. And I wouldn't be the person I am if I hadn't met you when I did. You saved my life, Stefan. And I don't care how long it takes, but I'm going to save yours, too,"
He shakes his head, biting his tongue before he speaks. "I don't know how you could still want me after all of this,"
Athena wraps her hands in his shirt, clutching him tightly as she swallows around the lump in her throat. "We have eternity together, Stefan. I'll have you as long as you'll have me." Tilting her head back, she smiled shakily at him. "I love you, Stefan. Still. Always. Forever."
He lifted his hands, cupping her face gently between them. Letting out a disbelieving laugh, as if her return had just truly set in, he grinned down at her. "I missed you so much," He shook his head as his watery smile grew. "I love you, too. Forever."
Gently, he lowers his lips to hers and she sighs into the kiss, melting into his touch. The bustling city surrounds them in noises, but every disturbance falls quiet when they fall into each other for the first time in three months.
Standing there with her, in an apartment that stands as a reminder of Stefan's mistakes, he feels the slightest bit of forgiveness. If Athena could still love him after everything he's done, he had to have done something right somewhere along the way.
──────
"Have you told Bonnie and Caroline?"
Damon nodded, lifting his bag into the back of the car with a sigh. "Bonnie said they were headed back there anyway because school starts tomorrow," He gives Athena a pointed look that she immediately looks away from. "Which you will be attending."
"Damon,"
"I don't want to hear it, Athena. It's your senior year, and honestly, I don't want you in the house every day, bothering me,"
Her jaw drops and she smacks his arm, glaring at him as he smirks. "I do not bother you! My presence is a gift,"
"To who? Satan?"
"Enough," Stefan's voice comes from behind them, and they spin from the trunk of the car to face him as he approaches, a mildly scolding look on his face. "We have a twelve-hour drive back to Mystic Falls, and I do not want to listen to you two bicker the entire time."
"We aren't bickering,"
"Damon is an asshole," Athena cuts the vampire off, ignoring the glare he sends her as she steps into Stefan's outstretched arms. She pouts up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "He called me a spawn of Satan,"
Stefan's eyes flickered to Damon, and amusement swam in his green irises at their childish bickering. Though he'd never admit it to either of them, he missed it. Something in his brother had softened as his relationship with Athena grew, and he would never question that particular blessing in disguise.
"Damon, you of all people have no room to be calling others hell spawns,"
Damon's responding eye roll is practically audible, and he just sighs and closes the trunk, pulling the keys out of his pocket. "Who else is riding with us?"
"Alex wants to," Athena turned to face him, resting back against Stefan's chest.
"We are also riding with you," Josh's voice came and they all turned to face the group of them as they approached.
"Oh, no, no, no," Klaus shook his head, pointing an accusatory finger at them. "I am not riding back to Mystic Falls alone with Rebekah."
"And why is that, Niklaus?" Rebekah raised a daring brow at her brother, the disdain obvious in her voice.
Giving her an overly sweet smile, Klaus held his hands up in surrender. "Nothing personal, Rebekah, I just don't want to worry about my ears growing back after I rip them off of my skull."
"You want to test it out?" Rebekah takes a step towards him and he stumbles away from her, holding his hands up defensively.
"Alright, alright," Damon holds his hands up, stopping the siblings from maiming each other. "Klaus, Rebekah, and Josh, you're riding together. Iris, Alex, you're with us."
Josh narrows his eyes at Damon accusingly, his eyes flickering briefly to Iris. "You can't stick me in the bad car just because you're still mad I broke that bottle of wine."
Holding an offended hand to his chest, Damon's face twisted in mock scandal. "It was a two-hundred-year-old bottle of wine that you weren't near for two whole minutes before breaking, and I am mortally offended that you think I'd ever hold a grudge for something so childish. You're practically family, Josh."
The blond god rolls his eyes.
Athena tilted her head back, sharing an exasperated look with Stefan who just shook his head and smiled. She turned slightly, and he leaned down, kissing her through his grin.
"Let's not make this trip any more of a trainwreck than it already is," Rebekah's bitter voice breaks them apart, and Athena pulls from Stefan with a glare that the blonde readily returns.
Plastering a sweet smile on, Athena grabs Stefan's hand and pulls him towards the car. "You're right, Rebekah. The faster we get this over with, the faster Stefan and I can get home."
She opens the door to the SUV and climbs in, and Stefan climbs in behind her, shutting the door as he does. He chuckles lowly and Athena looks at him, her glare slowly dissipating at the sight of his amusement. "What? What's so funny?"
He shakes his head, grabbing her hand to intertwine with his. "You're cute when you're jealous,"
She huffs, rolling her eyes. "I'm not jealous, she just needs to realize that you're mine. Whatever fling you two had a billion decades ago doesn't matter, because I exist now, and I don't like to share unless I really want to."
Stefan's brows raise and he gives her a look, ignoring the sound of Damon's attempts at mediating outside. "Oh, really? I'm yours?"
Athena lifts her gaze, a dark brow arching daringly. "Are you not?"
He nods slowly, tongue darting out to swipe across his lips. "I am,"
She squeezes his hand and leans into his side, resting her other hand on his chest. "Exactly. No need for her to get her hopes up."
Athena rests her head on his shoulder and doesn't bother hiding the smirk that grows on her face as Rebekah passes the front of the car, her eyes burning holes into the image they presented.
──────
"Athena," Stefan's low voice rouses her from the light state of sleep she'd been in since they crossed state lines into Virginia. "Athena, we're home,"
She makes a displeased noise and turns her face, hiding in his chest as he chuckles at her. "Come on, Caroline and Bonnie are here,"
At that, she sits up, nearly head-butting Stefan in her rush. He gives her an incredulous look, gesturing to himself. "Oh, so you wake up for them but not me?"
Athena grins as they pull into the driveway of the boarding house, her eyes landing on the two girls standing outside with matching looks of excitement. A taunting glimmer flashes in her eyes as she looks at him over her shoulder. "You're cute when you're jealous,"
She doesn't wait for his response before throwing the door open and running towards the two girls who reach for her happily. The second they're wrapped together in a twisted hug, Athena takes a deep sigh of relief and squeezes them tighter.
Pulling away, she looks them over carefully. "You guys look amazing! I expect pictures from vacation, and there better be juicy stories about the West Coast shenanigans later on."
Caroline's cheeks flush and she grabs Athena's hand, grinning deviously. "I have plenty of stories, Athena, don't you worry,"
Athena raises a dark brow, looking at Bonnie. "What about you?"
Bonnie begins to shake her head, but Caroline gives the witch a nudge in the ribs. "She was lame!"
"I wasn't lame, Caroline!"
"Alright, fine," The blonde quickly cedes, rolling her eyes. "But she didn't even try to meet any cute guys!"
"What? Why?"
"There's my favorite witch!"
Athena glances at Damon over her shoulder as he approaches the three girls, his blue eyes set on Bonnie, who straightens at the sight of him. Bonnie's small smile grows as Damon walks up to them, and realization dawns on Athena suddenly.
"Oh," She drawls, tilting her head curiously. "That's why."
Bonnie shoots her a quick glare that she smirks at, watching as Damon swings his arms around Caroline and Bonnie's shoulders, turning them towards the front door.
"Damon," Caroline whines, trying to pull away from him. "You're messing up my hair!"
Stefan comes up behind Athena, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her temple. "What was that all about?"
She hums, briefly leaning into his touch before pulling away from him to grab the bags Damon had dropped so he could annoy Caroline and Bonnie. "That was romance, right before our very eyes, Stefan,"
He huffed a laugh, glancing into the now-open front door. "Damon and Bonnie? Seriously? Wasn't she, like, dating your brother?"
"Oh, no, no," She shakes her head. "They were never serious. But Damon and Bonnie? I will bet money on that."
They walk into the house as Rebekah, Klaus, and Josh follow suit, Iris and Alex in tow as well.
Standing in the boarding house for the first time in technically three months took a weight off of Athena's shoulders she hadn't realized was even there. Smiling to herself, she set the bags down and pulled Stefan towards the living room, happily laying down on the couch while he moved to pour a drink.
"So, what's the plan?" Bonnie stepped into the room, bringing the rest of them with her. "Elena's got to be here, right? That means someone's had to have seen her over the past few months."
"I can pay Ric a visit," Damon points to himself as he takes Stefan's whiskey, ignoring his brother's protests. "I conveniently haven't heard from him all summer, save for that fun little run-in he had with Stefan in the mountains when he was trying to hunt down all of the werewolf packs and warn them about us. I have no doubt it's all connected to Elena."
"What about Tyler and Matt?" Caroline questions, her brows furrowed. "I mean, I stopped talking to Tyler before we left, but I guarantee they've seen her,"
"And Jeremy, too," Bonnie frowns. "You think they all knew and just didn't tell us because they knew what we'd do?"
"That is exactly what I think, Bonnie," Damon points at the witch, heaving a sigh. "So I'll go find Ric, you guys can go try and find those idiots,"
"School starts tomorrow," Athena sits up, looking at Bonnie and Caroline. "It's senior prank night. Tyler and Matt will be at the school, and even if Elena isn't, they'll have to know something."
Caroline's eyes flicker to Klaus, who stands up straight, face growing serious at the prospect of finding the doppelgänger so quickly.
"Caroline, Klaus, and I will go to the school," Athena stands, glancing at Damon and subtly nodding at the blonde Original glaring daggers into her profile.
"I'll take Rebekah with me,"
Rebekah's frown shifted to Damon, but she kept silent, something Athena was eternally grateful for. She didn't want to push her limits with Klaus, but she didn't think he'd be too mad at her if she just daggered Rebekah at her own convenience.
"Bonnie, you and Stefan should go find Jeremy. It's best if you don't go alone, we don't know for sure if Elena will be at the school."
Josh raised his hand, looking at his sister. "What about us?"
Athena heaves a sigh, looking at the three immortal beings standing in the living room. "You guys can pick out a bedroom, and then you can take Alex and Iris out and show them around. I hate to ditch you, but I have a doppelgänger to kill and that is more of a priority than your welcoming committee."
Damon appears unhappy at the thought of leaving Josh unattended in his house but he just swallows down the rest of his drink and gestures for Rebekah to come with him. Pointing an accusing finger at the god, he narrows his eyes. "Stay out of my room, you heathen,"
"Wow, name-calling? Real mature, Damon!"
Stefan shakes his head, leaning over the couch to give Athena a brief kiss. "He's as bad as you are, Athena,"
"Thank you, Stefan," Josh holds a hand to his heart, smirking. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not attracted to you like that, but I'm flattered nonetheless."
The vampire just rolls his eyes and Bonnie laughs as they walk out of the room, falling into their own conversation as they go.
Athena finally stands, looking at Klaus and Caroline. "I'm going to change and then we're going to the school. All of you need to find a room in the meantime. And Josh,"
"Yes, sister?"
"If you're going to go through Damon's things, don't leave his underwear out again. I don't need to know that much about him, ever."
"Loud and clear, Athena," Josh gestures to Iris and Alex, smirking deviously. "You guys wanna see what a hundred-year-old vampire's bedroom looks like?"
Athena rolled her eyes as she went upstairs, hurrying to her and Stefan's room. As she pulled off her rumpled clothes and reached into the closet for a different outfit, she rolled her shoulders back and tried to ease the anger simmering beneath the surface of her cool demeanor.
The second they found Elena, it would be a genuine miracle if Athena even let her get a word out before ripping her heart out.
──────
author's note; fun fact when I first plotted this part of the book out, Athena was going to give Jenna up for the sacrifice, stefan was going to break up with her, making her go to Olympus, and she was going to stay there until bonnie and damon got stuck in the prison world. she was gonna come back, get them out + kai, kill Elena fr, and then go to New Orleans w the originals. but now we're here... because their breakup era couldn't possibly last longer than like 4 chapters
originally published; 6.11.21. (there was a lot of interesting typos in this chapter while I edited it and I fear I was drunk writing again... – liz from the future)
edited: 12.5.23.
- liz