fic: in the film people kissed at the end
title: in the film people kissed at the end
fandom: the vampire diaries
ship: caroline/stefan
rating: pg
word count: 902
summary: they trade places, they slip in and out so easily that they barely even notice, one becoming something new and something old at the same time, taking the other’s place. they barely even notice. (written for the prompt ‘you can have my absence of faith’.)
They trade places, they slip in and out so easily that they barely even notice, one becoming something new and something old at the same time, taking the other’s place.
They barely even notice.
Stefan saves her (literally, figuratively, everything in between), he teaches her, is patient with her in a way that no one is before him. He doesn’t give up on her no matter how hard she pushes. He stays.
(That’s new.)
So when he asks Caroline for help, to keep him on track and on the wagon and whatever other metaphor that equals him keeping his teeth to himself, she doesn’t even blink. Stefan had saved her, so now she would save him.
Caroline knows she is not princess in this story, Elena would always be the princess, and Caroline would be-
Caroline is not the princess, but Stefan was still the hero. He was still the boy who looked her in the eye, blood on her mouth and on her hands (literally, figuratively, everything in between) and didn’t flinch away. He was still the boy who held her close and promised to keep her safe.
And he had kept his promise, so she would keep hers.
They trade back and forth.
When she spirals secretly and alone, he finds her. In the woods above the bodies of the witches she had killed, dirt under her fingernails as she cried and clung to what was lost. When she prayed to the spirits, to a God she hasn’t believed in since Damon tore her open, to take it all back. To please, please, take it all back. Except for Bonnie because there is always an exception and she would do it again with the same results I she knew it would end the same. And that is what makes it worse.
Caroline would always make the same choice. Again and again.
“People who do terrible things are just terrible people.” She repeats, she cries.
Stefan finds her, crouches in front of her, takes her hands in his own, dirties them, and smiles at her.
“You are as far from terrible as anyone can be.”
(Sometimes they lie to each other, to soothe the pain away.)
Caroline nods her head and she lets him lead her away. Underneath the dirt, his hands are warm.
They trade back and forth, an unspoken agreement that they sometimes forget exists, but never goes away.
Stefan doesn’t remember her, he doesn’t remember anyone. But she remembers him and that is what matters. She pulls him away from Jesse’s neck, blood dripping down his chin that tries to distract her, and Caroline tells him who he is, yells it uncompromisingly.
“This isn’t you!”
He stares at her with shock and awe and maybe something she doesn’t understand. He doesn’t remember her, but he is still Stefan and she made a promise. They had both made promises.
“You have me.” He tells her, his hand over hers. He doesn’t trust anyone else, he says, but he trusts her. He believes in her because he is just that stupid.
(Because promises don’t fade just because one of you doesn’t remember them anymore.)
Stefan says maybe it’s just ingrained in his brain with a laugh.
“You have me,” He repeats and Caroline curls her finger into his and pretends this Stefan knows her like she knows him. Pretends this is the Stefan that has always helped her though, that has always chosen to save her, to distract her from the blood lust and the hearts pounding around her.
(Sometimes they lie to each other.)
They take turns, going back and forth, until suddenly they become something else. Something more. Something different.
Stefan screams over the phone lines and Caroline can barely stand it. Wishes she had killed Sloan when she had the chance.
(Caroline is not a good vampire, she just wants to be. Caroline cannot be a good vampire without Stefan there, somewhere in the background, to prod her along the right path.)
“Stefan, I’m here.” She promises him and she won’t leave him, she won’t.
She’ll never leave him because he never left her.
“Caroline.” His voice croaks over the line.
It saves her all over again.
They trade places, again and again, and again, until Caroline can’t remember who is playing what role in this story. She knows she’s not the princess or the hero. She knows she is not the queen or peasant girl the prince is chasing after. She knows Stefan is not the huntsman chasing her into the woods or cutting her out of the wolf’s stomach.
(She knows who they aren’t, that doesn’t help her though.)
They are Caroline and Stefan.
They are connected through blood and time and dirt and death.
And she doesn’t know what they are.
She just knows that when she looks at him, she sees the sun reflecting in his eyes, knows he sees the same thing when he looks at her. She knows that he is her safe place in a world full of monsters and death at every turn. That he is her constant.
(Stefan keeps his promises and never walks away. He is patient and kind and he never leaves and that is new. Years later and that is still new every time it happens.)
Caroline is his sun and Stefan is hers and eventually they will collide.
All that’s left is the waiting.
fandom: the vampire diaries
ship: caroline/stefan
rating: pg
word count: 902
summary: they trade places, they slip in and out so easily that they barely even notice, one becoming something new and something old at the same time, taking the other’s place. they barely even notice. (written for the prompt ‘you can have my absence of faith’.)
They trade places, they slip in and out so easily that they barely even notice, one becoming something new and something old at the same time, taking the other’s place.
They barely even notice.
Stefan saves her (literally, figuratively, everything in between), he teaches her, is patient with her in a way that no one is before him. He doesn’t give up on her no matter how hard she pushes. He stays.
(That’s new.)
So when he asks Caroline for help, to keep him on track and on the wagon and whatever other metaphor that equals him keeping his teeth to himself, she doesn’t even blink. Stefan had saved her, so now she would save him.
Caroline knows she is not princess in this story, Elena would always be the princess, and Caroline would be-
Caroline is not the princess, but Stefan was still the hero. He was still the boy who looked her in the eye, blood on her mouth and on her hands (literally, figuratively, everything in between) and didn’t flinch away. He was still the boy who held her close and promised to keep her safe.
And he had kept his promise, so she would keep hers.
They trade back and forth.
When she spirals secretly and alone, he finds her. In the woods above the bodies of the witches she had killed, dirt under her fingernails as she cried and clung to what was lost. When she prayed to the spirits, to a God she hasn’t believed in since Damon tore her open, to take it all back. To please, please, take it all back. Except for Bonnie because there is always an exception and she would do it again with the same results I she knew it would end the same. And that is what makes it worse.
Caroline would always make the same choice. Again and again.
“People who do terrible things are just terrible people.” She repeats, she cries.
Stefan finds her, crouches in front of her, takes her hands in his own, dirties them, and smiles at her.
“You are as far from terrible as anyone can be.”
(Sometimes they lie to each other, to soothe the pain away.)
Caroline nods her head and she lets him lead her away. Underneath the dirt, his hands are warm.
They trade back and forth, an unspoken agreement that they sometimes forget exists, but never goes away.
Stefan doesn’t remember her, he doesn’t remember anyone. But she remembers him and that is what matters. She pulls him away from Jesse’s neck, blood dripping down his chin that tries to distract her, and Caroline tells him who he is, yells it uncompromisingly.
“This isn’t you!”
He stares at her with shock and awe and maybe something she doesn’t understand. He doesn’t remember her, but he is still Stefan and she made a promise. They had both made promises.
“You have me.” He tells her, his hand over hers. He doesn’t trust anyone else, he says, but he trusts her. He believes in her because he is just that stupid.
(Because promises don’t fade just because one of you doesn’t remember them anymore.)
Stefan says maybe it’s just ingrained in his brain with a laugh.
“You have me,” He repeats and Caroline curls her finger into his and pretends this Stefan knows her like she knows him. Pretends this is the Stefan that has always helped her though, that has always chosen to save her, to distract her from the blood lust and the hearts pounding around her.
(Sometimes they lie to each other.)
They take turns, going back and forth, until suddenly they become something else. Something more. Something different.
Stefan screams over the phone lines and Caroline can barely stand it. Wishes she had killed Sloan when she had the chance.
(Caroline is not a good vampire, she just wants to be. Caroline cannot be a good vampire without Stefan there, somewhere in the background, to prod her along the right path.)
“Stefan, I’m here.” She promises him and she won’t leave him, she won’t.
She’ll never leave him because he never left her.
“Caroline.” His voice croaks over the line.
It saves her all over again.
They trade places, again and again, and again, until Caroline can’t remember who is playing what role in this story. She knows she’s not the princess or the hero. She knows she is not the queen or peasant girl the prince is chasing after. She knows Stefan is not the huntsman chasing her into the woods or cutting her out of the wolf’s stomach.
(She knows who they aren’t, that doesn’t help her though.)
They are Caroline and Stefan.
They are connected through blood and time and dirt and death.
And she doesn’t know what they are.
She just knows that when she looks at him, she sees the sun reflecting in his eyes, knows he sees the same thing when he looks at her. She knows that he is her safe place in a world full of monsters and death at every turn. That he is her constant.
(Stefan keeps his promises and never walks away. He is patient and kind and he never leaves and that is new. Years later and that is still new every time it happens.)
Caroline is his sun and Stefan is hers and eventually they will collide.
All that’s left is the waiting.