TVD/TO Oneshots

Rippah (Stefan Salvatore)

Summary: Stefan ended up in Ripper-mode last night. Thankfully, his SO's a powerful witch who managed to rein him in, but that doesn't mean Stefan's not beating himself up the next morning.

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I sighed as I pulled the teabag out of my tea, then took a deep breath, letting the spices and hot steam wash over me as I held my mug up for a sip. Last night had been a long one, and most of the house was still an absolute disaster.

My eyes wandered from the shattered plates, past the overturned chairs, and across the scattered and shredded pillows to my boyfriend, Stefan. He was still passed out on the couch where I'd left him last night, and although he looked a little worse for wear, he also could've been a lot worse.

Thanks to some truly obnoxious Mystic Falls manipulating and scheming, Stef had been sent over the edge of his control last night. He hadn't turned off his humanity, but with a little help from another witch, Klaus had managed to get him to slip his leash anyway. Thankfully, he was dating me, and I was a better witch than whatever asshole the Mikaelsons had. I hadn't been able to snap Stefan out of the bloodlust, but I'd been able to keep him contained pretty well. Now he just had to sleep off the hangover.

I sighed again, taking a sip of my tea before returning to breakfast prep. I was hungry, and I knew Stef would probably need something warm and comforting when he woke up. He was hard enough on himself on an average day.

I'd just finished making some toast when I heard movement from the couch. I grabbed my tea and another mug for Stefan, then headed in his direction.

"Morning," I said, giving my boyfriend a soft smile as I rounded the couch. He'd been pushing himself up to sitting, but froze halfway when he saw me.

"You... you're still here."

"...Of course I'm still here. I never would've left you like this, and besides babe, you're in my house."

I cracked a smile, huffing a little laugh, but Stefan didn't react at all. He just kept staring at me like he'd seen a ghost. I raised an eyebrow at him, and I was about to offer him his mug of tea when his gaze wandered from me to the absolutely wrecked living room around us. The gray cloud hanging over his head darkened considerably.

"I did all this last night. I tore your house to shreds. I tried to kill you."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please, Stefan. We live in Mystic Falls. You're not even on the podium of most dangerous people who have tried to kill me in the last month."

I expected a laugh from Stefan, but instead, he looked like he felt worse. When he finally brought his eyes up to meet mine, he'd maxed out the broody eyebrows and self-loathing looks.

"I lost control. I could've seriously hurt you. As it is, I competely trashed this place. And... I don't even remember it. I don't even know what else I did."

"You didn't do anything else. You're dating a badass witch, remember? Despite Klaus's best efforts, you didn't leave the property and you didn't hurt anyone. We're all good, babe."

He just shook his head. "There's nothing good about this. I remember... I remember trying to get out of here, to go rip into people we care about. I remember losing my mind when you stopped me. I remember rushing you, like I was going to kill you to get out of this house! There's nothing good about that!"

"Do you remember anything after that?"

"...No."

"That's because the minute the Ripper turned on me, I put you on your ass. Onto the couch, since I didn't want to hurt you. But even if I hadn't, I think you would've been able to pull yourself back. You probably don't remember, but you pulled up short before I used magic on you. Still, it seemed like the best course for both of us if you just took a nap until the spell wore off."

"You don't know that. I still could've hurt you. And even as it is, I absolutely ruined our night-"

"Stefan, for the love of god," I huffed. I set both our mugs of tea down on the low table in front of the couch, then flopped down next to him. He leaned backward like he worried about me getting too close, but I took his hands and looked him in the eyes before he could stop me. "I'm fine. My house is very fixable, especially with magic. Klaus compelled you to lose control, which you otherwise would've kept, and nobody got hurt. And even if they had, spending all your time beating yourself up over things you can't change isn't going to help, Stefan! All you can do is keep moving forward and try to do better next time. Sitting here all day in a haze of self-loathing isn't going to do anything but hurt you. And the people who love you."

Stefan sighed, dropping his gaze to his lap and shaking his head. I just squeezed his hands tighter.

"I'll always be here for you on days like this, Stef. You'll never have to deal with it alone. Just like when you were there for me when I had to deal with the spirits trying to pick a fight with me, or Klaus. We've got each other's backs, and we'll always be alright. Okay?"

Stefan looked up at me, eyebrows pinched together as he stared at me. I leaned into him, and after a moment, he did the same, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me closer to him.

We stayed like that for a few long, long moments, until I felt most of the tension ease out of Stefan. Finally, I took a deep breath and leaned back just enough to give him a smile.

"Alright, come on babe. I made us breakfast, and then we're going to drive to the coast and have a nice day just the two of us, enjoying life and visiting our favorite spots and remembering that the world is bigger than Klaus and his stupid games."

Stefan sighed, the corner of his mouth pulling up even as he dropped his head and shook it.

"I don't know... I don't know if I'm up for that, after last night."

"I know you are, Stef. You've lived too long to let this stuff completely sink you. Last night sucked, sure. But last night is over now. It's a new day, let's go. I'm taking the Lexi philosophy that the best medicine is going out and enjoying your life."

Stefan huffed a laugh and met my eyes.

"You know, I'm pretty sure it's cheating to bring up Lexi."

"It absolutely is not, since she's the one who told me to use her in my arguments whenever I needed to. Now come on, breakfast is getting cold. You've picked me up enough times, Stef, it's my turn."

He smiled, still looking a little worn down, but definitely more at peace than he had been when he woke up.

"Have I mentioned lately that I love you?"

"Yeah. But I could stand to hear it agian."

"Well then." He leaned in, placing a soft kiss on my lips, which I returned. "I love you."

"I love you, too."