Stefan and Delena: Without You

{29} Proposal Problems

A sensation of joy started to tingle throughout my body, I felt happy and overwhelmed that I was finally going to do it... Propose. Would she say yes though? Go through with it? Maybe Elena was too young, I didn't want to feel like we were rushing into things. I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and full of love when I laid my eyes upon her. Was I being ridiculous? Okay... I was asking too many questions but if me and Elena were to live forever why wait any longer to marry her? She'd say yes, she had to... she'd want to, right? I had to get permission first, I was a traditional guy. I remember my Father had tried to get me to marry a member of the Forbes family, purely for the wealth of our two families being brought together. Just thinking about it now gives me the creeps, thank god I'd refused the marriage. I needed to ask permission from Alaric... Maybe even Jeremy, but he'd for sure say no.

As soon as we'd arrived home I sent Elena and Stefan straight to the basement for some blood bags, whilst I spoke to Alaric. I walked into the living room, noticing Alaric sneakily taking a look at my bourbon collection, I couldn't help but admire his taste in alcohol. "Take your pick." I announced smoothly as he held two different types of whiskey in his hands, he looked up and saw my grinning whilst strolling towards him, he grinned back.

"You only have the finest whiskey, don't you Damon?" Alaric teased, putting one back in my cupboard, keeping hold of the other.

"Well, I try. Now, Ric... I need to ask you something." My grinning face flashed to seriousness in a second, so did Alaric's.

"Sure buddy, what is it?" He came and sat down by me. 

"Now, normally I'd be asking the father this. And I think my chances are better with you than Jeremy..." Alaric started to get the gist of what I was implying, he sat back with his eyes still locked on me. "I would like to ask you for Elena's-"

"You want to marry her." He finished, sighing.

"Hand in... Wait, what?" I asked, he already knew?

"You want to marry Elena. And I'm fine with it." He smiled, I felt myself relax immediately.

"You are?" 

"Yeah! I'll even help you pick out a ring if you really want, if Elena is going to live forever then she needs someone like you at her side when the day comes that me and Jer can't support her anymore. It's better she learns this now rather than later and I'm sure Jeremy would think the same thing." Alaric explained. He was highly protective of Elena, she was the closest thing he'd had to a daughter, to a real family.

"Jeremy would think the same about what?" Surprise, surprise. In walked Jeremy, holding a cardboard box piled with two more on top. What was he doing? "Lacey and Sky are moving back in, Lacey doesn't want to put Sky's life at risk if they went back to their house on their own. So I kindly volunteered your house." Jeremy grinned, setting down the boxes so we could see his mischievous smile. "So, what would I agree with?"

"Jeremy." I started, getting up and walking over to him. "I'm planning to propose to Elena." Jeremy's eyes bulged wide open, just as I thought, he wouldn't agree.

"What the hell? No way! Ric, you thought I'd agree? No way am I letting Elena marry a freaking psycho killer!" He shouted, just quiet enough so Elena wouldn't hear without her vampire senses.

"You're forgetting Stefan is also a murderer, so if your bet is on them two getting married... Either way she'll be marrying the kind of person she wouldn't want to bring home to Daddy. But the closest thing Elena has to a Father is standing right next to me." I gestured towards Alaric, "and he has given me his blessing. So I suggest you shut up and leave your objections for the wedding."

"Wedding? Who's getting married?" Stefan asked, bringing up a few blood bags with him.

"For crying out loud!" I murmured.

"Damon." Jeremy spat, "he's marrying Elena apparently." He folded his arms across his chest.

"Actually I'm only proposing. See? This is how rumours are spread." I moaned like an eight year old.

"Damon, you want to propose? She's only Eighteen..." Stefan mumbled, listening out for Elena.

"Yes, and in five years she'll still be Eighteen! She's a vampire and if she doesn't want to marry me then I want to propose and find out for myself, thank you very much." I snapped at Stefan.

"She's still too you-" Stefan started again, I clicked my fingers to shut him up.

"This conversation is over, okay? I'm going to buy a ring." I muttered as I made my way towards the door, slamming it shut behind me.

Elena's P.O.V

"Stefan!" I called aimlessly, no reply. I hadn't yet mastered the vampire hearing so I had no way of telling whether he was still in the house. I sighed and put all the blood bags back in the cooler. I made my way back up the cold stairs of the Salvatore cellar. I strolled into the living room, three sets of eyes shot in my direction. I focused on Stefan.

"Stefan, I was calling you!" My eyes scanned the room. "Where's Damon?" 

"He... Um." Alaric mumbled.

"We had an argument and he stormed out." Stefan interrupted Alaric's mumbling smoothly.

"Oh! Well, I'll go after hi-" I tried to say, Alaric then interrupted me.

"No!" He almost shouted. "I mean... I'll go, I know how to calm him down." Alaric headed towards the door in some kind of half walk half run, not even jogging.

"I know how to calm him down too..." I said suspiciously, something was going on.

"Well... I've beaten you to it." He mumbled, grabbing the whiskey on the small table by the side of the couch. He hopped out the door and closed it behind him. I sighed again, shaking off the awkwardness coming from Alaric.

"That was weird... Stefan I needed help with taking some blood bags to my house. Never mind, I'll go help Ric." I decided, heading for the door. I felt s cool hand touch my shoulder briskly. Stefan's.

"No, I'll help you with the blood bags." He reached for my hand and yanked me towards the cellar stairs yet again. "Come on!"

"Ok, ok!" I squealed playfully. "I'll race you." I said and vampire sped down the stairs.

Stefan's P.O.V

I wasn't happy. Damon and Elena... They couldn't marry each other! I hadn't even had the chance to prove to Elena that I was the one she was supposed to marry.

"You're losing!" I heard Elena shout as she reached the blood bag cooler. "Ha! I win" She giggled, I couldn't help but smile.

"Yes. You won, I surrender to your almighty newbie vampireness..." I sighed happily, she laughed again as she opened the lid to the cooler.

"Okay, hold these.." She grabbed about seven blood bags of random blood types and chucked them into my arms. I guess she hadn't found her preferred blood type yet. I willingly took hold of the blood bags. How could someone like Elena even like someone like Damon, let alone most likely marry him? And yet again, I'd be the one sitting around for the next hundred years watching them happy together. I didn't want to be alone again. But did I really have it in me to break up a possible wedding? "Stefan! Come on!" Elena shouted happily. I snapped out of my daydream and hopped back up the stairs and to Alaric's car. Elena opened the boot as I threw in the blood bags.

"That it?" I asked, dazed by her. She nodded and pulled me into a hug.

"Thank you." She whispered in my ear, I was sure that she didn't know how much that hug meant to me.

"For what?" I asked as she drew away.

"For everything. Getting everyone to look for me, helping me with the blood bags..." 

"Elena... I killed you!" I said, gasping at her words.

"No, you didn't. Your dark side did, you couldn't help it. I forgive you." She smiled, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek. I then watched her get into the car and drive off. Even though she'd be back, I still felt like I was in a movie, as if I was the guy and she was the girl that had to leave me. I was certain of it, I was in love with Elena.

And I couldn't let her marry Damon.