The Engagement

The Bachelor

Stefan sighed when Damon drove into the parking lot of a bar that isn't too far away from their home. 

"I can't get drunk, Damon. I am getting married tomorrow" he says. Behind him Tyler huffs and Klaus moves forward to grip his shoulder.
"I am sure that Rebekah is hammered already, she won't even notice" he says like it's supposed to be shooting.
"Plus that it's not like you get drunk on one drink" Jeremy, Elena and Katherine's younger brother and Bonnie's boyfriend jumps in. Stefan consciously ignores him and step out of the car. The others follow closely behind.

"Come on, Stefan! You can show me once and for all that I am the boring brother." Tyler huffed again. Stefan doesn't even know what he's doing here. Stefan hasn't talked with him since he dumped Caroline. He had never even liked the jerk and it wasn't like he was going to start now. But he guessed Matt had invited him, Matt and Tyler had been best friends since childhood and Stefan had seen more than one time that Matt was Tyler's weakness. Like the time he hit Matt in the face. Or when he just happened to run into him, as hard as he could on the football field.

"What's up with you, I am here to drink, not stay on this spot!" Tyler says as he half runs against the door, pulling a bored Matt, that came with the other car, with him.
"You were the one how said that it would be awkward if he wasn't here" Damon says defensively, showing his hand at Stefan's stern look in his direction.
"I didn't mean that you should invite him" he hisses, shooting daggers at his brother.
"But you did tell me to not NOT invite him" Damon says and before Stefan can snap at him again Enzo jumps in with a smug look, his British accent thick after spending the car ride helping Kol to bicker with Elijah.
"That's true, mate, I heard you, too" he says and then leads Damon away.

Stefan rolls his eyes as he looks after them, the three Mikaelson brother's since long disappearing into the bar after Matt and Tyler. Alaric comes up beside him, turning if his phone. Jeremy walks in just a few steps after them.
"Just had to tell Jenna that I wouldn't be able to reach her more tonight" he says. Damon smiles kindly at him. He is Damon's best friend from the united states and he's married to Elena's aunt, Jenna, so it was natural that he was here. He also was a teacher to all of them in high school, when he and Elena been dating so he and Stefan know each other well.

"Well, let's go then" he says and starts walking, Alaric walking beside him.
"Are you ready?" he asks, giving Stefan a reassuring smile. He isn't the first one to ask the question but it is the first one that Stefan feels okay with asking it. Alaric has married himself, he sure knows what Stefan is feeling right now.
"Now or never" he answers, keeping his tone light. Understanding crosses Alaric's face, either way, he is a teacher, Stefan assumes that he has seen lovesick boys uncomfortable with their own decision of relationships before. Probably felt it himself.

"And here we have the special man of the night" Damon says not seconds after Stefan has walked through the door, waving a hand in his and Alaric's direction. The little crowd of people in the bar clap their hands and a blond, handsome woman with a deep neckline presses a drink in his hand.
"On the house" she says, blinking, before walking away with swaying hips. Stefan stares after her for a moment before he turns his gaze to Damon with a glare.

"Oh, what did Damon do now" Alaric chuckles beside him. As one of Damon's best friends and a little of an alcoholic is he used to this, as is Stefan but that doesn't mean that he will take it.
"I don't know but I intend to find out" he says and leaves Alaric by the door as he walks to Damon in a few long steps.
"What did you do?" he growls near his brother's ear. Damon backs away with a smug look on his face and chuckles.

"Relax, Stefan" he says and lifts his glass in a mocking manner before emptying it in one swift move. "I didn't do anything that you won't enjoy" he lifts his eyebrows and gives him a look that Stefan knows means that he is in trouble.
"What did you do?" he asks again, a little sharper but Damon just chuckles and turns him against another woman with big boobs and red lips.
"You Stefan, right?" she asks. Stefan just stares at her a moment and then walks away from her and his brother.

"Care to tell me what he said that makes every single woman in this pub seem to want me?" Stefan asks as he sits down beside Klaus and Elijah at a table. Damon is still talking to the girl he just left, Alaric behind him and Tyler are taking shots with a guy and three, very loud, girls on the other side of the room. Stefan rolls his eyes at this.

"He said that your fiance just died and that you need some comfort. He may also have mentioned that you are marvelous in bed" Elijah says it with excessive enthusiasm with a dramatic motion with his hands in front of him and Stefan understands that he is mad. It is hard to tell with Elijah since he always is serious and stiff but Stefan has been spending so much time with him that he can read the older man pretty well.
"Ohh" he groans and buries his head in his hands. He is also pissed, though for another reason. Elijah is pissed for Rebekah's sake, Stefan knows that she can take care of himself and is madder at Damon for being an arse.

"Is that Caroline's ex?" Klaus suddenly asks him and Stefan pulls back up, flicking his eyes to Tyler that now leaning halfway over a girl.
"Yes" he says, glancing at his best friend. For the last days had he been unable to shut up about Caroline and Stefan knows how easily jealous he is. He may not like Tyler but he doesn't want him to be beaten down the day before Stefan's marriage, on Stefan's bachelor party.

"He looks highly intelligent" Elijah says, putting the little book that he had has in his hand and starts reading. Stefan lifts his eyebrow, he can't believe that Elijah really is reading on his bachelor party. Klaus snorts and Stefan finally realizes what Elijah said and he snorts too.
"He isn't, but he isn't stupid either. A really good football player" Stefan says, it isn't like he can talk bad about Tyler, he has been one of his best friends since high school after all.

"Right, you did that kind of things" Elijah comments, not even looking up. Stefan raises an eyebrow and turns to Klaus with a questioning look. Klaus shrugs his shoulder and leans over the table against his friend.
"I did that kind of stuff too when I was younger, as did Kol" he reminds his brother.
"Well, it's good with exercise" Elijah's voice is still cold. Stefan stares at him.
"I really would have disliked being your son, dude" he then says with a little laugh.
"Well then it's lucky that you aren't, 'dude'" Elijah comments, finally looking up from the book.

Stefan shakes her head as Damon comes sitting down with them, taking Elijah's book away. Stefan glances at Klaus and sees that he has just as much problem not to laugh at Elijah's disbelieving face as Stefan has.
"Let's gather together, we are here to celebrate after all" Damon says as Kol and Jeremy walks over with Matt who is carrying a salver with multiple beer glasses on. He is a bartender home in Mystic Falls so he had no problem to do it all by himself. Enzo crashes down on a chair just as the others sit down Alaric coming right after him.

Klaus sits closest to the wall, Stefan beside him and then has both Alaric and Damon pressed themselves down. Then sit Enzo and Kol on a chair each, Kol's chair turned so that he is leaning his elbows on it's back. On the other sides are Jeremy, Matt, and Elijah.
"To Stefan, how is getting married tomorrow" Damon lifts his glass and all the others follow suit.
"To Stefan" they all call out. Stefan lifts his hand in a shy motion and everyone laughs as they lifted their glasses to drink.

"Thank you guys" he says as he puts the glass down.
"We will be leaving in one hour and 23 minutes, don't want to be missing the show" Klaus says at Stefan side and glances at his clock before he gives Stefan a smug smile.
"Oh no, what have you done?" he asks because he can see on Klaus that he has done something.

"I did" Kol jumps in from the other end of the table "it was just Klaus idea" he sticks his tongue out against his brother and Klaus shakes his head as Elijah glares warningly at him.
"It was Damon's idea, too. I helped Kol here plan it" Enzo cuts in, giving Stefan one of his charming smiles. They had never liked each other in the beginning but they had been getting closer these last years. Especially since Eno was in love with Stefan's best childhood friend from here, Lexi and they are starting to explore a relationship. Lexi how, sadly, was busy at her works as a nurse in Rome right now and wouldn't come back until exactly before the wedding. Stefan can see that Enzo is waiting for her and he's happy for them.

He glances at Elijah and Klaus, remembering a time when he was waiting.

1 and ½ years ago

Stefan laughs as he sits down beside Klaus at the table in his kitchen. Damon is out with Enzo and some girls and Klaus have nothing to do since no one of his siblings is in town anymore. Stefan has had a really hard time to stop thinking about Klaus sister, which he really shouldn't do, since she walked into Klaus' home that night, fuming of anger and unstoppable.

He has only been talking short phrases with her since then, even though he has been in Klaus' apartment way more often these last two weeks than he normally is. It was mostly simple phrases that were a little flirtatious. Like 'it's eight in the morning, what are you even doing here' in adorable pajamas answered with a 'seeing your face this early in the morning simply makes my day' to more right out flirting with words like 'Oh, Salvatore. What a surprise to see you here again' followed with an eye-roll that didn't fool anyone and his answer 'I am simply living for your lovely comments due to my presence'.

"Rebekah asked for you yesterday" Klaus says suddenly.
"Really?" Stefan answers after a while, trying to not sound too happy about it. "I thought she didn't like me". Klaus sorts that, putting a hand on Stefan's back.
"She's always like that, a little bitchy. But she is nice and she is crawling after every hot guy she ever sees so she definitely likes you" Stefan looks at the table, suddenly finding it very interesting but he can't help but trying to defend Rebekah.
"Maybe she only does that because you and Elijah scares of every guy she ever had home"

"Maybe but I want her to have a guy that I trust to pick her in front of anyone else" Klaus pats his back after he emptied his glass and walks away, leaving a confused Stefan by the table. He sits, unmoving dor minutes concluding what Klaus told him and then he hastily starts searching for his phone. He finds it, under a couple of fast food bags on the kitchen counter and he dials a number that he knows by heart after he has been close to calling it for days. He presses the call button and waits anxiously.
"Hello, Stefan?" Caroline's voice says in his ear.

Stefan's still thinking about it hours later. They are playing laser tag, Klaus, Matt, Tyler, and Kol on his team and Damon, Enzo, Elijah, Jeremy, and Alaric on the other. Alaric was the master, he always played, despite being a professor in his early thirties and married he always had time for this. The others, Damon, himself, Jeremy, Matt, and Tyler, often tagged along so they were pretty good, too. The big surprise of the night was that Kol was the master of the masters, literally unstoppable, for all of the teams on the field and that Klaus wasn't that much after. Even Elijah pulled off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, and he was good, his aim was like something in a movie, Stefan doesn't think that he missed one shot.

"Come on, Fluffy, we can't stand here all day" Kol is suddenly right beside him, his gun against his own chest and Klaus is by his side, his gun hanging loosely in his hand.
"Fluffy?" Stefan snorts, glancing at Klaus' face but the guy seems far too interested in their surroundings to notice.
"Yeah, you know the hair" Kol waves his hand, clearly interested and then he peeks around a corner and shots three shoots. "Escapeway free, come on now, newly brother, we can't lose this shit" and then Klaus is pushing him around the corner, shooting someone himself.

An hour later it stands clear that Stefan, Klaus, Kol, and Matt have indeed won. Tyler had disappeared somewhere with someone, no one really knows. Stefan is still looking at Klaus in the corner of his eyes. Did he misread the conversion they had then? Because when he first heard it he was sure that Klaus told him to stay as far away from Rebekah he could come, when he thought about it now, it sounded more like Klaus was inviting him into getting together with her.

"Well, we had fun, time to hit the next stop if we don't want to be late" Elijah suddenly says with a look on his watch as e rolls down his sleeves again.
"Wait" Stefan says, looking at Klaus, Elijah, and Kol where they stand looking secretive and smug. "you helped plan this?" Elijah lifts an eyebrow at him clearly not impressed but Kol and Klaus just laugh.

"Of course we did, you are marrying our sister, and believe it or not, hair gel, we like you" Kol says with a big grin. Stefan laughs and gives the man a hug and then laugh again when he can feel Kol practically jumping with excitement.

"Your one of my best friends, Rippah, of course, I helped plan this" Klaus says and Stefan gives him a hug too. "And it is pretty sure to say that our dear sister would have killed us if we didn't" he adds in Stefan's ear. Stefan snorts because yes, he can totally see his fiancée do that.

"We are just happy that our sister is marrying a man that loves and respect her just as much as we do" Elijah says and shakes Stefan's hand. Stefan wants to say a 'thank you, sir' because it feels right when you take a man like Elijah in hand but he settles on a:
"And I'm happy that I am marrying into your family, I truly am" he says, his other hand on his chest.

"Aww, Steffy is getting all touchy again" Damon says behind them, ruining the moment.
"Yes, sorry to break your beautiful family... thing, but we have to go" Matt jumps in, waving a hand in no particular way.
"Yesh, right, let's go. Lead the way" Stefan says and Kol runs of, the other following him at a normal speed. He glances at Klaus that walks beside him, hand on his back and he wants to put his hand on Klaus' shoulder and tell him 'I help you get Caroline just like you helped me get Rebekah'. But he can't. He just can't.