Through Rivalry Comes Love

Chapter 25

"Elena" he whispered, brushing his nose against hers. She stirred just a little, but made no move to wake up. He smiled and kissed her lips lightly. "We have to get up" he whispered.

She peeked one eye open at him and smiled. "Do we have to?" she asked. Her body was content with staying right there next to him.

Stefan nodded. "The cleaning staff will be here soon" he told her. The last thing he needed was someone walking in on them and it getting back to his brother.

They sat up slowly and she rested her head against his shoulder. "I am so tired" she told him.

"We had quite a night" he said, letting his mind wander back to what they had done – three times.

Elena blushed, though she was smiling at the memory. Never in her life had she done anything like that. "Can we make it out of here?" she asked.

Stefan ran his hand through her hair and kissed the top of her head. "They should have plowed the roads by now" he told her. She nodded her head against him, honestly too tired to move. "Come on" he tried again, whispering against her head.

Elena sighed, forcing herself to move away from him and stand up. Their clothes were hanging, dried, on the backs of chairs and it only took her a minute to get herself dressed. "I need a hot shower and a decent cup of coffee" she yawned. "Are we even opening today, with the weather like it is?" she asked.

Stefan shrugged. "Damon usually will do a later start when the roads are bad. I was thinking of coming back around noon" he told her.

Noon. Elena could do noon. That would give her time to take a nap and to shower. When Stefan had finished dressing, she grabbed his hand in hers so they could walk together. "Are you coming to my place?" Elena asked casually as they passed through the hallways. It didn't even phase her that she might want some time to herself since she spent all night with Stefan.

"I think I might" he smiled, pulling her closer to him. "I'll need to swing by my place and get a change of clothes" he added. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Starving" she answered. "Let's pick something up on the way" she told him, bracing herself as they stepped out into the cold. The snow had stopped, and the roads were plowed for the most part. Still, the city was pretty quiet for it being almost 6 AM.

Stefan wasn't half bad at getting a car out of a snowy parking lot, and Elena seemed fairly at ease while Stefan navigated the snowy and icy roads. They opted for Starbucks, as that was the only place open and not far out of their way. Elena wouldn't complain. Good coffee and a good pastry. It would hold them off until they went back to work.

Elena waited in Stefan's living area as he grabbed a new set of clothes. When he came back, she excused herself to use the bathroom. While she was washing up, she took note of the rather large bathtub behind her. Her thoughts wandered to what it would be like to be in that tub with Stefan, but she quickly forced herself back to the present. One look in the mirror though proved just how ridiculously happy she was.

Which was a strange feeling, being that happy with someone she had only just met. Then again, she was with Gregory for years and still hadn't felt as happy as she was with Stefan. So maybe time really was no indicator for happiness. Maybe it all depended on the person you were with.

When she returned to the living area, Stefan was sitting on the arm of the couch, waiting. "Ready?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Yeah" she said, watching as he stood and wrapped his arms around her. Stefan kissed her slowly, reminding her that he was happy to be there with her too.

XXXX

Elena prepared herself for the battle that was sure to break out when Stefan realized there would be no sex the rest of that morning. Elena fully intended on sleeping for the next four hours until she would have to get up and get ready.