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you bring me home
TWO DAYS PASSED AS PROMISED BEFORE BONNIE BENNETT RETURNED TO MYSTIC FALLS WITH A SPELL. Two long, excruciating days that Athena spent mostly in the tomb with Stefan, barely able to contain her happiness at the sheer thought of him being out of the tomb.
Even now, as she walked through the trees coated in the orange light from the sunset behind Bonnie and Damon, she couldn't help but think of how close she was to getting him back.
"Are you sure Anna isn't a threat? She isn't fighting?"
Stefan shook his head, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of the actual tomb in its entirety. "She's weak from the fight with Ben. She hasn't been able to feed, so she can't heal. She's smart enough to know when she's lost a fight– I hope, at least."
"I'm coming prepared, just in case."
She was prepared, despite Stefan insisting she didn't need to be. He wouldn't let her get hurt, and though she knew that, she was stubborn and always felt the need to prove herself to him. It was an innate urge to prove that she could handle herself, but she found that nothing beat the way Stefan held her after she went head-to-head with a vampire. As if he was never going to let her go again.
"Are you sure you don't want me to bring blood? It's been a week, Stefan, you've got to be hungry."
"I've gone longer without feeding, Athena, don't worry. After we get home, I'll go back out."
Athena eyed him closely, her heart pattering along as her barrel of questions loaded. "Why don't you just have one of Damon's blood bags? I'm sure he can spare one,"
Stefan shook his head, an almost pained look in his eyes. "I can't."
"Will you ever tell me why you don't drink human blood?"
"Maybe one day. When I'm sure you won't leave once you know."
Athena looked at him as if the idea was crazy. "I wouldn't leave,"
"Athena, you can't say that before knowing what I did– who I was."
"Yes, I can," She nodded, eternally stubborn. "Stefan, what will it take to make you realize I'm not going to just up and leave? I know what you are, I know what that means, and I'm okay with it. I'm not exactly a saint,"
Stefan clasps his hands together, wishing now more than ever he could hold her hands instead. "I'll tell you, once I'm out of here. How's that sound?"
She raises a suspecting eyebrow, eyeing him. "You promise?"
He nods.
"Fine. When we get home tomorrow night, you have to tell me everything."
