Stefan wasn’t sure how to approach Caroline’s daughter other than, he supposed, to love her as thoroughly as he could. When he lived there had always been a delineation -- Caroline and Alaric took care of the girls, made them a home -- it was Stefan who married their mother far too briefly to make much of an impact beyond what he could do for them when it came to ensuring their safety.
So to have this opportunity with Josie? He couldn’t rightly conceive of his good luck. So that meant he indulged his sweet tooth. With a bowl full of chocolate chips, he set to making stacks of perfectly golden pancakes, all mottled with warm and gooey chocolate that would string delightfully between a fork and just melt in the mouth of whomsoever decided at least half the stack was for them.
He made them with the strict intent of pushing at least 90% at Josie and plying her with bacon and orange juice. Mostly, he assumed, this was how to indicate to someone you loved them. With well-prepared and highly available food … ready for seconds, thirds, fourths. He continued cooking with the intent that she would smell it and come down eventually.
Josie had to admit that it was a little weird to have Stefan around after so many years of him being gone. She’d heard plenty about him from the other people in her life in Mystic Falls - from her mom and Aunt Elena, especially and from her Uncle Damon when she spent time with him. She’d read the journals that lived on display at the Salvatore school which showed the good and the bad to Stefan Salvatore. She had things to fill in the blanks between the Stefan she barely remembered and who he had really been, but she knew it was a picture that was incomplete. She’d only been four when he’d died, but everyone said he was a hero.
The most important thing about her stepfather, though, was that he loved her mom. It was really obvious to Josie how much he did love Mom and that alone would have been reason for her to want to get to know him better. Anyone who made her mom happy got at least a chance in her book. Bribery with chocolate chip pancakes wasn’t necessary, but that didn’t mean she was going to object.
“You didn’t do something stupid you need to suck up my Mom for, did you?” she teased as she came into the kitchen. “Because I don’t see any mimosas and you can’t have a good apology breakfast without them.”
Stefan turned as he flipped a pancake onto the nearest stack and greeted Josie with a grin. “I’m free and clear on stupid things right now. I’ve just been learning how to be human again and I’m hungry. Thought you might be hungry too.”
With brows lifted, he set a plate and a pair of utensils out on the table.
“What do you say?”
“You had me at chocolate chips,” Josie admitted, grinning at him as she took a seat at the table. She could almost hear what Lizzie would say about all these carbs, but at the moment she didn’t really care how bad they were for her. Those pancakes looked and smelled delicious.
“I guess the stories about you being a pretty good cook weren’t that exaggerated,” she commented.”
He smirked. “Yeah? Hey, I’m glad to know my cooking skills are the stories being passed around.” Both of the plates found their way to the table and he sat next to her, pushing the warm maple syrup her way first.
“I know it ought to be chocolate sauce, but I’m a purist for the syrup.”
“I guess I can forgive you for that,” she conceded, letting out an exaggerated sigh she reached for the syrup to pour a healthy amount over her pancakes. She lapsed into silence as she started to eat, glad she had the meal as an excuse because she didn’t always know what to say around Stefan. It was weird having him back. A really good weird, but still weird.
“ … so,” Stefan said, breaking the silence after a beat. He looked at her with a raised brow and leaned forward. “How’s everything? You’re going to school, spending quality time with your mom, making friends …”
With a mouth full of pancake, Josie nodded her head. “All of the above,” she assured him once her mouth was free again. “I miss my dad and Lizzie, of course, but there are some really cool people here. I’ve been hanging out a lot with Mom and Aunt Liv, too.” That was a lot of why she’d decided to stay, after all.
There was always the chance that Alaric or Lizzie could arrive -- Alaric, to provide some kind of greater or formal paternal figure. But Stefan decided he wasn’t going to think about that. He was far too curious, far too happy, living in the present moment. “Your Aunt Liv is pretty cool,” he remarked, hoping it was obvious that Stefan was quite fond of the others too. “She’s talented.”
He paused. For a moment, the Gemini twin curse that took Liv from them ran through his mind and he couldn’t help but feel that immediate well of concern for the young lady in front of him. But instead of voicing his feelings, he went for full embarrassing dad.
“Any cute boys?”
Josie laughing, flushing slightly at Stefan’s question. “Cute boys and girls,” she corrected him. “Atlantis has a lot of pretty people.” She wasn’t actually sure if he’d been asking about Atlantis or home, but she was here now, she was planning to stay, and it seemed better to look forward to life here in Atlantis than to look back on what she was leaving behind. Besides, it was true. Atlantis was full of a lot of attractive people.
Stefan gave a thoughtful nod -- “I thought Mystic Falls had the highest amount of attractiveness per capita. But then I visited New Orleans. I thought nothing could really top it but Atlantis seems to be vying for the first spot.” Then, he turned on a grin. It would have been straight up disarming as a vampire; but here? He probably had a little bit of syrup in the corner of his mouth. And he just looked dorky.
“Any cute boys or girls? Because I obviously want to meet them.” He paused, brows arching. “Your crush, that is.”
“Oh, no crushes here,” Josie said truthfully. She wasn’t sure she’d been here long enough to develop any, certainly not a real crush. There might have been someone at home that she kind of liked, but the chances of Stefan meeting Raf were pretty slim - he’d have to come here for that to happen.
Was that fatherly relief? Stefan couldn’t rightly say. He just smiled at her through a mouthful of pancakes. Though he was glad she was unattached - the better to concentrate on her studies - he found himself still hoping she thoroughly enjoyed her time in Atlantis.
“Fair. Well, when I ask your Mom for all three of us to go skiing … who should we take?”
“I only get to pick one person?” Josie gave him her best pout, which was pretty damn good. She’d made a few friends in Atlantis already, enough that it would definitely be hard to pick just one friend. “Are you sure you guys don’t want to chaperone a ski trip for all the teens in Atlantis?” she teased him.
“All the teens in Atlantis? There’s a whole bunch of you. Would you like that though? If you’d like that we can do it.” Stefan’s smile went crooked. Without the will to check Josie’s desire, he leaned forward and rested his chin in his hand. “Let me talk to your Mom.”
Josie hesitated for just a moment before nodding. “Yeah, I would,” she admitted. “I don’t think there are very many of us. It could be fun to get everyone together.” There were a handful of teenagers, but it wasn’t like at home where there was a whole school of people her own age.
“Okay.” He laughed lightly. “Okay. I’ll be very convincing.”
Stefan was rewarded by a bright smile as Josie stuck another forkful in her mouth. Whether he'd actually convince her mom remained to be seen, but she was pretty damn grateful that he was willing to try.