Lexi is Stefan's Biffle!!! (bubbly_vamp) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-05-27 21:19:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, lexi branson, stefan salvatore |
Who: Lexi Branson and Stefan Salvatore
When: Backdated: Thursday, May 14th. Afternoon
Where: The airport then In N' Out Burger
What: Stefan comes home!
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete
To say that Lexi was excited was an understatement. Stefan was coming home and she was picking him up from the airport, which meant that she had practically bounced in her seat on the entire drive to LAX. It had been awhile since she’d seen her best friend and she had missed him greatly. Of course the part that sucked about the whole thing was that Stefan wasn’t a dreamer and she couldn’t tell him that she was a vampire. Not yet anyway. Then again, he’d probably just think that she was messing with him. Either way, she knew he would find out eventually, cause coming back to Orange County meant that it was only a matter of time before he started dreaming and while part of her wanted to spare him that, she was also couldn’t wait for him to be back.
Reaching the airport, she pulled up to the curb at his gate and parked then got out to lean against the hood, long blond hair falling down her back, one of the daylight bracelets that Merlin had made her, hung from her wrist as she glanced at her phone to see if Stefan had texted her at all while she’d been driving.
Stefan’s last text read ‘Just landed, taxiing(sp?) to gate.’ and it was from twenty minutes ago.
Coming back to reality was a strange thing. This was Stefan, actually straight off the boat, wearing his uniform and carrying a rather large duffel over one shoulder. (He’d had to stop at baggage claim to pick it up.) Pretty much everything he owned was either in the duffel or in his pockets. He’d stowed his cap and jacket inside the outside pocket. It felt strange to be back and still wearing all this. He couldn’t wait to get into some civilian clothes. But first…
He broke into a grin at the sight of his blonde best friend across the airport. He picked up his step, then broke into a jog to head in her direction. The pack made that slightly uncomfortable.
Spotting Stefan, a huge smile spread across her face and she rushed towards him. Being a vampire meant that she now had super human speed, but in public she needed to keep up the rouse that she was still human and had been working at keeping her stride to a normal pace, because if she rushed at Stefan with vampire speed, it would probably scare him and others around them.
Reaching Stefan, she couldn’t help but jump at him, wrapping her arms around his neck, “You’re back!” To others it probably looked like they were a couple. but that wasn’t anything new. People used to think it all the time.
They probably looked like a couple, but Stefan didn’t care. He was used to that after all these years. He dropped his duffle to the ground and wrapped his arms around Lexi, lifting her up and spinning her around in a bear hug. With a laugh, he set her carefully back down on her feet. “I’m back. What gave you your first clue?” A gentle tease.
Lexi was still grinning as she was placed back down on her feet, “Well, unless you’re a hologram or something, you are the first clue.” There was so much for her to fill him in on and still so much that she didn’t dare tell him just yet. She was a vampire. His brother was a vampire. And eventually he would become one too. She only hoped that if and when it did happen to Stefan, he didn’t become a Ripper. She was fully prepared to help him like she had in the dreams, even if that meant playing bad cop and somehow chaining him up until he dedicated enough to get him to listen to sense. “Are you hungry? How long was your flight?” Without thinking, she grabbed his duffle, lifting it easily and slinging it over her shoulder as she gestured towards her car parked at the curb.
“First and only necessary clue,” Stefan said, grinning. He lifted a hand to ruffle her hair, then (dodging any counter attacks) bent down to pick up his duffle bag. But she reached it first. And lifted it easily. Huh. She must be working out. “I’m starving. It was long.” He’d slept through both food service carts, and was now regretting not packing more snacks for along the way. “You have somewhere in mind to go grab a bite?”
It wasn’t until they were closer to the car that Lexi realized what she’d done, but it was too late to pretend that the bag was heavy so she simply popped the trunk and dropped it inside, “Of course I had somewhere in mind. You’ve been away, which means it’s time for some In N’ Out Burger.” Since becoming a vampire, Lexi didn’t actually need food to survive, but she still ate it cause it gave her a sense of normalcy. Getting into the driver’s seat, Lexi turned on the car, Bon Jovi playing over the speakers. Bon Jovi had always been something that Lexi and Stefan had enjoyed together.
“Oh, yes, In N Out.” Stefan gave a laugh, climbing into the passenger seat of the car. “Thank God for In N Out. That’s the world’s best suggestion.” He pulled on his seatbelt, thankful that Lexi was driving. Even after sleeping most of the way home on the plane, he felt exhausted and wouldn’t trust himself to drive. His stomach growled audibly and he chuckled again. “Guess that settles that.”
“Clearly your stomach agrees with my suggestion.” Checking her mirror, Lexi pulled away from the curb and headed out of the airport, “Are you happy to be home?” She asked, glancing at her best friend as they hit a red light, “I for one am glad that you’re back. I’ve missed you. Skype and emails and all that were so not enough. You’d better not be leaving me again.” In a way, now that she thought about it, Stefan leaving was like when he’d left for war in the dreams to try and atone for what he’d done as a Ripper. Real life and the dreams imitated each other quite a lot it would seem.
Stefan smirked. “Can’t hide anything from you, Lex.” He said, and then relaxed back in the seat. It felt so surreal to be out. To be back. And not to have the crushing weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He was free. For the first time in five years, he was free. Only, now he had to figure out what he was going to do with his freedom.
“I, for one, am glad that I’m back, too.” He said, the smirk brightening. “Not planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Speaking of… I’ll have to find… a job? Or something?” It was a very small joke. “Know anywhere that’s hiring?”
“Well, I could see if there are any openings at Disney.” She said as they reached In N Out and she pulled into a space in the parking lot. “Maybe not in a position as fabulous as mine, but there’s probably something open.” Lexi enjoyed being a face character at Disney cause she liked seeing the looks on kids’ faces when they met her and the conversations she would have, in character, with them and the adults was great. Stefan probably wouldn’t end up as a character like her, but she was sure that with a little help from her compulsion she could get him one of the nicer jobs.
Stefan gave a little snort. “Can you really see me working at Disney?” Maybe he could work at the first aid station, or something. He had experience patching up war wounds, he thought he could handle scrapes and bruises from the occasional vacationer. “I was thinking maybe I’d go back to school. There are some great programs for vets. I’ve got pamphlets in my duffel somewhere.” And laundry. He had so much laundry to do.
“Oooh, that’s a good idea. What sort of programs?” Lexi asked as she opened the door for them and proceeded to get in line, “I’ve thought about going back to school here and there, but I just don’t think it’s for me.” Now that she was a vampire, Lexi figured she had plenty of time to go to college if she wanted and probably more than once.
Stefan stepped through the doorway with a gentle “thanks” and then stepped into line with her. “Scholarship programs. I could likely get financial aid if I decided to go to College.” He wasn’t sure what he’d study. He could stay in the medical field. That might be best, actually, since he had a ton of experience there. “Then again, maybe I can work with you at Disneyland. Be your… bodyguard?” He teased.
“Hey, Rapunzel doesn’t need a bodyguard. She has a frying pan.” Lexi gave Stefan a skeptic look, “It’s like you don’t know your Disney, Stefan. God.” She grinned at him as she spoke and couldn’t help but wrap her arm around him and lean into him briefly, “I’ve really missed this. You really have no idea how happy I am that you’re back.” She had been dealing with Damon alone for too long. Now that Stefan was back maybe he’d leave her alone.
Stefan gave her a look when she said he didn’t know his Disney. God. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell her that three of the six movies they watched over and over at camp were Disney animated films. And he would never admit that the most popular guy in the regiment was the one who had the entire Harry Potter series in paperback to lend out to the others.
“Hey. C’mere.” He said, and lifted an arm to wrap around her shoulders, drawing her in close against him. He’d missed her, too. Very much. “I’m never leaving again.”
Grinning, Lexi leaned into Stefan more, wrapping her other arm around him as well, “Good, cause if you do then I’m coming with you and you’ll have to explain that to the navy.” They reached the front of the line, arms still wrapped around one another, which caused the girl behind the counter to smile at them.
“Can I just say that you guys are adorable?”
Lexi was used to this. Ever since high school, Lexi and Stefan had been mistaken for a couple so she was used to it and instead of arguing it, she simply smiled at Stefan, “We hear that all the time.”
Stefan could only grin. He leaned his temple against Lexi’s hairline and nodded. It was funny to him to play it up--to let people go on believing what they wanted to believe. He finally pulled back a little so he could dig his wallet out of his trousers. “I’ll have a double cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake.”
Any idea how long it’d been since he’d had a chocolate shake?
“I’ll have the same.” Lexi said before the girl could finish ringing up Stefan’s order, cause if they were dating then Stefan would surely be paying. What kind of pretend boyfriend didn’t pay for his pretend girlfriend after all?
A shitty pretend boyfriend, that's what kind. And Stefan was far from a shitty pretend boyfriend. He paid for the food, accepted the receipt, and led Lexi away from the counter to find a place to eat.
"Sooooo, catch me up. Tell me everything. What have I missed?" He asked, slipping into the chair.
There was so much that Stefan had missed. So much that she could tell him, but most of it he wasn’t ready for. He couldn’t know about the whole vampire thing just yet; not until he started dreaming himself. Besides, he’d just come home and she didn’t want to pile all of that on him, “Well, what haven’t I told you already? You that I’m living with Caroline and her friend Anna now. Oh, but did I tell you that Katherine is back?” Katherine Gilbert was one of the last people Lexi had ever thought she’d be friends with after the relationship Stefan had had with her in High School, but over the last couple of months before Katherine had left town, they had become friends.
“You told me all that already,” Stefan said once they were sitting at a table. He had to pop up once more to go get their food after the number was called by the staff. He brought the food back to the table and sat again. “I’ll have to see everyone again. Maybe we could have a party.” A coming home party? Sounded like the kind of thing that Lexi might like.
“A party is exactly what we need.” Lexi grinned, taking her food off the tray. A party was exactly the sort of thing she was in the mood for. Of course a party would probably have to wait until they had handled the situation with Klaus, but she wasn’t going to tell Stefan about that just yet, “Leave the planning to me.” She smiled and picked up her burger, but lowered it a little, “I really am glad you’re back, by the way.” She’d said it already, but she left the need to say it again cause she’d missed Stefan terribly.