InsaneJournal

Who: Stefan Salvatore & Bubbles
When: Friday (April 8)
Where: Boardwalk
What: Second date
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete


Stefan picked up Bubbles from her house and together they headed to the Boardwalk for their second date. He’d been looking forward to this for a few days now, and made sure that he dressed the occasion. It was exceptionally hot, but still he wore slacks and button-down shirt, though it was short-sleeved. He’d had the car washed and vacuumed since the last time he’d driven her around in it, and it looked like new. Actually, a lot of things were looking up for Stefan. Bigger room, better job, new girl…

He turned to her as they stepped from the parking lot up the sidewalk and onto the boardwalk. “So… what would you like to do first?” He looked and felt years younger tonight, offering a hand out to hold hers.

Bubbles herself was in a sleeveless dress in her signature blue. It was a lighter blue due to the heat. It was also a little shorter than her usual dresses, but it wasn't like she was going to be doing anything that would make that a problem. She'd settled on flip flops, considering they were pretty easy to take off and they were appropriate beach wear. Naturally, they did not help make her any taller, but there were some things you just couldn't help.

Taking his hand, Bubbles squinted ahead of her, thinking about what to do first. "Mmmm. First funnel cakes. I was going to say first stuffed animal, but you can't eat funnel cake with a stuffed animal. It just gets messy."

“Funnel cakes first.” Stefan chimed in, smiling warmly. His hand tightened just slightly around hers as they headed along the boardwalk and up toward the food stands. There weren’t that many people around, so they didn’t have to worry about being separated--but Stefan still wanted to hold her hand a little tighter. Just in case.

“Then a walk along the beach? And some midway games?” He offered. He was really up for anything. But it would be nice to spend some time together, enjoying nature. They could watch the sunset over the waves. It was happening later and later these days.

If there was one thing Bubbles was not against, it was hand holding, so she was certainly not going to complain about Stefan holding onto her hand a little tighter than usual. She smiled up at him, even more glad to see that he was smiling, too. His smile was one of her favorites because she'd seen enough of his sad faces to make it feel like a treat to see his smiles as often as she did.

"Yes!" She was a big fan of the beach ever since she was younger. They'd gone to the beach a lot, so it was kind of hard not to feel that way. She didn't go to the beach that often with people outside of her family, though, which made this even better for her. "This is the messiest you will have seen me. Try not to look too surprised." The wind was already making a mess of her hair. What was a little powdered sugar?

Stefan gave a little chuckle, leading the way up to the stand where they sold the funnel cake. Reluctantly, he released her hand so he could draw his wallet out of his pocket. “I’m sure you at your messiest is more endearing than surprising.” He said, and leaned over to press a kiss against her temple. It was one of those random, spur-of-the-moment things, and he hoped she didn’t mind.

“What kind would you like?” They had the kind with the whipped cream, the strawberries, the ice cream, or the whole works. He’d help her eat whichever kind she wanted.

"I don't know, Stefan. It might be very surprising." She laughed at herself, only somewhat disappointed by the fact that they were no longer holding hands. She was pretty sure it was only for now. But the kiss to her temple made her light up a little. She definitely did not mind.

As she studied the options, she tried to decide what to get and how to choose. Usually, given there were three of them, each of them would have gotten one and they'd all share. Now she was just Bubbles. So she went with her signature, which probably made her very berry if you considered her shampoo was strawberry, too. "Strawberry. Unless you like ice cream better."

“Surprising and endearing?” Stefan ventured. He stepped forward in the line, watching Bubbles as she tried to decide. In that moment he was struck by how pretty she was and how lucky he was. “Strawberry sounds wonderful.”

The pair of them stepped forward to the register and Stefan placed the order for and paid for the funnel cake. Strawberry. He knew that Bubbles liked strawberry, he could smell it in her hair every time she came near. He was more than willing to let her have the one she wanted. It only took a minute to get the cake, and then Stefan was leading Bubbles to a picnic bench to sit and eat.

"I guess I can settle for that." She waited for Stefan to order the funnel cake, humming to herself a little. Their theme song chose random moments to pop into her head, and apparently now was a good time for it to get stuck in her head. She stopped humming it, however, once Stefan got the funnel cake and started over to one of the picnic benches. She followed after him and sat down next to him. "Thank you for the funnel cake, Stefan."

She reached over to steal a bit of it, making sure there was enough strawberry on it before very carefully bringing it over to her mouth and eating it. "Strawberry is always the messiest one, but I always get this one and then Blossom and Buttercup get the others. Then we don't have to settle. The Professor usually just takes a bit of all of them, too. It's probably a good thing none of us are allergic to strawberries!"

“You’re welcome,” Stefan slid the plate over a little so that she could more easily reach it. He stole a dollop of whipped cream (since there was a bit of it on there, anyway) and licked it off his finger. “I can see how that would be a good compromise.” He lifted an arm to wrap around her shoulders while she ate. “You don’t have any allergies, do you?”

"No allergies," she replied, leaning against him a little. She took a little bit more of the funnel cake, tempted to stick her finger in the strawberry syrup and wipe it on Stefan's nose, but she resisted for the moment, more interested in actually eating the funnel cake than she was with attacking Stefan. For now. She couldn't promise that she wouldn't go with it in a few minutes. It was very tempting.

This was one of those getting-to-know-you questions that could come up on early dates. Stefan was hanging on her every word. Though, there weren't many of them. She was too busy eating and looking adorable to babble, maybe.

“If you could eat anything in the world right now, except funnel cake, what would it be?” Stefan asked, reaching for a little chunk of the cake.

It was, in fact, very difficult to talk about herself while she was distracted by funnel cake. But when Stefan asked her about what she'd eat if she could eat anything, she paused, face scrunched as she concentrated. "That's a difficult question. Mostly because there's a lot of food I would eat. Liiiike brownies or this really good vegetarian curry I had once." She hummed thoughtfully. "There's a lot of stuff to eat that is not funnel cake. Like strawberry shortcake! That's even better than strawberry funnel cake!" She blushed a little and looked down.

"But what would you eat if it wasn't funnel cake?"

Oh, Bubbles. Asking a vampire what he'd eat? Stefan had to hold back the first answer that came to his mind. It'd caused problems before, and he wasn't going to let it cause them problems again. “Well, everything tastes different now I have my special diet,” he explained apologetically. “But I really miss parmesan cheese. I'd love to eat that sprinkled on anything.”

To be fair, Bubbles hadn't thought about the vampire thing, but the moment that Stefan mentioned his special diet, she felt her face heat up again and she put a hand to her face, getting a little strawberry on her forehead. "That was a stupid question."

Funnel cake, a voice said near her and she looked up, a confused expression on her face. It wasn't Stefan, so she looked around. There were people around then, but there was a seagull sitting close by and it spoke again and Bubbles turned to look at Stefan again, "...That seagull just said it wanted some funnel cake."

“It’s okay,” Stefan said, and was about to add more. It was important that they talk about things. All sorts of things. If this was going anywhere, if they were going to date with any semblance of seriousness or longevity, they’d need to talk about everything. But then she turned her head away, and Stefan was distracted, too.

“What?” He asked, glancing from the girl to the bird and back again. “...I’m sure he does want cake, but…?” How did she know what the gull had just said?

Bubbles was really confused herself, until she remembered a dream. She'd been talking to a squirrel. THE DREAMS! For a moment her face lit up and then she'd focused on the seagull and tried to talk back. It was pretty much just something that her dream self did, but apparently it either needed practice or she was thinking about it too much. The seagull just tilted its head to the side. "That worked in the dreams," she said quietly.

Shaking her head, she took a piece of funnel cake that didn't have strawberry on it and put it down near the bird. "I think this means I got a power." She laughed a little. "Work is going to be so much louder, but also so much easier. Animals really can tell me what's wrong!"

Stefan watched Bubbles interacting with the seagull with a curious expression on his face. He cocked his head to the side much like the bird. “Do you think he understood you?” He asked, watching the bird as it started to peck at the funnel cake.

“...oh, wow. You’ll be the best veterinary assistant ever.” Talking to animals was a special skill. He was proud of her, even though it was a little silly for him to be so. But the smile on his face showed it.

"I don't think so. I'm probably thinking about it too hard. Or something." She frowned, clearly disappointed. At least it didn't take that much effort to understand what they were saying to her. "I just did it instinctively in my dreams." She'd just have to figure it out over time. She could practice at work and during school when they had hands-on activities. She was sure that she'd be able to figure it out eventually.

"Most likely. It'll help with rehab, too. Because I can explain to them what's happening." She glanced over at Stefan before grabbing for some more funnel cake to eat herself. "I guess I can answer the age old question of 'what are animals thinking' now."

Stefan was insanely glad that he didn’t have that power. He didn’t want to know what his food was thinking. It was bad enough that he needed it to survive. If he had the option, he would have gone without… but of course he couldn’t. And he didn’t want to know what they were thinking about him... An awful thought passed through his mind about the things they might say to Bubbles about him. How he was a monster and a predator, how she should fear him.

“You’ll get the hang of it,” he said, giving her a gentle squeeze. “And then you’ll use your new abilities to help so many.” He reached forward and picked a small piece of the funnel cake off the plate. “Do you want to take that walk now?” When he looked over at Bubbles, he saw the strawberry on her face. And he smiled.

Bubbles was pretty glad about her abilities. It wasn't flying or super strength, but it was a super power, something that she could do that not everyone could do. It made her happy. She didn't wonder what she would hear about Stefan because she was more focused on how to help them with their injuries and what they preferred to eat. Did they really see in black and white? What did they think about?

"Thanks, Stefan." It was nice to have someone who believed she could do everything. Not that Blossom and Buttercup didn't, but she remembered the dream where they didn't believe in her all the time. "Yes. I think we should definitely take that walk now," she said, standing up. "Lead the way, but we should make sure to throw the plate out."

“Absolutely.” Stefan was touched by the girl he was with. He reflected on it silently as he reluctantly pulled away from her. She was kind to animals, and cared about the environment. It was sweet, and endearing, and warmed his heart.

One hand reached for Bubbles’ and the other carried the plate to the trash. They moved together toward the end of the boardwalk, to where there were some hiking trails that meandered down the rustic part of the beach. Stefan led the way down one that he knew went to the beach, but had a nice bench facing west--where they could sit and watch the sunset. Along the path he grabbed a wildflower--one small, yellow blossom--and held it out to Bubbles while they walked.

Bubbles took Stefan's hand as they walked, humming a few notes to herself. She glanced over at the flower that he gave her and accepted it quietly. "Thank you for the flower." She brought it up to her nose. It wasn't a strong scent, but it was pleasant enough. She lifted their hands up, pressing a kiss to the back of Stefan's. "So. What sort of hobbies do you have outside of painting with girls you've never met before and helping older ladies with their gardens?"

“It’s gonna make me sound ridiculously old fashioned and possibly very boring, but…” Stefan gave her hand a squeeze and turned to smile apologetically. “I like to read. And write. I keep journals in the Dreams, and that’s sort of bled over.” He slowed their pace a little and stepped to the side of the path so a couple of bikes could pass in the opposite direction.

“I watch television and movies like everyone else, though. And I’m working on restoring a nineteen sixty-seven mustang. That takes some time.” He released her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders to tug her in close against him. “What about you?”

Bubbles shook her head, smiling a little. "That doesn't make you sound old fashioned or boring. It's something that makes you happy. That's what's important." She didn't really write a lot, but she liked to read sometimes and she drew and did art. Sometimes she even did fingerpaints or coloring books. It was all about what made you happy and what you liked to do.

"Really? Are you really good with cars, then? I'm kind of hopeless. I know enough how not to kill a car, but not much past that. The Professor does a lot of the stuff...or someone else." She leaned against Stefan, her arm moving around his waist. "Well, you already know about my paint balloons, but I also do some finger-painting and general painting. I also like reading and watching things on tv." She thought for a moment, trying to figure out what else there was. "And sometimes I go to the beach and watch stuff with my sisters."

“I’m working as a mechanic now,” Stefan hadn’t told many people about the change. It’d been a pretty seamless transition from his work with Lexi at Disneyland to working with Dean at the Garage. “I’d say I’m pretty good with cars, yes.” He smirked a little, tightening his arm around her just a little.

“The three of you are really close, then?” Stefan asked, turning down the short path that led to a bench facing the sea. “I’ll have to impress them, too.”

"You are?" Bubbles lightly hit him with her free hand after slipping the flower into her hair. "I definitely don't remember you telling me that before. Which is very rude of you." She tried to put on her best grumpy face, which was kind of difficult when Stefan was there with his stupid Stefan face. She let it drop, though.

"We've always been very close, but then we all got adopted on the same day and we've been together since we were five. We've been pretty inseparable since then. Even though we're not really doing the same things. We're sisters." And Bubbles loved Blossom and Buttercup more than anyone or anything else. "Buttercup's probably going to be your harshest critic of the two."

Stefan gave a little shrug of his shoulders when she smacked him. He leaned in against her. “Sorry. I’ll make sure to keep you appraised of all the changes in my life from here on out.” Actually, it made him feel a little warm inside that she wanted to know these things about him. And he wanted to know all of them about her, too.

“I’ve spoken with her a little bit on Valarnet. She seems like a good egg.” He said, and moved to sit on the bench, pulling her down with him. “How do you think I should go about getting on her good side?”

"You really should, because how else am I supposed to know you got a new job! I thought you were still at your other job this whole time." The whole point of dating someone was to have someone outside of your family to tell about your awesome life. Or at least she liked to have people to talk to about things, so maybe she was projecting that onto other people.

"She's a real charmer." Bubbles laughed a little as she sat down. "Well, she is into mixed martial arts, so I'd say if you can talk to her about that, you're good. Also you've got to be super nice to me, because I am like a baby bird and she punches people who hurt me." She laughed again, leaning against him and batting her eyelashes.

Stefan wasn’t that much of a talker. He didn’t tell people things the way he probably should--and it often got him into trouble. Lexi and Damon were constantly angry with him for withholding information, but it wasn’t like he did it on purpose. He was just quiet. He didn’t think to include everyone on his private life.

He pulled her close up against him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I think I might have to practice on the nice part. The super nice part.” He said, and leaned in to bump his nose into her temple. “How about… I do some things and you tell me which are nice and which are super nice.” He pressed a kiss against her cheek.

That was one thing that Bubbles could not say. She tended to talk about herself a lot. Or at least she rambled a lot about things that she liked. Maybe she hadn't done it so much recently, but she tended to anyway. She would get him used to it eventually.

"I don't know," she said, laughing a little. "You're pretty nice." She was particularly happy to get the little shows of affection. "Taking me to the beach is super nice. Also letting me choose the funnel cake." She turned her head to kiss his cheek in return. "But I think you're super nice in general. I am probably very biased."

This was one of those moments where Stefan only had one thing on his mind. It wasn’t hunting or blood, but Bubbles. She consumed his thoughts, he let her take over all his senses. He had his body turned toward her instead of the sunset, his arm around her shoulders, one hand lifted to cup her cheek as she kissed his cheek.

“I think I’d be barking up the wrong tree if you weren’t at least a little biased.” He replied, his voice a low purr. “It’s a good sign that you think I’m nice. I happen to think you’re pretty nice, too.” He leaned in and tapped a kiss against her lips. “Super nice, even.”

Bubbles, herself, was fairly distracted by Stefan. To be fair, he was very nice to look at and her heart sped up every time that he looked at her. "Mmm. That's probably true. Luckily, it's the right tree." She smiled into the kiss, even if it was just a quick kiss. "I am super nice," she replied. "It's a well-known fact. Just ask anyone and they'll tell you." She wasn't sure that was strictly true, but only because she didn't know everyone.

Stefan chuckled softly. “I’m sure they would.” He ran his fingertip back and forth across her cheek, staring deep into her eyes. “Either you’re genuinely the nicest person on the planet, or you’ve got them all fooled. And me, too.” It was a little tease. He leaned in for one more kiss, letting it linger a moment longer this time.

Bubbles returned the kiss, a hand coming up to rest against Stefan's cheek. "I could be very tricky, but I think we both know that I am not very good at being tricky. At least not on purpose." She paused, thinking about it for a moment. "But I'm hoping I can be tricky and convincing enough that the Professor agrees to let us get a dog!" It was one of the few things that she really wanted. A pet! "But that's about as much trickery as I know how to manage."

The sun was setting. Stefan only vaguely registered that they were missing a pretty beautiful view. Then again, he thought the view in front of him was pretty beautiful, too. He grinned a little more brightly when she mentioned wanting the dog. Sometimes he felt bad because Bubbles … well, she acted so young and impressionable. Child-like, even. And Stefan felt a little guilty for wanting her the way that he did. Then again, he knew she was a grown woman, and she could make her own choices. He was just thankful that she chose him.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to get that dog. What kind are you thinking about?” He asked, lingering close. Then he decided to try and distract her while she answered him, and he lowered his mouth to press kisses along her jaw toward her neck.

"We hadn't really..." She paused, momentarily losing her line of thought before it came back to her. "Talked about it. Nothing too big, probably." She had a lot of ideas about dogs. One that wouldn't take up too much space and was easy to look after. But Stefan's lips were definitely very distracting. Not that she was complaining.

The little hitch in her sentence made Stefan smirk softly before he brought his attentions down her neck. He spent some time there, nibbling her skin with his lips, speaking between kisses. “You’d be wonderful with a dog,” he said. “So caring. So thoughtful.”

The sun was completely down now, and it was starting to grow cold.

Her hand moved to Stefan's shoulder, fingers curling against his neck. Her eyes slid closed and she focused on his lips on her neck, vaguely aware of the fact that a vampire was kissing her neck. She just had to trust that he would be okay and that she'd be okay. She'd been taking the vervain like he said, so hopefully it made her blood super, super unappealing. "That's what I'm trying to say." She smiled a little. "I'm very good with animals. I should have a dog. Now I can even talk to them."

Stefan took a slow breath against her skin, forcing himself to calm down. Being so close to her neck was appealing in more than one way--though he knew she was taking the vervain. The other way was just as strong. He lifted his head to nuzzle her jaw once, then brought his mouth to hers for a kiss. Making out on a bench just after sunset at the beach. It was a good way to spend a second date, right? Stefan thought being in the chilly, night air, in public, would help him keep control. And he really wanted to kiss her.

Bubbles felt the cool air where Stefan's mouth had been previously. The air around them was cooling down in general, but she felt warm enough. Especially with Stefan kissing her. She knew that it hadn't gone overly great the last time, but if Stefan wanted to make out again, who was she to complain about it? She was beginning to wonder if she wasn't secretly turning into a very selfish person. Was this what it was like for everyone who dated someone? She just wanted to be close to him all the time.

This was one of those things that Stefan could do for all eternity. He was going to live forever. He could spend the rest of his existence kissing Bubbles, he was sure of it. There were a plethora of reasons that he shouldn’t, but he was convinced that he could. He was a passionate kisser, though he was keeping himself in check. He didn’t want to lose control, for one, and they were in a public place. He didn’t want to put on a show for anyone who happened to be walking by.

A wind picked up, and it became more obvious to Stefan that it was chilly out. He pulled back, a little breathless, and cupped her cheek in his hand. How long had they been out here? He’d lost track of the time. “We should go win you that stuffed animal,” he breathed. He didn’t really want to move.

For the most part, Bubbles was following Stefan's lead. She'd never really done much kissing, but the more she did, the more she grew to like it. It probably had a lot to do with Stefan being the person that she was kissing. When Stefan pulled back, she almost went after him, but she kept herself still and opened her eyes to look at him. "Oh, right." Her laugh was breathy. "I forgot about that."

She didn't want to move herself, but she thought that Stefan's suggesting the stuffed animal was his way of saying he needed a break from kissing, so she figured it was best to go with that plan. "Yeah. We...we can do that."

Stefan could tell that Bubbles didn’t have a whole lot of experience kissing. He himself had only kissed a half dozen girls in his life, though he’d kissed a couple of them a whole lot. A passionate kisser, Stefan put everything he head into it when he was as fond of his partner as he was of Bubbles.

A smile crossed his lips when he heard her breathy laugh. He wanted nothing more than to distract her like that every day. Several times a day. “C’mon.” He reluctantly pulled away, and held a hand out to her. The wind was picking up a little more, and he was glad they were heading back to the midway games. There would be wind protection there. And he could easily win her a stuffed animal from almost any of the games. It might have been a little unfair, but those games were rigged, anyway. “Just let me know which one you want.”

Taking his hand, Bubbles stood up. While she would have been happy to stay there and make out a bit more, she was also aware that it might end in a lot more sand than she was currently prepared the deal with. Even if she liked the beach. Wind and sand did not mix together. At least she'd walk out of this with a new stuffed animal. "I promise that I will tell you which one that I want most."

“Good.” Stefan imagined there’d be something cute--a unicorn, or something--but when they got to the midway, most of the stuffed animal prizes were either stupid, kitsy things, or they were ugly, or they were obviously very cheaply constructed. Stefan frowned as they slowly wandered through, looking for a good one. Maybe Bubbles would have better luck finding something than he had.

Bubbles studied the stuffed animals. Maybe they weren't all that interesting or really the sorts of things most people liked, but she looked at them all the same to find something that was cuter than the others. It wasn't until she saw a little pink owl with big eyes that she stopped. "The owl!" She lit up gently tugging him closer to the game station with the owl. "This ooooone. Please."

There were little, stuffed owls at the station with the hammer. Stefan could do this. Easy. With his vampire strength he could slam the hammer into the platform and ring the bell at the top of the post. “The owl?” He asked, making a show of letting her tug him over to the station. “You know these things are rigged, right?”

“Not at all!” The barker argued, waving a hand to the pair to come in closer and play the game. “The machine reacts the same way for me that it does for you!” He lifted the hammer and gave it a huge whack! The plug zoomed up the platform and rung the bell at the top. “One dollar per hit, but five dollars gets you three tries. Whaddya say? You wanna win a stuffed animal for your girlfriend?”

Stefan glanced over at Bubbles with a wicked smirk on his face. Then he pulled a five dollar bill from his pocket. “I might only need the one.”

Bubbles gave Stefan a knowing smile, doing her best not to laugh a little as she focused on the man standing at the station with the hammer. It was one of the easiest things for Stefan. Probably difficult for almost anyone else, but that was also probably why they had the best of the stuffed animals.

It was the first time that someone else (that she was aware of) addressed her as Stefan's girlfriend, and she couldn't help but feel very pleased with the outcome. Her smile grew and she tried not to laugh again as she caught sight of Stefan's smirk. "One, three. Same difference."

Stefan wasn’t sure if Bubbles was technically his girlfriend or not, but he didn’t want to argue the point with a stranger. It wasn’t any of his business what Stefan and Bubbles were. And this wasn’t exactly the time or place to try and figure that out with her, was it?

He received the four dollars change after a warning from the barker. If he wanted to buy more, he’d have to give the full five for three--spending six for four. Stefan didn’t need more than one. The vampire lifted the hammer and brought it down with ease on the platform, sending the ball straight up to the bell and ringing it. It was quite a bit louder than the sound it made for the barker.

The barker looked a little surprised, and a little awed. But he cleared his throat and asked what prize Stefan wanted.

Stefan pointed to the pink owl, and then passed it over to Bubbles once it was won. “Thanks,” he said to the barker, then wrapped an arm around Bubbles shoulders to lead her away.

Bubbles took the owl from him, wrapping her arms around it quickly and squeezing it. It was a great prize and she was pretty pleased with it. The barker's face was also worth it to see. As they walked away, Bubbles looked up at Stefan. "Thank you." She held it out in front of her, studying it and trying to figure out what she'd name her new owl. So far she didn't have any specific ideas, but she was sure it was only a matter of time before she figured it out. Maybe she'd figure it out once she was home. Sometimes it just took time and studying before names came to you.

For now she brought it back to her chest and hugged it to herself. "So what's it like to surprise a bunch of people like that? I wish I could do that."

God, she was cute. Stefan tightened his arm around her shoulder, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to her hair. “You surprise me every time I see you,” he said, playfully. “But it’s… a bit of a relief to get to use my strength every once in a while.” He turned to lead her back toward the car. It was getting late, and he wanted to get her home in time. Get on The Professor’s good side. “How’s the owl? Everything you dreamed she’d be?” He teased.

Bubbles laughed a little. "I'm only surprising because you don't know everything yet. I will one day stop being very surprising." Not that she minded if he wanted to think that she was going to surprise him all the time. "And she or he...I haven't decided yet, but boys can totally be pink. Just in case you were wondering." She shrugged slightly. "But yes. The owl is everything I dreamed!"

“I dunno about that.” Stefan replied. Somehow he thought that they would always surprise one another. He gave a little chuckle. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to assume.” Then he leaned in and kissed her temple as they walked slowly down the boardwalk. “I hope you know I expect that you’ll cuddle with this owl every night and think of me before you go to sleep.”

"You're forgiven." She grinned up at him, nose scrunching up slightly as he kissed her temple. She looked down at the owl curiously for a moment before saying, "Well, I guess I can do that, but I sleep with a lot of stuffed animals and they all need plenty of love and affection, obviously."

“I think you’ll find that this particular owl is in dire need of cuddles. Just like the guy who won it for you. But since I can’t be there every night… you’ll have to give them to the owl instead.” He teased as they moved from the boardwalk to the parking lot. There was sand under their feet, making a scratching sound as they walked across the pavement. Stefan unlocked and opened the car door for her, then vamp sped around to his own seat once she was safely inside.

“I hope I don’t have you out too late.” It wasn’t that late. But he wanted to make a good impression with her family, and bringing her home early and happy was a good way to do just that.

Bubbles laughed a little. "I have a lot of those, but I guess I can give the owl a lot of cuddles anyway." She didn't really mind. Climbing into the car, she watched as Stefan zoomed around to the other side. It was still difficult to really focus on him as he moved. He was so fast. "I don't think this is really very late," she countered, trying not to laugh as she looked at him. "I think you'll be okay."

“Good.” The car pulled out of the parking lot, and Stefan turned onto the highway. They had a few minutes in the car before they got to Bubbles’ place, so he reached over to take hold of her hand while he drove. “I promise next time I’ll keep you out late. We can go out to dinner and cuddle up for a movie at my place?”

Bubbles looked down at her hand and then up to Stefan's face. "Well, if you'd really like to be out late, we could do that. Do you have movie preferences? I guess we can always choose something simple." She started to think over the movies that they could watch. "But that sounds like a really nice idea."

“Well, I picked the last movie. Sorry,” he playfully apologized, “So I think it’s your turn to pick the next one. I’ll rent whatever you want to see.” There were Red Box machines, and Netflix, and Amazon Prime… he could buy a dvd, too. Whatever she wanted he was sure he could get his hands on it. “Let me guess…” He said, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. “Something romantic... but also funny.”

Bubbles lightly hit him with her free hand. "I also watch Disney movies and other things that are not scary except when Buttercup wants to watch scary things." She wrinkled her nose at that. "But I'll text you about the movie once I think of something."

“Sounds good.” Stefan was smirking at the hit, and caught her hand to lace his fingers through hers. She couldn’t hit him again if he was holding her hand, right? “Even if it’s Disney. I’ll put up with it since you sat with me through Strangers on a Train.” He glanced over at her and gave her a smile. Then his eyes went back to the freeway so he could put his blinker on and carefully switch lanes to exit on her offramp.

"Disney movies are pretty amazing," she said, smiling brightly. "But I think I can find something. Or I'll make you watch White Christmas. Or Grease Live." She did her best not to smile, but failed pretty miserably, starting to laugh before too much time had passed. Once they pulled to a stop in front of her house, she sighed. "Already time to say goodbye."

Stefan was a gentleman. “Let me walk you to the door,” he said as he pulled off his seatbelt. Only a second after he climbed from the car he was at her door, opening it to help her out. Together they walked up the drive and he led her to the front door. He wanted one more kiss before they parted.

“I’ll talk to you soon. Have a good night?” He leaned in to steal one more kiss from her lips.

Bubbles was getting used to unbuckling herself quickly. Stefan was always pretty quick to open the door. She smiled as they walked up the house. "You'd better, Mr. Vampire, or I'll probably be very cross." Returning the kiss, she smiled. "You have a good night, too."