𝒮 𝔱𝔢𝔣𝔞𝔫 𝒮 𝔞𝔩𝔳𝔞𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔢 (wouldberipper) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-06-10 09:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, bubbles, stefan salvatore |
Who: Stubbles
When: After Stefan witnessed the murder
Where: Stefan's place
What: Stefan asks Bubbles to move in with him
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Bubbles wasn’t going to lie, she was worried. She was worried about whether Stefan was okay. Yes, she understood that physically he was fine. He was a vampire and he would live forever and ever. Physically, he would be fine. But that didn’t mean he was fine otherwise. She’d spent a good portion of her time fussing from afar. She’d deleted multiple texts that she’d wanted to send late at night to see if he was still okay. Eventually she’d fallen asleep, but when she woke up, the first thing she did was check her phone to make sure that Stefan was okay.
There’d been a message about going to get something to eat and that he’d be back after, so she took that as a sign that it was okay to go over. Even if he wasn’t technically there right now, she was going to BE THERE. Plus, she could check in on Lulu and make sure that she was okay, too. She let her out to use the potty briefly before going back inside and curling up on Stefan’s bed with her.
It had resulted in very many puppy claws and kisses, but not Lulu was just curled up next to her snoozing. Bubbles was careful not to move too much, but she couldn’t help but obsessively check her phone every few seconds just in case.
Stefan had left Joe and Frank’s place pretty early in the morning. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could handle being without food. It’d been a really good idea for him to be there with the guys after such a traumatic event not just for him, but for Joe, too. They were able to talk (and not talk) about it. Have a drink. Calm down. Stefan didn’t need a whole lot of sleep, anyway. After the Hardy brothers went to bed, he lounged on the sofa and stared at the ceiling for a long time, thinking about what they’d seen. In the morning, when it was appropriate, he had left his friends’ apartment and headed home to get something to eat. It’d been a really long night, and he was exhausted.
But that didn’t stop him from eating. Even exhausted and emotionally spent, he was still a vampire. He headed into the foothills, fed, and then came home. He was ready for a long shower and an even longer nap. But he saw a familiar car in the drive, and knew that Bubbles was inside waiting for him. Just the thought of her relieved tension from his shoulders. He came in and wandered down the hall to his room.
The sound of footsteps in the hall had Bubbles sitting up and Lulu scrambling off the bed in the hopes of getting a treat or some attention. The moment she saw Stefan, she was off the bed, throwing her arms around him. “I love you,” she whispered. Not that she probably could have explained why she needed to whisper it. She just needed to say it.
After letting the hug linger for a little while, she pulled back and looked him over. “Are you okay? Is Joe?” Because even if he'd said so before, she had to make sure. She hoped Joe was okay. It was probably upsetting to see someone dead. The thought of it caused a small crease to form between her eyebrows, the sides of her mouth dipping down into a concerned frown.
Stefan felt a lot stronger and healthier now that he’d had food. (Vampire food. He hated that it was something he had to do, but it was better than eating people, that was for sure. And he could make much more informed decisions than other predators could.) Her tackle hug might have knocked him to the ground only a few hours ago, but Stefan was much better to handle things now he was well fed. He wrapped his arms around her and held tight. His nose was buried in her hair, his arms tight as iron around her.
“I love you,” he whispered in return. Then, eventually, reluctantly, let her go again. “I’m okay.” He nodded. “Joe’s okay. Not great, considering, but we’re okay.” He’d seen a lot of dead bodies before. In his Dreams, but did that matter? It felt real enough. The memories were real enough. “I need a shower. And a long nap. Are you staying? How long are you staying?”
Stefan’s hugs always made Bubbles feel safe. It was like she was wrapped in a warm, safe place and nothing could hurt her. So she happily snuggled into the hug, sighing from contentment.
“I’m glad you’re both okay. You can tell Joe that he can call if he needs. Either of us. I can’t fly or anything, but I have a lot of cute animals if he wants to volunteer.” Really, if he needed anything, she wanted to know he could consider her a friend and she’d do her best to be distracting. She was pretty sure she was very good at it. It was a side effect of her bubbly personality. “I’ll stay as long as you need me to. I don’t have work today and I took off tomorrow. I told them there was a family emergency.” She knew it was a lie, but Stefan was practically her family and she wanted to be there for him.
“I’ll let him know.” Stefan said, finally releasing Bubbles so he could step into the room and toe off his shoes. He wanted to get in the shower. Lulu wasn’t leaving him alone, though, following him around, whimpering, jumping up and putting her little paws on his knees. He finally released a chuckle and bent down to give her head a ruffle. “I know, girl. I know. I’ll be right back. And when I come back, I’ll be clean.”
He turned to kiss Bubbles, too, before heading into the shower. “Just… give me five minutes.” He had to wash the smell off.
Bubbles returned the kiss, nodding afterward at his words. “It’s no problem. Don’t rush on our account. We’ll still be here when you get out.” She spoke to Lulu asking her to come over to her. Lulu was worried. Bubbles knew that. Lulu also knew that Bubbles had been worried. But they’d be okay until he was cleaned up. Then he would be there to cuddle up with both of them and it would be just fine.
It didn’t take long for Stefan to shower off the remaining blood smell, the dirt, the sweat, the tears. Whatever it was that made him smell so bad, was showered off in just a couple of minutes. That and a fully belly was starting to make him feel like a human being again. (Even though he wasn’t technically one.)
He came back into the bedroom damp from the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He was still pale and Stefan-like, though his face wasn’t as long, his eyes a little brighter. He moved to the closet to find some clothes. “I’m not planning on going out today.” Hence the pajama pants and t-shirt he chose to wear.
Bubbles would have been lying if she said she didn’t stare at him when he came back in just a towel. Really, she probably would have been okay if he’d stayed in a towel. All damp skin and everything. But she just sat quietly as she watched him get dressed. He was tired and she didn’t want to make things worse. Also Lulu was there, which would have been awkward.
Patting the bed next to her (on the side opposite Lulu), Bubbles gave him a small smile. “Come sit. We can watch Netflix or whatever and just laze around and probably fall asleep to whatever’s playing. It’ll be nice.” Two people with their furbaby...napping. “You owe me cuddles for worrying me and I know you want them anyway, sooooooo.”
That sounded absolutely perfect to Stefan. He moved over to the bed and climbed on board, after hanging his towel on the back of his chair. He could put himself along the wall behind her, wrap his arms around her waist and pull her against him. From that vantage, Lu could curl up in front of Bubbles, and she could control the television. He’d upgraded to one of those smart tvs that played all the netflix and whatever else. And she knew how to operate the thing.
“As you wish, m’lady.” Stefan said, settling down between his love and the wall. “...you know. You should stay. Here. With me.” He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous about what he was saying. “You should come live here. With me.”
Bubbles knew she’d gotten a smart dog from the beginning. She didn’t really mind what they watched, but Lulu seemed drawn to things with dogs or birds. So she put on The Secret Life of Pets and just let Lulu watch as she focused on Stefan and what he’d just said.
“You want me to move in with you?” She felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest. She and Buttercup had talked about this as a possibility, but she hadn’t even imagined it. “I...of course I’d like to. I need to talk to Dad and then we’ll get everything started.” She moved, careful not to jostle Lulu on the bed. She wanted to be able to kiss Stefan and it was hard to do when she was curled up where her face was pointed away from him.
Stefan’s arm loosened its grip from around her waist as she moved on the bed, turning around to face him. He broke into a smile at the sight of her face so close to his. “Yeah. Come live with me.” He tightened his arm again once she was close enough to kiss. “You think your dad’ll let you come live with your predator boyfriend?”
Bubbles felt herself rolling her eyes at him before kissing him. “He let Blossom move in with Tyler, so I think you’re okay.” She kissed him again, this time much longer because she didn’t feel the need to interrupt herself to respond to him. When she did pull back, she smiled brightly at him. “I love you, Stefan Salvatore.”
“I love you, too.” He whispered, breaking into a smirk at the bright smile on her face. She was so beautiful. He lifted a hand to cup her cheek drawing her in for more kisses. His vampire heart felt light.