fourcolorlove | unnamed } { a trip down memory lane

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unnamed } { a trip down memory lane

Elena first kisses Tyler when they’re six years old.

It isn’t an intentional decision on her part. She lost a game to Hopscotch Champion Caroline Forbes and that is the end result. She doesn’t particularly want to do it either (she was hoping Caroline would say Matt, but she didn’t) but the relentlessness of Caroline cannot be tamed, even at the age of six, and a bet is a bet. Elena Gilbert does not weasel out of her wagers, so she does as she’s told, making her way over to the bench Tyler is sitting on during recess. He’s just gotten tagged out in dodgeball so he’s watching the game with interest, waiting for someone to tag him back in.

“Hey, Tyler.”

“Hey, Elena. You wanna play?”

“No.” She sits there awkwardly for a moment, trying to find the right segue into what she has to do, and Caroline and Bonnie are watching her from across the black top waiting for her to follow through. She swallows hard, pulls up all the confidence her little six year-old body can muster. Before anyone can be the wiser, she darts forward, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before, like any respectable six year-old girl who may have just given herself cooties, runs away like a shot while Caroline and Bonnie are shrieking on the other side of the parking lot.

Tyler looks mildly horrified. It’s safe to say that he couldn’t look at her the same way for as long as he actually cared about it, which pretty much amounted to three weeks. Six year-olds can be pretty forgiving that way.

Fifty years later, she’s sitting on that same bench while she waits for him to make his return to Mystic Falls, just as she is. They’re an odd pair traveling together, the hybrid and the vampire, but they make it work all the same. They probably shouldn’t be home this soon after leaving, as most of the people who knew them when they were alive are still around, but Matt needs help with a vampire problem, and neither of them could ever say no to Matt.

She hears the scuffs of his boots against the pavement, followed by the warmth of his jacket as he sits down next to her, and she can’t help but smile. “Remember when we used to play here when we were kids?”

“Of course I do. We are not that old, Elena.”

She smirks a bit at that, before shaking her head. “It feels like a lifetime ago. We didn’t have a care in the world back then. Except for, you know, cooties.”

“Which you were spreading liberally if I remember correctly.”

His tone is teasing, but the look she gives him in return is indignant all the same. “I lost a bet. That does not count as spreading cooties.”

“That is not how I remember it.”

“Oh really? Then how do you remember it?”

“I remember being told that you were supposed to kiss me, and all I got was a lousy peck on the cheek.”

“I was not going to give you an actual kiss,” Elena replies with a look, tossing her hair over her shoulders as she did. “You were dirty and gross and a jerk sometimes and I was saving myself for Matt.”

“And look how well that turned out.”

She gives him another look, but it’s much milder than it was previously. “I guess things work out the way they’re supposed to, in the end.”

“I guess they do.” He pauses for a moment, drumming his fingers against the bench before looking over at her with a smirk. “I still feel a little cheated though.”

She laughs at that, before turning to face him with a smile. “Would you like me to make it up to you?”

“Yes,” he nods, a teasing look on his face. “Yes, I would.”

“Fine.” She shifts in her seat a little more before leaning in to kiss him softly. It’s not their first real kiss, but they haven’t been doing this long enough where it’s stopped feeling new, and part of her hopes it never does. All she knows for now is that this is good, and she wants to keep seeing where this leads.

Her thumb brushes against his cheekbone as she pulls back, giving him a small smile in return. “Better?”

“Much,” he smiles, before taking her hand and pulling them both to their feet. “C’mon. We better go catch up with Matt and see what the damage is.”

She takes a deep breath and nods as she follows him, heading towards the sheriff’s station with a sigh. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

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He gives her hand a small squeeze before leading her towards the sheriff station. It feels weird to be home...but not entirely bad. It's been a long time since he's seen Matt. Sure, they write and talk on the phone sometimes, but it's not the same thing. On the other hand it'll be weird to see Matt older when he and Elena are as young as they've ever been -- but some things can't be helped.

Hopefully their friend hasn't gotten himself in too much trouble.

He's gotten himself into as much trouble as he usually gets into, basically. It's equally weird for him, being the Sheriff in a place where a Forbes should sit, but Liz essentially hand-picked him, so he can't complain too much.

When he sees Elena and Tyler step in the door, he can't help but smile, and wave them down. "Hey, you made it."

"Of course we did," Elena grins, seeing the lines around his eyes and in his smile, but thinking that they suit him. One of them should have had the chance to grow old, and she's glad that Matt is living his life to it's fullest. She steps forward to hug him tightly, closing her eyes as she sinks into the hold. "It's good to see you."

Tyler hangs back, lets them have their moment before moving in for his own hug. It's hard sometimes, seeing the lines in Matt's face, knowing that eventually they'll lose him too -- but it's comforting in a way as well. Someone got to have a normal life.

Or as close as any of them were going to get to it, anyway.

"So what's going on, exactly?" He asks as he pulls back.

Matt sighs as he pulls back, before gesturing for them to follow him back into his office where he has a stack of files on his desk. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. There's been a rash of 'animal attacks' and I'm not sure if it's a vampire or it's a werewolf or what, but ... could use a little supernatural expertise right now."

"No council to go poking around in things?"

Matt's eyebrows go up. "You get that there's not exactly a lot of human members of the Founding Families left, right?"

"Good point."

Tyler winces slightly at that. Considering both he and Elena's families had been founding families that were mostly killed off or turned...well. He sees Matt's point.

"We'll see what we can figure out."

Matt nods before handing off the file. "Most of the crime scenes were down by the falls and in the woods. I could be wrong and it may just be actual wild animals for once but ... check it out?"

"We will," Elena nods as she takes the file from him with a nod. "And we will let you know what we find."

"We will. And we'll help take care of it too."

Because if it's more than animals than Matt might need some backup.

"Thanks. I'll check in if I find anything new." And with that his phone rings, and he glances at them apologetically before waving them out. "I'll see you later."

"See you," Elena nods, and with that she will take Tyler's arm to lead him out, glancing down at the file again as she goes. "Looks like most of these were taking place around the Falls." She pauses for a moment, before looking back up at Tyler with a smirk. "Feel like a hike?"

"I think I can handle a hike." It's been a long time since he's gone up to the falls -- he wishes they were doing it just for funsies but things are rarely just fun in Mystic Falls these days.

No, they rarely are. But for now, it'll be good to have some time just for the two of them all the same. She smiles before they head out to the falls, having a look around to check out the crime scene.

"I've missed this place."

Exactly. They might as well enjoy the time they have together. And it is pretty out here, if nothing else.

"Me too. It's been a long time"

"Yeah, it has." She glances around for a moment before swallowing hard. "Though probably not long enough as far as the vampire manual is concerned. There are probably people around who still remember our faces."

"Right. So we need to be careful." If people realize they haven't aged there could be problems, to say the least.

She nods in agreement as she starts to pick her way over the rocks on the path. "But at least we know that people rarely ever come out here anymore - unless they need a place to make out, anyway."

"So probably a lot of teenagers still coming out here, then." He comments with a cheeky sort of grin. Because he remembers coming out here to make out more than a few times when he was younger.

She laughs before nodding her agreement. "Probably. Which means we should probably be careful that we don't accidentally stumble onto anyone who's looking for a bit of privacy." Then there's a beat as she glances over to him. "Do I want to know how many girls you used to bring out here?"

He laughs a little at her question, shaking his head some. "Probably not. I'm not exactly proud of the number." Maybe he would have been one day but he's not that person anymore, hasn't been in a long time.

She wrinkles her nose in return, before looking up at the top of the falls and sighing for a moment. "You know, I remember exactly the last time I was here." And it wasn't the happiest memory in the world to fall back on, but it was certainly simple. "Stefan took me here right before Klaus broke the curse."

"Did he?" That seems like such a long time ago now. He came back to town only because his mother got hurt -- almost got sacrificed himself in the process. It wasn't a happy time for any of them, but the end of anything being simple.

She nods, before giving a small smile. "We didn't know Bonnie had that spell for John to use, so we thought I was going to be a vampire after the ritual. He wanted to give me one last day as a human."

"That's nice of him." It's said begrudgingly at best, there's no love lost between Tyler and Stefan. "I had come back to town because my mom got hurt, and then me and Caroline were taken for the sacrifice."

She nods, because she remembers that. She was caught up in her own stuff, but she wasn't blind to it. "I'm sorry she kept getting used against you like that. She didn't deserve it."

"No, she didn't." That did keep happening though, right until her death. It's a guilt he still feels on his shoulders sometimes. He should have been able to save her.

Her fingers link through his and she gives his hand a squeeze, wanting to keep his focus on the task at hand and not be swinging back into old memories. "She would be proud of you, I think. For still looking after Mystic Falls."

It's probably a good idea, staying in the present and not lost in the past.

"I think our parents would be proud of both of us for that."

They may be monsters now, but at least they can do some good with it.

She's not so sure about hers sometimes. She doesn't know how they would feel about their daughter being a vampire, especially with what they learned about her father's experiments. But at the same time, Elena's done a lot to protect the people she cares about and she'd like to think that no matter her undead status, they would be proud of that. So she nods in agreement, before her nose catches a scent that's not good.

"Blood."

Tyler's not so sure his father would understand or approve but he likes to think his mother would. She had said she was proud of him, of what a leader he had become the day she died. It feels like such a far away time now, but he hopes he's made her happy.

And then Elena is smelling something and he can smell it too.

"It's close."

She nods and begins to move quietly towards the source, keeping her movements as practiced as possible. She's had years of experience to keep her movements near silent, and enough awareness to know that Tyler is close behind her.

"Hello?" She calls out softly. "Anyone there?"

Tyler carefully walks behind her, keeping alert for the moment. "I heard something in those bushes ahead" He whispers, leaning forward.

Elena nods for a moment, scanning the terrain before darting towards the bushes to try and flush out what happens to be there. There's a some surprised shrieking, and what actually emerges are two half-dressed teenagers who were looking for a little alone time.

"What the hell?!"

Tyler follows Elena and is surprised by what they actually hand. Time to make an alibi. He grabs Elena's hand and squeezes it.

"Sorry, we had a similar idea -- we didn't think anyone else would be out here."

Elena glances back to him before blinking her agreement. "Right. Sorry." Good thing they both still look like teenagers, even after all this time. "We'll ... find somewhere else."

"Come on, honey." He'll tug her hand as he starts to pull her away. He waves at the teenagers. "Sorry about that"

She gives them an apologetic smile before turning and following Tyler's lead. "Whoops. Probably shouldn't have rushed right into that one."

"I don't blame you, I thought we were onto something too." It probably can't hurt to be a little too proactive, right?

That's precisely Elena's thinking. It could have been far worse, and it's better to be wrong than to be right, in her opinion. "We could keep poking around up here, or we can go back to town for dinner and try to come back closer to nightfall."

"That might be a better idea, we're more likely to find something then." Right now they might just run into more horny teens.

She nods in agreement, before flashing him an easy grin. "Until then - want to hit the Grill? See if anything's changed?"

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unnamed } { a trip down memory lane

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