AN: This doesn't really fit into any time-line canonically. Think of it as a bit of an AU. Written for salvaforbes over on tumblr.

Road trips are supposed to be taken with the intent to go somewhere. Sitting here in the car with him, it feels like they are just going. There's no need for a where just a road and an engine. Maybe some music now and then.

She licks her lips. They're chapped but somewhere, between Atlanta and Oklahoma City, she lost her lip gloss so she's got nothing to wet them with but her tongue. It's funny that it takes this trip with him to make her forget one of her golden rules.

Always carry multiple replacements, Caroline, things get lost.

Her eyes drift over to him. He's still got that far away look in his eyes but it seems to be lessening the further they get away from Mystic Falls.

She's not really sure what it was that drove her to get in the car with him. There was the constant emptiness that threatened to swallow him whole. Could have been the way he said please when he asked her to come. Maybe the fact that he asked her. Not Elena. Not Damon. Not Bonnie. Not Jeremy. Not Alaric. Not Matt. Her.

Still, she's not sure.

They stop a couple times. She grabs blood bags out of the cooler and makes him sit on the hood with her. There's some poking. A bit of prodding. And then he's smiling just a bit. The barest little turn to the wings of his lips. It makes her smile wide and bright. He tells her she looks remarkably like a Colgate Total commercial, complete with a blinding reflection of light off her teeth. She laughs and shoves his shoulder.

They drive straight through to California.

(She offered to drive but he just shook his head, so she didn't ask again. She did make him stop at the sign.)

'Welcome to California'

In the picture she's wearing his sunglasses and he's wearing her. Piggy back style with her weight being supported by his hands. His thumb passing over a birth mark on her thigh over and over. Her hands combing through his hair. They thanked the couple who took the picture of them. Conveniently placed tourist couple.

It makes her laugh. She's never had a conveniently placed anything. Well, there's a first time for everything.

He drives them to a deserted beach. The sun is starting to set. The sky is pink. That was her favorite color back when she thought all little girls were supposed to like pink and nothing else. He doesn't go over to the beach; he sits on the hood of the car. So she sits too. She's never been good at quiet but she's learned how to be decent at it on this trip. In the car it felt like the air didn't want to be clogged up with too many words, so she kept them to herself. Being outside is different but still she stays silent.

"Today's Lexi's birthday."

The words hang. She moves closer until her ankle presses up against his and his leg presses against hers.

"My hands itch."

She grabs his hand, turns it over before scratching it a bit. Then she looks at him.

"Still itchy?"

He laughs under his breath and holds her hand loosely.

"She did that too. I'd say something metaphorical and she'd take it literally just to see my reaction. She said it would teach me how ridiculous I could sound."

The sigh he releases takes a little piece of her heart with it as it gets carried away by the breeze.

"I never got to tell her how much I love her. I know those aren't conversations people usually have but I wish we did. She knew that I loved her and appreciated her; I told her enough, it's just I wish she knew how much."

"I..."

She hesitates but then pushes on. He brought her here on his best friend's birthday. She's past the point of intruding on something sacred.

"I think she knew, Stefan. You're honestly the most loving person I've ever met. You can't help proving that to the people you care about. It's a fault of yours."

He snorts.

"It's a fault of yours too, Care."

She sniffs.

"Yeah, well we aren't talk about me. We're talking about you. Stay on subject."

"Actually, we're talking about Lexi."

She swats his shoulder for that.

"Either way. She loved you and she knew how much you loved her. I don't have to meet her to know that," she thinks for a moment. "Well, I can't meet her anyway but you know what I mean."

He lifts his arm and pulls her against his side.

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

Resting his cheek on her head he says, "Thanks for coming, Caroline."

She smiles and looks down. A light dusting of red sits on her cheeks. Her favorite color.

"Who am I to tell the hottest soon to be college freshman no?"

He laughs and she can feel the force of it through his chest.

"The hottest soon to be college freshman's hot best friend."

"Oh, right, I get special friend privileges."

He nods.

"Seriously, though Care, thank..."

She cuts him off.

"Seriously, though Stefan, shut up and watch Lexi's sunset. She's telling you she loves you, stupid, and you're being rude and talking through it."

"What?"

She can't help but let out a frustrated sigh. For someone so smart he could be so dense.

"Didn't you tell me once that she loved sunsets? Well, it's her birthday and here we are watching one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. No other sunset looks like this in the world," she places a hand on his mouth. "No, don't ruin it. You take the magic out of things when you insist on rationalizing them. Just sit back and enjoy the prettiness, Stefan."

They keep watching until the sky turns black.

The next day they head towards Canada. Some cali-neo pop song is playing on the radio. Her feet are on the dashboard. Her toes are painted orange. She thinks she might try blue next. Stefan's hand is out the window. She catches herself telling him to put his hand back in the car before he loses it and then laughs because she sounds just like her mother. His smile is a bit bigger than yesterday's. She feels like they're getting somewhere.

Fin.