Epilogue

Elena stood bleary-eyed at the counter, brewing coffee after her alarm woke her at 7:30am. Against her better judgement, she'd spent the night out with her friends and closed down the bar a few blocks over. Now she was doing her best to ignore the stacks of notes and books that were towering on the table behind her. She wasn't looking forward to spending the sunny May weekend inside reviewing for finals. With a yawn, she debated whether she'd end up on the make-shift roof deck or at the café down the street. Anywhere but inside the claustrophobic Brooklyn apartment she'd called home for the most of the last four years.

Sometimes it still seemed surreal that she was living in a tiny corner in this loud and chaotic city instead of in her big house back in Mystic Falls. The time had flown by – it seemed like yesterday she was going to prom with Matt, crashing graduation parties with Caroline, huggingBonnie and Jeremy and Alaric goodbye. But she'd also grown so much here on her own – the high school senior version of Elena was entirely different than who she was today. And that was a good thing – she'd gotten some perspective on the world and life in general. She supposed she should thank Elijah for that, though her heart still ached for him. But if he hadn't left her, she wouldn't be here.

NYU had been a pipe dream when she first applied… nostalgia of what she'd planned with her mom, when she dreamed of being a writer, before vampires became real. Most of the schools she seriously considered were located somewhere in Virginia or neighboring states, all a reasonable drive from Mystic Falls. And when she first received the acceptance letter, it was stuffed into the bottom of a drawer and quickly forgotten. After all, there was a lot more happening then – she wasn't even sure if she'd be around to start college or if she would want to leave the Salvatores behind. But everything had changed by the time she had to reserve her spot at the school of her choice. She was alive and while not altogether well, recovered enough from Elijah's departure to know she needed a change of scenery. Alaric encouraged her when she told him what she was thinking, and Caroline was her personal cheerleader in the "move to NYC" campaign (though she may have had a personal stake in having a best friend-slash-crash pad in the city that never slept).

Still, she didn't forget about Elijah, even when she was nearly 500 miles from home. When Caroline first began trekking north for weekend visits, Elena hinted around about the elder Mikaelson. Not directly – she was supposed to be recovered and functioning – but subtly she broached what was going on at home. Caroline never had any news about him or any progress with Klaus and Bonnie, though, and Elena couldn't be sure whether her friend was being honest or just looking out for her best interests. It eventually became the elephant in the room during the awkward moments.

And similarly, Caroline tried to gently force Elena to move on, at least in the beginning, by asking if there were any new love interests on the horizon. Elena was quick to shut her down, though, because there weren't. And when Caroline asked why she was waiting, Elena pointed out that she wasn't... it was just that no one else compared. Not even Stefan or Damon. The blonde couldn't really protest then, because they both sort of knew it was true... anyone else would just be settling, and Elena couldn't go there. She couldn't accept that she'd both known and lost her one great love when she was only eighteen years old. It seemed too tragic that she had the rest of her life to face without him.

That wasn't to say there weren't lonely moments of weakness, usually when she was drunk and caught up in the giddiness of her girlfriends. She'd occasionally made out with dark haired, dark eyed boys and may have woken up with them in her bed a handful of times. But the sight of them next to her in the morning and not him left her feeling worse than before. It was like reliving the morning she found the letter.

And she never told anyone else but she still secretly texted him. It was like her quirky confessional, a way of staying close to him even though he never replied. But she knew he had to be reading and she wanted him to know what she was doing, how she was doing… that she wasstill living and not entirely just going through the motions. Sometimes she confessed that she wished he was there with her. And in her gloomier moments, she told him how it still hurt.

But today wasn't such a day. Elena thought of him, like she always did, wondering where he was and what he was doing, but the ache wasn't incapacitating, not like the headache from her hangover. There were other things on her mind to be excited about – her graduation in a week's time, and her move to Atlanta for a new job. Her roommate had taken off for a weekend jaunt to the shore as well, which meant that she had the apartment to herself while she studied.

After devouring a bagel and taking a quick shower, she felt slightly more human and she finally settled in on the couch with her books spread out around her. Elena wasn't far into her first set of notes when her phone buzzed with an incoming text. She absently grabbed it, expecting it to be one of her friends trying to wrestle her away from the books for some shopping. But she froze when she read the name on the screen.

Are you home?

Yes, she typed back quickly. This couldn't possibly be real… someone had to be playing a prank.

Look out the window.

Is this a joke?

Just look outside, Elena.

Holding her phone with trembling fingers, she stood up from the couch. A mixture of frustration and anxiety swirled through her stomach… if this was a joke, it couldn't be any more cruel.

The phone crashed to the floor when she looked down at the street and saw him looking back. It was the last thing on her mind as she hurried out her door and raced down the four flights of stairs. She didn't even care that all she had on were her pajama shorts and a tee. She barely noticed the cat calls as she stepped out the front door and crashed into his arms, likely crushing the red roses he held in the process.

"Oh my God," she breathed into his shoulder, her eyes squeezed shut around tears. "Oh my God, you're really here!"

"Yes," Elijah murmured into her ear, his grip just as tight as hers. "I'm finally here."

She took a half step back after a few moments, staring at his beautiful face, wanting to take him all in. His hair was a bit longer again, similar to when she'd first met him, and he was dressed more casually than she'd remembered, though still stylish. He grinned as Elena eagerly tugged him forward, wary of giving the onlookers more of a show. He followed her up the stairs to her second floor apartment, and as she turned around to bring him inside, he drew her to him, his mouth descending upon hers. She felt as though her heart might pound out of her chest.

"Not here," she whispered against his lips.

Elena pulled him through the door, silently thankful that she'd had the odd forethought to clean a little, and that the flat wasn't as disastrous as when her roommate left. She led him through the living room and past the sofa covered with her books, into her shoebox-sized room, where the bed took up most of the space. She laid down on the mattress, and a subtle shyness hung over them as he set the roses on her dresser and then moved to lie next to her, propping his head up on his arm. But she was just as happy to look at him as she was to kiss him. The full realization of how much she'd missed him slammed into her chest. She took a deep shuddering breath, swallowing down the urge to cry or to laugh or to shriek in happiness. His tentative hand ran along her side and Elijah gave her a contented smile.

"Did you get my texts?" she asked, blushing as she broke into the heady silence.

He nodded. "Every single one."

"I'm sorry… I know some were a little, well… raw."

His expression shifted, and he held her hand now, rubbing slow circles into her palm. "Elena, it was a miracle that you wanted to even speak to me again after how I left you. Don't ever apologize for that."

"I wasn't ever really mad. I just missed you," she admitted. "And I know why you did it. It doesn't mean that it didn't hurt, but I don't think I could have ever let you go if you didn't just leave."

"I never ventured far from you," he confessed. "Even while you've been at school, I've kept tabs on you… I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if anything happened to you. But you needed to think I was gone, so you could carry on with your life."

"You're not coming back just to leave me again," she asked warily, his face inches from hers, her eyes searching his.

"Never… as long as you'll have me." He kissed her palm, his eyes remaining on hers. "As long as you haven't found anyone else, Elena… I want you."

She swallowed, her mind recognizing the fact that she didn't formally invite him in today. "Does that mean…did Klaus…?"

"Yes." He pressed her hand against his chest, and she could feel his heart racing with hers. She smiled, her throat aching as she was overcome with emotion. "Are you mine?" he asked, his voice low.

"Always," she promised. "No one could steal my heart from you."

He smiled, probably in the most unencumbered manner that she'd ever witnessed, which left her giddy herself, and she giggled. "I should chastise you," he said. "For not moving on as I'd asked… but I'm relieved enough to confess that I'm selfish, and I would've been devastated if you had."

"See… you should be careful what you wish for… mmmm…" she sighed, as he rolled over above her and caught her lips in a prolonged kiss, and he looked positively mischievous when he pulled away.

"Oh, what I asked and what I wished were two entirely different things, Miss Gilbert," he smirked as he laced his fingers through hers and brought her hands above her head. "I'd be happy to demonstrate exactly what I've been imagining, if you like."

"I've been waiting," she teased in a whisper. Elena raised her head to meet his in another kiss, and his low chuckle reverberated against her lips as he set about showing her.

oOo

"You guys should have just let me call her, instead of sending Elijah to get her. She'd be here already." Caroline placed her phone back on the counter with an impatient sigh. "They'll probably end up holed up in her bed for the whole weekend, and I'll have to wait till Bonnie's home again next weekend."

"Come on now, sweetheart. You know there's something to be said for romance." Klaus came up behind where she sat on a barstool in his kitchen, setting his hands on her shoulders. "Besides, one more weekend might not be so bad. I'll be a bit sad to see you turn human... it's been interesting having the tables turned, being corrupted by a vampire mistress."

"And by interesting, you mean I rocked your world," she said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms for emphasis. She cast a coquettish sidelong glance over her shoulder.

"Ah, yes," he smirked, pushing her hair from her neck, his voice lowering in a manner that made her knees weak. "A matter of semantics, love."

He nipped at her neck with blunt teeth and she giggled as her eyes fluttered. "You're evil, even now. Don't try to take my mind off of this!"

Klaus grinned as she huffed away from him, her blonde curls swaying as she walked toward the foyer. He glanced down at the screen of his phone again, and right on cue she stopped dead.

"Someone's here," she said, turning to stare at him. He couldn't hide the smile and she shrieked, clapping her hands together as she hurried into the hallway. He followed behind leisurely, and by the time he arrived in the foyer, there was only a whirlwind of a blonde and a brunette jumping and hugging each other, and his brother stood behind them with a similarly amused expression. Klaus shook his head when Elijah glanced over.

"I'm glad I don't have vampire hearing anymore at times like this," he joked, and Caroline had separated from Elena long enough to sock him in the shoulder.

"You big liar! You knew they were already on their way back and you didn't even tell me!"

"But wasn't it a good surprise?" he asked and she bit her lip on a huge smile.

"The best surprise," she agreed as she leaned in to give him a quick kiss.

"Yes, well, remember that later."

Caroline attempted to glare at him but only succeeded with a smirk.

"I wouldn't have missed this for anything," Elena said, one hand holding Elijah's, and her other now firmly clasping Caroline's. "You're my best friend."

Caroline nodded back, unable to speak as she was clearly overcome with emotion, and Elena pulled her into another hug.

Elijah and Klaus shared a second glance now, one laced with nostalgia, regret, gratitude, their sentiment apparently the same. Despite their long history of bitterness and fighting, they'd arrived together, as brothers, to their mutual destiny. And it looked nothing like what either had envisioned centuries ago.

It was even better.