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[gasping]

@caroline.forbes | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[heliophilous]

it's not weird.
we can always go back for a visit.

[ he pauses and then decides to address the possible elephant in the room. ]

hey, you know i don't care if you dated other people in the past, right?
i don't own you.
i'm not mad.

[gasping]

[ tina belcher groaning ]

we didn't date.
i mean, not really. it's complicated. in his future, he's in love with me, but i hadn't even met him yet. plus, i thought hope was our kid, and she's not... it just got really weird.

it wasn't like that.

[ and if anyone ever asks about damon, she's just going to blame her momentary bad decision on snow poisoning or temporary insanity. ]

[heliophilous]

[ okay, a lot more complicated than he'd thought. ]

you don't owe me an explanation.
we weren't
we were just talking then.

[ he wasn't sure what they were doing now. ]

i just wanted you to know that it's fine.
you don't need to worry about it.

[gasping]

are we still just talking now?

[ because they haven't said anything about it, but she also would feel really weird about going on a date with someone else. ]

[heliophilous]

i think we're past that.

[ pretty sure. ]

[gasping]

you think so?
what are we doing then?

[ besides whatever bunnies do ]

[heliophilous]

i don't know what we're doing.

[ the honest answer. ]

but i like it.

[gasping]

[ that's all well and good and she loves him but she's also still being a creep and reading his conversation AND ALL NICE THINGS HAVE TO STOP RIGHT NOW BECAUSE ]

MARCOS DIAZ, HE IS A VAMPIRE, DO NOT BE STUPID

[heliophilous]

[ whoa, talk about whiplash. ]

wait.

what?

i was just going to get him a sandwich or something.

[gasping]

he's a bajillion years old and probably crazy.
don't let him in your house.

[heliophilous]

okay, i'll just
order him a pizza or something.

i won't let him in.
i promise.

[gasping]

if he tries to feed on you, i will actually kill him.

[ not joking!! ]

[heliophilous]

okay whoa.
he's not going to do that.
i just wanted to try and help.

no killing tonight.

[gasping]

[ deep breaths. she's lowkey pacing in the lobby of his building like a crazy person. it's fine. ]

okay.

[ it's fun to press the buzzer, though. let her in!!! ]

[heliophilous]

[ when the buzzer rings for the sixth time, marcos finally pulls the door open, appearing in the doorway and peering over at her finger on the buzzer. ]

Hey.

[ see, he was in one piece. everything was intact and unblemished. ]

You wanna come inside or do you just want to press the buzzer until it short circuits?

[gasping]

Hi.

[ honestly, she's just happy to see him in one piece. which is why, rather than give a snappy comeback, caroline simply drops her shopping bag on the ground (carefully, so as not to break the eggs) and curls two fingers into the collar of his shirt, tugging him in until there's no unnecessary gap (or breathing room) between them.

suffice it to say, she wants to do a lot more than just come inside. ]

[heliophilous]

[ oh, that's a good greeting. a good, surprising greeting that he eagerly returns once he can step out of the apartment a little further and slips his arms around her.

if she needs this to reassure herself, he's more than happy to give her what she needs. he keeps kissing her until he has to take a breath and then pulls back, gusting out a breath. ]

Damn.

[ he's going to blink a few times to clear his head and laugh at how much like an idiot he probably looks. ]

[gasping]

[ the smile that curves across her mouth is practically giddy, cheeks flushed and eyes bright as she watches him come back to earth. it's nice to know, even with everything else going on, that he still likes it when she surprises him. ]

I brought supplies. [ see, the grocery bag! filled with eggs and buttermilk and fruit and all the necessary accoutrements for very fancy pancakes... which is, to be quite honest, the main thing caroline knows how to make. but she can make them very well, so that's something. ] For breakfast.

[ which will come tomorrow morning, after what she hopes will be a very nice evening. ]

[heliophilous]

[ breakfast, right. she was going to make breakfast. he'd forgotten that plus nearly everything else when she'd kissed him. but, he was back, he was focused now and he as going to pick up the bag and then snag her hand so he could lead her inside.

the apartment was fairly spacious and neat. he doesn't know if his roommates are home but it's been a long day so he'll do introductions later. instead, he winds his way to the kitchen to put her things away before tugging her along to his room.

his room is sparsely decorated but comfortable. there are dark sheets and blankets on the bed, some clothes folded on a chair, and a few odds and ends scattered about. ]

Have a seat wherever you'd like.

[gasping]

[ it's a nice apartment. if she was given more than thirty seconds to see it before being shepherded back into his room, she might have even gotten to appreciate how comfortable and lived-in it looks. alas, though, caroline is forced (""forced"") instead to suffer in marcos' room with the door shut behind her, and given the laughable option of sitting anywhere as if there's not one sole place she's going to immediately sprawl out onto. ]

You're not going to join me?

[ you invite a girl to your apartment and then you're just going to stand off to the side looking all nervous? that's not very fair. plus, there's plenty of room, she'll even scoot over to prove it. ]

[heliophilous]

I am.

[ of course he was going to join her. he'd just wanted her to get comfortable before he joined her. but, he toes off his shoes and drops down onto the other side of the bed, sitting back and gesturing to himself. ]

See? [ he wasn't nervous. ] I'm here.

[ right not but also in general. it hasn't been that long since he'd said that to her on the network. ]

[gasping]

[ she offers a quiet noise, a hum in her throat that sounds suspiciously like uh huh before shifting over. since he's opted to sit upright, her head nestles in his lap, blonde hair spilling over his thighs as she shifts to get a little more comfortable. ]

So am I your first real sleepover in your new place?

[ this is (mostly) a rhetorical question. she doesn't think he'd have had opportunity — or interest, for that matter — in inviting anyone else over, but how would she know? ]

[heliophilous]

You are.

[ she was the only person he'd had a sleepover of any kind with, here or at a brothel or anywhere else, since he'd been deposited in this city a few months ago. ]

Is this the first time you've slept over with someone?

[ besides himself, of course. ]

[gasping]

[ a laugh, bright and cheerful, bubbles up and spills out between them, and caroline shakes her head. ]

I was totally the queen of throwing slumber parties back in Mystic Falls.

[ with her girlfriends, obviously. she doesn't talk about the guys she's slept with before, mostly because they don't matter. not the way marcos matters. marcos is... different. important. more than just a body in a bed or a way to get one over on elena. he matters. so she doesn't compare him to drunken hookups or compelled attraction. he doesn't deserve that. ]

[heliophilous]

Well, then you definitely have me beat on sleepovers.

[ because he'd had lorna and bringing up the ex girlfriend and mother of his kid probably wasn't a smart thing to do. he wanted to tell caroline about her eventually but not right now. that was too serious and heavy a subject for an evening like this.

he brushes a thumb against her chin and then down the side of her neck and to her shoulder. ]

I wasn't much of a sleepover person. No one invited me to them if they were having them.