everyonelives | but oh what a year

I did take a shine to Ms. Hamilton.

( He doesn't know what your game is here, though, Stefan. )

[Nothing! He's not after anything. He just likes gossip. Wait until he finds out about his brother and Freya Mikaelson, he's going to be texting his ex girlfriend post haste.

He smiles slightly before nodding.]

She's great. And she has excellent taste in hotels.

[And because he realizes how that sounds:]

Damon and I were recently traveling with her and some other friends this fall.

She very much does.

( But... )

What a coincidence. We seem to be full of them.

The working theory is that it's not as much of a coincidence as it seems. You guys showed up in a way that you would be found.

[But that being said:]

We've known Melanie and the Butlers for almost as long as we've been vampires. Damon turned Scarlett who turned Melanie.

And by whom.

( They've made a whole network of allies in his absence. )

Did he. You'd think that's something a friend might tell another from inside their cell. Will wonders never cease.

I will not comment on what Damon does and doesn't decide to keep to himself.

[He could understand that Melanie might not come up in that scenario, but Enzo and Damon had a lot of time to talk.]

But we tended to float in and out of each other's circles. They may not have been front of mind.

I'm kidding, Stefan. We didn't exactly exchange sob stories.

( Well, they kind of did. )

I can say with certainty they weren't anywhere near.

[Stefan nods, before moving to start to load the trays into the oven. He sets the timer, and leans back to look at him again, finally focusing now that he doesn't have a project in front of him.]

Well, enjoy your vacation. And your new lease on life. Hopefully things are calmer over the next year. I'd very much like to go back to the relative drought of problems we had.

Really. Mystic Falls had a drought of problems? Sounds like I missed almost nothing.

( All he remembers is crazy. )

Well, there was Malivore, but that wasn't our problem. The school was mostly handling that.

[And maybe they shouldn't have put that all on the students, but Stefan was in Scotland.]

But even that was relatively recent. I think we had almost a good decade before monsters started bothering Mystic Falls again.

Malivore. Sounds like a fairytale villain.

( To be fair, the students mostly put it on themselves. )

That was also true in the nineties if you count Damon breaking bad. Glad we're keeping the streak alive.

Maybe, but I'd rather not go through another decade of life or death situations.

[He'd like to have a wedding without demons crashing it though Buffy seems to think that's highly unlikely. Regardless, he's going to try.]

Which I'm sure most people find funny when they consider who I'm dating.

Isn't that being a vampire, or a founding family member in this town? Mystic Falls is always crawling with vampires.

( Buffy has been there and she doesn't throw parties anymore. Every. Single. Time. )

And who exactly are you dating?

Buffy Summers. She's a vampire Slayer.

[He doesn't know if Enzo knows what those are - he and Damon didn't before they met Lindsay. But Enzo's father was involved in the Armory so who knows what they dug up.]

Slayers aren't just an Armory bedtime story, then.

( Slayers aren't Rayna Cruz. )

No, they are not. Though much more bubbly than their reputation would indicate.

[One of the things he likes about Buffy.]

I'm sure you'll get a chance to meet her at the party.

I suppose a girl called to annihilate an entire species could find her pep.

( He knows it's not that cut and dry, but, it's Enzo. )

This party really is a who's who of who.

We've made a lot of interesting friends lately.

[That's for sure.]

And the people who have come back have come through a wide range of lives.

Yes, it sounds like all of your fingers are in several pies over.

( He makes a face, because, gross idea. )

Including yours truly.

Up to you how much you want to get back into it. I hear rumor that there are vampires who are able to live normal lives.

[He's just never met one.]

I've heard the same rumor.

( But he's never encountered it before. Then again, he always went the hardest way through anything. )

May we one day actually see the promised land.

[It would nice to be actually retired one day.]

I don't think my odds are high, but best of luck to you.

If wishes were vampire horses.

( What would that even look like. )

Because you're sharing a life with a slayer? That's on you, mate.

Yeah, I brought it on myself.

[But he's also happy, so he can't say he's bothered by it too much.]

But I think I can live with it.

You should be sure. Slayers come with baggage. And targets on their backs.

( But. Who is he to question Stefan? He wanted Lily. And that put a target on his. )

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