A/N: Here it is! The sequel to Until This Lie Do Us Part.
This will take place after Stefan and Elena got married, but before the epilogue and the baby. I hope you enjoy this as I am excited to write it. You all made Until This Lie Do Us Part such a success. I am blessed to have such devoted and passionate people reading my stories. Thank you all and please, do let me know what you think!
He stared at her through the back sliding glass door, watching her hair blow softly in the wind as she swung slowly back and forth. It was probably one of the most beautiful things he could watch in late September with the soft glow of Fall as her backdrop. She had her long legs crossed at her ankles as she stared intently at the newest book she was reading. She had been reading a lot lately.
Slowly, he slid the door open and made his way out to her, the leaves crunching under his feet.
Elena only acknowledged him when he stood in her sunlight. He was staring down at her. "You're in my sun" she said, setting her book down on her stomach as she peered up at him, a knowing smile on her face.
"That so" he said, remaining where he was.
Elena smiled, picking her book back up. "I was trying to read" she said, returning her eyes to the page she was on.
Stefan grabbed the book from her suddenly, tossing it on the grass as he bent down, climbing carefully onto the hammock with her. "Let's try something else for a little while" he said suggestively, pinning her down with his body as he gently kissed her.
Elena didn't put up much of a fight. She never did. Not anymore. Not with him. There was no reason to. "My book was just getting really interesting" she said, moving her head to the side so she could get her words out. He kissed her every chance he got lately. She wasn't complaining though. She never would.
Stefan simply moved to kissing her neck, refusing to let his lips leave her, even if she did turn away from him. His kisses were her weakness and he knew it. "If you want to go back to reading, all you have to do is say so" he said, trailing his tongue back up to her ear and then nibbling on the bottom of it.
She squirmed beneath him, trying to get her arms free so she could run her hands through his hair. When her arms were finally free, she allowed herself to get lost in the moment with him for a little while. She loved these moments where nothing else mattered. She cherished them. He was pulling at her shirt eventually, doing a poor job of undoing the buttons. Elena took this chance to glance at the pink and silver Tiffany's watch that Stefan had bought for her as a wedding gift. She loved it, though she knew that he had paid entirely way too much for it. "Lily is going to be here shortly" she said.
Stefan stopped kissing her and stared down at her. He sighed, leaving her shirt alone. "Is it four already?" he asked. Elena held up her shiny, overly expensive watch for him to see. "Damn, where does the time go?" he asked.
"You work so much of it away so you can afford these expensive gifts for me" she stated, sitting up. Stefan scooted off of her, but remained close beside her.
She always complained when he bought her things. "I like buying you nice things" he told her. "You deserve them" he added, grabbing a strand of her hair and letting it run through his fingers. She deserved every single thing that she wanted. There was no price on happiness, and she had made his so incredibly happy that he knew he could never repay her. Not with materialistic things and not with his love. It was impossible.
"I miss this. Us" she said, grabbing his hand softly as she looked up at him. They had been married for about a month now and it seemed like their lives had gotten so busy that they rarely had a moment to be alone with each other unless they were in bed. But usually then, they were so tired that they fell right to sleep. Stefan was busy with work and Elena was still looking for the perfect job. When she wasn't doing that, she was volunteering and spending time with Lily.
"I miss us too" he said, leaning forward to kiss her softly. "Let's take off for the weekend" he said, a hint of excitement in his eyes.
Elena's eyes lit up too. She could think of so many places that she would love to go. Maybe he would take her to New York or Florida for those two days. "Where?" she asked, barely being able to contain her excitement. The thought of being alone – completely alone – with Stefan was something she had wanted badly.
Stefan thought about it for a moment. "When was the last time you went camping?" he asked.
Elena's excitement fell. "Camping?" she asked, hiding her disappointment. Like, with bugs and wild animals? Stefan nodded. "We don't own a camper" Elena reminded him.
Stefan laughed at her. "No, but we have a tent" he informed her. "We'll really rough it. Cook our own food, sleep on the ground …" he trailed off. She didn't look convinced. "Just you and me. No interruptions" he whispered as he leaned in closer to her.
Elena liked the sound of that. She sighed reluctantly. "Fine. But if I see a bear, we're out of there" she told him.
Stefan smiled, pulling her into a hug. "I'll make it fun, I promise" he said, holding her close.
"It better be" she said, tucking her face into his shoulder. "I don't do bugs for just anyone" she added.
"I consider myself very lucky then" he grinned, pulling away from her finally. "I'm going to go and fix a snack for when Lily gets here" he said. He got up off the hammock and handed Elena back her book.
Elena leaned back in her hammock and hugged her book, not sure whether to feel excited or apprehensive about the weekend. She smiled anyway, because she was going to get Stefan all to herself.
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"Yes" Damon said.
"No" Lily replied.
"Yes" he argued.
"No" she argued back.
Stefan and Elena both silently laughed as they heard the father-daughter duo coming into the house. "What do you want to bet they're arguing about sunscreen" Stefan said. She hated the stuff and put up a fight every time she was told to put it on.
"Then you can't go play outside" Damon said, dropping Lily's backpack on a kitchen chair.
"I already put some on this morning" she said matter of factly.
"You have to reapply it" Damon said, looking like he was at his wits end.
"Do not" Lily said, crossing her arms. Damon could see so much of her mother in her that sometimes it drove him absolutely insane.
Stefan and Elena exchanged knowing looks before Stefan stepped in. "Sunscreen. Now" he told her, eyeing her and daring her to backtalk him too.
Lily's little lips were pressed into a hard line as she looked to Elena. Elena simply nodded, agreeing with Stefan. Lily stomped her foot and huffed. "Fine!" she said, digging for it in her backpack.
Damon mouthed a thank you to them before sitting down. "You look exhausted" Elena pointed out.
Damon looked up at her. "That's cuz he's been staying up late playing hide-and-go-seek with Mommy" Lily informed, squirting sunscreen onto her arm.
Damon grinned. "Katherine has been keeping me up" he told them, thinking back on it.
"And that's all we need to know" Stefan said, stopping his brother from giving further details.
"Uncle Stefan you needs sunscreen too" Lily said, motioning for him to come and sit down on the floor next to her.
He did so and Lily went to work with glopping it on his face and rubbing it in. "Elena and I are going to take off for the weekend" Stefan informed Damon. "Camping" he added.
"You, camping?" Damon asked, turning to Elena to confirm it. Then he laughed. "Stefan is the worst person to camp with."
Stefan glared at him. "I am not!" he said, somewhat irritated with his brother feeding Elena this lie.
Lily dropped a big glob of sunscreen on the floor and used the hem of her uncle's shirt to wipe it up while he was preoccupied with his conversation.
"You can't start a fire outside to save your life. Or hers" Damon said, pointing at Elena and smiling. Elena was smiling too. "You can't keep a tent standing either" he added, remembering the last time they went on fishing trip. "Elena, tell him you want to go to a hotel" Damon said.
"Daddy I want a cookie" Lily said, abandoning her job of putting on Stefan's sunscreen and tugging on her father's pants. Damon ignored her.
"We're not staying in a hotel" Stefan stated stubbornly.
"It was nice knowing you" Damon said to Elena. Elena smiled again, then stopped when Stefan glared at her too.
"Daddy, I want a cookie" Lily said again. Again, she was ignored. Lily crossed her arms and pouted.
"We'll be fine" Stefan told Damon. "Elena trusts me, right Babe?" he asked, looking over at her hopeful.
Lily had crawled up into the kitchen chair and was helping herself to the plate of cookies on her own. She ignored the plate of carrots and celery sitting next to it.
Elena blushed upon hearing him call her that. He had started doing it recently and she kind of really liked it. Elena walked over to Stefan and looped her arms around his waist, kissing his cheek. "I love you" she said, refusing to answer his question. "I'm going to go and change into my swimsuit" she added.
"Me too me too!" Lily said, holding her arms out for Elena to grab her on her way by.
Elena piggy-backed her out of the kitchen, smiling as she did. "How many cookies did you manage to sneak?" Elena asked her, turning to go up the stairs.
"Four" Lily said. "I gots one for you too" Lily said, pulling one out of the pocket of her shorts. Elena opened her mouth and Lily let her take a bite before deciding that she wanted another bite herself.
"Thanks" Elena smiled, continuing up the stairs with Lily.
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Elena and Lily both took turns running through the sprinkler, both laughing as they did. Stefan finished filling up Lily's kiddie pool, but he was watching them, wondering how he had gotten so lucky. Who would have thought that he would have wanted to be standing there, watching two of his favorite girls laugh and smile all afternoon?
"Uncle Stefan come on!" Lily called, wiping water off of her face. She then grabbed Elena's hand and ran through the sprinkler with her once more.
Stefan shut the hose off and walked towards them, smiling. "Hey you two, careful" he grinned.
Elena stopped, raising her eyebrow at him. "Why?" she asked.
Stefan shrugged as he got closer. "Just in case, you know, this happens!" he yelled, running at Elena and grabbing her. He threw her over his shoulder and took off through the sprinkler and then across the yard with her.
"Stefan!" she squealed, holding on for dear life as he continued running. She could see Lily running after them.
"I'll save you!" Lily yelled, running as fast as her little feet would take her. "Uncle Stefan let go of her!" Lily demanded. Stefan laughed as he kept running. It was a full on chase now.
Lily fell to the ground though, having tripped, and cried out for help.
Stefan immediately stopped, set Elena down and ran back for Lily. "You okay, Lil?" he asked, grabbing her arms and helping her back up.
Lily nodded her head and then smiled brightly. "Got ya! Run Elena run!" she yelled, taking off back for the sprinkler.
Stefan stared after his niece in disbelief. "She just played me to save you" he said, looking back at Elena.
Elena grinned. "Us girls have to look out for each other" she shrugged. She began to walk by him, ready to jump in the kiddie pool and cool off some more.
But Stefan reached his arm out and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. He grabbed onto the strings hanging off of the bottom of her bikini and smiled. "I love this on you" he said, running his hand down the back of her leg. "I love it off of you more, though" he added, kissing along her ear.
Elena felt her cheeks turn red as she giggled. "Not with your niece here" Elena warned.
"Our niece" Stefan corrected, pulling Elena even closer to him. He kissed her lips quickly and smiled. "Later" he promised, smacking her backside playfully before letting her go.
"You're too much sometimes" she said, shaking her head as she walked away from him.
"You shouldn't wear things like that and expect me to keep my hands to myself" he called out after her. She blushed again as she made her way back to the kiddie pool.
Lily jumped in and joined her, splashing around because she couldn't sit still. "Uncle Stefan never laughed with the other girls he kissed" Lily said, playing now with a plastic boat Stefan had brought out for her.
"Never?" Elena asked, looking at Lily. Stefan never really talked about the other girls he "dated".
"Nope" Lily answered. "They were all stupid and stuff" she shrugged. Elena smiled. She was glad for that.
"What are you two talking about?" Stefan asked, joining them finally.
"All the girls you kissed" Lily answered, making a motor noise for her boat.
Stefan seemed to flush just a bit, clearly uncomfortable with the subject. But he recovered quickly. "So you kissed a lot of girls, huh?" Elena asked teasingly.
Stefan shrugged. "Yeah, but I only loved one" he said, leaning over and kissing her.
Elena closed her eyes, smiling. "Good answer" she told him, grabbing his hand to hold.
Lily, not one to be left out, made her way over to them, scooting her way into Elena's lap. Stefan and Elena both smiled at one another before leaning in and kissing again. "I love you" he mouthed, squeezing her hand gently. She mouthed it right back.
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Stefan watched from where he was standing at his dresser. Elena was standing at her dresser in her yoga pants and one of his t-shirts, brushing her hair. Slowly, he walked up behind her, wrapping is arms around her and kissing the back of her neck that was exposed to him. "I love seeing Lily so happy when she's around you" he said, sighing as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He couldn't think of a better role model for their niece. Elena set her brush down.
"It's kind of ridiculous how much I love her" Elena smiled, taking her earrings out. "And it's kind of ridiculous how much I want you right now" she added, her face as innocent as could be.
His eyes got wide. "God I love when you say things like that" he said, turning her around so he could kiss her properly.
But she stopped him. "I'm kind of tired though" she told him.
He looked like a kid who had just had his Christmas taken away. "Really?" he asked, a frown appearing.
Elena broke out into a smile. "No" she said. "It's just nice knowing how much you want me too" she told him, a hint of sadness in her voice. Almost like she couldn't believe that he would.
He loosened his grip on her and rested his forehead against hers. "I'm always going to want you" he said, placing a feather light kiss on her nose.
Elena smiled before pulling away from him and leading him back to the bed. She laid down with him, wrapping her arms around him. "You know what I was thinking about?" she asked.
"Hmmm?" he asked, lazily kissing along her arm.
"If I hadn't gone through that horrible relationship, I wouldn't have found you" she said, staring up at the ceiling.
Stefan moved over her, kissing her chin and then the corner of her lips. He shook his head. "I would have found you one way or another" he said, slowly kissing her again.
"You think?" she smiled.
"I know" he added. "The universe wouldn't be so cruel as to keep us apart."
"Good" she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you" she sighed again.
"Love you more" he said, tugging on the waistband of her yoga pants.
"No" she breathed, kicking her pants off and wondering why she had bothered putting them on anyway.
"Yes" he grinned, grabbing for her shirt next.
"Fine" she said, giving up. "You love me more. Now shut up and get on with it" she practically demanded.
Stefan laughed at her. "Impatient, are we?" he asked.
"Are you complaining about that?" she asked, pushing on his shoulders and flipping them over.
"Not at all" he said, leaning his head back as she traced her hands down his chest and across his abs. She went back up and ran her hands down his arms. He smiled at her lazily, locking his eyes with hers. "Well, get on with it" he smirked, using her own words on her.