#* script.

“mm, well,” stefan said, humming, swallowing softly as his gaze fell to isabelle’s smiling lips. she was stood next to him, smiling a wide smile, so bright it was almost too much to look at. it was something he was still trying to get used to. and it wasn’t that isabelle didn’t smile, he knew that, but having it aimed so often at him was.. it always took him a moment to really take it in. to not completely lose his train of thought. there was something soft about it, too, the way she smiled at him, and maybe that was what made his still-heart ache. 

familiar arms wrap around his middle, small hands sliding over the ridges of his hips before curling into his stomach, settling. “mm,” he hums contentedly, angling his head towards her voice and smiling warmly when he finds her looking up for him already. “smells good?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at her. 

when she only beams at him, he grins, and shifts in the confines of her arms, pulling on one of them to bring her in front of him and settle into the same position in reverse. “your mom sent me an old recipe..” the words are murmured in her ear, his lips brushing the sensitive skin and making her shudder in his arms. tightening them around her, stefan’s  arms encircle izzy’s middle, squeezing her and cuddling her back closer to his chest. “i hope you don’t mind i started without you..” he continues to breathe the words softly to her, not bothering to raise his voice any louder, fingertips pressing gently into her sides, easily slipping beneath the material of her jacket to scrunch at her shirt and pay closer attention to her instead. 

green eyes hovered over hers, caught between her eyes, and unable, apparently, to look away from her. with her words, stefan stood, wordless himself, and began to push aside the furniture that littered their small apartment’s living space until there was room, right in the middle of the floor for them. 

stood facing her now, a small, yet serene smile on his face, the brunet offered out his hand, swallowing as she took it up in her own. he raised their joined hands slightly, helping her to stand, and then with a slight hesitance, brought her into his embrace, encouraging her to loop an arm around his neck whilst he did the same thing around amara’s middle. 

patient eyes narrowed on clary, gaze once again lowering to the duffel bag she'd just stashed underneath a chest of drawers in her room. trying, he thought, and failing, to do so inconspicuously. clary stepped right in front of him, her tiny body blocking his approach, shielding the bag from him. he huffed, and tried to sidestep her, but she stepped right along with him. “clary,” he groaned, with what could only be described as a pout forming on his thin lips. 

he tipped his head slightly, raising his eyebrows at her. “you know i see that, right?” he asked her, and when she only bit her lip at him, he sighed deeply, still trying to read her face. “what’s in that bag and why are you hiding it here?” 

she didn’t answer him. and he expected he wouldn’t get an answer, even if she did look fit to burst from wanting to tell him. stefan expected it had something to do with izzy, and immediately, he started to smile. clary, sensing victory, matched his smile. 

tortured eyes were fixed straight ahead, staring blankly at nothing and everything at the same time. anything that wasn’t the girl he could hear behind him, letting herself into his apartment. he must have forgotten to lock it. 

stefan could sense the shadowhunter behind him. could feel her presence and hear her heartbeat; he could smell her blood. the realisation made him ache more deeply, black eyes squeezing shut as she made her way closer to him. 

the silence stretched on, neither of them choosing to break it for the time being. he guessed that she was assessing his mood, trying to gauge how dangerous he was to her now. there was nothing he could say, anyway. nothing to change what had happened. what he’d done. 

it was izzy that spoke first. 

“stefan,” she whispered, closer than he’d thought. he turned his head away from her slightly, determined not to let her see him. “stefan, please..”

“it’s okay, stefan.. they’re okay.”

he shook his head. 

“don’t,” stefan told her, feeling himself shudder at the gentle touch as she curled a hand around his waist. . “you shouidn’t have to see me like this..” his eyes were red and burning with unshed tears, the veins still set beneath them, a picture of the monster he was. “i don’t.. want you.. to have to look at me like this.” he admitted roughly. he took a deep breath, trying to focus on the sound of her breathing as she moved closer, his frame trembling as her lips came into contact with the centre of his back. he could feel her warmth against him, pressed against his back whilst both of her hands held him at either side, relaxing his tense, tight muscles and making his eyelids flutter again. 

one of isabelle’s hands slid slowly up stefan’s side, curling over and into his shoulder to hold him. “stefan,” she breathed again, the tenderness in her voice causing something deep within him to stir; causing his body to shake. if he’d been anybody, anything else, he might not have heard it. his head tilted slightly towards the sound now, and he could hear the way her heartbeat picked up. “please, stefan.. please, just look at me.”

the vampire turned his head towards her, a dark look flashing briefly in his eyes before he managed to mask his face. jaw set tight, he nodded at her question and reached a hand towards her, fingers curling around hers. he didn’t say anything. stefan’s gaze had lowered to look at their hands as they found each other in the dark, watching as their fingers laced together, drawn to each other like magnets. he raises his gaze in time to look at her. green eyes looking deeply into the much darker pair. 

“they have him tied up,” he answered in a whisper, drawing her close to his side with the hand he still held as the two crept along the dark passage. he smiled slightly, despite the tense situation, as he heard the boy’s movements from where he was. too far away from them. stefan looked back at izzy, letting her see the smile. “he’s already working on the ropes,” stefan told her, and izzy smiled, too, but it quickly faded away. 

“hey,” he said, stopping abruptly, his grip on izzy’s hand tightening again as he looked steadily into her eyes. “i promise you, i will not let anything happen to him,” deep, forest eyes burned with sincerity. “to any of you.”  he squeezes her hand gently, as if the idea of letting go of her hand was far too much to bear. as if one last touch will be enough to get him through whatever would come next.  

both pairs of eyes were still closed, still resting as they laid toogether in elena’s bed. jenna had allowed stefan to spend the night given that it had been a friday and there was no school the next day. not that they didn’t spend nights like this even without her aunt’s permission. but this? this was better. not having to sneak around, or break rules, not having to listen to damon or his snide comments. 

just them. together.

with his face buried in elena’s neck, stefan listened to the rhythm of her steady heart beating, his thumb a gentle caress against the side of her hand. feeling her shift in his arms, he kissed at the nape of her neck, nudging her with his nose and breathing a raspy ‘mm, good morning,’ against her skin. he smiled a gentle smile at her words, nodding his head in agreement while he gave her another welcoming kiss.