Happy Holidays, butterfly!
Title: The Return
Recipient: butterfly
Author: joykilldrama
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Jeremy/Elena (not romantic)
Word Count: 1571
Summary: After twenty-five years, Elena Gilbert finally returns to Mystic Falls.
Author's Notes: Thank you to my amazing friend, Elle, for beta-ing this for me!
It had been twenty-five years since the last time Elena Gilbert had stepped foot in Mystic Falls. She officially moved away after high school graduation, returning every few months to visit Jeremy until he graduated. Once he was done with high school, she didn't look back. It was harder to hide the fact that she wasn't aging from the citizens of Mystic Falls. It was harder to pretend she was a normal human girl when she never changed. She found a way to have a relationship with her brother that didn't involve the town she'd always loved. He came to visit her on holidays. They took vacations together to exotic locations.
Sometimes, she hated the fact that she couldn't be around her brother as often as she wanted. He would never leave Mystic Falls and she would never return for good. She had missed his wedding because by that point, she was supposed to be nearly thirty years old and she still looked eighteen. Instead, she sent him and his bride a present in the mail and apologized, citing work as the reason for her absence.
(They had promised not to bring any other innocent humans into the secret after what happened to April.)
She still couldn't believe she'd somehow gotten roped into coming back to Mystic Falls. She was supposed to be forty-five now and she looked like she was eighteen. She had graduated from high school a second time and had two college degrees with her name on them. She had travelled parts of the world. She had long since bid adieu to her time in Mystic Falls. Yet somehow, Jeremy had roped her into coming back. His daughter was competing in the Miss Mystic Falls contest and he had no idea how to help her out. Elena had to do it. It was her auntly duty.
Of course, there were always the risks of exposure that came with returning home. She had to think of a cover story.
(My name's Elena Gilbert. My mom named me after herself. Of course I'll tell her you said hi!)
Elena wondered how everyone else had done it. How Caroline and Tyler managed to come back for Liz's funeral. What story had they given? She wondered how the Salvatores managed to not get exposed when they came back to Mystic Falls.
(Not well, considering it was how she'd discovered their secret.)
It had been so long since she'd talked to any of them. It had been so long since she'd seen the men she'd once loved almost more than her own humanity. It had been so long since she'd talked to Bonnie or Caroline. A part of her wished they'd be in Mystic Falls, something she knew was ridiculous.
(After all, it had been Bonnie's fault that April died in the first place. Hers and Professor Shane's.)
The drive into Mystic Falls, into her old neighborhood, to her old house were still completely familiar to her. She didn't think she'd forget that path no matter how many centuries passed. The house could be completely demolished, the town gone, and she'd still know how to get to that location. So many good memories were made in that house, along with a million and one bad ones. The house had been her home, the only real home she'd ever had. She had to move too often to find a real home now. She couldn't risk exposure. She'd seen what happened to vampires in Mystic Falls when people found out about them. She didn't need that happening other places as well. She didn't want to die.
(She couldn't leave Jeremy forever.)
The house still looked the same. The paint had faded and the porch swing that she'd spent so many nights sitting on had been taken out. The yard was still kept up perfectly though and the house still looked so welcoming. It still looked like home even though she hadn't lived there in over twenty years. She hadn't even visited in almost twenty years. She smiled and repeated her alibi once, twice, three times in her head. At least she did not have to learn a new name. When she was a human, she would've done something like that. She would've named a child after herself, before her mother and Isobel and Jenna all died. Before she knew about the vampires and the supernatural.
(Before she joined the world of the supernatural.)
She stopped her car in front of the familiar house and took in a deep breath. She didn't need to breathe. She didn't need to do a lot of the human habits that she'd kept. She knew that it would bind her to her humanity. It would keep her from slipping over any edges, keep her from taking human life. She had only taken a few human lives in her entire existence and she remembered each one.
(Of course she remembered after her experience with the hunter.)
Elena climbed out of the car and ran her hands through her freshly cut brown hair. She walked the familiar path to the front door. She paused on the porch, remembering so many times she and Damon had shared moments on that porch. She could almost see him standing there in the shadows, ready to say something that would infuriate her and make her fall further in love with her. For the first time in just over a decade, she missed the older Salvatore brother. She could add him to the list of people she wished she would see at the pageant and knew she wouldn't.
She knocked at the door to her old house and prepared herself for anything. She didn't know what potential laid behind that door. She didn't know if her brother would answer the door or if one of the two family members she had never met. The question was answered less than a minute later. Elena had seen pictures of her niece, but she didn't anticipate the shock of seeing her for the first time. She looked so much like Miranda Gilbert, like the mother who had raised Elena. Elena looked at her and smiled. "Jenna, right?" she asked, her voice uncertain.
(Elena had been so happy when Jeremy told her that his wife was pregnant. It was good to know that one person could create a life, one person could do something so good and pure. To this day she still wished she could have a child of her own.)
"You're Elena, Dad's niece?"
Elena nodded. It was so strange. Everyone would think she was Jeremy's niece now. Everyone would think she was so much younger than her brother. She wondered if it was just as strange for Stefan and Damon to pretend that Zach was their uncle, not their great-great-however-many-times-great nephew. She wondered if it would get easier later in her life.
"Where is your dad?" Elena asked, unable to bring herself to call Jeremy her uncle. She would have to later. She would have to while they were in public. Until that moment, she would hold off on that awkward family moment.
"He's in the kitchen with Mom," Jenna told him. "Would you like to come in?"
Elena nodded and stepped over the threshold to the familiar house. She looked around and smiled before walking to the kitchen. Jeremy was standing with his back to the door, talking to a girl with long brown hair and a smile that seemed to light up the entire room. "Uncle Jeremy?" she asked hesitantly. They couldn't even let his wife and child in on the secret.
(No one could know, not after April. It was an oath that replayed in her mind.)
"Elena, its great to see you!" Jeremy exclaimed. Elena closed her eyes and imagined the seventeen-year-old Jeremy Gilbert standing in front of her. When she opened them, she saw how much time had passed. Jeremy's hair had a few gray strands in it (the result of a teenage daughter, he had claimed during their last conversation) and he had laugh lines around his eyes.
He looked like their father. He looked like a father. It was surreal.
Jeremy had aged. She was frozen at eighteen.
Jeremy looked over at his wife and then back at Elena.
"Madison, meet Elena Gilbert," he told her.
It was the look in Madison's eyes that gave it all away. Jeremy had broken the sacred oath. He had told her. She wondered when he had told her. Elena wondered when her brother had decided to break the promise they all made at April's funeral.
(A part of her was happy though. It meant he didn't have to lie. Lying never got easier with time.)
Elena looked at Jeremy, keeping the accusations from his eyes. Then she crossed and gave her sister-in-law a hug. "It's great to meet you, Madison," Elena whispered. "Jeremy has told me so much about you."
Madison hugged her for a moment longer and whispered quietly, too quiet for anyone without vampiric hearing to pick up on.
"The secret is safe with me. We haven't even told Jenna. Please. Don't."
Elena pulled away from the hug and nodded. It was a secret they would all take with them.
(The vampires had all left Mystic Falls after April's death. The council, led by Liz, kept in contact with them in case danger arose. April's death inevitably solved the town's vampire problem.)
Recipient: butterfly
Author: joykilldrama
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Jeremy/Elena (not romantic)
Word Count: 1571
Summary: After twenty-five years, Elena Gilbert finally returns to Mystic Falls.
Author's Notes: Thank you to my amazing friend, Elle, for beta-ing this for me!
It had been twenty-five years since the last time Elena Gilbert had stepped foot in Mystic Falls. She officially moved away after high school graduation, returning every few months to visit Jeremy until he graduated. Once he was done with high school, she didn't look back. It was harder to hide the fact that she wasn't aging from the citizens of Mystic Falls. It was harder to pretend she was a normal human girl when she never changed. She found a way to have a relationship with her brother that didn't involve the town she'd always loved. He came to visit her on holidays. They took vacations together to exotic locations.
Sometimes, she hated the fact that she couldn't be around her brother as often as she wanted. He would never leave Mystic Falls and she would never return for good. She had missed his wedding because by that point, she was supposed to be nearly thirty years old and she still looked eighteen. Instead, she sent him and his bride a present in the mail and apologized, citing work as the reason for her absence.
(They had promised not to bring any other innocent humans into the secret after what happened to April.)
She still couldn't believe she'd somehow gotten roped into coming back to Mystic Falls. She was supposed to be forty-five now and she looked like she was eighteen. She had graduated from high school a second time and had two college degrees with her name on them. She had travelled parts of the world. She had long since bid adieu to her time in Mystic Falls. Yet somehow, Jeremy had roped her into coming back. His daughter was competing in the Miss Mystic Falls contest and he had no idea how to help her out. Elena had to do it. It was her auntly duty.
Of course, there were always the risks of exposure that came with returning home. She had to think of a cover story.
(My name's Elena Gilbert. My mom named me after herself. Of course I'll tell her you said hi!)
Elena wondered how everyone else had done it. How Caroline and Tyler managed to come back for Liz's funeral. What story had they given? She wondered how the Salvatores managed to not get exposed when they came back to Mystic Falls.
(Not well, considering it was how she'd discovered their secret.)
It had been so long since she'd talked to any of them. It had been so long since she'd seen the men she'd once loved almost more than her own humanity. It had been so long since she'd talked to Bonnie or Caroline. A part of her wished they'd be in Mystic Falls, something she knew was ridiculous.
(After all, it had been Bonnie's fault that April died in the first place. Hers and Professor Shane's.)
The drive into Mystic Falls, into her old neighborhood, to her old house were still completely familiar to her. She didn't think she'd forget that path no matter how many centuries passed. The house could be completely demolished, the town gone, and she'd still know how to get to that location. So many good memories were made in that house, along with a million and one bad ones. The house had been her home, the only real home she'd ever had. She had to move too often to find a real home now. She couldn't risk exposure. She'd seen what happened to vampires in Mystic Falls when people found out about them. She didn't need that happening other places as well. She didn't want to die.
(She couldn't leave Jeremy forever.)
The house still looked the same. The paint had faded and the porch swing that she'd spent so many nights sitting on had been taken out. The yard was still kept up perfectly though and the house still looked so welcoming. It still looked like home even though she hadn't lived there in over twenty years. She hadn't even visited in almost twenty years. She smiled and repeated her alibi once, twice, three times in her head. At least she did not have to learn a new name. When she was a human, she would've done something like that. She would've named a child after herself, before her mother and Isobel and Jenna all died. Before she knew about the vampires and the supernatural.
(Before she joined the world of the supernatural.)
She stopped her car in front of the familiar house and took in a deep breath. She didn't need to breathe. She didn't need to do a lot of the human habits that she'd kept. She knew that it would bind her to her humanity. It would keep her from slipping over any edges, keep her from taking human life. She had only taken a few human lives in her entire existence and she remembered each one.
(Of course she remembered after her experience with the hunter.)
Elena climbed out of the car and ran her hands through her freshly cut brown hair. She walked the familiar path to the front door. She paused on the porch, remembering so many times she and Damon had shared moments on that porch. She could almost see him standing there in the shadows, ready to say something that would infuriate her and make her fall further in love with her. For the first time in just over a decade, she missed the older Salvatore brother. She could add him to the list of people she wished she would see at the pageant and knew she wouldn't.
She knocked at the door to her old house and prepared herself for anything. She didn't know what potential laid behind that door. She didn't know if her brother would answer the door or if one of the two family members she had never met. The question was answered less than a minute later. Elena had seen pictures of her niece, but she didn't anticipate the shock of seeing her for the first time. She looked so much like Miranda Gilbert, like the mother who had raised Elena. Elena looked at her and smiled. "Jenna, right?" she asked, her voice uncertain.
(Elena had been so happy when Jeremy told her that his wife was pregnant. It was good to know that one person could create a life, one person could do something so good and pure. To this day she still wished she could have a child of her own.)
"You're Elena, Dad's niece?"
Elena nodded. It was so strange. Everyone would think she was Jeremy's niece now. Everyone would think she was so much younger than her brother. She wondered if it was just as strange for Stefan and Damon to pretend that Zach was their uncle, not their great-great-however-many-times-great nephew. She wondered if it would get easier later in her life.
"Where is your dad?" Elena asked, unable to bring herself to call Jeremy her uncle. She would have to later. She would have to while they were in public. Until that moment, she would hold off on that awkward family moment.
"He's in the kitchen with Mom," Jenna told him. "Would you like to come in?"
Elena nodded and stepped over the threshold to the familiar house. She looked around and smiled before walking to the kitchen. Jeremy was standing with his back to the door, talking to a girl with long brown hair and a smile that seemed to light up the entire room. "Uncle Jeremy?" she asked hesitantly. They couldn't even let his wife and child in on the secret.
(No one could know, not after April. It was an oath that replayed in her mind.)
"Elena, its great to see you!" Jeremy exclaimed. Elena closed her eyes and imagined the seventeen-year-old Jeremy Gilbert standing in front of her. When she opened them, she saw how much time had passed. Jeremy's hair had a few gray strands in it (the result of a teenage daughter, he had claimed during their last conversation) and he had laugh lines around his eyes.
He looked like their father. He looked like a father. It was surreal.
Jeremy had aged. She was frozen at eighteen.
Jeremy looked over at his wife and then back at Elena.
"Madison, meet Elena Gilbert," he told her.
It was the look in Madison's eyes that gave it all away. Jeremy had broken the sacred oath. He had told her. She wondered when he had told her. Elena wondered when her brother had decided to break the promise they all made at April's funeral.
(A part of her was happy though. It meant he didn't have to lie. Lying never got easier with time.)
Elena looked at Jeremy, keeping the accusations from his eyes. Then she crossed and gave her sister-in-law a hug. "It's great to meet you, Madison," Elena whispered. "Jeremy has told me so much about you."
Madison hugged her for a moment longer and whispered quietly, too quiet for anyone without vampiric hearing to pick up on.
"The secret is safe with me. We haven't even told Jenna. Please. Don't."
Elena pulled away from the hug and nodded. It was a secret they would all take with them.
(The vampires had all left Mystic Falls after April's death. The council, led by Liz, kept in contact with them in case danger arose. April's death inevitably solved the town's vampire problem.)