end of his searching.
Just now he was rubbing his chin against the top of her head in a very comforting way. Elena’s last tears fell when she blinked and she was able to keep back any new ones. The coolness of Stefan’s body permeated hers even as the sun beat down on both of them, and his touch soothed all her knotted muscles and relaxed her aching joints. The only pain that was left was in her heart.
“I . . . miss him,” Elena confided abruptly, without having planned to speak at all.
“So do I.”—very softly, but with a deep component, because he was speaking with his jaw against her scalp, and she could hear him through bone conduction. He kissed her hair, so lightly that she could barely feel it.
Elena felt that there was nothing more to be said. They understood one another. They both ached to see Damon, and Stefan was not going to allow anything as petty as jealousy to break the deep and lasting communion that she and he shared.
“You know,” he said after a few minutes, speaking as calmly as before, “I have a globe in my bedroom, and—”
Elena didn’t even try to keep the words back. “I already got it,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bother you by calling you, and I knew you wouldn’t mind. But it’s no good; a globe isn’t. It’s too small. If Bonnie had fo und anything, she’d have called me. That’s why I was looking for Mrs. Flowers’s old geography book.”
Stefan kissed her hair again. “I was going to say, ‘and there’s an outdated world atlas under my bed .’ It won’t be accurate about some countries’ names, but it’s better than that heavy, just-for-decoration globe or even an ancient geography book.”
“ An atlas? You’re kidding!” Elena squeezed Stefan even more tightly and was hugged breathless in return. “Stefan, that’s fantastic! Let’s go get it before Bonnie exhausts herself completely using the globe.”
“Yes, let’s go.” But Stefan still hugged her hard and Elena made no move to release him from her arms.
Instead, she tipped her face up, cautiously, so as not to knock into his jaw and make him bite his tongue. Stefan tipped his face down. And then the outside world was swept away entirely and for Elena there was only joy and the sensation of floating in a cool sunrise, with myriad pastel colors all around her.
At last , reluctantly, Elena released Stefan and felt his grip ease. She took his hand and pressed it once firmly. Then they hurried back to the front door of the boardinghouse.
In the kitchen, Bonnie was leaning back in her chair with her eyes shut, drinking iced tea with a chunk of lemon in it from a tall glass. She opened her eyes just as Elena approached and sputtered, spraying Stefan’s globe and Mrs. Flowers’s tablecloth with tea, narrowly missing Mrs. Flowers herself.
“ Oh, my God, Elena! You look—”
“I know. I’m going to wash in the sink. I didn’t find the geography book in the storage room, but Stefan has an old world atlas for us. ”
“Oh.” Bonnie stopped hiccupping and sniffled, clearly trying to look refreshed and ready to get back to work. “Well, good,” she finished staunchly. “Because this globe is just impossible to work with. The only place where the pendulum even reacted was in the Pacific Ocean, and then it just swung back and forth.”
“Which means exactly nothing,” Mrs. Flowers said, looking genteelly distressed. “Dear Stefan, I’m so glad you have an atlas. That will make the dousing much easier on Bonnie. I’m afraid that it’s difficult to maintain absolute spiritual concentration for so long a time.”
“Oh, I can do it,” Bonnie said, managing a shaky smile. Her eyes met Elena’s and Elena realized that Bonnie would kill herself trying rather than stop while getting negative results.
“Stefan, will you run up and get the atlas?” she asked as unemotionally as possible.
Just now he was rubbing his chin against the top of her head in a very comforting way. Elena’s last tears fell when she blinked and she was able to keep back any new ones. The coolness of Stefan’s body permeated hers even as the sun beat down on both of them, and his touch soothed all her knotted muscles and relaxed her aching joints. The only pain that was left was in her heart.
“I . . . miss him,” Elena confided abruptly, without having planned to speak at all.
“So do I.”—very softly, but with a deep component, because he was speaking with his jaw against her scalp, and she could hear him through bone conduction. He kissed her hair, so lightly that she could barely feel it.
Elena felt that there was nothing more to be said. They understood one another. They both ached to see Damon, and Stefan was not going to allow anything as petty as jealousy to break the deep and lasting communion that she and he shared.
“You know,” he said after a few minutes, speaking as calmly as before, “I have a globe in my bedroom, and—”
Elena didn’t even try to keep the words back. “I already got it,” she whispered. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bother you by calling you, and I knew you wouldn’t mind. But it’s no good; a globe isn’t. It’s too small. If Bonnie had fo und anything, she’d have called me. That’s why I was looking for Mrs. Flowers’s old geography book.”
Stefan kissed her hair again. “I was going to say, ‘and there’s an outdated world atlas under my bed .’ It won’t be accurate about some countries’ names, but it’s better than that heavy, just-for-decoration globe or even an ancient geography book.”
“ An atlas? You’re kidding!” Elena squeezed Stefan even more tightly and was hugged breathless in return. “Stefan, that’s fantastic! Let’s go get it before Bonnie exhausts herself completely using the globe.”
“Yes, let’s go.” But Stefan still hugged her hard and Elena made no move to release him from her arms.
Instead, she tipped her face up, cautiously, so as not to knock into his jaw and make him bite his tongue. Stefan tipped his face down. And then the outside world was swept away entirely and for Elena there was only joy and the sensation of floating in a cool sunrise, with myriad pastel colors all around her.
At last , reluctantly, Elena released Stefan and felt his grip ease. She took his hand and pressed it once firmly. Then they hurried back to the front door of the boardinghouse.
In the kitchen, Bonnie was leaning back in her chair with her eyes shut, drinking iced tea with a chunk of lemon in it from a tall glass. She opened her eyes just as Elena approached and sputtered, spraying Stefan’s globe and Mrs. Flowers’s tablecloth with tea, narrowly missing Mrs. Flowers herself.
“ Oh, my God, Elena! You look—”
“I know. I’m going to wash in the sink. I didn’t find the geography book in the storage room, but Stefan has an old world atlas for us. ”
“Oh.” Bonnie stopped hiccupping and sniffled, clearly trying to look refreshed and ready to get back to work. “Well, good,” she finished staunchly. “Because this globe is just impossible to work with. The only place where the pendulum even reacted was in the Pacific Ocean, and then it just swung back and forth.”
“Which means exactly nothing,” Mrs. Flowers said, looking genteelly distressed. “Dear Stefan, I’m so glad you have an atlas. That will make the dousing much easier on Bonnie. I’m afraid that it’s difficult to maintain absolute spiritual concentration for so long a time.”
“Oh, I can do it,” Bonnie said, managing a shaky smile. Her eyes met Elena’s and Elena realized that Bonnie would kill herself trying rather than stop while getting negative results.
“Stefan, will you run up and get the atlas?” she asked as unemotionally as possible.
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