Tyler smiled when she said that everything looked beautiful. That was exactly what he was going for and he was glad that he accomplished it. Tyler turned and smiled at her. “You’ll see.” He still was trying to keep everything under wraps because there was still a little something that he had up his sleeve. He took her hand and continued walking, along a little pathway where there were more flowers lining the area. “Close your eyes. Let me lead you.” He whispered to her and looked at her, trying to put his best puppy eyes on so that she would listen. He knew she hated all of the surprises but he couldn’t exactly tell her what was going on. That’s not how things like that worked. Once she finally shut her eyes he took her by the hand and slowly walked her. They were walked for a little while but that was just because he was being careful. He didn’t want to do something stupid and have them both fall to the ground. That wasn’t very romantic. Finally they stopped. “Don’t open them yet.” He directed and looked to make sure everything was okay. This night was about as romantic as he got. All over the ground were the words ‘Will you marry me?” written in petals from her favorite flower. While he wanted this to be memorable he always wanted it to be simple. He pulled the ring out of his pocket, opening the box before he got down on one knew. He checked to make sure that her eyes were still shut when he finally decided that it was the perfect moment. “You can open your eyes now, Sophia.”
There was still more?! Sophia’s jaw dropped a little, stunned that there was more to this romantic night. She let him take her hand again and continued down the pathway. However, when he asked her to close her eyes, she couldn’t help but flashback to their first date where she closed her eyes as he drove them to the bridge, letting him choose what they did after dinner. The memory made her heart swell as she looked up to find his pout. She giggled softly, nodding at Tyler before shutting her eyes. It was rather hard to walk in heels and a full length formal dress when you weren’t allowed to see, but Sophia managed with Tyler leading her to wherever it was he wanted to bring her to. Sophia chewed on her bottom lip when he told her not to open her eyes as he let go of her hand. What was he up to? Finally, he gave her permission and her eyes slowly fluttered opened and she saw the petals. It took her a moment to see that they wrote out something and another moment to read what he was asking her. Sophia gasped, looking over to her side where Tyler was kneeling on one knee besides her, holding up the opened box that held the most stunning ring she had ever seen. Tears came to her eyes as she looked at him, nodding quickly. “Yes, I’ll marry you!” Sophia let out a choked giggle when the ring was placed on her finger. Suddenly, she was in his arms and she was kissing him as passionately as she could.
“I’m glad that I could impress.” Tyler enjoyed himself as they were out on the dance floor, slowly swaying with the music. It was nice to just get lost in that moment with her. It had been a miracle that they had made the relationship last this long, but because of that he knew that the relationship was not going anywhere. He loved her and would do absolutely anything for her. He would go to the end of Earth if he had to, though he didn’t exactly expect her to send him that way. He was sure that she couldn’t last that long without him. “We’re forever.” He agreed and gave her a kiss. He could have given this whole long speech about how he felt and how he loved her no matter what, but that was what the night was for. The night was an opportunity to show her just how much he actually loved her and that was a whole hell of a lot. Tyler declined the offer and paid their check so the two of them could leave. This was only the beginning of his little plan. The two of them got back in the car and he started driving. He drove out to the reflecting pool. That had always been one of his favorite spots, seeing as it was absolutely breathtaking. Now, while the reflecting pool was beautiful enough to propose Tyler didn’t stop there. It took some compulsion but everything worked out. There was a whole walkway lined with roses, which he held Sophia’s hand as they made their way up to the little area that he had set up. Everything was in red and pink, the lights, the flowers, everything. He wanted to make sure that it was as romantic as possible. Tyler turned to look at Sophia, to see how she was reacting to this little surprise.
Sophia wasn’t too surprised that Tyler turned down dessert here. She only recalls them getting it from here once before. Most of the time, they drove to either this cute little bakery and pigged out on the decadent pastries or they went out for ice cream on her college campus. She happily took his hand as they walked back into the warm night air briefly before getting into the car. It was an amazing night to be out. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the crescent moon looked so bright among the stars. She was so captured by the nature of the night that she didn’t even realize where they were until he had parked the SUV again. The reflecting pool. It was one of the few places she could find Tyler when he needed time to think, to breathe. They’ve also had a few dates here as well. However, she hadn’t been expecting what he had done. She squeezed his hand as they walked along the decorated pathway to the area he must’ve compelled someone to decorate because you could usually never do this. Her hands came up and covered her mouth as she let out a breathless giggle as took in the lights, the flowers, the setting. It had to be the most romantic thing Tyler has ever done for her. “It’s so beautiful.” She shook her head, turning around to look at him with a stunning smile. “What is all of this for? I know I didn’t miss an anniversary or birth date. It’s only June.” Sophia was just so amazed that he would do this for her. It still hadn’t hit her that he was getting ready to propose. She figured he was doing this just for the hell of it still.
Tyler loved that even after all of their time together she would still blush at the compliments he gave her. He would miss that when she was a vampire but for now, for now he smiled whenever he saw it happen. It was something that made him realize just how special Sophia was, because any other girl would have been cocky about it by then. He liked cocky and confident, but with Sophia he loved that she had this innocent about her. Even after the past couple of years there were times where he could look at her and she just seemed so innocent. It didn’t hurt that she was still going to school and he would notice her with her school work when she thought he wasn’t watching, and how she just hung around wearing the most…weird clothes. She was a teenager, now she was in her twenties, but she was still innocent. A part of him thought that she would always remain that way, which he loved. Not that he would mind if it went away, mind you, but it was just one of those little things that he liked. Just like he was pretty sure that there was something little that she liked about him, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“You’re welcome.” He whispered back as they passed through the doors. When they finally managed to sit down at their table he just smiled, looking over at her. He was more relaxed than he had been earlier and it definitely showed. He was ready to just relax and let the night lead itself. “You don’t get to know anything, Sophia.” He smirked, teasing her a little. He knew how much she hated surprises but he didn’t care, he wanted this to hit her like a ton of bricks. They weren’t going to have another moment like this. Tyler let his beauty out on the dance floor, grabbing her one hand as his other slinked around her body and they started dancing. “Am I impressing you so far?” He asked about his dance moves. He always could dance, growing up with the mayor as your father and then your mother, and having to attend every function under the sun, usually in your own home, led him to learn how to dance. There wasn’t a dance that Tyler couldn’t do; it was just that he was better at certain ones. “I love you, so much Sophia. You are the most amazing girl in the world and I couldn’t ask for anything better in a girl.”
“You always impress me. You make me more graceful on my feet when we dance together.” Over the years, Sophia’s dancing skills has improved, but not as much one would think. Her and Tyler would always get distracted or interrupted during their dances, mainly by their sexual want for one another, but occasionally because of other people. No one else could make Sophia look like she knew what she was doing like he did, not even Elijah, who truly became her father in the last four years since her parent’s death. She looked up at Tyler with all the love in her eyes as a soft smile appeared on her features. Even after four years, her heart still sped up whenever he spoke like this. “I love you too, Tyler. Through thick and thin. I will always love you. I never thought someone like you could love a simple, plain girl like me, but you did. You taught me how to accept myself and my flaws, to see myself as beautiful. You’ve protected me and saved my life so many times, that it’s crazy to think that we actually managed to keep some normalcy in all of this. You’re the best thing that has every happened to me. We’re forever.” She didn’t intend to give him a mini speech, but it just fell from her lips so easily. She was caught up in the romance of the evening, the soft jazz aiding in their movements in their tiny bubble. Leaning up, she kissed him softly, putting all of her love into it.
Sadly, the bubble was popped when their waiter tapped Tyler on the shoulder. Going back to their table, she chuckled at the fact that he had ordered yet another extremely rare steak. It was the only thing he ever ordered here and it did nothing to sedate his hunger. She had to always let him feed from her afterwards so that he would feel better. While he ate human food with her whenever they went out, it usually didn’t help with the cravings like alcohol did. She sat down and dug into her lasagna, blushing whenever he looked over at her while they ate. They made their usual small talk when they enjoyed a dinner together, going over their day and how she was coming with the editor job hunting. This was easy for them. This was how their life went. She couldn’t imagine it getting any better than this. A couple years ago, she had come to the conclusion that they probably wouldn’t get married until after she was a vampire because really, they had forever and marriage wasn’t something she needed to do as a human, unlike childbirth. So it still hadn’t crossed her mind at this point in the game. She was sipping on her wine when the waiter came back and asked if they wanted dessert. Sophia looked at Tyler, letting him decide since he was the one with the plan.
As Tyler sat downstairs he could hear her getting ready upstairs and decided to go and take a seat in the den. He got ready quickly but then again, he was a guy, and the process just didn’t take that long. It just wasn’t something that took forever with him, so he went in and grabbed a quick drink. It would help to settle his nerves, because even though he knew that this was going to go well he still had nerves. Of course he kept them well hidden because, even after all those years, he was a cocky guy. No one was ever going to see him flinch, not even his own girl, soon to be fiancé. After a while he heard her coming down the stairs and put the glass down, fixing his tie one last time, before walking back out to the entryway. He smiled when he saw her, she looked absolutely stunning. He was glad that everything was falling into place so far. The night was only going to get better from her.
“Thank you.” He couldn’t help but smile when she fixed his tie and gave him a kiss. With that kiss somehow he got even more excited than he already was and it was definitely hard to keep at bay. “You’ll figure it out eventually.” He whispered with a smile and gave her one last kiss before leading the two of them out the door. He had this entire night planned perfectly. The two arrived in D.C. not long after they left the house, as Mystic Falls was not too far away. They went to her favorite restaurant. Tyler wanted to make sure that this night was perfect for her. He could ask her standing in the backyard for all he cared, but for her, for her he needed to make it special. It was a day that they would all remember forever and it being special would definitely mean a lot. He got of the car, going around to the side and letting her out. “You look absolutely beautiful, Sophia.” He whispered in her ear as they walked inside, ready to begin the night with a simple dinner.
Sophia was excited. The second kiss had her body buzzing in anticipation as he led her out to his SUV. Over the years, he has gotten newer ones, never keeping one for more than a year, but it seemed that no matter what one he chose, it was still rather difficult for her to get in and damn near impossible when she was as dolled up as she was. Luckily, her boyfriend understood, so he always helped her into her seat. She had to think about the number of times they’ve dressed up over the years. The Founder’s Ball, The Masquerade ball, their anniversary dates, Valentine’s Days, her graduations, and the random dates here and there, including her birthdays. When she thought about it, for someone who wasn’t a fan of putting on a suit, Tyler has done it more than she thought he would’ve. He seemed to enjoy making Sophia happy, so if that meant putting on a suit every once in a while, he did. She loved these dates just as much as their simple dates where they went hiking or have a picnic in the park. Even when they went out to the bridge and dance on it before laying down and watching the stars. All of them were perfect and fitted them. She knew where they were heading the moment he led them to the car. It was the restaurant he first took her all those years ago when he decided he needed to give her the most romantic date in the world. It was her favorite restaurant by now.
Blushing, Sophia ducked her head at his compliment before looking up at him through her lashes. “Thank you,” she whispered as he led her inside their favorite place in D.C. It was still breathtaking when she looked around and took everything in. They were led to their favorite table as the music began to surround them. It turned out that the place had themed nights and tonight was Jazz, which happened to be a mutual favorite between them. Sitting across from Tyler, she didn’t need to look at the menu to know what they were having. “Are we going to recreate our infamous first romantic date,” she asked with a giggle, reaching across the table to take his hand. She could tell that he was still hiding something, but she was too happy to care. In the glow of the candlelight, Tyler looked like the most stunning man in the world, which he was, but even more so. The waiter came and took their order, Tyler choosing the wine before he stood up and offered her his hand so they could dance together. “One of these days, we’ll have to take some lessons together.”
Tyler was excited for what he was planning and ready for everything to finally happen. They had been together for a long time, at least a long time according to him. While he was 223 years old he still wasn’t exactly the model for long lasting relationships. This was his longest one and he was more than ready to officially make it his last relationship that he had ever had. “Nothing,” he lied to her but kept the smile on his face. She would know soon enough and he had been planning way too long to just let everything accidentally slip out of his mouth. “I just love you.” He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss, that smile still plastered on his face. It was obvious that he was in a really good mood, even though he was trying to control it so that he didn’t give anything away.
After standing there with her for a few moments he smiled at her. “I need to go change.” He told her, that suspicious look he had on his face was one that he was desperately trying to hide but it wasn’t exactly working out as planned. “There’s something for you on our bed. Don’t ask questions. Just do it, for me.” The less questions that she asked the better off he would be, because he knew that if he didn’t play his cards just right that there was no way he was going to be able to keep this a secret. “Go, please.” He went and changed himself, putting on a suit. He had grown accustomed to wearing suits over the years so it was no big deal. He checked himself in the mirror, fixing his tie, and making sure his hair didn’t look ridiculous while he waited for her downstairs
Sophia knew he was up to something, but she wasn’t about to argue with him. She leaned up and kissed him softly before following his instructions and going upstairs to see what he had on the bed for her. It was a rather large box. She gasped when she opened it, finding a rather stunning dress in it. “Wow…,” she breathed to herself, taking it out and holding it to her as she looked in the mirror. It was then Sophia took in her appearance and realized she couldn’t simply just put on the dress and go downstairs. With a dress this stunning, the hair and make-up had to be just as stunning. Setting the dress on the bed so that it looked perfect, she ran into the bathroom to do her smoky eye make-up that she knew he enjoyed, even if he preferred her to remain fresh faced. The dress was too sophisticated and sensual to pull off that sort of look. Tyler always knew what Sophia would look good in. He knew her better than she knew herself. She was actually rather excited about all of this, even if she had no clue what was going on. Obviously, they were probably going to go or do something fancy, but that’s all she could think about. It never crossed her mind that he was planning to propose. Her mind wasn’t on that track.
When she slid into the heels, holding up the front of the dress so she could do so, Sophia let out a nervous sigh. She was never a huge fan of surprises, but over the years, she had come to terms that Tyler loved them and would always be doing them for her. The end results were always amazing, so she was finally not questioning his motives anymore. Sophia took one finally look in the mirror, tucking a stray hair behind her ear before grabbing her clutch and heading downstairs. No matter what, Tyler took her breath away whenever he wore a suit. Right off, she knew it was his fancier suit. He looked so happy and excited right now. Sophia could feel the excitement radiating off him. “You look so handsome,” she whispered, fixing his tie a little before meeting his lips for a kiss. She hooked arms with him, smiling brightly. “Lead the way, Ty. I’m ready to see whatever it is you are up to.” When he raised a brow at her, she giggled softly. “Yes, I know you have something up your sleeve. I just don’t know what. I’m sure you’ll clue me in soon.”
It had been four years ever since Tyler and Sophia had thier little fight. Well, the fight wasn’t so little but since it had been so many years since it happened it was a little fight. Sophia had gone to college and was graduating. Their lives had moved in the direction that they had intended for them to all those years ago, and they were happy. They had little fights here and there, but they were solid. Things were about as pretty close to perfect as they were going to get, and Tyler was just about to make their lives about a thousand times better.
He had a plan, not that he was letting it be known. He wanted to keep everything as much of a secret as he possibly could. That was tough with Sophia around but he managed to do it. And he wasn’t about to let anything slip so he snuck around, making weird secret phone calls to make sure that everything was in place. He saw the looks from Sophia but ignored them. She’d understand when it was all set in stone. “Hey,” he smiled as he walked over to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He was so happy and that was obvious.
Sophia never expected four years to go by so quickly. With life in Mystic Falls remaining as chaotic as ever due to everything that was still going on, she managed to graduate college with a 5.0 and as valedictorian. Still, the greatest thing about four years going by was that she was still hopelessly in love with Tyler. Their love never flickered since they made up after that enormous fight. Sure, every couple had their fights and with two stubborn as hell people, they did it a lot, but nothing ever compared to that fight. Sophia and Tyler loved each other and by now, everyone came to accept it. A long time ago, they all thought she was crazy to be dating a teacher when she was still a student, then for staying with him after murdering her parents, but it all just proved how strong their love really was. After all, true love overcomes it all.
However, finding an editing job right out of college? Difficult as hell. A lot of places wanted a higher degree than a bachelors’ and then, they wanted work experience on top of that. How was she to have work experience if no one would hire her? Sophia was beginning to wonder if taking a year off from getting her masters’ was such a good idea. She did promise Tyler that she would though. He wanted a chance to show her the world before they settled down with her working full time and taking online classes. She had hoped that in that year’s time, they would begin their family. After all, she was about to turn 21. She didn’t want to look too old before she was changed. She smiled when he kissed her cheek, immediately feeling just as happy as he was. “Hello, handsome. What has gotten you in such an amazing mood?”
When she finally laid down with him, with her head on his chest he smiled, running his hand through her hair. This was definitely not something that he missed, a hell of a lot more than he originally lead on. Tyler loved their contact, her skin on his skin. He was cold, not as a cold as a pure vampire, but definitely not warm enough to be human. But Sophia, Sophia was warm. He could hear the blood pumping through her veins, he could hear her heartbeat, he could hear when her breathing changed. It was probably the best part about all of this, that she reminded him to not just get lost in everything. Instead he lived a normal life, as normal as he could at least with her. It was something that crossed his mind a lot and definitely something that would probably always cross his mind. Before her there wasn’t much smiling going on, but now he smiled a lot more than he used to. The world wasn’t so bad once he had Sophia. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” This would be the best night’s sleep that he had gotten in months, ever since before everything seemed to be crashing down around him.
“No, I think I do,” she replied before kissing above his heart. It was so odd, she could feel it beating, but she knew it was only because he had her blood inside of him. He was half alive and half dead. It was such a contradiction, but it was because he was half alive that he wasn’t so damaged. Plus, that means that they could have that family someday. She laid her head back on his chest, closing her eyes as his fingers played with her hair. She missed this so much. This always made Sophia sleepy and relaxed, and Tyler knew it. She nuzzled into his chest a bit, feeling his arms hold her tighter to him. This wasn’t a dream. In the morning when she wakes, he’ll still be there. “I love you,” she mumbled as sleep began to take over, a happy dream finally replacing all the nightmares she has been dealing with,
He only smiled when she thanked him. In all honesty, he really didn’t think that she should be the one thanking him. He had done some pretty awful things, turned her world upside down, but she had forgiven him. It was only then that he realized that this whole thing that happened between them was a much bigger deal than it had to be. It could have been so much simpler between them if he just stopped and thought about it all. Being a hybrid, having the emotions and instincts of a werewolf and a vampire, a Lockwood werewolf no less, didn’t exactly allow him to be rational. He would never be rational but that didn’t matter because at least he had everything back in his life that matter, because she was his everything. No one else mattered. The only people that mattered were his family, and they weren’t exactly around. Instead of saying something he just kissed her, kissed her so softly, so gently to get all of his feelings out, his feelings for her and telling her just how much he loved her. “Yes, it means I’ll sleep there.” He missed laying with her, in their bed. Sleeping in another room wasn’t the same, especially since he knew that so many tragic events happened in a lot of those spare rooms. “Let’s go.” He whispered, pulling away from her and grabbing his clothes before leading the two of them back to their room.
When Tyler kissed her and confirmed that he was going to sharing their bed again, Sophia let out a sigh of relief. The terrors could stop now. She would be able to sleep through the night and be safe again. Slowly unpeeling herself from her desk, Sophia grabbed her clothes and followed Tyler out of her library and up to their room. It had felt foreign for the last two months, but now that everything was good again, it felt like home. She simply deposited her clothes into the basket before pushing her hair off to the side so she could clean up the leftover blood on her neck. Tyler could heal her after they got done sleeping. Walking over to the bed, she crawled beneath the cool sheets, joining her handsome boyfriend. When this all started and she discovered who he was and what he was, she never thought it would progress to this. To be honest, until he asked her out on their first date, she thought he still had feelings for Caroline. After all, she was his first love and he spent 200 years on the run from Klaus until he felt it was safe for it to come home. “Now this, this is perfect.” She smiled brightly at him, tangling their legs together as she laid her head on his chest. “I’ll finally be able to sleep. You don’t know how much I miss sleep.”
“I love you, too.” He whispered back, just letting the words fall from his lips. There wasn’t a moment that he had loved her more. They had been through so much over the past couple of months and while it looked as if they weren’t going to come out on top- they did. They came out on top and were both better people and a better couple because of everything that had happened. It wasn’t anything that he would ever wish to happen, but he now knew that they were unbreakable. That was definitely something that he was more than happy to know, even if came with some sadness and heartbreak. If they were going to be together forever, much like the two had planned then he was more grateful to know that in 20, 50, even a 100 years that nothing was going to tear them apart. Nothing would break them. They were going to be like Finn and Sage, even if something happened she would go on loving him. That was something that he thought was so special and so rare, and he was grateful to have found it. When she told him to feed at first he was a little bit hesitant it was something that he always had to stop and think about. He just loved her so much, and while he knew that he wasn’t going to lose control and drain her, it was still something that he liked to think about. He also took a moment to realize how lucky he was to have a girl that accepted him for it all, for being a hybrid and that would let him feed on her. Because no matter what any vampire said, feeding from the vein was a million times better than feeding from a bag. Eventually he sunk his teeth down into her neck, feeding from her and stopping at just the right moment. It was enough so that he felt better, felt more connected to her, but also, it wasn’t enough to make Sophia feel sick. “Thank you, Sophia. For everything, for staying, for this. I have never loved you more.”
Sophia spent a long time being lost in her books. She has read hundreds of love stories about how the couple overcame the odds and lived happily ever after. Her father would always tell her that real life wasn’t like the books she read, but she refused to let him affect her thoughts about love and in the end, she was right. Her and Tyler were real proof that true love could overcome anything that was thrown at it. When he finally bit into her, she didn’t flinch. It felt like it had always felt- powerful. She was giving up every inch of control she had and putting her life in Tyler’s hands. At the same time, she could feel the way her blood flowed through her body and in those moments, it was a connection like no other. She was helping him feel better- quenching his thirst for blood and increasing his love for her. When he was finally done, she let out a hum as her voice finally escaped her throat. Her sleepy eyes met his and she smiled up at him. “Thank you, Tyler. For not giving up on me, for giving me a chance to earn your forgiveness, for helping me find confidence in myself. I love you more than anything else in this world.” She grabbed a tissue from the corner of the desk before moving to clean the blood off his face. When she was done, Tyler pulled out of her, making her whimper a little. She liked being so close to him. “Does this mean you’ll finally sleep in our bed?”
