Archive of Our Own ^beta

"Elena, no one wants to go on ‘It's a Small World.’ It's at the top of the list of songs that can be used as forms of torture. Even Josie and Lizzie probably find it annoying."

Damon doesn't even know why he tries, because as soon as his girlfriend’s face starts to twist into that wide-eyed puppy dog pout that she has down to an art, he knows he will be trudging through the ridiculously long line to watch those creepy dolls sing about how it's a world of friendship and some other hippy dippy bullshit.

"Okay, fine, we can go. But I stand by my judgement that it's a ride from hell. And I would know, I've been there." The sigh he lets out is touch over dramatic, especially considering the way his heart flutters when Elena's face lights up at his surrender and she grabs his hand to drag him to the front of the group.

"Damon says he'll come on ‘It's a Small World’ with me, and if he can do it, you all can, so let's go!" Her excitement is not at all diminished by the lack of reciprocation from her friends and the audible groans from Stefan, Alaric, and Bonnie. However, they know that Damon was their last line of defense, and that if he can't sway Elena, know one can; so, despite the muttering of "whipped" coming from Alaric, they all follow Elena through the Magic Kingdom to their doom. Only Josie and Lizzie seem unaffected by their destination, but as three year olds in Disney World, it's hard for anything to snap them out of their shining awe at the whole place.

Finally piled into their little boat, Damon reminds himself that any annoying song is worth it to see Elena like this: happy, carefree, alive and awake, and it works to lift his mood a bit. She leans her head on his shoulder as the boat begins to move, her bouncy excitement calmed into quiet contentment.

"I'm sorry forced you all into this." Her voice is soft, meant only for him, and it takes a lot of self control to keep from turning to kiss her, but she's not done talking yet, so instead he runs his fingers through her hair and listens.

"It's just that— I don't know, to see all these people who are so different being able to come together and be friends— it gives me hope. And I figured, after everything, maybe we could all use a little of that hope."

He turns to look at her now, sees her big brown eyes shining up at him earnestly, and he can't help it as he presses his lips to her forehead to smooth out the little wrinkles that form when she's anxious, or nervous, or thinking really hard.

"I get it," he whispers to her, and he does. Maybe they don't come from different countries, but they all are different, vampires and witches, humans and doppelgängers, and it certainly can't hurt for them to be reminded of the possibility of peace.

As their boat passes into the first room, Damon finds that with Elena tucked safely under his arm, her smile returned as the ride begins, the song isn't quite as annoying as he always remembers. Maybe the dancing dolls don't look completely like they were forged by Satan, and maybe he even finds himself smiling a little bit and humming along. Maybe when they reach the final room, and he sees all of those different little dolls dancing together as he sits with the girl he loves and all of their friends, safe in those rickety boats— just maybe he has to use his free hand to scrub a tear from his eye— but of course, he'll never admit it.

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"We should probably start heading back. It'll take a while to get a bus back to the hotel, and Josie and Lizzie definitely need a nap before dinner." Alaric is honestly surprised that Caroline, queen of plans and schedules and order, hasn't suggested this yet, but given that she's pretty much singlehandedly planned this trip, he's willing to give her a pass on nap time.

"I think we have a little time. The girls really want to go on Splash Mountain, and it won't take that long to get back to our room."

And now Alaric is even more confused, because though he can believe Caroline might have lost track of time, he knows all of her planning told her exactly how long it will take to get back to their hotel and is even more sure she would never do anything to risk messing up the twins’ nap schedule.

"Caroline, you saw how long it took for the right bus to come earlier— and after that it's at least a 20 minute ride back to the hotel." He's honestly a little worried now. What's wrong with her? Can vampires get heat stroke?

"Well, yeah, it would be, if we were staying at the Beach Club with everyone else."

At this point their conversation has drawn the attention of Elena and Damon, who are closest to them as they continue to walk towards Splash Mountain. Alaric sees them glancing over, clearly wondering if something is wrong, but he is currently a little preoccupied with the fact that Caroline has apparently lost her mind.

"What do you mean 'if you were staying at the Beach Club?' Where else would you be staying?"

Damon and Elena have given up any pretense of not listening to their conversation, and Bonnie and Enzo seem to be tuning in now while Stefan continues to lead the way with Josie and Lizzie.
Caroline, meanwhile, finally has the decency to look a little bit sheepish as she replies, "Um, Cinderella's Castle?"

Alaric decides that is must be possible for vampires to get heat stroke, or else the cooler of blood bags they've been carting around has gone bad, because apparently Caroline has lost her mind and it's really taking everything in him not to shake her, instead speaking slowly through gritted teeth.

"Caroline, you can't stay in Cinderella's Castle."

This of course triggers the famous Caroline Forbes stubbornness, and Alaric finds himself taking several deep breaths and wishing they sold alcohol in Magic Kingdom.

"Yes you can! There's a suite in the castle, and it's all beautiful and antique looking and there's a jacuzzi tub and it is absolutely gorgeous and they only rent it out for special occasions, but it has been in my plans for the perfect Disney trip since I was literally 6 and I just thought that this was my chance to make all my dreams come true! And to share it with our girls!"

While Alaric can agree that it is a lovely sentiment, there is one part of this explanation that he's a little bit stuck on,

"If they only open it for special occasions, then how are you staying there?"

He has a feeling he already knows the answer, and his suspicion is confirmed when she snaps her mouth shut and tilts her face up, clearly getting ready for a fight,

"I may have compelled the castle employees into thinking that this was a special occasion worthy of the Cinderella Suite. But isn't it? We're all back together, and happy, and nothing evil is chasing us for once. And it's the girls first trip to Disney World, and I just wanted it to be special for them. Is that so wrong?"

He knows he could keep arguing with her, but the truth is he agrees with her, even if her methods are a little left of honest.

"Fine. You and Stefan and the girls have fun in the castle. I don't see what it could hurt. Just make sure they don't miss nap time out of excitement, ok?"

The squeal Caroline lets out could shatter windows, but he can't help but smile as she throws her arms around him and whispers a quick "thanks, Rick" before she's rushing off to tell Lizzie and Josie the news, leaving a shell shocked Alaric in her wake. Damon laughs, leaving his spot next to Elena to come clap Alaric on the back,

"Well buddy, it looks like you survived another brush with hurricane Caroline. Drinks on me to celebrate later?"

"I can't tell who's more excited, Caroline or the girls."

And it was true— though Josie and Lizzie were jumping up and down with excitement, Caroline's smile could have outshone the sun.

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"Don't you laugh at me, Bonnie Bennett! You have to agree they're unnatural!"

Enzo's indignation makes Bonnie only laugh harder as she tries to talk through her gasping breaths,

"I just... can't believe.... you're scared of.... Mickey Mouse."

Apparently saying it out loud only makes it funnier, and Bonnie doubles over in more laughter.

"I'm not afraid of the character. It's just the portrayal in the parks. With their faces frozen like that. And those big flat eyes. And whose inside those huge heads? It could be anyone: a kidnapper, a murderer, anyone!"

"More like a college student trying to earn some money over the summer."

"Well regardless, they are creepy. I'm not afraid to admit that."

He is trying so hard to maintain his blank look of superiority, but all of the laughter has Bonnie's eyes shining and her smile is one of the biggest he's ever seen. Right now Enzo would really rather just sweep her up in his arms and forget the whole thing, but Bonnie is not done teasing him yet.

"Okay mister, thinking they're creepy is one thing. But you were scared."

"I was not scared."

"Enzo, I thought you were gonna deck Mickey Mouse!"

"I would not have hit a character! Not in front of the girls, at least."

"No. you'd just stand ten feet away and keep looking at him suspiciously."

"Well, someone had to keep an eye on the blasted mouse. And you all were to taken in by his charms."

Bonnie, who had managed to regain most of her composure, promptly loses it again, and Enzo stands next to her and waits while she laughs herself out. She finally straightens to see his standing with his arms cross, his face turning to pout at her.

"Aww, don't look at me like that. You know I love you regardless of your irrational fear of cartoon mice."

Enzo lets out his dramatic sigh, muttering "it's not irrational" under his breath, before finally giving up.

"Fine, love, you win. Now let's go get something to eat. All that laughing probably took a lot out of you."

"Sounds good to me. But I'll warn you, they have pretzels shaped like Mickey Mouse, and I don't want you to be scared."

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"Well they need to meet Cinderella. That's just a given."

"Look, Aurora is right there . And her line isn't even that long. We have to meet her. And by we I mean the twins..."

"If we wait till the fireworks start, the line for Anna and Elsa will definitely be shorter."

"Okay, according to the schedule on the app, we should be able to get Belle, Jasmine, and Mulan right in a row if we plan it right."

"Guys, you realize we're going to a character breakfast tomorrow, right? Can't you meet them there?"

Alaric didn't realize he had just proposed the equivalent of throwing themselves off the top of Expedition Everest, but the six faces that turned to him in varying degrees of horror and disdain enlightened him.

"No, Rick." Caroline was using her slow, quiet, having-to-explain-to-Lizzie-and-Josie-why-they-couldn't-have-ice-cream-for-breakfast voice, and Alaric is really wishing he had kept his mouth shut.

"At the breakfast, all of the princesses will be moving around, trying to meet everyone, and we'll all be sitting at a table and it will be too complicated to stand up every time a new princess arrives. For Lizzie and Josie, I mean. And we'll never get them to eat breakfast that way."

The part about the twins seems to be almost an afterthought, but at this point Alaric isn't going to question it. Nor is he going to question the fact that every princess meet and greet "for the twins" seems to end up with a picture featuring their entire party. He decides that as long as everyone is happy, he doesn't really need to tease his stupid, silly friends about their love of Disney princesses. He can just cram himself into the back of every picture and think about what great blackmail material he's going to have after this.  

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Ariel's grotto is on the schedule of their princess meeting expedition, so Elena is a little bit confused why Damon has insisted they come themselves.

"Come on, you told me how much you wanted to be a mermaid as a kid, and with Lizzie and Josie and everyone else you won't be able to have a true one on one interaction with a real live one. I'm just trying to make all of your childhood dreams come true."

And once again Elena is struck by how much she loves Damon, that he remembered her talking about her mermaid phase and made an effort to make her six year old fantasies a reality. They wait in line at the grotto, Damon's hand tangled with hers and his arm securely around her shoulder, and Elena once again thinks how lucky they are to be here, to have made it through everything to this point.

Her musings are interrupted by an attendant calling them forward into the alcove to take their turn of sitting next to the famous little mermaid, who, to her credit, seems unfazed at being visited by a pair of adults without a kid in sight.

"Well hello there! It's so nice to meet you! I'm Ariel, and oh my goodness, what a beautiful necklace! I wish I had something like that for my collection! I just love collecting human trinkets like that!"

Elena's hand moves to feel the pendant resting around her neck, and meeting Damon's eyes over Ariel's head they share a smile, thinking of its history.

"Yeah, it's been through a lot, but it always seems to find its way back to me."

"Oh, how lovely!"Ariel chatters on for another minute, discussing her collection and love for singing and swimming, and Damon mentions what a big fan Elena is, to which Ariel asks,
"Oh, are you a mermaid too?"

She clearly is not expecting the bark of laughter Elena lets out, but manages to cover it well with her signature Disney smile.

"Yeah, no, I definitely can't breathe underwater."

Now Damon is chuckling too, and Ariel's smile seems a little strained around the edges.

"We can all attest to that one, that's for sure. It's too bad really— would have saved Stefan a lot of trouble."

"Oh my god, Damon, don't say that!"

"What? I'm just saying that your cars have a nasty habit of driving off Wickory Bridge and it really would have lightened the pressure on Stefan to rescue you if you weren't at risk of drowning."

"Damon, stop it, you're scaring Ariel!"

And it's true— by this point Ariel's smile is much more of a grimace, and she seems about two seconds from calling the attendant to take them away.

"I'm sorry about Damon, he's incorrigible."

Her attempts to placate the princess seem only semi effective, but Elena seems satisfied.

"C'mon Damon, smile for a picture before you start talking about Stefan's summer of discovering he couldn't breathe under water and we get asked to leave."

And if Ariel's smile is a little bit strained in the picture— well, it was probably just the grotto lighting, and had nothing to do with the mischievous looks on Damon and Elena's faces.

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"Caroline where are you? We haven't seen you or the girls all morning."

Caroline cringes, mentally cursing Alaric for his overprotective observance, and decides to try to go for nonchalance,

"Oh, I took the girls to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We should be done soon, and then we can all meet up for lunch?"

The silence on Rick's side of the phone call tells her that her attempts to act natural have not been completely successful.

"And by we you mean that you're standing by and watching the girls get made up like princesses, right, Caroline?"

Another mental curse to Alaric's perceptiveness— apparently being a dad made him sharper than even vampire hunting could.

"Oh, sorry Rick, the stylist needs to ask me a question, we'll see you at lunch, bye!"

Caroline quickly hangs up the phone, grimacing slightly at being found out. Stashing her phone in her purse, she turns back to the mirror in front of her and smiles again. So what if Alaric was being judgy? This was her dream vacation too, and she'd be damned if she let anyone shame her into playing it by the rules.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but we only have dresses in children's sizes in the boutique."

Caroline looks up to see her stylist, a sweet, older women who had taken only a little bit of supernatural persuasion to bend the age restrictions on the boutique, and smiles. Looking straight into her eyes, she lets her mind reach out to push against the woman's,

"I'm sure you have some dresses in the back that are my size. Maybe one of the ones that aren't being used by a character right now? Why don't you go check those."

As the women goes to steal Caroline a dress, she turns to check on Lizzie and Josie, who are as happy as two little clams to be turned into princesses, especially after Caroline dissuaded "that sparkly fan bun you do on everyone," and suggested the stylists try "the actual princess hairdos."
As Caroline's stylist returns with a full length garment bag, Caroline can't help the little squeal she lets out, telling the twins that Mommy will be right back and that she can’t wait to see how beautiful they’ll look before rushing into a dressing room. She has to hand it to the stylist, she has not pulled any stops. Not only was there an exquisite ball gown, complete with hoop skirt, but also the opera length gloves and choker that completed her perfect princess look. The only thing missing was—

"There's no shoes in here!" she calls out from the dressing room, and when no response comes she emerges with a sigh, dreading having to compel the stylist into another excursion. Not immediately seeing the woman, she turns around, wondering where she has disappeared to, only to spot her talking to someone who looks an awful lot like—

"Stefan! What are you doing here?" As she approaches the two, it seems her question would get no response, as Stefan was staring at her wide eyed, his jaw practically on the floor.

"Wow, Caroline, you look..."

"Like a princess, I hope!" She does a little twirl, watching the heavy, embroidered blue satin swirl out around her. The cool tiles of the floor against her feet, however, remind her of her original issue.
"There were no shoes with dress."

This is directed at the stylist, and if it sounds a little whiny, well— she’s dressed like a princess; she is allowed to act a little spoiled.

"Oh, right! I carried them separate, so they wouldn't hurt the dress."

As she spoke, the woman produces a pair of silver pumps, shining and shimmering like glass, and holds them out to Caroline.

"Here, let me." Stefan has apparently regained his ability to speak, and is now taking the shoes from the stylist’s hand, bending down onto one knee.

"I mean, if you're gonna be a princess, you might as well do it right." Caroline's smile meets Stefan's as she lifts her skirt enough to extend first one foot and then the other to Stefan, who slips the shoes onto her feet with the grace and ease of a true prince. Which of course gives Caroline another idea.

"So Stefan—" She can feel the wheels turning in his brain as he tries to figure out what devious plan has come to her now.

"How would you like to put your hero hair to good use?"

She can see the exact moment he understands what she is asking, and the laugh he lets out is so sudden and loud that the stylist, still standing next to them, waiting to be needed, jumps a good few inches in the air.

"Oh, why the hell not." The smile on Stefan's face betrays that he isn't really that put out by being bossed around by his crazy wife. "We are in Disney. Might as well go full regalia."

Alaric isn't really sure what to expect as he waits for Caroline and the girls to show up for lunch. He decides that Caroline is a big girl and can take care of herself, and is just congratulating himself for his maturity when cries of "Daddy, look!" and
"Look at me, Daddy!" break him out of his reverie. He turns to see his daughters running towards him, just in time to brace himself for the two toddler sized bundles of hair spray, shiny fabric, and glitter that throw themselves into his arms. Stepping back, he crouches down to inspect them, and he has to admit, whatever compulsion Caroline has used to get them the best of the best, it has worked like a charm. Josie's hair, with the help of some extensions, is twisted into an elegant ring on the back of her head, adorned with a fancy brooch and ribbons matching the full green skirt of her dress. Lizzie sports an intricate French braid decorated with shimmering snowflakes and no small amount of glitter, and her pink light up sneakers protrude from beneath the hem of her blue silk skirt and glimmering cape.

"Well, don't you girls look beautiful! Should I bow before the lovely princesses Lizzie and Josie?"

The laughter he is met with from his little girls is enough to melt any lingering worry he has over Caroline's antics as he sees how happy they are.

"No Daddy, we're not real princesses, we’re just dressed like them! Lizzie's dressed like Elsa and I'm Anna!"

"Because we're sisters!" Lizzie chimes in, "and Mommy says to always remember to love your sister!"

"And of course we should always listen to Mommy, right girls?"

Alaric hasn't even noticed Caroline approaching, but as he looks up he wonders how he could have missed her. In her professional grade ball gown and hair style, he won't be surprised if a line starts forming to meet Cinderella, crazy vampire edition, and apparently Prince Charming as well.

"She roped you into this too?" Alaric doesn't really know why he is surprised— Stefan might just be worse than Damon when it comes to resisting their respective significant others, as apparent by the red pants and elaborate white coat he is currently sporting.

"Well, how many other opportunities am I gonna get to dress up with the love of my life?"

He's so close to reminding Stefan that Halloween comes every year, but looking at the two of them and at his daughters, all of them so very pleased with themselves, Alaric just doesn't have it in him to kill the mood.

"Okay then," he says with a sigh. "Let’s eat."

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"Remind me again why we aren't just having dinner at the resort?"

"Trust me love, you'll be happy we didn't."

"Are you sure about that? Because it's gonna take a lot for me to forgive you for making me walk here in these shoes."

It was true Bonnie's heeled boots are starting to pinch her toes a bit, but she finds her complaints lack fire as she wanders hand in hand with Enzo through the warm evening.

"Will you at least tell me where we're going? The only thing down this path is Epcot and, no offense, but I don't really want a Mickey pretzel for dinner."

"Patience, love, all will soon be revealed."

Though Bonnie still would like to know where they are going, it doesn't stop her from accepting a kiss from Enzo and continuing to walk as he drapes his arm over his shoulder, removing it only to scan his wristband and finger on the way into Epcot. Bonnie follows suit, only after confirming that she still won't gain an answer from Enzo on where they are going, and continuing to grumble about it as they make their way through the streets of Epcot.

"We're almost there. Just a few minutes and you won't be mad anymore."

"I'm not mad! I just wanna know where we're going!"

"Well then, why don't you look and see?"

As he speaks, Enzo ushers the pair around a corner and gestures towards what is apparently their destination. And as Bonnie turns to see where they have ended up, she has to admit any lingering annoyance evaporates.

"Paris," she breathes, staring up at the replica Eiffel Tower twinkling down on them. "You brought us back to Paris."

"Well it's not quite the same as the real thing, but it is much cleaner, and I hear the chicken cordon bleu is quite good."

Enzo's smile contains just a little bit of pride at the success of his plans for a romantic evening, but it was all happiness as Bonnie throws her arms around him and smiles up at him with that joyful smile of hers.

"It's perfect. You're perfect. I love you."

And once again Enzo takes a moment to wonder how he, a cold, heartless vampire, could ever be so lucky.

"I love you too Bonnie Bennet. Now come on, our reservation is in five minutes and I want to have time to kiss the most wonderful girl in the world at the top of the Eiffel Tower again"

"I don't think you can go to the top of this Eiffel Tower—"

"Don't worry love, we always manage the impossible."

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"Oh, Elena, how about these? You can be Sleeping Beauty and I'll be the dragon, with the fire and the wings and all that!"

"Damon, you realize that the Maleficent ears don't come with wings and fire, right? It's just her horns."

"Well regardless, these would look lovely on you. What?"

Damon pauses in adjusting the silky pink Mickey Mouse ears on Elena, stepping back to inspect the somewhat perplexed look on his girlfriend’s face.

"Nothing! It's just, well— I honestly said we should get matching Mickey ears as a joke. I wasn't expecting you to go for it."

And now Damon is the one confused, staring at Elena with his sad puppy look. "Did you not want matching ears?"

"No! No, I did! I just, well—I figured you'd make a stink about it, not jump on board."

"Are you kidding me? If Stefan can walk around all day dressed like Prince freaking Charming, I think I can handle a pair of ears."

Elena feels the proverbial lightbulb turn on in her head, and steps foreword to wrap her arms around Damon, looking up at him with her most teasing smile.

"Oh, so it's a brother rivalry thing, is it? Want me to steal you a costume so you can prove you're man enough to dress up?"

She feels Damon's arms come around her, but she's distracted by the serious look that's come into his eyes.

"You know it's not just that right? I'd do anything to make you happy, Elena, regardless of Stefan or anyone else. And matching ears that show everyone that we're together and let them know how much I love you? Well, what is there to complain about that?"

She takes a minute, standing there in Damon's arms, to thank every lucky star in the sky that led her here, standing in a cheesy Disney World gift shop with the man she loves more than life, listening to his heartfelt words, before surging forward to kiss him, smiling against his lips as his arms tighten to pull her closer to him. She takes another minute after they break apart to stay with her arms around Damon, her head tucked securely under his chin, before turning to smile up at him.

"Okay, so matching ears it is, but not Aurora and Maleficent."

"Whatever you say, beautiful. Who are you thinking then?"

His playful smile is back and Elena could spend forever gazing into those eyes, but she spots something over Damon's shoulder that catches her attention.

"I think I've found the perfect ones! Look over here!"

She's already halfway across the store, pulling Damon along behind her to stand in front of a different display of ears, pulling off a pair to position on Damon's head before grabbing the matching pair for herself.

"You're right, these are perfect."

Damon chuckles a little darkly as he adjusts the ears Elena has chosen for him, all brown fur and blue silk and gold trim,

"You're definitely a beauty, and I've always been a beast."

The light that had come into Elena's eyes upon finding the ears hardens a little, and she stops in her adjustment of her own ears, all yellow silk and sequins and roses, to stare him down. "You are like the beast, but not in the way you're thinking."

"Is there another way to think of beast than as the obvious synonym for monster?"

And as much as he has been trying to hide it, Damon can't help some of the bitterness that leaks into his voice, and not even Elena can quite bring his smile back, even as her hands tilt his face down to meet her eyes.

"You are not a monster. You are a prince, an amazing, thoughtful, caring, loving, prince, who was beat down and hardened by a world that turned its back on him, and just needed to be reminded of who he really is by his friends"

"His friends, and a lovely princess who somehow managed to never give up on him despite having more than enough reasons to."

Damon's smile is back, and any bitterness is gone as he gently straightens Elena's ears before smoothing back her hair and cupping her face in his hands.

"I will never know what I did to deserve you."

"Well do you want to keep wondering, or do you want to kiss me?"

"I definitely want to kiss you."

And he does, for probably longer than is appropriate for the middle of Disney World, before Elena finally breaks away.

"Okay, as happy as I would be doing this all day, we should probably pay for these before everyone else starts wondering where we are."

Damon is about to protest, but he catches a glimpse of them in the mirror next to display, with their ears that make them a perfectly matched set, and he finds that he doesn't quite mind the idea of leaving anymore.

"Okay, c'mon. I have a princess to show off."

And the joyful laugh that Elena lets out as he pulls her from the store makes every cent spent on crazy ears worth it, to see the girl he loves so happy and to be reminded just how far he has come since the day he first stepped foot back in Mystic Falls.

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In a surprising turn of events, Alaric is not the one grumbling. In fact, Alaric is feeling quite pleased with himself and is coming around to the idea that maybe Disney World isn't the most terrible idea. It is everyone else that seems to have lost the "happiest place on earth" vibes.

"Oh, come on guys, it wasn't that bad."

Maybe he is being a little smug, but hasn't everyone been telling him to get in the spirit of Disney since they got there? The way Alaric sees it, they really have no right to complain if his happiness comes at their expense, beggars and choosers and all that.

"You couldn't had even tried to hold back a little? Just a tiny bit? Enough to maintain your air of superiority without completely obliterating us?"

Even Damon, who has managed to stay mellow through the whole trip, can't quite hide the annoyance that is tightening his jaw and adding an edge to his voice. Petty as it may be, Alaric finds himself enjoying it. He glances around, enjoying the varying degrees of facial expression on his friends, from the slightly miffed look on Elena's face all the way to Damon, who is attempting to take deep calming breaths per Elena's instructions, and Enzo, who he can hear whispering to Bonnie about how it must be rigged and how he wasn't born for this age of technology as she tries her hardest not to laugh at him.

Elena is the first to break what has become a contemplative silence within the group, starting with a tentative, "Well I guess we shouldn't be too surprised; we all know Alaric's a great shot."

"Yeah, for shooting wooden bullets at vampires! This is totally different!"

Alaric lets out the chuckle he's been holding since he turned to see his friends’ faces.

"And what exactly is different about it, Damon? It's all shooting, and the way I see it, the only real difference is if you miss a virtual alien target it won't jump out of the screen and snap your neck."

"Yeah, but I mean— come on man, it's a Toy Story ride at Disney World. We figured we'd wait in line for too long, talk a little shit, try to hit each other's targets, and maybe make out in the carts as they move between sets. Not have our asses handed to us every round by Alaric Saltzman, vampire hunter extraordinaire."

"What can I say? I can't help that I'm an amazing shot."

Alaric has reached full cat-that-got-the-canary levels of smug grinning, and it only gets worse as Damon turns back to Elena, muttering a dark, "well you could have tried harder," to which Enzo gives an agreeable nod.

There are another few moments of quiet as Damon and Enzo grumble about their wounded pride, first to their respective girlfriends and, upon receiving inadequate sympathy, to each other. Stefan and Caroline seem to have gotten over their initial surprise and are now asking Lizzie and Josie about what ride they want to go on next, and it only takes a few more moments before Elena, ever the pacifier, chimes back in.

"Well we did say Alaric could pick a ride this time, so we shouldn't complain if he picked one more... suited to his particular... talents."

Alaric is thinking he must look pretty weird with his Cheshire Cat grin, but honestly, in this moment, he just can't bring himself to care.

"So congratulations Alaric, you officially blew us all away in Toy Story Midway Mania. We all know who to call if small plastic aliens attack. Now I know some of us are more than happy to stay here and whine—"

The vagueness of Elena's statement is completely invalidated by the fact that she is looking pointedly as the still sullen Damon and Enzo.

"But, we do have more things that we want to do, so let's all pick up our jaws from the ground and get moving!"

Once again, Alaric is just a little bit amazed at the power sweet, human Elena manages to hold over them, as the entire group immediately begins gathering their things and moving back into the flow of people. As they make their way through the park, Alaric finds Elena by his side. She leans in closer to him so that only the two of them, and any nosy vampires, could hear what she says.

"I know this trip has been kind of stressful and that amusement parks and big crowds like this aren't really your thing, but I just wanted to thank you for being such a good sport about this Rick. And I'm glad you're finally having fun."

Alaric finds himself once again marveling at Elena's skill to turn even the most trivial moment heartfelt with just a few words, and finds himself speaking quickly to reassure her.

"I am having fun, Elena! I have been having fun. I just also have my guard up here, and it makes any enjoyment harder to see. But I like spending time with all of you without worrying about something trying to kill us, and I know the girls are having a great time. So don't worry, I'm glad I came."

Elena seems satisfied with his answer, and wanders off to talk to Caroline and Bonnie. Alaric thinks about what he'd said, mostly to appease Elena, but taking a moment to really think about the trip so far— all of the things they have seen and done, the looks of joy on his daughters' faces, all the shenanigans he has gotten into with these crazy people he loves, as well as his truly spectacular score on the Toy Story ride— and he realizes that maybe he hadn't been lying quite as much as he had thought.

******************************************************************************
Of all the issues and snafus and disasters Caroline had imagined, she could honestly say this one had never crossed her mind.

"Stefan? Are you ok?"

Her tone is soft, attempting to soothe what has become the stiff, frozen form of her husband.
"Mmm hmm. I'm good."

It takes just about everything in her not to scoff at the blatant lie, obvious in Stefan's clenched jaw and the hard look in his eyes.

"Are you sure about that? Because if your grip gets any tighter you're going to break off chunks of the cart."

"It's… fine… I'm… fine."

She allows herself an eye roll, since Stefan is too preoccupied staring straight ahead and tensing every muscle in his body to see her.

"Okay, well can you see how I might be having a hard time believing you, given your current state?"

She looks at him, wanting some kind of explanation but preparing for another deflection, but all she gets is a tight lipped grunt, as the little cart they are sitting in finally ticks itself to the top of the track. She watches incredulously as Stefan squeezes his eyes closed and his lips move silently in what she could almost call a prayer. She glances around at all the open space around them, the ground so far below, and suddenly it clicks.

"Oh my god, Stefan— are you afraid of heights?"

He doesn't turn to look at her, but his eyes open again, flicking all around them, and he has time only to give a curt nod before the brief reprieve is ended by their cart turning to hurtle down the track.

Afterwards, Stefan denies to any and everyone that he was scared, and though Caroline is pretty sure everyone within a mile radius of Expedition Everest was deafened by his screams, she refuses to comment to the group, and only later over a bottle of wine with Elena and Bonnie does she recount how she spent the entire ride trying to calm him down and had to help him off after.
It's not until they are cleaning up for the night that anyone notices the dent marks in the shapes of fingers on one of the Expedition Everest carts, and when no one can figure out what could have caused them, they become a bit of legend among the Animal Kingdom cast members.

******************************************************************************

"I guess I just don't understand why all these people are willing to give themselves acute claustrophobia just to see some fireworks."

"It's not just fireworks, Damon. It's Wishes. It's like the  firework show. And don't talk about 'these people' as if you didn't agree to come with us."

Damon has to admit Elena's got a point— he was pretty incapable of putting up a fight when she looked at him with those big brown eyes of her and told him just how
Special Wishes would be and how much it would mean to her  if they could all watch it together.

"I don't know, Elena, I agreed to come to make the most amazing girl in the world happy. They just came to see the lights in the sky."

"Well you're here now, so you might as well enjoy it. Here, let me fix your ears."

She has to stand on her toes to reach the top of his head, adjusting the Beast ears they had bought earlier before ruffling his hair back into place. He reaches to straighten one of the roses on her matching Beauty ears, letting his hand fall to the cap sleeve of the yellow sun dress she had changed into for the night before sliding down her arm to tangle their fingers together. They stand like that, sharing a secret smile and slowly inching closer together until they are interrupted by a cry of, "Damon! Elena!"

They turn to see the rest of their friends making there way towards them: Caroline with a twin's hand in each of hers, with Stefan forging a path ahead for them, Alaric with hands full of snacks and glow toys for the girls bought at one of the many street stands, and Bonnie and Enzo bringing up the rear hand in hand as they waved down Damon and Elena. Their arrival is just in time, for as the two groups finally combine, the lights begin to go out to signal the start of the show. Damon, preoccupied with wondering whether it would be inappropriate to still try to kiss Elena, does not notice the twins becoming upset about not being able to see until Alaric turns to him.

"Damon, you're tall."

"Yes Rick, a thrilling observation; thank you."

"Here, hold Lizzie."

Damon has exactly zero seconds to protest or prepare before Alaric is lifting the three year old up and onto his shoulders, making sure she's steady before letting her go and repeating the process with Josie on his own shoulders.

"Um, Rick?"

"What? Oh, don't look at me like that Damon; you'll be fine. Just let her sit up there so she can see the fireworks."

Damon does his best to wipe what he can feel is a slightly horrified expression off of his face to focus on keeping Lizzie safe. She squirms a little to try to get a better view, and he is careful to keep her steady as he helps her adjust.

"Don't worry, Lizzie, I won't let you fall."

He really means it too— he would do just about anything to keep these kids from harm, even with the limited interactions he's had with them. He is, however, a little surprised to feel a small hand come down and pat him on the shoulder.

"I know, Uncle Damon. You'll keep me safe."

He can feel his mouth form a little O of surprise, but just can't bring himself to care. Uncle Damon — he likes the sound of it, almost as much as when he imagines a kid with Elena's looks and her big heart calling him Dad. When he turns to Elena, her gooey smile tells him she's thinking the same thing. She takes the few steps to close the distance between them, laying a hand on his arm and conveying everything he's thinking— how much this simple title means to him, their hopes for the future for a family of their own— with just the soft look in her eyes.
The moment is broken as a voice starts booming through the speakers announcing the start of the show, and Lizzie's little pink sneakers starts kicking on his chest to get his attention.

"Turn around, turn around! We're gonna miss Tinker Bell!"

As he turns around, Damon catches sight of all of the people here with them, their friends who are really family: Alaric holding Josie up, Stefan with his arms around Caroline, Bonnie and Enzo holding hands, and Elena standing next to him and talking up to Lizzie about the coming show. He thinks about the little girl up on his shoulders and the woman he loves standing next to him, and he can't help but picture coming to Disney again in the future, years from now, bringing everyone back, and maybe a few new members of the family as well.

******************************************************************************

"We found Alaric. He passed out in Japan. Any update on Damon?"

"No. I'm in France right now, but there's no sign of him."

"He still won't answer his phone?"

"No, he probably dropped it the river at some point."

"Okay, well me and Stefan are gonna bring Rick back to the hotel. Are you okay to keep looking on your own?"

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head towards the entrance, see if they can track his wristband or something."

"Good luck. Text me any updates."

"Thanks Caroline. Take care of Rick."

Elena sighs as she hangs up her phone and slides it back into her pocket. She takes one last glance around France before starting her walk towards the entrance, silently cursing her boyfriend and his drinking habits.

"Me and Alaric need some guy time, he said. Just a few drinks. Yeah sure, until you decide to try to drink around the world in two hours. Idiots."

She had been more than willing to let Damon go out with Alaric— she was not-so-secretly-happy that Damon had a friend he could go out drinking with, and with all the big group family fun they had both been dragged to all week, she thought they deserved a night to themselves. That was, of course, until Damon drunk dialed her an hour after they had left to announce their triumph in making their way halfway through the Drink Around the World, a challenge that a quick google search revealed as an attempt to have one drink in all of Epcot's eleven countries, usually over the course of a ten hour day. From there Elena had recruited Caroline and Stefan, who had been planning to have a quiet evening at the Boardwalk across the river from the hotel once the twins went to sleep, into an impromptu search party to recover their drunk friends before they could do something drastic and get them all banned from the park. With Alaric returned, she hopes Caroline and Stefan can resume their evening plans, even as she kisses goodbye her hope to order room service and spend the night reading on the balcony until Damon came back, instead resigning herself to a night of wandering Disney World in the hope that he will eventually stumble into her path. As Elena makes her way out of the World Showcase, she tries not to worry about the radio silence coming from Damon and finds herself hoping that he hasn't followed his cell phone down to the bottom of the river. Shaking her head, she banishes the thought from her mind, reassuring herself that Damon is fine. If he has managed to survive a prison world and hellfire and everything else they had been through then there is no way the great Damon Salvatore will be taken down at Disney World. No, he will turn up eventually. He might be horribly drunk or hung over, and he might have ended up sleeping in a bush, but he will be there, she knows it. Feeling a little better, she rounds the Epcot Ball, beginning to walk faster with her renewed purpose, until the sound of a very familiar voice singing at the top of its lungs has her stopping short.

"There's nothing else I can DOOOO! Cause I'm doing it ALL for eLEna!!!!! I don't want anyone NEW! Cause I'm living it ALL for eLEna!!!!!"

After confirming the he isn't standing near her, Elena follows the sound of the voice up, up, up, all the way to the top of the Epcot ball, where there he is: her crazy, stupid boyfriend, who has somehow managed to make it to the top drunk off his ass, and is now serenading her.  

"There's nothing in it for YOU! Cause I'm giving it ALL to eLEna!!!!!!"

Glancing around, Elena thanks her lucky stars that most of the people visiting Disney are in bed by this time, and anyone still here is more likely to be finishing dinner in one of the countries than wandering Future World, leaving the area practically deserted. Having confirmed that there isn't a crowd forming, she turns her attention back to Damon.

"You know those aren't the right words, right?"

She isn't even sure he could hear her yelling all the way up there, but the halt in singing tells her that her words have reached him.

"It's supposed to be all for Leyna, not Elena!"

"Well I made it better, just for you baby!"

Elena sighs at his addressing of her, for though Damon is quite the fan of nicknames, he only breaks out baby when he is really wasted. Abandoning the discussion of proper song lyrics, she turns her attention to getting him down on the ground before he is arrested by park security or took a wrong step and ends up taking the short route down.

"Okay, well then why don't you come down and say hi to me?"

"Why don't you come up here? The view’s beautiful, baby. You'd love it!"

Another sigh, because drunk Damon is still stubborn Damon, and they really need to get out of here before someone notices.

"Well you know what else has a great view? Our hotel room. It also has chairs and food and a balcony with a railing that you're allowed to be on."

"Aww, but that's so boring. C’mon Elena, be crazy. Have some fun!"

"Yeah, well, what's really going to boring is sitting in an airport tomorrow if we get kicked out of Disney and have to get a flight home. So why don't we be crazy here on the ground where it's not illegal and I don't have to worry about you falling to your death."

"Don't you worry about me, baby; the great Damon Salvatore has perfect balance."

And Elena really wishes she could slap him as he sticks out his arms and lifts up his right foot to prove just how steady he is. Whether it's a sudden breeze or just his severe level of intoxication, he stumbles and comes so close to the edge that there's a moment where Elena really thinks that this is it, Damon will meet his end falling from the top of the Epcot Ball in Disney World, before he manages to regain his footing. Maybe his close call with death has sobered him up a bit, or maybe the true fear that overshadowed the annoyance in Elena's voice when she screamed his name has knocked some sense in him, but when he looks down to meet her eyes again, he seems a little more grounded in reality.

"Okay. I think I'll come down now."

Elena feels her whole body sag in relief, and a few minutes later, when he is there standing in front of her, she forgets her previous aggravation and throws her arms around him, happy to have him back on solid ground.

Of course this relief lasts only until she starts trying to lead him out of the park and discovers that he is, in fact, still horribly drunk. Anyone still lingering in Epcot gets a taste of his new favorite song as he begins to serenade her again, still refusing to sing the correct words as he weaves his way through the park. As they finally near the hotel he falls silent, and Elena takes the opportunity to slide her arm around his waist, and holding him steady next to her she can almost pretend that they are just out for a romantic walk.

She feels Damon lean down to whisper directly into her ear.

"Elena?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

And god, he knows just how to make her melt, staring at her with those big blue eyes and his little happy smile and cupping her face in his hand.

"I love you too. Now come on, let's get you to bed so you can be conscious in the morning when you and Alaric get a talking to."

His hand falls from her face as he groans, and Elena can't contain her laugh as she leads them back to the hotel.

******************************************************************************

Stefan has to admit that this is a side of his wife he's never seen before.

"I don't know why you're looking at me like that, Stefan. You know I'm a Star Wars fan."

"Well, yeah, but not to this level."

There's a hard glint in Caroline's eyes, and Stefan is really wishing he had kept whatever look it was that offended her to himself.

"And what level is that, exactly?"

There is no correct answer to this question, Stefan admits to himself with defeat, and no way out other than to power through and hope that Caroline doesn't stay mad at him for too long.

"I don't know— just the dress, and the hair, and everything…  it's not bad! Just surprising…”

He takes her face in his hands and presses a kiss to her lips, hoping to distract her from whatever lingering anger she is holding onto.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. You look beautiful, Princess."

He gives her a little smirk at the title, but is happy to see the annoyed crinkle in her brow smooth out as she gives up the last of her anger.

"Technically, Leia is a general now. She's leading the Resistance against the First Order despite the fact that she's already fought in the Rebellion and her son is one of the leaders in the First Order because she is the most strong, incredible, bad ass women there is."

Stefan can see it now as he listens to her talk. He can see how much she values this fictional space princess, who fought against evil time and time again and managed to never be beat down by even the worst circumstances. Looking at in in this light, he finds that he doesn’t mind Caroline's enthusiasm one bit.

"Well, regardless, you look beautiful."

And it was true she did. In a white dress Stefan had never seen before, all long trumpet sleeves and a knee length hem that swishes when she walks, loose and flowing except for the thin silver belt at her waist, he is tempted to tell her she looked more like an angel than a space princess, but is afraid it might incur more of Caroline's wrath. So he settles for a smile instead, smoothing back a piece of hair that had come loose from one of the buns secured on either side of her head.

"I might have used the hair extensions the girls got from their princess costumes to have enough hair for the buns."

He smooths his thumb over the blush that colors her cheeks at the confession.

"Well, they look great. Now come on General, let's go meet some Jedi."

******************************************************************************

"I mean, I could just compel the staff to let us stay…"

"No… that would be wrong."

And though Elena's moral compass remains intact, even she seems reluctant to shoot down Caroline.

"I don't know, Elena, what harm could just a couple more days do? We wouldn't bother anyone, just sit here like this. You're telling me you don't want that?"

As he speaks Damon drapes himself next to Elena on her beach chair, resting his arm over her stomach and nuzzling his face into her hair.

"Damon, mooooove. You're gonna make my tan uneven!"

"Oh, an uneven tan? That's your biggest concern? Really?"

"Damon, NO!"

Elena's cries do nothing to stop Damon as his fingers find the bare skin of her stomach, her anger dissolving into laughter at the unrelenting tickling of her boyfriend.

"Oh, get a room you two."

Elena gets a reprieve from Damon as Stefan returns and fixes his brother with a smirk as Stefan hands Caroline one of the piña coladas in his hands.  

"Sure little brother. As if we all didn't see you feeling up Blondie in the pool earlier."

"Please don't talk like that in front of my children, Damon. And let Elena up; you're crushing her."

"Not until she agrees that we can stay!"

Even as he speaks Damon flops over to lie next to Elena, fixing Alaric with his biggest pout as he helps Lizzie and Josie dry off from the pool.

"Don't you want to stay, Rick?"

Whatever support he's hoping to get from Alaric, he receives only a raised eyebrow. Realizing he is severely outnumbered, Damon turns to his last line of defense, who have just returned from the pool grill hand and hand.

"Enzo, Bon Bon, you don't want to go home do you? Back to Mystic Falls where there's no pool and no room service?"

Caroline has a definite smirk on her face as she turns to address the newcomers through the reflective lenses of her oversized sunglasses.

"Well I know Bonnie doesn't want to leave, what with all those romantic evenings sneaking away to Paris with Enzo."

"Caroline!"

"What? All I'm saying is I'm sure you wouldn't mind another day or two."

"Why? Are we allowed to stay?"

Elena raises her head from where she had appeared to be asleep on the lounge chair just in time to cut off Damon and Caroline's no doubt affirmative response.

"No. We are not. These two just wanted to break the rules and we are not encouraging them, right?"

Bonnie suddenly remembers just how her best friend managed to survive so many years of vampire craziness as a human as she finds herself caught in a glare that, even from over the top of sunglasses, lying on a beach chair, makes Bonnie want to shiver in the heat.

"No, of course not; we would never, right Enzo?"

She can tell Enzo wants to whine a little bit about staying longer, but a quick elbow to the stomach has him reassuring Elena that no, they would never condone that kind of action.

"Good. Well now that that's settled, I suggest we savor the time we have left. Stefan, I see you've gotten you and Caroline piña coladas. I'm assuming you just couldn't carry all of ours at once, so why don't you go get those and we can all enjoy them in the pool after the girls have more sunscreen on. All right?"

Elena, still managing to command the entire group from her tanning position, reaches a foot out to nudge Damon, who has collapsed next to her in defeat.

"C'mon Damon, get up. This is the last chance you're gonna have for a while to see me in a bikini so you might as well make the most of it."

"Well when you put it like that..."

Damon slowly pulls himself up to standing, reaching out a hand to help Elena up. She stretches, before pulling her hair back into a ponytail and taking one of the drinks Stefan has just returned with. She smiles at Damon and lets him wrap his arms around her as they wait for their friends to get ready. Caroline stashes away the book she was reading, Alaric finishes rubbing sunscreen onto the girls’ faces, Bonnie and Enzo shed their coverups and they all grab drinks from Stefan before making their way into the pool, ready to enjoy the cool water and cloudless sun while they still could.

As they all settle into a corner of the shallow end, Elena lets her head fall on Damon's shoulder, tilting her face to whisper in his ear.

"You know if we could I would stay, right? With all the people we love, and no one trying to kill us— I'd stay here forever."

Perhaps it's the spirit of Disney seeping into him, or the fact that he totally understands what Elena is saying, but Damon finds himself feeling a little optimistic.

"Well who knows, maybe it can still be like this at home. I mean look at everyone: Caroline and Stefan are married, Alaric's got kids, Bonnie and Enzo are together, you're here with us. Maybe the worst times are behind us, and we can finally start living our lives."

"Yeah, maybe. But even if not, at least we had this time all together, and so happy."

Damon combs his fingers absentmindedly through Elena's hair and follows her gaze as she turns to look at all their friends, smiling and laughing and happy here in a pool at Disney World, so far from all of the problems and memories that await them at home.

"Yeah. At least we had this time."