a 'huh, Stefan is making Stefan/Caroline so shippable to me'

Oh, interesting! This hasn't occurred to me at all, mostly because I don't see these kinds of intentions and cues in either actor's performance, especially in the context of a show where signals are not generally subtle -- think Damon re: Elena, think Jeremy re: Bonnie, think Tyler re: Caroline, and so on.

h it would be interesting if the reason that Stefan is reacting that way is because he only has pure friendship feelings and that if he were romantically interested, his behavior might change

*nod* I believe that's a good part of it. (But haven't read the books, or read spoilers for the show, so this opinion may be jossed in no time flat, given the pacing of TVD.)

I always tend to be more interested in shipping couples that develop a friendship first (which is probably likely also part of the reason that I prefer Damon/Elena to Stefan/Elena).

Does anyone prefer Stefan/Elena to Damon/Elena? *ggg* I get that; it's possibly my favourite dynamic ever, friends to lovers, although more often than not, shows prefer to break my heart with the execution, see Fringe for the latest example...