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luvrxbunny · 9 months

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his favorite taste

Pairing: Vampire!Bf!Eddie Munson x F!Reader

Summary: Eddie tastes you for the first time.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, dry humping, blood, blood consumption, vampires, cum in pants(?) (lmk if I forgot anything)

WC: 3.7k

A/N: I’m going based on TVD vampires so Eddie has blood and a beating heart as long as he replenishes it with human blood. Also, I think I got possessed while writing this idek if its coherent

You’re lying in bed facing Eddie, admiring his face, how much he still looks the same. Even though he isn't.

It’s been about a month since Eddie came back, different. He’s a vampire… when you boil it down. He just doesn’t like the term, he thinks it’s silly. In the month he’s been back he has explained everything to you, what happened to him, his new urges and needs. You know he goes out once a week to feed, he never told you when and he never lets you see his fangs but you’ve memorized his patterns. The only day he’s always too busy to come over is Sunday.

It’s Saturday and Eddie is lying in your bed. You're high. He still rolls for you, despite now being immune to the effects. He likes to watch you smoke, watch you get sluggish, sweet, soft, and sensitive for him. He’s watching you as you admire his face, as you bring your hand up to trace over his cheek, down his jawline, and to his lips.

You’re motions are mindless, you’re barely aware that you’re doing them. You imagine what his fangs look like as your fingers trace the outline of his lips. Your thumb comes to press into his inner lip when his breathing picks up.

He’s more sensitive. He forgot to mention that to you. His senses are heightened and amplified by one another. He is hyper-aware of your warm fingers against his cold lips. He even gets a whiff of the blood that's rushing underneath. His breathing kicks up for a moment, trying to fill his lungs with the scent before he stops his breath short. His fangs are trying to push their way through his gums, his instincts shouting at him to sink his teeth into your soft, plush thumb. He knows you’d taste so sweet, he could probably get a nice buzz going too, with how much weed is in your system. He squeezes his eyes shut as he wills his fangs to stay in place, pretending like he can’t already feel them pressing against his top lip.

His lips start to tremble against your fingers and confusion crosses your face. Then you feel his fangs press against his lip, pushing it into your finger. You gasp softly and push your thumb up into his mouth to press your thumb against his fangs. You’re excited, your curiosity causing you to move before you think.

He can feel your fingers on his fangs. He feels the ridges of your fingerprint sliding over the smooth bone. It shoots like lightning through him sending the little bit of blood he has left to his cock. His eyes are pressed shut as he tries not to move a muscle.

You aren’t considering Eddie at all. This isn't about him. It’s about you exploring his new features. They’re longer than you expected, white and glossy with his spit. You smile as you run your fingers from the bottom of his front teeth, across to press against the point of his fangs.

You don't think about how sharp his fangs must be.

He punctures your thumb immediately, red blood pooling on the surface.

It drips into his mouth and his eyes snap open. He grips your hand roughly, pressing your wrist against his face to hold your thumb where it is while he sucks all the blood he can from the wound. He can’t think. He can’t think about how he might be hurting you, how he shouldn’t be drinking you up like this. He can only think about your taste.

You watch his eyes shut tightly as he moans against your thumb. His lips are wrapped around you firmly as he sucks as hard as he can. You watch him gain color, his lips becoming pink again, he whimpers out something that sounds like a sob before pulling your hand away from his face, and shoving it back down against your stomach. The way he forces you, the way his hand spreads over your stomach past your wrist, has you dampening your panties.

Eddie’s eyes are still closed as he tries to calm down. He’s hungry, and he knows that you’re more than willing to feed him. He opens his eyes slowly to find you staring right at his lips. He goes to lick them subconsciously but a moan slips out when he’s met with more of your blood. It has your eyes snapping to his.

He looks into your eyes trying to decipher how you’re feeling, if you’re scared of him. He watches you bite your lip and smile softly at him before asking an innocent question. “Do I taste good, Eddie?”

He knows it’s a genuine question but he also knows that you hoped it would do something to him. His fangs peek out from under his lips when he gasps before he buries his face in your pillows and groans. You’re giggling at him and yourself, the weed still coursing through your system. You bury your face in the pillow you’re on to try and silence your laugh, Eddie, and feel it. He can hear your laugh right next to his ear while he’s mulling over what you said. It has him hard and grinding his hips gently into your bed, wishing he had put on some boxers.

You lift your head to look at his curls. You stroke them gently and he groans into your pillow again before turning over to see you, his fangs hidden away once more. You’re still smiling at him with all your sweetness and it makes his heart skip a beat. “Why’re you asking me things like that baby?”

Heat rises to your face and your features turn embarrassed. This piques Eddie’s interest. He sits up in your bed, waiting for you to answer his question. You look at your bedsheets, twisting them under your fingers while you consider how to answer him. In the end, you choose; honestly.

“I just… Okay so obviously I don’t know what blood tastes like. I don’t know if different blood has different flavors to you or if maybe the flavors are based on blood type?” Eddie has confusion resting on his face as he wonders if your answer leads anywhere. He’s nodding at you nonetheless, not wanting you to get insecure about what you’re saying. He likes this when you’re high enough that you’re not making a lot of sense to him but making perfect sense to yourself. You’re so cute like this, looser. Your secrets tend to spill out this way.

“Do you know what I mean? I just-” You huff out, frustrated and unable to explain yourself. He is so in love. He’s trying to hold back a smile at the pout that’s settled on your lips. “It’s okay baby. Just think about what you wanna say.”

Eddie holds your hand, his thumb stroking over it while he watches your eyebrows press together in deep thought before you start speaking again. “I just don’t understand why you don’t just feed off me..." His thumb halts its movements and you start to shrink into yourself.

Eddie is breathing deeply while considering your question. His thumb starts moving again, releasing a breath of relief from you. He knows that you think about it. He can hear your heart speed up every time he goes near your neck, even when he’s kissing your hands. He’s even thought about it. He thinks about it all the time. He knows you taste good. He wants to have your blood pouring into his mouth every time he sees you.

Unfortunately, he has zero trust in himself. Every time he thinks about tasting you, his amount of excitement stops him. He doesn’t trust that he has the amount of restraint he would need to exert to stop, he is terrified that he’ll suck you dry.

“I’m a little dangerous, baby. I’m stronger than you remember? You- you wouldn’t be able to push me off”

The heat that rushes to your core surprises you a bit.

Eddie can hear your heart speed up and it hurts, the split second that he assumes you’re scared of him feels like a lifetime. Then he feels you trying to push your way into his lap, and lets you. You place yourself on top of his thighs lightly before scooting up to sit your core directly above his. You sigh softly when Eddie’s boner presses into you perfectly. Your arms wrap around his waist before you look back up at him.

“I think I’d really like it.” Your words are starting to slur, it's late, and you’re high and unbelievably turned on. “You sucking my blood, I mean. I think it would feel really good, Eddie.” He’s twitching insanely from the confines of his pajama pants. He cannot believe the words coming out of your mouth. You won’t look at him, like you’re embarrassed by what you’re confessing like you don’t know what it's doing to him. You’re idly twisting your fingers into the fabric of his wife beater, your hips moving against him subconsciously. His hand comes you tilt your chin up so that you’re looking at him. The love, innocence, and arousal in your eyes take his breath away.

“I think you might. Uh, but-” He can’t focus. You're looking up at him with such admiration. You want him to drink you up so badly he can’t handle it. “Um. I- if we do,”

Your eyes widen and you press yourself against him harder, leaning into him, your chest pressing against his which is rumbling in laughter right now. “I said if, sweetheart. If we do, I cannot have your neck, that’s… It’ll be too much for me, all that blood flow..” He trails off as his gaze concentrates on the junction of your neck. He takes a steadying breath before tearing himself away, refocusing. “It’s just too easy for me to.. drain you from there.” He rushes the last part out, embarrassed at his lack of restraint.

You’re looking into his eyes as he speaks and looks back into yours. You’re trying to get your brain to work, to focus on more than the way Eddie is pressing into your core, the way his breath is hitting your face as he speaks, and the way he’s looking at you. You can see the ghost of a smile on his lips as he watches you try and rally the few stray thoughts you have left in your head. You focus as much as you can and offer him your only idea. “My wrist?”

He thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head at you, hurting your little heart in the process. “Still a vein baby, too much flow.” His sentences shorten as he gets dragged into your pool of yearning. An idea finally dawns on him. He twitches in his pants at the thought of actually being able to consume you. “Your hand- I can- It’ll run dry on its own”

You started nodding before he could even finish his sentence, your hand right in front of his face by the time it ended. He can feel the warmth coming off you. His gaze cautiously shifts from your eyes to your shaky hand. He can smell the blood underneath and his mouth is watering at the prospect of sinking his teeth into it. He pulls your hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss against your palm before wrapping his hand around your wrist.

You wait, buzzing in his lap, for him to put his mouth on you. Your hand rests over his mouth gently, your thumb on his chin and your elbow hovering over his shoulder. Eddie’s eyes are closed lightly as you hear him inhale the scent emitting from your palm. His lips press against your palm as you feel his fangs slide out underneath them. His eyebrows are curved inward as he looks back into your eyes, he’s scared.

You bring your other hand over the side of his face, stroking along his jawline before coming behind his head to gently push his mouth against your hand. You watch him closely, looking into his eyes to watch for refusal. His eyes stay on yours as his trembling lips part for the meat at the base of your thumb. You press your hand into his mouth and Eddie whimpers against it before sinking his teeth in.

Pain shoots up your arm, tingling between your legs. Eddie’s eyes roll so far into his head that you see all white before his eyelids shut. He’s loud, groaning at your taste and moaning when his hips rock into yours. You watch him drink you up, he’s so messy, blood is all over his lips, smearing on the side of his mouth. You’re still stroking his hair as he devours you. You can feel your blood rushing like it’s all trying to get into Eddie. Your hips won’t stop moving against his as they buck into you.

He drinks all the blood that flows out of your wound and removes his teeth. A moan shoots out of your mouth when you see your blood all over his lips, all over his teeth, his fangs. He smiles down at where you’ve dropped your head against his shoulder and starts licking around his bite. He’s still looking at you as he does it, watching the way your eyelids flutter as you look up at him, so lovingly for someone who just bit you.

His gaze leaves you only when he stops getting blood from your wound, he wraps his lips around it delicately and sucks to get more. You feel his shoulders drop a bit in disappointment when nothing comes out. You drop that hand to his opposite shoulder from the one you’re on, and it comes behind to cradle his neck before pulling him in for a kiss that he rejects.

You sit up and look at him, upset, hazy, and confused. You’re met with his wild eyes and mildly apologetic face. “I still have your blood on my face baby.” He’s speaking in a hushed whisper as though the sentence were some revelation. “It’s my blood, Eddie.” You respond with an incredulous giggle, your arms tightening around him before attempting to kiss him again. Only for him to pull away, again. “Yeah but my- my fangs are still out and I’m- and it’s dangerous”

You clock the unfinished sentence regardless of his attempt to cover it up. You analyze his face, trying to figure out what he was going to say but to no avail. “You’re what Eddie?” Your tone is accusatory and he notices, his eyes leaving yours the moment you voice the question. You mull over his sentence again, “Dangerous?”

He turns his head away and you watch as his tongue nervously darts out to lick his lips, his eyelids flutter gently before his iris shoots to the corner of his eye, checking to see if you noticed. That’s when it clicks.

He’s still hungry.

As you think about it, of course he is. You don’t know how much he drinks from other people. You know that he’s holding back, that he’s scared, of course he wouldn't drink his fill. You’re still lost in thought when Eddie turns back to look at you, he waits for you to look up at him but you never do. “Can we just drop it?”

You look up at him with a smile that baffles him. You come up to kiss him on his cheek as he watches you expectantly, waiting for you to explain yourself.

“Your needs matter Eddie, you can’t keep them from me. I need to know what you need for me to give it to you and it’s so much easier if you tell me up front.” You bring your unwounded hand to his face and slide your thumb across his lips, gathering the smeared blood as best you can before pushing it into his mouth. He’s stock still as you press your thumb against his tongue, his only movement is his lips closing to suck up every drop. You hold his eye contact as you pull your thumb from his mouth and press your palm to his mouth. “I know you want more Eddie”

His eyes water as his lips begin to tremble against you once again. You bite into your lip when you feel Eddie harden up underneath you again, pressing up against your clit this time due to the way you’re angled toward him. His eyelids flutter when his clothed tip pushes up into your plush lips.

He keeps looking into your eyes as you press his head to your hand, as you did before. He’s holding back whimpers as he sinks his fangs into the soft skin of your hand. He feels your skin push, break, and slide against him. He can feel the gushing of your blood as it pushes through the puncture he’s made in your skin, he can feel the warmth as it surrounds his teeth, spilling into his mouth.

Eddie starts thrusting up into you like he can’t help it, his hands are on your lower back and hip, pressing you against him just the way he wants it. His eyes are on you as he continues to drink his fill, he’s tracking you’re reaction, the way your hips speed up when he presses his teeth harder into your wound.

He feels it, he’s getting high off your blood. His body getting more and more sensitive the longer he drinks you up.

You can feel your pussy leak into his pants, getting his cock wet with it when he twitches up into you. Your eyes slip shut as you begin to grind against him with purpose, feeling something starting to tighten in your stomach. You watch Eddie as he drinks down all the blood he can, moaning into your hand while looking right into your eyes. You hold his contact as you feel your climax build. Eddie can feel your muscles contracting over his cock and it has him spilling pre-cum through his pants and smearing on you. His lips finally part from your hand and he’s immediately kissing you.

You can taste copper on his lips, in his mouth as he moans into yours. He’s brought one hand up to push your face into his while he keeps the other on your lower back, guiding you against him. He’s pressing his face into your neck, inhaling your scent greedily. “Oh fuck. Thank you so much, baby. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

You moan lewdly into his ear while he expresses his gratitude, his hips thrusting up into your pussy like he’s fucking you. “Eddie,” You drag his name out into a whine in a way that has his hips stuttering against you and him moaning out into your neck. “Holy shit- Eddie I’m so close- fuck.”

He’s in his own world, grunting into you gruffly, his whole body tense as he chases his high. You can feel his mouth open in a silent moan before he’s shaking and cumming against you, his face still buried in your neck, eyes shut tight. He keeps pulling you over his cock as it pulses, he doesn’t have any rhythm but you just want him to feel good. You’re so close, right there, but you can’t get over the edge, and Eddie is going to be out of commission for the night. You almost accept your fate, that you’ll have to take one for the team but then you feel them. His fangs shoot out as he releases one last howling moan and goes limp on you.

You feel his fangs scrape over the skin of your neck, ever so slightly but it sets your whole body alight. Pleasure shoots up your spine, straightening your spine before you’re gripping Eddie with all the strength in your body. He moans and his hand comes around to toy with your clit. His mouth opens and filth come out.

“Such a good girl for me, baby. Letting me drink you all up, got you all messy in your panties in the process huh?”

He circles your clit once.

“Fuck you tasted so good too, like sipping on fucking juice, sweetheart. F- felt like I was gonna cum from the moment I could taste it.”

He presses his thumb against your clit, hard.

“You’ll let me do it again right? Your blood is my new favorite taste- shit, I might be addicted to you already, baby.”

You’re gushing. Your whole body is trembling in Eddie’s hold from the force of your orgasm. You slam your eyes shut as you moan around the syllables of his name. Your hips shove themselves against Eddie’s fingers and you whine for him while soaking your underwear.

Everything is fuzzy when you open your eyes again, you can hear Eddie cooing at you in your ear, he’s stroking his hand over the expanse of your back as the other one grips the back of your neck, holding you to him. You feel a rush of air and you’re sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Gotta stay hydrated, baby you uh, you lost a lot of blood.” He chuckles to himself nervously before grabbing the cup of water and holding it out for you. Your arms don’t attempt to move from where they’re wrapped around his neck, he’s so warm and you’re sure that glass is cold so what’s the point. You’re just staring at him with you’re adorable fucked out expression, he smiles fondly before holding the cup up to your lips for you. You take a few sips, drinking about a quarter of the cup before pulling away to collapse into Eddie. He whispers “Good job, baby.” before placing a kiss on your forehead.

Another rush of air and you’re back in bed, your head on Eddie’s chest with the blankets pulled up to your neck. You try to hide your smile as you realize this is the most of Eddie’s vampire side that he’s ever showed you.

“What are you thinking about? Can hear your heart racing.”

“Just about how much I love you.” You respond with a delirious giggle. “Every part”

You hear Eddie take a breath before he pulls you fully on top of him and kisses you stronger than he has in the past month. “I promise that I love you more, baby”

You drift to sleep as Eddie watches, all night.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading!! Please please please give any feedback you may have! I want it all!

#eddie munson x reader smut #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x female reader #stranger things #stranger things smut #luvrxsmut #luvrxfics

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mrs-kmikaelson · 9 months

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Should've Known Better

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x reader, Mikaelsons x sister-in-law!reader, Kol Mikaelson x reader (if you squint), Marcel Gerard x mother-figure!reader Summary: After a thousand years of marriage, everything comes crumbling down, taking you with it. But you shouldn't have been so surprised; you knew that Klaus was fire, and you knew that fire burned. You should've known better. Warnings: long, lots of angst and tears, cheating, (do i put tw for violence? like it's tvd, ofc there's violence), no promises of a happy ending Words: 7.8K

Masterlist | Part 2

a/n: not an update for the tribrid yet, but i come bearing a peace offering. this is the only one for now, but i have an idea for a part two if you guys want one. also, tell me if you want to be on just my klaus taglist or my tvdu one.

In the past, you’d been told that your relationship with Klaus didn’t make any sense. You ignored them. They don’t know us, you thought. They don’t understand what we’ve gone through. And that, for the most part, was true.

You were turned with the Mikaelsons when you were only twenty-one years old. You and Klaus had stuck together since then. Through all the trials and tribulations, you two were inseparable. The daggering of his siblings, the hunter’s curse, his enemies coming after you, trying to break his curse—you were there every step of the way. Nothing could make you leave him. In your mind, it didn’t matter what obstacle life threw at you; you’d beat it. You beat it every single time.

Later, you realized that you should’ve known this would happen sooner.

You should’ve known that it was too good to be true.

You could still remember walking into your shared apartment that day in the nineties. You were on top of the tallest mountain, feeling like you were on top of the world. Until suddenly you fell, plummeting down to the ground as the life you’d built fell with you. But that wasn’t the right word to use. You did not fall that day.

You were pushed.

“Nik, I got the-” you cut yourself off, dropping the bags in your hands to the ground. Something in them cracked, but you couldn’t hear a thing. Your world went silent; it was as if the only cracking you could hear was the cracking of your own heart.

Klaus quickly got up, speeding to you. While he was able to get his pants on quickly, there was nothing he could do to hide the blonde in his bed- your bed.

“Y/N, love, it’s not-”

“It’s not what, Klaus?” Tears that you didn’t even know were there raced down your cheeks. You saw him wince when you addressed him. You never called him that.

“This is not what it looks like.”

“Oh, really? So you didn’t just fuck this girl in our bed?” At that, his eyes went downcast. You felt your hands shake. He had no explanation to give you and you knew that; it wouldn’t matter if he had one, anyway. You weren’t gonna stick around to listen to it.

You sped out of your shared apartment as fast as you could, not caring if any human onlookers saw. That day, you swore to yourself that you were done.

You should’ve known better.

That day, you ended up running to Elijah, hoping he would give you refuge, but you knew now that it was wishful thinking. It didn’t matter that Klaus and Elijah were fighting. It didn’t matter how close you and the nobleman were, how much he claimed to care for you. At the end of the day, his brother would still mean more to him.

So, that same day, Elijah brought you right back to Klaus.

You refused to talk to him, but he begged, and begged, and begged. He promised, and promised, and promised. He showered you with affection and more sweet-nothings than he’d ever given you. So, you thought to yourself, he’s trying. He just made a dumb mistake. We all deserve second chances.

You kick yourself now for ever being so stupid. But, at the time, all you could think about was the centuries upon centuries of love the two of you shared. It felt like a crime to throw it all away over one mistake.

But it wasn’t just one mistake.

“Y/N, love, please don’t do this-” Klaus reached a hand out to grab your arm, but you shoved him away. You stormed out of the house, your husband following right behind you. It was pouring outside, but you didn’t care. There was a much more dangerous storm brewing inside of you. You’d prefer to be out in the rain than to ever be in that house with him again.

“Y/N, please-”

“Get the hell away from me.”

“Y/N-”

You spun on your heel and exploded, “Get the hell away from me, Klaus!” The rain hid it all so well, but you were both crying.

“Please, I can’t lose you.” You finally broke down, letting out a sob. You fell down to the ground as Klaus tried desperately to catch you, ending up kneeling on the ground next to you.

You tried to hard to be strong, not to cry, but you couldn’t help it. You were smart; you knew better than to let a man do this to you. But, when it came to Klaus, the man you’d spent your entire life with, your heart overpowered your head.

Your voice cracked with every word you spoke. “You said this would never happen again.”

“Love-”

“No, you promised me, Nik, you said never again.” He opened his mouth to speak, but you didn’t let him get a word in. “You said you would never put me through this again-”

“Y/N-”

“It’s been all of ten years, and here we are, in the same position you put us in last time-” You cut yourself off sobbing as your voice failed you. You buried your head in your hands. The heartbreak you felt was ineffable, so much more intense than the last time. When you said your vows all those years ago, so high on happiness, you never could’ve imagined that you’d one day feel like this—that Klaus would make you feel like this.

He didn’t say anything else. There was nothing to say. There was no defence for what he was doing to you. So instead, he wrapped his arms around you, and being tired, you let him.

It was funny, almost. Even as he engulfed you in his warmth, even after he took you inside and placed you by the fireplace, you still felt so cold.

After the second time, you left him. You woke up the morning after, wrapped in his arms, and you left without looking back. Leaving him almost hurt just as much as catching him in the act, but you knew this was what was best. You needed to do this.

This time, you didn’t go to Elijah. You cut off all communication with the Mikaelsons completely, even though they were both blowing up your phone. After the first fifty phone calls, you threw it in a dumpster.

Being away from Klaus made you feel better, but you still didn’t feel like you. For a long time, you felt broken, incomplete, so used. You didn’t know who you were without him. But you got better.

Slowly, you built yourself back up, building walls around your heart so that no one could ever do that to you again. But if Klaus was the big bad wolf, then you may as well have just been a little piggy because, when he found you, he blew those walls down effortlessly as if they were made of straw.

See, Klaus Mikaelson was like a whirlpool: try and swim away all you want, but he would just keep sucking you in until you’d eventually die.

You should’ve known better.

You walked into your apartment with a kick in your step. It was a good day; you were happy. But the smile on your face dropped when you saw the figure standing in your home.

You tried to go back out through the door, but Klaus was faster, speeding to you and closing it shut, caging you between the door and him. You let out a shaky breath, unable to turn around as you rested your forehead against the door, tears welling in your eyes.

It’d been three years since you last saw him, the longest you’d ever gone without seeing him, yet he still made you feel things that no one else on earth could.

For a moment, you were both mute until you broke the silence, whispering, “What are you doing here?”

You heard him swallow as if he was scared, but you were the one that was terrified. Klaus would never lay a hand on you, but he could hurt you in ways that were so much worse, so at that moment, you feared for your life. Because you knew that, with the right words, he could get you to fall into his trap again, and going through all this again would kill you.

“I-” he paused, like he was gathering his thoughts. You thanked whatever god was out there that he didn’t make you face him. “I knew you were here, I just- I wanted you to have time to yourself, but, Y/N, it’s time to come home now.”

Your lips quivered as you struggled to hold the tears. He made it sound like this was a game, and maybe to him it was, but it wasn’t like that for you. This wasn’t a break that you’d just “come back” from; you were done, you promised yourself that.

You shook your head, but Klaus spoke before you could even utter your protests. “I can break my curse.” Your eyes involuntarily went wide, not having expected that. You were just about to spin around, but he turned you first. As soon as your eyes met his, you couldn’t help the tear that fell down your face.

It was like you forgot how beautiful he could be.

He looked to be having somewhat of the same reaction as you, scanning over you as if couldn’t tell that you were real. And honestly, you even felt like pinching yourself, too.

His voice got softer. “There’s a girl in Virginia, the doppelgänger.” He paused to let you say something, but you were so taken aback by everything that’d happened after you stepped into your apartment that you were practically speechless. How ironic. You’d spent months agonizing over all you’d say to him if you ever saw him again, but now that you were, you had nothing to say.

“I am so close, Y/N,” he whispered. His hands cupped your cheek so gently that a stranger would’ve never guessed that this man had destroyed entire villages, that he even destroyed you, too. When he rested his forehead on yours, the tears that you were trying so hard to hold in came falling like your eyes were a waterfall. “I can- I can wake the rest of the family. Rebekah, Kol, Finn- I know how much you miss them all.”

Your heart tightened in your chest because you did miss them, but you forgot just how much you missed him.

“We can be a family again, Y/N.” You screwed your eyes shut. Your husband was a smart man. Whether the tears in his eyes were real or if he was just a great actor, you couldn’t be sure, but he knew exactly what your weak-spots were and he was using them against you.

This wasn’t fair, you thought. This wasn’t fair at all.

“Please, let us be a family again.” You opened your eyes, biting your lip to prevent the sobs from escaping. “I love you.” Oh, you should’ve kept your eyes closed. You should’ve sped out the door the second you saw him. You should’ve ran farther, tried harder to disappear so that he would’ve never found you.

But none of that mattered.

Because, just like that, you folded.

After a week, you ended up leaving with Klaus. You helped him with his plans to become a hybrid, and he was trying, you could tell he was really trying, but your marriage wasn’t the same. Whenever you kissed him, you couldn’t help but wonder, did she kiss him like this? When you made love, you wondered, was he so tender and loving with her, too? Were you even as special as he told you that you were?

There was only so much trying he could do. You knew the damage was done. You now had insecurities that no amount of sweet words could ever get rid of. You were such a confident woman, but you didn’t feel that way, not anymore.

Your mirror was cracked, sure, but you could still see yourself. You still saw a future, a bright future. You, Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, Kol, Finn—you could all be a family, just like Klaus told you that day. You could see it.

So you stayed.

Eventually, they were all woken up. For a while, things felt normal, like when you’d been human. But you were starting to learn that good things never lasted long enough.

When Esther came back, she tried to kill you all. You defeated her, as a family, but no matter how hard you tried to convince them, your siblings all left. This family’s broken, Kol said to you. You’d best get out while you can, Y/N.

You should’ve listened to him.

But you didn’t, and you’d later wonder if things would’ve been different. If you took Kol’s offer to come with him, to leave your husband and travel the world, then would you have been happy?

You tell yourself you’d never know, but you knew deep down that you would’ve been happy, that at least you wouldn’t have been devastated.

It was only you and Rebekah; you were the only ones that could stick by Klaus. In that way, you two were one in the same, two sides of the same coin. You’d always be living in the same hell, trying to get to heaven by being loyal to him, but little did you both know, the longer you stayed, the deeper down into hell you went. Until heaven was unobtainable.

For a while, things were okay. You and Klaus were okay—God, you were just getting to okay. And then Kol died.

That took the cake. Nothing you’d ever felt was so painful, not even what your soulmate did to you, or the man who was supposed to be your soulmate.

Suddenly, you were wishing you could turn back time, wishing you could’ve gone with Kol when he asked you to, wishing you could’ve spent more time with him—you just got him back.

After Kol’s death, it was like the idea of a family became unobtainable, too.

You were in pieces, but Rebekah stayed strong. She handled Klaus while you couldn’t, because wasn’t that your job? What else were you here for—what else were either of you here for?

You wanted to kill Jeremy Gilbert, to rip him and Elena to shreds and to make the Salvatores watch. You wanted them to feel even an inch of your pain, but Klaus didn’t let you, and you resented him for it.

The way he behaved after Kol’s death was unforgivable to you, but you were able to see past it because what was his death if it wasn’t a wake up call? You didn’t want to take this life for granted; you didn’t want to wake up one day, regretting not spending time with your husband because he was dead.

So you repaired the bond that was severed after Kol. You held him and he held you just as tight, if not tighter. Neither of you wanted to lose the other. So you worked for it, you worked for something better, you worked to be something like what you were before—to be anything like what you were before.

But, oh, you should’ve known better.

You didn’t walk in on Klaus cheating on you a third time. He confessed to you, tears in his eyes. He begged, and made promises, and begged, and begged, and cried, and cried, and he did the whole routine, but you were silent throughout it all.

You didn’t cry. You felt like your body was out of tears. God knows you’d cried an ocean away for Klaus, for this family, for the family you could’ve had.

You didn’t say anything, but you knew better now. You weren’t gonna run away, you’d learned from your mistakes. Instead, you moved into a different room in the house. The flowers, the jewelry, the sweet words—oh, all of the things that’d made you swoon in the past didn’t faze you. You’d been force-fed so many sweet words that you now had a tooth ache that no doctor could fix.

You didn’t talk to Klaus for weeks, but when the time came, you followed him to New Orleans. You were practically lifeless, but when Klaus brought you into a bar and you were met with the sight of the boy you took in, the boy you thought died, it was like someone took a defibrillator to your chest.

Hugging Marcel for the first time in almost a century was like CPR. Is this a play? you wondered. Is this Klaus’ strategy? But at that moment, it didn’t matter. Once again, you were reminded of Kol. You needed to cherish your loved ones while you still could, and so it didn’t matter if Klaus was using Marcel to get you to crack, you’d appreciate it, anyway.

But you should’ve known better. You should’ve known that you couldn’t be happy.

When you got to the plantation late at night, the house Klaus insisted you stay in, you were confused to see a brunette woman standing on the stairs.

You furrowed your brows while the woman’s went up. She looked like a deer in headlights. Before you could ask her any questions, your sister came into view. She looked almost as shocked as you.

“Rebekah?”

She ignored you. “You’re here,” she said, surprise lacing her voice and an unknown emotion in her eyes.

“Yes, I am.” You glanced in between Rebekah and the brunette, starting to become unnerved with their expressions. You didn’t know why she was surprised that you were here; it was you who should’ve been surprised at her arrival.

You should’ve known better.

“Elijah- Elijah didn’t tell me you’d be here.”

You only got more confused as she went on. “Elijah’s here?”

She ignored you again, scoffing under her breath, shaking her head at the ground. “My brother’s a fool,” she muttered. And only then did you realize that the emotion in her eyes was pity.

You looked back to the brown-haired woman, instantly realizing why she was looking at you like you were going to attack her. Quickly, you looked away before you actually did. You didn’t say the exact words out loud, but they knew that you knew.

“What is she doing here?” Your voice was sharp; you saw the girl flinch out of the corner of her eye.

When Rebekah looked up at you, you felt your heart drop. She looked at you like you were the last to be let in on the secret, like she knew she was about to single-handedly crush you. Softly, she told you, “Listen.” And so you did.

And then every other time your heart broke felt like nothing. Nothing could compare to the utter shock you felt, the pain. Because you heard a little heartbeat, and you knew the implication Rebekah was making.

You looked up to the girl to see that she was about to cry. That almost made you lose it. Who was she to cry? you thought.

You looked at Rebekah to see tears in her eyes, too. “How?” You asked, but she didn’t get a chance to reply.

“Niklaus is a hybrid, Y/N.” You turned to see Elijah slowly walking into the room. He looked careful, almost, like anything he said could set you off. “He’s not a full vampire-”

“And she’s human,” you cut him off, humourlessly chuckling. The human girl gave him a baby.

You couldn’t help but wonder, if you had a baby while you were human, would your marriage have ended up this way?

But none of that mattered. Right now, it felt like nothing mattered. Just as you thought there was nothing more Klaus could do to you, he gets his one night stand pregnant. Now she wasn’t so much of a one night stand anymore, was she?

Your siblings were looking at you like you were a china doll, like their brother had just thrown you and they were waiting for you to break. But your face was blank. On the inside, however, there was an entire hurricane taking place, but it was like your body refused to release any of it. Oh, you wanted to break down, you wanted to so badly, but it felt impossible.

There was nothing more to say- nothing you cared to hear, anyway. So you slowly walked up the stairs, heading for a guest room, ignoring Rebekah and Elijah’s calls. The blonde started crying, and if you’d looked down, then you would’ve seen Elijah burning a hole into the ground with his gaze.

You didn’t want to look at either of them, especially not your husband’s right hand man. You were growing to resent Elijah, even though there was a time when you were the best of friends. Maybe if he hadn’t brought you back to Klaus that day in 1996, then you could’ve been spared this horrible, horrible feeling. But no. Any relationship you had with a Mikaelson was trumped by the relationship they had with Klaus.

Of course, they were here, you thought. Of course, they come running back to him the second he does something stupid.

But how mad at them could you really be?

Haven’t you always been doing the same thing?

After you’d gone up stairs, you could remember popping open an old bottle of whiskey and drinking until your vision was hazy. You couldn’t remember when you fell asleep, but when you awoke, Klaus was right there in bed next to you.

You ignored your thoughts, questioning the nerve of him to get in bed with you after what you’d found out, and walked out of the room.

But you didn’t feel as angry as the night before. You felt numb, almost. The last time you felt so empty was after your parents died a thousand years ago. It didn’t necessarily bother you, though. Feeling nothing felt better than feeling everything.

So you let it be. You showered, got dressed, and left the house. Rebekah and Elijah stared at you as you left, but you didn’t give them the time of day. You went and met Marcel for breakfast like everything was fine, went shopping, then you came back home and climbed into bed. When you woke up, Klaus was there again, but you ignored it and continued with your routine.

For three weeks, you didn’t say a word to your husband. He could barely even try to speak to you; you were gone all day everyday and you were asleep by the time he came home. Rebekah would try to make conversation whenever she saw you, but she only received short answers. Elijah didn’t even try; something told you he felt guilty, and you hoped he did. The pregnant werewolf whose name you learned was Hayley would tense up every time you crossed paths. Once, she tried to apologize to you, but it was as if she were talking to a wall because you didn’t give her the slightest bit of attention.

While you weren’t communicating with the people you lived with, when you went out into the Quarter, you were a different person. You were lively, and confident, and funny, and you didn’t look like a woman whose husband cheated on her. Marcel was constantly introducing you to people; you were always surrounded by people, and while you felt so alone at first, as time progressed, you stopped feeling so lonely.

Suddenly, it was like that hole in you started to heal. The hole was still there, but it was getting better.

One day, one of your new friends introduced you to this boy, this young, newly turned boy. And, looking at him, you felt something other than despair: you felt like you were human again. Talking to him made you feel things that you forgot existed, things Klaus used to make you feel on a daily basis.

This boy was good. He was pure, and happy, and full of life, even though he was dead.

It felt wrong at first. Klaus was the only man you had ever been with. But perhaps that was why you liked this boy so much: he reminded you of a side of your lover that had been long dormant, the side of Klaus you fell in love with.

You never slept with him. You never even kissed him. All you did was feel something.

But that didn’t matter.

Oh, you should’ve known better.

So much better.

You opened the door, your bag immediately falling to the ground at the sight you were met with. “No- no, no, no.” You sped into the living room, falling to your knees. Your tears fell with you.

In front of you, the sweet, sweet boy you were starting to feel something for was lying dead in his own apartment. You wished it wasn’t real, but his body was grey, veins all over him. With the hole in his chest, he didn’t look so peaceful anymore.

You cupped your hand over your mouth in shock, silently sobbing. You were so distraught that you didn’t even notice the footsteps behind you.

“I ripped his heart out.” You turned your head to see none other than your husband standing a few feet away from you, the red organ in his hand. While your vision was blurred, you could still see the quiet anger on his face, even though he seemed emotionless. He dropped Leo’s heart on to the ground like it was nothing.

Suddenly, a fire that you thought died out alit in your body. You all but sneered, “What is wrong with you?”

Klaus humourlessly chuckled. It was almost like you couldn’t recognize him, but oh, he had never looked more like himself. “What’s wrong with me?” He echoed. “What’s wrong with me is my wife has been sneaking around behind my back.”

You scoffed in utter disbelief and shot up from the ground. “Oh, so I’m the villain now? I’m sorry, saint Klaus, I didn’t know you were so innocent.”

“Don’t start this with me.”

You snapped. “You started this! I have been living in that house with you and your pregnant werewolf, leaving you to your own devices, but the second I try to be happy, I’m the one in the wrong?”

“Y/N-”

“No, I- I can’t even believe what I’m hearing right now.” A laugh escaped from your lips, full of darkness. “I have not done any damage to this marriage.” You pointed at him. “You’re the one who broke your vows, not me. Forgive me for wanting to clutch at any happiness I could have after you took it all from me.”

Klaus pointed right back at you. “Our marriage isn’t over, Y/N- it will never be. I will never let you forget that.”

You shook your head. “This isn’t a marriage anymore.” Klaus’ mouth opened to protest, but you kept going. Everything you held in and didn’t say was coming up like bile in your throat that you desperately wanted to vomit. “You have destroyed this marriage, Klaus! Hell, you destroyed me.” You pointed to yourself, more tears coming to your eyes. “You have cheated not once but three times, and you got the last one pregnant! But the second I- what? The second I so much as talk to a man, you go and rip his heart out and get mad at me? Do you hear how insane that sounds?”

His jaw clenched, and maybe there was some sign of regret or remorse in his eyes, but you honestly couldn’t care less about his feelings at the moment. “Y/N-” he started, but you didn’t dare let him finish.

“No, it’s you who threw a thousand years down the drain, not me.” You took a step closer to him until you were chest to chest and you were looking right into his eyes. Maybe this would’ve ended in a kiss in the past, but your relationship was no longer the same. You grit your teeth.“I will never let you forget that.”

You then sped out of the apartment, running and running and not stopping until you were in an area you no longer recognized. Once you stopped, you let all of your tears fall, resting a hand on your chest and running the other through your hair. Your heart and your head were both pounding. Every time you thought Klaus couldn’t go any lower, he proved you wrong.

So, standing in the middle of nowhere, you grieved the loss of that poor boy, and at the same time, you grieved the loss of the man who was once your best friend. You grieved the loss of your marriage.

Because this was more than just killing a boy.

In doing this, Klaus killed another part of your marriage when you weren’t sure there was even anything left to kill.

After crying your heart out, you returned to the plantation and went straight to sleep. For a week, you stayed in bed, in spite of Rebekah who came knocking on your door every morning. One time, she didn’t leave so quickly after you remained mute. She sat on your bed, demanding that you eat something. When, throughout all her best efforts, you stayed silent, she threw the glass of blood onto the ground, breaking down and sobbing. Tears ran down her face as she pleaded to you, but you only stared at the wall, expressionless.

She apologized to you in between in her tears, even though it wasn’t her fault, even though you were only this way because of Klaus. But, oh, wasn’t that Rebekah’s specialty? Wasn’t that yours—stuck paying for the sins of the hybrid for the rest of your lives?

She cried, and cried, and cried, until she eventually left the room, too exhausted to keep dancing the same dance. She didn’t come back again.

You never cleaned the blood on the floor from the glass she threw. If anything, you hoped it soaked in and ruined the mahogany floors of this god awful house. It wasn’t long before you wouldn’t have to stare at that stain anymore because Klaus had come to tell you that you were leaving. You’d all be going to the Abattoir, he said.

You were confused; that was where Marcel stayed. So, for the first time in a week, you spoke. When you found out about the altercation they had, you recoiled. Both disgust and shock were on your face: disgusted at your husband’s behaviour and shocked with how he was treating Marcel.

You felt like screaming at him, but you didn’t have enough energy. Instead, you just stared at him. With your voice just barely above a whisper, you told him, That is your son, Klaus. You hoped that conveyed everything else you wanted to say. And you knew your message was received when Klaus walked out of your room without another word.

When you arrived at the compound, little changed. You and your husband still didn’t talk. Soon, when your siblings arrived, you didn’t speak to them either. Life went on this way for a long time.

Until Hayley gave birth.

Oh, life had felt so slow, but suddenly it started moving so fast.

When you first laid your eyes on little Hope, tears came to your eyes. She looked just like her father, you thought. And while you had never wanted anything to do with this, what Klaus had done, you couldn’t find it in yourself to condemn an innocent child.

Maybe Rebekah and Elijah would pay for their brother’s mistakes. Maybe you would, too. But you’d be damned if you let that baby suffer solely for being a Mikaelson.

Even if it meant you’d suffer the most.

The night Klaus came to you, you didn’t greet him, but you didn’t look at him so scathingly, either. In the courtyard, he asked something of you that’d change the rest of your life.

“Y/N, I know we’re not on the best of terms- I know I haven’t been a faithful husband, nor a good one,” he admitted, glancing down as if he were nervous before looking back up to your eyes. This was serious, and he wanted you to know that. “I know you don’t deserve this, and I know you never signed up for this. But I need your help.”

You straightened your shoulders. Whatever he was going to say, it looked like it physically pained him to say it. You wondered if this speech was inspired by Elijah, but you diverted your thoughts away from that. This wasn’t about your marriage; this was about something more important.

“You’re the only person I trust enough to do this, the only person I can really ask. It’s wrong of me to put this pressure on you after everything I’ve done, but I wouldn’t be asking if this weren’t so dire- you have to believe me.” He grabbed onto your hands, and you let him, even though it made you want to die, because when your skin made contact, you felt his hands tremble.

“Hope can’t be here; it’s not safe. The people of this city now know she is my weakness, and they will do anything to spite me, you’ve seen it firsthand.” You knew exactly what he was referring to: the day the witches tried to kill her. At the thought, you tensed. You saw tears gather in his eyes. “Please, I need her not to be here right now-”

You cut him off, almost in a state of awe as you realized what this was all about. “You need them to think she’s dead.” Your voice was breathy, like you’d just finished running a marathon, and wasn’t that what life was like in this family? With the Mikaelsons, no matter how powerful you all were, you’d always be running from something, fighting something. That couldn’t happen to Hope- not now, not yet. And so, without so much as another thought, you agreed, “I’ll do it.”

“Y/N-”

“No, Klaus, I’m doing this.” For the first time since you got to New Orleans, he saw a spark in your eye that you both thought had been extinguished. “I’ll take her, and I will protect her with my life.”

After that, he just stared at you for a few seconds. And for a moment, you as you held eye contact, you caught a glimpse of the man you fell in love with. For a moment, it almost felt like everything was alright, like he never cheated and like you never left. For a moment, the world stopped, and it was just you and him against the world.

But you knew better now.

You were startled when your husband suddenly embraced you tightly as if he never wanted to let you go. And then you realized how you couldn’t remember the last time you’d hugged. So, after a few seconds, if not just for the sake of it, you hugged him back. Although he quietly stammered his next words out, he still said them with more sincerity than you’ve heard from him in a long time. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

You knew he was referring to more than just what he was asking of you. But, oh, you knew better now.

“I know.”

Not long after you and Klaus had that conversation, you took Hope. For the first time since you met her that day and found out she was pregnant, you actually talked to Hayley. Her eyes widened, like she couldn’t believe it. You told her that this didn’t make you two friends, but you also promised her that you’d look after her daughter.

She thanked you after a beat of silence, and then you and Hope disappeared.

You were gone for a while until your family’s drama eased up and you got the okay to come back to the Quarter. In that time, Hope’s parents missed their daughter’s first Christmas and also her birthday. But you made sure to take all the pictures you could. Even with the way you felt about them both, you weren’t gonna let those feelings get in the way of their relationship with Hope.

Their family, rather. When you returned, you realized that this was no longer your family. Eating dinner with them your first night back only proved that to you. This baby had changed all of you. You no longer knew your husband, and he no longer knew you.

When you first arrived to the compound, Klaus and Hayley came rushing to hug their little girl. The hybrid mouthed a thank you to you as he rubbed Hope’s back, tears in his eyes. The hostility you’d shown him from when he confessed he cheated on you all the way until just before you left New Orleans was gone. You couldn’t find it in you to be hostile as you watched him hold his daughter. In that moment, he was more than the man who betrayed you; he was a father who had been separated from his daughter.

That didn’t mean you forgave him, but you were trying to get there—for Hope.

Rebekah and Elijah showed up not a minute later. The blonde cooed at Hope while Elijah walked toward you, enveloping you in a hug that you couldn’t deny. You were worn out, and all you’d wanted this past year was to not be alone. But, deep down, you knew these efforts were futile. Things with your siblings would never be the same.

Rebekah had once been your best friend, but she was Klaus’ little sister first. Elijah was like an older brother to you, but he was Klaus’ first. The only person who could’ve possibly understood the way you were feeling was Kol, and he was long gone.

So, even as you stood in a room full of people, you still felt just as alone as when it’d only been you and Hope.

However, your epiphany didn’t matter. Maybe if it weren’t for Hope, you would’ve left and never turned back. Maybe you could’ve gone out and tried to find yourself, tried to be that same girl you were starting to like when you left Klaus in 2006. But Hope was there, and so you knew you couldn’t go anywhere. You had to stay with your family, even if they weren’t really your family anymore, because you just had to be there. You needed to protect Hope. You needed to keep Elijah from handling everything, and you needed to keep your little sister from spinning out. You needed to be there for Klaus to fall back on if he needed to, not for him, but to make sure he could be the best father he could possibly be to Hope.

To you, it wasn’t a choice. You needed to do this.

After all, didn’t you promise always and forever?

So, you stayed. You took care of Hope and took care of Klaus when Rebekah couldn’t take it anymore. It was almost as if your once other half and you had a silent agreement. He never tried anything, not even so much as holding your hand, but you were there for him as a friend, even though it broke your heart.

The two of you never officially ended things. Part of you wondered if maybe he thought you would get back together one day, but now you knew better than to ever expect anything like that. Yes, you would stay in the compound. And yes, you would take care of Hope. And yes, you would play nice with the mother of his child. But you were no longer Klaus and Y/N Mikaelson.

You were just Klaus and Y/N.

You never went out with another boy again. It was pointless, and you never wanted to fall for someone again if this was what love felt like, if it only ever brought you pain.

For years, things went this way. There were a few threats here and there, but they were taken care of every time. Hope was the most loved child in the world. She was starting to grow up, and so she was also starting to realize that her parents weren’t together. She was starting to realize that her father looked at the woman that’d been there all her life with a look of warmth in his eyes. She was starting to ask you questions that you didn’t know how to answer, questions you weren’t prepared to answer.

So, on Christmas Eve, after everyone had went to bed, you unscrewed the oldest bottle of liquor you had. You were originally saving it for a celebratory occasion, but you, too, were starting to realize things. You were starting to realize that, perhaps, the celebration would never come.

So you sat on the couch in the courtyard in front of the fireplace, unfazed by the cold. The Christmas tree diagonal to you glimmered and gleamed, but you were no longer so magnetized to it. Something in the last few years had taken away bits and pieces of your spirit until you were no longer sure it was even there anymore.

You took a swig of the wine, indulging in its bittersweetness as you stared straight into the fire, not caring if it’d blind you. For the first time since you turned, you loathed your immortality. At first, you looked at it like a blessing, something that’d give you an eternity with your family, an eternity to travel the world and enjoy all it had to offer you.

But now it was just a curse.

Just as you took another swig, you heard footsteps behind you, and suddenly the couch dipped, someone else sitting right beside you.

You could immediately tell who it was just from the mere grace of his actions. Elijah. You glanced at the nobleman, almost scoffing at his attire. Past midnight, and yet he was still in a suit.

Your voice was raspy as you remarked, “No rest for the wicked, huh?” Elijah sighed as you passed the bottle to him. For a second, you thought he’d scold you for not using a glass, but instead he took a large gulp straight from the bottle.

“It seems that way, Y/N,” he said, passing the bottle back to you. You chuckled, but there wasn’t much humour in your tone. He didn’t ask you why you were awake, nor did you ask him. You just sat together in front fireplace, passing the bottle back and forth. You didn’t know if you were both so silent because of how tired you were or if it was because your relationship had just become that fragile.

Sitting there, no Saint Nick came by in a magic sled. There were no reindeer, or bells, or snow. There was no magic to this holiday for you anymore, and you wondered if Elijah felt the same way. You wondered if he was as tired as he looked right now, as tired as you felt. If he was, then you couldn’t help but feel bad for him because, even though you had felt resentment for him, you wouldn’t wish this on anybody.

Still though, you wondered if you’d be sitting there if Elijah just let you go that day. You wondered how things would’ve turned out if he let himself go, too.

Like he was reading your mind, he suddenly turned to you and whispered, “I’m sorry, Y/N.” You turned to face him. While he looked serious, he looked more broken than you’d ever seen him. “I’m sorry I brought you back to him that day. I’m just now realizing that I’ve never apologized to you before.” You stared at him silently, and so he continued, looking back to the fire. “You could have been happy, and I took that opportunity away from you. So I am sorry.” He paused, like he was debating on saying something, a glazed look in his eyes as he lightly muttered, “More sorry than you’ll ever know.”

For what felt like forever but was really just a minute, you didn’t say anything. You, too, turned back to the fire, biting your lip as you tried to articulate what you wanted to say. “I think… I think, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.” You saw him turn back to you out of the corner of your eye, but you didn’t look back. You didn’t know if you could say this while looking at him. “I think it would’ve ended up like this, anyway. I was his wife, not his keeper, but that didn’t matter. My love for him would’ve always made me stay and look after him, even though it kills me inside, even though I think I died a long time ago.” You swallowed. “My mother used to tell me to watch how boys treat me, but Nik wasn’t just any boy. I was so enthralled by the beauty of the fire that I didn’t care if I’d get burned- God, I just wanted to feel warm.” Unknowingly, a tear fell down your cheek. At that moment, you turned to your brother to see him watching you intently. You shook your head, giving him a small smile. “It wasn’t your fault, Elijah, it was mine. I should’ve known better.”

At that, you got up, leaving the bottle with Elijah, and you walked back to your room. You didn’t sleep that night, but when Hope came running into your room in the morning, screaming that Santa came, you pretended to be asleep so that she could wake you.

You sat through the opening of presents, Elijah looking at you differently than before. And you’d sit through multiple Christmases after this one.

No matter how much it hurt you or how it unhealthy it was, you knew you were locked in now, and you threw away the key ages ago. You couldn’t get off this ride, not even if you tried to.

Maybe, if you didn’t let Klaus pull you back in time and time again, then you wouldn’t be stuck. But you did, and now all you could do was just sit and let the roller coaster run its course, no matter how sick it made you or how many tears would leave your eyes when no one was watching.

Now, you’d be here always and forever. But you still couldn’t help but think-

You should’ve known better.

Taglist: @honestlycasualarcade

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rowrory · 9 months

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Fandoms include: jjk, bnha, haikyuu, aot, marvel, tvd

GOJO SATORU

Intrinsic Warmth — thatdesklamp (ao3)

Summary: “So stay with me. Forever.”

You make a weak stab at a joke. “For Infinity, you mean?”

“Yeah.” Satoru turns to look at you and your heart jumps at the clear expression on his face. There’s not a hint of humour: for once, he’s fully and completely serious. “For the rest of my life, and for all the lives after.”

You meet Satoru on 7th September, 1996.

Some time later, you realise you love him.

Notes: HOLY FUCK I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!?!?!??! THE ANGST?!?!? THE PINING?!?!?!? I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS!!!!!!!! THE AUTHOR WASN'T FUCKING AROUND WHEN SHE WROTE THIS!!!

gods, monsters, monkeys — yuzudrops (ao3)

Summary: A grossly under-qualified graduate of Jujutsu High is hired to teach a class of Special Grades. They learn there is more to strength than power. It doesn't end well.

Notes: chefs kisses, literally one of THE best gojo fics out there

Keep a Place For Me — alkhale (ao3)

Summary: A quiet story that takes place a little before Gojo Satoru was born to be the greatest shaman of this era, his youth, triumphs, losses, and his inherent rise to a place unknown by anyone else.

And the one person who bore witness to it all.

Notes: IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS YET, YOU ARE SERIOUSLY MISSING OUT

take me down (to the depths of your depravity) — Innka (ao3)

Summary: The story starts with you standing in the pouring rain. All you remember are your orders.

Gojo Satoru. Look for the white hair and the baby blues.

"This will be easy," they said. "White hair and baby blues, eyes like the sky. Pull him in, fatten him up and send him to the devil. In and out, one and done."

"You can do this with your eyes closed," they said.

"This will be easy," they said.

They were wrong.

Notes: Read trigger warnings first

watermelon sugar why — Innka (ao3)

Summary: You had marched into his office, looking like your life was in his hands. You held out an excursion request. For a beach trip, of all things. By the time Gojo finished reading it, he had wanted to do exactly three things: sign the paper, laugh in your face, and bend you over on his desk to fuck you until you were screaming his name.

Not necessarily in that order.

Notes: this is a one shot but i live for pining satoru so

all that is solid melts into air — GrilledTandooriSmoke (ao3)

Summary: Curse user.

The words weigh heavy like lead on your tongue. Something that needs to be swished around before it's spat back out like the black gunk it is. Evil and vile jujutsu sorcerers who would dare turn on humanity in the never-ending war against curses.

And it just so happens you come from a family of them.

Alternatively: political machinations have you attending Jujutsu Tech at the same time as Gojo Satoru.

Notes: in love with this

among dawn flowers (the face of god) — unolvrs (ao3)

Summary: Your grandmother calls the young master of the Gojō Clan a boy-god, and you, his destined bride who will further the cause of the All-Seeing Eyes.

—or, you are raised to be Satoru’s bride and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. (Everything is.)

Notes: i love angst

the witches' brew — orphan_account (ao3)

Summary: You are the co-owner of a small café in a small, eccentric district in Tokyo that is notorious for bizarre murders and supernatural occurrences.

You think you’ve seen it all, but it turns out that nothing comes close to the man wearing a bad Kakashi cosplay who terrorizes you with his increasingly complicated and awful drink orders.

Notes: im devastated i didn't get to see who actually wrote this

5 + 1 — script_nef (orphan_account) (ao3)

Summary: 5 times Gojou had a date with you and 1 time you realised it was a date.

Alt title: Watch Gojou be really obvious about his crush but it goes completely over your head every time. Well, nearly every time.

Notes: kicked my feet a couple times while reading this

Ripverse — seoafin (ao3)

Summary: “You don't need to worry about anything like dying. I won't let anything happen to you," he says quietly, and it sounds like a promise.

You wait for the punchline. The part where he laughs it off as a joke, and then tells you to snap yourself out of it in a way you would’ve expected from him in the past. But he’s dead serious.

Notes: This is a series of one shots in the same univ with the same character, i just used the summary for the very first part

FUSHIGURO TOJI

(and your love is) standing next to me — shidouryusei (ao3)

Summary: “I wanna meet your son.”

You regret what you’ve said the second the words leave your lips.

“Why the hell do you wanna meet my kid?”

Notes: holy hell is this one of the best toji fics out there

BAKUGO KATSUKI

what heroes do — sugiwa (ao3)

Summary: Shouto didn't know much about his twin sister. She was an Edgeshot fan, had a raging collection of manga, and liked Natsuo the best.

She also wasn't supposed to be at U.A., but he sure as hell wasn't telling their father about it.

Notes: i am not kidding when i say that even tho this thing has almost 600k words (it's a monster!!), i have reread this so many times it's not even funny anymore

MIYA ATSUMU

WHITE NOISE — 1keshi (ao3)

Summary: you’ve always loved atsumu— that was the problem.

(alternatively, you force a therapist to listen to the story of how you fell in love with your childhood friend, because what else are you supposed to do?)

Notes: lovelovelove

You Found Me — Amy_Stark117 (ao3)

Summary: Miya Atsumu had his life goals set - volleyball, fame, and success. Nothing could stand in his way.

You threw all that out the window, simply by sitting next to him in class.

Life is really funny like that, isn't it?

Notes: 10/10

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI

premonition of love — peacchy (ao3)

Summary: A day after the freak quick duo sneaks into Shiratorizawa campus grounds, Ushijima gets summoned by his school’s student disciplinary committee.

Rule breached?

Assisted Trespassing.

While he steps out of the office with more than just a case under his name, you (unknowingly) step into the affluent stratum of Miyagi’s controlled elite.

In a world of either-or’s, you’re caught in between.

And possibly something more.

Notes: yall listen before this, i was NOT an ushijima girlie. now, i am ;)) this ff also has a love triangle in it (ushijima x reader x sakusa) with alternative endings (though it's not completed yet)

Shoot the Ball — alkhale (ao3)

Summary: As captain of the dying Shiratorizawa Kyudo Club, you're sick and tired of the biased favoritism that goes to the showier sports. Especially the worst of them all—the boy's volleyball team.

You're determined to show the entire school how great archery is, get the funding your club deserves, and by the end of it all, make the entire school a fan of your archery.

You just didn't know you already had a fan from the start.

And he may or may not be captain of the one team on campus you have a personal vendetta against.

Notes: i love alkhale so much

LEVI ACKERMAN

1,000 Steps — BaddieCurlsXo (ao3)

Summary: You're being torn away to another world every new moon, unable to connect the dots or find any real meaning in your travels. That is, until one night you stumble upon a man with grey eyes and a green cape, who asks you, rather suspiciously, "what are you doing outside the walls?"

Notes: lovette

Death's Door — SongsOfApollo (ao3)

Summary: You spent years of your life under the guidance of Dr. Helfen, the greatest physician inside Wall Sina. Now a physician yourself, you work alongside him with pride: stitching up wounds, nursing the sick, and helping to save the lives of many. But after the Battle of Trost, rapid changes begin to take place, starting with an inquiry from none other than Commander Erwin Smith and Captain Levi of the Survey Corps.

You have heard many tales from surviving Survey Corps soldiers on what it’s like on the outside: to face a Titan, to feel overwhelming dread, to watch your fellow man perish in such an insulting, gruesome way. You’ve witnessed the effects of Titans on the people you’ve doctored. Now you are to experience the horror firsthand.

You are to join the Scout Regiment as their field surgeon, and you will do so under the direct command of Captain Levi.

Notes: one of my fav fics of levi

BUCKY BARNES

Vacant Mirrors — pilotisms (ao3)

Summary: Dr. Hart shares an office with Dr. Raynor.

You share a waiting room with Bucky Barnes.

Notes: felt like crying even tho the ending wasn't angsty

Safe with me — bitsandbobsandstuff (ao3)

Summary: When an unknown threat enters your life, protection is offered at the highest level. As Bucky Barnes comes into your life, the game changes, and you realise falling for the man tasked with keeping you safe is the last thing you expected.

Notes: Holy freaking heck was this beautiful. The plot? Chefs kisses. The writing? Chefs kisses. Reader's personality? Chefs kisses. The romance between reader and bucky? CHEFS FUCKING KISSESSSSS.

In The Shadow Of Your Wings — emmagnetised (ao3)

Summary: Margaret Stark is five years old when the Winter Soldier comes for her and her parents. But she survives the attack and is returned to her brother, though she's left broken and traumatised. She grows with a promise she made to herself on the night of the car crash. A mission.

This is the story of Maggie forging herself into her own hero, into something that no one expects: The Wyvern.

Notes: if you're a delulu marvel stan and haven't read anything by emmagnetised yet, are you even a delulu marvel stan?? p.s there is also an alternative for this story, go check it out on the author's acc on ao3 if you're interested!

STEVE ROGERS

The Siren — emmagnetised (ao3)

Summary: Austrian-born Alice Moser is new to Brooklyn when she meets and befriends a small blonde kid called Steve Rogers. Years later tragedy puts an ocean between them. When they meet again everything is different - Steve is about to go to war, and Alice is going to make the SSR an offer they can't refuse: her services as an undercover agent within the very heart of Nazi Germany.

The path is already written. The whole world knows the stories of Captain America and the Siren. Or do they?

Notes: ISTG IF U DON'T GO READ THIS MASTERPIECE RN

LOKI

A Twist of Marvel — GeneralofLoki (wattpad)

Summary: Naomi Swanson is fresh out of college, working as an assistant in a small paper supply company and inhaling coffee by the gallons. When an accident knocked her out, Naomi woke up in a world she had only seen through screens.

Armed only with her phone and a questionable data plan, Naomi attempts not to be killed as she comes face-to-face with the Avengers, and so much more.

Notes: do not and i repeat do NOT underestimate this just because it's a wattpad story ;)) it's literally the best girl goes to alternative dimension story in the mcu universe out there!!

KLAUS MIKAELSON

descent — tothelakes (wattpad)

Summary (since the summary on this one is a little long I'll be giving a brief description instead): Rory, the twin sister of Elena, unknowingly dates Klaus, the terrifying hybrid determined to sacrifice her sister. When the Mystic Falls events start, cue the beginning of their tumultuous journey as secrets are revealed and feelings come to light.

Notes: this is probably the best klaus fic to ever grace the world of fanfictions.

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starshipsofstarlord · 9 months

Text

I've waited a thousand hours to tell you exactly how I feel, but you don't deserve an explanation

Warnings - cheating, angst, break up (0.8k)

damon salvatore works other tvd works masterlist

Damon had once enjoyed tormenting human beings, all because he could. There was a violent anger within his cursed soul, he wanted others to suffer just as he had. It hadn't been his choice to be turned into a vampire, however that was now the reality of his life, and so he had chose to embrace the tragedy that had arose his body from initial death instead of holding resent towards it.

But once again he was emoting regret; he had hurt her. Y/N was everything that he had searched for in his 173 years of existence, she made him feel as though he was alive again. Damon was vastly aware that he wasn't the better brother, it was in his blood to be gullible when it came to making mistakes. And that was what he had done once again.

There was nobody that Y/N knew who was as self destructive as Damon, he was unable to accept a good thing without ruining it first. So here Y/N was, in ruins as she sat at the bar, nursing a strong drink as though it would numb the wound that Damon had made in her. She had spent decades loyal by his side, but she was foolish to have ever thought that he would be content with somebody that wasn't a Katherine knock off.

Sometimes the woman liked to convince herself that Katherine had sired him just to make herself feel better. But despite her dark hopes, it wasn't true and she was only temporarily blinding herself to the surrounding reality.

Damon's heart ached as he viewed his girl from afar, he wanted to run to her and hold her broken demeanour in his arms. He wanted forgiveness, what he and Elena had was nothing than a drunken night spent alone together. It would never happen again, he couldn't bear to see his Y/N in such a state. There was a glass of bourbon in his hand, but after his intoxicated rendezvous, he refused to drink.

He had fucked up, and there was no redeeming himself. His actions and wandering hands had been unjustified, in fact criminal as it had costed him the companionship that he craved. Y/N stood, leaving bills on the bar as she turned to leave, however her tracks of retreat were faulted to a stop as she saw him in her peripheral.

Y/N wished she could hurt Damon in the same way he had her, but it would be impossible. He had been unable to control his libido in the shared presence of another woman, and it evidently meant that he had never cared about her. She was just there on his arm for appearances, to show that he had moved on from his messy past. Others had been convinced of that up until now, and so had she, though they had all come to realise that it had all been a cruel hoax.

"Baby." He pleaded with the pet name that often times would make her melt, but she remained hard and stoic despite his conniving words. Y/N wondered if he had called Elena that in their time together, but it was best decided if she didn't know.

"I miss you." Damon proclaimed as though it would make things any better. All it did was blur Y/N's eyes with infinite tears and her break all over again. Her lips trembled as she stood in front of her unreliable lover, she could only see him as a stranger rather than the man that she had shared a bed with for a lifetime. Life only lasted so long, and it was understandable if their vampiric relationship did also, it was a shame it had to end the way it had though.

"I've waited a thousand hours to tell you exactly how I feel, but you don't deserve an explanation. We're over Damon, for good, I refuse to hold you back any longer. Be with Katherine, or Elena, or whoever the hell you want, as long as it's not me." Her shoulder collided with Damon's as she shoved past him, refusing to hear his apologies or regrets. He had lost her for once and for all, and there was undeniably nothing that he could do to make up for his careless reckoning.

Damon only wanted Y/N, but she no longer desired him. He had internally harmed her, and it was damage that would live within her for eternity. She had wasted far too long on the man that she had called hers, and through it she had somehow survived the anguish that she'd endured because of him. If he wanted forgiveness he would have to do more than grovel in self hatred, he would have to be responsible for saving her from the turmoil heart ache that had made her feel more human than the era in which she had been one.

#damon salvatore x reader #damon salvatore imagine #Damon Salvatore angst #damon salvatore x y/n #damon salvatore oneshot #damon salvatore fanfiction #tvd angst #tvd x reader #tvd imagine #tvd x you

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seriesxwriting · 4 months

Text

Interested

Pairing: reader x Stefan Salvatore

Series: tvd, the vampire diaries

Summary: All Stefan keeps talking about is his ex. That’s not what a girl wants to hear her crush talk about.

Warnings: drinking, kissing, I don’t think there’s any swearing but you never know with me.

“Elena Elena Elena” I rolled my eyes flopping onto my bed. Caroline sat at my desk watching me with one eyebrow up. “I can see it’s bothering you” she slowly lowered her eyebrow and put her hands together. I rolled onto my side looking over at her. “It’s all he ever talks about” I sighed making my eyes turn in. “One, don’t do that it freaks me out” Caroline shook her head. “And two” she started as she stood up walking over to the side of the bed. “Look I love you y/n but when it comes to men- you’re flirting isn’t really- the best”.

“Oh so it’s my fault he can’t get over his ex” I sat up straight at a quicker pace than lightning. “No” she snapped at me “I’m just saying Stefan probably doesn’t even know you’re interested, if he did he wouldn’t be talking about other girls” “oh but it’s not just any other girl- it’s Elena, she’s so perfect, she’s so pretty”. Caroline rubbed my arm sympathetically with a tiny smile. “Show him you’re interested, he probably will be too”, “but what if he’s not, what if he really is still in love with her”.

“Then that’s his loss, not yours, you get over him and show him how it’s done” Caroline winked at me perking up slightly. I chewed on my lip thinking about it. “Okay, I’ll up my flirting game” I nodded my head and rubbed my hands together as if I was creating some manipulative plan to kidnap him or end the world. “Atta girl, you’ll see him at the party right, there’s your chance” “Stefans picking me up” I stood up going over to my wardrobe. “Really? He told me he couldn’t drive me because he had plans before it and they might run over” Caroline scrunched her face in deep thought at my blue rug laying on the floor.

“Caroline, focus- what the hell do I wear” I ordered bringing her attention back onto me standing in between hangers upon hangers of clothes. “A dress, what about that white one your mum brought you for your birthday?” She shrugged, her eyes lit up and she snapped her fingers when the idea came to her. “This one?” I questioned pulling it out and holding it over my body. “Yeah wear that, it’s well cute- with the boots you had on when you came to sleep at mine last week” “casual but cute, I like your thinking” I nodded hanging it on my wardrobe door.

“Right babe I better get a move on, I need to be ready for six I’m catching a ride with Elena and Damon” she told me standing up and collecting her stuff putting it in her bag. “Alright care I’ll see you later thanks for everything” I walked over and we embraced each other sighing into one another’s hair. “Chin up, practice some flirting- maybe watch a YouTube video” she offered up as she stepped back. “I’m not doing that!” I sniggered shaking my head. “Your loss” she shrugged giggling silently as she left my room. Leaving me to my own devices.

I pulled the dress down and put it across my body holding it up in front of the mirror. It took me just over an hour to get ready. I had a shower, blow dried and curled my y/h/c hair. Before putting on my outfit. I tried on about five coats to see which one was the best. Eventually I went with a black bomber jacket. And with that the time turned quarter past six, the door bell went off on the dot. So Stefan Salvatore of him. I smiled grabbing my bag and jumping towards my bedroom door knowing who was downstairs. I grasped the handle taking deep breaths composing myself.

I walked down the stairs, my house was empty right now as both parents were away on holiday in England. I wondered to the front door as my heart pounded against my chest. I yanked it open and there he stood with tulips in his hands and the famous Stefan smile. He looked so cute. “H-hi” he stuttered as his eyes dragged down me blatantly. “You look- amazing- stunning- well… beautiful” he stuttered unsure of what word he wanted to use.

“You cleaned up too- are these for me?” I raised my eyebrow at the gesture. “Of course” he smiled passing them across to me. “They’re gorgeous, I can’t believe you brought me flowers” I smiled from ear to ear. “Come in while I buy them in a vase”. My mind raced, why had Stefan brought me flowers, was this a date? No we’re just friends right. I came back out the kitchen and he’d been waiting in the hall. “All ready?” I quizzed grabbing my bag that I’d left on the side. “Yeah, let’s get going” he nodded his head out the door. “Elenas already there”.

“Of course she is” I gave him a fake smile sighing before coldly grabbing the Handel and walking out first. “And Damon and care of course” Stefan told me following me out, though he had to raise his voice a tad because of the distance I’d gone. “Lift the Handel up all the way” I ordered not even turning around. I heard him do as I said before joining me inside the car. “I think we’re all really in need of this bonfire party” Stefan began as he drove off my drive.

“Mm me too, it’s been a stressful few months” “uh huh especially with all the elena stuff going on” Stefan laughed but again my eyes subtly rolled and my stomach sank. Could he go five minutes without mentioning her. “How about we stop talking about Elena for tonight, what better way to get over her than at a party” “oh I’m over her” Stefan chuckled re gripping the steering wheel. “Well a party is definitely in need, never know who we might meet”. “It’s mystic falls everyone knows everyone” Stefan shook his head. We turned into the woodlands where the party was happening.

We could already see the cloud of smoke rising from the fire. The crowd circling round it, chatting and drinking. “Park over there that’s Bonnie’s car” I pointed out but Stefan was already turning into a spot, I noticed Damon’s car being right next to us. “It’s alright this one’s bigger”. Sure it is Stefan sure it is. We both got out and soon made our way towards the people. “Let’s grab drinks first” his hand attached its self to my lower back as we waded through the crowd. I felt my heart pound and it made me relax into him.

We grabbed two beers and by the time we’d turned around elena was running up to us “Stefan! Y/n!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and then did the same to me. “Hey” I answered bluntly with a flick of my hand. “I started to think you two weren’t coming” “we just got- held up” Stefan struggled looking at me, I smiled knowingly and a warm sensation came across me knowing Elena had no idea what we were talking about.

Damon strolled over coming to say hi to us. “Well come on, everyone’s over near the bridge” he nodded his head. “we’ll catch up with you soon” Stefan shrugged answering before I could. Him saying that made me really excited, I wanted it to just be me and him so I could up my flirting game. “Oh come on stef I haven’t seen you in ages no one has apart from y/n, come and catch up with everyone”. His eyes flicker between me and Elena for a second or two. “Alright” he smiled simply and Elena squealed. “Come on then” she grabbed Damon’s wrist and Stefan started following them nodding to me to come with him.

We landed at the group where Bonnie, Tyler, Caroline, Matt and Jeremy were all waiting for us with smiles. We all exchanged hi’s and then jumped into conversation. My excitement was short lived, I loved my friends but I just wanted some alone time with Stefan. Though I wasn’t complaining too much because he didn’t really leave my side the whole night. We stayed in the same position talking, laughing and drinking for most of the night. Though Bonnie and care soon dragged me over to dance and I brought Stefan with me.

“How are you so good at this!” I laughed as Stefan spun me around and pulled me towards him. “I’ve had years of experience” he smiled close to my face. My hand was on his shoulder and the other his bicep while both of his were wrapped around my waist. “Have you always liked dancing?” “When I can dance with someone as pretty as you” he nodded making me smile again. “Stefan- Stefan!”. And just like that our moment was ruined. He pulled away from me and Elena ran through the crowd her eyes were full of tears.

“What’s wrong?” “Damon’s left- we got into an argument and he stormed off” “what about?” His eyebrow raised “I’ll explain it all to you, can you take me home please?” “I…” Stefan looked at me. “Bonnie will take you home- or you could call a taxi” I offered to Elena. “I know I know- I just really want to talk to you Stefan, you understand me in a different way and im hysterical right now” she wiped her eyes sitting back on her leg. “It’s okay I’ll take you home” he nodded completely pulling away from me now and standing on her side.

She threw her arms around him thanking him. “I’ll see you later y/n” he rubbed my arm before him and Elena left the crowed. I watched them walk all the way over to the car. “I’m sorry girl, she ruined your moment I thought he was going to kiss you then” Caroline came round with her hand on my shoulder. “No- he wasn’t” I shook my head. “He’s not over her, I’m going home” I smiled at her with tears In my eyes. “But he’s coming back for you” Caroline shook her head.

“He’s not care, he’ll be with her all night, I’m calling a taxi” I nodded hugging her before removing myself from the crowd. I waited for the taxi on the main road and it took me promptly home. As soon as I got in my removed the stupid dress and put my pjs on. I thought I was doing alright until I stepped into the kitchen for some water. I saw the flowers. My heart shattered. Tears slowly fell down my face as I realised I was never getting him. He didn’t love me like he loved her. I slid down the wall and took a seat on the kitchen floor.

I didn’t know how long I’d been there crying just staring at the flowers trying to make sense of them. A knock on the door pulled me out of my day dream. I wiped my face and went over to the door. When I pulled it open Stefan stood there. I blinked confused about why he was on my door step. “What do you want?” I asked harshly. Which maybe was a bit mean. “Well- I went back to the party to find you but care said I’d messed up and just kept tutting at me” he struggled still looking a bit confused. “So you came to check on me?”

“You look like you needed someone to check on you, are you crying?”. “No” I answered bluntly moving my eye contact to the ground. Stefan squeezed past me walking into my house and turning into the kitchen. He switched the kettle on and got two cups out while I closed the door. “You just inviting yourself in now?” “Nope you already invited me in once, we’re going to sit down and you’re going to tell me what’s wrong- or what I done wrong”.

“You haven’t done anything wrong Stefan- it’s nobody’s fault” “so why are you talking to me like I’ve done something wrong?” He raised an eyebrow walking towards me. “Because it feels like you have but I know deep down it’s wrong to blame you, you can’t help it” I sighed looking at the floor. “Help what?” He quizzed lifting my chin up with his hand. “That your not over Elena- that you love her more than you’ll ever like me, and that’s not your fault that’s mine- I fell for you at the wrong time and I put my hands up for that and honestly you can’t help who you like and even though it’s not me I shouldn’t blame you for that because…”

“Y/n!” “Stop talking!”. I looked up at him with full eyes. “Let me just finish explaining- I don’t want you to think I’m…” and with that Stefan cut me off by pressing his lips onto mine. “Why are you kissing me?” I whispered against his lips. He kissed me again for a second or two before admitting “I’m interested in you y/n”. Hearing that made me pull him closer to me and make the kiss harder. His hands held my waist close to him. When we eventually pulled away he put his forehead on mine. “If your interest in me why’d you drop me for Elena constantly, why do you always talking about her with me”.

“I don’t drop you for her y/n, she’s delicate and even though we aren’t together I’ll still look out for her, I made her a promise in the same way that she is now my sister in law, she’s family so if she needs me I’ll be there but I will always be back for you y/n- I came back for you tonight”. I bit my lip feeling slightly bad for not thinking about that. “And the reason I’m constantly bringing her up- is because… you reached out to me after the break up and we grew close immediately, I just didn’t want you to go anywhere”.

“That- doesn’t make sense” I shook my head completely confused. “I thought if you thought I was healed you wouldn’t want to see me as regularly because I wouldn’t need you”. “So- you pretended to miss her because you didn’t want me to leave?” “I didn’t think it through- I panicked” he sighed stepping backwards clearly embarrassed that I’d caught onto it. “So- you’re over her?” I looked up at him hopeful.

My eyes sparkled with tears, Stefan took that step back toward me and cupped my face. “Very much so, yes” he nodded in a whisper. “I understand if you don’t believe me- I shouldn’t have done what I did I can’t imagine how it made you feel” he sighed brushing my cheeks with his thumbs. I put my hands around his neck shaking my head. “I believe you Stefan” “you believe that I’m interested in you and you only?”. I nodded my head but couldn’t help the little corner smile.

“That’s what I wanted to see, there’s my girl” he whispered as my smile grew and my cheeks burnt red. “I’m all yours” I whispered running a hand through his hair. “About time”.

Stefan masterlist-

Tvd masterlist-

All series masterlist-

Masterlist of masterlists-

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galvanizedfriend · 1 month

Text

KC Wip Wednesday

This is my humble contribution to WIP Wednesday! It's a scene from the rewriting of TVD S5 - Yokan's version. In it, The Originals never happens, most of the Mikaelsons remain in Mystic Falls and Klaus and Caroline are kind of a thing, but nobody knows (for sure). Remember that moment where Katherine locks herself up in a safe with Stefan to "cure" his PTSD? It's that, except it's Klaus, not Katherine. This alludes to a very Klefan past, btw. Be warned if you're not a fan.

Also, this is for @definedareasofuncertainty, who wanted me to write her Easter Klefan. 🤧 There you go, friend! And you know, not beta'ed and all that.

Klaus lies on his back, takes a calm breath as the heavy door is closed with a thud, engulfing them in absolute darkness. All in all, he'd say a metal box is hardly the most uncomfortable setting he's found himself in. He prefers the comfort of first-class accommodations, but he's traveled in worse. The grown man beating about beside him does make things rather unpleasant, though.

"Stop! Caroline! Get me out of here!" Stefan screams, smashing his fists against the iron safe's indestructible structure. The more desperate he gets, the more uncoordinated and weaker his movements become, thus making the effort completely useless, however accomplished in making the experience all the more miserable for him.

It's embarrassing how incapable Klaus is of saying no to Caroline whenever she asks for a favor. Locking himself up in a box with a traumatized Stefan has to be an all-time low. The things he won't do when she bats her eyelashes and says please.

"Oh, stop it," he remarks in a bored tone as he shoves Stefan aside. The old safe is rather spacious, but definitely not enough to comport two men, particularly if one of them won't stop bloody writhing like a worm in hot sand. "The more you scream, the more breathless you become." The more I want to tear your vocal cords to shreds.

"Get me out of here, Klaus, get me the fuck out of here!"

"Relax, Stefan. I'm here to help," he says. "I'm what you would call a greater agony to alleviate the smaller pain you feel being trapped inside the box. It's reverse psychology, or so Caroline read in a book. What do you think of a little werewolf venom high to speed up the process?"

"You're psychotic. You're fucking insane!" Stefan starts pounding on the box again. "Caroline! Caroline, open up! Open it now!"

"I'm sorry, Stefan!" comes her muffled apology. Even through the metal barrier she sounds thick with guilt. It was her idea, but already she's cracking. That bleeding heart of hers… "I'm sorry, I will -"

"Do not touch that box, Caroline," he commands with his full authority. "Leave it."

There's a long pause, the sound of Stefan's heart hammering away inside his chest in the box as they wait to see what she'll do. A beat goes by before she mumbles a final sorry and scurries away, likely to avoid the temptation of putting poor Stefan out of his misery.

Klaus' lips pull into a grin. "Good girl."

Stefan starts shaking beside him, his breath becoming even more labored. "I can't breathe," he gasps. "I can't - I can't -"

"You don't need to breathe, Stefan. It's all in your head," Klaus reminds him pointedly. "A vampire having a panic attack, honestly. When you think you've seen everything…"

"You're not fucking helping!"

"Pardon me. My bedside manners have gone a little rusty since the last time you've experienced them." Klaus casts Stefan a glance, sees the way his eyes widen in horror, his body growing stiff as a rod, and he can't contain the self-satisfied smile that draws across his lips. "We did once find comfort in each other's company, didn't we?" Stefan makes another panicked sound, smoothing his hands across the cold metal door above them, trying to find a way out. Klaus chuckles. "Don't worry, mate. Caroline can't hear us. Your sordid little secret is safe with me. It's just us here, alone under the cover of darkness. Nothing we haven't done a dozen times in the past. Ahh, the 20s…" he speaks around a dramatic sigh. "It was the roaring years, indeed."

"What are you doing?"

"Making conversation."

"I don't want to talk to you, I especially don't want to talk about that." Stefan nearly chokes on the last word, inching as far away from Klaus as the confined space will allow, as though the mere idea of touching him fills him with utter revulsion. Klaus knows better; it's the way he remembers exactly how it didn't what terrifies him.

Anybody who's met this watered down, colorless version of Stefan would never be able to tell how much of a free spirit he used to be. He was fun. A far cry from the shivering man beside him now. Tragic, really.

"I know you like to pretend it never happened. Frankly, you've become quite an embarrassment of your former self, so I wouldn't proudly advertise it either. This bunny-eating, crying in the dark skin you're wearing these days is someone is wouldn't be caught fraternizing with if you were the last human being on earth."

"Then leave me the fuck alone already."

"Don't flatter yourself. I'm not here for you," he snaps back. And then, putting a leash on his rising temper, he continues, "But since I have to be… I can recognize that there was something about that time we had together that suited us both, more than just for the obvious reasons."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you do. I was a tool for you."

"A tool for self-destruction."

Klaus huffs out a disdainful breath. "I was a balm to your tortured soul, Stefan, even at a time when you embraced your true self. I indulged you because you amused me, but at the end of the day, when we were together, it was all rather transactional. It wasn't about sentimentality or a shared appreciation for extravagance. It was about the hollow inside us. The fact we were always desperately seeking to fill it with… Anything, really. Whatever we could find. Passions. Pleasure. Violence. Cravings. But it never lasted, did it? Those things lack a purpose. They're all flitting in their essence, an immense explosion of satisfaction followed by… Nothing. We were both hungry, and we kept trying to find the thing that would sate us. You had lost your mind; I had lost my home. Like drawn to like." Klaus turns his face to Stefan, finds him staring back, eyes glinting with an emotion he can't quite read in the gloom. He always did fancy Stefan's eyes, though. There is something raw about them, something honest for a change. A little opening to the truth in his soul he tries so hard to hide from the outside world. "That's what the darkness is, Stefan," he continues. "Loneliness. It's what restrains us. The monster we cannot outrun. When it all stops - the laughter, the liquor, the hunger - and everything goes quiet around us, that's when we feel it. The curse of eternity. The weight of our years, deep in our bones. And the inevitable loneliness that comes with it. You had your names on the wall, I had my letters, but when all was said and done… We were both stuck in infinite darkness. Except for a few glorious stolen moments, in that repulsive room of yours." The corner of his mouth pulls up into a lopsided smile. "I was the bigger monster you needed in order to humanize yourself. Whatever you were, I was worse, and so I assuaged your guilt. Much like me being here right now. But then of course you found religion!" He laughs, closing his eyes and facing forward once more. "Your spiritual path towards the light. Elena Gilbert." He enunciates the name like it's coated in something toxic. His general distaste for Elena goes further than the fact she has thwarted so many of his plans. It's the boring saint act he cannot get over.

"Yes," Stefan says, his voice rough. "And then I lost her."

"Right. Because she chose your brother." Klaus chuckles. Stefan shifts uncomfortably beside him, the urge to hit him palpable in the air. It only spurs Klaus on. "How so very tacky. No taste, that one. Personally, I think there's no amount of blue eyes or good sex that can make Damon tolerable. What a wanker. I just want to bash his face against a wall whenever he opens his mouth."

Stefan scoffs. "Get in line."

"It's ironic, isn't it? You were at your absolute best behavior, weeding out all of your instincts, everything that made you fun and interesting in order to fashion yourself into a fairy tale prince for her, and what does she do? She chooses the dullard bad boy. Typical." Klaus shakes his head. "Ungrateful little -"

"Shut up."

"Martyr," he finishes with a smirk. "She probably thinks she's going to fix him, doesn't she? I bet he encourages it. But that's the difference between you and Damon, isn't it? Even with all your valiant efforts, you know creatures like us cannot be fixed. We're beyond salvation."

He gets a sudden twinge in his chest, an image flashing in his mind. A smile as bright as the sun. Hair the color of wheat. He sees her shifting under his sheets, feels the warmth of her touch, the brush of her rosy lips against his skin. It ignites a sense of joy inside him unlike anything else, a sense of possession, of belonging, of having found something that is far more precious or rare than any of the hundreds of treasures he's collected over the course of his life. But along with it comes the ever-present fear. Of loss. How long before he ruins her, like he's ruined everything else he's ever cherished? How long before he hurts her, even if he doesn't mean to? Before his darkness tarnishes her and kills that smile? Before she decides he's not worth it?

"How do you make yourself worthy?" he asks, the question tumbling out of his as though of their own accord. "How do you earn the affections of someone so…"

"Good?" Stefan finishes for him, reading his thoughts. "With sunshine and rainbows shining out of their eyes? Someone like, say… Caroline?" Klaus goes quiet, all his humor bleeding out of him in a second. "You don't," Stefan answers his own question. "You'll never be good enough for her, Klaus. Just like I was never good enough for Elena. Not really. The truth is they deserve much better than the two of us." He sighs, deflating with resignation next to Klaus. "I guess we did make quite a pair, you and I."

"Then perhaps we should die together," he says with an edge of aggression, his mood taking a sudden downturn. He's suddenly irritated. With Stefan, with this ridiculous situation, with himself for agreeing to that. "You and I, in a box, at the bottom of a quarry. Over and over again, drowning in suffering for all our sins and the women we don't deserve. How about that?" Silence stretches out between them, absolute. There's no response from Stefan, but there's also no pounding pulse, no disgruntled breaths. "Oh, look," he says dispassionately. "Someone's not having a panic attack anymore. Congratulations. You've conquered your fears. All you had to do was remember there are worse things than dying."

Klaus gives one violent kick on the door, sending it flying off its hinges. He pushes himself up, stepping out of the safe.

Caroline comes whooshing in, eyes wide as she takes in the state of the safe, the way Stefan is still down, cowering from the sudden burst of luminosity.

"What did you do to him?" she demands.

Klaus' mouth inches upward into the barest hint of a grin, no mirth whatsoever. "I fixed him."

#klaroline #klefan #yokan writes #wip wednesday #this is a very klaroline rewriting though you probably can't tell from this one scene #i'll probably never write this but i liked the idea #SIGH

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zombholic · 7 months

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I HAVE A IDEA FOR YOU WITH DOCTOR!ABBY LIKE TAKING CARE OF HER AFTER A HARD DAY AT WORK AND CUDDLING OMG I NEED THIS RAUGHFHDJQSJFKRKSIXJDJD ( I LOVE YOUUUUUU🫶🫶🫶)

TAKING CARE OF MY GIRL — abby anderson

summary — after a 24 hour shift during a full moon abby comes home traumatized.

description — poc fem!reader, doctor!abby, older abby, young reader, season 3-4 spoiler of tvd, this is gonna have a lot of humor in it :)

— 🎧　　 ◦ ✺ 　 📽　 ⟢ —

Laying back on your couch watching the vampire diaries waiting for your girlfriend to come back from work “Bruh she fucking died?!” You almost threw your remote at the TV finding out that Bonnie died, the only colored person in the show drops dead, of course.

You heard the front door open to reveal a very exhausted Abby, her eyes were dark from the lack of sleep, body hunched over like she was about to recreate “My precious” scene from the lord of the rings.

“Jesus baby what happened to you?” Getting up and taking her jacket off her body, she could only roll her eyes before walking over to the couch slowly sliding down into it like she was going to become one with it.

“You know how many fucking patients came in with stuff they shoved up their ass?” Her eye twitched looking like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

“I— what do I even say to that?” You sucked in your cheeks trying so hard not to bust out laughing.

“Oh my god don’t get me started, one of the fucking HOSPICE patients CLIMBED INTO THE FUCKING CEILING!” You kept a straight face as muffled laughs would slowly slip out quickly covering them with a cough.

“Uh huh” You bit onto your bottom lip so hard just wanting to listen to your girlfriend.

“AND WHEN I TRIED TO GET HER OUT SHE FUCKING HISSED AT ME, i’m ready for retirement” She groaned out, you couldn’t stop yourself, hollering at everything she just explained.

“It’s not funny Y/n, WHY IS SOMEONE WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUCKING DYING CLIMB INTO A CEILING” She balled up into the couch.

“I am so glad I serve coffee for a living” You shook your head before laying next to her, big spooning her as you gave her small kisses on her face and neck.

“I’ll take care of you ok? Let’s go take a bath because you smell like a start of a world disease.” You grabbed her hands pulling her up to drag her to the bathroom.

— 🎧　　 ◦ ✺ 　 📽　 ⟢ —

authors note — guys am i funny😔🙏🏼

#lesbian #lgbtq #wlw #the last of us ii #the last of us #tlou #abby anderson #tlou2 #abby anderson imagine #abby anderson x reader #abby anderson x female reader #tlou abby #abby the last of us #abby x reader #doctor!abby #abby anderson drabble

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drakoneve · 7 months

Text

You've Never Seen Halloween Town?

request: adding to your TVD requests but what about a Kol Mikaelson fic involving Halloween?

pairing: Kol Mikaelson x reader

word count: 400+

warnings: none

a/n: i'll give you one guess to what my favorite halloween movies are

When asked what their favorite holiday most children answered with Christmas, but you, you always answered with Halloween.

You loved everything about the holiday. From the classic movies, to the costumes, free candy, and spending the night exploring your local neighborhoods long after you were ever typically allowed.

If only younger you could see you now, living in New Orleans (arguably one of the most supernatural towns on the planet) with you original vampire and his original siblings.

Oh, and Klaus, the original hybrid and his extremely supernatural miracle baby.

The thought makes you giggle to yourself as you finish the final touches on the fake cobwebs you'd gathered for decorations this year.

"Been quite the busy bee today, have you darling?" Kol's teasing voice came from behind. "Can hardly recognize this place with all you've done to it."

"Oh," you scoff, turning to face your longtime boyfriend. "It's not even that bad. I could have done much worse if I wanted to. We live in New Orleans, not to mention I know some actual witches, I could have this place looking like a scene straight from Halloween Town. This is tame."

Kol comes closer, pulling you around so your back is pressed to his chest. He rests his chin on your shoulder as his eyes flicker across the compound, taking in all your hard work.

You'd done everything from orange and purple lights, 'floating' ghosts, cobwebs, and skeletons strategically placed throughout the Mikaelson compund.

"It is quite beautiful, darling. Though I'm not sure what your 'Halloween Town' is, I-"

You whip your head around, nearly smacking your faces together. "You've never seen Halloween Town? What?"

His brow furrows, "It's a movie?"

"Oh my god, Kol!" you pull out of his grasp, placing your hands on his shoulders. "There's like, three? I wouldn't count the last one cause I'm pretty sure the cast changed which I think is stupid, but the first two are iconic! I can't believe you're a thousand year old vampire and you've never seen the best Halloween movies ever made."

Kol laughs, pretty brown eyes sparkling. "Darling, I don't need some Halloween movies to certify my spookiness."

"Oh I think you do," you defend seriously. "These aren't just any Halloween movies, they're the Halloween movies."

"Mhm," he hums, pulling you against him once more. "Should we settle in and watch these movies, then?"

You smile, wrapping your arms around his neck. "I'd like that."

Kol brings his hand to your chin, tilting your face up slightly to bring your lips to his. The kiss is soft and long, and you treasure the feeling. When Kol finally pulls away he begins leading you back to the room you shared.

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captainsophiestark · 18 days

Text

Klaus Mikaelson Masterlist

TVD/TO Masterlist

Main Masterlist

X - x reader F - Female Reader (otherwise it’s gender neutral) ☀️ - Fluff ✨ - Humor ☁️ - Angst 💋 - Flirting ⭐️ - Author Faves

Newest fics will be at the bottom

Fairy Lights - F!X ☁️☀️

Reader is dating Niklaus Mikaelson, and she’s had a terrible day. Being tortured and used as leverage by a psycho witch is never fun, but it’s a little easier to deal with when you have the love of your life by your side.

Mental Block - X 💋

Y/N is a SHIELD agent with inhuman mental powers, in New Orleans for a well-earned vacation after managing to survive all their training. A nice day in the city turns into an adventure when a strange man with a British accent crashes their vacation.

New Orleans - X ☁️☀️

Y/N and Klaus have been dating for a little while, and they’ve been best friends even longer. They’ve finally weathered most of the storm Mystic Falls has to offer, and Y/N has started their first semester at the University of Virginia. Just when everything’s going perfectly, the Mikaelsons have decided to move to New Orleans, and it might spell the end for Y/N and Klaus.

Immortality - X ☁️☀️

Nik and Y/N have been dating for many years, despite Y/N being human. Despite being in love with the Immortal Hybrid, Y/N never wanted the vampire life. Unfortunately, when one of the many enemies of the Mikaelsons steps in, they might not have a choice anymore.

Nosferatu - X ☁️☀️

Klaus and Y/N have been dating for a long time, and Y/N has more or less gotten used to dealing with all the Mikaelson drama. Still, that doesn’t mean they don’t need a break from time to time. Nik *promised* Y/N they could have a good old fashioned movie marathon as a break from everything they’d been through lately, but when he tries to go back on his promise, Y/N shows him what’s up.

Fatherhood - F!X ☁️☀️

Y/N and Nik have been dating since the Mikaelsons moved to New Orleans and Y/N got turned into a vampire. When Nik starts to feel worried about his ability to parent Hope, who’s due to join the world soon, Y/N helps reassure him.

The Curse of the Sun and the Moon - X ☀️✨⭐️

Klaus' SO is writing their doctoral dissertation on cross-culture myths. Much to their irritation, Klaus knows a thing or two about those.

The 60s - X ☁️☀️

Klaus wiped the memory of the love of his life after hundreds of years together to try to protect them from Mikael. Now, however, his ex has their memories back is going to find their boyfriend. Even if he is in someone else's body.

Witches Get Stitches - F!X ☁️☀️

Klaus and his girlfriend have been together since they were humans, surviving together for a thousand years. They don't intend to let anything tear them apart.

Like Home - X ☁️☀️⭐️

When a serious magical threat comes to Mystic Falls and puts Josie and Lizzie at risk, Caroline and Ric send Klaus' ex down to New Orleans to seek safe harbor for the girls with him. Or, what if Y/N went to New Orleans instead of Caroline, and Klaus was free to see them.

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sturniolos-blog · 2 months

Note

hi I have a request. Y/n is sick and Chris goes to her house to take care of her. He buys flowers, medicine, her favorite candy. He stays the night cuddling and watching TVD

Sick - Chris Sturniolo x Y/n Oneshot

warnings - swearing, fluff, sick, mentions of throw up.

—————————

1:46pm

I was in my bed in horrible pain like everywhere. My head hurt, nose was runny, my throat was scratchy, and my whole body ached.

I had a cold wash cloth on my head as i sniffled.

I heard my room door open before close. I hear footsteps and a russle of a bag.

“How you feelin, ma?” I hear Chris ask. I groan in response as he chuckles.

“Not good i assume..” He laughs, i take the washcloth off my head to look at him.

“Everything hurts..” I moan in pain.

“Aw, poor baby..” He teases as he sits down on the bed next to me.

I scoff, “You can go.” I joke, pushing Chris away playfully.

Chris gasps jokingly before he shrugs, “Welp, i guess i bought flowers, candy, and medicine for nothing. I even got you the vitamin gummy’s you like.” He says, my head snaps towards him.

“The animal gummies? Cherry?” I ask, my voice quiet and hoarse.

Chris nods, smirking at me.

“Okay come back now,” I put my arms out for him, he laughs before giving me a hug, kissing my face.

“Chris, you’re gonna get sick..” I groan, trying to push him off now.

“I don’t care, but okay.” He sighs, pulling away and pouring all the stuff out of the bag.

“You really didn’t have to do all this..” I croaked out.

“Of course i did!” He scoffed.

I smiled in awe at Chris. “Can we watch-”

Chris cuts me off, “Yes baby, we can watch the vampire diaries.”

—————————-

sorry this is so short i finslly cleared out my drafts but now i have more requests soo i will get to them later

love you guys sm

taglist: @sturniolosmind @novasturniolo03 @hearts4chriss @vinniehackerslefttoe @christhopersturniolo

#matt sturniolo #chris sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #christopher sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #spotify #sturniolo #chris sturniolo x you #chris sturniolo x reader

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klonnieshippersclub · 3 months

Note

I NEED someone to write a fic of Klaus trying to do his mixed kids hair😤

A fic about soft Klonnie moments sounds like a nice idea! I accept any and every fic concept to share it with everyone else who loves Klonnie. What good is this space for if not sharing ideas!

That being said, Klaus is a thousand years old I think he would be well-educated in styling his daughter’s hair. If there were any struggles Bonnie would help him. TVD’s styling didn’t do Bonnie justice to not accommodate Kat. I reject this “bad hair Bonnie” canon! Kol wouldn’t be allowed to do any of their girls hair. This was a cute concept, so I gave it a try. Let me know your thoughts!

This took 15 minutes, so you might want to manage your expectations. Enjoy!

Iris peaked her head into her parent's bedroom to find her father alone in a chair sketching. She hates to interrupt his quiet time, but she needed him. While fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater, Iris cleared her throat.

"Papa, who is going to do my hair with Mama gone?" she asked with distress painted on her face. "I can't go to school looking a mess!"

Klaus frowned at his child obviously being upset. "You sound like your Aunt Rebekah. I can do your hair for you."

"I'm not sure you're qualified," his daughter responded with a wary look in her eyes.

"I do have a few curls of my own, sweetheart."

"Yeah, but my hair is hard," Iris anguished. "Marina's waves are easy to manage."

Klaus inwardly sighed at his youngest daughter's bad habit of comparing herself to one of her elder siblings. He hoped to comfort her and ease her worry but knew this talk would be easier with Bonnie here. Then again, Iris wouldn't have come to him about her hair if Bonnie was present in the first place. Instead, she was off assisting a witch doctor in nursing a cursed wolf pack back to health.

"Your hair isn't hard," Klaus softly chided. "It's just different from your older sister's."

Iris wasn't quite sure if she believed him. He was her father. He had to love everything about her, even her difficult hair. It was his job as a parent to do so. "I guess..."

"Your lovely hair is just like your mother's and she taught me a few tricks," said Klaus as he stood to retrieve Bonnie's hair supplies that she didn't take with her. "Sit and be amazed."

#bonnie bennett #klonnie #klaus mikaelson #the vampire diaries #tvd #bonnie x klaus #klaus x bonnie #rikkisinbox #anon ask #the originals #Rikki tries writing

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fanficimagery · 1 year

Text

The Avenger and Her Vampire

You had been in New York for college for only a year when your aunt called to tell you the terrible news of your parents passing. You didn't mourn with them, instead choosing to go back to school. There, you lost yourself to the grief and wound up with the wrong crowd.

For years you've ignored your family, sending emails and postcards to let them know you were okay. But now that you're returning to your childhood home, there's some very important secrets your family has been keeping from you. Then again, you've got a secret of your own as well.

Words: 9.9K Author's Note: TVD AU. Slight Bonnie bashing which surprised me because I love her.

Mystic Falls would have looked exactly the same as you'd last seen it had it not been for all the suspicious men and women taking up Main Street, staring at you with suspicion as you drive by. There are even a few suspicious individuals down the street from your childhood home, so you pull up in front of your house while keeping an eye out for anyone nearby.

After parking and exiting your vehicle, you walk up towards the front door. The lights are on so you know someone's home and you readily ring the doorbell twice in a row, followed by knocking repeatedly. And then, before anyone can greet you, you open the door while sticking your head in.

"Hello! Anyone home?"

You only have to wait a few seconds before your aunt Jenna rounds the corner, her scowl immediately morphing into an elated smile. "YN!"

"Jenna!"

You push the door the rest of the way open, meeting your aunt halfway and throwing your arms around her in a hug. You grunt as she squeezes you, her embrace being a little tighter than you remember. Then when Jenna's had her fill, she pulls back while keeping her hands on your biceps, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"What happened? Why are you home?"

"What do you mean why am I home?" You huff a laugh. "Am I not welcomed here anymore?"

"Of course you are." She lightly swats your arm, "But it's been years, YN. The most we've seen of you is on FaceTime, so I ask again. What happened?"

You keep quiet for a moment longer before sighing with a slight roll of your eyes. "I'm going abroad over summer and I won't be able to be in contact with you guys, so I thought I'd come visit before I leave."

"Knew there was a reason." Her lips twitch. "But abroad? Tell me everything!"

Laughing, you let Jenna drag you towards the kitchen while you explain that you know the Tony Stark. What had started off as an intern gig working the front desk at Stark Industries led to CEO Pepper Potts asking you to run SI's social media accounts. Then from running SI's accounts, you were then given the passwords to the Avengers' social media accounts, and asked to clean them up.

By some divine intervention, you were friends with superheroes and then one of the richest men on Earth wanted to take you abroad as his personal assistant. And not being able to turn the opportunity down, you agreed.

"Wow. So superheroes, huh? What's Thor like?"

"He's possibly one of the most intimidating beings I've ever met, but at the compound where everyone can just be themselves without the public watching he's an absolute puppy. I adore that alien of a man."

Jenna laughs. "What even is your life?"

"I know. It's insane." As Jenna goes about putting away the dishes she had washed as you spoke, you ask, "So what's going on around here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uhhh… Mystic Falls is a picturesque little town where nothing bad ever happens." Jenna snorts, gesturing for you to go on. "So why the hell are there so many randos hanging around and looking at me like I kicked their puppy?"

Her smile falls. "What?"

"Surely you've noticed it," you muse. "They're not exactly being subtle."

"Well no, but…" Your aunt suddenly looks spooked as she starts scouring the kitchen counters. "I need to call your sister."

"Elena? Why would you-"

The front door is suddenly kicked in, followed by men shouting. You and Jenna both yelp, whirling around towards the commotion, and then there's a liquid being spritzed into your face.

You cringe back. "What the fuck!" You yell.

"She's clear!"

You're shoved to the arms of a man wearing a paintball mask, whereas others are just wearing scarves to conceal their identity. A hand clamps onto your shoulder as your eyes wildly dart over every armed individual in your childhood home.

"What do we do with this one?"

"Take her. She's a sympathizer."

"What the hell is going on?" You ask, grunting a moment later when you're shoved towards the front door.

Jenna suddenly screams and you look towards her to see her hands covering her face.

"We got one!"

"Hey, leave her alone!" You shout, trying to move to aid your aunt. But you're kept in place, both by the hand on your shoulder and by the fact that when your aunt's hands fall away, her face is… it's not human. Your jaw drops as your aunt snarls, backhanding one man before she's spritzed in the face again. As she squeals in pain, face sizzling, a unique set of handcuffs are clamped around her wrists. "Jenna?" You hesitantly call out.

When Jenna hears you, she glances directly at you, and you watch her red irritated skin heal within seconds. The dark veins beneath her eyes slowly vanish and her too sharp canines disappear. "YN?" When you can only stare at her in shock, her bottom lip wobbles. "I can explain."

Several walkies go off at the same time, stating that they have someone incoming outside. Jenna is frog marched outside and once you get your bearings, you're quick to follow. There are several jeeps in front of your house, each outfitted with guns no normal civilian should have their hands on, and many others scattered about your yard.

"Jenna!" Your sister Elena appears out of nowhere, eyes panicked. "Hey! Let her go!" As Elena tries to rush towards your aunt, she meets the same fate as your aunt previously did. Only this time, they also stab her in the abdomen with what appears to be a wooden stake after she squeals in pain when her face starts to sizzle.

As Elena doubles over with a choked off shout, you practically fall down your porch steps in order to reach your sister. "Hey! Get away from her!"

As handcuffs are clapped around her wrists, Elena looks up at you in surprise. "Y-YN?"

"I said get away!" Subconsciously, an orb of red energy fills your palm, and you release it at those surrounding your sister as if pitching a baseball without even batting an eye.

"Retreat! We got an unknown!"

Several scared men and women rush back to their vehicles, hightailing it out of there while completely forgetting about your sister and aunt. Jenna stumbles over to Elena, the two of them trying to examine the cuffs around their wrists. But each time they touch them, they hiss in pain and have to stop.

Turning towards your family once the coast is clear, you ask, "What the hell is going on?"

"W-What?" Elena glances at you, warily. "What do you mean what's going on here? What's going on with you?! How did you-"

"Uh uh. Nope. We're not talking about me right now." You step forward until you can grab onto their cuffs with each hand. Then willing energy into them, they click open seconds later and fall away from their wrists. "I just outed myself in front of asshole strangers to save you, so you're gonna tell me what the hell is happening first and how the hell you and Jenna are whatever the hell you are."

Elena opens her mouth to retort, but Jenna cuts her off. "She's right, Elena. We owe her an explanation," she says while rubbing at her wrists

Your sister glances between you and your aunt as if in disbelief, before her shoulders sag and she heaves a sigh. "Fine. But I need to get everyone else here. This involves them too."

"Then get them here."

. . . .

Nearly an hour and a half later, well after the sun has gone down, you're sitting in your childhood living room while rubbing your temple from the onslaught of information your sister and friends have dropped on you.

Doppelgangers, vampires, werewolves, witches, hybrids… the supernatural is very real and if you weren't friends with real life aliens, you'd have trouble believing everything you've been told.

"So let me get this straight- you," you say while looking at apparently a thousand year old hybrid with a ridiculously cute dimpled grin, "killed my aunt and turned her into a vampire to be used when you sacrificed my sister to break your curse, but you had a change of heart and used someone else instead, and now everyone's just cool with each other?"

"Something like that," Klaus Mikaelson muses.

You shake your head. "And you," you say while looking at his sister Rebekah, "actually got my sister killed which led her to waking up in transition to a vampire?"

"Mmm, yes." The blonde is oddly proud of that moment, it seems, as she smirks.

"Jesus…" you mumble.

"It's not like we're actually friends," Bonnie Bennet, witch extraordinaire, says. "Originals are just hard to kill and even if we did find a way to kill them, they're linked to their sire lines."

"You say that as if I should know what that means," you deadpan.

Bonnie really tries not to roll her eyes as Klaus and Rebekah chuckle at your attitude.

"What it means, love, is that if we kill one Original, then every vampire they turned and every vampire those turned, and so on and so forth, all die," Enzo tells you.

"Vampire extinction," Jeremy mumbles.

"We're just covering our own asses by inviting the Mikaelson family," Damon Salvatore says with a shrug. "If they're left out of the loop and someone miraculously kills them, they kill us too."

"Sounds fair." You shrug. "So now that I'm all caught up about you guys, does anyone care to fill me in on what the hell happened tonight? Who the hell are these randos walking around like vigilante military?"

"Someone saw something they weren't supposed to and went to my mom," Caroline says, "but since mom already knew about the supernatural, she tried to dissuade them so as not to reveal the secret."

"Only that didn't work and something is amplifying the fear of these locals and others they've invited to town into hunting down the nonhuman," Stefan Salvatore tells you.

You glance at Bonnie while wiggling your fingers. "Can't you just magic away the issue? What's good being a witch if you can't spell away the problem?"

"Finally! Thank you," Rebekah huffs.

Bonnie sneers at the Original vampire before crossing her arms and glaring at you. "I've tried. Whatever this is, is immune to my magic."

"What about you?" Elena asks.

You frown. "What about me?"

"Jenna and I saw what you did," she says. "Couldn't you-" It's her turn to wiggle her fingers, causing you to grin.

"What do you mean what she did?" Jeremy asks, glancing between you and your other sister. "What happened?"

"She threw this red blast of energy and knocked some guys on their asses," Jenna says, far too impressed with you now that she knows the new you isn't a threat. You're still the same niece she watched grow up.

Everyone glances at you and you sink into your seat. "YN, what happened to you?" Elena asks, wanting to understand.

"I fell in with the wrong crowd after mom and dad died," you tell the room at large. "They had some powers of their own, that I didn't know about until way later, and they apparently sought me out after sensing some very weak magic in me."

"You have magic?" Bonnie stands a little taller. "But we thought only Elena had magic in her blood because of the Petrova bloodline."

"Well, there's apparently magic in the Gilbert or Sommers bloodline," you say. "Anyway, this group used my grief to manipulate me. When they had my trust, they exposed me to a crystal that amplified the magic that was already in me." You raise a hand in front of you, letting a small orb of red energy develop and dance between your fingers. "They call it chaos magic."

"Holy shit," you hear someone breathe in awe.

"In the beginning, I was excited. I was special," you tell them, losing yourself to the memory. "But then one really bad situation led me to losing control of my emotions and…" You close your hand into a fist, and your hand glows brighter and brighter before you flick your fingers open. A short wave of red energy expands outward before dissipating. As you blink out of the memory, you catch sight of everyone staring at you, tense. You shrug. "I, uh, I wanted help after that. I didn't want to accidentally hurt someone, so I sought out someone who could help."

"Who could help with that?" Your sister asks.

"I wasn't too sure, but I sought out Steve Rogers."

"Captain America?!" Your brother practically shouts. "You sought out an American Icon!?"

"Don't say it like that." Your nose wrinkles. "Steve's more than what the government dubbed him as."

"Wait," Jenna speaks up, frowning. "So, is what you told me earlier true? Are you really going abroad with Tony Stark as his assistant or…?"

"Ehh…" You squeak, shrugging.

"YN…" Her eyes narrow and you sheepishly smile.

"It's more of a mission rather than a job opportunity."

"A mission?"

"Surprise!" You give them jazz hands, chuckling nervously now. "I may or may not be an Avenger in training."

"WHAT?!" Out of everyone, your brother Jeremy is most excited. "You're gonna be a superhero?!"

"I'm gonna try to be," you say. "Apparently my morals are a little skewed, so I'm gonna be on probation for a while."

Enzo smirks. "Where has this Gilbert been all my life?"

"Right?" Damon muses, earning a punch from Elena and a chuckle from nearly everyone else.

"Anyway, I-" Nearly as one, every vampire perks up and looks towards the door. "Uhh, what's happening?"

Stefan frowns. "It sounds like a drone." And sure enough, moments later after the words leave his mouth, a drone passes by one of the front windows.

"A drone?" Rebekah scoffs. "How cowardly of them."

Everyone makes their way outside, hesitating on the porch, while only the Original family and Enzo head down onto the front lawn. The drone continues to hover noisily until Klaus leaps and snatches it from the air. Pulling an envelope that had been taped to it, he then crushes the drone and tosses it aside.

"Oh. They sent a note," Rebekah muses. "That's very quaint of them."

Her brothers huff in amusement as Klaus quickly scans the note. Summarizing it, he says, "They want a meeting with the new threat in the clearing next to the Welcome to Mystic Falls sign."

"No. No way," Elena says.

"It's a trap." Damon's eyes roll. "No one's going anywhere. We need to come up with a plan to catch them off guard."

"What better way to catch them off guard than actually showing up?" You wonder, moving to step down the porch steps, but keeping your hand on the porch railing. "They have no idea what I'm capable of. They're idiots to call me out."

Jeremy shakes his head. "They'll see you as a sympathizer and shoot first, ask questions later."

"That's assuming they'll even get a shot in."

"YN, think about this," Jenna says. "You don't know what you're up against."

"And apparently neither do you," you retort. "Your witch has yet to protect this town, so it's time some new blood takes the lead for a bit."

Bonnie scoffs. "Be my guest."

"Well, if you're going, then I'm going," Elena says.

"Me too," Jeremy agrees.

"You're not leaving without me," Jenna then says.

Glancing over your shoulder, you smirk as you will your power to gather. "Good luck leaving the house then," you muse. Immediately your eyes flash red and a red shimmer envelops the house and porch.

"What?" You laugh as you jump off the porch steps. "What did you do?" Elena steps forward to follow but runs into an invisible shield. "YN!"

"What?" You feign innocence. "The way I see it, every one of you is vulnerable. Bullets and stakes can't harm an Original the way they can harm all of you."

"Enzo's not an Original," Elena says, eyes narrowing.

"No, but Enzo was already down here, so…" You shrug. "And besides, he's cute. I need something pretty to look at in case I die out there."

"YN, let us out," Elena says, shaking her head. "You're in over your head."

"No."

"Bonnie!" Elena whirls around, but even as Bonnie closes her eyes to chant, your shield doesn't waver.

The witch frowns. "I can't. This is magic I've never come across before."

"Of course you haven't. I'm apparently one of a kind." You wink and then look back at Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah, and Enzo. "So, are you coming with or not? I may need a lift if you guys are running there."

"Darling, it'll be my pleasure," Enzo says. You giggle as he swoops you up into a bridal carry, running with you as if you didn't weigh much.

You have to close your eyes given how fast Enzo is running, but when he stops and starts to put you down, you open them and look around. You're near the meeting place, watching the vampires stare off in one direction as they listen to something only they can hear.

"What's going on?" You murmur.

"There's more than we anticipated," Rebekah murmurs back. "And they're all armed."

"Wonderful." Everyone continues to listen and quietly plan their next move, and eventually you grow restless. "Screw this. I'm going in."

"No. Wait!"

The vampires hiss threats at you, but you roll your eyes and continue forward. Walking through the tall grass, you keep your eyes peeled for anyone lingering on the sides. You don't see anything out of the norm and eventually you come upon a group of men and women.

Shockingly, it's a woman who steps forward and who you assume is in charge. "Who are you?" She asks.

"Who am I?" You muse. "Who are you? You came into my home and attacked us, after all."

The woman has a swagger to her to step as she stops a couple yards in front of you, crossing her arms over her chest with a self-satisfied smirk. "We hunt vampires. We're ridding the world of these monsters, but you were a surprise. So again, who are you?"

"YN Gilbert," you tell her. "And you attacked my aunt and sister. So, you and I, we have a problem."

"Your family are monsters. And so are you." As soon as the words leave her mouth, all the armed individuals behind her raise their weapons and green lasers center on your chest. Glancing down at all the moving dots, you laugh. "Those vampire friends of yours might be invulnerable to bullets, but are you?"

"There's only one way to find out." At your side, your right hand starts to glow. You hear murmurs of distress and you smirk as you glance at the woman in charge. "Then again, you're a moment too late. You should have had them take the shot when you had the chance."

Before she can get a word out, you raise your hand and flick your wrist. The red energy enveloping your hand disperses, and you watch as every person who had their weapon trained on you goes rigid as their eyes briefly glow red. From one second to the next, they all turn and train their weapons on their boss.

"Have fun convincing your friends you're not the monster." Turning around, your steps briefly falter as the vampires stare at you in amusement. You hadn't even heard them come up behind you. "What?"

Elijah's lips twitch. "What did you do to them?"

"A little mind control, I think. We should get out of here and regroup so I can figure out our next move. I'm not sure how long our new friends will be under."

"What all are you capable of?" Klaus asks, eyeing you warily.

"Dunno. I'm still figuring that out. Now can we go? I'm pretty sure everyone at my house is pretty pissed given I locked them in."

"My family and I actually have something to take care of in New Orleans," Klaus says.

"We would appreciate it if you kept us in the loop," Elijah then tells you.

"Sure. I can get your number from someone when there's something to tell." The Mikaelson siblings disappear after agreeing and you turn to glance at Enzo with a grin. "And then there were two." You step closer, reaching for him so he can prepare to hold you again. "Let's go, handsome, before the people with guns come out of the little trance they're under."

He huffs a laugh as your arms go around his neck and you jump so he's forced to catch you. "As you wish."

The next morning you groggily walk downstairs, yawning and stepping into the kitchen where Stefan is surprisingly cooking.

"Morning," you sleepily mumble.

He smiles. "Morning. Sleep okay?"

You wrinkle your nose while making yourself a cup of coffee and think about why you didn't have that great of a sleep. After what happened to your aunt and sister, Elena didn't want anyone unprotected. Tyler and Caroline still opted to go home to keep an eye on their mothers, but everyone else decided to stay at the Gilbert house. Bonnie slept in Jeremy's room, Damon in Elena's, Stefan called dibs on the couch, and you felt bad that Enzo would have to sleep on the recliner. Instead, you offered to share with him so long as he knew there'd be no funny business.

"If I had known Enzo hogs the blanket, I'd have never offered to share my bed out of the goodness of my heart."

Stefan chuckles. "Would breakfast put you in a better mood?"

"Mmm. What'd you make?"

"There's eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, and toast."

You take a sip of your coffee before you stand. "I'll make my own eggs," you tell him. "I'm apparently picky with how they're made."

Stefan grins while stepping aside, watching as you find a small pan for your eggs. You crack three in the pan, scrambling them. Then while letting them cook for a moment, you head to the refrigerator to grab a bag of shredded cheese. Once they're nearly done to how you like them, you sprinkle a handful of cheese so the heat melts it just right.

"Cheesy eggs," you muse while plating them. "This is now the only way I can eat them."

Stefan grabs a fork and tries a forkful from the pan, humming a moment later. "Huh. Those are pretty good."

"Right?"

The two of you eat in peace before the rest of the house starts waking up. Jenna and Enzo join you right before Damon and Elena, and then Bonnie says a quick hello before taking her leave to get a jump on trying to figure out what's going on. Jeremy is the last to show up and you swat at his hand when he tries to steal your bacon.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Jeremy asks.

You shrug. "Probably roam the town and see if I can sense anything. Elena, nor Jenna, can tag along because those people know they're vampires."

"We're out of the running because they've been keeping an eye on the boarding house," Damon says.

"Which leaves me," Enzo smirks.

Jeremy huffs. "And me."

"Yeah, but you're only human, baby Gilbert."

Your brother grumbles and you laugh as you ruffle his hair. "Don't worry. I'll protect you and the pretty vampire from any threats."

Elena is not happy that you're going out on your own with only Enzo as vampire backup, but you tell her if she wants to involve herself then she can go help her witchy bestie. She's not impressed, but you couldn't care less, and you head out once Jeremy is done with breakfast.

"Someone else drive," you say while tossing your keys over your shoulder. "I need to sit in the back and somewhat concentrate."

"All you, mate," you hear Enzo say. "I just wanna sit pretty in the passenger seat."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

You slide into the back of your car, scooting towards the middle and letting Jeremy settle behind the wheel while Enzo makes himself comfortable in the passenger seat.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" Jeremy asks.

"No idea. Just drive up and down every street. If something gives me the heebie jeebies, I'll speak up and we'll check it out."

"And if you don't sense anything out of the norm?"

"Then we go back home and try again later." He looks at you through the rearview mirror and you sigh. "Jer, just drive. I love Elena, but I really don't wanna deal with all her questions right now."

"But you'll answer mine, right?"

"Ugh. If I must."

"Cool. So, what's it like living with superheroes?" He asks, starting your car and pulling away from the curb.

"It was fun, but a bit chaotic."

"Because of all the enemies the Avengers have?"

"No, because half of them act like children." You huff a laugh, remembering some of your fonder moments with them. "Hawkeye likes to hide the vents and start unexpected nerf wars. Captain America and the Winter Soldier know no boundaries, and I usually found one or both sitting at my kitchen table and eating all my food when they forgot to order their groceries. And Iron Man likes to know any and every dirty detail of a person's life."

"What about the Black Widow?" Jeremy muses.

"She's more of a meddling teenager. Kept trying to set me up with people."

Jeremy laughs. "Who?"

"First it was Steve, then when she realized I had a type she reluctantly guided me in Loki's direction."

Enzo turns in his seat. "The God of Mischief? She tried setting you up with the God of Mischief?"

"Yep." You pop the 'p' and grin. "Almost sealed the deal too, but Thor's a cockblock and he got called back to Asgard before anything interesting could happen."

"Good. You can do better than the god of mischief who once wanted to take over Earth," your brother mumbles.

"Oh yeah?" You scoot forward so you can peer into the front between your brother and Enzo. "So, what are your thoughts on blood sucking vampires?"

"Gross!" Enzo barks out a laugh and Jeremy's attention is divided between the road and his passenger. "You better have not seduced my sister, Enzo!"

"I didn't, mate, but I did think about it."

You're laughing now, punching Enzo's shoulder while you tell your brother, "Give me some credit. I don't sleep with people on the same day I meet them."

"The vampires are off limits."

"Come on," you groan. "I need to have some fun before I leave. It's either this vampire or the other vampire with the accent."

"The other vampire with an acc- Klaus? You wanna bone Klaus?!"

Your lips twitch while you try to remain serious. "One or the other. You gotta pick one."

"No. Not only no, but hell no!"

You and Enzo are laughing again, and Jeremy grumbles while watching where he's driving.

For the rest of the drive, you divide your attention by teasing your brother with your attraction to the vampire in the passenger seat, and trying to sense anything out of the norm. Unfortunately, nothing feels off to you and Jeremy ends up driving back home.

"Better luck next time, yeah?" Enzo says while exiting the vehicle.

"Yeah. Until then, I'm gonna nap. Wake me up for lunch," you tell Jeremy.

For days you drive around Mystic Falls at random times, but you don't find anything. You even try to meditate and cast out a mental net, but again you come up with nothing.

Not even Bonnie has any luck and when you start to get aggravated because you know people are watching your family and their friends, Enzo decides to get you out of the house without any chaperones.

"Dinner at the Mystic Grill? How romantic of you," you tiredly tease him.

"We can always have dinner with your family and the Salvatore's, love."

"Mystic Grill is perfect."

"Thought so."

While you and Enzo wait for your food, you talk a little bit more.

"So is Mystic Falls permanent or were you visiting when all hell broke loose?" You wonder.

"Visiting. I'm a bit of a wanderer." Enzo tells you as he pops a piece of tortilla chip into his mouth. "What about you? What are your plans after your vacation is up?"

"Well, my trip is pretty confidential, but I'll be gone for two weeks before heading back to New York."

"And is New York permanent?"

"Yep. It wasn't always, but after gaining these powers of mine it's kind of where I have to be now."

Enzo smirks. "Will you be allowed visitors?"

"Of course." You laugh. "But the superheroes are nosy and it won't be long until they figure out your secret if you start visiting me."

"A price I will have to pay if it means I can have sleepovers with my favorite Gilbert."

Heat embarrassingly blooms in your cheeks as you toss a piece of torn napkin at him, making him chuckle. Thankfully, the waitress shows up with your food and you're saved from retorting by biting into your chicken sandwich.

You eat in peace, only having to stop a few times to greet old friends and old friends of your parents when they realize you're back. When it's all said and done, Enzo can't stop smiling at you as you leave the Grill and start walking towards Main Square.

"What?"

"I didn't know you were so popular."

"That's what happens when you're the golden child of two of the most respected individuals in town."

"Ah, yes. Your father."

You wince. "Sorry. I forgot you said that he- and Augustine."

"Water under the bridge, love. Besides, you were only a child when all that went down."

As you continue to walk, your arms cross over your chest and Enzo's thumbs end up hooked in his front pockets. He tells you about his turning and the identity of his sire which sets you off into a round of giggles as you tell him he's basically the baby of the Salvatore clan. He huffs, but finds amusement in your amusement.

You're then telling him all about the one time Tony Stark took you out for drinks and you ended up with the worst hangover of your life when a sudden sense of dread washes over you. You stumble and Enzo reaches for your elbow, and you immediately glance around at your surroundings.

"What's wrong?"

"You don't feel that?" You ask, your left hand reaching for your chest as your heart starts to pound with fear. "Fuck. Whoever's responsible for igniting panic in Mystic Falls is here. I can- I feel like-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Take a breath, sweetheart."

"M'trying." You try to catch your breath while reinforcing a mental shield around your mind. As the seconds slowly tick on by, you eventually get yourself under control. As your gaze scans your surroundings, you find someone standing under the clock tower. And when you clock them, they immediately tense and try to scurry off. "There."

When Enzo sees where you're looking, he speeds off and you start walking until you're in the middle of Main Square. Enzo reappears with a struggling woman by his side and he rolls his eyes. "Enough." He grips her bicep a little tighter, jerking her so she gets the memo to stop trying to escape. "Explain yourself."

"Yes. Please do," you drawl.

"H-How did you fight off the f-fear?" She asks instead, glancing between you and Enzo. "No one is supposed t-to be able to."

"I'm one of a kind," you deadpan. "Now explain yourself."

"The vampires have taken over. I needed to protect everyone!"

"Vampires are the least of your worries." You huff. "So what if they take a sip from a local or three? You should be grateful the vampires keep the worst threats from stepping foot here."

She shakes her head. "You're wrong. This vampire has used his mind tricks on you!"

"That's where you're wrong, girlie," Enzo muses. "Miss Gilbert here can't be compelled. You, however-"

"Wait." You stop Enzo from trying to compel the girl. "How did you do it?" You ask her. "How are you riling the locals and their friends up? How are you controlling their fear?" As you were asking her questions, you took notice that her hand reached up to grasp the tiny jar that had been hanging around her neck. She shakes her head, refusing to answer, and you reach forward with quick reflexes to pull the necklace from around her neck. "What's this then?"

"Don't!" She tries to lunge for it, but Enzo holds her in place.

"Why? It's just a-" An unseen force hits you square in the chest, throwing you off your feet and sends you flying. You land on your back with a grunt and within a second Enzo is there to help you up back to feet. "What the fuck was that?" You mumble.

"I don't know."

When you get your bearings, you glance back at the woman who fidgets nervously with something inhuman and grotesque standing right behind her shoulder. You scoff at her, gripping her necklace tight in hand. "Are you kidding me? You want to rid the town of vampires, yet you have a fuckin' demon at your beck and call? Hypocrite."

"He's helping me."

"He's feeding off of you, idiot!" You shout back at her. "He's just feeding differently than a vampire does, but I guarantee you he's feeding from you."

"N-No. He said-"

"Demons lie," Enzo tells her. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's leeching off your soul and every other soul he instills fear in. You're not helping anyone. You're hurting them."

She gasps and stumbles away from the demon, trembling when its milky white eyes turn on her. "I-Is that true?"

The demon gives a nonchalant shrug and you shake your head in disappointment at the girl. Her eyes fill with tears. "I didn't- I didn't want-"

"How do I get rid of it?" You ask. "What's so important about the necklace?"

When the demon looks at you and takes a step in your direction, she says, "Break it. Breaking the jar breaks the spell. Everyone will go back to normal too."

The demon hisses and you roll your eyes while throwing the necklace down and letting Enzo stomp on it. As soon as the glass breaks, the demon squeals before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

You frown. "Well, that was anticlimactic."

Enzo snorts and then gestures towards the trembling woman. "What do we do with her?"

"Please don't kill me!" She cries. "I only wanted to help."

"I'm not going to kill you." You roll your eyes. "But you are going to take me to your house so I can gather everything that will remind you of the supernatural. Then I'm going to make you forget everything you know about us and make it so you never have to worry ever again."

"P-Promise?"

"Promise."

. . . .

An hour later, you and Enzo are going through boxes of occult paraphernalia that you'd taken from the woman's home. You had texted your sister to text Bonnie to meet you at the house, so you were currently waiting for the witch to show.

"I can't believe the villain was so utterly human who got lucky with the right books," Enzo drawls.

"Right? And to think- oh, pretty!" You cut yourself off, picking up a small crystal globe. "Do you think this is harmless?"

Enzo snorts. "I don't know, love. Ask the Bennett witch. She's walking up the porch steps right now."

Bonnie doesn't bother to knock, instead just walking right on in. She walks into the living room, exhaling softly as she takes in you and Enzo. "What happened? Did you find any new leads?"

"Did I find any new leads?" You muse, chuckling. She doesn't look impressed with you. "I found the problem and took care of it. Vampires can now roam around without fear that someone is going to stake them."

She stands a little taller. "What?"

"It was a normal civilian," Enzo says, "who got lucky with the right occult shop. She summoned a fear demon and didn't realize that while it was riling everyone up, it was also feeding on them."

"So we broke the spell, put the mind whammy on the woman who was causing you issues, and cleaned out her supernatural paraphernalia," you say while gesturing to the boxes in front of you. "I figured this stuff was better off in your hands than in someone else who would try their hand at summoning."

Bonnie steps further into the room to get a look in the boxes. "O-Oh. And this woman, she's okay?"

"Yes. Just because I have magic now doesn't make me a monster, Bonnie. The woman is fine and doesn't remember a thing."

"She also has the urge to better her life," Enzo says. "And if you don't believe us, we'll give you her address so you can check her out for yourself."

"No. It's fine," she says. "I just- I guess I'm so used to Damon solving our problems by killing the issue rather than solving it without bloodshed."

"Aren't you glad I'm not Damon." Bonnie finally cracks a grin at you and you raise the crystal globe so she can see it. "So do you think it's safe to keep this? It's really pretty."

Her and Enzo both snort, and she holds her hand out for it. "Let me see." You hand it over and you watch as she closes her eyes, muttering under her breath. After a few seconds, her eyes open and she passes it back to you. "It's fine. I don't think she ever had a chance to use it."

"Score." You keep the small globe and then gesture to the boxes. "All yours then, Bennet. Don't go summoning demons now."

She chuckles. "I won't."

Enzo helps her load the car with her new possessions and then he's looming over you as you sit on the couch. "What?" You slowly grin at him.

"We have the house to ourselves."

"We've had the house to ourselves, Enzo."

"Yes, but we were expecting company. Now, we are not."

Your laugh gets cut short as you yawn. "As much as I'm looking forward to checking out your vampire stamina, I'm beat."

"Fine. Off to bed we go and then you're mine for the next few days now that you don't have to solve Mystic Falls' problems."

"Yeah. Sure."

You're peacefully sleeping when you're rudely awakened by your phone. Normally you'd let it go to voicemail, but you know for a fact that you silenced it which means your phone's been hacked. And given that it's a Stark product, you have a very good feeling you know who hacked your phone for this rude awakening.

Turning onto your opposite side, reach for your phone and blindly answer it. You realize a second too late it's a video call and maneuver the phone so the camera doesn't catch anything behind you.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!"

You groan, keeping your eyes hooded because of the too bright screen. "Fuck off, Tony. What time is it?"

"It should be six your time, I think."

"Six?!" Your eyes open wider and you shift your position just a little, pulling the blanket up higher to cover your chest. "What the hell, Tony! I barely went to sleep like three hours ago."

"Mhm. And what were you doing three hours ago? Or should I say whom?" You catch his smirk and you scowl at him.

"I don't know what you're-"

"Cut the shit. I caught a glimpse of a very muscular back when you moved just moments ago. And a head of dark hair."

"Fuck." There's a snort behind you and you turn so you're on your back, shoving at Enzo's arm. "You just had to be here, didn't you?"

"You weren't complaining three hours ago, love."

Tony practically lights up. "Did you get a boyfriend?! Romanoff is going to be so pissed she wasn't the cause of this."

"He's not my boyfriend," you grumble. "He's just… convenient."

"Mhmm. And is this convenience going to be visiting New York when you get back from our trip?"

"Enzo knows it's a probationary mission," you tell him around a yawn. "And I don't know. Maybe."

Enzo changes position so he's also on his back, sleepily smirking at you. "Definitely."

"Then he's a boyfriend. Oh, I can't wait to tell the others. Our baby superhero is growing up so fast."

"You're both annoying." You yawn again. "Was there a purpose to this call, Stark, or can we go back to sleep?"

"Not really. I just missed my second favorite human."

"Second? Does Peter know he's been usurped of his position as second favorite? If not, I call dibs on rubbing it in his face."

"Rude. But anyway, I also made you a gift. I'll ship it out later, so be expecting a package later this week."

"Ugh. Should I be worried?"

"No, but I have a feeling your new boyfriend is going to love it."

"One- not the boyfriend. And two- goodbye, Tony."

You hang up before Tony can say anything else and set your phone aside. When you turn back around, you match Enzo's position so you're lying on your side, facing him. "What do you think he's sending you?"

"No idea, but I have a feeling it's either going to be something I need or something to embarrass me."

Enzo smiles as he tucks your hair behind your ear, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to your forehead. "Alright. Go back to sleep, love. It's still dark out."

"Mmm. Okay."

Two days later, as you're sitting on the porch swing with your sister and enjoying iced tea with your siblings and aunt, a delivery truck stops in front of the house. The conversation you'd been having ceases as the driver gets out and opens up the back of his truck. Then he grabs a rather large black box, and when he maneuvers it in his arms you see Stark Industries logo emblazoned on the front.

The driver then walks up the sidewalk to your porch, glancing at everyone with a small smile. "YN Gilbert?"

"That'd be me," you say, standing to meet him.

"Cool. I'm gonna need to see some ID and then need a signature before I can hand this over."

"Sure. No problem." You head inside to retrieve your ID and then meet the guy back outside. As you hand over your ID for him to scan, you then quickly sign your name and take the box from him. "Thanks!"

"No problem. Have a good day."

When you turn around, your family is staring. "What?"

"What is it?" Elena asks.

"Yeah. Open it. I want to see."

Huffing a laugh, you gesture towards the door. You rather not open a box from Tony outside just in case it's something not meant for civilian eyes. But alas, once you get the lid off, it's nothing scandalous or confidential. In fact, it's something you were hoping you didn't have to deal with so soon.

"A supersuit!" Jeremy exclaims. "You got your own supersuit!"

"Calm down, Jer," you grumble. Picking through the paper, you pull free a top, pants, a jacket, and even what appears to be a head piece.

"Oh. That's pretty," Elena says while taking the headpiece from you and gently touching the intricate red designs. "Are these meant to be horns?"

"I'm not even sure." Underneath a pair of boots, there's a note. Picking it up, you read it aloud with a sigh. "Enjoy the last week with your family. We'll be there to pick you up next Sunday. Wear the suit. With love and excitement to see your boy toy- Tony." You huff a laugh before looking back at the box, shaking your head as your family roams their fingers over the pieces of your suit they're holding.

"What material is this?" Jenna asks.

"Do you think they can make me a Halloween costume out of any extra material they have lying around?" Jeremy wonders.

Both you and Elena snort, and you start to gather your suit from them. "I don't know and no. Now let me put this away while you guys brainstorm what we're going to do for dinner."

"Don't you have plans with Enzo?" Jeremy scowls.

"Nope. And don't make faces," you tell him. "If anyone is allowed to make faces, it's me and Elena because you're boning one of her best friends." Jeremy balks when Jenna barks out a laugh and Elena can only shrug while telling him that you're not wrong. "Besides, Enzo knows how much I love you guys and knows I should be spending all this time with you. I'll see Enzo whenever I want after I get back from my mission."

Elena arches an eyebrow at you. "He's gonna visit you in New York?"

You shrug. "He says he will, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"You have that vampire wrapped around your finger," Jenna muses. "I won't be surprised if we see less and less of him once you get back to New York."

"If you say so."

During the last week with your family, Elena finds it in her to not be so attached to her boyfriend. You go shopping with Jeremy and Elena, catch up on all the juiciest gossip with Jenna, and a few times you have group dinners with the Salvatore brothers, Enzo, Caroline, and Bonnie.

They try to weasel out any information you can give about where you're going, but you keep mum about it and tell them if they stop asking, then you'll let them see you off when you're to be picked up. They agree.

Then the day before you're set to leave, you're surprised when you sit down for dinner right as the doorbell rings. Everyone freezes before Jenna glances around the table, counting everyone and trying to figure out who'd be at the door.

Suddenly Elena perks up, eyes sparkling. "I got it!"

You frown at her, but Damon, Stefan, Caroline, Jenna, and Enzo seem to be the only ones who catch on as to who is possibly at the door. You, Jeremy, and Bonnie can only shrug and wait for Elena to return.

So while waiting for your sister's return, you nudge Enzo and ask for him to pass the salad bowl.

"Rabbit food, YN? Seriously?" You startle in surprise at the voice, fumbling the bowl and glancing up to see a smirking Tony. "I know for a fact you're not fond of salad."

"Tony! What are- why are you-"

"He couldn't wait," Clint muses, entering the door with several stacked pizza boxes in hand.

The door opens again and your sister ushers in another familiar face. "And neither could Barton." Natasha grins.

"Shut up, Nat. You jumped at the chance too. Don't try to play it off."

"Someone had to make sure you idiots didn't wreak too much havoc." Then glancing at the gobsmacked and/or amused faces, she introduces herself. "Hello. I'm Natasha Romanoff."

"W-We know," Jeremy stammers. "Hi. It's, uh, it's nice to meet you."

You wrinkle your nose at your brother and reluctantly stand up to show Clint where he can place the pizzas he's brought. "Everyone, I'm pretty sure you know who Tony, Clint, and Natasha are. Guys, meet my family and friends." Then one by one, you introduce them to your aunt, sister, and brother first. Then you introduce Caroline, Bonnie, and the Salvatores, and save Enzo for last.

Tony gasps in delight. "I got dibs on the chair by the boyfriend!"

"Tony!" Everyone snickers and you shake your head in disbelief as Tony makes a beeline for your vacated chair. Then glancing back at Natasha and Clint, you gesture to the kitchen island. "We're all out of chairs, so it looks like we're standing."

"That's fine," Clint muses. "I'm good at standing."

"Me too."

"Hey YN, can I get a slice of that pizza?" Your brother asks.

"Yeah. Hang on." Though your family and friends are eating spaghetti and salad, a few of them request slices of pizza of their own. You and Clint serve them up, and then return to the kitchen island to get started on your own dinner.

"So who's got embarrassing high school stories?" Tony asks.

"Well…"

"Don't even think about it, Jer-bear," you immediately blurt. "I grew up with you and Elena. I have just as much ammunition against you than you do me."

"Yeah, but the Avengers aren't my co-workers. They're yours."

Your eyes narrow. "Alright, fine." The piece of pizza you had in hand is lowered. "Once when Jeremy was thirteen and our parents left us in charge, I walked in on him-"

"You promised to never bring that up!"

The room explodes into laughter and you grin. "Try me, baby brother. I dare you."

"Fine. I don't know anything."

"You buckled so easily," Caroline teases. She then sits a little straighter, smirking at the room at large. "Well, YN was a junior when Elena, Bonnie, and I entered high school, so-"

"I got dirt on you too, Forbes. I even have pictures before your HBIC days. Do you really wanna try me?"

Her smirk falls. "I burned all those."

"As if I didn't make doubles or even triples." Caroline pouts and goes back to twirling her spaghetti on her fork. "Does anyone else wanna try me then? Hmm." You glance at Bonnie who shakes her head with a grin and Jenna who arches an eyebrow at you. "Remember, Jen, I was there for every sloppy relationship and one night stand. I was eavesdropping long before you ever knew."

Jenna deflates. "I hate nosy children."

You bark out a laugh and happily pick up your pizza, taking a bite out of it. Tony frowns. "And here I thought I'd get some juicy blackmail on you, Gilbert."

"Keep it up, Tony, and I'll narc on you to Pepper. We both know she adores me."

"Yeah, yeah."

"So why are you guys here?" You ask, eating some more. "I thought I was supposed to be picked up tomorrow."

"Stark wanted to make sure the suit fit," Natasha says. "Have you tried it on?"

"Nope."

"Why not?" Tony squawks. "It's yours! I thought you'd jump at the chance to wear a suit made specifically for you."

"I've been bonding with the family." You roll your eyes. "Excuse me if I didn't want to squeeze myself into a suit and be gawked at."

"Hey, be glad it's not a catsuit like mine," Natasha muses. "Yours looks loads more comfortable."

"You guys aren't going to let this go until I try it on, aren't you?"

"Try it on! Try it on!" Jeremy starts to chant, followed by Caroline. "Try it on!"

"I hate you all."

Taking one last vicious bite out of your pizza, you drop it on your plate and leave to head upstairs to your room.

As soon as YN disappears from the kitchen, Tony turns towards Enzo. "So what are you intentions with the baby of the Avengers? Because let me tell you something, Lorenzo St. John, I know everything about you, the Salvatores, aunt Jenna, sister Elena, and friend Caroline."

The room goes deathly quiet and still, and Clint snorts. "Why do you guys look so shocked? You didn't think we'd be stupid to not investigate everything going on in this town, did you?"

"How?" Caroline wonders. "The council doesn't exist anymore and my mom knows better than to put that type of information on any electronic device where it can be hacked."

"Well someone was dumb enough to keep an electronic journal," Natasha muses, still casually eating as everyone else is too tense to move. "And while vampires and witches," she makes eye contact with Bonnie then, "all sound very whimsical, given our line of work we have to believe that there was an ounce of truth somewhere in there. So we dug and dug until we found pictures of the Salvatore brothers from way back in the day. There wasn't much on St. John, but there was quite the information dump on the Original family."

"So again I will ask," Tony says. "What are your intentions with YN?"

"Nothing. We're just having fun." Enzo shrugs. "I like the girl and we're just taking it day by day."

"Does she know about all of you?"

"She does," Jenna finally speaks up. "She showed up right before a group of men broke into my house and tried to take me by force."

Clint stands a little taller and Enzo waves him off. "Fear demon riled up some locals, but YN took care of it. All is fine now."

"What about this Original family?" Tony asks. "Do we need to worry about them?"

No one says anything and surprisingly it's Bonnie who speaks up. "They like to toe the line, but so long as they're left alone, it should be fine."

"They've racked up quite the body count." Natasha arches an eyebrow at her.

"So have Damon and Stefan." Bonnie shrugs. "But the Salvatores have learned from their past and live peacefully now. The Mikaelson family does their own thing, but so long as their family is not threatened, they stay under the radar. I doubt they want the government hounding them."

"We'll leave them alone for now, but the second they start making waves-"

"They'll behave." Damon rolls his eyes. "Klaus saw just a fraction of what YN can do and I doubt he wants her tapping into that power to subdue him. They might have a very powerful witchy sister back in New Orleans, but-"

"But YN's power is different than what the ancestors have shown us," Bonnie says. "No matter the experience of the witch, I have a feeling YN can easily outpower any of them."

"Shit. Really?" Now Tony looks intrigued, but before he can ask more about it, the kitchen door swings open.

"There. Happy?" You deadpan.

Everyone falls quiet and Enzo turns his seat to take a look at you. You mentally preen when you see his eyes subtly widen before looking you up and down, and then a leering smirk graces his features. "Hello, gorgeous."

You huff a laugh and flick his forehead as Caroline gushes. "Oh my god. You look so good in that!"

"It is comfortable," you reluctantly admit. "And I'm immensely grateful that my cleavage isn't out for all to see," you say while glancing down at the black and burgundy top of your suit. "And what even is this skirt or whatever it is?" You ask, turning sideways so you can point out the piece of material that's connected to the back bottom half of your top to give off the illusion of you wearing a cloak without really wearing one.

Tony shrugs. "Thought it looked neat. Do you want it gone?"

"Well, no…"

"Question." Elena sheepishly raises her hand. "If the world gets to see your suit in action and you become well known, can I borrow the suit for Halloween?"

"No." You laugh. "You are not dressing up as me for Halloween."

"But it's so pretty," she muses. "And that headpiece! God, I love that headpiece so much."

You shake your head at her, grinning, and then make your way back to the kitchen island. "Well now that everyone's done gawking, can I eat now? I'm starving."

For the duration of dinner, you let your family and friends spill a few secrets to keep Tony happy. Natasha keeps nudging you and gesturing to Enzo, but you shrug and blush when she wiggles her eyebrows.

"I have a feeling you have a thing for murderers," she quietly muses. "First Loki and now Enzo?"

You snort and shake your head, and then freeze when your eyes dart to her. She arches an eyebrow at you before smirking. You sigh in defeat. "Of course you know."

"As if we'd let an Avenger in training go back home without making sure everything was on the up and up. You're lucky Tony only kept the vampire secret between us three and didn't get Steve involved."

Your nose wrinkles. "He means well, but that man needs to realize not everything is sunshine and rainbows."

"Mhm. You don't have to tell me. I know perfectly well that we can coexist with vampires, but the second they start mindlessly murdering humans, then we're going to have an issue."

"Duly noted, Black Widow," Damon says aloud, letting her know he could hear her. "Though I am kind of interested to see how a vampire fares against someone such as yourself."

"Give me a few weeks and we'll test it out," she says.

Dinner conversation then turns into who they think can win a fight, and soon enough Jeremy has thrown all caution to the wind and is showing pictures from what he's dubbed as your teenage dirtbag days.

Soon enough Tony, Clint, and Natasha are leaving to hunker down in a bed and breakfast before they come back to pick you up tomorrow afternoon, and you're calling it an early night so you're not too exhausted the following morning.

As you walk into your room, you're not surprised to find Enzo already waiting in bed for you. Grinning, you crawl into bed until you're hovering above the dark haired vampire. "Hi," you muse, leaning down and quickly kissing him. "I'm surprised you're still here."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

You shrug and fall down atop the vampire, situating yourself until you're tucked into the crook of his arm with your head cushioned on his shoulder, your arm thrown over his chest, and your knee hiked up over his thigh. "Natasha usually scares people away or Tony intimidates them away."

"I don't know, love, the superheroes seemed to like us pretty well."

"You say that now, but wait until you show up in New York. You'll be their secret guinea pig that they test out their new gadgets on."

"As long as they don't cut me open, I have no issue with it."

"Ugh. They're gonna love you."

Enzo chuckles quietly. "I hope so. You're not getting away that easily."

"Can you guys stop being so cute? I'm not supposed to approve of whatever you guys have going on, but you're making it really hard to disapprove!"

You lift your head to shout at your door. "Shut up and go to sleep, Jenna!"

"Rude!"

Laughing, you let your head fall back on Enzo with a quiet groan. "They're all ridiculous. We're just having fun."

"Keep telling yourself that, love. Maybe one day down the line you'll actually believe it."

You pinch his side before turning your face to bite his pec. Enzo flinches and laughs some more. "You're not helping."

"Because you'll see it sooner or later that I'm the only one for you." He presses a kiss to your hairline and you sigh tiredly as you settle back down against him. "Now get some sleep." As you close your eyes and start to drift, you hear him ask, "Do you think I can compel your mission location out of that Hawkeye fella before you leave?"

"Don't you dare."

554 notes · View notes

railingsofsorrow · 3 months

Note

Hi!! Hope you're doing fine! I was wondering about the one shot “the way I loved you” in the originals masterlist. I'm really curious and I wanted to ask when you plan on posting it?

a/n: I'm glad you asked. this has been sitting on my drafts for a while! happy I can finally post it. hope you like it!

The Way I Love(d) You

[stefan salvatore x reader; kol mikaelson x reader]

[all pictures belong to pinterest]

SONG INSPIRATION » THE WAY I LOVED YOU by taylor swift

summary: stefan salvatore is kind and sensible and you couldn't ask for anything better. but beneath the “you look beautiful tonight” you miss the "screaming and fighting" and the way his name slipped out of your lips at 2a.m. you liked assurance and perfection but you missed insanity. more than anything, you missed the way you loved him. you missed kol mikaelson.

pairings: s.salvatore x f!vampire!reader; k.mikaelson x f!vampire!reader

w.c: 9.4K (I got carried away)

warnings/content: portrayal of healthy and unhealthy relationships dynamic; discussion about life and death; blood (mentioned); non-graphic descriptions of violence; pregnancy (mentioned); slight damon and tyler bashing because they are the most annoying characters ever created; camille o'connell plays therapist; katherine pierce x reader (you blink you miss it); gemini coven (mentioned); discussions about marriage; canon divergence; fluff; happy ending depending on which you're rooting for; paragraphs in italics are flashbacks.

A/N²: this one shot does not follow the tvd + t.o original timeline, so some facts may be out of order.

[part of “the taylor swift anthology”]

navi

masterpost

tvd masterlist

t.o masterlist

[alternate ending]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

❝ he is sensible and so incredible.

and all my single friends are jealous

he says everything I need to hear, and it's like I couldn't ask for anything better. ❞

“Did you arrive alright?”

You reply with a soft hum, distracted by the bag filled with books related to witchcraft. You really did not think you'd be swiped back to this city again, less alone acting as a librarian for the Original vampires for the hundred time in your life. Oh, well. Who could ever deny Rebekah Mikaelson of her wishes? You had been extremely close before, despite the unsaid goodbyes. She did try to threaten your life if you didn't come to New Orleans soon, but those were empty words. And you could easily take her in a fight – not that she could ever know that.

“Yes,” you say through the phone, remembering there was someone in the other line. “I'm settling in on the hotel.”

“Okay.”

“Stefan.” The corner of your mouth twitches slightly. “Say what you want to say.“

You hear him let out a breath as he usually does when he's holding something back.

“Are you sure you don't need me there with you? I could easily—”

“No,” you cut your fiancée off, albeit in a gentle manner. You sit down at the edge of your hotel bed, feeling the rough fabric of the mattress against your jeans as you inspect the cover of a rather thin book compared to the other thick ones scattered around. “Stefan, I'm perfectly fine. You don't have to worry. And I know you won't listen to me and you'll worry either way…” a smug grin stretches on your face when he tries to speak again. “… but I can handle myself, okay? You can call and text and I'll reply right back.”

Ever since you met Stefan Salvatore, he has had your best interest at heart. Not only yours, but everyone he cared about. In the friendship stage, he slowly inserted himself into your life, taking careful steps to not scare your cold heart away to the mountains. You never knew why, somehow, you had some importance to him. When you started dating, he made sure to introduce you to something that by no means you wanted to partake in: safety. Not the kind in which you are suffocated and trapped, but the kind in which you are held by someone and still are able to take a breath of fresh air. The real meaning of safety.

He takes you on dates and he opens up your car door as the perfect gentleman that he is. The line you look beautiful never straying from his compliments. It took you a while to get used to that. Being loved without having to look over your shoulder, being cared for by someone who would truly be there at the end of the day.

Stefan is safe. He is the warm blanket on a cold day with hot chocolate and a good book. He's the guy who never makes you wait while carrying that endearing softness around him. You couldn't ask for anything better.

“Yeah, alright.” He says with a resigned sigh. “You really don't want me there, huh?” The playfulness being drowned out by a tinge of hesitation in his tone that if you didn't know his tells, you might have missed it.

“You know that's not it.” The book is placed on top of the bedside table. Your choice has been made. “But I don't want to draw unnecessary drama into our lives. As soon as I can get this done, I can come back to New York. To you.”

He offers you a sound of contentment. “That sounds nice to me.” There is some ruffling on his end and he lets out a muffled groan. “Hey, beautiful? I have to go. Damon is hijacking our apartment.”

You briefly recall Stefan making a comment that his brother would visit you guys soon. That had been around a month ago? You are never one to question Damon and his stupid decisions. Fortunately, you were far away to deal with any of that.

“I'm sorry,” you mumble without masking your joy for not having to be present in the same room as Damon Salvatore. “Good luck and don't let him mess with my stuff or I'll personally break his neck and set his dick on fire.“

“I heard that!” You reply that it was meant for him to hear. “He's calling you a menace.” Stefan chuckles at your bickering but he eventually has enough. “Call me if you need anything, yeah? Be safe. I love you.”

“I love you too, and I believe you'll need more backup than I will.” You smile at his scoff and the call comes to an end.

You resist the urge to go to Russeau's to enter an alcoholic coma instead of facing the people you haven't spoken to in a decade. No, you have faced worse and what could possibly go wrong while visiting some old friends?

You snatch the book from the bedside table and tuck it under your arm.

Guess it's time to pay a visit to the Mikaelsons.

━━━━━

Meeting the Mikaelsons had been the best and the worst moment of your vampire life. Yes, some people could be both at the same time. You met Rebekah before you met the others, in a ball a really long time ago. The Mikaelson name had yet to be spread around like a disease due to the extreme danger they represented – where you lived, at least. Vampire groupies already had lots of knowledge about them at the time.

The thing was, you had no idea who Rebekah was until almost everyone in your city was murdered. Her brothers searched for her after a few years of radio silence, apparently. That's when you understood how protective family could be. Klaus, most of them. But that one was more obsessive and paranoid than any other. Rebekah told you that herself, but you saw it with your own eyes through the years you tagged along in their journey.

You have to say that out of anyone in that family, Klaus Mikaelson would be the last person you'd expect to become a father.

He was the one responsible for practically destroying Katerina Petrova's life, along with many other people you couldn't care to mention right now. She had been your friend once, before she became a nuisance in your life. But still. Klaus was ruthless and anyone capable of making an enemy out of him realized the bitter poison that came with it; if not death, of course.

Nevertheless, the cruel reputation of the Mikaelson family did not belong to Klaus only. In levels of pent up rage, you could easily mention Elijah. He was nothing but kind to you in the moments you've spent as friends, but you were aware of the demons he kept at bay for most of his existence. The man tries hard to be a good person and, in your opinion, he achieved that in all of the senses, although he was never really one to trust other people's opinions about him, whether they'd be good or bad.

Elijah could be just as cruel as Klaus, but as Klaus was loud in a broadcaster type of way, Elijah was silently dreadful.

Finn and Freya were the last ones you encountered. They were both gentle in their own way. As Freya kept up a mask right after breaking her curse, doubtful and distrusting, Finn was overall distasteful towards his own kind. You noticed that between the countless times he attempted to kill his siblings and himself. At first, you held a grudge over the fact that your boyfriend (back then) could never catch a break from his own brother. But eventually you understood Finn's reasons and everything that was left was sympathy. You had trouble adjusting to the vampire life yourself, mostly the drinking blood part but also the eternal life bit as well. Living and dying was something you had never doubted. It was the cycle of life, after all, why would you question it?

Some days, you didn't want it. But those became rare ones as you tasted the sweet flavor of having people that went through the same dilemma by your side. They made everything bearable. You just hoped Finn could also find those people, if not his siblings, then maybe he could find peace somewhere far from them. He had every right of taking some time away if that was his wish.

Family can be suffocating.

Freya had been one of the nicest people you have ever met. Beneath that cold front she built before warming up to the Mikaelsons, there was a tender-hearted woman whom one day you used to call your friend. Freya was there when you crumbled down, she had been the one to help you pull yourself up and she was the one who let you know it was okay to leave if that's what you needed to do. If that's what your heart desires, do it. Her words never left you in some way, you were forever grateful.

Hayley entered your life before she became an honorary Mikaelson – she hated that joke. You helped her find information about her pack when both of you were still back at Mystic Falls. She had been the first person to point out Stefan's interest in you, though you didn't buy it. You actually became closer during her pregnancy. You weren't present in Hope's first months after she was born, but Hayley made sure to send you occasional pictures over the years. You didn't feel so out of the loop thanks to that.

And then, there was Kol.

The epitome of recklessness, wrath and chaos.

He was the a car accident that drove you over a bridge when you couldn't swim and a pillow fort you built overnight to dissipate your nightmares. Kol was the reason why you considered the Mikaelsons to be both the best and worst moment of your life. He was the rollercoaster that fed your desperation for love, displaying a pretty view at the top of the ride, before the crash eventually came and killed all that excitement.

Neither of you expected to fall so fast for one another. Or fall at all.

But he pushed his way into your heart with no permission granted, with his convinced smirks, wild persona and careless nature. He was cold in a warm manner. Tender in the way he held your fingertips with the same bloody hand that also had possession of your heart. And unbelievably good as he cared enough to let you into his heart.

You were too similar for it not to happen, until you were too different to remain together.

Kol Mikaelson conveyed all of the rumors that were spread about him, never once hiding behind a mask, and that's the reason you fell in love with no way back. It had never been an easy choice – choice... that's funny. Does love ever give you a choice? — his enemies became your enemies, you were a target, besides the unstoppable family hassle you always seemed to be involved in. In spite of the obvious reasons, the grounds for breaking up arose from him, surprisingly. Or not so surprisingly. It may have been his way of running away, but it was your way out of the mess he created in your head and heart. According to Hayley, he wasn't left unscathed. He suffered in a way that they had never seen before: through silence.

Kol had never been silent. He craved an audience, which was why he enjoyed discounting his ire on people. He wanted them to fight back in order for him to retaliate much harder. After you left, he didn't murder villages, tortured old enemies or provoked his siblings enough to get a rise out of them. You weren't that surprised once Hayley told you he left as well. What truly left you bewildered was the fact that he didn't cause trouble, turning into a shadow of the wildest Mikaelson people used to hear about.

You couldn't bear to feel guilty. If he wasn't being himself, that was his own doing. He left you first. Looking into the bright side, maybe he had finally mustered the act of growing up.

However, even with the all the heartache he had caused you, loving him was never a regret. You don't know if he felt the same, maybe you'd never know.

Stepping inside the Mikaelson manor made you self-conscious but still nostalgic. You hadn't lived in that house, of course they had built up many other expensive properties over the decade you've been gone. But there is something in the air when the Mikaelsons are around. And it isn't death or blood that you were referring to.

“Are you the friend my mom said was coming to visit us?”

A little girl with dark red hair met you in the entrance of the house. A stuffed bunny dangling from her small hands. You couldn't believe your eyes, but in the meantime you observed her sage green eyes that carry a brush of cinnamon and the tip of her nose, the familiarity practically slapping you in the face.

“I believe so,” you croak out as your lips quirk up in a soft smile. You tell her your name, introducing yourself and say, “and you must be Hope.”

“That's right.“ She gives you a little wave. You nearly leap on your feet at the idea that you're not considered a stranger for her to immediately turn away as parents would advise children. “I'll tell my mom you're here so she can invite you in.”

You nod, leaning on the door, you could feel the spell barely pushing you away. A harsh breeze brush your strands in your face and you roll your eyes at the familiar scent of a hybrid nearby you.

“I have lipstick on, you know how that does not match with hair?“ Two arms engulf you in a strong embrace. You can't help but laugh as your body entwines with Hayley's. “Hay,“ you mumble to her shoulder. “You are kind of ten times stronger than me. Perks of being a hybrid and all...“

“Oh, please. I should be actually crushing you.”

When she cups your cheeks, like a mother would when her child has been gone for too long, you stare at the sage green eyes you had just seen in the entrance. “I missed you too.“ Hayley gives you an eyeroll, letting you go as she asks Hope to let you in. Ah, it made sense. She's not a vampire.

Hope smiles timidly at you as you enter the foyer, her gaze switching to her mother almost pleadingly. Hayley mentions with a tilt of her chin towards the backdoor and Hope quickly rushes away to what you assume is the backyard of the house.

“She's playing hide and seek.“ Hayley clarifies their short interaction, turning to you. “When did you arrive?“

“Today.“ You say, lifting the book to her line of sight. “I told you I kept something that could help.“

“I know,“ she smiles gratefully. Hayley hasn't aged a day since you last met. Of course, she isn't physically able to age at all due to vampirism, but her perpetually concerned gaze was replaced by relaxed shoulders and a proud smile. She has joy written all over her. For the looks of it, motherhood has done her good.

“She's like a mix of you and Klaus.“ You watch the girl running around searching for whoever she's playing with. Hayley takes you to the balcony, the view is pretty that it takes a bit of your breath away. The forest on display is filled with orange and yellow because of the Autumn season. You've always found the sounds of the forest were the perfect noise to live close by.

“So I've heard.” Hayley crosses her arms above the railing, driving her attention to you after pointing somewhere to Hope who's in desperate need of help in the seeking aspect of the game. “How's your life been?” She asks, shifting her whole body towards yours. “New York, huh?”

You nod, imitating her previous position. “Yes. It's a great city.” She remains silent, probably waiting for you to elaborate. It's not like this is a casual visit and the Mikaelsons could be in any corner with their enhanced hearing. Not that you're ashamed of your current life, you just don't feel like yelling from the rooftops.

“That ring is pretty.” Hayley muses when you avoid looking at her. She can see your blush and her eyes soften at that. It's been so long since she has seen you remotely happy, she likes the sight. “You seem happy.” Her squeeze in your shoulder states reassurance. “I hope he doesn't screw up or I'll be coming over with more than just an army.“ A deep groan escapes your throat as your head falls on your forearm.

“You are worse than a whole freaking army.“

“You missed me.“

Shaking your head, your lips twitch in a bitter smile.

“Of course I missed you, Hayley.“ Your smile falls slightly as you see that Hope finally found who she's been looking for in the past half hour.

Kol is coming out from behind a tree and dramatically throwing himself on the grass as Hope's giggles echo around.

“I missed all of you.” Slips out in a whisper.

As soon as Hayley follows your gaze, she picks up the reason for the sudden change in your demeanor. This is what she's been trying to delay.

There's no point now. “He came back at the beginning of this year.” You blink, turning away from the cute scene happening right below you. “Said he missed his niece. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.”

She steps away from the balcony and that's what it takes for you to stop staring at a playful Kol tickling Hope to death.

“Why wouldn't it be a good thing?” You swallow hard, sitting down on one of the loveseats. The ceiling is not bland white as you expected it to be, as you analyse the colors and the shapes, you recognize the famous painting you've been in love with since it was first made.

Van Gogh's Starry Night brings the ceiling alive with the false sensation of movement the circular brush strokes provides.

“He's teaching her magic and she makes some of my stuff disappear for fun. Kol's such a bad influence— Oh.” Hayley's face stretches into a smile upon seeing where you were staring at. “Klaus painted it. This is Hope's bedroom.”

That's when you realize the soft blue on the walls along with colorful drawings clearly made by a child.

“It's beautiful.” You let out in admiration. “God, that bastard is talented.”

Hayley huffed, “Yeah, well, ever since you mention it in that very first Skype call she can't stop talking about it. So he painted it.”

Leaning back on the chair, you glance at her. “That's such a dad thing of him.” She shrugs in silent agreement. “He's not a bad influence,” you utter after the conversation dies down. You're not referring to Klaus. “He loves children, that's just his way of teaching her how to protect herself.” In extreme cases. It's better to teach her to protect herself instead of delaying it when she actually needs it.

Hayley's eyes travel across your features for a while and just as you begin to grow self-conscious of what you said, she flips the topic back to the real issue at hand.

“So, do you usually keep old grimoires in a secret passageway at your apartment or something?”

Your lips raise in amusement, “It's from an old friend. He lent it to me for safekeeping.”

The hybrid's eyes regarded you with suspicion, then she glances down at the book in her hands.

“Should I even be touching that?”

“C'mon,” you say in jest. “My friends aren't that bad.”

“I am not that bad. The Mikaelsons are certainly debatable and if I can recall someone called Katherine Pierce who was also considered your friend — who I still doubt that it was all that she was — then we need to discuss what you mean by not that bad.”

“Should I mention Tyler dogbreath Lockwood, Hayley? He was a nuisance!” You throw back in a complete mature way. “I can't believe you would voluntarily hold a conversation with the guy.”

Hayley snickers, “He wasn't as bad as you make him out to be.”

“You're right,“ you nod. “He was worse.“

Hayley hums, quietly analyzing the grimoire with what you can tell is interest that leads to boredom. She closes it in a thud and stands up. “I'll have to give this to Davina.“

You frown in confusion, following her out of the room. “The Claire witch? You're trusting that teenager with the life of my niece?” Your tone raises in light disbelief as Hayley descends the stairs completely unbothered by your accusation. “Where is Freya? Where is everyone— You can't possibly be serious, Hayley.”

“Freya is generously taking an early flight back to Virginia as we speak, cutting her honeymoon short. She was the one who requested Davina to be put to use in this task, if I can recall.” You knew it was Elijah before you saw his impeccable suit, merely because of his eloquence. He offers you a smile as you reach the living room. “Welcome back.” You're amused by the way he ignores your attempt at handshaking to lay a kiss on the back of your hand. He's always done that, it's no surprise. That's an Elijah thing to do. His eyes fall on your left hand. “And congratulations on your engagement. I've heard.”

You give him a close lipped smile in return, withdrawing your hand to cross your arms.

“Yes, it seems that everyone has.”

“You know, the term being put to use might not be taken as a good thing to every person.” The voice behind you causes your body to freeze. “Hello, stranger.”

Elijah is gone with the wind before you can notice and Hayley, who seems to have ventured off somewhere, still isn't back.

“She's not a stranger, Uncle Kol.” Hearing Hope's voice as you turn around is a form of relief, you admit. She's smiling kindly at you from her Uncle Kol's shoulders. “That's mom's friend. Remember, the one she told us was coming over?“

Kol acts fascinated. “That is true, Hope. Thank you for reminding me.”

She giggled, mouthing out to you above his head “Forgetful.”

You crack a smile at that. Mikaelson humor.

It doesn't take long for Hope to get tired of your attention and scurry away to her bedroom. And then, there were two.

How do you greet someone who broke your heart but still has a part of it with them?

“You look beautiful.”

You can affirm something: do not start like that.

“Thank you.“ You reply shortly. The stairs are right there, you could literally take a step back and you'd be on your way to the first floor. Still, you remain in the same place.

You had yet to look him in the eye since he entered the living room. That doesn't happen until he stops right in front of you.

The first thing you notice about Kol was his voice. Centuries back, when you first met, he had said your name before you even acknowledged his family. It slipped out of his tongue; honey mixed with pepper. A strange mixture that ends up being perfect once you taste.

Saying someone's name is like holding a secret beneath your tongue. You have the power to reveal it, you can pronounce it and you can choose to savour it to yourself. The taste is not made for everyone, it is reserved for you and you only. And he had that power from the first moment he called out your name.

“How's married life going?“

Your head tilts in confusion as his eyes are cast downwards. A scowl turns your lips into a frown. Just like that, the peaceful haze is over.

“Not married,” you say through gritted-teeth, turning away from him and from the flight of stairs. You want to get out of this house. If someone else asks about anything related to marriage again you'd probably snap.

“Yet, right?”

“That's what engagements work for, have you not had your fair share of those to understand that?” He has followed you outside and is faster than you since he's currently leaning with his body on your car door. Arms crossed and a side smile.

You hated to know what that meant. You hated that you knew him at all.

“Can you move?“ You snap, eyes narrowing. Kol hums softly as if he's considering your request. Dick. “Okay, I'll walk then.”

The defeated sigh you heard as you turn your back on him is almost a reason to make you relieved. But your arm was pulled back and that cold touch just made your whole body halt instantly.

❝ but I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain... ❞

“Can you stop being stubborn for a second?” He exclaims, kicking the car door shut as he walked with heavy steps towards you.

The rain softly paints the car windows with its tears. You forced him to step on the breaks so you could get out of the vehicle because of how mad you were. You couldn't remember the reason for the fight, but it happened and you didn't want to be around him.

“It's going to rain.”

You scoff, “I'm not made of sugar. I can handle a little rain.”

The thunder rolls in the sky, causing you to flinch slightly. A cold hand grabs your wrist.

“You'd rather walk in a thunderstorm than argue with me, is it?” Kol shrugs off his jacket with a scowl, covering your shoulder with it in a swift movement, one he had done many times before. “Real mature, love.” He shoves the car keys into your hand.

“What—”

“Take the car.” He had sped off before you could ask him to go to hell. Because no. You wouldn't take his car and leave him in a freaking thunderstorm. But he decided that just like he decided to put an end to your relationship.

“Stay.“ He says, drawing his hand back with hesitance. That quickly brought you back to the present. “I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry.” That's one of the rarest moments you've heard him apologize, it didn't used to be something in his vocabulary.

“I'll just wait for Freya at the hotel. It's not like we can start the spell before she's here.” You clear your throat, a bit taken aback by his presence still. You feel so silly.

Kol nods thoughtfully, taking a step back from you as if you aren't allowed to be too close. “Okay.” And before you can enter your car and drive off, your ears are still very much in tune with his voice even if he's all the way inside the house. “It's good to see you again.”

You're not sure if you share the same feeling.

━━━━━

“This is from the Gemini coven.”

You turn away from Davina's chanting to stare at Freya's impassive stance. She always kept that façade while doing magic.

“And what of it?“ Freya gives you a sideways glance as you roll your eyes, leaning back on the wall as the Witch finishes up the spell and mutters something to Hayley. Freya has done her part and for some reason they needed another set of hands. You don't question it. “Don't fret. There'll be no retaliation.”

“Good, because we don't need a crazy siphoner touring around New Orleans.”

You crack a chuckle, brushing your hair behind your ear. “The grimoire is technically mine.” Freya's eyes narrow suspiciously at your claim. “What? It is. It was a gift.”

“Kai Parker gave you a gift?” She regards you with disbelief. You shrug in response, it's the truth. It's not like you were capable of stealing something from Malachai Parker and leave unscathed. He is a tiny bit insane and you aren't special.

“She has a thing for K's, doesn't she?” You flinch at the breath in your neck. It earns Rebekah a glare as she walks around the pillar you were leaning on, her smirk takes her whole face, granting mischief in her blue eyes.

“We're done.”

You cut off your jab towards Rebekah when Davina's voice reaches your attention.

“Just like that?”

Freya gives you another one of her warning looks but you are facing the Claire Witch with a hard gaze. You didn't trust her then and you wouldn't trust her now. And it has nothing to do with her age nor the lack of experience in the magic department — or life, in general — it was more of a grudge you held for the girl ever since she messed with your family. You recalled quite well how she had weakened the Mikaelsons and played a part in Marcel's stupid plan to destroy all of them. Almost. You hated both of them with your every being. No matter how Klaus may have forgiven Marcel for it or how Hayley claims that Davina was manipulated.

“We did everything that was in the grimoire. She's safe.” Her voice carries defiance and you could certainly enjoy the opportunity to play into her attitude.

A low hum left your lips and you hear someone sigh around the room, you couldn't concentrate enough to name who it was but you have a guess.

“Okay. That's great.” You utter, mouth widening into a satisfied grin. You like the way she regards you with caution as you stride over. “You're gonna need that?” You ask in a whisper, pointing towards the book in her small hands. She hands it over to you, you take it slowly, mumbling a thank you and offering a sickly sweet smile. Your distaste is a mutual feeling, you're glad to know.

The entire family heads back to the Mikaelson manor. Despite Rebekah's pestering for you to go with them, you manage to escape for some alone time.

Rousseau's is where you end up after walking aimlessly through the city. Some things have changed. There are a few new musicians playing in the corners of the streets, but those familiar faces still there as well. The streets are illuminated by the lampposts scattered around the French Quarter, the shadows of the streetlights dancing at your feet remind you of times where you'd feel happiness holding you together. The bittersweet moment is interrupted by something soft tickling your ankle, causing you to jump in surprise. Quite literally.

“Never seen a cat before?” Someone mocks your tense stance as you watch the feline exit the bar.

You would have snapped their neck if the sweet smile of Camille O'Connell didn't reach your eyes right away. She's drying up glasses on the counter, probably getting ready to close the establishment, it was around the time she usually did.

“Can you spare this poor soul a bit of alcohol?”

“I'll never get used to that,” Camille says, shaking her head and the sound of titling metal made your face stretch into a grin. “You're not old enough to drink.” She starts preparing your favourite drink. Alcohol isn't your favourite thing in the world, but Cami's drinks are sweet enough to appease your taste buds. You didn't spend hours wallowing in this bar with nothing to accompany you — the alcohol and Camille's ears to listen to your misery.

Your nose wrinkles. “I am over 400 years old, Cami. How many times have we been over this?”

She tsked, curling her lower lip, throwing the cloth on her shoulder as she leans on the bar top.

“You look like seventeen.”

“That's flattering?” You muse, sipping your blue beverage. “I can't even remember what my seventeens were like.” That last part you mumbled to yourself.

“At what age did you turn?” Her voice is sad and you start grieving the fun of the moment.

Taping your nails against the wood distractedly, you work on pulling the terrifying moment from the abyss of your mind. Camille's gaze trails over your features in her own curiosity.

“It's been a while, huh?” She felt the need to change the subject. That made you crack a smile. Did she think she had genuinely upset you?

“Ten years or so.”

“Yes.” She says pointedly. “What brings you back?” She finally finishes cleaning up and you realise you're probably delaying her sleep schedule, but she hasn't complain about your overstay and you don't mention it.

You decide on telling her the truth. “Family stuff.” The partial truth, that is. “I died in 1603,” you refer to her previous question. Her eyes nearly pop out of her head. “I had recently entered my twenties. Can say now that I never got out of it.”

She didn't laugh at your joke, but you did.

“I'm sorry. Do you still...”

“Remember it?”

“Yes.”

You shrug nonchalantly. “It was a life changing event. So, yeah. I do remember it. But it doesn't make me feel anything anymore. It's something I no longer care about.” That's the truth. The memory doesn't affect you as much as it used to.

Cami nod, a strand of her hair slipping from behind her ear. She brushes it back and you tilt your head at the bracelet in her wrist. Once that has been there ever since you first visited Rousseau's.

“You still wear it.” You point out. She frowns confused, but her gaze follows where your attention lays and she hums.

“Yes. Can't have myself walking around the zoo with no defense.”

“The zoo—” you can't suppress the snort that comes out of you. “I can't believe you just said that.”

“I did.” Camille puts her hand on your shoulder and you deflect lightly. Guess it's time to leave. “I'm closing up. It's almost 1 am.”

“Sorry, Cami.” You shouldn't have bothered her that much. “Can I walk you home?”

It's her turn to chuckle. She locks up the bar and spins around to face you, a knowing glint in her bright blue eyes. You don't like that look. It kind of reminds you of Caroline when she knows something about yourself that you don't. Or that you just don't want to admit yet.

You miss her too.

“Are you really that desperate to avoid your problems?” You gape at her. “C'mon. Did you actually come here so I could make you a Grasshopper?” Oh, so that is the name of the drink you've had since forever. Good to know.

��I wanted some company.” You confess, rolling your eyes as she waits for you to follow her steps. Half the truth, again. This was the best place to avoid your problems — one problem. “Is that such a crime?”

“You sound like Klaus.”

“Stop offending me or I'll kill you.”

“Go ahead. I'm sure you'll like it when my blood burns your throat from how much vervain I've been taking.”

Your lips quirk up in a lopsided grin.

“I'm just going to say something, feel free to ignore it.” Cami announces as you crossed the street. You've arrived at her apartment. When you stop in front of the entrance and she turns her full body to you, her face has lost all the merriment. “I don't know why you are back. I don't even know the entire reason why you left so suddenly.” That makes you grow tense. “But that's none of my business. What I want to say is that, don't allow what let you down get to you again. If you think that getting out of here, taking some space to yourself, was good, then so be it. It's your life, okay? You deserve to be happy.”

You stand quiet for a while, absorbing everything she had said.

“I am.” You say quietly. “I am happy.” Away from here.

She smiles down at you, then, surprisingly, pulls you into a hug. Cami and you have never been close. You just listened to each other's complaints in the midst of the bar's loudness. You grew to have a bond but it was nothing as tight-knit as what you had with Freya or Hayley. Although, you did miss Cami while you were gone. She was the only one who knew how to make a good Grasshopper, anyway.

“Stop by the bar before you take off god-knows-where again.” She requests after you split apart.

“I'll think about it.” You bury your hands on your jacket with a smile as she bids you goodbye.

The city is never completely quiet. There's local music playing in some corners still at that time of the day. You realise you have reached Jackson Square when you put a pause on your walk, listening and breathing into New Orleans. Even the smell is different, maybe it is the lack of tragedy in the streets. You hope it carries on that way, Hope deserves to live peacefully. Or as peaceful as Hayley Marshall's and Klaus Mikaelson's daughter can live.

“Can you step out of there? It's getting ridiculous.” A woman crossing the street gives you an ugly look and you couldn't care less. You were talking to the Edward Cullen beside the tree a few feet back from where you stand. “How long have you been following me like a creepy stalker?”

“I've just arrived.” Kol says. You can see him rolling his eyes without taking a look at him. “And I wasn't following you.”

“Oh,” you blink innocently at him. “Sorry. I didn't know you had become such a religious man over the course of ten years.”

St. Louis Cathedral has all of its lights off, which means it's closed for the night. It's not like you wanted to enter the church in the first place, you just thought it looked pretty this time of the night. You'd frequent that area a lot to read a book when you were bored. Kol never shared that particular interest.

❝ and It's 2 a.m. and I'm cursing your name...❞

“This paranoia between you and Klaus is getting out of hand.” You mention to him one night as he turned your room upside down looking for something he would not inform you about. “You better put all of that back because I will not.” You say with a shake of your head, frustrated.

“He has the dagger. I have nothing to protect myself with.”

“So run away again. It's what you do best.” You let out. Only realising what you had done after it slips past your lips. The room is quiet, the silence deafening to the point where you flinch at the sound of creaking wood.

It wasn't the bed. It wasn't the wardrobe. When you glimpse at the door, hesitantly, it has been left ajar.

He did what you asked.

You remember inhaling deeply before throwing a jacket over your shoulder and grabbing the book of the week to read at Jackson Square, viewing the passerby's that would enter and exit St. Louis Cathedral.

“You'd come here and sit on that bench right over there with a new book every week.”

Your chest latches onto unwanted nostalgia you should desperately trying to get rid of. It makes your arms go numb and a cold shiver run down your spine. You blink at him. You knew?

“What?” You grunt, slightly disoriented.

Kol seems lost in his head, much like you were a few seconds ago, but he has a bigger grasp on reality than you do. “I thought it was more of something out of spite that you did. Sit in front of a church. Watch people leave. Choose a prey and feed on them to make them somehow question their faith.”

Furrowing your brows in thought, you consider out loud, “You thought that I'd come here to prove a point?”

He shrugs. The repetitive kicking of rocks tells you he is more nervous than he's letting on. Kol could mask his feelings well, his first choice of emotion would be anger and he'd just about use it to everything and everyone.

Over the years you'd notice some tells beneath all that rage. There was resentment and there was sadness. And now you can see guilt. You wonder if you're simply imagining something you want to see instead of what's actually there.

“What are you doing here, Kol?”

You're tired. You're beginning to think that Stefan was right and you should have evaluated the pros and cons of being in this fucking city before choosing the first flight five minutes after Rebekah's text.

“I missed you.”

“No.” You ignore the way you want to run away at what feels like sincerity coming out of his mouth. “What are you really doing here?”

His lips twitch and you think that familiar smirk will appear, but it doesn't. Just a sad smile.

“I missed you.” He repeats firmly as if not to let it hang in the air enough for confusion. There is no dubious meaning. He is not playing a game. “I haven't had a chance to say that when you were here.”

You take your time surveying his features. He had cut his hair, but you noticed that when he was playing with Hope in the backyard. His style is still the same, the moles still in the same spots around his cheeks and neck, his cupid's bow hasn't changed either. Kol's physique barely suffered any alterations, but he is different. Suddenly, you remember Hayley and the new spark in her eyes.

They both mirror people who have let go of their demons. The ones who scratch your skin and sink into your shoulders claiming your body as well as your mind as theirs. It is impossible to escape all of them at once, but time makes it bearable to live with some as you learn to let go of others.

“What do you mean?” You sit at edge of a bench. Not the one you used to sit almost every week. That would be too much. He understands the space left is for him to occupy after a moment. “That you haven't had the chance to say it when I was here. Why would you miss me while I was here?”

You know exactly why. You felt that all the time with him. Most of the time you dated a shadow in place of the man you loved and it is sad that, at some point, you got used to it.

“Because I wasn't. I wasn't here when I should have been and you were gone before I could help it.” A wave of regret travels across his features and you turn away before your gazes can meet. “And yes, I have no right of saying that after—after—”

“Ten years?”

“... ten years.” You complete at the same time. “I lost your trust. I lost you. Which is something that I'll never forgive myself for. I just... I just need you to know—”

“Don't.”

He furrowed his eyebrows as you stood up, running a hand through your face in pure... frustration? Anger? Fear? Yes. Fear. He is being unpredictable. Kol Mikaelson is unpredictable, it's one of the many traits of his you spend a long time admiring, until it became a burden in your relationship.

But after ten years you had no idea how to deal with this and you don't want to deal with it. Not now. Not after you and him were over.

He says your name almost pleadingly.

“Kol, don't.” You cut him off. “You can't do this now. You just can't.” You flinch away when he tries to touch you as a form of comfort. You didn't want that comfort. Not from him. Not anymore.

His eyes soften and there's hurt in them but you can't do this now. It's not fair. “I'm not trying to do anything.”

“Yes, you are!” You croak out, slightly shaken up. “Whatever you have to say doesn't make a difference now.”

You see his jaw clench slightly. Good. You want him to be angry. At least this side of him you can handle because you'll attack just as hard.

“I'm sorry.”

Your eyes snap to him. “I'm sorry.” Kol repeats, walking towards you with much more certainty. “I was a coward, immature and just overall selfish. I shouldn't have left, but I did and that doesn't change the past, but, but I loved you. I truly did. If I could go back—”

“You can't.” Your lower lip curl between your teeth. You can't take anything back. You can't undo the past. “You can't make it better, Kol.” You say, attempting to hold your self together in front of the boy who broke your heart into pieces. You still haven't found all of them yet, they were scattered, some beyond repair. “I was a mess without you. Do you know how long it took for me to pick myself back up?”

“You shouldn't have left.” You harshly clean a tear that travels down your cheek. “If you hadn't, if you had given me a chance to, to be there for you, then, yes, it would all be different. Trust me. It would. But because of what you did, it's not.” Admitting that to yourself took too long and it was the hardest thing you had to do, but admitting that to him? No. It felt freeing. It felt liberating. It felt fair.

There was a point in which all you could think about was making him suffer the way you did. Because he deserved it. How can someone claim to love you so deeply and then vanish from your life?

However, it isn't really the anger that prevails as he stands in front of you at Jackson Square, trying to apologize for years of pain that he had caused. As soon as you spill your heart out, the only thing left is sadness and nostalgia. You miss the screaming and fighting. You miss his stupid obsession with magic. You miss his sincerity, because till this day, no one would throw the truth in your face like Kol did. You miss the excitement. You miss his insanity. You miss him.

Loving Kol Mikaelson had not been easy. Still, you wouldn't go back on your choice if you had the chance. Because loving him had been a choice, one you've made for nearly five decades. And letting him go had driven you to the edge and brought you back to life.

Yes, you miss him. But it's not strange the fact that, deep down, you'll always miss someone you fell in love with. Even if they didn't carried your heart as carefully as you deserved. They were still part of you. Maybe, they always would be.

“I know.” He says, voice rough. You'd barely hear him if you didn't have enhanced hearing. “I regret it every single day of my life.” His eyes follow as you lean back in the bench. You're sitting in opposite ones. He stares at you as if you're a wounded animal, afraid to approach. His red-rimmed eyes make your heart clench.

You think about how funny it is that your body can react the same to a person. As if they're permanently marked into your soul.

Kol had never said what you wanted to hear. The truth was the only thing that escaped from his lips, even if it would absolutely crush you.

He was real and he pulled you back from the edge many times before. Even if he had been the one pushing you over that same edge afterwards.

This truth is crushing you. But it is a pain you must feel in order to fully move on.

You exhale slowly. “I know you do.” You can see the clear regret in his eyes. It's sipping through his soul and it may have eaten some part of him during these years. You don't feel okay with that. Strangely as that may be, you don't wish his suffering.

“Do you?” He lets out faintly, uncertain. “I'm not— I am not saying any of that with cruel intentions. I never meant to hurt you. I love you, but,”

“... but it wasn't enough to make you stay.” You swallowed with difficulty.

“No.” You glance up at him, something in your chest shatters. You don't know if his honesty is something you crave now. “I miss you. I never stopped missing you, no matter how hard I tried. And I, I don't know how to change that.”

“You can't.” You say, feeling like you can breathe properly after such a long time. “Because I miss you too, Kol.” and I love you. Not the same way, but I do. “It's not something we can change, it's just there. Maybe time will somehow make it better.”

“Really?” The hope in his voice grips you tight. That desperation to move on. To forget. You relate to that so much. “Is that what you think? Sounds too human to come from you.”

You let out a scoff, throwing your head back. “What does that even mean, Mikaelson?”

His deep chuckle brings a small smile out of you.

“Time is necessary for everyone.” You watch him quietly. He has the same tell from before; when his head is full, he plays with the ring in his index finger. Whenever he did that, you'd curl your fingers around his shoulder and squeeze it, he'd relax under your touch.

You would miss that. But you can live without it. You can live without him just as he can live without you. You know it's for the better.

It's almost four in the morning when you arrive back in the hotel. The first thing you do is take a shower, then throw yourself in bed pretending it is the one in your bedroom at your home. Soft and with your favorite pillows. Not the real scratchy and thin bedding you currently have.

It doesn't work, so you dial the familiar number in your phone to actually hear home from the line.

“I'm sorry to be dumping this on you.”

“You're dumping nothing on me.“ Stefan retorts and you can clearly see him shaking his head. “Hey, you handled Ripper-me, if I can't handle you talking about your ex then what does that say about me?“

You stare at the ceiling, “Ripper-you wasn't that terrifying.“ You mock him, earning a snicker that makes your entire being warm.

“I'm certain some people would disagree a little bit.”

“Eh,” You shrug, kicking the comfort off of your legs. “Nothing I can't handle, baby.”

When his chuckles dies down, his tone comes back slightly serious and you pick up on the tinge of concern in it. Same as the day before.

You've unleashed your still-fresh wounds to Stefan a few minutes back. There's no one else you wanted to talk to after everything that's happened. You needed safety, you needed someone to ground you, to stop you from spiraling out of control. Stefan always does that.

He doesn't question too much nor does he judge the situation. He must have expected something like that would end up happening. Part of you wishes he would yell at you, telling you that he had been right and you should have listened to him from the start. Instead, he just listens.

Stefan understands that just as it's Kol, for you. It's Elena, for him. And there's nothing none of you can do about it.

“You can always come to me for anything,” he breaks the silence. “I'm here, I'm not going anywhere.”

Inhaling sharply, fiddling with your engagement ring, you ask, “Why?”

Why aren't you running away? Why do you want to deal with me for the rest of your life?

“Because I love you. And I'm not only here for the good times but also the bad times. I'm here for the ugly truth and I'll still be here for the worst part.” Your breathing is labored at this point. You refrain from telling him you don't deserve it. You don't deserve that he stays. You don't deserve that he's still here after everything. But it's his choice and he's choosing to love you with your baggage.

“For better and for worse. In sickness and in health, right?”

The snort that escapes you is nothing but awful. “You're an idiot.“ You shake your head, pressing the phone closer to your ear as if that would make him closer to you.

You can practically see his smirk through the phone. “But I'm your idiot.” He seems to ponder over your silence. “Ugh, that was cheesy, wasn't it?”

“Yes,” you confirm, biting your lip to avoid a stupid grin. “don't do that ever again.” You order, knowing he will most certainly do it more than ten times. Because that is how Stefan is like. He tells you bad jokes in bad moments to make you feel better, he keeps you company through a phone call for how long you need comfort for and he's the one that makes you feel perfectly fine at the end of the day.

“Please don't break-up with me, we're almost getting married.”

“I'll consider this plea.”

The conversation ends up reaching something lighter when he asks about Hope and Hayley. You tell him about Hope and how bright she is, you detail the tiny differences of New Orleans from before and now and you confess you miss him. Because you do.

In the end, this trip was good. It unfolded a part of your story that had been buried down in a drawer for a long time. You needed closure and you had it tonight. It's bittersweet and it's nostalgic and it's sad but it is necessary.

Which is why you no longer have doubts about your future. Everything seems perfectly clear now that you've confronted your past, the monsters do not look so big anymore.

“I love you,” he says. The line had gone silent for a while as both of you seem to be thinking over to yourselves.

His hoarse voice and clipped tone tells you that he's as affected by this trip as you are. You want to comfort him, saying that there's nothing you need to worry about, I'll come back, I'll always return to you. But none of that will get through his brain until your face to face, finally in each other's arms.

And something that you've come to see through a new perspective is that love isn't tiring, it isn't heavy nor it is draining. Love is strength, calmness and security. Love can be fire, kissing in the rain and a rollercoaster of emotions. But it's not bad and it's not rotten. It can, however, sometimes be doubtful. It can raise questions that can make you halt on your way to say yes, but that's okay. Because even though you're certain, you're allowed to not have all the answers and you're allowed to not be alone to search for them.

“I love you, too,” you breathe out, shutting your eyes to imagine you were close to him, in your safe place.

“It's so good to know that you're smiling right now.”

You let out a scoff, shaking your head but your mouth is quirking up in the sides. “Seriously, you've gotta stop doing that, Stef. Am I feeding your ego?” You don't wait for a response. “Don't answer that, I know I am.”

“Come home.”

Because no matter how much you occasionally missed your past, your present and future are greater than anything else you could have possibly desired.

❝ and that's the way I loved you...❞

“I will.”

You couldn't have asked for anything better.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[alternate ending]

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