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shadowsof-thenight · 3 years

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Reunited

Summary: It’s been 15 years since you’ve stepped foot in this school, but now you’re back and Sam is as charming as ever. (this takes place after AoU) Words: 4250 Ship: Sam Wilson x Reader Warnings: Fluff

*** A/N: I’ve been trying to finish a story for Sam for a while now. I hope you’ll like it! The amazing @gnomewithalaptop was my beta for this (like she is for pretty much everything I write) Thank you for all your hard work and kind words! I truly appreciate you.

***

Masterlist

*** You paused for a moment after stepping into the decked-out gym. It was hard to believe that 15 years had come and gone since you’d last had a party here. The room brought back so many memories, not all of which you cared to remember—though plenty had been well worth reminiscing. High school definitely hadn’t been all that bad. Glancing around the room, you recognised many familiar faces, and one in particular stood out. Perhaps it was because of the large group of people surrounding him, or his boisterous laughter resounding through the large open space. Either way, Sam Wilson stood out amongst the crowd, and his smiling face was enough to make you happy you had come.

The group of people currently surrounding him weren’t the people you’d both hung out with in school. This group mostly consisted of what had once been the popular crowd, now eager to drink up the buzz this man was creating. Then again, even if Sam hadn’t become an Avenger, they’d probably still be drawn to him. That’s how it had always been after all. There had always been something so incredibly captivating about him, and he definitely had the charm to back up the interest he sparked.

Another round of laughter over something Sam had said broke you out of the trance you’d found yourself in, and you mentally shook your head to stop yourself from staring any longer. It would soon become weird, possibly a little creepy. In an attempt to quiet the restless butterflies in your stomach, you smoothed out your red dress and took a deep breath. Then you stepped to the side of the entrance and accepted a name tag from the grumpy-looking lady that sat behind a large desk. She looked familiar, though it took you a minute to place her. Mrs. Broussard, the gym teacher that had never really warmed up to you.

She’d only started teaching at the school in your senior year, and by then you had given up any pretence that you enjoyed PE. She had been both surprised and annoyed by your lack of commitment, and many discussions had followed about the necessity of running a minute mile. And while you did receive a passing grade in the end, it was the lowest number on your list upon graduation.

You smiled sweetly as you greeted her and asked how she was doing. Mrs. Broussard only grumbled something in return and then gave her attention to the next arrivals, making you chuckle as you walked away. Honestly, she hadn’t been a bad teacher at all, just one that hadn’t understood others might not be as athletically inclined as she was.

Stepping further into the big square room, you looked around for a familiar face. Though you wanted to walk up to Sam, you hesitated to join the large group. It had been years since you’d last spoken, and you didn’t want to feel like an intruder in the ongoing conversation. Perhaps his newfound fame was a little intimidating. There was also no indication that he would remember you as fondly as you remembered him, and you wondered if he would even want to speak to you at all. You could almost hear your sister’s voice in the back of your mind, scolding you. She’d tell you to man up. He was here, which obviously meant he wanted to see his old school friends.

But, you didn’t man up and walked in another direction instead. Perhaps you could circle back around later on, or he’d find you—which would be even better. Less stressful. Grumbling at your own trepidation, you took a deep breath and plastered a smile on your face. It was time to mingle and if not with Sam, then certainly the wonderful women you’d spend most of your high school years with would do.

“Girrrrlll, you came!” Aurelia called out loudly at your approach. The slight slurring and her enthusiasm told you that she’d already gotten acquainted with the bartender. You chuckled and sped up a little to walk into her outstretched arms.

“How could I pass this up?” you said with a bright smile, your mood infinitely better with the reception your old friends offered.

Soon enough you were pulled into hugs by the other girls and introduced to the people they married—well, the ones that were there. Aurelia’s husband had had to pass, in order to stay with their two young children. Georgette had married her high school sweetheart Joe, who had been part of your group of friends. Hayley was still single, happily enjoying her life as tour guide. And Felicity and Trix were clearly still very much in love with each other. Trix had been a transfer student in your senior year and already out of the closet—it had been her confidence that had given Felicity the courage to come out as well. Each of them looked absolutely stunning in their evening attire, and they certainly appeared happy. Their upbeat demeanour was also enough to finally relieve you of the jitters. Coming alone had been a little scary after all these years. You’d lost touch with all these wonderful people, and you’d had no idea which of them would show up tonight.

“Come on, aren’t you all fancy now?” Trix asked with a wink, and you chuckled. After college, you were the only one that hadn’t come back to New Orleans. A choice you’d never thought twice about, as you’d found your dream job in DC. It wasn’t until you came back this week that you realised just how much you’d missed this city—it really was the most wonderful place on earth. Full of life, laughter and memories. It was like no other.

“Trust me, nothing fancy going on in DC,” you shrugged. Politics weren’t very glamorous for those involved, especially not as a lawyer. There were too many people that needed help hiding their checkered past. “Just very busy.”

“Now that I believe,” Aurelia chuckled.

“So how have you all been?” you asked, and you ended up spending the next hour or so getting caught up in all there was to know about the girls you’d called your friends all those years ago.

It surprised you how easy it was to fall back in step with them, and soon your stomach hurt from laughter instead of those uneasy jitters. You could finally fully relax. You’d missed this place, sure, but not quite as much as this group of people.

***

“A beer and a glass of water please,” you asked the bartender as you leaned on the bar with a smile. Joe had confiscated a tray of champagne, but you’d never acquired a taste for it and had decided on beer instead. Aurelia had opted for water, not wanting to get too drunk to enjoy their reunion.

“I thought I’d never get you alone,” Sam’s voice sounded from behind you. “It’s like high school all over again.”

“Well, it’s the place for it.” You smiled brightly and turned to face him. Quickly, you were engulfed in a tight hug and you could feel Sam’s laughter reverberate through his chest and yours.

“True,” he agreed, his lips close to your ear. Pulling back from the hug, his hands remained on your waist as he looked you over.

“You haven’t changed a bit,” he said approvingly, going in for a second hug.

“You’re such a liar,” you chuckled, “but you look so good doing it.”

“Don’t I know it,” Sam said wiggling his eyebrows, and you barked out a laugh. It was good to know he was still who you had known him to be.

“Hey, would you stop hogging our celebrity!” Haley said loudly, her voice full of laughter, as she stepped up to the bar beside you. She ordered herself a soda and then turned back to the two of you. “For the two people that spend so long away from here, you do seem to fit right back in,” she added with a smile.

“It’s always going to be home,” Sam admitted and you smiled, nodding in agreement.

“Good, you should visit it more then. We miss you around here,” Hayley said earnestly and thanked the bartender for her drink, moving back towards the rest of the group. Taking your drink and Aurelia’s in hand, you and Sam followed her.

“Oh heavens be praised, another man,” Joe said dramatically and Sam laughed as they too hugged. Back in the day, their group had been pretty equally presented, but some of the other guys were standing with the rest of the football team. Probably reminiscing about their hay days.

***

“Who wants to sneak out of here?” Aurelia whispered, as if anyone outside of their group could hear them over the loud music. It had been a good two hours of chatting and Aurelia clearly wanted to spice things up.

“And go where?” Georgette wondered.

“I don’t know, see how much of the school has changed since we were last here,” Aurelia shrugged and you wiggled your eyebrows, excited to check out the school. For some reason, the fact that you weren’t supposed to made it very appealing—as if none of you had done any growing up these last 15 years. Everyone chuckled and the mood changed from carefree laughter into one of mischief.

Dispersing into smaller groups, you all stealthily tried to make your way towards the exit of the gym. It wasn’t going to be easy; Mrs. Broussard was still seated at her table by the door, and she had never been one to turn a blind eye. However, Sam promised he’d have that covered. After all, he’d been athletic and the woman had actually liked him. You promised to wait for him just outside the door.  Aurelia and Georgette held hands as they snuck past the table, Joe following them while laughing at their antics. You’d learned that Joe had been fast friends with Aurelia’s husband, and the two women were still very active in each other’s lives. For a split second, it had made you jealous—as you’d been so absent—but soon enough, they’d made you forget all about any distance that had existed between you. You remembered that one of their many talents had always been to connect people. Aurelia, much like Sam, drew people to her with her quick-witted and happy character, and Georgette had the biggest heart of all of them. You were actually sad that you weren’t able to meet Aurelia’s husband tonight, but she had made you promise to have lunch at her house tomorrow—an invitation you fully intended to follow up on.

Next were Felicity and Trix, who were giggling far too much to be covert. You had missed Hayley’s exit, though you were sure she’d be close to Georgette and Aurelia. None of that mattered though. Mrs. Broussard was too eagerly engaged in conversation with Sam—and you could tell that it had little to do with his status as Avenger. She seemed genuinely interested to hear how he had been doing. Before you snuck out yourself, you overheard them speaking of his time with the air force, a career choice her son apparently had made as well, having gone on his first tour only last month. Her proud smile softened you up to her a little more.

Hidden in the shadows down the hall from the gym, you waited impatiently for Sam to join you, and when he finally did, his smiling face made your heart skip a beat. It no longer surprised you—he’d always had that effect on you, though he had always been blissfully unaware of it.

For most of high school, you’d had a crush on the man before you, though nothing had ever come of it other than a chaste kiss on a drunken night, and you’d been too afraid of his response the following day to bring it up again.

When he hadn’t spoken of it either, you had simply brushed it off as a drunken adventure—one you did not regret one bit, even if it had sucked that nothing ever came of it. And while it should’ve surprised you that he still had this much effect on you after all these years of radio silence, it really didn’t. He was just that charming.

“Let’s go,” he whispered, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and guiding you into the dark hallway leading towards the classrooms in which you’d spent so many hours of your life.

“We never agreed on a place,” you suddenly realised and you both doubled over in suppressed laughter as you tried to remain quiet.

“So none of us got any smarter about our mischief?” Sam asked as you’d both straightened up again.

“Guess not,” you chuckled. “Why don’t we just wander for a bit? Surely we’ll run into the rest.”

He nodded in agreement, going left and pulling you with him.   “So, what’s DC like for you?” Sam asked after a few moments of comfortable silence.

“Busy mostly, lots of crazy situations to manage,” you said, shrugging.

“I can imagine,” Sam said almost solemnly, and you laughed. He looked at you with confusion.

“Come on, I’ve been doing clean-up for the situations you’ve already fixed,” you said, a little louder than intended, and you both glanced around to make sure you weren’t heard.

“Did I fix them though?” Sam wondered.

“Well, I do like my government organisations to be free of Nazis,” you said, keeping the tone light, though the message was very true.

“It’s still politics.” Sam shrugged. It was clear that nobody needed to tell him that there were a lot of lies involved in politics. And you could not deny it, or make the situation any better than it was.

“True, I doubt that’s ever going to be your scene, but every improvement is important,” you said, ready to break free of work talk. It’s been years since you spoke to Sam, outside of the occasional run in in DC. You felt horrible for not keeping up with him, while living in the same city. “Anyway, enough work talk—what’s life been like since your last tour?” you asked.

“Well, an adjustment for sure.” Sam said as he looked away from you and down the hallway to his right. “I needed a lot of time to get used to things again.”

“I can’t begin to imagine,” you said, looking at the floor in front of you. Perhaps this wasn’t the best direction you could’ve steered the conversation into.

“I got there in the end,” Sam said, a smile back on his face, “Your letters were nice.”

“I hated that I was overseas when you first came back. And then, by the time I’d returned, your life had taken a bit of a turn.”

“It did, but we’re here now, aren’t we,” Sam said, bumping your shoulder. His bright smile was enough to bring about a better atmosphere between you.

“Yes, here,” you chuckled and looked around you and pointed at the classroom to your right. “At history.” Fitting, you thought.

“We’ve got plenty of that,” Sam chuckled, the irony not lost on him either.

“I’ve missed it, this city, the people—you,” you admitted and Sam’s arm was quickly wrapped around your shoulders again.

“This place never does leave you, does it?” he said, looking off into the distance. Perhaps you weren’t the only one to miss it as much as you did.

“I for one wouldn’t want it to either,” you smiled.

“Remember the time we had detention in Mrs. Johnson’s classroom?” Sam asked with a wink and you chuckled. You’d all been caught sneaking into school grounds after hours and been kept after school for two weeks. You’d spent the last detention in your English classroom with Mrs. Johnson, who had been too busy to stick around. She’d been in and out of the room, leaving the lot of you time to have fun. Near the end of the first hour, Sam had decided to carve your initials into his desk—just his and yours. He had said it was because of the fact that you were both getting out after graduation—you’d need something to remember, something to come back too.

‘You think those tables are still there?” you asked, giddy at the idea.

“Let’s check it out,” Sam said, taking your hand in his and pulling you through the hallway towards the right hallway. Both of you were eager to see if your legacy was saved. So eager in fact, that neither of you really appreciated how well your hand fit in his. Not until later.

Two hallways down, you had almost reached your destination and you were nearly skipping to get there. Somehow you’d shed your more serious persona and reverted back to the happy-go-lucky person you used to be—before DC. You could hear voices in the distance and you chuckled at the idea that your friends were already there—Mrs. Johnson had been the only teacher that you'd all had together in your senior year. You were just about to call out when the voice of another person from your collective past boomed through the space.

“Miss Thibedeaux, Miss Cormier, you know better than to wander these halls after hours,” the voice of your old principal rang through the silent hallways. You hadn’t expected him and it startled you enough to freeze. Luckily, Sam quickly pulled you into a dark corner, his hand over your mouth just in case.

“Mr. Williams, we were just reminiscing,” Georgette replied, her voice bright and calm. She was always good at talking her way out of trouble. Not that there’d be much trouble, but for some reason these hallways brought back old habits. You were still hiding from the principal after all.

“Where’s the rest of your little group, Mrs. Thibedeaux?” Mr. Williams asked and Sam’s chest reverberated with the silent laughter he was struggling to keep in. Mr. Williams would not be fooled. The man had been as shrewd then as he was now.

“It’s just us,” Felicity answered for Georgette and you leaned to the side, just to see who’d gotten caught.

In the dim light of Mr. Williams' flashlight, you could see Georgette and her husband standing in the entrance of a classroom, while Trix and Felicity were still in the hallway and smiling brightly at the elderly man before them.

“Let’s go back to the gym and perhaps call your other friends to return as well,” Mr. Williams said with a smile. “There really is no reason to roam about the hallways, now is there?”

“What makes you think anyone else followed us?” Georgette tried innocently.

“Because I wasn’t quite as distracted as Mrs. Broussard,” Mr. Williams chuckled merrily, before waving his arm to lead the way back.

As they moved down the hallway, back to the busy gym, Sam took your hand in his and led you in the opposite direction. Looking over your shoulder, you locked eyes with Trix who waved and smiled, before turning back around.

“Do you want to go back?” Sam asked softly after a few minutes.

“Nope,” you said, popping the p. His hand was still wrapped around yours and you were enjoying the feeling, finally realising how natural it had been for him to grab it twice now. You froze again when footsteps echoed through the hallways a short distance away, and to the right, you could see flashlights coming in your direction.

“Though I do think we’re still sought-after,” you added, pointing towards the lights. Mischief grew in Sam’s eyes, and you chuckled with anticipation.

“It’s a good thing you already ditched the heels,” Sam said, before pulling you down another hallway at a sprint.

“Sam, dude, you know I’m not made for running,” you said, working hard to keep up with him—already breathing wrong.

“Just a little further,” he promised, sprinting down another hallway, before rounding a wall of lockers and pushing you up against the side of them. The flashlights swept the hallway you were in, but no footsteps came closer. Whoever had been holding the lights probably figured you’d run in the other direction. After all, this hallway brought you closer to the gym. It didn’t matter though; all that mattered was the close proximity in which you found yourselves now. Out of breath and still full of laughter, you stood chest to chest with Sam and it was having its effect on you.

Sam took a deep breath, leaning over your shoulder to put his forehead against the cool locker and you took a shaky breath yourself. He smelled nice—something fresh and minty, with a hint of pine. You wouldn’t mind taking a sniff, but again, that would be a little weird. Sam pulled his head back up once he’d gotten his breathing under control, though he remained pressed against you in the dark. His eyes found yours and the mirth was still all too clear in them, bringing a smile to your face again.

“I feel like I’m 16 again,” Sam whispered and you couldn’t help but laugh.

“Really, because after that little sprint, I feel 80,” you whispered back.

“A beautiful 80-year-old though,” Sam said, his voice soft and genuine.

“Hmm, keep those compliments coming, and it might get you anywhere,” you chuckled, keeping the vibe light despite the heat that travelled to your cheeks at his words. Even flushed as you were from running and hiding out, he still called you beautiful—that would make any woman flustered, right? Surely it wasn’t just you.

His eyes flickered to your lips for a moment, and your breath hitched—perhaps that crush you’d had on him never really ended. It had just laid dormant all those years. Unconsciously, your eyes flickered to his lips as well and you licked your own in anticipation. Would they be as soft and gentle as they’d been all those years ago?

Sam audibly sucked in air, and your attention went back to his eyes, finding him already looking at you. The staring seemed to last for a few minutes at least, before Sam moved again.

“Beautiful,” he whispered and leaned in, slowly moving towards you—clearly giving you ample opportunity to stop him if you wanted to. But you didn’t. You wanted his lips to devour you, for his tongue to dance with yours and his hands to become oh so much more familiar.

His breath mingled with yours momentarily, and your head got foggy. You never wanted these feelings to end. And when his lips softly pressed to yours, the fog lifted in an explosion. Chaste, quick, gentle—much like all those years ago. And the effect was as devastating as it had been then. When he pulled back all too quickly, you needed a moment to catch your breath.

“I’ve always wanted to do that,” Sam whispered, and you finally opened your eyes again to look into his as you nodded. You had wanted it too, and you wanted to tell him so, but all your words seemed corny, and you didn’t want to break the spell you were under. So instead you acted—pressing your lips to his in a more eager kiss. One that showed him how much you had thought of it as well, or so you hoped.

His arms snaked their way around your waist, pulling you impossibly close as he responded to your kiss with an eagerness to match it. Heat rose from your stomach to your chest as your hands reached up to caress his cheeks, before going back down his back. All insecurity left you, and you surrendered to the tingling feeling that spread from your toes to your head. Sam pressed you harder against the locker, your bodies touching all over.

Despite the heated moment, the irony of it happening in your old high school wasn’t lost on you, and you nearly broke out in laughter over the silliness of it all. That was, until your heart nearly stopped altogether when a bright light shone in your eyes.   “Well, well—guess who’s been taking the time to catch up,” Aurelia’s voice rang through the air, and Sam reluctantly pulled back from you. He laid his head on your shoulder, while you squinted to look over his shoulder to see Aurelia and Hayley standing there with two Cheshire Cat smiles.

“Hi,” you said lamely, and they laughed as they finally lowered the flashlight they’d been aiming at you. Sam raised his head only to look into your eyes with an intensity that took your breath away. Heat settled in your stomach again as you stared back, and neither of you seemed to care that you had an audience now.

“Maybe buy her dinner first, dude,” Aurelia said loudly, voice full of laughter, and you chuckled, shaking your head. With a deep sigh, Sam stepped back from you finally. He took your hand in his and turned back to your old friends.

“So what’s the best place to do that these days?” he asked them, and Aurelia quickly stepped forward to high-five him.

“That’s more like it. Come on, let’s go find the others and get ourselves some good old fashioned late-night burgers,” Aurelia said, taking charge and walking towards the gym, certain the rest would follow.

#Sam Wilson x Reader #Sam Wilson Fanfiction #Marvel Fanfiction #Sam Wilson #Sam Wilson Fic

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imagines4thefandoms · 3 years

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The Man the World Forgot

Part 1

summery: Chris was living the life. He was a famous movie star with all of his films a blockbuster hit. Millions of people around the world knew his name; Chris was the most famous person in the world. But that all changed in a matter of seconds. When Chris wakes up one morning and the world has no idea who he is. Not even his family and close friends. Chris Evans no longer exist, or more exactly he never did. No one remembered him, no one except Scarlet. Scarlet McLaughlin was just a normal college student just trying to make it to graduation. She discovers that she is the one who remembers who Chris Evans is. Together they try and work out why the world doesn’t remember the movie star. Will they be able to fix the movie stars life or will he just stay forgotten in the minds of his loved ones?

word count: 2.2K

Chis Evans’ Saturday night was just a regular Saturday night while away for work: he called Scott to talk to Dodger, went for a quick run before eating in the hotel restaurant. He watched the couple sitting next to him celebrate something and grew a bit jealous. All he wanted in life to find the right person, settle down, and have kids. Chris just never met the right person.

After finishing his meal, the lonely star went back to his room to get ready for his busy day of shooting in the morning. Normally he would at least explore the city a little but he wasn’t in the mood to explore the beautiful Big Easy tonight. Before the elevator doors closed a pair of newly weds game in and were giggling in the corner. Evans tired to hid as to not draw attention to himself but the couple were too entranced with each other to notice that there was someone else in the elevator.

When the now suffocating metal box reached his floor, Chris exited and walked to his room wondering when he would ever have what they had. He kicked his shoes off as soon as his hotel door closed behind him and got ready for bed. Once he got in bed, he decided against watch tv and just let the noise of the city ease him into slumber. But before he could close his eyes, he saw a light streak across the night sky. ‘A shooting star’ he thought. Chris closed his eyes and made a wish.

“I wish I could be normal and find the love of my life,” he whispered before finally going to sleep.

At midnight the sky exploded with light. The entire city of New Orleans went quite for just a second then roared back to life as if being rebooted. Little did the actor know that his innocent wish full of love and hope had come true but has also brought a twist.

Chris woke up to his alarm blaring at six in the morning for his call time at seven thirty. He has awoken with a new cheery disposition than when he went to bed. Chris had a feeling that today was going to be a great day. He was about to call Scott to talk to Dodge and his brother but decided to take a shower first cause he knew he would be on that call for a while.

After his shower, Chris put on simple jeans and a t-shirt then grabbed his wallet and phone to head to set. The bipolar southern weather had subsided and left a nice cool day, causing the actor to decide to walk the few blocks to set. While on his walk Chris noticed that he was actually relaxed. There was no people with cameras following him nor fans stopping him for a picture. He chalked it up to people still being hung over from their night on Bourbon Street. Chris then remembered that he still has to call Scott. He took out his phone and pressed on his brother’s name in his contacts and waited for him to pick up.

“Hello,” Scott answered in a confused tone.

“Hey man, I just called to say good morning to Dodge. Did I wake you,” Chris asked hoping that he didn’t. He sometime forgot that not everyone is on his sleep schedule.

“Who is this,” Scott replied.

Chis laughed thinking that this was one of his brothers pranks or that he had woken his brother up and he was so fresh from sleep that he was confused. “Scott its me. Are you hung over?” Chris asked as he stopped at a cross walk.

“Hi me but I still don’t know who this is. How did you get this number? You can’t just call me to talk to my dog,” Scott said in a slightly irritated tone.

Chris really thought that his brother was milking this prank. Which was fine. “Scott already very funny its Chris. Your brother. Now can I talk to MY dog before I head on set.”

“Look I don’t know who this is but I don’t have a brother. Don’t call here again,” Scott said before hanging up.

Chis looked at his phone after his brother hung up just to make sure he called the right person. He decided against calling him again just to check up on him partly because he wanted to wait til he had a lunch break in hopes that Scott would give up on this prank and partly because he was at his filming location.

He walked up to the security guard and gave him a smile as he walked by, but the guard stopped him. “Name,” the guard asked.

Evans wasn’t use to not being recognized but he chalked it to being protocol. He gave the guard his name and id and waited til he check is clipboard of approved people on set. “Your not on the list,” the guard replied handing back the id.

“There has got to be some mistake,” Chris said slightly annoyed, “Im the lead role.”

“You are not on the list, which means you don’t get in.”

Chris was now more annoyed so he took out his phone and called his agent Charlie to straighten this whole mess out. Once Charlie picked up the phone Chris skipped the pleasantries and just tole him how he’s not being let on set and that he’s about to be late.

“Who is this,” Charlie asked after Chris went on his little rant.

“Charlie, its Chris. Chris Evans.”

“Um i’m not in the office today but if you make an appointment with my assistant we can look into maybe representing you. I don’t know how you got this number but i’m going to give you my assistant’s and you just make an appointment,” Charlie replied in a professional manor.

“Charlie. Im already your client. Did Scott put you up to this,” Chris laughed at the extent of his brother’s prank.

“I know all of my clients and a Chris Evans is not one of them. Im sorry I think you have the wrong number. Have a great weekend,” Charlie replied hanging up the phone.

Chris was starting to really not like this prank. He had to be on set in five minutes, but his anxiety of the whole situation was getting really out of hand so he went for a walk around the city. Then he will be late to set and Charlie will call him back to apologize making the whole prank thing to rest.

Even though the city isn’t at its bullies at seven thirty in the morning Chris couldn’t deny the cozy and exciting atmosphere of it. Once again on his walk Chris was not bothered by fans nor photographers and for a quick second he wondered how extensive was the plank his brother was pulling. He pasted a Café Du Monde and realized that he had planned on eating breakfast on set. This place was on a list of places Anthony had told Chris to visit while he was in New Orleans. These beignets were supposedly the best things ever so Chris took his friends advice and decided to have an order for breakfast.

He sat down at a table outside so he could still enjoy the scenery of the old beautiful city and waited for a waitress to come over. Chris was entranced by some street players when his waitress came over and greeted him a good morning. He looked over and saw a young girl about seventeen in white button-up shirt with black pants, black bowtie, and a long green apron. The actor braced himself for the questions and her starstruck demeanor.

“Are you,” she started to say as she grabbed her notebook out of the apron.

“Chris Evans yes, how are you,” he said expecting her question of a picture and autograph. But it never came instead introduced herself and told him she was asking if he was ready to order.

This took Chris by surprise. Usually you women this this waitress would be hounding him for pictures and autographs and question but she did. He wanted to chalk it up to her being professional but there was a tiny voice inside his head the told him it was something else.

“Sorry um ill take an order of beignets and a café au Lait,” Chris ordered thankful for the pressure from Anthony for him to pronounce every thing he is going to eat in New Orleans correctly so he doesn’t look stupid. The Waitress gave him a nod and a smile before to put in his order.

The waitress came back three minutes later with the coffee and a plate with three beignets. She placed the items on the table and gave him the line of ‘hope you enjoy’ then went back to work. After he took one bite, he realized that Anthony was right about how delicious these things were. Chris was about to text his friend about how much he enjoyed the fried doughy treat but decided against because he knew Mackie was in the west coast for his film and its six am in Hollywood, also he didn’t want to take the chance that Scott had gotten him in on the prank as well.

For the first time in forever Chris Evans wanted to be attacked by paparazzi and to be swarmed by fans getting too close for comfort. So he did the only think he could think of. Once he finish his breakfast he paid and left a generous tip to the young highs cool student and walked to the place where he knew there would be people at eight in the morning: the Flea Market down the road.

Once he arrived to the Flea Market, he was overwhelmed over the amount of people there. Given that it was eight in the morning on a Saturday it wasn’t weird for this many people to be there, but the sight gave Chris a little bit of anxiety. He was starting to second guess being around so many people in this publish setting just to get recognized.

But once again while he was looking at all the different booths, no one stopped him, no one took his picture, and no one whispered about him behind his back. Chris decided to get Scott something from the flea market in hopes that it would make him fell bad for this prank; Chris had also gotten some souvenirs for the rest of his family while at the flea market as well. Once he was finished with his shopping, the actor headed back to his hotel room. He wanted to get some rest and just wake up from this horrible day.

On his walk back to the hotel, Chris thought that he should enjoy this albeit terrible anonymity he seems to have. He walked a little slower and just took in the sights of the historical buildings he was passing. And while he has heard Anthony complain about the streets being awful in the city he admired the imperfection of the cracks and the potholes, something that natives never have like.

He stoped at Jackson square and enjoyed one street performer groups’ show and looked around at the art work hanging on the fence. Some where simple and others where very detailed but all captured the story of the city that had persevered though many hardships. And after gazing upon what is St. Louis Cathedral, Evans really headed back to his hotel room.

This time the buildings were not the things that caught his attention, but the families that were out exploring the city as he was. One that stuck out in particular was a family with a small girl about the age of five who kept asking her father if they could take a horse ride. She was pointing to the white horse who was standing at the corner to the street waiting for the next people he was going to give a ride too. The father and mother exchanged looked and then agreed which caused the little girl to jump up and down with joy.

The sight made Chris’s heart swell. In that moment he didn’t see that family, he saw the family he hope to have in the future. He saw his littler girl jumping for joy over a horse while him and his wive looked upon her with such adoration. The family disappeared into the horse drawn carriage and Chris’s mind was back on his bed.

Chris was almost at his hotel room when he felt like he was being watched, which on a normal day wasn’t weird but on a day like today it was. He stopped and looked around him to see where this feeling was coming from. That when he noticed someone on the phone across the street staring straight at him. Chris knew that look on her face. Its the face fans get when they see him. This girl knows who he is. She is the only person who does. He knew he had to ask her why.

Part 2

#chris evans #chris evans imagine #the man the world forgot

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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years

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For his entire tenure as an Avenger, Anthony Mackie had never been the first name on the call sheet.

In a galaxy of stars populated by Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, the actor was aware of his place in the on-set pecking order, but would never miss an opportunity to make his presence felt.

“Number six on the call sheet has arrived!” Mackie would routinely shout on films like “Captain America: Civil War” and the box office-busting “Infinity Saga” sequels, according to Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige.

It exemplifies the sort of winning tone that the 42-year-old actor has brought to his superhero character the Falcon, aka Sam Wilson, for six movies from the top-earning studio — wry and collegial humor, with the potential to turn explosive at any moment. Both Mackie and his character are set to burn brighter than ever when the Disney Plus series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” lands on March 18.

On that call sheet, “Anthony is No. 1,” Feige is happy to report, “but it still says ‘No. 6.’ He kept it because he didn’t want it to go to his head.” The series is essentially a two-hander with his friend and longtime co-star Sebastian Stan, the titular soldier. All six episodes were produced and directed by Emmy winner Kari Skogland (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Loudest Voice”). The series, for which combined Super Bowl TV spot and trailer viewership earned a record-breaking 125 million views this year, is reported to have cost $150 million in total.

For Mackie, though, the show comes at a critical time for both his career and for representation in the MCU. Sam Wilson is graduating from handy wingman (Falcon literally gets his job done with the use of mechanical wings), having been handed the Captain America shield by Evans in the last “Avengers” film. While it’s unclear if he will formally don the superhero’s star-spangled uniform moving forward (as the character did in a 2015 comic series), global fandoms and the overall industry are still reeling from the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed Marvel’s Black Panther to culture-defining effect. With this new story, Mackie will become the most visible African American hero in the franchise. And when asked whether he’ll be taking the mantle of one of its most iconic characters, he doesn’t exactly say no.

“I was really surprised and affected by the idea of possibly getting the shield and becoming Captain America. I’ve been in this business a long time, and I did it the way they said you’re supposed to do it. I didn’t go to L.A. and say, ‘Make me famous.’ I went to theater school, did Off Broadway, did indie movies and worked my way through the ranks. It took a long time for this shit to manifest itself the way it has, and I’m extremely happy about that,” Mackie says.

Feige says that, especially with the advent of Disney Plus and the freedom afforded long-form storytelling, the moment was right to give the Falcon his due.

“Suddenly, what had been a classic passing of the torch from one hero to another at the end of ‘Endgame’ became an opening up of our potential to tell an entire story about that. What does it really mean for somebody to step into those shoes, and not just somebody but a Black man in the present day?” says Feige.

Like many comic book heroes, Mackie has an origin story marked by tragedy at a young age — specifically around the loss of a parental figure. The New Orleans native is the youngest of six children from a tight-knit middle-class family, whose trajectory was spun into chaos when his mother was stricken with a terminal illness.

“It was unexpected and very untimely. I was 15 when she was diagnosed with cancer, and a few months later, she was gone. She passed the day before my ninth-grade graduation,” Mackie recalls. “If my mom wouldn’t have passed away when I was so young, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Mackie had already gravitated toward the performing arts before the loss of his mother, having enrolled at the pre-professional school New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. Like many young people grappling with trauma, Mackie says he began to act out. A core group of teachers helped get him out of trouble. Ray Vrazel, still an instructor at the school, personally drove the student to a Houston-based audition for the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he was accepted for his senior year of high school.

“Everything I did, I did for my mama. The idea of leaving home at 17 to go away to school would have never been an option if she was still around. She was my best friend. Losing her gave me a kind of strength, and a desire to succeed,” Mackie says.

Succeed he did. Spending that formative year as a minor on a college campus helped Mackie find his “tribe,” a misfit crew of artists and performers, which propelled him to acceptance at New York’s prestigious Juilliard School in 1997. There he was part of the breakthrough class of students of color to be chosen for the notoriously selective drama program, which Mackie says was liberating given the institution’s track record.

“Our year was a huge transition. There were hardly any Asian people in the drama program, maybe one or two Black people and hardly any Black women. In our class, we had three black women, two black men, one Native American, one Asian female, out of 20 people. Ever since then, the classes have been wildly diverse,” says Mackie, whose fellow students included stage and film star Tracie Thoms and actor Lee Pace.

Following his training, Mackie launched a staggeringly versatile career. He has played Tupac Shakur and Martin Luther King Jr. to similar acclaim, a juicehead bodybuilder in “Pain & Gain” and a homeless gay teen in the Sundance player “Brother to Brother.” He has exhibited remarkable staying power in an industry that often pigeonholes actors and has a pockmarked soul when it comes to inclusion.

“I was drawn to Anthony because of his electrifying ability to combine intensity with sensitivity, courage with compassion, and all of it comes across as inevitable, as if it could be no other way,” says Kathryn Bigelow, who directed him in the 2009 best picture Oscar winner “The Hurt Locker.”

Samuel L. Jackson, whom Mackie calls a mentor and has played alongside in several films, says he has “an innate quality that first and foremost makes everyone want to cast him.” On a recent idle Netflix search, Jackson came across Mackie’s latest sci-fi film, “Outside the Wire,” and it triggered a memory of sitting in the audience for his performance in the 2010 Broadway production of Martin McDonagh’s play “A Behanding in Spokane.”

“Watching him onstage, I thought, he’s a very adroit actor capable of putting on many hats. He’s fearless and will try to be anybody. Then, on my TV, he’s playing a nanobyte soldier or some shit,” Jackson says.

Though always humble about getting the next job, pre-Marvel Mackie was rarely offered pole position.

“There were certain pegs. My first was ‘8 Mile.’ It was a monumental step at the beginning of my career,” Mackie says of the 2002 Curtis Hanson film that elevated rapper Eminem to multi-hyphenate stardom.

“After that it was ‘Half Nelson.’ It blew up Ryan Gosling, so I was there to ride the wave. Then ‘The Hurt Locker,’ and it blew up Jeremy Renner. It was the joke for a long time — if you’re a white dude and you want to get nominated for an Oscar, play opposite me. I bring the business for white dudes,” says Mackie.

He remembers the sensation “Hurt Locker” caused during its awards season. It was a moment he thought would change everything as he stood on the stage of the Dolby Theatre with the cast and filmmakers, having just sipped from George Clooney’s flask while Halle Berry radiated a few rows away.

“I thought I would be able to move forward in my career and not have to jostle and position myself for work. To get into rooms with certain people. I thought my work would speak for itself. I didn’t feel a huge shift,” he says, “but I 100% think that ‘The Hurt Locker’ is the reason I got ‘Captain America.’”

He’s referring to “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” the 2014 Marvel film that was the first to be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo (the current title holders for the highest-grossing film of all time with “Avenges: Endgame”). Mackie says that blockbuster not only gave him his largest platform to date but changed expectations of superhero movies forever.

“It was the first of the espionage, Jason Bourne-esque action movies at Marvel. After that, the movies shifted and had different themes and were more in touch with the world we live in, more grounded,” he says.

Bolstered by the words of another mentor, Morgan Freeman, Mackie feels no bitterness about his path.

“We did ‘Million Dollar Baby’ together, and when we were shooting this movie, I got offered a play. When you do Off Broadway, it’s $425 a week. In New York, that’s really $75 per week. I got a movie offer at the same time, and it was buckets of money. Three Home Depot buckets of money were going to be dropped off at my door,” Mackie says. “The script was awful; the whole thing was slimy. I went to Morgan’s trailer and asked him what he would do. He took a second and said, ‘Do the play. When Hollywood wants you, they’ll come get you. And when they come get you, they’ll pay for it.’ That blew my mind, and I left him that day with such a massive amount of confidence. He’s been a huge influence on me.”

He used the currency of that first Russo Brothers film and five subsequent ones to do what many creators and performers in Hollywood have done in recent years to help balance the scales of profit and representation in content: make things on his own.

Last year, Mackie produced and starred in “The Banker” — what would be Apple Studios’ first foray into original streaming film distribution and the awards landscape — through his banner Make It With Gravy. The film follows the true story of America’s first Black bankers and the white frontman they deployed to acquire the institution, all while supporting Black-owned businesses and communities in the process. A late-breaking scandal over sexual misconduct accusations involving the real-life family members of the film’s subjects delayed the release, overshooting awards-season deadlines and entangling the fledgling producer.

“It was a good lesson, and gave me a new perspective on the world around us. It’s very important to me that the women by my side are treated equally. It was a valuable lesson learned. I was very humbled by my sisters, for once not being mean to me,” he says.

Mackie is in development on the film “Signal Hill,” about the early days of lawyer Johnnie Cochran and the theater he brought to courtrooms long before the O.J. Simpson trial, and is hoping to secure the life story of civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin as a vehicle for his directorial debut. Raising four sons of his own now, Mackie wants his off-screen work to make them well-rounded men.

“Look at Robin Williams,” he says. “He used to be crass and funny, and then he had kids, and he started doing all these family-friendly movies. Same thing with Eddie Murphy. I’m trying to curate my children’s experience with the things that I’ll be producing, rather than starring in. That’s what is most important. They know my job is my job; they know who I am. I’ve given up the idea of them ever thinking that I’m cool,” he says.

Jokes about the call sheet are among many of Mackie’s filming quirks. Jackson says that sets are often littered with hidden cigar stubs, to be fired up between takes or after long days. Bigelow says his rapport with crew has led to nights where the “clock was ticking but it was impossible to regain composure enough to shoot.” But according to Evans, no Mackie-ism is more famous than the phrase he bellows whenever his directors cut a scene: “Cut the check!”

Evans says this “will be forever associated with Mackie. I find myself saying it on sets all the time. I love it. But I’ll never be able to say it as well as him.”

As the man handing Mackie his armor, Evan says the Falcon’s “role within the Marvel universe has answered the call to action time and time again. He’s proven his courage, loyalty and reliability over multiple films. Sam has given so much, and he’s also lost a lot too. He believes in something bigger than himself, and that type of humility is necessary to carry the shield.”

The question of Sam Wilson’s humanity will be explored at length in “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” what Mackie calls a deeper showcase for both himself and Stan and their characters. It was a prospect that at first confused and frightened him.

“I didn’t think we could do on the television what we’d been doing on the big screen. I didn’t want to be the face of the first Marvel franchise to fail. Like, ‘See? We cast the Black dude, and now this shit is awful.’ That was a huge fear of mine, and also a huge responsibility with playing a Marvel character,” Mackie says.

He was quickly assuaged by the level of depth in the scripts from head writer Malcolm Spellman (“Empire,” “Truth Be Told”), especially when it came to the nuances of Wilson — a Black American man with no powers beyond his badass wings.

“Sam Wilson as played by Mackie is different than a Thor or a Black Panther, because he’s not from another planet or a king from another country,” Feige says. “He’s an African American man. He’s got experience in the military and doing grief counseling with soldiers who have PTSD. But where did he grow up? Who is his family? Mackie was excited to dig into it as this man, this Black man in particular, in the Marvel version of the world outside our window.”

Mackie celebrates Sam’s relatability in a universe full of mythological gods and lab-made enforcers. “I’m basically the eyes and ears of the audience, if you were put in that position where you could go out and fight alongside superheroes. It adds a really nice quality to him, that he’s a regular guy who can go out there and do special things,” Mackie says.

While bound by standard Marvel-grade secrecy, the actor confirms there have been no discussions of a second season for “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” As the majority of domestic movie theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, he is equally unaware of the theatrical prospects for his Falcon character — or the Captain he may become by the end of this Disney Plus run. For now, he’s content to take up the mantle left by Boseman, a quietly understood pact of responsibility to Marvel-loving kids the world over.

“For Chad and I, [representation] was never a conversation that needed to be had because of our backgrounds. There was a hinted-at understanding between the two of us, because we’re both from humble beginnings in the South; we have very similar backgrounds. We knew what the game was. We knew going into it,” he says.

Outside comic book movies, Mackie is not done searching as a performer. There is a particular genre he would very much like to cut him a check.

“My team gets mad at me for saying this, but I would love to do a cheesy old-school ‘When Harry Met Sally’-type of project,” he says. “One of those movies where I’m working outside and have to take my shirt off because it’s too hot. I want a romantic comedy. I want to do every movie written for Matthew McConaughey that he passed on.”

#Anthony Mackie #The Falcon and the Winter Soldier #Disney+#interview

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lalainajanes · 4 years

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17 + 43 for the prompts!! so happy to see that you're accepting prompts

Okay, these are from a list I reblogged awhile back thinking writing would be done (but then 2020 decided do continue to be 2020 - aka a series of awful awfulness). I’ve missed writing and I’m getting back into the habit so I decided to finish up a short-ish thing that was already in progress.

#17 was meeting at a party whilst drunk au and #43 was falling in love with their best friend’s partner au. But I didn’t get to drunk and I’m cheating a little bit with the definition of partner – my brain is an angst free zone these days!

That Perfect Stranger

As much as Caroline hates surprises, she does take a certain amount of joy in surprising other people. When she’d gotten an invite to Bonnie Bennett’s 50th birthday party, she’d immediately started investigating flights to New Orleans.

She hadn’t RSVP’d. Rude? Probably. Caroline had rationalized that, based on the invites (champagne cardstock embossed with a shimmer so subtle it had to be stupidly expensive), whoever was throwing the party wouldn’t skimp on food or drink, so an extra person wouldn’t be an issue.

It’s been about ten years since she’d last seen Bonnie, and she’s never visited Bon’s adopted home town.

Weaving her way through the thick crowds on the streets, carried along by the music and the energy, Caroline’s kicking herself for not making the trip sooner. She has a general idea of where she’s going, has the address memorized, but she’s content to take a meandering route.

That might be the slight buzz she already has going – either the drinks from the bars here are really heavy on the booze, or there’s something in them designed to affect vampires. She’s getting a few appreciative leers in her short metallic dress, but given the vast array of attire on display – from ratty jeans, to sparkly costumes, to the tiniest club skirts – she doesn’t feel out of place.

She might have to stay a few extra days and do some exploring.

Caroline’s not entirely sure how her oldest friend had ended up in New Orleans. They’d reconnected long after Bonnie had made the move. Bonnie’s never been one to brag though Caroline’s heard whispers from other acquaintances. Something about evil witches coming back from the dead, mortal danger, a showdown of supernatural species, then Bonnie showing up to kick ass and take names.

At the time, Caroline had still been committed to pretending to be human. She’d fled Mystic Falls when it became clear that far too many people wanted to kill her, had hitchhiked across a few states before her cash had run out in Chicago.

Luckily, she’d mastered compulsion easily. Chicago was home to all sorts of easy marks – business bros who genuinely thought hitting on a seventeen-year-old girl was a thing they should be doing. Typically, such a man’s only redeeming quality, which Caroline had been happy to take advantage of, was the lack of a limit to how much money he could withdraw from the ATM at once. It had taken a little trial and error, but she’d mastered feeding enough to sustain herself without leaving a pile of bodies behind.

She’d built up a nice little nest egg, had even gotten her first college degree. She’d optimistically sent her parent’s an invite to her graduation. Her mother hadn’t shown; her dad had. He’d just been armed with a stake and a jug of vervain.

After that, Caroline had given up on blending in.

She’d been flitting around the globe for about a decade when Bonnie had found Caroline on Instagram and sent a DM. At first, Caroline had been leery about another trap. Bonnie hadn’t been too thrilled to make Caroline a daylight ring, and she’d kept her old email address for years, hadn’t heard a peep from anyone she’d grown up with. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she’d replied.

Stilted text conversations got longer, more fluid. Eventually, they’d progressed to phone calls. Caroline had carefully planned their first meeting, in a city where she had connections and witches were thin on the ground.

They’d had some hard conversations on that trip. Ended up spending way too much time ugly crying indoors, considering they’d been in freaking Porto in June. They’ve made up for it in the years since.

Caroline sidesteps a pack of probable frat boys – cute, she notes idly, probably tasty – twists her head a bit to make eye contact (she’s not hungry now, but who knows how the night will go). She smiles, a little flirty, only to stop abruptly as the noise disappears as if someone had pressed the pause button.

She can still see the street behind her, jam-packed with people and lit up by streetlights and neon bar signs. In front of her, however, it’s quiet. Still. Caroline jumps when a throat clears, her head whipping around to see a man in a white tux who definitely hadn’t been there before. “What the crap?” she squeaks, fangs dropping.

His face remains smooth, not even a hint of shock or fear evident. He’s blandly handsome, nonthreatening, but she’s learned not to trust outer appearances. “Miss Caroline Forbes, correct? You’re here for Miss Bennett’s birthday?”

Warily, Caroline nods.

White tux smiles, friendly now, “Excellent; she’ll be pleased you’ve made it. Can I see you inside?”

His head tips, and Caroline almost jumps when a stone staircase freaking shimmers into view. White Tux pretends he hadn’t noticed her shock, jogging up the steps. He pulls a gleaming door open. It lacks a doorknob, is instead marked with half a shiny M (probably real gold, she decides).

He waits patiently while Caroline makes her way up the steps. She’s careful, given the fact that they’d appeared magically. Between her high heels and her short skirt, even her vampire reflexes won’t save her from humiliation should she take a fall. When she’s at the top, she peers inside curiously.

She hears music again, the clink of glasses. Laughter. “Do you need to see my invite?”

Caroline’s got it in her purse, but the man shakes his head. “Not necessary. You wouldn’t have seen me if you weren’t on the guest list. Welcome to The Abattoir. I hope you have a pleasant evening.”

“Thank you,” Caroline murmurs, biting back her questions about the impressive magic this place obviously holds. No need to seem like a total yokel if she’s wrong, and cloaking gigantic buildings in the middle of a busy city is in every witch’s bag of tricks.

The lights are low, and most flat surfaces are covered in candles, lending a warm glow that bounces off ornate framed paintings and crystal chandeliers. The click of her heels is lost under the sounds of the party, louder now that she’s crossed the threshold. She follows the noise easily, walks through a set of double doors into a packed ballroom.

Caroline lifts on her toes, scanning the room, notes the party spilling out the far side, where several sets of French doors open onto what looks like expansive grounds. “Well,” she mutters, snatching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, “Bon, you’ve been keeping some secrets.”

“I have not,” Bonnie says, and Caroline whirls, narrowly managing to avoid tipping her glass.

“Bonnie!” she squeals, shifting forward and throwing an arm around Bon’s shoulders. “Great dress.” It’s teal and short, with dramatic sleeves and a deep neckline, just a tiny bit witchy.

“I’m so glad you came!” Bonnie says, returning the hug enthusiastically.

“I am too, actually. Why have I never come to New Orleans before?” She sways a little to the music, drains her champagne, smiling when Bonnie laughs, “Seriously, I had a better time on the walk here than I have in ages.”

“We do like to hear that,” a low voice replies, just behind Caroline. She startles, dropping her glass, though it’s neatly caught by long fingertips, just next to her bare thigh, before it hits the floor.

People have got to quit sneaking up on her.

A hand lands on her hip, nudging her away from a potential collision with a nearby couple, and Caroline whirls, ready to remind Mr. Sneaky Feet that it's rude to interrupt a conversation.

The words don’t come. Caroline hadn’t realized just how close he would be.

Or that he’d be really attractive.

Her eyes dart to the champagne glass clutched in his hand, to a bare wrist, then a crisp white sleeve that’s already rolled up. His tie is askew, and his eyes are downcast, in the middle of giving her person an equally thorough perusal.

She can’t even be mad about it.

His thumb toys with the sequins that cover her dress, flicking one absently back and forth. She opens her mouth, unsure of just what is going to come out. There’s a 50/50 chance it’s either snippy – because hello, personal space – or flirty because she’s got excellent eyesight and fully believes in shooting her shot.

Thankfully, Bonnie interrupts, tugging on Caroline’s arm until she has the personal space that she’d been slow to take back for herself. “Klaus, this is my very good friend Caroline.”

There’s a definite warning in her tone. Caroline glances at Bonnie’s face, finds her expression is pleasant enough, at least to a person unfamiliar with Bon’s moods. Caroline is, however, so she studies Klaus a little more carefully. She shifts, boxing him out, and waits until Bon meets her eyes. A quirk of an eyebrow, then a tilt of her head, and Bonnie gets the message. “No, ew.”

So he’s not an ex, or someone Bonnie’s interested in. Good news, Caroline thinks, because that would be awkward considering how much she hadn’t minded his hands on her.

However, Caroline can’t help but look at Bon like she’s nuts.

Bonnie sighs, “It’s a long story. Klaus and I are…” she trails off, like she’s struggling for words.

“Partners,” Klaus supplies, smoothly shifting so they’re a circle once more. Caroline’s pretty sure he’s unused to being ignored.

“Eh, more like coworkers.”

A flutter of Klaus’ fingers and a new tray of champagne appears. He waits for Caroline to select a flute before taking one for himself. Bonnie declines with a shake of her head. “I feel like there’s a story here,” Caroline says, nudging Bonnie not so subtly with her foot to let her know that she’s a little peeved she hadn’t heard it before.

“Klaus is the one who first… invited me to New Orleans.”

Caroline doesn’t miss the hesitance. She narrows her gaze, shifting her weight to widen the distance between her body and Klaus.’ A smirk tugs at his full lips, but he sips his champagne, doesn’t press forward again. “I’m sensing the word invite is doing a lot of work there.”

He grins at that. “Truth be told, it was more of a coercion. A bit of blackmail, a few threats. But it all worked out for the best.”

Dubious, Caroline looks to Bonnie, only to find grudging agreement. “I will never admit Klaus is right about anything. But New Orleans is home now.”

Klaus’s smile turns taunting, and he lifts his glass, tipping it in Bonnie’s direction. “You’re welcome.”

Bonnie’s lips press together and Caroline feels an odd crackle of energy but then two other men, one familiar, one not, are at Bonnie’s side. The man she doesn’t recognize is taller and cups the back of Bonnie’s neck, pulling her into a kiss that’s so not appropriate for company. Enzo’s mouth brushes the side of Bonnie’s neck and Caroline knows she’s gaping at the scene like an idiot. Bonnie melts into Enzo though, her hands tugging the other guy closer. When he pulls back he tosses Caroline a salute, before spinning Bonnie onto the dance floor. She just catches his words before they’re swallowed up by the crowd, “No aneurysms on your birthday; you can torture Klaus at family dinner on Sunday.”

Enzo’s towed along, managing a wink at Caroline, “Hello, Gorgeous. We’ll catch up later, yeah?”

“Enzo, what…”

But he’s gone and Caroline resists the urge to dive in after them and start asking questions. “When did that happen?!” she exclaims, forgetting she has an audience.

Klaus leans closer, “Kol and Bonnie have been off and on for decades. They’ve been consistently on since Enzo arrived… about two years ago now.”

“I cannot believe they didn’t tell me,” Caroline grumbles. Enzo she kind of understands, he’s not the best at texting or emailing, is forever losing his phone. Bonnie should know that getting into a polyamorous relationship is the kind of juicy dirt that needs to be shared, damn it.

Klaus lifts a shoulder, “I’m not entirely sure your friend views it as serious. I expect a blow up once Kol presents her with the gift he bought for her. Possibly why he’s attempting to institute a no aneurysm rule.”

She’s dying to fish for more details, has to bite the inside of her lip to keep from immediately peppering Klaus with questions. He’s watching her expectantly though, his lips curled in amusement, and she knows that’s exactly what he expects.

Caroline would hate to be predictable.

She looks at the people near them, notes that most of them avert their eyes, as if they’ve been attempting to eavesdrop. “Klaus,” Caroline says again, letting the name roll off her tongue slowly.

“Mikaelson,” he supplies, with just a hint of a sigh. She supposes she has to give him a point for not attempting to deflect. “I assume my reputation precedes me?”

“That you’re an evil megalomaniac that’s prone to violent murderous rampages when things don’t go your way? I might have heard a whisper or two.”

He carefully avoids her gaze, sipping his drink calmly. “I’ve mostly cut down on those,” Klaus mutters.

Caroline hums noncommittally. But she doesn’t leave. “Bonnie leads the witches here, that much I know. What is it that you do?”

He moves closer, until she can feel the heat of his arm pressed against hers, skin separated by only his shirt. “I built this city.”

Caroline’s eye roll is automatic, too used to similar bragging from men who are trying to impress her. She reaches out, straightens his tie. “Sure,” she drawls, rubbing the obviously expensive fabric between her fingertips, “you seem like you build things all the time.”

He takes no offense, presses her hand flat against his chest, a laugh rumbling out of him. “You long are you planning on staying in my city, Caroline?”

His touch is light, his thumb stroking the back of her hand. It feels like an invitation, not a threat. Still, one can’t be too sure when playing with dangerous hybrids. “I assume that’s not a ‘be out before dawn if you don’t want your head on a pike’ hint?”

He circles her wrist, lifts her hand to his shoulder. He sets his glass aside, Caroline does the same. “Correct. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”

“Good to know,” Caroline says, letting Klaus lead her onto the dance floor.

She had already been contemplating a few extra days, hadn’t she?

#klaroline #klaroline drabbles #i don't remember why I didn't make this one ah to be honest #also am on my bonnie/enzo/kol bullshit #bonnie deserves nice things damn it

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thebrotherssalvatore321 · 3 years

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Keeping Secrets Ch. 46

Keeping Secrets Masterlist

The next morning Katie and Klaus were talking to the moving company about what they wanted to move from where, when Katie’s phone started ringing and she looked down at it to see Caroline’s name on the screen. “Why is she calling? They all gave up on getting in touch with me months ago.” Katie thought as she excused herself from Klaus. With a nervous hand Katie pressed the talk button and walked out onto the balcony of their living quarters. “Hello?” Katie answered.

“Oh, my god, Katie, is it really you?” Caroline asked in a rush of unbelieving words.

“It’s really me.” Katie answered with a smile.

“Where are you? Are you okay? Why did you go MIA? We thought Klaus had dragged you off somewhere and killed you or something.” Caroline asked, excited to be talking to her friend for the first time in months.

“Okay, give me one second and I’ll answer what questions I can.” Katie told Caroline then muted the phone so she wouldn’t be able to hear Katie talking to Klaus who joined her on the balcony. “So, since everyone and their mother seem to know about us and baby Mikaelson, do you think it’s safe to tell my friends?”

“I assumed Tyler had already told them.” He replied.

“Hello! Katie! Don’t put me on hold.” Caroline yelled over the phone so loud it sounded like she was on speaker phone.

“I’m pretty sure he didn’t or Caroline would’ve just mentioned it.” Katie told Klaus with a smile at the phone and Caroline being Caroline.

“They are still your friends, yes?” he asked.

“Estranged, but yeah.” She nodded.

“Then tell her before she breaks the speaker in your phone.” He said with a look at the phone that Caroline was still ranting through.

Katie flashed him a big smile and he kissed her on the cheek then went back inside to give her space. Katie unmated the phone. “Okay, to answer your first question I’m in New Orleans with Klaus who would never murder me by the way.” She told Caroline.

“Well you can’t blame us for assuming that he did. He was pretty mad at you before he left to go after you.” Caroline replied.

Katie didn’t know why he was mad at her and she didn’t feel like thinking about it at the moment. “My trip here to meet my father was just supposed to last two days tops considering I didn’t want to miss prom.”

“Then why did you miss it and graduation and college orientation?” Caroline asked, making a pain shoot through Katie’s chest at the thought of the life she was leaving behind for Klaus and baby M.

“Okay are you ready for some…unbelievable news?” Katie asked with a sigh.

“Um, I guess.” Caroline replied.

“Seriously you should probably be sitting down for this.” Katie told her.

“Okay, I’m sitting down.” Caroline told her.

“I’m pregnant.” Katie told her.

“You’re joking.” Caroline laughed. Katie knew the only way Caroline would believe her was if she saw it for herself. So she lifted her shirt, took a picture of her stomach, her daylight ring hand cupping it for proof, and sent it to Caroline.

Katie heard the rustle of Caroline looking at the photo then dead silence to a long thirty seconds. “Care…are you alive?”

“Just…processing.” Caroline answered, sounding like her mind was a million miles away. “How is that possible?”

“Well you see when a mommy and daddy love each other very much-”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.” Carline cut her off and Katie laughed. “Katie this isn’t funny.”

“I’m sorry, but you know you set yourself up for that.” Katie defended herself then got serious. “When my vampire soul mysteriously recovered from getting shattered it had some biological side effects. Like fertility for example.”

“Okay.” Caroline drawled. “So who’s the father?” she asked, sounding confused.

“Klaus.” Katie answered like it was the obvious answer. “Turns out when he unlocked his werewolf gene it also gave him the ability to pass it on.”

“Oh my god…” Caroline sighed. “Oh my god.” She said again with more vigor as it sank in. “Wait so that’s why you didn’t come home? Because you were scared to tell us that you’re pregnant with Klaus Mikaelson’s baby?”

“Uh…no.” Katie answered. “Long story short the New Orleans witches used me and my pregnancy to blackmail Klaus into doing their bidding. One witch linked me to another so I couldn’t leave the city or they would kill me. I couldn’t tell anyone about the fact that I was pregnant because everyone was convinced that a hybrid baby would be the end of the freaking world and wanted it dead.”

“God…Katie…I’m so sorry. I swear we tried to find you. Bonnie tired a locator spell but it didn't work. She said there was nothing to find and Klaus wasn’t returning our calls. We really thought you were dead.” Caroline defended herself.

“Yeah something tells me that spell wasn’t your average everyday linking spell.” Katie complained. “But if you thought I was dead why did you call me?”

“Honestly I was having a bad day and feeling nostalgic. I was hoping I could still hear your voicemail message.” Caroline answered. “But I got the real thing which is so much better.” The excited tone of Caroline’s voice made Katie smile. “So are you still linked to that witch?” Caroline asked curiously.

“No, I’ve been unlinked for a while now. It only became safe for me to let people know about the baby a few days ago and things have been crazy with Klaus and Rebekah and Elijah, hence why I haven’t tried to contact you guys. It was safer for everyone if I kept you all in the dark. I’m really sorry about that.”

“No, Katie, I’m just glad you’re okay.” Caroline brushed it off. “You are okay, right?”

“I’m more than okay.” Katie answered not being able to keep the smile from her face.

“Oh, hey, Elena just walked in.” Caroline said and Katie could hear Caroline put her on speaker phone.

“Who are you talking to?” Elena asked.

“Katie.” Caroline answered and Katie could hear the smile in her voice.

“What?” Elena asked, sounding a little like she was in shock.

“She’s not dead. She’s pregnant and I’m pretty sure she’s happy about it.” Caroline informed Elena with a happy bubbly-ness to her voice that only Caroline could do without being completely annoying.

“What?” Elena asked again and Katie could easily see Elena’s jaw dropped expression in her head.

“Is that all you can say?” Katie asked with a laugh knowing Caroline would give Elena the full story later.

“Katie if I could punch you through this phone I would.” Elena told her even though she sounded happy to know that Katie was alive. “Wait, did I hear Caroline right, you’re pregnant?”

“Yep.” Katie answered. “I’ll let Caroline explain how later. Right now I need to know, Caroline, are you and Tyler still together?”

“No, that’s actually why I was having a bad day. We broke up last night.” Caroline answered.

“Last night?” Katie asked with wide eyes. “Did he break up with you over the phone?”

“No, he was here at Duke, why do you sound surprised?” Caroline asked and Katie could hear the confusion in her voice.

“Because last I heard he was still here in New Orleans.” Katie answered. “If I may ask, why did the two of you break up?”

“Because I made him choose between me and his revenge against Klaus. He chose Klaus.” Caroline answered. “He never said anything to me about seeing either of you.”

“Then that means that he didn’t tell you what happened when he was here…” Katie sighed as she leaned on the rail and put her forehead in her hands. “I really don’t want to tell you this, but… he tried to kill my baby.”

“Matt said something to me about Tyler having a run in with Klaus in New Orleans and that Klaus put him through hell…” Elena said. “I guess now we know why.”

“So when can we see you?” Caroline asked in an attempt to change the subject.

“I don’t know…” Katie sighed. “Klaus and I are still in the process of moving into the house he and his family built way back when and a lot of things are still up in the air, but hopefully soon. I miss you guys and we have a lot of catching up to do that I don’t want to do over the phone.”

“We miss you too.” Elena told her.

Klaus walked out onto the balcony next to Katie and wrapped his arm around her waist. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “So I gotta let you guys for now, but I promise I’ll stay in touch from now on.”

“Talk to you later.” Elena said.

“We love you!” Caroline yelled happily.

“Bye guys.” Katie laughed at Caroline as she hung up.

“So I take it your chat went well?” Klaus asked as she turned in his arm to stand in front of him and leaned back on the railing.

“Other than finding out that Tyler is not in the garden where I thought he was and telling Caroline that her recent ex is a baby killing dick, yeah. It was good.” Katie finished with a content smile.

“You miss them don’t you?” he asked, making it clear that he hadn’t listened in on her conversation.

“You didn’t eavesdrop on me, did you?” she asked a little surprised.

“Of course not. Your private conversations are just that…private.” He assured her.

“I swear, you’re perfect and no one can convince me otherwise.” She told him with a serious look and a shake of her head that made him chuckle at her. “And I really need to stop eavesdropping on you.”

“It’s fine. I have nothing to hide from you. You know that.” he brushed it off.

“I know, but eavesdropping is disrespectful, and I respect you as much as I love you. I need to break the bad habit.” She told him as she slid her hands up to rest her arms on his shoulders. “To answer your question, yes, I miss them. And if possible I’d love to pay them a visit.” She answered as she slid her hands up his chest to rest her wrists on his shoulders.

“As soon as we get settled and find a good moment to slip away I’ll escort you there myself. Unless you would rather go with your father.” He told her.

“No, I’m not going that far away with him. I don’t trust him that much yet.” She told him with a shake of her head.

“Good, because I don’t either.” He agreed with her. “I have a meeting with the faction at Saint Anne’s church. The moving company should be by in a few hours with our things from the plantation. I may or may not be back before then, it all depends on how the meeting goes.” He told her as he pulled her closer.

“Okay. I’ll obviously be here when you get back.” she told him with a nod then pecked him on the lips. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She smirked at him as she gave him a light push backwards.

“That’s no fun.” He commented with a playful smirk back as he turned around and headed to the front of their living quarters. She just laughed as she followed him to the door then kissed him once more before he left and she shut the door behind him.

She was sitting at a patio table on the balcony, reading a book when she heard a whoosh and looked up to see Elijah standing across from her and she jumped. “Elijah…” she sighed, placing her hand over her pounding heart. “Don’t do that.” she threw her book at him and he caught it.

“My apologies. I did not mean to startle you.” he told her as he closed the book.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with an attitude that made it clear she didn’t want him to be.

“I don’t like how we left things.” He explained. “I owe you yet another apology.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Elijah.” She told him with a shake of her head, noticing that he wasn’t wearing his usual suit, but a pair of dark jeans, a black cotton shirt and nice, black, button up jacket with the collar upturned instead.

He set the book on the patio table and pulled out a chair. “May I join you?” he asked with a motion to the chair.

She took in a deep breath then let it out. “Sure, why not?” her words were tainted with thick sarcasm, but he sat down anyway.

“You said it seems like I lack faith in you, I do not.” He told her as he fiddled with the book on the table. “I believe now more than ever that you will help me achieve the one thing I’ve desired most in my life.” He told her with a squint of his eyes. “My brother’s salvation.”

“How are we supposed to work together to accomplish anything if there is constantly this…wall, of unrequited feelings not only causing problems with you and me, but you and Klaus?” she asked, wanting to work through their problems.

“That is the tricky question.” He sighed as he looked down at the book and straightened it on the table.

“I can’t tell you to stop having feelings for me. It’s not my place or right to tell you what to do or feel.” She told him as she sat up straighter and crossed her arms on the table. “But Elijah, we have to work something out. Even though you said you wouldn’t let your feelings stand in the way they are… regardless of your intentions. I mean, what Klaus said about you trying to color him the lesser brother in my eyes…is that really what you were trying to do when you accused him of wanting to use our baby to sire hybrids?”

“Not intentionally.” He answered. “I cannot deny that I am jealous of Niklaus and angry at myself. In all my one thousand years I have never felt such…emotional turmoil.” Katie frowned and looked down at her arms on the table, hating that she was causing this. “My own grievances caused me to lash out at you. To suggest that your word could be easily broken, that my brother would use his child for his own personal gain… it was unfair and untrue. For that I am sorry.”

Katie sighed as she leaned forward resting her head on her arms. “Apology accepted.” She mumbled not picking her head up.

“You care about Niklaus, you’re devoted to him, he makes you happy.” Katie picked her head up and sat up straight. “However, because I’ve never heard you say, I have to ask, do you love him?”

“Yes.” She answered only to see the hurt in his eyes that he tried to hide. “And it pains me to know that my love for your brother is the cause of your unhappiness. I hate seeing you like this…seeing your emotional turmoil turn you into someone you’re not…” she looked away from him and down to the street below. “You don’t break promises, you don’t make unfounded accusations…yet since I’ve become a part of your life, that’s all I’ve seen from you. If me leaving your life would solve the problem I would.

“That would only make the problem worse.” He replied with a shake of his head and Katie looked back at him. “I need you in my life.” Katie placed her elbows on the table and clasped her hands together at a loss of words. “If not as my lover then as my friend.”

“Friends?” Katie asked with a raised brow. “Do you really think you can manage that?”

“I do.” He told her with a confident nod. “Because you are not only good for Klaus, but he is good for you. You carry yourself with a confidence that I’ve never seen from you before. He brings out a whole different side of you…a strength that’s bright and…” he shook his head not able to find the word he was looking for.

“Fiery?” she asked with a smirk.

He smirked back. “Yes.” He sat up straighter and swiped his pointer finger across his bottom lip. “Niklaus has accused me of snuffing you out in the past. I assure you I only wish to help you burn brighter. I need you to tell me how to achieve that.”

Katie dropped her hands and placed them in her lap with a shrug. Her green eyes looked into his browns in thought. “Just… do as you said and be my friend. Support my happiness and your brothers. I know Rebekah thinks he doesn’t deserve love or happiness, especially since he’s taken hers away so many times, but he does. He also deserves the love and support of his family, you all do.”

“Friends it is then.” He told her with a smirk that she returned before she remembered that Hayley had given him a ride back from the bayou and it fell.

“As your friend I have to ask, was that Hayley that gave you a ride home from the bayou?” she asked.

“Yes.” He answered. “She was still at the campsite and came to my aid.”

“You know she helped Tyler kidnap me, right?” Katie asked.

“Tyler made her.” He informed her and Katie frowned. “He called her a sympathizer because she didn't believe Klaus would hurt a child. Apparently my brother aided her, protected her from Katherine, and won her favor.”

“Klaus did help her.” Katie confirmed.

“She also said she was afraid her anger at Tyler and what he was planning on doing might have given you the wrong impression.” He explained. “She assured me she did not want the child dead, but she didn’t have the power to stand up to a hybrid.”

“She didn't exactly stick around to watch once we got to the cabin.” Katie thought out loud. “And she pointed out Tyler's true intentions as soon as she could. I thought the disdain I heard in her voice was aimed at me, but it easily could have been aimed at Tyler.” Katie played the day and the little time she was around Hayley over in her head and realized what she’d told Elijah could very well be true. “I was going to say she’s not a good person, but maybe that was a hasty judgment.”

“Perhaps it was.” He agreed with a nod as he stood up and started to leave.

“Elijah.” Katie called again and he turned back to her. “You know I’m not the one you really needed to apologize to, right?” he gave her a nod then with a whoosh, he disappeared.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie got bored waiting for the moving company to call and started wandering around the compound. Interested in the basement that Klaus had skipped to save time on his tour, she went there and found Josh and a young woman talking in the garage. “You can trust Marcel. And if Klaus tries to hurt you…I’ll hurt him.” she heard the girl say.

“I’m going to politely suggest that you don’t try that.” Katie spoke up, alerting them to her presence.

“You’re Katie…Klaus’s wife?” The young pretty brunette girl observed.

“Wife no, significant other, yes.” Katie answered. “And judging off your young age, confidence in Marcel and hatred of Klaus I’m assuming you’re the all powerful witch, Davina. Josh I’ve met.” She looked around Davina to Josh with a small smile. “Hello again.”

“Hi.” He said, giving her a flick of his wrist in an awkward wave.

“The less inflammatory way to protect Josh from Klaus’s backlash for leading him into a trap would be to trust me.” Katie said letting her eyes bounce between Josh and Davina.

“You’re Klaus’s other half, why would we trust you?” Davina asked with hard eyes.

“Because while Klaus is the irrational half, I’m the rational one. And I believe in second chances.” She added with a look at Josh.

“And we’re just supposed to believe you?” Davina asked.

“No, but you could give me a chance to prove myself.” Katie said hopefully. “Look, you and I have something in common.”

“What’s that?” Davina drawled with a little less disdain in her eyes.

“Both our lives have been threatened by the French quarter witches.” Katie answered. “We’ve been used by them.”

“Well, your boyfriend wants to use me too, so....” Davina pointed out.

“And I may have unfortunately encouraged him…” Katie admitted. “But it was only because I was afraid and I knew you had the power to protect my baby from the witches. I know that doesn’t make it right and I am sorry. I’m not trying to manipulate you or sway you from Marcel to side with me and Klaus. I’m just trying to be upfront and honest with you.”

“So why would you protect Josh?” Davina asked and Josh gave her a look that said he was wondering the same thing.

“Because I have no friends’ here, I had to leave them all behind.” She answered with a shrug.

“What about that guy I’ve seen you talking to? Bradley. Are you two not friends?” Josh asked.

“If my estranged biological father is the only person in this place I can call a friend then my life is far more tragic than I ever thought.” Katie admitted with an ashamed face and a shake of her head. “Oh, and,” Katie perked up with a look at Davina, “I believe I owe you a thank you for saving my baby’s life.”

“What?” Davina asked, clearly confused.

“Elijah didn’t tell you what the spell he gave you was did he?” Katie asked.

“It was a spell if unknotting. He said it was used as representational magic.” Davina answered.

“What is it with the Mikaelson’s and not being truthful about their intentions?” she asked rhetorically with an eye roll. “The spell unlinked me from Sophie Deveraux who had been stabbed with the needle of sorrows. Do you know what that is?” she asked and Davina nodded. “You completed the spell in the nick of time and saved me from the witch’s abortion attempt. I am incredibly grateful for you and your magic and equally sorry that Elijah misled you in order to help me.”

“You saved a baby?” Josh asked Davina.

“It seems so.” Davina answered with wide eyes.

“Can you forgive Elijah for deceiving you?” Katie asked, trying her best to keep down the hatred of the originals, especially hatred that could be as powerful as Davina’s.

“I…don’t know.” Davina answered sounding confused.

“Understandable.” Katie nodded not pushing the subject.

Katie’s phone started ringing and she looked at it to see the number of the moving company. “I have to take this, but feel free to hunt me down if there’s ever anything I can help either of you with, or even if you just want to talk.” She then looked at Davina. “I know you have Marcel and you trust him, but sometimes you just need another woman’s ear.” She answered the phone and headed upstairs.

“She’s weird.” She heard Davina tell Josh.

“Seems nice to me.” Josh replied and Katie smiled as she walked away.

TVDTVDTVD

Katie was on her way through the courtyard, headed back to their quarters when she looked up from the tuna fish sandwich in her hands and saw Klaus standing on the stairs, Elijah standing at the bottom of them looking up at Klaus’s back. “There is something important we need to discuss.” Elijah told his brother.

As Klaus turned to look at Elijah his eyes caught Katie standing across the courtyard looking at them like she didn’t know what to do. “Mmm, sorry.” She said then swallowed the bite of the sandwich. “I didn’t mean to interrupt, I’ll just…” she pointed at the second set of stairs in the courtyard and headed toward them.

“No, stay, please.” Elijah said, stopping her. “You should hear this too.” Katie just looked at Klaus, silently asking him if he wanted her to stay. He gave her a nod so she walked over, sitting her paper towel wrapped sandwich on one of the tables that she walked past then stood by Klaus who now stood at the base of the stairs. “While I was in the bayou Hayley informed me that werewolves from all around have been coming to New Orleans to witness the miracle pregnancy. One of them spoke of a legend. A legend wherein long ago, a chief of theirs had fathered a child to a very powerful witch. Their mythology further states, this child, a son, was later transformed into something this clan had never before seen…something werewolf and vampire.” He paused to pull something out of his pocket and tossed it to Klaus who caught it in his fist. “That was found hanging around this wolf's neck. Do you recognize it?” Klaus opened up his fist and they both looked at the silver ring in his hand that was made to look like knotted twine, a hole where a stone had once been in the center of it. “Perhaps you don’t, it has been a thousand years since you last saw it grace the hand of our mother.”

“Are you telling us that you found descendants of his biological father?” Katie asked just to clarify.

“That is exactly what I’m saying.” Elijah answered with a nod.

“I have had enough of family to last a lifetime, why would I possibly want more?” Klaus asked, seemingly unaffected by Elijah’s news as he turned and started back up the stairs.

“There is something else of importance we have neglected to discuss.” Elijah spoke up. Klaus stopped and turned toward him. “I accused you of having ulterior motives regarding the child…I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

“I imagine that must have been hard for you to say.” Klaus replied.

Elijah took in a deep breath then blew it out through his nose. “You don’t make it easy to love you, Brother.”

“Yet you are obstinate in your desire to do so.” Klaus said and Elijah dropped his eyes then looked back up at him. Klaus looked at Elijah with emotion filled eyes. “When you are ready, should you be so inclined, both you and Rebekah are welcome to join us here.” He turned his back on Elijah and headed up the stairs. “It is after all our family home.”

Katie gave Elijah a small smile as she grabbed her sandwich off the table. “Is that tuna?” he asked with a curious face and Katie nodded then took a bite. “Are you a cat?”

She chewed and swallowed. “Nope, I’m pregnant and craving weird crap. If I get another craving for chocolate I might just have to try it." She told him then started up the stairs.

TVDTVDTVD

Klaus’s hands slid over the wet, pale skin of Katie’s back, helping wash away the suds of her soap. “How was your day?”

“Not bad.” She replied tilting her head to the side as his hands slipped over the side of her neck then down her shoulder. “I attempted to make new friends so we wouldn’t be compelling Cami. We really need to stop messing with that poor girl's head.”

“So, if not Cami, who may I ask will you be making friends with?”

“A certain powerful witch and her traitor vampire friend.” Katie answered.

“Davina and Josh?” Klaus asked, a little surprised. “Interesting choices.”

“I didn’t think Davina’s friendship would be a bad thing. I guess I’m hoping that at the very least she’ll at least let me be a mentor or even just a trusted ear. It kind of seems like other than Marcel she’s alone here.”

“Alone, save one high status vampire…isolated from any friends she may have had before the harvest ritual. Perhaps you see similarities between her and yourself? Kindred spirits if you will.” Klaus asked as he wrapped his arms around her and set his chin lightly on her shoulder.

“Kind of, yeah.” Katie answered.

“And why Joshua?” Klaus asked curiously.

“I don’t know. He seems nice and he happened to be with Davina at the time.” She shrugged.

“He also happens to be someone I’ve used…” Klaus pointed out and when she didn’t say anything he turned her around to look at him. “It is not your job to right my wrongs.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do.” She defended.

“Josh wouldn’t be a vampire had I not killed him and it is no secret that I want Davina’s power…her protection for our child.” He told her.

Seeing the blood from his day’s killings still dried on his chest she grabbed his body wash and a washcloth. “Yes, but people probably don’t see that I encouraged your pursuit of Davina.” She put some soap on the rag and started washing the blood from his skin. “I was mad at the witches and not thinking straight before. It was easy to want to use her when Davina was just an idea of a person in my head. But now I’ve met her and she’s young and strong, not just with magic.” She twirled her finger asking him to turn around so he did. “She needs someone to be straight with her and let her make her own decisions. And Josh is a new vampire which means his loyalties may not be deeply rooted with Marcel yet. I just wanted to drop a seed of trust and friendship and hope they plant it.” He turned around and took the wash cloth from her. “Plus, you’re more than capable of cleaning up your own messes if you want to.”

“I still say I should buy you a tiara.” He said with a smirk.

“Stop.” She laughed and hit him in the shoulder. “So who’s blood just got washed down the drain?” she asked as she stepped back and leaned against the wall, admiring him as he finished showering.

“The faction’s. Excluding father Kieran. I actually see potential in him. He’s a reasonable man.” He answered and Katie just smirked at him. “What?”

“One of these days I’m going to get to see you in action in person.” She said as she crossed her arms over her chest making him give her a small smile. “So what did they do that warranted their deaths?”

“I ignored Marcel’s advice, angered the faction with my new terms and they pulled a drive by on the bar we were at after the meeting. In doing so they shot out the black out windows. Several of the night walkers were inside and burned to death before we could help them. So…” he paused to rinse out the wash cloth then tossed it over the brushed nickel grab bar and pulled her into him, “we slaughtered the lot of them.” She smiled as his hands slid down to her butt and playfully bit her shoulder with a growl.

“So what’s going to happen now that there’s no faction?” she asked as he kissed her neck.

“Father Kieran is going to remake it then we’ll reopen negotiations.” He answered as he pulled away from her neck and she turned around and turned the water off.

After their shower they were lounging around doing their own things, Katie reading A House Of Night novel on one end of the couch while Klaus sat on the opposite end with a sketch pad in his hand when she remembered that she had left out a major event of her day. “So something else happened today.” Katie spoke up as she glanced up at Klaus.

“Yeah?” he asked with a glance up at her from his book.

“Elijah paid me a visit.” He put down his pencil giving her his full attention. “Long story short, he sees that you’re just as good for me as I am for you. We’ve agreed to be friends.”

“And you believe him?” he asked with a frown.

“I’ll believe it when I see it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give it a try.” She replied. A few minutes passed before Katie remembered that Caroline had said that Klaus was mad at Katie when he left Mystic Falls to come find her. “So earlier today, Caroline mentioned that you were pissed at me when you left to come find me…” not able to focus on her book she closed it and put it on the coffee table Klaus didn’t look up from his sketch pad. “Why were you so mad?”

“You didn’t keep in touch.” he answered simply.

“And that pissed you off?” Katie asked, a little confused. He put his sketch pad and charcoal on the table then gave her a look that told her the answer shouldn’t be that hard to figure out. “You thought I’d abandoned you…”

He nodded. “I felt like an idiot for falling for you, and I hated it.” he answered quietly. “I burned half my sketches of you and I should tell you before Caroline does,” a pain shot through her chest at the thought of what was about to come out of his mouth, “I let her wear your prom dress.” A sigh left her lips, happy he didn’t say he’d slept with her to get back at Katie. “Elena stole hers and she came to me for help since you told her about my collection.” When Katie didn’t say anything, looking at the floor in thought, Klaus asked, “Are you angry?”

“Is letting her wear my dress the only thing you did?” she asked not looking at him.

“Yes.” He answered honestly.

Katie finally looked up at him. “Then I’m not mad. That dress was too beautiful not to be worn by someone.”

“As beautiful as your dream wedding dress?” he asked with a hopeful smile to lighten the mood.

She laughed and shook her head. “I never should have told you about that.”

“Perhaps Caroline would know which dress was your favorite.” He said with a devious smile.

“She might, but I doubt it.” Katie told him with a smile as she turned around and laid on the couch with her head in his lap and a hand resting on her stomach. “You’re welcome to ask her.”

“I just might.” He told her with a challenging tone as she brushed her hair out of her face.

TVDTVDTVD

A few mornings later Katie woke up to find she was in bed alone, but the smell of paint was in the air so she knew Klaus was near. “The queen awakens.” He commented seeing she was up.

“What time is it?” she groaned.

“Six twenty.” He answered not looking away from the painting he was working on. “I didn’t let you sleep in too long did I?”

“No. It’s fine.” She answered. “How did you manage to get out of bed without me waking up?”

“You were in a very deep sleep. I was able to slip right out from under your arm.” He explained.

She sat up and lifted her left hand to push her hair out of her face, but a sparkle of something caught her eye and she looked at her hand to see a white gold ring on her ring finger. A scroll design and a chevron ribbon of small diamonds came together to create a tiara with a swirling heart at its peak. A beautiful blue sapphire sat in the center of it. “You actually bought me a tiara.” Katie said in awe as she looked up from her hand to see Klaus smirking at her.

“Well, I couldn’t have you going out and about without any indication that you are taken. You are hot and as far as anyone outside this compound knows, available, and the thought of someone hitting on you makes me want to rip someone’s spine out through their throat.” He told her, making her laugh at how he basically turned her words into his own.

“You…” Katie slid out of the bed and walked over to him. “are going to give me a big head, Big Bad Wolf.”

“Does that mean you like it?” he asked with a look down at her.

“I love it.” she told him as she took his hand in hers. “And I love you”

“What about this?” he asked with a motion to the painting.

She turned her eyes to the painting of her lying on the bed on her side with one hand under the pillow, the dark blue sheet wrapped around her body clinging to her beautifully. The light shining in through the three windows glinted off her auburn waves that were fanned out over her pillow.

“Is that what I really looked like or is it just how you see me?” Katie asked, not believing that something so beautiful could feature her.

“Both.” He answered then looked at her face, seeing that she couldn’t take her eyes off of the painting. “Have I finally convinced you of your beauty?”

“Nope.” She answered then looked at him. “Is it finished?”

“Not quite, but it should be by the time you’re done with your breakfast.” With the paintbrush in his hand he pointed to the table where a plate of eggs, bacon and a croissant sat next to a steaming cup of coffee.

She stood on her toes and caught his lips with hers, told him, “You’re awesome.” then walked over to the table and started eating her breakfast. “A promise ring, breakfast and I get to watch you paint.” she said with a smile in her voice making him turn from the painting to see her checking him out. “Is it my birthday?”

“Well, it was just supposed to be the ring and breakfast, however I’ve wanted to paint you for a while now and this morning just happened to present the opportunity.” He told her as he turned back to the canvas.

“Speaking of birthdays…” she took a sip of coffee then asked, “When is yours?”

“I stopped celebrating my birthday a long time ago.” He told her, not looking back at her.

“That doesn’t answer my question.” She sing-songed at him.

“March 25th.” He answered with a smirk at her over his shoulder.

“You let me miss it. Why didn’t you say something?” she pouted.

“Like I said, I stopped celebrating it.” he replied. “Speaking of celebrations, the annual casket girl festival is tonight.”

“The what?” Katie asked with a mouth full of her breakfast.

“I’ll let Rebekah tell you all about it. She likes boasting about her involvement in the history this event is based around.” He answered.

Katie frowned. “That would imply that I’d have to talk to Rebekah.” She took a sip of her coffee as she watched him rinse out his brush turning the clear water red. “Last I checked we weren’t on the best of terms with each other.”

“Well, she asked me to let you know she’s having trunks of dresses brought down from storage if you wanted to go through them and find a dress for the festival tonight.” He told her as he dried the brush and stuck it in a jar of other brushes then sat down across from her. “So she can’t be that mad at you.”

“Huh…okay then.” Katie said with a shrug then went back to her breakfast and coffee. After a few seconds it clicked that she was going to get to do something fun and she looked up at Klaus who smirked at her. “Are you taking me to the festival?”

“If you would like to go, yes.” He answered, making a big smile spread over her face.

“Are you kidding me? Of course I want to get dressed up and go have fun with you by my side.” she answered around a bite of bacon.

“You might change your mind about that when you see the theme.” He told her with a devious smirk. She just rolled her eyes and finished her breakfast, now eager to meet up with Rebekah and go through vintage clothing.

TVDTVDTVD

“So,” Katie started as she walked over to Rebekah who was digging through a really nice old wooden trunk, “Klaus told me you invited me to come pick out a dress with you…”

“Yes I…wanted to apologize.” Rebekah answered as she stood up with a white dress in her hands.

“You wanted to, or was this Elijah’s doing?” Katie asked, still suspicious of Rebekah and her back stabbing tendencies.

“Elijah may have suggested it, but that doesn’t mean I’m not genuinely sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you in the pursuit of my brother’s demise.” She told her as she put the dress back in the trunk, deciding she didn’t like it.

“Rebekah, Klaus and I may not be linked, but when you hurt him you hurt me. That’s just how love works.” Katie told her with a shake of her head.

Rebekah finally stopped looking at dresses to look at Katie. “What did you just say?”

“That I love Klaus.” Katie answered then turned her eyes to the trunk of white dresses. “So, what’s this casket girl festival all about anyway?” she asked to change the subject.

“The casket girls were virtuous young society women imported from France with the promise of marrying a proper New Orleans gentleman.” Rebekah explained. “Little did they know the men who awaited them were far from proper and not at all gentle. It’s a yearly reminder of how women can be oppressed by selfish men and how they can triumph when brave enough to fight for themselves.”

“Klaus said you were involved with the history of the casket girls?” Katie asked.

“As often as I could I’d intercept the carriages carrying the girls and save them from their awful fates.” Rebekah answered.

“You know, I sometimes forget you’re not the complete and total bitch you come across as most of the time.” Katie told her with a smile and Rebekah just smirked and shook her head. “So women wear wedding dresses to celebrate girl power New Orleans style?”

“Yep.” Rebekah answered them motioned to the trunk. “Have at it, although I don’t see much potential in this lot.”

Katie had found a dress and was trying it on in a room nearby when Elijah walked by and saw her struggling to pull up the zipper in the back. “Would you like some help?” he asked as he leaned on the frame of the open door.

“I think there’s no use.” Katie replied then blew air between her lips as she let her hands fall from her back. “But you’re welcome to try.”

The mirror gave her a clear view of him and she noticed that he had once again skipped the suit and opted for a white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a black jacket. He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked over to her. He managed to pull the zipper up a few more inches, but didn’t want to risk popping the stitching. “I’m afraid you were right.”

“This was the biggest dress in the trunks…” she sighed as she turned to face him at the same time Klaus walked into the room. “The idea of a pregnant casket girl seems a little silly anyway.” She sighed as she ran her hand over her stomach.

“You know there are bridal shops in town with dresses on sale for the occasion.” Rebekah commented as she walked in. “I’m not finding much in the other trunks either.”

Katie couldn’t take her eyes off of the look on Klaus’s face. “I know that look, Big Bad Wolf, you can keep trying to imagine my dream dress, but you’ll never guess what it looks like.” She told him with a smirk making both Elijah and Rebekah look back and forth between Katie and Klaus, both just now noticing the rings on their hands.

“Is there something you two wish to tell us?” Elijah asked with squinted eyes.

“We’re engaged.” Klaus said with a devious look on his face.

“Klaus Mikaelson!” Katie scolded with a shocked smile as she moved from the mirror and punched him in the shoulder. He just laughed as he spun her around and wrapped his arms around her shoulders pulling her back into his chest.

“Did I just hear that you’re engaged?” Her father asked from where he stood in the doorway with wide eyes. “I thought you said you weren’t going to propose to him.”

“Why is everyone and their mother in this room right now?” Katie asked.

“When were you planning on telling me?” Rebekah asked, a little mad. “The maid of honor is responsible for helping you pick out your dress and planning everything.”

“And I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to ask the bride's father for her hand.” Her father chipped in.

Klaus just laughed where he still stood behind Katie with his arms wrapped around her. “Okay, everyone just stop.” Katie told them as she stepped out of Klaus’s arms. “Stop, rewind,” she moved her two pointer fingers around each other in a winding motion, “and ignore Klaus.” She gave Klaus a glare and he just laughed. “We’re not getting married. We’re not engaged and no offense,” she looked at Rebekah, “if Klaus and I do ever decide to tie the knot Caroline will be my maid of honor as I promised her long ago she would be.”

“So what’s with the rings?” Rebekah asked.

“They’re…” she looked at Klaus and asked, “promise rings?” with an unsure look. He pulled the corners of his mouth down with a shrug. “They’re promise rings. Now can we get back to what we were doing?” she asked with a look at Rebekah.

“Well, I’m going out to find a dress, are you coming with?” Rebekah asked.

“Yeah, just give me a minute to change.” Katie answered.

“So you’re not getting married?” Bradley asked, still standing near the door.

“No.” Katie answered with a shake of her head. “Are you going to be at the festival?”

“No, street fares aren’t really my speed.” He answered with a shake of his head then noticed Klaus giving him a why-are-you-still-here look. “I’ll…see you later though.” He left, leaving Katie alone with Elijah and Klaus and the thick awkwardness that hung around them.

Katie chewed on the inside of her lip as her eyes bounced between the two of them. “Okay, I’m gonna get out of this dress now.” she turned her back on Klaus and asked, “Do you mind?” After he’d unzipped the dress she ducked behind the folding screen in the corner of the room and started changing. “So, Elijah, are you planning on going to the festival?” Katie asked from behind the screen, hoping to break the tension.

“I was actually going to offer to accompany you if my brother was too busy running his kingdom to do so.” Elijah answered and Katie rolled her eyes as she pulled her maternity jeans on.

“What are you suggesting, Brother?” Klaus asked with a hard voice.

“I’m not suggesting anything, Niklaus, other than I understand running an empire can be time consuming and I do not want my one and only friend to feel neglected.” Elijah answered.

And there it is. Katie thought to herself as she pulled her white racer back tank top over her head. “If Katie has ever felt neglected she has failed to let me know.”

Katie grabbed her leather jacket from where it had been thrown over the screen as she walked around it. “Alright stop it, both of you.” Both of the men looked at her as she shrugged on her jacket. “I’ve never felt neglected.” She told Klaus then looked at Elijah. “I appreciate your concern and if something comes up and he can’t accompany me to the festival I’ll take you up on your offer.” She looked at Klaus who was opening his mouth to object. “And I’ll ask you not to get jealous because I’ve never actually managed to stay friends with an ex and I really need to learn how to navigate it.” she turned her eyes to Elijah, “We both do.” She heard Klaus sigh and looked back at him. “Cool?”

“Yes.” He answered with an I-don’t-like-it sigh.

She smirked. “Thank you. Now if you two don’t mind I have a costume to shop for with my future sister-in-law.” She said jokingly as she left the brothers behind.

TVDTVDTVD

“So what does your dream wedding dress look like?” Rebekah asked as they looked through the markdown dresses on the rack outside the bridal shop.

“Have you heard of Pnina Tornai?” Katie asked.

“Yes, I love her.” Rebekah said with a smile. “I have yet to see a dress she’s designed that I didn’t like.”

“It’s one of her custom ball gowns.” Katie added then sighed as she got to the end of the rack of dresses. “Maybe it wasn’t meant for me to go to this festival.”

“No, nu uh, you’re getting out and having fun. Come.” Rebekah grabbed her hand and pulled her into the shop. By the time they were done they both had dresses that cost way too much for something they were going to wear to a street fair.

TVDTVDTVD

That evening Katie stood in the bedroom looking at herself in the white empire waist, chiffon, dress with tulle sleeves. Klaus walked up behind her and sat his hands on her hips as she clipped the birdcage veil into her hair. “You…are…jaw dropping.” Katie just smiled at him in the mirror. “Ready?”

“More than ready.” She answered as she spun around in his arms.

The two of them enjoyed the night without a hitch. Katie found herself falling in love with the city, with the jazz music, street artists, the good food and just the overall atmosphere. She found that not only did she love gumbo, but crawfish etouffee as well.

At the end of the night Katie fell into bed with Klaus, exhausted, but happier than she had been in a long time.

#the originals #the originals fanfiction #the originals oc fanfiction #the vampire diaries fanfiction #the vampire diaries #Klaus mikaelson #Klaus mikaelson fanfiction #Klaus mikaelson x oc fanfiction #elijah mikaelson #elijah mikaelson fanfiction #elijah mikaelson x oc fanfiction #rebekah mikaelson #freya mikaelson #tvd #to #tvd fanfiction #to fanfiction #keeping secrets #phoenix rising

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ggukcangetit · 4 years

Text

Dreamcatchers Chap 1

Pairing: jungkook x oc

Summary: DI Jeon didn’t need a new partner. Unfortunately, his superiors felt otherwise; especially considering the extremely high-profile murder that had just taken place in the port city. Recent transfer, DI Choi Yuri finds herself confronted with a new cityscape, unfamiliar people, a hostile partner, and a homicide that is certain to bring back unpleasant memories.

Genre/AU: fluff/action/mystery | detective! au | police!jungkook, police!oc

Word Count: 3.1k

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: mentions of violence, alcohol, blood, drugs, death. basically stuff you’d associate with a murder mystery/crime drama.

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Acknowledgement: shoutout to @stutterfly for designing this beautiful banner which i am completely in love with and stare at for no particular reason throughout the day

A/N: here’s the first chapter! i had originally planned on posting the entire story as one post but it’s way too long so i’m breaking it up into multiple chapters. the story features a named oc because i’m still very unfamiliar with writing second person reader inserts. i’m not aiming for strict accuracy in this story, and all criminal investigation/forensics knowledge i have has been gathered by watching crime drama/procedural dramas! my knowledge of geography is also not totally accurate so apologies for that. once again, one thing right by @hobios prompted me to write a police inspector! jungkook story. would highly recommend reading that because it’s probably one of my most favorite pieces of writing!

16th December

Mornings began early in the Yeongdo district of Busan. Yuri realised this on her first morning in town, as her fitful sleep was broken around 5 in the morning. Perhaps the quiet bustle at the crack of dawn shouldn’t have surprised her too much, given how this was primarily a seaside town with a small port. Her work did not require her to arrive before 8 am so she decided to talk a stroll around the town, acquaint herself with some of the shops and people, and perhaps even grab a bite to eat.

Yuri’s best friend from high school - Kim Ahreum, lived in this town, and this was one of the few reasons why Yuri hadn’t protested violently against her transfer. That, and she hadn’t been given much of a choice from her superiors. Ahreum had texted her excitedly about how beautiful the sea port of Yeongdo was - full of beautiful parks, quirky shops, exquisite food, and fascinating people. Coming from Seoul, Yuri wondered how difficult it would be for her to adjust to a world that sounded so different from the one she was coming from. Ahreum herself was a doctor in training, while her older brother - Namjoon, was in his final year of graduate school, just a few months away from his second law degree. Yuri didn’t remember much of Namjoon as he had left for college by the time she and Ahreum had become friends in their second year of high school. Her limited memory told her that he was very well read, quiet, and taller than the most other boys in school.

“Hey! I haven’t seen you around before.”

Yuri looked around for the owner of the voice - a little girl with two tight pigtails, a bright red dress, and a look of suspicion and curiosity lining her face. The woman beside her - presumably her mother - looked appalled at the little girl’s statement and shushed her before apologising to Yuri.

“I’m so sorry, miss,” she said, bowing deeply. “Nayeong here doesn’t really know how to talk to elders!”

“That’s alright,” replied Yuri, returning the bow. She squatted down in front of Nayeong and looked straight into her eyes. “Hello, my name is Choi Yuri. I moved here yesterday. It’s nice to meet you, and I hope we can be friends.”

The little girl seemed to hesitate in her desire to outcast this stranger who had seemingly no qualms about being truthful and friendly. Yuri could see the indecisiveness flitting through her features and decided to try a different tactic.

“I’m quite hungry but since I don’t know any of the shops over here, I was wondering if you could tell me where I could get some fresh bread and pastries.”

At these words, Nayeong’s eyes lit up and any indecision she previously held disappeared. She grabbed hold of Yuri’s hand and her mother’s, pulling them along in the direction of the town’s center. A few minutes later, they came to a halt outside a cozy looking shop.

“‘The Moon’s Post Office’?” Yuri read the sign out loud, intrigued by the name.

“Seokjin oppa makes the best pastries in the world! Eomma, tell her!” Nayeong exclaimed, looking at her mother excitedly.

“Alright, alright,” her mother laughed. “Yes, Nayeong is right. Seokjin does make incredible pastries, breads, and desserts. It’s almost impossible to stop this one from visiting the shop every day.”

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to go in and find out. Would you like to join me, Nayeong?” asked Yuri. She glanced at the older woman once, to make sure this request wasn’t out of line.

“Can I, Eomma?” asked Nayeong, excitedly.

“Of course! It’s always a good thing to help others out.” Nayeong squealed happily at her mother’s response and rushed inside.

“I’m Lim Seora, it’s nice to meet you,” said the older woman, once her daughter was inside.

“Choi Yuri,” Yuri responded, bowing deeply. “Thank you for accompanying me here.”

Once inside, Yuri felt her senses getting assaulted by a plethora of soft, sweet, refreshing smells. Nayeong was already at the counter, talking to someone about the different things she wanted. Yuri felt her throat go dry as she glanced at the person behind the counter. She had rarely seen anyone as handsome as the young man currently talking to Nayeong. His thick black hair kept falling over his forehead which he tried to remove with a gentle shake of his head, his plump pink lips pressed together in amusement as an oversized black and red cardigan hung off his rather broad shoulders.

“So that’s three blueberry scones, one orange muffin, and a bag of peanut butter cookies?” asked the young man, to which Nayeong nodded enthusiastically.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“I’ve brought a friend with me today. She’s hungry so can you make something tasty for her, Oppa?” responded Nayeong, pulling Yuri forward.

“Is that right? Hello, I don’t think we’ve met,” he said with a soft smile. “Kim Seokjin, I run this bakery.”

“Nice to meet you,” replied Yuri, bowing in greeting. “I’m Choi Yuri, I moved here yesterday.”

“Nice to meet you too! May I recommend the Snow Croissant?” said Seokjin, sweeping his hand dramatically over the display case.

“The ‘Snow Croissant’? What’s that?” asked Yuri, chuckling at his enthusiasm.

“It’s my take on the New Orleans Beignet and the French Croissant,” he replied, bringing out a golden flaky croissant dusted with powdered sugar.

Yuri took a bite of the pastry and gasped in surprise. The light crunch of the savoury croissant blended beautifully with the soft sweetness of the sugar dust, along with-

“A hint of lemon?” wondered Yuri, biting into the pastry absentmindedly.

“That’s fantastic! Not many people have been able to detect the subtle lemon flavour infused into the pastry dough,” replied Seokjin, looking extremely pleased. “Would you like anything else?”

“A coffee, please,” said Yuri, throwing the paper plate into the nearby dustbin. “To-go. And how much do I owe you?”

“It’s on the house,” replied Seokjin, with a wink. “Consider it a welcome present. Hope to see you around!”

“Oh…” Yuri flushed slightly at his generosity, but accepted it nonetheless. The clock inside the bakery chimed seven times, indicating that she had spent close to an hour with her new acquaintances.

“I should get going,” she said, taking the coffee cup from the counter. “Don’t want to be late on my first day of work. It was nice meeting you all. I hope we meet again, Nayeong!”

xxx

“You can’t be serious! Why the hell are you doing this?!”

Chief Inspector Goh pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched one of his best officers fly off the handle. 3 years into the force Detective Inspector Jeon had proven himself to be smart, capable, and extremely reliable. The only problem was a recent case which had slowly come to take over his life. Which was why, when Chief Inspector Goh had called him into the office to tell him that they were closing the case, DI Jeon had taken it a little too hard.

“Jeon, you are, first and foremost, a homicide detective. Granted that this disappearance was linked to a homicide you were investigating, but you need to let it go. There are other, more pressing, cases that require your attention. We need you back on the force full time. Let Lee handle the disappearance - it's his department. For now, I’m assigning you a new partner to work with. Especially-”

A knock on the door interrupted Chief Inspector Goh, followed by the entrance of an unfamiliar face.

“Right on time! That’s the kind of dedication we’re looking for over here,” said Goh with an appreciative nod. “Jeon, meet your new partner - Detective Inspector Choi Yuri. She’s just transferred here from Seoul. DI Choi, this is Detective Inspector Jeon Jeongguk - he’s one of our best men.”

DI Jeon scowled as he surveyed his new partner. She was tall, dressed in a plain shirt and slacks, her short hair tucked behind her ears. She gave him a small smile and bowed in greeting. In response, DI Jeon stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

“I apologise on behalf of him,” said Chief Inspector Goh. “He isn’t usually this impolite. Really glad to have you join our team, DI Choi. You’ve had quite a number of impressive cases in Seoul, and we hope that you can continue working hard with all of us here.”

“Thank you, Chief Inspector. I will do my best,” said Yuri, with a small smile.

“Glad to hear that. Now,” he said, pulling out a thin case file from under a large stack of paperwork. “I need the two of you to head over to Manor House right now. Some officers are already at the scene, along with the forensics team. The body was found early this morning.”

“Have they identified the victim?” asked Yuri, checking how far Manor House was on her phone.

“Hmm. Kang Eunwoo, son of Kang Kiwoo, who owns the largest chain of hotels in Busan. So you can understand the situation.”

Yuri gulped softly, tucking her phone away and nodding her head slowly.

xxx

The entire ride to the crime scene was silent. Not the pleasant or comfortable kind of silence Yuri had always preferred over meaningless small talk. No, this was the stiff, suffocating silence that made her want to pitch herself out the car window. She was currently regretting not having driven to work - although she was still a bit exhausted from the nearly 5 hour drive from Seoul the previous night.

She didn’t know what to make of her new partner. When she was working in Seoul, her partner had been a 43 year old woman named Hwayoung. She was separated from her husband with whom she shared joint custody of their three kids, only drank low sugar milk tea, and talked a mile a minute while on the job. Some might have found Hwayoung a tad irritating, but Yuri had found a caring older sister in the ruthless and chaotic world of criminal investigation in the country’s capital. DI Jeon, in comparison, had yet to speak a word to her. The couple of routine questions she had asked him about the exact location and identity of the victim were met with heated silence.

The Kangs were incredibly wealthy - the type that could buy your family business in an instant and then gift it back to you without incurring any loss. The lavish mansion reeked of money, luxury, and carelessness that only accompanied an abundance of liquid cash. The victim had been found in the private meeting room on the ground floor. Being an extremely high profile case, there were already reporters trying to get a good picture from outside the mansion itself.

“Cause of death?” asked DI Jeon, kneeling down to get a better look at the body.

“Blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Death would’ve been instantaneous,” said the forensic doctor, removing her gloves and stuffing them into her coat pocket. She turned towards Yuri and gave her a small smile. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Dr. Ahn Seulgi. I head the forensics team at the precinct.”

“Choi Yuri,” replied Yuri, bowing slightly. “I’m DI Jeon’s new partner.”

“Is today your first day at work?” asked Seulgi, with a surprised expression.

“Yeah, I just got transferred from Se-”

“DI Choi, need I remind you that there’s a body lying here?” snapped DI Jeon. “It would be better if you socialize on your own time.”

Yuri was taken aback by the anger in his tone. Even though she had worked in homicide for nearly 5 years now, her colleagues had always been polite and friendly with her. She didn’t really know how to respond to her new partner’s accusations.

“Calm down, DI Jeon,” said Seulgi, a frown settling on her forehead. “This isn’t socializing - we’re coworkers and it's impolite to not introduce yourself to each other.”

DI Jeon didn’t say anything more after that, but Yuri could feel the anger radiating off him. She was grateful to Seulgi for sticking up for her, but it didn’t look like she was going to have an easy time working with Jeon.

“Detective Inspector,” said another officer, approaching DI Jeon with a notepad. “I’ve just spoken to the staff. It seems there was a big party here last night. The victim had invited around 10-12 of his friends and they stayed till just before midnight.”

“Thanks, Jisoo. Ask Suho to get statements from all those who were present at the party last night. As well as where they went afterwards.”

“I will,” replied Jisoo, with a nod. “Mr. Kang is waiting for you in his office.”

Kang Kiwoo didn’t look like a seasoned businessman who had a 26 year old son. His face was young and his smile was extremely attractive, but, Yuri noticed, it didn’t reach his eyes. In fact, there was something inscrutable in his dark brown irises that disturbed her more than she liked to admit. Yuri had come to realise that a person’s eyes were the first to betray their true nature; and Mr. Kang’s eyes were almost vacant.

“My condolences, Mr. Kang,” began DI Jeon. “Please rest assured that we will do everything in our power to catch whoever is responsible for this.”

“Thank you, DI Jeon,” replied Mr. Kang with a smile. “I’m feeling reassured knowing that you are handling my son’s case. And you are?”

Yuri bowed once again and introduced herself. “DI Choi Yuri. I will also be working on your son’s case with DI Jeon.”

“Well then, how can I be of assistance? DI Jeon? DI Choi?”

“Could you please tell us more about the party that took place last night?” asked DI Jeon, not giving Yuri a chance to say anything. He had already sat down on one of the chairs, and Yuri decided that she would rather remain standing.

Mr. Kang frowned for the first time since the beginning of the meeting. “My son likes to- I’m sorry. Eunwoo liked to party quite a lot. I wasn’t fond of his lifestyle and I had told him of my views many times before. This isn’t the first time that he’s taken over an entire floor of our mansion to ‘entertain’ his friends.”

“You argued with your son last night,” continued DI Jeon, consulting the notes Jisoo had given him. “What was that about?”

“If you know that we argued, I’m sure you know what we argued about.”

“In your own words, if you will,” said DI Jeon, a forced smile gracing his features.

“I lost the use of my legs almost 3 years ago,” said Mr. Kang, leaning forward on his desk. “I expected my son to take over the company by the time he was 28. However, he didn’t seem in the least bit inclined to take any responsibility whatsoever. So last night, I told him I would disinherit him.”

“And how did he take that news?”

“I’m quite certain you’re not asking me to elaborate on the type of language my son used last night,” said Mr. Kang, with a slight smirk. “Because I’d prefer not to.”

DI Jeon stared at the man across from him who was proving to be much more difficult than expected. “Can you tell us what your movements were for the rest of the night?”

“I was in here, finishing some paperwork, until the party got over. I said goodnight to my son and retired for the night at around half past 12.”

“How did your son seem when you last saw him?”

“He was quite inebriated. I barely got a coherent reply from him. In hindsight, I should have stayed with him until he had fallen asleep. Maybe I could have prevented his death.”

“Why do you say that?” Yuri asked, speaking for the first time since introducing herself. DI Jeon shot her a glare before returning his gaze to Mr. Kang.

“If I had been with him until he fell asleep, he wouldn’t have gotten into a fight with the Park boy.”

“The ‘Park boy’?” asked Yuri, frowning slightly.

“Park Jimin. He came here last night. I heard his voice just before I closed the door to my room.”

“Are you saying Park Jimin killed your son?” asked DI Jeon. “Do you have any proof, Mr. Kang?”

“It is your job to find proof, DI Jeon. I’m merely stating what I know. The Parks are our long time rivals; I’m sure you’re aware of that. My son never got along particularly well with Park Jimin since they were in school. As far as I can tell, he was probably the last one to see my son alive.”

xxx

Yuri was currently at Ahreum’s apartment, having dinner in honor of her moving to Busan.

“I had such grand plans of taking you to the street food market on your first day here,” whined Ahreum. “But given how completely exhausted you look, this is the best alternative.”

“This is great, Ahreum. I haven’t soba noodles in such a long time. You’re actually a pretty decent cook.” Yuri grinned at her best friend, before slurping some noodles.

“I still can’t believe that a high profile murder took place the day you moved here. You really can’t catch a break, can you?” Ahreum sipped on her wine, while scrolling through her phone. “Social media is blowing up with this.”

“I’m just glad I could leave in time for dinner. The way Jeon was treating me, I thought he would make me file paperwork at the station the entire night.”

“I don’t really get that. Jeongguk’s a pretty decent guy. Why’s he being such a dick to you?” Ahreum asked, tying her long brown curls into a bun. “Namjoon’s known him since before I moved here. He only has good things to say about him.”

“Beats me,” shrugged Yuri. “But more importantly, where is Namjoon? I thought he’d be joining us for dinner today.”

“He’s still at the library.”

“It’s almost 11 pm.”

“Yeah, the library closes at midnight. He’ll probably come home after that.” Ahreum stretched her hands above her head before stifling a yawn. “He runs on very little sleep anyway.”

“Nice to see that hasn’t changed since I last saw him,” grinned Yuri, slipping on her shoes and getting ready to leave. “Thanks for dinner, Ahreum. I really needed this today.”

“Oh shut up! You know I’m always ready to feed you!” she replied with a wink. “Now go home and get some sleep.”

Sleep. That was the problem.

xxx

hope you enjoyed the first chapter! feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions so far. and don’t forget to like/reblog if you enjoyed the chapter!

#jungkook #jungkook fic #jungkook x oc #jimin #taehyung #seokjin #namjoon #yoongi #hoseok #bts fic #c me write bangtan #btsbookclub

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xxwritemeastoryxx · 4 years

Text

Painted Souls 10

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x Reader, Klaus Mikaelson x Caroline Forbes, Elena Gilbert x Damon Salvatore.

Word Count: 3.9K

Warnings: Very small moments of stalking and threats (Better safe than sorry on this one!), fluff, a very cheesy ending.

Author’s Note: IM NOT CRYING....okay maybe I am. Welcome to the end of this series lovelies. I want to thank everyone who stayed with me on this one even though it took me sooo long to get this out to you guys. Some day in the future, I’d like to come back to this one. I hope you guys enjoy! There is another Note at the bottom of this for you guys.

Feedback gives me life and motivation for future things. ♥

Y/N stood in the showroom of the gallery. A grin had been plastered on her face as she took in the final touches for tonight. Every detail of it had her in awe, especially when she reached the last section of it. Her eyes danced over the canvas as she took in the details of it up on the wall.

She couldn’t wait for Elijah to see the very piece she was looking at. For as many times as she continued to work on it at the cabin, she never once let Elijah see what was hidden under the sheet. And whenever she worked on it, she made sure the door to the room was locked behind her to ensure he couldn’t sneak in.

This was the first painting that ever included him. She wanted it to be perfect in her eyes. Especially with how new their relationship was. While she would never regret the decision to paint it, it was the rawest thing she had ever painted. And now as it sat under the lights in the gallery, it was perfect.

“We should get going now.” Elena said as she walked over to Y/N. “We’ve got a long list of things to do before we start getting ready.”

Y/N took her eyes off the painting and looked over at Elena. “Might have to drag me out of here.” She joked.

“I could always have Elijah come in.” Elena said with a shrug.

Y/N shook her head quickly. “Not until tonight.”

“Stop threatening the poor girl.” Damon said as he found the two of them.

“If she doesn’t get out of here soon, she’s going to be late to her own opening.” Elena said as she wrapped her arm around Damon as he came to stand beside her.

Y/N rolled her eyes. “Fine lets leave. Plus, Elijah’s probably done picking up our orders.”

“Cruel of you, by the way.” Damon said with nod of his head. “Have your soulmate run errands while you have us getting things done in here.”

“Some things are meant to be a surprise, Damon.” Y/N said as she began walking towards the exit.

Just outside the door, Elijah had been waiting for them. While he understood some things needed to be done inside, he was still curious about the painting Y/N was keeping from him. He barely caught glances of it from time to time. But he never saw the whole piece before Y/N covered it up or sent him out of the room.

He was looking forward to tonight. Not just because he’d finally get to see the piece she was hiding, but because he’d never seen Y/N so excited. After the week she had, Y/N was on edge quite a bit. To see her relax and focus on the showing had eased his worry.

Their time at the cabin away from the world had been everything they both needed. While Elijah may have wanted this as a means to keep Y/N safe and protected, it turned into several days of them really getting to know each other. They began uncovering the details of their lives that made their feelings for each other grow stronger.

While Elijah wasn’t ready to admit it, he wasn’t looking forward to Y/N returning to her dorm room. He had grown used to them being in the same house, to him waking up to her while she still slept peacefully beside him.

The first few nights hadn’t been that way. He offered Y/N one of the other rooms in the Cabin for her to take. But a few nights in, after a date night that Elijah planned, they found themselves tangled up in each other in Elijah’s bed.

As the door to the Gallery opened, his attention turned to it. He watched as Y/N walked out of there with a shake of her head, causing Elijah to chuckle. “I was beginning to wonder if you three got lost in there.”

Elena scoffed. “More like she didn’t want to leave after we got things done. I had threatened letting you inside in order to get her to start leaving.”

“Can you blame me though?” Y/N said with a slight pout on her face. “I love this place.” The others chuckled at her statement.

“Save the puppy eyes for Blondie.” Damon said as he tilted his head in the direction of the restaurant down the street. “We’re running late on meeting her for lunch.”

“Oh please,” Elena began. “She’s got Klaus there, it’s not like she’s sitting there like a loner.”

With that, they began making their way down the street. As they did, a gut feeling formed in Y/N. She quickly looked back towards the way they had come from, but aside from the crowd of people walking by there was nothing there that caused her to worry. Suppressing the feeling, Y/N turned her attention back to the others pulling herself into the conversation as they walked.

“Just hear me out,” Caroline said as they sat at their table out on the patio. “Spa day for all of us.”

“We don’t have time for that.” Y/N said with a shake of her head.

They all had just finished eating and were just talking with each other. This was the first time all six of them had been out together since Damon came into town. It was nice for them all to enjoy the day together before getting ready for Y/N’s showing.

“It doesn’t have to be today.” Caroline rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying that we all need one. We can make it a couple’s retreat.”

“How about after graduation?” Y/N suggested.

“Not all of us graduating.” Klaus reminded her.

“No, but the girls of this group are.” Elena said with a smile as she looked at her friends. “A vacation right after stressing about finals, sounds like heaven to me.”

“We could make it a weekend getaway.” Damon suggested.

“Why not a week?” Klaus added in. “If they are graduating from college, this would be the perfect excuse to leave the state.”

“And go where?” Y/N asked with a raised brow.

There was a knowing look shared between Klaus and Elijah. Klaus smirked as he looked at the others. “Why not a week in New Orleans?”

“Booze, Music and Art,” Y/N said as she looked at Elijah before looking at the others, that’s one hell of week.

The others chuckled as Klaus and Elijah began explaining details on what they could do. Since they had a family home in New Orleans, there wouldn’t be a need for a hotel. The conversation continued in a way that had eveyone involved, except for Y/N.

Y/N had stopped engaging when that gut feeling came back. Her eyes wandered around looking for the cause of it. But no matter which way she looked, she could find the cause. At least that was until her eyes landed across the street.

A person stood underneath the awning of a shop. While normally that wouldn’t have bothered her, it was how this person wore a hood during a hot day out. The shadow of the hood had been enough to cover their eyes. The hair on the back of Y/N’s neck stood up the moment she watched a smirk grow on the person’s face. The last straw had been how the person raised a finger up to their lips, as if telling her to stay quiet.

Y/N’s hand automatically reached for Elijah’s arm as she kept her eyes on the woman. Her heart had been beating quickly as she did. Elijah looked over at her and noticed that Y/N looked scared.

“What is it?” He asked as he looked in the direction Y/N had been looking at. The whole time Y/N watched as this person waved to her before walking away. Elijah hadn’t missed it either. “Do you know them?”

Y/N shook her head, unable to get any words out. Noticing how scared Y/N was, Elijah took that as a sign it was time to leave. He looked over to the others speaking to them. But none of the words registered in Y/N’s mind.

The others around her spoke of heading to the cabin, at least until they needed to come back into town for Y/N’s showing a few hours from now. Klaus already had his phone out calling his oldest brother and informing him of the events that just happened. The whole time, Elijah crouched in front of Y/N trying to calm her down.

“Hey,” He said softly as he ran his fingers along her arm. “We’re going to get you somewhere safe.”

“Okay,” Y/N said as with a nod of her head, trying to get her racing heart to calm.

“We’ll make sure there is added security tonight.” Elijah said hoping to keep her attention him. “You’ll be safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.” It was his words that calmed her. His touch that grounded her and kept her from losing herself in a panic attack. She was sure without Elijah there by her side, this would have ended differently than it was going.

_____

“Are you sure you still want to go?” Elijah asked as he leaned against the door frame of the bathroom. He was watching as Y/N applied her make up lightly.

After the group got back to the cabin, it took some time for Y/N to really feel safe. But once she had, she was back to her normal self. The fear had subsided and excitement grew in her as it was time to get ready. She tried to keep the thoughts at bay for now.

Through the Mirror, Y/N looked at Elijah. She nodded her head before moving to add eye shadow to her lids. “We are taking precautions to ensure it is safe. Plus, I’d hate to miss my own opening.”

Elijah nodded his head as he continued to watch her. Even as she put on her make up, he could see the artist in her. Each movement had been planned and while Elijah knew nothing of makeup, watching her apply it had been an art itself.

“It’s strange that our skin doesn’t share this.” He noted as he continued to watch her.

A smile pulled at her lips before she stopped and picked up a bottle. Turning to him she tossed it to him before going back to working on her eyes. “It’s a cream that’s supposed to help prevent it from doing so. Otherwise, you’d have almost a full face of make up.”

He chuckled as he placed the bottle down on the counter top. “While it looks good on you, I’m not sure how that would look on me.”

A grin pulled at her lips as she laughed. Turning to him she held the brush up. “You never know until you try.”

“Absolutely not.” He said shaking his head with a grin on his face as well.

“You two sound like you guys are having too much fun in here.” Caroline’s voice carried into the room. “It’s almost time to go. I just wanted to check in.”

“Almost done.” Y/N said as she grabbed a hold of a lips gloss and began applying it.

“We’ll be down in a minute.” Elijah told Caroline as he looked over his shoulder at her. There was a silent question being asked that Elijah hadn’t missed from Caroline. He nodded his head and Caroline gave a small smile in return. Y/N was going better than she had earlier. They all wanted to keep it that way.

_____

Y/N stood in front of the covered painting and a grin pulled at her lips. There was a crowed forming in front of the covered painting. The announcement of the reveal had been moments ago. While there were several other paintings on display for others to enjoy, this had been the one Joyce wanted to be revealed at the showing.

“Ladies and gentlemen.” Joyce said as she stepped in front of the painting. “On behalf of Y/N, I’d like to say welcome and thank you for coming tonight. Y/N is a very talented artist, as you can tell, that came to us when she was younger with dreams of having her work hanging on the walls as they are now. This one however,” Joyce motioned to the one behind her. “Is by far my favorite. Y/N only completed it a few days go and it has left a long lasting impression on myself. And as the caretaker of this lovely gallery, I hope it leaves an impression on you just as well.” Joyce looked over to Y/N and nodded.

Coming up to stand by Joyce, Y/N smiled. “As Joyce said, thank you for being here.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m a bit nervous because most of my work has been landscapes, beautiful moments in time captured by paint. But this one came without a model sitting in front of me. Most came from memory and it has given me the most incredible feeling while painting it. I give you Painted Souls.” As her words left her lips, they removed the covering from the canvas.

There were gasps of awe and murmurs of admiration as it had been revealed. As it had been, Y/N kept her eyes on Elijah the whole time. His eyes widened as he took in every detail on the canvas before him. She wanted to know his reaction as he took it in.

It had been like looking in a mirror image of himself. The details of his face done in a profile view had been displayed on the canvas. His painted self had been done in black in white. The same as Y/N had done with herself on the canvas. While they had been in black and white, it was the details of colorful paint that had painted in places.

A yellow stripe of paint smeared on their foreheads. Splatters of paint covered their necks and faces. Everything mirrored on each other just as it would have been if Y/N had painted on herself. Y/N had even captured the growing love they had for each other in their eyes, which was the only other thing that had been painted in color.

Elijah finally took his eyes off of the painting and bringing his attention to Y/N. A look of awe on his face as he walked over to her. A smile pulled at Y/N’s lips as she watched him make his way over to her.

Once he had, his eyes shifted to the painting behind her before looking back at her. He opened his mouth but closed it shortly after, unsure of how to express what he was feeling in that moment. Y/N chuckled at the reaction.

“Speechless?” She asked and Elijah quickly nodded.

Instead of trying to find the right words to say to her, he pulled her close to him and brought his lips down to hers. While he normally wasn’t one for public displays of affection, his soulmate deserved it. Y/N smiled against his lips before kissing him back. The surprise of it had definitely been well worth it.

_____

Y/N had been off to the side speaking with a few other visitors of the Gallery. Elijah could see the smile on her face from across the room as she spoke about one of her pieces. Half of the time they had talked to her about the unveiling causing her to instinctively look for Elijah in the process while she spoke about it.

Elijah never left her line of sight. While Finn had been able to pull extra security, he was still on high alert after what happened this afternoon. So far nothing out of the ordinary happened, he hoped it would stay that way.

“I say tonight was a success.” Klaus said as he came to stand beside him.

Elijah nodded his head. “Indeed it was. She’s going to be talking about this for weeks.”

A smile pulled at Klaus’ lips. “She’s one hell of an artist, I’ll give her that. I’ve been very tempted to buy a few pieces.”

Elijah’s eyebrow rose. “What is stopping you?”

Klaus shrugged. “Someone has beat me to it.”

That had Elijah’s attention as he turned to his brother. “How many of them have been bought?”

“From what Joyce has said, a majority of her showroom has been purchased. Of course, they won’t leave the gallery until her showing is over.” Klaus explained as his wandered over to Caroline as she began making a b-line for Elena and Damon.

“Does Y/N know?” Elijah asked as his eyes landed back on her.

“She won’t know until tonight.” Klaus nodded. “Joyce wants to give her an exact amount before we leave.”

“That will come as a shock to her.” A smile pulled at Elijah’s lips as he brought the drink he had up to his lips.

“All the more reason for her to celebrate.” He said with a nod. “And more reason for her to talk about this for weeks.”

“That is one emotion filled painting.” A stranger’s voice carried over to Y/N, causing her to turn around to see a man looking up at the painting. “You can see the way you both care for each other.” He said as he began pointing to it. “It’s like you took a moment and replicated it in paint.”

“That was the goal.” Y/N said with a smile as she took a step closer to him and to the painting. “My soulmate and I have just connected recently. It’s been one hell of a journey already, and we’re just getting to know each other.”

“How much would you be selling this piece for?” He asked as he looked over at her.

“It’s not for sale.” Y/N said with a nod. “I’d feel weird if this was hung up in someone’s house but mine.”

“That’s a shame.” He said as he shook his head. “It would have been nice to have up in my studio. It would complete my aesthetic.”

“A soulmate aesthetic?” She asked. But there was something that made her take a step back. That gut feeling was returning the longer she spoke with him. From Elijah’s spot he could see how Y/N had tensed up. Without a second thought, he began making his way over there.

The man nodded. “I was attempting to acquire a piece similar. Unfortunately it slipped through my hands a few nights ago, when a friend of hers stepped in.”

Panic filled Y/N, and she tried her best to stay as calm as she could. But her lips trembled slightly as she took another step back. Her first instinct was to run, but if she ran, he could come after her or even make a run for it. She needed to know that he would be caught if she walked away.

That was when Elijah and officer came up behind him. Before Elijah could begin walking over to her, he had gotten confirmation on the person from earlier being in the building. Without hesitating anymore, they made their way over.

“Unfortunately, you wouldn’t be able to make that a reality.” Elijah said causing the man to look over at him as the officer and a nearby security guard moved to arrest him.

As crazy as it looked to Y/N, the man never took his eyes off Y/N as he was escorted out. Y/N couldn’t get herself to move once more as she watched him leave. It wasn’t until Elijah was directly in front of her, pulling her attention to him, that she relaxed by throwing her arms around him.

He was safe. He was comfort. Something that Y/N needed more than anything in that moment. Elijah held onto her until she needed him to let go. His only thoughts were that she would continuously be safe and the threat she faced earlier was taken care of.

_____

In the middle of the night, Y/N woke up and wasn’t able to go back to sleep. Quietly pulling herself out of Elijah’s bed, and made her way out of the room and down the hall. Much like she had while she was in the dorm and couldn’t sleep, she’d make her way to her painting area. In this case, she headed toward the painting room.

Switching on the light, a long comforting sigh passed her lips as she entered the room. Walking over to the canvas, she plopped herself on the stool and stared at the empty space in front of her. While her mind was restless and couldn’t sleep, it seemed that she didn’t have an actual idea as to what she’d like to paint.

Picking up a brush and the grey paint container, she poured some paint onto her pallet before dipping the brush into it. Lifting the brush up to the canvas, she began letting the brush flow against it. While there was no rhyme or reason to it, she hoped that by the end, she’d have something to work with.

An hour later, her fingers had been covered in paint. The brush never satisfying the way she needed the colors to blend. Paint splatters covered her face and the apron she put on. a frustrated sigh passed her lips as she placed her chin in the palm of her hand, causing her fingers to leave prints of paint on her cheek as she tried to decided what to do with the mess in front of her.

“Can’t sleep?” Elijah asked, causing her to turn in her seat.

A small chuckle passed her lips as she took in his appearance. “I am so sorry for the paint.” She said as she shook her head.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen splatters here and there on him. But the way she was working tonight, it was a mess in comparison. It was everywhere on him. The grey, the shades of blue she used moments ago that made up the finger prints on his cheek. It made a grin pull at her lips.

“It’s no harm to me.” He said as he walked over to her. “Though it seems your mind is restless. Anything I can do to help?”

“Well my muse happened to be asleep when I woke. Was kind of hard to come up with anything else.” She noted as she looked back at the canvas. “Any ideas?”

A hint of smirk pulled at his lips. “I have one, but it doesn’t require any paint. It does however require you to come back to bed.”

“But I have a mess here that needs to be cleaned up.” She complained as she watched him stand in front of her.

“We’ll deal with it in the morning.” He said with a shrug as he lifted her up onto his shoulder as shriek passed her lips as he walked out of the room.

While the world had it’s moments that left both of them on edge throughout the years, there was one thing that was proven between them. It doesn’t matter how often you may come across your soulmate throughout your life. You’ll only let them in when you need them the most.

If it hadn’t been for Marcel introducing Y/N to Klaus, or even Freya pushing Elijah to send Y/n a message, there would have been another time or another place. But it was at the current timeline that the universe knew they needed each other. Because without one, the other would have been lost.

Author’s Note: I had the hardest time coming up with the painting. Creating an image from nothing is just as hard as creating a picture in your mind with words. But I did the best I could. However if you would like something visual to look at as a base to my detailed thoughts, her is an image that I found after the fact.

Always & Forever Tag: @taylordrunkonwhiskey @thewolf-and-thesheep @wayward-dan @neeadinghugs @fafulous @kenmen02 @elizamonet @dora-the-grownup @mschellehitt @xanderling @fandom-princess-forevermore @buckysarm4 @hi-my-name-is-riley @helenasingers @alka16555 @hellotvshowtrash

Painted Souls Tag: @inmylifeilovedthemall @graciejunie @this-is-mycrisis @une-lueur-dans-la-nuit @violentmommabear42 @ignorantly-apathatic @carostar2020 @shanty-lol @generallyclumsy @gwenawesomeness @x-memi12 @misunderstood-shadows @krazykatkay456 @emilymarie105 @insertcooluser55 @firedancernix @tuliptx @kpoplover1306-depressedgirl315 @giraffelover2309 @fading-mentality-boquet @sincerelykay12 @dpaccione @castofstrangerthings @twigstar18 @colors-for-theworld-please @foreverlostindreams @petraballins @sorrowfulfragmentation @tattoedraven1022 @heartjoohoney @bitchingkeres @jemimah-b99 @athenamikaelson @high-on-shai @we-dance-through-an-avalanche @lilipads @sagittarianwolf

Stag Tag: @elejah-wonderland @xxsovereignsarayaxx @asiaaisa77 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @marvel-at-stucky

The Originals Tag: @zillahvathek @obsessedwithvampires @alien-sida

Bold Tags mean for some reason or another I couldn’t tag you in this. If you are on the Painted Souls Tag and would like to be added to another tag, please let me know!

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taramikealson · 4 years

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What If I Stayed? Chapter 1

I Do Not Own The Vampire Diaries Or Any Of The Characters In It.

Klaroline fanfiction

The crescent moon rose high up in the night sky, stars glimmering from light-years away. She could just faintly make out what seemed to be Orion’s Belt, not that she’d know. She was horrible at finding the constellations. But, nevertheless, the stars were pretty and it gave her mind the clarity it needed.

Her life strayed quite a bit to what she thought it would have been. If someone had come back and told her a year ago that she’d be in a somewhat stable relationship with Klaus, she would have laughed in their face. Back then, she couldn’t deny to herself that he was attractive and that his voice sent shivers down her spine, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t scared of him. He was, after all, a thousand-year old Original hybrid that lacked mercy. He was ruthless and went beyond the line to make a point.

He killed people and she was scared that if she pushed the wrong buttons, her heart could end up on the floor.

Time. It’s a riveting thing. It changes perspectives.

Slowly, Klaus had gone from complicated semi-villain to complicated semi-friend. She’d gone to him for advice or supernatural knowledge, because, let’s face it, he knew everything about everything. There was a slow shift in the so-called ‘friendship’. Klaus became more bold in his flirtations and Caroline had slowly drifted toward him after she and Tyler had called off their relationship due to the strain of long distance and his inability to balance his time with his pack and his time talking to her over the phone.

Tyler, inevitably, blamed Klaus for their break up, but Caroline knew better.

Then, Klaus had left for New Orleans on a hunt to find a witch that Katherine had expressed was plotting against him. He was then rudely aware that his time flying to New Orleans and trying to find the witch gave Katherine ample time to get out of town, disappearing again. Anger ran through his bones but, instead, concern flooded his system when Stefan called him, telling him that Silas not only went after Caroline’s mother, but also Caroline herself. It didn’t take him long to arrange for a private jet to fly him back to Mystic Falls.

It took a little convincing on her part, but eventually Klaus agreed to help them take down Silas. Although they defeated Silas, the veil had come down, reeking havoc on the town. At least a few good things came out of it. Alaric and Jeremy came back and Klaus got to see his brother again, although half of that time was spent convincing him not to murder Jeremy.

Nonetheless, they went on with their graduation, where Klaus, yet again, had to step in to save them from a gaggle of angry witches. After graduation, Caroline and Klaus lingered, walking down the red carpet as the night air bore a clarity. There, he became bold enough to give her a gentle kiss and then left her with her feelings. Caroline was secretly glad that he had left because the kiss nearly winded her. That moment was what had started it all. Then, came summer.

They’d spent more time together, talking or sitting in comfortable silence. She noticed that his behavior began to change. He seemed more at ease and less... volatile. Caroline wasn’t naive enough to think that it was wholly her influence, no. She had an idea that perhaps Klaus came to the conclusion that since he enjoys Mystic Falls, for a reason that Caroline has no idea, and that hurting the Salvatore’s or anyone in the town would mean there’d be resistance against him. Although, that was just an idea. She still had no clue at this point.

But, one thing had been clear this summer; Klaus cares for Caroline in his somewhat twisted way. Either way, she knew he’d never hurt her or the ones she loves - at least not anymore because if he did, he’d lose her.

As well as his new behavioral status, he’s made, somewhat, amends with her mother. Liz was extremely unsettled one evening when she’d found one of Klaus’ coats hanging on her desk chair. She would have assumed it were Stefan’s or Matt’s but they were ruled out when the tag stated, ‘John Varvatos’. Even though Caroline had explained that she and Klaus were taking things really slowly, her mother was pissed. It took a rehearsed and thoroughly well-worded explanation from Klaus, one that Caroline nearly had to beg out of him, that he was just simply visiting her and left his jacket after an important call led to him leaving for his house on short notice.

Oh, and did she forget that Stefan left? No call, no text. Not even a freaking email. He just left. Although, Caroline could understand why he’d want to. His ex-girlfriend and brother are shacking up at his house. She wouldn’t think he’d stay there, but she would have thought he’d actually tell her goodbye at least before he left.

But, Stefan wasn’t the reason she was sitting in the window-frame looking up at the stars, at least not the whole reason. It was the night before Caroline started college. Caroline and Klaus had sat in the living room, talking. He had gotten a phone call and when he came back into the room, Caroline had noticed his posture was stiff. Naturally, she inquired about his dampened mood. He’d been a little short with her, answering that he was on a call with a vampire that may have had some information about Katherine. Then, Caroline’s mood turned sour. She hated Katherine but hadn’t she suffered enough? Elena had already used the cure on her and Caroline doesn’t doubt that it’s been her worst summer ever. She couldn’t imagine how it would have been like to be a vampire for half a millennium and then suddenly be human. In fact, it’d be even hard for her at an early age. She’s just so used to the strength and speed, its instinct for her now. Caroline had stated her opinion to Klaus who narrowed his eyes and explained, a little heatedly, that “Katerina’s betrayal” could not be ignored. She’d crossed her arms and expressed, perhaps a bit too sharply, that she’d been through quite a bit and that Klaus didn’t need to continue chasing after her. Like, it had been five hundred years, right?

Wrong.

Once, Klaus’ jaw clenched tightly, she knew she hit a nerve. It wasn’t her intention, and she now admits that her tone was a little too harsh, but he had to hear it from someone. Without their knowledge, Caroline’s mother had come around the corner from her room to see the commotion. Klaus had scoffed. Caroline replied, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think Katherine’s had enough crap. I mean, she’s human now. I’m pretty sure that’s enough punishment as it is. And, it’s been like centuries. You need to let it go.”

“I can’t, Caroline!” He had shouted, yellow had dripped into his eyes. She remembers how he even seemed shocked by his outburst. Caroline had seen her mother at the corner of her eye, and when she turned towards her, Klaus was gone from his spot. The thud of the door connecting with the door jam made Liz jump a little.

Normally, when Klaus acted out, he’d be confident and sure of himself. Yes, he would react with emotion but never had she seen him surprised by that. If he did something, he’d take full responsibility and be proud of himself, most of the time. It worried her a little. Maybe he’s feeling burdened?

The cool breeze air swept through her window, blowing her hair back. Her mind came back to reality when Megan, their new roommate, had walked into the dorm. She greeted Caroline happily before retreating into the bathroom.

So far, Caroline really enjoyed college, except for the unexpected new roommate. She wanted to have the whole college experience which included getting drunk with Elena and Bonnie in their dorm room as they talk about boys. But, that was ruined when Bonnie took an unexpected trip to see her family in Colorado, or was it Nevada? And Megan didn’t make it any better.

The room door opens smoothly with footsteps following it. She first assumes it’s Elena until she looks up to see, none other than, the Original hybrid. His face was solemn yet neutral. Caroline turned back to look outside with a sigh. Klaus continues forward until he sits down at the head of her bed, a foot or two away from her.

“I think we are overdue for a chat.” His tone is somewhat light but reveals a sliver of nervousness.

“You think?” She retorts and immediately regrets it. She shouldn’t have said it like that. He was willingly here, nearly an hour away from Mystic Falls, to personally speak with her. She sighs, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t fair.”

She turns her hard to look at him and she just registers the hurt expression on his face before it disappears.

He clears his throat before leaning forward, elbows on his knees.

“My actions Sunday night were unbecoming.” He begins. “Your mother-,”

“Just got a little spooked.” Caroline finished for him. His eyes seem to glimmer with a ray of hope. Her only thought was that he was now thinking he was out of the ‘doghouse’ so to say. He wasn’t entirely wrong. Caroline raises up off the window seal and sits next to him.

“My mom’s not used to that side of you, she doesn’t exactly know the difference when you’re just pissed or when you’re ready to rip someone’s heart out.” She explains as Klaus looks away from her and towards the window.

“I should not have spoken to you-,”

“Like a jerk?” She questions almost playfully and Klaus lets a smile grace his face as he turns towards her. His hand rises and lands gently against her forearm.

“You are making this apology a bit difficult, sweetheart.”

She produces a smile of her own at his statement. Her heart warmed in the thought that he was so set on apologizing to her, but it wasn’t necessary. “You don’t need to.” His head tilts in confusion. “Apologize, I mean.” She clarifies but that was not the reason for Klaus’ confusion.

“I’m not quite understanding.” He says, eyebrows furrowed.

She sighs before speaking. “Well, my mom will probably still need an apology from you, but that’s not my issue. I gave you a little bit of space the last two days because, frankly, you looked as surprised as I was at your little outburst.”

His head drifted away from her in thought. “I mean, it seems like you’ve been on edge for a while. Why?” She didn’t think it had anything to do with finding Katherine because he’d been doing that for all the time she’s known him and he hadn’t acted like that before, at least since everything’s died down. There wasn’t a reason for him to act that way at all considering there wasn’t anything supernatural going on to divert his attention and give him any sort of strain.

Klaus seems hesitant as he looks away, as if he’s not willing to share something with her.

“Hey.” She cups his cheek, encouraging him to look at her. He does so, slowly, but downcasts his eyes. “Tell me.” Caroline requests softly as she trails her hand down his throat, shoulder, and arm.

He makes a huffing sound before raising his eyes to her’s. “I’m not sure how best to explain this, but my werewolf side has been… stirring. And it longs to be released, thus the reason why I have been recently turning on full moons.”

Caroline blinks. He had been turning? How hadn’t she noticed? And how are there not been any mauled bodies found in the woods? “You’ve been turning? Why haven't there been any animal attack reports?”

“I am in control of my actions when I turn. At least enough to avoid killing any humans. Your mother is the town sheriff but I only get so many chances with her.” His eyes can her’s. “And I knew you’d disapprove if anyone were to be harmed.”

It was a little surprising to hear him say that. Of course, he’d always have the thought of what she’d think in the back of his mind, but it was different when he actually admitted it.

“What do you think caused it? It couldn’t have come from nowhere.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not too sure. Although, I wouldn’t rule out basic supernatural knowledge. I’ve only been around werewolves for a short period of my life, and been part one for even less. As much as I know about the species, it doesn’t come with the information of what it feels like.” He explains, Caroline tilts her head in interest. It was funny, she’d never really talked to Tyler about how triggering his curse felt, only how he felt about his vampire side. Although, was it possible about what Klaus was saying? It’s true that he’s only been a true hybrid for a little over a year and she knows that he has a lot more advantages than an average hybrid, but was it possible that he could also have a different disadvantage? Perhaps, heightened emotions, or maybe a larger temper near the full moon? These days, that wouldn’t be as surprising to her seeing as they just put down a two thousand year old psychic.

“If anything changes, you’ll tell me, right?” She asks with a sympathetic smile. He lets a chuckle escape his lips, the air in the room becoming lighter.

“As you wish.” He answers and stands from his place. Caroline follows suit, taking hold of his shirt and pulling him towards her. Klaus’ head inches down, eyes sparkling with mischief, knowing exactly what she was about to do.

Caroline pushes herself up on her toes to connect their lips before pulling his head down, making her feet land flat on the floor. His hum of acceptance makes her heart pound in her chest. Their lips continue to interlock, playing a dance that the both of them know extremely well. His tongue brushes against her lips and teases the roof of her mouth, deepening the kiss. This has most definitely not been their first intimate kiss, nor does she think it’ll be their last. She can vividly remember when Klaus and she had sprawled out on his expensive Persian rug, blanket draped over her legs, and a crackling fire at their feet. They had both shifted from idle chit-chat to a comfortable silence that wasn’t so rare. Her head leant against his shoulder. It all started with a chaste kiss to the top of her head, which grew into a kiss to her lips. Then, soon thereafter, she ended up straddling his hips, their mouths moving together in unison. Caroline hadn’t really enjoyed make-out sessions too much with other boys, but with Klaus, to call it a make-out session would be too crude. It was more of a dance, one that he knew very well. His hands would wander in the right places, her back, arms, neck, shoulders. He understood that they were not yet in that stage in their relationship where they’d take it any farther than kissing. As well as that, he respected her decision. In past relationships, boys always expected her to sleep with them, but not Klaus. Both him and her understood the weight of their relationship. With Klaus, it was all or nothing, so she had to be sure that he was what she wanted and that he’d be a good match for her for a long time.

The sound of the shower in the next room over has Caroline pull away. Klaus disgruntledly groans in displeasure, opening his eyes almost lazily.

“Megan will be out here soon, you should go.”

“Megan?” He parrots in confusion.

Caroline rolls her eyes. “Yeah, mine and Elena’s new roommate since Bonnie isn’t here. I guess the school just assigned it to her.”

“Is it so bad that they see me here?” He asks, not spitefully but playfully.

“Yes!” She exclaims under her breath.

He chuckles before bending down and stealing a kiss from her. With his head still close, he whispers, “I’m headed back to Mystic Falls. There is a certain Sheriff that I owe an apology to.”

Caroline smiles widely. “I’ll call you.”

His only response is a smirk and a gust of wind before he was gone. Not even seconds later, the bathroom door opens and clouds of humidity escape the room as a towel-clad Megan walks out.

“Was someone here? I thought I heard voices.”

Caroline shakes her head. “No, it’s probably some people in the hall, it’s right on the other side of the bathroom.” She lies smoothly, heading towards her dresser for some sleep clothes.

She really hopes Megan doesn’t snore.

I intended to have this as a quick drabble but when I had seen the nearly six pages, I was surprised. I thought I would have gotten a little farther into the drabble than I had with it being this long. If I get some good feed back I’ll probably post another part to it, even though I think I will do it anyways. Hope y’all enjoyed! :)

#vampire diaries #klaus mikaelson #caroline forbes #the originals #stefan salvatore #damon salvatore #klaroline drabbles #klaroline #klaus x caroline #fanfic #college #drabble

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baekhypnotized · 4 years

Text

☆— [one]

summary: Baekhyun is just a man who doesn’t believe in romance as much as Byul, who is trying to give herself to him. But day by day, he will soon realize that her fleeting actions are breaking down his cold-hearted brick wall, no matter if it takes her a million years.

warning(s): -

word count: 2.7k+

author’s note: first chapter is finally up!! feedback is much appreciated so please leave your thoughts regarding this fic!! to anyone who would like to be tagged in the next chapter, please let me know too :)

tag list: @baestelcolor

[next]>>

Today marks three months since I moved to an affordable studio apartment in Seoul. With an agreement, my mom agrees to let me further my studies in Seoul on one condition, she can only give a limited amount of monthly allowance for me. It doesn’t really matter to me because I have been planning to find a part-time job in a cafe or a flower shop to pay for rent and my college fees. Trying to find a job in a city where only experienced people will be prioritized is quite a struggle considering my lack of experience but I am grateful to be able to land a job in a small cafe near my university. I will be working in shifts to fit my class schedule and the weekends.

Since it's the weekend and some of the workers are taking their leaves, I take this opportunity to take over their shifts for extra wages. This is the only effort that I can do for my own living. Next week will be super hectic with orientation week as a post-graduate student. I’m feeling a little nervous about it that I can feel the shiver down my spine. I wake up early in the morning, prepare a simple toast for breakfast and get into my work outfit. Styling my hair with a messy bun, I apply lip tint on my lips to make me look alive for today.

The walk to the nearest train station is about 10 minutes from my apartment and since it’s still early, the amount of people on the train is less than I imagine. Maybe, most of them are still tucked in bed and enjoying their weekend with beloved ones. But here I am, working on a Sunday when tomorrow is my first day as a Master student. The view of the Sunrise, lighting up the panorama of Seoul with her gleaming rays, reflecting beautifully on the blue water of the Han River is endearing to me. The beauty of Seoul will always catch people’s attention, including me and that’s the reason why I decided to continue my studies in my own hometown. It feels good to be back in Korea after living in New Orleans for years with a new family for so long.

When I arrived there, the cafe is already open as I guess, Senior Hana arrived earlier. I greet her politely and she instructs me what to for today. An hour left before the cafe’s starts to open, cleaning the place up would be a good idea somehow. Dahyun will be here any minute now because she’s responsible to display the cakes and appetizers at the display counter. I rearrange the tables and chairs accordingly, sweep the floor and finish it up by mopping the floor.

The first bell chimes make me turns around, noticing that Dahyun has finally arrived.

"Morning, Byul!” She greets with a loud yawn.

I pause for a moment from cleaning the cashier counter to look at Dahyun, with a smile stretched. “Morning, Dahyun.”

She leaves me alone to set up the desserts by the display counter as I go back to the staff room and grabbing my black apron as I wear it, completing it with my nametag pinned on the apron. There are approximately 15 minutes left before we open for today’s business and I just hope my first day at the cafe goes well considering we’ll be getting a lot more customers on a Sunday.

"I’m done arranging them! Finally!” Dahyun huffs a loud sigh before she plops down on a small chair. I give her a thumbs up, rewarding her for her hard work. Dahyun stands back on her feet, walking towards the staff room to prepare herself. “I think we can start for today, Byul.”

"Are you ready?” I confirm it back to her, waiting for her reply.

"Yes, I’m ready. I’ll be back and you can unlock the main door already.”

I comply with her commands, go straight to the main door and unlocks it, and then turning the ‘closed’ sign to ‘open’. Waiting for customers to enter the cafe behind the cash register counter, I hum to random songs while figuring out what outfit should I be wearing on the first day of university tomorrow. I’m feeling quite edgy and anxious but I pray that everything will be fine.

A tinkling sound comes from the wind chime that my boss hung at the door, alerting the staff of new customers. My first customer for today is a he. The heels of his expensive shoes makes a clear, nice sound against the wooden floorboards. He enters the café. His hair is combed perfectly and parted in the middle, looking so sleek in his black suit. As he comes closer towards me, I can clearly see a few cute little moles on his face.

This man in front of me greets me with a smile that manages to make my heart beats loudly, my cheeks redden into a rosy pink color. I let out a small cough to control myself as I plaster a polite smile to him.

"Good morning, sir! Do you have anything in mind?”

The guy scans through the menu board, taking his time to order.

"I’ll have one cup of latte and a waffle with honey on top.” He asks with a firm voice, unknowingly making me feel nervous.

I key in his order into the system one by one without leaving anything. “That will be $15.65, sir.”

He digs into his pocket and hands in a 50-dollar bill. “Keep the change.”

"But sir… It’s my responsibility to return your change back. It’s a business policy…” I stutter while explaining to him, hoping for him to understand my current situation since I don’t want to risk breaking a rule or worse, get fired from this only part-time job that I have.

The guy is busy staring at me in amusement when I’m trying to be a good and innocent staff that wouldn't have done any wrongs. He gives me a contemplating ‘hmm’ before he complies. “Listen here,” He reads my name tag, “-Hanbyul. Let’s just say I treat your next upcoming customers. How does that sound?” He smirks slyly before taking a seat by the window, playing with his smartphone to kill time while waiting for his orders. I baffle when he just left without giving me an answer. I sigh and keep the dollar bill into the cashier and start brewing his hot latte and baking the waffle.

Dahyun comes back to the front and she is surprised with the early customer that we got. “Woah, what the heck is he doing so early in the morning? It’s only 8 in the morning!”

She nudges me with her elbow but I refuse to answer her because I am busy with my work. But, she’s right though. How on Earth does a guy wake up so early in the morning looking so handsome like this guy?! And it is the weekend for God’s sake!

Once I finish up preparing his orders, I bring the tray to him instead of calling him because he’s the only customer in the café.

"Sir,” I greet him while serving the hot latte and the waffle on the table, “your orders are here. Hope you enjoy it!” I beam brightly and bow 90 degrees as respect. The guy was busy scrolling his phone as I leave him behind.

"Hanbyul.” My name was called by his husky voice, making me stop in my tracks, turning around to face him.

"May I help you with anything, sir?” I question him as he starts to take a sip on the latte. He starts to make weird faces and I assume there’s something wrong with the latte.

"Is there anything wrong with the latte, sir?” I ask worriedly.

He shakes his head before the frown on his lips stretched into a grin. I am taken aback but I sigh in relief, knowing that I didn’t do any mistake that might risk me my position.

"It surely tastes sweeter today,” he says with a hum, taking another sip. “Yeah, definitely sweeter than yesterday. Probably because it was prepared by a sweet girl.” His eyes sparkle with a glint of something unfamiliar as he gazes at me. The intensity of his gaze is making me feel so, so warm that I’m sure he notices my whole face reddening in front of him.

What an odd day.

On the first day of class, I wake up earlier so I don’t have to rush. It’s going to be a challenging day because I’m going to meet new people for me to get along with throughout these two years except for Soomin. Thank God we’re decided to continue our study and graduate together like we used to. Living in the same house with her and now enrolling in the same class. Again. But, I will never get bored with her or maybe I would, one day.

"Wake up, Soomin. We’re going to be late for our first class.” I shake her shoulders violently because she is a heavy sleeper and waking her up softly will be fruitless. However, Soomin with her eyes still shut tightly doesn’t budge even as I raise my voice an octave higher, simply humming before going back to sleep.

I rake my head for ways to wake her up. After a few long seconds of thinking, an idea came into my mind and I can only hope for it to work. I lift her thick duvet from her body and push her off from the bed, letting her body fall to the floor with a thud.

Ouch!” Soomin sits up with her hand rubbing her back as she tries to glare at me with her half-lidded eyes.

"Breakfast is ready so please, go and take your bath quickly,” I order her as I’m busy folding the duvet before placing it nicely on her bed. She fumes in anger, holding her tongue from cursing to me early in the morning. Stomping her feet on her way to the bathroom, she expresses her irritation towards me with a powerful slam at the door.

I only let out a giggle because her tantrums are not foreign to me, I’ve known her for years, a childish yet a good friend that I would rather stick to even if it takes years to unglue her from me. The only person who understands her annoyingness is her family, me and Sehun. The three of us are best friends since high school and I’m grateful that Sehun loves her a lot by making her the only girl he would have after his mother and older sister. I couldn’t imagine an unfamiliar guy coming into her life and claim her love without deeply knowing her.

And that’s not what love is about.

Heading back to the kitchen to prepare peach tea for us, I remember the encounter I had with the guy at the cafe yesterday. The way his deep voice calling my name made me feel butterflies in my stomach and I somehow wish for him to drop by the cafe again, just so I can admire his good looks again.

"What took you so long to stir the tea?” Soomin says as she passes by me. “And ew! Is that drool?! Byul, I don’t want drool infested tea so early in the morning.”

Soomin’s voice knocks me off to reality as she was standing by the fridge for a few minutes.

"Gosh, can you please don’t hurt my poor heart like that?” I say with a soft tone and she smirks, pulling a chair to sit by the island table. She takes one french toast and take a single bite, staring at me curiously. “What are you thinking of?”

"Nothing,” I say while grabbing clean cups from the cupboard. I place them on the table and pour the peach tea before handing one to Soomin. She thanked me before taking the cup from me, blowing on the surface a little to cool it down before taking a sip. Soomin scoffs. “You never hide secrets from me.”

"How did you know that I really told you everything?” I say, successfully turning her into a furious woman as she grabs the toast, ready to throw it to me. “Okay geez. I’m kidding.”

She brings the toast for a bite but continues to give me a death glare. I chuckle silently and sip my tea, glancing at the clock hanging by the wall. It’s already 8:25 in the morning but both of us are still busy having our breakfast.

"We’re going to be late!” I hurriedly gulp down the tea and put the empty cup in the sink. Rushing to pack my stuff and making sure that I don’t leave anything important at home, I prepare myself for the last time in front of the standing mirror. Light makeup added nicely with a shade of pink blusher and the nude colour of lip matte; I’m good to go.

"Come on, Kim Soomin!”

She groans loudly to take her car keys as we leave the apartment. Crossing my fingers and calming my nerves, I stare at the outside scenery by the car window. How the fluffy clouds hang beautifully by the blue azure sky, following the Sun shining brightly. Everything will be fine, Byul.

We arrive 10 minutes early before the class starts. As Soomin and I settle down in the big lecture hall, I observe the seats around me. It’s already occupied with people who are taking the same course; Master in Business Administration. All of them are unfamiliar faces to me.

"Good morning, Byul.” Sehun greets me. I smile at him back before he takes a seat beside Soomin, leaving a peck on her temple.

"Good morning, baby.” He greets her this time with adoration but Soomin only hum as a reply. Sehun looks at me curiously when I could only shake my head and shrug my shoulders to his wordless question. “Tell me who ruined your morning, Soomin.”

Soomin quickly points her index finger to me that makes me lift both of my hands in the air, defending myself. “I only pushed her off the bed. It wasn’t that bad.” I grin as I confess. She dilates her eyes and starts pinching on my arms, causing me to groan at the slightest pain. “Okay! Okay, enough! It stings!”

Sehun can only chortles while watching this normal catfight between us. I am only able to stop her off by pushing her away. I brush my already wrinkled blouse, thanks to her. I roll my eyes and divert my attention to the front. One by one people enter the hall up until an aged woman comes in with a rattan tote bag and I guess she’s our lecture for the financial management class.

"Hello and good morning everyone! My name is Lee Kyungmi but please call me Mdm. Lee,” she greets the whole class with a firm voice.

The whole class replies in unison with a loud ‘yes’ to her greeting. She then decides to begin our first class with ice-breaking session even though in my opinion, it is very lame for university students. But, I’m glad she didn’t jump directly into the syllabus in our first class.

We are separated into a few groups where I finally get to detach myself from my best friends and sit in a circle that is full of unfamiliar faces strangers. We begin to exchange our names within the group. Being around people whom I’ve never met is making me feel a little more confident. When it is my turn, I start to introduce myself, “The name given is Kim Hanbyul, but I prefer being called Byul.” I plaster a smile to them. After about 10 minutes, we head back to our seats and Mdm. Lee decides to start the class with the first topic.

I take out my notebook and pencil case from my bag, ready to jot down notes that will be displayed on the white screen from the projector. But before Mdm. Lee gets to continue her words, a single clear knock is heard from the door. She then calls the intruder to come in. I don’t pay attention to the intruder as I am focused on my notebook.

"Late for your first class, Mr. Byun?” She takes off her glasses to look at him as the person goes straight to an empty seat. I lift my head up to focus back on the screen, gasping softly when my eyes accidentally landed on him.

It’s him. The 50-dollar bill guy with the same dashing look from the cafe.

#exo #exo smut #baekhyun #baekhyun smut #recent #baekhyun imagine #exo imagine #baekhyun scenarios #exo scenarios #baekhyun angst #baekhyun fluff #exo fanfiction #baekhyun fanfiction #fanfiction #baekhyun x reader #byun baekhyun #kpop imagine

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vampiregirl1797 · 4 years

Text

Hopeless: Epilogue

Klaus Mikaelson x OC

GIF Not Mine

Warnings: this is over 10,000 words, so get some snacks and a hot cup of chocolate!

Click Here For Masterlist

Five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

‘Bekah, really this is completely unnecessary.’ I tried to reason with her, but I wasn’t surprised when my protests seemed to fall on deaf ears.

‘It may not be necessary but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.’ She winked, turning back to the owner of the cute little clothes store we’d found in the centre of the city. She was compelling her to let us have free run of the store, seeing as clothes were limited and she didn’t want to lose out on the perfect outfit to someone else.

While she did that, I wondered around, absentmindedly looking at the different clothes she had to offer. I had to hand it to her, everything was beautiful and all one of a kind, seeing as she made the clothes herself and only ever made ten of everything. Once they sold, that was it.

‘Find anything?’ I asked Elena when I reached her.

‘Oh my--,’ she cut off with a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

‘Sorry.’ I grinned, amused that after so many years of me being a vampire I could still startle her.

She shot me a look, clearly not believing my apology but she waved me off anyway.

‘You know, I’m surprised I can still startle you with your newfound heightened senses.’ I teased.

Elena had become a vampire a few years ago, after she had turned twenty. She had given it a lot of thought beforehand, and was content with her decision when she asked Stefan to turn her so that she could spend an eternity by his side. The younger Salvatore had been hesitant, but after my sister assured him that she had done nothing but think about it since she met him, he followed through with her request.

‘Well I was too busy wondering if this top would look cute on me.’ She protested, holding up a white and baby pink lace crop top.

‘It would not.’ Bekah interjected, sliding up next to me and holding out a similar style crop top but in red, ‘this colour suits your skin tone better.’

‘Thank you, Bekah.’ Elena smiled gratefully and put the reject back on the rack before adding the new addition to her basket.

I smirked in amusement when I realised that Elena had already gathered enough to fill half her basket, while Bekah had enough to warrant moving onto a third while I had nothing.

Bekah seemed to notice that too, ‘why haven’t you got anything in your basket yet? We only have another hour until we need to be back for dinner and the barbecue is tomorrow!’

‘I know,’ I sighed, running a hand through my hair, ‘I’ve never been good at picking out clothes for myself Bekah. I hate shopping.’

Elena and Bekah gasped dramatically, as if this was news to them, which of course it wasn’t. I rolled my eyes at their dramatics, but a small smile still found its way to my lips.

‘Well that’s easy enough. I’ll pick something for you.’ Bekah smiled, already wondering off to the back wall—I imagined she already had something in mind.

A few years ago, I would’ve tried to stop her, but I knew that she would only pick something that would compliment my figure and my personal tastes. She had a gift when it came to styling people, in any other time she could’ve been an amazing personal shopper. But then again, owning her own clothing line seemed more Bekah’s style.

‘So when are Stefan and Damon getting in?’ I asked, following Elena around while she browsed through the other options.

‘Tonight after dinner, which sucks but we can all probably watch a movie together.’ Elena replied, the excitement at the prospect of seeing her love leaking into her voice.

‘True, though it is Kol’s turn to pick this month. Probably means we’re gonna be stuck watching some gory horror movie.’ I rolled my eyes fondly—the younger Mikaelson loved watching scary movies to mock and point holes in the stories.

‘Better than Elijah’s documentary obsession.’ Elena joked. She wasn’t wrong, though. Elijah was fascinated with watching documentaries on anything—the last time it had been his pick, we sat through a two hour movie on how cans were made.

‘No arguments here.’ Bekah laughed, adding an armful of clothes to my basket.

I knew there was more than one outfit choice there, but I also knew better than to argue—she liked to add options for me to choose from, plus anything I didn’t want to wear tomorrow I could just wear some other time.

‘Thanks, Bekah.’ I smiled offering her a side hug, ‘you’re a godsend.’

Bekah snorted, commenting on the fact that no one had ever called her that in a thousand years. She offered me a kind smile though and I knew she was grateful for the compliment.

‘Well if everyone’s finished, I’m craving something sweet.’ Elena mused.

‘I know just the place.’ Bekah smirked; I could already feel my mouth watering at the prospect of pastries.

‘So, how’s being newly married?’ Bekah asked my sister just as I’d taken a huge bit of one of the beignets from the centre of the table.

My eyes closed in pleasure and I couldn’t help the small moan that formed at the back of my throat from the taste. Heaven.

‘Great.’ Elena’s expression visibly lit up, as it always did when she spoke of her relationship with the younger Salvatore, ‘we’re actually thinking about moving to New Orleans permanently. Stefan wants to talk to you guys about it first, just to make sure it’s alright, but hopefully there won’t be an issue. I’m ready to move on from Mystic Falls, and I want to be closer to my second family, seeing as the only ones really left back home are me, Stefan, Damon and Bonnie.’

It was true; Jeremy and a few of his friends from school had decided to travel the world before committing to a college, and Jenna had moved back to Denver after Jeremy had graduated. The old house was currently being rented out by Jenna being as none of us had the heart to put it up for sale.

‘I don’t think that will be a problem, Elena you’re family.’ I assured her with a smile, honestly the thought of her moving to the city filled me with joy, ‘the Mikaelson’s love you like a sister, and Stefan and Nik have the biggest bromance going on, there should be zero issues.’

‘She’s right, Lena.’ Bekah assured her, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement—I imagined mine looked the same. The prospect of us all living in the same city all the time was just too wonderful to comprehend. Usually we had to made do with one weekend a month—that was the mandatory minimum for the whole family to meet up, no matter where they were in the world they had to be back for family weekend. Though to be fair, Elena, Stefan and Damon were the only ones who didn’t live in the city permanently, so that rule only really applied to them.

‘Do you think Bonnie will come to the barbecue?’ I wondered, sipping my caramel latte as I waited for an answer.

Bonnie was a somewhat touchy subject for the group. When I’d gathered the courage and will to go back to Mystic Falls to tell my family the truth about what had happened, Bonnie and Katherine were the only two who had an issue. Bonnie because she believed I’d defied the balance of nature by helping break a curse that had been in place for so long, and Katherine because she’d lost five hundred years bound to paranoia and fear.

It had taken some time, but eventually Bonnie realised that if the curse shouldn’t have been broken, the means to break it wouldn’t have existed. Katherine was more stubborn and even attempted to gather enough firepower from witches, vampires and werewolves to take Klaus and Elijah down. Of course, when they found out whom she wanted them to go up against they immediately backed out, a few even coming to New Orleans to warn the Mikaelsons of the potential threat—they didn’t want to go up against the strongest supernatural army in the world. Which was of course what the Mikaelson’s had built in New Orleans. It was the place that any species could come and live with different supernatural creatures in harmony. They did such a good job ruling it, fairly and with a genuine care for each and every person, that the loyalty they earned from each member of the city was unwavering. That was something Katherine hadn’t realised, until it was too late.

Klaus and Elijah had sent a few werewolves and vampires for her to “recruit.” Of course, it had been a ploy to lure her to New Orleans and once they had her, they gave her three options:

- Give up her ploy for revenge and start living her immortal life without a thirst for repentance

- Let herself be compelled to once again forget why she wanted vengeance

- Or die.

Her rage had inevitably made the decision for her. After she had been given her options, I had returned to the compound after meeting Cami for a drink at Rousseau’s. My appearance reminded her of her hatred and she’d attempted to attack me immediately, before she could however Elijah had removed her heart while Klaus had flashed to my side, prepared to aid me should I need it. We had both stared at the elder Mikaelson in shock, but he simply dropped her heart and ordered for her body to be burned to ash.

I still remembered the conversation I’d had with him that night.

A few months after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

I took a deep breath, trying to build up the courage to knock on his door, but I found myself shuffling from foot to foot. I was just about to bolt and return to bed with Nik when the door opened of its own accord.

‘Evangeline, is there something I can help you with?’ Elijah’s calm voice tampered a little of my anxiety, as did the absence of anger or sorrow in his eyes. But I didn’t let that fool me completely—I knew just as well as anyone that he was the best at withholding emotions from those closest to him.

‘I- I just wanted to apologise.’ I said, clearing my throat as my voice broke.

‘Whatever for?’ he gestured for me to enter his bedroom and I took a seat on one of the armchairs he had opposite his bed. Elijah himself perched himself on the foot of his bed, rolling his shirtsleeves up to his elbows as he awaited my response.

‘For Katherine. I know you cared for her once, and it’s my fault that nothing happened with her.’ I murmured, suddenly finding myself enamoured with the sleeves of the Henley that I was wearing that happened to belong to my hybrid.

‘If I ever cared for Katarina, it was because she reminded me of another life.’ Elijah said, the softness of his voice caused me to look up to him, ‘she reminded me of a time where my biggest worry was competing with my brother to win the affections of a woman who looked a lot like her.’

‘Tatia.’ I said, familiar with the story.

‘Indeed. When we were human my biggest concerns were trying to win Tatia’s hand in marriage, and protecting my siblings from our brute of a father. Katarina reminded me of that, and as a result caused me to yearn for that simplicity.’

I nodded, somewhat understanding.

‘Of course, that changed when I realised that Niklaus was finding his humanity, due to a mysterious girl from the future.’ Elijah smiled knowingly at me, and I couldn’t help but look down, grateful that I couldn’t blush, ‘you see Evangeline, your appearance in our lives made me yearn for my life in the present. It made me yearn for a time that we could all sit down together as a family and be happy. Happier than we ever were when we lived in that small village in Mystic Falls over a thousand years ago. For the first time in a long time, I was excited by what the future would bring, rather than being consumed with dread over the prospect of witnessing my family commit heinous acts before my very eyes. You saved this family. And for Katarina to come along and try to inadvertently tear that apart, well you know by now… no one hurts my family and lives. And you, Evangeline are just as much a part of this family as I am.’

I knew that my cheeks were wet with tears but I didn’t care. In a flash I was hugging Elijah and unconsciously soaking his shirt with tears. He hugged me back and I found myself grateful and lucky to have been accepted into the Mikaelson family.

‘Thank you, Elijah.’ I murmured against his chest.

‘Always and forever, sister.’ He murmured back, placing a chaste kiss to the top of my head.

Back to five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

That had been a few months after I returned from the past, and Elijah and I had only grown closer. He was like the big brother I had always wanted, and being accepted into the fold meant that I was also gifted with the huge family I’d always yearned for. I was immensely grateful, being as I’d given up on the idea of a big family when I’d been turned into a vampire. I was lucky, and a day didn’t go by where I wasn’t reminded of that.

‘No. She’s accepted everything and I know she understands, but she doesn’t want to be a part of it.’ Elena said, her bright expression dimming considerably at the reminder of her absent ex-best friend.

‘I’m sorry sweetie.’ I murmured, squeezing her hand comfortingly.

‘It’s okay. It’s her life to live, and she doesn’t want to live it immersed in the supernatural world like we do. That’s her choice and she’s well within her rights to make it.’ Elena murmured, her eyes conveying the sincerity behind her words.

It sucked, of course it did, but Elena was right. Bonnie was living her life like she wanted to—without vampires, hybrids and werewolves. Elena and I still loved her, but we knew it was just a part of life; some people are only meant to be in your life for a certain amount of time before you drift apart and they leave you with the memories you created together.

‘Aren’t you ever going to tire of painting me?’ I murmured, partially amused and fond from where I leaned against the doorframe.

After lunch with my sisters, I’d returned to the compound and after placing my newly acquired clothes into our room, I went to find him. Where I found him wasn’t a surprise; he was in his art studio painting yet another portrait of me. My heart fluttered every time I saw him taking the time to put me onto another canvas; I’d been so overcome with love when he’d shown me the ones he’d painted in my absence that I’d been reduced to a puddle of tears. Nik still had yet to let me hear the end of that.

‘How could one ever tire of capturing such beauty?’ he grinned, his eyes sparkling with adoration as he turned to face me. In a flash I was at his side, my arm wound around his waist as I placed a chaste yet passionate kiss to his lips.

‘How was your day?’ he asked, pulling me against his chest and winding his arms around my waist.

‘Fine. Bekah picked out some clothes for me to wear tomorrow.’ I told him, my hands resting against his chest and my head against his shoulder.

He chuckled, ‘I don’t know why you go; you hate shopping.’

I hummed in agreement before adding, ‘but I love spending time with my sisters.’

‘Forgive me, I find it hard to imagine why anyone would enjoy Bekah’s company.’ He deadpanned, but broke out into a laugh when I lightly slapped his shoulder in reprimand.

‘Elena mentioned that her and Stefan were thinking of moving here.’ I grinned, my hands moving to his shoulders as I leaned back to meet his gaze.

‘Is that so?’ he said, his hands falling to my hips as a smile formed on his at the sight of my happiness.

I nodded, ‘she mentioned Stefan wanted to run it by you all first, but it you’re okay with it then they’re gonna come.’

‘Why would we have a problem?’ he mused, his eyes dancing with mirth.

‘I think it’s Stefan’s idea to be honest. Just to make sure they’re not stepping on any toes.’ I shrugged, not really understanding the need for permission myself.

‘Well I’d never deny them residence here and I doubt anyone else would either, lest they incur your wrath.’ He teased, grinning when I playfully glared at him.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I said innocently.

It was true, of course. Over my time with the Mikaelson’s I’d gained a reputation. My temper was known to rival Nik’s when someone threatened or hurt my family. I’d always been protective, and that instinct had only become heightened when I’d become a vampire. And now I had a family that ruled New Orleans, we were bound to attract trouble, which led to my protective instincts rearing their head more often than I was used to. The Mikaelson’s, Nik especially, thought my ability to go from calm to a force that the devil himself would be intimidated by was hilarious. But I couldn’t help it. And I was happy to have found a family that understood and even rivalled my over protective tendencies. I thought back to the first time we’d incurred a threat after Katherine.

A year after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

I woke up to the sun shining on my face, which wasn’t unusual seeing as Nik and I had a habit of forgetting to close the drapes. I smiled when I felt his arms still wrapped around me, his warmth seeping through the shirt of his I was wearing. I rolled over to face him and was unsurprised to see his eyes already open; it was rare that I awoke before him, but even though he woke before me most days, he preferred to stay and hold me until I woke up before he even thought of getting out of bed. I’d asked him about it before and he’d admitted to taking the time to bask in the gratitude he felt for finally being able to wake up with me in his arms. I’d held him tight after that.

‘Good morning my love.’ His voice was husky with sleep, and I couldn’t help the small shiver of desire that shot down my spine.

‘Good morning my hybrid.’ I murmured back, placing a kiss to his cheek, a wave of adoration washing over me at his bashful smile that always followed me calling him that.

That became my nickname for him not long after I found him again and he was able to finally reveal that he had broken his curse. At first, the reception had varied from fear to acceptance. Unfortunately the latter opinion was rare; Elena and everyone from back home had accepted it fairly quickly, though I assumed that Elena not needing to die for the curse to be broken was the main reason for that. It took a while for the factions of New Orleans to realise that Klaus being part werewolf as well as vampire made no difference to who he was as a ruler. When they did, the criticism, fear and disgust had dissipated. Though Nik liked to joke that my attitude towards those who criticised him was the main reason for that. I’d started calling him “My Hybrid” because I wanted him to know he had no reason to be ashamed of who he was, and to remind him that I loved every single part of him.

‘Do we have any plans today?’ I wondered, nuzzling into his neck, his scent keeping me in a state of contentedness. My eyes were starting to flutter shut again, and I found myself not wanting to fight it.

‘Actually, Sophie has contacted Elijah and informed us of a potential threat coming to New Orleans.’ Nik murmured, his lips against my hair.

‘Hmmm.’ I said, not really processing his words and placing a kiss onto the side of his neck.

He chuckled kissing my hair and pulling me tighter against him, ‘I should tell you of all potential threats after you’ve just woken up my love.’

‘Hmmm.’ I sighed as his hand starting to move back and forth across my lower back.

I thought I heard him chuckle again and it made me smile as I fell into unconsciousness.

Kol and Bekah were doubled over in laughter where we were gathered in the courtyard of the compound. Klaus was laughing a lot less rambunctiously, while Elijah was a lot more reserved, though his amusement was still obvious on his expression.

‘I don’t bloody believe this.’ I muttered, shaking my head in exasperation, ‘are you having me on?’

‘No my love, we’re not.’ Nik’s dimpled smile eased my embarrassment a little, ‘I told you of the threat three days ago after you woke up. You must have still been half asleep.’

‘That’s cheating!’ I complained, slapping his shoulder, ‘you should’ve told me again when I was actually awake.’

‘Technically you were conscious.’ Kol pointed out, seeming to have recovered enough to add a comment.

‘Obviously not enough.’ I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair, ‘now tell me about this threat.’

‘The De Martials are on their way to New Orleans.’ Elijah said solemnly and I nodded, familiar with the story.

The elder Mikaelson had informed Niklaus over what he had done a few centuries after I’d returned to the future, and Nik had told me a few months ago. Nik had definitely been furious but his rage had subsided when he realised why his elder brother had done what he’d done. It had been around that time that Nik had told his siblings the truth about what happened to their mother. The reactions to that news had varied. Kol hadn’t had much of one, Elijah had already known but Bekah had taken it the hardest. But after some time, she came to forgive him.

‘So they want revenge for the time they spent pretending to be you and leading Mikael astray.’ I summarised, the wheels in my head turning.

‘I’d imagine so.’ Bekah mused, coming to sit by me on the sofa and stretching her legs out over my lap. Kol came to sit on the other side of me and rolled his eyes at the intrusion of Bekah’s legs on his lap as well, but he didn’t protest.

‘Do you think Aurora might have other motivations?’ I asked, internally wincing at the insecurity in my voice.

‘If that psychotic bitch comes anywhere near you darling, I can assure you she will be torn limb from limb.’ Kol patted my shoulder for reassurance.

‘That’s not what I’m worried about.’ I rolled my eyes and then frowned, ‘why would she be interested in me? I doubt she even knows who I am.’

‘Over the years you were not with us, we were subtle and discrete over your existence, but evidently rumours did get out about you.’ Elijah explained, smiling at my wide eyes, ‘your name along with your importance to this family made you somewhat of a legend. Though, no one knew why, or even knew of anyone by the name of Evangeline, so it’s often been dismissed as a rumour.’

‘Until now.’ Nik murmured, his eyes on me and shining with concern.

‘And Aurora always was the jealous type.’ Bekah sneered.

‘I don’t care about me.’ I muttered; my only concern was with my family, ‘you’re basically invincible. If they’re coming for revenge now after all this time, that must mean they have a plan, one that they’re confident will work.’

‘We’ve faced many people over our thousand years, all of which intended to end us all, and yet we’re still here.’ Elijah murmured, smiling in assurance, ‘I assure you, this time will be no different.’

I wished I had his confidence, but I had a bad feeling about this and Nik must have sensed it because he held his hand out to me from where he was sat on the armchair. I shifted Bekah’s legs off me and moved to sit on his lap. His scent soothed my nerves like a balm—I’d always be grateful for how safe Nik’s arms made me feel. Especially in that moment because the absence of anxiety allowed me to think clearly and I had a plan.

Nik: They’re here. Aurora left a body surrounded by lavender and a scavenger hunt for me to follow.

Kol: Tristan has made himself known; he’s already got the strix out looking for vampires descended from Elijah.

Elijah: The witches are preforming the spell now.

Me: Lucien has just walked into Rousseau’s.

Bekah: This is an insane plan; I just want that on the record.

Nik: Now is not the time. Focus.

Me: If anything bad happens, I just want you to know I love you all.

I slid my phone into the back pocket of my high-waisted jeans, subtly watching Lucien from where I sat at the bar, while Bekah was blending in with the crowd thanks to a glamour spell a witch had placed on her. My hair was down and wavy, cutting off at the bottom of my spine and offering me some comfort as it covered up the most of my back. The crop top had been Bekah’s idea, it was white, lacy and entirely too revealing but I was looking to gain the attention of Lucien.

A small smile formed on my lips as I noticed a family of tourists sitting by the window, a mother and father sat across from their twin daughters. They were all laughing and talking, enjoying their meal together. I felt a small wave of homesickness wash over me in that moment. I hadn’t seen my family in almost a year—not since I’d told them the truth about everything. We were still in touch, but I hadn’t seen them in the flesh for ten months, and I realised in that moment that I missed them. It wasn’t as bad as it could be, as I was already surrounded by family, but I found myself wondering if Elena, Jeremy and Jenna would be up for a weekend visit. Though it would be difficult to organise now; Elena was coming up to the end of senior year, Jeremy near the end of Junior, and Jenna was in the middle of writing her thesis. Though I’d heard from Elena that she was thinking of moving back to Denver after Jeremy was done with school. As the youngest Gilbert had already mentioned his desire to travel after he graduated, and with Elena potentially going to collage, Jenna would be in Mystic Falls all by herself. It wouldn’t be the same not having Jenna back home, but I understood her desire to move away being as the life she had before our parents died was in Denver.

‘Hello there darling.’ An arrogant sounding voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked to my right to see just the man I was looking for, now occupying the empty seat beside me.

‘Hello.’ I forced a smile and hoped the disgust didn’t show on my face. He was sitting far too close and his scent was overwhelming me. He smelled like he’d bathed in cologne and whiskey, it was so bad that I had to make due with breathing through my mouth. A pang of longing to be encased in my Hybrid’s scent overwhelmed me, but I forced myself to focus.

‘Now what’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?’ He smirked, his breath fanning over my face. If I were still capable of vomiting, I would have in that moment.

‘You’ll have to be more specific. In this bar or in this city?’ I was being evasive, but I couldn’t help it.

‘This city, of course.’ He said, taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

‘I like it here.’ I shrugged, downing the shot of tequila Cami placed in front of me. Apparently seeming uninterested was a sure way to garner his attention, which was exactly what was needed. I leaned forward over the bar to grab the bottle of liquor that Cami had purposefully left within reach.

‘I’m starting to as well’ I rolled my eyes when I realised he was checking out my ass and when I fell back into my seat his eyes trailed over my chest. I fought the urge to cross my arms to try and cover up as I poured myself another shot.

‘How would you feel about coming back to my place later?’ he asked, his fingers trailing up and down my arm. I assume he mistook my shiver of disgust as pleasure, because his hand moved to my back, trailing up and down my spine and lightly tugging my hair.

Quick as a flash I held his wrist in mine, before he could react I snapped it like a twig, ‘I think I’d rather set myself on fire.’

‘You’re feisty I like that.’ He bit out as he reset his wrist with a click.

‘I’m leaving now.’ I huffed placing a hundred on the bar to cover my drinks and tip.

I shot Bekah a reassuring look before I left. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was following me; his pungent scent assured me he was.

It shouldn’t have been so simple, but it was. I led him into a trap; witches bought him to his knees while I turned and snapped his neck. After that, he was trapped in a basement with chains and boundary spells, where he would be bled out until the vervain was out of his system. Which shouldn’t take long for how fast the selected vampires were working on him. One down. Two to go.

‘Nik?’ I called out as I entered the compound—he should have been back by now and I’ll admit the fact he wasn’t had me feeling both worried and insecure.

I was about to call him when the scent hit my nose—blood. Most importantly Nik’s blood. I followed it to his art studio—he was in the centre of the room a circle of salt hinting at the boundary spell that was around him. He was shirtless and the dried blood on his torso hinted at how much he had lost. Despite the overwhelming urge to go to him, I forced myself to focus, someone had obviously done this to him, but where were they? I didn’t have to look far. She had her back to me, which hinted at her arrogance—she clearly didn’t perceive me to be a threat. She was staring at one of the portraits Nik had painted of me and hung along the back wall. Her fingers were pressed against the canvas gently at first, and in the blink of an eye her fingers tore through with such force she created a hole in the brickwork. That was when she turned to face me. Her eyes is what stood out to me at first, they were a striking green, seeming to shine brighter due to the red curly hair that draped around her shoulders and down her back. She was dressed in a short and low cut black dress; clearly she’d been intending to impress my Hybrid.

‘Aurora I presume.’ I said, unable to keep the venom from my voice.

‘You’ve heard of me?’ she seemed to preen with the knowledge.

‘Yes, when Nik was recounting his psychotic exes you were the first name out of his mouth.’ I smiled, inwardly cheering when her expression transformed into fury.

‘I cannot understand what he possibly sees in you.’ She sneered, walking around me like a shark circling its prey.

‘That makes two of us,’ I shrugged.

‘I’ll admit I’m disappointed. I expected more fire.’ She said, coming to stand in front of me again, and that was when she revealed a stake, ‘white oak seems a waste on you, but it’ll kill you just the same and to be honest, I rather enjoy the poetry of Nik waking up to see you dead beside him. The pathetic abomination will be so overcome with grief that he’ll be powerless to falling into my awaiting arms. As soon as that happens, I’ll be able to easily convince him to dagger his other pathetic siblings and we’ll live happily ever after as King and Queen of New Orleans.’

My eyes flashed and before she could comprehend it, the stake clattered to the floor as the snap her wrist made when I twisted it behind her back echoed throughout the room.

‘How dare you.’ I growled, unbelievably enraged, picking the stake myself and plunging it into her stomach. She fell to her knees with a cry of pain, her hands moving to the wound when I yanked the wood out.

‘How dare you come into this city and threaten my family. How dare you call my Hybrid an abomination? The way I see it, the only abominable creature in this room is you, you psychotic, ignorant, pretentious bitch.’ I snarled, too far-gone in my fury to notice my Hybrid stirring behind me.

‘This isn’t your family.’ She protested, albeit a little weekly as I drove the stake through her chest, a mere inch from her heart.

‘Yes it is. I love each and every one of the Mikaelson’s, and I’d be damned if I let you threaten one of them, but all of them, including the man I love more than anything? Well you just signed your death certificate.’ With that, my hand punctured her chest cavity, clenching around her heart and tearing it out. I watched with relief and satisfaction as her corpse turned grey, before dropping the organ to the ground.

I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to send a text to the group chat; pleased to see everyone else had achieved their goals without a hitch.

Me: Need a witch back at the compound. Aurora has Nik trapped with a boundary spell.

Elijah: Will bring Sophie now.

Me: Thanks, Lijah. Glad everyone else is okay.

Elijah had been with the witches to lure those of his sire line and trap them. Those who already resided in the quarter had been given a remedy that granted them immunity while the spell was being cast. When the strix arrived they would be given the chance to leave Tristan’s leadership or risk death. Tristan himself was trapped much like Lucien in a separate space secured with chains and witchcraft, which is where he would remain until the vervain had been drained and his plan had been compelled out of him. Either way, after that was discovered they would both be dead. The same had been planned for Aurora… before I’d gone AWOL.

‘Evangeline.’ I jumped a mile at the sound of his voice, having not heard him come around. When I faced him I was surprised by the intense expression on his face.

‘Are you okay?’ I asked, my fingers pressing against the boundary in vein as I tried to reach him.

‘I’m fine. A little hungry, but otherwise I’ll live. I managed to secure the location of the white oak from her mind before she incapacitated me.’ He smiled softly, ‘I already sent the location to Kol, I’m sure he’s taken care of it by now.’

‘Then why do you look so… astounded?’ I wondered.

‘Because watching you defend our family, and defend me has got to have been one of the most erotic things I’ve ever seen.’ He told me honestly.

I blinked in surprise before letting out a laugh, him joining me. Though I knew he was being sincere due to the lust in his eyes, which seemed to grow as his eyes roamed over my outfit.

‘I’ll take it your part of the plan was successful?’ he wondered.

‘Yes, though I feel like I need to scrub every inch of my body. Lucien is a pig.’ I informed him honestly. There were no secrets between us.

‘What did he do?’ Nik growled, his eyes flashing protectively.

‘He touched my arm and back, pulled on my hair and leaned way too close. Not terrible when you say it aloud but he made me feel really uncomfortable. But it doesn’t matter now.’ I waved it off, ‘once he’s had the vervain drained from his system and whatever plan they had in place is revealed he’s dead. At the rate they were draining him, I can’t imagine it would take long.’

This seemed to soothe him somewhat, but I could see him itching to hold me, his wolf needing to make sure I was indeed okay. Thankfully in that moment, Elijah walked through the door, Sophie following closely behind him. The elder Mikaelson raised a brow at the dead De Martial on the floor in confusion, looking over and pursing his lips in amusement when I hid my bloodied hand and the stake behind my back.

‘I don’t remember killing her being a part of the plan,’ Elijah commented as Sophie got to work.

‘I know. My temper might have gotten the best of me.’ I winced like a child about to be reprimanded by their parents.

‘She defended us brother. Aurora intended to kill her and use my grief to manipulate me to dagger you all and allow her to rule beside me.’ Nik explained, amused by my timid behaviour.

‘I couldn’t help it. I’m protective of my family, and of Nik, she threatened all of that.’ I pursed my lips, glancing down to her body, ‘she was one crazy bitch.’

Nik laughed loudly and the sound bought a smile to my lips, relieved that at least he wasn’t pissed at me for messing with the plan. A glance at Elijah and the amusement on his expression assured me he wasn’t all that mad either. I felt the tension in my shoulders ease.

‘She had white oak though,’ I revealed the stake and handed it to the older Original, ‘Nik sent Kol to collect the rest.’

Elijah nodded, some tension easing from his expression. In that moment Kol entered the room, grinning so widely I was surprised when his face didn’t split in half.

‘The white oak is gone. Apparently they gathered it from the wood made to construct a bridge and sign in Mystic Falls. Ironic, but alas I has all burned to ash.’ He said, practically bouncing with happiness at his success.

‘Excellent. Well done brother.’ Nik said, his expression conveying the sincerity behind his words. Kol’s expression softened under Nik’s praise and I couldn’t help but smile at the strong bonds they all now shared—My Hybrid had told me of Kol’s feeling of being left out of the family and so moments like this reminded me of how much they’d all overcome.

Kol nodded, a soft smile aimed at his older brother before he accepted a hug from Elijah and then me. When I pulled away, he frowned at the dried blood on my hand and forearm.

‘Don’t ask.’ I said before he could inquire.

Kol looked over to Nik who grinned and nodded in answer to his silent question: he would tell him later.

‘It’s all done.’ Sophie announced, but before she could even get up from the floor I found myself surrounded by Nik’s warmth and his scent.

All of the tension eased of my body, and I felt Nik relax too as his face nuzzled into my neck and took in my scent, now assured that I was in fact okay.

‘You two are too cute.’ Bekah commented, I noted that she had her own voice back, which meant the glamour had been removed, but I didn’t lift my head to look.

I hummed in contentment as Nik’s hand moved back and forth at the bottom of my spine, while his other hand rested at the centre of my back, his thumb moving back and forth comfortingly. The warmth his arms and hands emitted would never fail to make me feel safe and home. One of my hands were moving through the curls on his head, while the other rested against his chest, playing with the collection of necklaces that laid there. I was so contented and relaxed that I almost forgot where we were and what had happened when—

‘Why is Aurora dead?’ Bekah asked.

Nik laughed and I hid my face in his chest, embarrassed and already aware that I would never live this down.

Back to Five years after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

‘Come on, Kol!’ Bekah complained from one of the love seats—Nik and I occupied the other.

‘It’s my choice, Bekah. You think I wanted to watch that god-awful romance movie you picked last month? No. But did I complain?’ his question was intended to be rhetorical but I answered anyway.

‘Excessively.’ I deadpanned, chuckling with the others.

‘Well—I didn’t complain as much as I wanted to.’ He said, as if that were a solid argument. I rolled my eyes and settled further into Nik’s side, my head resting on his chest. His arm was wrapped around me and he was tracing random patterns on my arm. I sighed in contentment, knowing that if he kept that up with how warm and relaxed I was, I wouldn’t see ten minutes of this movie.

‘Then Bekah can complain just shy of how much she wants to, and you’ll have to take it.’ Marcel pointed out, laughing at Kol’s affronted expression.

‘Can we just get this over with? The sooner it’s on, the sooner it can be over.’ Elena mumbled, a blanket wrapped around her, that and her husband’s arms around her providing her with protection from the zombies that Kol was subjecting us to. She was sat on the far end of the couch, Stefan to her right, Kol to his right and Damon on the other side of him. Bekah and Marcel were sat on the armchair; the female Mikaelson basically sat on her husband’s lap.

‘Come on, you’re a vampire. If zombies were running around in this world, they’d be no match for any of us.’ Damon smirked smugly from his seat next to Kol.

‘You don’t know that. What if a zombie bite affected us? If we also became zombie’s I’d hate to spend an eternity like that.’ Elena argued, pointing to the zombie that was now on the screen.

Instead of arguing, Damon shushed her, reaching for a handful of popcorn where the ridiculously huge bowl rested on Kol’s lap. I busied myself with the chocolate Eminem’s I’d commandeered, occasionally feeding some to Nik as I munched away.

I reached over to the arm of the chair for one of the blood bags we’d bought over to sustain us through the movie. I opened the cap and drank a few sips before offering some to my Hybrid, when he was finished I recapped it and placed it back where I’d grabbed it. I sighed softly, not interested in the movie in the slightest. But I knew this was the whole point of movie night, it wasn’t simply to watch; it was an opportunity to spend time together. Glancing around I noticed that Bekah and Nik were also unimpressed, Elena was terrified, while Kol, Damon, Marcel were overly amused by what passed as a horror movie.

I shifted in Nik’s arms so my head now rested on his shoulder, I faced his neck, not bothering any further with the terrible acting on the screen and started to play with the collection of necklaces around his throat. A small smile always formed on my face when my fingers connected with the only metallic one he wore—the locket I’d given him all those centuries ago. He’d tried to return it to me, but I insisted he wore it, liking that a part of me was always with him on the rare occasions I couldn’t be. In return he’d gifted me with his necklace that bore the Mikaelson crest. It had originally hung from a leather cord but he’d had it transferred to a silver chain and I wore it around my neck, happy to have something that reminded me of him for always.

‘Bored there my love?’ He murmured, to quiet to be heard by anyone else over the T.V.

‘While I’m in your arms? Never.’ I grinned as his chuckle, placing a kiss to his pulse point.

‘Do you ever think about getting married?’ Nik asked and I blinked at the question.

I leaned up, my hands resting against his face so I could take in his expression. He looked curious, yet slightly nervous.

‘I used to all the time when I was human. Had my perfect wedding all planned out. But it was something I gave up on when I became a vampire.’ I told him honestly.

‘Why?’ he wondered, reaching up to brush some hair behind my ear.

‘Because I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to spend an eternity with me. I could barely imagine sixty years, but forever? It just seemed impossible.’ I murmured.

‘What about now?’ he seemed tentative, which was rare for him and I couldn’t help but instinctively move a hand to his hair, knowing that it soothed him.

‘Is that your way of proposing?’ I teased, trying to ease his nerves.

He grinned, leaning up and pecking my lips before falling back to the love seat, ‘I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.’

The sincerity in his expression caught me off guard, but my surprise quickly faded to delight, ‘really?’

He nodded, relieved by my excitement, ‘I even have a ring. I was planning on a romantic dinner with just the two of us, ending with me asking you.’

‘That sounds like quite the proposal.’ I commented, my hand gently moving back and forth against his jaw, ‘why mention it now?’

‘My love, patience has never been my strength. I’ve waited so long to have you back in my arms and I can’t keep putting off making you mine because I’m waiting for a perfect moment. Every moment with you is more perfect than I ever could have imagined, and certainly more perfect than I deserve. I love you Evangeline, with everything that I am. Spend an eternity with me. Marry me.’ He said, softly wiping away the tears that had fallen down my cheeks.

‘Okay,’ I was sure my tears didn’t dampen the pure happiness that I could feel radiating from my face. Nik captured my lips, kissing me with a softness and tenderness that made my heart flutter in my chest.

‘I love you.’ I told him, my voice barely above a whisper, but his soft smile assured me that he’d heard me.

‘I love you too.’ He replied as I settled against his chest again.

I drifted off to sleep there, surrounded by our oblivious family and in the arms of the man I loved.

Five years and six months after Evangeline returned from the 15th century.

‘You look beautiful.’ Jenna said, dabbing away the tears in her eyes with a tissue.

I smiled at her from where I was sat, getting my hair curled by one of the professionals Bekah had hired for all of us.

‘Thank you Aunt Jenna.’ I winked.

‘If you’re this emotional now, you’re gonna be done for when she puts on the dress.’ Elena teased, winding an arm around Jenna’s waist.

They had all gotten ready before me so they (mainly Bekah) could assure everything else was going to plan everywhere else. The female Mikaelson was currently checking on the boys and making sure they were finished, honestly I was so grateful for her. If it hadn’t been for her input, I doubt we could’ve pulled off the wedding I’d been dreaming of since I was a little girl.

‘I know, I just keep thinking about your Mom and Dad and how proud they would be right now.’ She said, barely squeezing out her words before the tears started streaming again.

‘They are here, Jenna. Maybe not in body but definitely in spirit.’ Elena assured both our aunt and I. I offered her a grateful smile, my eyes flicking over to my bouquet of red and white roses I would be holding while walking down the isle—my mom and dad’s favourite flowers. It had been Nik’s idea and I’d loved it.

‘You’re right.’ Our emotional aunt nodded, seeming to steel herself as she dabbed her eyes one last time before securing her tissue in her bra. Elena and I shared an amused glance.

‘You both look beautiful by the way.’ I complimented them.

I had chosen Elena as my maid of honour, with Bekah and Jenna being bridesmaids. Each wore a deep purple A-line styled dress made of chiffon material. This colour matched the ties of the groomsman, aside from Nik’s—his would be white. The dress cut off just below the knee, revealing the black platform shoes each of them wore. I had encouraged them to choose how they wanted to wear their own hair and was surprised when they’d all agreed on one hairstyle for them all. Their hair had been curled, with the front being pinned back to the backs of their heads with a jewelled clip that matched the deep purple of their dresses. They looked stunning.

‘Not as beautiful as you’re going to look.’ Bekah commented as she re-entered the room, looking moderately relieved.

‘What’s up?’ Lena asked.

‘Nik’s pacing a hole in the floor from his room. It amazes me how quickly his paranoia grows the longer he’s separated from you.’ She shook her head in amazement, moving over to the mirror to unzip my dress.

‘Well maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if someone hadn’t made us sleep apart last night.’ I muttered, already reaching for my phone.

‘It’s bad luck to see the groom before the wedding!’ Bekah protested, frowning when she saw me walking towards the bathroom, ‘what are you doing? You need to put your dress on, the ceremony starts in ten minutes!’

‘I’ll be two, I promise.’ I smiled reassuringly and closed the door behind me, finding Nik’s contact and clicking it before bringing it to my ear.

It rung once before he answered, ‘Evangeline.’ He murmured; his voice already sounding a little more relaxed.

‘Hello my gorgeous Hybrid and soon to be husband.’ I answered brightly, smiling at the sound of his chuckle, ‘what’s this I hear about you being paranoid?’

‘It’s nothing, my love. Just my self depreciating voice rearing it’s ugly head and telling me that I don’t deserve you.’ He said, his voice more sombre now.

‘Nik, you are the strongest, sweetest, smartest, funniest, sexiest and most talented man I’ve ever known. So you tell that voice inside your head to shove it because you’re an amazing man and I promise to keep reminding you of that fact for eternity.’

‘Thank you, my love. You always know what to say,’ he said, his voice soft.

‘You’re welcome, we all need reassurance sometimes, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of.’ My voice was as gentle as his.

‘I can’t wait to marry you.’ I could sense his smile on the other side of the phone.

‘Right back at you my Hybrid.’ I grinned, ‘speaking of I should put my dress on before Bekah has an aneurism. I’ll see you soon.’

‘That you will, my love.’

I hung up the phone and exited the bathroom, handing my phone to Jenna while Bekah and Elena helped me step into my dress. I had surprised everyone with my determination to choose my own wedding attire, which was fair seeing as any other clothing trip ended with me leaving it to Bekah. But I’d had a very specific dress in mind for my wedding day and I was overjoyed with the end result. It was a ball gown dress with a three-foot train; the bodice had a lace overlay that extended on sheer material to my arms. There were hundreds of diamonds scattered all over that twinkled when they caught the light just right. The veil that was clipped into my hair was also decorated with lace and hung all the way down to the floor. I was wearing my Mikaelson necklace, which I’d been sure to pull from underneath my dress, displaying the crest proudly where it rested on my chest. My hair was curled; the front pinned back similarly to the girls’ but mine was secured with the clip of my veil. My made up was natural; my lips painted with a deep red lip stain that matched the roses I’d be carrying perfectly.

‘You look radiant.’ Bekah said, tears forming in her own eyes.

‘Don’t, you’re gonna make me cry.’ I warned.

‘We can’t have that, you’ll ruin your make up and you look perfect.’ Elena nudged Bekah playfully.

A knock on the door broke us out of our conversation; Elena answered the door to reveal Elijah. His expression became soft when he saw me, his own eyes glassing over as emotion overcame him.

‘Sister, you look… wonderful.’ He murmured.

I hugged him, ‘thank you Lijah.’

‘Well, it’s time.’ Bekah announced, shooing the other bridesmaids out of the room, ‘remember walk down the isle when you hear the wedding march.’

‘We know Bekah.’ I chuckled, my arm linking through Elijah’s as we followed them.

I had asked him to walk me down the isle because I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it. Elijah had become the best big brother I could have ever hoped for, and it seemed wrong to be given away by anyone else. Of course, Nik had also asked him to be best man, so after he’d delivered me to the end of the isle, he would take his place in between Nik and Kol. I took a deep breath as we reached the entrance to the ballroom; we were getting married at a house Nik had built in Mystic Falls long before I had even been born. He wanted to have a house where we could live when I wanted to visit my home, and a place that he could stay in to reminisce about the village he’d lived in when he was human. He’d built this house on top of the same place he’d resided all those years ago. When he’d told me that, it seemed to be the perfect location; the town where I’d grown up, where my parents were born and buried, and the village he’d spent time with his family before they’d become vampires. It held a lot of nostalgia and meaning for the both of us, and I knew then that this is where we could become husband and wife.

‘Are you ready, sister?’ Elijah murmured, turning to me as the march started.

I nodded, unable to keep the smile off my face as I followed Elijah’s lead down the isle. I’ve never felt more love and happiness than I did in that moment, surrounded by those I loved, and the man I loved more than anything. Those invited had been kept to a bare minimum. Nik had most of his friends as groomsmen: Marcel, Stefan, Kol and Elijah were all stood up there with him, while on my side stood Jenna, Bekah and Elena. Other than that, Damon, Jeremy, April (he’d asked to bring her as his guest), Sophie, Josh, Cami, Finn and Freya all sat in white wooden chairs as the audience.

Freya had been a surprise to the Mikaelson’s not long after Nik had proposed. She’d popped up explaining that their aunt Dahlia had kidnapped her and cursed to spend a hundred years sleeping to every year of life. That had been a close fight that involved another time travel spell for Esther’s blood and a few other ingredients, but we defeated her and Freya was free and connecting with the family she’d yearned to know for centuries. Finn was a different story. He’d been undaggered after Nik had tracked down Sage, who’d been his long lost love nine centuries ago. After their reunion, they’d departed and we hadn’t heard a word from him until Freya popped up and he came to the compound to visit her. Even during those visits he’d only really spoken to his eldest sister. Still, we’d extended a wedding invitation to him seeing as he was technically family. But I’ll admit I was stunned by his attendance; I suspected Freya had something to do with it. Though I was unsurprised that Sage hadn’t come; her and Nik had apparently never gotten along.

After my eyes had quickly glanced over those present they fell and remained on the most important one of all. My Hybrid was positively beaming with happiness, the same kind that I was sure he could see on my face. The kind of elation that you felt at the prospect of marrying your best friend, your confidant, your lover… your person. His gorgeous blue eyes were glassed over as he fought to hold back his tears, I want as strong however, my tears having long fallen onto my cheeks. Bekah would have a fit, but I didn’t care. Elijah took my hand and placed it in Nik’s and just like that, I was home. My fingers entwined with his as we faced the man we’d chosen to officiate our marriage.

‘We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in matrimony.’ I couldn’t help but tune out what he was saying, too lost in Nik’s eyes to worry about anything else.

‘I believe you have written your own vows?’ I startled at the question, and nodded.

‘Nik, before I met you, I had given up on the idea of marriage, of finding someone to spend the rest of my life with. When I was human, it seemed plausible, as sixty years doesn’t seem as daunting as an eternity. But suddenly faced with the prospect of forever, I couldn’t imagine finding anyone who would love me enough to want to be tied with me for eternity. Then I met you. We might have first gotten of on the wrong foot,’ we all shared a chuckle at that, ‘but I fell in love with you so fast that it scared me. I’d never felt so much so fast before, but before I could get too lost in my own insecurities, you told me that you loved me too. Not with words at first, but in the way you protected me, the way that you touched me and the way that you looked at me. From that moment all those years ago, I couldn’t picture a future without you in it, and now I can’t wait to spend eternity with you as your wife.’ I gently wiped away the tears that had fallen onto his cheeks before grasping his hands in mine again.

‘Evangeline, I’ve been on this earth for a long time, and for a majority of it I was a man I’m not proud of. As a human, I was berated and beaten for no reason other than my father’s unexplainable hatred of me. When I became a vampire and my werewolf side was revealed, I was more of an outsider then I had ever been. I learned to be ashamed of who I was, because that is what my mother inadvertently told me when she cursed my werewolf side into dormancy. This created a man whose insecurity and fear manifested itself as anger and aggression. I believed I didn’t deserve to be loved by anyone. I became a monster, pushing away those closest to me until I believed they hated me too. I belittled anyone who showed emotion, when deep down I envied them for being brave enough to love, to adore, to laugh, and to be happy. I spent centuries taking the fate of my sibling’s into my own hands, because while I knew they hated me, I loved them and I couldn’t tamper my protective instincts when it came to their safety. They perceived it was out of spite or superiority and I let them believe it because it was easier to accept their hate than their love. But then I met you. You came into my life and within two minutes you’d already, albeit unwillingly, revealed your plans to kill me.’ I chuckled with him, my tears falling steadily down my face, ‘but despite the obvious threat, I couldn’t bring myself to hurt you. When you offered a plan to help me I was grateful that it meant I didn’t have to come up with an excuse myself. Your light, your kindness to a man who you only knew to cause you pain drew me in. You bought out my humanity without effort and I found myself overcome with my love for you, with my protectiveness and adoration. You accepted me for who I was, you made accepting your love and returning it effortless. You made me realise that I deserved to be loved.’ He took a breath, gently wiping the tears from my cheeks and smiling when I leaned into his touch. ‘I vow that for the rest of eternity, you will never doubt how much I love you, Evangeline.’

My hands squeezed his gently as we shared a smile.

‘The rings?’ The officiate asked.

I turned and took Nik’s ring from Elena, while Nik retrieved mine from Elijah.

After we exchanged ‘I do’s,’ Nik pulled me in for a passionate kiss and just like that, we were married. The idea of an eternity with one person may have scared me once. But that was before Nik. That was before I’d met the one person in the world who seemed to understand me better than I understood myself. He was my rock, my Hybrid, and as long as he was by my side the prospect of forever was anything but daunting.

#klaus mikaelson #klaus mikaelson imagine #Klaus Mikaelson x OC #the originals #the vampire diaries

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