this is where i'll be waiting for you ➳ klaus mikaelson [ the vampire diaries ]

1.6 | only i fell

Astoria wasn't sure how much she believed her own words, but what else could she possibly say? Katherine had risked her life by taking a child with her all of those years ago. Someone who was grieving and just lost her only family and was now dealing with a world she had no experience with. Astoria knew that by being with Katherine, she had been slowing her down. But abandoning her now wouldn't be fair. It wouldn't be right.

•

Astoria rarely visited the actual bakery. She didn't get to come inside often. Up until recently, he set up things outside in the market and that was where she usually met him, or somewhere else in the town. But today, he didn't seem to be doing that. His shop was nearly empty too, but Astoria could see him cleaning up one of the countertops in the kitchen. She took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet scent. She normally enjoyed it much more when she didn't just finish having several sweet treats for breakfast. Curtesy of him.

"Hello, love," He noticed her the second that she came inside. He dropped what he was doing and made his way towards her, grabbing something from behind the counter. It looked to be the size of a book, but she couldn't tell for sure.

"Having trouble drawing in customers?" She teased, looking around the empty bakery. It was still early in the day. This was normally when he would be doing most of his work.

"I decided to close early today," He told her as he stood in front of her."I have more important things to attend to then making sure everyone's sugar cravings are met."

"Such as. . ." Astoria trailed off, looking for an answer.

"Such as your birthday," He finished with a small smile. He held out what he had grabbed from behind the counter and handed it to her."I am a bit uncertain about my gift. I do not want to upset you today, but you said that you did not even have a picture left of your brothers and. . ."

Astoria frowned as she took what he handed her. It was a picture frame. She turned it around to see a small painting of both of her brothers inside the frame. She froze upon seeing it. Unable to say anything to him about it. It looked exactly like both of them. She traced her finger along the glass, inhaling sharply. She didn't have a picture of them, and her own memory was beginning to fade. In a few years, she was certain that she would've forgotten small details about them.

"I-is this why you were asking me about them?" Astoria whispered, remembering the other day when they had met for lunch. He had kept asking questions about her brothers, but didn't specify why. Astoria didn't think much of it at the time.

"I apologize if this was-" He began, but Astoria cut him off.

"It's perfect," She smiled, quickly leaning forward and throwing her arms around his shoulders, burying her head into his neck. She had thought that the odds she would ever see anything from Damon or Stefan again were next to impossible. Katherine would never go back to Virginia, and Astoria thought it would hurt too much. Besides, she didn't want to see her father. So she stayed away. Away from all memories of her brothers.

"Thank you," She mumbled against his neck, sighing tiredly and holding him tighter. For a moment, all of her worries slipped away. She wasn't thinking about how she had to leave soon and say goodbye to him. All she was thinking about was him. He was warm, most likely because he had been behind the stove all day, but it was comforting. He smelled nice too. She couldn't quite make out what it was, but it was sweet and spicy at the same time.

She pulled away after a few seconds, realizing that it was the first time that she ever hugged him. As she pulled away, she placed her hands on his shoulders, still holding onto the frame. Her cheek brushed against his as she moved back. She paused for a second, deciding to place a kiss against his cheek.