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To say that the Mikaelsons were confused beyond mention would be less than an understatement. They had spent so long trying to bring their own family together, through the thick and the thin, followed by a significant line of death and destruction. And the very moment they come close to being happy, it just falls apart again.
Esther Mikaelson returned to her children, after years of them knowing she was dead. Believing she was. But now, all their beliefs crumbled as their mother walks into their house.
The Mikaelson siblings all seem to have tears swimming in their eyes, whether it be from sadness or shock. Frozen in their place, Kol subconsciously tightens his grip onto Rory's hand. And despite not knowing who this woman was, Rory could tell that she was a witch. She could feel her energy. The hard part was deciphering out whether it was good or bad.
Taking slow steps, Esther doesn't make eye contact with anyone in the room besides Klaus, and walks up until she stands right in front of him. But it seems as though the hybrid can't even bare to make eye contact.
At this point, even Katherine Pierce was left with wide eyes.
"Look at me," pronounced Esther, her voice strong and confident looking at Klaus who had a few tears slipping down his face. And the moment her son met her eyes, she spoke once more, "Do you know why I'm here?"
"You're here to kill me." Klaus responded taking a shaky breath, his lip trembling slightly.
Rory turned to Kol in confusion, but the vampire himself was staring at his mother, trying his hardest to keep his face emotionless, but it was a rather difficult task when the day in itself was emotional.
"Niklaus, you are my son, and I am here to forgive you."
Everyone in the room had visibly relaxed at the notion, no more than Klaus himself. Although his lip still remained quivering, and his eyes held an underlining trust. Albeit his own issues with trusting others in the past, this was his mother. She wouldn't be lying, right?
It was just strange in itself the world that they are living in. From witches to werewolves, yet somehow, none of them are failed to get surprised by even the smallest of things. Ergo their supposed dead mother turning up onto the doorstep, speaking about forgiveness.
But everyone still had their own suspicions. Everyone still had their own uncertainty.
Esther then turned around, looking through her other children. But soon halted when she saw two unfamiliar faces. But despite not knowing them, she knew one was a vampire, the other a witch.
"Who are these women?" She asked, looking back at her children. Her voice was neither harsh or kind. Simply an inquiry.
Everyone fell silent for a moment, even trying to conceal their heavy breathing, unsure of how to respond. But, everyone's eyes did go straight onto Katherine and Rory, both who stood still as if they were caught doing something they shouldn't have. Was this the right time for introductions? But in reality, there never really was a right time for anything.
When everyone else remained quiet, Rory took it upon herself to take a small step closer, with a made attempt at a smile, although it clearly looked forced, and rather awkward.
"I'm-- uh, I'm Rory?"
Esther's eyes narrowed in on her, as if she were judging the girl. But the elder witch's face remained stoic, so Rory had no clue what was going on in her mental process. But before she could answer any of her own questions, Esther slowly reached a hand out for Rory to shake, alongside her own smile. A small one, but it was still a smile.
Everyone else watched in anticipation, Finn's and Klaus' eyes not wavering once from his mother, Elijah and Rebekah's eyes averting between her and Rory, and Kol momentarily letting go of her hand.
"Hello Rory, I'm Esther."
Rory stared at the extended hand for a few seconds unsure. Unsure of what? Even Rory didn't know. Esther seemed intimidating, yet welcoming all at the same time. Reluctantly, the Salvatore witch extended a hand of her own, grabbing onto Esther's.
And with the immediate contact, the Mikaelson witch almost smirked evilly when she felt the power that Rory held.
Esther then moved on to her own introduction with Katherine, which could have been even more awkward to say the least. The whole situation in itself was out of pocket, not expected, but they tried their hardest to adapt with what they had.
Even going to bed that night was a challenge. Despite the calm skies, and the light breeze, everyone's minds were far from that. With their thoughts running at incapable speeds, processing newly acquired information as if it were delicate pieces of glass.
Some of them had gone from having no one, to having their whole family in the short span of less than twenty-four hours. It is bound to mess with their heads.
No one got any sleep. Tossing and turning in their beds. Although Katherine did get a fair amount. She slept like a baby.
Rory laid down in her bed, on the brink of sleep, the usage of her magical capabilities being the only thing allowing her to get even the slightest bit of rest. Her room was dark, with the faint light coming from a single lit candle, and the moon shining through her open windows.
It felt normal. If she didn't reflect on any of her own convictions, it almost just felt like a normal day. A normal night where she didn't have to worry about anyone about the very moment she was in. The very moment that could mean nothing but a mere idea of sleep. And the very moment that sleep was about to be whisked away into her only blissful sleep, she got stopped.
"Rora," a voice whispered from beside her, seemingly not caring that it was late in the night, or early in the morning. Slowly turning over, and opening her eyes, she saw Kol standing next to her bed, clearly looking as though he hadn't gotten even the slightest bit of sleep either.
Besides, he was considered dead with a dagger through his heart for a few decades, so sleep may be the least of his worries.
"What?" Rory whispered back, rather harshly, though Kol seemed to be not phased by it even in the slightest.
"Can I sleep with you?"
Rory laid there, staring at him for a moment, deciding whether or not she should. But the more she looked at him, the more she realized that she missed him. She missed him so much.
"No, you can't just get into my bed," she responded sleepily, barely able to keep her own eyes open, rolling over so her back was now facing him. But apparently that wasn't enough of an answer.
"Yeah, no shit, you're taking up the whole thing, scoot over," said Kol, pulling the blanket back and forcibly moving her over, before getting into the bed himself. Rory flipped back around, to they were now facing one another.
They stayed quiet, not daring to say a single word, just looking at one another. This was one of the first times they could really look at each other without an overwhelming emotion. Sure, thoughts were going through like bullets in their head, pushing through, yelling at them. What? They couldn't tell. So they remained silent.
All Rory saw was Kol. Her Kol.
And all Kol saw was Aurora. His Aurora.
The sound of the trees moving from the wind cascaded into the room, sending shivers down both of their spines accounting for their lack of warmth in the close to winter weather. The silence never really seemed to be uncomfortable or weird, it was expected. Ordinary. The stillness was only broken when Kol reached a hand out from where it was lying from beneath the covers, and slowly brought it out and placed it onto her cheek.
Rory leaned into his touch.
Her cheek was soft. And in that moment, he was able to count her freckles once more. And this time, he didn't lose track. He didn't lose count of where he was. He had time. He wasn't going to lose her this time.
"I'm really sorry," Kol said, breaking the silence this time, scanning her face for a reaction or response, scared of what could happen. Scared that he would lose her again. "I will always be sorry."
This time, instead of getting upset, coming close to tears, Rory smiled. Her smile was warm, and content, her lips brought together, showing her dimple as she brought a hand out herself from under neath the covers and placed it on top of Kol's that rested on her cheek.
"We're here, now, Kol. Together. That's all that matters."
*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*
Somehow, the Mikaelsons had decided that throwing a ball would be a wonderful idea. A party of sorts, whether it was to taunt everyone else of their return and commencement as a family once more, or simply because they were rich. Either way, Rory was rather upset, knowing she had to wear a dress of her own.
But Rebekah and Katherine had rest assured that it was going to go better than they would hope. Helping her pick out a dress, and in return, Rory helped them. Actually, not necessarily, but she liked to think she did.
It had only been a few days since Finn and Kol had been undaggered. And only a few days since Esther had been brought back, and yet things seem to be as complicated as they always were.
Although Kol and Rory were deemed inseparable. Whether it was intentional or not, the two of them were always found with one another. Where one went, the other wasn't far behind.
Rebekah herself had done some business of her own with a certain doppelganger. Despite not having been able to accomplish much, Katherine had applauded her in the attempt.
Now, the group of them were sitting in their own living room, Rebekah and Katherine having their own nails done, with Kol and Finn having their own suits tailored. Rory would have gotten her own nails painted, but she preferred them without, as she would anxiously pick at them, resulting in the paint chipping off.
"Rebekah," said Kol, looking through the mirror he was standing in front of, "Tell me how handsome I am."
"Ah, Kol, you know I can't be compelled," she responded with a fake smile, making Rory snort from beside her on the couch. Kol turned around, seemingly offended, so the witch just feigned a frown and sadly nodded her head.
"You know I'm handsome, Rora," he announced turning back around to look in the mirror, but he smiled back through the reflection.
"Oh, yes, quite handsome. Spectacularly wonderful. Although, Finn seems to look quite alright, I may say," Rory told him, looking down at her book, with a small upturn of her lips. Finn silently smirked from the side as Kol whipped around pretending to act offended once more.
"Oh, Aurora Mae, you wound me!"
But before Rory even got the chance to respond, Klaus busted through the door, looking as though he was rather upset, walking towards Rebekah, "You went after Elena? What is wrong with you?"
Klaus had been going through constant phases of whether or not he wanted hybrids. And with that, he couldn't tell if he needed Elena or not, so deceivingly, he needed to keep her somewhat safe.
Everyone else could care less about what happened to her.
"Oh, come on, it's not like we needed to hear her sob story," Katherine told him, but got ultimately ignored.
"Do you want another dagger in your heart?" the hybrid threatened. Though, everyone else seemed to know that his threats were all empty, just mere notions of his own words.
"Again with the dagger threats?" asked Kol, sitting down on a chair, "Don't you have any other tricks?"
"Oh, go back to staring at yourself."
"What are you, my dad?" Kol quipped back, making Klaus whip back around to face him.
"No, Kol, but you're in my house."
Finn and Rory shared a look, both knowing that Klaus clearly wasn't taking the new changes to his life lightly. It was hard, and the hybrid himself was struggling at handling all the emotions, therefore, outbursts were often coming around.
"Enough!" A stern voice said, walking into the room, making those inside shrink down slightly. Esther had come up to all of them, scanning all their faces before landing on Klaus. "Niklaus, come." And when he obeyed, Kol smirked proudly to himself before turning around.
He walked over to the couch before falling back onto it, his head landing directly onto Rory's lap making let out a small noise at the abrupt weight. And when she looked down, Kol was grinning up at her.
"You need to stop acting like a child with him," she told him, Finn, Katherine, Rebekah and Elijah nodding their heads in agreement, "He is very hormonal right now."
"I heard that!" Klaus called out from the other room.
Kol immediately opened his mouth to respond, but Rory quickly placed her hand over it to stop him, looking down, sending him a sharp look, although she couldn't help the smile that grew on her face.
He was rather amusing to watch.
And when Rory was sure that he was going to stay quiet, she removed her hand, only for it to be taken back down once more, to be held in Kol's.
They were happy.
*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*
When the night had fallen upon them, people had slowly began to arrive at the mansion, all dressed in their own fancy gowns and suits, their hair done intricately, and their shoulders up tall. The house itself was decorated in a variety of different lights, streaming along the stair cases, lighting up the inside as if it were like little stars in the sky.
Rebekah wore an emerald dress, fitting her own body perfectly, complimenting her skin as if it were made for her. Katherine, who begged to want to go, had to be put under a spell that Rory made on a whim to be able to conceal her actual looks. Because, if Elena Gilbert was in attendance, there certainly can't be another that looks like her.
That would have been rather awkward.
Rory stood in front of the mirror in her room, her own dress on, being a pale pink shade, with flowers of different muted colors situated along the top half it. Her hair was loosely curled around her face, with a single braided piece tied to the side.
Not only did she look beautiful, she felt beautiful.
Although, she began to struggle with the zipper along the backside of his, resulting in a few line of cuss words and phrases.
Kol stood at the doorway, watching with an amused look on his face. He looked at her with love and adoration. It didn't matter to him whether she was wearing the fanciest of outfits, or merely a pair of jeans. He always thought she was the most beautiful girl.
"Need some help there?" He said, startling Rory into quickly turning around, breathing heavily.
"Dear god, Kol! You scared me!"
Instead of even responding, Kol just walked up to her, and lightly put his hands onto her waist, turning her around to face the mirror once more. Keeping one hand there, he took his other one and went for the zipper, slowly and carefully pulling it up. That action in itself sent goosebumps through Rory's skin. It was a pleasant feeling.
When he finished, both of them looked up, looking at one another through the reflection of the mirror. Their eyes met, and both of them smiled.
Without even saying a word, Kol broke eye contact and bent his head down.
He place a small kiss onto her bare shoulder.
And when he looked back at her, a small blush coated her freckled cheeks. With one swift movement, Kol used his hand that rested on her waist and turned her around, so she now faced the door.
"You ready to go, my love?" He asked with a smile as he place his hand out for her to grab.
"Always," Rory responded, smiling up at him, grabbing onto his hand.
And when they made it into the main area where people were talking with one another, Rory got a feeling of nervousness. She never had really felt nervous for many things before, but somehow, she was right now.
"Mayor Lockwood," said Kol once they reached the bottom of the stairs, their hands still hold one another. Carol Lockwood stood down, talking to Damon Salvatore. The look of that man alone made Rory want to smack him.
The mayor turned around, in accordance to her name, surprised when she saw one of her son's former friends. "Rory? It's wonderful to see you!"
"It's nice to see you too, Mrs. Lockwood," she said, giving a closed lip smile, before looking at her 'brother' and giving him a cold glare.
"We haven't formally met yet," Kol stated, smiling himself as he reached a hand out for the mayor to shake, "Kol Mikaelson. I hope your lovely town embraces us just as much as we plan to embrace it."
"Damon Salvatore," said Damon, forcing his own hand out before squinting closer at the Mikaelson, "Have we met?"
Kol and Rory looked at each other for a split second, both with the same look before Kol looked back at Damon with a smug look, "I've met a lot of people, and you don't particularly stand out." Rory could almost laugh at the look on Damon's face. And before he even got the chance to respond, Kol pulled Rory away from them.
It was rather difficult having to walk in high heels.
"You two look a lot alike," Kol said as they pushed through the crowd.
"Ew, don't say that. Like ever," she responded with a grimace, holding tighter onto his hand as she leaned closer, slightly overwhelmed by all the people. But she quickly let go of his hand, and all her worries seemed to wash away when she saw someone by the door.
It was Rose.
Without even thinking, Rory immediately pulled her into a hug, not even caring about all the other looking eyes. She hadn't seen that wonderful woman in so long, and she really did miss her.
"Oh, Rose! I have missed you so much. How are you? You look wonderful!" Rory ranted out, staring up at her with a wide smile, Rose's hands were on either side of Rory's face looking down at her with a smile just as wide.
"I have been lovely, Aurora. You look just as beautiful as ever, might I add."
"Thank you! Look at my dress," said Rory quickly looking down before placing her hands on the sides, "This thing has pockets! How cool is that?"
Kol watched the two of them interact with a smile before Rose set off on her own looking for someone, leaving the two together once more.
"Is there something cool about having pockets in your dress?" Kol asked her as they walked through people once more, side by side. Rory looked up at him as if he had gone crazy.
"Of course there is something cool. Pockets in a dress! Some men must seem to think that women don't know how to do anything and they either make the pockets one inch deep, or none at all. Pathetic, really."
Kol nodded his head along, acting as if she knew what she was talking about, but a genuine smile rested on his face either way.
*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*
"Could everyone gather around, please?" Elijah Mikaelson said to the crowd, "Welcome, and thank you for joining us."
Elijah, Klaus, Finn, Rebekah, Kol, and Rory all stood on the stairs.
Esther soon walked down to join them as well, scanning through the whole crowd, resting her eyes on Elena Gilbert. Finn as well, was sharing looks with his mother.
"You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's a tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a century old waltz, so if all of you could please, find yourself a partner, and please join us in the ball room."
Kol immediately grabbed onto Rory's hand, beginning to drag her down the stairs.
"Kol- Kol no, I am not dancing," she protested, trying to draw back, but Kol did not seem to stop in the slightest.
"Yes you are, darling, yes you are," He responded, pulling her towards the ballroom where people began piling into.
"Well, if I step on you, it's your fault," Rory warned him, standing up straight and grabbing onto his other hand, preparing to start the dance, Kol just smiled down at her, "I'm sure I can take my chances."
Quickly, others were lined up and music slowly began playing, starting the dancing. Rory had no clue what she was doing, but somehow, Kol knew exactly what he was doing. He lead Rory along, with a hand on her waist, and on holding her hand, and their eyes not straying away from another the whole time.
The whole time, it felt like nothing could go wrong in the world. In fact, it felt like time had stopped all on its own and left the two of them alone just for a few moments, living with each other, and with nothing but each other. When Rory looked up at Kol, she felt nothing but a warm heart, and a straight mind. She wanted to think of nothing or no one else except Kol Mikaelson.
Aurora Salvatore had never been in love before, but maybe this was it. This is what love felt like.
Rory was dancing with Kol.
Klaus was dancing with Caroline.
Rebekah was dancing with Matt.
Rose was dancing with Katherine.
And by the time the dancing had finished, everyone seemed to be talking, and smiling, and overall just feeling like they belonged.
Rory felt like she belonged.
"Where's your date?" Kol asked Rebekah as they stood with one another, Rory on the side with a glass of champagne in her hand.
"Flirting with his ex," Rebekah responded, acting as if she weren't upset about it, but deep down, she was. Even if it was Matt Donovan. Maybe Rebekah just wanted to feel wanted.
"You've changed, Bekah," said Kol, taking the champagne out of Rory's hands and taking a drink of his before handing it back to her, "You know, settling for mortals is the first sign of weakness."
"I'm not settling, I brought him here to kill him," The blonde responded, "He's Elena's friend. If he dies, she suffers. But, I've already been scolded once, so I was hoping you'd help your baby sister out."
"And spit right in the face of mother's rules?" Kol asked her as if she had gone insane, "I'm in." he then looked towards Rory who was fumbling with the rings on her fingers, "Would you like to come along?"
The witch instantly shook her head, "I don't want to get involved with them anymore, you guys have your own fun--" she then looked at Rebekah-- "Besides, you should just get a girlfriend anyways."
Kol held a look of offense on his face, but Rory simply smiled at him and gave him two pats on the cheek before Rebekah dragged him off.
*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*
"So how was my mother?" Elijah asked as he stood alongside Elena. Rory was with him, but stood on the opposite side, wanting to keep distance between her and the Gilbert. She'd rather not be infected with that.
Esther had been looking to speak to the Gilbert doppelganger. With intentions that most did not know.
"Intense," Elena responded, tensing up herself being around both Elijah and Rory, both of which could kill her at any given moment. And this time, Rory would gladly do such.
"And for what reason did she need to speak with you in private?" Rory asked her, grabbing another glass of champagne, handing one to Elijah, letting Elena grab one for herself.
Elena looked up the stairs and caught glimpse of the Mikaelson witch, which both Elijah and Rory took notice of, and shared a look. But before Elena could even respond, Finn had walked up and pulled Rory away from them, an urgent look on his face.
"Don't drink it," he warned, looking around, "Don't drink the champagne, and tell my siblings not to either."
"Wha-"
"Just tell them. I'll explain later, but you have to promise me to not let them drink it, okay?"
Finn seemed as though he were stressed about something, and very serious at that, Rory just nodded her head, looking between him and the glass she was holding, "Yeah, okay, I'll- I'll make sure they don't drink it."
Finn gave a smile before quickly walking away, almost as if he were scared he was going to get caught doing something he shouldn't have. And what Rory didn't know, was that he really was going against his mother's orders. He just got back together with his siblings. He didn't want to change that, at least not for a long time.
And when Rory was left alone, she quickly found Klaus, and told him, found Elijah, and pulled him aside, and told him, the same with Rebekah, and then when she found Kol once more, she grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it tighter.
"Don't drink it," she whispered, not looking away from Esther who stood up at the top of the stairs, threateningly, "Just pretend to drink it."
"Why?" He asked, turning to look at her in confusion.
Rory just turned to look at him, giving a silent stare that tells him perfectly, 'just do what I say.' Kol merely nodded, still confused, but trusted her word either way. And when Rory looked around, she made eye contact with Finn and gave him a small nod, silently telling him she did as he had asked.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," said Esther, silencing the crowd. "I invite you all to join me in raising a glass. It provides me with no greater joy than to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being a part of this spectacular evening."
"Cheers!"
The Mikaelsons took one final glance around at each other through everyone, all sharing the same look before they raised the glass to their mouths, feigning a sip, making Esther look as though she were very pleased with herself.
And when it looked as though she and suspected little to nothing, Finn's shoulders visibly relaxed as Rory sent him a smile. But what Rory didn't know, is that Kol had left on his own, planning his own ruccous.
Rory had walked through the crowds, and after time it was rather difficult to walk with the heels. So as the crowd was slowly getting smaller, she removed them as she found Finn standing alone.
"Are you okay?" she asked with genuine curiosity, "Was there something wrong, earlier? It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, I'm sure it can wait."
"No it's fine, I'm sure-" before Finn could even finish his sentence, the front doors were pushed open by Stefan Salvatore, leaving a clear view of the front yard, to see Damon sitting on top of a lifeless looking Kol.
"You asshat!" said Rory, walking out there, followed by a clearly distraught looking Elena. Clearly there were more issues than Damon simply being Damon.
"I swear to god, Damon, you really need to work on yourself," his sister warned, looking as though she could slap him herself at that point.
*＊✿❀○❀✿＊*
When Kol had finally gained consciousness once more, the first thing he felt was a neck so sore one would think they were dead. In a sense he was. But the next thing he noticed was that he was no longer lying down on the pavement, with a Salvatore on top of him, threateningly, he was on a bed. He was comfortable.
He then realized, that someone was holding his hand.
With the slightest movement of his head, he turned and opened his eyes to see Rory sitting down next to him, grasping tightly onto his hand, rubbing her thumb along his knuckles, reading a book. The small movement caught her attention.
"Oh, thank god!" she said, looking thoroughly relieved, "You were out for so long! I'm sorry that Damon did that. He doesn't think. Just in general. Are you okay? Are you thirsty? Do you want me to get you water?"
Kol couldn't help but smile.
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lmao im sorry i didn't know how else to show the dress, but i got multiple comments about this one, and i feel like it's DEFINITELY something rory would wear.
also; i'm sorry it's a little late, this chapter was a little longer than i expected, i'm sorry it's also a little all over the place, but i really did enjoy writing this chapter.
i am also excited to write next chapter because it's going to mainly focus around kol and rory.
let me know what you guys think, and what else you guys would like to see!
have a wonderful day
-ef