Lucien and Tristan were waiting for her at the airport.
She rushed up to them, tucking her head between them, arms reaching as far as possible to keep them close. "Oh, I've missed you both. Thank you for meeting me here."
"Always, love," said Lucien, kissing her cheek, the other hand sliding down to give her bottom a firm smack. "I see you were eager, otherwise you wouldn't have bumped up the date of our meeting."
Tristan cleared his throat, taking her hand to give her a small spin. "If you'd paid any attention the past few days, you'd know why we have met earlier," said Tristan. "That is quite the revelation about your sister's transgressions... Vivalda."
"We don't need to talk about things like that unless she asks it of us," said Lucien tightly. "After all, this weekend is meant to be fun. When we return to Germany on Monday, we can have more in-depth discussions, can't we?"
Vivalda let out a weak laugh. "Why do I feel like there's something you two aren't telling me? Look, we don't need to do anything you guys aren't comfortable with..."
"It isn't that," said Tristan quietly, eyes flickering between her and Lucien. "Vivalda... we ought to get to the hotel. There is something we need to talk about."
She wasn't sure what to expect. She had no idea what the conversation was going to be about, and with each second it took to get to the hotel, her dread grew more. Both of them were silent, staring out their respective windows, every now taking a break to check their phones. Someone kept texting them, but she was forcing herself not to look, not to spoil it for herself before they were ready.
And when she found out the truth, she hated it.
"Oh my god," she whispered, holding her head in her hands. "So Elijah... he... oh my god. Oh my god. When I found out he compelled you all to be himself, Nik, and Rebekah, I hated him. I hated knowing that we all allowed it to happen, that you were all made bait for my father. Your identities ruined, your safety forever compromised. And now you're telling me that Aurora... that she... oh my god."
"She wanted to be the one to tell you," said Tristan softly. "For years when you'd come by, she'd consider it might finally be time. But she hesitated, she convinced herself not to, convinced us to stay silent. Though she knew you would keep her secret if she asked, she knew you'd encourage her to speak to Niklaus, she knew admitting it would mean opening up the possibility of rekindling their relationship. I have discouraged this a great deal. I... can admit I did not like when she was with Niklaus. I felt he was a bad influence on her. He encouraged her to be wild when she needs someone more grounded. I worried he would hurt her, I worried that it wouldn't be the same. I convinced her not to seek him out."
"I understand," whispered Vivalda, knowing that there was too much uncertainty, especially with all that had happened in the past thousand years. The vampires who knew their family and kept informed would have been well-aware of Klaus's behavior, and even she could acknowledge her brother wasn't the same man who'd initially fallen for Aurora and caught her eye. She wanted to believe he would never hurt her, but how sure could she be about that? Things were too different. He was different, Aurora was different.
Lucien cleared his throat. "I admit, I have disliked Elijah for many years after what he did. Most of all because of what he did to Aurora."
Vivalda nodded, not wanting to invalidate any hatred he or Tristan could be clinging to. She'd always known they couldn't stand Elijah and Klaus for what was done to them, but now she really saw why it had never gone away. "And it means Elijah knew the whole time that Klaus had killed our mother but he let us believe a lie. He let us believe Mikael did it while we ran alongside Nik. He let us believe that Aurora had broken his heart, he let Nik believe that he was thought to be this awful person. And in some twisted desire to prove her right, it's exactly what he became. But those weren't Aurora's words, those were Elijah's."
"We implore you not to say anything to your siblings," said Tristan. "Rory is not prepared for a conversation with Niklaus."
"Yeah, I won't say anything. I just... I can't believe it. Elijah's always been so sharp with us when we omit anything; he doesn't like when we lie or when we go behind each other's back. Has that just been a projection of his? I want... I want to understand his side of it, I want to understand how angry he was. He wasn't thinking. But he could have fessed up, he could have taken even a second longer to make a plan instead of resorting to that. Why... why has it been hidden? He should have admitted this to Klaus a long time ago. Even in Tuscany after we were daggered, Klaus still had some humanity in him, you all had been freed of your compulsion and we found out about it soon after. In the 1200s when he made The Strix... he came across you, he had every chance to come clean. Klaus would be mad but at least then he might have been more forgiving."
"There's no way of understanding why he hasn't said anything," sighed Lucien. "I've learned not to question the things your siblings do. You're the only one who is completely transparent about your plans. Everyone else... hidden agendas."
Vivalda lifted her head. "I'm so sorry. For everything they did, for everything I allowed to happen. I'm just as guilty. I hate myself for not running to find you the moment they told me about the compulsion."
"What could you have done?" whispered Tristan. "You would have put yourself right in front of Mikael; he would have hurt you. And we wouldn't have seen you as anything more than our sister, which is a very strange thing to say given the circumstances. The point is, you couldn't have undone the compulsion, Vivalda. But as soon as you knew it was broken, you came. You apologized. I still remember being very upset. Aurora had had her first episode afterwards, she was in a delicate condition. And you came to me and bent a knee... lowered your head... and you nearly cried as you begged for my forgiveness."
"You did the same with me," muttered Lucien, rubbing his chin. "You apologized in a way no one had ever apologized to me. Despite whatever faults your siblings or enemies claim you have, you have never shied away from an apology when you know you've done wrong. You know how to admit it. Your brothers and sister never could. They never sought us out, never faced us. It's why we respect you, love. Why we fell for you. You've shown us from the very beginning that you had honor, that you were worthy of our appreciation. We were just too foolish to see it."
She took their hands, bringing them to her mouth and kissing each of their knuckles. "I will speak to Aurora personally when I return to Germany. And though you've said I apologized before, I really do wish to apologize again."
Tristan, cupped her cheek, pulling her up and placing her on his lap, wrapping an arm loosely around her waist. "You needn't apologize. We've no anger towards you." He brushed her hair out of her face, holding her close as he pressed his lips on hers.
"Are we really doing this right now?" she said in a small voice, disconnecting when she felt Tristan already sliding his hand under her shirt. "Are you sure?"
"Only if you are," said Lucien, beginning to unbutton his shirt as he stood, making his way toward the armchair looking directly at the couch. "You two, take your time. My turn will come soon enough."
"This doesn't feel right," whined Vivalda, though she wasn't complaining as Tristan bit into her neck and started to feed. "You just told me something awful."
"I sort of like it for that reason," said Tristan against her throat. "The vulnerability, opening ourselves to each other..."
She laid herself back, pulling him on top of her and arching her neck back while he continued to feed. Lucien watched gleefully, trying to keep the comments a minimum because he knew that Tristan would easily grow shy.
"Oh, that's not nearly hard enough," chided Lucien. "Squeeze her neck harder."
"Any harder and I'll snap her neck," said Tristan, though he did press his thumb down more, eliciting a squeak as Vivalda tried to fix her upper body, back already bent to a near-uncomfortable point.
"She's a big girl, she can handle more than that, can't you, love?" Lucien walked over, thumb running over Vivalda's lips while she tried to hold back a whine. "See, you have to do this–" he guided Tristan in clamping his hand down, causing Vivalda to let out a strangled moan. "There. Now keep going. I want to see only the whites of her eyes."
He sat in front of her, watching her face the entire time. She couldn't even stare at him, could hardly form the words to tell him that he was making her feel utterly exposed. How she loved it. Lucien made faces feigning sympathy as she gasped, squeezing her cheeks and whispering that she could tolerate more than she thought she was capable of.
When it was time for them to switch, Vivalda got a chance to breathe again. She could hardly feel her legs, needing to hold onto Tristan while Lucien placed her on top of him, hands tucked behind his head and a cocky smile as he taunted her, wondering if that was the best she could do, if she was too tired and they ought to continue later.
"You're going to anger her," murmured Tristan.
"You don't know the first thing about how she gets," said Lucien devilishly, seeing Vivalda scrunching up her face and trying not to give up. "Look at her. Really, look at her, mate. She'd rather flop forward unconscious than stop giving me what I want to give her body a rest. You see her out there, commanding armies. In here, she's ours to do whatever we want with. She won't submit to anyone in the world but us. None of them know how much power we have over her and she loves it. She loves submitting to us because we give her everything she is too shy to ask for. The pleasure she craves, it's within her grasp if she gives in. So she does."
"You are pushing her to her breaking point."
"And that is what she likes most of all. You should see her when her face is beaded with sweat. She cannot go any further and yet she does. Because she leaves nothing undone. Really, you've never pushed her to the edge like this?"
"No..."
"You're much less commanding in bed than I thought you to be." He sat up, making Vivalda squeak and drop her head onto his shoulder for support, holding on for dear life as Lucien abruptly gripped Tristan's face, "That look in your eyes," Lucien crooned, "tells me you'd bend the knee too, if I asked it of you."
"I would not."
"Nothing to be ashamed of. I never had control and now I always take it, it doesn't matter who I'm with. Every man and woman will submit to me because they know I am always in charge. You, however? You constantly had control, you can't need it as badly. And in seeing how reserved you are, I think you've got a more laid back attitude, don't you? You will take control with her because this is the only place she can let her guard down. For her, you tailor to her needs. You take control over her because she's the only partner you've ever had that is stronger than you and you need to see her on her knees. But with others? You let them do what they please, don't you?" He held on tighter. "Don't try to look away. Answer the question. I know the answer, Tristan. If I were to kiss you right now, it would be as if I kissed her. You'd give into what I wanted, wouldn't you?"
"Can I stop now?" asked Vivalda tiredly, patting his arm. "You're not paying attention."
"Yes. Let's test a little something, shall we? Vivalda, love, get on your knees. Right there against the edge of the couch."
She crawled off of him, doing as told. "Make her please you," said Lucien, letting go of Tristan. "And Vivalda, love, don't give into what he wants unless he truly compels you to want to listen."
"What does this prove?" demanded Tristan, cheeks red.
"Oh, nothing. I just want to see you fall apart."
"Then why–?"
"Because it's fun."
Tristan cleared his throat, seeing Vivalda steadily recovering. "Closer," he demanded, as firmly as he could. She wiggled over, knees burning against the carpet. "Closer."
"Give her hair a tug if she doesn't listen," advised Lucien. "I've always felt a good grip on her face does wonders, too." He winked.
Tristan struggled to speak. "This is ridiculous. No."
"No?" asked Lucien sweetly.
"I am not amused by this sort of thing. I want to please her because I want to, and I want her to please me because she wants to. You may dominate her all you want, but I will not be like you. Isn't it better that she has a mix of the two ways she likes it most? I'd like to see you try and make love to her. You may claim you can but you have no way of being gentle. I like it that way. I can unleash in small bursts but I do not want to command her this way. She can enjoy it with you." He knelt in front of Vivalda, kissing her cheek sweetly. "How are you feeling, my darling?"
"So good," she sighed dreamily, resting her forehead on his, tilting her head to kiss him on the lips. "But I need a break."
"Oh, we can give you a break," said Lucien. "Tristan, sit next to me."
He made a face. "I'm busy here."
"Sit next to me."
He didn't ignore him the second time. Vivalda leaned herself against the armrest, watching closely as Lucien reached out, holding his face tenderly. "Close your eyes," he purred.
Tristan did as told. Vivalda bit her lip, leaning closer as Lucien dipped his head down, kissing Tristan gently, just as he had been doing to Vivalda a moment earlier. He was proving a point, she could see that. She had to put a hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet as Lucien laid Tristan down, carefully ghosting his fingers over his chest and arms, doing his best to keep him relaxed as their mouths continued to move rhythmically.
"Wait," murmured Tristan, leaning in when Lucien drew away. "Don't... stop."
"Alas, my aim was to tease," he said sweetly. "There will be time for that tomorrow. For now... Vivalda, sweetheart, come here."
She joined them on the couch, smiling as Lucien laid her down, making sure Tristan was ridiculously close and undeniably able to witness as he made his best attempt at the slow-and-steady lovemaking that Vivalda so enjoyed with Tristan. He wasn't half bad at it.
Vivalda did have her preferences, of course, Tristan simply knew how to make the moment more magical; there was more to it than just being gentle. There were words Tristan slipped in that Lucien wasn't saying. Tristan would lace their fingers together and keep his head against her forehead, while Lucien only held onto the back of the couch and made her look him in the eyes. All intimacy she enjoyed without shame, but different enough to have for separate moods, distinct occasions. It was why she needed them both. One could never be enough.
"I don't know how you're still going," said Lucien, impressed, when Vivalda was now on top of Tristan, holding his face and kissing him gently. "Your stamina has improved greatly, love. And you, Tristan..." he winked, "I'm eager to see how that pans out tomorrow."
"You're being serious about that?" asked Vivalda curiously. "You two are going to have a go at each other tomorrow?"
"Well, Tristan obviously has a crush on me."
"I do not."
"At the very least, you want me to fuck you."
"I wish to... fuck you... yes."
"No, no, no, say it right. Because tomorrow, you won't be in charge with me. You will be on your knees like a good boy and you will do what I say. You want me to fuck you. Say it."
Vivalda giggled lightly. Tristan forced himself to spit out, "I want you to fuck me."
"That wasn't so hard, was it? You'll see why Vivalda likes me so much tomorrow. I swear to be gentle if it's what you wish. But if you wish to have a taste of becoming the mindless zombie I turn her into after a few minutes, you can ask for that, too."
Tristan gulped, smiling shyly and holding the back of Vivalda's head appreciatively as she peppered supportive kisses over his neck. "I... look forward to it."
Vivalda would say it was a wonderful weekend, even though she didn't do much the second day. Mostly watched as Lucien fully proved his point. He was capable of making love, and Tristan had enjoyed every second of it. And he'd admitted to Vivalda that he enjoyed it even more when Lucien had unleashed and let him see why it was that Vivalda liked being left with her mind fuzzy after sex.
It was different to wake up with both of them in the bed next to her. She sat up, smiling when she realized they had tried to put their arms around her and more or less ended up holding onto each other over her body. She didn't mind it. She left them alone to realize it when they awoke.
"So," she said, accepting a glass of champagne on their flight to Germany. "What does this mean? All of us... we just fuck each other whenever we want? Are you two going to only have sexual relationships while I have romantic relationships with each of you?"
"It can be whatever we want, I think," said Lucien, tilting up his sunglasses and winking at Tristan, who was fiddling with his tie, already sweating at the thought of the conversation. "It could be a triad... we all develop sexual and romantic feelings for one another equally. I'm not picky."
Tristan cleared his throat. "You hate me. You make this very well known as often as you can."
Lucien shrugged. "Haven't hated you for a while, mate. Maybe at the beginning when I realized I couldn't have Vivalda all to myself. But you've got more substance than I thought you did. And I know you are good for her. I can see why she cares for you. We made a truce because we wanted to make her happy. In it, I've seen another side of you. I won't be able to forget what you did to me. But I wish to believe you are a better man now. If you weren't, someone like Vivalda wouldn't like or trust you."
"I think the same. Though, my dislike of you was unfair in the first place. Despite your pompous attitude, you are a good man, Lucien. And you mean a great deal to Vivalda."
"And I'm a great lay," said Lucien smugly. "All parties involved agree on that."
Vivalda rolled her eyes. "Yes, you're great in bed. Is that it, then? You two are going to get to know each other romantically?"
"We can," said Tristan cautiously. "I'd prefer we take it slowly, though."
"Everything is slow with you until you have me inside you, then you realize you like it the opposite way," said Lucien with a wink. Vivalda let out a sound halfway between an amused groan and a confused giggle.
"I am trying to have a serious conversation here. What I mean is that I don't want us to jump into individual dates and hook-ups the way each of us did with Vivalda. I would like for her to be included at least the first few times. Give us a chance to grow whatever feelings we may have in her presence so she may mediate it. Once we are more comfortable, we can start being intimate individually. And then afterward... perhaps individual outings."
Lucien blew a raspberry. "So you want to follow the complete opposite trajectory we followed with her?"
"It would be my preference."
"Easy. Alright. I don't mind. I think we can agree that she is still our primary focus? We may enjoy each other's presence individually but she will always be the one we come back to?"
"Agreed. She holds this together. Which means we ought to discuss what happens if... what we think is inevitable comes to pass."
Vivalda frowned. "None of us are dying. I am not letting anything happen to either of you. We are all too strong to be killed!"
"But it is a possibility, my darling," said Tristan. "There is always a chance. If I die, I presume you will take care of her, Lucien?"
"Yes," he said. "Likewise if I meet an untimely end? Please don't replace me with someone else, I'll haunt you from the Other Side permanently."
Vivalda put her head in her hands. "I imagine if I die, you two will literally never speak to each other again, since you're saying I'm the one holding this together."
"We'll not do that," said Tristan firmly. "We will at the very least keep in contact if that– god forbid it– does happen. But you are right. None of us are dying. And I think we've settled our terms. We promise to communicate with one another about things, we do not sleep with anyone else outside of this relationship, and we are faithful in all actions done to protect those we love." He cleared his throat. "Anything I do will benefit you, Lucien. The Strix will keep you safe."
Lucien smiled thinly, not because he was doubting him, but because he had nothing like that to offer. "You will have constant access to the cures I've made. And any important information I might receive."
Vivalda reached out, kissing Lucien, then Tristan. "I care for you both, very much. This is turning into something deeper, I know it. And I've appreciated this time. I cannot wait to see what comes next."
"I can see what comes next," said Lucien, looking out the window. "My apartment all to ourselves before we have to tell anybody you're back. Thinking what I'm thinking?"
"You two are such bad influences on me," groaned Tristan. "I'm turning into a sex addict."
"Oh, Tristan," sighed Lucien sympathetically. "What did you expect after having a taste of me?"