┎┈┈┈┈┈┈┈<[°°°]>┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┒
Chapter Twenty-Six
┖┈┈┈┈┈┈┈<[°°°]>┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┚
"Mates Found and Off to NOLA"
Stefan perked up as he heard the familiar sound of Lorrie’s car (gifted to her by Rebekah, of all the Mikaelson’s) making its way up the driveway of the Boarding House. He swiftly dropped the book he was reading on his bed and pounced at his window to get a good look outside to make sure he was right. And he, of course, was.
He bounded down the stairs at a peak human pace before, somehow, losing his balance and slipping on the polished wood as he made a too sharp turn to get to the door.
After almost ripping the door off its hinges, he was finally face-to-face with his mother.
“Mom!” Stefan engulfed the woman in a bear hug, nearly lifting her off the ground. “I was so worried! Why didn't you come by sooner?”
A warm hand brushed down his back in a soothing rhythm as the woman in his arms hummed. “I've been so caught up in packing that I've only just now found the time… oh! And I've gotten myself a cute little student!”
Just as Stefan was about to ask about this “cute little student”, a breeze drifted through the trees and through the doors archway, sending the most divine scent the vampire had ever had the pleasure of smelling. It was even better than the smell of fresh, human blood flowing freely from some asshole's neck. Not even O- blood could beat this. He opened his eyes and raised his head only to be met with the most beautiful man, no… being in existence. Never had he seen someone who could possibly rival the beauty of any divine entity in existence. Such beauty should be worshiped by all, but seen by none. Not even Stefan was worthy of gazing upon his seraphic mortal flesh.
“Whoa…” the beauty uttered, raising a hand to his chest with a pinched look on his face. Still gorgeous, Stefan thought. “Am I having a stroke or something?”
Lorrie turned her head to the man, concern written across her features. “Kai? What happened? Do I need to whip out my most powerful healing spell? I refuse to do any less for you.”
Kai. Enchanting.
“Uh… I don't know…” Kai rubbed his chest in clear discomfort. “I looked at him and now there's, like, a… feeling.”
“A feeling?” Lorrie raised a brow at the vague description.
“You don't get it! I don't just feel things,” Kai exclaimed before gesturing to his full body. “Sociopath, duh.”
Lorrie frowned, pulling slightly away from her unresponsive son. “Huh… that is concerning. Stefan, do you know wh-”
“He's my mate,” Stefan languidly stated, his arms falling limply to his sides, a dreamy smile appearing on his face as Kai's eyes found his. “Hi.”
Kai couldn't help but return Stefan's look with a grin of his own. “‘Sup.”
The sound of Lorrie gasping only slightly brought their attention off of each other. “I'm so happy for you two! See, Stefan! I told you we'd find your mate! I. Told. You.”
The woman accentuated each of the final words with nudges to her son's side.
“Yeah, yeah,” Stefan waved her off, far too entranced in the cerulean depths in front of him.
“Sweet,” Kai stepped forward, an unfairly obscene smirk carving its way onto his tanned flesh as he leaned into Stefan's space, surprising the vampire. “By the way, you're, like, super hot. So this is absolutely a score for me. We're gonna be the hottest couple at every picnic we go to.”
“Okay…” Stefan breathily uttered as Kai's hands settled on his shoulders, the other man's warmth soaking deliciously through the thin t-shirt that clung (just as deliciously, in Kai's opinion) to Stefan like a second layer of skin. He was tempted to simply rip his sleeves off just so their skin could fully meet, but he resisted in favor of not scaring his mom.
“Does this mean you're coming with us to-” Lorrie began, but was cut off by Stefan's immediate reply.
“Yes, I’d go anywhere with you,” even though Kai wasn't the one to ask the question, Stefan directed his answer to his mate.
“At least I get to take one of my kids to New Orleans,” Lorrie mumbled to herself, realizing she wasn't going to be getting any sort of conversation with the two other than a one way podcast.
“I'll just…” and with that, Lorrie skipped away to her car and whipped out her DS to play Pokémon while she waited for the two to come back to reality.
-<•°•°•°•>-
The view Lorrie got from within the passenger seat of Klaus' car as they drove down the streets of New Orleans was absolutely breathtaking. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen, which was saying something as she'd seen a shit ton of pretty things in her time. This place was just a completely different breed of beauty, from the architectural layouts of the many houses to the blended mess of incredible people.
"This is just… wow," Lorrie breathed out, her eyes wide as she couldn't seem to tear her gaze away from the streets. She had her head stuck out the window, much to the amusement of Klaus and Finn (who were the only ones in this car, as Kol and Elijah lost a game of Rock Paper Scissors. Those two were now stuck with Stefan and Kai… and as they were newly found mates… let's just say it was definitely undesirable to be stuck in a confined space with them for an extended period of time).
If Lorrie hadn't been halfway out the window, she probably would have missed the guy on the sidewalk sending a terrified look at the driver's side of the car before vamp speeding away, his trail cold in the vibrant crowd.
She leaned back into the car. “We're gonna have visitors before we can settle in.”
Klaus glanced at her, his brows furrowed. “Why's that, love?”
“Some shifty as shit guy saw you and fled in terror. He clearly didn't have the backbone to be the boss, so my guess is that he's spreading the news ‘til it gets to them,” Lorrie leisurely leaned back in her seat, her back absorbing the heat from the seats happily. “Ah, I love heated seats. Best invention, hands down.”
Because Klaus had already begun plotting for this unforeseen disruption, Finn responded instead. “I completely agree. This is positively marvelous, my love.”
Lorrie turned her body and leaned on the center console to give Finn her full attention. “I know, right! Hands down, best thing since Heelys.”
Finn tilted his head, his confusion palpable. “What are these ‘Heel-ezz’?”
The look he got was mildly frightening.
-<•°•°•°•>-
Unpacking was a breeze, even though they had boxes piled higher than the actual temporary house they were at, it still wasn't as bad as it could have been.
They were on the final pile when an interference finally came through. Though, it was one that none of them were expecting.
“Why, exactly, did you need all of this hair product?” Kai raised a brow at his mate as the other man bashfully rubbed the back of his neck.
“I just… I like to be prepared?” Stefan attempted to reason, but he himself had no clue either why he hoarded such a vast variety of hair care supplies.
“Mmm, yeah…” Kai drawled with a smirk. “You're not fooling anyone with that one, sweetheart.”
Stefan wanted to be offended, but he just couldn't when Kai looked at him like that. God, this boy was gorgeous.
“Wh-”
A resounding bang echoed throughout the room that only the two of them were currently in. Their attention locked onto the disturbance immediately, only for their jaws to drop simultaneously.
This was due to the riveting sight before them.
-<•°•°•°•>-
Oh, Sweet Night Mother… what had he gotten himself into this time?
Cicero had thought this was going to be a simple assassination. An in and out job. But noooo. There just had to be a pesky little weasel awaiting him in the absolute codswallop, milk drinking, cabbage headed, good for nothing coward just had to have the entire guard outside his Sithis forsaken chambers. Now, the entire guard might be a bit of a stretch, but it practically was! Cicero swears it!
Now, here he was, running (far faster than those pesky guards, thank you very much) through the servants' tunnels scattered within the walls of the top big house. It was practically a mansion! But, Cicero digressed.
Swipe!
Ooo, that one was close. Thank the Night Mother, Cicero had recently gotten his hair cut (it was far shorter than he would have wanted, but it must have been the Night Mother's will as it saved him in this moment) so short that the guard on his tail missed him by… well the hair's breadth. Ah, even in times like these, Cicero was still so very funny. It was absolutely part of his charm.
Anywho, he finally made it to the tunnel to the underground that he had originally entered from. He truly hoped he didn't forget the way he came, or else-
Fuck.
Aaaaaand, there's a dead end. And, oh lovely! It's a large cavern that seemed to be bottomless! Incredible!
“Stop right there, assassin!” the group of guards had fully caught up to him, leaving him standing right at the edge at sword point. “You will surrender or you will die.”
No! Cicero refused to die here! He had so very much to do! Like cleaning the Night Mother! And douse the royal castle in his special dung concoction! Or, more importantly, cleaning the Sithis forsaken Night Mother! He simply had to emphasize that one again.
“Surrender!”
Oh, right. Cicero had forgotten about those insignificant whelps.
Gasp! He thought of a plan! It may not work, but it was a plan nonetheless.
He spun around on his heels, causing the already twitchy guards to flinch at his sudden movement. Cicero then extended his arms out to their furthest, his widest smile yet carved deep into his cheeks. “Ah, it seems you've caught little, old Cicero! He refuses to die or submit to the likes of you! Cicero has yet to be caught and it shall stay that way!”
“You are cornered, you S’wit,” one of the more confident of the bunch spoke up, her condescending smirk being her only visible feature.
And boy did that make Cicero mad.
His already sinister grin morphed into a snarl. “I will not be beaten by you… by any of you.”
And with that, Cicero waved one of his hands (hopefully) opening a familiar violet portal (and not just the magic mirror thingy. Please let it be a portal!).
He let out quite the manic cackle, if he does say so himself, before bowing flashily. He lifted his head, his unsettling smile still firmly in place. “And with that, Cicero bids you cunts, adieu.”
And with that, Cicero forced all of his body weight backwards and simply fell.
And fell…
And fell…
He almost felt… weightless.
That was, at least, until he was repositioned into a standing position on very solid, and not airy, ground.
He stumbled just the slightest bit before fully regaining his sense of self. He blinked away the dark spots from his vision and was confused as to why he was in a brightly lit room with… just what were those boxes made of?
A crash behind him had him drawing his twin daggers and facing the guards behind him. There were far fewer than before and the ones that remained looked greatful. Ah, they must have lost a few that didn't quite make it in with them. Hehehe, that's just what they deserved for being foolish enough to corner Cicero!
“You cannot escape justice, assassin!” the very same overconfident warrior from before sounded far less steely in her resolve.
“Oh, Cicero thinks you'll find that he can!”
{Warning: a lil bit of gore ahead! Scroll until you see the mark below if you'd like to skip it}
*********
And with that, Cicero lunged at the four pursuers. He slashed at the one closest to him and got the man right where his helmet and chest plate separated, sending a beautiful crimson river flowing down his opponents front. With his momentum, Cicero pushed himself up on the pad of the top of his right foot with his left elevated and spun in a way that only a true performer could, sending his second blade flying into the open mouth of another of the group. He dropped from his pirouette and pushed himself off of the floor into a high jump in order to latch onto the front of his next victim and avoid the swing of the confident one.
He wrapped his arms around the armored man's neck, relishing in the pure fear he saw. He exaggeratedly pouted, tilting his head teasingly. “What's wrong? Has Cicero done something to frighten the poor soldier?”
Not even giving the man a chance to respond, he slid his finely sharpened dagger into the guards neck before pulling his arm and, subsequently, his dagger back from around the other man's neck. The blade slipped through the supple flesh before him until it made its way back to it's starting point. And the blood, oh, the blood. It flowed so prettily.
Cicero unlatched himself and dropped to the ground as the final warrior's blade sliced through the air and cleaved the rest of her brother-in-arms head clean off, sending the freed appendage tumbling down into Cicero’s awaiting arms and the helmet to the ground next to them. The body fell a second later, the blood vessels in the stump where his head once was still spewing blood all over Cicero (much to his delight).
Cicero set his dagger on the ground and cradled the head in his arms like a mother would to her newborn child. He smiled gently at it before glancing up at the shell shocked woman. “It's a boy!”
His taunt snapped the woman back into action. She screamed in rage and swung her sword down at him in a powerful arc over her head.
However, just as Cicero was about to cast a spell to stop her, the a blur appeared from his right and snapped her neck from behind, pulling the woman towards them in order to redirect the momentum of her swing. The blade narrowly missed Cicero and rattled out a metallic clang against the ground between his legs.
Cicero simply couldn't help himself. He could feel it bubbling out of his throat, absolutely nothing could stop it. He gently set the head down next to the sword and stood with all the grace of the performer he was.
*********
It began small, only miniscule sounds escaping his lips before he lost all composure and burst out into hysterical laughter. He bent over and clutched his stomach with one hand while the other came into contact with his cheek, smudging more blood across his face.
When he'd finally gotten his laughter out, Cicero wiped a tear that threatened to fall (adding a line of blood beneath his eye) before straightening his posture looking up in order to greet his (albet, unneeded, but still appreciated) savior.
Cicero’s eyes sparkled as they met a most alluringly gorgeous forest green. Oh Sithis, this one was absolutely breathtaking! “Does Cicero's wondrous hero have a name so he may thank him?”
The man flushed at being addressed directly before thrusting his hand out. “I'm, um, I'm Stefan. Stefan Salvatore.”
Oh, how interesting! This was the Listener's newly adopted child! Cicero must have sent himself to the Listeners dimension! He had only thought of going back to the Dawnstar Sanctuary, but it seems his magic had other plans for him. How exciting!
Cicero scooped up the offered appendage and pressed his blood coated lips to the soft and supple flesh before him.
Oh?
Oh.
Well, this was certainly something. The Listener's son seemed to be his soulmate… how delightful!
Cicero couldn't help the full body wiggle he did in his excitement. “Stefan is Cicero's! Stefan is Cicero's!”
Cicero released Stefan's hand before jumping and wrapping himself around his soulmate. He clung tightly, making sure to keep himself as close as possible. According to the Listener, finding one's soulmate(s) was quite the blessing and Cicero refused to squander such a thing offered to him from Sithis and the Night Mother themselves!
“Um… I think I'm having another stroke…” another man voiced from a few feet away.
Cicero repositioned his head so he could see the other person in the room, his sideways view not being very helpful as he pressed his cheek against Stefan's shoulder. The second Cicero met the others' eyes, he could feel the intertwining of their familiar magicks. He picked his head up with a gasp. This was his Listener’s new protegé! He was also Cicero's!
The jester extended his arm and sent a raw wave of his magic towards his unnamed soulmate before pulling the other man over.
“Woah!” the gangly man exclaimed as he slid across the floor and gently collided with the other two in the room. He felt a hand grab his chin and pull his face downward until his nose touched another.
“Cicero would like to know your name, as well.”
“Uh, I'm Kai…” Kai was breathless due to this sudden proximity to another mate. “You're…”
“Kai is Cicero's as well! Cicero was bestowed not just one, but two blessings from the Night Mother!” the redhead gleefully declared, pressing his forehead flush against Kai's. “Kai and Stefan are Cicero's! No takesy backsies!”
As Kai somewhat regained a semblance of his mind from the fog caused by his maelstrom of a mate, he managed a conniving leer. “Not when we're definitely gonna be the hottest couple at the picnic. You're a total smokeshow, Red. I especially like the blood, it's a nice touch.”
“Kai truly thinks so?” Cicero’s elation was nearly physical with how present it was. “That makes Cicero so very happy! He would hate for his soulmates to be twiddling little weaklings!”
Cicero moved himself in a show of his core control as he separated slightly from Stefan whilst still holding onto the man. “What does Stefan think of Cicero's appearance and bloodshed?”
Even coating in still wet blood, Cicero managed to look incredibly endearing.
“You're absolutely exquisite, Amore mio,” Stefan smiled sweetly down at the man in his arms. “I also don't mind the bloodshed, but I do have a bit of a problem around blold, so would it be alright if there wasn't so much bloodshed in front of me until I fully sort that out?”
“Oh, of course! Cicero would be content to wait for Stefan to assimilate his insatiable craving for human blood!”
Stefan's brows furrowed in confusion. How did the jester know about his ripper problem? “How do you…”
“The Listener told Cicero about her son! She didn't tell him everything, of course, but Cicero was told enough,” his smile was practically blinding with how bright it was. “Cicero will still love Stefan, no matter what!”
Stefan's eyes widened at this assurance. “You… love me? But… we only just met-”
Cicero covered Stefan's mouth with his hand. “Stefan is destined to be Cicero's forever. He- I will never even let the thought cross my mind about leaving you, my dear.”
Cicero turned his attention to Kai. “Nor will I ever think of not loving you, my love. For I will strike myself down before I ever harm you in such a way, as to not love you, either of you, would be an affront to Sithis and the Night Mother. Blasphemy.”
The two were stunned. They both had a feeling that Cicero found comfort in speaking in third person, so the fact that he broke that for a moment in order to ease their minds with such a insignificant amount of doubt that they displayed truly warmed them.
Kai was especially warmed as no one had ever told him that they loved him. No one had ever loved him. God, feelings were so hard.
“What is all that rack- CICERO!”
The redhead perked up like a dog reacting to their owners arriving home from work. “LISTENER!”
Cicero untangled himself from around Stefan, making the vampire slump slightly before being pulled closer by Kai. The redhead bounded across the room and pounced onto the Listener, much like he had done to Stefan, except he kept his feet on the ground as the two were much closer in height. “Cicero is so happy to see the Listener again! He was doing a job, but had been chased away by an army! Cicero fought valiantly, much like the Listener, and for as long as he could, until he was cornered! Cicero then opened a dimension portal and ended up here. Some cretins followed him, but Cicero took care of the rodents. They will not bother the Listener! Nuh uh, not on Cicero's watch!”
Lorrie, far used to Cicero's personality, was able to keep up with ease. She knew he had a habit of over exaggerating the truth, but she never questioned his stories. If only to make him feel proud of himself.
“Incredible, like always, Cicero.”
If you looked closely and squinted reaaaaal hard, you'd manage to see the invisible tail wagging on the exuberant jester. He was so excitable and loved being praised by those he looked up to.
“Oh! Cicero also was blessed to have two soulmates! Sithis and the Night Mother are truly smiling upon him to give Cicero such perfect matches to keep for himself!” Cicero pointed back at Stefan and Kai. “The Listener's son and protegé are now eternally bound to Cicero forever and ever and ever!”
Lorrie gasped. Her eyes brightened as her gaze danced between the three. “I'm so happy for you all. This is incredible!”
“What is incredible, Elsk-” Elijah interrupted himself as an animalistic growl erupted from the depths of his chest. A veridian feeling curling around his heart and churned in his gut as he saw an unfamiliar man who was coated in blood touching his mate. In a split second, he was off and colliding with the redheaded man, the two of them rolling across the floor. Elijah ignored the yells around him as he launched himself at the jester again only for an unseen force to stop him in his tracks and throw him across the room. He was back on his feet swiftly and was about to go for the man again, but was stopped by Lorrie placing her hands on his chest, grounding him once again.
“Elijah! He's my friend! What in the sweet hells were you thinking?” Lorrie questioned incredulously, a wild look in her eyes.
“I… I wasn-”
“Yeah, I could tell you weren't,” Lorrie drawled, her eyes narrowing. “You can't just attack someone when they're hugging me.”
“I didn't do anything wro-”
“But you did. And now, you're in time out, Suits,” Lorrie moved away, actively ignoring the way Elijah leaned towards her at her retreat. “Until you can see the error of your ways, you're staying there. And you call Nik and Kol children, honestly.”
Elijah visibly wilted into himself. “I apologize, Elskan.”
“I'm not the one you should be apologizing to,” she gestured to the jester currently being doted on by Stefan and Kai. Why were they… oh. Oh no. He messed up.
He approached the trio as slowly as he could as to not rile them up more than he probably already had. Stefan was the first to spot him, a sneer immediately forming on his face.
“Not a step closer, Mikaelson,” Kai, who had his back to Elijah still, warned, his voice devoid of any feeling other than a cold, unbidden rage. “Unless you want to indefinitely burn from the inside out until you're begging for mercy.”
Elijah halted his advance and lowered his head. “I… apologize for my rash actions. I believed you to be a threat to my mate and reacted in a brash and uncouth way. And for that, I am eternally sorry.”
“Eh, Cicero doesn't blame Mr. Suit,” this gained Elijah’s attention. “Cicero would have done the same if saw someone even reaching for his destined ones. Cicero would not have stopped until he ruined their mortal flesh irreversibly before he set them free of this plane of life.”
This jester was officially the most terrifying being Elijah had ever been confronted with. He was… smiling such a sunny and innocent smile while he claimed he would do such vicious acts.
“Still,” Elijah cleared his throat as he regained his composure. He hadn't been taken this off guard in a long time. “I would like to apologize. To you and your mates. I should not have acted first. That was far too much like Niklaus and Kol for my liking.”
Stefan and Kai shared a look before the vampire between the two spoke up. “We don't fully forgive you, but we appreciate your apology.”
“What Stefano here means is, if you try some shit like this again, we will fuck your shit up,” Kai smiled sarcasticly, his eyes eerily blank. “M’kay.”
“Understood.”
“Good.”
_______
Ayo! This one goes out to the one person who subbed to my yt :D
N e ways, it's deffo been a while, but I had a burst of creativity and made this!
Idk when I'll end up writing more, but I couldn't just ignore the creativity while I had it, now could I
Also sub to my yt: Soozlethay
I think the singular sub fueled me and I wanna test that theory :D
How have you all been, btw?