𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓
﹙ 𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐, 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏﹚
࿐ ࿔ ✧˖*°
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Klaus was a complex man, but at the end of the day, he was still a man. Though he would describe himself as more emotionally in touch with himself than he was before due to his supportive and beautiful fiancée, he wouldn't actually say he enjoyed talking about feelings. It was something that he knew was healthy, and it made Rory happy to hear that he was voicing out his concerns.
But after a few days, one would get tired of voicing out their concerns.
"How are you feeling today?" Rory inquired as she stuck her head through the doorway of Klaus' study. He exhaled through his nose, setting his glass of alcohol on the table that sat beside him. He turned to face her, cocking his head as he regarded the girl.
"Come inside," Klaus gestured with his finger, pushing away from the desk that stood in front of him. Rory did as told, closing the door behind her. She stepped into the study, pouring herself a glass of alcohol. Klaus simply watched, content with simply observing the casual way in which Rory moved about his personal space. "Love," he called, making Rory turn to face him. "Let's talk."
Rory made her way towards him, placing her glass down after taking a sip of bourbon. Her lower back leans against the desk as she stood directly in front of him, arms crossed over her chest.
"I asked how you were feeling." she murmured softly, reaching forward to brush aside a curl that fell over his forehead.
"I feel...like I'd like you to stop asking me how I feel," Klaus simply responded. Rory's eyebrows rose in slight discontent. He leaned forward, his arms barricading either side of her thighs. "Because I'll still feel the same from the last time you asked me how I felt."
"I'm just worried," Rory cupped Klaus' chin in her hand, gently trailing her thumb over his bottom lip. "You've been so quiet these days. And I know how you are with your stupid paranoia. Freya's been working overtime."
"I know that you're worried, darling. It's part of your vocabulary at this point, but there's nothing to worry about on my end," Klaus gently kisses her thumb. "I'm simply quiet because I've been thinking."
"Thinking about?"
About how my enemies are going to increase tenfold and come after you. "About our trip to Spain," Klaus lied, simply because it was easier. Rory seems to relax at the mention of the upcoming trip, a small smile growing upon her lips. Klaus tugs her by the hips to straddle his lap on the chair, leaning back to examine her. "What would you like to do while we're there?"
Rory shrugs. "Nothing in particular. I do want to go to the beach, though. Maybe tan," Rory wraps her arms around Klaus' neck, situating herself in a more comfortable position on his lap. "We need to get lots of souvenirs, though. And you need to show me everything that's great about it. I bet you've been everywhere."
"I'm fairly certain I've helped build some places." Klaus responds with amusement, a smirk curling on his mouth.
"Are you trying to impress me?" Rory wiggles her eyebrows.
"Is it working?"
Rory shrugs, making a small noise in the back of her throat. Klaus gave her a slightly offended glance, tugging her closer against him. "I'm kidding," she says, holding the side of his face in his hand. "You don't need to try much to impress me."
Klaus cups the back of her neck, tugging her in to press his lips against hers. Rory's hand curls into his hair, tugging on the strands gently as she deepens the kiss. Klaus' palms drift to her sides, pushing her shirt upwards to reveal her bare stomach. The rings on his fingers were cold against her skin, sending a shiver up Rory's spine.
Her hands slip down his neck, a finger curling around the chain of the dog tag around his neck. She tugs on the necklace to pull him closer, a soft growl leaving Klaus' lips as he pushes Rory back against the desk. He wraps her legs around his waist, standing up to lay her over the desk of his study.
Rory let out a small noise of disgruntlement upon feeling something stab her in the lower back, pulling away from the kiss to discard a stapler that was shoved against her flesh. She tossed it aside, turning to face Klaus with a small snicker. Her laugh is promptly cut off as he lowers his head into the crook of her neck, kissing at her skin gently.
He scrapes the tip of his teeth against her throat, making Rory's back arch against his chest. His fingers curl into her sides tightly, almost bruising under the pads of his fingers. Rory's eyes flutter shut as he sucks a hickey into her skin, a soft moan leaving her lips as he pushes her back flat against the desk.
His fingers grip at the edge of her shirt, prepared to pull it off, when the doors to the study suddenly swing open. Rory shrieked in surprise, shoving Klaus off her almost immediately. The hybrid staggered back in slight surprise, his wide eyes meeting the disturbed ones of Freya Mikaelson.
Rory immediately clambered off the desk, shoving her shirt downwards to cover her stomach. She slaps a hand over the hickey healing on the side of her neck, running a hand through her hair to tame the wayward strands.
"Freya," Klaus growled in an irritated fashion.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know," Freya looks anywhere but in the couples' direction. Rory exhales softly, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "Klaus, I finally figured the spell out. You know, the one that you asked me to do to track down your multitude of enemies?"
Klaus cleared his throat, still clearly flustered from the act that Freya had walked in on. "Right."
"You know what I need," Freya stated.
"Yes," Klaus replied unintelligibly.
"Go ahead, then." Freya raised an eyebrow, noticing her brother still standing in a slightly dazed manner.
Klaus nods quickly, making his way towards the other side of the study. Rory rubs at her nose awkwardly, sitting on the chair that Klaus was previously in. She grabbed her glass of alcohol, downing an entire mouthful. Elijah soon joined the party, looking clueless on what just transpired earlier.
"Here," Klaus places a box between Freya and Elijah. Rory stands up, making her way towards the three of them. She stands behind Klaus, observing what it was over his shoulder. It was a box of what looked to be letters.
"You...collect trophies from all your victims?" Freya questioned in slight incredulity.
"This somehow doesn't surprise me one bit." Rory mutters as she picks one of the letters out, looking back and forth between the address and the names written on the parchment.
"Letters to their loved ones, to be specific." Elijah added.
"It was a phase." Klaus replied absentmindedly as he wrapped an arm around Rory's waist, tucking his chin against her shoulder.
"A phase in which we were forced to learn a different kind of stealth. You see, over time, Niklaus' enemies grew so numerous, we had no choice but to artfully withdraw from the world," Elijah explained. Klaus simply noses his head into the crook of Rory's neck. "And then...well, I wouldn't exactly describe our presence in this city as discrete."
Elijah, noticing that his younger brother was not paying attention to the situation at hand, stared at the couple with dead eyes. Rory giggled softly as Klaus kissed the side of her throat, whispering something under his breath.
"Wouldn't you agree, Niklaus?" Elijah questioned purposefully loud.
Klaus refrained a roll of his eyes as he pulled away from Rory's neck. "We all saw the white oak destroyed! Plus, this city is crawling with vampires, all of whom who had no choice but to shield me from potential foes! Were I to die, they were to die too. I couldn't have been more safe—and now my sire link is undone. Those very foes will come for me...like never before."
"It's only been a few days since the link was broken. Must you jump into crippling paranoia already?" Freya sighed, exasperated.
"It's a default setting," Elijah responded with a roll of his eyes.
"And for good reason!" Klaus exclaimed.
Without warning, the doors of the study swung open magically. The group of vampires turn to face the intruder, only to see that it was Kai Parker himself. He dropped his luggage onto the ground, grinning widely.
"Honey, I'm home!" he greeted, throwing his hands up.
Klaus sighed. "Oh, wonderful."
"Before we continue to discuss this meeting on how Kieran's enemies are going to come and kill him—which we all know he has a lot of—I would like to make an announcement," Kai states as he makes his way towards the group. He stops directly in front of Rory. "Rory, I have to admit something to you."
"Um," Rory says. "Okay."
"I'm in love with you."
A silence falls over the study. It's so thick, one could hear a pin drop. Klaus grows tense behind Rory, his arms tightening around her. Elijah and Freya each exchange a glance, turning to leave the room awkwardly.
"Excuse me?" Klaus is the first one that breaks the silence.
"I thought about this on the plane. I was like, yeah, I might be in love with Rory, but I would also like to show solidarity in her relationship. So, I'm just letting you know." Kai looked satisfied with himself, folding his hands.
Rory blinks at him, rendered completely speechless. "Uh, Kai..."
"And it's completely fine if you don't feel the same way about me, because I don't think I actually care enough—"
"Kai, you're not in love with me," Rory interjects.
"What? Yes I am. Cami told me I was," Kai frowns.
Klaus exhales deeply, pulling away from Rory to pinch the bridge of his nose. His eyes flicker to the ceiling, mentally wondering why and how he got here.
Rory lets out a small laugh, tucking a hair behind her ear. "Do you want to kiss me?"
Both Klaus and Kai blanch at her question.
"Wait a second—" Klaus starts.
"—Don't you have a boyfriend—" Kai says at the same time.
"It's not an offer, Kai. It was a question. I was asking if you felt the urge to kiss me. Like, at all," Rory states. Klaus' shoulders slump in relief, whereas Kai squints in her direction.
After a moment, he says, "...No."
"Okay. You don't want to kiss me. Do you see any sort of future with me? At all?"
"Like...?" Kai questions.
"...Like, starting a family with me. Waking up next to me every morning. Making breakfast with me," Rory shrugs.
"I don't understand why these questions are relevant," Klaus protests.
"I think I'd be really annoyed looking at your face every morning," Kai replies. Rory looks satisfied with his answer. "And you're already a nightmare. I seriously can't imagine starting a family with you. I mean thank god we're both vampires, because—"
"—Okay, I think I get it," Rory intervenes, actually offended now. She sighs, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I've never ever felt that sort of vibe from you, Kai. And I don't even mean this as a thing to put you in the friendzone. I mean in the sense that I always have a gut feeling when someone has feelings for me. And I've never gotten that feeling from you."
"But Cami said—"
"—There are plenty types of love, Kai. Not just the romantic ones," Rory states.
"But...I wasn't happy for you when you said you were getting engaged." Kai frowns.
"Why the bloody hell not?" Klaus snaps.
"Nik," Rory gives him a warning glance. Klaus huffs, turning to look out the window with a muttered curse under his breath. "Kai...I think you do love me."
"Yeah. We've been through it. I'm in love with you, you don't return my feelings, and I'm completely okay with that."
"No—I—" Rory stammers. She breathes in deeply. "You're not in love with me, Kai. You just love me. Like a friend. Or maybe...or maybe like family."
"Well, Cami said I was jealous. Why would I be jealous of your engagement if I'm not in love with you?"
"You're scared you're going to be left behind," Klaus doesn't even turn to give Kai a glance. Both Rory and Kai turn to face him. "You're scared that when Rory and I get married, she's going to forget you and you're going to lose a friend."
"I..." Kai trails off.
"Rory was your first real friend," Klaus finally turns to face the heretic, leaning against the windowsill. "She's the only one that's ever treated you like a proper person. She's the only one that's ever regarded you with respect and has put her trust in you. She saved you from Damon, she brought you to New Orleans and she gave you something that you never had: family," Klaus lists off. "I know that feeling well."
Kai shifts his gaze between both Rory and Klaus. The brunette gives him a soft, reassuring smile. "I guess...I guess that does make sense." Kai relents.
"If you were in love with someone, Kai, you wouldn't need anyone to tell you," Rory says gently. "And when I rejected you, you were supposed to feel hurt. Do you feel hurt that I don't return your feelings?"
"No," Kai confesses. "Just...kinda glad that you don't. So that I don't have to get into a relationship with you, 'cause it seems really hard."
Rory snorts in response. "You're not in love with me, but you do love me. You weren't jealous, you were scared," Rory takes a step forward, squeezing his shoulder. "And you don't have to be, okay? Because I'm never leaving you. Ever. You're stuck with me."
"Oh. Kind of regretting this now," Kai responds.
"Too late. No takebacks. You were scared of losing me and now I'm never letting you out of my sight again," Rory throws her arms around Kai, tugging him in for a tight hug. She squeezes his shoulders, rubbing his back comfortingly. "I love you, Kai."
Kai pats Rory's back in a slightly awkward fashion. "Uh, you too. I guess."
Rory pulls away from the hug, pinching his cheeks. "You're so cute."
Kai smacks her hand away, rubbing his cheeks with a scowl on his face. After a moment of silence, Kai opens his mouth to speak again. "How did you know, then?" he inquired as he looks between Klaus and Rory. "How did you know that you were in love with Kennedy?"
Klaus sighs irritably at the wrong name leaving Kai's lips.
Rory just smiles. "I don't know," she shrugs. "I just did."
｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ
Whilst Klaus, Elijah and Freya discuss their next plan of action for the time being, Kai and Rory are left alone to discuss Kai's trip. He sits beside her on the floor, leaning against the couch as he swipes through his phone to reveal more and more pictures of him. Some were selfies, some were photos presumably taken by other people.
He stops at a blurry photo in particular. "This was when someone tried to steal my phone after I asked him to take my picture," Kai explains. "Shitty move, right?"
"And what did you do?" Rory asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I ate him."
Rory sighs in response. The clicking of heels against the floor catches both Kai and Rory's attention, and the duo looks up to see none other than Davina Claire enter the courtyard.
"Uh, intruder alert," Kai calls, pointing in Davina's direction.
"Davina?" Rory questions with a frown.
Klaus' study doors fling open, the hybrid himself standing at the top of the staircase. He immediately rushes towards Davina, pinning her against the wall. "Rather foolish of you to come alone." he sneers.
Rory stands, intending to pull him off Davina, but a blurry figure rushes past her and throws Klaus off the teenage witch. To Rory's shock, it's Kol Mikaelson.
"She didn't come alone, brother." Kol smirks, cocking his head.
"Brother?" Kai asks, still sitting on the floor. "How many siblings does Kennedy have? Were there no condoms back in the Old World? Birth control?"
"Who is that?" Kol inquires in distaste, sniffing in Kai's direction.
"None of your concern," Klaus hisses.
Kol rolls his eyes, seeing the anger in his brother's gaze. "Now, Nik. I mean, you did go after my girl."
"It can't be," Klaus says incredulously.
"Oh my god," Rory takes a step forward, unable to help herself. She reaches out to touch Kol, her hand wrapping around his upper arm. He looks down at her, his gaze softening just the slightest bit as she runs a hand up his shoulders. "Oh my god. You're real," she says softly. "Davina really brought you back."
"Hi, Rory." Kol's voice is surprisingly affectionate and soft. Even Klaus lowers his guard, his shoulders slowly slumping at the gentleness in his brother's gaze.
Rory throws her arms around Kol's neck, tugging him into a tight hug. Kol rests his hand over the back of Rory's head, pulling her closer against him as they embrace tightly. "Oh my god, I'm so happy to see you," Rory mutters against Kol's shoulder. "I'm so happy you're here. I can't believe she pulled it off. I can't believe you regenerated from a pile of fucking ashes, holy shit!"
Kol laughs, tucking his chin over the crown of Rory's head. "Well believe it, darling."
Rory pulls away from the hug, wiping a tear that absentmindedly fell from her cheek. Klaus replaces her, tugging his younger brother into an embrace. Kol seemed surprise at the physical affection, but he returns the hug nonetheless with a wide smile. Elijah clears his throat from behind them, and Rory turns to see him and Freya standing awkwardly.
"Hello, Elijah." Kol greets as he pulls away from Klaus' hug.
"You haven't aged a day." Elijah jokes.
Kol turns to face Freya. "And you...?"
"Freya," she states.
"Right. Long-lost older sister. Speaking of twists and turns in our family tree, where might Rebekah be?"
"That's a long story, and one reserved for family. Davina can see herself out." Klaus states.
Kol sighs in an exasperated manner. "Are you—"
"—As per usual, our family faces a multitude of threats. The sooner you become acquainted with them, the better. I won't have you distracted."
"That stranger gets to stay, and Davina doesn't?" Kol gestures in Kai's direction, whose playing a game on his phone.
Klaus lets out an annoyed sigh. To Rory's surprise, Klaus actually jumps to Kai's defence. "Kai has been very helpful in assisting our family," he states, making Kai and Rory look up at him in shock. "He is also the leader of the Gemini coven. It's imperative that he stays on our side and he knows what is happening so that he can assist whilst Freya is out of commission."
"You've got to be kidding—" Kol starts.
"Kol, it's okay," Davina interjects. "I'll go."
"Bye!" Kai calls out unhelpfully as Davina turns to leave. Kol gives him a glare sharp enough to wither a pot of flowers, but it's like he doesn't notice. "Nice to meet you!" Kai turns to face Rory. "What's her name? Davina?" he asks, before realisation sets in. "Hey, isn't she the one that—"
"—Just shh," Rory hushes him, seeing the disgruntlement on Kol's face grow further and further. "Let's not agitate him even more, okay?"
Kai sniffs, turning back to the Call of Duty gameplay on his phone. "Just a question," he mutters, turning on his heel to walk up the stairs back to the study.
｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ
Klaus was right to be paranoid.
Kol had assisted Kai in crushing up the letters and burning them, creating a spell that would point out every single one of Klaus' enemies that would come forth to harm their family. A single dot of blood turns to multiple strings, spreading out all over the map. Countless—possibly in the thousands—could be coming after them at this current moment.
"So, this may only be a fraction of our potential enemies," Elijah announces as Rory stands beside her fiancé, chewing on her thumb in a nervous manner.
Kol chuckles. "In hindsight, we could've been nicer to people. Or at least left fewer survivors."
"We don't know all their motivations. Half of these people could want to put a bullet in your heart! End the sire war with a pull of a trigger," Klaus gestures in Elijah's direction.
"Doubt it," Kai singsongs.
"I have an army devoted to keeping me alive. The only people that care to protect you are standing in this very room," Elijah states. "As you well know, Niklaus, there is another way."
Freya stares at her brother for a moment, before realisation sets in. "You're going to run?"
Klaus chuckles softly. "There was a time when the name Klaus Mikaelson was little more than a rumour—a shadowy figure who cast fear into the very bones of any who heard whisper of him," Klaus responds. "I don't run, sister. I disappear."
A/N: a lot of you guys were really panicked
about kairy, so i decided to type this chapter up
to ensure that everything's fine. kai is definitely
the type to get confused between types of love
considering he's new to emotions in general,
so i think it's really interesting to discover the
road to realisation that he loves rory as a sister
and his own family more than anything.
honestly, i also wanted to let kai and klaus bond.
they barely spoke in the previous chapters, i realise,
besides kai making fun of him. and since i found that
kai and klaus' characters were actually quite alike,
i think their relationship with rory could be
quite similar. of course, the differing being that
klaus is her romantic love and kai, a completely
platonic one.
i hope you guys enjoyed this double update!
comment and vote for more. love ya! ♡︎