Summary: "Come on mate, do you really think your sister being human is really more important than the end of all times?" / Or, in which Jeremy agrees to Kol's request to stop looking for the cure. AU from 4x11 /
Author's Note: If Jeremy had just taken a step back from this 'save Elena' matyr that everyone seems hellbent on fixing, accepted that Elena was a vampire and moved on from this, Kol and Jeremy's deaths would have been avoided. I'll probably write another story/oneshot where Elena doesn't come up with her idiotic plan and/or where they fail in killing Kol, coming to a truce instead and again, avoiding two unnecessary deaths
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It wasn't the most pleasant reencounter with his old friend, and he certainly did not enjoy being threatened to have his arms ripped off. Seeing what he did to Damon back on their roadtrip, and hearing stories of the Original's rather impulsive actions, he didn't hesitate when Damon yelled at him to run. He wasn't going to stick by and wait to see what Kol would do. Even though he didn't think Kol would actually rip off his arms, what if he did? He didn't know him as well as he thought he did, so no chances were taken as he ran out of the bar, crossbow in hand. He kept his eyes forward, not looking back as he tried to get back to Damon's car. If he could get in there, if he could drive far enough, he could call for help or something. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he had to get away. He found himself almost in distance of the car. Thankful that Damon left the keys in the car just in case, he kept his pacing quick, running. Just a little farther…
He suddenly heard the gusting of wind as he suddenly felt himself veer from the car, his back slamming into one of the trees. He barely had time to process as he stared into the angry eyes of Kol Mikaelson. "And where do you think you're going, mate?" Kol sneered at him, disgust covering his voice. Jeremy panicked, afraid of what Kol would do to him. Clearly, he was pissed off enough to come after him. But where was Damon? Jeremy had no time to react as he quickly thrusted his arm forward, the stake in his cufflink catching Kol in the stomach. Startled, the vampire released him, groaning as he reached to pull the stake out but Jeremy was already racing toward the car, having no other choice. He couldn't kill Kol, nor could he outrun him so the car was his only option. He managed to get to it, slamming the door open and grabbing an extra crossbow from the back, already loaded. He managed to aim at the Original, who was already turning to him and he shot, hoping it would delay him. Climbing in the car, Jeremy fumbled for the keys as he slammed the door shut. He hastily put them in the engine but before he could even turn the keys to start the car, he felt the car door being ripped away and two hands pulling him out, throwing him onto the ground. Jeremy cried out in pain as he felt Kol on top of him, grabbing his collar roughly as he bared down on him.
"Stop struggling, Gilbert, I just want to talk. Now stop or I will rip off your arms right here and now," he growled. Jeremy stopped struggling, realizing that it was pointless to try and fight Kol right now. He knew he was basically screwed at that moment, with no way to get any help, no way of escaping safely, or at all really. So he did the only thing he could do, and that was to listen.
"Fine. But before I listen to you, why don't you tell me what you did with Damon," he demanded. He knew Kol would kill Damon in a second and he didn't particularly want a heartbroken sister on his hands, especially if he did end up having no arms by the end of this encounter. Kol just smirked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh, you know, he had to take a nap. Don't worry, he'll wake up in two-six hours from now," Kol said casually, which only had Jeremy deduce that the Original snapped Damon's neck. Not surprising, seeing as Jeremy was Kol's number one target in the first place. Damon was just collateral damage.
"Fine. What do you want?" he finally asked, forcing himself to stay calm. If Kol just wanted to talk, then that meant he was being reasonable right now, right? Or this was a distraction to get Jeremy relaxed enough to do something horrible to him. Part of him believed, though, that Kol was being sincere and just wanted to talk. They had been friends, after all. Kol seemed to sense some of these thoughts because he just gave him a mellow smile, one that didn't actually look fake or mean, one he had actually seen plenty of times in Denver, mostly at Jeremy's bad baseball skills. What could he say, though? Sports weren't his thing.
"I told you, I just want to talk. Like I said, we were mates once before. I know we can work out a peaceful agreement as long as you just listen to me," Kol told him. Jeremy just glared a little bit but for whatever reason, relaxed a bit. It didn't hurt to listen to Kol, right?
"As long as you don't try to kill me, or rip off my arms. Now, can you kindly get off of me? I'm not really in the mood for having a repeat Denver experiment," Jeremy asked. Kol nodded as he got off of the hunter, lending a hand to Jeremy, who took it, getting back on his feet. Once he did, he brushed off some of the dirt on his clothes. "Ok, explain."
"This cure is tearing a lot of people apart, dear Gilbert boy. Frankly, it is causing more problems than it's worth. My family is becoming obsessed with this cure, as are all of your friends. And for what? So your sister has a chance to become human again?" Kol asked simply. Jeremy frowned, crossing his arms as he stared at Kol in disbelief, but also curiosity. This was certainly not quite the way he expected the conversation to go.
"This cure can not only turn my sister human again, but anybody else who wants the cure. Not to mention that I will be able to finish the hunter's mark and not have to worry about trying to kill any of my friends," Jeremy told Kol slowly, keeping his voice even. Kol let out a scoff.
"You seem to have a good grip on not killing any of your friends, seeing as you're buddies with Damon Salvatore," Kol pointed out.
"I'm not friends with that dick. I just am working with him for my sister's sake," he defended himself. And it was only half true; he wasn't fond of Damon all that much and he was really focusing on his sister for this cure, but he and Damon did make a good team. He was a good trainer and Jeremy hated to admit it, but he did appreciate the small signs of approval that Damon tried not to show every time Jeremy did something right. Kol waved his hand at this.
"Again, this is all for your sister and for yourself. Now tell me, what makes you two so damn special?" Kol asked, completely startling Jeremy into silence. He stared at Kol, who seemed to see that it hit a soft spot and he smirked in delight. "Oh….oh, you never considered this, did you? Well, I am not surprised, seeing as you whole damn lot killed my brother without so much as a blink of an eye-"
"I wasn't a part of that Kol. I was with you, in Denver, when that went down," Jeremy interrupted, causing Kol's eyes to darken.
"You still don't get it, do you? Your friends killed my brother for their own reasons."
"They had no idea his whole bloodline would die along with him."
"And does that make it ok?"
"Your brother killed my aunt and tried to kill my sister for his own gain. Does that make it ok?"
"Stop," Kol snapped, his eyes darkening and his fangs protruding out as he slammed Jeremy against another tree. Jeremy winced but kept his eyes on the angry Original. "We do not have time to go back and forth on this. This is about right now, about the cure." Jeremy nodded slowly, not wanting to anger Kol any more than he already was. The Original took a deep breath, backing off as his face resumed to normal.
"So, what is the point of all this? Stop looking for the cure because of stories that you were told about Silas?" he asked. Kol gritted his teeth but didn't move to attack again. Jeremy could see the anger flaring inside of him so he stayed leaning against the tree.
"Silas had a band of followers, don't you see Jeremy?" the name rolled off the tongue like it was a natural occurrence. "They knew more about him than anyone else-"
"How do you know they were telling the truth, though? No offense, but they could just be crazed nutjobs or they could have been exaggerating," Jeremy asked, keeping his voice low to show Kol that he was just asking a question. Truth be told, Jeremy was a bit interesting and a bit terrified of the thought of Kol being right about Silas. And without Damon here snarking on Kol's every word, Jeremy could actually make a decision based on facts. Perhaps he was thinking too emotionally on this, but could he be blamed for that?
"Do you not think I know that? I did a lot of research on these worshippers before I killed them. Their extensive research, their evidence, other stories that have been passed down. Sure, there is a chance that it is not true, but that's just it. It is only a slight chance, and I am not willing to take the risk. Besides, it could turn out that you all are hunting down a cure that does not exist. What do you all know about it anyways? Not much, I would bet," Kol answered coolly. Jeremy opened his mouth to protest but promptly shut it. It was true; they only knew what Professor Shane told them and the one thing him and Damon agreed with was that the professor wasn't exactly a trustworthy person. Jeremy did feel compelled to like the guy because he helped get his urges under control, but still, there were many questions on the professor, like how he got his information and why should his information be more trustworthy than Kol's information? Taking a moment to let that sink in, he missed the opportunity to see Kol smirk in delight.
"So, let's say you're right," Jeremy finally said slowly, meeting Kol's eyes. "What would be the harm in at least finding out if it's true? Why not complete my mark, see where it leads? Destroy it?"
"Because if we do, then there will always be one person greedy enough to take the cure for themselves, and that is a risk that is greater than just destroying it. I say we leave it where it is, leave it out of our hands," Kol answered with a slight annoyed tone. Jeremy found himself mentally agreeing with yet another point that Kol was making. But he still couldn't find himself getting on board. Although he wanted to, his heart still ached for his sister to become a human. Despite the fact that he could be around her again, it couldn't be for long periods of time. It was also hard most of the time to hold back and remind himself that she was his sister, that he couldn't kill her. Going through life like this wasn't going to be easy and he wanted it to stop. Kol glanced at Jeremy curiously. "You are hesitating. You know I'm right."
"It's just that-" Jeremy started before pausing, Kol's words ("what makes you two so damn special?") echoing in his head. He shook it off. "You don't know what being a hunter is like, Kol. Having the urge to kill vampires all the time isn't easy," he admitted. It was Kol's turn to listen and soften a little bit. He could see the hard look in his eyes being chipped away a little bit, but he kept his body language firm.
"I can't imagine Jeremy, but you have been training with Damon, have you not? And it has been working until my brother decided to cause trouble," Kol said and Jeremy nodded slowly. "And there are four other hunters out there like you and I am sure if you found them, they would be able to help with your urges as well. So not all hope is lost," Kol told him and Jeremy nodded, his anger completely fading away as he found himself listening intently to Kol. "Come on mate, do you really think your sister being human is really more important than the end of all times?"
Jeremy found himself shaking his head. "Well, no but my sister is sired to Damon-" he started weakly before Kol let out a bitter laugh.
"Oh no, the dreaded sire bond. How will they ever deal? It is not life threatening, and I hear from my sister that the blonde Barbie and the brooding Ripper are the only two that really care. Besides, your friend the hybrid managed to break his sire bond from Klaus. I'm sure they can find a way to deal, like flipping the humanity switch a hundred times or whatever," Kol said dismissively and Jeremy laughed slightly. Kol's mouth curved into a small smile. The tension in the air was gone, replaced by more of an understanding as Jeremy let all of this information in. Kol wasn't wrong, which was what scared Jeremy a lot. He thought he had been doing this for all the right reasons, to get the cure for his sister, stop his urges to kill and make everyone in his life happy. But to be honest, he hadn't thought of all the other factors. He had been running away from his problems, trying to make things easier when maybe, easier was worse off. What if Silas was very powerful and dangerous? He was trapped in a tomb with the cure for a reason. Somebody didn't want him to be awakened. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"So going after this cure would be worse off for all of us?" he asked. Kol nodded, his face suddenly turning somber. Kol stepped forward, clasping a hand on Jeremy's shoulder. He winced, unable to fully feel comfortable about this.
"I'm afraid so, Jeremy," he said and he took his hand off of the boy. "So, stop hunting for this cure, get your friends to stop hunting for it and I will leave you all alone and I'll even throw in some training sessions to help with your vampire killing urges. Do we have a deal?" he asked, extending his hand out for Jeremy to shake. He stared at it for a few moments, finding it ironic that Kol was offering to help him to stop killing vampires despite being a vampire himself. Could he get his sister to stop hunting for this cure? Could they understand where Kol was coming from? He finally looked up at Kol. He had to choose either his sister or the safety of all vampires, possibly all of the world. So, he finally extended his hand to take Kol's. It felt warm to the touch, surprisingly. He felt Kol squeeze it, but in a non-threatening way. Jeremy finally knew that they came to an understanding, an agreement of sorts. He didn't think it would have happened, but it did. Maybe it was partly due to his history with Kol, or maybe he was finally thinking more rationally instead of emotionally. Either way, it was going to be difficult to explain all of this back in Mystic Falls. Kol smiled warmly and every doubt just seemed to melt away. It was nice to see that they were acting like friends again. He didn't have many friends, so he missed having Kol as a friend, well back when he thought he was just human.
"Excellent mate. I am glad we have reached an understanding," Kol said cheerfully. He took a few steps back. "Well, if you don't mind, I should be going. Sorry about the car, mate. I'm sure Damon will be able to fix it when he wakes up, although I am sorry you have to deal with a cranky vampire." With another smile and a quickly muttered, "See you around, Jer," (which Jeremy was not all that sure he heard correctly), Kol disappeared in a flash, leaving Jeremy alone in his thought.
Jeremy glanced at the car, letting out a chuckle before frowning a bit. Did he just agree to work with Kol on going against his friends? He was able to fully process this sudden meeting, everything that seemed to happen within minutes. Agreeing to work with Kol, an Original? Elena would call him an absolute idiot but none of what Kol had said could be argued against. Setting the Mikaelson name aside, Kol had been a good friend, despite the lies. And yes, he just threatened to kill him, but he was working with the guy who was dating his sister and actually killed him, so why should they be so judgemental? He knew his sister would not be pleased with his sudden switch regarding the cure, but she would have to get over it. He loved his sister, but he couldn't be selfish right now. He had to do this, consequences be damned. With that in mind, he started making his way back to the bar, knowing it could be a long wait until Damon woke up from his nap and there would be a lot of hell to pay with his partnership with Kol. But Jeremy didn't care for once. He was doing this on his own terms, not because somebody compelled him to and not because of a personal connection. Maybe he needed someone rational to open his eyes about the cure, and maybe he could do the same with everyone else. All thanks to Kol. If this talk hadn't have happened, they could all be dead in the near future and Jeremy didn't want that. He smiled a little bit at the night. He made a grown up decision and there was no way he was going back to doing what everyone else told him to do. And Kol seemed to be the only one who trusted him to let him make it. With that thought in mind, Jeremy walked toward the darkness, engulfing himself in it, even though his mind was as bright and as clear as day.
Well, I am a Jol shipper, but I kept this strictly platonic, since this is how I wish the episode had turned out. It would have avoided a lot of issues wrong with this season already and it would have been good to see more of Kol/Jeremy interacting. I do plan to write a couple of more oneshots and I had briefly thought of expanding this into a story, but I don't know whether I'd be able to complete it. I tend to lose inspiration in a lot of stories. My other oneshot/short story ideas include time in the afterlife with all the dead characters and a Bonnie/Jeremy/Kol oneshot, inspired mainly by a roleplay I'm in on tumblr, with two of my darling Bonnie and Kol rp'ers who inspire me to like these three. But we'll see.
Ok, I'm done rambling.