I.

She'd never thought anything of seeing him, not until the day she found out he wasn't actually there; not in a physical form, anyway. He'd been there whenever she met his siblings, lurking in the background brooding, or throwing in remarks she thought everyone else was ignoring because they found them annoying (and they usually were, so she ignored them herself). He'd even watched on silently when Klaus had killed Tim, so she didn't really want anything to do with him, as he was obviously just as cruel as his brother.

II.

It had felt like any other day when she'd walked into the Abattoir to ask Rebekah if she could practice another one of Esther's spells, maybe even borrow the grimoire as a whole for once. Apparently, it hadn't been. Rebekah was sitting on a sofa, head in her hands, with Elijah, Klaus and Kol surrounding her.

"He's been dead for three years now," she whispered, "three years."

"Exactly!" Klaus exclaimed. "You shouldn't be grieving as much after such a long time." Kol scoffed.

"He's our brother, Nik! We've been alive for over a thousand years! You know as well as I do that three aren't much at all!" Were they talking about Finn?

"Unless you're stored in a coffin all the time, of course." Kol's comment sure sounded like they were.

"There's no way of bringing him back, Rebekah." Elijah put his hand to her shoulder in an attempt of calming her down.

"Oh please, you haven't even tried."

"I don't believe that! We have to – Davina!" Rebekah had finally looked up and paid their visitor attention. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Her eyes flashed to Klaus, who'd just sat down in an armchair.

"Why, to steal one of mother's spells again, of course," commented the hybrid.

Davina rolled her eyes. "I texted you."

"Don't pay him any mind, love. He's just worried you'll find a way to kill him after all. Bet you could, as well." Surprised, Davina turned her head towards Kol. He'd never addressed her before. "Did you just–" he stopped and stared at her, and, irritated, she focused back on Rebekah, who'd started talking as well. Klaus didn't even blink an eye concerning Kol's words. Was he used to these comments so much that he didn't even get mad anymore?

"-n't have my phone on me at the moment," she explained. "I can give you a copy of another of mother's spells. Actually – do you think you'd be able to bring someone back from the dead?"

"Rebekah!" Elijah chided.

Both Kol and Klaus chuckled. "Oh, this is great! The desperation of a loving sister!", the former added.

"Umm, I don't — is there even a spell for that?"

"Sure there is," said Kol. "They just didn't bother to actually go looking for one until now."

"We'll find one." Rebekah gave Davina a tight smile. "Would you do it?"

"Depends on who you'd want me to bring back."

"Here it goes," grinned Kol.

"Well, our brother, of course: Kol."

"Kol? But he's—" "Please don't say I'm an arsehole, love, you don't even know me."

Davina couldn't stop herself from looking at him, flabbergasted. No less aghast, he stared back at her. "But he's right here," she whispered.

"So you can see me! Why didn't you say something? Do you know how boring it is to not have someone to talk to?" He got up from where he was seated next to Rebekah and walked over to her. "I can hit them in the face and they don't even realise it! See?" Davina flinched as she watched his fist sink into Klaus' head. "It's not even fun anymore!"

"Davina? What are you looking at?"

"Me! God, Elijah, you're usually faster than that." He turned back to her. "Don't look so shocked, darling, it's not like you haven't seen me before!"

"You're a ghost." "Well, yes, obviously. Wouldn't be hangin' around those prats if I weren't, believe me."

"But why can I see you?" Davina furrowed her brows. "I have no idea, darling. The more important question is why you didn't say anything about it earlier, anyway."

"Kol is here?" Rebekah looked like she would burst into tears again. "Yes," Davina and he answered at the same time.

"Davina, you have to—" "Go," she interrupted the other girl. "I think I have to go." She started walking towards the exit, only to be stopped by Klaus, who was suddenly standing in front of her. "We're finding that spell, and you're going to do it." His eyes pierced into hers as if he was trying to compel her.

Davina crossed her arms. He couldn't treat her like this! "Or what?"

"Oh, I'm sure Kol will just annoy the hell out of you without even trying."

Both Davina and Kol snorted. "I'll just spell his mouth shut then." She stepped around Klaus and continued on her way outside.

"You can't spell ghosts, darling," Kol informed her from her side. Apparently he planned on coming along.

"I'll curse you, then.— Stop following me!"

"You're the only one who can actually see me! I won't leave you right after I found out about that! How stupid do you think I am?"

"You're a Mikaelson."

Kol smirked. "You're lovely."

"Whatever. Leave." She'd finally reached the street and wanted time alone. She couldn't believe she hadn't realised he was a ghost!

"Why didn't you talk to me before?"

Davina sighed. She most definitely wouldn't get rid of him soon. "I thought everyone was ignoring you because they were full of your shit, so I did, too. You didn't really give me a reason to like you, you know."

"I swear I would've used my charm earlier on if I'd known someone was listening to me, love."

"If this is your charm, maybe it's better you didn't use it, darling." She gave him a fake smile and continued down the road. "Now leave me alone. People will think I'm crazy if I start talking to the air."

"Oh, but you already are."

"Are what?"

"Crazy. I mean, I'm definitely not air, so that's not really an option, is it?"

"Oh? Then why can I punch your shoul—" Davina gasped and stared at the place where her hand had met his body.

"Now, this is interesting." Kol's fingers closed around hers. "And people are definitely staring at you."

Davina pulled her hand away and started down the road. "I can't believe this is happening."

III.

They'd actually found a spell. Davina was two weeks into practicing and preparing for the next new moon, which was supposed to help her with its magic. Kol was five weeks into annoying the hell out of her; something he achieved by a) not leaving her side and b) commenting on everything happening around her. The fact that he couldn't keep his hands off her added up to a rather disturbing c). It wasn't even inappropriate in the slightest, she just always ended up with one of his hands on her shoulder when he was around—which was a lot, and turned out to be quite distracting. Who knew ghosts had such warm skin?

"You'll have to stop doing that when you're back with the living, Kol. Or Marcel will kill you again in within a second."

"Ah, don't worry 'bout me, love. I can handle dear young Marcellus."

"You couldn't handle a sixteen-year-old boy."

"In my defense: I think he might have been seventeen already." His fingertips caressed her neck once more.

"Pretty humiliating either way, if you ask me." Davina grinned.

"Please, I'm barely twenty-two myself."

"Twenty-two and a thousand," she laughed and he pinched her. "Now leave, I have to concentrate."

"Whatever you say, darling."

IV.

"You won't continue stalking me when you're back, will you?" Davina was lying in her bed, staring up at the attic's ceiling, with Kol next to her leaning on the headboard.

"I rather enjoy your company, darling."

"Yeah, sure."

"Absolutely." He grinned down at her. "Riling you up is such fun."

"Wait 'til you're a vampire again and I can give you an aneurism."

"Don't hurt my feelings, love."

"I was only going for your brain anyway, so that won't be a problem."

"Good night, Davina." He faded into nothing.

"Night, Kol," she whispered into the empty room.

V.

"I can't believe you put her under this much pressure just to bring back Kol of all people!" Marcel was furious. Davina had blacked out after the spell that was supposed to resurrect the Mikaelson brother. Apparently, all it had achieved were an exhausted teenage witch and vanished ashes. He picked the girl up from where she was lying on the floor and lay her down on a couch nearby. "I mean, it didn't even work! She's hurt for nothing!"

"We'll only know for certain if this was a failure if Davina tells us she can still see Kol's ghost," Rebekah said.

"Right, why didn't anybody tell me about that again?"

"'Cause you're a hysterical father-figure who wouldn't have stopped warning off a spirit you couldn't even see, of course, Marcellus." A new voice answered. "Really, I would've thought you'd grown a bit wiser in the last century. It did work, by the way. I'm finally not a ghost no one sees anymore."

"Yes, you're back to being a vampire nobody likes again."

Just for the show of it, Kol flashed his fangs at the younger vampire. The guy wouldn't dare lash at him yet anyway.

Before anything really happened, Klaus stepped in. "Leave it, boys. You can pick this up later, when you've actually got a reason to fight." He looked at Kol. "It's good to see you, brother."

"Oh please, as if you've missed me one bit, Nik." Kol turned towards his siblings. "The only one actually mourning was Beks, and not even she spared me more time than a day a year."

"Kol, that's not true and you know it!" Rebekah protested. He grinned, pulling her into an embrace. "Twice a month just sounds too genuine for me to make a fuss about, sister."

"It's good to have you back brother." Elijah patted his brother's back when Rebekah only pulled him closer. "Don't kill him again already, Rebekah, Davina put a lot of effort into bringing him back to you."

VI.

"You're a vampire," said Davina when she spotted Kol on the sofa across from hers. He was drinking from a glass that undeniably held blood, and the veins under his eyes were showing slightly.

"What did you expect me to be?" He seemed unfaded by her sudden statement. He'd probably heard her waking up, or something. "A witch? Bet you'd have liked "

She rolled her eyes and sat up. "I bet you would've liked it more. You told me all about your childhood, remember?"

He smirked. "'Course I do, darling. Thanks for bringing me back, anyway. I rather like being able to punch people again."

"You could have punched me."

"And risk hurting you? I don't think so."

She smiled. "Don't let anyone hear that, Kol. They might think you care."

"They wouldn't believe it if their lives depended on it, love."

"I do."

"You've seen me leave the room so you could change."

VII.

He still was always there, but the 'there' had changed. Instead of surrounding his siblings, he'd gotten so used to spending time with her as a ghost that he continued to do so after his resurrection. Sure, Marcel wouldn't let him enter the attic (and he actually respected that for a few days) and she had to go to school again, but that didn't mean he couldn't pick her up and drive her home, or hang out with her at the Abattoir on Sundays. It didn't mean he couldn't teach her how to open the Claire tomb and create dark objects, or properly snog on a couch. Hell, being a ghost had probably taught him how to be 'there' for someone beside himself.

VIII.

"Marcel is worried your obsession with Davina will have a bad ending if you keep it up like this." Elijah joined him on the balcony, a glas of whiskey in hand.

"Meaning?" Kol raised his eyebrows at his brother. If he was talking to him on Marcel's behalf, he must think some of the accusations true himself.

"Well, supposedly it gets too far, she could end up as your dinner."

Kol growled. "I wouldn't—"

"I know." Elijah handed Kol the alcohol. "But Marcel has good reason not to trust you, and combined with his worry for Davina, a statement might help calming him down."

"Like, what, a public declaration of love?" He snorted.

"Usually those are addressed to the person one is talking about."

"You know what I meant, Elijah."

"Just tell the truth, Kol, and hope it is reassuring."

"What a pep talk, brother."

IX.

"Josh said you told Marcel to shove his worries up his ass." Davina flopped down onto his bed. Her eyes followed Kol around the room and stayed on his chest until he'd hidden it under the shirt he was buttoning up.

"Ah, always quoting me wrong, your friend."

She raised her brows at him. "Is he?"

"Yes. I'm pretty sure I said 'arse.'"

"Any reason why you said it?" She pushed herself up on her elbows.

"Mmm. Hasn't been as uptight lately. Thought that'd help."

"Kol."

"You know I wouldn't hurt you. It's time for everyone else to see that, too."