Title: Emote

Rating: M

Genre: AU/Supernatural/Humor/Romance

Pairing(s): Bonnie/Stefan, Bonnie/Klaus, Matt/Rebekah, Tyler/Caroline, Abby/Finn, Kol/Lucy, Elijah/Katherine, mentions of Damon/Elena, past Stefan/Emily, past Stefan/Sheila, past Klaus/Ayanna, past Klaus/Gloria, past Klaus/Greta.

Summary: Stefan Salvatore finds it much easier to sin now that he cannot feel emotion. The only thing that he can want now is to make Klaus suffer. The only person that can help him do that is Bonnie Bennett. But she has no faith in her powers anymore, and he has no will to help her restore it. But he knows that all power has a stimulus, and for a witch, power is tied to emotion. So even without a will to feel of his own, he plans on provoking any emotion in Bonnie that he can in any way that he can to bring the power she is too scared to use now to the surface. Fear is good. Anger works better. But the emotion with the highest success rate is lust. But what happens when Klaus discovers Stefan's methods and finds reason to want to make use of the Bennett witch himself. Set During 3x10.

A/N: This is a repost. I am working on reposting a ton of my fics. It is slow going but I am getting there. I have them archived at Wattpad still but there are some glitches on the site and my stories have been disappearing but anyway I am posting here as well just to make sure they stay in tact. Please to not comment on this fic regarding other stories. Majority of the other fics will be reposted in due time. Anyway sorry about any errors. Love you guys. Thanks for reading.

PART ONE: PROVOCATION

"The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray." ~Oscar Wilde

Stefan Salvatore listened as the floorboards of the old house creaked as Bonnie Bennett walked through the house in search of what had drawn her there. He knew it was her. He had been following her but he would have known either way, he didn't have to see her. Didn't even have to smell her scent that lingered strongly in the air, even though she had not reached him yet. He could tell by her footing, the way that he could hear her move, cautious and yet determined. He could tell by the pattern of her breathing, and the sound of her pulse. Differences in people were not just exterior, and when you were what Stefan was, you noticed everything that made a person different. The enhancement of your senses prevented anything else.

He had plans for Bonnie and they started and ended with the coffins he had stolen from Klaus. He needed to make an alliance and she was the only one that was still remotely useful and the only one that he knew would trust him even with her doubts. It wasn't just the fact that he was good at getting her to do what he wanted, it was the fact that she was more isolated than ever now, marginalized from the group, just like him though for a very different reason.

Jeremy Gilbert had decided that a ghost was preferable over a living breathing girlfriend and because of that the group's dynamics had shuffled. Though, Elena had not exactly chosen sides, it was obvious that best friend or no best friend, Bonnie would end up on the losing end. Elena might have been displeased and disappointed with Jeremy but he was family, blood, and in families that actually gave a fuck about each other, blood was thicker than water. Bonnie may have been like a sister, but it was Jeremy who was Elena's brother. So Elena and Jeremy were both out as far as people in Bonnie's corner.

Then there was Caroline Forbes. While, she had taken Bonnie's side in the whole debacle, she was now much too busy with her newly sired beau, Tyler Lockwood, to be of much comfort to Bonnie, and so that axed the blonde. Then there was Matt Donovan who was even more isolated than Bonnie and so as far as Stefan was concerned he didn't really warrant mentioning.

There was no one else. Not with Bonnie's father perpetually out of town and her mother abandoning them both over ten years ago now. It was the perfect time, in Stefan's opinion to prey upon her. There was not only no one there that would bother stopping him, but Bonnie would feel alone enough and hated Klaus enough to at the very least listen to what Stefan had to say.

Stefan listened as the door to the basement creaked open and Bonnie walked down the stairs. As she came into view he remembered a time when they had been close to becoming friends.

He couldn't feel the loss or guilt that he once had over what had happened to Sheila, the change it had caused in Bonnie, and the ending of their friendship before it had really begun.

The only thing that Stefan felt as he looked at her was perplexed over why the hell she still dealt with any of them anymore, after everything she had done and loss. Her grandmother was dead, she had died for Elena, and she had brought Jeremy back from the dead only to have him cheat on her with a dead vampire. Stefan didn't really see what was in it for Bonnie anymore. But he wouldn't have to in order to use her.

When she turned around and realized that he was there, Stefan saw something akin to sympathy and regret in her green eyes. Yes, she was definitely ripe for the picking. "Hello, Bonnie," he said, his voice calm and even, if a little intimidating.

"Stefan," she responded. She was looking at him suspiciously, and there was shock in her eyes. It was obvious to him that she had learned about his disappearance after Mikael's death. "You followed me here," she accused.

Stefan didn't bother denying it. "Yeah," he nodded, "Wasn't too hard. You should probably be more careful." For every step forward that he took she took a step back.

It was clear she didn't know what to make of him when he was like this. She knew how to deal with Saint Stefan, the wounded, the repentant, and the "good" brother. This wasn't her territory, but she wasn't like Elena.

When people weren't as Elena had imagined them or thought them to be, she tried to change them back to her expectations without realizing that she might have never really known them in the first place. When Bonnie was shown someone's true colors she simply took them at face value and acted accordingly.

It was why she was able to fear Stefan now when she had once cared for him. It was why she was able to walk away from Jeremy even though she still loved him. For Bonnie people didn't change, they just showed more of their true selves as time passed. And maybe, Klaus was partially responsible for unleashing this side of Stefan, but that didn't mean that it had not been a part of him all along or that it wasn't who he was now.

"What do you want with me?" She demanded.

"Relax," Stefan coaxed, "I just need your help." It was best to be honest with her, she didn't trust him as it was, and so if he went dancing around the issue, he knew that she would simply walk away from him.

"Why would I help you?" Bonnie asked, "Elena said, that you saved Klaus' life." A part of her felt that if he had, then he had had his reasons. Still, she didn't know what the hell was going on with him, saving Klaus one minute and gunning for him the next.

Stefan chose not to tell her why he had saved Klaus, though it would have likely caused some faltering on her part. She might have even been more willing to help him. But he didn't want her to misconstrue who he was now. Didn't want her to think that she was still dealing with the "Old Stefan" beneath the surface.

He didn't give a shit anymore, not about anyone except at times himself and even those times were rare even though the reasons he wanted Klaus dead were selfish. He needed release, catharsis and watching Klaus die would give him that.

He had even saved Damon for his own sake, because he couldn't live without his brother. He wasn't going to pretend to be some selfless hero and have her walk into this blind. She needed to know what she was dealing with.

"Let me fill you in on a little secret about Klaus," he told her, ignoring the scowl on her face, "He kept his family with him at all times. Daggered, stored in coffins." Bonnie's expression changed, as if some light bulb turned on in her head. He raised a brow at her but continued. "And now I have them and I need you to help me keep them hidden," he said.

Bonnie stopped thinking about the strange dreams she had been having about Klaus and coffins, long enough to process what he had said. "Are you out of your mind?" She asked, and then she remembered who she was speaking to. She shook her head. "You're just going to make him angrier."

Stefan wasn't really listening to her protest. Of course Klaus would get angrier. That just made things more fun. "His family is his one weakness," Stefan persisted, "As long as I have that I can ruin him."

Bonnie knew that there would be no reasoning with him. She would just have to get herself out of his plans. There was one way to do that and she wouldn't even have to lie. "I don't have enough power to hide four Originals," she said.

Stefan shrugged. "You're a witch, you hate Klaus, and I can figure something out," he said.

In truth even without one hundred dead witches Bonnie had more than enough power, she just didn't know or was too scared to access it. But Stefan knew more about witches than he had ever let on. He had been close to both Emily and Sheila after all, among others. He knew how they worked, what drove them, and how to bring their power to the surface.

"What do those three things have to do with each other?" Bonnie asked, eyeing him skeptically. She was close to just walking away.

"Agree to help me and I'll tell you," he offered.

She knew she couldn't trust him and even with how old he was and how much longer he had been exposed to magic, Bonnie still believed she knew more about what she was than he did. Whatever half-baked scheme that Stefan came up with was bound to fail. "I think I'll pass," Bonnie sighed, "Are we done here?"

Stefan nodded. "For now," he said, "But you know as well as I do that Klaus won't stop. When you've changed your mind, you know where to find me."

:::

Bonnie sighed as she walked into her room, feeling dejected. She was miserable and Jeremy was in a downward spiral and though she didn't want to care she did care. Besides that she now knew what her dreams meant.

Her Grams had told her that she needed to stay out of Original business, and yet the spirits were sending her dreams of Klaus and his family, and the coffins they resided in. She was so tired of it all. Klaus, the mixed messages from the spirits, paying consequences that no other witch she knew seemed to have to pay.

In truth Bonnie had found Stefan's offer more tempting than she had let on. She didn't trust him; but she wanted to get rid of Klaus or at the very least make him suffer. The sad part about it all was that she was certain that if Stefan hadn't stolen Klaus' family in the first place; the deranged Original wouldn't have had a real reason to remain in Mystic Falls.

But having been friends with Klaus in one time, and enemies and comrades with him in another, Bonnie was sure that Stefan had known that. Bonnie didn't give a shit if it was a power play game between Klaus and Stefan or some twisted form of foreplay, whatever the case, she knew that the best thing for her to do would be to stay the hell out of it.

Bonnie started as her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen before answering it. "Elena," she said, "Hey." Bonnie was attempting to sound normal but all attempts were forgotten when suddenly Elena was launching into a speech that connected the dots between Bonnie's dreams and Klaus' coffins. "Elena don't get involved," Bonnie ordered firmly, "Whatever Klaus wants, stay as far away from it as you can."

"Klaus won't let me," Elena claimed, and then she said something that Bonnie couldn't ignore, "Bonnie, he tried to kill Jeremy." And just like that Bonnie was being sucked right back in.

Bonnie sighed and sat down heavily on her bed. Even if she had been to the point where she no longer had feelings for Jeremy, which she wasn't, she wouldn't have been able to ignore him being a target. "What do you want me to do?" She asked.

"We need to find, Stefan," Elena said, "Look, I know you don't think that your locator spell still works but we need to try."

Bonnie bit her lip and then nodded in resolve. "You don't need a locator spell," she said.

:::

Stefan shouldn't have been surprised when instead of Bonnie returning Elena showed up, but he was. Bonnie was a "for the greater good" type person and so he had hoped that she would help him on that basis. However, it was on that basis that she had ratted him out instead.

"Go away," Stefan said, causing Elena to turn around and face him. It wasn't as hard being callous to her as he thought it would be now that Klaus had set him free for all intents and purposes. Now he was imprisoning himself in this situation until he could end it. "You shouldn't be here."

"Stefan, I need your help. Bonnie said that you would be here," Elena said, sounding unaffected.

"Well," Stefan sighed, "Bonnie sucks at keeping secrets."

He half listened as Elena told him about Jeremy's almost death. How many times had he almost died since their arrival? Why couldn't Elena just take the hint and ship the kid out of town already? Or she could simply let him die like fate obviously wanted so he could be happy with his ghostly vampire girlfriend in the in-between. That way Klaus couldn't threaten Elena with trying to kill him anymore, problem solved.

When Stefan didn't show any signs that he cared Elena frowned. "Stefan," she said, "Don't you get it. He isn't going to stop until he gets what he wants."

Of course he "got it". He was living proof of it. Did she just up and forget the shit that Klaus had put him through in order to get his old friend back? That had always been Elena's problem, and Katherine's as well. Their pain and their losses were special. Their experiences too. No one could ever possibly understand.

And yet they were quick to compare the two when you lost something, quick to use it to sway you into thinking that they were the only ones that could ever understand you. Katherine had called it the art of manipulation, Elena called it caring, essentially though, they were one in the same. Stefan blinked, he had never compared them in that way before and yet he found his assessment to be true.

"Elena," he said, "Stop talking. I'm not giving Klaus anything."

Klaus had taken too much and threatened to take too much for Stefan to let him win so easily. He wouldn't let up, not even for Elena.

"Are you listening to me?" Elena asked, though it was obvious that he wasn't. Or rather he was, he just didn't really give a damn. "He's going to kill Jeremy."

"Not really my problem," Stefan shrugged.

It didn't sting when she slapped him and he didn't break when she told him to go to hell. Feelings were a distraction that he no longer had to deal with, and as she walked away from him and he was finally able to feel nothing as he watched her go he got a measure of satisfaction from it.

He was tired of caring. He was tired of the guilt. He was tired of it all. Klaus had been right in a way. His humanity had been killing him. Stefan took a seat in a worn out chair and rolled his eyes when his brother forced his way into the house.

He looked up as Damon crashed down the stairs. "That was impressive," he smirked, as he stood and walked toward his brother, "But the coffins aren't here so you can go away now."

He wasn't surprised to see his brother there. Now that he was out of the picture that was how things were. Where there was Elena, there was Damon, playing the loyal puppy, tongue lolled out and tail wagging, all too ready to take his brother's place. One would have thought that Katherine would have been enough of a lesson for him.

"I don't care about the coffins," Damon said, "We need to talk."

Stefan watched as the witches continued to torture Damon. He got some measure of satisfaction from it. Maybe it was because no matter how much Stefan loved his brother, a part of him wanted to see him hurt because he knew that even though he had given up everything for Damon by saving Klaus in order to save him, Damon would still be Damon at the end of the day and do what he wanted.

After all, when Stefan had given himself over to Klaus and human blood in order to save Damon from his little werewolf booboo that hadn't stopped him from going after Elena while he was gone. Or maybe it was because Stefan had always been fond of witches and loved to see them work, after all there was a reason they were attacking his brother and not him. Whatever the case, Stefan found the sight before him rather amusing.

"Okay," he said, "Let's talk."

He wasn't really surprised when Damon attacked him and forced him out of the house. His brother had always had a low tolerance for pain and the witches never got sick of having a little fun at Damon's expense. He was surprised however when he found himself impaled with a tree branch. But when Damon asked him why he had saved Klaus he didn't tell him because was being held at branch point, no, he told him because he wanted Damon to be the one to carry all of the fucking guilt for a change.

But Damon was Damon in the end and as he once again shoved the tree branch into Stefan's stomach and told him to stop saving him, Stefan decided that he would take his brother's advice.

:::

By the time Bonnie got ahold of Elena again, she had found out that Stefan and Damon had gotten into it. Damon had gone back to his brother to get in on his little plan but Stefan had refused. That left it up to Bonnie. They needed someone on the inside and that had to be her. Stefan had propositioned her and he needed her conceal the coffins if nothing else.

Elena had told her to call her as soon she could to let her know if Stefan had let her back in. In the meantime she was making a bargain with Klaus, Rebekah's life for Jeremy's. But Bonnie wasn't stupid. She knew that Klaus wouldn't stop there. Jeremy wasn't the only one that he could target and so if giving Klaus his family back would get him off of their backs then she would make sure Stefan gave him what he wanted.

As she approached the witches' house, Stefan was standing outside of it. He looked her up and down a measure of surprise marking his features. "You already ratted me out to Elena," Stefan said, "I figured that we were done here."

"I did what I had to do," Bonnie said, "Klaus went after Jeremy."

Stefan blinked. "You mean like Jeremy went after Anna even after the spirits went after you for saving his life," Stefan laughed, "You would think that Baby Gilbert would have lost a few cool points." Stefan was testing her, his methods were clear in his mind, he just had to see if they would work.

Bonnie glared at him. "You're one to talk," Bonnie said, "I heard why you saved Klaus, to save Damon. Even after saving him got you into this mess with Klaus in the first place, and even though it didn't stop him from going after Elena either time."

"Ouch," Stefan said, placing a hand over his chest, "You used to be much nicer to me Bonnie." He could tell she was beginning to get angry. He sped over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and slamming her against a nearby tree. "What happened to us Bonnie?"

Stefan grinned as the trees around them began to shake and the ground beneath their feet began to crack. It took a lot for Bonnie to trust him before so he wasn't surprised that his break from sainthood seemed to cause such an emotional reaction. He would have never hurt her before. In fact he had gone out of his way to save her more than once.

"Let go of me," Bonnie hissed. Coming here was a mistake. She would just have to tell Elena that they would have to find another way. Stefan's grip on her tightened and anger and fear began to surface. "I said let go," she spat. The wind began to howl suddenly and Stefan let out a pained cry when both of his arms broke from their sockets.

Bonnie was surprised when Stefan laughed as he snapped them back into place. "Bravo," he smirked, "I knew you had it in you. What was that about not being powerful enough again?"

Bonnie's eyes widened once she realized not just what he had done but what she had done to him. "You did that on purpose," she said. How long had it been since she had accessed that much power? Had she even been able to before she had had the power of one hundred dead witches? "What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem is that you don't seem to know what you're capable of and I am going to need you to hurry up and figure it out if we are going to work together," he said, as he once again found his footing.

Bonnie blinked at him. "We're working together now?"

Instead of answering Stefan walked up to stand behind her and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Come with me," he said, "I want to show you something."

Bonnie reluctantly let herself be led into the witches' house hoping that if something were to happen that she would be protected. Stefan took her down to the basement. There were now candles lit everywhere, but aside from that Bonnie saw no change. "What am I looking at?" she asked, "There's nothing here."

Stefan smiled down at her in a placating manner. "Look again," he said. When Bonnie did, suddenly the coffins holding Klaus' family appeared. It had been the witches striking out at Damon that had reminded Stefan that though they had always abhorred his brother, they were rather fond of him. So he figured he would try his luck with the spirits that were giving him refuge in the house, hoping they would hide the coffins as well. "The witch spirits hate Klaus as much as we do," he explained, "They're using their powers to hide the coffins."

Bonnie turned to him looking confused. "Then why do you need me?" She asked. Stefan pointed to a coffin in the far corner. Bonnie looked in the direction and frowned. "This is the one I dreamt of," she said to herself as she approached it.

Stefan raised a brow at her words but didn't otherwise comment. He watched as Bonnie moved to open the coffin. "Don't bother," he said, "It won't open."

Bonnie attempted anyway. "What do you mean?" she asked, "Is it locked?"

Stefan shook his head. "Nope," he said, "Just won't open. I've tried everything. Blow torch. Axe. Crowbar. I can't even scratch the finish."

Bonnie's eyebrow shot up as she looked down at the coffin. "I think it's closed with a spell," she said unnecessarily as Stefan had already guessed as much.

While the spirits were helping him hide the coffin they weren't helping break the seal on the one that wouldn't open. That meant that whatever was inside was something that they perceived as dangerous. "Meaning whatever is in there should probably stay in there," Stefan said.

But Bonnie knew that it could be something powerful and that meant that it could be their only hope of getting rid of Klaus. She turned to Stefan. "You said that you wanted to make him suffer," she said, "The witches led me here for a reason. I think whatever's inside this coffin is our answer."

"So you're in," Stefan stated. It wasn't a question but he grinned when she nodded. "The spirits aren't able to or they won't open it, it has to be you."

"And I'm guessing that stunt that you pulled outside is a part of how you're going to help me access enough power to do it?" Bonnie asked.

Stefan nodded crossing his arms over his chest. "I call it provocation," he said, "Everyone who knows anything about witches knows that their powers are tied to their emotions. If you provoke enough feeling in a witch you can open the doors to their powers. It could be any type of feeling really. Happiness, fear, anger, anxiety, or desire."

"And that works?" Bonnie asked, clearly skeptical. She remembered her Grams mentioning that once or twice, and she knew it was true in some cases.

"It has in the past," Stefan nodded, "Some emotions have more satisfactory results than others."

He had fucked enough witches to prove as much, and then there was Klaus who was going for some sort of record. Most didn't understand, namely Damon, why Klaus would go the seduction route with a witch when one had enough power and influence to use different methods, mainly force. But Stefan understood.

There was a method to Klaus' madness, there always had been. Emotions were emotions and all caused power in a witch, however while pissing a witch off caused a brief power surge and scaring them caused their power to rise, nothing worked like fucking them. And while Stefan would have been against going that route with Bonnie were he able to feel anything, luckily for him, his emotions were turned off.

"You provoke feeling in a witch and there is no limit to what can be done," he said.

"How the hell are you going to provoke feeling in me when you can't even feel emotion right now?" Bonnie asked.

Stefan gave the witch a slow once over look that caused her to squirm. "Trust me, Bonnie," he said, "I have my ways."

"Fine," Bonnie sighed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable, "Whatever. Let's just call it a night. We can start figuring it out tomorrow."

"Deal," Stefan said, "But no telling Elena." The last he said with a hint of warning in his tone.

Bonnie nodded. "No telling Elena," she said. And even with the promise she made to Elena only hours before she meant it.

:::

Klaus Mikaelson was tired of fighting Stefan on his own. It was getting him nowhere. He was no closer to getting his family back then he was when Stefan had first stolen them from him. He had his sister but that was not enough.

There was too much at stake and he had come too far to lose his family now after everything he had done in order to keep them safe and together. But Stefan wasn't going to let up, that much was clear. Which meant that Klaus would need an ally. His hybrids, while nice errand runners, seemed to be getting picked off every time he sent one of them near the little twits that used to mean something to his old friend, though Klaus still couldn't fathom why. Either way his hybrids wouldn't do.

There was only one other solution that Klaus could think of. He needed an ally and there was only one other type of being that he had ever deemed worthy enough to work with. Witches.

So it was clear what or rather whom he needed. Both Greta and Gloria were now dead. As were Maddox and the others. The other witches in his arsenal were too far out. He would have to start over with someone who was closer. The Bennett witch.

While Klaus knew it wouldn't be an easy deed, he was certain that if he could manipulate Bonnie things would work out in his favor, even if he only ended up using her as a bargaining chip to exchange for his family, instead of as a tool to use to find and dispose of Stefan.

Klaus was sure that Stefan had the witch set on opening his mother's coffin. Once the ripper discovered there was a coffin that could not be opened Klaus knew that his curiosity and his hope that whatever was inside could kill him, would cause Stefan to call for the witch's assistance. Most everything from a spell to a hangnail caused Stefan to call for the witch's assistance. That was why Klaus was having her followed.

However, he would have to soon go from simply having her followed to sending her a message, and from that to calling upon her himself, at least if he wanted to sway her into helping him convince Stefan to return his family through acquiescence or force, whichever was necessary.

It was the way it always worked, when Klaus decided he wanted a certain witch for whatever reason. The persistence, the charm, the flattery, the unbridled respect for their power; he would treat them like no one else had and it got to them in the end. As far as he was concerned Bonnie Bennett would be no different.

:::

Stefan had told her to be careful about being followed and yet the next day one of Klaus' hybrids had managed to follow Bonnie to the witches' house anyway. Luckily for them however, the witches were a step ahead and managed to hide the coffins before the hybrid reached the basement. Stefan had killed him but Bonnie was shaken up by it.

"I told you to be careful," Stefan said as he tossed the hybrid's heart aside.

"I know," Bonnie frowned, "I thought I was. Obviously Klaus is already suspicious of me and I'm not any closer to figuring out how to open this coffin. We're running out of time."

Stefan considered her for a moment. "If Klaus is having you followed it isn't because of me," Stefan said, "Its only one of two reasons. Either he wants to use you to get to Elena in order to speed up his families return, or…"

Bonnie met his gaze and she didn't like what she saw in the way that he was looking at her. "Or what, Stefan?" She demanded.

"Or he's in the market for a new witch and he wants to see how hard he'll have to work in order to sway you to his side," Stefan said.

"What?" Bonnie said, "What do you mean a new witch?"

"Did you think Greta was the first?" Stefan asked, "I mean, you had to have noticed that he collects witches like Damon collects excuses to throw alcoholic induced pity parties for himself."

Bonnie fought the urge to grin and then shook her head. "Whatever," she said, "I'm not going to join his collection anytime soon." Not that she was taking Stefan seriously, at all. "So if that's what he wants, which I doubt it is, then he's wasting his time."

"Good to know," Stefan nodded.

He expected her to be against Klaus. Still Stefan wasn't sure what her reaction would be to him once he decided to make his move. Stefan wasn't opposed to sleeping with Bonnie for any reason in the state that he was in, she was attractive, she was powerful, and she could turn him on without really trying most of the time.

The only objection he had ever really had to pursuing Bonnie prior to turning off his switch was the fact that she was Elena's best friend. Now, however, he didn't really give a shit and he was sure that the girls weren't as close as before anyway. Besides, since it was Elena's brother that broke Bonnie's heart the girl should be happy that Bonnie wasn't moping around over Jeremy and she was getting back out there, even if she did end up in Stefan's bed during the process.

Bonnie looked at him for a long moment, trying to make some sense of that statement or the look he was giving her, before she sighed. "I have to go to school," she said, giving up, "I'll be back to try again later."

Stefan nodded again. In his mind he was trying to figure out how flexible she was. Now that he was thinking about taking her bed, he couldn't really get the images that were invading his mind out. She had been a cheerleader which at the very least meant she was limber.

"Are you going to do anything other than hang around this creepy house alone all day?" Bonnie asked. She was trying to get him to say something or stop staring at her but it was obviously not working.

Stefan shook his head in answer. He wondered if Bonnie could manage to recite spells while he fucked her. It had worked with Emily, and at first he had been offended because well, she could still concentrate enough to perform spells and do them correctly while he was pounding into her which didn't really speak well about his performance. But then he had later learned that it wasn't that his performance was bad it was just that Emily had been that good.

Then there had been Sheila. While he had made her speak in tongues during, spells didn't really work so much for her until after. But dick always improved her performance so he supposed it worked out in the end. Bonnie had characteristics of both so things could go either way.

When Bonnie realized he was obviously too focused on whatever it was he was thinking about and probably wasn't really seeing her even if he was staring at her oddly, she decided to give up and just go to school. "Right," Bonnie huffed, "I'll see you later."

:::

Bonnie felt a lot less guilty about lying to Elena once she found out that the girl had had Damon compel Jeremy into leaving town. After talking to Jeremy she had left school and ended up at the witches' house pacing the length of the basement. Stefan watched her from his seat in the wooden chair in the far corner but he didn't say anything.

"This isn't about me and Jeremy," she rambled to herself, "As much as I still care about him I realize now that I wasn't what he really wanted. I get it. I'm not as pathetic as everyone seems to think.

"No. What gets me, what really gets me is the fact that she is taking away not just his life but his choice. They always do this. She and Damon just can't help playing God. Every time anyone has to talk her out of doing some stupid shit that will either get someone killed or won't work any fucking way, we're all wrong. We have to respect her choices. She had good intentions so when someone else gets hurt or worse dies, we have to look the other way and pat her own the back and tell her everything is okay because she tried. And then when she runs head first into some dangerous situation we break our backs to save her and she wants to cry because everyone is sacrificed for her sake.

"I do everything I can, even die to protect her, and I shouldn't have done it because she didn't think it was good idea. You give up everything to save Damon not once but twice and all she sees is that you left her. Like really? What kind of fucked up convoluted logic is she on? I mean whenever we break, we lose, we sacrifice, it's always about how it affects her. How would she have felt if I had died? How could you have left her, didn't you know how she would feel? How would she feel if Jeremy stayed in town and got hurt because of her? I mean what does it matter how anyone else feels or what choices they want to make, or what motivates them right? It's bullshit. All of it is just bullshit."

Bonnie raged. She still couldn't believe how Elena put it. "I'm only telling you because I know that you two haven't worked through your stuff."

I…I…I…I… It was always I. Elena knew what was best so "insert name here" should stay out of it. Never mind the fact that people in the dark almost always got killed. Elena knew what was best so it was time for Stefan to come home. Never mind the fact that him being held hostage by Klaus had not only kept Elena alive but Damon as well. Elena knew what was best so Jeremy had to be compelled to leave town. Never mind the fact that Elena was isolating him in a remote place where none of them would be there to protect him if he needed it and stripping him of his free will. The list went on and on and on.

"I'm so done with this shit!" Bonnie yelled.

The candles lit around the room flared to such a height that Stefan was certain that Bonnie would burn the house down. Seeing her angry was actually kind of hot, and as he couldn't really dispute what she was saying about Elena so he decided not to try. "I would tell you to calm down," Stefan commented, "But this is doing wonders for your powers and I don't even have to lift a finger, so do carry on."

"Fuck you, Stefan," Bonnie said, and her pacing stopped, as she glared in his direction.

"I love it when you talk dirty," Stefan replied. She let out a growl of frustration and exasperation and her powers surged so much the house began to shake. "Before you bring this place down," he said, "Think about things this way...the sooner we stop Klaus the sooner Jeremy can come home. His departure is having a wonderful effect on you so it'll push you in the right direction."

"It obviously isn't working fast enough," Bonnie sighed deflating, "I almost brought this entire house down and still I can't open one damn coffin? It doesn't make any sense. We have to end this one way or another so tell me what I need to do. You said some emotions work better than others, but obviously anger isn't the answer. I mean as much as it pisses me off that we have to go through this, that Klaus gets to affect our lives this way, that I am doubting myself and my friends, nothing is happening, Stefan."

Stefan studied her before he spoke in a cryptic manner. "One thing has always been more effective than others," Stefan revealed, "But you won't like it. Well you actually would…maybe love it even…you know if you weren't so you."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Stop being so cryptic and tell me what the hell that's supposed to mean," she demanded.

"If you want the power to open the coffin then you might just have to let me fuck you," Stefan said bluntly, "Out of all of the emotions that can awaken a witch's power, lust is the most effective."

"You can't be serious," Bonnie said suddenly deflating. When Stefan just stared at her she shook her head. "No," she said, "I'll find another way."

He couldn't possibly want to actually go through with something like that. As much as she had thought about the idea of going to bed with Stefan, she never thought it would actually happen. There was the fact that he was in love with her best friend, even in this state, and then there was the fact that she still had feelings for Jeremy, even after what he had done. Then there was the fact that she didn't trust Stefan at all, and she still was sure he was bullshitting her.

"Come on," Stefan said, "It's just sex. It doesn't have to mean anything. We'll just be accessing your power and having a little fun…well a lot of fun while we're doing it. It's always worked that way with me before, you use me until you awaken your powers and then we go our separate ways, no strings, and since I can't feel anything anymore they'll be no emotional attachment."

"You've done this before?" Bonnie asked, incredulously, "With who?" Her image of Stefan was crumbling more and more by the minute and yet…even with him not being what she had always thought that he was, even with him being well…closer to being Damon than she ever imagined, she was more curious than disappointed. The whole thing was unbelievable. First the ripping, then being besties with Klaus, and now screwing witches to stimulate their powers.

"You really don't want to know the answer to that," Stefan smirked.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me it was someone I know," she said. Stefan gave her a look. "It was," she said, "More than one person?" He deliberately stared up at the ceiling. Bonnie thought about it and there was one person that made sense, and it wouldn't have really surprised her all that much if it were true. "Emily?"

"That's one," Stefan said, she had caught on quicker that he thought she would, "Out of the one's you know anyway."

"Really," she said, "I would've guessed Damon. She has that whole woman scorned thing happening with him. I kind of got that vibe, you know. Then again she always seemed to like you more."

While this was not a normal conversation by any means, it was taking her mind off Jeremy leaving at the very least. "Someone I know...," Bonnie trailed.

She thought about it, biting her lip and tapping her foot against the musty ground. A witch she knew. Well the only one's she knew outside of her own family were the Martins and as Greta was team Klaus, she was out. There was Lucy, but Bonnie had kind of gotten a weird vibe between Lucy and Katherine and she was pretty sure that something went on there, she really wouldn't put it past Katherine. There wasn't really anyone else, there was her mother, but Bonnie didn't really know her mother and couldn't really remember what she looked like even, so she was out. The only other person that Bonnie could think of was….

"No!" Bonnie shouted, "You wouldn't! She wouldn't! No way!"

"Sheila was a very attractive woman in her day," Stefan smiled, "Still was before she went if you ask me. I really was sorry to see her go. We were very close for a time."

"I need to sit down," Bonnie mumbled, "No, I need to throw up. No, I need a drink."

She began to pace the length of the room. She remembered her Grams wanting to talk to Stefan alone after he brought her home after helping her. She remembered her Grams trusting Stefan over Damon, at the time she had thought that it was because Damon was Damon, but it had apparently been because Stefan was Stefan. Then she thought about her Grams performing the spell that allowed Stefan to leave that stupid tomb, she had all but convinced herself now that she had done it because Bonnie had begged, but now Bonnie thought that perhaps it was because she had…

"Why did you put this into my head?" Bonnie hissed, "I swear I could kill you right now! And how can you sit there and say that you're okay with sleeping with me when you…with my Grams!"

"I don't see what either of those things have to do with the other," Stefan shrugged, "I've slept with a lot of people. That has nothing to do with me being open to sleeping with you now, or with the fact that I wanted to before now. Not enough to act on it of course but-"

"Wait?" Bonnie exclaimed, "What?" Stefan opened his mouth to speak but she desperately held up her hands. Stefan without emotions was too straightforward, and while she was guarded most of the time she had shown more emotion in the past five minutes than she had shown anyone in the past five months, which was just wrong. Stefan hadn't only ruined her image of him but now her image of her Grams, which was just, not okay. "Just, please, stop talking," she begged.

Stefan nodded. He watched the emotions play across her face while he wondered when she would notice that she had all the coffins floating in midair around them.

"I have to go," she muttered more to herself than to him, before she walked away without another word.

Stefan wasn't at all surprised when the coffins tumbled to the ground as soon as Bonnie walked out of the basement, slamming the door behind her. While none of the coffins opened, Stefan was most displeased to see the one that they needed to open the most, still intact.

:::

Bonnie was supposed to be at Caroline's birthday celebration but she found herself at home, busting open the contents of her father's liquor cabinet instead.

Why in the fuck was there time to celebrate someone's birthday anyway? People were dying. Klaus was coming after them. Elena was having her new puppy Salvatore compel people to leave town to places even more isolated and unsafe than Mystic Falls where there as no one there to protect them if Klaus found them. Stefan was an emotionless asshole who had sex with people's grandmother's and stole daggered coffin-confined families from sociopathic Original hybrids for shits and giggles. This was not the fucking time to be singing happy birthday and pretending like everything was okay.

No, this was the time, to fuck shit up, this was the time for action. But since Bonnie no longer had the power of one hundred dead witches, and she apparently couldn't access her own powers without Stefan Salvatore's super witch stimulating penis, it was the time for vodka.

However, Bonnie Bennett was notoriously a lightweight, and when a lightweight drinks down a half a bottle of vodka generally things either end in very embarrassing moments that one doesn't remember the next morning, or a lot of vomit, or perhaps a bit of both. And as Bonnie had managed to finish the entire bottle, things were not boding well for her.

It was as Bonnie was tipping the bottle to allow the last drop to drip onto her tongue that she heard the knock on the door. At first she thought that she was imagining it, as even drunk she was aware of the fact that no one ever really came to see her anymore, not unless they wanted something anyway. Even when she was dating Jeremy she had been the one making the trips to the Gilbert house which probably should have told her something but still.

Bonnie stumbled to the door and opened in it. There was a man she didn't recognize on the other side.

The hybrid had just gotten through delivering Klaus' blood to Lockwood, in order to save his girlfriend's life. It seemed that the idiot had finally gotten the message. When he had left Tyler he had been begging for the blonde's forgiveness and had come to the realization that when Klaus said he wouldn't stop targeting the people that he cared about, he wasn't fucking around. Now he was on another errand, to get the witch.

Klaus wanted an audience with the Bennett witch and as he was apparently incapable of doing anything for himself now that he had a growing army of hybrids behind him, he had sent someone to fetch the girl instead of approaching her himself. The hybrid had to admit that Klaus had good taste. She was hot, though she looked drunk already and so he doubted Klaus would have to take the time to wine and dine her like he had planned.

"Who the hell are you?" Bonnie spat, blinking at the stranger.

She was a mean drunk then, perhaps a little effort would be required after all. "Klaus requests an audience with you, Miss Bennett," he said, calmly. He had to do what he was ordered after all. Klaus had said to be charming, pleasant, and whatever he did, not to use force.

"Well I request that Klaus dive head first off the nearest cliff," Bonnie slurred, "We all can't get what we want. Funny how that works." She realized now that he was one of Klaus' hybrids, but in her inebriated state, that didn't really matter. She was drunk, and angry, and sad, and when she wasn't thinking about Stefan offering to screw her, she was thinking about him actually screwing her Grams, and really she just wanted to jump off the nearest cliff.

"Klaus always gets what he wants," the hybrid said. He was unable to not be offended by her tone and his stance became threatening. No one talked about Klaus like that, no one.

Just as the hybrid's face began to distort, a hand shot through his body and pulled out his heart. Bonnie watched through blurred vision as the hybrid fell to the ground. She looked up to see the culprit and wasn't too surprised to see Stefan. "You keep saving me," Bonnie said, "I'm kinda glad."

"You're probably the only one," Stefan said, thinking of first Damon and then of Elena. Both of whom didn't think that the outcome of his actions to save them were worth them staying alive apparently. He wondered what would happen if he let them both die next time, too bad he was still too much of himself to see it play out.

"You got blood all over my porch," Bonnie said as she watched him drop the heart. She wondered if it would leave a stain. If her dad ever decided to come home she wouldn't have been able to explain it. Other than that in her drunken state seeing the body didn't really bother her.

"You're drunk," Stefan stated, looking amused.

"It's your fault," Bonnie growled, "You're the one who told me all those things and now I can't stop thinking about it….I don't get it…I mean you're hot and you're you but you're still a vampire so I don't get why they would let you touch them."

Stefan raised a brow as he leaned against her door frame. "What do you mean by I'm me?" He asked curiously. He had come by to try his hand at persuading her again but she was drunk and even if she agreed she wouldn't stick to it in the morning so that was out. Still that old house and its spirits were making him a little stir crazy, so it was good to get some air.

"You know," Bonnie said, "You're Stefan. Southern gentlemen. Savior. Martyr. Saint. I know Damon makes fun of you but you're kind of a good person if you squint really hard and forget about the whole ripping and sleeping with people's grandmother's thing. I mean…I helped Elena save you so many times because I kind of thought that Elena was right and you were worth it. But still...the more I learn about you the more I have to wonder what the hell all of the fuss is about."

"I could show you," Stefan offered.

Bonnie considered this. It was the only way that she could ever find out or even hope to understand, at least that was what her vodka addled brain told her. "Alright fine," Bonnie said, "One kiss. If you can prove your point, and live up to all the hype I will consider going through with this plan of yours. You know the whole fucking for the greater good thing."

Stefan grinned but nodded, deciding that he liked Bonnie drunk. "Alright," he said, "One kiss. Then we can fuck for the greater good."

"I wouldn't be so sure that it will happen if I were you," she said. She didn't bother leaving the safety of her doorway. She wasn't about to invite him in either, she was drunk, not stupid. She simply leaned forward enough, to be within reach. "Alright," she said, "Lay it on me."

Stefan laughed as he stepped over the hybrid's body. He took Bonnie's face in his hands and leaned forward bringing their lips together. Even in the state he was in, he half expected to feel some inkling of guilt at what he was doing but there was none.

When their lips touched, Stefan felt something, he wasn't sure what it was, as he was too caught up in the act of actually feeling to analyze it. Still, her lips were soft, she smelled sweet, tasted better. Even when his tongue slipped into her mouth and he was able to taste the bitterness of the vodka she had drunk, her own taste still overpowered it. The kiss was slow and languid, as he massaged her tongue with his, savoring her taste.

He had always, somewhere in the back of his mind, wondered how she would taste. While he couldn't put a name to it, he found it addicting. When he felt her power rising to the surface he couldn't help but smile into her mouth as a raw burst of energy caused the glass in her living room window to shatter.

Stefan wasn't surprised when she leapt away from him. She looked at the shattered glass in shock and a moment later it was back in place as if it had never happened. "Now do you understand," Stefan said, trying to hide the fact that he was impressed. It hadn't been like this with the others. He had hadn't been able to feel so much of what they were feeling. So much of their power.

Fear, anxiety, anger, shame, and arousal, seemed to sweat out of every pore in Bonnie's body. He could smell it, taste it. Her pulse was beating rapidly and he wanted to kiss her again. To keep kissing her until she invited him into her home and into her bed.

Bonnie met his eyes once, before looking down and shaking her head, he knew what was coming before she said it. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, "I don't really see what all the fuss is about. In fact…I've had better." Stefan blinked at her not even bothering to respond, and she continued. "Make sure you get rid of this body," she ordered gesturing toward the slain hybrid, "And clean the blood off my porch. I have neighbors that aren't used to seeing murder scenes so I'd rather not cause them to talk."

Stefan rolled his eyes as she slammed the door in his face. He wasn't worried. She wasn't the first to resist him at first. He was already getting a reaction from her and this was only beginning.