"I miss you," Klaus confesses; his low and throaty voice barely audible through the steady hum of the air conditioner. Bonnie wonders if she heard him right; the blood rushing through her ears, loud as a thunderstorm.
Bonnie looks down at her hands and realizes she's shaking. This moment, she's imagined this moment for so long and Klaus was saying the right things, and yet she doesn't feel overjoyed or bursting with happiness. As a matter of fact, she barely feels. Standing there, in that fucking place that seems to be taunting her, Bonnie feels numb. Her body is the one that isn't cooperating.
"You left, out of your own volition," Bonnie reminds him, raising her chin and staring at him for the first time since she entered the room. Still blue, with specs of gold. Once reassuring, they now made her feel anxious. "You don't get to miss me. Or look at me with those wide eyes!"
"You once told me you would always love me despite everything. Despite my every mistake. I reckon you were lying when you said that."
Bonnie lets out a chuckle; as bitter as the greenest of the limes. Suddenly she doesn't feel that numb anymore. No, her heart starts beating against her chest and her trembling hands close in a tight fist.
"And you said you would never leave me, remember? It was right after this," she raises her right hand to show the small mark on the inside of her wrist. "You were my mate and you left, Klaus!"
Distraught, Klaus takes large steps until he's right there; close enough to smell her jasmine perfume. He takes both of her wrists in his hands; runs his thumb over her mark. The motion is gentle despite the angry energy surrounding him.
"I'm sorry, love," he whispers, bending down so his lips are scraping the warm skin of her cheek. Bonnie feels her face getting warmer and warmer as a deep blush settles. Displaying a healthy amount if self control, she takes a step back and puts a safe distance in between them. "You consumed my thoughts, my dreams. I could smell your scent on my sheets and could hear your voice if the room was quiet enough. This time away from you was worse than hell."
"Don't talk to me about hell when it was your decision. I begged you to stay, and you didn't care about me or about us!"
Her voice breaks as a sob gets caught up in her throat. Bonnie wants to cry, scream, and sock him on his pretty face, all at the same time. All of the hurt she thought she had gotten over is coming back with a vengeance, washing away all of the protective walls she had built for he own survival. Bonnie thought she could withstand anything, but he's her mate, and she realizes she doesn't really have any defenses when it comes to him. After all, he's her second nature. He's the one who can make he heart beat at a faster pace with one look, calm her down with one grumpy smile. And that's why all of this destroys her.
"You left, Klaus," Bonnie says, ignoring the twinge of pain she feels when he cringes at her using Klaus instead of Nik. He had always been Nik or even Nikki when she was being a little brat who wanted to annoy him. Klaus was reserved to his enemies or strangers and she wasn't either. "So don't tell me you miss me or that you think about me. We could've been happy, but that wasn't enough for you."
Klaus opens his mouth but snaps it shut after a second or so. Bonnie deserved better than having him look in her eyes and lie. Because he would be lying if he denied her accusation. Sure, he loved their life together. He still had dreams of her bronze skin; suntanned and a bit salty from the Indic Ocean water, her bright smile when she awakened him with a kiss.
But not even sun filled vacations in Seychelles were enough to make him forget about a city he built, a city that was supposed to be his. The despair that filled him whenever he imagined someone else in his place soon became too much to bear.
"I'm the king, little witch. We can be happy now. The vampires and the wolves are under my control and I still need to get a grip on the wi-"
"You honestly think I give a fuck about your title? Now that you're the king everything is forgotten?"
"I can't be defeated anymore. I have an army now. Just, come home with me. Be by my side as my queen, Bonnie," Klaus pleads, extending his arms to reach her again. Again, she takes a step back, unwilling to let him get closer.
Their bond may be weakened by their distance, but it's still there. It won't ever go away. Soulmates remain as such until their last breath.
"Remember what I told you that day? You could have me or you could have your city, and you made your decision," Bonnie says with a finality that makes Klaus's chest tighten as if he had thousands of pounds placed over him. "We're done, Klaus."
He runs a hand through his blonde hair, wishes he knew the right words to fix this, to wipe that devastated expression on her face.
"We will never be done, witch. Not while we have this," he tells her; lips curling in a threatening smirk before he can even realize. The bond is the only thing that's stopping him from going out and setting everything on fire.
"The bond will be there, you're right," she nodded, pushing the bangs from her eyes. "But you showed me it's possible not to give a damn to the bond. You broke my heart, but you didn't break me. I will move on some day, and you'll be nothing but a memory and a mark on my wrist."
Bonnie promises and her vision becomes blurry as the tears finally leave her eyes, trickling down her cheeks. That scene, coupled with her words, stirs something inside Klaus. He has to fight the urge to pull her in his arms and tell her he's not letting her go, she's not moving on from him. He stays rooted to his spot, though. Elijah's advice sound in his head. He should respect Bonnie's wishes no matter what. Even when he wants nothing more than chain her to his side and only set her free when she changes her mind.
"This place, I hope you've found what you were looking for, I hope it was all worth it," Bonnie mutters with a forced smile. "Goodbye, Klaus."
She turns around and walks out of the door. Resisting the urge to look back at him and jumping into his arms, Bonnie keeps her head high, and leaves the Abattoir. Another second in that place would suffocate her.
Klaus can do nothing but watch as Bonnie leaves his life, much like he left her a year ago. He wonders if that was how she felt when he didn't choose her; not worthy enough.
Long live the king of New Orleans.
A/N: This scene just wouldn't leave me, and I had to write it. Sorry for the angst, this is kind of a new universe and I want to write more drabbles to expand on it. Come follow me on tumblr at lilac17! Happy New Year, everyone!
