Katherine is honestly surprised when he opens the door. "Look who's dumb enough to come back—again," she says, masking the surprise with a casual smirk.
He shrugs. "Well, it is my place; I wanted a few of my things. And…I thought you could use a few yourself."
"Your place is small, and there's nothing to do," she says flippantly before sitting down on the couch. "I'm bored."
There's a grin on his face even as he says, "In all your years of existence, have you ever come across a saying about not biting the hand that feeds you?"
Katherine doesn't respond.
Alaric turns around and walks out of her line of sight, and Katherine's first thought is that he's leaving. She opens her mouth to call him back when he reappears with a bag.
He walks into the room. "This," he says as he places the bag on the couch next to her, "is for you."
While he goes to his bedroom to collect what he came for, she looks through the bag. Neither speaks until he's almost out the door.
"Hopefully," he whispers then, before he closes the door, "I'll see you when this is all over."
She nods. "Thank you."