Breathless
A Bonkai One Shot
By V.C. Turner
The bright light which surrounded them faded after several seconds. It took several more for Bonnie's eyes to adjust to the change, and when they did, her breath stilled in her chest.
The first image she saw, the one that stole the air from her lungs, had nothing to do with the snow falling slowly around them. It was the look Kai gave her when their eyes met in the spaces between the snowflakes.
Somewhere, in the distance of her mind, she heard him say the words: "Are you okay," but the question only barely registered in her subconscious.
Her lips couldn't answer, but her heart did.
She quickly blinked to give herself the strength to return back to the moment in front of them.
They had appeared in a forest outside Mystic Falls, circa 1903. Elena and Damon stood to her left, while Kai still stood in front of her, waiting for her to respond to his question. She still needed a moment to find her voice.
Elena broke the silence by speaking first.
"My God, this is really beautiful," she pointed out, looking around and turning to Damon, whose attention seemed to be focused on Bonnie and Kai staring intently at one another.
Elena turned back to her best friend, gently holding her arm and pulling her close to speak in her ear.
"Are you going to be okay? I don't trust you with him," Elena said.
Bonnie looked at the concerned brunette.
"I'll be fine. He's good now; remember? New leaf." she insisted, turning back to Kai and watching him catch snowflakes on his tongue like an excited child seeing winter for the first time.
Elena looked between the two of them before heading toward the Salvatore home.
With a clenched jaw and a furrowed brow, Damon threw Bonnie a knowing look, then nodded as he walked away. After several feet, he looked back toward Bonnie and Kai, only to be pulled away from the woods by an eager Elena wanting to meet Lily Salvatore.
Bonnie understood the unspoken confirmation from Damon. He wanted her to stick with the plan: his plan. He knew the only way to get Bonnie to come along was to tell her it would be the perfect opportunity to exact her revenge against Kai.
He agreed to help her trap Kai in the prison world in exchange for her help in retrieving his mother. The plan consisted of him briefly meeting with Lily, then using Elena to distract Lily while Damon set a trap for Kai in the woods.
All she needed to do was lead Kai into it.
Bonnie convinced herself she could follow through with everything until she looked in Kai's eyes and watched as his full lips turned up into a small smile.
"So, you believe me?" he asked, breaking her from her thoughts again.
She considered his words, wanting to be honest with him even though she wasn't certain he'd appreciate it.
"I don't know if I believe you, but I want to," she admitted.
"Bonnie, I'm not a perfect person. I've done things I really wish I could take back. Most of those things I did to you. I know no apology isn't going to cover all if it, or fix it, but…my guilt keeps me up at night. And I'm sorry," Kai said in a soft voice that sounded like a plea.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe there is a sliver of good in you," she said, "If there is, then there's hope for you."
"You want to have hope – even for me?" Kai asked.
"Yeah, I guess I do," she told him.
Kai smiled at Bonnie again; an act that forced her heart to launch itself at her ribcage before finally settling down to a normal rhythm.
How the hell could she feel this way about him, regardless of how handsome he appeared standing in the snow and looking at her as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world?
"Thanks," he said, "Now let's do this spell before we both freeze to death."
Kai blew out a shaky breath, and then removed his gloves. He rubbed his hands together as Bonnie began chanting the spell.
She pulled out the large knife sheathed in her belt loop and gently cut is hand to release the blood she needed to locate the ascendant. She immediately felt guilty for the two-inch incision she created.
"Sorry," Bonnie said.
She looked at him and received a reassuring smile in return.
"It's okay," he insisted, holding up his hand and allowing the blood to drip into her palm.
She closed her eyes and continued chanting, sensing that the ascendant was located in the Salvatore basement. In her mind, she watched Elena pick up the device and examine it.
Bonnie, relieved that they would not have to search for hours to find the damned thing, opened her eyes to the warm sensation of blood dripping from her nose.
Kai used the pad of his right thumb to wipe it away.
"You didn't have to do that," she told him.
"I know," Kai said.
He looked around the forest, noticing an iron bench that sat several yards away.
Kai faced Bonnie and held out his hand. She gave him a cautious look.
"Walk with me," he said, leading her away from the clearing where they had originally appeared.
Bonnie followed him, stepping over fallen branches and other foliage as they made their way through the forest.
When they reached a fallen tree, Kai turned to grab her hand. Bonne felt his warmth even through her gloves.
Was he even the same man that betrayed her, stabbed her, and abandoned her? He didn't seem to be.
It was in that moment she decided that she couldn't just leave him there if he had a chance to become a better man; to learn from his mistakes. She surrounded herself with people possessing dark sides. Why should he be any different?
She should have let go of his hand once they made it to stable ground, but she didn't. Perhaps it was because she hadn't held hands with anyone in so long. Perhaps it was because she needed to be touched.
Perhaps it was something else entirely.
Kai looked down at their intertwined fingers and smirked a little more than he knew he should have.
Once they reached the bench, he motioned for Bonnie to sit down, and he took his place next to her.
They had another ten minutes before having to meet Elena, Damon and Lily back at the clearing.
Bonnie's heart beat furiously because she knew she was supposed to be leading Kai into a trap at that very moment, but she couldn't. She wouldn't.
"I could teach you how to focus a little better when you cast a spell. It should help keep your nose from bleeding," he said.
An involuntary shiver came over her as the temperature in the air appeared to drop 10 degrees all at once. Kai wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her coat to create enough friction to heat her up.
The feeling seeped into her skin, but much of it had to do with his closeness to her rather than his efforts to save her from frostbite.
"You don't have to do this, you know…try to keep me warm," Bonnie stated.
He chuckled.
"Well, I can't have you freezing out here, even though you'd make a beautiful little witch-popsicle," he joked.
Bonnie blushed, in spite of herself, turning her head away from him.
"Thanks," she whispered, attempting to hide her embarrassment.
"You suck at accepting compliments," Kai pointed out, turning her face towards him.
"I don't suck at it. I just don't get them," she said, realizing the gravity of those words as she spoke them.
Bonnie felt as if she existed in the shadows when it came to the rest of her friends. She had grown comfortable in that darkness of never being noticed, but it was a lonely place to be – even when surrounded by people who say that love you.
"Well I promise to give you plenty of compliments if you promise to teach me some self-control techniques," he suggested.
"And a little modesty," she added.
"Oh, now, that's pushing it," he joked with a disarming smirk.
She looked up in his eyes and wished so many things: that he'd never hurt her in the first place; that she could completely trust him; that she could wipe the memory of what happened between them from her mind and focus only on this moment.
Kai stroked her face as he glanced back and forth between Bonnie's lips and her eyes. Her heart thudded in her ears so loudly she could barely hear herself speak. She needed to stop this before she fell in love with the living embodiment of a Handsome Devil.
"Don't use those doe eyes on me," she told him, "It's not going to work."
"What's not going to work?" he said, searching her eyes again as he licked his lips do draw attention to their perfection.
"I just get the feeling you're up to something," she told him looking into the forest because it was easier than looking into his eyes and giving in to her secret desires.
Kai looked up as if figuring out what to say, then turned back to her, blue-grey eyes staring into hers seeking the unspoken permission he needed to receive.
"I planned on kissing you, but," he started, leaning into her so that his lips brushed her earlobe, "You still have that Crocodile Dundee knife in your pocket, so I don't know if I should risk it."
Bonnie's brown cheeks flushed a glowing shade of fuchsia before she responded.
"I promise: I won't stab you Kai," she whispered into his ear, "Unless you're bad at it."
His genuine smile reached his eyes.
"It has been a while," he told her, scooting closer and nuzzling her cheek with tip of his nose, "But I think I will risk it."
Bonnie wasn't sure what she expected. She felt certain he'd be aggressive or do his best to impress her with something passionate.
Instead, his soft, warm lips brushed against hers with caution and then a bit of longing. The sweetness of it surprised her, but she kissed him back, slowly and softly as the snowflakes melted on their faces. Her breathing slowed as did his. Time seemed to stand still as the kiss appeared to deepen for both of them.
Kai's right thumb gently stroked her jawline as he cupped her chin. Bonnie's small hands grasped the fabric of his jacket as she pulled him closer; not realizing how much she wanted him until his lips were molded to hers.
He pulled back and cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her to do something.
"What?" she asked, still in a fog.
"How was that?" he asked.
"Well, um, you could use some practice," she teased
Kai chuckled as he pressed a soft peck on her cheek.
"I'll do better next time," he said.
Bonnie breathed in his cologne and tried to focus on what to say next. She needed to make sure her feelings were real. As he held her, she found herself beginning to fall for a man she'd spent so much time hating.
"When's the next time?" she asked, looking back up at him.
"Right now," he answered.
Kai leaned in again, capturing her lips once more as he pulled closer to him. They felt as if they were the only people on the planet. She wanted to freeze this moment, knowing that sooner or later they would have to head back to present day Mystic Falls.
The silence of their intimate moment was broken by the sound of a throat clearing. It echoed loudly between the trees, forcing Kai and Bonnie to separate. Bonnie looked into the woods and saw an angry expression on Damon's face, and a slight smile on Elena's. They were accompanied by Lily, who seemed indifferent to what they'd all witnessed.
Bonnie felt Kai's eyes remain on her. She turned to face him as he let out a brief exhale.
"I guess it's time to go," she said.
Kai stood and reached for her hand, taking it into his as they walked back to the clearing. Bonnie ignored the glare from Damon; the look he gave her meant that she had some explaining to do once they returned home.
White light flooded the area again and soon they were standing back in the Salvatore living room in front of the roaring fireplace. The change in temperature forced them all to shed their winter coats.
"Bonnie, why don't I take you home?" Damon asked, a worried expression on his face.
"I've got it covered," Kai chimed in, giving Bonnie wink.
Bonnie blushed until she heard Damon growl from across the room, but Elena pulled him toward the kitchen.
"What's with you?" Elena asked Damon.
"I don't like it," Damon answered in a hushed voice.
"Well Bonnie does and she can take care of herself, so back off," Elena explained.
She then turned to Bonnie and gave her a smile while mouthing the words "Call me later," to her friend.
"Where are you going?" Damon asked.
Kai and Bonnie exchanged a look before giving him an answer.
"We're going to practice," they said in unison as they headed out the door.