A/N: This is a series of random and interconnected one-shots that take place after S6Ep17 "Bird in a Gilded Cage." Cannon up until the end of Ep17—Bonnie does NOT leave Kai in 1903 prison world. This is my first Bonnie/Kai fanfiction so I may be a bit rusty and if the characters seem a bit OOC, bear with me!

When she'd learned that Kai had been the one to send Jeremy back to save her, Bonnie didn't know how to feel.

She'd spent so much time hating Kai and plotting her revenge, she wasn't sure how deal with the feeling of sudden emptiness; all the anger and hatred felt so hallow, she didn't have the energy to hold onto it anymore.

As a result, she decided a civil truce with Kai would be the best course of action.

It was difficult at first; he was still as annoying and infuriatingly arrogant as always—but every now and then, she would catch a flash of emotion in his eyes or a guilt-ridden expression darkening his features whenever he looked at her.

It was odd.

Seeing Kai of all people expressing emotions and feelings; she didn't want to believe the numerous times he'd sworn to her he changed—she thought it was just another one of his manipulative tricks and she wasn't falling for it—not this time.

But then Damon started in on her as well, dropping casual hints every now and then about Kai's apparent "reformation" and pretty soon, she couldn't ignore the signs anymore.

That was the most frustrated she'd ever been—not to mention she was beyond infuriated and matters were only made worse when Kai showed up on her doorstep, apologizing—again and asking for her forgiveness—again.

"I—I can't deal with you right now." She'd uttered in one exhausted breath, then slammed the door in his face.

It wasn't long before her conscience started to prick her and she let out an exasperated sound somewhere between a growl and a moan as she collapsed face-first onto the couch.

She called Damon—not knowing what else to do and standing to her feet, she walked to the window and pulled back the curtain just slightly.

"Hello?"

Bonnie's mouth fell open and she squinted her eyes. "You have—got to be kidding me!"

"Bonnie?"

"He's—still out there?!"

Damon made a popping sound with his lips and raised his brows. "Okay uh, Bon you're really starting to freak me out with this whole middle-of-a-one-sided conversation thing."

"It's Kai; he's outside my house."

Damon paused, pursing his lips. "Okay—I admit a little creepy but no more than his typical conflicted sociopathic-with-feelings behavior."

Bonnie sighed, irritated. "No, he's not being sociopathic, that's just—it he came to apologize-again."

"And let me guess; you witchy wooed him—again."

Bonnie scowled. "Ha ha, but no. Truce, remember? It's just—I don't know I couldn't deal with it so I just—slammed the door in his face. Only problem is, he clearly didn't take the hint because he's still outside."

Damon's brow furrowed and he walked to the kitchen. "O—kay so what did you call me for?"

"Well what do I do?! I want him to leave!"

This time, it was Damon's turn to sigh in exasperation and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Bonnie, we've talked about this a million times; Kai is guilt-ridden because of what happened in the prison world and he wants your forgiveness! But you don't want to give it to him—and before you rip my head off, I'm not blaming you—but you're gonna have to realize that the longer you don't forgive him, the longer he's gonna chase after you and you're not gonna be rid of him until he gets what he wants. So…."

Bonnie let out a defeated sigh, letting the curtain fall back into place and turning away from the window. "I don't get why the hell it's so important to him to get my forgiveness; I mean he's not chasing you all over Mystic Falls, pining for yours!"

Damon smirked at this. "That's because I'm not the one he left behind in 1994 after mercilessly torturing for—months and he doesn't have the hots for me."

Bonnie deadpanned. "What. Did you say?"

There was a deep chuckle on the other end of the line. "Oh com'on Bonnie, you can't tell me the thought hasn't entered your mind too; why else would he be so desperate? What other reason could he possibly have for following you around everywhere, not to mention those great big brown puppy dog eyes get all weepy and guilty whenever he looks at you."

Bonnie scoffed in disgust. "You're disgusting, Damon." She spat.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Don't believe me? Ask Elena; she sees it just as much as I do and so does Alaric—hell, even Jo admitted she sensed Kai has a strong feeling towards you and let's face it, Witchy, she is his twin sister so that automatically gives her mind-reading rights."

Bonnie massaged her temple. "I cannot believe I'm even listening to this—I'm hanging up now."

"Ugh, fine! But don't forget you're coming over later tonight."

"For what?"

"Uh dinner, remember? Today marks six months since you've been home and we're celebrating; no ifs ands or buts."

"Fine—I'll be there—I guess it's too much to hope that Kai won't be?"

"Sorry, Judgey; he kinda lives here after all-nnnnot to mention the celebratory dinner was kinda his idea."

This caught Bonnie completely off guard. "Wait. What?!"

But Damon wasn't about to play into her curiosity—he'd dropped that little bit on purpose and he was gonna let her simmer and stew over it until tonight.

"Aaaand that's Elena calling, gotta run! See you tonight, oh! And wear something nice!"

"Damon, wha-!"

The line went dead.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and glared at it. "Thank you for nothing, you useless bat!" She hissed.

# # # #

Elena stood in the kitchen, shoulder to shoulder with Damon, chopping up the veggies for the stir fry while Damon fileted the Salmon.

Just then, footsteps were heard coming from the out in the foyer and a second later, Kai appeared in the doorway—dressed in a sleek black suit, paired with a dark blue dress shirt—looking nervous as hell.

Elena's eyes widened in appreciation—and Damon just stared.

Kai's fingers pulled nervously at the collar of his shirt and a thin sheen of sweat dampened his brow.

"Dude. A suit? Seriously?" Damon groaned in annoyance.

"Too much?" Kai asked nervously.

Elena tilted her head appraisingly, her lips into a tiny smile. "No—"

"Uh, yes, it is!" Damon countered, receiving a death glare from Elena.

"It's too much. Damn it, I—I can't do this." Kai whirled around and started to leave, but Elena called after him.

"Kai its fine, come here." She glared when Damon opened his mouth to speak and her boyfriend promptly slammed it shut once more.

"Maybe lose the tie?" She offered gently, loosening the black tie from around Kai's neck and undoing a few buttons on the collar.

"There. That's better; you still look classy but more relaxed." She smiled encouragingly.

Damon rolled his eyes, turning to the stove.

Just then, there was a knock at the front door.

"That's Bonnie." She tossed a look at Damon over her shoulder, then turned back to Kai and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't worry; if Bonnie can forgive Damon and develop a friendship, she can do the same with you—it's just gonna take time."

With that, Elena went to answer the door, leaving a slightly shaking Kai and a less-than-amused Damon glaring at him distastefully.

"Dude. You have serious issues."

Kai let out a shaky laugh, wiping the back of his hand across his perspiring forehead.

"This is so weird, Bro."

"I'm not your bro."

"No but seriously; I've—never felt nervous before—all the—shaking, my heart pounding and the sweat pouring down my face—" He paused, rubbing his face with the sleeve of his jacket as he let out an ironic chuckle. "—it's so crazy!"

"Welcome to humanity, good for you but if you want to not look like an idiot in front of Bonnie, then for God's sake, pull yourself together. However, if idiocy is the impression you're going for than by all means….be my guest!"

A biting retort was on the tip of Kai's tongue but the appearance of both women in the room, caused the Gemini witch's mouth to slam shut—and then slacken almost simultaneously.

There Bonnie stood.

In a teal green form-fitting little number that hugged her curves and stopped just above her knees. The strapless design showcased her arms and shoulders and the diamond-shaped open back did wonders in showing of her gorgeously toned back.

She'd paired the dress with a pair of 3-inch black heels which accentuated the length of her legs and gave her figure a very poised and elegant appearance.

For the first time in his life, Kai's mouth went dry and he had no words.

"Whoo! Judgey you're lookin' sharp. Very nice!"

Bonnie offered a weary smile in return; she really had no desire to be here but Damon's genuine compliment made the heaviness in her chest a little easier to bear.

"Okay! Well dinner's almost ready, we're just waiting on the Salmon so um—Kai, could you put the wine glasses on the table please?"

Bonnie had momentarily forgotten about the other witch's presence but at the mention of his name, her back straightened and she turned in his direction.

She froze.

Her mouth went dry at the sight of him and for—the umpteenth time, Bonnie had no idea how to describe what she was feeling.

She'd been feeling things for weeks now—things she couldn't understand or explain and honestly, she didn't want to. Her first instinct was always, run and do whatever it takes to protect herself.

But every time she was near him—and every time he looked at her like that, she started to doubt everything she thought was true and deep down, she knew—she couldn't outrun him forever.