A/N: StudioEden was kind enough to write Bon Voyage from Kai's POV. This is all her doing, so please feel free to drop by and show her some love for her fics, especially The Reset and The Gamble!

Kai had already gotten the memo from Rudy earlier that day about a cruise. It was to make up for the trip to New Orleans that got canceled a while back. Fucking Cabo. He was so glad he hadn't been able to go on that trip. Or had even been extended an invitation. He would have broken bones. Namely Damon's, but who would have tried to stop him? Nobody, that's who.

Promising to keep it a secret from Bonnie, he went about his normal day at work. They were swamped at Vera's, but he knew it was typical. Whenever he was getting ready to take some time off, it was like the universe knew and wanted to toy with him. Well the universe would just have to deal with his chicken scratch as he finished off the last of the paperwork, notifying his sous chef that he needed to prepare to hold down the fort. His father was taking a well-needed break and he wasn't allowed to call him, even if the kitchen was on fire.

When he finally got off work and arrived home, Bonnie was all smiles and beaming like the golden rays of sunlight.

"Oh and look, it's got its own balcony!" Bonnie was all but throwing brochures at him and Kai set his bag down with a chuckle.

"Hi, honey. How was your day?" Kai asked, teasing her with his absolute worst fifties housewife voice. "It was swell, darling, I love how you greet me at the door with my slippers and a drink in hand." He dropped the bass, receiving a swift elbow to his ribs and he laughed, gathering her up in his arms.

"Yeah, I got your slippers, Parker. But duly noted." Kai saw that heart-shaped face as it scrunched up for a kiss. He laughed, pressing his lips to hers. The trail of kisses lingered near his ear and Kai was already reprimanding his lower half to behave. "Hey baby, how was your day?"

Another laugh as he leaned down to place kisses along her neck. "Better now."

And it was better. He would never get tired of her smell, the warmth of her body as it all but blanketed him from head to toe. Kai was ready to give all of himself to this woman, this little firecracker, and he didn't care about it one way or the other. This beautiful, mocha-skinned delight was his and no one else's.

After a few more lingering moments of enjoying each other's warmth, he sighed while pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the juncture of her neck. It was time to play dumb. "What were you saying about a cruise?"

He distracted her, punished her by not giving him the proper greeting he felt he deserved when coming home after slaving over a hot stove. His hands smoothed up her skin, under her shirt, and he relished in the way her body quivered and inflamed under his palms.

Her willpower was commendable.

After swooping her up into his arms, he plopped her onto the couch and laughed as they looked at all the pictures and picked out where they wanted to go on what stops. Bonnie made a few calls and Kai had to resist smiling when she heard the shock in her tone at Nik stating Finn was offering up their loft in New York. Kai wouldn't tell Bonnie that he'd already filled in Nik on some of the details and that everything would be squared away. This was the trip that Bonnie had missed out on - the trip that she had deserved.

Nah, he'd keep that little nugget to himself and buy a round of drinks for the Mikaelsons at a later date.

Liv and Luke suggested that he pack half the planet on the trip. His father grunted about being practical. Sheila made him promise not to let Bonnie send her any pictures of flowers while they were on the boat or at any pit stops on the cruise. Everyone was so demanding and Kai just shook his head in disbelief at all of them.

Bonnie fussed over his packing and he told her that rolling her shirts made more sense. No wrinkles that way. He'd gone back and forth on a plane, throwing shit into a duffel bag enough to know what made sense travel-wise. She relented and Kai let her fuss over his toiletries.

After watching her flop about the bed like a schoolgirl, Kai just smiled as he set their bags down in the corner of the room. "Is that gonna be something that you do every time we stay at a new place?"

"Maybe." She star fished out on the bed before spotting their balcony, Kai following her gaze. "Take a picture, I want to send it to my dad and let him know we got on the ship."

Pictures were taken and mini adventures were had. Kai let Bonnie drag him around but only on the offshoot that he got to do the same. They explored the various areas, his surprise truly hitting when nothing had to come out of pocket for anything they did. Rudy really had gone all out and spared no expense for this vacation. A knot formed in his chest, thinking back onto the conversation that he had with Rudy before he came to Vera's with Bonnie in tow that one night.

"I think I love your dad, Bon."

Kai had a little bit of pull, more than Bonnie probably realized. But he didn't want to flex unnecessarily. The option to go to one of the fancier restaurants had Kai rushing to get dressed, but he was patient when it came to Bonnie and her getting ready. He would wait on her for a lifetime if he had to.

The menu was spectacular. Kai mentally filed away things that he wanted to try when he got back, yammering on excitedly to Bonnie about the decadent flavors that she knew she was enjoying from her expressions. Passing along his business card, he got the okay from the chef to come back into the kitchen during prep time while they were on the cruise. A bottle of champagne was thrown in with the whole lot of it and the two of them went back to their room, practically beaming like it was Christmas morning.

Full. He was so full and stupidly happy that he almost stumbled into the room had Bonnie not caught him by the arm. They shared a languid laugh. "I love this place, I'm never leaving."

He paused, watching as Bonnie hummed and slowly began removing her dress and makeup. That familiar knot tugged at his chest, accompanied with a warmth that spread throughout his entire body. It definitely wasn't the alcohol.

"I love you, you know," he said, watching as her eyes looked back at him from the mirror's reflection.

"Yeah, I know. I love you too."

Kai tried to undress, but he was too full and too happy and too complete. The world faded into nothing and it was his own form of nirvana. He couldn't escape it, even if he'd wanted to.

He'd make it up to her in the morning.

And he did.

Kai woke before Bonnie. He always did.

Taking a moment to card his fingers through her hair, Kai inhaled deeply - filling his lungs with her scent. He'd never get tired of it. Tired of her. Of waking up to her body molded into his, like jigsaw puzzles lost from the picture but finding each other in the corner of a child's playroom. Forgotten by all except each other.

A perfect match.

His lips caressed her jaw, his arm snaking around and dipping over her bare stomach - his hand gliding between her legs and relishing in the warmth of her folds.

She stirred in his arms. "Mmm, well someone is up early this morning."

Her voice was thick with sleep, deep and rumbly and it made him ache for her all the more. Wriggling down, his movements urged her to spread her legs so he could have his morning meal. There was no need to hurry. There were no obligations. Pleasing her was all he had to focus on and he took his sweet time doing so - grunting with want as she keened against his mouth. He drank all of her, wanting to suck the soul right out of her.

Kai never tired of her mewling.

Bonnie's voice was soft, hot pants leaving her lips as her thighs quivered against his shoulders. But he wasn't finished. Far from it. Hands grasped at her hips, thumbs dipping into her skin as he pulled to the left - silently urging her to turn over. His chest fell on her back, hands gripping her wrists, and it wasn't until she was reaching for everything that he pulled back to position himself behind her. Nails raked up her sweat-tinged spine, his hips moving forward and sliding into her in a single motion. He saw stars, blinking them back as he let everything wash over her - their motions slow, almost timeless.

He wanted this - all of her - forever.

The days passed on and they spent it together like any couple on a retreat - hidden away from the world. Being with Bonnie was already a blessing he probably didn't deserve, but taking away the responsibilities just made it that much better. No worries. No lingering stress from work and social obligations. Just the two of them in the middle of the ocean and away from everything.

They had filled up on booze and food, music and dancing. Laughter and love. The two of them were feeling a euphoria they couldn't ignore and he made love to her all over again before they fell into a blissful sleep.

At some point, Kai stirred in his sleep - torn between remaining unconscious and rousing. It felt like his throat was closing up. He didn't think it was the confined space. Maybe it was dehydration. Either way, he disentangled himself from Bonnie, hoping a bottle of water and a cold splash to the face would chase it away.

Draining half the bottle, Kai entered the bathroom and turned on the faucet. He set the bottle down on the counter, dipping his hands under the cold jets and splashed his face several times. Kai ran wet fingers through his hair and looked at his reflection. But what was staring back at him wasn't his face. Or was it?

The eyes looking back at him were cold and filled with a darker purpose. The motions mirrored his as he slowly drew up to his full height. Water dripped from around his face and down his chin - the soft shadow of stubble all his. Kai lifted a face to his chin and his reflection mimicked him.

Eyeing the time, Kai laughed quietly while shaking his head as he removed his toothbrush from the cup. He knew he was a few cards short a full deck, but that was him. That wasn't anyone but him.

But something didn't feel right.

As he brushed his teeth, his eyes lingered back to the mirror. For a moment, all Kai could do was stare. He waited for something to happen. Expected it.

And then it did.

His reflection winked.

Kai's guts hit the floor as he bolted out of the bathroom.

He was at Bonnie's side, shaking her awake and she looked for all the world like she was fighting being woken up. "Hey, I don't know if I drank too much last night, or if I was slipped something, but I swear my reflection just winked at me."

"What?" Bonnie looked around, bleary eyed and beautiful but he was too rattled to appreciate it. "Are you sure you weren't still sleeping?"

Kai rolled his eyes and gave an aggravated sigh. "No, Bonnie. I'm sure I was awake." He wished he'd been asleep. That would have made more sense.

She clambered out of bed. "Fine, let's go over what you were doing-Ah!" Bonnie yelped and Kai felt his shoulders jump. "Something shocked me."

Taking her hand in his, he massaged her knuckles between his thumbs. "Yeah they said that would happen, something about static charge and blah, blah, blah." Kai pulled her along, heading toward the bathroom. "I was standing here brushing my teeth and I looked up, and I swear I saw a reflection of myself, but it wasn't me."

He watched Bonnie looking at the mirror, studying it for a moment. He hoped she didn't think he was hallucinating. He hadn't done that in some years. Bonnie looked back at him speculatively. "You sure you weren't still dreaming? You did think you were being chased by a giant snake a few weeks ago."

That was true. Maybe she was right. Maybe he was too caught up in the feeling and got overwhelmed subconsciously. He'd been taking his meds regularly and hadn't had an episode in well over a year.

His shoulders sagged a little. "Maybe I was still asleep." Kai muttered it more to himself than her, but she led him back to the bed.

"Why were you up so early anyways?"

He didn't want to worry her over his mild sleeping fit. Kai yawned, not even trying to stifle it. "I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed."

Feeling his weight getting pushed back into the bed, he smiled sleepily up at her. "I'll get it, you just lay here. Get some more sleep."

He did feel tired all of a sudden. Maybe it was him coming down from an adrenaline high, but his eyelids felt heavy. Feeling the pillow fluffed and the blanket falling over his form, Kai's vision grew dark and he faded out - Bonnie's voice the last thing lingering in his thoughts.

He'd never been more thankful for Bonnie being absent in the room.

After spending thirty minutes resting his mind, Kai woke up feeling a bit more refreshed. But there was trepidation in his motions as he entered the bathroom a second time that morning. Glaring at his reflection, Kai poked and prodded and needled at the mirror - waiting for a change to happen. Ten minutes passed and there was nothing. Just him looking like a fucking idiot as he waited for the "boogie man" to pop out and yell "boo" like some cheesy episode on Tales From The Crypt.

"Goddamn," he muttered while roughly scratching his head, "get a fucking grip, Malachai Parker."

Finishing up the rest of his business, Kai was toweling his face as he left the bathroom when Bonnie came running through the door like she'd stolen something. He quipped a brow at her, his eyes immediately going to her arms to see if she had, in fact, stolen something. Noting the plates, he grinned. It was just breakfast.

"Hey, did you get something good?" Kai watched her swiftly set the plates down, grabbed his arm and all but dragged him onto the balcony.

"Mal, come out on the balcony, I think I saw some whales."

He slowly raised a brow at her. Mal? He couldn't help the thought. Since when? And he took note of how loud her voice had gotten, like she was trying to throw someone off. Well, it certainly wasn't him.

Once fully out on the balcony, Kai watched her pull the sliding glass door shut - the ocean and wind the only sound blanketing around them. Something was going on and he patiently awaited her explanation.

She didn't twiddle her thumbs about it. "I think you were right about your reflection winking at you. When I was getting dressed, I heard a whistle and I thought it was you, but you'd already gone back to sleep."

A heavy weight left his chest. So he wasn't having a relapse. Well thank his lucky stars. "So what the hell is going on then?"

Bonnie quickly explained to him her assessment of the situation. It wasn't farfetched and it wasn't like he didn't believe her. As long as signs didn't point to him being a bit of a nutjob, then the idea of his magical twin trying to pull through the veil was the better option in his opinion.

He took a moment, brows furrowing in thought as his hand gripped onto the towel draped across his neck. "So you're telling me that you think because of your death releasing him from his prison, he's out here just fucking with people?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Not just fucking with people, though. Trying to cross over. And I'm thinking that since he saw you-"

Kai felt the color drain from his face. "He thinks he may have a chance to cross over through me?" That was ludicrous.

A lump formed in his throat at Bonnie's shrug. How could she just shrug about it?! "I mean, that's how I crossed over. I took the place of my other self. But we have the advantage because I don't think he knows who I am. He might think this is just another world that just happens to have you and me together in it."

Count his lucky stars indeed. "Okay, so what now?" It was taking everything he had in him not to glance toward the mirror from the open door of the bathroom. "Should we just go on about our business and ignore him?"

He wanted the answer to be yes. Kai wanted this to be some bad dream that he was going to wake up from. He'd take Hell's Kitchen over this bullshit.

Bonnie's frown instantly dashed his wishes. "No, I don't think that will work anymore. I've always said he was smart and more versed in magic than I am. He might have already thought of hijacking your body in order to leave."

Kai felt his face frown up in outrage. "Can he do that?"

"I did…of course my other self was halfway-" Her voice suddenly trailed off. She must have seen the look on his face. "Doesn't matter, I won't let him." The wind settled into his stomach as Bonnie reassured him with not only her words, but her arms around him. Her breath was warm and comforting on his skin and he couldn't help but wrap her up against him even tighter. "I had to die to find you, I'll be damned if he's gonna take you from me."

What nerves were rattling in him instantly settled. Kai loved this woman so much, it almost hurt to look at her. But look at her he did and the two of them stayed that way, appearing lost in love and leisure. Yet the truth existed between them. They had to find a way to snuff this guy out. To find out if he was just a lingering ghost story or a real threat.

As they played it off like things were normal, Kai opted that they stay on the ship. Bonnie didn't need to question it since that was the smartest strategy. With everyone going ashore to do things in the touristy areas of the stop, Kai and Bonnie wouldn't have to worry about prying eyes or ears getting in the middle of what they were trying to do.

"We'll have the whole ship to ourselves," Kai said as they entered back into the room.

"Mostly." Nipping at the finger that Bonnie pointed at him, he grabbed her up and pushed her onto the bed - nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck to lavish his affections across her skin.

"Oh give me a break."

Eyes growing wide in tandem, Kai froze momentarily. But Bonnie's fingers on his arms gave him the reassurance he needed to keep going. Her breath, her scent, her touch was all that he needed to bring him down from that heightened state of anxiety that was creeping around the corners of his eyes. Bonnie would give him the signal, so he just took comfort in feeling her heartbeat against his palm as he glided a hand over her chest.

Suddenly, Kai felt Bonnie pushing all of her weight against him, the highest pitch in her voice he'd ever heard as she cried, "Oh my God. Mal!"

Lifting his head up, he whipped it around to follow where he knew her line of sight was aimed. "Is this some kind of joke?"

His "twin" rolled his eyes, the condescension clear in his gaze. "Did she screw your brains out? Of course this isn't a joke!" His other self glanced past him, like he were something insignificant, and continued. "Is he always this dumb?"

Anger flared in Kai's chest. "Hey!" Wow, this guy was a real piece of shit. "I'm not dumb!"

"He's not dumb!" They had said it in unison.

"You're not dumb, baby." He smiled when Bonnie ran a hand up and down his arm.

"Baby?" Their attention was brought back to his double as he laughed in disbelief. "Are you seriously using pet names right now?"

Bonnie tugged on Kai's arm, bringing him out of his haze of anger. "Let's just leave Mal, he's stuck in the mirror. He can't follow us, right?"

Kai nodded, but he almost wasn't so sure. Something in the way his double looked at him, that malicious glee that twinkled in his gray-blue eyes… He was definitely a horse of a different color and Kai didn't know how to feel about it.

"Mal?" The man tilted his head, as if in thought, "I suppose it has a nice sort of symmetry to it. Bon and Mal. But to answer your question, baby," He sneered the last word and it sent a shock of cold to sliver up Kai's spine, "I most certainly can follow you."

It was like The Ring. Goddamn, why were Asians so good at scaring the fuck out of people? The air left his lungs as his double stepped through the mirror, a shit-eating grin plastered all over his features and showing just how real he actually was. This wasn't a joke. This wasn't a nightmare.

Reality was a bitch.

"I've been waiting a long time to get my chance at escaping. Thanks to you, Mal, I finally have a shot."

It was his face, but the smugness on it was so foreign and Kai had an overwhelming desire to knock his teeth in.

"Like hell you do, asshole."

Bonnie's voice brought him back out of his mild stupor and Kai watched as his double went flying across the room. He didn't have time to process it. All he could do was stare in awe at Bonnie as she pulled him up and out the room - their legs eating up the ground as they put as much distance as they could between them and the Kai from her world. Bonnie's voice was back to normal.

"What the hell was that?" Kai asked as they ran along the deck, ignoring the few onlookers who had remained on the ship.

"Oh yeah, my magic is back." Bonnie said breathlessly.

She said it so easily, and yet he wasn't any less impressed. He had never doubted it, but to see it before his eyes? Kai's chest filled with pride.

His girlfriend was a badass.

When they finally were able to get enough distance between them and his psychotic double, Kai swallowed mouthfuls of air to reclaim his breath. Grabbing Bonnie, he threw open the door of a supply closet and shut the door - closing them in the space. He'd wanted to do something scandalous with Bonnie when he'd first stumbled across this thing, but he didn't think said scandal would be their current situation.

This was nuts.

"Your magic is back?" he heaved, staring at her within the darkness of the enclosure.

"Et erit lux."

Kai watched as the darkness was flooded with small light, a glowing ball of magic hovering above Bonnie's hand. He felt like a kid who had witnessed a Three Card Monte trick for the first time, wondering how the illusionist was able to make the card disappear. But that was all just sleight of hand. This was real. It was real and his girlfriend was a witch.

"Wow…"

It was all he could say. Part of him wanted to touch it, but he refrained. He could feel the heat from the spell and he wasn't even that close to it.

Bonnie quickly extinguished the light, causing a slight pout to form on his lips. He had wanted to look at it a bit longer. But there was a distinct warmth that touched his cheek, causing him to shrink back in surprise. When he realized it was just Bonnie and the lingering magic that clung to her, he leaned into her touch - remaining mesmerized at the tingling sensation on his skin.

"It's still warm!"

"As nice as it is to introduce you to my magic, we still have other more important things to discuss." Bonnie withdrew her hand and he felt himself wishing she hadn't. Her magic was comforting. It felt...safe. "So we've effectively pissed him off enough to make him fully corporeal, that's good. I wanted to see if he could do it, so now we've gotta keep him that way until we pass out of the triangle."

Quipping a brow, he pressed his back to the wall. "Why is that?"

"There's no magic in this world, remember? He can't exist here."

"So we manage to subdue him somehow and when we pass through the triangle, he dies again?"

He didn't know why, but her readiness to end his other self was a little...unsettling. How could it not be?

Kai frowned as he folded his arms across his chest. "Exactly how many times are you going to kill this guy, Bonnie?"

"As many times as it takes for him to stay dead!" The words were harsh, venomous, and he couldn't hide the shock from his face if he'd wanted to. It must have registered to her because Bonnie quickly continued. "Look, I get it. You've never seen this side of me, and you look at him and see you. If you can't do this, then we'll find a way to get you off the boat until I have him locked up somewhere."

Well, that was just plain crazy talk. "I'm not leaving you alone with him!"

"No, I think it's for the best actually. If you're not on the ship, he can't get to you and switch," Bonnie muttered to herself. She looked like she was going to a faraway place. Somewhere where he couldn't reach her. "Just gotta find way to hold him."

"Hey." Kai grabbed her shoulders, giving them a firm squeeze, "just because I'm having second thoughts does not mean I'm going to leave you alone with him."

He repeated it firmly with conviction. Regardless of the bad blood between them, he wasn't about to let her walk headlong into danger. Not while he was there to have her back. Kai wanted to believe he could that for her, at least.

"We can't stay in here," she said, looking back at him. "We're cornered and I don't like being in closed spaces when he's on the hunt."

...on the hunt.

The thought seemed to echo inside of him. Kai couldn't believe that Bonnie, his wild and spirited Bonnie, was shaken up even for a second over his double. Had she told him everything he'd done, his other self? Just what kind of madness had he tried to plant inside of her for her to react this way? Like she had to prepare to wage war against the world?

Was he capable of the same?

They left the closet, not wanting to linger in one spot for too long. Plus the atmosphere in that small space was becoming a little overwhelming. Kai listened, both to Bonnie and to the sounds around them. He'd never had to be on such high alert before, but he also never had to face off against someone with magical abilities. He wasn't sure how much use he was going to be in the actual fight, but Kai at least didn't want his other half to get the jump on them either.

If it was one thing Kai knew well, it was stubbornness. And his other self seemed chalk full of it.

Quickly making their way to the med-bay, at Bonnie's suggestion, they gathered up everything they would need to be able to put the other Kai under. It was enough sedatives to knock out a grown man and then some.

The plan was clear. They just had to get him to be still long enough to knock him down and then keep him there. Down. On the ground. With no means of defending himself.

It turned Kai's stomach slightly.

They managed to get below deck without too many wandering eyes following suit. Kai's heart thudded heavily against his chest. But the metal clang of the door slamming shut behind them made his heart stop altogether. Kai whipped around, his hand still gripping Bonnie's tightly as he saw him on the approach.

"Well I admit, I did not see that coming. I know how I ended up here, but how are you here?" His "twin" looked at Bonnie, then at him. Something seemed to have clicked because he frowned for half a second before it transformed into a smirk.

"Hold up..." he snapped his fingers, then laughed, "don't tell me, you wound up dying…again!" His laughter increased, his eyes tight with how amused he was.

God, did he look like that? Did his laugh sound anything like that? Kai frowned.

"After all your tough talk, you still wound up croaking for those worthless assholes." He slow clapped and it was clearly in condescension. "Wow. Congratulations. You've managed to impress me with your idiotic selflessness once again."

This guy was a real piece of work. He could see it now. But Kai couldn't help but wonder what made his other self so bitter. Was he capable of the same level of maliciousness?

The other Kai's gaze leveled onto him and the coldness there was unmistakable. He clenched his jaw, the muscle jumping near his mandibles. "So let me get this straight. You never wanted to give me the time of day, but somehow you ended up with my double? Is this another hell? What kind of bullshit is that, Bonster?"

"Yeah well, this one never murdered half his family, or killed a whole coven so, I'm partial to that." Bonnie shrugged and Kai looked at her, hearing the barbs on the edge of her words.

"That's rich," he rolled his eyes, bringing Kai back to the present "coming from the girl who was friends with Stefan 'Ripper of Monterey' Salvatore. Not to mention Damon 'I killed my uncle's pregnant wife for the hell of it' Salvatore."

"What the fuck?" Kai whispered, blinking in amazement.

Was that the kind of world that she came from? A world where Stefan and Damon were both killers? Bonnie would never have surrounded herself with such garbage. Not the Bonnie he knew. Not the Bonnie he loved. She was the kind of woman who would never let anyone trample over her, no matter who they were or what she owed them.

But Bonnie didn't say anything. She didn't deny and so his double continued.

"Or how about Elena 'I'll kill an original vampire, thus ending his whole sire line just to get the cure because I can't handle being a vampire' Gilbert?" The amusement was gone from the other Kai's voice and he started moving toward them. "You managed to forgive all of them for their transgressions, but when I actually tried to make amends with you, you stabbed me and stuck me in another damn prison world."

"Yeah, because nothing says I'm sorry like creeping into my bed while I'm asleep and siphoning me, right? Or how about knocking me out and taking my blood to let Lily and her pets out to terrorize everyone?"

Kai heard Bonnie's voice quiver and he couldn't help thinking just how long she'd been holding this in. Was this everything she'd been keeping back? Everything made sense - her distance, her cold demeanor toward him. It made even more sense now than it did over a year ago when she'd come out of her coma. His grip on Bonnie's hand tightened, reassuring her that he wasn't going to let anything happen.

"Or the best apology of all, when you damn near killed me at the wedding!"

"I wasn't going to kill you. I just wanted you to finally see!" he yelled back, causing Kai's neck muscles to tense up.

"See what? How unhinged you really were? Because believe me, I knew. You tied my life to Elena's and demanded Damon choose between the two of us. I'm glad he took your head off." The taunt was cruel, but it did the job. His double didn't seem pleased - he didn't miss that flicker of anger in the eyes that mirrored his.

He laughed again, shaking his head at her. "You wanna know the real reason Damon took my head off, Bonster? It wasn't just because he wanted to save you. He knew that if he saved you, you would feel indebted to him because he 'saved your life'." The other Kai air-quoted and Jesus, even their mannerisms were similar. This was too much. Kai couldn't help but look at Bonnie, seeing the anger popping in her green eyes. "And let me guess, it worked like a charm, didn't it? You felt like you owed it to him and everyone else to keep working on a way around the spell, even though you knew it might end up killing you."

Kai looked back at his double, noting the triumphant smirk on his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. There was no way that was true. But Bonnie's silence spoke volumes and his heart fell just a measure.

"I didn't do a damn thing to harm Elena. She was taking a nap for the next 80 years or so. All he had to do was wait. If he really was as good a friend as you kept saying, he would have had no problem letting you live your life, guilt free. Because if anyone deserved it for all the shit you went through at the expense of your friends, it was you."

He didn't have to look at Bonnie to know that his "twin" was having an effect on her. This was what she had been holding back. This was what she had been keeping so close to her heart and refusing to let anyone see. This ugly truth, it hurt her. But it was a truth that Kai couldn't even spit in outrage over. Because if what his double said was true, and that seemed to be the case, then that meant that Bonnie hadn't been much different than the Bonnie from his world. They hadn't relied on anyone - wanting to shoulder everything by themselves.

And the end result? Both of them had died with no one around them. Both of them had been alone - feeling alone.

But it was different now. She wasn't alone.

"Now look at you. Died again, and for what? For a bunch of people who had never really appreciated all the sacrifices you made for them." He was directly in front of her now and he could tell she was shrinking back. "The last Bennett Witch of that line, gone." He leaned in closer, his intent clear even to him. "Who's going to keep your grave clean, Bonnie?"

"Don't touch her," he growled, finally finding his voice. Not wanting to hear any arguments, Kai pulled Bonnie behind him - forcing himself to be the divide between the two magic users.

His other self looked at him like he was seeing him for the first time and registering it. "Is this is what you wanted? A powerless, human version of me?"

For the first time since he'd met him, Kai felt sorry for his double. What kind of world had he been brought up in for him to think that being a human meant being powerless? Kai had never felt like that in his entire life, not even when he was fighting against his own mental illness.

Yeah, he was definitely scheduling an appointment with his therapist the minute they got back.

"A human version that has never hurt her." Kai said it pointedly, the chill radiating from the other Kai evident but unaffecting him, "but not really powerless."

And as they'd planned, Kai drove the knife he'd had in his hand the entire time straight into his double's gut. Bonnie had explained she was going to hide it with magic and seeing as how he'd failed to see it that whole time, it must have worked. He just needed to get him close enough.

Kai watched him stagger back a few steps and Bonnie started chanting. But something seemed to be amiss as his other self was already righting himself and ready to charge. A force that Kai couldn't see slammed into him, throwing his body up and off to the side. His back crashed into the metal of the wall, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Heaving what air remained in his lungs, Kai blinked the stars from his vision long enough to see his other self going for Bonnie's throat as he slammed her into the wall.

"You think I'm gonna just let you kill me again?"

"You can't exist here, Kai. There's no magic to keep you alive." Bonnie was trying to reason with him, but even Kai knew that it wouldn't work.

Kai tried to get off the ground as he saw her wince, probably from having her throat squeezed further. "I can just do what you did, take over the body of the person that's already here." He leaned down and anger exploded in Kai's chest. "It seemed to work out great for you. You think anyone would notice?"

"I think everyone would notice, especially his family. Joshua, Jo, Luke, and Liv would definitely notice a change. Things are different here, Kai. Your dad isn't-"

"I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT HIM!"

Kai struggled to sit up, checking to make sure nothing was broken. That's it, Bon. Keep him distracted.

"Okay what about Jo, then? Or Luke and Liv? Your relationship with them is so much better in this world, they will notice if you suddenly start acting like a madman!" Kai finally managed to get to his feet, stabilizing himself on the wall as he caught another breath. He would only have one chance. Bonnie seemed to notice this, her gaze meeting his and they gave each other a knowing look. "Plus there's you and me. If we come back and are no longer together? That's gonna be a major red flag, considering everyone is probably anticipating me coming back with a ring."

Kai's legs froze. Wait. Who told her? He hadn't said a word!

"Like, marriage? You'd marry him?"

The steps that he'd been taking stopped. Kai felt like a deer in headlights as he watched Bonnie nodding despite the hold his other self had on her neck.

"I would. I love him."

His insides felt like jello. Was she already saying yes to a proposal he hadn't given yet? Well, that certainly took the fun out of it.

Not now, Kai! he yelled in his head, shuffling quietly forward.

Bonnie cried out and he saw a red glow coming from his double's hands.

"You can love him, but wouldn't even try with me, even when I went above and beyond to try and save you?"

Kai was directly behind him now, his other self so lost in his own outrage that he couldn't sense him. He didn't waste any time, grasping the sides of his head and twisting his head hard to the right. The snap was like a whip crack in the space they were in. Kai could only watch as he saw his own body crumple to the ground.

Pulling Bonnie toward him, he fussily looked over her throat for any damage and she waved him off. "See, told you. Just a quick snap and down he'll go, but we need to hurry he won't be out for long."

Kai let Bonnie out of his grasp and he looked down at where the other Kai was. He looked like he was sleeping, but he knew what he'd done. Had he been another normal human being, that would have been a dead body at his feet.

He'd effectively killed himself.

"I just snapped my own neck."

Bonnie's hands were on his face, forcing the body from his line of sight and he was now looking back into those beautiful shades of green that always seemed to keep him grounded. Unconsciously, he reached up and held her wrists.

"I know this must seem crazy as hell to you right now, and I promise we'll talk about it later, but right now? I need your help to contain him. He won't be out long, and I don't know when we'll pass out of the triangle. I need you with me right now, Kai."

Shaking his head, he gave a reassuring nod. She was right. This wasn't the time. They had to take care of the problem at hand.

"Okay. Yeah, I'm here."

The kiss was all he needed to get his head back into the game. Bonnie quickly started setting up the candles for her ritual and Kai started preparing the sedatives needed to keep his other self under. He didn't know what was going to happen and he didn't know what kind of magic Bonnie was about to call on, but he'd be ready just the same.

As she continued chanting, pulling what he could assume was power from a source, Kai watched in awe. Suddenly, black lines started creeping along her skin and he couldn't help the lurch of concern that lodged itself in his throat. "What the fuck?"

She showed no signs of stopping and he had to just assume that this was what was supposed to happen. Looking down at his other self, he noticed his body turning to stone. "Is that supposed to happen?"

But Bonnie kept focused on what she was doing. He had to keep his head together. So he continued pumping himself full of drugs. Needle after needled went into his neck and arm and it only started dawning on Kai that he was starting to run out. He only had two more needles. Daring to take a chance, he jammed each needle into his double and pushed the drugs into his system. Hopefully he would stay down long enough for him to get back with more stuff.

Bonnie gave him the go ahead and Kai said he'd be back as soon as he could. His legs dug into the ground, rushing him even more than his mind. All he could focus on was trying to get to the med-bay, gather up what he needed, and get back to the problem. He didn't need to think about anything. He just needed to run.

He tore into the med-bay, knocking over chairs and clambering over things as he gathered up more sedatives and a few more needles. Another couple of vials were thrown into a bag he dug up in one of the shelves. His heart was hammering so hard that he could barely hear his own breathing - the sound effectively drowned out by his heartbeat.

"Come on, Kai! Come on!" he growled at himself, throwing the last of the supplies into the bag and tearing out of the med-bay.

His legs were screaming at him, telling him to slow down but he wouldn't listen. He didn't have the luxury to listen. He had to get back to Bonnie because his other self was fucking crazy pants and he couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her because of his own crazy - even if it manifested into something completely different in someone else.

When he came back, it wasn't a scene he had been expecting. There, on the ground, was his double, but lacking a head. His arm was draped over Bonnie's form as she laid next to him, seemingly unresponsive. He recalled the image of her nose bleeding profusely when he'd left her. His own blood felt like ice, shredding through his veins.

It was like part of Kai's soul had been snatched from his body.

Dropping the bag, he took slow and measured steps towards their bodies. Eventually, even his own double began to burn and fizzle out of existence - dust from his petrified and flaming figure floating into the air. Kai's own weight was too much and he collapsed to his knees at Bonnie's side. A hand fell to her back and he shook her gently.

"B-Bon?"

Nothing. He shook her harder.

"Bonnie!"

And then he felt it. A heartbeat. Kai felt tears falling down his face.

She was alive.

Gathering her up into his arms, he held her close and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"Thank God…"

She'd been out for several hours. It was already dark out. The soft lapping of the ocean waters against the hull of the ship did little to ease Kai's worries. But it was something for him to focus on as he kept vigil over Bonnie's sleeping form. It felt like his heart was hollowed out from the inside out. All because of one nagging thought chewing at the back of his brain.

When Bonnie woke up, would it be his Bonnie or someone else?

Kai knew he'd gotten there as fast as he could. He knew that there was a point where she hadn't been breathing. She very well could have died at that moment and who knows where her soul had gotten sucked off to or who could have replaced his Bonnie in their world. Ever since the door to other worlds had been opened to him, his mind was scattered to the winds as he waited - anxiety threatening to choke him out.

No, he thought, shaking his head roughly back and forth as he brushed some of her hair from her face, she's a fighter. She's coming back to me.

There was no way that this was goodbye.

She was alive and that was all that mattered. She'd come back to him eventually. He had to be patient, that's all. Using magic must have been tough and he had to wonder if this was the kind of life that she'd been living constantly in her other world.

Was there really no one in her corner back then? Had she really been alone? Her against the world?

Kai could genuinely understand and even empathize for his other self. If he was gone, then maybe he would be like his Bonnie. Maybe he would find a place where he truly belonged. Maybe he would find that place with that special someone and finally live the life he'd always wanted.

He would finally be free.

As he held Bonnie's hand in his, Kai sighed. "I hope you find peace…"

Suddenly, Bonnie stirred and it brought him out of his reverie. She looked at him, focused on him, and Kai quickly pulled her up so he could kiss and hug the life out of her.

"Thank God," he said again, brushing her hair out of her eyes. When I came back, I thought you were dead. You weren't moving and his head was…" He couldn't stop from visually shuddering. "I know you told me what would happen, but actually seeing my own head not attached to my body was not how I thought this cruise would go."

"So he's gone?" she croaked and he nodded.

"His body and head both went up in flames. Nothing left, not even ashes."

She nodded, looking like the weight of the world had finally been lifted off her shoulders. Kai felt relief wash over him as she pulled him down onto the bed with her. He gathered her up into his chest, holding her close. The heaviness of the day finally disappearing, Kai felt them both start to drift off into sleep.

When they finally returned from the trip, Kai hardly left Bonnie alone. He was thankful for her understanding in needing to be around her. Or at least he assumed it was understanding. But now that he had a better idea of what she'd had to deal with in the past, Kai wanted to give her every assurance he could to show that she wasn't alone. That she was loved and she wouldn't have to worry about being alone ever again.

Bonnie seemed fine after a few days, but Kai was still shaken up by it all. It was hard for him to focus, but he made attempts. He talked to Mason and he was able to confirm some things for Kai, which made his heart even heavier. He'd even reached out to Vincent to confirm some things and even his experiences had been harrowing, if not similar.

Christ, his girlfriend was fucking phenomenal.

But there was something else that bothered him. Something his other self said that made him worry. Really worried. It had been eating away at Kai for days.

When they were having a late night at the restaurant, going over paperwork, Kai looked at his father who was thoroughly engrossed on calculating numbers. He insisted on doing things the old fashioned way and he never pressed him. Kai just busied himself with payroll things. But as he watched him peeking over his glasses from one sheet of paper to the calculator, Kai couldn't hold it any longer.

"Hey, Dad?"

His father hummed, still working and not looking at him. "Hm? What is it, Son?"

"...did you ever think about abandoning me?" Kai tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "You know, after my mental health issues cropped up?" His father stopped fiddling with his work and lifted his gaze to look at him. "I mean, we all know how I was back then soon after Mom died. I wasn't the best kid and I know I gave you all hell and-"

"Malachai." His father's voice was so serious, but there was no edge to it. It was his way of making Kai shut his mouth when he needed something to say or to stop him from spouting nonsense. "You are my son. There is no way I would have let you deal with that alone. We're family and that means something."

Kai's fingers hovered over the keys of the laptop, the lump in his throat growing.

"And it means that we are together no matter what. Through the good times and the bad. No matter what happens, you'll always be my son and I will never ever let you go through anything alone."

Tears filled his eyes and Kai laughed, shaking his head as he lowered his chin slightly. He quickly brushed his wrist across the backs of his eyes and down his cheeks to rid them of the tears. When he heard the soft clicking of the calculator buttons, he looked back up over the screen and saw his father had gone back to work.

"Love you too, Dad."

Kai fell on the couch at his apartment, throwing an arm over his eyes. It had been a long week and he was finally off from work for a couple of days. Bonnie was hanging out with the gang - something about movie night. Of course, the invitation had been extended to him, but Kai declined. He'd been Bonnie's metaphorical shadow and he knew that everything was fine. She needed some time to herself and he needed his space.

Besides, there was a phone call he was needing to make.

Picking up his phone, he scrolled through his contacts and pressed a name. It rang a couple of times before they finally answered.

"Hey, sorry I'm calling so late," he said, giving a grunt at the return greeting. "Thanks again for sending us on that trip, Rudy. She definitely needed it."

The other man spoke candidly and Kai laughed, reaching into his bag and fishing out a small leather box. Inspecting it between his fingers, he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. Sighing, he flipped it open and eyed the soft green stone that glinted from within, nestled on a bed of white-gold that wrapped around the gem that resembled vines - a ring of smaller cut diamonds surrounding the emerald.

"No, I didn't," he said, closing the box. "...the timing wasn't right."

Chuckling to the disbelief from Rudy, he sighed and shrugged a little as he looked at the ceiling. "I know you gave me the perfect setup, but trust me when I tell you that it just wasn't the right time." Still holding the box, he rested his hand on his stomach and smiled. "But I'm not worried. I already know the answer."

Because she'd said it herself. She loved him. She loved him so much and he knew that he would spend the rest of his life making sure that she continued doing that. Because he loved her so goddamn much.