The tense silence of the room only lasted a second before an easy smirk slid across Kol's face.
"I see you got my message."
"If you're referring to the blatantly obvious pictures of you practically groping my girlfriend then yes I got your less than subtle message," Klaus spat back.
"Girlfriend, brother? And here I was under the delusion that the two of you had broken up."
Klaus was on him in a flash, pinning him against the wall by his neck, fingers tightening around his throat. He let out a low growl but Kol appeared unfazed save for the shortage of breath.
"I see I hit a nerve." He chocked out.
Kol smirked a little and Klaus, realizing his mistake, pushed off of him with one last forceful shove of Kol's head into the wall.
Turning away, Klaus went to pour himself another drink, not being able to handle Kol's smug face anymore. He had to remain composed. The more reaction Kol got out of him, the longer he would drag this out. He had always been a pest.
"Tell me brother," Kol said straightening his collar as he rearranged himself, "has abandoning her, for your selfish peace of mind been all you hoped it would be?"
Klaus laughed humorlessly as he knocked back his drink, "My peace of mind brother? Do I look at peace to you?"
"That is not-"
"No tell me" Klaus voice was escalating now but he suddenly didn't care anymore if Kol saw how desperate he was. Let Kol see him sweat. Maybe if he saw him worry he might behave a little more responsibly.
"What peace of mind have I gained as she runs around happily with you, putting her in as much danger as ever? I left in an attempt to keep her safe from our enemies and before the month is up, you are already putting her in harms way again. Taking her out where anyone can see you two together, making her your priority as though she was the only thing in the world you had any interest in. How does that look to anyone who was supposed to believe she had nothing more to do with us?"
"Is this about safety, or jealousy Nik, I'm a tad confused."
Kol made his way further into the room away from the wall he had been pressed against, nearer to where his brother stood.
"This," Klaus fumed stepping threateningly closer, "is about your blatant disregard for the fact that I have left in an attempt to keep her safe and you are reversing all of that by hanging around."
"And yet Beckah is not getting chastised for doing the same thing. I wonder why that is?"
"Anyone who knows us knows that Stefan would never stay away from Caroline, even if we were gone. Beckah remaining near Caroline is plausible for that reason."
If Rebekah and Stefan were around, Klaus knew she would be safer. It was another reason he had never told his sister. Besides trying to talk him out of it, he knew she would stick close to Caroline if she didn't know what to expect or where he was. Kol was an entirely different story. He was reckless and he didn't need Caroline engaging in anything remotely dangerous. He also didn't need to see his brother's hands all over her but that was beside the point.
"And I'm expected to abandon her as you have then?" The two of them were now almost toe-to-toe, their body language getting more severe as the conversation carried on.
"You are expected to want to keep her safe almost as much as I do. As I recall you owe her your life."
"Perhaps that is why I care about keeping her happy."
Klaus scoffed, "Yes, I'm sure. And it has nothing to do with your happiness, this of course is selfless of you, baby brother."
"Perhaps it is."
Klaus hadn't failed to realize how happy Caroline looked in all those pictures. It fueled his jealousy and made him even more suspicious of Kol. Of course he wanted Caroline happy but not this soon. He was barely keeping it together, and there she was off gallivanting with his brother.
"This," Klaus said getting right in Kol's face, vein throbbing and teeth bared, "is nothing more than a game to you. What is it you're playing at? Riling me up, or is it about her, is that how you're keeping her so happy? By playing the charming, concerned brotherly figure. I swear if you try something-
"Hah you've truly deluded yourself this time Nick. Perhaps your photographer didn't truly capture what it is that Caroline is feeling. What is keeping that smile intact is that she still believes you're going to return to her."
"No doubt, a notion encouraged by you." The retort had lost a little edge as he couldn't help but be somewhat sated by that news. At least he was still able to get her to smile even from far away.
"Why should I not? The girl taught us about hope and now I'm supposed to be the one to crush her because you love her too much to. If you really wanted her to move on, you would never have written that letter. Yes I saw it," he added seeing Klaus' expression, "she keeps it next to the bed you used to share. You should have faced her, told her you no longer loved her, that you were simply sparing her life for one excuse or another, but no, instead you keep her in this limbo state. How torturous for her and peaceful for you."
"Watch your mouth."
"Admit it. You love knowing that no matter how far you go, you'll always have a little control, knowing that she is in waiting for you to return."
He would never give Kol the satisfaction of knowing that was exactly how he felt.
If Klaus did have any control though it was lost in that moment as he swung his fist to hit Kol in the jaw. He landed one good punch before Kol blurred to the other side of the room, working his dislodged jaw back into place.
"You're a coward" he spat, "You won't take away her happiness so you leave and wait for her to do it to herself. Are you waiting for her to turn it off, because trust me as soon as she realizes that you're gone for good, that is exactly what she'll do and you'll have only yourself to blame."
"Stay away from her Kol, or I'll take you away from her myself." The threat sounded feeble even to his own ears.
"No. I am giving her a life. Something to live for besides you, so either face her like a man or leave me be to fix her myself. Who knows brother, she may just have a taste for Mikaelson men."
With a wink he sped out of the apartment leaving Klaus alone in the dark again.
Hey so short I know but I think it said what was needed, anyway reviews are my crack, and am I doing more smut, what do you guys want?
